Archive of Our Own ^beta

David woke me up right on time, supper just finishing up as he did. I ate, grabbed a shower, of course he joined me in it and for the half hour we were in there, I was able to forget the events of earlier. But soon enough I was off, on my way to work, and it was all I could think about. The walk to work was mostly uneventful.

Getting to the staff room, I found my coworkers. Garret and Lana, chattering away about something I couldn’t be bothered to listen into, Ben sulking in the corner, Tomas lecturing him. When I walked in, Lana turned to face me and said something to Garret before the little chimp came bounding over, smiling.

“Hey Mister Big, why the frown?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

I shook my head, trying to push past her, only to be stopped by her hand on my arm. Not for lack of trying; she stopped me in my tracks, holding me in place despite my pulling against it. She looked me dead in the eyes, and I swore her gaze was burning into me. Garret padded up beside her and looked me over, curious.

“Ryder, it’s not good to bottle up.” he said softly, those intimidating eyes of his looking as soft and gentle as avian down. I felt my resolve waver. I could tell them what happened, but would they understand? They worked for Kaleb too. How could I be sure they weren’t on more than one payroll? How could I be sure they wouldn’t report back to him, tell him everything?

How could I trust anyone whose checks were signed with his name?

But...I could trust David, couldn’t I? I knew I could. He worked for Kaleb but he was entirely disconnected from everything besides the cafe. Maybe they were the same, front-facing employees, no different than David. I saw the break room security camera in the corner of my eye and sighed.

“Sorry guys, just a long week. Some troubles in th’day-to-day, s’all.” I said. It wasn’t wholly a lie. Lana’s grip softened, and then she let go. She gave me an apologetic smile and then hugged me. I was hesitant, but did eventually hug back, before she let go.

She smiled up at me and shook her head. “Listen, don’t go burning the candle at both ends. You have enough going on here, so anything that’s stressing you out there, cut it out, ‘kay?”

I laughed a little. What would she think if I told her that things out there stressing me were directly connected to this place? Garret clapped me on the back and gestured towards Tomas. “When he’s done reminding Ben how thin the thread of his job is, check in with him. He was asking if anyone knew when you would get here, I think he wants to talk to you.”

I nodded, and headed for the coffee machine, filling a mug and sipping from it while listening to Tomas lecture Ben. Apparently Ben had slipped up, botched something. It seemed standard for him, half-assing his job. From the work we’d done together, I’d picked up his slack almost every time. Likely why I was put with him every time in the last week or two, their hardest worker with their laziest, at least it guaranteed the job would get done right.

When they finished up, Tomas turned just as I approached. “Trayson, you’re here, good. Follow me.”

I should have expected him to get right to it. He led me down the hallways, heading for Kaleb’s office again. This time however, he stopped us halfway, then looked around. I did the same, curious, but couldn’t tell what was going on. He settled his eyes on me and his expression changed completely, no longer the serious, ever-annoyed man I’d gotten used to.

He looked softer. Like he was sorry for me.

“Trayson, you shouldn’t have gotten wrapped up in this. I don’t know what he’s got on you. But whatever it is, you should have run when you still had the chance. Ferus is a big country, you should have picked a nice, quiet little town and taken your boyfriend there, permanently.”

His words carried concern and anger in equal parts, and despite my size, I had never felt so small in my life. Tomas’ eyes never shook, never wavered, even a little. It was unsettling how focused he was on me. I stared, swallowing hard.

“Sir, with-” He cut me off, baring his teeth and hissing, a low sound that shook my nerves.

“Don’t ‘Sir’ me right now, Trayson, this isn’t a supervisor talking to a worker, this is me talking to you!” He hissed. I shrank back, nodding.

“What do you know?” I asked.

He stared at me a moment. “I know how to pick someone off, quick and clean, from three miles away in the middle of a hurricane, Trayson.”

I looked at him in disbelief, studying his expression for any sign of a lie. I couldn’t find a single one. He let out a huff, leaning back against the wall and looking at me hard. “What does Kaleb have on you?” He asked. I swallowed hard, looking around for any sign of cameras. “Don’t bother, Trayson. I checked soon as we stopped. Not a single lens here, you’re safe.”

I looked back at him, eyes wide. So that’s what he’d been looking for. I hadn’t even noticed the lack of cameras…

“He’s got Davey. And me. I go against him, no telling what happens to me, and if I ain’t there t’protect David, no tellin’ what happens to him either.”

