Fox Run (24 page)

Elisabeth was also very upset, both her face and her body language. Maybe she was a better actress than I had thought. Or maybe she was simply reacting to my emotion.

Lara tapped her hands on the tracking collar to her left as if she were doing so subconsciously while considering her options. Then she looked down at it as if she just realized it was there. She turned back to me.

"Will you agree to a few minor restrictions, if I agree to let you go out on this boat and take your samples?"

"Yes, Lara. Please. Whatever you want."

"I don't trust you not to run off," she said. "But I find a solution right here." She indicated the tracking collar.

I stared at it. "You have got to be kidding."

"It seems like the perfect solution."

"If you put that on me, I would only need to shift for it to fall off."

"True. You will be wearing it as a fox."

"I don't understand."

"You will shift to fox. Right here. We will put the collar on you. Elisabeth will then drive you to Bayfield and rent this boat. She'll pull away from the harbor, and once you are at least a mile from shore, she can remove the collar."

I stared at it. "I wouldn't be able to shift while wearing it. It would crush me in two."

"Yes."

I looked away. "Why don't you trust me?"

"I trust you with my life, little fox. I don't trust you with your own."

I didn't say anything.

"Take it or leave it, Michaela. The cell or the boat and tracking collar."

"Fine," I said. "Boat. Tracking collar. I hate you."

"Oh honey, I am only protecting you. I'll make it up to you when this is all over. Thank you for being reasonable."

"What choice do I have?"

"None. Shift now, honey."

"I need to make the arrangements. I need to rent the boat and get the equipment to the boat. Mostly vials for samples plus a portable depth gauge and water temperature gauge."

"Elisabeth can rent the boat. Is there someone at work she can meet to pick up the equipment you need?"

"Yes, but it's Saturday."

"All right. Elisabeth will rent the boat and get you well clear from shore. You can make the calls Monday while out in the lake, and then she can collar you back up and retrieve the supplies. I bet she can run the boat to the marina in Ashland and someone can meet you there."

"All right, Alpha," I said. "That will work. I can use tomorrow to draw a plan for everywhere I need to go, if Elisabeth buys a map of the lake before we leave the marina today. I need topographical maps of Wisconsin and the upper peninsula of Michigan as well, anything that borders the lake. It helps to show the shoreline, and I need that to know where the rivers are and how things flow."

"It sounds like a plan." Lara reached out and squeezed my hand. I squeezed it back, but not with much feeling.

"Please shift now, little fox."

I used my napkin to dry my tears and clean up a little, then stepped out of my sandals and loosened all my clothing. I can shift right out of my clothing, and I didn't feel like getting naked in front of anyone. I looked at Elisabeth. "Please bring my clothes." She nodded.

I stepped away from the table, bent down, and then shifted. I got tangled in the clothes, but I wriggled out of them.

"Shit, she shifts fast," Eric said. I walked over to him and butted my head against his thigh.

"Come here, little fox," Lara ordered.

Slowly, reluctantly, I walked to her. She bent down on the floor and wrapped the tracking collar around my chest, behind my front legs, adjusted it, and did the closure. She checked it, wasn't satisfied, and adjusted it tighter. "I don't think you can wriggle out of that."

"Better be sure," David said. I was going to enjoy taking him down.

Lara tightened the collar a little more. Then she scratched the back of my neck for me, pulling me into her arms. I clung to her when she stood up, holding me. It was better than being held by the scruff. She walked out the front door, Elisabeth stepping in front to hold the door for us. Elisabeth's SUV was waiting for us. I expected Lara to slip me into the back seat, but she walked to the back of the SUV. Elisabeth opened the back door, and I got the look of a fox-sized metal cage.

I immediately began struggling and growling. I didn't bite Lara, but I put up a huge struggle. Elisabeth opened the cage, and Lara started stuffing me into it. I scrambled to get out, and Elisabeth helped her shove me in. I bit both of them as hard as I could, but they shoved me into the cage and locked it.

