FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Prologue

Slapping the folder down onto my current employer's desk, I watched as the man with the thin framed glasses picked up and opened the file and begin surveying the pictures and notes therein. My heart was going a mile a minute at the thought of what he would say, even though I already knew my work was beyond satisfactory, damn this human compulsion rising through my chest.

A nod was his only response, it always was, and soon a hand was reaching through one of the drawers of his desk and retrieving my payment for the month. A small white envelope filled with bills was placed before me and like a hungry dog snapping up a bone, I snatched it up and opened the back flap to count over my reward. Nodding, I fold the envelope up and stuff it into my back pocket before looking at my employer.

He doesn't say anything, which is neither good nor bad, so I nod and then take a step backwards before turning on my heel and walking out of the room. Just as I'm about to close the door, something makes me turn back around and look with curious green eyes to see the man watching me with his narrow face as if he wanted to ask me something. I wait. Nothing comes from his lips. So I nod once more and then shut the door on my way out.

Leaving from the seedy looking building without anyone bothering to come up to bother me for identification, not surprising for this corner of town, even if I was completely out of character compared to some of the snobs working here, I make my way down to my motorcycle and hop on before getting the keys out of my pocket and then starting the ignition. The jet black machine roared to life underneath me, making my bones rattle from the force of its purr, before I strapped on my helmet and the revved the motor for takeoff. Taking a minute to look out of the place I had just exited, I couldn't help but feel that the next few months were going to play hell on my sense of morality once the fallout hit the world.

However, a reassuring pat to my back pocket helped to dim the nagging voice in that far-off corner of my mind as I set my sights forward and then pulled out from the dark alley. Heading onto the streets, I try not to think back to what started my current, excuse me, my currently completed assignment as I watched the world around me start to blur into shapes and colors. Sights and scents filled my nose as I pushed through the green lights on my way out of the city and hopefully, away from the danger that was going to be nipping at my heels.

***

Chapter One

Sitting down on my recliner with my thoughts on the current word puzzle I had in front of me, I wasn't prepared for the front door to be rapped on nor for my German Shepherd to lift up onto his heels and start barking like mad. Setting my pen down onto the coffee table in front of me, I close then roll the book up into my hands before stuffing it into one of the pockets of my jeans as I lift myself up to stretch. The muscles in my legs were stiff, but that was to be expected since I hadn't moved since I first landed in my seat some hours earlier. Another series of knocks onto my door had my canine companion making promising threats of violence towards whoever it was trying to gain my attention.

"Down Cooper!" The Shepherd instantly settled himself onto his haunches, but kept his brown eyes focused towards the wood framed entrance that was once again being pounded on.

Going towards the bookcase I had situated near the television by the front window, I pulled my PPK from behind Thomas Paine's Common Sense and cocked the hammer before stuffing my piece into the back of my pants. Walking over and giving Cooper and pat onto his head to calm him down, I breathed a sigh before heading to my front door.

"Who is it?"

For a moment, nothing is said and my hand instantly reaches back for my gun before a voice stills my fingers around the handle.

"My name is Myron Beck. Is there a Cameron Daniels here?" The voice was nasal and somewhat irritating to my ears but the sincerity was honest so I relaxed, if only a fragment of a little bit.

"My name's Cameron. What do you want?"

"Sir, if I could please come in, there is a matter to which I require your immediate attention on."

"Anything you want to talk to me about you can say through the door and if you can't then you can shove off." I was being polite enough not to tell him to kiss off in the beginning so he had at least piqued my interest.

"I don't think that will be possible, sir. What I have to talk to you about has to do with GenTech Enterprise." I swear I could almost see karma doing a little happy dance as it stabbed me in the gut with its devious little spear of retribution. Curse my luck and damn me for thinking that I could get out of having my actions not bite me in the ass.

Sighing, I remove my hand from my gun and reach out to place my fingers around the doorknob before turning the cool metal and opening my door. Standing in front of me, with a briefcase pulled up to the front of his chest, thick rimmed glasses over his face, and beady little eyes watching my every move, was a man who looked like one of those traditional mousey lawyers you often found in the movies. The man wore a fancy three piece suit complete with a nice pair of alligator shoes on his tiny feet as if trying to cover up his small stature as he looked up at me while biting on his lower lip.

I moved aside to let him in, not bothering to check him over to see if he was carrying something on him that could potentially be dangerous. He didn't seem the type to try and carry anything more lethal on him than a fountain pen but Cooper didn't share my opinion, as he raced up to the man and instantly began barking and snarling at him. The mouse almost had a heart attack as he huddled himself into a tight ball while shakily holding his briefcase in front of him like a shield.

"Cooper, heel!" Again, the Shepherd sat himself down but kept a regal eye on the man. That's the thing I liked about these kinds of dogs; all you had to do was focus their attention on something and make a single command and that thing in question would be subdued without question or complaint.

"Don't worry; he won't bite you unless you give him reason to." Making my way back over to my recliner I usher the lawyer to follow me and watched as he edged around Cooper without trying to seem nervous as he really was, an attempt he failed at completely.

