Sheep in Wolves' Clothing

Chapter 2

Nightlife in the city of Neo Atlas sometimes felt more roused than the hustle and bustle of daytime liveliness. Sure, the lapse of honking vehicles and padding shoes on sidewalks reduced the noise pollution, but they were replaced by screeching tires, gunfire, and snarling canines. Neo Atlas had one hell of a gang problem, and the police forces were barely making a dent. It wasn't their fault, really; the gangs they thought they were dealing with happened to be the least of their worries. No matter how many drug and weapon busts they celebrated, there were still two gangs that passed under their noses like the waft of fading cigarette smoke. The humans knew the possibilities of lingering cryptids adapting to their societies, yet their technologies proved useless to find them.
Again, that wasn't their fault; supernatural beings of yore had all but disappeared as humanity evolved. Humans weren't the only ones who could adapt, however; most cryptids began to change with the destruction of their habitats, much like other animals adjusting to life in the city. Unlike typical animals, these cryptids gradually took on human traits, losing much of their knowledge and abilities with ancient magics along the way.
Magic, the miraculous sway of reality, has now been forgotten by most. With each passing generation, that knowledge strays further from grasp. Now, most of the remaining cryptids rely on human technological advances as they remain hidden in plain sight.
While some cryptids strove to survive, others were too prideful to fathom living among humans. These cryptids gradually became extinct, and others were hunted by humans into the cold hands of death. There were a few cryptids who chose to evolve their bodies into human appearances, yet remained isolated to the best of their abilities from society. One such race of cryptids were the unicorns: guardians of life, death, and everything in between. They evolved the slowest, much of their telling traits holding fast through generations, because unicorns only mated twice a year; if a female produced offspring, they wouldn't mate again until that generation had matured and dispersed. Not only that, but their long lifespans and dwindling options for domains continued to reduce their need for more offspring.
Liali is one of the youngest among her kind at the age of twenty-three years old. Most unicorns remain with their mothers until their twenties, absorbing the wisdom passed from parent to child. Once the progeny matures, they must travel the world to claim their own domain - preferably a forest. Unfortunately, with the ever-expanding cities that the humans build, such terrain has become scarce. Most, if not all, forests have been claimed thus far, and Liali has been searching for over three years.
Listening to Liali's explanation, Kona assured his attention with the occasional nod. He checked his watch; five more minutes before he needed to meet with his team. "Have you tried the reservation south-east of here?"
Gaia's Haven was a forest reserve that stretched nearly the size of Atlas City in all directions. Nisus frequented there during the forceful effects of the full moon. Not once had there been rumors of a unicorn or ghost within its range.
Liali's eyes shifted as she mentally retraced her steps through the city, "No; I entered this city from the West. I'll be sure to pass in that direction. Thank you." She wasn't sure why she was trusting a werewolf, but Liali's mother had always taught her that no individual may speak for a group of people, and no group of people may speak for an individual. So far, her encounters with werewolves were obnoxious and unsettling. Swaying them as she did with the average animal proved difficult and precarious. Kona, however, had a shadow of doubt in his eyes; veiled by an artificial glimmer of confidence and energy. He had no interest in harming Lialli.
Kona shifted his feet, reluctant to let this woman leave without some way of contacting her again; he was undeniably curious. There was no way she had a phone, and if Gaia's Haven was a bust, who knows which direction she would move. His lightly tanned skin was beginning to glisten with sweat, both from his unexhausted cocaine and his building anxiety that his time was creeping closer to its end. His tattoos were itching - why were they itching now?
Noticing Kona's growing unease, Liali gave a light smirk as she realized what was affecting him. She had seen drug addicts many times in her travels. Liali stepped closer to Kona, silent and cautious, then gently grasped his hand. "Consider this a peace-offering," moving Kona's much larger hand to her forehead, she held his palm against the pearl, closing her eyes for a few moments. His hand was bulky and callused, yet had a softness to it not unlike the padding of paws. Liali forced back a tiny smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth, mentally comparing Kona to a time when she healed a bear.
