"This must be my lucky day." Asalis said as he scanned the groups of people on the floor below carefully as they went about their way from store to store in the cities convention center. The furry convention was in town and as luck would have it, someones gene had just gone active so he wasn't in to retrieve them and bring them back to HQ.

Asalis was a member of a spy organization known as Fur-Tech Industries. He was discovered long ago after Sagen had slaughtered most of his family. Now he joins in the cuase against Sagen, but it wasn't revenge that motivated him. Once his gene was activated he took on the form of an anthropomorphic green and white fur patterned rabbit which he could now transform into at will from his human form and back.

When he first joined Fur-Tech, the process needed to activate the gene was a bit crude however it was not fatal. Those such as Asalis who had gone thorugh the process often experience pain whenever they transformed. This form however did come with a few advantages. Unlike those transformed by the more refined methods, those from the early years had shown extra abilities such as moving objects with their minds or turning a computer on without physically touching it.

In Asalis' case he was granted the ability of Aura sensing. An ability that came in very handy when seeking out those new potentials, as they called them, went active.

This form came in handy for a place such as this convention. He let out a slight chuckle as a couple of people dressed in a fur suit below did a little skit for the masses. His mind however was more on the mission at hand.

He wasn't about to let his superior down this time. He would find this new potential and bring them in, whoever they might be. He could sense that the new potential was close and wasn't about to mess this up again, for the fourth time. It was at this moment that he noticed three other individuals down below holding some odd device in their palms, and let out a low curse.

He knew who those individuals were and knew that they were here for the exact same reason as him. They wanted the new potential for their own sadistic reasons though. He pushed those thoughts aside as he continued to scan the people below. Moments later he felt a slight massaging pressure just above his cotton tail. His ears twitched in reflex to this feeling. A slight smirk crept over his face as a familiar scent filled his nose.

"There's only one person I know who knows about that pressure point." He said with a smirk creeping onto his face.

"Figured I'd find you here." Came a female voice in reply.

He turned to see a white furred cat morph with brown hair and a loose fitting t-shirt and jeans. Over the shirt was a bright red light jacket. She was currently wearing sandals, her tail swaying about in a pleased manner.

"Hello Katrina." he said still smiling. "Doing some shopping I see."

She nodded in reply holding up the bags she had hanging on each arm. "So what brings you here Asalis? You're obviously not here to shop."

"I'm on assignment." Asalis said turning to face the crowd below. "A new potential has been located and it's up to me to find and bring him in to Fur-tech Industries before Sagan's men find him." He indicated one of the suspicious people below.

"I see." Katrina said taking a place next to him staring down into the crowd. She continued to massage the spot above his tail.

Asalis was busy trying to get a lock on where the individual was. There were too many people grouped together for the individual to be located easily. He had some minor telepathic skills that allowed him to sense other people's surrounding energy fields, otherwise called auras. However a new potentials energy pattern was slightly different from a typical human aura. Asalis had felt it the instant he entered the building. He smirked about how this one just happened to appear right in his own back yard rather than half way across the world as was common.

Suddenly the energy pattern began to move away from the crowd. Asalis tensed at this motion. "Their moving right out into the open." he said in a flat tone. He watched as a youth who appeared to be in his late teens separated from the crowd and proceeded to lean on the wall looking back into the crowd. He had a bag of purchased items in one hand. It appeared as if he was waiting for someone. However Asalis wasn't the only one to notice the youth standing there. The same three suspicious individuals were now proceeding towards him. Asalis let out another low curse as he immediately proceeded towards the nearest stairs.

"We can take them, easily." Katrina purred.

Asalis stopped in his tracks and turned to face her, "What do you mean we?"

Before Katrina could say anything they heard a loud cry come from the youth below. The three individuals were now surrounding and restraining him. Each person had a strange badge on their shirt. It was a red sphere with the black outline of a lion's head. They proceeded to escort him towards the entrance of the building.

Immediately Asalis' training kicked in and he went to work. Jumping from the overhang he was on he proceeded to land right in front of the three thugs in escort of the reluctant teen. All four of them looked at the rabbit as he straightened himself out.

Turning to face them Asalis stated more than asked "Y'all didn't think I was actually going to let you take him did you."

