{"sf1_id":607528,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Good Friends in Bad places","author":"assilsasta","words":3235,"posted_at":"2013-10-28T05:25:00.000Z","tags":["Blackmail","Chichilla","Drunk","Kangaroo Mouse","Liger","Otter","Shady dealings"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/607528-good-friends-in-bad-places","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/607528","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=607528\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"The rain had been falling for the past three hours, the\nprecipitation mixed with the puddle of three day old urine and sweat. She could\nfeel the drenched uniform sticking to her fur beneath the body armor and gilly\nsuit. Lightning flashed in the distance, causing the green of the night vision\nscope to go white and useless for several seconds at a time. She sucked more\nwater through the tubing coming from the buried container. The wet sand ground\ninto her hard as it settled deep into every section of her clothing. The past\nthree days had been filled with dust storms and rain yet they had not moved.\nThe sight was trained on a building one thousand meters out. \"Target spotted,\nthird floor, fifth window. Wind speed forty-five kilometers per hour.\" PFC\nHeartken recited, looking through his rangefinder. Lifting the ballistic\ngoggles from her face, she moved the scope to the intended location. \"Four\ntargets confirmed. One primary, in red turban, all others tertiary. Ignore\nunless you have a clear shot.\"\n \n\"I can take three, now.\" she said charging the bolt on her\nLapua Magnum Sniper rifle.\n \n\"Range clear, fire when ready.\" Following the order the\nmechanical sounds of gunfire and charging are heard four times in rapid\nsuccession, followed by a flash of light, and a deafening boom of thunder.\n \n---\n \n(June 11th 05:00)\n \nCecily awoke with the first crash of thunder. She wanted so\nbadly to run; instead she questioned herself as she climbed out of her queen\nsized bed and into bed with Lilly. She seemed to still be asleep, yet she was\nshivering, but her body was so warm. Cecily curled up as close as she could.\nWith every crash she felt the large liger jerk and shiver. The thought of her\nbeing so close to someone who had killed people scared Cecily, but the strength\nand concern she saw that day put those fears to the back of her mind. This was\ndifferent, she was different, and the conflicting emotions swirled in her head.\nThen a bible verse from the one time she was taken to church floated through\nher mind, 'If he is with us, who can stand against us.' Maybe that was what\nLilly was to Cecily, the strength and courage she never had.\n \nLilliana jerked awake, eyes instantly wide and alert.\nAnother flash of lightning outside the hotel windows brought her into the\npresent. She was shivering, the old memories triggered by the weather, and\nperhaps relieving the others in her mind. She laid on her side with a small,\nwarm body huddled next to her chest. Looking down at the bed she saw Cecily the\nundersized kangaroo mouse, curled into a ball, shivering as if she were ice\ncold. Lilliana reached around the tiny form, which must have crawled into the\nbed with her when the storm started, and pulled her close. She whispered into\nher ear, \"Don't be scared, I won't let anything hurt you ever again.\" The feel\nof those powerful, yet gentle arms surged through her small body. The warmth\nfrom the liger drove out the shivers and fear. Cecily laid there, slowly\ndrifting back to sleep\n \nLillyana awoke from what felt like eons of sleep, looking\ndown she saw Cecily wrapped in her arms. A smile crossed her face; this was the\nbest she had felt in years. As gently as she could, Lilliana reached for the\npocket watch on the bedside table. When she snapped it open her eyes went wide,\n11:30AM. She immediately jumped out of the bed, \"Sorry to wake you like this,\nbut we have thirty minutes to checkout. We're going to have to skip the\nprimping today, Sisy.\" Without complaint or contest, Cecily followed the order\nand moved swiftly to ready herself to go.\n \n---\n \n(06:30 somewhere in the mountains of Oregon)\n \nSusan's Jeep bounced down the dirt road bordered by tall\npines. She always loved the drive out there, the country was so beautiful. What\nshe dreaded was the arrival at her destination. She had fallen for Hank Heartken\nback in the service, but everything changed on that fateful day back in Iraq.