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Shades of Gray

Chapter 1: Birds of Prey

'Time to put up with his crap again' I thought to myself as I entered the five-story building. I passed right in front of the porter but he didn't even try to stop me this time. After all, he still had a scarred reminder of my first visit, not to mention a broken ego.

The building itself was nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't the most luxurious place, but it wasn't a cheap motel that anyone could afford either. I walked up the stairs to the building with my paws on my pockets, being too paranoid to use the elevator. I had been stuck one too many times in one, enough to develop a distrust for such machines.

'What will it be today... drugs or his goddamned vodka?' I asked in my mind as I reached the top floor of the building. I walked through the hall and stopped in front of a black door with a number nine on it, not wanting to waste more time, I knocked hard on the door.

" Whoever you are," Yelled a male voice inside the apartment "I don't give a damn! Come back later! Especially if it's you, Tareck!"

'That asshole!' I thought to myself. Annoyed, I knocked even harder.

" Open up, Dargan! Do you want me to kick the door open again?"

" You're fired, Tareck! Now, go away!" I rolled my eyes at his stupid comment.

" I'm giving you five to open the damn door!"

I began counting down aloud, and by the time I reached two, I heard the door's lock opening. An entirely naked black panther around five feet and eight inches tall opened the door, and almost immediately, a strong musk took over my nostrils. 'Sex... I should've thought about that.' I also noticed through the corner of my eye that he had an erection, but I kept my eyes on his face.

" You look terrible, Dargan." I said to him.

" Tareck... remind me why I haven't killed ya."

" Because I'm too fucking good at what I do. Oh, and if there's some decency left in you, please put a towel around your waist."

" Why should I? We both know perfectly you like what ya see, as we also know how loud you scream every time I fuck you." A smirk appeared on his face "Why don't you come in?" He opened the door entirely and stepped aside.

" No thanks..." I replied as soon as I looked inside and noticed someone on the bed inside his room "...looks like you still have company." Dargan chuckled when he heard that.

" Oh, I see now. Poor Tareck's jealous!" He chuckled louder "Come on in so I can show ya what he's about."

" Why don't you get dressed so we can get going instead?" I replied seriously.

" Not before I hear you say that ya love me." He leaned his body to a side and placed his paw on the door's frame "It brings a tear to my eye every time you say it."

Believe it or not, he was right in both. I was jealous and I did love him. We've had a very strange relationship he and I, one that isn't healthy in the slightest, but it worked for us regardless. He could do what he wanted and so could I or... 'nothing promised, no regrets' as we both used to say.

" You are an asshole, Dargan, go fuck your whore and I'll see you later." I was going to start walking away, but before I could realize, he pulled my arm and practically threw me inside his apartment.

Before I could say anything, he pushed me against the wall and held me back with his paws. He drew his muzzle closer to mine and kissed me forcefully. I tried to resist at first, but his passion, and not his strength, quickly subdued me.

He slowly eased the grip he had on my arms and let them go when he realized I wouldn't keep resisting. He slid his left paw down through my body and cupped my crotch with it, right before he squeezed it tightly, getting a soft moan out of me. He pulled away and looked at me, his yellow feline eyes had a satisfied expression in them.

" I'll get a quick shower and then we'll get going." He said seriously "Feel free to look around, grab some chow, check my cellphone like a jealous schoolgirl or whatever makes ya feel comfortable. You can even fuck the guy in my bed if ya want. I assure ya he won't resist... mostly because he can't." The panther chuckled and walked into the bathroom.

I placed my long furry ears behind my shoulders and started to look around the place. I was curious to know what kind of guy he was bedding, so that's the first place I headed to. I walked into his room and noticed a reddish jackal lying face down on the bed with his paws cuffed on his back and a gag on his muzzle. I tried hard, but I couldn't contain a loud chuckle when I saw him. I got closer to the wild dog, who was wide awake, and slowly removed the gag from his mouth.

" Are you here willingly?" I asked as he finally managed to close his muzzle.

" No! Well... yes. Uh... sort of. Are you his mate?"

" Not your business, but not exactly. What's it to you anyway?"

" Oh, sorry. I- I just heard all the noise you made when you kissed each other. It was... hard not to." I simply smirked "Say, mind untying me? I've been like this for a while and it's starting to get uncomfortable."

" I'm afraid I can't." I said as I stepped up from the bed. "Serves you right for slutting."

I walked out of the room and closed the door to minimize the sound of the jackal's complaints. I continued looking around Dargan's apartment, which I'd never been able to really know, and stumbled into his kitchen. It was pretty clean for a guy like him, and the only thing out of its place was a box of pizza. I was hungry so I checked it out and was lucky enough to find a few slices left. I grabbed one and sat on a nearby stool as I ate it.

