Meridian Prime Draft 2: Chapter 4

Story by Stinkdog on SoFurry

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#5 of Meridian Prime


As Rocky climbed the stairs to the Wolf's lounge, I stood up from my chair. The kid would have to wait for now. I could grill him about his presence later. The club was filling up rapidly and I wanted to question Duncan before he actually started DJing. Downing the rest of my drink, I started making my way towards the booth. The crowd was thick by now and I had to squeeze passed the crowd that was eagerly heading for the dance floor. As I neared the bar, a large, brown mass in a black suit shoved its way by me. I recognized it instantly. Before Garth could turn to notice me I managed to wedge myself into a small open space at the bar. The bear continued on his way, oblivious to my presence and I breathed a sigh of relief. The large ursine seemed to be intercepting my plans, however. I watched him stride up to the DJ booth and whisper something in the kangaroo's ear. A shy smile seemed to creep across the DJ's face as he pressed a button on the console in front of him. I slid out from my hiding place at the bar while Garth took the roo's spot in the DJ booth. What the fuck was going on? Had my cover been blown some how? No. Garth would have just thrown me out instead of distracting the DJ if that was the case. My eyes followed the kangaroo across the crowded room as music suddenly erupted from the speakers. How convenient for him. The mass of bodies on the dance floor began writhing along with the beat and I was in danger of losing my quarry in them. Slipping between dancers, I waded across the dance floor. I hoped that I would be quick enough to see where the DJ was going. I shoved a raccoon out of my way in frustration.

"What the fuck, man!?" I heard him say, but I ignored him.

This was my only god damned lead and I wasn't about to lose it now. I made it to the edge of the twisting mass in time to see the roo's thick tail slip behind the restroom door. Jesus Christ. If he was Duncan, I really hoped he wasn't crooked. I hated crooked cops more than anything. I took a step forward, but someone grabbed my arm and I turned to see the now very angry looking raccoon I had shoved.

"Hey! What the hell did you push me for?" He asked.

I wasn't in the mood for this shit.

"Let go of my arm, right now," I growled.

"What's your fucking problem, asshole?

My upper lip curled into a snarl. My fist balled next to me and planted itself directly into his right temple. The blow sent him reeling back into some of the other dancers who were staring at me in shock. I turned back around and pulled the squeaking door to the bathroom open. The restroom's countertop was marble, but the walls were lined with sheet aluminum or maybe it was steel, I didn't particularly care. There were six stalls in the bathroom, each walled with partitions made of some kind of plastic. Some urinals were on the same wall as the sink, but further down. There were no partitions between those, though. The floor was made of gray tile, predictably. The roo was leaning against the counter while a tyrannosaur flipped through his wallet. They both turned to look at me as I came in. I decided to let my anger simmer for a moment and, as nonchalantly as I could manage, walked over to one of the urinals. I let the two animalized humans go about their business while watching from the corner of my eye. It was a good thing I had a drink earlier. A disposable credit card changed hands from rex to roo and the dino entered the last stall in the row of six. The DJ entered the stall next to it. That was odd, I thought. I wonder if... My fears were confirmed as I heard the shedding of trousers. The soft sound of murmured groans floated to my ears from within the last stall. A chill ran down my spine out of disgust. I finished at the urinal and shook myself, zipping up my fly. Turning to face the stalls, I bent at the knees to look under them. The kangaroo was on his knees, furiously jerking off. The tyrannosaurus had his pants around his ankles. I should have known something like this was happening here. Though, it kind of made sense in a really fucked up way. The only way an inside man could get information easily was by pandering to the employees and patrons. Being a whore had some advantages I guess.

"Oh god..." I heard the rex whimper in a much higher toned voice than I originally expected to come out of him. "Oh fuck that's great... don't fucking stop, man!"

