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Author's Note: It took a while, and this was supposed to be an exposition piece where Tivoli is interviewed. But I need to introduce the boss first. I think I 'll make her the main villain. The exposition will arrive in Part 7. Also, as suggested, I'll put all the Beautiful Killers stories in one folder. They're out of order, but I'll fix that in time. Enjoy.

Venom: Beautiful Killers. Part 6.

"We are the best and the brightest...."

Pamila sits alone in a dimly lit room. (I'm going to assume that she is in a room in her house. I don't know what her house looks like.) She is ready for bed, wearing a pink pair of pajamas. She is sitting in front of a writing desk, on top of which are a computer CPU and a flat-screen monitor. Displayed on the screen is the screen saver-a bunch of "stars" zooming toward the viewer. The fox sits there, tapping her feet, waiting for something or someone.

She looks tired and is, of course, still angry from what happened earlier. She came out on top in the fight, but hardly looks like she is enjoying the spoils, whatever they were supposed to be. A watch beeps nearby. Pam turns her head to the left, acknowledging the noise, then moves her cordless mouse to get rid of the saver. The time on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen says ten p.m.

Suddenly, a face appears on the monitor. It is really close to the camera. "Sorry," it says. "I had to put my son to sleep. You okay?"

"Simon, I'm doing about as well as I possibly can. But I'm real tired, so what do you want?"

"Don't be short with me, girl. I'm your superior."

"That's what he said."

"I'm not saying it to lord it over you. I'm saying it because that is the order of things, and it appears you need to be reminded of it every damn day. You're the one who hunts and kills the marks, but I'm the one who provides them to you. So did Colin. And not that you're going to ask, but he's gonna be fine."

"I don't care. I'm not sorry he's in intensive care." She sighs heavily. "But I do regret that the Morris hunt killed people. I'm worried about a friend of mine. We were having lunch when it happened. Camille and I saw it coming and got out of there. I was so hoping Beth would make it, but-"

"I'll keep tabs on that. The names of the victims will be released in the next couple of days, and I'll let you know. In the meantime, you'll be in hiding, and I'll make sure you'll stay hidden."

"Great. So I can't go anywhere? And what am I going to do at home all day?"

"You're not gonna hide in your house. You're gonna hide out in mine." Simon waits for a reaction. He gets it. Pamila inhales loudly through her nose. "I know you disapprove, but this is for the good of the company. The executives know where you live, but nobody knows where I live. My private life is private, so my place is best. If you're not at the office, the police won't find you there, just in case you become a suspect. Meanwhile, you'll be escaping the chief's wrath. She had been looking for you all day since the fight."

Pamila raises her eyebrows, more worried than upset. "How mad is she?"

"Well, mad is normal for her. So next time you see her, you should expect her to be three times as normal."

The red fox leans back in her chair, looking at the ceiling. Her tail drags back and forth across the carpeted floor like it was slowly dying. She sighs again, putting her hands on her face.

"You okay?"

After about a minute, she puts her hands down and looks at the monitor. "What you I be doing at your place?"

Concerned, Simon shakes his head. "I have to go out of town on Tuesday evening, so you'll be looking after the place. I'll tell you what else you'll be doing when you wake up. Get some rest...."

********************

"If we pass anyone, just say hi, and nothing else."

"Okay."

"If they are in a meeting, we just pass by and you don't say anything."

"Okay."

"If the boss or other executives say no, you say thank you, leave the office, and come back to me."

"Okay."

"I'll either be waiting by the front desk or outside.

"Okay." Tivoli laughs. "This is all so exciting."

"Hey, this is serious. You'd best stop smiling when we get inside."

"Well, I'm still trying to take it all in. That's a lot of information to absorb at once."

"Just drive. I'll repeat it all again. Turn left here."

Tivoli drives her blue Jetta to Rapid Recovery. In her excitement, she is going faster than the speed limit and running a couple of red lights on the way there. While she drives, Winter navigates. At every stop light, she shifts in her seat, trying to position her tail in a comfortable manner. It does not seem to be helping.

