Henry showed up bright and early the next morning, just as she was driving down to the barn to feed the animals. Maggie seemed closer to dead than asleep.
"Long day," she croaked and Katie smiled at her.
"Let's swing by my house," she suggested. "I got a pot of coffee and some fresh berries. That'll perk you up."
Henry fidgeted. "I'm sorry, I dragged her out here so early it didn't occur to me that you guys might not be awake."
"It's fine," Katie assured him, inwardly laughing. Jazz was much the same way when he got excited and had on a few occasions packed a bag for her and loaded her in the car. Once she woke up almost all the way to Vegas, not having realized that she had been kidnapped by her friend. "The animals can wait for a little bit. We can't have you falling asleep at your job." She glanced at the navy blue mustang in the driveway of the animal rescue. "You can ride up in my truck. The back road isn't the best maintained. I haven't gotten around to getting it paved yet."
They piled into her big truck and rattled along up to the large farmhouse. Katie was relieved to see that Jazz had already gone even though she wished she could sit down to another breakfast with him.
"How can you drive if you can't hear?" Henry asked abruptly as they were pulling up to the front of her house.
That seemed to wake Maggie up. "Blue!" she hissed, coloring.
"It's okay," Katie assured her. At least he wasn't like Sam, she thought grumpily. "I have cochlear implants," she explained to Henry.
Henry mulled that over. "I'm sorry if that was wrong to ask," he said with innocent sincerity and Katie had to smile at him. "I was just curious. At first I wasn't sure what was on your head. I thought it was headphones but you don't wear headphones there usually." Katie's lips twitched as she stomped nonexistent muck from her boots in the mudroom. She listened idly as she switched her boots to more comfortable shoes and led them into the kitchen.
"It's okay," she said again. "I've heard worse."
"You have such a lovely house," Maggie told her, looking around. "Thank you for inviting us."
Katie gave her a lopsided smile. "I don't have many guests. But I'm glad you like it." She poured Maggie a cup of coffee and brought out cream and sugar for her. "I have a few avocado eggs left and I think I have a hash that my roommate made if you guys would like some food. And I think J went out to pick some fruits too." Those things were his babies, she thought but didn't say. The garden out back was planted and maintained by him. Katie herself had a black thumb and killed any plant that she touched.
"None for me, thanks," Henry said as Maggie gulped her coffee. "I think Maggie might like some. I don't think she's eaten this morning."
Nodding, Katie pulled out a few plates and started loading food on it from the stove. As she put the plates in front of her and Maggie and brought the pot to the table, her phone buzzed. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was a text from Jazz asking if she had the food he made.
'Maggie and Henry are here again,' she texted back. 'I'm sharing some with them.'
'Let me know how it is.' He replied.
For someone that didn't eat, couldn't taste, and couldn't smell in a way that humans understood, Jazz sure liked to cook. Despite his apparent sensory handicaps (in a human's perspective), he was a far better cook than she was.
Maggie fell upon her plate with gusto and wordlessly Katie refilled her coffee. 'I think Maggie likes it, judging by the way she's inhaling it.' she texted her friend.
'Your opinion matters more to me.' Jazz responded.
With a little smile, Katie ate.
She got a later start than normal, but Maggie and Henry were more than willing to assist her in feeding her animals. Henry loved the fawn in particular and hovered over it as it waddled around its enclosure. Maggie got a few pictures of him doing so and promised to email a few to Katie to hang in her office.
They were just leaving as Liz showed up. They're back? She signed.
Henry wanted to feed the fawn. Katie signed back. Poor thing probably dragged Maggie out of bed.
Liz giggled and went to her spot behind the counter. "We better go," Maggie said, perhaps guessing they were talking about her and Henry. "Or I'll be late to work. Tell that roommate of yours to call me if he opens a restaurant."
"She got to eat J's cooking but not me?" Liz demanded.
"You never show up early enough for breakfast," Katie told her over her shoulder. To Maggie she said, "If you want to come by after your work, I'll probably be here late. I have a lot of appointments and I'll have one of my assistants take you to that fawn."
Henry gave her a bright smile. "Thanks! I'm really sorry to cause you so much trouble but I feel like I should make it up to it for hitting it and then taking it away from its mom. I know I probably shouldn't have but I just kind of panicked, you know?"
Smiling, Katie held up her hand to stop him. It had all become a jumbled mess with her implants but she got the general gist of it. "It's all right. I'm just glad we could help him."
