Rainblade-Ryalors Private Zann's Alley/Backyard Boys Will Be Boys

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

It didn’t escape Lorcan’s notice – more due to curiosity than suspicion – that Falun had failed to disclose anything about the work this Family was part of. The todd had never been one to put much stock in the mysteries of the universe nor the beauty of coincidence, but for all the fact he had been arrested on his first full day in the city it seemed he had rather landed on his paws with finding this fox. As was often the case with him his grudge hadn’t held; the temper he’d felt at being drawn into the chaos was swiftly headed to a burgeoning intrigue.

Stretching out his still-aching back, Lorcan pulled a face as he nodded. “Well they didn’t make the best first impression,” he grumbled, “hittin’ first askin’ questions later. Suppose that’s what a little power does to a beast. Politics aren’t my area either, if you couldn’t guess. I got t’ ask, though: how’ll it manage not to be political once you’ve got control of an area? Doesn’t that just make you the new beast with a badge, minus the badge?”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun gave a small shrug at the question, not seeming to take offense at all. "Simple - I don't play politics none. It's a business transaction, that's all. I keep crime managed in my area, make sure it's focused elsewhere an' the businesses that pay in get protection. Ain' no reason t' be involvin' the Fogeys. My sister's even workin' on a tax management program, 'elp small businesses in our areas keep more in 'eir pockets an' send less t' the crown. Sure, MinoComm migh' not be 'appy, but if 'ey come knockin', it only takes a few auditors turnin' up in th' 'Arbor fer 'em t' get th' message to leave the workin' folk alone."

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

It was clear by Lorcan’s expression that he wasn’t much taken by the answer, or at least that he could not see how business and politics could remain separate. It niggled in his brain that the word protection was used, a slow inkling of what was being implied beginning to grow, though he was not quite there yet.

A certain pensiveness then settled on his muzzle at the mention of MinoComm and bodies. Where War had been the province of his mother, Commerce had been the Ministry of his father. He wondered what the reaction would be if Falun knew. It unsettled him: he liked this todd, but the picture being painted was very rapidly beginning to feel like a warning. Not that he’d ever listened much, but…

“Right, right, I see,” he said in the lively neutral tones of one who absolutely does not see. “…You’ll have t’ forgive me, this is all a bit new,” Lorcan chuckled. “I mean, I visited cities a pawful’ve times growing up, but I’m from an island village. The politics an’ legal parts – and the size of it all-…there’s layers on layers here. Suppose I’m a little out of my depth.”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun waved his paw dismissively, laying back down on his bunk. "It's fine," he commented. "Takes some gettin' used to, I'm sure. It's all a little complicated. All y' need t' know is them jackboots out there are jus' a gang of a differen' stripe, one that don' play near as nice as I do. Y' stick around 'ere long enough, ye'll see it. Watch 'em when 'ey think no one's lookin', an' ye'll see they're even dirtier 'n I am."

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

As the two todds in the cells talked, a bit of a commotion could be heard in the Trenches station, growing louder as it came closer to the detention area. A large, fire-orange fox with green eyes, his leather jacket and pants, quite a bit drunk, was plaintively pleading with a much smaller, visibly angry silver fox Sergeant, along with the two rat constables who restrained him. The conversation was quite heated.

“Listen-listen! She did not tell me she was your wife-”

“You could have seen the ring on her paw!”

“She took it off! I swear! She came on to me!”

“You just sleep with any vixen who gives you attention then? What kind of moral reprobate are you?”

“Well...I mean...no, she sort of had…”

“Sort of had what?”

“I mean, she wanted coin, saying she did not have enough to feed her kits, and was willing to give out certain rewards for a donati-”

“Are you implying that I am poor too, you bastard?!”

“No! No, not at all good sir, I am saying she sort of gave off the impression that she was a lady of the n-”

A loud THWACK could be hard down the hallway, the sound of a paw striking a beast's face.

