FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Setting foot in the college district was something Kim never saw himself doing, mainly because higher education wasn't something someone in his line of work could allow himself, both back then and now, especially now. Despite that it was still nice to see the place up close and outside of a lengthy car ride, even if it wasn't his style.

The smaller streets, the sidewalk with nice looking tiles, a far cry from what he was used to seeing in the Oxton, all carrying itself with a weird air that he wasn't quite sure what to describe as. It wasn't so much as the district was trying to paint itself as a beacon of all that was good with the city, or how integral it was to every self respecting animal's future, but something else, something pristine and manufactured to be as pure as possible. All of this was a far cry from the students' miserable looks and hurried steps, completely disregarding the intended message for what it really was to them, set dressing for a rabbit hole that spewed out barely functioning adults with degrees. Something along those lines.

Despite the horse's best efforts to distract himself in his barely rational machinations the back of his mind was firmly set on his next paycheck, which meant that unless he was willing to be late on his rent, again, that he needed to stop bumbling around and actually find the coffee shop today's client was supposed to be waiting in. This was easier said than done, given the sheer amount of coffee places strewn about the district, it was a needle in a haystack situation.

He reached for the crumpled up piece of paper he had used to hastily write down the name of the place, “The laughing weasel", the address was also written down and everything, which wasn't much help with his knowledge of the district, even the streets signs weren't useful, or at least he hadn't found one that pointed to the street he had written down, another bad sign if he was being honest.

It would've been an entirely different story if the students walking around were any helpful, but most of them seemed to preoccupied with their own problems to even give Kim the light of day, and those that did had no idea where this fabled coffee shop was hiding, some even pointed him in the directions of similarly named joints, like “The laughing squirrel" or que “Cackling duck", though he wasn't sure if that last one was just trying to make fun of him. As the thoughts of giving up and rationing his last slice of bread for the month started taking over he struck gold, both literally and figuratively, as a canine with golden yellow fur approached him after claiming he saw him going around the same block more than twice. The dog was kind enough to show Kim how to get to the cafe with one of those weird portable phones everyone was using nowadays.

After a quick lesson in what a GPS is, Kim was able to reach his destination, it was only a matter of walking way more than he should've and wasting a lot of time he was never going to get back. Days like this made him wish taxis were as accessible as they were back in the day, or public transport for that matter.

Regardless, he was face to face with the establishment, a few minutes later than what was discussed with their client, he hoped. The place was nothing out of the ordinary, as a matter of fact it was extremely similar to each and every other coffee place he had crossed on his way here, except for the chalkboard sign outside with a crude drawing of a weasel serving a cup of tea (shockingly), written besides it an assorted was list of their “signature coffees", no tea in sight (this revelation was even more shocking).

Inside there were no weasels manning the place (perhaps the most shocking revelation of all, if not a little disappointing). Despite the false advertisement the inside was very much packed, almost a dozen tables full of, presumably, groups of students focusing on their work, tapping away on their portable computers, a thing they didn't even have back in the office. Separated from the crowd of stressed out students was an equally stressed out looking okapi dressed in a beige sweater, though they lacked any sort of studying materials, in place was a half empty glass mug, one he fidgeted with intently. There was no way this wasn't their client, especially since he had been reminded of what an okapi looked like before he even set out to work, so he was pretty certain.

Kim made his way towards the okapi, doing his best to scurry around the tables and everyone, which was easier said than done, winning him a few awkward apologies as he bumped into one or two chairs along the way. During all this the client was already glancing at him, allowing himself to speak as the horse finally reached the table, “I was starting to think you wouldn't show up." He sighed, mostly relieved it seemed.

This was enough confirmation for Kim, who was now in the process of sitting in front of him, “Sorry, not used to the district." The horse scratched his neck. “Hopefully you'll be kind when you tell my boss about this." He said with a low chuckle, which was only reciprocated with a quick nod.

“Oh, no sir, it's no problem really." His voice was shaky, a little hard to hear with all the talking going on in the cafe, “I was a little worried about being scammed again…"

That was still Kim's bad, but at the same time, they only asked for payment once the job was done, so at the same time they couldn't really scam anyone, not that they wanted to.

“You don't need to worry about that with us." He shot him a genuine smile, perhaps that would calm him down a little. “And don't be so uptight, I'm here to help." He extended his arm out for a shake. "The name's Kim."

The okapi was visibly taken aback by his reaction but he quickly relaxed afterwards, going in for the handshake. “I'm Elias, and thank you for being so.. well nonchalant about it. It's reassuring, in a way."

