FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Wow," Clyde said, "there's a lot of 'em here."

"Told ya." Cassie hopped out of the taxi, leaned in to give the driver a generous tip, and tugged on her green metallic mesh belly shirt. "They're the last batch that was growing in the GlobeGen labs when the ban on creating more chimeras took effect."

Clyde and Cassie were joined by Brent, Mitch, Katrilla and Maxine. Both girls were dressed like Cassie, in tight jeans and short shirts, with lots of flashy jewelry and bits of chrome here and there. Cassie had them outdone on the chrome part, with her full-body skin tint; the other girls had colored their hair, though, and Maxine was wearing glowing blue eyeliner and lipstick. They'd stood out against the flashy city lights and neon signs, and now that they were in a more subdued part of the city, Clyde figured they could be seen from a mile away.

Mitch frowned at the building in front of them. "Is that the office?"

"Yeah. This place used to be an apartment building or motel or something like that." Cassie waved a hand at the larger building on the right, a simple three-floor rectangle that ran half the length of the block, and slightly smaller one behind the office. "Those are the ones we're interested in--that's where the chimeras are staying. They've only been released from their growing tanks within the last few weeks. They're staying here until they can learn enough about the outside world to function in it."

Cassie led them past the office and across the parking lot.

Maxine brushed her hot pink, curly hair away from her eyes and said, "How are we gonna do this? Can we just walk right through the door?"

"What, you wanna register at the front office?" Mitch laughed. "What would we say? 'Hey, we're here to bang some anthros. Got any catgirls here?'"

A sudden realization hit Clyde. Oh, man, this is fucked up. It had seemed like a good idea when they'd decided to come here, but now it struck him as more than a little weird. People are gonna think we're a bunch of degenerates.

"Asshole." Maxine gave Mitch the finger and the others laughed. "No, I mean, shouldn't we sneak in?"

"Nope," Cassie said. "Everyone is free to come and go they please. The older anthros were kept in captivity most of their lives, so the people running these shelters decided that nobody here should feel like they're prisoners." She pointed at a couple of vans parked near the street corner. "The media have been doing a lot of coming and going over the last few days, in fact." She led them through the front door and into the lobby.

Clyde took a slow look around. The room was spacious and had three sets of stairs leading to the second floor. Lots of windows, so during the day there would be plenty of light Now it was illuminated by indirect lighting coming from LEDs placed behind a wooden rail that ran along the walls at just above head level. Potted plants of varying types and sizes were placed near the stairs and the four doorways leading deeper into the building.

"Very nice," he commented.

"Yeah." Katrilla smiled and pointed at one corner of the room. "Oh, there's even some vending machines over by that door."

"Going right for the snacks, eh?" Mitch aimed a meaningful glance at her thick midsection.

"How about I go right for your nutsack?" she snapped.

"Hey, Mitch," Clyde said, "if you're gonna be a prick, you'll have to do it alone, because the rest of us will leave your ass here."

Before the fight could go any farther, the door beside the vending machines opened and a young woman stepped in, carrying a tablet computer in her left hand. At least, she looked like a young woman at first glance. The first thing Clyde noticed, after the general feminine shape of her body, was that her legs and feet were similar to those on a draconid he'd seen on the news today. Then he noticed that her feet were webbed--and, as she tapped a button on one of the machines, so were her hands. Her skin was bluish gray and seemed to shimmer slightly, as if covered by tiny scales. She was wearing denim shorts and a blue sleeveless shirt. She was athletic, but nowhere near as buff as other chimeras he'd seen. Her shoulder-length hair was black and straight, and her facial features were sort of Asian.

A cup dropped into the little window in the front of the vending machine and filled with hot cocoa. The female studied whatever was on the tablet while she waited for the cup to fill; when it was done, she slid the clear plastic door up and took the paper cup out. She tucked the tablet under her left arm, took a plastic lid from a stack on the little table beside the machine, and snapped it onto the cup. She sipped the cocoa through the slot in the lid, returned the tablet to her other hand and began walking.

She saw Clyde and the others and smiled at them. Now that she was closer, Clyde noticed that her lips were a little thicker and her nose was flatter and broader than a human's, and her ears were large and sort of fan-shaped. Odd, but she was still cute.

