"Oh, is it one of those enforcers? Should I tell them to leave?" Sabrina said, immediately rolling towards the balcony door.
"Please, no," Talon pleaded. "We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves." He walked over and gently opened the door, holding it steady. The conversation below filtered up to them.
"...and someone will be reprimanded for this," a stern female voice said.
"It's really nothing. Other than the disturbance downstairs, this is the only other thing I've found that was out of place," a deep male voice replied.
"Unacceptable is what it is," the woman said again. "You said it was a bird? We will be sure to keep an eye out for them, but... are you sure your officer had no other description?"
"Hey, are they talking about you?" Sabrina whispered. Talon and Kev both glared at her. "Sorry," she mouthed.
The deep male voice continued. "But I still don't understand why Abe was here. When did he show up again?"
"Oh, I am not privy to that sort of thing, dear," the woman's voice replied. "Boys will be boys."
"Well, Madam Cindy, I will say you run a tight ship here," the deep voice said.
Kev knew he had heard that voice before.
"As do you, Romy dear," Cindy replied.
"That's Captain Romulus, if you please."
"Oh, right. I forget you need to keep your boys in line," Cindy said. "Now, is there anything else?"
"No," Romulus said, "but the men on perimeter duty will be reprimanded. They should have been on guard here, not lounging around the pool."
Talon nodded in agreement from the balcony.
"It is such a mystery to me too," Cindy said. "Do you think they flew away, perhaps?"
Talon shook his head, a frown on his beak.
"No, the suspect we are after is a mammal, apparently," Romulus stated. "No bird could carry someone around while flying, and," his voice said sternly, "flying is illegal."
Talon nodded again.
"Are you sure you don't need more time to look around? You know, we pride ourselves in being accommodating to the city," Cindy's voice was smooth as silk.
"And I do apologize for that, Madam Cindy," Romulus said. "It's not like we can be wasting resources like this just for some unknown bird that did nothing but run. But you understand how Maffa is."
"Yes, but he has taken this little feud too far," Cindy said. "If he wants to fight Fang so badly, they should just fight."
"Now, Cindy, you can't be encouraging violence towards a city official."
"It's not violence, it's catharsis."
A roaring laugh boomed from Romulus. "You might be right. But let us get back out front. I will tell the others we have finished the search. Everyone can say we, without a doubt, seriously looked around for the little ghost man. Maffa will have to accept defeat, and we can put this silly thing behind ourselves."
Talon slowly closed the balcony door, the latch clicking softly. Then he walked straight to the couch and fell face-first onto it with a muffled groan.
"That's it? Boring," Sabrina declared. "I thought Fang was gonna go hog-wild on those chumps."
"If Cindy wasn't here, then he probably would have. I have no idea how she kept him calm during this," Kev said.
"Cindy? Isn't she your mommy-in-law?"
"Don't bully Madam Cindy," Talon's voice said, muffled by the couch cushions.
"I guess you could call her that," Kev mused. "I mean, mother-in-law... no, wait..." His mind was completely frazzled. The adrenaline crash was hitting hard, and his thoughts felt like they were short-circuiting.
Sabrina said, "That's still so cute." She rolled herself around Talon on the couch and pulled the apartment door open.
Talon shot up. "Wait, sister! Where are you going?!"
"I've been cooped up in this room all day, brother," Sabrina called over her shoulder. "Can't a girl get some fresh air?"
Talon reached over the back of the couch, trying to grasp the handle of the retreating wheelchair, but he overextended and tumbled over the side, landing in a heap.
"You okay?" Kev said, his movements still feeling sluggish as he checked on the prone eagle.
"She is so..." Talon's voice was muffled by the floor.
Kev stepped around Talon and looked out into the hallway. It looked the same as ever—a sunny, carpeted expanse of windows and doors. To his right, he saw Sabrina disappearing around a corner.
"We should stay put here until we get the all-clear," Talon said, using the couch to help himself stand.
"It looks clear," Kev said, curious about where Sabrina was going. She had gone right past the elevator and towards the front side of the building.
"She can fend for herself," Talon said. "Leave her."
Kev walked down the hallway and peeked around the corner. There was Sabrina, halfway down the long corridor, sitting in front of the double doors that led to the small balcony overlooking the front driveway.
Talon poked his head out of his apartment and sharply looked around before jogging over to Kev. "We don't know if it's safe yet. We should go back."
"HEY!" they heard Sabrina yell, her voice echoing down the hall. "I went poo-poo! Send someone up to help me wipe!"
"Uhhhhhgggggggg." Talon put his hand over his face, utterly mortified.
Kev couldn't help but laugh. What else could he do when he heard someone say something like that?
Kev walked down the hall towards Sabrina, making sure to keep away from the windows. The eaglewoman saw him and waved him and Talon closer.