He chuckled. “Well, we're a small company, we like to keep it pretty casual, after all we are meeting in a cafe in the middle of nowhere." The okapi raised an eyebrow at the jab but looking at his back unbend was enough to tell Kim that it did the job. “Well Elias, I'm here now, and I'm ready to help you with your request, which was…"

“About the scam." He reminded him.

“Oh yeah, the scam." The horse nodded, crossing his arms. “Something about a car? They said you were a little skittish about the details, their words not mine."

The okapi nodded, “Well, it's a touchy subject, and I had just heard about your company from a friend, and well… I just wanted to make sure." He sighed. “But yes, it's about a car, a car I spent a long time saving for."

“And what exactly happened?"

“Well, I came across this used car dealership called Hello Motor, and they had some really affordable payment plans." He looked down at his coffee cup again. “So I decided to buy from them, put down almost half a million cix and when I went to look for the car they told me they were getting it ready…"

“And then they didn't give it to you, right?"

“Well… they sent me a picture and told me the engine had some issues, and that they would need to charge me more to fix them." He tensed up again. “And of course I sent them the money to replace it."

Kim was already seeing what was going on, he was quite experienced with the subject actually, not that he was proud of it. Back when the Crimson butterfly was still a thing he would help run some similar scams back in the beach district. He did always feel a little bad for the poor suckers that got dragged into them… perhaps this was a small way to redeem himself? If spending twenty plus years in the joint didn't already.

“Let me guess, after that they stopped responding to you." Kim said with a scuff. “And when you went over to the dealership they told you their mechanic was still working on it."

“Yeah…" the okapi somberly nodded. “Do you deal with these types of scams often?"

“You could say that." Kim arched his back and put his elbows on the table, getting closer to their client. “Look Elias, we're going to have to go pay a visit to your friends over at the dealership, you don't need to do much, I'll handle most of the work, I just need you to be there so they know who to give the money back to, ok?"

“You'll get it back?" His eyes lit up.

“If they haven't blown it all off then yeah," he got up from his chair, “even if they did I'm sure they'll compensate you some other way."

“I don't know…"

“Just trust me on this one." Kim gave him one of his reassuring nods, which wasn't the best, but it was something. “Now, if you could lead me to them it'd be great."

***

Kim was sure it was going to be a long trip and confusing trip, but in actuality it turns out that once you have one of those portable phones that getting places becomes a matter of how much time you have in your hands, and Elias probably had the location memorized by this point. Regardless, they had arrived at the dealership without many complications.

From the outside it looked as typical as it could, only a little tacky with all the signs promising deals and “accessible payment plans". The scale was certainly not like what he was used to back on the day, back then they would just plop a bunch of cars in an empty lot with whatever building was available, now they had their own building with big glass windows displaying a few of the cars they had “available", along with their tasteless furniture, not that Kim was an expert in the matter.

The windows also served the purpose of letting the employees be on the lookout for their next victim, given by how they were eyeing him, though they quickly turned their gaze to Elias.

The okapi's back tensed up, and he began fidgeting with his phone, “Are you sure you can fix this?" He stopped, looking at the horse.

Kim took a quick look at the two employees eyeing them. A bull and a canine with black fur and gray spots, both dressed in black turtlenecks with gray blazers, which was a weird look for someone working at a dealership, but then again this wasn't a regular dealership.

“Yeah, I'll manage."

“That doesn't sound very-" before the okapi could finish Kim went inside, leaving him to rush behind him.

The inside smelled of cheap incense and used cars, which was to be expected, and the employees and their glares weren't any better.

The bull focused his eyes on Kim, he was particularly interested in his neck, especially where he had his characteristic scar, the mark of what he lost all that time ago. Which was enough to confirm the horse's suspicions.

While they were preoccupied with their staring contest the canine approached Elias, “Hey there Mr. Slater!" He beamed with a wide grin as he reached for the okapi's to shake it, which he did without even allowing him to respond, “can we help you with something? If you remember, we told you your car needs a little more time in the oven."

“I- well-"

“He's here for his money." Kim jumped in.

The canine turned to him, confused. “Excuse me?"

“You heard me. He's here for his money, the deal's off."

“Sir I'm sorry but that's not how it works."

“That can be arranged."

The dog's features became more prominent as he frowned, his ears raised, his teeth bared, yet before he could approach Kim the bull positioned himself between them, not breaking eye contact with the horse. “Go speak with the boss, he's through that door." He pointed at the white wooden door with a small plaque that had the words office engraved on it.

Kim nodded and signaled Elias to follow without saying much. He patted him in the back to try and calm him down a little, but it only helped to worsen his rapid breathing.

If it wasn't obvious enough what was most likely going to happen, the scene that awaited them behind the door was all the confirmation they would need, especially for Kim.

