The Three Little Pigs

Once upon a time there were three little pigs. The first pig, named Esposito, was a swarthy
Duroc that lived in East Harlem. The second pig, a small yet feisty Tamworth named Ryan,
lived in the Irish Catholic neighborhood of Woodlawn in the Bronx. And the third, called
Beckett, was a wild Russian hog that lived wherever the hell she pleased.

Though they all lived separately, they spent most of their days together in the same pen,
and over the years had developed a close bond. So, when a lone wolf named Castle appeared
on the scene, they quickly closed ranks to keep the predator from insinuating himself into
their lives.

"That Napoleon the mayor may be in charge of this Animal Farm," Beckett commented, "…but
that doesn't mean Castle gets an all access pass to us."

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "I'll work with Castle, but I won't be friends with him."

"Research my ass." Esposito swore. "That wolf has only one thing on his mind, and it ain't
research. I've caught him leering at Beckett on more than one occasion."

"Don't worry about me; I can take care of myself." She said firmly.

"I know that. I was just wondering if Ryan and I should take him out behind the barn and have
a talk with him, if you know what I mean."

"While I'm sure Farmer Montgomery wouldn't mind us laying into Castle, he still has to answer
to the mayor, so no, no talk behind the barn, for now. Just stick to the plan of freezing him out;
with time, he'll get frustrated with us and go looking for easier pickins."

And so it came to pass that day after day, they worked with Castle, but did not let him into their
lives, at least not until six month down the proverbial road.

…..

Castle knew that being a lone wolf put him at a three to one disadvantage. Luckily for him though,
being a wolf put him at the apex of the food chain and thus evened the odds. Wolves hunt by
wearing down their prey, and the larger the animal just meant a more prolonged chase. Patience
was a game he was determined to win. So he listened, watched, and waited while he planned.

…..

It was an uneventful weekend in March when his chance came. A package he had been waiting for
finally arrived via courier service; it was the last piece to his patiently crafted plan.

It was seven thirty on a Friday night and Ryan found his evening being disrupted by someone pounding
on his front door. He tried to ignore it as he was well into a multiplayer game of Halo 2 on Xbox live and
didn't want to stop. The pounding became more insistent. Exiting the game, he cursed as he rose from
the well worn couch that bore a permanent impression of his ass. Empty Guinness bottles scattered as
he stumbled over them on his way to answer the door. With the instinctive caution of a prey animal, he
looked out the peephole. It was a good thing he did; he saw Castle standing on the other side of the door.

"Ryan, let me in!" He called out as he pounded some more.

"Go away!" Ryan hollered back.

"Come on, let me in. I brought beer!"

Ryan saw him hold a case of Guinness up to the peephole.

"I got plenty of beer in my fridge, I don't need yours!" He lied with some difficulty as the last of his
beer now resided in his bladder.

"Yeah, but do you have Madden 08 or Halo 3?" Rick enticed him, holding up his one true weakness
to the peephole..

The front door flew open and the games were snatched from his hand with a quickness Castle didn't
know pigs possessed.

"Wow, how'd you get these? They aren't due out for another six months or more." Ryan asked as a
foamy froth of excitement began to form at corners of his mouth.

Castle snatched the games back just as quickly.

"Wouldn't you like to know," he teased.

The crestfallen look on Ryan's face had Castle chuckling inwardly at how easy this was going to be.

"So, do you want to try them out?"

"Hell yeah! Come on in."

Castle crossed the threshold and took in his surroundings. Ryan's apartment was the proverbial bachelor
pad. Sparse mismatch furniture all centered around an oversized television. Dirty clothes and discarded
food containers seemed to be the apartment's only decorations.

"Nice place," Castle commented. "What's it made of, straw?"

"Hey!" Ryan's heritage quickly had him on the defensive again. "What's wrong with straw?" "It was good
enough for my father, his father, and his father's father so why shouldn't it be good enough for me?"

"Hold up, I'm not criticizing, I'm just asking. I live in a den just like my ancestors did."

"Some den," Ryan smirked. "A high class top of the line swanky den."

"That's true. But look, I'm not here to discuss the current issue of Architectural Digest or Better Homes and
Gardens, I'm here to play some bootleg games with a friend. Are you up for that or not?"

"Bring it on, dude!" He grabbed the cases from Castle again and began to load Madden 08 into the system.
He was so distracted by the new game her never saw Castle as he reached up to wipe away some saliva
that was dripping from his chin.

"I'll just put these beers in your fridge then. Do you want one?" Castle asked.

"Nah." Ryan replied as he offhandedly waved him towards the opposite side of the room.

