FSE

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The streets of Boston were quiet at night, more so than most of the East Coast cities. Streets clogged with traffic during the day were suddenly traversable, and the endless flow of walkers on the sides of the street disappeared, off to bed in their beds. With every hour that passed after the sun went down, there were fewer people to be found on the streets, and only those that had business better conducted at night were to be found.

Azure knew that he wouldn't be out and about tonight, were it not for his employer's insistence that he come along.

The skunk's tail twitched behind him, and his fingers rubbed along a small amulet he wore on his neck, the blue stripe along the back of his tail - part of his namesake - barely seen in the dim light inside of his boss's limo. Streetlights occasionally lit up part of the inside of it, but never all of it, keeping his boss in shadow opposite him. Occasionally he'd catch sight of the green scaled hands on the end of the boss's cane, but that was all; the rest of the boss's body was hidden in shadow.

He looked to his left, at his immediate superior, the boss's second in command. A dragon, red-scaled and almost half a foot taller than him, held a pistol in hand and had a knife at his waist, and probably other weapons hidden away where the skunk couldn't see them. The dragon wore a suit, just like the boss did, and just like he did, but unlike the two of them, the dragon's suit seemed on the verge of ripping apart at all times. Just sitting there, with the lights from outside rippling over him as the limo sped by, it looked like the dragon's suit would be split at the seams by the bulges of muscle beneath the cloth.

The dragon turned to him, a little smirk revealing several sharp teeth. "Nervous, Azure?"

Shaking his head, Azure leaned back and crossed his arms. "Not a bit, Al," he said, giving a little smirk of his own.

"Good." The lights in the car shifted, rising halfway up their boss on the other side of the limo, but once more it didn't rise up enough to see his face before the car was moving on again, moving down the streets towards its eventual destination.

Lacking the bumps and potholes that so many of the smaller cities had, the ride was smooth, and with no further proddings from Al, there was little for Azure to do but think. His eyes drifted towards the window as he lost himself in recent memory.

The boss had called him to the penthouse office this morning. Al had been there, standing behind the iguana's shoulder as he almost always did, as the head of the Family told him what was going to happen tonight. No invitation, like usual; this was full-on, no argument, decree from the Almighty announcement of what was going down tonight. A chance for him to prove himself, the big man said; more like an order to prove he was worth it, in Azure's eyes.

Tonight they were headed to a yacht on the waterfront to meet with a member of Vinnie's rival Family. According to the boss, they were going to negotiate a truce for the next few months, deal with some of the rats that were sneaking in through the holes in the organization. The feds were cracking down hard, and they needed to...take care of the holes in their respective groups before they were sunk by them.

Usually, Al would have been enough back-up, but tonight, Vinnie wanted him along too. Azure turned his head, looking at the massive dragon at his side. Nobody in their right minds would fuck with Al, and he'd seen more than a few crackheads and drunks run screaming from the dragon as they suddenly recovered their better judgment. Something was going on here, and the skunk wasn't sure that he liked it.

The limo turned again, and what little bit of the boss was revealed slipped into shadow again as they changed direction. The streetlights got more infrequent, replaced by squat buildings with a little light coming out of the windows. Azure reached down, pulling his pistol from his waist and giving it a cocking tug, making sure it was ready for trouble. Regardless of his feelings, he had a job to do as one of Vinnie's bodyguards.

They came to a stop at the edge of the street, where it met the docks. Al moved first, opening his door and stepping outside, and Azure copied him on his side of the car. Practiced turns, a full three sixty to cover the area, revealed no threats to the skunk. Not to Al, either, best as Azure could tell.

A nod inside, and Vinnie climbed out, into the dim moonlight.

The boss of the Family was a big iguana, standing halfway between Azure's height and Al's. His arms were not ripped or bulging the way that Al's were, but Azure had seen Vinnie deck a guy with one punch, and that cane of his wasn't something that the reptile carried around because he needed it. The fist sized diamond on the top made a hell of a bludgeoning instrument, and it put a new meaning to the phrase 'blood diamond' with all the things that Vinnie had bashed in with it.

Al took the lead in front of the boss, and Azure stepped in behind as they stepped onto the docks. The wood rocked up and down, up and down as they walked on it, and the water sloshed over onto it. Several times it almost reached their shoes, but always receded just before it had the chance to ruin the expensive footwear.

Most of the boats here were small, dingy, things that poor fishermen or guys with delusions of wealth would buy for themselves. So, when it came to finding the yacht that the other Family was waiting for them in, it was a little hard to find it in the rest of the piles of trash. Eventually, however, they found it, hidden behind a dirty sailboat and a grime coated fishing trawler.

Several wolves in suits looked down on them from the deck, their hands crossed in front of them as Al stepped onto the gangplank. They nodded their respects to the iguana, and Vinnie grinned. "I trust that everyone's ready for our meeting?" the iguana asked.

"Yes sir, Mr. Vinnie," one of the wolves said. "The boss is downstairs; he's waiting for you and yours."

"Very good, very good," Vinnie said.

Stepping out of the way as Al stepped on deck, the wolves looked down at the iguana and Azure with cautious but thankfully not hostile eyes. Their eyes dipped down, and then back up, a quick look for weapons that Azure answered by raising the pistol he gripped. They nodded, then went back to standing at attention with their hands crossed in front of them.

The dragon was the one that led the way down into the ship, and Azure kept his attention on the wolves behind as they stepped down the stairs to one of the decks below. A soft click told him that the door back up to the top was shut; it could have been the wolves giving them privacy, as they should with their boss and the head of another Family around, but it could have been something more sinister just as easily. The skunk's fingers tensed around the grip of the pistol, but kept it at his side. No need to rush to conclusions, he told himself.

Passing through a single short corridor, they stepped into a meeting room. A large polished wood table took up most of the room, with chairs on the far side and the side closest them the only seats.

Azure flicked his eyes between the other three occupants. Two more wolves, each standing a pace behind and to the side of the older canine in the middle. He couldn't quite tell the species, but there had to be some bit of Shar Pei in him for all the wrinkles on his face. The old man leaned forward, his hands resting on the table, and little glints of harsh electric light reflected off of his eyes from under the flaps of skin that obscured many of his features.

"Mr. Coh. I'm glad that you had the faith to meet with me tonight," Vinnie said as he took his seat. Al took his space at the right, and Azure remained by the door, leaning slightly against it. "I hope it wasn't too much trouble."

