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De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine;

Domine, exaudi voce meam. Fiant aures tuæ intendentes

In vocem deprecationis meæ

---

A smile spread across my lips as I rushed the few remaining paces over to the building my on which parents stood. It was a little bit shorter than I, and I rested a hand on my knees as I just looked at my mom and dad, grinning uncontrollably.

"I've missed you so much," I gasped at long last. "I'm so sorry I left. I had to,"

"Don't worry, Tab," Mom said. "We're just happy you're safe,"

"I love you so much," I was starting to cry a little. "But how did you get here?"

Mom and Dad exchanged glances.

"Boat," Dad shrugged, matter-of-fact as usual.

It was so ordinary I wanted to laugh. I would take them away and we could get back to normal life. After I got Ciaran. Then we could all be together, a normal, happy family. Well, if you count boyfriends as part of a family.

"We have to get out of here," Mom added, glancing around nervously. "About a week ago, your father and I received a letter saying you would be here in Saaduuts soon. Well, that sort of struck us as a bit suspicious, but we decided to come. Make sure you were safe and sound. Maybe convince you to come home,"

"I only left because I was afraid they'd hurt you,"

"We know, hon," Dad patted my fingertip, which was resting against the edge of the building.

"Ciaran!" I exclaimed. "We have to find him!"

Mom and Dad exchanged nervous glances.

"Okay..." Mom mumbled. "But it really isn't safe here,"

"I don't care. I love him. I'm glad you guys are here, but I can't just abandon Ciaran," I replied.

"We weren't suggesting 'abandoning' Ciaran," Dad replied hastily, holding up a hand. "Your Mom is just--"

Suddenly, there was a fist where my mother had been standing. I tried to shout, but only choking sound escaped my lips as I gaped stupidly. Behind the building stood a gigantic fox even larger than I. For the first time in my career as a giantess, I felt small. Fuck that, I felt helpless. My eyes went wide and I let out a strangled cry.

Oh, gods. It was Todd. My nightmare had returned, enlarged to immense proportions.

I did the only thing I could. I fainted.

*****

I was a god. A titan. A living skyscraper. I was more than a person. My true purpose in life had finally been realized. Saaduuts was mine, and soon enough the rest of the world would be kneeling before my unstoppable might.

Unfortunately, the whole 'unstoppable might' bit had a whole truckload of tiresome tasks and other things to deal with. There were curfews to institute, rations to control, possible cells of rebellion to quash... Fortunately, though, I had legions of enforcers, courtesy of my, ah, extra-governmental affiliation. They made sure that order was maintained everywhere. Even a giant can only be in one place at a time.

The little people--my subjects--were so... quaint. Things had been almost boring following the destruction of the sporting arena. Panic in the streets, a sea of citizenry surging in a confused, seething crowd ahead of my lazy stride. I almost didn't have to bother destroying all possible exits from the city: the mind-numbing stupidity of the masses probably would have been more than enough to keep them where I wanted.

Now they were my slaves, my playthings, and, three times a day, my meals. Devouring them was particularly enjoyable. Sometimes, I would take the time to acquaint myself with every morsel, savoring the diversity of flavors. There were subtle differences that I came to appreciate, but they all shared the delicious taste of fear. When I was in a rush, though, I'd just shove them in by the fistful like screaming, writhing popcorn. Damn, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

But at the moment, I was only concerned with one morsel. He was crouched over the body of his dearly departed wife, clutching onto her limp frame and sobbing wretchedly. I massaged the base of my hand--perhaps I'd been too zealous in giving the little ferretess the smack down. I was still a bit sore.

Reaching out, I snatched him up. I would never get tired of picking up and holding these insects. He was completely under my power, his life literally in the palm of my hand. If he irritated me, I could crush the life out of him with ease. But for the time being I just wanted to scare him.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the girl of the hour's daddy," I commented, holding him at face level so that he could see my teeth.

The wolverine didn't offer a response, simply standing there in my palm and staring coldly back at me. He had balls. I'd give him that. But mine were bigger.

"Because you're clearly so receptive, I'll let you in on a little of the... master plan, as it were. First thing, I gotta thank you and the little lady for being so cooperative. I was a little worried my invite wouldn't reach you, but clearly it did," I flashed a bit of a smile as the wolverine flinched involuntarily. Cracks in the façade, cracks in the façade...

