Sibirskaia: No More Lies Part 4
(November 11th)
"Look. If this is about the pictures, I didn't take 'em, okay?" The wolf held up his open paws, as if warding off the adults before him.
Though neither he nor they moved away.
Those paws. Everyone seemed to do that, here...at least to some degree. And didn't they call it...talking with their paws? The stark white folf, watching in secret from meters down the hall, still hadn't gotten used to so much gesticulation. But, to be fair, he hadn't exactly gotten used to all the talking, here, either.
But he knew the wolf. Or maybe 'knew' was a generous term. He knew his name: Brandon Sutela. After all, that surname was hard to forget. And he knew, as well, that Brandon and a certain recently-over-exposed hyena were no longer friends. But the adults Brandon was talking to: the badger in her pantsuit, and the graying squirrel with his tie, glasses, and manila folder? They, he did not know.
He could only assume they were the police.
"I even deleted the messages, so..." Brandon trailed off as he went on...
...and the squirrel tilted his head to ask: "Pictures? What pictures?"
"Oh," Brandon coughed nervously. "Then, you didn't know...about...?"
"No," the badger smiled her insincere little smile, "But you have our attention."
And Brandon averted his gaze. His paw gripped the strap of his backpack. And his fidgeting footpaws slid him back a centimeter or more, across the tiles. The eavesdropping folf may have been confounded, more than once, by his new classmates' expressive paws...but he could read this sort of body language perfectly.
Brandon was worried.
"It's just this...this thing," he stammered to answer. "These two guys I know: they got caught, uhm...doin' stuff. Some pictures have been floating around the school, and..."
"And why did you think we were asking about that?" the badger probed.
"Well...you asked about Hunter, so..."
But they didn't. The folf had heard them, and, quite specifically, what they'd asked about...was Elliot's boyfriend. Which would mean...
"Hunter?" the squirrel opened up his folder, "Hunter Thurman?" and flashed its contents at his partner...
...as she unknowingly voiced the covert folf's speculations: "Hunter is Elliot's boyfriend, then?"
Brandon simply shrugged, "So goes the rumor."
And the squirrel asked: "And was Elliot the other boy in these pictures you mentioned?"
"No. It was this...this hyena we know. Michael Taylor?"
And the folf smiled. Mic!
Quickly, the badger scribbled something down onto a pad -- probably the name -- as her partner pressed on, "And you didn't take these pictures?"
"No sir."
"But is there some reason we should have thought you had?"
Nervously, Brandon sputtered, failing to muster a response, "I...uhm..."
But, "Luckily for you," the badger moved along to a different subject, "that's not why we're here."
"Well why ARE you here, then?" Brandon asked...
...and she explained: "We'd like to know what you can tell us about Elliot Masters."
"Elliot?" The teenager shrugged, "Not much. I don't really know the kid. Just Hunter. And I only know HIM through Mic." He pointed at the detectives. Again. Those paws. "But I CAN tell you: if the rumors are true...if he's anything like the two of them, then he's a fuckin' freak."
The squirrel's aging eyes narrowed behind his glasses, "...freak?"
"You know? They're all a bunch o' c-" Cocksuckers. The folf had heard Brandon spouting off at the muzzle before. And he'd said the word more than enough, that even the exchange student knew it was what came next. But, of course he was more cautious in front of the police. "...a bunch of queers. I mean, we found Hunter and Mic..." he tensed as he said it: "...suckin' dick right in the middle of a fuckin' park rest room!" And he paused before repeating: "Freaks!"
We.
The badger smiled her insincere smile, yet again. The folf, it seems, wasn't the only one who noticed the word: "We? 'We' found them?"
"So you WERE there," the squirrel concluded. "But you still didn't take the pictures?"
Brandon quickly turned defensive, "Look, that's all I know about the kid, okay?" Again, the paws came up, "Before I found out that he was a fuckin' homo, Mic and I were friends. But all I know about Hunter -- and Elliot, too, from what I hear -- is that they're a..." he scoffed, "...couple, or whatever."
"Nothing else?" the badger double checked.
"Nothin' else," he answered. "C-can I go?"
"Go on," she waved him away...
...and he spun to leave, marching right in the direction of the bright white folf. Swiftly, the curious boy bowed his head and turned. He couldn't let Brandon know he'd been looking. It was bad enough that Mic had caught him time and again...but at least Mic was friendly. Or at least the folf assumed he WOULD be, should they ever meet. Brandon, though?
He kept his eyes cast down, well after he'd felt the wolf pass by. His ears, though, were still honed in on the detectives. And across those few meters, he heard the squirrel's voice...
"That's it? You let him go? You didn't want to ask him about...?"
"Not yet. That's a case for another day," the badger answered and asked: "Did you see how angry he was, though?"
"I did."
"Do you think he was...?"
"I do."
"Damn-it."
The folf looked back up. Certainly, Brandon had moved along. Certainly, it was safe.
And indeed he had...but no, it wasn't.
Because, to the little white teenager's dismay, when he turned his eyes, again, upon the police officers...he found the squirrel's eyes staring back. And he wanted to turn and walk away. He wanted to escape what he knew was coming next.
But it was too late. The squirrel's paw tapped the badger's side, and then rose with an outstretched finger. Her eyes turned and followed the pointing paw. And now two pairs of eyes were on the boy, and two pairs of feet drew the well dressed, menacing adults upon him...
"Hi there," the old squirrel greeted him with a smile. A real smile, unlike his partner's. "What's your name?"
"V-v..." the folf stuttered helplessly as he began, and then steadied himself with a breath. "Viri Virranhukka, shirr."
"Hmm..." the squirrel's smile widened as he leaned away, "that accent. What is that? German? Swedish?"
"Finnish, shirr," Viri answered politely, before timidly asking: "Y-you arre...de polishe?"
"We are, Viri," the badger answered softly as she leaned in close. Much TOO close for a Finn's taste, in fact. "We're detectives. And we noticed you were staring at us, over here. Is there...uhm...is there anything you wanted to tell us?"
And the squirrel specified: "You wouldn't happen to know something about Elliot Masters, would you?"
No More Lies No Room for Error
(November 11th)
"You can't tell me that you think teenagers havin' sex is out of the ordinary!" Mic never was the type to be shy or reserved...
...and that would be no different, in front of detectives.
"Even fourteen-year-olds?" the badger across the school's conference room table asked in disbelief. "Even THAT's not...out of the ordinary?"
"Of course not!" Mic exclaimed. "A little less common, sure. But still not weird." And he raised an eyebrow at the detectives, "I mean, you guys are like...sex cops or somethin' right? So, you gotta' be familiar with this, already."
The kindly, old squirrel to the badger's side simply leaned back with a grin, "Enlighten us."
But Micheal Taylor was at a loss.
All he could do was guess as to what this was about. And he'd assumed that it was the pictures, at first. Because what other reason could the Special Victims' Unit have to speak with him?
Though...Special Victims' Unit? Was that really what they were called? Or was that just for TV?
No matter their name, though, they hadn't asked about the pictures, or the park, or Hunter...or even Brandon, for that matter! They'd asked about Elliot.
So, then, if this was about Elliot...were they here about his father? About those bullshit accusations that Elliot had been molested? Hadn't that already been taken care of? But then again, they hadn't asked about his dad, either...so maybe Mic was just jumping to conclusions. After all, Hunter and Elliot had been surprisingly dodgy this weekend...
