{"sf1_id":345053,"sf2_id":"YnLEOaA1","title":"The Game We Play","author":"Hedry","words":1714,"posted_at":"2012-02-23T07:14:00.000Z","tags":["Bear","Bull","Fox","Male","Micro","Mild Violence","Short Story","Shrinking","Story Progression","Story Series","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/345053-the-game-we-play","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/YnLEOaA1","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=345053\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#3 of Mark and Chester\n\nA 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.","content":"Mark woke to a dull ache in his mouth and a swollen eye.\u0026nbsp; He pushed his tongue around his mouth to assess the damage.\u0026nbsp; _Blood, no loose teeth._\u0026nbsp; He squinted at his surroundings.\u0026nbsp; _Oh, no..._\u0026nbsp;\n\nSterile room.\u0026nbsp; Metal table, to which his wrists were manacled; uncomfortable chair.\u0026nbsp; Some kind of button at the other end of the table.\u0026nbsp; _For the manacles?_\u0026nbsp; Drain in the middle of the blue tile floor.\u0026nbsp; No mirrors or cameras.\u0026nbsp; A code locked door.\u0026nbsp; At least he was still wearing his pants...\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe fox's eyes bugged out for a moment as he felt movement on his penis.\u0026nbsp; _Chester__!_\u0026nbsp; He immediately ducked his head as close to his crotch as the chains would allow.\u0026nbsp; \"Hey,\" he whispered, \"if you can, come up for air, please.\"\u0026nbsp; After a brief struggle that produced a furious erection, Chester's head popped out from Mark's waistband.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Okay.\u0026nbsp; Look, I'm sorry for the mess of this, but I think you can get us out of this.\u0026nbsp; On the far end of the table I'm stuck to, there's a button.\u0026nbsp; If you can press it, I'm betting it'll pop these cuffs.\u0026nbsp; Or call for help.\u0026nbsp; Or kill us.\u0026nbsp; But considering our options, I think it's pretty reasonable.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;The little bull nodded, looking scared but determined.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I'm going to get you up there.\u0026nbsp; Don't be afraid, just do your best, okay?\"\u0026nbsp; Again,Chester nodded.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Okay, good.\"\u0026nbsp; The fox leaned toward Chester, as best he could, and opened his mouth.\u0026nbsp; After a moment's hesitation, Mark could feel his tiny hands grip his front teeth for purchase, and he hauled himself up.\u0026nbsp; The fox gripped his arms with his lips, and lifted him towards the table.\n\n\u0026nbsp;At that moment, with a loud _thunk_ of the lock activating, the door opened.\n\n\u0026nbsp;_Fuck my life,_ Mark thought to himself.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nChester hesitated for a moment.\u0026nbsp; _Really?\u0026nbsp;_ 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.\u0026nbsp; _I really don't weigh much at all, do I?_\u0026nbsp; 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.\u0026nbsp; Chester glanced backwards.\u0026nbsp; _Okay, I see it..._\n\n\u0026nbsp;The lock sprang to life, and the door began to open.\u0026nbsp; 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.\n\n\u0026nbsp;At first, all Chester could do was lie still in the fetid air, amazed that he was still alive.\u0026nbsp; He held fast to Mark's tongue, terrified that he would slip away into the darkness behind him.\u0026nbsp; It was too humid, too hot, and smelled far too much of death.\u0026nbsp; 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.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"So we figured out quickly that there was some kind of user identification built into the weapon.\u0026nbsp; The handle, maybe?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;From his vantage, he could see that whoever was addressing Mark was holding the shrink ray.\u0026nbsp; He set it on the table in front of the fox, but just out of reach.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"We're not even sure what it does yet, but we'll figure it out, with or without your cooperation.\u0026nbsp; If you want to change departments, I am sure we could come to excellent accommodations.\u0026nbsp; For starters, what does it do?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;Chester heard steps, and saw a glimpse of a suit.\u0026nbsp; \"Not talking?\u0026nbsp; Not even name, rank, and serial number?\"\u0026nbsp; Laughter.\u0026nbsp; \"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.\u0026nbsp; We're going to test that theory out in about five minutes if you don't start talking.\u0026nbsp; From where I'm standing, I think it's a pretty reasonable choice.\u0026nbsp; Lucrative new job in a new department, or you lose a hand and then we see what happens.\"\u0026nbsp; More footsteps, and then Mark opened his mouth wide.\n\n\u0026nbsp;For just a moment,Chester could see the whole scene.\u0026nbsp; 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.\u0026nbsp; The shrink ray, just out of reach of Mark's manacled hands.\n\n\u0026nbsp;Completely exposed but not watched,Chester leapt out of Mark's mouth and dashed towards the shrink ray, rolling beside its grip.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I don't know, it all seems so sudden,\" said Mark, finally free to speak.\u0026nbsp; The wolf spun.\u0026nbsp; \"I mean... what are you offering?\u0026nbsp; Specifics, please, I'm really not interested in speculation.\u0026nbsp; Paperwork, that's really my thing.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;_He's distracting him..._\u0026nbsp; The bull began to crawl, keeping tabs on the wolf's position, using the shrink ray as cover.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"So you _can_ talk.