I don’t know what to say. I’m not sure why, but I feel very protective of the sabre-toothed cats. I don’t want them killed. I also don’t want to see them scattered across the country’s zoos. “So why are you telling me? I could take that information and go get my own four million.”
His stupid grin makes me want to jump up and jam my fist into it. He says, “Trust me. You’re not going to do that. I have a plan and I figure that telling you everything up front will facilitate our agreement. I’m really not all that bad a guy . . . honest. I seemed rather rough last summer, with the beard and all, and recovering from a tonsillectomy.”
“Tonsillectomy!”
“Yeah. That’s why I didn’t talk all that much. I’m normally a bit of a blabbermouth.”
“Really. So, what’s this agreement?”
“You see, my associate and I are reasonable businessmen and know that to make money you have to spend money. We’re willing to cut you in a half million per cat if you assist us. Granted, he is not as amenable to the sharing idea. Let’s face it, my story about your ability is a little on the unbelievable side. You bring us a cat and he’ll jump on the bandwagon posthaste.”
I try again to break into his mind. It’s not like bouncing off of a brick wall. It’s more like bouncing off a very soft, but deep, rubber wall. I feel like if I try too hard I’ll get stuck in there and won’t be able to get out. “So you’re willing to cut us in. What if I can’t deliver two cats? What if I can’t deliver any? It’s not like they’re going to come along just on my say so.” It’s also not like I have any intention of giving him any at all, even if I could, but I need to know where we stand.
“I’m sure you’ll be able to.”
I don’t like the firmness of that statement. “I need to talk it over with my associate . . . privately.”
He pushes to his feet. “You do that. I’ll be back in fifteen.”
Mandi and I both watch him walk away. He joins up with his buddy, his associate, and they start up another discussion.
“What are you going to do?” Mandi asks, starting up our own discussion.
“Say ‘no thanks’ and walk out. It may be as simple as that. We may have gotten over reactive when we thought they had anything else in mind. They didn’t hurt us; they told us to sit, so we did. We can probably just leave. Besides, they can’t make me do something I don’t want to do.”
Mandi is silent for a long time, and then she says, “I don’t think it’s as simple as that. There’s something else in his agreement he hasn’t told us yet, and I don’t think we’re going to like it.” She’s voicing my feelings exactly. I was hoping I was just being paranoid.
I stand and pick up my backpack. “Let’s try it. We’re not getting anywhere sitting here on our asses.” I hold out my hand for her. After a few seconds of consideration she accepts and I pull her to her feet. She lifts her pack over her shoulder and we head for the bright daylight where the two men are silhouetted. Their backs are to us so they do not see, or hear our approach. Within ten feet, the associate looks around. Lester’s head follows.
“We have a deal?” Lester says.
“No thanks. We’ll pass.” I try to walk around him but he blocks my way.
“Hold on. I guess I didn’t make myself as clear as I could have. This is not an optional contract. You will do it. I’m inclined to cut the price in half, a quarter million per cat, but I’m a gentleman so I’ll stay with my original offer.”
“What do you mean not an option? What’s to keep me from walking out of here with the intent of bringing back a couple of cats, but then keep on walking?”
There’s that stupid grin again. He says, “I said I was a nice guy. I’m not all that nice. I want some insurance on that contract. You go find us some cats while your associate keeps us company. You don’t come back, she joins your mother.”
Chapter 20
It’s like all the air has suddenly been driven out of me. We are definitely in trouble. I take several deep breaths to regain my equilibrium and find Mandi holding on to me. “You bastards!” I manage to spit out.
“Maybe, my sabre queen, but we’ll be rich bastards, and you’ll be a couple of rich little bitches. Better rich bitches than dead brats.”
The associate laughs.
“Contract negotiations are over. Now we need to discuss how it is going to happen.”
I glare at him. “How do we know you’re going to stick to your part?”
“I give my word. I admit that you could have left me for dead, or for the authorities last summer, but you didn’t. Call this pay back. You do your part here, and I’ll keep my word. Simple as that. No one gets hurt.”
I don’t like it. As a matter-of-fact, I hate it. What choice do I have? Shit to hell! “How do we do it? How do you propose herding two live six hundred pound sabre-toothed cats out of here?”