...and if two friends who were usually so open with him about everything, suddenly WEREN'T...then there had to be a good reason. So, for now, perhaps it was best that he just answer the questions he was asked.
He could figure out the details in a moment.
"Sex is everywhere," he began. "It's on our minds, for some us, before we even hit double digits. And by the time we're in high school, it's just about ALL that's on our mind. We wake up thinkin' about sex; we go to bed thinkin' about sex. And we can't even LOOK at anyone mildly attractive -- and fittin' into our particular preferences -- without thinkin' about sex with THEM in mind." He tapped a finger on the table for emphasis, as he went on: "We're balls of hormones, wrapped in hormones, bathing in hormones! And do you really think that all of us could hold out like good little choir pups until we were 18? Or better yet: not even 'all'. Do you even think that MOST of us do? Or even half?"
As if she'd heard none of what he had to say, the badger asked: "So you don't think it's odd, at all, that Elliot's already active?"
And Mic shook his head, "If you have to ask that, then you really have no idea, at all, how much sex goes on at this school."
"On campus?" the squirrel joked.
"Sometimes," Mic smiled...
...as the elderly detective raised a brow, "And at the park?"
The park. Now that's what Mic needed to hear. So they DID know about the pictures. Good. Anything's easier once you know what you're working with.
And through his widening smile, Mic lowered his voice as if sharing a secret, "Why don't you take a black light to those picnic tables sometime, officer?" And then sat up straighter as he went on: "But what I'm sayin' is: Elliot bein' sexually active doesn't prove anything. I mean, I am! And nobody's ever touched me, unless I let 'em!"
And the hyena watched.
Was he right? Was this about Elliot's father? Would they react to his statement? Would they recoil or show astonishment that he already knew why they were here, even though they hadn't said? Or would they inquire as to what he meant, allowing him both the chance to explain his incorrect assumption, and to then ask them what they really WERE here for?
His answer came in an instant, as four eyes -- two pairs -- widened ever so slightly. Neither detective questioned the statement. No one corrected him.
He was right.
And the squirrel simply moved along, "And what about him being gay?"
Mic shrugged, "Plenty of gay guys out there, who weren't ever touched."
"Even at fourteen?" the badger asked...
...and Mic laughed: "Even at eight!"
"And...are we to assume THIS is from personal experience, as well?" the squirrel clarified. "After all, rumor has it that you're gay, too."
"Rumor and photographic evidence, you mean?" Mic corrected the detective...
...and he nodded through a smile, "As it were."
"Well..." the hyena hummed to himself, considering how best to answer, "...it's complicated."
"So you aren't gay?" the badger verified. "Bisexual, then?"
"Well...I, uhm..." with a breath, Mic leaned in, elbows on the table and cheeks in his paws. "How much do you guys know about female hyenas?"
~
"I would say I know more than my share on the subject." Stanley Jones carefully tucked in his shirt, busily readying himself for work, even as he spoke with the detectives, "I have met abused children, officers. And Elliot is not one of them."
"Is 'at so?" the larger detective, a crude and imposing gorilla in a leather jacket and jeans, narrowed his eyes at the rabbit. "And you'd know more'an the boy's mother?"
"I might, at that," Stan smirked. "I know he would rather be living with his father. I know that she thinks she's helping, right now...but that, in reality, she's only hurting him." As he spoke, he ran his belt casually through its loops, "And I know that no matter how badly she may wish it, her son will never be straight. I know, because I know what it is to be gay."
The second detective, a well dressed and easily irritated little dachshund, sighed, "You too?"
And Stanley paused, belt buckle in paw, "Hmm?"
"Is there anyone even slightly connected to this boy who isn't gay?" the dog explained his question.
"Oh, you misunderstood, detective," Stan laughed as he went about buckling his belt, once more, "I am firmly heterosexual."
And the smaller detective tilted his head, "But you said..."
"I was referring to Aaron. To my brother, and William's significant? He has known that he was gay since his first days of puberty." Stanly turned away, lifting his shoes from the floor and let out a short but full throated laugh, "And I had known that he was gay for far longer than that." He padded across his living room, mulling over his thoughts in the silence, as the detectives followed along to his recliner, "And for that matter, I have not only Aaron as reference, but my son, Hunter, as well."
The gorilla took on an accusatory tone, "And that makes ya' an expert on Elliot?"
"No," Stan answered as he sat. And then slipped his feet into his socks and shoes, before going about tying his finely polished loafers. But there had been no rush to any of it: to the buttoning or tucking of his shirt, to the threading or buckling of his belt, or even to the act, now, of slipping his large, dusty paws into his argyle socks and leather shoes. He was in no great hurry. But neither did he treat this conversation as one worthy of any real interruption to his daily routine.
It was as if the whole ordeal was simply inconsequential.
"No," he repeated. "But I would like to believe that I have a far more detailed perspective on his sexuality than his mother does. I have seen it first paw, grown up with it, and helped to rear it. It is not something that is so easily changed or influenced as she would like." And -- though he paused -- he added before they could respond: "And in fact, I should say: I could attest to that from personal experience, as well."
"Meaning?" the dachshund asked.
"What is it we tell our children about vegetables? How do you know you don't like it, if you won't try it?" Stanley looked up from his shoes only long enough for the quote, before turning his eyes back to the task at paw. "Sound logic for adults as well, detective." And, with it done, he leaned back with a smile, to explain: "I gave the act its fair chance. And it was simply not for me."
The dachshund looked displeased, "You've been with another man, then."
"You haven't?" Stan smirked, with a sharply arched brow...
...and the dog's displeasure turned quickly to disgust, "No!"
Unphased by the detective's irritation, though, Stanley stood again, to walk the few feet away, to the mirror above his mantle. "But, without testing your heterosexuality," he asked as he took hold of the tie draped around his neck, "how can you be so certain of it? Perhaps it's something you should investigate..." he paused to smile at the dog through his reflection "...detective."
The dachshund's hackles rose, and his teeth glistened in a snarl. And as the sight caught Stan's eyes in the mirror, a single thought flashed through the rabbit's mind...
...why was he doing this?
Why was he doing any of this? Defending a child molester. Lying to the police. Was it all for William -- a man he barely knew? Was it for Aaron: to protect his brother's boyfriend? Or did he really, truly have no problem with what William had done? Did he advocate the crime? Was he defending it...supporting it? And why couldn't he answer such a simple question?
But more importantly, why was he doing THIS? Right now. Regardless of his reasons for lying and supporting the Masters through all of this...why was he provoking the cops? What good could it possibly do him to poke and goad? And why did it feel so damn good?
The dachshund's bared teeth let loose a low rumble of a growl and parted, ready, once more, to snap at the grinning rabbit...
...but before they could, the gorilla intervened. "We're gettin' off track."
"Of course. Excuse me," Stanley looked away from their reflections to focus on his tie. "To reiterate: in my professional and personal opinion, Elliot has not been abused. I could run you through each and every bit of evidence -- his hygiene, his eating habits, his promiscuity, and so on -- but it would be a spectacular waste of our time."
"Would it?" the gorilla asked.
