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Burn Down the Tower: Chapter 10 - Seduction

"In all the time I've known you, Siro, you've never dressed me up like this before," I said with a grumble as I got 'dressed' in the clothes that my friend had decided to loan me for the evening.

I heard the wolf chuckle on the other side of the room. "You've never needed to do more than the very basics before tonight, Simon," Siro said with that calm voice of his that always drove me mad -- how could someone be so comfortable all the time?

"I still don't see how dressing up is going to get this detective to actually spend more time with me than just a few drinks. Didn't you say you had to bribe him?"

Siro poured himself a glass of wine and turned around to face me, smiling. "It's simple. I told him we hadn't talked in a while and that we should just chat, you know, maintain relationships."

"Right. That much I remember of the plan when you dragged me up here hours ago."

"Well, if you would hold your proverbial horses, my dear friend, you'll hear the rest of the plan. I am going to chat up our friend for a bit but will then be called away to the back for an emergency of some kind. At that point I'll have him escorted to your room here in the Arc, and you'll entertain him until I get back."

"...and once you have him in a private room with me I can do what I do best and get him to work with us?" I ventured, slightly unsure of myself at that moment.

"Aw," Siro said and walked over, putting his palm against my cheek. "I love a man with confidence, Simon, but you're hardly the best. That's my title." He took another sip of his wine, looking me over from head to toe. "But I will admit, this outfit puts you in the running for third."

"Third?" I said, scoffing. "Who's second?"

"That would be telling, my dear Simon. How do you feel?"

He motioned with his finger to turn around so he could see me from all sides.

"Like a fool," I admitted honestly. "I never...did this part of the job before."

I was not dressed badly by any sense of the word. When Siro had taken me upstairs to the parlour, as he liked to call it, he went to work. He gave me a bath from head to toe, not even stopping for some fun. In his words he 'had a lot to do' and told me to just obey instructions while he bathed and worked me over.

Siro pulled out some expensive soaps and oils, things I had only seen in rich people's homes like Bensley's, and even then nothing this exquisite. I asked how he expected me to pay for them but he just laughed it off. I think he was actually enjoying himself, or I would end up owing him more. I hated owing him favors.

The oils and soaps brought the luster to my fur that hadn't been there in...well, ever. I was a chimney sweep and always a dirty ragamuffin, covered in soot and not caring about it. Then I went out to sea and wet all the time with salt water. I was cleaner here in New York but never used nice soaps before, so when I saw my black fur shimmer when the light passed over it, I was agape.

Then came the scissors. I had my fur trimmed regularly (I am a man of standards!) but never by someone with Siro's eye for detail. He spent what felt like hours brushing my fur, snipping and nipping, getting dry fur out of my tail and back, cutting down any fluff that may have made me look bulky. The result was that I was a little colder than I was used to, but my body, specifically my muscles, were more defined. He then rubbed some product into my fur for health and growth, and when I saw myself I couldn't believe how good I looked. Siro giggled when he saw me staring at my own reflection before he gave me clothes to wear.

Tonight I wouldn't come off as the street punk that seemed to bring many men to my bed -- instead I was going to be showing off. I was flat-out forbidden from wearing a shirt of any kind. My clothing consisted of a pair of shorts made of soft suede and silk fabric. The seams along both legs had a gold and blue stitching winding down to the leg holes. The thing I liked about the shorts was they were not the skimpy kind I saw slender workers wear -- it was not my thing. Instead they just fit comfortably, if not a little low on my waist. My outfit was complete with a silk sash around my waist and a gold band on my biceps (which I was told not to lose). I realized I looked like Siro and his brothers, but I also couldn't deny that I looked good.

I gave Siro his spin, and he nodded approvingly, sipping his wine some more. I heard him laugh under his breath. "The next time Firo says I cannot work miracles, I am going to hold you up as an example."

"Thank you for saving this train wreck of an appearance, Master Siro," I said with a tease and a playful bow. "I did promise you I cleaned up well, I just didn't say how dirty I was."

Siro looked at me for a moment and then chuckled. "Well now, you are feeling better."

"...What do you mean?" I asked, folding up some of my regular clothes and putting them on the chair next to the folding screen.

"I mean, Simon, you don't usually make jokes like that unless you feel really comfortable. You don't always let your guard down. I can tell you're even having fun."

I noticed then that I was feeling better.

I also noticed Avery was absent.

---

I was bored.

