Chapter Fifteen - Getting Away from the Travesty at Hand by XenialShadow

Chapter Fifteen - Getting Away from the Travesty at Hand

XenialShadow, Anal, Badger, Bear, Character Development, Cum, Espionage, Foreplay, Fox, Lion, M/M, Oral, Panther, Story Progression, Story Series, Wolf

#16 of Within Escada

The gang gathers for the journey to their competition, along with a surprise for Alex. Mark and Jacob go over the details and information they have gathered before spending a bit of time together alone. Red Fang proceeds to finish off the grey fox. Xavier remains undetected.

Within Escada - Chapter Fifteen - Getting Away from the Travesty at Hand

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William Delano Volks - a 54-year-old black bear that is the music instructor of bands at Shadow Cascade Academy High School. He has many years of experience in music and in life. He has served as a mentor for many, but there is still a large portion of his past that will forever remain in mystery.

Antonio Joseph Histav - a 49-year-old badger who is a world-renowned percussionist. He is the percussion instructor at the school. He arrived ten years ago, shortly after when William did, he too has served as a mentor for many of the students. But, just as William, much of his personal life is in mystery.

Thomas Arlen Scottfeld - a 81-year-old pig who has been involved in Red Fang since the early years after his time in Scotland Yard. He carries a varying role in the organization as a jack-of-all-trades from wielding a handgun to scientific research.

*Warning - Adult Content*

Contains homosexual and heterosexual characters and themes.

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The Black Falcon cruised low to the ground as it came close to the Sphinx. Jacob waited patiently as the doors on the back end of the flying machine opened while it hovered in mid-air. He climbed right into the aircraft, the doors closing behind him as he walked in to find the pilots. "Sir, good to see you." One of the pilots said as he looked over a few gauges on the control panel before him. "Good to see you as well. Where are we headed?" The lupine asked. "Out to the Fortuna, Douglas is on his way to convene with it. He will be accompanying you through back to your hotel." The second pilot stated as he guided the craft to the coast. Jacob went and sat back in one of the seats next to the radio equipment and immediately went forward to establishing a connection to Mark. "Agent 354 Alpha, report." Mark said on the other side. "Agent 456 Omega. Mark, do we have an itinerary for the closing ceremony tomorrow?" Jacob inquired. "Yes we do. Why do you ask?" The lion pondered. "Send it to me. We need to find out what time they are going to engage the compression chambers and arrange the Alpha and Beta Squads to ambush the facility." The lupine commanded as he felt the vessel shake as it turned down to the ship. "Will do. We are already gathering satellites to scan for the facility in the desert. We have already scanned for the entrances to it and a portion of the network tunnels underneath them. "Good, they're going to need it. Douglas and I will be formulating a plan and we will see you back at the hotel." Jacob said. "Will do. See you when you arrive." Mark said before the connection was terminated.

As the Black Falcon shook heavily when it landed on the deck of the Fortuna and opened it's doors, Jacob climbed out onto the deck of the ship were he was greeted by the bear. "Come on now, we have a lot to prepare." Douglas said as the sun slipped right out of the horizon completely. "Yes sir." The lupine responded as he followed the ursine below deck.

Wolfe heard the alarm beeping right beside his head; he wanted to crumple the device into dust. He held the fox in one arm as he stretched the other to turn off the clocks maddening resonance. Once the racket was silenced, he turned back to the now awakening fox that yawned. "Morning Alex." The lupine stated as he hugged him. "Morning Wolfe." The fox replied. The two climbed out of the bed and began to clean and prepare themselves for the trip. Wolfe had brought out his suitcase and began to pack his clothes and toiletries into it. Alex was trying to manage his head fur into some sort of position before he decided it was fit to be acceptable. Returning into the bedroom, he hung up his towel and walked over to the lupine as he was closing the latches suitcase. "Think we will have a chance to get something to eat?" The fox inquired as his gut let its demands be known. "I think I can cook something up right quick." The wolf said as he lifted his luggage off of the bed and set it to the ground. Looking at his watch as he descended down the stairs, the lupine held onto the rail. Alex trotted ahead of him in the dark home, turning on a few lights as they passed their switches. "We have about a half hour till we need to leave. What do you feel like?" Wolfe asked as he opened the refrigerator. "An omelet would be fine." Alex said as he turned on the range for the lupine.

