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", "count": "9", "submission_left_submission_id": "248389", "submission_left_file_name": "441237_Shryke_dangerous_games_part_3.rtf", "submission_right_submission_id": "481518", "submission_right_file_name": "625441_Shryke_dangerous_games_part_5.rtf" } ], "description": "Here is Chapter 4 of Dangerous Games. A story of a friendship that develops between two foxes amidst a rather shady backdrop. \n\nIn Part 4, something is building in the background with Victor and his \"business\". The Games get a little more Dangerous. Big storm! Pizza! An old Roman adage is proved. Victor has news, which may explain his attitude, but may not excuse it. \n\nIf you haven't read the previous parts, you should probably do so: Otherwise, you won't be as invested in the characters as you would have if you'd been there through all the character development, and so the story will likely seem kind of \"meh, so what\"... and nobody wants that! :) \n\nAdditionally, you may be rather lost, and there will start to be things revealed that will spoil the earlier parts. \n\nThere is no sex in this story. (Listens for all those \"back\" buttons being clicked). There may be some dialog regarding past events, but nothing particularly explicit. There is, or will be in future parts, violence, drug use, crime, bloodshed, guns, knives, injury, and even death, so these will be tagged Adult or Mature depending on the chapter.\n\nNote that the auto-parser above does not respect the formatting of the original document, and can't seem to get the indentations right. I put this one up as RTF because that seems to have the least problems, but bolding and italics have been lost in the preview. I use italics for \"inner monologue\", though that should be obvious from the context even without them. If you do want the full effect, as well as clean paragraph formatting, I suggest reading from the source file.\n\nSo here it is, enjoy. Or don't. ", "description_bbcode_parsed": "Here is Chapter 4 of Dangerous Games. A story of a friendship that develops between two foxes amidst a rather shady backdrop.

In Part 4, something is building in the background with Victor and his "business". The Games get a little more Dangerous. Big storm! Pizza! An old Roman adage is proved. Victor has news, which may explain his attitude, but may not excuse it.

If you haven't read the previous parts, you should probably do so: Otherwise, you won't be as invested in the characters as you would have if you'd been there through all the character development, and so the story will likely seem kind of "meh, so what"... and nobody wants that! :)

Additionally, you may be rather lost, and there will start to be things revealed that will spoil the earlier parts.

There is no sex in this story. (Listens for all those "back" buttons being clicked). There may be some dialog regarding past events, but nothing particularly explicit. There is, or will be in future parts, violence, drug use, crime, bloodshed, guns, knives, injury, and even death, so these will be tagged Adult or Mature depending on the chapter.

Note that the auto-parser above does not respect the formatting of the original document, and can't seem to get the indentations right. I put this one up as RTF because that seems to have the least problems, but bolding and italics have been lost in the preview. I use italics for "inner monologue", though that should be obvious from the context even without them. If you do want the full effect, as well as clean paragraph formatting, I suggest reading from the source file.

