Framing Felipe (8 page)

“You
don’t
like
anyone,”
Sarah
responded.

“I
like
the
ones
who
don’t
talk
back.”

“Like
I
said.”
Now
Sarah
laughed
in
earnest.
Typical
Tamara.
It’d
been
a
running
joke

amongst
the
Shrews.
All
of
the
Shrews
were
opinionated—that
was
part
of
their
individual

constitutions,
even
before
that
research
study
whacked
them
out.
But
of
them
all,
Tamara

had
been
born
with
the
loosest
filter.
If
something
was
on
her
mind,
she
said
it.
She
held

nothing
back.
Maybe
it
was
a
side
effect
of
her
atypical
upbringing
in
Romania,
or
maybe
it

was
just
the
way
her
brain
was
wired.
She
didn’t
like
being
rebutted,
which
made
her
fairly

rude
as
far
as
receptionists
went,
but
she
was
damned
good
at
strategizing.
That’s
why

Dana
kept
her
around.
She
planned
to
get
the
surly
blonde
off
the
phones
as
soon
as
they

found
an
applicant
they
trusted
enough
to
be
let
in
on
their
secret.
Doc
had
someone
in

mind.

“What
did
I
miss
while
I
was
out
tracking
Mr.
Castillo?”

“Well…”
Tamara
put
her
combat
boot-‐shod
feet
up
on
the
dashboard
and
crossed
her

legs
at
the
ankles.
“We
got
some
sketchy
intelligence.
Heard
the
bears
have
formed
a
loose

alliance
with
some
other
group
who
hold
a
grudge
against
the
cats.
That’s
all
we
know.
We

asked
Billy
who
else
could
possibly
be
angry
with
them
and
he
played
coy,
the
idiot.”

Sarah
rolled
her
eyes
and
slowed
the
pick-‐up
so
she
could
concentrate
on
steering

around
the
hidden
booby
trap.
It
wasn’t
much
of
an
obstacle,
truth
be
told,
but
if
an

unwelcome
party
wasn’t
aware
of
it,
they’d
find
their
front
tires
stuck
in
deep
ruts
right

beneath
a
couple
of
surveillance
cameras.

She
glanced
into
the
rear-‐view
mirror
and
found
Felipe’s
expression
had
shifted
from

one
of
bemusement
to
one
of
interest.
Apparently,
this
discussion
fascinated
him.
She

raised
an
eyebrow.

He
winked.

FRAMING FELIPE
–
29
–
Holley Trent

She
returned
her
attention
to
the
path.
“I’ll
make
Billy
talk.
Hate
working
with
half-‐

assed
information.
I’m
not
going
to
keep
sticking
my
neck
out
for
these
fur
balls
if
they’re

not
going
to
do
us
the
solid
of
filling
us
in
on
the
full
back-‐story.”

Tamara
blew
out
a
breath.
“Good
luck.
Both
Dana
and
Patrick
have
issued
enough

threats
to
the
guy
he
should
have
pissed
himself.
I
mean,
good
threats.
I
wrote
some
of

them
down
for
later.”

“
Qué
coño…
”
Felipe
murmured.

The
Shrews
ignored
his
distress.

Tam
continued.
“He
just
stood
there
with
his
usual
dumb
expression
and
said
he
didn’t

know
anything.
Is
true
he’s
stupid,
but
he
knows
something.”

Sarah’s
gut
agreed.
“I
really
do
hope
we’re
picking
the
right
side
in
this
conflict,”
she

mumbled.
The
familiarity
of
the
sentiment
weighed
heavily
on
her.

When
she’d
enlisted
in
the
Marines,
she
was
the
sort
of
recruit
who
thought
she
and

her
fellow
soldiers
were
doing
some
good.
“Good”
was
hard
to
gauge
when
so
much
of
what

she
saw
was
a
lot
of
scared
little
kids
and
women
with
that
all-‐too-‐familiar
look
of
terror
in

their
eyes:
the
one
that
comes
from
being
not-‐quite-‐resigned,
but
too
frightened
and
too

ignorant
to
improve
their
situation.

“What
choice
do
we
have
now?
Patrick
is
a
cat,
whether
he
wants
to
be
or
not.
Patrick

is
Dana’s,
and
we
do
what
Dana
says.”

Sarah
cut
her
narrowed
gaze
sideways
at
Tamara,
and
her
passenger
put
up
her
hands.

“That
didn’t
come
out
right.
If
Dana
says
jump
,
I
jump.
I
trust
her.
She
doesn’t
make

mistakes.”

