I leaned on the wall and tried to reason with myself. I've done far too much thinking. It's time I put some action in motion. But what?
“You're welcome to stay as long as you wish,” Tanner interrupted my stymied thoughts. “If you decide on leaving, let me know and we'll take my rickshaw. You two could sit and enjoy the trip while I get a good stretch of my legs on uncluttered roads.”
I nodded understanding and walked out the front door to stretch my legs. At eight in the morning, the April sun had already fully risen. Temperature wise, it was a good 55 degrees. If we did go, the rickshaw would be a great comfort to me, as the temperature will be rising several degrees each month until August. Of course for Joann and Tanner, with less fur then I have, it will be ideal traveling weather. Wearing only black pants and a belt, I put my paws behind my back and let my pads wander where they would.
Inside an hour I looked up and took note my pads had taken me to a local park. There I found a bench and sat. Out in the park grounds, animals of all description took pleasure in daily life given these moments to relax, play, lie out on blankets or gather in groups for gossip and good food. A wolf worth his salt is not domesticated. My father's words came back to me. For some moments I considered the clan, but vetoed the thoughts. My family could never understand my wish to marry outside of my species. Besides, Joann wouldn't survive long in the clan. They'd make sure of that. I put up an arm on the backrest and crossed my ankles. After a couple of hours I said, “Uh, hell with it.” Internally I continued my thoughts, as I'd startled a passerby with my cuss words. I've already packed it in. I rubbed my chin. As for a litter, it'd be best if Joann had hers first. I could always father a cub or two later. I looked around and took my bearing before I set out for Clair's warren. While I walked along I put mind to work on whom to breed with Joann. I really don't like the idea of a stranger impregnating Joann. Mmm…perhaps we could keep it in the family. Clair just got married. Maybe she wouldn't mind her husband doing the honors. Still unhappy with any other animal touching Joann, I sought to set my mind on this course. Joann was going to stay with her sister's for a couple of days anyway. So while she gets pregnant, I'll get with Tanner and see what supplies we'll need to start our trip.
****
Chapter 11:
An Unwelcome Home Visit
Without any bank notes, my walk to Clair's apartment building took me some four hours. By then my wounded leg, chest and shoulder were a little upset with me. Yet I paid them no mind. You learn early in life out on the glacier to ignore discomforts. Though this wasn’t the glacier, I found out early in my chosen career, a P.I.’s life is fraught with mishaps. Thus with a look up the stairs I set pads to work to climb up the levels and then along the hallway. Walking along the pathway my nose caught three familiar scents. None of which should be here. “What the hell are Mitch Vetrov and the dumb brothers doing around here?”
I slowed my pace and took deeper breaths. The closer I came to Clair's warren, the stronger their scents came to my nose. I swallowed. Joann and Clair's scents are just as strong.
I came up on the door and put an ear to the edge of the door, my thoughts filled with anxiety.
“…ell me where he is.” Mitch Vetrov ordered. “My two compadres are not as patient as I am.”
“Eat me!” Joann screamed at the lynx.
The sound of a heavy slap came to my ears. “That, rabbit, is a poor choice of words.” I strained to catch the sound of his pads as he crossed the floor a few steps. A moment of no words was followed by him threatening, “If you don't tell me in the next few seconds where Braxton is, I'll give your sister to Hedrick and Olsten to do just that.” Another pause. “You best tell your sister to give me what I want, or you're going to be dinner.”
“Joann, please!” Clair screeched. Tears of sorrow flooded her words. “For the maker's sake, tell him!” Sorrowful crying followed this, as if something horrible had already happened.
I swallowed. Clair's husband. I put my paw over my muzzle. I couldn't know for sure, but I'd held my fair share of females crying over the years, and her tears sounded devastated.
“Go to the devil!” Joann spat.
