FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

_ Augtober 19_

It had been a while since Jessica had been in a bar, or even drunk alcohol for that matter. Greg had insisted that they meet here, for the purpose of security. Looking at the isolated, dull grey building, she could see how this may be the case, but she also suspected that Greg wanted to actually keep his job here.

“Greg, you here?” She asked, as she passed through the door, a small bell ringing to indicate that someone had entered the bar. She heard a muffled response, most likely from the stockroom, “I’ll be right out. Go ahead and take a seat.” She sat down in the front, figuring she might be able to talk Greg into mixing her a drink.

After a minute or two, Greg appeared, looking tired, but not exhausted. He went behind the bar, and started cleaning. Jessica spoke first, “So, now that we finally have a chance, what exactly did you want to talk about?” Greg spoke as he worked, eager to get all his work done before it was time to open up. “Well, first of all, how’s your arm doin’?” He motioned to her shoulder, which was still bandaged. “It’s getting better, but I still can’t do much, and it still hurts sometimes. Speaking of which, it’s actually acting up right now. If only I had something to take the edge off.” Greg huffed, having gotten the hint. He put down his towel, and grabbed a bottle of rum. “So,” he said as he poured the drink, “No hard feelings towards Alex, huh?” He passed the drink over to her, and she eagerly took a sip. “Not really, no. Besides, we’re not focusing on the past. Which I’m surprised you still do, by the way.” Greg said nothing, merely continuing to wipe down the bar.

After a few moments of uneasy silence, Jessica decided to change the subject. “So, I doubt all you called me here for was to simply catch up. What’s the real reason, Greg?” Much to her surprise, Greg pulled out a heavy looking metal box. “Give me your data pad.” He told her. She did as he said, curious as to what was happening. Greg put not only her data pad in the box, but his own as well. He closed the box, and put it down behind the counter.

“What was that about?” Jessica asked. “Your ‘Faraday cage’, should keep people from eavesdropping on us.” “And by people you mean Fox.” Greg nodded. He stopped working, and now focused his full attention on the conversation. “I think he’s keeping something from us.” Jessica took a drink, “You mean, like where he lives, how he’s so technologically skilled, how he has more money than me-” She stopped to take another drink. Greg decided to speak before she could continue, “Ha ha, very funny. I was talking about where he gets the numbers from.” “He’s good with computers? I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned out to be from Admah.” “I’ve been working with him a long time, Jess. I’ve always wondered how he did it, but now that we’ve met him, I’m not sure he’s the one doing it.” “You think he has help? Aside from us, I mean.” Greg leaned on the bar. “I think there’s definitely more to this. Especially because of what I've found.” Greg pulled out a small, simple notebook. He handed it over to Jessica.

She opened the journal, and saw a list of names and numbers, along with dates and locations. “Hold on, are these-” “Every number that we’ve, well I’ve, helped.” Jessica flipped through the many pages, unsure of what to make of it. “I’m not sure what this is supposed to mean.” Greg took the notebook from her, and opened it up to a map of North America. “Here.” He said, handing to her again.

On the map were small markers, which appeared to be color coded. Jessica started to figure it out, but was still confused. “So clearly this is supposed to show… something. I assume these dots are the people we’ve saved. But how exactly does that relate?” Greg shifted impatiently. “They aren’t just who we’ve saved. They’re every number we’ve ever gotten. And look at where they’re located.” “Almost exclusively within the country. In fact, almost exclusively in the north.” “Yes. And look here.” He went around the bar, and pointed to a particular group of dots. “I did some research. We only started getting numbers in this area after the government did some work.” She looked, and the area was in the Province of Illinois. Specifically, clustered around the city of Nashville. “I think I remember something about that. Didn’t the NAC expand the phone lines down there?” “And basic internet a short while after.” Jessica put the notebook down, realizing what Greg was getting at. “So, you think Fox can only give us numbers when there’s electricity?” She said, somewhat dubious. “That’s definitely what it looks like.” Greg said.

Jessica pondered the meaning of this revelation. “So if he’s clearly using computers, landlines, and whatever else, how is he keeping tabs on everyone at once?” Greg himself wasn’t sure. Even after extensive research, he hadn’t been able to come up with an answer himself. “I don’t know. All I can say for sure is there’s a lot more to Fox than he lets on.” “So what do you want to do about it? I mean, clearly you don’t want Fox to know what you’re doing.” Greg paused. He hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Actually, I was going to ask you what you thought.” Jessica sighed. Despite having been second in Fox’s little task force, she always seemed to be the one coming up with solutions.