"Yes. The bottom line is that Elliot is a happy, healthy, and well adjusted child...save for the emotional stresses his mother seems determined to cause." He tugged and adjusted, in his practiced and meticulous ways, to shape the perfect Windsor knot. "And, had he actually been hurt and abused by his father or William, should it not stand to reason that he would show SOME adverse effects?"
Then again, he wasn't really lying to the police, to begin with, was he? After all, he had never once claimed that William and Elliot had had no sexual contact. Never once entertained such a question with ANY sort of an answer, in fact. He had simply said that Elliot was not abused.
And that was the truth.
So this was his answer then. He wasn't doing this for William. And he wasn't doing it for Aaron. At the heart of it all, he really was in support of what had happened. Yes, William had committed statutory rape by the letter of the law. But there was no abuse.
That was the truth.
That was Stanley's truth.
And, with his tie pulled tight beneath his collar, he turned back to the detectives with a smile, "Though, I do have one question for you, if you don't mind my asking." He straightened his cuffs, "Why exactly did you come to speak with me, today?" one by one. "Is it because I know the accused through my brother? Or because I know the supposed victim through my adopted son?"
"Fair to say: both," the dachshund answered.
"Well, unfortunately, as those are my only two connections with the case, I feel that I have little more to say, than I already have." He made his way across the room, yet again, as he spoke, "I am only privy to the information, here, second paw. From what interactions I have had with the boy, though, he seems fine." And he retrieved the coat he'd left waiting, from its hanger on his coat rack, "So, if you have no more questions for me...?"
"Why?" the gorilla huffed in frustration, "Ya' in a hurry to be somewhere?"
~
"No, no. No need to rush," Scott assured the detectives. "For a serious matter like this, the principal will see to it that our classes are covered."
And as James closed the conference room door behind them, the raccoon agreed: "We're yours for as long as you need us!"
"That's good to know," the old, gray squirrel smiled as he circled the table and laid his manila folder at its edge...
...but Scott came to a halt a wide breadth shy of that table and its chairs, "But may I ask? Who is this fine woman you have with you, today?" And though his words were directed toward the squirrel, his eyes were on the badger. And with a shallow little bow, he offered her a paw, "Quite the upgrade from your gorilla friend, isn't she?"
The badger smiled, taking and shaking the offered paw, as she answered for them both, "We trade partners on occasion." But her smile was merely a display of politeness. He could see it in her fixed eyes, and in every little hair of her muzzle displaced by that smile. It was anything but genuine. "Helps us to come at the interviews from different directions." He hadn't disarmed her, as he'd hoped.
But with the civilities out of the way, she circled the table with her partner, Scott and James took their seats opposite, and the detectives took their own.
"I see," Scott nodded to her explanation, before asking: "So, the Gorrilla is...?"
"With my partner," the badger answered, "interviewing the Masters, personally, while we're here at the school."
"So, there are four of you, then?" James double checked.
"And only four," the aging squirrel clarified. "Department wide."
With another nod, Scott settled back in his chair, fingers interlaced, "Well what are we here for today? Just a follow up?" He smiled with a modest shrug, "I'm not sure what I could tell you that I haven't already."
"Ah, but it's not just you, today, is it, Scott?" the squirrel returned the grin. "You seem to forget that this is our first time speaking with James, here."
"And I'm happy to help!" James chirped, perhaps too cheerfully compliant.
"Good, then," the badger leaned in on an elbow. "Because, we'd like to ask what you know about Elliot's relationship with his uncle."
"His uncle?" James feigned a little recoil at the question, "William?"
And Scott, of course, played along: "Wasn't this about his father, last time?"
"It was," the badger nodded.
And it was all a bit ironic, really. A week earlier, when the squirrel had come with his gorilla to speak with Scott, and when the questions HAD been about Elliot's father, the fox had believed they were right. He'd pieced it together in from his own experiences -- and from Jeff's -- and had felt so certain that Kris was guilty. Almost as certain as Elliot's mother and the detectives, themselves, in fact!
And, oh, how close he'd been!
Of course, were it even in small part up to him, he would make sure these detectives never knew just how close they'd come that short week ago...or how right they were now...
"So, wait," Scott held up a paw, "you're telling me...that when her accusations against her husband fell flat, she turned them onto her brother-in-law, instead?" He scoffed and arched a brow, "And yet, still, the department feels this is worth their time?"
"You'd rather us look the other way?" the badger contended...
...and her elderly partner concurred, "Better safe than sorry, don't you think?"
"Well, yeah, but..." James shrugged as he spoke up, "...I don't know what you expect from us. We don't know Elliot's uncle any better than we do his father."
"Less even," Scott corrected him...
...and the raccoon elaborated: "Just what little Elliot's told us about him."
"But even that little bit could be of use," the graying squirrel persuaded. "Any bit of information, even second paw, could help."
"Besides," the badger deftly added: "as I've been told, you may have a...unique perspective on the matter."
"You mean the fact that I'm gay?" Scott asked.
"I do," she nodded...
...as her partner turned to address James, "And what about you, Mr. Callaway?"
The raccoon didn't venture an answer directly. And neither did Scott presume to speak for him. Instead, the two teachers turned their gazes from the detectives, and onto one another. And in the silence, they shared a short glance and a shorter nod...before James looked back to the detectives.
"Yes," he answered, "I am, too."
And so the badger pressed on: "So are we to assume that you two are...together?"
~
"Not that it matters," Kristoff growled, "but, yes: they are."
"But you already knew that," Billy added. "You knew Aaron and I were together before you even walked through the door." And, after a pause, he corrected himself, "Before you walked through the door, LAST week, in fact. So why bother asking?"
"Just makin' sure we got our facts straight," the large gorilla could barely restrain the hostility in his voice...
...but, true to form, his little dachshund partner didn't even try, "And seeing if you'd tell us the truth."
"Off to a good start, then, yeah?" Aaron meekly and optimistically interjected...
...drawing only a dismissive huff from the small dog.
"Look, I'm gonna' give it to you straight, a'right?" the gorilla leaned in as he spoke. "This doesn't look good for you, Mr. Masters." He stopped to clarify, "Either of you," as he motioned to both brothers. "See? Miss Kharski's claims ain't all ya' gotta' worry about."
And Kris, if only for a moment, was given pause. Kharski. She'd gone back to her maiden name.
"You see," the dachshund joined in to explain his partner's claims: "Between this questionable home life you have, and the...parenting style..." sarcasm clouded his voice, "that I learned about the last time we spoke, and Elliot's inappropriate sexual tendencies-"
"Wait," Kristoff stopped him. "Are you taking issue with him being interested in sex at his age, in general?" he asked. "Or just with him being gay?"
"Little o' both?" the gorilla answered for his partner...
...who continued, "The point is: it doesn't add up to the most flattering of pictures for you. Even YOU have to admit, it's more than a little suspicious."
And once again, Kris snapped, "Suspicious!? You wanna' talk about suspicious?" He leaned forward in his seat, in a burst of anger, "Well then why don't we talk about my wife!?"
And the dachshund scoffed, "Your wife?"
Kristoff had tried to lie to himself.
Again and again these past few days, he had tried. He'd tried to pretend that he hated his brother. But he didn't. He loved Billy, and he always would. He'd tried to tell himself that his only motivation in this -- his only reason to lie to the police and to defend his brother -- was to protect himself. He couldn't lose Elliot, after all. And if they could prove that Billy was guilty, then they could say that Kris had let it happen. And he would lose his son. He'd tried to pretend that THAT was why he was doing this. But it wasn't his only reason. No matter what, he loved his brother...and he didn't want to see him in jail.
