Claws

by Ricky Sides

  “I’ll see to it the moment...” The door closed behind Patricia and she didn’t hear the rest of what the officer was saying.

  She was just unlocking her front door when Jerry pulled into her drive. He opened the door and got out with a sack in his hand. Reaching into the back seat, he pulled out a six-pack of bottled beer.

  “Hi there,” Patricia greeted him as he stepped onto her porch.

  “Hi yourself, beautiful,” Jerry said with a smile. Then he said, “I picked up dinner, and I really didn’t want to eat alone, so I picked up dinner for two.” He held up the bag for her to see what he had gotten.

  “Burger King, hmm. Did you get me the chicken sandwich?” she asked smiling. She hadn’t expected him to drop by, but she was glad he had. She really liked Jerry and would like to get to know him better.

  “Sure did, and an order of onion rings,” he responded.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to eat those. I prefer fries, but the sandwich will fill me up. Come on in. It’s freezing out here.”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” Jerry responded, shivering slightly.

  As they ate their meal in the living room, Patricia asked, “Aren’t you concerned about Alcorn learning you’re visiting me?”

  “Not really,” he answered, and then he added, “You know, you’re right. I think this is the best chicken sandwich in town. Thanks for telling me about it. I generally get the burgers, so this is a welcome change.”

  “Thank you for giving me your fries, but the sandwich would’ve been enough,” she responded, smiling warmly at the man.

  “I don’t want to eat both, and I’m indifferent as to which I eat. I love them both,” Jerry said. He reached for his beer on the coffee table. As he did so, his long sleeved uniform shirt slid up his wrist, revealing a bandage.

  “Oh, you’re hurt. What happened?” Patricia asked.

  “It’s just a scratch. I was reaching between a desk and a wall at work when I snagged my wrist on a jagged edge. It bled pretty badly, but it’s not that bad a cut.”

  “You’d better take care of it. You’ve had your tetanus shot?”

  “Yeah, I’m good there, but really, it’s nothing to be concerned about, so don’t worry.”

  “So, what brings you here tonight? Besides the dinner, of course,” she asked.

  “I got to thinking about us. I’ve wasted a lot of time already, and I think it’s time I corrected that. You’re important to me. When I saw Robert grilling you today, I realized just how important you are to me. We had words while you were getting dressed. I told him I’d consider it a favor if he went easy on you.”

  “You did?” she asked, surprised by the admission, but she had noticed that Jerry was angry when she returned to the room.

  Nodding, he laughed and said, “Yes, I did, but he told me he’d appreciate it if I behaved in a professional manner.”

  “That’s Robert for you. He’s stern, but always professional,” she opined.

  Jerry finished the last of his sandwich and placed the wrapper in the sack. He picked up his beer and leaned back on the couch to look at Patricia. He reached out gently and brushed aside a strand of her hair that had fallen in front of her left eye. She smiled as she chewed the last bite of her sandwich.

  “There’s something I need to tell you. Something important,” he said.

  Patricia saw the serious expression on his face. She swallowed her food, washing it down with a sip of beer, and then she said, “Alright, go ahead. I’m listening.”

  “I’m not…,” he began, but his cell phone rang and he picked it up off the coffee table where he had laid it for easy access. “Sorry,” he said apologetically, and then he answered his phone.

  “Hello,” he said.

  “Understood. I’ll get right on it,” he responded. He paused for a moment, but then frowned as if in irritation. “I know what to do. I said I’d get right on it. Goodbye.” He hung up the phone and laid it back on the table.

  “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go to work. We’ll have to have this discussion another time.” He leaned toward her and kissed her lightly on the lips.

  Patricia was surprised, but she returned his kiss. As he stood to go, she said, “Be careful if you’re walking the grounds. The cats would be hard to spot, and odds are that at least some of them will return to Alcorn. They were well fed there. Those having trouble finding food will probably show up at some point.”

  “Thank you. I’ll remember that. I’d like to come see you tomorrow. I still want to have that conversation,” Jerry stated.

  “I’m curious about that. I’ll fix dinner for us.”

  “Don’t go to any trouble. With my schedule fluctuating as it is right now, we might just be sitting down to eat when I get a call, so make it simple.” He hugged her then and added, “Thanks for having dinner with me. I enjoyed your company.” He kissed her again, and this time it was a longer kiss. Then he stood, picked up his phone, put on his coat, and left.

  Chapter 7

  Deputy Andy Cook was driving north on Elkton Road, near the edge of the city limits when he saw a very large cat, apparently feeding on a road-kill deer carcass on the side of the road. He pulled his patrol car over to the side of the road and flipped on his blue lights. He reported to the dispatcher that he was getting out of his car to check on an animal on the side of the road and reported his location.

  Emerging from his cruiser, he could see that the feline was continuing to eat, and exhibited no fear of his headlights, or the flashing blue lights. He moved carefully toward the big grey cat, his eyes scanning the surrounding area to see if there were any others present.

  Approaching cautiously, he was surprised when the cat looked up at him and started backing away. By now, Deputy Cook was convinced that this was one of the missing Alcorn specimens. He also realized that it wasn’t demonstrating any aggressive behavior. It seemed afraid and was backing off, apparently determined to put some space between itself and the man.

