Devil Seed

by

Gemma the Icewolf

Chapter 17

Los Angeles

Guild Dormitory

Wednesday 5:30 am

     Terry woke up with a peculiar ringing in his ear. As the leopard groggily turned over in bed his ears twitched. Each time he heard the ringing it got louder and louder, vibrating through the room and driving him crazier by the minute. He finally reached up by the bed and slammed his fist down on a clock radio. The ringing stopped. He opened his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was five thirty in the morning. He groaned as he propped himself up on his paws and looked next to him. And equally groggy Joseph slowly sat up and rubbed his head. The husky looked at him with a sleepy grin before glancing out the window across the room. It was still dark. Last he recalled, Terry was supposed to be off duty today.

     “Don't tell me," he said with a groan. “Something came up last night and they need you here today."

      Terry smiled sheepishly as he climbed out of bed and put on his boxers. “Can't get anything past you, can I," he joked. “Yeah, Cain and I got called last night before you came by the house. Normally I'd see if they could get somebody else but, they want at least two of us from the haz-mat group for some code deciphering that Zero is taking care of."

       Joseph shrugged and pulled himself out of bed. “What do you think that's all about?"

      “No idea. They couldn't say over the phone but, I'll wager it's about the mole investigation. That guy, Sam Ritter, is one of the best regulators we've got. Heck, he trained me and the others when we were still cadets. If anyone can track down a sneak in our midst, it would be him. Guy used to be a cop."

      “You ever wonder what life for you would be like if you hadn't joined the guild," Joseph asked, putting on a pair of jeans.

      Terry shrugged. “I try not to think about it. Spike always says it's something we'll never know, so there's no use in dwelling on it."

      “Keeping your mind on the present. A good philosophy."

       “I like to think so. We've got a while before we have to meet with the others, so we can grab some breakfast at the Waffle House across the street. I figure we can still have a little alone time."

      Joseph chuckled. “Alright, but I'm paying this time. I don't need you getting charitable on me. Twice was enough."

      Terry let out a soft laugh as he gathered his clothes and started getting dressed. “Okay okay. You make more than I do anyway."

      “Maybe so, but field agents get the better health, dental and life insurance."

Los Angeles

Guild Dormitory

Wednesday 6:43 am

      There was a slight eeriness to the morning as the sun was just coming up. Somehow Sam found himself drawn to it. It felt familiar, like seeing an old friend after many years. He found himself pulled out of his stupor by the sound of soft paws tapping on the tiled floor. Kendra came up behind him wearing only her white tank top and khakis and handed him a cup of coffee.

      “Quite the sunrise," she said as she sat down on a nearby couch. “I haven't seen one since high school."

      “Likewise," said Sam. “It's been at least ten years."

      Kendra propped her feet up on the coffee table across from the couch and crossed her legs. “Sounds like you're not a morning person either."

      Sam grinned and sipped his coffee. “Back then I was still a cop. In fact the last sunrise I saw like this was three days before I got kicked from the force."

      Kendra nearly choked on her own coffee upon hearing that. “You got canned? You seem like you were a damn good cop, Sam. What the hell happened?"

      Sam turned around and crossed the small room to the other side of the couch and sat down next to her. “It's also how I became an agent for the guild. You ever hear of Antonio Juarez?"

      Kendra shook her head. “No."

      Sam smiled. “Didn't think so. He was the reason I lost my job. He was the head honcho of a drug cartel that was hiding out in the Mexican desert. Every now and then we'd catch wind of one of his supply houses and make a drug bust. There was so much weed and cocaine in some of the buildings I had half a mind to just light a match and watch the whole thing burn to the ground. Unfortunately the feds and Chief Brigs would have frowned upon that. We did need everything for evidence after all. Of course word got back to Juarez about his warehouses getting hit and he took it very personally. The guy was a whack job and we all knew it but, we didn't know just how cold blooded the guy was until he started sending his men to target cops. I had at least two attempts on my life during that time. Then all of a sudden it stopped. I wondered why until shortly after dragging in another one of his goons. The FBI paid us a visit that day and I was told I was off any future cases dealing with the 'Juarez Cartel', as they called it. They were taking over, completely."

      Kendra blinked in astonishment. “So, just like that you were supposed to ignore anything that had to do with Juarez?"