“First you sleep with my wife, then you call me poor, then you have the audacity to say she seems like she is a cocette?”

Finally, now, the group came into vision as they approached the cell where Lorcan and Falun were.

“Well, technically, she does not seem like one, she actually is given that-”

-THWACK-

“You are going to rot in a cell until I can find something to charge you with! Adultery! Interfering with the duties of a Fogey!”

“That is not-”

“Neither was what you did to my wife!”

Managing to turn himself around in a display of strength, the large todd suddenly burst forth, giving the smaller todd a hug. For a moment, the Fogey Sergeant and the two constables were speechless.

“I’m sorry, brother, genuinely. If you could see it in your heart to forgive me, maybe I can help testify at the divorce, you should be able to-”

-THWACK- -THWACK-THWACK-

The blows of the truncheons rained down upon the todd until he released the superior Fogey, who snarled at him as he shoved him up against the bars of the cell, then put the manacles on the large todd himself, then motioned for Falun and Lorcan to get away from the door. Then, nodding at his two rat underlings, he directed them to throw the big fox face-first into the dirty cell. He flew forward, narrowly avoiding having his head strike the wall by landing in the small pile of dirty straw given for the detainees to sleep in.

“What I do with MY WIFE is MY BUSINESS! IN ALL MATTERS!” The irate Sergeant reiterated, before storming off with his two constables.

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

It was better, he supposed, that someone shady was so understanding – even if he did realise all too late how vulnerable it had made him to blurt how little he understood. Squaring his shoulders as though he could correct such vulnerability with physical presence, Lorcan’s gaze flicked briefly to the bars as though he really was about to witness something.

The inference was hanging on the air; one the was hardly about to ignore as he lowered his brows, glancing sidelong at the older fox. “So with yourself…Just how dirty are you talking?”

His curiosity, it seemed would have to wait: a flurry of activity burst onto the scene filled with colourful curses and cheeky rebuttals. Arms folded, Lorcan stayed where he was, bemusement written on his face as he listened to the bizarre argument spilling into the corridors. When the strange todd was roughly manhandled into the cell he stared for all of two seconds before looking back to Falun. “One of yours?”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun sat up, listening in interest at the travails of the newcomer to their cell. He chuckled at Lorcan's question. "Nah, none a' mine woul' be stupid enough t' touch a Fogey's wife. Knew a guy wot made that mistake once, turned out 'twas a honey trap. Last I 'eard, he was down t' three years left on 'is sentence an' he was back on solid foods." He jerked his chin at the newcomer, inquiring, "You run up tha' much of a tab at the 'ouses that yer goin' fer streetwalkers now?"

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

Alwyn unceremoniously drew himself up out of the strawpit into a sitting position, pain shooting through the multiple struck areas of his body as he did so. In retrospect, letting himself get caught and not trying to fight off the Fogeys with his broadsword may have been a very bad idea. He was not the best swordsman the Guard had, but damned if he could not have taken them, at least enough to run away, but he had not wanted to risk seriously hurting loyal Imperial beasts for simply doing their jobs, and the more beasts you added to a fight when you were outnumbered, the harder it was to disable all of them without that. Great Kitsune forbid he actually ended up seriously hurting or even killing one of them. He knew his mother and father were completely amoral and without any real guiding principles except self-interest, and while he was not a saint by any means, he still prided himself in being better than them at least.

As he sat up he took in the two other todds who were in the cell with him. Both were rather large as he was, although the darker-furred one seemed to have an inch or two on both of them. It must not have been easy for the Fogeys to bring them in, surely. The golden-furred one, who seemed older and more experienced, spoke first, mentioning something about his associates not being dumb enough to mess with a Fogey’s wife. Alwyn sheepishly looked up at him as he pulled bits of straw out of his headfur, shaking his head.

“She did not exactly advertise that particular fact, but rather her other...qualities…” He coughed, glancing at one, than the other, and then finally back to Falun. “But I must admit, ‘tis wiser to go the route you suggest, and coin has been more worrisome of late.” He sighed, straightening his head, trying to will the pain from going anyway.

