A Creature of War, Book 4, CH19

The six Anthros were seated on the floor against the wall. Alicia was there with Charlie.
“Not enough chairs, Sir,” she said at El’s raised eyebrow.
He smiled. “Thank you for keeping an eye on them. You didn’t have to. The men who came with them would have done it.”
“Yes Sir, but I needed to talk with you.”
“Alright,” El looked to the lizard.
“I’ll wait outside,” Charlie said.
“I’m sorry, Sir,” Alicia said the moment the door was closed. “I should have come to help, but we—”
El raised a hand. “What were you doing while I was dealing with the brawl?” He made sure to keep his voice neutral.
“My patrol, Sir.”
“Did you receive any instructions to come help?”
“No, Sir, but—”
He silenced her again. “Alicia. I’m not Artell. I’m not looking to be brown nosed. You did your job. From the reports I receive, you do it well. Considering you’ve been in charge of the guards for a long time, you have every reason to hate being just one of the officers, but you haven’t raised a fuss about anything you’ve had to do. You don’t owe me an apology. In fact, I owe you something.” He took two swords out of the cabinet behind him and handed them to her. “For you and Charlie. You've earned them.”
She cradled them. “Thank you Sir. We won’t let you down.”
“I have no doubt. Now, I believe you have a patrol to get back to.”
“What about them?”
El smiled. “Oh, no worries there. I can handle a bunch of troublemakers. I don’t even need powers for that.”
She nodded and left.
El took his chair and set it before the six, back facing them, and he sat on it, arms over the back.
“Alright, for starters, please tell me none of you have earned a name.”
“My name,” the panda said defiantly, “His Simon.”
“Okay, but did you give it to yourself or did you earn it?” He raised a hand to forestall any answer. “The reason I’m asking is that I can accept that a bunch of greens would be drawn into a brawl like that. The training that’s injected in your head while you’re made isn’t the same as what you gain on missions. So let me ask again. Are you guys green? Or do you happen to be fully trained soldiers who have earned their name and yet turned into a bunch of morons at the first opportunity?”
Simon tried to maintain the stare, but looked away. The other five didn’t even try.
El sighed. “Okay, help me here. What happened? Did you jump in to protect someone? Did things get out of control from there?”
They shook their heads.
“Then what happened? Why did you join the brawl?”
There was silence. El was about to order an answer of them when the blond horse looked up at him. “You don’t know how it is.”
“How what is?”
“How they sneer at us. We do twice the work the rest of them do and they treat us like we’re less than nothing. We’re Anthros. We deserve better.”
“Is that how you all feel?”
The nods were hesitant, but nods nonetheless.
“Infantry or support?” El had guessed, but he wanted to be sure.
“Infantry.” The others nodded.
“Then let me remind you of something. You were created to keep them safe. You say you deserve better, no, you don’t. the only thing any soldier had to look forward to is death. That’s our lot. We die, they live.”
“It’s not like that anymore.”
“Really? Says who? Tell me who came to you and told you the army had changed how it worked?”
“There isn’t any army anymore.”
El sighed. “Yeah, I get that a lot. But they’re wrong.”
“Really? Have you looked around everything’s changed? Why should we be scraping the bottom when the humans run things?”
“No one’s asking you to scrape the bottom, and unless you’ve missed the last few months, humans don’t run things here.”
Snorts
“You don’t see Anthros leading one of the construction teams.”
“Do you know how to lead? How about how to read a plan? No? Maybe you’ve learned how to shape wood. I know it’s got a name but I don’t remember it. Do any of you know anything that would justify me going to Vee and telling to put you in charge of a team?”
“We’re Anthros!”
“Then get on the fucking wall! You want to lead, go lead something you know anything about. You decided you wanted to play civilians. Civilians don’t get assigned leadership position, they work to get them. Yes, the whole fucking world has changed, but you know what hasn’t? Our jobs. We are the only ones qualified to keep the civilians safe in all this. You don’t want to do your job? That’s fine by me. I’ve had days like that too. But don’t come bitching to me if the only civilian thing you’re qualified to do is what someone else tells you to do, got it?”
“It isn’t fair.” The horse said.
El sighed. “No, it isn’t. But it’s what we’ve got to work with. I’m not going to tell you to be soldiers, if you decided that’s not for you anymore, I don’t have the right to stop you, but I am going to tell you what you used to stand for, and to make that proud.”
El gave them a few seconds to mull it over, then indicated the door. “Get out of here.”
When he was alone, he rested his head on his arms. No, none of this was fair. He should be at the Lab, right now, celebrating the Peru mission with his family. He should be getting ready for the next mission. He should have control of the elements.
Instead, he was stuck dealing with Soldiers who had decided they weren’t soldiers anymore. And he knew this wasn’t the last time he’d have to deal with Anthros like them.
He so wanted to be home right now.
* * * * *
The next time there was a brawl, it was over food again, and this time three people died. The only bright side El saw, as he threw the two instigators in two of the three barely insulated cells, was that no Anthros had been involved in that one.
