The Miami Broncos

Chapter 20: Commune Life

Written by Francois Guint-Riel (FGR)

-Who’s sitting on my back, I grunted as my hand patted the furry flesh that weighed me down against the bed, eh?
-Eshe, replied the spotted hyena as she took the dragon’s tail and ran a claw along its ribbed crest. Do you mind?
-Hmm, heavier then Amina, said I as I slipped three fingers under her panties before taking a good handful of her rear and finally opened an eye. Still, I suppose I’m not in a position of complain.
-You’re certainly not, giggled Eshe as she slid her underwear off and turned me to lie down with her legs open in front of my muzzle. Don’t mind this either?
-Part of life, I chuckled as I licked at her tight penile clitoris, driving my tongue as far as I could in it.
-You know, I never believe how good you are at that, yelped the seventeen-year-old woman, her hands gripping her bare breasts to intensify her emotions. Was that a knock there?
-Hi sister, called the new arrival as I saw Eshe’s sister Amina jump into the room. Oh! Hey, that feels great, doesn’t it? Are you nibbling her too?
-Critic, I laughed as the girl, five years her sister’s junior, took off her own clothes and hopped on to lie down on her sister face down.
-Looks like your workload just doubled, commented Eshe. God that feels good... if you’d told me two months ago that we’d be doing this, I would have called the cops and made a run for it.
-And now, I hummed as I fingered both of them and continued my treatment, what’s your first reflex?
-To whip off my pants like lightning, answered Amina. Boy, it hardly gets better then this!
-Surprise, said another voice as a flash of light filled the room.
-No surprise at all, stated Eshe, you never knock, Shackles. Here, take a picture of this too while you’re at it!
-Here to serve, said the rat as she took Amina against her and sat back on the bed, holding her little sister in a position where I could take her, which I did. Click!
-Yay, yelped Amina as I finished in her before raising her up a bit and doing her sister for a few minutes.
-So, I sighed as the three of us disassembled our acrobatic display, what’s on your desk today, Shackles?
-First, take a shower with Mandy, he stated as the sow made her appearance in the buff behind him and taking him in her strong arms, picked him off his feet. See you downstairs!
-This’ll take a while, shot Mandy as she turned and carried off her lover. Bye!

After a good laugh at Shackle’s abduction, the three of us did the same as they had announced, gathering clothes for the day before hitting the second washroom of the house’s second floor. Well, house was selling the place a bit short of what it was, being a ten-room mansion with a banquet hall and full kitchen, a huge building that the rat had bought with my own contribution. The relationship between our two parties was a bit unconventional, to put it mildly. He and Mandy called the east half of the second floor home, taking it all up very efficiently, while I took the west half with Eshe and her sister Amina. If that seemed simple, then our personal lives took up the slack, as for starters, the rat had just of recently been gay, changing sides when he’d met Mandy, who was by nature a plain and simple nymphomaniac that could hump him all day without giving a single complaint. Then I came in, living in a ‘ménage a trois’ with the sisters. When we’d moved in, I was in a couple with Eshe, who was for all legal purposes underage, but seeing how I was in the same way thousands of years old and didn’t look a day over twenty, it hardly mattered to us. Already, moral observers could raise fingers, but then after a week, Amina started getting too lonely and moved into our room, and scant days later, into our bed. At that point, some gestalt switch probably shorted out in both sisters’ spirit for us to start having relationships freely, with nothing in our way in terms of morality. After all, Shackles and Mandy were the definition of trollists, so a month into the institution of our odd commune, everyone pretty much did everything their wanted, though we had strict loyalty to keep our ‘couples’ separate entities. I didn’t make a move on Shackles or Mandy, and vice-versa.

As we came down to the first floor to get some breakfast after our common shower, I took a glance at the ‘wall of glory’, which was a collage of pictures taken with Shackle’s Polaroid through the time of our inhabitation on a billboard, all showing either me and my two hyenas going at it, or Shackles and Mandy busy with each other. It had started as a joke on the rat’s part when he’d put up a scramble of pictures he’d taken with Mandy to try and brag about how flexible and creative they were, but I’d pocketed his camera during the day and the next day there had been a bunch of our own exploits, probably even more stunning then theirs. As could be guessed, whenever we had guests, the billboard was moved into a locked storage room...

-So Mandy, started Eshe, what’s going on down at the barn today?
-I got a new girl to break in, replied the sow, taking a massive bite from the watermelon she’d pulled from the fridge. Ulrich tells me that one of his boys hooked her in after she got in some bad trouble, but he wasn’t too specific.
-Right, cut the hyena. Still giving her a chance then?
-Heck, I can’t change a goddamned light bulb to save my ass, so if she’s as good with wires and shit as he told me, I’ll take her in for sure. And why are you calling my place the barn, giggles?
-For the same reason you called me giggles, shot back Eshe before going into a yelp-packed laugh.
-Meh, I’m a happy pig, waved Mandy. You going to the Black Stage today, Eclipse?
-That was the idea I had in mind, but nothing says that I can’t compose somewhere else for a change, I replied. Come to think of it, do you have room at your garage for me to park my wings?
-I got plenty, if you don’t mind the noise. Hell, it might just inspire you some, right?
-I’m always open to a new sound, I grinned.
-We’ll be here with our courses, sighed Amina, referring to the program that she and her sister had started to finish their educations online. Can you guys bring back pizza for tonight?
-Sure thing, I said as I gave her a hug and stroked her mane. All right, let’s get going with work, people, we got bills to pay.
-As if that was a problem, squeaked Shackles.

As soon as we’d thrown the plates and cutlery into the washing machine, everyone who had to leave the house came out in a storm, Mandy and Shackles riding together in their car while I flew overhead, playing with the wind as I gave a few flames to see how the breeze would carry them. I didn’t have a radio like them below to listen for entertainment’s sake, but I’d always found my fire the be the best way to pass the time, especially when there was a good gale like that day, where a single plume would carry for over ten meters without much effort for into it. I spent a bit of time figuring out how I actually brought it to life, renting an emission tester a while back to see what the fumes were composed of. To my surprise, what I actually did was to ionize air and blow out elementary oxygen and nitrogen, recombining into nitrous oxide, at least from what the amusing little instrument told me. I didn’t know enough about chemistry to contradict it hence I took the conclusion for granted by lack of contrary evidence, even if Ulrich insisted that magic wasn’t an impossibility. After all, I certainly was blowing a lot of it to be such a complex process…

I landed on the Palm Garage’s roof a few minutes before Shackles slammed their car into the parking. Gliding down from my perch, I took Mandy around the waist and lifted her off the ground, getting a sharp squeal from the sow as she realized her hooves were kicking in the air. Not wanting to risk too long a flow of foul language from her mouth, I didn’t fly her around too long, returning her aside the rat within seconds.

-Goddamn, Eclipse, you know how much I don’t like heights, she cussed. Still, I can’t see how the hell you manage to be able to lift me.
-Good wings, I chuckled as I beat my members a few times and avoided a shoulder punch from the woman, and good reflexes!
-Yeah, yeah, show off. C’mon, I’ll set you up in my office, gecko.
-A gecko, I’m not! Ever seen a fire-breathing gecko?
-Heck, anything can breath fire with a welding torch up its ass, laughed Mandy. Hey, there looks to be someone at the door, there.
-Rather, I whistled as we reached the front door of the garage to find a very gentle-looking doe sitting on the bench aside it.
-Good morning, said the cervidae. I’m Melanie, but you can call me Mel. Tracks told me that I was supposed to meet someone named Mandy today?
-That would be this big sow you’re looking at, answered our mechanic. Name’s Mandy.
-Good to meet you, Mandy. You’re not a big sow, you’re just…
-I’m not big? Who-whee! What the heck do you consider to be big if I’m not? Anyway, enough with all this bowing and tipping hats shit, we got work to do. Ready to get your hands dirty, Mel?
-I sure am, nodded the doe. Do you have jumpsuits to work in?
-We got a few. Figure you’re about as skinny as my man here with a bit of tit room?
-About, Melanie replied, blushing at the descriptive language.
-Then there’s on in there for you. Get on in, won’t you?

Shackles headed for the management office with a relaxed pace with me in tow, showing me Mandy’s desk, which she wouldn’t be using for the day, seeing how full the whiteboard on the wall aside it was at the moment. I kicked up my feet on the cabinet aside it, taking my work out of the bag I’d incorporated into my daily attire, which hosted my recorder flute and sheets of partitions, some full, but for the majority still eagerly waiting for notes to be scribbled on their bars. I played the five minute’s worth of harmony I already had written for trumpets, saxophone and piano, getting a small round of applause from Shackles as I finished before he asked where the rest was hiding, answered by me tapping my claw against my head. “Get it out of there, then”, called the rat as I started adding to the partitions, trying to keep up the pace I’d set for the start, though four minutes later, I brought it down to a heavy largo, setting the scene for a small monologue that described the streets of a dirty old city that could have been straight out of a old detective movie which carried for four minutes, ending with a fake gunshot that transitioned back into the quick pace.

-That’s genius, announced the rat as I played it through once to make sure I’d been consistent. God, I wish I could write just half of that sort of thing!
-And I wish I could actually understand how one of those works, I commented as I looked at Mandy in the pit with her arms down and dirty in a large van’s engine. Where’s Melanie?
-Right here, replied the doe as she walked into the office. Don’t worry, I’m not slacking off.
-We didn’t imply it, cut Shackles. Is everything all right?
-Sure, sure. I just need to order some things to be able to actually make sure we’re equipped to deal with my line of work.
-Short on tools?
-At the very least, let alone materials, nodded the doe as she took a catalogue from the shelf behind me and took a look at my work. Oh, this is yours?
-Play some of it, Eclipse, requested the rat. You have to hear this, Mel.
-You say the monologue then, I said as I passed the text to him and started playing.
-That’s a beautiful song, sighed the woman as I let out the last few notes of the tune. So you’re a musician?
-Composer and performer. I don’t know how this wounds to ears, seeing I just have these, I laughed as I tapped my auditory patches.
-It’s perfect, insisted Melanie. You know, I used to dream about becoming a signer when I was a teen. I used to stand in front of the mirror in my room and just try to do my best to make up songs and sign to them with a couple of moves, but I never really got the right air to go with my mood.
-Why didn’t you chase that idea, I asked as she sat on the desk, why didn’t you study it in greater depth?
-I tried to do a few auditions, but the people I sang for told me that I was out of key and didn’t really have the voice for it. Plus, at that time, I was sort of changing my voice. I guess it’s deeper now.
-If I’d want to write a song with smooth vocals, you’d be my first person to call. Actually, come to think of it, that monologue here could just as easily be sung. I can’t sing a note personally, and I don’t think that I’d put it to anyone in my band.
-Is this an indirect way of saying you’d like me to try it?
-Well, I suppose it is, I said before writing a beat and partition to go with the text quickly. Here, can you give it a shot, Mel?
-It’s your hearing that I’ll be offending, smiled the doe.

Shackles seemed to be besides himself in musical ecstasy as I cut straight to the bars before Melanie’s cue, which she picked up with a strong, unwavering voice and carried the tune note for note, even elaborating here and there when I’d left a passage open. Short of hopping on his head with madness, we couldn’t have summoned a stronger reaction from the rat, who simply got on his knees and begged for me to make it so the rest of the world would hear the heavenly melody that we’d just cast into the ether.

-Eclipse, either you bring Mel into your band and watch over her like a diamond, or the good Lord with personally come down and take her into his choir as soloist.
-I don’t think that this doe’s earthly days of singing are even close to ending, I corrected. Melanie, honestly, what would you say to joining us for concerts? I’m sure that the hours here aren’t so strict and tight that you can’t afford the time. We’d certainly make it worth your while if you want.
-Was it that good, then? I mean, I think it was sort of okay, but I didn’t sleep that well and everything.
-You’re your own worst critic, laughed Shackles.
-I’d put a wrench to the head of any moron that would say otherwise, shot Mandy as she poked her nose into the office. Since when do we have our own lounge ensemble in this here barn?
-Ten o’clock this morning, I replied as I took a comedic look at the wall clock.
-Sorry Mandy, I’ll get back to these orders, voiced Mel.
-Shit, take your time, girl. In my living years here, hearing songs like that is more important then tweaking a few rides.
-I think you already have a fan club, I chuckled as I patted the doe’s back. I take it we’ve convinced you?
-I don’t see how I can say no, she smiled. Just tell me when you’re putting a recital together and I’ll most definitely be there.
-Well, tomorrow night’s our next scheduled session. We were going to record a few tunes for the local radio, but we’ll take some time to try this new one out with the whole band. It’ll certainly give you a chance to get to know everyone and to celebrate the arrival of our newest member.
-Sure! Until then, I don’t suppose you know anything about microcontrollers?
-Not the first thing, I laughed. I just do pretty songs here...

The rest of the day was pretty quiet with my flute’s notes echoing in the garage as I tried to come up with ‘seeds’ for new tunes to continue my work, getting diverse responses from Shackles while he undertook the usual paperwork that came with maintaining a business. If he’d been a good assassin, he was just as good a businessman, taking bookings at the front desk and juggling the timetables of both Mandy and Melanie to make sure that the place didn’t completely overflow or just die down. Melanie, for her part, borrowed a ride to go out and return with a toolbox packed with goodies from a local retailer to dive right in with a few tasks she’d lined up. Five o’clock finally rolled by for the night shift to come in take over until nine in the evening, which I thought was far too late for anyone to be at work, but in Mandy’s own words ‘if you can still fuck, you can still rotate out an engine’. Just to make her feel welcome, we took the liberty to invite Mel home for supper, calling both the closest pizzeria to have food on the table and the mansion itself to tell Eshe to make the place socially acceptable.