When I was seated again, careful of the trigger at my back, I waved for Myron to seat himself onto my sofa and then watched as he did so before kicking my feet onto the coffee table and waiting. Myron, in true legal attorney fashion, got himself situated and then sat his briefcase onto his lap before popping the locks and shuffling out form and papers that I couldn't see. Cooper wandered back over to me and sat by my side without making a fuss as if curious about what was going on within himself. I didn't often, make that ever, have house guests so the intruder made the Shepherd curious, if not somewhat agitated. My hand found his side and began to brush his flank, settling the beast down some before Myron began speaking again.

"Now, Mr. Cameron, to start off, I must ask you if you know about the recent happenings with GenTech before I can begin the proceedings?"

"You mean about the findings that GenTech was doing human gene splicing to try and create a new form of life that could be used by the military? It's old news." I played what I knew off as something trivial to try and see just how much this Myron really knew about me and my involvement with GenTech. When he looked up at me with his beady little black eyes, I could see that he was probing me, probing him and it made something in my gut twist as I moved a mental chess piece across the board.

"While there have been no actual findings of the sort, GenTech had been under much inquiry as of late because of some... mitigating evidence that has been smeared over the company's activities involving genetic enhancements military.

To ease some of the confusion that may be circling around, GenTech was a company that worked exclusively with manipulating the genes of humans and animals to try and create better advancements in human DNA. Currently, it was supposed to be towards the realization of cures for many of the diseases and aliments that had been plaguing mankind for decades. As of the last ten years, GenTech was hailed as a savior of the human race for us riding viruses like AIDS as well as curing multiple cancers, stimulating the regeneration of brain cells for Alzheimer's disease, as well as few others that slipped my mind at the moment.

However, with everything good came everything not so good as well, there had rumors that GenTech was working with private companies to create new forms of life and drugs to create advanced armed forces which strictly went against GenTech's guidelines set by the government. While no physical evidence had ever been set forth to the public eye, there were stories from soldiers who had come home from tours about men and women in their units taking stimulants of some sort and becoming monstrous creatures that defied human logic. The men and women who had been carted home from a particularly gruesome engagement overseas babbled on about monsters that looked human but 'weren't human' for days until officials stepped in to handle this newfound hysteria.

The government had all but quarantined these shell-shocked warriors of the battlefield off to institutions to be nursed over by professional caregivers so that they could recover their good sense from their long tours, but it was too late once the tabloids got hold of one of the soldiers. Like flies they hovered over whoever they could get their hands on and ate up every word said until enough was found to turn into something news worthy. Papers came flooding out weeks later, pointing the finger at GenTech as the providers of the unknown drugs and putting much scrutiny on the company, which in turn made them much more closed lipped about what went on behind unseen doors.

Of course, nothing had been found that gave rise to any need for investigation and so that matter was left to speculation but as they say; wherever there's smoke, there's fire.

"So, what does this have to do with me?" My arms fold over my chest in an attempt to seem unsure as I study Myron and his hands shuffling through more papers. A pale hand pulls out a piece of paper and soon it was waving itself into my face as if baiting me to take the hook.

"I have been told by a few sources that you are an exceptional tracker of information and make a living gathering resources for private companies. GenTech would like for you to investigate into the company itself and find out if some of these 'rumors' happen to be true."

I could actually feel my blood run cold at this and as I looked at the piece of paper still hovering in the air I don't know what to do or say. This was a move that I hadn't been expecting and now I was at a serious disadvantage. The only people who knew about my work were the people who I told and I was more than sure that I had never petitioned my services to someone at GenTech. Word of mouth was enough to land me in prison for a very long time and so I often made myself insulated from blackmail by making sure I had enough on my clients to let them know not to trifle with me. One man was now on the run from the mafia because he thought he could double-cross me and rat me out to the police. Last I heard, he was somewhere in Guatemala trying to stay under the radar.

So again, this scared me. Taking the paper with a firm hand, I look through the dossier and then quirk and eyebrow. Apparently, I needed to learn that there was no true form of insulation that could keep people, especially people from a past life, from talking as I scrolled over the information and then lifted my eyes to Myron.

"GenTech can't keep its laundry clean so I have to go in and stir up the shit?" My words were harsh but it only served to beguile my real feelings about all of this. I watched as Myron backed up a bit into his seat before placing a hand over his mouth and coughing theatrically.

"I don't know what you mean but GenTech is like any other corporation and does have leaks in places it can't go over with a fine tooth comb. Outside contractors are often needed to make sure that things happen in a way that will benefit everyone involved."

"I see. So what is it that I'm supposed to find and what is it that I'm not supposed to find?" I fold the paper and put it into my pocket as I plan for another month of headaches and sleepless nights. I had my equipment from my last job still ready so I was good on that front, but now I would need an entire new strategy and maybe some more passports for when this all went south.

"Everything that you need to know is in this file I have. The rest will be left to your discretion for whenever you decide to execute your operation."

Myron pulls out a manila folder and places it onto the table before closing his briefcase and then getting up. Forgetting about Cooper, the mousey man jumps when my Shepherd growls at him and forces his knees to quiver as he stood in place.

