{"sf1_id":658295,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Is this Guy for Real","author":"assilsasta","words":6074,"posted_at":"2014-01-28T09:15:00.000Z","tags":["City hall","Eagle","Otter","chinchilla","evening"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/658295-is-this-guy-for-real","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/658295","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=658295\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"(July 22, 2013,02:30pm: City Hall, Marblecliff, NH) As alex pulled the Corvette into\nthe closest to the door as she looked over at Hank, \"Jou go in an' ge' da\npapas. I ain't goin' in dere.\" \"Wait,\" Hank said as he looked at\nher, \"What happened earlier?\" \"Neva min' jus' go ge' da papas,\"\nShe said as she killed the engine. He shrugged and left  the car for the building. As he walked away\nAlex thought about the strange lunch she had with  the Mayor. the entire event caught her off\nguard. Normally she  made the first move\nor just blow the guys off. And it was always in a setting where she expected\nthings like that to happen. She was not ready to be approached by a good\nlooking man in a random location like the City Hall. When she first saw him she\nwas not even looking at him that way. He just happened to be in the right place\nat the right time for her to ditch the knife. The man made no sense to her, one\nmoment he is talking about the Dark rider house or some other serious matter,\nbut then he slips in some complement or flirtatious remark. It was usually\nobvious when a guy was hitting on her, but he just seemed different. She\ncouldn't tell if he was genuinely interested in her or if he was just doing his\npart as the Mayor of the city. This kestrel was strange she couldn't read him\nlike she could the other guys.  When Hank returned to the Corvette\nwith an envelope in paw. As he sat down he looked over at Alex and handed her a\npiece of paper, \"I think this was for you.\" She held the small note in her\nclaws, [Sorry about lunch. I was called away to \ndeal with a few important things. Give me a call some time,\n555-543-9653, Steven] She waded the paper up on tossed it in the back seat as\nshe said, \"It's notin'. Let's go.\" He was good looking, and seemed nice, but no\nguy like that, Good looking, successful with his pick of any woman he wanted,\ncould possibly really be interested in just her. (July 22, 2013,04:15pm: The\nEscher House)  As Alex and Hank walked into the house they\nwere greeted by the sounds of gunfire and explosiones. The two dropped to the\nfloor and rolled against the walls out of reflex. Each slapped their side with\ntrained response for their side arm. As shouts of \"Ha! I told ya, the fucker\nwas just a poser. I bet his brother will be pissed when he gets back and sees\nhis new  rank of piss-ant.\" The looked\nacross the hall at each other as they nodded in agreement to say nothing about\ntheir current position on the floor now that \nthe voice of the young chinchilla \nand her hobby registered in their war addled minds.     When they finally entered the living room to\nsee the young chinchilla with a headset on and xbox controller in paw.\nSusan  was laid out on the couch  as she watched the young girl decimate her\nenemies on the bigscreen TV. Without turning the girl continued her rant, \"I\nknow the guy that owns that account he's better than that. I bet his brother is\non it again. I'll hear him bitching about it for a week when he sees how many\ntime I dropped him in just the last three rounds. Susan saw the her two comrades  she just raised her paw the her lips then\nwaved them to take seats in the nearby chairs. Together they watched the young\nteen work the controls, her nimble trained fingers  flew between the analog sticks, triggers and\nbuttons. They marveled at the unrealistic weapon swapping and  movements of the onscreen action.  The small girl was as well trained and\npracticed at her skills with the game as the were in time back in the times of\nreal combat. Ales and Susan  turned to look at the Otter as she flinched\nrepeatedly at each simulated explosion. Susan turned to Hank as said, \"Go for a\nwalk if you need to.