Tiger

by Kate LaMontagne

  Tiger muttered so softly that Jake had to lean down near Tiger’s face to hear him. “Hey. Jake. My pack and rifle… hidden behind the dumpster… at the front of the alley. Make sure… bring them… don’t forget… ‘Dragon Slayer’ and … saya.”

  “Huh? Who’re Dragon Slayer and Saya?”

  “My katana… the sword… and… his sheath. He’ll need that. Wipe… wipe the blade… carefully… and… and put it in… saya… so… so you don’t cut… yourself. And… and… tell them to call…… call…….” his voice faded away and his body went lax.

  “Oh… okay. Tiger? Tiger!”

  By the time the MP’s and EMT’s arrived, Tiger still had not regained consciousness. At first, they thought Jake was injured too due to all the blood on his clothes. They kept trying to get him to lay down on the gurney, but he finally convinced them he was alright. He wanted to stay with Tiger, and he was so distraught that they agreed, but said he’d have to ride with the MP’s.

  When they got to the hospital, Jake had to stay in the waiting room and the MP’s told him they’d take care of Tiger’s stuff, since no weapons were allowed in the hospital. His brother, his legal guardian now, had already been notified and was en route to the hospital.

  After about thirty minutes a handsome, dark-haired doctor came out to talk to him but just then the ER doors slammed open and his older brother came charging in. When he saw Jake and saw all the blood on his clothes, all the color drained out of his face and his legs nearly buckled.

  “Oh my god Jake! They said you were okay! What is all this? Are you hurt?” He waved his fingers around, indicating the blood covering Jake’s body then grabbed Jake’s shoulders and gave them a gentle squeeze.

  “I’m okay Remi. It’s not my blood. Tiger saved me from being attacked by a gang, but he was caught, and they beat him really bad.” He started to cry again. “He got hurt because of me. I want to stay with him for now.”

  Remi’s eyes narrowed. “Who’s Tiger and where were you when all this happened?”

  “Um… near Sandy’s condo. They jumped me and dragged me into the alley and started slapping me around. I was already on my way home when they grabbed me. They said they were going to cut me up and send the pieces back to you, then Tiger just dropped out of the sky and yelled at me to run, so I did,” he said tearfully.

  “I got away and called the MP’s and then snuck back to the alley so I could keep an eye on them and wait for the MP’s. After they ran away, I cut Tiger down and held him till the ambulance got there. That’s how I got the blood all over me.”

  “Cut him down?”

  “Yeah. They… they tied him to a chain link fence and... and...”

  “And this Tiger is…?”

  “I don’t know. He’s just a guy who was passing by and jumped in to save me… literally.”

  As Jake continued to relate the events, Remi started feeling more and more like he was going to throw up or pass out. His little brother was the only family he had left, and he’d go crazy if he lost Jake. He sat down heavily in the closest chair, dragging Jake with him. Pushing the hair back out of Jake’s face, he eyed the split lip and the darkening bruise on his cheek.

  The doctor interrupted at that point. “Hello Jake. Captain Styles” he acknowledged Remi. “Jake, I’m Doctor Maximillian Stafford, lead trauma surgeon at CGH.”

  Stafford was a handsome thirty-three-year old human from Old Earth, with medium length curly black hair, piercing aquamarine eyes, an athletic build and openly bisexual. He was the darling of the hospital staff, male and female. Remi had hit on him once at a bar when they first moved to Aurora, but Stafford already had a secret lover who did not work at the hospital.

  “So, other than the name Tiger, what else can you tell us about this man? Does he have any family we can contact? Where is he from?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before. I just know his name because he told me right before he crashed. Oh, and his sword is named Dragon Slayer. Can I see him now?”

  “Sword?” Remi repeated, his head starting to throb.

  Stafford nudged Jake towards a chair. “Okay, Jake. Why don’t you sit down for a few minutes while we talk?”

  “Look, we’re evaluating him right now and giving him blood. They’ll inject him with nano-bots to repair the tissue damage and run some more tests, then he’ll need to spend some time in a retro solution to help regrow the surface tissue and prevent scarring and infection. Once that’s done, we’ll get him into a room and let you know when you can see him. It’s going to take a while. Let’s get you cleaned up and find you some scrubs to change into.”