Popping the tiny ferretess' crumpled body into my mouth, I started to chew thoughtfully as I continued.

"See... I don't know how up to date you are on things, but as you may know, your daughter was under my care for a while. Not enough time. But we made a few pleasant discoveries. For one, she's quite lovely. Beautiful body.

"But more importantly, your girl has a temper! Oh, you don't think she does? Well your demure little girl has quite the anger issues. Killed two dozen of my best men just because she didn't like my... approach.

"Did that piss me off? Of course! But then, I realized the possibilities. Imagine what we could do with her if we really struck a nerve?

"See, we're going to orchestrate a little breakdown. I'm going to kill everyone Tabitha loves. Then I'm going to take_her. I almost got there before, but this time there's nobody to stop me. I'm getting a little aroused just _thinking about it.

"Then she's going to destroy Saaduuts. Too bad you won't be there to watch, because it's going to be beautiful,"

"Tabitha's stronger than that," the wolverine snarled, his voice thin and a little squeaky.

I laughed uproariously, rolling my toy wolverine between my fingers. "We seem to have very different opinions of that girl. Tell ya what. Let's wake her up and figure out who's right,"

*****

I glanced up from my stack of the latest newswire transmissions as Becca loudly made her presence known, storming through the door of my office. The ferretess stood next to the file cabinet, arms folded across her chest.

"No," I stated shortly before the ferretess could even open her mouth.

"Let me go big," Becca snapped, shoving a hand into the pocket of her lab coat.

I tossed the wires aside. "One: 'go big' is the stupidest possible phrase to use. Gods. Find a better descriptor. Two: no. We've been over this a thousand times. Absolutely not,"

This had been a point of contention between Becca and I during the weeks of Todd's occupation of Saaduuts. After his disastrous debut, Becca had practically beaten down the door, excited to finally "be of actual use."

See, Becca had a rather unique condition. She worked in the Research and Development division of MACRO, trying to pinpoint what it was that was causing the growth epidemic in Saaduuts.

A while back, she had been on the verge of a major breakthrough when something went terribly wrong. Cameron, the head of the research division, refused to disclose the details of the incident, stating it was "above my pay grade," but suffice it to say, the ferretess' pituitary gland was fucked to hell.

Any time she experienced intense emotions, her brain released a potent cocktail of hormones in addition to your run-of-the-mill adrenaline or endorphins or what have you. Every fit of rage, episode of depression, or orgasm was accompanied by the ferretess enlarging to the towering height of 105 feet for the period of a few hours.

In the first few months of her condition, Becca was volatile, enlarging every time she did something as insignificant as kiss her boyfriend or encounter a point of frustration at work. This proved disastrous for any real estate the ferretess encountered, to say nothing of her wardrobe.

Fortunately, with a lot of effort and a little therapy, Becca was able to get her condition (more or less) under control. You had to get her extremely angry or happy to get a rise out of her, so to speak.

Once she got used to it, Becca expressed interest in switching to the field division at MACRO. A part-time giantess would be an asset to the field division, right? Much as I appreciated the enthusiasm, it was apparent she just wasn't cut out for the job. Becca was much better suited to the lab.

"I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer," Becca replied shortly. "I don't even need your permission,"

Ignoring the fact that the ferretess was beginning to cross into bratty adolescent territory, I got to my feet and crossed over to Becca.

"Becca, you know I hate turning you down like this," I said. "But you don't stand a chance against Todd. He'll chew you up and spit you out,"

"You and Karl need to stop selling me short!" Becca exploded. "I'm strong. I'm fast. I can take him,"

"Todd will kill you," I said, my expression stony. "He's really fucking strong. He beat the living shit out of my brother, a pretty strong guy. I was in Warren's pocket at the time. Still got some bruises.

"I appreciate your offer. But it's a no. It isn't even really up to me, anyway. Karl calls the shots as far as assignments are concerned," I concluded with a regretful shrug.

"So what the fuck is your game plan, Roger?" Becca snapped, her tone scathing. "What is your master strategy? Or are you just going to let that giant walk all over us?"

"Of course not," I snapped.

"Well, you've yet to prove anything to the contrary," Becca sniffed. " Remember your little distress call to the Coast Guard? That went oh so well. It took him, what, an hour to destroy them all?"

"I've reached out to the Pacifica army and air force,"

"Oh, good. Todd'll love that. New toys. And when did you contact them?"

