Chapter 11

The sun had setby the time we returned to Fido's Fillings Flavors. Reynard's driver dropped us a short walk from the factory, because a seven-foot-tall demon, an average human, and a suit-clad vampire were very conspicuous, even before we donned the masks. Luckily, there wasn't anyone around to witness our approach.

A few meters from the rear of the warehouse, Reynard dashed ahead and disabled the camera observing the back door, raining sparks on the sidewalk.

"Time to get our criminal on," Zee said with enthusiasm, then tugged the mask over his horns and head. He vanished his wings, making himself smaller. A few steps behind, I pulled my own mask on and swallowed my racing heart. This was the right thing, wasn't it? It did feel a bit naughty. But good too. Righteously good.

Reynard gave the back door a quick shoulder shove, popping it open, and in we ventured.

"I can break into shit too," Zee whispered, his voice muffled by the small mouth hole. "I just don't want to," he added, eyeing Reynard striding ahead.

"I know," I told him, soothing his wounded ego.

Another camera blinked at the far end of the corridor. Reynard spotted it, blurred ahead, and ripped it from the wall, leaving it dangling. He opened the next door, and poked his head out, checking the way was clear.

A curl of cold mist rolled through the door, over his polished shoes.

I was beginning to wonder what Zee and I were here for when this was clearly a walk in the park for Reynard.

"Which way?" Reynard asked, as we caught up.

We'd only seen the main entrance area and the factory floor. The refrigerated room we'd entered now was stacked with crates of boxed pies, ready to be shipped out, and we'd come to a crossroads among the crates. "I'm not sure."

"Let's split up, we'll find the animals more quickly," Reynard whispered.

Zee snorted a laugh and mocked. "Split up."

"Do you have an opinion?" Reynard asked, turning to face him. Oddly, the mask made no difference to how I read his face.

Zee blinked behind his mask's eyeholes. "Nope."

"Clearly, you do."

I sighed, stuck between them again.

"You've never seen a horror movie?" Zee asked.

"What does a movie have to do with this?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just, every time a group splits up, the big bad takes them out one by one."

"Then you are suggesting my plan is flawed?" Here came Reynard's haughty voice.

Zee shrugged. "We should stick together. The general might be a few buttplugs short of a sex party, but he's no pushover."

"There's no use in the three of us sticking together when there's no immediate threat. We'll find the animals more quickly if we split up." A snarl simmered under Reynard's words.

"And I'm telling you, if we split up, bad shit will happen." Zee cocked a hip. "It's the rules."

"This isn't some fantasy of yours, demon."

"Obviously, or we'd all be naked. Wanna get neked, daddy?"

Reynard stilled. "Adam, some assistance please, before discussions deteriorate further."

They both blinked through their masks, asking me to pick the winner. Oh dear. "You both make great points. But as nobody sems to be around, maybe we should split up, then meet back here in a few minutes so we can proceed together. How does that sound?"

"Excellent." Reynard strode left, heading off toward that closed door.

Zee's narrowed eyes glared through his hood slits. "You're such a simp for him. I'm secondhand cringey for you."

I chuckled. "C'mon, Zee."

Zee huffed behind me, tagging along as I wove between the crates, hoping for another exit. The thumping sound of the masher grew louder, suggesting we were heading toward the main entrance and the factory floor where the pies were made. A side door beckoned, with a sturdy looking bolt holding it shut.

"I got this." Zee grabbed the handle and gave the door a firm shove. It didn't budge. "Wait, I'm warming up." He gave the bolt another yank. The door still didn't budge.

"Maybe—"

"No. I have it." He heaved on the bolt, putting a foot on the door, and leaning back. It groaned, but still didn't budge. "Fuck, what's this door made of?" Huffing, he let go and shook out his hands.

This could take a while. I shoved my hands into my pockets. "Maybe?—"

Zee held up a finger. "My masculinity hinges on getting this door open. My whole life has been building to this moment. It's the door or me."

"I just?—"

He grabbed the bolt, and slammed his shoulder into the door, rattling it in its frame. Then did it again. Unsuccessful, he puffed, shook his head, and backed up. "This door is way thicker than the one Reynard broke open. Like, it must be a foot thick or something. There's no way we're getting in there. A bomb won't open it. It's impossible."