"Master Sagen has other plans for this one." the lead thug said stepping up to Asalis. He glanced at his two companions and they proceeded to drag the youth off elsewhere, unaware that Katrina was perched on the stairs waiting for them.

"I can't let you take him." Asalis said as flatly as he could.

Without further word or warning the thug threw the first punch which Asalis anticipated and ducked under. As he was doing this he pulled out a small device from his pocket and lunged at the thug shoving the device in his attacker's gut. Instantly an electric burst erupted and the thug fell to the ground unconscious. After dealing with his first opponent, Asalis turned to see Katrina fending off the other two thugs.

"I'll handle these two. You go after the kid and I'll meet you outside." she said pointing in the direction the youth went.

Asalis immediately gave chase as the youth shoved his way through the crowd. He looked back to see the green and white furred rabbit morph chasing after him and immediately threw a nearby chair in Asalis' way. Jumping over the object with relative ease Asalis landed on and then leaped off of a nearby pillar. After landing on an empty table he scanned the crowd once more catching a glimpse of the youth as he disappeared behind a bulky door.

Leap from table to table he quickly made it to the door and went in. It was obviously where most of the back stock was held for this place. There's plenty of places for the kid to hide behind in here. Asalis thought as he drew his gun and cautiously proceeded between the mess of crates and loaded pallets before him.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Asalis called out to the youth. "I'm trying to protect you." Asalis winced at how corny that statement sounded after he had said it.

"Yeah, then why do you have a gun." the youth said from behind some crates peering out at Asalis.

"It's not for you it's for the ones after you." Asalis said trying to pinpoint the voice's location.

"And why should I believe you." the youth called back ducking behind a couple of barrels.

Asalis knew that this was getting him nowhere. If he wanted this kid to believe him he had to get the boy on his side first. He had no other choice but to tell this kid the truth. If he could get the kid to listen then he just might have a chance. He centered his thoughts and concentrated them on reverting himself back to his human form.

Asalis felt the all too familiar pain surge through his entire body. Such a transformation was always painful for a beta such as himself yet he had preformed it so many times that he was used to it by now. His fur began to disappear into his skin, while the fur on his head simply changed color and grew out a little to a dark brown mess of hair. His ears shortened and began rounding off as they moved back to either side of his head. His short muzzle flattened up against his face and his feet shrank to their original size as his legs reverted back to their original shape with a grinding snap. Asalis opened his now brown eyes, they had been completely green before he reverted back. He was slightly disoriented from the transformation.

"What are you?" the youth called from his new perch.

"I am," Asalis said putting on his much needed glasses. He couldn't see in his human form otherwise. "What you have the potential to be."

"I doubt that." the teen said from the same perch. His gaze fixed on the curious individual before him.

"Just listen to what I have to say. If you don't like it then I'll leave you alone." Asalis said looking in the direction he narrowed the youth's voice in.

"I'm listening."

"I'm part of an organization called Fur-Tech Industries."

"I've heard of the place. They help multiple small businesses grow and develop. They also have both a rather large legal and shipping department."

"That's just a front." Asalis said putting the gun away but making sure to be ready in case of unwanted attention. "That only goes for about the first fifteen floors. The rest of them are where I come in. What do you think Fur-Tech uses all that money for? We make billions a day so some of that money has to go somewhere. That's where the head exec comes in. He built Fur-tech with more in mind than just business. Fur-Tech's main focus is the spy network on the remaining fifteen floors. He uses it to help those who are much like myself. Though I wasn't always like this. But that is a different story."

"So what's your point?" the teen said climbing down to find a new hiding place.

"Please let me finish, then decide. You see the head Exec, also known as Maxwell Brooks, is a real furry much like myself. He discovered he had a gene that, if properly stimulated could alter the body to a form more to his liking. Yet this gene can also be very dangerous in the wrong hands."

"You mean those thugs who were after me."

"Yes, but Max can explain the situation with them much better than I can. I was ordered to bring you to Fur-Tech and let you decide for yourself what to do next. If you decide against, then they will neutralize the gene and no one will ever bother you again. If you choose to have it activated, well then what happens next is still up to you."

"Alright, you have my interest." the youth said approaching Asalis extending his hand. "Name's Trevor."