"Last week," I mumbled.

"Oh. And they're sending troops?" Becca was starting to smirk.

"We haven't heard back from them as of yet," I avoided eye contact. "I'm sure they're busy,"

"Ah, yes. A 12-story psychotic fox holding an entire city--the capitol, no less--is pretty low on the army's priority list," Becca was practically crowing. "Let me go big. He won't be expecting me. I'll cut him down to size,"

"I refuse to resort to some sort of Toddzilla vs. Beccra showdown to resolve this," I spat.

Okay, the names needed work. I would concede that much. And the lack of response from any military personnel was highly distressing and disturbing. But I refused to sink to Todd's level.

"You have to stop being so naïve, Roger. You can't ignore reality. We have to do something drastic if we want to get rid of that bastard. And I'm offering you something drastic. We need to--"

Becca's impassioned plea was interrupted by a concussive blast followed by the sound of gunshots. The ferretess and I bolted into the main office space, bewildered.

Everyone in the office was pressed against the far wall of the space. Occupying the majority of the office were a dozen or so black-clad individuals carrying all manner of firearms.

"What on earth is going on?" I gasped.

"Against the wall with everyone else," a husky barked.

Becca and I numbly complied. They had guns. What else were we supposed to do?

"Let me go big," Becca muttered again as we took our places in the back of the space. "I'll crush 'em like grapes,"

"And take out the building, too," I hissed in reply. "Besides. What am I going to do? Punch you in the face or give you a vibrator or what?"

Becca shot me a venomous look but didn't dignify me with a response.

"All right, as of now, I am in charge of this agency!" the husky barked again. "Nobody leaves. Nobody speaks without my say so,"

*****

I had just finished hemming a jacket when my phone rang. Much as Todd's reign had thrown life into turmoil, things somehow managed to plug along in one way or another. It wasn't normal, by any stretch of the imagination. Hell no. It was impossible to ignore the ration cards, the curfews, the constant power outages, and the colossal fox who could eat you or crush you at any moment without warning. But many people, myself included, decided not to be ruled by fear. We managed to hack out a living in some way.

Stabbing my needle into a pincushion, I picked up the phone. "Suit Yourself. Alterations, adjustments, and custom embroidery. How can I help you?"

"Reynard!"

"Rodge! What's up? Oh! You'll never believe it, but I managed to get an extra ration card for the commissary. Knew Edmond would come through. We're going to eat good tonight," I grinned. "Well, as good as that slop will allow, anyway,"

"There's no time for that right now, Rey,"

A frown creeping across my brow, I asked for clarification. Why was Roger whispering? I could hear a note of anxiety in his voice.

"There's a... situation at MACRO," Roger replied in hushed tones. "We've--there are a bunch of people here. Shady people, and that's putting it kindly. We're--and I don't want you to freak out--talking hostage situation type thing here,"

"What? Don't freak out!?" I ran a hand through my hair, sitting on the table, my leg kicking nervously. Roger was in trouble and I needed to help him. "I'm going to come and--"

"And what? Explain to the nice husky that you're my boyfriend and if he would let me go that would be just great? He'd fucking shoot you then and there. No,"

"What do they want? Why are they there?"

"They didn't exactly pass out a _modus operandi_sheet when they barged in the door. But I think they're trying to make sure we don't cause Todd any trouble. I think he might be worried about something. They're watching us like hawks. Hell, they've even got a hawk watching us.

"But Cameron managed to buy me some time to slip away and talk. There might be something you can help with,"

"Anything," I replied hastily.

"They keep in constant contact with someone over a radio transmitter. One of the thicker members of the group accidentally let slip an address while Cameron was in earshot. I think it may be the location of their contact. If we could knock out the communications, maybe we'd catch 'em off-guard and have a fighting chance,"

"What do you want me to do? I'm not a MACRO agent or anything like that. I'm just a tailor. Why don't you talk to your broth--"

I cut myself off a moment too late. Of course Warren wasn't an option. Nobody had seen him since Todd's appearance. It wasn't certain if he was even alive.

Roger was silent a moment.

"I know. But you're all we've got at the moment," he said at last. "Please. Just go to the address and do what you can to get us some radio silence,"

Nervous as hell, I got out a pen and took down the address, promising to do the best I could and that I'd call once I was done. I couldn't help but laugh a little as I hung up--Roger's ridiculous habit of stashing his cell phone in his desk drawer at work rather than keeping it in his pocket had finally paid off. The husky and his cohorts had confiscated everyone else's phones, but apparently hadn't been thorough enough to find his.