He stood there facing three closed doors, so he had to choose. He started by opening the one on the far
left. It turned out to be the bedroom.

'More like a pigpen.' Castle thought as the sight and smell from the room affronted his senses.

The middle door opened to reveal a bathroom. The mold and scum in, on and around the tub had Castle
shaking his head. 'Disgusting wallow is more like it."'

The third door led him into the kitchen. It was no larger than a closet with a fridge, stove and no cabinet
space. He opened the fridge and had to remove an empty beer case from the shelf in order to put his inside.

"Lying bastard." Castle mumbled as he pulled himself a beer from the new case and headed back into the
living room. He stood in the doorway and watched as Ryan cleared a spot on the couch for him to sit.

"You ready to get your ass kicked?" Ryan taunted as he held out a wireless controller.

Castle polished off the beer in two huge swallows and grabbed the controller.

"Bring it on."

He gave Ryan his best toothy grin as he made his was over to the couch and they both settled in as the
game began.

…..

Three hours of intense play later left Castle frustrated that the game was tied. It's not that he didn't enjoy
playing, he liked a good challenge, but he just didn't see any reason to delay the inevitable.

"Hey Ryan, pause the game; I need a break."

"Sure, I could use one too," Ryan replied hitting the pause button. "I think I'll have one of those beers you
brought. You want one?"

"Sure," Castle said, casually stretching as he stood up. "You got anything to snack on?"

"Let me grab those beers and I'll see what I've got."

Ryan headed into the kitchen and opened the fridge. The light from the tiny bulb inside cast an ominous glow
into the darkened kitchen that spilled out the door and into the living room.

It was the sign Castle had been waiting for.

Ryan squatted down and grabbed two beers from the case and then began poking around inside for something
good enough to offer his guest.

"I've got some ears of corn and a half eaten bucket of slop in the fridge," he called out. Or if you'd prefer, I
have a variety of flavored feed pellets in the cupboard. The spicy Cajun ones are my favorite."

Ryan was startled when Castle's reply came from just the other side of the refrigerator door.

"Well, I don't care for any of that stuff. I prefer my snacks a little raw and bloody."

Ryan felt his stomach sink as he looked up and saw Castle's dilated eyes and bared teeth hovering just feet
above him.

"Ah, shit."

He never even had time to squeal.

….

Castle made a quick stop back at his den to shower and change. The night was still young and he had one
more task to accomplish. It was near midnight when he arrived at Esposito's apartment. The place was dark,
so he pounded on the front door until the porch light came on.

"Who is it?" Esposito grunted angrily through the door.

"It's Castle!"

"What do you want?"

"I want to come in!"

"It's late, go away!"

Esposito switched off the porch light off to end the conversation.

Aww, come on!" Castle whined. "Just for a minute, I need your help with something!"

There was a long pause, and he wasn't sure if Esposito was still there until he heard his muffled reply.

"What could you possibly need my help with?"

"I need you to drive my Ferrari!" Castle baited his reply.

The door flew open.

"You need me to what?"

"Drive my Ferrari," Castle said again as he dangled a set of keys in front of his face.

Esposito's eyes went wide when he saw the red sports car over Castle's left shoulder parked out in front of
his home. He quickly snatched the keys.

"Why didn't you say that in the first place, come on in!"

Castle crossed the threshold and carefully observed his surroundings. It was different than the pigpen Ryan
was living in. This place was clean and had a fair sense of decorum about it.

"Nice place you got here," Castle said as he rapped on one of the sturdy walls. "What's it made of?"

"Sticks." Esposito replied.

"Not straw?" Castle questioned.

"Nah, that's old school. Sticks are a lot sturdier, less maintenance. With straw you always have to repair
sections because of leaks or mold and a good wind storm can bring one down in a matter of seconds.
Sticks are both inexpensive and durable."

"Good choice." Castle replied.

"Thanks, let me go get changed so we can hit the road."

"Ok, I'll wait here." Castle watched Esposito walk away and smiled as he opened a door at the end of the hallway.

'Perfect.' He thought.

He waited a moment before he followed, stealthily creeping down the hallway towards the bedroom door.

He was startled when a door to his right flew open and he found himself staring up at an angry four hundred
pound wild boar.

"Are you the one pounding on the door waking me up?"

"Uh, sorry." Castle apologized as the boar backed him up against the wall in the hallway. His hackles instinctively
began to rise.

"What are you doing?" He bellowed.

"I…umm…I'm looking for the bathroom."

Esposito had heard the commotion in the hallway and quickly left his bedroom to insinuate himself between
Castle and the boar before things could get ugly.