"My code name's Asalis." He said accepting Trevor's hand. "My real name is classified."

"Figured as much." Trevor said following Asalis out to the front of the building.

Katrina called out to them as they exited the building. They turned to see her hunched over a brand new fire red Mustang convertible with the top up. She was currently in human form.

She noticed the smile on Asalis' face. "You like? She's fully loaded. And I don't just mean the interior either." she teased. Asalis only nodded in reply. A slight grin spread across his face. "No, you can't drive. I just bought it and I know how long these toys tend to last in your tender care." she said noticing the grin quickly vanish as Asalis imitated a mock pout. "Just get in." she said flatly as all three proceeded to enter the car. Trevor was in the back.

Katrina turned the ignition and let the V8 engine roar to life for a few seconds. After she let the top down she put it in first gear and drove off headed towards Fur-Tech Industries. As they drove a puzzling question began stewing in Trevor's mind that he just had to ask. "Hey ms..."

"Katrina" She corrected.

"Katrina," Trevor began again. "I was wondering, are you with Fur-Tech?"

"Actually no." she replied. "You see I chose just to have the gene activated, not join the agency at Fur-Tech."

"You see Trev..." Asalis started to say but was interrupted when a van hit the Mustang from behind at full force. "Trevor down!" Asalis ordered as he brought out his gun and fired a few shots on the menacing vehicle.

The goons inside the van quickly returned fire with fully automatics at their disposal. Asalis knew his hand gun wasn't going to cut it against those and using his other useful skill might stray off and hit innocent bystanders. Katrina shifted it into a higher gear and sped off around the next corner, the van in hot pursuit.

"You got anything with more of a kick?" Asalis asked Katrina, returning fire.

"You're the spy with the gadgets." She said ducking down a little to avoid stray fire.

"I didn't think I would need them for this assignment." Asalis replied while loading another clip into his gun.

Katrina growled in frustration as she turned another corner straight through a busy intersection swerving to miss the traffic on either side as she burst through causing a couple of cars to collide with one another. The van just burst through without even stopping and resumed fire.

"I thought they wanted him alive!" Katrina screamed.

"They do." Asalis replied while loading another clip into his gun. "It's us their trying to kill. Where are we?"

"Were nearing the warehouse district I think." Katrina replied.

"Good, Pull into one of them." Asalis said taking a few shots at their aggressors "I have a plan."

With a sharp turn they burst through a chain link fence with the van closing fast behind them. They managed to ram into the back of the car once more forcing Katrina to drive into one of the open storage facilities. It was full of all kinds of construction equipment and materials. "We need to get back outside." Asalis half screamed while returning fire. At a quick glance Katrina noticed a concrete ramp, leading to an office on the left of it, right below a huge window. Shifting the car into gear she floored the car and made a beeline straight for the ramp. A few moments later the car was airborne, smashed through the window, landed with a scraping thud, and sped off through another part of the warehouse district.

"So what's the plan?" Trevor asked while still ducking below the seats.

"We need to find where they keep the sewage construction materials."

Katrina just nodded and drove past the entrance of the structure they were just in as the van full of thugs sped out after them. Katrina continued to swerve trying to dodge the hail of bullets that buzzed by over her head. Asalis took note of where he was and readied his gun. When they passed by a large stack of sewage sized pipes Asalis took aim and opened fire on a chain holding them together. He was rewarded when the entire stack of pipes came crashing down onto the van, crushing it and those inside instantly. After turning the car around, Katrina sped past the smashed gate entrance cursing and complaining about all the damage done to her newly purchased car.

"You're insured with us right." Asalis asked pointedly.

Katrina nodded in reply, realizing a second later what he was getting at. "I should have known you would eventually find a way to break my new toy!"

Asalis just smirked at the comment before turning his attention to the youth in the back seat. "It's alright Trevor. You can stop hiding now. There gone."

"You sure it's safe?" Trevor ventured asking.

Asalis smiled before answering, "Considering I just crushed the van with and industrial sized sewage pipes, I'm sure."

"Oh." was all Trevor could think of in reply.

As Katrina brought the car around another corner she slowly came to a stop. Asalis turned around in time to see several vans blocking the road ahead of them. Several individuals were exiting the vehicles with weapons in hand. Behind them more vans arrived to cut off their retreat.