“Well, I think that this is all just a little bit… insane. But you’re clearly not going to leave this alone, are you?” Greg went back behind the bar. “No, I’m not. We deserve answers, Jess, after all these years. We’re owed that much.” Jessica finished her drink, a slight buzz going on. What Greg was saying resembled a bad conspiracy theory some disgruntled government employee would make, just for fun. And yet there appeared to be actual evidence right in her hands. Or at the very least, correlations.

She was uncomfortable with what this all implied. Their work had always been about helping people; stopping bad things from happening. Not that she’d always thought that of course. She supposed that back then, she had wanted answers. In fact, she had tried to find some, as Greg was doing now, to find more about their mysterious employer. But over time, she supposed she had just gotten used to it all…

“Jess?” Greg startled her. She’d drifted off slightly, deep in her thoughts. “You okay?” He asked. “Yeah, I was just thinking.” She sat up, “You know what, screw it. Let’s get some damn answers, it’s about damn time.” “So, how should we go about this?” Greg asked. “Well, you should try to stick by Fox. You two have been working together the longest of anyone, and he might slip up.” “I’m not sure that’s gonna be easy. I just started this job, I don’t want to lose it.” “I guess I can do that. It would probably also be good to cover Fox’s past. I’m assuming you can do that here?” “I think so, yeah. I guess we have a plan then.” “Hold on. There’s still one more thing.” Jessica held up the map. “Someone should also try going to some of these places, find out more about the infrastructure. Maybe Fox is using wiretaps, or something along those lines.” “Who’s going to do that?” The bell rang, as someone else entered the building. “He will.” Jessica said, plainly.

Greg tensed up, ready to act. Jessica sensed this, and wanted to calm him down, but before she could say anything, Greg spoke. “What the hell is he doing here?” Alex stepped forward, “He has a name,” he said in his low, monotone voice. Alex stood by Jessica, Greg keeping his eyes on him the whole time. “And I’m here to help.” Greg scoffed, “Last time we tried to get you to help, you nearly-” “Stop it, Greg.” Jessica intervened. “I asked him to come here. You said so yourself, this isn’t going to be easy, and we need all the help we can get.” “Yeah. Maybe he has changed. Maybe he’s just an adorable little puppy now. But I still don’t trust him.” “Then trust me. Please. Just hear him out.” Jessica pleaded. Greg simply grunted in response, returning to his chores.

Alex took the cue, and stated his case. “I’ve had a lot of time to talk with Jessie. I know what I am- what I had become. I thought there was only one path for me, after-” He paused, clearly remembering something unpleasant. “But Jessica helped me to remember who I was. And she’s given me a second chance, to do the right thing.” Greg said nothing, simply staring down Alex. He’d never really seen Alex without his, as Alex called it, “suit”. Not until that night, anyway. Even in the days after, he’d not really paid attention. Now, however, he noticed several scars on Alex’s face. Based on his fur color, Greg guessed Alex was a Mexican wolf. He wore a leather coat, and some simple denim trousers. He guessed underneath lay more scars and wounds, from Alex’s work as a freelancer.

After a while, Alex tried again. “Look, I’m sorry-” “No. You don’t get to be sorry.” Greg interrupted. “You betrayed us. You betrayed her. Now Jess may have forgiven you, but as far as I’m aware, you’re still just a killer. And that’s all you’ll ever be.” Alex responded calmly. “Well then, I guess I’ll just have to prove you wrong. What do you need me to do, Jessie?” Jessica, glad to change the subject, held up the map to Alex. “We need you to go to these locations, and find out all you can on the infrastructure.” “What specifically?” “Landlines, electric lines, generators; anything that has anything to do with electricity. Who funded it, why it was built, anything.” “Got it. I’ll go pack.” “Thanks. Stay safe.” Alex left, map in hand.

