FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Chapter 1:

With open eyes, and bubbles all around, a lone white-furred fox slowly sank towards the bottom of an ice cold river. His suit and overcoat weighed him down, dragging him at a lazy pace, while still lightly floating around his body as the water made it seem almost weightless, even as the current calmly swirled it around him.

He could have fought the downward pull, struggled for all he was worth as he gazed up to the surface. The full moon shone down through the surface, her rays shattered by the water, glinting off the cross necklace that hung from his neck.

With the softest of exhales, the fox watched the bubbles that he created for a moment, before closing his eyes and letting his head roll back. He listened to the beat of his heart in his ears, felt how his fingers slowly grew numb in the cold. The gradual cooling, the water seeming to sap what little will he had left to fight, only served to make him relax even more.

All that he had been now seemed like a dream. Friend, enemy, businessman, lover, creator, and destroyer, stranger even. Each one he had been to a fur at one point or another.

None of that mattered to him though, as he slowly floated down into the depths of the river not expecting, or even hoping, for someone to help him live a life he no longer even considered worth living.

// //

Six Months Earlier:

"So, as you can probably tell, our wares are the finest in the city," a black jaguar dressed in a fancy suit said, smiling all the while. A cigar stub was rested between his pointer and middle fingers, wisps of smoke lightly floating into the air. He spoke in a confident, almost cocky, tone, blowing a puff of smoke right into his client's face.

Holding his breath, and waving a hand to clear the air so he could breath, a lightly colored red-fox sighed deeply. Standing, one arm behind his back, he slowly but methodically brought his other around, clasping his paws behind him.

Twitching his nose, he turned his gaze to the object of the cat's speech. Three boxes, all of them open, and all of them with weapons laid out on straw padding. One box had military style rifles in bull-pup design, another had pistols of all calibers, while the third held something that would make any soul tremble in fear; two large caliber rifles, and a RPG launcher.

"What do you say Mr. Aben? You like them?" The cat asked, taking a step forward. With a graceful swing of his arm, he gestured, palm out, towards the chests. "One hundred thousand, US, and it's all yours." He finished, crossing his arms over his chest, that confident glimmer in his eyes still.

Blinking slowly, the fox took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. The soft conversation on the other side of the old warehouse made the fox's ears twitch slightly, although he quickly rightened them so he could think.

A soft breeze blew through the warehouse, bringing the salty scent of the ocean to all of their noses. It made the fox sigh contently, making him forget why he was there for a moment.

It was all to quickly brought back to him when a dragon came up beside him, leaning in close. "I don't like this sir," he said softly, his back to the jaguar. "The price is to low, and he's to eager to be rid of these weapons."

Without taking his eyes off the crate, the fox spoke just as softly. "Agreed. Jay still have that computer of his?" He asked softly, turning his head so he spoke directly into the dragon's ear.

"Always, sir," he said softly again, small wings twitching behind him slightly. "I think I know where you're going with this," he continued.

"Good. Alec, get it checked out," the fox finished, taking a step away from the dragon. Before the other had gone very far, the fox started speaking again. "Well Mister Terrin, this is an interesting proposal. But do they work?" He asked, cocking his head, one hand held out softly as he gaze suddenly swung to the jaguar.

"Of course they do!" Terrin answered quickly. To quickly for the fox's taste.

With narrowed eyes, the fox allowed himself a smirk. "Then you wouldn't mind a test run, would you?" He went on, not even allowing the Jaguar time to think, "I mean, after all, I do have some ammo, if you didn't bring any."

With that, he snapped his fingers, and a grey wolf stepped forward, clicking open a suitcase. Inside, plenty of ammo, and several clips for the weapons. "You see, your price is very good," the fox said with a smile, picking up one of the rifles, holding out a hand to the wolf. The wolf was grinning broadly as he lightly tossed a full clip, the fox deftly snatching it out of the air.

"Almost to good," the fox finished, still smiling. With that, he paused and slapped the clip into place, and agilely cocked the weapon. Without missing a beat, he raised the weapon to his shoulder, leaning in as he aimed down the sight, and pulled the trigger.

There was no discharge.

