FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

It was referred to in most of his circles as a brute-force attack, an exhaustive, cryptanalytic attack on a computer system that randomly and systematically entered and checked nearly a hundred entries per minute, trying all possible keys and combinations, until a proper password was found that allowed a login, and more importantly, access to the billions of bytes of data stored within the system. For the past forty years, it had been the staple for most computer hackers around the world, but with the introduction of exponential data encryption and lightning-point internet protocols, computer hacking was becoming much more daunting and dangerous to attempt.

Unless of course the hacker chose a relatively easy, less-protected system to invade.

And such had been the case with Anivision Unlimited.

Brian Tayne glanced at the dichronic-crystal screen and watched with smug satisfaction as a random generation of passwords from "abacus" to "zebras" appeared and then disappeared as each word was tried and abandoned. "Crazy wolf." He chuckled and reached for his Pepsi-One. "Leave it to Garrity to scrimp on computer security. That old lupine's so tight about money you'd shove a quarter up his ass and get back two pennies."

There was a flash across the screen and the "please login" request faded out, replaced by a prompt. "There you are..." The fox grinned and squinted at the screen, typing away at the laser-board. One hour and thirty minutes. He figured another ten or fifteen minutes inside the system was enough to get most if not all of the code for Grand Theft Cruiser, The Seventh Step, Arabian Nightmare, and the rest. He could be particularly nasty if he wanted to, and wipe the whole file system and hard drive, then send a command into the root directory that would guarantee the computer could never turn on again.

But he wasn't paid to do that. And money talked the loudest in this business. He started to laugh soundlessly in the dark confines of the office-space. 50,000 soft dollars for roughly two hours of computer time. If he was feeling magnanimous, he might even transfer back half of that. It had really been the easiest system in the world to hack, in fact it was so easy that-

He stopped typing and looked up at the swiveling surveillance camera above him ticking and clicking on its servo. He'd disabled it with the beam-block in his pocket the moment he'd come in, and right now whatever lax security crew on staff at the Gaines Building were seeing a looped video of a beautiful, blonde-haired vixen in a red tight, short skirt, busily chatting on a holophone and typing away, every so often stealing a paw down between her legs and letting out silent moans, eyes closed.

Thank you, Porn-Tube.

"Just nerves," the young fox muttered and focused his dark-brown eyed gaze back on the screen. "Come on, Anivision, show me what you got in here." The holophone next to him on the desk suddenly blinked several times with an incoming call, and he quickly snatched it up. "What?" he growled.

"Having fun, Mr. Tayne?" The screen was pitch-black but he knew the voice. The one who'd hired him 48 hours ago, sight unseen, which was usually a bona-fide no-no in standard hacking contracts.

"Oh, I'm havin' a ball, thank you very much. This system you had me tackle had crap for security. Encryption's for crap, security cameras are a joke, these guys are still livin' in the 2010s, I think."

The voice on the other end laughed uproariously as if the fox had told the greatest joke ever. "You don't say? Well, then carry on, Mr. Tayne. Sorry to have...disturbed your progress..." And then, almost as an afterthought, he added, "By the way, I'm glad you decided to wear the black suit. It makes you look very professional."

"Well, thanks, I-" Brian stopped talking and glanced up quickly at the security camera he'd dispatched earlier.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Tayne? You look as if you've seen a ghost..." The voice began to laugh again.

Brian looked hard at his holophone. "Alright, who the fuck is this?"

"The name is Ronald Garrity, Mr. Tayne. And I assure you, contrary to your earlier comment about me, I take my security system quite seriously..."

Brian's face turned almost white against his russet fur. "I...I don't...understand..."

"Well, I had to test my security somehow, didn't I, silly todd. You were perfect. We've traced every one of your keystrokes, every screen has been captured and recorded and...oh, interesting touch with the porn video loop as well. Quite ingenious. Top notch, Mr. Tayne."

The camera above him suddenly flashed bright red and a second servo clicked into place, aiming the camera head directly at him. "And now, Mr. Tayne, your services are no longer required."

"Crap!" The fox had barely enough time to duck as a light-rail beam shot from the camera, almost too quickly for the naked eye to see, and slashed through the office chair he'd been sitting in, ripping it into leather shreds. Brian quickly crawled and skittered across the tiled floor as beam after beam sliced and diced through the room, scattering papers, shards of glass and splintered wood around him. He managed to crawl to one of the doors and waited quietly as the camera turned and twisted, trying to detect further motion.

He had to get out of there. The lasers were just a light-show. The real party, probably armed to the teeth with plasma-rifles and gods knew what else, was on the way. He quickly scanned the room, glancing at some of the undamaged desks, and in particular, any holo-pictures that had escaped the onslaught that might be perched on them. One caught his eye - a middle-aged brown rat with spectacles, grey hair, wearing a vest and jacket. Peter Mcvries, according to his desk ID label.

He would have to do.

Brian focused on the image hard and concentrated. The tail came first, as it always did. He howled with pain as his fluffy fox tail stiffened and then pushed back into his body, and then a long, rat's tail slowly emerged to take its place. His narrow muzzle pushed back against his face and cheeks, and the whiskers fell away. The transformation continued as the russet covering his legs and arms was slowly replaced with mottled-greying fur. Lastly his triangular fox ears bent and then re-formed, becoming rounder.

He grimaced as the shape-shift ended and glanced around quickly, scanning for the camera, before getting up gingerly to his feet and trying to catch his balance. At once, the office door exploded inward in a hail of plasma-fire and the rat collapsed to his knees, shielding his face.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" he squeaked, and slowly lifted his head up to stare at the welcoming party. "I...I was working late tonight, and I had some papers to finish, and this damn fox came out of nowhere and tried to..." He started to cry bitterly, "He tried to force me to open the door for him. Said he'd...he'd kill me! He went out the door just before you arrived. If you hurry, you might catch him!"

The leader of the group dropped his aim slowly and sighed. "Alright, follow me, he can't have gone far. You two take the elevators, the rest to the stairwell. Let's move it!"

Brian waited for all the guards to leave before going to the open door and peering out. Satisfied they were gone, he looked up at the camera and saw that it was completely destroyed by an errant plasma-shot. The rat grinned and returned to the ruined desk he'd been sitting at, fishing out his holophone from amidst the debris.

As he left the building and walked down the street he dialed the last caller and waited for the voice to answer. "Did you get the little bastard yet?" Garrity snarled.

"Not quite, Ronald." Brian could practically feel the other voice tremble through the holophone and he smirked. "But thanks for the soft dollars anyway. I was going to return some of it but I'm afraid that ship has sailed."

"You think you've won?" Garrity answered coldly. "I'll find out everything about you, fox. You can count on it."

Brian stepped onto a passing FreeBus. "Yeah, well, there's one thing about me you don't know, Mr. Garrity."

"And that is?"

Brian smiled through his whiskers and switched the holophone to visual, letting the caller see his rat-face fill the screen. "Do I look like a fox to you, fucker?"

Garrity's voice faltered. "What the...I...I don't understand? Peter?! What is the meaning of this?! What are you-!"

Brian practically giggled as he hung up the holophone on his shouting.

**

"Just a few more, Liana, please? You're killing me..."

The nude sea otter sighed at the tiger and tilted her head back as she posed pool-side, letting dark flowing hair cascade over her bare back and around a thick ruddertail. "Honestly, Frank, do we not have enough?" she said in her soft, teasing tone, and splashed a webbed foot in the water in front of her. "Come on, baby...let's go for a swim..."

The tiger clicked a few more photos onto his v-cam and grinned. He was completely naked as well. His buff body was covered in orange-white striped fur that turned white around his trim stomach and genital area. The sea otter saw with delight that he was in full arousal, his member practically pulsing between his legs like a wild animal ready to charge. "Just one or two, please? You don't know what a thrill this is...I'm totally living a fantasy, do you know that?"

Liana giggled and moved her body so that she was lying on her stomach, her breasts squashed against the pool deck, then lifted her legs up behind her and crossed her ankles sexily. "I know. You have said this many times in the past hour. I am wondering now why you caught my eye in the first place."

The tiger smiled sheepishly. "Because you thought I was cute maybe? And because I was the only one to recognize who you were." He sighed and put the camera down, unabashedly stroking his long, hard arousal towards her. "Liana Bay. One of the best supermodels in Los Angeles, probably the whole damn New States."

The sea otter tucked her bottom lip against her mouth and bit seductively. "Mmhmm. That must be it. I guess we were just lucky to be staying in the same hotel, hmm?"

"Why are you here anyway?" The tiger put down the camera and went over to curl up beside her, earning a throaty churr of pleasure as her warmth spread to his. "I mean, you doing a photo shoot around here?"

Liana's green eyes twinkled merrily as she reached for him. "Not just any photo shoot. Victoria's Trade Secrets. Lingerie, thong bikinis, a few midriffs..."

Frank trembled and his erection practically leaped as her webbed paw surrounded the hard flesh and squeezed. "Oh gods, otter...I want you so bad..."

