The Miami Broncos

Chapter 24: Dynasties

Written by Francois Guint-Riel (FGR)

I watched the sunrays filter through the thin smoke that feathered from the barrel of my 45’s silencer, holding the pistol for a few seconds before putting it back in the bedside table’s drawer and giving a purring chuckle. I’d given the telephone two rings before putting a bullet into it, which from the size of the hole that it had carved into the numeric pad, had gone pretty deep into the sleep-disturbing device. I didn’t mind if I missed the call, because I was pretty certain I knew who it was. After all, the front desk knew that I filtered their calls straight into my office’s vocal mail until nine o’clock, and everyone else I knew were plenty aware about my sleeping habits. Jumpy, my kangaroo bro, had been pulling my tail about it for the whole week, joking that if I didn’t want to get pulled out of my covers, I should actually follow through my threat of shooting my phone if someone violated my unofficial curfew.

I didn’t have any intent to wimp out of the challenge either and as soon as I’d put my firearm away, I rolled over and wrapped an arm around my wife Mist, who had come around after hearing the dull pop, giggling as she squished her moustaches into my shoulder.

-Got that damn thing, did you, panther?
-I think I could put my finger into the plastic wound, I replied as I caressed her shoulder. Now the question is should I actually bother myself to find another phone and call Jumpy, or should I stay here with my lynx kitten?
-If you actually have to ask, then you already know the answer, she muttered as she leaned more heavily into me. When did you lose your boxers?
-About at the same time that you lost whatever your little tail was poking through, I whispered. Still missing, I see...

I didn’t last too long under Mist’s duress, but half an hour later, I was standing on unsteady legs, wobbling through the Black Stage to get to the lobby. As soon as I was standing in the atrium, I saw Jumpy leaning against a column playing with his cell phone, glancing at me with a wide smile as if he knew that I’d done the deed as I’d promised. I’d brought it with me in a plastic bag and held it open to him as to prove my point, getting him to buckle over, hunched over as he laughed his ass off.

-Oh God, I can’t believe you actually did that, said Jumpy as I closed the bag and put it aside him.
-I told you never to call me in the morning, I growled as I pretended to choke him in a lock. What was so important that you felt you had to get your Don out of bed early?
-Nothing that important, shrugged the ‘roo as I put him back up straight, I just wanted to tease you. Looks like it worked!
-Pretty decently, actually. But there was something in general?
-I’ll tell you nicely if I get breakfast here, grinned Jumpy.
-Blackmail now? You’re just getting yourself into more trouble, you know, I said as I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him into the restaurant.
-I might as well tell you now, stated the ‘roo as we sat down. I’ll give you something to think about while we’re waiting for our food. I’m sure you’ve been keeping up with the Joneses enough to know everything that’s been going on with your old buddies the Urchins in Ottawa, right?
-Well, sort of, yes. I know the generalities, anyway. So it’s about them?
-They gave us a ring this morning, even earlier then when I called you, so be happy that I held off longer then they did.
-I’m sure Tracks paid you back in full for the wake-up call.
-Ha, with heavy interest, continually compounded. You remember all the things that went on in China, with the Golden Dragon Triad?
-Seeing as how we have a living reminder here fours days a week that plays saxophone, I think that it’s pretty tricky to forget it, I purred.
-Yeah, Eclipse, right. Man, I’m so used to that drake that I sort of draw a blank when I try to think about where he came from. Anyway, their point and gunsmith are pretty close to the daughter of the leader of the Triad. He may have faked his death when they were visiting over there, but this time, someone did the real deal.
-Oh, he was killed?
-Kill is when it’s nothing personal...
-...but murder is when it comes with a message, I completed to finish my familiar saying. That can’t be good for the whole structure of things over there!
-That’s downplaying the damage way too much, grunted the ‘roo. His daughter tried to jump in, but there was a serious close call.
-How close?
-She can thank the good Lord that she had to take a break and go for a leak yesterday, because a RPG sailed into the office where she should have been – sort of close. She’s gone into hiding, and right now, there have been a few gun battles here and there in their territory. Word is that the ones who are behind it are actually G-men from the party who want to actually take direct control of the Triads.
-Shoot, that’s a real war we’re talking about here! What can we do?
-That was sort of the call from the Urchins, waved Jumpy. I don’t have any clue, personally. I mean this is way, way too serious. Between the police having ideas about cutting into our friends and the government of a country deciding that they’re ending their existence are two worlds. The first we can potentially do something to resolve, but shit, stop a horde of millions from bashing down the doors of the Triad? Unless you’ve already been sitting at a table with twelve fellows who were following your word...
-I’ve known more then my share of people who’ve shared my life as my equals and friends, Jumpy, and I’m not quite ready to just sit on the sidelines when good people are in danger just because things seem more chaotic then usual.
-I tell you, Ulrich, the longer we’ve been in this ride, the harder things are become. Not for us directly, but just to be who we are and do what we do. We’ve shouldered a lot more of a load then any Family has ever tried to. I mean, look at all we’ve done already!
-That just tells me that we’re able to do that much more, I grinned. I say we go over there and see what’s going on, then we make a call.
-I’m just saying that we ought to be careful who we’re making our enemies, panther. Taking out a bunch of bikers is one thing, which aren’t absolutely history, but getting in the face of someone who’s able to snipe a Triad leader and nearly eliminate his daughter as well even if they live in a secure compound is a war we might not be able to win so easily.
-Look at it this way though; if we lose the Triads, we lose all our connections in most of Asia, and then the Families and clans in Australia and the entire Eastern Seaboard are goners, especially with the weight that the Party might put behind these puppets.
-Put like that, you’re making this sound like we’re on the threshold of Ragnarok, muttered my bro with a visible shiver. I have a strange feeling that this is going to get pretty serious, fast.
-If by serious you mean violent, I wouldn’t be that surprised. I wonder if Shackles would be in a helpful mood...
-He’s on vacation with Mandy in Costa Rica, commented the ‘roo. Eclipse told me yesterday when I ran into him Tuesday.
-Right, right. Man, our roster’s getting thin these days, I tell you!
-I could help, said a voice behind me.
-Who’s offering, I hummed as I turned to see Eshe, the older of the hyena sisters who’d returned from Kenya with Eclipse. Eshe? I’m not sure that this would be something you want to be in the middle of.
-I don’t really have too many choices, corrected the girl.
-You sure have a long face, though, I commented as I pulled up a seat for her. What’s up?
-I just learned that I’ve failed too many courses to be able to continue with the program that I was following online to get my diploma. Amina’s a lot luckier then me, but now I have to get a new goal in my sights.
-But what part would you want to play in the Family? You’re not saying you want to be a trigger, are you?
-It’s a job, sighed the hyena. Listen, if you let me come along, I promise I won’t be a burden. If anything, it means someone else on your side over there.
-I suppose so, said Jumpy. I could teach you the trade, but when we’re over there, if I need to work, I don’t want you to start playing heroine, all right?
-Promised, smiled the hyena as she shook the kangaroo’s hand.
-So it’s us three right now, I stated. I’d still like a few more people.
-If I go, then Tracks won’t be far behind, so will be Helix. Heck, what were you saying about a thin roster?
-Nothing, I chuckled. I forget sometimes, that’s all. So if we can get everyone together today, I’ll set something up for tonight. We can’t really risk losing the Triad’s daughter, after all. We are talking a good soul at stake here, aren’t we?
-Even one we’ve still to meet, seconded the ‘roo.

Jumpy called up his mate and asked him to go pick up the ram up at his place as soon as he could, sort of informing him about what we were going to do, though most of the talk was lover’s babble that got Eshe and me giggling by the time that the kangaroo hung up with a shrug as if questioning what we’d found so funny. Half an hour later, we’d shoved something down our throats for our stomach to metabolize, though Jumpy took the time made his share of jokes about the fact that I was going to pull him down when we reached China and Eshe would get to crack his bones open for his marrow. As we swilled our fourth round of coffee, we saw Track’s familiar rack appear in the restaurant, with Helix flanking him close, wearing his coat a bit longer then usual.

-Damn, I started, aren’t you warm under there, Helix? Honestly, my coat’s not even an inch long and I’m sweating these days!
-I’m planning a jacquard, replied the ram. I know it sounds creepy, but if my wool lasts as long for a shirt as it does on me, Cass will have one heck of a pull to keep her back for the winter. So we’re going on vacation in China again?
-That’s right, but for a change, we’ll be tripping around the city rather then the boondocks. I’ll give you all the details, but right now, I have to hurry upstairs to get our plane ready and pack up myself.
-We’ll hang here on your dime, joked the deer as he scratched between my ears with his hoofed fingers.
-Aw heck, you know that always makes me purr, I complained as I got up and felt the natural reflex start in my throat. You know how hard it is to seem serious when everyone’s hearing a kitty cat going like this?

I’d had a lot of fun during the flight, actually playing soccer with Tracks and Eshe down the isle of the jet we’d rented, even if the captain was complaining that there was a heck of a lot of movement in the back for us to really be getting the smooth ride that we were paying for, not that anyone with us cared. Helix, being the good ram he was, had snuck on a bottle of brandy he split with Jumpy, hence both of the guys were gone, flying their White Stukas in formation with us. By the time we landed, we’d all stumbled back into our seats in some manner or another and had sort of fallen into slumber induced by some natural compound, be it fermented or just wasted adrenaline. I was the most conscious of the bunch, or at least enough to do the rounds and get everyone back to their paws or hooves as we pulled up in the airport, reminding everyone to hide their respective pieces as well as possible while we snuck out of the airport via a local contact that we’d gotten through the Urchins. The ride was pretty rocky, and all we had to go on was the address of the front where we could find the Triad.

We didn’t really get that close before our first diversion of the trip was provided to us. As we’d parked in front of the traditional medicine shop that looked more like a dirty, inner-city pawn shop run by a handful of the shadiest creatures I ever laid eyes on, a pickup down the street burned a red at a speed more recommendable for some improvised raceways rather then one of the most heavily populated cities in the world. Tracks sort of turned his head halfway towards me and gave a grunt that my brain somehow interpreted into a warning that we should be ready to either get some cover or draw something to defend ourselves with. The driver of the car intuitively jumped out of his car and made a break for it, not sticking around for the party. Seeing as how there was no actual worthy, solid item for us to hide behind, we all drew and waited for visual confirmation that we weren’t actually preparing to shoot up a truck full of nuns and orphans that didn’t drive right. The vision of a pair of assault rifles being taken out to be used, most probably on us, I gave the call for us to start dumping. Though I personally took out the driver and my guys did a number on the two shooters, Eshe actually impressed me with a few either amazingly professional or full-of-shit-lucky hits. As we ran out of targets to unload at and the truck bumped over the sidewalk and ended crashed on its side, scraped tight against the wall of a building on the other side of the street.

We didn’t wait a second to duck into the front as soon as we’d given the place a visual one-over to make sure that we hadn’t missed anyone in our intervention. There was no reason for us to stay in sight when the police showed up, and with open attacks like this to be going on, the level of danger that we were talking about was too high for us to be walking around without an immediate talk with the Triad to know what the bloody hell they had been up to for things to get out of hand so seriously. The man inside looked more then a little concerned about our action, but opening a door behind him, called to us in his mother tongue while he gestured for us to hurry up and use it. Jogging through it, we found ourselves in a much more lavish setting, though through a window in front of us, we could see that we’d actually entered the closed profile of the street block, a small fortified location that was about the same size as the mansion back home, though absolutely concealed to the untrained eye. A few guards from the Trial came to meet us, looking us over and asking in English who we were. As soon as I declared our intentions, they surrounded us and herded us deeper into the building, through increasingly secured halls and rooms. Finally, we reached a salon where a red panda girl in her twenties, wearing a modest dress with the sigil of her organization on her back, hunched over a chessboard.

She didn’t look as if she had been expecting any company, more intent on brooding then actual substantial undertaking. When one of her people presented us, she turned suddenly, as if surprised that anyone would intrude on her solitude. Some creatures are just naturally beautiful, as in the case of lions and stallions for men, or for women, lionesses, tigresses, vixens, and in my opinion, red pandas. This soul was no different, though the heaviness in her sleepless eyes was almost painful to look into. Still, as soon as she spoke, the tone was even more daunting to listen to, the very essence of despair that it conveyed more then I would have expected.

