FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 15

Obsidian opened the door of the research area, the door swooshing to life in front of him. He had no idea why he was being so stupid. He could just go back to his home and forget all about this craziness but something inside him decided that he could not live with himself if he had not at least tried.

He walked inside the research area, all the lights were off in the laboratory as they began to flicker to life automatically. The started out dim and then slowly converted to full brightness in order to avoid blinding him.

It was the early hours of the morning, most of the staff had already gone home and here he was, trying to be a hero.

Something he had repeatedly failed at.

He looked around the room, noticing the cold metal table which Janus had been strapped to securely... It was empty now but he was sure he could still hear the echoes of what horror had been done to him in this room.

His heavy hooves clunked on the cold metal floor as he journeyed deeper into the room.

He had been held in another part of the building for what seemed like hours. Cassandra Equinox had questioned and berated him continuously about how he had allowed an undercover police officer into one of Phoenix Grace's top secret facilities. He had somehow managed to convince here that he was unaware of Janus's identity as a police officer and that mirage seemed to have convinced her and the other disciplinary judges.

He had been lucky to escape losing his job... or worse.

There had been an old story about many different employees across Phoenix Grace going "missing" shortly after they had been terminated from the company. Obsidian had feared that he could have been next on that list.

He certainly would be if they caught him here.

He must have been crazy. Why was he doing this? He owed nothing to Janus, who had coerced him to taking him to the dig site in the first play. So why was he here?

The disciplinary hearing had been a harsh near miss for him and here he was, risking himself again.

But still...

Something inside him wanted to make sure that Janus was alright and that part of him just would not be silent.

He also had some new information for him.

He had returned to his old work area after the disciplinary hearing and accessed his computer in an attempt to get on with some work and ignore this whole situation. It was his hope that immersing himself in his historical analysis would somehow alleviate the guilt he felt over Janus's fate. Saving his own neck, rather than helping somebody else who was clearly going to be in mortal danger.

His office was on the thirty second floor of the Phoenix Grace Regional Headquarters in Crystal Lake. It was small and cramped, but it was still his. He had worked so hard to get it and to prove himself as a valued asset to the company that it became a symbol of his triumph. His achievement, something that his drunken parents had told him that he would never amount to.

He had grown up in the Lower City of Crystal Lake. His father was a factory worker for one of the large manufacturing plants that were a common site in the Lower City. He had met Obsidian's mother at an exotic dance club that he used to attend after work. She thought that he would save her from her terrible life and give her a normal, loving home.

She was wrong.

It was not long after Obsidian was born that the couple spiralled into a continual cycle of shouting, swearing, punching and escalating violence. Obsidian's mother blamed him for denying her the life that she could have, instead being chained to her abusive husband. She never understood that she had chosen that life and refused to break the cycle through her own actions.

Obsidian had been ignored by the authorities, who were more concerned with protecting children in the Upper City then dealing with the constant problems of destitution in the Lower City. He grew up to be a coward, somebody who looked in the mirror every day and hated himself.

But there was a flicker of hope.

Despite all that had happened to him, he found his solace in his education. Learning and history became a passion to him and he had used to passion to obtain a degree from the most prestigious university in Vulnira and was offered a job in Phoenix Grace.

He was now risking that entire achievement, for some police officer he had only known for a few days. He must have been mad to do this.

However, while he had been reviewing his files on his work computer, he came across a service report from a "Miss Cassata Everson" who had been documenting "yiff" exposure within Crystal Lake for Phoenix Grace. Janus had only mentioned Cassata once but the name had stuck in Obsidian's head like a knife, he had a keen eye for details.

Was this the same Cassata as the one that Janus had mentioned. It was a very unusual name.

So Obsidian had cross referenced the files with the global net discovering that a "Cassata Everson", wife of Janus Everson had been murdered over six months ago at their home in the Upper City.

Obsidian checked the dates, there had been no more entries from a "Cassata Everson" since that time. He managed to find a picture of this vixen on file and it confirmed that they were indeed the same person.

Janus had obviously been unaware that Cassata had worked for Phoenix Grace. He had not made the connection himself. This was simply too suspicious for Obsidian to just sit on so he had to come tonight to find Janus and tell him what he had discovered.

Obsidian crossed the room to another door which led to the containment pens, inputting a security card into the door. He had disabled access to the security cameras in the area so he would not be observed while he did this.

He was not even sure what he was going to do. One thing at a time.

***

High above the towers of Crystal Lake was the floating resort complex of "Vista", a huge floating platform powered by the greatest repulsorlift technology in all of Terra. The complex made daily laps around the lake and the city before returning to its refuel position on the far shore of the lake.

Vista was considered the most exclusive resort in all of Vulnira, possibly the whole of Terra. Only the most privileged Upper City residents to afford to spend time at this resort, which constantly had small shuttles back and forth from it while it orbited high above the city.

