Tiger

by Kate LaMontagne

  “Um… Doctor Stafford, right?” He tried not to make it obvious that he’d glanced at the name tag on the doctor’s lab coat as he sat down. Truthfully, he was a little fuzzy about what all had transpired since the fight in the alley. “I’m a little sore but I’m ready to get out of here. I’m not used to just lying around all day. Need to get moving and get back to my workouts. I’ll get rusty if I don’t practice every day.” The fingers on his sword hand twitched.

  “Uh huh. No headache, no vision problems?” Stafford pulled out a penlight and checked Tiger’s pupillary reaction in both eyes. He put it away and got up to check Tiger’s heart and lungs with his stethoscope. When he leaned Tiger forward and placed the stethoscope on his back, Tiger drew in a harsh breath and jerked away, then caught himself before the sharp pain in his ribs could make him clutch at his side.

  “C-Cold,” Tiger murmured, trying to cover his reaction. “Um… no, no headaches. Vision’s fine.”

  “Uh huh,” Stafford said again. “Can you take a couple of deep breaths for me?” he asked, as he moved the stethoscope around.

  Tiger breathed, trying to keep it steady and regular, failing miserably. He coughed a little and winced, his hand going to his ribs this time.

  Stafford sighed, straightening back up. He sat back down, putting his stethoscope back in his pocket, and eyed Tiger skeptically. “Are you done yet? You’re a terrible liar you know. Do you have any idea how many years I’ve been in practice? I’m the head trauma surgeon at CGH. I didn’t earn this position by being an idiot. Do you really think I don’t know exactly what your condition is? The level of pain you’re really feeling?” He sighed again. “You grunts are all alike. Just can’t wait to get back into the action.”

  Tiger blushed and looked away. “Noooo.” He drew the word out, thinking quickly. “That’s not it at all. I had plans. I…. I was going to take some R&R, maybe travel a little when I got back, that’s all.”

  “Uh huh.” Stafford sighed again. “Look, I know you don’t want to be here. Yes, you are mobile, but you’re going to be moving like an eighty-year-old for a while. Your arms and legs work just fine, but… you have a concussion, three partially healed broken ribs, and your back is still a work in progress. The nerves in your back are still regenerating. They’re there and functional but they’re raw. That’s going to hurt like hell till you’re completely healed.”

  “On the plus side, if you follow my instructions, I have every confidence that you will have a one hundred percent recovery. Outside of those injuries, everything else looks normal. Just minor cuts and scrapes. Some bruising, all of which were healed by the nano-bots. No infections. No toxins. No STD’s. The usual stuff we check on any patient we treat,” he stated casually.

  Actually, the STD tests and the rape had ‘somehow’ been left out when he documented everything, but at least now Tiger knew he’d been tested and was clean.

  “I’m going to check on you again tomorrow, and if everything looks okay, I’ll release you with some pain meds and antibiotics and… read my lips… I want you to take them… ALL. OF. THEM. I won’t clear you for any kind of work yet. I want you to check back in two weeks for re-evaluation and I don’t think you should plan on any long-distance travel until then. I’m not military, so I can’t order you not to, but I hope you have enough faith in me to do as I ask.” He smiled and patted Tiger on the hand. “TJ will vouch for me.”

  “Now, there’s someone waiting out in the hallway who’d like to speak with you.” He moved to the door and started to open it, then stopped with his hand still on the doorknob and looked over his shoulder at Tiger. “Oh, by the way,” he said in a cavalier tone, “that time off and trip you wanted to take wouldn’t have anything to do with those recently healed punctures on your chest would it?”

  Tiger blanched. He could feel all the blood draining from his face and the bile rising up from the pit of his stomach. “I… I… no… that’s…” he stammered.

  “Oh, well. Never mind,” Stafford interrupted. “Just curious,” he said dismissively, fluttering his fingers briefly in the air as he turned to open the door and stuck his head out. “You’re up. Good luck.”

  Remi stepped into the doorway and said “Hi Tiger. May I come in? I hope you don’t mind me using your nickname. I’d like to keep things informal.”

