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Underbox: Twenty-Four
© 2021 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
capt_hairball
“You need to go.”
“Huh?” Hamo asked. They’d stayed beside Karin until the vixen had been moved up to a room for overnight observation.
They’d also told her – quietly – how Karin had had her heart overstimulated into arrhythmia. She’d been appalled, frightened – and finally angry, but tempered her anger with the knowledge that she was going to be all right, and there was no lasting damage.
“Margot? Our daughter?” she prompted with a tolerant smile.
The cross-fox’s eyes widened as they looked at the clock in the room. “Yeah, yeah! I need to get home before she gets home from school.” Hamo got to their feet and leaned over to kiss their wife. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I need to go home,” Karin said with an exasperated grimace, “but that’ll be tomorrow. Meanwhile, you go and look after Margot. Shoo!” She grinned and kissed her husband again, settling back onto the bed as Hamo left.
As the cross-fox settled into their seat for the ride back, their phone beeped.
J: she okay?
H: yeah spending the night in hospital sorry for leaving so fast
J: shes your wife Hamo I talked to Eisler
H: ?
J: he says to bag her jackglove as evidence so it IT can check it when will Karin be released
H: tomorrow if her tests are good
J: okay hauss said that they know where our guy is
Hamo’s eyebrows and ears went up at that. So, they knew the location? Good; they had a few things to discuss with this hacker.
Their paws clenched into fists in anticipation before relaxing as the cross-fox first realized that they had overriding priorities, namely their wife and daughter. They dialed Eisler’s office number.
“Eisler.”
“Captain, it’s Suleymanoglu.”
“How’s your wife, Hamo?”
“The doctors say it’s a heart arrythmia. They’re keeping her overnight for observation and releasing her tomorrow.”
“Hm. Take the next two days off.”
“Captain?”
“You heard me. If they release her tomorrow, that’s fine, but I want you to take an additional day to make sure your head’s on straight.” The raccoon’s tone was businesslike. “And you’re not allowed contact with Saled-Diaz for the next week. Schmidt will take over the interrogation.”
“But – “
“And no arguments, Hamo,” Eisler said. “We’ve got a murderer on our paws, and we’re not going to mess the case up. Agreed?”
The cross-fox opened his mouth to argue, but finally closed it with a sigh. “Yes, Captain. You’re quite right.”
“It’s no reflection on you, Hamo,” the raccoon said. “But this bastard’s gone after your wife. It’s too close to the bone, understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. We’ll see you back in the office in two days.” The call ended, and the cross-fox turned and gazed at their reflection in the window as the train moved. A sudden thought occurred to them, and they quickly dialed Karin’s number.
“Yes, love?” the vixen asked as she answered the phone.
“I’ve had an idea,” and Hamo quickly explained what it was. When they were done, Karin agreed.
They got back home nearly two hours before Margot was brought home from her nursery school, and the cross-fox put it to good use, grabbing a quick shower and a change of clothes before getting dinner started. Margot loved pasta, and soon there was a pot of water slowly coming to a boil before some farfalle could be added, with another pot containing sauce was warming up. Hamo was stirring the sauce when the doorbell rang.
“Hello!” They said, wiping their paws on a rag and grinning as the teacher stood framed in the doorway, a lively three year old kit toddling unsteadily toward her father.
“Daddy!” Margot caroled, putting her paws out, and giggling as Hamo scooped her up in their arms.
Hamo nuzzled her before asking the teacher, “Has she been any trouble today?”
The teacher, a short canine, laughed. “Not as bad as some. She wanted to get home, though. Have a good day,” she said as she turned to go.
“Good night,” Hamo said. “Take care getting home. Now, you little darling,” they addressed their daughter. “Do you want pasta for dinner?” Hamo chuckled as Margot nodded vociferously. “Good. Let’s get cleaned up, and you can play while I get everything ready, okay?”
“Okay.” The vixen kit looked around. “Where’s Mommy?”
“Mommy had to go somewhere,” Hamo replied smoothly. “She’ll be home tomorrow, but she’ll call when it’s time for you to go to bed.”
“Okay,” Margot replied, accepting the explanation at face value.
She fussed a little while Hamo bathed her, but settled down and played happily as her father cleaned the bathroom and finished getting dinner on the table.
Fortunately, Margot was hungry and liked pasta, so more of it went down her throat than ended up on her face or the table. Hamo simply laughed and tried to limit the spread of the damage until their daughter was full. Then it was time to give her a second bath, followed by cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.