"C'mon, Edmond," I called over to my assistant, pulling on my jacket as I headed for the door. "Field trip time. We're gonna go save Saaduuts. Maybe,"

*****

"Are you sure this is the right address?" I asked for the umpteenth time as I started at unassuming three-level apartment building we'd pulled up to.

"Positive," Edmond replied. "13 Belmont Pl SW"

Sure enough, the address matched. Shaking my head, I got out of the car with my assistant in tow. "Well, I guess every evil headquarters needs its disguise,"

It didn't occur to me what a stupid idea just waltzing right up to the front door of the apartment building was until I was standing on the stoop. Secret agent man, right? So smoove.

"Er, Rey?" Edmond tugged on my shirtsleeve like a preschooler. He was positively adorable. "I think we're going into Todd's apartment,"

My jaw went slack. "No fucking way,"

The red panda pointed wordlessly at the call box. Sure enough, the sticker on number 25B indicated that the apartment belonged to one T. Hawthorne. Shit.

"Well, I guess at least we won't have to worry about him being home," I mumbled.

I'd always wanted to kick down a door. It was just as therapeutic as I'd hoped, if not a bit rough on my knee. Not exactly the subtlest way to go, but it got us inside.

I had no idea an apartment building could scare me so much. The door opened onto a kitchen and living area. It was well-kept, but so... unsettling. Spartan and sterile. Pushing through the sparsely-furnished space, Edmond and I entered the bedroom.

"Gods," I gasped.

The space could only technically be considered a bedroom--there was a bed, I supposed, but not much else in terms of the typical furniture. But the rest of the area was crammed with all manner of clutter.

An entire wall had been converted into some sort of collage of newspaper clippings and scrawled notes. A large and heavily annotated map of Saaduuts was spread out on a table.

"Reynard..." Edmond murmured.

I followed the red panda's wavering finger to the wall opposite the madman's collage. Photographs plastered on the walls formed some sort of Most Wanted lineup. Except the people pictured were some of my closest friends and loved ones. Roger... Warren... Tab...

"He's got everyone just where he wants," I massaged my temples, sinking onto the bed. "Fuck only knows what's going on,"

"Isn't that Becca?" Edmond crossed over to the photo wall to study one of the images. "We need to warn them now. I don't want anything happening to Becca,"

Poor Edmond was nervously cleaning his glasses as he studied the photograph. I pulled out my phone and dialed up Roger.

I breathed a sigh of relief as Roger answered. Trying my best to explain the discoveries we'd made, I asked him if he knew at all what was happening. He generally seemed to be more in the know that I in these sorts of matters.

Unfortunately, Roger seemed just as baffled as I. He fell silent as a commotion broke out on his end of the line.

"Gottagobye," Roger said hastily, hanging up before I could get a word in edgewise. Shit.

Edmond was pacing on the opposite end of the room, mumbling feverishly to himself. It was something of a habit of his, which got quite old rather quickly. I walked over to him, blocking one end of the pace circuit.

"We're going to figure something out," I spitballed. Not that I had any idea what to do. It just sounded reassuring.

"What are we going to do?" the red panda asked, wide-eyed.

"Let's just keep looking," I shrugged. Maybe we could find something that would provide some sort of answer.

*****

Cold water shocked me back into consciousness. I sat up, spluttering and wiping the frigid water out of my eyes. Todd was crouched over me, grinning. He had my Dad gripped in his fist.

"Damn, you know how to faint," the fox commented. "Took out that entire building. Congratulations. But I wanted you to be conscious before I did anything more. I'd hate for you to miss anything else,"

Springing to my feet, I snarled at the fox, lip curled in rage and hands balled into fists. "I'm going to kill you,"

Todd spread his arms wide. "Go on, hit me with your best shot,"

I took a step back. "Be careful with my dad,"

"I promise that I'll be just as careful with him as I was with your mom," Todd smiled sweetly.

A sob welled in my chest as I glanced over at the building where Mom had been standing. She was gone. I could never talk with her again. And the last thing I'd said to her was basically that I cared more about Ciaran then her.

