They left Jari on his island – he was well equipped to defend himself against any animal attacks, and was unwilling to leave his home – and were met by a squad of armed soldiers on the shore. There they got on a speedboat and boarded the cruiser without incident.

"What's going to happen now?" Jamie asked Chloe as they were led aboard.

"We're sailing back to the States, where we will travel under armed escort to D.C," Chloe explained. "There we will be fully de-briefed. I suggest you use the time between now and then to rest. I know I shall."

Her eyes flicked to Jackson. Seeing the direction of her gaze, Jamie smiled, but her expression soon clouded.

"Am I… ah… are the Feds still after me?"

"The matter has been settled." Chloe put a companionable arm around her shoulder. "You have been legally exonerated. Ben Schaffer was receiving regular cash payments from an employee at Reiden Global."

Jamie felt as if a weight had been removed. But she'd still shot and killed another human being… and whatever her reasons, she knew a stain like that wouldn't come out so easily.

Later, they were ushered into the Medical Bay for assessment. Chloe, Jackson and Abe were treated quickly. They had numerous scratches from being washed up on a beach, and deeper wounds from the eagle attacks. These were cleaned and dressed. The three were then shown to private berths on the ship.

Mitch and Jamie stayed longer. A Naval medic studied the scars she'd acquired from the plane crash – in particular the big scar on her thigh where she'd been impaled by wreckage – and declared the wounds to have healed well.

"The guy who hauled me out of the ocean really looked after me," she explained, a lump in her throat. She looked away from the medic, tears stinging her eyes. "And now he's dead."

"Sorry to hear that, ma'am. You're good to go."

She slid off the examination table and grabbed her clothes, ducking behind the privacy screen. She exchanged the shapeless blue hospital gown for shapeless naval sweats. When she came out she'd regained her composure.

"Where's Mitch?" she demanded. "Mitchell Morgan?"

"End of the corridor, ma'am."

"Thanks."

Jamie left the room and pushed open the indicated door. Mitch was sitting on an examination table in his shirt, boxers, and nothing else. Another medic was patiently cleaning the wolf bite.

"Maybe you wanna knock next time?" Mitch said, his voice thin with pain. But the genuine smile on his face took the sting out of his words.

The wound was ugly, the flesh mangled and bloody. She felt a stab of guilt. He'd hurt himself trying to save her.

"What, and miss the sight of Mitch Morgan getting his legs out?" she said, visibly pulling herself together.

"Ma'am, you shouldn't really be in here," the medic warned.

"I got rescued from a plane crash in the ocean and spent the last three months on an animal-infested island," Jamie said, lacing each syllable with sweet venom. "I think that's given me the right to go wherever I damn well please, don't you think?"

"What she said," Mitch added, waving a hand for emphasis.

"Alright." The medic shrugged. "Hope you're not squeamish."

Later a Navy Ensign escorted them to their rooms.

"Your friends are right next door," he explained, pointing to rooms on either side of theirs. "There's a mess hall over there." He pointed to another door. "Get some rest and eat when you're ready."

"I feel as if I could sleep for a week," Mitch groaned as the ensign left them to it.

"I, uh, I could help get you settled?" Jamie ventured.

Mitch paused on the threshold. He took his glasses off, cleaned them on his sweatshirt, and then put them back on.

"Sure," he said. "I'd like that."

Irniq, the leopard, had been secured somewhere in the bowls of the ship. He'd just devoured a huge piece of meat, guaranteed Reiden Global free. Now he paced the confines of his cage, restless and angry. Two white-coated military scientists, a man and a woman, stood in front of his cage and watched him.

"You really think this animal holds the key to ending the Beast Rebellion?" the man asked, glancing at the clipboard in his hands.

"This leopard may very well be the only creature in the world not tainted by Reiden Global products," the woman replied. "Once we get him back to base we can sedate him and start doing stem cell extractions."

"How much do you think we'll need?"

"Hard to say." She shrugged. "Jackson Oz's dispersal method calls for the vaccine to be injected in a host animal. That animal is then fed on by mosquitos, who spread it to other animals, and lay their eggs in water."

The male scientist looked at the leopard, his expression softening.

"Sorry, little buddy. I think we're going to have to drain you dry."

