Chapter 1: The "Perfect" Life
I wake up at 3 o' clock P.M in my crimson colored queen sized bed and look to my left to check on my girlfriend, still sleeping.
"Joselyn, wake up." I tell her as I gently shake her shoulder. Joselyn Silvera is my girlfriend of 10 months now and she's been living with me for the past four months. We met completely by accident at a cafe once and I have never regretted it. She's heavenly; with long hair, an angel like face, a perfectly curved body; combine that with a positively great personality and generally being a fun person to have a conversation with. Her fur is rather dark, especially for her species, but I don't care.
"What is it?" She asks, still wiping the sleep from her eyes.
"Still fatigued from last night I assume?" I chuckle. She gives a small smile.
"I should be asking you the same thing. As I recall, staying up late isn't for you."
"Well, you have to make sacrifices when your girlfriend is an opossum now don't you? And don't try to change the subject, because we both know what happened was much more fatiguing than staying up all night."
"It wasn't that fatiguing..." She says. An obvious hint of embarrassment in her tone.
"Really now? Because as I recall, after the fourth time we came, you fell right asleep." I say with a smile. She starts to blush. I gently turn her head and press my lips against hers; we stay, locked in that position for the next few wonderful seconds.
"I love you" I tell her after our lips part.
"I love you too" She replies.
"Alright, c'mon, we have to get up. I have work." I say, getting out of bed.
"But you don't have work. Today's Saturday, remember?"
"Oh, that's right!" I exclaim. "But, there is still a few things I need to check on."
"Okay then. Well I'm going to go shower now" She states, getting out of bed as well. "You want to come join me? Maybe help me with some of the 'hard to reach areas' ?" She says suggestively.
"Not now. But let's save that attitude for later tonight."
"Alright Alex. But I'm still headed for the shower."
As Joselyn leaves for the shower, I begin to dress myself, donning a red shirt and black pants with a belt to match. "Simplicity is best" I say to myself. After dressing, I head downstairs to the front door at the end of the large hallway. I take my keys hung up right next to the door and head out, locking the door behind me. I look to my right and see my grey camaro parked in the driveway. Before I got in, I take one last look at my penthouse style hilltop home and smile.
Chapter 2: Hush Hush
As I drive into the city, buildings begin to block my view of the sky, traffic becomes more plentiful and more people are appearing on the sidewalks. I take a deep breath...
"Ahhh... smells just like New York" I say to myself while exhaling.
I park in front of an inconspicuous little shop named "Sal's Pizza". I get out of my car and as I approach the front door, I noticed someone in rag like clothing, sitting out front. He was a human. I walked over and talked to him.
"Hey, buddy." I say to him.
"Yeah? What do you want?"
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing a furry like you needs to concern himself with." He says in a slightly angrier tone. I was slightly offended at that comment and could have easily verbally torn him a new ass, but he looks like he's been through enough hard times already.
"I don't need to be a psychologist to know something's wrong, but since you don't feel like talking, I'll just do this." I reach into the wallet in my back pocket and pull out a fifty dollar bill. I handed to him.
"What is this?" He says obviously confused.
"It's obvious you're going through some rough times now. So let's just say that's a little leverage for you. It's gonna get worse before it gets better; might as well prepare for the worst."
"T-Thank you." His voice now sincere.
"No problem."
The man stood up and walked away, staring at the bill as he slipped it into his pocket. I give a small nod before heading into Sal's. When I walked into Sal's, I found out it was void of customers. I walked up to the counter and rang the bell there. Immediately, I hear "WHAT IS IT!? WE'RE CLOSED!" From the room behind the counter.
"Yo Sal! It's me Alex!"
"Alex?! Alright hold on!" Several seconds later, Sal comes out of the back room. Sal is a pudgy leopard with a short temper from Boston (accent included). We met several years back during a bar fight. In the emergency room, he said I fight with spirit, and the rest was history.
"Alex! How's my favorite customer doing? Can I get you anything?"
"Just the usual slice please."
"Had a feeling you was coming over, so I had one already made for you." He goes into the back and comes back seconds later with a large ten inch slice of pizza on a square cardboard plate.
"Looks good Sal!" I say enthusiastically. He passes it over to me and I sit over one of the nearby tables to chow down.
"So how's life for ya?" Sal asks.
"Treating me like a king." I say with a mouthful of pizza.
"How's that job you got? What is it again...?"
"What? The one in graphic design?"
"Yeah! That's the one. Man, how can you stand that shit?"
"Come on Sal, you know I'm a lateral thinker. You know? 'Plans within plans' and all that crap."
"Right, right. So I take you're not here on a social visit, are ya?"
"What gave me away?" I ask chuckling.
"You're giving off that vibe."
"You were always good at reading people, weren't ya Sal?"
"Hey, it's a talent. Now..."
"I know, I know. Just let me finish this slice." I finished up my pizza and used a napkin to wipe my mouth. I walk back up to the counter and confront Sal.
"Alright, so what came in for me?" Sal pulled out an envelope from behind the counter and hands it to me. I opened it and found a dossier on a man.
"Alright, so let's see who we have today." I start to read off the dossier. "Micheal Navis...human... known drug dealer/user... accused and convicted of murdering multiple prostitutes... claims to be rehabilitated and now operates a charity... recent private investigations have proved this false, as he is actually using the money to continue his drug habits."
"Damn, this one's a real prick ain't he?" Sal remarks.
"No doubt." I say still reading from the dossier.
"So I still get the usual 20 percent right?" Sal says.
"Of course. I'll transfer the money into your account after I receive the reward."
"Great!" Sal exclaims. I place the dossier back in the envelope and put it into my pocket. I begin to leave Sal's and thank him for the slice. That dossier I just received was a contracted target for assassination and I am going to be carrying it out. Being a professional assassin is my second job, but I try to keep it secret from Joselyn and most others. However, I'm a special kind of assassin; I don't go after just anyone. I only target the scum who deserve to be killed. I receive my contracts from the higher ups through Sal, whom which I've made a deal with to give 20 percent of my earnings on each job in exchange for keeping it secret and giving me free pizza. It's a mutual relationship. As I leave Sal's, I begin to think of my next step immediately.
"Now for some current info. Evan, Clyde; roll out the welcome mat. You two are going to be having a guest."
Chapter 3: In Private
I get into my car and begin to drive to my next destination, a nice little bisexual club called "Both Ways". I know the owners/founders of the place and regard them for information when I need it. Be it people, places or anything in this city in general, Evan and Clyde are the go to guys for info. Several minutes later, I arrive at Both Ways, noticing a large line of people already massing at the front. I park my car across the street and walk into the wide alley right next to the club. In the alley, there is a rhino with the whole "Division 6" outfit (complete with tuxedo and sunglasses) guarding a door; I walk up to him.
"What's the password?" He says in a deep, intimidating voice as he towers over me. I hesitate for a second and say the password.
"Salty." I say in my most professional voice.
"Alright, go on in." He steps aside and opens the door. I thank him.
I found myself in a velvet colored hallway with multiple doors on each side, many with signs reading "Occupied" with a small heart below the word.
"I hope they clean those beds everyday." I say to myself. I continue down the hallway until I reach a turn which leads straight into the club itself. Opposite of that turn were a large pair of double doors. Subtlety never was Evan and Clyde's specialty. I opened the doors and casually strolled in.
"Hey guys, what's up - I'll come back later." I turned around immediately and shut the door. I sat out in the hallway, thinking about what I had just seen. Apparently, Evan and Clyde were making out, shirtless... and I think Clyde was going for Evan's pants when I walked in.