He had tried to believe, too, that he was disgusted and appalled with what they'd done. Incest. Statutory rape. Lies. He'd tried to say, to think, and to believe...that he'd been disappointed by his son, and betrayed by his brother.
But he hadn't.
What he felt wasn't disgust. What he'd felt, even at his most violent and angry, was something wholly different. It was a feeling he didn't want to admit to. And one that he hadn't felt in years. After all, for all her faults -- and she had many -- Robyn was at least faithful. And this? He couldn't remember the last time he'd had even had reason to feel...
And now, even here, today...he tried to make excuses for his anger with the detectives. He told himself that he simply hated this dachshund...and that his primate partner was no better. Clearly, he wasn't filled with righteous indignation on Billy's behalf. But just personal distaste, on his own.
But even that wasn't true.
Sure, he hated this stupid little wiener dog. He even found himself dreaming of a time and a place further down their evolutionary ladder, where this little shit wouldn't even DARE and show the balls to bark in the face of a husky, for fear of having his smug little muzzle bitten off!
But when it came right down to it...here...today? This dog and his gorilla had come into Kris's home and threatened his brother. His blood. And he would not let that pass.
"Billy?" he spoke to his brother, but his eyes never left the detectives. "How long has it been, now, since she showed up at our door?"
"Robyn?" the other husky verified. "About a month."
And Kris explained: "One month ago, she comes knocking to give me an ultimatum. And if you don't believe me, you can ask Elliot, too. He was there to see the whole damn thing." He leaned back again, arms crossed, "She told me that I could either paw Elliot over to her, right then, or that she'd do everything in her power to take him away from me."
"So, we gave Elliot the choice," Billy added. "And he said no."
"He wanted to stay here with me," the elder husky continued. "So I turned her away. I protected my son." And this time he DID look to his brother, "And what happened next?"
"Well first," Billy answered, "she tried to prove that our apartment was an unhealthy environment for him. Says that it's too small, and tries to get the courts to take him away."
"So we moved to a bigger apartment," Kris explained...
...and his brother went on, "Then she suddenly accuses her husband -- Elliot's own father -- of raping him! So you guys come to our home and berate us...you interrogate Elliot and his teachers..."
"...and, yet, you leave empty handed," Kristoff finished the sentence.
"So, then, not a week later, she turns those same guns on me!" Billy tapped his chest as punctuation. "She couldn't prove the apartment was unhealthy. And she couldn't convince anyone that Toffy was a child molester. So why not try and convince them that I am instead?"
"After all," his older brother scoffed, "what better target than the gay uncle?"
Stone faced and unphased, though, the dachshund simply asked: "Your point?"
"Our point?" Kris blinked. "Our point is that THAT is 'suspicious'..."
But the little detective only shrugged, "I dunno. Sounds to me like a mother desperate to protect her son from destructive influences and potential abuse."
"You have got to be kidding me!" Kristoff barked. "You call yourselves detectives, but you don't see anything wrong with this picture??"
"Oh, we see plenty wrong, Mr. Masters," the gorilla contended...
...and Billy laughed and shook his head, "But they mean with us, of course...not with her."
"Well, of course they do!" Kris tossed up his paws. "We already learned, last time, that they're too blind to see through their own damn prejudices, to be able to do their jobs!"
At that, the dachshund flashed his snarling teeth, "I'd watch what you say, Mr. Masters!"
And, at once, as if hoping to quickly snuff out the growing fire, a new voice joined the fray...one that had offered but a few words before now, sitting silent amongst the fury and theatrics...
"I think, detectives, what they're trying to ask is just..." Aaron swiftly but timidly posed the question: "...can you at least tell us at what point Robyn's accusations actually lose credibility?"
~
"You need to understand, Mr. Callaway, that that's why we're here," the female badger answered...
...and the old squirrel to her side explained: "We're trying to find out exactly how credible Miss Kharski's accusations ARE."
"And that's where we come in, then?" James asked.
"It is," the squirrel nodded...
...and his partner moved along: "We spoke to a few of your students today. Michael Taylor, Brandon Sutela, and...Viri...Viri..."
"Viri Virranhukka," the older detective assisted her.
"Viri?" Scott asked. "The foreign exchange student?"
"Yes," the badger nodded. "And we've come across some interesting rumors. Elliot Masters' boyfriend -- the one whom neither Elliot, his father, nor you would name last week -- is a tiger by the name of Hunter Thurman."
"We've also been told," the squirrel added, "that it's common knowledge that the two of them, along with Michael, himself, are sexually active."
The badger went on: "And we've heard of-"
"...but have not seen..." her partner interjected.
"...pictures of Taylor and Thurman caught in the act."
"Ah!" Scott seemed surprised. "So you know of the pictures, then."
"As do you?" the squirrel asked...
...and James nodded, "We've actually seen them."
"Well," the badger continued, "all of this would paint a very disturbing picture for some: this fourteen-year-old boy is already sexually active. Involved with a tiger and a hyena who, themselves, are prone to such risky public stunts. All three of them so forward with it, that the entire school seems to know," she counted off on her fingers as she went. "And all of this, amidst accusations of sexual misconduct by both the boy's father and uncle..."
And her elder partner took over, "But to hear the students talk -- and not just Michael, either -- this sort of behavior is normal." He tilted his head, "It's not isolated or unique to Elliot and his friends. And, if the students we've spoken to are to be believed, most of them, in fact, are active to some degree."
"Would you say that's true?" the badger asked of the two teachers...
...and again, James nodded, "I would. Yeah."
"As I said last time," his vulpine lover explained, "our students try their best to be secretive about it..."
"...but there's no question that it happens," James finished his sentence, as the two had been growing more and more prone to do, as of late.
"Did it happen for you?" the squirrel probed.
"When we were teenagers?" James clarified...
...and Scott answered: "It did."
"More for me, than for him, of course," the raccoon smirked proudly at his claim.
"Now, now. Let's not compete in front of the detectives," Scott looked to his 'coon with a condescending little smile of his own. "We wouldn't want an audience to witness your stunning defeat, honey."
The squirrel shook his head with a laugh, and his muzzle split as if he were about to speak...
...but his younger partner beat him to it, "Would you say it's more common among homosexuals?"
"Promiscuity in high school?" Scott asked and shook his head. "No. I'd actually say it's less."
"We, uhm..." James sought to explain, "...and Elliot and his friends for that matter? We're the lucky ones."
"How so?" the squirrel asked.
"Well...just think about it," he suggested, "It's already hard enough for a straight guy to..." he paused with a grin, "...well, to get laid, right?"
And the squirrel grinned back, "It can be."
"But, see? You've got it easy! Especially in high school," James went on. "Ninety percent of the student body is straight. I mean, some of them might change their minds later, but for right now? They're straight. And that remaining ten percent? Most of them are closeted and terrified."
"Too frightened," Scott agreed, "no matter how much they may want sex, to risk outing themselves to find it."
"I mean: who would you ask?" James proposed. "Who could you approach? Who could you trust to not out you to the whole school? Or more important..."