      Sam nodded as he sipped his coffee again. “I already knew what was going on. It's no secret that Juarez had connections with the underground. If they could get that information from him they could nail any of the associated cartels within the states. All they had to do was have their undercover boys make deals with the bastard under the table. Meanwhile his cronies would continue transporting and selling drugs wherever they could and the feds get all the glory for busting them. Not that I cared about the glory but, this was our turf. For a while I was able to comply with it but, every day that went by it kept eating at me. Having your hands tied will do that. Then, one night, I got the surprise of my life. Juarez and a few of his goons decided to drop by my house. I had only seen the guy in pictures before and to be honest he was much more intimidating in person. He was a great big cougar with a scar over his left eye. Scary son of a bitch if ever there was one. We didn't even get an exchange of words before the bullets started flying. All five of these guys were armed with AK-47s. All I had was a Browning High Power."

      Kendra spit out a mouthful of her coffee upon hearing this. “Jesus Christ Sam! How the hell did you manage to survive something like that?"

      Sam chuckled. “Off hand, I'd say God was watching over me that night. I took out two of his men early on. I didn't walk away from the whole thing unscathed though. I took one to the leg and one to my side."  He tilted himself to the left a bit and lifted up the right side of this shirt to reveal a small, circular scar. “That was the more painful of the two. Luckily it passed right through." Kendra simply stared in awe as Sam continued. “I actually thought I might die then and there. Juarez was relentless. All I could do was run. I ducked back in my car and drove off, with him hot on my tail, across town. I finally ducked into a parking garage where I picked off the rest of his men. Juarez, on the other hand, refused to go down without a fight. I must have put a whole magazine into him before he finally dropped. After that I hauled myself to the nearest hospital and wound up having emergency surgery. And the worst was yet to come."

      “Let me guess," Kendra cut in. “They fired you."

      Sam nodded with a sigh. “I got the message shortly after I was released from the hospital. Apparently the Feds didn't like the fact that I killed one of their connections and so I had to clear out my desk and turn in my badge."

      Kendra shook her head. “I'm sorry Sam but, that is just bullshit."

      “Tell me about it," Sam said with a huff. “The whole station was in an uproar. Word about my dismissal got around pretty fast. A few even thought it was a setup but, they couldn't prove it. So there I was unemployed and the next thing you knew I was living in a bottle."

      “So they drove you to drink, huh?"

      Sam nodded and fell silent for a moment as he sighed and looked back out the window. “I was like that for several months," he finally said. “Going from bar to bar, then stopping by the liquor store on the way home. I was an absolute wreck. Then one night at a bar I was approached by a couple of strangers. They talked to me about Juarez and how he wasn't dead. He was still very much alive and he was still shipping his drugs across the border. According to these two the guy I had killed was Juarez's twin brother. They were planning to go after him and wanted to recruit me for the mission. Before I knew it I was on a plane to Mexico City as a guildsman. I gotta tell ya, flying first class was a pretty nice change of venue. I was assigned with three other agents including Spencer and Rogers, who recruited me, and Wallace."

      Kendra rolled her eyes. “Ugh, I got stuck with Wallace as my trainer. Has he always been an asshole?"

      Sam shrugged. “As far as I know, he has. I was able to tolerate him until he shouted in my ear, which resulted in me pointing a gun up his nose. He shut up after that."

      Kendra burst out laughing. “Oh, what I wouldn't give to have been a fly on the wall. So then what happened?"

      “Well, it only took us a few hours to get to Mexico City. From there we had to drive out in the middle of the desert to Juarez's villa. We waited until nightfall to make our move. The four of us slipped in and started shooting up the place. Despite being heavily armed Juarez's thugs were nothing but amateurs. Most of them didn't even bother aiming. Juarez was another story altogether. He was more of a beast than his brother and he was packing enough firepower and explosives to take down the Mexican police force. We chased him down all across the villa till we finally cornered him in a garage with his collection of very expensive cars. We put enough led in that guy to stick him in his own shell casing. I can still remember the look on his dead face as we set the building on fire. Cold, cruel, defiant and hateful. I'd never seen a person so sinister or so evil in my life. I could almost hear him laughing as the flames consumed the building."

      “Why did you go through all that extra work," Kendra asked. “Wasn't killing the bastard enough?"

      “I know what you mean. Part of our instructions were to ransack the place as much as possible. That way it would look like a rival cartel hit them. The perfect cover up."

      “I can imagine the feds were pretty honked off about it."

      “I suppose they were. I never heard anything about it although, I would have loved to have seen their reaction. In the end, it's one less scumbag to worry about."

      Kendra sat up as she finished her coffee and stood up to stretch. “Quite a story. I think I'd better head back to my room though, and get cleaned up. Thanks for the coffee, and the loan of your sofa last night. I guess I was more tired than I thought."

