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  "I have 2345 emails?" her voice squeaked as the words burst out of her mouth. McKenna looked at the subject lines, bolded so it was easy to scan through them.

  Way too many had a subject of Shifter Queen, and then it got more diverse.

  Taking a fortifying swallow of whiskey, she clicked on one, the message made her—a cop who had seen just about everything—shudder and hit delete.

  "Oh, this is not good."

  She started randomly clicking through her email, deleting them, then she stopped. With a sense of sick dread, she went and found what she had deleted and moved them back to her in box, then created folders.

  Sick

  Marriage Proposals

  Threats

  Shifter Scams

  With grim determination she started filing the emails, reading only enough to identify what folder to put it in.

  The overall feel basically drove home how public she had become and how much visibility was focused on her. The point had been driven home, and she sighed.

  So much for being just a person anymore. I guess.

  In between filing she read the news, and the information began to coalesce in her mind. This was worldwide, and millions of people had shifted, but millions more hadn’t. Social studies was a lifetime away, but she still remembered reading about segregation issues. If that started now, the people you were trying to segregate were living weapons, and when you corner people they fight.

  Dread pooled in her stomach as more information was pieced together in her head. And while she didn’t like it at all, the group of shifters suddenly seemed much more important than she originally thought.

  I’ve always tried to do my job to the best of my abilities. I guess now it’s even more important.

  Chapter 9 - Dilemmas

  No one knows what problems or opportunities are going to arise from this change. Is it permanent? Are people always going to be animals from now on? Will it change them? We haven’t seen any short-term changes, but long term what is going to happen to people, to families, to society? This will change the way we think, feel, and interact with others. Have you seen that video? Claws are weapons that can’t be removed, and so far there isn’t any indication that you can tell who is or isn’t this new type of creature. Can you imagine someone turning into a cat or a wolf on a plane? There are real concerns here. Zero weapon policy doesn’t matter anymore, they will always be armed. We need to think about these things now before we pay the price. ~ Opinion piece in New York Times

  C-Tac Jones, Alfonso to his mother, flinched as Paco sat down on the same bench he waited on. Paco didn't look at him, instead scanning the park with predator eyes. The late summer afternoon cast brilliant light everywhere, creating a pleasant afternoon for the people enjoying the park.

  The drama earlier in the day with the bank had been on all the stations, but as of yet he passed it off as a publicity stunt. Cops were always trying to distract from how crooked they were. Though the rumors were the vid had a nice-looking cop chick full naked, might be worth looking at.

  He shifted his attention to Paco, who'd been silent, scanning the park as well.

  "He wants to talk to you." Paco said sliding a small phone across the bench to C-Tac. Paco didn't fit the image of a high-level gangster, if anything he looked like a college prep boy in his nice jeans that fit well, polo shirt and nice haircut. The boss preferred people that the cops never looked at twice. Unfortunately, C-Tac couldn't pull that off as easily. At six foot three, and black as jet, with a shaved head, cops always gave him a second glance. It didn’t matter how nicely he dressed and even if he made sure his tats were covered, people were wary around him.

  Paco with his preppy Hispanic look had it made. And his role in the organization showed it.

  C-Tac picked up the phone and lifted it. "Yes, sir?"

  "Mr. Jones," the voice on the other end was flat, polite, and educated. C-Tac had never heard of the boss raising his voice or losing his temper. Rumor was even when he ordered people disposed of, it was as uninterested as if he was ordering dinner. “You have not been meeting your quotas of late. I do believe I told you that your baseline was five thousand a week. You only made two thousand this week. If you can not move the product, then I am sure I can find someone else who will.”

  “N-no, sir. I’ll get my numbers up.” He flinched both at the stuttering and trying to figure out how in the world he’d get his numbers up. The only market share he could think of that he hadn’t leveraged was children. And yes, he read marketing books, the boss rewarded those who got degrees, but he’d never be able to afford school. The problem was his momma would never forgive him if he started marketing to school kids. He found himself caught between his momma and a killer.

  “Good. Remember I am always open to new ideas or marketing plans. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to remove obstacles in your path.” With that the boss hung up. C-Tac slid the phone back to Paco. The weird thing was, boss was serious. If he came up with an idea or something that would make money, the boss would seriously consider it. The guy didn’t give a damn about anything except profit. He had no ego, only facts. And he scared C-Tac half to death.

  “Any questions?” Paco asked, still paying more attention to the surrounding people than C-Tac.

  “No, I’m good.”

  Paco nodded once, got up and strode away, a relaxed easy stride that made C-Tac grind his teeth. With a sigh he let the irritation at the younger man being over him go and focused on his issue. How the hell was he going to get revenue up?

  Oh sure, if you were higher up you got benefits and bonuses, but he was a low-level guy, with only six people under him, mostly teenagers who’d done so much meth their brains were as rotted as their teeth. Which meant they screwed up regularly, and he had to deal with it. He needed better territory and better people, but he couldn’t do that unless he proved he could push the product.

