FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Auroro Borealis. Nice pun." Panther muttered to himself as he read the sign on the high class restaurant he stood in front of. The domicile of his next target... Auroro Thinnei. Panther entered the restaurant, flashing an automatic wink and smile at the pretty hostess who waited behind the seating stand. She was a dark Akita, with blue eyes. She smiled back at him, and Panther could see her cheeks flush slightly.

"Welcome to Auroro Borealis! Table for one, sir?" she asked, her voice friendly and professional. Panther nodded.

"Yes, thank you... could you seat me somewhere near the back if possible? I prefer a little quiet during breakfast." Panther requested, glancing past the seating stand, seeing quite a few tables in the front filled with fancily dressed upper class citizens, chatting away with each other. The waitress nodded in response.

"Of course sir, I know just the table for you... follow me please?" She started to lead Panther towards some tables near the back, and the big feline noticed that she seemed to sway her hips a little purposely, making him chuckle... it always relieved him to know that he had such an effect on women. They arrived at a corner table, very near to a walled off 'VIP' seating area. The hostess pulled out his chair for him. "Is this spot to your liking sir?"

Panther nodded, smiling again. "Yes, it's perfect... thank you." he sat down, idly picking up the menu. The waitress smiled back shyly, before starting to head back to the front of the restaurant. Panther waited till she was out of sight before he panned his gaze over the restaurant... it looked fancy, but the classy clientele were a natural smokescreen for the fact that Auroro Thinnei, the owner, was another made man in the Cornerian Mafia, and his restaurant was a front for laundering a nice portion of ill-gotten gains. Panther glanced over to the VIP section... there was a wall with frosted glass to hide the people inside from view, but Panther knew that Auroro only used the VIP section as a private eating space for his fellow mobsters. And according to the dossier on Auroro, he had a breakfast meeting with his main 'workforce' every other day...

"Right on schedule..." Panther muttered as he turned his head to watch as a well dressed canine came down a set of stairs on the far end of the restaurant, flanked by a burly looking bear. Auroro and his bodyguard. Auroro strode casually into the VIP section without barely a glance in Panther's direction... Panther let out a soft chuckle. The arrogant mafioso had no idea his life was going to be cut short today. Panther waited a few moments, eyeing up the front of the restaurant... Auroro's breakfast guest would be arriving momentarily. Surprised they haven't upped security, considering Vito was murdered yesterday... Panther thought to himself.

The big feline inwardly smiled as he saw two more people enter the restaurant... and blinked in surprise as he saw that it wasn't just some laundering partner of Auroro's that had shown up. It was another_one of his targets, a high positioned member of the Cornerian Mafia, Tulley Toomey... the fifth, and last target on his hitlist. He was flanked by his bodyguard and right hand man, a grey furred leopard named Katz Leopold, whom Panther had read about in the dossiers on Toomey, and a third man who Panther didn't recognize from the dossiers, a doberman. This meeting was definitely not a normal one._Guess they are feeling shaky about Vito's death after all... Panther averted his eyes, looking back down at his menu as the trio passed his table... the dark furred feline waited for a few seconds, before he flicked his gaze up for a moment, like a casual guest, and was surprised when he saw Leopold staring right at him.

The trio was just entering the VIP seating area, but Leopold was lingering behind, his eyes locked onto Panther, like a predator sizing up a threat. Panther quickly looked away from the grey leopard, but he felt a tenseness rise up in his chest. Shit... did he just make me? The dossiers say he's_scary _good at his job... Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Leopold slowly step into the VIP seating area, disappearing behind the frosted glass, before the door closed. Panther let out a slight sigh of relief, but he remained on guard... I might have to adjust my plans for Auroro, if Toomey and Leopold are here... and whoever that third guy was...

The third one, the doberman, had seemed different from Toomey and Leopold. He'd seemed particularly tense... and the way he'd been walking, not casual like Toomey and Leopold, but more on guard, straighter backed. It rather reminded Panther of a cop's walk.Doesn't surprise me... of course they'd probably have a cop or two in their pocket... perhaps he was one of the officers who investigated Vito's shooting... Panther idly sipped from his glass of water. He'd been planning on sneaking into Auroro's quarters while they were in the meeting, and taking the canine and his bodyguard out when they came back, off their guard... but this development could change things. Auroro might not even go back into his quarters, and instead leave with Toomey and Leopold... variables were problematic in this case.

Panther's attention was redirected, as the waitress came back, smiling at him. "Have you chosen what you'd like to order, sir?" Panther smiled back at her.

