WARNING: IMPLIED AND EXTREME GORE, AS WELL AS SHADES OF COERSION AND MANIPULATION. Please read at your own risk.

"Hey, Bad Cop, could you c'mere a sec?"

The officer paused, looking up from one of the reports he was taking home. President Business smiled, waving from the door at the end of the hall that led into the man's public office. Brow furrowing, the cop folded the paperwork under his arm and approached his boss.

"Is there something y'need, sir?"

"Oh, it's nothing big, I just need to borrow you for a moment."

The president gave a small laugh, backing up a step to free up the doorway and allow the police officer entrance into the office.

"I kind of had a little accident, and need a bit more muscle than I have to get things set to rights."

Bad Cop quirked a brow, but nodded, stepping over the threshold. He saw the problem immediately, one of the large file cabinets had gotten knocked over and broken a potted plant. A maid robot was trying to clean up the mess, but she couldn't lift the large metal office furniture.

Hearing the door click closed, he turned to see President Business walking towards him, the older man looking just a tad embarrassed.

"I know, silly thing to ask help for, but I'm not as young as I used to be..."

Trailing off, the president shrugged. Bad Cop just nodded, setting his papework down on a nearby coffee table and shrugging off his coat.

"It's alright, sir, I can get it."

"Oh good! Thank you, Bad Cop, I really appreciate it."

Folding his coat over the arm of the couch set in the middle of the room for visitors, the officer idly noted his boss moving over to the desk before turning his attention to the problem at hand, shooing the maid bot out of the way so he could get a grip on the big heavy file cabinet.

It was kind of odd, really, how often President Business asked after him for things like this. Though he'd only been hired a couple weeks ago, the older man seemed rather quick to trust, and had assigned Bad Cop and his other half jurisdiction over both the entirety of the Bricksburg Police Force as well as the Octan Tower Security Division in a span of three days. Hard work, and lots of it, but it was something the officer thrived in, not having to pause for even a moment. Sure, his sleep schedule had suffered a bit, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

And yet, somehow, despite his busy work schedule, he kept ending up doing small things like this for his boss. Yesterday, it had been helping hang a large painting in the hall when the robot in charge had malfunctioned, and the day for that, it had been wrangling a stray cat that had gotten in through someone's open window and left the president sneezing and miserable for hours until he finally got some allergy medication. Bad Cop wasn't sure if it was just coincidental timing or what, but he had to admit, it was actually kind of nice to have somebody depend on him for something other than just being a cop.

Grunting with exertion, the Irishman hefted the cabinet upwards, lifting with his knees just like how Pa always taught him, and slowly, steadily righted the heavy metal hunk of furniture. Focused on the task at hand, he didn't notice the soft pad of footsteps on thick carpet, or the sound of heavy curtains being drawn.

The cabinet settled with a solid 'thunk', and he backed up a half-step.

"There y'go, sir, right as r-AIN?!"

He lurched, trying to turn, get loose from the sudden and terrible pain as huge fangs dug harshly into the soft join of muscle and skin where shoulder met neck, enormous paw-like hands gripping his upper arms and digging thick, blunt claws into his biceps. Then, just as suddenly, he was released, a hand reaching frantically to staunch the blood flow from the bite wound as he stumbled into the wall, his other hand finding the taser he carried at his hip.

And found himself staring in bewildered disbelief as President Business swiped a thumb over his bloodied lower lip, humming thoughtfully before he licked it clean, then proceeded to take a handkerchief from his pocket and wipe the rest of it from his face before looking to the stunned cop.

"Oh, calm down, you won't die."

He flapped a hand in an idle, dismissive gesture, turning to stride towards the vast floor to ceiling windows that domniated the far wall, opening out to a rather beautiful vista of Brickburg awash in the bright light of the full moon just beginning its arc over the sky. Bad Cop could only stare, jaw clenched and taser at the ready.

"S-Sir?"

President Business stopped to stand before the windows, hands clasped behind his back as he looked upwards towards the night sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it? The moon, I mean."