"And I want you too..." she whispered and they kissed deeply, theirs tongues slowly exploring one another's mouths with abandon as their tastes mingled. As they pulled away, she got to her feet and casually tossed her hair back. "Come on, tiger. Catch me..." She turned towards the water and dove into the deep 12-foot end, lost from sight.

The tiger quickly scrambled to his feet and dove in after her. She was waiting for him. As Frank swam close towards her, she ducked and grabbed at his foot playfully and pulled him down to the bottom of the pool. She got him into a tight hug and kissed him hard, fumbling for his arousal quickly and shoving it suddenly hard and deep into her swollen folds. The sea otter let out a bubbly sigh of pleasure and spun her body, holding the tiger down until she could pin him, now straddling his raging member and pounding up and down upon it.

Frank burbled hard, struggling to hold his breath as Liana smiled down at him, watching him, and then her webbed paws came down to his chest, beginning to press down tightly. The new pressure on his lungs was getting to be too much for the tiger and he started shaking his head, signaling his need for air wildly. Liana ignored him and her eyes narrowed as she started bouncing harder, pushing her paws down against the tiger's chest and eliciting bubbly cries from them both. She leaned forward then, keeping the tiger's swollen length deep within her, and clamped her breasts over his face, wrapping her arms around him and holding him down.

After a few more jerks and shakes, the tiger suddenly came into her hard, filling her aching sex with a steady flow of tiger-cum. She rode his orgasm through, still keeping a tight hold around him, until he stopped jerking entirely. Liana waited a few more minutes underwater, making sure all movement had ceased, and pressed a paw to his chest.

There was no heartbeat.

Satisfied, the sea otter slowly lifted herself off of the tiger and looked down at his drowned face, eyes still half-open, his parted mouth trickling a few more bubbles. She reached down and gently closed his eyes, then gave his arousal a pat as she pushed off the bottom and swam to the surface, taking in a lungful of air.

She got out of the pool quickly and sloshed over to the patio table, picking up her holophone and dialing a number. When she got a voice, she replied almost woodenly, "Frank The Silencer Summa. Code Four-Nine-Two-Seven-Zero. Method..." She thought for a moment, then smiled softly as she added, "Accidental drowning."

Liana Bay got up from the table and toweled herself dry, then quickly went inside the Le Grande Hotel penthouse suite to dress. She still had a photo shoot, a press dinner, and an award ceremony to attend in the next six hours. Dispatching DeSimone's main hitman was just the tip of the iceberg for a Saturday in Beverly Hills.

No rest for the wicked.

**

"I'm telling you, Bri, they're onto you." Mark Strider took a sip of his beer and looked hard at the fox. "You got lucky this time, but sure as shit, they're not gonna just give up and let you squeak by..."

Brian laughed. "Cute."

"I don't think it's so fucking funny." The brown bear growled and laid a large paw over his on the table. "Look, you and me, we go way back, right? Long past Anonymous Inc., Lords of Darkness, Heavenly Angels, every major hacking syndicate in the New States. If they get to you, what makes you think they can't get to anyone, and anyone they work for? They knew how to get you in, Brian, and they could've killed you."

"Well, they didn't. And they're not gonna find me..."

"What are you gonna do, shift for the next 20-30 fucking years? Never keeping an identity?"

Brian set down his glass and looked at the bear steadily. "If I have to..."

"You'll go crazy, Bri...you know you will. Think about it, for fuck's sake. Sure, you might have an amazing gift, and I'm jelly as hell about it, but you can't possibly keep that up for long. How many times had you shifted before last night? Less than ten times or so? You said yourself you can't overdo."

Brian ignored him and glanced up at the FreeVee in the corner of the bar, showing the lovely Liana Bay in all her 5' 7" inch, 110-pound mustelid beauty, parading down a red carpet in a white sequined dress, with a handsome, sheepish-looking black panther on her arm, nearly blinded by the photo-flashes around them. "Look at her, Mark..." The fox gazed dreamily at her. "You realize if I could just meet her, my life would be complete?"

The bear couldn't help but smirk as he looked up as well. "Yeah, she's a beauty, and she's talented and she's less than attainable to the likes of us nerd college kids. She wants 'em brawny, rich...and probably well-hung."

Brian snorted. "I don't think she's as material as all that. I really don't. She comes from the South Pacific. Do you have any idea what the women are like there?"

"Well, since most of that area was nuked in the last war, there's no telling. Lot of people didn't survive, and those that did, they always said something was off about them. Insanity, schizophrenia, maybe even psychopathic tendencies. She's probably got a serious case of PWP, man."

The fox shook his head, still gazing at the screen. "I don't think she suffers postwar psychosis. She's alright, that one. I mean, look at her. Smiling, eyes really bright, and that body...look at the way she moves."

"Yeah, just like any 10,000-hard-dollar-an-hour supermodel, fox."

"She makes that much now...?"

The bear nodded. "Read about it in The Vanity. She's the most well-paid supermodel in the New States and most of Free Europe."

"Damn...that is a lot of scratch. You said hard-dollars? She's paid cash?"

"Yeah, the old fashioned way. She has to. Would you trust a Paypal bank with millions a month? She probably collects from her agency downtown...Brian?"

The fox was looking hard at the screen and grinning. "Mark...how much money would I need to get outta Dodge for a while? Completely new I.D., the works?"

The bear snickered. "A hell of a lot more than the 50k soft dollars you made last night. We're talking at least a million-five just to get your papers straight. Why?"

"Well, what if I tried, you know, using my power to become female? I could become a really hot cover model, get in a few gigs with photographers, work the shows-"

"No, Brian, I-"

The fox smiled, continued to spout. "-And all the while, no one knows it's me, and I can make a ton of money to get out and start over again in another city-"

The bear slammed his paw down hard on the table and it shook. "I said no. I'm not gonna be looking after you day and night to make sure you don't get raped or something. Or turned on to dust, or pills, or whatever the hell they use these days. Besides, have you ever been female before? How the hell do you even know you can do it?"

The fox nodded sheepishly. "You're right. I've never done it." He looked up at the FreeVee again and sighed. "I'll be right back, okay? Bathroom break." He got up from the table and went into the back. The bear shrugged and went back to watching the early morning news, now having pulled away from the pageantry of the gala event in Beverly Hills, and reporting on another massive asteroid that was destroyed by the Star Wars laser cannon on board the Intergalactic Space Station Andromeda.

As the story finished and switched to a weather report, he felt the fox sitting down across from him again and, without looking, absently said, "You maybe want to catch a laser-ball game tomorrow?"

"I dunno," came Brian's reply, "Might be busy doing a photo shoot."

The bear snickered and turned to face him - and his mouth dropped open.

Across from him was the beautiful, soft and tan-furred face of Liana Bay.

"Oh you gotta be fucking kidding me..."

Brian laughed and shook long black hair from her cheeks. "What? This is a first for me. You should be totally proud."

Mark sighed and shook his head. "I'm not gonna even ask what possessed you to do this. But since we were just talking about PWP, maybe you went crazy on me while you were in the bathroom?"

But Brian was still laughing. "Come on, Mark. You otter lighten up. Get it?" When the bear kept frowning, she turned more serious. "Alright look, I need the money fast, right? So I simply go to Liana's agency and-"

"And what? Tell them in your masculine voice you're Liana Bay and you need money?"

Brian rolled her green eyes at him. "No, I won't say anything. I'll just motion to them I have laryngitis or something, lost my voice, you know. Hell, supermodels rarely have to talk anyway!"

"For Christ's sake, Brian," Mark snapped and grabbed for her webbed paw. "Look, you can't do this. It's nuts. You wanna steal, that's fine, but you do it as a hacker, man. Not to ruin a good otter's rep. Geez. What the fuck, I thought you had a crush on her or something, didn't you?"

Brian's eyes clouded and she looked away, not answering for a moment. When she did, her voice was nearly breaking. "What the hell else am I supposed to do? I can't go to the Circle and ask. I'm in hot water as it is after the Anivision job. If you're right, I could be dead already...it's just..." And then she did start to cry softly, covering her eyes and laying her head on the table.

Mark sighed and reached over to stroke her hair. "Alright," he said soothingly, "It'll be okay. Stop crying. Gods, you're becoming a woman already..."

"That's not funny either," she said, still covering her face.

"I'll get you into something else, alright? If you don't think you'd mind sticking it out on the East Coast in the New York Province, I can set you up with a computer security company out there for a few months. Not big bucks, but enough to live on. Meantime, I'll try to handle Anivision for you. If I can get to Garrity, I can cut a deal to make them leave you be."

Brian looked up, her eyes filled with tears. "Alright...I'll go..."

Mark added with a growl, "And for fuck's sake, go back to the bathroom and shift back, would you? Before people start to notice you're in here..."

Brian nodded and quickly got up, padding unsteadily towards the bathroom slidedoor marked "Females" and going inside. Mark sighed deeply and made a quick phone call to his associates, asking for their help in the relocation of his friend. A few minutes later Brian, still in the guise of Liana Bay, skulked past the bar and sat down across from him again, looking sick to her stomach.