-Good morning, perhaps, said the red panda. I’m Yiang, leader of the Golden Dragon.
-I’m Ulrich Thule Luther, Don of the Miami Bronco Family, I replied taking her hand to bow to and kiss. We were informed by the Ottawa Urchins that you were living troubled times and coming here, we had quite an illustrative example of the extent of this reality.
-So I heard from my guards, but I’m afraid that you only delayed the inevitable. This Triad is destined to fall soon, and little can be done to repel the incoming tide.
-You have defensive strategies in place, I asked, or something of the sort?
-Not anymore, sighed Yiang. Before they killed my father, we were already hard pressed to resist the probing actions they were staging on us. When he died, they played all the right moves and conducted mass arrests and raids before I could regroup. Right now, all we have left under our control is this place.
-But there were reports about you having vast influence, up to Mongolia!
-Those groups only operate together as long as there is a central power strong enough to make them pay for their disloyalty is they would try to separate. Just like the old dynasties, when if the rulers didn’t keep a hard grip on their lands, to make a suitable comparison. They’ve turned to other Triads already, and by doing so I think saved themselves from whoever is after us. I think we may be able to hold here for a few more weeks, if we’re lucky.
-Yiang, cut Jumpy, there must be another way then to wait here for these dark times completely eclipse your people, you included!
-Our resistance is more symbolic then actually useful, but still, there is no one who has the power to halt the cancer that has already eaten all but the heart of our group, corrected the red panda.
-Then move out of the way and prepare yourself to counter it from a better position, I offered. I know your next words will be regarding the fact that you don’t believe in running away from danger and sort of thing, but consider that following this plan, your chances of getting out and rebuilding are inexistent, while if you take a risk and temporarily relocate, those odds improve exponentially.
-I... I don’t know where to go, Yiang confessed as she looked back at the board in front of her. They’ll follow us, that’s a certainly, and there’s no time for us to be able to get out slowly enough not to be noticed before they act again. Some of my people have observed movement in the local police forces that would indicate that they, assisted by small army contingents, are getting ready to take this refuge at any time. I’m afraid you’ve walked into a trap that wasn’t meant to catch you, good Don, and I truly hope for you that you find a way back out.
-Not without you, I protested. How many are you here?
-A hundred and eighty-seven, myself included. We are more friends here in the city as well, maybe forty, but I don’t think they are in any imminent danger as we are. Are you planning to move us out of here, Ulrich?
-That’s the only open door I can see right now, I nodded. How to do it is something else, though. We can’t rely on public transit, that’s a certainty, including national airports and the like. No, we have to make it somewhere else on our own.
-I think I have something, commented Helix. If we were to rent a small fleet of container trucks and load people onto them, we might be able to make a break for somewhere we can land a plane and make an exodus away from the fire.
-With those sorts of numbers, we’re looking at something like an old Airbus 300 that might fit the bill, I thought aloud. That doesn’t exactly go unnoticed, though.
-In China it might not, but in Mongolia it might be easier, stated Yiang. After all, to anyone we meet there, we’re no one. That would mean a long drive though, a full day’s at the very least, if not longer. Then we need to pass customs, which might be even harder.  There’s a lot that could go wrong with this plan.
-Once again, I grinned, it’s better then nothing.
-In that case, whatever resources you require from us are yours, Ulrich. I place my faith in you, with high hopes.
-Beyond the horizon of the place we lived when we were young...

Yiang had more contacts in the city to rent the trucks, but I undertook the task of finding someone who could actually get us a large capacity plane with the guts to bend the rules of commercial aviation enough for the idea to work. It took over two hours for me to find a contractor who was potentially willing to take the gamble, at a huge, huge fee, and another hour before I got confirmation from him. Apart from that, the whole game of getting the right people along our route to give us nods took another long while along with more cash, brining the bill for this extraction a few thousands shy of five million dollars. I had to give a sigh and give a short curse under my breath just by natural annoyance at the financial effort that this enterprise had been requiring, but turning my head to see Jumpy walking in, I had his voice in my head echoing ‘I told you so, Ulrich!’

-The trucks on are their way, the kangaroo said before taking me in a full nelson. Do we have a plane?
-We have a rental, right over the border from Erenhot. All I could get was a ride back to the states.
-Ah? Whereabouts?
-Seattle, I replied. From there I was thinking we could hitch a ride somewhere more familiar, as in Miami.
-I guess that’s a good idea as for getting the Golden Dragon away from it’s actual mortal doom, but as far as it’s identity as a recognizable Triad, it’s history.
-I suppose that this plan actually kill the very purpose that had brought us here when you put it that way. Then again, like Yiang said, we’re sitting ducks right now, and we’d be idiots to just walk around trying to pick off the occasional raider rather then get back here with proper intel. Let’s do it this way, instead. We all drive to Mongolia, but us Miami rats and the Triad princess stay right here with a handful of her closest people, just enough to form the core of a team that we can use to get things resolved around here.
-And we’d actually go to Mongolia why?
-So that if anyone saw us going, they think we’re gone back over the ocean as well, I stated. In addition to that, if someone in the Party is ordering this garbage like the red panda said, our problem would be in Beijing, wouldn’t it?
-Right, called the ‘roo with a crescendo. Okay, sounds good to me! I’ll go tell Yiang.
-I’ll come with you, I corrected as I gave him a half-hug.

I personally walked up to Yiang and guided her to her office to explain exactly how where I was going with the plan at this point. The red panda didn’t seem to be able to put two thoughts together at that point, looking absolutely confused about her situation. After I’d given my presentation, I sat her down on a sofa and slapped my tail down aside her, taking her off hand in mine.

-You look lost, Yiang, I commented. You didn’t expect to have anything like this happen, did you?
-I didn’t know what to expect at all, muttered the girl. After my brother died... you know how he went, don’t you?
-No, I don’t, sorry.
-One of the good people from Ottawa Urchins did away with him after I told him he’d been abusing me. After all, my father staged his death to have me become leader of the Triad for a while to see how I would do.
-I take it that it was all right?
-Actually, I left with him and a friend of his to act against some rebels in southern Russia for the entire time that I was in charge. My father resurfaced as I returned, which, with some retrospective thought, actually makes me think that it was because he didn’t trust that I could actually take care of any administrative functions. I have to admit that one of the reasons why I went was to sort of dodge the bullet and enjoy some extra freedom before taking the reins here. All and all, I didn’t actually do anything as leader of the group, nothing at all. You can imagine that now, I’m not exactly in great shape to take care of everything without anyone to help me, especially in such circumstances.
-You didn’t expect to be made leader so soon, I nodded.
-I don’t have the ruthlessness, the organization, nor the ambition to make it, Yiang moaned as she rested her head against my shoulder. I wasn’t raised to do this! My father kept me out of it, and my brother... well he had other plans for me, none that I really want to go back on.
-It’s strange how often that situation arises, I sighed as I brushed her head with a lazy hand. Let me tell you a story about a cat I know...

I stayed with Yiang, telling her about my own existence as Don-heir and how things turned out, trying to inspire her as best I could, though from her expression, she was firming up her belief in her inability to rule over her heritage. I stopped after a few minutes, turning the conversation towards her life, though the pain that I saw in her was the most prominent fact of all. She backed down her defences after a while and went into her stories about the sexual abuse that her brother had inflicted on her, starting some serious waterworks as she buried her white-painted mask in my coat.

-I wish that would have been the end of it, said the girl, but then my father asked to see me... you know, see me... to make sure that Wong, my brother, didn’t do anything like get me pregnant. I didn’t feel comfortable with it, but then I thought he had good intentions. Then, he starts asking me how I’d liked it, and if I’d want it again. I said I didn’t know, because Wong was rough, and then he pulls off his pants, and next thing I know, oh God...
-Yiang, no, I moaned as I hugged her against me, feeling her claws dig into my coat and her tears doubled.
-I wanted him dead, and now he is, and I don’t know what to do, sobbed the panda. This is all my own fault!
-No, it isn’t, you...
-No, it is! I contacted a guy through one of our people to have him killed, but then I think he cooperated with the government to maximize his payoff by turning this into more then it was meant to be. It was me, Ulrich, I started this!
-You acted as you thought was right, Yiang, I comforted as I held her head with a paw. You couldn’t have expected for this to happen, never. We’ll set it right, sweetheart, we’ll set it back in place.
-But when we do, I don’t have a place in it. I’m a disaster to this Triad. All I am to people here is a tramp, nothing else because everyone knows, by the way.
-Suddenly this Triad seems like less and less of something I want to save, I grumbled.
-Then don’t, interrupted Yiang. Let the trucks go, but cancel your plane! Have them all arrested at the border! That’ll take care of that!
-I think that’s not a rational thing to do, I corrected. No, we’ll get to the bottom of what happened, solve the differences that have brought this confrontation about, then we’ll find you a new home. All right?
-Fine, nodded the panda. My life’s in your hands, then.
-Oh no, it’s in yours still, I replied. I’m just here to lend a shoulder to the task.

Rejoining the rest of the group, we’d packed up Yiang’s things into a pair of suitcases, which we’d sent out word was the maximum that anyone would be able to bring to save on space. The first pair of trucks had parked in front of one of the front and through its side panel door, a long line of Triadsmen were walking into them, cramping into the container as compactly as possible, but we waited until the last ones arrived before getting on. There wasn’t a soul left in the compound as we rolled off, something I didn’t like that much, seeing as how for all means and purposes, we were giving it on a silver platter to whoever Yiang had accidentally invited into the Triad’s history. Nonetheless, from what the red panda showed me in her office after our talk, they had more then enough money to set themselves back up in due time. On a more objective view of things, that compound had been the worst idea in terms of defensibility. The very concept of occupying such a large area was more obnoxious then practical, a display of cockiness from the Triad’s leaders. They paid for it, didn’t they? And to touch Yiang like that? Hell would roast their souls, aye...

I won’t waste good paper describing the trip itself, save for the fact that it was a grueling experience to go through, with hunger, thirst and tension the likes of I’d hardly been subjected to in a long time. By the time we’d reached our port of refuge, the airplane had already loaded the occupants of the other trucks and was waiting for us to do the same before taking off. I don’t know what sort of water reserves were onboard, but they were certainly put to the test, with people taking showers in the WC as well as filling any sort of container that could be used as a drinking cup to recover from the voyage. We took a head count to make sure that no one had gone missing during the transit, finding no discrepancies in the numbers as we got off, ready to let the plane leave for it’s destination. The trucks were only on retainer for a one-way trip, hence to actually complete our circuit to get to Beijing, we’d have to come up with another means, though as we walked away far enough not to be deafened by the roar of the engines, we were standing in the blackness of night with only the road into Borhoyn Tal.

The ten kilometer-long walk was refreshing, clearing our minds enough to get our heads back on straight and talk sense, especially Yiang. She seemed a lot less tense, relaxing her speech from the high-strung dialog of a leader to that of just another soul wandering the land and even changed her stride, sort of slouching as she kicked her paws out, going a bit faster then before. Seeing that we’d really put down our guards and everything, I reached over and messed up her hair with a hand, getting a sharp chirp from her as she spun around, pointed for me to double over then as soon as I had, got on my shoulders to get a free ride for the remaining two clicks. She had a good sense of humor, batting at my ears even if I tried to rotate them out of the way before she could get them, joking that red pandas could kick any panther’s butt any day. As we got into the small town, we were fortunate enough to find a restaurant and hotel still open, offering room and board for a more then reasonable price and to my relief, accepting US currency without any sort of protest. Jumpy and Tracks took a double room with Helix on the couch, sort of the usual threesome when we were on mission, leaving Eshe and Yiang with me. Not that it was intentional, but hey, who can complain?

-Man, for a first time, this sure is one heck of a coaster ride, complained the hyena as she came out of the washroom in a long tee shirt and white panties. Is it always like this, Ulrich?
-When things don’t go quite as hoped, yes. Actually in this case, seeing as how we had no actual hopes as such, so I suppose it was destined to be a rough ride. Still, I purred as I gave her a quick hug, you’re doing perfectly well to date, my giggling protégée.
-What did I do so well other then follow you guys around?
-I saw those shots you took on the truck when we got here! Those were great, especially considering how much practice you’ve had, which is none to my knowledge!
-Well, I sort of snuck in with Shackles a few times when things were quiet at the mansion, barked Eshe.
-I have to start keeping better track who comes in and out, I laughed. Hey Yiang, get over here! You’re not afraid of hyenas, are you?
-Oh, I didn’t want to be in the way, answered the girl as she sat aside Eshe. You look even younger then me, don’t you?
-Heck, I’m not a day over nineteen, shrugged the hyena as she reached over and pulled the red panda against her. You’re too cute to be much more!
-Twenty-three, sorry, chirped Yiang. I’ve pretty much lived in a concrete box for the better part of my life, so I guess it’s sort of been good to me, except for...
-For what?
-I’ll take a walk, I commented as I got to my paws. I’ll go see how the boys are doing, if you’ll excuse me.