Swallowing, the officer used the wall to help himself straighten, adrenaline sending tremors through his body.

"Sir, I don't-"

"Come on, Bad Cop, you're a smart guy. You can put it together."

Turning from the window, Business smiled, and Bad Cop felt a chill run down his spine at the predatory twist of the older man's lips, his canine teeth sharp and still tinted red. A hand was lifted, tapping pointed nails on the window.

"Sure, you've only been here a few weeks, but I know you've noticed. Though... I admit the cat having silver on its collar was kind of a set back. Thanks for the Bennedryll, by the way, I would have been stuffed up all day otherwise."

Giving a laugh, the president started walking down the length of the window, pointed nails tapping all the way down, and Bad Cop felt himself trembling, breath coming in harsh pants. The bite wound seemed to throb, and he swallowed hard, tightening his grip on his taser.

"S-Sir, I- Hngh!"

Pain, lightning quick bursts down his back, exploding whiteness behind his eyes, and he felt his knees go weak, forcing him to slump heavily on the wall to stay upright. He heard Business give a soft whistle.

"Wow, that quick, huh? It's barely been a minute!"

Hands clammy and shaking, Bad Cop managed to lift his head with rather more effort than he was prepared for, his aviators slipping down his nose. Blinking sweat out of his eyes, the officer tried to focus on the dark sillouhette of his boss, the older man fiddling with some kind of control set into the wall.

"I was kinda hoping it'd take a bit longer. Y'know, so I could explain things a bit better before the pain started? Hoo boy, I remember my first time, so not fun!"

"Sir, whu-what-?"

Agony jolted up his spine, vision whiteing out, and he came to himself crumpled in a heap on the floor, panting hoarsely as his body twitched and spasmed. The gray tee he wore under his heavy leather jacket was sticking to him, and he realized belatedly that his helmet had gone missing. Head lolling, he looked up to see the maid robot looming over him, red optics impassive as she held his headgear tucked securely under one arm. There was a bloody handprint smeared on one side, and he realized he must have shoved it off himself.

"Mavis, see if you can't get his boots off too, we don't want him hurting himself."

"YES, LORD BUSINESS."

The maid clinked away, and he coughed, his mouth dry from gasping for breath, and he swallowed hard around a sudden lump in his throat, vision swimming as he rolled himself from his side over onto his front, hands braced on the carpet. He tried to push himself up, but his arms were shaking so bad he barely managed to get up to his elbows before flopping flat on his face, feeling weak as a newborn kitten. Tugging on his feet had him trying to kick out, and he groaned as his legs refused to move, just as noodly as the rest of him.

His other half was clamoring in the back of their shared consciousness, trying to figure out what was going on with what little information was making it through the fog of confusion and fear, and he tried to reach for the steadying presence. Pain jolted through him, rattling his insides and jerking his mind back into the room, tasting copper in the hollow of his throat.

"Mavis, dear, could you go lock the door for me? I'm going to be otherwise occupied in the next ten minutes or so."

"YES, LORD BUSINESS."

He heard the soft hush of silk on silk, and managed to lift his head enough to look in the general direction of the sound, seeing the wavering blur of his boss coming closer, tossing aside his bright red tie. The color was so incongurous, standing out in a sea of grays, that he couldn't help following it with his eyes, and then there was a callused hand firmly gripping his chin, forcing him to look up and meet the honey-brown gaze of President Business. As he watched, gasping for breath and shaking all over, the older man's eyes seemed to grow brighter, iris lightening to a more golden tone as the sclera turned black. Lips stained bloody red parted to show pearly white fangs in a hungry smile, and he couldn't help a small fearful sound at feeling the blunt points of claws start digging into the soft flesh under his jaw.

"S-suh-sirrr...?"

Was that him? Good grief, he sounded almost drunk!

A soft, hoarse sounding chuckle, and there was another hand stroking through the sweat slickened mess of his hair, claws scraping against his scalp.

"Shhh... Don't speak, buddy, it's not gonna do any good. Try and relax a bit, it'll be easier on you if you do."

"B-But- AH!"

