The inside of the Reis’s house was a surprise. I’d expected animal pelts and deer antlers and more skulls, maybe a butchered deer hanging from a rafter. Instead it was wood, iron, fieldstone, and Adirondack accouterments like birch bark furniture and old snowshoes on the walls. A big stacked-stone chimney was the primary focal point of the living room, with a built-in wood stove and a bluestone hearth. The mantle was a stripped and stained half log, holding an odd assortment of items. A bird’s nest, an empty snapping turtle shell, a large lump of garnet-encrusted granite, and a family photo showing all four of them—in human form.
The kids weren’t in the house, and as they were both listed as homeschooled, I thought they might be out in the woods as a safety measure in case we were hostile. Their presence was all through the house, though. Drawings, kids’ books, a few wooden toys that looked scratched all to hell, clothing too small to fit either adult and, of course, the scent—cougar kitten.
Cats have a sharper smell than canines. Not the smell of cat urine, but a warm, bright scent that brought to mind short, thick fur and whiskers. That probably doesn’t make sense to you but it’s the only way I can describe it. Canines, well, anyone who ever smelled a wet dog has an idea of how they smell, although nowhere near as powerful as it is to me.
“You’ve both written some really provocative stuff. You have to understand why we might be concerned. Especially considering your natural abilities to make good on those violent thoughts,” Jay said. I had flashed her another sign, the ASL this time. The W for were and the C for cougar.
Rob and Helen exchanged a glance. She had entered the room mere moments after he brought us in, wearing black sweatpants and a green top, which brought out her eyes. She wasn’t pretty, her face too severe, I think, for that, but with her lithe figure and intense gaze, she was… visually arresting, if you’ll pardon the phrase. Mitch kept his eyes mostly off her, which was a dead giveaway that he really wanted to stare at her. But Mitch had been with STRT long enough to learn the few lessons that I had been successful in teaching the team. Don’t challenge weres unless you want a fight was the first one, right up at the top, along with not turning your back on any of the predators, and keeping your chin down and neck covered in the presence of unknown vampires. He knew that staring is always a challenge.
Lois Jay seemed to be handling the questioning like a champ, though. She rose another notch or two in my opinion.
“We are still accounted freedom of speech, unless you’re here to take that from us,” Rob answered. Helen had stayed quiet so far.
“Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution. But you know it doesn’t give you carte blanche, right? You can’t yell fire in a movie theater. Free speech is rooted in the principle that we are not allowed to harm others to get what we want. Calling for bloodshed to establish a protected position in society for weres like yourselves, and other supernatural people, is not protected speech. In fact, it borders on inciting hate crimes.”
Helen’s face twisted up and she finally spoke. “You say these things to assuage us, here in our own homes, but you don’t mean them.”
“Am I not telling the truth? You can tell, right?” the boss lady asked.
That caught Helen off guard. Weres can literally smell or sometimes hear lies rolling off the lips of the untruthful. I know I certainly could, even though I’m not a were or a vampire.
“You haven’t spoken anything that you believe is untrue, but that doesn’t mean the rest of your corrupt organization or government bedfellows believes that,” Robert said.
“Absolutely true. But that’s why we’re here,” she said, waving a hand at Mitch and myself. “We’re part of a special task force within the Bureau that works with extraordinary humans like yourselves.”
“You two are human,” Robert said, looking from Agent Jay to Mitch before turning his yellow eyes on me. “But what is she?”
Jay looked my way. “She, too, is an extraordinary human. Just not one you’ve ever come across before.”
“I’ll say. She smells—wrong,” Helen said, staring me down.
I smiled. “Who are you to say what’s right and wrong? Isn’t that what you preach about on the web? So you can’t classify me as easily as I can smell that you’re cougar clan? Doesn’t make me wrong. And now you throw out a challenge?”
She held my gaze for a moment, then turned her stare on her husband. He picked up his cue right away. “You speak of challenge in our home?” he asked, a note of outrage in his voice. A false note. It was an act.
“I know a challenge when I see one, and I’ve answered every one directed my way. I also know it’s not normal for weres of any variety to challenge guests. Well, except maybe for weasel clan. They’re a little crazy to begin with, though.”
“Agent Jensen,” Jay rebuked softly.
“No, she’s right. Weasels aren’t fully sane,” Robert said, his gaze now thoughtful. “How do you know so much about our kind, FBI girl who smells all mixed up?”
