Danger Money

by John Van Stry

  "You sound like an underground political pamphlet!" I warned.

  "It doesn't hurt to want to be equal." She said seriously.

  "I don't know," I said troubled. "It's a Human's world and I really don't want to get involved in their politics. Their Corporate games are lousy enough as it is."

  "That's your government controlled education speaking. They feed all the young ones a lot of propaganda in those courses. If my Mom had sent me to the Government schools like the law said, I'd probably feel the same way."

  "Why didn't she?" I asked curious.

  "Couldn't afford it, and found a loophole to keep from getting stiffed with the expense. That's all." she said nonchalantly.

  "Hi, Sil! Who's your friend? And what are you two drinking tonight?" Said the Otter waitress coming over to our table.

  "Oh, hi Beth! This is Jo, and I guess I'll have a beer." Sil smiled.

  "I'll have a beer too," and I nodded over at one of the nearer tables, "And whatever they're smoking as well." I grinned

  "Sure no prob, you too Sil?" She looked back at her.

  "Yeah, why not. He's paying!" And we both laughed at that.

  I watched her swish back across the room, "Another friend?" I asked smiling back at Sil.

  "Oh, I work here on occasions too. So everybody knows me."

  "They all seem to like you as well," I observed. "You do pretty well for yourself considering you have to do it alone."

  "Doesn't everybody have to?"

  "You know what I mean," I grumbled, "You weren't sponsored or raised by a Corp. You've done most of your growing up on your own, but you're going places, have a lot of friends, and seem happy most of the time."

  "Nothing beats a positive attitude." She stated matter of factly, "That was the one thing my Mom taught me before she had to go, and I have to admit she was right."

  "I'll have to remember that," I laughed.

  We continued to make small talk, but shifted our attention to the stage. Our waitress returned with our orders, and we talked about the Wolf on stage as we started to relax. He was an interesting fellow all right, his poetry was kind of strange, but interesting too.

  When he left the stage a small band of musicians took it, and started playing Fusion after that. I had heard that there were Animan musicians, but this was the first time I had ever seen any. They were pretty good too, even if they were self taught, which I suspected.

  We continued to talk and I ordered us some food. I found out about where she was hoping to go to school. And where she wanted to go, if she could have afforded Doctor's training.

  "The worst part about it," she admitted, "is that I applied just out of curiosity and was actually accepted! True it's an Animan school, and there aren't any Human students at it. But it has an all Human staff! It's where all the local Companies send their people for training." she sounded pretty forlorn over that.

  "How much does it cost anyway?" I was curious myself, my training had run a small fortune.

  "A quarter of a mil," she sighed dejected. "I could never get that much cash even illegally. But I can afford the Nurse Medic school. That's only seventy five thou."

  "You've got seventy five thou?" I asked surprised, that was quite a bit of money to earn from working in bars!

  "Not really," She admitted shyly. "I've got about twenty saved, and no, I didn't earn it all at the Bars. Some of the local's have chipped in, and I've done a few things I'm not proud of. So don't ask!" She warned looking cross for a second. She softened then and went on, "but I think I can get a loan backed by one of the smaller local hospitals. It'll mean working for them to pay it back, but I should be free in clear in ten or fifteen years."

  "That's not too bad."

  "I don't know, I hate the idea of being tied to a company so long."

  "It's not that bad, believe me." I said smiling

  "You've never known anything else, I have."

  That hurt! "Ouch!" I said.

  "Sorry, but it's true. I don't want to give up my freedom. But I know I can't survive like this forever. I want more than just a hidden apartment under a building and waiting tables, or worse, for the rest of my life." she mumbled into the table.

  "Hey there's nothing wrong with that," I reached over and put my hand under her muzzle, lifting her chin until our eyes met. "Everything has a price in life, and even they have to pay," I nodded towards one of the Humans in the bar.

  "You know, you're making them nervous," She grinned.

  "Who?"

