A blissful ray of sunshine cast its presence down upon Wolf, who slept peacefully on the crimson couch he had fallen asleep on whilst discussing the origins of the New Blizzard. His fur shimmered alongside glimmered as the leaves swayed around outside. It may have been nearing fall, yet that familiar scent of summer was still ever-present in the air. He wasn't sure if it was thanks to the fact it had been raining for the majority of the night and his nose was now blessed by the scent of a damp summer's morning or if it was merely because the air conditioning inside of Lana's apartment led to him briefly forgetting about the dryness of the air, yet his senses were stronger than ever and his mind was still chasing the phantoms of the previous night.
Wolf now had a lot more insight about Winter González than he thought he would require, as well as a secondary unknown Japanese contact that she was familiar with. He was now aware that this New Blizzard was beyond a Californian problem and that there was a Japanese sect that most likely existed inside of the land of the eternal sun. Not only that, he now had a laptop to search in the morning that Lana had dumped on the table after taking another shot of whiskey before she ended up passing out inside of her bed.
For a second, Wolf thought that he was in some form of dystopian simulation when he realised he had woken up sharply at 6 AM, which was the earliest he had woken up in a while. Maybe he had forgotten the scent of the early morning as he reluctantly opened his eyes a second time to glance at the clock. However, in doing so, he also caught sight of Lana staring him down with her eyebrow raised and a briefcase in her hand.
"Finally awake, are we?" She teased, throwing her briefcase onto his lap and jolting him awake. "Don't worry, I have copies stashed in places nobody will check but here's all of the independent work I've done into the New Blizzard as well as the original copies. I need to offload these somewhere before the New Blizzard itself becomes suspicious of me, especially after the fact I was called out by that Irish prick... Stanley, you piece of sh-"
"Don't worry, I can keep hold of the documents. I do need to make a lot of notes, though. You kind of loosened up your tongue last night and went on a massive tangent about the New Blizzard and I need to get some information correct before you presumably head off for work. Is it cool if I run through it with you real quick before I collect everything and leave?" Wolf released a massive yawn before stretching out his body yet again, this time making sure to revel within the glory of that stretch before rubbing his eyes.
"Sure, just be quick about it, I've got to get to work sooner rather than later or else my bosses won't be thrilled that I'm trying to skip out on my job which pays minimum wage, yippee!," Lana's sarcasm raised some suspicions within Wolf, especially when he peered around the room and saw that she was a woman bursting with colour considering the variety of paintings and posters that were pinned up on every single wall.
"You're not really thrilled about working that job, are you? Being pushed around by rich jerks all day that'll rub your nose in their wealth the moment you're caught looking at it for too long... Hah, perhaps you can understand why I got into crime quite a bit when the idea was introduced to me and I found out I was quite good at it. Oh, before I ask any questions though, I've got to say that this is a nice pad you've got. It's cosy and welcoming. It was also surprisingly easy to get off to sleep on this sofa," Wolf felt at ease despite the fact that Lana had held him at gunpoint the previous night and they had become quite trusting of one another once the booze was pulled out as well as they got on a relatable conversation with one another.
"I'm glad you like it here, this is my main apartment. I have a few safe spaces because, quite honestly, having a target on my back isn't exactly relaxing and I still need to apologise for holding a gun to you considering I saw you a lot yesterday. Whether it be on the sidewalk heading into Odie's or inside of the Casa Encanta sitting next to Garcia, I'm sure you can understand why on earth I was so paranoid... As it turns out, you were following me but for a completely different reason," Lana took a seat next to Wolf, taking her briefcase off his lap and flipping it open. "Now, what do you need to go over to refresh your memory?"
"I've got most of the story straight. I know that Winter was born in Guatemala roughly forty years ago and her father used to run a ruthless cartel that she inherited after staging a coup d'etat against her brother shortly after his passing. I know this cartel has become such a massive problem in Guatemala that it actually has its own political party, meaning that Winter is technically royalty. I know that Winter has been outsourcing her work to a Mexican gang for a while which we don't exactly know the name of, just their existence in general. I know that she also runs a smaller cartel in Venezuela, mainly to make profit from raiding and controlling the oil fields before selling to lesser-off nations for a cheaper price but it's a price they're willing to pay," Wolf shook his head before his eyes widened thanks to the sheer scale of Winter's operation. "Damn, this woman really knows her stuff if she's got a lot of small cartels in Latin America, too."
