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CALIFORNIA MADNESS

Note: All characters except Pan Taron are Copyright James M. Hardiman, including Desiree, Natasha, Lori, Onyx, Jim, and Valencia. Pan Taron is the fursona of Philip Bustamante, but remains unprotected as of yet. Ron is a character created by Philip but based on a real person who wishes to remain anonymous. "Furbucks" is a fictitious coffee shop and bears absolutely no resemblance to a certain coffee corporation we all know and love ;).

Part IV: "The Offer and the Plan"

California Highway 1, also known as the mighty Pacific Coast Highway, is a landmark in its own right. Over the 75+ years of its existence, it has stood as a feat of both ingenuity and natural beauty. From its origins in San Diego, it stretches along the entire California coast, with over 90% of it being built extremely close to the water to allow motorists breathtaking views of the scenery. It also happens to run through every major beach town along that stretch, making a common connection between the communities of beach goers along the coast.

Speeding down this highway at 55 mph, Panama (Pan's Ford Focus) and the economy sized rental car blazed down the long stretch between Huntington Beach and Sunset Beach, passing a large state beach complex on the ocean side and a vast wetland on the land side as they went. As the two cars sped into Sunset, the inhabitants of both cars could not help but be charmed by the tiny beachside town with its elegant, multi-million dollar homes. Jim, for his part, could only focus on the car he was following, trying to keep the hunger he felt out of his mind.

The car in front turned on its left turn signal, and as Jim looked to his left, his heart started to sink a little bit. The building that they were pulling up to had all of the charm of a forty five year old crack whore. Nestled in the middle of a bunch of expensive beachside homes, it stuck out as a little ramshackle building that had been added onto haphazardly every so often over the years. Some parts of the building were showing corrugated steel sheets for walls, other parts farther out were constructed of wood and drywall that had been painted over with a rust-red color. The roof was corrugated steel in most parts, and as they looked to the back, they could see a section of the roof that was covered in tarps that was pulled back halfway to reveal a latticework frame. The building held no definite shape, and had few windows to speak of.

The two cars pulled into the tiny parking lot and parked. As they walked up, the two groups joined up and Jim voiced his concern. "Um, Pan, what exactly is this place? It looks like it's a rat den for bikers and stuff. You sure we shouldn't just go get some BJ's instead or something?" The girls giggled at the innuendo and he turned to scowl at them, but immediately refocused his attention on the otter.

For his part, the otter looked a bit hurt. "Aww, how can you say that about Harbor House, man? Sure, she looks run-down. But wait till you see the inside! The outside is kept as a façade to keep tourists out. In reality it's a hangout for locals and those in the know. We like to keep it a secret so that it doesn't become like every other place around here." Opening the door for the group, he gestured for them to walk up the short flight of steps to the entrance.

As Jim walked inside, he was truly amazed. Immediately, the smells of food from multiple different countries and styles of cooking filled his nostrils, and he sniffed appreciatively. The room was dimly lit, but otherwise was covered wall to wall and all over the ceiling with a broad array of decorations. On the walls was a large compilation of movie posters and photos of the stars that had been in them. While there were some newer ones, most of them dated back to the 40's and 50's, and depicted stars such as John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, and Judie Garland. The wall directly in front of the door was actually a diner-style bar with a counter behind it leading to a view of the small galley-style kitchen. As they looked in through the window, they saw a crew of furs bustling about to prepare dishes, each wearing a white coat and the customary toque of a classically trained chef. A narrow hallway off to the right was lined with cozy booths that ended at a glass door. Beyond it, sunlight could be seen shining down into an enclosed patio area with a latticework roof and metal patio furniture, allowing the sunshine and air in and keeping nosy tourists out.

The entire restaurant was packed and bustled with conversation, but it all stopped as soon as the group entered. In the awkward silence that followed, Jim couldn't help but realize that everybody had stopped to look at the strange group that had walked in the door. Realizing that he should have gone in first, Pan quickly shouldered his way to the front and said, "It's okay guys, they're with me!" Immediately a hail of greetings issued from the patrons and they all went back to their business.

A slim ferret waitress came from around the bar and addressed Pan. "How many, Mr. Taron?" Pan told her seven, and the waitress escorted them over to the patio area out back. The evening glow still showed in the sky, but there were no windows on the patio that looked to the outside. It looked to Jim as if the owners had been building another indoor dining area, but had stopped without finishing the roof and had opted to just cover the frame in latticework and tarps to keep the rain out.

