Catch A Tiger By The Tail (THIRDS 6)

“For this training sequence, make certain you pay attention and think about what you would do differently from your teammates. As you can see, there is a case at the end of the room. One of you will retrieve the case. Consider your opponent your enemy. I expect you to give it your all. Don’t think of this as training. Think of it as you out in the field. There is no room for failure. The green lights are hostiles patrolling the area. Get too close, and the light will turn red, meaning you’ve lost precious time dealing with the problem. You lose ten points for each one you cause to go off.” Sparks pointed to the table beside her, with fancy laser tag equipment. “You’re to take one tactical vest and one laser gun. You may keep your standard equipment on you. Use the laser gun to disable the hostiles before the light changes. You have a limited number of shots. Agent Keeler and Agent Summers, you’re up. The rest of you pick up a tactical vest and suit up. Not you, Keeler.”

Shit. Calvin and Ash? Ethan didn’t like this. And why did the rest of them have to wear tactical vests if they weren’t involved in the training?

“Agent Keeler, please shift into your Therian form. Agent Summers, please pick up your equipment. I’ll attach the sensor to Agent Keeler once he’s shifted.”

Ethan stared at her. Ash was going to be in his Therian form against Calvin? His best friend looked surprised, but he seemed to quickly snap himself out of it. He nodded and did as he was asked, though not before Ash gave him a wicked grin.

“I’ll try not to ruin that pretty face of yours,” Ash said, chuckling as he strolled off to the privacy screen. Sparks motioned for Letty to assist him before turning her attention to Calvin.

“You’re to retrieve the case, Agent Summers. Agent Keeler will do his best to s

top you.”

Calvin frowned. “By his best, you mean…?”

“He will hurt you.”

Ethan stepped forward, only to have Sparks stop him. She waited until Ash’s pained cries stopped resonating through the training bay. A fierce roar followed, and once it was quiet again, Sparks addressed the team.

“Out in the field, you deal with feral Therians. They don’t give a damn who you’re sleeping with, and if they find out your lover is working beside you, they will do everything they can to destroy you. You stated your romantic relationships wouldn’t impede your performance? We’re going to start putting that to the test. Tactical vest on, Agent Hobbs.”

Ethan swallowed hard. What exactly did that mean? He strapped himself into his vest, as did the rest of his teammates before resuming formation. What wasn’t she telling them? He was coming to learn that Sparks held out on a lot, feeding them tiny morsels of information as they went along, and only when she deemed it necessary. Ethan hated being in the dark. As an explosives specialist, he relied on having as much information as possible in order to perform his duties. Without the necessary intel, an easily resolved problem could turn fatal.

Ash emerged from behind the screen, shaking his head and causing his massive furry mane to swish impressively. Ethan rolled his eyes. Show-off. The only one impressed was Cael, but then Ethan supposed that was to be expected. Cael always looked at Ash as if he was some big rock star, and Ash ate it up. Ash trotted over to Sparks and sat on his haunches, his tail thumping against the floor. Lion Therians were so smug. Calvin finished strapping himself into his vest and tucked the laser gun into the back of his waistband while Sparks clipped a sensor to Ash’s mane. Ethan couldn’t help but snicker, and the rest of his teammates soon joined him. Sparks had clipped it below his ear, making it look like he had a barrette in his mane.

Calvin walked over with a laugh. “Well, aren’t you a pretty kitty.”

Ash snarled, taking a swipe at Calvin, claws drawn. Ethan instinctively stepped forward, and Sparks arched an eyebrow at him. Damn it, he had to control himself. With a frown, he stepped back into line and gave Sparks a nod. He could do this. His partner was an experienced agent. Ethan took comfort in the fact Calvin wouldn’t hesitate in planting one in Ash’s face if he had to. Ash turned his amber eyes on Ethan, and Ethan could tell he was enjoying this. He narrowed his eyes at Ash. If he was in his Therian form he’d knock the smugness out of him. Ash might be fierce, but in his Therian form Ethan was bigger, his claws and fangs were sharper, his mass heavier, and his roar fiercer than any lion Therian. Of course, in a fight to the finish, Ash would kick his ass. Lion Therians were survivors. They would fight until their last breath with everything they had. Their mane also protected their necks. Ethan didn’t have a mane to protect him. Still, he’d give it his best.

“All right.” Sparks addressed Calvin. “You have a five-second head start, Agent Summers. Go.”