"Hold on guys," he pushed them apart. "Bruno, sorry we woke you, go back to bed," he said giving the hulk
a push back into his bedroom. "Castle, the bathroom is the next door down on the left," he nodded over
his shoulder.

Castle hurried to the bathroom to help defuse the situation. Safely inside, he took a moment to compose
himself. He mopped his sweaty brow with a hand towel he found hanging by the sink. 'So much for plan A,'
he thought. It was a good thing he was nothing if not careful; he would have to switch to plan B. Flushing
the toilet for cover, he poked his head out the bathroom door and found the hallway empty. He hurried
back to the living room and stood impatiently by the front door while he waited for Esposito. He heard the
bedroom door open and close a few minutes later.

"Sorry about that, bro." Esposito apologized.

"Who is that guy, your own personal bouncer?"

Esposito chuckled. "You're half right. Bruno is my roommate. He's a part time bouncer and full time student
and weightlifter at NYU."

"Ah, that explains his massive size. So, you ready to hit the road?"

"Yeah, but I do have one question."

"What is it?"

"Why me?"

"What do you mean, why me?" Castle asked as he shifted nervously.

"Why do you need me to drive your car? Can't you just drive it yourself?"

"Well, that's the problem." He said rubbing the back of his neck. "I really shouldn't have driven it over here."

"Why not?"

"Because my license is suspended."

"What! Why?"

"For speeding."

"They don't usually suspend your license for speeding, you just pay a fine. How fast were you going?"

"They said I was going 140mph, but I don't believe them."

"I don't know," Esposito replied. "You get that thing out on the freeway and you can easily hit 140."

"I was downtown."

"What?"

"That's what I said."

"Still, to suspend you license for one lousy ticket…"

"It was the tenth one."

"Tenth!"

"In two months." Castle raised his eyebrows and grinned sheepishly, or a least tried to.

"Dude, I'm surprised you're not in jail."

"It's usually not a problem, the Badger, Judge Marquoitz is a golf buddy of mine, and he usually just slaps
me with a fine, but last month some hunter shot and killed his brother- in-law and he had to attend the
funeral the day of my court date. The replacement judge was some wet behind the ears, biased Ewe who
had it in for me from the start. Hell, if my lawyer hadn't of been there she would have had me in jail, I kid
you not."

"Jeez, sorry to hear that."

"Anyway, the Ferrari needs to be driven at least once a month, they go to crap mechanically if they just sit,
and I don't want to let just anyone drive it. I remembered overhearing you and Ryan talking about your
favorite cars and I recalled that the Ferrari was your favorite. So here I am, asking you to drive my car."

"Wow, I don't know what to say."

"Thanks, is enough. And, if I like the way you handle her tonight, I'll let you drive her a couple of time
a month till I get my license back. How's that sound?"

"That sounds awesome. Thanks Castle; I mean it bro."

"Come on, enough talk, let's go!" He grabbed Esposito by his coat and pulled him out the door.

….

After giving Esposito quick orientation, he let him pull the powerful machine out onto the street. It took
a few blocks before he mastered the clutch and the responsive steering, and they could both feel the car
straining to excel itself over the speed limit.

"We're gonna have to take her out of town so you can open her up. I know the quickest way with the
fewest lights, you might even get her up to eighty while we're still downtown, just turn when I tell you to."

Esposito looked at him waringly.

"Trust me." Castle replied to his look.

They sped through three green lights and one close yellow before Castle spoke.

"Turn left at the next light, you'll be able to catch four more green lights if you get her up to at least
seventy and keep her there."

Esposito downshifted as he made the turn and quickly accelerated to seventy as they flew through
the next succession of green lights.

"Next light take a right, keep it around sixty through four more lights and then take another right."

The four lights went by quickly.

"When you take this right, open her up. You'll have twelve green lights before you catch a red. This
may be where they clocked me doin' a hundred and forty." Castle smirked at Esposito.

He just laughed and floored it after he made the turn. He came close to hitting 100mph when Castle
announced the next turn.

"Twelfth light coming up, take another right!" He had to yell over the roar of the engine.

Esposito had so lost himself in the power of the car that he never realized Castle was directing him
in a circle, and not out of town. At the next right they found themselves on a road that was under
construction.

"Aw, crap," said Esposito as he downshifted to just under forty.

"I know a shortcut; take the alley coming up on your left."

"An alley? Are you crazy?"

"You'll fit, trust me."

He made the sharp turn, squeezed passed a sleeping wino, a couple of dumpsters and possibly ran
over a cat before he had to come to a sudden screeching halt.