"Yes... I'd like to have the sweet nectar omelet. It looks so very... appetizing." he'd given her a rather obvious looking over as he'd said it, and smiled wider at her at the last part, the flirting coming automatically, like a reflex. She blushed, her bushy tail wagging a little as she chuckled.

"An excellent choice, sir... it's made with exotic flora and fruits from various planets, quite delicious..." She winked at him, before she turned to head to the cook with the order, and she glanced over her shoulder at him, giving an extra sway to her hips, wagging her tail a little as she moved away. Panther watched her head off, feeling slight relief, before turning his eyes back to the frosted glass of the VIP area, pondering how to go about his job... if Auroro was in a meeting with Toomey, it was a much more important meeting than usual, for sure. He'd normally abandon the situation until he could reevaluate a strategy, but his mind shot back to how he'd told his employer that he'd get the job done today...

"Promises, promises..." he muttered to himself. Panther liked to be meticulous with his planning... but... perhaps some improvisation wouldn't hurt in this case, if he needed to. He turned to sweep his gaze over the rest of the dining room... there was a wine rack displayed on one of the walls, and he could see that there was a doorway nearby to it... he knew it led to the restaurant wine cellar. Panther knew from the dossiers, that Auroro had a small personal elevator that led into the basement, where he could easily access the fine wines he owned from the wine cellar. That elevator was to be Panther's route into Auroro's quarters upstairs... the big feline sipped his water again. Auroro's meeting had just started, and he still had to eat the meal he'd ordered, before he made any moves.

As he waited, he idly glanced at some of the other customers in the dining room, his eyes being drawn to a young couple sitting near the windows. A vixen and a tomcat. They were talking, looking so relaxed and at ease, very normal. Panther let his eyes travel over the vixen's features... she was indeed a pretty woman, classy and elegant looking... but Fox's face suddenly arose in Panther's mind, and he found in comparison, that he liked Fox's boyish features more, that Fox was a tad prettier than the vixen. He felt a twist in his gut, as he realized that he was comparing the attractiveness of another man, to a pretty woman.

He took a drink of the water, wishing that it was alcohol, and swallowed hard. There shouldn't be any comparison... thoughts of his late father entered Panther's mind, imagining the look of disgust on the elder panther's face if he knew that his son had any_sexual thoughts about another male, let alone that he'd _slept_with one. In his mind, Panther could remember the scores of women that his father had been with, a practical rotating door, remembered how his father had run his con games, remembered being taught how to seduce a woman by the elder male... because, as Caroso Sr. had drilled into him, that was the _proper_way, and men who wanted other men were _sick, that there was something _wrong_with them. Panther sighed, swallowing again, and shoved those perturbing thoughts back into the recesses of his mind, as he returned his focus to the job at hand.

He turned away from the couple near the window, and looked over at the VIP area once again, seeing the blurred outlines of Auroro and his mafia guests... they didn't seem like they'd be going anywhere soon. Panther glanced up, as he saw the waitress on her way to his table, holding a plate with his omelet on it. He smiled at her as she set it down. "Thank you very much... it certainly looks delectable." He exclaimed, keeping his eyes on her as he said it, making her blush and chuckle.

"Thank you, sir... will you be needing anything else?" she asked. Panther shook his head.

"Not at the moment... I'll call you over if I want something _sweet_for dessert though..." the waitress blushed further at that, her tail swishing as she nodded and stepped away. Panther picked up his fork, and started to eat, his gaze returning to the frosted glass of the VIP area for a moment, before he turned to look at the basement doorway again. Once he finished his meal, he'd make his move. He took a bite of the omelet, finding it to indeed be delicious, the eggs cooked to fluffy perfection, with an exotic hint of sweetness. If he wasn't here on 'business', he'd take the time to savor it more, but he was on a timetable, and couldn't have the luxury now.

---

"Target on your right flank, Fox! Roll left, I've got him!" Slippy's voice came over the comms, and Fox rolled his fighter to the left, just in time for the toad to fire at the enemy fighter trying to flank him, and Slippy cheered as he scored a direct hit, the opposing fighter exploding, the wreckage beginning it's fall to the ground.

"Nice shot, Slippy!" Fox exclaimed, targeting an enemy fighter of his own, and firing at it, managing to wing the thrusters, and causing the fighter to spiral downwards. He glanced right, spotting the transport ship they were meant to destroy. "Main objective spotted! Coordinate on me!" Fox turned his ship towards the ascending transport, and glanced down at his radar, spotting Falco and Slippy's signatures coming into formation behind him.

"I've got four bogeys dispatching from the transport!" Slippy called out over the comms. Fox blinked, glancing at the cockpit display, and spotting the same, four enemy fighters launching from the transport.

