The Game We Play
#3 of Mark and Chester
A continuation from 'Best Intentions.' Going quickly now that I've started. I don't like to leave things hanging, so I've decided that this should end and be done in maybe one or two sessions. The tone for this one is a bit different than the last, but hopefully still enjoyable. Again, thanks for reading, and if you like, let me know what you thought.
Mark woke to a dull ache in his mouth and a swollen eye. He pushed his tongue around his mouth to assess the damage. Blood, no loose teeth. He squinted at his surroundings. Oh, no...
Sterile room. Metal table, to which his wrists were manacled; uncomfortable chair. Some kind of button at the other end of the table. For the manacles? Drain in the middle of the blue tile floor. No mirrors or cameras. A code locked door. At least he was still wearing his pants...
The fox's eyes bugged out for a moment as he felt movement on his penis. Chester! He immediately ducked his head as close to his crotch as the chains would allow. "Hey," he whispered, "if you can, come up for air, please." After a brief struggle that produced a furious erection, Chester's head popped out from Mark's waistband.
"Okay. Look, I'm sorry for the mess of this, but I think you can get us out of this. On the far end of the table I'm stuck to, there's a button. If you can press it, I'm betting it'll pop these cuffs. Or call for help. Or kill us. But considering our options, I think it's pretty reasonable."
The little bull nodded, looking scared but determined.
"I'm going to get you up there. Don't be afraid, just do your best, okay?" Again,Chester nodded.
"Okay, good." The fox leaned toward Chester, as best he could, and opened his mouth. After a moment's hesitation, Mark could feel his tiny hands grip his front teeth for purchase, and he hauled himself up. The fox gripped his arms with his lips, and lifted him towards the table.
At that moment, with a loud thunk of the lock activating, the door opened.
Fuck my life, Mark thought to himself.
***
Chester hesitated for a moment. Really? _ He sighed and reached up to grip whatever tooth he could grab, hauling himself up for a moment before Mark's lips trapped both his arms. _I really don't weigh much at all, do I? A similar manoeuvre that would have left both his arms broken at his full height merely held him in place firmly, as the fox lifted him towards the table. Chester glanced backwards. Okay, I see it...
The lock sprang to life, and the door began to open. With a sharp intake of breath, Mark tossed his head backwards, opening his mouth to release Chester, who, with a squeak of terror, descended within.
At first, all Chester could do was lie still in the fetid air, amazed that he was still alive. He held fast to Mark's tongue, terrified that he would slip away into the darkness behind him. It was too humid, too hot, and smelled far too much of death. Teeth, impossibly large to the little bull, held him prisoner in the darkness, but then Mark opened his mouth just a little, allowing Chester much needed relief from the stifling air, but also letting him see and hear much of the proceedings.
"So we figured out quickly that there was some kind of user identification built into the weapon. The handle, maybe?"
From his vantage, he could see that whoever was addressing Mark was holding the shrink ray. He set it on the table in front of the fox, but just out of reach.
"We're not even sure what it does yet, but we'll figure it out, with or without your cooperation. If you want to change departments, I am sure we could come to excellent accommodations. For starters, what does it do?"
Chester heard steps, and saw a glimpse of a suit. "Not talking? Not even name, rank, and serial number?" Laughter. "We've got a working theory that if we cut off your hand, we'll be able to use it on the weapon to activate it. We're going to test that theory out in about five minutes if you don't start talking. From where I'm standing, I think it's a pretty reasonable choice. Lucrative new job in a new department, or you lose a hand and then we see what happens." More footsteps, and then Mark opened his mouth wide.
For just a moment,Chester could see the whole scene. A wolf in a dress shirt, gun holstered under his left arm, his jacked draped across the chair on the other end of the table. The shrink ray, just out of reach of Mark's manacled hands.
Completely exposed but not watched,Chester leapt out of Mark's mouth and dashed towards the shrink ray, rolling beside its grip.
"I don't know, it all seems so sudden," said Mark, finally free to speak. The wolf spun. "I mean... what are you offering? Specifics, please, I'm really not interested in speculation. Paperwork, that's really my thing."
He's distracting him... The bull began to crawl, keeping tabs on the wolf's position, using the shrink ray as cover.