By now the jaguar realized what was happening, his throat moving as he swallowed audibly. The worst part, for the cat, was he had also realized he was powerless to stop anything.

"Well, well," the fox said amicably, looking the weapon over. "Looks like I was all silly and left the safety on." Twitching his thumb, he flicked that off, and raised it back up to his shoulder. Again, he pulled the trigger, and again there was no discharge. "Interesting," the fox said slowly, lowering the weapon to look it over again.

"I'm sure that it was just bad luck," the fox said, still smiling as he threw the weapon down, picking up another. His hands had moved so fast the cat had not even noticed the fox take out the clip and ready it in the second rifle.

After cocking a round, and flicking the safety off, the fox shouldered the rifle and pulled the trigger. Again it did not fire. "Well, Mister Terrin. It seems that we have a problem," the fox said after a moment, all mirth and humor gone out of his voice.

Even as he spoke, the fox's men, an assortment of races ranging from the dragon Alec to the wolf Jay, and even a deer and orca, took down all of the cats that made up the Jaguar's crew. The fox licked his lips as he looked down to the ground, thinking of words to say as the seconds passed. There were a few grunts as a minimal struggle was put up by Terrin's group.

"Alright, thank you," the fox said after a moment, "don't hurt them." As he said that, all of the cats excluding the jaguar, were put into submissive positions so they wouldn't cause anymore trouble. "Mister Terrin. I thought we had an arrangement," the fox said, looking at the rifle almost sadly. "I even payed you fifteen thousand just to meet me today," he sighed deeply, taking the clip out and tossing the rifle back into the box with the others.

"M-mister Aben, we can work this out, I'm sure!" The cat stuttered out, gulping and fidgeting around, "I'm just an intermediary! Y-you kn-"

"I know that you obtain the weapons directly. I," the fox put a strong emphasis on that word, "I am the intermediary. You are simply the one that gets my weapons to sell." The fox furrowed his brow when he turned back, looking at Terrin, "what I don't understand is why you would do something as foolish as to rip me off. We have been partners for, what? Three years?" The fox walked right up to the jaguar, hands folded behind his back again.

"Things change Aben, you know that," the cat said so softly, that only the fox could hear.

"What things?" Aben suddenly said, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. When the cat didn't respond, the fox did something he rarely even considered doing. He slapped the cat, backhanding him hard. "What things!?" He said angrily, but not loudly.

"I'm sorry Alex. But you knew that we all pay the price for our sins. Some in more dramatic ways than others," he said, nearly broken down in tears. Bringing his large cat eyes up again, he spoke one last time, "they're all here," and the area behind the cat was covered in a red mist, his lifeless body crumpling to the ground as the sound of a single gunshot echoed throughout the building.

Before the body had even fallen, the fox was moving, ducking behind one of the crates. "Alec! Jay! Ronin! Cray!" He started to shout, "get the rifles from the jeep!" It was a meaningless order though, as they had already dropped their charges, and were arming up, "Alec! You take point!" Alex then shouted, suddenly ducking as a splinter of wood flew by his head from another gunshot. "And throw me a pistol!"

The dragon didn't respond to Alex though, as he looked to the three near him. "Cray, covering fire in that direction," the dragon ordered as he pointed towards the south side of the building, cocking his M4. "Ronin, Jay, cover me as I go for the walkway," he finished with a nod towards the towering main doors, getting ready to sprint. "On three. One. Two. Three!" Alec shouted, sprinting for all he was worth towards the stairway.

As soon as the dragon started running, Cray, the orca, and Ronin, the deer, both edged around the Humvee, and started firing. Shots roared from their rifles, empty brass raining down to the cracked concrete with soft tings. When someone on the outside returned fire, putting holes in the vehicle, both of them ducked back, holding their rifles in front of them.

Alec meanwhile had reached the walkway, and was sprinting up it, bullets sparking as they scored deep marks in the metal by his feet, and shattering the glass around him. When he reached a small window, he dived through it, breaking the glass with his scaled body, and landing on the roof.

All the while, Alex was taking cover behind the wooden crate, occasionally glancing out to see what was happening. That was a mistake though, as every time there were bullets whizzing by his head, hitting the crate and sending up plums of dust from where they struck the concrete.

