by Tom Jones
“You’re fucking paranoid Kurt!” Bocchino was still in disbelief. Arcades replied with the same sentence he said earlier, “It’s all on the video, Bobby.” Bocchino quit following the vehicle. It was not because Arcades was moving too fast for him to keep up, it was rather because Bocchino needed to stop and think for a moment. Though the cat did not believe what the fox said about the hotel, he was starting to think that maybe Arcades was telling the truth. Bocchino had learned from an early age not to trust foxes, but he was starting to feel that Arcades had been completely honest with him.
The fox parked the Mustang in the C-17 Globemaster III, and he stepped out of the car. He still had to secure the vehicle inside of the aircraft before they would take off. Arcades was glad that he did not have much to pack up. He decided to keep all of his gear inside of the car until he returned home. Arcades would be able to keep all of his things in one place and not lose anything by taking it out of the car and forgetting to grab it. Bocchino entered the plane, but Thomas was already there helping Arcades secure the vehicle to the plane’s interior. The human greeted the fox with a warmer welcome than what the cat had given, “Welcome back boss, glad to see you made it out in time.” Arcades only nodded as a response. Bocchino assumed that Arcades was not in a talking mood regardless of who wanted to speak with him.
“Delta Charlie One Eight, you are cleared for takeoff on Runway 17. Over,” the air traffic controller spoke to the pilot. The pilot acknowledged, “Roger, this is Delta Charlie One Eight, proceeding with takeoff on Runway 17.” The pilot pushed the throttle of the aircraft to give the engines more throttle, and the plane began to accelerate down the runway. Arcades was sitting in his seat, and he was looking at the other two that had gone on this mission with him. For such a great outcome, he did not bring many people with him. Most of Arcades’ men did not want to come with him since this was not a contract by a third party. Arcades paid Thomas and Bocchino to come with him with his own money. Arcades felt disappointed that many people he knew only worked for the cash rather than working because of the outcome that it would bring. Arcades wondered if humans had an easier time gathering support for their endeavours. He wondered if it was simply the fact that he was a fox.
Arcades did consider asking Jason if he wanted to come on the mission, but he decided against doing so. The fox felt that Jason still needed some time to cool down after what had previously happened the previous day. Arcades did not want to remind himself of that event. He looked at Bocchino, who was staring into the ceiling of the aircraft’s interior. Arcades remembered that Berlin was the last mission where more than a skeleton crew came with him. Part of the reason for this was because Germany had paid Fox Security a generous sum of money for assistance in driving away the NSS. When Arcades thought about the NSS, it reminded him of Syria. He had seen all of the bodies of the humans. Even though the humans held a strong grudge against anthros, they had a very similar grudge against others of their own species. Some humans despised humans that were of a different race. This was nothing new to the Arcades as many anthros disliked foxes in particular.
Arcades was not even sure if he wanted to call the NSS by that name anymore. He heard the two men talking of how it was all made up in order to capture anthros and entice humans to turn on each other. The fox then remembered how all of the chairs in that room were living anthros. Arcades still could not understand how people who worked at the Omega facilities could stomach seeing all of that day in and day out. Arcades thought that maybe they would get used to it. Thinking about the facility reminded him of the small number of guards that he did encounter. Maybe many of them indeed were not able to stomach all of it. The fox shook his head. He did not really want to think about it all. However, Arcades just could not help it. He did watch the two men figure out who he was and where he worked. Arcades had a target on his back, so he now made sure to watch his back.
When Arcades thought about the idea of having a target on his back, he felt that he already had a target on his back metaphorically speaking. For one thing, Jason did attempt to rape merely one day ago. However, Jason was not even the first anthro to attempt this. The informant at Facility Eleven tried to do the exact same time. Arcades only felt more disappointed. He felt that he was all alone in his battle. However, it seemed at that time, Arcades remembered that he was not truly alone. Since he was saved, the fox was accompanied by the Holy Spirit. God was with him, and this made him feel a bit more assured. He did not know what the people in his company felt about God, but he hoped that they believed in Jesus. After all, Jesus is the Truth, the Way, and the Life.
