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Descent

Sunday morning arrived uneventfully in the sprawling metropolis. No shootings were reported, no mysterious disappearances, in fact it was almost too quiet to be a new day. That was exactly why the NorthSide gang chose nine fifteen in the morning to set off an explosive device in the lobby of MediaWare's corporate office. In a turn of events that surprised any residents unfortunate enough to be up at such an early hour, the local police force arrived at the building in only forty-five minutes, a new record for response time before noon on a weekend.

The two tigers at 43rd and Creek however were just waking for the second time at ten thirty. After Andrea had been roused at around eight o'clock, the pair had decided to take advantage of the situation and celebrate the prior night's good fortune resulting in soaked bedding and another two hours of sleep.

"So, think we should call Jack yet?" asked Chris on his way to the shower. Andy provided a noncommittal sigh and grunt from under the bed sheets, furthering Chris's satisfaction at a job well done, literally. "Alright, we can wait on that then, want lunch?" Another more annoyed sounding grunt was emitted from the squirming lump. She's probably trying to find a dry spot, he reflected with a smirk on his face. His own fur was starched into random clumps from the morning's romp, but the cleanup was well worth it. As Chris walked back into the bedroom, the now fully awake tigress kicked the covers off her body and spread her legs. "Sorry hon, just got out of the shower. There'll be time tonight I'm sure."

Andy fixed her boyfriend with a glare that could cut diamonds, and reluctantly climbed out of bed. On her way to the shower, she 'accidentally' stumbled into him hard enough to knock the slightly taller tiger on his back. "Oh, sorry, guess my constant pawing off is affecting my eyesight." Sarcasm dripped from the feline's voice, had it been liquid Chris would have been drowning in it by now.

Two can play at that game, thought Chris as he picked himself up off the floor. "Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed today I see. Is it that time of month already or are you hitting menopause way early?"

"I could hurt you for that comment; you want to keep pushing things?"

Any reply he made would have been overpowered by the jets of water splashing off the walls of the shower, so he kept quiet. He tossed on a pair of baggy shorts and a muscle shirt before heading downstairs to fix a quick snack for himself. Andrea was still in the shower by the time he finished his meal, likely having trouble working out the tangles in her fur, or just getting off again, it didn't make a difference right now. This tiger had business to attend to in the form of a resignation at his service shop.

He'd already made up his mind about Jack's offer, regardless of how dangerous it was. If it meant more time with his girl, and more money to boot, who was he to say no? The hard rock playing on his car stereo reflected his mood well, and he turned up the volume and sang along:

_"I will defeat what I'm heading for,

And I will be here for evermore,

And I am the weight of your empty shell,

I want more than I am,

Cause I was made to fly."_

Power Struggle - Sunna - One Minute Science

Chris really did feel like he had wings right then, only he couldn't figure out how to open them up and take off. Oh cut it out already, it's just the wind in your face talking. Pulling into the back lot of the service center, he killed the engine, locked his car, and strode in the back entrance to the shop. As he made his way to his manager's office, Chris quickly thought over what he'd say to convince Andy that working with Jack was the right decision. Probably just tell her the truth, that the money would let us live however we want to. As luck would have it his boss was out of the office today, so Chris just wrote a quick note with his message and cellular number on it and pinned it to the door. Heading towards the front of the shop to grab a coffee, he noticed an old sign posted on the door. "No shirt, no shoes, no service." He couldn't help but smile a little at the warning, as they were still posted at most establishments, even though very few non-humans bothered with footwear. Shoes weren't exactly painful for a fur to wear, just a waste of time and money that could be used for other things. No one ever said anything, since most species had fur-covered or distinctly non-humanoid paws, and to try to manufacture comfortable shoes for every different foot type was unreasonably expensive as well.

Both tigers had a few pair of shoes each, Andy wore them since she had a position at a corporate office, and Chris used them as safety equipment when working in the service bays. Neither of them actually had to wear them, but it never hurt to look professional, since it was hard to tell when you might have to give a presentation to some high roller clients, or be called to rip out a transmission from a four-by-four. Not that I'll have to do that any longer at least, Chris noted. He still had no idea what exactly it was that Jack did for a living now, but felt confident that it was nothing likely to get anyone killed.