The ocelot does not get any further information about the business from the instructions Winter is giving her. The most she knows is that the workers in the loan building kill certain people while providing loans to other people. She is still trying to piece together how it works, but Winter will not provide further details. "Just be patient," the wolf says. "I can't answer your questions better than they can."

"Well, would I get paid right away?"

"I wasn't. I had to wait about a week. But I did get paid a couple of days ago. Shiloh and I are now sharing ten thousand. That's a big deal for me, but for him, it's a small sample of what he usually brings home."

"Well, how much does he make?"

"No you don't. If you wanna know, you ask him. I don't give away that information."

Tivoli scoffs. "Is he that much of a prude that he won't let you talk about him?"

"He's very protective of his identity. That reminds me, pretty much everyone you run into in the building will be the same way. If you want to know about any one of them, ask them directly, but discreetly. But not today, okay?"

"Um...sure."

It is a dreary, cloudy morning. It had rained heavily the night before and there are still remnants of the storm falling from the sky. Despite the lousy conditions, Tivoli drives with abandon. It is not long before Winter leads her to the partially hidden building.

"You're right," Tivoli says. "It is kind of hard to find."

Winter leads her to the backyard parking lot. There is a smattering of cars parked by the building. Tivoli chooses a spot and they quickly leave the Jetta. While the wolf flexes her tail with her hands, the ocelot runs to the building. She goes to one of the windows at the left side of the back door and tries to look through it, stepping on the flower bed in the process.

Winter clears her throat to get her attention. "We're going around. We're gonna take the front door."

"Well, why did you have me park here?"

"Because I didn't want anyone in the building to see your car and think that a customer had arrived. Everyone in there knows what each other's cars look like. Trust me, they do. They have long memories. That's part of the job."

Tivoli thinks about it as they walk to the front of the building. "I don't think I have a long memory. Will that be a problem?"

"You'll do fine."

The ocelot unzips her jacket. They are both wearing jackets. Winter's is a shiny, black motorcycle jacket. It looks a little too big for her, so it is probably Shiloh's. "By the number of cars here, I'd say the meeting has ended."

"Meeting?"

"The workers hold a meeting every morning to discuss strategy, but mostly, they get briefed on new marks and the possible locations of hard-to-find marks. It's very valuable."

They get to the front door. "After you," Winter says. She opens it as wide as she can. As Tivoli steps in, Inverness comes barreling out. They bump into each other. Inverness falls on his backside while the scared ocelot runs outside and...well...hides behind the wolf. Winter continues to hold open the door, waiting patiently for the terrier to get up and leave. He eventually does, looking at the two women with disdain.

"I'm sorry," Tivoli whispers. Inverness had long since entered his car.

"Get in." Winter pushes her in. As the door closes behind them, the females are beset with the eyes of the other anthros in the lobby. They are gathering around the front desk, grabbing leaves of laminated paper. They look on at the two women. They are judgmental, biting, and unforgiving. There may be a couple who don't really feel that way. St. Croix certainly does not. He is in the minority, however.

Winter suddenly stops in her tracks, causing her friend to bump into her. "I thought there was carpeting here." Curiously, she looks at the men to her left, looking to ask about it. Seconds after seeing their faces, she changes her mind. "Remember, don't talk. Don't look at any of them." She goes through the hallway at the right of the lobby. Tivoli follows, still dreading the incident at the front door. All of the doors on either side of the hall are closed, so the passage is dark and cold. Though they can see very well in there, it is still intimidating to them both.

"Are there restrooms here?"

Winter answers, "Yeah. I think we just passed them."

"I think I'll need one real soon."

"I said you'll be fine."

A few seconds later, they stop in front of the VIVIAN CROSS door at the very end of the hallway. Tivoli looks at it and smiles. "That's a nice plaque."

To the left of them is the conference room. There are voices coming through its windows.

"Is that where I'm supposed to go?" Tivoli walks to the windows, trying to peek through the closed blinds.

"No, it isn't. But if you're allowed to join us, you'll be going there often." She opens the door at the end of the hall. "This is where the interviews happen. Come inside."

