Just a subtopic again for chapter 2, but Max couldn't find the will to do it. Ugh, thesis was really complicated. Tom told him that it was just a big essay, and in a way, he was right, but he did not specify just how big it was actually.

Leaning on the chair, Max wiped his face, fighting the urge to open OurTube instead. He'd been slacking away already. A 5-minute break turned out to be a 45-minute one.

Anyway, the wolf had given him his thesis draft, the one which he was going to defend, and... he couldn't really understand the content. He made sure to follow the structure and important points. Grammar and sentence constructions, on the other hand, he might need to consult with Tom before submitting his draft. The dog sighed and gripped his head; he really was not a match for the wolf.

Tom did win a national conference, after all. Such a smart guy he was. Dumb Max for not asking for more study sessions. That way they could've spent more time together.

Uh, yeah… more time together. Anyway—

Before he could ponder more about the wolf, the door opened and someone came inside. Max didn't turn around; maybe it was just his roommate going back from classes or from his baseball exercise. Max expected him to throw himself to bed and rant about how cold was it to do exercise and the indoor courts didn't help at all. It would be a welcome distraction.

What he didn't expect was a familiar scent entering his nose, a pile of books being dumped next to his laptop with a lunchbox on top of it, and someone ruffling his head fur before throwing themselves to the bed.

Wait,

“Eat something, you look dead."

Wait,

Max turned his head and sure enough, he saw his brother splayed on the bed, playing with his phone like he owned the place.

“H-Hans?"

“The one and only."

“What are you doing here?!"

“Saving you from thesis, duh." he didn't even look up.

“Wuh... what? What are you even doing in Barrowisle?!"

Hans rolled his eyes and looked at him as if he were told to state the obvious. “Do I need a reason to go pay my lil bro a visit?"

“That's beside the point!"

He then stood up and walked towards the door. “'Kay then, if lil bro don't want me here I'll go back home."

“Wait—"

“Nooo~! My little brother kicked me out!" He did a fake cry and tried to pull his hand from Max's grab.

“You think you're funny, huh?"

“You know I am." He turned around and flicked his brother's ear, then pushed him to sit back on the chair. “Eat, and I brought you some books for your thesis."

Max just sat back down, too confused at the situation. His brother was here, okay… wait what?

He looked at the lunchbox. It was still the same lunchbox Hans brought for him when he was in high school. “Did you bring me food all the way from home?"

“'Course not. Octo was kind enough to lend me his kitchen." The darker-furred dog laughed. “And now I'm gonna make sure you actually do your thesis."

Max looked at him, then back at the lunchbox, then back at him. Then he facepalmed. “What do I do with you?"

“Take me somewhere! Your guest wishes to be served to the Max."

“Did you just make a pun on my name?" He groaned. “That's horrible, disgusting. Eugh!"

“But you like it, aren't you, Rob?"

“I do not! Besides, you just told me you're gonna make sure I actually do my thesis, but you want to take you somewhere."

“Duh, you do your thesis while taking me somewhere."

“Why are you even…" Max facepalmed again and sighed exasperatedly.

Hans laughed, then sat down on the bed and smiled at him. “Just eat now, then let's go out. You look like dead, you know. I know you need some distraction."

He looked at his brother. “Okay, fine. But what are you doing here anyway? You could've told me you're coming, you know."

“Eh, that surprised look on your face was worth it." He smirked. “I got a week off work, so I figured why don't I go visit lil bro and see what he's up to. I was kinda expecting to walk in while you're fucking someone, though."

Max threw him a book. Tried to, at least, since his brother ducked and threw that grin again.

“So, are you gonna eat or what? You need some distraction. I'm here to distract you. Hey, that Apocalypse-something film is out! You said you wanna watch it?" He smiled, this time honestly.

The younger dog sighed, then put his laptop into hibernation and closed it. “Sounds like a good idea." Might even introduce him to Tom. He looked at his brother and smiled softly. It was… nice for Hans to come here all the way from home just to give him some food and cheer him up by hanging out with him, not to mention the books he gave.

Sometimes he really loved his brother.

Someone then knocked at the door. “Max, it's Kevin."

Instantly, he stood up and panicked. No, Kevin should not meet Hans at any cost!

“Come in, he's—"

“Wait!" He barked at the door as he shut his brother's muzzle, then he turned to the older dog. “For your own sake, be quiet and pretend you're not here!"

Hans just stared at him curiously, then nodded.

Max released his muzzle and walked to the door, but then Hans shouted, “Come on in!"

“For fuck's sake, Hans!"

“Okay, I'm coming in."

“No!" he caught the door before Kevin could open it fully.