Tomas shook his head, leaning back against the wall. “You’re in deep, Trayson. My men and I can keep your boyfriend safe, but unless you go so far off-grid that our trackers can’t find a single hair of you, you’re stuck.” He said with a concerning amount of finality. “Kaleb wants to see you at the end of the shift. Chances are he’s going to make it official. Enjoy tonight, Trayson. It’s the last night you get to pretend the world is as simple as this.”

As simple as this? This was simple? “Tomas, th’hell d’ya mean ‘simple as this’? None’a this is simple, it’s fuckin’ crazy!”

He shook his head and stepped away from the wall. “That is simple, yeah. You’ll find out soon enough. Now let’s get back, shift starts in five.” He said matter-of-factly, walking away towards the break room.

I stood there, eyes wide and jaw dropped, processing what he’d said. Dreading what Kaleb would want. I followed Tomas back, watching his shoulders, his gait, change mid-stride. Squared, purposeful, and dangerous faded into sagging, idle, and tired.

Who the hell is this guy…

I worried who I was dealing with, but as soon as I saw the light of the break room when he opened the door, I snapped to attention, putting on my own act. Not so different from Tomas himself, if I thought about it. I felt sick to my stomach thinking about what that might mean, but swallowed the feeling as best I could.

Lana and Garret were clocking in, Ben waiting behind them. Tomas snapped his fingers and the three turned to face him, Lana stepping into position and Garret following after finishing clocking in. I stepped up behind Ben, watching him join the others after clocking in. I did the same, waiting for Tomas to give our orders.

It felt odd, taking orders as usual knowing what I did now. I was tasked with watching the floor, my post being near the door between the dance hall and the bar this time. For once, Ben wasn’t with me, he was patrolling the bar room this time, likely to bore him as punishment for whatever Tomas was on his case about before.

Garret was our eye in the sky tonight, with Lana manning the floor with me and Tomas working the entry door as usual. All was normal for the most part, until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked over, a young panda woman standing by my side.

“Um, sir, can you help me?” She asked. I looked around for any signs of a problem. If someone was tailing her, I’d be obliged to put a stop to it, but I couldn’t see anything. She tapped me again and I looked back at her. “Sir, please? I’m ready to leave, but I don’t want to go out to my car alone...I think someone’s following me.”

I hadn’t seen anyone looking suspicious, but if she was scared I had a job to do. I grabbed my radio and dialed into Garret’s frequency. “G, I’m walking someone to their car. Possible prowler situation, call it in to Lana and Tomas.”

He responded with the affirmative and I let the woman lead me out. I followed her to a white sedan, smiling at her and waiting for her to open the door. She giggled at me, then pointed behind me. I was about to turn when I felt something as solid as steel slam into the back of my head. I dropped, hitting the ground hard, and started pushing myself up.

She took off, and with my vision blurring from the impact, I couldn’t see where she went. I felt impact after impact hitting my back, but none of them were as heavy as the blow to my head. As I rose, I felt another blow to my head, dropping again. I growled, rising from the ground and trying to get up despite the constant hits to my back. I heard footsteps making a mad dash away, and I managed to get my body to listen to me just in time to see a tail, pink and rodent-like, disappearing behind a nearby building.

There was a note on the car beside me, my name written on it in messy handwriting. I picked it up, rubbing the back of my head and feeling for any blood. Thankfully there wasn’t any. I opened the note, reading through it.

Ryder, you fucked up, didn’t you? Saw what happened to my guy in the lot, and what you did to my favorite fuckwit too. It’s fine, it’s good, you have to protect your boytoy, I get it. But this is the last chance, understand? One more of my boys gets hurt because of you and yours, we got issues. I think your boy should be safe, not worth the trouble anymore. But you best believe I’ll be ready to gut the little shit first chance I get if you cause me any more problems.

                                                                                                                                                                 - The King of Kings

I read the note again, feeling my blood boil. A warning, a threat. A scare tactic. I never felt more grateful to have Kaleb on my side, knowing David was at least safe while he was. I went back towards the club, dialing in to Tomas’ frequency.

“Need a break, anyone on staff got medical training?” I asked.

A second later, the radio clicked with Tomas’ response. “Merissa. I’ll have Ben send her to the break room. What happened?”

I thought for a moment, then sighed. “I’ll fill you all in at end of shift. Nothing immediate.”

I didn’t get a response, the closest I was going to get to an affirmative. When I got to the break room, Merissa was waiting for me with a first aid kit. I sat in the chair beside her and turned my back to her, lowering my head as much as I comfortably could. She stood up, and I heard the kit open up.

“So you wanna tell me what I’m checking for here, Ryder?” She asked, her tone soft and motherly. Like it always was for David. Guess being hurt gave me the same privileges.

