Talking with Richard, Octo found out, was surprisingly
quite enjoyable.

As the panther put his cup down, he watched as Richard
ordered his men through the phone. The hyena was nothing fancy; if anything, he
was blunt and a bit offensive at times. However, he was surprisingly rather
well-versed. Octo found himself feeling comfortable talking with him. At first,
the hyena kept his answers short and precise, and while he appreciated that, he
also appreciated the dash of personality that the hyena nowadays let out when
talking with him.

Richard was certainly better than Ludwig, the Big Boss.
Every time Octo spoke with him, he could feel that there was something wrong,
like something was hidden behind his words. Octo knew what it was, as it was
one of the main reasons that he left home for university.

“Sorry, sir, uh, you know." Richard said rather
sheepishly as he put the phone down. The panther just gave a slight smile. “Anyway,
I've got a… uh… lead to Red Wolf."

Octo hummed in interest. He leant forward on the sofa.
As he requested, he was to be informed of anything concerning Red Wolf. It looked
like there was another operation to be launched against him sometime in the
future, but this time they were being careful. They were still in the planning phase,
so he still had time to influence the mission if needed. “Please explain, and
did Ludwig know about this?"

Closing the blinds in the window, Richard nodded. “I
don't know, sir. Signora Lucia is the head of this operation, and all
information is to be handed to her at first."

The panther just nodded. Richard then pulled a chair
and sat down, giving him a folder. Octo opened it and read it thoroughly. It
was a transcript of Richard and one of his informants.

“I met an informant last week. He didn't have many
clues, so it's safe to assume that Red Wolf was still rogue." The hyena explained
to him as he read the transcript. “We checked University of Barrowisle's
student list and found 217 wolves with red fur, but none of them is
suspicious."

As the panther read the reports, his heart sank. They could do that? Somehow, he couldn't
fight the suspicion that they had found him there, Octaviano Pastorone Zoccarato. With a name that clear, they might
have other thoughts about him being here.

Aside from being concerned about his own safety, he
was also concerned with Kevin's and Tom's. Kevin was a wolf with red fur, so it was unavoidable that his name would
appear, not to mention the call that day. Tom was a less likely culprit in
terms of fur, but that scar could mean something even though Tom recently admitted
that he had many scars from his upbringing, so those might just be one of them.
He knew that both Kevin and Tom, and in extension Max, were hiding something,
no doubt for their and everyone else's safety. Despite Richard saying that they
found none of them suspicious, he couldn't help but be worried.

heard some
rumours about survivors… bovine or canine… ambulance came that night… a blood
trail…

The panther took a deep breath and leant back on the
sofa. There were too many questions inside his head right now and he didn't
know which one he should ask first. He stared at the text, sorting his thoughts.
Which should he prioritise? The mission, his own safety, his friends' safety,
or this Red Wolf?

“Hallstead…" He said instead to mask his thoughts from
the hyena. As Richard said no one from that list was suspicious, he could quite
confidently say that Kevin was safe, and in extension, Tom was safe, in case
they suspected all wolves there.

Exasperated, he put his face on his hands.

“Sir, are you alright?"

He gave out another heavy sigh and closed the folder.
“Yes, just intrigued, that's all." He handed it to the hyena.

All he could do was… protecting them, Kevin and Tom.

Yes, he was going to protect them. He was going to
protect those dearest to him, no matter the cost.

Taking another deep breath, Octo sat up. Yes… it was
nothing, just a sheer coincidence. There was no way Red Wolf was either Kevin
or Tom. Although both were injured that day—Tom being admitted into hospital
and Kevin having some cuts on his arm and sounding like he was attacked—there
simply was no way either of them was Red Wolf. “Just… a thought. It seems this
Red Wolf is slicker than I thought." That wasn't a total lie; he still thought
Red Wolf was a mystery to be solved. “Still, aside from the outcome of
Operation Red Wolf, I don't see why he warranted such large-scale operation."

“Well, to be honest I also think the same, but I'm not
so sure since I've never participated in anything involving him. Rodrigo had
always been the one who handled him."

“And unfortunately, he passed away along with his
men." Octo said solemnly.

“If I could, I'd go to his grave and ask him, wherever
it is. I'm sure he wanna have his revenge."

“Let's not bring the dead into the affairs of the land
of the living, now." replied the panther. “Is there anything planned now?"

Richard gave him another folder. “Yes, sir. We plan to
do a full-on recon during the summer holiday. Our agents are going to be
instructed to inspect every canine they could see. Knowing the canine population
in Barrowisle, this should be done by the end of summer holiday, at least according
to Signora Lucia."