Something popped, and he convulsed, arcing up from the floor for a moment before all the tension left his limbs and he collapsed, crashing down in a shuddering heap, his head the only thing not crumpled to the carpet as it was being cradled delicately in a pair of clawed hands that seemed to have grown quite large, one padded palm broad enough to cover the entire side of his skull.

"Trust me, this's for your own safety, really. Between all the work you're doing for me now and what I'm going to be trusting you with in a couple weeks, you're going to need all the help you can get..."

He could no longer formulate any reply, pain tingling through him near-constantly like a static charge under his skin. Feeling something hot trickle down over his upper lip, he realized he had a bloody nose, and the taste of copper in the back of his throat had only grown stronger. Gosh, his head was throbbing...

A jolt of pain richocheted outward from his spine, his limbs flailing convulsively as his back arched, and vaguely he registered a scream, choked raw with agony. It took him a moment to realize that it was coming from him, mouth agape as he twitched and spasmed dischordantly on the carpet, the hands that had been cradling his head fallen away. There was something big lingering nearby, an impression of honey-colored eyes and bright white fangs, gingery gray streaked fur and paws larger than his whole head, but he couldn't focus on it, couldn't focus on anything but the jagged stabs of agony jetting through his body.

It grew, a twisting, slithering thing birthed inside of him that made his skin burn and his bones shriek, terrible pain unlike anything he'd ever felt before-!

And then, abruptly, it stopped.

For a moment, he didn't know what to do or think, trembling all over, his skin hyper-sensitive and his ears ringing with his own screams. Then his brain seemed to kick into gear, and he was scrambling to his feet, bare on the shag carpeting, scrambling for his taser and taking aim as his back thudded against the wall.

At some point, the overhead lights had been turned off, but the moon provided more than enough illumination, a silvery wash of soft light giving everything an eerie sort of ethereal glow. Including the enormous ginger wolf that lay sprawled across the carpet, ears perked and head cocked to one side, utterly unafraid. The animal was mind-bogglingly huge, a minimum of 6 foot long from nose to tail, barrel chested with a thick coat of wavy gingery-gray fur, and he felt his heart leap into his throat at realizing it lay between him and the only way out of the room.

He kept his weapon aimed at the wolf, struggling to keep his aim steady with hands that were trembling and sweaty as he called out for his boss.

"S-Sir, I d-dinnae know what's g-goin' on, but I- I advise y't's-suh-start talkin'!"

A low chuckle rumbled out, and he swore he saw the wolf's muzzle contort into an eeriely famliar smile as it lifted a paw, resting its heavy head on the rough palm.

"I'm surprised at you, Bad Cop. I didn't think you'd be quite this dense."

The officer felt his mouth go dry and the blood drain from his face as the wolf moved, all smooth predator grace as it rose up onto its hind legs, towering over him as it crossed muscular forelimbs over that thick chest. Swallowing, he tried to steady his aim, and lurched back a half-step as the wolf took a long stride towards him, shoulders thunking solidly against the wall. His finger reflexively yanked on the trigger, and the wolf was too big and too close for the electric probs to miss.

Only to be batted out of the air like nothing.

"Really, Bad Cop? Firing on your employer? How rude."

It took a moment for the words to click, and his over-charged fight or flight response switched gears. Bad Cop dropped his useless weapon, eyes darting every which way in search of an out, then he bolted, shoving off from the wall. He vaulted up and over the couch, nearly overturning the coffee table as he ran headlong for the door, bare feet slapping sharply on the tiled steps. Just need to get out, find help-!

BA-BUM.

A pulse socked into him, stealing the breath from his lungs and his legs out from under him, and he collapsed to the floor on his knees, the tile cold against his sweat-slick skin. His aviators slid from his face, hitting the ground with a faint 'tink'.

"Ah, there we go!"

His boss, the president, the wolf-!