"It really doesn't help that literally everyone who has worked with Winter sees her as some form of goddess as well, but she has eyes pretty much everywhere in Latin America and she's now expanding into America via California. If 'ya look at the files, you'll find a few transaction logs that I managed to get off Brian... Well, Brian may be an engineer but he's also got a side of him that's able to sneak into the system. I also told you how myself and Brian were silently opposed, which is why I fear for his safety even more. He's just some grunt compared to me in their eyes, he may be my boyfriend but they don't care about that... One thing that worries me is the fact they may have caught him doing something he shouldn't have been doing. Winter's smart, too, if he was up to something and he was caught; there's a chance that he wouldn't have gotten out of that situation," Lana let off a silent shudder as Wolf placed his paw around her right shoulder.
"Try not to worry about that too much, Lana. I know a lady who has eyes literally everywhere in this city and beyond, she works at a fancy tech firm and can probably trace these messages back to their initial origin. Brian's still alive, executing people wouldn't be profitable for Winter, that's if she plans on holding a mass-ransom roundup in the hopes of securing some extra funds for her mission... Didn't you say something was coming in from Japan? Something atomic?"
"She's been dabbling with atomic and hydrogen-based weapons of mass destruction whilst attempting to remove the radioactivity part of it. Supposedly, she says, it's for a mission back home in Guatemala but one thing that doesn't make sense is the fact she's trying to secure funds for it... Unless this little war of terror in America with her starting up her own syndicate has been causing her problems financially. I don't think running a cartel is very profitable unless you have a market but when you go abroad and into a new environment, gosh, literally anything is possible and it wouldn't surprise me if her wallet is bleeding," At that moment, Wolf sensed a weakness within Winter's plans. Under the guidance of the sun beaming in, he immediately rummaged through Lana's briefcase to pull out a transaction log he had sighted when she opened it up to showcase her files.
"It's a pre-order. With a deposit made in advance before promising the rest of the money before this weaponry is delivered. Not only that, she's making vague promises about some artefacts... Uh-oh..." Wolf gulped as he peered into the document to read that most of the money was supposedly going to be moved via some tangible and credible assets as opposed to raw money or a wire transfer. "In two weeks, the Good Samaritan contest is being held. It was pushed back thanks to the New Blizzard's activities during the peak of the summertime months and now will take place during the first week of fall. I think it's starting to make sense now. That time almost coincides perfectly with the moving of assets from across the city inside of reinforced security trucks between museums and banks considering there's one massive transferring process happening. I know what they're going to do! They're probably going to steal the Golden Dolphin as well as most of the artefacts being moved, that's over sixteen billion dollars of artefacts... This would be the largest heist in history if it was successful, let alone if it ended up going overseas, but sixteen billion dollars for what? - Surely all the technology required to make a non-radioactive radioactive bomb doesn't cost that much, right?"
"You'd be surprised how much money it cost this country to make the first atomic bomb which was radioactive. Winter has already spent billions on her own nuclear and atomic research agency... She's actually the founder of the Atomic & Nuclear Research Agency of Guatemala thanks to them requiring a science program. Huh, it never really made sense to me why this transaction was so important up until now... It doesn't look like she's just trying to lay waste to California through crime..." Lana practically waited for Wolf to finish her sentence as he gently placed the transaction logs back on top of the pile of paperwork that already sat within the briefcase.
"She's trying to threaten the entirety of America whilst starting a war in the process. But why? What could her motives be..?" Wolf was hoping for some insight from Lana at this point considering she was part of the original founders club before being turned by her own instincts yet she had nothing to offer, merely shrugging whilst shaking her head.