The kit and her father played for a short while before Hamo got the three-year-old ready for bed. They’d kept an eye on the clock, and the Margot was in bed with her father seated on the bed beside her when the phone rang. “Hm, who could that be?” Hamo asked. They swiped a fingertip across the screen, surreptitiously enabling the speaker function. “Hello?”
“Hi!”
“Mommy!” Margot sang out, pointing at the phone.
“Yes, it’s Mommy,” Hamo said. “Hello, Mommy.”
“Hello, Daddy. Is Margot there?”
“Oh yes, she’s in bed now, all snug and ready for me to read her a story.”
“Margot, can you hear me?”
“Mommy!”
Hamo heard their wife chuckle. “Okay now, you be a good girl, and listen to Daddy, and then go to sleep, okay?”
“Uh huh.”
“Mommy loves you, sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow,” and the call ended.
Hamo set the phone aside and snuggled closer to their daughter, reaching for a picture book. “Daddy’s going to read you a story, Margot. Then you need to go to bed like Mommy said, okay?” The little vixen nodded, and Hamo opened the book to show her the pictures as they started to read the book aloud.
If Margot had seen the book before, she didn’t show it, and would point and name some of the images while Hamo narrated the story. The cross-fox would occasionally do separate voices for some conversations, which made their daughter laugh.
Finally, the activities of the day and a full belly conspired to make the little girl drowsy. Hamo tucked her in with a kiss, dimmed the lights down and set the baby monitor before tiptoeing out of the room and closing the door. Once they were in their bedroom and ready for bed, they dialed Karin’s number again.
“Is she asleep?”
“Oh yes. Nice dinner and a good book, and she’s off to Dreamland. Of course, hearing Mommy’s voice helped her a lot.”
“You had a good idea.”
“Do I get rewarded?”
They heard her chuckle. “We’ll have to see what the doctor allows. Good night, Hamo – oh, and one other thing.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Hamo smiled. “You’re welcome, my love. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Hamo.”
<NEXT>
<PREVIOUS>
<FIRST<
© 2021 by Walter Reimer
Thumbnail art by
capt_hairball“You need to go.”
“Huh?” Hamo asked. They’d stayed beside Karin until the vixen had been moved up to a room for overnight observation.
They’d also told her – quietly – how Karin had had her heart overstimulated into arrhythmia. She’d been appalled, frightened – and finally angry, but tempered her anger with the knowledge that she was going to be all right, and there was no lasting damage.
“Margot? Our daughter?” she prompted with a tolerant smile.
The cross-fox’s eyes widened as they looked at the clock in the room. “Yeah, yeah! I need to get home before she gets home from school.” Hamo got to their feet and leaned over to kiss their wife. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I need to go home,” Karin said with an exasperated grimace, “but that’ll be tomorrow. Meanwhile, you go and look after Margot. Shoo!” She grinned and kissed her husband again, settling back onto the bed as Hamo left.
As the cross-fox settled into their seat for the ride back, their phone beeped.
J: she okay?
H: yeah spending the night in hospital sorry for leaving so fast
J: shes your wife Hamo I talked to Eisler
H: ?
J: he says to bag her jackglove as evidence so it IT can check it when will Karin be released
H: tomorrow if her tests are good
J: okay hauss said that they know where our guy is
Hamo’s eyebrows and ears went up at that. So, they knew the location? Good; they had a few things to discuss with this hacker.
Their paws clenched into fists in anticipation before relaxing as the cross-fox first realized that they had overriding priorities, namely their wife and daughter. They dialed Eisler’s office number.
“Eisler.”
“Captain, it’s Suleymanoglu.”
“How’s your wife, Hamo?”
“The doctors say it’s a heart arrythmia. They’re keeping her overnight for observation and releasing her tomorrow.”
“Hm. Take the next two days off.”
“Captain?”
“You heard me. If they release her tomorrow, that’s fine, but I want you to take an additional day to make sure your head’s on straight.” The raccoon’s tone was businesslike. “And you’re not allowed contact with Saled-Diaz for the next week. Schmidt will take over the interrogation.”
“But – “
“And no arguments, Hamo,” Eisler said. “We’ve got a murderer on our paws, and we’re not going to mess the case up. Agreed?”
The cross-fox opened his mouth to argue, but finally closed it with a sigh. “Yes, Captain. You’re quite right.”