So here it is, enjoy. Or don't. ", "writing": "Disclaimer: This story is part of a series, entitled “Dangerous Games”. The series contains non-human anthropomorphic animal (“Furry”) characters of varying ages, adult and cub. While there are no overt sexual acts depicted in this series, the stories will contain adult themes, topics, and situations, which may not be legal in some jurisdictions. These include: frank discussions of sexual acts and character sexuality, alcohol and drug use, criminal acts, violence, adult language, weapons including guns and knives, bloodshed, grievous bodily harm, death, and events which depict underage characters in peril. \n\nIt is up to the reader to be aware of the laws regarding depictions of such material in their place of residence. If you are not allowed to read such material, due to age, religion, place of residence, or any other factor, do not continue.\n\nThis story and all characters are copyright Shryke. This is a work of fiction. All events and persons depicted are fictional, and any similarities with actual events or persons is purely coincidental. \n\nThis is Part 4. If you've not read the prior parts you will be rather lost, and since you've not read through as the characters have been developed in previous parts, the story will seem kind of “meh, so what” to you. Plus you'll be spoiling some of the things that were set up in the previous parts. \n\n\n\nDANGEROUS GAMES\nby Shryke\nPart 4\n\n It took the rest of the week, and the better part of the next, to finally get all the cigars delivered. During that time some additional, though smaller, shipments had arrived at Victor's place, and Jack and Angelo interspersed those deliveries with the remaining cigar deliveries. \n Strangely enough to Jack, most of the new shipments seemed to be perfectly legal this time: ornately cut crystal bottles of liquor, boxes of Dom Perignon champagne, tins of food with Russian-looking names, and similar items. Angelo didn't know for sure, but dismissively suggested that these were probably all stolen goods, as opposed to contraband imported goods as the Cuban cigars were. \n Working for Victor these few weeks, Jack had made enough money to cover his apartment's rent for July, with enough left over to have cable television service installed, and its accompanying Internet access, both of which he had missed terribly. Since moving in, his only source of entertainment had been watching DVDs on the small laptop he had used in high school. While Angelo may have enjoyed reading, and spent much of his free time so doing, Jack did not share in that interest.\n Victor was in and out of town on a fairly regular basis – he'd be out for 2 to 3 days at a time, then back for 4 or 5 days, then he'd be gone again. He told Jack that he was close to making a large deal with his New York supplier, whom he referred to only as “The Russian”, and that deal would catapult their operation to “the next level”, but he never elaborated beyond that. Even Angelo was oblivious as to what this new deal might entail. \n Jack still wasn't completely sure how he felt about Victor. The ferret seemed very friendly, if somewhat anxious over the pending deal, but his demonstrated capacity for violent outbursts never fully left the teen fox's mind. Jack saw Victor's overall demeanor as being responsible for this uncertainty: he was a mix of contradictions coupled with an obviously unstable personality, making him extremely difficult to understand. \n While essentially a small-time smuggler, Jack noted that Victor comported himself like the head of an international crime syndicate, despite living in these tiny apartments. He wore silk suits that belied his day job as a manager at a local office supply store (a job that Victor was embarrassed to even discuss). He would take the two foxes to a lavish dinner one night, then would feast on microwave pizza the next. \n Yet though he had been true to his promises without exception so far, Jack still had a nagging feeling that he could not trust Victor. His loyalties were clearly to himself, but Jack wondered how far out those allegiances extended, if at all. He especially did not like that the ferret left Angelo alone for days on end while he went to see The Russian. \n As for Angelo, Jack was growing increasingly fond of the little grey-furred fox kit. He was the ready-made little brother that Jack always wanted – clever and witty, and just generally fun to be around. The little fox at first tried to hold himself somewhat aloof, but the more time the two vulpes spent together, the more the 11-year-old opened up. Up to a point, at least: he still would not talk of his mother who had abandoned him, beyond what he had said on their first day working together. \n So Jack had taken it upon himself to do his own investigation. One of the first things he did when his Internet was installed, was to search news records and crime reports from around the time Angelo said it had all happened. The timing of the facts all lined up: the fox-flu outbreak, and the major snowstorm that occurred on the day his mother vanished. But there was nothing about a fox kit abandoned in the hospital. \n Jack even went forward several weeks, and there was nothing about a missing person whose car was discovered in the bus station parking lot after the snow had melted, or of a cub who had run away from the State run home for orphans that he was boarded in after leaving the hospital. It was most frustrating – this either did not qualify as news, or things had not unfolded as he had been led to believe. \n The most likely explanation, Jack figured, was that he simply did not have enough information. The fox tended not to believe that the kit had made up the story; Angelo had promised after the stolen car debacle to never lie to him, and Jack did feel that he could trust the boy. He was a good kit, just in a bad overall situation, which made him have to do things that he probably would not have done otherwise. \n Yet as much as Angelo protested that he was perfectly content with his living and working arrangements, Jack picked up on subtle clues that this might not be the case. The older fox knew that the kit was lonely, even if he wouldn't admit it. Several times when they had finished up and were parting company for the day, Angelo seemed to linger on the goodbye for longer than might be expected, and brought up trivial points at the last minute, as if to prolong their parting for just a little longer. \n Additionally, Jack noted, Angelo lived very much in the moment, as all kits did to a certain degree, but he took it to the point of practically dismissing the future. Even when talking about things like what he wanted to be when he grew up, or where he might want to go on a vacation, he would just say something like, “Let's worry about making it home today first,” and certainly didn't seem to consider what a life after Victor might be like. \n Jack had made it a mental goal to try to get the kit out of the life he was in, though admittedly he had no idea how to even begin to do so, or where Angelo might go if he did get away. For better or worse, his arrangements with Victor provided at least short-term stability for the kit.\n He ultimately decided not to force the issue. For now he would be Angelo's friend and would watch out for the boy, whether the kit felt he needed it or not. The teen's only concern was whether such behavior was welcomed or even noticed by the younger fox. Jack felt that he did on some level, yet also felt it would be egotistic to bring it up looking for validation. But as he learned from his own father, when one is looking out for the well-being of a cub, it doesn't matter if the cub appreciates or even realizes it. \n\n June rolled into July. The cigars were all delivered, and most of the food items now had been as well. Victor had finally admitted that the fine liquors and caviar, as it turned out was in the tins, were in fact stolen from a foreign freighter in the Port of Philadelphia. The theft of these goods was orchestrated by the mysterious “Russian” in New York, and Victor was handling the disbursal of the goods as a favor to him – no doubt to improve his standing on whatever the deal was that Victor was working. \n Jack was now standing in the shade of a stadium, looking out at the groups of furs practicing their various sports. Angelo was next to him, leaning casually against one of the support girders. The two were at another high school, once again selling marijuana to whomever might be interested. They had been doing this more frequently since the cigar deliveries stopped and they suddenly found themselves with much more free time as a result.\n Angelo seemed to enjoy these outings much more than the scheduled deliveries, Jack noted. He certainly liked his role as the dealer: “everybody's friend”, he had called it. He would play it cool and composed with the friendly customers, and coldly angry with the troublesome ones. Through it all, Jack played his own part – the mute thug who was ready to jump in and quickly handle whatever Angelo felt needed to be handled. \n Fortunately he had not had to do anything more than stand there looking intimidating, at least so far. Angelo had spoken of several incidents in his past where he had been physically attacked while out at one of the schools. It was probably due to his age and size, Jack figured, but whatever the cause, the potential for things to turn ugly was ever present. \n Of greater immediate concern to the 18-year-old was their choice of schools to visit on a given day, or more specifically what school not to visit. Jack's kit sister, Jessica, was a member of several sports leagues, and their practices and matches were not always at the same schools; at this time of the year there were so many leagues and teams competing for space that teams often took whatever venue they could schedule. \n It would be bad, to say the least, if Jessica were to see Jack and Angelo engaged in selling pot, especially after Jack had assured her that this boy was not the same drug dealer “Angelo” she had heard of from girls on her team. So Jack found himself calling home more often now, which his family certainly appreciated, but with the primary hidden objective of finding out where the young girl would be practicing in the coming few days. \n In fact, Jessica's schedule had forced Angelo and Jack to change their school for this day. They were now at Barksdale High, which was the chief rival of Jack's school when he was on the football team. He had mentioned this to Angelo as a concern, since he had actually played in the stadium which the two now stood under. The younger fox was willing to make another change, but Jack felt it would still be safe to come here. Nevertheless, he kept a sharp lookout for any faces that seemed even remotely familiar. \n It had not been a particularly good sales day. Perhaps it was the stifling July heat, but the two foxes had only a handful of customers, and none interested in larger amounts. They even had one of Angelo's camouflaged beer cartons left unsold, which were usually the first to sell. \n Jack continued to watch the various passers-by. Beside him, Angelo stood up from where he had been leaning and stretched. He had been watching a girls lacrosse scrimmage in the nearby field with some interest. Jack looked to his grey-furred companion who smiled back pleasantly at him, which made the older fox grin. Despite everything else, the little cub in Angelo showed his face every so often, whether or not he intended it to. \n “So, what do you want to do?” Jack asked, implicitly referring to the lack of meaningful business they had done so far\n “I dunno,” the kit responded with a shrug. “We can hang out a bit longer. Unless you've got someplace to be?” Angelo smiled again at that last statement. It had become a minor running-joke between the two, as both of the foxes' full-time job was to do Victor's work.\n Jack chuckled. “Nope, sure don't,” he said. “It is damn hot though.” He flapped the fabric of his outer shirt to try to ventilate his body somewhat. Since he had begun wearing a long shirt to cover the knife in his belt, he had felt the heat more acutely than he was used to. \n “Yep,” Angelo simply said. He was wearing his ever-present denim jacket, which he never removed when he was outside his own apartment. “We can go in a little bit,” he said, as the game he was watching resumed play. Jack nodded and went back to watching faces as people moved by. Abruptly he spun on his heels to face back under the stadium, looking to the ground as if he'd dropped something. \n “What?” Angelo said, looking around rapidly.\n “I think I saw my old gym teacher for a second. He looked right at me,” Jack said nervously. \n “Mmm,” Angelo said, acknowledging. He slowly walked to the other side of Jack, now looking again towards the lacrosse game that he had been watching. “Ok, no problem,” he said quietly after a moment. “If it's him, you're not with me. You're just hanging around after your sister's practice was over. To check out the girls, you know?” \n “Right,” Jack said, with a nervous sigh. Angelo walked a few more paces away, towards the lacrosse game. It should now seem from the distance that the two were not in fact together, Jack hoped. He turned back towards the fields and pretended to watch another game, while scanning the passing furs to find the one he thought he had recognized. Angelo walked further away, meanwhile. \n Finally Jack located the face he had seen: a cat who resembled his gym teacher, but now that he was closer appeared to be college-age. The cat made eye contact with the fox again, and just nodded in passing. Jack returned the nod and looked away, letting out a covert sight of relief. He walked back towards Angelo. \n “Wasn't him,” Jack said when he caught up to the little grey-furred fox. \n “Kay,” Angelo said, then turned back towards the shade of the stadium's shadow. “This'll be the way we handle that sort of thing from now on, ok?” \n “Yep,” Jack replied. “As long as it's not my sister, who I think knows us both, we should be safe.” Jack had explained to the kit what his sister had said about him – Angelo had found it amusing rather than alarming, which irritated Jack slightly, though he didn't share that fact with the cub.\n “Exactly,” confirmed Angelo. “I'm just a random guy who's just in the same place. Should work for most people. Unless they actually see us talking... or selling.”\n Jack nodded. “Same go for your schoolmates?” he asked. “I mean some of them could be on summer teams too, right?” Angelo chuckled, which made Jack head-tilt. \n Angelo smiled at him. “That ain't gonna happen,” he said, his smile fading. “I can pretty much guarantee that.” \n “Why so?” Jack asked, his mind thinking over what the kit had said. There was only one explanation, he realized. Angelo looked away abruptly as he saw Jack's ears droop and a look of sadness cross the teen's face. “You... don't go to school, do you?” Jack asked slowly. \n Angelo looked at the ground and took a deep breath, before quickly looking back into Jack's eyes. “No,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Not since... it all happened, no.” \n “Oh, Ange,” Jack said sadly. Angelo continued to look at him, his face expressionless, as if he didn't see this as any kind of problem. “So that's, what, 2 years?” \n “Well,” Angelo replied, “It was the middle of 4th grade, and this past year would'a been 5th. So, a year and a half maybe?” \n “Ange,” Jack said, his voice sounding a little pained. “You need to go to school.”\n “Why?” the kit replied. “I can read and do math, and Vic teaches me what I need to know to make it out here. So who cares if I don't know what year the Magna Carta was?”\n “That's not the point,” Jack said emphatically. “And besides, what can that... what can Victor possibly teach you?” \n Angelo chuckled again at Jack's mid-sentence stumble. Then: “Well... how to fight. How to take a punch and not go down.” Jack frowned as the boy continued. “And how to not get in a fight in the first place, by getting in people's heads and fucking with their minds!” He seemed almost proud at this last part. \n Jack shook his head, unsure what to say next. There was no point arguing it at for the moment; it was already done, and school was out for the summer, so it couldn't be fixed quickly at any rate. Sadly, he added this to the growing list of reasons to get this boy away from Victor and out of this life. The red fox just sighed and leaned back against the wall. \n Angelo looked at him as if searching the older fox's face for clues. Finally he said, “It's really not that bad, Jack.” \n Jack looked into Angelo's blue eyes, then gave a non-committal head shrug. He couldn't do anything about this for now, so he changed the subject slightly. “He taught you how to fight, huh?” he asked. The ferret did look like he knew a thing or two about fighting, Jack thought. \n “Yep!” the little grey-furred fox replied with some enthusiasm. “Mostly for people like we'd meet here,” he said, indicating the game fields, “high-schoolers and them. They're the ones who usually try to get away with something, especially since I'm littler than them.” \n The older fox nodded. “How do you fight them? If you had to, I mean,” Jack was genuinely curious now: it would reflect Victor's ideas about how to deal with such situations. \n “Well,” the kit began, “with kids that age, they think they can hit you once hard, and you'll go down crying, or at least run away scared. So the thing to do is not to fall down. It's hard to do at first 'cause that's what your first instinct is. You gotta take that punch and not go down, or cry or yell, or even flinch if you can. That'll usually surprise the hell out of them. Then you can really get in their heads!” \n “Yeah, but you still get punched,” Jack said. “How can you “just take it” if you don't know how hard they're going to hit?” \n “Boxers do it all the time,” the younger fox said simply. \n “Well, yeah, but they practice,” Jack said, trying to understand. “They have people pound on them to get used to taking punches.” \n “Practice makes perfect,” Angelo said matter-of-factly. “Only one way to know what a punch is gonna feel like. Vic taught me, back when...” \n “Victor!” Jack interrupted. “He... punched you?” The teen fox was suddenly enraged. \n “Well, trained me, yeah,” the kit replied. “He wasn't beating me up or anything. We started out really soft and, well, just got a little harder and a little harder so I'd know what it felt like.” \n “Son of a bitch...” Jack said angrily. \n “Jack,” Angelo said gently, “it's not how you think. It was only for a few days, a little at a time, and never really that hard. I never bled or anything, and if I wanted to stop, he stopped. And it saved me a couple of times out here when someone really did lay into me... and a lot harder than Vic ever did.”\n “I think I need to have a little chat with our Mister Morrison,” Jack said angrily. \n Angelo shook his head. “Jack... don't,” he said. “Really. Getting in his face is a good way to get shot.” This had not occurred to Jack, but given the ferret's other habits, it made sense that he would carry a gun. Angelo stepped closer to the older fox. “I... I don't want you to get shot, Jack,” he said softly. \n Jack looked to his little companion. “Me neither, buddy,” he said with another resigned sigh, and patted the kit's headfur, noting with some small sense of happiness that the boy did not pull away in surprise as he usually did. “But I think I'm liking Victor less and less each day.” \n “Well... you wouldn't be the first,” Angelo remarked cryptically. \n The teen red fox waited for some elaboration, which didn't come. Again not wanting to force the issue, he moved on. “So... now they've punched you and you're... “in their heads”?”\n Angelo smiled, seeming glad to be moving on from the previous topic. “Yep, I'll show you. Punch me in the snoot!” He closed his eyes and stuck his muzzle out, smiling. \n Jack folded his arms, surprised by this, but also amused at the kit's exaggerated pose. After a few seconds, one of Angelo's blue eyes half-opened. “I'm not gonna hit you Ange,” Jack said, beeping the kit's nose. \n With a laugh, the little fox resumed a normal posture. “Ok,” he said cheerfully, “So anyway, you just punched me in the nose, and thought I would drop to the ground crying and you could just grab my backpack and run. But... I don't even flinch, which now makes you surprised! Then, I get a look on my face like you just did me the biggest favor in the world, because now it's my turn to go after you!” \n Angelo tilted his head down slightly and looked upward with his eyes at Jack as a creepy smile slowly worked its way onto his muzzle. Jack had to admit to himself that it was a little unnerving, and in the context of what Angelo was describing, it would likely have had the desired effect in high-school aged furs. \n The kit again resumed his normal posture and grinned at Jack's reaction. “See?” he said proudly. Most of the time that look gets in their heads enough and they run. Sometimes I'll chase after them a few steps. If it doesn't do the trick, then I'll go for my knife,” he patted the left flap of his jacket. “That's always done the trick so far.”\n Jack cocked an eyebrow at this last statement, which seemed to contradict something the boy had said, or at least hinted at, earlier. He just smiled at his friend, who smiled back happily. “What do you say we get out of here?” Jack asked. \n “Yeah, it's pretty dead here, and I'm dying of thirst!” Angelo confirmed, and the pair started towards the direction of the car. \n\n Victor was just getting out of his car when Jack pulled into the apartment's parking lot and parked in front of his own unit. As the two foxes got out of the car and Angelo started towards Victor, the ferret waved Jack over as well, then headed for his door. Jack knew this meant it would be more than a social call, as Victor never discussed business outside. \n Jack followed Angelo across the parking lot to Victor's door, which the kit held open for him, and went inside. Angelo closed the door behind them, and immediately doffed his jacket and stood next to the air conditioner vent, sighing contentedly. \n The apartment was much barer now, with most of the boxes that had been piled everywhere slowly disappearing over the weeks as their contents were delivered. A few still remained in use as ad-hoc tables for stacks of papers and mail, though there were a few small unopened boxes that must have been recent arrivals. \n Victor emerged from the hallway that led to the bedroom, shirtless but with a folded garment in his paw, which he unfolded and donned as he spoke. “Heya Jack!” he said, “How was business today?” \n “Pretty crappy,” replied Angelo with a furrowed brow, staring intently at Victor. The ferret looked over at the boy briefly, then back to Jack.\n “Oh yeah?” Victor asked, again to Jack directly. \n “Well, yeah,” Jack said, unsure of this new dynamic that was in play. “It's like Angelo said,” he continued, gesturing to the kit who looked to Jack then back to the ferret, or at least to the back of his head. \n “Hmm,” Victor said nonplussed. “Eh, it'll pick up again. Always does. Hey, listen,” he said, changing the subject abruptly now that the social formalities, such as they were, were dispensed with. “I'm out again tomorrow. Probably be back the day after though, assuming the storm doesn't shut everything down.” \n “Jeez, you just got back, Vic,” Angelo said from behind the ferret. \n “Yeah, yeah, I know,” Victor replied, still facing only Jack. “But the Russian emailed me, saying next time I'm in town to stop by. 'Next time', eh? Ok fucker, I'll be there tomorrow!” He let out a hearty laugh and slapped Jack's shoulder with one paw. \n Jack smiled at this behavior, still not sure what was happening between Angelo and Victor. The boy looked equally confused, suggesting that this was indeed a brand new development unfolding before both of them. “Ok...” was all Jack could muster. \n “I'm close, Jack! Real close!” Victor said excitedly, now grabbing both of the red fox's shoulders in his paws and shaking them slightly. “I can feel it! This is what we've been working for all these years!” The ferret finally looked back at Angelo when he spoke this last sentence. The boy just stared at him with an expressionless face. “So anyway,” Victor continued, somewhat more calmly, “I got one big job for you tomorrow. For you guys,” he clarified, now stepping back slightly so he could face both foxes. \n “Big?” Jack inquired plainly. \n “Big,” Victor confirmed. “Really big. One job worth more than all of this week's combined. I'm gonna need this payoff when my deal with the Russian happens, so...” he trailed off, with a leading tone to the last word. \n “So don't fuck it up?” Jack asked, which was the obvious conclusion to the ferret's sentence. He made sure to set his tone to sound amused as opposed to offended by the intimation. Victor just smiled and pointed at Jack with a “gun” finger and a wink. “What's the job, if I may ask?” Jack asked, slightly concerned by the possible meanings of that finger gesture. \n “It's a delivery, so nothing new. Just an important one,” Victor said, evasively. “And it's even easier... a dead-drop.” Jack saw Angelo's countenance fall at this, as Victor continued. “You drop off the bag in a pre-arranged location, then come back in an hour or two and pick up the money from the same spot. You never even need to meet the buyers.”\n “Sounds easy enough,” Jack said, looking at Angelo who had now sat down on the carpet. He looked back at Jack with his face more neutral than it had been seconds ago, though his ears were both drooped. \n “Yep, we've done these before, ain't we?” the ferret asked Angelo. \n “Yeah, sure,” the little grey-furred kit answered softly. \n “Mmm-hmm,” Victor said, looking back to Jack. “Come over a little later than usual, around ten or so. Got an e-mail address, Jack?” \n “Nope, not yet,” Jack said. It was a lie of course, but the teenage fox somehow knew instinctively that he did not want Victor to have any more personal information about him than was absolutely necessary. He especially did not want to be discussing any of their business anywhere other than in person, where things like e-mail could potentially be tracked or permanently stored out of his control. \n “Mmph,” Victor said with a tinge of annoyance. “Was hoping you could let me know when it was done and you had the cash in hand. Oh well. I don't see it really being a problem anyway.” The ferret held out a wad of folded cash to Jack. “Here's for today,” he said, “as usual. Tomorrow pays double if it goes ok. I'll see you when I get back.” \n Jack took the cash, and could tell from Victor's tone that he was now dismissed. “Ok, see you,” he said to Victor. “Seeya Angelo!” he said to the boy, who looked up from where he sat. \n “Bye, Jack,” he simply said, managing a slight smile. Jack smiled back and nodded, then turned back towards the door and left the apartment. \n As Jack walked back towards his apartment, a feeling of anger welled up in him. Something had changed suddenly in Victor's relationship with Angelo, which clearly surprised the younger fox as well. That, combined with the dead-drop delivery, the mere mention of which had visibly distressed the boy, had Jack now more confused than ever with regards to Victor; it was this ever-increasing failure to figure out the ferret that stirred the anger in the teen fox. \n\n The next morning, Jack pulled on his outer shirt as he stepped from his apartment. Victor's car was absent, which was certainly expected, but Jack nonetheless felt the familiar twinge of irritation at the ferret. He had pondered the previous day's encounter with Victor deeply, and could only come to the conclusion that he was being groomed for some larger role within the ferret's operation. \n Right or wrong, the theory at least explained why Victor would address Jack so directly: as if he was speaking to a partner and not to a foot-soldier. Until such a discussion actually took place, of course, Jack was not going to bring it up or behave any differently. But if it were to be brought up... how would he respond? That possibility had Jack lying awake in bed longer than was normal for him, until he arrived at the obvious answer. \n Jack looked skyward as he walked across the lot towards Angelo's apartment. The forecast had called for heavy rain and storms today, though the sky was currently clear. The fox hoped it would hold off long enough for this important delivery to conclude. While Victor insisted it was “simple”, Angelo's reaction had Jack feeling uneasy about what it entailed, and so did not want any complications, even from something as mundane as the weather. \n The teenage fox reached the apartment's door and he knocked. The lock clicked and the door opened a crack. “C'mon in, Jack,” he heard Angelo say through the opening. Jack pushed the door open and went inside. Angelo was walking towards the couch as Jack entered. The kit was wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans. \n “Heya, Ange,” Jack said as he closed the door behind him. \n Angelo flopped down on the couch. “Hi Jack,” he said simply, stretching. “Ready for this?”\n Jack sat down on the arm of the couch and regarded the little grey-furred fox kit. “I hope so,” he said. “Victor says it should be no problem, but you didn't seem too happy about it yesterday.”\n The little fox chuckled. “Oh hell no,” he said. “These suck! They're no sweat for Vic 'cause he doesn't have to do them!”\n Jack felt the fur on his neck start to stand. “Wh... why...” he asked, nearly stammering as a wave of nervousness crept up on him. “What do we...” He trailed off. \n Angelo looked up at Jack. “It's for a gang, Jack.” The older fox just stared nervously back as the kit continued. “Vic say's it's easy 'cause there's no one around. But there'll be plenty of furs around... we just won't see them. And they all have guns.”\n “What are we delivering?” Jack inquired. \n Angelo pointed to a gym bag in the corner. “More pot,” he said. “A lot more.”\n Jack rose and went to the gym bag. It was fully packed, with no hint of slack in its fabric. He picked it up and was surprised by the weight. “Wow,” was all he could say. \n “Mmm-hmm,” Angelo replied. “Like 30 pounds or something. Still packed like it was on the boat.”\n The red fox now understood the younger fox's anxiety. A large drug delivery for one of the area gangs meant a lot of cash was at stake. The gang would be taking no chances with someone interfering, or worse, double-crossing them. Jack's mind raced: what if the gang's rival caught wind of the delivery? Would they be ambushed? Could they be double-crossed by the gang itself? What if Victor's abrupt change in attitude towards both foxes was indicative of a plan the ferret had just put together? A set-up?\n Jack stared at Angelo as a hundred thoughts and scenarios played out over the span of seconds. “Oh fuck,” he said softly. \n “Yep,” the younger fox replied.\n Jack sat back down on the arm of the couch. “So... when do we have to do this?” \n “We have to do the drop between 11:00 and 11:30,” the kit said. “We better go soon, so we don't get stuck in traffic or anything.”\n “Right...” Jack said. He was nervous and unsure about all this, but was nonetheless committed. As he stood up, he looked at Angelo's face and saw the same combination of feelings. The boy smiled wanly, as if he was seeing the same thing himself. \n Jack retrieved the gym bag and hefted it over his shoulder as Angelo got up from the couch and donned his ever-present denim jacket. “After you,” the kit said, indicating the door. The older fox exited the apartment, and Angelo locked up behind them. \n As they walked to the car and loaded the bag into the trunk, Jack could only think about what the next hour would hold, and where he would be at the end of it. Relieved to be done with it? Arrested? Caught up in a gang war? Face down in an alley? He nervously fumbled with the key, and took more than one try to successfully unlock the car door. \n “Stay cool, Jack,” Angelo said as Jack again fumbled with the key in the ignition. “That's the most important thing. Whatever happens... is gonna happen.” The boy smiled pleasantly as Jack looked into his blue eyes. \n “Yeah,” he said, closing his own dark brown eyes and taking a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said again.\n \n The ride was mostly in silence, with Angelo giving turn directions but otherwise not saying much. Jack tried to stay focused on his driving, as much to keep his mind occupied as it was to ensure he didn't break any traffic laws which might get them pulled over. The cargo in the trunk would certainly amount to a felony, he reckoned. \n The areas they drove through got increasingly poorer looking as they continued. Jack was glad that his car was as old as it was, as a newer flashier-looking car would definitely have attracted attention: a detriment for this particular job. \n “Pull over here somewhere, and pop the trunk,” Angelo said after they had driven for a time. Jack found an open spot along the curb and pulled over. They were now in a part of town that Jack would never have otherwise visited, or even driven through if he could avoid it. The kit got out of the car once they were parked\n Jack got out as well and, as calmly as he could, walked to the rear of the car and opened the trunk. Angelo picked the bag out and carried it back to his side of the car. Jack shut the trunk and returned to his side. The two drew a couple of looks from passing furs, but nothing that seemed aggressive. Jack was glad to get back in and shut the doors. \n Angelo put the bag on the floor at his feet. “Ok, drive around the block a couple times. We still have a few minutes,” he said. Jack pulled back out into traffic. Angelo sighed deeply, then continued. “Here's how this has to go. There's an alley behind an apartment building. I'll show you where it is. You drive down that alley, real slow, 'till we reach this open area where all the trash cans are for the building. Drive past there till we reach a red door on my side of the car. Then I get out and take the bag back to one of the trash cans.”\n “I'm coming with you,” Jack said. “In fact, you stay put and let me drop off the bag.” \n “Jack,” Angelo said, almost plaintively, “You can't. It has to be me... only me. You have to stay in the car, and actually don't even look around – 'cause if you see anything... that they don't think you should....” the little fox trailed off.\n “Fuck,” Jack said, almost a whisper. \n “I know,” Angelo said. “But remember what I said about the guns. There will... probably be a few pointed at us the whole time, from who-knows-where. So when you drive down the alley, just look straight ahead.” He took another deep breath. “When it's done, drive straight out slowly again, and turn right when you get to the road.”\n Jack steered the car around the block as the drop time approached. He had been planning to watch everything he could during this time before the drop, to get a feel for anything that seemed off, such as groups of furs lingering near they designated alleyway. But after Angelo's instructions, he now nervously stared at the car in front of them as he drove. Overhead, a high overcast was setting in. \n “Ok,” Angelo said after another trip around the block. “Keep going straight now for a few blocks. You're looking for an abandoned gas station on the left.” \n Jack just nodded, and continued to drive. After a few moments, the gas station in question came into view. It featured a boarded-up building and stripped concrete islands out front where the gas pumps used to be. The dilapidated appearance of the place seemed to fit Jack's mood perfectly. \n “Slow,” Angelo said, his breathing audibly quicker, Jack noticed. “Right past the gas station, see that red brick building on the left?” \n “Yeah,” Jack said abruptly.\n “You'll see the alleyway between it and the next building down. That's the one.” Angelo leaned forward and removed his jacket, leaving it bunched up on the seat behind him. It was the first time Jack had seen the kit without it outside of his apartment. The symbolism of this only further heightened the fox's nervousness. \n Jack slowed the car as the designated alley became visible. It looked just wide enough for one car to fit though. Taking a deep breath, Jack turned his car into it. \n “Straight ahead,” Angelo said quietly, as if he feared being heard from outside. “And slow.” He was staring at the floor, Jack could see out of the corner of his eye. For his part, Jack looked straight ahead as instructed, though he found that he would have had to do so anyway to avoid hitting the various piles of debris that lined the narrow passageway. \n The alley began to widen, and Jack could see an opening to the right, which appeared to be the trash can area that Angelo had spoken of. He could see numerous cans out of his peripheral vision, but could not glean any more detail of the area, nor did he really try. \n “Slow,” Angelo said as they passed the open area. “Slow... and... stop.” Jack stopped the car on cue, but left it in gear with his footpaw on the brake. Angelo reached down to grab the bag, then got out of the car without further word, leaving the door open. \n Jack stared at the wheel, and tried to keep his ears from rotating as he listened intently for any sounds from behind him. Over the rumble of the car, he heard only traffic from the street, with an occasional unidentifiable sound from behind, as if of someone stepping on a discarded box, or a bottle rolling on the ground. He listened specifically for the sound of a trash can lid, but did not hear anything resembling it. \n After what seemed like 5 minutes, but was probably less than one, a shadow appeared in Jack's peripheral vision outside the passenger door. He clenched his teeth and gripped the steering wheel tighter. \n “Go,” Angelo's voice said, as the kit got back in the car and closed the door. “Slow.” His voice was shaking, Jack noticed. \n Maintaing his forward view, Jack let off the brake and let the car roll forward towards the exit of the alley. He could hear Angelo breathing heavily, trembling evident even in his breathing. It pained the older fox that he could not even look at his friend yet. His fingers began to ache from the grip he held on the steering wheel as the car emerged from the alley and turned back into traffic. \n After he had driven a couple of blocks away from the alley, Jack finally looked at Angelo. The boy had his chin tucked into his chest, with his arms crossed. His chest rose and fell as he breathed deeply. \n “Are you...” Jack began, then stopped abruptly. His own voice was shaking, and it surprised him when he spoke. \n Angelo looked over and smiled, almost giggling. “I'm ok, are you?” he said, his voice steadier now, though with a certain giddiness likely brought on by relief. \n Jack laughed, then cleared his throat dramatically, as much to buy some time to calm down, as to make light of his embarrassment. “Yeah, I'm ok.” He smiled back at Angelo. “So what now?” \n “Now?” Angelo said. “Now we go get lunch, then we get to come back in an hour and do it all over again.” \n “Huh, what?” Jack said, surprised. \n “Well, the gang picks up the stuff and checks it out, then they put the cash in the bag and put it back in the can. We have to go pick it up, same as how we dropped it off.”