Chapter Fourteen
Jun 2018
Missy was feeling really frisky, all her energy right there inside her, ready. Ready for what, she wasn’t sure. But, she was ready. Her readiness for something was driving her crazy. She’d been exercising to extremes, had actually been thrashing her martial arts opponents so badly they were now asking her to find a new hobby, and her karate Sensei was suggesting she take a few days off. She was going for her third degree black belt in another week but had already demonstrated her proficiency in all the requirements to such an extent that her test was a mere formality.
She’d graduated from high school and would be going off to West Point at the end of the month, just after her eighteenth birthday. Her body was toned and ready, now at 150 pounds of powerful, formidable, supernatural muscle. Her sexual romps with Mike, now that he was also out of school and back home for the summer, had become frequent and highly satisfying.
She suddenly realized she did know what the problem was. Carlos. She couldn’t continue until somehow resolving that situation. He had to go.
She had been running out at the State Forest almost every day now, with school over and no summer job. Being a cat. She’d wanted to get as much cat time as possible before reporting to West Point, since her opportunities would then be very limited. With the way she was eating and exercising, these cat runs fit right in and helped her maintain herself at what she believed was her peak condition. She’d also been checking for Carlos but hadn’t scented him being out there again.
Not wanting to risk his identifying her during any of these runs, she was having someone drop her off and pick her up each time rather than drive her own car and leave it parked there. She also wore minimal clothing with nothing that could trace back to her. She knew all the cars that Carlos might be using, thanks to her “P” Branch friends. So, she was always on the lookout and before going into the woods, she would check to see if any of those cars were there. All of this caution was adding to how antsy she was now feeling.
Alice arrived and honked her horn. Today, she was dropping Missy off for her run. Alice was home for the summer and, not really needing a job, was spending time with her best friend while she could. Missy bounded outside and raced up to Alice’s car, quickly opening the car door and plopping herself in the passenger seat. “Hi, Alice! Thanks for the ride today! I’m really in need of a run and can’t wait to Change out there. Can you feel my energy?” Missy pushed some at Alice which made her friend start giggling.
“Yes, I can feel that, you crazy cat! Obviously, you’re not getting enough lately … shall I call Mike?” Alice laughed and then had another thought. “Or, maybe you’re doing it with him too much? Is that your problem? I’ll definitely be calling Mike. He’s turning my best friend into a wild animal. It’s all the wild animal sex, right?”
“Stop with the animal jokes. Ha, ha. My sex life with Mike, which I’ll not be discussing with you at all today, since you’re making fun of me, is absolutely perfect. And, I had turned into a wild animal long before I met Mike, remember?” Missy was enjoying this banter with Alice and knew she’d really miss her when she went off to West Point. “How’s everything going for your wedding? Anything I can help with?”
“No, thanks, there really isn’t anything right now. My Mom is having the time of her life with all the arrangements and I’m letting her have her way, most of the time. It keeps her busy and her ideas are actually pretty good so there’s not much that I’ve asked her to change or do differently. We’re hoping you can get home Labor Day weekend for my bridal shower and bachelorette party. From what you’ve told me, that might work, right?”
“Hopefully, if all goes right, I’ll get a pass and can come home then. Yeah.” Missy smiled, thinking over what she’d read about her schedule for the first few months. “Did you know they refer to Cadet Basic Training as Beast Training? Assuming my wild animal nature can manage getting through Beast Training without too many problems and I can stay out of trouble for the month after that, I should get a weekend pass. That will be my first one and I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
Alice laughed, “Yeah, so you can see Mike again, right? Then, you’ll want to go be a cat. Hopefully, you’ll Change back before showing up at my events, right?”
“Very funny. But, yeah. Both of those actually complete me, Alice. Being with Mike and being a cat. It’s really helped me these last few months and I know it’s why I have all this energy now. I don’t know if you can relate to that or not, because you aren’t into all the extreme physical activity stuff the way I am. The way I have to be, actually. I just can’t help it.” Missy then laughed and added, “Then again, maybe what you and Mark have been up to lately would actually qualify as some extreme physical activity.”
Alice giggled. “Now who is making fun of whom? But, I think I get it. Mark really does complete me and I certainly can relate to that part of it. The cat part? You’re unique, Missy, and there’s no one else like you. I’m just happy you’re my friend. And, that you have Mike. If he’s helping you with all the amazing, crazy things you do, that’s great. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do and a cat’s gotta do what a cat’s gotta do, right?” They both laughed at that.
They drove into the parking area and circled around. After Missy checked all the cars, she had Alice drop her off and she went into the woods. After a short climb, she reached a small cave on the hillside that was off the normal trails. She stripped off her clothes and placed them under some brush inside the cave. Then she Shifted. With the added weight from all her eating and exercising, she was now a very large cat and it felt wonderful to be in such great condition. Female mountain lions normally didn’t grow to be 150 pounds but Missy was not a normal cougar any more than she was a normal girl. She was a werecat and went off to prowl and run and expend some of that special supernatural energy she was so filled with.
