EXODUS

— by Jeff Karamales

Chapter 25
First Case Scenario
 

“Violence erupted in the streets of Stockholm earlier today when protesters that entered the country in the guise of tourists clashed with local Swedes. Carrying signs that were covered with slurs and slogans denouncing the beings known as furmankind, or Furs as they are more commonly called, the protesters began their march from the central portion of the city before residents stopped their progress just a few blocks away from the Riksdäg, the primary Swedish government and parliamentary building. Police and Swedish military forces arrived to disperse the mob though not before there were sever altercations between the two groups. 

“British Newscast Services reporter Cameron Tillman was able to speak with a few of the Stockholm residents after the protesters were taken away while authorities try to determine if the actions of the group constitute actions that could be labeled as terrorist activity. Cameron?”

Halley and Julie sat together on the small sofa that dominated the small main room of the Savannah cat’s apartment at the newly formed Furmankind Institute and watched the TV that sat flush against the opposite wall. The scene changed from the newsroom of the London-based British News Service with BNS in large illuminated red letters and the auburn anchorwoman that ran through the evening’s events to a young man with curly reddish blond hair. He stood outside a restaurant and bar with a stern expression while pedestrian traffic flowed around him in the background. Unlike places such as the US or United Kingdom, the Swedes in the background didn’t ham it up for the camera that was trained on the reporter, giving him and the unseen crew with him a polite distance.

“Thank you, Sandra,” the man said with a curt nod, his expression serious with a small furrowing of brows over his intensely blue eyes. “Entering Sweden under the guise of a tourist party, the group of forty odd individuals from Jordan emerged from the hostel early this afternoon with signs in several languages including Swedish, Arabic and English, all of the decrying the existence of furmankind and the asylum that the Furs were granted by the Swedish government after they were rescu-”

Julie turned to look at Halley a fraction of a second after the woman turned off the set, her head tilted curiously. “Why’d you turn it off?” she asked with a hint of irritation. “That was about us!”

“I know,” the young woman said as she casually set the remote down on the other side of where she sat. “Ásmundr let me know about it earlier today. They’re just a bunch of people that are afraid of you and the others because they don’t understand anything about you or what’s going on here.” She picked up the wine glass that held one of her favorite white zinfandels and took a sip, her face wrinkling in revulsion at the flavor she normally enjoyed. “Oh…gyah! That’s awful!” Halley exclaimed, wondering if the wine had turned before she uncorked it. “It tastes like vinegar and battery acid!”

Julie couldn’t help the grin at Halley’s reaction to the wine before laughing, the sound a little odd to the woman due to the interesting thrum that all of the Furs developed as a result of the changes to their vocal chords. The fit continued for some time with the savannah cat holding onto her stomach as she nearly rolled off the sofa. “Sorry!” the cat finally gasped. “You said that you were going to become like us and I had an idea that you wouldn’t like it. Only a few of us do.” She gasped and got herself back under control though the occasional chuckle still escaped. “I wanted to see your face when you finally took a sip.”

Halley realized that her taste buds were already starting to change, something she’d witnessed with the Furs when they’d begun their forced alterations and looked at the wine glass with its light pink contents, the sides of the wine flute coated with condensation and shook her head in mild irritation. The woman didn’t think her own changes would already be presenting themselves and had looked forward to the wine, hoping that it might ease the twinge behind her eyes that she’d endured all day. “Well, darn it. I liked a glass of wine or four before going to bed,” Halley lamented with a small moue. 

“Hold on,” Julie said, not so much as getting up as bouncing over the back of the sofa to land silently on her feet in a manner that was very cat-like. She rummaged around in the kitchen for a moment before returning with two plastic cups and a jug of milk. “I think I used to like soda a lot, but now it’s milk or water. At least it won’t wreck my teeth!”

Halley made a face. “I’ve never really enjoyed milk…” she began as the catgirl twisted the top off and poured carefully, the upper portion that was in the glass bottle coming out a little slower than it should, Julie dividing the heavy liquid evenly before topping both off. 

