by Tom Jones
“Shouldn’t we almost be done by now?” the passenger questioned as he was becoming impatient. The driver still used the drone controller as he replied, “It’d probably go by a bit faster if I didn’t have to hear your sorry ass.” Arcades walked up to the two humans and spoke first, “Hey guys. How’s it going?” The passenger looked towards the fox, but the driver practically ignored Arcades, opting to continue flying the UAV instead. The passenger was rather surprised to see somebody else in the clearing, “Shit. Is this your property?” Arcades shook his head, “No, it’s not. I dunno who owns it, but I guess we’re both here. Are you guys flying a drone?” The driver was the one to reply next, “Yup. We sure are…” The fox asked a question, “Are you guys photographers or something?” The passenger gave the next response, though it was quite falsified, “We’re just flying it for fun.” Arcades raised an eyebrow, “It didn’t sound like you guys were having fun when I came up.” The driver spoke next, and he gave a testimony which was slightly truthful but still falsified, “Maybe he’s having fun annoying the shit out of me. We’re supposed to get photos of the downtown area for our company. I guess they plan on using it for a documentary or something.” The fox looked around the general vicinity, “Downtown’s a bit far from here.” The driver said, “It doesn’t really matter. Our drone can go quite the distance.”
The driver finally looked up from his UAV controller, and his eyes met with Arcades. The human blinked a few times as he examined the black and white red fox who was standing before him. Something about this particular fox seemed strangely familiar to the driver, but he also remembered that a black and white fox was precisely what they were looking for. However, it just did not make sense to the driver. Why would he simply approach them and start a conversation? Did he even know that people were sent to look for him? Why did the Illuminati want this individual in particular in the first place? Is this even the right person to begin with? Then again, how many other black and white red foxes lived in an area populated mostly by humans? Why is this fox out in the middle of this clearing, and why has the other human not done anything about him yet? Why does this fox look so very familiar? The driver’s brain was flooded with a ton of questions that he probably would not get the answers to just quite yet.
“That’s the fucking guy,” the driver said to the passenger. The passenger had forgotten the objective, “What? What do you mean?” The driver pointed to Arcades and spoke with a voice that was a bit excessive, “That’s the damn fox we were supposed to find!” The passenger still was not thinking about the reason they were sent to the town in the first place, “Wait, seriously? Are you sure he’s supposed to be this skinny?” The driver shrugged, “I don’t know. They didn’t fucking tell us.” The passenger was in disbelief, “How do you know this is even the right guy?” The entire time, Arcades was just standing in silence, and his face did not even communicate surprise. If anything, the fox was amazed by how sloppy the humans were doing their job. If everybody in the Foundation was this sloppy, then Arcades had absolutely nothing to worry about. The fox had every opportunity to run away at this point, but he still decided to stick around and see if these two humans were even capable of doing something to apprehend him.
Arcades waited as the two humans continued to argue amongst themselves. The driver was the next to speak, “They told us he was just a black and white red fox, and that’s who’s here.” The passenger shook his head, “And how can you be sure this isn’t just your normal everyday black and red white fox?” The driver’s face contorted, “Black and red white fox? What the fuck? Are you a fucking retarded dumbass, you shithead?” The passenger realized he misspoke, “We get like fucking six hours of sleep. Come on, I’m doing the best I can.” The driver looked away from the UAV controller, “You’re a fucking moron, you retard. What the fuck is a black and red white fox? That isn’t even a fucking thing, dumbass. We’re looking for a white and black red fox.” The passenger noticed another discrepancy, “Which one is it? Are we looking for a black and white red fox, or are we looking for a white and black red fox?” As the argument continued, the fox was surprised by what he was seeing; he could not tell if what he was witnessing was actually unfolding in front of him. The fox had no idea why the Foundation would hire these two people, but Arcades figured that this sort of scenario is what happens when all of the proficient people no longer work for the Foundation.