"Two questions before I let you go: one, how much am I being paid for this little endeavor and two, why did they send you to garner my services?"

Myron turns to look at me and for the first time I can see beyond the veil of legality into a man who had been setup to take a fall onto his own sword, in a various number of ways.

"You have a check in the folder for a total of ten thousand dollars from an offshore bank account. However much you'll be paid for completion of your work is out of my jurisdiction."

Myron started toward the door but sensing that we were unfinished; Cooper sprang up to all fours and bared his fangs at the man. His sandy brown and black fur was ruffled to pin like needles while his tail stood taunt into the air like a rattlesnake ready to strike.

"You didn't answer my other question." I didn't bother to hide the growl in my own voice as I stood up to tower over the other man once again.

Myron must have known that I knew but I have to give him credit for retaining his placid guise. The fingers twitching over the leather handle of his briefcase were the only indication that his nerves were playing hell with his sensibilities as the mousey man opened his mouth to speak, once he wetted his lips again.

"I-I was sent because I had the right qualifications for this assignment."

Sweat was forming on his brown and I could see his eyes starting to dilate somewhat behind his thick glasses while his throat bobbed when he took a heavy swallow. My eyes narrowed on him and soon traveled down the form of his suit before I found my gaze wandering to the crotch of his pants. The girth that was therein could be seen swelling leisurely and soon I could almost feel the pulse of the other male racing inside of my chest as my own arousal began to surge to the forefront.

Now I also knew why he had been sent here and the thought of what it could mean had me rolling my lips back over my teeth and exposing them for the other to see.

"That's interesting. Someone must really want my services if they give me such a delicious treat like you, little mouse. Maybe I should take them up on their offer, since they were so thorough at knowing what I wanted?" I was walking over to him before Myron knew what was happening and soon I was looking down at him with a feral light glinting in my eyes.

I could smell his fear from this close to him and mixed with his own spicy musk the hunger in my loins surged up into my gut making me lean down and sniff over my possible chew toy. The mouse quivered and tried his hardest not to cry out in fear as he stood before me but I could tell that whatever resolve he had was about to crumble like day old bread under my heated gaze. Through it all though, the knot in his pants refused to go down and as I reached out to place a single finger onto his lips I soon found Myron opening his lips and willingly placing his flesh around my own. The wet feel of the smaller man's tongue around my finger excited my groin like no other and soon I was robbing around the inside of his mouth, probing the space for what was to come soon after.

My cock hardened inside of my pants even more when Myron leaned his head forward and then sucked as deep as he could onto the digit in between his pouting lips. I could feel the hint of teeth making me growl even louder before I pulled my finger from between those soft mounds, removed his glasses perched on top of his nose, setting them down onto the table and then pounced on my prey. The little mouse let out a characteristic squeak before he was soon moaning underneath me. My mouth was ravenous as I nipped, sucked and bit into the soft, exposed neck above the collar of his shirt and soon Myron was panting and arching underneath me as I began to unfasten those annoying buttons to get at my prize.

The smaller man groaned once his chest was free from the stifling clothing and as I watched his lithe frame dance underneath my eyes I was reminded of why I liked males so much petite than me. They made such fun toys to play with that it was hard to remember that you had to not play too rough with them unless you break them. My fingers worked along the lines of the contours of Myron's flesh as I made my way down his body with soft laps of my tongue across his nipples. The hard nubs of flesh were so teasing as they stood unrelenting there on his chest that I could not help but bite them in retaliation for their defiance. The mouse arched into me and let out a gasping squeak so cute that I laughed.

"D-don't...please...I-I'm really...s-sen..." Before he could finish I was growling again and biting into his other small pebble of flesh to quiet him. I hated it when dinner made a fuss.

A hitched breath caught into his throat and soon Myron was panting underneath me, but remained complacent of his place in this food chain. I grunted and then let out a huff before making my way on further until my nose was pressed into the mouse's navel. My hands were still delving throughout this little game and soon my fingers had unclasped the smaller man's belt and then unzipped his pants to reveal a piece of flesh inside that was mouthwatering in appearance alone. My eyes darted up into Myron's face to watch as the mouse lifted a hand to bit onto a knuckle as he flushed a scarlet hue onto his face.

"No underwear? Naughty mousey. I think you came here looking to get caught by some predator, now didn't you?" I grumble in pleasure as I felt my heart start to drum inside of my chest and my veins throb throughout ever inch of my body from the blood racing therein.

"N-no...I-I...don't l-like how underwear feel...that's all..." Though he said it, I could tell that he wasn't being fully honest nor was he fully lying either.

Smiling up at him with my eyes glinting like cold jade, I leaned my head down to sniff over his aroused sex and then thrust my tongue out to lave over Myron with all the passion I could muster. The hiss he let out made my chest swell with pride and as I gave another hard lap onto the mouse's cock, I was rewarded again with a keening moan that would have put seasoned hookers to shame. Over and over I ran my soft organ over Myron's anatomy, determined to draw out all of my pet's passionate cries of surrender before I snapped open the clasp of his pants and revealed all of the mouse to the world. It was more for my own curiosity than the smaller man's relief as his balls flopped out onto my nose and the downy wisps of brown curled hairs of his pubes ghosted along my forehead.

