In the heart of the city of Vesper, there was a house. It was bigger than most and incredibly dark with a peculiar master. The master himself sat in his chair at his desk in his office. Not a single light was lit except for the faint sunset shining through the window onto the master's back. He was a dog, a head taller than most doors with fur like a dirt road's and a characteristic lack of eyes. Covering the gaps was a custom blindfold made of a fine brown leather. He wore a tailored black suit with only a small violet tie to contrast with it. A passive grin rested on his face, showing the yellow tips of his fangs; it widened into a smile when his door was met with a knock.
"Enter." he said with a voice deep and rough.
A young cat entered, black as knight with a splotch of ivory white on the tip of their tail. They were just a head taller than the doorknob and hid a great nervousness behind their deadpan expression. They wore brown trousers held in place by a rope-belt and a white shirt with long sleeves completed by a black vest. "I got the prize." they said, gesturing to a full burlap sack with something round and heavy within. "Sir." they finished after a few seconds of no response. The master's smile showed no sign of fading as he punched financial jargon into braille via his one-of-a-kind typewriter. After five more seconds of silence, the cat cleared their throat awkwardly.
"Hm? Ah yes, thank you 'boy', you're a hard worker." replied the master sweetly.
"What do you want?" asked the cat.
"Pardon?"
"You know I'm a girl. What can I give you to keep that secret?"
"You're a girl? My! How strange to see one in this line of work. I kid, I knew the whole time, of course. Sit."
The cat obeyed, still stoic in terms of expression, but trembling throughout her body.
The master continued. "You promised to bring me the package at just after dawn, and dawn has just begun. The prize is undamaged, and no one has even reported it missing yet. In short, you provided good service, which is disturbingly rare these days. Repeat this behavior, and your secret's safe with me, understood?"
"Yessir." said the cat, beginning to cease trembling.
"Please, call me Rufus."
"Nancy…" replied the girl.
"You may leave, Nancy, be safe."
As the girl left, Rufus picked up the burlap sack and removed the head of his business rival, Gareth Holness.
Rufus grinned devilishly. "Morning, brother." he said. "Allow me to catch you up to speed."