“I don’t ever remember getting milk like this, but the top is really thick cream. It’s the absolute best!” she enthused before handing one of the cups to the woman. Without waiting for Halley, the savannah cat began to literally lap at the thick froth on top and actually purring happily.

Before she could even lift the cup the smell of the rich milk hit Halley’s nose and what she’ normally found to be less than appealing smelled like the most wonderful thing in the world. The flavor was exquisite and as the rich cream and whole milk washed over her tongue the woman’s eyes closed in delight. “Wow,” she breathed as her arm lowered and set the suddenly empty plastic glass on the small table in front of the sofa. “That…that’s good!”

“Right?” Julie asked with a smile, the thin fur around her almost nonexistent lips white with a milk mustache that she wicked away with passes of her pink tongue. “If you think that’s good just wait until you try ice cream!”

For a moment Halley was taken aback. It wasn’t just her sudden liking of milk, but also the other Fur’s demeanor. When Julie Valance had been brought out of the induced sleep she and the other prisoners had been in upon arrival to Lesko’s facility the woman had intimidated the geneticist to no end. Her acerbic and abrasive nature and willingness to do violence had caused Halley to be extremely cautious around the other female, one of the few times she was thankful for the mercenary guards that had been part of the project. Now, though, Julie was like a girl that was on the cusp of that period before adulthood when impressing others and garnering status were so important, which wasn’t too far off the mark. The memory wipe that had been given to the savannah cat had returned her to a point where mentally she was a preteen, eliminating the memories of what had been done to her and what, as a result, she’d become. 

Halley wondered if this sweet nature was what could have happened had events in Julie’s life turned out differently and that thought gave rise to a surge of guilt and regret.

The guilt was easy to understand; Halley had been a part of the things that had been done to Julie and the others, including her beloved Wyatt. She’d tried to console her own misgivings at first by convincing herself that the people that were center to the experiments were the worst of humanity and that, when all was said and done, monsters of the most despicable order. Then she talked to some of them and learned who the real monsters were. That was when she began her own rebellion as best she could and in the process lost her heart to one of the people that should never have been a part of the whole mess.

The regret came from being a part of the genetic alteration process in the first place. When she’d first started down her path as a medical geneticist it had been from wanting to be part of something that would help the world, not unlike Professor Oliver McEwen and the process that he developed and was bastardized by the creation of the Furs in the first place. It was a dangerous and convoluted circle of thought and Halley was only roused out of it by the feel of Julie’s warm finger pads on her forearm.

“Hey? You okay? You zoned out there for a bit.”

Halley smiled and nodded. “I’m fine. Just thinking too hard.”

Again there was the head tilt from the savannah cat and Julie’s nose wrinkled slightly as she took in the woman’s scent. “That’s not really a lie, but it’s not really the truth, either. I know. I can smell the change on you.”

The woman pulled away slightly, mentally cursing herself for forgetting that Julie and the others were far more than just what one saw on the surface, and that there was still substantial intelligence behind their nonhuman eyes. She should know better as she’d helped make them. “It…it’s complicated.”

“Is it about Wyatt?” Julie asked without hesitation.

“Partly,” Halley replied softly looking away as her throat caught with other emotions besides guilt and regret.

“Wanna talk about it?”

The woman shook her head and squeezed her eyes closed, willing herself back under control. “Not yet. Maybe someday.”

The Fur’s tail lashed a little in frustration. “You shouldn’t keep things inside like that. It isn’t good for you, you know. Ramad says that.” When Halley didn’t answer immediately the savannah cat changed her track. “Wanna sleep here tonight with me? If you’re becoming a cat like me you might like it. The bears don’t really like sleeping together and with the foxes only the girls really sleep in groups but us cats like it a lot. It makes all of us a lot more comfortable. Maybe you’d like it, too.”

Halley couldn’t help but laugh at the genuine offer to comfort her and attempt to make her feel as if she were part of the group already but the woman had immediate reservations about accepting. “I’m not quite that far along in my changes,” she countered. “I’ve got a ways to go, yet. I still don’t even have fur coming in.”

