"It's over," Kev said. "The enforcers are leaving. Cindy handled them."
"That old deer is Cindy?" Sabrina said, following Kev back into the hallway. "Is she married? Or do I have competition?"
Talon pushed himself to his feet and batted down the cargo pants he was wearing. "If it is over, I want to change."
Kev checked his watch. It was already almost four. "If you're gonna head back to your apartment, I think I'm gonna head back to mine too."
"What?!" Sabrina squawked. "Entertain me, human! It's so boring here!"
Kev grinned and said, "You should've come to the pool with us earlier." The trio began walking back down the hall. "You could've talked to Kaiote."
"Oh, my girl!" Sabrina said. "Why didn't you come get me? I bet she would've let me go use her computer."
"It was before noon," Talon stated dryly.
"You know I was awake!"
"I asked you, and you said to get out of the apartment."
"Don't you know anything about women, brother?!"
"I only see a human and a hellion."
Sabrina went back into their apartment, still muttering about needing to be told when people were doing things that she found interesting. Kev grinned at Talon. "You can just swing by at the normal time. I'm gonna go lay down for a bit."
"I think I will do the same," Talon said and gave Kev a quick nod before following his sister into the apartment.
"Sister, how did you move the couch?" Kev could hear Talon ask as the door closed.
The walk down the hallway to his own apartment seemed longer than usual. Kev's body ached. His arm throbbed from whacking it against a shelf in the basement, his back hurt from straining to lift the pool table, and his neck was stiff from being slammed into the balcony by Talon. Even though they got away, he wouldn't call it a clean getaway. The escape was pure luck and Talon's athleticism.
Barry had thought Talon was a little guy, but the way he pushed that pool table was no joke. Even if Kev had been a bodybuilder, he doubted he could have slid that massive oaken table across the room in one shot. If Barry was even stronger than that... Kev shuddered. He was glad he hadn't been captured and had never really had to run.
His thoughts trailed off. He heard muffled shouting as he reached his apartment door. He looked up and down the hallway, considering if he should just escape into his room. If it was an enforcer who hadn't gotten the heads-up to leave, it could be dangerous. And if it was just some employees blowing off steam after the raid, he'd feel bad for interrupting.
Kev frowned as another thought crossed his mind. Who else would even be up on the second floor right now? It's just me, Talon, and... Kev began walking down the hallway towards Fang's apartment.
As he reached the top of the grand staircase, he heard the shouts more clearly. They were coming from Fang's office. Kev hadn't been in there since early in his first week. Although he passed it multiple times a day, the imposing double doors at the top of the grand staircase were usually closed. Now, however, one was ever-so-slightly ajar, allowing the muffled shouting to escape.
Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and, after a moment, slowly pushed it open.
The moment the door cracked, the shouts crystallized.
"Let me go this instant!" Fang's howl echoed through the room and made Kev flinch.
"Shhhh, just relax," Horns' voice cooed, a bizarrely gentle sound amidst the chaos.
"I'm going to pluck their teeth out and make them eat them!" Fang roared.
Kev pushed the door open a bit more and poked his head in. The room was a mess. Papers were strewn everywhere, covering the rich mahogany desk and the deep crimson rug in a chaotic blizzard of white. One of the plush leather armchairs had been torn, its stuffing spilling out, and it was pushed over on its side. Books had been pulled from the shelves and lay splayed on the floor, their spines broken. A heavy curtain rod had been wrenched from the window, the thick velvet drapes now pooling on the floor in a heap.
There, in the middle of the office, was Horns. He was wearing a white button-down shirt with a sleeve torn completely off and a pair of pajama pants covered with smiling, cartoon maple leaves. He was using one massive arm to hold down Fang, who was on his stomach, pinned to the middle of the desk. Kev could barely appreciate Fang's fine, blue-and-white silk night garments because the wolfman was thrashing wildly, his legs kicking, his arms straining, trying to find purchase enough to overpower the moose pinning him. His claws had gouged deep scratches into the polished surface of the desk, and a low, guttural snarl ripped from his throat, a sound of pure, unrestrained fury.
"I'll pluck out their fur and make them roll in glass!" Fang bellowed.
"That's not very nice," Horns said gently. "Shhh now."
"They're going to learn to never mess with me!" Fang's nails were gouging the table. "I'll make them carve my name into their own chests!"
Kev was frozen. What was Fang saying? It wasn't like him. It was... violent, needlessly so. Kev knew the wolf's emotions must be running high, but this was nearly comically evil. He cleared his throat, trying to get their attention. He needed to try and help Horns calm him down.
"I'm going to fill the pool with sharks and toss them in!"
