Still lingering at the bar, Jasper was pleasantly chatting with Leela about inconsequential matters, while entirely ignoring Willow. 

     Willow had moved to an empty table to wait for Bruno’s return.  There she watched Jasper with Leela, feeling her jealousy rise to explosive proportions.  What did that Noirnian tramp have to offer him that she didn’t, Willow wondered.  Though in her heart of hearts she already knew the answer. 

     Jasper was Jasper, just as he had always been.  He was not the person Willow wanted him to be - the person she had hoped to make out of him.  He was the epitome of a liberated male.  But she had never been able to conceive that neither Nature nor her love would be unable to break him of that condition and change him into something she could possess.  Nor had it particularly sunk in that this belief of hers was the one thing he disliked about her most. 

     Leela was apparently someone who respected his liberated state of being - someone who didn’t mind being dominated by a male and liked him the way he was. 

     Willow knew she had no chance of competing with someone like that, but that did not stop her from thinking, as she always had, that Jasper had been born to be her possession.  And she couldn’t help hoping that something bad would happen to Leela.  Something that would get her out of Willow’s way.  Something .  .  .  deadly. 

     Eventually a phone rang behind the bar.  The bartender answered it.  She wrote down a short message on a note pad.  Then she hung up the phone, tore the piece of paper from the pad and handed it to Leela. 

     Leela looked at the message with a troubled expression.  Then she said to Jasper, “It’s from one of my bosses.  It says there’s an emergency and they need me back at the office ASAP.  I’m afraid I’ll have to cut our date short.”

     “Well, if you have to go you have to go,” said Jasper, indifferently.  “But I think I’ll hang around here for a while.  We’ll hook up again sometime.”

     “You sure?” asked Leela.  “It’s kind of rude of me just to leave you.”

     “Forget it,” said Jasper, waving off convention.  “Do what you have to do.”

     Reluctantly, Leela got up and left the establishment. 

     The bartender then looked at Jasper slyly and said, “You know she just stuck you with the tab.  I hope you can pay.”

     “She was my date, remember?” said Jasper.  “I was paying anyway.”

     Outside the building, Leela got into her car.  She started the motor and drove a short distance, turning down a deserted road and stopping under a disused overpass. 

     There, in the darkness, she contemplated the note in her hand, knowing it was fake.  If her bosses would really have been in need of her, they would have called her on her cell phone.  They would never have let a message like that be passed to her second hand. 

     Someone had wanted her out of the way so they could deal with Jasper without her interference.  But she had known this right away, and she had left Jasper alone to face whatever was coming.  That was, after all, what she assumed he wanted. 

     Glancing at the backseat she saw Jasper’s backpack.  She remembered that he had seemed quite insistent that it be nearby, and she pondered if it might have broadcasting equipment inside it.  Maybe there were other people in on this that Jasper hadn’t told her about.  And, if she drove away with the backpack, it might cut him off from someone else who could step in to assist him. 

     Leela opened a concealed compartment on the dashboard that revealed a hidden console of buttons.  She pressed one of the buttons and waited a moment.  Then she drove on - the black and white car that had entered the underpass emerging to reveal a colorful transformation.  It was now bright yellow, making it look like an entirely different vehicle. 

     She returned to the parking lot of The Blue Foxtaur, parking around the back of the building where she knew she would be out of range of any security cameras.  And there she waited, contemplating her next move. 

     Inside the club, Bruno returned to the bar and sat down beside Jasper, while Nero and Roxy sat down at the table with Willow, motioning to the bartender to bring them drinks. 

     “That was a fast meeting,” said Jasper, off-handedly. 

     “What happened to your date?” asked Bruno. 

     “Got called away on business,” said Jasper. 

     “Leela walked out on The Champ, eh?” said Bruno.  “Well, that’s no big surprise.  Everybody knows how stuck she is on Spike Malone.”

     “Never met the dude,” said Jasper. 

     “Well, if it’s female attention you’re lacking, just take your pick,” said Bruno. 

     “I don’t have much use for female attention,” said Jasper.  “What else have you got that might interest me?”

     “Some high stakes poker, maybe?” Bruno offered. 

     “How high?” asked Jasper.  “You know I like to put a lot on the line when I gamble.”

     “High as you wanna go,” said Bruno.  “Or is there something special you’d like to gamble for?  Like, say, a certain contract we hold on a certain yiff slave?”

     “You mean Willow?” said Jasper, looking back at her, as if sizing up her worth.  “I don’t know.  She’s not worth a heck of a lot to me.  She wouldn’t survive any better in Webberton than she would here.  Best I could do would be take her back to Suburbia and sell her back to her old brothel.”