I put my back to the wall. Oh, Joann…I'm not worth the life of your sister. Or yours for that matter. I let my head fall back onto the wall. Without a bargaining chip of any kind, Joann and Clair could be killed. But if I leave, if I take the time to figure out what I could use or even to flag down a street officer, one or both could suffer at my delay. I closed my eyes to try to think. What can I do? The dumb brothers will be hateful toward me for killing their boss. So manipulation is out. I wanted to pound my head on the wall. There's got to be a way! I rubbed my forehead and opened my eyes to see a black paw. The sight was still unnerving. I dropped my arm and sought any idea.
That's when it hit me. Of course! No one outside Tanner and Joann knows of my color change. It might be enough to get me past the polar bears. Once close enough to Mitch Vetrov….mmm, damn-it, I'd still have to contend with the polar bears. I heeled my forehead. Think, wolf, think! You've talked your way out of many a situation over the years…
A yell and scream found my ears and I cringed. I'm wasting time! Let's go, wolf, you're sharper than this. What held me back was Joann. If I miscalculated. If I screwed up, she could be hurt or killed. Oh, maker, have mercy on this poor wolf and show me the way, I begged.
I was reaching for straws when an idea came. I looked at my arms. My chest, pants and legs. It can't work! I told myself. The dumb brothers can't be that stupid. I took a big whiff of myself. Hay, wood, dye, Tanner, Joann and myself. Not to mention pollen from spring flowers. I licked my paws and sought to flatten my head of hair. I pulled up my pants. Shook out my arms and legs. Rolled my head and squared my shoulders before I let my pads put me before Clair's door. I took a deep breath and knocked. Light cuss words came from inside and pads shuffling. The door opened.
“Are you Hedrick or Olsten?” I inquired in a high voice.
“Name's Olsten. Hedrick's here too.”
“Hi there,” Hedrick said beside the door, though out of sight.
“Good, I was told Mr. Vetrov would be with you. Is he?”
“He's behind us watching the jackrabbits.”
A white paw smacked Olsten's shoulder and Hedrick scolded. “Don't tell him that!”
Olsten hit Hedrick back. “Well, what should I tell him?”
Before the two could get into it, Mitch Vetrov came up and shoved at Olsten. “Get out of the way, you oaf.” The lynx shouldered his way in to see me. “Now what's all this and who are you?”
I tried to look meek. “The name's Brin, sir. I've a message from Mr. Nelson…” I was taking a risk here, but I had no choice.
“Well, out with it, I haven't all day,” Mitch Vetrov snapped.
“Yes sir. Sorry, sir. Uh…Mr. Nelson told me he's in need of Hedrick and Olsten. And uh, that I'm to take their place as your aid, uh muscle, sir.”
Mitch Vetrov, whose hundred and sixty-four centimeters, {5'5”} took him to my jaw line, look me over and sneered, “You have got to be kidding me.”
I tried to look hurt, but after a few seconds I looked around waiting for his compliance.
“Fine, fine,” The lynx snapped, stepping back. “With luck you're smarter than these two oafs.”
I stepped past Hedrick and Olsten and scoured the room with only my eyes. Joann and Clair sat tied and currently gagged in chairs facing each other in the middle of the room. Clair's newlywed husband lay crumpled on the floor near their bedroom. His head set at an angle no neck could withstand without snapping. Inwardly I groaned. His death is on my paws, I condemned myself. Joann's sorrowful face turned slightly enough to catch a look at me. An ear twitched and rose a little. Her face brightened a hair. I made a motion with my paw in front of me for silence. She caught this and turned her head away. Clair simply sat, her head down and tears silently falling down her cheeks.
“Well!” Mitch Vetrov snapped at the pol
ar bears. “You heard the wolf. Get out and help Mr. Nelson.” Mitch swatted at one and kicked at the other. “And good riddance!” He slammed the door then let out a breath of irritation. “Damn idiots. The only good they've been was in killing that rabbit.”
Clair opened up again in horrific tears at his boasting.
“Aaa, pipe down,” Mitch snapped. “You'll be seeing that rabbit shortly, I promise you.”
With the polar bears out of the warren, I stood struggling with myself to hold off killing the bastard until I was certain they were well out of ear range.
Mitch Vetrov slapped my arm and pointed at Clair. “Make yourself useful and take a hold of that one's throat and squeeze it until I tell you to stop.”
