FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Max normally respected the police. The US Marshals were still in the same standing in this current instance, but the local police department were actively pissing him off. Seizing his pistol was understandable for evidence, but their threats to seize his other firearms went over as well as one might expect. “Please, I beg you to raid my property. I’ll make Waco look like a picnic with how many bodies I’ll stack.”

His voice was calm even as Eli was trying to intercept and salvage the current situation at the police station. “I’m so sorry officer he doesn’t mean that!”

“That’ll be up to our investigators, ma’am. I don’t see any reason that he should worry since his record up to this point is spotless but his reaction is a bit… extreme.” The dalmatian anthro behind the counter just huffed as Max stared holes into his forehead and his jaw remained clenched. “It was a joke man c’mon.”

“I’m not laughing.” Max’s brow furrowed as he dug his knuckles into the desk. “When can I get my main back?”

The sergeant sighed as he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “Forensics shouldn’t be too long, but the investigation will probably be longer. Could be anywhere from a couple weeks to over a month. I’m sorry, but it’s standard procedure.”

With gritted teeth Max spat out his next words with as much venom as he could muster. “Fine. I’ll carry my backup.” As he lifted his fists from the sergeant’s desk he pointed a finger directly at his narrow muzzle. “I swear if it’s inoperable when I get it back your station will pay for a replacement.”

The officer simply raised his hands as Eli began to drag Max by his sleeve back to the door. “I’ll keep him in line! Sorry again officer!” Once the two passed the doors Eli leveled a judgmental stare at her partner. “Now I’m just curious as to why you were picking a fight. It didn’t need to be that difficult Max.”

Max opened his mouth to protest but caught the words in his throat as he thought a bit more about his current situation and the constant sting of soreness that plagued his shoulders. “You’re right on at least one account. I'm letting my emotions get to me and dictate how I interact with others.” Eli gave a sly smile in response to her being told she was right in regards to his outburst before his hand rose to stop her mind in its tracks. “However, his joke was unwarranted and in this current situation you can see why I got so upset.” Eli just rolled her eyes in response before walking back to his car.

“Yes it was, but I'm certain you've got more guns stashed away than they could even fathom.” Eli thought for a moment before looking over to her boyfriend with a defeated look. “You have a replacement in your car, don’t you?”

Looking away only served to make himself seem more guilty before he made it to the driver’s side of his car and slowly swung the door open. Still keeping his eyes away from her gaze he reached under the seat and removed a black handgun. “I knew it, wait… Is that a glock? I thought you hated them.” Eli’s interest was piqued as she recalled their first meeting at the range and his personal distaste of them.

“I hate gen three Glocks because of the finger grooves. This is a gen three glock nineteen ‘clone’. No finger grooves with a bunch of parts swapped out with aftermarket stuff. Trigger, extractor, and a few other changes but yeah it’s pretty close to a glock.” The Palmetto State Armory Dagger rolled between his hands before he dropped the magazine in one hand and pulled the slide back with just his fingers holding the firearm, checking the chamber for the hollow point round sitting where he remembered it. “I just hate the finger grooves. They feel wrong to me.” Dropping the magazine back in place he slid it into his empty waistband holster.

Eli began moving to the opposite side before Max jumped in front of her to open the door before she had a chance to even reach for it. “Even with everything going on you’re still a gentleman. I like that.” Sliding into the seat she pulled the man by his collar to plant a kiss on his lips. “My mom taught me how to appreciate that in a man.” With a wink the door closed leaving the man to swoon from the feeling of her cool scales against his lips. The smile never left his face as they pulled out of the parking lot with her hand in his.

-

The range was fairly active due to the competition currently taking place as Max’s small red car pulled into the dirt lot before the other vehicles and shooters. The wolf locked eyes with the human driver, his dark brown fur stood out against the off white of the freshly plowed snow. “Do you want to join or are you too uncomfortable?”

Eli’s jaw clenched as she looked at the Wolf. Her breaths were shallow as she swallowed loudly and her tongue flicked to taste the familiar warm air of the vehicle’s cabin. “It’s not him. I think I’ll be okay.” With a simple nod Max kicked open the door and moved over to her side of the vehicle and popped the door open. Before hopping out herself she gave him a light peck on his cheek where his stubble scratched at her smooth scales drawing a light chuckle from her. “I think you need to shave soon. It’ll drive me crazy if I keep getting all scratched up just from kissing you.” Max nodded in agreement as her boots crunched harshly against the packed snow, similar to Max’s as he made his way over to the wolf.