“But your eyes have changed,” Julie said as she leaned forward and looked so intently at the woman that Halley thought she might understand what a mouse felt like before the final pounce. “Just a few minutes ago they were all blue and stuff, but now they’re like a really cool dark yellow color. Maybe more like a light orange.”

“My eyes have changed?”

Julie nodded. “Oh, yeah they did! I didn’t know they could that that quickly. And I think your ears are different, too. They’re a little pointy at the top now.” She leaned closer for a closer inspection. “That is so cool!”

Before Halley could react Julie had her arms around her and was hugging her with a good portion of the enhanced strength that all of the Furs had gained from their transformations. The savannah cat nuzzle her head against Halley’s and began purring again as she rubbed up and down the woman’s cheek. Halley’s own reaction was far more startling than the catgirl’s display of affection as she found herself leaning into the hug, her eyes closing in pleasure at feeling Julie’s soft fur against her skin and the soothing sound of the rumbling, sub-vocal thrum that was felt as much as heard.

They held each other for a while, nothing suggestive in the contact than simple touch and support that both found likeable. “You…you really want me to stay the night?” the woman asked as she basked in the feel of fuzzy warmth, the first real contact she’d had with another since Wyatt died and fought down the lump that tried to close her throat and made her heart and lungs feel as if they were being constricted.

“Sure!” Julie whispered. “Besides, I thought I could show you how to be a cat, y’know? It’s not easy, after all, and it’s better than being one of the others!”

The laugh that Halley felt bubble up at Julie’s summation of being Felis was the first that had come from anything remotely resembling joy in a long while. 

*** 

Ramad had taken to exploring the grounds that the newly established Furmankind Institute sat on, enjoying time away from the others and the luxury of being able to think on things without distraction. 

Thick woods surrounded the Institute grounds, though much of it was an attempt by nature to reclaim what it could of the abandoned Olympic venue. Parking areas were now grassy fields dotted with small thickets of briar and immature evergreens poked through cracks in the paving that lay beneath, the macadam crazed with fissures and cracks that let different plants get a foothold in the soil beneath. Past the areas that had once held attractions or facilities for attendees to the international games were swathes of pine and other resinous trees with an ample smattering of deciduous growth. 

Ramad enjoyed his meandering explorations, even discovering a wide stream that burbled happily about a mile from the residential section set aside for his fellow Furs. Rain and snow melt had given the stream enough strength to carve a second path through the earth, the result being a small island at one point where it curved from its origin in the northeast to the south. The hummock that the water flowed around was thick with green grass and almost in the center was a birch tree that flared out with a magnificent canopy that was supported by a thick, white-barked trunk. By far it was the snow leopard’s preferred spot to relax and let the worries that plagued him slip away.

Getting to the hummock was a challenge as the stream from his normal point of approach was almost eight feet wide with a drop of almost seven feet before the clear cold water that had cut the course swept downstream. At just a few feet from the edge Ramad would drop to all fours in as fast a run as he could manage, his toes and claws digging into the springy forest loam, moss and grass. When he reached the edge the Fur would bunch his muscles before leaping over the void to land almost silent as a breeze on the other side. He’d never have been able to make the crossing when he was human and enjoyed the knowledge that if he miscalculated he would wind up with a shockingly cold bath. This evening was no different and he thudded to a stop, the thrilling feel of the leap still coursing through him.

When a figure leaned out from behind the concealment of the birch tree it was all the snow leopard could do to keep from launching himself backwards in surprise and the water the rippled without concern of the world around it.

“Steady now!” Todd Farbes said with a grin as the Fur gained control of his start. “You really don’t want to fall into that water.”

“I don’t plan on it,” Ramad said as he stood upright. 

The man snorted with wry humor. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to intrude. I’ve seen you coming this way for a couple of weeks now and was curious. Seeing I was doing a walk of the Institute grounds for new security measures I thought I’d see where you were going. Nosy of me, I know, but I like this place you’ve found.” He sighed as he put his back against the tree and relaxed, his glance taking in the wide stream. “Do you think the fishing’s any good here?”