\nTheir final mission as a team had not gone as planned. They had lost seven of\ntheir team mates to a mortar attack, and it was not looking good for the rest\nof them. Lilly and Hank were the only ones able to hold the enemy at bay. That\neffort saved the remainder of the team, but at the cost of both Hank and Lilly.\nAfter that, Hank was put out for psychological trauma, while Lilly had finished\nher enlistment and just did not re-up. Susan and Alex were assigned to new\nunits, and the Dark Riders were dissolved.\n \nHank had not been doing well for the past month; the\nflashbacks were getting worse, as was the drinking. He blamed himself for what\nhad happened to him and Lilly, though Lilly reserved the anguish for the others\nall to herself. Their first two years out of the service, Hank and Lilly stayed\ntogether. Lilly spent the time trying to do what she could for him, but in the\nend he pushed her away.\n \nIt was only three years ago he moved to the secluded\nmountain cabin, the year after Lilly's contract with the State National Guard\nended. Susan had been in Oregon for four years now, and try as she might, she\nnever could find the connection she had with him before that day. Every week for\ntwo years after Lilly had left; Susan went up to the cabin to try getting\nthrough to him. But every time he was either drunk, or off in the woods. It\nbroke her heart to see him like this; this would get through to him. Lilly\nneeded his help. Sure he did not have the government connections she had built\nup over the years, but that's not what she needed from him.\n \nAs the cabin came into view through the trees, she saw Hank\nsitting on the porch, rifle in one hand, bottle of Jimmy in the other. Honking\nthe horn with their agreed signal, she pulled in and came a stop. Susan sat in\nthe jeep waiting for him to put down the rifle. When he did, the chinchilla\nhopped out and ran to the porch. \"Hank\" she yelled, \"You will never believe who\nis on their way here.\"\n \nLooking up in a half drunken stupor, the five foot five\notter shouted back, \"Unless it is Jesus Christ come to take me home, or Satan\nto take me to Hell, I don't give a shit.\" He sat in a wooden rocker he made\nfrom the local timber, wearing only overalls. His disheveled hair told her he\nhad not bathed in weeks, if not months.\n \nWalking up to the porch now even more angry at him than the situation he put himself in, she\ngrabbed him by the arm and pulled him to\nthe door, \"Stop talking like that you jackass. We need to get you inside and\ncleaned up, we only have three weeks.\"\n \nHaving been pulled beyond his control, \"Three weeks for\nwhat? And why do we have to get ready for it now.\"\n \n\"Because, do you really want Lilly to see you like this?\"\nShe snapped at him. She had come to realize she may have fallen for him, but\nafter that day, the only person in the world he saw was Lilly.\n \n\"W-what about Lilly?\"\n \n\"She is on her way back here from out east, and she and\nCecily are going to need a place to stay.\" She said to him as she started up\nthe generator to get the well pump working, \"And if you think they are going to\nstay here with this place and you in this condition, you're out of your mind.\"\n \n\"C-Cecily? Who is Cecily?\"\n \n\"If your drunk ass didn't isolate yourself out here and you\nkept this damned phone charged.. \" tossing the cell phone off the table at him\n\"... or better yet, came back into town and stayed with me, you might know what\nthe fuck is going on in this world.\" She\nsat on a wooden bucket Hank often used as a chair, \"Lilliana is trying to adopt\na runaway she found in D.C. You know how she is, trying to save everyone but\nherself. Why the hell you pushed her away like that when she offered to take\nyou with her is beyond me.\"\n \n\"I like it here, I didn't want to leave.\" thinking for a\nmoment, the alcohol dimming his wit, \"Why would she need to come here about a\nrunaway from D.C.?\"\n \n\"You fucking jackass, you're drinking you brain cells away.\nThe girl ran away from here. They are coming back to get some paperwork done. I\nam going to do what I can to push it through as fast as I can. I'm probably\ngoing to lose my job over this, but it's for Lilly, we owe her that much.\"\n \nHanging his head low, Hank sat in silence for several long\nmoments. \"Is... is she really coming here?\" Looking up at Susan, \"It's been three\nyears. I can't see her like this.\"\n \n\"That's what I am trying to tell you, she is coming here\nwith her soon to be daughter. You look like shit, this place looks like shit.\nAnd I don't have room for them to stay in my apartment.