It was a small office, with a few cabinets and a bunch of car keys dangling from a board behind the main desk, where a reptile sat. A large crocodile, also dressed in a gray blazer, though he was missing the turtleneck, in its place a white button up shirt, revealing a bulky chest and thick neck, but most importantly a scar, much like Kim's, a place where scales had been pulled out and made to never return, a mark they were both made to wear, though their reasons were most likely different.

“Mr. Slater, how pleasant to see you here." His voice could best be described as a low growl that managed to make the okapi even more tense than he already was, which Kim thought to be impossible. “And you even brought a friend." He turned to Kim with a smirk. “Be careful he might not be what he seems."

The horse frowned but refused to speak up just yet, he wanted to see where this guy was going.

“I assume you're here for your car?" He shook his head. “I thought we told you it was still being repaired, and" he turned to Kim, “I think I heard something about your money from outside, you remember we don't offer refunds, right? Besides, we spent a considerable amount of it on the repairs."

Kim was aware that he was mainly talking to him there, of course, back in the day they wouldn't give back the money, for obvious reasons. Most cars were stolen so no money had to be spent there, and what was used for repairs was, again, just another way to siphon more money out of their victims. Every cix was sent to the organization, but these guys didn't bear the mark anymore.

Looking over to the okapi, he was a complete mess right now, as tense as he could be and shaking so much that it looked like he was vibrating. Kim would've liked to lighten the mood a little bit, but the okapi was right to feel like that, he read the room quite well. After all, there wasn't going to be a simple solution to this.

A sound was heard from outside the office's door, “Look, we're about to close shop for the day, why don't you go back home and wait for us to call you back? That's what we did back then, right boss?" The reptile shot a toothy grin to Kim, who was a little taken aback by this, and so was Elias.

He was aware that the guy used to be part of the crimson butterfly, that much was obvious. But calling him that? He had no clue who this guy was, he could've been bluffing however, one hell of a bluff considering how few of the butterfly's members were willing to waste their time managing these kinds of operations, even back then he felt like he could've been doing something better with his time during the few months he spent doing this.

“Look, I don't know who you're confusing me with, all I want is for you to give him back his money." Kim said, patting the okapi on the back again, he was, as tense as a wooden post, if that made any sense.

The reptile raised an eyebrow, and shot Kim another weird look, something akin to disappointment, “You're fucking with me, right?" He got up from his seat, it creaked behind him. “You really don't remember? We don't give the money back, there's no money to give back."

“From what I can see you don't have the tattoo anymore, so you're not giving anyone that money."

A frown took over the reptile's face. “Neither are you, Kim."

“You think flaunting my name around is going to scare me?" Surveying the reptile's expression it was clear that he was about to blow at any second now, hopefully the okapi would understand and move aside, just to be safe though Kim pushed him a little away from the door.

“It's not to scare you!" He slammed the desk. “You don't remember me?! Are you not seeing this?! What I've done?!"

“If I remembered every annoying thug I had to babysit we wouldn't be having this conversation now, would we?"

A vicious anger took over the reptile with those words, his teeth bared against the equine. In an instant he had a foot over the desk, and on the next he was already lunging at the horse.

The office was way too small for him to maneuver out of the way, so he had to take it, the door slamming behind him as the reptile shoved him outside.

Kim rolled on the floor, disoriented from the blow and the incredible force the reptile pushed on him. As his senses came back to him he realized what the sound from earlier was, the dealership's blinds were shut, the only light being that of their tacky indoor lights, as some of them flickered on the walls near the office's door.

As he started picking himself back up the reptile exited the office, closing the door behind him with the keys, locking Elias inside, muffling his screams of panic. Even now Kim couldn't help but to feel sorry for the poor guy, even if he had taken an incredibly stupid decision by trusting these guys.

The horse was up, mostly recovered from the blow, it only took a quick look around to see he was surrounded by the crocodile and the other two employees, also ex-crimson butterfly thugs he assumed, it wasn't going to be easy.

“I see what happened now!" The reptile taunted the horse, cracking his knuckles. “Those twenty years in the joint made you a fucking pussy. No wonder you forgot about us, they must've fucked the brains right out of you." He smirked while the other two laughed.

“Are you going to keep yapping or what?" Kim spat, getting his stance ready for whatever they were going to throw at him.

“I'll show ya yapping!" The canine barked as he lunged towards the horse.

A tire iron he was carrying on his right hand approached Kim's face with relentless speed, yet the horse was quick enough to side step him, getting a hold of the canine's arm. With a swift motion he elbowed him with his free arm, strong enough so that the dog was left howling in pain, softening his grasp on his improvised weapon, which was enough for Kim to snag it from him.

In quick succession the horse struck the dog with the tire iron right on his snout. If it wasn't for the screams and the sounds of the other two rushing him, he was pretty sure a crack would've been heard as the dog fell to the ground with a thud, blood sputtering from his mouth.