"Come on, you slowpokes! Shit's going down!" she yelled down the hallway.
"Sister, be quiet," Talon whisper-yelled, trailing Kev.
"Oh, they won't even look up here anymore. The moment they make eye contact, they know I'll ask them to come up," Sabrina giggled. "Now check it out. There's a lion daddy with a salt-and-pepper mane. Oh fuck, that uniform!"
Talon stopped following Kev and groaned again. He sank down against the wall. "I am tired."
"Oh, really?" Kev said with a grin. "No way he's hotter than Fang."
"Oh, whatever," Sabrina said. "More lion-man for me, then." She rolled herself out onto the small balcony.
Kev inched closer, not wanting to be seen, but he couldn't deny he was curious. The lion-man was probably the same one that he and Talon had seen knocking on the front door of the club. Couching a bit, he peeked his head over Sabrina's wheelchair. "Don't worry," she said. "People don't look at cripples. You could be standing and dancing, and they'd avoid looking at me."
"Didn't you say people stared at you in the park?" Kev whispered.
"Yeah, because they're walking by me, and they don't think I could chase them down," she whispered back. "But shut up. Look. There's the DILF."
Kev looked.
Down on the front drive, the chaotic scene from earlier was beginning to unwind. The blue lights on the enforcer cars were off, and a few of the black-and-white vehicles were already beginning to filter out of the parking lot, heading back down the long entrance road. A small group of officers still milled around off towards the customer parking lot, their earlier tension replaced by a more relaxed, end-of-shift posture.
To one side of the grand steps, a small group of Club Fang employees stood together. A few of the daytime cleaners, their uniforms a little rumpled, were clustered with a handful of musicians, their instrument cases clutched in their hands like shields. Standing slightly in front of them, forming a unified front behind Cindy, were some of the club's key figures. Kev recognized Vlad, his white coat a stark slash against the dark suits. Asmodeus stood beside him, his vibrant feathers ruffled, an expression of sheer indignation on his beak. Wanda, the ancient turtle, was there, looking surprisingly solid and unshakeable. Gus stood massive and imposing, his arms crossed over his chest. And next to him, a figure Kev didn't recognize, a vultureman, his bald head and hooked beak giving him a severe look, wearing a bright red chef's uniform.
But the real focus was in the center of the driveway. There was indeed an older lion man. His magnificent, golden mane was streaked with platinum, and the dark blue enforcer uniform, adorned with a formidable array of medals and brass, seemed custom-tailored to his powerful frame. He walked beside Cindy, their paces matched, a picture of professional courtesy. Captain Romulus. His expression was serious but not hostile as he conversed with the serene Madam Cindy. It was a formal, yet strangely intimate, changing of the guard, a moment of resolution after a storm.
"We would like to thank you," Romulus's deep voice was faint, "for cooperating so..."
"Oh my god," Sabrina nearly squealed, her voice a hushed, reverent whisper. "Even his voice is hot. I so call dibs."
"Shhh," Kev whispered back, nudging her chair.
By the time Kev focused again, Gus was passing Cindy a small stack of papers. Cindy handed them along to Romulus and said, "Gus-boy reviewed and signed off on the paperwork. Now, next time, I hope you call so we can be better hosts."
"We will try, but it is so hard to reach you," Romulus said, gesturing vaguely towards the mansion. "Such a strange misfortune, for a Bermuda Triangle to open under your establishment."
"I wouldn't know anything about how it all works," Cindy said, her voice a picture of demure innocence. "Too complicated for this old deer."
"Don't sell yourself short, Madam Cindy," Romulus said, taking her hand. His movements were smooth, practiced. "If you told me you were a jive college girl, I'd believe you." He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.
"Oh, fuck," Sabrina hissed. "Chivalry. He's perfect."
The lion man turned and walked towards the thinning herd of enforcer cars, the final small pack of officers falling into step behind him. As they passed, Gus's gravelly voice rang out. "Is that you, Roberts? And Kalowski? Oh, I haven't seen you boys in ages! Oh, and there's Tomlinson! Tommy-boy, how's that wife doing? Y'all had another on the way, how's that rugrat doing nowadays?"
The enforcers did not stop to acknowledge Gus, but he did not stop either. "Just wanted to warn all you boys," he continued, his voice taking on a harder edge, "the park's been getting pretty dangerous, apparently. Since you lot aren't taking care of it, our nighttime crews have been overseeing things there during the day." Gus laughed loudly. "I hope your families all feel safer knowing that Fang's people are at the park." His voice grew cold. "Because I'll be sure that every security member is informed about what happened today, and who was involved."
"That's enough, Mr. Gus," Cindy's voice was gentle, but carried. "I think they understand."
Kev waddled back inside before standing up fully, his heart still thumping.
"What happened?" Talon asked from his spot sitting against the wall.