"How do I know these two?" I think to myself. As it turns out, I met them about a year and a half ago. Back then, they weren't co owners/founders of of a popular club. Evan is an orange fox with a petite figure and Clyde is a white rabbit with the same physique. These two are flaming homosexuals and are madly in love with each other. Yet, as long as I've known them they always tried to get into group sex and I can account for multiple times where they've attempted (and failed) to get me involved in an orgy. Regardless, I met them one night when I was walking home from a job and those two were getting picked on by a couple of gay bashers. I told the bashers to back off before things got ugly, then one thing led to another and the next thing I know, they were on the floor writhing in pain. Suffice to say, the bashers got bashed... hard. Evan, Clyde and I have been friends ever since. What I soon discovered about the pair was that they were social butterflies and knew just about anything there is to know about anyone there is to know about. This is why I keep in contact with them; to get vital information on my targets. They can also hold an interesting conversation.
"Alex? You still there?" I hear Evan ask through the door.
"Yeah, but I might need to bleach my eyes now." I say awkwardly.
"Oh come on! You know you liked what you saw. Come back in and we can all have some fun!" I hear Clyde say.
"Nuh uh! You two get fully clothed and then I'll go in there!"
"Oh! So you're the kind who really enjoys the stripping part?" Clyde says a little more suggestively. He always did like to make the advances.
"Damn it guys! just get dressed so I can go in without having to claw my eyes out first! I came for information, not to fuck, nor will I ever come to you for that."
"Damn Alex, you're such a buzz kill, you know that?"
"Well maybe if your life goal wasn't to have sex with everything that has a penis, we could all do something, like see a movie or go bowling or something that doesn't involve stimulation of the crotch area!"
"So that excludes dancing?" Clyde says trying to mess with me.
"You're damn right that excludes dancing! Because I remember an incident a couple months back, where you practically dragged me onto the dance floor. And when I actually started to enjoy myself, you stuck your hand down my pants and I know it was no accident!"
"How do you know it was even me? I mean there were a lot of people there. Maybe you had a 'secret admirer' ?"
"You were staring me in the eyes when you did it!"
"And you loved every second of it didn't you?"
"Alright look. If you let me in now... I'll strip for you."
"Really!?" I hear Clyde exclaim, obviously caught off guard.
"Yeah."
"Come on in!" The door swings open and I see Clyde (fully clothed, thank God) holding the door, with a suggestive face.
"Yeah, about that." I say to Clyde as I walk in. He closes the door.
"Yes, my big bad wolf?" Clyde says, slowly approaching me, making me feel awkward. I leaned in close.
"I lied." I see Clyde's face drop as I move away to sit down on one of the leather couches in the large, furnished room. I also noticed Evan (also fully clothed) sitting across the room and laughing a little, with a face that might have well just said "Oh snap!".
"You know you can be a real asshole." Clyde says frustrated.
"Only when I have to be. Plus, you weren't giving me too many options. But regardless, I'm not here on social terms. Evan, Clyde; I need information."
"What kind of information?" Evan says intrigued as Clyde sits down next to him.
"Individual information; a man named Micheal Navis."
"Oh, him. Yeah, we've heard things about him. What do you need to know?"
"Is he doing anything today?"
"I think he's holding a sermon today at his charity center to promote his cause for helping underprivileged people."
"That so?"
"Yeah, but I assume you know what he's really doing the whole charity thing for, right?"
"Drug habits? Yeah, I know about it. Where's his center located?"
"About five blocks down the street from here. So how you gonna do this one?"
"Attend the sermon, wait 'till he finishes running his mouth and when he's out of the crowd's line of sight, I'll finish him there."
"Quick and silent. Good tactic, Alex."
"It's never failed me before."
"So that'll be all, then?"
"Yeah, thanks Evan." I begin to leave the room. However, just before I exit through the doors I stop and look back at Clyde; still pissed at my insane lie. I think to myself. "I'm gonna hate myself for doing this." I turn back around.
"Hey Clyde." I say, noticing he's still pissed.
"What?" Clyde says, definitely pissed.
"Only because I'm a nice person." I walk over to the music player on the other end of the room and activate it. I scroll through the songs and select something at random. An up tempo beat with a fast, yet steady pace begins to play.
"Ooh, Party Boy! Nice choice." I hear Evan say. I start to dance to the music, my body in perfect tune with the beat. I keep this up for a few minutes until the song speeds up its pace. I start to reach for my shirt and slowly pull it up. At this point, I see Clyde's expression of anger turn into enjoyment as he sits and watches. I slowly pull my shirt past my face and finally off. I throw my shirt at Clyde just to add to the effect. I'm now shirtless, my upper body, fur, muscle and all completely exposed. Clyde is really enjoying this, practically excited. My movements become faster in an attempt to keep up with the beat; it's working. The song finally finishes and so do I by falling to my knees and opening my arms with my eyes closed. Evan claps softly while Clyde cheers loudly.
"Well done Alex! It takes balls for a straight guy like yourself to pull that off." Evan says as he continues clapping.
"Can I have my shirt back now?" I say as I reach my arm out. Clyde buried his face in my shirt and took a deep breath before tossing it back. "There. You happy now?" I say as I put my shirt back on.
"For now..." Clyde responds with a smirk on his face."
"Again, I only did that because I'm a nice person." I restate. I start to leave the room and closed the door behind me.
"My GOD I wanna fuck him so bad!" I hear Clyde practially yell from the room as I start back down the hallway. I placed my palm over my face and shook my head. "Hey, I want sloppy seconds after you're done." I hear Evan say in response. I slump my head down, almost embarrassed at what I just heard. I continue back down where I came and exit through the same entrance. I look back at the rhino bouncer and nod; he nods back.
Chapter 4: Penance
I continue down the alley and back across the street to my car. I get in and start to drive down the street. "Okay, Evan said about five blocks down from here." I think to myself. I continue driving for several minutes until I reach a small community center with a sign in front reading "Sermon: Speaking today, charity organizer Micheal Navis." I parked the car and reach into the glove compartment and pull out a pair of black leather gloves. As I put them on, I test them by balling my paw into a fist; the leather makes a straining sound. "Perfect fit." I say to myself. I get out of my car and approach the entrance, with my hands in my pockets. When I enter, I'm surprised to see a rather large crowd has gathered and are all staring at the stage on the other side of the center, and lo and behold, my target is on the stage. "Micheal Navis." I think to myself. A wolf in sheep's clothing. I look around as he is running his mouth, seeing all these people and furries and all these faces that actually believe the verbal diarrhea this man is spewing. This only serves to anger me even more and makes me glad I have the job of taking down monsters like this. At this point now, all I can do is play the waiting game. I slowly step closer, past the center of the crowd and near the stage.
"Just shut up so I can put you out of everyone's misery." I think to myself. As if on command, he starts to wrap up his speech.
"...and so, if we all work together, achievement of goals for a common good will seem second nature. I thank you all for your generous donations and shall immediately put them to good use."
"If only these people knew..." I thought. The crowd begins to leave the center, but my sights are locked on to Navis. I sift my way through the crowd and notice Navis entering a room next to the stage and closing the door behind him. I follow; as soon as the entire crowd has their back turned, I enter the same room and close the door.
"Micheal Navis." I announce. He turns around and as it turns out, he was snorting coke. "You do a bad job at trying to hide your drug habits. One of things you can do to fix that is to lock the door." I say as I locked the door behind me.
"Okay, you've caught me. So what do you want? I can get you drugs, money, and women. All you need to do is walk away and pretend you never saw this." He says being smug about it. Like he's in complete control; he's dead wrong.
"The only thing I want is for you to be gone and to stop poisoning these people's minds."
"Sorry, no can do. I've got too much of a good life here to just leave because of one person." I reach into my pocket and pull out the dossier.
"What is that?" He says, more concerned. I throw it in the center of the room. He picks it up and skims it. "How did you get this!?"
"That's none of your concern at the moment." I calmly state, with a threatening undertone.
"Alright, alright." He says, getting desperate. "Don't worry, I know what to do." He goes over to a small desk in the room and pulls out one of the drawers. He grabs a black box and puts it on the table in the center of the room. "Come here, I got what you need." His back is turned. I approach with caution, sensing something is off.