Chloe was stretched out on her bed, fully dressed and unable to sleep, when she heard a knock at her door.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?" Jackson said when she opened it.

"We have all undergone serious physical exertions over the last thirty-six hours," she said, holding the door wide to let him in. "You'd think our bodies would welcome the opportunity to sleep."
"Our bodies would." He closed the door. "Our brains are still waiting for the next attack."

"So how do we tell our brains that we are safe?"

Jackson paused a moment, letting his eyes play over her face. Even in unflattering sweats she was still beautiful. Her blonde hair, unbound now and falling around her shoulders in a soft wave, framed a face with exquisite lines.

"I can think of a few ways," he said, closing the distance between them.

Chloe met him. His arms curled around her waist, hers around his neck, and their kiss seemed to go on forever.

Abe was too wired to sleep. He found his way to the mess hall across the corridor. He had expected it to be empty, but instead he saw a petite Asian woman helping herself to food. Army combats, not Navy. She turned as he entered.

"Ah, you would be Abraham Kenyatta?"

"Call me Abe."

"Abe it is, then." She brought her food to the table nearest him and put her tray down. "Lieutenant Kazuko Wilson." She pronounced her first name with the barely-audible u, indicating she spoke Japanese fluently.

"A very great pleasure to meet you," Abe said, a smile lightening his face. "May I dine with you?"

"Be my guest. You and your team will be seeing a lot more of me after we return to D.C."

"While this idea intrigues me, I am compelled to ask why?"

"I command the soldiers on board, and I'm your Army liaison. You guys have done an incredible amount of legwork to get where you are today. With limited resources you identified the source of the problem – and found a vaccine."

"And now it's time for the Army to take over?" There was a hint of reserve in his voice.

"Now it's time for the Army to assist. We can give you a full scientific team, military protection for any field work… if you need it, we can give it to you."

"Will I be able to discuss this with my friends?"

"Of course. You're all free to walk away at any time. But we would prefer to have your team's insights on board."

Jamie helped Mitch hobble over to the bed. He sat awkwardly, face tight with pain, and lifted his leg onto the mattress. Jamie eased one of the pillows under his knee.

"The medic gave you pain pills," Jamie said. "You should take them, get some rest."

"You're right, I probably should. Not going to, though."

"Anyone ever tell you you're stubborn?"

"At least once a week. But Jamie, I wanted to keep a clear head for what I want to say to you."
"I… I think I have a few things to say to you, too." She sat on the edge of the bed, one leg bent under her and the other braced on the floor, so she could face him. He scooted across to give her more room. "You first."

"I don't… uh… I don't make speeches like this very often," he began. "You remember that day in Kenya, in the hospital?"

Jamie nodded. Her expression was solemn, her eyes large, making her look younger than she was. More innocent. Mitch couldn't look away from her.

"I told you how I'd shut myself off from my own pain for so long that I couldn't handle anyone else's. Then you came along, Jamie." He jabbed a gentle finger at her. "You taught me that it was OK to feel. You saved me."

"We never got to talk about that," she whispered.

"Yeah, a leopard bursting into the room kind of kills the conversation." His smile was more of a grimace. "But I knew then – even before then – that I had… feelings for you. There, I said it."

"I'd hoped you felt that way." Her voice was low and husky. "That's why I kissed you. Because I had feelings for you, too."
"Then you had to go and die on me." Mitch's eyes glimmered with tears, and his voice was tight. "For three months I thought you were dead… and… I wanted to die, too."

"No, Mitch…" Her small hand sought his, their fingers twining. She sniffed. Tears trickled down her cheeks.

"I lost you and I lost the vaccine. All of my hope just… gone. Like that. I went into bars every night, Jamie, and drank till I could barely walk. And you know how much I hate bars."

"I know." She wiped her face.

"Aww, Jamie, don't cry. No really, don't cry, I can't stand weeping women."

She surprised – and pleased him – with a watery giggle.

"So now here we are. You're not dead. So in case you die again, I'm just gonna lay it on the line. I… Jamie, I'm in love with you."

"I'm not dead," she agreed, her tears giving way to a dazzling smile. "And we have unfinished business."