At first, Kona felt a coolness course through his veins, similar to the relief of a long-tensed muscle finally relaxing. Then, all at once, his body began to shudder, his vision blurred, and he swore he was going to faint. Kona tried to retract his hand, but Liali had an iron grip. She offered kind words of reassurance, and yet Kona felt the paranoia that accompanied withdrawals; fear threatening to burst forth from his chest, and his breath sprinting into rapid gasping and heaving. Finally, as though he had imagined it all, the sensation disappeared. Kona's vision cleared, his breath gradually slowed, and he felt clean.
"What the fuck," he whispered, as though afraid to hear his own voice. "What did you do?" Kona watched Liali open her eyes, releasing his hand as he snatched it away with the same shock as a child who had been nipped by a testy animal.
"I cleansed your body of your drug habit," Liali answered simply. "I suppose I can't stop you from continuing it, but you have an opportunity to quit it for good. You won't have to endure the symptoms of withdrawals at this point."
This was a skill that Liali had learned whilst traveling and meeting the many druggies of the streets. Since most of them complained that quitting was too difficult due to the horrors of withdrawal, she made a point to practice her healing abilities to remove such trials - or rather, make them short-lived.
"Whatever initiated your drug habit can be rectified, I assure you. Sometimes, the mind needs to cogitate through the pain of regret or guilt; it's only natural for us to grow." Liali offered the still-recovering Kona an innocent smile, which went unnoticed; her pink lips were unevenly full, giving her the appearance of a pout with her moderately more plump bottom lip. She observed him carefully, intrigued by his reaction to being cleansed.
The more Kona stared at his hand, the more unsure how to handle this situation he became. Kona took cocaine to keep him going, otherwise he'd be just another grunt. It was an easy cure for his depression, but the effects were reducing each day; Kona wasn't even sure if he had been taking it out of habit or reliance on the substance. "I don't -"
Before Kona could voice his opinion on the matter, Liali's attention perked up toward the length of the street behind him. She turned and dashed away behind the building that Kona had once spied from, swift and silent like the alleged ghost she was. Kona could hear the familiar hum of his team's truck approaching, to which he released a heavy-hearted sigh. How was he going to explain this to Mina without having to hear her nag? How hard would it be to convince Mina to blow him, despite the conditions of their deal not being met?
After a few minutes of bickering between Kona, Tobbs, and Mike, the rest of the team was gathered up into the truck from their respective locations on the streets. They ended their ghost hunt empty-handed, and Mina predictably pouted the entire way back to base. Kona had to explain himself for not being where he plainly said he would be, and why he had stuck around where the Mongrelz bodies were found. The team Captain claimed to be looking for evidence of the Moonlight Maiden, but his crew knew that he was much too punctual when running operations. Kona caved, much to his chagrin, and gave most of the details involving his meeting with the pale woman that Mina so hoped to see.
"You fucking let her go?!" Mina screeched within the truck bed, piercing everyone's vulnerable eardrums.
"It was too risky," Kona winced, rubbing his ears to rid him of the lingering pain from his Lieutenant's distress. "I watched her down three Mongrelz with two moves, and she doesn't trust werewolves. If a whole van showed up, she'd have either fled or slaughtered us." He wasn't lying, at least, but he did realize that he hadn't finished off that last Mongrelz member; a werewolf could easily recover from a broken neck. Kona silently cursed himself for his blunder, and wondered how much the guy had witnessed of the conversation with Liali.
Curtis chuckled at his Captain's rationality, "I think that's the first time I've ever heard you willingly back out of a fight - especially against one person."
"Didn't you hear me?" Kona growled, demurring his Techy's passive-aggressive teasing. "I said she doesn't trust werewolves, and she's a lot stronger than you think."
"And? There's plenty of Loners who don't trust other werewolves." Now Vince was curious as to where Kona was getting with this, and why he wasn't spilling all of the details so easily. His dark eyes watched Kona from the darker interior of the truck bed, the occasional street light exposing the white-haired man's hesitant expression. "Why won't you just say it? If that woman wasn't a werewolf, and there's no way she's a human with that sort of strength, then what do you know?"