"You're probably right, except..." I stepped up to the door and used two fingers to lift the bolt up. The door jolted, and squealed open on its hinges.

Zee flicked his wings. "I fuckin' knew that. It was obvious. I was just testing to see if you'd noticed."

I rolled my eyes with a smirk and entered the room. Low lighting layered shadows over the cages. An air-conditioning unit hummed somewhere nearby. Some scratching sounded, then the click of claws. A whimper started up. Followed by another. I ventured deeper between the cages. A cat mewed. A cage rattled.

Zee flicked a switch on the wall, flooding the room in harsh, white light. All around, scruffy dogs and cats blinked sad eyes from behind their bars. My heart cinched to breaking point. Then the cats began to yowl. Just a couple, at first. Long, drawn out, reooowwwlllllll sounds. More joined in. The whimpering dogs grew louder.

"They're looking at you, Adam," Zee said, appearing beside me. He was right. Those in the closest cages had squished themselves to the back, as though to get away. And those further away had angled themselves to face me. The dogs hunkered down on their bellies, but the cats... The cats were afraid.

Because they saw through my glamor.

Every single one laid its eyes on me, and cried.

I bolted from the room, made it a few steps outside, and clung to a crate of chilled pies. Gradually, the whines and yowls subsided.

"The cages are on some kind of remote lock," Zee said, joining me. "We need to get inside the general's office. We'll probably find a master switch in there."

Yes, we'd do that, but before then, I needed a minute to collect myself and breathe.

"Adam?"

"I'm fine," I croaked.

"It's going to be okay." He laid his hand on my shoulder and gently squeezed. "We'll save them."

I nodded, afraid my voice wouldn't hold. I knew what it was like to be cast out, to be pushed to the fringes, shoved aside, and then hunted down. I also understood the helplessness of being trapped behind bars, knowing your time was running out. I'd accused Zee of letting fate trap him in a cage, when I'd put myself in one.

"Adam? Kitten?" Zee leaned in close, touching my side, so I knew I wasn't alone. "Let me take the hurt away?"

"No, it's fine." I couldn't—wouldn't—ever let him absorb my pain like he'd been paid to do in the past. My past, as hurtful as it was, belonged to me. I nodded, and looked up into his purple eyes—all I could see of his face behind the mask. Never in a million years would I let him become trapped behind my bars too.

I gently eased his hand off, and stepped away. "Let's get this done."

Zee followed me, as I headed back through the crates toward the junction where we'd split from Reynard. But Reynard wasn't there, and he didn't show after several minutes, punctuated by the distant thumping of the mashing machine.

Zee paced, tail lashing. "I fucking told him. I said it, didn't I? Don't split up. I said it. Happens every time. Why does nobody listen to the fabulous fucking demon? Huh? Is it because I'm attractive? Does my charisma distract from my intelligence? Ugly people don't have this problem. Beauty is a fucking curse!"

We'd waited long enough. "Let's go find him."

Heading down the left fork in the crates that Reynard had taken, brought us to another door with a broken camera. The mashing machine's thumping had faded some, but wasn't far. I peeked through the door, recognizing a section of the factory floor and the rumbling production line, then snuck inside. The watchtower office jutted up a short distance away. But still no sign of Reynard.

"We could leave Lord Fuck-Hard here?" Zee whispered, hurrying alongside me. "Nobody likes him anyway. Who's gonna even notice if he's gone?"

"'l'll notice, Zee."

"Hm, right. We need his big-dick jet to fly home in."

We headed up the rickety metal staircase to the office and flicked the lights on. Everything appeared to be the same as earlier in the day. Zee dropped behind the desk again, and woke the computer. The screen showed the room of cages and some icons along the bottom bar.

"The lock override must be here," Zee muttered. "Where else would it be?"

"Hurry." The prickling sense of unease, that hadn't fully left, crawled over me again now. Was all of this a bit too easy? Or did it seem like that because Reynard had made it look easy? Where was Reynard? He did have a habit of disappearing at the worst times.