Jessica grabbed her bags as Edward pulled into the driveway and parked his car. As Jessica came down the stairs, her dad slipped her a fold of money just in case she needed it and said his goodbyes. "Now you be careful out there, you understand?" He said in a defining tone. "Yes Daddy, I'll be fine." She said as Edward walked in and waved hello. "You two drive safe and remember to call me now and then. You know how worried your mother can get." The elder fox said as he stood in the doorway and watched as the two loaded the vehicle. "Don't worry Mr. Maxwell. I promise she'll return as radiant and livid as she is now." He said with a smile as he opened the door of his car for her. "I'll hold you to it boy." He said as he waved goodbye one more time before going back inside to return to his slumber. Edward started the engine of the car and slowly pulled out of the driveway as he took Jessica's paw in his. She smiled gently to him as he shifted the vehicle into drive and began to accelerate down the block. As the sky could be seen with the minuet beginnings of blues, oranges, and pinks, Edward turned onto the freeway and squeezed Jessica's paw. "So did you get all of them to be ready for when Wolfe and Alex come?" He asked. "Yes, they were all for it. It's going to be quiet a surprise." She said as she sent an SMS message to Scott.

Scott sat in the office with Dr. Volks as he waited with him for the other students to arrive. He was going through with helping the ursine pack a few of his things he was going to need at the competition when his phone went off. Reaching in the back pocket of his tightly fitting jeans, he fished out his cell phone to find a text message waiting for him. 'Hey Scott, we're on the way.' Jessica had written. 'Okay, some students are arriving so I'll have them help me out.' He replied as he pocketed the phone. He slipped in the last of the Dr. Volks' items in as he opened the door to the office and called over some of the students. "You all know the drill." He said as he walked over to one of the practice room and began to pull out the bags of streamers and other party items. He handed out the bags and immediately they began to work with haste as they decorated the large room from top to bottom. Dr. Volks walked out of his office and smiled as he saw that as more of the students filled into the room they all began to decorate.

Antonio jumped out of nowhere and surprised the bear. "Boo!" He shouted, causing the ursine to stumble in fear as he was turning. "Good morning Antonio!" He chuckled loudly to his fellow instructor. "Look's like these kids are fancying up the place. What's the occasion?" The badger inquired. "Well, I know that they are doing it to get the group in high spirits. Some of the parents are bringing breakfast for everyone before we leave. They are also bringing some birthday stuff for that adorable fox of Wolfe's." The ursine smiled as he patted the badger on his back, his words in a low whisper. "Ah... my wonderful snare. That's right, they are one hot little item." Antonio said as he opened a binder he held and shuffled a few pieces of paper. William walked back into his office, soon followed by Antonio. The two looked out the window as they saw more and more students shuffle through into the room. They both decided to walk back out of the office in unison, seeing as they could not be very private. The two walked through to the uniform room where the uniforms had already been taken out and packed in the truck. William shut the door behind him and locked it before turning to the badger. In one motion the bear grabbed hold of the fur before him and threw him against a wall. "Will... you naughty bear." Antonio said in a seductive tone. "Only for you." The ursine said as he met his muzzle to the badgers.

The two began to passionately kiss in the dimly lit room as their tongues intertwined and danced. Antonio let out a grunt as he could feel the hard tip of the ursine's cock press into his gut. He reached down and gave it a squeeze in his paw as he felt the bear push into him. "Just like that." The bear said as he gently ran his tongue along the badger neck. "Yes sir." Antonio said in response. The two continued a lustful action as they could hear the clamoring of furs passing on the other side of the door.