Arcades thought about what he told Jason in the previous days, and he reminded himself that people can always still change. Even though Jason did attempt to rape the fox, Arcades still forgave the wolf. Even though what Jason did was horrific, Arcades still believed that there was hope. Jesus died to forgive all sins: past, present, and future. Arcades was not sure how God could be so rich in mercy, for God sees all the evil that humans and anthros do. The fox knew that he could never be as merciful as God was, no matter how hard he tried. He would have to forgive things that were worse than what Jason attempted.
The fox decided the best thing he should do in the plane would be to read the Bible some more. Arcades did not yet receive his own Bible back from Jason yet, so he brought a different one that he had. Arcades took this Bible with him in his Mustang, but he had taken it out of the vehicle when he parked it back inside of the C-17. Arcades wondered if he inspired Cipher and Pixy to read the Bible. However, Arcades did not know what Omega did to them while they were in Omega’s custody. Arcades could not make up their mind for them, though, for they still had to make the choice for themselves.
Arcades opened to the Book of Acts. He wanted to read more about the early Church’s history. Arcades knew that he would not do anything as great as Paul and the Apostles, but that did not stop him from trying. The fox was not sure how many people believed what he said, but he decided not to think about it too much. He was a fox after all. Foxes only deserve to be shut up and chained up, and Arcades already did this to himself. He felt as if he was doing others a favor by doing so, but at the same time, he did this when nobody else was looking. Would it even be a favor at this point? Or was Arcades taking things too personally? The fox shook his head as he thought about these questions that he was asking himself.
He knew that few understood how he really felt. One reason why he did not typically tell people all of this stuff. It almost always backfired on him. When Johnny had known, he perceived Arcades to be weak, and he assaulted him before leaving the company. When Jason had known, he attempted to rape Arcades. The fox frowned and closed his eyes. Arcades prayed to God while he had his eyes closed. When he finished, he decided that he should just read the Bible. He wondered if God still had something to show him. After all, God never did anything in vain. Arcades began reading from the Book of Acts. He would think about this later. At least Arcades knew that God truly understood him.
Chapter 12
Conference Zero
“Well… Damn…” Bocchino expressed his emotions as he viewed the video. He was reaching the end of the video, and he was watching Arcades flee the complex. Arcades was watching Bocchino from the doorway, and he was listening to the cat’s reaction to the video. Bocchino looked up at the fox, “Is there too much more that’s important? Or is the rest of the video just you running away from those guys?” The fox answered, “It’s just me escaping. You can skip the ending if you want. You’ve already heard everything that they said.”
The cat nodded, “Alright. I guess I have seen enough.” He then paused the video and looked up at Arcades once he finished. The cat stared silently at the fox. Arcades broke the silence, “Do you believe me now?” Bocchino returned with a slow nod of the head. Arcades continued, “You didn’t believe me when I told you what I witnessed back in Denver. I can’t believe it took this much for you to take my word for this.” Bocchino raised an eyebrow,
“Well, shit man. It’s not everyday that you hear someone tell you that they’ve got anthros chained up and being conditioned to be mindless sex slaves.”
Arcades was not satisfied with the cat’s words, “You were the one that saw the anthros in the train for yourself. How could you still not believe me then?” The cat fired back, “Because you’re a fucking fox, DAMMIT!” Arcades’ eyes opened wide. He took a step back almost as if he had been knocked back by the force of using a .50 BMG for the first time. Arcades did not say anything to the cat. Bocchino realized what he said, “Look, Kurt. When I was growing up on the streets, I learned to never trust what foxes say. They were the ones who used to always steal my money.” Arcades shook his head after finding a time to interrupt the cat, “I’m not one of those foxes. You know that!”