“It’s no reflection on you, Hamo,” the raccoon said. “But this bastard’s gone after your wife. It’s too close to the bone, understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. We’ll see you back in the office in two days.” The call ended, and the cross-fox turned and gazed at their reflection in the window as the train moved. A sudden thought occurred to them, and they quickly dialed Karin’s number.
“Yes, love?” the vixen asked as she answered the phone.
“I’ve had an idea,” and Hamo quickly explained what it was. When they were done, Karin agreed.
They got back home nearly two hours before Margot was brought home from her nursery school, and the cross-fox put it to good use, grabbing a quick shower and a change of clothes before getting dinner started. Margot loved pasta, and soon there was a pot of water slowly coming to a boil before some farfalle could be added, with another pot containing sauce was warming up. Hamo was stirring the sauce when the doorbell rang.
“Hello!” They said, wiping their paws on a rag and grinning as the teacher stood framed in the doorway, a lively three year old kit toddling unsteadily toward her father.
“Daddy!” Margot caroled, putting her paws out, and giggling as Hamo scooped her up in their arms.
Hamo nuzzled her before asking the teacher, “Has she been any trouble today?”
The teacher, a short canine, laughed. “Not as bad as some. She wanted to get home, though. Have a good day,” she said as she turned to go.
“Good night,” Hamo said. “Take care getting home. Now, you little darling,” they addressed their daughter. “Do you want pasta for dinner?” Hamo chuckled as Margot nodded vociferously. “Good. Let’s get cleaned up, and you can play while I get everything ready, okay?”
“Okay.” The vixen kit looked around. “Where’s Mommy?”
“Mommy had to go somewhere,” Hamo replied smoothly. “She’ll be home tomorrow, but she’ll call when it’s time for you to go to bed.”
“Okay,” Margot replied, accepting the explanation at face value.
She fussed a little while Hamo bathed her, but settled down and played happily as her father cleaned the bathroom and finished getting dinner on the table.
Fortunately, Margot was hungry and liked pasta, so more of it went down her throat than ended up on her face or the table. Hamo simply laughed and tried to limit the spread of the damage until their daughter was full. Then it was time to give her a second bath, followed by cleaning up the mess in the kitchen.
The kit and her father played for a short while before Hamo got the three-year-old ready for bed. They’d kept an eye on the clock, and the Margot was in bed with her father seated on the bed beside her when the phone rang. “Hm, who could that be?” Hamo asked. They swiped a fingertip across the screen, surreptitiously enabling the speaker function. “Hello?”
“Hi!”
“Mommy!” Margot sang out, pointing at the phone.
“Yes, it’s Mommy,” Hamo said. “Hello, Mommy.”
“Hello, Daddy. Is Margot there?”
“Oh yes, she’s in bed now, all snug and ready for me to read her a story.”
“Margot, can you hear me?”
“Mommy!”
Hamo heard their wife chuckle. “Okay now, you be a good girl, and listen to Daddy, and then go to sleep, okay?”
“Uh huh.”
“Mommy loves you, sweetie. I’ll see you tomorrow,” and the call ended.
Hamo set the phone aside and snuggled closer to their daughter, reaching for a picture book. “Daddy’s going to read you a story, Margot. Then you need to go to bed like Mommy said, okay?” The little vixen nodded, and Hamo opened the book to show her the pictures as they started to read the book aloud.
If Margot had seen the book before, she didn’t show it, and would point and name some of the images while Hamo narrated the story. The cross-fox would occasionally do separate voices for some conversations, which made their daughter laugh.
Finally, the activities of the day and a full belly conspired to make the little girl drowsy. Hamo tucked her in with a kiss, dimmed the lights down and set the baby monitor before tiptoeing out of the room and closing the door. Once they were in their bedroom and ready for bed, they dialed Karin’s number again.
“Is she asleep?”
“Oh yes. Nice dinner and a good book, and she’s off to Dreamland. Of course, hearing Mommy’s voice helped her a lot.”
“You had a good idea.”
“Do I get rewarded?”
They heard her chuckle. “We’ll have to see what the doctor allows. Good night, Hamo – oh, and one other thing.”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Hamo smiled. “You’re welcome, my love. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Hamo.”
<NEXT>
<PREVIOUS>
<FIRST<
Category Story / General Furry Art
Species Vulpine (Other)
Size 85 x 120px
File Size 52.6 kB
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