Siro told me to sit around and wait for him to bring me the tiger. I initially protested and said I should at least be downstairs in the bar where I could get a drink, but he shook his head and told me I needed to be sober. So he handed me a random book and told me to look like I was relaxing on my break or something, and left me in one of the rooms.

I figured he would have been gone for, at most, a few minutes. But it was pushing what felt like an hour now, and I was ready to chew my own tail off. Avery hadn't shown up yet and I didn't want him to -- he had a bad habit of popping into my life when I had little to occupy my mind.

So I read. Or tried to anyway. It was hard to focus on the words. I kept thinking about what was going on, Mordecai, Gideon, getting involved with the Black Sock gang, having Siro help me and lord knowing what that would probably cost me in the future...I was risking a lot for so little, I thought.

Then it hit me.

I actually had things to risk again.

When I was on the Paramour, I didn't really care for my fellow sailors. They were different kinds of men from all over the world, and most didn't take to an English boy who didn't know port from his starboard. Life on that ship was tough, tougher than when I was a sweeper. When I was a sweeper, I had my friends to make the day worth living. I can't explain how many times, working in the rigging or mopping the deck, that I considered just throwing myself overboard. They wouldn't stop for me and try to save me, and that was if someone actually saw me fall into the water.

But now...I couldn't believe it, but I had people who I actually cared about. I know it's silly to think of Fiz and Rut like Avery and Billy, but they had shown me they were good people -- or at least, they considered me as their friend enough to stick their necks out for me when a saner person would have told me to piss off. I looked forward to seeing them, and I enjoyed our talks and wondering what antics Fiz was going to get up to. It was actually making me smile when I thought about it.

I was also so lost in my own thoughts that I barely heard the door opening. I looked up from the bed I was laying on, book in front of him, and watched the show before me.

Siro was pulling a much taller and bigger tiger into the room. The tiger wore a nice suit and hat, far nicer than the suits anyone I usually interacted with wore. I knew instantly that this was not just the tiger Siro had in mind to help me. And I also knew that he was one of those customers with connections, or money. In other words, I best not blow it and lose him as a customer.

"Siro, I don't have time for this--" the tiger said, perplexed.

"I know, Nicholas, I know. But trust me, I won't be long at all. I just have a minor thing to take care of," Siro said, patting the tiger's arm softly.

"But you're leaving me in here? Why not let me sit down at the bar?"

"Because"--Siro placed a hand on his hip, looking slightly offended--"I would not leave you there like that. You are one of my favorites, and favorites get special attention." The white wolf slid his hands up and along the tiger's neck and cheeks, leaning in as if for a kiss. "And you like it when I show you all kinds of special attention, don't you?"

Nicholas gulped and had his hands on the white wolf's slender waist, trying to dislodge him. Siro was having none of it though and kept his position. "I-I..." Another gulp from the cat. "I can't do that again, Siro."

Siro frowned and slid his hands from that neck and picked up one of the tiger's hands, lifting it up and looking at the wedding ring around his finger. "A pity," the wolf said with a half frown but kissed those knuckles. "Still, you didn't say I can't try my best."

"Siro..."

"I will be back in a few minutes. You won't be alone, either. Simon!" I heard Siro use that snap-to-it voice he used with the wait staff when he needed something done immediately. It was never degrading to anyone who worked at the Arc, since we knew it was all part of the show -- that Siro was the boss. He was, jokingly, called the Alpha Male sometimes. Nevertheless, I got up on my feet and closed the book, holding it behind my back.

Siro smiled at me and walked, while pulling Nicholas by his wrist, with him. "Nicholas, this is Simon. He's easily one of my best and brightest and he will keep you entertained while I'm fixing this small catastrophe downstairs. If you need anything, you ask Simon and he will fetch it...or do it."

"Siro! You can't do this!"

But the white wolf was already walking out of the room and closing the door. He paused though and looked inside, flicking his eyes between the two of us. "Nicholas, you should see what he does with his tongue. It's almost legendary in this city."

I blushed. That was a lie...or was it? I didn't have to really advertise myself so I never heard what people said about me. Still, I smiled when the door closed and we heard his feet walking down the hall.

The room was quiet as we both stared at the door for some time before Nicholas sighed and slumped his shoulders. "He doesn't take no for an answer, does he?"

"Only if he's asked you if you want to stop," I said with honesty even if it made my ears burn. "But that's if he asked."

