‘That sort of collar is intended for home use only, totally inadequate for a performing cat,’ the soldier told him.
‘I see,’ Jhosatl responded. ‘Is there a collar that will fit the bill, mate?’
The soldier who had been speaking waited for a second and even glanced at each of the other three in turn before saying, ‘Fourth, do you have a license that allows you to have a performing animal onstage with you?’
‘I-I didn’t know I needed one,’ Jhosatl stuttered; the idea of getting a license, any kind of license, had just never occurred to him. He decided to change the subject. ‘Why has it taken you seven years to get around to us?’
‘Have you seen a newspaper today?’ the soldier asked.
‘No, mate,’ replied Jhosatl simply, ‘should I have? We’ve had a busy night preparing for this gig; there hasn’t really been time.’
The soldier nodded. ‘Allow me to explain. Earlier this evening the government declared that all domesticated cats of the two-legged variety are to be handed in at a police station for pickup and transportation to the Cattery. There are to be no exceptions.’
Amba felt her heart sink.
‘Why?’ This came from Sult, who was standing close by and eyeing the four with suspicion.
‘We are checking them over, making sure they really are domesticated cats and not just pretending. It seems that many wild cats that have been caught lately have been using the protection of certain human families to hide them. It seems that they act all cute and cuddly in front of their supposed masters, but late at night when their family is asleep, they strike out. It’s our job to go around and check every domesticated cat to see if there are any anomalies. I’m afraid rules here have been broken that need to be seen to.’
‘Er, right, mate,’ Jhosatl spoke hesitantly. ‘Well I can guarantee that Amba here will be properly fixed next time you see us perform.’
‘I’m afraid you miss the point. Due to the new edict, even if there was nothing wrong with your cat, we would have to take her with us so that she can be checked properly. If she’s a legitimate pet she will have been raised at the Cattery, so we will have records of her there. Once we’re sure, she’ll be returned to you none the worse for wear. Do you have the documents stating when and where you bought her?’
Jhosatl shivered. ‘No-not anymore. I-I moved house and they were something I left behind. I guess I didn’t know I’d need them again.’
‘I’m afraid so, sir,’ the soldier told him. ‘Don’t worry, though; it’s not the end of the world. Just because she has no purchase history doesn’t mean she’s a killer. It just means there’ll be more work for someone. Nevertheless, we will have to take her with us, I’m afraid.’
Jhosatl’s hand moved reflexively towards his laser. But Amba caught the hand and made it look as if she just wanted to hold his hand as a goodbye. She knew he wouldn’t survive a shootout with four of the Elite, even if they were just trainees. She loved him more than herself. Besides, how could he rescue her if he was dead?
‘I’ll go with them. I look forward to seeing you again soon,’ she said and gave him a look that read that she was expecting to be rescued. After all, it was his fault she was in this group in the first place.
Jhosatl nodded. ‘You won’t be there long. I’ll talk with the minister of music if I have to. I’ll get you out.’ He then removed the collar from her neck and the chain from her ankle, though it was obviously breaking his heart to do so.
Amba smiled, a tear running down her face. She offered her hands to the nearest of the Elite Guard, and he placed a pair of manacles on them. He looked as if he would have liked to manacle her legs too, but she’d have to walk to their vehicle.
One member of the audience who hadn’t left yet uttered the word ‘scum,’ under his breath as the four took Amba away.
‘I have connections in the Cattery,’ Sult said comfortingly to Jhosatl. It was the first time he’d talked about his past. ‘I think I might be able to find out what they’re doing with her and when we can expect her back.’
Jhosatl smiled halfheartedly. ‘Thanks, mate. She’s not very good at situations she’s not in control of. I’m afraid she might have a panic attack or something.’
‘She’ll be fine,’ Judith offered.
‘She’s domesticated,’ Colin said, also trying to help. ‘Once they see that they’ll let her go.’
Sult nodded. ‘I don’t know, though; I’m just a little suspicious of their motives.’
Jhosatl nodded sadly. He sat on the corner of the stage, his feet dangling over the edge. He had a rescue to plan, but all he could think of was her tear-streaked face as they led her away.
Day Two
Warnings
Young Herbaht are usually taken on their first hunt with their parents when they are no more than eleven years of age. Most will go on their first solo hunt at the age of twelve.
6
Tracking Devices
The most dangerous part of London for an undisguised Herbaht to be around at any time of the day or night was within a radius of about half a mile to a mile around the old parliamentary buildings. Other than the museum itself, every building in those areas was a shop, an office block or some type of tourist trap. As a result, every street in the area was considered a main concourse. Every street was lit as clear as day even during the darkest nights, even during holidays. Traffic on those streets tended to go at no more than a crawl. Anyone could look into a passing vehicle and clearly see the features of the driver, despite the fact that the passing vehicles would have their internal lights off.