"Pff, I don't know. I'm just one of their dealers that works by the docks. You're not going to get me arrested for dealing drugs with the New Blizzard, are you?" At that moment, she witnessed Wolf having an epiphany. "Uh, Wolf?"
"Shut up for a minute, please... Sorry if that's rude, hang on... I'm thinking- really hard about this whole situation. It was on the tip of my tongue but I lost it- AHA!~" Wolf jumped up from his seat before his mouth gaped open and his eyes suddenly lost their shine. "I uh... I think I know why it's called the New Blizzard. All of this Atomic research stuff. You see, I ain't a scientist, I'm an ex-crook, the opposite of a scientist but even my slightly smart side is seeing a correlation between the Japanese shipment coming into America, the crime and the Atomic stuff... Plus with New Winter. You know how there's a thing that exists called 'Nuclear Winter', right?"
"Oh mierda... Si, I'm familiar," Lana shakily responded, almost feeling the cascade of information hit her mind all at once.
"You mentioned last night that there's a group of fanatic rogue scientists working for Winter, too... Performing who knows what when it comes to experiments, probably upon people and animals... What if their name is an acronym for what they want to do to this world? What if New Blizzard means something else, to plunge the world into chaos?" Wolf practically felt his world falling apart around him, literally a day into being a private detective and he had already unravelled this dark truth about the world that he sat oblivious to for ages considering he was once a part of this darkness.
"It would fit their objectives really well, considering part of Winter's private ideology basically borders anarchism and survival of the fittest. Not to mention the fact that after Marmalade's stunt with the meteorite intrigued her, she's been looking into the area and still looking for fragments of it to see if it's something better than nuclear energy... It was literally something that could mobilise hundreds of thousands of guinea pigs into a force, if she could do that with humans or with animals; activating their feral instincts perhaps? We'd be screwed. And when it comes to people stopping her? She has the hydrogen bomb to bluff against the world, who wouldn't dare challenge her insanity," Lana reached for Brian's laptop in front of her, greeted yet again by the same screen that had challenged her before. "Brian was doing some research on this but I could never get through his enigma... He hid it inside of the DVD tray for me to look into or for him to recover his password whenever he forgot the answers, it's basically a cluster of newspaper dates and words that you have to rearrange to get an answer."
"Oh, I used to solve these all the time in school, that's sort of what inspired me to get here from the beginning other than thirsting for the truth. Let me have at it," Moe picked up the midnight blue laptop from Lana's lap before reaching into the DVD drive, pulling out a set of scraps which made up the newspaper. "Dates begin in 1957 and end in 1969... That's the rough time where the space race was at its climax... It mentions Sputnik and Apollo a few times as well as the astronauts involved; hm, I think it tells a story. Okay. 'From 1957 to 1969, humanity dove into the cosmos. First with Sputnik, then with Apollo. We charged onto the moon, perhaps other galaxies shall be explored by humanity too' - Let me just type that into the laptop's recovery phrase and... BAM! I'M IN!"
"HOW DID YOU DO THAT?" Lana practically burst out in a mix of admiration but also confusion, bewilderment and moderate anger. "I'VE BEEN TRYING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THAT FOR MONTHS AND YOU SOLVED IT IN A FEW SECONDS? HOW?" She cried out, begging for an answer from Wolf that wasn't so cryptic.
"What can I say? I'm a private detective now, this is sort of what I'm meant to do. Now, I'm looking for New Blizzard atomic research documents that Brian pulled from their database, right? That seems to make sense considering he's one of their engineers," Wolf started sifting through the files whilst Lana watched on in awe. "Okay, I don't know anything about computers but there's a text file relating to the subject which reads 'project-dim-horizon.txt' which is encrypted. I can't break encryption but if you recall correctly, I mentioned a lady from earlier who will help... Ahem, I need to give her a call, I need to give many people a call, actually; not something that'll trip the New Blizzard's systems but I need to get a team together for this," Wolf gently closed the laptop before setting it atop the briefcase, to which Lana reluctantly handed it over before scratching the back of her ears.
