The Excitement at Archangel's

	Friday was both the best and the worst night at Archangel's bar, and sometimes it was all Cassandra could do to unlock the door.  Friday brought in the guys from the steel mill, who  spent the night trying to grope her through her short skirt and who generally drank whiskey.  Every now and then, a few of the younger recruits from the military base came in to spend the night bragging to each other while they drank cheap beer.  Neither group liked the other, which sometimes led to fights, though Cassandra was getting better at putting an end to such nonsense before they did too much damage.  She bit back a groan as they began to trickle in, and she hoped against hope that something more interesting might happen to alleviate the tedium of the weekend.  Then she took a deep breath to brace herself and put on a well-practiced smile as the first customer slid up to the bar.  He was a large, grizzled wolf who was the foreman at the mill and he was one of the worst of the troublemakers.
	“Hello Jack.  Same as always?” she said.
	“You know it, and how about a kiss from my favorite vixen while you're at it?” he said.
	“You don't give up, do you?  You know I've got a girlfriend,” she said.
	“She ain't here,” he said.
	He gave her a toothy grin and leaned forward to present his cheek to her while she backed away from him and bit back a small shudder.
	“Let me get you that drink,” she said.
	She avoided his clumsy attempt to slap her ass and ducked back behind the safety of the bar.  Jack usually drank the cheapest whiskey available and she poured a double for him in the hope that he'd shut up and get quietly sloshed the way he did some nights.  As she slid the shot across the bar to him, someone new came in.  The stranger was a Doberman with a green headband and bright blue hair and she carried herself like a hunter, the way Cassandra saw seasoned soldiers do sometimes.  She had an air of confidence that none of the usual recruits had learned yet, and the sight of her made Cassandra's mouth go dry.  Jack noticed her, too, and Cassandra saw his eyes narrow as he lit one of his smelly cigars that made her sneeze.
	“Wonder where she's from,” he said.
	Cassandra tapped the counter with one claw to try to distract him.  She'd installed little tin plates along the bar for just that reason, and the noise of it could be heard even over the usual din.
	“You aren't going to cause any trouble for me tonight, are you?” she said.
	“Now that's a damned slander.  I'm your best customer and you know it,” he said.
	“Just promise me.  I'll buy your drinks tonight if you'll just behave,” she said.
	The Doberman sat down on a stool a discrete distance from the two of them and Cassandra went over to serve her, grateful for the chance to talk to someone else.  The girl had a pleasant smell of some spicy cologne and faraway places Cassandra had never seen and she was undeniably beautiful.
	“What'll you have?” she said.
	“Give me a beer, and why don't you tell me the name of your little city,” the girl said.
	“You're in the Free City of Jaspertree.  Sorry.  It's not too bad if you keep your head down, though,” she said.
	Jack blew a cloud of smoke in the Doberman's direction and Cassandra shot him a warning glance.  Every time a stranger came to town, Jack made it his quest to harass them until he got some kind of reaction out of them.  That usually meant he got a punch on the nose, though that never seemed to faze him.
	“Don't the big shots at the base tell you where you are?” he said.
	“They might, I wouldn't know.  I'm not with the army here,” the girl said.
	“So you wandered in all by yourself, then?  Just for giggles?” he said.
	Cassandra hit the tin plate harder this time to make him jump.
	“Jack, for pity's sake,” she said “That's not a crime anymore.  You know we opened the borders almost ten years ago, and--”
	“She could be from Shelby's Ford.  You know what they're like.  We had to pay them all that money and they still hate us.  She could be a spy,” he said.
	Cassandra studied the Doberman while she opened a fresh bottle of whiskey and, just for a moment, she couldn't help but wonder about the girl, too.  Ten years of sanctions and crippling reparations and the people of Shelby's Ford still acted like the war ended yesterday.  Only it wasn't like them to be so subtle and she very much doubted that even the worst spy would choose to lurk in a place like Archangel's, where the biggest secret they could learn was how much beer a Private could drink.
