The Runt, Part 17.
Story by Wolfie Steel on SoFurry
Imported from SF2 with no description provided.
The Runt.
Chapter 17.
By: Wolfie Steel.
After a sleep of some four hours I wake up in the hospital bed, I see a nurse making some checks on the various tubes and monitors that are connected to me; she gives me a gentle smile as she sees me wake up.
“Ah Mr. Lane you are awake, you have a rather burly looking bull waiting in the waiting area, he’s been there for a couple of hours now and seems most insistent on talking with you”
I ask the nurse to allow the bull to come and see me. Two minutes later the bull enters my room and looks visibly shocked from seeing my injuries.
“Mr. Lane I’m so sorry that you have been subjected to this kind of treatment, I do however have some news that should brighten your day, and it seems that there has been quite a bit of bribery going on within the council offices. I have done some checking into people who work within the office that I know have had dealings with the late Mr. Finch or his associates, and I have had the joyous task of getting rid of them. Those that are left within the planning office have voted fully in favour of your planned extension and I Bill Jameson will personally help with the building”
The bull takes a seat by my side and continues.
“Your mate Rion has also submitted plans to ramp up the security for the bar, these plans have also been passed, in short sir, The Fast Lane will continue to expand. I do however have a list of names of people within the planning office that were on Finch’s payroll and I am aware that you have a friend who used to work in the police force, it would be unfortunate for my colleagues if this list were to find its way into the hands of the police”
Bill gently pushes the list into my paw and then gently closes my paw around it. He nods his head slightly and leaves the room.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Back at the bar, Dillon is hard at work getting the place straight, Rion walks in and takes stock of the remnants of the devastation.
“Man, whoever did this did a damn fine job, I would like to get my paws on the guy and thank him personally, I’m not a violent dog by any stretch of the imagination, but the guy half kills the love of my life, he pisses on him for spite, then he wrecks the joint that Sonny and you guys have worked so hard to build up”
Rion begins to help Dillon with straightening the tables and chairs that weren’t damaged, with the tables straightened and the broken ones thrown out Dillon stands next to Rion and speaks.
“You know Rion, the day that Sonny waltzed in here with Ryan telling me that he was going to buy this place and run it, I thought he was just a stuck up arrogant bastard who wanted to make everybody know that he had money, but he bought the place and started the band and we have gone from strength to strength. Then he lost Mason but gained you, and finally he gets himself damn near killed for wanting to help the homeless kids out, to say that my idea of him has changed would be the understatement of the decade, yes he likes to splash his money around, but he does it for all the right reasons, and I for one am proud to have Sonny Lane as a boss”
Rion looks at Dillon and a weak smile creeps across his muzzle and he lets out a little chuckle.
“You know Dill, like you when I first met Sonny he was as large as life and twice as imposing, but seeing him lying on the office floor battered and bruised almost beyond all recognition scared me shitless. He is going to need a lot of help with this place and you my friend have stepped up to the plate, going above and beyond the call of duty, I promise you this, you have two very grateful friends for life”
There is now a hefty knock at the door so Rion answers it, he comes face to face with Lucas Cape and about eight friends. Lucas looks at Rion and speaks.
“Mr. Kagemon, I made your mate a promise that I would find out who attacked him, I have actually learned both the identity and the whereabouts of Sonny’s attacker, the......one responsible is a Doberman by the name of Alexander Finch, brother of one late Ricky ‘The Butcher’ Finch, he has a place on the other side of town, a real seedy shithole it is too. It seems that Alex knows that Ryan Lewis is in your employment, so he attacked Sonny to try and get to him”
Lucas takes a breath and then sighs at what he has to say next.
“I don’t want this to turn into an all out war, but neither do I intend to let Finch get away with what basically boils down to attempted murder, I have rounded up a group of my friends and we are about to go to his place and run him and anyone who is loyal to him, out of town”
He points to the fact that he and all of his friends have weapons of various sorts, guns, knives, and even iron bars.