I was such a selfish bitch. Why hadn't I picked them up? They'd probably have been safe then. Mom would still be alive. This was my fault. And now Todd was going to hurt my Dad--kill him even, maybe. I couldn't allow that to happen.

Sniveling miserably, I held out a hand. "Please. Please, I just want my Dad,"

The fox shot me one more cunning look before spinning on his heels, striding purposefully away from me. I called after him, but he ignored me completely, humming gleefully to himself.

Shaking with anger, I cast about myself for something--anything--to use against the fox. I was going to fucking murder him. Todd thought he could take everything from me, he had another thing coming.

My eyes fell on a jagged shard of window glass lying on the street. Stooping, I grasped it, hefting it in my fist like a knife. The edge looked wicked, and indeed it bit into my hand as I gripped it.

Blade in hand, I picked my way after the giant red fox. I needed to be stealthy, not the easiest task when you're 90 feet tall. But if Todd sensed I was after him, well, I didn't want to run the risk of finding out what would happen if he did.

By the time I caught up with him, he was standing before a gutted building a little bit shorter than I. Back turned, he was still humming merrily to himself, tail swishing back and forth as he fiddled with something.

Raising the shard of glass into the air, I crept toward Todd, barely able to breathe. I had to be quick. Should I try to slash his throat? Reach around and stab him in the chest? I wasn't exactly experienced in the field of murder. At least with people my own size.

I cursed myself as an ill-placed foot landed on a sedan, crunching it like a soda can. Todd spun around, facing me with a vicious grin on his lips, amber eyes flashing. Shit. The jig was up.

The fox crossed the distance between us in a few paces. Gripping my wrist and throat in two hands, Todd slammed me up against a building. I yelped as I felt the window-glass shatter, some of the shards slashing through my blouse and digging into my back. Todd matter-of-factly squeezed my wrist until I released the glass shard, dropping it with a clatter to the ground. He appeared almost bored as he stooped to pick it up himself.

The tip of the blade rested against my breast as Todd returned his full attention to me.

"Did your parents teach you any manners?" he asked. "That's no way to greet someone,"

"You aren't a person," I hissed. "You're a monster,"

Todd laughed as his hand dug into my windpipe. "That's really rich coming from you," he snorted. "But you've got your old man fooled, that's for sure. He didn't believe me when I told him about your little furicidal meltdown,"

"At least I'm not proud of it,"

The fox brushed a lock of hair out of my eyes with the tip of the blade. I whimpered as the shard traced its way down my cheek.

"Shh... shh... none of that," Todd cooed venomously. "Take off your clothes,"

"No. Fuck you, you piece of--"

Todd clucked in disapproval and his grip on my throat tightened, cutting off my air completely. "Let's not have any of that. But don't worry. I'd much rather just rip them off you,"

He undid the top few buttons of my blouse, burying his muzzle in my not-so-ample chest as I struggled. Taking a deep whiff, Todd rumbled pleasurably.

"Crushing and devouring thousands has been pretty fun. But fucking you is going to be the definite highlight of this whole giant thing for me so far," he rumbled. The fox was pressed against me so tightly I could feel him start to stiffen. I tried to recoil, but had nowhere to go.

"Don't touch me," I managed to choke out.

Inhaling deeply one final time, Todd gave me another unsettling smile before returning to the building he had been so intent on earlier. He turned to face me, clutching two people in his hands.

"If you insist. But I really want to hurt _someone. _ So here. I'll let you pick," Todd smiled.

Fuck. He had my father gripped in one hand and Ciaran in the other. Ciaran was still alive. But for how much longer?

"No," I shook my head. "Nonono. You can't make me do that,"

Todd shrugged. "I guess I could just kill 'em both,"

"NO!" I bellowed, holding out an arm. "No! Take me instead. Hurt me,"

The fox shook his head. "Too late for that. You already chickened out. I want you to choose. More fun that way. Besides. I can always have fun with you later,"

I shook my head, sinking to the ground with a whimper. I heard Ciaran try to say something, but Todd squeezed him and the sentence became a squeak of pain. Todd heaved a sigh of boredom.

"So let's run down your options, Tabitha. You can save Dad, who provided for you, took care of you, loved and supported you despite your, well, condition..." Todd stared at me with those cold, hard amber eyes, studying me intently.