She grinned at Cassie. "Hi!"

"Hi, Tia, how are you?"

"Good. And you?"

"Fine."

"Back for more action, eh?" Tia gave her a mischievous smile.

Cassie blushed and turned to introduce her friends. "Guys, this is Tiamat; she's one of the assistants here. Tia, this is Clyde, Katrilla, Brent, Maxine and Mitch."

Mitch swaggered forward and put on what he probably thought was a charming smile. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Uh, mind if I, um...?" Mitch reached toward her arm, and Tia chuckled, as if she got that reaction a lot.

"Sure." She held her arm out and Mitch ran his fingers over her skin.

"Huh. Kinda feels like fish scales. You a fish anthro?"

"I was designed for aquatic use, yes, though I can function just as well out of the water."

Huh. Clyde looked at her neck, but couldn't see any gills. Maybe they were on her sides, hidden by her shirt.

"Good." Mitch put his hands on her shoulders. "That means you can 'function' pretty well in bed, right?"

"Mitch!" Cassie stared at him, mouth hanging open. "You pig!"

"Hey, I'm just cutting to the chase, that's all."

"I can 'function' in bed just fine," Tiamat said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Look, I know why all of you are here, and I have no problem with it, though I do ask that you show some respect for the people here. Some of us are willing to share a bed with you, but others aren't, and none of us are your playthings or personal concubines. Trying to force yourself on any of us is a good way to end up crippled for life."

Clyde swore that the room temperature dipped a few degrees. He and everyone else stared nervously at Tiamat and Mitch.

"Heh," Katrilla muttered, "sounds like you've dealt with this kind of thing before."

"I have, unfortunately," Tiamat said. "More times than I would prefer."

"Okay, so, let's not give her any more crap to deal with." Clyde tapped Mitch on the shoulder. "Let's just--"

"Back off. I always get what I want."

Tiamat looked him over and said, "I'm sure you have, until now. But your rich parents aren't here to buy me like they probably bought your car."

Mitch chuckled. "I never pay for it. Women give it up willingly."

"Unlikely, but I'll take your word for it." Tiamat glanced at his hands, still latched onto her arms, and looked him in the eye. "Let go of me while your arms are still attached to your body."

"Let her go, Mitch," Katrilla snapped. "Jesus, did you have a few drinks before we picked you up, or does stupidity just come naturally to you?"

Mitch tightened his grip on Tiamat. "Give me a chance, baby. I'll change your mind in--"

Tiamat held her tablet and cocoa out to Cassie. "Hold on to these for a moment, would you, please?"

"Sure." Cassie took them from her and gave Mitch a look that seemed to say, You're so screwed. She backed well away from them, stood and watched with a smirk.

Clyde wasn't sure what the hell happened next. All he saw was a blur of motion, and suddenly Mitch was on his knees, bent over backward, with his right arm twisted almost to the snapping point, and Tiamat's other hand locked onto his neck. One quick twist, Clyde realized, was all it would take to tear Mitch's throat out.

"We're pretty laid-back around here," Tiamat said with a calm tone that sent chills up and down Clyde's spine, "but we do have a few ground rules. The people here are my friends and family, and I won't have you treating any of them the way you've treated me. Don't do anything to us without permission. Understood?"

Mitch, trembling and unable to breathe, nodded.

"Very good. Now, you can hang around here as long as you wish, but only if you give us a little common courtesy. We'll respect you as long as you respect us. But if you step out of line with anyone here, I'll break your skull wide open with my bare hands. Clear?"

All Mitch could do was nod again.

"Okay. Now, I have duties to attend to, so I'd appreciate it if you'd stop wasting my time. Have a nice evening." She released him and he flopped over, gasping and clutching at his throat. Tiamat turned to the others and sighed. "I'm sorry. I just get tired of this crap."

"He had it coming." Cassie let out a slow breath and scowled at Mitch. "We won't bring him with us again."

"Okay." Tia smiled and blushed. "Again, I apologize for my outburst. It's just that we were created by people who thought they could buy and sell us whenever they wanted, and I simply cannot stand being treated like property." She nodded over her shoulder at Mitch. "People like him think they can do anything they want. Every now and then, they need to be reminded that they're wrong."