"We'll take 'em out like the others!" Falco whooped. Fox narrowed his eyes, a gut feeling that something was different about these four fighters coming over him, and adjusted his scanners to focus on the approaching enemy ships. His eyes widened at the readings.

"They've got heavy weaponry on those fighters, they'll rip through our shields! Evade and strike them from the back, don't let them target you!" Fox cried out, diving down as the first enemy ship opened fire on him. He twisted the ship as he dove, before pulling up on the control stick, his ship corkscrewing back upwards.

"Two of 'em are on me, I need backup!" Slippy's panicked voice came over his comms, and Fox grit his teeth as he saw two of the enemy fighters start a common trapping maneuver, one of them staying right on Slippy's flank, forcing the toad to evade, while the second ship flew around to the front, to sandwich him in, and make him an easy target. Fox fired at the bogey pursuing Slippy, and it rolled to the right, avoiding the shots, but freeing Slippy from the maneuver, and allowing the toad to veer left, avoiding the enemy ship in front of him, dodging it's fire.

"I've got one!" Falco called out, a burst of blaster fire blowing past Fox's ship, striking one of the fighters dead center, and it exploded, Fox veering to avoid the wreckage as he flew past.

"Watch your fire, Falco!" Fox admonished, rolling the the left as he dodged a burst of fire from one of the enemy ships. The vulpine aligned his Arwing with Slippy's flying beside him.

"Pull the same maneuver on them, Slippy! Stay on his ass, and I'll get ahead of him and take him out!" Fox commanded, before turning the thrusters on his ship up, speeding forward past the bogey in front of him, who had to pull up to avoid fire from Slippy. Fox pulled up as well, another corkscrew, and targeted the enemy ship, who was still rolling to avoid Slippy's shots. Fox pulled the trigger, blowing the enemy ship to bits, and he grinned, exhilaration flowing through him.

"Two left, nail 'em!" Falco laughed over the comms, dodging fire from one of the enemies, and rolling his ship to avoid a burst from the second bogey. Slippy fired at one of the ships, forcing it to dodge, and Fox blew one of it's wings off, causing it to spiral down. Falco twisted his ship to the right, dipping down and aiming back up, firing at the underside of the last enemy, causing the ship to explode, and Falco cheered loudly. "Yeah! That's all she wrote!"

Fox veered back towards the transport ship, which had risen up past them, making it's way to the atmosphere. "Don't let it get into space! Everyone target the engines!" Fox cried out, as he started to fire at the transport's large thruster engines. Falco and Slippy aligned themselves on each side of him, joining in his firing, and with a large flash of light, the engines on the enemy transport blew open, fire and smoke pouring out as the transport started to sink down, beginning a descent as it couldn't support it's flight anymore.

Suddenly, the view of the environment outside went white, and the words 'Mission Complete.' came over the cockpit display, as the sounds of the simulated engines started to die down, and the testing cockpit opened up, revealing the simulation room of the Academy. "Congratulations you three... you completed the first intermediate simulation with no losses." General Pepper's voice came over the intercom. "You're dismissed. Go to the mess hall, eat, and report to the firearms course."

"Hell yeah, that was badass!" Falco cheered as he climbed down from the cockpit of his simulator. Slippy looked rather proud of himself, and Fox couldn't stop himself from grinning either, as he hopped out of his cockpit.

"Seeing that 'Mission Complete' come over the screen was a rush... no losses, no mistakes, a perfect run!" Fox laughed, draping his arms over his two friend's shoulders. Slippy gave Fox a pat on the back.

"Only because you saved my ass! They almost had me!" the toad's voice was modest, but still pleased with himself. Fox chuckled at that.

"Hey, you saved my ass a few times too, don't sell yourself short!" the vulpine replied. "And, you get extra points for not almost shooting me, like someone else almost did..." Fox snickered, nudging Falco, who held up his hands in defense.

"Hey, you shouldn't have been flying in that spot!" the avian snickered back. The trio made their way out of the simulation room, and entered the mess hall, stopping to grab their trays of food, before taking a seat at one of the long tables. "Man, they must have poured all their funding into those awesome simulator cockpits, and skimped out on hiring a decent cook, eh?" Falco griped as he took a bite of the bland meal, a few slices of meat with gravy and potatoes.

"Well, I'd rather have decent training as opposed to a five star meal in this case..." Slippy laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I should be grateful..." Falco rolled his eyes, chuckling. He took another bite, before turning his head to Fox. "Hey, how many other guys do you think noticed those last four enemies had heavy weapons? It was a nice catch, we would have been shot down if you hadn't seen it and told us to dodge..."

