Claws

by Ricky Sides

  “She’s not going to stop. The bitch is going to keep trying until she finds someone who’ll believe her, and they’ll start digging, and if they dig too much, they’ll uncover the truth,” he thought.

  Rusty got up and paced the floor in his office, thinking hard about what he should do. For five minutes, he paced the floor, his mind flashing through a dozen scenarios, but setting each aside as inadequate to his needs. Then the perfect solution occurred to him.

  ***

  Jerry was tired when he pulled into Patricia’s driveway. Along with his men, he had spent the day combing the wooded area that partially encircled Alcorn and then proceeded northwards. By the time they stopped, they had covered the entire area thoroughly. They had found plenty of evidence that the cats, or at least some of them, had been in the area for an extended period, but by all indications, they had moved on to another location.

  One of his men had speculated that the ravenous cats had eaten most of the small game available in the area and moved on to another more productive hunting ground. An avid deer hunter, he added that he thought they had even driven away a small herd of deer that sheltered in the woods.

  Jerry was about to get out of his car when he saw a dark figure carrying something in its hand come walking around from the back side of the house. Thinking that it was Patricia carrying a garbage bag to her trashcan, he switched on his headlights to help her see where she was going in the dark. His headlights illuminated a man who spun around and ran back around the house.

  Jerry got out of his car and ran around the side of the house. As he ran, he pulled a small but powerful flashlight from a pouch on his side. He switched on the light as he reached the back corner of the house. He was trying to locate the fleeing man with the light when he darted around the corner. Out of his peripheral vision, Jerry saw something coming at his head from the left, and then someone hit him in the side of the head.

  Jerry’s momentum carried him forward another few feet, but then he fell to the ground, dazed by the blow. He was trying to get up when someone kicked him hard in the ribs. He grabbed his attacker’s leg and yanked as hard as he could, pulling his assailant off balance.

  Jerry made it to his knees while his opponent was recovering his balance. The man kicked at him twice, but the special ops leader managed to block both kicks. On the second block, he grabbed the leg with one hand and launched a punch at his attacker’s groin. That blow partially connected and Jerry had the satisfaction of seeing the man go down. Then he was hit hard from behind.

  Jerry heard a man’s low-pitched voice say, “Let’s go before someone comes and sees us.” He thought he heard someone coming toward him and tried to get up, but he was hit in the side of the head again.

  Two shadowy figures stood over the downed special ops leader. One of them raised a booted foot with the intention of stomping his head, but the other man grabbed his arm and pulled him away. “It’s time to go before we get caught!” one of the men said insistently. Turning his head, he saw two dark forms running away to the north. He saw his flashlight on the ground a couple of feet away and reached over to retrieve it. That simple act caused him to feel nauseated. He waited motionlessly, knowing that if he remained still, the nausea would soon pass.

  It took a couple of minutes for Jerry to gather the strength to get to his feet. He staggered back around the house to his car, got in and retrieved his cell phone from the seat. Following standing operating procedure, he put in a call to his men, informing them of the encounter and cautioning them to watch their backs, and then he told them he had to go so he could check on Patricia. He turned down their offer to come to the residence to assist him, but said he would call if he needed them.

  Before he got out of his car, Jerry opened the glove box and removed his pistol and two spare magazines, which were loaded with nine-millimeter ammunition for the Smith and Wesson. He slid the pistol in his right jacket pocket and the magazines in the left.

  Jerry got out of his car and walked to the front door. The attack had taken a lot out of him, but he was feeling better by the minute.

  Patricia gasped when she opened the door. “What happened to you? No, never mind that. Come in out of the cold. I’ll get my first aid kit.”

  “Stop,” Jerry said quietly as Patricia turned to go get the kit. “I need you to trust me and do as I say without questions. I’ll explain in a few minutes.”

  “Alright,” she responded, but she sounded reluctant.