"Fang, that's not a saltwater pool."
"Fine!" Fang howled. "I'll just toss them off the roof!"
"Uh, Fang?" Kev said meekly.
"Get me the brands from the west wing!"
"Come on, Fang, those are for customers."
"AWOOOOOO!" Fang howled in anger. "I'll pay for new ones!"
"Fang..." Kev said again, his voice a little stronger.
"Let me go! Let me go right now!" Fang had given up trying to push himself up and just flailed his arms and legs against the unmoving moose.
"Come on, Fang, just relax. It's gonna be okay."
"If I find out they touched any of my people, I'm going to make sure that even future generations hear about—"
"FANG!" Kev yelled, cutting off whatever crazy thing the wolf was going to say next.
Fang and Horns both froze, slowly looking over at Kev as if they were caught doing something really naughty.
"Are you okay?" Kev said, stepping into the office and closing the door behind him. He knew it was a bit of a dumb question at the moment, but he was still in a bit of shock from Fang's proclamations.
Horns looked between Fang and Kev. "I've been worse," he rumbled. "Managed to pin him in record time."
"Record time, you say?" Kev's gaze swept over the destroyed office again. "I heard some yelling and I wanted to make sure, uh..." Kev's voice trailed off as he gazed at Fang. The wolfman had gone slack, laying there on his stomach with his head turned, staring at Kev intensely before squeezing his eyes shut tightly, a pained expression on his face.
"So, what's going on out there?" Horns asked.
"It's over," Kev said, his eyes still fixed on Fang. "The last enforcers were on their way out after talking with Cindy."
"Oh, that's great news," Horns sighed in relief. "Hey Fang, you're not going to run after them if I let you go, right?"
"No. Please let me up now, Horns," Fang said, his voice muffled by the desk. "I'm feeling much better now."
Horns slowly released Fang, moving his hand away cautiously as if the wolf might suddenly bolt. Fang swung his legs off the desk, a bit ungracefully, and stood, facing away from Kev.
Horns pulled a joint from his shirt pocket and patted at his pajama pants. "Oh, damn. You got a light on you?"
Kev passed Horns his pack of matches. "Seems like you need it."
"Where'd your lighter go?" Horns asked while striking a match.
"Sabrina," Kev said.
"Ahh," Horns said knowingly.
Kev walked past Horns and reached for Fang's shoulder. "Fang, are you okay?" he asked softly.
Fang quickly turned and pulled Kev close, his voice a raw, desperate whisper against Kev's hair. "I thought they would take you from me."
Kev melted into Fang's embrace. He felt the stress and anxieties that plagued him in this world vanish. He didn't care if Fang said crazy things. He didn't care if he took advice from a Machiavellian head of housekeeping. He didn't care if he ran a brothel for bored, rich trust-fund kids. What was wrong with any of those things now, in this world where they could make a law against flying, a person's own inherent bodily function? Was Fang truly bad? He had sold Pedro, but at least he had his own reasons. What reason could a city, or even a continent, have for making someone's very nature illegal?
"I was scared," Kev said.
"Horns, get Cindy," Fang commanded, his voice muffled in Kev's hair. "It's going to be opening time soon."
"Oh, don't say that," Horns groaned, shuffling towards the door.
"Wait." Horns and Fang both looked at Kev. "It's not even five yet. This can be dealt with during work hours."
"What?" Fang growled, looking down at Kev.
"Yeah, what?" Horns echoed.
Kev pulled his keys from his pocket and tossed them at Horns. "Tell Cindy Fang's okay. You can shower and relax in my apartment until it's time to work."
Horns caught the keys. "Fang?" he questioned, looking at the wolfman.
"You should go back to your apartment too," Fang said, putting a hand to Kev's cheek. "I need to go and talk with Cindy."
"No. You should lie down."
"What are you doing?" Fang growled, though it lacked any real heat.
Kev, still hugging Fang, began to shuffle him towards the couch. "I'm tired too. Let's lie down."
"But... Cindy... I... the club..." Fang sputtered, but he found himself unable to physically resist the human.
"Horns, thanks for taking care of him till now," Kev said.
Horns could only nod as he watched, his jaw sagging, as the tiny human manhandled the wolf he had just had to wrangle like his life depended on it. He slowly turned and walked out of the office, clicking the door shut behind him.
"Enforcers... the VIP dinner... security..." Fang was just rambling things now as Kev guided him down onto the couch.
"Fang, are you okay?" Kev asked, his voice soft.
Fang pulled Kev down onto the couch with him, spooning the human against his body, his head nuzzling into the back of Kev's neck. "I am now," he murmured, his voice a low, contented rumble.