"Absolutely. And don't apologize--Mitch is the one who owes you an apology. So do I, since I'm the one who invited him." Cassie handed the tablet and cup back to her.

"It's alright. No permanent harm done." Tiamat smiled at the rest of them. "Have a look around and mingle, if you'd like. If you have any questions, there are plenty of people on the staff--humans as well, in case you'd be more comfortable speaking with one of them. Someone will be happy to show you around."

"Thank you."

"Oh, and you can find your friend in the usual place." Tiamat winked at Cassie.

"Thanks!" Cassie grinned and waved as she started toward the door through which Tia had entered. "I'll go say hi to him."

Tiamat chuckled and waved back, and turned to smile once more at the others. "Enjoy your time here." She bowed and walked over to the set of stairs on the right, stepping over Mitch as if he had ceased to exist. She passed through the door at the top of the stairs, and Clyde turned back to the others with a long sigh.

"Wow."

"Yeah." Brent stared at Mitch, who was just now picking himself up, and then looked up at the door Tiamat had disappeared through. "Actually...to be honest...seeing that kinda turned me on."

"Shut up, you little bitch," Mitch croaked, still rubbing his throat. He got to his feet. "Well, let's get on with it. Pick a door, already."

Clyde shrugged and headed for the nearest door. He ran a hand through his long blond hair and tried to breathe evenly, and led them into a hallway.

"Cassie and Tiamat obviously know each other," Katrilla mumbled. "Wonder how long she's been coming here?"

"About two or three weeks, I think," Maxine said. "That's about when she hooked up with Fido."

"Fido?"

"Yeah. That's what someone in the lab decided to call him, and I guess he hasn't bothered to pick a better name yet." Maxine shrugged. "I've only seen him and Cassie together once, a few days ago. He's a German shepherd type. Really cute. A real sweetheart, from what I saw. She spends time with him whenever she can."

"Well, she has the advantage of knowing her way around here, then." Katrilla glanced at the doors they were walking past and shrugged. "We've been here five minutes, and we're lost already."

"Well, sooner or later we'll find someone who can show us around." As he spoke, Clyde heard voices coming from the far end of the hallway. A moment later, three draconids walked around the corner, two male and one female. Clyde raised an eyebrow. One of the males had an almost human face, and a fairly handsome one at that; the other two had dragon-like beaks and two long horns--like a Triceratops, sort of--sticking out of their foreheads. They were pretty much identical except for their skin color and the female's considerable rack.

"Cool," Maxine said, "maybe we can ask one of them to give us a tour."

"Wow," Katrilla said softly, smiling, "look at that one on the left. He's cute."

The draconids waved, and the one with the human face smiled. His skin was bronze and his shoulder-length hair was black. The other male had powder-blue skin and dark red hair, and the female was the color of chocolate milk, and her hair was wavy and cyan-colored. All three were about six feet tall and were wearing shorts and T-shirts modified for their anatomy, and all had a soft yellow glow emanating from their eyes.

"Yeah," Maxine muttered, "but the other two...yikes."

"The chick's got a good body," Brent said. "And just look at those tits! But from the neck up..."

Clyde frowned at him. Maybe the female wasn't what most people considered attractive, but he thought she was kind of cute, in a way.

"I guess I could do her," Mitch grumbled. "If I put a bag over her head first."

Even though they were still at the far end of the hall, the draconids seemed to hear his comment. The two males frowned at him, and the female looked down at the floor and her wings and tail sagged a little.

Oh, crap. Clyde realized that their ears were probably a lot more sensitive than human ears. She probably heard remarks like that a lot, and he immediately felt awful. He couldn't do much to control Mitch's behavior, but it reflected badly on him and the others, anyway.

"You goddamn prick," he snapped. "Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"

"Hey, I'm just saying what we're all thinking."

"Not all of us, you dick. I think she's cute."

The female brightened a bit at that, and Clyde smiled at her.

Mitch snorted. "I suppose you'd do her even without a bag over her head?"

"You know what, asshole? If she wants me, she's got me." He walked straight up to the draconids. Once he was close enough, he saw that their eyes had vertical pupils.

"Hi," the beaked male said. "I haven't seen you here before."