Fox shrugged at the question, taking a bite of his own meal. "I'm sure plenty of them saw it! I just had a gut feeling that those four were different than the others, and scanned them when they launched from the transport ship..." Slippy shook his head at that, grinning.

"Now_who's selling themselves short? I was so amped up on adrenaline that_I didn't even think of using my scanners... you were able to keep cool enough to focus on careful measures, in a combat situation. That's pretty awesome, Fox..."

"Not as awesome as taking out a majority of that first wave of bogeys..." Falco chuckled smugly. "Neither of you have beaten my take down ratio!" Fox grinned at that.

"Yeah, we've got an ace pilot extraordinaire over here..." the vulpine laughed, as Falco took another bite of food. "Maybe they'll call you the Blue Baron?"

"Oooh, I like that one... can you imagine using that title at the bars after a mission?" Falco snickered. "Hey baby, you wanna take a seat in the Blue Baron's cockpit?" the avian joked in an exaggerated tone, and Slippy and Fox both laughed at it, though, at the mention of bars, Fox couldn't help but think of a certain one that he himself wasn't going to be able to visit tonight... I wonder if Panther is gonna be able to make it there tomorrow. Falco hummed as he took another bite of food. "Gotta say, I much prefer these sort of tests, instead of those horrible paper ones..."

"Yeah, I'd hate the paper ones too, if I sucked as bad as _you_do at them..." Slippy teased, grinning as Falco shot him a mock glare.

"I guess I'm lucky that you can't swap your mental skills for physical ones, or I'd be all sorts of outclassed..." Falco teased back, making Slippy laugh. Fox swallowed a bite of his food, before he glanced at the clock.

"The firearms trial starts in five minutes... I wonder if they'll have us go through the assault course, or if it'll just be range practice?" Fox pondered aloud. Falco shrugged, taking a bite of his own meal again.

"I'm hoping it's the assault course... it'll be like a more fun version of laser tag..." the avian answered through his chewing.

"I'm starting to think you're an adrenaline junkie, Falco..." Fox chuckled, amused. Falco snorted at that.

"Well, I've gotta let off some steam somewhere, considering I'm not letting it off in bed, like_someone_ else I know..." the avian teased, making Fox's cheeks heat up abashedly.

"Hey, what can I say, we hit it off good, why not go for a second night?" Fox replied defensively, though his voice had some amusement. Falco laughed at that, finishing off his meal.

"You hooked up with the same woman? The dark cat you mentioned, with the nice rack?" Falco asked in slight awe. "Wow, I don't think I've ever had the same girl twice, you must have really_hit it off good, heh heh..." Fox picked up his cup, taking a drink, inwardly chuckling again at the mention of Panther's 'nice rack'... _I dunno about nice breasts, but he does indeed have a really nice chest...

"Well, we definitely had a nice time..." Fox chuckled, before taking the last bite of his own meal, and standing up to take his tray to the garbage. "Alright, let's get down to the firearms trial!"

---

It had been easy enough to get into the wine cellar. Leaving a hefty tip for the waitress at the table, Panther had simply stood up and casually walked over to the wine cellar door, and slipped inside. Simplicity itself. "You'd think a made man would be a little more cautious..." Panther chuckled to himself, as he made his way to Auroro's personal elevator. Panther let out a hum as he saw that it was locked with a card key reader. "At least he had the thought to pay for a personal card lock... not that it'll help."

The dark feline had watched the VIP section of the restaurant while he ate his meal, and after about five minutes, the doberman, who Panther had suspected of being a crooked cop, had left the VIP section, and headed out of the restaurant. Toomey and Leopold had remained in the VIP section with Auroro and his bodyguard, no doubt discussing the circumstances of Vito's death... and Panther had decided to take a risk, and make his move. After all... even if Toomey and Leopold were with Auroro when the canine returned to his room, Panther was sure he could get four kill shots with the element of surprise on his side.

"What a miser... couldn't even pay for a quality card reader..." Panther muttered, as he crouched down and got a close look at the model and make of the reader on the elevator door. Panther reached into his pocket, taking out a multi-tool, flicking open the screwdriver, and started to unscrew the card reader's side panel. All he had to do was cut the power for the reader itself, and it would unlock the door automatically; a safety measure that was built into the reader, to ensure that a door wouldn't lock during a power loss emergency. "And, I'm in." Panther chuckled, as he snipped the connector cord inside the reader's panel, and heard the sound of the lock disengaging. Panther stepped into the elevator, and pressed the single button inside, which was labeled 'Suite'.