\"  Elise turned as the sudden voice in\nthe room  pulled her attention away from\nthe screen. \"Oh, when did you guys get back?\" Alex screeched and pointed at the\nTV as she watched the character on the screen fall over dead. The young\nchinchilla said, \"don't worry about that, it's not my competition tag. I was\njust goofing off.\" She then turned off the TV without worry about the  game running on the console.  As the room went silent and hank\nleft the house for a  cool quiet walk,\nSusan looked over at Alex and said, \"Okay, you have to tell me about your date\nwith the Mayor.\" \"Itwandtnodate,\" Alex blurted\nout  barely understandable gibberish.  the older chinchilla looked over at\nthe younger girl with a smile and said, \"I think I hit a nerve.\" She looked\nback at her friend and asked, \"Did he ask for your number?\" \"No. \"ee even walked off befer da\nfood  showed up. Da dick  couldn' even finich da lunch 'ee invited me\nta,\" Alex said a hind od  animosity in\nher voice. \"'ow  take a girl ta lunch den\ndon' even stay ta eat?' \"Okey, Boomer you have to start\nfrom the beginning, becuse I didn't really get how you meet the mayor,\" Susan\nsaid as the young chinchilla got up into a chair. \"You meet the Mayor?\" The girl\nasked  as she looked at the eagle  in disbeleife. \"I was goin' inta  City 'all an' dey stopped me fer da knife I\n'add.\" Elise cut  Alex off, \"Didn't you  jump all over Aunt Susy for that?\" \"No! I got on 'er case fer taken\ndem wheae dey wern' sposed ta be. I fergot I 'add it er I wulda lef' it in da\ncah,\" Alex said in her defence, \"So I gave it ta da firs guy I saw on 'is way\nout.\" Susan  waved her paw in the air, \"Okey, typical\nAlex. Where does the Mayer come in?\" \"'ee was da maya.\" \"So you handed the mayor of\nMarblcliff you knife and he asked you on?\" How the fuck to you pull shit like\nthat off?\" Susan asked  still a little\nout of it due to the  pain meds . \"No' like dat. 'ee followed me ta\nda bussiness office and gave me my knife back firs'.\" Elise looked at her oddly, \"The\nmayor just walked into City Hall with a Knife in his paw? That doesn't sound\nright. If we can't do it neither should he.\" \"Dat ain't da point,\" Alex offered,\n\"I tink 'ee was  'iting' on me when  'ee caugh' up. 'ee  tooke me tada fron' of da line and got dis\ngirl to do da papawork. That's when 'ee aksed me ta lunch.\" \"And your dumb ass called me to\nfigure out how to go to lunch,\" the older chinchilla woman said with a gin on\nher muzzle. \"It ain't like da, Fluffy, 'ee da\nmaya, I don' know 'ow ta do all dat political chit, dats jour  dapartmen'.\" \"Fine, I'll give yoou a go on that\none,\" Susan said, \"But, calling a stone \nperson might not have gotten you the best advice. What did you talk\nabout?\" \"ee aksed 'bout da ouse and wha' we\nwas doin',\" Alex said, \"Da ass'at tough't I was talkin' about startin' up a\nyout' 'alfway 'ouse er somtin. I was 'bout ta walk out righ' dem,even called\n'im a chee'in bastard.\" Elise spoke up, \"I think he's\nsingle, or thats the last I heard.\" \"Yea, da cocky fucka 'ad to chow me\nan artical 'bout day chit,\" the eagle said clearly annoyed at the fact. \"'ee\ncould a jus' told me dat chit. Den 'ee up an leave. I swaya ta god 'ee was\nfirtin' da 'ole time.\" Susan snickered at her friend, \"let\nme get this straight, he was hitting on you and you're complaining? He must\nhave been one ugly  fucker for that to\nhappen.\"\"if I wasn' worried 'bout da papas\nI would a just lef' 'im dere wai'in fer me,\" Alex said crossed her wings and\nsat back in the chair. Susan looked over at her niece and\nsaid, \"I think she like him.\" \"I don' like da fucka. 'ee lef'\nme  at da \nres'ront.\"  Susan snikers as she quoted a movie lien, \"I\nthink she doth protest too much.\" \"If \ndey wasn' on already  broke I'd\nbreak ya ribs,\" Alex said  angrily. Just as they we finishing their\nlittle talk, hank walked in on the last few volleys of words, \"Wait, you\nmean  Alex was really at lunch with the\nMayor?\" \"She says she was, but we still\ndon't have any proof,\" Susan  replied,\n\"She could have been doing anything.\" Hank looked over at Alex, \"Is that\nwho's number was on the note?\" \"Note?