The room's bright lights shine in their faces. The ceiling lights and the open windows on the left side polish the office, making the hallway look even more sinister. There are file cabinets on the right side and a desk in front of the door, with chairs for the person in charge and two other people to sit on. Tivoli laughs. "This definitely looks like an executive's office."

"We use the word 'chief.' Actually, we work for six people altogether, but the chief, who rules all of us, works in this room. Just wait here, okay?"

"Okay!" Tivoli feels vindicated. Winter leaves, closing the door behind her. The ocelot, hands behind her back, strolls around the room looking proud of herself.

For her part, Winter stands outside the conference room door, listening to the muffled voices. She raises a hand to knock, then sees a sliver of light from the room itself. The door was open a tiny bit. She pushes the opening wider, entering the room.

In front of her is a large, oval table, probably made of mahogany. It is surrounded by what look like the most lavish, red velvet chairs ever made. There are about ten of them, more suitable for a living room than a conference room. To the left of the room at one end of the table stand three men, all wearing three-piece suits. One of them was Simon, the man who just yesterday put an uncontrollable Pamila in her place. To the right of the room is, apparently, "the chief," the dark-skinned owner of the room behind the VIVIAN CROSS door.

On the table itself are three cheese platters of differing sizes. The platter at the center of the table had different cuts of deli meats dressing the sides of the plate. In front of the woman were two bottles of white wine and a fancy six-glass stemware set. In front of the men was a sheet cake, about twenty-four inches long. On top of it are written the words "Happy Anniversary." Next to it are four small saucers and decorated silver forks.

The people inside don't notice Winter right away. She looks on as the celebration begins. They start to pass the wine and glasses among themselves. Everything on the table looks expensive, making the people using them look like better people than they really were. Simon forcefully opens the bottle of wine, letting some of the contents spill on the red, plush carpet. He shares the bottle with the others. There is plenty of laughing and talking. Despite the paltry number of people, the environment is festive enough.

Vivian clears her throat, garnering the men's attention. "Before you guys open that platter, I'd first like to make a toast." She laughs as she watches her companions scramble to pick up their glasses. They now each have a full glass of wine. Winter folds her arms impatiently.

"I just wanted to impart to all of you...how important this moment is. I know, we did this last year, and you all didn't think it was such a big deal. After all, it had been only two years and there are two-year anniversaries for everything. But now, a commemoration like this is more important than ever. We're still doing our job while handling the livelihoods of literally hundreds of people. This time last year, I didn't think we'd make it. Not only did the business start to overwhelm us, but we had problems at our homes with friends and family."

Vivian pauses for a few seconds, putting down her glass and putting her hands in the pockets of her pantsuit. "I know we provide a valuable service. The people out there need us. But I didn't think we'd make it this far. We worked hard; we sacrificed time and sleep; we sometimes got at each other's throats. But all that trouble paid off. We've become one of the most, if not the most, successful companies in the city of Los Angeles. And I have all of you to thank for that."

She smiles at the loud whoops and hollers of approval from the men. Then she turns serious. "I also wanted to mention the people currently in the waiting room." Winter, knowing that this pertains to her, stands up straight and pays close attention.

"In a funny way, I'd also like to thank those hitmen, each and every one of them, for proving me wrong. This time last year, I thought our business had succeeded in spite of them. We only had half as many of them, but they were making a lot of mistakes that could have cost us our loan brokerage firm. I'm not saying this to be dramatic. With every error in judgment they made, our jobs were constantly on the line. Our chances of being discovered grew every day. But you guys got a handle on it. You came up with a system that works. One year later, despite taking in more of them, and despite what happened yesterday with Pamila and Colin, we're safe and virtually problem free. More to the point, business is still booming. I would especially like to thank Ted for that."

Ted, a stout, healthy-looking, middle-aged man, nods and raises his glass. Simon is standing to his left. He pats Ted on the back.

"I now have more faith that we can continue doing our jobs while we handle the killers among us. They've been doing a good job following the rules and staying out of trouble. This company is still known for its dynamite service, and nobody out there suspects anything. I'm confident that we can continue going for a long time. And I tell you what, it helps that St. Croix has a relevant Bachelor's degree, so he knows what the job is, and can take over while one of us is away or...incapacitated."