     “And you’re not inclined to do that?” asked Bruno.  “Not even to save her life?”

     “Save her life?” asked Jasper.  “Were you planning on killing her?”

     “Actually, I was thinking of strapping some dynamite to her and using her to take out a rival family.” said Bruno. 

     “Hmmm,” said Jasper, thoughtfully.  “I imagine that would upset a lot of people back in Suburbia.  Some people might even demand retribution.”

     “Ahhh, let ‘em demand,” said Bruno.  “Ain’t nobody in Suburbia got any power here.  Unless, of course, it would upset you.”

     “You’re putting me in a difficult position here, Bruno,” said Jasper.  “It goes against the grain to let a childhood friend get blown up.  Even if she was a pain in the ass.  Fine then, let’s gamble for her.  What kind of value do you put on her?”

     “She cost us 10,000,” said Bruno.  “Can you cover that?”

     “Heck, I can cover that in cash,” said Jasper. 

     “You’re carrying that much on you?” said Bruno, seeming surprised.  “Nobody carries that kind of cash in Noir.”

     “Not if they’re worried about someone taking it from them,” said Jasper.  “But it would only make things more amusing for me if someone tried.”

     As if in response to temptation, Jasper felt a hand on his shoulder, while a second hand rudely squeezed his tail. 

     “Hey there, big kitty,” said Roxy, seductively.  “I see you’ve lost your date.  Mind if I keep you company?”

     “My cousin, Roxy,” said Bruno to Jasper. 

     “You own the bar stool,” said Jasper, in an unfriendly tone.  “Sit on it.”

     “Oooh,” said Roxy, teasingly, as she sat down beside him.  “Aren’t we liberated?”

     “Mess with me and I’ll liberate you of your consciousness,” said Jasper, distastefully. 

     “Oh, now, is that nice?” said Roxy, with feigned sweetness.  “I just want to be friends.”

     “I pick and choose my friends,” said Jasper, flatly.  “You’re not my type.  Get lost.”

     Bruno chuckled with amusement and said, “Roxy don’t usually get turned down like that.”

     “It’s not funny, Bruno,” said Roxy, obviously miffed.  Then she turned to Jasper and said, “You’re hurtin’ my pride, kitty boy.”

     “I’m going to hurt a lot more than your pride if you don’t stop bugging me,” Jasper warned her. 

     “What is your problem?” asked Roxy.  “You don’t even know me yet.  Why don’t you want to be friendly with me?”

     “I know your type all too well,” said Jasper.  “I can read your aura like a book.  And I don’t like to read dirty books.”

     Bruno burst out laughing at the expression on Roxy’s face.  She truly was not accustomed to males who could maintain extreme self-confidence in her presence. 

     “Shut up, Bruno,” said Roxy, angrily.  Then she said to Jasper, “Now look here, cat.  This is my territory.  Males don’t talk to me like that here.  You’re going to be my date tonight, whether you like it or not." 

     “No, I’m not,” said Jasper, warningly. 

     “I say you are,” said Roxy, authoritatively, as she prepared to back hand him across the face.  But Jasper easily blocked the blow with his left arm, while his right hand grasped an empty beer bottle from the bar and brought it down violently on Roxy’s head. 

     The glass bottle shattered, and Roxy watch the fragments falling about her face, as if in slow motion, while waiting for the pain to catch up with her brain. 

     A moment later she fell to the floor wearing an expression of complete shock - not understanding what kind of male could do a thing like this to her.  And as she hit the floor, every male in the place applauded and cheered.  Every male, except Nero, who ran to check Roxy’s injury. 

     He found her just barely clinging to consciousness as blood flowed from the open wound under her hair. 

     “K-k-kill him,” she breathed painfully to her cousin.  Then she fell unconscious, and Nero began to fume with rage. 

     “Damned cat!” spat Nero, angrily.  “How dare you attack a member of The Lazzaro Family!”

     As Nero stood up he pulled a large magnum from inside his coat, but before he could aim it, Jasper threw the remainder of his drink in Nero’s eyes. 

     The large dog yelped in surprise, and before he knew what had happened, Jasper had snatched his gun away from him and jammed the muzzle of the gun into the big dog’s neck. 

     “Didn’t anyone ever tell you big guns and stupid dogs don’t mix,” said Jasper. 

     Terrified that the arrogant feline actually had no fear of killing Lazzaro family members in their own establishment, Nero fearfully turned his eyes towards Bruno. 

     “Why are you just sitting there,” Nero rebuked him.  “Do something.”

     “Don’t look at me,” said Bruno, obliviously.  “I don’t wanna mess with The Champ.”

     “You don’t mind if I blow his head off?” asked Jasper, casually. 