(Switch to Eshe)

I watched Ulrich walk out of the room and close the door behind him, almost as if he was making his escape. What the heck could Yiang want to tell me, I wondered, really? Still, I turned my attention back to the red panda, craning my neck over a bit.

-Hey, what was the panda going to say back there?
-Between women, have you ever gotten something from a guy that you didn’t want?
-Once, I nodded. Is that what happened to you?
-By my brother and father, the red panda nodded with her head hanging low. It just ruined my goddamned life, you know? Since that, I’ve just been such a mess that I haven’t really thought about much else then getting back at them. You know this mess is because I had a hit put out on my father, don’t you?
-No, but seeing what he did, I think that you did a pretty rational thing. Shoot, if anyone tried that with me now, with Ulrich and the Broncos behind me, I’d have a few slugs put through his brain!
-I just still feel like this is all because I didn’t just shut up, you know? If I hadn’t asked Craven, a good guy from the Ottawa Urchins, to do in Wong, then this wouldn’t have started. I’d just be taking it from him for a while longer, then when my father died, I’d be off and the Triad would go on without me in the picture. I suppose that I was too impatient...
-Yiang, pull it together, I said, interrupting the panda’s train of thought. You did the right thing, both times. Both of them deserved what they got, and right now, your time has come to leave the Triad behind, but not in this sort of a mess. A lot of people depend on the proper function of your organization, on a lot of different levels, and it’s unacceptable for the future of even more that those who are after you don’t get their way, or this’ll be the start of the end of the underground in Asia, maybe even worldwide. I hate to put it so harshly, but we have to make a stand here and fix things.
-I understand. You’re a strong girl, Eshe, deep in there, stated the panda as she put a hand on my chest, you know? You’re a real fighter.
-Neither my little sister or me would still be around today if I wasn’t, I commented as I hugged Yiang. You’re strong too, but you have to find that strength in you. You’re hurt now, panda, but you’re just as much of an Amazon as I am. Say it with me right now; fuck the world, I’m still here.
-Fuck the world, I’m still here, replied the woman with a loud chirp. It hasn’t gotten me yet!
-Nor will it! No one will ever kick you down, right? You’ll always be around to fight back, won’t you, Yiang?
-Hell yes! You can’t catch this tail off guard anymore! If anyone touches this ass again without me say so, they’re losing their hands!
-That’s right! Punch that cushion right there! Hard!
-There, called the panda as she slammed her fist into the sofa. There! Man, that feels good!
-You’re a beast, Yiang, I said as I stood up and got in a wrestling position. Come on, give her!
-The world’s going down, she chirped as she jumped up and charged at me, grappling my fingers in her own before planting her feet on the ground and applying more force.
-Man, there’s a lot of muscle on you, I laughed as she really put her back into it. Take a second and get into one of my tees. You won’t be sleeping in a dress, will you?
-I don’t think so, giggled the girl as she pulled off her clothes and bra before throwing on one of the spare shirts I’d packed. All right, I’m back!
-Wow, I hummed as she locked her hands back into mine. All right, that does it, I’m taking this seriously now. Up you go!
-Wait a tick, startled Yiang as I unlaced one of my hands and wrapped it around her waist before throwing her on the bed, bouncing a bit before ending with her legs in the air, buried in pillows.
-Got you, I laughed as I hopped aside her and took her with an arm behind her knees, pushing them over her in a lock. Yield?
-I don’t think I can get out of this one, laughed the girl. I give in. I wonder, back in the ancient times, who was higher in the food chain?
-Me, of course! See these fangs, I said as I pulled my upper lip back, these could break bones for marrow.
-Hey, whispered the panda, want to make out or something? I don’t know why, but I’d sort of like it.
-It’s all good with me, I hummed as I straddled over Yiang and reached down to lift her face into a kiss. In this case, I don’t need this...
-And I’ll give mine back too, she seconded as she took off her tee. Oh, you’ve got huge breasts, Eshe...

I lay down on the girl, aligning myself to have my teats pressing against hers, feeling them go hard as I held her by under the arms. With the covers over us, we mixed our warm breaths as we ran our tongues over each other. The taste of Yiang’s sweat was delicious, almost sweet, and as I gentle nibbled at her neck and shoulders, I couldn’t help myself but poke my muzzle under her arms and licked at her hot fur, getting a wide variety of giggles and chirps from her as she felt my papilla tickle her. Sitting up with the sheets like a tent over my shoulders, I wrapped the panda around me while I cradled her head against me, putting my nibs into her mouth one at a time, getting pretty serious sensual pleasure as she tried to wrap and suck at my entire areolas. I couldn’t help but close my eyes and give a few whines as I let her enjoy them, though as I felt a hand starting to pull my panties off my hip, I opened of my peepers to see the girl looking back at me with almost closed eyelids, a corner smile tracing along her busy mouth. Stretching my legs one at a time, I took them off and returned to my previous position, now feeling Yiang’s hand against my crotch, two fingers playing with my inner lips, careful not to prick me with her claws.

It didn’t take much hoaxing for her own undies to turn into decorations on the ground, and as soon as with a few chuckles from the both of us I took out a light tampon application from her and threw it in the bedside trash, I started eating her out with all the conviction I could muster. Though it might come as a shock to the reader, since my sister and I had moved into our mansion back in Miami, I’d actually shared a bed with her in a more then just casual context, so when I took charge of Yiang’s vagina, I most certainly knew what I was doing, and before I knew it, she had lost her appetite for just finger banging the hyena on her resorting to the same practice as I was. We lasted a good while, but I couldn’t last much longer without feeling more then just a tongue testing me and getting up, I scavenged through my toiletries purse and pulled out my massager, which I’d sort of taken to ever since Eclipse had fallen in love with Melanie.

I saw that the red panda was going to say something, but before a word left her lips, I had straddled backwards over her with her legs under my arms and had started to screw her with the texturized device. With her hands gripping my hips, I reveled in the symphony of orgasmic calls she gave, as well as the occasional splash of cum that squished out of her cunt. After I trailed off my motions, Yiang took the tool from my hands and spreading my legs aside on the bed, fucked me hard with it, harder then I had done her, but seeing as how I liked it that way, I gripped my breasts and left her to her work until I’d come with a few gasps.

By the time that Ulrich walked back into the room, both of our panties were sitting on the bedside table with the massager sitting on it, still smelling as funny as it ever had, and Yiang was lying on me in the bed, our legs woven together. His maw dropped open before he turned around and headed for the washroom, where we could hear muttering while we inferred he was beating off like a maniac. Oddly enough, thinking about it made me feel like going for a second round and slipping out from under the panda, I went to knock on the door, calling to the panther that it would be a shame for a good erection to go to waste on cold porcelain. He poked his head out and asked what I meant, but as he was voicing the question, I had bent over and his eyes had locked at the wet lips waiting under my tail. Reaching out behind me, Ulrich pulled me inside and as I hunched over the sink, I felt inches on end of full, hard panther cock slipping in me. Yipee-ya-ya-yay...ah.

With eleven o’clock in the morning ticking around on the old wooden mural clock in the reception area of the establishment, the last of our group trickled in, giving us the signal to get going for something resembling breakfast before going back on the road. Yiang didn’t leave me alone for a second, walking behind me with her hands in my pockets, giggling as she stayed close.

-Ulrich, I have a Triad in my pockets, I laughed as I tried in vain to get the red panda’s hands out of my pants.
-Keep an inventory of what you had on you so we’ll know what to search Yiang for later, replied the panther. Anyone here able to read Mongolian, just on the odd chance?
-Not a word, Tracks answered as he put a hand over his eyes and slapped his other index on the menu. I’ll have this... I won’t even try to pronounce it.
-Qagharida-noghugh-a, Ulrich mouthed carefully. Not that I know what it means, but hey, give me something for the effort.
-Pat on the back, I stated as I slapped the cat’s back a few times. Now, while we’re all here, who’s got an idea how we’re going to walk around Beijing asking people who tried to arrest the Golden Dragon Triad without ending up in jail until our fur turns gray?
-Yeah, Jumpy bitched as he tried to lean back and lift the legs of his seat, almost sailing over if Track’s quick reflexes hadn’t kicked in.
-Now, take a breather, no use throwing yourself around for nothing, Jumpy my man! We’re dealing with people from the Party who are trying to take down our friends. Fine. It’s clear that we won’t be able to get anything from one of their members without getting in hot water, so we can take a way around it. You’re Buddhist, Yiang?
-I live by the Dharma, nodded the panda. Oh wait, are you implying...
-Falun Dafa Hao, grinned the panther. If you want to know how to strangle a snake, there’s no one to ask like the mongoose. Seeing as how this is quite a negative action on the part of the authorities, I’m quite certain that in exchange for a nice piece of information to help them continue their work of dismantling the establishment, we could get some sort of pointers from them as to who might be getting their hands dirty.
-You know, I can’t even start to say how creative that is, said Helix.
-Flattery, laughed Ulrich. Now, at least we have a direction to go in.
-Tiananmen Square it is, nodded Yiang. Would you believe I’ve never seen it in person?

After breakfast, we had a good time spending over an hour running the border, the bunch of us feeling like illegal immigrants making a break for freedom, even if it was actually the opposite as we were rather running into further danger then a refuge. Still, after we’d straightened ourselves out and walked into Erenhot we had stopped giggling and looked respectable enough that we were able to buy train tickets for the capital without having too many questions to answer. The ride itself was almost as hilarious an experience, with the bunch of American tourists with no clue what anything around them meant unless our red panda gave is a translation, though after a while, Yiang started playing jokes on us and giving us wrong interpretations, though so obviously pulling our legs that we played along with full awareness that it wasn’t to be taken seriously. What I found sort of interesting was that for the better part of the trip, she held my hand in hers, playing with my fingers once in a while before giving my backhand a quick snuggle or kiss with a giggle and make some nice comment on me. If anything, she seemed to like me more then a casual friend, not that I didn’t find it nice. Save for the fact she was a bit damaged and everything, she was really the cutest thing I’d been with, albeit another woman. I didn’t want to insinuate anything out of place either, just in case my evaluation was misjudged, simply giving her closest ear a lick here and there, getting funny chirps from her in reply.

After a few transfers and the better part of the day, we arrived in Beijing. Now as she’d said, Yiang had never been there, nor had any of us, and we didn’t have anything resembling an idea where the heck we were for the time being, nor where the Square was either. I commented on that reality, then got a round of laughter from the group as I took the red panda by the shoulder and asked her to lead the way.

-I don’t know where it is either, protested the girl.
-Yes, I giggled, but you see that sign over there?
-Yeah, the one that says ‘baggage claim’? What about it?
-Well, I couldn’t have told you that it said ‘baggage claim’, I stated. See what I mean?
-I think I do, Yiang laughed as we left the station.

After fifteen minutes, we had found a metro hub and with a happy chirp from our guide, learned one of the stations actually bore the name of the location we were looking for, along with the suffix ‘xi’ or ‘dong’. Ulrich took a pensive air for a second and then stated that ‘dong’ sounded cooler then ‘xi’ hence it would be the best place for us to go. I would have refuted his statement, but really, there was no basis for it and a dizzying round of subway later, we had surfaced and were looking at the legendary location, a bit too crowded for us to really make heads or tails of it. Helix offered that we go find a place to stay and wait until morning before trying our luck, pretty much accepted at unanimity by the group with aching backs from the long transit we’d kicked ourselves through crying out louder then professional fervor at this point. The closest places looked like they would have drained even the best of bank accounts in short order, hence we took a trustworthy-looking street away for a few blocks, as long as it took to find a motel to stash ourselves away in. Just as a precaution, on our way, we stopped at a bank for Ulrich to get a good brick of bills, handy in case we ran into a situation that required for some money to solve or facilitate, at least.

The fares of our selected establishment was such rock-bottom prices that the panther went nuts and took four rooms, though as he handed out keys, Yiang was quick to sidestep to grip my arm before the cat started the exercise. I looked over at the red panda with a quizzing air, only to get a peck on the nose from the girl and a giggle from the Don as he tossed me the key chain. As we turned in, I just had time to put my things away before I heard a loud, sharp chirp and I felt the panda landing on my back, knocking me flat on my face on the bed. I wiggled to turn to face her, just as soon getting a quick kiss from her before she laid her head against my chest and made herself comfortable. She looked absolutely lovable with her eyes closed, almost like a soul half her age, younger of heart then Amina, as much based on her species as her behavior. I rubbed her back with my free hand, getting an even wider smile on her face.

