by Tom Jones
The fox then put on his Under Armour polo shirt, and he tucked it into his shorts before girding his loins with his tactical black web belt. Arcades grabbed the worn clothes, and he tossed them on the bag that he got his current clothes from. The fox then returned to Jason, “Alright, Jason. I’m ready. You can begin when you’re ready.” Arcades watched as Jason was still trying to select the first pair of restraints that he wanted to use from the bag. The fox felt his rear pocket, and he realized that he was not carrying his keyring. Arcades turned around, and he saw that it was still sitting on the counter with the rest of what he removed from his other pair of shorts. Arcades saw that Jason stood up holding a pair of handcuffs, but the fox was not sure if he wanted to grab the keyring just in case Jason decided to try what he did last time. At the same time, Arcades wanted to see if he could still trust Jason given that he made a promise. The fox decided to trust the wolf.
The wolf approached the fox holding a pair of nickel-plated chain-linked handcuffs in his right hand, “Are you ready, mate?” The fox disregarded his keyring, “Yes. I’m ready. You can start whenever you want.” The wolf started by lightly grabbing the fox’s shoulder with his left hand, and he directed Arcades to turn around. As Arcades turned around, his bushy fox tail brushed up against Jason’s pant legs. The wolf directed Arcades’ tail away from himself, and he grabbed the fox’s left wrist to begin handcuffing him. Arcades relaxed his arms as he let the wolf restrain him. Jason finished tightening the cuffs around Arcades’ thin wrists, and he grabbed the fox’s other arm to proceed with the same action. Once the fox’s wrists were placed in handcuffs, the wolf took a step back as he looked at the restrained fox. Arcades’ black furred palms were facing the wolf, and Jason looked at Arcades’ darker black pads that were on the upper part of his palm as well as the tips of his five fingers. Jason always found this detail about anthros to be interesting, for humans lacked these gripping pads. The wolf assumed that anthros had these pads on their hands to compensate for the fur on their hands which would otherwise inhibit their gripping abilities.
After looking at Arcades’ restrained hands, the wolf realized that he had not double-locked the handcuffs. Jason picked up one of Arcades’ other keyrings, and he grabbed the handcuffs in order to look for the double-lock pins. To the wolf’s surprise, the double-lock pins were not where he was looking for. The wolf asked, “Hey, mate. I can’t find the double-locks on these.” Arcades turned his head as he pulled his arms as far as he could into view. When the fox noticed the direction the keyholes were pointing, he knew why the wolf could not find the double-lock pins. “Oh. These cuffs have the double-lock pins on the reverse side. They were made in Brazil, and this one manufacturer in Brazil made them like that. They’re actually able to be pressed with your finger rather than the pin of a key. Why don’t you give it a try?” The wolf grabbed the fox’s wrists, and he briefly placed the fox’s wrists in the rear stack position in order to locate the irregularly placed pins. Sure enough, the pins were on the opposite side of the frame. Jason pressed the double-lock pin with his finger, and the double-lock successfully engaged. The wolf then repeated the process with the other cuff. Once he finished, Jason stepped away from the fox while still facing his back.
The wolf became curious, “Mate, why did you buy handcuffs from Brazil?” The fox replied, “Because they were irregular. I find these to be very interesting. They were made by a company called German, but they were not made in Germany. If you look closely, they are engraved with the words ‘German. Made in Brazil.’ I have a pair of shackles in the bag from the same manufacturer as well. They also have the double-lock pins on the opposite side of the frame, too.” The wolf looked towards the bag, and he began digging for the specified pair of shackles which the fox was talking about. As the wolf continued searching, he asked, “Do they use an irregular key?” The fox shook his head, “Nope. They use the standard keys. I have plenty of them on that keyring.” After a moment of rummaging through the bag, the wolf pulled out the pair of shackles that he was looking for. He looked at the top of the frame, and he could see the engravings that the fox had mentioned. The wolf held the shackles in his hand, and he walked back over to the fox. Jason looked ahead of the fox, and he noticed that there was a bench that he could have Arcades kneel on as he applied the shackles. The wolf placed his hand on the fox’s shoulder, and he began directing him to move to the bench. Arcades did not hesitate to comply with the wolf’s implied directions. When the fox reached the bench, he assumed what the wolf wanted to do, so he got on his knees on the bench while leaving his ankles hanging off the bench to allow Jason to shackle him.