Getting into the parking lot, Wolfe and Alex grunted as they soon found that every one had arrived early; though Wolfe had done so on purpose. He was lucky though to find his usual parking spot not taken. Popping the trunk to his car, he stopped Alex before he could get out of the door. "Wait... I have something for you." The lupine said as he pulled the fox toward him in a tight embrace. Alex pulled the door shut as he wrapped his arms around Wolfe, sighing in content. Pulling the fox away from him, Wolfe went into his jacket pocket and pulled out the small ring box. "Happy Birthday Alex." He said handing the small package to the fox. Alex smiled and opened the small box and gasp as he looked inside to find to rings within one another. "Wolfe... They're beautiful, but they are stuck together." The fox stated. "I know, watch." The lupine stated as he pulled the set out. In a wave of his hand they were gone, their existence no longer present. Alex gave a puzzled look as he stared at the wolf. With a smile, Wolfe raised the fox's right paw and showed it to its owner. The fox looked at it in astonishment as he soon saw one of the rings was now on his ring finger. "That better?" The lupine asked with a coy smile. Alex just chuckled as he removed the ring from his paw to look at it better. He gazed at the inscription before he put it back on. Turning to the lupine who now had his own right paw to his face, the other ring that was entwined was now on his own ring finger. "I don't know how you did it.... But thank you." Alex said as he embraced the wolf. "Anything for you, my love." The lupine said before he gently kissed the vulpine.

They chuckled to one another before stepping out of the car and grabbed their luggage. After the elevator ride, they walked through the main building and into the quad. Outside the Performing Arts Building, there was a large truck parked to the side to take their luggage. "Well there we are. Check Wolfe and Alex off of the list." One of the parents shouted to another as he took their bags. "Well we're the best part." Alex chuckled. Wolfe just grinned and led Alex away from the truck and into the building. Wolfe called out to Scott as they came down the stairs inside when he could see the panther's tail. "Hey Scott!" He shouted as they approached. "Hey there. Good morning." Scott said as he hugged the two in greetings. "What are you up to?" Alex asked. "Not much. Happy Birthday Alex." The panther said as he patted the fox on the back. Alex smiled as he went along with them to the band room. They walked into the room, which was now completely decorated, but no one could be seen since it was dark. "Where is every..." Alex was stopped as everyone emerged from hiding when the lights came on. "Surprise! Happy Birthday!" Everyone shouted as Alex jumped in joy.

Immediately Alex was led down into the throng of furs who all wished him Happy Birthday and threw confetti. Wolfe laughed as Scott tugged him along to join the rest of the group who were all passing around breakfast items from the parents. Jessica and Edward walked down the stairs from the field access door with smiles as they congregated with the rest, Edward carrying a cake. "All right everyone! 1, 2, 3..." Wolfe called out at the top of his lungs as the cake was brought before Alex. They all sung Happy Birthday to him in unison. Alex just smiled as he felt Wolfe wrap his arms around him from behind. Wolfe kissed him on his cheek as the song finished, his cue to blow out the candles. He stood in thought briefly, making a wish taking time to think of a wish being customary, and blew all of the flames out. More cheers erupted as the cake was taken to a table and immediately cut. "Thank you." Alex said as he squeezed Wolfe's arms in appreciation. Wolfe just continued smiling.

"Jacob." Mark called out. "Yes? What did we find?" The lupine replied. "According to the schedule here they are giving out an award to the British Prime Minister at 1700." The lion reported as he pulled up some notes on that particular portion of the event. "That seems like a likely time. But, we still have the chance of the attack at 1000 when the President of Brazil will be discussing energy conservation." Jacob said as he rose from his seat in frustration. They had been going over the itinerary for the last hour and a half over when Xavier would strike in the hotel room. Of all the days of the convention, this one seemed to be the day where an attack could occur at any moment. Douglas was going over satellite images taken during the day and had found the exact entrance to the facility. "Jacob," Thomas said as he walked into the lupine's view, "here is the updated software for the Reversion." The lupine took the disk from the swine and loaded it into the computer. While he booted the disk, Mark went to retrieve the Reversions for the update. "I had the wavelengths expanded and algorithms gone over twice so that the weapon will be more effective." Thomas replied as Mark set the devices down on the ground and immediately removed the panels to the cable hookups. "Then we should be okay when we use them if they have exposed any of their footmen to different variations of Dekoret." Jacob said as he handed Mark a cable. Mark plugged it into the device and gave the okay to Jacob. Turning back to the computer, the wolf started the program on the disk and immediately began the update.

After about ten minutes, they plugged in the second Reversion and performed the same update. As it finished, Veronica walked by and handed Mark a report. "So you three will plan to destroy the facility by detonating the compression chamber?" The lion asked. "That's the idea. Hopefully we can get it taken care of before it is activated." Veronica said as she looked over the itinerary. On the report it showed how much explosives they were going to bring with them as well as the number of remote detonators. Much of what Mark knew of Uroso and explosives meant there would be fireworks. He chuckled and then handed the report back to Veronica. "Douglas is going as well?" Mark inquired. "Yes. He will be responsible for the placement of the explosives to best wipe it all out." The wolf said as she leaned against the desk. "He hasn't been out there in years. He'll be okay, right?" The cat questioned with concern. "Dad will be fine, he may be getting along in years, but he can out do all of us. I'm sure of that." She said in reassurance.