  “You can wait here Captain,” Stafford said, glancing towards a bewildered Remi. “Try to relax. I’ll bring him right back.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Remi was stunned by the outrageous turn of events. He ran his fingers through his hair and went over to the coffee machine, staring at the selection like he wasn’t really focusing on it. Jake looked back at his brother, frowning as he and the doctor exited the waiting room.

  Once they were in the hallway, Jake touched the doctor’s arm and he paused.

  “Yes? What’s wrong Jake?”

  Jake whispered, looking around the hallway conspiratorially “Um… I promised Tiger I wouldn’t tell anyone, but I know about STD’s and I wouldn’t want him to get anything. You need to test him, so he doesn’t get sick or… nothin’.”

  Stafford’s eyebrows shot up. “Was he raped Jake?”

  “Um… ah… y-yeah.” He blushed and couldn’t make eye contact with the doctor.

  “It’s okay Jake.” Stafford squeezed Jake’s shoulder. “Doctors aren’t allowed to tell others about their patient’s medical history. I’m glad you told me though so we can make sure Tiger doesn’t get sick.”

  “M’kay. Thanks doc.”

  “Come on. You can clean up in the staff locker room. It’s this way.” He led Jake down the hallway.

  Chapter 4

  Captain Remington Styles, commander of the United Corvan Air Force Security Section at NAS Persephone, temporarily based at Fort Yamano to upgrade their security systems and assist in training Yamano’s personnel, sat in the waiting room of Corvan General Hospital, waiting for his brother Jake to return.

  Remi and his brother were currently living in a leased home in Aurora. It was a nice home in a nice neighborhood, but Jake had friends living in the red-light district that he would sometimes sneak away to visit. Remi had repeatedly warned Jake to stay out of that part of town, but Jake was fourteen now and going through his teenage ‘quiet rebellion’ period. He was a sweet kid and never argued with Remi, he simply ignored him.

  Remi had been pushing local authorities to crack down on the gang situation in Aurora and he was making some headway with the city council, but it was like pulling teeth to get some of the members motivated. Maybe this incident would finally help convince them that they needed to get with the program.

  Crap! The fact that the gang said they were going to send pieces of Jake back to him meant that they knew who he was and had targeted Jake because of his involvement with the council. He sighed. He’d need to put a security detail on Jake from now on and make sure Jake stayed the hell away from the RLD. Maybe he should have a tracker imbedded in Jake! He shook his head.

  Frowning, Remi pulled his Cortex out and stabbed at a button, grinding his teeth.

  As the man on the other end of the call picked up, he said “Yeah. Hanson, I want you to get me everything you can find on a guy named Tiger asap.”

  “I don’t know his last name but how many guys can there be out there named Tiger? He’s in Aurora General right now and he doesn’t have any id on him. He was involved in an assault on my kid brother tonight. No, he wasn’t an attacker. He was injured defending my brother.”

  “I don’t know. He’s unconscious right now and they’re still working on him. I’ll get you a description and photo for facial recognition once they let me in to see him. I’m staying here unti
l I can get some answers out of him. Just see what you can do. Check with the MP’s who brought Jake to the hospital, they may have more information. Jake says he doesn’t know anything more than his first name. Check with the merc groups too. He may be one of theirs.”

  “He must be in pretty bad shape; Jake was covered in his blood. The doctor’s helping Jake get cleaned up right now.”

  “Yeah, he’s pretty shaken up and has a split lip but he’s okay. Once he’s calmed down, I’ll see if he remembers anything else. Oh, Jake said something about him having a sword called Dragon Slayer. I don’t know why anyone would name their sword! Who the hell cares? Why the hell would anyone carry a sword in this day and age anyway!? Maybe he’s a fruitcake! Why do you think I asked you to check him out!?”

  “Yeah, call me as soon as you find anything at all. Thanks Hans.”