Just another symbol of excess.

The resort was filled with many different leisure activities, all available to creatures, for the right price. There were a huge assortment of bars, restaurants, theme parks and other leisure facilities in the colossal floating complex, all providing stunning aerial views of Crystal Lake and the surrounding shoreline.

One of the most expensive of these facilities was "Coeur De Leon", an exclusive restaurant serving only the finest of Terran cuisine, catering to both carnivores and herbivores, it was a pure indulgent paradise where only the most wealthy could even hope to go.

The dining room had open balconies which provided stunning views all around the restaurant, with interior and exterior seating. There were live musicians who performed stunning concertos on the piano every night and the smells were enough to completely overwhelm the senses.

A sizzling filet mignon travelled through the packed dining room, filled with the many different and diverse species of Terra. Rich businessman rubbed shoulders with politicians, film stars and musicians here, all from the four corners of the globe.

Before the Vulnira breakthrough in genetically engineered cattle, the carnivores of Terra would prey on the herbivores and brutal wars had broken out. However the cunning Vulnira designed their first genetically engineered species, which they dubbed a "construct" and used that to offer the nearby carnivorous Canid and Dratari a near endless supply of food, in exchange for a peace treaty between their peoples.

Both species eagerly accepted and soon that technology was offered to all the species of Terra, eliminating the need to kill each other for food. Such technology could have easily been used to feed everyone on the planet but it had not turned out that way as the leaders of each species realised that it would have crippling effects on global economics.

Once again, profit had hindered progress.

"Your steak sir" said a rather snooty looked Mustalis, a weasel like species that had shared the country of Vulnira with the foxes since ancient times. He head his nose to the air as he placed the steak on the table. "Do you require any additional condiments?"

"No, thank you. That will be all".

Ivan Grace was just about to take his first bite when he looked up from the table to see Cassandra Equinox had entered the restaurant and was craning her neck out over the tables, seeing if she could spot him. She was wearing a rather sleek looking black dress that showed off the full voluptuous curves of her feminine figure.

"What now?" he sighed, looking into his meal and ignoring her as he started to eat, digging his cutlery into the steak. Was he not even allowed to enjoy a meal these days without interruption.

He pulled at his suit collar, he had wearing suits and was much more comfortable in his usual black comfort clothes.

"We have a problem" said Cassandra, forgoing even a greeting to get to point and she shooed away an approaching waiter who must of assumed that she was there as Ivan's date.

Ivan was getting used to Cassandra saying that, he took a napkin and gently dabbed the juice of the succulent steak off his lips.

"Do we now?" he said, covering his mouth and suppressing a little belch. He took the glass of wine from the table and began to sit back in his chair as he watched his employee carefully.

There was a light gentle piano sonata in the background as they conversed while through the large bay windows, one could see the shimmering lights of the island that was Crystal Lake.

"We have captured a police officer who was snooping around our Everonth Digsite. He made it all the way to the Valkyrie wreckage." she sneered, trying to keep her voice down as she spoke, her tail twitching a little behind her.

"You are interrupting my dinner because..." replied Ivan, with a growing level of annoyance. Why exactly did she want to bother him with a minor security breach like this. This was exactly what he hired staff to deal with.

Cassandra sat back in her chair, she wanted to slap Ivan in the face but she wanted to keep her job even more. "We've identified him as Janus Everson."

Ivan stopped eating for a second, putting his knife and fork down. "As in Cassata's husband?" he replied, looking to her with the smallest flicker of guilt in his eyes. "That is interesting."

Cassandra nodded, looking over at him with her piercing blue eyes, her black nose on her muzzle instinctively twitching for a second. "I have checked with theCrystal Lake Police Department. It seems our sniper did not do his job and did not stay to confirm that he had actually killed him."

"If he discovers his wife's files..." replied Ivan, looking at him with the tension showing on his face, turning into a scowl, exposing his razor sharp teeth. "He could find out about the Project. Are you sure that we should continue?"

Cassandra shook her head almost instantly. "Relax..." she said calmly. "The Project must continue as we planned. Janus is not going to be a problem for much longer, we have him and I have decided to make him the latest test experiment."

"You promised me you would only test the pathogen on condemned criminals!" exclaimed Ivan, trying to keep his voice hushed as the restaurant continued to murmur around him. He did not like this at all, Cassandra had gone too far.

"I have taken every precaution. When have I ever let you down Ivan?" asked the vixen, looking at him her usual seductive glance she gave when she wanted to get her own way. "There will be a news report about his death during a "climbing accident" on Everonth Mountains out tomorrow. Nobody will care about one insignificant detective."

Ivan shook his head. He wondered why he had ever agreed to this project when Cassandra had confronted him with it in the first place. They should not have been attempting to manipulate an alien chemical which they were yet to fully understand.

This was that line...

Was this project worth murder?