His knuckles were white with a death grip on the steering wheel.

"What the hell!" He panted. "This is a dead end! You could have killed us both!"

"Nah," Castle replied casually. "Only one of us is dying tonight."

"Oh shit," said Esposito, as he kept his gaze fixed on the graffiti covered wall before him.

"Funny," Castle remarked as he leaned towards the driver's seat. "That's the last thing you buddy Ryan
said to me just a few hours ago."

The car lurched forward and bumped the brick wall when Esposito's foot slipped off the clutch.

…..

Castle slept most of the day away Sunday. The encore to his sinisterly crafted plan was not set to begin
till later in the evening.

…..

Six thirty Sunday evening found Castle all dandied up standing outside Beckett's door loaded down with
an arsenal of offerings. One, if not all, would surely get him invited inside. He held his breath and firmly
knocked on her door. He exhaled sharply and dropped everything but the wine bottle as the door was
thrown open and a .44 was shoved into his face.

"Jesus, Castle! What are you doing here?" Beckett berated him.

"I brought you some wine," he managed to squeak out as he held up the bottle for protection.

She lowered the gun to her side as she replied.

"I have my own wine, thank you."

"Yes, but is it a $900 dollar bottle of Chateau Petrus, or is it a five dollar bottle of Le Puke from the grocery
store?"

Beckett laughed and shook her head. "Thank you anyway, but no thank you."

"Hang on, there's more." He reached down to the pile at his feet. "I also have the movie 300, just released
today. What woman can resist watching a bunch of buff guys running around wearing nothing but short
skirts for two hours?" He raised his eyebrows hoping she'd take the bait.

"Sorry Castle, I was planning on a book and a bath tonight."

"Aww, come on, I even brought you a choice of microwave popcorn or ice cream to have with the movie."
He held up two more bags from off the floor.

"What flavor of ice…no, no. I haven't had dinner."

"It's Chocolate, chocolate chip if you must know, and just so you know, I also brought dinner." He picked
up the last two bags on the floor.

"I've got some corn, a bucket of slop, and some Cajun spice pellets that a friend of mine insists are very tasty."

"Stop." Beckett said.

"What?"

"I said stop."

"Why?"

"You had me at slop. Come in." She motioned him into her apartment with the gun in her hand.

"Could you maybe…?" He nodded his head at the gun.

"Oh, sorry." She slid the gun back into the desk drawer by the door and turned back to help him with his packages.

She took the food bags from him and headed into the kitchen. Castle took the wine and movie over to the
couch and set them both down on the coffee table.

"Nice place. You like brick I see."

"Yeah, I grew up in a brick house, so I stick with what I know."

"Do you want some of this wine with your food?"

"Sure," she said, opening a cabinet and pulling out two wine glasses. "You're not eating?" She asked as she
handed him the glasses.

"Sorry, I've already eaten. The food is all for you."

"Thanks, I haven't eaten yet and I'm starving. I was just about to order Chinese when you showed up. It's
been weeks since I've had any good slop. I've been living on take out for the last couple of weeks and I'm
sick of it. You couldn't have brought this over at a more perfect time." She pulled the lid off the large tub
of slop and sniffed.

"Wow, this smells great, where'd you get it?"

"Oh, uh…friend of mine; owns a vegetarian restaurant. He's always going on about his slop, so I thought
I'd bring you some."

She ladled up a generous portion into a large bowl and popped it into the microwave while Castle turned
his attentions to pouring them some wine. When her meal was warmed she joined him on the couch. He
watched a she stuck her snout in the bowl and had it emptied and licked clean in a matter of minutes.

"You mind if I have some more?"

"Like I said, It's all for you."

He watched as she sashayed into the kitchen.

'Damn.' What was it about her that turned him on,and had since they'd first met, he wondered.
'Looks like I'm having dessert before dinner tonight.'

When Beckett turned back towards the living room with her second helping she couldn't help but notice
the amorous leer in Castles eyes and she felt herself blush from head to toe. There was something about
his look that drove her crazy at times.

He stood as she sat.

"I'll just pop in the movie while you finish eating," he said as he headed over to her dvd player.

"No, not that!' Her mind screamed. She didn't know if she'd be able to control herself around him after
watching two hours of mind numbing beefcake.

"Sure, go ahead." Her polite manners spoke.

Twenty minutes into the movie she noticed that he was now sitting a lot closer to her than he had been.
'When did he move?' She also noticed that he had kept refilling her wine glass while his remained half full.

"How about some popcorn?" She asked him as a much needed distraction.

"Sure." He said, pausing the movie.

