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I stood on the bus with my left paw holding onto the cool railing above my head. The motions of the bus swayed me back and forth as the bus moved along the downtown streets. My eyes fixed on the floor below me covered in dirt, gum, and scrap pieces of paper left my other passengers. My mind wandered as I contemplated what I was doing. I was starting to scare myself. My right paw remained in my pocket holding onto the piece of paper. Had all of this turned me into some sort of amateur vigilante? About four times I decided to throw the number away and let Bosh and the police take care of it. Each time I thought of that, I thought about the "what if's" like what if they can't solve it? What if Kyle is attacked again? What if I could have done something about it?

The latter question was the one that kept my mind set on my mission. I was going to do everything that I could to end this. Nervousness started to take over my body and I needed to clear my head a bit. Riding the bus wasn't helping so when the bus came to a halt; I stepped off of the bus along with a couple other people. The bus rolled away as I looked at my surroundings. I was at a part of town that was unfamiliar to me. I had never seen any of these buildings.

I started walking with no destination in mind. My footpaws wandered along the concrete sidewalk. I thought about Kyle. I thought about that night in his basement when he told me that he was gay and then I when told him that I was gay. That led me to think of our first kiss.

A smile formed across my muzzle. I couldn't help it. The thought of Kyle that night was overwhelmingly happy and it took my mind off of the present for a moment.

Off in the distance, I heard laughter and it broke me out of my daze. I was walking by a playground in a small park. I walked towards one of the nearby benches facing the playground and watched.

The sight of the cubs running around playing some sort of game was oddly comforting. Maybe it was their innocence that got to me. Nothing mattered to them except for what was happening at that moment. It made me think that I was like that not that long ago. Just a few months ago, the only thing that worried me was coming out to John. Now that I think about it, it seemed stupid to worry about it. Things changed so much since then. Now I'm meeting up with an undercover agent doing God knows what. After all that Kyle and I have gone through, I wasn't sure when things would go back to the way they were. Then Kyle and I could live in a somewhat normal relationship.

That brought my thoughts back to Kyle and the images of him hugging his younger brother. The bond that they shared was as strong as brotherly bonding could be. That also led me to think of their past, how terrible their early childhood was and of their father. Then the thought of their father raping Kyle and sending people to kill him and Cole came. It was then that I realized that my paws were clenched into fists and that I was shaking a bit. I knew right then what I had to do.

I pulled out the piece of paper at last and pulled out my phone. I unraveled the paper with the phone number and the other notes I scribbled down and stared at them. This was it, now or never. I made sure to dial in the *69 before putting in the number so that it showed up as a restricted number. I typed in the number exactly how I wrote it earlier. I paused over the send button on my phone.

Is this the right thing to do? Am I making a mistake? Those thoughts ran through my head as I backed away from the send button. Then the images of Kyle in the alleyway and of him telling his past overshadowed the doubts. I pressed the send key and put the phone to my ear, holding my breath.

I heard a ring, then a second, then a third. A part of me wanted the number to be a dud and another part wondered why no one was answering.

The ringing stopped, but no voicemail instructions came up. It was just scilence. I moved my phone away from my ear and looked at my screen. My phone indicated that the call was still going on. I put the phone back to my ear and I hear breathing. It was faint, but I could still hear it. Whoever was on the other end of the line was waiting for me to make the first move, and I knew I had to do it. I looked at the paper with the number on it and looked at the other notes I made wondering what I should say.

"Zig?" I asked cautiously. I wasn't sure whether to call him Zig or Officer Johnson, but I chose the first one. I waited to hear a response or an indication of the other guy hanging up the phone.

"Codeword," I heard on the other side of the line. It wasn't in the form of a question, it was demanding. I hastily looked at the paper, forgetting what the codeword was.

"Everest." I answered.

Zig's tone changed. "How did you get this number?"

I had not thought about this until he said something. What was I suppose to say? My heart picked up speed as I thought of something to say, "Detective Bosh gave it to me. He said that I should call you." I held my breath and waited to see if he had found me out or not.

"Hm, I thought that he was going to let me choose the guy. That fucking stallion doesn't trust me I guess," Zig said in a disgusted tone.

I didn't say anything after that because I didn't want to say the wrong thing. I just waited for Zig to start the conversation back up again.

Zig continued, "Well it's too late to change anything. Well I need to meet up with you to discuss everything that's going down. Meet me behind Giard's bar at ten tonight. Make sure no one follows you. I need to recognize you, what are you going to wear?"