"...to not hurt you," Scott concluded.
"And you know?" James snapped his fingers. "I think that might be the problem you're running into here. It's why this all seems so bizarre to you." He leaned in over the table as he set forth: "Sex really IS pretty common among kids Elliot's age. And if it seems odd to you: the idea of a fourteen-year-old boy already having sex -- especially gay sex? If that's something you're not used to seeing?" He shrugged, "Well, it's not because Elliot's weird, or messed up."
"It's because he's fortunate," Scott punctuated...
...and the squirrel furrowed his brow, "It seems like everybody we've talked to about this seems to agree..."
"Except for Mr. Sutela," the badger interjected.
"...that him being gay and active, apparently, isn't proof of anything."
"Well then..." James arched an eyebrow, "...and I don't mean to sound confrontational, but...instead of this, why aren't you going after the boys who took those pictures of Mic and Hunter?" he asked. "I mean: those two kids are being put through hell over this."
The squirrel paused at that, humming in thought, "Hmmm. Let me see if I can..." he scratched his chin for a moment before asking: "You two know we aren't just normal detectives, right? That we're...specialized."
"We do," Scott answered...
...and the squirrel went on, "And you also know where it is we live and work. This isn't a large county...and it should come as no surprise that we haven't the population nor the funds to warrant every city having their own..." he paused before repeating the euphemism: "...specialized detectives."
"So you don't just serve Sibirskaia, then," James concluded.
"Exactly," the badger nodded. "We serve the whole county. And not only do we have this case with the Masters family, but we've also just had another case land on our desk, from a town over, involving a wolf that..." she drew in a shaking breath, "...well let's just say that even if both Kristoff AND William are guilty...that case would STILL make this whole situation look like a Saturday morning cartoon."
And James felt a wave of numbness ripple through his body. A wolf?
Until now, he'd put no more thought to this conversation than what he'd displayed aloud. It was what it was. Stand up for the husky. Defend the students and their promiscuity. And try not to seem too intrigued by the undisclosed specifics of the crime at paw...
But this one bit of information? An apparently brutal case involving a wolf? That couldn't be...
No. Anything but him.
"Basically," the squirrel continued, rousing James from his thoughts, "we don't have time to prosecute a bunch of teenagers for sending and receiving some illicit texts." And on that note, the squirrel leaned in, a finger on the table, "And you also need to understand that's exactly what we'd HAVE to do. It wouldn't just be an issue of going after the photographer. Everyone who shared those pictures would be in trouble."
"And unfortunately," the badger added, "so would Mr. Taylor and Mr. Thurman, for public indecency."
"And sure:" the squirrel shrugged, "we could take the time to track the pictures back to their source and find out who took them. We could round up and press charges against each and every individual who -- frankly -- disseminated child pornography. And we could further humiliate Michael and Hunter by dragging this through the courts and the media."
"But we have far more pressing matters than to investigate some high school prank..." the badger concluded...
...and her partner tacked on: "...or to punish a couple of kids for youthful indiscretion."
Scott's eyes widened, "That's...admirable, actually. It's quite similar to why we didn't seek any disciplinary measures against the students who we knew had received the pictures."
But James pressed on with his argument, nonetheless, "You misunderstood my point, though. I wasn't saying that you SHOULD round up and prosecute the whole student body. I was just saying..." he paused and held up his palms, "...and again, I don't mean to be confrontational. But I was just making a comparison. Because, see: it seems to me that these pictures are actually LESS of a waste of your time...than chasing Miss Masters' accusations."
And, yet again, Scott finished the thought for his lover: "Because at least you know that SOMETHING is happening, here. Unlike with the Masters case, at least you have some actual evidence to work with, instead of just a few unfounded accusations..."
And in the short moments of silence that followed, James's eyes and the path of his muzzle shifted, aiming demonstratively at the manila folder lying before the squirrel, and then pointedly back to the elder detective's face...
"...unless, of course," James posed, "you DO have some sort of evidence against Will."
~
"Ya' ask like ya' don't know," the gorilla narrowed his eyes at the huskies and their rabbit. "We know yer lawyers already told ya' about the evidence, Mr. Masters."
"They did," Toffy agreed. "But they didn't tell me what it was."
"That's because we didn't tell THEM," the dachshund explained. "We're not at a stage in our investigation, yet, where we feel it's best to release that sort of information."
"And you know..." William mused, "I have a theory about that."
The husky's head rose from where it had hung, staring at his feet. He looked across his living room and his coffee table, at the detectives sitting in his chairs. And he found all eight eyes of the room upon him: Toffy's, Aaron's, and his accusers'.
Yet he was unshaken. He was confident.
"You've got nothing," he declared. "You're just trying to scare us."
But the dachshund shot back to ague: "Oh, I assure you, we-"
"Sorry. Sorry," Will cut him short. "Of course you have SOMETHING. But you're not telling us WHAT you have, because you want us to believe that it's a LOT worse than it really is, right? Because if one of us really HAS done something, and we believe that you have proof, then we'll be more likely to buckle, slip up, or confess. Am I right?"
The husky was met with only silence. And he smirked. He'd stumped them; they couldn't conjure a response...
"See?" William continued, "If you had irrefutable proof of ANYONE doing something to Elliot -- be it me, Toffy, a teacher, a coach, or a guy down the street -- you'd already have that person in cuffs in front of a judge!" He shook his head, with a fearless smile, "So no. What you've got is something sketchy and suspicious, at best...and, also, ultimately meaningless. But you're hoping you can leverage it against us, anyway. Isn't that right?"
"No," the gorilla replied...
...and Toffy repeated: "No?"
"No, we have something very real," the Dachshund explained. "Something very irrefutable. We know something happened to Elliot, and we know that beyond a shadow of a doubt."
Barely above a murmur, it was Aaron who surmised: "You just don't have a name."
And Toffy sunk, slumping in his seat, as if the news had struck him. News which Will knew was of no real surprise. News they had expected. But nonetheless, his brother fell limp...
"That's...that's why I was the first one accused." The elder husky's eyes shook, his jaw opened and closed, as if, again and again, failing to speak. And when finally it did, only a whimper and a name slipped forth: "Elliot..."
And William marveled at his brother's acting.
This was no surprise. None of it. They had known for days now that this evidence was real. And they had known that it was most likely vague. They had even inferred that this was why Toffy had been accused first. And why the accusations against Will could stand. Because someone had molested Elliot...and the detectives' only question was who.
They knew this. They knew it all. But nonetheless, here sat Toffy, shocked, staggered, and pained...as if he had only just gleaned these facts. And more over: as if he had only just seen the truth beneath them.
That Elliot really HAD been molested.
But even that much, Toffy already knew. William, himself, had told him. But if the younger husky hadn't known that first paw...if he was watching this from the outside, in? Even HE would have been fooled by his brother's performance.
And he could only wonder how much truth lie behind those shaking eyes. How much of this was simply the lie and the act...and how much of it drew directly upon those all-too-real emotions which had flooded Toffy only two days before.
But these were questions for another day. For now, they were on their stage...and Will, too, had his role to play...
"So you KNOW something happened to his son!?" the younger husky exploded at the detectives in his living room. "You know, but you didn't inform him!? You didn't warn him! You didn't say anything to ANY of us about this evidence, so we could protect my nephew -- so he could protect his son! Instead, you just help his wife to use this as a weapon!?"