"I should... Ahem. I should get to work and pretend that this conversation didn't happen, huh? That we didn't just unravel a plot that might relate to some form of nuclear armageddon taking place thanks to the will of a single woman? War has changed a lot, it's now drones and smaller battalions, does she really think she can bring back the tried and tested method of warfare whilst scarring us with radioactive fallout?" Lana tossed on her sunhat that she would be wearing throughout the day as well as packed her docks uniform into her backpack.
"War, one way or another, has always been about power, control, dignity and honour; or the lack of it depending on which side you play. When the old ways still work despite their flaws and history dictates that they have rarely faltered, well, it might end up being the most efficient way to cause chaos. Now. I'm going to head to the roof, I need to make some calls. I was never here, got it?" Wolf took his raincoat from the coat hanger as well as brought the briefcase to his side, grasping it with his paw as Lana nodded in understanding.
"And I never held you up at gunpoint. If we meet again, it'll be too soon," Lana slipped Wolf a secondary business card that she had thrown together in the night which could unfold to become a map of the east end of Los Angeles, labelling three safe spots where Wolf could find her if she ever needed to retreat from Marina Del Rey due to feeling threatened. Without exchanging words, Wolf merely took his bowler hat and slung it back onto his head, nodding as he did his best to put on his face moustache before making a stride to the elevator; his destination set in stone to be the roof of this rather decrepit apartment block.
Whilst the voices of those waking up and otherwise celebrating their days filled his mind, Wolf was scarred with the reality that the entirety of the city and to a further extent, America and the world was now under threat. It had just been a day of doing this work, a day where Wolf would be embracing his dream. Yet, as the events of the past day alone would dictate, this has evolved into nothing but a nightmare that Wolf must learn to become bunk-buddies with for the rest of his life or until the New Blizzard is dispersed and reduced to a mere icicle.
As Wolf emerged from the roof, his fur still somewhat cold due to the bitterness of this specific morning as he was blasted with radiant yellow rays from the sun, he punched in the number to Webs' phone in the hopes that she would pick up instantly. As milliseconds turned to seconds and his stomach found itself unsettled from the booze he had consumed mixed in with the lack of food he had consumed for the past few hours, his mind tied himself into a knot as Webs eventually answered her phone with contrasting energy.
"Wolfie! Woof-woof-woof! Nice to see you calling so early! How's the detective gig going?" Ms. Tarantula was thoroughly enjoying her day off so far, it may have been just gone six o' clock but she was one to seize the day in any way possible, especially when she slept six hours a day and would wake up at 4:30 AM without fail.
"Uh... About that," Wolf's melancholic tone immediately told the story for Webs as she composed herself on the spot.
"Uh-oh, that's sad Wolfie. Are you okay, buddy?"
"Kind of... No, not really. My first day on the job, Webs. I've unravelled so much about this world that I really didn't need to know, something that we're going to have to look into together. I need your technical expertise for something. I heard you could track down literally anyone so long as we have the source messages, right? Well, I can't discuss all of the details on the phone with you but I have a lead on why so many people are going missing as well as something to do with a specific organisation that likes to associate itself with snow," Wolf leaned against the side of the apartment building, realising how truly unsafe it was to be atop such a building which was already covered mostly head to toe with bird excrement and other stains that he didn't want to ponder the origins of for too long.
"The New Blizzard. You've found something about them, haven't you?" Webs got straight to the point, not wishing to hold up Wolf with needless meandering. "I've been keeping tabs on their movements, I sort of feared that you'd get them as your big case. How did it spin into such a mess so fast, Moe?" Wolf knew Webs was being serious and stern with him when she called him Moe, of which he couldn't recall the last time he did such a thing.
"Simple missing person's case. Guy's father reveals his son is part of that organisation that I do not want to say out loud. I find out he has a girlfriend in that same conversation, so I decide to tail her. During that time, I also make a deal with a guy working at Cosmotech considering he had something to say about the presence near Black Mountain which I can't say much about on the phone. It sort of stays in the back of my mind up until I make my way to the Casa Encanta."