The snow leopard shook his head. “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t even considered that until you just asked me. Normally I come here just to get away from things.”

“I can see why,” the man commented with a sigh. “Place like this can do that to you. Make you not care about everything else going on.”

Ramad nodded though the man didn’t see the gesture. As he drew closer the Fur discovered that the human was completely nude with his clothing hanging from a low branch and quite damp. “I take it you had a more difficult time getting across the stream?” Ramad inquired as he sat down and lay back in the sun dappled grass.

“I can’t jump as far as you Furs,” the man pointed out with a chuckle. “To be completely truthful I fell in further upstream when the bank gave way while I was scoping out the possibility of fishing. I didn’t think the water would be that cold this time of year, though.” Farbes pointed at his still damp clothing. “Good thing the sun’s out and there’s a good breeze, huh?”

“I wouldn’t know,” the leopard said with a toothy grin, his eyes closed against the bit of bright sunlight that fell on his feline face. “I haven’t missed yet.”

“Well, don’t. Ice water would be warmer than this creek. I’ve been in chilly water before, but this took my breath away.”

Ramad snorted in amusement and went silent for several moments before speaking again. “Perhaps we should get some poles and tackle and see if there are fish in here. I find that I’m rather appreciative of the taste of fish.”

“Good call,” Todd agreed, sounding more than relaxed himself. “I don’t think anyone would get too ticked if we built a little fire to cook ‘em on. Haven’t done anything like that since I was a kid and would go out with my granddad in Montana.”

The two fell silent, each lost in their own ruminations which were actually along the same track. It was Todd that broke the long silence. 

“So how’s Halley doing?”

“Fine,” the leopard replied mechanically as he was brought out of his contemplations. “At least I think so. Why do you ask?”

The man shrugged. “Considering what today is I thought…well, I just wanted to make sure she’s okay.”

Ramad opened his eyes and sat up, leaning on his furred arms that were extended behind him, his finger claws absently digging into the long grass beneath his pads in an unconscious and rhythmic manner. “Last I saw she was taking some of her belongings into the Felis residence. I think she had plans to spend time with Julie.”

“At least she has company. She hasn’t had an easy time of it and anniversaries like today can be a challenge.” The man shook his head before a sour look twisted his mouth, the goatee he’d started growing giving his expressions more depth than when he’d gone around clean shaven, or so the leopard thought. “I keep asking myself why Wyatt, you know? But then I’ve asked that about a lot of people I’ve known over the years.”

“You aren’t the only one,” the Fur agreed. “During…during our time on the island…all of us had it bad. The things that were done to us…the pain. But Wyatt had it worse than the rest of us. For some reason Lesko singled him out. I’m not sure why. Maybe he reminded the old woman of a past lover or an old enemy. Whatever the reason she had, Wyatt received far worse than the rest of us did. I was very happy that he and Halley had each other, even though there was a part of me that was very envious. It isn’t right that the one that suffered the most should have…died. Not like that.”

Farbes nodded in agreement, his eyes shadowed with a sort of far-away look that was indicative of the man going through his own memories and seeing past events. “That’s how it always seems to go down. The good guys get screwed over while the bad ones just keep on going and doing what they do.”

“No,” Ramad disagreed with a smile that was far from being a display of amusement and was more a baring of long fangs as if to ready them for a kill. “Some evil people meet precisely the right end, but it seems not before they have a chance to hurt others.”

Before the man could voice an answer the phones that Ásmundr Gustavsson had given some of the men, women and Furs that were considered an important part of the grand endeavor he’d started began to chirp insistently, Farbes’ phone following suit a half second behind the leopard’s despite its immersion in the cold waters of the stream. “Time to get back to it,” Todd grunted as he stood up, nonplussed by his nudity and began to pull on still wet clothing. 

As the human dressed Ramad sent a reply stating the two would be at the office that the Swede was working out of on the edge of the construction site. “I wonder what crisis has taken place now.”