I slammed myself against the cage. I'd never been in a cage before, and I was on the edge of a full panic. I was no longer acting. Lara put her fingers on the cage, and I immediately tried to bit her viciously.

"I am sorry, little fox. I must keep you safe." She pulled a cloth over the cage, obscuring it from view and preventing me from looking out. Then she stepped away and slammed the back doors of the SUV.

I went insane. I immediately began yipping and crying while slamming myself repeatedly against the walls of the cage. None of it did me any good, but that didn't stop me.

It was a while before Elisabeth climbed into the front of the SUV. I had worn myself out with my struggles, but as soon as the car door opened, I resumed all my complaints, slamming against the cage over and over.

"You're only going to hurt yourself, Michaela," she said. "This is for the best." And then she started the car, and we drove away from the farm.

I didn't stop yipping until my voice grew hoarse. I didn't stop throwing myself against the walls of the cage until I was so worn out I could only lie on the floor of the cage, panting.

I had not known such despair since I was fourteen and I had buried my family.

It was hot in the back of the SUV, and they hadn't given me any water. Soon I was panting, and it wouldn't be long before I was in distress. I lay on my side, whimpering from time to time.

Elisabeth didn't stop. She didn't give me any water. She kept me in that cage.

When we arrived in Bayfield, I recognized it. I recognized the sounds. Elisabeth drove to the marina and parked. "Michaela, I want you to think about what would happen if the humans found you. You need to be quiet. You know how bad it would go for you if you were found like this."

I whimpered.

"I am going to rent a boat and then carry you on board. Once we're on board, I'll get you some water and help you cool down. And when we're well clear of shore, I'll let you out."

I didn't understand. Why were we going on a boat? The plan had been to fake it. We would get someone to take the tracking collar around, that's it. I shouldn't have been in the cage, and we didn't need a boat of our own.

Elisabeth climbed out of the SUV and slammed the door. I heard the locks, and then I listened as she walked away.

She was gone a long time. I whimpered from time to time. I would have plotted my revenge, but I was too tired and despondent to even think about it. Finally, Elisabeth came back. She opened a side door and said, "It will only be a few more minutes. I know you must be suffering. I am so sorry."

She made several trips back and forth to the SUV before she poked her nose in again and said, "Your turn. Remember, Michaela, if we're caught with you like this, it will be very bad for you. You must be absolutely quiet. I promise this is almost over."

I was going to kill her. And Lara. And fuck David. Once they were dead, I would run. No one would ever do this to me again.

But for now, I stayed quiet. Elisabeth closed the side door and opened the back door. She took the cage out, set it on the ground, and then closed up and locked the SUV. Then she carried me and the cage down the docks and onto a boat. I could just barely see under the edge of the cloth over my cage, but not enough to really tell what was going on. It was awkward for her, but she carried me into the cabin below then pulled a portion of the cloth away from the cage.

I was lying on my side, panting, and severely overheated.

"Michaela," she said. "Can you understand me?"

I ignored her.

"Michaela, I know you hadn't planned on the cage. But we're going to collect all the data you intended to collect. It will be exactly as you agreed with the alpha. We'll pull away from shore, and then I'll let you out. You can make your plan. And we'll collect the data you intend to collect. Do you understand me?"

I lifted my head and looked at her, then lay down again, trying to cool down.

"I have a bowl of water, and I can pour more over you if you want. Will you let me give them to you? I am worried, Michaela. I can't let you out of the cage yet. Please, trust me."

I flicked an ear at her.

I listened to her fill a bowl with water from a jug.

"Listen to me, Michaela. If you attempt to escape when I open the cage, I will slam it closed, and you will wait for your water until we are two miles from shore. That will take a while. I know you're hot. Please, please, let me give you this water."

She paused for a moment, opened the door, and set the bowl inside the cage with me. I didn't move.

"Honey please drink. Please, Michaela."

I tried to get up but I was so hot and tired.

Elisabeth opened the cage wider, but blocked it with her body. Then she poured water into her hand and offered it to me. When I didn't take it, she dripped it over my muzzle, then pet her hand dry in my fur.

I whimpered a tiny bit.