-Eshe, can I tell you something really personal?
-Sure, panda. What’s up?
-Panda... all right, hyena, giggled Yiang, I think that I’m lesbian. If I really were, would you want to be with me for just a while, maybe?
-I suppose that I could dyke it for a bit, I shrugged. After all, I’ve got nothing but time and I’ll be honest, it’s a bit lonely at the mansion ever since I separated with my boyfriend. I girl’s got love just like a guy, doesn’t she?
-This one does, she smiled as she reached up to touch my muzzle. Hey, want to cuddle a bit to warm up, you know?
-Bet I can get to my spots faster then you can get all that red fur in the moonlight.
-You’re on, laughed Yiang as we got up face to face. Three, two, one...
-Go, I called as I started to strip, getting buff naked two full seconds before the red panda as she struggled a bit with her panty’s tail hole button. I win!
-You sure do, she replied as we lay down and lifted our legs to get our vaginas rubbing together. Oh, that’s the shite...

It just felt like someone had poured a bucket of warm water on us as we screwed, our crotches just soaked through with cum and long, beastly groans and moans leaving our mouths as our brains became more and more saturated with estrogen. After getting to a point where there wasn’t a single thought in my mind that didn’t have some connection with sex, I reached down and started fingering Yiang, putting two fingers at first, then as the red panda opened her legs and started chirping with exaltation, added my annular and pinky to the exercise. The girl’s claws dug into the bed as her eyes shot open and her calls doubled in intensity and frequency, but soon she moved to help me and held vagina as open as she could and her orbits rolled back until she gave a long call with all her muscles tightening up in a massive orgasm.

There wasn’t a sign of virginity to her as I took my hand away and licked at it with a grin, but as soon as she’d regained a measure of motor skill, I found myself with my head and upper chest against a pillow with the panda returning the gesture to me, but being smaller in stature and my privates having been pretty well massaged by a big dragon dick for a time, I had her entire hand in me, almost touching everything in my genitals at once. I almost passed out a few times with my heart beating like a subwoofer, but I kept it together and just salivated like a rabid creature. As dirty as it sounds, we didn’t clean up after I’d hit my highs, simply hugging together and going out for the night smelling like a cheap whorehouse. Not that it wasn’t good though, make no mistake to that effect...

The next morning came as a bit of a rush, with Ulrich placing a call to our room to wake us up from our deep slumber. After all, I’d banged tails with Yiang until sometime past one in the morning, so heck, we were pretty rough. Even after our showers, we still looked like something right out of hell, though the bags under my dark eyes were more visible then under the panda’s. I didn’t have the luxury of having her white mask to hide them, after all, and my fur was rougher and sort of sparse around my eyes. Still, the panther didn’t say anything to that effect as we stepped out, simply patting our back with a kind smile as if he had a pretty good idea what we’d been up to. I wouldn’t have been surprised, seeing as how we hadn’t really been too careful about our decibel level, to put it lightly. There wasn’t anywhere to eat in the hotel itself, but right next door, a fruit market offered fresh fruit right out of the crates they’d come in that very morning, enough for us to silence our appetites on, even if I could see that Ulrich had the same sort of lingering taste for meat that carnivores had after a fleshless meal. I gave a shrug to him, a sort of unspoken declaration that I knew what he was thinking, getting a laugh in return. Yiang hadn’t anything to complain about, grabbing a bundle of fresh bamboo shoots in a glass of sugar water, a bit of a classic treat for red and regular pandas, offering one to me politely, though I had the time of my life eating it, even after having peeled the skin of the branch. Still, could see why she liked it, the sweet aftertaste lingering in my mouth as we walked back to the Square.

There were already quite a few people in and around the vacant area, even a few policemen who’s presence wasn’t even masked. Across the place in one of the corners, we saw a few people sort of clustered together, apparently handing out pamphlets to anyone who passed close by. We strolled up without too much visible intent, but we saw that at the same speed, a patrol of police were also making their way towards the group. The way I saw it, there was no way that we could beat them to the pamphleteers, not unless we broke out into a run, which would sort of make us as much targets as them in no time flat. Ulrich raised his paw at his side as a sign to stop and wait, sighing loudly and riving a low growl as if he knew that we’d come too late. Just the slight change of pace saw us sitting about ten meters away as the agents arrested the group and confiscated their papers. The strange thing was that they didn’t seem to have that many left, as if they’d timed their distribution as to coincide with their arrest, but that would have implied that this was something they were used to, very much.

We felt a bit helpless by the time that they left, but I was the first to notice that another member of the group, this one dressed as a monk of some sort, had jogged where they’d been, looking at his colleagues getting escorted away with a defeated air. He seemed to have a bag at his side, probably packed with other handouts, but he didn’t appear to know exactly what to do. That indecision was a boon to us as I motioned for us to go see him, which the whole group picked up on as we walked over to see him. The serow seemed a bit taken aback with a group of six coming right at him, but Yiang said something that seemed to take the edge off the situation, enough for us to introduce ourselves.

-I’m afraid I arrived a bit late, the goat self-confessed.
-I’d say that it was perhaps for the best, Helix commented, isn’t it?
-I don’t think so, personally, replied the serow. This happens every day. We come here to distribute our literature and then we’re arrested, about an hour later. Normally, we’re held for three days, so we’re nine groups that rotate as the others are released.
-Maybe we could talk more about it out of harms way, offered Ulrich, couldn’t we?
-I suppose that since I missed my friends, I should return to our center and tell the others that I’ll go with the next group.
-Actually, we have a bit of an issue that you might be able to help us with, started the panther in an amazingly diplomatic tone. You see, a number of our friends have been arrested as well, but we’re afraid that those who have not yet been taken in are in imminent danger of persecution.
-Sounds very strangely like us, grinned the serow. I’m Ran Tailim, by the way.
-Ulrich, Tracks, Helix, Jumpy, Eshe and Yiang, the cat pointed.
-Good to meet each of you, nodded Tailim. Not that I want to seem anything but benevolent and kind, but what did you expect we could we do to help you?
-Seeing as we’re both in the same position and the source of our problems is the same, you might have some insight as to who would be interested in certain activities within the Party’s higher echelons.
-Ah, exclaimed the serow, we’ll take a different path then. I think I know a few people who might be able to help you more then my friends and me. You see, we just distribute these tracts, but we don’t write them. The specifics of what happens in the rank and file isn’t something I’ve really deeply concerned myself with. There’s a different level of conviction in these fellows as to the struggle that has arisen.
-Thanks for the hand, I added. Are they also practitioners of your school?
-They say they are, but they’re a bit too active to really follow the directing lines of what we aim for. Still, they’re a great help when it comes to informing people of the facts as they stand at the moment.

We followed Tailim until we reached an apartment block where he buzzed the intercom, waiting a few seconds until someone replied, asking a few questions before a figure came and opened the door for us, looking outside furtively before closing it and locking it back up. On the second story, we entered what looked like a newspaper’s journalist pit, packed with banker’s boxes full of all sort of documents and people tapping away at their desks, obviously quite involved in their writing. Another serow was at one of the desks, a female, as absorbed by the text she was producing.

-Huolan, called our friend.
-Tailim? Hello, said the woman as she turned from her work. Ah, you have new members you’re showing around there?
-Actually, they’re looking for information on certain members of the Party, corrected Tailim. I thought that you might be able to give us a hand.
-I suppose I could, she nodded as she got up and guided us to a conference room. We might even be able to help each other, depending how this goes.
-What do you mean, asked Ulrich, I don’t quite...
-There’s been a lot of trouble at our end here too, cat, explained Huolan. Two of our reporters have gone missing in the last week, and I know full well that though you didn’t tell me, brother, at least six of your friends haven’t yet been released even if they’ve been detained for over a month. We don’t know how to get them out, but I think that at this point, it’s clear that they won’t be freed willingly.
-Therefore you’d want us to break them out, said Tracks. Why did you think we were the sorts to do this kind of thing?
-Just the fact that you’re all carrying, grinned the ewe as she reached over and flicked a finger at Ulrich’s side, giving a dull metallic ping. I’d help you either way, it’s just that we’re pretty short on options to get our people back, and I’m appealing to your goodwill.
-We’d have to know more about where they’re being kept, take a look around there, then we could tell you if we’d be able to do anything. We’re pretty damn good, but we’re not set up to take on a regiment of anything.
-Humble folks, grinned the woman. Well, I’ll start looking into your problem if you can give me as much info as you can regarding who’s running after who, and in return, I’ll give you a list of the names of the people we’re missing here and whereabouts of the institution where we thing they’re being held.
-We’ll dive right into that, insisted Helix as he took the paper from the serow and looked it over.
-Considering that you might need to get around a bit faster then on foot, I’d be willing to lend you one of the vans we use here. After all, if this comes to a conclusion, whatever it might be, I’m sure that it would make one bomb of a story to run!
-I’ll make sure to take notes as we’re going around, winked Ulrich.
-Seeing as how you don’t know the city as well as you perhaps would like to, I could come with you, offered Tailim. I don’t really want to become violent at all though...
-Don’t worry, you have six clicks here who can keep your horns out of trouble, chuckled Tracks. Still, like Ulrich said, we’re not really fit to engage, so this will likely resolved through smarts then fists.
-That would be some magic trick, bleated the goat as we turned out of the office.
-I can bleat louder then that, stated Helix as he gave his own call. Beat that!
-Give me a second to clear my throat, smiled the serow.

The prison we were supposed to break half a dozen people out of was on the outskirts of the city, behind a ten foot-tall concrete block wall with razor wire along it’s top. The place itself looked like a fortress, with plenty of people walking around, armed pretty respectably. We parked a block away and paid a fine restaurant across the street from the location, getting a decent view of the place from the third story of the building. The waiter who was tending to our table voiced his own complaint regarding the fact that a full decade earlier, the lot had been occupied by housing, and that ever since the prison had been built, his clientele wasn’t the same anymore. We invited him over as often as we thought was polite to, asking for this and that in return for tips and more comments about their neighbors, though one of the last ones that he told us was probably the best of all.

-Now keep this to yourselves and forget that I told you this, but every Sunday, a few trucks come by here and a group of pretty important-looking people come here for supper before going over in there. I don’t know who they are, but they ask for the most expensive things we have, and always pay cash.
-Are they uniformed?
-They have the star, pointed the server, but I don’t know more then that. Sometimes they talk about how the prisoners are a lot of trouble, and how it might be better for them not to bother with them anymore. That’s what I know, sorry.
-That’s plenty, thanks, smiled the panther as he slipped him a few bills.
-So they’re pretty interesting people in there, I hummed in a low voice. I suppose that they’d be trying to get as much about your people here out of them, Tailim.
-As much as I hate to think that’s so, I can’t say that it’s a reasonable thing to infer. So, are any ideas forming in your mind, Ulrich?
-Actually, I’ll default to my latest addition here, said the cat as he put a paw on my shoulder. You seem to be on a roll up to now, Eshe. What’s your take on this?
-I suppose that since they’re in such high esteem in the eyes of the jailors here, those visitors probably get a blind eye turned to them when they come in. If we were to take over their convoy, we might be able to just drive in without too much trouble. After that, if we’re quick about it, we could also get out of them where our marks are, so then we could retrieve them. Better still, depending on the authority they wield, we could just have them brought to us, and then we just drive off.
-Taking a few vehicles isn’t anything magical, nodded Jumpy, it’s very doable. I say that it’s probably the best option we have right now, unless we want to try and sneak in there covert-style like some movie spies, which I suspect won’t get us anywhere with that much security in place.
-How interesting, I giggled, we’re Sunday.
-And it’s getting dark, nodded Ulrich. I say that we cut this meal short and get out there. If they’re turning into the prison, this is a one-way street, so is the next one, coming from the middle of nowhere in the city. That gives us two blocks to set up out ambush. Tracks, you form a team with Jumpy and Yiang. Eshe, you’re with Helix, Tailim and me. We’ll take opposite sides of the street, take the first vehicle and you take the last one. The middle ones we’ll handle however they present themselves. No one fires unless fired on or threatened reasonably.
-Yes Don Ulrich, nodded the deer as his face took a much more serious expression.
-If no one objects, I’ll leave payment for our food here and we’ll get going.