“Because I’ve lived with most every variety of supernatural folk,” I said.
“She’s young. Ah. I get it. She went to that school,” Helen accused, eyes fastened on me.
“If you mean Arcane in Burlington, then yes,” I said.
Both cougars pulled back as they considered that. Another long look was exchanged between them.
“But what are you?” Helen asked.
“An agent with the FBI,” I said. “We’re here to talk about inflaming violence against others through speech. Why would you do that? Regular humans outnumber supernaturals by orders of magnitude. An out-and-out battle would result in millions of deaths, but also the likely extinction of supernaturals. Or do you think that by hiding away in the woods, you and yours would survive it?”
“No one would ever find us,” Helen promised. “And we would make any hunters pay.”
I nodded. “Sure, among the regular types. But the military has been working on anti-supernatural weapons and technology for quite some time now. You would eventually lose, as would your children.”
“That computer would interfere. It works for supernaturals,” Robert said.
“If by computer you mean Omega, it’s the reason we’re here,” Agent Jay said. “Omega gives us heads up on any domestic terrorism threats it identifies, whether they be normal or supernatural.”
They looked like they didn’t believe us.
“Omega is interested in survival, as in the Earth’s survival, and the continuation of humans of all kinds, as well as his own survival,” I said. “He works against anything that threatens that.”
“You call it he?” Helen asked, brows lifted.
“I’ve known Omega since he first formed sentience. It most often uses a male persona—not always, but mostly. Depends on the audience. Right, Omega?”
“Agent Caeco Jensen is correct,” a young male voice said through the desktop computer speakers on the table in the far corner.
Both cougar kin spun around and hissed in unison. Beside me, I could feel Jay and Allen tense up. That’s right. Were people aren’t exactly like regular people. They handle surprises differently. A good lesson for agents to learn.
“It listens in?” Helen asked, appalled.
“Of course. You know he goes wherever he wants in the world of electronics. Why would here be different?” I asked.
It was different though; very different, as clearly depicted by the wide-eyed outrage and pulled-back body language. They thought they were removed from the world, just dipping in to stir things up, then pulling back to their wilderness safety. But now they were being shown how imaginary that safety really was.
“Inciting violence among the species of humans living on this world is completely at odds with the actions currently required if this world is to survive the coming conflict with the Vorsook,” Omega expounded.
“The aliens?” Robert asked.
“Yeah, them,” I said with a nod.
“You see why we’re here to talk?” Agent Jay said, her voice smooth, tone even and reasonable.
“The aliens are real?” Robert asked his computer, glancing once at Agent Jay first.
“They are entirely real and pose an extraordinary threat to Earth. Because of close work among all kinds of humans as well as myself, we have gained significant resources of late. However, any threats that distract from our preparations cannot be allowed. Interspecies war is at the top of that list. So I alerted Agent Jay and her team to your words. I could have just cut your access to the internet, but that is a very short-term solution and does nothing to further our cause. Explaining it to you seemed to have a higher probability of helping you understand what we really face. It would be better to have you as active allies or at worst passive ones than to leave you to create any additional problems.”
The shock was still present on their faces but their expressions had changed from outrage to cautious interest.
“The FBI works with you?” Helen asked the desktop PC.
“I work with anyone who is willing to work toward our common survival. I work against anyone who threatens those goals.”
The cougar couple turned our way, Robert thoughtful, Helen maybe a bit less hostile.
Agent Lois Jay pulled out her phone and looked at the screen before raising her eyes to the Reis. “Can we conclude that you will curtail the more violent and provocative aspects of your postings?”
“We will continue to work for the rights of supernaturals,” Helen stated, ready to argue.
“As is your right. By all means continue your work. Just use the legal apparatus, use public opinion. Lobby and organize. Don’t incite violence,” Jay said.
The couple exchanged a glance, then turned back to her and cautiously nodded. “We can do that,” Helen allowed.
“Then we will leave you. We have other things to attend to,” Jay said with a glance at Mitch and myself.
“You got a cell signal here?” Robert asked.
“The computer did it,” Helen responded before any of us could answer.
“Ah. I see,” he said.
We took our leave, heading back out the door and directly to the SUV. A small sound alerted me and I looked to our left, spotting two small furry faces peering at us from high in a pine tree. Both immediately pulled back when they caught me looking. My fellow agents remained completely unaware as we climbed back into the car and pulled out of the remote homestead.