  The deputy spoke in soothing tones to the animal as he tried to close with it. The cat paused and listened to him, but then turned and darted away. It stopped about a hundred feet down the road and lay down. The deputy could see it well by the light of his flashing blue lights, so he didn’t turn on a flashlight, because he was afraid that would startle the animal into fleeing.

  As the man closed with the cat, he began to think the animal would let him approach without fleeing, but he was still ten feet from the feline when it jumped up and ran further down the side of the road. The deputy was encouraged because the cat only ran about twenty yards this time. Indeed, after it stopped, it began to approach the officer, who was still speaking soothingly to it in an effort to gain its trust.

  Thus encouraged, Deputy Cook stopped approaching the feline and knelt down on the ground with his hand extended, beckoning the animal to come to him. Engrossed in what he was doing, and with his entire attention centered on the approaching cat, the man never saw the white form hurtling at him from his right. The big white cat hit the officer hard, bowling him over. Now atop the deputy, the cat began to bite and claw at the man. The officer’s bulletproof vest prevented the claws from harming his torso, but his arms, head and neck were vulnerable.

  Deputy Cook was shocked by the attack. Even as he fended off the cat to the best of his ability, he realized belatedly that he had incorrectly judged Patricia Reese. The woman had tried to warn him, and he had blown her off as nothing more than a disgruntled employee. He had taken Talbot’s bait, hook line and sinker, and that made him angry.

  The deputy’s anger gave him a momentary burst of adrenaline. He grabbed the big white cat, threw it as far away from him as he could, and then staggered to his feet. His eyes fixed on the animal; he took two steps back as the cat began to approach. He was reaching for his pistol when a car rounded the curve, its headlights illuminating the unfolding battle. The deputy had only a moment to react. He saw that the car was going to hit him and he tried to dodge out of t
he path of the oncoming vehicle.

  The driver was looking in his rear view mirror attempting to see why the patrol car was sitting on this empty stretch of road with it blue lights flashing. His car struck the deputy a glancing blow, knocking his body down the side of the road.

  The driver slammed on the brakes and made a panicked emergency call to 911 reporting the accident. He was kneeling beside the officer, doing what he could for the man when other deputies arrived on scene. They took the man into custody, but Deputy Cook told them it wasn’t the driver’s fault.

  ***

  The same four-man team who had sanitized George’s home earlier in the day, now worked the perimeter around Alcorn Pet Food Corporation.

  They would set numerous bait traps in the woods, but the animals were too clever to enter the cages to get to the food. They had been held captive in cages before, and the last thing they would do is enter such a cage of their own free will.

  Tonight they were trying something different. The team set up motion detection sensors and cameras in the woods surrounding three sides of the Alcorn property. Now, they were monitoring those sensors in a large van situated in the nearly deserted parking lot of the manufacturing facility.

  One of the men groused, “I think this is a waste of time.”

  “Have you got something better to do?” asked their leader.

  “No, Lieutenant. It’s just that I’d rather be out actively hunting the cats. This is boring as hell.”

  “You’ll have plenty of excitement if they show up,” the lieutenant said. Staring at his men, he added, “I’d think after what we had to clean up today, you men would appreciate just how dangerous these animals can be, and take this more seriously.”

  “Sorry, sir, but hell, they’re just cats. Granted, they are twice as big as your average housecat, but still…”

  “Can it, Sergeant. You can tell me I’m wrong after you’ve survived an engagement with multiple animals. Until then, you’re just talking out your ass.”

  Glaring at his men, the lieutenant added, “One on one, sure you guys should be able to deal with the threat, no problem. But what happens when it’s three or more on you, coming in from multiple directions simultaneously? Have you forgotten that it was that aspect of their behavior that caused the brass to back this plan from the start?”

  “Yeah, this gives all new meaning to the term biological warfare,” one of the corporals noted.

  “It does more than that. It gives special ops units an alternative to infiltrating excessively dangerous sites. There’s a certain drug lord that the government has been after for years. The drug lord’s private army decimated one special ops team when they tried to take him out. The guy is a cat lover. He owns a dozen pedigree cats, so it’s just a matter of getting the food to...”

  “Sorry, sir, but we have a perimeter alert,” interrupted the man watching the monitor.

  “Sector?” asked the lieutenant.

  “We now have multiple contacts, sir. Sectors C, D, and E,” responded the man.

  “You stay here. Make radio contact if anything changes,” the lieutenant ordered. Looking to the other two men, he said, “Those sensors are fairly close together. We head for D, and then we’ll spread out. Our orders are to terminate these animals on sight.”

  The three men exited the van. Each carried a silenced .22 caliber pistol. The weapons would easily dispatch their quarry, provided they were hit in a kill zone, and they were so quiet that they could be fired with little fear of the sound being heard by anyone, unless they were close to the weapon when it discharged.

  The corporal left with the van waited until he was sure the others were in the woods before cracking open the back door and lighting a smoke. The lieutenant didn’t like the men smoking in the vehicle, but the lieutenant was gone.

