FSE

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It was what one would generally call a quiet evening. The sun had gone down, and while the hustle and bustle of the day hadn't totally faded away, there were more than a few people who were settled in for the night. Even in the modern day and age, the night hours remained the low-activity period - even many of those who descended from a so-called 'nocturnal' species had embraced society's norm, though you were more liable to see one of them out and about under the stars than most others.

In a nondescript, fairly well-kept apartment, two were lounging about, whiling away the hours. The first was a black pine snake, one of fairly considerable stature, closing in on the seven-foot mark at full height and relatively broad in frame, though not in a muscular way. The light gleamed off of his ebon scales as he lay curled in a deep round seat, tongue flicking out here and there as he lay engrossed in his absurdly-sized book, amber eyes darting back and forth across the pages. Only the slightest of shifts here and there suggested that he was even awake - all the activity was concentrated in his mind, one that was incessantly active and often labeled as either the envy or bane of many, depending on whether its power was directed in one's favor or to one's detriment.

The other was a house mouse, a stark departure from the shape of the snake. Only a couple meager inches superior of the five-foot mark, he had a lean figure that made him seem even smaller, though it was possessed of a wiriness that thinly veiled greater strength than one would expect. His light grey fur was well-kept, and his blue eyes were engrossed with the screen of a handheld game system, the sounds conveyed through his earphones to prevent any disturbance from reaching the other. He was quiet, but noticeably more animated, head bobbing and tail swaying along with the beat of the catchy music. An air of comfortable domesticity reigned over the room - it was clear these were no foreigners to each other, but familiar and welcome presences in each other's lives.

Peace, however, was not to be maintained. The disruptor came in the form of a cell phone, which lit up and boomed out a foreboding tone. Both sets of eyes tore away from their previous engagements; the earphones came out of the mouse's ears in a hurry as the snake twisted and sat up, clicking on the screen, first to answer and then to trigger the speaker function. In a deep, smooth voice, he spoke. "Snake Eye."

"Thank goodness! I was worried it might be too late to get in touch. You're, uh, still open, right?"

"We're not a formal business - we don't have 'open' and 'close.' We're available whenever we're around to hear the call. I presume, then, that you have need of our services?"

"I guess it doesn't take a detective to figure that out. Yeah...my name's Percy Harkins, and I've got a major problem. I'm doing caretaking at the Kensey Manor, and I think something's been stolen."

"That sounds like a matter for the police." The mouse's voice was noticeably higher, with a distinct English accent. "Have you called them?"

"I can't call them! Not until I can prove I'm innocent! I need your help, I need to know what's going on so I can make sure my name stays cleared! If I don't, even if the police don't suspect me, Erdogan Kensey would have me for lunch! He already might, but if he thinks I did it...and he's gonna be back tomorrow, I don't have time to wait!"

"He does have a reputation of going over the top," agreed the snake. "Very well. Our service fees are $75 an hour. We can make arrangements when we get there."

"Thank you so much! I'll see you there!" The phone went dead, and the two exchanged looks.

"Well...guess it's not gonna be a quiet night in after all," the mouse said, with a hint of amusement. "I should probably never say anything. I don't suppose I have to ask if you're ready to go?"

"You know the answer to that already," the snake said, standing up with a glint in his eye. "I was born ready. Let's go."

---

There was no real mystery as to where to go - the Kensey Manor was well known around the city. Of course a business mogul like Erdogan Kensey had to have it big, and his living arrangements were no exception. Never mind that he lived a solitary life outside of work - no family, not even a sweetheart. Though, it was hard to have a sweetheart when yours was mouth-puckeringly sour. Perhaps the big house was meant to fill that void - who could say whether it was at all successful?

The two of them made their way there, a leisurely drive that seemed unbefitting the business they were a party to. Neither one was fazed by the idea that they were about to enter an ostensible crime scene. After all, when one had been exposed to such things so many times, one tended to get used to it. True, it might have been police business...but not everyone wanted to call the police. Not everyone trusted them. Some desired discretion, evasion of the public eye that seemed to capture just about everything these days. Some just wanted a resolution without the complication of the law. Some had matters that weren't crimes, but needed attention nonetheless. The point was the same - when you had a problem that didn't seem suitable for the police, you didn't call the police. You called Snake Eye Detective Services.