\n It had not occurred to Jack that the pickup of the payment would be in the same place. After a moment's thought it was obvious, he reckoned, but with the tension of the drop-off he had not bothered to consider the next step in the plan. \n “Ah fuck!” he exclaimed with a sort of resigned annoyance, which prompted a giggle from the little grey-furred fox kit. \n\n Jack drove well out of that part of town before stopping for lunch. He didn't want to feel elitist or prejudiced, but it was an area rife with gangs, and after the tension of the drop-off, he instinctively wanted to get as far from there as he could. Only the fact that they had to return in an hour for the pickup kept him from driving all the way back to his apartment. \n The two stopped off at a family-style restaurant for lunch. Jack had suggested fast-food burgers, but the younger fox insisted on someplace nicer: somewhere he could get, as he put it, “a giant ice-cream sundae”. The sky continued to slowly darken as the two foxes went inside and were seated. \n As they waited for their food order, Jack regarded his young friend. The little grey-furred fox sat in his side of the booth, drinking soda through a straw. He looked very much a small cub in that position – one would never have thought by looking at him that he had just come from performing a large drug delivery. \n Jack watched him with sadness. He now more than ever wanted to get the boy out of the life he was in, and far away from Victor. It still troubled the older fox that he was very short on ideas of how to do that. So far, anonymously reporting Victor to the police was the only idea he could come up with. That would certainly result in Angelo being returned to state custody, though, and Jack was fearful of what might happen then, as the kit had already stated he would never go back there.\n There were furs seated in the booths on both sides of the two foxes so Jack refrained from discussing business, which he found exceptionally hard to do under the present circumstances. He desperately wanted to ask about the upcoming pickup, as well as Victor's sudden change in behavior the previous evening, but had to defer to his own discretion, lest nearby ears hear something they should not. \n Angelo picked up on this as well, so the two made small talk about the upcoming storm, and other mundanities of life. When the food arrived, they ate quickly, and mostly in silence as the specter of the upcoming pickup loomed over them still – less than 30 minutes before they would have to be back at the alley. This did not stop Angelo from ordering his giant ice-cream sundae, however. \n The meal finished, the two vulpines returned to the car, and started back towards the pickup location. Jack had been pondering Victor's previous behavior through much of the meal, and once they were back in the car, he decided he had to bring it up. At least a conversation would take both their minds off of the coming job, he figured. \n “So Ange,” Jack began, prompting an inquisitive look from the little fox. “I gotta ask: what was up with Victor last night?” \n Angelo sat back hard in his seat and looked at the roof. “I don't know!” he exclaimed loudly, with a tone of pure frustration which surprised Jack in this context: he must have been racking his brain trying to figure it out as well. The kit looked over to Jack with a look that almost suggested worry. “It's like he's got... you now,” he said with some uneasiness, “so he doesn't need to talk to me about the business anymore. He's been talking about you more and more lately.”\n Jack nodded. “I got the same vibe,” he said. “Do you think he wants to make me his partner or something?” \n “I thought I was his partner!” the kit exclaimed, though not angrily. “I thought that's what the last year's been... all about.” His voice trailed off as he finished. \n “You still are, the way I see it,” Jack said, trying to reassure the boy. “Maybe he just wants to bring me in with the two of you?”\n “Maybe,” Angelo replied quietly. “I guess we'll find out here in a few minutes...” \n “What?” Jack asked, alarmed by that cryptic comment. \n Angelo just shook his head, looking out the front window. “Nothing...” was all he said. \n Jack drove on for a few minutes, thinking on this. Then, as they got closer to the neighborhood, he spoke up again, changing the subject, but at the same time not really changing it. “So, what happens now?” \n “Well,” the young fox replied, “now the gang will pay up, depending on... what was in the bag when they opened it.” \n “What do you mean?” Jack asked. “I thought it was dope in the bag, right?” \n “Yep, there was,” Angelo said. “They'll look it over, weigh it and all that, and if its exactly what they wanted they should pay whatever they agreed on with Vic. If it was less, then they'll probably pay less. Unless it's really not what they ordered and they're mad about it.” He looked over to Jack. \n From Angelo's look, Jack did not need him to explain further. “Right...” was all he could say. He drove on, closing in on the alleyway where they would need to turn. \n “Same deal as last time,” Angelo said as the twin red brick buildings came into view down the street. “Go slow, don't look around.” He sounded more sad now than nervous, Jack noticed. \n Jack slowed the car as the alley between the buildings became visible. Taking a deep breath he turned the car back into the narrow passage. To his relief, he did not see any furs lingering nearby the entrance, nor were there any vehicles in the alley itself. He let the car creep forward slowly, staring straight ahead as before. \n “If you hear guns,” Angelo said, his voice very low, “just haul tail out of here. Don't wait for me, 'cause I'm probably...” the little fox trailed off again, with what sounded like a truncated whimper. “Just... you get away,” he said after a brief pause. \n Jack stared straight ahead still, his pulse quickening, and an unexpected tear welling up in one eye when Angelo said that. The older fox did not respond though. The car reached the open area where the pickup was to occur. Out of his peripheral vision, he could make out the row of trash cans, with still no sign of anybody. \n “Slow,” Angelo whispered as Jack saw the target red door approaching. “Stop,” the kit said. Jack did so, again leaving the car in gear with his footpaw on the brake, in case a quick exit was required. Angelo opened the door and got out as Jack watched his steering wheel as before. \n The red fox listened intently for any sounds that were different from the drop-off. He heard Angelo's paw-steps on the paper and debris in the alley as he walked back behind the car towards the trashcans, then silence apart from traffic sounds coming from the main roads, and a radio coming from one of the windows above. \n It seemed to Jack to be taking longer than it had for the drop-off. Admittedly, he thought, it was hard to accurately judge the drop time due to his nervousness, and given Angelo's strange statement, he was even more on edge. He heard no voices or other sounds to suggest any other person was there, and he certainly heard no gunfire. \n After another few seconds, the 18-year-old again heard paw-steps on the alley trash, heading towards him, and somewhat quicker than before, though still unhurried. Jack looked slightly downward, and shifted his eyes towards the open passenger door, waiting for Angelo's familiar form. \n Presently the little grey-furred fox appeared at the door and heaved the gym bag onto the floor, then nearly leapt into the seat and closed the door. “Go,” he said, his voice trembling, nearly choked. \n Jack guided the car ahead through the alley, trying not to look like he was in a hurry yet at the same time wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. He managed a tolerable compromise between the two as the car reached the exit of the alleyway, and he turned it back onto the main road. \n Once they were clear of the alley and its constituent buildings, Angelo put his head back against the seat and giggled quietly to himself, eyes closed. It was the nervous giggle of relief, Jack knew, of the release of nervous energy that had built up over the last hour. \n “You all right there, buddy?” Jack asked his young friend. \n Angelo mouthed the word “Yeah”, breathing deeply to try to calm himself. After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked to Jack. “See why I love these so much?” he said with a wry sort of smile. \n “Yeah,” Jack said, sharing the sentiment. “Let's not do another one of these for a long time, ok?” \n “Works for me, but tell that to Vic,” Angelo replied, leaning his head back on the seat again. “Maybe he'll actually listen to you,” he added, quieter. \n Jack looked at the boy sadly, catching his meaning. Angelo had again closed his eyes, and his breathing appeared to be returning to normal. Jack decided to change the subject to one that was actually rather pertinent. “How much is in there?” he asked. \n Angelo opened his eyes abruptly, as if being roused from a light sleep. “I dunno, lets see,” he said. Leaning forward, he unzipped the gym bag on the floor and pulled the flaps open. Inside, Jack could see the bag was filled with bundles of twenty-dollar bills. Angelo rooted around in the bag and sifted through the bundles like he was looking for something else in the bag. “Well.... there's...” he said as he dug. \n Finally he withdrew his paws and pulled the bag's flaps back together. Sitting back up, he looked to Jack. “A lot!” he said with a sort of triumphant flair in his voice. \n “Very nice,” Jack said appreciatively, as Angelo zipped the bag back up and again sat back in his seat. The red fox continued, somewhat more soberly, “What did you really think was going to happen back there?” Jack was still puzzled and concerned by the kit's strange comment prior to them entering the alley. He seemed to have been connecting Victor's change in attitude towards him with what was about to unfold in the alley. \n Angelo put his head back against the seat and closed his eyes again. “Maybe Vic's right about one thing,” he said. “Maybe I do think too much.” A weak smile crossed his face.\n “Oh yeah?” Jack asked, trying to prod the little fox to continue, but the kit merely nodded and did not reply. \n A light rain had begin to fall, and the sky continued its ominous darkening. Jack could see even darker clouds in the distance, undoubtedly heading their way as the weathermen were all predicting. The 18-year-old fox drove the car towards home in silence. \n Angelo sat back in his seat with arms crossed and closed eyes; he almost looked asleep, though every couple of moments he would look around outside the window before resuming his motionless posture. Jack didn't doubt that the kit was tired now that the adrenaline had worn off from the pickup. He was feeling it as well, and in fact had already mentally committed to a quick afternoon nap once the two were back home. \n As they neared their apartments, Angelo roused from his restful position and leaned forward to tend to the gym bag, hoisting it onto his lap and crossing his arms over it as if protecting it. \n “So,” Jack said, breaking the silence of the last ten minutes, “What do you have planned for the day?” It was still rather early in the afternoon, and having no further jobs or deliveries was an infrequent treat. \n “I'm gonna try and sleep some,” Angelo said, confirming Jack's thought. “I didn't get a whole lot last night,” he added. \n “Why not?” Jack inquired. “Because of all this?” \n The young kit nodded. “Yup, I do that a lot – thinking about the next jobs, and what can go wrong.” He yawned deeply. “I just hope my stupid brain will let me sleep now,” he said, half over the yawn. \n “Well, nothing went wrong today, so get some sleep,” Jack said, encouragingly. \n “Gonna try,” Angelo said. “I think too much though, remember?” he added with a smile. \n Jack smiled back at the young fox. “What then?” he asked. “Victor's not going to be there, so you just gonna sit around alone 'till tomorrow?” \n The kit shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. That's all I really can do.” \n “You're more than welcome to come over if you want,” Jack said, suddenly feeling self-conscious, like he was intruding. \n “Over?” Angelo replied, his eyes searching Jack's. \n “Yeah, come on over to my place,” the older fox confirmed. “We can get a pizza for dinner and watch a movie or something.” With the storm coming and the deliveries done for the day, Angelo could look forward to 20 or more hours alone in Victor's apartment otherwise. \n Angelo held his gaze for a few moments, then looked away. “I dunno...” he said. \n Jack could read the loneliness in Angelo's face as he spoke, but didn't want to force the issue. At the same time, though, he wanted to leave the door as open as possible for the kit so he would not feel like he was intruding on Jack. Outside the car, the rain fell heavier. \n “Well, you know where I live,” Jack said cheerfully. “And you can come by any time you want. I ain't gonna pull any funny stuff,” he added, partly for humor value, but partly to assuage any concerns the kit may have had. Jack hoped that Angelo knew him well enough by now to not have to say that, but given the number of creeps and shady characters he dealt with on a daily basis, Jack felt it still should be said, for the record. \n Angelo chuckled at that comment, but still did not look back at Jack. “Yeah, I know,” he said. Then after a pause, “I dunno, maybe...” \n Jack turned the car into the apartment's parking lot and pulled into Victor's parking spot, so Angelo would not have to walk far in the rain. “Here we go, curbside delivery!” Jack said, sounding like a commercial. \n Angelo smiled as he gathered the bag up and opened the car door slightly. He looked at Jack for a few seconds without speaking, then finally with a small smile, he quietly said, “Thanks Jack.”\n Jack smiled at the young kit, who looked back happily for a few more seconds, before turning and stepping out of the car. He looked back with a mock expression of shock as the raindrops hit him, then made a bit of a show of frantically running up to his door and unlocking it. Now under the safety of the awning, he turned back to Jack with a grin and waved, before disappearing into his apartment. \n Jack returned the kit's wave until the door closed behind him, then he sadly dropped his paw back to the wheel. With a sigh he backed the car out of Victor's spot and guided the car to his own apartment, and made his own dash to the door through the rain. \n\n Hours later, Jack sat on his couch idly flicking through the television channels. The rain had gotten much heavier during the afternoon, but was now easing off somewhat. This was only a temporary respite, the forecasters had said on the news – the main body of the storm was just to the west, and would hit the area with renewed vigor soon, and would remain so overnight. \n Jack had made preparations for the possibility of losing power in the storm: he had candles and flashlights at the ready, and had turned both his refrigerator and his air-conditioner to their coldest settings, to at least keep things reasonably cool over a prolonged outage. \n The clock on the TV's guide page showed it nearing 8:00. The teenage fox had not yet had dinner, as he was holding out hope than Angelo might take him up on his offer. Once the storm picked back up in earnest, he told himself, he would give up and find something to eat. Until then, he sat staring at the TV, not really paying attention to what was on, his mind wandering. \n A brisk knocking at his door roused Jack from his reverie. He nearly sprinted to the door and opened it rapidly. A brown-colored avian stood on the stoop, and recoiled slightly at the speed with which the door opened. He wore a red and green uniform and carried a large vinyl bag emblazoned with the logo of the pizza shop around the corner – the same one Jack had applied at in June when he was desperate for money. \n “Evening,” the bird said, opening the bag and easing out a large pizza box. “Here we are.” \n Jack looked at him confusedly. “Umm...” he began, then saw over the bird's shoulder that Angelo was hurrying across the parking lot, jacket pulled over his head in the rain, and a large plastic bag in one paw. “One second,” Jack told the bird as Angelo drew nearer. The avian noticed Jack looking over his shoulder and turned towards the parking lot quickly, as if he expected to be jumped. \n “Hey Rog,” Angelo said, “I got this.” \n “Oh, hey Angelo,” the avian said. “It's $14.72.” \n Angelo handed him a folded bill. “Here you go, keep the change of course.” \n “Thanks bud!” the bird said, handing the pizza box to Jack before dashing back to his car to avoid getting more wet. \n Angelo was now on the stoop outside Jack's door. “Shall we?” he said, indicating Jack's door.\n The older fox smiled happily at his friend. “Absolutely,” Jack said, stepping back into his apartment with the pizza so the kit could enter with his own bundle. \n Angelo followed Jack inside and shut the door with a footpaw and looked around. The apartment was furnished like a college student's dorm room, and for good reason. Jack's parents had given him several pieces of their old furniture, as an excuse to buy themselves new replacements. \n As such, he had a reasonably comfortable couch, a rather beat-up coffee table, and a pair of mismatched end-tables which had come from different rooms back in his parents' house, but in the confined space of the apartment they now were forced to exist together. \n Jack placed the pizza box on the coffee table, centered with respect to the couch. He indicated the table to the younger fox, who set his bag down on it. The unmistakeable sound of aluminum cans told Jack that the kit had brought the beverages. \n “Take off your coat and stay a while!” Jack said, indicating the kit's denim jacket. Angelo smiled self-consciously and removed his wet jacket. Jack noticed that the knife the boy carried was still in its sheath in the jacket. “Won't need that here, I swear!” Jack said, indicating the knife.\n “I know,” Angelo said with a smile as he shook off the jacket and laid it down on the carpet to dry. “Just.... force of habit, y'know?” He wagged his tail vigorously to shake the water off of it, his back to the door so as not to get water on Jack's carpet or furniture. \n Jack sat down at one end of the couch. “Mmmm, smells good!” he said as the pizza's scent permeated the apartment's air. \n “Carnivore Special,” said Angelo with a grin as he walked to the couch and sat down at the opposite end from Jack. Food service shops had to cater to all kinds of furs, including avians and reptilians, and even Insectoids, so the available menus tended to be very large. The Carnivore Special would likely be heavily meat based. There would be similar recipes for Hebivores, Omnivores, and even Insectivores. \n “Nice,” Jack said, reaching over to open the pizza box. A puff of steam accompanied the box opening, as Jack regarded the food within. \n “Yep!” said Angelo, leaning forward to grab a slice as soon as the box was open. Despite the pizza's smell wafting up, Jack noticed a familiar scent on the kit's breath as their muzzles came close. \n “Ummm,” Jack began, indicating the bag of cans that Angelo had brought. “What do we have to drink?” \n The kit just smiled and upended the bag on the coffee table. Cans of beer rolled around the surface, some falling off onto the carpet. “Ta-Da!” he said with a smile. \n Jack's ears drooped. “Ange...” he said plaintively, “You shouldn't be drinking beer at your age.” \n Angelo shrugged. “Well,” he said, grabbing a slice of pizza. Sitting back, he added, “I shouldn't be selling pot at schools either! But there we are.” \n Jack cocked his head slightly, not sure how to respond to this candor. “Well... touche!” was all he could think to say. \n Angelo laughed out loud at this. “I like you, Jack!” he said with a smile when he stopped laughing. He reached for a beer can and popped the top as he spoke, though. \n Jack smiled to himself. “I like you too, Angelo,” he said, eliciting a happy smile from his friend. “But you really shouldn’t be drinking beer at your age.” \n Angelo sat back in the couch, a beer can in one paw and a slice of pizza in the other. “Come on,” he said, still friendly, “you can't tell me that after today you don't want one too!”\n “Maybe,” Jack said, partly agreeing with the point. Only partly, though. “But I'm still not going to have any. I made a promise,” he said, trying not to sound preachy. \n The grey-furred kit shrugged again. “That's cool,” he said. “Vic doesn't care, though.” He took a sip from his can and chomped on his pizza slice. \n “Exactly,”Jack thought to himself. That statement alone spoke volumes to the older fox. Angelo had not made the connection beyond the most literal level, apparently. Victor doesn't care... \n “Well, Angelo,” Jack said gently, leaning forward on the couch. Angelo stopped in mid chew and looked at Jack. He seemed slightly taken off-guard by the older fox's tone. “I... do care. About you.” Angelo resumed chewing, eyes still locked on Jack's. “So... please don't... drink anymore?” He made sure to have his tone come across as a request and not a demand. \n Angelo continued chewing slowly, his eyes searching Jack's face. He swallowed his mouthful and instinctively began to raise his paw with the beer can in it, before stopping abruptly. The little fox looked at the can wistfully for a second, then back to his older friend. “Ok, Jack,” he said, with an almost happy tone. “After this one, no more. Promise!”\n Jack smiled broadly. “Fair enough,” he said. The smile that came in return made the red fox feel even better; he felt like he had made his point on multiple levels, and they were all received. Jack reached over and grabbed a slice of the pizza, then stood up. “I got plenty of root beer,” he said cheerfully as he walked to his refrigerator to retrieve some. \n He placed a few cans by the pizza box as he returned, then sat back in his spot at the end of the sofa. “So, what do you want to watch?” he asked, reaching for the TV remote and un-muting the audio. \n “Beats me,” Angelo replied. “I don't really watch TV. Vic never connected his. So I don't know what's even on these days.” He looked towards the screen. The current program was a documentary on The Educational Channel about the inner-workings of modern naval vessels. “This looks kinda' interesting,” he commented. \n “Yeah, I like this channel,” Jack said. He sat back in the couch, a slice of pizza in his paw, half-watching the TV as he ate. For a few minutes the two foxes sat watching in silence. Several more slices were consumed as the program drew to a close. Angelo had finished his beer and opened a root beer can with much bravado, as if he wanted to make sure Jack knew he was doing it. The older fox for his part applauded, eliciting another happy laugh from the kit.\n “So Angelo,” Jack said as a commercial came on the TV. “Can I ask you something?” \n Angelo cocked his head slightly for a second. “You can always ask, sure!” he replied with a mischievous smile. His speech was slightly slurred, Jack noticed, obviously from the beer he'd imbibed both here and before coming over.\n Jack smiled lightly back. He wasn't sure how to broach this subject comfortably, and felt a little like he was taking advantage of the kit's current state. “You're Angelo...” he said, immediately realizing how dumb it sounded. \n Angelo spread his arms and looked them over, then down at his chest. “Yyy......yep!” he said, looking back up to Jack with a grin.\n Jack chuckled for a second before continuing. “Ummm... Angelo Who?” he said nonchalantly, hoping his voice did not betray his unease. \n The little fox's demeanor changed instantly, though. He dropped his arms back down to his side, and his smile quickly faded to a more serious countenance. His eyes searched Jack's again for a moment, then he raised his root beer can to his muzzle and took a sip. “Why you wanna know that?” he asked softly, looking now at the top of the can which was still to his lips. \n “I mean...” Jack began, the younger fox's reaction not helping to quell his nervousness. “I mean, we've been friends now for a while, and...” he cleared his throat, “and, I realized that I still don't know. That's all.” \n Angelo looked back up to Jack. “Well... it's 'Morrison', right?” he said plainly. If he was joking now, he didn't let on any. \n “Seriously?” Jack shot back instantly, sarcasm evident in his voice. “You'd really want... his name?” He had not meant to be so blunt about it, but his response was purely instinct at that moment. \n Angelo seemed to ponder that for a second, then his face brightened again. “Ok, I can be Angelo Jackson! Get it? 'Jack's Son'? Heh heh?” He chuckled with exaggerated nervousness, like he'd told a bad joke, but his face had an air of expectancy to it. \n “That could be nice,” Jack said pleasantly. A million scenarios flashed through his mind in an instant, but he dismissed them. Not now, he thought. “But seriously though,” he said, letting the sentence hang in the air. \n The kit sat back in his seat across from Jack again. He took a deep breath before speaking. “You want to try to find... her... don't you?” he asked, again softly. It was more of a statement than a question. \n Jack sat up in his seat. Was it that obvious? “No... no!” he protested. “It's just that...” he trailed off as Angelo let loose a thoroughly amused stream of giggles, which completely derailed Jack's train of thought. “Wha... what?” he asked. \n Angelo smiled at him and just wiggled his black-edged ears for a few seconds, the earrings in his left one tinkling as he did. Jack took mental inventory of his own ears: they were flat against his head, pointed rearwards. With an embarrassed laugh, he reached up and touched one, prompting another giggle from his little friend. \n Jack just sat back in his seat. He was caught; there was nothing he could really say about it. He sipped from his drink can and looked back at Angelo sheepishly. The young kit was still watching him with a curious smile. \n “Don't you... sort of want to find her, though?” Jack asked, since the subject had been broached. “Just a little?” \n Angelo sneered slightly at this. “Why?” he asked bitterly. “Why would I possibly want to ever see her again?” \n “Well,” Jack began, trying to maintain a calm and friendly tone. The last thing he wanted was to sour the mood. “Wouldn't you want to ask her... 'Why'?”\n “Why?” the boy replied. “She didn't want me, Jack! 'Why' doesn't matter anymore!”\n “I dunno,” Jack said, still keeping his voice even and calm, “There might have been reasons for...”\n “She didn't want me!” the kit said, cutting Jack off. He now spoke a little louder than before. “My so-called father never wanted me since the day he knocked her up! Then years later, she decided he was right! And NOW it looks like fucking Vic doesn't want me either!” Anger was beginning to creep into his voice now. \n Jack looked into the kit's blue eyes as they stared back at him. “Ange, look,” he said sadly, “I'm sorry. Sorry that I brought it up. Let's just... forget about it, ok?” \n Angelo stared at the older fox for a few seconds, then looked down at his soda can and set it on the table. “I gotta pee,” he declared flatly. \n “You know where it is,” Jack responded, pointing towards the hallway behind them. The little fox got up and disappeared down the hall. \n When Jack heard the door close, he gritted his teeth and smacked himself in the head with a paw. “The fuck are you doing?” he muttered to himself angrily. The kit was correct that Jack wanted to look for Angelo's mother, which Jack still felt was the right thing to do. He did not want to get into an argument over it, though, on what was supposed to be a fun evening.\n A minute or so later, the bathroom door opened and Angelo returned to the couch. Jack watched him silently and was dismayed that the kit did not look at him as he sat back down, but kept his gaze on the TV. \n “Ange,” Jack said, almost plaintively. “I'm sorry, bud. Really.” He smiled as his young friend finally made eye contact, the kit returning the smile with a smile of his own and a nod.\n “It's s'ok Jack,” Angelo finally said, his speech slurring slightly, then reached for the half-slice of pizza he had placed in the box. After swallowing it down, he continued. “Maybe... someday I'll try to find her. Maybe even someday soon. Just... not now, y'know?” Any anger was gone from his voice, and he seemed happy to talk about it again.\n Jack nodded. “Fair enough,” he said sadly. \n “Besides,” Angelo picked back up, “That was my First Life, anyway. I'm in my Second now, so my name is whatever I want it to be. I don't really even exist. Archer maybe!” he said happily, but with lines of thought clearly overlapping now. \n “Second one, eh?” Jack said conversationally. \n “Yep!” came the enthusiastic reply. “I came into the first one with nothing, naked and crying in the hospital, right? Well, same with the second one after... she left me there. Hospital. Just a paper gown-thing on, and all my stuff gone. Cry... crying my eyes out,” he said, either getting choked up on the last part, or stumbling on his words due to the beer. \n “Gone?” Jack asked.\n “Yup,” the kit replied, softer now. “Cops took everything in the place... for evis... evidence.” Angelo furrowed his brow. “Ev-i-dence,” he pronounced slowly, then grinned at Jack. \n “You're drunk!” Jack said teasingly. \n “I'm... good,” the young fox replied happily. He picked up the empty beer can and wiggled it. “Last one, remember?” \n Jack nodded and grabbed another can of root beer. Pizza always made him thirsty, and the two vulpes had torn through much of this one. Angelo had turned his gaze back towards the TV. A new program had come on – this one dealing with the construction of skyscrapers in the early 20th century. \n After a few minutes of watching the program, Angelo said, out of the blue, “You don't like Vic, do you?” \n Jack, who had been only half-watching the program, was caught off-guard. He thought for a moment how to respond as Angelo watched him expectantly. Finally he said, “I really don't know. I'm trying to figure him out, but he keeps... doing things that screw that up, you know?” \n Angelo nodded with a half-smile. “Yeah,” he said. “Things like yesterday, right?” \n “Exactly,” Jack replied. “I don't know what the heck he's up to. I mean, he seems like an ok guy, for the most part. I wish he wouldn't be such a dick to you, though.” \n The little grey-furred fox smiled at this. “He's not that bad. I guess. I don't...” he trailed off for a second, then resumed. “I dunno. I keep trying... to...” He shrugged with a smile. “I guess maybe I still don't got him figured out either!”\n Jack nodded, with a reassuring smile. He kept thinking of what Angelo had said, likely unintentionally, about feeling that Victor no longer wanted him around. The ferret's abrupt change in attitude was probably the cause for those feelings, he thought, combined with today's nerve-wracking delivery, of course. \n “So what did you think was going to happen today?” Jack asked his young friend. \n Angelo smiled an embarrassed little smile. “Well,” he began slowly, “you know how Vic was acting yesterday, right?” Jack nodded. “Talking like I wasn't even there, and talking to you about the stuff that he usually gives to me...then giving us that gang delivery to do. Well, I... thought he was going to get the gang to... kill me.” He looked at Jack matter-of-factly. \n “What...” Jack said, shocked. He knew there was something bothering Angelo during the delivery, but assumed that the kit was concealing some of the danger, so as not to panic or concern the older fox. That he was expecting to die the whole time had not entered into Jack's thoughts. \n Even as he spoke now, though, Angelo seemed indifferent to that possibility, at least outwardly. “Like I said, sometimes I think too much!” the kit said with a smile. \n “But why would Victor do that?” Jack asked.\n “I guess he wouldn't, right?” Angelo replied, still smiling. “But it kinda made sense to me, laying there in the dark all night. Vic's got you now, so maybe he doesn't need me.” \n “But I'm not...” Jack began, but Angelo raised a paw to stop him. \n “I'm just saying... that's what I was thinking last night. Suddenly he's giving you all the instructions and orders. If he wanted to get rid of me, the easy way for him to do it is to deliver this giant bag of pot to the gang, with a note inside: 'Kill the kid, let the other one go, you keep the pot as payment'. They kill me, you haul tail out of there and tell Vic... he pretends to be sad about it... you two go on from there.” Angelo's voice began to quiver slightly as he concluded. \n “Holy shit, Ange” Jack said, wanting to hug the boy and never let him go back to Victor. \n “Didn't happen though,” the kit said calmly. “Just my stupid mind running away with me.”\n “Do you think Victor would even think of something like that?” \n Angelo shrugged. “He always did say that the only way out once you're working for him, is...” He made a finger gun-to-the-head gesture. “Pow! I dunno if that's true, but I sure know enough to put him away for a long time. So if he ever wanted to get rid of me...” \n “All right,” Jack interrupted, “Like you said, that didn't happen. So no point in thinking about everything else that might not ever happen.” \n “Yeah,” came the reply, now with a hint of sadness. “I probably will anyway, though. I think about all that kind of stuff at night... what happened that day, what's going on tomorrow... Planning it all out, and thinking about what might go wrong so I can head it off. Usually takes me a couple hours to fall asleep 'cause I'm thinking too much.” He shrugged. \n The TV suddenly flicked off and the lights dimmed for a couple of seconds, then returned to normal. Outside, the wind was blowing harder than before, and the rain was coming down with more intensity, both elements clearly audible in the apartment in the absence of the television's audio. The two foxes looked upwards as the rain could be heard pounding down on the roof. \n “You... think you should go home?” Jack asked. \n “Nah, I like hanging out here,” the boy replied with a smile. “Besides, there's still half a pizza left!”\n Jack smiled. “Ok, but it's only going to get worse. Not supposed to stop 'till morning.” \n “It's only water!” Angelo said cheerfully. Jack nodded and used the remote to switch the television back on. The pair watched in silence for a few minutes more. At the next commercial break, Angelo got up to use the restroom again. \n “So...” Jack said when he returned, by way of starting a conversation while the commercials were still on, “you lost all your stuff, huh?”