      Sam nodded with a smile. “Anytime. Heck, that beer wasn't gonna drink itself anyway."

      “True enough. I'll buy the drinks next time."

      She grabbed her boots and jacket from the arm of the sofa and headed for the front door. “You think Zero has cracked the code by now?"

      Sam smirked. “If what I've heard about him is true, he will soon if he doesn't already. He was in your graduating class right?"

     “He was. Always had his nose glued to a computer. Guess all that is paying off now."

      “Well, on that note, I think I'll get myself a shower. I'll meet up with you in a bit."

      Kendra nodded as she stepped out the door, her tail swaying behind her. Sam caught a glimpse of it before the door closed and he shook his head with a short laugh. “Dream on buddy," he said to himself. “Dream on."

Los Angeles

Guild LA Branch Offices

Wednesday 10:42 am

      Morning was passing quicker in the computer lab than Cain would ever have liked. More than anything he would have rather been back in bed, sleeping. Unfortunately with the way things had been going since his arrival weeks ago, sleep had become more and more of a commodity. It didn't help that shortly after learning about a mole the team had to tangle with a changeling. Aaron's girlfriend, Mia, was undoubtedly distressed over what had happened, though she had little recollection about the incident, say for what transpired in her house. It was all too much like the incidents back in Europe. The carriers, the infected, and then there was the strange attack on the hospital which didn't add up with the other activities. He and Aaron had already expressed their suspicions but, could their old enemies still be active?

      His train of thought was suddenly cut off when the lab door opened. Terry stepped inside along with Sam Ritter and his partner Kendra Hall. Terry let out a yawn and scratched his head as he took a seat next to Zero. Sam and Kendra stayed standing, both giving their greetings to Cain, who merely nodded.

      “Say Zero, you look pretty bedraggled there buddy," Terry prodded.

      Zero smirked. “You would too if you were awake for twenty nine hours running on a sandwich and seven cups of coffee."

      “I take it you've been able to decipher the files," Sam interjected.

      “Almost. This guy, Lang, was a top code master. Not only did he make codes like this one, but he was also an expert code cracker. Much like yours truly. I'd almost admire the guy if it weren't for his criminal record that goes as long as the hallway."

      “A little naughty, was he?" Cain said nearly whispering.

      “I take it you didn't see his profile." said Kendra. “This guy had the balls to hack the Feds. Not many people can do that and hide indefinitely."

      “That's funny," Terry cut in. “Considering that's what we do every day of our lives, minus the hacking."

      Cain shook his head. “Only reason the Feds hate us is because they're still convinced we're the bad guys."

      “Sure would be nice to convince them of otherwise." said Sam. “Unfortunately till that opportunity arises we have to give them a wide berth. Thinking about the Feds, I hear you boys in the haz-mat department had a near brush with them already."

      “If you're referring to the incident at the medical plaza, Sam, then yeah they had started sniffing around," Terry stated. “The chief put a lid on that relatively quick."

      Kendra's looked at them both wide-eyed. “Wait a minute. That was you guys? Just where the hell did those crazy robots come from?"

      Cain shrugged. “No idea. The techs are still examining them. Of course they've been pretty busy lately with some of the stuff we've brought in. That mixed with Lang's intrusion has all of them including Zero here working lots of overtime."

      “Yeah and to make matters worse, we're on salary," Zero complained as he continued drumming on a keyboard. “So we don't get paid extra for all the extra hours we're putting in."

      “True," said Terry as he propped his feet up on the desk. “But you get two weeks paid vacation each year."

      Zero paused and looked at him sternly. “You guys all get three!"

      Terry nodded. “Yeah, but ours isn't accumulative. Yours is."

      Zero shook his head as he continued tapping away at the computer. “All the crap I have to go through," he grumbled.

 He was suddenly interrupted when the lights in the room went dim. The sound of an electrical system powering down echoed through the building.

      “What the fuck," Cain murmured.

      “Aw shit," Zero spat. “Somebody shut down the security grid! The whole network is in chaos! All restricted areas are either wide open or in lockdown!"

      All four of them gathered around Zero as he typed away on the keyboard. Numerous lines of text disappeared as quickly as they came up on screen.

      “Whoever is doing this, they're good," he said as his voice shook. “They've been pulling copies of all the system data, classified files, agent dossiers, you name it. And...shit, they locked me out!"

      “Can you get a pinpoint on them," Terry asked.

      “Just a second. Yes, they're on the seventh floor. Just above us."