With a last wave, the two of them got into the navy mustang and drove away. He's such a dork, Liz signed. I wonder if he's single?
I appreciate that you're practicing, Katie signed back with a wry smile. But your job here isn't to find dates.
Liz rolled her eyes. But Professor, she whined. Laughing, Katie shook her head and mimed turning off her cochlears, snagging the folder off Liz's desk as she passed.
"Abscesses? Again?" Katie asked out loud as she read the file. "I'll be out back then, I guess. Send Alesandro out back when he gets here. He'll be a little late today."
"Right-o, boss," Liz called after her. "Have fun with those abscesses!"
Katie grunted and slammed the back door shut.
Alesandro didn't show up as late as Liz expected but when he did, he showed up in a dramatic way, leaping out of the back of a truck before it stopped and leaving a smear of bright red blood on the front door. "Where's Katie?" he demanded.
"Out back," Liz said as she jumped to her feet. Alesandro looked like he wanted to run through the office then reconsidered and ran around outside. Briefly Liz considered paging Katie but figured that Alesandro would reach her by the time she received it. So with a sigh she pulled on gloves and set about cleaning the bloody door. It bothered some people to see blood on the door, she noticed.
He must have caught Katie as she was finishing up with the abscessed cow because a few minutes later her boss-slash-professor ran back through. There was muck on the edges of her coat and she tracked more of it on the clean white tile. Liz eyed it with undisguised annoyance which Katie ignored.
"Another farm was attacked," she said, reaching for the emergency bag she kept in a closet near the door. "Call Will and see if he can come in today to deal with what he can then call all the appointments and let them know we have to reschedule."
Liz sighed as they ran back out, then again when the phone rang. Ripping off her gloves, she plucked the phone up. "Animal rescue and veterinary this is Liz, how may I help you?" she asked, eyeing the muck stains on the ground. She did not look forward to cleaning that.
"Hi Liz, it's J. Is Katie there?"
"No," Liz huffed. "She just ran out. You missed her literally by a few seconds."
A brief paused. "I thought she was staying in today?"
Liz tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear and flipped through the appointment book. As Katie had told the weird fawn couple, she had a lot of appointments and Liz didn't look forward to calling all of them to reschedule. Most were farmers and none of them were really major operations so they'd probably understand, especially if Liz told them why her boss had run out the way she had. "She was but Alesandro showed up covered in blood and called her out to muster. Another farm's been attacked."
"Do you know where?" J asked and she shrugged even though she knew he couldn't see her.
"Nah, they didn't tell me. I'd guess on the way here from Alesandro's? I have no idea when she'd be back. Were you supposed to get lunch together?"
J sighed in frustration on the other end but she knew it wasn't at her or Katie. "No, I was going to swing by and surprise her. But if she's busy with another slaughter like the last one I'll just stay out."
"She gave that fawn couple some of your food," Liz whined petulantly. "But she never shares with me!"
Her boss's roommate laughed. "You're never here early enough for breakfast," J teased and Liz sputtered.
"Just 'cause I don't wake up at the ass-crack of dawn doesn't mean you guys shouldn't share with me!" She complained and then froze. "Wait wait wait wait. You're doing this on purpose! She said the same thing to me this morning!"
"I will neither confirm nor deny that," J told her with a laugh.
Liz grunted. "I'll bet." Looking again at the muck on the tile she sighed. "Yo J, I'm real sorry but I gotta go and clean up a bit. Katie tracked muck all over the tile and if anyone comes in they'll freak if they see it."
"Gross," J replied. "But yeah, I gotta go soon too. Maybe next time I'll just swing by and take you to lunch."
"I'll take you up on that once the farms stop being attacked." Liz grumbled. "If all the help wasn't called out every other day I could go with you. Let Katie get all covered in weird bodily fluids all she wants while I get to have a good lunch with good guy with a nice ass."
J laughed again. "Gross. To all of that."
Liz transferred the call to the cordless and walked into the side room to get the swiffer. "What?"
"You're way too young for me." J teased.
"You can't be much older than Katie," Liz insisted. "And she's what, thirty?"
"Nah, I'm older than that."
"Older?" Liz demanded as she began filling the reservoir container of the swiffer steamer in the closet. "Impossible! If anything I'd guess you're younger." Hearing the bell on the door ring, she swore quietly to herself. "Just a minute!" she called over her shoulder, pressing the mouthpiece of the phone into her chest. "Sorry, J, someone just came in. I'll talk to you later?"