"Yeah, yeah. I got what ya need. Right......HERE!" He swings around and points a pistol at me. I instantly react by knocking the gun away from his hand. He then throws a wild left hook. Bad move. I deflect with my right arm and grab his. I deliver several punches to his gut before throwing him into a nearby wall. I go to finish the job, he grabs me by the face and lands a solid headbutt to my forehead. I stagger back and after which, he follows up with several punches; one to my gut, one to my face and one to my chest. On the fourth punch I caught his fist and using my bare strength, I squeezed it. I felt almost every bone in his fist crack if not break. He recoils back in pain, clutching his wrist tightly. He looks at me.
"YOU SON OF A-" Before he could finish his sentence, I give a strong front kick directly to the center of his chest. The force of the kick throws him against the wall behind him. He hits the floor hard. He starts to crawl and I look ahead, noticing he's trying to crawl to the pistol. Just before he reaches it, I kicked it away. He lies there on his stomach. I crouch down over him and with one hand, I grab his face; with the other I grab the back of his head. In one swift motion, I twist both my hands counter clockwise and I hear the accompanying sound of a loud CRACK, severeing his spinal column at the neck. I look around to find the dossier and when I do, I throw it onto Navis' body. I begin to leave the room, taking off my gloves and putting them in my pocket.
I walk out of the room and close the door behind me. The community center was empty; I smile and start to whistle as I make my way out of the center and to the nearest phone booth. I go in, pick up the phone and reach into my back pocket for change.
"Aw shit! I forgot to bring some change." I say realizing. I start to look around and I see at the floor of the booth, 50 cents. The exact amount I need. "Lucky me." I say to myself. I insert the change in the slot in the booth. I dial a number and held the phone to my ear.
"Hello? Yes, it's me. The target has been neutralized. I left the dossier on his body, so the authorities will know what he did. I know I don't have to do that, but scum like that doesn't deserve a loving memory. Just transfer the money into my account and give the usual twenty percent to Sal. Alright, thanks. When can I expect my next assignment? A week from now? I'll be ready."
I hang up the phone and leave to my car. When I get in, I take the gloves out of my pocket and put them back in the glove compartment. I check the digital watch on the dashboard and immediately notice that it's almost 6 o' clock.
Chapter 5: Funny Love
"Shit, where did the time go?" I think out loud. I begin to drive back home, feeling accomplished at my actions today. I arrive to my house about ten minutes later, exhausted. I park the car and walk up to the front door. Before I enter, I hear music playing. Curious, I open the door and see Joselyn dancing, completely nude. She's turned around so she can't see me, but she's shaking her backside directly at me, singing "I whip my tail back and forth! I whip my tail back and forth!"
"You certainly do." I say with a smile, interrupting her dance.
"Oh, Alex! You're back." She says surprised.
"Still doing the nudist thing I see."
"You know, you really should try it." She says smiling.
"Come, on you know I don't do that stuff."
"Maybe we can try something else upstairs in the bedroom."
"Okay then. Let's."
"Alright, then follow me big boy." She makes her way upstairs. I turn off the music in the living room and follow her. When I reach the bedroom, I find Joselyn sitting on the bed, legs crossed and starring at me suggestively. I walk closer to her and when I get close enough, she grabs and pulls me onto the bed.
"Now let's get rid of these bothersome clothes." She says going for my shirt first. She grabs my shirt and lifts it up and over my head, finally pulling it off completely.
"Second time today I've been bare chested." I think to myself.
She then starts to unbuckle my belt. It comes off easily. Finally, she goes for my pants by unzipping them and pulling them down, taking off the shoes as well. I'm now in my boxers. She then jumps on top of me as she goes for them too.
"Did I ever mention I love how soft your fur is?" She says in a teasing voice.
"You could stand to mention it more." I joke. She pulls down my boxers past my legs and off. We both face each other, both obviously loving the sight of the other's bare body. Lightly grinding her lips against the shaft of my throbbing length, she moans with every stroke of mine against her's and I become more rigid with each one. After about several strokes, my length stands firm. She stops grinding and lifts herself up slightly, as I go from lying down to sitting up. She grasps both of my shoulders.
"Are you ready?" She asks, panting lightly.
"Whenever you are." I respond. She lowers herself onto my length; I immediately feel the warmth of her insides overtake my wanting member. At that moment we both moan passionately. She lifts her body up ever so delicately, like a beautiful angel rising to the heavens and just as it seems she lifts high enough to separate from me, she falls back down and I catch her every time. She begins to repeat this process and moans pleasurefully every single time. As time passes, she moves even faster, now clutching both of my arms. She feels so warm, both inside and out.
"I can't take it anymore!" I think to myself. I grab Joselyn and firmly place her on her back. beginning to thrust into her repeatedly. She calls my name out pleasantly surprised. I could barely hear in our symphony of pleasureful moans. She clutches tighter on my arms and wraps her legs around my waist. I stare into her eyes the entire time I push into her warm love hole. We press our lips together in a passionate kiss. I feel her eager tongue slip past my lips . I thrust even faster now. Our kiss is interrupted by one of her lusty screams.
"Alex!"
"Yes?
"I'm getting close!"
"S-So am I!"
"Please... let's finish together." She pleads. I reply with each of my movements becoming quicker and quicker. Finally, with one last push, we both moan . I let loose my pent up love and fill her insides, releasing a set of moans with every convulsion. I rest my head on her shoulder for a few seconds before I move my head back up to look at her. Her legs unwrap from around my waist and she softens her grip on my arms. I look her directly in the eye. I move to the side slightly, still inside her. I begin to pull out.
"No." She says just as I start to pull out. I stop and keep it in. "I love you..." She whispers softly.
"I love you too." I whisper back. We share one last kiss before we both fall asleep.
Chapter 6: Night Life
Joselyn and I wake up at around 9 o' clock P.M. She sits up with a distinct afterglow on her face.
"Wow, Alex. That was fantastic!" She says happily.
"As long as it was good for you." I say, with the same afterglow feeling. Joselyn hops out of bed with a spring in her step.
"So what do you wanna do tonight?" She asks.
"I don't know. Dinner and a movie?"
"Oh come on. You can do better than that." She says, glaring at me.
"Dinner and a party?"
"Close enough, so where do you want to eat?" She asks, starting to get dressed.
"I hear there is this really great restaurant a couple of blocks down from the community center." I suggest.
"Nah, something simple, I already ate while you were gone and I don't want to over stuff myself." She responds.
"I know this great pizza place not too far from here."
"Perfect!" She says putting on some underwear. "Now, are you going to get dressed or are you deciding to be a nudist?" She jokes.
"Alright, let me just pick up my clothes and...." She picks up my clothes and tosses them all in my face as I'm still in the bed."
"Thank you." I say sounding muffled from trying to speak through my clothes. I eventually get up out of bed and start to get dressed as well. I use the same attire. Joselyn is wearing beige pants, with a cobalt blue shirt. The shirt outlines her breasts perfectly. We made our way outside and I locked the door behind me as we left the house, I locked the door behind me. We both get into the camaro. I start to drive over to Sal's.
"He finally opened." I think to myself when we arrive. When we enter, I see several people and furries enjoying the pizza. God knows Sal needs the publicity; 20 percent can only keep him afloat for so long before he needs some extra cash. We walk up to the counter.
"Hey Alex, who's your friend?"
"Sal, this is my girlfriend, Joselyn."
"Pleasure to meet ya!" Sal puts his hand out and Joselyn gives him a friendly handshake.
"So, how's the pizza here?" Joselyn asks curiously.
"Well I can't comment on my own work, but according to everyone else, it's fantastic! Hell, just ask your boyfriend here. He's a regular customer." Joselyn looks at me.
"Is it really that good?" She asks.
"Oh yeah, it's to die for." I tell her.
