"Yeah," he said, a bit sulkily. "Like a brother."
The rear door of the place opened out onto a narrow alley that was seldom occupied, except by the occasional homeless person using the wall of her low-rent animal clinic near the riverfront as a backrest. Tonight Ben's black VW van was parked there. Low growls and snuffles sounded from within the vehicle, and there was a gentle rocking of its shocks, as if something big was pacing back and forth inside.
Which, of course, was exactly what was happening.
"It's contained inside there, right?"
"Yeah. Don't worry. Besides, it's as docile as a kitten, I promise you."
Tess slid him a look of doubt as she stepped off the concrete stoop and walked around to the back doors of the van. "Do I want to know where you got this one?"
"Probably not."
For the past five years or so, Ben Sullivan had been acting as a personal crusader for the well-being and protection of abused exotic animals. He researched his rescue missions case by case, as cleverly as the most covert government spy. Then, like a one-man SWAT team, he moved in, liberating mistreated, malnourished, or endangered and illegal animals from their abusive caretakers and turning them over to legitimate sanctuaries that were equipped to properly care for the creatures. Sometimes, he made an emergency pit stop at Tess's clinic to get treatment for various animal wounds and injuries that needed immediate care.
It was actually how they'd met two years ago. Ben had brought in an abused serval with an intestinal blockage. The small exotic cat was recovered from a drug dealer's house, where it had chewed up and swallowed a rubber dog toy, and it needed to have the blockage surgically removed. It was a painstaking, lengthy procedure, but Ben had stayed the entire time. The next thing Tess knew, they were dating exclusively.
She wasn't sure how they'd gone from fooling around to falling in love, but somewhere along the way it had happened. For Ben, at any rate. Tess loved him back--adored him, really--but she just didn't see them going past the stage of good friends who happened to sleep together from time to time. Even that had cooled off lately, by her own initiative.
"Would you like to do the honors?" she asked him.
He reached out and grabbed the handle of the double doors, carefully swinging them wide.
"My God," Tess breathed, utterly awed.
The Bengal tiger was emaciated and mangy, with an open sore oozing on its front leg from an apparent shackle burn, but even haggard as it was, it was the most majestic thing she'd ever seen. It stared back at them, its mouth slack, tongue out and panting, fear dilating its pupils until they were nearly full black. The tiger grunted, knocking its head against the bars of Ben's containment cage.
Tess cautiously moved closer. "I know, poor baby. You've seen better days, haven't you?" She frowned, noting the odd shape of its front paws, the lack of definition near the toes. "Declawed?" she asked Ben, unable to mask the scorn in her voice.
"Yep. Defanged too."
"Jesus. If they thought they needed to own a beautiful animal like this, why'd they mutilate it so badly?"
"Can't have your advertising mascot shredding your customers or their little brats, now, can you?"
Tess glanced at him. "Advertising mascot? You don't mean the gun shop out on--" She broke off, shaking her head. "Never mind. I really don't want to know. Let's get this big kitty inside so I can have a look."
Ben pulled down a custom-fitted ramp from the back of the van. "Hop in and take the back of the cage. I'll hold the front, since it will be heaviest on the way down."
Tess did as instructed, helping him unload the wheeled container from the van down onto the pavement. When they reached the clinic door, Nora was there waiting. She gasped and cooed at the big cat, then gazed adoringly at Ben.
"Omigod. That's Shiva, isn't it? For years, I've been hoping he'd break out and run away from that place. You totally stole Shiva!"
Ben grinned. "I don't know what you're talking about, liebchen. This cat is just a stray who showed up on my doorstep tonight. I thought Wonder Doc could patch him up a bit before I find him a good home."
"Oh, you are bad, Ben Sullivan! And so totally my hero right now."
Tess gestured to her enamored assistant. "Nora, could you take this end with me, please? We need to lift it up over the stoop."
Nora came around to Tess's side, and the three of them hefted the cage up and into the clinic's back room. They wheeled the tiger into the prepped exam room, which had recently been outfitted with an oversize hydraulic lift table, courtesy of Ben. It was a luxury Tess couldn't have afforded on her own. Although she had a small, devoted clientele, she wasn't exactly operating in the wealthy end of town. She 'd priced her services well below their value, even for the area, feeling it was more important to make a difference than make a profit.
Unfortunately, her landlord and suppliers didn't agree. Her desk was weighted down with a pile of past-due notices that she wasn't going to be able to put off for much longer. She'd have to hit her meager personal savings to cover them, and after that was gone... ?
"Tranquilizer's on the counter," Nora said, breaking into her thoughts.
"Thanks." Tess slipped the capped syringe into her lab-coat pocket, guessing that she probably wasn't going to need it after all, based on the docility and general lethargy of her patient. Besides, she wasn't going to do anything but a visual exam tonight, take a few notes on the animal's overall condition, and get a feel for what needed to be done in order to facilitate safe transportation to its new home.
"Think we can get Shiva--or whatever this stray's name is--to hop up on the table on his own, or should we use the lift?" Tess asked, watching as Ben worked the locks on the cage.