The server looked a bit confused as to why we were leaving so quickly, but seeing the small pile of bills that the panther had left for him, he didn’t say a word about it, simply muttering something that Yiang translated as ‘everyone here is crazy, maybe I should be too’. There were plenty of places for us to hide out on the street, which had hardly any traffic at all. Ulrich though a step ahead and found one of the stores near our team’s location to be vacant, so we would even have a place to stash our marks while we joyrode their wheels. I could also understand how he’d split us up, for even though we were four, only Helix, he and I were carrying, and in Track’s team, even if Yiang was a no-shooter, the deer and ‘roo both counted for more then us in the equation. Time seemed to go by slowly as we hid out in the doorway of the empty store, though the occasional glance at Ulrich and Helix was enough to keep me psyched, the intense look in their eyes quite telling of the tension that they had put themselves in. As I was tuning my glance from them, about an hour after we’d left the restaurant, I heard a short growl from the cat that had me focus on the street.

The convoy was pretty small, just three vehicles. The front was a jeep, followed by two limousines, probably a sign that the first was the armed escorts and the others would only have bodyguards, if any combatants at all. We waited until the last possible moment to step out, but a few shots into the tires and grill of the ride had it stop to a dead stop, turning sideways in the street. There wasn’t any room for the other vehicles to avoid it, and as we saw Tracks open the driver’s door on the last vehicle and toss the occupant out of the limo, we had the situation immobilized. With our guns trained on the jeep, we had Tailim call to them to get out and enter the vacant store. The four inside were soldiers, but since we had the drop on them and stayed at a safe distance from them, covering each other pretty well, there was nothing they could do if they valued their lives. The serow actually jogged up to the jeep and took two automatic weapons from inside, passing one to me as he kept the other, giving me a shrug and grin as if he knew that he was just trying to bluff. Still, the increase in firepower helped us as we took the three people in the second limo into the store, though it wasn’t until we emptied the last one did our high-placed officials turn up.

As the rest of the group kept the prisoners at gunpoint, Yiang and Ulrich interrogated the senior of them to get information as to where our targets were being held. He was a stubborn piece of crap though, and didn’t respond even after a few good pistol whips. I understood that it was mostly a show of force though, with the objective of getting another one in the gang to crack, which happened as the panther had the man on the ground and was threatening to put the boot to him if he didn’t speak up. One of the people from the second car put his hand up and asked if he could say something that would insure their safety, and with Tailim’s help, I got the straight facts from him. Though the interview was pretty short, I’ll paraphrase.

Basically, the reason for the five previous visits to the prison was to get friendly with the people that ran it. The idea behind that was that two of the senior officers that we were holding, including the one that Ulrich was now holding by the jugular, were planning a really sick game. Basically, they’d get half a dozen prisoners, the four from our serow’s group and the two journalists, bring them along out in the countryside, and have a canned hunt with them as the prey. If Ulrich’s eyes could have shot lasers, that would have been the time for it to happen, but as soon as our willing guest had spoken all he needed to, the panther took his subject and the other that would have been a hunter at the hunt, put them down on their knees, and had Yiang translate as he gave them a speech on the respect for life and the innocent. The cat was pretty deep in his reflections, and his words could have come from the same pages as most of the great philosophers through the centuries, though seeing the pair’s reactions, the red panda was translating them in a way that did them all the justice they were worth. Nonetheless, as they were whining in self-confession, Ulrich’s face went cold and with Jumpy aside him, each selected a target and put a silenced round through their heads.

The reaction from the group was utter terror, but the cat announced to them at this was a lesson they should learn themselves and this was the time for them to have introspections at their own souls and sins rather then their deaths. Locking the door behind us and closing the steel shutter that protected it from vandals, we got into the vehicles, pulling the jeep into an alley before climbing into the limousines.

Our welcome at the gates of the prison was exactly what we were expecting, which was a simple wave from the guards as we rolled right in. Parking in the lot aside one of the emergency exits of the building, we waited until a pair of wardens came and asked what we needed. We’d planned for them to do so and turned off all the lights in the cars as to keep our anonymity, and for Tailim to reply for us, asking for the six to be brought out as previously agreed. After a bit of rough language, judging from Yiang’s expressions, the two walked away. The time we waited for a sign of life from was just nerve wrecking, but we were relieved to see them and a few other guards escorting our marks towards us. Our only reply was to remotely open the trunks of the limos, a signal understood by our oblivious helpers as they stuffed the prisoners into the compartments and slamming the lids closed, then gave a wave of their hand for us to go ahead. I couldn’t help but giggle as we rolled off, seconded by Ulrich as he gave a wide smile, apparently pretty satisfied with the execution of our mission to date. Tailim got out as we passed in front of the restaurant to drive the pamphleteer’s car before we made a run for it, going deeper into one of the seedier parts of the city.

As soon as we’d really reached a lost corner of Beijing, we parked in a deserted lot, got out of the limos and opened the trunks. The six looked at us in horror, probably expecting to get killed as soon as they got out, but as soon as the serow came to join us, the four from the Falun called out in joy and hopped out of the vehicles and went to greet him, three of them simply hugging him. The two others got out right after, looking at the van from their workplace with a reassured look as Yiang explained what had happened to have us all standing there. Ulrich made them all understand that the way things were, they were fugitives from the law, and should stay on the down low for a while, until they were forgotten about. Even if they held on to their precepts, the first four didn’t insist otherwise, obviously not eager to go back to their cells, and the two journalists were all too happy to chill out underground for a while after their detention. From what Tailim told us, the newspaper was open around the clock, so we’d be able to head around there whenever we wanted.

-We should really get rid of those, as much as I hate to say it, I commented the Jumpy.
-What? It’s not like a limo is that conspicuous, laughed the ‘roo as he rubbed between my ears. You’re right, hyena, we should ditch these.
-Seeing as how we had all this trouble to go through because of their owners, I don’t think it would be fair for us just to give them back in one piece, I added.
-Torch a limo? Aw, sighed Jumpy, I can’t bring myself to do it, but if you want, go ahead, right, Ulrich?
-There must be cigar lighters in there somewhere, nodded the panther. Got one?
-I got two, I replied as I opened the closest passenger door and took out the resistive lighters and set them on the back seat before taking two bottles from the open bar and putting one next to the lighter, smashed the other over it to spill the flammable contents all over the place. There! Burn, baby, burn!
-It’s a sad thing to see, but I’ll do the other one, stated Yiang.

After the red panda had started her own blaze in the second car, we packed into the van, a tight fit with so many of us inside, but still a safe way to go about things. Yiang joined the conversation with Tailim and his friends, giving me enough peace to close my eyes and doze off a bit, even if I didn’t have that much shoulder room. I was used to having Amina with me, and as much as she complained about me moving when I slept, I was nothing compared to her. As soon as we reached the editing house, all six of the freed souls hurried inside to a warm welcome from the occupants, including Huolan, who gave her kin a grin as if she knew that we’d had a bit of fun while doing our good deed. While I was looking around, she took Ulrich aside and handed him a folder, explaining to him what she’d found on the insiders who’d been after the Golden Dragon. I didn’t hear most of it as the voices of the others were pretty loud, but moreover, I’d sort of tuned out, resting my mind. Half an hour later, the panther had finished with the woman and walked over to me and sat down aside me on the couch I’d taken refuge on, reaching across my shoulders to pull me into a hug and rub his head against mine.

-How’s Eshe, asked the Don as he looked at me, still keeping it together?
-I’d say we just went through probably one of the harder parts of this round, I commented as I tickled his chin. Ready to go?
-I think so, sure. I got Huolan’s number in here, so I think we can leave these good people to their peace. Tialim wanted to stay with us though, specifically Yiang, if you know what I mean.
-Oh yeah? He told you that?
-He’s pretty shy, but I know the signs, smirked Ulrich. I’m afraid you might have time to yourself tonight.
-If you want to point fingers, I’d have to say that you would too, tomcat.
-That just means we have a chance to talk a bit more when we get to the hotel, won’t we? That is if you want to, though.
-Hey, we’re not strangers here, I laughed as I slapped his thigh. I think everyone got away from their conversations here...

We rounded up the Miami gang plus Tialim as we walked around the room, then took back off into the night in the loaned van, sort of extending Huolan’s generosity somewhat, maybe, but still, we needed a ride after having done all the footwork we could tolerate to during the previous day. Yiang was pretty quick to escape from our sight with the serow as soon as we’d reached our floor at the hotel, and I didn’t really see any reason to question the three Bronco made men who vanished into their bunk, leaving me and Ulrich free to walk to his room as soon as I’d retrieved my things from what had been my room before.

-Man, what a mess, laughed the panther as he threw himself on the bed, almost whacking the bedside lamp over with his tail. I can’t understand how you can still be on your paws, Eshe!
-I’m not, I corrected as I let myself collapse on my own cot. God, I think I actually already lost some weight from all this madness. Miami will seem like a party after this episode!
-It’s always good to go home, nodded Ulrich. Things are just nuts these days though.
-How so?
-Oh, the hotel’s going through some renovations, just to keep the place nice, and back at the mansion, I have Mist who’s pregnant and everything, so man, what a ride.
-Congratulations, I announced, you must be proud, cat.
-It’s good to think that my turn’s come after all these years, smiled the leopard. To be honest, we’re pretty darn lucky that we were able to make it happen at all.
-Oh? Not that I mean to pry, but...
-It’s Mist, completed Ulrich. She’s not that fertile, and she had to take a few medications to help before we were able to conceive, and from what the doctor said, this’ll be a one-time thing, to have a kitten, that is.
-Still, it’s a special gift, I insisted. Do you know the gender yet?
-It’s a tomcat, he hummed. I sort of wish that we could have one of each, but that’s just me here. Actually, this might seem a bit off, but I was thinking of sort of adopting you and Amina into the family. Before you say anything, maybe you could think about it a bit. I mean that sort of thing is how I grew up myself with Jumpy, and with you as one of my best points it sure would make for a pretty nice arrangement.
-I’m always a bit worried about my little sister, I nodded. I’ve always been there to look after her and everything, but there’s always the ‘what if’, you know? Back in Kenya, it would have been a simple equation, because there was no way she could have made it without me. Here, we have friends and everything, you and Eclipse first and foremost, so I don’t really think that she’d run into hardships should something happen to me.
-I understand, nodded Ulrich.
-So if you’d take us bag of spots in, I’d be delighted and really grateful. I mean, listen to me here! Of course I’m grateful, seeing how you’re offering me a career too and everything.
-You only have yourself to thank, waved the panther. You’re a special woman, Eshe.
-Just about as special a cat as you, I shot back. You’re lucky to have Mist, because otherwise, you wouldn’t stay on the market a second.
-Hmm, yeah, he sighed. I sort of have her, as she sort of has me. You know, we’re married and everything, but it’s more like a functional friendship then a couple. We both have our things here and there, just because of that.
-Not that much in common?
-A few years, at the least, and in terms of hobbies, she’s all about the arts. Theatre, mostly. I don’t mind, but it’s not my biggest concern. I like jazz music, and she can’t stand it. See where I’m coming from?
-A headache, I grinned. I love jazz, personally.
-Yeah, you were good when you played with Eclipse’s band. How about you and him? I know that since Melanie came into the picture you’re not together, but...
-If you think you had nothing in common with Mist, him and me just had sex to go by as a reference point, and that doesn’t go that far.
-I hear you! You know, sometimes you just want to cuddle, but then you know, she wants the whole thing, and now what am I supposed to do? Jeeze, I tell you, it’s a weird life.
-I have a few good ideas, I replied as I reached over and poked him. We’re on the same wavelength?
-That’s the basis of those ideas, I think, isn’t it?
-See? It’s telepathy, I laughed as I got up and laid down aside him and huddle up against him. Shirts off?
-You won’t hear me bitch about it, smiled the Don as I took off my top and bra while he threw off his shirt. Look at all those spots...

The evening was actually a wonderful experience, just slouched against Ulrich’s shoulder with one of his arms crossing over my breasts, holding them against me while his hand caressed my side, and his other paw stroking my mane, interrupted by the occasional kiss he gave me anywhere he could reach. I just wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him steadily, nuzzling against him and letting my warm breaths blow over his fur. As we were getting ready to sleep under the covers, the panther turned to me and asked the strangest question, though the weight he put behind it was enough to tell me that my answer should be well thought.