My stomach rolled over suddenly and I was forced to re-swallow the bitter bile that bubbled to the back of my throat. What was I waiting for? Why was I letting this disgusting shit continue? I might be able to listen in on any exchange of information they made afterward. Though they had exchanged money... Was it money? All I had seen was a plastic card. Could that have been the way Duncan got his info from people? There was no way to be sure. I had only one option. I had to get the card from the roo to see for myself. I quietly slipped into the open stall next to the one the DJ occupied. Fuck. There was a hole in the wall of the plastic partition, facing that second stall. At least I could look through it to get a better sense of where he would have put the card. The marsupial was slobbering over the only part of the rex that was sticking through the wall. His cargo shorts were around his knees, but he still had on the Hawaiian shirt. If the card was in his back pocket, it would be relatively easy. Getting it from his shirt pocket would be nigh impossible. His thick tail was swaying back and forth slowly. That would be a challenge to get around. I begrudgingly lay down on the filthy tile floor and waited for the roo's tail to start swinging away from me. When it did, my hand shot forward, gingerly slipping inside the back pocket of his cargo shorts. It was empty. The tail started coming back and I pulled my hand free, though not quite fast enough. The DJ's tail brushed against my arm and he jumped in surprise. He started to pull off of the rex, but I wasn't about to let another lead get away from me. I quickly rolled into his stall and shoved his face into the reptile's crotch. The rex bellowed in pleasure, howling and moaning loudly. The roo's arms flailed around behind him as he gagged and sputtered on the prick in his throat. Calmly, I grabbed each wrist and pinned them behind him with my knee, producing my quivering pistol from the holster in my coat. My thumb flicked the small switch on the handle to "silent mode" and the cold barrel telescoped outward. I pushed the business end of the gun against the roo's temple as I leaned close to his ear to whisper to him.

"Listen carefully. I have a question for you. Give me one mm for yes and two mms for no. If you don't answer me fast enough or if you try to warn that faggot in the next stall, I will break one of your fingers. Do you understand me?"

The roo had tears streaming down his quickly turning crimson cheeks. A string of clear snot oozed from his nose from the choking so I pulled him back a bit to let him catch his breath. He wouldn't be able to give me any info if he passed out.

"Holy fuck, Duncan, don't stop," the rex crooned. "That was amazing!"

Well at least I knew that he was the one I was looking for now.

"Mm..." the roo said.

"Oh yeah, moan some more for me."

Jesus Christ the rex was getting into it. Not that I cared. Duncan whimpered and I pushed the barrel harder into his temple in response.

"Is that card in your shirt?" I asked softly.

"Mm, mm."

That made it easy. I kept my gun on his head while I fished around in his pockets with my free hand. The rex started pumping his hips through the hole in the wall and I grimaced. The pistol whined in my ear. It wanted to be used so badly, but I ignored it. I found the card in his left pocket and I pulled it out, victorious. The roo must have still been doing his job because shortly after the Dino moaned loudly.

"F-fuck, Duncan... I'm gonna...!"

Duncan tried to pull off of the rex, but I put my hand on the back of his head again.

"Have fun," I whispered into the roo's ear, shoving him forward until his nose was buried in the rex's crotch. He gagged and retched around the length as the dino howled in ecstasy. I could see the lizard's nuts twitching against the roo's chin and I felt my stomach churn again. I looked away, fighting the urge to heave my stomach's contents into the toilet as Duncan gulped frantically in an effort to keep from drowning in the lizard's juices. Eventually the reptile came down from his plateau and there was a disgusting, prolonged slurping noise before I heard him pulling up his pants. I kept Duncan's snout inside the hole to keep the dino from looking back through it and noticing me.

"That was amazing!" The rex gasped. "Thank you..."

His last words seemed to trail off and I was worried for a moment if he suspected anything, but the door of his stall opened and it was followed by the sound of the bathroom door soon after. Duncan immediately pulled away from the hole in the stall wall, despite the fact that my gun still rested against his head, and began vomiting into the toilet.

"So who sent you?" He asked in between spasms. "The Wolf? Tony Domingo? The Broker?"

I kept my gun trained on his skull and countered his question with my own.

"What's on the card?"

He chuckled, coughing into the toilet bowl.

"Money. What else would be on it?"