“After my eventful night I didn't think you’d show up. Was that your brother’s plan put into motion?” Max stopped a decent distance away from the wolf anthro with his right hand prematurely on his pistol. Ensuring that he had power over their current situation. “Also, I never got your name.”

The wolf’s eyebrows raised over the rim of his sunglasses, his white fur on his face standing out against the dark rimmed shades. “Guess that was something I forgot in last night’s excitement.” Dropping the specialized sunglasses from his face he slotted them into the collar of his short sleeve shirt and extended his hand out for a handshake. “Ian Gray.” Max shook his hand with a firm grip, keeping his eyes locked on the wolf’s. He extended his hand to Eli but she sneered at the man in front of her, ruby eyes burning a hole into his fur with her disgust and anger. He pulled his hand back with a nod and an audible swallow avoiding direct eye contact in a form of submission. “As for last night I have no idea what you’re talking about. Did something happen?”

Max’s eyes fell to Eli taking note of her offensive stance, her clothed tail was wound tight like a spring as if she were her feral counterpart ready to strike. Raising a hand he attempts to calm the scaled woman next to him to little success. “So you know nothing about the improvised spike strip and the coyote?”

Ian’s brow furrowed as he thought, his mind running through the piles of information his brother laid out to him. “Only thing I know is that he was talking to one of the ranch hands a couple days ago and he was a coyote too. Name was Jameson I think?”

Eli’s eyes narrowed as he spoke, letting her study his body language as deeply as possible. She noticed that he kept a submissive stance, leaning back away from Max and herself, keeping his neck exposed and even avoiding direct eye contact as much as possible. “Black stripe down his muzzle?” Max continued the conversation by trying to see if the man was the same as the one Ian was referring to.

“Yeah he does, stands at about six foot three inches and has a notch in his ear?” The wolf motioned to his left ear with a point and a flick of the large appendage. “Guy worked on the ranch for years and really became huge.”

Max pursed his lips together as he nodded. “I don't know about the notch in his ear but he fits the description. I almost took a father from his daughter because of this stupid shit.” Ian’s eyes widened in shock at this new set of information but opted to stay quiet. “He said that he wasn’t alone, but by the time I was patched up from the spike strip he tackled me onto he was shipped off to the closest big hospital for reconstructive surgery. Any idea who he would have been working with?”

Ian just shook his head in shock as he stared at Max in disbelief. “No clue. How did you put him in critical condition? He’s almost twice as big as you.”

“You can thank Sig Sauer for that, saved my life before I saved his.” Max felt a tug on his sleeve which brought his attention back to the calmer hognose next to him.

“Could I have a word Max?” With a raised eyebrow he nodded before giving the ‘one moment’ sign to Ian. After they were a few steps away he leaned in to whisper to his partner. “What's up?”

“He’s not lying.” Looking over her shoulder back to the nervous wolf in question she took in his body language once more. “At least in regards to not knowing about Jameson being sent or the events of last night after you two met.” Her ruby eyes came back to his along with the few exposed scales from under her loosely wrapped scarf. “I don’t like it but he might be the only one we can get accurate information from.”

With a sigh he rubbed the back of his exposed neck under his brown coat. “Yeah I don’t like it either. The way I ran into him really puts me off, but if you say he’s being honest… I’ll trust you.”

“I'm saying he’s being honest about the ambush meant for you. We need to press him about his brother.” Her eyes narrowed in rage as she mentioned Trevor. There was a clear history that he’d noticed before that Max decided he would dig into further, but as of now they needed to focus on Ian.

“Right, I think I know what we should ask him as well.” throwing his head to the side he motioned back to Ian and made his way to him. “Question for you, how pissed off is he? Is he planning something really stupid like another poorly planned ambush or anything along those lines?”

Ian thought for a moment tapping the chin of his muzzle with one hand while the other sat across his wide chest. His features darkened as he recalled something he heard in passing. “Yeah actually, I didn’t catch much but he did mention something about a week from now.” Connecting the dots in his head something clicked. “He was really insistent on finding out where you lived… I think he’s planning on maybe swatting you.”

Max thought as Eli’s eyes widened in shock looking at her partner who was now shaking his head. “No, that'd be too easy for it to blow up in his face. Let's think simpler, why would he specify a week, while also needing to know where my home is?” With a snap of his fingers it dawned on him. “A night raid.”

“What?” Eli was just as confused as Ian appeared to be before Max elaborated on his statement.