“We’re not going to herd them out. That wouldn’t work at all. We’re going to fly them out. That’s why I’m willing to pay for your services.”
“What do you mean?”
“Helicopter, my dear. This field out here is the only place within miles that a bird can land. You get the cats here. We’ve got a potion that’ll have an elephant snoring within seconds. It won’t even hurt them. After that it’s a matter of crating and then lifting them out.”
Mandi is shaking again, afraid of being left alone with these guys while I go off and get a couple of long-toothed felines. It becomes clear to me that her fear is not of being killed, but of being raped.
“If you’re afraid we’re going to injure your cats, don’t be. My buyers have made it clear that damaged merchandise brings a lower price, so it’s within my best interest,” he looks at Mandi and then back at me, “and yours to make them as cooperative as possible. Any money I lose is money you lose. If I wind up having to kill one because I sense a threat upon my associate, or myself then so be it. They’re still worth a million dead.” He gives me a long warning look, leans closer and turns his voice into a growl. “Here’s the fine print. There’s always a fine print. If I sense any kind of conspiracy between you and the cats, I’ll kill your friend and every cat I see.”
He looks over at his buddy. “Is this a fair deal or what, Sarge?”
“Fairer than I would be.” Sarge looks me in the eye, and then suddenly I’m in his head. It’s like there is a brief opening in his barrier and I just fall through it. His thoughts make me want to vomit on his face. I form that picture and send it back at him, along with one of a sabre-toothed cat munching on his family jewels.
I pull out of Sarge’s mind and turn my attention back to Lester, adding a level of evil to my glare. “If you or Sarge harm one micro cell, or touch her in any way she thinks is inappropriate, I’ll hunt you down and have my cats eat you . . . slowly.”
Lester grins. “I like her spunk. How about you, Sarge?”
Sarge has stepped away. His face is white and he is gagging. I chuckle but Lester doesn’t notice. His attention is on his associate, trying to figure out what’s wrong with him.
I turn my back to them and look at Mandi, whose face is also white. “Don’t worry. I’ll give them what they want. They won’t touch you; I promise.”
She shakes her head. “You can’t. They shouldn’t be stuck in zoos.”
I pull her into a hug. “Don’t go idealist on me, Mandi. This is your life and I’ll do whatever it takes. The sabre-toothed cats aren’t worth it.”
“But . . .”
“This is not negotiable.”
“I’ll find a way to escape,” she whispers.
I step away from her and hold her shoulders. “Don’t do something stupid. I’ll be back and I’ll bring the cats with me. It’ll be quick and painless for them and then they’ll let you go. Understand?”
She shakes her head again. Tears are falling from her cheeks. I don’t understand this sudden liberalistic stubbornness. “What was that word you used on me; something to do with better judgment?”
“Now I’m using it on you. You’re being acrasia. You’re not only acting against better judgment, you’re acting out of control.”
The tears keep flowing. She sniffles loudly and then says softly, “I don’t want them to win.”
I hug her again.
“Men always win.”
I watch as Sarge and Lester tie Mandi’s wrists with the same type of nylon line from which the fawn hangs, then wrap that with duct tape and continue around her body several times to secure her hands against her back. The other end of the line is tied to a tree limb. They leave her enough slack so that she can move around and lie down.
“I’m sorry.”
She looks at me in surprise. I hadn’t reached into her mind since I demonstrated my ability to her. It seems like ages ago when we stood together in the cave with the cats and I told her what I was. It’s only been three days.
“I’ll be as fast as I can.” I’m glad they have her tied up. It’ll keep her from doing something stupid. I don’t like the fact, though, that she has no way to fight back if they should decide to do something stupid.
Lester walks over to me. “Don’t forget what I told you. It goes wrong and I feed her to the lake.”
He is taller than me, a lot taller. I turn my head up and look him directly in the eyes. His barrier doesn’t weaken like Sarge’s, but that doesn’t stop me from saying the words I want to plant in his brain. I set my voice deep and hard, a resonance I’ve never produced from my vocal cords before. “Don’t you forget what I told you. You touch her at all and you and Sarge will become big cat food.”