All of the sudden, a massive explosion ripped through the warehouse from where the shots were coming from outside. All of them could hear Alec's shout of victory, even as a second explosion rocked them all again, all of the gunshots stopping for a moment.

A few seconds later, Alec came back down from the roof, coming through the window again and landing on the metal grating that made up the catwalk, and making his way towards the ground level again. When he made it halfway down the stairs, he leaped over the side, landing on the ground with bent knees.

Standing tall, the dragon raised the rifle to his shoulder quickly again, looking over the area where he had been shooting with the grenade launcher attached to the underside of his M4. "Alex, you alright?" He asked softly, stepping backwards towards the fox, but never taking his eyes off of the massive doors.

"I'm fine, Alec," the fox coughed out, standing up and dusting off the front of his suit. "Cray, Ronin!" He called out, "plan 'B' ready?"

"Yes sir," the deer answered, still gazing down the sights of his rifle. "Shall we, sir?"

"Yes, yes, c'mon." The fox said shortly, walking over to a boarded up area on the floor. There, he lifted up the planks, which gave way easily before his prying grasp. Below them, softly bobbing on the small waves, was a small speed boat. "Cray, Ronin, Jay, you in first," Alex ordered, to which all three of them nodded.

Lightly hopping down into the boat, Ronin took up the driver seat, while Cray got ready with a M60 that he clicked onto a mount. Both of them worked efficiently, not wasting a moment as they got ready to escape. Jay meanwhile was readying his computer, plotting out a route with his GPS, fingers a blur over the keyboard.

"Alec, you next," the fox said, gesturing to the boat with a gentle wave of his pistol. "I'll be in right after you."

The dragon went to say something, but the look on the fox's face made him stop. "Yessir," he said softly instead, hopping down into the boat, making it bob a little more. "C'mon sir," the dragon implored, looking up at the fox when the boat settled again, "we have to leave now."

"Yes, yes," the fox said after a moment, kneeling by the edge, getting ready to jump down. Right at that moment, a lone gunshot roared through the building, making all four of the fox's allies spin around, weapons at the ready once more.

Gasping, the fox looked down, a burning numbness spreading through his chest like a wildfire. And near the center of his chest, a spot of crimson blood quickly soaked the white undershirt he was wearing. The fox's eyes wide and he coughed, spitting up some blood as he keeled over, falling into the hole as he breathed out a grunt of pain.

"Alex!" The dragon shouted, dropping his rifle to catch the fox, knees buckling as the full weight of the canine came down on him. Cradling his friend gently, the dragon tore through the cloths with extended claws so he could work properly at the wound. "Ronin, drive!" The dragon snapped at the deer, pressing both of his hands to the fox's wound, stemming the bleeding partially.

Without a word, the deer threw the boat into gear, and slammed down the gas lever, bringing the motor to roar to life. Behind the boat, a plum of water was sent into the air, and a quarter second later, the boat speed away, the bow rising into the air a touch.

Cray was forced to duck behind his mount as the speedboat tore through the thin wooden wall, sending shards of wood in a wide arc before it, a mumbled curse leaving the orca. Not even two seconds later, gunshots started to roar out from the docks though, missing the boat by inches and feet. As plums of water continued to be sent into the air, the orca swung around with his machine gun, aimed, and started to fire.

As the belt feed ammo into the weapon, brass rained down into the boat. All along the docks, vans were peppered by the bullets as they tore through the thin metal. Furs of all species went for cover as that happened, easily three dozen strong. Some that were to slow jerked as they were struck, falling onto the dock, and into the water.

Tendrils of thick, black, gasoline fueled, smoke rose up from the wreckage of two vans. Not a single soul paid attention to the fires though, as more and more gunshots were exchanged from the speeding boat with those on the docks.

Out of the corner of his eye, the orca saw that his feed belt was running low. Each shell that passed over his hand as he held the belt up for it to feed better, he tried not to waste, although not once did he let off the trigger. "Crap," he muttered, suddenly popping the top open, and grabbing another box of ammunition. The soft clink of metal was drowned out by the roar of the motor, although when he slammed the top back down that could be heard.