  When the man returned to his monitor, he saw a deer facing the camera in sector D. “So you set off the sensors,” the man thought to himself as he stared at the young buck’s antlers in the grainy image. He was about to radio the men with an update on the false alarm when a strong gust of icy wind caught the partially opened back door, flinging it wide open. The man shivered as he got out of the van and stepped around the side to grab the door. “Damn,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to smoke this bad.” He threw the remainder of his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it.

  Once he had secured the door, the corporal turned his attention back to the monitoring. He saw that another sensor had shown movement. He checked and found that there was a corresponding photograph with this sensor alarm. Clearly depicted on the monitor were several cats jumping into the back of a van while a man standing behind the vehicle had his back turned. It took a moment for the truth about what he was seeing to dawn on the corporal. The black and white picture made identification of vehicles tough. There was almost no lighting in the area of the van in the photo, which made the identification that much more difficult, but then his eyes grew wide with comprehension and he reached for the door handle, intent on getting out of the van.

  They pounced on him then. The body of the van, which shook violently with the force of his struggles, muffled his screams. No one around the parking lot heard the man’s screams, but his team did. His voice activated radio sent the sounds of his agony and terror to the team in the woods as the man screamed for them to help him.

  The three men hastened back to the van. By the time they arrived, it had stopped rocking, and the corporal’s screams had ceased.

  The lieutenant snatched the back door of the van open. The team hesitated for a moment, horrified by the ghastly scene inside the van as the three cats fed at the corporal’s neck and face. The man’s eyes had been clawed out, his face shredded, and as best they could tell, one of the giant cats had bitten off his nose. One of the cats turned and hissed at the men. The lieutenant opened fire on that animal, striking it in the forehead. The other two men each fired at the remaining two cats. Their shots were equally precise.

  “Why the hell did they go after him in the van? How did they get inside it?” asked the Sergeant.

  “Vinnie was always opening the back door to smoke when the lieutenant wasn’t around. Maybe they smelled our dinner and came looking for food, or they could have been drawn to the warmth,” the corporal speculated.

  “Check him. If he’s alive, we’ve got to get him to the hospital,” the lieutenant ordered the corporal. “Sergeant,” he said getting the man’s attention. “Watch our backs, and keep an eye on the parking lot for people getting too close.”

  “Yes, Lieutenant,” the sergeant acknowledged. He was only too happy to look away from the nightmarish scene in the back of the van. He already knew Vinnie was dead. So did the rest of the men. No one could have survived what had happened to him, but it was necessary to check for the formal report.

  He’s dead, sir. As to how they got in, I can show you,” said the corporal. He then turned the flat screen monitor around for them to see the telltale image.

  “Damn, man, he must have seen that just before they attacked him,” said the sergeant.

  “Still bored, Sergeant?” asked the lieutenant.

  “No, sir. Now I’m pissed off.”

  “So am I,” the lieutenant said.

  ***

  Patricia heard a knock at her door. Looking at her watch, she saw it was 10:45 P.M. As the woman walked to the door, she wondered who would be visiting her at such a late hour. “Who is it?” she asked.

  “It’s me, Jerry Wilson,” she heard Jerry reply.

  Patricia unlocked the door and opened it for Jerry, who quickly stepped inside so she could close it.

  “I’m sorry to stop by so late, but something happened tonight that will change everything,” he said.

  “You look frozen. Are you alright?” Patricia asked in concern.

  “Is there any beer left? I could really use one right about now,” he responded.

  “I’ll get you one,” she responded and left the room.

  Je
rry stared at the floor. He had to decide how much to tell her. He had to tell her at least a portion of what was going on for her own good, but he had yet to decide where to draw the line.

  She returned moments later with a beer. She handed it to him, and then sat down on the couch beside the man. He took his time taking a sip of his beer. She could tell that he was troubled and needed a moment, so she waited in silence. As she watched Jerry, his face took on a resolute expression, as if he had just made a decision and was at peace with it.

  Jerry set his beer on the table and reached out for her hand. He took it in his, and then he said, “I want you to know that I sincerely meant every word I’ve said to you about my interest in you.”

  “I believed you,” she responded.

  “If you still do after this conversation, then I’ll be a happy man.”

  She nodded her understanding. Jerry’s sense of anxiety had begun to affect her. “You’re still married aren’t you?” she asked, fearing the worst.

  “What?” Jerry asked in surprise. “No, that’s not it at all. I almost wish I were. That might be easier to square with you than what I have to say.”

  “No it wouldn’t,” Patricia said fiercely.

  Despite the seriousness of the situation, Jerry laughed. However, he immediately wiped the smile off his face and said, “It’s time I told you the truth about me. I’m not the man you think I am, though, yes, I am divorced, and have been for years.”

  “Good,” she responded, but then she sat back on the couch waiting for him to say what he’d come to say.

  “I don’t really work for Alcorn. That’s just my cover. I’m the leader of a covert military team. We take on secret missions that involve national security. The military was interested in testing some drugs in a cat food product. If it worked, the specimens would be turned into super cats, and they’d be bigger, stronger, and more lethal than ordinary cats.”