FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

DISCLAIMER: The following FICTIONAL story is intended only for open-minded Adults aged 18 years or older (21 in some jurisdictions), and may contain instances of underage characters depicted performing sexual acts, as well as other content which might be considered objectionable. The author(s) of this work do not advocate or condone any of the acts depicted in the writings present. None of these stories are based on real events in any way, and the author's find it reprehensible to even think of committing the acts in reality. The stories are works of fantasy only and should be considered as such. If you do not wish to view such content, please navigate from the page immediately.

---

Assassin Redemption

A Biker/Assassin Redemption story by:

Starring: A LOT OF FOLKS XD

Part 11: The Flight, Part 2

Cat and Crypto emerged from the bedroom, Cat's color looking much better than it had when Marketta sent her to rest. The biggest step had been her venture out into the airport without taking extra medication, but she knew she was about to talk to the two Japanese men and she needed her meds to open up to them about the trip. Moving to her seat, she picked up her bag and took out both bottles of pills, then took just one of the pills. Her anti-anxiety pill. She wasn't in a full panic attack, so she didn't need the one to slow down her heart rate. She slipped her pills back into her bag, the picked up the clothes they'd gotten and packed them into her bag, helping to hide her pill bottles from the two men who should be coming in… yep… there they were.

She let Chameleon take the lead on introducing the two to the group and hearing what they had to say before she would open up fully to what was going on. She'd given them a hint of what was to come, but not everything there was, and why the team was feeling that her brother and sister were more important. It wasn't just them, but all the children most likely on that ship, bound for sexual slavery. They just had to rescue the children and try to stop those in charge from doing it again. It would be all the better if all the missing were there, but she knew they wouldn't be. Not with Star getting taken today. She'd be elsewhere. They had to find her as well.

Crypto took his seat beside Cat and arranged his laptop on the table in front of him so that he could boot up and see what Circa had found, if anything, related to Astrid's disappearance, or the photo of the other young man that they had received. Despite Circa's programming being some of the most advanced in the world, it still required the human element to fully examine all of the results. He kept his attention on Cat and the two other men that entered the cabin as well though, so that he would be apprised of what was going on.

Demyan led the party that came into the cabin last. All of the others had already rendezvoused and boarded for takeoff once again, and had scattered themselves back into their own groups. Sam was hanging in the seat nearest the cockpit door, and Radar was now running through pre-flight checklists on a tablet. Chameleon glanced around, then stepped over to Tzar for a moment and the two men spoke in hushed tones. Only their wives, sitting nearby, could hear what was said, but the leader soon nodded, and both he and Chameleon stood to approach Taro and Shui.

Tzar cleared his throat and what little conversation was happening ceased, “Go ahead Chameleon." he said, and the other man spoke, “The two men with us here are with Japanese Law Enforcement. This is Taro, and Shui" he summarized, “As you know, the Japanese Law Enforcement has seen fit to search every plane coming and going from all airports around Japan. This is due to the recent kidnapping of a rather high-profile young man. It is believed that he has either already been smuggled from the country, or will soon be so. Taro and I have worked together before on several cases, and he has requested my help with this one as well."

He paused, “I have agreed to help him, as soon as our present mission is completed. In order to work toward a swifter completion of our current task, Shui has offered his help in our mission himself." He nodded toward his brother.

Tzar continued, “I have agreed to have him on board to help with our current mission. At this time, finding the ship bearing Cat's siblings is still the #1 priority. However we have further news that complicates this entire situation, so everyone listen up…" He glanced about, looked at Crypto, jerked his finger toward a large TV built into one wall of the cabin, “Can we use this TV to illustrate?"

Crypto nodded and ran some commands, linking his laptop to the TV, while Tzar continued, making sure everyone was listening. “Our list of 'objectives' - victims - has grown from the original two." at this point the photos of Ciara and Mouse appeared on the screen, “to four…." And up came the photos of Astrid and Kenshin. “We know that the first three are definitely connected, though the extent of the connection between the kidnappings of Ciara and Mouse eight years ago, and the kidnapping of 'Star' are not entirely known yet."

Taro bowed and cleared his throat, “If I may." he stepped up to the screen and gestured, “The disappearance of this young man occured between two and four days ago. So far we have no word, no ransom demand, nothing. All trace of him simply vanished."

Tzar nodded, “We don't know if he has any correlation at all to the other kidnappings, and without completely studying all details of each disappearance, or finding all of them, we may never know. Because we know the first three are connected, it is highly likely that the same organization is holding all three."

Demyan interrupted, “It is not, however, likely that they are all held in the same place. Ciara and Mouse may very well be on the ship which is our destination. We are hoping this is a fact, and it is likely that there are other children there as well, all bound for the same end. In my professional opinion though, with Star's disappearance happening only today, or rather yesterday due to the time difference, it is not likely she is on the boat. This means that while we are on-mission, it is imperative that we also locate and retrieve any and all electronic devices, hard drives, CD's and DVD's, even paper communications. Anything at all that may give us hints to other connected locations or trails."

Ice chuckled and elbowed Snow, whispering, “Like that time in Budapest where we couldn't get the safe open and so you blew it out of the wall and took the whole safe?"

