Cougar's Roar

by Jim Mohr

  “Plus, I know how they think.”

  “Yes, well, that helps too.”

  “Carrie, what do you think of me?”

  She leans forward as she releases my hand and softly touches my cheek. My eyes close as her touch mesmerizes me. “I think that you’ve been through some very bad things in your life. Behind the courage, brashness, and bravado, lies a loving man who is honorable, sympathetic, and judges people on how they treat others. I wouldn’t want to be the person who hurts a woman or a child in front of you.”

  My eyes open, her blue eyes are right there waiting for me. “Thank you, Carrie. There is one thing about me that you missed.”

  “Which is?”

  “I am also a mountain lion.”

  She smiles. “Okay, I’ll scratch your belly so your leg kicks.”

  “Honey, dogs do that, not cats. Cats raise their asses in the air when you touch their backs.” We both laugh as the waiter arrives to take our orders.

  ***

  The Next Day, Friday

  “Graduating at the top of his class, and this year’s Summo Discipulo, Cougar Johnathan Reed.” I walk to the Dean of the BOT program and applause fills the room. Fake roars sound out from the back of the room. Colonel Remes hands me the diploma as the roars spread to fill the auditorium. I smile and nod my head at the jokers, humans, always making fun of my name. In the back, I see the Admiral clapping along with the applause. The room has not yet been called to attention for him. What do I do?

  “ASSEMBLY, ATTENTION!” I yell as the applause ceases instantly. Chairs slide on the floor, feet shuffle, as nearly eighty men and women stand at attention. Civilians remain seated.

  The Admiral smiles and gives me a reassuring nod. “There is nothing I enjoy more than a junior officer who has the balls to call an assembly to attention. Nicely done, Lieutenant! I expect good things from this class. As this war intensifies we will need everything that you men and women have. But for now, enjoy yourselves, live it up for an evening. Your hell starts Monday. Carry on!” he turns and leaves the auditorium.

  ***

  Residence 63A1: Home Of Colonel Kell Zahn; WI/IL Spc Ops Commanding Officer

  I have no way to thank Colonel Zahn enough for allowing my congratulatory party to take place in his residence. I see now why I want to get promoted. The pay is nice, but what’s better is the nearly 1500 ft.2 residence that Colonels have.

  A hand grabs my shoulder. It is Kal Slowiski, the Admirals assistant. He now wears the rank of a Sergeant First Class.

  “Congratulations on your promotion,” I say to the gruff man.

  “You too, sir, nice job kid.” He squeezes my shoulder. “You need to back off the workouts, you’re a damn muscle.”

  “Well, there are skulls to crack. We all can’t be as soft and squishy as you are.” I pat him in the stomach with the back of my hand.

  “Lieutenant, before you get all stupid this evening, there’s a trooper that you should consider for your team. I only know about her because our O3 has been aiding her legal team in Cairns. I checked on her file and she’s a full-fledged badass. Her name is Susan Androse. Sergeant First Class Susan Androse.”

  “Okay, legal team, what’s up?” I ask, curious about this information.

  “She’s currently incarcerated at Cairns base. Her platoon leader made advances on her, and she kicked the fuck out of him. When security subdued her, she fucked up three guards. Like I said, she’s a badass. She just needs some discipline.”

  “Thanks, Sergeant, sheesh, I appreciate the info.” I smile and chuckle.

  “Reed, one bit of advice; when you cook, your meal is only as good as the ingredients that you put into it. If you use all the bland ingredients your food will be bland. If you use some spicy ingredients, your food will turn into something better. Do you understand what I am saying?”

  “I think so. I should have a variety of personalities, abilities, on my team.”

  “Exactly.” He nods and leaves, heading toward the Admiral.

  I’ll consider his words, his wisdom. The Alliance has taught me to think a certain way, like a cookie-cutter. The Resistance taught me to think outside the box. Maybe, I need to take Slowiski’s advice. Maybe, I build this team like the Resistance would build it—thugs, criminals, despots. Or maybe, I just have a few to ‘season’ my team. I need thirty or so of the best. If I limit myself to only recruiting the top of every class what would I have? General Grant was graded low in his class; it was believed that Albert Einstein believed he had mental shortcomings. I need to keep an open mind about my team.