     “Just more for me to inherit if you do,” said Bruno, as he turned around and signaled the bartender for a refill. 

     “I think your cousin needs a doctor,” said Jasper to Nero, as he took the gun away from Nero’s neck and examined it.  “And, by the way, thanks for the present.”

     Jasper stuffed the gun in his pocket and sat back down at the bar, where he casually ordered another drink. 

     Nero was infuriated, and his inclination was to ignore everything else and set about ripping Jasper’s head off.  But he was too intelligent not to realize that Jasper was right.  Roxy was bleeding all over the floor and might be seriously injured.  He’d have to take care of Roxy and come back later for satisfaction. 

     “Well, that was fun,” said Jasper to Bruno, after watching Nero carry Roxy away. 

     “You should have killed him, you know,” said Bruno.  “He’ll be back for revenge, and probably not by himself.”

     “Do I look worried?” said Jasper, casually. 

     Bruno laughed and said, “I gotta hand it to you, Champ.  You got a lotta nerve.  Maybe not a lotta sense, but a lotta nerve.”

     “Yeah, well, I think you might have more sense than Leela gave you credit for,” said Jasper. 

     “Did Leela say somethin’ bad about me?” asked Bruno, seeming hurt, and suddenly self-conscious.  “I ain’t never done nothin’ to Leela.  She said I was dumb, didn’t she?”

     “Don’t let it get you down, Bruno,” said Jasper, encouragingly.  “You know how females are with liberated males like us.  They just can’t help wanting to feel superior.”

     “It ain’t easy bein’ liberated in Noir,” Bruno confessed.  “You wouldn’t believe the stuff I take from Ma and Roxy, and of course Nero goes along wit’ ‘em.”

     “That why you don’t care if I kill him?” asked Jasper. 

     “Hey, this is Noir,” said Bruno.  “You kill who ya want, as long as you’re prepared to face the consequences.  Thing is, you kill Nero, Ma ain’t gonna be too happy.  And if Ma’s unhappy, you ain’t gonna have a moment of peace in this town.”

     “That’s alright,” said Jasper, indifferently.  “I wasn’t planning on staying long.”

     “Listen, Champ,” said Bruno, earnestly.  “I like ya.  So I’m gonna level with ya.  We know why you’re here.  There ain’t a word gets said in this joint that don’t get monitored.  You came for the lamb.”

     “I need that lamb like I need a hole in the head,” said Jasper.  “What I need is to prevent your family from using her to hurt a friend of mine.”

     “Ah, I see,” said Bruno.  “And, uh, what are you willing to pay?”

     “You know who I am,” said Jasper.  “If you’re willing to sell me her contract and let me take her out of here, price is no object.”

     “No can do,” said Bruno.  “Ma wouldn’t like it.  She thinks this Rhoades guy owes us something.  She won’t take payment from nobody but him.”

     “Pity,” said Jasper.  “You’re throwing a good deal away for a bad one.  Whatever you want from Perry Rhoades you’re not going to get it.  The Prince Of Suburbia has too many friends in high places.  You may be the most powerful crime family in Noir, but you won’t last long against the army of Camelot.”

     “What’s Camelot got to do with this?” asked Bruno, showing sudden nervousness. 

     “They’re just one of a number of towns that have a vested interest in seeing that The Prince Of Suburbia doesn’t fall under the influence of parties with contrary agendas.  And, should you make an enemy of them, I don’t think I would bet on your odds.  On the other hand, I’m sure you could strike a deal with me that would be quite lucrative.”

     “If I was the head of the family I’d be real tempted by that,” said Bruno.  “But it’s Ma you gotta convince.  And Ma ain’t so reasonable.  Ma cares more about family and tradition than profits.”

     “And do you always go along with her?” asked Jasper.  “You’re a liberated male.  You have a mind of your own.”

     “You’d have to offer me something pretty sweet to get me to go against Ma,” said Bruno.  “What are you offerin’ me?”

     Jasper leaned close to Bruno and put his hand up to his face to prevent the bartender from hearing.  Then he said softly, “The inside odds on next year’s Olympics.  I don’t think I need to tell you what you could do with that information.”

     Bruno’s eyes widened at the implications of what he was being offered. 

     “That would really be somethin’,” Bruno half whispered back.  “But what do you want me to do for it?”

     “Get the paper,” Jasper whispered to him.  “Have it here in the ballroom when Nero comes back to start trouble with me.  Slip it to Willow some time during the mayhem.”

     “But that paper’s no good to you unless Ma signs it,” Bruno whispered. 

     “Let me worry about getting her to sign it,” said Jasper.  “And once I do, do anything you can to clear an escape path for me.  Remember, if I don’t get out of here, you won’t be getting your information.”