As we pulled into the driveway, I could see the two hyenas in the living room living it up, a few cushions crossing the air with pretty decent muscular propulsion. The pizza pies had already landed at the homestead before we’d rolled in and the cheese’s stench permeated the air on the first floor through and through. Amina ambushed me as we walked past the living room, hopping over to climb on me and end up hanging around my neck with her legs wrapped around my waist, getting a giggle from Mel as she did a cartwheel off to plant her paws on the ground aside the table.

-Jeeze, you certainly have quite the place here, said the doe. No lack of room either, eh?
-We’re a big family, said Shackles. Have a seat and take a load off!
-So, started Eshe, what’s your story, Melanie? You look like you probably have more education then most of us here.
-I grew up down on the family farm in Louisiana, home schooled, waved the woman. I just left to go to college at the closest technical institute, hitching rides with the good folk that passed by when I couldn’t borrow the farm pickup. I sort of used that monster as a test bench for what I learned, putting most of it to work to really trick the heck out of the electronics.
-So no one else needed it?
-Oh, both of my older brothers had moved off to start their own crops in the next county, just so that they could get a big enough lot to really make it worth it. The oldest, Thor, actually had the great idea to have a few cold storage units built to store crops for the winter and sell them at better prices, even buying some off neighbours to make sure he could put up with the demand. He made a huge bunch of money with it, and gave me what I needed to get my education.
-Lucky girl, grinned Eshe.
-Hey, I worked hard for it too, replied the doe. I put in radios and all sorts of crazy stuff on their cars, until they just had the sickest rides for miles. Yeah, they’re both nuts. Thos still has the one I did for him, but Joey traded it for a van. I’ll sort of miss that car, but hey, he needed something to pull tree stumps with, and I would prefer never to see that beast used to do something like that. So how about you guys? Where are your folks?
-Both gone, stated Shackles, five years ago.
-I wasn’t even twelve when we lost ours, said Eshe.
-Down in Dakota in the middle of crops, just like you, called Mandy. Hell, we’re both farm girls, eh? Cool!
-Right you are, said Mel as she gave the sow a squeeze. And you Eclipse? Where’s the drake’s nest?
-Hmm, that’s sort of hard to explain, I moaned. Every time someone asks me that, I don’t really have a half-decent answer to give. You see, I wasn’t exactly born as much as created.
-So you were made in a lab or something, asked Mandy, is that it?
-That’s right, I never told you people either. No, actually. To be fully honest, I was created during the Second Genesis by the archangel Satan, and put into a sort of hibernation underground that was only brought to an end when Ulrich found me.
-Eclipse, you’re sounding pretty mentally unstable right there, commented Eshe. I know that you’re the only dragon I know, but that sounds like a pretty crazy legend rather then an actual biography.
-And therein lies my problem when I say that; I don’t have any proof, nothing. I just appeared! That’s all! I know even Ulrich thinks that I’m hiding something, but I’m really being completely candid here. I wish that I could just ask my creator to come in and tell me if there’d be some way for me to convince people.
-If you manage to get him on the phone, make sure to tell me, squinted Shackles.

I sort of felt a bit of resent at the comments as the pizza vanished from the table, washed down with liberal amounts of coke to make sure it found its way to our stomachs. I could understand their issues with my story, I suppose, but there was just no way for me to actually come up with anything to help my situation. After the meal, Mandy took off to drive Melanie home down the road at the Bronco mansion, and the rest of the group dispersed to find something to keep themselves entertained. I retreated to my study on the second floor, feeling like a complete mess. Even taking out a few books on mythology that normally brought some sort of comfort that there was some chance that I was actually exactly what I thought did do the trick, and I found myself reclined back in my chair, surrounded by rows of silent books in the dim light that the twin chandeliers that hung from the ceiling afforded me, staring out of the panoramic window as if I expected the darkness on the sea’s horizon to actually talk back to me.

Eventually, the dead calm was broken, neither by the oily waves nor the charcoal sky, but by a voice standing aside me, giving a short cough to get my attention. I expected to see Shackles and hear some snapping comment about me loosing my eyesight if I didn’t turn on the lights, but what I saw was a huge, maybe eight-foot-tall black bull with fiery red eyes and silver horns, each over a foot long. I was going to ask who he was, but he smiled at my puzzled expression until I eventually let out my first guess as to his identity.

-Father?
-Of sorts, replied the bull in a low but powerful voice. You seem to long for something, Eclipse.
-So that’s really you, isn’t it... archangel...
-Archangel Satan, yes, confirmed the bull as he took a seat on the chair aside me, hardly fitting into it. I suppose my first duty here is to apologize for having kept you from the world for so long. To be honest, I didn’t expect for you ever to resurface, let alone become such a successful creature in a world that I had little part in creating.
-It’s fine. I understand why you had to do it, I assured. Are there any others like me?
-No, you’re unique, said the bull as he put a hand on my back. Sorry if it’s a disappointment, but I hardly had time to do that much before He brought about the new world’s present appearance.
-Can you do it now?
-No, it’s far too late to do so and I don’t have the power I used to. Actually, my time is almost over here, and I felt that I had to do one last important thing before going. You want to be able to prove to your friends that what you tell them about your birth is true?
-Well, it would certainly be nice to have something to show for that story...
-Then just look them in the eyes and they’ll see it, said my visitor as he touched my forehead. Now, I have to go, but know that I’ll be around, keeping an eye on you, Eclipse. Be careful, and take care of yourself.

I was too taken aback from the very fact that I was looking at the embodiment of my creator to actually say anything in rebuttal to his farewells, simply losing focus as he phased out of sight. Not moving a muscle, I simply sat still, trying to digest what had happened, though what the bull had said about being able to show what I had lived stuck in my head. I couldn’t see how that was possible, but then again, seeing how irrational what I’d lived had been, there was no foundation in fact to base my conclusions on. I rose to cross the hall to the washroom, looking into the mirror with my muzzle steaming up the glass, trying to see if I could actually summon something in my stare that could qualify as some illustration of my creation. I stood eagerly for over ten minutes, trying not to blink as much as possible, but didn’t manage to see anything past my eyes and just ended up with a headache. As I groaned and took a glass of water to try and settle my disappointment, Eshe walked in and helped herself to her toothbrush and started washing her teeth, rubbing my muzzle as she stood aside me.

-Eshe, can I ask you to do something?
-Pff, right, yelped the hyena as she spat out the contents of her mouth. I think you know you can ask me to do a lot of different things without hearing me complain, eh?
-Oh, it’s not related to that, I corrected. Can you just look into my eyes and see if anything happens?
-Okay, if you want, she said as she took my face and held it to hers, squinting her brown orbs to try and focus. What the heck..?
-What is it?
-Just give me a minute, shot the hyena. Man, that’s strange... that’s what God looks like?
-You can see something, really?
-It’s like a sequence of pictures that sort of form when I look, she stated. How did you do that?
-Actually, you’ll think I’m insane if I tell you what just happened. I was in the study, just looking out at the sea, and the one responsible for my existence popped by to say hello and told me that I’d be able to show people where I come from.
-Well, I certainly saw something in there, nodded Eshe. Wow, I know I call ‘strange animal’ sometimes, but this is just extraordinary!
-Hey, you got a lot when you picked up this lizard, I grinned as I gave her a hug. Is that Shackles calling?
-Sounds like it. You’d better check it out, I think.
-Agreed, I muttered before moving to the first floor, where I caught sight of Ulrich sitting in the living room with the rat.
-Hey there, Eclipse, called the Don before coming to give me a brotherly handshake. Wreaking terror tonight?
-Oh come now, I couldn’t frighten a mouse, I stated. What brings you out tonight?
-Sort of a favour I’d like from you, if you have the time to.
-I’m always curious, I said as I sat down aside him. What’s the background?
-I got a call from our common friend Gallet again about half an hour ago.
-I would have bet it was him, laughed Shackles. Man, that armadillo is really a pain in the neck!
-Come on, we’re all on the same team, waved Ulrich. Anyways, if it wasn’t for him, there wouldn’t be much for us to do, right?
-True, I replied as I grabbed the panther’s tail and started tickling it. What did the ‘dillo want?
-The police lost track of a real nutcase, a serial killer who’s already wanted in over a dozen states for various charges. Last they saw him, he was in the city, but they haven’t really been able to get a lead on him. He has the nasty habit of sort of appearing and disappearing when the authorities come too close, so they have a plan to try and contain him in Miami until they can get a better fix on where he’s hiding. To do that, they’ve mobilized everything their have in terms of undercover and covert officers, but you know, this is a big place to be looking for one guy. Gallet asked us to try and join in the search, so I sent out a few contractors as well as our best and brightest to see if we can make the difference.
-So you’d like for us to go out too, asked Shackles, and put our expertises to work?
-There’s nothing quite like a dragon and a mad harlequin to hunt down a wicked soul, nodded Ulrich. It’s just an offer like this, take it or leave it at your leisure. I’m staying at the mansion so I can coordinate everyone we have out there, but you can call me on my cell and at the general number for anything.
-I can’t see how we can let the public down, I shrugged as I walked over to the coat rack and strapped on my bag. You’re on too, squeaker?
-Hey, I’m always game for a little hunting. What are we looking for?
-Mountain bear, black. He only has one eye, his left, and a white patch around it. He likes to show off to the police, so he might be going for something big.
-He’ll be going for the flames of Hell soon enough, gloated Shackles. Mandy, we’re going out!
-Careful out there, the sow called back. Show them a good time!

I stepped out with the rat and panther before kicking off the ground with a few wing beats, following the streets to get to the downtown as soon as possible, keeping my eyes on the sidewalks with the mental image that Ulrich had given us. Not that I was really paying attention to it, but I could certainly see what the panther had said about the police having put a lot of people on the streets, with a noticeable increase of officers walking beats and a few more suspicious creatures here and there that just seemed out of place somehow. I landed once in a while to talk to one of them, identifying myself with complete honesty, getting little in the way of encouraging news in return as most of them hadn’t even seen so much as a car theft all evening.

I liked the atmosphere though, the thick shroud of mystery that the search had put over the city, and really gave me a few ideas for future partitions and texts that I would have Melanie sing. After all, this was the sort of situation that my pieces talked about, and I was right in the middle of a tableau I could have written any given night, so it was certainly a way to get more of a feel as to what the mood should be to really place my audience in the proper context. I saw Shackles once from above, though I don’t think the rat saw me, as he was moving very fast, covering a lot of terrain in a very efficient manner, staying out of sight like an expert ninja. There was intensity. There was fear and wonder. This, strangely enough, made me feel a lot more alive then I had for quite some time, ever since I’d come back from Kenya with my hyenas.

It’s strange how destiny works. I was hovering in a sort of spiral pattern over a nice, warm updraft in view of the city’s police precinct, hoping to catch sight of another odd soul who could tell me something interesting about the evening. Most of the characters I’d bumped into had given such delicious cloak-and-dagger accounts of their evening that I’d just become addicted to them, so hearing another would continue to feed my imagination’s fire. There was quite a bit of traffic around the place with all the business tonight, but I saw a few that I thought were worth landing and talking to and folding in my wings, sped down to land near them. The most obvious was an opossum in his thirties, talking to the others as if he had quite a higher rank then them. I came closer innocently to see if I could hear anything suspenseful, but instead as I turned my head to orient my hearing to them, I saw someone else looking at the gathering from the other side of the street, but there was something to him that just didn’t feel right. As soon as he realized that I’d seen him, he cut away into an alley as if hiding from me. I didn’t like the reaction, as if it was something that was just purely wrong to do in the circumstances, so kicking off again, I traced the alley he’d taken, spotting the form standing against a doorway just inside the way.

Seeing that behaviour, combined with his fugitive reaction, was all the information my brain needed to process to come with the conclusion that I’d be making a huge mistake in not checking out this walking shadow. I planted my claws into the pavement as I landed at the end of the alley, away from his sight, creeping over to him as slowly as possible before drawing my bayonet from my side, keeping it hidden from sight behind me as I made my approach. Before I knew it, my target had sensed my approach and turned to train a pistol at me with his functioning eye. Foreseeing the gesture, I’d launched myself forwards and blew a plume of fire at his arm, setting his clothes on fire and prompting him to let go of his gun, which misfired as it hit the ground. As he took off his coat to try and rid himself of the flames, I kept him cornered with my blade at the ready and a good breath in my chest to belch another cloud at him if the need arose.

I didn’t need to take any further action, for the shot had gotten the attention of the policemen across the way, who had rushed over with their own weapons drawn, each locking onto the bear as soon as they came in sight of us. The opossum was part of the first group to arrive, pacing over to me and waving for me to put away my knife. Doing so, I gave him a quick welcome, explaining what I’d done.