“Don’t know,” Todd replied, repressing a shiver as his tugged his shirt on, the cold wet cloth feeling especially chilly against his sun warmed skin. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

As the pair made it to the far bank, Ramad showing the man an easier place to cross so that he wouldn’t receive a second dowsing, the leopard shook his head. “Maybe it’s because of what today is, but there are times that I think it would have been better if none of us had made it off that island.”

“That’s a fairly morbid thing to say,” Todd observed. “What makes you say that?”

The snow leopard frowned. “Have you ever read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley?”

“Back in high school, sure.”

“Did you understand what it meant? What she was trying to say?”

The man shrugged noncommittally. “I never gave it a lot of thought. I always got the idea that it was warning men not to try and play God.”

Ramad gave a sad, half smile in response before he spoke. “Partly. When she wrote it, Mary Shelley was looking at things from the point of an amateur intellectual, of men doing exactly that; playing God. Giving life where there was death and decay. I think she was pointing out the folly of hubris, of acting on something without forethought. Or of considering the ramifications in cheating the natural order of things. In the story man creates the monster. While the monster has all of the capacities of its creator such as intelligence, emotions and the desire for companionship there is no place for it. On its search it finds it really doesn’t belong in the world. 

“Because it doesn’t belong and doesn’t have a place or position in society, society rejects it and wants to destroy it. Rejection and dejection cause Frankenstein’s creation to spiral into a profound misery and because of that it destroys its creator’s family and loved ones before doing the same to Frankenstein himself. At the end, filled with self-loathing and remorse, the monster leaves for the wilderness to die alone. It really is tragic,” Ramad concluded with a shake of his feline head.

“I’ll agree with you there, but what does this have to do with thinking that none of you should have gotten off that island?”

The Fur paused and gave the man with him a look of deep sadness. “Don’t you see? We are the monsters. We are the monsters without a place to fit in. There is no place for us here in the world. None of us Furs belong here. Or anywhere else for that matter. We’re just like Frankenstein’s Monster. There’s no place for us and because of that there is little chance of any of us will ever be accepted as anything other than oddities or something to be feared.” Ramad shook his head slowly. “We even killed our creator. Just like in the story.”

Farbes’ expression hardened as he regarded the leopard. “What about Gustavsson’s proposal of having you guys help with interstellar exploration? You’d all be better suited to set up starter colonies than run of the mill humans. You’re tougher, stronger, faster and come equipped with sharper senses. You have a lot of advantages as you are now than I’ve got, and I’ve several years of training under my belt. What you pack as part of what you are I’d have to make up for with equipment. Your chances are better than mine, that’s for sure.”

“The same arguments we’ve been told from the start,” Ramad said conceding the point. “You may be right, but what then? We would be monsters on another world. Frankenstein in space. Is that to be our wilderness?”

“Who says that you can’t establish your own society on another world?” Farbes countered with a wry smile and attempted to pull the snow leopard away from the dark musings he’d been speaking aloud. “You Furs would be the first ones there. Humans might follow eventually, but you’d be the pathfinders. There would be regulations to be sure. But why should that stop you from creating a society that benefits you guys? Society is just a bunch of individuals striving for a common set of goals.” The man started walking back towards the complex forcing the snow leopard to do the same. “Personally I think you Furs have got the better end of a crappy deal.”

“How do you figure that?” Ramad asked with some surprise.

“Ramad, look around. We humans are supposed to be enlightened.” Todd pulled out the phone he’d been given. “Take this for example. I can place a call to anyone, anywhere that has a phone as well. Anywhere in the world. I can use it to access the web and look up just about anything I could want to learn. It can tell me where I am, access the sum of human knowledge, movies, TV shows and music of all kinds from every country but it’s normally used for people to brag or post pics of themselves doing unbelievably stupid things. 

“We can fly from one country to another in a matter of hours. We have people on the moon, even a city…a whole city on Mars and there are colonies on other worlds. You’d think by now that there wouldn’t be all the garbage that we still have. Wars, terrorism, crime, hate…you think we’d be past all of that. We aren’t, though.