     Meanwhile, in the parking lot of the building, a yellow clad figure hid in the shadows of a terrace outside of one of the hotel rooms above, unnoticed by Ma and Nero Lazzaro as they watched Roxy being loaded into an ambulance. 

     After the ambulance had driven away, Ma Lazzaro said to Nero, “That cat will have to pay for this insult?”

     “Don’t worry about it,” said Nero, angrily.  “When I get done with him there won’t be enough left to bury.”

     “Of him or you?” asked Ma Lazzaro, reprovingly. 

     “What are you talking about, Ma?” Nero protested.  “He’s just a pussy cat.  I can take him.”

     “You’ve already shown that you can’t,” Ma Lazzaro admonished him.  “He’s a professional.  Get some of the hired thugs to help you.  And remember, we need to take him alive.  So don’t use any weapons.”

     Ma Lazzaro waved the others to follow her back inside. 

     Once they had gone, the yellow clad leopardess stepped out of the shadows and aimed a small gadget at the lock on the sliding window.  A magnetic beam drew the lock backwards.  Then she easily opened the window and slipped inside the vacant hotel room, re-closing the window behind her. 

     Back at the bar, Bruno noticed Nero going about the room and summoning gang members into action. 

     “Oh, well, here it comes,” said Bruno to Jasper.  “I think I’ll be going now.  Try to stay alive, will ya?”

     Jasper waved the comment off without care, and Bruno departed. 

     Nero and several other anthros dressed in thug attire gathered around Jasper, while he blithely sat with his back to them, obviously ignoring them. 

     Fuming with irritation, Nero grabbed Jasper’s shoulder and spun him around on the bar stool.  Then he hit Jasper in the face with all his strength, but Jasper seemed hardly phased by it, much to Nero’s bewilderment. 

     “That the best you’ve got?” asked Jasper, with feigned disappointment.  “This’ll be a short fight.”

     “Why you .  .  .” Nero growled angrily.  Then he went to hit Jasper again, but Jasper caught Nero’s fist in his left hand and closed it in a grip that Nero could not escape. 

     Half mystified and half enraged that a feline so much smaller than himself should be so much stronger than him, Nero continued trying to push Jasper’s hand back with his fist.  When he realized this was hopeless he tried to strike Jasper with his left fist.  But Jasper caught that one too. 

     The others stood around and stared, dumbfounded that a small cat could be so much stronger than a big dog.  Even though they knew Jasper was a champion athlete, they still could not suspend their disbelief. 

     Having enjoyed the effect long enough, Jasper raised his right foot and kicked Nero in the gut so hard that it sent him flying backwards into the tables. 

     Before the amazed thugs could gather their thoughts enough to take action, Jasper put his arms on the bar and back flipped himself onto it. 

     As the thugs looked up at him in renewed surprise, Jasper discarded his trench coat and tossed it to the bartender.  Then he made what seemed an impossible leap forward into the air, just high and far enough for him to grab one of the crystal chandeliers and swing off of it for another impressive leap down to the dance floor, which quickly cleared itself. 

     “Hey, cat,” Jack Kelly yelled at him from the bandstand.  “Any last requests?”

     “Yeah,” Jasper called back to him.  “Jazznocracy, and play it hot.”

     “Whatever you say, cat,” said the blue rabbit band leader.  “It’s your funeral.”

     Jasper then turned back towards the thugs and shouted, “Hey, what are you stooges waiting for, an engraved invitation?  Come on, let’s rumble.”

     The patrons of the establishment all cheered and began exchanging bets on Jasper’s survival.  Meanwhile Ma Lazzaro marched angrily up to the thugs and slapped the first one she came to. 

     “What am I paying you dopes for?” she yelled.  “Get that cat!”

     As the band began to beat out the tribal rhythm of the hot jazz number Jasper had requested, Nero and his thugs raced to the dance floor, seeking to surround Jasper and hurriedly subdue him.  But they quickly discovered this to be impossible, as his extraordinary speed and agility made it easy for him to out maneuver them, and even to jump over them if they attacked from all sides. 

     Even the more feline anthros were at a loss to keep up with him.  They were not accustomed to his kind of acrobatic fighting.  And the more he playfully avoided them, the more angry the thugs became. 

     As much as he was aware of the seriousness of the situation, Jasper could not help having fun.  There was no way these overfed, lethargic, muscle-bound brutes could catch him without using weapons.  But reluctantly he determined he had to stop playing around before they realized this and started breaking out their clubs and firearms. 

     Jasper leapt into the air and came down on a clear section of the floor, where he planted himself and taunted his opponents to come at him again. 

