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A Rat in the Cat's House

Chapter 2

By Draconicon

Nine minutes passed, and just as Bruce might have been considered 'late,' the office door opened. All the way across the floor, the shark stepped into the room, bowing at the waist as he made himself known.

"As requested, Mr. Lee."

The snow leopard nodded, giving the other male a good once-over. The bull shark had been brought into the company as a replacement for his main assistant, and was someone that had been hired without his personal going-over. The file had passed the automated checks that he left in the system for the HR department, and that had been good enough to be assigned to him. For a distraction, however...

Built reasonably well, thicker across the shoulders than the average aquatic, V-framed build...

Not the strongest legs or tail, however, implying that the shark had more of an intention to skip leg day, and spent more of his time on the easier exercises that worked the upper body, forcing the parts above the waist to be stronger and more obvious. Looking to show off more than to be effective, from the sight of it, though that was not to say that the secretary was at all weak, or out of shape. It was, however, inefficient compared to someone that was more fully developed.

Further down, past the suit-top that he supplied for his employees. Black slacks that were already bulging slightly, probably in anticipation for what would happen in a moment. That answered the question as to whether the enthusiasm a moment ago was about the bonus money or about the action. The bulge was not particularly large, but then again, one of the bigger sellers from his company were bio-enhanced shafts. This one had not been, as far as he could tell from a cursory examination.

Decent, though not thick legs. Long enough to lead to -

Kai Lee paused, slowly cocking his head to the side. The motion stopped the bull shark in his steps, halfway across the room.

"Sir?" Bruce eventually asked.

"...I do not recall adding sandals to the dress code," Kai Lee said.

"...Oh, I - shit, I forgot to - sorry, sir."

"Apology accepted. This time. Ensure that you do not make that mistake next time."

"I - yes, sir."

"I assume that you were uncomfortable at your desk?" he asked, getting to his feet and slowly circling around his desk.

"I...that is correct, sir. I'm sorry. It's just...I get swampy, and I don't want to take that smell home, and -"

"If the issue is sweat, then I will see to it that you have access to body-odor removers. If the issue is hygienic in nature, then we will see to that. But the rules are there for a reason. Please keep to them."

Bruce gulped. Kai Lee sighed.

"This is not a threat, Mr...?"

"..."

"Your name, if you would. Your full name."

"Radisk. Bruce Radisk."

"Mm-hmm." He nodded. "Mr. Radisk. I am not threatening you. I am holding you to the same standards that the rest of the company is held to. And ensuring your safety. There are regular hazards in my office, and I would not see an employee of mine in danger."

"...Danger, sir?"

"Yes." The snow leopard smiled slightly. "The events of this morning are not infrequent. There are times when such attempts are made in the office, as well. And for that reason, I ensure that my employees, particularly those on the upper level, are equipped with sufficient safeguards to ensure that they do not need to worry about hospitalizations. Your jacket, for example, is made of high-end spider-weave, harnessed from bio-engineered arachnids. Not as adhesive as other, more natural substances would be, yes, but far stronger.

"Your shoes, as well, are part of this. Rubber-soled, but it goes further. They also maintain a direct connection to the database at the heart of the company. You are observed at all times, your heartbeat monitored as well as your position, your overall health, and any irregularities that might be tied to the quality of the air, the contents of your food, and your general state of being. As well as other protections."

"..."

He had overdone it, he supposed. Bruce was looking at him slackjawed, which meant that the shark was probably as mentally overwhelmed as one could be. He would need to work on that. Professionalism was one thing; over-explaining was another. The snow leopard shook his head as he turned his back on his employee.

"From now on, maintain the dress code rules, if you please."

"Y-yes, Mr. Lee."

"And for now?"

"Um...do you...still want that distraction?"

"Yes. Strip, if you would."

Walking back around the desk - there was little point in watching the shark get naked, considering that he knew what the man looked like without clothes already - he reached into his desk drawers and pulled out a fresh pair of white gloves. They were thin, just thin enough that he would be able to touch with ease through them, but -

He removed his previous gloves, looking at the tattoos that crossed his palms. They glowed slightly as he did, and he shook his head, pulling the new gloves on. For a moment, the red glow could be just barely seen, but it died off quickly enough. The old marks had glowed since the small confrontation at the bridge, and would likely continue for another few hours.