The snake was Colton Rathe, maven of mystery and one that people would conservatively call a mastermind. He routinely disputed the label, but he was about the only one. With a keen eye and a sharp brain, he had parlayed his love of mystery into an unlikely career. Private detectives weren't exactly unheard of - the legacy of the irreplaceable Sherlock Holmes had carried on to inspire a number of other folks to similar paths - but few could claim the success to make it their full-time work, unless they delved into more scurrilous business such as dirt-digging and stalking. Rathe, however, had earned himself a countenance that almost invoked that of the legendary master of deduction, catching mysteries and intrigue that seemed far beyond the norm. It helped that the big city had no shortage of characters, and Raddington was plenty big enough to provide. Over the course of the last six years, since his exit from university, he had been doing this sort of work, which had taken him from pulling off of his inheritance to a self-sustaining career, one he had long dreamed of.

Not quite the same path as his compatriot. The mouse was Andrew Mattis, Drew to most. A transplant from across the pond, he had been keen on experiencing life in the States and had finally snared a rare opportunity with a lucrative work position. At least, it seemed that way, but only a few months into it there was a change in leadership and he was unceremoniously canned. Needing to downsize his living arrangements, he had lucked into finding an ad for a roommate. A quick look at the place and a quick meeting with the large but amicable snake and he was sold...and blissfully unaware of Rathe's career choice, at least until after he'd moved in, almost four and a half years ago.

It had made him nervous at first - a private detective sounded like he could get into all sorts of trouble, and a couple rather unfortunate encounters early on only seemed to cement that. Rathe endeavored to keep Drew out of his business as much as possible, which he appreciated as he scoured for jobs and tried to find ways to occupy his time. But over those first months, as he got sick of the dull and dismal minimum-wage positions that he couldn't stand and didn't seem to want to keep him anyway, the stories the snake had for him took on more and more fascination. It was hard not to be a little enchanted by the way his eyes lit up as he talked about some of the strange experiences he'd had...it had taken less than a year for Drew to start getting in on them, and less than two for him to invest himself full-time in Snake Eye. He may not have had quite the sheer mystery mind that the snake had, but Rathe would tell anyone who listened that Drew was just as much Snake Eye as he was - he brought things to the table that covered his own weaknesses and gaps, and he attributed a good bit of the increased success to Drew's presence.

"So, care to place any bets on how complicated this is going to be?" There was a hint of cheek in Drew's voice, a familiar tone that suggested that the idea wasn't serious.

"Without knowing anything more than the existence of a problem, it would be a fool's errand to lay wagers on any details," came the equally cheeky reply. "I can tell you that I hope to be laying in bed before the calendar imposes a new date on us, at least."

"That gives us at least four hours. Plenty of time."

"If luck holds out. And luck is never a guarantee."

"Well, we're just going to have to be good enough to overcome any potential bad luck, then. I'm sure you can manage that."

"I suppose we shall find out shortly." The car turned into a long driveway towards an impressively-sized house. Several stories tall, broad enough for two houses, expensive architecture, a giant yard with statues and ornaments that just screamed decadent, it was a sight that might have inspired jealousy in some but brought more disgust to these two. "How one could determine that something had been stolen from such an enormous container..."

"Look at this place," muttered Drew. "Who would even need this much house?"

"Only those who could least afford it. One day the way of the world will change, and hopefully that will be one of those changes. But that will not be our jurisdiction, so let's do what we are meant to."

"Yeah, guess you're right. Well, then..."

The two proceeded towards the grandiose doors, which opened as they neared them. A frazzled-looking hare was behind them, with an expression that seemed to have a touch of relief at the sight of them. "Finally! I mean, sorry, I wasn't trying to rush you, I'm just...sorry, I'm about to have a fit over here. Thank you for coming!"

Rathe's tongue flicked a bit. "Settle yourself, please. We'll need some information from you."

"Hey, Rathe, remember what I said about putting them at ease?" piped up Drew.

"Ah, right..." The snake's brow furrowed. Mysteries were his forte...social graces were not. His blunt manner and ability to completely miss some of the intricacies of sapient interaction had put a number of people off, which had at times in the past caused crucial details to be withheld. Drew had been coaching him for a good while, but it was easy to slip back into that natural zone. "Sorry about that. We're here to help, and we'll try not to make your anxiety worse. We appreciate you hiring us for this job. Do you need a minute before we start?"