  Remi disconnected and shoved the Cortex back in his pocket. He took a sip of his now lukewarm coffee and grimaced, setting it back down. Twenty minutes later Jake came back freshly showered and wearing scrubs with kittens on them. He sat down on the sofa near Remi and kept his eyes on the floor. He knew he was in it deep this time.

  Remi sighed and put his arm around Jake’s shoulders, pulling him into his side. “We need to talk Jacob” he murmured.

  Crap! It was never a good thing when his brother called him Jacob. Jake peeked over at Remi, relieved to see a faint smile on his face. Remi looked like he’d been put through the wringer, but he leaned over and kissed Jake lightly on the forehead then pressed his forehead against Jake’s.

  “You scared me out of about ten years of my lifetime you know. Don’t ever do that again. My heart can’t take it. What would I do without you? You’re all I have left.” Tears gathered in the corners of his topaz-blue eyes and he ran a trembling hand through his unruly blond locks as he sat back. He tried to blink them away but one escaped and ran down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly and drew in a shaky breath.

  Jake was gutted. “Sorry Rem” Jake croaked and threw his arms around Remi’s neck.

  Remi patted him on the back and prompted Jake, “I need you to tell me again, in detail this time, everything that happened from the time you left Sandy’s house to the time you got here. Don’t leave anything out. I want to know what happened, what was said, who was there, any names you heard them use. Got it?”

  Jake went through it all again. This time he brought up the sword using the term katana, giving Remi a brief description of Tiger but describing the fight in great detail. Remi was amazed that the katana was capable of cutting through metal firearms. He knew that swords could shatter swords, but he’d never seen a blade capable of slicing through a steel handgun.

  It was hardly surprising that Tiger was able to inflict the damage he did, although the body count was a shock. For one man to take down twelve men single-handed with only one blade was beyond impressive. He really wanted to check out this blade, and he wanted to meet the man.

  Remi paled when Jake described the injuries inflicted on Tiger. Now he understood why Jake’s clothes were literally soaked in blood. The only thing Jake left out was the rape. As far as he was concerned, his promise to Tiger superseded Remi’s need to know everything. He also told Remi about the MP’s taking custody of Tiger’s backpack and weapons.

  Remi knew what a katana was. At least he was no longer picturing a fencing rapier. He snorted a bit when Jake told him the part about ‘Dragon Slayer’ and ‘his’ saya. Not only did Tiger name his katana, he gave it a gender. He thought this Tiger guy must be an interesting character.

  With the new information Jake had given him, Remi’s opinion of Jake’s rescuer changed somewhat for the better. He called Hanson back to update him and remind him to have the damaged guns collected. He wanted to see what this katana was capable of.

  “Hey, Cap. I was just about to call you. I talked to the MP’s. They said they have a backpack with mostly clothes and trail supplies. No id, but there was a K-Bar knife and a PK-90 handgun in the pack and the guy had a military grade high power sniper rifle, oh and a Japanese sword. One of the guys put me in touch with a merc group he’s dealt with and they said they heard about a kid named Tiger who carries a sword. Said they thought he worked with the elite guys, UCAR.

  I went through the records for UCAR and the kid’s name is Yamano, Toro Enya, nickname Tiger, Lieutenant Specialist, age twenty-eight, black hair, violet eyes, mixed race, five foot eight. He’s one of ours. Stationed right here at Fort Yamano. I’m sending you the file now.”

  “Yamano. Is he…?”

  “Yup. He’s the Toro Yamano’s son. I contacted his team leader. He said Yamano was on assignment to hunt down a fugitive up north, one of those throwbacks, and he’s been in the field for about four weeks now. Apparently, he didn’t know Yamano was back yet. He’s in Bexton but he said he’s heading back tonight. Said he’ll meet you at the hospital in the morning.”

  “Okay. I’ll probably be stuck here till then anyway. How is it that our own guys didn’t know who he is? Why did we have to go through the mercs to get the information?”

  “Well, that’s what you’re here to fix, isn’t it? The elites don’t mix much with us commoners. They’re in the field most of the time anyway.”

  “Got it. Thanks Hans.” Remi hung up and shook Jake lightly. He’d started to doze off against Remi’s shoulder.

  “Jake. Come on kiddo, let’s see if we can find you a bed for the night.”

