by Mel Todd
Her phone alarm went off with an extreme amount of noise, McKenna couldn’t get it to shut off fast enough.
What the hell was that? It’s never been that loud before.
She shook her head, trying to let the adrenaline fade. With a deep breath she padded into the bathroom, not bother to turn on the lights, she knew the way well enough. Once in the bathroom she hit the light switch, and nothing happened. Blinking she flipped it up and down, and it still didn’t work. Frowning she back tracked and flipped the lights switch for the room, nothing. A sour feeling grew in her stomach as she peaked out the window. Sure enough power was on for the rest of the neighborhood, and she could see the lights above the carports gleaming.
I need to get out of here. Wonder if JD wants a roommate for a while?
With a sigh, she grabbed her gear, slipped on gym clothes, and headed to her car packing everything she’d need for the day. She called the landlord on the way in, leaving a voice mail for him.
“George, this is McKenna Largo, tenant. This is my official notice, I will be moving out. I’d already planned on giving my notice, but due to harassment from other tenants I’m making it immediate. Please restore my power ASAP. All damages from the loss of any food will be removed from my last month of rent. Call me if you have questions.”
With careful actions, she hung up, resisting the desire to chuck it through the window. She didn’t really think she’d lost any food. Her appliances were good quality, and the power had been on when she got home last night. A few hours without power wouldn’t cost her too much, she hoped.
By the time she got to work, her blood pressure had lowered, but her mood made Smaug look cheerful.
Stalking into the station, needing coffee, a shower, and her stuff, she ignored all the reactions, headed straight for the locker rooms. The last thing she did before her shower was text JD.
*no power, at station, need coffee, LOTS of coffee*
That sent she headed for the shower and sighed as the hot water cascaded down her body, rinsing away some of the grumpiness and sleep from her, not enough to put her in a good mood, but enough to help. Getting dressed and heading out to the muster room, she garnered the occasional glance, but she didn’t care. The station coffee didn’t qualify as ingestible per her definition.
Slumping into a chair, she pulled out her tablet, logged in and started to kick off the paperwork that drove her job, even as she counted the seconds until coffee.
*outside come get some*
Those words made her jump from her seat and head towards the door.
“Largo, got a minute?” Holich asked.
“Not if you want sane me answering your question,” McKenna replied, not breaking stride.
To her surprise and amusement, Holich fell in step with her. “Do I want to know what the issue is?”
“No power at apartment, showered here. No power, no coffee. JD has it.” Her words were clipped, and all she cared about was the sweet caffeine JD had waiting for him.
“Ah,” the word held a wealth of understanding. “I’ll just come with. Probably safer to talk outside anyhow.”
McKenna grunted as she headed out to the parking lot to see JD getting out of his Hummer, then leaning back in to grab a cup of heaven.
“Yes!” she crowed grabbing it, leaning back against the Hummer and letting the hot sweet nectar of the gods wash through her. Three swallows later she cracked open an eyelid to look at Holich.
“Dang, it must be important if you’re still here waiting for me to get caffeinated to talk to me.” McKenna cast a wary glance at Holich, in her experience that rarely meant anything good.
Anne took a deep breath then released it and McKenna’s feeling got worse. “The situation with the lion yesterday made it to Kirk, Marchant, and the Governor.”
“Come on, no one got hurt, I never drew my weapon, and we got the crowd dispersed with no one getting arrested. What more can they ask for?” McKenna fought to keep the whine out of her voice, but today’s start had not been good.
“Nobody.” The word fell flat, and McKenna glanced at her coffee and drank more. The caffeine wasn’t working yet.
“So, if I’m not in trouble, what is the issue?”
Holich snorted, leaning against the hummer. “The dash cam was close enough this time to catch everything you said to the lion, and there were a few other snippets of video from phones, etc. that have made their way too us, and you’re an internet sensation again.”
McKenna moaned and decided there wasn’t enough coffee in the world to make this a good thing.