“We will use deadly force if we have to, now I know that Sonny is still badly injured, but I have arranged a truck with blacked out windows to pick him up from the hospital and take him to witness the revenge attack. We’ll take you with us so that you can jump into the truck and be with your mate before we begin. The thing to remember is this, we are all professionals, there will be nothing to link the attack to either you or Sonny or even us for that matter. This shit ends and it ends now”
Rion stands there open-mouthed with shock but then grabs his jacket and tells Dillon to keep an eye on the place, with that done he heads out of the bar and walks to the waiting vehicles with the horse and his friends.
<><><><><><><><><><><><>
Back at the hospital, a tall grey horse walks to the front desk and then makes his way into my room.
“Mr. Lane, you don’t know me but I am a very good friend of Lucas Cape, he has sent me to escort you to a show that he knows you are gonna want to see, he’s told me to tell you that once we arrive at our destination, you will be joined by your mate Rion. I have spoken to the nurse on duty and I have assured her that you will be looked after, the doctor will be in shortly to unhook you from the monitors and IV’s, then I will give you a few moments to get dressed, then we will head out”
I don’t even get the chance to ask any questions before the horse leaves the room. Sure enough, thirty seconds later a doctor walks in and begins to remove the tubes and the monitor from my body, he then looks at me and speaks.
“Mr. Lane, I want you to know that I am not happy about this at all, I mean sure at the moment you seem stable enough, but you have sustained many severe injuries and I would have liked to keep you in here for another couple of days, but as long as you are careful and don’t over exert yourself you should be fine, but at the first sign of trouble, I want you back in here, and I’M NOT TAKING NO FOR AN ANSWER”
I nod to the doctor as he finishes removing the medical equipment from my body. With the doctor now gone I slowly begin to dress in the fresh clothes that Rion had brought from home, once dressed I limp my way out to the waiting horse, I notice that he has a wheelchair ready to take me to his vehicle. I could probably walk the distance, but the size of this horse, I wasn’t going to argue.
I’m wheeled out to a waiting Ford Explorer with fully blacked out windows, the gray horse helps me to get into the vehicle and I strap myself in, the horse then gets into the driver’s seat and we begin our journey.
The journey lasts for twenty minutes or so, we suddenly pull up outside a really rough looking bar with the simple name of ALEX’S. I now decide that I need some questions answered and with the lack of anyone else, this horse is gonna answer them.
“Ok first things first, why have we stopped outside this dive?”
The horse looks at me in his rearview mirror but says nothing. I ask the question again only this time more insistently, this time the passenger door opens and at last I see a face that I recognise, Lucas Cape.
“Relax Sonny, I will tell you everything you need to know, but first there is someone here who wants to sit with you”
As the words fall from his muzzle the rear car door opens and Rion jumps in and quickly snuggles up against me. Lucas now sits in the passenger seat and nods to the gray horse, suddenly the rear car window facing the bar lowers just enough for me to look out of without being properly seen, Lucas now outlines his plan.
“That bar that you see over there is about to be closed down permanently, you see the owner is one Alexander Richard Finch, younger brother of Ricky Finch, we have it on good authority that it was Alex that carried out the attack on you and The Fast Lane in retaliation for the death of Ricky Finch, now we believe that even though you were not directly responsible for Finch’s death, you do have in your employ the man who did kill Finch, namely Ryan Lewis”
I close my eyes as I try to comprehend everything that Lucas is telling me, and then I make my reply.
“Ok so you know that it was Ryan that killed Finch, so I take it that means that Ryan is going straight to prison on a murder charge?”
A smirk plays across Lucas’ muzzle as he replies.
“Well ya see the thing is to convict anyone of murder we need evidence”
Lucas holds up two stills from CCTV camera footage clearly showing Ryan entering the bar with the other showing Ryan entering the back room with Finch. Lucas now holds the photos outside of the truck and reaches into his jacket pocket, he pulls out his lighter and sets the them alight, and then he continues.
“Damn, I really need to quit smoking, and then I can throw this dangerous lighter away”
With that he gets out of the truck, he moves over to a waste bin lights a large piece of paper and throws it in the bin, closely followed by the plastic lighter. Lucas closes the passenger door and walks to a minivan that is parked in front of our truck, ten figures exit the van, two of them I recognise, one a human male, Ryan, the other a tan-furred mouse, Matt.