"Some trouble, but nothing I couldn't handle." Mr. Coh turned his head to the side, waving one hand at one of his men. The wolf stepped forward, pulling out a folder and putting it down on the table, and the head of the other Family slid it across the table. "This is the agreement on my side. Does it meet with your approval?"

The iguana stopped it with a flick of his finger, turning it around. Azure was too far behind to see what the papers said as Vinnie read through them, but he could imagine what they were about. Different territories in the city assigned to one of them, schedules, agreements over who did what, and where, so that they didn't step on each other's toes. Maybe even a few identities of moles that they already knew about, for all he knew; he had no idea of everything that went through the big man's mind.

Silence broken only by the tapping of fingers ended as Vinnie put the envelope back down on the table. "It's suitable," the iguana said with a nod. "And I have a gift for you. A little something that will show you that I'm just as dedicated to ending the problems that the feds are giving us."

"And what is that, Vinnie?" Mr. Coh asked.

"Al? Give Mr. Coh the file," the iguana said with a flick of his fingers.

The dragon walked around the table, pulling a manila envelope out of his suit. He held it out as he reached the other side of the table, but ignored the wolf that tried to reach for it. When the bodyguard tried to be more insistent, Al grabbed the wolf by the wrist...and squeezed.

It took less than a second for the big canine to be down on his knees, whimpering and yelping in pain. The dragon loomed over him, a steely look in his eyes as he forced the wolf further and further down, until he was almost on all fours, only the one arm still held off of the ground.

"Easy, Al," Vinnie said. "Just give Mr. Coh the file."

The dragon grunted softly, letting go of the wolf before handing the envelope over to the old dog, walking around the table and taking his position again.

Mr. Coh shook his head at his bodyguard before slowly opening the envelope. His eyes moved rapidly beneath the wrinkles, only to go wide, enough so that the flaps of skin were pushed upright. He whipped around, looking down at his guard, and bared his teeth. "Ivan, what is the meaning of this?!" he growled, throwing the envelope to the ground.

"That's right, Mr. Coh. You were watched by a fed all this time," Vinnie said. There was no sign of a chuckle in his voice, but Azure could imagine the smile on his face. Just a slight quirk of his snout, turned up a bit to show how he considered himself better. "But don't worry. He won't be a problem for much longer."

"No, he won't be," the dog said.

Even as Mr. Coh reached into his jacket, Vinnie raised a hand to stop him. "Mr. Coh, as a gesture of good faith, allow one of my men to do it," the iguana said. "No need to have your name on the bullet that sends him to the fishes, eh?"

The other Family head hesitated for a moment, but took his hand out of his jacket. "You're right. Thank you, Vinnie." He looked between the dragon and the skunk, and then back to the dragon. "Is your pet lizard going to do it, then?"

"Nah, I think that it's time that Azure here takes a little more responsibilities under his belt." Vinnie turned in his high backed chair, and waved the skunk over.

Azure stepped forward without hesitation. So, this was what the whole thing was about, he thought to himself; the boss wanted to see if he would go through with killing someone like this. It was only a matter of time, he realized; in the mafia, with the Family, everyone was eventually asked to do something like this. If you wanted up the ladder, it was the only way to prove that you were loyal to the Family more than anyone else.

This was something else, though. This guy, if Vinnie was telling the truth, was a fed. FBI, DEA, NSA...it didn't matter what agency; killing a fed was something that sent a message to the highest people in government, and that message was, 'Fuck you.' And the government didn't take kindly to being told that, almost like a nun in Catholic school. 'Cept that nuns didn't have armies and supercomputers and other crazy shit on their side.

The iguana nodded at the wolf still on the ground, only just starting to pull himself to his feet. "Put him out of his misery, Azure," Vinnie said, a little smirk on his face as he leaned back in his chair. "Make sure that he never squeals on any of us ever again."

"Yes, boss," Azure said. He checked his pistol again, making sure that it was still ready - it was - as he walked around the table. The wolf's eyes followed him around, still wet, still damp from whimpering from Al's grip on his wrist. He looked pitiful, barely able to get up on his knees, and just holding completely still as the skunk got around the table and lifted the pistol.

Azure looked down the barrel at the wolf. He was completely and totally afraid; his fur was damp in a cold sweat, and those wet eyes were glazing over with more tears. Fed, informant; whatever he was, the wolf wasn't ready for something like this. He should never have been sent out like this.

And now, thanks to whatever got him caught...he'd never have the chance again.

Azure's finger tightened on the trigger -

THU-BOOOOM!

The entire yacht rocked as something went off at the other side of the ship, nearly sending Azure sprawling to the ground. Both the guy he was supposed to shoot and the other faithful bodyguard DID go flying, both through the windows behind Mr. Coh and into the water below.

Mr. Coh wasn't so lucky; the shockwaves from whatever had caused that blast knocked the old dog out of his seat and sent him flying to the floor. Even with the aftershock of the explosion in the air, Azure could hear the crack as Mr. Coh hit the ground, his neck snapping from the impact. And if that wasn't clear enough, the lolling tongue and glazed eyes were enough to make it clear that he wasn't getting up again.

Al was at his side in a second, growling at the sight. "Damn," the dragon muttered under his breath. "This is not going to go over well with his Family."

"I'd be a little more concerned with the boom back there," Azure said, turning around.

The door to the meeting room was open, and Mr. Vinnie was only halfway between their side of the table and the other side. The hallway leading to the door was filled with the least welcome sight that Azure could imagine.

Federal agents, in bulletproof vests.

"Down!" Al shouted, shoving him down to the ground even as he opened fire down the hallway. Bullets sprayed from the dragon's pistol as fast as he could pull the trigger, and before Azure dropped out of sight, he saw several of the agents get hit, one in the chest, one in the face. Both hit the ground, but he knew that one of them was not going to get up again.

The boss had hit the ground at the same as the rest of them, crawling around the table towards their side. Vinnie grumbled under his breath, but the sudden return fire from the hallway cut off whatever he was trying to say, drowning it out in the BANG BANG BANG of gunfire, the rat-a-tat-tat-tat of the automatic rifles that some of the agents carried. Wood splinters and glass shards rained to the ground as the bullets made more holes in the back of the yacht, cutting it apart piece by piece.