My cellphone rang and I quickly picked it up. It was Patrick, one of my... 'co-workers'.

" It's late! Where the heck are you, guys?"

" We'll be there soon, Patrick."

" Soon?! How soon is that? Don't tell me you're in bed with him."

" I'm not 'in bed with him'. He's taking a shower, we'll head over there when he's ready."

" A shower? So you WERE in bed with him! You naughty dog!"

" I wasn't! Now, leave me alone and we'll be there as soon as we can."

I heard a small struggle over the phone on the other side. After a few seconds I heard a different voice on the line, a deeper voice.

" You two get your faggot asses over here now! It's getting late thanks to you!"

" Rogue... talk to me like that again and we'll have a problem."

" Fuck you! As if you scared me, you fluffy tail-lifter."

" Let's see if you dare to say that in my face, you neutered animal. I'm sure you don't have the balls to-- Oh wait, you actually DON'T have any balls, do you?" I laughed mockingly.

" Fuck you, Tareck! Fuck you deep with your middle finger like the little slut you are, because I'm gonna screw you over when you get here!"

I heard a loud smash before the call turned to static. I supposed he had thrown the phone at the wall or something similar. I couldn't help but chuckle as I ended the call.

" 'Screw me over when I get there?' " I said aloud still chuckling "And I'm the faggot? P-lease." I put my phone aside and continued eating, then I heard Dargan's voice behind me.

" Was it the guys?" He asked staring at me while rubbing his fur with a towel.

" Yeah, it was them. They're waiting for us."

" Good, let them wait. I'll be back in a second."

He took a pair of minutes to come back. He had put on an olive sleeveless shirt and a pair of black pants.

" Alright, lets go."

I nodded as I grabbed another slice of pizza and stepped up from the stool.

" Uh... I hope you know that pizza has been there for days, Tareck." He said worried.

My stomach revolted when I heard that. I lowered the pizza as I looked at Dargan with a disgusted expression in my face that was slightly paler than usual. He chuckled loudly and smirked.

" I'm just joking, that pizza's perfectly fine." He took the slice of pizza from my paw and chew on it. "Anchovies are simply delicious, don't you think? Just don't let a two-legged one hear me."

" You're an asshole, Dargan, you almost make me throw up!"

" 'You're an asshole, Dargan.' " He said imitating me. "That's something I hear very often from you, so much so that I might even start to believe it."

" Because you deserve it. Let's go now." We both walked out of his flat but I remembered something right before closing the door "What are you going to do with your... 'pet'?"

" Leave him as he is. I'll let him go when we get back." He winked at me as he closed the apartment's door behind us.

- - -

Dargan and I chatted as I drove towards the warehouse that served as our haven for all needs and purposes. We didn't discuss anything important along the way, it was mostly idle chatter filled with his witty remarks. It was around midday and the streets of Perun were as loaded with people and vehicles as normal. The stores, schools and office buildings all showed signs of weekday activity, and the sky was bright and clear save for a few clouds.

" I gotta get one of those." I said as a I noticed the brand new model of bike next to us. It was one of the so called 'hovering bikes' of which I immediately fell in love with.

" If we do this job right, you'll have more than enough ta get one and get rid of this shitty car once and for all."

I continued driving and in less than fifteen minutes we reached our destination. It was a two-store warehouse next to the docks with a worn exterior and barred windows covered with newspaper. If you were a passerby, you would have thought the building was abandoned and in disrepair. I parked my shabby Type 3 car near the entrance and closed the sunroof.

" Finally." Said Dargan as he stepped out of the vehicle before I could turn it off.

I stepped out and followed him inside the building. I didn't even got a chance to look around before I felt someone tackle me and slam me into the ground.

" Tareck!" I heard a rough voice say at the same time a fist struck my face with enough force to make me cringe.

I hadn't been able to see who it was, but I could bet I knew.

" Rogue!" I shouted as I rolled over and got on top of my rival. "What a warm welcome!" I said chuckling as a punch of my own hit the velociraptor's face.

I was going to punch him again, but someone held my arm back.

" That's enough, Tareck!" I heard Dargan shout behind me.

I felt another of the lizard's punches hit my face. I tried to hit him back, but Dargan kept holding my arm while the other was grabbing Rogue's neck.

" I said: Stop!" Shouted Dargan louder as he kicked the lizard's ribs.

He pulled me onto my feet as the lizard yelled in pain and anger.

" You're a bastard!"

" Yeah I am. Deal with it." Replied the panther annoyed "You two behave like fucking children! Grow up! Both of you!"