  "That guy over there with that Coyote. Every time you nod or motion at him he jumps. I think he's afraid of you!"

  "Hell, most people are. At least the ones I work with!" I grinned nastily, and flagged down the waitress.

  "Yes Jo?" she asked coming by.

  "Another round for us, and buy that couple over there a round or two on me. Tell them I'm sorry if I gave them something to worry about!"

  "Why would they think that?" She looked crossly at me.

  "Oh, he keeps nodding at them every time he makes a point about Humans," laughed Sil. "Tell the poor guy he doesn't mean anything by it. Okay Beth?"

  "Sure Sil, no problem. He's a new customer, wouldn't do to scare him away!"

  She swished off again, and a few minutes later delivered a round to them, and then came over to give us ours.

  "He said thanks, and wanted to know if you two were trying to pick them up."

  I looked at Sil confused. She laughed at my expression.

  "Those doors over there lead to private rooms. A lot of groups use them if you know what I mean!"

  "Oh," I thought a minute then gave her a dirty smile. "So you want to?"

  "Sure, why not? It'll be fun!"

  Ah, the impertinence of youth! So we got up and went over to our new friends. He was Reg, she was Shirley and they were very interested. So after a little small talk we adjourned to a very comfortable private room with a very large bed.

  It was interesting, and fun. The part that made it most interesting was that he was Human. I'd never been in any kind of situation with a human that wasn't work based before and that of course led to some interesting discoveries, and comparisons. For all that I had killed dozens of them, I sure didn't know much about them really when it came down to it.

  But I was starting to learn.

  6

  The next day Sil took me to another play, and showed me a few more sights of the city. At dinner that night, one of Sil's friends mentioned to her that a couple of wolves had been asking around about her.

  "Ah, that'd be Shotoon and Rieselle!" I snickered.

  "The two wolves who were with you in the bar?" Sil replied.

  "Yep, I bet Azelett's asking around too!"

  "Why are they looking for you? I thought they were mad at you?" She asked curious.

  "It's their necks if I should skip, or get tagged." I smiled evilly at the thought. They'd be getting worried about now, tomorrow they'd be frantic! This would teach them not to ...

  I stopped and thought about that, not to what?

  "What's wrong Jo?" Sil asked looking at me concerned.

  "Will anyone tell where you live?" I asked.

  "Nobody knows, so no, I don't think anyone will tell," she smiled. "Why, is there a problem?"

  "Not really, I just don't run into them yet. Let's go out of town, I want to get away from it all for a while."

  "Sure, I know a few spots I've always wanted to check out," she started.

  "Fine, just as long as it's nothing too extravagant, okay?"

  "Oh, it won't be! Don't worry." and she winked.

  I knew I was in trouble.

  The next day we caught an airbus and headed outside of the city. Sil refused to say anything, just had me pack a small bag with some of the things she had helped me buy. I watched as the ground below gave way to suburbs, the suburbs to forest and the forest turned into mountains. The airbus finally landed in a small town and Sil lead me down the street.

  "Just where are
we going anyway?" I asked trying to figure out what was going on.

  "Just wait a second!" She laughed, "You really don't like surprises, do you?"

  "No," I grumbled, "It's against my nature."

  "Well just hold on a few moments more, okay?"

  I nodded sullenly and kept trying to guess as we turned the corner and she walked up to a sign that said 'River Rafting Tour.'

  "You're kidding!" I said surprised.

  "Nope! It's a two day trip, and we're both going!"

  "You've always wanted to go river rafting?" I asked surprised. It was after all, kind of strange in my book.

  "You bet! I hardly ever can afford to get away from the city, and when I do, it's nothing as nice as this!"

  "Well, I have been spending way too much time indoors myself," I said thinking about the base on the Moon.

  "Fine," she smiled. "Then pay the man!" and pointed to the ticket booth laughing.

  I anted up and we joined the group. There were twelve in the group including ourselves and we were split three ways. There'd be five in each raft, one guide plus two couples. They drove us to the launching point, gave us a 20 minute course on what to do, then set out.