Kona wasn't sure why he was so reluctant to tell his team what Liali was. The urge to speak the words pressed against his tongue, and yet something in his mind pinned that tongue down. He glanced at Mina, seeing her more comically upset than anything. With an exasperated sigh, Kona made his decision, "I don't know exactly what that woman is, but I know for a fact that she's no werewolf." He wrung his hands, hunched with his elbows resting against the tops of his thighs. Kona's unease troubled the whole team, but they decided to play along with his lie. Kona would tell them eventually.

Warm, plump lips dragged up the side of his hardened shaft. The tip of Mina's tongue lubricated the tender flesh that she so skillfully caressed with her hands and mouth. Smudges of neon lipstick decorated Kona's eight-inch cock as it pulsated with excitement under Mina's care. She always started off slow, making sure that her favorite Captain would welcome her back to his bed for more. Hot breath fogging against Kona's crotch, he let out a low groan as he leaned back against the plush pillows. Mina had barely given him enough time to take off his vest before she had his pants opened up and cock pulled out of his boxer-briefs. The best part was that Kona didn't have to convince her to suck him off when they returned to base.
Mina's fingers branched over the grooves of Kona's abs as she inhaled his musk. Her tongue swirled around the mildly tapered head, and she savored the flavor of his fresh precum. Before Mina continued, her cold blue eyes rolled up to look at Kona, and she spoke with her lips lightly brushing against his erect member, "I wish you'd tell me everything you saw of her. You're not that great of a liar, you know."
Nostrils flared with the sullen exhale that Kona released. "It's complicated, Mina," he grumbled, considering grabbing her dreads and simply shoving his cock down her throat. All he wanted was the release, not to argue with Mina and lose his stiffness.
"Complicated?" Mina's heart sank with concern for what Kona could mean by that. Her eyes fell to her Captain's waiting cock, giving it a slow kiss and a lick so as not to make him wait too long. Part of her worried that Kona had finally found a female that he was interested in. Mina knew that Kona would never consider her for a mate, but she at least liked their mutual lust for each other, despite the boggling crush she had for him. When Kona didn't clarify her query, Mina followed up with a new one, "Are you two gonna meet up again?"
"I doubt it," this time, Kona raised a hand to the back of Mina's head, and gently pushed down to urge her on. "Now just suck it already. All this talk is making me soft." Damn, did Kona hate Mina's childish personality, but she was the only female he was comfortable with for sexual exploits. He had picked up on her little crush a year ago, and that only irked him further. So far, he didn't have to deal with her getting clingy or attempt any sort of romance with him, but seeing her concerned that he might be interested in another woman left a bad taste in his mouth; this was why he didn't like having fuck-buddies.
Mina got the message, dropping her push for details on the Moonlight Maiden and Kona's meeting. She parted her smeared lips, refreshing the head with warmth and saliva as she danced her tongue over it. The sound of Kona's pleased sigh urged her on to begin taking more of his length and girth into her mouth. Her tongue played with the edges of the head, then pushed down along the throbbing muscle as she slid further and further toward the base, but stopping halfway there. Mina heard the long groan that rumbled in Kona's throat, making her forget about her concerns as a flood of lust rushed through her mind and pussy. Her vulva ached as blood flooded its veins, triggered by Kona's continued groans and sighs. She slowly bobbed her head up and down, sucking and massaging Kona's cock with her stretched mouth. She reached a hand between his legs, gently groping his thinly-haired testicles in time with her head.