" Say that to your saluki bitch!" Said the lizard as he stepped up and looked at me, waiting for an opportunity to throw himself at me again.

" It's not my fault you can't handle the truth, Rogue, because... you don't have any balls, do you?" I asked teasingly as I cleaned a trail of blood on my muzzle with the back of my fist.

If it wasn't because Dargan was in the middle, the raptor and I would have been rolling on the ground punching at each other again.

" Let's go, Tareck." Said the black feline to me and I walked behind him. When I passed next to the saurian he told me to watch my back. It wasn't the first and I knew it wouldn't be the last we'd have this kind of fights.

The warehouse was a pretty big place for our needs so it was mostly empty. In the ground floor there were our 'employment' vehicles, of which we had three at that time. All three suited for our different needs. In the back was Patrick's workshop and auto-parts center, or what I used to call 'Little Heimat' due to vast quantity of pieces and tools only someone like him would know how to use.

The rooms on the upper level were where we all gathered up to hang around. We had a common room with a pool table, T.V, several couches, a small kitchen and a stereo with a pair of enormous and powerful speakers courtesy of Maxston; which would've been cool if he hadn't put his 'ultimate hip hop anthology' at max volume day after day without exception.

Upstairs we also had an armory to which all of us had the key so that any of us, as Dargan put it: 'can kill the rest if we want to'. That room remained mostly untouched except when going out on contracts.

Finally, there was the most important room in the entire warehouse, even more important than the toilets. It was the planning and monitoring room or the 'Inner Sanctum' as we all called it. There we had the most expensive equipment we owned, like a traffic monitoring workstation, a communications relay device, a signal encoder, an airwave ripper, an avant-garde computer, a wall screen and, most importantly, a G.E.C.K. Module. It stands for... Geographic Emulation Computational Kernel, which is basically a device containing the basis of a 3-D map creator program... or something like that. Technology isn't my strong suit.

All of those devices were 'procured' by us in subtle and not-so-subtle ways during our first jobs as an entire team, so they were product of our hard and dangerous job. Best of it all was that none of the devices was traceable.

I walked alongside Dargan to the upper level and we found the entire team there except for a loathsome lizard. Our full group consisted of eight people:

Dargan was the leader and founder of the team, and also the one who hand-picked each of us. His roles in the team were to find us new contracts with his contacts and to boss us around whenever he had the chance. He was a pretty relaxed guy -not to say careless- and despite that he could be a son of a bitch when it was necessary. With 36 years on his shoulders, he was the oldest of our team; his maturity, though, was that of a teenager's.

Second in line was Patrick O'Neil, better known to us as 'Machinehead'. He was a 23 year old brown otter, and regardless of his age he was the most valuable asset to the team, He was our engineer, mechanic, electrician, inventor and driver all at the same time. The boy was obsessed with vehicles, especially those with more than four wheels. His main feature was a pair of goggles that he wore on his head all the time and never removed them, probably not even to sleep or shower. He had an ever-friendly attitude.

The third of our team was a piece of shit with eyes and a mouth. Well... not really, but that doesn't mean he wasn't shit. He was a greenish-brown velociraptor named Roger Inkstone and nicknamed 'Rogue'. He had a bully's mind and if he ever found an opportunity to make your life miserable, then he would take that opportunity. His duty in the team was to keep all weapons in their best shape. The lizard was 31 years old back then and, like all lizards, he literally had no balls.

With only 26 years, and much more maturity than the rest of the team, there's Leinth Urgan or 'Wires' as the others called him. He was a white ermine with a very active and bright mind only outmatched by his passion for electronic devices. He was in charge of the planning and monitoring room and all the devices in it. I always thought that kid was too innocent to be around fuckers like us.

Another one of our teammates was Maxston 'Maxi' Summers, an overmuscled rhino with an addiction to extreme situations and the adrenaline they bring. He's the kind of rhinocero that has two horns on his snout, the frontal one bigger than the one behind it. He also had a large piercing on his nose and a small ring in his right ear. His attitude was that of a daredevil, which quite fit him, and his role on the team was that of being the 'coercive element'. Despite all that, he was of the silent type.

Our sixth team member was a serious and level-headed roadrunner whose forte were all things that could go off with a loud boom. His name was Vincenzo Santori but we simply called him T4. He was 32 years old, and though he wasn't the most talkative guy, but he wasn't the silent type either. His main feature was his red and blue crest on his head, along with his habit of chewing toothpicks.

