Tiger Magic
Page 45
Tiger waited, and minutes stretched by. Walker was getting nervous, or so it seemed from the sheen of perspiration on his forehead. But he said nothing and didn’t move.
Ronan handed his baby back to Elizabeth and seated himself at the head of the table, close enough so he could dive between Tiger and Walker if needed. The polar bear cub had disappeared, perhaps knowing that the dining room was about to become an interrogation cell.
Tiger said nothing. Carly couldn’t see Tiger’s eyes from where she stood, but Walker started sweating more, his hand twitching where it was cuffed.
“They want to know what you are,” Walker said after fifteen solid minutes of silence.
Carly was the one stretched to her limit. Men enjoyed staring at each other until one of them broke, but she always believed that if you wanted to know something you just asked.
“Who wants to know?” she broke in. “The Shifter Bureau?”
Carly expected Tiger to be annoyed with her for interrupting, but he only waited with her for Walker’s answer.
“Shifter Bureau,” Walker said, giving Carly a nod. “And the commander of my unit. We’re always on the lookout for Shifter anomalies. That order isn’t classified; it’s common knowledge.”
“Not to me,” Carly said. “Why so much interest in Tiger? He’s just another Shifter, isn’t he?”
Walker’s tight mouth twitched. “No, he’s not. And everyone in this room knows it. He can do things other Shifters can’t. When he landed in the hospital, I was sent to report.”
“And shoot him,” Carly said testily. “You came with plenty of firepower.”
“We were only to shoot if necessary. And it almost became necessary. And then you showed up.” Walker’s gaze moved from Tiger to rest on Carly.
Carly understood then that Walker wasn’t a pushover, a man doing his job, controlled by others. He was smart—he’d seen how Carly had calmed Tiger in the hospital and gotten him back into bed, had wondered why she’d been able to make him see reason when no one else had.
“That’s why you and Dr. Brennan came to see me,” Carly said. “You were interested in me, not my observations on Shifters.”
“We thought you could provide insight on the tiger. When you kicked Brennan out, I stayed to watch you, to see if you’d run to the Shifters and tell them everything. But the tiger showed up instead.”
“He was worried about me,” Carly said, because Tiger remained silent. “With good reason. You were lurking in my backyard, up to no good.”
“And now I’m here.” Walker gave her a wry look and raised the hand with the cuff.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Rebecca said, coming back into the room. “He’s a master at escaping. He’s gotten himself out of duct tape, a zip tie, and once from that cuff already. He put it back on to be polite.”
Ronan rumbled, “Easy to pick open a cuff, hard to get past two Kodiak bears in bad moods.”
“I have PMS,” Rebecca said. She smiled at Walker. “Not a good time to piss me off.”
“Why do you need insight on Tiger?” Carly asked. “He tore it up in the hospital because he was hurt, and because your little army was trying to take him down. I hate hospitals myself—all those machines beeping and people poking at you and sticking you with needles filled with who knows what. You know Tiger wasn’t trying to attack anyone there, because his Collar would have shocked him. That’s what it’s for.”
Walker glanced back at Tiger, his gaze going to Tiger’s Collar. Tiger hadn’t taken his eyes from Walker for one second.
“Collar shocks hurt like hell,” Rebecca said. She leaned forward so her br**sts clearly filled the V neckline of her T-shirt. “We avoid it, trust me.”
“Another question for you,” Carly said. “What about the attack on us yesterday? The black SUV chasing us and the spectacular crash at the end? We could have all been killed. And then Tiger gets shot, repeatedly. Was that meant for me? Or him? Both of us?”
“I don’t know,” Walker said. “You already had me here, remember?”
“The SUV was similar to what brought you to my house, and the shooter wore the same outfit.” Carly indicated Walker’s black T-shirt and pants, combat boots completing the ensemble.
“The Bureau might have sent someone to find out what happened to me when I disappeared,” Walker said. “But I don’t think they would have ordered a hit. They don’t work that way. We’re interested in Shifters while they’re alive; we’re not interested in killing them.”
Tiger finally spoke. He leaned forward and said, “Tell me everything your bureau knows about me, and why they are looking.” It was a command, not a request.
Walker didn’t answer right away. Tiger returned to watching him with his Shifter stare, but Walker looked back without flinching.
“You told me you were in a Special Forces unit attached to Shifter Bureau South,” Carly said, again unable to wait for Tiger to win the stare down. “What does that mean? What does the Shifter Bureau do, exactly?”
“Welfare of Shifters,” Walker said. He talked readily when given questions he felt comfortable answering. “Set up twenty years ago to look into the problem of integrating the Shifters with humans, and to liaise with Congress and other departments who regulate Shifters.”
“They created the Shiftertowns, you mean,” Carly said.
“Necessary to protect and reassure the general public that dangerous people weren’t moving into their neighborhoods or becoming threats to their children. If the Shifters lived apart for a time, proving they can do so peacefully, they’ll be more accepted when it’s time for them to integrate with the rest of the population.”
“Sure,” Carly said, wrinkling her nose. “Like that idea has worked so well in the past. All right, you’ve given me the spiel, the mission statement, but what do you do, in your Special Forces unit? Spy on Shifters?”
“Oversight. Make sure Shifters aren’t living outside the parameters that would cause danger to humans, or that humans aren’t causing danger to Shifters.”
“Outside the parameters,” Rebecca said casually. “Like a bear with PMS?”
Walker’s twitch of the lips returned. “Like Shifters with Collars that malfunction, or Shifters not on our radar until a few months ago. Or a Shifter name in the database that doesn’t match any Shifter I’ve eyeballed, and a Shifter living here that no one calls by name.” His gaze returned pointedly to Tiger.
