by M. A. Owens
The cats that entered the city were probably drawn to crime because that’s the work they were offered, and their parents were all warriors. Fighting and violence came easy to them, and every big shot is always looking for someone to do the dirty work and take the fall. Turns out the fact they were warriors by nature kept all of us alive all this time. Without their willingness to fight, and tenacity, the dogs of the city would have been decimated by this outside threat a long time ago. Cats like Saint are just a symptom of the problem. An evolution of the city cat with a strong taste for vengeance and plenty of crazy fanaticism to fuel it for as long as necessary to see it done. Justified or not, he was every bit as dangerous to the future of the city from the inside as these machines were from the outside. Maybe not as immediate, but every bit as terrible. The last thing I wanted to see was the city surviving this upcoming threat, only to devolve into some bloody battle between cats and dogs that would kill all of us anyway. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. I needed to get back to the city, and fast…
“Trigger. Hey, you! Trigger!”
A loud voice finally shook me from my stupor. It was the old calico I’d met before. The camp chef, Lilac. She was frantically waving me over.
“Good morning, Lilac. What’s on the menu?” I asked, as I took in the overwhelming aroma of the two giant pots in front of her.
“Two choices. Chicken breakfast and beef breakfast.”
“Wow, you have a lot of chicken and beef here, but I don’t see any chickens or cows,” I said.
“Would you know them if you saw them?” she asked with a smirk.
“Well… maybe not, but I’d notice a bunch of farm animals around I think.”
She laughed and nodded. “True! Well, there are two answers to your question. One is that our agriculture village, which you probably already know about, is located between this camp and Arc City. Obviously, we have to keep it safe if possible. The second is that we can make a little go a long way. Even though we’re carnivores, we refine a lot of our protein from plants, formulate flavoring, and mix some real beef and chicken into it for good measure.”
I stared blankly into the enormous vat of what I now realized was mostly artificial chicken. “You don’t say? Does that… uh… taste like…” I struggled in vain to think of a polite way to ask.
“Like something we scraped out of a toilet?”
I laughed nervously. “Well, I wasn’t thinking anything that extreme. Guess I was just wondering how close it tasted to the real thing.”
“Well, what are you asking me for? It’s right in front of you.”
Yeah, that was true. This whole place had me on edge. I should’ve just tasted it and kept my mouth shut. Obviously it wasn’t killing any of them, and the cats sitting around eating it seemed to like it well enough.
“Chicken, please. If it tastes as good as it smells it might be better than the real thing.”
“Now we’re talking,” she said, dumping a giant ladle full into a bowl and dropping a spoon in before passing it over to me. “Bet you’re hungry. I didn’t see you at dinner yesterday, and Joy’s been feeding you through a tube for the last couple of months. As a matter of fact, maybe you should—”
By the time she made it that far into the sentence, I had already eaten most of the bowl. It was delicious. Unfortunately, it came up about as quick as it went down. I ducked out of the way as best I could, finding a bush a few feet away from us to empty my stomach into.
Lilac laughed. At least someone found it funny. “I was about to say that you should eat that slowly, but with your skepticism of how it tasted I thought you’d go at it a little more cautiously.”
I wiped my mouth and took a moment to catch my breath. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I took a bite. Sorry for making a scene. Maybe I’ll just have water for breakfast and try again for lunch.”
“Not looking much like a hero,” I heard someone say as they approached from behind me. It was Arn. “Are you alright?”
“Thanks for asking, but yeah, I’m alright. Just got carried away.”
Arn clenched his fist. “I’m not asking because I’m concerned for you. I’m asking because word has circulated that you’ll be joining Nightshade on a very important mission. Some of our warriors think dogs are all stoic, able warriors because of Lady, and were expecting something different when they saw you. Most of us are confused why the commander has brought a city barbarian into such an important mission. Despite my own beliefs, I’ve done my best to reassure the others that you’re actually useful, but a sight like this makes it difficult. If you can’t even control how fast you eat, how am I to believe you’ll be any more useful than any other drooling, brain-addled dog when it actually matters?”
“Well, Arn… maybe your expectations are just a little too high. To tell you the truth, I’m probably about as confused about why Kerdy wants me along as you are. But I’ve worked with her, and I trust her judgement. Besides, with everything at stake, do I really have a choice? Die here trying to help or die in the city if this ends badly. If you’re going to die either way, you may as well bet big. As much as I want to sympathize with how you feel, it just doesn’t really make much difference. I’m going to be here either way, so you should probably just get used to it.”
Arn furrowed his brow, looking between Lilac and myself, as if Lilac was about to add something, but she didn’t. She did look amused, however.
“I came over here to have you exercise with me, but you clearly aren’t up to it. I had something else I wanted to do anyway, so this is fine by me. Excuse me.” Arn snapped around, and started walking away, but I called after him.
“Hey, hold up. Maybe I can tag along with you. Get a better idea of the layout of this place.”
“Unless you’d like to visit the holding area where Lady and Saul are, I suggest you find a shady tree to lie down under for a nap.”