      Cain and Terry drew their sidearms as they dashed out the door. Sam and Kendra quickly followed. The four of them dashed up the emergency staircase off to the side of the building and started down the hall of the upper floor in single file. Cain suddenly stopped ahead of them. Out from one of the offices stepped Joseph. He was wearing his field wear including his cargo pants, orange vest, and white shirt, and combat boots. His gun was drawn in his right hand and in his left he was carrying what looked like a briefcase made to carry a laptop computer. He grinned as he approached. Cain raised his Beretta all too late as Joseph threw the briefcase in his direction obstructing his view long enough for Joseph to rush him. He threw a right hook into Cains face, causing the wolf to stagger back as he caught hold of Terry and kneed him in the stomach. He then raised his pistol and pointed it at Kendra as he picked up the briefcase. Just as he fired Sam dove in front of her, taking the bullet and collapsing on the floor.

       “Sam," Kendra cried.

      Cain and Terry picked themselves up as Joseph made a beeline for the fire escape and started heading up. The two dashed after him, leaving Kendra and Sam on the floor.

      “Sam? Sam? Sam wake up," Kendra yelled. “Come on! Not like this!"

      Sam started coughing as she quickly turned him over on his side. After a few quick gasps he opened his eyes and smiled up at her.

      “That bastard must have been using a fifty magnum." he wheezed out. “Thing felt like a cannonball."

      Kendra burst into tears as she smiled down at him. “You're all right, but how?"

      Sam reached up and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a black padding underneath. “I got shot once before. I learned never to let myself get caught off guard like that again. Sorry I scared you."

      She quickly hugged him as she started to cry. “Damn it, Sam!"

      Cain darted ahead of Terry as they hurried up the stairs after Joseph. The Siberian husky had managed to play them all for saps and Cain wasn't going to let him get away with it. Terry on the other had was very distraught. Though he intended to catch up to Joseph, more than anything he wanted answers.

     “Where the hell is he going," he yelled up at Cain.

      Cain paused and looked down. “Off hand, I'd say the roof."

      A single shot rang out, ricocheting off of the rails. The two of them moved away from the inner circle of the stairwell and started back up again. The building had twenty floors to it. They were half way to the roof already. Floor by floor they climbed. About five more they heard a door open and slam shut. Cain took this as an opportunity and climbed up the stair rail, and leaped up, catching the next staircase and and pulling himself up. Then doing the same on the next set, moving up quickly like he was on a giant ladder. Terry caught this and started following suit, leaping from case to case till they reached the top floor. Just as Terry made had caught up Cain kicked the door in and trained his gun on the vacant room. The sound of elevator motors humming and the occasional pipe spewing steam was all that could be heard. The two of them slowly stepped in, looked about with their guns trained on the vacant space between them and the staircase to the roof.

      “Why is he doing this," Terry said, his voice quivering.

      “I don't know," Cain growled. “When we catch him, you can ask him."

      The two moved quickly and quietly to the staircase on the far side of the room, keeping an eye on the open corners in case someone was waiting for them, then clambered up. Cain kicked the door open and dove to one side behind one of the air vents. Terry kept his back to the stairwell entrance, looking left then right. He quickly moved around and spotted Joseph, standing on the very edge of the roof with a large pack on his back. Terry raised his gun and called out to him.

      “Joseph!"

      He didn't answer.

      “I know you can hear me! Turn around right now!"

      Joseph slowly turned around and gave him an evil sneer as he held his gun and the briefcase.

      “Drop it, Joseph."

      Cain came out from cover, taking aim at Joseph from an angle off to the side.

      “I said drop it, God damn it," Terry yelled again.

      Joseph held out the gun and let it go, letting it hit the rooftop with a metallic clank.

      “Just what the hell is going on here Joseph. Why are you doing this?"

      “Poor boy," Joseph taunted. “You really have no clue as to what is going on. Maybe you need to think with your brain more than your prick."

      “You've just been toying with me this whole time haven't you?"

      Joseph smirked. “I've been toying with everyone. It's how I operate. More to the point, it's how I get what I'm after. Getting through recruitment was easy enough. All I had to do was go through proper channels and I was well on my way to screwing the very people who first screwed me."

      “I don't understand."

      “Think about it Terry," Cain interjected. “He's the one who hired Lang. It was nothing more than a ploy, am I right?"