As the days progressed, El found himself taking any moment he had that wasn’t occupied with handling police matter and practicing with his abilities. The desk had drawers and he kept a bowl of water, of earth, and twigs in it. The fire was in the fireplace that kept the room passably warm, and the air all around him.
He didn’t tell Vee, because he knew what he would say, but he was sure the bull knew. El wasn’t always able to stick to a few exercises. The need to accomplish something with his abilities pushed him to frustration, and on those days, the bad mood followed him everywhere he went.
On the day the woman pushed her way in Vee’s office, El and the other team leaders were giving their report. El looked at the human officer, who happened to look in the room, his gaze following her, and shrugged before closing the door. El would have a word with him and his partner. No one was allowed in during these meetings.
The woman strutted across the room. Like everyone, she was thin, but her head was held high, and the clothing she wore, while loose on her, was vibrant. In purples, yellows, and pink. This wasn’t an outfit she’d worn often, and as far as El was concerned, he hoped never to see it again.
The men fell silent as she approached. One rolled his eyes and Malcolm pursed his lips. He wasn’t happy to see her. Some of the women glanced at her, then ignored her while others rolled their eyes. El had the feeling she was known to many of them.
Vee looked at her, keeping the worse of his displeasure to himself. “Well?” he asked when she remained silent. “You’re interrupting us. The least you can do is state your business.”
She sneered at him. “I’m here to get a food card for pregnant women.” Her tome said ‘why do you even bother asking, isn’t it obvious?’
The bull looked her over. “First off, I see women first thing in the morning, and at the infirmary.”
She waved that aside. “Yes, yes, but I’m here now. We might as well take care of it.”
“Alright, then secondly, the pregnant woman needs to be present, so I can examine her.”
“If you touch me,” she replied with venom, “I’m going to have one of these men cut your hand off.”
Vee raised an eyebrow, and the men shifted on their seat. Yes, El thought, they knew her. He was surprised she’d never been mentioned before.
“Are you telling me, you’re the pregnant woman?”
She turned to show her flat stomach. “Isn’t that clear?”
Coughs from the team leaders. El saw one of the women shake her head with a roll of the eyes so pronounce he thought she might fall back.
“You’re not pregnant.”
“How would you know,” the woman sneered. “One of the doctors confirmed it. I am pregnant.”
“And I guess he’s the father?” a woman said.
She spun and tried to find the speaker, but they all look politely attentive. El had trouble keeping from snickering.
“Your doctor is wrong.” Vee kept his tone neutral. “You aren’t pregnant.”
“I am pregnant! You think you’re some sort of expert on pregnancy?”
“You just want more food, admit it! Work the wall.”
This time she turned in time to catch the man who’d spoken and he wilted under her glare.
“You can yell it all you want. You aren’t pregnant.”
“Listen here you filthy animal. You’d going to do what I tell you to, that’s what you were made for, isn’t it? To obey your betters?”
“That’s enough.” Anya stood. The would-be pregnant woman glares at her, but it had no effect. “He’s in charge. Treat him with respect.”
The woman snorted. “He killed William and stole the position. No animal like that could earn the position. How any of you can stand taking his orders is beyond me.” She turned to Malcolm. “How do—”
“Okay, you’re done Melanie.” Malcolm was on his feet and grabbing her arm. The outburst surprised her enough she didn’t try to pull away.
“You know her?”
Malcolm sighed. “Yes, she was a friend of Artell. Daughter of high society or something. I don’t know the details. I did my best to avoid her.” She opened her mouth. “Put a sock in it. You’ve dug yourself in deep enough.”
The men were watching the scene with a mix of fear and admiration. This woman had power here, or at least influence. How had she not come to his attention before now?
“Let me put it this way, Vee, if she hadn’t waited this long to pull this. She would have claimed that Artell was the baby’s father.”
“Let go of me Malcolm.” Her voice was black with venom.
Malcolm tightened his grip on her. “Do you have any idea what you’re endangering here, Melany?” he pointed to Vee. “Our survival is at states. I don’t have time for your petty games just because every girl under you doesn’t bring in enough food for you to steal.”
Vee’s heavy chair went screeching back as he stood. “You steal food?”
El wished he could see her face, because the triumph in Malcolm’s shone.
“I do not,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Look at me,” Vee said.
She glared at the bull and El saw the resolve in her eyes.
“We’re done here,” Vee said.
El whistled, and the door opened. “The… lady is done. Please escort her out.” The man hesitated, looking at the woman instead of the lynx. When the man didn’t move El cleared his throat. “Are you waiting for her to invite you in?”
The man shook himself. “No, sir, sorry.” He hurried and moved to grab her arm, but stopped as she fixed her gaze on him. Satisfied he wouldn’t do anything, she turned on Malcolm. “This isn’t over.” She walked out of the room in a forcefully calm step. She reached for the door, but the officer grabbed the handle and closed it silently.
“What was this about?” Vee asked, leaning forward to look at them, hands on his desk. “Well?” he added when no one spoke.
Malcolm opened his mouth, but it was one of the women who spoke. “She sells her girls for food.”
“What does that mean?” Vee asked.
“For sex,” the woman added.
Vee glared at all of them. “Someone better explain this in a way I understand, because I’m in no mood to play twenty questions.”