"So you decided that the best use of your undercover police training would be to get paid for sucking dicks in the bathroom of a shitty nightclub. Bravo."

"Fuck you, man. You don't know shit about me."

He flushed the toilet, but didn't move. If he had, I probably would have shot him right there.

"Who's payroll are you on now anyway? Who does your gargling money go to?" I was getting sick of people giving me the runaround. I wanted some straight answers.

"The money goes to The Wolf. The information I get from some of the patrons and The Wolf's employees goes to Burke."

Shit. If he was telling the truth, he wasn't crooked.

"That lizard didn't give you any info," I said, trying to catch him in a lie.

"Not all patrons have it. I sent some juicy tidbits back to the station last week from Ace and Garth."

I shuddered at the thought.

"Why the hell did you make me swallow, anyway? That shit is disgusting."

He spat into the bowl.

"What do you know about Tony Domingo hiring Jack Kurbin for The Wolf?"

"If you have to ask, then you're obviously not be working for either of them."

"I swear to god in heaven if you don't answer my question right now I will put a bullet in both of your knees!"

"Ok, ok! Jesus Christ... The Wolf used to have a modified weapons smuggling ring down in the docks district. The mods are illegal and extremely dangerous. Half of the money from the weapons sales went to Tony Domingo as sort of a peace offering from his son. But because of my interference, the police nailed the ring two weeks ago. Domingo started to sweat. The money trail was a direct link to him through The Wolf. So he preemptively hired Jack Kurbin in case the shit hits the fan, which it will, I assure you."

"Are you seriously threatening me, cocksucker?" I asked.

"Who cares?" Duncan said into the toilet bowl. "You're going to kill me either way, right?"

I ignored him.

"Who's The Broker?"

Duncan chuckled dryly.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You, man. I thought you were working for The Broker. You have no idea how deep this goes, do you?"

I fought every urge I had to pull the trigger as he laughed at me. My pistol begged me to do it, whimpering and throbbing in my hand.

"So who are you working for?" He continued, more confident now that I had revealed I wasn't employed by those he feared.

"Myself," I replied. "Now tell me who The Broker is."

"Go to hell and let me get back to my job."

I snarled, wrenching his right hand away from the toilet seat and pulling it behind his back. I was tired of his shit.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear before. Answer my question or I'll break your hand."

"I hope The Wolf finds you and tears your balls off!"

I lifted my foot and brought it down as hard as I could. The kangaroo's hand turned to jelly under my boot, the sickening crunch of Duncan's shattering bones reverberating around the bathroom. He screamed in pain and heaved bile and the rest of his stomach into the toilet. AS I lifted my foot back off of his destroyed hand, I could see the pearly white of bone protruding from the bleeding flesh, bits of his fur stuck in the cracks between bone and skin. He pulled his arm back in front of him, cradling the crushed hand in his lap gingerly as he shuddered from the pain.

"Now, you have five more chances on your other hand to answer me before I tear your balls off," I hissed.

"Fucking psycho... Alright," he coughed. "No one sees The Broker when they want to. He operates from the shadows. He and his goons prefer to stay hidden from the police and the Domingos. I've never met him. I've heard that you don't find him, his cronies find you and take you to him. He knows everything there is to know about the city, though."

"Thank you. That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

"Drop dead!"

"Now, now. I have one more question for you. What do you know about Services and Exports Limited?"

"What is that? Some kind of courier service?"

I pushed my gun harder into his head, pulling his left hand backward in the same manner as the right.

"Wait, please! I don't know anything about it! I swear to god, I'm telling the truth!"

I hovered there for a moment, rolling his inflection around in my head. He was probably being honest. At least it sounded honest anyway. I put the plastic card back in his pants pocket and removed my whimpering gun from his head.

"Go get some medical treatment," I told him as I stood, unlocking the stall door and holstering my protesting pistol.

"Fucking Christ..." I heard him whine as I left the bathroom.