  “What are you thinking about Lieutenant?” Colonel Zahn says, waking me from my thoughts.

  “Sir, what rank do I need to be to recruit someone out of incarceration?”

  “It depends on the base, the offense they committed, and how willing you are to fight for them. Why?”

  “If it were for defending yourself from inappropriate advances from a junior officer, you fought the officer and Security, and you are in Cairns, Australia, what rank would I need to be?”

  “Probably a Major. If it were Atlanta, you’d have to be a Colonel at least.”

  “Thank you, sir, thank you for allowing this party in your residence.”

  “You are welcome, Lieutenant. I hope you still remember how to speak Russian.”

  “Yes, I do. Why sir?”

  “Because you will need it. If you are considering Androse, I would highly recommend her. You better start drinking in your off hours though, if she says yes, you will need to be buzzed.” He slaps my shoulder, smiles, and goes to refill his drink.

  Chapter 44

  Falcon—Devante Estate: The Buckhead District; Atlanta, Georgia

  I stare at the floor, head lowered, submitting to Lion. The summonings are becoming more frequent, more violent. If he hears my thoughts, he will kill me.

  “As King, I have made a decision on how the troublemakers are to be dealt with.” His voice echoes off the muraled walls. Paintings of the Serengeti cover three of the four walls; the two side walls on either side of the throne and the back wall (the wall we commoners enter through). Behind the white marble throne hangs a yellow curtain running the entire width of the room from floor to ceiling. “In five months, in January, I want as many Psychokinetics here as possible. We will not invite the Wolves. All others are required to be here! REQUIRED TO BE HERE!” His voice is a roar.

  “Yes, Lord,” we all reply in unison. All of Lion’s minions are present—the eleven remaining Pigeons, Osprey, Coyote, Hyena, Jaguar, myself, and some unattached Psychokinetics.

  “The troublemakers, Dove, Owl, Mountain Lion, and Cheetah, will require additional… prodding.” Hyena begins his cackling laughter. “Pigeons, you are responsible for notifying the others. Since Dove and Owl are together, in New Orleans, Osprey will notify them. Jaguar will notify Cheetah. Mountain Lion is the most powerful of the four. Falcon, you will take Hyena, you both will notify him that he is required to be here. Saturday, January 3, all will be here.”

  “Yes, Lord,” we answer. Great, I get to travel with that laughing fool. I pray that Mountain Lion keeps his temper in check, I have no intentions of saving Hyena from him.

  “At noon, Saturday, January 3 all Psychokinetics except for the Wolves must be here. They all must bend a knee in fear of my rule, and honor me!” He is in a fever pitch, I think he has gone insane.

  “Yes, Lord,” we minions reply in unison. Without the Wolves, who might stand up to this paranoid, drunk with power, fool?

  ***

  Cougar—The Next Day, Saturday

  “How does it feel to be a Second Lieutenant for a day?” Carrie asks me as Admiral Cummings removes my gold Second Lieutenant bars and places the silver First Lieutenant bars in their place. I smile at her as I try to keep my military bearing.

  “Good job, First Lieutenant
Reed, thank you again for saving my ass those months ago.”

  “You are welcome, sir.” I salute the man who has been more of a father to me in the past four months than anyone ever has. He returns my salute.

  Admiral Cummings turns to Carrie. “So, Sergeant Montclair, how did the other night turn out?”

  Carrie smiles and bats her eyes at me. “I nearly played it perfectly. Cougar thought it was perfect, it wasn’t. We had a lovely dinner though.”

  He turns to face me. “One thing to remember, don’t lose yourself in this war. It’s easy to do. You live it day in and day out, the monotony, the subterfuge. Remember what’s important.”

  “Yes sir, I will,” I answer.

  “So, when is the zoo trip?”

  “It’s tomorrow, sir,” Carrie interjects.

  “Why don’t you two take off tonight, go someplace. Beloit, Rockford, whatever.”

  “How about Chicago?” I ask. The room falls silent as the Admiral looks at me.