Tzar finished, “That is where we stand. After takeoff and before our arrival I suggest that each of you get some rest, and if you aren't resting, feel free to think over the entire mission and give any input you may have. That's all for now. Do you have anything to add?" He turned to glance at Taro and Shui, then Chameleon.

Cat had been quiet the entire time the extension to the mission was laid out, letting those who had experience do the talking. It helped her focus on something other than her phobias. Steeling herself, she spoke up, her voice trembling as she battled her anthropophobia, “Thank you for the assistance. Once my siblings are rescued and the focus can fully shift to Astrid and Kenshin, I will find their rescue." She looked at Crypto, her hand reaching out to his, needing that connection with him.

Marketta looked between the Japanese men and Cat, shifting slightly to guard her friend even more. She knew the cost to Cat to deal with people, and she was happy that the young woman had someone who connected with her and grounded her. “Someone needs to put Katja into custody before she kills Michel or his wife. Knowing that bitch, she's got a sniper trained on both of them," she muttered under her breath.

Crypto took her hand in one of his own and gave it a squeeze, letting her know he was there with her and she would be OK. Everything would be a little better after they got off the ground and were back on their way. Too many new people and obstacles were coming into this mission already and he didn't want her getting more stressed out before they were even into the stressful part of it.

Taro nodded at Cat, respectfully, but said nothing. Shui also nodded, bowed a little, “You are most welcome. It is imperative that we find Kenshin soon...if my actions can in any way work toward that goal, I am most happy to help." his gaze swept the crowd and he settled on Marketta for a moment, then moved on, at last settling on Tzar, “I would be happy to place myself under your command for the duration."

Crypto heard Marketta's words and glanced up at her, “Already on it…" he murmured back, feeling that familiar cold lump in his chest that hadn't really gone away since he heard about Star's kidnapping.

With that, Taro nodded to the others. “I'll be on my way. I saw nothing of concern. I'll let Ayumu know, Shui." He walked to the door, then off the plane and down the steps. He lifted his phone and called the tower, letting them know this plane was cleared for takeoff by the police. Then he waved the other officers away from the private jet, texting the Yakuza boss.

Cat trembled as she scooted against Crypto's side, cuddling him as she fought her fears back. Marketta nodded in response to Crypto's soft utterance, then looked at the first bag Cat had, with the fans. Perfect distraction. “Whatcha got there, Cat?"

With Taro gone and everyone else already back in the plane, Radar got to his feet and set about closing up the cabin for takeoff. The cockpit was soundproofed, so they couldn't hear Ace communicating with the tower regarding clearance and what runway to use, but the engines kicked in and began whining as they got up to speed.

Crypto glanced at Cat and then at the bags that she had brought in and sat down in their seats before they had gone into the bedroom. Two of the sacks were blacked out, part of the 'discreet packaging' promised by the Victoria's Secret they had entered, the others were marked with the logos of the other shops.

Cat took a shaky breath as she buckled her belt. “Crypto and I did a little shopping when the crowds got bad. I got some clothes for Mouse and things for Ciara, though I figured we'd most likely share my clothes. And I got some fans. I got an idea at the first shop when I needed a breather from the press of people. I needed some to experiment with, and some for something else." She didn't want to give away too soon what she wanted to do. It had to be just right.

Marketta nodded at Cat's response, a twinkle in her eye behind her sunglasses, “I see. Sounds like the two of you had fun." She spared a glance about at everyone sitting down and turned to place herself on the seat on the opposite side of Cat from Crypto. Her voice dropped to a whisper, “He treating you right?"

Radar finalized his pre-flight checklists and gave them all a nod before disappearing into the forward cabin. A few moments later the cockpit mic clicked and Ace's voice came through, a bit more edged with steel and less pleasant than before, “Now that we are finally free to go from the clutches of the local Gestapo, we will be exiting Japan on Runway 13. Please buckle up and hang tight as I'm getting our asses back on the road as fast as possible."

Cat smiled at Marketta, giving her a nod. Switching to their private language, she said, “Nws paub tsuas yog thaum mus nce ubno thiab thaum twg los nplij kuv. Akunakwenzeka ukuthi ama-phobias ami angcono kakhulu uma eseduze. Siye sathetha kwiWebhu Yomnyama kunye nomthunywa wangasese kwiminyaka emine edlulileyo. Mo ham har du ramzi kodeks hastem. Avan mumputanne ka?jay??? d??ya? janippiccu, pak?e ipp??? ... ava?kku v???i enikk avan?e vidv??a? t??nni. O ni owo ti ara r?, ati titi o fi di al? k?hin, oun ko m? oruk? gidi mi, o kan Cat. Ka botšepehi, Marketta, ke ile ka mo rata pele ke e-ba le eena ka bomong." (Translations: He knows just when to goad and when to comfort me. {-Hmong} There is no chance my phobias are getting the better of me when he is near. {-Zulu} We have talked over the Dark Web and a private messenger for the last four years. {-Xhosa} We are both code fluent. {-Tajik} He was angry with Katja before, but now… I can feel his hatred for her. {-Malayalam} He has his own money, and until last night, he did not know my real name, just Cat. {-Yoruba} Honestly, Marketta, I fell in love with him before I even met him in person. {-Sesotho})

Turning from Marketta, she snuggled against Crypto, doing her best not to look at Shui. Last thing they needed was another meltdown from her. Pulling her mobile hacking station out, she plugged it into her and waited until Ace gave them the ok to boot up electronics so she could start searching for Kenshin and Astrid. She knew that tone in Ace's voice was her anger that someone else had fallen to Katja, but with this mission already going, Star was going to have to wait until they got Ciara and Mouse back.