\" Susan's eye lit u[ at the\notter's revelation, \"What note?\" \"The one that  was clipped \nto the papers,\" he offered in \nresponse. \"She tossed it in the back of her\ncar,\" hank  said as he  lifted Susan's lages to sit on the couch with\nher.  'Whateva, I'm done tilkin' 'bout\nit,\" Alex said sternly, \"So le's just watch da girl kill fuxkas on the  bame box tin' er pu' in a movie  er somtin'. Le's just stop talkin' 'bout it.\" As f to save her from further\ntorment by her best friend over her encounter, the phone in her pocket chimed.\nShe pulled it out to look at the message. [4:47pm DR23B: We're stuck in the\nparking garage downtown.] [4:47pm Me:It's pointless to try\nand get out, just sit tight and wait for the end of rush hour.] \"Squeaker and Mouse bait are stuck\nin a garach in da city,\" Alex  said  releved for the  change of topics. She checked the\nlogationtracker they all had on their phoen, \"Dey in da one I useta park at. I\ncen give da security a call an' 'ave dem help 'er out a dere.\" She dialed her phone and waited for\nthe answer. She cleared her  throat as\nshe heard the line pick up, \"Yes, this is Alex, Who is on duty to night?\" She\nwaited a moment, \"Ay  Steve, I have a\ngril an' 'er fen' stuck in da garach... Dey're in a Charga... Ya know wha' ta say\nif dey aks da ques'ion, righ'?  Jus' go\nge' dem out when ya cen. I'll owe ya one.\" She then hung up the phone and [put\nit back in her pocket as she watched the \ntween resume her game on the TV, now with the volume turned down.  (July 22, 2013, 10:15pm: The\nEscher House) Alex had seemed off balance the\nentire evening. Susan managed to hold her tongue and not push the eagle. Her\nencounter with the Mayor of Marblecliff remained an unexplored  conundrum for Susan, as Hank was not one to\nbring up others lives, especially \nsomeone like Alex. Much of the remainder of the afternoon evening was\nspent watching Elise massacre  countless\nplayers on the  big screen in the living\nroom. Alex remained uncharacteristically quiet, even though the  talkative family dinner with the Eschers. she\nhad only nodded and shrugged as they asked her questions. Susan was a bit worried about her\nfriend, it was not often the eagle  was\never quiet, and when she was no good came of it. This Mayor guy had  thrown Alex for a loop. The eagle was out of\nher comfort zone, and she needed to do something about it. But what?  Susan held her side as the effects of her\nmedication waned.  Slowly she made her\nway down the stairs in search of her pain relievers. She was not sure, but\nSusan had suspicions that Elise may have hear her and Hank the night before,\nand didn't want to risk damaging the young chinchilla's perspective on love and\nsex. But right now she had more important things on her mind. She staggered out\ninto the cool evening air as she  made\nher way to the Corvette.  She was certain\nthat Alex had  left the note in there and\nshe needed to know more about this 'risk factor' that had walked into Alex's\nlife.  She groaned as she dropped into\nthe passenger seat. She Sucked air through her teeth as she painfully twisted\nher body to  look behind the seat. Alex's\nCorvette was  just as she expected it to\nme, not a grain of dust in any spot. the carpeting looked showroom new, the\nscene mard by a single crumpled piece of paper. The chinchilla stretched her  body to to get the elusive note. She\nflattened the  paper out as she turned\nback into the seat and  breathes a sigh\nas the pain eased slightly. The simple note told her a lot that Alex didn't\ntell her.  sketched out in neat readable\nscript wan the name of the man that had thrown a monkey wrench in the  little \ncontrolled  sphere of her best\nfriend. Now she needed to see what all the commotion was about. She pulled out\nher phone and  searched for everything\nshe could find on this Steven, Mayor of Marblecliff. \n Alex laid on the pullout bed\nunable to sleep. Her mind continued to ponder her unusual encounter with\nSteven. The man, this kestrel approached her after she had done what anyone\nwould have considered foolish or crazy. The things she does on a normal basis\nthat scared off so many, that keep her safe and incontrol. He looked right past\nall of that, and calmly approached her. No one in their right mind would do\nthat.  