Underdogs The First Stories

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Tammy Winters moved down the bar and smiled at the customer who had just sat down. "Hey, darlin'. What can I get for you?"

"Something with a lot of alcohol, please. And a tall glass."

Tammy clucked her tongue and made a concerned face like the other bartenders had told her. "Oh, that's too bad. Problems with the boyfriend?"

Ari scoffed. "Yeah, you could say that. But it's my own damn fault for being stupid. And blind." She took a sip of the drink Tammy had poured for her. "I met him when he was married. I figured it wasn't so bad if the marriage was already over, right? I mean, the guy was practically packing his bags with one foot out the door."

"Uh-huh," Tammy said. She was starting to get uncomfortable. "So what happened? He never left the wife after all?"

Ari laughed and shook her head. "Oh, he left her all right. There really was no love left in the marriage. I don't think those two had any like left. So he kicked her to the curb and we were supposed to live happily ever after, right?"

"Right." Tammy looked down the bar to see if anyone else needed her service.

"Right." Ari sighed. "Until he found another me. Version three-point-oh. I didn't marry the guy, but damn. All those f*cking years of my life just wasted. You ever been in a situation like that? Just riding along watching him screw over some woman in his life? The whole time ignoring the fact that it could so, so easily happen to you?"

Tammy just smiled.

"God. Look at me. I'm sorry. I've seen way too many movies with people pouring their hearts out to the bartender. You could probably care less."

"It's all right."

Ari slid off the stool. "I'm going to leave you alone anyway. Sorry about unloading on you." She dropped some money on the bar. "Just do me a favor, huh? Learn from my mistake. Seeing how your man ends a relationship is a glimpse into the f*cking future. I'll see you later, Tammy."

She blinked. "How'd you know my name?"

"On your nametag, there." Ari pointed. "Anyway. Thanks for the drink."

"Any time. Come again."

Ari waved over her shoulder as she walked out of the bar and into the sunshine. Tammy watched her go and looked down at the money on the table. She could hear Kent's voice as clearly as if he was speaking right next to her. "Don't think of her as a person, Tammy. Just remember she's a bitch who deserves every damn thing that's coming to her."

She rubbed her shoulder just above the collar of her T-shirt and went to refill someone else's drink as her mind raced.





#





Ari took a cold shower, her third that day. She dressed in baggy sweats and went into the kitchen to get something to eat. She hadn't been to the office since her discussion with Tammy Winter. Piper had given her the name of the bar, but Ari had been forced to go three times before Kent Robinson's mistress started her shift. She only hoped that her story had landed. She didn't know Tammy Winter, but no one deserved to be treated the way Piper had been. If she'd saved someone future grief, she considered it a good week.

And now, she was enjoying her splendid isolation locked inside her apartment. No contact with the outside world except for food deliveries. She left the money in an envelope taped to the door and insisted the delivery girl leave the food on the mat. She wasn't going to risk the canidae mind taking over her actions.

She had porn, she had a fine selection of accoutrements, and she would ride out this damn heat cycle until things settled down.

Ari sat on the couch with her feet propped on the edge of the coffee table, watching television. Apparently a lot of cable channels had started showing reruns of old sitcoms, so there were more options than just soap operas and court shows. She was halfway through a marathon of The Office, wondering when the hell Jim and Pam had gotten together, when there was a knock on the door.

"Just leave it on the mat!" She took another bite of her chocolate and the knock came again. "How much do I owe you?"

"I don't have anything to leave on the mat, and I actually owe you a check. From Piper. Open the door, Ariadne."

Ari put down her candy and went to the door. She twisted the locks and opened the door just enough to stick her head out, blocking the gap with her body. "Hey, Dale. What are you doing here?"

"I missed you. It's boring at work." She held up a white plastic bag. "I thought I would keep you company."

"Movies? Are they--"

"PG only. No sex, no romance, no nudity."

Ari stepped back and opened the door wider. "All right, c'mon in. I have... a lot of stuff in the chocolate family. Some leftover Chinese is in the fridge."

"That's okay. I brought Cheetos and other wholly unhealthy snacks. Really, it should be better to eat the bags."

"You're a saint and a goddess, Dale Frye."

They went to the couch and Dale held up two movies for Ari's judgment. She picked one at random and Dale slipped it into the player. She took a bag of chips and tossed them to Ari before she dropped onto the sofa. There was an empty cushion between them, and Ari placed the chips on it so they could share.

"So how much longer are you going to be in heat?"