  “You understand what Chicago is like, right? The gang wars, the police drones?”

  “Yes, sir,” I answer as a wave of warmth rushes over me.

  “I have to ask, Reed, is this a Psychokinetic thing, or do you have a death wish?”

  “Sir, I would be armed, Carrie would be too. We’d be safe.”

  “Just because we have diplomatic immunity does not mean we go on field trips to gang zones to shoot up the damn place. If you go off base, you stay in Beloit, Rockford, Janesville, that area.”

  “Yes sir, we will,” Carrie replies.

  “So, what is it with you, Lieutenant?” The Admiral asks, ignoring Carrie’s answer.

  “I don’t know, sir, I just have to hunt.”

  “Hunt? You think killing people is hunting?”

  “Sir, I think killing bad people is hunting. I can’t help it, sir, that’s what I am. I’m an Alliance officer, but I am also a predator.”

  “Lieutenant, I’ve changed my mind. If you want to go off base tonight, you go talk to Doctor Ramos first. You know, the guy who drugged you.”

  “Yes, sir, I know him. I will, sir. Thank you.”

  “Don’t disappoint me, Lieutenant. If you disappoint me, I’ll bury your ass.”

  “I won’t disappoint you, sir.” I snap to attention and salute him again.

  ***

  Doctor Ezekiel Ramos is not the highest-ranking medical staffer on base. He is the most experienced dealing with Psychokinetics however. As soon as I was identified as being a mind reader, Doctor Ramos was assigned as my personal physician. I think maybe he was assigned while Cheetah was interrogating me.

  Having been in the Alliance for years, the doctor may now do the research he craves—exploring Psychokinetics. The second time I met the doctor, I saw Victor Popov’s book: Harnessing the Powers of the Mind, in his personal library. The book nurse Jen Andrev had been reading those many years ago.

  I enter Doctor Ramos’s waiting room; his nurse smiles politely at me. A young, cute human, no more than nineteen years old. “Hi,” she says nervously.

  “Hello,” I reply.

  The doctor’s door opens. “Lieutenant Reed, dad sent you down here, huh?”

  “Yes, sir,” I say and enter his office.

  “Grab a seat. Congratulations on the commission and the promotion.”

  “Thank you, sir.” I sit in the comfortable chair in front of his desk as he sits.

  “So, what’s going on?”

  “I desire to hunt. I requested a leave pass to go to Chicago. I guess the Admiral is concerned about me.”

  “Cougar, let me give you some advice. Humans don’t understand the nuances of the Psychokinetics’ mind. How your personalities are so attached to your animal, things like that. You are Mountain Lion, yes?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You aren’t Tabby cat, or Beagle, or Finch. You are a fucking mountain lion. You are going to be itching to fight. Sometimes, you’ll push people to fight when a fight isn’t needed.”

  “It makes sense, sir.” I remember the fight with Cheetah, how I provoked her.

  “Don’t tell humans that you want to kill people, okay?” I nod, understanding his words.

  I must hide my desires from the humans. “How do I address the yearning that I have? Doctor, how do I satisfy my drive to fight, to be in combat?”

  “Cougar, you are in a war. If you can’t find a fight here, I have no advice to give you.” He jots notes on a pad as he shakes his head. “God help us if you continue to get promoted. Get lost, Lieutenant.”

  “Yes, sir.” I stand, salute the man and I turn to leave.

  “One more thing, don’t go into Chicago by yourself. That city is a bloodbath.”

  “Exactly, sir, Exactly,” I reply.

  Chapter 45

  Dove—Gentilly Terrace, New Orleans, Louisiana

  Owl and I approach her family’s small, middle-class home. Owl warned me that her mother is a Timere. Her powers awakened the same time as Owl’s had. Both mother and daughter had received transfusions after a horrible car accident. The blood had been tainted by the hormone, Owl said.

  “My maman is home, do you sense her yet?” Owl asks as we walk up the sidewalk to the small front porch.

  “Yes, I had never sensed a Timere before. They seem dirty.”