A break in the fire, and Azure was up over the edge, his pistol on the table to steady his aim before squeezing the trigger. Bang, bang, bullets flying into the vests that the agents wore. They ducked behind the doorway, taking cover, and he did the same, ducking down.

Rounding the table corner, Vinnie grumbled as he sat by them. "Got a gun for me?" the iguana muttered.

"Only ones I'm already using, boss," Al said, pulling another pistol out of a pocket, snapping a clip in place. "Azure?"

"Only the one in my hand, and I don't think we got enough ammo to deal with 'em now." He ducked down a bit more as another barrage of bullets flew over their heads. "FUCK! They really don't care about the 'alive' part of 'dead or alive', do they?"

"Never have, in my case," Vinnie muttered. "But I tell you one thing, they're not getting me quietly."

"What about not getting us at all?" A bullet storm above their heads interrupted the iguana's response, and Al's return fire didn't help. "What was that, boss?"

"I said, how do you plan to get out of here then?" the iguana said, ducking behind Mr. Coh's former chair. "They're at the only door."

"Not the only one." The skunk looked at his fellow guard. "You swim?"

Al looked at the shot out windows just behind them, then looked back at Azure. "You're insane."

"Got a better idea?"

"No. Let's go for it."

"I'll cover you," Azure said. "Get him out, and I'll be right behind you."

Vinnie looked ready to protest, but Azure didn't give him a chance. As soon as there was another break in the bullet storm overhead, he was up again. Using one hand, he pulled one of the chairs around him up with him, throwing it on the table and shoving it across. The wheels on the bottom of the chair let it keep rolling across the smooth surface, and it blocked a good bit of the return fire from the feds, all of them still stuck in the hallway.

Even as he fired back around the chair, the dragon was up and moving, grabbing the iguana by the armpits and yanking him out. Vinnie screamed as the two of them leaped out through the broken windows, and Azure heard a few more tinkles of broken glass falling to the ground before he heard the splash of them hitting water.

The skunk emptied his clip at the agents before turning and sprinting the few steps to the window. He felt the heat of several bullets flying over his shoulders, and one bullet snared the very tip of his ear, a burning pain from his ear before he was through the window.

The fall was short, but still enough to make him feel as though he'd left his stomach behind in the meeting room. Azure sucked in a breath of air just before hitting the water, falling who knew how far below the surface. Knowing that there would be some agents looking through the windows, he kept himself under the water for as long as he could, pulling himself through the water as fast and as quietly as he could, forcing himself to keep moving even as his lungs started to strain.

Only when his lungs were burning with the need for air did he let himself get back to the surface, and he did his best to keep his gasping for air quiet. It was more difficult than he thought, and he prayed that there were no agents too close to him.

Thankfully, they seemed to be a bit too busy with the yacht still. Looking behind him, he could see that the yacht was on fire at the stern, and the agents were milling around at the bow, and on the dock. Far enough away to be little more than blurs of movement, Azure knew that he was in the clear.

For now. If he didn't make his way to the dock soon, though, he was going to freeze. The winter weather had left the water barely above freezing, and he could already feel the cold sinking into his bones. He'd have to swim fast, and hope that Al and Vinnie had gotten to shore.

Orienting himself towards the landward side of the docks, the skunk started swimming.

#

They were lucky. Al and Vinnie had reached shore not all that far from the limo. Though it was confiscated, they were able to hotwire one of the other cars in the area, and they were just passing by the edge of the docks as Azure pulled himself onto the ground. Al pulled him into the front seat with him, and they were off like a shot.

"The feds are gonna pay for that," Vinnie muttered from the back seat. "That meeting was supposed to be top secret! That rat of Coh's, he must have told them where we were going to be."

"Probably, Boss," Azure nodded. "We'll just have to send them a message by rooting out every one of their moles from the group, huh?"

"Damn right," the iguana said with a growl under his breath. He turned to the dragon. "Al? Home. Penthouse. We're gonna need to get to work."

"Got it," the dragon said, pulling them onto one of the main streets and in the direction of the boss's home.

It didn't take them long. They pulled in front of the biggest hotel in the city, and Al just got right out of the car, leaving it there. Even left it running. Didn't matter if it got stolen at this point; would even give them a good fall guy for the thing if it did.

Only partly dry, they attracted quite a few weird looks as they made their way through the lobby and to the elevator. Azure ignored them. They were paid, same as he was; they'd keep their mouths shut if they knew what was good for them.

"Boys," Vinnie said, both of them looking at him. "Good work tonight. Couldn't have asked for better." The iguana turned to the skunk. "Azure?"

"Yeah, boss?"

"You're moving up. Teaming up with my boy Al here," the boss said, nodding at the dragon. "When he comes out, you come out too. You work well enough together, and I'm not splitting up a winning team if I can help it. Got it?"

"Got it boss," Azure said. He looked over at Al, and Al smirked a bit at him. Yes, the dragon certainly didn't seem to mind the arrangement. Considering just how good Al was in a fight, Azure didn't mind it either; if there was another shoot-out like the last one in their future, he wanted to be working with the best, not some half-paid amateur that would fall on his knees and cry for mommy like that fed back at the boat had done.

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. "Your stop, Azure; get upstairs in an hour. I'm gonna have some information for you and Al then," the iguana said.

Nodding, the skunk stepped out and walked down the halls. Wall sconces filled the place with a warm, though dim light, and the pale yellows and pinks along the walls did kind of make it look a bit more welcoming. Some of the guys thought it looked like walking through diseased pussy; Azure just thought it was alright. Color was a color.

His room was about three doors down from the elevator, and it opened with a quick flick of a keycard, letting him in and shutting quietly behind him. A few adjustments, and the deadbolt and chain were engaged, shutting it tight.

As he sat down on the bed, Azure felt the familiar buzzing of his cell. It rang softly, almost muted by his pants, but he fished it out immediately. A glance at the number was all he needed to know that it was not a call that he could ignore.

Flipping it open, the skunk pressed it to his ear. "Mind telling me what the hell you were thinking, Alpha?" he muttered, his voice quiet but biting.

"Now listen, Azure - "

"No, you listen," the skunk whispered. He stood up, pressing the cell phone tighter to his ear. "I told you about that meeting so that you could get some information out of the deal that I might miss; I didn't tell you that so you could bomb the back of the boat and try to arrest everyone. You nearly got me killed in there."

