"Hey, Mom! I'm home!" Rodney called out as he shut the door. Taking his shoes off, he sighed, stretching his toes.
"Hey, honey!" she called from the kitchen. "How was school?"
"Great mom," Rodney said, rolling his eyes. "Just great..." He could see his step dad out of the corner of his eye and walked over to the stairs.
"That's good. Dinner's in the fridge if you haven't eaten yet!" Rodney ignored her, running up to his room and flopping onto his bed.
A knock on the door startled him. "Come in," he said.
"Hey," his step dad said, closing the door behind him. "Where have you been?"
"At Xero's. Just like every other day," he muttered.
"I don't like your tone."
"Whatever." Rodney sat at his desk, opening his laptop. "I have work to do."
His step dad walked over and shut the laptop. "Don't turn your back on me, young man. We aren't done yet."
Rodney stared defiantly into his eyes. "I have work to do."
His step dad sighed, rubbing his temples with his fingertips. He sat on the bed, staring at his stepson. "Look, Rod. I know things have been a little... different between us since I started seeing your mom and I get that. But, you have to understand," he stood up, turning Rodney's chair to face him. "I'm the man of this house, now. I told you this morning to be back by dinner."
Rodney glared at him. "Look, Dave." He let the name roll off his tongue. "Just because you married my mom doesn't mean you're in charge of me."
"Now, Rodney, I-"
"I've stayed out of your way, the least you could do is stay out of mine, Dave. Is that too hard?"
"You will treat me with respect. I am you fath-"
"No!" Rodney growled. Dave took a step back. "You aren't my father. You'll never replace my father."
"Th-that's not what I meant," Dave stammered. "Please..." He tried to place a hand on Rodney's shoulder, but he brushed it off. Dave sighed. "Okay. I get it. I can respect that." Dave slowly walked out of the room, looking back at Rodney one last time. "Just so you know, I never wanted to replace your dad. I just wanted to be there for you, y'know?" He shut the door, leaving Rodney by himself.
Tears slipped from Rodney's eyes and he growled. Feeling the cool metal sitting on his chest, he pushed down on the paw, transforming into a dog. He crawled under the bed, setting his head on his paws. I wonder what Dad would think if he saw me like this, he thought.
Ears perking, he heard the collar vibrate. He whined, activating it. "Why'd you activate it?" Xero said. Rodney just whined, covering his eyes with his paws. "Dude..." Xero sighed. "He just wants to talk to you."
"He wants to replace Dad and I'm not letting that happen."
"I keep telling you to give him a chance. When are you going to listen?" Rodney stayed silent. "I sent you the files to look at," he said, changing the subject. "We need to come up with a plan."
Rodney crawled out from under the bed. "You mean, we're doing it? We're actually investigating this?" He transformed back to normal, placing grabbing the collar and opening his laptop. "You believe this guy?"
"Well, he's going to so much trouble to send us all this stuff. Plus, he did 'shift' in front of us."
"'Shift'? Is that what you're calling it?" Rodney smirked.
"Yeah, I guess. Are you online? I'd rather Skype."
"Calling you now." Rodney cut the communication on the collar. "Wonder what I should do with this?"
"Keep it as backup," Xero said, popping up on the computer. "You never know when you might need it."
Rodney shrugged, placing the collar in his bag. "Alright, so what do we know?"
"Anonymous fox-man got us to get these files, but they weren't for him."
"He was baiting us. He said he wanted us to help with his species. Did he mean foxes or shifters?"
Xero chuckled. "I think he meant shifters. What troubles me is that he'd been watching us."
"Scares me too," Rodney said, looking around the room. "What if we're bugged?"
"Or worse. What if he's with the government? We could get in a lot of trouble."
"Well," Rodney said with a smirk. "You know how I like trouble."