"Alright, in that case, we'll have two slices with extra cheese." Joselyn says assured.
"You got it. I tell you what, I'll make it free of charge. In the meantime, how 'bout you two sit at that table over there. While I get your order?" Sal points to a nearby empty table. I thank Sal as we go to sit at the table.
"That was nice of him." Joselyn says as we sit down. I look around and see all these satisfied faces from Sal's pizza.
"She won't be disappointed." I think to myself. Suddenly, I hear someone call my name. I turn around and see Sal gesturing for me to come to him. I get up and tell Joselyn I'd be right back. I go up to the counter and see what Sal wants.
"Sal, what is it?" I ask.
"Listen, it's about your job. The 'other' job." He says in a concerned tone.
"What happened?" I say more serious now.
"I just got a message a bit earlier from the higher ups. They said that we'll be working under new management."
"Wait, what kind of new management?"
"I don't really know. They didn't say; all they did say was that they weren't gonna be sending us targets anymore and that we'll be getting orders from some new higher ups."
"Anything else that might be important?"
"Yeah. The new higher ups wanted me to deliver you a message. But all they told me to tell you was to 'be prepared'. "
".....Alright, thanks Sal."
"No problem; wait here, I think your order's done." Sal goes into the back and comes back a few seconds later with the two slices on cardboard plates.
"Here ya go Alex. Hey, if I were you, I'd listen to that message. He says as he hands me the pizza.
"Don't worry, I'll be cautious."
"Good man."
I take the two pizzas and carry them to Joselyn. I put one in front of her and take the other to the side of the table where I sit. She starts to eat.
"Wow! This pizza is great!" She exclaims.
"What did I tell you?"
"You were right!" We eat for about 15 minutes before we both finish our pizzas. As we leave, I thank Sal. When we get in the car I ask her where she wants to go next.
"Hmm.... I got it! How about that club not too far away from here. 'Both Ways' I think it was called?" I was afraid she would say that.
"You sure?" I ask, trying to hide my discomfort toward that place for obvious reasons.
"Yeah. I heard great things about that place."
"Alright." I say starting to drive there.
As I drive, all I can think about is the message that the "new management" left me.
"Be prepared? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I think to myself. Those two simple words raise so many questions.
"What does it mean? How does it relate to me? Is it some sort of code code or something?" I keep thinking to myself. I pushed back the thoughts, remembering tonight is about Joselyn and I and nothing else. Whatever problems I have, I'll deal with tomorrow. We arrive at the club. I park in the same spot as I did earlier. I start to ask myself how the hell I'm going to get Joselyn in that club. Then it came to me; I'll just go in the way I usually do. Now with confidence, I get out of the car and walk with Joselyn across the street to the club. She looks at the massive line in front with a discouraged face.
"Oh my...... I knew this place was popular but not that popular." She says almost disappointed.
"Don't worry. I know a way to get in." I tell her assuringly. I take her down into the alley next to the club and continue down. There, I see the same entrance, same bouncer and hopefully, the same password.
"Deja vu." I think to myself. I walk up to the rhino bouncer.
"What's the password?" He asks as if he's never seen me before. I guess that's kinda his job.
"Salty." I tell him. He stands aside and opens the door we walk in and he closes the door again.
"How did you know.....?" Joselyn says obviously confused.
"Let's just say I have a few strong connections." I say. Thankfully, she buys it. We head down the hallway and take the turn that leads directly into the club. At the end of that hallway is the club itself. Joselyn looks at it in complete awe. A gigantic dance floor, that easily takes up a majority of the room. Strobing and multicolor lights to set the whole "club" mood. A medium sized bar, stocked with seemingly almost every form of alcohol known to man. A DJ station set up directly above the dance floor, blasting great music to almost every corner of the place. Finally, multiple lounges set up in every other vacant corner, for those who just want to kick back.
"So, what do you think?" I ask her smiling. She practically jumps on me and starts to kiss me.
"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU! I love you so much!" She exclaims, completely ecstatic.
"Go, enjoy yourself; don't wait up for me. I'll catch up shortly." I tell her. She gives me one last kiss and heads for the dance floor to go have some fun. I head straight for the bar. At this point, a few drinks would probably do me some good. I walk up to the bar and sit down. I talk to the bartender, a male human in the bartender attire.
"What'll you have?" The bartender asks me.
"Get me a straight beer, on the rocks." I ask. Minutes later, he slides a small mug, full of beer with plenty of ice down the table. I put my hand out and catch it. I take a couple of swigs and put it back down.
"Ah, that's the stuff." I say to myself. I turn around in my seat and look toward the dance floor. I spotted Joselyn immediately in the crowd and see that she's having the time of her life.
"Enjoy yourself, Joselyn. Tonight is yours." I say quietly. I turn back around to finish my beer and quickly ask for another. I finish the second one pretty quickly. I start to feel light headed, but, it's only minor, so I disregard it. I'm feeling pretty good about myself, so I ask for some whiskey. The bartender talks to me.
"You know what, you look determined. How 'bout this? I'll give you a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass and you can take it from there." He tells me; I agree and pay him in advance when he hands me the bottle and the shot glass. I start to take shots. I have five shots before deciding to stop. Now, I'm feeling pretty tipsy; it's a little difficult to walk and I don't have a care in the world. I'm definitely drunk. I pour one last shot and take it with me. After walking around, enjoying the sight of the club for a couple of minutes, I accidentally bumped into a large bull, at which point, I also spill my drink on him by accident.
"Hey, I'm... I'm sorry man. It appears I drink my spilled. HA HA! Drink my spilled. I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse me, I'm kinda drunk right now." I say with a slightly slurred tone. The bull grabs my shirt and threatens me.
"Listen punk, you do that again you'll be saying hi to the floor." He says in a deep, threatening voice. He lets go and walks away.
"Asshole." I say under my breath. Soon afterward, Joselyn tugged on my shirt; I look at her.
"Yeah, babe? What do you need?" I ask her.
"Alex, you gotta come see this!" She tells me, excited. She drags me to the dance floor, into the crowd of people. However they weren't dancing, they were all looking up at the DJ, who was trying to get everyone's attention. He kills the music. The DJ looks to be a jaguar with a pair of headphones and a leather coat.
"Alright people, listen up! As you all know, tonight's classic night. That means, I'm gonna play a classic track for everyone to dance to. Looks like we have a great song, by the King of Pop, Micheal Jac-"
"Hey, just play the damn music already!" Someone from the crowd yells. Many other people yell in agreement."
"Alright, alright! But first; since this is a group dance song, I need one brave soul to lead the dance. If you wanna do it, then step in the center." Everyone suddenly backs away from the center of the dance floor. After several seconds of silence, I think "fuck it" and step in the center.
"Alright, people we have our volunteer!" Everyone cheers, including Joselyn. The music begins to play... it's the thriller. I start by moving my head in a even tune with the retro beat. Soon, my body followed. I line all my movements up with the song. Soon, people and furries start dancing in groups behind me; their movements in perfect sync with mine. I am now leading one of the most popular dances of the 20th century and it feels absolutely euphoric. When the music intensifies to some of the main verses, I keep up with the music, my movements become more complicated, yet so fun to watch. I know Joselyn was having fun watching, considering she was smiling and cheering along with the rest of the crowd around the group I was leading. When the song is about to finish, I enter the last synchronized moves and finish by spinning around and striking a pose. The music stops; everyone cheers loudly. I walk away from the dance floor and everyone is still looking at me and cheering. The King of Pop himself would be proud. I walk over to one of the lounges to sit down; Joselyn joins me and gives me a passionate kiss on the lips.
"That was amazing! Where did you learn how to dance like that?" She asks curiously.
"I just let the music take me." I replied, still with the slurred accent.
"Alex, are you okay? Are you drunk?" She asks, concerned a little.