"This is our first time here. And we're, uh, not really sure where we're going."

"Ah," the other male said with a smile, "need a guided tour?"

"If you wouldn't mind. I mean, if you're busy with something else, maybe you could just point us in the right direction." Clyde smiled at the female and added in a low voice, "Actually, I'd like to get away from the rest of my friends for a while. I'd like you to show me around personally, if it's not a bother."

"I'd be happy to. Thank you for asking."

He grinned and held his hand out. "I'm Clyde."

"I'm Andraste." She clasped his hand and he noticed that it had four digits instead of five. Her leathery skin was warmer than a human's. "Sometimes people call me Andi."

"Nice to meet you, Andi."

She blushed and looked at the floor. "Um, well, is there anything in particular you'd like to see?"

"I dunno anything at all about this place. So I guess you can just pick a direction and we can start walking." He realized that he was still holding her hand, but he didn't try to pull away from her. "It'd be nice just to walk around with you for a while."

She blushed again and pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Okay, I guess since you were already headed in that direction, we can go that way."

"Okay." He smiled again. He began walking with her, glancing over his shoulder long enough to wave at the others. He noticed that Katrilla was still gazing at the bronze draconid.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" Maxine whispered, and gave her a push. "You think he's cute, go talk to him!"

Katrilla stumbled forward, eyes wide, but regained her composure and walked up to him. "H-hi. I-I'm Katrilla."

"My name's Adonis." He smiled at her. "Since those two are striking off on their own, I'd be happy to show the rest of you around."

Clyde grinned and faced forward again, and he and Andraste walked around the corner.

"The recreation center is this way," she said. "That's where we just came from."

"What kinds of things do you do for recreation? I haven't really had an opportunity to talk with one of you before, so I'm pretty clueless."

"That's okay. I don't know that much about humans, either. So this will be educational for both of us."

"Great. Anything you want to know, just ask."

"Thank you." They came to a door and she opened it for him. "Oh, to answer your question, we read, watch movies, play games, exercise. Same things humans do, judging by what the humans on the staff do on their time off. In fact, we just came from the dojo, where we were practicing our moves. We were programmed with knowledge of martial arts and other forms of hand-to-hand fighting, but as with everything else, you start to get rusty if you don't keep practicing." She glanced at him and said, "By the way, what brought you here?"

Now it was Clyde's turn to blush. "Well...I...all of us, really...well, we were kind of curious about what it would be like to, um...to, uh...well..."

"Ah." She nodded. "You want to have sex with one of us."

His blush went into overdrive. "Now that I think about it, it sounds pretty weird. Maybe even sick."

"I don't know. Humans show up here for that reason every now and then, and I've heard that it happens other places where a lot of us gather. Some people are curious, I suppose, and others...well, I dunno. There's nothing wrong with being attracted to someone." She sighed. "No one's ever approached me for that, though."

Clyde raised an eyebrow. After wondering how to respond for a moment, he said, "Well, it's their loss."

She glanced at him and raised a brow ridge, mirroring his expression. Sort of. "You'd...?"

Uh... He shrugged. "Why not? Like I said, I think you're cute. And you've got a great body. And you're a nice person." He smiled. "I'd definitely like to get to know you better, at least. And if you want to, um...have sex...then yeah, I'm up for it." He held up his other hand. "But only if you want to. We've already learned not to try to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"Ah-hah." Andi laughed. "I guess you've met Tiamat."

"Yeah." He laughed with her. "One of the guys I was with, Mitch, tried to put the moves on her, and she damn near killed him."

Andi laughed harder. "Tia wouldn't really harm anyone unless she's defending herself or someone she cares about. But she does just enough to put a scare into someone when necessary."

Clyde chuckled. "It'll be a miracle if Mitch didn't shit in his pants."

Andi giggled. "I guess some people forget that we were built for combat. Tia never hesitates to remind them when they push her far enough."

"He got what he deserved. If he has any brains at all, he'll be nothing but polite from now on." He grinned and looked around. "So, what all goes on here? I mean, what's this place for, other than a shelter?"

"There are orientation courses that give us the information we need about human society and how to fit in. They're basic primers; nothing's official yet, but we might have to do at least a year in school alongside humans, as a requirement for citizenship, so that'll pick up where the classes here end."