When February promised to give Kitty a tour of London, she had originally intended to include that most dangerous of areas in the tour. She had moved skittishly around the outskirts of the area, looking for a road that didn’t have too great a tail back. Any time it became clear that they would be joining a queue of traffic, February turned the vehicle down another street or turned the vehicle back the way they had come. It wasn’t easy, and many times she found herself going down streets they had already visited in the same direction as before, only to have to leave the same way as before. February was beginning to feel as if they were going around in circles. Eventually she gave up; she could always give Kitty a virtual tour of the area on her computer.
Other than this part of London, though, Kitty was given a very detailed tour of the city. Some of it she had seen before when on outings with her master, but most of it was new to her. Only once were they in danger of discovery, and February remained calm throughout, getting them away from the scene as soon as it began to develop.
At around fifteen minutes past midnight they arrived at a large square area of sand and gravel that seemed to act as the car park for a small derelict-looking building in the middle of one side of the square. There was also an old sign in the corner of the square, the wood rotted and resting lopsidedly from its one remaining post to the ground, declaring that this entire area was about to be redeveloped. It didn’t appear that any work had ever actually been done here, and the sign must’ve been a good few years old.
Other than the one derelict building on the square itself, there were houses on three sides just across a road from the square. The fourth side seemed to be bordered by what had once been apartment flats but had been converted into office blocks. All the lights in the offices were out, though many of the houses seemed to have at least one light on.
They weren’t the only ones parked here. Most of the other vehicles were probably owned by locals; all of the surrounding houses had driveways, but they were only big enough for one car to park on and most families in this day and age had at least two. There were also sale notices on some of the vehicles; the owners might have brought these from a mile or more away. Wherever there was somewhere to park, someone seemed to be trying to sell something.
For some reason Kitty had imagined the cars driven by February and other wild Herbaht to be somehow different than those driven by humans. She couldn’t say wh
y she felt this; it was just a feeling, and maybe she had wanted the car to feel more feline. She was disappointed when she realized that the car February parked them next to and indicated as hers was one of the more common makes of car parked on this scrap of wasteland.
Kitty’s eyes ran quickly over the derelict building. The left side of its roof had caved in, and if there had ever been any paint on the door, then there was no sign of it now.
‘What was it?’ Kitty asked, nodding towards it.
‘Some sort of meeting hall. They used to do wedding receptions and anniversary parties and the like, I think. It was once a meeting hall for our people too. They sold the place and went elsewhere when the roof caved in. The company that bought it was going to redevelop the entire area, but they got involved in some sort of scandal.’
‘A scandal?’ Kitty asked, interested.
‘They knew they were buying from Herbaht; they got a very good price for the land, but then the locals got to hear about it. They were lucky just to go out of business. The Herbaht who had owned the land was careless when dealing with the humans and paid with his life. The land is state-owned now.’
‘It looks a little like an old pavilion,’ Kitty commented. This world was a dangerous place when even just selling land could get you killed. Why hadn’t her master prepared her better? Kitty tried to ignore the butterflies that were dancing in her stomach; this was her life now, and she’d have to live it or wilt.
‘Could’ve been,’ February replied, ignoring or not seeing the expression on Kitty’s face. ‘They’re always building and rebuilding in these outer-London areas; there could’ve been a sports ground or something nearby which has now been built over. I’ve never been that interested.’
February then surprised Kitty by climbing out of the vehicle without first checking that the coast was clear. In the holomovies they always checked that the coast was clear before moving into something possibly hazardous. She then reached across the driver’s seat and lifted the two laser rifles out of their cradle. It was true that the car park itself wasn’t lit, but February had left the vehicle’s headlights on, and she headed toward that part of the car where she would be in full view of anyone passing on the nearby streets.
Kitty climbed out of the vehicle too. It would be difficult to hold a conversation with a sheet of plastiglass between them. Besides, it would be good to get away from that corpse. She had been getting used to it being in the car with them, but she still didn’t like the almost accusing look the corpse’s now gray face seemed to be giving her.
Besides, something else had been bothering her since they first started the tour. Something February had said about the tracking devices in the laser rifles didn’t ring true. ‘I know you said they wouldn’t give chase anymore, but I was still surprised that we didn’t hear any more sirens. I have to admit I was glad we didn’t too.’
February shrugged indifferently. She had started to remove the tracking devices from the laser rifles, using the light from the headlights as an aid. Herbaht had good night sight, but she still needed the extra light to see what she was doing. She worked fast and methodically, though, and already one tracking device lay on the stone and sand floor of the car park and she was replacing the panel she had removed to get to it. ‘I told you, they never pursue on the tracking devices in the lasers. They wait until we get home and then pounce.’
‘So, I assume that removing the tracking devices from the weapons before you take them home is unusual?’ asked Kitty. ‘I mean, I see that you do it, but you’re in a minority. Few others, if any, do.’
February blinked; she seemed a little confused by the question. ‘No, it’s common practice.’
Kitty spoke slowly, as if working things out as she spoke. ‘They are always removed, and yet no one ever gives chase on them?’