Had I still been on the case, I would've set myself to knock the lynx out so I could tie him up and interrogate him. I could still do that then give him to the police for the murder of Clair's husband. But something whispered in my ear justice would not find him if whoever was pulling the strings needed him for more dirty work. This left me free to do option three. One more agreeable to my current mindset.
After his slap, I dug deep into my mind and opened a cage door that let my animal out without boundaries. My irises opened wide and my tail fuzzed up. Claws sprouted from my paws and pads. A snarl filled my throat. My paw shot out and grabbed Mitch by the throat. I took him off his pads, twisted my torso and came down on my knee and slammed his head onto the hard wood floor. As I'd hoped, the lynx never saw it coming. His eyes had gone wide to the contact. His paws grabbed my arm out of reflex, if nothing else. He sought to cry out as his skull cracked open like a coconut.
After verifying he was beyond this world, I let go and filled my lungs in a deep breath to calm myself and rein in my animal. Knowledge of the city brought back intelligence. I turned to gauge Joann and Clair's reactions. Clair still had her head turned away. Joann's eyes marked my deed as she sought to breathe through the rag around her mouth. Her eyes held anger, sorrow and pain. She looked into my eyes then closed hers and nodded understanding.
What happened next I had never even considered. The door to Clair's warren opened and one of the two polar bears walked in.
“Beg pardon, Brin, but I've a bet with Olsten. Are you related to Mr. Snow? Because…uh, you sure…uh, smell like him…”
Hedrick stumbled on his last words as I jerked my head quickly about to see him in the doorway. My position over Mitch Vetrov found a glimmer of intelligences in the bear and his calm face filled with rage. His jaw opened. He emitted a loud roar. His arms shot out in front and he charged.
At my prime I might have downed a single polar bear, given room and time. But two, once Olsten joined in? It was asking too much. The best outcome would be to survive. A very highly unlikely condition if a wolf like me was dumb enough to fight back. A lot of scenarios flashed through my mind in that instant. The only outcomes to them were all the same. Oh shit, I'm dead!
In the end I did a remarkable back flip between Joanna and Clair. This rendered a second or two of time as Hedrick halted his charge while his low I.Q. considered pathways to me beyond the white-tail jackrabbits. Ultimately he decided to negotiate around Joann instead of bowling over her and Clair. Olsten, having heard the loud roar, followed in on fast pads, mirroring Hedrick's path. On my pads, I saw the polar bears veer around the rabbits. This unexpected event left the doorway clear.
New scenarios opened before me. Stay and get pounded on or torn apart, or jump over my family and high tail it out. If luck held, the bears would follow me. This would leave Joann and Clair out of danger while I lost the polar bears and doubled back. Optimism in my abilities as a free working wolf won out. I bolted over my lover and her sister and charged the door. In the outer hallway, I headed for the stairs down. A look behind showed Hedrick and Olsten were indeed following as they collided in the doorway and fell out onto the floor. With a good lead, I hit the stairs, yet had to revise my path as trunk-carrying Great Danes, Boxers and a certain red fox were coming up the stairs. My shock in passing Mr. Bryn Nelson almost set my pads to stumble.
What the hell is he doing here? ran wild in my mind as I hit the next level and darted along the hallway. I realized the pursuit stalled somewhere, which allowed my pads to stumble to a halt at the second set of stairs I headed for. I filled my lungs with air after that all-out sprint while flashes of three large trunks came to focus. My ears and tail dropped. A resident walked past with an odd look for my antics.
I slowly turned my head to see down the way I came. By the maker, no! It was obvious who those three trunks were for. Yet I held no chance against so many. I sucked in my tongue and closed my muzzle. The practical thing would be to leave. Track them at a distance. Once they go to ground I could enlist the help of Mr. Palan. Yet there is no guaranty either one would be alive when dumped in those trunks. The air and life drained out me. I leaned on the wall and slid to the floor. My paws covered my head. I felt like howling at the moon, though there wasn't any in the blue sky. I can't win! There are just too many of them!