Back in the club proper I made a bee-line for the exit, my head buzzing with more questions than when I had entered. Why the fuck couldn't anyone give me information that was definitive? Now I had three possible players. Hell, maybe they were all in it together. Anthony Domingo had been my first assumption. The mafia boss had been trying to get the whole of Meridian under his belt for a long time now. Sweeney and Kurbin were somehow related to this whole thing. Perhaps Domingo had promised them a political win if they did something for him in return. Regina was related to that, I was sure of it. One thing I didn't understand was why she had even come to find me in the first place. I would figure it out eventually, but now there was The Broker to consider as well. This was starting to feel like a pretty deep hole. I wondered how Finch and SEL were related to the larger picture. Hopefully Germaine had found something out. I knew he couldn't be there to scope out the place all of the time or else he risked being fired.

I squeezed my way out of The Moon's entrance and made my way to the alley; Garret's haunt. If anyone knew how to contact The Broker, it would be Garret. The alley was just as dark as the first time I had entered and the old rat was sitting in his usual place.

"A question approaches," the rat said as I walked up to him.

"How can I contact The Broker?" I asked.

"There is a matter of payment..." There was a waver in his voice that hadn't been there before.

"I wish I had a fortune," I said.

"The payment is insufficient. It requires more for such a delicate question."

The little shit was stalling. Perhaps a more direct approach was in order. I growled, picking him up off of the ground until I could stare into his gray, faded eyes without looking down.

"Let's try this again. Tell me where I can find The Broker," I said icily.

For the first time since I had met him, Garret seemed genuinely terrified.

"Th-The Broker?" He asked in that raspy voice, his soothsayer act completely forgotten for the moment.

"Yes, Garret. Are your ears failing now? Should I shake you up a bit to see if that fixes them for you?"

"N-no one sees The Broker-"

"Right, right, not unless he wants to be seen. Just tell me where he works from and maybe I'll let you go without doing too much damage."

The rat shuddered in my grip, trying to shrink away from me as if he could pass through the wall.

"I don't know! No one knows! If he wants to find you, then he does. That's how The Broker does business. Please, oh God, don't hurt me!"

I frowned. He was pathetic. I don't know why I was expecting him to be otherwise. It looked like I would need to shake a few cages in order to get The Broker to take notice of me. I didn't even know where to begin. I dropped Garret and the rat quickly picked up his cane, hobbling out of the alley in fear. I didn't like being a douche. But if the military had taught me one thing, it was that some people didn't respond honestly unless you were a prick. I was still miles away from finding the truth to all of this. I couldn't shake the feeling that everything was connected somehow, but once again, I was at a dead end.

I made my way back to my apartment. Rocky was waiting for me on the couch. He looked upset. I put away my bad cop attitude for a while.

"What are you doing here, Rocky?"

The ferret looked up at me nervously, wringing his hands in front of him. I narrowed my eyes as he stuttered.

"I-I um... I went to The Moon again tonight..."

"Did you? I thought I told you to stay away from that place." I didn't want him to know that I had been there as well.

"I know, but..." he started, but then changed the subject. "That's not the point. I found someone there that you should know about."

"What are you getting at, Rocky?"

"It was Michelle." The ferret stared at the floor.

I could feel my teeth clench and my hands squeezed into fists.

"Did you leave her there?" I asked. My voice sounded a lot angrier than I intended it to and Rocky's ears lay back on his head. I guessed it was out of fear.

"N-no, of course not! I... I brought her back here..."

As if on cue, the toilet in my bathroom flushed and the sink started running. I sighed. Mostly in relief, but my rage still stewed in my gut. I crossed the room and pulled a blanket out of the cabinet that sat just inside my bedroom door.

"What was she doing there?" I asked as I threw the blanket to Rocky.

"You should... probably ask her yourself."

The sink stopped abruptly.

"Thanks for bringing her back here, Rocky."

He nodded.

"Nate, The Wolf wanted me to tell you something. He's starting to suspect that some of his people are not as trustworthy as he thought."

"Well that's a huge surprise, isn't it? Most of them used to be mobsters and drug dealers. Why would he have any reason to doubt their integrity?"