“Okay, and?”
“And the department has received an official request from Good Morning America to interview you,” Holich held up her hand as McKenna began to protest. “And everyone has agreed to it, they’ll assign you to PR if you don’t agree, and agree with a modicum of grace.”
“Son of a bitch,” McKenna muttered as she held the coffee to her protectively. “They don’t really expect me to go to New York do they? Isn’t that where it is filmed?”
“Normally yes, but they agreed to interview you out here, so that you are not pulled away from your duties for too long.” Anne flashed a smile that McKenna read equal parts commiseration and frustration. “JD is asked to go with you too, but you should only miss the day. When you get back, you need to take the detective exam. Both of you. We’ll have it set up and waiting. You’re in the public eye, enjoy your last few days as a patrol officer, you won’t be one much longer.” She paused and looked at them. “I’m sorry.” Then Anne turned and walked away.
McKenna really wanted to throw something, with a longing that made her teeth ache, but the only thing at hand was her coffee, and that wasn’t happening. She took another life-giving sip of coffee and glanced at JD.
“I didn’t want this.”
“Nope,” his answer laconic as he leaned back drinking his own coffee. “But you’ll do a great job. You always do. What was up with the coffee?”
McKenna growled, then flinched at the realness of that sound, even JD jumped a bit. She shook her head. “I’ll explain on the way. You up for a roommate until I finish dealing with Jeremiah?”
“Ooh, that bad?”
As they checked in and headed out, she filled him in on the harassment going on at her apartment.
“You can do something about it you know, you’re a cop.” He pointed out, his voice neutral, but the spinner created little flashes of reflected light, highlighting his annoyance.
“Yep, but I don’t need any more grief. With all the attention on me anyhow, the last thing I need is this to blow up. Can I just crash at your place for a while, put everything else in storage until I get a place to live?"
"Sure, I'll clean out the second bedroom today. I don't need the weights right now anyhow. I'll need a storage unit too. Rent one today?"
"I think so. I need to move out before this escalates. I think right now Kirk and Marchant might strangle me if anything bad happened." McKenna tightened her hands on the steering wheel trying to figure out how to do all this with the next few days going crazy. She barely had time to do her job, much less do anything else, like take care of personal crap.
"Kenna, you're over thinking again."
McKenna glanced at JD with a frown. "What do you mean?"
"You don't have to do all this. Hire a moving company, explain that due to harassment you need people to pack your entire place and put it in storage, putting all your clothes and toiletries in a suitcase for you to pick up. We can meet them there, let them in, you grab what else you need, back-up weapon, etcetera, and be out by tonight."
It sounded so simple, maybe he was right. Scary thought.
"Movers do that?"
"Sure, if you hire the right ones. A bit more expensive, but do you really care?"
She didn't. Before she could focus on it any more a call came in, an alarm at a local pawn shop. The place looked quiet as they pulled up, but it felt like the bank, so she and JD called it in a
s they approached carefully. The door opened when she tugged on it, so she walked in carefully. The woman at the counter looked up at her with raised eyebrows.
"Is something wrong officer?"
McKenna moved all the way in, looking around, but the woman didn't read as tense or frightened. JD came in behind her, moving the other direction looking around.
"We got a silent alarm from this store."
"But I didn’t," the woman pause and sigh. "Carly." She shook her head. "That child will be the death of me. You can follow me if you want officer." She lifted the counter gate, and McKenna followed her into the back, where a child of about two stood up on her tip toes gleefully pushing the red alarm button on the wall.
"You child are supposed to still be taking a nap." The woman said in mock exasperation as she swept her up in a hug. "I am so sorry officer. I think I'll put a flip cover on that. She has been sick, so I figured she'd still be sleeping."
McKenna grinned. "Not a problem, ma'am. I'm glad it was something so simple."
The woman tilted her head then her face lit up in recognition. "You're the shifter cop. Wow, that must be pretty cool to do that. And become a cat at that. Sounds like everything I ever wanted." She led them back out into the main area, and McKenna waved JD over.