  A vague memory of a phrase that described his situation floated through his brain, but he couldn’t pull it up. After a minute he shrugged and let it go. School had bored him and dropping out at 17 seemed like the smart thing to do. Now he wasn’t so sure. He had money, but he could feel himself slipping down further every day. Something had to change, but what?

  He sat on the bench in the park, staring out at the grassy area and the playground. While he got a few looks, no one approached him. He smirked as a woman made a wide berth around him. Scaring the normals was always amusing, especially when the cops couldn’t roust him out of here. It was a public park, and he didn’t have a single thing on him that was restricted. So, they would come and leer all they wanted, he didn’t have to move even one foot. It provided a constant source of entertainment.

  With a sigh he shook his head and ran his hands over his bald pate. He had decided after seeing the mistakes his brother made, to never get anything done that couldn’t be covered up with a shirt if he needed to appear ‘professional’. When he started working for the boss that decision had been a life saver. Literally.

  He needed to figure out a new market for product, and most of the local areas were already claimed by someone. Or he had to come up with something completely new.

  Various ideas popped into his head, but they all seemed stupid or required too much capital. But nothing seemed to click. At this rate he’d either get fired, or killed, or have to get a real job. The second option almost sounded worse than the first.

  A woman caught his attention, she was pretty with that American Indian sort of coloring, he’d always thought that was sexy. A documentary he had watched last night about some group of people and their slaves, body guards raised to be there for their lifetime, flashed through his mind. He leaned back, far enough way he could watch her without it being obvious and enjoyed the movement of her body. He liked his women strong and slim, and she fit.

  Two kids came running up to her, dropping down like boneless jellyfish on the blanket she had spread. C-Tac rolled his eyes, kids were not anything he wa
nted to deal with. Distracted he watched, but no longer saw as he went back to dealing with his problem. He needed to get some better dealers to move his product. Elementary schools were out of the question, but the local college presented possibilities. Thinking he pulled up who ran that area. A jerk if he remembered correctly. Always kept to the same routine, never pushing the boundaries because he made enough with the constant flux of students into the school.

  A slow smile spread across his face and he picked up his phone, clicking a contact that just said Bacon.

  “What?” A voice answered, brisk and annoyed, and odd level of stress he’d never heard before.

  “Got a tip for you about a dealer at the college.”

  “What’s he selling?” There was a half note of interest and C-Tac grinned.

  “The pot isn’t the issue, but he’s got some stuff that has been laced with LSD. His special stuff. He’ll be at the college coffee shop tomorrow from nine am to ten am for people to pick up their orders. Young guys, hippy sort. You can’t miss him.”

  “If you’re sending me on a goose chase, I don’t have time for this.”

  “Swear, he is selling bad drugs. You know I don’t give you bad info. And he might have some coke stashed in his car. A kilo or two.”

  “You also don’t do anything for free. What’s in it for you?”

  “Just a future consideration. You know how I like to help the authoritays.” C-Tac drawled out the last word and the man on the other end snorted.

  “Sure. Whatever, I’ve got to go. Don’t call unless you’ve got something good, something worth my time to bust.” The line dropped and C-Tac grinned. Now to make plans to step into the space and take over that territory. Then he’d start making some real money. College kids never seemed all that smart to him, for all the book learning they paid for.

  A shriek of surprise and stress yanked his eyes back to the woman and the two kids and his attention sharpened. Something was wrong, the kids were on the ground writhing, and the mom wasn’t yelling anymore, just standing there, her hands covering her mouth as she watched.

  “What the hell?” He muttered and stood, curious now as to what was going on.

  The shifting that he saw didn't make sense until it completed, and two black cats were laying on the ground struggling with the clothes that now bound them. The mom dropped to her knees and helped them out of their clothes. In a minute two large cats, well large compared to house cats C-Tac supposed, wobbled in front of her.

  The news that had been blaring everywhere clicked back into his mind and he leaned forward. If he had to guess from her body language, he would have said the woman was resigned not upset or scared. If he had thought he could get closer he might have, but instead he pulled out his phone, lifted up the camera and made use of the zoom feature. He watched the two cats cavort around, fully in control of their bodies, and then saw them shred the blanket with their claws. Claws that even from where he sat looked sharp as knives.

  For some weird reason, he could never figure out how his brain worked, the two cats made him think how cool it would be to have full grown jaguars guarding him. Completely loyal, dangerous cats, with the intelligence of humans. Now how cool would that be?

  Wait, could he do it? Raise children to be loyal guards, protect those they were put with? Kids were animals for the most part, and you'd want to treat anybody guard well. They'd never be abused or hungry. Hell, some third world countries might even sell them to you, knowing that child would have a better life.

  Ideas started to spark in his mind, and C-Tac leaned back, watching and thinking. At this rate he might have a viable business venture to offer. If all the pieces would come together.

  If nothing else, the pelts would sell a pretty price. After all, if you killed them while they were an animal, you weren't really hurting a child, right?

