My Little Griffon: The Red Paw

Hunt
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“There is not a thing on this world more satisfying than the thrill of the hunt!” ~Anonymous
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Gilda searched through the filing cabinet until she found the file she was looking for. ‘Special Operations Pair #6’ the title read.

“Clive said that you have some information on the mole,” Gilda turned to see Fulton standing in the doorway, “The branch of service and the pair number?”

Gilda nodded, “SpecOps pair six,” She turned back, after all this time the same target from the incident where the mole was discovered had led to them finally finding the mole’s identity. After a year of research they were finally going to uncover who it was that was messing with them.

Taking no more time to reflect, Gilda looked at the file and flipped it open. The griffon staring back at her from the picture was instantly recognizable...in fact he was standing right behind her!

Gilda gasped and started to turn before a muscle laden arm wrapped around her throat and started choking her. The second that the arm went around her throat, Gilda pitched forwards, sending her attacker crashing into a filing cabinet, his own weight used against him.

Fulton was on his feet again the second after he hit the floor. Gilda had rushed to the door of the room and twisted the handle to find it locked. Before she could unlock it, Fulton knocked her away and took a defensive stance in front of the door, waiting for her to attack. Both griffons knew that the room was soundproofed and the only way for Gilda to warn the others was by neutralizing Fulton.

“Why, Fulton?” Gilda asked as she sized up her opponent, looking for some sort of weak point she could exploit.

Fulton was undoubtedly doing the same to her, however he didn’t speak.

“How could you, YOU of all griffons, be the piece of shit mole?” She inquired, starting to slowly pace in front of him, thinking of a way to defeat the larger and equally skilled opponent.

Fulton, however, continued with his silence. His expression appeared as if he were simply throwing an average glance at his opponent, though for an extended period of time.

Without showing any form of warning, Gilda snatched a chair from beside her and hurled it at Fulton. The griffon hopped over the impromptu missile and blocked an attack from Gilda who attacked right after the chair.

Fulton threw a punch after blocking the attack, Gilda ducked away from it and gave her nemesis a jab to the side. He grunted, but showed no other sign of injury. Fulton reached behind him and grabbed the chair, arcing it around and impacting Gilda in the side. She cried out as she was thrown into a wall. When breathing proved painful she believed that at least one of her ribs was broken. She sputtered and a line of spit was trailed by a line of blood.

Before she could move, Gilda was lifted into the air and two powerful paws wrapped around her neck. She lashed out and was slammed into the ground before being brought back up. Dazed, she could only weakly latch onto Fulton’s arms.

“You want to know why, Gilda?” Fulton asked, “I’ll tell you as a parting gift from this world. Everything has a price, even loyalty. Thing was, my other associates paid better than his majesty.”

“Fucker!” Gilda declared before Fulton cut off her oxygen supply. He said no more. Gilda’s lungs burned and her mind grew foggy as oxygen deprivation slowly drained her of life. Black spots danced before her eyes and the last thing she saw before she died was a smile on Fulton’s face. She had never seen the fellow griffon smile before and it was an ugly thing.
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“Breathe, for fuck’s sake! Breathe!”

Gilda coughed and sputtered, drawing in a large breath of air before coughing some more. She tried to sit up but was quickly pushed back down.

“Oh, god! We thought we’d lost you!” Clive declared, wrapping Gilda in an embrace, which she feebly pushed away.

“Gilda, what happened?” Gilda’s eyes moved over and fixed on Ales, “Where’s Fulton?”

After a few failed attempts, Gilda was able to form coherent words, “Fulton’s...the mole.”

“That bastard!” Clive yelled, “Did he do this?”

Gilda would have replied with a sarcastic remark if she hadn’t just been brought back to life. As that was the case, she only nodded.

“Shit!” Clive smashed a fist into the ground, “I saw him leave the files room before I came in, can’t believe I missed that piece of shit!” He gave an enraged growl.

“We need to get her to medical and see his majesty about this. Now that he’s been discovered we’ll be lucky if we ever see Fulton again,” Ales turned to Clive, “You said he had some files, could you make any out?”

“Damnit, no,” Clive said, “When I get my paws on that son of a whore...”

Ales interrupted him with a paw on his shoulder, he looked at her and realized that there was a deep well of raging emotion in her eyes, “You’re going to have to wait to take your turn,” Despite himself, Clive was slightly fearful of the other griffon at that moment, “Enough of this, let’s get Gilda to medical and let his majesty know what’s going on.”
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“Watch her,” Gilda mumbled to Clive as Ales left.

“I don’t think she was in on Fulton’s little game, but don’t worry, I will,” Clive replied.

“And Clive...” Gilda said before the griffon could leave. He looked at her, “Thanks.”

Clive smiled, “Don’t mention it.”
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“...so it turns out that Fulton was the mole,” Ales was saying, “The clues were there, but other clues countered those out. Gilda said that the motive was money, bribery to be exact. We are not clear what Fulton took with him but it likely had something to do with tracking him down and covering up his own tracks. If we can have records compared with what’s missing, that will help us guess as to what Fulton took. I do understand that I’m in a bad position, being Fulton’s pair, but I can prove that I wasn’t in on his game via transaction records. If we delve deep enough, there’s sure to have something turn up against Fulton, however it will not be the same for me. I will come quietly if you wish to arrest me to make sure,” Finished, Ales was quiet and waited for a response.

The griffon king watched them with his uniquely red eyes for a time. Ales knew that he could do more than arrest her if he so desired. He didn’t even need a decent reason. However, unlike his predecessor, this king did not act as if he could do anything and get away with it, even though he could.

“Your family has served the Kingdoms for many generations, Agent Ales. I do not doubt your loyalty,” His majesty said, getting a grateful smile from the griffon before him, “There are copies of all files and the ones Fulton has taken can be replaced,” this brought a surprised look to both Ales and Clive’s faces. They had always been told that only one copy of everything was ever kept. Both immediately knew that they were being treated with a very large secret, “Until a replacement can be found, Ales will join your pair, Clive. You are to study the files that are missing and find Fulton. I prefer him brought back alive and in possession of most of his body, if you must kill him then make it slow and painful. Fulton has caused the Kingdoms a great deal of suffering, one he shall see repaid in kind. That is all,” After a moment of thought, the king surprised the griffons, “Windspeed and may your hunt be fruitful.”

“A blessing?” Clive commented once they had left the large room, “Fulton must’ve done a shit-of-a-lot more than we know if the king wants him that bad. We’re getting promoted after this for sure! Gilda’ll be happy to hear that!”

“I couldn’t give a pony shit about anything but getting my paws on that traitor. The king knows our family’s blood is good but by being my pair, Fulton soiled it ever so.”

“Well you’ve got first dibs on beating the shit outta him,” Clive said, after a few moments of silence he continued, “You wanna get a drink?”

“Why not?” Ales replied.