\n “Yeah,” the little fox confirmed. “Never really had much anyway, so it's not like I lost a whole lot.” He shrugged with a smile, not seeming to mind discussing this. \n “Anything you do miss?” Jack asked. “A toy or... anything?” \n The grey-furred kit seemed to almost blush, a slight grin crossing his face. “Well,” he started, slowly, then more normally, “I did have a penguin.” \n “A penguin?” Jack asked, surprised. \n “Plush penguin, silly!” came the reply with a grin. “He was about so high,” Angelo said, holding his paws about a foot apart vertically. “He had like a cargo vest on, with a bunch of pockets... So I called him...” he seemed to blush again, then with an embarrassed smile, “I called him... Pockets.” \n Jack grinned. “That's adorable!” he said teasingly, though only halfway so in his own mind. \n “Hey!” the kit said, taking the chunk of pizza crust he had been nibbling on and tossing at the older fox, who tried to duck as the bread hit him in the side of the muzzle. Angelo giggled playfully. \n “Easy now,” Jack said, picking the piece of crust off of his lap where it had bounced. “I'm just saying!” \n “Yeah, yeah,” Angelo said with mock dismissiveness, turning his attention back to the TV which had returned to the program. “That's pup shit anyway,” he said after a moment. \n Jack sat, only half watching the TV. He was thinking about Victor again, and how Angelo seemed to instinctively know how the older fox felt about the ferret; Jack hoped he was not giving off any vibes that Victor himself might pick up on. As he sat thinking, he absently nibbled on the pizza crust Angelo had thrown at him, which was cold and still slightly damp from where the kit had been doing the same. \n Outside the rain came down heavier with each passing moment, and the wind was driving it relentlessly against the windows and roof of the apartment. \n\n After a few more TV shows had come and gone, accompanied by several more momentary power hits, Jack rose from the couch and declared that he was going to go to bed. \n Angelo got up as well. “Yeah, I guess I should go home too,” he said. \n Jack carried the pizza to the refrigerator, still in the box. It was mostly gone, but enough for a snack tomorrow. “This was fun,” he said, hoping the boy felt the same. \n “Definitely!” came the answer, cheerfully. Angelo went towards the door and picked his jacket up, shaking it out as he did. “Now for the mad dash across the parking lot!” he said, putting the jacket on. \n “It's only water!” Jack said, echoing the kit's own words from earlier. Angelo smiled and nodded as Jack came to the door to see him off. \n The wind nearly blew the door into his face as he opened it. Outside, the rain was falling in torrents, blasted by the wind into a 45-degree angle of water and wind-blown mist. The light-post at the edge of the parking lot was just a glow behind the rain. Indeed, Jack could not even see his car from the doorway. \n “Yeah...” Angelo said slowly, his upper lip curled up slightly in an expression of trepidation. He made a hesitant move to step out onto the doorstep, but stopped himself still inside the apartment and looked up at Jack, as if asking what he should do. \n “Wow,” Jack said, impressed by the severity of the storm. He looked down into Angelo's expectant blue eyes, then took a step back and closed the door again. “So what do you want to do?” he asked the boy. \n Angelo clutched his jacket closed in front of him. “I... I dunno, what...” he said hesitantly. \n “I mean,” Jack continued, “you're perfectly welcome to stay here tonight if you want. The couch is plenty comfy!” \n Angelo nodded, looking back at the couch. “You... don't mind?” he asked. \n “Not at all, I told you that you're always welcome here!” Jack declared, prompting an appreciative smile from his young friend. “What if Victor calls, though?” Jack asked him.\n “Pfft,” the younger fox said sarcastically, as he removed his jacket once again and set it down in its previous spot by the door. “He won't. He never does.”\n “Figures,” Jack said instinctively, as he went to the couch and swept leftover pizza crumbs from the cushions. “Here we go, fit for a king!” \n “If I see one, I'll be sure to tell him,” said Angelo cheerfully. He sat down in the center of the couch and lightly bounced on the cushion. “Got a pillow, or a blanket or something?” \n Jack stood up abruptly. “Oh shit!” he said, then looking down at his young charge, “No... I haven't brought any extra blankets over yet! Just the ones on my bed... crap!” He walked quickly towards the hallway, then turned back, his mind searching for alternatives. “Maybe... maybe I could...” \n Angelo held a paw up. “It's cool, Jack. I don't really need em.” \n “I could turn the air conditioner to warmer, maybe...” Jack suggested, now feeling bad about this situation. \n “Nah, don't do that, I like it cold!” Angelo replied. \n “Yeah, but you also usually have those giant comforters!” Jack protested. \n “Don't worry, Jack,” Angelo said, insistently. “I'll just...” \n “Towels!” Jack interrupted. “I do have a couple spare towels!” He turned and dashed to the bathroom closet. Retrieving what few towels he had, he returned to the living room to one amused little grey-furred fox. \n “Thanks,” said the kit with a chuckle. \n Jack paused, now realizing how manic he must appear. Allowing himself a laugh, he placed the towels on the cushion next to Angelo. “Sorry,” he said with a smile. “You're my first house-guest, and it ain't starting off too well!” \n “I'll be fine,” the young fox insisted. “Thanks!”\n Jack nodded. “Ok,” he said standing back up. “Well, you know where everything is.” Angelo nodded. “If you need anything, I'm right in there,” he said, pointing down the hallway. \n “Good night, Jack,” said Angelo with a pleasant smile. \n Jack resisted the urge to fuzzle the kit's headfur. “Good night to you too!” he simply replied, then with a wave, turned down the hallway to his bedroom, to give the kit privacy to undress as much as he might want. \n Entering his bedroom, Jack left the door open a ways instead of fully closing it as was his custom. He turned off the light and went to his bed to undress, leaving his clothes by the side of the bed in case he needed to venture out of his room in the night, for whatever reason. \n The red fox sat on his bed in just his boxers. The light from the living room still shone through the opening in the bedroom door. After a minute or two more, it flicked off. Jack lay down on his bed and pulled his covers over himself with a silent sight. He felt guilty doing that while outside, Angelo had only a couple of thin towels to cover himself. \n Jack knew that the alternatives were to send the kit home in the storm, where Jack could not even see him make it to his apartment safely, or to offer the kit a place in his bed, which he was afraid would send the wrong message to the boy. Jack's sister had often snuck into his bed when he lived back at home, so it was no big deal to the older fox, but he didn't want to risk crossing a line with Angelo, intentionally or otherwise.\n He laid his head back on his pillow and listened to the music of the rain whipping against the building until he fell asleep. \n\n In the morning, Jack awoke to the sun brightly lighting the blinds in his window. The storm had by now completely departed the area. The red fox blinked his eyes a few times then looked over at his clock radio. It was blinking 12:00 – the power had gone out during the night for some length of time. He slowly sat up in bed, realizing that he didn't know what time it was, other than “morning”. \n He reached over to the radio and turned it on, hitting the preset button for the news-talk channel, which gave the time every few minutes. The DJs were discussing the storm and reading off lists of areas with power still out, then segued into road hazards such as downed trees and power lines. Finally they announced the time as they broke for commercial: 7:27.\n Not bad, Jack thought. His alarm was set for 7am, so he woke up naturally after a slight overage. He re-set his clock and grabbed his clothes from where they lay at the side of the bed and hastily dressed. They were yesterday's clothes, but would suffice until he saw Angelo off and could shower. \n Jack walked into his living room to wake the young fox. Angelo was curled up in a tight ball on the couch. He was fully clothed, and had even put his jacket on, followed by the few towels that Jack could provide. Jack frowned – the boy was obviously too cold in the night, and this knowlegde didn't sit well with the older fox. \n “Hey buddy,” Jack said gently, hoping to rouse the kit. When he got no response, he repeated it slightly louder. Still nothing. “Angelo,” Jack half-sung, and poked him in the shoulder softly. The little fox's eyes snapped open at the contact, then he blinked and took a deep breath, long and slow. \n “Hey Jack,” Angelo said tiredly, looking up at his host. He began to slowly uncurl and stretch. \n “Good morning!” Jack said. Then after a pause, “Were you cold last night?” \n “Meh,” Angelo replied. “I'm ok, don't worry.” He was fully uncurled and laying flat on the couch now. \n “I'm sorry bud,” Jack said sadly. “Next time I'll make sure to be better stocked.” \n “Mmm,” the young fox simply intoned as he sat up and scratched the back of his head. He stopped, then looked at Jack quizzically for a moment. “Next time?” he asked.\n “Sure,” Jack said, “If you want a “next time,” that is...”\n “Yeah,” Angelo replied with a smile. “I had fun, even with the storm!”
 “Well ok then,” the red fox said declaratively. \n Angelo rubbed his eyes and scratched his cheek-fluff as he sat on the couch. “So,” he began slowly, “I guess... I should go, huh?” \n “You can hang out if you'd like,” Jack said, though he needed to use the bathroom, and wanted a shower as well. “Want to go get some breakfast?” he suggested. \n “Yeah, that sounds good!” Angelo replied enthusiastically. “Lemme go home and... clean up and stuff, then we can go, ok?” \n “Perfect!” Jack said, walking to the door as Angelo rose from the couch and again stretched. \n Jack opened the door and surveyed the scene. Small chunks of tree were everywhere: tiny sections of branch, with three or four leaves each, dotted the parking lot. Larger chunks of branch were occasionally seen, especially near the trees themselves. There didn't seem to be any truly big limbs down though, and no real damage to any of the buildings they could see. \n “Wow,” Angelo said, arriving at Jack's side. “Good storm we had!” Jack just nodded, still looking over the storm's leftovers. “See you in a bit Jack!” he said cheerfully. \n “Ok, be careful out there,” Jack said, instinctively patting the kit's shoulder, which Angelo didn't react to, “It's probably really slippery with all those wet leaves.” \n “I will!” he replied, and started down the walkway, turning back to wave cheerfully. Jack waved back with a genuine smile, then shut the door. \n\n “He said yes!” Victor exclaimed, grabbing both of Jack's shoulders and shaking them. \n “Congratulations,” Jack said sarcastically, “When's the wedding?” Victor laughed out loud and slapped one of the fox's shoulders. \n “Ha! You know what I mean!” Victor said cheerfully, and threw some mock shadow-boxing punches Jack's way. \n Jack and Angelo had gone for breakfast as planned following their storm-induced sleepover, then on a whim went to one of the local electronics stores to have a look at mobile phones – Jack figured he could afford one of his own now. The one he had used in high school was under his parents name and, like most else had been terminated upon his moving out, though he still had his old phone number on reserve. He ended up not buying anything for now, though. \n Their impromptu visit to the store then turned into a longer visit, as they looked over laptops, video game consoles, and assorted other items in the store. When they finally returned to the apartment, it was closing in on noon. The pair were in the process of walking around the apartment complex, looking over the storm's aftermath in more detail when they saw Victor's car pull up. \n He clearly saw the two foxes as well, and briefly stopped the car, before continuing down to his parking space. With a silent exchange of looks, Jack and Angelo both decided that they should stop what they were doing and meet up with the ferret. \n Victor had opened his front door and placed his suitcase inside by the time the foxes made it back to the apartment. With the door still open, he practically bounded down the walkway when he saw them, before grabbing the teen's shoulders excitedly and making his pronouncement. \n “This is it, Jack! This is where it all turns around,” Victor continued.\n “Hi Vic,” Angelo said, deliberately and dryly, obviously pointing out that the ferret had not even acknowledged the younger fox's presence yet. \n “Angelo,” Victor said with a happy nod to the little fox. Then putting one arm around each, said “My two favorite people. We're going places, gents!” \n “So I assume this is about...” Jack started to say. Victor stopped him with a raised finger. \n “Ah-ah... not here,” he cautioned. Jack nodded. “Tonight!” Victor declared. \n “Tonight?” Jack asked. \n “Dinner, on me,” Victor replied, arms still around both foxes. “In there, unfortunately,” he said, with a nod towards the apartment, “Gotta be able to talk, you know? You like Italian?” \n “Yeah, sure,” the red fox responded. \n “Great, I know the best place. You come by around 7:00, when you see my car. Take the rest of the day off – got nothing due that can't wait a day now! Bad enough you have a 7am delivery tomorrow... so take a day for yourself!” He let go of the two vulpes, then balled his fists up in front of him and shook them with a wide grin. Jack thought he looked very much like a small cub who has been promised a trip to his favorite vacation spot. \n “I'll be there,” Jack replied with a slight smile of amusement. \n “See you then,” the ferret replied, then turned abruptly towards the apartment again, and with a nod to Angelo, started towards his door without a glance back. As they walked, Jack heard Victor say to the little fox, “Everything go good with yesterday?” \n Jack didn't hear the younger fox's reply as they walked, but assumed he was updating Victor on the delivery. He was slightly surprised that Victor did not bring it up right away, given the amount of money involved. Similarly, Jack noticed that despite his initial ignoring of Angelo's presence, that Victor then chose to ask him about the delivery and not Jack. \n As the fox and ferret disappeared behind their door, Jack turned towards his own abode, shaking his head with a chuckle. Just when he thought he might have Victor figured, the ferret flips the tables on him again. \n\n Jack sat on his couch with his laptop, idly browsing various Internet sites, waiting for 7:00 to come. He was glad to have been given the day off, especially with an early morning to follow, but was still anxious regarding Victor's forthcoming announcement. Something inside told him that he was probably not going to like it. \n With ten minutes to go to 7:00, he heard a car horn beep twice from outside. He got up and went to the window. Pulling the curtain aside, he saw Victor and Angelo standing by Victor's car, unloading several plastic bags from the back seat. Dinner is served, he thought to himself, then grabbed his keys and went outside to meet them. \n As he reached Victor's car, Angelo came back out of the apartment to retrieve the remaining bags. Victor had not skimped on the dinner order – there had to have been at least 5 full bags. \n “Hey, Jack,” Angelo said cheerfully. “Only one left, I got it.” He ducked into the back seat of the car and emerged with the bag. Jack noticed an enticing smell wafting from it as he closed the car door behind the kit.\n “Smells good,” Jack said, following Angelo up the walkway to the apartment. \n “Yeah, I love this place,” came the enthusiastic reply. \n Inside, Victor had pulled the round table that usually occupied the corner of the room into the center, pushing aside the few remaining boxes and sliding the couch back a ways. Three places were set, evenly spaced around it. \n Victor was in the kitchen, unloading the food bags onto the counter. Angelo brought the last bag around to him, then stood next to the ferret as he opened the containers. Jack noticed that he also had a glass of wine on the counter that he had nearly emptied already. \n “Jack, welcome to Casa Morrison!” Victor said from the kitchen. “Grab a seat, we'll be right with you.” Then, in a lower voice to Angelo, he said, “Take this... and this.” \n Jack sat in one of the chairs. Victor had tried for an elegant appearance despite the spartan surroundings. His place was set with full silverware service, water and wine glasses, and a cloth napkin. \n Angelo came out from the kitchen with a bread basket in one paw and a pasta bowl in the other. He placed them in the center of the table then sat down in his own spot and smiled to Jack. Victor came out a moment later with a water pitcher and a gallon jug of wine, nearly half empty. He placed them down in the center of the table as well. \n “Dig in, I'm not gonna serve you!” Victor said with a grin, then went immediately for the wine bottle and filled his own glass. “Jack?” he asked, holding the bottle out to the fox. \n “No, thanks,” Jack said, feeling slightly self-conscious that he had to decline his host's first offer. “I don't really drink.” Even if he did, he thought, he had to get up early tomorrow for another delivery apparently, so would not risk imbibing much. \n Victor seemed to take it in stride, however. “Suit yourself,” he said, then reached over and put the bottle down next to Angelo. “More for us,” he said. \n Angelo looked to Jack, who met his glance for a second then looked away, reaching for the bread basket. “I'll... I'll pass, Vic,” the little fox said. \n “Bullshit,” Victor said cheerfully, and grabbing the bottle, filled Angelo's wine glass, spilling more than a few splashes as he did so. He then returned to the kitchen to retrieve more of the meal. With a slightly guilty expression, Angelo again looked at Jack, who merely shrugged. \n Victor quickly returned to the table with several steaming bowls and a large platter of what looked to be chicken parmesan. Jack's mouth immediately started to water in earnest as Victor placed them on the table then took his seat. \n “A toast!” Victor exclaimed, raising his wine glass. “To the next level of my humble operation!”\n Jack raised his water glass, and after a slight hesitation, Angelo raised his wine glass. The three clinked the glasses together over the center of the table then drank. Jack was pleased to see that Angelo raised his glass to his muzzle, but did not appear to actually drink from it. \n Victor handed Jack the large serving fork. “Go for it,” he told the fox. \n Jack was more than happy to oblige, and went straight for the chicken parm platter. “So,” he said while serving himself, “what is this big deal that you've been working on?” \n “Ehh,” Victor intoned, “I don't want to jinx it just yet, but let's just say that soon you won't be delivering cigars anymore. We'll be moving up to something a bit more profitable.” He took a long drink from his wine glass then re-filled it. \n Jack laughed. “So you're not going to tell me yet?” He handed the serving fork to Angelo. \n Victor laughed as well. “I will, I will,” he said, “Just... I want to wait 'till I have product in-paw. You never know when shit's going to go wrong, y'know?” After a slight pause, he laughed again. \n Victor had clearly started into the wine well before Jack arrived, the fox reckoned. Which probably meant he had driven to the restaurant, with Angelo in the car, if not actually drunk then surely under the influence. \n “So far, the deal is a go, though,” Victor continued as he loaded his plate. “Cost me damn near all I got, but it'll be worth it.” \n “Ok,” Jack said, “so when will this deal actually happen then?”\n “A fair question!” Victor said loudly, gesturing with his wine glass and again splashing a bit on the table. “I need to get all the cash converted into something a little more... portable. That cash from yesterday, I mean. Traveling with a sack full of bills tends to raise suspicion! Probably take me a few days for that, so I don't get stuck with all that government reporting shit.”\n Jack furrowed his brow at that cryptic response. He figured it was a reference to money-laundering, but briefly wondered why that would even be necessary – it all came from a gang, so would already be untraceable. \n “Don't worry, Jacky,” Victor said, clearly noticing the concerned look that had crossed the fox's face, “Just leave it to me, right? Besides, that's not the whole reason for this little soiree.” \n “Oh yeah?” Jack asked, ignoring the hated over-familiarization of his name, which he attributed to the wine. \n “Nope,” Victor said, looking to Jack, then to Angelo who now looked slightly confused, then back to Jack. “I said I was taking my enterprise to the next level. The new product line is only part of that – it's time to make other things official too.” He paused dramatically. Angelo looked to Jack with an uneasy expression. \n “Jack.” Victor declared. “You've done a hell of a job as my driver. Shit, that stunt with the train should have been enough to prove that! So: I want you... now... to be my official business partner!” He finished with a flourish of his hand as if he was announcing a winner on a game show, then took a bite of the chicken. \n The silence in the room was palpable. Victor sat back and sipped from his wine glass, as if letting his offer sink in. Jack looked the ferret in the eyes for a few seconds, then to Angelo, whose eyes were looking from Jack to Victor, and back. The look on the kit's face now was unmistakable: betrayal. \n Jack sat back as well, his mind racing. He couldn't look at Angelo after seeing the boy's expression. “Victor, I... wow,” he said, hoping to buy some time. \n “I know, it's something, right?” Victor said. \n “Yeah...” Jack said. “But...” he began, not sure how to say it, “Don't you... already have a partner?” \n Victor looked genuinely confused at this. “Huh?” he asked, then realizing, “Oh, him?” he said, indicating Angelo. That he didn't use the kit's name was most telling to Jack. “Well, uh...” the ferret stammered. “I mean, he does good work for me and all, but... you're my field agent, right?” he said, turning to Angelo. “You're my fox-on-the-scene... you go where I can't, right?” \n “Yeah, sure Vic...” Angelo said flatly. \n “Yeah,” Victor echoed. “You're more like the legs of my operation, you know?” If he was trying to sound encouraging, it wasn't working, Jack thought. Victor continued, “I need a real partner. Another brain next to mine to go through all the higher-level stuff!” \n “Yeah,” Angelo said, much quieter now, and the room again fell silent. \n After a few seconds, Jack spoke up. “So, what would this job have me doing?” he asked. “You're still going to need a driver, right?” \n “Well... true,” Victor said, as if he'd not thought it through completely. “Yeah, you'd still be doing the driving,” he said, then hurriedly added, “for now!” \n Jack nodded slowly, chewing his food. He glanced to Angelo, but the kit was staring at the platter on the table, his face now expressionless. \n “But,” Victor continued, “after those deliveries, instead of going home for the day, we'd get together and make plans, you know? Think about all kinds of new ways to make money, new things we can do, new markets to delve into!”\n “Vic!” Angelo exclaimed, sounding exasperated. “I've had lots of ideas for making money! But you don't want to hear them!” \n “What, your little beer smuggling scheme?” Victor said, the enthusiasm in his voice giving way to irritation. “That's small-time crap. I mean real money-making ideas.” \n “That's pure profit and you know it!” Angelo shot back immediately.\n “Yeah, for you!” Victor said, anger creeping into his voice. Jack was surprised at how quickly the ferret's attitude was changing before his eyes. “I buy the shit, and you keep all the money!” He looked to Jack as he continued, “That's a hell of a deal he's got going, huh?” \n “Come on, Vic,” the grey-furred fox continued, apparently unwilling to give in on this point. “It costs what, ten bucks to fill one up? And I get fifty back for it? Even if you kept it all, that's still pretty good money!” \n “Pfft, that's still small-time shit,” Victor retorted. Both furs' voices were getting louder as they sparred. “Don't waste my time unless you have some real ideas!”\n “I got tons of ideas, but you won't listen!” Angelo said angrily, then calming slightly, continued, “Now, take the summer sports camps: hundreds of furs, and it's hot as hell, right? Well, I figure we can...” \n “ENOUGH!” Victor shouted and slammed a fist down on the table, knocking his wine glass over and causing everyone's silverware to jump. Jack nearly jumped as well at this sudden outburst. Angelo immediately fell silent. \n Victor held both palms out at shoulder level and closed his eyes, as if trying to regain his composure. The room stayed silent, with only the trickle of spilled wine from the table to the carpet audible. After a brief second, he opened his eyes and calmly righted his glass. He threw his napkin roughly onto the spilled wine.\n “All right,” he said, his voice calmer, but with anger still apparent. “You want to talk about how you can make me money? Ok, we'll talk about it. Let's see: I can get five hundred bucks from one guy for recording you in the bathroom. How's that for a start? Then I've got offers for your tail-hole... I'll let you try to figure out from who. Some want it for an hour, some for all night. I can get ten grand for that! Of course, they probably aren't going to want you to just walk away afterwards, so there's that.” \n “Victor...” Jack said, trying to calm the ferret. He was stunned by this turn. Granted, he did know of one customer that Angelo had already said wanted nude pictures of him, so that would hardly be surprising to the kit. For Victor to come out and say it so bluntly, though...\n “What? We're just talking here, right?” Victor said to Jack, then turned his gaze back to the smaller fox, his voice slowly rising in both volume and venom. “Of course, if you want to make me some real money, there's the sentient-trafficking rings in New York - the Russian's talked about them. I could probably get fifty... maybe seventy-five grand for you at your age. Then little Ash can spend the rest of his life as a fuck toy for horny foreign businessmen, and permanently drugged when not having your tail-hole reamed out!\n “Until you're not cute enough anymore, of course” the ferret went on, his voice quieting down some, but more filled with spite and cruelty than ever. “Then... a bullet to the head, a splash in the ocean, and nobody on Earth will know you ever existed.” He spoke this last sentence slowly, with an icy tone, staring straight into the little kit's blue eyes. \n Angelo did not look away, and his face showed little emotion, which seemed to annoy Victor. He reached over and picked up the wine bottle and refilled his glass. Then taking a long draw from it, he calmly said, “So... do you still want to talk about ways you can make me money? Or do you want to shut the fuck up and let me run the business?” He stared back intently at Angelo as he said this. \n Angelo, his jaw tight, continued to hold Victor's gaze for a moment until it became obvious that the ferret was not going to break it first, at which time the young fox gave in and looked down at his plate. \n With a smirk, Victor simply said, “Good,” and sat back in his chair sipping his wine. The room fell silent again for a half-minute, after which Victor calmly picked up his silverware and resumed eating. “So... where was I?” he said after a couple of mouthfuls. \n Jack made a non-committal gesture, and looked at Angelo. The little fox was still staring at his plate, both arms at his side under the table. \n “Your job,” Victor said, reminding himself where he had left off. “The way I see it, you can give me feedback from the customers, how they're liking the products, how fast it's selling, that kind of thing. You know supply-and-demand?” \n Jack just nodded, watching the ferret closely now. The fox no longer felt like eating, but forced himself to do so. For now, he figured, he had to at least play along with Victor until he could figure out what to do. \n “Good,” Victor continued. “So you'd use that to make the call: is the stuff selling too fast, so we should jack the price up? Ha-ha, get it? 'Jack' the price up? Anyway: or is it not moving so we should cut the price or move to a better area? And that's only part of what I have in mind for you! In addition...” \n Victor went on, but Jack was only half-listening now. He kept glancing to his young friend who was absently picking at his food with a fork. He'd only had time for a bite or two before Victor exploded on him, and had now clearly lost his appetite as well. \n After a couple more minutes, and during a pause in Victor's monologue, Angelo abruptly pushed back his chair. “I'm gonna go read,” he said flatly, then got up from the table and turned towards the hall. \n “Hey!” Victor called out, “Put your shit away.” \n Angelo turned back and grabbed his plate roughly and carried it towards the kitchen. Jack could see that his jaw was clenched again, though he displayed no other outward emotion. Having put his plate away, he went immediately to his room, without a further glance towards the table. Jack heard his door close – neither an angry slam nor a meek click. \n Victor silently watched Angelo the whole time, with a smug smirk on his face, until the kit disappeared down the hall. He then returned his attention to his plate, and ate in silence again for a minute or two. \n “So Jack,” the ferret said after a few more mouthfuls and yet another wine refill, “I've been doing all the talking here. You gotta have questions... concerns? Hit me with 'em!”\n Jack forced himself to swallow the food he'd been chewing, trying to maintain a detached demeanor. “Well, sure I do, Victor,” he said. “It is kind of hard to have an opinion, though, 'till I know what this Mystery Product is going to be.” \n “A fair point,” Victor conceded, “and I don't need an answer from you today. For now we'll keep things as they are, until we get ramped up on the new line. Give me a week, tops. Sound good?” \n “Sounds good,” Jack replied, hoping he sounded more enthusiastic than he felt. \n “Good,” Victor said. “What else is on your mind?” \n “Well,” the fox started, slowly. He might as well say it, he figured. “Was all that really necessary?” \n “Was what?” Victor answered, through a mouthful of food. \n This apparent lack of empathy now annoyed Jack. “Was... that!” he said, indicating Angelo's vacant chair. \n “Oh him, pfft,” Victor replied. “Don't worry about that. He's been coming up with crackpot ideas for a while now. Trying to worm his way into my affairs. He just needs to be reminded of his place every once in a while.”\n “His place...” Jack repeated. \n “Yeah, he's just the delivery boy. Nothing more,” said Victor. “Keeps forgetting that fact. He also forgets the fact that I basically made him, and I can just as easily replace him.”\n “That's kind of cold, don't you think?” Jack asked, still maintaining a neutral tone, one of an outsider trying to understand, and not to judge. \n “Cold, but true,” Victor said. “There's plenty more where he came from: homeless pups who'd kill for the life I've given Angelo. Doing what you're told is a small price to pay. Ungrateful, if you ask me.” He seemed to ruminate for a moment, then said, “Next time I'll be sure to get a stupid one.” \n Jack had to chuckle at that backhanded compliment. “Still,” he said, “don't you think that was rather harsh to talk to a kit like that?”\n “He knows me,” Victor replied with a faint hint of annoyance, “He should have known better than to start on that again. Look, Jack, it's good that you two get along. Makes the job go easier than with someone you can't stand, right? But take my advice: don't get too attached.”\n “Oh?” Jack asked. This was leading somewhere, he thought. \n “Yeah,” Victor said, his gaze a little unsteady from the wine. “Why do you think I'm using an orphan who dropped out of the system? I mean, he's an ok kit and all, but if the shit hits the fan... if it really comes down to it... he is expendable.”\n Jack stared at Victor, trying to mask what he was feeling. This now explained a great deal about Victor, and his relationship with the little grey-furred fox. He now knew that he had to get the kit away from this ferret, any way possible. Until he could figure a way to do so, though, he had to stay on Victor's good side.\n “What about me?” Jack asked, now playing along with the ferret. “Am I expendable too?” \n Victor smiled broadly at this. “You? Nah,” he said with a laugh. “Nope, you're going to be my partner. We'll keep the expendable ones doing the dirty work while we reap the rewards, don't you worry.” \n Jack nodded. “Well, for now though, don't you think you should ease up on the kid? You don't want him feeling like he's not welcome around here, right?” If he could get Victor to lighten up, at least Angelo might have a better time while he was stuck here, Jack reckoned.\n Victor stared at Jack for a few seconds, then bellowed over his shoulder, “Angelo!” Jack heard Angelo's door open, and a few seconds later the kit emerged from the hallway. He was shirtless, and carried a book in one paw, closed over one finger. \n “Yeah Vic?” Angelo asked, eyes darting between Jack and Victor. \n Victor turned around in his chair to face the kit. “Listen, all that stuff earlier... just forget about all that, yeah? You and me... we built this place from nothing, right? I move up, you move up. So don't worry about any of that. Ok?” \n “Yeah, sure Vic,” Angelo said, sounding slightly confused. \n “Ok then,” Victor said with a slight smile and an almost dismissive nod then turned back around. Angelo nodded back, then looked to Jack as he began to turn back towards the hallway. The kit's confused look evaporated in that split second, and his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he looked at the older fox. Then he was gone back down the hall. \n Victor smiled and shot a glance to Jack, as if saying “Well?” \n “You're a saint,” Jack said dryly, wondering what that look on Angelo's face meant. \n The ferret laughed at Jack's comment, then seemed to study his face. After a moment, he said, “I like you Jack. I knew you were going to work out the day I met you.” \n “Well thanks,” Jack said evasively, wondering where this was going now. \n “You know, I don't like banks,” Victor said, which caught Jack completely off-guard. “When you deal in as much cash as I do, they tend to get all... report-y on me. Government, I mean. Government doesn't like too much un-reported cash flowing in and out. So I keep clear of them, and don't use cash.” \n “Don't use... then what do you use?” Jack asked, now genuinely curious. \n Victor smiled and rose from the table. Jack made a move to get up, but Victor held up a paw for him to stay, then went to the kitchen and opened a lower cabinet. He returned to the table and set down a can of kitchen cleanser powder. The can thudded heavily on the table. \n Jack looked at the can, then at Victor who was grinning. “I don't get it,” Jack said. \n “Pick it up,” Victor said. Jack did and found the can was deceptively heavy. “Gold,” Victor said, sitting back down. “Gold coins. I buy them at coin shops soon as I have enough for one. No reporting!”\n “Gold,” Jack said, impressed, as he hefted the can and examined it. It had a locking mechanism on the bottom, and was clearly a covert safe of some sort, disguised as a can of common cleaning product. \n “Yep,” Victor confirmed. “I can carry fifty grand in a can that size, and it's perfectly legit. Anyone finds it, I can say I'm taking it to a bank to open a safety deposit box... or going to a dealer to sell my dear grandmothers coin collection. You get caught with fifty G's cash in your pocket, and you're going to be talking with all sorts of cops, feds, customs, whatever.”\n “So,” Jack said, connecting the dots from a comment made earlier, “When you said you had to convert that bag of cash into something more portable...” \n “I gotta visit some coin stores, exactly!” Victor said proudly. \n “And you're telling me this, because...” Jack said, placing the can back down.\n “I'm going to be paying the Russian in gold. I'll have a few grand in cash left in my room. And this,” Victor said, indicating the can, “is the rest of my money. I want you to keep it safe for me.” \n Jack's eyes went wide at this. “Keep it safe?” \n “Yeah,” Victor replied. “Just stash it under your sink and forget about it. That way, if I ever get raided, or whatever, I'll have some cash stashed somewhere else.” \n “Wow,” Jack said, “How much is in here?” \n “Never mind that,” the ferret responded. “I know how much, and that's all that matters. Just... stash it away, and forget about it. Deal?” \n “Deal,” the fox replied. “I appreciate your trust.” He reached for the can again, and Victor's paw slammed down on his. \n “Just... don't try to fuck me,” Victor said coldly, his gaze shaky. “That can is mine. If I go away for twenty years, it had better fucking be waiting for me when I come back. As long as both of us are breathing on this Earth... you remember that it's mine.” \n Jack met Victor's gaze. “I can promise you that, Victor, don't you worry.” \n Victor stared at the fox for a few seconds, then his expression softened into a grin again. “I like you, Jack!” He patted the paw that he had covered, then released it and sat back down. “We're going to go far, my boy!” \n Jack sat back and sipped from his water glass. Victor started into another monologue about the great things that were coming for them, and began to digress into his thoughts about the Russian's operation and how he felt it could be improved. \n But Jack was barely listening now. He was trying to digest all that had happened this evening, and all that had come to light. He was worried about Angelo after the altercation with Victor, and the look he had shot Jack which now seemed almost accusatory to the older fox. \n If there could be said to be a positive that came out of the dinner, it was that Jack no longer had any doubt how he felt about Victor: he hated him. \n\nTo be continued...", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "Disclaimer: This story is part of a series, entitled “Dangerous Games”. The series contains non-human anthropomorphic animal (“Furry”) characters of varying ages, adult and cub. While there are no overt sexual acts depicted in this series, the stories will contain adult themes, topics, and situations, which may not be legal in some jurisdictions. These include: frank discussions of sexual acts and character sexuality, alcohol and drug use, criminal acts, violence, adult language, weapons including guns and knives, bloodshed, grievous bodily harm, death, and events which depict underage characters in peril.  

