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"We raided the agitators' base," Maurice reported over the phone. "It was an abandoned office in Mission District."

Arnold tapped the table, bringing up the gorilla's location. Mission District had been going downhill over the last decade. "Any church presence among them?"

"No, but there's plenty of church propaganda, pamphlets with verses, some proclaiming the danger of homosexuality, most of that is the stuff we've seen floating around the city. No printers here, so it was generated elsewhere. I doubt we'll find where, though."

"What about their phones?" Aiden asked.

"Like the others, they crashed the moment we barged in. It's some pretty advanced shit, not what I'd expect kids like these to be able to afford, let alone know where to get."

"They were provided by whoever convinced them to turn against us." Aiden sighed and Arnold glanced at him from the map. His brother shook his head and Arnold went back to studying the area, looking for what Simon called points of commonality between this location and the others. It was possible they were just grabbing whatever abandoned building they found, but Simon figured that an organization like the Gray Church would have hidden properties.

"What about casualties?"

The gorilla snorted. "From this bunch? Please. Even if Aaron's team hadn't gotten training, we could have handled them easily. The only injuries are on their sides, cuts and bruises, one of the girl thought she could go kung-fu on us, she has a broken arm."

"Make sure she's treated, then lock them up, the teams there will look into their family, hand those over who don't have any ties to the church, the rest we'll deal with when this is over. Good work, Maurice."

"Thanks boss." He terminated the call, and that section of the desk went back to a map of the Bay Area, with points indicating the patrols.

"Training the gangs in combat is going to end up fucking us up down the line," Aiden said.

"Better than trying to take all of this on with what was left of Royal Securities," Albert replied, not looking away from the screens in the corner of what had been Arnold's club office.

When the city's infiltration by the church began, he'd converted it into a command center. His desk was gone, as was the couch, and chairs. It had been replaced by a table taking most of the available space. His whole family could stand around it, along with half a dozen others, and after the argument and fighting over what Arnold wanted them to do, they could go downstairs and have sex.

"Did any of it make the news?" Arnold asked.

Albert turned in his chair. "Of course not. With everything happening around the world, a raid on a group of church supporters does even register anymore." Albert grabbed his glass of water and joined him and Aiden at the table. "But is this wise?" he clears half the desk with a wave of the hand and brought up pictures of a dozen raids over the last three months.

"What are you talking about?" Arnold drained his glass and sent a message to the bar for a new one.

"This, these raids. It's a diversion, you know that right?"

"It's an infiltration of our city, what do you expect me to do? Just fuck guys while the church gains a foothold?"

"But it isn't the church, right?" Simon froze under the stare of the three tigers. "It's your uncle, Damian. It's the Gray Church, and he has control of that. The official church hasn't taken part in any of it, right?" the siamese cat brought up news statement from around the world, each pointing out Rome's silence regarding the vocal and escalating physical attacks against gays.

"It isn't like they're taking a stand against them either," Aiden said.

"This is one time I wish we were on speaking terms with them," Albert said, and rolled his eyes at the look he got. "Come on. Knowing where they stand would be really helpful here. Doesn't Denton have contacts in the church? Those Society guys manage to fuck their way just about anywhere."

"They have a family in Rome," Arnold replied, "but if they are talking to anyone within the church, they're keeping that to themselves."

The door opened and a naked squirrel stepped in, a tray in hand with three glasses on it. He placed the beer before Arnold, taking the empty glass, placed the scotch before Aiden, who finished his glass before handing it, and running a hand along the server's ass when he turned to place the glass of water before Albert.

Arnold looked at Simon. "You know you don't have to pay for drinks here."

"This is work. I do not drink while working."

"All work no play will make the siamese needy for a cock," Aiden said, wistfully watching the squirrel.

"Had that once," Simon replied, ears turning red and twitching as the cat fought against them folding back. "I haven't needed one since."

Aiden's eyes snapped on Arnold. "Really? He's worked for you for what? Two years now, and only once? Are you losing your touch?"

"He's a friend," Arnold replied, looking at the tabletop. He did his best to avoid talking about that with his brother because--he glanced up, and even Albert looked at him in disbelief--it always turned out the same.

"I can train him, if you want," Aiden said. "I'm sure he has a good voice."

"You are not touching him." Arnold warned.

"Simon, how do you feel about art?" Albert asked, and Arnold turned his glare on him, but his brother was smiling.

