Like Moths… From The Flame?
“Hmm.” Fox hummed, a bit sarcastic but humorous. “Good kings and benevolent emperors, I presume.”
“Because all presidents in the world are immediately better than any of them when becoming one,” Butler rolled his eyes. Fox and Butler chuckled through their nostrils. Then, Butler shook his head. “The last president, before President Luis Heartez, the District had direct contact with was the subsequent president after the Green Transformation. The world was still riveting in it, but the origin point had forgotten all about it.”
“That sounds shameful,” Fox hung his head a little, feeling his body falling off, but keeping his balance steady on the ledge. Butler didn’t react, but he agreed with his following words. “I know about shame. From the many Butlers throughout history, I am the only one who has shamed the District, even if it isn’t to let the District loathe me, I failed it.”
“… How so?” Fox asked after a small pause in the oldie’s consideration. Butler didn’t seem unready to talk, or he wouldn’t have given this little monster this chance. “There was a person who was beloved in the District. Not so much as someone who leads them, but someone they’d like to support and… follow, like we do to Luis now.”
“I… let someone die, when we knew of the situation.” Butler looked ahead, but his eyes were unfocused. Fox picked up and darted his eyes down to the streets, his lips moving when thinking of something. “Linda Zebel.”
“Ooh…” Butler sighed painfully. He looked down, almost as if his head tumbled. Fox saw this and contemplated before articulating, “Linda Zebel. The current President of the Chamber of Deputies Benito Metelti’s spouse, a woman of Lýmoca’s most importance during the second decade of the century. It is her sudden, ‘accidental’ death what brought the country pain when Preut was just entering its flames of torment and war…”
Butler looked at Fox, who pouted and also stared ahead. “That’s not bad for a kid who doesn’t care nor has much of a scholar’s image.”
“I’ll never be some scholar. I’ll die being the secret fear of hearts in the world. Otherwise, I will be too annoyed to die.” Fox threw off his chin and looked to the side, grimacing the corners of his lips and frowned a little.
“Heh, heh heh!” Butler chuckled. Then, silence befell them as they saw the bustling crowds around the SCJ building slightly diminish. Butler blinked a few time, seemingly thinking of something, and then, Fox spoke again.
“So, who’s Nala to you, Butler?”
“You are not even a Raging Blood, but you’re already facing me off like this? You think you are able, kid?” Butler twisted his eyebrows, facing ‘the kid’, insulted. Fox looked at Butler, all innocent. “I’m just asking! She has mentioned a bit of a connection between you, and it doesn’t come from nowhere. I know nothing of her, only how old she is, and what she is capable of.”
“Hmph,” Butler shook his head, wishing to chide this kid. Fox wasn’t getting a response, and he remembered Nala’s warning, but he couldn’t let go of such an opportunity. “I get her name is Nala, but I know her family name is hers alone. So, what is her past?”
“Has she told you anything?” Butler asked, lifting an eyebrow. Fox shrugged and slightly shook his head, “Just tiny bits from small facts here and there. But she knows everything about me, even the things I feel embarrassed about. And if I ask her, what if she just glares at me?”
“Piss off, kid! Since when are you so worried about a woman, hm? Stop bothering me with that.” Butler grabbed a chunk of Fox’s hair, pulling and jerking a couple of times before letting go. A few strands rapidly flew away around Fox, who narrowed and frowned hard. It hurt.
“I’ll ask again when I become a Raging Blood, then, not even the President will back you if you get cold feet, oldie.” Fox commented, his eyes narrowed a bit, now feeling calm. Butler narrowed his in disgust, “Who do you think you are? The President wouldn’t look at you even if you become the Raging Blood, and stop saying it so casually!”
“Ah, no? I’m pretty sure I’m more important now,” Fox cocked his head and bragged, entering a dangerous terrain. Butler narrowed his eyes more, mimicking the kid’s gesture, “Brat, you’re deluded.”
“You’re the Butler, I am the Chief Secretary of Security. I believe my task of today is more important than just more flowing information of the lagjs in the country.” Fox faced off Butler, this time for real. Butler… pretty much agreed with this. Fox was meant to cleanse the capital of all organized crime. That was indeed something never before seen.
“Up to you kid, count your chickens well if you want. If she wanted to tell you, she should’ve already.” Butler ignored the kid, showing he was the bigger man. Fox leaned back and swung his legs, looking upwards with wide eyes, “Or she is punishing me for being impertinent in the ‘what should have been’ from an earlier date.”
“At least you know your place,” Butler also looked up, when Fox mentioned, “Yes, I know her very well, too.”
