When All That's Left to Do...

                            By:

                         Fox Cutter

03/28/98:

And so it was that the control of the Council passed from
Rachel to Dwight. There was some fanfare as these events
always bring, but the actual transfer of power consisted of
a small swearing in and a hand shake.

That was yesterday evening, today was the celebration. The
Council had sprung for a large party for the pair of Heads.
Mostly though it was a roasting for Rachel talking about
what she's done and the like you usually see.

I refrained from getting up on stage to talk about her, she
knew what I though of her and I didn't need to tell her
again in public.

Dwight was the focus of about half the speakers. Some
talking about how much like looked forward to working with a
new head. Others talking about some of what he had already
done in the Council. There was almost not a single bad word
about this man.

I was starting to wonder if what Rachel and I saw was just
paranoia. It wouldn't have been the first time it had
happened to either of us. I guess we've both developed a
suspicion of anyone who wanted to be in charge.

Then again, if someone is after you paranoia is just good
thinking.

Swirling my drink (water) I watched as Dwight took to the
stage. He went down the line of major speakers and thanked
each one of them for being there. He was all smiles and
quite cheerful. Nothing of what I saw before was evident.

I don't know, maybe I just have a thing against albino's.

As he started to speak I felt a tap on my shoulder. Turning
I found a cougar standing at my shoulder dressed as a
waiter.

He bent down close to me. "Mr. Cutter, you have a phone
call."

I nodded to him and stood up. He lead me through the banquet
hall and into the back, stopping next to a phone that was
sitting on the desk.

Picking up the receiver I spoke into it. "Hello?"

"Fox," Oriana said on the other side, "I just got a message
here that's mark as urgent."

I frowned, this could not be good news. "What does it say?"

"'She's here, but not for long'," she quoted, "what does
that mean."

I smiled a bit. "Good news, I'll tell you in a bit, I need
to handel this first. I'll be late getting back. Goodbye."
Then I hung the phone up before she could even protest.

Nodding to my escort I headed back to the banquet hall,
walking over to where Rachel sat I bent down, tapping her on
the shoulder. "Sorry, but I need to go."

She frowned, "Why? What happened?"

I smiled. "The lady I was looking for, the one who can help
us with the Mouse. I know where she is but it sounds like
I'll need to hurry to meet her."

She nodded. "Be fast then, people are getting inpatient
about hir.

I nodded, patted her on the back and took off. Taking the
shortest way out of the banquet hall and out into the Marble
Hall.

Not bothering to change (I was dressed up pretty formally) I
found the closest fold and took of to Mydisia Base. Picking
my pace up I headed for the bar. As I turned the corner I
found my target just leaving the bar.

"Hey!" I called, sprinting down the hallway after her.

She paused, turning around to look at me. She was a
vixen-morph, who seemed to have a predatory gleam in her
eyes. I wondered if she recognized me from our last
encounter.

"Yes?" She asked, crossing her arms. 

I dashed down the hallway to reach where she was standing.
"I need to talk to you."

She sighed softly. "State your piece then leave me alone. I
have work to do."

Panting softly I tried to catch my breath. "It's about your
people... the three traders."

She started to get a dangerous look in her eyes, lowering
her lids a bit and looking at me hard enough that it almost
hurt.

"Didn't I warn you to leave us alone?" She asked, nearly
growling.

I nodded, gulping in a last breath of air. "Yes, and I
ignored that. It's important though that I talk to you about
this."

"Yes? I'm listening."

I blinked, I didn't expect her to be this willing. "I need
your help getting some information out of the hermaphroidte
mouse--"

She cut me off, "Information out of hir?" She asked, her
ears starting to lay back. "What do you mean by that?"

"We need to know some of what sie knows, about what trades
sie did. How much sie know about what was a part of them. If
it was even sanctioned by your government, and quite
possibly how to get to your world."

"Does this mean that you have hir in custody?" She demanded,
narrowing her eyes even more, making them almost slits in
her red fur.

I nodded.

She snarled at me, stepping forward a pace. "You. Dare. To.
Imprison. One. Of. Us.?" She bit out each word as if trying
to attack me with them.

"Yes!" I snapped back, "Most everyone else would rather have
hir killed!"

She jumped towards me throwing me back against the wall her
paws pressing on my neck. "How dare you?!"

"The Plague was sealed inside one of the artifacts sie
sold."

Hir paws closed around my throat, starting to choke me, hir
thumbs digging into my adams apple. I was starting to wonder
if a bodyguard would be a good idea to have along with me at
times.

I gasped a bit, speaking what I could. "We think it wasn't
there by accident, it looks to have been intentional." It
was a lie, a pure lie, we had no idea if it was accident or
not. I was hoping it would shock her enough to let me
breath.

She stopped increase the force of her strangling.
"Intentional? what do you mean by that?"

I was unable to respond, I image I was starting to turn a
nice shade a bluish pink.