The passenger pointed at the UAV terminal, “Your drone’s gonna crash, shithead.” The driver quickly looked back at the screen and directed the drone to gain altitude, “Not anymore.” The passenger shook his head and gestured towards the controller, “Yeah, but it would’ve if I didn’t tell you.” The driver took offense, “Listen here, fuckwit: You’re really getting on my fucking nerves out here. Why don’t you shut the fuck up and let me do my fucking job? I don’t need your dumbass fucking with me out here. All we need to do is --” The passenger interrupted his colleague, “Who the fuck are you calling a fuckwit, you imbecilic son of a bitch? You just said that we’re looking for a black and white red fox, and the bitch standing right next to us! Does your retarded ass even know what you’re supposed to be doing?” The driver took his hand off of the drone controller yet again to point at his coworker, “Yeah, and I’m the sorry fuck flying the damn drone.” The passenger continued the argument, “And what is the drone supposed to find out here? Why are we even supposed to fly the drone in the first place?” The driver finally began to put two and two together, “Because we’re supposed to find a black and white red fox?” The passenger nodded and pointed at Arcades, “Yeah? And who the fuck is that right there?” The driver looked up at the fox, “That’s -- uhh… A black and white red fox…”
The passenger looked at the driver, and the driver looked at the passenger as well; they were finally beginning to figure it out. Arcades was trying his best not to break down laughing, for he simply could not believe what he was hearing. The driver looked back at his own hands, and he saw that he was still holding the UAV controller. He then looked over to Arcades, and he finally looked back to the passenger, who was still staring back at him, “What the fuck are you looking at me for? Go get his ass!” The passenger approached the fox and grabbed Arcades’ wrist, and the fox did not even attempt to resist. The human reached into his own pockets, but he found them to be empty, “Ah shit. Dammit.” The passenger walked beside the SUV while still holding the fox’s arm with his left hand, and he actually let go of Arcades entirely as he opened the front passenger door to look inside for the item he neglected to keep on his person. The fox looked to the other human, and he watched as the driver continued to use the drone controller. Both of the humans had their backs turned to Arcades, and the fox knew that he had yet another chance to flee, but he still decided to stay and see what would happen. Maybe the two humans would have another argument that would prove to be equally entertaining compared to the last. In a way, the things which the two humans said reminded Arcades of Bobby Bocchino. The fox was not even scared at all, for he knew that he would have absolutely nothing to fear from people who were this sloppy at their job.
After a search of the vehicle’s interior which took probably longer than it should, the human emerged holding a pair of Smith & Wesson M-100-1 handcuffs. Arcades immediately recognized the restraints when the human pulled them out, and the fox did not have any fear in him. After all, Arcades knew that the specific model he was looking at was practically the bare minimum as far as restraints went: They were cheap enough, used by so many organizations, and there was absolutely nothing special about them. The fox even extended his right arm outwards to offer it for the human, but the passenger was unable to apply the restraints to the fox. Arcades was not even made to face the car, so he was practically watching the human fail over and over to apply the restraints to the fox’s wrist. After a couple more attempts ending in failure, the human finally grunted, “Fuck is this shit? Dammit.” Arcades looked over at the restraints, and he noticed that he could complet
ely see through the slot that was used to double-lock the handcuffs. The fox realized that the human had neglected to undo the double-lock before attempting to apply the restraints. They would not be opening while double-locked.
Though Arcades could have given the human a hint as to what the problem was, he decided to stay silent and see what they had in mind to rectify the issue. The passenger called out to the driver for assistance, “This shit’s not fucking working.” The driver did not bother to look and see what the problem was, “What the fuck are you on about?” The passenger snarled as he shook the restraints in his hand, “This shit, dammit!” The driver still did not actually bother to assist his colleague, so he decided to give even less attention to the human’s many laments and complaints. Though Arcades was carrying a key in his back pocket, he was not ready to present it yet, even though he knew that the human would be unable to proceed without one. Nevertheless, the fox decided to wait and see what the human would do. The passenger shoved the pair of restraints in his pocket, and he went back to the driver yet again and began becoming irritable, “You gonna put that shit down and fucking help me out?” The driver shook his head, “Nope.” The passenger raised his voice again, “Why the fuck are you even flying that thing anymore? We’ve got the damn fox right fucking here, you fucking idiot!”