Calvin took off, maneuvering through the tires as fast as he could. He climbed over one of the blockades. Not an easy task considering the added weight of his vest. At least his partner didn’t have to worry about tactical equipment. That alone would have slowed him down a good deal.

Seconds later, Ash’s roar resounded through the training bay, and Ethan balled his hands at his sides. He watched nervously as Ash sped after Calvin, who was running up one of the ramps to the swing rope ahead of it. Ash caught up in seconds, roaring and bounding onto the ramp. He had Calvin in his sights, and he had every intention of catching his prey. Ethan knew the feeling. His muscles tensed at the familiar call. Despite being in his Human form, the tiger inside him stirred, eager to join the chase, to protect what was his. His pulse picked up, his heart pounded fiercely, and his senses grew sharp. At this moment, nothing mattered to Ash other than getting his claws into the flesh of his quarry. Sparks met Ethan’s gaze, her intense pale eyes knowing.

“Agent Hobbs, I suggest you keep a tight grip on your Therian half.”

Ethan gritted his teeth and nodded. He turned his attention back to Calvin, his heart in his throat as Calvin dropped onto the ramp and rolled onto his back, kicking out as Ash leaped at him. He caught Ash on his belly with his boots and sent him tumbling down the ramp. Jumping to his feet, Calvin spun on his heels and took off, leaping when he reached the end of the ramp. He caught hold of the rope and swung to the other ramp, hitting the wood boards with a roll before popping up onto his feet.

Ash swiftly recovered, his snarl heard from where Ethan stood. Their lion Therian teammate was pissed, even more so than usual. Come on, Cal. You can do this. Calvin hurried through the obstacle course, making certain to stay clear of the sensors or shooting at them when there was no way around them. Ash was quick on his heels, but Calvin made sure to use the obstacle course to his advantage, anything that would take Ash longer to go around. Way to go, Cal.

As Calvin headed for one of the hurdles, Ash changed direction. Where the hell was he going? Ethan watched as Ash sped up one of the ramps. What the— Realization dawned on Ethan, and it took everything he had not to run off after Calvin. Ash leaped and slammed into Calvin, knocking him to the floor and sending them rolling. Three of the sensors went off around Calvin, his laser gun skidding across the floor and out of his reach. His gun was hardly his partner’s biggest concern at the moment. Ash roared and pounced, taking a swipe at Calvin’s side and his claws snagging Calvin’s tac vest. The move backfired as his claws got caught in the bulletproof fabric, giving Calvin enough time to pull back a fist and punch Ash across the muzzle.

Ethan cringed. Ash’s fierce roar sent a chill up his spine, and he watched anxiously as Ash swatted at Calvin again, his claws tearing at Calvin’s sleeve. Luckily his partner had moved away before Ash could draw blood. Using the end of his Glock, Calvin swung at Ash, forcing him to jump back. Calvin scrambled to his feet and ran to the climbing wall. He jabbed his gun into his thigh rig and climbed with Ash trying to claw at him. Calvin was fast on his feet and agile. He dodged Ash’s blows and continued to climb. Ash jumped and swiped, but each time he was met with Calvin’s boot. Lucky for Calvin, lion Therians weren’t so good at climbing.

That’s it. Annoy the living hell out of him!

Calvin reached the top and swiped the suitcase. The only problem was Ash was waiting for him at the bottom, pacing with fangs bare as he hissed. Ethan was on edge as he watched Calvin doing his best to hang onto the rope with both hands while holding onto the case. Ethan could read Calvin clearly. He was considering all his options. Then a familiar look Ethan knew all too well came onto his partner’s face. He’d found the solution. Calvin tugged a Therian-strength zip tie from his belt and secured the case to his belt. Then he swiped up his Glock and fired two rounds in their direction. Right into Cael’s vest.

The force of the bullets hitting Cael knocked him off his feet, and chaos quickly followed. Ash roared and took off toward Cael while Dex and Sloane rushed to Cael’s side. Ethan watched, stunned, as Calvin dropped to the ground and broke into a run, reaching Sparks just as Ash reached Cael. Calvin handed her the case as Cael was pulled to his feet.

“What the fuck, Cal?” Dex glared at Calvin. “You fucking shot him.”

“He’s wearing a vest,” Calvin replied calmly. “I wouldn’t have shot him otherwise.”

Dex stared at him. “What if you’d missed? Jesus Christ, do you realize—”

“Are you saying I can’t hit a fucking inanimate object?” Calvin challenged Dex. “Shooting is what I do. If he’d been running I still would have been able to hit him. Had I wanted to shoot him somewhere else I would have aimed there.”