  I enjoyed it tremendously, so did Sil. We camped out under the open sky that night, the whole group sharing a big campfire. It was interesting to hear what the other couples did. Most were crewmembers from the many different ships that were in port. Fortunately none were from the one I was traveling on. When asked what I did, I just said security. It was more or less true anyway, I was just on the other side of the trade. Sil was nervous, so I just said she was in med school. That got a positive response, and Sil was even more embarrassed.

  "Why'd you tell them that?" She asked me quietly later.

  "Well, you are aren't you?"

  "Nurse training isn't really med school. You told them I was going to be a doctor!" She said accusingly.

  "We'll don't you want to be?" I asked surprised.

  "Yes of course, but I'm not going to be, so don't lie about it. It hurts," she finished quietly.

  "I'm sorry, but it did feel kind of good there a minute didn't it?"

  "Yes, it did. They actually looked up to me! Me, a young fox still in school, and they though it was great." She snuggled up against me in the sleeping bag. "Too bad it'll never happen."

  "Whatever happened to positive thought?" I asked smiling.

  "Don't tease," she grumped.

  "Sorry," I said quietly, then did my best to take her mind off it.

  The next day Sil was a little subdued, I think I knew why, so I let her have a little breathing room that morning. This leg of the trip was a lot more scenic and less active then the day before, with a two hour stop for lunch. We walked around and enjoyed the scenery, and did our best to avoid those couples who were trying to become part of it.

  We finished the trip by sunset, and were back at her place by midnight.

  "So what do you want to do tomorrow?" she asked as we climbed wearily into bed.

  "As it's my last day here, I have something special planned," I told her.

  "Oh? How could that be?" she raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "You don't know anybody here, and I haven't seen you making any arrangements."

  "Trust me!" I smiled, "It's a surprise."

  "I don't know if I should be happy or scared," She laughed, "after seeing the few surprised you've dealt out so far!"

  "There's an old Chinese curse that goes: 'May you live an interesting life'. Well, it definitely applies to me. Never a dull moment.

  "You know I had a good time today, actually I've had a good time the last five. Thanks for everything, okay?"

  "Hey, you paid for it," She grinned across the pillow.

  "Still, you didn't have too. I appreciate it, I've been so cooped up these last years that I've begun to lose touch with the real world. I've been living in a combination fantasy and nightmare."

  "Oh, and I changed that?" she laughed.

  "This whole trip has changed that," I said quietly, "and you most definitely helped." I reached over then and pulled her close.

  Later that night I lay awake and thought about my life. I came to a few startling conclusions, ones that I wasn't too happy with either. Taking the time to reflect had shown me that I didn't much care for the image in the mirror. My friends were right, I was getting out of control. But in my line of work, what else could I do? I lived in an artificial environment, and I don't just mean the pressurized underground 'palace' they stuck me in. The job I did, the people who surrounded me, the things they told me. Rieselle had been trying to show me that last time, now Shotoon and Azelett were trying as well. Maybe they really were my friends, maybe I should listen more to what they said. Maybe I should tell them the truth.

  I slept very poorly that night.

  The next morning we went out to the showers as usual, got breakfast, then I led her off to the bank. I had made sure we were both well dressed that day, and when I came back into the lobby I was carrying a briefcase.

  "What's in there?" She asked as we left the bank.

  "Uh, uh, uh!" I chided, "No peeking!" Then I got a taxi and I handed him our destination on a piece of paper.

  I could see that Sil was dying of curiosity, literally trying to climb out of her skin. When we stopped she looked out the window and caught her breath.

  "That's the med school!" She gasped.

  "Right, come on."

  "But I can't ..." she started.

  "Sure you can," I replied and dragged her out by the wrist. I headed up to admissions and walked up to the secretary at the desk. He was a fairly young squirrel, and looked up startled at my request.

  "But you can't see the director of admissions sir!" He protested, you don't have an appointment!"