As the door closed, Greg finally eased up. “You didn’t have to be so hard on him.” Jessica said, a hint of frustration in her voice. Greg hung his head low, embarrassed in how he’d reacted. “I know, I just… if anything ever happened to you Jess… I can’t lose anyone else.” Jessica put her hand on his reassuringly. “Well don’t worry. He really is a good person, Greg, but he’s spent his entire life being lost. You just have to give him a chance.” Greg looked away, unable to look at Jessica directly. After a few moments, he bent down, retrieving the metal box from before. “I guess we all have our tasks. Better get going, you have to find Fox and I have to work.” Jessica retrieved her data pad, and headed for the door. She turned around, and said a short goodbye before heading out. Once she was gone, Greg took a seat, and gave out a heavy sigh. He had known this was going to be complicated, but having to work with Alex again… He wasn’t sure how he was going to last the day.

*******

Jessica had found it was not too difficult to convince Fox to let her shadow him. Granted, it had resulted in yet another broken data pad, but at least it had worked. What she hadn’t expected was that she would be forced to do most of the work.

“How is this piece supposed to fit again?” She asked Fox, struggling to assemble the small components that made up the data pad’s optical sensor array. Fox stopped working on his task, and came around the table to help her. “Here, the cable connects to the motherboard, and the sensor clips on like this.” There was a satisfying click as the part went into place. “I still don’t quite understand what happened this time.” He said, returning to his work. “I told you, I slipped.” Jessica said, trying to sell the lie as well as possible. Fox shook his head, “At this rate I’m going to have to invent a whole new material just so you can keep one of these working for longer than three days.”

“So, where do you get all this stuff from?” Jessica asked, sensing an opportunity. Fox stayed focused on his work, talking at the same time. “As you most likely guessed, I have several avenues through which to get things done.” Jessica mused, her question not getting a real answer. She tried again, “Well, I haven’t seen anyone else aside from the six of us. Seven, including you. So naturally, I have to wonder.” This time, Fox looked up at her through his glasses, “As I said. I have several avenues. Why do you ask?” “I’m just… trying to make conversation.” She said, smiling nervously. Fox remained unamused, “Although we’ve only known each other in person for around a month, I feel as though I need to remind you I’ve been watching you for several years now.” Jessica shrugged nervously, “I mean, how well can you get to know someone just by watching from a distance?” “Enough to know when there’s clearly more than meets the eye. Especially when it’s clear that a piece of very rare and expensive equipment did not just ‘snap in half’. So, Ms. Ansi, I have to ask: Why are you really here?”

Jessica looked down, embarrassed that Fox had managed to catch on to her lying. Clearly he was more on guard than the last time she had tricked him. “Alright, fine. You got me. I just-” She thought quickly, trying to come up with a reasonable excuse. “I just wanted to spend some more time together, you know. I’ve gotten to know everyone else, but you’re the only one I don’t really know.” She smiled sheepishly, hoping to come across as genuine. Fox’s face kept a stern expression as he mused over Jessica’s excuse. Eventually, it changed to a more neutral one. “Well Ms. Ansi, as you know by now, I'm not quite the people person. Though I suppose I have no real objections to spending some time together, I do have to request that in the future, you just simply ask, rather than destroying yet another one of my data pads.” “Of course! Sorry again for that.” She said, glad that she had gotten out of what could have been a very awkward situation. Fox spoke again, “I suppose if we’re going to be doing more than just working on this… mess, then it would be a good idea to get some refreshments. It is lunchtime, after all. I assume you can handle mounting the power unit on your own?” “Pretty sure.” “Then in that case, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Fox exited the safe room, putting on his expensive looking coat over his expensive looking suit. Jessica waited a few moments, then promptly followed him. While it was probably nothing, she had a feeling that Fox was up to more than just a coffee run.

***

She had been following Fox for only a few blocks when he stopped at a small food truck. Based off the advertisements on the sides, it served more expensive food than most food trucks. Since she had sacrificed her data pad, she had no easy way of overhearing what Fox was saying. Luckily, it didn’t seem as Fox was doing anything out of the ordinary, as the cook simply handed Fox two cups and bags, and took the money. She was about to start heading back, when she heard a distant but distinct ringing; a payphone. She looked, seeing Fox approach a payphone that was not too far from the food truck. He appeared to covertly check his surroundings, before picking up the phone. Jessica strained to see better, but as far as she could tell, Fox seemed to only be listening to the person on the other side. After only a few seconds, he hung up, before typing something on his data pad. Once he was finished, he resumed course back to the safe house. Jessica quickly turned back, making note of the time. She’d have to ask Greg later, but she was pretty sure that if he was right, then Fox was getting and receiving messages from someone other than them.