***

Gary knew the scene of the morning's bombing wouldn't be pretty, but he didn't expect anything so bloody. He was glad that he'd skipped breakfast this morning, since he dry heaved a few times just looking at the pools of crimson that had sprayed well into the street. Why the hell is there that much blood? The place should have been empty at this time of morning on a weekend, right? Getting out of his squad car, he called in the cleanup crew on his two-way radio. "See if you can't get some kind of residue from the explosives they used while you're at it, maybe we can find out something about these guys before they strike again."

***

Jack had made himself scarce immediately after calling the police about the bombing downtown. He'd actually witnessed it by chance, and was fortunate not to be injured beyond some singed fur. He was surprised at a blast this early in the morning; he wasn't pulling the strings for a change, which had him worried just slightly.

***

Chris called his girlfriend on the way back to their house, persuaded her to go along with Jack's offer, and made the requisite detour to tell Holland their decision. As he navigated the crowded city streets, he noticed a few road closures and an excessive police presence for a Sunday morning, but his speed was well within the legal limit for a change, and he ignored the city's finest as they went about their duties. Probably another parade or protest march, they'll be cleared up by tomorrow morning I'm sure. Arriving at Jack's apartment complex, Chris took the elevator up to the sixth floor, room sixty six. He always wondered if Jack had specifically requested that room number, or if it had been a coincidence. Knowing Jack, he'd requested it, and if not, he certainly didn't mind having it.

The floor seemed pretty much deserted, except for a lone lioness heading towards the elevators. Most of the apartment doors were slightly ajar, indicating that their occupants had long since moved out, if anyone had lived in the room to begin with. The fluorescent lights overhead flickered occasionally, only furthering the abandoned feel of the complex. Chris leaned up against the door frame while he waited for Jack to let him in, noticing the peeling, faded yellow paint on the walls. He heard the doorknob start to turn, and the first thing he noticed when Jack opened the door was that the snow leopard was shirtless and had burn marks on his chest fur.

"Hey man, what happened to you? I know that lioness I just saw leaving here was a looker, but damn, not hot enough to light your fur on fire..."

"Yeah, real funny. Didn't you hear about that bomb that went off downtown? And what lioness are you talking about anyways, no lioness been by here..." The smile on his face told an entirely different story however, and Chris knew he didn't want to talk about it. Probably still upset his old squeeze left him... "No matter, come in, sit down, have a drink why don't you?"

"Sure, I'd love something cold right about now. What bombing are we talking about here; I guess I did miss something. You alright?"

"Good as you can be when a fireball roasts you at a quarter past nine in the morning...so yeah, I'm fine. How about you? Oh, you might not want to use the couch right now, I spilled a soda on it before you came in." Considering he said this right as Chris went to flop onto the sofa in question, there was a moment of awkwardness as the tiger attempted to regain his balance and stand back up. Succeeding, but only barely, he moved over to a barstool that was sitting against one wall and got comfortable.

"Yeah, all told, I'm still here after a night out with you at a bar, so I count things to be in my favor for once." Chris gave a hearty laugh as he caught the beer Jack threw him, popped it open with a claw; and took a long sip from the bottle. "Coors? Not quite what I expected, thought you were a Heineken guy, eh? Still, a beer is a beer, thanks. Now, about that deal, where do we sign?"

This time it was the snow leopard's turn to smile and laugh. "No signature needed, your word is good enough for me, and since I'm the boss around here, that means quite a bit."

"Boss of what? You never did tell me what this job was. Not that I care all that much, it is a paycheck after all."

The sudden sound of gunfire coming through the open window, and the much farther distant scream of police sirens, interrupted the two felines' discussion. As Jack slammed the last of his beer down, Chris jumped off the stool and froze, unsure of what the best reaction would be at this point. He didn't know who the target of those shots was, or whether the gunmen were gone yet or not.

