“Nomak thinks Dend is getting a little too big for his britches,” Venny went on. “Dend’s planning to extend his reach a little too far and buy up some newly-developed property that the city is about to put on sale. Nomak believes the property’s rightfully his.”
“Because it falls within his invisible territory marker?” Coal ventured a guess.
“Right. And who are we to disagree?” said Zank.
That meant Garna Nomak controlled either the garment district or Renning Heights, the two districts that bordered Dend’s. Trying to expand one’s district always caused unrest amongst the city’s Garnas.
“Dend has the money to buy it, no problem. All the Garnas do, really, but he’s the only one bold enough to make the move,” Zank explained.
“But he’s only bold because of what he’s got on Nomak,” Venny cut back in. “He knows that as long as he’s got this hanging over Nomak’s head, the boss isn’t gonna put up a fight for the property.”
This intrigued Coal. “What does Dend have?” he asked.
The three exchanged a look, and the rabbits chuckled. Marl remained unfazed.
“We’re really not supposed to say,” Zank laughed. “Well, I wasn’t supposed to say, but I already say’d to these two here. I couldn’t help myself.”
Venny laughed harder. Marl was stoic.
Coal looked among the members of the Dripping Fang. “What is it?”
Zank said, “Well, Dend acquired some…compromising photographs of the boss. Not sure who gave ’em to Dend—Nomak is pissed just thinkin’ about it. He’s already fired all his personal staff that could’ve had access to the photos wherever he kept ’em. But he’s seen proof that Dend does indeed have ’em.”
“What kind of photographs?”
“Photographs of a sexual nature.”
Coal huffed, amused. It sounded embarrassing, perhaps, but not something worth losing a considerable amount of valuable property over. The thousands—maybe millions, more realistically—of tups that he’d be losing out on over the years. All because of some photos.
“That seems like something he could pretty easily recover from,” said Coal.
Venny and Zank laughed some more.
“Well,” said Venny, “the thing about Nomak is that evidently he’s…not particularly well-endowed.”
Coal stared ahead at the two giggling rabbits caked in the yellow glow of the Starlite’s sign. Marl was still unamused by the nature of their task.
“So,” Coal started, seeking clarity, “we’re stealing back photos of a Vinnag City Garna that show he’s got a tiny cock and balls so that the public doesn’t find out he’s got a tiny cock and balls?”
“Yes,” Zank confirmed.
Coal rolled his eyes but laughed at the Garna’s fragile pride costing the man so much money and effort.
“Given the reputation of the Garnas, it seems like just being fired is cutting the staff a lot of slack,” said Coal.
“I think he’s gonna be doing an investigation into all of them and whoever the guilty party is…isn’t gonna have a nice time,” Venny said. “Firing them was just the fastest, cleanest punishment for now.”
“Are the innocent ones gonna get their jobs back?”
“Doubtful,” she replied.
Coal glanced at Marl, who still bore no expression. He stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Zank or Venny to lay out the actual plan. The wolverine was clearly uninterested in the personal affairs of his boss and simply wanted a payday. Coal was in the same boat.
“So why are we on the roof of the Starlite?” he asked.
“Because,” Zank said, hopping over to the edge of the roof where the neon sign’s light couldn’t reach, “this is here.”
Out of the dark, he held up a thick plank of wood.
“What you may or may not know is that Garna Dend’s private office is across the alley here from the Starlite. I have it on good authority that he’s keepin’ the photos there. So we’re gonna walk across the alley on this board, break in through an entryway on the roof, and rummage through his shit until we find the photographs. Sound good?”
“Sounds risky,” said Coal after thinking it over a moment. “People will be able to spot us from the streets. Four people walking on a piece of wood between rooftops is pretty conspicuous.”
“Walk fast, then.”
“Great note. Next, won’t Dend have people guarding the office if he keeps valuables there? Or possibly just normal employees still working in there? It’s not very late by the entertainment district’s standards.”
He was not accustomed to this lifestyle, and he did not want to screw up the job or risk his life. He was trying to think through all the possibilities and voice his concerns.
“That’s what the guns are for. When you aim ’em and pull the trigger, problems get solved,” said Venny.
That finally garnered a laugh from Marl. More like a huff than an outright laugh, but Coal counted it.
Coal, however, found her retort unamusing. Between that remark and how quick to the draw she was when the deer interrupted them in the office, he could guess that things tended to get a bit bloody when Venny was involved.
“I’m not killing anyone,” said Coal seriously.
Zank saw the grave expression on his friend’s face and nodded. “No deaths unless absolutely necessary.” He looked to Marl in particular and said, “Incapacitation is good enough tonight.” The wolverine shrugged.
“Do we have any intel on whether there are bodies inside?” Coal decided to ask, not expecting much.
Surprisingly, Zank had at least a crumb of information. “My source who told me the photos are kept there also said Dend only employs two night guards. A fox and a macaw. Shouldn’t be hard to deal with.”
“That seems light,” said Coal, though it was based on nothing more than his gut instinct. “Do you know this source well? You trust them?”
“Well enough,” Zank nodded. “We’ve had a few tumbles, if you catch my drift.”
“Sounds like you two have great pillow talk,” said Venny.
Coal did not particularly want to know any more about Zank’s sex life. He said, “I still think that sounds too good to be true. These Garnas are powerful, but their power can be taken from them at the drop of a hat, and that makes them paranoid. Shouldn’t there be more guards in there protecting all his valuables?”
“All due respect, pal, but you don’t have much experience with these folks,” said Zank.
Coal’s home city of Muta Par did not contain anything similar to Vinnag’s districts and its Garnas, but his father had worked closely with the local government there, so Coal understood those types of people. They were all egomaniacs whose lives would be ruined if they lost any ounce of their control.
Still, he had to concede the point. He had a general idea but admittedly did not know a ton about the Garnas’ day-to-day operations. Maybe their security really would be that light in this situation.
“Okay,” he relented. “A fox and a macaw. Sounds easy enough.”
“It will be.” Zank smiled.