Page 49 of The Alien Reindeer's Bounty
Rocco snapped the notebook closed. “I’ll follow up with Liz and Alyse. Don’t worry. I’m sure she got invited to some rich guy’s cabin and decided to take a three-day weekend.”
“Probably.” Hopefully.
“Now tell me more about these clementines,” he said, the cop demeanor vanishing and her favorite hungry customer emerging.
Mads
Mads rubbedthe star-shaped scar at the base of his neck. Taking a circuitous route to Karl’s, he made the odd stop along the way. If his movements were being tracked, he needed to go through the motions of attempting to locate Karl. Fortunately, Karl had moved frequently in the last decade, so Mads knocked on doors and stomped around abandoned houses and pretended to hunt his bounty.
As soon as he could get the tracker implant removed, the sooner he could be finished with this farce.
He hoped Karl had figured out how to safely remove the implant. At least, he hoped that’s why Karl had journeyed to his house on Friday. He hadn’t spoken to the older bull since snarling at Karl to leave.
Today’s visit had two purposes: remove the tracker and warn Karl off from Odessa. Mads couldn’t prove Karl had been the one to break into Odessa’s house, but curiosity always overloaded the old buck’s common sense. Breaking into Odessa’s house, poking around, taking a DNA sample—Karl was perfectly capable of doing all that and thinking nothing amiss.
The hum of equipment filled the warehouse.
“Good! Just the bull I need!” Karl enthusiastically grabbed Mads and shoved him into a glass booth. The old bull’s antlers came perilously close to impaling Mads but he leaned to one side.
“Karl—”
“Not now. Stay still. This will hurt.”
The booth sealed shut and gas flooded the chamber with a worrisome hiss. Something sharp pricked him on the back of the neck.
“Karl!” Mads pounded on the chamber. It rocked but held.
“Stay. Still. Or I will sedate you.” Karl frowned and turned his attention to a handheld tablet. “Do you want the implant removed or not?”
Mads took a breath, aware of the odorless and tasteless gas flooding his lungs, but he could discern no ill effects. “Can’t you just cut open the injection scar and remove it?”
The old bull shook his head. “Calling the device an implant—or even a device—gives the false impression that it is a singular unit. It is actually a nanocluster that grafts onto the coating of your nervous system.” Karl turned the tablet’s screen to Mads, displaying a partial map of a nervous system, presumably his. “It’s grossly inefficient, but that’s the point. Removing the device without careful planning will strip the coating of your nervous system and you’d lose motor control.” He paused. “Unless you’re okay with that, then I can rip it out right now.”
“I am not okay with that,” Mads snarled, patience at an end.
“Then be patient and stay still.”
Mads counted backward and focused on deep, even breaths. He refused to worry about the gas flooding the chamber or the swarm of nanobots latching onto his nervous system.
One problem at a time.
“Were you at Odessa’s house yesterday?” he asked.
“Of course. I needed a DNA sample,” Karl answered. “Oh, stop growling. I only took a toothbrush.”
A machine beeped and fresh air flooded the chamber. The door slid open.
“Stay away from Odessa,” Mads warned.
“Now stand over there. I need an updated scan of your brain,” Karl said, completely ignoring Mads’ warning. He held up a device, which made a series of rattles and clicks. “Good. Good.”
Frustrated, Mads grabbed the device. “Stay away from Odessa. Your performance Friday night frightened her.”
Karl blinked. “What was Friday?”
“The snowstorm. Flat tire.” He had not witnessed Karl’s interaction with Odessa, and she had not shared everything his uncle said or did. He only knew that the encounter left his mate shaken. Karl helping himself to Odessa’s toothbrush—and her genetic material—only increased her distress.
“Oh, yes. Interesting female but timid, I think. I never cared for timid females.” Karl took the device back and frowned at the screen. He moved to a workbench, grabbed an item, and moved to another table. “You have not mated her yet. What is taking you so long? You find the female attractive, yes?”