"It's fine...heh, they always call us rabbits jittery, right? I'll be okay, once things get a little more clear." Percy certainly didn't look relaxed, but he looked ready to move on anyway. "Thanks for coming, I know it'll be worth my money...I was worried you guys wouldn't be able to make it so late, it's nice to know you're flexible. We have to get to Mr. Kensey's study...though, uh, I don't think it's gonna be as simple as you'd like."

Drew snickered. "Heh, you think we prefer simple? That's no fun. So we know more than we care to about who lives here, but what's your story? You don't seem like a relative."

"God, no, and thank heavens for that. I just work here. My dad, uh, he works for Mr. Kensey's company, and Dad heard that he was looking for someone to help manage his house after he had to fire his last housekeeper. And I've been looking for a job that'll get me some money so I can go to trade school, so when he put forth the idea, I figured why not?"

"I can give you one very good reason why not," remarked Rathe. "And his name is Erdogan Kensey."

Percy groaned. "You are NOT wrong. Holy crap, is he ever a pain in the ass to work for. That boar is crazy demanding, and he gets pissy at the smallest things. He sets me all sorts of tasks and then gets annoyed that they're not done right away, like I'm ten people rather than just one. I prefer when he has guests because then he acts like I'm totally invisible, at least he's off my back...holy hell, you wouldn't believe how pompous he is to guests, though, you'd think the sun shone out his asshole."

"Trust us, we're well aware. We've crossed paths before."

"Oh, you did work for him?"

"Not for him, but for one of his subordinates. We resolved a workplace theft incident, and we happened to run into him during the denouement. Quite bereft of gratitude, to be sure, and we had to be rather insistent to get our promised payment...fortunately, we recovered enough of the stolen materials to more than make up for it, so he did relent."

"Oh wow...he really tried to stiff you?"

"You might be surprised how often that happens. Less frequently since my persuasive partner joined on, however."

"I'm a bit of a contracts enthusiast, and a good contract is harder to argue against," remarked Drew with a grin. "Of course, that doesn't suffice for everyone, but there's other ways of helping. I'm surprised you've stuck around if he's as much of a pain as you say."

Percy shrugged. "Eh...I don't like it, but it's a short-term thing. He's paying me half of what he paid his last housekeeper, but it's still 25 bucks an hour...I'm pulling in a grand a week, and three months of that will pay for three years of trade school. I've only got a couple weeks left, so I figure I might as well hang in there...but this could get me fired, and then I'd have to figure out where to come up with the rest. I mean, there aren't exactly a ton of jobs out there and the ones that are, they might suck even worse than this...sure as heck wouldn't pay well for it, either."

"Indubitably. However, we've yet to hear any details about this incident...anything we can know before we get to the scene would help us get a head start."

"Well...that's the thing. I don't have any details...I'm not even sure what happened."

"...You're going to have to explain that."

"Okay...Mr. Kensey's been on a trip all week, and he's supposed to be coming back tomorrow. I've had the house all to myself, no one else has been allowed in or out by his order. But today I was cleaning up and I heard some sounds coming from Mr. Kensey's study. The thing is, I don't have a key to the study, so I don't actually know what happened in there. But I know it can't be anything good...Mr. Kensey's talked about some expensive and important stuff he keeps in there, so if someone intruded, it HAS to have been to steal something."

"Not an unreasonable conclusion, I suppose, though it makes our job less certain." Rathe's brow furrowed as they stopped in front of a door that was just up a rather long flight of stairs. "It may be tricky to prove anything, and I doubt Mr. Kensey would be pleased about the violation of his private space on a whim. Still, if a theft HAS occurred, then time may be of the essence."

"Yeah, and I need to know something or my ass is grass," Percy agreed grimly. "I'm not really sure what to do, though...I don't know how to get into the room."

"Well, that's where my particular set of talents can come in handy." Drew stepped up, fishing a tool out of his belt. "Not the first time we've had to deal with a locked door without a usable key...if you don't mind, stand back a bit, I need all the light I can get."

The other two gave the mouse some space as he worked his pick into the lock. Rathe made sure they stayed quiet - all the help Drew could get to concentrate would make the task quicker. It wasn't his favorite thing in the world, picking locks felt a bit closer to the criminal side of things than he liked to stray, but Drew was right - it had served them well at times, and he wasn't going to deny that the mouse had remarkable talent for it. Only one of his many good qualities...