They always did.

By the time that he had gloved up, the shark had stripped down. He turned, taking in the brown-blue-gray coloration of the other male, looking at the difference between the lighter belly and the darker sides, the half-hard shaft that was struggling to go up but remaining down-directed in fear. He shook his head, sitting on his desk as he pointed to the floor in front of him.

"Here, if you would."

"Yes, sir."

Bruce crossed the room quickly, coming to a sharp halt right in front of him. Kai Lee gave him one more look, head to webbed toes, before reaching for that half-hard shaft. It twitched as soon as his gloved fingers touched it, jumping up and then falling back down, a soft whimper escaping the other man.

"Are you afraid?"

"A...a little."

"That is reasonable," the snow leopard said, one gloved finger slowly riding along the underside of the shaft all the way to the tip, drawing it up with that light stimulation and gentle touch. "You are, after all, with me. But that is a reason to be relieved, as well, if you can relax."

"Why?"

"Because I am here...and because I will ensure your safety..."

He stroked his finger up and down the shaft. Not even the whole fist, but a single finger, drawing the line from the base to the tip, and then back down again. Every time, he could trace the reactions that were happening from that. A little tension in the flesh, the tightening of muscles, the slow pulse, swell, and release of the urethra and the dribbles that came down from above: they were all familiar, all expected, all following the same sort of patterns and response to stimuli that any normal male would.

Of course, there was also the harsh panting, the slightly trembling form, the stiffness that came from fear and a bad attempt of handling it. Kai Lee lifted his head, meeting the shark's eyes. Bruce stared back, eyes wide for a moment. The snow leopard debated taking control, taking the fear away...

Then dismissed it. That was a poor use of his eyes at the moment, particularly when they were numbed and were likely to be more difficult to control. Not to mention that they could take greater damage without him being aware of what was happening to them. Best not. Not now.

Instead, he slowly pulled his hand back.

"Do you understand what I want as a distraction?" he asked.

"I...I thought I did..."

"You are not augmented, I presume?"

"Wha - no, I'm not. HR said I could have some next month, but -"

"Will you be doing that?"

"...I don't know. I...maybe? I was thinking -"

"That you would like a stronger body, perhaps? Or a longer penis?" The shark blushed, but didn't answer. The snow leopard revised his thoughts. "Or were you thinking of enhancing something - no, not enhancing. Correcting. You wish to remove your scent."

"Oh god...it's not...you're not..."

Kai Lee shook his head. It was noticeable, though not offensive. Aquatic species had a difficulty with controlling their 'fishy' scent sometimes, and it seemed that Bruce was no different from the others at that. He leaned back slightly, resting one arm behind him, while gesturing at the shark's shaft with the other. It continued to bob up and down even without his touches; whether that was a biological response or a fear response, with Bruce flicking it up and down to please him, he didn't know...but he was amused.

Most fascinating...

Except that it wasn't. Not at all, for that matter. Then what was -

Most amusing. Yes. Far more accurate.

"I am not offended by your...odor," the snow leopard said. "However, I can understand wanting to correct something if you feel that it is...ill-fitting with the person that you want to be. Is it a scent that bothers you?"

"...A bit, yeah. I don't think...I mean, if you can smell it -"

"I can."

"Then you can guess...people don't really..."

"I will not say that you will make friends. Nor will I say that you will find someone that can put up with it. You are, however, more than slightly likely to find someone that appreciates it to such a degree that they will masturbate over the thought of it."

"...Could you have chosen a less clinical way to put that?"

"Perhaps, but I see no reason to." Kai Lee slowly crossed one leg over the other, looking the shark in the eye. "Do you still want to be here?"

"I'm, uh, not quitting, if that's what you mean, sir."

"I mean, do you wish to be my distraction?"

"..."

"That is what I assumed." He had pushed things, changed the mood. "You may leave, Mr. Radisk."

"B-but sir -"

"You will be compensated." Kai Lee nodded toward the door. "Leave."

After making one last, feeble attempt to justify staying there - something that the shark's fear-erection almost convinced him of - Bruce finally turned to leave. He grabbed his clothes in a hurry, obviously intending to dress in the elevator rather than stick around. The snow leopard shook his head as the secretary left.