"Fuck fucking fuck. Look what I found."

I scooted behind Zee, and leaned over his shoulder to read the cascade of emails open on the screen. Emails from: [email protected]. A glance at the spelling made it clear who had written them.

Dont freten me cockscker u hav no fukin idear wot I kan do. i dont ow u fuk. They r min. all of em. I payd ten times theyr werth. fuk of.

I skimmed another message.

U got yer cut. dEALS DONE. Fuk u yer weredass pize.

The general's misspelled reply in all caps read:

U OWN NTOHING

"Looks as though the deal was breaking down," I mumbled. But just because they'd fallen out, didn't mean the contract was void.

The emails didn't really help. Although, they did seem to indicate that Sebastien had the confidence to declare the deal over. Why would he think that, unless there was some kind of get-out clause?

Addendum, the general had said. I'd missed its importance, alarmed by his offer of Labrador pie.

They'd modified the contract.

I yanked open the drawer, from where the general had removed the contract earlier in the day. The contract was there, on top. But I already knew what it said. I rummaged beneath it, looking for an addition, amendment, something... more.

A crumpled slip of paper lay at the bottom, like an afterthought.

Addendum. Dated: February 2025. Copernicus to Sebastien. The licensee shall hereby renumerate fifty percent of all earnings to the licensor for three years. Terms must be renewed by both parties within three years from the date of this agreement, or all contracts will be voided.

I read it again, slower, making sure I fully understood what the addendum referred to. "Oh my stars." This was it. This was the jackpot. Sebastien and General Copernicus were due to renew their terms, but Sebastien had gotten greedy and told Copernicus where he could shove his share of the club's profits.

This tiny slip of paper could free Zee from Sebastien, free all of them.

"Zee, this is?—"

An alarm screeched. Red light flooded into the watchtower windows.

"Uh oh." Zee shot to his feet.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing?" He dashed to the windows.

"You steal my pies, Lycian!"the general boomed.

"I don't want your pies, you crazy fuck." Heading for the door, Zee gestured at the computer. "Find the lock override. Save the furbabies. I'll keep him busy."

"Zee, wait. Are you going to be alright?"

"Eh, he's slow. Watch how I get shit done, babycakes." He flung open the door and stepped into waves of red light. The great arches of his wings shivered into sight behind him, rising up. He sprang off the stairs and was gone.

Something crashed out of sight—probably Zee plowing into the general. It was fine. I just needed to find the lock switch on the computer. I stuffed the addendum into my pocket and dropped into the chair, then maneuvered the pointer on-screen to bring up the camera feed. And there were the pets.

What was I supposed to do? I didn't use computers. Why wasn't there a big button that said lock override?!

The window exploded. Bits of glass peppered my mask. I lunged off the chair, behind the desk, avoiding most of the debris, and twisted to find Zee on his back, wings flapping out of sync as he tried to climb back to his feet.

"I'm fine," he croaked. He tore off his mask, revealing a split in his lip. "Fuck, I forgot how hard he hits. You alright?"

I ruffled glass from my hair. "Yeah, I think."

But the computer lay on the floor, in pieces.

"Did you get the lock?" Zee asked.

"No."

"Fuck."

The masher machine's hammering was louder now the windows had gone. Red light washed over us in waves. Alarms wailed. This could have gone better. I got to my feet and helped brush glass off Zee's clothes. "Have you seen Reynard?"

"Oh yeah, he's out cold on the conveyor belt. I probably should have told him the general hits like a semi."

"The conveyor? What?"

"Pfft, he's fine."

"Fine?" I hurried to the broken windows and saw the general sneering up at us.

"Put you in pies!" Copernicus boomed.

"We got bigger problems." Zee clutched the window frame. "How to unlock those cages. Find a way, Adam. And do it fast." He vaulted over the sill and plunged toward the general. At the last second, Copernicus raised an iron bar and swung it like a bat. Zee thrust out his wings, parachuting his descent, avoiding the swing at the last moment. He landed, and spin kicked, knocking the general back a mere single step.

Oh, this definitely was not going well.

I caught sight of a large, dark lump rumbling along the conveyor, in with the chunks of meat.