“…” - “…”
‘Oh, shit.’ Fox didn’t have time to flee. He didn’t intend to use double-meaning, but his previous words compromised those he just spouted. As soon as he lifted his body, his knees impulsing him directly upwards, he felt a hand on his upper back, just below his nape.
CRRRRKKGGHHH… “Wuaaaah!” Fox felt his body pushed forwards, into an abrupt fall. He rotated his body to the left, rapidly hooking his arm on the ledge, breaking it apart like a hot knife through butter with the concrete gaining a sudden crease. Fox’s left arm swiped down into the ledge, holding onto a metal bar, which he dented, but found it wasn’t necessary.
Fox looked at Butler, who held his hair at the back of his head, keeping his body hovering in the air just below the ledge. Butler’s face was smiling, very powerfully, from ear to ear. His eyes narrowed, and the glint in them was easygoing. “Well? Did I scare you? Hohoho…”
Fox lifted himself back up onto the ledge, facing upwards as his chest didn’t even heave up and down, but a smirk from ear to ear formed on his lips. Butler frowned, “What now?”
“I got a good idea to exterminate them!” Fox smiled, this time feeling unrestrained. Butler lifted an eyebrow and reminded him with a half-stern tone, “The groups are your target, not the people.”
“I can do both,” Fox kept smiling, softly breathing his words out of his mouth in quick succession.
Butler: “…”
. . .
Back at the Blackflower Boutique. Fox was helped through the main floor entrance by Nala, who kept his right arm above her shoulders, and their left and right cheek close, respectively.
“Oh, bo- wwwoooaaaaah!” Fabiola, who was just coming out with her phone’s flashlight on, smiling at Fox and about to hug the shit out of his neck, when she found the famous beauty helping him. Fox and Nala looked at her, wordless.
“Here, let me help you!” Fabiola went for a chair from the storage backrooms and returned quickly. Nala brought him to the chair before facing the cute lass, “Bring me hot chocolate.”
“Eh?” Fabiola tilted her head. Fox smirked big time before saying, “Nothing. There’s no hot chocolate nor machine for it. I never bought one.”
Nala rolled her eyes a bit and grabbed Fabiola’s left arm, muttering as she brought the girl back into the storage backrooms. “If he isn’t supervised, he’ll starve without knowing. Hey, Fabiola right? I’ll work here from time to time. Tomorrow, bring a few hot chocolate machines, choose the old-fashioned styles, and get the chocolate and milk yourself. Heard?”
Fox grinned weakly as he heard them go. He let his body enter meditation by breathing a few times before standing up. He went to the computer room and grabbed a few blueprints as well as a large map of the capital city. All imprinted by the quality instruments.
Fox had to wait for Miros to come tomorrow morning with more information, but the most pressing matter was the capital’s cleansing. Of course, he could just get a detailed map of the capital city as the CSS. But that would have to wait until the next day, with the news of the president’s decree and Fox’s appointment becoming public news as he checked the map.
The blueprints weren’t of buildings or bions, but blank. Fox grabbed a few, thin markers. He glimpsed at the city and reminded himself of what he already knew before looking at other parts, districts and sections, of the city. It was enormous.
His open palm was the size of the section Fox’s boutique’s district was in, not even a tenth of this city map. Fox shook his head, feeling the insane pressure of designing something like this. Now, he wondered what the military camps went through, and what went wrong with their plans, and how bad. Suddenly, Fox wanted to check the details of what happened then.
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But just as Fox became interested, feeling his focus on this drawn like a vacuum when he least expected it, he also recognized the time-consuming effort needed for just the city. Let alone the state, or the rest of the country. That was when Nala returned and tapped his right shoulder, crossing her arms and crouching until her chin touched her knees on his right.
“You’re not doing this alone.” Nala looked at the map as well, frowning a bit. Fox muttered while tracing a few lines in a blank blueprint. “I won’t. Even if I do, I can’t say no to my team leader.”
“Yesh, you can’t.” Nala showed her canines before looking at his drawings. Fox was drawing curving lines, one below or atop the other, and not so much straight, almost crossing each other. Nala grabbed a corner of a part he stopped drawing on as he went to another and asked, “What are these for?”
“Routes,” Fox replied, his eyes focused. His expression had her focus on him immediately, just as she would stare at him before, only she didn’t hide it or shorten it like before. Fox formed those lines at the lower right and left corners, taking about ⅗ of the blueprint.
Fox constantly looked between the map and the blueprint in his hands before looking at Nala, “Let me draw a draft first before we go home, yeah?”