With grim precision, Cray cocked the first round, and resumed his deadly wave of lead, trying to buy enough time for the boat to get out of range. "Jay! I need help!" The orca heard Alec holler, and he would have looked if he could have.

"Right," the wolf muttered something, before slamming his laptop closed. Reaching down under his seat, the grey wolf pulled out a first aid kit, and he clicked it open. "Here," he said over the roar of the motor and gunshots, handing an open package to the dragon. "Tear and pour it over the wound! It'll seal it until we can work on it properly!"

Without a word, the dragon snatched the package from the wolf, and tore it open with his sharp teeth. He could taste the extreme bitter of the medicine, but he paid it no heed, turning his head to spit out the thick plastic. Moving his other hand, which was slick with copper-red blood, he poured it liberally over the wound.

The fox opened his eyes as the sudden pain roared from his wound, and he shouted out wordlessly. After a second, Alex moaned deeply in pain, passing out again from the shock.

All the while, Alec worked on the wound. After it was sealed, he took the ruined shirt, and shredded a large strip off. Gently lifting the fox up, the dragon wrapped the makeshift bandage around the fox's chest, cinching it so it stayed on.

When he finished, and they were out of range of even large caliber weapons, the dragon sat down with a deep sigh. Ronin gently pulled the throttle back, slowing down their speeding escape. When they were down to a crawl, the deer looked back at where Cray was standing. The orca had, when they were out of range, started to slowly dismantle his weapon, stowing it away in a storage area under his seat.

"How's Alex?" The deer asked softly, looking at the bloodied body of the fox.

"He'll live, if we get this patched up," the dragon said, sighing deeply as he ran a hand over the horns on the top of his head. "Jay," he suddenly said, getting the wolf's attention, "plot us a course to Essex Harbor. I have a friend there that can get us the help we need."

"Yessir," the wolf said as he pulled his laptop back out. With trembling hands, he clacked in their destination, and a few seconds later a GPS route was planned out. "Ronin," the wolf said, handing the deer the laptop, "here ya go."

"Thanks," the deer mumbled, turning the boat in the right direction, and throttling down again, speeding off into the evening sea.

// //

Some hours later, when the thick of night had fallen over the ocean, the bright lights of the city led the way into the harbor. Going slowly, and quietly, the five of them floated down the Black River towards Essex, heading straight for one of the docks.

Only Alec and Ronin were still awake after such a long time at sea. Cray had passed out almost immediately after they started their trip, and Jay, after he had placed a blanket of Alex to keep the chill of the ocean away, soon followed the orca into sleep.

"Ronin, that one," Alec said softly, not wanting to wake anyone just yet, tapping the deer's shoulder and pointing at the dock.

"Same one as last time we were here?" The deer suddenly asked, looking at the dragon with an arched eyebrow.

"Yes," the dragon said shortly. Reaching towards the dashboard, he took ahold of a revolver that was resting there, and clicked the cylinder open. With a glance, he checked the chambers, and swung his wrist to click the gun closed again. "Pull right up to the dock," Alec ordered, standing up and tucking the revolver into the waist of his pants, throwing the hem of his shirt to cover it.

Just a minute later, the boat softly pulled up to the dock, with the dragon standing at the front. As soon as he was close enough, Alec jumped to the dock, rope in hand, and knelt to tie the boat to the wooden post.

The soft thumps of boots on wood brought his attention up, even as he deftly finished tying off the boat. "Ya know ya'rent s'psd to be tying off here, don't ya?" A rather large cat said, a New York City accent thick in his voice, as he walked forward with clipboard in hand. A step behind him two large, burly looking, wolves walked, both of them with muscles hardened by heavy manual labor.

"I do, but if-" the dragon started, before the fat held up a hand and pointed imperiously at the knot Alec had just finished.

"I don't care. Get dat piece of crap untied, or Kevin here 'ill mess you up real good," the cat said with a smirk, the wolf in question cracking his knuckles intimidatingly and giving a snarl that said he would enjoy it.

At least, it would have been to another fur. "Tyler Romanov," the dragon said shortly, standing tall before the three, a dark look on his face as he glared at them.