"Azure -"

"Not to mention the fact that you got one of the big crime bosses in the city killed. You know how much trouble that's going to make? Do you know how much Coh's men are going to come after anything federal after you guys just knocked him off? That's if they don't decide to make Vinnie the fall guy for this whole thing and declare war on him. That happens, and you're going to have a whole damn war to deal with." He couldn't stop himself, his words running away from him. "Either you are a moron, or you're working for one, because that was the sloppiest raid that I ever - "

"AZURE!"

The skunk stopped, taking a few deep breaths before he continued. "Yes, Alpha?"

"I was calling to tell you that the other informant is alright, and that he survived his little dip in the water." The handler on the other side of the phone paused. "Now, we'll deal with you insulting me up and down the phone another time. But right now, what's the situation?"

The skunk sighed softly, sitting back down on the bed in his room. "Well...could be a lot worse," he said. "Vinnie seems to trust me now; he's appointed me as a partner to his bodyguard, Al; said that we're going to be working together from here on out. Looks like he trusts me to keep his hide safe during the more dangerous dealings now."

"Then the raid was a success." Azure could almost hear the nodding on the other end of the phone. "It could have gone better, I admit -"

"No kidding."

"But the point of the whole thing, to get you in deeper, seems to have worked," Alpha continued, his voice even. There were times that Azure wondered if his handler was mechanical or computerized; the voice would have fit, even if the actions didn't. "You're trusted now. See what else you can get out of the boss about his plans in the city. Find out more about the ideas he has for rooting out our moles. They're our biggest assets in dealing with the Family, and if they manage to find out who is working against them - "

"You'll have a lot of problems, and a lot of graves." Azure nodded his head. One of the many reasons that they had given when they'd contacted him. They needed someone from the outside, someone who had a record of mercenary work, rather than someone that they could only fake a record for. It needed to stand up to scrutiny from the best that the Family had to offer, and the only way to be sure that it would was to send someone in who had that experience. "Don't worry. You'll get the information you need."

"We better. Alpha out."

The click at the other end was followed by the soft beeping of a dead line, and Azure closed his cell with a shake of his head. He pocketed it before leaning forward and putting his face against his hands, rubbing his eyes and forehead as he took several deep breaths.

"Well...at least he lived through that," the skunk muttered to himself. That was perhaps the only good thing that had come out of the raid on the boat; the other agent had lived through the ordeal. It also confirmed that Vinnie was getting better at find the moles that the feds were putting into the crime families. Finding someone in his own organization was difficult enough, but finding it in another group was something that he'd have thought impossible just a few hours ago. The iguana was thorough, no doubts about that; Azure would have to be more careful in the future to make sure he didn't finger himself by accident.

But that was the future, and this was the now. And now, he needed some rest before he had to meet up with the boss and Al again.

Pulling off his clothes and throwing them over in the corner of the room with the thought of getting them taken care of later, Azure laid back in the bed. He closed his eyes, and slowly drifted off into sleep, perchance to dream of something better.

#

Buzzzzzzzz, buzzzzzzzz.....buzzzzzzzz, buzzzzzzz...

On the third buzzing alarm, the skunk reached out and grabbed his phone off of the nightstand, grumbling under his breath as he flipped it open. The screen displayed the text as being from Vinnie upstairs, and Azure sighed to himself. "Not long enough," he muttered, but got out of bed anyway.

He found a new pair of pants in the nearby drawers, and pulled them on without bothering to reach for some underwear. A shirt in the closet, half buttoned, went on after. Completing the look was a formal jacket; the boss expected some formality, even in closed sessions, and he didn't want to make Vinnie any angrier than the iguana already was.

Nobody else was on the elevator as he rode it up, and only a couple of guards outside of the boss's penthouse suite were there to meet him. It was strange to see so few people; usually Vinnie had the place packed with guys, whether they were some of his guards or people he was making a deal with, or even a couple of people from the city that wanted to get a few favors. Without the assembled swarm of people, the normally cramped feeling hall leading to the suite felt absolutely massive, and Azure couldn't quite shake the sensation of feeling utterly exposed.

The guards looked up at him as he approached, the dingo and jackal nodding as they recognized him. The former turned to an intercom by the door. "Boss, Azure's here. You want us to let him in?"

"Show him inside, boys; I just told him to come up," Vinnie's voice responded.

"Got it boss," the dingo said. He took his finger off the button and opened the door. "Go on in, big guy."

Nodding in thanks, Azure stepped through the door.

Inside, Vinnie was just putting down a phone and reclining back in his massive leather chair on the other side of his desk. Standing on the opposite side - giving the skunk just enough room to sidle up beside him and still look over the desk at the boss - was Al. The dragon had ditched some of his weapons, but he still had the knife at his side, as well as probably a few things that weren't quite so visible.

Taking his place beside the dragon, Azure folded his hands in front of him at the waist. "You wanted to see me, boss?" he asked.

"Yeah, I did," Vinnie said. The iguana looked back and forth between them. "I'm gonna need you two to keep quiet about everything you hear now, got that?"

They nodded.

Vinnie ran his eyes over his desk, and Azure realized that the iguana was actually double checking everything around him, making sure that the intercom was off, the phone was down - and unplugged, he was a bit surprised to see - and that the computer was shut down. The big man was seriously working to make sure that nothing said would get out. The thought of that made Azure both interested and slightly nervous; whatever the iguana had to say now was going to be big.

Green fingers tapped on the desk, one right after another, tap-ap-ap-ap, as the boss spoke. "There's moles in the Family. We all know this, right?" They nodded again. "Well, they're getting worse. One of our safehouses on the other side of the city just got taken down. Guys who know too much getting sent to jail, maybe testifying; nothing good, that's for sure. They get to court, lot of the group's going down.

"If they get to court." The dragon lifted his hands, cracking his knuckles. "Are you thinking a little driveby, boss?"

"Something bigger than that, Al, otherwise I wouldn't have called your new partner up too," Vinnie said with a nod at Azure. "No, this is a lot bigger. Too big for a driveby."

"Then what are you thinking, boss?" Azure asked.

The iguana's lips turned up in a grin, a grin that would have gotten Azure running down the hall like an Olympian if it had been directed at him. "I got some new stuff coming in. C4, detonators, the works; we're gonna use that to blow the whole convoy of guys when they make their move. Send a message to everyone that thinks they can fuck with the Family."