-I hope that I didn’t damage evidence or anything by burning his coat, I said as I pointed to the smouldering item on the ground. His pistol is still there, right there.
-I see it, said the opossum before one of the policemen bagged it. Thanks a lot, there. I take it if you were out here tonight and you’re certainly not one of my officers, you’re with our strange friends here in town?
-If by that you mean the Broncos, yes, I am, I nodded. I’m Eclipse.
-Nathaniel Hoover, chief of the Miami Police Department, replied the opossum as we shook hands. No relation with the FBI whacko.
-Right, I said with a grin. I hope I won’t get in trouble for having this little blade on me right here.
-Little blade? That’s a bayonet! You put it to good use though, chuckled the man as we followed the rest of his troupe across to the station, surrounding the bear who had been put in irons with five shotguns pointed at his head. Come on over for a spell, we’ll have a cup of coffee or something. I feel bad sending you on your way after this.
-Oh, I just did what I could, I waved. Thanks for the invitation though, I’ll take it with thanks, Nathaniel.
-I go by Nate, assured the chief with a slap on my shoulder.

We split up from the bear’s escort around the booking office, branching off to make our way to his office instead, pretty much the only one still with its lights on at this time. I sat down across from Nate as he started an electric kettle on his desk and prepared a piston coffee decanter. There were all sorts of pictures in the room, mostly of him and his kin from the station, though I spotted a few of him with family members, probably, at least members of his own species. As I was gazing about, he passed me my cup with some powdered milk to give it a more natural colour, stating his mind.

-You know, the worst thing about criminals like that asshole out there tonight is the fact that honest folk like us have to miss sleep and go around to try to track him down.
-He’s quite the wanted man, from what I heard during my briefing.
-His butt’s on the chair within the month, insisted the opossum. I know for a fact that the governor is personally going to issue a decree to accelerate his doom. I hope you’re not one of those people who don’t believe in capital punishment?
-Oh no, I promote it! There’s no reason to keep such maladapted psychopaths around, draining the public’s funds.
-I like you, laughed Nate. What’s your occupation, seeing as how you’re affiliated with our friends here in town?
-I’m actually a musician and composer, I stated. My liaison with the Broncos is rather one of friendship rather then employment, if you will.
-Cool! I don’t really know how to play anything, but I really like music myself. I take my girlfriend to the theatre once in a while when I can get the evening off.
-Pretty busy, then? I can guess that you have a lot on your hands to deal with.
-You know, people have a strange opinion of this city. It looks great on paper, but when you’re behind a badge, you really get to know another side of the streets. There are a lot of gangs here, theft and smuggling is always a problem, and as you can guess, there’s always the question of Cuba being nearby, so getting some sort of control over that is pretty much a perennial concern. Do you know we have a worst murder rate here then New York?
-Really?
-More then double, nodded the opossum. Still, I guess that I have to be happy to be living here for now, but as soon as I retire, I’m going up the coast somewhere. I know for a fact that things could be a lot worst is if wasn’t for your friends though, and I sort of appreciate the way that we work together.
-I imagine that you consider it a necessary evil, I hummed as I took another sip of the coffee, something that you shoulder by need?
-Necessary evil? I think that’s a bit of a rough way to put it. After all, we really only get a chance to see the end effects of what they do, not really the whole picture they work in. I suppose that’s good for both of us, seeing as how we’re technically on either side of the law.
-If it’s any comfort, things are much more peaceful then you think and the only things that we’ve been involved with you could have noticed has all been due to diverse cooperative actions with the government.
-Right, nodded Nate as his phone rang. Sorry, I have to take this.

I waited as the chief took his call, which sounded like someone he had a lot of affection for, hence I inferred that it was his girlfriend checking on him. I thought hard about how I could further convince Nate about the Bronco’s good intentions, but before that, he put down the receiver and returned his attention to me. Frowning, he asked what I had been thinking about, and I replied with an expose of my situation as it stood.

-It’s odd to find myself like this here, I said with a grunt. You see, I believe in the greater good, as most of my friends, but I know full well that should you have your hands untied by certain words which were exchanged between our Don and the Governor, you could just as well arrest us all, even if we were working towards a common goal.
-I know, I know. Actually, keep it to yourself, but we’ve been destroying all the evidence that we have on crimes we know you’re behind, so should that amnesty ever fall, we’d both stand with clean slates. Still, I have to say that this relationship is more valuable then you can imagine. While you’re here, started Nate as he turned to look in the drawer of his desk aside him, I have something here that I haven’t been able to really do anything about for a long time. Maybe you could help me out on this one...
-What is this, I said as he gave me a folder full of police reports along with a few pictures of a black goat ram, another criminal?
-This is sort of a strange case. For three years now, we’ve had complaints from people about missing children centred around this ram. From what we understand, he talked to the kids online or in person about all sort of satanic magic and things like that, and hoaxed them to come to his ‘castle’ to learn more about it. The problem is, we haven’t been able to get any sort of warrant to search his place because of the fact we really have no case against him other then hearsay, nothing we can use ourselves.
-You think that he abducted them, then?
-Hard to say, maybe he even did more. There are ten cases of these kids vanishing, and the place he calls home, this old warehouse to the south, is really big, so it’s not impossible they’re simply living there, under some sort of mind control. I tell you, this case has gotten me worried, Eclipse. I’m not a religious man, but people that use that sort of talk to get into others’ heads are bad news.
-Seriously, I called as I looked through the reports.
-Plus, people that do things to kids like that are the worst kind of monsters, in my opinion. So, do you think that you could look into this somehow, with more liberty of action then us?
-I certainly think so, I said as I folded the dossier and straightened it out. May I borrow this?
-You’d have a hard time finding this guy without it, shrugged Nate. This is my card; if you get anything, give me a call.

I finished up my cup and handed it back to the opossum, seeing that he was only staying out of politeness so I wouldn’t feel like I was getting kicked out or anything and he wanted to go home. As soon as I had walked out of the station, I took to the skies and made for the Bronco mansion. It was around 2 in the morning by the time I planted my feet at the front doors, but there were always guards to greet visitors, welcome or not, and they were quite happy to let me in. There wasn’t a sound in the place other then the clicking of my claws on the marble floor as I crossed the place to take the stairs down to the lounge. As I would have guessed, Ulrich was sitting at one of the tables with a cigar, a glass of scotch and the next day’s newspaper unfolded on the table, calling to someone on his cell phone that it would be nice if someone actually told him good news about our query. As he turned it off and seemed to be ready to fling the device across the room, he caught sight of me and reformed his grip on it, waving to me with his cigar hand to come and join him at the table.

-Good morning, Eclipse, said the panther and he folded the paper and threw it on the seat behind him. Had enough of flying around out there?
-Actually, I suppose that it’s my pleasure to tell you that our target was neutralized and is now in police custody, I said as I poured myself a scotch from his bottle. Cheers!
-Really? You’re not kidding, drake?
-Nope! He was stalking the police station, of all places, and had the privilege of getting busted by over twenty armed officers and the chief of police himself.
-Just a second then, started Ulrich as he dialled out to a few people on his cell to call everyone off. Damn! Cheers, Eclipse!
-Heading for bed now?
-Aw heck, I’m too wired, waved the cat, and Mist is probably already asleep. I might as well put some energy drinks down my throat and just stay up. How about you? Still a night owl?
-More like a night demon, I laughed. Hey, when I mentioned the chief of police, I should have specified that I shared a cup of Joe with him in his office after the bust. He’s really a nice guy, and loves the heck out of you. Also, he had this burning a hole in his desk.
-Let’s see it, motioned Ulrich as he took the folder and started going through it. This is another problem that needs to get cleaned up from the streets?
-Sort of, I said before giving him the story on the goat. I figure it’s not a bad thing to be getting closer to the chief, so taking care of a bit of dirty laundry isn’t beyond our capabilities.
-Certainly not, we can always work something out. Were you intent on digging into this dirt yourself?
-Well, you know, it’s a bit personal for someone to start talking as if he knows everything about Satan and everything, seeing how he’s for all means and purposes my father. If he needs to learn the error in his ways, I’d be glad to be his personal instructor and my claws my teaching implements.
-Not a bad plan in my opinion, called the Don as he took me from behind the neck and gave me a shake.
-I have a recital at 10 in the morning tomorrow, like every Saturday, with a special guest, but after that, I’ll go out and see what this garbage is about.
-Special guest?
-Melanie, the doe that I think is taking up my old place here. Seen her?
-Oh, of course I did! I didn’t know she participated in your band. What’s her instrument?
-Her heaven sent voice, I replied. Ever hear her sing? She’s wonderful!
-I’m afraid I haven’t really talked to her a lot since she got here. Is she nice?
-Very! Hey, how about a game of cards?

Over scotch and Cubans, we played a mean hand of poker and gin, but after a few hours, Ulrich switched seats to be aside me on the three-place chesterfield I’d slapped my tail on and cuddling against me, fell right asleep. I just found the panther too cute to look at as he slept, and just put my head to the side and dozed off until the sun rose. Eventually after a few other Broncos had passed by to say hello, we migrated to the first floor for breakfast, which in Ulrich’s case consisted for three scrambled eggs, two cans of power drink and a triple expresso. I actually fixed myself a real plate, sitting with him at the table and talking him up until I saw Melanie walk in with a surprised look on her face.

-Fancy seeing you here, Eclipse, said the doe. Can I join you two?
-Sure, replied Ulrich. There’s some good cereal in the third cupboard there, and there’s skim milk in the fridge.
-Nice, she spat as she helped herself to the food. So today’s my big debut, eh?
-Oh, it’s really informal, I commented. There’s no pressure on anyone at a practice. What sort of plan did you have today?
-Stay in and go back to sleep, Melanie replied before sitting down aside me. You?
-I don’t think I had anything, I said with a confirming look from Ulrich.
-Living bohemia, aren’t we, she laughed. Ow, stupid shoulder...
-What’s wrong with it?
-Just something I pulled a while back. I guess I must have screwed something up in it and I keep getting this weird feeling like a sharp pain once in a while. I’ll go give it a rub after this.
-I could give you a hand if you like, I offered. Boney lizard knuckles are good for massages, you know.
-Ha, why not? It’s been a while seen I’ve met anyone who could give a decent rub.

As soon as I’d put away my food and Melanie had stuffed her muzzle with hearty cereal, we parted company with Ulrich to go back to her room. She seemed curious as to know why I knew how to get to it so quickly, giving a few giggles as she heard my answer.

-I’ll be damned! I shared a bed with you already, eh?
-Well, with the dimension of time between us, I added as we entered the room. Now, I’m more comfortable with people then probably anyone you’ll meet in your life, so it’s up to you how you want this.
-I sleep topless in pants, smirked the doe as she bounced her chest under the tee she sported. Got something against seeing some duvet?
-Hey, you’re looking at almost all my plates here, I shrugged as I rubbed my stomach. If you can stand that, I can’t see why duvet could be an issue.
-Fair enough, she burst out as she pulled off her shirt, not timid at all as her extremely nice, firm breasts came into view, at the very least twice Eshe’s size, and covered with seemingly softer fur then the hyena. Here, I’ll just lie down here...
-Works well for the both of us, I said as I straddled her and cracked my knuckles before I started to rub her back. Do you shampoo your coat to get it this soft?
-No, that’s what nature gave me. You’re pretty cool to the touch, drake.
-You might have guessed that being of the reptilian persuasion I’m cold-blooded, so I’m only as good as where I’m beating my wings.
-Speaking of which...
-Want to feel one? Go ahead, I stated as I extended one of my members while I continued my work.
-That’s sort of like frog’s palms, sort of tougher. You never worry about accidentally getting a pinprick in them and tearing one?
-I’ve already had a few, but they heal extremely fast without a scar to be seen. Here, I think that point here is what you were talking about, right under there?
-Yep, ow! Oh hey, that did it! You’re some kind of magician, Eclipse?
-If my magic could help to alleviate or lift the pain from others, then I’d love to have it.
-Man, I could just spend the rest of the morning getting this, whispered Melanie. I suppose you’ve got better things to do, though.
-I most certainly don’t. The rest of the morning it is, then, I declared as I started working on her arms. Really, this isn’t just average soft fur here...

My delicate tortures continued for the better part of half an hour on her upper body, until she asked me to pull her pants down and keep going while I was at it. Not wanting to offend, I drew off her pyjama pants and did exactly what she asked, still stealing a few looks between her legs and under her tail, which seeing as how she had her eyes closed, couldn’t get me in trouble. Her hooves were hard to massage with any sort of efficiency, just like mine, really, but I took them on my lap as I sat down to spend more time on them. Though I hate to admit that my eyes lingered on the region for too long, as I returned to rubbing her legs, I could plainly see the cotton of Mel’s panties getting a bit too humid for the fabric to support without showing a stain. I didn’t want to bring it up too overtly, but as I was giving a percussive treatment to her rear, the doe raised a paw to take my closest hand, getting a good grip before guiding it towards the site of my hydrologic observation. With two fingers, she pulled the fabric off her clit and set my fingers on it with a smile appearing on her face.

Careful not to poke her with a clumsy claw, I held the seat aside and caressed her privates with my other. Soon, I had a beautiful, sweaty doe twisted on herself, gripping her breasts while a devil of a dragon pulled her underwear to her knees and probed her slit, only pausing to nibble on her butt. In the spurn of the moment, my own shorts had hit the floor and my sheer force of will, my cock was staying its post in full performance. I didn’t want to ruin the romantic moment and do something that Melanie didn’t want, hence I stayed myself from her, waiting for some sort of gesture of approval from her part.

