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Underbox: Sixteen
© 2021 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
capt_hairball
The two detectives headed for the nearest transit station, and after they stepped into a lift Joachim faced his partner. “So, you put in your papers?” When Hamo nodded, the boar asked in a slightly sullen tone, “When were you going to tell me?”
“I was going to,” and as the cross-fox started to turn away Joachim put a paw on their shoulder. “What?”
“The first thing you taught me when we became partners,” Joachim said, “was to communicate.” His expression showed that he was angry but trying to restrain himself. He was larger and stronger than the cross-fox, but not as tall. “I’ve put up with your silence a lot of the time, because I know you usually have more on your mind than the job, and you think constantly.”
“Glad you – “
A snarl. “You’re not listening.” Joachim’s face was a centimeter from Hamo’s nose, and the cross-fox blinked, their ears laying back. “I need to know what you know, Hamo. You’re getting ready to retire, and you didn’t tell me. If something happens – like you leaving before the case is done - I won’t know enough to carry on.”
Hamo blinked at him as their ears slowly stood back up, and the cross-fox slowly put their paws on the boar’s broad shoulders. They sighed and said, “Yes, you’re right, Joachim. I’ve treated you poorly, and I’m sorry. I turned in my papers before I went to see Stranger.” The transgender vulpine sank back against the side of the lift car. “I’m sorry.”
Joachim folded his arms across his chest. “So, I’m listening. What’s the plan?”
“The plan?” Hamo favored their partner with a smile. “The plan’s to sit back and wait for a bunch of gang members and prostitutes to see or hear something.”
“That’s your plan?”
Hamo shrugged. “Best I can come up with. How about you?”
Joachim’s ears swiveled as he thought. “Can’t think of anything else at the moment.” He held the cross-fox’s gaze for a moment before they both chuckled. “Back to the office?”
“For now, yes. Still a few loose ends to wrap up.”
“Like?”
“Gerstein and his line of work.” Joachim nodded. The Ministries of Health and Education were heavily bureaucratized, and even labeling the request a police priority would take time to process, and just about the same amount of time to send the reply. Still, they were simple requests.
“From what we found, he liked his line of work,” the boar remarked.
Hamo nodded. “He could’ve done a lot better in a brothel – “
“Union dues.” The cross-fox’s ears swiveled, and Joachim explained, “I dated one a while back, before I got married. She spent a lot of time complaining about how big a cut the Ministry was taking out of her pay.”
Hamo’s expression morphed into sly grin. “Have you told Patricia?”
Joachim chuckled. “Of course.” His expression matched Hamo’s. “Bet you ten euro that’s why Gerstein didn’t join up.”
The vulpine offered a paw. “Done. And,” as they shook paws with their partner, “ten euro that the Education Ministry gives us their answer first.”
“Oh, you’re on,” the boar said with a chuckle.
The lift took them to the nearest train station, where they boarded. “That’s a thought,” Joachim muttered as they took their seats.
“Hm?”
“If our guy’s a hacker, couldn’t he be watching us now, through our own surveillance systems?”
The transgender vulpine frowned. “That is a cheerful thought. We’d better send out a notice; if they’re using the Transport Ministry’s protocols, chances are good they’re also into the cameras.”
“And the police ones, too.”
“True.” Hamo turned up the collar of their overcoat and tried to sink into it.
The pair waited until they were back at the police station before acting on their suspicions, with Hamo explaining things to Captain Eisler while Joachim called the Ministry of Transport. “It’s a scary thought,” the raccoon said as he showed Hamo out of his office. “I’ll let the higher-ups know; you contact the IT section and have them check out our systems.”
“Right, Captain,” and Hamo headed quickly for their desk and picked up their phone. The fox entered the number and sat down, brush twitching back and forth impatiently. “Hello, Fräulein Bauer? Detective Suleymanoglu . . . We have inquiries out, yes, but that’s not why I called . . . There’s a concern that our surveillance systems might be compromised by this fellow . . . yes, you heard me . . . You’ll get right on it? Good. Thank you; please let me or Detective Schmidt know if you find anything. Yes, goodbye.” They looked at their now-quiescent phone, shook their head, and placed the phone on the desk as Joachim hung up.
“Okay, the word’s getting around to the various ministries,” the boar said. “What did the Captain say?”
“He’s notifying the people above him, and I just finished alerting Bauer.” Hamo opened their desk drawer and fished out their coffee mug. “Want a cup?” Joachim shook his head and the cross-fox got up and went to get some coffee. Returning with it they said, “Now comes the fun part.”
“There’s a fun part?”
“Heh. Waiting to see who wins the bets,” and the boar laughed as Hamo waggled their eyebrows. The cross-fox sat down, and the pair started going over what they had so far.