  “I need to check your house for a possible intruder. Sit down on the couch, and stay there so I’ll know where you are,” he ordered quietly so that his voice wouldn’t carry to the other rooms of the house.

  Patricia nodded her understanding and moved to sit down. Jerry pulled the pistol from his coat pocket and moved through the house room by room until he was satisfied that no one had gotten inside the home. He also checked the back door for any sign that someone had tried to break in, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

  When he had completed the search, he returned to the living room, pulled off his coat, and sat down heavily. He put the pistol on the coffee table within easy reach.

  “I’m sorry to be so dramatic, but I surprised two men when I arrived,” he explained, and then he told her what had happened.

  “So you thought they were burglars because one of them was carrying a bag?” she asked.

  “I didn’t know, but innocent men don’t run when light hits them in the dark,” he responded, and then he added. “I didn’t even know there were two of them until I was attacked by the second man.”

  “Well, I need to get that first aid kit. You have a nasty cut on the side of your face. I’ll be right back,” she said.

  Five minutes later, Patricia was cleaning the cut on Jerry’s face. It wasn’t a bad cut. In fact, it had already stopped bleeding. As she worked on the laceration, she said, “Thank you.”

  “For what?” Jerry asked.

  “For protecting me. I assume they were going to try to break into my house.”

  “We don’t know that for certain, but it is one plausible explanation,” Jerry responded.

  “Should we call the police?” Patricia asked.

  Jerry was under orders to reveal his presence in the city to local law enforcement only as a last resort. However, he wasn’t inclined to involve the police at this point, but he said, “That’s up to you.”

  “You were assaulted. I think we should report that,” she stated.

  “I can’t,” Jerry replied, and then he explained why that wasn’t an option for him.

  When she finished cleaning the cut, Jerry thanked her. He stood up and slipped on his coat. “Are you leaving?” Patricia asked.

  “No. I’m going outside to examine your windows. I want to see if any attempt was made to gain entry. I already checked the back door, but I still need to check the windows.”

  “I’ll come with you,” she responded.

  Jerry sniffed the air. “Do you smell something burning?” he asked.

  “My roast!” Patricia exclaimed and headed for the kitchen.

  “I’ll check the windows. It won’t take long. You stay in the house. It’s in the mid-twenties outside.” Jerry stated.

  Patricia nodded and hurried to the kitchen. If the roast burned, her carefully planned dinner would be ruined. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that a bit of the juice from the roast had bubbled over the side of the pan, and the juice sizzling in the bottom of the oven had created the odor of burned food.

  She turned the heat down, and then grabbed a spoon to stir the green beans that she had left simmering on a back stove eye. Patricia was setting the table when Jerry knocked at her back door and asked her to open it.

  “No sign of any attempts to get into the house,” he said as he stepped inside the kitchen and closed the door. Then he sniffed the air. Grinning, he said, “Something sure smells good.”

  Smiling in appreciation, Patricia said, “You can have a seat in the living room
if you like. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. We’re just waiting for the rolls.”

  “If it’s alright with you, I’ll sit in here. That way I can enjoy your company while you’re working,” Jerry said with a grin.

  She kissed him lightly on the lips and responded, “There’s beer in the fridge. Grab one if you like.”

  Noting the wine bottle on the table, Jerry said, “Thanks, but I’ll wait for the wine with dinner.”

  He watched with interest as Patricia finished setting the table and stared appreciatively at the fine home cooked meal she had prepared. She had ignored his requests to keep it simple. “Roast, green beans, macaroni and cheese, creamed potatoes, sweet peas, and gravy, and what looks like a cobbler. You went to a lot of trouble. Thank you, but I wish you hadn’t. I’ll feel like a jerk if I get called and have to leave,” he stated.

  “It’s peach cobbler,” she responded with a smile, happy that he noticed and appreciated her efforts. She added, “A woman likes to make a good impression with the first meal she feeds a man.”