As the elevator hummed into motion, Panther reached into the inner pocket of his jacket, and removed a long plastic pouch... the rose he'd brought along for this hit. Satisfied that the rose was still pristine, Panther put it back into the inner pocket, and used his other hand to reach into the opposite side of his jacket, and drew his blaster from his shoulder holster. He ran his gaze over the weapon, clicking off the safety, before he raised his eyes back up as the elevator dinged, and the door opened.

Panther stepped out of the elevator, raising his gun and sweeping the barrel over the room, eyes peeled for any idling henchmen... but it was empty. Satisfied he was alone, Panther gazed around the room, taking in details... Auroro had a rather posh office, fitting for the restaurant. The room was split into two sections, the office, and a small mini lounge, separated by a wall, with an open doorway connecting them. To the left of the main office door, was a coat rack, with Auroro and his bodyguard's jackets hanging from the hooks. It was a tall rack, and Panther chuckled as he moved to stand on the other side of it... the office door was one that opened inward, and it would block Auroro's view of him as it opened... all Panther had to do, was stand in the blind spot and take his shots once Auroro's bodyguard stepped in too. It was just a waiting game now.

As Panther stood waiting, his mind shifted through possible scenarios... the best possible thing, would be if Auroro and his bodyguard came back alone. Two easy kills, leave the rose, and get out the same way he came in. However, another possible scenario would be if Auroro and his bodyguard came back with Toomey and Leopold in tow. Panther clenched his jaw slightly at the thought... according to his dossiers, Katz Leopold was practically a boogeyman amongst this branch of the Cornerian Mafia. If Toomey had a problem with someone, he'd send Leopold to make the problem go away... Panther's mysterious client had even gotten his hands on restricted crime scene photographs of some of Leopold's victims, and the word 'grisly' was_definitely_ fitting for the leopard's work. There had even been footnotes in the file, listing a handful of disappearances that Leopold was highly suspected of having disposed of discreetly. He was someone to steer clear of.

If Toomey and Leopold were with Auroro when he returned, the danger factor went up exponentially. Panther would have to take out Leopold first, and then Auroro's bodyguard... hopefully, Toomey and Auroro wouldn't be armed, or if they were armed, slow on the draw. The worst case scenario would be if Auroro and his bodyguard entered, and saw him before Toomey and Leopold entered the room too... Panther would have to kill Auroro and his bodyguard and hope that Toomey and Leopold would be too stunned to react in time, or chances were, both of them would be able to draw their blasters and take him out. So many variables, so many possible things that could either benefit him, or completely fuck him over...

"But what's life without a little risk, hmm?" Panther murmured to himself. The dark feline's ears perked, and his body tensed, tail held taut, as he heard faint footsteps approaching the door. "No life at all..." he answered himself softly, hoping that luck was on his side. The office door unlocked and opened, and Panther watched as Auroro entered the office at a brisk pace, immediately heading for the mini lounge without even glancing in the dark feline's direction.

"Like I said, Vito was always too indulgent, flaunting his status and getting off on letting people know he was untouchable... it's no wonder he'd get rubbed out by some rival family." Auroro exclaimed aloud to his bodyguard, who entered the office a moment later.

"Whoever did the job is gonna have a hard time enjoying his money, when he ends up at the bottom of Corneria Bay... or maybe Toomey'll have 'em ground up into mulch at the factory district." the bear replied, closing the door and locking it, also not even looking once in Panther's direction. The sound of a bottle uncorking was heard from the mini lounge, and Panther made his move. Without a sound, the dark cat moved from his position, raised his blaster and fired it nearly point blank into the bulky ursine's back, two quick shots through the heart from behind. The large bear let out a sound that sounded like a strained sigh, falling forward onto the floor with a thud.

The light 'pew' of the blaster was loud enough to hear in the confines of the office, and Auroro spun around, an open bottle of wine in his hand, his eyes wide in shock as he realized what was happening. Panther was already shifting his aim to the stunned canine, the sights coming to rest on Auroro's forehead. "Wait-" the canine gasped, his hands coming up defensively. His words were cut short by another two quick pulls of the blaster trigger, and the criminal canine fell backwards onto the lounge table with a second dull thud. Panther let out a slow breath, one he'd been holding since the door had opened. The whole sequence had only taken about four seconds. Panther reached into his jacket, taking out the plastic pouch, opening it and gently removing the rose. He laid the flower on Auroro's chest, before turning around and making his way back to the elevator, pressing the button to return to the wine cellar.

Panther couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as the elevator made it's way down... Auroro and his bodyguard had come up alone, the best case scenario. The dark feline took out his cellphone, and quick dialed his employer. They picked up after two rings. "Yes?"

"Auroro's done." Panther answered. There was a soft intake of breath on the other side of the line.