Rocky frowned. I really didn't have a reason to be a jerk to him.

"I'm sorry, Rock. I'll keep my ears open if that's what you want me to do."

"Thanks. I should be heading home," he said.

"You're welcome to stay, you know."

I didn't want him to leave. It would have been so much easier to turn Michelle down with him here to listen to us. But he saw through that.

"No, I wouldn't want to get in the way of you and Michelle. Besides I have some things to do at home."

The small ferret stood up from the couch, putting the blanket down where he had been sitting. He walked passed me to the door.

"Take care, Rock," I said. "Stay out of trouble, ok?"

"I'll try."

He stepped outside and closed the door behind him. I set about making myself a Takeshi Noodle Bowl while Michelle finished up in the bathroom. I wondered what was taking her so long.

The door finally opened as I was finishing the bowl. Michelle looked like a tramp. She was wearing an extremely short skirt, and a tight fitting, black t-shirt. I gulped as I saw her, feeling a familiar itch return to my crotch.

"Hello, Nate," She said, giggling slightly.

"Are you drunk?" I asked.

"I only had three. I'm fine."

I sighed and stood up, putting the bowl down on my small coffee table.

"So what were you doing at The Moon?"

She approached me, smiling and swaying a bit on her feet. I braced myself to move forward quickly in case she lost her balance. But she didn't and instead stopped inches from my muzzle.

"I told you, I wanted to feel what it would be like." She whispered.

"Michelle, what are you-!"

He hand grabbed my groin, squeezing and tugging on it. I bit my lip as I felt myself harden.

"We shouldn't be doing this," I said.

"But you want it, don't you. I just want to feel it once."

"What about Robert?" I was trying so very hard to turn her down. My instincts were making that incredibly difficult.

"You know, you never asked me, when you came back, what I thought about your new appearance."

She was right, I hadn't asked. I had just thought she would hate it. She never liked pets when we were together before the war. Maybe that was the real reason. Maybe I thought of myself as less of a man. Michelle's groping became more insistent.

"So what happens after if we do this?" I asked. "Do you just leave and go back to your perfect fiancé?"

She frowned, releasing my package and turning away from me. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Robert..." she began, but she paused to think of the correct words to use. "Robert is a fine man and I do love him. But I have needs, Nate. Needs that he doesn't satisfy."

"You're drunk," I said, trying another tactic.

"And you're hard. What's the problem?"

I grimaced. Every time I mentioned Robert I spat out his name like it was a curse. I didn't want her to go back to him. Maybe this would be a first step to getting her back. I was lying to myself, trying to tell myself that she could be persuaded. That part of what we had was over. What were we left with now? She stood there, looking at me as I thought about us, a raging hard-on straining against my pants. Why was I having such a difficult time accepting her offer? I didn't just want to be her fuck buddy or her booty call. I wanted her to love me like she loved Robert. I wanted her. That much was obvious. She made my choice for me. Her lips pressed against mine. There were no more thoughts, no more words. I pulled her to me, holding her as close as I could against my chest as our tongues writhed together. In moments we were naked in my bedroom. She was on her back, legs wrapped around my waist as I ravaged her, pounding out all of my frustrations over the case; over our relationship. She moaned softly into my ear each time I hilted, egging me on with sweet whispers that meant nothing. It was instinct that drove me. It urged me forward with reptilian delight as I gave in to my carnal desires. Michelle gasped as I bit her shoulder, grinding my hips into hers.

"Nate...!" She cried out in ecstasy, nails digging into my back.

I had never been able to bring her over the edge before, but she clenched so hard around me in that moment that I was taken by surprise and found myself shuddering and moaning along with her. We stayed completely still for several minutes, panting and gasping for air. I reached for a cigarette, but she stopped me; her cheeks flushed from exertion.

"Please... don't smoke..." she pleaded.