The heady smell that came from release of the smaller man's groin was a mixture of something heady enough to make my head spin and something odorous to remind me that this man was mine for the taking. I let my lips purse open and soon all of Myron was being swallowed into my gullet as I began to hum over his flesh while slowly bobbing my head. You would think that our positions would be reversed because of our respective designs stature but I never liked letting things like that determine who would be on top or not. It was obvious that Myron was submissive to me, but that didn't mean I was just going to take him and then discard like a tool.

No, I preferred to keep all my toys and play with them the way they were supposed to be played with. And as I began to suck harder on Myron's length and reach up to roll his scrotum into my palm, this little mouse needed adoration and affection to maximize his value to me. The grunts he made as his hips lifted up into my face were musical, followed by the quiet croons that resounded when I pulled my head back to fondle the slit of his helmet with my tongue all turned into a symphony out sound when I deep throated my mouse and squeezed onto his balls when he cried out in capitulation.

I could feel his body tense with the readiness of his orgasm and as I bobbed my head faster onto his fleshy pole, wrapping my tongue around and hugging the long stalk until it quivered inside of my throat, I pressed my nose as deep into Myron's crotch as I could before letting a single finger run down below towards the underside of the mouse's sack and then teased the ridge of that led to his backside. A howl worthy or any coyote burst from Myron's lips as he lifted his head up, eyes shut tightly in deference to my workings, before coming down my throat in heavy torrents. My esophagus parted and then contracted around the salty fluid as it ran down into my belly before I pulled myself back up and then received a few shots of the tasteful sap onto my palette.

Myron cam for several seconds before gasping and then falling flat onto my sofa like a lead weight and then raised his head to look at me through half shut eyes as if I was some kind of saint. I swallowed down what was in my maw, after turning the flavor over twice more, before leaning up and then nipping my mouse onto his nose. He squeaked in confusion but soon huddled himself in fear when I lifted myself up to my full height to stand over him once again.

"I do like the way GenTech does business. Now I have a new toy to play with and Cooper has a pet to keep watch over while I go to work." My words made the smaller man tip his head in confusion before he looked over my shoulder with wide eyes and a tremble in his lower lip.

"Now you don't think I would let my best friend out of all this fun do you? After all, he is the one that'll be keeping you safe when I'm gone to work, now won't you Coop?"

I turn to look at the man-dog that was standing behind me with ears turned forward onto his sandy brown head, tail wagging behind him and his naked human-like body panting in expectation. I don't think Myron really ever understood just what he had gotten himself into when he accepted the responsibility of gaining my services for his company, former company now. There was little chance that he was going back there now, not after I had gotten a good taste of him and found him to be worth the efforts of keeping.

"Yes sir." Cooper says with a deep voice, way too thick from having been in canid form for so long.

"Take him up into my room and then fit him with a collar." My words were dismissive as I turned from the German Shepherd humanoid, grab the folder onto the table and make my way for my study.

I don't need to look to see Myron trying to squirm out of the way as the six foot six man-dog reaches over to pick him up by the waist and then sling the mouse over his broad, muscled shoulder before heading up to my room. Myron tries to say something in protest but a firm slap of flesh on flesh makes the smaller male squeak out and then groan in defeat as Cooper hauls him away up the stairs. By the time the two are up on the second floor I've already opened the folder and surveyed the contents and was reaching for my cordless phone.

Dialing a ten digit number I listen for a familiar voice on the other end.

"Hello Cameron."

"Hello Destin."

Chapter Two

"Should I thank you for the snack you sent me or ask what someone did to make you so mad as to send someone after me?"

"Heh, if you have to ask then maybe I should have come myself." His voice was cool but the undertone spoke volumes about the seriousness of whatever was about to transpire.

"The ball is in your court Destin. You want me and now you have me, but for how long depends on how much I have to stomach before I hang up and you spend another six months trying to find me."

The growl in my voice was harsh and unforgiving, completely distorted from the pleasurably, rough timber that it had been with my new toy. Destin and I had some...bad blood between us and some fresh blood too if memory served me right as I tightened my fist by my side. I can still feel his claws in my arm where he...

"I can hear you breathing Cameron. It must mean I'm making you upset so I'll make this quick. GenTech has a leak and I need it found."

"Do I look like a plumber?"

"No, you look like man with a lot of secrets and I'm a busy man who doesn't have time to fix drainage in my company. Since we both have a connection to each other and this could drag up a bad past that come back to haunt us both, I took the guess that you would want to handle the problem in your own special way."

There was something he wasn't telling me. Not surprising, but I didn't feel like this cat-mouse game right now.

"Just say what you want Destin. I've got things to do." There was a pause and then a harsh sigh before the other man spoke.

"One our scientist is peddling our secrets to someone across the seas. Since that could mean the history of how GenTech really was born could come to light, I need this to be handled and to find out to whom and where our company's formulas are being sold to." His voice sounded tired but that wasn't all.