Much of the remaining evening went by in a flash as everyone hurriedly worked to finish planning. What took the most amount of time was when Douglas and Uroso briefed the tactical team on the assault on the facility. Much of the largest concern being on how they would defend themselves against Dekoret attacks. The ursine assured them that if they remembered their training they would be fine, but in the back of Uroso's mind, he knew that there would be no guarantee that they could rely on that. "So do you all understand the assignment?" Douglas said in a request for an answer over the screen. Looking around to one another and then to their squad leader as they clarified the last few details, many of the tactical squad felt pretty sure if themselves. "Yes, sir. We understand the assignment." The squad leader, a white lupine replied. "Good, then you all need to go and get some rest. This all starts at 0430 tomorrow, so be rested and alert. Is that clear?" Douglas commanded. "Affirmative, tactical squad out." The squad leader said as everyone behind him saluted and he terminated the connection.

It was close to nine in the evening when the meeting ended; it had begun at four in the afternoon. Jacob and Mark were exchanging notes over with Steve and Karen on key features inside the conference center. Veronica was checking the detonators she had received from a convoy from the Fortuna, each of the small devices being checked to ensure they will respond to their main detonator. Douglas looked over to Uroso who was now leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed in the chance to catch a slight bit of rest. The ursine shuffled a few of the papers that lay before him on the desk into a pile before he called over the group. "So, are we all ready?" He posed to them. "Yes." Each of them replied one by one. "Uroso, Veronica, and I will need to be ready to go by 0430. Steve and Karen we will need you to be ready at the same time for support." The ursine said authoritatively. "My guess would be that we wouldn't need to be ready till around 0600, correct?" Jacob asked to confirm. "Correct, you will need to be ready by then since you two will need to arrive on time to survey the center." He replied in command. "Yes, sir." Jacob and Mark replied. "So for now, all of us need rest. Be ready on time." Douglas said as he stretched and let out a growl. Everyone took the note and all made the advance to their respective rooms. They waved good night to one another and doors were shut and the sounds of beds creaking with new contents resting within them.

Jacob and Mark sat at the edge of the bed, absorbing and processing the remaining portion of the plans in thought. The room had only one light on, shadows casting in the opposite direction of where the light came from. "I'll send an email to Wolfe in the morning telling him 'what's up'." Mark said as he wrapped his arms around Jacob. The lupine nodded in agreement as he welcomed the embrace, the comfort of his mate being a step away from all of the chaos. Jacob turned to Mark and planted a kiss upon his lips, the lion returning the emphasis of subtlety. With Jacob still in his arms, Mark brought himself onto his back and held Jacob close as the two took a tighter hold of one another. The two began to show a more passionate air between them, clothing soon shed from their bodies in the midst of close contact with one another. Jacob, still being on top of the lion but away from his face, placed his paws firmly on his mate's chest, running them through the thick mane that came from the lion's head. Mark did much the same as he placed one paw on Jacob's hip and the other on the nape of his neck. With a smile, Jacob came back to the lion and entwined his tongue with the rough texture of Mark's. "Oh Mark..." Jacob said as he felt the lion grip his back firmly, breaking the kiss. Mark began to grunt as he could feel his swelling sheath pressing firmly against the lupine's sac. Jacob slowly crept his body lower to allow the lion's sheath to grind against his own. The two grunted and moaned at the sensation; the tinge of male musk flooding into their nostrils.

Jacob decided to act as he quickly clamored over to the bedside stand for the lubricant and coaxed his swollen cock out of its sheath. "My wolf gonna do something with that big tool of his?" The lion said as he wrapped his own free paw around the base of his cock. The wolf slathered on the lubricant to his entire length before he brought two of his lubricated digits to Mark's entrance. He considerately pushed his two digits into the cat's awaiting entrance, making the lion murr in pleasure. "Oh Jacob..." The lion said as he felt the gentle caresses of the lupine on his inner walls. Jacob took his free paw and wrapped it around the pulsing member that lay before him. He squeezed it gently, a bead of pre oozing from the tip. Jacob stared lustfully at it before he stuck his tongue down upon the drop that had formed and lapped it into his maw before taking the entire length in. As he continued to fondle Mark's now eager hole, he could feel the tightening of Mark's sac. Pulling his digits from the lion and releasing the swollen prick from his mouth, Jacob climbed on top of the lion and positioned his blood rich prick to Mark.