When Jason saw the fox’s soles, he took a moment to take a closer look at them. Anthros had feet that resembled the general shape of the human foot, with the largest difference being the fact that anthros had four toes instead of the five that humans did. Anthros also had pads on the balls of their feet, as well as pads on their toes, and this pattern resembled the pads that anthros had on their hands. Jason had always liked the feet of anthros better than the feet of humans, and he exceedingly liked the way Arcades’ feet looked. After admiring the fox’s feet, Jason finally proceeded with restraining Arcades’ ankles. The wolf locked the shackles around the fox’s feet with both of the keyholes facing upwards, so that he would have an easier time unlocking Arcades’ ankles when he was ready to be released. After the fox was shackled, Jason located the irregularly placed double-locked pins, and he pressed them down to engage the double-lock. When the wolf was finally finished, he directed the fox to stand up.
“Is that all you’re going to put on me for now?” Arcades asked the wolf. Jason replied, “I think so. Is everything feeling comfortable for you, mate?” The fox nodded as he looked down at his restrained ankles, “Yeah. It looks like you closed them around my ankles exactly the way I like them. I like them tight enough that they don’t slide around my arms and legs, but not too tight to the point where they cause discomfort.” The wolf wanted to take another look at the fox’s feet again, so he grabbed the fox’s shoulder and pushed downwards. Arcades got down on his knees, and Jason was now able to see Arcades’ feet again. The wolf finally commented on the fox’s feet, “Kurt, I don’t know if I’ve told you this before… I really like your feet.” Arcades replied, “That’s fine and all as long as you don’t put them in your mouth or anything. I wouldn’t really like that.” The wolf replied, “Oh, I wouldn’t do that. I just want to look at them.” Arcades did not reply to the wolf, as he silently pondered about how he felt being kept captive. After some thought, Arcades finally decided to speak, “Why are those who are the least threatening the ones who always are restrained the most?” Jason heard the fox speak, but he was not paying attention, “Huh? What was that, mate?” Arcades decided to re-word his thought rather than simply repeating it, “So many times, those who pose the least threat are always restrained the most. Why is that?” Jason realized that Arcades was trying to talk with him, so he moved in front of the fox in order to give him attention, “Mate, who are you talking about?”
The fox took a deep breath before replying, “I guess you could say I’m partially referring to myself. You know what? Yeah, look at me. How threatening do I look to you?” Jason looked at the fox that was currently kneeling in front of him. After looking Arcades over, the wolf spoke, “Well, you’re not threatening at all locked up on your knees.” The fox shook his head, “No, no, no. I’m talking about when I’m not locked up. Do I look threatening enough to be locked up in the first place?” Jason looked at Arcades’ thin body, “Well, you’re very skinny, mate. I guess you’re not too threatening. You also don’t wear shoes either, so that doesn’t make you more threatening.” Arcades nodded, “Yeah, so you can tell that I’m not very threatening. Why do people still want me locked up, then?” The wolf considered some applicable context, “When you’re crafty enough to infiltrate a high-security complex, I guess they don’t want to take their chances with what other things you’re capable of do
ing, mate.” The fox shrugged, “Hmm… Maybe I’m not the best example in this situation.” Jason then said, “Kurt, I cuff you because we both like doing this. Right?” The fox nodded, “Yeah, that’s right. I wasn’t really talking about you, though…” Arcades took a different turn after his brief pause, “Do you think foxes deserve to be locked up and shut up?” Jason replied, “No, why would I think that?” Arcades spoke in response, “Just think about the stereotypes surrounding foxes. We’re all thieves. We’re all liars. We flat out can’t be trusted. When you’re locked up and shut up… You can’t lie, and -- you can’t steal.” Jason noticed Arcades’ voice became increasingly filled with despair as he spoke, and the wolf also heard the fox’s voice start to break up when he made his last statement.