“You can tell what they brought me in on, but what did they get you gentlebeasts? You together or did they collar you separately?”

He paused, shaking his head apologetically.

“Where are my manners? Name’s Alwyn, by the way. 'Course I did not give them that. If they want to find out who I am, they will have to work for it."

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

It took a good few seconds for Lorcan to cotton on, brows which had been lowered in bemusement raising in mild surprise. Though he could see little sense in what the todd had been up to, he was eloquent enough and seemed in good spirits: he’d take that over a miserable sod any day. Even if he was stuck in here until Kinza found him, it seemed as though the company, whilst potentially dangerous, wasn’t going to be all bad.

The concept of refusing to offer a surname hadn’t occurred to Lorcan, and he was grateful that he hadn’t yet been asked: he could use that insight. “Well met, Alwyn,” his eyes glittered with mirth. “Well…as well as can be expected. My name’s Lorcan.”

He cast Falun a glance before continuing. “As for what we were up to, I think our friend here’s the one who got into the most trouble, today, but I’ll let him explain. I just happened to get dragged into it by accident. Suppose I should have known that there’d be all sorts in a city like this, eh?”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun chuckled at the newcomer's admission of foolishness, but didn't rub it in. As Falun himself had demonstrated, there were always learning experiences to be had in Bully Harbor. He grimaced a bit at Lorcan's reference to what had landed him in his current predicament. "We got in a bit a' trouble o'er a rooftop chase," the golden fox allowed. "I 'ad a disagreement wiv' a business associate a' mine, an' it turns out 'e'd paid the Fogeys fer protection, so I wound up runnin'. My new friend Lorcan 'ere jus' 'appened t' be on my path an' got roped in." It was a vast oversimplification of events, but this new beast didn't need the whole story.

Falun looked over the newcomer, a gleam in his eyes as he assessed Alwyn's attire. Despite being down on his luck, the fox was highly fashionable. "Y' wouldn' have anyone on th' outside comin' t' pay yer fines or bail, would ya?" he remarked.

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

Alwyn nodded gratefully at Lorcan, then listened to the story of the golden fox, but also noted that he did not give up his name. That was fine, he did not need names for what he planned to do. He shook his head at the question of whether or not someone was coming to bail him out or not. He could call upon his family connections and get not only himself, but the other two released, but he was far too proud to do that. He had to have some dignity. Plus his mother was...well...unhinged.

“Aye, I could, but if my mother found out...she’s a bit...batty...and I would never live this down. However…” He smiled, pulling one paw out from the beneath the straw, and opening it to reveal a set of keys swiped from the Fogey Sergeant when he hugged him. “...this has not been my first run-in with the Fogeys. I do not intend to spent any moment here longer than I have to. Do you boys?”

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

Lorcan managed an empathic pout at the mention of a batty mother, but made no further mention on it: as green as he was in a city, he knew better than to disclose everything on a first meeting. In fact, he rather decided to keep his mouth shut for now and simply let these other todds lead the conversation, see what could be gleaned from them. The less said the better.

That was the intention, at least. When Alwyn produced a set of keys his ears flicked forward, curiosity and caution written on his face. Between Falun’s more dangerous line of work and Alwyn’s cheeky charisma, he was fast feeling too well-behaved and boring: there was no chance, for his own ego, he could let them go and not follow even if it felt like a risky move.