"Cool. I've got a year of high school left, myself." He smiled. "Maybe we'll see each other there."

"I'd like that." She slowed and stopped, and turned to face him. "I can ask to be sent to your school."

"That'd be great." He grinned and, a moment later, realized that he'd taken both of her hands in his. They gazed at each other for a moment before she spoke again.

"You know, the staff here could always use some extra help. This kind of operation is low priority for a lot of the people who make the decisions for this city. If you'd like to, you could apply for a job here over the summer, so you could help us learn more about humans. And we could see each other more often, that way."

He smiled and nodded. "I'd like that."

After gazing into each other's eyes a moment longer, they turned and continued walking and talking. Clyde wasn't sure why, but he felt completely comfortable with her.

They kept holding hands through the rest of the tour.

#

Holy shit!

Ramirez's jaw hung open as she stared at the counter on the other side of the squad room. A sudden commotion had caught her attention as she sat behind her desk, having just left a voicemail on Corona's phone, and had made it to the doorway in time to hear a low-pitched but still feminine voice yelling something about a "goddamn reward for this sack of shit."

And now Ramirez was staring at the biggest chimera she'd ever seen. Female draconid, had to be at least eight feet tall, with wavy black hair tied in a ponytail that reached almost to her knees, and huge muscles rippling under her purple, snake-like skin. She was holding her ID in her left hand and the arm of a human in the other. Her red, glowing eyes looked ready to drill a hole through the forehead of the cop behind the counter.

Gwillim, Ramirez remembered when the guy glanced over his shoulder, giving her a good look at his face. She'd collided with him on her first day here, and he'd continued to be a pain in the ass ever since--always making snide remarks, complaining to the captain about her attitude or something she'd decided to wear to work, and bitching about her cigars. That irritated her more than anything else. Her cigars contained genetically engineered products that were harmless and actually smelled somewhat pleasant, so Gwillim had no excuse for complaining. He did it only to be a prick.

Ramirez crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the edge of the doorway, deciding to watch for a moment to see how arrogant Gwillim would be with someone who could pop his head like a zit.

After watching them argue for a couple minutes, Ramirez saw that it wouldn't escalate any farther. She strode across the room, puffing on her cigar on the way to the front counter.

"What's going on?"

The draconid held her ID out to Ramirez and said, "Name's Bertilla Hardy. I'm a chaser. This scumbag is Danny DeSalvo. I'm here to collect the bounty on him."

Ramirez checked the ID and shrugged at Gwillim. "So what's the problem? Just verify her license, then verify that this guy's on the wanted list. If everything matches, take him into custody and hand over the bounty. What's the holdup?"

"Beats the hell outta me," Hardy said. "The company he used to work for put the bounty on him after he went nuts and shot up the office, so it's their money, not yours." She shrugged and waved her free hand at Gwillim. "This guy has been giving me nothing but crap about it."

Ramirez almost sighed. As a general rule, she had never been fond of bounty hunters, but at least they took a bit of the workload off the police, which was why the Fugitive Retrieval Agency had been created in the first place. She arched an eyebrow at Gwillim.

"Back to my question--what's the problem?"

"The police and corporate security were handling it." Gwillim scowled from the corners of his eyes at Hardy. "This vigilante interfered with police business. And she assaulted the suspect." He grimaced at Ramirez. "And keep that cancer stick away from me."

"It's not a cancer stick, you bitchtard. I've told you that before."

"And I'm not a vigilante," Hardy snarled, and Gwillim flinched. "The Fugitive Retrieval Agency is officially sanctioned by the US government, which does have some authority here, despite the efforts of the corporations that built this city. And I kicked DeSalvo's scrawny little ass because he shot at me. Be thankful that I didn't put a fourteen-millimeter round in his head."

"Can't argue with that, I guess." Ramirez chuckled, though a bit nervously. "Hey, Gwillim, just start the ball rolling on this, why don't you?"

He glared at her and shook his head. Before he could say anything, Hardy leaned over the counter and bared her inch-long fangs. He flinched again.

Ramirez waved a hand at his monitor, making a point of getting her cigar as close to his face as possible. "Oh, for Christ's sake, just get started on the paperwork! And get someone up here to put this guy in a cell." She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at Gwillim until he got on the phone and requested a pair of uniforms to take DeSalvo into custody.