"Got it! Let's see what we've got." Drew retracted his tool and pulled the door open. Immediately they were greeted by a scene of mild chaos - a plant was knocked over, papers were scattered, and there was more of a mess than any of them would have expected. Most importantly, though, there was a painting leaned on the floor, and an open safe behind it.

"Shit." Percy looked just about ill. "He's gonna be pissed."

"Do you know what was in there?" asked Drew.

"Not everything exactly, but I know he was talking about it with someone over the phone...he kept some prized gemstones in there. Some of them I don't know anything about, but there was one he really crowed about...a Burmese Ruby."

"A prize for any thief," noted Rathe. "I see the safe has not been completely ransacked, but I would venture that it's likely several stones were taken. Indeed, your instincts were on the mark."

"I mean, it only made sense...I guess they must've gotten through the window?"

"They'd have to..." Drew trailed off. "Rathe...the windows are all locked."

"Are they indeed?" The snake sounded more curious and even excited than confused. "Well, then, I suppose we have some work to do."

"That doesn't make sense!" Percy exclaimed. "They can't have gotten through the door! It's been locked, I tried it when I heard the noises! And you had to pick it to get it open!"

"The facts are the facts. And we will make sense of them. Put yourself at ease, Mr. Harkins, we'll have this solved soon enough."

"I'm not sure how...but, you guys are the experts. Please, my future may count on it."

---

With Percy leaving the room to settle himself down, Rathe and Drew got to work. What they had before them was something out of a short story - locked-room mysteries and 'impossible' crimes were exceedingly rare in their actual lives. Not exactly unheard of, to be sure, but most criminals didn't go through the trouble - those who did had a deliberate reason to do so, and that was usually the key to finding the culprit.

They frequently talked during their examination, using their minds together to put together the clues and data. Especially helpful for Drew, who wasn't as much of a natural at this sort of thing; experience had helped him improve a lot, but he still appreciated the extra help. "No sign of prints on the safe handle or combo lock. Seems like it's been wiped clean."

"Seems rather odd, don't you think?" Rathe remarked. "One would think that a prepared thief would simply use gloves and not take the time for such things."

"Could be an amateur. I wouldn't think an amateur would have the savvy to set something like this up, though."

"Actually, I would be inclined to suspect an amateur in that. An experienced thief would likely be far more direct."

"Hm. So we're probably not looking at an expert...I wonder how they got the safe open? You think they knew the combination?"

Rathe chuckled. "Would you expect Erdogan Kensey to be a maven of personal security? This is the same man who caused a data breach because his password was 'password.' I would lay money that his safe combination is his birthday."

Drew let out his own snicker at that. "I think you're probably right about that. Okay, so that's probably it for the safe...what else are we seeing?"

"The disturbance in the room bears suspicious hallmarks. It's deliberate but meaningless. I believe it's supposed to give the impression of a search, but the location of the disruptions are in area where nothing of value could be found. The painting is a very obvious ruse, but even if it wasn't, there's nothing next to the plant, nothing among the papers on the desk."

"Didn't Percy say he overheard Kensey talking about important papers that were hidden in here as well?"

"Anyone interested in papers would be thoroughly uninterested in jewels, and vice-versa. They are two very different flavors of bandit. No, the gemstones were the focal point of this thief, and it seems likely that they were trying to potentially mislead an investigator. Another amateur move."

Drew shook his head. "You know better than I do...but I'm still wondering how they got in. And how they got out. No broken windows, no way to unlock them from outside, a locked door where the key is who knows how many miles away..."

"We aren't dealing with a ghost. I guarantee we will have an answer. But more important is what we aren't seeing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that there are few among our clades that leave no physical signs anywhere. I would expect to see fur or scale shed...but I'm not seeing any. And I'm not seeing any from one individual whose presence absolutely SHOULD be in here."

Drew had to think on that one for a moment, but then it hit him. "You're talking about Kensey."

"Indeed. The room has been locked for a week, and yet there are virtually no signs of boar hair anywhere? That seems highly unlikely."

"True...wait. You know, I didn't really think about it, but...you've probably noticed already, but there's almost no dust on anything, either. A week idle and not even a slight layer of dust on any surface?"