  “Uh, yes sir. Sure. Sounds good, but it’s not a nickname. It’s the English word for Toro. Please come in” he replied distractedly, still trying to process the doctor’s comment and feeling like he might puke any second.

  “Oh. I see,” Remi chuckled. “I thought it was just some form of cute address left over from your childhood. Good to know, and please call me Remi. We don’t need to adhere to military protocol in private.”

  “Okay, thanks. I think the guys just started calling me that because of the tiger on my father’s signet ring. They probably didn’t even realize the significance of the name or the animal” Tiger admitted.

  Remi pulled a chair up to Tiger’s bedside and sat, trying hard to appear casual. “You look good today.” ‘Reaallly good’. “So, I wanted to discuss your release from the hospital. I know it’s none of my business, but Doctor Stafford mentioned that he thought maybe you needed a quieter environment than the barracks while you’re on sick leave.”

  “Jake and I would like to offer you the use of our spare bedroom. You’d be in a house in a nice neighborhood, have your own private bathroom with a shower and jetted soaker tub, and we could take care of things like meals, laundry and transportation. Oh, and there’s a big back yard you can use for workouts when you feel up to it.”

  “You’re welcome to stay for as long as you like. It’s the least we can do to thank you, besides Jake is quite excited about having some company for a bit. I’m afraid he gets bored when it’s just the two of us. I promise he won’t be a pest. What do you think?”

  “Um… I’m not sure… I’m…” Tiger’s mind raced to try to come up with an excuse to refuse but it was all just a big blank screen, nothing there but static. He didn’t know these two and had no idea what kind of a monkey wrench they might throw into his plan to bolt as soon as he could.

  On the other hand, it might be easier to sneak away from the captain’s place than the barracks, not to mention the temptation to take advantage of home cooked meals and laundry service until he took off, and he couldn’t afford to rent an apartment on his own.

  “Jake will be so disappointed if you say no. He’s really looking forward to having you stay with us, but please don’t feel like you’re being pressured.” Remi put on his best sad puppy dog eyes.

  “I guess just for a few weeks it would be okay. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you. I’m sure you both have more important things to do.”

  “Nope! Nothing that’s more important than getting our hero back on his feet.” Remi gave Tiger a big bright smile.

  ‘Fuck!’ Tiger thought. ‘I wonder just how attentive they’re going to be.’

  Chapter 8

  The next day Doctor Stafford released Tiger to leave the hospital, but it wasn’t Remi picking him up.

  TJ picked him up and drove him to the fort to help him pack up some of his stuff and to visit briefly with the rest of the team. They tried to convince him that they could be quiet and help him out in the barracks, but that wouldn’t fit in with Tiger’s plan, so he demurred saying he couldn’t rest properly around a bunch of “rowdy drunken juvenile delinquents” which was actually a pretty accurate assessment.

  “I won’t be gone long” he said. “I just need a few weeks to heal up and get back in shape. I’m not going to be confined to a bed or anything, although it’s probably going to be boring just sitting around the pool, drinking ice cold beer in a lounge chair all day. Having my meals prepared by a gourmet chef and served while I sit in a big jetted soaker tub.” He sighed loudly, rolling his eyes.

  They all laughed but it was bittersweet as they all knew most of the story about the attack. He was their brother. Whi
le they threatened to stuff him in a locker, no one laid a hand on him, fully aware of the injuries he bore. TJ wasn’t the only one out for blood.

  Jake had given TJ and Remi a description of Chris but didn’t remember much about the faces of the rest of the gang. As expected, they didn’t have any useful witnesses or camera footage. That didn’t stop the guys from cruising the neighborhood on their off time, watching for anything and anybody they deemed suspicious. Unfortunately, some of them would be leaving on new assignments soon so they would be down a few men. TJ was hoping Tiger would be able to come up with more details now that he was out of the hospital.

  It didn’t take long to pack up Tiger’s stuff. He wouldn’t need much since he was supposedly not working or traveling. He wouldn’t be able to take weapons or uniform items with him, but no one would think twice about him taking his katana. Everyone knew Tiger was never without Dragon Slayer.