The driver had just about enough of his colleague, “If you don’t shut your fucking mouth, I’ll shut it for you, asshole.” The passenger did not stop shouting, “Put that fucking thing down and fucking help me get this bitch cuffed up! Bitchass piece of fucking shit!” The driver finally snapped, and he whacked his coworker over the head with the drone controller. The passenger was struck directly in the nose, and he grunted in pain, “Agh! What the fuck are you doing?!” After seeing that his nose was now bleeding, the passenger swung his fist but hit the drone controller which the driver held up to protect himself with. The passenger was not prepared to hit the controller, and his hand was now hurting from throwing the punch, “Shit! Fuck!” Arcades watched as a small brawl ensued between the two humans: The driver used his UAV controller as a weapon, and the passenger was not able to do much but try and defend against the rather violent bludgeoning he was enduring. The fox was still standing beside the SUV, and he found himself speechless. He could not believe that the very people sent to find him were literally in the process of defeating themselves in front of him.
The passenger, having been overpowered by the driver, was now lying on his back, and he was being repeatedly hit in the face over and over with the drone controller. All the while, the driver continued to shout, “You fucking piece of shit! Son of a fucking bitch, you retarded motherfucker! Go fuck yourself, asshole! You fucking motherfucker! Dammit!” The fox was wondering if the human was running out of things to say to his colleague who was looking rather unconscious at this point. Arcades looked at the passenger, and he could see that there was now a small pool of blood accumulating on the ground surrounding the human’s head, and his face was now looking very bloodied and very beaten. Part of the fox wanted to intervene, but at the same time, he was not even sure what he would do if he did step in. After all, the fox was unarmed. Arcades was mainly just waiting for the driver to finish his colleague off, but the fox was not sure what the human would even do once he was done beating up his coworker. Arcades did not even remember the last thing he said to the humans, and most of the argument had nothing to do with the fox’s input.
After a few more blows to the head, the driver finally stopped, and he found himself panting from wearing himself out during his violent attack. The human cleared his throat, stood up, and he examined the blood covering his clothes. He knew that the blood staining his clothes was the blood of another human, and he knew that the human was his coworker who he was supposed to work with to find Arcades in the first place. The driver looked at what was left of the drone controller, and he did not believe it was even capable of flying an unmanned aircraft anymore. The human heard a whirring noise, and he looked upwards to see the DJI Matrice flying overhead only to crash in a bunch of trees past the clearing. With the drone lost and with no feasible way to get it back, the flight was practically over. The driver had a very strange look on his face, and the fox mentally compared it to the thousand-yard stare that one would adopt after enduring a traumatic experience. The human blankly stared at the fox for a long moment, and he said absolutely nothing to the fox. Arcades remained silent as well, and he tried to keep his neutral body expression which he had been doing a rather decent job of keeping thus far.
After a long moment of silence, the driver tossed the bloodied done controller off to the side, and he slowly raised his shaky arm until it was pointing directly at the fox. The human angrily snarled at the fox, “Y-you!” Arcades looked to the left and right before looking back at the human, “What?” The driver straightened his posture, and he stepped off of his injured colleague. The driver’s eye began to twitch, and he pointed back at the fox with a hand that began to uncontrollably shake. The human growled again, “You!” The fox could not understand what the human was trying to convey, “What?” The driver’s eyes bulged out, and it looked as if the human was about to pop a blood vessel. The human finally began to charge the fox, but Arcades was able to perform a quick side step to avoid the path of the human. The driver, without ample time to stop or change his direction, slammed his head directly into the rear window of the Ford Explorer, leaving a large crack on the glass. Arcades looked to his right, and he watched as the human fell backwards and landed on his colleague. The fox then looked back to the glass on the SUV and saw the large area of damage caused by the human ramming his head on the window. Arcades did not know what had happened, but he found that he had somehow evaded capture by doing absolutely nothing at all.