It is up to the reader to be aware of the laws regarding depictions of such material in their place of residence. If you are not allowed to read such material, due to age, religion, place of residence, or any other factor, do not continue.

This story and all characters are copyright Shryke. This is a work of fiction. All events and persons depicted are fictional, and any similarities with actual events or persons is purely coincidental.

This is Part 4. If you've not read the prior parts you will be rather lost, and since you've not read through as the characters have been developed in previous parts, the story will seem kind of “meh, so what” to you. Plus you'll be spoiling some of the things that were set up in the previous parts.



DANGEROUS GAMES
by Shryke
Part 4

          It took the rest of the week, and the better part of the next, to finally get all the cigars delivered. During that time some additional, though smaller, shipments had arrived at Victor's place, and Jack and Angelo interspersed those deliveries with the remaining cigar deliveries.
          Strangely enough to Jack, most of the new shipments seemed to be perfectly legal this time: ornately cut crystal bottles of liquor, boxes of Dom Perignon champagne, tins of food with Russian-looking names, and similar items. Angelo didn't know for sure, but dismissively suggested that these were probably all stolen goods, as opposed to contraband imported goods as the Cuban cigars were.
          Working for Victor these few weeks, Jack had made enough money to cover his apartment's rent for July, with enough left over to have cable television service installed, and its accompanying Internet access, both of which he had missed terribly. Since moving in, his only source of entertainment had been watching DVDs on the small laptop he had used in high school. While Angelo may have enjoyed reading, and spent much of his free time so doing, Jack did not share in that interest.
          Victor was in and out of town on a fairly regular basis – he'd be out for 2 to 3 days at a time, then back for 4 or 5 days, then he'd be gone again. He told Jack that he was close to making a large deal with his New York supplier, whom he referred to only as “The Russian”, and that deal would catapult their operation to “the next level”, but he never elaborated beyond that. Even Angelo was oblivious as to what this new deal might entail.
          Jack still wasn't completely sure how he felt about Victor. The ferret seemed very friendly, if somewhat anxious over the pending deal, but his demonstrated capacity for violent outbursts never fully left the teen fox's mind. Jack saw Victor's overall demeanor as being responsible for this uncertainty: he was a mix of contradictions coupled with an obviously unstable personality, making him extremely difficult to understand.
          While essentially a small-time smuggler, Jack noted that Victor comported himself like the head of an international crime syndicate, despite living in these tiny apartments. He wore silk suits that belied his day job as a manager at a local office supply store (a job that Victor was embarrassed to even discuss). He would take the two foxes to a lavish dinner one night, then would feast on microwave pizza the next.
          Yet though he had been true to his promises without exception so far, Jack still had a nagging feeling that he could not trust Victor. His loyalties were clearly to himself, but Jack wondered how far out those allegiances extended, if at all. He especially did not like that the ferret left Angelo alone for days on end while he went to see The Russian.
          As for Angelo, Jack was growing increasingly fond of the little grey-furred fox kit. He was the ready-made little brother that Jack always wanted – clever and witty, and just generally fun to be around. The little fox at first tried to hold himself somewhat aloof, but the more time the two vulpes spent together, the more the 11-year-old opened up. Up to a point, at least: he still would not talk of his  mother who had abandoned him, beyond what he had said on their first day working together.
          So Jack had taken it upon himself to do his own investigation. One of the first things he did when his Internet was installed, was to search news records and crime reports from around the time Angelo said it had all happened. The timing of the facts all lined up: the fox-flu outbreak, and the major snowstorm that occurred on the day his mother vanished. But there was nothing about a fox kit abandoned in the hospital.
          Jack even went forward several weeks, and there was nothing about a missing person whose car was discovered in the bus station parking lot after the snow had melted, or of a cub who had run away from the State run home for orphans that he was boarded in after leaving the hospital. It was most frustrating – this either did not qualify as news, or things had not unfolded as he had been led to believe.
          The most likely explanation, Jack figured, was that he simply did not have enough information. The fox tended not to believe that the kit had made up the story; Angelo had promised after the stolen car debacle to never lie to him, and Jack did feel that he could trust the boy. He was a good kit, just in a bad overall situation, which made him have to do things that he probably would not have done otherwise.
          Yet as much as Angelo protested that he was perfectly content with his living and working arrangements, Jack picked up on subtle clues that this might not be the case. The older fox knew that the kit was lonely, even if he wouldn't admit it. Several times when they had finished up and were parting company for the day, Angelo seemed to linger on the goodbye for longer than might be expected, and brought up trivial points at the last minute, as if to prolong their parting for just a little longer.
          Additionally, Jack noted, Angelo lived very much in the moment, as all kits did to a certain degree, but he took it to the point of practically dismissing the future. Even when talking about things like what he wanted to be when he grew up, or where he might want to go on a vacation, he would just say something like, “Let's worry about making it home today first,” and certainly didn't seem to consider what a life after Victor might be like.
          Jack had made it a mental goal to try to get the kit out of the life he was in, though admittedly he had no idea how to even begin to do so, or where Angelo might go if he did get away. For better or worse, his arrangements with Victor provided at least short-term stability for the kit.
          He ultimately decided not to force the issue. For now he would be Angelo's friend and would watch out for the boy, whether the kit felt he needed it or not. The teen's only concern was whether such behavior was welcomed or even noticed by the younger fox. Jack felt that he did on some level, yet also felt it would be egotistic to bring it up looking for validation. But as he learned from his own father, when one is looking out for the well-being of a cub, it doesn't matter if the cub appreciates or even realizes it.

          June rolled into July. The cigars were all delivered, and most of the food items now had been as well. Victor had finally admitted that the fine liquors and caviar, as it turned out was in the tins, were in fact stolen from a foreign freighter in the Port of Philadelphia. The theft of these goods was orchestrated by the mysterious “Russian” in New York, and Victor was handling the disbursal of the goods as a favor to him – no doubt to improve his standing on whatever the deal was that Victor was working.
          Jack was now standing in the shade of a stadium, looking out at the groups of furs practicing their various sports. Angelo was next to him, leaning casually against one of the support girders. The two were at another high school, once again selling marijuana to whomever might be interested. They had been doing this more frequently since the cigar deliveries stopped and they suddenly found themselves with much more free time as a result.
          Angelo seemed to enjoy these outings much more than the scheduled deliveries, Jack noted. He certainly liked his role as the dealer: “everybody's friend”, he had called it. He would play it cool and composed with the friendly customers, and coldly angry with the troublesome ones. Through it all, Jack played his own part – the mute thug who was ready to jump in and quickly handle whatever Angelo felt needed to be handled.
          Fortunately he had not had to do anything more than stand there looking intimidating, at least so far. Angelo had spoken of several incidents in his past where he had been physically attacked while out at one of the schools. It was probably due to his age and size, Jack figured, but whatever the cause, the potential for things to turn ugly was ever present.
          Of greater immediate concern to the 18-year-old was their choice of schools to visit on a given day, or more specifically what school not to visit. Jack's kit sister, Jessica, was a member of several sports leagues, and their practices and matches were not always at the same schools; at this time of the year there were so many leagues and teams competing for space that teams often took whatever venue they could schedule.
          It would be bad, to say the least, if Jessica were to see Jack and Angelo engaged in selling pot, especially after Jack had assured her that this boy was not the same drug dealer “Angelo” she had heard of from girls on her team. So Jack found himself calling home more often now, which his family certainly appreciated, but with the primary hidden objective of finding out where the young girl would be practicing in the coming few days.
          In fact, Jessica's schedule had forced Angelo and Jack to change their school for this day. They were now at Barksdale High, which was the chief rival of Jack's school when he was on the football team. He had mentioned this to Angelo as a concern, since he had actually played in the stadium which the two now stood under. The younger fox was willing to make another change, but Jack felt it would still be safe to come here. Nevertheless, he kept a sharp lookout for any faces that seemed even remotely familiar.
          It had not been a particularly good sales day. Perhaps it was the stifling July heat, but the two foxes had only a handful of customers, and none interested in larger amounts. They even had one of Angelo's camouflaged beer cartons left unsold, which were usually the first to sell.
          Jack continued to watch the various passers-by. Beside him, Angelo stood up from where he had been leaning and stretched. He had been watching a girls lacrosse scrimmage in the nearby field with some interest. Jack looked to his grey-furred companion who smiled back pleasantly at him, which made the older fox grin. Despite everything else, the little cub in Angelo showed his face every so often, whether or not he intended it to.
          “So, what do you want to do?” Jack asked, implicitly referring to the lack of meaningful business they had done so far
          “I dunno,” the kit responded with a shrug. “We can hang out a bit longer. Unless you've got someplace to be?” Angelo smiled again at that last statement. It had become a minor running-joke between the two, as both of the foxes' full-time job was to do Victor's work.
          Jack chuckled. “Nope, sure don't,” he said. “It is damn hot though.” He flapped the fabric of his outer shirt to try to ventilate his body somewhat. Since he had begun wearing a long shirt to cover the knife in his belt, he had felt the heat more acutely than he was used to.
          “Yep,” Angelo simply said. He was wearing his ever-present denim jacket, which he never removed when he was outside his own apartment. “We can go in a little bit,” he said, as the game he was watching resumed play. Jack nodded and went back to watching faces as people moved by. Abruptly he spun on his heels to face back under the stadium, looking to the ground as if he'd dropped something.
          “What?” Angelo said, looking around rapidly.
          “I think I saw my old gym teacher for a second. He looked right at me,” Jack said nervously.
          “Mmm,” Angelo said, acknowledging. He slowly walked to the other side of Jack, now looking again towards the lacrosse game that he had been watching. “Ok, no problem,” he said quietly after a moment. “If it's him, you're not with me. You're just hanging around after your sister's practice was over. To check out the girls, you know?”
          “Right,” Jack said, with a nervous sigh. Angelo walked a few more paces away, towards the lacrosse game. It should now seem from the distance that the two were not in fact together, Jack hoped. He turned back towards the fields and pretended to watch another game, while scanning the passing furs to find the one he thought he had recognized. Angelo walked further away, meanwhile.
          Finally Jack located the face he had seen: a cat who resembled his gym teacher, but now that he was closer appeared to be college-age. The cat made eye contact with the fox again, and just nodded in passing. Jack returned the nod and looked away, letting out a covert sight of relief. He walked back towards Angelo.
          “Wasn't him,” Jack said when he caught up to the little grey-furred fox.
          “Kay,” Angelo said, then turned back towards the shade of the stadium's shadow. “This'll be the way we handle that sort of thing from now on, ok?”
          “Yep,” Jack replied. “As long as it's not my sister, who I think knows us both, we should be safe.” Jack had explained to the kit what his sister had said about him – Angelo had found it amusing rather than alarming, which irritated Jack slightly, though he didn't share that fact with the cub.
          “Exactly,” confirmed Angelo. “I'm just a random guy who's just in the same place. Should work for most people. Unless they actually see us talking... or selling.”
          Jack nodded. “Same go for your schoolmates?” he asked. “I mean some of them could be on summer teams too, right?” Angelo chuckled, which made Jack head-tilt.  
          Angelo smiled at him. “That ain't gonna happen,” he said, his smile fading. “I can pretty much guarantee that.”
          “Why so?” Jack asked, his mind thinking over what the kit had said. There was only one explanation, he realized. Angelo looked away abruptly as he saw Jack's ears droop and a look of sadness cross the teen's face. “You... don't go to school, do you?” Jack asked slowly.
          Angelo looked at the ground and took a deep breath, before quickly looking back into Jack's eyes. “No,” he said, matter-of-factly. “Not since... it all happened, no.”
          “Oh, Ange,” Jack said sadly. Angelo continued to look at him, his face expressionless, as if he didn't see this as any kind of problem. “So that's, what, 2 years?”
          “Well,” Angelo replied, “It was the middle of 4th grade, and this past year would'a been 5th. So, a year and a half maybe?”
          “Ange,” Jack said, his voice sounding a little pained. “You need to go to school.”
          “Why?” the kit replied. “I can read and do math, and Vic teaches me what I need to know to make it out here. So who cares if I don't know what year the Magna Carta was?”
          “That's not the point,” Jack said emphatically. “And besides, what can that... what can Victor possibly teach you?”
          Angelo chuckled again at Jack's mid-sentence stumble. Then: “Well... how to fight. How to take a punch and not go down.” Jack frowned as the boy continued. “And how to not get in a fight in the first place, by getting in people's heads and fucking with their minds!” He seemed almost proud at this last part.
          Jack shook his head, unsure what to say next. There was no point arguing it at for the moment; it was already done, and school was out for the summer, so it couldn't be fixed quickly at any rate. Sadly, he added this to the growing list of reasons to get this boy away from Victor and out of this life. The red fox just sighed and leaned back against the wall.
          Angelo looked at him as if searching the older fox's face for clues. Finally he said, “It's really not that bad, Jack.”
          Jack looked into Angelo's blue eyes, then gave a non-committal head shrug. He couldn't do anything about this for now, so he changed the subject slightly. “He taught you how to fight, huh?” he asked. The ferret did look like he knew a thing or two about fighting, Jack thought.
          “Yep!” the little grey-furred fox replied with some enthusiasm. “Mostly for people like we'd meet here,” he said, indicating the game fields, “high-schoolers and them. They're the ones who usually try to get away with something, especially since I'm littler than them.”
          The older fox nodded. “How do you fight them? If you had to, I mean,” Jack was genuinely curious now: it would reflect Victor's ideas about how to deal with such situations.
          “Well,” the kit began, “with kids that age, they think they can hit you once hard, and you'll go down crying, or at least run away scared. So the thing to do is not to fall down. It's hard to do at first 'cause that's what your first instinct is. You gotta take that punch and not go down, or cry or yell, or even flinch if you can. That'll usually surprise the hell out of them. Then you can really get in their heads!”
          “Yeah, but you still get punched,” Jack said. “How can you “just take it” if you don't know how hard they're going to hit?”
          “Boxers do it all the time,” the younger fox said simply.
          “Well, yeah, but they practice,” Jack said, trying to understand. “They have people pound on them to get used to taking punches.”
          “Practice makes perfect,” Angelo said matter-of-factly. “Only one way to know what a punch is gonna feel like. Vic taught me, back when...”
          “Victor!” Jack interrupted. “He... punched you?” The teen fox was suddenly enraged.
          “Well, trained me, yeah,” the kit replied. “He wasn't beating me up or anything. We started out really soft and, well, just got a little harder and a little harder so I'd know what it felt like.”
          “Son of a bitch...” Jack said angrily.
          “Jack,” Angelo said gently, “it's not how you think. It was only for a few days, a little at a time, and never really that hard. I never bled or anything, and if I wanted to stop, he stopped. And it saved me a couple of times out here when someone really did lay into me... and a lot harder than Vic ever did.”
          “I think I need to have a little chat with our Mister Morrison,” Jack said angrily.
          Angelo shook his head. “Jack... don't,” he said. “Really. Getting in his face is a good way to get shot.” This had not occurred to Jack, but given the ferret's other habits, it made sense that he would carry a gun. Angelo stepped closer to the older fox. “I... I don't want you to get shot, Jack,” he said softly.
          Jack looked to his little companion. “Me neither, buddy,” he said with another resigned sigh, and patted the kit's headfur, noting with some small sense of happiness that the boy did not pull away in surprise as he usually did. “But I think I'm liking Victor less and less each day.”
          “Well... you wouldn't be the first,” Angelo remarked cryptically.
          The teen red fox waited for some elaboration, which didn't come. Again not wanting to force the issue, he moved on. “So... now they've punched you and you're... “in their heads”?”
          Angelo smiled, seeming glad to be moving on from the previous topic. “Yep, I'll show you. Punch me in the snoot!” He closed his eyes and stuck his muzzle out, smiling.
          Jack folded his arms, surprised by this, but also amused at the kit's exaggerated pose. After a few seconds, one of Angelo's blue eyes half-opened. “I'm not gonna hit you Ange,” Jack said, beeping the kit's nose.
          With a laugh, the little fox resumed a normal posture. “Ok,” he said cheerfully, “So anyway, you just punched me in the nose, and thought I would drop to the ground crying and you could just grab my backpack and run. But... I don't even flinch, which now makes you surprised! Then, I get a look on my face like you just did me the biggest favor in the world, because now it's my turn to go after you!”
          Angelo tilted his head down slightly and looked upward with his eyes at Jack as a creepy smile slowly worked its way onto his muzzle. Jack had to admit to himself that it was a little unnerving, and in the context of what Angelo was describing, it would likely have had the desired effect in high-school aged furs.
          The kit again resumed his normal posture and grinned at Jack's reaction. “See?” he said proudly. Most of the time that look gets in their heads enough and they run. Sometimes I'll chase after them a few steps. If it doesn't do the trick, then I'll go for my knife,” he patted the left flap of his jacket. “That's always done the trick so far.”
          Jack cocked an eyebrow at this last statement, which seemed to contradict something the boy had said, or at least hinted at, earlier. He just smiled at his friend, who smiled back happily. “What do you say we get out of here?” Jack asked.
          “Yeah, it's pretty dead here, and I'm dying of thirst!” Angelo confirmed, and the pair started towards the direction of the car.

          Victor was just getting out of his car when Jack pulled into the apartment's parking lot and parked in front of his own unit. As the two foxes got out of the car and Angelo started towards Victor, the ferret waved Jack over as well, then headed for his door. Jack knew this meant it would be more than a social call, as Victor never discussed business outside.
          Jack followed Angelo across the parking lot to Victor's door, which the kit held open for him, and went inside. Angelo closed the door behind them, and immediately doffed his jacket and stood  next to the air conditioner vent, sighing contentedly.
          The apartment was much barer now, with most of the boxes that had been piled everywhere slowly disappearing over the weeks as their contents were delivered. A few still remained in use as ad-hoc tables for stacks of papers and mail, though there were a few small unopened boxes that must have been recent arrivals.
          Victor emerged from the hallway that led to the bedroom, shirtless but with a folded garment in his paw, which he unfolded and donned as he spoke. “Heya Jack!” he said, “How was business today?”
          “Pretty crappy,” replied Angelo with a furrowed brow, staring intently at Victor. The ferret looked over at the boy briefly, then back to Jack.
          “Oh yeah?” Victor asked, again to Jack directly.
          “Well, yeah,” Jack said, unsure of this new dynamic that was in play. “It's like Angelo said,” he continued, gesturing to the kit who looked to Jack then back to the ferret, or at least to the back of his head.
          “Hmm,” Victor said nonplussed. “Eh, it'll pick up again. Always does. Hey, listen,” he said, changing the subject abruptly now that the social formalities, such as they were, were dispensed with. “I'm out again tomorrow. Probably be back the day after though, assuming the storm doesn't shut everything down.”
          “Jeez, you just got back, Vic,” Angelo said from behind the ferret.
          “Yeah, yeah, I know,” Victor replied, still facing only Jack. “But the Russian emailed me, saying next time I'm in town to stop by. 'Next time', eh? Ok fucker, I'll be there tomorrow!” He let out a hearty laugh and slapped Jack's shoulder with one paw.
          Jack smiled at this behavior, still not sure what was happening between Angelo and Victor. The boy looked equally confused, suggesting that this was indeed a brand new development unfolding before both of them. “Ok...” was all Jack could muster.
          “I'm close, Jack! Real close!” Victor said excitedly, now grabbing both of the red fox's shoulders in his paws and shaking them slightly. “I can feel it! This is what we've been working for all these years!” The ferret finally looked back at Angelo when he spoke this last sentence. The boy just stared at him with an expressionless face. “So anyway,” Victor continued, somewhat more calmly, “I got one big job for you tomorrow. For you guys,” he clarified, now stepping back slightly so he could face both foxes.
          “Big?” Jack inquired plainly.
          “Big,” Victor confirmed. “Really big. One job worth more than all of this week's combined. I'm gonna need this payoff when my deal with the Russian happens, so...” he trailed off, with a leading tone to the last word.
          “So don't fuck it up?” Jack asked, which was the obvious conclusion to the ferret's sentence. He made sure to set his tone to sound amused as opposed to offended by the intimation. Victor just smiled and pointed at Jack with a “gun” finger and a wink. “What's the job, if I may ask?” Jack asked, slightly concerned by the possible meanings of that finger gesture.
          “It's a delivery, so nothing new. Just an important one,” Victor said, evasively. “And it's even easier... a dead-drop.” Jack saw Angelo's countenance fall at this, as Victor continued. “You drop off the bag in a pre-arranged location, then come back in an hour or two and pick up the money from the same spot. You never even need to meet the buyers.”
          “Sounds easy enough,” Jack said, looking at Angelo who had now sat down on the carpet. He looked back at Jack with his face more neutral than it had been seconds ago, though his ears were both drooped.
          “Yep, we've done these before, ain't we?” the ferret asked Angelo.
          “Yeah, sure,” the little grey-furred kit answered softly.
          “Mmm-hmm,” Victor said, looking back to Jack. “Come over a little later than usual, around ten or so. Got an e-mail address, Jack?”
          “Nope, not yet,” Jack said. It was a lie of course, but the teenage fox somehow knew instinctively that he did not want Victor to have any more personal information about him than was absolutely necessary. He especially did not want to be discussing any of their business anywhere other than in person, where things like e-mail could potentially be tracked or permanently stored out of his control.
          “Mmph,” Victor said with a tinge of annoyance. “Was hoping you could let me know when it was done and you had the cash in hand. Oh well. I don't see it really being a problem anyway.” The ferret held out a wad of folded cash to Jack. “Here's for today,” he said, “as usual. Tomorrow pays double if it goes ok. I'll see you when I get back.”
          Jack took the cash, and could tell from Victor's tone that he was now dismissed. “Ok, see you,” he said to Victor. “Seeya Angelo!” he said to the boy, who looked up from where he sat.
          “Bye, Jack,” he simply said, managing a slight smile. Jack smiled back and nodded, then turned back towards the door and left the apartment.
          As Jack walked back towards his apartment, a feeling of anger welled up in him. Something had changed suddenly in Victor's relationship with Angelo, which clearly surprised the younger fox as well. That, combined with the dead-drop delivery, the mere mention of which had visibly distressed the boy, had Jack now more confused than ever with regards to Victor; it was this ever-increasing failure to figure out the ferret that stirred the anger in the teen fox.