\" Standing up and\nturning to the door, \"Now charge your fucking cell phone, she could be trying\nto call you right now, and clean this place up like you think she deserves.\"\n \nClosing the door behind her she stopped on the porch, tears\nforming in her eyes, \"I'm sorry for that Hank, but you need to see her more\nthan I do.\" Straightening up her jacket\nand wiping the tears from her eyes, she glanced at her watch; she had just\nenough time to get out of the mountains and into the office.\n \n---\n \n(08:30 Portland, OR)\n \nSusan sat in the jeep outside the City Auditor's office\nchanging out of her hiking boots into high heel shoes. She had been working\nwith the City Auditor for a month now. She had used the many contacts she made\nover the past years working as the county court clerk, to get her foot in the\ndoor after getting certified as an auditor. Now she found herself using that\nnetwork again for what was a much more\nimportant issue in her mind.\n \nThis past weekend Lilliana Fargo, the one person Susan owed\nmore to than anyone, asked her for a favor. Lilly never asks for favors, so\nwhen she called, Susan jumped at the opportunity to do something for the person\nwho is responsible for her still being alive. The favor was out of her\njurisdiction, but with her new position she had access to much of the\ninformation, and contacts in the right places.\nThe prospect of adopting a child in the state of Oregon was often a two\nyear process. Their plan was to get past the most difficult issues in less than\nthirty days.\n \nToday Susan was going to put her career on the line, and\nbend her own moral rules to speed the process along. as she walked into her\noffice building, she pulled a prepaid cellphone from her purse and punched in a\nnumber. She strutted through the hall as the phone picked up on the other side,\n\"You know who it is. Use simple yes and no answers. Do you understand?... Good.\nDid you get my message?... Do you understand what I am asking for?... Do you understand what is in it for you?...\nGood. Can you meet me tonight?... You understand that we are both ruined if\nthis gets out... Good. Don't try to call me at this number.\" As she pressed the\noff button ending the call, she slipped the battery cover off the phone and\nremoved the battery and SIM card and stuffed them in her pocket, then dropped\nthe phone in the trash by the receptionist's desk. Susan stepped into her office and closed the\ndoor, and locked it behind her. She sat in the chair behind the desk and rested\nher face in the palms of her hands, \"What the fuck am I doing? I can't pull\nthis off.\" She sighed, \"My God, Lilly, why not just ask me to cover up a\nmurder, I think I can handle that. But this shit is hard.\"\n \nShe leaned back in her chair, and picked up the phone,\n\"Please connect me to the Family services office for Midway... Hello this is Miss\nShelby with the Portland City Auditor's office. Could you please connect me\nwith your director?... Hello sir, this is Miss Shelby with the Portland\nAuditor's office... Yes I understand that you are outside my jurisdiction, I have\na favor to ask you. I would like you to collect all the case files and data for\nCecily Silvana...\" She trailed off for a moment as she was interrupted by the\nindividual on the other side of the phone. \"Under investigation?... I have news\nthat might make your job a bit easier... I know where Cecily is... She is safer\nthan she has ever been... A friend of mine found her in Washington D.C... She is\ndriving out here now, but it will take her awhile... She will refuse to cooperate\nwith that option... Do you want this ... oversight ...to go away?... Right now I\ncan guarantee that things will look really bad for you and your office as they\nare... I want you to transfer all the case files to the Portland Family Services office...\nAttention Miss Shelby \u0026 Dr. Sooner... I will handle the justification through\nthe city courthouse... Thank you Mr. Drakens... No need. This is exactly my\nintention in calling you. It just worked out better for both of us this way...\nHave a nice day.\" She hung the receiver back in its cradle and spun in her\nchair to look out the window. \"You have the devil's luck Lilly. Why do you get\neverything you ask for and more, when all I want is one otter to notice me?\"\nGrabbing the headset off the \"L\" of her desk and putting it on, she pressed the\nbutton on the side, \"Yes, could you please connect me with Dr. Sooner's office\nat Family Services... Hey there Doc, I need to chat with you about a file that is\ncoming your way... First, the child is not in the state at this time, but she is\nsafe and on her way back... That's what I want to discuss... How is the wife?...