Nicholas turned to face me and I watched those hazel eyes look me over. This was something I was used to, I enjoyed the attention I could draw to my body, but the way this tiger's eyes looked over me was not the usual reaction. It was almost like hunger, enjoying every curve of my body, the tight muscles and sinew, the trimmed fur that made me stand out and look slightly smaller. I watched Nicholas swallow again before he stepped over to the small table in the room and sank down in a chair.

"No offense...Simon was it? But I shouldn't be here with you."

I stepped over and touched his shoulder. The large cat flinched and almost stood up but soon leaned back. I had both my hands on his shoulders and slowly started to knead the powerful muscles. He was very tense. I grunted.

"You're tense, and coiled like a rope on a ship." I said, using more of my strength to get the muscles to relax. "And you don't need to worry about me, sir."

"Nicholas," the tiger said, sighing as he leaned back in the chair. "And why don't I have to worry about anything with you?"

"Because," I began, using my thumb at the right moment and drawing out a hiss from that white muzzle, "I'm not going to do anything you don't want to do. If you just want a shoulder rub and someone to talk to, that's fine with me. These shoulders of yours could use a good rubbing, anyways."

Nicholas was quiet for a moment, but he turned his head to look up at me. "I'm confused," the man said, turning with the chair so he was facing me. I stood in front of him and stepped, purposefully, into his personal space, my hands going down to his shoulders again but this time I was looking down into his eyes. "I thought...I mean...don't you get paid if I..."

"I do get paid." I chuckled a little bit, swishing my tail behind my back. "But it isn't about me right now, is it? You're the one in charge."

The tiger seemed to like that, I could hear his chest rumbling as he started to relax a bit more. "You're very different from Siro."

"I'm very unique," I said, letting more of my accent slip through on purpose. I watched those rounded ears twitch. I took a gamble and stepped closer, straddling his waist and curling my arms around his shoulders, our noses so close now that I could smell the beer on his breath, and he the various soaps and oils that had made my fur shine.

"Ah..." The tiger said, his hands up...but he slowly let them fall down to my waist, holding me gently. "I thought you said you wouldn't do anything I didn't want."

"You haven't told me to get off," I admitted calmly, smiling and leaning in, letting my nose brush into his neck fur and sigh, relaxing against him. "And I'm not doing anything but sitting here."

"That's fair," Nicholas said after a short pause. I could feel him shift, trying to get his groin from me. He was aroused and I could feel his erection straining his slacks. I was starting to wonder if this man ever had sex or if it had been so long it may as well been a fable. "Siro would have my pants open by now."

"Do you want your pants open?"

Another pause, before he shook his head. "Not...quite yet."

"Then your pants stay on."

I turned my head to look at the hallway when I heard someone walk down the hall. These rooms were quiet but you could hear, and feel, the thumps of someone who took heavy steps. I looked like the rhino was back in town. He was famous among the workers here for his big horn--and I don't mean the one on his head.

When I turned to look at Nicholas again, as if a switch was turned on, the tiger was suddenly not acting reserved anymore.

He stared at me, eyes wide, scanning my face. His hand came up and he grabbed my chin, turning my head a little to get a look at the white mark over my eye. He even leaned in closer and then laughed. "It's you!"

I stood up from his lap, tilting my head a little bit. "I'm afraid...you have me at a loss. What are you talking about?" I hadn't felt self-conscious about the mark over my eye in years, but now I had a hand over it, as if it would go away if I used my fingers to conceal it. "It's just a birthmark. It's not dye or anything, completely safe."

The tiger was having none of it and stood up, grabbing me by the arm, as if I was about to run away.

"Hey!" I said, looking between the tiger and my arm. "You know you aren't supposed to do that, if I tell--"

"Be quiet!" Nicholas said, growling and grabbing me by the arms, turning and pushing me down into the chair. He was fishing out his notebook and was flipping pages. "Fuck. I didn't think you'd be here in New York."

I had to bite my tongue before a snide comment flew off it. What the hell was this man on? Was he drunk?

"I am Detective Nicholas Sullivan of the NYPD, and I am investigating a case into the dealings of Crossbell Industries," the tiger began, pulling out his badge and showing it to me. "I was talking to their CEO--"

"Mordecai Crossbell," I said, glaring at him now with bright eyes. This was not how it was supposed to go. Instinctively I thought about the knife that was kept hidden under the bed --there was always a knife hidden there, in the case of an emergency-- between the box spring slats. But I knew nothing about a knife fight. I'd probably kill myself, so I stayed still.