"What'll we do?" Katrina asked, almost in a state of near panic.

"See that alley to your left." Asalis said not taking his eyes off of the individuals in front of them. Katrina nodded in reply. "Take it."

In a squeal of rubber on concrete Katrina barreled down the side alley Asalis indicated. The thugs scrambling back to the vehicles they had exited to re-engage pursuit. Speeding down the narrow alley at break neck speed Asalis managed to take aim at the oncoming van and hit the driver square between the eyes. This in turn caused the van to scrape to a complete halt against the wall as the other vehicles in pursuit slam into in and one another in a domino effect; Asalis surveyed his handy work as they came barreling out of the alley.

"So what's next?" Katrina asked.

Putting his gun away Asalis took a moment to think of all the available options before answering, "Well one thing's for sure, they are willing to go to any length to obtain our guest in the back seat.

"Me?!" Trevor asked in startled surprise, "What do they want me for?"

"I don't know but it can't be good if they're willing to pull out all the stops." Asalis replied while transforming back into his rabbit form.

"So what now?" Katrina asked impatiently.

"They'll most likely have all the roads to Fur-Tech blocked in some way." Asalis knew there was going to be no easy way to get to Fur-Tech as long as they had Trevor in tow. They needed an advantage if Asalis was going to deliver him safely. "We need to head to my apartment. I have a few toys I'd like to pick up."

"Sounds like a plan." Katrina said shifting the car into the appropriate gear and sped off in the direction of Asalis' apartment.

* * *

It was the residential section of the city and by the looks of it a little pricey, but Asalis liked to call it home. The building itself looked like it had a private garage below it reserved strictly for the residents of this building. It was completely closed off though. The trio exited the Mustang and hurried into the building. As they entered Asalis' apartment Trevor noticed that it was quite a bit roomier than his current apartment. This could almost pass off as a small single story house. The living room was just as you entered the apartment. It had a tan leather couch curving around a small wooden coffee table which sat in front of a fifty seven inch television. The carpeting all throughout the apartment was light gray in color. Across the living room was an arched entry way that led into the dining room which had wooden floors a black metal table with matching chairs. Adjacent to the arched entry was a wall sized window that surrounded the room on two sides and a near full sized kitchen to the left of the entryway with a smaller entryway leading to a hallway connected to the living room. A room that served as a computer and study in one room with a bedroom next to it on the right hand side of the short hall with a bathroom across from the bedroom. At the end of the hall was a locked door that Asalis was in the process of opening.

Upon hearing a vehicle coming to a screeching halt outside, Trevor looked out the living room window and saw several goons piling out of a van, each heavily armed. "Heads up, we've got company." he called.

Asalis placed his right paw on a panel located where a door knob should have been and it proceeded to scan his paw print. With a hiss the door unlatched and Asalis pushed the heavy metal door the rest of the way open. This room was the biggest one in the entire apartment. To one side was a training mat, punching bag and several other pieces of exercise equipment around it. The other side of the room had several tables with various electronic devices. Most with their guts spilled all across the tables. There were also several types of weapons on the right hand wall behind the tables. In the distant wall across from them sunlight attempted to shine around the closed venetian blinds that spanned almost the entire back wall. This gave the room very poor illumination. Asalis flipped on a light switch and the room was immediately filled with a soft florescent light. He padded over to the gun rack and picked out several rather lethal looking weapons. None of which Katrina could identify.

"I always wondered what was through this door." Katrina mused as she stepped into the room.

"Trevor, I need you in here." Asalis called while checking the weapon he was holding before returning it to the rack. When Trevor entered the room Asalis instructed him to close the door. With a loud hiss the door latched itself shut.

Plucking a more portable weapon off the shelf Asalis turned to Katrina and said, "This is an experimental weapon. I built it myself, you just aim and shoot. It has about fifteen shots left in it."

"What is it?" she asked as she took the weapon.