I hesitated for a moment as I thought of something discrete that I could wear. "Uh, white shirt, black jacket, and jeans."

"Mhm," Zig said, "When you go behind the bar, I wanted you to stand next to the back door and lean up against the wall. Bring out a cigarette and a lighter. Flick the lighter three times and then light it. That way I'll know it's you."

"Okay," I said. I started to get a weird sensation in the pit of my stomach because I couldn't believe this was working.

Zig spoke up again, "Don't call this number again. I'll see you at Giard's. Don't be late." With that, Zig hung up with a click.

I put my own phone back in my pocket. The nerves picked up again as I thought about what I had just done. I was actually doing this. There was no turning back now. I passed the line of no return and now the only direction is forward.

I continued on my walk, reminiscing on my thoughts, unsure of my direction. By some miracle, by the time, I came back to my senses, I noticed that I was on campus again, but from the opposite side of my dorm room. I walked around the buildings as students with bags walked around, none of them acknowledging me. I continued to make my way towards my dorm when something caught my eye.

It was a tree sitting by itself, with most of its leaves still on the branches. It was the tree that I sat at when I came out to Mike. I remember sitting there close to tears and scared out of my mind that I was going to lose a friend. What a stupid thought that was. If only I had known then how much of a friend I had and how lucky I was. I sat down at the base of the tree just like I did that one day and took a deep breath.

The sounds of campus flooded my ears as I sat back and closed my eyes for a bit to focus on my surroundings. After all that had happened, it seemed like I was in constant motion. I needed to take a break from everything, but sadly, I knew that this wasn't the time for it.

I blinked as I slowly opened my eyes again and out of the corner of my eye, I saw an otter walking with a group of friends. My eyes came into full focus as I turned my head to the Kyle. My tail thwacked against the tree behind me. Once I got a better look, I saw that it wasn't Kyle. It didn't look like him at all now that I got a good glimpse of him.

My tail stopped wagging as I slumped back down. I pulled out my phone and dialed Kyle's number. I put the phone to my ear and hear the phone ringing. After two rings it occurred to me that I had no idea why I called him.

"Hey Allen," Kyle said cheerfully on the other end of the line.

God it felt good to hear his voice again. "Hey Kyle," I answered.

"What's up?"

"Oh, it's a," I started but then stopped, "it's nothing. I just needed to hear your voice."

"Oh," Kyle's tone became concerned, "I'm glad I could help, what's wrong?"

"Well, a lot's been going on lately, and I guess it's just the stress that's getting to me."

"Do you need me to come over?" Kyle asked.

"No," I said a little too quickly, "I'm not in my dorm right now and I wont be tonight."

"Allen, what's going on?" The question was less concerning and more demanding.

"I," I began without knowing where the sentence will end, "I can't say. I promise that it's nothing to worry about. I'll tell about it later."

"Okay," Kyle said a little defeated.

I felt terrible hearing Kyle like that, I didn't want to become that person that pushed away the ones he loved.

"Look Kyle," I said, "I don't want to keep you in the dark, but there's something that I have to do and I can't tell you right now. I love you so much Kyle. You're the best thing that has happened to me. I want you to remember that."

There was a pause at the other end of the line. After a moment of no response, Kyle said, "I love you too Allen."

I hit the end call button and put my cell phone away. I stood up from the tree and headed back to my dorm room to get ready for tonight.

--x--

I checked the clock on my wall. The time showed that it was nine o'clock; one hour before the set meeting time. I went straight to my closet and opened it up. I pulled out a pair of jeans and put my footpaws through them I pulled the waistband up to my hips and fasten the button in the back above the hole for my tail to go through. Once I had my pants on, I went to my drawer with all of my shirts and I dug through them to find a plain white shirt. I found one and inspected it to see if it had anything on it. I had nothing on it, so I pulled the shirt over my head. I then grabbed my black jacket that my dad gave to me. It was a simple jacket with pockets at the chest, mainly there for design, and a couple of pockets at the bottom at either side of the zipper that ran down the center of it.

I walked over to the sink in my dorm room and ran some water. I put my paw under the flowing water and then put it to the top of my head. I flattened my fur up there. After straightening my headfur, I inspected myself in the mirror. I was glad I did because I looked like a greaser in the 50s. Chuckling a bit, I brought my paws up to my head and ruffled up the fur. I looked more like I belonged in a back alley or on the streets if that makes any sense.