"This really is the best place to sit," remarked Pan with a grin. "All of the pictures along the wall behind you are signed by the stars who have sat out here. Believe it or not, the restaurant is well known among the furs of Hollywood, and they get in with no problems even if they aren't a native." The ferret seated them at a long table against the far corner, and handed them a stack of menus.

Lori, being one of the most ravenous eaters of the group, snatched hers up and began flipping page after page of good food. She noticed with surprise that were a huge variety of food selections. "Holy cow, there's 2 whole pages of grilled steak platters! They have Mexican, Asian, Chinese... say, what CAN'T you order here?"

Pan chuckled as he replied, "A drink, if you're underage like I still am. Trust me I've tried. Anything else your stomach desires can probably be found in those pages. Since they have to cater to the local beach bums and the well to-do homeowners, they keep their choices open. That's why you saw so many chefs earlier. They each have their specialty, but each also has the skill to cook up some of the best down home diner fare in the south land. By the way, the place serves breakfast 24 hours a day, and their omelets are amazing."

Lori flipped through, wanting to pick out a big steak. While Lori and Onyx had showered together, they had only gone as far as making out and a little bit of fingering. Both had been more interested in seeing what their sister was doing in the next room, so they had cut their own session short. This, in turn, left Lori with the female equivalent of "blue balls", and she practically squirmed in her chair because of her need to fuck. She looked over to Onyx, and noticed Onyx fidget a little too, running her fingers absentmindedly over her nipple rings and licking her lips as she read the menu. , Lori thought to herself,

As she schemed and planned, the conversation at the table turned to the day's events. Pan, sitting across from Valencia and Jim, told the full story of how he came to be surfing that morning. "I just wanted to blow off some steam from work. I work for Furbucks Coffee and Tea, and it was just such a crazy morning shift today. I used to have great customer service, but working for three years in a Starbucks drive through will rob you of that sooner or later. To top it off, my manager has been on my tail, and she's really looking for an excuse to fire me. I just don't know what I'll do for money once she decides to let me go. Anyway, I dealt with it like I normally do; I left the store after clocking out, changed in my car, then went down to the beach to surf. In reality, I'd only been there about half an hour before Natasha showed up. I shudder to think what might have happened if I wasn't there."

"Well, it sure was fate that intervened. But I'm curious. You're such an upstanding young man, why would anyone want to fire you?" asked Valencia, warming to the otter more and more. Something about him radiated a natural ability to connect to people and make them feel at ease, and she decided then and there that there was more to this boy's future than an hourly job slinging drinks. She already had an idea how she could hook him up in the short term, and possibly get him started in something for the long term if he did well. She just needed to see if he wanted it as bad as she hoped.

"Well, I don't like to spread rumors, but it's not too out of place for me to say. My boss is a lesbian, and she's something of a sexist towards straight men. Gay men, lesbians, and straight women she gets along fine with. But me and my friend Ron have been with the company for 3 years now, and everyone else who we were hired with has been promoted and moved on in the company. The two of us were the only straight guys, and she finds ways to make our lives miserable on a daily basis while giving everyone else a reprieve. The things I've had to clean up... the scenarios made up just for me to have to deal with..." His head sank into his hands in frustration, and his shoulders hunched low. Natasha, who was sitting next to him, gripped him by the shoulders and nuzzled his arm, and he looked up at her with a small smile before continuing. "All things considered, it could be a lot worse. I could not have a job at all, and be broke to the point of having to move out of my apartment. Don't know where I'd be then..."

"Well, what if I told you that you might be able to quit right now, at this very moment? Pan, I've been told about how you saved my girl's life in the ocean, then kept an attacking iguana down while controlling the situation and calming everyone involved. It sounds like you would make a very capable bodyguard, and I'd like to offer you that position over the next 3 days that we're here." Natasha, Lori, and Onyx looked at each other in puzzlement. The corners of Valencia's muzzle turned up in a broad smile as she broke the news. "Girls, I wanted to tell you over dinner, but I guess the cat's out of the bag. Playboy has signed a contract with us for a full-sized folio of the three of you on the beach!"

Pan watched as the jaws of all three skunk sisters drop comically to the table top as they stared at Valencia in disbelief. Then, unable to control themselves, they began dancing and leaping about, squealing in delight. "We're gonna be bunnies! We're gonna be bunnies!"

Valencia sighed and shook her head a little, then turned back to Pan. "So how about it? We're going to be shooting full nude shots in a public place, and we need to keep any creepers and randy fan boys away while we shoot. I'm able to offer you $1000 on the spot, with room for bonuses if you have to risk yourself. Think you can handle it?"