  “You’ve certainly accomplished that,” he said as he hungrily eyed the food. He’d deliberately eaten little all day, wanting to ensure that he had an adequate appetite when they ate, lest she think he wasn’t eating much because he didn’t like her cooking.

  “Do you like your rolls buttered?” she asked.

  “Yes, please,” he responded. He watched as she deftly buttered several of the steaming hot rolls.

  They enjoyed a quiet dinner, neither speaking much as they ate. Both were afraid that Jerry would be called away before he finished the meal.

  He was just about to try Patricia’s peach cobbler when his phone rang. “Hello,” he said, sounding irritated. He had been sure that something would come up to spoil the evening. He paused for several moments, and then he responded, “Yes, I am.” He listened again. Apparently, this time the person he was speaking to was shouting, because Patricia could hear a loud voice emanating from the cell phone. She could tell that Jerry was getting angry. His facial expression readily betrayed his emotions. He said, “That’s none of your damned business. What I do on my time doesn’t concern you.” Then he said, “You’re right, we do. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

  When he hung up the phone, Patricia asked, “Do you have to leave?”

  “I’m afraid so,” Jerry responded. He hesitated for a moment, and then he added, “That was Talbot. Someone reported that I was here and he doesn’t like it.” Shrugging, he added, “This happens sometimes when we’re on assignments like this. The company executives begin to think that we’re their employees.” Grinning, he added, “I sometimes have to remind them who we really work for, and that settles them down.”

  “Well, before you go, I need to tell you about my trip to the Sheriff’s department today,” Patricia stated.

  “You’ve been to see the Sheriff?”

  “Yes, though I’ve only met with deputies. I went yesterday afternoon and talked to Deputy Cook. After what happened to him last night, the Sheriff wanted me to come in for a follow up interview with another deputy. That, and to watch a video of the attack to see if I could identify the two cats involved. As I told the deputy, they were the white tom and a grey queen from the Alcorn test,” she explained.

  “I told the deputy that only the test animals received the tainted food, and that there was no danger from the general pet population.”

  “Did you mention my team or the government’s involvement in the food trials during any of these contacts?” he asked.

  “No. You trusted me with your secret. I’d never voluntarily divulge any information you entrusted to me. But you should know that if they directly ask me questions about you and your team, I’ll have to tell them the truth. I won’t lie to law enforcement for you. If I did that and an officer was subsequently injured, I’d blame myself.”

  “That’s fair enough. I wouldn’t expect you to lie to them for us. All we’re doing is trying to clean up the mess before innocent people are injured. We’re better qualified to do that than the local law enforcement officials are. These animals are extremely dangerous.”

  “I know. I wanted to help locate them, so I got the deputy to show me where the Miller boy was killed on a map,” Patricia explained. She went on to detail the events that had led her to believe that at least some of the cats were in an isolated wooded section, bordered by farm fields.

  “Could you print out a map, or directions to the location?” Jerry asked.

  “Actually I have a folder with satellite images printed out. I thought you might want to investigate the area. The ATVs used by the search team would have been moving too fast for the men to spot the animals, and they would have hid when they heard that noise. I’ll get the folder. It’s in the living room.”

  “I hate to eat and run, but I’ve got to go straighten Talbot out on a few matters.”

  “I’ll get the folder while you’re putting on your coat,” she stated.

  Before he left, Jerry gave Patricia his cell phone number and told her to call him if she heard any suspicious activity outside her home. He gave her a lingering kiss, and said, “Thank you for patching me up, and for the wonderful dinner. I really enjoyed the meal.”

  “You can come back when you’re finished with your meeting, if you like,” she suggested.

  “I wish I could, but we’ll need to get an early start in the search tomorrow morning, so I’d better not,” he said, and then kissed her again. “I’ll see you at some point tomorrow. I wish I could give you a specific time, but that depends on what we find.”

  “I understand. You and your men be careful out there tomorrow,” she cautioned.

  “We will,” Jerry said as he turned and stepped down off her porch.