Marketta gave a self-satisfied nod after Cat's explanation. It was her job to be distrustful of anyone becoming as close to Cat as Crypto was already, but it went beyond that. She cared for the girl as if she were her own sister or daughter. The woman wasn't about to let anyone close to her charge that could conceivably hurt her, but she knew she had to trust Cat's instincts as well, especially with regard to this man it seemed.

Not a word of their conversation managed to make sense to Crypto, but if it were that secretive he figured that he wasn't going to pry anyway, so he said nothing, just concentrated on his laptop as he went to work. Anymore he rarely paid attention to the fact that planes asked you to turn off your electronics, because he was pretty damn sure that he had accounted for all stray signals that might harm the plane systems. He didn't even think about it until he saw the others waiting for Ace to give the OK.

He felt the press of his girlfriend to his side and gave her a smile, texting her, “Found a bunch of stuff on Kenshin from before his kidnapping. Seems he's good with his hands and rope, Shibari expert. But nothing yet since then side from murmurings within crime syndicats regarding the fact that he's a member of the Yakuza. Star…." He paused and glanced at her, “This was posted 45 minutes ago in an anonymous chat service: Feline still has claws. Find Vet to remove ASAP. Rehoming fee exceptional."

He glanced at Cat, “Could have something to do with her, but not sure."

Cat growled under her breath as she read the texts, then looked up at Crypto with a nod, her eyes flaming with her fury at Katja. “The bitch dies. No equal punishment or anything like that. She has to die for what she's done and is still doing," she texted back to him.

Crypto acknowledged her message by putting a hand on her thigh and squeezing it softly, then typing, “I'm trying to source that message, but this chatboard is so anonymized that it doesn't leave almost any trace." He went back to working on the PC, trying his hardest, along with Circa, to find the source of the message, or look for any others.

Looking around the group, Cat's mind spun with possibilities. “Bullet, you're the med tech for the mission. Do you usually go as med for the team? Basically, do you know medications and stuff?" Her mind was already forming a plan to replace Katja with someone new.

Bullet was sitting over the wing in one of the larger seats and glanced up when he heard his name. His big head turned to look toward Cat and his wings ruffled a little bit, “I'm the resident medic, doctor and sawbones, yeah…. I know meds. You need some Dramamine or something?"

Cat gave him a tight smile and shook her head, “No, I have something for my attacks and I apparently don't have motion sickness. But I'm about to have a huge vacancy as VP for O'Halloran Pharmaceuticals. I need someone I can trust in that position."

His double lidded eyes blinked slowly as he contemplated her words, “And you want me to be the new Vice President of your company?" Bullet asked, glancing at the others for a moment before his eyes flicked back to her with a soft 'snick snick' sound. The scales on his body shifted as he shuffled, “I know drugs...really well, don't know anything about running a corporation…"

Cat chuckled. “Michel can help you learn the day to day stuff, but I don't trust anyone who was hired by Katja. Not to mention if the drugs in development actually ARE being developed. After what she's put me and mine through, I trust nothing she says. We may have just met, but I do trust you."

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, to be sure…" Said the dragon with a nod of his head, “I'm just not sure how I would swing that responsibility alongside my position here with the team. It's not something I've ever thought about or desired, so having it suggested suddenly…" he trailed off, then gave a shrug, his scales clicking and sliding, “As long as we could figure out a way so that things will work out, with both that and the team, I would be happy to help, at least until you find someone else that you know you can trust."

“I'm certain we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement. I know Katja isn't at the offices twenty-four/seven. I hardly think she's there eight/five. Anytime I've called, she hasn't been in. And I vary my call times. We can talk more about it after we get done with these rescue missions," she said with a smile. Just then Ace's voice came over the intercom system. “Break out those electronic devices and find us some Intel, boys and girls. Preferably before I kill a bitch bare-pawed."

Bullet gave another nod, “I would be happy to discuss it further after the missions." Being a dragon, he was older, and naturally larger than most of the others in the group. He didn't move quite as fast as some of them, but he made up for that by thinking things through thoroughly before acting, whenever possible. It was something that made him an excellent doctor, “I'm sure we can come up with a good arrangement."

Crypto gave a smile at Bullet's answer, knowing how his friend liked to be sure of anything that required more than a casual glance. At Ace's voice over the cabin speakers he chuckled a little, because his computers were already online and he was searching, “Probably shouldn't mention that I already was online, right?" He whispered to Cat.

Cat chuckled and kissed Crypto's cheek before turning her electronics on and starting up her search. She was looking into anything that could connect this Ivan to Katja or the newest disappearances. Her fingers flew over her mini keyboard, then she lifted her head, her eyes going to Chameleon. “Chameleon, what do you know of Stefan and Ivan's family?"