  "Jo, maybe we better leave," Sil whispered in my ear.

  "Hush," I told her quietly. Then I turned back to the Squirrel, "Excuse me a moment," and I put the brief case on the desk and opened it a crack. I took out a bill and handed it to him. He looked at it and his eyes widened.

  "You were saying?" I asked politely

  "It's the door at the end of the hallway." he gasped quietly staring at the bill.

  "Thank you," I smiled and gathered up Sil and my briefcase.

  "What'd you give him?" She said petrified, "A twenty?"

  "Hell no," I laughed. "A hundred!"

  "What!" She gasped again.

  I have to admit I was enjoying this terribly. I always liked shocking the hell out of people, and I wasn't even having to hurt anyone.

  "Don't worry, just let me do all the talking. You said you were already accepted, so this should be easy." I reached the door and knocked.

  "Come in," came from inside. We entered.

  "Hello, I'm the director of admissions here. What is so important that you must see me personally?" She asked impatiently. She was an older Human, and no doubt didn't care to waste time dealing with Animen personally.

  "I'm sorry mamm, I'll make this quick, I can see that your time is valuable." I started off smoothly. "I wish to enroll this Fox in your medical program. Full payment up front, including food, lodging and all incidentals that a student would face."

  "I'm sorry, but we only take students who have completed our acceptance procedure," she stated flatly.

  I motioned to Sil for her ID bracelet. "If you check this against your computer you will find that my fellow employee has passed your requirements and been found acceptable to this fine institution."

  She looked a little flustered but checked it anyway.

  "I see you're right, Mister ...?" She looked up questioningly.

  "Good," I continued ignoring the question. "I would like to enroll her today then."

  "But the quarter has already started, she could never catch up!" she was being stern again. "The soonest she could start would be in two months."

  I picked up the briefcase and opened it, taking out the one bundle I had already taken a bill out of. I then turned it aroun
d to face her. I was rewarded by a surprised expression, which she quickly got under control.

  "There is three hundred and ten thousand there. I believe that should not only cover all expenses mentioned, but hire a tutor for the next two months to make sure that she is fully up to speed by the next quarter.

  "Correct?" I finished and looked at Sil, she looked like she would faint.

  "Yes, I believe that is correct. What company do you represent Sir?"

  "I'm not at liberty to disclose that information. That is why my employer sent me instead of coming themselves." I could see that worried her a little. "It seems they are about to diversify, and don't want their competitors finding out," I whispered conspiratorially. I could see she bought that hook, line, and sinker!

  "I see no problems then at all Sir," she smiled.

  "Fine then." I smiled back, careful to not show too many teeth, smiling at Humans always called for restraint. "I'll need a receipt for all that of course," I indicated the money on the table. "But this is for you giving us some of your undoubtedly busy time," and I handed her the small stack of bills.

  "Oh I couldn't possibly accept this," She protested, but not that strongly I noticed.

  "Please, my boss insisted, he always rewards people that help him." I could see that hit the spot and she quickly pocketed the money. She probably figured there'd be another one when Sil graduated.

  "Thank you, one moment while I call the Bursar."

  It took a few minutes, they had a guard come down and take the money. After counting it of course, and made a receipt out to Sil, which I took.

  "Well Silestri," She said looking at Sil. "Welcome to Med school. If you go outside to my assistant, he'll get the ball rolling and get you started. You're in for a long day, the first of many I trust."

  "Thank you mamm," Sil whispered, and I led her out of the room.

  "Unn, Jotun, I really don't know what to say!" She was still in a daze, ears twitching back and forth confused.

  "Thank you wouldn't hurt," I laughed.

  "Why of course Thank You!" She said and threw her arms around me, giving me a hug that was more like a death grip. "But why? Why are you spending all this money on me?"

  "Because I sure can't use it, and don't need it," I smiled and hugged her back, then gently pried her arms off. "Anyway, I've done a lot of bad things in my life, maybe this'll pay a few of them back."