"Unfinished busin –"

She leaned forward and kissed him. Mitch deepened it, his hand reaching up to cup her face. He felt her fingers tugging at the hem of his sweatshirt.

"I think I'm in love with you, too."

"My leg…" he managed to gasp between kisses.

"Don't worry about it." She pulled her own sweatshirt over her head and threw it across the room, revealing that she was naked underneath. Mitch stared. "I'll be gentle."

Irniq paced his cage, growling low in his throat. He didn't like being caged. He didn't like being on this great metal thing. He felt the vibration of the engines through the pads of his feet.

Barely audible squeaks reached his ears. They pricked in reaction and he turned his head in that direction, triangulating the noise until he found the source – a single rat.

Irniq watched, interested, as the rat scampered across the floor. It didn't stop at the cage but instead scurried up it, hooking its clawed feet into the wire mesh.

The leopard sat on its haunches and waited. The rat went to work on the bolt that kept the cage closed, nimble paws working it out of the catch.

The cage door swung open. Irniq padded out.

Jackson, gasping for breath, fell back against the mattress. Chloe let out a contented sigh and snuggled against his side, arranging the thin blanket over them.

"Now my brain feels sleepy," she commented, letting her hand play over his chest. Jackson put his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"That was… d'you know what, I'm way too tired to think of words to say how damned good that was."

"Simple is always best."

"What will you do next?" he asked. "I mean, when the Beast Rebellion is over."

"Eh…" She shrugged. "I want to fly to Paris, try to make amends with my sister."

"Have you forgiven her for stealing your fiancé?" If Jackson had had a brother – and that brother had stolen his girl – especially if that girl was Chloe! – he wasn't sure he could be so forgiving.

"There is… there is something I haven't told you," she said haltingly.

Jackson shifted onto his side, propping his head up with one hand so he could look down into her face.

"You can tell me anything."

"I'm frightened you will think less of me," she whispered, not meeting his eyes.

"Chloe." His fingers found her chin, lifted it. Finally she looked at him. "Tell me. I won't judge. I promise."

"D'accord… but you may regret this. OK. You know that after I was arrested by FBI Agent Brannigan, his car was run off the road?"

"Yeah, you told us. You were kidnaped by two guys working for that creep Alves. He tortured you into giving us up… but you never did." He bent to kiss her shoulder. "You never did."

"The truth is that he did not torture me." Her face was taught. "He tortured my sister and made me watch. I thought I hated her, Jackson, for what she did to me… but… what is the expression? 'When the chips are down'? I realised I did not hate her. But I could not betray what you were doing, not even to spare her the pain."

"My God, Chloe." Jackson sank back against the bed. "I know you're trained to withstand torture, but Natalie…"

"Nat is not. I let Alves's man torture her, and I am damned." She turned her face away. "There is not a day goes by where I do not wish I had been tortured, instead…"

Jackson gathered her close against him, wiping her tears with his thumb.

"Listen, you did what you had to do. If you'd given up our location we'd never have got the leopard and Mitch wouldn't have made the vaccine. Reiden would have won." His kiss was gentle. "You helped save the world."

"How can I make Nat understand that? When she suffered so badly, when her world came to an end, how can I make her understand?"

There was something so vulnerable about Chloe now, Jackson thought, that he just wanted to hold her and make everything right. But he knew all too well that wishing something was different didn't make it so.

"It'll take time," he told her. "But I know she'll forgive you."

"Are you thinking about your father?"

"Guess you know me too well. I was thinking how, for years, we all thought he was nuts. Mom and me, his colleagues. He suffered, too. Not like your sister, but still…"

"Nobody believed him." Now it was Chloe's turn to offer comfort. "He knew the truth, and he tried so hard to get the word out, but nobody believed him. Until it was too late."

"It's not too late. We've got the leopard, we can make the vaccine. Thanks to my father's work it's not too late."

"I think you just killed me," Mitch said, arms splayed wide. Jamie – laughing – sat back against the headboard, pulling the blanket around her.

"What a way to go, huh?"

"Where'd you get so much damned energy?"

"Try sitting on your ass for three months."

"And when did you get this?" Mitch asked, tracing his fingers over the genie tattoo on her shoulder.

"That? Oh, years ago. One of many teenaged rebellions."