Meanwhile, Kona lost himself in thought as he released Mina's hair, and gripped the sheets on either side of him. He closed his eyes and lulled back his head as pleasure coursed through his loins. Liali appeared in his vision, naked and riding in his lap with a lewd expression twisted on her face. He imagined how her pussy might grip his cock, hoping it was, at minimum, like Mina's tightly gripping lips. As Mina quickened her pace, the erotic sounds of saliva and precum slurping and smacking, so did the image of Liali's bouncing hips; her round ass slapping the tops of his thighs as he gripped her slender waist. Kona wondered what her moans sounded like, how her modestly-sized breasts might feel in his hands, or how her lips tasted under a heated kiss. His breath grew heavy, excitement building with the thoughts that he wasn't even sure he wanted, but welcomed.
She took him further, deep into her throat where she began to swallow with each push. Her button nose and plump lips felt ticklish against Kona's trimmed, smoky-grey pubic hairs. Mina moaned and bobbed her head, drool building around her straining lips. She could feel the slick between her folds growing thicker. If only Kona would let her shove his fat cock inside her, but he always refused for fear of breeding. Mina rolled her clothed hips against the blankets, grinding her pelvis against anything that pushed back. The sounds of Kona's affirming groans and panting breath were all she needed to fuel her lust - and the pulsing of his throbbing member against her tongue helped quite a bit, too.
Kona's breathing deepened, and he began to growl as he edged closer to release. He reached up and grabbed Mina's head, not daring to look at her and ruin his private show. "Close," he grunted, his hips unable to resist thrusting back against Mina's working mouth. He forced her head down with the entirety of his length sliding deep into her throat. A couple more unbridled thrusts and Kona orgasmed into the tight cavern of Mina's eagerly gulping neck. He held her there, his body frozen in ecstacy for a second or two before Kona relaxed and released his grip on the younger woman's head. "Fuck," he panted and opened his eyes with reluctance. The sight of Mina lifting her head and letting his spent member flop out of her oversaturated mouth disgusted him; it was a stark contrast to what he was dreaming up behind his eyelids. He ashamedly diverted his gaze to the bathroom door, "Go clean up."
Whining because she hadn't finished masturbating against the blankets, Mina did as she was told. She left the bathroom door open, rinsing off her face and sloshing some water in her mouth. It was a small bathroom, complete with a shower-tub combination, and respectable spacing between each plumbing fixture. A large mirror occupied the area above the vanity sink, giving roughly a waist-up view. Mina reached into her pants pocket and pulled out the tube of neon lipstick, applying a new coat. Her complexion was almost always perfect, thus never needing foundation or powder to freshen up. She gave herself a once-over before turning and leaving the bathroom to find Kona stripping off his pants and underwear. Mina's eyes widened with a hopeful gaze, heart skipping a beat, that tonight was the night Kona would take her the way she secretly wanted.
"That was great. Thanks," Kona walked past Mina with his bundle of clothes, and closed the bathroom door behind him.
Disappointment once again; Mina wasn't a stranger to Kona leaving her unsatisfied. Typically, she didn't mind it, thinking that Kona would eventually come to his senses and reward her for how good she made him feel. Tonight, though, the ache in her loins was replaced by an ache in her heart. She stared at the door, which concealed Kona's muscular body that she so loved, an inkling of hope that he would rush back out and embrace her, but Mina was once again denied by the sound of the shower water beginning to run. She silently left Kona's room, removing the sock on the doorknob and tossing it inside before shutting the door.
There was a coldness inside Kona, despite the hot water that trickled down his sun-kissed skin. His eyes stared distantly at the tribal tattoo sleeves that decorated both of his arms. Kona braced himself against the shower wall with his palms, deep in ponderance. He questioned why he tortured Mina's heart. She was the base bunny, fucking any guy who was available, and she chose to fall for the one who wanted her least; typical woman rationality. Kona rubbed his face, washing off the oils and grime of the day. Maybe it was time to confront Mina, instead of hoping that she would get the hint that Kona wasn't interested in a romantic relationship - with her, at least.
All Kona wanted was a mate he could trust; a mate who understood his desire for a normal life again. He had been in love once, and it bit him in the ass like a searing nail. Kona was younger and stupid then, eager to get his dick wet with anyone who showed interest in him. Now that he had learned the game of gang infiltration, Kona wasn't sure who to trust with his heart.