Reynard. He still had his mask on, and wasn't moving. The general had knocked him out cold, just like Zee had said. But further along the belt, where Reynard was headed, the enormous masher plate slammed down every five seconds. At the speed the conveyor moved, he'd be crushed into tiny vampire mush within minutes.

"Victor!" I yelled. The alarms blared, swallowing my shout.

I had to get down there.

I hammered down the metal stairs and sprinted across the factory floor.

A fist flew at me. I didn't see it until it was too late. Didn't feel it either, until my body slammed into something unforgiving, and I crumpled to my knees, stunned, ears ringing.

"Adam!" I heard Zee, but he sounded so far away.

Reynard was in trouble.

I had to get to him.

"Save him," I muttered.

Wobbling back to my feet, I clung to the bent safety rail I'd been flung into, and staggered toward the conveyor belt. To my right, the giant masher thumped, mincing the pie filling. And a bit further on, lay Reynard.

"You hurt my Adam, you fuckin' die!" Zee roared.

I glanced over my shoulder. Zee stood in all his glory, wings flared. His yellow Fun-damental Rights top had gained a few new stains. His tail thrashed. He brandished an iron pole he must have torn from a machine.

The general had a bar too.

They roared and clashed—metal ringing, wings flapping, nails clawing. So much noise and motion. My head throbbed, vision swimming. The masher boomed, over and over, thumping so hard it made my heart jump too.

I wasn't going to make it.

I had to.

What if I stopped the conveyor?

Unbaked pies trundled by me in an orderly line. Multiple wheels pushed along the rubber belt. If I interrupted the belt here, would the whole thing shut down?

There wasn't time to get it wrong.

I climbed over the barrier, stumbled against the conveyor, knocking several pies to the floor, and grabbed the rubber belt, digging my nails in to anchor up. I planted my feet, and heaved against the machines. Gears ground. Metal screeched. No human could do this. They'd get chewed up. But Zee was busy with the general and Reynard was out cold. Nobody would know...

Motors chugged—clanging, juddering. Smoke rose from the wheels. The smell of hot rubber filled the air. I couldn't let go, couldn't look. Had to stop the belt. It whined, and the rubber smoked, getting hotter.

The belt snapped.

I flew backward, accompanied by several pies, and sprawled on the floor. Pies splatted around me.

"My pies!" the general wailed.

The masher still pounded.

I'd only stopped one side of the belt. On the other side, it still fed Victor toward his death.

I'd failed.

"Zee! Help Victor!"

Zee saw me, then swung his gaze down the line, and spotted Reynard. His wings flung out, he sprang into the air, then shot like an arrow toward Reynard—inches from the hammering metal plate.

Now—It had to be now!

He dove.

Hands grabbed my face from behind, yanking me backwards into broad, meaty arms. The general smelled like hot pies, and crushed me in his arms. "Hm, you squish good, human."

His fingers groped over my mask. Then one big fat finger slid over the mask's mouth hole. I bit down, hard. The general bellowed, and shoved me away, through the rail, snapping it. But it did break some of my fall.

I spun, panting.

He clutched his hand. Blood dribbled from his finger, raining red blotches onto the dusty floor.

"You're pie meat, human!" He stomped forward, stumpy wings spread as far as they'd go. That wasn't a look of friendly discussion. He meant to kill me.

I raised my hands and backed away. "Maybe we can talk about this?"

"You bit my finger."

"Well, you had hold of my face, so..."

"Adam, run!" Zee yelled.

The general came closer. I couldn't take my eyes off him to see if Zee had Reynard, but he had to, didn't he? I backed up some more, inching closer to the loud slamming sounds of the masher. Its noise thumped so loudly that my ribs jumped.

"Humans in pies." The general leered. "My next business venture."

"I don't think it will catch on."

"What?!" he grunted, struggling to hear over the masher's slamming.

"Bad idea!" I yelled.

"Eh?" He stopped, and frowned. "What you say?"

I grabbed his shoulders, and with a burst of inhuman strength, spun him around and kicked him in the chest, sending him flailing backward. The masher's enormous plate lifted. The general toppled backwards onto the belt. His eyes widened. The gigantic plate reached its highest point?—

Wham!

