Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 11: Chapter 11

— Rob —
The scenario in his head right now was the same he always visited when he was alone. He and Léon together in a forest, lying side by side. He reached for Léon's hand and brought it to his lips, kissing his slender fingers like the passionate, thoroughly lost lover he was.
"Kiss me, Bhalu," Léon whispered.
Rob would obey, devoted, their lips meeting again and again and again until Léon started to undress him.
At first, back in 2048, a few months after Rob's arrival in OC, the Léon in Rob's imagination had a smile on his lips. As the weeks, months, and years passed, that smile was replaced by a frown and teary eyes that reflected Rob's sad expression.
Rob missed him so much.
He let out a sad sigh and pulled his pajama pants up in a mix of frustration and anguish. There was something wrong with him—he just couldn't.
Rob got up and squeezed into his tiny bathroom. He washed his hands, walked back, and sat on his double bed like a prisoner in a cell.
It'd been a nightmare to pay for that old bed—double beds are much more expensive, and Rob wanted a fancy one, almost as big as his small room—but he had always fantasized about bringing Léon here.
After all, Rob and Léon had shared a few comfortable nights in motels with king-sized beds in New Continent, but most of their love was made and lived in that narrow sofa-bed in Léon's house. It was comforting and wonderful because Léon was at his side, sleeping and purring on his chest like the big cat he was, but Rob always wanted to give his man something better.
Léon deserved it. But... four years later, Rob was still thousands of kilometers away from completing that fantasy.
... Maybe Léon deserved someone better, too.
"Don't go there," Rob told himself in a husky voice, balling his hands. "Focus on what you can do."
His eyes stung anyway.
Behind him, coming from his phone, the moanings intensified. He turned around and saw the two hunks together. Léon would love that video. Sexy, rough, and kind of tacky, he would say.
He sighed. He couldn't even bloody masturbate anymore.
Rob turned the video off and tossed the phone aside as a shade of frustration darkened his face. He closed his eyes. Pressure built in his throat while the muscles on his forehead tensed.
He missed Léon so much. Not only for the physical side of things, of course. He missed his touch, voice, laugh, and the slight twitch in his lips every time Rob made mistakes in Villain Trivia. But more than anything, he missed having him and his sharp mind at his side. His witty remarks, intelligent observations, honesty, and the gentle way his eyelids downed and his spirits lifted every time he looked at someone he loved.
Rob could only imagine how lonely Léon felt without his family all those years.
Léon, if you can hear me—
He closed his eyes.
A knock on the door woke him up. "Robbie? You decent?"
There was a thick layer of sleep on his eyelids and a dried trail of tears on his cheeks when Rob sat up. He looked around to get his bearings and cleared his throat to say, "Yeah. Come in, sis."
Rafa pushed the door open and turned the lights on, sleep plastered all over her face. She raised her phone. "Fofo just called. A Westcoast ranger found the wreckage of a two-seat air-NAV around a hundred"—she yawned—"argh. A hundred kilometers from here. She said it's been there for about two or three days."
Rob hummed. "Any bodies I need to bring home?" He glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was almost two in the morning. "Why did Afonso bother telling us?" He rubbed his eyes. "Couldn't it wait 'til tomorrow?"
With a sigh, Rafa shrugged. "He said it was important and that you should check it out immediately. The ranger is in the precinct, and Fofo thinks we should talk to her." She lowered her eyes. "She can't be sure, but..." Her voice cracked. "There's a chance it belongs to Dr. Modraniht. The tower in NC's airport said they lost contact with a few airNAVs this week. Something about a weird electrical storm." Her eyes drifted to the side. "Modraniht's name is on the list."
"Ah, shite," Rob said with a grimace.
Dr. Modraniht had become a good friend in the past years since he started to cure Rafa's cancer with his power trace. It was a maddeningly slow and demanding process for both his sister and the doctor, but it was what had saved Rafa's life—and Rob would always be in debt with the doctor for that.
Sure, there was also another reason why Rob was indebted to Modraniht, but he didn't want to think about it. Not now. Not ever.
Rob swallowed hard and steeled his words. "Please tell me I don't have bodies to bring home."
Rafa shook her head with a tiny smile. "He might be alive... maybe in the forest."
"That'd be even worse, sister. You know whose territory that is." Rob rubbed his chin. His stubble prickled his palm. "I heard some people saying Vanessa was in the city with a blond bloke from NC. Count Cae must be back—and plotting something."
"Shite." Rafa grimaced. "Poor sod. I hope he turns up in one piece." She licked her lips and sat on the feet of Rob's bed. "But if Modraniht's still alive, Robbie..."
"We have to do something, yes. Hopefully, we can find him before Cae's dogs do." He balled his hands. "Can we leave in five?"
"Yeah. I'm gonna throw a jacket on, and I'm ready to go."