"A couple of days. I'm over the hump." She snickered. "So to speak. It's almost run its course. It's a lot easier with a friend to watch my back."

Dale smiled. "Next time I'll be better prepared."

"Well, it's been years since it happened last. So it could be another five, six years until it happens again."

"Yeah." Dale looked at her. "I'll be here."

Ari grinned and tapped Dale's shoulder before she focused on the movie.

</lj-cut>

End





Pack Mentality





Chapter One, Lie Down with Dogs

The first time Ari watched Bryn transform, she was captivated by the sight. Bryn's blonde hair seemed to grow and spread until it covered her body, her arms and legs twitching and pulling in on themselves until they were a new shape. They were in the loading dock of an abandoned warehouse, blocked on three sides by the high retaining walls and on the fourth by a long sloping driveway. Ari held Bryn as she became a feline, amazed at how quickly her body compressed into the shape of an animal.

When she was finished, Ari carefully placed Bryn on the platform. She had already undressed down to her underwear, and she quickly shed them to stand completely naked in the moonlight. She smiled at the cat, who she could swear had just started purring louder. "You're kind of a pervert, babe."

Bryn yowled and rested her head on her front paws. Ari closed her eyes and went through the painful process of her own transformation. When it was finished, Bryn jumped down and circled Ari's front legs, rubbing against her to share her scent. Ari felt a surge of revulsion; her canidae mind still rebelled at the idea of spending time with a cat, but Ari was slowly getting over it.

Once they were both in animal form, Bryn hurried off at a run. It should have been easy for Ari to catch up with her, as the wolf had the longer legs, but Bryn was exceptionally fast. She ran low to the ground, her feet a blur as she raced across the empty lot next to the warehouse district. Ari caught up with her and made sure she kept the orange and white blur in her sight at all times.

Usually it was a game of follow the leader that only ended once they got home and became their human selves again. But tonight there was a purpose to their race.

When Bryn reached a fence, she executed a perfect vertical jump that placed her on the top crossbar, giving her just enough room to stand and look over the fence. Ari had to search for a break in the fence where she could scramble through. She lay flat on the dirt and pressed her face to a crack, her snout extending onto the other side of the property.

They were looking at the back of a strip mall. They were separated from it by a wide stretch of dead grass, which had been covered with windblown litter. Ari could smell the sickly sweet, thick, syrup smell of old soda and spoiled fast food and licked her lips, wondering if there were any scraps she could dig through.

Focus. Business.

They had been there for almost ten minutes when Ari spotted movement at the far end of the lot. Two canidae were moving along the back of the building, one slightly behind the other and constantly checking over its shoulder as they advanced. The lead dog had bright red fur with black tips to its tail and ears. The other was a brown boxer, slender for its size and holding its head high. A third dog, mostly white and yellow, was walking along the broken line where concrete met grass. Ari withdrew so that she couldn't be seen as easily.

The two lead dogs went to a fuse box. The red one stood on its hind legs, using its front paws to flip it open. It moved with uncanny intelligence, betraying its nature as it carefully manipulated small buttons with careful movements of its paw. The boxer watched, then turned and trotted back to the back door of one business. It stood up, closed both front paws around the knob, and twisted. The door swung open and the boxer dropped to the ground and slipped inside. The other two joined it a moment later.

Ari whined and looked up at Bryn. She was still sitting on the fence and her head twitched quickly from side to side. Ari pawed at the dirt, eager to do something about what she was watching. The lookout dog returned first, eyeing the street before disappearing back inside. The three dogs came out together, but now all three had bags on their backs. Straps ran around each dog's front legs, holding it in place as they hurried away from the building.

Ari watched them go, frustrated that she couldn't stop them. She heard a quiet thud and turned to see Bryn had jumped off the fence. Ari stood, stretched, and followed her. The high weeds of the field whipped against Ari's legs and body as they ran. Bryn reached the abandoned warehouse first, and she was mid-transformation when Ari arrived.

They transformed together, but Bryn finished first. She put her hand on Ari's back, and Ari could feel her flesh convulsing underneath Bryn's steady hand. Bryn whispered to her, stroked her hair, and Ari collapsed against her once she was completely herself again. Naked and panting, sweaty from their run, Ari eventually pulled away from Bryn and went to the stash of their clothes. She handed Bryn her bag, and they dressed without looking at each other.

"Why'd you stop me? I thought the whole point was stopping them."

"No, the point was showing you what was going on. They cut off the power so there won't be any security cameras or alarms. The locks are all electronic, so once the power goes they can come and go as they please. This is the fifth store they've hit in the past three weeks."