"Indeed. It appears our 'ghost' has a cleanliness fixation. Someone was thorough about removing their traces. Certainly not a smash-and-grab mentality."

"They were asking for trouble, it sounds like." Drew pulled open the central desk drawer. "Oh, hey, looks like they missed a spot, this has some dust in it...huh."

"Something interesting?"

The mouse nodded. "Perhaps. There's a smear in the dust here...like something was dragged across it. Something else might have been taken."

Rathe stepped over to take a look, puzzling over the streak. It wasn't the most distinct thing, but definitely there, and definitely out of place among the otherwise undisturbed contents of the desk drawer...suddenly the snake got an enormous grin on his face. "Fantastic work, Drew. I think that is the last piece of the puzzle."

"Huh? Wait, what? You know already?"

"Please, this was hardly mastercraft. I had my suspicions from the start, but what I needed was a clue that would paint the full picture. Come on, we have to have a chat with our client."

With that Rathe swept out of the room, and Drew had to scramble to keep up. Mildly annoying that Rathe wouldn't provide the answer, but the snake tested him this way sometimes, trying to see if he could put it together for himself. He hoped he could try to get the answer before it was handed to him...it might be useful to know exactly what was going on.

---

They found Percy in one of the luxurious lounge rooms, sitting on a rather sizable and fancy sofa, his phone in his hand. He was fiddling with it nervously, though it didn't seem to be on. He leapt up rather quickly as the two came in, looking as nervous as ever - his calming session didn't appear to be paying off. "You have something?"

"Indeed, Mr. Harkins, we have the answer," replied Rathe.

"Wow, already? That was super fast...uh, should I call the police, then?"

"Certainly, if you wish to spend the night in a jail cell."

Percy started. "Wait, what? What are you talking about?"

"Please, spare the theatrics. You didn't exactly make it difficult to come to the conclusion. The only answer that makes sense is that you were the one who stole the gemstones."

"Hey, hey, what the hell? I hired you to keep me from these kinds of accusations!"

Rathe hissed in wry amusement. "So I already gathered. A very devious trick, Mr. Harkins! Intending to use us as plausible deniability. Bring in the police, and accuse us of being the criminals - our physical signs would be in there, and yours wouldn't be, so they would have to suspect us, wouldn't they?"

"I don't know what-"

"For someone who allegedly had no access to the room, you sure spent an awful lot of time cleaning in there. A spotless floor, freshly dusted surfaces...I don't know any intruder who would waste time with such nonsense, but someone who had nothing but time for days on end? And who conveniently overheard so many important details that would allow them to access a safe full of valuables, with a little bit of prediction and luck, and who had a decided desire for money and most likely no love lost for the victim. But you were in such a haste to cover your tracks that it actually implicated you - you were TOO thorough in your cleaning, suggesting that the culprit had no worry about being caught in the act."

"I think you're forgetting something!" protested Percy sharply. "There was no way I could get into there! It was a locked door! Even if I somehow could have gotten it open, I couldn't have relocked it the same way!"

Suddenly it clicked for Drew. "You didn't have to. You used a key."

"Mr. Kensey didn't give me a-"

"No, he didn't! You took the spare from the desk drawer, the one place you DIDN'T thoroughly clean. That's probably something you overheard as well...sure sounds like you spent a lot of time listening in on him. And again, alone for days, and it's easy enough to get a lockpick tool and muddle it out even if you don't have much experience, especially when you don't have any time pressure. You probably picked the lock days ago, spent time cleaning and thinking you were covering your tracks, and then locked the door and hid the key and the lockpick somewhere...then you called us, with some story about hearing an intruder, letting us force the door open and poke around, intending to call the police and tell them you caught US doing the dirty work."

The rabbit was sputtering, but also looking more nervous than ever. "You...you can't prove any of that! You think you can come up with some, some crazy story like that and the police will believe you? It'll be your word against mine, and I'll just say you guys were the ones that did it! They'll have to see that you've been in there and I haven't!"

Rathe, however, was utterly unfazed. "It would be your word against ours, yes...if we didn't document everything from the moment we got in here. Voice recording, photographs, ample evidence of when and why we were here."

"R-recording? I...I didn't..."