He turned back around again.
“As a matter of fact, I would like to visit them with you,” I said.
He looked back at me again, simply nodding for me to follow him.
I handed the bowl back to Lilac on my way past her, and she grasped my arm and leaned in toward my ear, whispering.
“Arn is a new warrior with a heroic soul and a lot to prove. Give him time.”
I nodded to her and couldn’t help but smile. I could almost picture Kerdy saying the same thing inside my head the first time I met him. Back when I was a cop, I worked with a lot of rookies who behaved the same way. Unfortunately, the also had a knack for getting hurt or killed. I chased after him and soon caught up.
“What did Lilac say to you?” he asked.
“Just told me to try the beef next time.”
“Odd thing to whisper to someone, but alright.”
“Which one are you going to see? Lady, or Saul?” I asked.
“Why does that concern you, dog?” he snapped, glaring at me from the corner of his eye.
“Yeah, you’re going to see Saul.”
He stopped and turned to face me. “Who told you that?”
“Nobody told me anything. Just that you don’t seem to think highly of dogs and I’m guessing Lady’s no exception to that.”
His face softened as he absorbed the underwhelming obviousness of my insight. “Lady has caused us nothing but trouble, but she is at least a formidable warrior. You are not the same as her. She’s at least earned that much respect.” He turned and continued walking, as I followed along.
“So, you dislike one of us more than the other, even though you dislike us both. Got it. Not great as far as differences go, but it counts I guess.”
“You know, if our enemies were creatures with emotions, I’d say Kerdy asked you along to annoy them to death.”
I grinned. “That’s clever. Good one. I’ll take that as a compliment, though, given my line of work.”
“Ah, that’s right. You’re a private detective. You solve mysteries, or something like that. Sounds like an in
teresting hobby for dogs with nothing important to worry about.”
I wouldn’t touch that. Arn was going to think what Arn was going to think, and I couldn’t change it. At least not with words.
We continued walking quietly for another minute until we reached a tent near the center of the camp. After stepping inside, I was met with yet another surprise.
Saul and Lady sat on mats laid across the floor, dressed in plain clothing, but not bound or shackled in any way I could see. They just sat quietly, looking straight ahead.
Lady must have noticed my jaw nearly dropping to the floor.
“This place doesn’t have much in common with Arc City Prison, does it?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Let me guess. Some kind of technology barrier that fries you to ashes if you take one step off that rug.”
Lady tilted her head, but Saul burst out laughing.
“Are you serious? No… there’s nothing that will vaporize us if we step off these rugs. We could walk out any time we wanted.”
“I really want to ask why you’re not trying to kill me right now, but I’ll just ask the more obvious question: Why don’t you just walk out of here?”
“Respect for our customs, and for the commander,” Lady said, quietly. This is a place of reflection, more than punishment.
Saul’s lips held the smile. “Even though we tried to kill one another in Arc City, let me be one of the first to welcome you here. I like our chances better now that you’re helping against the machines.”
I thought my jaw nearly hit the floor in a hurry when we walked in, but it was nothing compared to Arn’s just now.
“What did you say? Really? You sure we’re talking about the same dog? This one standing here, right?”
Lady nodded. “You’ve never seen Trigger or his friends in action, much less as an adversary. You do understand he is the reason both of us failed, separately, in our goals? Understand he’s also why I could escape and return here? Like Saul, I take comfort in Trigger’s presence. As does the commander. As should you.”
Arn looked back and forth between the three of us, looking every bit as confused as I must have the moment I woke up here.
Then the strangest thing happened. Stranger than all the strange things that had happened so far.
Lady smiled.
7
Seeing a smile on Lady’s face was like seeing the sun come up in the middle of the night. Okay, maybe it was a little less shocking than that, but it certainly didn’t feel like it. The warmth of it bothered me. She’d nearly killed Rick and me in our fight for the Gobbler. Saul had nearly killed Harvey. I couldn’t forgive either of them for that, but in Lady’s case we attacked her first. One question kept going through my head over and over since we’d met in the prison, and I couldn’t make it go away.
“I appreciate that the two of you are willing to put our differences aside, since we have something much bigger to worry about at the moment, but I have a question for each of you. Lady… mind if I start with you?”
Her smile faded, and for a moment I felt guilty asking. “It’s alright. Go ahead.”
I clenched my teeth and took a step forward. “Why did you kill Constance? She was little more than a kitten. She wasn’t involved in anything important. Just delivering a letter. The more I’ve gotten to know you, the more it seems unlike you. I just don’t get it. You’re a warrior, right? Proud, and everyone respects your abilities as a warrior. Why would you kill someone innocent like Constance who didn’t threaten you in any way?”
Lady’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, I—”
“Do you think ‘sorry’ is going to cut it? Do you think ‘sorry’ will bring a young cat back from the dead? By the way, I would’ve never agreed to a stupid case that seemed like rich dogs and cats fighting over a trinket. I only joined because I wanted justice for that poor cat.”