  Chapter 10 - Grocery Shopping

  It has been three days since the video and the event that changed the world. We still have no idea what caused this, or how it affected multiple continents, but none of that matters in the long run. Change has happened to our society, and we have to deal with it. While no one knows the numbers yet, rough estimates are that about two percent of people might have changed. The Pope has promised to speak tomorrow to the people gathering for mass in Saint Peter’s square. Fires are raging in Jerusalem right now. There are reports of an Iman changing during prayer and the backlash has been extreme with sects splintering even more as the question of becoming an animal fractures belief. ~ Report from NPR

  McKenna probably drank a bit too much the night before, staring at the screen and all the stories coming in from across the globe, sipping on the whiskey as she tried to get a handle on the information. But not enough to create a headache. Her eyes flicked open at five on the dot, and she sighed.

  “Day off and I still can’t sleep in. Figures,” she muttered and pulled herself out of bed.

  A shower and coffee later, she stood looking at a distressingly empty frig.

  “Crap, I guess I’m getting out. And...” She looked around thinking. Normally she didn’t eat that much, but if this kept up, her food bill would skyrocket, which meant cheaper to buy in bulk, but that also meant a freezer.

  With a sigh she gave into something she had been resisting for years, buying a Sam’s Club membership. Standing there the minute they opened with a baseball cap and the largest sunglasses she could find in her place, she bought the plus membership and found herself walking around Sam’s with a new membership, and a chest freezer that would be delivered in two hours.

  She was standing and looking at the array of meat as she calculated her budget and the capacity of the freezer when a voice spoke behind her.

  “Officer Largo?”

  Cringing just the tiniest bit, McKenna steeled herself and turned around. She almost instantly relaxed when she saw Tonan Diaz, at least that was how the official reports listed her, standing there with her two kids.

  “Hello, Ms. Dias.” She looked her over, Tonan looked a bit tired, but overall well. Her eyes turned to the kids and frowned a bit when she would swear they were a bit taller than last time, but she dismissed that. There had been a lot going on, and perspective from a cat wasn’t the best basis for memories. At least not yet. It was on the list of things to work on. “You and the kids seem to be fine.”

  A half-smile creased the woman’s mouth. “Please call me Toni, I keep looking for my mother in law when you say that. As for the rest. I guess. Turns out I wasn’t the only one in my family to shift.” She cast a glance at the two kids. “They both turned into jaguar cubs, at the park of all places. We went there after the bank, they needed to run off energy, in more ways than one I guess." She shook herself. "I wanted to introduce my children and say hi and thank you again."

  McKenna shrugged, the last thing she needed was more thanks, which meant paying attention to children was preferable. Which had to be a first.

  “Sure.” She focused her attention to the two kids who were watching her with odd expressions on their faces, ones she couldn’t interpret.

  “Jamie, Jessi, say hello to Officer Largo.” Toni said, nudging the two kids.

  Sharp green eyes looked out from identical faces though their hair was worn differently. One of them had their hair back in a ponytail, the other, not quite as long was worn loose and messy.

  The pony tail child flashed a sudden grin up at McKenna. “You turned into that cougar. And protected Jamie. That was awesome. Mom turned into a jaguar and that was cool too, but what you did wow. I wanna grow up to be a police officer like you.”

  “Hmm, you must be Jessi then?” McKenna asked, amused by the child staring up at her.

  “Yes. I’m seven and a half. Jamie is my brother.” Jessie asserted still looking at her.

  “Being a cop is hard. You have to work at it.” McKenna warned, not sure she was the right person to be giving career advice.

  Toni smirked and mouthed ‘thank you’ to McKenna who fought to k
eep a straight face.

  “What about you Jamie? What do you want to be?” McKenna asked, not sure what else she was supposed to say.

  Jamie shrugged. “Don’t know. The cat thing is cool. Can anyone be a cat?”

  McKenna blinked. The kid was right, who know how this changed things.

  “I don’t know.”

  Toni laughed. “Jamie, this is a brand new world. I don’t think any of us know. So, for now, yes? I guess?” Toni just shrugged.

  Jamie rolled his eyes and grabbed Jessi’s hand and dragged her towards the cage of balls. They instantly started arguing about which color was the best. Jamie leaned towards purple while Jessi wanted green.

  “They seem like a handful.”

  I have no idea what to say, I don’t do kids. Kids are complicated and messy. I hated being a kid.

  “You have no idea.” Toni glance at the two quietly arguing. “Though I have no idea what I’d do without them. They’re impossible, but they are also mine.”

  McKenna frowned. “No father in the picture?”

  Old pain flashed across Toni’s face. “My husband was officer Jeffery Diaz. He was killed in the line of duty three years ago.”

  McKenna closed her eyes. Way to go.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t start until two years ago.”

  Toni shrugged. “Trust me, that is old pain and nothing you did or didn’t do would affect it. So yes, my kids tend to get the brunt of my attention. I assume they’ll hate me for it between 13 and 18, but I can live with that. Heck, the cat thing almost doesn’t bug me. Gives me another layer of safety. A cat can be nasty when cornered.” She cast an amused glance at McKenna. “As most of the world has seen.”

  “Ugh,” the groan slipped out before she could stop it.