	“I've never heard of a dog coming from the Ford,” she said.
	Jack grumbled under his breath and Cassandra pushed a glass of beer over to the newcomer.  The Doberman flashed her teeth in what might pass for a smile and she watched the two of them as she drank.  There was a wariness to the girl's scrutiny, and Cassandra couldn't blame her for that, but there was also a sense of curiosity of the sort she had long ago gotten used to.  She busied herself with filling Jack's whiskey glass and fought back her embarrassment while she let the girl get a good look.
	“White fur and black spots, and a black patch on your muzzle that looks like a butterfly.  You look like a fox and you smell like a fox, but you've got the colors of a rabbit.  What are you?” the girl said.
	“I'm just what your nose tells you I am.  I'm pure fox, like all my mothers before me,” Cassandra said.
	“How?” the girl said.
	“The usual way, of course.  We kept records, you know.  Dogs aren't the only ones who care about pedigree,” she said.
	“I mean your fur.  I mean,  I don't care.  I'm not a Purist or anything, but--”
	“Pick whatever story you like.  Some say it's a blessing, some say it's a curse.  As far as I'm concerned, it's just a pain in the ass,” she said, and she stuck out a hand “Cassandra Cooper, Jaspertree's most famous curiosity, and its best bartender as well.”
	After a moment, the girl touched her fingers against Cassandra's and she let them linger there while her face opened up into her first real smile.
	“Tegan.  I'm not a spy, I'm not here to cause any trouble, and I don't mean to be rude,” she said.
	“A spy wouldn't admit to being a spy, either,” Jack said.
	Tegan shot him a dirty look and turned her stool slightly so she wouldn't have to look at him.
	“Friendly place,” she said.
	“Don't pay any attention to him.  Some of us just can't let go of the past,” Cassandra said.
	Jack's ears went flat for a moment and he bared his teeth at her.
	“At least I did my part.  I went out and fought.  I didn't just sit back and sneer while other people risked their lives,” he said.
	“You were given a chance to.  I was born here, the same as you, but all I ever got was 'Oh, no, Miss Cooper. You're not good enough because you're not really one of us',” Cassandra said.
	“Now you're being unfair.  Just because my ancestors earned their place here, you--”
	“That doesn't make you infallible.  It doesn't give you the right to be rude, either.  I put up with a lot of shit from you because you've been coming in here since the day I opened, but I won't put up with harassing my other guests if they haven't done anything wrong,” she said.
	“Someone's got to look out for this city.  The bastards up on Castle Hill won't do it, so it's up to us,” he said.	
	Against her better judgment, Cassandra poured another shot of whiskey and plunked it down in front of him.
	“If you're going to start that noise again, I'll call your wife and tell her where you are.  Now drink this and shut the hell up.  Do it as a personal favor to me,” she said.
	Jack gave her another little flash of his teeth, but he took the glass and she saw his hackles settle a little.
	“You don't have to get huffy.  A guy can talk, can't he?  That's all I've done,” he said.
	On the other side of the bar, someone put a quarter in the jukebox and picked a rock cover of the civic anthem that had been popular during the war.  Jack wasn't the only one who had noticed Tegan, and people kept stealing little glances at her.  A trio of recruits at a nearby table were particularly bold about it, and one of the three got up and came up to the bar.  He was a white tiger with a scar across his muzzle that curled the left side of his mouth into a permanent sneer.
	“If you're not from the Ford, where are you from?  What do you want here?” he said.
	“Does everyone have to play twenty questions to get a drink around here?  What do you think I'm here for, you young fool?” Tegan said.
	“You just mind your manners.  This is our place.  Miss Cassandra's not bad, for a foreigner, and I won't have you hurtin' her,” he said.