"Stun gun, guaranteed to knock anyone out with one shot. Two in a row will kill them instantly." Asalis instructed as he handed her two extra cartridges for the gun. Next he picked up what appeared to be a watch from atop a nearby table and pressed one of the side buttons before putting it on. Instantly a slight static hiss could be heard. Asalis brought it closer to his mouth and spoke as clearly as he could. "This is Asalis to HQ, agent is in distress." There was a few seconds of static before it came to life with a loud buzz.

"We read you." A female voice replied, "What is your status, over?"

"I have the target and am trapped in my apartment with Sagan's goons knocking at my door. I am currently locked in my lab."

"Is there any other way out?"

Asalis didn't have to think twice before giving an answer. "I've got the car keys and am heading to the basement. Request an interception."

"Confirmed and acknowledged Asalis. We're tracking you now."

"Thanks Gloria." Asalis said into the watch before quickly making his way to a corner of the room where a section of the wall was sticking out by about four feet from both walls. He placed his palm on yet another scanner and the door to an elevator slid open. Quickly they entered the elevator and Asalis pressed the button that would take them to the basement parking lot. After a few moments the doors slid open again to reveal a near empty parking lot with only a few cars. One didn't look like any of the other cars parked in here. From what Trevor could see it wasn't like any car make or model he had ever seen before. The nearest he could tell was that it was at least a two door. He suspected it was most likely Asalis'.

When they all got into the car Asalis started it with a low purr before he shifted it in gear and slammed hard on the accelerator while using a small remote to open the garage door. Sure enough he saw a familiar van in the way. Without slowing down his car plowed into and threw the van without even a scratch on the car. Immediately they came under fire but Asalis paid it no mind as he sped off towards Fur-tech once again.

"When were you planning on telling me about this car?" Katrina half purred staring at Asalis who was too busy driving to notice.

Katrina turned just in time to see a semi with trailer in tow pull out right in front of them. Asalis did a quick chemical composition scan just to see what the truck was carrying. As the data fed through on a monitor that just popped out Asalis gave a slight frown. "That trucks packing serious explosives, looks like they considered that if they can't have Trevor, then no one can."

"What are we going to do?." Katrina whimpered.

"Only one thing to do." Asalis said pressing a button on the steering wheel.

Suddenly the car lunged forward quickly reaching speeds close to one hundred and eighty miles an hour. "What do you think you're doing!?!" both Katrina and Trevor exclaimed at once. The car kept speeding towards the semi, just before impact mini retro rockets on the cars undercarriage ignited sending the car soaring into the air well over the semi before landing safely on the other side and speeding off. Asalis just smiled and said "I got the idea for that invention from something I saw on TV."

"You've got to be kidding me." Trevor said almost in complete disbelief over what just happened.

They continued down a more open road, so far without any resistance of any kind. Asalis knew this was too good to be true. As if in answer to his thought he heard a strange chopping sound behind him. He looked back to see what appeared to be a heavily modified Apache helicopter bearing down on them.

"Good old Sagen." Asalis grunted while pressing a section of the dash board with his right paw. "Never one to disappoint." A panel flipped out where Asalis had touched it earlier. On it was a row of switches, each with a number below it. At the same time a miniature missile launcher with five holes in a single row raised up from below the trunk with the hood firmly latched down to the top of it. A small video screen popped out with a display of the chopper closing close behind.

He waited for the most opportune moment before flipping the first switch. Immediately afterwards a missile came streaking out towards the offending machine only to have the chopper dodge to the side and open fire on the vehicle. Asalis turned down the nearest narrow street in an effort to lose the chopper but it remained persistent at a much higher altitude than it was before. A few moments later the chopper sped off ahead of them and out of sight. It seemed as if they were in the clear until the chopper dropped in ahead of them at about ten feet above ground level with its forward guns ready to open fire once again. Asalis took the initiative and punched another button on his steering wheel. Instantly two side missile launchers popped out on either side of the car and launched a missile each before retracting back into the sides. The missiles streaked towards the target and impacted with explosive succession just as Asalis sped under the flaming chopper before it impacted into the ground. Moments later another explosion erupted from the chopper, sending shards of debris everywhere.

Retracting the rear missile launcher Asalis turned down another wide open street only to see a familiar red car of unidentifiable make or model speeding straight towards them. Asalis let out a small curse under his breath as he proceeded to make an instant U-turn in the other direction. Pressing another button on the steering wheel a couple of police lights popped out of the top and began flashing while a siren picked up to help in clearing traffic out of his way.