The surveillance camera footage from the shopping arcade showed the disguised Lobel being led between the food stand and the jacksalon by Gerstein. No one else was with them, which confirmed the food stand’s owner’s statement. Nearly an hour after Hamo sat down, a small icon glowed on their computer’s desktop. “Hmm.”
“What?” Joachim asked.
“A message,” the cross-fox replied in a theatrical tone. “Who could it be from?”
The boar rolled his eyes. “Come on, get it over with.”
Hamo grinned, tapped the icon, and their ears and brush promptly drooped. “Health Ministry.” Joachim grinned happily. “Let’s see what they said. Hmm, Office of Prostitution Certification . . . damn.” They sighed. “Gerstein, Karl, age, disease status, known proclivities . . . they’re really thorough . . . refused an opening in the brothel at Pankow . . . shit, refused over union dues.”
“Hah!” Joachim said, the exclamation causing a few in the office to swivel their ears at him. “You owe me twenty euro!”
Hamo’s ears were flattened as they dug into a pocket and passed over a twenty-euro note, while those furs who had overheard chuckled among themselves. “I want to win that back.”
The boar tucked the bill away and asked, “Oh yeah?”
Hamo thought for a moment. “I say we hear something from the Underbox in two to three days.”
“Two days?” Joachim looked skeptical. “I say five days, minimum.”
The cross-fox reached a paw across the desks. “What do you say?”
“Done,” and the other furs started laughing while the boar and the cross-fox went back to work.
***
The phone rang.
And kept ringing.
Hamo grumbled, disentangled themselves from Karin, and fumbled for the phone, silencing it and bringing it to their ear. “Suleymanoglu,” they muttered.
“Joachim.” The boar’s voice sounded sleepy – and irritated. “I owe you twenty euro.”
The cross-fox breathed a husky laugh. “What time is it?”
“Two-forty. You going in?”
“Meet you at the office.” Hamo switched off the phone and lay back on the bed, blinking up at the ceiling.
Karin stirred beside him. “Work?” she asked sleepily.
“Yeah.” They yawned and sat up, running a paw down their wife’s back and across her rear. “Got to go in,” and Hamo leaned over and nuzzled the vixen before getting out of bed.
<NEXT>
<PREVIOUS>
<FIRST<
© 2021 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
capt_hairballThe two detectives headed for the nearest transit station, and after they stepped into a lift Joachim faced his partner. “So, you put in your papers?” When Hamo nodded, the boar asked in a slightly sullen tone, “When were you going to tell me?”
“I was going to,” and as the cross-fox started to turn away Joachim put a paw on their shoulder. “What?”
“The first thing you taught me when we became partners,” Joachim said, “was to communicate.” His expression showed that he was angry but trying to restrain himself. He was larger and stronger than the cross-fox, but not as tall. “I’ve put up with your silence a lot of the time, because I know you usually have more on your mind than the job, and you think constantly.”
“Glad you – “
A snarl. “You’re not listening.” Joachim’s face was a centimeter from Hamo’s nose, and the cross-fox blinked, their ears laying back. “I need to know what you know, Hamo. You’re getting ready to retire, and you didn’t tell me. If something happens – like you leaving before the case is done - I won’t know enough to carry on.”
Hamo blinked at him as their ears slowly stood back up, and the cross-fox slowly put their paws on the boar’s broad shoulders. They sighed and said, “Yes, you’re right, Joachim. I’ve treated you poorly, and I’m sorry. I turned in my papers before I went to see Stranger.” The transgender vulpine sank back against the side of the lift car. “I’m sorry.”
Joachim folded his arms across his chest. “So, I’m listening. What’s the plan?”
“The plan?” Hamo favored their partner with a smile. “The plan’s to sit back and wait for a bunch of gang members and prostitutes to see or hear something.”
“That’s your plan?”
Hamo shrugged. “Best I can come up with. How about you?”
Joachim’s ears swiveled as he thought. “Can’t think of anything else at the moment.” He held the cross-fox’s gaze for a moment before they both chuckled. “Back to the office?”
“For now, yes. Still a few loose ends to wrap up.”
“Like?”
“Gerstein and his line of work.” Joachim nodded. The Ministries of Health and Education were heavily bureaucratized, and even labeling the request a police priority would take time to process, and just about the same amount of time to send the reply. Still, they were simple requests.
“From what we found, he liked his line of work,” the boar remarked.
Hamo nodded. “He could’ve done a lot better in a brothel – “
“Union dues.” The cross-fox’s ears swiveled, and Joachim explained, “I dated one a while back, before I got married. She spent a lot of time complaining about how big a cut the Ministry was taking out of her pay.”