The other two jumped him together making any proper evasion hard. Kim was able to block one of the blows from the reptile, whoever the bull took that opportunity to strike him from behind. A rush of pain took over his back, enough to make his posture falter and his guard to break allowing his other attacker to hit his snout.

Slightly disoriented, the horse felt another blow to his side and then a force throwing him to the ground. Down there he caught a glimpse of his two assailants taunting him, that's where muscle memory kicked in and in a rush of adrenaline he kicked the reptile on the family jewels, which despite what their general anatomy might lead you to believe, are quite receptive to pain.

The bull instinctively turned to look at his companion, which gave Kim the chance to pick up the tire iron again and ram it into his knee with all his force, needless to say they were both screaming now, giving the horse a chance to swiftly get up.

“You little shi-“ Before the reptile could respond he was smacked with a tire iron as well.

With a huff Kim looked at the reptile with his nose gushing blood and struck him again, finally dropping him, after which he turned to the bull who had finally decided to put his horns to use, but to no avail as the horse, now without anyone else impairing him sidestepped and tripped him.

The bull tried getting up despite the shattering pain on his knee, and just when he thought he had it he felt a firm grasp on his scalp and then proceeded to have his snout smashed against the dirty floor repeatedly with increasingly more violent force until he stopped moving.

Kim let go of the unconscious bull's head, his horns keeping his snout from touching the ground, and then he turned to the only other conscious animal in the room. “So, about the money."

Muffled screams was the only response the reptile could manage to give him, as his hands dripped with blood. His yelp as the horse crouched beside him came out as a gurgle as he choked on his own blood.

“You better lay down the other way, I don't want you dying on me." He sighed, wiping some of his own blood from his nose. “Unless you're not planning on telling me where the money is."

The reptile began shaking his head, now his tears were also joining in on the party.

“Oh come on. I'm just messing with ya." He smirked, patting him on the cheek. “Just give me the key, I'll handle the rest." He extended his hand to him, he subtly stifled a chuckle when the reptile almost choked himself again at the view of his hand approaching him.

After shakingly rummaging through his pockets the key to Elia's prisión fell onto the ground, slightly bloodied, but still appreciated. With a nod the horse took it and went over to the door.

When he opened up he saw the okapi huddled in the corner, shaking and, rightfully, scared for his life, though the instant he realized it was Kim who opened the door something took over him, and he rushed to him and hugged him.

Kim wasn't sure how to react to this, other than patting the okapi on the shoulder when he started sobbing.

“Let's just get your money and get out of here, ok?"

***

Elias was a little skittish, and how couldn't he? Consider what has just happened to him and the fact that he was carrying a bag with way more money than you should have when going out this late in the evening.

When he eventually calmed down a little and they were well on their way to get as far away as possible from the dealership he started getting ever so slightly better. It wasn't until he stopped at one of the carbon copy coffee shops to get both him and Kim something to drink (with the horse staying outside for obvious reasons) that he managed to get ready to speak again.

“Do you think they'll come after me?" The okapi's voice was shaky. “I don't want to skip town, I do-"

“Don't worry about it." Kim tried to calm him down by patting him on the back. “Those guys weren't associated with anyone, at least not anymore, so they'll probably leave with their tails between their legs." Kim shrugged. “Especially when the news that they got their ass handed to them starts rolling around."

“But… What if they do? What do I do then?"

“Then I'll just have to teach them a lesson all over again.* Kim sighed and took a sip of his coffee, it was a little too sweet and weird tasting for his own liking, though it was clearly better than whatever poor excuse for coffee they had back at the office.

The okapi looked up at him, locking his eyes with his. “So you'll help me?"

“Yeah, just call the office again and I'll get to it."

“You don't have a phone? so I can save your number, just to be safe."

Kim scratched his neck. “Not really… I see a lot of those new portable phone thingies, but I don't have one." He was pretty sure he didn't even have a phone like back at his apartment.

The okapi raised an eyebrow. “Wait, are you being serious, or do you just not want me to save your number?"

“I'm being a hundred percent serious."

“I mean, I could give you my old phone. It's an older model, but it still works."

“Are you sure about that? Aren't those things expensive?"

Elias sighed. “Yeah, they are. But you did earn it, after all I don't think anyone else could've done that."

Kim scratched his neck, “Come on, it wasn't that big of a deal."

“I think it was." He sounded way more confident about Kim's abilities than he had any right to, and he wasn't entirely sure how to feel about it.

“I'm guessing there's no way out of this one, huh?"

The okapi smiled, “No, you're getting your tip mister."

“If only all of my clients were as generous as you." He laughed.