***

Back at the safe house, Jessica had managed to make some progress, to try and avoid suspicion. Fox entered calmly, handing her her drink and sandwich. “I know you prefer a New England roast, but I think you’ll appreciate the slightly more “roasted” flavor.” She sipped it, tasting the surprisingly creamy coffee. “This is really good. Where the hell did you get it?” Fox sipped his own coffee, “Just a place.” He promptly returned to work. Jessica figured he wasn’t really keen at revealing any identifying information. “Meet anyone interesting while you were there?” “No.” Fox said, with a tone of indifference. Jessica realized that what seemed like an easy task was going to be a brutally arduous marathon of a task. She hoped that Greg and Alex were having better luck than she was.

*******

Alex pulled up to the small town hall cautiously. While he still had contacts, now that he had been inactive for a while, they were no doubt trying to fill the power vacuum. He had taken a rental car, and made sure no one was following. While his mission was a relatively simple one, he didn’t want to take any chances. He decided against taking his vigilante outfit, figuring that it would be easier to impersonate some sort of official than, as Jessica put it, “Scary as hell bad guy.”

He got out of the car, making sure to keep an eye out on the surrounding area. It was a typical Kansas town, relatively small, but well kept. There weren't many people about, mostly older folks. Regardless, he knew a threat could appear from anywhere. He gathered up his fake ID, as well as his pistol. He’d promised Jessica that he wouldn’t go out looking for trouble, but that didn’t mean trouble might come looking for him.

Inside, the town hall wasn’t very busy. There were only two guards, some secretaries, but not many visitors. The hall was a standard arrangement for such a small town. It consisted of a long hall, with different departments lining the walls. Each department was labeled, and Alex looked for the records office. The door was open, and inside was something unexpected. Typically, avians were reserved for delivery and surveillance. Yet at the desk was an African grey parrot, pecking away at some seeds.

“Excuse me.” Alex said, blandly. The parrot lifted his head to look at the sudden intruder. “Oh, what’s this, a visitor, come in, come in!” The parrot quickly hopped onto a small stand, in place of where a chair would normally be. His head turned, curiously, waiting for Alex to react. When he didn’t the parrot clicked his tongue impatiently. “Well, now. On with it. On with it.” “I’m with the Ministry of Finances, here to ask a few questions.” He pulled out the fake badge, awkwardly holding it up to the parrot. “I see, I see. SQUAWK! And what do you need, hmm?” “I need information on the recent project, the phone line project?” The parrot nodded in acknowledgment, “Ah, yes. But that projects done now, sir.” “Just checking off some boxes for the bean counters.” The parrot squawked again, “Very well, very well. Follow me.” The parrot abruptly flapped his wings, and flew past Alex’s head, coming very close to him. As he left the room, Alex sighed. He didn’t hate birds, he just never really had to deal with them before. Not directly, anyway.

The actual records room wasn’t too far away, just down the hall from the parrot’s office. Inside, the room wasn’t too big, but there were several rows of cabinets, spanning the room, almost reaching the ceiling. The parrot was standing on the handle of one the cabinets, waiting for Alex. “Here it is, here it is. Everything about the project, yes.” “Thank you.” Alex said, again very dryly. “Yes, let me know if you need anything else.” The parrot took off again, no doubt to finish his meal. Alex opened the drawer, and started searching. He wasn’t quite sure what to look for, but he supposed that he would know when he found something interesting.

***

He’d been looking for only a few minutes when he started to notice a pattern. According to the files, the funding of the project had been undertaken by several different companies. The construction itself, however, had only been done by a single company; F & B Construction. Not only that, but unlike most government projects which were normally fraught with scandals and embezzlement, this project had been completed with almost universal praise. What he couldn’t find was almost more interesting though. He searched through all the records that were there, and he couldn’t find a single person, be it a mayor, governor, or even just a civilian who had initially asked for the project. There was plenty of press after its announcement, declaring the reasons why the new infrastructure would be beneficial to all peoples. In fact, it was as though the whole thing had suddenly popped up overnight. He made quick copies of the interesting files, and promptly left to go check the other town’s records.

*****

After checking the last town, Alex had collected all the information he needed. Although the specifics had changed from town to town, the same general pattern stayed the same: several companies donate to install brand new infrastructure that no one asked for, the construction is done by F & B construction, and then the work is completed almost without incident.