"No,no. I'm just a bit tipsy. I did drink a little." I was wasted; but I didn't want to worry her, so I lied. But she saw through. She starts to smile.
"It's okay. You enjoy yourself and relax here for a bit." She says happily. I lean my head back and close my eyes. I reopen my eyes a few minutes later. I feel slightly more sober, but still pretty drunk. I look around for Joselyn and to my surprise, she's by the bar talking to that bull I bumped into earlier; she doesn't look like she's comfortable. I read the bull's body language. His stance took somewhat of a dominant role and he loomed over her, as if she were already his.
"That bastard is trying to hit on my girlfriend!" I exclaim in realization. I immediately sober up a little and storm over to the bar, my movements still slightly unsteady. I confront the bull.
"Hey asshole! Back the fuck off! She's taken." I yell, defending Joselyn. She retreats behind me; it's obvious now she wasn't having fun talking to him.
"Oh, look what we have here! The drunk dancer. How 'bout you leave and make this less painful for yourself?" He tries play off the tough guy act. I'm not phased in the least.
"I'm not moving you from this spot you prick. Here's a suggestion; how about instead, you back off and get on with your life before I have to make that ugly mug of yours even worse!" He throws a sucker punch that connects directly with my jaw. I stagger back a little, holding my jaw in some pain. I rush him, he throws another punch and I dodge this one and use it as an opening for a hard uppercut to his chin. My hit launched his face upward and he fell back, hitting the table on the way down. He got back up a few seconds later, looking very enraged.
"You wanna play like that? Fine. Let's take this outside." He says, ready to explode. It was only then I noticed people were starting to gather and followed us as we made our way outside. We walked to the beginning of the alley next to Both Ways and we continued; I know I'm at a disadvantage because I am still drunk, so my reflexes won't be as sharp. The people seem to multiply as more of them gather around our invisible fight circle. It was then that it hit me; I'd use my drunk state to my advantage and I know just how.
"Alright c'mon you ugly bastard, spin the wheel and pick your ass kicking!" I taunt. He charges headfirst; when he got close enough, I pushed his head down with my paws and used it to vault over him, landing unsteadily. He turns around moves closer to me try to get a few punches in. This is where my advantage comes in. He throws several combination punches and I dodge each one of them with unusual and spastic movements. I can tell he's getting angrier; his punches are becoming more uncoordinated and less disciplined. For him, it must be like trying to hit water. I wait for my window of opportunity. He threw one hard punch and when he left himself open, I threw my entire upper body downward and pivoted toward his center of gravity. I threw my arm up into his crotch and bent my elbow to the point where I grabbed his lumbar area. I then lifted my knees as I carried his body over and past. The bastard's weight almost crushed me, but I managed. I supported half his weight with one paw and moved the paw from his lumbar to his stomach. With one strong movement, I moved his entire being to the other side of my body and slammed him back first into the ground. All of this happening in the time frame of about nine seconds.
"Yeah, you're done. Don't get back up." I say, panting and still drunk. I look for Joselyn and gesture for her to come to me; she does.
"Hey, do you think you can drive? I ask, chuckling.
"Of course." She said, holding me tightly. We make our way slowly through the crowd as they separate, practically opening a path for us. I stumble somewhat, not from being drunk, but the fight had drained me. I hand her the keys and we both get in the car. She starts to drive us home. After a long silence, Joselyn decided to break it.
"That was very heroic of you, you know?" She says softly.
"He was harassing you. I had to do something." I say sobering up even more, the slur gone now.
"You should've heard what he said to me."
"He's lucky I didn't. Otherwise he would have gone straight to the ER." I say. Joselyn chuckles.
"I'm so lucky to have someone like you." Joselyn says with a distinct sureness in her voice.
"I was about to say the same thing." I say as I smile at Joselyn.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Chapter 7: Detain
I wake up at around 10 o' clock A.M., with one of the worst headaches I've ever felt. Joselyn was still sleeping, probably still tired from last night's fiasco. I get up quietly, so as not to disturb her. I start to get dressed, noticing my old clothes were in the hamper, I dressed myself in a black short sleeved shirt and dark blue pants with shoes of the same colors. I make my way downstairs, to the living room and straight into the kitchen. I open the pantry door next to the fridge and pluck out some aspirin. I pop a few tablets and put the bottle back in the pantry.
"That should hold me for a better part of the day." I say to myself. I head out, taking the keys with me and locking the door. I take the camaro and begin to drive over to Both Ways. I need to apologize to Evan and Clyde for that fight I had right next to their club. I'm afraid it might have given them bad publicity. When I get to the club, I see no one around. I park in my usual spot and step out to walk down the alley. After several steps into the alley, I notice a black mustang park right in front of the alley. Something is off; I turn around to see what this this was about. Three men stepped out; one human and two furries. The human is caucasian, black hair and a muscular build and as for the two furries, one seems to be a horse, with a tall frame and threatening glare and the other looks to be a lizard of some sort, with a face I just don't like, period. They begin to approach; I tighten up my muscles and ready myself for something without making too much movement. I break the tense silence.
"Can I help you three?" I say in a cautious manor.
"Yeah. You could get in the car." The lizard says, with a Jersey accent.
"And what if I don't want to?" I respond.
"Then we'll make you." He says trying to threaten me. The horse charges me when I wasn't looking and knocks me to the floor. He forces me to the ground, pinning my arms. I throw my entire head forward to connect a solid headbutt. He gets up and staggers back; I sweep him off his feet and he comes crashing down. I get up and set my sights on the lizard. I charge him and grab his throat. I throw him into a nearby wall. I step towards him and press him to the wall. Just before I deliver a solid left hook, I feel a sharp pain in my neck. Immediately, my most basic motor functions start to deteriorate. I feel around my neck for the pain and grab something. I pull it out and look; it was a dart. A tranquilizer dart to be specific. I look at the lizard as he smiles. He gives a solid blow to my face and I drop like a leaf. On the floor, I face the car and see the human pointing some kind of single handed weapon. He must've shot me when I wasn't looking. Soon my vision starts to fade and all I can see is darkness...
Chapter 8: Discoveries
I finally begin to stir, but where I find myself is unbelievable. I look around to see nothing; that's all anything I'm seeing is. Just nothing. It's as if the whole world was devoured by a black hole and not a single thing was spared.
"It's a nice little world, isn't it?" I suddenly hear another voice speak from seemingly nowhere. It sounded familiar.
"Who the fuck are you?!" I blurt out, looking around, seeing nothing.
"You don't know who I am? Why, I'm you." The voice said, with a disturbing calmness.
"Alright, my patience is wearing thin. Show yourself, now!" I demand.
"Right behind you." I hear the voice whisper into my ear. I react immediately, by jumping away to get some distance between us and turn around. Facing the voice; what I see is impossible to comprehend. It was me; like looking directly into a mirror. It was a perfect carbon copy, sharing each one of my physical features, the same body, the same face, everything, even the clothes. His voice sounded familiar because it was mine. The only difference I could spot was that his eyes are black as coal. He had the most nerve racking smile.
"Who and what are you?" I demand with anger in my voice.
"Well, I don't really have a name but, the short version is that I'm a manifestation of all the negative thoughts and emotions you've ever thought and felt. So in a way, I'm you." He says clear as day with the same calmness.
"Not possible."
"Oh but it's very possible. See, I was conceived that fateful night, twenty three years ago. You remember that night don't you? Let me refresh your memory. Your, no, our parents were murdered that night. I've been growing along with you from that moment forward, watching every decision you make and maybe influencing a few. But I really do work in our best interests."
"Why show yourself to me now?" I ask, beginning to silently question my own sanity.
"Well that's the problem, I had to reveal myself to you because there is a chance you could die. A chance I could die."
"Okay, you've successfully stated the obvious, according to what I last saw." I snap at him.
"Wait, do you even know where you are?" He asks.
"Most likely a deep, deep section of my subconscious, where you've been lurking all these years. But outside of my mind, no."