  “Don’t wanna. I want to stay here and wait for Tiger.”

  “We’re not going to be able to see him tonight, so you might as well catch some shut-eye.”

  “M‘kay,” he replied sleepily.

  Remi passed the information on to Stafford and gave approval for CGH to treat Tiger on an emergency basis, then got Jake tucked into bed in a private room. He turned all the lights off and settled into a chair, opening the file from Hanson. The picture was about as good as the ones they used for id cards, like a mug shot. It was so grainy he couldn’t tell much from it. One more thing he needed to fix in their security systems.

  Tiger looked younger than his twenty-eight years. He checked the date. The picture wasn’t that old. No wonder everyone kept referring to him as a kid. Not much in the file stood out to him. A few scrapes here and there. Typical stuff. Apparently, he had a bit of a temper. Part Irish, that would explain it he thought.

  He couldn’t really get much of a feel for what Tiger was like based on the dry facts in his file, but nothing indicated he was anything other than a good soldier, actually an excellent soldier if he was on an elite team, and he had saved Jake’s life.

  Reading on, he saw that Tiger had earned a field commission from enlisted to lieutenant during the war after saving the life of a general whose position had been overrun by the enemy. He’d also earned the Corvan Silver Star for that action. Okay, so that’s impressive.

  His eyes burning and his head throbbing, Remi closed the file and shut down his Cortex. He closed his eyes just to rest them for a few minutes.

  Chapter 5

  “How’s it going? Did you get pictures of his injuries?” Doctor Stafford looked at the readouts on the monitor in the ER and glanced over at Tiger. They’d cleaned him up a bit, but he looked like he’d been put through a meat grinder. They had him lying on his stomach so they could tend to the wounds on his back.

  He was still receiving blood transfusions and he was heavily sedated to keep him knocked out. ‘Hard to believe some of the things humans will do to each other. It’s a wonder this kid’s still alive.’, Stafford thought.

  “Yes, once we got him stabilized enough to be able to move him around. What the hell caused these wounds?” the other physician asked Stafford. “Was he in a motorcycle crash?” He was still running the portable scanner over Tiger’s body, cataloging his injuries.

  “No. The kid who came in with him said he was beaten and then whipped with the buckle end of a belt. Gang related. What about his other injuries?” Stafford asked.
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  “The wound to his temple isn’t too bad. We steri-stripped it for now. The bots will take care of it, but he does have a mild concussion. No cranial or brain damage though.”

  “Yeah. The kid who called it in said he thought he took a bottle to the head. Lots of empties laying around in that alley apparently. No glass fragments?”

  “No. He has a few cracked ribs, no breaks. No indication of organ damage. There’s probably some deep bruising. There’s bruising around the throat. Looks like they choked him with something. There are indications of some older wounds, but they’re nearly healed now. Typical stuff considering his occupation. Probably a mercenary.”

  “Looks like he was kicked a few times. Those gangs just love their steel-toed boots. He tested negative for STD’s and other diseases. No serious tissue damage from the rape, just some bruising and inflammation.”

  He shook his head in disgust, his hand shaking a little. “Shit! What kind of monster does this kind of sick shit to another human being?” He took a deep breath and continued. “There’s also a little inflammation in the left shoulder. Possibility of a recent sprain or dislocation but it looks like it’s doing fine. The bots will help with that too.”

  “We’ve given him three units of blood. He was leaking like a sieve till we got the bleeding under control. It’s a wonder he didn’t bleed out before they got him here. There’s just no way to suture this kind of damage.” He gestured helplessly.

  “We applied an antiseptic base and overlaid it with a gel sealant to protect the tissue. The bots will have to finish cleaning him up and rebuild the tissue from the inside. It’s going to take some time. He’s going to be miserable while they regenerate the nerves. Best to keep him out for a while. The rest is just some bruising, rope burn on the wrists, minor lacerations and abrasions.”

  “We’ll get him on antibiotics and fluids once we get him into the tank. He’ll be knocked out anyway while he’s in there, so he won’t need any pain control till he wakes, then he’s going to be one hurting grumpy cat.”