“Yeah… Hold on one moment, just let me explain. Alright? There was this one red fox that I knew back when I was… I dunno, nine or ten. I grew up in Massachusetts, and we used to be good friends and all. Then comes the day when I learned that he was just pretending to be my friend in order to fuck me over. That little shit and his cronies ambushed me in an alleyway, and they stole everything that I had. It was right before the day he was supposed to move with his parents to Illinois. I never saw him again, and from that day on, I never trusted any fox. Old habits die hard I guess.” Bocchino finished his story.
Arcades took a step closer to the cat, but he was not getting too close. The fox spoke, “Bobby, you know that I’d never do something like that to you.” The cat nodded, “Yeah… I know. It’s hard for me to trust… Well, anybody. I know I can’t trust humans, and I never did good with trusting anthros. I’ve been fucked over too many times.” Arcades frowned, “You’ve been working with me for years now. What am I doing wrong to you?” Bocchino looked up at the fox from his seat, “Yes, I know I’ve been working with you for awhile and all - but… Kurt, it’s nothing you did or didn’t do. I just don’t trust people.”
Arcades then remembered something important, “You know… You’re actually in the right for not putting your trust in man or anthro. Since we’re all fallen beings, we all are born with hearts that are deceitfully wicked. You should put your trust in God above everything else, but it doesn’t hurt to have a few people that you know that you can trust. However, you should trust God far before you even consider trusting those people.”
The cat shrugged, “Eh… I think you told me that one before. I do know one thing for sure, you made a big mistake trusting that wolf that you brought in from Alaska, Jason.” Arcades raised an eyebrow. He knew what Jason had attempted to do, but the fox was not sure what the cat was trying to tell him. Arcades inquired for more, “What are you talking about?” Bocchino smirked, “Heh, you don’t think I know what happened? Alright, lemme just spell it all out for you. I know what those Omega guys are saying is true.” Arcades was still not entirely sure what Bocchino was getting at, “What do you mean, Bobby?” Bocchino continued, “I already know that you handcuff yourself, and I know that you let Jason do it to you, too.” Arcades’ eyes lit up again. He did not know that Bocchino knew this about him.
“How did you know that?” Arcades asked, but it was too late for him to say something to cover up the facts. Bocchino answered, “Well… Did you ever stop to realize how loud those damn chains are? I can hear you when I walk by your room. At first I wondered what the fuck you were doing in there by yourself. Remember that one day when I needed to ask you a question? I knocked on your door, and you answered with a pair of shackles still locked around your feet. You didn’t think that I wouldn’t notice that or something? It was damn near loud enough when you came to answer the door in the first place. It took me too damn long to figure out that sound was coming from your chains.”
Arcades did not know what to say next, so he let Bocchino continue, “I also knew that Jason was not even in this for your cause. He just wants to shove his fucking dick up your ass. I knew this long before I heard you screaming for him to stop. I’m not one to tell you your business, I’m just here to do my fucking job.” Arcades then quietly asked, “How did you know that about Jason?” The cat shook his head, “Well, he damn sure didn’t do a good job of trying to cover anything up. Sometimes when I go by, I can see him touching himself outside of your room. I’m surprised you didn’t send that bastard out to the curb and tell him to go fuck himself. He’s just causing more things to go to shit.”
Arcades shook his head, “Bobby, everyone deserves a second chance.” The cat was still looking at the fox, “Well, I get that you’re all about forgiving those who do you wrong; However, did you ever notice that they’re not returning you the same feelings?” Arcades thought about Johnny and Jason. The fox asked, “You really think so?” Bocchino nodded, “Yep. Johnny just about wrote you out of his life I bet. He ended up joining CDI, remember? He never cared about you. You were probably the last thing he would ever consider thinking about again. He doesn’t give two shits about you. That’s being plain and simple.”