A slap cracked the air when Kona collided his fist with his own jaw, knocking him out of those depressive, sober thoughts. How he craved the toxic effects of drugs, making him focus on things he could control. Cocaine helped him keep on track with business, and Nisus had lots of business to deal with. Kona hastily finished his shower, drying off and walking back into his room to pause and stare longingly at the packet of white powder on his nightstand. Liali's words rang through his ears like a warning whisper. The idea of facing his vulnerable emotions was intimidating, and Kona despised feeling vulnerable.
Stepping around the king-sized bed of luxury sheets and up to the rustic, dark oak nightstand, Kona reached out to the packet, pinching it between his masculine fingers. He lingered in hesitation, temptation filling his mind like tinnitus. Kona opened the drawer to the nightstand, then promptly dropped his stash in. He slammed it shut, releasing a breath he unknowingly held. Kona turned to the matching dresser, putting on some grey sweatpants and a black tank top. He needed to talk to Mizou about tonight's events.
The halls of the living quarters were less renovated than the rooms themselves, but their mismatched tiled flooring and smooth painted walls held a sort of warmth to call home. Various types of doors lined the halls, all of which lacked windows for the obvious desire of privacy. This aspect was rather amusing, considering how easily particular sounds traveled through the walls. There was a mutual understanding among Nisus that lewdness was inevitable, especially in the living quarters; however, they all agreed to keep the noise at a respectful level for those who worked opposite shifts. Some members had to occasionally be reminded of this agreement.
Between the living quarters and the storage rooms were the recreation area, kitchen, and offices. The kitchen was attached to its own docking bay, which received groceries each week from whichever gang members were assigned to go out and purchase from various butcheries and grocers. The Alpha female of Nisus, Elis, enjoyed cooking for everyone. She never requested help, but always appreciated anyone who made the offer. Since the Alpha's mate was head of the kitchen, of course it had to be fully renovated with the best equipment; no one complained.
As for the recreational room, it was furnished with several restaurant-style tables and seating tucked away in one corner of the expansive area. The remaining floor had various basic comforts and forms of entertainment. Electronics were banned from the recreational area after gang members had become too competitive and broke the equipment an unacceptable amount of times; Kona may have been one - or several - of those times. He strolled through the recreational area, ignoring invitations to arm wrestle or contribute to the latest gossip, and turned down the skeleton hallway that led to the offices. The gaps between offices were filled by nothing more than steel beams and scaffolding, leaving an contrasting unfinished look to the corridor, in comparison to the living quarters.
At one point, the office rooms belonged to human factory managers and supervisors for a metallurgy. These days, even before Kona's time with Nisus, they belonged to werewolves who managed and supervised the manufacturing of weapons and drugs. The building was probably at its greatest risk for explosive accidents, but Nisus monitored the building's ventilation with sharp eyes and noses - and appropriate devices.
Kona approached the second door on the left; the textured sort of door made of aluminum commonly used on cheaper mobile homes. It held no indication of whose office it was, which was a strategic decision made long ago to slow down infiltrators. Rapping on the flimsy door with the back of his hand, Kona waited for an answer.
"Come in, Kona," Mizou's muffled voice came from behind the door.
Kona turned the nickel-plated knob and respectfully swung the thin barrier open, slipping inside and closing it behind him with a soft click. He took in the comfort of Mizou's office, recounting the times he sought wisdom from the man he considered a big brother. Mizou was less of a luxury man than Kona, favoring efficiency over looks, and his office heavily reflected that with the minimalist desk, chairs, and bookshelves. Kona took a seat in the folding metal chair that sat across from Mizou; its joints creaked under Kona's weight, and his ass didn't quite fit on the seat. "Did you get Curtis' report?"