"What's going on?" Katrina asked bracing herself as Asalis made yet another sharp turn, that same red car still chasing after them.

"It's Travis." Asalis replied. Katrina just paled upon hearing that name.

"And who exactly is Travis?" Trevor asked bracing himself in the back seat the best he could.

"He was my old partner." Asalis explained. "We were the best of friends until one day he just up and decided to join Sagan's cause. He wouldn't explain to me why he did it. Only that he was going and not coming back."

Immediately a rocket launched from the red car and Asalis swerved to avoid it. He pressed another button on his Steering wheel only to find nothing happen as a result. He let out another curse as he dodged yet another missile streaking towards him.

"Why don't you fire another missile at him like you did that helicopter?" Trevor asked

"Because all I have left are ground to air missiles." Asalis quickly replied.

Trevor just nodded in reply not completely understanding.

Not long after, gunfire began to streak across the car as an all too familiar van veered up next to them. The van immediately tried to run Asalis off of the road forcing him to take another turn to avoid them yet both vehicles remained with him. Suddenly without warning the red car launched another missile that impacted into the van causing it to erupt in a pillar of fire and smoke. "Still has a grudge I see." Asalis mused as he turned yet another corner. Instantly there was a ringing sound coming from the screen beside Asalis. He punched a button below it to hear a familiar voice on the other end, "Give us the boy and we'll let you go unharmed."

"Sorry Travis, You know I can't do that. By the way, how's your arm?" Asalis replied with a smirk.

"Fine, have it your way, partner." With that Travis flipped a switch and mini guns popped out on either side of the hood opening fire just as Asalis rounded the next corner catching a few of the bullets through the trunk of his car. That's the one thing that always got Asalis. Trevor always seemed to make it a point to be direct with anything he did. This was obviously no exception. Sagan wanted Trevor and was willing to go to any length to prevent him from falling into Fur-Tech Industries hands. Whatever it was about Trevor they wanted, they were obviously willing to sacrifice him in order to keep it hidden.

Again Asalis tried the button that didn't work only to have the same result. In frustration he banged his fist and suddenly a thick smoke screen began to emanate from the rear of the car. Not wasting any time he punched another button immediately after and a slick substance spewed out from beneath the bumper causing Travis' car to spinout of control for a few brief moments. It didn't last long however as he seemed to quickly regain control by some unforeseen device. Asalis had to act fast if he wanted Travis off his tail.

Travis fired his mini rail guns once again, punching more holes through the trunk armor though none penetrated completely. Asalis was thankful this new armor held. He had installed it since his last run in with Travis. He rounded another corner onto a road that ran along the side of the only river that ran through this city. He was now right out in the open and at Travis' mercy. Without warning Travis suddenly broke off the chase leaving Katrina and Trevor wondering what was going on. Asalis continued to keep his cool as he rounded the next corner. He brought the car to a complete stop as there were now half a dozen luxury cars and Limo's spanning across the street in front of them. There were also several well armed individuals with very lethal weaponry at the ready. Asalis gave a sigh as he switched off the car engine.

Katrina, a little worried asked, "So what do we do now?"

"We do nothing." Asalis said flatly.

"So that's it then." Katrina said slumping in her seat. "They have us."

"Yep." Asalis replied as he exited his car. He proceeded towards the assembly of vehicles and personnel as a tall brunet wearing glasses exited the limo. She appeared to be in her early thirties wearing a clean cut pale red business suit with a skirt that stopped a few inches just above the knees.

Asalis allowed himself a slight smirk as he regarded the woman. "Hello Gloria." He turned and waved for the other two still in the car to come out. "Here he is safe and sound."

"Asalis," Gloria smirked as she addressed the rabbit, "You'll never change, will you?"

"Probably not." Asalis replied massaging the back of his neck. He replayed the events of what he just went through in his mind. He then looked back up at Gloria and said as flatly as he could. "I need to speak with Max about something very important. It's about the kid."

Gloria looked past Asalis at Trevor then back at Asalis again. "What's this about?"

"They were willing to go to any length to make sure that he didn't fall into our hands. They even tried to kill us. I'm not sure what this is all about but I'm willing to bet that it has something to do with him." Asalis said in a low tone so no one could overhear him.