“You and the others have a chance to go to worlds that have never seen any of this stuff. You can go out and discover new lands that no one has fought over. No one would be telling you what to believe or how to think or how to live. All of the crap we’ve got going on here won’t be out there unless you guys take it with you.”

The snow leopard chuffed in a derisive snort of laughter. “You’re trusting a bunch of death row criminals to not take all of the things you just said out there? Truly?”

“Were, Ramad. Were criminals. The memory wipes have given almost the entire group a fresh start. Most of them are where they were as kids. New bodies, new beginnings, right? Whatever crimes any of you guys committed are paid for. They’re done and over with. And you can’t really do what we humans do on a regular basis and that’s lie to each other. You can almost smell a lie and all of you are getting real good at reading body language with each other. How many problems do you think us humans have with each other would vanish if we couldn’t lie to each other anymore?” The man regarded the Fur with a shrewd expression. “Seriously. Think about it. If we couldn’t lie to each other there would be a lot less contention. People would have to say what they mean and do what they say otherwise everyone would know they were lying and no one would trust that person.”

Todd’s next laugh was actually one of amusement.

“It’d be a helluva thing to have a politician that told the truth, you know. Men and women wouldn’t be able to cheat on each other. Heck, kids wouldn’t be able to get away with anything! But it would be something else. A whole world where no one could lie. So, looking at things that way, yeah, I’m more than a little jealous of you guys.”

It was a new perspective and manner of thinking for the Fur and he considered what the man said, not really aware they’d made it to Ásmundr Gustavsson’s office until they were before the man himself.

“Good heavens,” the Swede muttered as he looked at the pair before settling his gaze on the human of the two. “What happened to you?”

“Fell into the creek in the northeast portion of the grounds,” the former American said with a faint smirk.

“Considering your forays into the woods around us that doesn’t surprise me,” Ásmundr replied drily. “I haven’t used that particular excuse myself for well over twenty six years,” he added absently. “Take a seat and get comfortable, gentlemen. Uh, Todd? Would you mind using that chair over there? It’s plastic, not leather. I’d be rather remiss if you were to sully the upholstery on the couch.”

Farbes grinned openly as he took the indicated chair and settled in before turning his full attention to the man that, without speaking, commanded the attention of whoever was near him. “Something up, boss?” he asked as Ramad regarded the European with something like deferential respect tinged with awe.

“Something is, indeed, ‘up’. I’ve just received word that a decision has been made, the verdict coming in just a little under an hour ago. A jury and judge have decided that the man who killed Wyatt violated several of the laws that protect furmankind and that he is guilty of furmancide. Despite questions to Darryl Gibbs sanity, several politicians, including the new head of the Justice Committee with backing from the President of the United States, have decided that the only fitting manner of dealing with what happened is to embrace the whole ‘death of a Fur, die by a Fur’ ruling.”

“Today?” Ramad asked with surprise and contempt. “They had to decide to do that on today of all days?”

Ásmundr shrugged. “Personally I feel it is a way for the American government to try and save face for what was done to all of you, Ramad, and to show the world at large that the US is capable of handling its own messes. I’m of the mind that the verdict was handed down today because some political analyst thought it would gain public approval.”

“Sure,” Todd said. “And once again it’s a day late and a dollar short.”

The Swede looked at the other man with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t…” he began and shook his head. “The sentence is the problem, though. Yes, we have Furs that could give the assistance that the Americans are asking for, but I, with the support of the Swedish Riksdäg, went to great and difficult lengths to remove the more violent tendencies from the rest of the Furs. Because of the memory altering surgery it would be like asking a child to kill and I’m not willing to sacrifice the innocence that nearly all of the others have gained back.” He looked from Todd to Ramad. “I need suggestions, gentlemen.”

The snow leopard was the first to speak after several moments of silence. “There is only one choice that makes sense, and that is me. I…I have killed and I think I’d be able to live with myself afterwards. If I can’t there’s always the option of going through a memory wipe myself, is there not?”