I may need another one...

It would be telling as to whether Bruce stuck around. If he did, then that meant that the shark had some attraction or some other reason for holding the job that he had. If he didn't, then this was another lesson that he could teach himself. There were still boundaries to socialization that he didn't understand, and this might just be one of them.

Shaking his head, he pulled one glove off, tossing the pre-ejaculate-stained thing in the trash. The other followed, and he looked down at his hands once more.

The glowing tattoos seemed to surge for a moment, almost, but not quite, in time to his heartbeat. He watched them, feeling a slow surge of heat and energy coming from within, beaming up at his face like an open oven. As it grew, he remembered when he had received them. How long ago had that been?

Twenty years, two weeks, three days, he thought, slowly closing his hands. And they're still out there...

Possibly even the source of his current problems, come to think of it. They were the ones that would most benefit from inducing chaos into his regime, and that would enable them to have a clearer shot at him. Anything that they wanted stolen, however, would be something that they likely already had...

And possibly didn't want him developing.

The thought appealed to him, another possibility, though by no means a fact. He walked around his desk, sitting down once more and pulling up a notation program on his computer. As he typed away, he felt something else. Something that was slowly pushing down on the anger from before and the sickly feeling of being backstabbed. It was a satisfying feeling, rather than a hungry one, which meant that Bruce hadn't made enough of an impression to create arousal as some of the other staff had. Instead, it felt...

Yes, almost like the puzzle-joy that came when he had solved one of the tests back when, and when he figured out what he needed to do in the modern day. Yes, that felt accurate.

It did not usually come with an erection, however. He ignored it, and kept typing.

It was well-past midnight when he walked out of the lobby of his building. The night watchmen were used to that, and they bobbed their heads in greeting. The pair of crocodiles were less 'uniformed' than the day team, mostly due to the fact that nobody could, or would, see them when they were doing their job. Noh and Wei were their names, with Noh being the taller and Wei being the shorter, both of them nearly invisible in the night with their adjusted scales.

"Guards," Kai Lee said as he walked past them. "Any issues since closing?"

"None, boss," Noh said, chuckling. "Just a little bit of a rumble downstairs, but we got that sorted."

"Yeah. Little kitty thought he could break his cell open." Wei shook his head. "Had to teach him a little lesson."

"Define 'lesson.'"

"Don't worry none, boss," Noh hurriedly said. "He's not hurt. Just had to learn that he ain't the top dog no more."

"If he ever was," Wei added, shaking his head.

Nodding, the snow leopard imagined that had gone about as well as escaping the city had gone for Mr. Takami. The two crocodiles were among some of the most augmented and upgraded employees that K. L. Inc. employed, and they showed it. Whether one looked up and down their limbs at the cords of muscle powered by hyper-stimulated bioelectric generators, or the alterations to their eyes that allowed perfect night vision (as well as secondary modes), the ability to pick up on bioelectricity in the air through alterations to their scales, or the camouflage that had been added to their genetic structure so that their next shedding allowed for a near-perfect ability to hide, Noh and Wei were the prime examples of what K. L. Inc. could create on a good day.

They were also a royal headache for anyone that wanted to cause problems for the company, particularly during the night shift, when they were at their most active. He imagined that Mr. Takami had been left more than slightly bruised by the end of it.

Though, judging from the way that Noh was favoring his left side...

"He managed to injure...one rib. Bruised, correct?"

"...Goddammit, boss, it's fine."

"Infirmary. Now."

"It's just a bruise. It'll be fixed in two hours."

"No. In five minutes, in the Infirmary."

"Told ya he'd notice," Wei muttered.

"Goddammit...Lemme finish patrol first, boss. Just to make sure it's all secure."

"I will allow you to finish your patrol if you can answer one question correctly," the snow leopard said.

"Shoot."

"Did you get hit through arrogance, or through his skill?"

"..."

Kai Lee crossed his arms, waiting as the oversized crocodile hemmed and hawwed for all of a minute before finally giving up.

"I got stupid. I taunted him to take a free hit."

"That is all it takes."

"Yeah, telling me..." The taller crocodile tenderly prodded his side. "I thought that he'd just give a little love-tap. Instead, he came damn close to popping that thing. If it wasn't for the bone-hardening -"

"You would be in the Infirmary already."