"What's wrong?" Mark asked, looking at her carefully.

"I...can't." Brian responded, and bit at her lip.

"What do you mean you can't?! We just went through that whole shpeel remember?"

"No, you don't understand," Brian growled and it came out as a soft churrring noise. She bent her head closer to his. "It's...it's not letting me shift back."

Mark's eyes widened. "What's not letting you?"

Brian threw him a smoldering look. "I...don't...know," she said through grit teeth. "If I did, I would not be telling you."

"Well, what the fuck are we supposed to-"

"Oh my gods, Liana Bay?!" A beautiful blonde ferret waitress had finally come over to their table and was smiling widely. "I just saw you last night at the Gala on the FreeVee. You looked so amazing. Can I get you anything special, sweetie? On the house."

Brian looked over at Mark and jerked her head once, trying to get the bear to talk. Mark sighed and looked angrily at the otter before addressing the ferret in his best New European accent. "The dear lady's 'ad an awful time today, I'm afraid, miss. Got 'erself a case of laryngitis. Can't speak a word for the next few days. But she appreciates every one of 'er fans."

Brian smiled and nodded enthusiastically. Under the table, Mark kicked her calf and the smile became a grimace. "I think the lady'd like to leave actually, miss. Time waits for no otter. But perhaps you'd like an autograph, maybe take a nice picture with her as well?"

Brian frowned and raised her paws, shaking her head emphatically, but the ferret looked starry-eyed and nearly squeaked. "Oh, oh sure!"

The otter huffed and then straightened up as the ferret sat down beside her and pressed close, flashing her waitress badge and putting a companionable arm around her shoulders.

"You know," the ferret blushed and then whispered into her ear as Mark good-naturedly took a few pictures on the waitress' holophone. "I've...um...done a few really naughty porn videos online. I'd...love to share them with you sometime." Her paw came down and rested on her thigh, and Brian swallowed hard as she felt suddenly warm, uncomfortable, and damp between her legs. "I understand you really, really love to swim. I have a pool too..."

Brian finally turned her head to look at the ferret and churrred warmly, the only real sound she could make. The ferret churred back in response and the two girls kissed slowly, while Mark kept clicking. After a moment of tonguing, the breathless ferret pulled away and wiped perspiration from her cheeks. Before she got up to leave, the ferret cupped gently between Brian's legs and stroked her mound through the jeans. "Mmm...let me know, okay?" She fished in her apron for her card and slipped it surreptitiously into the otter's pocket. "Address is there. I'll give you a pool encounter you'll always remember, otter..."

She got up and blew a kiss to them both, thanking them, before taking the holophone back and hurrying into the backroom.

"Holy crap, Brian, you should see yourself," Mark chuckled, "You look like you just swallowed a jalapeno pepper whole."

Brian tried to stop her racing heart, holding a paw to her breasts. "That...was...amazing...damn, she was so hot for me..."

Mark shrugged. "I imagine most supermodels are a little bi inside. If I remember right, Liana used to do a few porn films, before she hit big time, and probably had some lesbian encounters." He grinned widely. "What did she say to you?"

She could still feel the ferret's warm breath against her ears and the tingle between her legs. "I...I think she asked me out..." Mark started laughing uproariously as Brian looked on, seething. "What's so damn funny?!"

The bear got over his laughter, wiping his eyes. "You had to turn into a girl to get laid..."

Brian colored and her whiskers twitched angrily. "Could we focus here for a sec? What the hell am I supposed to do?! Why aren't I changing back?!"

Mark shook his head. "It could be nothing. Have you had trouble like this before?"

"Not really, no. I've always been able to do this almost instantaneously, within a minute or two. Depending on the form, you know. The more complicated the form, the longer it takes, but never more than a few minutes."

Mark nodded and then smirked. "Well, girls can be pretty complicated."

This time Brian kicked him hard. "Will you be serious? I'm in real trouble here!"

Mark winced and moved up from the booth. "Okay, okay. Well, first thing is, we gotta keep you hidden until you can shift back. I'll put you up for the night and then we'll start looking for a ride for you to New York tomorrow. I already made some calls for you." He looked down at her and smiled, stroking her hair. "It's gonna be fine..."

Brian looked up at him gratefully. "I could kiss you."

Mark blushed noticeably and shook his head. "Yeah well, let's not go there. I mean, yeah, if you were actually Liana Bay, I'd have you bent over the table by now but..."

Brian laughed softly as she got up from the booth and stretched, her ruddertail whipping back and forth. More than a few patrons stared. "Maybe you're right," she said, looking around sheepishly, "I need to lay low."

"Come on, I'll get us a cab." Mark plopped a few hard-dollars on the table and took her paw into his.

Brian looked down at their joined paws as they headed for the exit. "Um...Mark?"

The bear quickly dropped her paw, looking guilty. "Sorry..."

**

The sea otter's head burst through the surface of the pool and took a few gasps of breath, coughing. In front of her, Sadie, the ferret from the café, came up panting wildly, and hooked her paws around the otter's shoulders to float, almost moaning.

"Ohhhh...d-don't stop, baby...you were so close..." she whimpered and pressed her nude form hard to the other's. "Go...go back down...finish me...please."

Before the otter knew it, she was shoved back under the water hard, her head forced back between the ferret's legs. She churrred and blew bubbles around Sadie's aroused and swollen folds, before dipping her tongue eagerly into her labia, trying this time to keep from swallowing so much water. Brian was elated. With his shape-shifting ability to become Liana, he had also managed to adopt the lung-power of a sea otter, able to stay down between Sadie's legs for several minutes at a time, kissing, licking, and finally thrusting her tongue into her sex to satisfy her desires. The only trouble was his inexperience with the opposite sex in general. At times, with her tongue exploring, she'd involuntarily swallow water along with her lover's building juices, causing her to cough and pull away for air.

Finally Sadie joined her under the water and wrapped her legs tightly around Brian's back, throwing her head back and letting out a bubbly cry of pleasure as she came hard against the sea otter's tongue, her body wracking and jerking in ecstasy as she enjoyed one blissful orgasm after another. Brian clung to the ferret's ass hard and held onto her until she could finish cumming, and then pushed off of her and swam up for air, clinging to the side of the pool and drawing in ragged breaths.

Sadie, still underwater, enjoyed another fitful climax, stroking her folds hard with a shaking paw, losing her precious air in a few more moans. She weakly kicked for the surface and clung around Brian's leg until she could sputter up beside her, badly out of breath and coughing. "Ohhh...oh...Liana... oh baby, that was so gooood...I've...I've never cum like that...not ever..." She rubbed noses with her, still panting, and then parted her mouth for the otter's, kissing her passionately and deeply.

When they slowly pulled away, they looked into each other's eyes for a time and Sadie giggled, stroking her cheek. "I wish you had your voice back, otter...even a little bit of it."

Brian smiled and shook her head slowly, then kissed her again. She didn't really care about her predicament right now. For the past two hours, the girls had frolicked in the pool, fondling, caressing, kissing, and exploring one another's bodies. Brian was exhilarated at how sensitive her new breasts were, and the ease in which Sadie had used her mouth and muzzle on her netherlips to give her wild and long-lasting orgasms, much more powerful than she could have ever had jerking off.

Sadie pulled away from her again and smiled. "Mmm, wanna get out of this water and into some soft sheets, otter-girl?" She started to swim to the ladder. "I still can't believe you're here. This is like a dream come true for me. Liana Bay, swimming with me and...stuff...it's like-"

A single report from a plasma rifle cut her off as a chunk of tiling next to her head exploded outwards, stinging her face. She instinctively screamed and Brian suddenly yelled, "Get down!" before diving down, latching around the confused ferret's foot and dragging her under as well. Sadie never had time to catch her breath as she was forced down and held against the otter's grip, shaking and jerking, as another glowing plasma ball burst through the water and floated harmlessly down.

Brian quickly clamped her mouth around Sadie's and started kissing her again, forcing the ferret's mouth open to accept a lungful of air, then pulled away, motioning her to stay down while she swam back up carefully. As soon as her head broke the surface, a volley of three plasma shots rained down into the water and she jerked her head back down, glancing up as she submerged again. There was a shape, dressed in black, standing on the balcony above them, firing downward.

She swam back to Sadie, who was starting to lose her breath again, and wrapped her arms around the ferret, kissing to refill her lungs. Then she pushed at her, guiding her to the deepest part of the pool, and motioned for her to stay. Sadie nodded, her cheeks puffing, and watched as the sea otter pushed off the bottom and swam back up, this time going towards the shallows. As soon as her head broke the surface, another shot hit the water in front of her.

"Okay, fucker..." Brian growled, panting, and quickly scrambled to the pool steps and rolled for cover under the balcony. The shooter would probably come down now, guns firing. He scanned the rest of the apartment complex and the building across the street, but he didn't see any other threats. Wait, he thought, why the hell would someone be shooting at them anyway?! A jealous lover? It would be nice to get the real scoop from Sadie, only she feared what would happen once the ferret heard Brian's voice and realized she wasn't Liana Bay.

