She glanced up at the people her coworker had brought into the room and asked, “This them?”
The black rabbit nodded.
The marten sighed dramatically and returned to the work that was giving her so much grief.
“She wants to be left out of it,” the rabbit explained.
“Understandable,” said Zank.
“I ain’t no sympathizer,” the marten piped up, not taking her beady eyes off her work. “But I ain’t tryin’ to be involved, neither.”
“Understandable,” Zank repeated.
Coal only vaguely knew what the plan was tonight, and he definitely did not know what they were doing in the back office of the Starlite. He faintly heard the girls arguing about something in the room across the hall, their voices raised and irate.
The black rabbit, who Coal figured would remain nameless, stepped behind the marten’s desk and kicked a small, faded rug aside, scattering some loose pieces of paper that were on the floor. This elicited a yelp of protest from his coworker. Apparently, she had a finely-tuned organization system that included leaving papers on the floor.
Beneath the dirty rug was a trapdoor that the rabbit yanked open, revealing a cache of guns and ammunition.
Coal gulped at the sight.
“What do you need?” the rabbit asked.
“I think just a pistol each,” said Zank. “Something light and simple.”
“A revolver, if you’ve got one,” Marl answered for himself. Venny remained silent, content to accept whatever she was given. Coal didn’t say anything either, partially out of ignorance when it came to weaponry and partially out of anxiety. Introducing guns to the situation came as a shock.
The day before, Zank had explicitly told Coal the Starlite inspected its guests before allowing them entry, so they would not be bringing any weapons in. For that reason, Coal thought this would be an easy, bloodless endeavor, but clearly Zank had other plans. And more connections in Vinnag than Coal realized.
They started a weapon train, with the black rabbit (whose ear had not stopped twitching) handing a gun to Zank, who handed it to Marl, who handed it to Venny, before ending with Coal, who still stood by the door. They continued this until everyone had a gun and some extra ammunition.
Then Coal was nearly knocked aside when the office door burst open and a topless doe entered, screaming that she had finally had enough with “all the bullshit.”
Venny’s arm swung up, aiming her gun at the intruder.
The doe stared at the four strangers wielding handguns, one of which was pointed at her chest, understanding immediately that this was not the time to bring her concerns about the bullshit to management. She swiftly backed out of the office, slamming the door shut behind her.
“Can you deal with that, please?” the rabbit asked his coworker.
The marten shook her head and said, “I told you not to schedule them together. You clean up your own mess.”
The rabbit groaned, his left ear shaking more intensely than before. “The reason I needed to schedule them both tonight is that—”
“Can you maybe settle this in, like, two minutes when we’re out of here?” Zank asked.
“Yes, he can settle it then,” the marten smirked. She shoved aside the paper she’d been working on and snatched another from the towering pile.
The black rabbit groaned a second time but dropped the subject. It looked as if his ear was raring to pop off his head and bounce out of the room. He turned away from his uncooperative colleague and pressed a discreet button on the back wall.
A whirring of hidden mechanics buzzed through the room as a wide panel opened on the ceiling above the rabbit. A green metal ladder extended downward into the room.
“Ooh, secret ladder,” Zank cooed. “Very fancy.”
“Not so much a secret as it is just more convenient to keep it outta the way,” said the rabbit. He gestured toward the ladder, which had finally come to a stop a few inches above the floor.
Zank was first to ascend, disappearing into the darkness. Coal followed behind everyone else.
As they climbed, the club’s stale rank faded and gave way to warm, fresh air. The ladder led to the Starlite’s roof, where Coal’s associates awaited him.
The night air soothed him somewhat, but not much. The gun in his hand was a good deterrent to any calmness he felt.
“All clear!” Zank called down into the darkness from which they had emerged. A moment later, they heard the familiar whir of the ladder retracting.
They stood behind the club’s yellow and blue neon sign proclaiming its name. Even behind the sign, its glow was strong enough to bask them in some of its light. Probably not enough to be visible from street level unless a person was specifically seeking out bodies, but still, Coal was uneasy.
Vinnag’s entertainment district was bustling below them. There were multiple nightclubs on Harrower’s Avenue, all with varying levels of debauchery. By all accounts, the Starlite was one of the more savory joints in the city.
But Coal still wasn’t sure why they were on its roof.
Zank stood at attention and surveyed his three recruits, pistols in hand. There had been no revolver available, much to Marl’s disappointment. The wolverine’s dark brown fur bristled in the breeze.
“Okay,” said the wiry gray rabbit as he inspected his gun. “Venny, please go over the plan again for our new friend here. Bring him up to speed.”
“How much does he know already?” Venny asked.
“Not much,” said Zank. “Almost nothin’.”
Coal had known Zank since they were kids. Their friendship was one of the driving factors for Coal making his way down south to Vinnag. The rabbit had promised him lucrative job opportunities, which he needed. Having a friend to confide in and spend downtime with didn’t hurt either.
They had worked a few minor jobs together, but this was the first big mission he was joining Zank on. He was aware the rabbit was connected to the city’s underworld, but not to what extent or in what capacity. It didn’t really matter, though; he needed money, and he needed to lay low, so proper employment wasn’t viable at the moment. Regardless of how anxious it made him.
He would do what needed to be done tonight, but he hoped it was nothing too sinister.
“Okay,” Venny began. “For starters, welcome to the Dripping Fang.”
“The what?”
“Don’t interrupt,” said Marl.
Coal nodded and shut up.
“The Dripping Fang,” Venny said again, and this time Zank beamed with pride at the name. “We work under secret orders from Garna Nomak.”
Coal had not been in the city long enough to know who Nomak was. What he did know was that Vinnag’s Garnas were a group of elite businessmen who essentially owned the city’s various districts, gobbling up real estate and collecting rent from purveyors who wanted to open up shops or clubs or restaurants or whatever else.
It was Garna Dend who controlled the entertainment district, and he was immensely proud of that fact. Every club or brothel in the district had a portrait of him hanging up in it somewhere. Given he hadn’t seen it in the Starlite, Coal assumed it might be displayed in the dancers’ dressing room. He shuddered at the thought of the large, ugly tapir leering down at all the women as they undressed.