"Okay. Have a good day, Liz. If Katie comes back early ask her to give me a call?"
Liz smiled. They totally pined for each other, she was sure of it. "Yeah, okay. And I'll tell her you luuuurve her too." The phone clicked, signalling that J had hung up. Laughing, she tucked the phone in her breast pocket and sealed the reservoir, turned off the water, and dragged the contraption out into the front room. "Sorry for the mess, just give me a sec and I'll have it cleaned up."
The group of men standing in the entry looked at her in eerie unison. While she nervously put the cordless away and then began to clean the drying muck, the men continued to watch her silently.
"Um, excuse me, please," she said quietly to one of the men, realizing he had been standing in one of Katie's bootprints. "Just let me get that cleaned up."
He moved his foot and she frowned, realizing that the print, still a little wet, was not affected. She had been sure that he had been standing in it. He didn't move away and as she carefully cleaned the spot, she noticed that the swiffer went through his shoe.
Now she was concerned and froze, slowly turning to look at the men. They stared back with cold red eyes.
Katie couldn't get the smell of blood out of her nose or the sticky feel of it on her arms. Her coat was permanently stained, she was sure and her clothes were probably not much better. Most likely she'd have to burn it all. She doubted J would let her into the house looking and smelling the way she did.
"Yuck," Alesandro said, wiggling his fingers in the soaked glove. "My neighbors will probably think I'm a serial killer now."
They fell silent as the farmer came up to them. "I just wanted to thank you," he said quietly. "I'm sorry you got stuck helping me with the cleanup but I really appreciate it."
Katie gave him a shaky smile. "I needed to look over the bodies so I can help you make the report," she reminded him. "It didn't seem right to do that and then leave."
The farmer grunted as the door to the farmhouse slammed open. "Still. I appreciate it. C'mon, let's get you cleaned up. Can't have you getting in your truck like that."
"Dr. Keynes?" Alesandro nudged her gently.
Someone's calling you, he signed clumsily and she looked around for who could have been calling her. She saw the farmer's wife running over, a dish towel clutched in her hands.
"Yes?" Katie asked, peeling off her work gloves and grimacing when she saw that her fingers were bloody and pruny. Gross.
Hearing nothing, she looked up to find the farmers wife sobbing. She glanced at Alesandro who looked horrified. She nudged him gently. My cochlears stopped working. I can't hear anything.
After a moment of hesitation and a deep but shaky breath, Alesandro signed slowly and deliberately, the office attack.
The farmer snatched the dish towel from his wife and handed it to her. She took it from the farmer with a nod of thanks and quickly dried her hands of blood and grabbed her cochlears to fiddle with it. "My battery is dying," she said when she could hear again. Judging by the muffled sounds she heard when she spoke, the setting was too low so she was probably talking too loud. "What about an office?"
"Your office was attacked," the farmer told her loudly and she felt like someone poured a bucket of cold water over her. She ran to her truck and yanked the door open, fumbling for her phone with hands still red with dried blood.
WHERE ARE YOU? J texted just as she picked it up. There were about ten other messages of a similar tone and a few missed calls. If the texts weren't any indication, the calls told her how worried he was, as she didn't like taking phone calls because she couldn't see the speaker's lips.
She called him and put the phone on speaker before climbing into the cab. A rocking of the car told her that Alesandro had jumped into the bed. She threw the car into gear and drove as fast as she dared to down the farmer's road.
Jazz's voice came muffled over the phone and she tucked the device into her bra so she could hear it better without taking her hands off the wheel. "Where are you?" He sounded panicked.
"I'm still at the farm," she yelled back. "We just finished cleaning up. What happened to the office?"
"I see you. Is that Alesandro?"
Glancing in her mirrors, she saw the familiar form of the pontiac solstice behind her. Alesandro waved frantically to her and she hit the brakes. Her assistant threw open the dividing window. "Look!" he yelled, pointing over her shoulder. A plume of thick black smoke rose from somewhere ahead of them.
Seconds later, Jazz's holoform yanked open the door. As he opened his mouth to speak, her cochlears went out. My ears are gone! She signed to Jazz as he yelled something at her.
She didn't need him to sign to know that he was yelling wildly creative profanities. Alesandro looked impressed despite himself. Get in the car, he signed to her.
But I'm all bloody and the truck drives better on the access, she argued.
