Twitch and Skippy walked over, Twitch shaking his head, his whiskers twitching with agitation. "What the hell has this city come to," his voice a rapid, indignant whisper. "Trying to pick on people out in the middle of the day? On Fang's property, no less! Are you two okay? I saw those punks talking to you, but I thought they were just asking directions or something. Once I saw that hog had Mr. Kev… I didn't even believe what I was seeing!"
With a concerned expression Skippy put a large hand on Talon's shoulder. "You okay?" he asked, his voice a slow, deep rumble.
Talon had finally caught his breath, and his feathers were starting to smooth down. He nodded. "I'm okay, Mr. Skippy."
Skippy looked Talon up and down and said, his voice still rumbling, "Blood."
Talon looked down at himself, his workout clothes and hands stained with a few splatters of blood. He quickly rubbed his hands on the inside of his shirt, attempting to clean them off.
Kev looked around... the punks had already disappeared into the park. "I'm sorry, Talon," he said, his voice laced with guilt. "I was just going to give them what they asked for, but things got out of hand really fast."
Talon said nothing as he began checking Sabrina for injuries, much to Sabrina's displeasure.
Twitch said, "You shouldn't give that kind of person anything. They'll just want more. Just a few years ago, no one would be stupid enough to try to rob someone in Fang's territory. It's like the city has forgotten who he is already."
"They just wanted my smokes," Kev said, his voice still a little shaky. "There was no reason things had to get so out of hand."
"My smokes," Sabrina corrected with a grin.
Twitch shook his head vehemently. "No, no, no. If someone took your things when we were here, we'd be looking for new jobs before Fang woke up, because we'd never be able to show our faces back up in the club. You shoulda shouted for help. I thought Sabrina was just making a joke."
Talon's gaze softened as he looked up at his sister. "I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, Sabrina."
"I'll let you make it up to me, brother. Convince Fang that you need a computer."
Talon frowned.
Kev reached out for his cigarette case, which was now a bit lighter since Sabrina had pocketed all the joints. He pulled a cigarette out and lit it. "Thank you for saving us, Skippy," he said, exhaling a plume of smoke.
Skippy nodded, his expression solemn. "Anytime."
Twitch picked up the fallen walkie-talkie off the ground, blowing a bit of grass and dirt off it, and handed it to Kev. "You didn't call Gus, did you?" he asked, his voice a rapid whisper. Kev waited for more questions, as was usual from the rapid-fire ferret, but was surprised when he saw Twitch eagerly waiting for his response.
Kev shook his head and said, "No, Sabrina just threatened those guys with it. She said, uh, it would make me explode if she hit the button."
Twitch looked at Sabrina, bursting into laughter. "You what?!"
Talon and even Skippy also couldn't suppress their amusement at the idea. Talon let out a rare, soft chuckle, and Skippy's shoulders shook with quiet laughter.
She smiled, puffing out her chest slightly. "It nearly worked too," she declared. "Those losers were so dumb."
Talon stood and said, his voice serious, "There are plenty of dumb people who are strong. You should be more careful, sister."
Sabrina rolled her eyes and muttered, "I was being so bad… sitting there... talking."
Kev said, "I'm glad you're okay, Sabrina. That kick looked like it hurt."
"He barely hit me." With a laugh, she added, "Must have gotten something in his eye."
Twitch said, "Here I thought you were a little damsel in distress. Quite the feisty sister you've got, Talon. More than just words, huh? Guess this explains why you took the job. What did your old neighbors used to say?"
Talon said, his voice low, "The neighbors all knew Sabrina. Not many said goodbye to us when we moved to the club."
Twitch was about to launch into another series of rapid-fire questions when Skippy said, his voice a slow, steady rumble, "You three should go back to the club."
Twitch looked up at the kangaroo before nodding his head quickly. "Yeah, yeah, Skip's right," he said, his wispy voice regaining its usual speed. "Someone might have called in the brawl. Don't need you getting dragged off for questioning, especially when you're all bloodied up, Talon."
Talon nodded and fetched Sabrina's wheelchair.
Kev said, "Sorry guys, I didn't mean to mess up your day off."
"Don't fret it, buddy! The whole reason we wanted to come to the park was for a bit of excitement!" Twitch grinned. "You know, all the other security guards are gonna be dying to come here on their day off now too! First Rex gets to claw up a gang, and not even two days later, we get to fight some more punks! This place is way better than I even hoped!"
Kev was surprised that even with all the drama, Twitch looked genuinely happy. Kev said, "Aren't you worried that you'll get arrested for fighting?"
Skippy shook his head, his voice a slow, deliberate rumble. "This is Fang's land."
Twitch said, "Oh, some city enforcer might drag us down to the station, but once they do a background check and see who our boss is, they'll apologize and we'll be on our way."
Kev said, "That's crazy. Really?"
Talon, now finished helping Sabrina back into her chair, said, "Time to go, Kev."
Kev nodded, understanding they should get back to the club. He knew if he got brought to the station, they probably wouldn't be letting him out like everyone else.
Talon said, "Thank you, Mr. Skippy and Mr. Twitch. I will not forget this."
Twitch said, "Don't worry about it, Talon. You're part of the family too. And do you think we'd be okay with letting our new little brother get to have all the fun?"
Skippy said, "No."
Twitch said, "Of course not! But next time, maybe don't try to kill them, just rough 'em up and knock 'em out."
