Pen!" He groaned looking worried and his eyes started darting back and forth as his fur bristled.
I handed him the sketch. "My friend here is looking for this piece. It's a religious item, so the gems don't matter worth a damn. I want to see if the guys who stole it know where it is."
"Who's your friend?" He said looking at Jared for the first time.
"I'm Jared." He said introducing himself. "And I'll pay for the info."
"I don't know, I could get my butt in a sling for this Pen."
"Tell them I held a gun to your head." I purred smiling.
"With Tiberious there and his shotgun?" He motioned to the Tiger who smiled evilly. "Nobody'd believe it!"
I flicked my hand up. The car keys which hand been cupped in my hand hit the Tiger square in the eye. I caught the barrel with my foot in a crescent kick, then rushed in brushing the gun aside. I quickly followed up with a groin and throat combination, and grabbed the shotgun as it discharged. I pulled it free as Tiberious doubled over and collapsed to the floor.
Then I pointed it at Runner.
"Did I mention that I'm much nastier now than I used to be?" I growled. "This is important to a lot of people Runner. And I'm the nicest one in the lot."
"You wouldn't kill me would you Pen?" Runner gasped quivering from nose to tail tip.
"No I wouldn't. But the next guy they send won't have that qualm. He won't be a friend."
"The Stark Street group did it." He said slowly.
"They're still around?" I asked surprised.
"Yes, they got into car theft and 'ave made a good racket of it. They found the statue in a trunk.
"It's a whole new group of people mostly now. Fat Jack still runs it though. A lot of young cubs with something to prove. Watch yourself."
"Sure, Thanks." I worked the action on the shotgun and emptied it.
"Give him a couple of grand" I said to Jared who had watched it all non-plussed.
"Why?"
"Good will."
While he did that I tossed the gun to the young Tiger who was still gasping and holding his crotch.
"Keep further away from the customers kid. At least twenty feet. Or you won't be in this job much longer. And don't put so much faith in guns, some of us wear body armor nowadays."
Then I grabbed Jared and we left.
"Penknife?" He asked as we drove off.
"I used to like to carve my name in things," I said quietly.
"Like trees and stuff?" He laughed.
"No, like people," I growled and looked away for a second so he wouldn't see the expression that passed across my muzzle.
He stopped laughing and looked over at me. "I think I'm glad that you didn't marry my sister after all. How did you end up in espionage anyway?"
"I was always good with alarms and stuff. So my brother and I figured that if I got a good education, we could start ripping off Banks and offices after hours. Then he got shot in a simple gas station robbery. The cops grabbed me the next day, but they couldn't prove much.
"So I got the old, 'Jail or Military' Deal. Because of my education the agency picked me up after basic. But once my time was done they didn't like me walking.
"Now you know. Not pretty is it?"
"Must have killed your folks." Was all he said.
"Wouldn't know, I was two when we were dumped. How my brother managed to keep us both alive I'll never know." I growled bitterly, my tail lashing against the back of the seat in anger.
"Sorry!"
"That's okay." I said relaxing, but it took a second to free my claws from the holes they had dug in the steering wheel. "It still grates though, even after all this time. Until my Brother bought it I didn't even think there was anything wrong with it. Now I know better."
"So where do we go next?" He asked quietly changing the subject.
" Stark Street . Fat Jack should be easy to find"
"Then what?"
"We dicker, that's what."
"Think he still has it?"
"Who knows?" I grinned, my ears perking back up. "But it'll be interesting finding out!"
We cruised down Stark street . There were several auto body shops so I picked one and walked inside. One the third try
I handed him the sketch. "My friend here is looking for this piece. It's a religious item, so the gems don't matter worth a damn. I want to see if the guys who stole it know where it is."
"Who's your friend?" He said looking at Jared for the first time.
"I'm Jared." He said introducing himself. "And I'll pay for the info."
"I don't know, I could get my butt in a sling for this Pen."
"Tell them I held a gun to your head." I purred smiling.
"With Tiberious there and his shotgun?" He motioned to the Tiger who smiled evilly. "Nobody'd believe it!"
I flicked my hand up. The car keys which hand been cupped in my hand hit the Tiger square in the eye. I caught the barrel with my foot in a crescent kick, then rushed in brushing the gun aside. I quickly followed up with a groin and throat combination, and grabbed the shotgun as it discharged. I pulled it free as Tiberious doubled over and collapsed to the floor.
Then I pointed it at Runner.
"Did I mention that I'm much nastier now than I used to be?" I growled. "This is important to a lot of people Runner. And I'm the nicest one in the lot."
"You wouldn't kill me would you Pen?" Runner gasped quivering from nose to tail tip.
"No I wouldn't. But the next guy they send won't have that qualm. He won't be a friend."
"The Stark Street group did it." He said slowly.
"They're still around?" I asked surprised.
"Yes, they got into car theft and 'ave made a good racket of it. They found the statue in a trunk.
"It's a whole new group of people mostly now. Fat Jack still runs it though. A lot of young cubs with something to prove. Watch yourself."
"Sure, Thanks." I worked the action on the shotgun and emptied it.
"Give him a couple of grand" I said to Jared who had watched it all non-plussed.
"Why?"
"Good will."
While he did that I tossed the gun to the young Tiger who was still gasping and holding his crotch.
"Keep further away from the customers kid. At least twenty feet. Or you won't be in this job much longer. And don't put so much faith in guns, some of us wear body armor nowadays."
Then I grabbed Jared and we left.
"Penknife?" He asked as we drove off.
"I used to like to carve my name in things," I said quietly.
"Like trees and stuff?" He laughed.
"No, like people," I growled and looked away for a second so he wouldn't see the expression that passed across my muzzle.
He stopped laughing and looked over at me. "I think I'm glad that you didn't marry my sister after all. How did you end up in espionage anyway?"
"I was always good with alarms and stuff. So my brother and I figured that if I got a good education, we could start ripping off Banks and offices after hours. Then he got shot in a simple gas station robbery. The cops grabbed me the next day, but they couldn't prove much.
"So I got the old, 'Jail or Military' Deal. Because of my education the agency picked me up after basic. But once my time was done they didn't like me walking.
"Now you know. Not pretty is it?"
"Must have killed your folks." Was all he said.
"Wouldn't know, I was two when we were dumped. How my brother managed to keep us both alive I'll never know." I growled bitterly, my tail lashing against the back of the seat in anger.
"Sorry!"
"That's okay." I said relaxing, but it took a second to free my claws from the holes they had dug in the steering wheel. "It still grates though, even after all this time. Until my Brother bought it I didn't even think there was anything wrong with it. Now I know better."
"So where do we go next?" He asked quietly changing the subject.
" Stark Street . Fat Jack should be easy to find"
"Then what?"
"We dicker, that's what."
"Think he still has it?"
"Who knows?" I grinned, my ears perking back up. "But it'll be interesting finding out!"
We cruised down Stark street . There were several auto body shops so I picked one and walked inside. One the third try
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