     The thugs rushed at him, but this time Jasper did not avoid them.  Instead he threw lightning fast punches and kicks as soon as they got within his reach. 

     Even while he was not leaping about it was still difficult for any of Jasper’s opponents to get near enough to do any serious damage.  And anyone who did get close enough to grab him either got quickly thrown to the floor and stomped or tossed into the others. 

     Meanwhile, Bruno came back into the ballroom and made his way to ma Lazzaro. 

     “How’s it going?” he asked. 

     “Embarrassingly bad,” she said, angrily, shooting him an irate glance.  “I didn’t expect him to go down easy, but he looks like he can keep this up all night.”

     “What’d you expect, he’s The Champ,” said Bruno.  “This is probably just the kind of action he came for.”

     Seeming doubly infuriated, Ma Lazzaro grabbed Bruno’s coat and screamed, “Why aren’t you out there helping your brother?!”

     “Well, I, uh,” he stammered nervously in surprise. 

     “Oh, never mind,” she said, pushing him away rudely.  “You’d only get in the way.”

     Bruno was visibly hurt by his mother’s obvious lack of confidence in him.  He knew he wasn’t as good a fighter as his brother, but he didn’t consider himself worthless, either, as his family obviously did. 

     “That’s real smart of you, Ma,” he said, suppressing his emotions to the best of his ability.  “Real smart.”

     “Get out of my way, you good for nothing oaf,” she ordered as she pushed passed him and walked towards the fighters. 

     Bruno stuck his tongue out at his mother behind her back as she walked away. 

     “I’ll show you,” he said, spitefully, under his breath.  Then he grabbed Willow and towed her to an area of the room where they wouldn’t be seen by all those watching the fight. 

     Covertly he pulled the contract out from under his coat and pressed it into an inside pocket of her prostitution outfit. 

     “You hang onto that,” he told her.  “And when Ma comes back, you go stand near her.”

     “I don’t understand,” she said to him, fearfully.  “What are you planning to do to me now?”

     “Don’t worry about it,” said Bruno, in as nice a tone as he had ever used with her.  “Me and The Champ made a deal.  You might be on your way home tonight.  Just do what I tell ya.  Stand by Ma, and don’t say nothin’ to nobody about that paper in your pocket.”

     Bruno then ran off to take care of some other details. 

     Willow looked after him fearfully for a moment.  She didn’t trust him.  She thought he might be setting her up for something.  After all, what kind of deal would Jasper have made for her?  She honestly believed Jasper had only come to Noir to gloat over her misery. 

     Still, what difference did it make?  For the first time in her life she knew what it really meant to be an indentured slave, and she didn’t expect she’d survive very long under these conditions.  So this seemed hardly the time to be developing a will of her own.  Bruno was her master and she would obey him. 

     Meanwhile, Ma Lazzaro was out in the midst of the fight, loudly scolding her minions and fruitlessly trying to coach them to a better performance.  But to no avail.  And suddenly she was more concerned about her organization losing face with the other crime families than she was about her revenge on the ruling family of Suburbia. 

     Finally she threw up her hands and shouted, “Enough of this!  Use your weapons if you have to, but take him down!”

     The fight momentarily stopped as Ma Lazzaro walked away.  Then the thugs, suddenly freed to fight in a method they were more accustomed to, collectively looked at Jasper and smiled ominously.  A moment later each was holding a black jack, billyclub or other instrument designed for administering blunt force trauma. 

     Jasper shrugged at them.  He was obviously unarmed.  Still he did not appear overly concerned. 

     The thugs then rapped their weapons against the palms of their hands in time to the music as they once again moved to surround Jasper. 

     “Ah me,” said Jasper.  “I guess play time really is over.”

     As the thugs encircled him, Jasper observed their weapons appraisingly.  Then, he selected the targets of his next attack, an equine and a moose. 

     When they got close enough, Jasper suddenly sprang at the two anthros he had selected, tackling them to the floor before they could make a move to defend themselves. 

     As the two struggled to right themselves, being greatly slowed down by their cumbersome protective clothing, Jasper jumped on the moose which had fallen to his right and knocked him senseless with one unpulled blow.  He then grabbed the billyclub out of the unconscious anthro’s hand and jumped up, just as the anthro equine was bearing down on him. 

     The equine swung his club at Jasper, and to the anthro’s surprise Jasper caught it in his hand, absorbing the full force of the blow in his palm without showing a hint of pain or injury. 

     Jasper then gripped the club tightly so that the equine could not pull it away.  And while he was struggling to rationalize how this could be, Jasper kicked him backwards into the other approaching thugs. 