Lady shook her head. “Trigger. You misunderstand. I’m saying sorry because I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I didn’t kill any cats in Arc City. There was that bandit friend of yours, Rico. He fought bravely, so I gave him the respect of a warrior, and didn’t hold back. If he died, he died an honorable death. Also, that dog when we escaped Arc City Prison, Marty, but that was to save your life unless you’ve forgotten.”
I was stunned, but only for a moment. Of course. Why hadn’t I seen something so obvious before? I really had lost my touch. I smiled, then laughed. Laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Couldn’t stop myself. All of them stared at me like I’d lost it, until finally I regained my composure.
“I’m such an idiot. Of course you didn’t kill her. I didn’t reevaluate my conclusions when new evidence was presented, like a rookie. Hans had agreed to work with you, then tried to eliminate you in Kerdy’s apartment, just like he’d tried to eliminate Kerdy even though she was only involved in a small way, as far as he knew. It was one of those ugly twins of his. Injuries would be consistent with the heavy staff one carries. In some ways I feel worse, but in some ways I feel better. I’m glad you’re not a coward who would kill an unarmed cat in the dark. Oh, and Rico survived. Everything we did was to draw you out, to catch Constance’s killer. He was helping me. He didn’t care about the statue either. Guess I’m the one who ought to apologize to you for sabotaging your statue mission.”
Lady frowned, looking down at the floor. “No, I’d sabotaged it long before you showed up. You’d have never gotten involved with Agatha if I hadn’t agreed to the Bad Kitty sham and helped her sell those valuables to fences in the Adria District. I had intended to carry out the insurance scam, then sell the statue, then steal it back again for Kerdy or double-cross during the exchange. By then I’d be sitting on a nice pile of cash and I could stay in the city, where I wouldn’t be seen as some kind of defective cat. That was my mistake, and I’ve repented for it. When the time is right, I will atone for it.”
Saul grinned. “Well, that’s heartwarming and all, but if you were about to ask me if I really tried to kill your friend Harvey, I’m going to have to disappoint you. Maybe you were hoping it was someone else, or that I’d apologize for it and cry like Lady, but—”
“Watch it,” Lady said quietly, eying him coldly. Saul did watch it. He immediately changed his tone.
“The truth is I was trying to wound him, though I knew killing him was a strong possibility and I was happy to take the risk. When all of this is over, I’m not atoning for anything. You and I will go back to being enemies.”
We locked eyes for a moment. I wanted him to know I’d be fine with that. I’d taken him down once. It felt impossible, but if I could do once, I could do it again. Everything’s easier the second time around.
He sighed. “That’s what I’d like to say anyway, but hearing what you just said about that cat, Constance. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t at least a little moved by the story. You’d go through all that, for some cat you didn’t even know?”
“I’d do it again, and there are plenty of other cats I’d put my life on the line for. They’re part of the reason I’m willing to risk it all out here too, despite being a fish out of water. There are good dogs and bad dogs, and there are good and bad cats. You haven’t slowed down enough to learn the difference.”
Saul sat quietly a moment, pondering what I’d just said to him. “Sorry, Trigger, but I’m afraid that’s just not enough. There has to be justice for the cats wronged. You wanted justice for Constance, right? Well, maybe we aren’t so much different. Maybe the difference is only how far we’re willing to go to get it. I’m willing to go as far as it takes, and you have your limits. Once this is over, we’re going to be enemies. There’s just no way around it.”
“Traitor!” Arn shouted. “You’d dare abandon your post again? To abandon your family still trying to survive, to avenge those who are already long dead. You are a fool, Saul!”
Arn reached to his side and drew his blade.
I jumped between them. “Hey! Alright, everyone just calm down. More important things to worry
about at the moment, remember? Saul isn’t armed, Arn. You’re better than this.”
Arn’s paw trembled as he gripped his blade. “I looked up to you, Uncle. I admired your passion for protecting our people. Save for Kerdy, no one took our sacred mission more seriously than you. It broke my heart when you abandoned us, when we needed you most. You were supposed to assist Nightshade’s team in the reclamation, and now we’ve fallen behind. If we fail to learn the secrets necessary to win this war, the blame will rest squarely on your shoulders, you coward. You claim to care so much for your people, but there has never been a traitor worse than you. Lady’s crime is similar, but at least she is willing to atone. You sit there and go on proudly about how you will do it again. Death is too good for you, but it will have to be good enough. I will see it done myself. Perhaps not today, but someday. You and I will settle this!”
Saul clapped his paws together and laughed. “My, you are certainly your mother’s son, Arn. Unlike her, you’re all fire and no heat.”
“You dare to taunt me while I hold my blade? You want your punishment now, then?”
“Without that blade, you’re little better than a freshly weaned kit, Arn, thinking he’s hot stuff after eating solid food for the first time. Put that blade down and show me if the wielder’s worthy of holding it.”
Arn, unsurprisingly, was too high-strung for his own good. I could’ve provoked him in my sleep. Anyone could.