And Toffy joined in with a dark laugh, "You know? That doesn't surprise me coming from Robyn. Of course SHE wouldn't think to help her own son -- to help him to cope and heal, or to protect him -- not when she could use it for her own ends. But now you!?" he snapped. "Isn't protecting kids your fucking JOB!?"
"We're tryin' to protect 'im!" the gorilla argued...
...and his partner added: "...from you."
"We didn't do this!!" William screamed.
"And so what if you didn't!?" the little dachshund barked. "You think that makes you innocent?"
And the room sat stunned. Toffy recoiled, and even his shaking eyes grew still. Will drew in and held a breath, completely at a loss for how to respond. And Aaron...
...only Aaron, after a moment, was able to ask: "What are you trying to say? I mean...isn't that exactly what it would mean?"
The dachshund looked, first, to the rabbit, "Not even close," before turning his eyes back onto the huskies. "I know that one of you did this. I can smell the fear on you. I can see it in your eyes, and I could see it in Elliot's last week. You're hiding something. All of you. And it's no secret what." He offered a long, exaggerated shrug, "But even if I'm wrong...even if, as you said, a teacher or someone down the street ends up in front of a judge over this..." he looked Toffy directly in the eye, "you, Kristoff, are every bit as guilty as them."
And, again, the older husky recoiled, "What?"
"Well it happened under your watch, didn't it? Whether it was your brother or a complete stranger...it doesn't matter." The little dog pointed a finger at the husky, "You're his father, and it's your job to protect him."
"You think I don't know that!?" Toffy lurched forward in a rage, and William watched as tears collected in his eyes. "You think I feel like the hero, here? But that is MY cross to bear! It is none of your business, OR the court's!"
"Oh, but I think it is, Mr. Masters," the dachshund flashed a dark grin. "Because we're not talking about a simple oversight here. We're talking about parental negligence. We're talking about you willfully -- and with blatant disregard for your son's well being -- putting him in the dangerous situation that let this happen."
"How DARE you-!?" Toffy howled...
...and the smaller dog barked back: "You think we're just going to overlook your stance on your son's sex life!? The fact that you allow him this astonishing level of free reign at such a young age?" He leant in as he lowered his voice to a growl, "With that in mind, you expect us to believe that you would have ANY safeguards in place to protect him from predators?"
Toffy was about to lose it. He would be on his feet at any moment. And Will knew that it would be barely a step past that...before his brother's anger would land him in cuffs.
So before it could escalate, William stepped in: "There is a great difference between allowing the boy privacy and freedom with his boyfriend...and putting him at the mercy of a pedophile."
But the dachshund just scoffed as he retorted: "Funny how they seem to go paw-in-paw for your brother though, isn't it? After all, he's none-too-shy to leave the boy alone with homosexuals, as it is. Lest we forget you and your rabbit here." And he looked back to Toffy, "...or Stephen."
"Unbelievable!" the elder husky bayed. "She's even got the COPS hounding me about Stephen now?"
"Well it's a similar situation, isn't it?" the dachshund contended...
...and Toffy sarcastically agreed: "Yes. Very! It's another example of a guy who Robyn accused of being a threat to my son, even though he never was."
Finally, the gorilla spoke up again: "And how can ya' be so sure?"
"Because 'gay' and 'pedophile' aren't synonyms!" the husky argued...
...but the dachshund, of course, only heard one word. "So he WAS gay, then, like you and your brother?"
"You know?" Toffy answered, "I never bothered to ask."
And the gorilla clarified: "But ya' DID sleep with 'im?"
~
"I don't know why our sex life is so important," Hunter hissed.
"It's not, necessarily," the squirrel answered him...
...but the tiger sat resistant. His brows were folded low, and his arms lay crossed. It felt as if this little conference room were closing in on him. And he hated it. He hated the squirrel and the badger opposite him, and he would rather be anywhere but here, as his eyes wandered about the room: to its windowless interior walls, to its decorations and its door, to its table and chairs...and to the manila folder lying inches before the old, graying squirrel...
And he watched as that squirrel drew the folder closer still, as if uneasy with the cat's eyes falling upon it. "That's just the only thing about you two that anyone's been able to tell us, today."
And the badger, in her bogus coo of a voice, concurred: "We're not accusing you of doing anything wrong, boys. Neither of you."
"And no matter what you tell us," the elder detective offered an admittedly honest smile, "it's not like your relationship could get much more public than it already is."
"How much do you know?" Elliot asked...
...and the squirrel answered: "We know about the park and the pictures. We know about Mic."
"And we know," his partner added, "despite your teachers' and family's best efforts to protect Hunter from being named..." she paused, as if to soften the blow, "...that the two of you are boyfriends."
Hunter, though, just huffed and glared, "Sounds like you already know plenty, then. So what's left to ask?" He flicked his muzzle at the door, "Can we go?"
"Hunter..." his husky tried gently to calm him...
...but the squirrel just smiled and shook his head, "No. It's okay Elliot. We understand his apprehension." And he turned his eyes on the cat, "But we're just trying to get to know you a little better, that's all."
"Well," Elliot asked, "what else would you like to know?"
And it was the badger who answered, with a shrug, "How you met. Who came on to who. How long you waited before the first time you..." she trailed off and paused.
"Fucked!?" Hunter finished her sentence with a shout. "The first time we fucked!?"
"Hunter," his boyfriend, now, spoke up more firmly. "Stop."
"No!" he roared. "This isn't any of their damned business, Elliot! What we do when we're alone doesn't concern them! In fact, it doesn't concern anyone else, at all, unless we decide it does."
The squirrel, too, tried to calm him, "Hunter, we just..."
"What!?" he finally uncrossed his arms to throw them in the air. "You wanna' know who pitches and who catches? Our favorite positions? Whether or not cock was an acquired taste, or if we liked it right off the bat? Or, oh!" he snapped his fingers. "Measurements, maybe? I have a ruler, in my bag, if-"
"Hunter!" finally, Elliot snapped. "That's enough."
And so Hunter turned his hissing on the dog, "Why are you putting up with this, Elliot?"
"Because they haven't done anything wrong, so far, and being hostile doesn't help the situation!" The husky pointed at the detectives across the table, "These two, Hunter? THEY're nice. You should've seen the wiener dog I had to deal with last time."
"Nice?" Hunter just rolled his eyes, before turning to look at the detectives. "So what? I'm supposed to think you two are on our side?"
"Of course we are, Hunter," the squirrel answered. "You two aren't the criminals here..."
And his partner added, "William is."
And in that instant, Hunter's fury washed away. Not because of what the detectives had said, but because of a single and simple sight that the tiger caught from the corner of his eye. Elliot -- so violently it drew forth a cough -- reeling back in his seat.
Good.
Now, the tiger wasn't fighting this alone.
"Wait!" his canine lover yelped. "You actually believe that?"
~
"Why wouldn't we?" the gorilla asked. "Not like it don't fit yer boyfriend's history."
"What??" Aaron shook his head in bewilderment. "William has never hurt anyone!"
"No," the larger detective shrugged. "But he's got a history o' thinkin' with his dick, don't he?"
And Aaron could only blink, "What?"
The smaller dog raised an eyebrow as he answered for them both: "You don't think you're the only ones we've spoken to, do you?"