"Ah, Piranha's favourite bar. I'm guessing your target worked there or was hanging out there?" Webs knew how fuzzy Wolf's head could become whenever stricken by anxiety so she sought to keep him engaged with his own topic.
"She was hanging out there. The owner was cool with what I was doing but we uncovered thanks to something abrupt happening in the V.I.P section that all wasn't how it seemed in my head. I saw her leave after a red fox who's apparently a big shot in that organisation and he warned her not to open her mouth. I tailed her home, I wasn't really thinking and so she held a bullet to my head. I spilled that I could help and she handed over some information after I told her about Black Mountain and something I can't really say over the phone... We got a little drunk and I crashed there, we sort of had the world's worst epiphany and now I need your help," Wolf's head became overwhelmed with pain as well as heard his stomach rumble. "I need to grab something to eat, too," He joked as he was sure Webs heard that rumble, too.
"I'm willing to help you and I'll always help you, Wolfie. Now, where do you need me and at what time?" One thing Wolf knew about Webs and valued highly within her was the fact that she was always on point with her schedules as well as was direct with him at all times.
"It's your day off, right? Like Foxington? Meet me at our place at noon, I'll give Foxington a call and let her know to expect you. As for now, I've gotta go and let her know as well as get my behind home as I'm still in Marina Del Rey."
"Alright, you go and do that. I'll make my way to your place with Foxington and I expect to see you when you come through the door later today. Take it easy and make sure to grab something to eat, Moe!" Tarantula allowed some of her brighter energy to shine through as she hung up her phone, destined to make her way to Wolf and Foxington's suburban house whilst Wolf patched himself through to Foxington.
"Oh... Good morning to you, my favourite canine. What's woken you up and gotten you excited at such an early time in the morning?" Foxington was clearly dazed from waking up not too long ago, in fact, she was still chilling out in her bed as Wolf couldn't help but lighten up a little bit upon hearing the voice of his vixen from across the city.
"I wish it was for an enlightening reason. Just calling you to let you know I'm alive and that I'll be home by noon. Oh! And Tarantula is coming around for a home visit. I made some discoveries about this case I'm pursuing that the both of you may be interested in helping out with. Plus, I'm going to need both of your expertises anyway considering I've uncovered quite the juicy set of clues and connections!" Wolf was very obviously trying to push his energy levels up yet Foxington remained intrigued.
"Well, you coming home by noon and with some juicy case connections sure does sound enlightening for me. You sound tired, my love... Oh, and hungry! Grab yourself something to eat if you haven't already! You're in Marina Del Rey, there's a breakfast diner on every other corner, treat yourself!"
"Oh, how could I get myself so down with you in my life, hm? Alright, I'll grab something to eat. I'm going to be driving home in a rental car, though. I owe somebody a favour for borrowing it, let's just hope it's nothing too extreme. I love you, Foxi, see you soon!" Wolf joyfully hung up his phone after conversing with his love, feeling a little less disturbed regarding the truth he had just uncovered. "Now, before my mood drops too far... Let's get myself something to eat," Henceforth, Wolf called upon the elevator, waited out the ride before venturing into the parking lot to start up his rental car and find a nice place to eat at before making his way back home. If there was one thing he was excited about right about now, it was actually discussing this case with people he was comfortable with as well as alleviating that eerie sense of homesickness.
"I still wonder what Garcia wants. I just hope it isn't something too illegal," Wolf pondered as he entered his rental car, starting it up before reversing out of his parking space. "Time to grab myself something to eat... Hm, I'm feeling pancakes. They might not be as good as Foxington's homemade ones that she makes every Sunday but I really need a taste of home right now, and of reassurance. To a pancake diner I go!" Wolf kicked his car into high-gear and ventured onto the oddly quiet streets of Marina Del Rey, then again, this part of Los Angeles and California in general was renown for partying hard and sleeping in until noon unless you were an unfortunate sucker who worked a job on the weekend or had to be up early whilst skipping the parties in the process.