"Shit, I don't know what that was all about, but we'd best get out of here while we can, especially before the cops show up. Too many questions to answer." Jack's statement started looking better and better as yet another burst of gunfire sounded from the parking lot, followed by shattering glass and a muffled explosion. "Come on man, pick up your jaw and move it!"

The leopard's frantic tone snapped Chris out of his daze and he made for the door. Pulling it open, he quickly checked the hall for any sign of the gunslingers from downstairs. Seeing no one, he started a brisk run towards the elevators.

"No, this way, stairs are faster right now", hollered Jack from behind him. The black and white feline spun on his heel and ran back towards the apartment he'd just left, and continued past it as Jack exited as well, carrying a police-issue handgun. The leopard reached the stairwell first and barreled through the door, not caring about the noise it made from slamming into the cinderblock wall behind it.

As the two cats sprinted down the twelve flights of steps between them and the outside, plenty of thoughts flashed through Chris' head: Who are those guys? What do they want? Does it have something to do with what I just signed up for? Did I just put Andrea in the middle of something as well? These thoughts and plenty other similar ones raced through his head in time with his racing heartbeat. The staircase had become a blur and he wasn't even sure how many flights he'd been down so far, two, ten, did it matter? Suddenly there was sunlight all around, and Chris slowed his pace slightly, realizing that he was outside in the hotel's parking lot, where the gunmen had apparently just left.

He surveyed the scene and noticed that by some sheer bad luck, the source of the explosion a few moments earlier had been the fuel tank in his car detonating from the bullets that had been pumped into it. At least I hope it was bad luck, not someone sending a message. Jack never had finished telling him what he did for a living now, but Chris suddenly felt that he had signed up for a lot more than he bargained for.

While the flames consuming the wreckage of his tuner died down, the tiger discovered that Jack was nowhere to be found. Just as he opened his mouth to call for him, the snow leopard, still shirtless, pulled up to the curb in his Mustang.

"Get in, we really need to put some distance between us and this hotel."

"My thoughts exactly, drive now, ask questions later, right?"

"Something like that... I don't have any answers at this point anyways."

The first police vehicles were arriving at the scene just as the black Mustang pulled off the lot and into traffic. Fortunately the speedy getaway didn't draw much attention, as another vehicle that was parked next to Chris' Integra had caught fire, and the police were more worried about evacuating the area and putting out the blaze. They drove in relative silence, with the radio turned to a local news station reporting on the 'gang violence' in the area.

"Hey Jack, you hungry yet?"

"Yeah, could do with some food, running from a bunch of gangsters sure works up an appetite. Where were you thinking about going?"

"Why not head back to my place, Andy will probably cook something for us if we ask nicely."

Fifteen minutes later the guys were sitting around the kitchen table with Andy, eating homemade subs and talking about life. Between bites of cheese steak, Chris and Jack talked about the new job, with Andy injecting her opinion as needed. Both tigers were very much relieved to find out that the shooting in the parking lot was most likely random; apparently there had been increased gang activity in the area as of late. As far as Jack's new job, he became an FBI agent soon after Chris graduated, and moved rapidly through the organization due to his skills with computers and firearms. He was currently undercover to infiltrate a local gang, and needed a few extra sets of eyes who weren't involved in the gang's dealings to keep a watch on things. That was why he'd offered jobs to the tigers, and why the pay was so good. When you're on the federal payroll, you tend to be able to live large if you watch what investments you make and work a little overtime. Apparently undercover agents in the Bureau make six figure salaries minimum, at least if your operation is important enough. They probably figured nobody would be around long enough for them to have to pay much, but some people did manage to beat the odds time and time again...

The next six hours were spent watching television, playing billiards, and talking about various job-related items. At around seven o'clock, Jack drove back to his apartment to grab a shirt and change into something more suitable for a night on the town. Chris and Andy did the same, picking out matching black slacks and dark red polo shirts. Jack returned briefly to discuss what club they should go to, and proceeded to climb back into his car and leave, the red Corvette following shortly after.