That was it, that must be why he\nis still single. He was like her He must \nbe pushing people away, diving into his work and holding tight to\neverything he could control. He must be damaged. There was no other reason he\nwould be interested in her and not someone else. As she thought back to the lunch\nshe began to question her assumptions again. He smiled, no matter what she did,\nhe smiled. He didn't flinch, he didn't react, he only smiled. She\nunwittingly  passed him a deadly weapon,\nwhen he gave it back to her... he smiled. She \nall but told him she would not accept his lunch invitation and... he\nsmiled.  She Yelled at him in a crowded\npublic place, belittled his reputation and questioned his character and... he\nonly smiled. The cocky son-of-a-bitch only smiled.  She couldn't stand it. The look\nof him constantly smiling at her, like he actually cared about what she had to\nsay. That smug, arrogant smile he toanted her with. She clenched her fist ready\nto scream as she wished she had reached across the table and smacked that\ndamned smile off his arrogant face. But it wasn't arrogant, it was\nsoft, warm, inviting. She felt the corner of her mouth curle as  the intent eye looked at her, the kinds smile\ngreeted her every glance. The soft gentle touch when he took her wing into his\nand  escorted her where he wanted her to\ngo. She sighed as she thought about  what\nhis feathers must have felt like if she was not wearing that suit jacket.  She closed her eyes as the image\nof his face flooded into her mind, the \ndeep, dark brown eye, that  looked\nback at her. The black beak that faded to grey where it met the feathers of\nthis head. The bright  red-brown patch at\nthe top of his head, The white of his cheeks bordered by the black streaks of\nfeathers. The grey and black feathers of his wings as  he picked at his salad. Why? Why was she  looking at his  wings? Why \nwas his damned smile stuck in her mind? Why couldn't she think of\nanything else? She clutched her head as if it was about to explode, and stifled\na scream as she kicked her feet in a little pointless tantrum as she tried to\ndrive the thought of Steven Archer out of her mind. She rolled off the pull-out bed\nonto her feet as she staggered into the deserted kitchen.  As she pulled open the fridge to look for\nsomething the settle her nerves the sound of the front door closing caught her\nattention. She glanced out to the stairs in the hall only to see Susan  ascending them back to the rooms. She looked\nback to the brightly lit cold storage as her \ncurrent mission drove the concerns for her friend out of her mind. She\nreached into the fridge and pulled out a cold bottle of beer, popped the cap\noff with her break and poured it down her throat as she reached for another.  She held the second bottle in her\nclaws as she looked around the kitchen. The minute amount of clutter suddenly\nbothered her. The  applianced set\nhelterskelter on the counter. The few small plates and cups in the sink. She\nwalked over to the light switch and flicked it on.  She opened the second bottle of beer as she\nran a sink full of soapy water and began to clean. She spent uncounted hours in\nthe kitchen, cleaning and re cleaning \nthe plates and counters.  She\nmoved and rearranged the appliances. beer after beer, she repeated the process\nof filling the sink and cleaning everything within reach. By the time she had\nfinally passed out from  the combination\nof alcohol and exhaustion the room sparled like a showroom ready to display for\npotential shoppers of the appliances and dishes held within. \n (July 23,\n2013, 5:20am: The Escher House) Darren stopped at the foot of the\nstairs as he saw the light in the kitchen, but no one at the table or sound of\ncooking. Cautiously he walking in to the amazingly clean kitchen. He paused\nalmost scared to walk in the highly polished floor. the light  reflected cleanly off the counters and sink.