"Jamie Campbell, a rebel. I can totally see that."

He couldn't keep his hands off her. Like a man stranded in the desert, she was his water, and he wanted all of her. His hand slid over her upper thigh.

She flinched away. He felt as if she'd punched him.

"Mitch, don't…"

"I get it. Your scar." He'd felt the thick, raised ridge on her skin where she'd been impaled by a twisted length of plane wreckage. "But Jamie, it's a part of you."

"An ugly part of me."

"It's just another mark on your skin." He leaned over and kissed her shoulder. "Like the genie. It's a roadmap of your life."

"Yeah, the really sucky parts."

"Hey, I got bit by a wolf," he said. "Wanna play 'mine's worse than yours'? I spent the last couple months in an alcoholic pity party. Life's too short to feel sorry for yourself."

"Excuse me?"

"I mean you're alive, Jamie. We're both alive. We've still got all our arms and legs and most of our teeth. Whoever said the past is a foreign country was so right."

"Well, listen to you, Mr. Upbeat."

"I mean it. We've been through so much, seen so much, but we've come out the other side as better people."
"If I knew you hadn't taken your pain meds, I'd say you were high."

"Screw the meds. You're here. That's all I need."

When the five finally wound down enough to rest, they slept for hours.

The leopard didn't sleep. He explored. He didn't like this moving metal box, but at least now he had room to really stretch his legs. The rat kept chittering at him. He found the rat interesting, so he followed it.

The whole place stank of human. His nostrils flared as air currents were pushed toward him, and a second later he heard it – the tread of feet. Irniq tensed, ready to leap.

A human rounded the corner. The leopard sprang, claws slashing. Irniq clamped his jaws around a throat. The man dropped and didn't get up.

The rat was still chittering. Irniq, docile as a lamb, followed.

Jackson and his friends were roused from deep sleep when a massive thump reverberated through the ship. They dressed quickly and met in the hall. No one seemed surprised to see Chloe emerge with Jackson, and Jamie with Mitch.

"Did you make the earth move, Rafiki?" Abe laughed, clapping his friend on the shoulder. Jackson ducked away, embarrassed.

"Earth sure moved for me," Mitch answered for him, "but not a movement of the literal kind. Whales again?"

"I thought the ship was too big to be overturned!" Chloe exclaimed.

"It should be," a woman announced, stepping into the corridor from the mess hall. "I'm Lieutenant Kazuko Wilson, your military liaison. Hi, Abe." She offered him a wide smile.

"Uh, you two know each other?" Jackson asked, eyebrows raised knowingly.

"Yes, we are old friends," he replied. "We met all of a few hours ago."

"Come to the bridge. There's something I want you all to see."

They followed Kazuko through grey, winding corridors and staircases that led – eventually – to the bridge. The ship rocked and shook.

"Captain." Kazuko saluted.

"Lieutenant Wilson." The Captain was an imposing figure with thick white hair and a lined face. "We're ready to begin."

"Are Army people supposed to salute Navy people?" Jamie whispered.

"No idea," Mitch whispered back. "It is his ship, though."

"You guys, look!" Jackson called, peering through the long windows. "I think we've stumbled on to a whole pod of whales!"

The ocean all around them was awash with flicking tails, breaching blow holes and turbulent water.

"More like they've stumbled onto us," Kazuko replied. "We caught them on sonar five miles away. They were actually swimming on a different course from us. Then something changed, and they came toward us."

"Echolocation," Jackson explained. "We, uh, we had a bad experience with a whale. It sank our boat."

"Ready to deploy!" a man called from across the bridge.

"Deploy at will!" the Captain called back. He turned to Jackson and his people. "There's nothing to worry about, even with a whole pod of blue whales –"

"You do realise they're the largest mammal on Earth?" Mitch asked.

A massive shudder rocked the ship, the largest so far.

"What the hell was that?" Jamie demanded, clutching at Mitch.

"That was a depth charge, Miss Campbell." The Captain was just a shade away from smug. "The US Navy lost a couple of warships until we hit on the idea."

"Wow, you didn't just blast them out of the sea," Mitch muttered.

"Contrary to popular belief, Mr. Morgan, we are not trigger happy." The Captain's smile was sharp and predatory.

Another depth charge made them stagger.