      “Very observant," Joseph snarled. “I hired Lang to infiltrate the Guild Headquarters here with a fabricated ID card. While he hacked into the system from one end to retrieve a few files, I would enter from another point and download everything unnoticed. He would flee the scene and while the regulators were busy trying to track him down, I would be free to do as I saw fit. Of course with so much information in the system, it required a good few weeks to get it all, so I had him make a few discrepancies in the report logs and had one of my fellow agents plant a carrier in one of the local parks. Not one of the most well thought out plans I know, but suffice it to say, it all worked out."

      “Fellow agents," Terry asked. “You mean there's more of you here?"

       Joseph shook his head. “No, that would have been too complicated."

      Cain took a step forward, keeping his gun trained on the husky. “So what? This is all about revenge? What the hell did the Guild do to you? Who are you working for?"

       Joseph grinned from ear to ear. His teeth glistened in the late morning sun as he answered. “Black Maelstrom."

      “That's impossible," Terry shouted. “We wiped those bastards out two years ago!"

      “Not all of us. We still have a branch here in the United States that is fully functional. We've been biding our time, and I've been waiting patiently to pay you little fucks back for killing my father, Colonel Misha Ivanov!"

      “You're that butcher's son," Cain spat. “You're avenging the death of a madman who massacred an entire village? You're as sick as he was!"

      Joseph merely laughed. “Call it what you will, I'd say he did them a favor. I am however, not without my kinder side. In truth I have grown quite fond of you Terry. I don't see any reason why we need to be enemies. You and I could stay together. Come with me. I'm sure they'd let me keep you as a pet or something."

      Terry gritted his teeth. Tears were rolling down his face as he kept his gun trained on Joseph. “You bastard," he cried. “To think I actually loved you. You're nothing but a twisted monster. I'm gonna make you beg for mercy first, then I'll kill you and the rest of those Maelstrom bastards!"

      Joseph smirked again. “Too bad you won't have time for either right now."

      At that precise moment the building started to shake. A loud explosion could be heard from below them. A few seconds passed, then another went off, followed by a third and a fourth.

    “Now you have a choice boys. Come after me, or help your fellow agents."

      With that he tilted himself back and fell off the edge of the building. Terry and Cain both rushed to the edge just in time to see a parachute deploy about halfway down. Joseph glided down to the city streets where a black Sedan was waiting. He cast off the parachute and climbed into the car which sped off. Terry started screaming at the top of his lungs as he pounded his fist against the rim of the rooftop.

      “Fuck," he yelled. His knees buckled underneath him. He slowly collapsed to the ground gripping the rim tightly in his claws as he cried. Cain said nothing. He simply knelt down beside Terry and rested a paw on his shoulder. At a time like this there was little he could do. All around them smoke rose from the Guild building.

Los Angeles Freeway

Wednesday 3:16 pm

       It didn't take long for news of the Guild headquarters bombing to reach Aaron. Some of the students had gathered around the guidance councilor's office during lunchtime to watch it on the news. Although the facility was disguised as computer software company, he recognized it immediately. The Guild had been hit, and from the looks of it, hard. Terry and Cain were supposed to be there today, and yet there was nothing he could do. Despite what may have happened, even so much as trying to contact them would have put them all in jeopardy. He couldn't afford to make a scene nor could the Guild afford public exposure at this point in time. All he could do was sit tight for two more hours before he could get over there.

      After lunch ended and everyone headed to their afternoon classes Aaron tried his best to put everything to the back of his mind. Getting anxious wasn't going to help anyway. Whatever happened at headquarters, Cain and Terry could handle it. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened either. They were used to extreme circumstances. Unfortunately, that afternoon dragged along very slowly which only added to Aaron's concerns. Mia hadn't come back to school yet. It was just as well, since what had happened just a short time ago. Gary and Tracy were getting worried though. It didn't help that nobody suspected Bruce to be the suicidal type. Already there were whispers of foul play at least a couple of which put Aaron under suspicion. The haz-mat team had combed the area after he and the others left. The body was burned, all evidence disposed of and the cleanup found nothing on the scene that suggested a nest nearby. It was likely he had stumbled onto a larvae in another part of town, which begged the question: where? It was impossible to trace back where Bruce had been the night he was infected and the Guild had dispatched three choppers scanning the entire city since the night of the incident. They hadn't come up with anything just yet. Aaron's troubles were only beginning though.

      Once class was out for the day Aaron asked Gary and Tracy if they would check up on Mia while he took care of something in town. He figured she could use different company for a day. The two agreed and once they had driven off he climbed into his Corvette and started off toward the freeway. It didn't take him long to notice that someone was tailing him. A silver Buick that he could swear he had seen earlier that day and the driver was doing a good job of keeping up with him so far. Aaron gripped tightly on the gearshift, ready to take off at the first sign of trouble. Or so he would if not for the sudden flashing of red and blue lights from the windshield followed by a police siren.