\nand your other young lady?... \"\n \n---\n \n(16:00 Lynchburg, TN)\n \nLilliana and Cecily walked into the Bar-B-Que Caboose Cafe,\neven thirty minutes before closing the place was packed. Seeing the new\ncustomers, a Siberian husky waitress with a hand full of small serving baskets\nsaid, \"Welcome to Caboose. Take a seat anywhere; I will be with you in a\nmoment. I believe there are some spots on the 'Back Porch'\"\n \nShe looked across the room and spotted a black poodle come\nin through a back door and head to the restroom. \"Come on, Squeaky. I think\nit's this way.\" Then she lead the way through the small dining room. Once they\nstepped through the door, they saw six tables, only one had three seats, the\nremainder was taken up by a family of white poodles. Lilly walked up to the table and took hold of one\nseat, \"These spots taken?\" she asked looking over at what she assumed was the\nfather of the group.\n \nThe older poodle pointed to the two seats at one side of the\ntable, \"Those two are free, the other is taken by the boy's date.\" with a\nfriendly smile on his face he continued, \"Have a seat, they're busy today.\"\n \nSitting in the seat nearest the family, Lilliana left the\nother seat for Cecily. \"Thanks.\" Reaching across the table toward the older\npoodle, \"Hi there, I'm Lilly, this one here is Sisy. We're passing through on\nour trip to Oregon. Glad to see there is still some hospitality left in the\nsmall parts of the world.\"\n \nThe poodle took hold of Lilly's hand, \"I'm Allan, this is\nFrancis my wife and these three are our kids.\"\nAs he finished going through the introductions the black poodle from\nearlier came to the table and sat next to the oldest pup with a quizzical look\non her face. \"And that there is Kevin's girlfriend.\" The boy broke in with an annoyed\ngrowl \"DAD!\" He continues, releasing her\nhand, \"Oregon, eh? What brings you through Lynchburg?\"\n \n\"Lemonade ingredients.\"\nShe replied with a smile.\n \nWith that the waitress that greeted them came to the table,\n\"Sorry about the crowd, it's bustlin' today. Almost everything on the menu is\nstill available; however we are out of baked potatoes. Our soup of the day is\nclam chowder, the sauces are described on the card there, what can I get you\ntwo to drink?\"\n \nLilly picked up two of the laminated cardstock menus,\nhanding one to Cecily, \"Well I have a lot of driving ahead of us, so I am\nthinking sweet tea for both of us. How\nis the pork barbecue plate?\"\n \nAllan piped up, \"Best plate in the state if you're up for\ngood pit smoked.\"\n \n\"Ok, then I'll take a pork plate with a side salad and ranch\ndressing. You see what you want, Short stack?\" Lilliana asked looking over to\nthe kangaroo mouse.\n \nSpeaking barely above a whisper, \"Chicken sandwich, please.\"\nCecily ordered as she set the menu down.\n \n\"I'll put this into the kitchen and be right back with your\ndrinks.\" The waitress said snatching up two empty cups and walking back into\nthe cafe.\n \nAllan looked over at the duo, \"So, you two make an odd pair.\nMind telling your story?\" His wife looked\nat him with a scowl on her face, \"Allan, what are you doing?\"\n\"Being a nosey reporter and asking questions, what do you\nexpect after twelve years together?\"\n \n\"Ha! Now there is a man I could see being a drinking buddy.\nDon't worry Frany. I wish there were more people like us in the world.\" Looking\nover at the poodle Lilliana said, \"I found Cecily here in a bad place in her\nlife, and I'm helping her get home.\"\n \nJust then the husky came back with their drinks and placed\nthe check for the poodle family at the other end of the table. Allan stood up,\n\"Well damn, that sounds like it is an interesting story, but we need to go.\"\nHolding out his paw with a business card, \"I am looking into writing a\ncollection of stories like yours, and would be willing to pay for your tale if\nyou're interested. Give me a call sometime.\"\n \nTaking the card, Lilliana told him, \"That's an interesting\nIdea. We'll think about it.\"\n \nAs the family left the table, Allan gave one final comment,\n\"You two have a safe trip.\"\n \nNow alone at the large table, Cecily looked over at her,\n\"How do you do that? You're so confident and forward. I could never have talked\nto them like that.\" She spoke in a normal tone, no longer shy.\n \n"}