"That's right," Nicholas said, pulling out a pen from his pocket and began to write things down quickly. "When I was at his office, I saw a strange picture. It looked to be of his bodyguard, that weird wolf with the red eyes, and a younger fox."

Gideon's picture. Mordecai had Gideon's picture. Our picture.

"But the fox in the image was completely black, no eye marking." He tapped his own face as if I didn't know the area he was talking about. He was starting to pace. "When I asked him who you were, he said you were dead, but I knew that wasn't the truth. The wolf was staring at me. When I came back to the building to ask more questions, Crossbell wasn't home."

"But Gideon was," I said, still keeping myself tightly wound and ready to spring.

Nicholas nodded. "I asked him about the fox in the image. He said it was an old friend from London who was hiding a mark in his fur. A white patch over his eye. He said that the fox could be here in the city, and if I ever found him, I should tell Crossbell. And it appears that I did find him."

So Gideon wasn't completely gone. Or was he? It was hard to tell. But he got this detective looking for me without even giving him my name. But he had placed it all together -- he knew who I was because of my accent. From London. Old friends. I could have lied at this point, pretended I didn't know what the hell the tiger was talking about, but I had already answered some of his questions. Besides, I needed his help.

"Detective," I said slowly, rubbing my palms over my knees, "I wouldn't tell him about me."

"Why?" Nicholas looked up, frowning. He knew there was something more to this whole thing. I could see how eager he was to push me for information. I had to be careful now. Too much and he was likely to think I was an idiot.

"Because if you tell him about me, I promise you I'll be taken within a week and anyone around me will be dead. I'm certain you would be too."

The tiger stared at me for a moment and then grabbed a chair, hauling it out from the table and plopped himself down in it. He dropped his notepad in front of him and flicked to a blank page. He even licked the end of the pen with his tongue. "I think you and I should start from the beginning, Mr. Simon."

"My name is Simon King," I said with a chuckle. When was the last time I used my full name? "And it's a bit of a story, Detective."

I took a deep breath, preparing myself to remember all the details of why I was here to begin with.

"Tell me... do you know the legend of Spring Heeled Jack?"

---

It had been an hour since Siro left the room, and we were still talking. I got a bottle of wine from the hidden cabinet and poured us both small cups, though both were mostly untouched. Nicholas was still writing.

I told him everything I could. It was probably stupid, but I told him everything about what had happened in London and what was going on now. That the uptick in murders in the city were probably due to Mordecai back to his old tricks. At first the detective didn't believe me that someone of his position would wear a costume and go around murdering strangers. But I kept talking and telling him the truth. The only thing I left out was Fiz, Rut, and the gang. I didn't need him to lose his mind because I was also working with the criminal underbelly of the city.

I told him that I wanted to take down Crossbell Industries. That had surprised him.

"You don't want to kill him? He murdered your friend," he said, watching my expressions closely.

"Sure, I want him dead." I ran my hand through my headfur. "But that's not my call. It also won't do anything long-lasting. I want his name to be erased from everything. He can live in obscurity or in jail for all I care. But I'm not a murderer, Detective."

I was grilled. I was certain, at least at first, that Nicholas didn't believe me, but I told him details about the caracal and Gideon, he seemed to believe me more. I told him about Bensley's murder, and if he wanted to look into it, he should look up the murders in London.

Finally, when I was exhausted and had a slight headache, the tiger closed his notepad and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. "This is insane. But it also makes a bit of sense."

"Welcome to my world," I said dryly, standing up and stretching. God, I was stiff from sitting for so long.

"Okay, I'll help you. I don't know what I can do, but I know if I went anywhere with this testimony it would be buried. The precinct is dirty I think."

"So what do we do now?"

"Now, I go over my notes. You said you and your friends are going to meet up later this week? I'm coming. If I need you, can I get a hold of you through Siro?"

I nodded and grinned. I was...giddy with excitement. I watched as Nicholas turned to leave but I grabbed his arm, tugging him away from it and bumped my calves against the bed. I looked at him and grinned as I curled my arms around his neck.

"I think we should...celebrate such a partnership, Detective. I think we could both use it."

Nicholas stared down at me, frowned, and shook his head. "God dammit." But he was quickly silenced when I pulled him down onto the bed on top of me. Before long his clothes, and mine, were on the floor.

Life was starting to feel good again.