	“I was born here,” Cassandra said, but nobody paid any attention.  She refilled Tegan's glass and opened a bottle of beer for herself.  Then she passed one over to the tiger as well.  She didn't normally drink while she was working, but she was aware of how tense the atmosphere was tonight and she hoped a show of solidarity might help settle things a bit.  Her grandparents had come to Jaspertree as immigrants and she knew she was barely more welcome in the city than Tegan was.
	“I don't see how buying a drink is hurting her.  I haven't done anything different than any of the rest of you,” Tegan said.
	“Yet,” the tiger said.
	“Cool it, all of you.  Hate each other all you like, I don't care.  But save the fighting for somewhere else.  Archangel's is neutral ground, and it's going to stay that way or you can find somewhere else to drink,” Cassandra said.
	The tiger huffed and flexed his claws while he looked at Tegan, until Cassandra tapped on the counter in front of him.  The tinny noise made the tiger wince and he turned away and took a drink of beer.
	“She's my responsibility, okay?  If she does anything wrong, you can blame me.  Now, please, sit back down and let's all try to have a good night,” Cassandra said.
	“Sure, whatever.  Like I give a damn,” the tiger said, but his tone was sullen.  He sauntered back over to his table and sat down again.  Cassandra watched him carefully until she felt Tegan's hand cover her own.
	“Is it just you here?” Tegan said.
	“Most nights.  My girlfriend comes in and sets up her keyboard sometimes, when she doesn't have a gig somewhere, but I can't afford to pay anyone,” Cassandra said.
	A look of disappointment flickered across Tegan's face.  In that moment, she looked rather lost and alone and Cassandra wondered how far from home she really was.
	“Do you have anywhere to stay?  It can be hard to find a room in this city, and they all cost so much.  I've got a spare room upstairs, and--”
	“You don't waste any time, do you?” Tegan said.
	“No.  That is, I didn't mean... The door locks from the inside, and it's not part of the main apartment.  Stephanie and I wouldn't bother you and I can promise you'd have complete privacy,” Cassandra said.
	“Are you sure?” Tegan said, and she gave Cassandra another of her rare smiles.
	They both jumped when Jack slammed his fist on the bar, and the room went silent.  Cassandra saw Tegan's fists clench, and she forced herself to focus on Jack so she wouldn't have to see everyone turning to stare at the three of them.
	“No,” he said “I know what you think of me, girlie.  You think I'm too old.  Too conservative.  Maybe I am, but I'm not going to let you give this outsider a chance to do God knows what to you because you're too nice for your own good.”
	He stood up and kicked his stool out of the way.  He swayed a little from drink, but he was still sober enough to be dangerous.  Tegan stayed seated with her arms folded across her chest and she watched every move he made.
	“You should sit back down, before you do anything really stupid,” she said.
	“Not another word out of you.  Spy.  Saboteur.  I won't let you hurt this innocent girl,” Jack said.
	He came around the bar with his fists raised and took a wild swing at Tegan, who moved smoothly out of range.  He swung again and stumbled over Tegan's stool, which tipped over and rolled out across the floor.  Before he could recover, Cassandra stepped between them, and she flashed her teeth at Jack in imitation of his earlier threat.  This made him draw up short with a confused look on his face.  Then he snarled at her, a harsh rumble from the days when his ancestors used to hunt hers in the dark forests, and she was only just able to stop her tail from curling between her legs.  It was all she could do to hold her ground.  She couldn't hope to fight him if he decided to get rough.  He was twice her size, and an ex-soldier besides, but he'd always listened to her in the past and she counted on years of familiarity to keep her safe.
	“Stop this.  She hasn't done anything wrong and I won't have you wrecking my place again, the way you did when you thought that poor lynx was an assassin.  Remember?  The one who just happened to really like video games and dressing up in costumes?  Your drinks are on the house, like I promised, but I think it's time you went home,” she said.
	Jack snarled again, even louder than the last time.
	“You're siding with this trash after all the years we've known each other?  After all I've done for you and the rest of the ingrates in this miserable city?” he said.