-Eclipse, I’m really in it deep here, she moaned as she pulled her knees in against her a bit. God, I just want sex so bad right now...
-You want this, then, I whispered as I passed my dick within her eyesight. You want this in you?
-Yes, I want it in my cunt. Go ahead, dragon.
-I don’t know is you really want that I, I teased. I mean you seem to be happy right now already.
-Screw you, Eclipse, just mount me.
-We’ll see about that, I hummed as I got in position behind her, running my rob around her tail and up and down her seat, just poking her clit once in a while.
-Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me, she called with a crescendo, ending as I penetrated her. Oh, oh yeah, oh that’s it! Pick it up, damn it!

I gave a grin as I took the doe by the hips and went at her, working her to the threshold of proverbial sexual insanity. She hit two massive orgasms, with every muscle I’d massaged tightening up in spasms, long before I felt that I was losing my self-control. Even if she hadn’t offered to perform fellation on me or anything of the sort that could have been considered unconventional, I didn’t expect for her to ask for me to hold my fire, so to speak, and discharge my load somewhere else then her vagina.

-I just don’t want to take a chance right now, she complained, moving as to pull herself away and dismounting me. There’s a garbage can there, I mean if that’s okay with you.
-What, I called, what? In the name of hell!
-Please, I’ve never had someone do it in me, Melanie added as she closed her legs and pulled her panties back up.
-I... I just... for all that’s cursed in the world, I grumbled as I left the room into the washroom and lifting the toilet lid, masturbated myself into ejaculation. There, that’s done with.
-I’m sorry, started the doe as she got up and tried to take me by the arm, I just didn’t feel comfortable with it. I know it felt good for us, but...
-Melanie, I started with a good voice before turning to hold her at bay, there are certain things that you don’t do, just in terms of etiquette, when you’re with a man. That right there, to borrow words for thoughts I cannot otherwise voice, was a totally fucked up thing to do.
-Okay, maybe next time, she started. I mean it was just that...
-I somehow suspect that the ‘next time’ isn’t something that I foresee to be possible for the time being, I calmly stated as I dressed back up. Now, let’s forget this happened, all right? The recital is in an hour, if you want to get dressed. I’ll be waiting downstairs in the library. You know where that is?
-Yeah, I do, nodded Melanie, looking pretty red in the face as she seemed to realize how I felt. I’ll be down soon.

I was considerably dazed by the strange happenings as I wobbled out of the room, my body still half paralysed by the gratification I’d gotten and the other ready to storm right out of the mansion to go take a cold dip in the ocean to ground my spirit again. As I got into the library, I spotted Stripes, the bartend from the lounge reading a thick tome on interior decor, already in one of the seats. He looked on in stupor as I strode in, took a large encyclopaedia volume and gave myself a good two-handed whack on the forehead with it before putting it back.

-Ouch, shot the hyena, that must have hurt.
-Sort of, I said as I took the seat opposite to him and threw my head back over the back.
-You know, he yelped as he put down his reading, I know frustration when I see it and right now, it’s opalescent blue.
-More like azure, but you’re right on the mark for the rest. I wonder what else today will drop on me before it’s over...
-Come on, what happened?
-You’re a married man, Stripes, so I assume you know your way around women?
-I’d never gloat to that effect, but I’ve had my tour of duty. So, it’s the fairer sex that’s put you in this state?
-The fairer sex which offered less then fair sex, I said as I worded the events I’d suffered to the best of my abilities.
-That’s fucked up, seconded the hyena. I say run and don’t look back when it comes to that dame, or at least give her a lot of time to simmer on the stove, because damn, that’s really a far cry from decent behaviour. I know Francine sort of plays with me like that once in a while, but we both know it’s not serious and there’s always a happy ending, if you get my meaning.
-Perfectly well, I nodded. That’ll teach me to stray from my pack!
-Your pack? You mean Amina and Eshe?
-Yep, I smiled, the other flavour of your sort.
-Polka dot rather then candy striped, laughed Stripes, right. Heck, don’t fret over today, Eclipse. You’re worth more then that.
-Hey, want to see something really interesting? Look into my eyes and you’ll see something that I just got from my creator.
-Okay, said the hyena as he lined up his stare to mine. What’s so special... oh, wow! What’s... hey, that’s you right there! Who’s the unicorn?
-What do you think that those pictures are?
-Well, you told me how you were created, so that would be... would that be God?
-Uh-huh, I replied as I started pulling my face back before he stopped me and took my horns.
-Just a second, chuckled Stripes as he moved my head around. I want to see if I can get the sports channel too!
-Sorry, just the Second Genesis special on, I returned. Oh, there’s the Belle Dame Sans Merci there...
-What, called Melanie as she walked into the room.
-Never mind, I grunted as I got up and gave Stripes a slap on the shoulder. Good day to you, laughing dog.
-Same to you, demon boy! All the best to your troubadours!

As we walked out of the mansion with an odd silence between us, I did my best to put aside my resent for the doe’s cruelty and invited her to fly to the hotel rather then be bothered with waiting for a taxi, seeing how I could get us both to our destination in less then ten minutes. With her eyes lighting up at the offer, Mel let me wrap my arms around her and we took off for the skies with nothing but the sound of the wind wailing its eternal song. I spotted a few of the crew walking into the hotel with their instruments in their cases as we landed, startling one of the trumpets as he turned to see what the thud he’d herd behind him could have been. I presented the doe to him and the other guys as we made our way into the theatre, already sort of cleared for us to practice in.

The doors to the hall were always open when we were there, just so we could manage some sort of free audience to show for. After all, it was good to remember that as well as you could play alone in a dark room, you had to be ready to do the same thing in front of a packed house, which was normally the case when we did our shows. Plus, it was really good publicity for us, especially with the signs we put up at the entrance of the theatre, giving a calendar of our shows with ticket prices.

We started with a few of our classic warm-up pieces, almost all of them my own composition, just to get every soul in the place in the mood and offer a feel of what we were all about to Melanie. The doe seemed eager to jump in as I handed out the first draft of the partitions for ‘The Crime of The Night’, as I’d named the piece I’d composed in the garage, but before we did anything together, everyone had a chance to try out their own parts so we could first and foremost tweak them to make sure it was as good as it could get, and as a secondary benefit, make sure that everyone had a good idea what they were in for instead of just trying to run before knowing how to walk. The vocals Melanie had belted out was apparently pretty appealing to our ad hoc audience, which had doubled in size as her notes had rang out into the hotel’s lobby.

To say that the song was a hit with the good people was a ridiculous understatement, with standing ovations every time that the doe’s voice died down and ending with hollers as the last sounds of our band faded out. A few hands of applause even rang out from the musicians for her, which I had to admit was very justified. We did the piece twice after that, just to make sure that we had it down along with a few modifications that we came to with consensus, bringing our recital to well over an hour and a half, rounded off to a solid three hours with a few more tunes that we’d been preparing for later engagements. With our work in the name of music done for the day and my usual ‘Hail Amdukias’ at the end of our session, everyone packed it in and headed for the hotel lounge for our weekly liquid lunch, sort of a tradition we’d picked up soon after our institution.

I’d picked up a conversation with my leading oboe about future scores that would have duos between him and me to make them much longer and less dramatic, for at the moment, our pieces were strong, vibrant and poignant, but for quieter evenings, we had to revert to classics rather then anything of our own creation. As he turned his attention to the pitcher of sangria he’d ordered himself, Melanie hoisted herself up on the stool aside me and looked over at me in a sign that she wanted to talk, if I wanted to listen. I turned over to her, careful not to whack the oboe with my wings, looking at her with a bit of a softened attitude.

-Look, Eclipse, I feel like an idiot, stated the doe. Jeeze, I’m old enough that I should know better then play Prima Donna with the rest of the world, especially with people that I care about. I’m really sorry, but I understand if you just want to see me at recitals from now on.
-For what it’s worth, I think I overreacted too. I just really didn’t expect anything like that. I mean it wasn’t my first time, but I’d never had a reaction like that... you really took me off guard, honestly.
-Sorry, sighed Melanie. We’re still good, though?
-Sure, I nodded as we got into a big hug.
-Whew! I was ready to think that I was going to wake up on fire sometime or something when you ran out of the room back there.
-Come now, there’s a gentle soul under this leathery exterior.
-I know there is, smiled the doe as she ran a hand along my muzzle. Hey, you don’t have anything later tonight, do you?
-Well, I have a project I need to get into as of now, but I don’t think that it should prolong itself too much. Why?
-Come on back to the mansion later, then. I think there’s something you need to see...

I raised a ridge at the sharp suggestion from the woman, who gave me a long wink as I got up and as I passed by, a quick, dull slap on the rear right aside my tail. There was no issue with me going off for an evening, was there? After all, I’d most probably finish this business with this magic charlatan later then it was proper for me to return to our little commune. Placing a call back home, I declared my intent to take care of the intervention overnight, getting a clear confirmation from Shackles before I flew off to find the warehouse Nate’s papers had pointed at. The neighbourhood looked pretty rough, with more graffiti then fresh paint on pretty much any adherent surface and plenty of litter floating about. It probably had been a much busier industrial street decades ago, but it had been left to its demise since. Most of the places had broken-out windows and no trace of inhabitation, save for a few homeless individuals that walked about them in search of anything useful to better their living conditions.

The specific one that I was looking for didn’t have any sort of distinguishing features, save for the fact it looked more cared for, with no obvious entrances left unsecured and wood panels screwed into wrecked window frames to keep the pigeons out. As ghastly as it looked, I was confident that I could find my way around it without too much trouble. For the moment, I was more interested in getting a feel for what was actually going on in the building then to intervene. I’d read quite a few historical books that Ulrich had in his personal section back at the mansion that spoke about strange cults like this one where the leaders had forced his followers to commit atrocious acts when he realized he was in danger, and it was my firm intent to avoid for anyone to come to harm, save for this black goat, who I didn’t have any qualms with toasting alive in his own juices and eating like a brochette.

I walked on the roof with carefully weighed steps to see if I could find a board that hadn’t been securely fastened or some gap I could peer through. One of the rooftop exits had been simply barred with a plank of wood, which burned through after I’d sent a steady flame at it. Pulling it open, I slid myself inside, finding myself on a catwalk overlooking the wide-open space of the warehouse floor, mostly cleared off with a huge pentagram painted on the ground in the middle of it. I saw a few forms walking around here and there, some of them shorter then others, probably a reasonable demarcation between the children and adults that partook in the cult. Not wanting to miss anything, I set myself up pretty well on the catwalk, taking notes on the back of partition sheets with my pen on what I observed for further reference.

There were all sorts of archetypal symbols here and there, really giving the place more the looks of a cheap cinema storage room then anything which could have been considered a site of worship, even with a good imagination. While I was following a pair of shapes below with my eyes, I noticed two more had walked up a stairwell on the other side of the catwalk, apparently taking a routine patrol route their were used to using. Though I knew it would bring me close to them, I really hated to miss a chance to get a better look at them to see what sort of relation the pairs had as well as what they normally carried. The adult, wearing a long hood over his head, actually had a leash attached to a halter worn by his younger acolyte, along with a whip at his side and a pistol right aside it. The youthful soul didn’t seem to be cooperating freely, for certain, getting a tug on his neck once in a while when he slowed down too much to his handler’s tastes.

I would never even pretend to have powers of telepathy, but as I was hiding behind a few boxes on the catwalk, the child, also hooded, actually looked in my direction and the eyes I saw locked on mine screamed for help. His handler gave him a quick tug to move him aside as soon as he’d noticed what attention he’d paid to my hiding place. Pistol drawn, the form tied his leash to the handrail aside him, obviously intent on investigating what his ‘pet’ had seen. While he was still securing the ligature, I jumped out of hiding, grabbed him by the throat hard enough for my claws to tear into his oesophagus and followed through to have the both of us back outside on the roof. The shock of having a soul rend his neck so violently had frightened the cultist enough to release his firearm, and without means of defence, contemplated his mortality as I tore his chest to bloody ribbons and discarded his frame. I hadn’t expected for the second of the pair to sound any alarm and nor did he, staying put with his leash tied to the rail. A concentrated wisp of fire later, I’d burned it and guided him outside to get a better idea what this was all about.

I pulled the hood off his head to find myself looking at a young Dalmatian pup in his early teens, looking scared out of his guts with a large halter around his neck, certainly not worn just as a fashion statement. I turned him around and undid it, throwing the item onto the remains of his handler, then started to talk.

-Hello, my name is Eclipse. What’s your name?
-Horatio, said the pup. Are you going to take me home?
-That’s my intent, as well as all the rest of you children in there. How many are there?
-Twelve, replied the boy. They call us familiars. They had us wear these robes and put us on leashes before giving us like pets to each other.
-What can you tell me about them?
-There’s this one guy, a goat. He gives these talks about Satan and how they’re all his children and they have a special place in the world, powers like no one else. That’s sort of how we got here too, by listening to that crap. It sounded interesting, but as soon as we got here, they treated us like this. The rest of the time, they just go out and work like anyone else.
-Where do you live?
-There’s a part of this place that’s like a prison. We don’t have anything other then a bucket, to you know, go. They take us out once in a while for walks and stuff, then do whatever they want with us.
-Slavery, I grunted, at this day and age! Very well... First of all, let’s get you somewhere safe. I may need your robes also, if you could give them to me.
-Sure, said the Dalmatian as he took the cloth off and handed it to me, standing naked as he held it out to me.
-I didn’t realize you didn’t have anything underneath. I’d give you my shorts, but I don’t think they fit you, I hummed as I walked over to the dead cultist and tore a long piece of his robes, wrapping the boy up in a makeshift loincloth. There, better?
-Much, nodded the pup with a laugh.
-Good. Now hold on to me, we’re going to get you home.

