Free Phantom Warriors: Saber-Tooth by Jordan Summers Page A

sure they can handle the situation. I doubt very much
    that it’s a saber-tooth tiger,” Katy said.
    “I don’t pay you to question my orders, Manfred. Get down there now. If there’s
    even a remote chance this thing is real, I want Bio Tech to possess it. Do whatever it
    takes.”
    “Okay, you’re the boss.”
    “And don’t you forget it.” There was a click and the line went dead.
    Katy hung up the phone, then strode across the living room of her Santa Monica
    bungalow. The place wasn’t much, but it was all she had left of her parents, who’d
    perished in a boat fire several years ago. Loneliness engulfed her, the loss as painful
    today as it had been when the accident occurred. She pushed her grief aside. She had a
    job to do and couldn’t afford the distraction that pain brought.
    She glanced at the television once more. The cameraman was still trying to catch the
    feline on film. She hit the power button and watched the screen dim. Going to La Brea
    Tar Pits was a total waste of time. Katy knew it and so did her boss, Roger Sylvan. He’d
    been sending her out on wild goose chases for the past few months. Roger had been
    trying to get her to quit ever since they’d broken up. At first, she’d been too stubborn to
    concede. Lately, she’d come to realize her resistance had more to do with the fact that
    she had nowhere else to go. Katy punched in a code on her wall and a hatch popped
    open, displaying her pistol. Strapping on her weapon, she headed for the front door.
    Katy grabbed a canvas bag that remained packed at all times, unzipping it to ensure
    she had extra ammo. The dart guns and snares were already in her truck, along with a
    tarp covering and a reinforced net. The zoo hadn’t reported any big cats missing, but
    there were always private owners. It was probably somebody’s scared lion. The rich and
    their pets. She shook her head in disgust.
    Didn’t they know these types of animals could never be tamed? How many times
    had she had to put down a cornered half-crazed animal just to keep it from hurting
    nearby humans? Too damn many. Renewed anger surged through her. These people
    had no business keeping predators in the middle of a city the size of Los Angeles. Once
    Katy caught this cat, she’d tell them so. It was her job to clean up other people’s messes.
    Someone was going to get their ass kicked if she had to shoot a cat today.
    Katy shoved the truck in reverse and backed out of her driveway. She heard brakes
    screech and the blast of a horn. She didn’t care. She needed to get to La Brea Tar Pits and
    fast. The ride there was slow going at best, thanks to L.A.’s typical traffic flow of slow,
    slowest and crawl. Katy considered taking to the sidewalks, but decided against it. The
    cat would probably hunker down somewhere in the brush until nightfall, and then make
    its escape. Hell, that’s what she would do in its place.
    Forty minutes later, she pulled into the heavily shaded parking area at La Brea Tar
    Pits as several police cars exited. The crowd seemed to have dissipated somewhat,
    leaving only a few hardcore lookie loos around. Katy shut the door of her truck, then
    strapped on the holster for her dart gun, slipping the weapon into place. She moved to
    her tailgate to ensure the cage and tarp were in order before approaching the people.
    “Where’s animal control?” she asked no one in particular.
    A man stepped forward. “They left, since they couldn’t find any trace of the animal.
    One had the nerve to suggest we were making the whole thing up.”
    Grumbles echoed throughout the crowd.
    “Were you?” Katy asked.
    “No.”
    Katy debated whether to get back into her truck and go home. If animal control hadn
    ’t been able to locate the cat, then she didn’t think she’d have much better luck. Sure, she
    was a good tracker--great even, but it was next to impossible to track anything in a
    concrete jungle. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to ask if anyone had seen