Ryan, Lucas, and the other seven members rush into the bar weapons drawn whilst Matt waits by the front door. Thirty seconds later a wolf is ushered out of the front door and into Matt’s paws, Matt quickly brings the wolf over to our truck and bundles the shaking beast into the back seat next to me and Rion. Next, all the customers are kicked out of the bar and the door is closed.
There is no activity for the next fifteen minutes, and then suddenly nine figures file out from the bars side entrance. I can clearly see the first signs of smoke coming through the open door, and then no sooner that everyone is clear than the whole bar explodes in a fireball.
Lucas comes back to our truck and gets into the passenger seat as the eight others get into the minivan, Lucas turns to the gray horse and speaks.
“Drive us to the forest parking area, we will then torch the truck and minivan, then we’ll get into our own cars and head back to The Fast Lane”
The gray horse silently nods and drives us to the parking area at the edge of a forest; there I see my truck plus six other vehicles. The truck stops and everyone except the gray horse gets out, it is the same with the minivan, and all but the driver leaves the van. Lucas walks over to me and speaks.
“Sonny, you are probably wondering why this shaking wolf was rescued from the bar before it went up, well, remember I told you that I had the information about Alex from a reliable source, well meet the source, Nathan Blake”
I look at the still shaking wolf and speak.
“So, you were one of Finch’s men, what made you decide to turn him in?”
The wolf looks at me and thinks about his answer.
“I was a street kid six months ago, constantly being beaten and raped, then one night this Dobey took me in and gave me a job clearing tables, the pay wasn’t brilliant, but it helped me score my fix. I was grateful to Finch and he knew it, then last week he came to me and basically told me that if I didn’t help him get rid of some competition he would hand me over to the police because of my drug problem, well I can’t go back to prison, it would kill me so I agreed, then this horse met me whilst I was outside the bar on Saturday, he introduced himself as Sergeant Lucas Cape of the Metropolitan Police, I was about to run when the horse offered me a deal, if I gave him information on Finch, he would forget about arresting me and would even put in a good word with another bar owner to get me a job”
Lucas takes over from where the wolf leaves off.
“That other bar owner is you Sonny, if Nathan had stayed with Finch, eventually he would have been killed, either through drugs or through one of Finch’s schemes, now if you agree to take Nathan on so that he can work at your bar, I will help him kick his drug habit”
I look the wolf over, I guess that he has just turned eighteen and he is still wet behind the ears, but I see the potential for him to be a world-class bartender.
“Ok Nathan, I know that it took guts to turn Finch into Lucas, hence the reason why you are shaking like a leaf right now, but what I’m gonna ask now, is going to take all the guts you have. I will let you come and work for me, you work well, I will pay you well, you slip up and you are out of the door, also, I want you to attend all of your drugs rehab sessions and get yourself clean, in fact I will make you a deal, you will start work at my bar on the same money that you were making at Finch’s place, and then I will give you a ten-month deadline to get yourself off drugs, we will all help you to get clean, if you can do it by the end of ten months, then your pay will double”
Nathan lets out a gulp but then gently nods his head in agreement. We are suddenly aware of a change in temperature and look around to see that the minivan and truck are on fire, the two drivers now standing by their own vehicles, the gray horse speaks up.
“Guys, I suggest that we get the fuck outta here before the cops find the burning trucks”
We all get into the available vehicles and head back to The Fast Lane. We all walk in and Dillon locks the door then calls out.
“I guess that I shouldn’t ask questions, so if the cops come round here asking where you all were all night, I will just tell them that we decided to have a private lock-in here at the bar, so to make that sound plausible I guess I should start pouring copious amounts of alcohol down your necks”
I let out a giggle and reply.
“Dillon, I knew there was a reason other than your drop dead gorgeous body that I kept you on at this bar, now drinks all round, and Dillon, don’t stop”
With that Dillon starts pouring out the drinks and we drink right into the wee small hours of the morning.