Outside, the red wolf was in his tank top, a bit flushed from exercise and looking curious. His scent was everywhere, the wolf not even seeming to cover it—heck, he seemed to want to spread it everywhere. “You okay, dude?"

“Y-yeah!" he tried to smile as he held the door slightly open.

“O…kay… here's that energy drinks you asked." Kevin gave him a pack of energy drinks. “That's ten euros forty cents."

Max took the pack. “Will do. Thanks. Sorry, kinda busy right now."

The wolf shrugged. “Thesis, I know. I'm still doing mine too."

“Max's not doing his thesis!" Hans shouted from inside.

Max's expression fell.

“Is someone else inside?"

“No! No! It's just me!"

“Yes, someone else is inside!"

Kevin furrowed his brows as he sniffed the air, then smirked, then leant on the doorframe. “You know, Max, 's all cool with me. No need to hide it." He put his lewdest gaze, licked the side of his muzzle, wagged his tail, and fucking flexed. “I'm not gonna judge."

Max gave him a dirty look. “Fuck you, Kev!"

Smiling brightly, Kevin tried to come inside. “Sure! Been wanting that anyway!"

“What the fuck! No! Not that kind fuck you! Argh!" he slammed the door shut before the wolf could come inside. “What the fucking fuck!"

“Come on, man, just a round, please? I promise it'll be good! You two can even do me."

He shouted. “Get the fuck outta here!"

“Meanie." Kevin laughed behind the door. “You know where I am if you want some~"

Max gripped his head as he heard Kevin walking away with his tail wagging. He then looked up at Hans; that knob was smirking at him like he had done nothing wrong.

…he changed his mind, he probably should let Hans and Kevin meet, then let the wolf do him to teach him some lesson.

…on second thought, that was so bloody fucking gross. No, no! Unfortunately, the image of Hans and Kevin wrestling while doing some utterly questionable things had already burned itself into the depths of his innocent mind.

“Come on, let's go outside." Hans said lazily. He even dared sway his tail.

Suddenly, Max wanted to tell Tom or Octo to come here to see if they could tame this hell-spawn he called his “older" brother.

Sometimes he really hated his brother.

Octo walked out of the shower, towel on his shoulder. Sometimes, he wished Kevin were… nicer, but well, he wasn't complaining. Last night was great. Because he was a tad tired from the wolf just acting like he was the stud, he flipped him over and did him before the wolf could realise what was happening.

He smiled fondly at the red wolf's jacket on the bed. As usual, Kevin forgot to take it, or probably left it on purpose so that “you can smell me every time".

Weird flex, but okay.

He put the towel down and looked at the mirror. Okay, time to get down to business.

The Barrowislander headquarter of his family operation was quite far from here. He had informed his father that he was going to look into it, which earned him an elated reply and a package in the mail. The panther had no interest in doing what his father suggested, but the least he could do was checking that no major harm was done. He might be young, but at least the guys there would respect him.

So far, he had not found any suspicious activity related to the mafia operation in this city. No murders, no police reports, no media reports. Although it made him relieved, it was also unnerving. Either they had never done something really bad or they had been so precise and covered their tracks so cleanly.

Considering his father, likely the latter.

He opened his phone to the last message his father sent him. Old Refinery, Morningseve Street No. 19, East Lionsgate District. It was on the other side of the city near the border with the forest. He had checked the transport there, apparently there was no metro or tram station near there. He decided to take the metro until East Lionsgate Station then proceeded the rest of the way by bus.

As he put the shirt on, he looked at his reflection in the mirror. The fact was always there, reminding him. Now, he was a man. He needed to find his own way.

Octo sighed and looked away. He greatly condemned what apparently his grandfather started, but for now, he could do nothing to stop it. His father's control was strong, and no matter how much he despised it, he was still his father.

His phone beeped. He picked it up to see a new message from Kevin.

Kevin Huntington: “yo dude is my jacket there?"

The panther chuffed as he replied. “Yeah. The wine got you, didn't it? You want me to bring it to your dorm?"

Kevin Huntington: “nah its okay smell it if u got horny ????"

He smiled a little. As usual indeed. “I'll put it in the dirty clothes pile and will wash it tomorrow. You're welcome."

It was raining outside. It should be the last rain of the season. He was looking forward to spring when the depressing coldness was no longer there.

He let out a sigh and put his own jacket on, then closed his door and walked outside. Work, then mission.

Tom half-heartedly flipped the page of the book in front of him. It was quite interesting, but his mind wasn't there at the moment, hadn't been since that night with Lucas. It had almost been a week and nothing was out of the ordinary... yet.