\nAll the brushed steel alliances  gleamed\nin the fluorescent  glow. The only thing\nthat marred the pristine scene was the eagle passed out on the floor by the\ncounter, surrounded by empty beer bottles and randomly scattered caps as if\nthose items were invisible to the one who did all the cleaning. The older chinchilla  reached down and lifted his Alex off the\nfloor and returned her to the pull-out bed in the living room, then returned t\nclean the mess left by their impromptu \nmaid. As he tossed the empty bottles into the trash  he heard \nJulia walk into the kitchen and gasp. \n\"What the hell\nhappened in here?\" she asked as she looked down at her husband. Darren looked up from his task\nand said, \"It looked like\none of our house guests  goes on gleaning\nfrenzies when she's drunk.\"  Okey, Thats a new one, the red\nSquirrel said as she walked over to the counter, \"Any Idea why sent her on the ... um... cleaning binge?\" \"I'd Ask Susy,\" he said as he\nstood up  next to her, \"But, I don't know if that would\nhelp. The poor girl did seem a little off last night.\" As the two   started their morning pot of coffee Susan\nWalked into the kitchen and groaned. \"Fuck,\" \nthe  chinchilla said as she looked\naround the room, \"Alex  did this didn't\nshe?\" Julia looked over her shoulder\nand said, \"It looks like\nit, but I'm not going to complain. This might be the cleanest this room has\nbeen since we moved in.\" Susan winced as she eased herself\ninto a chair by the table, \"Trust me, it might be cleaner. And you're probably\nout of cleaning supplies, alcohol  and\nclean rags in the kitchen. Darren sat by the grey chinchilla\nas she asked, \"Any idea\nwhat set her off? I don't know too many people that go on  binges without a reason.\" Susan popped the lid off the  prescription bottle as she answered, \"She met\na guy yesterday. And apparently  the\nthought broke her brain.\" She pulled out a couple pills and popped them in her\nmouth, \"She may be  loud, and strong\nwilled, but when she is caught off guard by things, she  can get a little freaked out if she can't get\nher head around it.\" She took the cup of coffee out of Darren's paw and washed\nthe pills down  before she handed it back\nto him. \"But I think this might be a good thing. If the guy really is interested\nin her, it might be just what she needs.\" Julia smiled as Susan as she sat\ndown next to Darren, \"Why\ndon't you invite him to dinner this week?\" Susan smiley as the thought of a\ndouble edged plan entered her mind, \"That sounds like a wonderful idea. I found\nhis number on a note in her car, I'll give him a call. Would tomorrow be okey?\"\nthe joy of both getting the guy her friend was obviously infatuated with, and\ngetting even with her over all the nickname \nprodding and wrestling matches brought a smile to susan's face. Darren said, \"She passed out in\nhere on the floor, I put her back on the hide-a-bed. I don't think she is going\nto be very happy with herself when she wakes up though. She wet through a few\ncases of beer while she was up last night.\" Susan sighed as she replied,\n\"Better here alone at night than in a club. I would much rather you guys have a\nclean house then  scrap together the cash\nto pail her out again.\" Julia looked as the chinchilla\nwoman, \"Again?\" \"Yeah, She has a little .. um... temper\nissue when she gets drunk. She's better now than she used to be,\" Susan said as\nshe rubbed her ribs. \"And I feel this shit kicking back i. I think I'll tumble\nback up to the bed before I pass out here.\" \"Be careful, Susy,\"Darren sad as she stood up to\nleave the room, \"Why\nnot  lay out in the e-z chair, then I\nwon't have to worry about  you falling\ndown the stairs till we get back.\" She smiled over her shoulder at\nthe older chinchilla, \"Don't worry, I'll have Hank carry me around once he\nwakes up.\" Julia giggled as Susan left the\nroom, \"You know, she seems a bit cheerier ever since she... um... fell asleep in\nthe guestroom by mistake?\"  \"And still in total denial,\" Darren said as he\nsipped his coffee and opened the morning paper. (Excerpt for Marblecliff's\nMost Eligible Bachelor Interview) Darcy Howard: Mister Mayor, first of all, congratulations on\nbeing named this year's \"Most Eligible Bachelor.