The fox frowned. His memories brought him back to Hong Kong. Bocchino could see that Arcades was not hiding his emotion of being upset. The cat spoke again, “Look, Kurt. I don’t give two shits if you like to handcuff yourself or not. The problem is that not everybody else feels the same way. Especially with you running a company like this. You do realize how this looks, right?” Arcades remembered what Johnny said to him before leaving back in Hong Kong. The fox knew that Johnny did have a reason for why he did what he did. Arcades reluctantly nodded, “Yes… I know that this doesn’t really look all that good.”
Bocchino chuckled, “Heh, they think you’re a damn freak! I mean, I think you’re a shitfaced motherfucking sonofabitch freak too, I just don’t make as big of a deal about it.” Arcades face went from upset to slightly more so. The fox spoke, “Bobby. Doing that isn’t a sin since it’s not for sexual reasons.” Bocchino raised an eyebrow, “I find that fuckin’ damn well hard to believe.” The fox sighed, “You know, that is the reason why I don’t really like telling this to many people. They think I’m some kind of crazy person or a deviant.” Bocchino sat silent as a result.
After thinking about what to say, the cat spoke next, “I’ll just let that slide for now. My point is, people think you’re weak. I’m not trying to make you feel bad or anything. I’m just telling you why people like Johnny leave. Now granted, I never really talked too much to the guy, but from what I saw of him when you weren’t around, he didn’t really like you too much. Say, how did he figure out about your interests?” Arcades decided to answer the question, “I ended up telling him back in Alaska, and that’s how Jason came to know of it as well. They both were in the same room when I tried to explain it.” The cat took in a deep breath before talking some more, “Kurt. You don’t really think Jason is going to change his ways, do you?”
Arcades answered, “I do believe that he can change; However, I’m not sure if he is going to change his ways.” Bocchino spoke again, “Kurt, I do like how you really show that you care for all of us. What I’m trying to tell is you that many people here could care less about you. Part of that reason is because you are a fox. The other part is because some of the stuff you do makes you look weak in your eyes. There’s just no getting around that.” Arcades sighed again, “Bobby… The thing is, I know already. I know how they feel about me. Most of them would just pack their bags and leave me with no hesitation.”
The cat smiled, “Well, I guess there is a reason I still work for you. At least you don’t treat me like shit. I’m glad to see that you do care about your people, but that’s not really a good thing when you’re running a private security firm.” Arcades smiled back at the cat. The cat spoke with a joking remark, “And you’re the damn motherfucking crazy shitfaced sonofabitch freak I would be going into battle with.” Arcades was still smiling when he said, “Glad to hear it, Bobby.” Bocchino had one other thing to add, “Just don’t expect me to put you in cuffs or anything. That’s not exactly something that I would
want to do to you. Go be a freak by yourself. Leave me out of your shit.”
Arcades decided to accept the cat’s statement. The fox decided it was time to move onto a subject that was more important, “So, you think that we can convince CDI to help us with this footage?” Bocchino nodded before speaking, “Oh yes. I didn’t think you’d be able to get footage at all, but I guess you exceeded my expectations there.” Arcades was not sure if the cat was being sarcastic or literal. He decided to ignore what the cat had said, “You know that we’re being hunted down by the Omega Foundation, I presume.” Bocchino spoke, “Yeah, I think I figured that out from watching the video. We’re in a race against the clock now, I guess. If you killed them, then you could have bought us some time.”
The fox frowned, “Bobby, you know that killing is wrong.” Bocchino chuckled, “Hah… You’re the one running a private security firm, here.” Arcades shook his head, “I just want to obey what God says is right and wrong.” The cat then replied, “You’re in the wrong line of work, man. You could have just stuck working for the government. You had a really good job before you quit to make Fox Security a company, and I mean a really good job. Now, it’s you and about forty people who care fuck all about you. They don’t give you two shits for nothin’.” Arcades was still frowning. He knew that he would have to have to relocate. Bocchino had realized this too, “I bet you this. If you bring all of our guys together, and you tell them that we have to move. They’re all gonna leave you. You are not worth their time. They don’t care about you. Aren’t I the only motherfucker that comes here during the weekends?”