I flew off with the dog against me, making for the police station. My welcome was a bit mixed, but as I asked to see Nate, three officers escorted a blood-covered dragon carrying a Dalmatian pup in his underwear through secondary corridors to their chief, who dropped the pile of papers he had been carrying around his office as soon as he saw us. I put Horatio down and explained the circumstances of his retrieval to the opossum, who sat riveted at I gave him my notes to support the claims the pair of us made.

-Well, sighed Nate, that’s one down, eleven to go. I guess you plan on going back?
-I don’t see what other sensible option there is, I shot back. I suppose that it would be a good idea to have help this time, just in case things take a turn for the worst.
-I’ll have twenty guys go back with you, stated the opossum as he took the phone. I’ll have Horatio returned home after a talk with our counsellors. You do realize you’re a hero right now, don’t you, Eclipse?
-No one uses my father’s name for his own purposes, I grumbled.
-With the hiss at the end, that’s really a disturbing thing to hear, laughed Nate.

I waited until two officers came to get the pup, who gave me a quick hug before going off with them, soon replaced by a few heavily equipped men who represented the team who would be backing me up when we raided the place. They seemed very tense as I exposed the conditions that we’d be operating in, getting very truthful comments about the fact that we faced a long list of targets, each with a potential hostage to deal with. In addition to that, it was a given that there would be more then just the eleven other people that would correspond to those, the total of which was a mystery for the time being. Not helping was the manner in which I’d eliminated the Dalmatian’s handler, messy enough to be found by anyone who felt like looking for him, hence tipping the rest of his people off to the fact that they had been infiltrated and therefore cautioning them to raise their guard.

Before long, I was in a truck with half of my new friends, personally wearing the front of a protective vest that they’d given me, enough to give me some help if projectiles started to fly. We parked inside one of the derelict buildings half a block away from the location and snuck out in pairs, myself flying back to my perch on the roof where, as I’d expected, the body of the cultist had been removed, the bloody drag marks showing that he had been brought back inside by his colleagues. I had a radio to communicate with the policemen, and kept them up to date of what I saw while they were busy surrounding the place in preparation to storming in at the right moment. I opened the rooftop door again, sneaking back to my hiding spot, though as I looked down, what I saw was probably the worst-case scenario that we could have possibly faced.

The cultists were arranged around the pentagram on the bottom floor as to face the middle of the symbol, their personal slaves kneeled in the buff in front of them with a pistol to their heads, listening to the black ram in the middle of their group ramble on about how the time of the world had run out and it was time for them to make their way to the paradise they’d worked for. If I read it right, they would execute the children, then turn the barrels on themselves, leaving their leader free to do as he pleased, probably run out of the building with a nice deal of money and go on his merry way. Seeing how dangerously close to death the young souls found themselves and how quickly they could turn the place into a bloodbath, to ask for the policemen to come in was simple suicide, hence some other strategy would have to be employed. Every second I waited was perhaps the last for those below, so it was critical that we put whatever plan we could formulate to work without delay. If they wanted the Devil, then I’d given them the closest thing I could...

Kicking off the balcony, I dove at the goat with a long, steady flame streaming before me, engulfing him in a fireball that sent him to the ground on his knees, bleating and screaming as he cooked in the intense heat. His followers had stopped everything, some of them pulling their weapons back as I reeled out the loudest, mightiest roar I could managed, bathed in fire, of course, drawing my bayonet blade. Calling out almost as sane things as their former head did about me being Satan incarnate, I put my knife in my flame, heating it as hot as I could get it without searing my hand. With the steel iridescent from the energy I’d given it, I turned and spun around the circle, slashing the cultists’ throats as I sang on about delivering them from their prisons of flesh. As I held the last one in my claws and opened his neck with the bayonet, I saw the police officers rush in, clearing the rest of the building. I called their commander and asked for jumpers for the hostages we’d saved, now for the most part huddled in balls on the ground in a quite severely traumatized state, with blood splattered around the pentagram like a thunderstorm’s raindrops and more pooling around the deceased as they bled out, not even going into the rancid smell of the ram’s fuming remains, now nothing else then graphite and bone.

I personally handed out the cheap jumpers that the policemen gave me to the children, checking on each of them as I did so, though after having seem my murderous zeal at work, I was pretty sure that they were for the most part convinced that I could easily be exactly who I had called I was.

-You never realize how much five litres of blood represents until you see it like this, said one of the officers as he started to show the kids out of the building with his men. You did real good, dragon.
-Thanks, I voiced back as I followed the troupe outside, watching for a moment as paramedic vehicles and police cars started rolling in to clear up the tragic scene inside. You wouldn’t have a towel, by any chance?
-How about a free scrub back at our station, smiled the creature, with plenty of soap? You look like something out of a horror movie right now, to be honest.
-That describes it quite well indeed, I laughed as I got into the truck.

It took me over half an hour in the common showers to get every last drop of my victim’s vital fluids off my skin, even with a bit of help from some of the guys from the raid who’d also opted to get a good soaking. During the process, a few of them started to call me Eclipse Luciferson, probably in jest, though the last name seemed too fitting to be discarded. After all, even my moniker had been my own selection rather then an actual heritage from my creator, so to have some tribute to him in name was suiting. I dwelled on it for a bit until I saw Nate waiting for me back in the locker section of the washrooms, holding a package in his hands which he held out to me as I got closer.

-I figured that you might need something clean to wear after that adventure at the warehouse, said the opossum as I opened the package.
-How nice, I said as I looked over the pair of pants, tailored for reptiles, before slipping into them. I suppose the intervention could have gone better, but...
-It went as well as I could have prayed for! I remember, we had something like this twelve years ago in Miami Shores, but all we found when we got there was the result of today’s ceremony, had you not cut in. Nothing that you want to have to see in your lifetime let me tell you.
-I certainly concur! Are the children all right?
-They are, yes. They’ve gotten better clothes to change into and are with some of our best people right now. It’ll take a while for them to recover from this abominable experience, but time’s a good healer. Actually, while I remember, a few of our professionals asked if you could go down there and talk to the kids a bit.
-Oh?
-Yeah... you see that whole thing about being the Devil to distract the cultists was a bit traumatic and everything, so they thought it might be good if they interacted a bit with you an realized that it was really just a show you put on.

I had to give a good laugh as I followed the chief to the conference room that had been dedicated to the children from the warehouse and the team of ace therapists that were given the task of helping them back from the brink. After a mixed welcome, mostly apprehension on the part of the attendance, I gave a bit of a biography about who I was and what I did, insisting on the good I was responsible for, arguing that there was nothing in me that even remotely resembled the evil entity that I had called out I was during my assault. Understandably, there were plenty of incredulous stares up until I finished and I suffered through a bit of a question and answer session, which I enjoyed, in retrospect, a sort of return on who I was of sorts. My first rescue was part of the event and seemed happy to see me again as the session ended, coming over to give me a good handshake.

-You were very brave to go back, said Horatio. I saw my parents, and they told me that they didn’t think anyone would be able to do anything to help the rest of us.
-Well, I didn’t think that I had a chance to do anything when I went back. Still, it looks like someone was watching everyone’s backs in there. Are your parents here?
-Yep, the pup nodded quickly as his folks came into the room. Mom, dad, this is Eclipse!
-Hello, called the father of the family, giving me a tight handshake that migrated into as manly a hug as he could offer. God bless you, whatever you are, Eclipse!
-I’d be a dragon, I said with a smile. It’s good to see Horatio’s back in your arms.
-Did they suffer, asked the pup’s mother, did they really feel it?
-Pamela, cut her husband, that’s not...
-That’s all right, sir. They probably didn’t feel that much, but be assured that their souls will get their just rewards for their wickedness.
-Well... I don’t really believe in that sort of thing, growled the woman.
-Then look into my eyes and you’ll see the proof of God and Satan you need, I offered before showing her my vision.
-Okay, I think I need a moment to figure out what that was, she said before Horatio’s father shared it as well. Wow, there’s really a God, isn’t there?
-And an archangel that defied his power, I nodded, nothing like what people consider him to be. Then again, every kid speaks of his father like a hero.
-I do, jumped Horatio. Eclipse, want to come with us for a bit?
-Actually, I replied as I looked at the mural clock, I have someone waiting for me back at my place. Sorry to disappoint, but here’s my number, if I can be of service sometime.

Giving the three my card and taking the pup in a last hug, I took off from the station to make it to the Bronco mansion. After all, it was eight o’clock, and I didn’t want to keep Melanie waiting too long for me. What could she be preparing, I wondered as I glided towards my blue beacon on the roof of the building. Coming down from the skies at the front doors as usual, I strode into the lobby, looking up to see if there was any indication that the doe was expecting me, but I didn’t notice anything of consequence even as I climbed the stairs. I continued up to her door, giving it a knock and asking her if she was inside, as people often to, even if there only seems to be wood present to answer. I heard her on the other side, almost surprised that I’d come back, inviting me in after a moment’s delay. I walked into the room to see Melanie lying back on the bed in black lace panties and a push-up bra to match, making her chest appear even larger then it normally did, basked in the light of a red light bulb she’d swapped into the bedside table’s socket, glowing an odd tone through the lampshade. My eyes must have spoken for me as she motioned for me to lay down aside her.

-You didn’t expect this, she whispered as she ran her fingers on my chest, did you, Eclipse?
-Nothing quite like this, I replied as I used a claw to push one of her shoulder straps off her and kissed her neck. Now then, what is the doe thinking?
-Let’s see... she’s thinking that she wants to have a winged lizard hold her, slowly take the silly lingerie she went out and bought on the spurn of the moment, then show her how two mortals make love that transcends this world.
-Simply a delightful plan, I muttered before knocking her other strap off her as I straddled her and started muzzling her body, stopping once in a while to let out a short plume of fire. Now, let’s see for the rest of this sequence of wonderful events...

I have to admit that I hadn’t had such a good night’s sleep as I did, even if the bed had been that I had once called my own, though having Melanie with me in it just seemed to be the catalyst for the different experience to come about. The doe was very soft, after all, in both persuasion and body, and having her under my wing was something of a special treat in my existence.

Admittedly, anyone who reads this account certainly could accuse me of turning my back to Eshe and Amina, but there is a margin between the affection that I shared with them and this deeper soul I was holding, one I dwelled on for quite a while as I looked at the doe sleeping in the morning light. There was no rebuttal from the hyenas, no challenge, no divergence in opinion that leads to truly engaging conversation and introspection, the stuffs of more existentialist philosophy that defines the roles of individuals in a relationship. All I could hope from them was carnal sensation and gratefulness, the latter that I often confused with affection, perhaps. Eshe had turned into something that I didn’t find myself too comfortable with; too accepting, too yielding. The fire that she possessed when she’d been back in Kenya had faded into complacency, which in my opinion was a tragic failure, perhaps from the part of Shackles and I.

I’d accept the fact that our trio was transitory, but how long the illusion could last was something I hardly felt I had any control over. I could certainly see a better future with Mel, with both of us working professionals with strong wills and personalities. How I could part company with the hyenas wasn’t a simple issue to contemplate, as they didn’t have the means to support themselves for the time being, for as long as they were studying, at the very least. Still, the mansion was huge, and there still were rooms we had done nothing with, hence with a certain social rearrangement, it could be possible to accommodate some sort of subdivision everyone could work with, just as the Bronco mansion had. How exactly I could effectively bring about this change of relationship vis-à-vis the sisters was, however, a delicate issue...

While I was still pondering the facts at hand, I felt a pair of finger move my muzzle and I looked down it’s length to see the doe gazing back with a smile. I returned the gesture, stroking her face slowly until she spoke.

-You certainly look like you’re thinking about something important there, Eclipse. Care to share?
-Just life, I replied. Mine, yours...
-Ah, so you were thinking of ‘our’ life then, eh? Really, was it that good for you?
-Not just that, I corrected, you in general. Everything about you. I’m sure that I’m not the first to tell you, but there are few gentle, brilliants nymphs like you in the world, and I find myself humbled to share you company, as I would to share more of it.
-Listening to you is like listening to someone from another time, giggled Melanie as she hugged me. I like it though. It’s honest, poetic, and you don’t put any twists into it between your heart and muzzle. You know, when I met you at the garage, I felt something, like I was looking at someone I knew, but from another life, know what I mean? As if we’d met sometime, long, long ago.
-There’s certainly something to you I can’t escape either, I grinned. There’s purity to you, Melanie, almost angelic.
-Right, she stated with a poke on my muzzle. I couldn’t even pretend to be a she-devil last night when I wanted to. You know, I could get used to you, drake, I really could.
-Get used to? Do I require so much adjustment?
-Oh no, not like that! I’ve just been on my own and everything for a bit, living alone and all, but having someone with me is something I’ve longed for. Think you could get used to me, Eclipse?
-In a heartbeat, I nodded as I kissed her neck. I suppose that if you’re ready to have a fire hazard like me in along with you, I don’t have much to say about having a beautiful leaf-nibbler with me, eh?
-Leaf-nibbler? Oh you, laughed the doe before smacking me with her pillow.