Those two words made all three of them balk, fear covering their faces. Glancing nervously at each other, the cat swallowed, his adam's apple moving in throat noticeably. "H-how-?" The cat started, before the dragon put up a hand.

"Old friends. Tell him 'the stars shine,' and nothing more," Alec said coldly, fixing his gaze on the cat, seeming to make the feline wilt under the sheer power he exuded, "understand?" He then asked menacingly, when the cat did not move.

"Y-yessir!" The cat stuttered out, jerking a thumb in the direction of the docks. "I-I'll get right on it!" He continued to stutter out, turning around quickly. "C'mon you two!" He hissed over his shoulder, and both the wolves quickly turned on their heels with tails between their legs, leaving Alec standing on the docks, as calm as ever.

"Now we wait," the dragon whispered to himself, turning on his heel deftly. Kneeling by the boat once more, he looked over at Alex, who was still breathing heavily, shivering in the cool wind. "How's he doing?" He asked gently, looking at the brown wolf that was hovering over the fox.

"Not good, Alec," Jay said softly, putting the back of his paw on the fox's forehead. "He's got a fever now, although I think we stopped an infection," he continued, speaking just as softly as the dragon. "The wound was a through-and-through, and far as I can tell, it stayed whole as it passed through him," the wolf said, hovering his hand over the bandaged wound. "We still can't risk it though. If he doesn't get help soon, I don't think he'll make it," Jay finished, looking at the dragon as he said that with an air of finality.

Alec's eyes narrowed, he jaw setting in a manner of defiance. "He's a tough fox. He'll pull through," the dragon said, just as definitively, locking with the wolf's deep blue eyes.

Sighing deeply, the wolf ran his hand over the crown of his head, flattening his ears momentarily. "I know man, I know," the wolf said quietly, reaching over the side of the boat to dip a rag into the water. Wringing it out, he placed the cool cloth over the fox's forehead, trying his best to break the fever.

Cray and Ronin, after ensuring the boat was secure, both got onto the dock, stretching and arching their backs. When they finished, Cray snapped his fingers, holding out a hand to the boat.

Without missing a beat, Jay grabbed a Desert Eagle out of the glovebox, and tossed it to the orca. Catching it, Cray spun it on his trigger finger, pulling back the slide after two revolutions to cock and ready the pistol, before he slid it down into a holster by his side.

The deer just shook his head, smiling softly at the display of skill, even as he sat down with his back to one of the warehouses. "How long you think, Alec?" He asked after he was settled, resting his arms on his knees as he pulled up his legs.

"Depends on how fast that fat cat can waddle," the dragon said, before spitting into the bay. That earned a few, grim, smiles from the rest of the group as they sat almost silently, waiting for something that was out of their hands to happen.

Minutes passed by, and nothing happened. Jay never once left Alex's side, constantly damping the cloth over the fox's brow. A cool breeze had whipped up over the bay now, chilling all of the furs to the bone.

What seemed to be an eternity later, the sound of a vehicle reached the ears of the four. All of them jumped up quickly, Cray and Ronin both drawing their pistols. Jay quickly took cover by Alex, pulling the blanket up so that the fox was hidden from a casual glance from the docks.

Alec stood tall as he watched a limousine pull up to the end of the dock, about fifteen meters away. Suddenly, the door opened, and out stepped a horse, easily six foot four inches tall. Shaking his head slightly, the well dressed, refined looking creature settled out the mane that ran down the back of his head before he lifted his gaze up.

The very first one that he saw was the dragon, and the horse held his arms wide, grinning broadly. "Alec!" He shouted happily, walking forward, even as the dragon took long strides forward, a rare smile gracing his face as well.

"Tyler," the dragon said happily, embracing the horse in a strong hug as soon as they were close to each other. With two solid pats on the horse's back, Alec leaned back a little, smiling still, "it has been too long brother. And, I'm sorry that it's under such circumstances," he said, gesturing softly to the boat.

"Ah-ah," the horse softly chastised Alec with a wave of his finger. "I owe you many, many, favors. Just call this one more step to us being on even ground again," he said with a nod and a grin. "Now, what do you need?"