Wait, they were going to do a full-on reconnaissance
of all Barrowislander wolves? And in two weeks of summer holiday? “Are you
sure? Barrowisle is the second largest city by canine population." That was no
easy task.

“That was what Signora Lucia said." The hyena
scratched his nape. “I'm… not so sure myself. The details haven't been worked
out anyway, so maybe we're not doing that to all canines in Barrowisle."

He nodded. “And have you considered the possibility
that Red Wolf might have moved to another city?"

Richard slumped a bit. “I've been thinking about that,
too, sir. It's been seven months since that accident."

“Exactly." Octo said, opening the folder. It was just
a copy of rough notes. Summer holiday…
summer festival… two weeks… reconnaissance… all canines… identify first…
seriously, how on Earth did they not know anything about Red Wolf? “Summer
holiday, hm?" he hummed. “While I have no problem with this plan, I highly doubt
we could do it. Even if we just count the wolf population in Barrowisle, we
still must identify more than 7.000 people, and we haven't taken into account canine
subspecies. Barrowisle may be smaller compared to Eseford, but it is still big
for us."

“Yeah. I'll talk to Signore Pacal about this."

The panther let out a sigh. “Maybe not yet. You're not
a member of the board of directors, are you?"

Richard shook his head.

“Then I'd say don't tell anyone just yet. Besides,
since this is still early planning, I expect things to be worked out later." He
closed the folder and gave it back to the hyena, disgusted at the plan.
However, in order to defeat them, he had to become one of them first to know
their inner thoughts. Information was first and foremost very important. “Do we
have access to the city hall, by any chance?"

“I… uh… I'm not sure. I'm not that high of a member." replied
the hyena quite sheepishly.

“It's fine. When Lucia calls me, I'll ask her about
this." He replied and sighed, then took his phone when it beeped.

Kim Mingi: “Yo
sorry for texting this late, just wanna remind you that we need to go to work
earlier tomorrow at 6 o'clock. You know, we gotta help the IT department set
the system thingy before the clients arrive."

The panther looked at the clock and realised that it
was already almost 17. He pocketed his phone back and stood up, reminded that
he needed to buy food for next week. “It looks like my time is already up. If
you would excuse me," He smiled at Richard who looked somewhat surprised.
“Thank you for the update, Richard. Good work. I'll come back in a few days,
maybe to ask Lucia or someone, I'm not sure."

“Y-you're welcome, sir!" Richard said rather
embarrassedly.

He wanted to reach out and pet the hyena's head, but
maybe that wouldn't be much welcome. So, he gave his shoulder a pat and headed
for the door.

The guards, who were already used to him coming and
leaving at such irregular and unplanned times, gave him a polite goodbye as he
left the old factory complex. He nodded back at them and headed for the metro
station rather far from there. He still wanted them not to know where he lived.

Inside the bus, he couldn't fight that nauseating
feeling. What if Tom or Kevin were Red
Wolf? What can I do to protect them?

Octo walked slowly, hands in his pockets. The Ancient
Town of Barrowisle always looked eerie, even more so at nighttime. He walked
amongst once-magnificent stone buildings, admiring their resilience. Time
really was the hardest of tests.

Sometimes, he thought of living before the present. In
the Pre-Industrial age, maybe, or farther to the Middle Ages. Life was
different back then, things simpler. Even father, he wondered how it felt like
to live amongst these ruins, shortly after the Landnáme. One did not need to
think about money, about being rich, all there was to think about was food.

Food, family, shelter.

He let out a sigh as he entered a stone circle in the
middle of the complex. The moon was high in the sky, as if standing in the middle
of the circle. Did the lamps not been placed on the base of the stones, the
moonlight would illuminate them, bringing the atmosphere back to those times.

There was a stone table in the middle of the circle
with runes on its sides. Although it was empty, words had it that there used to
be sacrifices performed here. In what form, he did not know, but it was enough
to revere the monument. This was an important piece of history for the people
of Barrowisle, a reminder that things changed. The people of Barrowisle held
this complex in high regard. Even now, every Midsummer and Yule, Esetruists
still held religious activities here and offered sacrifices.

Tail curled, he politely smiled and bowed a little to
the stone table.

Exiting the circle, the panther let out a sigh. He
felt as if going back to the present after a quick peek into the past. Now, he
had to deal with his own problems. Summer was coming near, and so did Midsummer
and the summer holiday.