"You gonna mount me and cum deep stud?" Mark said as he snarled at the lupine. Jacob growled at the lion and pushed lustfully into the cat, the lion groaning loud from being suddenly filled. The wolf went into overdrive as he rocked deeply into Mark. "Yes... Tie with me Jacob..." The lion said as he reached for his dripping cock. He quickly began cycling on his now barb lined penis as he squeezed his ass tight to the large invader. Jacob glared down to the lion before he took the nape of his mate's neck into his teeth, clamping down hard. He growled and snarled loud as Mark's cock erupted powerfully between them. Jacob's pupils dilated, he held tight to Mark as his knot slipped in and brought forth his own eruption. The growled low at one another as they emptied their seed in erotic pleasure. "... Jacob... Mein Kamerad..." Mark said as he slowly came back to reality and breathed deeply. "Ja meine Liebe?" Jacob said as he released Mark's neck, the subtle tinge of blood washing over his taste buds. They said nothing, Jacob now focused on cleaning the wound he made. "Ich liebe dich." Mark finally said before bringing the wolf close to him. "Ich liebe dich auch." Jacob said as he tightened his own grasp to the lion.

As the sun began to peak along the horizon and through the windows, many of the students began to stir and awaken from their sleep. They had been on the road now for four hours now as the bus carried them through the 'Grape Vine' of central California. Alex sat in the reclined seat next to Wolfe by the window, the lupine leaning against him for comfort. He smiled as he looked down to him, then returned to reading his book in the growing morning sun. Scott sat in the seat in front of him, choosing to sit with one of the freshmen trumpet players to keep him company, and was now in friendly conversation about playing styles. The lupine stirred as the cabin of the bus was kissed gently in warmth and intensity of the light now shinning through. "Guten Morgen mein liebe." Alex said as he brushed away a few stray hairs from the wolf's face. "Guten Morgen." Wolfe replied, stretching after he brought his chair to an up-right position. He let out a yawn as he looked around the bus to see that his fellow comrades were doing much of the same. Pulling Alex into an embrace, Scott leaned his seat all the way back to plop his head into Wolfe's lap. "Morning there, wolf." Scott said as he poked the lupine in the gut. "Morning Scott." Wolfe said as he recoiled from the jab. The ferret next to Scott turned his head and looked over at the wolf and fox that were cuddling.

"Nice rings." He said shyly as he looked to Alex. Yeah, I got it for my birthday from Wolfe." Alex said with a warm grin. Scott immediately focused on Alex's paw and quickly reached for it to examine the new gift. He looked at it carefully before he pulled it right off of the fox's ring digit. Alex just sat quietly, though he wanted to just get the ring back from the panther as soon as possible. After reading the inscription on the inside of the ring, the panther took the fox's paw and slipped the metal band back into the place it belonged. Wolfe stared at Scott with a slight puzzled expression, but brushed it off when the panther reached for his paw and took the identical ring off of it. "Hmm..." Was all they heard from the panther when he slipped the ring back on the lupine's paw. "Okay..." The ferret said before he started laughing. They all broke into laughter as Scott wrapped the ferret in a light headlock and shuffled his head fur, the young fur breaking into laughter.

From the front of the bus, William turned in his seat to see who was laughing so loud. He had a hunch it would be someone who was with Scott. With a smirk, he turned back into his seat and continued the conversation he was having with Antonio. "So... when do you want to go for another round?" The badger said with a lustful gaze as he smoothed out the tuft of fur showing through the top of his shirt. "Whenever we have a good chance to." The black bear said with a sense of adventure.