"What we-" Alec started, before Jay stood up in the boat, and interjected.

"We need medical help, and a place to lay low for at least a week or two," the wolf said quickly, before slightly withering under the dragon's gaze.

The horse simply nodded, and opened a cell phone, seeming to ignore the slight that Jay had just caused Alec. "I can arrange both for you. I assume lodging for all of you?" He asked, looking around, and specifically at Cray and Ronin.

Alec nodded, closing his eyes for a moment as he thought, temporarily pushing Jay out of his mind. Then, he answered with "yes, any help you can give us would be much appreciated."

Nodding softly again, the horse turned around and started to speak quietly on the phone. After just a moment, he turned around placing it on his shoulder as he looked Alec, "the medical immediate?" And when the dragon nodded, he spoke into the phone again, "the usual place, quick as you can."

Then, with a snap of his phone, he looked at the limo, and snapped his fingers. Two furs, a grey wolf and a red fox, got out, and walked over to the boat. "Jason and John here will give you all the help you need," the horse said in way of an explanation, pointing to each respectively. "They'll guide you over to the warehouse where my doctor will take care of your friend," he finished with a nod.

"Thank you Tyler," Alec said with the slightest of bows, "I think we can cross of three favors with this," the dragon finished with a small smile.

"Well, anything for a brother," the horse said happily, clapping Alec on the shoulder, squeezing it briefly before turning on his heel and getting back in his vehicle. Without any further ceremony, everyone started moving to positions, the two furs that had been left quickly getting into the boat.

"Alec," Cray said softly, placing a hand on the dragon's shoulder to stop him. With a slight nod of his head at the fading limo, the orca softly asked "why should we trust him?"

The dragon just smiled widely, before gently patting the orca's shoulder. "Trust me on this one Cray," he said softly, his eyes almost kind, "but do keep an eye on those two."

"Planned to," Cray said with a smile and a nod. Apprehension still nipped at the corner of his mind, but now he had his boss's go ahead to sate it, and relieve it as much as he could. "You two," the orca suddenly said, pointing at the grey wolf and red fox that Tyler had left, "weapons out and under the seats," he ordered.

"Of course," John said quickly, undoing the strap of his holster and holding it out. When Cray motioned down, the fox nodded quickly, taking his partner's as well and lifting up the seat. With an almost casual throw, the fox set both pistols, complete with tactical flashlights and multiple clips, into the storage area.

"Now," Cray muttered, looking to the boat, "where are we headed?" He asked pointedly of the two furs.

"There's a place just up the bay a little bit," the fox said, settling down in the boat, "I believe that Alec know that way."

That made the orca look over at his friend, eyes questioning. With a single nod, the dragon held up his arm, "everyone in, we're moving," he ordered shortly, sitting down in the drivers seat of the boat. The rest of the furs all quickly packed in, Jay and Ronin sitting defensively around Alex, while Cray sat at the front to watch over the two furs that were now traveling with them.

Quickly putting the boat into go, the dragon started moving along the docks once more, waves lapping at the boat gently. After just a few minutes, John pointed at one of the warehouses, and said "there we are."

"Hasn't changed at all," Alec muttered to himself as he turned the boat towards the dock, pulling he throttle back and lightly bumping against the wooden planks. "Jason, ropes," the dragon ordered, the wolf responding quickly as he hopped out of the boat, "Cray, John, please go make sure that the good doctor is ready for us."

"Sure thing," the orca said with a nod, jumping lightly out of the boat. "Fox, c'mon," he the ordered, resting a hand on his pistol as he walked towards the slightly rundown warehouse. "And no funny business, in front," he then said almost curtly, standing so that the fox had to take the lead.

The fox just nodded in acknowledgment, walking forward without a moment's hesitation past the orca, reaching into his pocket to pull out a set of keys. "Of course not," he muttered to himself, walking right up to the door and slipping the piece of metal in. "And here we are," he said to Cray, turning the key to open the lock and pushing the doorway open, stepping in briskly.

Stepping in past him quickly, the orca looked around, his eyes quickly focusing on the white sheets that were set up in the center of the large enclosure. Stepping forward, his eyes dancing over the well lit corners, he quickly entered the sheets, pausing as he looked at the sight before him.