Gasping for breath, he heard the click of claws on stone, and fought to find his feet, kicking out futilely before finally managing to brace himself and get a leg up, scrabbling at the floor a moment before he managed to haul himself upright, staggering drunkenly into the desk. The bite felt as though it were burning into his skin, fiery to the touch when he reached up to try soothing the pain. Heart thudding harshly against his rib cage, he saw a letter opener, metal and passingly sharp, and grabbed it, stumbling into and pressing his back to the wall as he faced the monster stalking towards him.

"Now, now, we've already been through that. Put the letter opener down, it's not going to help anything."

There was something in that tone, low and soothing, teasing its way into his brain, and he shook his head, struggling to focus.

"N-Not buyin' it. S-Sir."

The wolf-creature chuckled, and he felt himself pressing closer to the wall as it loomed over him, teeth bared in an easy grin.

"Oh ho, finally put two and two together, have we? Good for you, Bad Cop. Now, be a good boy and drop the letter opener, hm?"

Honey colored eyes seemed to glow, catching the moon's light, and the officer felt a thrill of fear as the letter opener tumbled from his numb grasp, clattering on the floor.

"There you go, good boy! Now, it'll be best you sit down for what's coming, don't need you hurting yourself, now do we?"

Bad Cop gasped as his legs abruptly gave out under him, sending him sliding down the wall and thumping down hard on his rear, listing to one side before he caught himself. The wolf loomed over him, huge and powerful, and he couldn't help a small whimper as the knowledge there was absolutely nothing he could do to fight against the creature properly sank in. He was out-manuvered, out-gunned, and hopelessly, hilariously, out of his element.

BA-BUM.

The second pulse was even stronger than the first, and he returned to his senses collapsed on his side gasping like a gutted fish. He was sweating heavily, his shirt and trousers soaked through and sticking to his flushed, feverish skin, hair slick against his brow. His stomach heaved, flip-flopping, and he managed to force himself up onto an elbow before the nasuea got the best of him.

Blood splattered across the tiles, a scarlet wash across the pristine whiteness. It took him a second to realize not all of the white was from the tile, and a quick swipe of his tongue over his teeth confirmed it, a good number of his incisors, two premolars and a canine nothing more that gaps in gums that were bloodied up as badly as the floor. He didn't get a chance to fully process the phenomenon, as his body decided to heave up some more blood, several teeth tinkling across the floor. By the time he was done, he felt woozy and his vision had gone blurry, terrified tears dribbling down his face.

He was vaguely aware of the fact his mouth was moving, forming words that flowed and clattered out of him with the soul deep famliarity of home, and he shuddered as something sidled up next to him, a breathless sound escaping him as a rough warm tongue scraped gently over his face, cleaning away the smeared mess of blood, bile and tears. It was so utterly dischordant, something soothing amidst the fear and pain, it distracted him just long enough for a large padded palm to reach around him, and he cried out as he was abruptly lifted up off the ground, every fiber of his being screeching in protest.

Flailing in a shaky attempt at shoving his way to freedom, he screamed as something popped and instinctively curled into a fetal ball, shaking all over as he hugged his aching chest, smooth fur gliding over his fevered skin.

BA-BUM.

This time he returned to himself as he was being laid down on the carpet, trembling limbs weak and jelly-feeling as his head lolled to the side. He found himself staring up at the moon, huge and gibbous in the sky overhead, so large it seemed like he could just reach out and touch it.

Beautiful...

BA-BUM.

Arching up from the floor, he scrabbled uselessly at the thick carpet fibers as his skeleton seemed to catch fire, searing against muscle and tendon alike. Something made an ugly pop-crackling sound, and he felt his shirt grow tight around his chest, the soaked cotton straining. Another awful sound, and the waistband of his trousers dug viciously into his stomach, the seams down the legs grinding into his skin.

Convulsing, he threw his head back, mouth agape in a soundless scream.

Only to choke as the taste of iron in his mouth was refreshed, gums burning as his missing teeth were forcibly replaced, new sharp fangs stabbing their way into the vacant space. And they kept coming, more and more, until he couldn't close his mouth properly because of all the big pointy bits jabbing him in the lips.

"Oh, now that's interesting..."