He looked towards the pool, where the ferret was still deep underwater, holding her breath. She had to do something soon. She knew the girl couldn't stay down practically forever like her. She had just resolved to sprint back into the pool to give Sadie more air when the sliding glass door beside her suddenly exploded in shattering slices from another round of plasma balls, and she ducked away from the blasts, shielding her eyes.

"Come on, Liana!" She heard a gruff voice call out. "We know what you've been up to, bitch! The boss ain't happy!"

Brian wet her lips, pressing herself against the wall. They didn't like her modeling? Was she doing shoots on the side or something? Her nose detected the undeniable musk of a skunk mixed with the still-smoking remains of the door. He was right inside, but he wasn't coming out. Why not?

Steeling herself against the wall, she sidled away from the opening, casting a glance back at the pool, where a few bubbles broke the surface. Hold on, Sadie. Just a little longer, baby. She reached behind her for one of the open umbrella stands wedged in the table and folded it up, bracing it firmly in her paws as a weapon. The skunk's scent was stronger and she sensed he was creeping closer. Suddenly the smoking end of a plasma semi-auto rifle poked through the opening, and Brian swung as hard as she could.

The umbrella post slammed into the surprised skunk, knocking the gun from his paws, and forcing him backwards. Brian let out a loud growl and rushed him, tackling him around his legs and slamming them both against the living room furniture, shattering a coffee table. Brian, dazed, rolled away and sprang to her feet as the skunk also got up, staring at her nude, wet body.

"Damn, I forget how pretty you are. It's a shame, Liana. It really is." He charged her and Brian was thrown backwards, slamming her head against the FreeVee and seeing stars. Together they rolled around on the carpet, wrestling, biting, and scratching. But Brian's new body was wet and slippery, and the skunk kept losing his grip. He finally straddled her and latched both paws around her slender neck, cutting off her air. "Just...relax, honey. It'll be over soon..." He smiled, leering. "Maybe I'll get in a good fuck too, eh?" He reached for the front of his pants and Brian's eyes widened.

"Dude, get off me!" Brian growled up at him in a hard, definitely male voice, and the skunk suddenly looked down at him, blinking in confusion. His paws came away from her throat.

"Wh-what the...f-fuck did you say?" The skunk continued to stare at her, and then a crystal lamp came crashing down on his head, knocking him out cold. Behind them Sadie stood, dripping wet and naked, still panting, and pushed the unconscious skunk off of Brian and helped her sit up.

"Thanks, Sadie," Brian said clearly as the other girl stared at her in wonder.

"You mind telling me what that was all about?" The ferret got down on the floor, tying the skunk's paws and feet together with lengths of cord from the ruined lamp. "And for that matter...just who the hell are you?"

Brian was at a loss. "Okay look, Sadie, I'll level with you. Um...I-I'm not Liana. I'm what you'd call a shape-shifter..."

The ferret finished tying the skunk up and sat back on her legs, looking curiously at Brian. "You mean, you can, like, change into other people?"

Brian nodded. "Yeah. I...uh...I was playing around with my friend and I got this idea to make some money and...well, now I can't get back to being me. I mean...how I really am." She looked pained at the ferret. "I didn't want to hurt you, Sadie. God, no way, you're really great and...I liked being with you..."

Sadie swallowed hard and looked away, nodding. "So what are you really?" she asked quietly.

Brian smiled. "My name's Brian Tayne. I'm actually a fox." She got to her knees and weakly stood up, still a bit dizzy, and flumped onto the couch. "I just don't know when I'll be one again."

The ferret watched her, curling her legs up prettily underneath her, and Brian was aroused again. She'd forgotten how sleek and lithe those creatures were. "Any idea why this asshole would come charging in to my place trying to kill us?" Sadie reached over and checked the cords on the skunk's feet.

"No...but he wasn't after you. He wanted me only. I mean, he wanted Liana..."

"So the real Liana Bay, she might be in trouble?"

Brian looked at her steadily. "Yeah, I think so. Hell, I'd better try to find her and warn her!" She sprang up from the couch and looked around for her clothes. "That skunk said something about a boss not being happy...and that she was up to something, probably not good..." she explained while she dressed.

Sadie shrugged. "Who knows with these model types. Gambling debt. Weight pills. A few sniffs or two of Pleasure dust. All sorts of ways a girl like her can get into trouble." She dialed the police on her holophone, mindful of the visual display, then smiled softly and came forward, taking Brian's paw. "I'm...suddenly really glad you're not her."

Brian chuckled in spite of herself and rubbed noses with her. "Me too."

Sadie glanced out the window at the faraway drone of a wailing siren. "You'd better get outta here, sweetie. I'll handle the cops."

Brian nodded and hurried to the door with Sadie following her. At the door he turned. "Sadie, I...I wasn't trying to play you, honest. I...I really like you..."

The ferret sighed and slung her arms around Brian's shoulders, nuzzling, her full breasts pressed against the sea otter's. "I haven't been with a guy in a long time." She bit her lip and then added shyly, "Maybe you'd better keep my phone number..."

**

Despite her and Sadie dispatching the lone gunman, Brian was cautious as she left the apartment, keeping her eyes peeled for any other unwanted attention as she hopped onto the nearest Freebus. Once she was several streets away, she picked up the holophone and dialed Mark. "Heya, it's me," Brian said, oblivious to the open-mouthed stare from a fox sitting next to her.

"Still a sea otter, huh? Brian, I can't very well do a damned thing about getting you outta the city if you're not you, you know."

"Look, stop talking and listen. We gotta find Liana and quick. I think she's in trouble, big trouble. Some crazy skunk with a plasma semi-auto just tried to end me. I mean, her."

"What the hell for?!"

"I don't know! But we gotta find her and fast."

"Well, we can't do anything tonight. She's probably off to some parties by now. Come back to my place and we'll start fresh in the morning."

"Okay..." She sighed and put the holophone away, looking outside. Somewhere in the big city, Liana Bay was in trouble, maybe dead already for all she knew.

The sea otter put her head in her paws and had a good cry.

**

The next afternoon, Brian and Mark hopped off the FreeBus amid a few raucous cat-calls and whistles, and the seaotter grinned and waved as the vehicle sped away again.

"I have really, really got to get out of this..." Brian gruffed as she walked next to Mark, frowning. "It's getting really old, really fast."

Mark shook his head at her. "Hey, your idea in the first place, fox. Maybe next time you'll consider a less dishonest line of work."

Brian snorted. "Um, says the ex-hacker and current-forger?"

"Nevermind about that." He suddenly leered at her. "You never told me about Sadie last night. How was she?"

Brian's whiskers drooped a bit and she started to blush. "Sadie was really nice." She then growled, looking around them furtively. "Until someone tried to kill us."

"Oh right, that. Any idea what the hell that was all about?"

Brian flailed her arms at him. "How the hell should I know? It must be something major for people to start taking plasma-shots at her."

Mark sighed. "Knowing her and her circles, that could be anything." They both looked uncomfortably at the onlookers taking second glances as they passed. "So, are we ready?"

They started walking across the street towards a large ten-story glass building with a sign that read: First Star Talent.

"Once we get inside Liana's agency, we can find out where the hell she is and warn her. But remember, you gotta do all the talking."

Mark nodded, steeling himself. "Got it." Then smiled down at the sea otter and reached for her paw. "Come along, gorrrgeous," he added in a thick British accent. "Let's see if we can't get this 'ole mess straightened out..."

Brian smirked.

**

"Miss Bay? Five minutes." A petite nude skunk came inside the small cabana and walked up to the also- nude sea otter sitting at the mirrored table.

"Oh, thank you, Tabitha." Liana smiled brightly and ran a paw through her hair, watching it cover one of her dark breasts. "Mm...I think it might be time for a cut soon, dear."

The skunk tittered behind her paw. "Oh zee Free Press would just love zat, wouldn't zey?" She gently caressed the sea otter's shoulders, and Liana churrred softly and reached for the other's paw, bringing her closer. "Mm...well, what do I always tell you, ma chere? If it has breasts, it's zee best, no?"

The two giggled quietly and the skunk got onto her knees beside Liana, nuzzling and gently biting at her right breast, swirling her tongue around the black nipple until it was stiff and shiny. "Mm...come on," Tabitha smiled, looking into her eyes, "We've got a photo-shoot to do..."

Liana nodded and slowly got up, bringing the other girl into a tight embrace and kissing her passionately, thrusting her tongue hard against another tongue, combining their tastes for several seconds before they pulled away, breathless and heady. "Alright," she almost moaned, "I think I'm horny enough now..."

Tabitha laughed and took her paws, walking backwards and leading her to the door. "Mmmhmm. And just wait 'til I get you to the wat-air." She licked her lips hungrily. "I've been practicing holding my breath..."

Liana shivered with delight at the thought of the lovely skunk burying her muzzle between the sea otter's legs and giggled again, following her out the door and to the pool area.

**

Two well-built mastiffs blocking the ninth-floor hallway stepped aside as Brian and Mark strode past and made their way to the agency door. Inside, Mark led the sea otter to the front desk. "Got a problem, luv," he said breezily to the shepherd dog sitting there. "Liana here's s'posed ta be at me photo shoot at eight t'nite n' we wanted ta make sure her schedule's free. Be a doll n' check?"

