Page 15 of Colvin
“Got it. Good luck, old friend. Can’t wait to meet this girl.” Degrasay signed off.
* * *
Quickly he commed Delain, not bothering to activate holo chat, just sending the information on the shuttle and the mother ship. Then he was out the door, mounting his cycle and roaring off northward. Anger boiled like acid in his veins the further he went, cutting across the terrain, utilizing the antigrav where necessary. He kept the engine at the redline and made good time. Leaving the cycle about a half a mile from the location of the shuttle, Colvin jogged the rest of the way until an Ardannan Special forces operator in camouflage gear stepped out of the forest shadows and signaled to him.
He followed the man to their command post where he got a quick briefing from the officer in charge, “The ship isn’t going anywhere, sir. The Famptror has it disabled thanks to the reverse tractor beam but the tangos don’t seem to understand what’s happening. Guess they never heard of the tech. They think it’s their engine.”
“And my mate? And the boy? Are they here?”
“The lady’s banged up a bit. Kid’s okay but scared and crying. She arrived a little while ago, with two men in a groundcar. There are five more men plus the pilot and one other woman. She doesn’t seem to be under duress.”
“Probably the girl who kidnapped the boy from childcare. She’s one of them,” Colvin said. “Arms?”
“All the men, not the second woman.” The officer gestured to one of his men and the operator handed Colvin a blaster.
“Sir, all the tangos are outside the flyer now,” said a voice on the subaural comlink.
“I’m going to see for myself. Attack on my signal only,” Colvin said, wheeling and heading for the clearing where the shuttle sat. He sensed rather than saw the Special Forces team spreading out around him, creeping through the forest as silently as he was. When he got to the edge of the glade, he hunkered down in cover and took in the situation for himself. Ivy’s bruises and white face infuriated him. Darien was pressed against her legs, in the midst of a full blown three-year-old’s classic tantrum, probably heightened by the fact her hands were bound behind her back and she couldn’t comfort him properly. His screams and angry unintelligible demands echoed in the clearing.
The man Colvin assumed had to be Ronn, the crime boss, was berating a man standing next to the flyer, demanding he get the engines working again. Suddenly Ronn whirled and stepped to where Ivy and Darien stood, guarded by two hulking men. He backhanded Ivy so hard she fell, screaming at her. “If you can’t get that fucking kid to shut up, I’ll end you right now!”
Colvin snapped. Golden fur rushed over his body and he sank to four paws, each bigger than a dinner plate, armed with steak knife-sized claws. His body elongated and became that of a powerful feline predator, tail lashing, golden horns on his head. He roared and sprang into the open, crossing the clearing with one bound and taking Ronn down, rending him with teeth and claws. Vaguely he was conscious of the Ardannan soldiers coming in behind him, firing shots at the other Amarotu. Of the two men who’d been guarding Ivy, one threw his weapon to the turf and ran, pursued by the soldiers. The other shot at Colvin at point blank range but the bolts bounced off his fur and did no damage. A moment later the thug joined his late boss in hell. Colvin reared on his hind legs and roared a victory song.
He whirled to check on Ivy and Darien, becoming the man again as he did so, although he was naked. Apparently his clothes didn’t survive the shifting process. He knelt beside Ivy who bore bruises on her face, as well as the red mark of her ex’s most recent blow. Regarding him with wide eyes she seemed to be in shock, which was understandable under the circumstances. “Are you all right, beautiful girl? I’m sorry you and the boy had to see that.”
A Special Forces operator came up behind her and opened the force cuffs on her wrists and she threw her arms around Colvin. “You saved us—I don’t understand how or what happened but I’m so grateful.”
“Can I look now, Mommy?” asked a small voice.
Colvin saw Darien lying on the grass with his hands over his eyes.
Ivy shuddered, glancing at the corpses and said, “Not yet, sweetie. It’s important not to open your eyes yet. I told him to play peek-a-boo,” she told Colvin, “And then I got on top of him as much as I could.”
“You’re wounded.” Colvin touched her upper arm, where her sleeve was singed. “We need to get the two of you out of here right now.”
The officer in charge of the Ardannan squad came up, saluting, and handed Colvin someone’s shirt. “Might get a bit drafty, sir.”
He grabbed it, knotting the sleeves at his waist so it was an inadequate kilt but better than being naked. “I want these two transported to the Famptror immediately to receive medical attention,” he said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can, beautiful girl,” he told Ivy, “My friend Captain Degrasay will take good care of you.” Bending over he lifted Darien from the grass, doing a rapid check to make sure he wasn’t visibly injured. He pressed the boy’s head to his shoulder. “Don’t look yet, okay, pal? I’m going to send you with my soldier friends up to a big battleship and I need you to take care of your mom until I can get there, okay?”
Darien nodded and stood straighter, as if assuming a large responsibility although he kept his eyes glued shut. “You turned into a big lion, didn’t you? I saw you before mommy said close my eyes. Can I see you do the trick again?”
There was a bit of quickly smothered amusement from the soldiers and Colvin smiled. “Not right now. I have to save my best trick for special occasions.”
Carrying the boy, Colvin walked with Ivy out of the clearing until the carnage could no longer be seen and then he kissed them both and handed them off to the senior noncom to escort to the shuttle. He hated being separated from them right now but there was a big mess to clean up and he’d have to spend time debriefing Delain and his security forces, once they arrived on the scene.
When he returned to the clearing, the officer came to meet him. “May I say what an honor it was, sir, to see you make the transition into your beast?”
“First time,” Colvin admitted. “That bastard struck my mate and the regimandane took over. What can I say?”
“We have the DNA in our family line too, sir,” the man told him. “Maybe someday I’ll be as fortunate to find my fated mate and be able to shift.”
“Found a locker of clothes in the shuttle, sir,” said a soldier, running up to them with pants and a tee shirt. “Thought you might want to change.”
“Good thinking, corporal.” Colvin undid the kilt and let it fall away. “Sitrep?” he asked as he pulled on the ill-fitting clothes. He’d have to stay barefoot for now.
“Three tangos KIA, including the leader. Two injured. The one who ran away has been caught, no injuries. The woman is uninjured and already making excuses and begging for a deal.” The captain kept tight control of his expression but Colvin could hear his disgust. “Says she was the leader’s girlfriend and knows plenty of dirt on the Amarotu.”
“That’s for the civilian authorities to handle, not us.” Colvin was dismissive although he had to fight a pulse of rage from the regimandane prowling in his DNA, which wanted to punish the woman for stealing Darien. “We’ll guard them and the shuttle until Delain’s team arrive. By then your shuttle should be back and we can head to the ship. I need to be with my mate. Send someone to ride my AGcycle into town, would you?” He handed over the initiator. It pained him to let anyone else ride his bike but it was necessary.