His grin returns. “You don’t scare me.”
I hold my glare. “Then you are stupid.” I turn and walk away. I don’t look back, don’t dare look back for fear that my composure, my resolve, will crack and I’ll beg something like, “Please don’t hurt her. I’ll do anything you want.” I will not give him the satisfaction of one ounce of weakness.
I set a stride, long, hard, and fast, that carries me into the trees, south along the base of the mountain. It is five, ten, fifteen minutes—I don’t know—before I stop to look at the GPS. I cannot see it. Tears fill my eyes, drip onto the screen. I don’t know how long I’ve been crying, but I realize it has been for a while. Shit to hell I’ve made a mess of things.
There is a stick, a piece of a branch, lying a few feet away. I calmly put the GPS in my pocket and pick up the stick. It feels good, almost right to be a walking stick. Holding it straight up I get my hands wrapped around it like I’m getting ready to swing at a fast pitch. I take three quick steps and SLAM it against a tree. It vibrates and stings my hands. I grip it harder and SLAM it again.
And again!
And again!
And again!
Over and over until it cracks, and then one more time.
The stick shatters leaving a small chunk in my hand. I throw it away, retrieve the larger piece and smash it against the tree until it, too, breaks into smaller pieces.
I throw what’s left as far as I can, and fall to the ground against the tree.
“Shit to hell!” I scream and bury my face in my arms.
My life was good until the day I turned seventeen. What a royal crappy mess it has turned into. A royal to the nth degree crappy mess. We were a happy family. Now there is no family. Mom’s dead. Christy’s angry, hates me. Dad hates me. My only friend is about to die, and will probably die hating me.
And I have the entire rest of my life to look forward to the memories. I ought to go find a cliff to jump off. That’s the ticket. Or go tie some rocks to my legs and join Mom. That would be more appropriate. Dad and Christy would be sorry for turning their backs on me. They’d have to come here and put up another plaque. Wouldn’t that be ironic? They didn’t invite me so I’d show them. They’ll wish . . .
Suddenly I sense something around me; a change in the air; a change in my head. I open my eyes, lift my face and look into Roma’s gigantic brown eyes. He lies before me, his huge body stretched out, his head up. I crawl to him, throw my arms around his massive neck, and cry until there is nothing left.
Chapter 21
I follow Roma to their den, less than 100 yards from where he found me. The cave is dark and there is no lantern as there was when I first arrived here with Mom, Dad and Matt. For some reason I don’t need one. Nadia and kittens are near the entrance. I give them a wide birth. A pair of cat eyes shines back at me. I ease up close. “Hi, Vadik.” He is comfortable with me. He remembers me.
Edik lies on the ground next to him, stretched out on his side, eyes closed, breathing. His wound is very visible, high on his front shoulder. I get out my flashlight to analyze it closer. It is red and full of pus, and hot. I can do nothing. I have nothing with me even if I had any knowledge on what to do. If something isn’t done, the infection will kill him. I could clean the wound but it looks like the other cats, probably Vadik, have already been doing that. That’s probably why he is still alive.
I need Matt. Did he get my messages? Will he come if he did?
I look around with the flashlight. Where are Yulya and Gosha? Where is Tricia? I turn to Roma, try to form a picture of Tricia in my mind and send it to him. I’m not successful, or he doesn’t understand what I’m asking. He paces and looks at me, then looks toward the glow of daylight at the entrance.
“Where is she?” I ask. She didn’t look well when I saw her two days ago. I didn’t think then that she could make the trip back. Did she stay there? Did Yulya and Gosha stay with her? Roma doesn’t answer my questions.
I suddenly remember the small first aid kit Mandi made me purchase at Bob Wards. Is it in my pack or Mandi’s? I don’t remember. I retrieve the pack from where I dropped it and carry it to the entrance. I have it nearly emptied before I find the kit. Inside is a tube of antibiotic ointment. It is small and basically useless on a nearly half ton animal. I open it and squeeze half of it over the wound anyway, gently working it in, scared that he will jump and snap. A snap from a sabre-toothed cat is not something I care to experience. He doesn’t move, though his eyes suddenly open.