There was quite a distance between the Ashenstones and
the entrance to the Ancient Town complex, but it gave him time to think. He
didn't want to put Kevin or Tom at any risk. He was sure none of them was Red
Wolf and he was not comfortable having his mafia organisation scrutinising
them. They said they were going to inspect all canines in Barrowisle during the
summer holiday—something that he highly doubted they could do—so he should take
them away during the inspection.

Sitting on a bench, the panther put his face in his
paws in frustration. Who was he? While technically he was a boss of the mafia
operation, he was still no one. His father would have the final say, and
whatever he said, he was still under his father.

Wait, did his father know about this?

Doubtful, his mind said. It might be possible, but this was on
a small scale, not to mention it only happened in one city. He knew his
father's reach was far more than just Barrowisle.

Deep down, he envied Giovanni.

Calm down. He took a deep breath, then let it go. No use in overthinking this now.
He had to do something to prevent them from reaching Kevin and Tom. There were
other wolves whom he knew, but right now, Kevin and Tom were priorities. He had
to take them away during the summer holiday. That would sadly mean they could
not go to this year's summer festival. They would need to not be in Barrowisle
during that time.

Perhaps he could ask them to spend the summer holiday
outside the city? That wouldn't come as suspicious to them, and they could have
fun in the meantime.

Letting out a breath, he leant back on the bench. Yes,
he could invite them to spend the summer holiday elsewhere. He had four cities
in mind: Køpmanshavn, Westeravne, Øverdál, and Lejerhåvel, all inside the
country.

Øverdál was kind of boring in his opinion. They had
many volcanoes in South Iceland and he already visited so many of them.
Lejerhåvel was the same thing; even though it was less popular, he was sure his
friends would be a bit tired of volcanoes. Køpmanshavn was a port city and seemed
interesting. Besides, he could investigate Red Wolf there. However, based on
his experience, it was rather dull. Westeravne instead was better. It was
smaller which meant fewer tourists, and it was quite close to Køpmanshavn so
they could go there if they wanted. Although, he would prefer that they stayed
in Westeravne so he could go to Køpmanshavn by himself.

Nice, that seemed like a good enough plan. Not
suspicious at all, and they could have fun in the meantime.

“Octo?"

At the mention of his name, Octo looked up. There was
a canine walking towards him. As he walked into the light, he recognised it was
Vilkas. “Oh, Vilkas, g'evening."

“G'evening." said the husky, smiling politely at him.
“I wasn't expecting to see you here."

“I live nearby, and I just wanted some fresh air after
work anyway. I think it's more curious to see you here." Octo said, moving
aside to make some space on the bench.

“Eh, I just wanted some fresh air, too." Vilkas gave a
light chuckle and sat down beside him. “So, uh…" he sighed. “how's Kevin?"

The panther looked at him. Then, he remembered that
Vilkas was Kevin's close friend. Maybe with the wolf being his boyfriend, they
hadn't had much time to hang out again. Somehow, he felt guilty. “He's fine.
Still angry at times, but fine."

“Yeah, that's Kevin alright." Vilkas laughed softly.

Octo looked back down. He could feel some kind of
sadness there, but he just let out a chuckle along with the husky. He didn't
know how long they had known each other, but he was sure it was longer than with
him.

“Hey, Oct, I…" the husky then said. “you know, I… ah
forget it."

He looked at Vilkas.

“No, it's nothing. Just a dumb thought." Octo wanted
to ask him more about it, but Vilkas continued, “Anyway, ye're staying here?
Think I'm gonna go home before the buses run out." He stood up, offering him a
shy smile.

The panther looked at him, then at the stone ruins,
then at him again. He had his problem sorted out, though, so he should go home
before he could be overthinking again. “Eh, might as well go home." He stood up
and followed the husky along.

They didn't talk on the way to the bus stop, but that
was fine for him. His thoughts were still not very clear, he still had to
decide when to tell Kevin and Tom about this. Actually, maybe he should think
more about it. It sounded good now, but he still wasn't sure about it. The summer
holiday starts the day after Midsummer, so maybe they already had other plans.

“Which bus ye're taking?" asked the husky when they
were near the bus stop.

“Line 8."

“I'm taking line 5." Vilkas said, “Oh, there it is.
Goodnight, Octo."

“Goodnight, Vilkas." He nodded and smiled back at
Vilkas, then sat down at the bus stop as he waited for his bus to arrive.
Hopefully, the ride would be peaceful.