Fraudulent Death, Draft 01, CH 55 (Patreon)

The expression on his wolf’s face would be funny, if not for him being in an interrogation room, accused of crimes they both knew he hadn’t committed. Trembor’s own expression might not be as amusing. He was doing the best he could to keep his anger under control, but he felt the tension in his muscles.

“Before either of you explode from worry,” Bahamel said from the door, “the door’s unlocked, and the camera’s turned off. Marlot, you two can leave when you want.”

Trembor reached behind him to close the door on her. Before he spoke Marlot asked.

“How are Herelex and Isenson?”

Trembor swallowed his annoyance. Considering what he’d pulled off, his wolf deserved an update. “They are with my parents. Isie pretty much shut down. Herelex is handling things better.”

“I’m sorry, I was hoping we’d get to them before—”

“Stop. You fucking save their lives, so stop with the guilt trip. What I want to know is what the fuck you think you’re doing taking the blame for that conspiracy those criminals dumped on me.”

“That’s gone,” Marlot answered. “Part of the arrangement, since it was mainly a way for them to punish you for not playing ball.”

“Yeah, and now I am, you say to it. Marl, do you—”

His wolf was before him, a finger against his lips. “Please trust me. We aren’t out of this, but the plan is also not done.”

Trembor moved the finger away none too gently, he didn’t want to accommodate his wolf not after what these last days had been like because “fine, Flattooth still has something she can use to tear you apart, do you have any idea how expensive lawyers are? You’re not going to be able to find one willing to group against her for less than top money.”

Marlot dismissed Trembor’s concern with a casual wave. “I took care of that already.”

“How?” he demanded.

“I admitted to the whole thing on the record. The only thing we’re waiting on is sentencing.”

Trembor grabbed Marlot by the shoulder. “You what? Are you insane? Didn’t you hear what I said about her? How she was coming at me with everything she got? She’s going to see to it that you spend the rest of your life within a complex.”

His wolf’s grin was infuriating. “She said something to that effect.”

“Marl!”

“Calm down. She can’t actually do it, at least I’m confident she can’t. With you, even before the conspiracy, as you call it, she was making you out to be the leader of an enforcer secret force running this city as your own hunting grounds. I’m not an enforcer. I have no connection to the enforcers. No judge is going to buy that I’m running them, especially since I wasn’t here six years ago. And just in case I’m wrong, I’ve arranged for her to be busy with something she’s going to be so much more interested in than me.”

Trembor stared at his wolf. How had he never noticed he was some mastermind engineering everything around him?

Marlot motioned to the door. “How about we get out of here since the door isn’t locked.”

“But you’re waiting for sentencing. You can’t leave.”

His wolf had this grin again. “Turns out the city leader pulled his weight and I’m not being held while that’s being worked on. You should have seen Flattooth’s expression when she had to tell me that.”

Trembor wracked his brain to figure out why city leader Sharphorns would even hear about Marlot’s situation. “That favor he owed you from when with when he forced you to go to your home town.”

“Something like that. I’m not going to ask, I’m just happy he did. I wasn’t looking forward to being caged while the rest of the plan came to fruition.” He opened the door.

“This plan of yours doesn’t need you to work?” He followed his wolf, who strode through the hall, uncaring of the looks he got.

“The last active role I played in it was rescuing your nephews. Everything else keeps going regardless of what I do.”

They reached the bullpen and Marlot headed for Bahamel. On the other side, the hippopotamus was in a heated argument with the jackal. She looked annoyed with him, or maybe angry. Trembor had the sense he was invading her space, but she wasn’t giving off the usual scared prey body language. The jackal noticed Trembor watching them and pointed, whatever he was saying going up in anger.

She shoved him away from her in clear annoyance, only have to confront a hare who handed her an envelope before hurrying to retreat. Trembor followed him until he vanished out the doors to the lobby. He hadn’t been in uniform, so a civilian; which meant he shouldn’t have been on this side of the doors. How had he come in? Him being a hare made Trembor think of Nikal, but it hadn’t been him. Wrong coloring, even if the body language meant nothing with how good of an actor Nikal had been.

“You’re going to want to avoid her for a while,” Bahamel was saying. Trembor realized she’d been speaking for a few minutes, but to Marlot. “No prosecutors like being played, and she least of all. She likes to think of herself too smart to be caught in those games.”

“It’s always those who think they are too smart for it that fall prey to them,” Marlot replied. “But don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere near her until I’m called in for sentencing; if that even happens now.” His wolf looked at the exiting hippopotamus with a smile.

“Oh, before I forget,” the bear said, pulling an envelope out of her vest’s pocket. “A hare wanted me to give this to you.”

Marlot took it and put it away without looking. The envelope was the same tan as the one Flattooth had been handed, and also by a hare. His wolf only smiled at the narrowing of Trembor’s eyes.

“We should get out of here,” Marlot said, “there’s something we have to do before we can go home.” He headed for the lobby doors, but Trembor grabbed his arm.