He thought about returning back to Jessica’s place, but he’d only been gone for two days. He decided to go and check one more thing. Although it was only a hunch, his years of mercenary work told him that if it seems as though there’s something suspicious going on behind the scenes, then there almost always is.

*******

Greg sat back in his armchair. He’d just finished looking though the entire registry for NNY. He’d spent hours looking through databases and archives, but he had yet to find anything on Fox. It was as though Fox didn’t exist. While he was grateful he’d been given a task he could do from home, he felt as though he’d drawn the short straw. As he stared at the laptop on the table in front of him, he had an idea, though he wished he hadn’t. Since Fox clearly existed, and was most definitely not part of a crime syndicate, he had to have some sort of method of doing things legally, at least to some extent. This most likely meant he had one or more cover identities, which would allow him to easily distance himself from any suspicion. Without a full name, the best Greg could hope for now would be searching for “Eliza” or “Fox”. He groaned as the computer screen filled up with names upon names of people. He took a swig of whiskey, and started to go through the results, one by one, hoping to find at least one clear photo of Fox.

***

Greg woke up, startled by the sound of the bottle he’d been drinking from hitting the floor. He looked over at the clock, which read two thirty four AM. He checked his data pad, but there were no new messages to read. He closed his laptop, and headed to bed. As he was falling back to sleep he had a sudden realization. He did have a lead, in fact he’d had it for a long time now. He quickly got out of bed, and started up the computer. He searched for “Eliza”, on the company website for F & B Technologies. He got several matches, but nothing solid. He tried the companies internal network. There were more matches, including one that he’d been waiting for. The alias was “Dane, Eliza”, and the employee photo matched Fox to a tee. Greg nearly jumped out of his chair, having finally gotten a result. He kept searching, collecting as much information on Mr. Dane as he could, and started work on verifying the information. His spirits relit, he continued his work late into the night, all the way until five in the morning.

Unfortunately he had to work later in the day, but he was still relieved that he had managed to find something on Fox. He sent Jessica a message, telling her that they should meet at the bar tomorrow to go over all that they’d found. He then collapsed on his bed, and fell quickly asleep.

*******

“Is everything alright?” Fox asked. Jessica’s mind had wandered from the lesson by Fox. She sat up promptly, “Yeah, everything’s fine.” “Good.” Fox said, and returned to his lecture. “As you can see, the level of encryption in the OS is above even that which the government has. Of course, it’s not impenetrable, but should it fall into the wrong hands, there would be plenty of time to activate the fail-safe.” “Actually, on that note,” Jessica said, trying to change the subject, “Have we been able to find out more about those agents that were after us?” Fox thought for a second, before standing up. “Now that you mention it, I had been working on something.” He went into the other room, and came back with an expensive looking lap top. Knowing Fox well enough by now, she presumed it had been custom built. “I did a search based on the image we found on that card a while back, and the system seems to have found something.” He pressed a few keys, and on screen was a massive tree of results.

“What exactly is all this?” Jessica asked, unsure of what all the branches represented. “It seems to me,” Fox said, scrolling through the results, “Oh my.” A frown formed on his face, as he continued to analyze the results. “What, what is it?” “According to this, Ms. Ansi, we vastly underestimated our foes.”

“Underestimated how?” She asked, confused. Fox hesitated impatiently, “We already know the first belongs to Oppenheimer Electronics. The second symbol on the card is the logo for a company called Arterias Defense.” “Never heard of them.” “Neither have I. Until now, and according to these results, there’s a good reason. Arterias Defense is owned by Green’s Munitions, which is owned by During Inc, which in turn also owns Oppenheimer Electronics, which is owned by Parthenon Inc. Which also owns several other companies.” “So what, it’s part of a chain?” “One which leads to all the way to an organization called Nona Industries.” “Who are they?” “As far as I can tell, nobody. No news, bank records, nothing except the registration form for the government.” “How is this possible? I mean, I know companies can stay under the radar, but these guys seem to be off the map.” “Indeed. They must have a great deal of influence to be able to stay hidden. It looks like we’ll have to re-evaluate our strategy for dealing with these agents in the future.” Jessica sat still, staring at the screen, absorbing the information. “I actually know a few of these companies. What the hell are they up to?” Fox furrowed his brow, “Well you know as well as I do, Ms. Ansi, funding an operation requires a multitude of resources, particularly if you intend to stay invisible.” Jessica knew he was speaking from personal experience; after all he had hidden himself from them for years. She thought she caught something else, but given the recent revelation, she was focused on more pertinent problems. “So, where do we go from here?” She said, finally. Fox sighed, and shrugged. “At the moment, we can just hope to find out more about Nona Industries, and who they are. Until then, I suppose we’ll just have to keep doing what we do.” He picked up the repaired data pad and handed it to Jessica. “I assume you have things to do?” He asked, grabbing his coat. Jessica nodded. “In that case, we’ll have to resume this later.” He exited the safe room, somewhat in a hurry. Jessica remained sat, still processing. She may not have found much about Fox, but she definitely had something to talk about when she returned to the bar.