Checking the time again, I headed out of my room, locking it behind me, and headed out of my dorm. I stepped outside and noticed that it had gotten a little chillier. I made my way up to the nearest drugstore.

I pushed the door open and a little bell ringed as I stepped inside. The ram behind the counter didn't seem to notice me walk in. I went straight to the counter when the ram finally acknowledged my existence and stood behind the register.

"What can I do for ya?" he asked.

"A pack of Flaming Wolf cigarettes," I said in a dull tone trying to make it seem that I bought cigarettes all the time, "and a lighter."

The ram turned around and headed to the stash of cigarettes behind him and grabbed a pack of the cigarettes that I asked for and grabbed a small lighter. He came back to the register and punched in the items.

"That will be five seventy-two and I'll need to see some I.D." he droned in his monotone voice.

I fished my wallet out of my back pocket and pulled out the money and my driver's license. I handed them to the ram together and he grabbed them. He only took a quick glance at my license probably because he was required to. He handed my pack my identification and put the money into the register.

"Twenty-eight cents is your change." He said handing me the coins, "Have a nice night."

I put the coins in my pocket and grabbed my things from the counter. Pocketing them, I headed for the door when I remembered that I wasn't sure where the bar was. I turned back around and went to the register again.

"Excuse me," I said. The ram didn't move his head from the magazine he was reading, but his eyes looked up at me. "How can I get to Giard's bar from here?"

He moved his hoof under his chin and looked up towards the ceiling in thought, "It's not too far from here," he said and he turned his gaze to me again, "go five blocks to your left as you leave, turn left, and then it will be two blocks from there. You should see a sign hanging above the sidewalk."

"Thanks," I said as I headed out towards the door. The bell chimed again when I opened the door and entered into the night.

Just as the ram instructed me, I turned left and headed in that direction. Downtown was different at night. I didn't have a lot of crime, but it still gave me that uneasy feeling inside of me. I walked past a couple of furs walking, paying no attention to me. About three blocks down, I saw a couple in front of me wearing nice evening attire. When I walked past them, I could have sworn I saw the lady put both of her paws on her purse as I came close. It was a good sign to me because at least I knew that my outfit was somewhat convincing.

Once I got to the end of the fifth block, I rounded the corner and headed down the last couple of blocks to my destination. There wasn't a lot of commotion happening outside on the sidewalks with the exception of a group of college students, obviously intoxicated, walking ahead of me laughing loudly at their own stupid jokes. They opened a door and all walked in together.

I looked above the door to see a sign above the door sticking out perpendicular to the sidewalk with a small light shining on it that read GIARD'S. As I approached the sign and the front door, I could hear a lot of commotion coming from inside. I peaked in and it was the typical people in a bar, the group of loud people, the alcoholics at the bar sitting by themselves, and some other random people trying to find a date. I looked at the clock that hung over the bar. It read a few minutes until ten.

There was a narrow alley to the left of the bar wide enough for two people to walk shoulder to shoulder. I hesitated before walking into the alley. Flashbacks of that mugging came into my head, but I shook them out. I stepped into the alley. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness put not long after I entered the alley; there was another that ran behind the bar. This alley's only light source was a light above the back door to the bar. I walked to the door and stopped right next to it. I leaned against the rough brick structure with my shoulders and upper back. I put my right footpaw against the wall and reached into my pocket for the pack of cigarettes and lighter. I pulled one out and pocketed the rest of the pack. I put one end into my muzzle and held out my lighter.

Remembering what Zig instructed me to do, I clicked the lighter once, twice, thrice, and then lit the flame on the lighter. I brought the lighter to the end of the cigarette in my muzzle and sucked in a bit to get the flame going. I had never smoked before then, and now I knew why. It was disgusting. As soon as I took a whiff of the cigarette, I coughed immediately and pulled the cigarette with my paw out of my muzzle and let the smoke escape.

I looked to my left and to my right. Nothing. I knew I was at the right place at the right time. I looked at my cigarette once again and attempted to take another inhale of the stuff. I didn't feel addicted to it after seven seconds like I was told, I wanted to never touch the stuff again, but I decided that I needed to act natural. I sucked in the smoke again. I was a bit more bearable than the first time, but I still let out a small cough.

The movement of the small rocks on the ground caught my attention, as a black wolf approached me. He was dressed in black pants and a grey jacket. His hands were in his pocket. I stood about six inched taller than me.

"I'm Detective Johnson," the wolf said, "but call me Zig."