“Kurt… You can’t think of yourself that way, mate,” Jason spoke as he tried to calm the fox down. Arcades looked down at the ground as he replied, “Why shouldn’t I? I get locked up often enough. Isn’t that the reason for this?” Jason took a deep breath as he thought of what he should say next. The wolf said, “Kurt, you know that’s not what’s happening here.” Arcades let out a sniffle as a few tears began rolling down the fur on his cheeks. Jason felt guilty for wanting to restrain the fox especially after all that had happened in the past week. The wolf grabbed the keychain which he had pocketed earlier, and he began to unlock the fox’s wrist restraints. Jason finished within the same minute, and he stood the fox up while he removed the shackles from Arcades’ ankles. Arcades was now free from restraints once again. The fox spoke again now that he was free, “Why did you release me? You know that you didn’t have to do that.” Jason replied to the fox, “Mate, you’re obviously not enjoying yourself. Why should I continue if you were not feeling up to it? It’s no fun if you’re not having fun.” Arcades looked up at Jason as he sat down on the floor, “Is that why you asked to restrain me?” The wolf nodded, “Yeah. I figured that you’d enjoy that especially since you finished your mission. I thought that you would find it as a way to calm down after all of that.” Arcades smiled as he wiped away the remaining tears on his cheeks, “I appreciate you for thinking of me… Y’know -- I’m sorry, I suppose it was just too soon. I’m not really in the mood for it right now. Not after all of that Omega Foundation stuff… You know what I’m saying?”
The wolf began to speak, “No, no, I understand. I guess you could say I’m sorry for wanting to rush into this too soon. Especially given everything that has recently happened. We had the NSS attack, the train mission, your -- our home getting bombed, and the Omega Foundation raids. I’m sure you also saw some things during that hotel mission you went on, as well.” Arcades slightly winced as he remembered the hotel mission, “Gosh. That mission was horrible. I wished I wasn’t the guy to have to go in there for that. Yeah, you’re right, though. There have just been too many recent events going on. If you had asked under better circumstances, then I’d be more enthusiastic about it. I was kinda just obliging because you wanted to do it.” The wolf displayed a small smirk on his face, “Thanks for that, mate. However, you were the one who had to endure all of that stuff recently. I didn’t even get to see half of it. I shouldn’t have rushed into all of this.” Arcades moved backwards until he could prop his back up against the wall, “Oh, you don’t have to worry about it. We should just forget about this.” The wolf nodded as he went to pick up the two restraints that he had discarded on the floor, “Right, mate.” Arcades chuckled upon hearing the wolf’s last comment, “Heh, whenever you say that I get to hear that Australian accent of yours.” Jason stood back up after collecting the restraints from the floor, “How do you think it sounds?” The fox nodded, “I think it’s interesting. That’s probably because I didn’t grow up hearing it.” The wolf replied, “Kinda similar to how we Australians think about the way you bloody Americans talk.” The fox lightly chuckled as he heard Jason use the slang word, “Hah… How is Australia lately, anyways?”
Jason zipped up Arcades’ bag after he deposited the two Brazilian made restraints into the bag. After the wolf was finished, he sat next to the fox, “I wouldn’t say it’s too much different than anywhere else that I’ve been. Especially those countries associated with the ‘Western World’ as they call it. Well, I haven’t been to too many places actually.” Arcades nodded, “Yeah… I guess I think that anthros could be treated a bit better, though. But hey, what can we do?” When Jason heard Arcades speak about anthros, it reminded him of something he was going to ask, “Say, Kurt. When you said that foxes deserve to be locked up and shut up… Why did you think that?” Arcades frowned, “I guess you could say that’s the conclusion I came to from the stuff that I’ve seen during my life.” Jason was not sure how much the fox was willing to share, “Do you mind giving me a few examples? I won’t make you if you don’t want to talk about it.” Arcades gazed at his lower legs as he thought about what to say next. He moved the white furred tip of his tail out of the way of his leg as he prepared to speak, “I suppose I can tell you a few things. What good does it do to keep everything to myself?”