Ari tugged her T-shirt over her head and turned to face Bryn. "How did you know where they would hit tonight?"

"Anonymous tip. Someone on the inside grew a conscience, I guess." Bryn finished buttoning up her blouse and stepped into her jeans. "We don't know how many there are, just that there's more than one group. They're organized. If we take down one group, the others will just get smarter and become harder to catch. We need to take them all down."

Ari smiled. "You need someone on the inside."

"Yeah, ideally." Bryn smiled. "What do you say, pup?"

Ari shrugged. "I'll see what I can dig up. If it looks doable, I'll give it my best shot." She wiped her face with her hand, rubbing her finger under her nose. Sometimes the overactive nose of the canidae remained with her after transforming. It was like having a vacuum in the middle of her face sucking up every stray scent in the vicinity. She snorted and wrinkled her nose as she looked to where she had parked. "So you want to come over? I could use a massage."

"Uh, not tonight. Not to leave you in the lurch or anything, but..."

"No, it's fine." Ari smiled. "Rain check."

"Yeah, definitely." She tucked her shirt into her jeans and put her hands in the middle of her back, twisting at the waist to work out the kinks. "God. Sometimes changing for twenty or thirty minutes just isn't worth the aches. I think I'm going to walk from here."

Ari looked around. "Are you sure? This is a pretty bad neighborhood."

Bryn opened her bag and took out her service revolver. "I may not have the uniform, but I'm still a cop. I'll be fine." She kissed Ari, more on the cheek than the lips, and rested a hand on her hip. "Thanks for looking into this for me, Ari."

"I'm always happy to help the police. Give me a couple of days and I'll have a more definitive answer for you."

"Okay." She hooked the bag around her neck, tucked her revolver into her belt, and walked up the driveway to the street. She waved once more before she started walking.

Ari leaned against the concrete wall and closed her eyes. The scent of the night was starting to fade, an odd sensation. It was like hearing an orchestra and then slowly having the volume turned down until it was only barely audible. She breathed deeply and let it out, and her smelling had returned to normal.

She finally left the loading dock and tossed her bag into the backseat of her Rambler Marlin. She and Bryn had been seeing each other for a few weeks, but she wouldn't call it dating. They had sex, went on runs together in their animal forms, had the occasional meal, but it was far from a relationship. She was starting to wish they had defined it if just so she would know what to call what they were currently going through. Was it a break-up or just a drifting apart?

Whatever it was, she didn't expect to be seeing Bryn Decker much longer. She hated being in the limbo area, where they were still together but both of them knew it wasn't going anywhere. She preferred to be free. But that didn't mean she was comfortable being the one to end things. Bryn most likely felt the same way, which put them in the middle of a standoff. Hopefully doing this favor for her would lead to an amicable separation. "No hard feelings, but maybe it's time we admit this has run its course."

Ari started her car after a few false starts, coaxing the engine into a steady rumble, and then pulled away.

Whatever happened with Bryn, consulting a case with the police could pay very nicely indeed. Dale would be thrilled.





#





Natalie woke Dale with a kiss, sliding her hand underneath Dale's pajama top. Dale smiled as her girlfriend's hand pressed against her stomach, pulling her back until they were spooning. Natalie kissed her neck, and Dale writhed under the assault. "You got away from me," Natalie whispered. "Naughty girl."

"Mm." She shifted and turned her head so they could kiss properly. Natalie stroked Dale's stomach. "I have an early appointment. I need to be in by six-thirty."

Dale looked at the clock. It was still ten minutes to six.

"We could have sex, but we'd have to do it in the shower." She pressed a kiss to Dale's cheek just under her closed eye. "Or we could put a pin in it. Wait until this evening and really take our time."

"I'm a big fan of taking our time."

"Okay." Natalie grinned. She slid her hand down, letting her palm mold to the shape of Dale's hip. "Then you better be well-rested. I'll try not to wake you when I leave."

"Okay." She lifted her head for another kiss, whispered goodbye, and lay back down as Natalie slipped out of her bed. Dale switched her pillow with Natalie's, pressed her face against the pillowcase, and breathed in her girlfriend's scent. She drifted back into sleep with a smile, only vaguely aware of the shower turning on.

She must have drifted into a deeper sleep at some point, because the next thing she was aware of was the phone ringing on her nightstand. She sat up, hair draping her face as she looked toward the clock. She swept it back over her head with one push of her hand, grabbing the phone as she realized it was three minutes past seven. She flipped the phone open and glanced toward the bathroom. The light was off, and Natalie was long gone.