Vivian picks up her glass. "I'd like to thank each and every one of our...'workers' individually, but their meeting is over and it's almost time for them to leave. If you guys like to, you could leave some food for them. In the meantime, I have a meeting, then I'll pay Colin a visit."

Winter slowly steps into the room, enticed by the smell of the deli meats. Meanwhile, Vivian continues. "We owe a lot to those loveable furballs we've hired, from Shiloh, to Hoeness, to Mariana...all of them. And yes, I know that Stefano is a salamander." She pauses while the men laugh. "They have brought more money to our business than we could ever imagine, and I admire each and every one of them for it. Here's to them."

They each take a sip while Winter leans against the door, watching them.

"But while we're grateful to them, let us remember something just as important. We are the reason this setup works so well. We are the reason we can do this job while helping the furries do theirs. We are so good at what we do. You wanna know why?" The chief waits for an answer from the men, for a couple of seconds. Winter steps closer to the table, curious herself.

"It's because we're human." Vivian laughs. "We can handle our business. Our workers out there are ruled by emotion, by instinct; their hearts are wild, feral. They cannot truly fathom the responsibilities of work like this. Their emotions won't allow them to really think things clearly, and they will act as their natures intend them to. That's why we humans keep them in line. We can make this business work with them in it, because we can think ahead. We can do this! We are awesome together! We are the best and the brightest in the building!" She raises her glass again. "To us, and to all of you!"

More whoops and hollers. The men gently hit each other's glasses and finish their wine. Winter looks on, shaking her head.

Vivian takes another sip and puts her glass down. "All that said however, we can still get eaten by bears, so y'all be careful out there."

The men laugh. So does Winter, who quickly covers her mouth, worried that she has just been discovered.

Vivian looks at her and angrily puts her hands on her hips. "You're late."

Before the wolf could answer, a man comes from behind her. He puts a hand on her left shoulder and gently pushes her aside. "Yeah, I know I am. Sorry." It's Robert Crevecoeur, wearing the same kind of suit the other men are wearing. He brushes by Winter and waves at her, then joins the party by tearing open one of the cheese platters.

"By all means, help yourself." Vivian sighs, then turns to Winter. "What do you want?"

"Will the food still be here later?"

"I don't know. I won't be working today." She walks the wolf outside the conference room.

"Shiloh met with you about Tivoli. She's here. She's waiting for you in your office."

"Um...why?"

"Well, she's-"

"I don't have time for this, okay? First, I have to go to the lobby and give that fool Pamila a piece of my mind. Then I have to visit a client at her house and apologize for yesterday's mess at the lobby. Then I have to see Colin at the hospital and tell him he's an idiot for even yelling at Pamila in the first place."

"Pamila's not in the lobby. I just came from there. It's just a few of the guys. They were all really tense. What happened yesterday?"

"I don't wanna talk about it. Ask someone else. What's the new girl's name again?"

"Tivoli. I'm sorry if I'm wasting your time, but could you see her now, please? She's really eager to see the boss."

"Ted told me that Shiloh wanted me to see someone new. I don't know if we can take any others in, but Ted trusts your boyfriend, so I'll talk to her as a favor to him. Just don't expect good news at the end of the interview. I'm pissed off enough to refuse her sight unseen." They stand at the door to her office. Vivian readies herself and puts her hand on the doorknob. "So what is she? Another wolf, I guess."

"She's an ocelot."

The boss closes her eyes. "A what?"

Winter chuckles. "Think of her as a miniature leopard. I'm sure you'll think she's really cute."

Vivian opens her door, startling the guest. Tivoli quickly stands and holds out her hand. Then her mouth opens in surprise.

"Tivoli, this is the 'chief,' Vivian Cross. She owns the business and the building it houses."

Vivian forces her hand in Tivoli's. She grips it tightly and shakes it with force.

Winter steps out of the room. "I'm going to get my first solo assignment. Good luck." She winks at the ocelot and closes the door.

Tivoli sits down, still with the startled look on her face. She points at the human woman inquisitively. "You're the chief?"

"That's what they call me."

She smiles from ear to ear. "So...you're Black, huh?"