February seemed frozen to the spot for a moment. She acted as if she had been struck by an epiphany. Then she started to undo the panel on the laser rifle she had just closed. ‘It does seem very strange.’
Soon February had the panel off the rifle again. Then she looked inside at the mass of wiring beyond, trying to see if anything looked as if it didn’t belong. It was delicate work, as she would want to avoid pulling any of the wires from their connections if she could avoid it.
‘The first was on top,’ said February as she worked, ‘as if they had given up hiding them. As if it was all a game that they had assumed they were going to lose.’
Kitty nodded; she was glad she hadn’t had to spell it out to her new friend. She needed February’s help and really didn’t want to risk the chance that she would’ve offended her by having to actually tell of her suspicions. ‘I guess that sort of makes sense, though I’m a little surprised they would make it too easy. It would almost make it obvious that there was a second.’ Kitty almost covered her mouth; she felt she had sounded as if she was gloating.
‘Okay,’ February commented under her breath, not looking up, ‘don’t rub it in.’
‘Any sign of the second?’ Kitty asked.
‘It’s here,’ February commented half-absently as she reached in carefully and removed the offending device, ‘much better hidden; it was disguised as some wires that don’t seem to have any actual bearing on the operation of the weapon. At least, I hope that’s the case.’
‘Otherwise the laser won’t work?’ Kitty suggested.
‘Yep,’ February replied. She dropped the wires to the floor and began to return the panel again. ‘I’ll have to warn our people. I guess we’ve been getting too complacent. As you said, the fact that the devices were so easy to remove should’ve been warning enough. This means they might already know where many of us live. I wonder why they haven’t struck.’
‘They are probably waiting to come down on everyone at once. If they raided some houses, it would warn everyone else. Are you sure you found all the devices? There might be a third, a fourth, even a fifth.’
February stopped replacing the panel again and stared at Kitty. Her hand continued the fastening motion but slowly, half-heartedly. ‘You think there’d be more?’
‘Can you take the chance that there aren’t?’ Kitty replied.
‘No,’ February said, ‘you’re quite right.’ She started to remove the panel again and then slowly stripped the weapon right down to its many components. In all she found four different objects that seemed to have no purpose in the working of the laser rifle itself. Four objects that could be tracking devices. Then she started to put the weapon back together again before she started on the second. The second weapon contained the same number of erroneous devices as the first, but they weren’t all in exactly the same places as the first, seeming to add weight to the idea that they were foreign to the weapon.
‘We should evacuate all houses the authorities might know about,’ February commented as she returned the second panel. ‘That’ll include the regional headquarters in every district.’
‘Not all at once, though,’ Kitty replied. ‘If the army begins to suspect that we know, they’ll attack that much sooner. Make the most of what they can.’
‘I know,’ February replied, ‘but I can only advise.’
‘Might they know where you live?’ Kitty asked simply.
‘I don’t think so,’ February replied. ‘The last weapon I had I got from a civilian; I’m only changing now because it let me down earlier today in the heat of battle. I threw it away.’
‘At least they aren’t likely to come tonight then,’ Kitty sighed with relief. ‘Don’t forget to check the energy cells and that bomb thing.’
February shook her head. ‘I am not playing about with explosives. That goes to our leaders, and if they want to take it apart looking for tracking devices, then that’s up to them. I have enough knowledge to get away with playing about with laser rifles, maybe. Explosives, though, are beyond me and I’m not willing to get into them. If there is a device attached to them, then we will have to risk it.’
There was silence for a minut
e or two; even the local nightlife seemed to be keeping quiet this night. February finished the second laser now and pressed a small button on its side that made sure all the circuits were how they should be before moving on to the energy cells.
When February was happy that both laser rifles and all the energy cells were clean, she returned to the vehicle and grabbed the bomb. ‘Grab the body and put it on the back seat of my car. The blood should be dry enough to not stain the upholstery now. Oh, and turn off the headlights on that other car; no point letting the poor soul get his car back with drained cells.’
‘You hunt and kill humans, you steal cars and yet you worry that the car’s energy cells might run out before the vehicle is reclaimed? I’m not criticizing; it just seems strange.’
‘We aren’t all gangsters like they show in holomovies. I hunt and kill to survive. I don’t kill unless I need to. Nor do I do more harm than absolutely necessary. We don’t need to drain the man’s energy cells, so we won’t.’
Kitty hovered over the body, hesitating to pick it up for a minute or two, trying to pluck up the courage to carry it the short distance to February’s car. February stood by her car; though she didn’t seem to be doing anything herself at that moment, she didn’t offer to help. It was obvious that she wanted Kitty to do this alone. Kitty had to get used to handling the dead if she was going to stand any chance of surviving in this world.
Once she had built up the courage to move the corpse, Kitty found another problem she hadn’t expected. As she tried to take the body out of the car, she found that rigor mortis had set in, and the body was no longer as pliable as it had been. Kitty couldn’t just throw the corpse across her shoulders and try to ignore it as she had earlier. She had to use both arms and carry the body as best she could.
London Wild Page 11