  Chapter 9

  During the short drive to Alcorn, Jerry phoned his second in command and told the sergeant where he was going and why he was meeting with Talbot. He also told him he had a lead that he wanted the team to follow up the next morning and advised him to turn in early, because they would be leaving early to check another location.

  The sergeant advised Jerry that they were patrolling the city in the hopes of spotting some of the cats, but that they would call it a night in another hour.

  “You’re late, Wilson,” Talbot said belligerently.

  “I was unavoidably detained,” Jerry responded with a shrug.

  “Yeah? Well while you’re banging your little slut, you really should…”

  Jerry didn’t wait to hear the rest of Talbot’s sentence. He reached across the desk, grabbed the front of the man’s shirt, and pulled Talbot’s body roughly against the desk. He said, “When you’re referring to Patricia, you’d be wise to keep a civil tongue in your mouth. I won’t have you insulting her.”

  He released Talbot, who had been shocked to find himself being manhandled by a man who could easily beat him to a pulp if he took the notion to do so. He said, “Alright, maybe I had it all wrong. I thought you were just after a one-night stand.”

  “Yeah. You had it all wrong. Did you send men to her house tonight?”

  “No. Why would I send men to her house?” Talbot asked, affecting an air of innocence.

  “When I got to her house tonight, I saw a man acting suspiciously,” Jerry replied. “He ran away when my headlights hit him. I followed and saw two men running away.”

  Jerry didn’t mention the fight. He watched Talbot closely in an effort to determine if the man was connected to the presence of the men, but if he had been, he hid it well. “Just so you know, if there’s a home invasion at her house, I’ll be back to talk to you about the matter.”

  “Why the hell would I send men to her house? Your men already cleaned out the evidence there. Look, Lieutenant, that woman went to see the sheriff today. She’s going to keep running her mouth until she exposes the truth about our operation with those cats.”

  Jerry shook his head and said, “She knows about the government test, and she didn’t menti
on it to the authorities, nor will she in the future.”

  “You told her about the defense department trial run?” asked Talbot incredulously.

  “You left me no choice. After you instructed my men to invade her home, she took actions that could have exposed the secret. I had to take steps to prevent exposure. She needed to know the truth. It was my opinion that if she knew the truth, she’d do the right thing and stop her attempts expose the Alcorn feed as a national threat. Now she understands that it’s just a local problem, and that my team is working to neutralize the threat.”

  “Then, why is she working with the Sheriff’s office?” Talbot asked skeptically.

  “A deputy and a farmer were both attacked by the cats last night, and a man named Johnny Miller may have been killed by the cats. She told the deputy who questioned her that only the test specimens were a threat and that the food released to the public is safe. She’s just trying to help them identify and locate the cats before they kill again,” Jerry explained.

  “How was I supposed to know all that?” Talbot asked.

  “It’s time you leave the security matters to me. It’s my job to see to it that this secret isn’t exposed.”

  “Yet, you have an emotional involvement with the woman who’s the biggest threat. I have no choice but to report this to your superiors,” Talbot said with a look of smug satisfaction on his face.

  “Make the call now. I’ll wait,” Jerry said with a smug grin of his own.

  “You think I won’t? I’m not intimidated by you,” Talbot said hotly.

  Jerry shrugged and said, “I’m not trying to intimidate you. Do you really think I’d reveal the truth to her without authorization? My superiors gave me their approval. So you go right ahead and make that call.”

  “You’re bluffing,” Talbot said.

  “Then call me on it. Go ahead, Talbot. Make the damned call,” Jerry said angrily. He was tired of arguing with the company executive, and more than ready to see him call his superiors, who would just confirm that he had permission to disclose the secret to a citizen who was threatening to blow the lid off the project. He hadn’t told Talbot, but his superiors had granted that permission, based on his opinion that the woman was trustworthy and only doing what she thought was necessary to protect the people of America from what she perceived to be a very real threat.