"We found our alarm ringer." McKenna said avoiding the subject, instead nodding at the child as JD approached holstering his weapon.
"Ah, a vicious criminal I see."
The woman grinned. "She is a master of disguise. She looks sweet and harmless, but trust me, she can be a terror." The child in question had her head laying on her mom's shoulder watching both of them with big blue eyes.
"I can see that. Ready to go, Kenna?"
"Yep. Take care." She waved at the two and they headed back out to the car. Her phone pings as she got in. With an arched brow she pulled it out and looked at it.
*McKenna, sorry I took so long to respond. My children decided to see if my phone was water proof. It wasn't. Dinner sounds great. I need to be at work about 8. Want dinner this evening around 6?*
She grinned as she looked at the message.
"Ooh, you're smiling. Got a hot date?"
"Oh please, that is an impossibility at this. I'm pretty sure I'll never find a guy who wants to deal with me, my job, my cat, and now all this publicity. Or if they do, all they want to do is have sex with a pussy." Her sarcasm dripped from the words. "Thanks, but no. it was Toni. I'd asked if she wanted to have dinner. Figure we have multiple things in common, and well… " McKenna trailed off and JD nudged her.
"Kenna, you need friends. You've just lived this damn job since I've known you. You don't talk about family, your childhood, or even memories. You talk about work. About the people we meet, about case studies, but until this whole Police!, cat, viral thing, you've never talked about you. Tell her yes."
The phone lay in her hand, innocent and serene, but she felt like it would bite her if she made the wrong move.
"Will you come with?"
JD rolled his eyes. "Dinner with two beautiful women, please don't make me. Yes, of course." He paused then glanced back at McKenna. "But only if she's okay with it." He got back into the car without looking at her.
"If she wants to be my friend, she will be," McKenna muttered as she texted back.
*sounds good, been crazy day. Mind if JD comes?*
She tried to not be anxious as she waited for a reply, heading back to the squad car instead and securing her seatbelt.
Her phone pinged before she even got the car into gear. The response glowed bright on her screen.
*sure, how about Markey's? about 7?*
A local restaurant, Markey's had good food and a quiet atmosphere. McKenna hadn't been there in a while, but it wasn't too far away.
"Markey's work?" She asked JD, phone in hand as she waited.
"Uh, sure." He shrugged, typing on the laptop as he filed the false alarm report.
*yes, see you then* she typed on the phone, slowly. To be proficient at texting, you needed someone to text, and thus far her life hadn't encouraged that.
She pulled out, and they headed down the street when her phone rang.
"Damn, you're popular today." JD teased, and she rolled her eyes.
"If it is someone else wanting an interview, I swear," she muttered as she glanced at the phone. Her landlords name displayed. "Frag."
She pulled back over and answered, the phone, the wariness clear in her voice. "This is McKenna Largo."
"McKenna, what is going on? What happened?" Greg's voice came out worried, anxious even and McKenna didn’t know if that made her happy or not.
“Hey, Greg. I figured my voice mail explained it. “
“Yes, it did, but it didn’t. What the hell happened? Why am I losing you rather than kicking the rest of their sorry asses out?”
“Because it is just me, and I’m making them uncomfortable. And it isn’t worth the fight. I have a place to stay for a while. But this is my official notice. I understand that I was supposed to give you 60 days' notice, and really I was going to give notice anyhow, but given the circumstances, I’d ask you to wave it.”
“Not an issue. McKenna, I saw that video and the one from yesterday. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I had rented to bigots.” It was a small building, only ten apartments and Greg had taken a personal interest in most people, being willing to trust and not expect people to be perfect. Part of her felt bad for ruining his faith in people.
“I don’t think you did. I think they are just scared. Look, I need to get movers in, but obviously I’m working. Would you mind letting them in once I set it up?”