\" You know, I think you're the\nfirst politician that's ever won the award. A lot of our female readers value\nyour honesty and telling it like it is. That's pretty remarkable, since a lot\nof people find politicians untrustworthy. Steven Archer: Thank you. I'm honored and humbled by the\naccolades, but really, I'm just living my life by how my parents taught me. My\nfather always complained about public servants making and breaking their\ncommitments to the voters that placed them in office. I recognized a problem,\nand decided to do something about it. DH: No doubt they did a good job. Valedictorian, Chimera\nPrep, class of 1994. Attended Harvard Law School, graduated magna cum laude in\n1998, and got your Masters in 2000. And now, you are Marblecliff's youngest\never mayor at 38. How is it that you've been able to be so successful on a platform\nof transparency? SA: People are smart, and they can read through the\nsmokescreens and tell when they're being fed buzzwords and soundbites. But\nthat's most of what they hear in debates and interviews, and what causes the\ncharacter assassinations you see every November. I'm trying to fix a problem.\nI'm no career politician. I don't care about the pay or the prestige. I have no\nproblem admitting that if certain tax hikes don't go through, I plan on cutting\nfunding to this, that, or the other. The public works hard for their money, and\nit isn't hard to comprehend that very few \nwill jump at the chance to do a job for pennies on the dollar. DH: You say \"very few,\" but you're one of them, Mr. Mayor.\nYou're actually one of the lowest-paid city employees. Why is that? SA: Again, I'm not doing it for the money or the prestige,\nand I don't plan on retiring as a politician. I have a nice car; that was my\ngift to myself. The mayoral house isn't mine; it belongs to the city, and it is\na bit large for just me. I take what I need to live in pay, and let the city\nkeep the rest of my salary so that it can hire more workers. DH: You say 'for just you.' I'm sure a lot of the single\nyoung ladies out there would love to know why a guy like you is still single,\nand what you're looking for in a mate. SA: What can I say? I'm selective. I am looking for someone\npassionate about making a difference in the lives of others. A woman that would\nfit in whether I took her to the ballroom or the bar. I'm a simple guy doing a\njob that needs done, and once this is all over, I kind of want to just settle\ndown and go back to living that simple life. Anyone I date needs to understand\nthat one day, the fancy dinner parties are going to end, replaced by family\npicnics and fishing trips. DH: You've mentioned having a problem that you're trying to\nfix. Are you referring to third gender equality? That was one of the main\npoints of your campaign, and a pretty controversial topic. A lot of your\nconstituents didn't see eye-to-eye with you on that subject. SA: That's exactly what I was referring to, Dana. I have a\nsister that is a herm, and she struggled a lot with bullying once her gender\nwas inadvertently made public knowledge. She had tried so hard to keep things a\nsecret to avoid that type of persecution, just like so many other of our\nhermaphroditc citizens. No one, regardless of gender, species, or sexual\norientation, should have to hide who they are out of fear of discrimination. I\nlook at other cities and wonder why we are so judgmental. I truly admire, and\nhope to emulate the work Mayor Rose Nielsen did to champion third gender rights\nin Roosevelt City. If I can have a similar impact here, then my job will be\ndone.  (July 23, 2013, 10:20am: The\nEscher House)  Alex sat up on the pull-out bed\nand held her head as the  throbbing  headache washed over her. She groaned as she\ntried to remember how she got back into the living room. She squinted as she\nlooked around the room. Susan was seated in the recliner reading from Alex's\nNook.  \"Wheae is evea ine?\" the eagle\nasked as she flopped back down on the bed. \"Hank is out getting  material lists and prices for the coming\nrenovations, thank you you guy selecting a crap heap for a house,\" Susan said\nwith a wink, \"Elise is off at some friends house doing whatever it is the kids\ndo when their parents aren't home.\" Alex snickered then groaned,\n\"Don' make me laugh.