Warm splatter dashed my face.

I jerked, then stumbled, tasting metallic wetness on my lips, and wiped my eyes clear of startling pink goo. At least I had the mask on. Although, it hadn't saved my clothes, now glistening with sticky bits of General Copernicus.

Two thick, severed legs schlopped to the floor.

Nothing else was left. Just Copernicus filling everywhere.

"Oh dear."

"Adam." Zee grabbed my arms and peered into my eyes. "Are you hurt?"

"What?" I blinked through the gunk.

"Are you hurt, Kitten?"

Reynard staggered into sight, holding his head, and my racing heart swelled. On seeing me, he smiled. He was alright. They were both alright.

"Adam, talk to me." Zee's panicked face got closer. "Don't die."

"I'm okay. I'm not going to die. I'm just a bit messy."

He pulled a face. "I'd hug you, but you're kinda gross."

My shoes squelched. "Yeah." Blood dripped from my fingers. "Can we go save the furbabies now?"

We retraced our steps to the cage room—my shoes squishing the whole way—this time with Reynard close behind us. And after some thorough searching, Zee found the master override outside the room, near a fire exit. He hit the switch, opening all the cages. Reynard held the cage-room door open, while Zee held the fire-exit door open, and the pets streamed out. Some of them needed persuasion to leave their cages, but Zee was on hand, coaxing the scared ones out.

I hung back, since they were probably scared of me.

"I suggest now would be a good time to leave," Reynard said, nodding toward the black smoke forcing its way through an inner door.

With all the animals free, I followed Zee and Reynard outside. We pulled off our masks, and watched hungry flames devour Fido's Fillings Flavors.

"We did a good thing," Zee said, bathed in shifting firelight.

"Yeah, we did."

The fire raged, gobbling up the building until its roof collapsed. Then the LAFD trucks arrived, and it was time to go home.

Reynard summoned his driver, and the three of us waited in a quiet part of the industrial yard, in a comfortable silence. Zee sat on a wall, legs crossed at the ankle, tail relaxed. I'd have sat with him, but didn't want the congealing squishiness to travel into places it had no business squishing into.

"Is there a shower on the plane?" I asked, peeling congealed bits of splattered demon off my clothes.

"There is," Reynard replied. He plucked a slimy bit of something from my hair, then tossed it aside. It splattered out of sight. "That was quite something, Adam."

He seemed impressed, which was nice, but I felt a bit... yuck. And not just because I was smothered in gore.

Zee faced away, watching the far end of the street for the car's arrival. His cheek twitched. He hadn't said anything, but I'd killed his general. That seemed like a big thing, that we should probably talk about when I wasn't covered in his general.

"I hadn't meant to end it like that," I whispered.

Reynard's left eyebrow arched. "Didn't you?"

I huffed. Okay, so maybe I had. A little bit. "How's your head?"

Reynard touched his forehead, where a red smudge messed up all his pale perfection. "Sore, but healing."

"That's good."

"I'm sorry we didn't get any information that will help Zodiac."

"Oh! But we did." I shoved my hand into my pocket—straight into cold goo. The crumpled piece of paper had turned to mush from all the bits of Copernicus soaked into my clothes. I managed to pull some of it out, and cradle it in my hands. "Oh no. I had it, Reynard."

Zee glanced over.

He'd been so hopeful, and I'd had the key to his freedom in my hands. But I'd ruined it.

"What is it?" Reynard asked.

"Nothing . . . it's nothing."

But he saw how my face had fallen.

I sighed. Had it really all been for nothing?

Reynard folded his arm around my shoulders, and tucked me close. He smelled so good, even now, all masculine and woody. And I smelled like a sewer. "I'm getting your suit all gooey."

"I have other suits," he mumbled into my hair. "If anyone can save him, it will be you," he whispered, so only I heard.

Did he care for Zee? Or did he care because I cared? It didn't matter, not in that moment. I'd done a bad thing and a good thing, and while I was coated in the blood and guts of a bad person, I kinda just needed not to be alone.

We were together, all three of us.

And that was enough. For now.