"Smart man. You catch up fast." He says.
"Well, now that I know who and what you are, I think I'll call you Other."
"Other... I like it. Now, I assume you'll want out of here."
"Yes, but remember, now that I know you exist, I'll be watching you closely." I say in almost a threatening manor.
"We'll see about that... wake up." I immediately come back to reality. What I'm seeing makes me want to go back to my subconscious. I find myself in a small concrete room. My hands are strung up by shackles and I see metal bars in front of me, I calmly asses my situation.
"I'm either in a bondage room or a prison cell; I'm hoping prison cell." I say out loud. I then hear footsteps approaching. The source of the footsteps comes into view. It was the lizard from earlier; I lunge at him, forgetting the chains were there for a second.
"The fuck you want you coward?" I say, gritting my teeth.
"Calm down boy. Don't be in such a hurry to die." He says in that now more annoying Jersey accent.
"What do you want from me?"
"Nothing but the hefty bounty on your head." He replies, with a smug face.
"What bounty? And where the hell am I?"
"Might as well tell ya. You're gonna die anyway. Me and friends, the ones you saw in the alley, got a private bounty from an anonymous caller with a bounty specifically asking for you, Alex. Right now your sitting in the old, abandoned prison on the north side of town. All we need to do is wait for him to come here to identify you, so we can get the okay to kill you. And the guys and I agreed that I watch you until he comes. While I wait, I'm going to get comfortable." He leaves my sight and comes back a few minutes later, with a chair and a mini fridge. He has something else; a magazine of some sort. He sets up the chair and pulls out a soda. After finishing his soda he opens the magazine, which I see more clearly now and starts to read it. It's an issue of PlayFur magazine; Valentine's Day edition. After about forty five minutes, he falls asleep, with the magazine on his face. I had exhausted all possible options. Escape was damn close to impossible.
"So what? You just gonna give up now? I hear from seemingly nowhere. I know who it is. Other suddenly appears in front of me.
"So that's it, you giving up?" He says, annoyed.
"What can I do about it?" I ask, in need of an answer.
"Maybe you can't do anything, but I can." He suggests.
"What are you talking about?" I ask suspecting something wrong.
"Let me temporarily take control of your body. listen, I've seen your true potential. It's amazing. You wouldn't believe how powerful you are. I can unlock that power." I respond with an distrustful silence.
"Come on... imagine how Joselyn will feel if her precious boyfriend never returned." That was all the incentive I needed.
"Fine. Do it." I say, defeated.
"Alright, we're getting somewhere! Now I will warn you, this might be painful." He approaches slowly and presses his paw over my chest. I instantly feel torrents of pain crashing down on my entire body. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was one of the most excruciating things I've ever felt. Soon, the pain subsided. I looked around and see that Other is gone.
"Alright. Now I'm in the driver's seat!" I suddenly hear Other say. My body begins to move around by itself.
"Yes! It feels good to be in the saddle." I say. I never willingly said that. I finally figured out that Other was in complete control, whereas, I had none.
"What have you done?" I say panicked, trapped within my own mind, watching through my own eyes.
"I'm in control now." I hear Other say.
"What are you gonna do now?" I ask.
"Get us out of here." Other ominously replies. I look up at my left wrist, suspended by a shackle connected to a chain. Other starts to make my wrist contort and move to the point where my own wrist dislocates. I yell out in pain from my mind.
"You think I don't feel it too? Man up you pussy!" I hear Other say. I stay silent. I slide my hand out and relocate my wrist in the same way it was dislocated. I reach over and bash the other shackle open, freeing my other paw, Other controlling all my movements. I walk over to the cell bars to reach out and feel for the lock; I find it. I slam down directly in the center of the lock and it breaks open. It was definitely a hard hit; I felt it. I slide the cell door open and approach the sleeping lizard. I slowly stepped behind him and grabbed his head with both paws; the magazine falls off his face to reveal his shocked expression.
"W-WHAT THE-" Before he finishes his sentence, I twist his head back to a perfect 180 degree angle, producing multiple cracking and snapping sounds. His head faced the opposite direction from his body as he instantly went limp. I feel around in his pocket and find a pistol. I look at it.
"Beretta. Nice." I hear Other say. I check the ammo count in the clip.
"And just one fucking bullet?!" I hear Other yell out through my body. The yell echoes down the dark hallways of the prison. Soon rapid footsteps become audible, getting louder and closer. I take the gun and suddenly search the mini fridge to the side.
"Other, what the hell are you doing?" I ask as he makes my body sift through the fridge. I pick up a potato and take it out of the fridge.
"You'll see." Other says in a cunning voice. I jam one end of the potato onto the barrel of the pistol. Instant silencer. The footsteps suddenly became louder. The source of the footsteps came into view; it was the the horse. He looks at the scene with a horrified expression.
"Jack? You killed him! I'll...I'll KILL YOU!" He charges at me. I level the gun evenly, squeesing the trigger without a moment's hesitation and placed the bullet right in between his eyes. The shot made the potato practically explode from one end. He drops instantly. I head down the hallway, past the body, watching the rows of similar cells on each side of the barely lit hallway. I eventually find a pair of double doors. I open them and walk in, finding myself in a mess hall area. I look around the large, lit room until I hear something from the side of the room; I look toward the sound. I see the human that shot me exiting from the bathroom, drying his hands on his clothes. He looks up at me.
"Oh shit! You're supposed to be in shackles! Where's Jack and Vance?" He says, almost scared, backing up against the wall.
"Dead." Other replies to him with a sinister tone. I take off at full sprint toward him. He stumbles around for his gun. He finds it and aims at me. I separate the potato from the pistol and throw the pistol at him, throwing him off his aim and misfiring. I grab him and throw him to the floor. As he looks up at me, I jump on him and grab his throat, pressing him to the floor. I begin to jam the potato into his mouth, clogging his esophagus as more of chunky substance is forced down his throat. This continues on for several minutes before he finally asphyxiates. I stand up.
"Hang onto that for me." I hear Other say.
"Alright, they're all dead. Now I want my body back." I tell Other.
"Oh come on! I've never had full control before. Just a few more minutes." Other replies.
"No! Judging by what you just did, I can't afford for you to have too much control." I almost yell at him.
"Fine." Other says, almost angry. Control of my body was immediately given back to me as I felt my body slowing coming into my complete control again.
"Talk about an out of body experience, huh? We really should do it again sometime." Other says, joking... hopefully.
"Shut up." I say to Other. I continue across the mess hall until I find a door with large letters above it reading "A Block". I turn around and look back at the double doors and see more letters above them, reading "B Block". I realize I'm getting closer to the the entrance of the prison and my exit. I continue through the door to A Block. It looks just like B Block, with the cells organized in the same manor, with the same lighting too. Before reaching the end of the hallway, the door is slightly visible. However, I notice something else at the end of the hallway; a silhouette of a person; furry, I think. I didn't focus on description and take the direct approach.
"Hey you! The hell are you doing here?" I call out to them, being cautious as I slowly approach. The figure reaches behind them and holds an object out. They drop it and quickly exit out of the door. I start to run . When I get to the door, I stop quickly and pick up the object before continuing; I noticed it was an envelope. After passing the door, I find myself in what looks like a waiting room. On the side of the room, there are several booths lined up with a counter, with two inch thick plexiglass set across the row, separating the it from the other side. Must be where people talked to the prisoners. I dashed across the room and out the door to the outer perimeter of the building. It was complete daylight outside, the sun almost blinding me. My vision comes back to me as I continue. I see the entrance to the prison; a large 15 foot fence with metal barbs on top and two guard towers on each side. The automated gate was wide open and standing in the center was the figure, now more visible. He was wearing a grey hood, with the hood up, black pants and he's definitely a furry. He was standing just outside the perimeter when I came closer to him at a fast walking pace. When I got within earshot of him, I started to fire off questions.