\u0026nbsp; I wondered if we'd beaten the sense out of you.\u0026nbsp; Fine.\u0026nbsp; 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.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;Mark laughed, and the wolf, annoyed, stepped closer.\u0026nbsp;Chester dashed.\u0026nbsp; \"What's so funny?\" asked the wolf.\u0026nbsp; \"It's not a bad offer.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"I'm going to let you in on something,\" responded the fox, in a hushed tone, causing the wolf to lean closer.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"What?\" asked the wolf quietly.\n\n\u0026nbsp;_Click._\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"The fuck?\"\u0026nbsp; The wolf reached for his weapon, but not before Chester saw Mark grab the shrink ray.\u0026nbsp; A second later, with a horrifyingly shrill shriek, the wolf disappeared under the lip of the table, and then the room was momentarily silent.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\n\\*\\*\\*\n\n\u0026nbsp;\n\nMark saw Chester bolt.\u0026nbsp; _Good boy!_\u0026nbsp; The fox laughed.\u0026nbsp; The government wolf looked reasonably offended.\u0026nbsp; \"What's so funny?\u0026nbsp; It's not a bad offer.\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;The fox grinned.\u0026nbsp; \"I'm going to let you in on something,\" he said quietly, causing the wolf to lean closer, as expected.\u0026nbsp; He watched, as Chester reached the button, and jumped on top of it with all his might.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"What?\" asked the wolf, seemingly genuinely puzzled.\u0026nbsp; The manacles clicked open, the wolf hesitated.\u0026nbsp; \"The fuck?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;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.\u0026nbsp; 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.\n\n\u0026nbsp;The fox stepped over the pile of clothes, leaving the gun where it lay, and grabbed Chester.\u0026nbsp; \"Kinky and safe.\u0026nbsp; I'll explain everything later.\u0026nbsp; And thank you.\"\u0026nbsp; Above protestations, he returned the bull to the confines of his boxers and turned his attention to the door.\u0026nbsp; _They'll have heard something by now._\n\n\u0026nbsp;Predictably, the door began to open, and Mark positioned himself behind it.\u0026nbsp; A large brown bear entered.\u0026nbsp; \"Did they leave?\" he muttered to himself.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Nope!\" Mark responded merrily as the door closed and he shot the bear, cutting his height by half.\u0026nbsp; \"I remember you!\u0026nbsp; How's it feel now?\"\u0026nbsp; 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.\u0026nbsp; The fox kicked him.\u0026nbsp; \"There.\u0026nbsp; I feel better, how about you?\"\u0026nbsp; He shot the bear again before he could respond, and he squealed as feet dwindled into inches.\u0026nbsp; The fox picked him out of his pants and held him tightly in one hand.\u0026nbsp; \"Now.\u0026nbsp; You are I are going to have a conversation.\u0026nbsp; You're going to tell me everything I want to know, and then I'll decide what to do with you.\u0026nbsp; Deal?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;The bear nodded, too terrified to speak.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Good.\u0026nbsp; First, how many people are here, besides you and your friend?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;The bear shook his head.\u0026nbsp; \"No one.\u0026nbsp; We were just sent to deal with you and come back.\u0026nbsp; This wasn't supposed to happen.\"\u0026nbsp; He began to cry.\n\n\u0026nbsp;Mark patted the bear on the head with his thumb.\u0026nbsp; \"Shh, shh.\u0026nbsp; Okay then.\u0026nbsp; Combo for the lock from this side, please?\"\n\n\u0026nbsp;\"88420.\u0026nbsp; Please... I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I just - \"\n\n\u0026nbsp;Mark interrupted again, stroking the bear on the top of the head with his thumb.\u0026nbsp; \"Shh, shh... it's okay.\u0026nbsp; Now, let's go find your friend, shall we?\"\u0026nbsp; 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.\u0026nbsp; 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.\n\n\u0026nbsp;Mark picked up one of the chairs and manoeuvred it around to face the duo, spinning it backwards to sit leaning towards them.\u0026nbsp; \"Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with you two.\u0026nbsp; Send you back to your department for explanation?\u0026nbsp; I wonder what they'll do to you. \u0026nbsp;Put you under the microscope, maybe?\"\u0026nbsp; He produced the gun again, holding it over the bear.\u0026nbsp; \"It's not really fair, he's smaller than you are.\"\u0026nbsp; 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.\u0026nbsp; \"But maybe I just don't care.\"\u0026nbsp; The gun hovered over both of the agents, and they began to plead inaudibly, a desperate pantomime.\u0026nbsp; Again, Mark squeezed the trigger, and they both diminished.\u0026nbsp; They moved close to each other and hugged.\u0026nbsp; \"Ants.\u0026nbsp; You're both ants now.\"\u0026nbsp; He could not even see their expressions clearly anymore.\n\n\u0026nbsp;Mark stood up and turned around, so they could not see his face.\u0026nbsp; _I am not the bad guy.\u0026nbsp; That was supposed to make me feel better, but now I just feel evil.\u0026nbsp; This was their job, and this is the game we play, but..._\n\n\u0026nbsp;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.\n\n\u0026nbsp;The fox smiled coldly.\u0026nbsp; \"Gentlemen, I think I have an idea that we can all get behind.\"\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Mark and Chester","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/343933-best-intentions.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/346057-team-building.json"}}