My heart was pounding loud enough for me to actually begin to loss focus of my thoughts as I listened to the dull drumming resound again and again inside of my head. I licked my bottom lip and then focused. The past was always something I liked to stay buried and even though there was nothing but hatred between myself and Destin, I knew the bastard was right about this. That didn't mean I was just going to roll over and play attack dog for him, however...

"What's in this for me?"

"I can pay you whatever you like."

"I'm not talking about money and you know it! There's only one thing I want from you and it's nonnegotiable, Destin." I had to play this hand right. There was only going to be one chance for me to get the thing I wanted from him and this was it. Now or never time.

"I can give him to you, but if I do...you leave the country. I don't want to see you or your toys in this part of the hemisphere ever again, do you understand me Cameron?" Destin was growling and I couldn't help the smirk that was peeling across my face as my fangs pushed against the bottom of my lips.

"I want to see him, to know that you aren't bullshitting me." The ache in my chest was like a hammer driving deep into my heart and closer towards my gut.

"Look in the briefcase the mouse had with him. That's all I'm going to say until you take care of this problem."

"Do you want the perpetrator given to the authorities or do you want me to permanently solve this situation?"

"You give him to me."

I closed my eyes and pitied whatever person had crossed Destin. The horrors this man could inflict went deeper than any physical could possible run. However, that wasn't my problem.

"Alright. I'll do the job. And once it's finished and he's back with me, we'll be gone. That good enough for you?"

There was a click on the other end. I gave a huff before ending the call and placing it back onto the receiver. The folder on my desk was halfway opened but I couldn't think about it right now. I stood up on unsure legs and then centered my balance before heading back into the living room. Going over and opening the mouse's briefcase, I move the forms and missives out of the way until I finally got annoyed and bumped everything out onto the table.

Turning everything I could find over and forwards again I didn't see what Destin was talking about and wondered if I could have misinterpreted what he had said. Though he was a liar, a murderer, a thief and a manipulator, Destin knew better than to play with me. The scars he had on his sides and back were proof that I wasn't like his employees or the people he used to stabilize his business. I'd pay him back for every second he wasted my time with claw and fang if just to keep the fear in his heart of me alive. My hand ran over the interior of the case and soon my fingers brushed over a small lump that shouldn't have been there.

Flexing a claw and tracing the outline of the bulge, I pull the seam I had made open and watch as a small silver disc flops out onto the table. Picking it up and turning it over, I read a small inscription written at the bottom.

Recording 0133101-2287

Not wasting time, I hop over the coffee table and press a few buttons on the electronic gadgetry that I had hooked up alongside the television before opening my DVD player and popping the disc in. Sitting back and watching the screen glow blue before turning gray with a film recording, my eyes are soon transfixed on the people on the screen, but more so on the figure who the people are muddling around as they probe and prod the body lying placidly before them. My eyes water as I look at the figure and soon I couldn't fight my breath as it began hitching in my throat as the camera zoomed in on the body and named uttered from my lips.

"Bart..."

***

"Subject 2287. Bartholomew. Age: Thirty-one. Blood type: B-. Body weight: Two hundred and ten pounds. Height: Six feet. Birthday: June 11. Species: GenTech Lycanthrope. Origin: ..."

"Why the hell do we have to do this again?" A man with dark hair wearing a lab coat asked while running a pen over a clipboard he had balanced in his left hand. The man seemed annoyed but sighed in resignation when he continued scribbling down notes onto his pad as the computer generated voice continued to tack off information about the subject sleeping on the operation table.

"Because the higher ups like to believe that they're gods and we lowly mortals down here in research and development are their unwitting servants. Now shut up and keep writing and maybe we can get out of here for lunch before three o' clock get here."

The woman who had spoke had her back to the camera but the long tresses that flowed down her back and the shapely, if not dainty, hand she waved to her side gave her away as being of Northern European descent.

"Melissa, this is the third time this month we've had to work on this one subject. How much more information are we going to get out of the vegetable before someone packs him away with the other 'frozen foods'?"

"As many times as it takes Daniel. We're here to do a job and get paid, so there is no use whining about it. Just do your job and smile at the camera so that when the bosses see this, they can actually believe we are doing something important enough to keep us on staff here." Melissa said while going over to her companion and flicking a hand through her hair so that she could possible remove some of her tresses from out of front of her face.

"You do like a paycheck, don't you Danny boy? Especially since you are trying to propose to your little girlfriend, right?" The woman teased as she went over to muss up the man known as Daniel's hair as if he were a little kid.

Daniel knocked her hand away before turning to face her with a heated glare showing in his eyes.

"Hey shove off. Beth and I are trying to afford a place together and I don't need you reminding me of what I have to do to survive alright, Ms. I-live-off-of-daddy's-trust-fund."

"Ohhh, he does have a spine after all. Careful, I might steal you away from your little girlfriend if you keep this up."

"You'd like that wouldn't you. Whose husband have you sunk your fangs into this month, Melissa?"

Just as the two were about to go at it, a man walked between them and hit Daniel across the head with a stethoscope and then turned to do the same to Melissa. Both grabbed their heads and rubbed their respective scalps before turning to glower at the person in question.

