Here comes the Troubleshooter!

Part 4: The circle closes

Once we landed in the Middle East, we got ushered to a converted army base, where a bored looking guard called out our names without even looking at us. “Captain Andrew Mays and Sergeant Carl Ryan?”

“Actually, I go by Andi, now.” I said gently, “And we lost our ranks.”

He looked up, and did a double take. “Oh. Sorry.”

He didnt sound very sorry, which only made my bad mood worse, to the point I was ready to snap at anybody over anything, So when we made it to a large hangar and found most of the old Pitchriver gang including Dr. Felis looking like they were gearing up for something big, I turned to Carl and snapped, “Are you crazy? This is the bunch who dropped me like I was radioactive when their little summoning plan blew up in their face, and it looks like they’re about to try again. Why are we here?”

Carl looked down at the floor, and said, “Andi, please. I said yes to this for a couple of reasons, one is over here.” He pointed to a bunch of cats caught in cages, “They were able to find all the transformed men. I wanted to help restore them, if possible I ... signed off on the first trip, so ....”

I fumed, but realized he was dealing with his own guilt. “Okay Carl. For the men, I’ll do my best. But if we succeed, we’re on the next plane home, right?”

“Of course.”

I went over to Dr. Felis, and said, “You sure you got it right this time? That goddess of yours isnt going to get even more pissed off at us?”

“I have figured out what went wrong, and everything is set. Shall we go?”

“All right, let’s get this over with.”

We flew back to the ruins of the temple, and Dr. Felis set things up, saying “No soldiers this time, it offends her, apparently. And I’ve got some fruit, meat, and some gold and silver as gifts to the goddess.”

“Okay. Carl, you wait here, and we’ll be back with the men hopefully.”

“You sure you dont want me to come?”

“I’m not taking the chance. For all I know, we’ll all be alley cats by morning.”

He kissed me fiercely, and then said, “You come back, hear?”

“Gonna do my best.”

He turned to Dr. Felis, and said, “You better take better care of Andi this time. Or you’ll have me to deal with.”

Dr Felis said nothing, but just gathered her stuff and headed toward the temple, and me and two assistants followed behind her.

This time we didn’t set off any booby traps, so we were all in one piece by the time we entered the place where my life had changed. Dr Felis laid out her gifts on the altar, and then started her chanting.

Less than two minutes later, we were in the presence of the goddess. She pointed at our offering, and it vanished.

“Much better, mortal.” She said to Dr. Felis.

Then she came over to me. “As for you, I offer you a choice. I can restore these,” she pointed to the cats in their cages, “Or I can restore you to your original form. What do you choose?”

“Restore the men. I’ll be fine as I am.”

She smiled at me, and said, “You’ve made progress, mortal. I will restore these men, and give you a gift as well. Now, when you transform into your cat form, you shall retain your human intelligence.”

I didnt trust myself to say anything, and just like that, she was gone.

It was at that point we realized we had not thought of everything. The men were restored, but we had forgotten to bring along clothes.....

So its the day after, and we’re flying home. Carl is snoring in the seat beside me, and I’m wrapping this up on our laptop while we fly.

If you’re wondering if I’m okay with being part man, part woman and part cat, well, the answer is I’m just fine. As long as I got Carl, I can deal with the rest of it, and with the gifts the goddess gave me I plan to make the world a little better, one client at a time.

Look out world.

Here comes the Troubleshooter.