As much as he hated Rodrigo, he should heed the bison's message. While he wanted to go out and do some shopping, it would probably be best if he stayed near campus or his flat for the sake of him and the people near him. Who knew if they were out there, watching him, waiting for him to make a mistake.

Either adapt or die.

“Done! Now just chapter four. I need a break." Lucy said in front of him, but he wasn't really listening to her or anyone else.

As Rodrigo said, this time, there would be lots of them. They wanted him dead, there was no doubt about it. He was now thought as a hindrance to their operation, which was weird since he had done nothing except exited the operation. He had had no idea at the time, but when facts caught up with him, he dropped the operation no matter the cost.

Well, anything for food, back then. The pay was pretty good; not much compared to what he earned now, but still enough to feed him. What made him a little worried was that he left them years ago. He knew he had... eliminated some of them, but he had made it clear that he wanted to have nothing to do with them. He even told them he would not tell the police!

And now, Max knew about his... condition. He didn't want to tell him; he didn't want to tell anyone. But the dog was right. Max deserved to know, and Tom trusted him. Max was... his significant other, in a sense. He was the thought that kept him going.

Now, the big dog seemed to be more protective of him. Max carefully chose his words, his actions, even treated him like he could break at any minute. It was too much, he knew, but he reckoned it was just the dog's way of caring for him.

He was still easy-going, but with extra care.

The wolf looked up at his friends. They... they really should know, too, but... he couldn't tell them. No, not yet. There will be time.

Martin threw a joke, and everyone laughed. The wolf only forced himself to laugh, though. He then took a deep sigh and closed the book. No, not when Death was in the city.

He looked at them again. What if his friends were targeted, too? Did those mafias even know where he was now? He doubted it, especially since Rodrigo himself said it was hard to track him down. The confines of the campus complex had been very welcoming and protective of him ever since he came here.

Here, no one could track him. He could only be tracked here if there were a member in the campus, which he highly doubted. A possibility, but a low one, since every entrance and exit point was guarded by cameras. Besides, if they knew he was here and was now tracking him, he should've felt someone watching him from afar, but he had not. Even Lain didn't sense anything.

Speaking of Lain…

“No, no one's staring at us. That deer looked curious, though."

Tom sighed. “Thanks. Nice of you to be here when not needed."

“You can just call me, you know."

“Say that to me once again and I'll slap you with the numerous times I yelled at you."

He sensed Lain laughing at the back of his mind, but he just ignored him. The wolf knew better; if he called Lain to help, he either was too tired to deal with shit or didn't care at all what would happen to his opponent.

Rodrigo had personally fought Lain and he got cracked ribs and a broken arm. He could do what Lain did, but that took a high level of ignorance. Only when he felt like killing did he do what Lain did, but in a more dangerous way.

That was the third voice; if he lost control, he would see no person.

The wolf sighed again and opened another book. This should distract his mind from the imminent danger for a while. For now, he was safe. For now, as long as he could hold back his increasingly bigger inner desire to hurt, everyone was safe.

The third voice would like to speak.

Rodrigo might be a low-ranking member here, but he knew that Big Boss was not the big boss. There was someone higher than him, but he only visited once or twice. Rodrigo himself never met him, and truthfully didn't want to meet him.

He stood up quietly in a corner, listening to his boss explaining the plan to Big Boss. He was loath to write that plan, but he had no power against his boss. It was not without its faults, but if executed perfectly, it could work.

But they missed an important point, Rodrigo smiled to himself. Only one person actually knew just how strong the target was: him. Red Wolf might be small, but damn wasn't he strong, quick, and ruthless. His ribs might have recovered, but he still remembered it.

The bison had been questioned about it; after all, they all knew he was the only one who really fought the target and survived. However, he toned it down. Not much, but enough to make them think that the target was an easy one. He hoped they spared Tom and were done with this quickly.

“I see." Big Boss said after the explanation was done. “It's a good plan, I say."

Everyone in the room murmured an agreement, save for him.

“I trust you not to mess this up again?"

“Absolutely, sir. He's got no chance of fighting 10 people at the same time, and we still have backups."

A crocodile next to Big Boss leant back on the chair. “I still don't really get it why the plan needs so many people. You are eliminating one person, correct? Wouldn't a sniper work?"

“Yes, but based on experience, numbers work on him. We didn't have enough people, that's why we're asking more. Besides, snipers won't really work in this city as people are more aware about crimes and law, not to mention the attention it would bring to us."

Big Boss then turned to his advisor. “What do you say, Lucia? Would this work?"

The smaller bear nodded. “I think it's going to work. I've looked at it before, though I must say 15 people is a lot against one person. But if you say numbers work against him, then it's all good."