  “We feel the same way to them, I suppose Dearie.” The front door opens and a small, frail looking, middle-aged woman stands in the doorway. She leans heavily on a cane; the result of the car accident. The force of the impact had caved in her left side. “Jeni dear, I sensed you and your friend. Colombe’ is it, Dove?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I reply, not certain what to expect.

  “Well mother,” Owl holds her left hand up, “you were correct. Psychokinetics are just as nasty as humans are, or Timere, I suppose.”

  “Honey, come inside, let me tend to you, dear.” The woman hobbles forward clumsily. The surgeries to repair this woman’s hip had cost more than anyone below upper-middle-class can afford. She is resigned to living her remaining years at the handle of a cane. The porch creaks at our passing as we enter the home.

  The Constance family home has a warm feeling inside. The smell of ham and beans, cornbread, and something laced with cinnamon, fills the air. The windows are cracked open, allowing the late summer breeze to blow through the house. Mister Constance, Jeni’s father, was killed in the accident that forever changed this family.

  “Mom, we need help. I need advice,” Owl asks as she takes a cookie from a covered dish and gently tosses one to me.

  “You, dear? What advice can I give you?”

  “The Psychokinetics, the Timere. We are trying to have a civilized conversation with a Psychokinetic. He is obsessed with the Timere, especially Funnel Web and Taipan.”

  Mrs. Constance drops her cane as she stumbles backward, her face goes pale with terror. She grasps at the counter behind her. “Taipan! Jeni my dear, stay away from anyone who wishes to rile the snakes. Leave them be. Lord help us.”

  Owl slowly retrieves the fallen cane and returns it to her mother. “Maman, please. I can sense him, Taipan. He’s in Moscow. We aren’t after him, this Psychokinetic, Cougar, is after him. We need to get through to Cougar to leave Taipan be, he is a stubborn one. How can we get through to him?”

  Mrs. Constance looks at me. I can feel her Timere powers, they are not strong. I doubt she is even attached. “Leave the cat be. Death will come on anyone who crosses the snake. Death will prey on anyone who aligns themselves with the enemies of Taipan.”

  ***

  We have relinquished any hopes of advice, or wisdom, from Owl’s mother. Instead, Owl and I decide to take a short day trip to New Orleans.

  Several times during our excursion we can sense a pair of moderately powerful Timere. They never remain within our range of se
nse, as if they are testing our powers. Owl asks me half a dozen times if I can sense them. Out of all those times, I sense one, or the other, only three times.

  With evening approaching we return to the Constance family home. Its comfort and coziness are much better than sleeping on economy transports. The sounds and smells of New Orleans are so different than the upper-middle-class existence of San Francisco. I miss home and New Orleans doesn’t scratch that itch.

  ***

  Cougar—The Next Day, Sunday

  Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  For the past six months, officials at the Milwaukee County zoo have been working on a problem involving a pair of mountain lions named Smokey and Kiara. The pair has displayed advanced stages of something called zoochosis. The cats have increased certain repetitive behaviors—pacing in circles, oversleeping, acting frustrated, rocking, and have recently begun self-mutilation. The lead vet at the zoo was wanting to begin Haldol injections. Haldol is the drug that Doc Ramos used on me. Other vets have sought different solutions, this somehow involved the Alliance.

  Through the Admiral, word reached Wisconsin Illinois base (I think my file from Prague pointed toward me) that I should be sent to evaluate the cougars. Carrie explained that based on my past with the Puma Concolor, that I would bring an interesting element into this civilian created tragedy. How, and why, we are now involved seems to be a PR issue that the politicians want to take advantage of.

  “We are so glad that you’ve come to see our Smokey and Kiara, Mister and Mrs. Reed.” The overweight, Safari uniform wearing vet gushes. We hurriedly enter the exhibits medical room.

  Before I can correct the man that Carrie and I are not married, Carrie jumps into the conversation. “We are so glad to help, sir. Aren’t we, honey?” She gently jabs me in the ribs.

  “Yes, absolutely, dear.” She smiles at me in that playful way of hers, she loves this so.

  The security door opens revealing the surgery room and adjoining hallways into several exhibits. The recent renovations of the zoo have given the staff easier access to the animals, while not interfering with the visitor’s enjoyment.