     Now holding a billyclub in each hand, Jasper twirled them about and struck several intimidating poses with them, bemusing his remaining opponents.  For they had never seen that type of weapon used in such a fashion. 

     “Stop!” he warned them as he posed threateningly.  “This is your last chance to save yourselves.  I can’t go easy on you with these.”

     The thugs were all battle weary by this point, each of them having sustained multiple hits, not to mention being overcome by the strain of trying to fight such an agile opponent in their heavy protective suits.  At this point most of them would surely have taken the hint and backed off, were it not for the fact that they knew Ma Lazzaro was watching.  And their fear of her disappointment overcame their good sense. 

     Once again the anthro thugs charged at Jasper, and Jasper charged forward to meet them.  Then suddenly the pounding music was augmented by a continuing stream of screams and cries as Jasper jumped from anthro to anthro, while they struggled in vain to strike him with their own weapons.  He beat them all senselessly about their heads and spattered their blood about the floor until all but one had fallen, fatally wounded.  And Nero suddenly found himself facing Jasper alone. 

     A renewed commotion issued from the crowd as more bets were placed as to whether Nero would survive or not. 

     “You ready to die, Nero?” asked Jasper, as he approached him menacingly. 

     Nero looked down at the club in his hand, knowing it was useless.  And he cursed himself for his lack of skill. 

     There was no way he could take Jasper alive the way Ma Lazzaro wanted him to.  But suddenly he no longer cared what his mother wanted.  He hated Jasper for humiliating him, and if he was going to die he wasn’t going down like a helpless fool. 

     “I don’t like the odds,” said Nero, as he tossed his club to the floor.  Then he pulled a revolver out of his pocket and said, “Now I like the odds better.  Let’s see if you can club me to death before I shoot you dead.”

     “Works for me,” said Jasper. 

     Jasper ran at him, and Nero fired, but Jasper easily bounced into the air as the bullet passed harmlessly under him. 

     Flipping himself through the air with perfect athletic precision, Jasper came down behind Nero, and Nero whirled to fire again, but Jasper merely rolled out of the way of the shot so that he ended up standing in front of the onlookers - specifically in front of Ma Lazzaro. 

     Nero whirled and fired.  Jasper easily side stepped the shot, and, much to Nero’s horror, the bullet struck Ma Lazzaro in the chest. 

     She fell backwards to the floor as the entire assemblage gave a collective gasp. 

     In his shock, Nero hesitated.  And in that instant Jasper launched himself at Nero, striking the gun from his hand with one billyclub and then side swiping his head with the other. 

     With one club and then the other, Jasper continued to bash away at Nero’s head, as Nero stumbled senselessly backwards, fumbling through his pockets, desperately searching for something to defend himself with.  But no matter what weapons he produced from his pockets, Jasper easily smacked them out of his hands with the clubs. 

     This kept up until Nero was all but dead on his feet.  But suddenly they heard a scream from behind them. 

     “STOOOOP!” screeched Ma Lazzaro. 

     Ma Lazzaro had apparently not been harmed by the gun shot.  She had merely been knocked over by the force of the bullet striking the bulletproof lining of her coat. 

     Jasper whirled around in surprise, ending his assault on Nero’s head.  And once the battering had stopped, the mighty canine fell to his hands and knees, panting breathlessly as he watched the blood dripping from his head form a puddle on the floor. 

     The room spun and his ears rang.  His body convulsed, in spite of his best efforts to remain in control. 

     Realizing he was hurt beyond recovery, Nero cried out in despair, raising his fist at Jasper in contempt for all that he was about to lose.  Then Nero fell face down to the floor and ceased to exist. 

     Fuming with rage and grief, Ma Lazzaro grabbed Willow and put a gun to her head, saying, “Enough.  Surrender if you want your friend to live.”

     “That your best offer?” asked Jasper.  “It doesn’t really suit my objectives.”

     “I’ll shoot her, I swear I will,” said Ma Lazzaro, threateningly.  “I’ll kill her just to make you suffer.”

     “It’d be rather foolish to toss the only card you have left to play,” said Jasper, in a warning tone. 

     “Only card?” said Ma Lazzaro, in disbelief.  “Who the hell do you think you’re dealing with?”

     It was at that moment that Jasper noticed the yellow clad figure of a leopardess, clinging to the chandelier above Ma Lazzaro’s head.  A yellow party mask covered her eyes, and he could make out the letters “SS” in a circle on the front of her costume. 

     It was also in that instant that a door behind the bandstand opened and a squad of about 20 assorted anthros armed with machine guns ran in, readying their weapons and aiming them at Jasper. 

     “Give it up, cat,” said Ma Lazzaro.  “You can’t win against me.”