After half an hour of pillow fights and cuddles, we climbed down to the kitchens to get a breakfast in us. I explained as best I could what I called home, trying to wax over some of the less tasteful details and giving her the sense that it wasn’t what I considered ideal for the time being. From her replies and reactions, I saw that she grasped my meaning and didn’t feel any resentment for the fact I already had souls sharing my time, albeit I made it clear that they wouldn’t maintain their status for long.

-That’s almost a surreal story, said Melanie after a summary of how our odd commune had come together. Shackles... that fellow isn’t like anyone that I’ve ever met. Is he actually you know...
-Completely ‘there’ between the ears? I’m not always sure, but he has all the honour, loyalty and trustworthiness that I can hope to see in a living soul. When you meet him, you understand that he’s more of an actor and comedian then anything more tragic.
-Mandy I think I know well enough to cohabitate with, smiled the doe. She’s a tough piece of work, but she’s a good dame. Now that we’ve talked about them and everything, I really feel like I have to visit! Would you mind?
-Not at all! Seeing how it’s Sunday, they’re probably already up and about, so we shouldn’t be pulling anyone out of bed if you want to go now.
-No time like the present! I’ll follow your lead, drake.

I didn’t bother calling ahead at our place before taking Melanie in my arms and flying the pair of us over into our backyard. Wanting to be a good host, I showed her around the exterior of the place, explaining what we had been discussion to do with the grounds, which for the moment had become overgrown as a consequence of having been rather neglected by the previous owners. I’d already called up a few landscapers regarding the project, but all but a pair of them had accepted the challenge, which was outside the capacities of the others. I could understand, seeing as how we wanted three rather large stone fountains and major concrete border work that would bring the looks of the place closer to a European castle’s lawn then some suburb’s plain grass. As I was sitting with her on the back porch, I noticed Eshe walking out to see us in a nice two-piece swimsuit she’d bought a while back to sunbathe in.

-Hey there Eclipse, said the hyena. Who’s your friend?
-I’m Melanie Coventry, replied the doe. You must be Eshe, I assume?
-That’s what people have a habit of calling me, giggled the girl. So, what’s up, people?
-Well, I was thinking of inviting Mel to move in with us. After all, look at all the room we have! A few more faces wouldn’t even bring us close to the Bronco place in terms of occupancy.
-Yeah, it’s sort of big even with the five of us living together, nodded Eshe. Making it six would be cool. Even numbers, you know? It’s better for cards and games and stuff. Plus, this means that us chicks are the ruling majority, right?
-Sorry, I side with Eclipse, laughed Melanie.
-Oh, is that the way you want to play it, smirked the hyena, is it? Then it’s three against three, fair play. I’m just going to hang out here and get some rays, if you want to get a look at the box before you sign anything.
-Thanks, smiled the doe as she gave the hyena a hug. You’re a sweet one, Eshe.
-See you later, Mel called as we came in through the patio doors.

I could hardly keep up with the doe as we ran through the mansion, though my greatest concern regarding the return of the wall of glory which, to my relief was till in its hiding place, away from prying eyes. Though it probably would have been a good picture to have for a few laughs, I couldn’t imagine what sort of a damage control speech I could come up with to make Melanie forget about what she would have seen. Instead, we found Amina in the kitchen at the table with the container of cherry ice cream I’d bought during the week, her lips lined with it as she went at it with a spoon. I made the introductions, and just as her sister, the girl didn’t seem to mind the idea of having a new friend to have fun with, returning to her voracious feasting as soon as we’d veered off. By the time we’d done the top floors and returned to the first floor, Shackles and Mandy came in from the sun, looking at us with plenty of questions.

-How come work keeps following me home, laughed the sow, down to mah people?
-Well, Mandy, I talked Melanie into taking a look around here, with the prospect of becoming a new resident here.
-Yeah? That’s nice, replied the mechanic as she walked over and gave the doe a playful arm lock. Gotcha! So, see a room you like?
-Oh, well, I suppose I did! So, just like that, I’m welcome?
-Sure, said Shackles, how complicated do you want it to be?
-Mind if I move in this afternoon?
-If you can find the time to, be our guest, insisted the rat.

I offered to give the doe a hand with the task as we crossed the two to exit the mansion, getting a phased glance from her before she voiced her acceptation. Though carrying our weight around wasn’t a problem on my wings, there was a limit to the strain I could put myself through and to have to suffer her worldly belongings was far more then my members allowed. Instead, we flew to the closest truck rental agency that Melanie was able to get from the operator on her cell phone to take one of the vehicles out to fulfill our needs, though it was obvious that she was the only one who could drive it, as I still didn’t even have a social insurance number or anything. For all means and purposes, I didn’t exist, but seeing the position I had with the Broncos and the police, I suppose that it was for the better. Being like this, I couldn’t really be charged with anything, nor could my finances be tracked which, to date, were all dealt in species rather then cheques.

Be that as it may and returning to the task at hand, I spent the rest of the day with the doe, packing in her stuff from Ulrich’s in about half an hour before shuttling them to our place, all and all a physically exhausting process, if not simply tedious. Gentleman I was, I did everything I could to save the good lady effort, though in return, she became more obstinate to hold up her own end of the stick and hurried to do something that rivalled my own work in difficulty. With such a relationship of constant challenges, getting a bit more Melanie into our mansion was a done deal by nightfall. Of course, having transitioned from a single room apartment to a three-room suite, the place looked sparse, but from Mel’s proud look, she didn’t care a single bit.

-It was nice of Ulrich to welcome me into his place, but the all the security and the guys in the backyard practising at the range, it was just stifling. 
-That was my own reaction to it too, I groaned as I sat down aside her on the bed. The freedom here is refreshing, I find.
-Certainly is! Anything I can get you, coffee, tea?
-Just a cup of dragon, she chuckled as she ran a hand around my wing’s base. I still don’t see how the heck these fit on you. Man, you’re really nothing but muscle everywhere, aren’t you?
-Sure am!
-Eclipse, I heard Shackles call from the hall, someone at the door for you!
-Really, here? That’s a surprise, I huffed.

I hurried off to follow the rat’s voice down the ballroom stairs to the front door, where I was baffled to see Nate standing out of uniform, waving to me. Even if I didn’t expect the visit, I didn’t want to dishonour the bond between the opossum and me, so I greeted him as best I could and showed him to the living room, taking out a bottle of whiskey mix that Shackles had bought but had found too mild for his tastes, pouring a shot for us as he started moving his muzzle.

-I couldn’t imagine that you had such a huge place, Eclipse! I can hardly afford the condo I have downtown, but this, this is something to be proud of!
-Oh, I’m not alone here, I corrected. We’re six now, so the per diem isn’t too terrible.
-That makes me think of my college years, laughed Nate. We were seven living in a bungalow, not even a room for each of us. I tell you, it was a heck of a gas just being there! I miss those days, I suppose.
-You miss the company most of all, I assume?
-Sure do, sighed the chief. Heck, I suppose that’s why I like my job so much, for the people I’m with. When you’re used to being surrounded with friends, going to a lonely home is boring.
-But when I was at your office, didn’t your girlfriend call there?
-It was, moaned the opossum, but I just came back from her place... we broke up, so its back to me and my shadow. One of my guys on patrol was passing down the road during the day and saw you here, so I assumed it was your home.
-Educated guess, I smiled as I poured us another round. Hey, if you want a soul to talk to, I’m here to listen.
-Now I just feel like a jerk, sighed Nate, putting his shooter glass down, bowing his head down and lacing his paws behind it. Sorry to have dropped in like this, Eclipse. I don’t know what I was thinking when I came here. I just have so much on my mind that I don’t have all my reasoning these days.
-Let some out, I suggested to him as I placed my hand on his back. There are no judgements here, just a friend.
-Eclipse, started the opossum, I have a big secret, but do you promise you won’t tell anyone?
-My word is yours.
-I’m actually not Nathaniel, but Nathalie, started the chief. You see, I’m not really a guy. I’m a woman.
-Don’t take it as anything but an innocent observation, but it’s not obvious to the untrained eye. Maybe in the tone of your voice, there’s something, but other then that, I can’t say much.
-And when I wear the uniform, it’s absolutely impossible to tell, nodded Nathalie. Like this, I don’t have much to fill a shirt with. Look, here’s proof...
-Ah-ha, I muttered as the opossum got to her fit and outside the field of view of the window, undid her button and opened her pants to show me that there was indeed nothing of the male gender to be seen, though what was there was covered by silk panties.
-No one around me knows, just the doc at the station that does the yearly medicals, she said as she returned her clothes to their previous state. I hadn’t done anything with my boyfriend yet, and he didn’t have a clue. To him, I was a guy, so when he found out tonight, he freaked out. I guess I can understand, though. I was ready to talk to him about it, really open up about everything, but now, I don’t think I can anymore.
-Nathalie, I retorted as I put my hand on her shoulder, when you’re ready...
-You’re here to hear it? Somehow I knew you’d say that, giggled the woman. Sure you’re in the mood?
-My soul never tires, I replied with a smile.
-You see, I’m not really what most people would think of as a transgender person. Fact is my parents raised me like a boy, from the age of seven on, so I didn’t really put one and one together for a few years. When I did, I was so afraid of what people would say that I kept it to myself and did everything to make sure only I knew.
-That certainly meant a lot of sacrifices, I nodded, didn’t it?
-Oh, you know it! No boyfriends at school, dropping phys ed classes, and my friends I kept a certain distance. I guess that the police was my aspiration, where people all work together as a team without regards for race, creed, or lifestyle. That was a big decision though, but I suppose I put everything I had into my work to compensate for my frustration, which eventually got me promotions and all that sort of thing.
-Did you meet your boyfriend at work?
-No, it was at a gay bar I go to sometimes. Maybe it sounds weird, but seeing as how I look and act like a man, if I wanted someone that would take me out of my real opposite sex, then it’s a good place to go. Ever been to a gay bar, Eclipse?
-A few times with a few friends of mine, two of which are actually homosexual and another who’s... well, at this point I don’t even know what he is for certain.
-Anyhow, that’s where I try to find company. Drake, don’t believe for an instant that this is my dream life. It’s just a lie I’ve been living for so long that I didn’t, and still don’t have the courage to rise above by myself. You know, it’s almost all I’ve ever known. A few times, I tried to turn back, but just dressing up like a woman and looking in the mirror to try and talk myself into changing everything I know is such a huge obstacle that I found myself giving up before I put a toe outside. I suppose it was a pretty big brick to land on my ex tonight to tell him not only what I was, but that I wanted to go straight. I suppose I thought because someone liked me, maybe a bit more, they might want to help me follow through with it.
-Know that if you’d let me, I’d do anything to help you with this project, I stated with a slight squeeze of my palm on her shoulder.
-I’d appreciate that, but I mean this is a lot more work then I think you can picture.
-A new wardrobe, a bit of sprucing up with the makeup to bring out your lips and eyes, and long conversations for your confidence, and I think you’d be well on your way to something new. What time is it?
-Six, said the opossum. Why?
-I know a friend of a friend who has a shop open until eight, I said as I got up and took her hands to get her to her paws. Let’s go!
-Whoa! Just a minute there...
-No minutes, no seconds, I insisted. Come on, one paw in front of the other...

Nathalie voiced occasional concern at rate at which I seemed to want to execute her readjustment, but I didn’t listen to much of it, simply turning to tickle the back of her ears or give a kind, reassuring comment instead. By eight fifteen, we were parked outside the shop that Ulrich’s tailor, Gabriel, had open a week ago. Though I almost had to carry her inside, my opossum chief looked like she had entered paradise the moment we passed the doors, gaping at the designer clothes with eager eyes. The ferret was in the shop himself, by the greatest of coincidences, always as appalled at how I went around, a reaction I was used to when he came to the Bronco mansion.

-Eclipse, boy, started the tailor as he turned my around to look at me, when are you going to give up those ridiculous shorts and join the rest of the world who wear normal clothes?
-Not anytime soon, I replied with a laugh. I like this look! It shows off my abs, doesn’t it?
-And plenty of everything else too, whispered the ferret as I felt a paw run along my side. Now, if you didn’t come in tonight to partake in the civilized pleasure of dressing up and I don’t know you for teasing people, what can I do for you?
-This good lady here needs a full week’s semi casual wardrobe, as well as the same in leisure outfits.
-An opossum, hummed Gabriel as he led Nathalie by the hand to a few sections of the store and started picking out ensembles for her.
-These are really, really nice, said the woman as she put a few pieces over her.
-I try to make something pleasing to the eye. Glory me, said the blushing ferret as he motioned on he chest with his thin fingers, I don’t want to be rude, but you certainly don’t have as much volume as the majority of my clients.
-Careful, I cautioned him with a playful claw. She’s with the police, so if you don’t want to have tickets on your windshield every day, you might want to watch that little tongue of yours.
-Naah, answered the tailor as he pulled it out at me. Come on darling, let’s leave the mean dragon here and get you some polo shirts over here.

After an hour’s worth of being towed around the shop by an enthusiastic ferret, we waited behind the counter as he summed up the damages. As frightening as the result revealed itself to be, Nathalie didn’t flutter an eyebrow and paid for it straight from her savings account, whispering to me that she had over thirty thousand in it and that I shouldn’t worry about her financial well-being. With a dozen covered suits and half as many bags in our hands, we hurried to toss them into her car, where she reclined her seat and changed into one of the three-piece sets under my eyes, apparently taking some great pleasure in having me look on, even as her flat, thick-furred chest came and went from my sight, summoning a certain stir in me, of course.