To assist him in drowning out the memories of the past twenty four hours, Wolf curiously turned on the radio inside of his car on the way to one of the nearby breakfast joints he had spotted. It was only a five minute drive away and so it was enough for him to enjoy one song. It was a shame that during this time, though, the radio stations seemingly wanted to remind him of his newfound purpose within this world filled with abnormality when "Holding Out for a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler started playing on Wolf's favourite 80s and 90s radio station.
"You've gotta be kidding me. Well, if there's one thing that's going to motivate me through this new career of chaos, it's going to be music and optimism... Would it be rude of me to sing along with this? You know what, the streets are mostly empty and I'm going to be accepting this as a sign... It would be rude of me not to!" He therefore reached for the dial on this radio, turning it up several notches so his car would be filled with the sounds of heroism. "Oh yeah! I might never know normal again but honestly, what is normal to the world anyways? We have our own sense of normal... And well, the world needs a hero!" Now, for copyright reasons, the author of this story unfortunately cannot insert a full snippet of this song considering they got warned the last time they did this for one of their works but between you and I, let us just pretend that he sung along with this iconic song whilst enjoying the sight of imported palm trees and the intoxicating scent of a Californian afterparty.
Following his jam session, he pulled up outside of a brightly lit old-school style American breakfast spot whilst grumbling over the fact that he was sure to pay an exorbitant price not only for his parking spot but also for his meal in general. Yet, if there was one thing that was going to overwhelm his senses with positivity, it was that sweet smell of freshly cooked pancakes mixed in with nature's favourite sweetener, maple syrup plus some sugar.
As expected, when Wolf went to order, still wearing part of his disguise considering he didn't want to blow his cover, he ended up having to pay a ridiculous amount just for a triple-stacked pancake which was made for him within the same minute. It may have been quiet so far but when the TVs were powered on for the day and the morning crowd of customers started flowing in before beginning their weekend adventures, none other than Wolf was forced to migrate several chairs to the right before catching sight of Tiffany Fluffit on the screen.
Without wanting to seem too captivated by the news and wishing to get his daily briefing, he hacked away at his pancakes, doing his best to seem as human-like as possible with his table manners as a headline read out by Tiffany Fluffit caught his eye... "New Blizzard members detained for attempted robbery." - Not wishing to be caught with his tail wagging too much, he stuffed it between his legs and continued to watch the morning broadcast.
"Here is a recording of last night's interview with none other than Chief Misty Luggins of the Los Angeles Police Department!" Tiffany Fluffit's voice charmed Wolf's ears as he felt a tingle of joy run up his spine. It may have been the most insignificant of arrests but it was a start considering the New Blizzard was seemingly immune to any form of prosecution up until now.
"Well, to simplify. They walked into a bank with shotguns, we were already prepared because an anonymous source tipped us off about some suspicious figures in the area. We then arrested two arctic foxes, a Siberian husky and forcefully brought down a polar bear who wasn't complying with our demands. Upon further investigation beyond what they claimed, we discovered they were a part of an illustrious criminal syndicate known as the New Blizzard and were overjoyed when they pledged to hand over several pieces of important intel to the police department so long as their sentence was reduced," Misty Luggins took a moment to sip out of a coconut on screen before lifting up her sunglasses. "What? They may have held up a bank and perhaps caused a public disturbance at best but they didn't kill anybody... At least, we think. We're going to look into it but we figured cutting a deal with these criminals would help us finally dig into this criminal syndicate that has been terrorising the lives of those in California for the past few months. It's a shame that we have to work with the criminals that are dumb enough to get caught but hey, it's our job to ensure that we aren't outsmarted by some crooks and we've evidently done our job to a satisfactory degree."