Pan was amazed, but he couldn't help but think that he had to be careful about jumping into this headlong. "Jeez, I'd love to, but the part about quitting my job probably would not help me in the long run. I think I can get the next three days off if I call right now, so that shouldn't be a problem. My one concern is that I shouldn't do this alone. What can one guy do to hold back a crowd?"

"Don't be silly, I wasn't going to have you do it alone. You mentioned your friend Ron, right? Why not tell him to get work off and come too? If he's anything like you, I think the two of you together could keep the fans at bay. Can you vouch for him?"

, Pan thought. "Yes, he and I have gone through a lot of the same training. He's not as stocky as me, but he's taller and faster than I am. He should be able to handle it. Thank you Valencia, thank you so much!" Pan and the skunk shook hands, then Pan got up and reached for his phone. "Quick, let me call him before he leaves work so he can set up our time off!" Pan practically skipped between the tables of the restaurant with glee, as he went off to make his call.

To say that Ron was under a lot of stress would have been a gross understatement. He had clocked in to work at his Furbucks store just off of Main St., and had immediately regretted having shown up at all. There were only two furs on the floor with him to deal with the droves of beach-going furs who were now walking Main St after dark, and neither of them were a shift supervisor. Going into the back, he had found the keys to the store, a sticky note with a couple of sets of numbers, and a note from his manager. "Sorry Ron, have to leave you in charge tonight. Christie and the supervisor both called out sick, and I didn't have time to call for someone else to cover. I know that you know how to count the tills and close the store down, since you've been around so long. I'll double-check your numbers in the morning to make sure you didn't mis-count the money (wouldn't want to get another write up now, would you?). Good luck, Val!" His claws trembled upon seeing the stylized signature at the end. So cutesy, signed in purple pen. It was probably the only feminine thing about the large, female weasel that had been his store manager for the past 3 years and had made his and Pan's career there a living hell.

The stout german shepherd had gritted his teeth, pulled on the company-issued black apron of a "drink master", and ran out onto the floor. Three hours later, their situation had not changed. None of the three embattled furs had been able to take anything more than a quick bathroom break. Ron knew what he was doing, though, and had managed to close some of the stations down and had begun to pre-close the store while assuming all the other duties. It was 10pm, and it was finally starting to die down as the families went home and the club hoppers were heading into the bars. He only had an hour left until he had to close the store, and had 45 minutes after that before he was going to have to leave.

Just then, his cell phone buzzed in his pants, and he took it out to see that it was his housemate Pan. He wiped his brow, answered, and said quickly into the mouthpiece, "Gimme a second, I'll be on my 10 in a sec," and hung up. 20 minutes later, after he had made sure that the other 2 baristas were situated, he went on his break and called Pan back.

10 minutes later still, Ron hung up his end and went straight back to work. Over the course of their conversation, they had thought up a really good excuse to get out of work for the next three days. It would take some convincing acting, but he was confident they could pull it off. If it worked, he could leave the store wrecked, keep his job, and give Val the proverbial finger behind her back all at the same time. He walked back onto the floor with a new spring in his step. He went to work with gusto, and resolved that no matter else happened while they were still open, he was going to enjoy this night.

Back at the restaurant, the group ate and celebrated the new business deal. Valencia explained the contractual agreements more in depth. "The contract is for one folio only. Mostly just pinup poses, starting with bikinis on, then photo by photo strip down. There'll be a couple of shots in the water, and a couple of shots with surfboards, if Pan will be so kind as to let us borrow his. These are classy shots, no action shots, and no money shots. Playboy prides itself on being classier and more tasteful than their competitors, and their target audience likes more of the shy, modest girl poses than anything else."

"Don't worry, mom, we can handle it," Natasha said, nudging Lori as she did. Lori wiped the sullen look off of her face and gave a toothy grin, nodding as well. Inside, however, she was already getting anxious.

_Onyx saw her sister struggling inside and her needs were brought to her attention too. Jeez, looks like we're going to have to party tonight so that Lori can be calmed down during the shoot. Sympathetic to her sister's inner struggle, she reached under the table and tapped Lori's crotch really quick to snap her out of her strife. "Hey, at least you get to fuck with the newest playboy bunnies later tonight, right? I mean, it's been our dream for a while now to either be a Playboy bunny or fuck one. Now we get to do both!" Lori's face creased in a grin at the realization, but the statement had served only to turn her on more.