The ambiance of the city hadn't died down by nightfall. Cars blasted their horns, angry drivers shouting vile things at each other. City life is wonderful. Xero and Rodney had agreed to meet their contact, this time in a different alley. It was in a sketchy part of the city, but within walking distance. "Where is he?" Rodney said. "This leash is killing me. And why did I have to shift?"
"In case this is a set-up," Xero said. "Now shut up before someone hears you." Rodney was in the middle of rolling his eyes when his ears perked. Xero turned around to face the fox-man.
"Thank you for meeting me," he said. "I'm sure you have many questions."
"What's your name?" Xero said. "And why us?"
"My name is Xander. We chose you for what I saw. You both are intelligent. You," referring to Xero, "possess technological skills far beyond your years. And you," referring to Rodney, he chuckled. "You don't listen to authority. You're bold and carefree. Exactly the two we need."
"We?" Rodney questioned, cocking his head. "Who's 'we'?"
"My species. Everyday, someone goes missing."
"We haven't heard any reports on the news," Xero said.
"That's thanks to your government." Silence filled the alley. "For years, we have been kidnapped, experimented on. Mutilated and killed." Xander shuddered. "I managed to escape."
"How?" Xero asked. Xander shifted. The fox trotted over to the boy and dog. "Right."
"I escaped over twenty years ago. Oh how the times have changed."
The group stayed quiet for a moment. Rodney sniffed the air occasionally, cautious for any eavesdroppers. If what he's saying is true, we should help him, he thought. "Other than what you've shown us," Rodney said. "What proof do you have that someone as big as the government is involved?"
"Where did your father work?" Xander asked him.
"H-how did you-"
"Like I said, I've been watching you."
Rodney sat quietly for a moment, looking up at Xero as if asking what he should do. He sighed and said "He worked for the CIA. That's all I know."
"Your dad did what now?" Xero nearly yelled. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"It's not something you exactly tell people, now is it?" Rodney growled turning back to the fox. "What does any of this have to do with him?"
"It's simple, really. He died trying to protect me." It was at that moment the alley became so silent, you could hear a pin drop. Rodney's ears pinned back in shock as he stared at Xander. His muzzle opened and closed a few times, trying to process what he just heard.
"Holy crap," Xero said. "Rod?" Xero removed his collar, allowing him to breath more comfortably. "Rod, you alright?"
"It's your fault," he growled. "My Dad is dead... because of you!" he leaped forward to tackle Xander, but the fox was too quick for him.
"Let me explain!" he pleaded, Rodney chasing after him. The two ran out of the alley, bounding down the street and across traffic. Xero desperately tried to keep up with them. He remembered his collar, the one he never used. Fishing through his bag, he brought it out and put it on. Taking a deep breath, he pushed the button, shifted, and continued his pursuit. Surprise, pup, he thought as he ran.
Xander panted as he ran in between blurred trees. He could hear Rodney's growl behind grow closer and closer. Why did I say that?! he thought. I should have waited until I had their trust. Tripping over a branch, Xander went rolling straight into the trunk of a tree. He rubbed his head, slowly sitting up and froze in place. He smelled the musky breath of a dog just above him. "Rodney, I beg you, let me explain."
"Why should I let you? He was protecting you when he died!" His nose twitched and his eyes went wide. "Xero?" He turned around. Standing behind him was a large black panther. "How did you?"
"Spare collar." He walked up to his friends, standing between him and the informant. "I'm not letting you do this, Rodney. He isn't worth it."
"But-"
"He didn't kill your dad. Whoever was after him did." Rodney huffed, growling to himself as he paced back and forth. "We can get whoever it was, Rod. Revenge isn't always the answer, but if I were you-"
"We're in," Rodney blurted out. He took one look back at the fox and sighed, shifting back to normal. Xero sighed, smiling and also shifted. He walked over to his friend, placing an arm over his shoulder. "But I swear, if this is all some sick joke-"
"Why would I joke about murder?" Xander said. "'Tis cruel."
"Even so," Rodney continued, growling. "If this is a trap, you'll be sorry."
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