Rob nodded. He reached for his worn boots and his old jeans jacket. They didn't look that great with his pajama sweatpants and tank top, but there were more pressing issues now. Rob left his room and met Rafa on the front door. "Something is strange in all this, innit?" The frown deepened between his eyebrows as he unlocked the front door. "Modraniht already spent his two weeks in OC this month. Why would he be coming back?"
"Oh, he wasn't alone. He had a passenger with him. You know he can't refuse a ride to OC."
Rob's eyes widened. His thoughts darted to what Anhangá had told him about Léon, and the idea hit him like a hammer—what if Léon was with Modraniht? Anhangá had told him Léon was in a place that blocked their communication, so the idea wasn't too far-fetched.
The only problem was that, if that was the truth, it meant Léon was in the Barbarian's hands already. And if Count Cae as much as suspect Léon was a cosmic trace wielder, he'd soon be going to the highest bidder.
A shiver crossed Rob's back. His heart hammered against his ribcage, and his legs weakened. Rob left the house and hopped into his NAV, closing the door with a bone-shattering bang. His hands trembled as he gripped the steering wheel.
"Hey." Rafa placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's with the grim face?"
Rob licked his lips while his hold tightened.
"We have to find them, Rafa. If we don't, I swear I don't bloody know what I'm gonna do with my fucking life."
It was a quarter to three when the siblings left their NAV and entered the fourth district. Marlo was in the only office room with the lights still on, a thick cerulean fog wrapping around him like chains.
"I don't recall scheduling a team meeting tonight." Marlo took a puff from his electrical cigar and smiled. His metallic hand closed around his glass of whiskey while his dark eyes studied Rafa and Rob. "Is it something I must know?" He brought the rim to his lips, waiting.
"Afonso called," Rob said.
Only then did Marlo sip from his drink, giving an exasperated sigh. "Of course he did. The kid is an intern and somehow has more influence than I over you two."
Rafa shrugged. "He's in charge of intel. That's important." She looked around and frowned. "Where is he? He said there was a ranger we needed to talk to."
Marlo waved a hand, dismissing the thought. "Underground level. Coroner's office. Pinch your noses when you go in. And be prepared for his magic."
With a nod and a good night, Rafa left the room. When Rob was about to follow, Marlo held his arm.
"Have your answer about the taskforce on my desk by Friday morning. It's the best I can do."
Rob nodded before following his sister. He was all too aware of the weight of Marlo's eyes on his shoulders until he took a right at the end of the stairs, disappearing into the dark corridor towards the belly of the fourth district.
He rushed down the corridor until he fell into step beside his sister. "What's Marlo doing here so late?"
Rafaela shrugged. "Hiding from his husbands, I bet. I heard they had a heated argument once Travone was transferred to LIPD."
Rob clicked his tongue. With a dull clack, he turned the staircase lights on and pushed the heavy iron door, gesturing for Rafa to go in first. "Must be tough, huh."
She did and then held the door from the inside to let her brother pass. "He got what he deserved if you ask me. I hope they keep him sleeping in the precinct for at least a month."
With a hollow chuckle—ripples of worry still oozing through the cracks of his calm façade—Rob crossed the threshold that divided the hot air in the office area and the underground level's coldness. Something in there made the place feel even colder.
A shiver jolted through Rob's back, spreading goosebumps on his arms.
The siblings walked past three sets of locked doors until they reached the autopsy room. Rob barged in with furrowed brows and balled hands ready to strike—but he stopped, frozen before the opened door. He did a double-take of the scene before his eyes, then reeled a step.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Oh! You're here. Good." Afonso had his bloody hands stretched, his pristine-white shirt folded up to his blood-covered elbows. "I've been trying to keep this one awaken, but it was quite hard. She's an unruly one."
On the autopsy table in front of Afonso lay the corpse of a woman. Her long, curly hair was braided and carefully wrapped with a blood-stained, blue shirt from the Old Continentian police uniform. Her breasts and the lower half of her body were covered with white shreds of rough fabric, while her gnarled fingers rested on the sides of her body.
Rafa's eyes widened. "What the heck are you doing with her, Fofo?"
Afonso slid his arm out of the gash on the woman's abdomen. He blinked his big, black eyes like an innocent wolf before his shredded dinner. "I'm just trying to make her wake up again so you can talk to her."
"Ugh." Rafa grimaced and looked away as the flaps of skin around the corpse's wound closed. "I love you, Fofo, but your trace is disgusting."
Afonso chuckled. "It's just Science, Miss Rafa." He walked to a small table nearby and cleaned his bloodied hands. "This is the ranger who saw Modraniht's plane—or she thinks it's Modraniht's. She was found near the plane wreckage, beaten to a pulp. Her face is calm as early morning, but..." he gestured to the many wounds spread over her body.
"Unexplained broken bones?" Rafa asked. There was a furious glimmer in her eyes and disgust on her curled lips.
"Several." With cleaned hands, Afonso reached for an old report pad and gave it to her. "Read it. Just like all the others, it's almost like she wasn't in her own body when the fractures happened."