“He wouldn’t risk getting the authorities involved if I could turn it around on him. Best guess I have is he’s planning on trying to storm my property with a small group.” A twisted smile crossed Max’s lips as the thought crossed his mind. A number of hostile entities foolish enough to try and storm his home sounded like something he’d been planning on for years. “What do you think the odds of that are? Because I've been wishing someone would.”

“Knowing my brother? Pretty high if I‘m being honest.” Spitting into the snow he pulls in a sharp breath before he sighs in exasperation. “Christ,I’ll try and find out if he is planning something that stupid because just from our short interaction I can tell you he wouldn’t last long.” The human’s sadistic smile sat across his face, sending a shiver up the wolf’s spine. The only other person that got that response from him was his brother and that was from years of verbal and physical abuse.

Max pulled out his phone and handed it to the larger wolf. “Put your contact information in. I'll contact you tomorrow night for an update.” The phone was taken and quickly handed back after he typed in everything needed. “I’ll be in touch and if you prove trustworthy I’ll bring you into the fold. Eli, let's head out.”

Turning on his heel he left the confused wolf in his tracks as Eli left him with one last sharp glare as they both left him in the glistening snow. Their exit was surrounded by gunfire and laughter of the other patrons.

-

Venison steaks seared in a cast iron pan on the woodstove of Max’s small home in a mix of herbs and butter. “I know that we’re fairly new as a couple, but I have some… concerns.”

Max’s attention that was on the steaks shifted over his shoulder to the woman sitting at his small folding table. “What do you have concerns about?”

“Well for one it feels like you live in a large shed.” Looking around to her immediate surroundings to his smaller home with every personal item he owned on display. “It is comfy but your excitement at the range today was fairly concerning.”

Max looked over his shoulder looking at the woman in her thin underclothes. Her scales catch the light and make her skin shimmer like the summer night sky. “I can explain that.” Her eyebrow raised as he removed the two steaks from the cast iron pan letting him give her his undivided attention. “When I was deployed I went through a few different life and death moments. Left me with a pretty heavy case of PTSD that I've mostly gotten over but some things have stuck around.” Bringing separate plates with each other's portions of complete meals to the table he sat down across from her. “Made me territorial and… more aggressive when my friends are either threatened or things close to me.”

Eli let the steam rise to her nose and flicked her tongue through the thick vapors of steam letting her savor the taste without even needing to place a piece in her mouth. Something came to the front of her mind as she let the flavor sit in her mind. “Is that why you snapped at Noah yesterday?”

Max stopped dead in his tracks with a knife and fork in his hands. A vacant stare sat on his face as visions raced through his head. “I… I don’t think I’m ready to talk about that.”

“Max, I understand that it might be a sore subject, but it’ll help to-”

“Then are you ready to talk about what happened between you and Trevor?” Eli’s mouth snapped shut as he cut her off mid sentence. “Or maybe on why you’re here instead of in Florida.” Max’s cold stare was leveled deep into her ruby eyes.

“I- I’m sorry Max I didn't mean to…” Max’s eyes fell from hers, the weight of what he just said sunk into his mind.

“No Elianora I’m sorry. I’m not ready to talk about that just yet.” Kicking himself mentally, he let out a sigh as he realized what he just asked of her. “I shouldn’t have bit your head off. I shouldn’t have thrown what is obviously a sore issue in your face.” Eli nodded, clearly still reeling from his harsh words. “Iraq was tough…” Eli’s eyes came up to meet his glassy stare as he began recounting a story. “Dominic went through the same training class as I did. We were fast friends and even went to the same first unit together. We did everything together, drank, partied, suffered… We were like brothers.”

“Max you don’t have to-”

“No... iIt’s only right to tell you.” Max cut her off as he continued. “We even deployed together. We were part of a mechanized engineer unit and we were charged with route clearing. Same mission as always, just as the mindset of death being an ever looming possibility set in. We did the same mission over and over again… We became complacent. He was dismounted on a Tuesday and…” His jaw clenched as he tried to hold the heavy emotions down. “He didn’t come back.”

“Max that’s… Jesus.” The food between them was forgotten as Max shared what he could without breaking down.

“You don’t have to say anything. It’s just… difficult to share this.” With a heavy sigh he reaches out to her hand and wraps his fingers around in a light grip. “You don’t need to share… I’ve given you enough to handle tonight.”

With a light smile she looks at her boyfriend. “You deserve to know but I think we’ve had an eventful enough day. Is it alright if I tell you tomorrow?”

Max nodded as he motioned to her plate again. “Let me know if I ruined it.” A light laugh was shared between them as they let the stress partially melt away between them.