"Okay, who are you? Why are you here? Do you know anything about what happened in there?" The questions went on. Before I could finish, he tells me something in a strict and stern voice.
"Be quiet. Your questions will be answered shortly." I have no choice but to comply. Soon, a limo comes into view from the seemingly empty road. It stops right behind him. I give a confused look as he turns around and walks toward the limo and opens the door in the back. What I see then would only further confused me.
"Joselyn?!" I yell out as I see her sitting in the spacious back area. I was shocked and confused to see Joselyn even being remotely related to what's happening now.
"Alex, please listen; I know you have many questions, but right now, I need you to just get in. I'll answer your questions on the way." She says in a both sincere and almost worried tone. I step into the limo and sit next to Joselyn. The hooded furry steps in and sits across from us and the car begins to drive off.
"Joselyn, please. I need to know what's going on, especially if you're involved." I ask sincerely. She looks coyly over to the hooded furry and as she does, he nods to her. Joselyn looks back to me.
"Alex, you've been selected to become part of a secret organization that specializes in defending the best interests of the general public. The organization is known as BLACK. The independent company you've been working for to perform assassination of various contracts has actually been a front for recruiting potential such as yourself." She says in a calm tone.
"But how do you know about any of this? And how do you know about my job as an assassin?" I ask, practically begging for an answer.
"Because I work at BLACK. I was assigned to evaluate you for several months and report in my findings on if you had what it takes." She says, with a sense of guilt in her voice.
"So, it wasn't an accident when we met? We never really did fall in love?" I ask, my world coming close to crashing down all around me.
"No! I still love you. I mean when we met it was just a routine job, but then I got to know you and then I really did fall in love with you. And I always will!" She practically yells, tears starting to form in her eyes. I feel relieved, assured that my world, albeit vastly altered, still hadn't completely crumbled. I grab and hold her in a loving embrace.
"And I'll always love you." I whisper into her ear. Our moment is cut short by the hooded furry clearing his throat. We both stop and look at him.
"Alex, I forgot to mention something." She says.
"That being.....?" I say, almost intrigued.
"This is Ghost. He is one of BLACK's top agents and one of the most skilled assassins they have ever come across." Joselyn says as she motions to who I now presume as Ghost. I now notice his crimson red eyes, the only thing I can see within his hood.
"See that envelope you're holding?" Ghost asks. I had completely forgotten about it. I look at it.
"Yeah, what about it?" I ask. He just tells me to open it, so I do. Inside is a dossier; I open it and find what seems like some kind of pre-copied registration form with my name on it, listing odd things such as designated classification, area location and a short evaluation on my fighting skills.
"What's this?" I ask.
"Let's just say that is your ticket into BLACK. So i recommend you hang onto it." Ghost says.
"Why do I feel like there is some sort of catch here?" I say, becoming suspicious towards Ghost.
"Since you've been selected to be an assassin for BLACK, you need to be trained. I have been chosen to be your handler. A handler is someone who watches over trainees and periodically evaluates their progress. In between your evaluations you will be held in a prison like area where you will spend the next three months."
"Three months?!" I exclaim. I look over to Joselyn and asked her if she knew about this; she nodded.
"It's mandatory for all trainees. I wish there was some other way, but there isn't." She says.
I look back to Ghost. "How about that little situation back at the prison? I got the feeling you had something to do with that?"
"That was a test of my choosing. BLACK likes to run unofficial 'preliminary exams' as they like to call them in order to get a sense of where trainees rank and see if they can't hone their skill depending on where they stand. And you passed with flying colors. You didn't kill any of those people, did you?" I hear Other chuckle as I remember what I did or rather what Other was doing with my body.
"Um, yeah I kinda did." I say awkwardly.
"Shit." Ghost says quietly.
"I'm guessing I shouldn't have done that."
"No, it's expected, they were scum anyway. Just now, I have to order a crew to pick up the dead weight you left behind."
"Anything else I should know about before I go off to this place?"
Ghost explained. "The place you'll be put in is an underground facility that houses trainees in a prison environment. Recently, BLACK has started to mix in actual prisoners and other menaces to society along with those who pose a direct threat to BLACK in order to keep the trainees on their toes. You'll also participate in arena style combat with both the trainees and inmates who are selected at random. This is to constantly challenge the trainees keep them aware and prepared 24/7. If you want to talk about your problems you'll have access to your own personal psychiatrist. We don't want our potential assassins to have a complete mental breakdown." I look at Ghost, surprised at how well thought out this system really is.
"And if I refuse....?" I ask boldly.
"Your memory will be wiped and anything pertaining to BLACK will seem like something you just saw in a dream." He says. I look over to Joselyn and see she has a worried look. I turn back to Ghost.
"I'll do it." I say, with determination in my voice.
"Well, in that case, welcome to BLACK." The limo stops.
Chapter 9: Confinement
The limo stops and both Ghost and Joselyn get out; reluctantly, I follow. I the next thing I see is Ghost and Joselyn approaching a large warehouse, the large entrance wide open. As I continue following into the warehouse, I notice the place is completely empty and barely lit.
"Where are we going?" I ask, trying to keep up with Joselyn and Ghost.
"The facility where you'll be spending the next three months." Ghost replies. Joselyn slows down her pace to talk with me as Ghost continues ahead.
"Joselyn, where are we?"
"An entrance to one of the underground training facilities we have stationed in the city. Alex listen, if you don't watch yourself, this place will chew you up and spit you out. I don't want that to happen to you."
"I promise you, that won't happen to me."
"Please don't let it." We reach the end of the warehouse, which is seemingly a dead end; everyone stops.
"Alright what now?" I ask. Ghost approaches the wall and reaches for a panel that I just noticed. It looks pretty banged up. Ghost presses a few buttons on the panel and it flips around completely to reveal a new panel; it has a chrome finish and several white buttons. Ghost presses some of the buttons in a sequence, at which point, a section of the wall in front of Ghost begins to extend outward and slide to the side, revealing a spacious elevator. We step in and when we're all in, Ghost presses a button from the pad on the interior of the elevator. I feel the elevator begin to drop as soon as the door/wall closes; it throws me slightly off balance, but I even myself out.
"Where are we headed?" I ask.
"Sub-levels, registration. And afterwards, straight to your cell, where you'll spend the next 3 months." Ghost says.
"Well, he's a cheery fellow, isn't he?" I hear Other ask me. After several minutes, the elevator stops and the door begins to open. The next thing I see is a large white room with metal detectors and security cameras covering every vacant corner. The rest of the room is populated by registry stations with many people and furries lined in front of almost every one. In short, it looked and felt like airport security met office workplace. As we made our way to a large. oddly vacant registration desk at the end of the room, a female wolf with black fur came close to us and Ghost stopped, as did Joselyn and I.
"Hey Ghost, how's it going?" She says, casually to Ghost, she must know him.
"Usual." Ghost replies. She turns her attention to me.
"Fresh meat?" She says to Ghost, still looking at me. I glared back at her, sensing the tension build.
"Yeah, I'm handling this one. Gonna register him now." Ghost says. We continue staring each other down.
"Funny, most male wolves start to ogle me the second they see me. You must be gay." She says, speaking directly to me.
"Funny, most female wolves orgasm the second they see me. And since your pants aren't wet and you haven't made the face, you must be a lesbian." I say, smirking slightly. She gives me a dirty look. "Look, I'm gonna be spending the next 3 months here. I've got plenty of time to play this game." I tell her, still smirking. She looks over to Ghost.
"Watch this one closely; he won't break easy." She says to Ghost.
"I don't plan on it." I say, interrupting her. She gives me a dirty look and storms off.
"Who was that anyway?" I ask Joselyn as we continue down the room.
"That was Ara, one of the top assassins in BLACK, not too far behind Ghost. She loves to mess with people and you just beat her at her own game." Joselyn says, chuckling. We keep walking down the room until we reach the large desk. The human woman sitting there looked up at Ghost, then looked at me and back at Ghost.