          The next morning, Jack pulled on his outer shirt as he stepped from his apartment. Victor's car was absent, which was certainly expected, but Jack nonetheless felt the familiar twinge of irritation at the ferret. He had pondered the previous day's encounter with Victor deeply, and could only come to the conclusion that he was being groomed for some larger role within the ferret's operation.
          Right or wrong, the theory at least explained why Victor would address Jack so directly: as if he was speaking to a partner and not to a foot-soldier. Until such a discussion actually took place, of course, Jack was not going to bring it up or behave any differently. But if it were to be brought up... how would he respond? That possibility had Jack lying awake in bed longer than was normal for him, until he arrived at the obvious answer.
          Jack looked skyward as he walked across the lot towards Angelo's apartment. The forecast had called for heavy rain and storms today, though the sky was currently clear. The fox hoped it would hold off long enough for this important delivery to conclude. While Victor insisted it was “simple”, Angelo's reaction had Jack feeling uneasy about what it entailed, and so did not want any complications, even from something as mundane as the weather.
          The teenage fox reached the apartment's door and he knocked. The lock clicked and the door opened a crack. “C'mon in, Jack,” he heard Angelo say through the opening. Jack pushed the door open and went inside. Angelo was walking towards the couch as Jack entered. The kit was wearing his usual t-shirt and jeans.
          “Heya, Ange,” Jack said as he closed the door behind him.
          Angelo flopped down on the couch. “Hi Jack,” he said simply, stretching. “Ready for this?”
          Jack sat down on the arm of the couch and regarded the little grey-furred fox kit. “I hope so,” he said. “Victor says it should be no problem, but you didn't seem too happy about it yesterday.”
          The little fox chuckled. “Oh hell no,” he said. “These suck! They're no sweat for Vic 'cause he doesn't have to do them!”
          Jack felt the fur on his neck start to stand. “Wh... why...” he asked, nearly stammering as a wave of nervousness crept up on him. “What do we...” He trailed off.
          Angelo looked up at Jack. “It's for a gang, Jack.” The older fox just stared nervously back as the kit continued. “Vic say's it's easy 'cause there's no one around. But there'll be plenty of furs around... we just won't see them. And they all have guns.”
          “What are we delivering?” Jack inquired.
          Angelo pointed to a gym bag in the corner. “More pot,” he said. “A lot more.”
          Jack rose and went to the gym bag. It was fully packed, with no hint of slack in its fabric. He picked it up and was surprised by the weight. “Wow,” was all he could say.
          “Mmm-hmm,” Angelo replied. “Like 30 pounds or something. Still packed like it was on the boat.”
          The red fox now understood the younger fox's anxiety. A large drug delivery for one of the area gangs meant a lot of cash was at stake. The gang would be taking no chances with someone interfering, or worse, double-crossing them. Jack's mind raced: what if the gang's rival caught wind of the delivery?  Would they be ambushed? Could they be double-crossed by the gang itself? What if Victor's abrupt change in attitude towards both foxes was indicative of a plan the ferret had just put together? A set-up?
          Jack stared at Angelo as a hundred thoughts and scenarios played out over the span of seconds. “Oh fuck,” he said softly.
          “Yep,” the younger fox replied.
          Jack sat back down on the arm of the couch. “So... when do we have to do this?”
          “We have to do the drop between 11:00 and 11:30,” the kit said. “We better go soon, so we don't get stuck in traffic or anything.”
          “Right...” Jack said. He was nervous and unsure about all this, but was nonetheless committed. As he stood up, he looked at Angelo's face and saw the same combination of feelings. The boy smiled wanly, as if he was seeing the same thing himself.
          Jack retrieved the gym bag and hefted it over his shoulder as Angelo got up from the couch and donned his ever-present denim jacket. “After you,” the kit said, indicating the door. The older fox exited the apartment, and Angelo locked up behind them.
          As they walked to the car and loaded the bag into the trunk, Jack could only think about what the next hour would hold, and where he would be at the end of it. Relieved to be done with it? Arrested? Caught up in a gang war? Face down in an alley? He nervously fumbled with the key, and took more than one try to successfully unlock the car door.
          “Stay cool, Jack,” Angelo said as Jack again fumbled with the key in the ignition. “That's the most important thing. Whatever happens... is gonna happen.” The boy smiled pleasantly as Jack looked into his blue eyes.
          “Yeah,” he said, closing his own dark brown eyes and taking a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said again.
          
          The ride was mostly in silence, with Angelo giving turn directions but otherwise not saying much. Jack tried to stay focused on his driving, as much to keep his mind occupied as it was to ensure he didn't break any traffic laws which might get them pulled over. The cargo in the trunk would certainly amount to a felony, he reckoned.
          The areas they drove through got increasingly poorer looking as they continued. Jack was glad that his car was as old as it was, as a newer flashier-looking car would definitely have attracted attention: a detriment for this particular job.
          “Pull over here somewhere, and pop the trunk,” Angelo said after they had driven for a time. Jack found an open spot along the curb and pulled over. They were now in a part of town that Jack would never have otherwise visited, or even driven through if he could avoid it. The kit got out of the car once they were parked
          Jack got out as well and, as calmly as he could, walked to the rear of the car and opened the trunk. Angelo picked the bag out and carried it back to his side of the car. Jack shut the trunk and returned to his side. The two drew a couple of looks from passing furs, but nothing that seemed aggressive. Jack was glad to get back in and shut the doors.
          Angelo put the bag on the floor at his feet. “Ok, drive around the block a couple times. We still have a few minutes,” he said. Jack pulled back out into traffic. Angelo sighed deeply, then continued. “Here's how this has to go. There's an alley behind an apartment building. I'll show you where it is. You drive down that alley, real slow, 'till we reach this open area where all the trash cans are for the building. Drive past there till we reach a red door on my side of the car. Then I get out and take the bag back to one of the trash cans.”
          “I'm coming with you,” Jack said. “In fact, you stay put and let me drop off the bag.”
          “Jack,” Angelo said, almost plaintively, “You can't. It has to be me... only me. You have to stay in the car, and actually don't even look around – 'cause if you see anything... that they don't think you should....” the little fox trailed off.
          “Fuck,” Jack said, almost a whisper.
          “I know,” Angelo said. “But remember what I said about the guns. There will... probably be a few pointed at us the whole time, from who-knows-where. So when you drive down the alley, just look straight ahead.” He took another deep breath. “When it's done, drive straight out slowly again, and turn right when you get to the road.”
          Jack steered the car around the block as the drop time approached. He had been planning to watch everything he could during this time before the drop, to get a feel for anything that seemed off, such as groups of furs lingering near they designated alleyway. But after Angelo's instructions, he now nervously stared at the car in front of them as he drove. Overhead, a high overcast was setting in.
          “Ok,” Angelo said after another trip around the block. “Keep going straight now for a few blocks. You're looking for an abandoned gas station on the left.”
          Jack just nodded, and continued to drive. After a few moments, the gas station in question came into view. It featured a boarded-up building and stripped concrete islands out front where the gas pumps used to be. The dilapidated appearance of the place seemed to fit Jack's mood perfectly.
          “Slow,” Angelo said, his breathing audibly quicker, Jack noticed. “Right past the gas station, see that red brick building on the left?”
          “Yeah,” Jack said abruptly.
          “You'll see the alleyway between it and the next building down. That's the one.” Angelo leaned forward and removed his jacket, leaving it bunched up on the seat behind him. It was the first time Jack had seen the kit without it outside of his apartment. The symbolism of this only further heightened the fox's nervousness.
          Jack slowed the car as the designated alley became visible. It looked just wide enough for one car to fit though. Taking a deep breath, Jack turned his car into it.
          “Straight ahead,” Angelo said quietly, as if he feared being heard from outside. “And slow.” He was staring at the floor, Jack could see out of the corner of his eye. For his part, Jack looked straight ahead as instructed, though he found that he would have had to do so anyway to avoid hitting the various piles of debris that lined the narrow passageway.
          The alley began to widen, and Jack could see an opening to the right, which appeared to be the trash can area that Angelo had spoken of. He could see numerous cans out of his peripheral vision, but could not glean any more detail of the area, nor did he really try.
          “Slow,” Angelo said as they passed the open area. “Slow... and... stop.” Jack stopped the car on cue, but left it in gear with his footpaw on the brake. Angelo reached down to grab the bag, then got out of the car without further word, leaving the door open.
          Jack stared at the wheel, and tried to keep his ears from rotating as he listened intently for any sounds from behind him. Over the rumble of the car, he heard only traffic from the street, with an occasional unidentifiable sound from behind, as if of someone stepping on a discarded box, or a bottle  rolling on the ground. He listened specifically for the sound of a trash can lid, but did not hear anything resembling it.
          After what seemed like 5 minutes, but was probably less than one, a shadow appeared in Jack's peripheral vision outside the passenger door. He clenched his teeth and gripped the steering wheel tighter.
          “Go,” Angelo's voice said, as the kit got back in the car and closed the door. “Slow.” His voice was shaking, Jack noticed.
          Maintaing his forward view, Jack let off the brake and let the car roll forward towards the exit of the alley. He could hear Angelo breathing heavily, trembling evident even in his breathing. It pained the older fox that he could not even look at his friend yet. His fingers began to ache from the grip he held on the steering wheel as the car emerged from the alley and turned back into traffic.
          After he had driven a couple of blocks away from the alley, Jack finally looked at Angelo. The boy had his chin tucked into his chest, with his arms crossed. His chest rose and fell as he breathed deeply.
          “Are you...” Jack began, then stopped abruptly. His own voice was shaking, and it surprised him when he spoke.
          Angelo looked over and smiled, almost giggling. “I'm ok, are you?” he said, his voice steadier now, though with a certain giddiness likely brought on by relief.  
           Jack laughed, then cleared his throat dramatically, as much to buy some time to calm down, as to make light of his embarrassment. “Yeah, I'm ok.” He smiled back at Angelo. “So what now?”
          “Now?” Angelo said. “Now we go get lunch, then we get to come back in an hour and do it all over again.”
          “Huh, what?” Jack said, surprised.
          “Well, the gang picks up the stuff and checks it out, then they put the cash in the bag and put it back in the can. We have to go pick it up, same as how we dropped it off.”
          It had not occurred to Jack that the pickup of the payment would be in the same place. After a moment's thought it was obvious, he reckoned, but with the tension of the drop-off he had not bothered to consider the next step in the plan.
          “Ah fuck!” he exclaimed with a sort of resigned annoyance, which prompted a giggle from the little grey-furred fox kit.

          Jack drove well out of that part of town before stopping for lunch. He didn't want to feel elitist or prejudiced, but it was an area rife with gangs, and after the tension of the drop-off, he instinctively wanted to get as far from there as he could. Only the fact that they had to return in an hour for the pickup kept him from driving all the way back to his apartment.
          The two stopped off at a family-style restaurant for lunch. Jack had suggested fast-food burgers, but the younger fox insisted on someplace nicer: somewhere he could get, as he put it, “a giant ice-cream sundae”. The sky continued to slowly darken as the two foxes went inside and were seated.
          As they waited for their food order, Jack regarded his young friend. The little grey-furred fox sat in his side of the booth, drinking soda through a straw. He looked very much a small cub in that position – one would never have thought by looking at him that he had just come from performing a large drug delivery.
          Jack watched him with sadness. He now more than ever wanted to get the boy out of the life he was in, and far away from Victor. It still troubled the older fox that he was very short on ideas of how to do that. So far, anonymously reporting Victor to the police was the only idea he could come up with. That would certainly result in Angelo being returned to state custody, though, and Jack was fearful of what might happen then, as the kit had already stated he would never go back there.
          There were furs seated in the booths on both sides of the two foxes so Jack refrained from discussing business, which he found exceptionally hard to do under the present circumstances. He desperately wanted to ask about the upcoming pickup, as well as Victor's sudden change in behavior the previous evening, but had to defer to his own discretion, lest nearby ears hear something they should not.
          Angelo picked up on this as well, so the two made small talk about the upcoming storm, and other mundanities of life. When the food arrived, they ate quickly, and mostly in silence as the specter of the upcoming pickup loomed over them still – less than 30 minutes before they would have to be back at the alley. This did not stop Angelo from ordering his giant ice-cream sundae, however.
          The meal finished, the two vulpines returned to the car, and started back towards the pickup location. Jack had been pondering Victor's previous behavior through much of the meal, and once they were back in the car, he decided he had to bring it up. At least a conversation would take both their minds off of the coming job, he figured.
          “So Ange,” Jack began, prompting an inquisitive look from the little fox. “I gotta ask: what was up with Victor last night?”
          Angelo sat back hard in his seat and looked at the roof. “I don't know!” he exclaimed loudly, with a tone of pure frustration which surprised Jack in this context: he must have been racking his brain trying to figure it out as well. The kit looked over to Jack with a look that almost suggested worry. “It's like he's got... you now,” he said with some uneasiness, “so he doesn't need to talk to me about the business anymore. He's been talking about you more and more lately.”
          Jack nodded. “I got the same vibe,” he said. “Do you think he wants to make me his partner or something?”
          “I thought I was his partner!” the kit exclaimed, though not angrily. “I thought that's what the last year's been... all about.” His voice trailed off as he finished.
          “You still are, the way I see it,” Jack said, trying to reassure the boy. “Maybe he just wants to bring me in with the two of you?”
          “Maybe,” Angelo replied quietly. “I guess we'll find out here in a few minutes...”
          “What?” Jack asked, alarmed by that cryptic comment.
          Angelo just shook his head, looking out the front window. “Nothing...” was all he said.
          Jack drove on for a few minutes, thinking on this. Then, as they got closer to the neighborhood, he spoke up again, changing the subject, but at the same time not really changing it. “So, what happens now?”
          “Well,” the young fox replied, “now the gang will pay up, depending on... what was in the bag when they opened it.”
          “What do you mean?” Jack asked. “I thought it was dope in the bag, right?”
          “Yep, there was,” Angelo said. “They'll look it over, weigh it and all that, and if its exactly what they wanted they should pay whatever they agreed on with Vic. If it was less, then they'll probably pay less. Unless it's really not what they ordered and they're mad about it.” He looked over to Jack.
          From Angelo's look, Jack did not need him to explain further. “Right...” was all he could say. He drove on, closing in on the alleyway where they would need to turn.
          “Same deal as last time,” Angelo said as the twin red brick buildings came into view down the street. “Go slow, don't look around.” He sounded more sad now than nervous, Jack noticed.
          Jack slowed the car as the alley between the buildings became visible. Taking a deep breath he turned the car back into the narrow passage. To his relief, he did not see any furs lingering nearby the entrance, nor were there any vehicles in the alley itself. He let the car creep forward slowly, staring straight ahead as before.
          “If you hear guns,” Angelo said, his voice very low, “just haul tail out of here. Don't wait for me, 'cause I'm probably...” the little fox trailed off again, with what sounded like a truncated whimper. “Just... you get away,” he said after a brief pause.
          Jack stared straight ahead still, his pulse quickening, and an unexpected tear welling up in one eye when Angelo said that. The older fox did not respond though. The car reached the open area where the pickup was to occur. Out of his peripheral vision, he could make out the row of trash cans, with still no sign of anybody.
          “Slow,” Angelo whispered as Jack saw the target red door approaching. “Stop,” the kit said. Jack did so, again leaving the car in gear with his footpaw on the brake, in case a quick exit was required. Angelo opened the door and got out as Jack watched his steering wheel as before.
          The red fox listened intently for any sounds that were different from the drop-off. He heard Angelo's paw-steps on the paper and debris in the alley as he walked back behind the car towards the trashcans, then silence apart from traffic sounds coming from the main roads, and a radio coming from one of the windows above.
          It seemed to Jack to be taking longer than it had for the drop-off. Admittedly, he thought, it was hard to accurately judge the drop time due to his nervousness, and given Angelo's strange statement, he was even more on edge. He heard no voices or other sounds to suggest any other person was there, and he certainly heard no gunfire.
          After another few seconds, the 18-year-old again heard paw-steps on the alley trash, heading towards him, and somewhat quicker than before, though still unhurried. Jack looked slightly downward, and shifted his eyes towards the open passenger door, waiting for Angelo's familiar form.
          Presently the little grey-furred fox appeared at the door and heaved the gym bag onto the floor, then nearly leapt into the seat and closed the door. “Go,” he said, his voice trembling, nearly choked.
          Jack guided the car ahead through the alley, trying not to look like he was in a hurry yet at the same time wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible. He managed a tolerable compromise between the two as the car reached the exit of the alleyway, and he turned it back onto the main road.
          Once they were clear of the alley and its constituent buildings, Angelo put his head back against the seat and giggled quietly to himself, eyes closed. It was the nervous giggle of relief, Jack knew, of the release of nervous energy that had built up over the last hour.
          “You all right there, buddy?” Jack asked his young friend.
          Angelo mouthed the word “Yeah”, breathing deeply to try to calm himself. After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked to Jack. “See why I love these so much?” he said with a wry sort of smile.
          “Yeah,” Jack said, sharing the sentiment. “Let's not do another one of these for a long time, ok?”
          “Works for me, but tell that to Vic,” Angelo replied, leaning his head back on the seat again. “Maybe he'll actually listen to you,” he added, quieter.
          Jack looked at the boy sadly, catching his meaning. Angelo had again closed his eyes, and his breathing appeared to be returning to normal. Jack decided to change the subject to one that was actually rather pertinent. “How much is in there?” he asked.
          Angelo opened his eyes abruptly, as if being roused from a light sleep. “I dunno, lets see,” he said. Leaning forward, he unzipped the gym bag on the floor and pulled the flaps open. Inside, Jack could see the bag was filled with bundles of twenty-dollar bills. Angelo rooted around in the bag and sifted through the bundles like he was looking for something else in the bag. “Well.... there's...” he said as he dug.
          Finally he withdrew his paws and pulled the bag's flaps back together. Sitting back up, he looked to Jack. “A lot!” he said with a sort of triumphant flair in his voice.
          “Very nice,” Jack said appreciatively, as Angelo zipped the bag back up and again sat back in his seat. The red fox continued, somewhat more soberly, “What did you really think was going to happen back there?” Jack was still puzzled and concerned by the kit's strange comment prior to them entering the alley. He seemed to have been connecting Victor's change in attitude towards him with what was about to unfold in the alley.
          Angelo put his head back against the seat and closed his eyes again. “Maybe Vic's right about one thing,” he said. “Maybe I do think too much.” A weak smile crossed his face.
          “Oh yeah?” Jack asked, trying to prod the little fox to continue, but the kit merely nodded and did not reply.
          A light rain had begin to fall, and the sky continued its ominous darkening. Jack could see even darker clouds in the distance, undoubtedly heading their way as the weathermen were all predicting. The 18-year-old fox drove the car towards home in silence.
          Angelo sat back in his seat with arms crossed and closed eyes; he almost looked asleep, though every couple of moments he would look around outside the window before resuming his motionless posture. Jack didn't doubt that the kit was tired now that the adrenaline had worn off from the pickup. He was feeling it as well, and in fact had already mentally committed to a quick afternoon nap once the two were back home.
          As they neared their apartments, Angelo roused from his restful position and leaned forward to tend to the gym bag, hoisting it onto his lap and crossing his arms over it as if protecting it.
          “So,” Jack said, breaking the silence of the last ten minutes, “What do you have planned for the day?” It was still rather early in the afternoon, and having no further jobs or deliveries was an infrequent treat.
          “I'm gonna try and sleep some,” Angelo said, confirming Jack's thought. “I didn't get a whole lot last night,” he added.
          “Why not?” Jack inquired. “Because of all this?”
          The young kit nodded. “Yup, I do that a lot – thinking about the next jobs, and what can go wrong.” He yawned deeply. “I just hope my stupid brain will let me sleep now,” he said, half over the yawn.
          “Well, nothing went wrong today, so get some sleep,” Jack said, encouragingly.
          “Gonna try,” Angelo said. “I think too much though, remember?” he added with a smile.
          Jack smiled back at the young fox. “What then?” he asked. “Victor's not going to be there, so you just gonna sit around alone 'till tomorrow?”
          The kit shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. That's all I really can do.”
          “You're more than welcome to come over if you want,” Jack said, suddenly feeling self-conscious, like he was intruding.
          “Over?” Angelo replied, his eyes searching Jack's.
          “Yeah, come on over to my place,” the older fox confirmed. “We can get a pizza for dinner and watch a movie or something.” With the storm coming and the deliveries done for the day, Angelo could look forward to 20 or more hours alone in Victor's apartment otherwise.
          Angelo held his gaze for a few moments, then looked away. “I dunno...” he said.
          Jack could read the loneliness in Angelo's face as he spoke, but didn't want to force the issue. At the same time, though, he wanted to leave the door as open as possible for the kit so he would not feel like he was intruding on Jack. Outside the car, the rain fell heavier.
          “Well, you know where I live,” Jack said cheerfully. “And you can come by any time you want. I ain't gonna pull any funny stuff,” he added, partly for humor value, but partly to assuage any concerns the kit may have had. Jack hoped that Angelo knew him well enough by now to not have to say that, but given the number of creeps and shady characters he dealt with on a daily basis, Jack felt it still should be said, for the record.
          Angelo chuckled at that comment, but still did not look back at Jack. “Yeah, I know,” he said. Then after a pause, “I dunno, maybe...”
          Jack turned the car into the apartment's parking lot and pulled into Victor's parking spot, so Angelo would not have to walk far in the rain. “Here we go, curbside delivery!” Jack said, sounding like a commercial.
          Angelo smiled as he gathered the bag up and opened the car door slightly. He looked at Jack for a few seconds without speaking, then finally with a small smile, he quietly said, “Thanks Jack.”
          Jack smiled at the young kit, who looked back happily for a few more seconds, before turning and stepping out of the car. He looked back with a mock expression of shock as the raindrops hit him, then made a bit of a show of frantically running up to his door and unlocking it. Now under the safety of the awning, he turned back to Jack with a grin and waved, before disappearing into his apartment.
          Jack returned the kit's wave until the door closed behind him, then he sadly dropped his paw back to the wheel. With a sigh he backed the car out of Victor's spot and guided the car to his own apartment, and made his own dash to the door through the rain.