Next there was a black and white malamute dog whose presence I thought would compromise the whole team. His name was Oliver Winter, an spoiled 22 years old brat, son of no other than Eric Winter, a 'Hero' of the Proteus Incident and the Chancellor of Rodina. His role on the team was that of smooth-talker extraordinaire and also acted as our lawyer whenever the need arose. I'm not sure if his father knew what he was doing, but that fact always made me nervous.

Lastly, there was me. A simple 34 year old Saluki with beige fur and a pair of long, brown, fluffy ears. I was the best shot in the team, and such title was earned with many years of experience in different places. My name is Tareck Moss.

" Cool, you guys are finally here." Said Maxston in a dull tone as soon as he noticed us.

" Yeah, we're here. What're you up to?" Replied Dargan.

" I'm just chillin' over here." Replied the rhinocero.

" Glad to see you, boys!" Greeted Patrick cheerfully.

" I couldn't be better! You know, waiting is so fun..." Added the roadrunner with his distinguishable accent.

" Dargan, Tareck, nice to see you gentlemen." Greeted the malamute with his refined, ever-formal voice.

I looked around waiting for the last greeting, but the ermine wasn't in the room.

" Where's Leinth?" I asked. The otter was the one to reply.

" Wires? He's back there in his microwave-filled haven."

I nodded and headed there as Dargan stayed to chat with the others.

As I entered the monitoring room I saw Leinth in his chair with his back towards me. He was wearing his typical headset and banging his head. He was also playing an air keyboard, which I found quite amusing probably due to my age.

" Hi there, Leinth." I said without getting an answer. I doubted he had heard me so I approached him.

If I had been a son of a bitch like Dargan or any of the others I would've kicked his chair, or pulled off the chair from him, or slammed his head against the control panel; but no, I simply placed my paws on his shoulders and rested my head on top of his, as if snooping into what he was doing. I did not startle him, he only looked back at me with a warm smile and placed his headset around his neck.

" Tareck, you're here!"

" Yeah, I just got here and decided to drop by and say hi." I said with a smile.

" Well, you're always welcome in my sanctum! In fact, you're the only one I welcome here but unfortunately I don't own the place." He chuckled "Oh, and Tareck, thank you about last night. I had a-"

" Are ya done sweet talking the boy, Tareck?" I heard Dargan's voice say. I turned around and found him leaned on the door's frame. "We've got job to do in case you forgot."

I knew Dargan perfectly, better than anyone else, and he was pretty jealous at that moment. 'Nothing promised, no regrets' I thought to myself as I smiled involuntarily. For the record, though, nothing had happened that last night, I just bought the kid a beer. That was all. No, Seriously.

" Let's get to work, then." I said tickling the ermine's chin and watched as all the others entered the room.

Once all eight of us were inside, T4 closed the door and turned off the lights. The room darkened completely before seconds later a dim white light turned on in the back of the room. Dargan stood next to the wall-sized screen before starting to speak.

" Alright everyone, listen well..." He started "...the new contract we have will be challenging, but not as challenging as some we've done. This time we were hired ta retrieve a load of weapons and kill someone in the process. Here's how things are..." He paused for a moment as he stared at the table in the middle "...Wires... we don't have all day so move your ass and turn it on!" The ermine nodded.

After he entered some commands in the control panel, a three-dimensional projection emerged from nothingness on top of the large metal table in the middle of the room, it looked like a perfectly crafted scale model of a facility in the docks and its surroundings, including a small part of the bay. If I hadn't seen the G.E.C.K. working before I would've thought it was an actual model, but it was only digitally created.

" About time!" Exclaimed Dargan before continuing "The ship containing the lot of weapons we need will arrive at five o'clock without any delay. From there the cargo will take a while ta be unloaded, and once it is, it'll be stored in a warehouse next to the docks much like this one until a certain Major Bradley-" An image of a young schnauzer with cropped ears and silvery-gray fur appeared on the screen next to Dargan "Yeah, that guy." He pointed at the screen "He will go and inspect the load at eight. And that, ladies, is when we'll make our move. The place is heavily guarded by the military so we can't just go in guns blazing."

" That's where I come in, I assume?" Asked Vincezo as he chewed on a toothpick.

" You know it, T4, that's where you come in. I need ya to create a distraction good enough to draw the attention of most, if not all guards and then neutralize them temporarily. We're not mass murderers, after all."

" I have a few ideas on my mind already." Said the bird as he stared at the model of the factory "You leave that to me, boss."

" Alright then, next we need to take care of the good Major and retrieve the load of weapons..." He scratched his chin and played with his whiskers "...if the Major's drawn ta the distraction then we'll kill him after T4 neutralizes him. If not, then you and Rogue will have to hunt him down, Tareck."