Hamo’s expression morphed into sly grin. “Have you told Patricia?”
Joachim chuckled. “Of course.” His expression matched Hamo’s. “Bet you ten euro that’s why Gerstein didn’t join up.”
The vulpine offered a paw. “Done. And,” as they shook paws with their partner, “ten euro that the Education Ministry gives us their answer first.”
“Oh, you’re on,” the boar said with a chuckle.
The lift took them to the nearest train station, where they boarded. “That’s a thought,” Joachim muttered as they took their seats.
“Hm?”
“If our guy’s a hacker, couldn’t he be watching us now, through our own surveillance systems?”
The transgender vulpine frowned. “That is a cheerful thought. We’d better send out a notice; if they’re using the Transport Ministry’s protocols, chances are good they’re also into the cameras.”
“And the police ones, too.”
“True.” Hamo turned up the collar of their overcoat and tried to sink into it.
The pair waited until they were back at the police station before acting on their suspicions, with Hamo explaining things to Captain Eisler while Joachim called the Ministry of Transport. “It’s a scary thought,” the raccoon said as he showed Hamo out of his office. “I’ll let the higher-ups know; you contact the IT section and have them check out our systems.”
“Right, Captain,” and Hamo headed quickly for their desk and picked up their phone. The fox entered the number and sat down, brush twitching back and forth impatiently. “Hello, Fräulein Bauer? Detective Suleymanoglu . . . We have inquiries out, yes, but that’s not why I called . . . There’s a concern that our surveillance systems might be compromised by this fellow . . . yes, you heard me . . . You’ll get right on it? Good. Thank you; please let me or Detective Schmidt know if you find anything. Yes, goodbye.” They looked at their now-quiescent phone, shook their head, and placed the phone on the desk as Joachim hung up.
“Okay, the word’s getting around to the various ministries,” the boar said. “What did the Captain say?”
“He’s notifying the people above him, and I just finished alerting Bauer.” Hamo opened their desk drawer and fished out their coffee mug. “Want a cup?” Joachim shook his head and the cross-fox got up and went to get some coffee. Returning with it they said, “Now comes the fun part.”
“There’s a fun part?”
“Heh. Waiting to see who wins the bets,” and the boar laughed as Hamo waggled their eyebrows. The cross-fox sat down, and the pair started going over what they had so far.
The surveillance camera footage from the shopping arcade showed the disguised Lobel being led between the food stand and the jacksalon by Gerstein. No one else was with them, which confirmed the food stand’s owner’s statement. Nearly an hour after Hamo sat down, a small icon glowed on their computer’s desktop. “Hmm.”
“What?” Joachim asked.
“A message,” the cross-fox replied in a theatrical tone. “Who could it be from?”
The boar rolled his eyes. “Come on, get it over with.”
Hamo grinned, tapped the icon, and their ears and brush promptly drooped. “Health Ministry.” Joachim grinned happily. “Let’s see what they said. Hmm, Office of Prostitution Certification . . . damn.” They sighed. “Gerstein, Karl, age, disease status, known proclivities . . . they’re really thorough . . . refused an opening in the brothel at Pankow . . . shit, refused over union dues.”
“Hah!” Joachim said, the exclamation causing a few in the office to swivel their ears at him. “You owe me twenty euro!”
Hamo’s ears were flattened as they dug into a pocket and passed over a twenty-euro note, while those furs who had overheard chuckled among themselves. “I want to win that back.”
The boar tucked the bill away and asked, “Oh yeah?”
Hamo thought for a moment. “I say we hear something from the Underbox in two to three days.”
“Two days?” Joachim looked skeptical. “I say five days, minimum.”
The cross-fox reached a paw across the desks. “What do you say?”
“Done,” and the other furs started laughing while the boar and the cross-fox went back to work.
***
The phone rang.
And kept ringing.
Hamo grumbled, disentangled themselves from Karin, and fumbled for the phone, silencing it and bringing it to their ear. “Suleymanoglu,” they muttered.
“Joachim.” The boar’s voice sounded sleepy – and irritated. “I owe you twenty euro.”
The cross-fox breathed a husky laugh. “What time is it?”
“Two-forty. You going in?”
“Meet you at the office.” Hamo switched off the phone and lay back on the bed, blinking up at the ceiling.
Karin stirred beside him. “Work?” she asked sleepily.
“Yeah.” They yawned and sat up, running a paw down their wife’s back and across her rear. “Got to go in,” and Hamo leaned over and nuzzled the vixen before getting out of bed.
<NEXT>
<PREVIOUS>
<FIRST<
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Fox (Other)
Size 85 x 120px
File Size 55.8 kB
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