"Knock it off children or I'll have to put you in time out. Melissa, go over and make sure the monitors are measuring the correct biorhythms on our subject. Daniel, get back to documenting the readouts."

"Yes doctor." Daniel grunted before glaring at Melissa and going about his way, which happened to be on the other side of the comatose seeming Bartholomew.

"You're such the father figure, Thomas. Maybe I could..."

"Finish that sentence and I'll have you volunteering to help with waste management for the next month, Melissa." The woman snapped her mouth shut and then moved in a huff over to the machines to review their recordings.

Doctor Thomas sighed and looked up to the ceiling as if asking for patience and then over to the camera so that his face could be clearly seen. Thomas was an older man with a scalp half showing from where his hair was falling from atop his head. Wrinkles made deep lines curve all over his face and the dark eyes lodged inside of their sockets seemed to show with years upon years of sacrifice and hard labor for his toiling because of his work. However, the man seemed to possess an air of authority and wisdom about himself the beguiled his aging form and as he began to speak there seemed to be a hush in the room that dimmed the humming of the machines behind him.

"Subject 2287 aka Bartholomew, seems to be as unresponsive as he was when he was first brought here forty-two weeks ago. The subject doesn't respond to any form of stimuli nor does he appear to possess any form of consciousness that could prove that he is aware of the world around him. Even though it has been found that coma patients are aware of the happenings around them in their deep slumber-like-state, Bart seems not to do so. This leads me to believe that this deep form of self sustained seclusion from the world around him, and I do believe that it is of his own volition that Bartholomew chooses to remain asleep, that I am willing to say, with near absolute certainty, that he is awaiting for something to happen or someone to appear to trigger his return to the physical world."

"Doctor, if what you are saying is true, then that would have meant that what we were told by the higher ups was mistaken and that Subject 2287 isn't a reject Lycanthrope." Daniel said as he pulled his clipboard down from in front of his face to look at his superior.

"Yes, that would be true. It is my belief that what we may have here is not a GenTech enhanced human but an actual lycanthrope from the far forgotten pages of history. Perhaps a natural phenomenon within himself being that all of our testing has proven that he is more adaptive and resilient, even in his slumbering stasis, than the current Lycanthropes out in the field at present." Thomas murmured with a hint of wonder in his own voice at the prospect of such a possibility.

"Doctor, not to be rude, but that's impossible. We're only just scratched the surface of human-animal genetic fusion and still are having problems harnessing the drugs to harmonize themselves with the subjects we have. How could it be that something like what you are suggesting could be in this world without human interference?" Daniel asked with a mind full of doubt and conjecture.

"I believe that Mother Nature has already gone several steps ahead of us and has made a creature able to adapt itself so perfectly into the human world and the animal world that we are looking at someone that defies what was once thought to be a scientific impossibility. Remember, just a few decades ago, it would have been thought to be impossible to find a vaccine for the AIDS virus and now look. The fear that once spread because of such a disease is becoming almost forgotten now that it can be cured with a serious of shots full of nanotech antibodies."

Thomas moved over and then set his stethoscope into his pocket protector as he peered down into the sleeping face of the auburn haired man. Having worked on this particular subject so long, the older man felt something akin to a fatherly protectiveness and awe every time he saw him. However, in doing so it made Thomas think about his own son and grandchildren being so far away across the country and he had to compose himself to keep up his professionalism.

"But doctor..."

"Think of it this way Daniel. How many monster movies have you ever seen with werewolves and the likes featured in the theaters?"

"Too many to count, just last week someone was talking about a new wolfman movie that was supposed to be coming out on DVD next month."

Nodding to the younger scientist, Thomas stepped away from Bartholomew and then went over to a desk with notes scattered everywhere and pulled up a piece of paper lined with words from top to bottom.

"Now, if you think about it even more, where did these people come up with the idea? It's something too novel to just put together or grab off the top of your head. As you said, a man who could turn into a wolf sounds like something preposterous, but look at this." Handing Daniel the document, Thomas watched as his younger coworker read over the text and then turned his head as if confused.

"Doctor, this is a bunch of short stories from books a number of books. What's it got to do with anything?"

"Such myopic foresight you have Daniel. Let me broaden your mind; each of those stories I researched from a number of books in my time around the world. Now you would think it strange that so many stories appear in a number of countries with no visible ties to each other save one." Thomas tapped the back of the page making Daniel turn the paper over to see exactly he was going on about and then watched as his young protégée's eyes widen and the narrow in amazement at what he was seeing.

On the back was a map of the world and at every corner was an animal drawn with lines interconnecting them to one another. However, what was most amazing about these lines were that some of them interconnected with paths that humans had traveled throughout the world. It would have been a guess but Daniel had to ask.

"Doctor, are you saying what I think you're trying to say?"

"Yes, what if, the humans who traveled the world weren't acting of their own volition but were actually following the paths of those people who were tied to the earth in ways we can only fathom. Ancient man has often mimicked animal behavior to try and understand the creatures of the world. Perhaps, through some fault of nature or maybe life's own happenstance in evolution, what if the animals of our world were able to evolve to a point where they could interbreed with humans? Or if not to crossbreed, but to all out alter their shape to mimic that of we humans?"