" Work with your bitch?" Objected the lizard immediately "Not a chance."

" Then work alone, both of you. I don't care how, just make sure he stops breathing. Preferably without killing each other or any of us in the process."

I simply shrugged as I nodded.

" What about the weapons?" I asked.

" I was getting there. I'll take care of that along with Maxi. Just so everyone knows, though, the cache we're looking for has a green fluorescent warning mark. Patrick, you know what your job is."

" You mean driving you there, wait for you to do your thing and then get all of you out of there driving like a madman? No problem!"

" And I'll monitor all of you from here." Said Leinth "Just make sure you keep your earpieces ON this time."

" Thanks for the insight, nerdy." Said Roger to the ermine.

Everyone chuckled except me and Dargan.

" Enough, Rogue." Said Dargan "You get everything ready, Wires. And you, Eric, I don't know... you might break a fingernail so you better do what you want. Everyone else memorize the facility's layout and go over what ya need to do. You got six hours for that." Everyone nodded "I'm starving so I'm going out to get something ta eat." He looked at me briefly and smirked "Tareck, you're coming."

" Sure, let's head out." I replied.

" I wasn't asking anyway." He said as we headed towards the exit.

I rolled my eyes at his pathetic try to sound tough and headed along with him towards his car downstairs.

It was a Type D8 two-door convertible with a metallic blue color and chrome wheels. The roof was black and the windows were tinted. It also had a power bulge in the middle of the hood and a horizontal white line on both sides of the car. On the inside it was all carpeted in white leather and black details.

While Dargan stayed behind to say a few words to Patrick, I got on the passenger's seat and leaned back comfortably, placing my arms behind my neck. It didn't took long before Dargan approached.

" What are you doing? You know perfectly that you drive when we're together."

" I'm not your chauffeur, Dargan. Either you drive or you go alone."

" You're getting off the leash..." He said as he got in the car "...and I don't like that."

He turned on the vehicle, which woke with a loud roar, and pressed a button on the dashboard. The central door of the warehouse slowly slid up and we headed out. After a minute or two of Driving we were out of the docks and back in the urban area of Perun.

" So," Said Dargan suddenly after a long silence between us "...you found yourself a new lover?"

" What do you mean?" I asked in response, even though I knew what he meant.

" Leinth... it's obvious you like him."

" He's a nice guy, Dargan. And yeah, I like him. What are you getting at?"

" C'mon, Tareck, don't play stupid with me. I know you've had it off with him." I raised a brow intrigued by his questioning "It's obvious by the way you look at him." He was wrong, but I decided to play along.

" And I'm not denying it. But since when do you care about who I sleep with or not?" He remained silent with his eyes on the road "...are you jealous?"

" That's ridiculous!" He replied immediately "I just don't want you ta get involved with someone in the team." I couldn't contain a chuckle.

" Right... well we're both adults, Dargan, and I don't take your advice when it comes to relationships."

" And... what if I told you I'm jealous?"

" I would tell you to stop joking." He looked at me slightly annoyed.

For him, admitting he was jealous was like losing the respect someone had for him. And to him, respect was everything.

" C'mon, Boss," I said when I realized he was being serious "...you don't think I'm taking what I have with Leinth seriously, do you?"

" Would I be asking you if I didn't?"

I remained silent out of amazement. If there was something I admired of Dargan was that no matter how many people we'd been with, he had never been jealous because he knew that, in the end, I was his and no one else's.

" Aren't ya going to say something?" He turned his eyes to me briefly before focusing them back on the road.

" What can I say, Dargan? I thought you knew you're the only one I actually feel something for."

I placed my left paw over his right, which was on the stick shift. He looked at me through the corner of his eye and a concealed smile appeared on his face.

" I know I'm an asshole, I'm sorry. But if you think I'm going to start crying, I'm sorry to disappoint you" He said as he continued driving.

" Now that's something." I said with a smirk "Two things I thought impossible happening on the same day. You being jealous and you apologizing. Amazing." I chuckled.

" Tareck?"

" Yes?" I replied smiling.

" You're an asshole."

- - -

After a few minutes we got to Dargan's preferred place to get food. He wasn't one for fast food unless it was pizza, so restaurants were his everyday thing. The place was not far from the docks, but it was away enough to leave behind the dampness of the shoreline air and the noisy ambiance created by the freight gear.

It didn't took long for us to get seated. As soon as we were, I excused myself and headed to the toilets.

When I got there, I looked below the stalls to check no one was around. Fortunately, I was alone. I quickly took out my cellphone and dialed a number I knew perfectly.

" Can you talk?" Was the first thing the male voice on the other side said.

