REDEMPTION

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 14
Allies
 

Marcelo Delgado had seen his share of difficulties during his tenure as Director of the Adirondack Branch of the Furmankind Institute. Years of experience had taught him to take things in stride with a certain flexibility and resilience when challenges arose. By far, one of the most irritating challenges now burst through his office door.

“Why are you holding my people captive?” Victoria Skarbek inquired in a shrill voice, her eyes narrowed while her face reddened in indignation and anger. “I demand you release them at once!”

With the utmost calm, Marcelo folded his hands together and set them on the desk as his dark eyes locked with the woman’s. Without the slightest twitch, bolstered not only by the knowledge that he was the one with power and authority in this situation, not to mention the presence of the two Furs behind him, Jack Baines who had settled his astonishing mass on the Director’s couch, and the woman that stood behind the door with her eyebrows raised in surprise at Victoria’s entrance, Marcelo replied with a single word delivered in a tone of voice that was as solid and cold as iron.

“No.”

The woman was taken aback. No one had told her no in a very, very long time. Most men knew better. “How dare yo-”

“Quiet!” Marcelo barked, the delivery and volume of a level that would have done a military drill sergeant proud. “You were accepted here as a guest, but your actions, particularly the instructions that you gave your people, the use of unauthorized recording devices and the violence perpetrated by one of your own people has shown that our trust in you was rather misplaced. Your people have all been placed under arrest in accordance with Furmanitarian Laws.”

As the woman began to work herself up to a heated denial, Jack pulled a bucket around from the side of the couch. Inside, still dripping with water, were nearly a hundred of the bugs that the woman’s crew had been dropping everywhere they could.

“Not only do I have my own recordings, of which I am authorized to obtain by law, I have proof of you instructing individuals in your employ to disperse these devices, I have your own words ordering employees to ‘get some dirt on these mongrel half-breed abominations,’ by any means necessary.” The Director continued to glare at the woman. “I also have the sworn statement by one Robert Uriel Knowels attesting to you directly ordering certain underlings to foment dissension amongst my clientele here at the Institute, illegal entry into the living quarters of unsuspecting parties, and directions to seduce, coerce or steal classified information from AHCP staff.”

Victoria was unaware that Marcelo’s time around individuals that were the ultimate blending of human and predator had taught him to assert his dominance by eye contact alone and found that despite his calm demeanor she couldn’t continue to look him in the eyes. Especially when all of what he said was true. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she countered weakly as she looked to the carpeting on the floor.

“I think you do, you bitter old hag,” Jack said from where he half reclined on the couch sipping on a vanilla ice cream float. “You ain’t nothing but a man hatin’ bitter old busy-body and can’t stand to see no one makin’ their way alright in the world. More so if’n they got danglies.”

As Victoria wheeled around to lay into the large man that had just insulted her, her eyes fell upon the other individual in the room that was hidden by the door. She was an attractive woman in her late thirties and dressed in a no-nonsense business suit of black with teal blouse, her black hair cut shoulder length in a simple style.

“I’m not so sure Mister Baines opinions are too off the mark, but that really isn’t my concern. The fact that you’ve maliciously and flagrantly flaunted not only the law, but willingly violated the contract that you agreed to for being allowed access to the Institute and Furs to generate a false impression of what transpires here, thereby putting said Furs in danger, that is my concern,” the woman said. “And after the events in the recent years, it’s my job to take things like you’ve done and conspired to engage in very seriously.”

“Who are you?” Victoria Skarbek demanded imperiously, standing straighter to look down her nose at the other woman.

“Oh,” the woman said with a smile. “I forgot to introduce myself.” The smile fell from her face to be replaced by a look that was cold and hard as ice as the woman brushed her jacket back to reveal a badge attached to her belt. “I’m Annie Carter, the U.S. Marshal assigned to the Furmankind Institute and ensure that their rights and wellbeing are protected.” When Victoria blanched, her mouth working up and down silently, Marshal Carter shook her head. “I don’t think they’ll allow you to continue your show from Leavenworth,” she said, indicating the most notable maximum security Federal penitentiary in the country.

The others watched as Annie read Victoria her rights and put a pair of cuffs on her wrists, having to raise her voice to be heard over the television host’s increasingly vocal protestations. When Victoria began to thrash around as the ramifications of what was happening became clear the Marshal used a standard tactic to quiet prisoners.

“Ma’am,” Annie said coldly, her hand tight on the chain between the cuffs and pulling up high enough so that it put an uncomfortable strain on the other woman’s arms. “If you don’t settle down, I will be forced to either Tazer you, use pepper spray, or both. Now, are you going to behave?”

Mustering every possible ounce of dignity she could, Victoria straightened and nodded silently. She let out a breath of relief as the pressure on her arms was lessened and fixed everyone in the room with a look of purest hatred and malice.

“That’s a good girl,” Annie said in a condescending tone. “Marcelo, my office already has all the pertinent information. If you could inform Mister Knowels I’ll be back later this week to take his statement, it would be appreciated. You’ll let me know if there’s anything else we can do?”

The Director smiled. “You can count on it, Annie. And thanks.”