"Our state is a one-party-consent state," Drew chimed in, tapping his coat pocket, where the camera of his cell was peeking out. "We don't need your permission. And we ALWAYS record everything, because it can become official evidence if there's a real crime. We don't step on the toes of the cops - if there's a crime they come to take care of, we turn over everything we know, and if they step in, we step out unless they ask for us. So documenting everything makes sure that we don't create an opening for some shady defense attorney to say we tampered with anything."

"You are on record as having confirmed hired us, and given us your entire story," continued Rathe. "You witnessed us picking the lock, and confirming the state of the crime scene, including the missing valuables. This, plus our determinations, will put the focus squarely on you, and trust me, Captain Sanger knows us and believes in our honesty, because we have never given him any reason to think otherwise. So, I think you have one chance to avoid a rather unpleasant fate, and that would be to come clean and make things right. Otherwise, a call to the authorities WILL be war-"

"He didn't pay me!" Percy suddenly burst out. "That stuffy old pig bitched at me about all these little things he never said a word about before, and said I wasn't doing a good enough job so he wasn't going to give me my paycheck! I busted my ass for two weeks and I got NOTHING for it! And I overheard him talking before he left about how he already planned not to pay me for these two weeks either! It's not fair, I did what he asked me to do and he screwed me out of what I fucking EARNED! I wouldn't have done any of this if he'd just given me what he promised to!"

"An entirely believable story. Still, the law does not condone these sorts of measures to square things up."

The rabbit deflated, hanging his head. "I know...but I didn't know what else to do. It's not like I could have gotten a lawyer, and even if we did sue him, he'd probably make sure my dad was fired, and he can't afford to be out of work. I figured he could replace gemstones, and even if he didn't pay me and I stopped working for him, I could at least get something for my trouble...I know it's not really legal, but dammit, neither is what he did!"

"Not that I disagree with you there, but this isn't a case where a crime could be considered justified," replied Drew. "If you still have the gemstones, we can return them here and we won't have to call the police. If you went to all this trouble, I doubt you could have sold them yet."

"They're in my car...we were going to go to Huntington Beach next month as a family, I was going to pawn them there. You'll really not arrest me if I bring them back?"

"We aren't the cops. And frankly, when it's feasible, they're glad to not have to deal with a mess like this, it complicates everything once they're involved. Often that complication is necessary, but this isn't one of those cases. We can't just end it there, though...Kensey's going to know something happened. So we're going to have to make sure everything comes out to him."

Percy groaned in defeat. "Ugh...I don't want to have to face him..."

"Consider it a minor penance for your actions," concluded Rathe. "One that won't be as bad as what you could face. Now then, let's make things right."

---

The next afternoon saw the three of them back in Kensey's study, facing down the big-shot boar. Erdogan Kensey wasn't the easiest of people to deal with, and making him upset was only liable to exacerbate that. Indeed, his expression was looking dark and angry as the story was related to him, something which clearly was not going unnoticed to Percy - the rabbit was much more humbled and subdued than he had been the previous night, withering under the severe gaze.

"Hmph...I should have known that this brat couldn't be trusted." Kensey snorted haughtily. "You should be rotting in a cell for that stunt you pulled. I don't know why these two didn't take you in."

"Returning the stolen goods resets everything to the state it was at before," said Drew. "You've suffered no real loss as a result, and in our experience the police are content to leave it at that if this hasn't been a pattern of behavior."

"I've half a mind to call them anyway. My home, my place of living, invaded by this scum, trying to abuse the privilege of being here and working for me by nicking from me? I think that deserves a harsher punishment than not being able to profit off of it!"

"I would say that you've gotten all the satisfaction you deserve from this," replied Rathe with an edge in his voice. "Considering you are hardly without culpability in this scenario."

"I'm sorry, what? Are you suggesting I orchestrated this?"

"You may as well have, as it was your actions that led to this in the first place. Had you not broken your agreement and failed to compensate Mr. Harkins for the work he performed for you, he wouldn't have had the temptation nor the desire to try to seek his own remedy."

Kensey's face took on a scandalized look. "Now, see here! I was dissatisfied with the quality of the work! I expect much better for my money-"

"Doesn't matter," Drew cut in. "He did the work. If you weren't satisfied, you should have dismissed him from the job. But you kept him working for you under the terms of your agreement. Which means he should be paid under the terms of that agreement. It's no different from if someone used your company's services and then refused to pay you after the work was done."