“I can do that, and I’ll check out damages and get your electricity fixed too, headed over there right now. This doesn’t make me happy.”
“Well, life is unpredictable. Give them time.” A few more pleasantries and she hung up, catching an odd look from JD.
“What?” She asked even as she pulled back out. “Though we need to run by tonight to pick up stuff from my place. I’ll call the movers at lunch.”
“You’re taking this awfully well. A week ago you’d have been livid. Most likely you’d have been figuring out ways to press charges.” JD’s voice was soft, but she heard the concern in it.
“Quit being a mother hen. It just doesn’t matter. I turn into a cougar. Who knows why. I keep seeing strange things, they want me to be on TV, and my co-workers fear me. Compared to all of that, some small-minded idiots don’t seem all that important.” McKenna rolled her eyes, concentrating more on the cars around them than the conversation.
The familiar whine of the spinner halted, and JD’s voice grabbed her full attention. “You’re seeing strange things?”
McKenna jerked her eyes to him, her mind replaying what she said, and a sudden feeling of doom grabbed her around the heart.
“Oh. Maybe.” She pulled her eyes away from her instead focused on the road and cars.
“Pull over now.” Feeling like she watched an inevitable train wreck she did so as they pulled over and JD called in a break, letting the dispatch know they’d be unavailable for calls for a bit. He shifted in his seat, his mass making it awkward as he faced her. “What do you mean seeing things?”
The last few years of working with the man let McKenna know avoiding the subject wouldn’t work. Swallowing past the hairball sized lump in her throat she forced out words.
“I keep seeing symbols flashing across people, but so fast I can’t lock on to them. And they don’t repeat, or at least I can’t figure out how to make them repeat. I don’t think I’m imagining them because it happens too often, but not consistently” She looked out the window tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. “I think everyone I see the symbols on are shifters. I think I’m seeing a symbol of what they turn into. But I never see it again to know for sure.” As she said this, she looked over at JD and a symbol flashed up, she gasped and focused even as part of her noted that his eyes widened, and his fingers clenched on the sp
inner, bending it.
The symbol hovered there, giving me time to see, to absorb, a paw print matching those he had left in his wake as we walked through the forest. It faded slowly, burning into her mind.
“Holy shit,” she breathed out her eyes wide.
“What, what just happened? Are you okay?” JD’s words spilled out fast in a tumble and McKenna had to blink to refocus her eyes to him, and not the strange out-of-focus stare she had needed to see the symbol.
“Yeah, I just saw it again, and it looked like a print of your paw. But I don’t understand.”
“Understand what? That you are seeing things? That you shouldn’t possibly be able to tell who’s a shifter and who isn’t?”
McKenna shook her head. “No, well yes, but no. Why did it show up now that I asked? Then stay long enough for me to sear it into my mind?”
The question hung in the air and JD growled. “None of this makes any sense. But the idea of a virus doesn’t jibe with what we have been seeing.”
“Well what does?” She challenged. JD opened his mouth then snapped it shut.
“I don’t know. But track this, I’ve got a vague thought. But you need to record everything.”
“So, you aren’t seeing these symbols?” Her voice quavered, and she forced out a harsh grunt to remove the weakness.
JD shook his head slowly, and her stomach fell a bit more. “No, I’ve never seen anything that I didn’t actually see.” Each word fell like a nail in her soul.
Maybe I really am going crazy.
Chapter 23- Setting Up
While many of the people now either blessed or cursed with this ability are begging for the limelight, those who are the real focus of the shifter world, people like movie star Miranda Light, NFL Linebacker Perc Alexander, and Senator Franklin Johnson, are avoiding the requests for interviews and instead doing their jobs, making the rest of us wonder just why they are so reluctant to let their voices be heard. Someone must have known the right strings to pull though because Officer McKenna Largo has agreed to a live interview on Good Morning America this week. I’m sure half the world will be tuned in to hear from her own mouth just what killing a man with her claws was like, not to mention her sudden fame. - TNN News Anchor