"Alright, let's get back to this," Arnold said. "We can go down and fuck someone afterward, not Simon, he added as Aiden opened his mouth."

"I'm just trying to be a helpful brother, if you can't--"

"Aiden, I swear, you finish that and I will show you just how well my cock is working."

The tiger raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay."

"About what's going on," Albert said, "Do you think it's the best way to go about it?"

"You mean, is protecting San Francisco a good thing to do? You do remember how hard Great Grandpa's generation fought to kick the church out, right? Are we really going to be the one to invite them back in?"

"Of course not. But you know of what, four compound outside the city? We know that's where all this is originating from. We take those out and--"

"With what army?" Arnold brought up twenty-eight files and flung them in Albert's direction. "Read those. That's what happened when I tried to take one of those down."

His bother put a hand on them to keep them from bouncing on the edge of the table. "Arnold. I'm not saying--"

"Really? Because it fucking sounds like you want me to send more people to their death. I have one family helping me. And the Cormorans weren't happy that two of their men died there. We are fucking lucky Maximilian is more open-minded than the rest of them because he did talk his family down from launching their own assault on us, but that means I have to be fucking careful how I handle things now." He glared at his brother, daring him to add anything.

Albert glared back, but remained silent.

"You're not going to want to hear this," Simon said in the silence, "but I agree with Albert." The glare was turned on him and he added. "To a point."

"We don't know what Damian's end game is, what does he have to gain from using the men in controls within the church to foster open distrust with the gay community."

"He's attacking the Society," Aiden said.

"Okay, but why? Let's say he managed to wipe them all out, what does he gain?"

"Power?" Albert asked.

"No," Aiden said, "Denton said he can't steal our power, it isn't compatible with his god, or some such."

"Political, then," Albert said.

"He'd have that without attacking the Society," Arnold replied. "Simon's right, Damian controls the Gray Church, just with that, he made himself a power to be reckoned with, so why flex it so hard?" he looked at Simon.

The siamese smiled. "If I knew, I'd tell you. I just know we are missing information. And that without it, we can't properly assessed what's going on."

Aiden sighed. "Why do we have to be the ones dealing with it?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Arnold asked.

"Denton's the one who's been fucked by Damian, so why isn't he running the offensive?"

"Are you fucking saying I should be handing over the reign? Brislow come save our poor sore asses?"

"No, I'm saying how come he wasn't there from the start to keep you from getting in the middle of it."

"I don't know, and I don't care. Either he didn't see the problem, or he figures Damian's family so he was our problem. That seemed to have been most of those families' thoughts until recently. Albert, how many of them have been attacked?"

"Two dozen have made the news, but we have to assume all of them have been targeted. Like Aiden said, this open war against gays is to hide that he's going after the Society."

"The chatter the slicers have been intercepting support that," Aiden said. "Every family is hunkering down, stocking supplies, they are seeing offensives coming and preparing for them. Like your kitty cat said, though, why he's doing it is a mystery."

"Can we spare anyone to look into that?" Simon asked.

"No locally," Arnold answered. "We're being stretched with stopping this infiltration."

"Can I talk with Steel Link? I know you feel we should handle things internally, but you said we stretched to thin. I really think we need to gather more intelligence, everything we have on Damian is base on what he's done before, and one thing is clear from that. The guy's smart. Too smart to do something as obviously useless as starting a war with a secret society."

Arnold sighed. If Simon had asked to talk to anyone else, he's have shut him down. But the cheetah wouldn't see the request as a show of weakness. Brislow was so used to asking help from everyone around him he'd think it's normal. "Go ahead."

Aiden stood. "And with that, I can hear a squirrelly ass calling me." He smiled at Simon, "How about you join me, you might not want a cock up your ass, and I respect that, but you have to want to bury that cock of yours in something inviting and warm."

Simon's ears turned deep red before folding back. "I'm a married man." He rubbed his face. "I hate your brothers sometimes."

Aiden laughed and left.

Arnold eyes Simon. "Okay, out with it. What have they been trying to push you into?"

"And that's my cue to run," Albert said, grabbing his glass of water and catching up to Aiden in the doorway.

"Pushing might be an exaggeration," Simon said. "Insinuating, might be more accurate."

Arnold glared at the now empty doorway. "They are so fucking lucky they are family." He growled.