“What!?” Luna grabbed Cheego’s collar and pulled him over his counter. “You don’t know where Baby Shark is at!?”

Cheego choked. "Sorry! Nobody gossiped about that chico! I swear!"

Luna released Cheego and growled. "How come nobody talks about him here? He is one of the most notorious mobsters in this city!"

Cheego cleared his throat. "I don't know! If they know his whereabouts, he could kill them. That's a fact!"

Luna faced the crowd inside the bar. "Hey! Does anyone know Baby Shark?"

The thugs gazed at her until they laughed. A short lizard leaped onto a table and shouted, "Baby Shark! Doo doo doo doo doo doo! Baby Shark! Doo doo doo doo doo doo! Baby Shark! Doo doo doo doo doo doo! Baby Shark! Doo doo doo doo doo doo!"

Luna massaged the bridge between her eyes and grabbed Rei's hand. "Come kitty! This place is pissing me off!"

"Ouch!" Rei kept up with Luna's fast-moving pace. The men laughed behind them.

"Goodbye, senoras!" Cheego shouted! "I will have better information next time!"

Outside, Luna released Rei and stomped her feet, growling. "Damn, I need food!" She shot her glaring eyes at her partner. "You're hungry?"

"Ah….. Sure," Rei answered.

"Fried chicken?"

Rei pursed her lips. "Oh! I love fried chicken!"

Luna widened her eyes. "You do?"

"Hell yeah! We Koreans love chicken! Fried chicken is my most favorite!"

Luna laughed. "You might not be bad after all, kitty." She rubbed Rei's head. "I'll show you the best-fried chicken joint ever!"

Rei smiled cheerfully. "Awesome!"

*****

On a market street below the skyscrapers, Luna and Rei approached a street food cart in front of an empty convenient store. A simple red box cart with a white tent above a tray of mouth-watering chicken. BBQ, honey-dipped, roasted, buffalo wings, and crispy fried! A mini buffet of chicken! Rei couldn't stop sniffing the warm food with mixed flavors. Spice, garlic, honey, barbecue sauce, and seasoned batter.

Luna peeked over the food tray. "Hey, Donald! Are you open?”

An orange monkey man in a white double-breasted jacket rose over a grill and laughed at Luna. “I am always open! How are you?”

Luna stepped back and giggled. “Oh, the usual. Hard criminals to catch. Angry stomach. You know the drill.”

“Coming right up!”

Luna pointed her thumb at Rei. “Make her the same too. Extra crispy.”

Donald stared at Rei. “New partner?”

Luna shrugged. “Sort of, if she still lasts.”

“Hey!” Rei shouted. “I am not expendable!”

Donald laughed as he cooked. “She is only pulling your tail. What’s your name?”

“Rei Young.”

“Korean? It is no wonder you wanted fried chicken.”

“Ne-ne!” Rei licked her lips.

After he finished, Donald handed the catgirls two open take-out boxes, filled with drumsticks, wings, and thighs, covered in a golden crispy coating. “Enjoy!”

Luna took the boxes and handed one of them to Rei. “Thank you, Donald.”

Donald crossed his arms. “Ten cryptos please.”

Luna pulled out her E-wallet and typed her pin number on the small touchscreen. She handed her iPad to Donald, and the monkey typed his pin next.

After it beeped, Donald handed Luna's E-wallet back. "Enjoy."

Luna smiled. "Don't I?"

Donald laughed as the catgirls headed toward a table under a balcony. Rei stared at her chicken while sitting down. "Is this chicken natural?"

"Hell yeah!" Luna sat and nibbled on her wing. "Hmmmmmmmmmmm! Donald never buys synthetic shit from the corporate clowns. He fried real chicken like a pro!"

"Where does he get it?"

Luna ate her wing to the bone. "Mmmmmmmh! Who cares! Eat up!"

Rei sniffed her fried chicken thigh and took a bite. The tender chili spice engulfed her entire mouth while the white meat melted on her tongue.