“Hi, Edik,” I say softly. He blinks and then closes his eyes. He trusts me.
I close the tube and wipe my fingers on my jeans.
Now what? If I give Lester two cats, who do I give? Vadik and Roma? Not Nadia, even if I could. She’s needed here to reproduce. She should be protected at all costs. The kittens? Makes some sense, but there’d be no way for me to get them away from Nadia. If one of them is female, she needs to stay anyway. I actually consider approaching to find out, and catch Nadia’s glare.
Vadik and Roma. God I hate this!
I sit outside on a flat-topped rock, rest my head on my knees and stare east into the trees. I could do nothing. But that would be the same as doing something, which is get Mandi killed. I have no doubt they’d follow through on that. I could go back and say I can’t find the sabre-toothed cats, that they were not where I thought they’d be. Lester can’t fault me for that, can he? How well can I lie?
After too much time sitting on my bony butt, I stand, brush myself off, and stretch. Suddenly Roma jumps from where he is lying and looks into the trees. A few seconds later Vadik appears next to me, silent like a ghost. He hisses. Roma hisses. I focus all my senses but cannot discover what has alerted them. Is it an elk, a bear? Is it a man? Has Lester or Sarge come looking for me? The cats’ gaze is not north where I left the two men, but east. What is out there?
In a flash they both take off, splitting left and right. They vanish into the trees. I’m left standing with my heart pounding. Nadia appears next to me, the kittens on her flank. She hisses. I step away even though I know she isn’t hissing at me. She is the smallest of all of the adult cats, but she scares the hell out of me. Her maternal instinct to protect her kittens, her ferociousness, oozes about her like an aura.
“Hide!” I tell her. “Hide your kittens. We don’t know what’s coming.”
O
f course she doesn’t understand a thing I just said to her. If it is bad men coming and they get past Roma and Vadik, then she, the kittens, and I are in trouble. I have to get them back into the cave, behind the trees. I walk out in front of Nadia about twenty feet and turn to face her. I point to the trees behind which hides the cave. “Go hide!” I say out loud. She glares at me. One kitten starts to run toward me. She hisses and it stops. A chill runs down my back.
She hisses again, even louder, but her eyes are not on me this time. She looks past me, into the trees where Roma and Vadik disappeared. I look. There is nothing. She senses something that I don’t. Maybe it is Matt coming. I hope it is.
Wait a minute. I’m psychic with these cats. I should be able to tap in, see what they’re seeing, right? That’s how Roma got me here. I start with Nadia.
It’s easy. I slip in and there I am. Oh wow! I close my eyes and I’m seeing what Nadia sees. I’m hearing what she hears. There are footsteps, a broken twig. They are man steps, heavy breathing, no voices. I see trees, the same trees I was just looking at but from her perspective. The colors are there, but muted, like when I followed Roma’s memory when Edik was shot and they ran away. There is nothing else.
“Hide,” I tell Nadia again. I send an image of the cave. “Go! Hide!” I look at her. She is eyeing me. I throw a piercing glare back at her and point both my arms toward the cave. “Go!” I throw in images of the kittens and of her, all running through the trees into the cave. She backs up a step. I step forward. She turns, hisses and the three of them vanish.
“Wow!” No time to think about what I just did. I race after Roma. I need to see what the threat is, find out if Matt or an innocent hiker is in danger or if Roma and Vadik are in danger.
In thirty seconds I stop. I open my mind and reach for Roma. I find him. The images I get back are weak, forest views, but they give me a direction. I take off again.
I jump logs, duck branches, swing around saplings. A minute later I stop, listen to my racing heart and reach for Roma again. He is not moving now. He is watching, looking through the trees. I don’t see what has him alerted. I reach for Vadik. He is moving slow; sneaking, stalking. I start walking in that direction, trying to stay focused on what he is seeing and on my walking at the same time. It’s not easy. I trip, catch myself, trip again and land on my hands and knees. Something cuts into my palm. I look at it, a puncture, only breaking the skin slightly. Then Vadik spots a movement, flashes of muted color that doesn’t fit; something white, or light colored. I shift back to Roma. He is moving, listening.
Sabre-Toothed Cat Trilogy Page 100