"Whoa, Doctor, that's...that would be..." Daniel actually had to stop and think about it for a second before continuing.

"Impossible. I-I mean, if that were so, then it would have been recorded in the pages of history somewhere. There's no chance that something so profound could be brushed off without someone, somewhere, archiving such an observable fact." Daniel watched as Thomas waved his finger around and then looked down to the page in his hand before turning it over once again.

"Wait, Doctor. This is nothing more than a bunch of stories and fairytales. There's no hard evidence here. No substantial proof that any of these things happened."

"What's proof to you? What you can see and hear and touch? Look at this young man and tell me what you know as the truth."

Daniel turned and looked at Bartholomew's slumbering face which almost seemed to be smirking at him before he shook his head turned back to his superior.

"He's a GenTech splicer soldier; a homemade Lycanthrope made by using nanomachines, animal DNA strands mixed with a factory made virus." Daniel stated with full conviction as he clenched the paper in his hand tight enough to wrinkle the paper while shivering slightly.

"Did you know that this young man's cells regenerate at a very rapid rate?"

"Of course, genetic regeneration is the keystone that makes Lycanthropes what they are. Without it, the body would find itself going into a neutral state and not being able to continuously alter the body's physical makeup in order to perform a 'shift', for lack of a better word."

"Good, now what the reason that we grow old and die?"

"The breaking down of cells in the body and their...constant...regeneration..." Daniel let the paper drop from his hand as his thoughts began to funnel inside of his mind and come through his lips. Turning to look at Thomas and then to the sleeping Bartholomew, the young scientist let his mouth drop open before he took a step back and then hit one of the monitors making it beep angrily at him.

"It's sinking in somewhere up there, I take it?" Thomas moved to pick up the paper and then unwrinkled it before placing it back onto his desk.

"Doctor, if what you are saying is true. And if, and I strongly say IF, you are right... then this man might actually be older than any of us in this room even with our combined ages doubled. Not only that, but it would mean that both this man and the soldiers out there are almost virtually immortal. And even more than that...you could be talking about a revolutionary finding that would collapse every theory and hypothesis since...since Darwin...maybe even all the way back to...to..."

Daniel was close to hysteria as he began to pant unevenly before a cup of water was thrust into his face. Taking it gratefully, the young scientist gulped the cool liquid down slowly and then regained his normal breathing pattern. Turning to look at the older man, Daniel didn't know what to say to substantiate the thoughts in his head but thankfully or regrettably, Thomas got there ahead of him.

"Mankind has dominated the world because of his adaptability and his longevity. Whether that has been a factor of controlled plan of nature or evolutionary mishap is hearsay. I won't even touch on theology because I know better than to mix faith with raison d'être, but I will say this; Mother Nature is the mother of all science. There's nothing in nature we can think of that hasn't been observed, questioned, hypothesized, tested, theorized, and retested. Everything we are doing is just attempting to remake and copy what has already been. And on the plausible probability that we have somehow taken a step ahead of nature, then creature we create is going to advance itself far ahead into the future beyond what we could possibly imagine in our lifetime or several for that matter." Thomas seemed to be almost speaking outside of himself as he stood on some unseen plinth.

Daniel watched his mentor and then the slumbering werewolf before taking a step back from both and gathering his thoughts.

"I'm sorry. Here I go saying that I won't touch on theology and there I go preaching to you." Thomas laughed as he moved to pat Daniel on the back before stepping over to Melissa who had been up until then, been as silent as a church mouse.

"So assuming what you are saying is true Thomas, then that would mean the initial source for GenTech's super soldier project is right here in front of us, correct?"

"Yes Melissa, it is. But more than that, didn't you ever wonder why GenTech pushed for the advancement of enhanced soldiers? And please don't say for funding since we all know that this place is privately owned." Thomas had long since come up from under the delusion of government grants and tax dollars pushing their work further into the new stages of development.

He may have been getting on in his years, but he wasn't stupid.

"Don't tell me that GenTech wants to create super soldiers for the sake of world domination." Both Daniel and Thomas just looked at the tress haired woman with blank expressions.

"Oh come on! With all this science fiction talk I know someone would have thought about it." Melissa huffed when she still didn't receive an answer and shoved her face back into reading her monitors.

"Ahem. Well, no. That wasn't a thought but you may not be far off. The best way to make money is to make something other people need and then barter in trade for it. The monetary system being what they are and capital still holding strong, despite a few rough hills with the long forgotten recessions, I believe GenTech is going to be making soldiers of war soon enough to sell to other countries." Thomas gathered his thoughts as he felt a headache come on from the idea alone, of what his work would mean to the world before shaking his head with a sigh.

"If that's true...then what does that mean for us?" Daniel's mind having just recently cooled down again from a near meltdown, studied Bartholomew before looking at the Doctor.

"I figure that by the time we stabilize the new Lycanthropes enough to make them fit for long engagements...we'll be replaced with others who will finish out work for us.