"Just now?" even through the electronically altered tone, Panther could hear slight disbelief in his employer's voice. The dark feline tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing a little.

"Yes, just now. Why, were you hoping I'd wait or something?" Panther asked.

"No, just... never mind, it's nothing. Good work, I'll wire your payment." there was a pause. "You didn't leave another goddamn rose, did you?" Panther ignored the question, and instead chose to ask one of his own.

"Auroro was having a meeting with Tulley Toomey and some doberman, looked like a cop... is there anything going on behind the scenes that I should be aware of?" There was another silence on the line for a few moments, as though his employer was either surprised, or taken aback by something.

"They thought Vito was a private hit, something personal between him and someone else. Now that Auroro is done too, they'll know they're _all_being targeted. Expect more security, and some changes to their usual routines." came his employer's response, and Panther thought he could detect a touch of tenseness through that altered tone. "I'll try to contact you if anything of note comes up. Goodbye." Panther blinked as his employer hung up, and he put his phone away just as the elevator reached the cellar and opened.

"Someone sounds nervous..." Panther mused, as he made his way back to the stairs. It only served to reinforce his theory that his employer was an active member of the Cornerian Mob, who was trying to eliminate rivals, and get a higher position for himself. Panther climbed the staircase, and casually stepped out of the wine cellar, as though it was perfectly natural, before he started to head for the front entrance of the restaurant. Three targets left, and now they'd be more on their guard... I suppose I can't exactly make a reputation for myself, without jumping a few steep hurdles... Panther thought to himself, as he made his way past the bathrooms. The door to the men's room opened, and Panther almost felt his heart leap into his throat, as he saw who was exiting.

Katz Leopold's amber eyes met his own golden ones, and Panther had to actively force himself not to tense up as he kept walking, though it suddenly felt as though he was moving in slow motion. The grey leopard stopped moving as Panther walked past him, standing almost unnaturally still, his head merely turning to watch as the darker feline moved by. Leopold was tall, merely an inch or two shorter than Panther himself, and though he had a lanky appearance, Panther's instincts told him that the leopard was far stronger than his slight stature would have anyone believe. Leopold's face was thin, with high cheekbones, one that Panther was sure women would find attractive, if it wasn't for how absolutely sinister it looked with those steep brows and bright amber eyes... the thin grey goatee only added to the villainous vibe.

Panther could feel a chill run down his spine as he stepped past Leopold, and he could feel those predatory eyes on his back as he made his way to the front door of the restaurant. All his instincts were screaming at him to not turn his back to the grey leopard, danger alarms going off in his head, but Panther forced himself to ignore them, knowing that if he acted suspicious now, he'd risk giving himself away. The door almost seemed miles away, and Panther couldn't help but letting out a long, low breath of relief as he finally put his hands on the handle and stepped outside again. He forced himself to not glance back, as he made his way down the sidewalk, back to his car, and pulled away from the curb.

Panther put his window down, relief flooding him for the second time as the wind blew through his fur. He was home free now. The dark feline reached into his pocket and took out his phone, idly checking his account, and letting out a hum of satisfaction as he saw he had a recent deposit, the payment for Auroro. Putting the phone back into his pocket and keeping his eyes on the road, Panther allowed the monotony of simply driving to relax his nerves. Moving forward with the final three hits was likely going to be far more difficult now, so he'd have to be sharp edged if he wanted to succeed... if the conversation Auroro had been having with his bodyguard had been accurate, then Toomey was looking for Vito's shooter... which meant Leopold was likely the main hunter. "Lucky me..." Panther sighed.

---

At the sound of the bell, Fox drew his blaster and briskly strode into the assault course, his eyes sharp and focused... with a sharp metallic sound, a target snapped into his vision from the left, and Fox took barely a second to aim, see it was an 'enemy' target, and fired three quick shots, all three of them hitting dead center. The vulpine kept moving, stepping around a corner, and seeing a wide room in front of him, with two doors at the far end.

As he stepped into the room, two targets snapped up from the floor in the center of the room, and Fox aimed quickly at the first one, finger tightening on the trigger, before he realized it was a 'civilian' target, and he snapped his aim to the second, 'enemy' target, and opened fire. The whole motion took about as long as the previous one, and Fox let out a short huff as he continued forward. As he neared the one of the doors on the far end of the room, another target popped up in the doorway, and Fox barely refrained from firing as he caught on that it was another 'civilian' target.