\" \"what? got a hangover or\nsomething?\" the chinchilla prodded her friend, \"Darren said he loved the job\nhis new drunken maid did in the kitchen, They picked up another few cases to\nsee if they could get the rest of the house done.\" \"Shudup!\" Alex retorted as she\nrolled onto her back, \"I's no' my fault dat lef' a mess in da kitchen.\" Susan read a line for the nook,\naloud, \"What can I say? I'm selective. I am looking for someone passionate\nabout making a difference in the lives of others.\" As the chinchilla stopped, alex\nslapped a pillow over her face and creamed into it. Without moving the pillow\nshe said, \"I've already  seen dem lies,\nya don' need ta read em to me again.\" \"I don't know, Boomer, This guy\nseems right up your alley,\" Susan said with a smile as she continued, \" A woman\nthat would fit in whether I took her to the ballroom or the bar.\"  She sat the \ntablet down, \"If that's not you, I don't know who he could be talking\nabout. You sure you didn't know him when he did this interview.\" \"'ee a lie dick, dey all are. 'ee\njus' said wha' eva 'ee t'ogh dey wan'ed ts 'ear.\" Alex sat up and swung her\nlegs off the bed, \"Dey all jus' say wha' ya wanna 'ear ta ge'  da votes. I bet 'ees one a dem rich kids  born whi' a silva spoon in 'is mout'. 'ee\nwen; ta a prep school, 'arverd and all dat, normal people can' aford chit like\ndat. I bet' 'ee was even groomed ta be a polotition.\" \"I don't know about that,Boomer,\"\nSusan said as she went on reading the article, \" I'm just living my life by how\nmy parents taught me. My father always complained about public servants making\nand breaking their commitments to the voters that placed them in office.\" \"'oo eva 'is  speach writa is we choulc give em a call fer\nour community appeal,\"  She massaged her\ntemples ass he spoke, \"No one's really like dat. It's all fer show.\" \"How much do you want to bet that\nhis guy is the genuine article?\" Susan asked, \"I bet you  fifty dollars he's as honest as they come.\" 'I betcha fify dollas 'ees gay\nan' dats why 'ees single,\" Alex looked ofer at Susan as she went on, \"An' 'ees\nin da close' 'cause 'ees in one a dem concervative  towns \nwheae he's get  droped if dey\nfound out.\" Susan looked back at her friend\nwith a wide grin, \"Okay, We'll ask him at dinner.\" \"Oh so we gonna go all da way to\nMabalcliff ta 'ave dinna wit da maya so \nya cen aks if 'ees gay?\" Alex asked as she stifled her laughter, \"Dat'll\ngo ova as well as  when I called  'im a cheatin' bastad.\" \"No we're not going there, he's\ncoming here.\" \"Ya, okay, \"Alex started as she\nstood up to go to the kitchen, \"So ya jus' gonna call up City 'all and say,'I'd\nlike ta invite da maya ova fer dinna.' 'ows dat gona work fer ya?\" \"No,\" Susan said as she grunted  getting out of the chair, \"I called the\nnumber on the note and he said he'd be here around seven.\" The eagle spun around, a look of\nshock on her face, \"You didn'.\" With a smile  the chinchilla said, \"It was Julia's idea,\nand I thought it was a great one. You thought of it yourself, Having the Mayor\non our side could be a really good thing.\" Alex ran up to susan and grabbed\nher by the shirt. \"So ya gonna use me ta get yur  manipulative paws on da maya? Wha' ya gonna\ndo, blackmale 'im?  use me  as leverage.? \"ee aint gonna fall fer dat. Ya\nmigh' as well call 'im back an' call da 'ole tin' off.\" Susan looked back at her friend\nangrily, \"It that all you think of me? Some manipulative bitch that  uses what she can  against people to get them to do what she\nwant?\" She plapped the eagles claws off her shirt, \"I only do that to people\nthat deserve it. Jesus Christ Alex, I didn't even tell him you were going to be\nhere. I called him up from the number on the note and told him I was with the\nDark Rider group and was interested in discussing our plans in Marblecliff with\nhim.\" She clutched her side as she heaved and yelled at her friend, the pain in\nher lungs sueged with each word, \"And for someone you hardly know, the you\nopenly despise and hate so much you cut him down with every word out of your\nbeak, you came to his defence pretty damned fast.