"I'll have R&D look into it when they either activate the gene or neutralize it." Gloria said walking past Asalis to meet Trevor.

"Hi I'm Gloria Staten, head of customer relations and second in command of the spy division, next to Maxwell Brooks." She greeted the youth holding out her right hand.

Trevor took the offered hand and returned the greeting. "Names Trevor and I have no idea what's going on."

"Well if you follow me I can take you to someone who should be able to answer any questions you have."

Trevor nodded and proceeded to follow her towards the limo. Just before Gloria entered she turned to Asalis and was about to say something but he interrupted her saying "Don't worry Gloria I intend to make a full report to Max. I just have to drop Katrina off first."

"Actually Asalis," Katrina spoke up, "I'd rather go with you to Fur-Tech. There's something I need to do there."

Asalis gave an exasperated sigh as he gripped the keys in his hand. "Alright." It was obvious to Katrina that Asalis didn't really want to go but she had an important matter she wanted to discuss with the head of Fur-Tech.

As they pulled up to the massive building Asalis caught up with Trevor and Gloria as approached a glass covered elevator. Gloria inserted her override key and they went strait up to the top of Fur-Tech Industries. The journey up the thirty story building was relatively quiet until about half way up when Katrina decided to break the silence.

"Um Asalis," there was a slightly guilty tone in her voice. "There's something I really need to tell you."

"About Max's offer?" Asalis said turning to face her.

"You mean you knew?" Katrina said rather surprised to hear this.

"Yeah, Max told me."

"So you know why I decided to come with you." Asalis just nodded in reply. "So you're not mad."

"I can't say that I'm pleased with it but it's your decision to make not mine. If it's what you really want to do then go for it."

"Thank you for understanding." She gave Asalis a slight hug before returning her gaze to the world outside the glass elevator.

The elevator came to a complete stop at the top of the building and the doors slid open to reveal a large long corridor with several smaller offices branching off of either side of it. Light poured in from the glass top that was the roof. And a red velvet carpet spanned the entire floor. The walls were the shade of cornflower blue.

"This floor is only manned by furs or fans there of because Mr. Brooks wouldn't have it any other way." Gloria proceeded to explain while transforming to her fur form. Trevor watched as she took on the form of an anthropomorphic panther. Katrina followed suit and changed into her alternate form. She let her tail swish about deliberately brushing it up against Asalis' leg who was currently bringing up the rear. They proceeded down the long corridor reaching a glass double door which Gloria opened and walked past the secretary into Maxwell Brooks' office. This office shared the same particular decor as the main corridor with the exception of the fact that the roof was covered and there were two small windows at the other end of the office where a large desk sat. Behind it was a large chair with its back facing the entrance.

"Always one to make an imposing impression, eh Max?" Asalis quipped.

"It's better than your flagrant disregard for protocol Asalis. The government isn't pleased about losing one of its stolen prototypes to your artillery." said a gruff voice from behind the chair.

"Max...." Asalis started to protest but was interrupted as Maxwell's hand went up.

"Save it! I'll deal with you later." The chair turned to reveal a Northern Red Fox morph. He was wearing what one would expect a head CEO of a company to wear though his suit matched the color of his fur. His hands clasped together. His attention quickly turned to Trevor. "And this must be the new potential." He extended his hand to Trevor in greetings "Hi I'm Maxwell Brooks. Head CEO and leader of the spy network run here."

"Trevor Calloway." He said accepting the hand with a shake. "If you don't mind my asking what exactly is Fur-Tech Industries?"

"I don't mind at all." Max said gesturing for Trevor to have a seat. "As you probably already know, Fur tech is one of the leading small business distributors. We even have a few small businesses within this very building. However as you've probably already guessed there's more to it than that. The sixteenth floor and up is where an advanced spy network is held. I created it with the intentions of stopping a mad man in his quest for world domination. However the public isn't supposed to know about it, a protocol which a couple of our agents could do well to obey for once." Maxwell said eying Asalis before turning his attention back to Trevor, "You see I had discovered a gene that lies dormant in some human beings in this world. When activated it allows the human being to assume a different form, a more human-like animal form. This is all predetermined by the gene itself. The form and animal you were quite literally born to have."