She returned minutes later with a large bowl of freshly popped pop corn and set it down on the couch
between them as a barrier.

He noticed, but said nothing. Resuming the movie, they watched and ate in silence.

It was during the intense finale of the movie that it happened, skin on skin contact as they both reached
for the popcorn bowl at the same time. They both found it electrifying. Eye contact was made and they
quickly found themselves locked into a passionate embrace, all teeth and tongues, froth and foam.
Their unbridled passion sent them crashing from the couch to the floor. The fall broke the spell.

"Wow, that was…"

"Amazing." Castle finished her sentence.

"I didn't think…I've never…" She was overcome for words.

"What? Been with anyone outside your own species before?"

"No." She blushed.

"I'm sorry," he apologized as he started to back away. "I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's ok," she replied as she stood and started backing away.

She kept going until her progress was stopped by a closed door. She placed her hand on the doorknob.

"We'll be more comfortable in the bedroom." She grunted as she opened the door.

Castle pounced and was standing before her with a single leap. They wrestled off each others clothing
on the way over to the bed. They fell upon her extra large king sized bed as they each fought for
dominance. Castle managed to take charge as the lovemaking began. They were both amazed and
excited by their differences.

She has never been licked from head to toe before and his fur, she had never felt such soft wondrous
fur before, and it was evreywhere she touched, and… 'Oh my God! What was he doing now?'

Castle was holding her down by the back of her neck with his teeth as he gave her what she desired. He
couldn't believe he had waited so long. She had been right. He had no idea. He had no idea that as her
body heated during their lovemaking, she would smell so… wonderful!

"Bacon." He murmured.

"What?" She replied, and he felt her body stiffen beneath him.

He had to cover quickly.

"I said makin', you're makin' me crazy!" He let go of her neck and nuzzled her ear.

"You drive me wild too, especially when you hold me by the back of the neck like you were doing."

"Oh, you like that do you?"

"Oh yeah."

He grabbed her neck with his teeth again and he soon had her writhing in ecstasy. Her loud squeals of
delight soon sent him over the edge and as they collapsed, exhausted, into one another, he wondered
what the neighbors must think.

Castle awoke an hour later when Beckett sleepily rolled her girth off him. He sat up on the edge of the
bed and started to rummage around in her nightstand. He was checking for any hidden weapons before he
executed the rest of his plan. He was startled when the light on the opposite night stand was switched on.

"What are you looking for?" She mumbled sleepily.

"I was looking for a cigarette."

"I didn't know you smoked?"

"I don't, not really. It's just something I do after…"

"Ah." She replied knowingly.

"Just something left over from my younger days."

"You might find something in the second drawer down. They were left in there by my last boyfriend; you
can take them if you want."

"I just need the one," he said pulling open the drawer. He found the cigarettes and even a lighter. He
closed the drawer and pulled himself back onto the bed, leaning onto the pillows that were piled against
the headboard. He lit the cigarette and inhaled deeply before he made a pointed comment.

"I'm surprised you don't keep a gun in there."

"I don't keep one in the bedroom," she replied.

"Why not?"

"No one will ever get past the one I keep by the front door."

"Too true," he replied.

"So…," he gave her a toothy grin, "…was it everything you expected?"

"It was all that and then some," she replied as she shifted her weight around, she pulled herself along side him
and snuggled her face into his furry chest.

"You're not going to say I got you drunk and took advantage of you, are you?" Castle asked.

"With my fat to lean muscle ratio, it would take about two and a half gallons of that fancy wine you were
trying to ply me with tonight to get me drunk."

"Well then, what are we going to do about us?"

She was mortified.

"Nobody can know about this," she begged. "They wouldn't understand, especially the guys at work."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about the guys anymore," he said offhandedly.

"What?" She asked as she sat up in bed, unsure of what she'd just heard.

'I'm sorry," he replied as he looked up into the fear growing in her eyes.

"It's my nature," he said with no emotion.

He loved watching the fear and the realization of imminent death as it played in his victim's eyes. Only this time,
there was something slightly different in her eyes. He had never seen it before and he didn't quite know what
it was.

"I'm sorry too," she replied as she leaned forward, reaching up to brush a few strands of hair from his eyes
before placing a soft kiss upon his lips.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked reaching up to wipe away a tear that had slipped down her cheek.

"Because I lied about keeping a gun in the bedroom."

She pulled a .38 from beneath the pillows. He heard the click of the gun being cocked and felt the coldness
of the barrel as she pressed it against his temple.

His eyes dilated and his lips drew back, and she thought she heard him whisper the words 'Oh shit',
right before she pulled the trigger.