     “I haven’t even yet begun to play,” said Jasper.  “I think this game is just about to get interesting.”

     “I’m warning you,” said Ma Lazzaro.  “I don’t need this lamb.”

     “Who does?” said Jasper, with a shrug. 

     Jaspers words fell on Willow like a ton of bricks.  She just couldn’t believe that, even in a situation like this, he couldn’t care less about what happened to her. 

     “Jasper!” Willow cried out, in an emotionally distraught voice.  “Don’t let this happen!  Please, help me!”

     While Willow wailed despondently, the yellow clad leopardess on the chandelier looked down at Jasper and shook a shaming finger at him, as if to say he was not a very nice kitty for making the little lamb girl cry. 

     Then the leopardess produced an unusual looking gun from beneath her outfit and aimed it at Jasper. 

     She fired the gun, and Jasper easily dived away from the projectile, which hit the floor where he had been standing and exploded in the midst of Ma Lazzaro’s hired guns, pelting them with shell fragments, flammable liquid which ignited on contact, and filling the air with disorienting smoke. 

     Several of the anthro gun squad burst into flames and ran about frantically trying to free themselves of their burning clothing, panicking the patrons, as the room was soon ablaze in several different locations. 

     Several more explosions were then heard all about the ballroom, increasing the panic of the patrons for fear that some rival crime family was attacking The Lazzaros, and that they would all die in the crossfire if they didn’t get away immediately. 

     Momentarily unnoticed in the midst of this confusion, the yellow clad leopardess jumped free of the chandelier and glided towards Ma Lazzaro. 

     The leopardess seemed to defy gravity as she descended.  Something about the fabric of her outfit apparently caught the air and allowed her to fall at an unnaturally slow speed.  And as soon as she was noticed by one of the already frantic patrons, the cry went out that Saint Saffron was there, and the crowd became doubly desperate to escape the premises. 

     Saffron landed on the floor just behind Ma Lazzaro and grabbed her gun arm, forcing her to point the gun into the air, while Willow struggled free of Ma Lazzaro’s grip. 

     Two thugs attempted to come to Ma Lazzaro’s aid, but Jasper appeared, jumping over the frantically agitated crowd that was rushing around in front of the bar where he had retrieved his trench coat and hat.  He attacked the thugs, hastily punching them senseless and leaving their unconscious bodies lying across two tables. 

     Meanwhile, Saffron wrestled the gun from Ma Lazzaro’s hand and pointed it at her head, just as some of the stunned gun squad on the smoke hazed dance floor were regaining their senses and trying to regroup.  But they quickly realized there was nothing they could do, except stand helplessly by.  Their boss was held hostage, rendering their deadly guns useless. 

     Jasper then ran to Willow and snatched the paper out of her inside pocket.  He slammed it down on the table next to Ma Lazzaro along with a pen and shouted above the commotion for her to sign it if she wanted to live. 

     Saffron pressed the gun into the back of Ma Lazzaro’s head for emphasis, so that there should be no doubt in Ma Lazzaro’s mind that she would delight in an excuse to pull the trigger. 

     Having no choice, Ma Lazzaro signed the contract on the endorsement line, meaning that ownership of Willows fate was now transferred to whoever signed on the next line. 

     Jasper snatched up the paper and stuffed it in one of his pockets. 

     He then grabbed Willow’s arm, waved an acknowledgement of gratitude to Saffron and prepared to start beating a path through the mayhem to the main entrance. 

     “Wait!” shouted Saffron.  “Don’t go that way.  Run up those stairs to the right of the bandstand and wait for me.”

     Having no time to deliberate over the matter, Jasper towed Willow across the dance floor, where the Lazzaro minions stood helplessly with their machine guns, knowing they dared not fire. 

     Jasper and Willow ran up the stairs to the balcony, quickly disappearing behind a door once they reached the top. 

     Saffron then reached in one of her pockets with her free hand and drew out a grenade.  She popped out the pin with her thumb and tossed it onto the dance floor behind the hired guns, who quickly scattered to avoid the explosion. 

     It was not as big or as deadly an explosion as anyone had expected, but it’s effect was just what the masked leopardess had desired.  It sent what remained of the gun squad to join the frantic crowd who were all rushing around trying to find some way to escape, as the main exits were already blocked by the bodies of those who had been crushed in the hysteria. 

     “You’ll pay for this, Saint Saffron!” shouted Ma Lazzaro, over the turmoil.  “I’ll double the reward on your head!”

     Saffron rudely spun Ma Lazzaro around to face her and said, in an offended tone, “I don’t think so.”