It took all of Azure's self control to keep from reacting to what the boss said. The threat wasn't as ridiculous as it sounded; Vinnie's organization had contacts everywhere, from the police to the city government, and rumor had it that there were more than a few in the FBI too. If he wanted to get this done, then more than likely, he had the means, and the plans, to have it happen.

Al was nodding his head at the news. "I'm guessing you want me and the new guy to be the ones to plant the explosives?" the dragon asked.

"Right in one, Al." Vinnie nodded. "The stuff's coming in tomorrow. I'll get some calls made to the right people, and tomorrow night, you get down to the vehicle garage, and start rigging 'em up with the C4. Then, when the convoy comes and they take them off to either some safehouse or to the courthouse....BOOM!" The lizard slammed his fist down on the table, laughing as he did. "No more problems. And the city learns a valuable lesson; you don't fuck with the Family. Ever."

Azure nodded his head mechanically to match Al, his mind racing a mile a minute as he tried to figure out how he could stop this. There was no way that he could just call Alpha; the red panda on the other end was too sloppy, too blunt to get this thing handled without giving him away, and he didn't know if he could get Alpha to hand him off to someone else that would do the job right.

A test. The skunk realized that this was another test. Vinnie had called the both of them in, and had passed the information on to just the two of them. If there was a leak about the operations, then he would know just who to look at.

Well played, the skunk thought to himself.

As he thought of how he could flip this around, Vinnie got to his feet. "Alright, boys; the two of you are gonna be busy tomorrow. You guys go get some sleep, and I'll send someone to get you up in time for the job tomorrow morning."

Taking the obvious dismissal for what it was, Azure nodded and turned to leave, hearing the dragon walking behind him. They both passed through the door, and both walked towards the elevator, the dragon as quiet as he was, though likely for other reasons.

He needed more information, and bad. And the only other source that might know was...

Struck by inspiration, Azure turned his head towards the dragon as they stepped into the elevator. "Heh, looks like the boss really wants to send a message," he said, pushing a smile onto his face.

"No shit," Al said, shaking his head a few times. The dragon turned to look at him, a little grin of his own on his face. The red scales glinted in the elevator light. "Glad you're gonna have my back tomorrow. Most of the goons here barely know how to tie their own shoes, and the techs ain't any good in a fight if it comes down to it."

"Hey, I'm just glad to be working with the big dragon himself," he said with a laugh, slapping the dragon's back good naturedly. "You know how much of a legend you are, huh?"

"Heh, after tomorrow, we'll both be legends," Al said.

Not if I have anything to do with it, Azure thought to himself, but he didn't let the thought show on his face or break his smile. Putting his arm around the dragon's shoulders, he said, "Well, why don't you join me for a celebration first, eh?"

Al cocked an eyebrow, smirking at him. "What do you have in mind?"

"I got a girl coming down to my room. Why don't you join me and we both have some fun with her? Two for one, ya know."

"I'm not helping you pay for a piece of pussy, if that's what you're thinking," Al warned.

"Don't worry, I'm paying for all of it," Azure said, raising his other hand. "Hand to God, no money will leave your wallet. Just think we both deserve some fun after the way that meeting went bust."

The dragon laughed, his eyes closing for a moment before he looked down at the skunk. "Alright, alright; you want to see this girl spend all her time with me after seeing what I'm packing, who am I to argue? Just don't start complaining when you spend all your money buying her time for me, because as soon as I take off my clothes, she's not going to want to be anywhere near whatever you're packing," Al said with a smirk.

"Oh, don't worry, I won't complain about anything," Azure said.

The rest of the elevator ride was quiet enough, neither of them saying anything more. A little glance down told Azure that Al was looking forward to the girl; physical evidence was in abundance to support that. Hopefully it would be enough of a distraction for him to work.

They got off of the elevator, and Azure led the way back to his room. The door was half-open, as he'd left it, and he smiled. "Heh, looks like the girl might already be here," he said. He stepped out of the way. "You want to show off first, Al?"

"Heh, let me at her," the dragon said, stepping through the door. Azure was right behind, shutting the door and pulling the locks into place with one hand, and using the other to pull a small metal roll out of his pocket. He didn't have a roll of quarters, but this would do, he thought; he needed Al knocked out, so he could work him for information later, and he needed to get him out with the first blow.

Al wasn't a legend in the city for nothing, though; no sooner had Azure gotten up behind him than the dragon was turning, and the blow that was supposed to knock the dragon out went flying by Al's cheeks as he dodged out of the way of the punch. Azure went rolling, going along with the blow rather than trying to pull it back, and took a quick blow to the side that sent him wobbling off to the other end of the room, clutching his side with the hand not holding the metal roll.

The dragon pulled his knife from his belt, shaking his head. "I thought you were better than this, Azure," Al said, shaking his head as he swayed his arm from side to side, lines of light rolling up and down the blade. The dragon didn't take a step back towards the door, but took a step forward, closing the distance between the skunk and himself. "Who're you working for? One of the other Families? The feds?"

Shaking his head as he rubbed the spot where the dragon's punch had landed, the skunk pulled himself up straight. "Why don't you put that knife down...and we'll talk?" He clenched his hand a little tighter around the chunk of metal, shaking his head a few times. "No need to kill."

"Oh, I'm not...not until you tell me what I need to know, anyway," Al said. He took another step forward, only two steps between the two of them now. "But I'll give you a chance. Tell me what you're doing, who you work for; maybe I'll kill you rather than letting Vinnie do what he wants to you."

The deal was honest; the dragon wouldn't lie about something like that, Azure was pretty sure. And considering just how good Al was at fighting, the skunk had little doubt that the threat offer had worked on other people.

But it wouldn't work on him.

Just as the dragon took another step forward, the skunk ducked his head down and charged forward. He rammed himself into the dragon's stomach, but what he hoped would have knocked Al off of his feet barely staggered the dragon back a step. The knife came down, cutting along the end of one of his ears, and Azure growled as he rolled to the side, feeling the blade cutting the air just behind him as the dragon chased after him.

He came up to his knees and opened his hand just in time to block the next swing of the knife, catching it on the metal he held. It went flying, but it bought him the time to lash out with a kick, knocking Al's legs out from under him and sending the dragon sprawling to the floor. The big fighter hit the ground with a loud thud and 'oof', and the knife went sliding across the carpet under the bed, out of reach for either of them.

A quick arm chop that should have taken the dragon out for the count was blocked by a thick, muscled arm, Al blocking him. Not even a grimace at taking the chop full power against his arm, either, Azure saw with a bit of a gulp. The dragon glared at him, baring his teeth. "You're gonna get it for that one," Al muttered.