“I’m parked underground, with the squad cars. You don’t want to go out the front, the newsies are foaming at the mouth to find out what’s going on with you. You might have forgotten that you’re something of a celebrity right now, but they haven’t.”

Marlot sighed. “Right, avoiding them until everything is resolved is going to be tougher.” He looked at the bear. “Any idea how long?”

“I’ve but my people where they need to be, but I can’t do anything until the others have done their part. Speak to her, if you want things to hurry along.”

“Speak to who?” Trembor asked. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Marlot shook his head. “Once it’s all done. Right now, let’s go, I’ll give you directions as you drive.”

* * * * *

Trembor looked up at the housing building as he followed Marlot into it. “What are we doing here?”

“Bringing someone back to life,” his wolf answered cryptically.

“If this is going to turn into some fiction show,” he said as they entered the elevator, “I’d rather wait in the car.”

“You’re going to like this part,” his wolf answered, leaning against him. “I’m sorry for all the secrets and the games. Right now it’s best if you can’t accidentally reveal anything.”

“You know I wouldn’t.”

“Trust me, the cartel is going to look for any evidence I’m not holding up my end of the bargain. Anyone you’ll speak with could work for them.”

“And are you holding up to your side of all this?” Trembor asked, too confused to be angry anymore.

The grin his wolf gave him as the doors opened said all he had to. “Of course I am.”

A few doors in, he knocked, and a wolverine answered the door. Looking at him then Trembor, resignation on his face.

“Trem, meet Kaspel Quickill,” Marlot said once they were in the small apartment, “the male who definitely didn’t kill Hardir Mixcoat.” The living room space was filled with canvases in various stated of being painted.

“I wish you wouldn’t say it like that,” the wolverine said, miserably.

“Don’t worry, I’ve made arrangements for the body to be transferred to him.” Marlot motioned to Trembor. “And he won’t pursue you about it.”

“You can do that?”

“No, he can’t,” Trembor stated.

His wolf waggled his hand. “Remember when I offered to tell you the ways I’d broken the law on that one day?” He smiled at Trembor. “It’s for a good cause, I promise.”

Trembor let out an exasperated sigh. What cause could his wolf think he’d be okay with him breaking yet another law? His wolf opened the door to a storage room with so many other canvasses Trembor initially missed the silver wolf in the nest of blankets. Terror filled her eyes, and she held a cub tighter against her body.

“Meet the reason my side of all this happened,” Marlot said.

“The body?” Trembor asked, having trouble piecing things together.

“The cub’s father. He was born out of the system, which would have doomed him to a life of serfdom. What his father had willingly given himself over to save his family. My guess is that he couldn’t bear to let his son endure what he had. So he accumulated evidence, arranged to die in my territory, with the body unclaimed so I’d have to talk with his family and they’d suspect something was off when they received a package from their long-dead father and hand it to me so I could work out everything, with help.”

“This is sounding like some bad movies scenario,” Trembor said, remembering stories his cousin told him about some of the scripts studios wanted his girlfriend to film.

“Desperation will do that.”

“So who are they?” Trembor asked. “I mean what their names.”

“Right now, they are no one. She dies years ago. And her son was born with an ID.” Marlot stepped into the room, pulling out the envelope Bahamel had given him. He crouched before her and offered it to her. “With this, she is Jarmel Silverback, who arrived in the city a few days ago from Low Valley, with her son Harrim. She used to work at the farms and decided she wanted a life in the city. She went through the process to gain a productivity rating assigned. It isn’t much, but it’s a place where she can start building a life.”

Trembor recalled Marlot telling him about a system being in place for farmers who wanted a new life, but how had he explained a predator being a farmer? He almost asked, but hope had replaced her fear as she took the envelope and clutched it to her. Marlot had probably broken yet another law. He should be mad. His wolf seemed to break them as if that was why they existed.

But he’d brought hope back to a mother. He’d made it so a son had a chance at life.

“If you want,” Marlot told her. “I can put you in touch with Hardir’s family. I don’t know how they’ll take the news, but your son is related to them, so they might help you out.”

She shook her head, and when she spoke her voice was soft. “I will make it by myself. Hardir wouldn’t want Little Jor—Harrim, to endanger his other family. It was the other thing that scared him when he did what he did.”

Marlot nodded. “Then, when you’re ready. You can take your place in society.”

“I can help,” Kaspel said, “the sweets shop always needs extra hands, and it doesn’t take a lot of skills to work there.”

Marlot stood. “Thank you.”

“I promised Hardir I’d look after them for as long as I could,” the wolverine said. “Helping them get on their feet is the least I can do.”

His wolf took Trembor’s hand as he left the room and lead them outside. In the elevator, Trembor kissed the top of his head.

“You get a pass for this,” he whispered. “But please stop breaking laws.”

Marlot looked at him with a mischievous grin. “I’ll try?” he said, before kissing him passionately.

Trembor wrapped his arms around his wolf. Kissed him back and admitted to himself he’d let him get away with just about anything so long as they stayed together.