-This is great, squeaked the opossum as she tightened up her collar and belt. How do I look?
-Certainly more like the true creature within you, I replied with a one-armed hug. And you? What do you think of this metamorphosis?
-Well, what can I say? Getting treated like that by a distinguished tailor is super! And look at the quality of this shirt, feel it! Now that’s soft, isn’t it?
-Very much so! Now, let’s take a drive to this address here...
-Who is that, asked the woman, I don’t recognize the name.
-I called back home to tell them I was going to be very late and asked Melanie where the best beauticians she knew were. This is it, so let’s get going.
-Come on, protested Nathalie, that’s way too much.
-I’m not going to argue, I cut as I put a finger on her muzzle. You want Nathalie to shine on through? Then let’s get her out there!
-I swear, this is just nuts, giggled the opossum as she pulled out of the parking to head off towards our target.

The doe hadn’t been joking when she talked highly of the second shop we visited, as it was probably the most luxurious and professional of such establishments I’d seen to date, with the most qualified staff that could be hoped for. Two of them took Nathalie in charge and gave her a full trim as well as all applicable treatments as per the state of their art, which once over and done with, honestly made a huge difference. Not that she hadn’t started off a beautiful example of marsupial, but she had a bit of the gruffer edges that would be expected for a bachelor to bare, hence with the care of the beauticians, Nathalie could at last steal the heart of the masses with a playful wink. As we walked out of the clinic, I still had my lower jaw a bit loose and my eyes trained on her mindlessly, getting a long, hearty laugh from the woman as she realized what I was gawking at.

-Eclipse, really now! Is that any way to look at a lady?
-I suppose not, I said as I gave sharp cough or rather the crackling hiss I normally gave instead. Still, if I may say so, you are just the absolute ideal of the opossum’s female gender, Nathalie.
-Wow, yeah! I can take comments like that any day! Say, drake, she started as she pushed me against the side of her car and held me against it, what do you we take a ride to my place so I can put all this new stuff away and throw out the trash I had before, eh?
-If I can be of service, you have my consent, of course, I answered naively.
-Legends honestly don’t even start to reflect the kindness of your sort...
-Burning peasants and feasting on their herds is so passé, I chuckled as we drove off.

Though I remembered that Nathalie had said she called a condo home, she didn’t say anything as to its calibre, which in all honesty was quite impressive. The tower was at the most ten stories high, but the very modern architectural style and rich materials that it was composed of easily rivalled our mansion, if not surpassed it. The exterior was polished granite for the most part, at least the first three stories, and the rest was grey exposed aggregate slabs, though the real surprise came as we entered, where the whole lobby was built with massive, almost monolithic blocks of the same coloured artificial marble, really giving the place a huge amount of character, if not making it a bit cold to walk around in, albeit the few decorative statues that had been placed throughout broke the monotony somewhat. As we rode the elevator to her level, the atmosphere thankfully warmed up quite a bit with wood panelling which continued into her place, a huge five-room suite, decorated perhaps a bit too zealously, though I didn’t care to mention that opinion to the opossum.

-Looks like the whole place matches you, I stated as I ran a hand through her neck fur.
-Hey, a home reflects its owner, doesn’t it? Come on, my bedroom right in here. You can put the bags in it and I’ll be back with something to put my old rags in. The Salvation Army will have a lot to run through tomorrow morning, I tell you!
-So you had this down to the shorts, I called as I picked up a pair of men’s briefs, didn’t you?
-Down to the cologne, nodded Nathalie as she started stuffing whatever we couldn’t donate into a garbage bag. Feel free to poke around, Eclipse. I need an objective eye with me to work through this, so if you see something out of place, tear it to shreds.
-I’m on it! Just a question like this...
-Yep?
-Can you still hang by your tail, as an opossum used to before the Second Genesis?
-Not for too long, but sure, she laughed as she wrapped her member around a clothes pole and let herself dangle a bit. What, is that funny?
-No, just really, really cute. There, I think I’ve got all your nasty boy pants in here, I said as I pounded the stacked garments into a box she’d given me. Onto the shirts!
-Tell me though, Nathalie said as I was unhooking a group of men’s tees, really with total honesty...
-With honesty, what?
-Sort of going back to what Gabriel said, do you think I need to wear a bra or anything, she asked as she raised her shirt over her breasts, or is this okay? I mean, I’ve never worn anything at all other then my vest to hide how big my nipples can get, but now, what’s your call?
-Amina, the younger hyena back at the mansion, wears a camisole, I stated. I think that just for hygiene and decency’s sake, you’d be fine off with that.
-I guess so, replied Nathalie. Hey, want to feel them?
-Beg your pardon?
-Come on, give me a good grope, chuckled the opossum as she stepped forwards and hugged herself against me with her top still out of the way. Don’t tell me that you’re not in the mood, are you?
-To satisfy our mutual curiosity, I declared as I ran my hands along her sides before rubbing her flat chest and softly pinching her teats. Really now, just like feathers...
-That feels good, sighed the woman as she put her arms over my shoulders. Say, what do you say to staying here for a while?
-I’m loath to refuse such an offer, but perhaps in the capacities of a friend and confidante rather then anything of greater depth, without meaning to offend.
-Sure, nodded Nathalie as she ran the back of her hand against my face. Heck, just having you here with me now is more then enough for me to consider the evening to be the best I’ve had in a long while!
-Plus, with this sweet creature coming into work tomorrow morning, I’m certain that there will be more then a few heads turning to get a better look at you, for starters, if you understand what I mean by that.
-Oh, my market value’s jumped, then?
-Factorial, I seconded as I tickled under her chin.
-Fine, I’ll take your word for that. A question like this, though; would you mind coming along with me for the day, just to sort of make the transition a bit easier? I have a few things that I need to clear up with you anyway regarding the cult you took down, so we could mop that up at the same time.
-A good pretence! For now, it’s a bit late for us to be lingering about. I’ll fly back here tomorrow, say around seven?
-Sounds good to me, but how about a cup of something first? My bag’s not empty yet, if you’re still in the mood for conversation.

As soon as I’d moved my muzzle to reply to her, Nathalie took me by the arm and showed me to the kitchen where she heated a kettle of black tea, large and strong enough to keep up fully awake for the ensuing discussion about the opossum’s life, mostly about the finer points of her position as chief of police and the stresses that it unfortunately introduced into her existence. Following my customary behavioural patterns, I tried to be a good counsel to her, an especially highly appreciated gesture as she had stashed away most of her frustration in favour of being able to continue the day to day routine and left it to boil on the back burner without much regard to what sort of build-up it caused in her psyche. A few wide yaws slipped through the woman’s guard, the tea’s energy boost notwithstanding, my cue to take my reverence and fly back home. I made my escape in the most polite manner, giving my solemn promise to her that I’d be back on time to drive into work with her. The flight through the early night sky was refreshing, as was the slight drizzle that had started during my sojourn at Nathalie’s, beading off my skin easily enough to be no impediment to my flight whatsoever. Eshe and Amina had the habit to staying up late to watch whatever movies played on the satellite channels we subscribed to, hence I had no concern about there being souls up and about in the home. As for Melanie, I wasn’t familiar with her normal nocturnal habits, hence I didn’t hold out too much hope for her to still be on her hooves.

I landed home to find the two hyenas asleep on the couch, piled up at odd angles with the television still on, now showing infomercials for home air filtration systems rather then what they’d started looking at, for certain. After having thrown a wool cover on them to keep them warm and comfortable, I proceeded up the stairs, giving a corner grin as I saw that contrary to my predictions, the doe hadn’t called it a night as of yet and light spilled out in a prism from her door, just ajar, as if she expected company. I wonder why, I thought to myself as I pushed it open, looking in to see her lying on her bed with a novel from her stuff, though her attention left to in my favour as soon as she realized that I’d made my appearance.

-Good evening, madam, I said as I stepped inside. Can I get you anything from the room service cart?
-I’d like a dragon, but hold the shorts, replied Melanie as she moved over to give me enough space to lie down with her. How much will that be?
-The price is negotiable, I laughed as I closed the door and threw off my trunks and took my place. Is the dragon to your liking?
-Certainly is! So, the chief is a new woman now?
-Well, a woman at all, to start, and quite a number to behold considering her makeover. Be assured, I behaved like a chaste gentleman, good doe.
-So you think you’ve looked far enough when you’re with me? Nice, said the woman as she stroke a pose, I’m a sexy whitetail!
-No contest, I waved as I slid a hand under her tee to hold her right breast and kissed her black lips. Now, let’s start by sliding slowly under the soft sheets with the slippery snake, eh?
-Snakes don’t have arms to hold me with, retorted Mel as she turned off the lights and we got under the covers. I’ll take the dastardly delicious dapper drake instead. See? I can do alliterations too, without the spooky lisp.
-The lisp comes with the muzzle and the tongue, I shot as I raised her shirt and licked at her stomach. Pros and cons, you know.
-Well worth the trouble to put up with, moaned the doe as I continued on my downward trajectory to nuzzle her panties. I suppose that it would be recommendable for me to take those off?
-You’ll find that it’s worth your while, I insisted before easing the cover down to her knees and stimulating her for a bit. There, the dividends of your patience and cooperation...
-You’re too good at this, it’s not fair, she giggled as she tried to rub around my crotch. All right, you’re going to have to show me how to get to the good parts in there, Eclipse.
-Press gently, I instructed as I put her fingers on the sides of my cloacae. There, out comes the jack-in-the-box!
-And here comes the jack-off-in-the-hand, she returned as her grip tightened around my member and she dipped into her bedside table to get a condom. You’d never imagine I planned this, would you?
-Oh, I take what slings and arrows life throws at me, I hummed as she gave me a good rubbing. Aren’t you going to put that on me?
-Changed my mind, corrected Mel as she sat me up and pulled back the sheets to put my rod in her mouth.
-I ought to mention something, I warned as I felt myself blow off.
-A bit tart, but sort of a fruity bouquet. I hope I wasn’t too rash or anything, but I wondered how hard it was go do that. Sort of take you by surprise when you come!
-The angels conspired to create you, Melanie, I sighed as we cuddled back under the sheets in the nude.
-And Satan did quite job in putting you together, chuckled Mel as she closed her eyes. We’re a reasonable compromise.
-Are we now?

I came about the next day with plenty of slack before my appointed - nay, sworn – timely meeting with Nathalie, enough for me to go ahead and scrub down my leathery corpus and clear my hazy mentis in the hot steam. As I came out of the shower, pulling my shorts into alignment, I heard the phone downstairs ringing, the sharp notes getting my attention instantly as I hurried to answer it. Lifting the receiver and holding it in approximate alignment with my proper sensual receptors, I greeted whoever was calling, hearing Ulrich on the other end return the polite words.

-I hope I didn’t take you from your bed, Eclipse, but I wanted to talk to you as soon as I could. This is quite urgent hence I thought it best not to wait.
-I trust your judgement without reserve, I answered. What’s the fire, Ulrich?
-This is regarding your newest friend, Nathaniel Hoover. Tracks just told me that there’s someone after him and there’s a lot of noise that he’s in immediate danger.
-Anything more specific? I mean, this is serious news, and I’ll be on my toes, but it would be better to know what we’re supposed to look out for.
-She had some opposition for the last election into her office and it looks like whoever was running against her had a sponsor who had certain plans which required police discretion.
-As in drug trafficking, what?
-We don’t have anything more, sorry. All he heard was some chatter from one of our people at a restaurant who were plotting something together.
-That’s okay, I’ll talk to her before I’ll escort her today.
-Her? What?
-Oh, it’s a bit of a twist in the chain of events, but it’s not Nathaniel, it’s Nathalie. I’m sure we can meet sometime to help you wrap your mind around that.
-Bend is more like it. Anyway, be careful, drake.
-I will be, thanks. All the best!

I hung up with a stratagem forming in my mind as to how I could resolve the danger the panther had announced. How come destiny found it convenient to place me at the nexus of all these troubles was beyond my understanding, but I didn’t have too much in the way of options other then ride out the tide and hope for the best. At the very least, I could expect for Nathalie to know who had competed against her and based on that, it was reasonable to assume I could persuade that individual to yield more information to me. If Shackles had taught me anything, both verbally and by cultural osmosis, it was to improvise. No one at the station would be surprised to see me back again, and attention would mostly be on the chief, so I had a clear field to operate on. The opossum was already by her car by the time I got to her place, waving to her as I made my landing, about as smooth and showy as I could make them. Before she spoke, I motioned for us to make good use of the privacy of her car for me to tell her something important. With an understandably concerned look to her, the woman hopped in with me and I gave her full disclosure of what the Don had told me, all of it hitting home as she clutched the steering wheel and fixed the asphalt of her driveway.

-This isn’t the first time that I worry about this, she sighed. You know, with my position comes a lot of power, and power has the unfortunate tendency to attract animosity, especially from those who fear your use of it against them. Damn, this is close to me, though.
-Do you know if whoever was campaigning against you is at the station?
-No, he wouldn’t. He filed for medical leave for a while, as far as I know, to nurse a torn meniscus back to health at home. Do you think I should even go in today?
-Until this is resolved, I don’t think it would recommendable for you to. I know somewhere you can stay for a while, if you like. It’s Ulrich’s casino, in the downtown, The Tripoli. It’s a slow time there from what its operator was telling the panther last week, so I don’t think there will be any problem in getting you a room.
-Then let’s go, called Nathalie. I suspect you want my competitor’s address?
-As it would be, I hummed. It would be of great import if we were to take care of this business.