          Hours later, Jack sat on his couch idly flicking through the television channels. The rain had gotten much heavier during the afternoon, but was now easing off somewhat. This was only a temporary respite, the forecasters had said on the news – the main body of the storm was just to the west, and would hit the area with renewed vigor soon, and would remain so overnight.
          Jack had made preparations for the possibility of losing power in the storm: he had candles and flashlights at the ready, and had turned both his refrigerator and his air-conditioner to their coldest settings, to at least keep things reasonably cool over a prolonged outage.
          The clock on the TV's guide page showed it nearing 8:00. The teenage fox had not yet had dinner, as he was holding out hope than Angelo might take him up on his offer. Once the storm picked back up in earnest, he told himself, he would give up and find something to eat. Until then, he sat staring at the TV, not really paying attention to what was on, his mind wandering.
          A brisk knocking at his door roused Jack from his reverie. He nearly sprinted to the door and opened it rapidly. A brown-colored avian stood on the stoop, and recoiled slightly at the speed with which the door opened. He wore a red and green uniform and carried a large vinyl bag emblazoned with the logo of the pizza shop around the corner – the same one Jack had applied at in June when he was desperate for money.
          “Evening,” the bird said, opening the bag and easing out a large pizza box. “Here we are.”
          Jack looked at him confusedly. “Umm...” he began, then saw over the bird's shoulder that Angelo was hurrying across the parking lot, jacket pulled over his head in the rain, and a large plastic bag in one paw. “One second,” Jack told the bird as Angelo drew nearer. The avian noticed Jack looking over his shoulder and turned towards the parking lot quickly, as if he expected to be jumped.
          “Hey Rog,” Angelo said, “I got this.”
          “Oh, hey Angelo,” the avian said. “It's $14.72.”
          Angelo handed him a folded bill. “Here you go, keep the change of course.”
          “Thanks bud!” the bird said, handing the pizza box to Jack before dashing back to his car to avoid getting more wet.
          Angelo was now on the stoop outside Jack's door. “Shall we?” he said, indicating Jack's door.
          The older fox smiled happily at his friend. “Absolutely,” Jack said, stepping back into his apartment with the pizza so the kit could enter with his own bundle.
          Angelo followed Jack inside and shut the door with a footpaw and looked around. The apartment was furnished like a college student's dorm room, and for good reason. Jack's parents had given him several pieces of their old furniture, as an excuse to buy themselves new replacements.
          As such, he had a reasonably comfortable couch, a rather beat-up coffee table, and a pair of mismatched end-tables which had come from different rooms back in his parents' house, but in the confined space of the apartment they now were forced to exist together.
          Jack placed the pizza box on the coffee table, centered with respect to the couch. He indicated the table to the younger fox, who set his bag down on it. The unmistakeable sound of aluminum cans told Jack that the kit had brought the beverages.
          “Take off your coat and stay a while!” Jack said, indicating the kit's denim jacket. Angelo smiled self-consciously and removed his wet jacket. Jack noticed that the knife the boy carried was still  in its sheath in the jacket. “Won't need that here, I swear!” Jack said, indicating the knife.
          “I know,” Angelo said with a smile as he shook off the jacket and laid it down on the carpet to dry. “Just.... force of habit, y'know?” He wagged his tail vigorously to shake the water off of it, his back to the door so as not to get water on Jack's carpet or furniture.
          Jack sat down at one end of the couch. “Mmmm, smells good!” he said as the pizza's scent permeated the apartment's air.
          “Carnivore Special,” said Angelo with a grin as he walked to the couch and sat down at the opposite end from Jack. Food service shops had to cater to all kinds of furs, including avians and reptilians, and even Insectoids, so the available menus tended to be very large. The Carnivore Special would likely be heavily meat based. There would be similar recipes for Hebivores, Omnivores, and even Insectivores.
          “Nice,” Jack said, reaching over to open the pizza box. A puff of steam accompanied the box opening, as Jack regarded the food within.
          “Yep!” said Angelo, leaning forward to grab a slice as soon as the box was open. Despite the pizza's smell wafting up, Jack noticed a familiar scent on the kit's breath as their muzzles came close.
          “Ummm,” Jack began, indicating the bag of cans that Angelo had brought. “What do we have to drink?”
          The kit just smiled and upended the bag on the coffee table. Cans of beer rolled around the surface, some falling off onto the carpet. “Ta-Da!” he said with a smile.
          Jack's ears drooped. “Ange...” he said plaintively, “You shouldn't be drinking beer at your age.”
          Angelo shrugged. “Well,” he said, grabbing a slice of pizza. Sitting back, he added, “I shouldn't be selling pot at schools either! But there we are.”
          Jack cocked his head slightly, not sure how to respond to this candor. “Well... touche!” was all he could think to say.
          Angelo laughed out loud at this. “I like you, Jack!” he said with a smile when he stopped laughing. He reached for a beer can and popped the top as he spoke, though.
          Jack smiled to himself. “I like you too, Angelo,” he said, eliciting a happy smile from his friend. “But you really shouldn’t be drinking beer at your age.”
          Angelo sat back in the couch, a beer can in one paw and a slice of pizza in the other. “Come on,” he said, still friendly, “you can't tell me that after today you don't want one too!”
          “Maybe,” Jack said, partly agreeing with the point. Only partly, though. “But I'm still not going to have any. I made a promise,” he said, trying not to sound preachy.
          The grey-furred kit shrugged again. “That's cool,” he said. “Vic doesn't care, though.” He took a sip from his can and chomped on his pizza slice.
          “Exactly,”Jack thought to himself. That statement alone spoke volumes to the older fox. Angelo had not made the connection beyond the most literal level, apparently. Victor doesn't care...
          “Well, Angelo,” Jack said gently, leaning forward on the couch. Angelo stopped in mid chew and looked at Jack. He seemed slightly taken off-guard by the older fox's tone. “I... do care. About you.” Angelo resumed chewing, eyes still locked on Jack's. “So... please don't... drink anymore?” He made sure to have his tone come across as a request and not a demand.
          Angelo continued chewing slowly, his eyes searching Jack's face. He swallowed his mouthful and instinctively began to raise his paw with the beer can in it, before stopping abruptly. The little fox looked at the can wistfully for a second, then back to his older friend. “Ok, Jack,” he said, with an almost happy tone. “After this one, no more. Promise!”
          Jack smiled broadly. “Fair enough,” he said. The smile that came in return made the red fox feel even better; he felt like he had made his point on multiple levels, and they were all received. Jack reached over and grabbed a slice of the pizza, then stood up. “I got plenty of root beer,” he said cheerfully as he walked to his refrigerator to retrieve some.
          He placed a few cans by the pizza box as he returned, then sat back in his spot at the end of the sofa. “So, what do you want to watch?” he asked, reaching for the TV remote and un-muting the audio.
          “Beats me,” Angelo replied. “I don't really watch TV. Vic never connected his. So I don't know what's even on these days.” He looked towards the screen. The current program was a documentary on The Educational Channel about the inner-workings of modern naval vessels. “This looks kinda' interesting,” he commented.
          “Yeah, I like this channel,” Jack said. He sat back in the couch, a slice of pizza in his paw, half-watching the TV as he ate. For a few minutes the two foxes sat watching in silence. Several more slices were consumed as the program drew to a close. Angelo had finished his beer and opened a root beer can with much bravado, as if he wanted to make sure Jack knew he was doing it. The older fox for his part applauded, eliciting another happy laugh from the kit.
          “So Angelo,” Jack said as a commercial came on the TV. “Can I ask you something?”
          Angelo cocked his head slightly for a second. “You can always ask, sure!” he replied with a mischievous smile. His speech was slightly slurred, Jack noticed, obviously from the beer he'd imbibed both here and before coming over.
          Jack smiled lightly back. He wasn't sure how to broach this subject comfortably, and felt a little like he was taking advantage of the kit's current state. “You're Angelo...” he said, immediately realizing how dumb it sounded.
          Angelo spread his arms and looked them over, then down at his chest. “Yyy......yep!” he said, looking back up to Jack with a grin.
          Jack chuckled for a second before continuing. “Ummm... Angelo Who?” he said nonchalantly, hoping his voice did not betray his unease.
          The little fox's demeanor changed instantly, though. He dropped his arms back down to his side, and his smile quickly faded to a more serious countenance. His eyes searched Jack's again for a moment, then he raised his root beer can to his muzzle and took a sip. “Why you wanna know that?” he asked softly, looking now at the top of the can which was still to his lips.
          “I mean...” Jack began, the younger fox's reaction not helping to quell his nervousness. “I mean, we've been friends now for a while, and...” he cleared his throat, “and, I realized that I still don't know. That's all.”
          Angelo looked back up to Jack. “Well... it's 'Morrison', right?” he said plainly. If he was joking now, he didn't let on any.
          “Seriously?” Jack shot back instantly, sarcasm evident in his voice. “You'd really want... his name?” He had not meant to be so blunt about it, but his response was purely instinct at that moment.
          Angelo seemed to ponder that for a second, then his face brightened again. “Ok, I can be Angelo Jackson! Get it? 'Jack's Son'? Heh heh?” He chuckled with exaggerated nervousness, like he'd told a bad joke, but his face had an air of expectancy to it.
          “That could be nice,” Jack said pleasantly. A million scenarios flashed through his mind in an instant, but he dismissed them. Not now, he thought. “But seriously though,” he said, letting the sentence hang in the air.
          The kit sat back in his seat across from Jack again. He took a deep breath before speaking. “You want to try to find... her... don't you?” he asked, again softly. It was more of a statement than a question.
          Jack sat up in his seat. Was it that obvious? “No... no!” he protested. “It's just that...” he trailed off as Angelo let loose a thoroughly amused stream of giggles, which completely derailed Jack's train of thought. “Wha... what?” he asked.
          Angelo smiled at him and just wiggled his black-edged ears for a few seconds, the earrings in his left one tinkling as he did. Jack took mental inventory of his own ears: they were flat against his head, pointed rearwards. With an embarrassed laugh, he reached up and touched one, prompting another giggle from his little friend.
          Jack just sat back in his seat. He was caught; there was nothing he could really say about it. He sipped from his drink can and looked back at Angelo sheepishly. The young kit was still watching him with a curious smile.
          “Don't you... sort of want to find her, though?” Jack asked, since the subject had been broached. “Just a little?”
          Angelo sneered slightly at this. “Why?” he asked bitterly. “Why would I possibly want to ever see her again?”
          “Well,” Jack began, trying to maintain a calm and friendly tone. The last thing he wanted was to sour the mood. “Wouldn't you want to ask her... 'Why'?”
          “Why?” the boy replied. “She didn't want me, Jack! 'Why' doesn't matter anymore!”
          “I dunno,” Jack said, still keeping his voice even and calm, “There might have been reasons for...”
          “She didn't want me!” the kit said, cutting Jack off. He now spoke a little louder than before. “My so-called father never wanted me since the day he knocked her up! Then years later, she decided he was right! And NOW it looks like fucking Vic doesn't want me either!” Anger was beginning to creep into his voice now.
          Jack looked into the kit's blue eyes as they stared back at him. “Ange, look,” he said sadly, “I'm sorry. Sorry that I brought it up. Let's just... forget about it, ok?”
          Angelo stared at the older fox for a few seconds, then looked down at his soda can and set it on the table. “I gotta pee,” he declared flatly.
          “You know where it is,” Jack responded, pointing towards the hallway behind them. The little fox got up and disappeared down the hall.
          When Jack heard the door close, he gritted his teeth and smacked himself in the head with a paw. “The fuck are you doing?” he muttered to himself angrily. The kit was correct that Jack wanted to look for Angelo's mother, which Jack still felt was the right thing to do. He did not want to get into an argument over it, though, on what was supposed to be a fun evening.
          A minute or so later, the bathroom door opened and Angelo returned to the couch. Jack watched him silently and was dismayed that the kit did not look at him as he sat back down, but kept his gaze on the TV.
          “Ange,” Jack said, almost plaintively. “I'm sorry, bud. Really.” He smiled as his young friend finally made eye contact, the kit returning the smile with a smile of his own and a nod.
          “It's s'ok Jack,” Angelo finally said, his speech slurring slightly, then reached for the half-slice of pizza he had placed in the box. After swallowing it down, he continued. “Maybe... someday I'll try to find her. Maybe even someday soon. Just... not now, y'know?” Any anger was gone from his voice, and he seemed happy to talk about it again.
          Jack nodded. “Fair enough,” he said sadly.
          “Besides,” Angelo picked back up, “That was my First Life, anyway. I'm in my Second now, so my name is whatever I want it to be. I don't really even exist. Archer maybe!” he said happily, but with lines of thought clearly overlapping now.
          “Second one, eh?” Jack said conversationally.
          “Yep!” came the enthusiastic reply. “I came into the first one with nothing, naked and crying in the hospital, right? Well, same with the second one after... she left me there. Hospital. Just a paper gown-thing on, and all my stuff gone. Cry... crying my eyes out,” he said, either getting choked up on the last part, or stumbling on his words due to the beer.
          “Gone?” Jack asked.
          “Yup,” the kit replied, softer now. “Cops took everything in the place... for evis... evidence.” Angelo furrowed his brow. “Ev-i-dence,” he pronounced slowly, then grinned at Jack.
          “You're drunk!” Jack said teasingly.
          “I'm... good,” the young fox replied happily. He picked up the empty beer can and wiggled it. “Last one, remember?”
          Jack nodded and grabbed another can of root beer. Pizza always made him thirsty, and the two vulpes had torn through much of this one. Angelo had turned his gaze back towards the TV. A new program had come on – this one dealing with the construction of skyscrapers in the early 20th century.
          After a few minutes of watching the program, Angelo said, out of the blue, “You don't like Vic, do you?”
          Jack, who had been only half-watching the program, was caught off-guard. He thought for a moment how to respond as Angelo watched him expectantly. Finally he said, “I really don't know. I'm trying to figure him out, but he keeps... doing things that screw that up, you know?”
          Angelo nodded with a half-smile. “Yeah,” he said. “Things like yesterday, right?”
          “Exactly,” Jack replied. “I don't know what the heck he's up to. I mean, he seems like an ok guy, for the most part. I wish he wouldn't be such a dick to you, though.”
          The little grey-furred fox smiled at this. “He's not that bad. I guess. I don't...” he trailed off for a second, then resumed. “I dunno. I keep trying... to...” He shrugged with a smile. “I guess maybe I still don't got him figured out either!”
          Jack nodded, with a reassuring smile. He kept thinking of what Angelo had said, likely unintentionally, about feeling that Victor no longer wanted him around. The ferret's abrupt change in attitude was probably the cause for those feelings, he thought, combined with today's nerve-wracking delivery, of course.
          “So what did you think was going to happen today?” Jack asked his young friend.
          Angelo smiled an embarrassed little smile. “Well,” he began slowly, “you know how Vic was acting yesterday, right?” Jack nodded. “Talking like I wasn't even there, and talking to you about the stuff that he usually gives to me...then giving us that gang delivery to do. Well, I... thought he was going to get the gang to... kill me.” He looked at Jack matter-of-factly.
          “What...” Jack said, shocked. He knew there was something bothering Angelo during the delivery, but assumed that the kit was concealing some of the danger, so as not to panic or concern the older fox. That he was expecting to die the whole time had not entered into Jack's thoughts.
          Even as he spoke now, though, Angelo seemed indifferent to that possibility, at least outwardly. “Like I said, sometimes I think too much!” the kit said with a smile.
          “But why would Victor do that?” Jack asked.
          “I guess he wouldn't, right?” Angelo replied, still smiling. “But it kinda made sense to me, laying there in the dark all night. Vic's got you now, so maybe he doesn't need me.”
          “But I'm not...” Jack began, but Angelo raised a paw to stop him.
          “I'm just saying... that's what I was thinking last night. Suddenly he's giving you all the instructions and orders. If he wanted to get rid of me, the easy way for him to do it is to deliver this giant bag of pot to the gang, with a note inside: 'Kill the kid, let the other one go, you keep the pot as payment'. They kill me, you haul tail out of there and tell Vic... he pretends to be sad about it... you two go on from there.” Angelo's voice began to quiver slightly as he concluded.
          “Holy shit, Ange” Jack said, wanting to hug the boy and never let him go back to Victor.
          “Didn't happen though,” the kit said calmly. “Just my stupid mind running away with me.”
          “Do you think Victor would even think of something like that?”
          Angelo shrugged. “He always did say that the only way out once you're working for him, is...” He made a finger gun-to-the-head gesture. “Pow! I dunno if that's true, but I sure know enough to put him away for a long time. So if he ever wanted to get rid of me...”
          “All right,” Jack interrupted, “Like you said, that didn't happen. So no point in thinking about everything else that might not ever happen.”
          “Yeah,” came the reply, now with a hint of sadness. “I probably will anyway, though. I think about all that kind of stuff at night... what happened that day, what's going on tomorrow... Planning it all out, and thinking about what might go wrong so I can head it off. Usually takes me a couple hours to fall asleep 'cause I'm thinking too much.” He shrugged.
          The TV suddenly flicked off and the lights dimmed for a couple of seconds, then returned to normal. Outside, the wind was blowing harder than before, and the rain was coming down with more intensity, both elements clearly audible in the apartment in the absence of the television's audio. The two foxes looked upwards as the rain could be heard pounding down on the roof.
          “You... think you should go home?” Jack asked.
          “Nah, I like hanging out here,” the boy replied with a smile. “Besides, there's still half a pizza left!”
          Jack smiled. “Ok, but it's only going to get worse. Not supposed to stop 'till morning.”
          “It's only water!” Angelo said cheerfully. Jack nodded and used the remote to switch the television back on. The pair watched in silence for a few minutes more. At the next commercial break, Angelo got up to use the restroom again.
          “So...” Jack said when he returned, by way of starting a conversation while the commercials were still on, “you lost all your stuff, huh?”
          “Yeah,” the little fox confirmed. “Never really had much anyway, so it's not like I lost a whole lot.” He shrugged with a smile, not seeming to mind discussing this.
          “Anything you do miss?” Jack asked. “A toy or... anything?”
          The grey-furred kit seemed to almost blush, a slight grin crossing his face. “Well,” he started,  slowly, then more normally, “I did have a penguin.”
          “A penguin?” Jack asked, surprised.
          “Plush penguin, silly!” came the reply with a grin. “He was about so high,” Angelo said, holding his paws about a foot apart vertically. “He had like a cargo vest on, with a bunch of pockets... So I called him...” he seemed to blush again, then with an embarrassed smile, “I called him... Pockets.”  
          Jack grinned. “That's adorable!” he said teasingly, though only halfway so in his own mind.
          “Hey!” the kit said, taking the chunk of pizza crust he had been nibbling on and tossing at the older fox, who tried to duck as the bread hit him in the side of the muzzle. Angelo giggled playfully.
          “Easy now,” Jack said, picking the piece of crust off of his lap where it had bounced. “I'm just saying!”
          “Yeah, yeah,” Angelo said with mock dismissiveness, turning his attention back to the TV which had returned to the program. “That's pup shit anyway,” he said after a moment.
          Jack sat, only half watching the TV. He was thinking about Victor again, and how Angelo seemed to instinctively know how the older fox felt about the ferret; Jack hoped he was not giving off any vibes that Victor himself might pick up on. As he sat thinking, he absently nibbled on the pizza crust Angelo had thrown at him, which was cold and still slightly damp from where the kit had been doing the same.
          Outside the rain came down heavier with each passing moment, and the wind was driving it relentlessly against the windows and roof of the apartment.

          After a few more TV shows had come and gone, accompanied by several more momentary power hits, Jack rose from the couch and declared that he was going to go to bed.
          Angelo got up as well. “Yeah, I guess I should go home too,” he said.
          Jack carried the pizza to the refrigerator, still in the box. It was mostly gone, but enough for a snack tomorrow. “This was fun,” he said, hoping the boy felt the same.
          “Definitely!” came the answer, cheerfully. Angelo went towards the door and picked his jacket up, shaking it out as he did. “Now for the mad dash across the parking lot!” he said, putting the jacket on.
          “It's only water!” Jack said, echoing the kit's own words from earlier. Angelo smiled and nodded as Jack came to the door to see him off.
          The wind nearly blew the door into his face as he opened it. Outside, the rain was falling in torrents, blasted by the wind into a 45-degree angle of water and wind-blown mist. The light-post at the edge of the parking lot was just a glow behind the rain. Indeed, Jack could not even see his car from the doorway.
          “Yeah...” Angelo said slowly, his upper lip curled up slightly in an expression of trepidation. He made a hesitant move to step out onto the doorstep, but stopped himself still inside the apartment and looked up at Jack, as if asking what he should do.
          “Wow,” Jack said, impressed by the severity of the storm. He looked down into Angelo's expectant blue eyes, then took a step back and closed the door again. “So what do you want to do?” he asked the boy.
          Angelo clutched his jacket closed in front of him. “I... I dunno, what...” he said hesitantly.
          “I mean,” Jack continued, “you're perfectly welcome to stay here tonight if you want. The couch is plenty comfy!”
          Angelo nodded, looking back at the couch. “You... don't mind?” he asked.
          “Not at all, I told you that you're always welcome here!” Jack declared, prompting an appreciative smile from his young friend. “What if Victor calls, though?” Jack asked him.
          “Pfft,” the younger fox said sarcastically, as he removed his jacket once again and set it down in its previous spot by the door. “He won't. He never does.”
          “Figures,” Jack said instinctively, as he went to the couch and swept leftover pizza crumbs from the cushions. “Here we go, fit for a king!”
          “If I see one, I'll be sure to tell him,” said Angelo cheerfully. He sat down in the center of the couch and lightly bounced on the cushion. “Got a pillow, or a blanket or something?”
          Jack stood up abruptly. “Oh shit!” he said, then looking down at his young charge, “No... I haven't brought any extra blankets over yet! Just the ones on my bed... crap!” He walked quickly towards the hallway, then turned back, his mind searching for alternatives. “Maybe... maybe I could...”
          Angelo held a paw up. “It's cool, Jack. I don't really need em.”
          “I could turn the air conditioner to warmer, maybe...” Jack suggested, now feeling bad about this situation.
          “Nah, don't do that, I like it cold!” Angelo replied.
          “Yeah, but you also usually have those giant comforters!” Jack protested.
          “Don't worry, Jack,” Angelo said, insistently. “I'll just...”
          “Towels!” Jack interrupted. “I do have a couple spare towels!” He turned and dashed to the bathroom closet. Retrieving what few towels he had, he returned to the living room to one amused little grey-furred fox.
          “Thanks,” said the kit with a chuckle.
          Jack paused, now realizing how manic he must appear. Allowing himself a laugh, he placed the towels on the cushion next to Angelo. “Sorry,” he said with a smile. “You're my first house-guest, and it ain't starting off too well!”
          “I'll be fine,” the young fox insisted. “Thanks!”
          Jack nodded. “Ok,” he said standing back up. “Well, you know where everything is.” Angelo nodded. “If you need anything, I'm right in there,” he said, pointing down the hallway.
          “Good night, Jack,” said Angelo with a pleasant smile.
          Jack resisted the urge to fuzzle the kit's headfur. “Good night to you too!” he simply replied, then with a wave, turned down the hallway to his bedroom, to give the kit privacy to undress as much as he might want.
          Entering his bedroom, Jack left the door open a ways instead of fully closing it as was his custom. He turned off the light and went to his bed to undress, leaving his clothes by the side of the bed in case he needed to venture out of his room in the night, for whatever reason.
          The red fox sat on his bed in just his boxers. The light from the living room still shone through the opening in the bedroom door. After a minute or two more, it flicked off. Jack lay down on his bed and pulled his covers over himself with a silent sight. He felt guilty doing that while outside, Angelo had only a couple of thin towels to cover himself.
          Jack knew that the alternatives were to send the kit home in the storm, where Jack could not even see him make it to his apartment safely, or to offer the kit a place in his bed, which he was afraid would send the wrong message to the boy. Jack's sister had often snuck into his bed when he lived back at home, so it was no big deal to the older fox, but he didn't want to risk crossing a line with Angelo, intentionally or otherwise.
          He laid his head back on his pillow and listened to the music of the rain whipping against the building until he fell asleep.

          In the morning, Jack awoke to the sun brightly lighting the blinds in his window. The storm had by now completely departed the area. The red fox blinked his eyes a few times then looked over at his clock radio. It was blinking 12:00 – the power had gone out during the night for some length of time. He slowly sat up in bed, realizing that he didn't know what time it was, other than “morning”.
          He reached over to the radio and turned it on, hitting the preset button for the news-talk channel, which gave the time every few minutes. The DJs were discussing the storm and reading off lists of areas with power still out, then segued into road hazards such as downed trees and power lines. Finally they announced the time as they broke for commercial: 7:27.
          Not bad, Jack thought. His alarm was set for 7am, so he woke up naturally after a slight overage. He re-set his clock and grabbed his clothes from where they lay at the side of the bed and hastily dressed. They were yesterday's clothes, but would suffice until he saw Angelo off and could shower.
          Jack walked into his living room to wake the young fox. Angelo was curled up in a tight ball on the couch. He was fully clothed, and had even put his jacket on, followed by the few towels that Jack could provide. Jack frowned – the boy was obviously too cold in the night, and this knowlegde didn't sit well with the older fox.
          “Hey buddy,” Jack said gently, hoping to rouse the kit. When he got no response, he repeated it slightly louder. Still nothing. “Angelo,” Jack half-sung, and poked him in the shoulder softly. The little fox's eyes snapped open at the contact, then he blinked and took a deep breath, long and slow.
          “Hey Jack,” Angelo said tiredly, looking up at his host. He began to slowly uncurl and stretch.
          “Good morning!” Jack said. Then after a pause, “Were you cold last night?”
          “Meh,” Angelo replied. “I'm ok, don't worry.” He was fully uncurled and laying flat on the couch now.
          “I'm sorry bud,” Jack said sadly. “Next time I'll make sure to be better stocked.”
          “Mmm,” the young fox simply intoned as he sat up and scratched the back of his head. He stopped, then looked at Jack quizzically for a moment. “Next time?” he asked.
          “Sure,” Jack said, “If you want a “next time,” that is...”
          “Yeah,” Angelo replied with a smile. “I had fun, even with the storm!”
          “Well ok then,” the red fox said declaratively.
          Angelo rubbed his eyes and scratched his cheek-fluff as he sat on the couch. “So,” he began slowly, “I guess... I should go, huh?”
          “You can hang out if you'd like,” Jack said, though he needed to use the bathroom, and wanted a shower as well. “Want to go get some breakfast?” he suggested.
          “Yeah, that sounds good!” Angelo replied enthusiastically. “Lemme go home and... clean up and stuff, then we can go, ok?”
          “Perfect!” Jack said, walking to the door as Angelo rose from the couch and again stretched.
          Jack opened the door and surveyed the scene. Small chunks of tree were everywhere: tiny sections of branch, with three or four leaves each, dotted the parking lot. Larger chunks of branch were occasionally seen, especially near the trees themselves. There didn't seem to be any truly big limbs down though, and no real damage to any of the buildings they could see.
          “Wow,” Angelo said, arriving at Jack's side. “Good storm we had!” Jack just nodded, still looking over the storm's leftovers. “See you in a bit Jack!” he said cheerfully.
          “Ok, be careful out there,” Jack said, instinctively patting the kit's shoulder, which Angelo didn't  react to, “It's probably really slippery with all those wet leaves.”
          “I will!” he replied, and started down the walkway, turning back to wave cheerfully. Jack waved back with a genuine smile, then shut the door.