"So you can talk. I wondered if we'd beaten the sense out of you. Fine. What's on the table is this: you switch teams, you tell us what this thing can do, you help us reverse engineer it, and you get about twice what you were making."
Mark laughed, and the wolf, annoyed, stepped closer. Chester dashed. "What's so funny?" asked the wolf. "It's not a bad offer."
"I'm going to let you in on something," responded the fox, in a hushed tone, causing the wolf to lean closer.
"What?" asked the wolf quietly.
Click.
"The fuck?" The wolf reached for his weapon, but not before Chester saw Mark grab the shrink ray. A second later, with a horrifyingly shrill shriek, the wolf disappeared under the lip of the table, and then the room was momentarily silent.
***
Mark saw Chester bolt. Good boy! The fox laughed. The government wolf looked reasonably offended. "What's so funny? It's not a bad offer."
The fox grinned. "I'm going to let you in on something," he said quietly, causing the wolf to lean closer, as expected. He watched, as Chester reached the button, and jumped on top of it with all his might.
"What?" asked the wolf, seemingly genuinely puzzled. The manacles clicked open, the wolf hesitated. "The fuck?"
Mark rushed for the shrink ray, now easily within grasp, and spun it towards the wolf, blasting him before he'd even had a chance to grip his weapon properly. Quickly, the wolf lost height, and as he slipped under the table, he began to scream in terror, a note that got higher and quieter as he diminished, becoming nothing more than an inaudible pip as his clothes covered him and he disappeared.
The fox stepped over the pile of clothes, leaving the gun where it lay, and grabbed Chester. "Kinky and safe. I'll explain everything later. And thank you." Above protestations, he returned the bull to the confines of his boxers and turned his attention to the door. They'll have heard something by now.
Predictably, the door began to open, and Mark positioned himself behind it. A large brown bear entered. "Did they leave?" he muttered to himself.
"Nope!" Mark responded merrily as the door closed and he shot the bear, cutting his height by half. "I remember you! How's it feel now?" He stepped out from behind the door and hit the surprised bear in the face, knocking him to the floor as he tripped over his own pants. The fox kicked him. "There. I feel better, how about you?" He shot the bear again before he could respond, and he squealed as feet dwindled into inches. The fox picked him out of his pants and held him tightly in one hand. "Now. You are I are going to have a conversation. You're going to tell me everything I want to know, and then I'll decide what to do with you. Deal?"
The bear nodded, too terrified to speak.
"Good. First, how many people are here, besides you and your friend?"
The bear shook his head. "No one. We were just sent to deal with you and come back. This wasn't supposed to happen." He began to cry.
Mark patted the bear on the head with his thumb. "Shh, shh. Okay then. Combo for the lock from this side, please?"
"88420. Please... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I just - "
Mark interrupted again, stroking the bear on the top of the head with his thumb. "Shh, shh... it's okay. Now, let's go find your friend, shall we?" The fox stepped over towards the pile of clothes and began to lift them apart carefully, scanning for movement before finding the miniscule wolf, barely more than a sliver, crawling inside the white shirt. With one claw, he carefully extracted the terrified canine, and he set him upon the metal table, accompanied by his companion, who, comparatively towered over him.
Mark picked up one of the chairs and manoeuvred it around to face the duo, spinning it backwards to sit leaning towards them. "Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with you two. Send you back to your department for explanation? I wonder what they'll do to you. Put you under the microscope, maybe?" He produced the gun again, holding it over the bear. "It's not really fair, he's smaller than you are." With a squeeze of the trigger, the bear shrunk again, crying as he got smaller and smaller, until he was no bigger than his companion. "But maybe I just don't care." The gun hovered over both of the agents, and they began to plead inaudibly, a desperate pantomime. Again, Mark squeezed the trigger, and they both diminished. They moved close to each other and hugged. "Ants. You're both ants now." He could not even see their expressions clearly anymore.
Mark stood up and turned around, so they could not see his face. I am not the bad guy. That was supposed to make me feel better, but now I just feel evil. This was their job, and this is the game we play, but...
He twisted the dial on the shrink ray, and aimed it at the pair, and they began to grow, bigger and bigger, stopping at two feet tall.
The fox smiled coldly. "Gentlemen, I think I have an idea that we can all get behind."