*******

Greg checked the clock hanging on the wall. 11:05 am. Although he had finished his prep work, he was anxious about the information he had discovered. More than that, however, he was anxious about seeing Alex again. 11:14. He was starting to think something had gone awry, when the bell on the door rang out.

Jessica and Alex walked into the bar together. Jessica seemed to be able to move more freely, and Alex held a thick folder. Greg motioned them to sit down, but he still shot a look at Alex.

He got out the metal box again, and put both his and Jessica’s data pads into it, before promptly putting it away. He pulled out his laptop, placing it on the bar. “So,” he asked, “Who’s going to go first?” “I think I should go last.” Jessica said plainly. Alex sat up, “I’ll go first.”

Alex put his folder on the table, opening it up to a handwritten list. Both Greg and Jessica looked at him questioningly. “I went around to all the towns,” He began, “Each time it was the same story: A new infrastructure project is announced, the funding is met overnight, and F & B Construction finishes the project within a month.” Jessica studied the list, “Do you know where the money comes from?” “Various different companies, none of them seemingly connected.” Greg leaned on the bar. “Hmph. Maybe you have some use after all.” Alex ignored his remark. “There’s more.” He flipped to another page in the folder. This one consisted of a government inquiry into the state of the electrical and communication wires. “According to this report, the amount of carrying capacity exceeds the needed amount by over a hundred.” Jessica shifted in her seat, “Okay, but isn’t that just standard practice?” Alex pulled out something from his pocket. “Here’s a page from the supplier’s catalog.” “I’m not even going to ask how you got this.” Jessica said, only half joking.

The page showed the regular cables cost one dollar per meter. The circled cables, no doubt the ones that had been installed, showed that they cost over fifty dollars per meter. “That’s quite a difference.” Jessica said, understanding what Alex was getting at. “If this were my company, the only reason I’d be doing this is if I wanted the press, or if I was expecting to secretly send a lot of data.” “Exactly.” Alex said.

Greg took the page, seeing the evidence for himself. “Well that’s certainly very interesting, but it doesn’t get us anywhere.” Jessica shot him a look, as he turned on his laptop. “While you were going around playing a harmless puppy, I managed to find out some very interesting things about Fox.” He turned the laptop to Jessica and Alex.

On the screen was a company profile for F & B Industries of someone who looked like Fox. The name, however, read Gold, Eliza. “So I'm guessing he definitely has an alternative identity.” Jessica remarked. “Actually, he has several. But this is the one I found most interesting. Look at the position he holds.” The occupation field read: Founder and CEO. Jessica nearly fell of her chair, while Alex seemed to lean back, pleased. “So, he really does own the company.” Alex said, plainly. “What?” Jessica asked, recomposing herself. “When I was… researching Fox, and again when I was looking at the records, I kept finding hints. Fox appeared to own several companies and hold endless resources. But I could never find anything solid.” He looked at Greg, “So the question is, how did you find out?”

Greg crossed his arms, annoyed. “Are you sayin’ I’m too dumb to be able to do this?” Jessica quickly intervened. “Greg, please. We both know your not an expert with technology. At least, not electrical.” Greg seemed to ease up slightly. “Alright. I followed a lead from when Fox and I were in the south. But a lot of the information was locked behind several unusual firewalls. So, I got a little help.” “Greg. What did you do?” Jessica asked, concerned. “Relax. I just asked Ingrid to send me a decryption thing, and all I had to do was wait.” Alex raised an eye brow, but said nothing. Jessica just sighed, “Greg, you know how tricky these things can be.” “I was careful. I swear.” Greg said, “Although it did freeze for a little while. But it was mostly fine.” Jessica leaned back. “So then, we know what Fox is doing, we know how he’s doing it, all that’s left is why he’s doing it.” “Did you manage to get that from him?” Greg asked. Jessica took a large swig of here drink. “No. But we did discover something else.”