Pan sauntered back in as Jim was paying the bill (using the credit card he had gotten back from the girls). As he walked up, he addressed the girls. "Ladies, how would you like to come with me to my work right now? We're going to pick up my friend, Ron, and help him out a little bit with the close he's trying to finish at my store. Apparently it's been a rough night." He gave them a broad wink out of the side of his face so that Val, Jim, and Des wouldn't see, and the girls immediately caught on._

Valencia warned him quickly, "Um, Pan, that's fine that you want them to help, but make sure that the girls don't have any caffeine. The last time it happened, they went on a rampage and caused a lot of damage. We need them bright-eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow afternoon, and a trip to jail overnight won't cut it."

"No need to worry, Valencia. Ron should be almost done by the time we get there. I'll keep them in check. Come on girls, let's go."

As the car sped through the dark back towards Huntington Beach, Pan filled them in on the plan. The girls listened intently in the back seat, and the more they heard it, the more they liked it. Lori especially had a devilish grin on her face as she thought up her own addendum to the plan that Pan and Ron had thought up. If she could help it, she and her sisters were going to get a whole lot more fun out of this than originally planned. She quickly whispered to her sisters in the back seat what she had planned, and slowly the other two skunks got a devilish grin in their eyes. , they collectively thought.

"Now ladies, we're almost there. I have some extra clothes in the back. If you can kind-of dress yourselves up so you look like guys, and keep your part of the act up, we'll be free from this store for enough time to work at your photo shoot. Can you girls handle it?" Pan asked, glancing back at the three.

"Oh, of course. Do we have to dress like guys, though? A girl could just as easily do it too..." Natasha said in a mock whine.

Pan thought for a second. "I guess you're right. Just put on one of the hats back there so that they hide your faces. You don't need your careers tarnished by this."

"Puh-lease," Onyx rolled her eyes, "we're practically black-balled from every major theme park, have about 20 restraining orders in every state we've been to, and had an entire disaster zone attributed to us. How could THIS tarnish them any more?" She grinned toothily at Pan through the rearview mirror, and Pan started to get a little uneasy. He resolved to follow through, though, and trust in the girls.

As they had planned, Ron let the other two furs go home at 11:45 on the dot, stating that their boss would hang them for staying over, and that they could leave the rest of the mess for the morning crew to clean. Not that there was much left to do, but an imperfect close was frowned upon regardless of the circumstances. The two left, and he locked the door behind them, turning on the minimal staff lighting to advertise that they were closed and everyone had gone home. He carefully drew all the curtains and stacked a bunch of boxes in front of the door so that nobody could peer in. He made a big show of doing all of his work in front of the cameras, counting the money carefully, taking down temperatures in all of the fridges, and even doing a little bit of the "prep" for the next morning once he was done with the managerial tasks.

He didn't have to wait much longer, though, as he heard a familiar drum-cadence segment play out on the glass of the door. He let the whole 15-second segment play out, recognizing the secret knock that Pan and he had shared among their group of "band geek" friends in high school. Smiling to himself, he went and carefully unlocked the door to let Pan in alone. He made a big show, as Pan walked in, of forgetting to lock the door after him.

Now normally NOTHING would have warranted letting ANYBODY in after closing, but the explanation they had left for their manager was that Pan had come over to help Leif after-hours with the paper order off the clock. Val would most likely be grateful that they had put the order away, and would definitely take heart in the fact that he wouldn't be clocking in for any of it.

As they worked, Pan kept watching the clock. He had told the girls to come in after five minutes, but it had been almost seven. Just as he was about to break the charade and look out of the door, the door rocked open. The three girls stepped in, but they didn't look like Pan had expected. They were wearing the hats from the back of his car, but they were the beanies that he had left from winter time, pulled down tight and covering over their eyes. They had cut eye holes out of the hats, and looked half-masked. They each held something close to their waists, and they looked menacing. Pan stood up and began his act. "I'm sorry, ladies we're..."

"Shut UP! GET ON THE FLOOR!" Cried Lori. She pulled her hand away from her waist and pointed a very real looking gun at his forehead. The other two brought out coils of rope and duct tape. Lori came right to Ron and grabbed him by the black apron he was wearing. "We want the money! Where is it?!"

TO BE CONTINUED

A note to the reader:

SORRY! I know I promised this one would have some raunchy yiff in it, but if I kept it the way I wanted this chapter would be almost twice as long. More than ½ of part 5 was originally part of this chapter, so I merely cut-and-pasted it to the next chapter. Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger, but the next chapter should come out within a few days after editing, and it already has enough cum-soaked goodness that it's breaking my computer's brain!

Also, special thanks to my friend who agreed to be added in repayment of a favor. God knows I really do owe him one...

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment. I would really like to hear from anybody. Good comments. Bad comments. Boos. Hisses. Applause. WHATEVER. I'm working on something much bigger than this and need to know what in my writing style needs to improve.