Arcades stood still and looked at the aftermath, but he soon heard someone else coming up to the scene. When the fox looked up, he saw that the noise was coming from Jason. The wolf looked at the two incapaciated humans before looking up at the fox, “Woah. What did you do to them, Kurt? I thought you said you weren’t gonna resist them.” Arcades shrugged, “I didn’t resist them. They did this to themselves.” The wolf looked at the bloodied mess on the ground and said, “Wow -- I would like to know how this all started.” The fox raised his eyebrows, but he could not find the words to say, “Well... Let’s just say that they didn’t really seem to know what they’re supposed to be looking for.” Jason squatted down, and he tried to feel for a pulse on the passenger without getting the blood on his fur. After a few seconds of feeling for a pulse and visually examining the human, Jason delivered his verdict, “I think he’s dead.” Arcades was rather surprised to hear the verdict, “He’s dead? Really?” The wolf looked towards the fox, “Seems so. What did this bogan even get hit with?” The fox pointed to the broken drone controller that was lying on the ground, “It was that thing over there. I think it’s the remote for the UAV that went down in the trees.”
Jason looked over to the trees and said, “Yeah. I brought out the XMP-1 scope so I could try and get a better view from the sport ute. I came when I saw the drone marked ‘ally’ go down.” The fox was surprised to hear the UAV was marked by the scope, “Really? That must mean the Foundation uses the same frequency for their drones. I guess this guy really was with the Foundation.” The wolf looked at the Ford Explorer which the fox was still standing in front of, “Did you bother to check that sport ute yet for anything interesting? These guys seem to be with the Foundation.” Arcades shook his head, “No, I haven’t had a chance to look. I kinda just sat back and watched the little -- fight happen between these guys.” Jason took a sigh of relief, “Well, at least I don’t have to worry about you getting taken away by these guys.” Arcades looked at the two humans practically stacked upon one another, “Too bad it had to go down this way. This could’ve ended with less bloodshed.” Jason shrugged in response, “Kurt, sometimes no matter what you do or don’t do, you just can’t change the outcome.” Arcades frowned as he l
ooked at the humans, “I know. It’s just another thing that sucks.”
The wolf made a suggestion to the fox, “How about we search the four-by-four? Maybe we’ll be able to find something interesting inside. Perhaps we’ll find a place to check out for ourselves after we go and drop off those parts kits.” Arcades nodded in agreement with Jason, “Yeah. If they don’t have anything on them, then we’d still probably have to watch out. These guys were definitely looking for me. I can be all but sure about that.” Jason was not sure why the ordeal which led to the two humans ending up in a bloody mess occurred in the first place, “If they knew you were the guy, then how did we end up here? What was the problem?” Arcades said, “Well, I guess all they knew was that they’re supposed to be looking for a black and white red fox.” Jason was surprised by how rather undescriptive the description was, “Really? That was it?” Arcades looked back down at the two humans, “I mean, unless there was more to it that I’m not aware of, then yeah.” The situation did not make much sense to the wolf, but he still trusted that Arcades was telling the truth. Jason did not have a reason to not believe the fox, “Why do you suppose that happened?” Arcades did not have a definitive answer, “I wouldn’t know. Maybe if we can find an address or something inside of the car, then we’d be able to find out more information. Otherwise, perhaps the Foundation doesn’t really know who they’re supposed to be looking for.”
Since Jason did not have any further objections for the time being, Arcades opened the door of the SUV, and he climbed inside of the passenger seat to begin his search. Jason looked back at the 4Runner, and he spoke to the fox right as he began searching the vehicle, “I’m going to go back to our four-by-four and tell Jackie that we’ve the situation under control.” Arcades quickly nodded back to the wolf, “Sure thing. Are you going to come back here?” Jason replied right before he began to walk off, “Yep. Jackie might even come… However, I’m not so sure if she’d really want to see the two -- bodies here.” Arcades turned to his right, and he was able to see the two bloodied humans sprawled out on the ground mere meters from the Ford Explorer, “It’d probably be best that she wait by the 4Runner. I shouldn’t take long. I don’t think there’s a lot of junk to search through in this car. After all, we’re only interested in seeing who sent these people and where they came from. I don’t plan on taking anything else here.” Jason nodded to the fox and began to walk off to let Jackie know that everything was going to be alright. Even though the wolf trusted the fox, he was still struck in disbelief when he saw the aftermath of the situation. Jason could not see anything happening from his perspective, but he trusted that Arcades was telling him the truth. He did not doubt the fox.