	Cassandra pushed him gently toward the door, conscious of the way everyone else in the bar drew back away from them as they passed.  Jack exchanged looks with the tiger as they passed his table, but the tiger looked away and shook his head.
	“Go home and get some sleep.  Maybe go find someone to fight down at the gym, I don't care.  Come back tomorrow when you're sober and you've got some of this anger out of your system,” she said.
	She expected him to argue or to try to hit her, but he just grabbed his coat off the rack and slammed the door behind him.  The rest of her customers sat in frozen silence for a while, while nobody looked at anybody else.  Fights broke out sometimes when people had too much to drink, or someone couldn't keep their mouth shut, but nobody had ever threatened Cassandra before.  They pinched her sometimes and there were a few guys, like Jack, who never stopped trying to bed her, but even the worst of them were rather protective of her.  It embarrassed her and, just this once, she didn't think she could handle it.
	“That goes for the rest of you, too.  Drinks are on the house tonight, but everyone should just go home.  Please,” she said.
	They stayed seated for a minute more, and Cassandra could tell that nobody wanted to be the first to leave.  Then, slowly at first, people finished their drinks and came up to the register to pay their tabs.  Tegan stayed perched on her stool, in her own little pocket of empty space while everyone did their best to avoid her.  Even the tiger barely glanced at her as his friends hurried him through the line and out the door.  Cassandra bought one last beer for both of them as the bar emptied.
	“You didn't have to do any of that.  I'll be gone tomorrow, but you have to live here,” Tegan said.
	“That's why.  Jaspertree has never been a very open-minded city, but there was a time when we weren't so paranoid.  We used to give everyone a fair chance,” she said.
	They sat in silence for a while, until the last of Cassandra's customers shut the door behind them.  She sipped at her beer, grateful for Tegan's company and the way the alcohol washed away some of her fear and anger.
	“The offer still stands.  For the room, I mean.  Stephanie will be home in an hour, and I could fix something for a late supper.  You'd be more than welcome,” she said.
	Tegan gave her another little smile, but shook her head.
	“That's kind of you, but I've been too much trouble already.  It's time I was on my way,” she said.
	“At least let me walk you to the train station, then.  It's not safe for you to be out alone after dark,” Cassandra said.
	Tegan didn't answer right away and Cassandra wondered if she was going to argue, but then she gave a sort of one shouldered shrug.
	“If you like,” she said.
	Tegan followed Cassandra outside and waited patiently while she lowered the steel security shutters and locked the door.  Then she paused and scanned the street around them before she left the safety of her own doorway.  Because it was so close to the base, Archangel's was in a better part of the city than most, but there were always a few predators around.  On any other night Cassandra wouldn't worry about them.  Most of them drank in her bar and a generous hand with the beer pumps had won her a lot of friends. Those same friends would jump a stranger without a second thought, though, and there was no telling what they'd do once they got excited.
	She fumbled her keys as she slipped them back into her pocket and the noise they made as they hit the ground made her jump and yip with surprise.  She caught the way Tegan looked at her then, even in the semi-darkness of the street, and the insides of her ears blazed with embarrassment.
	“You sure you want to do this?  I'll be okay by myself,” Tegan said.
	“Let's just go,” Cassandra said.
	It was only a quarter of a mile to the train station and, unusually for Jaspertree, the street was well lit for most of the way.  Cassandra picked Stephanie up at the station at least once a week and she knew every step of the way.  Tonight, though, every shadow was haunted.  She was perfectly sure she saw Jack following them, lurking just inside an alley or in the doorway of a boarded up shop.  He wasn't the sort to let go of a grudge, not while he was still drunk.
	After the fourth sighting she was ready to beg Tegan to come back to the bar with her, but she bit her tongue and a minute later they arrived at the station.  When Tegan opened the door to the ticket lobby, Cassandra swallowed her feelings and gave the girl the best smile she could manage.