Jason was looking at Arcades as the fox was preparing to share some information with the wolf. Arcades began speaking again, “I’ll give you one thing. This happened several months before I met you. This was actually when I first met Johnny. Remember him?” The wolf remembered the human that Arcades was referring to, “Yes, I remember Johnny, mate.” Arcades took a brief moment to reflect on seeing Johnny’s dead body in Syria, “I just wish that he was still with us. I think he died too soon.” Jason was curious, “Kurt, even after what he did in Hong Kong, you still wish that he was alive?” The fox nodded his head, “Of course. I forgave Johnny for what he did that night, and it would be wrong for me if I didn’t forgive him. Kinda like how I forgave you.” Jason felt guilty as he heard Arcades refer to the day when he went too far, “Kurt… I know you forgave me and all. But, why did you forgive me for that?” Arcades began to reply, “Well. The Bible says that if you cannot forgive people in your life, then God would not be right in forgiving you for your own sins.” The wolf nodded, “Yes, I remember when you told me that before.” Arcades continued by saying, “Uh-huh. Also, I forgave you in such a way because I wanted to show you that if I’m willing to forgive you for attempting that, then God is willing to forgive people for so much more.”
The wolf sat in silence as he thought about what Arcades had said. The fox did not continue speaking, so Jason assumed that he wanted a response, “Kurt, would God forgive the people in the Omega Foundation for what they do?” Arcades replied, “God would forgive them if they repent of their wrongdoing, and if they were to truly trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation. Repenting would include releasing the anthros that they have been holding captive, for they would have to right all of their wrongdoings.” The wolf spoke to the fox, “Kurt, I want to let you know that I’m thankful that you forgave me for what I did.” Arcades smirked, “You shouldn’t thank me. You should thank God. I’m just a mortal fox. I can’t atone for sins or anything. Only Jesus can do that.” Jason sat silent again, but Arcades continued speaking, “I believe the reason why you had attempted to do such a thing was because of something you have been struggling with. I want to let you know that you don’t have to keep struggling with it. I’m not sure if you know this, but when God led Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt, God was trying to teach us more than to just obey what He says.” The wolf was curious, “I’m listening…” Arcades said, “God was showing us that when we do obey Him, then He will guide us and set us free from what we are struggling with. For the Israelites, they were struggling with Pharoah. For you, you’re struggling with something else. God can help you overcome it.” Jason had not heard such words before in the way the fox described, “Wow, mate. I wish I could be as good as you.” Arcades shook his head, “No, don’t call me good. I am probably the farthest thing from good. There is none good but one, and that is God.” The wolf began to speak again, “Kurt, you don’t seem to be troubled with the thi
ngs that most people are.” Arcades replied, “Who says I never have been troubled? Jason, I want you to know something important. I’m more like you than you think. Everybody has something that they struggle with. What I have to deal with may not be what you have to deal with, but we still have problems that have to be fixed. You can’t fix your problems yourself either. The only way to fix the problems is with The Lord.”
The wolf reflected on what Arcades had been telling him. After some thought, Jason realized that the fox did not answer his original question, “So, Kurt. What happened when you first met Johnny?” The fox realized that he had gotten sidetracked, “Oh, right. I should probably continue talking about that. So, what happened was that we were hired to find an anthro that was captured underneath one of the Las Vegas hotels.” Jason spoke up, “Do you think Omega was behind this?” The fox did remember that a ‘Foundation’ was mentioned when he was there, “Probably. I think Omega was the group that was trying to take the anthro. The thugs running the show were talking about some Omega personnel coming by to pay for the anthro. Well, it sounded like them by the way they described it.” The wolf felt that he had plenty of context, so he wanted the fox to just continue with the story, “What happened there?” The fox was silent for a moment. He began to speak after some silence, “The anthro that they captured was a vixen. She didn’t look physically strong or threatening at all. They’ve got her in a cage, her wrists were locked in a pair of ASP rigid handcuffs, her ankles were locked in a pair of Smith & Wesson shackles, and they’ve even got her barefoot and gagged. If you ask me, that’s pretty excessive.” Jason replied to the fox, “Mate, you know that Omega doesn’t want to risk one of their anthros escaping.” Arcades looked down at the floor again, “I know, but it wasn’t even Omega that was running the show. It was a group of organized gangsters. I fear that Omega would have done worse.”