I reached up, gingerly tapping the back of my head. “Took a couple good hits to the back of the head. Check for any open wounds, and maybe a concussion.”

She laughed a little. “You walked in here just fine and you don’t seem out of it.” She said softly. I felt her hands on my head, fingers carefully combing through my fur and looking for any sign of injury. “I’m seeing some bruising, yeah. No blood, no cuts. If nothing else you’ll have one hell of a headache when the adrenaline clears, honey.”

I nodded, sitting up and facing her now. “Good t’know. An’ the concussion?” I asked.

She rolled her eyes, then held up her finger. “Follow my finger.” She said, moving it side to side. I did, and then she pulled a small flashlight from the kit, her brow furrowing as she shined it at me. I winced back, the bright light hurting my eyes. She sighed, shaking her head. “Well, I’m not a doctor, but my guess is if you do have one it’s pretty mild.”

I nodded, rubbing my eye a bit. “Yeah? Good...Any advice?” I asked.

Merissa stood upright, looking at me worriedly, nodding. “Yeah, if you need to fight again tonight, don’t hold back. Don’t let them get a lick on you, and if you think they might, be smart about it and call backup first.” She warned. I nodded again, slow, and stood. Merissa put a hand on my arm and looked up at me in concern.

I looked back, cocking my head to one side. “Hm?”

She stared for a long time, then shook her head. “Nothing. When you get home tonight, let Davey know you’re on bed rest until tomorrow night, and longer if things get worse. Dunno what I’d do if my favorite performer kicked the bucket over a couple of lumps to the head.”

I chuckled, nodding. “I’ll play it safe. Thank ya kindly for checkin’ me out.”

She smiled, her casual attitude coming back. “Please, I check you out every night, this was as good an excuse as any to finally get my hands on you.”

I grinned, flashing my fangs at her. “Yeah? Hope y’don’t expect me t’break your dry spell, I got a m-” I was cut off by her paw connecting with my shin, hard. It didn’t hurt as much as she probably intended it to, but it was surprising enough to do the trick.

She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms over her chest, huffing. “Watch it, hun. Bring that up again and it won’t be a concussion you need to worry about.” She warned playfully, smirking at me. I nodded, laughing a little and shaking my head.

“I’ll keep a note’a that.”

She nodded, then nodded her head towards the door. “Let’s get back to work. You should be fine. But if the lights in there start messing with you, come straight back here and tell Tomas you need to head home early.”

I nodded and the two of us made our way back to our stations. I radioed in to let Garret and Tomas know I was back at my post, and the night went smoothly after that. The lights were a little disorienting, but not so much that it was a problem. I could still do my job easily enough, and nobody was causing trouble anyway.

For hours I thought about the upcoming talk with Kaleb, and what I might expect going into it. I thought about the note, and whether or not I should share it with Kaleb. Whoever wrote it wanted me to think David was safe, but could I trust that? They’d ambushed me in a parking lot, tried beating me down. I didn’t trust them at all, how could I? Maybe sharing it with Kaleb was the right call.

When the shift ended, I met with the others in the break room and filled them in on the situation. Tomas made a note of it and the others agreed if anything like that happened again, we’d go in pairs. After debriefing and a quick adjustment to a couple of policies in light of the night’s events, Tomas told me to take a couple days off to be sure I didn’t have a worse concussion than Merissa expected.

With his blessing to take time off, he sent me to talk to Kaleb, and I couldn’t help but dread every step.

The halls were longer than they’d ever been, colder, darker. When I got to Kaleb’s door, it was larger than ever and as imposing a door as I’d ever seen. I steeled myself, mentally preparing myself before knocking.

“Come in, Mr. Trayson.” he called. I opened the door, walking in and closing it behind me. He regarded me coldly. I sat at the chair across the desk from him and looked at him with unrestrainable disdain. “I understand you’ve witnessed first-hand how effective my methods of protection are.”

I nodded. “T’say th’least, yeah. Ya killed a man right in front’a me.”

“I did not. It’s unfortunate you saw what you did, but I assure you, I did no such thing.” He said with a hint of satisfaction.

I held back a growl, but couldn’t stop myself from baring my teeth. He bared his own in kind. I sighed, shaking my head. “Need t’tell ya somethin’.” I growled, pulling the note from my pocket. “Got lured out t’the parkin’ lot an’ someone tried beatin’ me down. Left this behind.”

He took the note, reading through it. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear I saw a hint of anger flash through his eyes. He placed the note gingerly on the desk and looked back at me. “This note is a lie, designed to intimidate you into hiding, and promising safety that will never come. I am fully aware of it’s author. He is not capable of giving up once he has decided to kill someone.”