Ronan handed his baby back to Elizabeth and seated himself at the head of the table, close enough so he could dive between Tiger and Walker if needed. The polar bear cub had disappeared, perhaps knowing that the dining room was about to become an interrogation cell.
Tiger said nothing. Carly couldn’t see Tiger’s eyes from where she stood, but Walker started sweating more, his hand twitching where it was cuffed.
“They want to know what you are,” Walker said after fifteen solid minutes of silence.
Carly was the one stretched to her limit. Men enjoyed staring at each other until one of them broke, but she always believed that if you wanted to know something you just asked.
“Who wants to know?” she broke in. “The Shifter Bureau?”
Carly expected Tiger to be annoyed with her for interrupting, but he only waited with her for Walker’s answer.
“Shifter Bureau,” Walker said, giving Carly a nod. “And the commander of my unit. We’re always on the lookout for Shifter anomalies. That order isn’t classified; it’s common knowledge.”
“Not to me,” Carly said. “Why so much interest in Tiger? He’s just another Shifter, isn’t he?”
Walker’s tight mouth twitched. “No, he’s not. And everyone in this room knows it. He can do things other Shifters can’t. When he landed in the hospital, I was sent to report.”
“And shoot him,” Carly said testily. “You came with plenty of firepower.”
“We were only to shoot if necessary. And it almost became necessary. And then you showed up.” Walker’s gaze moved from Tiger to rest on Carly.
Carly understood then that Walker wasn’t a pushover, a man doing his job, controlled by others. He was smart—he’d seen how Carly had calmed Tiger in the hospital and gotten him back into bed, had wondered why she’d been able to make him see reason when no one else had.
“That’s why you and Dr. Brennan came to see me,” Carly said. “You were interested in me, not my observations on Shifters.”
“We thought you could provide insight on the tiger. When you kicked Brennan out, I stayed to watch you, to see if you’d run to the Shifters and tell them everything. But the tiger showed up instead.”
“He was worried about me,” Carly said, because Tiger remained silent. “With good reason. You were lurking in my backyard, up to no good.”
“And now I’m here.” Walker gave her a wry look and raised the hand with the cuff.
“Don’t let him fool you,” Rebecca said, coming back into the room. “He’s a master at escaping. He’s gotten himself out of duct tape, a zip tie, and once from that cuff already. He put it back on to be polite.”
Ronan rumbled, “Easy to pick open a cuff, hard to get past two Kodiak bears in bad moods.”
“I have PMS,” Rebecca said. She smiled at Walker. “Not a good time to piss me off.”
“Why do you need insight on Tiger?” Carly asked. “He tore it up in the hospital because he was hurt, and because your little army was trying to take him down. I hate hospitals myself—all those machines beeping and people poking at you and sticking you with needles filled with who knows what. You know Tiger wasn’t trying to attack anyone there, because his Collar would have shocked him. That’s what it’s for.”
Walker glanced back at Tiger, his gaze going to Tiger’s Collar. Tiger hadn’t taken his eyes from Walker for one second.
“Collar shocks hurt like hell,” Rebecca said. She leaned forward so her br**sts clearly filled the V neckline of her T-shirt. “We avoid it, trust me.”
“Another question for you,” Carly said. “What about the attack on us yesterday? The black SUV chasing us and the spectacular crash at the end? We could have all been killed. And then Tiger gets shot, repeatedly. Was that meant for me? Or him? Both of us?”
“I don’t know,” Walker said. “You already had me here, remember?”
“The SUV was similar to what brought you to my house, and the shooter wore the same outfit.” Carly indicated Walker’s black T-shirt and pants, combat boots completing the ensemble.
“The Bureau might have sent someone to find out what happened to me when I disappeared,” Walker said. “But I don’t think they would have ordered a hit. They don’t work that way. We’re interested in Shifters while they’re alive; we’re not interested in killing them.”
Tiger finally spoke. He leaned forward and said, “Tell me everything your bureau knows about me, and why they are looking.” It was a command, not a request.
Walker didn’t answer right away. Tiger returned to watching him with his Shifter stare, but Walker looked back without flinching.
“You told me you were in a Special Forces unit attached to Shifter Bureau South,” Carly said, again unable to wait for Tiger to win the stare down. “What does that mean? What does the Shifter Bureau do, exactly?”
“Welfare of Shifters,” Walker said. He talked readily when given questions he felt comfortable answering. “Set up twenty years ago to look into the problem of integrating the Shifters with humans, and to liaise with Congress and other departments who regulate Shifters.”
“They created the Shiftertowns, you mean,” Carly said.
“Necessary to protect and reassure the general public that dangerous people weren’t moving into their neighborhoods or becoming threats to their children. If the Shifters lived apart for a time, proving they can do so peacefully, they’ll be more accepted when it’s time for them to integrate with the rest of the population.”
“Sure,” Carly said, wrinkling her nose. “Like that idea has worked so well in the past. All right, you’ve given me the spiel, the mission statement, but what do you do, in your Special Forces unit? Spy on Shifters?”
“Oversight. Make sure Shifters aren’t living outside the parameters that would cause danger to humans, or that humans aren’t causing danger to Shifters.”
“Outside the parameters,” Rebecca said casually. “Like a bear with PMS?”
Walker’s twitch of the lips returned. “Like Shifters with Collars that malfunction, or Shifters not on our radar until a few months ago. Or a Shifter name in the database that doesn’t match any Shifter I’ve eyeballed, and a Shifter living here that no one calls by name.” His gaze returned pointedly to Tiger.