"We know how he lost 'is job," the gorilla explained...
...but Aaron contended: "That's an entirely different situation."
"Is it?" the gorilla asked...
...and his partner pressed on: "So the information we have is wrong then? His firm didn't let him go when they found out he was gay?"
"When they..." Aaron stopped and sat straighter, "...wait. What?"
That wasn't right.
Fired for being gay? No. Will got fired because he broke the firm's fraternization rules. Not because he was gay, right? Right? That's what Aaron had been told, anyway. The day he'd decided to move in with Will, he'd told him that...that...
Was he lying? Did he not want Aaron to know what had really happened?
If so, then...then this was all Aaron's fault! And he'd felt responsible, already, but...but now? It wasn't just that he'd flirted with his agent, or dragged him into an improper relationship, anymore. No; he was the reason that Will had finally accepted he was gay, and...and that had gotten him fired!? And now...what about Aaron, himself? Was he really stuck being represented by a company run by bigots? And...
Oh. Well, this was why Will hadn't told him, wasn't it? He didn't want him blaming himself. And he didn't want him to know the horrible situation he stuck was in, when...when, in this area, he didn't have anywhere else to turn.
So, it was true...
And as Aaron deflated in his seat, William shot to his own defense: "That has nothing to do with my DICK, detectives." He motioned to himself and his rabbit, "Maybe if Aaron and I had been caught fucking on the fax machine, it would, but we weren't. This was me being optimistic and ignorant. It was me making the mistake of letting my relationship be public knowledge at work, and assuming that the firm wasn't run by homophobes!" And he chuckled, "You're saying that this was me being dumb? Thinking with my dick? Well I was definitely being dumb...but what I made the mistake of thinking with was my heart."
"Well, don't worry," the dachshund just grinned. "We'll be speaking with Mr. Anoa'i and Mr. Castagnoli as well. So we can find out what they have to say about your...self control."
"My old bosses??" Will nearly yelped. "You're gonna' spread this bullshit around the firm, too!?"
And that was enough to draw Aaron back to reality, "No! Detectives...you can't do that."
"Is 'at right?" the gorilla asked.
"You're gonna' ruin his career!" Aaron screamed. "If rumors like this start getting around...then he..." he stammered to explain. "The firms talk amongst one another! If this accusation becomes public knowledge, he may never be able to work for a publishing firm, in this state, again!"
The gorilla, though, just shrugged, "We gotta' cover our bases, Mr. Jones."
"It's our responsibility," his partner explained, "to interview anyone and everyone who could have information on the subject. Employers, friends, neighbors..."
"We already spoke to yer brother earlier today," the primate added...
...and the dachshund went on, "And our partners are at the high school, at this very moment, speaking with Elliot, his teachers, his classmates, and..."
~
"Hunter?" the squirrel began cautiously, "...you should know: despite how hard everyone tried to protect your identity, we would have ended up talking to you, anyway."
"No surprise," the tiger shrugged. "You've talked to Mic and Brandon, so why not me?"
"Well, yes, there's that," the female detective acknowledged hesitantly. "But there's also this," she motioned at her partner, with a beckoning flick of her paw. And as he finally flipped open that manila folder, she continued: "You see, we would have spoken with you, already -- last week, in fact -- but we didn't know your name, yet. All we had was the plain text that Miss Kharski was able to pull from Elliot's phone."
And for a moment, Elliot was stalled. Halted, as two thoughts bottle necked in his mind...each battling to be the one to find passage on his lips. The first was the realization that his mother had gone back to using her maiden name. Kharski. And the second was...
"From..." his breath caught in his throat, "...from my phone?"
Silently, the old squirrel retrieved two pages from his folder, and pawed them over to the badger...
...as she continued: "And, though Miss Kharski was more than certain that this was the boy -- the tiger -- with whom her son had been left alone a few weeks back...we still didn't know exactly who," she stopped to read from the paper, "this 'AllHallows' was."
AllHallows. Elliot could have sworn, in that instant, he felt his heart stop. AllHallows. So named for striped fur: orange and black. For the colors of Halloween. It was the name he'd given Hunter on his phone. The name he chose to protect his tiger's identity.
"And," she explained, "it took us a while to get the court order together, so we could pull the full records. But in time, we did. A number...and a name..."
With that, she gently slid the papers across the table, where they settled before the two boys. Elliot's head tilted with his gaze...and from the corner of his eye, he saw Hunter's do the same.
And on she went: "I'm sure your father told you we had evidence, Elliot. And I'm sure you wondered what it was." Her finger tapped he page, before she withdrew, "Well this is it."
The better part of two months ago, Hunter had learned about Elliot and Will. It was the spark of their first fight. It was a short one, and it paled in comparison to their latest. But it had been an ordeal, nonetheless.
They had made up, of course. They had put it behind them. But it wasn't as simple as flipping a switch. It was a process. It took work. And here, staring up at the boys from these pages, was but one small step of that recovery...
...and one that before today...Elliot had barely given a second thought.
AllHallows Ok I have to know. If Im gonna be ok with this I need to know more [Received: Sep 25, 10:01pm]
Me (Sorry for the delay) about what? [Sent: Sep 25, 10:46pm]
AllHallows You know what [Received: Sep 25, 10:48pm]
Me Oh :-S well what do you wanna know? [Sent: Sep 25, 10:50pm]
AllHallows Everything. How did he taste like? What did it look lik? How did it feel? Was it wierd bein with someone so much older then you? [Received: Sep 25, 10:52pm]
AllHallows Oh! And was it scarey thinkin you and him might get caught? Anything you wanna tell really [Received: Sep 25, 10:52pm]
Me Well...hes a husky, right? So he looks and tastes and feels pretty much like me. Just bigger [Sent: Sep 25, 10:53pm]
AllHallows
Cause hes like twice your age?
Me Yeah [Sent: Sep 25, 10:53pm]
Me And yeah...it was weird. But it was also cool. He has so much more experience then me. Taught me a lot [Sent: Sep 25, 10:55pm]
Me Also...I bet it was a lot scarier for him than for me! XD [Sent: Sep 25, 10:55pm]
AllHallows Well yeah it should be! He could get in a lot of trouble! [Received: Sep 25, 10:58pm]
Me Especialy if my mom found out! [Sent: Sep 25, 11:00pm]
AllHallows Well I wont tell [Received: Sep 25, 11:00pm]
AllHallows Is it weird that Im startin to find this hot btw? [Received: Sep 25, 11:05pm]
Me Thnx. And much better than you being angry at least! :) [Sent: Sep 25, 11:10pm]
AllHallows True [Received: Sep 25, 11:11pm]
Me So...finding it hot? Maybe youd wanna save this conversation for facetoface then? [Sent: Sep 25, 11:15pm]
AllHallows Maybe I would. ;) [Received: Sep 25, 11:16pm]
Hunter was the first to finish...to lean away, with his forehead in his paw. And no sooner had Elliot followed suit, pushing the paper aside...
...than, gently, the squirrel spoke, again. "We know something happened, Elliot. We know it was with a husky."
"An older husky," the badger added.
"The only thing we don't know is whether it was your father or your uncle." With a comforting smile, the old, graying detective leaned in on his elbows, "But you don't have to be scared, Elliot; you're not in trouble. You...you're a victim here, kiddo. You didn't do anything wrong."