“Hey, wolfy?” a young voice and light touch on my shoulder called me up. “You okay?”
I looked between fingers and saw concerned large eyes of a young cottontail. Her ears were high and sweeping the airway in anxiety. A brief image of Joann smiling brightly came to mind, kneeling behind this rabbit as if she were our own daughter. That image burned red hot in my consciousness.
An upsurge of who I truly was came to light and stomped to ash this pathetic pampered city self I'd become. Like an old friend, I took hold of the reins and lowered my paw to pat the little waif on the head reassuringly. “I am now.” I stood. “Thanks to you.” I smiled down on her. The little cottontail brightened. I took to the stairs and once on the level with Clair's apartment I called myself to war. “I am an Alpha Male and Joann is my chosen Alpha Female. Any animal dares touch her and my clan will suffer my wrath!”
Hedrick and Olsten stood guard at Clair's warren. “These two will be the first to know it!” I snarled. Claws in pads and paws sprouted. My face took on the ugly snarl of a maddened animal. I bared my fangs in true ferocity for the first time since I left my true self years back with my clan, and charged. Adrenalin hit my bloodstream and excited muscles to expand beyond normal boundaries. In fewer seconds then one could estimate, I was on them.
Claws raked fur, skin, and finally dug deep into meat and bone. Impossibly fast I'd ripped out the throat of the closest polar bear and passed the second before either knew I was there. The second polar bear blinked, heard the gurgling to his left and turned. Like a taut spring I sprinted back along the hallway and sprang onto his exposed back, sinking pad nails into his back while paw nails found skin and flesh on his shoulder. As my instincts predicted, he arched backward, head raised in a yell of pain. Jaws wide, I fell on his throat and pressed my powerful jaws to close. Sharp canines passed fur and hit skin, slicing in. Liquid delight ran hot and pure into my mouth and over my muzzle. Intelligence foretold my quarry's next move. Before his paws could gain a grip on my head, I used his back like a springboard and leapt away. Teeth vacated the wound in a tearing motion to maximize the damage.
On the ground, instincts told me to capitalize on the wounded animal with another attack. Intelligence overruled this. Without a moment wasted I ducked under his arms as his paws latched onto his throat and sprinted. I came up past him, shoulder and arms aimed at the closed door.
The door swung open to expose a pistol held by a Great Dane. The animal in me took total delight in his surprised expression. I changed tactics. My left arm bashed the door out of his paw. My right paw balled up into a tight fist and I slammed this into his windpipe with the power of my shoulder and arm. The collapse of his throat followed. Body taken off its pads, the Great Dane flew back into the room.
My senses heightened. Eyes shifted, and marked a diagram of the room in the back of my mind. Nose and ears filled the diagram with placements of each member of Mr. Nelson's hench-animals. Immediate dange
r labeled, pad nails tore into the wooden floor and I launched myself into a bloodbath.
****
A world of aches and pains throughout muscles and body was what I awoke to. I tried to unwrap my curled body to find myself imprisoned in a small wooden trunk. The wonder I was still alive came next. By all rights, I should be long dead and my body feeding the crows. So why am I alive? I questioned, though that was a lot to consider when my world held little energy to think past the beating I took. Knees pressed upon my chest. Head and pads pressed on the walls of my confinement. I sought to work free my tied-up wrists behind my back. Unable to growl or snarl due to the muzzle around my mouth meant someone was taking no chances.
My trunk bounced. A moment of consideration of vibrations suggested my box was on a cart on the move. Complete darkness meant no way to ascertain my location until I could either scratch through wooden walls or the trunk lid was raised. Still, I had my ears and nose.
I closed my eyes and rested. When I next awoke, my full bladder and empty stomach said as much as a day or two had passed. A lack of freedom a few hours later meant bodily functions were not to be denied, however embarrassing. The pungent smell of my own urine did not distract my nose from finding other smells. Joann was near. Possibly her sister as well, though I wasn't certain. I only knew a pregnant herbivore was nearby.
Braxton Snow P.I. (The Snow Adventures Book 1) Page 18