"Hey, this is me."

Ari said, "Hey. Something's weird."

Dale pushed herself up and leaned against the headboard. "Is everything okay? Did you go out last night?"

"Yeah, that's all fine. But I'm at work, and the lights are all off, and the door won't open."

"When was the last time you got to work at seven in the morning?" Dale was smiling despite her tone.

"It's a special circumstance. I managed to get a potential case last night, and I thought I would get a head start on it. But now I'm thinking you're full of it, Dale Frye. You always get in five minutes before I do, you just pretend like you've been there for hours to make me feel lazy."

"How dare you." She kicked away her blankets and one of the toys she and Natalie had used the night before hit the floor with a thud. She kicked it under the bed with her foot. "Give me a couple minutes to shower and dress, and I'll--"

"Don't rush. It can wait until eight o'clock or another reasonable time. I can hang out until then."

"Okay. I won't make you wait too long."

"Dale."

"Mm-hmm."

"Don't you think it's odd that I'm the boss and I don't have a key to my own business?"

"I think it's adorable you think you're in charge."

Ari faked a laugh. "See you soon."

"Yeah, okay." She hung up and took off her pajamas, turning on the shower and hoping the hot water had recovered since Natalie left.





#





Ari spent the time between the call and Dale's arrival gathering visual aids. She bought newspapers with the relevant stories, and went to the internet café at the end of the block to print out the ones she was missing. When she was done, she saw Dale's car parked in front of the office and walked back with the items in hand. The door was unlocked and standing open when she arrived. Dale was at her desk, dressed in a sleeveless pale purple top and drawstring pants. She glanced up from her computer when Ari shut the door.

Dale made a show of looking at the clock. "About time you showed up. I've been waiting here for hours."

"I'll do better next time, boss."

"See that you do. And you have a key, by the way."

Ari frowned. "No, I don't."

"If you don't, it's because you lost it. But I gave you one when we had the locks changed. I watched you put it on your keychain." She closed her laptop and stood up, gesturing to the inner office. "You said something about a case?"

"Yeah. Have a seat and let me spell it out for you." Dale sat on the couch while Ari brought her desk chair closer to the small coffee table. She had already refolded the papers to the pertinent sections. "Five robberies at jewelry and electronic stores, the latest one last night. In every instance, the security cameras and alarms were disabled before the robbery took place. The footage they have before the feeds died is confusing to the regular authorities. But to us..."

Dale had picked up one of the newspapers and was reading. "Dogs. There were stray dogs running around before the feed went out."

Ari nodded. "But the power was cut with such precision, the cops don't believe the dogs could have possibly been trained to do it."

"But we know better."

"Yep. Bryn and I saw them last night."

Dale raised an eyebrow. "They got away?"

"Bryn wanted to let them get away. She thinks they're just part of a bigger organization, and she wants them all. We had to let them go for the greater good." She shrugged. "That was her idea, anyway. Her other idea is letting someone get into the group to get as much information before she brings in the troops."

"Someone, huh?" Dale picked up one of the printouts to read about the first robbery. "That someone happen to be a canidae she's sleeping with?"

"More like one that she used to sleep with," Ari muttered.

Dale's expression softened. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

Ari shrugged. "We're just waiting for the ref to invoke the mercy rule. It's fine. We were never really that serious anyway. This case is kind of like a break-up gift. She gave it to me so she wouldn't feel guilty, I'm going to solve it so I don't feel guilty. Clean break-up."

"Sounds like a good plan. So where do we get started?"

Ari pointed at the map she'd printed out. "These are the locations of the robberies. They all seem to be situated south of downtown. There are a couple of canidae-friendly bars around that area. I'll check them out and see what I can find. I may have to break out some of my seedier outfits so I'll fit in with the criminal element I'm looking for."

Dale looked her over. "What's wrong with what you have on?"

"You're a laugh riot. I'll take care of that tonight. For now, I'll see if the cops will give me any information they didn't put in the papers. Maybe somebody saw something they weren't comfortable putting in an official report."

"Like a dog standing on its hind legs to steal plasma TVs?"

"Something like that. Do you need to leave early for Natalie?"

Dale hesitated. "Well--"

"I'll take that as a yes. Just let me know when you have to go."

"Thanks, Ari."

Ari gathered the newspapers and printouts. "Hey, at least one of us should be getting lucky. I like Natalie. She seems good for you."

Dale grinned. "Yeah. We're having a good time. If you need me for anything, let me know."

Ari saluted and moved her chair back behind her desk while Dale went back into the main office.