The people there looked at each other. El would have happily answered the question, if he wasn’t as in the dark as Vee was.
Vee looked about to explode when Malcolm spoke. “She has a stable of girls and boys, and offers their services for sex in exchange for a portion of food.”
“She charges for people to have sex with them?” El asked in disbelief. “Why would anyone pay for that?”
“How long has this been going on?” Vee asked before anyone could answer.
Malcolm shrugged. “Since always? They do call prostitution the oldest profession in the world. I take it, it’s something none of you have had to deal with?”
“Why would anyone pay for sex?” Vee asked.
“Now? Because you’d be surprised how few people want it when they’re starving. Before?” Malcolm shrugged. “There’s always been people who aren’t as socially adept as others, who didn’t want to bother with the seduction game. For them, exchanging money for sex was simpler.”
“And you’re okay with this?”
Malcolm looked around before shrugging. “It’s part of human nature. She slept with Artell to make him look the other way, and so long as she didn’t use kids, he was fine with it.”
“Kids?”
Malcolm opened his mouth and closed it, worry crossing his face.
Harry spoke up. “Don’t worry, if she’d done that, William would have shut her down hard.” He paled as the implication sunk in.
“El, I want you to find out where she does this.”
The lynx nodded. “You want me to shut her down?”
The bull looked the humans over. “What’s going to happen if I do shut her down?”
“You’re going to have riots,” a woman said, “worse than what you’ve had.”
“And smaller, less savory sorts are going to take up the slack. Melany at least treats her people well. She doesn’t allow competition. She enjoys being the only one the lonely can go to for comfort.”
Vee looked them over, his disbelief clear on his face. “Fine. El, just make sure everyone there is an adult and doing this willingly.”
The lynx nodded. “Unless you need me, I’ll go handle this now.”
Vee made a motion and El left. He faced the human guard once he’d closed the door. “Care to explain your behavior?”
“Sir?”
“Unless DHC changed things while I was busy in there, you report to me, not her.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” the man replied, shuffling.
“He goes to her place a few times a week,” the squirrel on the other side of the door said.
“You knew about this? The selling of sex?”
The squirrel shrugged. “Everyone does. Seemed every human goes there at one time or another.”
“How come I haven’t heard about it?”
“I figured you knew, like I said, Sir, everyone knows.”
El turned to the human, but before he could speak, the door opened and Malcolm almost ran into the lynx.
“Oh good, you’re still here.” He closed the door. “Can I talk with you in private?”
“We’re going to continue this,” El told the human officer. He turned and motioned for Malcolm to follow. 
Once they were in El’s office, the human spoke. “I’d like you to let me handle this.”
“Last I checked, I’m in charge of the police.”
“I’m not asking you to let me lead the raid. I’m asking you to let me deal with this quietly.”
El studied the man. “I get the feeling you didn’t tell us everything in there.”
“That’s not it.”
“Then maybe you should explain why I shouldn’t go with my officers and find out for myself how well her people are treated.”
“El, how many of your human officers do you think use her service?”
“Then I’ll go with only my Anthro officers.”
“What kind of message do you think that’s going to send?” Malcolm made quote marks with his fingers. “Anthros prevent humans from having sex, read all about it.” 
El tried to figure out what that meant.
“Never mind, old turn of phrase. What I mean is that a lot of humans go to her. If a bunch of Anthros go in there and disrupt the services she offers. People aren’t going to see you making sure she treats her people well. They’re going to see a bunch of Anthros keeping them from seeking the little enjoyment they can in these hard times.”
“Why don’t they seek each with each other? There’s plenty of men and woman who aren’t married.”
Malcolm sighed. “I wish it was that easy, but even after all these centuries since the dark ages, we still have plenty of hangups about sex. Unlike you, we weren’t made to be okay with just doing it. A place like hers gives the community a safety valve.”
El decided not to point out he’d been made knowing nothing about sex. He’d learned it from those around him. If Anthros were more accepting, it was because they had learned to be so, and humans could, should, do the same.
“I have to go do a check, Vee expects it, and I want to see it for myself.”
“El, you can’t just—”
“But,” the lynx cut him off. “As much as I want to deal with this now, I have to assemble a team of human and Anthros that won’t cause me trouble when we go marching in there. I doubt I’ll be able to gather the right people until tomorrow morning.”
Malcolm stared at him. “You’re giving me—”
“Nothing. Vee would have my hide if I gave you any chance to go see her ahead of us. All I’m doing is letting you know my timetable. I hate it, but it’s the reality of things. Like you pointed out, I can’t just barge in without knowing how the humans in my teams are going to react.”
Malcolm opened his mouth, hesitated. “Yes, of course. I mean, it’s why I’m here, after all, to make sure things run smoothly.”
El nodded. “And I do thank you for your advice. Now, unless you have something else to discuss, I need to see about assembling the team, so I’m ready tomorrow.”
Malcolm smiled. “No, I’ll let you get to it.” He paused at the door and grinned as he looked over his shoulder. “I hope the raid goes well tomorrow.”
El smiled back. “I am certain it will.