Hours later, as she stepped out to survey the area below from her position high on a hill, she sensed him. Carlos. Looking downwind, since she’d not yet scented him so he couldn’t be upwind, she searched. Somehow she had sensed him and her instincts had all gone on high alert. Finally, she saw where he was, way across a valley with a small river, and up on a hill, probably about a half mile away. She realized he had to be following her scent, since he was downwind from her and would obviously have noticed her.
She climbed to the very top of the hill and let out one of her most powerful cougar screams, clearly challenging him and expressing her displeasure with his being in her territory. He looked over and saw her and their eyes met. Missy stared at him and considered her situation. He’d probably parked somewhere near where Alice had dropped her off and had been trailing her. That meant, since she was now actually closer to that parking lot than he was, having been on a return route after enjoying her day in the woods, that she could possibly race back and find his clothes. Then, maybe she could steal his car.
This was going to be fun. She’d promised him that if he didn’t leave, she’d be causing problems for him. This was indeed perfect, an opportunity too good to pass up. Giving him one more piercing scream to remember her by, she began to run. Cougars aren’t meant for long distance running but this was merely a sprint for her, which was exactly what her body was made for. Once she came back to the path she’d been on when she’d left the area hours earlier, she easily scented him. As she’d guessed, he’d been following her scent.
Following his scent back down, she easily found where he’d stashed his clothes. She Changed right there and dressed herself in some of his gear, delighting in the set of car keys she found in his pocket. Grabbing the rest of his gear, she went down to the parking lot and using his key fob to identify and unlock the car that belonged to him, she soon was driving away with her prize.
She stopped at a convenient shopping mall several miles away and searched his car. There was nothing special on the seats or in the trunk. She did find his cell phone and wallet along with a gun in the g
love box. Interesting! The cell phone needed a password which prevented her from using it but she was pretty sure Robert and his buddies would manage to get past that and download whatever was on the phone. Hopefully, they’d learn some new things that might help with the FBI case Armando’s team was hard at work putting together. As for the gun, it was too much to hope that it might be traced to any prior criminal actions but, even if it was, her stealing the car like this was probably not the way to gather evidence.
She went in the mall to find a phone. She was pretty sure Robert would use those “P” Branch resources of his to dispose of all this stolen property. She planned to abandon the car right there and simply tell him where to find the key, which she would leave on top of the right front tire. She would have Mike bring her some clothes and then take her out tonight. She wanted to celebrate. Being a car thief was such fun! Even more fun was wondering how long it would take Carlos to get home. He’d probably find the clothes she’d left behind but would certainly look pretty ridiculous in those, wandering around out there and trying to find someone to lend him a phone. She didn’t think her shoes would fit but he’d probably manage to squeeze into her warm-up pants and jacket. She hoped he liked pink.
-----
Carlos had indeed been furious. It had not been a good day for him at all. But, that was yesterday and now he was in his office, talking to Rafe. “You can’t believe what a magnificent sight she was. Big, bold and beautiful; she looked right at me. Then, she screamed at me. Twice. Her territory. Then off she raced and her movement was a blur. So fast. She was mostly this tawny, reddish color and the way she moved … Rafe, she must have lived as a cat somewhere and not just been Changing into one, now and again.” Carlos realized he was no match for her as a cat. And, he probably would never be able to intimidate her. He’d been able to see enough while she’d raced down from that hilltop to convince him she was indeed something special.
Rafe said, “You know I don’t understand any of this werecat stuff, Carlos. How would that make any difference?”
“Well, when I was young and spent some time as a cat, up in the mountains? Sometimes I’d get challenged by other mountain lions, you know? The regular ones, not werecats but real animals. There was a huge difference. I knew it and they knew it. I had no chance, even though I was usually bigger. I never messed with them.”
“And, you get the sense she’s like that? Like a real animal that you shouldn’t mess with?” Rafe really wasn’t seeing the point. “If we can find her, you won’t have to mess with her as an animal. She’s a woman, right?”
“I don’t know what she is. She’s a threat and she’s causing me problems. So, I definitely want her found. You’re right. We’ll deal with her as a woman.” Carlos was still thinking how much he had to admire her, though, as a cat.
“Your car has disappeared. My guess? You’ll never see it again. Good thing that gun was clean. What about the phone? Are you worried she now has all your phone contacts and your email address book?” Rafe had already arranged to have Carlos’s email account closed out as well as all his credit cards. There wasn’t anything on his emails which could be used against them, but still. They weren’t happy knowing she now had access to people he had been dealing with. And, it was damn inconvenient getting replacement credit cards, driver’s license, etc.
“Yeah, I’m worried. I don’t understand all this electronic crap. Emails and stuff. Who knows what she can do with any of that info?” Carlos also wasn’t sure if he had any codes or passwords that would show up on his phone. He hated all the complicated security crap he now had to put up with. It seemed you couldn’t order a pizza any more without having to know some code or password. Jeez!