"Replaced!?" Both Daniel and Melissa said as they looked at Thomas with concerned, if not startled looks on their faces.

***

It was then that the recording went blank and a black screen popped up onto the television revealing the death mask covering my face. I knew what had to be done and was more than ready for my task. Bart was alive and safe, so as far as I was concerned my 'payment' was secured. All these years and I was at last getting my chance to make it up to my lover for leaving him back then.

I wouldn't dwell though.

Standing up and stretching, I pull my PKK from behind my back and walk over to return it into its place on the bookshelf. Turning around, I got a chance to see Cooper coming back downstairs with Myron wearing his new collar and looking as confused as possible, being naked in a strange house with a man-dog following you like a shadow will do that, I suppose. Looking at the mouse, I walk over to him and then finger the black leather collar with the dog shaped bone on its front wrapped around the slim frame of his neck before looking the smaller man into his brown eyes and speaking.

"GenTech's CEO has just reassigned you into my personal services so as of today you are mine to do with as I see fit, mousey."

Myron looked conflicted as he tried to cover his crotch with his hands before opening his mouth to speak. Too bad I got there before him.

"I wouldn't worry about your former employer since you'll be spending just about every waking moment with me and Copper. And don't worry," I walked closer into Myron's personal space, bent down to press my lips into his and then sucked the very breath from his throat with one soul searing kiss.

Our shared moment, something that took a second to mature into a giving more than a receiving as my hesitant mouse slowly parted his lips to press his tongue against mine, lasted for a heartbeat before we broke apart. When the both of us came back up for air, Myron looked like he's in a sleep induced daze as he while smiling at me in that unsure but receptive way only a submissive male can.

"You will have a good time as my pet and as Cooper's new chew toy." That got an instant reaction out of him.

Myron shook his head and then blinked up at me in confusion before a strong arm curls itself around his naked torso and then pulls the smaller man backwards into the hard chiseled body that had been, up 'til now, completely ignored. That was another good thing about German Shepherd's; they could be really quite when they wanted to be and spring an attack on you so fast that its often not until you feel the bite of their jowls that you realize that you've been gotten. The mouse found this out the hard way as he was pulled back further until his naked rear was pressed up against something firm and thick and rising to its full length.

While not as big as I could get, Cooper wasn't a small fry by any standards. The dog-man, being the artificially created hybrid of GenTech's first endeavors into gene-splicing, was the perfect combination of man's best friend and human that scientist had been able to create back then. Rescuing him from one of their labs ten years ago on a whimsy, I had found a loyal companion that made up for me not having my lover around. The fact that Cooper and I had shared body fluids on more than one occasion helped in his placement with me as often the Shepherd and I had to go from city to city whenever I made my rounds trying to wedge myself firmly into the backside of Destin's company.

Long story short, Cooper is my trusted friend as well as my closet companion. So whatever I had was partially his and currently that meant the small mouse that had come onto our doorstep.

I watched as Cooper grunted and began to hump himself into Myron's back before growling at him to cool his heels and settle down some. He whined at me but did as he was commanded, but never released the smaller male from his hold. I could smell both his growing arousal as well as the mouse's rising lust as the weight of the shaft behind him began to impress the gravity of pack life into the smaller man.

"Now then, I'm going to be gone for the next couple of days, so Cooper here is in charge of things while I'm away. Is that understood?" Myron turned to look at me and then nodded, even though I could see he was still unsure about everything.

Submissive nature is such a joy to command sometimes, now being one of them as I knew that the mouse wouldn't try to scurry away while I was out of the house.

"Good, now Cooper here is going to bring you up to speed about what's going to happen in the next few days while I'm away so you are going to listen to him and do what he tells you to. If you need anything then just let him know and he'll provide. There's enough food for two weeks and Coop here knows how to get in touch with me if the situation here changes." I wasn't sure how long it would take me to plug Destin's leak so I made sure to impress a double meaning onto the mouse as I looked him into his eyes and stared the other down.

A shiver ran through Myron's body, letting me know that he understood the implications if Cooper had to call me because of him. Leaning down to nuzzle underneath the mouse's chin, I lick over the hard nub of his Adam's apple and then lightly nibble onto it to subdue the rising tide of fear oozing from beneath his skin.

"Don't worry, if you're a good mouse then when I return I'll let you play with me some and you may even find yourself between me and Cooper here. Does that sound like something you'd want?" I pull back and look into his dark brown eyes while pressing my nose against his.

The nod that I received from my little pet was cute, to say the least, and when I lifted up again I looked Cooper in the eye to make sure he understood what his responsibilities were. The man-dog barked at me in acceptance of his role before picking Myron up and then taking him over to the place he made on the floor near the kitchen. Again, German shepherd's are truly a gift to the world when it came to intelligence and as I watched him settle his new toy into place on his bedding, I couldn't help but laugh when Cooper shifted back into his quadruped form and then sat himself down onto Myron's lap, not letting him move an inch. The fact that the Shepherd's weight in his dominant form equaled that of the mouse's own was something that kept me smiling all the way as I walked out of the living room into my back room.