Lessening the force on my neck she asked her questing again.

Gasping in a breath of air I answered her. "I mean that
someone put it there for the exact reason of doing what it
did!"

Her ears starting to perk up a bit as she relaxed her grasp
on my neck. "Sounds like the War is turning desperate," she
muttered. The way she said it I could here the capital
letter in 'War'. This was serious.

Steeping back away from her I rubbed my neck. "We need to
send an envoy back to hir world to find out as much as we
can. Sie's the only one who knows and sie's quite instant
about not talking. Unless you care to tell us how to get
there?"

She laughed, a bitter low laugh. "I don't know how to get
back myself, and even if I did I would not tell you. It
would also be a great shock if sie talk to you either."

I nodded. "Yes, right, but it's needed! If this is
intentional or not we must know so it doesn't happen again!"

She closed her eyes, rubbing her left ear, which had been
torn apart at some past date, leaving a ragged half ear
behind. She also seemed to be crying, but tears mixed with
blood that almost vanished into her fur as they ran down her
muzzle. She was talking to her self softly in the same
language the Mouse had babbled in, but more structured.

I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "Look, would you
like to sit down and talk, I'll buy you a drink."

Whipping her muzzle clean of tears she nodded.

Still rubbing my neck I walked into the bar. Going accost
the room I took a table in the very back. The vixen followed
sitting on the other side of the table from me. As she sat
she pulled out an object from the pocket of the vest she
wore.

As the waitress came by I ordered a small coffee, the vixen
order her usual. The waitress returned in a minute later
with my coffee and two glass for the vixen, one was empty
one was filled with a clear liquid that looked a bit thicker
then water.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you're name."

"Elena."

I nodded, "Well then Elena, basically I want you to come in
and talk to the Mouse, at least tell us what we need to do
to get hir to talk."

Taking a rune-covered crystal flask from her vest she filled
the second glass from it. It was a think dark red liquid
that seemed to cling to the glass.

"It will be, difficult," she said, sipping her drinks.

"I know, but we need it. If there are trading somewhere else
we need to stop it. Or at least try to monitor it so this
doesn't happen again."

"We would be betraying one of the pillars of our society.
You couldn't possibly understand what you're asking me to
do."

I sighed. "I agree, I know not what I ask, but I fear that
this may happen again, and if it was intentional it will.
This time it may not be so lucky to have it confined."

She sipped her drinks again, looking at me. "Freedom."

I blinked, that seemed to be an odd thing to say at this
point in the conversation.

"It's such a simple word.  Most of you don't really think
about it.  Well, we Theriamorphs think about it every day of
our lives."

Theriamorphs, there name for themselves I would suspect, I
made a mental note of it.

She uncovered the object she had taken from her pocket. It
was a simple enameled rectangle of metal with a word painted
on it, the language looked familiar but not something I
knew. On one side four gold pendants dangled from chains of
silver. "Do you see this?" she asked.

I nodded.

"This, this simple piece of metal represents that thing we
hold most dear, our Names."

I ohed, "I think I see."

She glared at me, "We were once slaves, nameless pieces of
property."

I nodded again.

"When we gained our freedom, we swore a most holy oath that
our people would remain forever free.  Do you know that we
don't even imprison our criminals?"

I sighed, "I'll see what I can do then, but that won't be
much unless I have your help."

She laid her ears back slightly, "To cooperate with a Captor
is to call our Freedom worthless, and is one of the greatest
sins that can be committed."

"Even more then the murder of three worlds? More then the
death of billions of lives?"

She nodded, "We are fighting a great War for the continued
existence of us all.  What is the death of three worlds to
that?  If they must be sacrificed to the good of the rest,
then so be it."

I felt my anger starting to raise, I didn't need to get
involved in this. "I don't have time for a philosophical
debate, will you help or won't you?"

"I will, think about it. Come back to this place in four
weeks and if I am here I will do this thing. Not for you, or
your Council, but for my Sister."

"Thank you."

"But know this, if you try to trick me, or sie is harmed in
any way, then by Ruhk's unholy name, you will wish for
death."

Ruhk? that named sounded familiar from some palace, Still
though I nodded. "Acceptable."

She seemed to be a bit startled by this, but took it in
stride. "Before I leave you, I wish to show you something."

"Yes?"

She grinned widely, revealing a set of unnaturally long and
sharp canines. "That promise I made? I'm quite capable of
backing it up."

I smiled back, "Of that I never had a doubt."

She stood up. "Be seeing you Mr. Cutter." Then left, seeming
melting into the crowd with out a trace.

I stood, dropping some money on the table, more worried now
then ever before about all of this.

-----

This story is (c) 1998 by Fox Cutter, hardcopy reprints
limited to one a person, all other rights reserved. This
story may not be distributed for a fee except by permission
of the author, and this copyright notice may not be removed.
Elena is (c) 1998 by Chris Bradford.