Chameleon looked up, leaned forward on his knees and laced his fingers, “Stefan, Ivan, and Voski Frani?. The three of them are brothers, and a bad sort. Father was ex KGB turned warlord during the years after the second Soviet Collapse. He made quite a name for himself during the Bosthic Rebellion of 2025. He was the general that recaptured Moscow and turned it over again to what was left of the old government. They made him spectacularly rich, and for a while the family went quiet. They had their children pretty late in life and the mother died during childbirth of the last boy, Voski. There are no daughters. Nothing much heard about them until Stefan, the eldest, came of age. He was the shrewdest of the three and he took them from being a rich and fairly legal family to being a rich and very illegal one. But most of the time nothing was pinned on them… call it left over political shielding because of their father."

He paused, thought for a moment, leaned back in his seat, “Anyway, the old man died shortly after Voski turned 18. The three boys split the property more or less evenly, but all holding joint control together of the major assets. Stefan was the king of the group, he ran the major portion of the drug smuggling operations, but dabbled in other shit on the side. Ivan has always been the trafficker, but he's smart, I mean real good. Nothing traceable, never enough evidence for anyone to actually go after him and no one with enough money to bother putting a hit out on him. Greased wheels all over the world with a well placed million or a well-trained whore." He blinked, his cheeks grew red, “Sorry, didn't mean to be up front about that…. Anyway. Voski is the party animal and the biggest, most arrogant jerk of the three. He does anything and everything if it feels good to him. But his major focus was arms smuggling. African warlords, corrupt governments, mafia. You want guns and you have the money, he can get it for you. He took over some of Stefan's drug smuggling operation in the mediterranean and middle east when their eldest brother was killed. As time has gone on, all three of the brothers started messing in one another's shit piles though. A little drugs, a little prostitution, a little arms. And whatever else. Anything else you want to know?" He chuckled.

“I just found a connection between Voski, Katja and a guy named Héctor Casal. Ever hear of him? And if Katja has a connection with Voski, doesn't it stand that she has a connection with Stefan and Ivan, thereby 'ridding' herself of us problem kids?"

“Héctor Casal...The name does ring a bell. I would have to contact my sources but I think he might be a hitman or operative for hire. Now as for Voski and Katja - Let's say that Katja had a deal going with Stefan. She's the VP of a drug manufacturer, and he was one of the leading drug suppliers in this region of the world. Well, we killed Stefan. Raided him and burned his main storehouse to the ground with him in it. Now Katja is down a supplier. The brothers have an arrangement where they will take over for the others in event of death or arrest. So Voski picks up the ashes of his brother's business, burning with a hatred for those that took him down, and he ends up reestablishing the contracts with Katja. There's your connection."

She thought about his words, then shrugged. “I think Katja had more than just drug trafficking on her mind. Otherwise, why send my brother and sister to Stefan four years before you got yanked from your op and he got killed?" She turned the issue over in her mind, then shook her head. “I'll find that out. But the question now is - Why would Voski or Ivan need to kidnap a Shibari master? I'm sure Kenshin's kidnapping the other day has to do with Star's kidnapping today. Especially with that ad Crypto found."

“Oh, I'm not saying that she kidnapped them in retaliation for us killing Stefan. She probably already had that planned out, possibly part of the deal and payment changing hands. Convenient for her, and he gets two more slaves." Chameleon shrugged, “Voski has always been for the show of it. If he thought that having a Shibari master would serve some sick purpose of his, then he would make sure he got one." He sighed, “Thing is, He's not just a shibari master…"

Shui cleared his throat, “No, he isn't. He is my half brother, and the son of the boss of the largest Yakuza organization in Japan. If he were to be ransomed, my father would pay anything to have him returned home safely. If we cannot locate him, whoever has him will have great leverage over my father."

“Voski likes a show? Like maybe a neko being tied up, then raped by one of his men, probably beaten as well? After all, they want to 'declaw' her…" Cat muttered the last words. “I'll keep his Yakuza connection in mind as I'm searching for locations for both Kenshin and Star. I'll be at it through the rescue mission, while those with the right skills for that rescue are out there."

“Something like that," Chameleon confirmed, with a rueful nod at her summary of Voski's peculiar interests. “We're not going to stop until all of them are home safe and sound," he said with a firm nod as if to reassure her that he wasn't going to let this drop anytime soon.

Crypto put his hand on Cat's knee and stroked her upper leg a little, as he was close enough to hear the words she muttered. He knew she was tense and even more upset now that her best friend was just taken. He had learned long ago to funnel his anger into productivity, and he knew she was going to as well, but he also knew that she would need his support, what with her problems. He brought up a flight tracker to make sure he could see about when they would be landing. “A little over two hours left, it looks like. We'll land, get our equipment together, get to our accomodations setup, and get out on the mission. Things are going to move fast once we land." He paused, typing the last bit of what he wanted to say, “So… uh. Are the rooms booked for you and I separate or together?"

Cat switched her screen to the reservation page at the bed and breakfast she had rooms booked at and added one more to the reserved rooms. Typing back to Crypto, she snuggled against his side before his phone chirped with her message. “One room for us. I need you near me. Marketta will most likely stay near us, in the room or suite or whatever…" Looking up, her gaze moved around the cabin of the plane. “Tzar, Chameleon and Blade, you each have a room with your wives. Crypto and I have a room. The guys have a room, and the ladies have a room. I'm not sure if we need another room so the guys can split up into two rooms."