	“Safe travels, and I hope the next city treats you more kindly.  If you ever come back--” she said, but she was cut off when Tegan shoved her to the ground.  Jack hit the wall above her a second later and she heard someone snarl.  Before she could recover, Jack pulled her to her feet and she saw the glint of a knife in his right hand.
	“I should have known.  You're not one of us, any more than she is.  I've always said the worst thing this city ever did was let outsiders in.  Especially you damned foxes,” he said.
	He lashed out with his knife and it was only luck that he hit the wall instead of her throat.  She jerked and twisted in his grasp but, drunk as he was, he was still stronger than her.  He drew his arm back again, and that was when Tegan kicked his legs out from under him.  He hit the ground hard enough that Cassandra heard the breath retch out of his lungs, but was up again in a moment.  He still had hold of the knife and he waved it around in circles in front of him while he bared his teeth and tried to catch his breath.  Even Cassandra could see that the strength had gone out of him, though.  Tegan hit him again, and he dropped to the ground and lay still.
	“Damned fool,” Tegan said.
	She took the knife out of Jack's hand and pitched it into the gutter while Cassandra knelt down next to him, to check on him.  Tegan snorted and leaned against the wall.
	“Why?  He just tried to kill you,” Tegan said.
	“He's landed pretty hard.  I don't want him to die out here.  Anyway, he's just a drunken old fool.  He isn't going to try anything else,” Cassandra said.
	She opened the front of his jacket a little to let him breathe and Jack stirred a little but didn't wake.  Now that he was unconscious he looked a lot older than he had in the bar, and nowhere near as dangerous.
	“We'll take him inside where it's warm.  By the time he wakes up your train will be gone and I'll be back home.  I'll call his wife when I get back to the bar, and she can deal with him.  It won't be the first time for any of us,” Cassandra said.
	“You're as crazy as he is,” Tegan said, but she helped pick Jack up and carry him into the station.
	The place was practically empty at this time of night and the only people who were around were drunks and vagrants who took no notice as they laid Jack out on a spare bench at the back of the room.  Cassandra smoothed his clothes and did her best to make sure he'd be as comfortable as possible.
	“I hope you'll both be okay,” Tegan said.
	The big clock over the terminal struck midnight and the southbound train rolled in right on time.  As the doors opened, Tegan held out her hand.  Cassandra took it, a bit gingerly, and Tegan gave her hand a squeeze.
	“Thank you for the craziest evening I've had in months, and thank you for giving a damn about people.  I haven't met many who'd risk their neck for a stranger,” Tegan said.
	“If you ever come through Jaspertree again, there will be an empty stool for you for Archangel's,” Cassandra said.
	Tegan pulled Cassandra close and kissed her, and she held on until they were both gasping for breath.
	“Don't forget to take care of yourself, too,” Tegan said.
	She looked back, just once, as she climbed up the steps onto the train .  Then she was gone.  Cassandra checked on Jack one more time to make sure he would be safe until he woke up.  Then she pulled her coat tight around her and found a bench on the other side of the station to wait for Stephanie, who'd gone to play for some country club on the outskirts of the city.  She watched as passengers streamed on and off the train, while the engineers attended to the dozens of things that always needed to be done to delay departure for as long as possible, and she was able to relax for the first time since Tegan came into the bar.  For once, she didn't have to worry about anyone but herself.
	She was so relaxed, she didn't notice Stephanie until the big snow leopard sat down on the bench beside her.  The cat smelled of peppermints and diesel from the train, and she wrapped her thick tail around Cassandra's waist.
	“Bad night?” Stephanie said.
	“No, just the usual rowdies.  You know how it is,” Cassandra said.
	“Yeah, I'd sort of guessed when I saw Jack passed out on the bench.  What was it this time?  Another stranger?” Stephanie said.
	“I'll tell you all about it on the way home,” Cassandra said.