"That...that IS different. We have contracts-"

"You had a contract HERE. Just because it's not on paper doesn't mean it's not a contract. He worked for you at a set rate of compensation which you abided by. You can't just change the terms without agreement - your recourse, if you're dissatisfied, is to excuse him from the job with the payment that was promised. And I suspect there would be certain members of your executive council that would be very interested to hear that you were pulling that stunt again..."

It was quite the turnaround - the haughtiness and bravado was rapidly disintegrating, Kensey was starting to look almost as flustered and off-kilter as Percy had been. "That...it's not...he's a private employee, not one of the company, that...they couldn't..."

"Immaterial to their suspicions," countered Rathe. "If they think you're continuing that pattern of behavior, then they'll be more inclined to think that you can't be trusted with the operations. We're already well aware that you're on thin ice, and additional cracks would not serve you well...of course, you know that we are inclined to let sleeping dogs lie if all is made right."

"...So you have said." Straightening up, in an obvious effort to reclaim a little bit of dignity, the boar looked directly at Percy. "Very well, very well...I believe that it would be in the best interest of both of us if you were no longer employed as my housekeeper. However, the point has been well-made, you...should be paid according to our terms...and I will see to it that I make up for my...oversight, if you'll forgive it..."

---

"I can't believe this!"

"Sometimes it works out better than you expect," said Drew with a bit of a laugh.

"No kidding!" Percy was still staring in awe at the check, which was quite a bit grander than he had been anticipating. "This'll more than cover the rest of what I need for school! How...how did you guys do that? I've never seen him like that!"

"Those who revel in having power fear but one thing: the loss of power," stated Rathe. "We mentioned that he was trying to get out of paying us...it turns out he has had a history of that in his business dealings. As a matter of fact, the employee who we caught in the scheme had a very similar story to yours - he was attempting to 'make up' what he was due. Though he was much deeper in it by the time we came around. Some of the power structure formed a council to address some of these issues, and found out about his orders to fleece employees and clients - many, many legal violations which were quite costly to the company to clean up. They have made it clear to him that if he continued to do so, they would have him removed. Clearly, he hasn't taken it quite to heart yet, but I think he learned today that the consequences can strike from anywhere...perhaps he'll at least learn to toe the line, even if he disagrees."

"Wow...I had no idea..."

"Everyone is vulnerable in some way. And there are right ways and wrong ways of exploiting that. I hope you choose better ways in the future."

"I swear it. I was feeling sick all day yesterday...even if I thought it was right, it was still an ugly feeling, I don't want that again. I guess I should have gone about it a better way, but I was scared and angry...I guess I wasn't thinking my best."

"We've all been there," Drew reassured him. "Well, almost all. I doubt Rathe's ever had a bad day of thinking in his life."

"And I would say my bad days exceed my good," riposted the snake, almost indignantly. "Regardless, you will learn more about how to engage in a better fashion as you grow. And it seems to me you have other things to learn as well, now that you are ready to be school-bound."

"Yeah, definitely...I owe you two more than your fees, seriously. And...I'm sorry I tried to plot to frame you..."

"It's fine," Drew said with a dismissive wave. "Nowhere we haven't been before, either. Take care, now."

"Thanks! I'll, uh...well, if anyone needs this kinda help, I'll definitely recommend you!" With a wave, Percy bounded away, and the pair broke in the other direction to head towards home.

"You think we made the right choice?" Drew asked.

"I'm confident of it," replied Rathe, his voice devoid of concern. "He is of that age where the idea of justice is fierce, but uncertainly directed...one we are not so terribly far removed from ourselves. But we demonstrated to him a path that brought justice without skirting the law, and I think he took to it quite nicely. I have little doubt he will stay on the right path from here on, and look for a better way to resolve his problems. After all, even in his indiscretion, his conscience was still in play."

"I noticed that, too. Lots of money and gems still in that safe...he wasn't thinking jackpot, he was thinking justice."

"Indeed. He needed a proper example of it...and I daresay we provided. All in a day's work, as they say."

"Best work I can imagine." Drew leaned into the snake as they strolled along the sidewalk. "Best partner, too."

Rathe let out a pleasant hiss. "My sentiments exactly."