“…” Nala’s eyes shone, focusing on his polycoria eyes distinctively before grabbing one of his hands and bringing it to her mouth. After kissing his backhand and the back of his fingers, she grabbed all the markers and nodded, “Which one first?”
“Powerful green,” Fox softly looked at her. Nala gave him the marker before Fox held the blueprint and tilted his head, staring down at his nonsensical lines. He gave the map another look before drawing without returning his eyes to the blueprint.
Nala’s eyes twinkled after a while. The black, curving lines, deviating and nearly crossing each other, didn’t follow any route in the city, not even aerial. In those routes, as Fox said, there might be many tall buildings and antennas, cables, tall streetlights, transformers, and an open street.
But the green ones, which he drew from the lower centers’ borders left and right sides curving to the center, they follow what could be principal roads and most transited routes of the public.
“Light silver-blue,” Fox extended his open fingers to Nala, who caressed them before putting a mark into them, tracing a smile on his face.
Fox then drew more lines without any pattern. They either circled, zigzagged, randomly changed directions, or just drew dots. There was only 1 difference worth noting: none of the silver-blue colors neared the black lines, which the green had already crossed and followed in some parts.
“You can’t use combat helicopters,” Nala titled her head and commented, wanting to know but not ask. Fox knowingly nodded and hummed after finishing. He looked between the map and his blueprint again while speaking to Nala, “It’s a pity. I’m sure they would be fun to use. But it’s okay. I’ll make notes and I may get to mobilize them in the future.”
“Hmmm, you treat this like a game where you unlock things.” Nala hummed and caressed his arm before supporting her chin on his shoulders and her intertwined fingers. Fox nodded, lightly bumping his head on her forehead, “It’s either that or I will beg the navy to bring their frigates inland.”
Nala grinned. Then, she kissed his neck, hurrying him to finish this shit, “But my baby doesn’t beg. He cannot… What will he do?”
Fox’s engines went full alert, code death and massive destruction were on. Her endearing word made things much worse, but his years of innately not caring for other people helped him pipe down. When he saw her narrowed, hazy gray, light blue eyes, he almost lost it again, though.
“I have dreamed of making my own combat helicopter sometime.” Fox babbled with an idiotic tone, but to Nala, it was ambitious. Still idiotic, but she could feel the steadfastness beneath his words.
“That would still take too long,” Nala commented, breathing on his neck and behind his ear. Fox’s eyes twitched. “I know, that’s why I can only depend on getting in their good side for now. If only I had connections with a metal-industry ringleader in the country.”
“…” Nala looked at his profile side intently yet calmly before kissing his temple. She didn’t need any words. Special agents of the District couldn’t help each other in their ordinary world’s business. She hugged his neck and looked at the blueprint while Fox calculated. “So, what are these for? Reveal to me your plans, Fox.”
“These are the beginning,” Fox pointed at the black lines. “I will have the PSD SAs move towards the organized crime this way, hunting them one by one as we find them. While we do, after every large distance traveled, the army and national guard will cooperate and move behind us covertly. They’ll slowly catch up as we force the bandits north of the city, keeping the streets safe.”
“From the air force, with as many drones and relief choppers I can get to waste gas in the air to force the criminals to move in directions so they cannot set selective or clandestine meetings. We’ll know their moves, and where they are not moving. The PSD will make quick work of them.”
“How long would this take?” Nala frowned. Fox leaned his head on her temple. “The city alone might take a month or 2 to cleanse, ensuring most of the city isn’t crippled because of this.”
“And the state? Just Proteros.” Nala’s frown deepened. Fox calculated. Proteros was one of the smallest states, territory wise. It had only a few cities beside the capital city, while the other smallest states had many more cities overall. Thus, in a way, Proteros was the smallest of them all. However, it was also the densest in the country in population, technology, and nature.
“A year perhaps, a little less with combat choppers.” Fox replied after a few seconds contemplating. Nala looked at him and raised her eyebrows, “You had ideas on this before?”
“An operation? No. A massacre… yes, I did.” Fox looked at Nala and finished his words. Nala nodded, then asked again, “What about the other states?”
“With a successful first operation in the capital, the rest of Lýmoca might take up to 2 years unless the army and air forces expand, so they can send more soldiers and vehicles to aid. Which I think they should,” Fox tilted his head. “It’s their nation’s cleanse, after all.”
“It’s… too slow.” Nala commented, easing her frown at last. Fox looked at her, open for options and all ears. Nala grabbed the black marker and tapped it where Fox commenced the first lines. “You were careful and covert when cleaning your district, using all your capabilities to not be seen and targeted.”
