35. Alan
35
ALAN
B ernard was waiting in the gravel pit when Alan and Kendra arrived on Saturday, his head down and his tail twitching as he lurked at the brush along the edge.
He wasn’t the only one. There was already a deep blue SUV with a stock trailer in the spot where Kendra usually parked. She pulled up behind it and Alan parked beside her.
“She doesn’t have clearance to be here,” Noah growled.
Noah was wearing one of his usual suits, though it was inappropriate for a meetup in a gravel pit. Aiden was in a short-sleeved comic T-shirt over a long-sleeved T-shirt. He had a tablet out and his fingers were flashing over the screen.
“This is Kendra Emerson,” Alan said. “I’ll vouch for her.”
Noah and Aiden exchanged glances. They were close enough now that they must be able to verify that she was a shifter. Alan’s report had been thorough, and included her role in finding Bernard.
“I need to check on his leg,” Kendra said mildly. “And I’d prefer to do that with daylight, if you don’t object?” She didn’t wait for permission, but went around the back of the van for her vet kit.
The sun was low in the sky, just starting to color the horizon as it sank. Alan made introductions to Bernard, who had come forward when Kendra and Alan arrived. “This is Agent Noah, he’ll be playing the role of bad cop. This is Agent Aiden, don’t be fooled by the glasses; he’s a geek, but he can sharpshoot while riding a unicycle.”
“Ah, come on, I like to keep that particular talent a surprise,” Aiden said with a grin. “Nice to meet you Bernard. We’ve heard about your little problem and we’d be interested in helping you solve it.”
Bernard grunted, but he turned so that the brand was visible. Even in daylight, it was hard to make out on his black hide. Kendra patted his haunch as she came around to his injured leg. “Leaving the bandage off was fine,” she said in relief after inspecting it. “This is healing up like I’d expect on a shifter.”
“Do you heal many shifters?” Noah managed to make everything sound like a threat.
“Most of my clients are run of the mill animals,” Kendra said without taking offense. “But I’ve had some experience with shifter injuries. No more shots, Bernard, I’m giving you a clean bill of health.” She didn’t offer to leave, standing easily with her kit at her feet. She looked at Noah. “What can you do for him?”
“We tried a number of things with our previous subject,” Noah said, either deciding that Alan’s voucher was enough or accepting that he wasn’t going to win a contest of wills with Kendra. “As far as we can tell, there is no medical, electrical, or physical solution.”
“Electrical?” Alan didn’t like the sound of that.
“We tried variations of electric shock to elicit a reaction,” Aiden supplied. “None of them were effective. Nor were sedatives, or stimulants.”
“You experimented with drugs?” Kendra asked. She didn’t try to hide her disapproval.
“We had consent for all of our trials,” Noah said flatly. “We’re not monsters.”
“So what finally worked?” Alan didn’t want Noah and Kendra to get off on the wrong foot. He was still thinking about what a great agent she would make.
Noah grunted.
“Magic,” Aiden said cheerfully. “Noah doesn’t like to admit it, but our guy got the brand healed magically and as soon as it was gone, he could shift again.”
“So, can we do that here?”
Aiden made a sucking sound with his mouth. “We probably could, but we’re not sure who did it, or how. Our subject was unwilling to share their identity and we weren’t given the authority to pursue it. The agency accepts shifters, but it’s a little old-fashioned about magic .”
Secrets on top of secrets. Alan could understand why someone who was capable of magical healing would keep that kind of information private.
“If it was the removal of the brand that unlocked them, can you just…fix it? Like with tattoo removal or something?” Kendra touched the brand thoughtfully.
“That idea has been proposed,” Noah said. “But a brand is a scar, and it would take considerable time, effort, and pain, and it may never be completely removed. We may end up having to do a skin graft of the entire area.”
Bernard snorted and pawed at the gravel, bobbing his head up and down. He clearly wanted it done.
“The medical team I want to assign to this is on another mission at the moment,” Noah said with a frown. “We’ll want you on site for the lengthy duration of the treatment.”
Bernard cocked his head doubtfully and shifted so the business end of his horns was pointing at them.
“Yes, we know about your criminal record,” Aiden added. “It’s obvious that your parole was broken for shifter-related reasons, and this has some interesting implications about motives on your original case. We’ll need to ask you a lot of questions, and I’ve been working on a communication program I want to test. It’ll take a bit of training, but it sounds like we’ve got time.”
Bernard gave an unhappy huff and slowly nodded.
“We’ll need an NDA from you, ma’am,” Noah growled at Kendra.
“Who am I going to tell about this?” Kendra scoffed. “Molly Flash, Cryptid Hunter?” But she signed the screen of the tablet that Aiden held out for her.