I obeyed and instead licked at the fresh wound on her shoulder. I hadn't meant to bite her so hard, but I hadn't really been aware of my own actions. A moment later, she grabbed my shoulders and forcibly rolled us over, placing both hands on my chest. Her fingers kneaded the fur there as she rode me, making me clench my teeth from the pleasure. She must have wanted it very badly. I gripped her ample breasts, rolling them gently as she moved on top of me. I sat up, bracing myself with one arm as I licked her. She groaned and rode me faster. I felt my breath quickening in my chest, starting to move my hips to meet her. I felt my muscles tense up slowly as she steadily bore down on my lap. It was a joint effort, a team sport. We rocked back and forth together for what seemed like an eternity, clutching each other as if we would be swept away if we let go. She bit her lip and I yelped as my body convulsed within her. It was a very canine sound, but she didn't seem to mind. She pulled herself close to my chest, grinding on me until she too went over the edge a second time. We raised our voices in bliss; an instinctual harmony that reverberated around the room. We collapsed into a mound of feral, panting flesh. Her sweat matting my fur as I panted heavily like my looks suggested I should. I didn't even try to go for a cig this time. There was no desire for one. Instead, I held her close to me, enjoying the feel of her heart beating against me. Her warm breaths drifted over my neck as she slowly slid off of me, one of her arms draped over my belly and her head resting on my rising and falling chest.

The early morning sunlight filtered into my bedroom through the blinds and slapped me in the face. I grumbled and turned my head the other way. Michelle murmured next to me. I sighed, unfortunately awake for now. She pulled the sheets closer to her as I slid out from under them, starting to pull some clothes on.

"Where are you going?" She asked.

"Work," I said. "Burke is going to at least want a report. You should be getting back home anyway. Have you thought about what you're going to tell Robert?"

She shrugged.

"I'll think of something when I'm in line at the clinic this morning."

I nodded after a moment of hesitation.

"Of course..." It made sense. We had forgotten to use protection the night before. Some part of me had been hoping that she wouldn't delete all record of our intimacies. She slipped out of bed as well and got dressed next to me. I watched her breasts sway as she did, following her with my eyes as she finished and walked towards the bathroom. I finished buttoning up my shirt and tucked it in, slipping my trench coat over my shoulders when I entered the living room. Michelle came out of the bathroom and kissed me on the cheek.

"Thank you for last night," she said, blushing a bit.

I just grunted in response. It wasn't sitting well with me. My ears perked as I heard something outside in the hall. It sounded like counting.

Neither of us was prepared for the group of strange men that suddenly kicked in my door. The wood on the frame splintered and I instinctively moved to cover Michelle. All six of the assailants were black. They wore black clothing as well. Three of them were humans of African decent. The other three were animalized with black fur. A bull grabbed my right arm and a horse gripped my left, wrenching me away from Michelle.

"Oh my god! Nate!" She hollered as they pulled me off of her.

One of the humans slapper her and I felt rage bubble up in my gut.

"Don't fucking touch her!" I screamed, struggling against the bull and horse.

"Now, now, mister Wesson. Come quietly and we won't have any reason to hurt your ex fiancé anymore," one of the humans said. She was the only female in the group.

How the fuck did they know about us?

"Who the hell are you people?" I asked.

"Just a group of laborers doing our job. Things will be easier if you ask fewer questions."

She drew a gun from her waist and I reluctantly relaxed, letting the bull and horse lead me towards the door. Michelle sat on my couch, quivering with her hands over her mouth in shock.

"I'll be fine, Michelle, get to the clinic and then go straight home," I said, trying to comfort her.

The other four filed out behind us as they forced me to walk down the hallway. We neared the stairs down and I saw my chance. The two animalized humans were too wide for the stairwell and the horse started down first. Once he was a few steps below me I leaned into him and gave him a rough shove. He let go of me in alarm and I expertly vaulted over the railing to the next flight to get out of the way of the toppling bull. The bovine landed on top of the black horse and I saw him pulling something from his belt. I ran, leaping down the stairs towards the next landing. A horrifically loud bang sounded behind me and I felt a sharp stab of pain in my back. My world dimmed on the third step from the landing and I felt myself crash to the floor against the wall before I lost consciousness.