Ásmundr gave the leopard several quiet seconds of scrutiny. “You could, but I already know that you’re still suffering from events as it is. I get reports, Ramad, and I’ve read about the nightmares. Would you be able to do so without further stress?” He leaned forward and fixed the Fur with a steady gaze and his next words were delivered in a tone of deepest concern. “Ramad, you have already suffered a waning of your personal beliefs on top of everything else. If I were to cause any further loss of faith on your behalf or jeopardize your mental wellbeing I would be no better than the people that have done this to you.”

“So you are suggesting what?” the Fur asked. “That we allow one of the others to kill? To destroy what little peace of mind they have or to jeopardize the wellbeing of their souls? No. It is best that I do this. I am already tainted. That, and I hate to say this, my faith supports the killing of one who would be considered infidel.” He shook his head and when he looked up his eyes were filled with pain. “Isn’t it terrible thing to have beliefs that can be used to justify murder?”

“You aren’t alone in that,” Todd said matter-of-factly. “If we still lived under the rule of the Old Testament not one of us would be spared execution. ‘Lay not with animals’ is the big one with some of the fundamentals in the US and other places right now.” He raised his hand and grinned without mirth. “I’m more than a little guilty of that right now. And that’s just from simply being friends with many of you Furs.”

“As am I for associating with what many would consider the unclean,” Ásmundr added. “It, however, is a different world than that which existed three thousand years ago, and I hope God is understanding of how much things have changed.”

“Theology aside,” Todd continued, “did they say when this execution is to be carried out?”

“That wasn’t in the message I received,” Ásmundr answered. “I think that they are waiting on word from us. Why?”

“If there’s no immediate time table, why not make them wait.”

Ramad gave the man a curious glance. “Why do you say that?”

“Because no one is considering that Halley might want a piece of this guy,” Todd replied. “She was the one most directly affected. I think you should ask her. When she’s done getting all kitty-fied she’d be the perfect candidate. She was the one whose life was shattered when Gibbs ran Wyatt down. She was the one that sat with Wyatt until he died. Let her have the chance for some good old fashioned revenge.”

Ramad shivered and shook his head. “Not even an hour ago you were talking about how you envied the new beginning that we Furs were given and now you’re suggesting that we ask Halley to kill?” the snow leopard asked with a hint of anger. “Hasn’t she suffered enough without asking her to take on the onus of what constitutes premeditated murder?!?”

Farbes shrugged and adjusted the lay of his still drying shirt by plucking at the front. “I never said I was enlightened, Ramad. I’ve seen and done too much to think I’m better than the next guy in that regard. I’m a firm believer in an eye for an eye and all that revenge stuff. I make no excuses for how I feel or what I think about the concept of justice and revenge being the same thing sometimes.”

The conversation railed back and forth between the three, Ramad opposed to nominating anyone other than himself for the task of executing Darryl Gibbs, Farbes for what he considered viable reasons for revenge and Ásmundr trying to mediate the two and failing. It wasn’t until a new voice from the door stopped the heated debate between the two men and Fur and all three went silent.

“What about asking me what I think about killing the man that took Wyatt from me?” Halley asked frostily, her recently developed feline eyes flashing dangerously. “Well?” she persisted after several moments of silence. “Ask me!”

Ásmundr swallowed convulsively before speaking. He told her what had been decided by the American courts and what the sentence was. He then regarded the hairless woman, her pale, unadorned face that had amber feline eyes that were just as intense as her human ones had been. “The ruling that they have handed down is death of Fur warrants death by a Fur. Now I will do as you wish and ask you how you feel about the judgment of the man that killed Wyatt.”

Halley, still in the doorway, stood straighter, her expression one of sorrow and fury though her voice didn’t waver in the slightest as she spoke in a soft and level tone. “I’ll do it. Tell whoever it is you need to tell that I’ll need to finish the process, but I’ll do it.”