Xavier stood before the exhaust channel as the foreman was telling the group of furs running electrical lines where to run them. He stood with the blueprints and was looking over the minor details, being as this was a crucial part of the whole operation. The exhaust channel was going to bleed right into where they really needed the compressions affects to go. "Those last lines connected yet?" The foreman shouted down to the control station. "Yes, sir. We are ready to start it up." One of the furs from the control station said over a speaker. "Start it." Xavier said to foreman as he walked away. The sound of the cooling turbines starting filled through the hollowed corridor as he vanished into thin air. He dropped immediately onto the floor of his office when he reappeared, breaking into a spat of coughing and heaving. As he finished, his reached for his desk and climbed to standing. He moved to his chair and sat down in it as he opened the top drawer of the desk and fished out a few paper tissues and a small black case. With a strong cough, he held the tissue to his muzzle and let the combination of phlegm and blood fill it. In disgust, he tossed the used tissue to the wastebasket on the side of his desk before opening the small black case.

Inside there were a series of syringes and vials filled with a milky liquid. He quickly filled one as he began to shake uncontrollably as if he was about to go into a seizure. 'Damn it..." He thought as he missed needle with the opening of the vial. On the second attempt he got it and pulled the plunger to fill it. Once he had it full, the phone on his desk began to ring. "Xavier speaking." The fox said as he held the receiver to his ear and tapped the syringe free of any bubbles. "Xavier, I need a report." The sinister voice said as he positioned the needle and struck it right into his leg. "Sir, I was just about to call you." The fox said as he winced in pain when he brought the plunger down quickly. "Well I know that since I told you to remove Jericho things have been running a bit more smoothly. Of course that's not to say that there hasn't been issues with you lately." The voice said to him in a demeaning tone. Xavier thought carefully of what to say next, he wasn't talking to just anyone, he was talking to the leader of Maelstrom. He thought quickly and methodically of his next words. "Sir, I know what may seem as a burden to the organization. I am working hard on a new breakthrough for the Dekoret expo-" He tried to finish as he clutch the edge of his desk in pain. "But, your exposure levels are continuing to grow and you do not have the 'breakthrough' done now." The Doberman on the other end stated coldly. The fox continued to grasp the desk within his paw, the edge of the desk beginning to crumble from the grip.

As he stood at his desk, the connection between him and the Doberman terminated. He knew he was going to hear from him shortly, the inevitability weighing down on him. The fox turned to his left as he could hear the shouting of the furs activating the machinery just outside his door. Xavier looked to his watch as he slowly released his grip, the pain not as staggering. Removing the syringe from his leg before sitting, he looked at the stack of papers on his desk. "Sir?" A small voice said through the door. "Come in." The fox said as he leaned forward on his desk. The small rabbit stepped in, cautiously, holding a rack of various specimen vials. He set them on a nearby table and approached the fox. "Sir, we need to take another sample from you." The hare said as he waited for an acknowledgment. Saying nothing, Xavier stood up and took off his shirt; his muscular but lithe frame showing the digression of his body. "Make this fast." The fox said as he sat back down in the chair. The rabbit hastily tapped into the fox's vein and began filling vials full of the lively essence. Once finished, he gathered all of the items he brought in with him, saluted, and quickly left through the door.

Xavier slipped his shirt back on and reached for a pen on his desk. He then grabbed a scrap of paper and began to write down a few items in a list. Pocketing the paper, he organized himself and then vanished into thin air.

Jacob and Mark awoke at the time they were required to and stood amongst the mirrors in the bathroom. Douglas, Veronica, and Uroso had already left an hour ago while Steve and Karen were already providing support to them. "Is your neck okay?" Jacob said as he cinched up his tie. "Yes, it's fine." Mark said as he organized his mane to fit appropriately in his shirt. As they left the reflection of the mirror, Mark retrieved both of their jackets, the two slipping them on in unison. Jacob left through the door and into the larger gathering room. Mark walked over to the large luggage case and grabbed a few miscellaneous items, pocketing them. "Karen, you two will be okay right?" Jacob asked as he viewed the remaining specifications. "Should be all fine Jacob. I called the cab, it's gonna be down stairs in five." She replied as she began hastily typing away on the keyboard. Jacob just nodded in agreement as he walked over to Mark who was standing by the door. The lion handed him a few items, which he immediately put away. "We'll see you two later." Mark said as he opened the door for Jacob. Both Steve and Karen waved to them as they were now speaking on headsets to other squads.