With her eyes closed, Rei hummed like she was singing with her mouth closed. "Mmmmmmmh! Oh god! This is delicious!"

Luna smiled with pieces of chicken sticking out between her fangs. "I told you so."

"Ye ye!" Rei continued to munch on her thigh, stripping away the crunchy skin and devouring the steamy white meat. She could eat her chicken all night.

Luna finished her dinner before Rei, and she burped like a hippo. "Damn, that came out fast! I needed that."

Rei ate her last piece. "Better now?"

Luna stretched her arms out. "Yeah, but we still have a long way to go. Baby Shark is hiding who knows where." She picked up a bone and nibbled on it. "We might never find him at all."

Rei lowered her ears. "Don't worry. We will find him soon."

Luna glanced at the sky. "I hope so."

Rei pushed her box aside. "What made you become a bounty hunter?"

Luna narrowed her eyes at Rei. “I told you I don’t want to get personal with you.”

“Ileon….. Are you totally that stubborn? Having a friendly conversation while eating is healthy.”

“I’m not that type of person.”

“Oh, come on! Just one tiny detail and that’s it. I will not bother you anymore.”

Luna placed her bone down. “Alright….. I was an orphan in Africa. My parents died during a raid in our village. The men captured me and forced me to fight with them as a child soldier. All my life I spent years fighting and surviving with the assholes who murdered my family. When they finally got executed, I earned my freedom. But the bloodlust for battle still boiled inside of me. So I joined the military and became a professional soldier for the right reasons. But soon I caught the Chimera virus, and the army transferred me here. I survived by working with a street gang, helping them murder their rivals in cold blood. But all that changed after Fiona arrested me.”

She drummed her fingers on the table while sighing. “She paid my bail and offered me a job as a bounty hunter. She said I can use my fighting skills for the greater good, and there are enough scumbags ruining the city. It took every pinch of my pride to realize she was right. Monsters raised me, but I didn’t want to become like those monsters. Sooooooooo I took the job and hunted to keep my bloodlust down. Although Fiona became a commissioner, I still hunted like a jungle queen in the wild. Cheers to that.”

Rei let her mouth fall wide open. “Wa! No wonder you’re badass and mean. I understand you now.”

“Well, you got a long way to go if you live long. What’s your deal here?”

Before Rei spoke, she heard a beep inside her head.

Hello? Rei? Luna? Rally’s voice echoed.

Oh hi, Rally! Rei responded. How are you?”

Is Luna with you?

Loud and clear. Luna answered. What do you want?

I heard you are looking for Baby Shark. Benny heard a rumor he is having a private meeting at the abandoned water treatment facility.

How!? Luna asked.

Let’s just say luck landed on his lap. Benny spotted a thug at a bar, talking to someone on a computer. He couldn’t see the screen, but he suspected the thug was talking to one of Baby Shark’s informers.

Who is the thug?

Don’t know, but I believed he planned to buy something from Baby Shark. The informer told him to meet his boss at the facility, later at midnight. Completely isolated and unmonitored. It could be an exchange.

How can you be sure Baby Shark is heading there? Rei asked.

It is only a guess, said Rally. But it is a good place for a wanted crook to meet a customer without the public seeing him. You just have to check it out for yourselves.

Gamsa! But why are you telling us?

Rally chuckled. I enjoy helping cute girls. Plus we cops don’t have jurisdiction in the Underbelly section. It’s up to you to stop that bastard from hiding. Or whoever set up the meeting.

I thank you too, Luna said with a grin.

Can I ask you one little flavor?

Like what?

Rally took a deep breath. I want to go out to dinner.

Luna laughed. You know, I only like women since I was born.

Not you! Rei!

The lynx catgirl’s face turned red. Me?

She’s too young for you, creep! Luna shouted. Goodbye!

Oh, man….. Rally moaned as his voice faded away.

Luna rose and threw her box into the trash can. “We better hustle to the facility. The only way there is through the sewer.”

“That should be a piece of cake,” said Rei.

Luna shook her head. “I wish.”