Jazz had turned his head to say something to Alesandro but she knew that he had "seen" what she told him. After he said his piece to Alesandro, he signed to her, You're safer in me than in this piece of scrap. Alesandro will drive the truck back and you will stay safe. He reached over and unbuckled her seatbelt before dragging her out of the car.
What's wrong? Katie asked as she complied. He was never so rough with her and his blue eyes were far too bright.
Something attacked the office, he repeated. I think they were enemies.
Katie shook her head as Jazz threw himself into gear and tore down the road. While her truck could and did do better than the low sports car on the unpaved access roads, Jazz could outpace and out distance it on paved roads. Soon she realized that Jazz wasn't headed toward the office. Enemies? And where are we going? Don't think I haven't noticed that we're not going in the right direction!
A panel on the dash shifted and words scrolled across the screen. Enemies of the Autobots. They may have figured out who you are and attacked. I don't know. The attack seems suspicious though and I don't want to take any chances.
Angrily, Katie kicked at the floor. I need to get there for Liz! I have responsibilities and I need to see it through. That's my office and my house.
Silence (not that she could really hear anything with her ears gone anyway) reigned in the car for far too long for her comfort. Then the display switched to the live news feed with subtitles. Seeing the images on the tiny screen drove it all home for her and then she broke down.
Suddenly all she could smell was blood in the car. It was goats blood but it felt to her like it was Liz's and Henry's cute little fawn and all her shelter animals. It was the blood of the abscessed cow that she had treated so many hours ago and the animals waiting for homes. It was Big Bertha, the parrot that Liz claimed was their mascot and the chickens that she hated so much and threatened almost daily to kill and cook.
Will Lennox and his squad were on the scene and Jazz showed her the feeds from their helmet-cams without her asking. She didn't need to. He always anticipated her needs. What they didn't anticipate was the first picture that showed up on the screen. She didn't remember fainting but the bloody, pulpy mess that was Liz's head haunted her subconscious.
"Why attack an animal rescue?" Epps asked wiping sweat from his forehead. "And why kill this poor girl?"
"And all the animals," John muttered, sucking his teeth. He popped another stick of gum in his mouth and smacked it loudly. A few winced at the sound but said nothing.
Lennox grunted and dug in his pockets for a stick of Vick's. "It's not just here. It's up at the house too," he reminded them. "It really looks like they were going for Katie since they got both."
He barely jumped when Ironhide's holoform appeared next to him. "There've been reports of farm mutilations recently," his guardian grumbled. "That's why Katie was out and the offices were empty today. No sign of human casualties on those attacks though. Just all the animals."
"Could they be related?" Epps asked, digging his toe into the dirt. "Or just coincidence?"
Lennox shrugged. "It could go both ways. But the other attacks had no human casualties and happened at night. This one happened during the day."
"Jazz said she was supposed to be in all day today," Ironhide said. "It was a busy day for her and she had appointments lined up until late."
John smacked his gum again. "Looks like evidence of targeting to me."
Silently they watched the EMTs wheel the body bag on the gurney out to their ambulance and load it in. "Hell of a way to go," Epps said, clicking his tongue. "Was it just me or did she look like she was tortured?"
"Maybe," Ironhide grunted. "Hell of a mess in there." They didn't chide him for insensitivity this time because it was certainly true.
They fell silent as the officer in charge walked over with a scowl on his face. His moustache had white chunks and shone with an oily sheen where he had rubbed a Vick's stick under his nose. "I don't like it," he growled to them when he was in earshot. "But I guess I gotta turn this investigation over to you."
"Thank you," Lennox said, trying to sound sincere. He hoped it didn't sound like he had a stick up his ass. "I really appreciate it."
The officer grunted. "Just catch 'im."
The four of them watched the officers drive away, some casting looks at them that ranged from angry to bloodthirsty to grateful at them as they loaded up and left. Lennox resisted the urge to smoke a cigarette. "Let's start from the beginning then. Who found them?"
Ironhide nodded to the nearby field and the car that was barely visible in the growing shadows. "The kid and his girl did. He hit a rat or something yesterday and brought it here. The vet let him help take care of it. They were coming back to check on it or something."
John smacked his gum. "Shit, that sucks."
"D'jya talk to them about it?" Epps asked Ironhide who shrugged. "I'll go do that then, I guess."
"They gave a report to the police," Ironhide rumbled.
"They might've left something out," Lennox pointed out. "Bobby, you got that."