They descended down the elevator, a quiet ride. When the elevator's doors opened, they stepped out and put in their earpieces. Just as Karen had said, the taxi pulled up right on time. "After you sir." Mark said as he opened the door. Jacob just nodded to the lion and climbed into the seat and fastened his belt. Mark followed the same ritual and then told the driver where to go. While sitting in the taxi, Jacob began emailing Wolfe from his phone, keeping it brief and hitting the send command. It was a dim morning; the clouds had rolled in over night and cast the sky in a dim blue and gray from the morning sun. They drove down the road to the conference center, being a short trip since they were close to the site. "Here you are sirs." The driver said as he pulled to a stop and turned in his seat to them. "Thank you." Mark said as he handed the driver the fare and opened the door. The conference center was already in a slow bustle from the numerous furs preparing for the final day; tables and chairs being brought into the building was in constant flow. Jacob looked upon the structure of the conference center, its aluminum panels and full glass windows picking up the reflection of the surrounding environment. "Mark, how are we supposed to know where this is going to go off? The whole building is built like a convection oven." Jacob said to the lion. "I don't know. All I can say is that the whole place might as well be a ticking time bomb. Let's just hope they can get into the facility and stop the machines they made." Mark said as he fidgeted with his watch in nervousness.

Xavier carried a table into one of the conference halls where he was told to go. After setting down the table, he left the room and slipped into the bathroom. 'Such a terrible uniform.' He thought as he snapped his fingers and the uniform burned away in flames to bring him into what he was wearing before. He stood before the sink and viewed himself in the mirror before walking into the handicap stall. He waved his paw across a row of tiles that looked familiar, then grinned. As he climbed to the top of the toilet, he lifted up the tiles to the ceiling and climbed into the newly created opening. Inside he could see the air ducts and insulation that lined the building. Even for how much was crammed into the building, there was a lot of empty space once above. 'Now to the courtyard.' Xavier thought as he replaced the ceiling tile and carefully stepped along the pathway that was there. Xavier continued his walk till he came to a suspended area where a large pane of glass hung over a green courtyard. 'There we go.' The fox thought as he grinned as he looked around the area for a place to sit and wait. So far, everything was going to go as planned; he even slipped past the lion and the wolf since they were too distracted to see him walk right in front of them. "I'll get the wolf this time." Xavier thought as he extracted a handgun and silencer from his jacket.

Wolf was growing impatient in his seat as he waited for the waiters to come around to take their orders. Alex sat with his head on the table, distracting himself with playing with the silverware. "Good evening sir." The penguin said from beside the lupine. "Oh finally... I'm starved!" Wolfe said in an excited yet annoyed tone. "Wolfe!" Scott said as he glared at the lupine. Wolfe sunk back into his seat, knowing that he was being rude. Both Alex and the ferret giggled to one another at the scene as Scott began to dig into the lupine. The penguin, deciding to give the two a bit of a chance to 'talk amongst' themselves, instead went over to Jessica and Edward and took their orders. "So don't you be that way, remember that they are working overtime with all of us all hungry at once." The panther said as he swatted the lupine on the back of the head. Wolfe yelped as he threw his paws to the top of his head to prevent any more strikes. "And what can I get for you sir?" The waiter said as he stood beside Scott. In a snap, Scott had returned to his regular, polite composure and spoke to the waiter as if nothing was wrong. "I will have the rack lamp with a side of bread and a Cesar salad with Italian dressing." The panther said politely. "Excellent choice my good sir, and for dessert?" He said as he jotted down the order. "I would love a slice of your Black Forrest cake with a side of vanilla ice cream." Scott said as he closed up his menu and handed it to the penguin.

The penguin nodded and then walked over to the lupine. "For you?" He said holding his order pad at the ready. "I'll have the prime rib, medium-well and a Caesar salad with Ranch dressing." Wolfe said as he closed up the menu. "Alright then, and for dessert?" The waiter asked as he wrote the order. "Oh no! No desert for him! He's been bad!" Scott said as he scowled to the lupine. Wolfe looked to the panther, sadness in his eyes. Everyone at the table burst into laughter as they looked to Scott; he had a look of disgust on his face at the scene. "Fine... but I expect you to have better behavior Mr. Escada." Scott said as he grumbled in his seat. Wolfe wagged his tail and smiled; his charm always worked. "I want a slice of the same and vanilla ice cream please." He said as he handed the menu to the bird. Scott just rolled his eyes as he sipped on the drink that was brought to him by another waiter,