The canine looked curiously at Liana. "I didn't know you had anything else planned. Was this approved?"

The bear cleared his throat. "Um, er, well, luv, she's doin' this as a favor fer me and my mates. Big weddin' goin' on tomorrow and me best mate wants a gorrrgeous starlet to look at one more time afore 'e marries. "

Brian managed to look shy and add some color to her cheeks.

The canine looked at them both for a moment, her eyes narrowing. "You know the procedure, otter. Any deviations from your schedule need to be cleared with the agency first." She sighed and tapped on the monitor in front of her. "Looks like you've got a busy night, Liana. I dunno how you can swing all of this..."

Mark hastily asked, "Where's she at right now?"

Without hesitation, the shepherd responded, "The Palm Embassy Hotel, for a pool shoot with...hey...why aren't you there?! You're late!"

Mark quickly put up his paws. "Nono, it's alroight, lass, I got permission afore we left, I'm takin' 'er roight back, roight now, thank ya luv!" He grabbed Brian's paw and spun her around, nearly dragging her from the office.

"I hope you realize we dock an hour's pay!" they heard the canine screaming behind them as they got into the elevator and the doors closed.

"Whew...what a mess," Mark said, looking up at the floor-counter.

"Mark...I feel...weird..."

The bear turned to look at her and let out a startled cry. Brian was changing. The thick ruddertail was slowly shrinking, disappearing into her bristly fur, which was becoming longer and fluffier. Her webbed paws became stumps on the ends of her arms and then slowly expanded outwards. Her soft face with the large cheeks became hollow, and her muzzle started elongating. The cup-like ears turned and then pulled upwards. Brian finally collapsed to the floor as the elevator came to a stop, shaking uncontrollably, now his old fox self again.

"Ohhh...man...I..." He let Mark help him to his feet and realized he was still in the white sundress. "Uhoh."

"Well, at least we know you eventually change back." The bear pointed to the fox's groin. "Um...is e-everything there?"

Brian blinked and then lifted up his sundress. He grinned. "The boy is back."

Mark laughed and shook his head. "Let's get the hell outta here. There's a store across the street. We can get some jeans and-"

Brian was already out of the sundress and wearing attractive white board shorts underneath. "Nah, I was prepared. Let's get to that hotel."

"Wait, what are you gonna say when you get there? Hi, you don't know dick about us, but we think your prized sea otter babe is gonna get whacked by the mob soon?"

The fox looked back at him as he hurried to the door. "I'm thinking, I'm thinking."

**

Liana let out a shuddery gasp as she and the skunk surfaced from the water in each other's arms and the small group around them applauded. Beside them, two digital camera-tigers in scuba-gear popped up and removed their regulators. The sea otter giggled softly and kissed her companion deeply, trembling all over. "Mmm, ooooh, that was the hottest yet, Tabitha."

The skunk struggled for her breath, coughing a little. "Told you..." She practically purred and spread her legs, hugging them around Liana. "I have really been practicing..."

Liana felt the skunk's still-swollen mound against her belly and brushed her muzzle along Tabitha's breasts slowly. "I know...h-hurry up and get your breath back..."

"You two were fucking fantastic," one of the cameramen whimpered, rubbing at the erection in his shorts. "Tabby, babe, that was about the sexiest thing I'll see all week. Getting your tongue in there, and holding her breasts. Wow...you're a natural..." He tucked a paw into his shorts and wrapped it around his lust.

The skunk smiled and blushed at the tiger, then nuzzled Liana gently. "I...I zeenk someone...realllly loved our performance, no?"

Liana turned and looked at the tiger too. "Mmm...I wonder how big he is right now..."

Tabitha giggled. "Let us go see..."

Together the two sucked in a deep breath and ducked back down, swimming underwater over to the tiger's legs. As the skunk started tugging off the swimshorts, Liana quickly blew a trail of bubbles over the tiger's thick arousal before stuffing it balls-deep into her mouth. The skunk smiled and ducked down, floating on her back between the tiger's legs and holding fast to his calves while she licked and suckled on his swollen balls, blowing bubbles upwards.

"Um...why don't we take a little break," one of the crew around the pool stood up, fully aroused. "Ten minutes should do it. Drinks, anyone?" He pointed to the other camera-tiger. "The hell you waiting for?! Get back down there and record this for me!"

On a rooftop across from the Palm Embassy, a lion lay on his stomach, holding a sniper plasma rifle, drawing a bead on the swimming pool. "Reno?" he said into an earpiece. "You clear?"

"Yeah, I'm watching them right now," came the gruff reply. "Don't fuck this up, Hades."

The lion bristled. "I don't fuck up. It's why you hired me, isn't it? And I want double."

"What?!"

He grinned. "You heard me. Double. 200,000 soft right now or get yourself another gun."

"You know we can't do that. And I'm not at liberty to re-negotiate."

"Okay, we can do this some other time then-"

"Hold it!" There was a pause. "Okay...double. Man, Mr. DeSimone won't like it though."

"I'm pretty sure a dead sea otter will be worth it." He lined his shot back up, sweeping the rifle barrel across the surface of the pool. "Geez, how long is she going to stay down there...?"

Liana grabbed the tiger's buttcheeks tightly as she shoved her head forward, taking in his throbbing erection for another round of bobs and pulls, blowing bubbles through her muzzle and nose as Tabitha kept fingering his balls. All at once, the skunk burbled and wiggled desperately free from between the tiger's legs, stroking hard for the surface and coughing, spitting out water.

"C-couldn't..." she said breathlessly, pawing her swollen mound. "Ohh..."

"Relax, babe." Another tiger, now nude, stepped into the pool, brandishing a healthy erection, and waded over towards her from behind, getting his paws around her breasts and squeezing. "I'll take care of that itch." Tabitha felt the warm sting of the tiger's hardness pushing into her folds and let out a moan of delight, hooking her paws around his neck from behind and clinging to him as she was pinned to the side of the pool and deeply explored.

Liana let a few bubbles spiral to the surface as she pulled her mouth free from the other tiger's sex with a loud pop, then glanced up, seeing her lover being wildly rutted. She smiled gleefully and took the tiger's firm shaft in her paw, jerking him off steadily until a profuse amount of cum began to spurt free from the tip. The sea otter bubbled in delight and immediately pushed her head in, lapping at the stream of cum before taking the full girth into her mouth again, suckling hungrily.

**

"May I help you two...gentlemen?" A male squirrel clerk at the hotel desk looked haughtily over his spectacles at them.

Mark put his paw on the counter. "Yeah, where's your swimming pool? My friend here lost his holophone and he'd like it back." Brian nodded eagerly.

The squirrel turned and picked up a plastic bin, setting it down in front of them. "If we have it, it would be in here, sir. We check the pool every hour."

"Nah, it won't be in here. This is one of those phones you don't report, if you get my sway."

"I am afraid I do not get your...sway, sir."

Mark glared down at the squirrel and slowly grabbed his shirt by the collar, pulling him closer to his face. "Let me try this again. Where's your fucking pool?"

The squirrel struggled for a moment, greatly frightened. "Wait, wait! It's upstairs, penthouse-level two. First door on the right when you get off the lift!"

"Thank you." Mark let go and he and Brian started for the elevator doors while the squirrel shakily pushed a button under the counter.

"Way to draw attention," Brian sighed as the elevator started up.

The bear shrugged. "If Liana's in as much trouble as I think she is, we'll want the police."

The doors opened on their level and the two got out, going over to the pool room and peeking through the glass. "Okay, now what?" Mark asked him.

"Just follow me," Brian smiled and opened the door, grabbing a nearby towel and laying it over his shoulders as he approached the assembled group. "Hi!"

The tigers looked up. The one having sex with the skunk against the pool stopped thrusting and growled. "The hell are you doing here?! This is off-limits to guests today!" He saw the bear and his eyes widened. "Now look...you guys better get outta here. We don't want trouble."

Mark smirked. "We don't either, I assure you." His eyes scanned the pool and saw the dark shape of Liana still underwater, holding herself between the tiger's legs. "Look, we don't have a lot of time to explain but we need to get Liana out of here right now."

Tabitha blinked curiously and rested her paws on the side of the pool, catching her breath. "Why? What eez wrong?"

Brian went over to the pool and sat down on the edge, splashing the water to get the sea otter's attention. "We think she's in danger. We overheard...well...we think she's a target..."

"What the hell?"

Hades lowered his rifle barrel, checking his ear-piece. "Something wrong?"

"Two guys just came in. Bear and a fox. I don't think they're supposed to be in here."

The lion snorted. "Hey, you're security. Get them out." He squinted through the barrel sight, watching as one of the tigers approached the bear and was then immediately thrown into the pool. "Oh for fuck's sake, Reno."