“I can deal with that…" he typed back, smiling over at her as she snuggled up to him, “as long as she doesn't jump between us or anything." he chuckled to himself and glanced over Cat at Marketta where she was sitting nearby. The demonic woman glanced between them and raised an eyebrow at Cat's words that the two of them were sharing a room, “Already to that point, darling?" she asked in their private tongue.

Crypto went back to typing as the others in the plane cabin acknowledged what Cat was saying. Sam glanced longingly toward the cockpit, where the woman he wanted to talk to was cloistered with the controls and copilot. And Snow glanced that way as well because that's where Radar was. Not that either of them anticipated much happening, but you never knew.

Cat looked at Marketta and gave a nod. “I spent last night with him, though I did wake up with a scream. Actually woke Chameleon and Isabella with that scream. But Crypto got me back from the phobia and calmed me down by the time they got to us," she replied in their language.

Her hacking station pinged at her and she turned to it, reading everything that came up, learning her target's background. She was able to find out things beyond what Chameleon knew about Voski. Things about who raised him, how he was raised, even where he was raised. His schools and grades, his troubles with the law. Reading Voski's dossier on the Dark Web, Cat shuddered and shoved the station to Crypto before getting up, stalking to the bedroom and grabbing the chartreuse bottle, before going back to the main part of the cabin and sitting down hard in her seat, opening the bottle and drinking straight from it, trying to wipe the filth from her mind.

Jason turned the station further around so that he could view it as she got to her feet and stalked away. His eyes followed her and Marketta half rose from her seat, but Cat was returning before she could do more than that. Crypto's eyes fell once again and he began rapidly reading the dossier on her screen. The early part was pretty much as Chameleon had summarized, so he skipped past that to his schooling years. The string of rape accusations alone was enough to fill a page and a half, with a link to a full list and that was followed by three very in-depth murder investigation reports that ended in an ominous “numerous further investigations have either been terminated or been inconclusive."

This was in amongst a short prison sentence for selling arms to enemies of the 'state', terrorist activities, etc. It was clear that Voski was a man who lived for exactly one person, himself, at the expense of all others. It was easy to see why Cat was so disgusted. Details and images from law enforcement across the globe painted a grim picture of this man who was intimately involved in the same operations as his brother, whom they were heading to 'interrupt', permanently.

Cat took a swig directly from the bottle, then offered it to Crypto. With what she just read, she was certain that her best female friend was going to star in Voski's next little show of perversion. She just hoped they could get there before he raped her. Star's neko line was one of fidelity and bonding. The first male she had sex with would be the only male she'd have sex with. He would be the only one her claws would retract for.

Pulling the station back in front of her, she started a search for any vehicles or property that Voski might own, places that Star could have been taken to. Main property: Russia. Secondary properties: Columbia, Venezuela, Panama, The Congo, Syria. Vehicle-wise, she discovered that he owned a yacht of his own, with a helipad. A helicopter. Multiple Hummers and other big black cars so he looked dangerous on the streets. “Finally. Something useful. The rest of it…. Disgusting," she muttered.

Crypto was updating the main view screens in the cabin with the information that the two of them were finding. He uploaded the dossier of Voski so that the others could look if they wanted to on their phones or tablets. Information on Ivan was somewhat more scarce. It seemed that Voski's strategy for staying alive in the cutthroat world he lived in was the be as boisterous and arrogant as possible. Put on a huge image for the show of it and convince everyone to stay away. Problem was, he actually was that bad. Ivan's was more subdued, strength through silence rather than thumping music and nightclubs.

He looked over at Cat's screen and nodded, taking a gulp from the bottle she handed him. He put it to the side as the fluid went down and his finger reached over to point at the list of known properties. “I see he has home bases in the most volatile areas of the world. Makes sense…"

He appended the list of locations to the viewscreen, and also put up the anonymous message he had found earlier. When on-mission, every scrap of information could be important. Most of the people in their group were 'operators', people trained to follow a mission and take action, so the information they wanted was different than most of what C&C were digging up; they needed maps, troop deployment, estimates of enemy force. It was people like Chameleon, trained in investigation and putting things together, that really benefited from the info.

Demyan stood and paced in front of the board, pointing at this and that and muttering to himself, “Declaw… Vet…" He pulled out his phone and typed rapidly, swiped, typed, swiped, held it to his ear. He talked for several minutes, then hung up, “Russia is Voski's home, it's where he grew up, his father's estate. The old man was a stickler about keeping all illegal activity far away from their home. While I'm sure the boys haven't always followed that, since several of the rape reports come from the villages and towns in the surrounding areas, it is highly unlikely that he would be so brazen as to actually bring most activity home with him. The boy's Aunt and Uncle, on their mother's side, live in their family estate and manage the place."

“This statement about 'Declawing' and finding a 'Vet'. Could have multiple meanings. Russia is a hive of forced prostitution and they require body modification experts to carry out that shit. But if we count Russia out, then that leaves the three South American countries. Panama, Columbia, Venezuela. My money is on the latter two. There is an infamous criminal known as 'The Bone Doctor', who specializes in the same thing. The only problem is that no one has ever seen him, or her."