      “Terrific," he said to himself. “Now what?"

      He quickly pulled his car over to the curb and put it in park. The driver in question did the same, pulling his car up behind him. Aaron readjusted his driver side mirror, getting a good look at the officer as he climbed out of his vehicle and slammed the door shut. A male tiger around six foot five by the looks of him. Burly, definitely a strong guy, and age wise he would have to be in his mid to late forties, possibly early fifties. He was wearing a gray suit with a pair of brown shoes, and a red tie. The tiger wasted no time in approaching Aaron's window and bending down just slightly.

      “Would you step out please," he said very monotone.

      Aaron slowly complied, cutting the engine as he did. He closed the door and then looked up at the officer, taking a few more seconds to size him up.

      “You Aaron Secord," the large tiger asked.

      “Yeah, that's me," Aaron answered, a bit wary.

      “I'm Detective Tyler," he stated, flashing his badge. “I have a few questions I need to ask you."

     Aaron leaned back against his car as the tiger produced a photo from his jacket pocket. “Do you recognize the young man in this photo?"

Aaron glanced at the photo of the younger tiger and nodded.

“I do. That's Bruce."

“Just Bruce?"

      Aaron paused for a moment. Now that he thought about it, he had never heard Bruce's last name. “That's how I know him. I didn't hang around the guy so I never knew more than a first name.  Then again, who would want to hang around a jerk like him."

      The detective pocketed the photo, a brief snarl on his lip. Aaron noticed, though it was subtle. Something about this guy wasn't quite right.

      “What makes you say that," the detective asked.

      “He had a knack for harassing and even bullying some of the other kids at school," Aaron stated. “Picked a fight with me a couple times. Last I heard he'd committed suicide."

     “As a matter of fact we have reason to believe he was murdered," said Tyler. “Even more interesting is that you're a prime suspect."

     Aaron said nothing. He didn't even flinch at the mention of murder or that he was the suspect. Somehow he had the feeling this detective was trying to trap him. “Good luck with that, asshole," he thought to himself.

     “Got nothing to say hmm," Tyler said rather tauntingly. “I've got three witnesses who at the very least pin you with a motive. Then there's the scene of the murder. Witnesses in the area claim they heard gunshots that night. Several of them. Why don't you make this easy for both of us kid and just tell me how and why you did it?"

      Aaron almost smirked at the question. “I know what you're trying to do here detective. Make me sweat a bit. Get me to fess up to something I had nothing to do with. I'll tell you something, but it won't be a confession. The night that Bruce died I received a call from my girlfriend's phone. Only it wasn't her, it was Bruce. Apparently he'd gone off the deep end and decided to kidnap her and challenge me to a fight by the old cannery. I brought my three friends who can vouch for me on this. I fought him, I kicked his ass good, and no, my friends didn't interfere. After that we left him there. I only found out about it later that evening because it was on the news and I recognized the place."

     “He kidnapped her," Tyler asked, eyeballing Aaron. “And you didn't think to call us?"

     “We all do stupid things when the ones we love are in danger. For all I knew he planned on raping her if I didn't show up. I couldn't afford to hesitate. So if you think I killed Bruce over a girl, you're wrong. I may not have liked the guy, and we may have had our fights, but I would never have wished something like that on him. Even I don't think he deserved that."

     “That still doesn't explain the gunshots. There were several bullet wounds found on his remains. For all I know one of your friends shot him from a rooftop. Not to mention he was utterly mutilated. His surviving family barely recognized him."

      Aaron shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the detective. “Even I can't help you there. It was late. God only knows what happened after we left."

     Tyler stood there silently for a moment or two, looking over the young human, still suspicious despite his explanation. His tail twitched side to side like a viper, his eyes scanning him for any possible deception. He could tell something was off, but either this kid was a good liar, or he was telling the truth.

     “Is there anything you're not telling me," he asked, sounding as authoritative as he could.

     Aaron crossed his arms as he leaned against his car. “Even if there was, would you believe it?"

     The tiger turned around in a huff and went back to his car. Yanking the door open he turned back to Aaron, snarling. “I'll be watching you kid. You just know that. And just so you know, Bruce's last name, it was Tyler." With that said he climbed into his car, started the engine and pulled away.

     “Well now," Aaron said to himself. “what a fitting end to a perfect day."