"Only if you can hit me," Azure muttered back, pulling his arm out of the way.

They both rolled back, getting to their feet at the same time. Al held his fists up, while Azure had his hands held low. The skunk's eyes flicked to the dragon's tail, which swayed slightly from side to side, the red fifth limb looking like it was ready to join the fight as well. He'd have to watch out for that; dragon tails had a lot of muscles in them, and could deliver some pretty powerful blows.

Al moved first, quick-stepping across the room and swinging his fist in a round arc, and if Azure hadn't ducked, it would have knocked him to the ground easy.

Instead, it whistled over his head, and he struck back with a few punches to the dragon's gut. Al flinched back, backstepping, but Azure pushed forward, keeping low as he kicked out at the dragon's legs, a one two kick at the knees. They went back, locking, but not breaking.

The feeling of punching hard scales and muscle caught up with him, and Azure winced as his hands and legs felt like he had been punching stone rather than a moving opponent. He shook his hands as he took a few steps back, resisting the urge to wring his hands to get rid of the pain that was filling his fingers. If he was going to win, he needed a new strategy.

Particularly as the blows barely seemed to make an impact on the dragon. Al's face didn't show the slightest hint of pain, and he would bet that the dragon only stepped back from the punches to get more room to retaliate rather than from being hurt. Al looked at him, shaking his head a few times. "Is that all you got, Azure? You really think that you could beat me?" the dragon asked.

"I was hoping you wouldn't notice me coming up behind you," the skunk muttered, shaking his head. He still had a chance, but...well, it was this or nothing.

As the dragon waited for him to come at him again, Azure pulled the amulet on his neck off, holding it in front of him, letting it sway side to side. It didn't have quite the amount of light reflecting from it that he'd prefer, but it would have to do. At least Al was already looking at it.

"What, trying to bribe me with some little trinket?" Al asked, his lip turning up in a sneer. "It would take a hell of a lot more than that thing to get me to let you go now."

"Not a bribe," Azure said, letting it sway. "Just...another idea..."

The dragon's eyes continued to follow the swaying, even if Al's head was still again. Good, good, though he would have to hurry. "You're gonna beat me anyway...why don't you just...give me a little longer, huh?" Azure asked. "Just...let me show you something...I won't open anything...just let me show you something..."

"What could you...what could you possibly show me?" Al said, the sneer still there, but slowly falling. The dragon seemed a little more sluggish, the weight shifting from foot to foot slowing, getting less energetic. "I should just deal with you now, if you're not even going to fight."

"You can wait a bit...you're the powerful one here...you just need to listen a little bit first...you want to listen, because you know you can deal with me any time, but what I have to say now might be important," Azure said, keeping his eyes on the dragon's eyes. They still moved, still swayed, and they might even have been shutting a bit. Not much, only the slightest bit, but it was a sign of progress. "You don't mind listening to me...you don't mind waiting just a bit...for old time's sake, do you?" he asked.

"I guess...for old time's sake..." the dragon said. Al's voice was slowing down, gradually getting quieter, just a bit more with each word. Even the dragon's fists were lowered, not much, but a bit. Just a bit.

Azure suppressed his sigh of relief. That had been too close. The dragon could have clobbered him if he hadn't tried to use the pendant, and that was still a possibility until he got Al restrained. Hypnosis was a very limited thing, particularly in the early stages like Al was in, and the only reason it was working now was because of how hard the pendant was to look away from.

Still, at least now he had a little time to work on getting Al away from him, disarm him. "Now...why don't you...sit down..." Azure said, keeping his voice quiet, soft. He looked around, and nodded towards the chair that was near his desk, right next to the drawers. "Just sit down...sit down and relax...you can handle me anytime...you don't have to worry about sitting down while I'm standing up..."

The skunk slowly guided the dragon into the chair, but now, he had a little problem. As long as the pendant kept swaying, he seemed to have the attention of the dragon. However, he would need to tie the dragon up if he didn't want to be jumped the minute he put the thing away, and there was no way that Al was going to go deep enough into trance for him to risk putting the pendant away. Not with the pendant alone.

Already the dragon was looking like he was starting to shake off the trance. Fighting the urge to hurry, the skunk asked, "You're so tense, Al...what can I do to help you feel in charge...what can I do to help you feel in charge, so you can relax? What would you want from me, if you could have anything in the world?"

Looking at him through semi-glazed eyes, the dragon said something that the skunk had never expected. "A...footjob would be nice..."

The request shocked him enough that he almost dropped the pendant, and he barely managed to keep it swaying after hearing that. Staring at the dragon, Azure shook his head. The dragon must be more confidant than he'd thought to say something like that for his request. "Oh? Do you have a foot fetish, Al? Is that why you would like that?" he asked.

"Yeah...a bit of one..." the dragon said slowly, his eyes half closed. His muscles were still tight, though, and his fists were still clenched. "I have...liked them...for a...while now..."

Well, if the dragon liked feet..."Why don't you bring the chair closer...bring it to the bed...that way you can stay close...keep an eye on me while I give you what you want," the skunk said, keeping his voice even.

As the dragon started dragging the chair over to the bed, Azure sat down at the edge, slowly kicking off his shoes as he didn't dare actually bend over and pull them off, not when things were going as well as they were. He pushed them off to the side, and, when the dragon was in front of him, slowly pressed one of his feet against the dragon's groin, pressing the bottom of his foot against the dragon's bulge.

Almost instantly, Al's body went limp, relaxed. It was astonishing to see just how fast that relaxed the dragon, and Azure stared as wide-eyed as the dragon had been when the pendant had first come out. This was more than just a fetish, this was an obsession. He must have been wanting this for a very long time.

Well, he was going to take advantage of it. Keeping his foot rubbing along the bulge that the dragon had, Azure said, "You're completely in control...You know that you're in control...you're getting the footjob that you want, and you're enjoying it a lot. You're very relaxed from getting the footjob, and enjoying it, knowing that you could end this at any time..."

"Yeah...enjoying it...enjoying it a lot," Al muttered, his fists finally unclenching as he leaned forward. His mouth slipped open slightly, not much, but just enough to show just how relaxed he was. The skunk smiled to himself, knowing that the dragon was almost completely under his control, under the trance.