She painted a dot on the tip of his nose, “But that was because you were alone. No matter your aim, a hundred criminals can land many bullets on you if they just see where you are. You’re not alone anymore. Lýmoca’s military forces are with you, but even without the navy, PSD’s special agents are at your command.”
“What are you saying?” Fox inquired on, already onto what Nala was indicating. She looked at him directly, her eyes damn serious. “Don’t be careful and attentive. You can still be, but don’t focus them for these operations. Go after them… make them burn their soles on the streets.”
“…” Fox’s polycoria eyes gently shook. For the first time, he was proactive as he took the marker off her hands and grabbed them instead. He drove his face into hers, tasting her lips and caressing her with his, soft and dedicated.
Fox separated and watched her eyelids slowly open a few seconds later, with her lips and tongue drawing the trails of saliva in between, and her teeth biting them into her cavity. Enjoying the sight, Fox gave her the markers before grabbing another blueprint. Nala looked at him in askance with the markers in her hands.
“Give me timing and speed, you already gave me an idea.” Fox passed the blank blueprint to her, placing it on her crossed legs. She looked at him, eyes fully open and blinking. Fox cupped her face and pecked her lips, “I’m erasing them off the city in one day.”
“…!” Nala’s eyes widened. They were already shrinking when feeling his kisses, but now, they showed her inner commotion. She nodded before looking down at her blank blueprint and then at the city map. She used her knowledge to calculate the streets’ time moving in regular speed while Fox continued drawing his first blueprint. Then, he drew on another, and another…
… 3 hours later, with Fabiola congratulating him for being free again and his ‘promotion’, leaving early on, asking no questions. Fox and Nala exited the boutique. They had drawn a ‘draft’. It had nothing concrete at all, but the basics of every little thinkable thing were there.
Even things like the people’s jobs being calculated and paid for the day, as well as supplies and a strict regulation of the people to remain in their homes, were planned. Pets and environment were also to be attended, but the main factor here was to keep the obvious danger as faraway from the citizens as possible.
Walking into the mega hotel, Fox was like a beacon of the impeding sunrise. Everyone watched him, wondering how long they could stare at him until they looked elsewhere or went blind. There weren’t many people in the streets in the deep of the night, but inside was different.
It was dark and slightly lighted outside, but illuminated brightly and lively inside. The mega hotel had restaurants of high class, indoors pools, good places to have picnics, and cinemas. Fox thought for a while before looking at his woman, who immediately noticed and looked at him.
A few minutes later, they were eating some quick-snack food at a corner, with the lights dimmed and their surroundings silent. People stared at them from time to time, briefly and non-intrusive. They enjoyed their late night meal, with the couple who were on this table moved to a better one.
This was the so-called brand-new Chief Secretary of Security of the nation. Suddenly, they felt like they were feeding and witnessing the holder of so much power he could initiate a civil war, or at least they thought so. Something akin to the times of the AO, where an official could bring chaos and joy to any part of the kingdom or nation.
After their meal, the serious, quiet couple left and boarded an elevator. They went immediately to Fox’s suite, arriving at a lighted place, with a recuperated Teon and sweet Mena watching TV, specifically about a new cabinet role as a ‘CSS’ this, ‘CSS’ that…
“You guys fucking now?” Teon looked at Fox and blinked. Mena nodded, backing her up. Fox could never hurt them, Teon just had to puppy eye him and he’d be conceding in no time. However, looking at the wolf beside the wolf pup, they realized how wrong they were.
“Mena, Teon feels hungry. Bring her down and eat until the morning.” Nala looked at Mena and conveniently convinced the mature one from the two. Mena blinked before pulling Teon away, bringing the puppy out of the wolf den.
After they exited his suite, Fox smiled at Nala. “There’s sound isolation. Additionally…30 people can jump in one half of the living room, and the other half wouldn’t feel it.”
“I know, but I have to mark my territory. Mena knows, too. She’ll bring back your ‘little’ sister soon.” Nala pinched his cheeks a bit. Fox lifted his eyebrows and mimicked her actions. As they employed this unknown mating ritual, the male had enough and carried the female to his bed.
Nala kissed, bit, sucked, and lapped her tongue everywhere around his face and neck, scratching his shoulders, back, and arms while gently tousling his scalp with her nails. Before she knew it, her clothes were off, and she was thrown into a soft mattress. Nala’s eyes widened before she fought him off, ending in a sideways position as they contentedly filled themselves, facing the contrary end of each other’s heads, wolfing on each other…
…