Mizou was an older man than Kona. At the mature age of forty-three, he had yet to grow a single grey hair in the straight, black strands that poured down from his head to his shoulder blades; and his milky skin had only begun to show signs of aging. He kept his center-parted bangs tucked back behind his small ears. His right ear's detached lobe was pierced with a simple diamond and golden studded earring. Mizou's black eyes were a narrow almond shape, somewhat effeminate, and always analyzing; faint bags sagged under them from age and the long hours required of his rank. He pursed his thin, wide lips as he stared at Kona with the anticipation of another counseling session. Shifting to sit back in his own metal folding chair, Mizou tucked his arms across his lean chest. One could see a black-ink tattoo that beautifully detailed a wolf howling at a moon on the left side of his neck. Beneath the maroon t-shirt, the tattoo continued down Mizou's left arm with a Grim Reaper entangled by a chaotic burst of snakes and ravens, and the iconic scythe's tip reaching his wrist. He had undeniably earned that tattoo with a perfect record of assassinations within the Nisus gang, and who knows how many others before then.
"I was just looking at it," Mizou cooly replied. "It took you five attempts and a ghost for you to succeed, but congratulations are in order."
"You're an ass, you know that?" Lowering his brows, Kona was unimpressed by Mizou's teasing.
There was a peculiar difference with Kona, and Mizou already noticed it; typically, Kona would have at least growled at him for that comment, maybe even gotten red in the face. He knew how frustrated Kona was becoming with the Mongrelz ambushes solely against his team. Mizou decided to remain quiet about it for now, "I'm only an ass to you, because otherwise my words wouldn't pierce your thick skull."
"Yeah, well," Kona paused, lost for words as his mind became jumbled with the anxieties he wanted to unload on Mizou. "Look, I came here to ask for your help."
"Isn't that always the case?"
"No, sometimes I come here to listen to you shove your own head up your ass."
"Oh, is that your newest kink?"
"I prefer the sounds of you pulling your head back out."
The two glowered at each other from across Mizou's particle-board desk for several seconds before Kona broke with a defeated sigh, "I need Mina to back off, but I don't know how to do that without hurting the team's structure."
Mizou had heard plenty about Mina's not-so-secret admiration for Kona. He had also clearly observed it, his trained eyes detecting her telling body language when around her Captain. The girl had picked one hell of a challenge for a mate, or she was less experienced in the romance aspect of dating than she let on. "When you decide to tell her, let me know and I'll have her on suspension for a few days. She can stick around the base until she's ready, if need be."
While Mizou's proposal was reasonable, Kona was also concerned about Mina's initial reaction to his rejection. "You think she'll pick a fight? I don't want her as a mate, but I still want her as my Lieutenant. If she gets bratty about it, I'm not sure -"
"It'll be fine," Mizou interjected. "Perhaps a fight would do both of you some good." Humans didn't always rekindle friendships and alliances after resorting to violence, but werewolves - or maybe gang culture, in general - had a deeper understanding when it came to beating the absolute shit out of each other. When it was impossible to reach agreement with intellect, brute force was the next viable answer; the victor was the consensus. Concerning Kona and Mina's issue, it certainly wasn't sexual tension that they needed to release; their feelings, and lack thereof, needed exposure, no matter the outcome. Kona was beginning to see that, and if he didn't act on it soon, it may compromise a mission in the future.
Silence filled the small office as Kona considered his General's words. A long, constrained sigh blew out of his thin nostrils, easing the tension building in his chest, if only for a moment. He craved a hit of his stash, but something nagged at the back of his mind that everything would be better without it. At least the cocaine helped Kona make decisions, rather than let his anxiety play a game of tug-of-war. Pinching the bridge of his narrow nose, Kona screwed his eyes shut and tried to focus. Liali said that he wouldn't have to worry about withdrawal symptoms, and yet all he wanted was the one thing that improved his life.
"You're sober," Mizou stated matter-of-factly. He gave Kona a quizzical stare, genuinely impressed that his unrelated little brother wasn't high this very moment. Kona's lack of confidence was the definitive clue, aside from the normally-sized pupils.
With a grunt, Kona snapped out of his ponderance and looked up at the black-haired man. "Huh? Yeah, uh. . ." He stumbled over his words as he came back to reality like swimming to the water's surface. Kona selectively explained that the "ghost" the Mongrelz were after had cleansed him right before she ran off. "I still can't decide if I'm pissed or thankful that she did it," he admitted.
