St. Francis Hospital, Memphis, Tenn.:
Tempest looks at the two women that were replacing her and Ox. The smaller of the two was a black woman that went by the name of Dr. Jocelyn Emery. Tempest had heard her name before and knew she used to serve in the US Army as a field doctor and worked with doctors without borders a few times.

Her companion was taller and built like a walking brick house. Tempest figures she could give Ox a run for his money. Tempest figures that she must have some medical training, or Striker wouldn’t have sent her to protect US Marshal Bullock.

Dr. Jocelyn looks at the young woman guarding US Marshal Bullock. She read the briefing she was even about the Marshal, the young woman, and her partner down in the parking lot. According to the file, both had been experimented on at an unauthorized medical facility.

The doctor who experimented on them was known to experiment on criminals and some patients of his. Tempest and her partner had been patients of the doctor. He was experimenting on them without them knowing about it.

“How’s the marshal?” Dr. Jocelyn looked at Bullock and could see he had been worked over severely.

“Recovering. The doctor had to reset several ribs and set several bones that his torturer broke. He’s going to be here for a while.” Tempest knew
Bullock had several internal injuries as well.

“So, we’re talking about a long-time assignment.” Lenda figured they were going to be here for a while.

“Yeah, Ox and I have been assigned to track down the rest of the organization that did this to him.”

“Ox? Really?” Lenda couldn’t believe someone went by that name.

“He’s from Texas and used to herd cattle.” Tempest knew why Ox went by his code name instead of his real name. Just as she went by her code name instead of her real name, she was no longer that person.

Lenda just shakes her head. She should have known that Ox was a cowboy at heart.

“Well, good luck hunting those people down.” Dr. Jocelyn knew how hard it was to find people who didn’t want to be found.

“Oh, we don’t need luck. I have an inside person that managed to get into their organization.” Tempest had a snitch inside the organization.

“Still, good luck and good hunting.”

“Thanks. You two protect this, Marshal.”

“He’ll be in good hands.” Lenda will make sure Bullock is protected.

Kat’s and Paul’s Resident, Knoxville, Tenn.:
Striker and Larka stop in front of brick, ranch-style house. There was an old black ford fastback Mustang parked in the driveway. Parked next to it were two Knight armor SUVs.

“What type of bounty hunters are these people?” Larka couldn’t believe that there were two knight armor SUVs in the driveway.

“According to the file I received about them. They have gone after some of the worst fugitives around.” Striker had scanned Romano’s file before leaving Texas.

“What do we know about them?” Larka looks at his boss for an answer.

“Well, Kat Romano is part cat. She looks like a Neko from Japanese anime. She’s a lot like you and Baloo. She was adopted by a nurse and a
Knoxville police officer. Her adopted brother is on the Knoxville Fire Department, and her adopted older sister is a high price lawyer.

She’s a licensed bounty hunter and private investigator and owns a bail bond business. Her husband is a former mob enforcer from New York.
He’s her business partner, and they have four children. According to their file, they have worked with Bullock on several cases and are currently protecting a young girl that looks just like Kat herself.”

“That’s got to be weird.” Larka knew what it was like to be different. He looked like a humanoid wolfman.

Just like Baloo looked like the character from Tailspin. Bruce was a humanoid cat person like him, and that isn’t counting little Charlie, who was a mouse girl.

“No weirder than you.” Striker looks at his friend when he says that.

“Oh, you are so funny today, boss man.” Larka exists on the passenger side of the SUV.

A smirk appears on Striker’s face as he gets out on the driver’s side. He walks around toward the front of the SUV and joins Larka. The two of them walk towards the house together.

Inside the house:
Kat was coming out of her bedroom. The twins were over at her brother’s house for their safety. Becky, Jill, Brittney, and Terry were at home with them as she was walking past one of her windows. She spotted two people walking up towards her front door. One person was human, and the other one looked like a humanoid wolf person.

“Paul, we have company,” Kat yells to her husband.

Paul comes walking out of the kitchen. He had been in there fixing breakfast for the girls. He spots Kat by one of the large living room windows. He walks over to join his wife.

They watch as the two men walk up the sidewalk toward their front door. Paul noticed the human was in a tailored business suit while the
humanoid wolfman was dressed in military-style fatigues. He wonders if either man was carrying.

A few seconds later, the doorbell rings. Paul walks over to the front door and opens it. He knows Kat is standing nearby just in case she needs to pull one of the hidden handguns they have around the house.

Striker and Larka watch as the front door opens. When the door opens, they spot Mr. Romano standing on the other side.

“Can I help you, gentlemen?” Paul looks at both men.

Now that they were closer to the house and standing before him. He notices that the humanoid wolfman is wearing a military-style gun belt with holsters on each hip. The other man, Paul, couldn’t tell, but he figured he was carrying a concealed weapon as well.

“Mr. Romano, we’re here to help you and your family. Would you mind if we came in to talk with you?” Striker spotted Kat standing back behind her husband and watching them.

Paul steps aside to let both men enter the house. He watches as they walk past him and into the house. Once they are inside the house, he closes the door behind them.

Kat looks at the man in the suit because he seems to be the person in charge. She walks up to the two men and extends her hand “welcome to our home. Is there anything I can get you, gentlemen?”

“We’re fine, Mrs. Romano. Is there somewhere we can talk?” Striker looks at Kat and notices she is observing them. He saw how alert she was and how she was ready to spring into action.

The picture they had of her didn’t do her justice. She was rather attractive and moved with grace. She could give Peyton or even Larka a run for their money.

“Yes, if you gentlemen will follow me.” Kat escorts the men to the living room.

Larka could smell that Kat smelled like a cross between a human being and a cat. She wasn’t a predator type of cat like Bruce was, but she was more than a house cat. He notices that she is wearing sandalwood perfume as well.

Paul watches both men. He was curious about the humanoid wolfman. He notices both men had a military style of walking about them. He has learned to watch Kat’s body language and notices she is ready to strike if either man decides to cause trouble.

Both Larka and Striker notice family pictures decorating the walls of the living room. There was a display case as well, and it held different trophies from either sports or bounty hunting awards.

“Please, have a seat, gentlemen.” Kat motions to the sectional that took up most of the room in the living room.

There are also several enormous black and pink bean bags and a leather recliner. Striker sits down on the sofa part of the sectional. Larka sits
next to him. Both men notice Kat sitting across from them, with Paul sitting next to her.

“So, what brings you, gentlemen, to our home today?” Kat looks at both men when she asks that question.

Striker looks directly into Kat’s cat-shaped eyes. “Mrs. Romano, how long have you and Mr. Bullock been working together?”

“I would have to say, several years now. We each have helped each other out on some critical cases. Why?” Kat was curious.

“Do you know that marshal Bullock has been captured and tortured?” Striker continues to watch Kat.

“We just learned about him being kidnapped yesterday. The kidnappers wanted to exchange him for my daughter Brittney and the young girl he brought over to us to protect. We had set a time and place for the exchange already. Why? Has something changed?”

“You don’t have to worry about the exchange. Some of my people have already rescued him, and he has been taken to a secure hospital.”

“I’ll have to let my people know because we have already developed a plan to rescue him and capture the people who want my daughter and the little girl staying with us.” Kat wasn’t going to turn Becky over to the men.

“We’re glad to hear that. However, we want to know why they want your daughter and the little girl marshal Bullock has placed under your protection.”

“That’s a long story, gentlemen.” Paul has been observing the two men.

“We have time, Mr. Romano.” Larka has been keeping watch on Kat and Paul.

“All right, gentleman.”