"You can talk to us," his partner assured the boy. "You can tell us what happened, and we'll protect you."
"This is our job, after all." With a beat, though, the squirrel corrected himself: "YOU'RE our job."
Elliot's body tensed and his breaths weakened.
What could he do? What could he say? How could he dispute this kind of evidence? They'd seen it. They'd read it. He couldn't pretend it wasn't him. He couldn't pretend nothing had happened. It was right there, plain as day: him admitting, out right, to having sex with an older husky! There was nothing he could do. Nothing...
Or was there?
Maybe he could claim that they'd just misunderstood the messages. They'd taken them out of context. It wasn't really about sex! It was about something entirely different. And they'd just...no. No. There was no point to that. There was clearly nothing tame about those messages. There was no denying they were about sex.
But no! Because they didn't have to be about real sex, did they? It could just be a picture, right? Hunter was just asking about some pic Elliot had seen of an older husky. That's why he asked what it looked like, and what...damn-it. No. You can't taste a picture. Or feel it. And what about the older husky's 'experience', or how much Elliot claimed he had been...'taught'?
So then maybe he could just say it was another student! A senior! And when it came to that the one message about him being twice Elliot's age? That was just an exaggeration! A joke!
But...but then why would he have to worry about being in trouble?
"No matter what," the squirrel pressed on, "everything will be okay."
And all at once, Elliot's ears perked, and his breath returned.
He had it! He knew what to say.
"You're wrong," Elliot sat straight as he looked the old squirrel dead in the eye...
....and the detective ventured to argue: "Elliot-"
"No!" but the boy cut him short. "You're wrong. This wasn't about Will or my dad," he pushed the papers even farther across the table, back to the detectives. "We live in Sibirskaia! Do you have any idea how many huskies live in this town? Not just the Masters and the Kharskis, either. But what about that super rich family with their big gated mansion up on the hill? The Sivirskiis?"
And Hunter joined in immediately, "Or the Chukshas...the Sibes..."
"And don't forget about the Laikas!" Elliot turned to his tiger to ask: "Wasn't it one of them who was with Brandon and his friends, the other night..."
"...at the park!" Hunter finished the sentence with a roll of his eyes. "Yes. Yes it was."
And his husky turned back to the detectives, "Just because this says I did something with an older husky does NOT mean that it was with my father or my uncle."
So the badger asked, skeptically, "Well if it wasn't them, then who?"
"Someone whose name I'm not about to give you! I haven't even told HUNTER their name!" he claimed, hoping to stop them from grilling his cat on the subject, too. "They did nothing wrong, and I'm not letting you drag them off to jail."
"Elliot..." the badger softly began...
...but the boy gave her no room to finish, "No. You said it yourself. I didn't do anything wrong, and I'm not in trouble, right?" He paused, allowing them the barest of moments to argue, and then moved right along when they didn't, "So you can't force me to say anything."
The squirrel's muzzle contorted in a sad and honest frown. "Elliot, this husky...whoever he is," clearly, he said this only to humor the boy, "he isn't your friend. He doesn't care about you, and he doesn't deserve your protection. He's used you. I know he has you convinced otherwise, but he isn't the victim here. You are."
"You know? I DO feel victimized!" Elliot snapped. "By you. By my mother. By her lawyers. By everyone who's doing everything they can to take me away from my father. But by this husky?" he pointed at the papers. "Not at all."
"We're not just going to let this go, Elliot," the badger vowed, without even a hint of her partner's heartache or sympathy. "This dog is a predator, and he needs to be taken in before anyone else gets hurt."
"He's never hurt a soul!" the dog maintained...
...and the squirrel tried once more: "Elliot, please."
"No. You're not getting anything else from me. We're done." The boy pushed back his chair and stood, "If you wanna' talk to me again, it'll be through my father's lawyers."
And he turned and marched from the table, with only three more words, as he heard his lover's chair move behind him...
"Let's go, Hunter."
~
In the parking lot of a modest little coffee shop, sat a plain black car. In that car sat a little dog -- black and brown fur, wrapped in a gray suit -- watching the doors, and waiting for someone to step out. And in that little dog's paw lay a phone pressed to his ear...
"So he pulled the lawyer card on you, huh?" the dachshund repeated. "Yeah, they did the same thing to me, in the end."
The voice on the other end wondered if the dog had made any headway, first...
"No. I couldn't get anything out of them. I mean, I know something's up. Kristoff definitely lets Elliot have too much freedom, and lets him be alone with WAY too many gay guys." He sighed and shook his head, "And I would bet my pension that Will's the one Elliot was talking about in those texts. But no one slipped up. Even the doctor defended them."
At once, as a gorilla stepped through coffee shop door, the dog sat straighter...
...and he asked, "So, what about you, Jayne?"
And on the other side of town, a badger padded through the parking lot of a school. Her phone, too, was at her ear...and an old squirrel was on her heels.
"Nothing concrete," she answered. "Pretty much the same as you." She fished her keys from her pocket, to tap her keyless entry button. "Everyone defended his promiscuity, and his relationships, and swore how normal and well adjusted he was. Students and teachers alike." But she paused beside her car as she opened the door, "And then, when I showed him the evidence, he stood up for his father and uncle. Said that it was someone else, and that he won't be telling us who."
As she watched the graying squirrel pass her by and slip into the car...the dog on the other end of the line spoke of how he suspected the boy was simply protecting his father or his uncle...
...and then asked if the badger felt the same.
"Without a doubt," she nodded as if he could see.
And then she, too, took her seat in the car. But before she buckled and turned the ignition, or even closed the door behind her...
"Oh and Chris? One more thing. We also spoke to Brandon Sutela, today..."
~
And Sibirskaia continues...
* This particular chapter (and the rest of Sibirskaia) was written entirely by Oloroso Rhone. But it was based on characters and story lines I created jointly with my friend Phil Anthro Pist
If you'd like to go say hi to Phil, he's got an account on here at http://phil-anthro-pist.sofurry.com/ *
Okay!
A LOT of stuff just happened. Let's see if I can even remember it all to cover it!
The folf is Finnish! And his name is Viri Virranhuka. Stan, it seems, is oddly okay with what Elliot and Will did...and meanwhile, it seems like his bit of experimenting back in chapter 1 didn't work out. He's still straight! Also Aaron has now found out what REALLY got William fired. And now we know what the evidence is...
So what now? What does this mean for Aaron's career -- or for him and Will -- now that he knows the truth? If it's not 'disgust' then what exactly IS Kristoff feeling about William and Elliot's actions? Could that 'case from a town over' really involve who it SOUNDS like it does? How will the evidence and the interrogations in this chapter affect the ongoing legal battle? And why are the detectives so damned interested in Brandon??
SIDE NOTE: The detectives DO have names (as you saw with Jayne & Chris at the end). I just choose not to use them in the story. If you're interested, they are: Dachshund: Chris Peterson Badger: Jayne Mansfield Gorilla: Finn T. Marrow Squirrel: John J. Richards
Anyway, thanks for reading!
I welcome any feedback. Comment or PM me here, or email me at theottercoon[at]gmail.com
And if you enjoyed this chapter, and want to support my efforts to write more, I welcome any donations you would be willing to give
See you around for the next 16 chapters of Sibirskaia!