" No, I'm calling you in front of everyone." A moment of silence passed before I continued "I'm sorry, it's hard to control after so long. And yes, I'm in a private place."

" Good. I assume you have something to report?"

" Correct. I don't have much time so I'll be brief. Tonight we're going to kill a Major Bradley and retrieve a specific cache with some sort of weapons in it. It is supposed to have a fluorescent mark. What do you know about this?"

" Major Bradley?! Curses! He's General Bradley's son, that's why he was trusted with safeguarding that shipment." You can't let them kill him!"

" What was that about interfering? We're close, and I'm not going to waste my..." I noticed Dargan entering the room "...money in your stupid fund! You're a governmental foundation, aren't you? Shouldn't they give you all the gards you need?"

" Can't talk anymore, huh? I'll dig into this and I'll wait for your call. Make sure you call me before the job is done." With that, the male voice on the other side hung up the phone.

Dargan walked towards me with his signature smirk.

" Got any trouble peeing, Tareck?" He asked as I placed my phone back in my pants' pockets.

" No. It's the damned fundraisers, they won't stop bothering."

" Funny. They've never called me to my phone." Said he lowering his zipper and approaching an urinal.

" That's because you're a stingy guy. I made a donation once, but it's true what they say about giving them an inch." He chuckled briefly.

" Well... I have eight inches right here if you want them." I rolled my eyes as I looked at him.

" Please, Boss, you barely have six. We both know that."

" Is that so?" He zipped up his pants and headed towards the sinks "Want to measure it?"

I sighed and shook my head as I unzipped my pants to use an urinal myself. Before I knew it, he was behind me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me towards him. He lowered his right paw from my waist to my crotch.

" Dargan... this isn't the place..."

" Makes it more exciting, don't you think?"

He slipped his other paw inside my shirt and stroked my chest with it. I knew there was no use resisting, and just as I thought he would take me right there and then, a male pigeon entered the room and stood idle with his already big eyes open wide as soon as he noticed us.

" What the fuck are you looking at?" Yelled Dargan at the bird "Get the hell out of here right now!"

Without taking another look, the bird rushed out of the room. I took that opportunity to zip my pants and fix my shirt.

" Now..." He turned back at me "...where were we?" I turned around and met his face, replying with a smile.

" We were going to eat, weren't we?"

" Killed the mood, huh? Yeah, let's go."

- - -

By the time we finished our meals it was four past noon already and I knew it was getting late to get back to the warehouse. Luckily Dargan knew that too and didn't hesitate to head back. It didn't took long since he drove like a road zombie.

Once there we found Patrick under one of the vehicles, probably double-checking the engine. I stepped down of the car and headed towards the otter while Dargan headed upstairs to check on the rest of the guys.

" Hey Patrick, what are you doing?" I asked him while approaching him.

" I'm checking out this babes. Aren't they gorgeous?"

" Indeed they are. Hard not to after all the work you put into them."

" Well... they're my life. Glad you're here, by the way, I have a question to make you!" He said as he slid out from below the large vehicle.

" Sure thing. What is it?"

" Look at this three beauties..." He pointed at the vehicles in front of us "...I can't decide which one to use today so you choose. Dribbler, Tackler or Runner?"

I looked carefully at the three vehicles. Two of them had been bought by Dargan long ago in the 'informal' market and the third one was procured in one of our jobs in later times, but they all had been modified inch by inch by Patrick and were now nothing like their former selves.

The first one we got was 'Dribbler', a black minibus turned into an armored vehicle by the otter's makeshift talent and materials. Iron, aluminum, copper and even wood plating was used to reinforce the exterior and then batched in black paint to give a uniform color to the vehicle. Bulletproof windows, four sets of dual tires, xenon headlights and an enormous chrome bumper were the cherries of the pie.

A few weeks later we got 'Runner', the civilian version of a Humvee modified to fit seven people instead of five. This one's exterior wasn't as modified as Dribbler. To this one, Patrick only added a more enduring bumper, the best all-terrain tires we managed to find and a set of powerful fog lights on top of the roof. The machinery -especially the engine- was replaced by Machinehead with a more powerful version, hence the vehicle's nickname. This one was the vehicle we used the most due to its speed, off-road capability and low profile in the city. All that, summed to the otter's driving skills, got us out of many tight spots.