  When they were back on the road and headed to Remi’s, TJ brought up the subject of Tiger’s PTSD. All the guys on the team knew that Tiger had nightmares, hell most of them did too. If you spent as much time doing the job as they did, it was inevitable. As far as the flashbacks were concerned, he’d had a few over the years he’d been in the service, but no one on the team except TJ knew about those. They’d never happened or affected his performance while on the job.

  Being diagnosed would mean mandatory psych therapy and probably being booted from the team. That was unthinkable for a group that was essentially the only family most of them had. They all kept quiet about it and covered each other’s six.

  “Do you think you’re going to be okay living at that douchebag flyboy’s house with your PTSD?” TJ asked.

  “Why do you dislike him so much?” Tiger snickered at the new nickname TJ had bestowed on Remi.

  “Because he tried to handle you like a criminal just because he was being overprotective of his precious little brother, while you were the one who suffered all the injuries and pain, not the kid,” TJ said bitterly.

  “Don’t you think that was just because he was upset about Jake? He seemed nice enough when he invited me to stay with them. Besides, I won’t be there that long. I haven’t had a flashback in a long time, and everyone has nightmares. That’s not enough to warrant a psych eval.”

  “Maybe not. Just be careful around that guy. He’s not one of us. You don’t know him well enough yet to trust him too much. I’m keeping my eye on him too.” They rode in silence for a bit until TJ brought up another issue.

  “Tiger, is there anything you need to tell me about what happened? If we’re able to take any of these assholes to court, would you have a problem with testifying against them? I know you haven’t had a chance to give your statement yet, and I don’t know what kind of questions Styles is likely to ask you, but you know how the team feels about you. If we get our hands on them, they’re never going to hurt you or anyone else again.”

  Tiger looked out the side window, rubbing absently at his chest and avoiding eye contact with TJ. “I probably don’t have much to add to what Jake said and you know I’m not afraid of those guys. Just because I got injured doesn’t mean I’m going to be intimidated by them in a courtroom. I’m no wimp.”

  “Tiger, you weren’t just ‘injured’. You make it sound like you were in an accident. You were tortured, whether you want to call it that or not. There’s going to be some residual trauma from that. I just want to be sure you’re not holding anything back that might cause problems.”

  They were both quiet the rest of the way to Remi’s.

  As they pulled into the driveway and parked, TJ finally spoke up. “Hey, I forgot to tell you that I picked up your stuff, including your favorite toy. It’s in the back.”

  Tiger blushed furiously. “What are you talking about? I don’t have any…” He snapped his mouth shut when TJ broke out in laughter.

  “I’m talking about Dragon Slayer. Is there something you want to tell me… Tiger-kun? It’s nothing to be ashamed of you know. Saving yourself for the right guy… or girl… is admirable, but we all need to release some stress now and then. Do we need to go back for any other toys?” TJ leered and waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

  Tiger glared at TJ. “Shut up. Just die already.”

  TJ got out of the truck, chuckling the whole time he unloaded Tiger’s gear. He slapped Tiger’s hand away when he started to pick up a bag and handed him the katana instead. “No heavy lifting for you Kittycat.” He grabbed the rest of Tiger’s gear and led off up the driveway.

  “I told you to stop calling me that!” Tiger yelled after him. He could hear laughter trailing back in TJ’s wake.

  Jake met them at the door and led them down the hall to the guest room Tiger would be staying in. They’d given him a room on the ground floor so he wouldn’t have to go up and down the stairs. TJ set his stuff down and offered to help him unpack but there were a few things Tiger had managed to sneak into his duffle when TJ wasn’t looking; he wasn’t going to try to explain their presence to TJ. He just said he’d unpack later. Besides, why unpack if he was going to have to pack it all up again in a few days?

  Looking out into the back yard as they headed back into the living room, he saw a very large pool. He’d actually had no idea whatsoever that there was really a pool at Remi’s when he’d been bragging about it to the team. Remi had never mentioned it. While Jake gave them a tour of the place, he could see that Remi never mentioned a lot of things, like the security system. Fortunately, everyone on the team was an expert at breaking in and out of places with hi-tech security.

