David reached forward and quickly took the box out of Saul's hands...
"Guys, listen to yourselves!"
Saul blinked and snarled, his lip curling in a feral threat. "Watch it, pink-boy; I've got claws and teeth, now..."
David rolled his eyes. "God, you always *were* a drama-queen, Saul..." Taking the Chest with him, David wandered over to the overstuffed chair next to the couch and coffee table and beckoned the other three over. "Look, guys... Listen to yourselves; you're already trying to plan on how to use this thing, but you don't know anything about it!"
Scott rolled his eyes. "Look, shrimp," he said to the smaller man, "I happen to *like* being this way. Sure, it's not normal, but I've always been a bit hairy ... might as well go all the way..."
"But we don't *all* want to stay like this," interrupted Saul. "I mean, I have a life... A home! You and Tim may think this is Ok, but I have to go home at the end of the day to a place where my landlord will see me...!"
"Oh, screw your landlord," replied Scott with a grimace. "You can always bite him if he gets on your case... Species discrimmination, you can call it!"
Timothy sat back in the couch and sighed. "Besides, I have to run a business... I agree with David; we have to figure out where this thing came from, how it works and -only then- decide what to do with it!"
The four men grew silent, the truth of Timothy's words sinking in.
"Well," David finally said, breaking the quiet, "do you still have the records of the purchase?"
"Of course... They're in the office." Timothy gestured out the back door. "But there's nothing in there except the basics... You know, old guy ... dies ... his estate sells everything to pay the bills..."
"Well, what about his home? The estate?"
Timothy looked at Saul, curiously. "What are you suggesting?" he asked.
Saul looked around the room at each of the other men in turn. "Let's go there ... tonight. It's the Haversome Mansion, out by Route 88, right? David could drive us, we could break in..."
"Wait a sec," interrupted David. "I'm not going to help you commit any crimes!"
Scott chuckled. "Too late. Sodomy is still illegal in this state..."
David shot Scott a withering glance as the fox stuck his tongue out at him. "Look, all I'm saying is that fucking some guy is one thing... Driving an escape car so you three can break into an old mansion is another..."
"You *did* say that we were acting irrationally before..." said Timothy.
"And this is better?"
"Hey, it's the only real lead we have..." Saul shook his head, sadly. "Look guys, no one will really notice if three Queers suddenly vanish. Worse, if someone *does* find us as foxes, we'll be put in a freak show ... or experimented on... David, we *have* to try this..."
David sighed and, after a few minutes, nodded. "Ok, but we're not *touching* that box until after we get back, got it?"
Scott, Timothy and Saul looked at each other before nodding in unison.
"Got it..."
--------------------------------
The day crept on slowly. David took over the burden of organizing the workers outside, and the other three spent the day indoors, waiting for nightfall...
Finally, as the workers left and the sun set, David drove his minivan around the back of Timothy's small, ramshackle house and hurridly got them all aboard. Putting the Chest into the front seat between Scott and David, the three foxes and one human drove off into the night...