“We'll look into that angle, but there's one huge problem. Star's neko line…. They're loyal to the first person they have sex with. She'd fight anyone else trying. Prostitution, forced or not, isn't going to work out for them with her. The only way to 'declaw' her is by sex, and then only by one person. Typically male cause if it's a female, she doesn't bond, nor will her claws retract," Cat said, slightly shaking her head.

Marketta nodded. “Basically, if Voski gets his dick wet in Star, she'll fight us. We have to stop him from getting her hooked to him."

“Oh." Chameleon said, flatly, then blinked and nodded, “I understand now. So the 'Declaw' statement is literally a rape by one person. Assuming that Voski knows this, which we must assume he does, it means he's looking for a pet to be on his arm. He rapes her and he has a loyal slave for life." A deep sigh left him.

Most of the others had been quiet through the entire conversation, listening as they thought they needed to. Right now though most of the information was for a later time, what they needed was current information on what they were getting into. Snow cleared her throat, “I'm sorry to interrupt, but with our destination getting closer, we should concentrate on the mission at hand first. If anyone can get maps, information or details regarding Ivan, that would be great…"

“Sorry, Snow," Cat replied, pulling up maps of the area and researching for a layout of the yacht he had in the Baltic Sea. She put them up on the screen as well, moving the others to the side, so the map and layout were front and center. “The yacht layout might be different on his, but this is the standard layout for the make and model of his yacht. Without actually having access to his yacht, I can't get anything better than this. As for the terrain nearby, we might have a problem. He's out on the water. But since I don't know anything about rescue missions and such… one of you guys can take over."

Ice got up from his position and moved toward the viewscreen, tapping it to bring up the layout of the yacht more closely. He tapped buttons to flip through pages revealing the various levels of the yacht, taken from what looked like an advertisement brochure sourced at the manufacturing company. “Top Deck is the balcony sitting area; Second deck is the wheelhouse and command crew cabins; Third Deck is the entertainment deck, with the kitchen/galley, living area, open deck and on-deck jacuzzi, a casino and library; Next level has the speedboat launch and diving area at the back, forward of that is the passenger cabins mostly, with the entire midships taken up by the giant master suite. Four other mid-size suites are onboard in that area. Final deck is crew quarters, server room and engine room."

Tzar, Blade and Chameleon gathered around and Snow got to her feet and joined Ice. Ice had pulled up a side-by-side of the surrounding nautical area, showing reefs, islands and other landmarks nearby. Tzar pointed, “If we wait until they are within sight of this point, we could get one of you two on the rocks with your rifle to provide overwatch. Otherwise we should probably split into two or three teams and go in by CRRC. One will mount on the port side and climb up to the wheelhouse, take control and lock out the command crew, then move downward. The other two teams will board port and starboard near the rear of the craft, and move in and up. The children will most likely be in the hold or lowest crew quarters, except for any that Ivan or his lieutenants may have taken upstairs."

Cat spoke up, “I'll be monitoring the rescue from the hotel, so if I see anything from the drones Crypto brought with him, I'll let you know. Hopefully, we can get the kids out before there's too much of a fight."

Marketta looked at the group, leaning forward in her seat. “As much as dispensing justice is part of my regular job, or rather, was before I took on being a bodyguard, I'm staying at the hotel with Cat and the ladies. No one will get close to them. But I'm pretty certain Ace and Radar could be of use. She's retired Air Force pilot and Radar was a chopper pilot before he was medically discharged after an injury. If you need anything flight related, they're the ones to go to."

Bullet had been listening. “I can fly above, but since we have two experienced pilots, I think we should get them a helicopter and I should hold another, larger boat off behind the yacht at a distance. That way I can come in and extract the kids or any wounded right away and get out of there toward the nearest hospital."

Sam chimed in, “I'll hang back with Bullet and provide support, if you capture any of them I'll zip in to interrogate.

Tzar nodded to Bullet, Sam, and Marketta. “So, Ice, Snow, Blade, you'll be Blue Team, inserting here." He pointed to a point in the forward port with a smooth shot up the side of the boat to the top recreation deck, “Crypto will provide climbing gear and a drone to give you recon as you climb the side of the boat up to the top deck. Make your way down to the wheelhouse and bring the beast to a standstill. Try not to kill the crew unless necessary. We don't know if they are civilians and they may provide valuable information about their recent ports of call."

“Spawn and Timber will be with me, the three of us will be Green Team. Chameleon, Skorch, Crypto; you will be Red Team. Sam and Bullet will be support… if we have a helicopter I may split one of you off to be gunner from the air and have the other drive the extra rescue boat."

“Since Crypto will be on-site with us, Cat will stay back as she said and monitor communications and video feeds. Marketta will stay back with the women as bodyguard. All the hostages will be brought back to a safe location where we will handle taking care of them after the fight."

Chameleon spoke up, “I've contacted my people in the area and they know what's going down. I should speak to the officials in Haapsalu when we arrive to cover our asses in case anything goes wrong."

Cat spoke up again, since not everyone knew what had been arranged to get Marketta to them. “Earlier, Crypto got in touch with Neon and had him go to O'Halloran Cybernetics as a guard for Michel. Knowing what happened, he'll have his wife go to the office with him or he'll stay out, so Neon wouldn't have to try to be in multiple places. If they do go in, Michel has a private bathroom off his office, so there wouldn't be any division of guarding, but I don't think Michel would hesitate in having him call in another guard if they had to go out somewhere."