***

Chief Hoffman dropped another twenty on the bar and ordered refills for himself and Shannon. He was taking advantage of his wife's trip to North Carolina to spend some time with his secretary; he just hoped nobody said anything about it later. He didn't feel like dealing with a divorce on top of all the flak he was catching at his job. The appearance of two more whiskey sours and a matching pair of steaks reminded him why he'd chosen the Gaslight Grill for dinner, not only were the drinks cheap, but the food was always good. Shannon had obviously ordered hers rare based upon the drops of bloody juice left on the plate as she cut into the twelve ounce slab of meat.

Gary was just finishing his third glass when the volume from the tables in the other section of the restaurant increased dramatically. He excused himself and went over to see what the disturbance was, staggering slightly from the alcohol in his blood. He saw about half of the patrons standing and clapping, but couldn't tell why, so he pulled aside a waiter as he came by and asked about the crowd's reaction. Some guy had just finished a 64oz. steak in under an hour, which was grounds for a souvenir plaque and Gaslight t-shirt, not to mention the steak was free.

"Hey Chris, don't you think you're gonna need a larger shirt after that extra four pounds?"

Hoffman stopped practically in mid step. Something about that voice seemed so familiar, but he couldn't quite place it. Turning back around, he saw a trio of felines, two white tigers and a snow leopard, standing around an oversized plate with a massive bone sitting on it. As the leopard continued talking, he saw a waiter toss a shirt to one of the tigers, and all three of them started towards the door. Gary followed from a distance, trying to determine why he seemed to know the snow leopard who'd just left. Might be the alcohol talking, but still, a funny feeling is a funny feeling. He watched as they got into sports cars and drove off, doing about ten over the limit for this time of night. The chief just shook his head and went back in to the restaurant, not even bothering to call them in, figuring anyone who could eat a four pound steak deserved a little bit of a celebration.

Taking his stool back at the bar, he ordered yet another round of drinks, and was slightly surprised to learn that Shannon had left while he was occupied with the other felines. He canceled his booze, dropped a tip for the barkeep, and headed for the back lot and his cruiser.

***

Jack parked his car in the first open spot he could find, avoiding the area that police had taped off from the earlier incident. He pulled out his brand new BlackBerry Pearl and dialed the headquarters voicemail system. He didn't feel like talking to his boss at the moment and figured leaving a message for him to get the next morning would provide an alibi for his night out at the club. He accessed the voice mailbox of his supervisor, recorded his message, and signed off before walking into the lobby.

Stepping into the elevator, his phone started ringing; or rather it started playing Der Meister at an incredibly high volume. Jack winced slightly and answered it before his eardrums burst, turning down the volume at the same time.

"Holland here."

"Jack, its Mike, just got your voicemail and wanted to ask why you were working this late. Especially on a Sunday night, you need some time off too you know, have a few drinks, go to a party, just plain old relax for once. I appreciate the dedication, but unless you've uncovered something groundbreaking, please, take a day off once in a while." The voice on the other end of the line was friendly enough when giving this particular speech, but Jack remembered a number of occasions where his boss would chew people out for failing to report in daily.

"Just checking in, that's all, I'm going to 'relax' all night I think," said the leopard as he noticed his door ajar slightly. "I'll call in tomorrow with anything new, alright?"

"Sure thing, I'll let you have your fun...Not like it isn't obvious after all," Mike gave a short laugh before hanging up, and Jack pocketed his phone once again. Pushing open the door to his apartment, the feline noticed the slight hint of cinnamon in the otherwise stale air. He kicked off his shoes and wandered back to the bedroom, not bothering to turn the lights on. Tossing his clothes in a corner, he slid into bed next to a very attractive lioness. So what if she worked with the local cops, he was already playing an act for the gangs, not too tough to hide his real identity and criminal activity from one more person at this point. Wrapping an arm around his new girl, Jack drifted off to sleep smiling for a change. Everything was going just as planned for a change...

END