"How many are you going to release?" Chloe asked.

"As many as it takes to drive the whales away. From past experience they give up after five or six."

"Captain!" A man ran onto the bridge, gasping for breath, blood smeared across his blue dress shirt. "The, uh, the cargo appears to have gotten out of its cage and has killed several crew members!"

"Why us?" Mitch muttered.

"Quit your whining," Jamie said, poking him in the ribs. "At least we've still got our arms and legs, right?"

Jackson, Abe and Kazuko patrolled the ship's corridors, creeping along in single file. Jackson was on point.

"I'm not even gonna ask why a US Navy ship has got tranquilliser guns on board," he whispered, crouching to examine a splash of blood at an intersection. "I'm just going to say, 'thank you, Uncle Sam', and shoot the leopard."

"We still don't know how it got out of its cage!" Kazuko exclaimed.

"Oh, that's the easy part. This way." He pointed to the right. The others followed.

"Easy?" Kazuko shook her head, clearly perplexed.

"He means it's easy when you begin to understand how the animals are thinking now," Abe explained.

"The total extinction of humanity. That still doesn't explain how the leopard got free."

"He got free because something let him out," Jackson said, glancing back over his shoulder. "Careful, there's a body here."

They stepped over the blood-stained body of a Naval officer. Irniq's footprints – outlined in red – became clearer.

"None of the crew would be so stupid as to let him out!" Kazuko said, outraged.

"I said something. Not someone."

"You mean… another animal opened that cage? But there are no others on board!"

"You haven't spent much time on ships, have you, Lieutenant Wilson?"

"Call me Kazuko. And no, I haven't."

"There will be rats on this vessel. There might even be a sneaky cat or two. But mostly rats. They have small, nimble paws, and they can chew through pretty much anything."

"You're saying a rat opened the cage?"

Jackson looked over his shoulder, nodded. "Yup."

"This does not feel right," Abe murmured. "Jackson, wait."

"What d'you mean, it doesn't feel right?"

"When was the last time an animal left you such a clear trail to follow?"

An enraged snarl filled the air. Jackson leapt back just as the leopard exploded from a side corridor, fangs barred. The animal knocked him down, claws raking his clothes and exposed arms.

Abe whipped his tranquilliser gun around and shot the animal. It turned to glare at him, teeth inches from Jackson's throat, and galloped away. Abe squeezed off one more shot.

"Rafiki!" Abe said, coming to his friend's side.

"Get the leopard," he gasped, hands clamped over the deep claw marks. Blood oozed between his fingers. "I'll be fine. I'll be fine!"

"I'll stay with him," Kazuko said. "Go!"

Abe gave him a last look and ran off.

"This is Lieutenant Kazuko Wilson requesting urgent medical assistance," she said into the walkie-talkie she unclipped from her belt.

"On our way, Lieutenant," came the crackly reply.

Kazuko helped Jackson into a sitting position.

"I think they're just superficial wounds," he said, peeking beneath his bloody hands.

"We'll let the medics decide that." Her tone was stern, but then it softened. "Why did he call you 'Rafiki'?"

"It's a Swahili word that means 'friend'," Jackson replied. "What, you never watched the Lion King?"

Abe, Jackson and Kazuko watched the unconscious leopard. Jackson closed the door and latched it.

"We need someone on guard here at all times," he told Kazuko. "Preferably more than one person."

"I will tell them to keep an eye out for rats."

On the bridge, Chloe, Mitch and Jamie waited as the depth charges were dropped.

"I hate this," Jamie said, staring out of the window. "I hate knowing that everywhere I go, the animals are trying to kill us."

"Now you know how they feel," Mitch replied. She turned to glare at him.

"We have spent too long at the top of the tree," Chloe said. "Safe in our assumption that we were untouchable. Maybe it's time we were toppled."

"Anyone would think that you'd spent the last three months in isolation," Jamie said. "Who says we have to give in to this? Nature's all about fighting. I say we fight to keep that top spot."

"Captain, the whales are leaving!" someone called.

"Good job. Resume course."

"There may be a third option," Mitch said. Both women turned to glare at him. "Don't forget Evan Lee Hartley. Jackson's father was trying to help him evolve, just like the animals."