"Please drink, Michaela."

She used her hands to give me more water, a little at a time wetting my muzzle. Eventually I struggled to sit up, and she reached in and helped me, then moved the water closer to me, and I drank some. She filled the bowl a little fuller, then said, "I'm going to close the cage now, but I promise, I'll let you out as soon as I can. We'll make a plan, and then you can collect all the data you want to collect. Please understand, Michaela."

I looked at her, and her eyes were so filled with concern as she crouched in front of my cage, the cage she'd helped shove me into. I didn't know what she was saying anymore, and I didn't know who I could trust. I didn't think I could trust anyone. I was sure I couldn't trust her.

But I was fox. I would bide my time. I licked her hand, feigning forgiveness.

"I'm glad you understand," she said. I didn't. But I would bide my time. I would let her believe she could trust me. But she had abused my trust for the last time.

I watched her close the cage, and I couldn't help but whimper. Then she dropped the cloth back in place and stepped out of the cabin, closing the door. About twenty minutes later, the engines of the boat started. She called to someone to cast off, and we eased out of the slip.

I drank more of the water then lay down, conserving my strength.

* * * *

From the feel of the boat, I could tell we were well away from shore. Boats like this have an auto pilot. One needs to be careful about it, because it's easy to end up where you shouldn't. We slowed to a slow crawl through the water, and I could tell when we turned into the wind. Then the cabin door opened, and Elisabeth pulled the cloth from my cage. She sat down in front of it.

"Michaela, I am so very sorry."

I didn't even turn to face her.

"The cage was David's idea. He insisted. Lara couldn't say no."

I didn't care. We weren't following my plan. I didn't even know what we were doing on the boat.

"We were followed as well, all the way from Hayward. I didn't see who it was until I was loading you. That's why I took so many trips, to try to see who it was."

I turned to face her, cocking my ears.

"It was Reggie, Michaela." I lowered my head on my paws. "We had to go through with the plan. We had to look like there was no duplicity. I am so, so very sorry. I know what you must be thinking. I am so sorry."

Why hadn't she told me all this earlier. We were in the car. No one could have heard. I turned away from her. She could have saved me all this worry. I had hurt myself throwing myself against the cage. I had spent two hours sure they had both betrayed me.

"I couldn't tell you, Michaela. He may have bugged the car. I was worried he bugged the cage, but I checked it very carefully while loading you. But if it's David, he could have bugged the car. I wasn't sure. I knew you would prefer complete subterfuge."

"I am going to let you out now, and take the collar off you. I'll go back on deck while you shift. Your clothes are here, and when you are ready, you can come talk to me. I hope you will forgive me."

Then she opened the cage door and stepped away. I climbed to my feet slowly and walked out of the cage gingerly. I stood still while she removed the collar from around my body. "I'll wait on deck," she said, but I jumped ahead of her, shifting immediately, then turned around and threw myself into her arms, sobbing.

* * * *

I cried for a long time. Elisabeth used the cover from the cage to wrap around me, but otherwise she held me and let me cry, making soothing sounds and repeatedly apologizing.

"I thought-" I said between sobs.

"I know. I know."

I finally cried myself out, pulling away from Elisabeth. Elisabeth spent the next twenty minutes pampering me, giving me more water and some Ibuprofen for my pounding headache.

"Michaela, it's a glorious day. Why don't you get dressed and come out on deck? We can talk more out there."

"All right," I said.

She left me, closing the door. I found my clothes and put them on, then found the head and cleaned up. I stepped out on deck, and Elisabeth smiled weakly.

"Do we have supplies?"

She smiled. "Yes." She pointed to a cooler sitting in a corner. I crossed over to it. It was full of ice, beer, and soft drinks. I grabbed a beer for her and a soda for me.

"Am I forgiven?" she asked.

"Will I be following your orders or will you be following mine?"

"I will be following yours," she said.

"You are forgiven." We tapped cans together and drank.

"You know who it is, don't you?"

"No," I said. "But I am ninety percent sure. Do you want to know now or wait until I am positive?"