Sam turned and looked at Cat, “But if Neon is there guarding them, how did Star get taken? Marketta's here, so I assume that she met Neon before she came out, therefore Neon should have been watching already when it happened. Or did it happen just before you left, Marketta?"

Marketta looked at Sam, reading his stance. “They got her when she was away from both Neon and I. I guarded both Cat and Star until Cat graduated and went into hiding. At that point, it was believed that Michel was in more danger than Star, and Star was taking piloting lessons from Ace and Radar, as well as continuing her martial arts lessons with a highly regarded dojo and master. The only way to have gotten her would have been to sabotage her car while she was out and have a wrecker crew ready to snatch and drug her before she could fight back. After 8 years, it was deemed that Michel was in more danger than Star." She shook her head. “No one thinks it happened because of Neon. He, Michel and I were meeting at the time Star was taken. And I have every faith that he'll keep Michel and Sera safe."

Sam seemed satisfied with the explanation given and nodded, shrugging afterward. He wasn't meaning to sound accusing, it was just that things like that got to all of them. When you were so close, but ultimately unable to stop something that should have been easy enough for you to anticipate. He supposed shit happened even in the most ideal circumstances though, and they were dealing with a bunch of people who were really good.

Crypto looked up, “When we get her back, we are going to all have to take a step back and re-examine our security procedures. There's always someone bigger and badder out there and, while we are trying to stop them, we can't get lax...even if we don't think we are."

Cat snuggled against Crypto, her head coming to rest on his chest as she slipped under his arm. “Snow, you asked for information on Ivan. All I was able to find was his childhood years. To me, it looks like he turned into a recluse or hermit after he became an adult. Or had someone covering up any bad press or intel on his dirty deeds. Personally, I think the latter is more correct. I don't see someone involved in human trafficking being a recluse or hermit. Maybe Crypto can get you better intel on him."

Jason nodded, speaking up, “The one connection common to all three brothers is a man named Hector Casal, as Cat brought up already. Aside from that each of them had their own private army or security force. Ivan's second in command is a man called Viktor Nevans. We got a lot of info on various subjects when we took down Stefan. I've been pouring over it for months, because a lot of it was encrypted using older Russian State Encryption codes, very tough to break."

“Anyway, Ivan and Viktor have been together for years, Viktor is the only one he trusts to take care of the details of his operation. Ivan is not really a hermit, but he is paranoid, and our killing of Stefan didn't help. Viktor is in charge of his security, and most of it is made up of ex KGB at the higher levels, and muscle at the bottom that is too dumb to really even think about trying anything. Not to mention they get all the perks you can expect in a human trafficking operation."

He flipped through several pages on his computer. “Ivan is a paranoid, security conscious control freak. Women who have disrespected him in the past have been made examples of in horrible ways, mostly because he can't stand dissention at all. All women are objects to him, with one single exception. He has been spotted very rarely with a tall blonde russian female on his arm. This is the only photo ever snapped." He uploaded it to the board.

Cat looked at the picture, her eyes narrowing, then her fingers started flying over her keyboard. “I've seen her before…" she muttered to herself as she had her system searching every known website on both the Web and the Dark Web. Pings started from her mini station and she started sending intel to the board as well. “Her name is Kira Lagounov. Lagounov Cybernetics is her family's business, but there are multiple reports of their cybernetics failing and killing the recipients of them. But nothing was done to fix whatever problems they had and it keeps happening. Though she has that business, she's a famous Russian model and singer. She uses the stage name Arisha. The photo you have is from a political event that she accompanied him to. Whatever she craves, he provides. There's no way to get her to turn on him."

She kept reading for more details, then blanched, her face going white and beads of sweat dotting her forehead, then face, neck and upper chest were covered with that sweat. The anthros in the group could scent her sudden fear and disgust as she read further. Again pushing the station from her, she ran to the bathroom.

The intel on the screen showed a genteel older couple covered in gore, terror on their faces. The picture beneath was of a young woman, blonde, holding a bloody knife, while laughing, a man standing behind her with his arms around her waist. Kira had killed her parents, and Ivan had given her the means necessary - the training and weapons.

Crypto looked across at Cat's system as her fingers flew over the keyboard and she brought up data on the woman. At last they had a name. He was reading along with her as she told the rest of the people in the cabin about the woman whom Ivan was seen with and seemed to be intimately acquainted with him. Perhaps she was his achilles heel, or perhaps she was just as dangerous as he was. It seemed perhaps she was the latter. He looked away toward Circa as she pinged on his laptop. “Crypto" his AI spoke into his implants, “It is highly likely that Kira Lugounov is directly or indirectly responsible for the murders you looked into three years ago. Brand design and logos found on cybernetics produced by her company, were located either on the victims, or in the vicinity of each crime scene… Crypto! Cat…" The last two words were said louder and the corner of his vision flickered as Cat projected a display of vital signs for his girlfriend. Elevated heart rate, spiked adrenaline, sweating profusely. He turned to see her shoving her laptop toward him and rushing away.

His eyes stuck to the horrible sight on the screen. Images like that burned their way into your mind quickly and never seemed to be willing to leave. He felt his stomach roll a little bit and he had to close his eyes while he scrolled away from the page. Jason wasn't sure if he should follow her to the bathroom, or if it was better for her to get it out alone.