  TJ and Tiger went out and sat on the patio while Jake made them all sandwiches for lunch. TJ helped him carry everything out and they sat around the pool eating, drinking iced tea and laughing at the stories TJ told about his days at the academy.

  Jake asked Tiger questions about his martial training and his katana, so Tiger sent Jake in to retrieve Dragon Slayer from his room. He wasn’t up to doing any fancy moves yet, but he removed the sword from its saya and showed it to Jake, explaining the basic parts and care of a katana, then stood and spun the blade around easily in one hand for a few minutes before sliding it silently back into the saya.

  “That was awesome!” Jake said. “I saw part of the fight with the gang. I couldn’t believe you could take those guys down so fast. I’ve never seen anyone move like that!”

  Tiger grew quiet then. “You’ll have to come watch the matches the next time we compete. That’s artistry. What you saw was a blood bath, but a necessary evil. Sword art came from a need to defend but grew into a desire to take. Take riches, take land, take power.”

  “But,” his tone came out lighter “in the course of learning to use the katana, we learn many other things… to defend the helpless, to be fearless, to care for our body and mind, to be honorable.” He could still hear the words in his head, imparted by his sensei.

  “Well said, Tigger!” TJ exclaimed, clapping his hands on his thighs and jumping up from his chair to fetch more drinks.

  “T-T-Tigger?! What the hell? Where did that come from?” Tiger sputtered.

  “Well you told me not to call you Kittycat anymore,” TJ quipped. “Have you never heard the story of the bear who loved honey and his friend Tigger, the stuffed toy tiger? We’ll have to do story time one night.”

  “No, no, no, no, no! You do not get to call me Tigger! I forbid it!” Then it dawned on him. “That was my dream! You read that stupid story to me while I was in stasis, didn’t you?!”

  “I think Tigger’s kinda cute!” Jake encouraged.

  “See there? We have a tie-breaker vote, two to one. Tigger it is,” TJ declared.

  Changing the subject back to swords, Jake asked, “Why do you call your sword a ‘him’ and why Dragon Slayer?”

  Tiger continued to glare at TJ, who just smiled and waggled his fingers at him as he left to get their drinks, then he turned back to Jake explaining “Many swordsmen believe that when a new sword is forged, the spirit of a dead
samurai possesses the sword to guide the warrior who wields it.”

  “Since, to my knowledge, there have been no female samurai, it stands to reason that Dragon Slayer is possessed by a male spirit. Simple logic” he said smugly, glaring at TJ once more as he returned with more iced tea.

  “And the name?” Jake prompted.

  “Well, it’s kind of supposed to be a secret, but if I don’t tell you the name of the planet maybe it’ll be okay. The metal Doragonsureiyā is forged from is very rare and comes from only one known planet. It’s identity and location are kept secret so that the planet won’t be overrun by thieves wanting to get their hands on the metal, because it’s used to create blades that are essentially immortal. These blades were created to kill dragons. Hence the name Dragon Slayer. Again, simple logic.” Tiger declared.

  TJ and Jake just sat there, stunned. For once TJ was speechless.

  “Wait a minute, you’re pulling my leg, right?” TJ asked. “There’s no such things as dragons!”

  “Well, if I could tell you how to get to the planet, I’d say see for yourself, but then I’d have the assassins’ guild to answer to,” Tiger replied.

  “Hey, guys!” The patio door slid open. They were so engrossed in Tiger’s story that none of them had heard Remi pull into the driveway. He stood there, smiling at Tiger. “Tiger, you made it! Kirk, since you’re still here, why don’t you join us for dinner?”

  “Okay. Love to. Thanks.” Normally, TJ would say no to socializing with Remi but, so far, he’d only interacted with Remi regarding the investigation. He thought it might be a good idea to study him in a more personal, relaxed setting, especially given the way he was eyeing Tiger like he was prime rib.

  Remi had shopped for groceries on the way home so, while Jake brought in the rest of the groceries, TJ helped by starting up the grill, then took over grilling the meat and potatoes as Remi threw a salad together. Tiger supervised. Once the meal was ready, Remi turned on the pool lights and they headed out to the patio again.