He saw the sea otter's head finally pop up to the surface. Before he could line up a shot however, the tiger she had been playing with wrapped his arms around her and dragged her back down again. "Dammit!" His gun paw was getting tired. But there was time. He set the gun down and crawled over to one of the natural gas tanks on the roof, getting a snack - but first he checked his DigiCash account to verify the new transfer.

Tabitha cried out as the tiger who had just been thrown in bobbed to the surface, struggling to float and swim to the side of the pool. She slid free from in front of her companion and swam over to help the foundering feline. "Here, grab my paw..."

Liana, still at the bottom of the pool with the tiger, wrapped her arms and legs around her lover, and with a bubbly cry of pleasure began to thrust her hips down on him, taking his member deep inside her needy folds. In no time, her orgasm rushed and then shuddered through her with several hard jerks, and she threw her head back, letting out an underwater scream. The tiger untangled himself from around the otter and dove down for the scuba-tank, taking in several quick gulps through the regulator. Liana smiled down at him before kicking up to the surface and grabbing for the ladder, panting.

"Oh..my...oh my..." she clutched her breast, easing her heartbeat down. "Alright...I'm ready for...what's going on?" She looked over at Tabitha, who was guiding one of the tigers to the pool stairs, and then up at the fox sitting along the side. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Brian, for a moment, was tongue-tied, staring down at the naked, breathless aquatic vision. "Um...M-Miss Bay? I...I'm B-Brian. You need to leave right now. Something really terrible happened to me yesterday...I mean, to you...well, actually..."

"You two need to get the fuck out of here right now!" Another tiger came over, holding a clipboard.

Liana laid her paw on Brian's leg, showing immediate concern. "Wait, Charlie. Give us a minute. What happened?"

"Well...you see..." He looked pained at Mark.

The bear shrugged. "Man, you better just show them."

Brian swallowed hard and nodded, looking intently into Liana's eyes. All eyes were upon him as he backed away from the pool and got on all-fours, moaning in pain. At once, his vision blurred, his fur began to bristle, and soon his vulpine features changed until he was back to Liana's sea otter form again. One of the tigers fainted, while a dressing-room assistant tigress screamed and ran from the pool area. Liana herself looked wide-eyed at the transformation before climbing up onto the deck and staring at Brian incredulously.

"A shifter..." she breathed softly. "Oh goddess, they exist..." She reached out to touch Brian's face, marveling over the short muzzle and whiskers. "How did you...nevermind." She turned serious and cupped Brian's chin. "Tell me what happened..."

Hades returned from his snack and re-lined his sights on the hotel pool area.

WHAT THE HELL...?

There were now two sea otters by the pool, crouched down and talking frantically, while the small group of tigers around them were listening, dumbfounded.

"Hades, report. Is the otter dead or not?"

He angrily gripped the earpiece. "She will be - when you tell me which one!"

"What are you talking about?! Where's Reno?"

"Getting CPR. What the fuck just happened?! There's...two Lianas. Does she have a sister I don't know about?! I'm being paid for one hit, not two!"

"Hades, blast them all, for Christ's sake! Or you don't get off that roof alive, is that clear?"

The lion grimaced. "Crystal." He pulled off the barrel of the rifle and replaced it with a scatter-shot attachment before aiming again. "Sorry, all." His finger grabbed the trigger. "It's just business."

Liana was on her knees now, naked, wet, and shivering, with Mark beside her, helpfully getting a towel around her. "This is just crazy..." she said quietly, looking away. "Why would anyone...w-want to kill me?"

Tabitha knelt close to Liana and nuzzled her cheek. "If zis eez true, mademoiselle, we need to look aft-air you right away."

"I don't know what kinda game you're playing, fox," Charlie stepped forward. "But I don't appreciate you scaring Miss Bay one bit. Now...I get that you're a fan and all, that's great, and obviously you're a bit of a freak too, doing what you do..."

"He's not a freak," Mark growled, getting to his feet. "And he's telling the truth in what he knows."

The tiger sniffed. "Well, all I know is your little shenanigans are putting us behind schedule, you little-"

The pool area erupted in a flash of plasma rounds. Charlie's chest exploded outwards and he fell into the pool, still twitching. The cameraman that had been with Liana had just enough time to turn his head before a round hit him at the base of his skull. It shattered and he sank into the water without a sound. Mark and Brian as one grabbed Tabitha and Liana and ducked another spray of rounds, as the other cameraman tried to run past. He took a round to the shoulder, and as he twisted around in pain, the next round caught him in the neck. The tiger gurgled and held his throat as he sank to the pool deck, slowly bleeding to death. The one called Reno, still lying on the pool deck, never got back up again as a volley of plasma rounds entered and exited his body.

Liana crouched from behind a bar counter as the spray of plasma stopped and she looked around wildly, as the other three huddled beside her, terrified. "You stay here," she hissed and crawled past them, angling for a patio chair. "I need something from my makeup bag."

"Hell of a time to doll yourself up, girl." Mark growled.

She glared at him over her shoulder as she kept crawling. They watched as the sea otter fished inside the bag and brought out a .48 caliber Regal, snapped the safety off, and checked the plasma compartment. "Stay down," she commanded as she crawled the rest of the way across the pool deck and into cover under a large table. She squinted towards where the shots had come from and spotted a glint of light on the rooftop across from them.

"Well, hello there..." Liana picked up the Regal carefully and steadied it with practiced form in both paws, aiming towards the light.

Hades looked sharply through the scope and did a slow sweep of the pool area, going from the floating, bleeding corpses in the water, to the overturned sunning chairs and tables along the bar counter. He switched the sight to infrared and did another sweep. There was no sign of anyone alive.

"Report! Is subject terminated?"

"Unconfirmed."

"You'd better confirm it. There's police crawling all over the place."

"Yeah, I know." The lion sighed and sat back on his haunches, reaching for a hand-held pistol beside him.

A plasma shot zipped past his ear as he started to stand up, causing him to flatten to the roof sharply. Another shot ricocheted off the asphalt and slammed into a nearby window. "Someone's shooting at me!" he cried out and started crawling on all-fours away from the roof ledge.

He crawled a few more feet and looked up to see the large gas tank he'd been eating a sandwich against moments before.

"Oh, fu-"

The next round slammed into the tank, erupting the rooftop into a searing wall of flame. Hades had just enough time to wonder what Hell was truly going to be like before his world ended in a bright red explosion.

Liana smiled grimly as she watched the tank burst in a shower of flaming metal then hurried up from the ground to run to Tabitha and the others. "Is everyone alright?" She helped the skunk to her feet and hugged her tightly, nuzzling.

"Yes, yes, mademoiselle, I zeenk so."

Mark got up from the ground, holding Brian's paw. "Damn, that was fresh, Liana. I mean, Miss Bay." The bear grinned sheepishly ear to ear while Brian smiled, looking dreamily at the other sea otter.

"Totally, otter. You rule."

Liana guided the disoriented Tabitha to a chair and then faced them. "You ruined a perfectly good photo shoot, you two." She glanced at the dead, nearly headless tiger floating face down in the water, and a pang of sadness rushed through her.

"Liana," Brian came up to her and put an arm around her shoulders. "What's this all about?"

"Uh, guys?" Mark pointed to the door. "Could we maybe compare notes later? Police are gonna be here any minute..."

"Here..." Liana snatched up a bloody towel and handed it to Brian. "Put this over your face. You're a stunt double, you had an accident, and we're rushing you to the clinic. Just keep quiet. Tabby, come on."

The skunk wiggled into a bikini and hurried over to Liana to take her paw, then the four of them left the pool area.

**

"How long do you stay...like this?" Liana asked Brian later, safely at the sea otter's private guest house. The bear poured glasses of chardonnay while Tabitha made sandwiches in the spacious kitchen.

"Well, last time it took a while, but the thing is, I think I'm getting better with female forms. Look." Brian concentrated hard, her forehead crinkling, and suddenly her otter features began to shrivel and then fade away completely, leaving him a fox again.

Liana shook her head. "That's incredible. What an amazing gift you have, my child. And you can be anything at all?"

Brian nodded. "As long as it's animal, yeah. I can't, you know, transform into anything mechanical."

The sea otter smiled and got up from her seat, going over to a large file cabinet and poking through a group of pages before selecting one and bringing it back. "Recognize this gentleman?" The others looked closely at the large black hyena then shook their heads. "That's Johnny DeSimone. Head of the DeSimone crime syndicate they call the Original Outfit. I was hired by him..." She sighed deeply at them and continued, licking her lips. "About five years ago. It started out he just wanted to get better acquainted with some of the other models, you know, for sex, escort services, pleasure dust, and so on. But when the other families found out what he was up to, they wanted a piece of the pies." Liana looked down at the picture and frowned. "So...Johnny needed them dealt with. And he asked me to help."

Mark stared disbelievingly at her. "To help get rid of them?"

Liana nodded, then quickly added. "Believe me, I've only killed the ones who deserved it, and only those DeSimone requested. He was careful." As an afterthought, she smiled. "But I've been careful too. I record all of my kills in a special voice mail system. It's my way of covering my butt in case something should happen to me. There's a safe deposit box that contains a scrap of paper with the passcode to the voice mail. In the event of my demise or disappearance, it gets sent to the Feds, along with my files." She gestured to the cabinet. "Enough to put the whole syndicate away."