Ásmundr reluctantly nodded acceptance of this while Farbes sat back, understanding in his eyes. As for Ramad, the snow leopard Fur shook his head sadly at her decision before quietly leaving the office. “Why, Halley?” The Swede asked after the Felis Fur left. “Why you? Why not one of the others?”

The woman let the ghost of a smile tug at her mouth as she gestured to the Institute grounds outside and beyond the office walls. “I think that after everything they’ve all been through, asking one of them to do this would be too much. That and I guess you could say that Wyatt was my mate. He was right in that we couldn’t have gotten married, but he never gave up on me even when I tried to push him away for his own good. Then he was taken from me. I’d say that if I want justice or revenge, or whatever you’d like to call it, I’ve earned my right to it, don’t you?”

“I suppose you have,” the tall man agreed. “I’ll have word sent. Besides, this will give enough time for appeals to be made, though I don’t think they’ll amount to much.” Ásmundr made a notation on his schedule and turned back to the woman. “Now, was there something else that you needed to see me about?”

“Actually there is,” Halley said, her tone lighter, though her eyes were still as hard and sparkling as topaz stones. “You may want to limit the channels that the Furs have access to. A lot of the news channels are going on about the protests in Stockholm this morning and the reporter sounded like he was going to give away details that Julie and the others are unaware of since their memory wipes. Just thought you might want to take care of that before something slips and the others hear something they shouldn’t.”

The Swede nodded, his already pale cheeks blanching even further as the woman mentioned the protests he’d been keeping track of and hoped to keep from the woman and Furs.

“When were you going to tell me about the protest? Especially seeing it happened,” Halley looked at the small, elegant ladies watch on her wrist, “about seven hours ago.”

“I didn’t think that it would be prudent to bother you with more problems. I figured today was already going to be difficult enough as it was,” Ásmundr answered honestly.

“Oh,” the young woman said, her expression softening considerably. “I…well, thank you. You’re right. It…it has been difficult. Good thing I’ve got friends to help me out.”

“Halley?” the Swede said as she turned to leave, both ignoring Farbes who’d managed to make himself almost as unnoticeable as a piece of furniture. “Would you do me the honor of joining me for supper tonight? I find that I’m not really in the mood to dine alone and that company would be both welcome and appreciated.”

Her first impulse was to decline, then Halley’s demeanor thawed a bit as a thought crossed her mind. “Do you mind if I bring a friend?”

“Absolutely you may bring another if you wish.”

“Excellent. We’ll meet you back here in…” Halley again looked at her watch, “say about twenty, thirty minutes?”

“That would be most agreeable,” Ásmundr responded before lifting his briefcase from the floor and settling it on his desk.

As soon as Halley left Todd Farbes stood up. “I was hoping to talk to you about some of the ideas I had for the back area of the Institute grounds but that can wait until tomorrow.”

The tall blond shook his head as he deposited a stack of papers into one of the sleeves inside the case. “No. I trust your judgment. If it pertains to the safety of the Institute do whatever you feel you must. You’ll hear no complaint from me. Oh, and you may want to go ahead and hire the latest contingent of guards that you were done investigating. The new director’s team from the Terran Colonization Coalition will be arriving Tuesday of next week. I’d like to make sure that we have plenty of staff on hand for that. You already have the contractor’s information if there are other security measures that you’d like to implement.”

“That was easy,” the man said with a nod. “Now I think I’ll head to my quarters for a shower and change of clothes. Have a good night.”

Ásmundr waved a distractedly before turning back to his desk. He sent a quick message to his cousin in the Foreign Service to inform him that the Institute would be willing to work with the American government on the Darryl Gibbs issue then added an invitation to join him and the visitors from the TCC for supper. With everything that was going on he was curious as to the prospect of luring Thorvald away from his position in the government of Sweden and possibly taking on a position in the Institute. It would be good to have someone he could trust that also had the political savvy of his cousin. At the end of the message he sent another to his personal chef and made recommendations for the evening’s meal along with a few dessert choices.

— NEXT CHAPTER —

Unless otherwise noted, all material © Ted R. Blasingame. All rights reserved.