The crease in Rafa's forehead deepened as she skimmed through the pages in the coroner's autopsy report. "Was it the same inward force-thing, like the others? Is this another of those weird-as-shite murders?"
Afonso nodded and pointed to a specific paragraph on the page. "Whatever happened to her—whatever was done to her—it even melted some of her organs this time."
A spell of silence fell over them. Rafa rubbed her lips, massaged her chin, and tossed the report pad on the plasmetallic tray beside the autopsy table. The tools clanged under the report pad—and they clanged again when Rafa punched the table.
"And we still don't have any leads, do we?" she said. It sounded more like an accusation than a question. She puckered her lips in disgust and massaged the back of her neck.
"But..." Rob studied Rafa's expression and set his gaze on Afonso. "This is not the only reason why we came here, is it?"
Afonso's eyes narrowed with a glint of fun. Something cruel jolted through his features, and for a moment, Rob was sure to be looking at Anhangá's true form, not his human avatar. "Ah. Yes, bitter one," Afonso said. "But for that, we need to—wait, wait, wait. It's finally working."
He pointed at the woman lying on the autopsy bed. A soft shade of emerald-green fog enveloped her chest, limbs, and then her head. Her eyelids opened to show empty eyes filled with the same shade of green.
"Well, hello, again," Afonso said. "Can you please not hide from me this time?" He turned to face Rob and Rafa to explain, "She was too religious in life. Whatever remains of her personality, it doesn't seem to like the idea of coming back and answering questions."
"You're a demon! Let me have my rest, you brute!" the corpse shouted, her arms jolting to grab Afonso's neck.
Rafa was quicker. She snatched the corpse's wrists and pinned them at her sides. Rob, his eyes widened, and his shoulders tense, looked from the dead woman to Afonso.
"Don't worry, she's not really alive," Afonso said, undazed. "This is just a... simulation. An echo of what she once was. An interpolation of her true self, if you're a math enthusiast like me." He smiled. "I infused her with my Lifeforce, and the trace of death activated her memories, mimicking her personality so she can tell us what happened. It works as long as her brain is still intact—which won't be for long if she keeps struggling like this."
"Let me die in peace! I want to meet my mother in Heaven!" the corpse shouted.
"If that's really what happens when you die, then you're probably already in your mom's arms, my dear," Afonso said with an amused smile.
Rafa let one of her wrists go and gave a hard punch on Afonso's arm.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"Can't you see she's scared, Fofo?" Rafa furrowed her brows. "I swear, you and Rob have no tact at all." She growled.
Afonso's lips curled downward. He raised his chin, and the coldness of his eyes seemed to hit Rafa like a hammer. They stared at each other, the tension growing between them.
Finally, Afonso flared his nostrils and groaned. He reached for the corpse's forehead and touched it, renewing the faint Green glow on her eyes. She calmed down.
"I imagine you have questions for her?" Afonso stumbled a step but caught himself again. Weird. He seemed... weakened. Why would Anhangá be weakened?
Rob crossed his arms and tried to contain the shudder that crossed his spine. It was bloody scary to see him as anything but the all-powerful beast he always was. Something was wrong.
"I have questions, yeah." Rafa stepped forward.
While Rafa showed her badge to the corpse and started to question her, Rob held Afonso's wrist and pulled him close, so close he could even see his silhouette on Afonso's eyes.
"Explain," Rob growled.
Afonso tried to free his wrist, pulling and tugging. Rob didn't have his super strength anymore, so it shouldn't be so hard for someone with Anhangá's powers. Still, Afonso merely gave up and let out a deep, frustrated sigh. "I had a hunch, okay? Léon is in danger; I couldn't possibly leave this on your hands alone."
Rob swept the room with his eyes. Several corpse-drawers were poorly closed, and two other bodies lay on the spare autopsy tables, covered with blood-splattered white sheets.
"A hunch?" Rob echoed, his words laced in irony. Afonso had clearly spent the whole night here, using his limited Lifeforce to discover Léon's location.
"Yes." There was an uncomfortable edge to his voice.
It was probably the he knew Rob knew situation and all that. Rob could read him—Anhangá was way too proud to admit he was making an actual effort. And yeah, that wouldn't usually be a problem... except every second Anhangá spent locked out of Rob's body, he consumed his own Lifeforce, not Rob's. And, well, Anhangá was dying, so...
"Oh, spare me of your pity," Afonso said with a low growl, his voice so low only Rob could hear it. His eyes shone with a vivid red, like those of the real Spirit of the Forest. "Don't mistake me for your flimsy humans, for I'm eternal. The waves will come, and the worlds will bleed, and this dimension will become infernal—but I'll still be here." He blinked, and the red disappeared like the poetry in his words. "What matters is that I was right—this is the woman who found Modraniht's plane. Let's get as many details as we can, so we can go there and bring our Tiger home. "
Rob furrowed his brows. He studied Afonso's eyes and licked his lips. With a sigh, Rob said,
"Alright, let's do it."