I felt my shoulders sag, and sighed. “I already figured as much. What’d y’wanna talk with me for?”

He leaned over his desk slightly, folding his hands together in front of his muzzle. His eyes met mine and I felt a shiver of worry down my spine. He studied me for a minute, then closed his eyes. “Mr. Trayson, it would seem I have recorded evidence that you were fully aware of the culprit responsible for the death of a certain innocent individual minding their own business in a parking lot. You withheld such information from the Agency. I would not enjoy informing them of your lie of omission.”

My eyes widened and I watched him withdraw a small folder, sliding it my way. Opening it, I saw it was full of photos of Tomas and I in the hallway during our conversation earlier. “In case you’re considering destroying these photos, be aware they are still images taken from recorded video. By all means, tear them apart, it will make no difference.” He said calmly.

I growled, glaring at him. “You planned this? There wasn't a single camera down there!”

He nodded. “Mr. Trayson, I have cameras everywhere. Your inability to see them does not mean they are unable to see you. I would advise you listen to me as calmly as possible. After all, were you to act rashly, I would be forced to take this to the Agency, and you would be detained at best and imprisoned at worst.”

I stared daggers at him, feeling my anger rising, my blood boiling. “I ought’a break your damned-”

He held his hand up and locked eyes with me properly. “Mr. Trayson, again, calmly. If I inform the Agency of your actions, you will be detained, and if you are detained. If you are detained then you cannot work for me, and if you cannot work for me then I will have no choice but to call off my protection. Should I do that, then Mr. Seltz will not have the protection he so sorely needs, and accidents may happen while you are trying to get through the red tape of our justice system.”

I dug my claws into the chair in front of me, then felt my shoulders go slack. “What d’ya want me t’do then?” I asked, though it was more a statement, an acknowledgment of his hold over me.

“Simple. I wish to employ you as more than simple security, and given your position, I would advise against declining this offer,” he withdrew a small stack of papers from his desk, setting them on it before speaking again, “I would like you to become muscle for one of my other enterprises, full-time. Complete with benefits, a pay raise, and assurances that you will find quite comforting.”

I grabbed the papers, looking over them and reading through. “And if’n I do decline?”

Kaleb studied my eyes a moment. “Then, to be quite blunt, Mr. Trayson, I will ensure that Mr. Seltz is dead within the week, and forgotten within the month.”

The papers fell from my hand and my fist flew faster than it ever had, aimed straight at the snake’s face. Like a bullet, it flew for his nose, and then, as if hitting an impenetrable wall, it stopped inches short. His tail coiled around my arm several times, effortlessly holding it in place. I stared at him, anger, hatred, bloodlust flooding my mind, but being stopped short snapped me back to the real world.

Kaleb raised a brow at my actions. “Mr. Trayson, I will forgive this outburst on the grounds of having just threatened your mate. See to it that this does not happen again.” He said, tail uncoiling from my now-bruised arm. I rubbed the marks tenderly, wincing a little now that I was paying attention to the ache. That same tail coiled around and scooped up the papers, lifting them to the desk and placing them on it carefully.

I looked at the pages, no longer caring what they said. “So if’n I sign this, y’keep protectin’ Davey?” I asked. He nodded, calm as ever. “And if’n I don’t, y’kill’im?” I asked. Another nod.

He pushed the papers closer to the edge, closer to me. “Mr. Trayson, I would much prefer you agree to the terms. I would not enjoy losing two capable employees due to a single ill-advised decision.”

I looked at him, staring down this man, this monster, I had found myself involved with. A second later I was holding the pen. “You make good on this deal...Or I’ll be damned sure your obituary comes right after his.” I warned, my voice full of gravel and as dark as night.

Kaleb almost seemed to smile at that, and I leaned on the desk, staring at the blank line at the bottom of the contract. It would mean being his muscle. Whatever he said would be law. Whatever he wanted, I’d be responsible for making it happen. Security, transport, intimidation...Murder. Not just the “additional employment” from before, beating up a couple gangsters here and there. I would be his to command, no objections allowed. If he said jump, I would be required to ask how high.

I wouldn’t be able to turn down a job for moral reasons. I wouldn’t be allowed to walk away unless he said I could. I would be a puppet on strings, bound to his fingers for the rest of my life.

But David would be safe.

That alone made it worth it to me. He would be safe, and I could stay by his side. I would be a slave, but David would be protected. I took a breath, put pen to paper, and with a heavy heart…

I signed my soul over to Kaleb Killian.