A huge paw gripped his chin, and he couldn't help crying out as his aching jaw throbbed in response to the contact, hands tearing loose from gripping the carpet to pull feebily at that thick fur-covered wrist, vaguely aware that his fingertips were bleeding, nails cracked and splintered as something bigger and stronger forced its way up from underneath. He yelped as a claw rapped him between the eyes, a small gesture that hurt far too much, and he automatically recoiled, hands dropping to the carpet.

"Ah ah ah, none of that. You don't hurt your master, understand?"

Whimpering, he made no reply, hearing bones creak and crackle, every sound heralding a spasm of agony that made him twitch. The feverish feeling had heightened, leaving his skin feeling tight and hot like a severe sunburn, mouth dry and body trembling. Something tore, what he wasn't sure, but it hurt. Gosh, did it hurt-!

Vaugely, he was aware of himself screaming, the iron tang of blood filling his senses with red as he flailed, muscles seizing and spasming. Somewhere in there, he managed to jerk his head loose from the too-tight grip on his jaw, biting off a bit of his tongue in the process. His head throbbed, a pulsing ache in time with his frantic heartbeat, and he cried out as a crackling filled his headspace, blood gushing out his nose as if it'd been broken. Though he was unaware of it, there was blood streaming out of his eyes as well, and trickled out his ears as the cartilage distended, stretching and splitting skin.

Bone creaked, squealing in an unearthly cacophony, followed by a dull crunch as delicate facial bones were shattered and reshaped, shoving outwards. It was a dizzying cascade of agony that made his vision warp and blur before whiting out.

In the space of a few short moments, mouth and nose were heaved out, stretched into a new and different shape that properly fit all those gnarly teeth, the gaps straightening out and the empty cavern inside filled with a longer, rougher tongue. Skull shape shallowed, and vertebrae thickened to compensate for the extra bulk, a transition that worked its way down the full length of the spine. He returned to his senses just in time to catch the full brunt of his tailbone deciding it wanted to be an actual appendage, and his agonized cry as bone busted out through several layers of flesh and fabric was more of a howl than a scream.

"Oh dear... That looked like it hurt."

Lost in a haze of pain and panic, the cop was not fully aware of the rest of the process, the creaking and crackling of foot bones extending, hip joints realigning and several ribs being added to a heavily muscled chest that barreled outwards to allow for larger lungs and a bigger, stronger heart. Thick claws broke through old now-brittle nails as palms and soles grew sturdy pads. Layers of skin sloughed away in wet sheets, leaving bloodied fur behind to grow full and coarse.

Finally, the pain faded, a faint throbbing through his trembling frame, and Bad Cop gave a soft whimper as his eyes rolled up into his head, consciousness leaving him entirely.

Good Cop knew the moment he woke up that there was something Very Wrong. Primarily because he was the one waking up and not his counter part, who had last been conscious. Usually, whoever was the last down was the first one up, unless there were some extenuating circumstances going on.

He tried reaching his other half, extending his awareness into the conjoined mental space they shared, but the other part of him failed to respond, providing nothing more than a vague sense of faded hurt and a great deal of lingering fear underneath a layer of protective shock. Whatever had happened while he was out, Bad Cop had certainly taken a beating, and it would take some time for his other half to recover enough to be able to come out, let alone want to. Still, he projected as much calm and comfort as he could to try and sooth the worst of it, then turned his attention to what the heck was going on.

The first thing he noticed was how gosh darn sore their body was. Everything felt over extended, with that shakey feeling of having gone too far too fast. He hadn't felt anything remotely similar since the last time Bad Cop had pulled something chasing down a crook, and they'd started a more endurance based gym routine to keep it from happening again.

But there was more too it than just being sore. It was like... There was something extra tacked on.

Confused and not a little anxious, Good Cop slowly rolled from his side onto his front, and immediately noticed something off- They were lying on the floor. Blinking, he winced slightly at the ambient light, but waited paitiently for their eyes to adjust, and frowned at recognizing President Business' office, shag carpeting and all.