-Eshe, do you think I’m still innocent?
-By innocent, you mean that you’ve stayed free of mortal sins and the like?
-Yes, pretty much. I’m not sure anymore. Everyone I know has some sort of bias towards me and always go the way of telling me I’m nothing short of a saint, but I can’t bring myself to think that’s right. What do you think, spots?
-I think you put yourself in situations where you don’t have a choice but to act in a more radical way then most people would find themselves. I don’t know anyone who would have ambushed a convoy of officials today, nor face them down like you did. Maybe it would appear a bit extreme to the common mortal to have executed them, but then again, there was no way that they would be punished by any judicial system without ridiculous measures being taken, hence it was a reasonable thing to do, even more so if it might scare some sense into the people who travelled with them. I don’t know about everything you’ve ever done, Ulrich, but if you’ve acted with the same just hand that you did today, you’re a solider of God, who carries His sword and brings His vengeance to those who transgress His laws. As for sex, well, we’re lonely souls here on Earth, and we can always used the company of others whenever we can. Sometimes we put more eggs in one basket then another, but that’s being cautious with our heart. I don’t believe in marriage myself, just because it’s a hypocritical thing to believe that a single person can always understand everything you live. How’s that for a reply?
-Is that what you really think?
-From the bottom of my spots, I giggled as I caressed the panther’s muzzle and gave him a kind stare. You find it harder these days, to go about this lifestyle?
-Well, I have a lot of baggage, let’s put it that way, sighed Ulrich. Life’s taken a good toll on me, and sometimes I get a bit upset I didn’t go about it the way I planned to when I was younger.
-I never had that certitude, I sighed as I unconsciously gripped the cat a bit tighter. At least you always had some sort of conviction in your heart, tell yourself that.
-Thank you, Eshe, he muttered as he put his head on my shoulder and held me comfortably.
-Good night, panther.

It didn’t feel the same as when I’d been with Eclipse as I woke up and looked at the Don, still holding me in his sleep. It didn’t feel like I was with another person right now, just another part of me, incarnate. Ulrich just looked so peaceful, so quiet, that the innocence that he asked me about seemed to transpire freely from him. After all, I always thought that no guilty soul could sleep like others, as he’d be too haunted by his misdeeds to rest. If the cat could sleep like this and have his natural grace speak for him, then there was no doubt in my mind that he was an angel. He had a warmth to him too, even now, some sort of aura that beyond commanding some sort of respect for his moral status, comforted, as if the very fact he was there meant that whatever peril was about would be calmed. I didn’t really feel as if I moving physically as I leaned over and kissed him, and stayed in the same state as he opened his grey ice and looked into mine, purring softly as he pulled me closer. Whispering my name, he slowly rubbed his head against me, tickling my nose with his whiskers.

-I’ll meow if you yelp, muttered Ulrich.
-Fine, I chuckled before sounding off twice. Your turn!
-Ha, pantheridae don’t meow, we’re not felidae, laughed the cat. Got you!
-Then give us a big roar, kitty. Come on, you’re not going to tell me you don’t have one deep down waiting to come out?
-What time is it?
-Nine.
-Everyone should be up. Here goes, watch your ears, he warned before giving the loudest, fiercest roar I’d ever heard in my life.
-What the, I called as I almost fell off the bed. Holy shit that’s impressive!
-Before the Second Genesis, it used to be enough to scare off little hyenas that tried to steal our prey, teased Ulrich. It doesn’t seem to work anymore.
-Nah, we finally figured out big old panthers are too nice to do anything to little hyenas, I replied. Oops, someone got scared, I stated as a knock sounded at the door.
-I’ll get it, said the Don as he got up to open while I retrieved my shirt.
-Is everything all right, I heard Jumpy scream from the corridor before he barged in alongside Tracks with pistols drawn, are you okay Ulrich? We heard you and thought that...
-No, no, I was just giving Eshe a small demonstration.
-Damn, that almost gave me a frigging heart attack, the deer complained after he returned his sidearm to its holster and bent over to hold his knees.
-You should complain, laughed Ulrich as he poked Tracks, you’re worst. Jumpy just sounds odd.
-We’re glorified rats, shrugged the ‘roo, what can we do? Anyway, seeing as how we’re all up and at’em now, how ‘bout we get on with the show?

Following the ‘roo recommendation, I hurried into the washroom to get my bra back on. Not that I couldn’t have done it back in the room, but hey, a girl’s got her privacy to think about, and I liked to put it right before we ran back off God knows where. Selecting the same little nook we’d had breakfast at the previous day, we stopped in and spread out over two tables, though with all we ordered, we were probably the best paying customers in the joint and we didn’t have any protests from the attendants as well as plenty of coffee refills. Ulrich passed around the info we’d gotten from the journalists, mostly in simplified Chinese, not that it helped us a great deal, giving Yiang something to do with Tialim, not that they didn’t look like they hadn’t done anything together, if my meaning gets through. Basically, we had two names, which belonged to two individuals who normally didn’t stray too far from each other. One of them had been a big contender for a leadership position in the Party at the last congress, though a certain number of financial irregularities in his personal accounts as well as certain allegations of overseas sales of controlled merchandise had killed his chances of moving up an inch. The other had become his second of sorts, pretty much around to support him in any project he got into, sort of the brawns to his brains. They worked in and around Shanghai, of all places, and had a lot of influence in the armed forces and city police, who’s upper cadres backed them in return for certain official favours and generous sums of money.

-Looks like our guys, nodded Helix. I wouldn’t be surprised if they got it in their minds to take over the Triad. Now, we’re really entering in the last phase of this engagement. It wouldn’t be hard to take them out, but then someone could cut into the dance and take over their positions.
-If we get into their accounts and drain them when we do away with them, it would cut their legs from under them, commented Yiang. Without anything in return, I doubt that their friends would stick their necks out for nothing.
-I think we can do even more damage, declared Ulrich. After we do both of those things, we can send a list of names to certain key members of the Party, who I’m sure will be quite glad to show that they’re fighting corruption in the country, hence would contribute to clean up the rest of this mess.
-I don’t like to think we’re doing them a favour, Tialim sneered, but this sounds more like exploiting their ego then anything.
-Nothing like getting your nemesis to pick up your garbage at the curve for you, smiled the panther. I say this thing is a go. I’ll send these names back home to our people, who’ll get in position to drain their cash, and as soon as we get a confirmation from them, we go ahead and get rid of these two bastards.
-Before we go in, think that this might be a good time to start planning ahead, Tracks cut. This whole business has to end somewhere and considering the fact that we’re apparently heading back to close the circle in Shanghai, we might start looking at how we’re going to put this puzzle back together.
-True, seconded the panther. So Yiang, here’s the call. Are you in here, or do you want to come back to Miami?
-Honestly, I’ve thought about it, and I’m not leadership material when it comes to this sort of thing, the red panda replied. I think it might be better if we find someone else who might be better fit for it.
-Then we need to find that person soon, nodded Ulrich. After all, this is a pretty big load we’re going to put on his or her shoulders. We need to know we can trust them, pretty much so, and that they’re up to the challenge.
-Not that I want to sound like nepotistic here, Tialim said, but I think maybe my cousin might be good. She’s run her editing house for a full decade now, plus she had a huge network all over the place when she needs stuff and when it comes to the less tasteful side of things, she can pull a few impressive pieces of work from her bag of tricks.
-I’m not against it if she’s willing, shrugged the Don. You want give her a call?
-Sure, the serow called as he walked to use the phone at the back of the restaurant.

We waited and chilled out with a last round of acrid-tasting bean juice until the goat returned with a smile, announcing that Huolan was coming over to meet us. We ordered another round of finger food to pay the rent for our tables, so to speak, holding out until we saw the woman walking in and waved her over. She hadn’t taken the time for breakfast before rushing into work to set things up for her people to start a few articles and tracts regarding the improvised hunting match that our friends from last night had been planning, so sitting down to a good bowl of warm oats and barley was a welcome idea for her. While she was enjoying her food, Ulrich and Yiang pitched the idea to her, which she seemed very interested in, smiling as her kin hinted as to her already impressive experience regarding organizing the masses when needed.

-I’m fine with it, said Huolan. If you’re willing to give me a chance, I think you’ll be proud of what this little ewe can do. I sort of have most of my contacts here, though.
-Well, since we’re rebuilding this from the ground up, I don’t think that we’re bound to raise this phoenix back from its ashes right where it fell, Ulrich commented. Here is just as good a place as any.
-Then I’m ready when you are, bleated the woman. Put me in the fray when you want, and I’ll get started!
-We just have two targets to hit, and we’ll get started on this. Actually, I think we might be able to do both at the same time. Eshe, Tracks, Jumpy, could you manage the eliminations?
-Sure, the ‘roo said as he put his paw on his mate’s shoulder and nodded to me. We’ll give a call home to kill the accounts ourselves, so don’t you fret.
-Seeing as how the Golden Dragon’s been through a lot because of these two, I think it would be pretty fitting for that cash to partially deviate into their accounts, I said. Sixty-forty split with us?
-That sounds like a good arrangement, Ulrich purred. All right guys, good luck. Stay safe, hyena!
-Same to you, panther!

It was late afternoon by the time that we reached Shanghai, though the trip with the two points had been such a ball of fun that I hadn’t seen the time go by. As cool and composed as they could be when they were on the clock, they sure knew how to deliver a dirty joke and both had their share of fun getting a few yelps from me. I did what I could to shoot some back, mostly taken from late-night shows I watched back home when I couldn’t sleep. I’d had a lot of white nights when I’d first arrived in Miami, just because of the blunt transition that we’d made and since then, I’d become sort of a night owl. It was a bad habit, but I’d start watching a show, then another, then next thing I knew, it was like one in the morning and I had so much adrenaline going that I couldn’t close my eyes. Hopefully, Ulrich would get me off that habit, even if I understood that I’d sort of be ‘the other woman’, though from the talk we’d had, his wife had been busier with other guys then him for a while, and his absence would most likely not be noted with too much concern. It was a shame though, such a good cat...

Our reservation at the hotel where we’d first stayed was still technically valid and with cash payment for the missing days, we were welcomed back by the staff. We had some thinking to take care of, as even if we had the address of one of the two targets, the second was pretty much a ghost. My first recommendation was to go right after the one we knew then try to gather whatever information we could get on the second from him. Tracks was very reluctant to go ahead with that idea, mostly because it meant that it meant a good delay between the two kills, hence giving a chance for the second to make himself scarce. As flawed as it was, we were too short on time to try and play detectives, especially in a city we were limited in our influence and Jumpy voted my way, though insisted that we should extract out mark and bring him to our hideout to make sure that we had total control on him.

The coldness that I said the pair was able to display was in full effect by the time that we arrived at the apartment tower where we’d be operating. The location was very secure, with a pair of security guards patrolling the lobby in addition to another who sat behind the reception desk, all visibly armed. We didn’t want to have to use any more violence then necessary, and we’d all agreed to make this a zero-collateral outing, hence we had to outsmart the three, pronto. We were too small a team for one of us to act as a distraction, so we improvised by calling over a few fast food deliveries for them, as well as a singing telegram, a duo of strippers and an office supply company. The three of us couldn’t help but giggle as the absurd chaos we’d unleashed on the guards started to form, starting with a small legion of delivery men bitching at the two patrollers, who eventually led them all outside, then the arrival of the ten boxes of photocopier paper that office supply company was supposed to dump there, tearing the third man away from his post. By the time we snuck in, the rest had arrived, and the braver of the strippers had actually climbed on the roof of the office supply truck and started her number, no matter what was happening below, maybe more as a protest or act of defiance then anything.

We didn’t know how long this diversion would last, so we broke to a jog as we got to the level where our target lived. Tracks didn’t feel too subtle, getting a bit of a running start before kicking in the door of the suite, which flew open as it had been unlocked. As brutal as our entrance had been, the sight of children’s toys on the floor near a sofa on the other side of the room sort of killed our enthusiasm, giving us the sudden realization that our target was maybe more then just the wicked soul we were making him out to be. As if to steady our resolve, Tracks gave us both arm slaps and muttered to stay objective and as we saw our mark, a Asian leopard in his mid thirties, we jumped him, pulling his shirt over his head before folding it back over and using it as a combination of restraints and gag while we picked him up by his extremities and carried him out of the apartment, closing the door behind us. He was much too active for us to be able to carry him around practically, hence Jumpy did the honours of giving him a good knockout punch, enough to daze him as we escape the tower and employing a taxi under the pretence that we were bringing our drunk friend back to the hotel to sleep it off.