"And that was Chief Misty Luggins' statement regarding the New Blizzard. It seems like we can finally rest knowing that a group of criminals have been detained, perhaps this is a sign that the sun is setting on the New Blizzard, who promised in a rather vaguely threatening statement the same night on their private website that this summer would be cold for Californians... Are they aware of how warm it is even during the winter here? In other news, Mr. Wolf and Governor Diane Foxington have declared the opening of a private detective agency run by Mr. Wolf. The agency still remains unnamed, although locals are already nicknaming it 'Detective Moe's' and 'Canine Crook's Investigative Agency'... That second name isn't too kind unless you look at it light-heartedly. Either way, people seem to be mixed about Wolf's purpose as a detective or an investigator, perhaps he uses both titles? I've yet to interview him yet but it's nice to see that people are taking to his new agency kindly," One thing that reassured Wolf as he finished wafting down his pancakes was the fact that people were satisfied with his detective gig to the point where people were already nicknaming his establishment.
Shortly after getting his news digest and finishing his pancakes, he made sure to place the cardboard box that housed his pancakes as well as the plastic fork and knife into a disposal bin as he ventured back outside towards the parking space where his rental car was located. Thankfully, Wolf was only inside of the breakfast joint for a maximum of ten minutes to the point where the parking meter would only have to charge him twenty-five cents as opposed to fifty.
"Hmm, Canine Crook's... I might have to consider naming it that officially. I'm still a little lost when it comes to the name other than the address nickname itself, which is oddly enough located on Investigative Avenue. It's still a little crazy that I'm actually going through with this idea and I've discovered something big but from now on, I'm driving home as Detective Moe and it's time for me to lay this case out for everyone once I get home," The next few hours would consist of Wolf getting fairly irritated at traffic jams whilst rocking out to a variety of music, almost overheating thanks to the fact that the air conditioning inside of his rental car wasn't necessarily designed to house a canine as well as thinking about what he was going to say whilst eyeing up the briefcase that was in his passenger seat.
Yet, before he knew it, he was back at home with Foxington and Webs waiting outside for him as he powered down his car, lifted up his sunglasses whilst grabbing the suitcase and proudly walked onto the asphalt that coated the road beneath his paws and his shoes. Unbeknownst to him, his clock inside of his car was roughly an hour behind and what was supposed to be 10:30 AM was now 11:30 AM.
"Damn, I was really on the road that long? Well, it feels good to finally be somewhere which is quieter than the streets of Marina Del Rey. Seriously, if I have to hear any more jazz then I am going to consider becoming a criminal once again," Wolf greeted Foxington with a warm hug all the while Tarantula sat on her shoulder, somewhat embracing that hug between the both of them before Diane sweetly kissed Moe on the cheek.
"Welcome home, baby! It seems like you've had quite the eventful first day. First of all, you go completely above and beyond your schedule to chase a lead and second of all, you end up needing to crash some place before heading home thanks to it. I'm glad you're here though, I missed you and well- y'know, a call and some texting isn't as good as being able to embrace you physically," Moe had to admit that he had charmed Diane into being somewhat soft as well as a little fluffy on the romance side as he greeted Webs by offering his finger, to which she bumped it with two of her legs before nodding.
"Tell me about it! I wish I could celebrate being home and relax but I've got some important things to discuss with the both of you. Let's go inside, I'll share details about my first day in a bit," Wolf led the charge inside with his briefcase by his side, which caught the attention of none other than Webs.
"Hey, Wolf, I don't remember you being the collector of fancy black and gold briefcases. Did you buy that whilst on the job or something?" Tarantula inquired, feeling the instant relief of the cold air conditioning blowing against her fuzzy form once again upon standing out in the sun for almost twenty minutes anticipating Wolf's arrival.
"This? Oh, no, the lady I ended up bumping into about the case handed it to me... Let me just close the door real quick so nobody can listen in," Diane thought that Wolf was acting a little paranoid but considering what he was already sharing was supposed to have the utmost confidentiality between him and his clients, she could understand why he was keeping everything secure. "Long story short, I discovered the New Blizzard is responsible for the missing people that have disappeared all across the city in the past four to six months. They've been taken to Dropzones, apparently their leader, Winter González, wanted to acquire some atomic and hydrogen-related technology from Japan and this briefcase contains everything to prove that," Wolf had quite the way of dumping information onto Foxington as well as Webs, who had advised Diane that Wolf had a lot to say.