Only to redirect his focus as he realized their mouth wasn't moving quite the way it was supposed to. It felt like there was more of it, and when he looked crosseyed down his nose, expecting to see their somewhat beaky and freckle coverd schnozz- He saw fur. Lots and lots of coarse, slightly wavy fur, stretched down what appeared to be a muzzle.

For a moment, he just stared, not entirely sure what to make of the sight, then he slowly pushed himself up onto all fours. And promptly found something else to focus on, as their feet felt very, very strange, and-

Wait, was he naked?!

Good Cop scrambled upright, moving to cover himself, only to stop when he caught sight of their hands. At least, he figured they were thier hands. He just didn't recall having black paw pads for palms, or thick blunt claws instead of fingernails. There was more fur too, finer on those sort of outsized looking fingers but quickly growing thick and wavy up their arms. A thick ruff of it fluffed out at the base of their neck, stretching across their much deeper chest and down their belly where the fur was lighter and softer.

Oh. Apparently no clothes wasn't so much of a problem after all...

Hang on, whoa, back up! He mentally backpedaled, and grimaced as he felt their ears twitch, much too big and mobile as they folded down. How had this happened in the first place?!

"Oh! You're awake. Wonderful!"

The voice caught him off guard, and Good Cop reacted instinctively, whirling around and dropping onto all fours, hackles up as he bared new sharp teeth in a snarl. Which stopped immediately upon seeing who it was.

"President Business? Why... Are you inna bathrobe?"

A pause, and the president gave a soft laugh, smiling lightly as he shook his head.

"Ah, Good Cop... Here, why don't I show you?"

The older man started to walk towards him, and Good Cop sat up, still crouched somewhat warily. And only tensed further, fur standing on end as the middle aged human male abruptly seemed to blur, form stretching and shifting like taffy, until he wasn't a man at all, but a huge ginger furred wolf. Standing on its hind legs wearing a mint green bathrobe.

"...oh."

Dark lips parted on that grey-streaked muzzle, white fangs showing in a smile that didn't really seem all that friendly, and President Business crossed his arms over his chest.

"I guess you really are the brains of the operation, huh. Bad Cop didn't get it until I flat out told him!"

A laugh, and he reached a hand forward.

But Good Cop wasn't having it, quickly backing out of reach and standing up straight.

"Sir, I don't mean any disrespect, but what the heck happened?! Why are we like this?!"

He paused, and his ears folded down, hackles lifting as he clenched his hands into fists, claws be damned.

"Did you do this, sir?"

The big ginger wolf blinked, then heaved a sigh, hand dropping to brace on one hip.

"Yeah, brains alright..."

Good Cop felt a growl building in him as President Business padded closer, idly untying the belt of his bathrobe.

"First things first, yes, I did 'this' as you say. I was originally going to go through the whole formal proposal and everything, but then things started get short on time and I decided, y'know, better to ask forgiveness, right?"

As the elder grew close, Good Cop scowled and began to back up, not liking the proximity. President Business frowned slightly, but continued on, shrugging out of the thick terry cloth robe.

"I mean, you're my Chief of Police AND Head of Security, kind of a high profile position. I wanted to make sure you'd be able to carry on with the position without having to worry for your life. Think about it- With this, you're stronger, faster, you heal better, you don't get sick as easy, heck, you even get better senses!"

The robe was tossed aside, the ginger wolf standing with his arms spread.

"Don't you like not needing glasses to see? It's a win-win for everybody!"

Good Cop braced himself, aching muscles tense.

"Sir, I don't see how it's a win-win when I can't talk t'my buddy from bein' scared into shock. Whatever you did, whatever happened, it was definitely not a good thing."

President Business frowned, then gave a shrug.

"Oh well. Suit yourself."

And then there was a rush of teeth and claws in a rush of ginger-grey, and Good Cop yelped in pain as he was tackled to the ground, slammed to earth with substantial force. It stunned him a moment, but he came 'round soon enough, ducking his head to avoid a swipe before getting his feet -paws?- up, kicking the older wolf in the gut, following it up with a solid hook to the skull before he skittered upright, bounding backwards and skirting towards the door.