“Well, on the bright side, we’ve been getting some useful stuff from our guy Jerry Masterson on the police force,” said Rafe. “Did you know one of McCarthy’s guys already in prison has asked for protection in there? He’s telling the cops everything he knows, all about Frank, just so they’ll protect him. He’s not asking to get out or anything. But, he’s convinced Frank might now want to kill him and he’s willing to roll over first, before that happens.”
“Yeah, so? That just means Frank goes away forever, right? The more his guys are willing to testify … isn’t that better for us?” Carlos had negotiated with all the other bosses up in Boston and the less influence McCarthy now had, the stronger the new alliances he had with these guys would get.
“Well, the interesting part is why this guy Ramon is suddenly so worried about Frank. How much do you know about the problems that got Frank and his guys arrested, anyway?” Rafe had met with several different guys now and had finally put together what he thought was an interesting story.
“The money laundering and tax evasion? He was careless, right?”
Rafe explained, “Not as careless as you might think. It apparently all went to hell when some guy died. He had this money guy, Tony Gonzales, some guy he grew up with, who took care of everything for years. After that guy died, the Feds somehow managed to put together all kinds of stuff and then make this really strong case. From what I hear, none of the lawyers working for Frank are saying he has any chance.”
“Okay, bad luck. His guy Tony dies and the Feds get lucky. Frank loses. We win. Why are you telling me all this?” Carlos knew Rafe was going somewhere with this stuff and was actually paying close attention. Rafe had proven his worth, over and over again.
“It’s because of what a lot of different people have been telling me. Apparently, a couple months before all the arrests? Some girl shows up at Frank’s place. A kid in high school, okay? Maybe sixteen or seventeen? She says she wants to see Frank. Ramon and Marco were the guys out front who met this kid. She says to tell Frank she wants to talk about Tony. Now, this is more than six months after Tony died. And, not a lot of people even knew about Tony and Frank. For some reason, when Frank hears this? He says okay, send her in.” Rafe was watching Carlos and could see he was following along, so far.
Rafe continued, “There were witnesses who saw all this, see? She shows up, asks for Frank, mentions Tony and then when Frank says to send her in, Ramon goes out, gets her and brings her in. No big deal so far. Just a little strange that Frank would waste any time on some kid. Here’s the interesting part, though. The girl was a real looker and it turns out that Ramon felt her up on the way in. Supposedly checking to make sure she wasn’t wearing a wire or hiding any weapon, right? They even have all this on video; they saved the surveillance tape because of what happened after. So, then they go into Frank’s office. She doesn’t come out. Nobody sees her again.”
Carlos was definitely curious. “She disappears? Why would Frank … wait, you’re holding back now. I can tell by looking at you. What happened?”
Rafe laughed. “Marco finally broke into Frank’s office two hours later, when no one could get any response. They didn’t have any surveillance in there, only outside his office. Frank and the girl are gone, out the back way. And, Ramon? This guy is huge, probably close to three hundred pounds, mostly muscle. He’s laying there out cold. That kid kicked him in the balls and then broke his jaw with another kick. His jaw was wired up for weeks after that.”
“What the hell? You saying some girl did that?”
“Yep. There was never any doubt about that. Everyone figures she didn’t like the way he groped her. Ramon was really pissed and then, when Frank told him “hands off”, he got even more pissed. Frank came back late that night and wouldn’t say anything about it. Only that everyone better stay away from Missy McCrae or else. Obviously, that kid has something pretty big that she’s blackmailing Frank with.”
“That’s the girl? Missy McCrae?” asked Carlos.
“That’s her. I’ve actually got a really interesting folder on her. It turns out she’s this martial arts supergirl or something. Lots of trophies. But get this. Why do you think Ramon suddenly decides to worry about Frank? He’s in prison and everything, so what suddenly happened to change things?” Rafe w
as now really enjoying his story.
“What? Don’t drag this out, Rafe. Hurry up!” Carlos was still trying to process all the information and wasn’t seeing anything significant, yet.
“Marco disappeared, that’s what happened. Marco and those four other guys. You heard how we traced their arrest to some incident at that parking garage, right? The police had one level all blocked off for two hours and that guy Jerry we have with the police, he thinks it was our guys getting grabbed for something. Guess what they were doing that night?”
Carlos said, “This better be good, Rafe, because you’re talking in circles and I’m getting a head ache. What was Marco up to?”
“He wanted to get some revenge for his buddy Ramon. They figured it was worth the risk, in spite of Frank’s orders. So, they were going after that girl, Missy McCrae. And, when Ramon learned Marco disappeared? He decided he didn’t want to risk whether or not Frank was the reason for that. He’s demanding full protection in return for his testimony.”
“Well, if they attacked her, was it in the papers or on TV? What happened to her, anyway?”
“Oh, nothing happened to her that anyone knows about. She just graduated from high school last month. It’s right here in the newspaper. I only found out Marco was planning to grab her by getting the story from some of our own guys. They all knew because Marco bragged how he was going to make a little video he could show Ramon. They were wondering if Frank somehow did manage to interfere, since he was so adamant about hands off her or else.”
Missy Goes to West Point Page 14