"Or, you could save Ciaran, your little fuck-toy, who made my life so much more inconvenient by helping to spring you from my facility, who hasn't shut up about you since I got ahold of him, and seems sickeningly devoted to you," he shrugged. "Your choice,"

"Ciaran isn't my fuck-toy," I spat, a dull rage creeping in and starting to overwhelm my panic. "And I'm not choosing. You're going to put them both down right now and walk away,"

"You really ought to be more careful with what you say when you haven't got any of the cards," Todd commented, dragging his tongue along Ciaran's trembling, vulnerable body. "Anything could happen. Now. Make your choice,"

I sniffled wretchedly.

"Tab," Dad said, smiling stupidly. He didn't seem scared or angry or anything like that--just reassuring and so happy and calm. "I love you so much, Tab. I really do. You'll always be my little girl. Don't be afraid. Don't worry about me. You're so strong. So brave. I love--"

"Oh, just _can_it," Todd snapped. His gaze returned to me. "Say, I'll give you some advice. Save Daddy Dearest. You can always find a new boy-toy. Trust me, they're replaceable. Other fish in the sea and all that.

"Besides, he and I have some catching up to do. He did help steal you away after all. No, really, let me keep him. I want to see how many bits I can take off before he dies,"

"Ciaran!" I wailed.

"Is that a choice? Did I hear a choice?" Todd smirked.

"No! No, I wasn't--let me think!" I said hurriedly, holding up a wavering hand in panic. I needed more time. There had to be some way to save them both. But what could I do?

*****

A clamor on the other side of the room drew my attention away from my phone call with Reynard. Breathlessly, I rushed to the double doors that lead out to the balcony. Becca stood there, flanked by a pair of the husky's biggest thugs. One was grasping her wrists behind her back in one powerful fist, restraining her as the other held a pistol to her temple. The ferretess put on a brave face, but I could see the fear in her eyes.

I stopped in the doorway, gripping the jam with one hand as I extended my other arm in panic.

"Stop! Let's talk," I gasped to the husky. "You don't have to do this,"

"Last I checked, we were the ones with the guns," the husky snorted.

Oh, and that entitled him to whatever he wanted? We'd see about that.

"Yes, you are," I conceded. "But that doesn't mean you _have_to do anything with them. I don't have anything of use to you, anyway,"

Wrong words. The husky nodded to the grunt restraining Becca's wrists and he jerked, pushing her so that she was dangling halfway over the guardrail of the balcony. The ferretess cried out in fear. The grunt's thick hand gripping onto the front of Becca's blouse was the only thing separating her from a harrowing fall.

"Don't fuck with me," the husky warned. "I'd hate for you to have her blood on your hands,"

My mind somehow managed to be running a million miles a minute and completely blank at the same time. Why couldn't I recall any of my crisis training? I'd talked myself out of countless sticky situations before; why couldn't I think of anything now?

"Anything you want. Anything you want," I stammered.

"We need to... speak with one of the agents here. Name of Becca Hughes,"

I blinked, more than a little surprise. He had no fucking clue who Becca is. What kind of idiot would barge into a mission or whatever and not even know what your godsdamn target looks like? Probably best to keep it that way.

"O-okay... I-I don't know if she's in today. Why do you need--"

"--It isn't your place to ask questions. Everyone who works here is accounted for. We did a head-count, so don't try to bullshit me. Give me Becca Hughes or people are going to get hurt, starting with this one,"

What would these thugs--or Todd, for that matter--want with Becca? Oh, shit. She did pose something of a threat to him, after all. These guys were some sort of hit squad, maybe.

Sensing my indecision and capitalizing on it, the husky nodded to his subordinate. Becca squeaked as she was pushed further over the edge, dangling practically upside down. My heart was racing. I hadn't lost a single person in the field yet, and it wasn't going to let that start on the balcony of my own damn office.

It all happened so fast. Becca's foot lashed out--I couldn't tell if it was accidental or intentional--and nailed her captor straight in the crotch. Reacting as any male with a pair would, the grunt released his grip on the ferretess. I let out a strangled cry as Becca toppled into the abyss, disappearing out of sight. Tears filled my eyes as I sank to the floor.

When Becca's feet thunderously hit the ground, her face was level with the balcony. Dumbfounded, the husky and his cohorts scrambled backwards and readied their weapons as I stumbled to my feet.

"You wanted to speak with Becca?" the massive ferretess smiled sweetly. "Here I am,"