\" She started to walk at Alex\nas the eagle slowly backed away. \"If he is one of those  crooked politicians you just said he is, why\ndo you care if I blackmailed him to further our cause.\" Alex tripped against\nthe step that led into the hall and fell hard on the floor. \"He's a two faced,\nbackstabbing politician, right?  So why\nshouldn't we use what ever leverage we can find against him?\" Susan stopped as\nshe looked down at her friend, \"I'll do whatever I need to do to who ever I\nhave to in the interest of our cause, and if you plan on standing in my way, in\nthe way of the plans you agreed to forward, I will cut you down with the rest.\" Alex laid flat on the floor of\nthe hall as she looked up and the one person she  thought would never turn on her. The rage in\nthe chinchilla's eyes burned into the eagle. She knew Susan wasn't like that,\nShe knew that manipulating was always a last resort. Alex thought back to the\nmany times she had to console her friend for \nusing any shady  tactics with\npeople, and now she was the one that attacked her about it.The fear that her\nwords might have just ruined her beast, longest talking friends, shot through\nher as she stammered, \" Sus.., Susan, I.. I didn't...\" Tears began to form in her\neyes as  the vision of her friend blurred\nbefore her. Alex felt the soft fur of the\nchinchilla wrap over her as the laid on the floor together. \"I know you didn't\nmean it, Boome. And I don't know what came over me either. But right now both\nof us need to pull it together here.\" Alex wiped the tears from her eyes as she\nlooked over at Susan who continued to speak, \"Your boyfriend is coming over to\ndinner. What would he think of you laying around on the floor.\" \"'ee's no' my boyfrien',\"\nAlex  said loudly as she pushed the\nchinchilla away from her. \"I 'ardly know 'im.\" \"Maybe not, but you like him,\"\nSusan looked over at her friend as  they\nlay on the floor, \"you want me to ask him if he's gay? that will clear one\nobstacle up.\" Alex looked at her shocked at the\ncomment. \"Ya wouldn',\" she exclaimed.  Susan sat up \nand winced with the effort. \"You have a point, I saw his picture,  the guy is hot, he's either really picky or\ngay. Don't you want to know before you put out the effort?\" Alex stood up and braced herself\nagainst the wall as  the rush  hit her. \"Wha' effor'?\" She asked as she held\nher suddenly throbing head, \"I ain't gonna date da guy er notin'. We just need\nto keep 'im happy fer all the Community suff' righ'?\" The chinchilla struggled to her\npaw as she held her aching side, \"You're starting to understand the political\ngame a little, Boomer, Now you just have to start playing it.\" She slowly\nwalked intot he kitchen ass she  looked\nfor her pill bottle that was left on the table. \"Now just remember, if he tries\nto bed you thats just  waht we need if\nyou do want to blackmail him.\" Alex looked over at her friend\nangily, \"I ain't gonna be par'a dat kinna chit. It aint' legal an' ya know it.\nSo I cen't do dat. Even if 'ee's a n ass'ole, prick.\" Susan smiled as she saw  the eagle getting frustrated with her again,\n\"Maybe we can get him drunk and get some photos of him grabbing one of us. O,\neven better, If he passes out we can strip him down and climb in bed for some\nreally racey shots.\" \"Ya ain't gonna do 'im like dat,\"\nAlex squaked at her, \"'ee woun't ge' dat drunk anyway.\" Susan smiles to herself as Alex\nleft the room. For once she had the upper hand on the eagle for a change. She\njust had to be careful how far she pushed her friend. before she would admit to\nher infatuation with the man. \"okay, Boomer, We'll just have him over for\ndinner and a few drink. We'll talk to him about the Dark Rider House and our\nactual plans for the place, and maybe get the Mayor's stamp of approval on the\nproject. Everything I've seen  makes it\nlook like he is really like by his constituency and  having him \nbacking might could be a good thing.\" \"Wha'eva, cen we drop it already?\nI'm gettin' tierd of talkin' abou'  'im.\" \"What ever you say, Boomer, He's\ncoming fo dinner tonight,\" I hope you have something decent to wear.\" She\nsnickered as she heard her friend rush up the stairs, most likely to start a\nload of laundry.  "}