Fox stepped past the target in the doorway, and continued down a hallway that had several alcoves in the walls. Two targets snapped out from ahead, and Fox fired four shots in about a second, nailing the first one dead center with two of the shots, and hitting the second in the 'shoulder'. He fired a third shot at the target's chest as he walked past it, and turned the corner at the end of the hallway. It opened into another large room, this one filled with pillars, like some kind of parking garage, with a lone flickering light on the ceiling. Fox pressed himself against one of the pillars, and peered around the side of it, before taking a breath and advancing.

As he took a step forward, a moving target suddenly shot out from behind a pillar ahead, and Fox quickly aimed, before seeing it was another 'civilian'. Almost just as he lowered his blaster, two targets snapped up to his right, and Fox spun, crouching down, and took moment to realize they were both 'enemy' targets, before firing and taking them both out... he inwardly cursed, realizing he'd taken a second too long to fire, and that he'd have likely been shot dead if it had been real enemies. Pushing it from his mind, Fox continued past the pillars, and entered the last area, a straight hall to the end of the course, with a large set of windows on the left.

Fox started to move forward again, keeping his aim focused on the windows, keeping an eye out for movement... suddenly three targets snapped up, and Fox opened fire again, able to see that two of them were 'enemy' targets, while one of them was 'civilian'... as he neared the end of the course, suddenly two targets popped up in the same small window, a 'civilian' in front, and an 'enemy' in back. Fox snapped his aim up, and fired. The shot grazed the 'civilian' target in the shoulder, but the brunt of the shot hit the 'enemy' target in the neck, and it went down. Fox stepped over the finish line, and let out a whoosh of breath, holstering his blaster again as the bell sounded.

"Well, I can say that you were only killed once, and that hostage at the end will have sued your ass for winging his shoulder, but other than that, it looks like you're a pretty good shot, Fox!" Bill Grey chuckled, leaning against a wall. Fox laughed, making his way over to the results screen, and seeing that indeed, his only two mistakes were taking too long to shoot in the pillar room, and grazing the hostage on the last target. "You're a really fast shooter too... that first guy took three shots to center mass in less than a second!" Bill continued.

"Gotta be fast on the trigger, or your enemy will beat you to it..." Fox answered, before he made his way to stand next to Bill, looking up at the assault course camera display, watching as Falco, looking cocky, stepped up to the entrance, and awaited the bell. Fox grinned. "Let's see how Falco handles this... I'm not gonna let him hear the end of it if I did better..."

"Oh, I'm sure he won't let you hear the end of it if he does better either, heh heh..." Bill chuckled. The bell rang again, and Falco drew his blaster and moved into the course. Fox and Bill watched the avian take down the first target and continue onward, before Bill piped up again. "I hear that you three handled the first intermediate simulation with perfect precision... no losses or any penalties..." Fox shrugged modestly.

"A mix of skill, luck, and good coordination..." the vulpine exclaimed. "...I doubt we're the first ones to get a perfect score on that simulation though!" Bill grinned at that, nudging Fox.

"No, you're not... but you're one of the few who got a perfect on their very first try. You wanna know who the last team was, that got a perfect on the first try?" Fox tilted his head at the question.

"Alright, who?"

"That would be, a James McCloud, a Peppy Hare, and a Pigma Dengar... or, you know, the Starfox Team, heh heh..." Bill snickered, and Fox blinked in surprise.

"Seriously?" he asked in disbelief. Bill nodded, giving Fox a pat on the shoulder.

"Yep! You can look it up yourself in the course records... it's years back, but your dad and the rest of his team were the only other pilots to get a perfect score on their first run for that simulation. Looks like you take after your dad, heh..." Bill exclaimed. Fox let out a chuckle of disbelief.

"Wow... I'm sure he'll be pleased to hear that... he's angling for me to join Starfox after I graduate." the vulpine said. Bill blinked in surprise.

"Wow, for real? That's awesome Fox, do you know how many pilots here would love to join Starfox?" Bill replied, awed. Fox's cheeks got a little red, and he shrugged.

"Yeah, I know... I just, don't know if it would be right to ditch the CDF right after I graduate..." Fox grumbled. "I'd prefer to at least serve a few years, before I go all freelance mercenary with my dad..."

"Ah, how gracious of you, heh!" Bill laughed. "I'm sure that would score you some points with General Pepper, sticking with the CDF for a couple years... I'm sure if it was anyone else, they'd ditch this joint as soon as they could, if the Starfox team wanted them..." There was a soft chime from the results screen, as Falco took a moment too long to fire at the enemy targets in the pillar room, just as Fox had. Fox chuckled as Falco cursed loudly over the camera feed.

"I just don't want to seem like some glory hound, joining the Academy to get pilot training, and then immediately quitting to join my dad's big shot team, you know?" Fox continued, as he and Bill watched Falco advance forward. Bill nodded.