Max leaned back in his chair for a moment as if lost in thought before continuing, "I wasn't the only one to discover that gene though. A once colleague of mine is the one who actually found out how to activate and control it. Sagan Marsh was his name. I should have seen then his true intentions. He was a genius but his ego got the better of him. I considered him mad when he asked me to help in his quest for power. He was so outraged by my disapproval that he tried to kill me but wound up destroying the lab instead. I somehow managed to miraculously survive. It was afterwards that I formed this company as a front for the purpose of seeking out and locating those others with the same gene as I have. I bought this building from the government and Fur-Tech was started soon after. I chose how to run the company, I started the spy network, and I even found a way to locate the gene through a very advanced satellite the Government was gracious enough to sell to me. However in exchange for all this I run a couple of missions for them from time to time. It wasn't until recently that Sagan has suddenly reemerged, and with an entire army at his disposal. Now this agency is sworn to clean up the mess that Sagan seems to have started."

He straightened up in his chair and his complexion immediately brightened. "So now I'm going to give you three choices and all you have to do is pick one."

Trevor just nodded in reply.

"Good." Max said leaning forward a bit, his hands now planted on his desk. "Option one is very simple. You can simply choose not to have the gene activated and we neutralize it and send you on your way. You are not to discuss anything you've seen or have been told. Option two. You have the gene activated and you are returned to society with your new found form and ability. We can even point you to some others who can help you cope with the form and show you when the best times to use it are. This will make it harder for him to find you again, hopefully not at all. Option three is similar to option two except you can decide to join out team here at Fur-Tech and become a rather productive member depending on how the screening test goes."

Trevor took all of this in and was about to say something when Max interrupted him.

"Take some time to think about it." Max said reassuringly. "You don't want to rush into a decision like this one too rashly. However regardless of what you choose I would suggest an identity change which we can provide with our connections. Sagan wanted you for some reason and he will undoubtedly go to any length to obtain you."

"Thank you." Trevor said getting up from his seat shaking Max's hand once again. "I will."

He pressed a button on the com device beside him and a vixen entered the room a moment later. "You called for me Mr. Brooks." the fem asked.

"Yes Mrs. Witherspoon, could you please take Trevor to the special lounge where I'll appoint someone to watch over him." He turned his attention to Trevor who seemed to be a bit confused at the moment. "If Sagan wants you so badly then I'm not willing to take chances on him getting you any time soon." Trevor just nodded his understanding

Mrs. Witherspoon signaled for Trevor to follow her. When they both exited the room Maxwell turned his attention towards Asalis. "Now then we will discuss your flagrant disregard for company protocol, for instance using your furry form out in public view. And I don't mean at the furry convention that is in town either. Oh and lets not forget the countless amounts of property destruction and the illicit use of unregistered weapons."

Asalis gulped knowing that he wasn't going to get off easy this time. His ears laid back in shame as Max named off every company rule he had broken. Asalis knew that he was most likely going to get booted out of active service for his constant disregard for company policy.

He was surprised at what Max said next. "If you weren't so damn good at what you do, I would have let you go a long time ago."

"So you're not going to terminate my services?" Asalis asked caught completely off guard by this. Katrina tried to stifle a laugh as she noticed the look on Asalis' face.

"No, however I am going to do something I probably should have done a long time ago."

"And that being?" Asalis said more than asked.

"I'm assigning you a partner and also for six weeks you'll be Trevor's guardian until he makes his choice."

Asalis' jaw dropped in shock over hearing this. "You can't...!"

"I don't want to hear it!" Max said cutting off anything Asalis was going to say next, "Report back here in six weeks, I'll have one ready for you by then."

Without further complaint Asalis proceeded out of the office. After he left Max turned his attention to the last one left in his office. "Now Ms. Winters, I believe there was something you wanted to discuss with me."

She took a seat in front of the desk, "I want to discuss with you the offer you gave me a week ago."

Max sat back in his chair in contemplative thought before asking. "Are you sure this is what you want?" Katrina nodded in reply. Max offered his left hand. "Very well, report to Gloria tomorrow morning to take the placement test. We look forward to having you on our team."