“Two tickets, please.”
Luna stood at an admissions gate, holding a small handful of cash. A black backpack was tight around her back, with a bottle of water poking out of a side pocket. She wore her hair down and kept some of it contained by a white visor, matching her white sunglasses.
“Two tickets? Where’s the other person?”
“Meow,” Freckles said, popping up out of the backpack.
“It’s his first time. We’re super excited.”
“Meow.”
“Wait, you don’t have a ‘no steambots’ policy, do you?”
“We have a no pets policy, but I’m not sure if steambots count.”
“Just in case, I have an extra twenty to keep this quiet.”
“Are you trying to bribe me?”
“Will it work?”
The admissions person paused, but said, “twenty-two for two tickets.”
“Yes. Thank you so much.”
They exchanged the money and tickets, and Luna was on her way, a bit of a childish skip to her step.
“I can’t wait to see all the animals. Tigers, red pandas, lizards. Do you think they have snakes? I’ve always wanted a snake.”
“Meow.”
“Oh! And penguins. We should go there first. Or to the dolphins. Do you think the dolphins are out this time of year? Do they even have dolphins? Am I thinking of a different zoo? How many zoos are there in Carmsborough?”
“Meow.”
“Giraffes!” She pointed dead ahead, staring at a batch of the long-necked creatures on the other side of the zoo. She started running, jostling her mechanical best friend in the backpack.
They approached the exhibit, and Luna placed him on the ground. “This shouldn’t surprise you, but I haven’t been to the zoo in years. I went once with Mom, but… anyway, I can’t wait to see it all, and I’m glad you’re here with me. A day of no hunting, plotting, or planning. I didn’t even grab a map of the place. We’re going wherever my heart takes us.”
Luna walked up to a giraffe near the ledge and reached out, hoping to touch it. “What a majestic creature. The world is truly beautiful.”
Freckles, uninterested in any of the animals, looked over to his right and made eye contact with a man that looked slightly familiar. The man glanced away briefly but looked back at him, fear in his eyes.
Who was he?
Jack Aaron. One of Luna’s targets.
“Meow.”
The man turned and ran, leaving his wife and two kids confused by his sudden action.
“Meow.”
He turned to Luna, who was already walking away, talking about some other animal.
Did she really not see him? Should he tell her?
No. It was her day to relax and enjoy the zoo. He would handle this.
Without looking back, he charged after Jack Aaron, further confusing his family. While the man was fast, Freckles had a lot more endurance on him, and started to quickly catch up. In an attempt to lose him, Jack swerved through some crowds and disappeared into the lizard building. Freckles stepped carefully into the group of people, avoiding being stepped on, and went head-first into the door.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Which didn’t budge. It had a handle at the top for pulling. Freckles waited patiently for a family of five to approach, who seemed to be at various stages of enjoying their trip to the zoo.
“Look, Mom,” the little boy of the family, about seven, said. “There’s a kitty at the door. I think he wants inside.”
“I don’t know if he’s allowed inside,” the mom said. “Must be a steambot.”
“Meow.” Freckles moved for the door entrance, and as soon as it was cracked, wedged himself in. He was determined not to lose his target.
There were two paths in the lizard exhibit. Rather than spend any precious time guessing, Freckles chose the less-busy hall, darting past collections of multicolored frogs and oversized spiders. A hard right approached, but instead of slowing to round the corner, he jumped and twisted his body to land feet-first against the wall, keeping his momentum and scaring a tour group of older people.
All the way at the exit, Jack Aaron opened and shut the door, leaving the building. Freckles reconnected with the tiled floor and bounded full speed for the door, cracking its glass with the gear on his back and sending it shattering to the ground. His target glanced back with wide eyes, and panic flooded his system. He scrambled for the primate exhibits, but Freckles knocked him off his feet as they arrived at the gorillas.
“Where is she? Where is the Blood Moon Pirate?”
“Meow.”
The man kicked at Freckles, giving him enough time to scramble back to his feet and bolt across a rickety bridge over part of the red panda exhibit. A red panda looked up at them, curious of the scene.
“Stay back, demon cat!” Jack Aaron climbed into a dead-looking tree, scaring the red pandas away. Freckles followed, landing less-than-gracefully on one of the branches. His view let him see Luna standing outside the exhibit. Her mouth was moving, and her eyes were on the plaque describing the red pandas and their conservation status.
She hadn’t seen him yet, and probably still hadn’t noticed he was gone. Better to keep it that way.
He kept on the hunt, following Jack to the grass and intentionally not catching up to avoid Luna’s gaze. The two hopped a fence and found themselves in the zebra range. The beasts stared, confused.
Finally, Freckles got another attack in, smashing the man to the ground face-first. He cried in pain, grabbing Freckles by the neck and hurling him as best he could at a zebra. It dodged, but kicked out at Freckles, sending him rolling a bit.
Disoriented but upright, he locked on to Jack Aaron, who was now climbing the fence of the enclosure to get back to the walkway. Freckles followed, vaulting the chain link effortlessly. The crowd split, avoiding the fast-paced duo who clearly had some sort of beef to work through.
At some point, they whizzed past a couple of police officers, who briefly caught a glimpse of his target’s face.
“Did that look like Jack Aaron to you?”
“Yeah. What’s up with the cat chasing him?”
“You think the Blood Moon Pirate is here, too?”
“I don’t know, but there’s no point in waiting around to find out. Let’s book him.”
At last, Freckles had Jack Aaron caught at a dead end, with three large stone walls blocking the way out from the viewing section of the zoo’s snow leopard exhibit. He got low to the floor, on the prowl like his much larger counterpart behind the glass.
“Stay away! Leave me alone! Do you know who I am?”
“Jack Aaron, this is the Carmsborough police. Put your hands in the air where we can see them.”
Both Freckles and the mobster turned, seeing the two officers with pistols raised. It was game over. Not only did Freckles not have to finish the job, he did it without Luna having to get involved.
Instead of surrendering, he revealed his own pistol and aimed at one of the officers. Thinking fast, Freckles jumped to block the shot, which pinged loudly off his metal body and ricocheted back in Jack’s direction. Everyone watched in disturbed awe as the reflected projectile connected with the man’s leg, sending him toppling to the ground screaming.
“What’s happening?!” a woman yelled, appearing behind the officers. “What are you doing to my husband?”
“Jack Aaron, you are under arrest for the murder of twelve people, as well as money laundering, war crimes, and tax evasion.”
One policeman handcuffed the wounded man while the other called for paramedics, leaving the wife to yell at them and the kids to cry. Something told Freckles they hadn’t known about his illegal work.
Not that he cared. His work for the day was done. He only hoped there was enough time to make it back before Luna realized he was gone.
“Anyway, I’m thinking about getting some lunch. It’s been a busy morning so far. What do you think, buddy?”
Luna turned to see her cat, who was apparently not by her side. “Freckles?”
“Meow.” He approached from behind a corner, trotting briskly.
“Oh, there you are. I have been going a bit fast, huh? Well, what do you think about lunch? Not that it matters. You don’t eat.”
“Meow.”
They walked side-by-side over to the nearest food joint in the park, passing Freckles’ handiwork along the way. The two kids were in tears, and Jack’s wife was on the phone, an annoyed and betrayed look on her face. Their zoo trip didn’t go exactly as planned.
“That’s pretty gruesome,” Luna said. “I wonder what that’s all about.”
“Meow.”