"Yeah, I know... I'm sure that General Pepper wouldn't see it that way though... anyone who knows you, knows that 'glory hound' isn't a word anyone could describe you with, Fox." the canine replied. Fox rubbed the back of his neck abashedly, chuckling.

"Thanks... but hey, if I stick with the CDF, you and I might end up flying together!" Fox pointed out. Bill laughed, patting Fox on the shoulder.

"Well, now that you put it that way, I'm all for you sticking around buddy, heh heh!" Bill guffawed, and Fox laughed with him. The result screen chimed once more, as Falco accidentally shot down the civilian target in the window room, cursing once more as he took out the remaining enemies, managing to hit the last one in the head, without harming the final civilian. A moment later the blue avian stepped over the finish line of the assault course, and holstered his blaster. Fox snickered, stepping forward with his arms raised in mock exasperation.

"Hey, you know, I think you're supposed to avoid shooting the civilians in the course, buddy!" the vulpine snickered, and Falco gave an embarrassed shrug.

"He shouldn't have been standing there!" the avian protested abashedly, stepping over to the results screen to see his score compared to Fox's. "Aw, damn it, just a hundred points shorter than yours, thanks to that civilian shot!" Falco complained.

"Better luck next time, Falco!" Fox laughed, as Bill snickered from his spot on the wall. Falco let out a huff as he stepped over to watch the cameras with them, seeing Slippy getting ready to begin his run through the course.

"So what were you guys chatting about anyway?" the blue avian asked, as the starting bell rang.

"Fox's dad is gonna try and swipe Fox from the CDF when he graduates, and have him join Starfox." Bill answered with a grin, while Fox gave him an elbow nudge, groaning. Falco quirked a brow.

"Wow, that's moving a little fast, isn't it?" he nudged Fox. "You'll be the only Starfox member with training wheels!" Falco teased, and Fox gave him a playful shove.

"Hey, I haven't agreed! It would be kinda assholish to just leave the CDF right after completing training, so I'm probably gonna stay on for at least a few years..." Fox exclaimed with exasperation. A chime came from the results screen, as Slippy was too slow on the trigger in the alcove hallway, and Fox, Bill and Falco all chuckled.

"He's lucky he's gonna in the air most of the time, eh?" Falco snickered.

"Not all of us are gonna be excellent shots... Slippy'd probably be better with designing weapons, rather than using them..." Fox mused.

"Maybe he can make a blaster that'll aim for him?" Falco joked, before all three of them laughed as the chime went off again, as Slippy accidentally shot the pop up civilian in the doorway. The group idly chatted on, until Slippy finished the course, stepping over the finish line with red cheeks, and endured some light teasing from his friends, before the three of them parted ways with Bill, and started to make their way to their last class of the day, a three hour rehash of some more advanced air maneuvers in the simulators again.

"Nngh, as cool as those simulators are, doing the same maneuvers over and over was so damn boring..." Slippy groaned as they exited the testing room three hours later. Falco grumbled in agreement, and Fox nodded, ears drooped slightly.

"At least it's over with for today... and they didn't give us a paper test on maneuvering either..." the vulpine mumbled. "I'm gonna hit the showers and then I'm going to bed." He stepped away from Slippy and Falco as they neared the base shower room, and made his way inside. He undressed, putting his clothes off to the side on a bench, and made his way to the shower stalls, letting out a sigh of relief as the hot water started up. He was sore from sitting in the simulation cockpit for three hours, and he groaned softly as he lathered soap onto his lower back. "Certainly not the _good_kind of sore..." he muttered to himself, chuckling slightly abashedly, cheeks getting a little red as he remembered that the last time he'd been sore in a shower, it had been after having some rather spectacular sex with Panther.

I wonder what he's up to... Fox leaned forward and placed his hands on the wall of the shower, leaning his head down and letting the hot water cascade down the back of his neck... as thoughts of the tall, dark, and handsome feline rose up, Fox felt a little friskiness arise, and he stretched leisurely, arching his back and spreading his legs with a sigh. He closed his eyes, and a slight grin came over his face, as he raised his tail a little, imagining Panther's strong hands gripping his hips, the feline's generous endowment rubbing between his cheeks... he could feel his loins start stirring, and the vulpine forced himself to straighten up with a disappointed sigh, knowing that these were communal showers, and anyone could walk in on him right now... I really hope he shows up tomorrow.

Fox finished washing up and drying off, before he headed back to the dorm room, and flopped down into his bed. Panther's handsome face and dulcet tones drifted through his mind, as the vulpine slowly faded into sleep.