"I take it you're here to register a new trainee?" She asks Ghost. He nods.
"Registration paper please." I reach out and hand her the document; she skims it a couple of times and looks back at Ghost. "Alright, this legitimate, welcome to BLACK, Alex Rivera. If you'll head to the changing room over there, you'll find your new garments." She points at what looks like a large security room; essentially, it's a big box with one entrance and two guards stationed around it. I walk into the room and close the door. All I find is a folded piece of white clothing. I picked it up and unfolded it, now seeing it was a jumpsuit. I quickly strip from my shirt and pants and slipped on the jumpsuit. It's actually pretty comfortable; breathable fabric, one size fits all, apparently and it's pretty damn soft.
"I could get used to this." I say to myself. I walk back outside to Ghost and Joselyn, leaving my clothes in the room.
"So do I just leave my clothes there?" I ask to Joselyn.
"Yes, someone will take care of it." She replies. Ghost and Joselyn go back to the elevator and I follow right behind. When we get into the elevator, Ghost presses a button and I feel the elevator go further down.
"Where to now?" I ask.
"To your cell." Ghost replies.
"Wait, I just remembered; what about his psychiatrist?" Joselyn asks Ghost.
"That's right. Well, looks like we're making a detour." Ghost then presses a button on the elevator and begins to move upward. Several seconds later, it stops; when it opens, I see a wide and spacious hallway with particularly expensive looking brown and crimson patterned carpet. It has multiple wood carved doors with black letters marked on the front of each door, stating various names and numbers below those names. We walk down the hallway, until we reach the eighth door on the left. On the door itself, the black letters read "A.J, Psychiatrist and Self Help; Room 008".
"Alright, you should get to know you're psychiatrist Ghost and I will be back in about fifteen minutes to take you to your cell." Joselyn says. She and Ghost walk back down the hallway and before I enter, she turns around and blows me a kiss. I open my paw and make a grabbing motion, then press it to my chest as I stare back and smile. She turns back around and catches up with Ghost. I look to the door and open it. As I walk in and close the door behind me, I find myself in a relatively large room with hardwood flooring and several pieces if leather furniture, including what I like to call the therapy chairs; the ones that are arched at an an upward angle. At the end of the room is a desk on which there is a laptop and someone typing behind it.
"Hello?" I ask. He stops typing, and closes the laptop; I now see he is a furry. When he stands up, I notice he looks to be a combination of a fox and raccoon, with a grey pattern around the eyes, paws and stripped raccoon tail and the rest seems to be bright red orange. He looks up at me with a smile and responds with a pleasant "Hello".
"I'm Alex Rivera. You're supposed to be my psychologist for the next couple of months." I say.
"Oh, yeah, Alex. I've been reading up on your file and I think you would make a great addition to BLACK." He says in a cheery tone. I now notice he is a little shorter than me, about 6'2 and slightly bulkier than Evan or Clyde.
"So Alex, tell me a little bit about yourself." He asks as he grabs his laptop and puts it on his lap as he sits down and listens. I take a seat in one of the therapist chairs and talk. I tell him I had a fairly normal childhood; aside from my parents being dead when I was 6, but I left out that detail. I told him about my 3 years in the marines and my comedic personality.
"Well, it sounds like you're living a pretty full life." He says, with the same cheery tone.
"Hey, what about me? I matter in this relationship too." Other says as he suddenly appears next to me, sitting down. I tell him in my thoughts, so as to avoid an awkward moment.
"You don't get a say in the matter. As far as he's concerned, you don't even exist." I tell him in my thoughts.
"Oh that's just cold man." He says as he disappears back into my mind.
"So AJ, how about you tell me about yourself?" I ask lightly.
"Sure, why not?" He says. He then goes on to tell me about how he got into BLACK as a psychologist and how his information gathering skills might get him a place as a BLACK operative, getting intel to provide for BLACK's assassins. He also told me how he was a free spirit of sorts and how he was always interested at what makes people and furries tick.
"So it's safe to say you're versed in the art of mindfucking?" I ask. He chuckles.
"Yes, you could say that, but there's one more thing I forgot to mention." He says casually.
"And that would be...?"
"I'm bisexual." He then smiles at me and winks. An obvious sign he likes me. After an awkward silence, I pretend to be flattered, but in actuality, I'm starting to get pretty uncomfortable here. Soon after, Joselyn and Ghost enter the room and their timing couldn't have been better.
"Alex, you ready to go?" Ghost asks?
"Yeah, let's go." I say as I stand up. I turn to AJ. "I enjoyed talking with you." I say, trying to not sound awkward.
"Come back any time if you ever want to talk." AJ says. We begin to leave the room and as we do, I ffeel a sense of relief from that awkward moment. We continue back into the elevator and Ghost presses one of the buttons. I feel the elevator move downward, I'm now used to the sudden movement and I keep my stance.
"So what do you think of your new shrink?" Joselyn asks as we wait for the elevator to stop.
"He's definitely different, that's for sure. But I think I'll get along with him just fine"
"Aside from the fact he tried to hit on you." I hear Other suddenly say. The elevator comes to a sudden stop.
"So is this where my cell is?" I ask Ghost as the door begins to open.
"Yes." He replies with the same calm and blank voice he's had since I met him. The door opens and what I see next looks completely different from what I previously saw on the the other levels. A long and wide hallway, walls, floor and ceiling lined with some sort of reflective metal, most likely steel. What really catches my eye are the cells. They looked like futuristic containment units, with what looked like several inch thick plexiglass and there was a distinct shape of a door frame that seemed to be etched into each cell. Beside every frame shape was a digital keypad and a small speaker on the other side. Inside each cell was a small, sterile white room with two cots, one on each side of the room and set up with a pillow and blanket. These guys really went overboard on the accommodations. One of the other things I noticed was how the cells were layered. Each cell was oriented to the point where there was a large space between each cell. Also, on both sides of the hallway, the cells are positioned to point to the empty space between each cell on the corresponding wall. I guess this way, each trainee or prisoner would be staring straight at a wall if they looked out. We walked into the hallway, passing each cell trying not to stare at who lies inside. We stop at an empty cell and Ghost presses several numbers on the digital keypad. It blinks green and the door frame opens.
"Alright, here its is; this will be your home for the next 3 months." Ghost says.
"Just one more question, Ghost." I ask.
"Go ahead."
"What'll happen to my life in my absence? My house can't pay for itself and questions are going to be asked eventually about my sudden disappearance."
"BLACK has taken steps to make sure you go under the radar. When you become an assassin, you will be allowed to return to your normal life. BLACK will supply you with everything you need. be it money, property, or whatever you need. In the meanwhile, we'll put up a smokescreen of sorts and make it seem like you're simply idle. You'll have no need for a job, so BLACK has signed for your resign at your day job, considering you'll be working for BLACK full time."
"Alright. That is all I need to know." I then turn my attention to Joselyn. "Hey Joselyn, you'll come and visit me occasionally, right?"
"Of course Alex." She says with a smile. That reasures me. I smile back at her and step into my home for the next 3 months.
"If you look close, there is a small handle that opens up into your own shower and toilet." I hear Ghost tell me. I turn around and thank him for the heads up. The door closes automatically after Ghost punches in the code on the keypad. I give both Joselyn and Ghost a nod before they walk away and out of my line of sight. I walked over to the cot positioned at the left side of the cell. I sit down and take a deep breath.
"And finally, here we are." I hear Other say as I see him appear sitting on the cot opposite of me.
"Looks like you and me are gonna be spending a lot of quality time together." Other says. I stay silent.
"I'm going to take a nap." I say. God knows I could need one right now, considering what has happened today. I take off my shoes, lie down in my cot and pull the cover over my body as I lie down, facing the wall. Alright; let's see what this place has to offer.