David Robbins - Citadel Run

Vigilantly, he exited the chamber and locked the door. The hallway, for the moment, was deserted.

The next door was unmarked and unlocked.

Yama eased through the door, silently closing it behind him. This chamber was filled with tables loaded with cages. Cage after cage, each housing an animal of some sort. Mammals: mice, rats, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, raccoons, bats, and even some small cats, bobcats and domestic types. Reptiles: snakes, lizards, turtles, and several aquariums containing young alligators. Amphibians were also included: frogs by the score, salamanders, newts, and toads. In the rear of the room were large cages, towering above the rest, easily visible from the door.

The chamber was filled with animal sounds and a readily detectable odor.

Yama slowly walked down aisle after aisle, observing the wildlife and speculating on its purpose in the Biological Center. How did all these creatures fit into the Doktor’s scheme of things? He approached the large cages in the back of the chamber. Two of them were empty, one contained a black bear cub, and the last one held an unusual cat. Yama stared at the feline, curled up on a bed of straw on the floor of the cage, and tried to identify it. Its coat was a thick grayish-brown, its ears were pointed, and it lacked a tail. As he was viewing it, the cat abruptly opened its eyes, startling, penetrating, vividly green orbs, and glared at the man.

There was nothing in here of major interest.

Yama turned toward the door.

“Going so soon, chuckles?”

The Warrior spun, his finger on the trigger of the Wilkinson, thinking he’d overlooked a rear door.

“You’re the nervous sort, huh, ugly?” The voice was high pitched, the words spoken with a bit of a lisp, and they were coming from… the… cat!

Yama gawked as the cat rose to its feet, standing on two legs and defiantly staring at the Warrior.

“Cat got your tongue?” the thing asked, and laughed at its own joke.

Yama saw he was mistaken. It wasn’t a cat after all, it was a man resembling a cat, about four feet in height and not weighing more than sixty pounds, if that. The thing must be one of the Doktor’s genetically engineered creations. It wore a leather loin cloth, but the metallic collar normally worn by the deviates was missing.

“Well, let’s get this over with!” the cat-man snapped.

“Get what over with?” Yama inquired, curious.

“Don’t play games with me, soldier boy!” the cat-man said harshly. “Get the execution over with!”

“Execution?” Yama repeated questioningly.

The cat-man made a show of gazing around the chamber. “There must be an echo in here!” He-it frowned at Yama. “I know why you are here. The Doc told me tonight would be the night. So let’s gt it over with! I’m tired of rotting in this damn cage!”

“I’m not here to kill you,” Yama informed the… thing.

The cat-man’s eyebrows arched. “You’re not? Then what the hell are you doing here, bub? I thought only the Doc and his zombies were permitted in here?”

“Zombies?” Yama reiterated.

The cat-man chuckled. “Boy, you jokers in uniform are still as brainless as ever! Zombies, idiot! That’s what I call any of the Doc’s little pet monsters.”

Yama grinned. “Excuse me for saying this, but aren’t you one of the Doktor’s little pet monsters? Littler than most, I’d say.”

The cat-man hissed. “If I wasn’t behind these bars, bozo,” he warned, “I’d tear you to shreds! These aren’t just for show, you know!” So saying, he held up his hands. All eight fingers and both thumbs were tipped with tapered claws.

“What are you doing in that cage?” Yama asked.

The thing eyed the Warrior quizzically. “You don’t know?”

“No.”

“Then the Doc didn’t send you to execute me?”

“Why does the Doktor want you executed?” Yama queried.

“Because I’ve been a bad kitty,” the cat-man said sarcastically. “I tried to waste the son of a bitch!”

Yama took a step toward the cage. “You tried to kill the Doktor?”

The thing nodded. “Would have succeeded too, if that bitch Clarissa hadn’t shouted and given me away! I’ll get her, someday!”

“I don’t understand,” Yama admitted. “I thought the Doktor could control all of his creatures by using a metal collar of some sort.”

The cat-man shrugged. “It works most of the time. But every now and then he produces one like me, one who won’t take his crap, one who won’t listen no matter how many times the bastard threatens us with the collar.

If he can’t keep us in line that way, he uses us for experiments or has us executed.”

Yama nodded, comprehending. “And you thought I was your executioner.”

“Say,” the thing said, moving to the bars and gripping them in both hands, “there’s something about you, chuckles. Something different.” The cat-man sniffed the air several times. “I can’t put my claw on it, but there’s something strange about you.”

Yama mentally debated the wisdom of revealing his identity to the creature. Was it likely the thing was lying about the reason it was confined in the cage? “Do you have a name?” he asked it.

The cat-man nodded. “I’m called Lynx,” he said proudly. “Does the name mean anything to you?”

“No,” Yama confessed. “Should it?”

“I’m famous,” Lynx boasted. “My name was in all the papers and on every newscast for days. Whenever anyone tries to kill the Doc, or any of the bigwigs for that matter, it’s news, chuckles. I took out fourteen of the bastards before they bagged me with a damn tranquilizer dart. Pricks! They thought I was one of the rebels!”

“What do you mean?” Yama probed. “Who are the rebels?”

“There’s an underground movement,” Lynx detailed, “an organized resistance to the Government, a group dedicated to the overthrow of Samuel and the Doktor. Everybody knows about the rebels.” Lynx paused.

“Except you, bub. And you didn’t know about me either. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you weren’t from the Civilized Zone.”

I’m not.

Lynx pressed against the bars, intently studying Yama as if he were striving to perceive the nature of his very soul.

Yama nodded. “It’s been nice talking with you.” He took a step away.

“Wait!” Lynx yelled. “Don’t leave!”

Yama stopped. “Why not?”

“You’re going to take off and just leave me to rot in this stinking cage?” Lynx demanded angrily.

“I’m on a mission,” Yama replied. “Freeing you would complicate my assignment immensely. Besides, I’m still not completely positive I can trust you. For all I know, if I set you free you might try to kill me.”

“What’s your name, chuckles?” Lynx requested.

“Yama.”

“Well, Yama, baby, I’ll tell you what. You let me out of here, and I give you my word as a gentleman I won’t cause you any grief. Fair enough?”

“No,” Yama responded.

“No? What’s wrong with my word?” Lynx asked, peeved.

“What if we run into some soldiers or other beings like yourself?” Yama pressed him.

Lynx snorted. “I’ll rip ’em to shreds!”

“That’s what I thought,” Yama said. “It’s not good enough.”

Lynx cocked his head and uttered a peculiar trilling sound. “Sharp one, aren’t you, bub? Okay. Let’s hear your conditions.”

“I’ll release you from the cage,” Yama stipulated, “if you will agree to my terms. One. You will assist me and guide me on a tour of the Biological Center…”

“A tour?” Lynx laughed. “You want the deluxe or the tourist rate?”

“Two. You will follow my instructions implicity. Three. You will not attack anyone unless I give the word. Agreed?” Yama asked.