“Uh-” at once Lorcan had to fight his own hesitation. “-I mean if you’ve ideas beyond just opening the cells. Got enough of a drubbin’ during the first arrest: what’d the plan be?”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun leaped to his footpaws at the sight of the keys, his eagerness to escape immediate. Still, Lorcan, fresh-faced though he was, made a good point. "The lad's righ'," he allowed. "Fogeys aren't gonna let us jus' walk out. Especially na' you," he added to Alwyn. "Even three of us, unarmed, aren' gonna be able to fight our way out, an' 'sides, that'll get the kinda heat on us 'at's hard t' hide from. Plus, I'm sure ya two 'ave items in evidence ya don' wanna ditch. So..." He looked over Lorcan appraisingly. "Yer a bit gangly, bu' if we jump the righ' officer, we migh' be able t' 'ave ya impersonate one, grab our stuff, an' walk us straight out the door."

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

Alwyn listened to both Lorcan and the unnamed golden fox patiently before he offered up his suggestion, a bit of a fusion between the two, and one that, hopefully, would not see any blood shed at the end of the day.

“Our golden-furred friend is right, while I am confident we could make a good showing if it came to blows, we cannot take on an entire station ourselves, and, furthermore, if it goes to violence and one of them ends up getting seriously injured or Empress forbid killed...the Fogeys for all their faults tend to take care of their own and I don’t fancy a hanging.”

He paused, leaning back and concealing a wince from all the bruises and welts he now had on his body.

“Best thing to do is to wait for the shift change in the evening, most of those who took us in will have gone home by then, or out drinking, and ‘tis normally more of a skeleton crew at night. We go out, carefully, nick an officer’s uniform, get what we need out of evidence, and then walk out the door, no harm, no foul. Has to be done pretty quickly though-the Sergeant stays a bit later, but he has to hand off the keys to the new one, and he’ll realize one of them is missing and go looking for it. Hopefully, we do not run into him.”

He paused, putting a paw up to his chin.

“We will have about a twenty minute window, maybe thirty if we are lucky to pull it off.”

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

Dark eyes flicked between the duo as he calculated the risk and reward. It being his first full day, he supposed it made sense: Lorcan’s face would be little-known to the guard to arouse suspicion, and with the added uniform he could likely make for a passable officer. Alright, so he wasn’t exactly trained, but he had a sour enough face and could move quickly enough.

“Twenty should be enough,” he mused, “we only need to get from here to the evidence chests and out the door, aye? If we snag a guard quickly enough we could be out in no time.” His brush twitched, looking to the window of the cell. “…The shift change is a little ways off, though, isn’t it? Suppose that gives some time to practice. You two able to give me good directions to the evidence so's I look like I know what I'm doing?”

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun nodded, sitting down on the edge of his bunk and trying to gesture out the layout of the station as best he could. "Righ', so, there's us 'ere in the pens, righ'? Outside is a hallway, leads t' th' back door out ta the yards, an' to the armory, though 'at's kept locked near all th' time, so we ain' gettin' in 'ere. Nex' t' th' armory door, though, is th' evidence room. This is kept locked, 'ey got a officer tucked away in 'ere wot checks in an' out any evidence. Yer gonna 'ave t' sign fer checkin' out our stuff, an' make sure yer paw ain' shakin' none, alrigh'?" he directed at Lorcan. "Th' trick ta somethin' like 'is is ta look like ya belong. If ya look nervous, it'll raise suspicion."

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

@Falun Furotazzi @Lorcan Rainclaw

Alwyn leaned back, taking in both the bigger fox around his age, and the golden-furred one who seemed a bit his senior, patiently listening to the both of them, which helped him to ignore the pain flaring through his body from the beating he had received. He was glad it was still some time until shift change, he would need it to recover, although he would be feeling this for days, possibly weeks. This is what he got for looking for a cheap deal outside of a proper establishment-cheap out, get the lights beaten out of you, apparently. Was this experience truly worth it in the end?

He smiled inwardly.

Yes, yes it was.

Clearly, the golden-furred fox was some kind of criminal or possibly former Fogey to have such a detailed knowledge of this particular precinct’s layout-Alwyn had served time with the Fogeys so had a general idea of how they were laid out, but this fellow seemed to have prior experience and associations. That in and of itself did not bother him-he was not here for any serious crimes today, so it was not like he was helping a murderer to escape, or, at least one who was brought in on those charges. It was also not his job, generally speaking, as both an anointed Knight and a member of the Stoatorian Guard-only when serious disruptions of public order and true threats arose was he required to do anything. Let the Fogeys and the Minister of Justice worry about what happened here today.