Epps nodded and started wading through the grass. "We gonna walk through everything?" John asked, eyes on the blood-splattered door.
Grimly Lennox nodded. "Yeah," he said wearily. He was glad that he hadn't eaten much that day. "Yeah, we are."
Jazz was holding her when she woke up and for a while she stared up at the ceiling of some unfamiliar room while she tried to piece together what happened. Her friend pressed a glass of water into her hands and as she drank she saw the red stains on her hands and it all came rushing back.
Liz? She signed hopefully.
Wordlessly Jazz shook his head. With one hand he steadied the glass which had begun to shake. He took the cup from her and put it on the side so she could sign.
What happened?
Jazz rearranged her on his lap so she could see what he signed. We don't know yet. Will and some of his squad took over the investigation.
How did you find out about it? She wanted to know.
She was only a little suspicious of his hesitation but she knew it was mostly because he didn't want to upset her any more than she already was. The kid you were telling me about that hit the fawn? His name is Bluestreak. He's the guardian of Maggie - Margaret Madson - who is an advisor to Secretary of Defence.
Katie sighed. I need a drink. Jazz rubbed her back soothingly. So now what?
I brought you to the Autobot base, Jazz signed to her. He combined the "A" sign with the sign for "face" for "Autobot" and she nodded when he paused to make sure she understood. Ironhide will report in later to tell us anything they've found.
Katie swallowed hard. I need...a bath. I need a bath.
I got some clothes for you from some of the workers. They're in the bathroom over there. Jazz told her.
She hugged him around the neck tightly before standing and hobbling to the bathroom. Though she wasn't injured but she felt battered. A neat stack of folded clothes and towels lay on a shelf nearby and to her great joy there was a massive tub with a shower head. Attached was a smaller shower cubicle but it was still larger than the average half bath.
"God I love you, Jazz," she mouthed to herself as she went over to the tub and turned it on as hot as she could make it. Then she began to undress. A quick trip through the shower got the physical stains of the blood off her and as she sank into the bath which was almost too hot for her to bear helped her to pretend that it had never been there.
She thought back to Liz. By now the police or Will's squad would have called her parents and told them what had happened. What exactly they'd say she didn't know. Maybe they'd tell them that the same person that had been killing the livestock at night had attacked her. Maybe they'd say everything was under investigation.
A dark-skinned hand appeared and poured something into the bath from an unmarked bottle. She curled her legs into her chest and rested her head on her knees. The water began to foam and her skin tingled pleasantly. From Ratchet, Jazz signed. He put the bottle down and disappeared.
She should be mad at Jazz and that kid. What'd he say his name was? Bluestreak? The bad robots had surely come after them and that's why Liz was dead and all the animals and God her house!
I must be in shock, she thought to herself as she uncurled and sank beneath the water. Nothing seemed to bother her anymore. The hot water burned her face and ears and eyelids and the burn in her lungs was a whole different pain.
A hand broke through the layer of bubbles and touched her shoulder. She followed it up and accepted the towel Jazz's holoform offered her to wipe her face. Ratchet was worried, he signed in explanation when she glanced at him.
Is he scanning me? Now she just felt tired and resigned and couldn't muster her emotions enough to be angrier.
Jazz's lips twitched. He was. If I'm in here he stops. Carefully he touched her cheek. Are you okay?
Katie sighed deeply and laid her head back against the rim of the tub. I'm tired.
I can tell. You haven't said something snarky about me seeing you naked.
Katie didn't dignify that with a response, running her fingers through the bubbles in the cooling water. Wordlessly Jazz added more hot water. Why aren't you more worried about me? She asked, staring at him until those unnatural blue eyes turned to meet hers.
Because I know that right now you don't need someone to worry about you. Jazz said simply. He said nothing about the near-invisible trickle of tears down her face or the subtle shaking of her lips and fingers.
What do I need then?
Jazz smiled. You need fluffy towels, warm blankets, hot cocoa, and a big hug. Katie looked dubious. It's not going to fix everything but it will fix you until you can come to terms with everything. She turned her head away and bit her lip. Once more she brought her knees to her chest and leaned her cheek against the bathtub. Jazz tapped her shoulder and she turned to look at him. I made the cocoa myself, he wheedled, wiggling his eyebrows at her. He offered her what looked to be a very comfortable towel and she hesitated before standing and allowing him to wrap her up tightly. His arms lingered around her as he hugged her tightly to his holographic chest.