"She cleansed you? How?" Mizou was ever more curious as he pried bits of information from Kona. The white-haired Captain seemed hesitant to share important details, and that only fueled Mizou's intrigue. Careful, calculated queries eventually proved fruitful, and Kona spilled the entirety of his meeting with Liali.
"This is gonna sound weird," Kona brushed a hand through his side-swept bangs, "but I want to know more about her - not just fuck her. Fucking her might be neat, but I've never fucked a unicorn. I feel like I want to talk to her more, but I doubt I could while I'm sober. I'd be a stuttering mess." He continued rambling his concerns, clear confusion in his eyes and voice as Kona painfully strived to understand what he was feeling.
Mizou's lighthearted chuckling brought the rambling to a halt, and their eyes met with contrasting expressions. "I didn't think you were capable of having genuine interest in a woman," Mizou playfully taunted. For the fifteen years that Mizou had known Kona, he had only seen the younger man fall in love once. After that disaster, Kona had become a womanizer, using them to get off when he felt the need arise.
Kona scoffed at his General's speculation, "I've always been capable; I just like to play it safe these days." His eyes downcast at the mismatched stationary on the desk, Kona's voice lowered with the tone of his painful memories, "You know why."
"I do," Mizou assured him. "Now, if we can figure out where this mole is hiding, we can get your errand success streak back to perfection." Pulling out a small, black notebook from a drawer under his desk, Mizou cracked it open to read the list of names. Many had been scratched over, while others were left with notations; clearly a list for deduction means. These names were Nisus members whom Kona discussed any mission details with, specifically prior mission activity. "Anyone new you noticed listening in?"
Shaking his head with mild despondency, Kona recalled his perception while openly debriefing the recent delivery errand to his team. "No luck. Curtis hasn't found any bugs, either. I just don't get it," he buried his face in his palms, clear dejection replacing his usually prideful demeanor. To this, Mizou simply responded with a soft hum before snapping the notebook closed and tucking it away in its respective drawer. Kona's muffled voice sounded from his hands, "Kion's wanting proof that the deliveries were successful, so he's having Curtis take photos. That bastard thinks I'm just gonna let those Mongrelz take our cargo and claim otherwise."
"At this time, you're the likely suspect," Mizou sighed, leaning back in his creaking chair. "Kion has no agenda against you, just business."
"Maybe not Kion, but someone's trying to get rid of me," Kona groaned, parting his hands to give way to his mouth. He currently didn't appreciate Mizou's judging gaze, even if it wasn't intentional.
"I'm considering putting your team on patrols for a few weeks. We're investigating a possible Mongrelz base, and I don't want you to be put on leave before our next move," providing a morsel of information, Mizou set the bait to truly see if Kona was the illusive mole. He trusted Kona wouldn't betray Nisus, but he needed more evidence of the Captain's current stance on his loyalty. If Kona began prying for further details from Mizou or anyone else, then it wouldn't look good on Kona.
The mention of a Mongrelz base piqued Kona's interest, but he didn't let it show. Mongrelz didn't stay in one place too long, moving from abandoned building to building within their half of Atlas City. If the alleged base was real, that meant the Mongrelz were up to something big - something that could be a threat to Nisus.
There was no point in arguing with Mizou over patrol assignments. Kona and his team would be short on income for a while, but they could make up for it by mugging some other gangs that dared to tread in Nisus territory. "Yeah, I'll let the team know about the reassignment," Kona relented, lifting his head from his hands. He stood from the flimsy metal chair, one ass-cheek aching from pinched veins, and gave a single pat on Mizou's desk, "Thanks, man. I owe you a drink."
Mizou flashed a smirk to Kona before returning to his work on his laptop. The soft click of the office door brought the room back to monotonous silence; a dull hum of the device fan and the chaotic clicking of the keyboard casting an ambient harmony.