          “He said yes!” Victor exclaimed, grabbing both of Jack's shoulders and shaking them.
          “Congratulations,” Jack said sarcastically, “When's the wedding?” Victor laughed out loud and slapped one of the fox's shoulders.
          “Ha! You know what I mean!” Victor said cheerfully, and threw some mock shadow-boxing punches Jack's way.
          Jack and Angelo had gone for breakfast as planned following their storm-induced sleepover, then on a whim went to one of the local electronics stores to have a look at mobile phones – Jack figured he could afford one of his own now. The one he had used in high school was under his parents name and, like most else had been terminated upon his moving out, though he still had his old phone number on reserve. He ended up not buying anything for now, though.
          Their impromptu visit to the store then turned into a longer visit, as they looked over laptops, video game consoles, and assorted other items in the store. When they finally returned to the apartment, it was closing in on noon. The pair were in the process of walking around the apartment complex, looking over the storm's aftermath in more detail when they saw Victor's car pull up.
          He clearly saw the two foxes as well, and briefly stopped the car, before continuing down to his parking space. With a silent exchange of looks, Jack and Angelo both decided that they should stop what they were doing and meet up with the ferret.
          Victor had opened his front door and placed his suitcase inside by the time the foxes made it back to the apartment. With the door still open, he practically bounded down the walkway when he saw them, before grabbing the teen's shoulders excitedly and making his pronouncement.
          “This is it, Jack! This is where it all turns around,” Victor continued.
          “Hi Vic,” Angelo said, deliberately and dryly, obviously pointing out that the ferret had not even acknowledged the younger fox's presence yet.
          “Angelo,” Victor said with a happy nod to the little fox. Then putting one arm around each, said “My two favorite people. We're going places, gents!”
          “So I assume this is about...” Jack started to say. Victor stopped him with a raised finger.
          “Ah-ah... not here,” he cautioned. Jack nodded. “Tonight!” Victor declared.
          “Tonight?” Jack asked.
          “Dinner, on me,” Victor replied, arms still around both foxes. “In there, unfortunately,” he said, with a nod towards the apartment, “Gotta be able to talk, you know? You like Italian?”
          “Yeah, sure,” the red fox responded.
          “Great, I know the best place. You come by around 7:00, when you see my car. Take the rest of the day off – got nothing due that can't wait a day now! Bad enough you have a 7am delivery tomorrow... so take a day for yourself!” He let go of the two vulpes, then balled his fists up in front of him and shook them with a wide grin. Jack thought he looked very much like a small cub who has been promised a trip to his favorite vacation spot.
          “I'll be there,” Jack replied with a slight smile of amusement.
          “See you then,” the ferret replied, then turned abruptly towards the apartment again, and with a nod to Angelo, started towards his door without a glance back. As they walked, Jack heard Victor say to the little fox, “Everything go good with yesterday?”
          Jack didn't hear the younger fox's reply as they walked, but assumed he was updating Victor on the delivery. He was slightly surprised that Victor did not bring it up right away, given the amount of money involved. Similarly, Jack noticed that despite his initial ignoring of Angelo's presence, that Victor then chose to ask him about the delivery and not Jack.
          As the fox and ferret disappeared behind their door, Jack turned towards his own abode, shaking his head with a chuckle. Just when he thought he might have Victor figured, the ferret flips the tables on him again.

          Jack sat on his couch with his laptop, idly browsing various Internet sites, waiting for 7:00 to come. He was glad to have been given the day off, especially with an early morning to follow, but was still anxious regarding Victor's forthcoming announcement. Something inside told him that he was probably not going to like it.
          With ten minutes to go to 7:00, he heard a car horn beep twice from outside. He got up and went to the window. Pulling the curtain aside, he saw Victor and Angelo standing by Victor's car, unloading several plastic bags from the back seat. Dinner is served, he thought to himself, then grabbed his keys and went outside to meet them.
          As he reached Victor's car, Angelo came back out of the apartment to retrieve the remaining bags. Victor had not skimped on the dinner order – there had to have been at least 5 full bags.
          “Hey, Jack,” Angelo said cheerfully. “Only one left, I got it.” He ducked into the back seat of the car and emerged with the bag. Jack noticed an enticing smell wafting from it as he closed the car door behind the kit.
          “Smells good,” Jack said, following Angelo up the walkway to the apartment.
          “Yeah, I love this place,” came the enthusiastic reply.
          Inside, Victor had pulled the round table that usually occupied the corner of the room into the center, pushing aside the few remaining boxes and sliding the couch back a ways. Three places were set, evenly spaced around it.
          Victor was in the kitchen, unloading the food bags onto the counter. Angelo brought the last bag around to him, then stood next to the ferret as he opened the containers. Jack noticed that he also had a glass of wine on the counter that he had nearly emptied already.
          “Jack, welcome to Casa Morrison!” Victor said from the kitchen. “Grab a seat, we'll be right with you.” Then, in a lower voice to Angelo, he said, “Take this... and this.”
          Jack sat in one of the chairs. Victor had tried for an elegant appearance despite the spartan surroundings. His place was set with full silverware service, water and wine glasses, and a cloth napkin.
          Angelo came out from the kitchen with a bread basket in one paw and a pasta bowl in the other. He placed them in the center of the table then sat down in his own spot and smiled to Jack. Victor came out a moment later with a water pitcher and a gallon jug of wine, nearly half empty. He placed them down in the center of the table as well.
          “Dig in, I'm not gonna serve you!” Victor said with a grin, then went immediately for the wine bottle and filled his own glass. “Jack?” he asked, holding the bottle out to the fox.
          “No, thanks,” Jack said, feeling slightly self-conscious that he had to decline his host's first offer. “I don't really drink.” Even if he did, he thought, he had to get up early tomorrow for another  delivery apparently, so would not risk imbibing much.
          Victor seemed to take it in stride, however. “Suit yourself,” he said, then reached over and put the bottle down next to Angelo. “More for us,” he said.
          Angelo looked to Jack, who met his glance for a second then looked away, reaching for the bread basket. “I'll... I'll pass, Vic,” the little fox said.
          “Bullshit,” Victor said cheerfully, and grabbing the bottle, filled Angelo's wine glass, spilling more than a few splashes as he did so. He then returned to the kitchen to retrieve more of the meal. With a slightly guilty expression, Angelo again looked at Jack, who merely shrugged.
          Victor quickly returned to the table with several steaming bowls and a large platter of what looked to be chicken parmesan. Jack's mouth immediately started to water in earnest as Victor placed them on the table then took his seat.
          “A toast!” Victor exclaimed, raising his wine glass. “To the next level of my humble operation!”
          Jack raised his water glass, and after a slight hesitation, Angelo raised his wine glass. The three clinked the glasses together over the center of the table then drank. Jack was pleased to see that Angelo raised his glass to his muzzle, but did not appear to actually drink from it.
          Victor handed Jack the large serving fork. “Go for it,” he told the fox.
          Jack was more than happy to oblige, and went straight for the chicken parm platter. “So,” he said while serving himself, “what is this big deal that you've been working on?”
          “Ehh,” Victor intoned, “I don't want to jinx it just yet, but let's just say that soon you won't be delivering cigars anymore. We'll be moving up to something a bit more profitable.” He took a long drink from his wine glass then re-filled it.
          Jack laughed. “So you're not going to tell me yet?” He handed the serving fork to Angelo.
          Victor laughed as well. “I will, I will,” he said, “Just... I want to wait 'till I have product in-paw. You never know when shit's going to go wrong, y'know?” After a slight pause, he laughed again.
          Victor had clearly started into the wine well before Jack arrived, the fox reckoned. Which probably meant he had driven to the restaurant, with Angelo in the car, if not actually drunk then surely under the influence.
          “So far, the deal is a go, though,” Victor continued as he loaded his plate. “Cost me damn near all I got, but it'll be worth it.”
          “Ok,” Jack said, “so when will this deal actually happen then?”
          “A fair question!” Victor said loudly, gesturing with his wine glass and again splashing a bit on the table. “I need to get all the cash converted into something a little more... portable. That cash from yesterday, I mean. Traveling with a sack full of bills tends to raise suspicion! Probably take me a few days for that, so I don't get stuck with all that government reporting shit.”
          Jack furrowed his brow at that cryptic response. He figured it was a reference to money-laundering, but briefly wondered why that would even be necessary – it all came from a gang, so would already be untraceable.
          “Don't worry, Jacky,” Victor said, clearly noticing the concerned look that had crossed the fox's face, “Just leave it to me, right? Besides, that's not the whole reason for this little soiree.”
          “Oh yeah?” Jack asked, ignoring the hated over-familiarization of his name, which he attributed to the wine.
          “Nope,” Victor said, looking to Jack, then to Angelo who now looked slightly confused, then back to Jack. “I said I was taking my enterprise to the next level. The new product line is only part of that – it's time to make other things official too.” He paused dramatically. Angelo looked to Jack with an uneasy expression.
          “Jack.” Victor declared. “You've done a hell of a job as my driver. Shit, that stunt with the train should have been enough to prove that! So: I want you... now... to be my official business partner!” He finished with a flourish of his hand as if he was announcing a winner on a game show, then took a bite of the chicken.
          The silence in the room was palpable. Victor sat back and sipped from his wine glass, as if letting his offer sink in. Jack looked the ferret in the eyes for a few seconds, then to Angelo, whose eyes were looking from Jack to Victor, and back. The look on the kit's face now was unmistakable: betrayal.
          Jack sat back as well, his mind racing. He couldn't look at Angelo after seeing the boy's expression. “Victor, I... wow,” he said, hoping to buy some time.
          “I know, it's something, right?” Victor said.
          “Yeah...” Jack said. “But...” he began, not sure how to say it, “Don't you... already have a partner?”
          Victor looked genuinely confused at this. “Huh?” he asked, then realizing, “Oh, him?” he said, indicating Angelo. That he didn't use the kit's name was most telling to Jack. “Well, uh...” the ferret stammered. “I mean, he does good work for me and all, but... you're my field agent, right?” he said, turning to Angelo. “You're my fox-on-the-scene... you go where I can't, right?”
          “Yeah, sure Vic...” Angelo said flatly.
          “Yeah,” Victor echoed. “You're more like the legs of my operation, you know?” If he was trying to sound encouraging, it wasn't working, Jack thought. Victor continued, “I need a real partner. Another brain next to mine to go through all the higher-level stuff!”
          “Yeah,” Angelo said, much quieter now, and the room again fell silent.
          After a few seconds, Jack spoke up. “So, what would this job have me doing?” he asked. “You're still going to need a driver, right?”
          “Well... true,” Victor said, as if he'd not thought it through completely. “Yeah, you'd still be doing the driving,” he said, then hurriedly added, “for now!”
          Jack nodded slowly, chewing his food. He glanced to Angelo, but the kit was staring at the platter on the table, his face now expressionless.
          “But,” Victor continued, “after those deliveries, instead of going home for the day, we'd get together and make plans, you know? Think about all kinds of new ways to make money, new things we can do, new markets to delve into!”
          “Vic!” Angelo exclaimed, sounding exasperated. “I've had lots of ideas for making money! But you don't want to hear them!”
          “What, your little beer smuggling scheme?” Victor said, the enthusiasm in his voice giving way to irritation. “That's small-time crap. I mean real money-making ideas.”
          “That's pure profit and you know it!” Angelo shot back immediately.
          “Yeah, for you!” Victor said, anger creeping into his voice. Jack was surprised at how quickly the ferret's attitude was changing before his eyes. “I buy the shit, and you keep all the money!” He looked to Jack as he continued, “That's a hell of a deal he's got going, huh?”
          “Come on, Vic,” the grey-furred fox continued, apparently unwilling to give in on this point. “It costs what, ten bucks to fill one up? And I get fifty back for it? Even if you kept it all, that's still pretty good money!”
          “Pfft, that's still small-time shit,” Victor retorted. Both furs' voices were getting louder as they sparred. “Don't waste my time unless you have some real ideas!”
          “I got tons of ideas, but you won't listen!” Angelo said angrily, then calming slightly, continued, “Now, take the summer sports camps: hundreds of furs, and it's hot as hell, right? Well, I figure we can...”
          “ENOUGH!” Victor shouted and slammed a fist down on the table, knocking his wine glass over and causing everyone's silverware to jump. Jack nearly jumped as well at this sudden outburst. Angelo immediately fell silent.
          Victor held both palms out at shoulder level and closed his eyes, as if trying to regain his composure. The room stayed silent, with only the trickle of spilled wine from the table to the carpet audible. After a brief second, he opened his eyes and calmly righted his glass. He threw his napkin roughly onto the spilled wine.
          “All right,” he said, his voice calmer, but with anger still apparent. “You want to talk about how you can make me money? Ok, we'll talk about it. Let's see: I can get five hundred bucks from one guy for recording you in the bathroom. How's that for a start? Then I've got offers for your tail-hole... I'll let you try to figure out from who. Some want it for an hour, some for all night. I can get ten grand for that! Of course, they probably aren't going to want you to just walk away afterwards, so there's that.”
          “Victor...” Jack said, trying to calm the ferret. He was stunned by this turn. Granted, he did know of one customer that Angelo had already said wanted nude pictures of him, so that would hardly be surprising to the kit. For Victor to come out and say it so bluntly, though...
          “What? We're just talking here, right?” Victor said to Jack, then turned his gaze back to the smaller fox, his voice slowly rising in both volume and venom. “Of course, if you want to make me some real money, there's the sentient-trafficking rings in New York - the Russian's talked about them. I could probably get fifty... maybe seventy-five grand for you at your age. Then little Ash can spend the rest of his life as a fuck toy for horny foreign businessmen, and permanently drugged when not having your tail-hole reamed out!
          “Until you're not cute enough anymore, of course” the ferret went on, his voice quieting down some, but more filled with spite and cruelty than ever. “Then... a bullet to the head, a splash in the ocean, and nobody on Earth will know you ever existed.” He spoke this last sentence slowly, with an icy tone, staring straight into the little kit's blue eyes.
          Angelo did not look away, and his face showed little emotion, which seemed to annoy Victor. He reached over and picked up the wine bottle and refilled his glass. Then taking a long draw from it, he calmly said, “So... do you still want to talk about ways you can make me money? Or do you want to shut the fuck up and let me run the business?” He stared back intently at Angelo as he said this.
          Angelo, his jaw tight, continued to hold Victor's gaze for a moment until it became obvious that the ferret was not going to break it first, at which time the young fox gave in and looked down at his plate.
          With a smirk, Victor simply said, “Good,” and sat back in his chair sipping his wine. The room fell silent again for a half-minute, after which Victor calmly picked up his silverware and resumed eating. “So... where was I?” he said after a couple of mouthfuls.
          Jack made a non-committal gesture, and looked at Angelo. The little fox was still staring at his plate, both arms at his side under the table.
          “Your job,” Victor said, reminding himself where he had left off. “The way I see it, you can give me feedback from the customers, how they're liking the products, how fast it's selling, that kind of thing. You know supply-and-demand?”
          Jack just nodded, watching the ferret closely now. The fox no longer felt like eating, but forced himself to do so. For now, he figured, he had to at least play along with Victor until he could figure out what to do.
          “Good,” Victor continued. “So you'd use that to make the call: is the stuff selling too fast, so we should jack the price up? Ha-ha, get it? 'Jack' the price up? Anyway: or is it not moving so we should cut the price or move to a better area? And that's only part of what I have in mind for you!  In addition...”
          Victor went on, but Jack was only half-listening now. He kept glancing to his young friend who was absently picking at his food with a fork. He'd only had time for a bite or two before Victor exploded on him, and had now clearly lost his appetite as well.
          After a couple more minutes, and during a pause in Victor's monologue, Angelo abruptly pushed back his chair. “I'm gonna go read,” he said flatly, then got up from the table and turned towards the hall.
          “Hey!” Victor called out, “Put your shit away.”
          Angelo turned back and grabbed his plate roughly and carried it towards the kitchen. Jack could see that his jaw was clenched again, though he displayed no other outward emotion. Having put his plate away, he went immediately to his room, without a further glance towards the table. Jack heard his door close – neither an angry slam nor a meek click.
          Victor silently watched Angelo the whole time, with a smug smirk on his face, until the kit disappeared down the hall. He then returned his attention to his plate, and ate in silence again for a minute or two.
          “So Jack,” the ferret said after a few more mouthfuls and yet another wine refill, “I've been doing all the talking here. You gotta have questions... concerns? Hit me with 'em!”
          Jack forced himself to swallow the food he'd been chewing, trying to maintain a detached demeanor. “Well, sure I do, Victor,” he said. “It is kind of hard to have an opinion, though, 'till I know what this Mystery Product is going to be.”
          “A fair point,” Victor conceded, “and I don't need an answer from you today. For now we'll keep things as they are, until we get ramped up on the new line. Give me a week, tops. Sound good?”
          “Sounds good,” Jack replied, hoping he sounded more enthusiastic than he felt.
          “Good,” Victor said. “What else is on your mind?”
          “Well,” the fox started, slowly. He might as well say it, he figured. “Was all that really necessary?”
          “Was what?” Victor answered, through a mouthful of food.
          This apparent lack of empathy now annoyed Jack. “Was... that!” he said, indicating Angelo's vacant chair.
          “Oh him, pfft,” Victor replied. “Don't worry about that. He's been coming up with crackpot ideas for a while now. Trying to worm his way into my affairs. He just needs to be reminded of his place every once in a while.”
          “His place...” Jack repeated.
          “Yeah, he's just the delivery boy. Nothing more,” said Victor. “Keeps forgetting that fact. He also forgets the fact that I basically made him, and I can just as easily replace him.”
          “That's kind of cold, don't you think?” Jack asked, still maintaining a neutral tone, one of an outsider trying to understand, and not to judge.
          “Cold, but true,” Victor said. “There's plenty more where he came from: homeless pups who'd kill for the life I've given Angelo. Doing what you're told is a small price to pay. Ungrateful, if you ask me.” He seemed to ruminate for a moment, then said, “Next time I'll be sure to get a stupid one.”
          Jack had to chuckle at that backhanded compliment. “Still,” he said, “don't you think that was rather harsh to talk to a kit like that?”
          “He knows me,” Victor replied with a faint hint of annoyance, “He should have known better than to start on that again. Look, Jack, it's good that you two get along. Makes the job go easier than with someone you can't stand, right? But take my advice: don't get too attached.”
          “Oh?” Jack asked. This was leading somewhere, he thought.
          “Yeah,” Victor said, his gaze a little unsteady from the wine. “Why do you think I'm using an orphan who dropped out of the system? I mean, he's an ok kit and all, but if the shit hits the fan... if it really comes down to it... he is expendable.”
          Jack stared at Victor, trying to mask what he was feeling. This now explained a great deal about Victor, and his relationship with the little grey-furred fox. He now knew that he had to get the kit away from this ferret, any way possible. Until he could figure a way to do so, though, he had to stay on Victor's good side.
          “What about me?” Jack asked, now playing along with the ferret. “Am I expendable too?”
          Victor smiled broadly at this. “You? Nah,” he said with a laugh. “Nope, you're going to be my partner. We'll keep the expendable ones doing the dirty work while we reap the rewards, don't you worry.”
          Jack nodded. “Well, for now though, don't you think you should ease up on the kid? You don't want him feeling like he's not welcome around here, right?” If he could get Victor to lighten up, at least Angelo might have a better time while he was stuck here, Jack reckoned.
          Victor stared at Jack for a few seconds, then bellowed over his shoulder, “Angelo!” Jack heard Angelo's door open, and a few seconds later the kit emerged from the hallway. He was shirtless, and carried a book in one paw, closed over one finger.
          “Yeah Vic?” Angelo asked, eyes darting between Jack and Victor.
          Victor turned around in his chair to face the kit. “Listen, all that stuff earlier... just forget about all that, yeah? You and me... we built this place from nothing, right? I move up, you move up. So don't worry about any of that. Ok?”
          “Yeah, sure Vic,” Angelo said, sounding slightly confused.
          “Ok then,” Victor said with a slight smile and an almost dismissive nod then turned back around. Angelo nodded back, then looked to Jack as he began to turn back towards the hallway. The kit's confused look evaporated in that split second, and his eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he looked at the older fox. Then he was gone back down the hall.
          Victor smiled and shot a glance to Jack, as if saying “Well?”
          “You're a saint,” Jack said dryly, wondering what that look on Angelo's face meant.
          The ferret laughed at Jack's comment, then seemed to study his face. After a moment, he said, “I like you Jack. I knew you were going to work out the day I met you.”
          “Well thanks,” Jack said evasively, wondering where this was going now.
          “You know, I don't like banks,” Victor said, which caught Jack completely off-guard. “When you deal in as much cash as I do, they tend to get all... report-y on me. Government, I mean. Government doesn't like too much un-reported cash flowing in and out. So I keep clear of them, and don't use cash.”
          “Don't use... then what do you use?” Jack asked, now genuinely curious.
          Victor smiled and rose from the table. Jack made a move to get up, but Victor held up a paw for him to stay, then went to the kitchen and opened a lower cabinet. He returned to the table and set down a can of kitchen cleanser powder. The can thudded heavily on the table.
          Jack looked at the can, then at Victor who was grinning. “I don't get it,” Jack said.
          “Pick it up,” Victor said. Jack did and found the can was deceptively heavy. “Gold,” Victor said, sitting back down. “Gold coins. I buy them at coin shops soon as I have enough for one. No reporting!”
          “Gold,” Jack said, impressed, as he hefted the can and examined it. It had a locking mechanism on the bottom, and was clearly a covert safe of some sort, disguised as a can of common cleaning product.
          “Yep,” Victor confirmed. “I can carry fifty grand in a can that size, and it's perfectly legit. Anyone finds it, I can say I'm taking it to a bank to open a safety deposit box... or going to a dealer to sell my dear grandmothers coin collection. You get caught with fifty G's cash in your pocket, and you're going to be talking with all sorts of cops, feds, customs, whatever.”
          “So,” Jack said, connecting the dots from a comment made earlier, “When you said you had to convert that bag of cash into something more portable...”
          “I gotta visit some coin stores, exactly!” Victor said proudly.
          “And you're telling me this, because...” Jack said, placing the can back down.
          “I'm going to be paying the Russian in gold. I'll have a few grand in cash left in my room. And this,” Victor said, indicating the can, “is the rest of my money. I want you to keep it safe for me.”
          Jack's eyes went wide at this. “Keep it safe?”
          “Yeah,” Victor replied. “Just stash it under your sink and forget about it. That way, if I ever get raided, or whatever, I'll have some cash stashed somewhere else.”
          “Wow,” Jack said, “How much is in here?”
          “Never mind that,” the ferret responded. “I know how much, and that's all that matters. Just... stash it away, and forget about it. Deal?”
          “Deal,” the fox replied. “I appreciate your trust.” He reached for the can again, and Victor's paw slammed down on his.
          “Just... don't try to fuck me,” Victor said coldly, his gaze shaky. “That can is mine. If I go away for twenty years, it had better fucking be waiting for me when I come back. As long as both of us are breathing on this Earth... you remember that it's mine.”
          Jack met Victor's gaze. “I can promise you that, Victor, don't you worry.”
          Victor stared at the fox for a few seconds, then his expression softened into a grin again. “I like you, Jack!” He patted the paw that he had covered, then released it and sat back down. “We're going to go far, my boy!”
          Jack sat back and sipped from his water glass. Victor started into another monologue about the great things that were coming for them, and began to digress into his thoughts about the Russian's operation and how he felt it could be improved.
          But Jack was barely listening now. He was trying to digest all that had happened this evening, and all that had come to light. He was worried about Angelo after the altercation with Victor, and the look he had shot Jack which now seemed almost accusatory to the older fox.
          If there could be said to be a positive that came out of the dinner, it was that Jack no longer had any doubt how he felt about Victor: he hated him.

To be continued...", "pools_count": 1, "title": "Dangerous Games, Part 4", "deleted": "f", "public": "t", "mimetype": "text/rtf", "pagecount": "1", "rating_id": "1", "rating_name": "Mature", "ratings": [ { "content_tag_id": "3", "name": "Violence", "description": "Mild violence", "rating_id": "1" } ], "submission_type_id": "12", "type_name": "Writing - Document", "guest_block": "t", "friends_only": "f", "comments_count": "6", "views": "190" }