"...So, was that the right answer, boss?"

"It was the honest answer. And because it is merely bruised, I will allow it. But do not make that mistake again."

"Sure as fuck won't."

As Noh and Wei continued their rounds, he shook his head, stepping out through the front door. It was no longer powered, so he had to push it open, but that was not an issue. He sighed as he stepped out into the night air.

Not going home so much as wandering the city to clear his head, he made his way down the front steps of his company. Hard metal turned to concrete turned to cobblestone, old remnants of the little village that had once been the only claim to civilization this chunk of land had had. It was nothing more than an old colonial place, something established in years past when this was just the playground, the stomping fields of greater powers on the world stage. The powers themselves had long since pulled out, but the remnants of their old settlements could still be found from place to place.

This one had been inhabited by bandits, he recalled. Bandits that had been striking out at those that were stronger than them, running out of the jungle for hit and run tactics before running back to this place with stolen goods. They had been more than willing to surrender when he had tracked them down with his appropriated bandits. That had been...nearly fifteen years ago, now. Fifteen years since he had pulled all the bandits in the area together and gotten them to work together to make Kusan City a reality.

He didn't smile, but his lip curled up in a hint of one. The memory was not a bad one; a forced unification had become a more permanent one after they realized how much better off they were with someone that actually knew what they were doing in charge. The other leaders had found it impossible to turn their old followers against him once things started taking a turn for the better, and they'd left rather than try and oust him. He imagined that they had gone into the jungle to find more people, more of an army.

Considering they had never come back, he wondered if they were still alive.

To be fair, it didn't really matter if they were; they were no threat, not anymore. They had long since lost any hold that they had over their old bandits, and the population of Kusan City had grown until the immigrants had far surpassed any of the local bandit populations. Old ways met new ways, and the hybrid society that had been created here thrived.

He followed the curved round outside his business down to the square where the Market had been that morning. The stalls had already been packed up, the various goods that had been for sale all but disappeared. Towards the center, however, a party continued. He could hear the sound of laughter, the occasional cheer, and the shrill shriek of someone that was learning what it meant to be a slave.

The snow leopard stood there at the edge of the square, looking through the boarded-up shops that had been established permanently around the perimeter of the Market for the richer merchants, while the mish-mash of stained stones all along the square marked out where different stalls would stand. At the very center, the auction platform stood tall, and he could just make out the bondage pillories, leg chains, and more where the slaves would be stood the next day to be purchased.

He did a little mental math, and made a note to send someone down to the Market to pick up a few of them when morning came. There would be a need for more labor down by the bridge, and some more security personnel, too. He had a feeling that Malo would be needing some new people once he finished his scouring of the security division, and it would be best to have candidates ready when that time came.

The snow leopard rubbed his forehead. For all that Bruce had been rather interesting as a potential partner, he knew that there was a strong likelihood that he'd need to buy someone to replace the shark. Someone that was that easily shaken at the possibility of an assassination attempt, not to mention someone that was so worried about what might happen when he had been previously so eager to be a 'distraction,' was not a good fit for the upper offices. Kai Lee had no plans to fire the shark, but it might be better to send him to someone that was on the lower floors, where things were less dangerous.

The party continued to run wild. He knew from experience that the Market turned into something that was a combination of a party club, a strip joint, and a drug den at night. There were all kinds of debauchery that went on, some of which would be interesting to study, others of which would be better left alone. He considered walking in, but after what had happened the last time - everyone attempting to clean up their act, when they weren't trying to bribe him - he felt it was better to stay away.

However, he did make a decision. A new secretary. Someone had to fill in until Darren came back.

Kai Lee began his circuit around the building, and from there, down the main street that would take him to the bridge. A long night of walking would do wonders for his legs, and he would still have an hour to sleep before dawn and work called him back to his responsibilities. That would be sufficient.

And by then, the search he'd left the computer running should be done.

The End

Summary: Kai Lee attempts to have a distraction from life with his secretary, but scares him instead.

Tags: M/solo, M/M, Shark, Crocodile, Snow Leopard, Kai Lee, Erection, Nudity, Boss/Employee, Bio-Engineering, Biotechnology, Series, Masturbation, Intimidation,