"We don't have the money in our budget to be paying out these bounties," he grumbled after he got off the phone. "This guy's company is gonna find some loophole to avoid reimbursing us."

Hardy looked at the ceiling and shook her head. "One, the company agreed to the Fugitive Retrieval Agency's terms when they posted the bounty on our website; it's a legally binding contract. Two, it's a small company that generally plays it straight, not one of the megas, so they probably wouldn't be able to weasel out of it if they wanted to. And three, we wouldn't even be having this conversation if the cops or the company security had caught him first."

"Good enough for me." Ramirez smiled, then raised an eyebrow at Gwillim. "When a chaser signs up for a bounty, both parties enter into a legally binding contract, just like the lady said. They can't--"

"I know how it works! I'm not stupid!" Gwillim sneered at her

"You appeared to need a reminder," Hardy snapped. "I just explained why these guys won't screw you. Look into their past business dealings if you want; you'll see that they're on the level." She leaned over him again. "Just don't take too long."

Ramirez waved her cigar in Gwillim's face again. "I think you better get to work on it before she runs out of patience."

"Fine. Goddamn it." Gwillim swatted at her hand, sighed and touched one of the icons on his screen.

Hardy stepped back and grinned. "Thanks."

"No problem." Ramirez smiled again. She hung around to make sure that Gwillim finished the process, shook the chaser's hand and wished her well. After shooting Gwillim one last smirk, she returned to her desk.

She glanced at the clock as she sat, and winced. Past time to go home. Damn, was I really here that long? She'd worked late last night and had missed seeing her daughter, and she didn't want it to happen again. Kim often spent the entire night hanging out with her friends, and usually got home after Ramirez had fallen asleep. Ramirez wanted to be there in time to see Kim, for once. If nothing else, it would be nice to just talk with her for a while.

I should be there for her, instead of being someone who just happens to show up every now and then. She thought about quitting again, but being a cop was all she really knew. Quitting now, after all the years she'd put in, would be the same as admitting defeat.

Maybe a vacation, then. A few days off to spend some quality time with Kim. It would also give her time to clear her head and decide whether she wanted to come back to work. Maybe I can transfer to another city. Back to Chicago, or maybe LA. Or maybe Tucson; I hear that's a nice, laid-back place. Just get away from here. Or, maybe...

She thought again about the agency Corona worked for. I hope she gets my message and calls me back soon. I'd like to talk to her boss. It'd be good to at least get some more information on the agency, so she could have another option.

Well, I can worry about that in the morning. She let out a quick breath, ran her hands through her hair and decided to call it a night. She got up, said goodnight to Montoya, and headed for the parking garage. She took the elevator down to the first sublevel, hands stuffed into the pockets of her black bomber jacket, leaning against the wall and tapping her foot as she waited for it to arrive.

The elevator stopped and the doors parted, and she stepped out into the cold, dark garage. She shook her head. Only half of the light fixtures still worked and half of those were flickering.

"Marvelous," she grumbled around her cigar. She walked across the pavement. The sound of water dripping somewhere in the distance reached her ears and she mumbled a curse. Oh, that's good. This place leaks, on top of everything else.

She reached her beat-up old Dodge Intrepid and unlocked the door, pulled it open and glanced into the back seat as soon as the dome light came on, just to be sure that nobody had gotten in and waited for her to arrive. That had happened to her once, and she'd never forgotten it.

I'm damned lucky to be alive after that. But then, so was the guy who'd assaulted her; she had panicked, drawn her gun and fired wildly into the back seat, hitting him six times but somehow missing anything vital. After that, though, she'd made a habit of checking the back seat before getting into any vehicle. Everybody's luck ran out sooner or later, and she wasn't about to put herself in that position again.

She started to get into the car, but something made her stop. She hadn't heard footsteps or anything, really, but she had sensed a presence. She reached for her gun and spun around, and found herself facing a man in a black topcoat. Before she could take in any details, he looked into her eyes and everything went fuzzy, as if her mind had suddenly been wrapped in damp cotton.

She had a vague recollection of getting into her car, but she had no idea what happened after that.