And lastly, everyone's favorite due to being big, unstoppable and a reminder of our most difficult job up until now... there was the infamous 'Tackler'. Just as its name implies, it's a vehicle meant for contact. It was originally what the military called an MRAP -whatever the hell that means- and it's basically a large truck thirteen feet tall and almost thirty long. It had a six-wheel drive and a single entrance located in the back of the vehicle. Aside from the windshield and small reinforced windows on the laterals, the vehicle had no place without a broad and intimidating armor protecting it. And I don't mean the makeshift kind of armor like Dribbler's, but actual military-grade armor able to withstand powerful explosives. Plus, the team's favorite otter outfitted the vehicle with a bulldozer blade on the front, making it an even more fearsome tank on wheels able to go as fast as seventy miles per hour.

Unfortunately, its appearance is not something easily concealable and the minute we put it on the street is the minute we get in trouble, so it doesn't really sees much action except on extreme situations.

" It's a military outpost, right? Why not take Tackler out for a spin?" I said jokingly with a smirk on my face.

" Eh... you know what's creepy, Tareck? Everyone in the team made the exact same joke when I asked them." He sighed "I guess we'll take Dribbler."

" Perhaps we'll used Tackler one of these days, huh?" I patted his shoulder.

" I hope so. But for now..." The otter placed his goggles over his eyes "I'll make some adjustments to my girl! She'll sure love that."

I shook my head and chuckled as I walked towards the stairs, I heard Dargan's voice inside the armory so I headed that way. When I entered, I found him and Rogue checking out the weapons in the racks. The panther was holding a ptismic rifle and the lizard a three-barreled keraunic rifle, which he pointed at me as soon as he noticed me.

" Head, heart or mouth..." He said with his hissing voice as he aimed at me "...where do you want the shot, faggot?"

" In my tight little pucker." I said dismissively as I showed him my right paw's middle finger and continued walking towards Dargan "Everything alright, boss?" I asked the panther.

" I'm getting the weapons ready. This time we'll need them, especially you two. Which one you want?"

Our armory wasn't very 'populated' with weapons, so there wasn't much to choose from. I decided to take a ptismic rifle as always. It was reliable and the projectiles were accurate, only downside was having to reload it. Keraunic rifles don't have that problem since their power cores reload over time after they're shot.

" The same one as ever." I replied.

" I shouldn't have bothered asking." He tilted his head as he looked at someone behind me "Looks like your new boyfriend needs something." The panther said mockingly "Must be important if he's outside of his... 'bubble'."

I turned around and saw Leinth enter the armory hesitantly.

" You need something, Leinth?"

" Yes, I was looking for Dargan." I raised my brow and looked back at Dargan.

" He's looking for you."

" So I heard." He replied "Well start talking, Wires, I don't have all day!" I rolled my eyes.

" I was going over the plan for today and I think there's a small flaw in it..."

" Really?" Said Dargan with his usual sarcasm "What's that flaw you found?"

" Eh... well, if we are retrieving a crate of weapons... aren't we supposed to have a way to transport it? I don't think a cargo of that size can fit in any of our vehicles, not even inside Tackler. Unless, of course, we're planning to carry as much weapons in our paws as we can and leave the rest behind." He looked coyly at Dargan, waiting for his reply. The boy had a point we all had overlooked.

The black feline looked fixedly at the ermine with no gesture on his face, I immediately realized he hadn't thought about that, and even though I knew him perfectly, I honestly had no idea how he would react. Before anyone could add anything else he rushed out of the room, bumping shoulders with me on his way out.

" Patrick!" He shouted as he continued his way downstairs "Patrick! Where are you?!" I followed Dargan along with Leinth and Rogue.

" Down here! Replied the otter as he slid himself out from below Dribbler. "What's wrong? Why all the screaming?"

" Come here! I need ta ask ya something." Machinehead approached the panther, and so did we.

" What's up? Are we being raided or what? It's the only reason I can imagine for all the screaming."

" What kind of load can these vehicles support?"

" Manpower?"

" No, 'freight power'." The otter scratched his head.

" I'm afraid they don't have much capacity for that kind of thing. I mean, small stuff no problem, but whole loads would be hard to accommodate in great quantities. Runner only has a trunk, Dribbler doesn't even have that, and Tackler was not designed to transport cargo either, just personnel..."

" So what you're saying is we have no way to transport the load of weapons we're after?" Patrick remained silent as he stared nervously at the panther.

" Well... no. You said Maxi and you would deal with the weapons yourselves so--" The otter stopped abruptly when he took a glance at the panther's furious stare.

Dargan took his paws to his waist and looked up, probably swearing in his mind. Something curious about him is that he was very calm when mad, contrary to his usual explosive self. He started to walk around in circles as Maxi, T4 and Eric joined us downstairs.

" Any ideas?" He asked as he looked around at all of us "Anyone? Anyone at all?"

" I... I may have one." Said Leinth out of the blue.