While we drove to the casino, we both placed calls, me to our destination to insure that a secure suite was free for the chief and Nathalie to her associates to get the personal information I required. I didn’t leave her side until two Bronco guards came out of the casino’s hotel to flank the opossum in, but as soon as I saw her to its walls’ safety, I couldn’t have take off upon the winds faster. Though it was rather drastic measure to be contemplating, to lay siege to this soul’s residence was the best chance for success, and seeing how I was alone on this adventure, I wouldn’t have any choice but to act with conviction and a passable amount of violence. Locating the shotgun shack that the lieutenant who had raised his voice in opposition to Nathalie’s called his castle, I circled long enough to observe movement inside to tell me that he was home. Furthermore, I was assured that he was unassisted by the fact he was the source of all visible disturbances, so we would have our privacy to converse... well, fundamentally, anyway.

Not wanting to alarm anyone without good reason to do so, I landed outside his door and knocked to see if he would be so trusting as to answer the traditional hail. While I was glad that he did comply, the rant the duck started to almost scream at me about not being interested in whatever I was selling and it was uncivilized of me to be coming around and bothering honest folk, I didn’t welcome. While he was distracted with his speech, his reflexes where diminished enough for me to prepare and release a sucker punch that sent him flying into him residence. I had time to slip inside and close the door before grabbing the man and holding him against the wall to search him, producing a knife from his belt that I tossed away. With my forearm’s horn-like appendages right under his throat while I maintained his highly uncomfortable position, I started extracting the knowledge I’d come for, ignoring his muted protests.

-Who are you, I asked, and what is your motive to threaten public peace by seeking to bring harm onto Nathaniel?
-Jasper Perry, SSN 488-7156, the duck almost screamed out. I demand to be treated with accordance to the terms and regulations of the Geneva Convention for POWs.
-You’re not a soldier, I shot as I tightened my grip on him, you’re a policeman.
-I’m a footman of the real American spirit, man, sneered Jasper. Soon, man, we’ll take back this country.
-What in the name of my father Satan are you talking about?
-We got the word, our man Calvin’s coming back for us. The White Palms are back, bitch, and we’re going to purify this town.
-So you planned to kill Nathaniel to take over his post and cover for your friends, did you? I suppose you’re not alone, of course?
-I sure in the hell I am, he called back as he spat on my muzzle. Jasper Perry, SSN 488-7156...
-If you tell me who your associates at the station are, you may just make it out of here with your life.
-Jasper Perry...

Though to date in this text, I may seem to abstain from more ruthless application of pain, I must insist that doing so is not beyond me. Seeing the duck’s stubborn attitude and continual refusal to give me a straight answer about anything, I had motive to attempt to make use of such. Turning my arm to grip at his shirt, I cocked back my other hand and sent a half dozen gut punches into Jasper, the last strong enough to make him throw up on the floor. While he was reeling from the attack on all fours, I put my feet to his sides and back a few times, for good measure. For the sake of being certain that he wouldn’t be spared any flavour of agony that the body can report to the brain, I took the back of his shirt and used his head as a battering ram to dent the wall, not hard or directly enough to knock him out, but just to give him a handful of welts to further persuade him to put aside his convictions for the sake of self-preservation. Well battered and looking like a poster child for street gang beatings, I took Jasper by the back of the neck and dragged him into the living room, tossing him on the table, face up.

-Now, are you still in the mood to play soldier, Jasper, or are we going to be open with each other?
-It doesn’t matter, coughed the duck. As soon as that fucker walks into his office, they’ll be waiting for him and they’ll take him down. You’re too late; he’s already dead. He comes in at seven fifteen and now it’s past that.
-So they were waiting for him in his office to kill him, then?
-Damn straight, the duck replied with a sick grin. I’m the boss of this town now, asshole.
-No, not even close, I corrected as I tightened my grip around his neck and snapped it. See you in hell’s flames, Jasper.

As I was leaving, I remembered a piece of advice that Tracks had told me, that after having made a mess like this one in a place, it was always a good idea to set it ablaze to make the investigation of the crime very difficult. Keeping to the deer’s expert words, I turned and basked the living room in flames, then with the fiery scene behind me, left the building and closed the door to make it appear as if there was nothing out of place for onlookers to pay notice to. The living room was at the back of the residence, hence by the time anything was visible to passers-by, chances were that the majority of the scene had been converted to charcoal. My bet was now on the fact that whoever had planned to kill Nathalie had stayed put in wait of her late arrival, a probable course of action for them to follow.

The name that Jasper had spoken, Calvin, and his affiliation, the White Palms, was of greater concern though, great enough to merit for me to call Ulrich in flight to inform him of my actions. When I got the panther on the line and babbled out what I hoped to communicate, he cut me short after I’d went through the zest, saying that he had to tell someone else in turn, who would be very concerned about what I’d learned. I would have protested or gone into what I was about to do, but he had already cut the communication. No harm, no foul, I thought as I dove at the police station. Ulrich knew his profession, and I was in no position of authority to tell him to act otherwise. There was something to the way he have yowls and short roars when I talked that told me he had some further background regarding this matter that I was unaware of, hence his course of action was probably warranted by some element of that information. Heck, I hardly even read the newspaper myself... too pessimistic a view on the world, in my opinion.

The first trumpet that sounded in my mind was that the blinds in the window looking into Nathalie’s place of work had been turned, something that I distinctly remembered had not been the case when I had visited her, and the dust they were covered with at the time was telling that she didn’t modify their position at any frequency. It was to be expected that the attention of the would-be assassins inside would have their attention turned to the most obvious mode of ingress, hence to open the door of the office and walk in would be equivalent to giving the Fourth Horseman a hearty kiss. Still, this was not as level a playing field as I had been granted at Jasper’s, and to simply act without the policemen’s consent would attract as much difficulties to me as a sound mind can imagine. Instead, I landed at the main entrance and warned the first officer I saw about the situation in the chief’s, which made him go white as a ghost and run to inform his supervisor inside with me in tow. Within seconds, at the most minutes, a scene right out of an action movie had materialized in the vicinity of what had come close to a murder scene. I stood outside the station with Nathalie’s second lieutenant behind a row of police cars, parked as to form a barricade well manned by policemen holding their best hardware at the window. Before we’d exited, I’d seen another large team head for the corridor inside to make certain there was nowhere for the criminals to go and the surrounding area had been evacuated in a precautionary measure.

I listened as the radio next to me and the lieutenant crackled with reports from the good men inside, confirming that there were sounds indicating multiples individuals coming from Nathalie’s office and that they had secured the door in such a way that it was no longer a possible means of egress. Two negotiators had made their appearance, sitting in the car aside us as they tried to raise the culprits on the opossum’s telephone, with no success whatsoever. As they turned to megaphones to try and communicate, it wasn’t long before we indeed received a reply, though automatic gunfire isn’t something that could be categorized as a civilized dialogue. We crouched behind our cover, the armed officers returning fire quite passionately, as well as a few cans streaming a plume of smoke I assumed would be of some consequence to those who would be touched by its cloud.

The surreal confrontation continued for over fifteen minutes, though the time scale I experienced it at was biased by the tension that reigned over the whole battle zone. The teams inside reported that someone had tried to open the door they’d fixed, but before the lieutenant had time to acknowledge the news, two figures jumped out of the broken window with their rifles firing in the direction of the barricade. I cannot imagine that any living organism, no matter how evolved and well conceived, could have survived the hail of projectiles that cut into the pair, though the piece of abstract expressionist art that formed behind them was quite fascinating, if not a bit monochrome.

Traumatic visions always have varying impacts on the mind, but for the most part, they have the property to brining out primal fears, such as that of death. The pile of meat that had once had the form of their colleagues was exactly that, and within seconds of having seen them turned inside out, the team inside called in that they heard cries of surrender from the rest of the occupants of the room. Under very strict supervision and ominous threat of creating another tableau on the station wall, three more souls climbed out of the window, this time unarmed with their hands behind their heads, quickly wrestled to the ground and cuffed by nearby officers. As soon as a few of them had made a sweep of Nathalie’s office to verify that there was no longer any evidence of danger, I pulled out my cell phone and called The Tripoli, transferring through to the opossum’s room to inform her that it was safe for her to come out of hiding, though she would have to think about redecorating her office.

While the teams started to disassemble the theatre of trench warfare and the process of investigating the crime got underway with more evidence tags and yellow tape then I thought would be owned by a single police force, I talked with Nathalie’s second lieutenant, giving him my statement about what had conspired to have me strolling in with such precise information on what was happening at the chief’s desk. With the immunity the Broncos shared with the police, it didn’t really matter to him that I had taken extreme measures to obtain it. If anything, he hadn’t any idea that there was anything going on inside the force of the sort, and for it to be eliminated before it caused any harm was for the better. As we finished up, I saw Nathalie pull into the parking and jog over to us, taking in the situation for herself.

-Heck, what a mess, she stated. I don’t think that ‘thanks’ is enough, but hey, thanks.
-Chief, startled the lieutenant, is that you?
-It sure is, nodded the woman. You can get the word out, lieutenant, this is who I am. It’s not Nathaniel; it’s Nathalie, and I’m back on the job!
-Yes sir... ma’am. I’m sorry for your office, ma’am.
-It’s a crime scene, waved the opossum, please carry on. I’ll be working from conference room D-2 until that’s cleaned up. I’ll also get a press statement ready, seeing as how our journalist friends have already started trickling in. Eclipse, I don’t know if you want to be on television or not, everything considered about your liaisons. Go on ahead in, I’ll have an officer show you into the conference room, and I’ll be over shortly.
-Yes ma’am, I replied playfully as I tailed a policeman into the building.

Though austere, there was plenty of room to flap my wings around in the hall I was led into, and I made myself comfortable sitting on the edge of the table, leaning on my hand as I placed another call to Ulrich.

-Good morning again, panther, I said to the cat over the phone. How’s life?
-Free of another pain in the ass! You know that group you told me about, the White Palms? They were a supremacist group that had formed here a while back, and though the authorities took down their place, we didn’t know that much about their involvement outside of a few incidents that we went in and cleaned up. We didn’t suspect that they had contacts in the police, though.
-And what of that character, Calvin?
-He was an agent they had corrupted at the State Department, who covered for them and helped them promote one of their leaders in the race for the governor’s seat. After he was captured, they exiled him off to Maldives with his promise that he’d stay quiet and keep to himself. I told the good man who exiled him, who in turn personally took a plane to the islands to see what in the world he was thinking, or if he’s involved at all in this affair.
-There’s the possibility that this was solely these people’s responsibility, not that I’m blindly advocating for your exile’s sake.
-Oh, I understand your view on that, insisted Ulrich. Gallet’s a just man and he’ll know how to treat this, don’t worry. For now, I think that it’s safe to say that your chief is out of harm’s way.
-Good, she’ll be glad to hear it.
-I’m sure she will. As soon as I hear back from Gallet, you’ll be the first to know. Right now, I have Mist climbing on my back here...
-My best to you both! Hi ‘possum, I called as I saw Nathalie walk into the room with her laptop computer and a few towels to clean it up. Need help moving in?
-No, this was all I needed. I have to tell you, I’m envious of you Broncos. You’re lucky not to have to deal with the public opinion like we do. There’s nothing like having the people that you’re hired to protect standing in front of you trying to pry some fact you don’t want to talk about that they can spin into a story to disgrace you.
-Ah, about your new you?
-Uh-huh... I got them good though, laughed Nathalie. Well, now the whole city knows me for the real me, and that I don’t mess around!
-Not all ‘possums play dead when they’re in trouble, I said as I rubbed her head. So you’re good?
-Great! I have four guys out there on the lookout for trouble, so you don’t have to trouble yourself with keeping me under cover. I have a lot of paperwork to burn through, to tell you the truth, so I’m sure you have a lot to do other then wait around for nothing.
-Hey, I’ll give you a call later then, I nodded as I walked out. Ciao!

I left the station with a grin, somehow really pretty damn pleased with myself. Having pushed the envelope on this one had really helped the Broncos, after all. Ulrich took care of the relations with the state and I took care of those with the city more directly. Not that I accused the panther of anything, but how we hadn’t met up with Nathalie earlier sort of eluded me. Bah, now I had a special friend in her, and I wasn’t worried about seeing her again. Gliding into the backyard of our mansion, I saw Eshe, Mandy and Melanie on the porch in swimsuits with two huge pitchers of lemonade. Just to kid them a bit, I landed in front of them and opened my wings as wide as I could, blocking out the sun from them.

-There’s a solar Eclipse, laughed the doe.
-Yeah, but this one goes away pretty quick, stated Mandy as she tossed me a can of beer. Let there be light!
-All right, I chuckled as I cracked it open and sat down on the steps aside Melanie and caressed her face. How’s everyone?
-Shackles is out buying school supplies with Amina, grumbled the doe as she wrapped an arm around my neck and pulled me against her. If you don’t purr or squeak, what do you do when you’re happy, drake?
-Same thing as always, I said as I shot a long, thin flame over two meters long. Happy flame!
-Nice, giggled Mel. Eshe, get some marshmallows...