Marketta looked the screen for a moment, then looked at Crypto. “Go to Cat, Crypto. I can give the details of this Kira to the others. I've seen worse than that image." After Crypto got up and headed to the bathroom Cat had gone to, Marketta flipped back to the image, but didn't put it up on the main screen, not wanting to cause the three wives to get sick as well. Looking at the others, she said, “You can come look if you want, but I can guarantee that it's not pretty. I've been to all the major war zones since the Revolutionary War. I've seen the worst that's been done over the centuries. While this image is sick and disturbing, I've seen worse first hand."

Crypto heard her speaking in the background and a few of the others got up to look. They weren't squeamish, they had all seen terrible shit, but that didn't mean some of them actually wanted to put those images in their heads. In any case he didn't much care. Cat had run to the bathroom in the suite and so that was where he went, closing the door to the suite and then pausing by the open bathroom door where he heard her retching. He knelt beside her and put a hand on her back, “I'm here…"

Luckily, Cat's hair was pulled into a ponytail, so it didn't fall into her face as she evicted anything that was still in her stomach. She leaned against him after she finished, trying to get her stomach under control. After a couple minutes, she rose to her feet and rinsed out her mouth. Taking his hand, she went over to the bed and crawled up on it, tugging him with her. As he settled onto the bed, she curled up against him and muttered, “Why do people do things like that?"

Cat was still very much a child in some ways, Crypto knew that. Her entire young life had been irreversibly changed by the horrible actions of a few, and while she had to grow up fast, inside part of her longed for something that she had lost. He knew she had probably seen horrible things before, but perhaps nothing quite like that. And it also struck close to home for her… Kira had killed her parents, when all Cat wanted was to have them back. “I wish I had an answer for you, Kitten." he murmured, stroking her hair and back with one hand, “I really wish that I did. But I don't, I don't think anyone does…"

She buried her head against his chest, shuddering at the idea that someone could be that cruel and twisted. She really didn't understand people. She instinctively trusted Crypto, 4 years ago, but it took time for her to get past her phobias. But she was glad she was in his arms now, and she didn't want to let any ugliness in her safe area, which was in his arms. “She has to be taken down too. After what I saw, I don't think I can let her get away with that."

Jason put his arm around her tightly as she curled up against him, knees tucked in, head on his chest. He kissed her head and rested his on top of hers, smelling her scent and smiling a little. “Marketta is handling letting the others know. We're going to have a long list of people to work on when this operation is done," he said softly. “Lots of research to do before we can just take someone like her out of the running."

Cat nodded, her cheek rubbing against his shirt covered chest. “I know. I just can't handle images like that, or people as dark and twisted as she is. I guess that's why I'll stay in the background of the missions - not as much of a chance of seeing disturbing images or meeting up with those sick, perverted, twisted people." She snuggled closer to him, not wanting to get back out there yet. She needed the time away from those images as well as time to just relax with Crypto. She didn't feel like she was under as much scrutiny when with him in private.

“Sometimes it seems like the world is filling up with more and more people who are that way. You turn around and there's another one. But I know that's just because I'm in it all the time. I'm exposed to the dark underbelly of humanity, and of course I want to stop them, but I also wonder if it is affecting me." He paused, “More than anything though I don't want you to be in the thick of it. I choose to put myself in harms way, I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't try to physically help. But then I've also been doing it for a while with the other guys...." He stopped, realizing he was rambling a bit too. He tried to cope with the shit he had seen, by his work, his hacking, his games, talking with Cat. All of these were ways to distance himself from the darkness.

Cat lifted her head and kissed him. “You do you, babe. I'll be in constant contact while running surveillance from afar. And waiting for you to come back to me," she murmured as she stretched her legs out, pressing her body against his. “You're the only one I want to be around constantly. I'm able to handle being around the others because you're next to me."

Crypto nodded, “I'll be fine out there, don't you worry. It will take a load off my mind that you're back at home base running the communications and surveillance. I know I can trust you to handle it." He grinned and kissed her back, then shifted so she could stretch out beside him. He took one of her hands in his and his fingers rubbed over hers. “You'll get used to the others. They would never hurt you," he said softly. “And Tara is there too to help out with whatever you need."

“I know. And Marketta will be with me," she said, her hand in his and a soft moan slipping from her as his fingers slid and stroked hers so softly. Just then, static crackled, then Ace came over the intercom. “We're coming up on Tallinn, folks. All seats need to be upright and everyone buckled in for landing."

Crypto smiled and kissed the top of her head, then perked up when Ace's voice came over the intercom. He sighed, “Better get back to our seats." he pushed himself up and slowly scooted away from her so that he could get off the bed, but he offered her his hand and pulled her after him, then heading out for the main cabin. They took their seats again as they were before, and he bundled up his laptop into his bag, then buckled in and sat his seat upright. The others were all following suit and getting ready for the landing and the following hours of activity. They had to get to their accomodations, get setup, get a few hours sleep, and head out.

Cat followed Crypto out of the room, glad to see the images were taken down and Marketta had already taken down the pages on her station. She powered down her things and put them into her bag. Fastening her belt, she took Crypto's hand in hers and held on. Things were getting interesting...