" Look, I'm not in the mood for your crap. Either you have an idea or you don't. It's simple as that."

" I have an idea, alright?" Replied the white ermine annoyed "What if we don't need a vehicle--"

" Awesome idea, wired-head." Said Rogue interrupting him.

" Please, Roger, let the boy talk." Interjected the malamute beside him "Go on, Wires."

" Thanks. As I was saying... since it is a dockside facility, and a military outpost, then there's bound to be a few of those big, 8-wheeled cargo trucks with a small cabin and a huge... um...platforms... what are those things in the back used for cargo transport called?"

" Smarty isn't so smart after all."

" Shut the fuck up already, Rogue!" Shouted the ermine to the lizard, to everyone's amazement. An awkward moment of silence passed before everyone started chuckling.

" Looks like the kiddo is finally growing some balls, Dargan." Spoke the roadrunner still chuckling. We were all probably thinking the same thing.

" Don't mind them, Wires." Added Patrick with a smile "They're called cargo beds, by the way. I think I know which trucks you're talking about. One of those would definitely do the trick, but you know what? One with a drop-side bed and a soft top in the back would be perfect. Easier to load and no one would know what we're carrying." The otter took a small pause "Well, what do you think, Dargan?"

" I think we don't have any other choice so we might as well expect the best out of this. We'll use Runner ta get us there and once there you'll have to swap vehicles. You're the only one here who would manage to get a monster like that to safety in one piece."

" Sure thing."

" Tareck, Rogue, you two will stay with Patrick and the weapons. Everyone else goes back to Runner and I'll get us out of there." All of us nodded "Any questions? Any other 'flaws' to point out before it's too late?" He looked around at all of us "No? Well, let's hope so. Away with you, people."

Everyone began heading upstairs, but I stayed with the panther. An angry look from my eyes was enough to make Dargan understand what I wanted.

" Wires, come back here." I stood behind him as the ermine returned.

" Yes, Dargan?"

" Eh... good work..." He said with the fakest smile I ever saw "...but if you're expecting me to offer ya a threesome with Tareck and me you better forget it." I hit my face with my paw not believing he had actually said that.

The ermine looked like a red fox at that moment with the tint his skin had taken. He started to walk away but Dargan stopped him.

" Relax, kid, you're among buds here so don't take what we all may say ta ya personally." An honest smile finally appeared on his muzzle "And please, don't be so shy anymore! Open up a bit and enjoy your life! No one will blame ya for that." With just a nod, Leinth turned around and headed up the stairs.

" Not bad." I whispered to Dargan "It could've been worse."

" Anything ta make you happy." He replied in a ridiculing voice as we headed upstairs.

- - -

A while later, while everyone was getting ready to head out, I sneaked out for a walk around the docks. That wasn't a place suited for sightseeing or nothing of the sort; the acrid smell of fish and salt was unpleasant to say the least, even more so to my canine sense of smell. I was there for another reason, I needed to be alone.

I calmly took out my phone and looked around to make sure no one was around. Then I dialed the same number I had dialed earlier that day. The same male voice answered the phone.

" I assume you're alone?" He asked.

" Yes, I am." I replied "What do you have for me? Good news, I hope."

" Quite the opposite. I dug out intel about that shipment and it turns out it's no ordinary weapons shipment. Most of it is, but a crate contains the first replicas of a prototype weapon that needs to be combat tested. They placed the first lot of those weapons in a crate with--"

" Fluorescent markings." I said. I heard a chuckle on the other side of the phone.

" The tyranny's coat of arms in ultraviolet fluorescence, actually, but your info was pretty close. Don't drool yet, it gets more interesting. The info of those weapons is only known to the brass so... you connect the dots."

" A traitor?" The male remained silent for a moment before replying.

" I'm afraid so. I just need to find out who and how high it is in the ladder. Though the information is secret, the snitch could've been one of the workers on the assembly facility."

" If we're lucky, that is. Anything else?"

" Yes. Of all the contractors your 'team' may have, I think we both know that only one is interested in murdering military officials."

" You mean..."

" Yes,them. Look... do what you must, kill the boy if you have to but don't screw up now. After that job is done and you have the weapons, make sure you're present when the panther makes the delivery. If the one who retrieves them is one of those we expect... then we're closer to finishing this than we think."

" Don't worry, I won't screw up when we've gotten so far."

" I know you won't. Keep your guard up now more than ever just in case."

" Will do. I'll contact you again when I have something new to report."

" Until then. Oh, and don't forget to take a black light with you today."

I ended the call and placed my cellphone back in my pocket as I walked back to the warehouse.

- - -

Thanks for reading.

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