Now, he just had to balance the trance with the pleasure that he was giving his former co-worker. Al's cock was throbbing under the pants he wore, and Azure was surprised to find that there was a bit of a wet spot against his foot. The dragon was already pre-ing, it seemed; apparently his foot fetish was more pronounced than he could have ever expected. Lucky for him it was; it was the only thing that would have deepened the trance to this point.

Slowly, and with every expectation of needing to bring it back up again, the skunk lowered the pendant. The dragon's eyes followed it for a bit, but when it was out of sight, Al didn't get up, didn't show signs of wanting to fight or anything else. All he did was sit there, just staring ahead with a smile on his face from the pleasure he was getting.

Good, Azure thought to himself with a nod. "Now...I'm going to get up, Al. You're not going to get angry at this. You'll just sit there, knowing that I'm getting something to make your footjob even better. It's nothing that you need to worry about; it's nothing that takes away your authority; it's nothing that takes away your ability to be in charge. I'm just doing what you want me to do...doing what you want me to do to make things better for your desires, okay?"

"O...kay..." the dragon muttered, and Azure pulled his foot back. He could feel that some of his toes were a little damp, but nothing bad; he'd probably have Al clean it up later, provided that everything went according to plan. And if it didn't...well, a little pre-stain on his toes would be the least of his worries against a pissed off dragon.

He hurried over to his drawers, and pulled open the bottom one. A little work pulled out the hidden bottom, and he managed to reach the little stash of stuff that he had brought with him, in case anything ever went to hell. There were a few guns inside, as well as a bar of metal and some other gadgets. However, what he needed was at the very back, some strong wire rope. It was smooth, manufactured to be completely smooth so that it had a harder time fraying, and would hold almost anything that walked on two legs without worry of them coming free. Hopefully that counted dragons, he thought to himself.

Turning around, he walked back to the hypnotized dragon. Keeping his voice quiet, even, calm, Azure said, "Now, you're going to need to kneel down on the floor. It will make things more comfortable for you, and it will let you show off how confident you are, how powerful you are. You are so strong that nothing can bother you; you are so in charge that you can be looking up at me, and you'll still be the one with all the power."

Following his commands, the dragon slowly got off of the chair, sliding down to his knees on the floor. His movements were fluid, but clumsy, like someone moving without bones to support them. Al slowly got on his knees, his arms at his side, and continued to stare towards the spot that Azure had been sitting on a moment ago.

The skunk moved quickly, tying the dragon's arms behind his back, and then making sure to tie the ankles together as a good measure. There were a few moments when Al stirred, and each time Azure worried that it might have been the dragon breaking free of his trance. Thankfully, it was just the dragon shifting around to get a little more comfortable in the bonds, and he never actually struggled to get out of them.

Shaking his head in relief, Azure slowly stood up and moved around the dragon. Putting his foot back down on the dragon's crotch, he got back to stroking Al's cock through his pants as he sat down. He felt the pulsing feeling of the dragon's cock against his foot, felt the arousal throbbing beneath those pants, and at the end of the strokes, he could feel the growing wet spot from the dragon's pre. Al's face was turned back a bit, looking up at him, but even with the glazed look in the dragon's eyes, Azure could see that the bodyguard was having the time of his life. Were it not for the hypnosis, those eyes would be rolled back in the dragon's skull, and he would probably be grinding back hard against Azure's feet.

He suppressed the desire to laugh, knowing that he could make a joke at the dragon's expense later. But for now, he needed information. "Alright...you have me cornered...you know that you're the one in charge, and you know that you can do anything you like...you can answer any questions, because I'm already as good as beaten..."

"Answer...answer any questions...good as beaten..." Al repeated slowly, mumbling the words.

"Yes, that's right, that's right..." Azure said. "Now...did you hear about the plan upstairs? The one with the C4?"

"Yes...heard plan....before you came up..." the dragon muttered, groaning softly.

"Before?" Azure asked. That was a bit unexpected. Pressing the arch of his foot a little more firmly against the throbbing bulge, rewarding the dragon with a bit of pleasure, he asked, "What did Vinnie say before?"

"He said...you needed to be...tested..." the dragon grunted. Azure pulled back, seeing just how close the dragon was to orgasm. He pushed down on the dragon's cock through the pants, keeping him on the edge, but not letting him over. Of all the things that could happen, the trance ending through orgasm would be one thing he could not afford to happen, not before he was done at least.

The dragon grumbled, some part of him unhappy with being denied orgasm, but the answers continued to flow. "You...you're strange, to Vinnie. Weird. He thinks...thinks you're a fed...Wants to check you out, find out if he's right," the dragon said, speaking slowly and obviously with a great deal of effort. "If the guys....at the courthouse...do anything, he'll know he's got you...No real operation...just a test..."

And Azure had almost fallen for it, too. The skunk shook his head a few times, looking up at the ceiling and imagining what the iguana was doing up there, and how he was coming up with these plots. More to the point, what had the iguana suspecting him? Azure was sure that he had been completely thorough in making sure that any evidence against him was buried, but he supposed he could have missed something. Or was it just the raid tonight, considering that the federal agents had nearly killed all of them there, that had gotten the iguana suspicious?

"Alpha, one of these days," Azure muttered to himself, trailing off with another shake of his head. The panda was something he could handle later. Right now, he needed to start setting something up to keep himself from getting in trouble.

Thankfully, with the boss's second in command already tranced in front of him, that wouldn't be too hard.

Taking a deep breath, the skunk lifted his other foot off of the ground, pushing it against the other side of Al's cock. Rubbing the bulge with both of his feet through the suit, he said, "Now, Al, you're going to forget everything that happened here...you're going to forget that we had our fight...and you're going to forget sitting here in front of me, my feet on your cock, and you all tied up. You're going to forget all about this...because you don't want your old friend Azure to get in trouble...you want to keep working with me, because I am the person that helped save the boss last night. I am a loyal friend...a loyal member of the Family...and you're going to remember that...remember that, and nothing else that happened earlier..."

"I'll....I'll forget," Al muttered, his tongue hanging out a bit as his cock was rubbed. The dragon was already on the edge of orgasm from the skunk's feet again, and Azure could only encourage the dragon this time. "Loyal friend...keep working with you...yes...I'll remember....remember that..."

"Good." Azure smiled softly. "Now...one more thing...one more thing that you'll do...something you'll do for your good friend Azure...