The meal went by as fun filled as possible. The parents who helped plan the trip had asked to have a portion of the floor set aside for dancing and even arranged for a DJ to provide the music. It was a fu filled evening for everyone, minus the fact that it all turned in at nine in the evening. "So now that the last song has played it's time for everyone to head on up to their assigned rooms. Lights out is in one hour." One of the parents, a Doberman, said as she set the microphone down and walked off the stage. With next to no fuss, the throng of furs made their way out of the banquet hall and to their rooms. Wolfe and Alex had said goodnight to the others and walked into the small room that was to be theirs. In unison, they pulled out their phones from having received an email. The two read through them before they even went into the room. Taking the emails into thought briefly, they blew it off and opened the door. "So what do you want to do?" Alex asked as he shut the door while the lupine walked over to his bags. "Well I'm not tired and I don't want to be in here." He said as he opened his bags and retrieved a set of swimming trunks. Alex looked at Wolfe with a puzzled look on his face. The lupine just shed off all of his clothes and scurried into the trunks, he then reached back into his bag and tossed Alex a pair of trunks. "Are you sure we should do this?" The fox asked. "Come on. It'll be fun." The lupine said with a smile. Alex just smiled and stripped down to nothing before pulling on the shorts.

After gathering two towels for themselves, Wolfe opened the sliding glass door of the patio attached to their room. He looked down over the railing to see how far the drop was, roughly ten feet. "How are we going to get down? Can't we just go through the hallways?" The fox asked as he too looked over the balcony. "We could, but the parents are probably going to be patrolling the halls to make sure lights are out and that we are in our rooms." Wolfe said as he scanned the area around him. As his eyes began to focus more carefully in the dark he took note of the fire escape that was off of the balcony next to theirs. Alex just stood silently with his towel draped over his shoulders while watching the wolf. As he measured the gap between the balconies, Wolfe climbed onto the wall side of it and then jumped lightly, planting his foot paws on the adjacent balcony. He stepped off of the wall and signaled for Alex to do the same. The fox did as he was instructed and then followed the same process. "That was easy." The fox said in a whisper as he followed the lupine to the fire escape and followed him down it.

They now were standing on the sidewalk that was before a full story below them. "This way." Wolfe said as he took Alex's paw in his. They circled through the courtyard and into the large expanse that was the swimming area; it's unlit water surface released steam into the air, the pool was heated. "Hmm... Now how to get in..." Wolfe thought as he stood before the locked gate that ran the perimeter of the area. "I don't think we can get over this fence either." The fox said as he looked up at the 15-foot high fence. Wolfe just grinned as he looked at the lock and removed it from its place. The fox stood in amazement; he couldn't believe the fact that the wolf had opened it. "How?" He said to the wolf. Wolfe just chuckled as he opened the gate and pulled the fox along with him. "One, I'm amazing. Two, this is an easy lock to pick. Three, they hid a key right on the gate. Finally, four, they didn't lock it." The lupine said as he led the fox to the chairs before them while they chuckled in quiet laughter.

It was a cold night as usual, the snow covered mountains in the distance glowing in the moonlight. After setting the towels they brought with them on a nearby table, the two trotted to the shallow end of the pool and began the slow entrance to the water; even heated water can still fell cold. "Cold cold cold cold cold..." The two repeated as they held onto their privates while they entered. After finally entering the water, they swam gently across the length of the pool. Alex dived slowly to the bottom of the deep end of the pool, soon followed after by the wolf when the fox made his return to the surface. Breaking the water surface, he cleared the water from his face and gently swam back to the steps of the shallow end to a shelf that was built into the area. Wolfe rose from the deep end as Alex sat and gazed at the moon above them, the captivating glow washing over his fur. The lupine swam to him and then took a seat next to the fox. "It sure is pretty." Alex said as he felt the lupine wrap his arms around him. "Yeah... it is." Wolfe said as he stared up at the moon along with his mate.

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Up next will be Chapter Sixteen - Our Eyes are Open.

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All artists, music, brand names, company names, slogans, registers, and trademarks are copyright to their respective entities and used only to enhance the story.

The majority of the story is purely fictitious and is not to be taken into account in the event of coincidental reality.

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