***

“So, that bad huh?” Greg said, pouring himself a drink. Normally he didn’t drink on the job, but after hearing all Jessica and Fox had found, he felt he needed it. Alex stayed unexpressive. “Almost makes it seem like they’re two sides of the same coin.” “Except ‘they’ have a lot more people that we do.” Jessica said, finishing her drink. “And we have no idea how far their influence goes?” Greg asked. Jessica glumly shook her head, before grabbing the bottle and refilling her glass.

“When I met the agents initially, I don’t think they expected me to survive.” Alex said suddenly. “They said they were going to take over the world. If what you say is true, then they might actually have a chance.” “I thought you were supposed to be ‘unstoppable.’” Greg mocked. Alex looked at him, “As good as I am, I work from the shadows. They probably have people in the government, in the military.” “So then, what the hell are we going to do?” “Nothing.” Alex said, to everyone’s surprise. “What the hell do you mean, ‘nothing’?” “If we poke around too much, they’ll take notice. Until we know more, we need to lay low. I’ve been in similar situations before.” “Nothing good comes from those who pry” Jessica said, paraphrasing an ancient proverb. Greg ran his hands through his hair, in frustration.

After all the work they had done over the years, no matter how much good they managed to do, there always seemed to be something that was progressively worse than anything they had encountered. They had seen murderers, smugglers, gang leaders, an entire terrorist cell, but this time, things were different. This wasn’t a simple case of catch the bad guy. This was a threat to every sentient’s way of life. Of course, he had no doubt similar things had happened in the past. What he was worried about was that in this case, it wasn’t the government fighting the insurrection.

“It’s funny,” Greg said, taking a large gulp of whiskey. “At first, what Fox suggested seemed impossible. But after a while, I got used to it. Then came the organized crime, and then the corruption. I guess for the past few years, we’ve had as close to normal as we’re gonna get.” “And now we finally have something different,” Jessica added, “But not in a good way.”

The three of them sat in silence for a while, pondering the intricacies of their situation, and taking the occasional shot of whiskey. Eventually, Alex spoke up. “I guess we’d better let you get back to work. Greg looked up the clock; 11:43. “Ah, hell!” He scrambled to gather up their things, and to get everything sorted. He handed back Jessica’s data pad, noticing she had made a few personal modification to it. He didn’t have time to comment on them however, as Jessica seemed to remember something important.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” She exclaimed. “I wasn’t able to figure out much on Fox, but I did see him answer a payphone when he was getting us some coffee.” “What did he say?” “I’m not sure. But it looked like he was expecting it, and he did something on his data pad after.” Greg thought about what this could mean, as he wiped down the area their glasses had been. “I’ll look into it, thanks. I’ll message you later.” “Of course. See ya.” Jessica said, as she hurried out the bar. Alex was close behind, pausing briefly to do a sort of nod at Greg before continuing on. After they had left, Greg exhaled heavily. He wasn’t angry, more frustrated. Years of doing this line of work, and they had always been able to “beat the bad guy.” This time, however, a positive outcome didn’t seem as likely.

********

Greg collapsed down into his couch. He’d somehow managed to get through his shift half drunk without anyone really noticing. He’d gotten into a close scrape with his boss when a wine bottle had slipped out of his hand. He’d been able to play it off as the condensation on the bottle, but after that he quickly sobered up.

He looked the clock on his data pad; 8:21. Now that he worked downtown, he was able to walk home. So far, he’d been able to make it in at most, ten minutes. This time he had purposefully lagged behind, hoping to use work as an excuse to avoid, well, work. He noticed he had a message from Ingrid. He opened the messaging program on the data pad, and read the message.

Information request for Stephens, Brian, regarding employment with Lee’s Transport. I would look into it myself, but the NCR refuses to stay off the Californian border. Just a heads up, I’m pretty sure that the whole company has ties to a gang. Anything you can find out will be a great help.

Ingrid Mantissa, PR, signing off.

Greg sighed and promptly looked up the information that Ingrid had requested. For the most part, the employee record showed that Stephens was a normal guy. The company did have some controversy, but nothing compared to what they were up against. He wrote Ingrid back, but as he was typing, a though occurred in the back of his mind. He thought it was a long shot, but with all the ridiculousness going on, anything was possible.