"One day...I'll come to the office...up to the boss's office...and when I come up, I'll be barefoot...You'll see me barefoot, and you'll know that you need to obey...you'll know that you need to help me...you'll know that you need to help your good friend Azure." The skunk curled his toes around the bulge, feeling it throbbing under his toes. "When you see me barefoot...when you see me barefoot in Vinnie's office...you will slip into trance...and you will do what I tell you...you will do what you can to help your good friend Azure..."

"I'll help...my good friend Azure...when he's barefoot..." the dragon panted softly, his body obviously begging for the orgasm that Azure was not quite granting him. "Will help...good friend Azure...while he's barefoot..."

Not quite the trigger that the skunk had meant, but it would work. It would work quite well. "Alright...now...now you can cum..." the skunk said, suddenly speeding up the stroking he was giving that bulge.

It barely took the command to get the dragon to cum, and it was a massive ejaculation. Though Al's body barely moved, the dragon's cock throbbed and twitched under the skunk's feet. Azure's eyebrows lifted up at just how much he felt the cock dancing below his feet, and just how wet he felt the dragon's suit get, wet and damp and soaked with the big dragon's climax. He shook his head in astonishment, feeling his feet get soaked as the gooey stuff oozed through the dragon's pants.

Though it was a little strange to see the dragon cum that hard without moving or shaking at all, the skunk kept up the cock stroking through the pants, encouraging it to keep coming. He felt himself grinning as he watched the bulge throb through the pants, saw the globs of white seeping through the little pores in the cloth, and he pushed his feet directly against the wettest spots in the pants, soaking his toes and the pads along the bottom his feet with the dragon's thick cum, getting them wet and slick with the bodyguard's seed.

Finally, the dragon went still again, but his eyes didn't flick to awareness again. Azure guessed it was because he was still barefoot, but he didn't question it. Instead, he slowly lifted his feet up, holding them in front of the dragon. "Lick them clean...I want to have all of your cum off of my feet before you leave," he said.

He watched as the dragon leaned forward, pressing his lips against the skunk's feet. It almost tickled as Al first kissed, and then started licking his feet. The forked tip of the dragon's tongue was smaller, thinner than he expected, but it was very good at getting at every bit of his feet. Sliding between his toes in particular felt rather good, and it surprised him when the dragon sucked on his toes and he liked it as much as he did, the sensation a little shock of pleasure right down to his crotch, giving him his own bulge.

Azure suppressed his shudders as the dragon's wet, warm tongue traveled around his feet, sliding around the pads and along the fuzzier parts around the arch and heel, but he didn't stop the moans that slipped from his lips. It made him grin to see this bodyguard doing this, and not just because Al was usually such a pain in the rear. The dragon was genuinely attractive to him, and there had been more than a few times when Azure had gone to bed thinking of the dragon under him.

Well, at least tonight he could make part of that fantasy a reality. Though there was still some cum on the bottoms of his feet, Azure wanted to get a little more than just a foot licking. "You can stop now, Al," the skunk said. The dragon was so far in trance that he didn't bother with the calmer, quieter, slower voice anymore.

Lowering his feet to the ground, the skunk slid forward until he was sitting right on the edge of the bed, looking down at the dragon with a smile on his face. The front of his pants bulged a lot, and as he pulled down the zipper to his pants, his cock flopped out on top of the dragon's nose. Azure was large, and his cock covered a respectable amount of the dragon's snout. "Now...I think you know what to do here...Suck me," the skunk said.

The dragon nodded slowly, opening his mouth. Azure watched as the tip of his cock slipped inside of the dragon's mouth, panting softly as those red, scaly lips sealed around his shaft. The heat of the dragon's mouth was immense, not painful, but incredibly hot. Moaning, Azure had to force his eyes to stay open as he watched Al take more and more of his cock into his mouth.

As inch after inch of his cock slipped into the dragon's mouth, Azure clenched his fists against the blankets on the bed, trembling at the feelings of pleasure as he felt his cock get surrounded in the hot, wet mouth of the dragon. He could feel Al's tongue swirling back and forth under his cock, teasing the bulge on the bottom of his cock, urging him to get harder, closer to orgasm, but that wasn't the best part.

He felt the tip of his cock slide into the back of Al's throat, but rather than stopping, the dragon just pushed himself further and further on. There wasn't even the slightest gag, just the feeling of sliding down an extremely tight hole, one that tightened up on him every few seconds as Al swallowed around his cock. The skunk leaned his head back, panting softly as he enjoyed the feeling, the dragon's every action drawing him that little bit closer to his climax, and he could already feel his balls starting to draw upwards.

Al had taken his command to suck to heart, and the dragon was providing an immense amount of suction to his cock, so much so that Azure felt like his balls were going to be sucked out of his cock like soda through a straw. His breath came faster and faster, and his cock twitched - he could actually feel it twitch - as he got closer, and closer....

Until he exploded. His eyes went wide and he threw his head back with a moan as he came down the dragon's throat. He reached down, trying to push the dragon back so that he could do one more thing, but the suction around his cock was too strong. Everything went right down Al's throat, heading down the express to his stomach as the dragon swallowed around his cock repeatedly.

Only at the end of his orgasm, when his cock was extremely sensitive and the sucking almost hurt, did Azure think to say, "Stop." Immediately, Al pulled off of his cock, and Azure collapsed back into his bed, shuddering and shaking. His cock softened against his thigh, but Al never moved from between his legs, still staring blankly as he waited for further orders.

Azure stared up at the ceiling, panting softly in the afterglow of his orgasm. That had been utterly amazing, better than he had ever imagined getting head from the dragon would have been. "Wow," he muttered under his breath to himself. "Wow."

When he was recovered, he leaned up a bit and looked down at the dragon. The bodyguard still had that dopey, hypnotized look on his face, blank and empty as he waited for orders. But as tempting as it would be to have the dragon stay here for a while longer, he needed to make sure that Vinnie didn't have any more reason to suspect him; he would already have enough of a problem dealing with the iguana as it was without more obstacles in his way.

A few commands later, the dragon left Azure's room, and the skunk flopped back down on the bed, his cock still out against his thigh. Slowly, he reached down, patting himself and giving himself a few strokes. Just because the dragon had left didn't mean that he couldn't have a little more fun before he went to sleep. And sleep was a long way off, considering how much he needed to plan after he had his fun.

But until then, a little fun never killed anybody, he thought as his hand got into its familiar stroking motions.