Using a trick that Tracks had learned from another friend of the Bronco clan, we stripped and restrained the leopard in the bathtub, getting ready to question him. Tracks had twisted his ankle during the forced entry we’d committed, and as much as he hated to admit it, he really felt like sitting down and taking his weight off it for a while. Jumpy could have done a fine job of talking to Dong, as we called the leopard according to his surname, but he edged me towards the bathroom as he started to come around, giving me a grin as if telling me that it was my show. It was probably some sort of weakness just stemming from respect for my fellow creature, but it was a pretty sad sight to see the cat yowling in confusion with half-opened eyes, wiggling around as if trying to free himself.

-I suppose you speak English, I stated to him with a strong African accent, hence you can understand exactly what I’m saying.
-Who are you, he muttered as he tried to focus on me. Where is this?
-The questions will come from me, and the replies from you, Dong, I corrected as I uncapped the pen I’d taken from the hotel’s stationary along with a notepad. Who we represent I think you can guess after what you and your comrade have been up to these last few weeks, correct?
-No, you’re not...
-Yes we are, I cut. Good, we’re on the same level here. Where are your cronies? We want names and addresses, now go ahead.
-You’ll kill them, won’t you?
-Is that what you want us to do, or is that an assumption you’re making? In either case, it’s hardly your problem anymore. Your only worry right now is to tell us what we want to hear in the next few seconds.
-No, I don’t think that I’m worried anymore, said the leopard. I know that or you’ll take my life, or you’ll let me go and someone else will.
-But your family...
-I made arrangements for them in case this happened. We took too many risks, and our plan for taking down the Golden Dragon was bound to attract attention anyway it was done. I was the most likely person to be found, because I did most of the research for it to be possible.
-Why did you do it?
-Because I desperately needed the money, plainly replied Dong. I come from a village where all there is to do on a warm afternoon is work in the rice paddies, and I took a chance when I joined the Party to try and find a better place to live. When Irons offered me to help him in exchange for a good salary, I took another risk. Do I regret it, you’ll ask? Yes, because I knew that it was a terrible thing to do, but no, because I know that my son will never know the poverty that I lived when I grew up.
-You’d raise him with blood-stained money?
-He’d never know where it came from. For all they know, I’m a secretary for one of the most important members of our Party, and I invested my pay carefully. I suppose it’s true, in an ironic way.
-If you tell us what you know about them, you don’t need to be implicated in anything that will endanger those provisions, and until they’re eliminated, you’ll be kept under protection along with your family. It’s the best of both worlds, Dong.
-You’re not from the Triad, commented the cat. This isn’t how they operate. You’d ask me to cooperate and if I’d refuse, you’d beat me to death. Why are you offered me something like this?
-You’re the father of a young family, I replied. There’s no reason for you to come to harm other then the visions your conscience will always summon for you, and seeing your son grow will remind you why you should stay away from this inexcusable crime.
-This is odd, huffed the leopard. I expected to make this sacrifice, sort of preparing myself for it, but if I’m to live, there’s a lot of things I’d like to do...
-If you prepared yourself for death, then now prepare yourself for life, I stated. So, is this the course of action that you wish to follow?
-With my greatest thanks, yes, nodded Dong. Now, let’s see, from the top...

The cat gave me a list of five names along with addresses and contact information, five people that would have to go for the dominos to fall and everything to return to normal. As he described to me who did what, he had really very little to blame himself for. All he’d done was act as courier between them, which anyone could have done. I toned down my attitude as he went on, until he declared that it was all he could offer. Jumpy stepped in and took the list, calling Yiang on the telephone to have her and Ulrich call hits on them, as it would be impossible for the three of us to take care of them properly. As I returned my attention to Dong, he raised his hand with an embarrassed air, speaking as soon as I’d acknowledged him.

-I’ve sort of been good with dealing with the stress up to now, but I really have to go for a number one right now, if you understand.
-You’re in a bathtub, I muttered as I returned to the notes I’d taken, and I don’t have anything to cut your binds.
-Oh come now, certainly you have the decency not to have me be forced to actually take a piss like this?
-I’m not making you do anything, I shrugged. It’s not like I’m making you beg, I’m just stating the facts.
-I’ll hold it in, grumbled the leopard.
-Look, if you push yourself up with yours legs and sling over the bath’s ledge, you’d be hanging your balls right over the toilet, I instructed.
-Oh, right, blushed Dong as he executed the moves as I’d recommended. I didn’t mean to be rude, it was just that I’m not really that crafty and flexible normally. Sorry you have to see this too...
-I’ve seen dicks before, I sighed with a good dose of vexation as I averted my glance while he did his thing before pawing the lever with his foot and returned to the ledge.
-I didn’t mean to imply you didn’t! You sort of take offence easily, hyena.
-That’s me, I smirked, but that’s what I am. If you had the idea to try and flirt, I already have someone who can deal with that temper.
-No, I didn’t! Anyway, what’s my fate now?
-You’ll be returned to your family with escorts and kept under surveillance until we’re satisfied that you’re clean. If you show yourself cooperative enough, then we might have to talk about cutting another sort of deal with you.
-The likes of which?
-I suspect that if you were to serve as a source for the Triad inside the Party and communicate what you learn and sometimes seek certain information once in a while, this fund you put aside might continue to grow somewhat. That depends on you, again.
-I’ll do what I can to show myself worthy of the way you’re treating me, insisted the leopard.
-Good. Make yourself comfortable, we might be here a while.
-Look, I don’t want to be picky, but would you really mind that much if I could at least get my briefs and pants back?
-I suppose that it might acceptable, I said as I threw the two articles to him after having thoroughly searched them. It was a security precaution, that’s all.
-I understand. Radical, but I understand, Dong returned as he slipped his legs back into the clothes and wiggled himself into them. Well, I’ll just hang around here, if you need me.
-I’ll let you know, I replied before gagging him with a sock and a shoelace. Don’t run away now, leopard.

I heard some grumbling from Dong as I closed the door and returned to the two made men, who had migrated to the bed, cuddling together while watching cartoons on the television. Jumpy commented that contracts had already been sent out to agents that the Golden Triad used in the capital, with insurance that we’d have positive results before sunrise.

-Figure you’re getting the hang of this game, shot Jumpy while Tracks was rubbing his stomach, or are you just playing it by ear?
-Nah, these round little things are just there to send info to what’s between them, I laughed as I pulled my ears down against my head. You two good over there?
-Meh, no complaints, muttered Tracks as he licked the top of his ‘roo’s head. We’re not an offensive sight to you, I hope? I mean if you’re sort of homophobe, that’s okay, not everyone...
-Oh cut that lip out, I waved, you’re cute together. Dong’s back in his pants too, so I guess I’ll just take it easy here.
-Poor you, grinned Jumpy, you’ll just have to think about the Don for a while.
-So the cat’s out of the bag, eh?
-Well, Mist is sort of a strange cat, shrugged the deer. I think that she’s actually in cahoots with the butler at Ulrich’s hotel, so hey, no big deal.
-Really? Wow, does Ulrich know?
-Down to the grisly details from what I know, Tracks nodded. Bah, life’s little twists, I suppose. I’ll go give our guest a pillow and one of the spare covers, seeing as how I doubt that he’ll be trying to smother himself to death and the bathtub’s not too cozy by itself.

After he’d gone and had another little talk with the leopard, sort of trading more information and small talk with him in exchange for the items, we turned on a movie from the hotel to fall sleep on, successfully doing so within mere minutes of the flick starting, a good indicator at what point we were wasted. The night was good though, and short of the shower that I thought I might take to freshen up which I had to forgo of course, I felt like I could leap over a few multi story buildings with small bounds. There were two messages in the hotel voicemail for us, both from contractors that the Triad had hired to confirm the hits as successful, and a third message from the front desk, telling us that someone had left a note for us there for us to pick up whenever we wanted. Jumpy was pretty much the first of us to volunteer, and did the trip down to fetch it without a shirt on, though the ‘roo did seem to think it was a big deal and his cute pie of a deer couldn’t bring himself to ask him to cover up all that nice fur he had been rubbing during the night.

-Let’s see what this is, said Jumpy as he walked into the room, rolling in a room service cart with a few plates on it. I got us some stuff too, just in case anyone here is as hungry as I am.
-Sure am, I yelped as I pounced on a plate of bacon. I understand this was brought for the carnivores amongst us?
-Well, I’m not big on the whole carnivore herbivore thing, grinned Tracks. So what’s the note?
-I’ll open it, offered the ‘roo as he ran a claw down the side of the letter before pulling it out. Looks like another confirmation from someone we hired, though he calls in three kills.
-Some people take their game to another level when there are employment possibilities in the air, I said.
-That’s sort of his comment too, Tracks continued as he read over Jumpy’s shoulder. He’s wondering if since he did this nice job for us, we could cut him into some more action in the near future.
-I don’t think that the Triad back in Beijing would be worst off with another good guy in their ranks. Heck, it would be good to know that they have a decent point to turn to, not that I’m biased, said the kangaroo.
-Of course you’re not, I laughed. So he wants to meet us?
-I think that’s for us to decide, stated Jumpy. First though, we set up our new friend with a tight leash, then we get on this. No use running off with loose ends around.
-Right, said Tracks as he took the phone and hired a surveillance detail on the Triad’s dime for Dong’s residence. We’re good to return the cat home, after I get some coffee in me.
-I’ll give him a plate too, I commented as I put together a few things and walked into the washroom.
-Good morning, yawned Dong as I walked in. Is that for me?
-Yes, and I’ll free your hands to eat it. Don’t get any ideas though; I have associates in the next room.
-I didn’t even think doing anything, protested the leopard as I cut his binds. Good precaution though. When will I go home?
-Right after this, I said as I waved at his plate. Take your time though, we’re friends now, right?
-Better friends then I could ever have been with those butchers I suspect you put down during the night.
-You’ll be under watch for a month and a half, after which your payments of ten thousand a week will double, depending on how well you perform, I explained. At first, don’t contact us, we’ll contact you.
-Okay, smiled the cat as he ate. I know I already said it, but thank you very, very much.

I gave a half grin as I got up with his empty plate, handing it to Tracks as we got ready to leave. By eight, we were out the door, hailing a taxi to go back to the leopard’s residence, though we gave him more leeway, as a sign of trust if nothing else. As we reached the apartments, Tracks gave the team he’d hired a sound off to make sure they were in place, catching a glimpse of one of the three men across the street from the building. With the comfort of knowing that everything was in place, we let Dong out of the taxi to get back to his family, the cat looking a bit disoriented for a second before going in and straightening himself out. We got off at a busy shopping centre ourselves before Jumpy called our eager contract killer, who energetically agreed to come meet us at a crowded arcade we decided would be a safe place to talk. A few racks of balls and a number of astounding shots from Jumpy later, we saw a mongoose in baggy thug clothes walking towards us, giving us a friendly peace sign as he presented himself.

-Zao, called the young creature, I take it you’re the good folks from the Golden Dragon?
-Yes, replied Tracks. And you’re Tony?
-That’s me, said the mongoose. Thanks for the meeting! It’s an honour to have done business with you already.
-And there’s a lot more business to be done, if you’re on the level, the deer announced. Billiards?
-Sure! I’m not too good though.
-First, the work would all be in Beijing, so you’d have to move, I think.
-Not a problem, because I don’t really have a place here, I just live in hotels and some small places I rent cheap. I’m good at what I do, but it’s just that I don’t get too many calls. I got a few from you guys before, but I know you take care of your own stuff normally.
-Then second, this job requires that you become a member of the Triad. Any problem with that?
-Problem? It’s a privilege! I’d be honoured to be one of you! I give you my word that I would work my paws to the bone to show my loyalty and worthiness to you.
-Then tonight we could return to Beijing and you’ll meet your new employers, if that’s fine with you.
-I’m free to go whenever you like, squeaked the mongoose. I’ll stick with you until then, if I could.
-Welcome aboard, Tracks smirked with a pat on Tony’s arm. Your shot, bud.
-Nine, top pocket...

The mongoose was amazingly agile, even more then any critter of his sort I’d run into, and his tour on the felt was pretty telling that anything that required dexterity, he could take care of without a hitch. We talked a lot during the round, mostly because he found it interesting to be conversing with a distant genetic cousin that was in the same business as he would be. His life had been sort of rough, since his first kill had been an accidental excess of force in self-defence. Tony had been walking to a friend’s late in the evening and a guy had jumped him to get his wallet, but the mongoose had been able to catch the sides of the hoodie that his aggressor had been wearing then with the cords of the garment, had choked him out. After that, his folks had tossed him out, and he started sort of a vigilante thing, eventually getting pretty good at giving people the cord to the point he offered his services to a representative of the Golden Dragon, executing a pair of hits for them that had gotten him a bit of cash to get underway.