He barely made it two steps before he was being tackled to the floor again, and he narrowly avoided the snapping jaws of the ginger wolf that was their employer, kicking and punching for all he was worth as they tumbled across the carpet. Business obviously had the upper hand, more used to the form and better rested, but Good Cop had noticed early on that he was definitely bigger, broader and taller with more defined musculature. Wolves or not, the pair of them were still a middle aged businessman versus a trained police officer in his prime.

At least, that's how it should have been.

Business was frightfully quick, and fought dirty, snapping and snarling with vicious intent as he sought to get his teeth into something, claws swiping at soft spots. For every punch or kick that connected, two did not, and Good Cop realized very quickly that this fight was unlike anything he'd ever gotten into. Something that sank in most pointedly when big fangs caught around his left hand, and crunched down with terrible force.

The pain triggered an instinctual response, and the Irishman found himself scrabbling frantically to get loose, claws lashing out at any available target as he bit down on whatever was closest. He heard a yelp of pain that wasn't his own, feeling something tear loose from his fangs, and he scrambled backwards with the coppery tang of blood in his mouth as his hand was released. Tucking his injured appendage close to his chest, he could feel their body shaking, already overtaxed muscles protesting the intense action, but he forced himself to ignore it, backing up a few more paces to put the couch between him and the ginger wolf, its left ear now missing a good chunk of the inner edge and bleeding rather badly.

"Well! You are one heck of a fiery thing. It's been ages since somebody actually drew blood on me, you oughta be proud!"

The words were complimenting, encouraging even, but the predatory smile and the sharp tone said otherwise. President Business was mad, or at least annoyed, and Good Cop swallowed as he tried to put some more distance between them.

"Sir, I apologize for the injury, I didn't want to hurt you but I was reacting in self-defense-!"

"Oh, pish-tosh, don't be so modest. That was a good shot, for a new pup."

A low, rough chuckle rumbled into the room's atmosphere, the ginger wolf stalking forward, stiff-legged and tail up, ears pricked forward attentively.

"C'mon, try again. I bet you can do better than that..."

"N-No thank you, sir, I don't want to hurt you."

"Pity."

Golden eyes narrowed, and Good Cop tensed as that bright white grin widened.

"I really want to hurt you."

He ducked just in time to avoid the sudden lunge, and while the ginger wolf regained his footing, Good Cop scrambled for the door, bolting off on all fours a moment before shoving himself up to his feet. A snarl sounded behind him, and he jumped the three steps, skidding to the side to dodge a second lunge. Swallowing, he licked his lips nervously as he sidled closer to the door, watching carefully as the ginger wolf regained its footing. Just a little closer...

There!

A momentary thrill of success ran through him as his good hand found the door handle, fumbling with it a moment before he managed to get a grip. And then promptly felt his heart sink into his stomach as the lock clattered, refusing to be budged. Coarse laughter drove the sensation of dread more deeply, and he yanked a bit harder, trying not to panic.

"Did you really think I'd just leave the door unlocked? Oh, alright, I give you a break there, I did have the thing special made."

The ginger wolf lifted a forepaw, wriggling thick fingers in a wave that showed off a glint of metal hidden in the fur.

"It won't open unless you have the microchip key. I keep mine in this little ring here, never lose it."

Red tinted fangs were bared in a teasing grin.

"Think you can grab it, hm?"

Good Cop grit his teeth, feeling his ears flatten to either side of his skull as he gave the door one last futile tug. He was tired, and hurting, and now he was trapped. The only other door in the room led to a toilet, and he was pretty sure the windows were bulletproof, even if they weren't some 70 stories up.

What else was he supposed to do?

Dropping his hand from the door, he straightened, frowning as he took a step away from the exit.

And abruptly found himself being slammed into the floor, yelping in pain as he felt something in his shoulder crack. The ginger wolf loomed over him, a huge clawed hand wrapped firmly around his throat, and he swallowed hard, biting back a fearful whimper as the monster grinned.

"Good boy."