"...You had quite the eventful first day, didn't you?" Foxington silently asked as Wolf finally took off his shoes as well as the sweaty raincoat he had kept around himself for the majority of the drive home just for the sake of convenience. "I'm guessing there's more to it than just that? How did you come across all of this information on the first day? I knew you were going to be getting into some shady business but I never knew you would quite literally be straying into the darkest shadows possible. This is reminding me about my days as the Crimson Paw; constantly keeping eyes on people as well as monitoring corruption within California. It's how I became Governor of California to begin with; now you're telling me the criminals are corrupt?"
"I think criminals have always been corrupt, Diane, I know we sure were," Webs chimed in. "I've had a few offers from the New Blizzard to defect to their side and they always use the same excuse of me being an ex-criminal. There's a reason I'm an ex-criminal and that's because I moved away from that lifestyle! It may have been agonising going without using a computer whilst I was in the clink but hey! If you're really good then you'll never get rusty!" Webs let off a small smile all the while Wolf opened up the briefcase to reveal a laptop alongside a gigantic stack of paperwork.
"What's the plan of action, Wolf? What are we going to do about this? Should I notify Misty-"
"No! That's more trouble than it's worth. This is my case, I need a group of individuals who I'm familiar with to work on this with me. This is a massive case that I've stumbled upon and I'm going to need every mind that I can trust. I think everyone's off work today and can spare their time. Tarantula, can you call the rest of the crew? We've got a case to crack and a plan to put together," Wolf commanded, to which Webs pulled out her tiny phone and immediately started punching in the numbers to all of the former Bad Guy's. "There's a lot to go over and so, instead of explaining myself a thousand times over, we've got to attack this issue together. We've played villain many times before, we've been the nightmare that many people fear... Now, it's time for us to become the dream that people fantasise over, the hope that those reach out for. Ladies... It's time for us to play hero."
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[TO BE CONTINUED IN ACT II!]
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[A/N]
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I am sorry not sorry for the massive cliffhanger, folks! I realised that throughout writing this, I had a tendency to ramble about some of the various details and so I tried a new style of writing which was merely condensing down some things that were unimportant. In total, around 2K words were cut from writing this, which were mostly just over explanations and such. Hopefully, despite some things remaining vague, this has still been an enjoyable experience and you're thoroughly excited for Act II!
It has been a pleasure putting together this first act throughout this last month, and throughout this last month... I truthfully mean throughout this last week considering school was kicking my ass for the majority of this month and I've had a lot of private things to deal with considering I am unfortunately coming down with this thing called 'The Olds' where I end up needing to have some responsibility beyond merely being a college student... Ew, I'm slowly but surely becoming an adult and I know this isn't going to disappear anytime soon.
Thank you ever so much for reading through the entirety of Act I, I hope you've found some enjoyment within the beginning of this story and I look forward to furthering it within the second act. I apologise if there are some errors within this that you've noticed, we are all human and I will try and learn from my mistakes yet there will always be imperfections. I also hope to put together the second act in a shorter time span than a week.
I've honestly got no clue when the second act will be done.
Unfortunately, life is unpredictable and setting deadlines for myself has become less about getting rid of procrastination and has more become a stress. I'll have the second act out whenever it's ready. I am hoping to have it done by the end of the new year but a lot can change about these plans, especially when stories tend to alter their pace as well as their course... Don't even get me started on the fact that I'm working on my Backbone II megaproject behind the scenes as well.
Hey, I know nobody is reading that because Backbone is a pretty niche thing but like The Bad Guys, it's where my passion lies and I am thoroughly excited to further that story alongside this one! - Okay, I've gone on a bit of a tangent. Again, thank you so much for reading through these chapters, I hope you have a wonderful Halloween and beyond as well as enjoy your future days! See you all in Act II!
YOU ARE READING
Wolf Noir
FanficA new leaf, a criminal syndicate, a past filled with ambition transferred to the present alongside a world filled with an entirely new breed of bad guys. This is the world Detective Moe Wolf must navigate after turning his life around whilst accompa...