-I didn’t know where I wanted to take this until yesterday, said the kid as he lined up a pair of hard bank shots. I suppose that I have a better idea now, don’t I?
-How old are you, mongoose?
-Nineteen, going on twenty in a month or so, he replied. I know I look younger, but that’s how most of my ilk are. Sort of woks in my favour. I walk up, all innocent like and everything then all they fell is something tightening around their necks, ha!
-That would almost be sadistic if it wasn’t for the nature of your targets, I grinned.
-Oh, I’m careful when it comes to that, stated Tony. I mean, careful, in sort of a moral way more then medical, but I think you get my drift.
-Sure, though I can’t really see you in that profession, no offence.
-That’s fine, shrugged the mongoose as he took out a solid steel-handed cord and showed it to me. Believe me, there’s plenty of mileage on this little baby.
-Don’t let the cops find that evidence, Jumpy teased as he stole a glance at it. So, let me tell you a few things about a point’s life and times, Tony...

We stayed in the arcade for a good two hours until we got just sick of pool for a while and took off for the hotel to gather our stuff, throwing everything in the back of a taxi before peeling off again, this time to the apartment that Tony was renting. The place looked like a butthole, just a total dump that I suspected had even been deserted by the local cockroaches and woodlouse when it had officially lost it’s status from slum to just an assembly of planks and plaster that had decent chances of keeping rain out. Still, the mongoose seemed to be pretty used to the sort of place, though he didn’t skimp out on shooting jokes about the general look of the box as he packed his things into a trunk that had been put aside the bed as so he could sort of protect it somehow if someone had walked in to try and steal everything of value. By the time we hauled our asses to the airport to get tickets for our flight back to Beijing, Tony was just tripping out on the reality tunnel that he’d flung himself into, though the two small bottles of vodka we shoved down his throat on the plane sort of dazed him enough as to calm his spirits to stop him from bouncing around too much.

The buzz wore off the mongoose as we got off the plane to get a ride back to the hotel and see what sort of headway Ulrich had been able to make at his end of things. We pulled in to be welcome by the panther himself, sort of leaning against the side of the building’s facade with a hand playing with his tail and a totally relaxed smile on his face. He didn’t say a word, just waving his paw to show us in before closing behind us. As we reached the room that we had been occupying and therefore had been de facto relegated to becoming his office while he started setting things up more concretely with Huolan. The serow was tapping away at a pretty new-looking laptop, sort of a mannerism that I knew was pretty much a trademark for Ulrich, as his rarely ever left his sight, and his fingers rarely left it in turn when he was working. She put it aside though as we got in, welcoming her avenging furies with an honest round of handshakes then turned her attention to the mongoose. Tracks did the honour of announcing the reason why Tony was with us and put in a few good words for him, directing his speech as much towards the woman as to Ulrich, seeing as how the two were sort of working equal shares when it came to the reconstruction of the dismembered Triad. The ewe seemed pretty happy with the idea of having a good soul with her to lend a hand in keeping the rank and file straight, and had him sit aside her as we settled down.

-Welcome, Tony, said the serow. I’m not too used to having to resort to violence when it comes to dealing with business, but I’m sure you have your own experience when your brand of action fits into the picture.
-I’ll try to be as helpful as I can, replied the mongoose. If I may ask, is there a specific place that you wish for me to be in terms of living quarters or the like? I know that I visited a compound when I dealt with the Golden Dragon before all this happened, but now...
-I was taking care of that when you came in, smiled Huolan as she showed a few pictures of an apartment tower. I just purchased it for the Triad over the phone, and we’ll be moving in immediately.
-The plane from Miami with the rest of our refugees will be here tomorrow morning, added Yiang. The apartments used to be rental things with basic furniture included in the rental agreements, so they’ll be able to get right at home.
-We’ll have to do a lot of renovations though, stated the serow. After all, the reason why the sale was so quick is that this place was on the market for a while, and time’s given it a bit of a beating. Still, we should have it looking like a palace within the year.
-How about your contacts, I asked, are they all informed of your transition?
-I spent most of my time this morning the on phone getting the word out, she nodded. Everyone that was with us at the print shop is with us now, and I’m basically moving all my journalists into this front as well. It’ll be a lot safer to work from then where they are now, and with the money and resources that the Triad offers, they’ll be better off. As for the rest of the groups that the Golden Dragon shed during the decline, Yiang and Ulrich were able to locate most of them and we reconnected with the vast majority of them.
-Only a handful have decided to freelance, grinned Yiang, but I think that you’ll be able to deal with them, eh Huolan?
-Not too much of a problem, smirked the ewe.
-On a more practical note, how about security, Jumpy cut, is that all set?
-I had an arms shipment set up to be delivered to the apartments during the night, said the panther, along with all the equipment that I think you’ll need to get it sealed up tight. With all that and the cessation in hostilities from the authorities, I think that this will be fine.
-I’ll recruit a bit more actively to compensate and build back up to the numbers that the Triad had in Shanghai, Huolan continued. That shouldn’t take too long either. You’ll be returning to Miami when, Ulrich?
-Well, if your people are coming back tomorrow, as soon as they’re comfortable, I don’t think that I have any excuse to be skipping work myself, laughed the cat.
-We’ll be fine now, said Huolan. I’ll keep in touch with you and the good folk in Ottawa after that, just to keep connected and maybe get some advice sometimes. After all, we’re not experts here or anything, right?
-I think you’ve been doing pretty darn well to date, called Ulrich as he patted the serow’s shoulder.

It was pretty late by the time that we left the meeting, late enough for it to be worth it for all us Miami Broncos to ride off to the building that would soon house the Golden Dragon along with its new leader and her cousin to serve as a temporary security detail while the small convoy of trucks disguised as members of a linen service stopped by to drop off the pretty respectable order that they’d received from Huolan. They didn’t stick around any longer then it took to place the goods in the basement of the block in the most secure room that Tracks and Jumpy could locate, seeing as how the place would be pretty unsupervised until the arrival of the flight the next day. Still, with the place looking no different then it had for weeks before, there was no reason to be concerned as the small mercenary group, which Ulrich had counselled should be hired to keep an eye out in our absence, moved in to secure the ground floor.

With so much to look after, the good panther was tired out as we retreated to bed, slumping down on the bed with a low, almost painful yowl. I rolled him onto his stomach after having stripped him down to his briefs, then in the same state, I straddled him and gave him a long, soothing massage, something I knew he appreciated even if nothing of his anatomy moved other then his eyes, occasionally opening to catch a glace at me before closing again. Other then that, the vibrations I felt in his torso from the purring he was giving off were pretty numbing to my senses, sort of echoing even more as I eased his muscles more and more.

-You know, he muttered as I finished and lay down aside him in my panties and tee, I give pretty decent rubs too.
-Ah? I’m waiting, I giggled as I got in the same position as he had been occupying.
-See, this is love, Eshe. Just this nonverbal empathy is something to hold on to.
-Nonverbal, eh? Why are you talking then, panther?
-Because my ESP sucks right now, he laughed as he nibbled my left ear. All those spots, so few fingers...

After the cat had given me a better treatment then I had offered, he sat up on the bed to flex his paws out a bit, though seeing as how I hadn’t returned my top yet and he’d been pretty thoroughly infatuated with the sensual experience of touching my body for a while, he had a pretty nice erection on, putting his undies in big relief. I smiled at him as I gave him a kiss and pulled them down under his scrotum, sort of tucking the elastic under his balls, bringing his testicles out a bit most importantly, giving me the space I needed to give him a great blowjob. The cat looked like he was on cloud nine with his palms lying over my shoulders, stroking my mane as I did my thing. His purring amplified as I felt his penis tense up and ejaculate in my maw, though I didn’t wimp out, swallowing Ulrich’s seed until there wasn’t a drop left in him and with a affectionate smile, he took my panties off and taking my by behind my knees and my butt, penetrated me and slipped his cock in my cunt for as long as he could keep it hard, more then enough to get me there, giving little muted yelps until I let myself fall off him and hugged against him and fell asleep with his hot, sweaty black fur against my face and muzzle.

Though we had a great night of sleep together, we had to be pretty punctual to make sure that things were going to end properly in the transplantation of the Golden Dragon. The security team that Ulrich had hired were only to stay in place until ten, so it was imperative that we got to the apartments with the rest of our group to make sure that the transition was uninterrupted. Still, we were ahead of schedule enough for us to be able to rouse the others and meet at the breakfast nook for a general debriefing and pre-farewell, for as soon as the Triad moved in, we had a flight booked to get us back home ourselves, this time on a commercial liner, for a change. Yiang seemed pretty contempt with the idea of leaving, though the surprise came when Tialim voiced his wish to come along as well.

-I think that I’d make a much bigger difference in Miami then I’m making here. After all, another practitioner of the art abroad is always good to help spread the word about. Would I be welcome?
-I don’t see why you wouldn’t, I replied, though right now I think that finding you a place to call home would be something else to think about.
-Well, grinned Tracks, there’s only one mansion between the Bronco and Eclipse’s place, and as we were leaving, I saw that there was a sign going up for sale.
-Consider it a retirement gift from the Golden Dragon, said Huolan.
-Until that’s formalised, you’re both welcome at the Black Stage, my hotel, said the panther. Not bad, we’ll sort of have the whole block, won’t we?
-Sure, I grinned. It’s nine thirty now, maybe we should move on?
-Wow, time flies, laughed Huolan.
-And so do your new associates, serow, seeing as how they’re somewhere over the Pacific right about now! 

We got to the tower in time to cross the team as they were parting, getting their full payment in cash from the new leader of the Triad, thanking her for the prompt settlement and offering their services to her in the future, should they be needed. Seeing as how the joint was still in shape and pretty well furnished, we didn’t have any trouble finding places to hang out in smaller groups, sort of divided right down the language barrier as Yiang, Huolan and Tialim paced off chattering in Chinese, pointing here and there at things that would have to be fixed in the short term, from what I could gather. Us Americans (and landed Kenyan, of course) took off in the opposite direction, looking for some sort of salon to chill out in, hopefully with a good view on the city. That dream location was on the fifth floor, in one of the larger suites, which had a bay window and a few beat-up old sofas we could slam into.

-Man, moaned Tracks, heck of a ride, eh Ulrich?
-Sure was. I’m sort of wondering how far we can actually stretch ourselves, though. We’ve been away from Miami for just about a week now, not something we can afford to do too often, I think.
-I think we sure can, frowned Jumpy. I don’t think you’ve had a single day of vacation since your honeymoon, which I know for a fact was just in Fort Lauderdale.
-So much for far away destinations, grinned the panther. Bah, this was nice, sure. How many places have we set up now? Let’s see... the Urchins, the Falcons, the Black Tunnel in Brazil, here... that’s four, isn’t it?
-We’re international playboys, chuckled the ‘roo as he rubbed his deer’s head. I doubt that’ll be the end of it, though.
-Why? Do you have another idea trotting around your brain, bro?
-I’m thinking Australia, hummed the ‘roo. Call me nostalgic, but there’s nothing down there right now. If we could just get come contacts or some small group going, I don’t think that it would be that hard to get something going, know what I mean?
-I suppose so, nodded Ulrich. I assume that since we’re sort of close by, you’d like to make it a detour before going back to Miami?
-The two of us can handle it, said Tracks. You two can go back with Tialim and Yiang, we’ll go take a look ourselves.
-Fair enough, fair enough, said the Don as he went over and hugged the pair.
-Watch the antlers, cautioned Tracks as the cat squeezed him.
-And the spots too, I said before giving a call and wrapping my arms around the cat’s midsection, pulling him down of me in the sofa we’d been sitting in!
-Whoa, yowled Ulrich as he fell aside me. Since when do hyenas take down panthers?
-Let’s see, was it about two days ago..?
-Point taken!

By two, we had taken a pair of taxis to the airport, splitting up with the two mates who went to see what sort of a connection with Qantas they could make. It was sort of a happy coincidence that they’d splintered off, seeing as how otherwise, we’d been one seat short for the serow to come with us. Seeing as how Track’s hand was comfortably resting on the ‘roo butt as they walked off, I didn’t have any worries for them enjoying this little expedition they were making.