“Any objections?" asked Big Boss to everyone in the room.

No one answered.

The bear nodded and signed the paper. “If there's no objection, then I approve of this."

Everyone clapped hands. Rodrigo closed his eyes at their sheer stupidity, at their continuing feeling of childish pursuit. He had a feeling he should warn the target about this.

His boss then stood up and addressed the room. “Everyone, prepare yourselves! Operation Red Wolf will commence immediately."

The Old Refinery, huh? Octo thought to himself as he looked at the dark grey building next to East Lionsgate Bridge. No wonder it's named 'Old'.

Outside, the building looked like it was rotting. The paint was… non-existent; it looked like no one bothered to paint over the steel. The neighbourhood was kind of shady, too, as befitting an area so close to the darkest corner of city limits. Literally next to it, in fact, as the trees marked the start of the forest.

He walked to the gate. It was guarded, but not excessively. There were four guards there, two outside the gate while two others inside.

“Excuse me, sir, can we help you?"

The panther looked up. Pretty friendly for a mafia base entrance guard. “Just walking around here."

“Ah, okay." The lizard said. “But you can't be around here, sir. It's a sensitive area."

“I'd like to get in, please." He said to the lizard.

“Sorry, sir, unfortunately you cannot. You need a permit to get in." the lizard replied.

He walked closer to the gate, and the two guards immediately walked towards him. “We're sorry, sir, but you cannot get in." The other guard said.

Octo simply took the identification card that his father gave him from his wallet and showed it to the guards.

The two guards looked surprised. They exchanged confused looks, then back at him. “E-excuse me?"

He said again. “I'd like to get in, please."

The lizard looked at the brown wolf who was staring at him.

“I'd like to get in, please." The panther said again and narrowed his eyes.

“Y-yes, sir." The wolf then said, his tone turning more rigid. He then walked to the post to open the gate.

The edges of his frown curved up a little as he heard the gate being opened.

The lizard stepped aside to let him enter. “Forgive us, sir. We were… not aware that you would come today."

“It's fine." He simply said to the lizard, then he turned to the wolf. “Tell no one. I want to enter with no disturbance."

“Yes, sir."

The guards behind the gate looked like they wanted to escort him inside, but a gesture from the brown wolf held them back. They held guns under their belt, he noticed, but they obeyed him as if he was their boss. Two of them did follow him, but they kept their distance.

Well… he was their boss, he chuckled as he walked inside. This was more interesting that he thought it would be.

Pretty nice camouflage, though. The guards were friendly, but he guessed it was not without reasons. They could tell people that the building is not accessible, and people could walk away without bad suspicion as to why. Good PR.

There were more guards guarding the entrance. They stared at him and held their guns, but their posture lessened when they saw the two guards behind him. They still seemed to be suspicious of him, but they hesitantly opened the door.

The inside was considerably more intimidating than the outside. Although the lamps were bright, the hallways were still grim grey. He walked cautiously, chills running down his spine. Occasionally they met some people, but no one said anything.

Not far inside, someone ran into him, and he stumbled back.

“Hey, watch it, dumbass!"

“Apologies."

The panther looked at him. A hyena was gripping his face, the papers he was holding scattered on the floor. Instinctively, he bent down and picked them, almost missing the quiet gasp from the guards behind him.

“Can you walk or not, git!"

“Apologies," he gave the hyena the papers. “I'm unfamiliar with the place."

He heard one of the guards whisper, “He's your boss! Don't fucking mess up! I'm not joking." to the hyena, and his air changed.

“Uh, I mean, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run into you." He looked down, not meeting his face. “I'm really sorry."

“It's okay." The panther said. “What's your name?"

“R-Richard, sir."

“Richard." He repeated. “Do you mind showing me the latest activities? You know, the latest activities or operations."

The hyena didn't look up, but he seemed confused. Eventually, he nodded. “Y-yes, sir. This way."

He followed Richard inside. They then reached a hallway that was painted differently than the previous ones. This was better, he thought as they entered an office that looked like it belonged to the hyena.

“Take a seat, sir." Richard said as he went through the bookshelf behind his table.

Octo didn't sit down, instead stared through the windows in concern. Behind the windows was a small open space with some cars and what seemed to be a warehouse behind them. What caught his attention was the boxes and crates people were putting into the cars. Were those… what he thought those were?

He was sickened.

“Here, sir. There was no major operation done recently, mainly just basic shipping and restocking. But there's one that's ongoing, Operation Red Wolf." Richard gave him a folder.

“Thank you." He took it and opened it.

He then opened it and couldn't fight the feeling of horror when he read the title and objective. Operation Red Wolf. Objective: Eliminate Red Wolf.