     Saffron grabbed the front of Ma Lazzaro’s coat and ripped it open.  She then stuck the muzzle of the gun into the opening and said, “For those who drag innocents into the Noirnian conflict, there can be no forgiveness.  Accept the divine judgment of the gods.”

     Saffron pulled the trigger, and the shot sent Ma Lazzaro flailing backwards with an expression of utter disbelief on her face.  She fell back against a table, which collapsed under the sudden impact of her weight and dropped her into the flames that were spreading about the floor. 

     Saffron then turned towards the balcony.  She raised her arm, and an elastic rope shot forth from under her sleeve.  It flew up to the balcony railing and wrapped around it.  She waited a second while the elastic was drawn back under her sleeve until it became highly stretched.  Then she jumped off the floor and was pulled into the air by the spring of the elastic - this providing all the momentum she required to glide up to the balcony. 

     Alighting on the balcony, she waited for the remainder of the elastic rope to recede under her sleeve, giving her a second to look down on the carnage. 

     The main entrances were still blocked, and would most likely stay that way.  The patrons were too insane with fear to back off long enough for them to be cleared.  The steps up to the balcony were now burning.  So that escape route was cut off as well.  Those who had been set alight had spread the fire throughout the lower floor.  And the flames were beginning to engulf the entire ballroom. 

     Patrons and gang members alike scrambled helplessly to create an alternate route of escape, but the windows were not only made of unbreakable bullet proof glass, they were also barred. 

     Down on the bandstand, Jack Kelly’s orchestra finished their extended hot jazz number, which had provided intense background music throughout the entire incident.  They then retreated through a special exit behind the bandstand and were gone to safety. 

     Saffron reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a small round ball with a spike on one side and a timer dial on the other.  She set the dial for 5 minutes and fixed the ball in the end of her small launcher gun. 

     She aimed at what she thought would be the weakest section of wall and fired the gun.  The ball then flew across the room, and the spike imbedded itself in the wall. 

     Quickly returning the launcher gun to its hiding place beneath her costume, Saffron turned and ran out through the balcony door, which led into a hallway of the old hotel.  There she found Jasper and Willow waiting anxiously. 

     “This way,” she commanded them, as she ran down the hall. 

     Jasper and Willow followed as Saffron guided them through to the other side of the building.  Eventually they came to a window at the end of a hall which Saffron hurriedly opened. 

     “Give me your friend,” said Saffron to Jasper. 

     Jasper released Willow to Saffron and watched as the yellow costumed feline climbed out through the window frame and sat herself on the window sill, reaching back to pull Willow out with her. 

     But Willow resisted, fearing the fall. 

     “Trust me,” said Saffron.  “I won’t let you fall.”

     But Willow did not trust her, and she grabbed onto the sides of the window in panic. 

     “We don’t have time for this,” Saffron yelled back at Jasper.  “Force her out.”

     Roughly, Jasper grabbed Willow’s arms and broke her grip on the window frame.  Then Willow screamed as Saffron leaped off the window sill, pulling Willow into the air with her. 

     Saffron struggled to hold onto Willow with one arm while they floated downwards, borne on the curious air catching effect of the yellow fabric the masked leopardess was wearing. 

     Foolishly, Willow struggled all the way down, making the effort much harder than it needed to be.  But eventually they alighted in an open yellow convertible, and Saffron dumped Willow in the back, while she set herself down in the driver’s seat. 

     “Coming, kitty boy?” Saffron called up to Jasper. 

     Jasper then climbed out the window and easily leaped down into the front passenger seat. 

     Saffron pressed a button on the dashboard, and the car roared into life.  Then she quickly pressed another button which caused the top to close itself. 

     “You might want to fasten your seatbelts,” said Saffron. 

     Jasper and Willow hurriedly strapped themselves in, and as the top of the car locked itself in place, Saffron stepped on the gas, and the car launched forward with such momentum that it threw the passengers back rudely in their seats. 

     The car sped round the side of the building, heading towards the front parking lot, where there was much commotion and hysteria among those that had managed to escape the ballroom. 

     And as the car passed by the side wall of the ballroom, the wall exploded, sending debris out into the air over the car as it passed.  But the car was past the area of danger before any of the debris hit the pavement. 

     There was no time for bothering with trying to navigate the now cluttered parking lot.  Instead, Saffron headed straight on towards a mound of grass covered ground that separated the parking lot from the street. 

     Just before reaching the mound, Saffron pressed another button, and the car suddenly launched itself into the air.  It sailed over the mound and landed unceremoniously on the street, jostling the passengers painfully about. 

     No sooner had the car hit the street than Saffron spun the wheel, and the car went into a spin with a loud screech, righting itself in the far lane and then continuing forward, racing away from the carnage of The Blue Foxtaur Ballroom.