Mark gasped, remembering the earlier pool incident, and fumbled for his drink. "Do you just...shoot them?"

"Guns, knives, sometimes even drowning." She looked a little sheepish. "That's actually my favorite way. And the easiest to cover up. People drown all the time in the pool. No one really expects an otter like me to do anything, especially if we're swimming or...involved in some sexcapade." Her green eyes bore into Mark's and the bear shied away. "That's how I got the last one. Just drowned him while he fucked me."

Brian shuddered and beside him Tabitha grasped his paw. "But if Johnny's this boss your enemies are talking about, why is he after you now?"

Liana looked away, shaking her head. "I had a change of heart. I didn't like the way his outfit was taking over all the rackets. So I started going after his own crew. The last one was Frank Summa." She opened the folder again and brought up a picture of a handsome tiger. "The Silencer. One of the most ruthless hitmen for the Original Outfit. I thought if he could just drown in a swimming pool..."

"It'd be an accident," Brian said softly. "They'd say he got tired, or hit his head diving or something, right?"

Liana smiled faintly. "Yes. I guess DeSimone must have been keeping an eye on his hitman this time. Maybe I aimed too high on the syndicate ladder too quickly. He must have realized his people had really bad luck meeting me. Summa must have been the last straw and now the outfit wants me."

Tabitha reached out to take her paw gently. "Liana, I do not care what you are, ma cherie. You are still my friend. And if you are een trouble, I will help."

Liana churred fondly at the skunk and rubbed noses.

"Count us in, too." Brian replied. Mark looked at him in consternation before nodding slowly.

Liana nodded. "Alright, but if we're going to do this, we need a plan."

Brian looked down at the DeSimone dossier and grinned widely. "I think I might have one. A way to take down the outfit permanently, and with luck, without jeopardizing Liana's life."

The others looked at him curiously and the computer hacker took a sip of wine, looking gleeful, his eyes shining. "Okay, here's what we'll do..."

**

The sleek black limousine crept through the warm night up the long, red-brick driveway to a set of large iron gates manned by a crossing laser beam and two scruffy-looking hyenas. One of the guards kept a paw on his sidearm as he walked up to the limousine, and the driver's side window opened.

"State your business," he said roughly.

"Hey yo, what is dis?" The rear passenger-side window opened next and Johnny DeSimone's face appeared, with a large cigar in his mouth. "Why you stoppin' me, eh? Open the fuckin' gate before I demote the both of yas!"

The guard blinked a few times stupidly. "Um...B-boss? You feelin' okay? You sound funny."

"Oh, I sound funny, huh? You gonna be thinkin' it's funny when I get outta this tin can and ventilate both of yous? I said open the gates. I got us a little prize." He grabbed Liana's arm and jerked her forward until she could be seen. "And if ya'll are real nice, I might just let you two get in a good fuck on her, what do ya say?"

"Yes, sir!" The guard straightened up and ran back to the gatehouse, deactivating the laser beam and opening the broad gates.

Mark smirked under his over-sized chauffeur's cap and eased the limousine forward and through. "Definitely playing it to the hilt, ain't you...boss."

"Shut uuup," Brian complained. Beside him, Liana chuckled and reached over to squeeze his thigh. "Maybe after...if you're good..." The sea otter caught his expression. "Hey, I'm a slut. It's not like I try to hide it..."

"Don't mind him, he's had a crush on you for years," Mark snickered as they pulled up to a stately mansion on top of a tall hill overlooking a cliff. "Okay...now let's just hope Tabby bought us enough time."

**

"More wine, monsieur?" The skunk smiled, pouring the large black hyena another glass as she sat across from him. "Zee last one, I prom-ees." She quickly scanned the restaurant for other hyenas and saw DeSimone's henchmen still watching them impatiently from the bar.

"Alright, doll. But then I best be gettin' back home," Johnny DeSimone smiled back at Tabitha. "Although...you could come back with me if ya like. Got plenty of room in the car."

The skunk blushed and adjusted the deep red strapless dress until the top of her furry cleavage poked out. "You are too kind, mon ami. But...um...I zeenk I would like to stay here..." She removed her high-heels and nestled a bare footpaw into the hyena's lap, nudging his groin gently with her toes. "You seem...so tense..." Her footpaw rubbed slowly over the growing lust in the hyena's trousers, heel to toe. "Oooh, oui, monsieur, you are tense."

Johnny's eyes rolled back and he whimpered, holding still as Tabitha started massaging his sex firmly.

"So hard, Meester DeSimone. Mm...hold still. I work...all of your tension out..." She moved faster, her toes digging in around his covered balls and then clamping tightly over his hardness, working it effortlessly. The hyena jerked hard, and Tabitha felt a warmth spread around the hyena's groin as he came fully. Licking her lips, she continued to pump at his spurting arousal with her toes until he was good and done.

The hyena lay back in the booth, panting and sweating profusely, and Tabitha withdrew her footpaw, looking smug. "There. Feel better now, you naughty hyena?"

Johnny came off of his high and smiled warmly at the skunk, before motioning to one of his henchmen to come over. "Go get me another bottle of the good stuff. Oh..." He slapped a $1,000 hard-dollar on the table, "and a new pair of pants..."

**

"I don't think you should do anymore talking," Mark whispered angrily at Brian as they went up the front steps flanking Liana.

"Yeah, okay, good idea." Brian stopped talking as another hyena approached them.

"Well, look what we got here." He smiled nastily at the sea otter. "Hey boss, I thought we were supposed to whack her?"

Mark spoke up gruffly. "Been a change of plans. Seems like the otter's been holding out on us for other things. The boss wants to find out what else she knows. Could jeopardize our whole outfit."

Brian nodded emphatically.

The hyena glared menacingly at the bear. "Who the fuck are you?"

Mark swallowed a lump in his throat before taking a step forward, towering over the hyena. "I'm the bear you don't ask any fucking questions of if you wanna live." Brian laid a paw on Mark's arm and the bear backed down again. "The boss hired me to find your otter girl because you assholes couldn't." Brian nodded and quickly pointed to the elaborate hallway in front of them, then motioned to his throat. "Now if you all will excuse me, Johnny D needs some rest. He's tired and lost his voice shouting at the utter stupidity around him."

The hyena stiffened but moved aside to let the three of them pass down the hallway, watching them suspiciously before following them. "Hey. You lost or somethin'? His room's upstairs."

"Cameras..." Mark said absently, pointing to a row of servo-guided cameras along the hallway. "Johnny D was telling me in the limo they want to update the new systems immediately."

The hyena smirked. "What, the ones we put in five fucking days ago ain't good enough already?"

Mark, unfazed, turned around and grinned at the hyena. "Well, you know technology. It's never really useful until it's obsolete..." Behind them, Brian took out a small metal object from his suit jacket and pressed a button before nodding to the bear. Mark sighed. "Well, thanks for the conversation." Without warning, he drew back a burly arm and smacked the hyena across the head, knocking him out cold. Quickly Liana and Brian bound his arms and legs, and then gagged his mouth with a handkerchief.

"The sonic interference pulse works for about 10 minutes," Brian said as he finished binding the hyena. "Any nosy people checking the screens see static. So where should we go first, Liana?"

The sea otter smiled. "I know just the place. Come on..." She took Brian's paw and he visually melted.

Mark rolled his eyes. "Go on, you two. I'll hold down things here. Besides, the less people that see me, the better."

**

"Um, Miss Collette, this has been a really great time, but I gotta get back to my men sometime..." The old hyena unsteadily rose to his feet and the skunk quickly followed him from the booth.

"Oh! But of course, monsieur, you are tired." She reached for his paw and squeezed. "Can we zee each othair again? I have many talents the hyena might wish to discov-air, no?"

DeSimone chuckled and gave the skunk an affectionate nose-rub. "My dear, anytime, anyplace. You got my number." His expression changed as one of his henchmen hurried towards him. "What's the matter?"

The henchman whispered urgently into his ear. "Boss. Uh...Liana Bay is at the house."

The hyena bristled, his teeth bared. "Then what are you clowns waitin' for? Kill her!" he whispered back.

"But that's just it. You brought her there."

DeSimone's eyes widened. "What the fuck are you sayin'?"

The hyena pulled away with a flush in his cheeks. "I'm sayin' you brought her to the house and you told us you wanted to talk to her. Just now."

"How the fuck can I do dat when you guys know I've been here all night?!"

"I...I don't know...it's just-"

"Get the car." He looked at Tabitha apologetically. "Gotta go, sweet-stuff."

As they left the restaurant, the skunk took out her holophone and called Mark. "We haven't much time. They are on their way to you!"

"Okay hon. Get outta there and wait for us to get back to you."

"Do be careful, teddy bear." She ran her tongue over her lips and whiskers, looking dreamy. "I want to zee you again...all in one beeg piece..."