Ingrid, found the information you needed. I’ve attached the employee record, but there’s really nothing special. Companies definitely shady, but I think they’re just low key smugglers. Let me know if you need anything else.

Gregory Wetzel, Crises manager, signing off.

PS, just out of curiosity, when did Fox give you this case?

After having a quick meal consisting of a microwaved frozen burrito, Greg went to bed early, just trying to find a moment of relaxation. He went into a deep sleep, only waking up at the sound of the loud beeping from his alarm clock. He slammed his hand down on the button, giving out an audible groan of irritation. He reluctantly got out of bed, and headed straight for the shower.

***

After he finished his morning routine, he made himself a simple breakfast of bacon, eggs, heavily buttered toast and a cup of coffee. He checked his data pad, and found a response from Ingrid.

Thanks for the information, turns out they were in fact involved in an amateur smuggling ring. Helena apparently owes you twenty bucks. Anyway, since you asked, Fox gave us the case on the 20th at 11:46. Oh, and the whole “let me know if you need help thing” goes both ways.

Ingrid Mantissa, PR, signing off.

Greg remembered what Jessica had said. Now, it was possible that the two events were coincidental, but at this point, it didn’t seem likely. He thought back to when Alex had taken Gabriel and Fox hostage, and about the strange call. Originally, he thought it was something that Fox had rigged up as an “in case of emergency” setup. But after Fox had reacted in confusion when he’d brought it up, it had only made Greg more suspicious about how their little operation functioned. Now he realized something he hadn’t considered in all his research; They weren’t just getting orders from Fox, He was getting orders from someone else. The question of course, was who?

*********

“You realize that sounds insane right?” Jessica said, sipping her drink. Greg had called her (and begrudgingly Alex) over to tell them in person his theory. He finally had a day off, and had decided to make the most of it. “I know, Jess, but what else could explain it?” Jessica leaned back in the tattered sofa in Greg’s living room. She turned to Alex, who sat beside her. “What do you make of all of this? You said you’d been tracking Fox for a while.” “I already said I couldn’t dig up much,” he said, in his low, clear voice, “But I had begun to suspect he wasn’t at the head of this operation. Of course, I never had any proof.” Jessica sighed, still skeptical.

“Alright, so even if it isn’t just a coincidence, why would anyone go through all this trouble? And for all these years. Surely there are better ways of saving people?” “Isn’t that what we all thought before he contacted us?” Greg answered. “What’s your point?” “Maybe we are the better way, Jess. I mean, maybe this is a government thing, or maybe not. I don’t care.” “Then what, then? What exactly is bothering you so much?” Greg frowned, trying to best form his words. “It just seems like there’s something… odd. Like you said, why would anyone go through the trouble-” Before he could finish his thought, the door opened.

Fox entered the room, somewhat in a hurry. “Mr. Wetzel we have a situation.” He stopped when he saw the trio, all gathered around the coffee table. “Mr. Baud, Ms. Ansi? What exactly is going on here?” Alex and Jessica looked to Greg, neither willing to charge. “Umm, well it’s actually quite simple.” Greg stammered, swiftly standing up. “I thought I was perfectly clear on keeping Mr. Baud contained.” Fox scolded Jessica. “He’s… helping us.” Greg said quickly. Fox looked flabbergasted. “What could possibly require the need of a skilled assassin, much less one that has recently suffered a mental break?” “Well, there is the whole conspiracy to take over the world.” Jessica chimed in, sassily. Fox was unamused, and remained firm. “Regardless of the current situation in the world, I would prefer if I were informed of such careless decisions.” “And yet you can’t inform us of very basic things.” Greg snapped. He hadn’t meant for it, but he’d finally grown tired of beating around the bush.

Fox was taken aback by Greg’s sudden outburst. “Mr. Wetzel, I'm not sure what you mean.” Greg stepped forward, “What I don’t understand is why you don’t trust us, trust me by now. I’ve been doing what you wanted for a decade now, and you still haven’t said how the hell you decide who needs help.” Greg finished, calming down slightly. He was surprised at himself, but didn’t stand down. Much to the surprise of everyone else, Fox went over to the window, and gazed almost longingly out the window. For a moment, he said nothing, and at first, it seemed like he wasn’t going to say anything. Eventually, he spoke. “I suppose you have a point, Mr. Wetzel. Although I have to admit, while I knew this day would come, I had hoped it would come at a much more, fortuitous time.”