Still, it generally checks out from what I know, if from the opposite side of the cell.

He nodded at Lorcan.

“Our friend here is right about both the layout and the demeanor. You want to look like you ‘fit in’, walk with a confident posture, look like this is just routine for you. If questioned, we will have to come up with a suitable name. Now, the officer in charge of the evidence locker won’t know everybeast, but he does have a list to check it against for people assigned to this station. That means you have to be from another district, one that cares enough about sending somebeast here. It’d help if your original...dispute...with the shopkeeper was from out of this area, and you are just being held until you are transferred. Was it from Zann’s Alley or Backyard?”

Alwyn glanced hopefully at the golden-furred todd. If it was, that would make things much, much easier. Fogeys from the IRA and Zann’s tended to care more about cross-district investigation, if only because the beasts who lived in both areas had both the wealth and influence to make them to do so.
​

 

[Falun Furotazzi]

Falun scratched at his cheek at he tried to remember. "Technically the Yard," he recalled. "Since the las' redistrictin' a' the precincts, the Slups side a' Market Street 'tween Zann's Alley an' the Square are part a' the Yard Precinct now - can' recall which number it is, 'ough."

 

[Lorcan Rainclaw]

In silence Lorcan absorbed the information, retaining the directions as best he could. Falun was correct in that confidence would be key, and whilst the headstrong todd had full assurance in his own ability to keep a level head it was the detail that was necessary to pull off the deception. Dissembling wasn’t his forte, but he’d learned enough from his parents to assure himself that he could blag at least one conversation.

…for the most part. He blinked slowly as Alwyn described the districts, almost immediately lost in his ignorance of the city’s systems and general layout.

“…Right” he mumbled. “Just tell me what to say and I’ll say it. How’s about that I’m from the Yard, sent by…whoever an officer might be there, could make that up an’ all…come to take you back to the Yard for the formal paperworks now you’ve been detained here for initial keepin’? That way they think I’m here to transfer you and we can just walk out all easy?” He rubbed the back of his neck, managing a laugh. “Didn’t think it would be so complicated, getting back out of trouble. I can do confident, though, don’t worry – even if the uniform doesn’t quite fit right, I can look serious enough.”

 

[Alwyn Ryalor]

Alwyn thought for a moment at Falun’s response, then nodded encouragingly.

“Seventeen, Precinct Seventeen. For various reasons I have had make a mental map of each precinct, but now that I know in general, that should be good enough for our ‘officer’ here.” He said, gesturing at Lorcan, before the big todd with slightly darker fur than his own spoke.

He listened patiently as Lorcan aired his concerns, remained silent for a bit, then spoke up once more.

“The daily commanding officer should be Squad Captain Smashapaw, a big marten, noted for his...well...his mother’s instinct in giving him that particular name. Not known for being gentle to the criminals in his district. Sector Commander’s name is Cloudtail just in case they quiz you, but, they won’t ask you too many questions about ‘em, for a lower level crime like this, he likely would not even know about it. If they do, he’s just got a white tail and coat, and is a fox. ‘Course my information on the most up-to-date arrangements there aren’t...perfect, but they rarely change up those two ranks unless one dies.”

Which he hoped was not the case as he spoke, if they did, they were going to have to “improvise”, and hard.

Glancing at Lorcan, he continued.

“You know much about Zann’s Backyard? If not…” he jerked his head towards Falun “this one can tell you, also, about the shop and the owner he had a disagreement with. Might not be asked...depends how much of a pain the officer in charge of the evidence room is going to be.”

Pausing once me, he laughed.

“Aye, once you get stuck in sometime in the Harbor...very hard to get unstuck, very hard.”