He stuck out his paw and I shook while saying, "Allen."

Zig immediately spoke, "First of all, I'm going to refer to you as Cobb when we enter the house."

"The house?" I asked.

He gave me a confused look, "Don't you know what's going down?"

"Bosh told me that you'd inform me tonight." I responded quickly.

"Christ," Zig said putting a paw to his face and shaking his head, "That stallion is losing his shit."

I said nothing to this. I just wanted to know what was going on before Zig found out that Bosh never sent me.

"Okay, I'll tell you everything," Zig said, "First of all, while Franz was incarcerated, he made a few friends in his cell block. About nine months ago, he along with a bunch of other inmates started a prison riot and during the riot, him and a few other inmates escaped. The police caught a couple of them, but Franz never was caught. I was already undercover for another case when the guy I was after told me that I needed to help out Franz so I became part of his inner circle. He said he came here because of some 'unfinished business.' I didn't know what he was talking about until after he sent two people after an otter named Kyle and kill him, but they were stopped by a couple of students passing by."

I tried to act like I didn't know that last part. After all, he had no idea that I was one of those two students. It was pretty easy because I wanted to learn more.

He continued, "One of the furs, a panther, apparently cracked and told police that he was sent by Franz. So now Franz is now laying low. It was after then that I found out that it was his own son and he said it was because of his son that Franz ended up incarcerated. He needs someone to get close to him and kill him. He trusted me to find the person to do it. You're the guy that he's going to think will kill the otter. I told him that I found someone and he wants to meet you tonight."

"Tonight?" I asked.

"Yes," he said, "Don't worry about it, I'll be there too. He just wants to inspect you and see if you're cut out for the job."

I gave a slight nod as I thought about actually coming face to face with Kyle's father. Not only that, but I would have to listen to him and act like I don't want to rip his throat out.

I then heard steps coming from the darkness beyond the range that the light gave. A figure came into full view and I was that it was a stallion. It was Bosh.

He wore an overcoat over some casual clothes. Bosh didn't look at me immediately, but once he got close he glanced at me and then to Zig.

"Is this the guy?" Bosh asked Zig.

"Of course it is," Zig answered, "you chose the guy."

Bosh put on a confused look, "No I didn't, I told you to chose the guy."

They both looked at me and I felt scared. I saw Bosh's eyes widen as he recognized me.

"Allen?" he said, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You know him?" Zig asked.

Bosh ignored Zig's question. He stood there giving me a stern look. Inside, I felt guilty, like a child when he or she knows they're in trouble, but I didn't show it. I looked back at Bosh with a look that showed that I wasn't backing down.

"We have to get someone else," Bosh said, "he's too involved for this."

"Well who do ya reckon we get?" Zig asked, "I've already told him everything and I can't get someone this late, Franz is relocating tomorrow and I don't know where. Sorry Bosh, but we have to use him."

Bosh never took his eyes off of me. He looked really pissed off, but then it subsided as he knew that Zig was right.

"Fine," he said, "but you need to keep close to him." Bosh then took a few steps toward me and lowered his head level with mine leaving only a few inches between us, "And you better not pull any stunts cause if you mess this up, Franz gets away."

I continued staring right back into his eyes, my expression unchanging, but I understood what he said. Bosh stood up straight and took a few steps back.

"Alright," he said, "let's not waste any more time."

Zig nodded and turned his attention back to me, "As I said before, your alias is going to be Cobb. We are going to walk into the house together. Someone will be waiting for us at the entry and he'll pat you down, so we're not going to wire you or give you any weapons. Once he knows that you're clean he'll let you in. You'll see Franz inside and he will give his little inspection. Don't worry about it, he just wants to be sure that you ain't a cop. Don't speak to him unless he speaks to you. When he asks how we met, tell him we met here at Giard's after you got in a fight with another fur. Once he's sure that you're not undercover, he will more than likely tell you what you need to do. He'll give you the basic details about his son, so be aware of that. While we are in there, we are going to have units wait discretely outside to move in. When I feel like the timing is right, I'm going to signal for the units to come in. As soon as you hear officers come into the room, don't run, just get down on the floor. The officers will be aware of who you are so don't worry about that."

I nodded at this and asked, "When do we do this?"

"In a few hours," Zig answered, "Franz only does business at night so he asks that we meet at the place at three in the morning. You'll stay with us until then."

"This is it," Bosh said, "If all goes well, this will all be over by sunrise."