"Understood."
Twitch rubbed Talon's shoulder and said, "Hey, don't worry about it."
Talon nodded and said, "We will see you tomorrow night. Thank you Mr. Twitch and Mr. Skippy"
Kev waved to the ferret and kangaroo as he followed Talon away, back towards 'Ver-Van-da' parked back on the club driveway.
Kev focused on his smoke during the walk, ignoring Sabrina pestering him for a lighter so she could begin smoking her hard-won joints. Kev's thoughts were interrupted by Talon's soft voice saying, "Kev and Sabrina, can you please not mention what happened today?"
Kev glanced over and said, "Talon, I don't know... I really don't want to lie to Fang."
Sabrina said, "Yeah, Talon! You managed to not get your butt kicked, and you want to hide it?"
Talon was quiet.
"I won't say anything specific… but I think Fang will be upset if he hears it from anyone else." Kev said after a few moments.
Talon nodded slowly and said, "If you tell Mr. Fang, it should be okay."
"I'm gonna tell everyone! Don't you think Gus will love the story?" Sabrina said enthusiastically.
Talon said, "Sister, I'm not joking. If it gets out that Mr. Skippy and Mr. Twitch needed to help me protect Mr. Kev… I don't think I'll be able to watch both of you at the same time."
Sabrina said, "Oh, now we both need babysitters? I was doing fine on my own, brother."
Kev sighed and said, "Don't worry, Talon. Just be honest about things." Kev thought, maybe not about trying to choke the hog to death, but everything else.
As they got back into the car and drove back up to the security checkpoint, Kev gazed out the van's window and wondered how such a peaceful morning changed so quickly. Was it him and his own human oddness that was attracting all of the attention, or was this just standard procedure for this beastly world? Talon glanced at Kev before slowing the van and lowering the window at the checkpoint.
Gus strolled out of the building, the pocket watch on his keychain held up to his scaled face as he said, "Made it back before lunch. Good job."
Talon nodded and handed the walkie-talkie back. Gus grabbed it and said, "So, was the park exciting enough?"
Sabrina, from the back, yelled, "More exciting than anything you'll do all day, you dirty gator! They even took part in honorable combat to impress this fair maiden!"
Gus shook his head and said, "Seems like you need to make her walks longer."
"Hey!" Sabrina squawked from the back.
Kev said, "I'm sure Twitch and Skippy will tell you all about it when they are back tomorrow evening."
Gus grinned and said, "Well, Twitch might tell me all about it, but Skippy will let me know the facts."
"Thank you for letting us go, Mr. Gus." Talon said.
"No worries." Gus grinned and said, "Young folks like you shouldn't be caged up in that stuffy club all day. Need a chance to spread your wings. Figuratively speaking, of course." Talon nodded.
"Fang's gonna chew you into a new handbag when he finds out Kev was roughed up at the park." Sabrina called.
"Your sister has the craziest mouth." Gus stood back and said, "You know the drill." Talon and Kev got out of the car.
Kev stood to the side as he watched Talon help Sabrina out of the van. Kev felt a bit bad for Gus; Sabrina harassed him while he patted her down and scanned over her chair with his handheld metal detector. Talon tried to assuage Sabrina, but it only seemed to fuel her insults to the professional crocodile. Gus looked a bit flustered when he asked Kev and Talon to pass through the standard metal detectors. Kev put his now much less full cigarette case and watch on a side table before passing through the detector; Talon followed behind.
Back outside, they saw Sabrina still heckling Gus as he scanned the van. "You won't find any of those dime store novels in there, you dirty gator!" she shouted. Gus seemed embarrassed but remained professional and finished his work quickly.
As Talon got back into the driver's seat, he apologized for Sabrina again. Gus said, "I'm getting used to her..."
Sabrina yelled from the back, "Next time Gus touches me, I'll sick Talon on him like those losers from the park!"
"I'm sure your brother has to cover for that smart beak quite often." Gus sighed.
Sabrina laughed and said, "Because he's too much of a wimp to speak his own mind!"
Talon shook his head and said, "I wasn't employed for my opinions."
Gus grinned, his long sharp teeth gleaming, and said, "You've got a good head on those shoulders, Talon. Go get your lunch, kids." Gus patted Ver-van-da on the roof, and Talon drove back up to the garage in the back of the club.
As they exited the van into the club, Sabrina was still complaining about the injustice of being searched by Gus every time she came to the club. "I bet he chose this job just so he could feel up young girls," she grumbled.
Talon, pushing Sabrina, said, "Mr. Gus is just doing his job."
Sabrina cackled and said, "Then why isn't he patting you and Kev down too?"
"We just aren't as special as you, Sabrina." Kev glanced over and said.
"Finally, someone can explain it to me in a language I understand."
They passed the main bar and stopped at the grand staircase. Kev looked up and said, "You two up for lunch? I'm just gonna check on Max before I come over."
Sabrina said, "Oh, just inviting yourself over so I can cook for you now?"
Kev winked and said, "You caught me."
Sabrina gave a sarcastic groan and said, "Nothing I cook you will make your fur grow in."
Talon said, "Be nice, sister." Turning to Kev, he said, "Come over whenever. I need to get cleaned up." Talon looked down at his blood-stained clothes.
Kev said, "Of course. You're lucky Gus was so distracted or he might have asked you about that."
Talon said, "Sister is a great distraction."