Two furs, an older white mouse dressed in a doctors coat and wearing a pair of wire glasses reminiscent of the 40's that hung on the tip of his nose, and a young black-labrador dressed up in a nurse's outfit, both looked over at the orca with curiosity in their eyes. "Hmpf, you must be part of that group," the mouse said, a slightly thick German accent tinging his voice.

"Yeah, that's us," the orca said, eyes resting on the medical equipment, "you must be the doctor we heard about."

A soft laugh made Cray look over to the labrador though, as she, now that he got a better look at her, lowered the mask on her muzzle. "No, I'm the doctor actually. Private practice for Mr. Romanov," she said with a smile, "anything that I do is kept strictly confidential." She finished with a comforting smile.

To the orca though, she looked like a predator, a throwback to the wolves she was no doubt descended from. "Sterile?" He asked instead, gesturing to the equipment, needles, rags, "and what about the medicine? Will any of it lead back to us?"

"No," the labrador said again, shaking her head slightly. "I take pride in my work, sir," she continued, bringing her amber eyes back to Cray, "and that includes the security that surrounds my work."

"Right," the orca muttered himself, flicking his eyes around once more. "Are you ready for him, then?" He asked, looking at the labrador but still flicking his eyes over to the mouse, who was once again fiddling with the medical equipment.

With a nod, the black lab answered, smiling as she said "just bring him in, and we'll get started immediately."

"Good," Cray muttered again, pausing one more time before I nodded back at the doorway. "Fox, follow me," he ordered, again almost curtly, before jogging out of the warehouse.

Just a moment later, he was at the boat once more, nodding at Alec "they're ready," was all he said, before moving to take a corner of the stretcher that Alex had been moved onto.

The dragon nodded slowly at that, before also moving to a corner, kneeling as he took ahold of the metal grip. "One, two, three!" Alec said, he, Cray, John and Jason picked up the injured fox. "Ronin, watch the boat," the dragon ordered as they started walking, "Jay, with us," he said with a nod to the wolf, "let's go."

No one spoke a word, merely nodding as they stepped quickly into the warehouse, Jay moving to hold the doors open for them, even as the old mouse held the white-screen to the side for them.

"Dear, oh dear," the mouse said with that German accent as he saw Alex go by him, "gunshot in a very bad place. Lucky to still be alive," he continued, watching as the four furs set the stretcher onto the table, "Jessica, our patient is here," he said with a smile, quickly waving everyone back.

"No names," the labrador snapped out at the mouse, grumbling to herself as she slipped on her gloves and pulled up her face mask, "now, let's see what we have here," she mumbled to herself, wasting no time as she started to hook the wounded fox up to the monitors. "Blood pressure?"

"Far to low," muttered the mouse as he finished hooking up the wires, glancing at the screen, "same with his heart rate, temperature...same," suddenly raising his eyebrows, he looked back at the doctor. "He's right near death, not sure how he's surviving except through sheer stubbornness."

"I'll take stubborn," chuckled the labrador, resting her hands on the wound before glancing up at the gathered furs. "Doesn't mean I want to risk further chance of infection," waiting for them to move as she stared at them, "that means, please leave."

That made everyone glance to the dragon, awaiting his order. "Let's leave the good doctor to her business," he said quietly, turning around and walking out of the clean room. With more glances to both each other and to Alex, the rest soon followed suit.

Behind them, as the curtain fell, they could hear the labrador giving orders to the mouse for medicine that would knock their patient out. "I'd like you all to wait outside," Alec asked quietly, "Jay, I want you to stay here, tell us if anything changes," the dragon then said to the wolf. WIth one final, deep, sigh he glanced back at the white curtain, watching as the shadows within worked on his friend, his hand resting on the doorjamb, "I'll see you soon, Alex," he said to himself, before stepping outside into the cold air, having to play the dreaded waiting game once more.

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Please, feel free to comment, rate, tell me how I did or what I did wrong. Or right ^.^

This story and all characters are mine. Please, please ask me before doing anything with them. I won't bite, too aweful hard *chuckles softly*