**

"Just down this hall," Liana said, leading the way, her webbed feet moving almost tip-toe. The sea otter stopped at a door and pressed her ear to it before opening it quietly and stepping inside, the hyena following her. "Here," she walked over to a large desk, opened the top drawer, and took out a thick notepad. "It's here. This is the ledger. Everyone on the Outfit's payroll, and all their known businesses and fronts."

"How do you know about all this?!"

Liana smiled bashfully. "Well, before the Outfit wanted me dead, um, let's just say I got around. Let's go. With this, and my voice mail, the Feds have more than enough to bust everything up."

"Wait..." Brian took her paws gently, looking into her eyes. "What's going to happen to you now?"

Liana frowned. "I guess Witness Protection. No more modeling, no more shows, no more movies." She caught his look and kissed his nose, earning a blush. "I planned for this someday, Brian. Besides, I was getting sick of the glamour and lack of moral substance. I'd love a nice private island, away from everyone, all the seafood I could ever catch from the Pacific, a few handsome guys and gals to lay with..."

Brian grinned and delicately licked her nose. "Take me with you?"

Liana giggled softly and touched the hyena's cheek. "I'm sorry you got mixed up in all this." Her paw trailed across his neck and chest, picking at the fur.

"You're worth it, Liana. I can think of a million foxes who'd want to be with you for all the wrong reasons, but frankly...I'd want to be with you for the right ones."

She churred softly and pushed her head to Brian's, parting her mouth and giving the hyena a deep, meaningful kiss, her tongue lolling across his own several times. By the time the kiss finished, they were both breathless.

"Come on, Romeo," Liana smiled, taking the love-sick hyena by the paw. "This isn't over yet."

**

"B-boss?!"

Johnny DeSimone poked his head out the car's back window. "Open the fuckin' gate already!"

The guard shook his head in disbelief. "But boss, y-you just got here! I fuckin' checked you in myself! Honest!"

"I got no time for dis." Johnny drew a pistol from his suit jacket and trained it on the guard. "Let me in before I ventilate ya!" The guard stepped back and motioned to the gatehouse. Immediately the laser beam switched off and the car could proceed. As the car passed the gate, Johnny shot the guard in the head. "Hey Lou. Make a note. I need a new guy for the gate..." He reloaded his weapon, making sure he had more than enough rounds, as the car sped forward up the hill to the mansion in the distance.

Mark was waiting for them at the end of the hallway, but before they could bask in their reunion they heard the front doors burst open and DeSimone, followed by three henchmen, tear inside, spouting out an impressive amount of expletives.

"Get out of here!" Brian shoved Liana away to one of the open rooms before she could be seen. "Out the window, hurry!"

"But what about-"

"Don't worry," Brian quickly nuzzled her. "Just get out." He then grinned and did one more transformation.

Liana looked at Brian strangely then ran inside the room and opened the window, clawing at the pane until she could scramble outside and jump to safety.

Brian and Mark then ran out of the room and down the hall, just as DeSimone and his crew spotted them fleeing.

"There! After 'em!" He roared and aimed his plasma gun, missing Mark's head by inches as the round shattered into the wall beside him.

"We had a plan when we got in, didn't we?" Mark huffed breathlessly as they took the main stairs two at a time, heading up.

"Working on it," Brian snapped and looked behind them. "When we get to the roof, we can-"

"Plunge off the cliff to our deaths?"

Brian smirked. "No...there's a lake to break the fall, genius. Look, just trust me."

They arrived three stories up at the top of the mansion and looked around wildly for an escape route. As they got to the edge of the roof and looked down at the water far below them, DeSimone appeared, short of breath and clutching his chest, helped by one of his henchmen.

Brian turned and smiled at them, staying at the edge, holding Mark's paw tightly.

DeSimone grinned nastily, raising his pistol in a shaky paw. "Did you really think you were gonna get away, after all you done?"

The sea otter looked at him warily and shrugged.

"You're in pretty bad shape, Johnny-boy," Mark managed a grin. "Maybe you oughta lay off the Italian food."

"You think I'm jokin' around, asshole?" He saw Brian backing away slowly, still holding the bear's paw. "Where you gonna go, huh? We're two hundred feet up at least. You're a good swimmer, doll-face, but no way in hell you survive a fall like dat."

Brian slowly turned around, her paw tight around Mark's, and took several deep breaths. "Hold on..." she whispered, and before the bear could protest, she jumped off the roof. A stunned DeSimone and his associate ran to the edge just in time to see the bear clutching around the sea otter's body as they both hit the water far below.

"Come on!" He growled and started for the stairs back down. "They ain't goin' nowhere."

They arrived at the lake and spotted the sea otter and bear foundering in the water, trying to stay afloat and coughing loudly. "I don't fuckin' believe it, Stretch!" DeSimone exclaimed, and took a shot at them, spraying the surface with a few rounds of plasma.

"They're out too far, boss," Stretch said next to him and took off most of his clothes. "But I'll get 'em..."

DeSimone watched in smug satisfaction as the hyena waded into the water and took another shot at them waist-deep. The sea otter and bear dove underwater and out of sight.

Stretch scanned the water carefully, pistol raised, waiting for them to surface again. All at once, he felt something grab at his leg and pull. Startled, he pinwheeled his arms and splashed forward into deeper water. "Boss!" he yelled, "Help! What the-!"

Suddenly his head disappeared below the surface and a huge amount of splashing followed. DeSimone watched intently as the surface of the water roiled mightily and then became still. He waded in just to his ankles and trained his eyes on the black water, trying to see. Farther out, he spotted a few bubbles, followed by a loud blurp, and then the surface was smooth and calm again.

DeSimone waited for what seemed like an eternity until Stretch emerged standing up from the water again, coughing and spitting. He got to his knees, breathing hard, still holding the pistol in his paw, as DeSimone hurried over to him.

"Stretch, what the fuck happened?!"

The younger hyena continued coughing as he wheezed, "Got em' both." Then he grinned widely, whispering, "No more problems..."

DeSimone laughed and grabbed Stretch, hugging him tightly. "You! You are getting' such a fuckin' promotion. Let's get outta here. Their bodies'll wash up somewhere eventually. Once dey do, we take 'em to a compactor. Ain't no way to tie us to dem den." Stretch coughed and nodded, looking back at the water as he started up the long hill with DeSimone.

Stretch waited for DeSimone to walk inside then turned and headed for the limousine. As he got in, he looked behind him at the back seat and smiled. "Well, hello there, Miss Bay..."

**

"This is Agent Dupree. Who am I speaking to please?"

"I'm not at liberty to say," said a soft female voice on the other end of the holophone, her face in shadow. "Only that I need you to go to West 54th Street, number 507, post office box 93546. In that compartment is all you need to completely take down the Original Outfit for good."

The connection ended. The lion stared at the holophone blankly then rushed from his office.

**

Mark took a sip of his drink and grinned, folding his paws on the café table as the four of them enjoyed a snack. "You shoulda seen him, Liana," the bear laughed and ruffled Brian's head. "When the Feds dropped in, he looked like he was gonna have a heart attack, and the next instant, he did. Died right on the spot."

The sea otter smiled fondly at Brian. "I'm just glad no one survived the raid either. No witnesses. No one can say who was there in the mansion a few weeks ago when we were there, and no cameras could record, thanks to that little gizmo of yours."

"And when and if zee other henchman washes up, zey will just assume he jumped from zee roof and vas another casualty." Tabitha smiled and then nuzzled Mark's shoulder.

"Well, if they find him. I pulled him down pretty deep." Brian sighed. "Maybe he'll never come up."

Liana gazed at Brian and her footpaw gently rubbed his leg under the table. "Well, we'll find a way to burn that bridge if it should come...for now, how about a swim at Sadie's? I'm sure she's been dying to see you again, and I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind meeting the real Liana Bay for a change." She giggled, moving her foot up his thigh. "Think you can handle two girls at once, foxy?"

Brian grinned widely, looking intently into her eyes. "Actually...I was thinking I'd ask you the same question..."

Liana churred deeply and blushed, biting her lip. "Ohhh, that sounds so hot..." Her paw drifted down between her legs to stroke slowly.

Mark's phone beeped, indicating an email had arrived, and he read it before speaking to the group. "Uh...sorry to break the romantic hot streak, ladies...but we're on."

The sea otter pouted but nodded, getting up with the others. "What's the plan?"

"They need the security computer knocked out first, then the main leads. Tabitha, up for a little seduction?"

The skunk ran her tongue over lips until they were wet. "Oui, ma chere bear."

"Your target's the main guard at the gate. He's lonely so it won't take much. Brian, you'll take his place. I'll make sure the coast is clear while Liana runs inside and takes care of Mr. Garrity."

"Got it," Brian smiled and squeezed Liana's paw. "You know...we really need a name for our new association, you guys."

Mark smiled, nodding. "We do make a pretty awesome team at that. Any objections to Brute Force? Was kinda playing around with that name early on."

They all looked at one another, smiling and nodding.

Liana nuzzled Brian tenderly while Mark and Tabitha enjoyed a loving kiss. "Brute Force," she whispered, rubbing noses. "Mmm...perfect."

END