The Marshal smiled warmly. “Hey, it’s the least I can do. Maybe when I come back out you can take me to that little steakhouse in town that looks out over the lake. Unless the chef in the cafeteria is doing that salmon dish again.” She led Victoria from the office. “I think I should get a medal for this. And just so you know, you have the worst talk show ever.”

 ***

“We are very appreciative of the help that you have given,” Sofiya told Jack as he sat with her and Richard in their now shared room in the Educational Wing.

“It weren’t nothin’,” the huge man said with a sheepish grin. “I owe Richard a lot.” Jack ran a hand through his long brown hair. “Shucks, I owe Richard my life. Anything I can ever help him with, well, he’s got it.”

The red fox vixen looked first at the man then the silver fox next to her. “His life?”

Richard shrugged. “I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

“Because it ain’t you that owes someone big time,” Jack countered. He turned to Sofiya, and earnest look on his face and his normally jovial expression gone. “Richard ain’t told you what we used to do or ‘bout our past, did he?” When the vixen shook her head no, Jack gave the other Vulps a sharp look. “That ain’t right, brother. She deserves to know your story, just like you know hers.”

“It…it just never seemed to be the right time,” Richard countered, his voice lacking conviction.

“Never does, man.” Jack set his soda aside and took a deep breath. “I wasn’t always this slim and sexy, mind you,” he said with a grin. “Ol’ Richard and I went to school together, so yeah, I know all about his family. His dad wanted him to go to Yale or Harvard, or some other Ivy League school, but that wasn’t what Rick here wanted to do.

“Our last year of high school, Richard got the idea in his head that he wanted to be a Marine. Needless to say when his ol’ man found out, there was more than a wee bit of yellin’ and the like, and next thing he knows, he’s outta his dad’s house and on his own. My family always thought the world of Rick, so he was more than welcome with us and he camped out in our guest room until shipping off for Parris Island.

“Well, I couldn’t let my best friend go and become a jarhead without me, so I signed up as well. I don’t think I’d have made it through boot if it weren’t for Rick. My parents came down to the Island for graduation and took us out to dinner to celebrate, and the next day, Rick and I headed off to our unit.

“Those four years were nuts, I tell you. If there was a bad place, we got sent there. We saw things that no one should see, and you know the stuff I’m talking about ‘cause you seen the same things. When the time came and we signed our release papers, we kinda went our own ways. I’d always been into computers and ham radio and electronics, so I took my money for college and studied everything I could and been doing that ever since.

“The food thing was a way of dealing with some of the residual trauma, or at least that’s what I been told by the head doctors. Personally I think it’s just ‘cause I like to eat.

“Rick? He just up and vanished for a few years. It wasn’t until later that I learned he just started traveling. His first stop was Europe. From there he got this idea to go on some kinda spiritual quest and headed to Asia by way of parts of Africa.”

Sofiya had taken the silver fox’s paw-like hand in hers and gave his fingers a squeeze to show affection and support but remained silent.

“I think it was to show myself that the parts of the world that we saw in the Corps weren’t just the only thing out there,” Richard said quietly.

“Can’t say I blame you, brother,” Jack said. “I had my own thing going with electronics and stuff. Anyway, one day I get a message from Rick saying he’s in Alaska. Seems he found what he wanted to do working with the wildlife department out there and acting as a wilderness guide.”

Sofiya cocked her head to the side and looked at the silver fox. “Why did you leave?”

“There wasn’t a whole lot of reason for me to stay when the woods I lived near got cut down and the river was dammed for some oil company to put up another refinery. That and I was told that I had to leave my house because of ‘imminent domain’. I got a payout for maybe a tenth of what I shelled out for the land, but that wasn’t the worse part. Everything I built with my own hands was gone, so after indulging in self-pity for about a month and drinking myself into stupidity, I figured I’d sign up for the Furmankind program and go to a world where the chances were pretty good that would never happen again.” Richard gave the vixen a squeeze. “Best idea I ever had because if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have met you.”

Jack watched the two gaze lovingly at each other for several long moments before clearing his throat uncomfortably. “So let me ask ya’ll this; Are you happy bein’ Furs? I mean, really happy?”

“I am,” Richard said without hesitation. “I truly am.”

Sofiya nodded. “I was not caring for people when I joined. Now I have a new people that I can care about. And someone I can love and know he is feeling the same for me,” she said with a warm look for the silver fox. “It is as my Poppa said, we will find our better new word, or we will build it.”

Jack simply nodded, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

 ***

Robert Knowels was released from the Hospital Wing three days after Victoria Skarbek’s arrest. As he made his way around the Furmankind Institute, many of the Furs treated him with warmth and friendship. This confused the young man until he asked Charlotte, who hadn’t let him out of her sight since his release.

“Do you not understand?” the vixen asked the human with a merry twinkle in her citrine eyes. “You did all of us a great favor to help us, and when discovered, instead of protecting yourself, you continued to stand up for us, even though you got hurt for it. Many of us wish there were more like you and feel that we are indebted to you.”

“But…but I was just doing what I felt was the right thing to do!” Robert protested through still swollen lips and looking at the Fur with only one good eye.

Charlotte gingerly wrapped her arms around the young man and placed her nose under his ear and gave him a teasing lick on the sensitive skin of his neck. “That is what all heroes say.”

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.