Sarah
relaxed
into
her
seat
a
bit
and
blew
out
the
annoyance
she’d
been
holding
in.
A

lot
of
what
Tamara
said
was
lost
in
translation,
but
Sarah
was
particularly
sensitive
when
it

came
to
perceived
slights
against
Dana.
Dana
knew
her
better
than
anyone.
She
was
her

best
friend,
and
Sarah
upheld
her
gospel
because
she
trusted
her
implicitly.
Dana
wasn’t

just
“boss
lady.”
She
was
the
wisest
person
Sarah
knew.

She
tightened
her
grip
on
the
steering
wheel
as
they
neared
the
top
of
the
path.
“Who

all
is
at
the
house
right
now?”

“Just
Patrick
and
some
of
the
cats
he
hired
to
work
on
the
expansion
construction.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
30
–
Holley Trent

“That’s
good,”
Sarah
said
absently,
even
as
the
house
came
into
her
view.
There
were
a

few
shirtless
men
atop
the
roof
of
the
cabin’s
addition,
swinging
hammers
and
rolling

underlayment
into
place.

Tamara
debarked
and
headed
straight
for
the
new
wing,
where
she
snapped
some

orders
at
the
dawdling
men.

Sarah
shook
her
head
and
sighed
as
she
pulled
the
key
from
the
ignition.

Felipe
leaned
into
the
gap
between
the
front
seats
and
wrapped
his
large
hand
around

her
forearm.

She
stared
down
at
it,
not
really
annoyed,
but
still
feeling
a
bit
proprietary
about
her

personal
space.

He
asked
in
Spanish,
“You
are
sure
this
is
the
best
place
for
me?”

“Of
course
it—”

Was
it?
All
of
a
sudden,
she
wasn’t
so
sure.
Felipe
was
an
outsider—a
neutral
party.
His

very
proximity
to
the
mess
would
force
him
to
take
sides
or
else
.
If
there
was
fighting,
he

couldn’t
not
be
seen
as
a
cat
ally…unless
he
presented
himself
as
a
hostage.

Tell
him
the
truth?

She
stabbed
her
seatbelt
release
button
and
fixed
her
gaze
on
his
worried
gray
one.

Yes.
Truth.
He
wasn’t
the
one
who
asked
for
help.
Fabian
had
done
that.
And
maybe

Felipe
didn’t
want
the
kind
of
help
the
Shrews
could
offer.

“I’m
not
so
sure,”
she
said.
She
let
the
seatbelt
whir
into
its
track
and
wrapped
her

fingers
around
the
metal
door
handle.
“I
need
to
check
in
with
my
boss.
Give
me
an
hour

and
we’ll
figure
out
something
else.
If
you
want
to
go,
I’ll
get
you
back
on
the
road.”

“You’re
not
going
to
argue
with
me?”

She
was
too
damned
tired
to
argue.
Six
weeks
undercover
straight
into
this
mess.

“No.”
She
opened
the
door
and
jumped
down.

Felipe
caught
up
to
her
quickly,
and
slung
his
backpack
onto
his
shoulders
as
they

climbed
the
porch.

She
waved
at
the
cats
she
recognized
on
the
roof,
pausing
briefly
to
assess
the
one
who

was
unfamiliar.
He
looked
down
at
her,
spit
out
the
nails
he’d
been
holding
between
his
lips

and
said,
“Well,
hello,
there,
gorgeous.
Swear
to
God,
there’re
some
fine
women
around

here.”

FRAMING FELIPE
–
31
–
Holley Trent

“Ew.”
She
gave
chuckling
Felipe’s
hand
a
yank
and
pulled
him
across
the
threshold
into

the
cabin’s
living
room.

Women
vastly
outnumbered
men
in
the
were-‐mountain
lion
group,
so
Sarah
knew

most
of
the
men,
at
least
by
sight.
She’d
asked
Patrick
why
the
birth
rate
in
the
group
was

so
disproportionate.
He’d
said
it
wasn’t
.
Males
and
females
were
born
at
about
equal
rates.

The
problem
was
when
they
got
older.

Sarah
had
wanted
to
compel
Patrick
to
elaborate,
but
he
was
her
friend
and
she
didn’t

use
psychic
shit
on
her
friends.
He’d
left
her
with
a
bit
of
information
to
chew
on,
though.

He’d
said,
“I
expect
Dana
to
be
it
for
me
forever,
but
if
that’s
not
the
case,
I’d
never
hook
up

with
a
cat.
I
value
my
life
too
much.”
And
he’d
walked
away,
leaving
Sarah
to
ponder
his

meaning.

One
of
the
Shrews
had
left
her
laptop
open
on
the
coffee
table,
so
while
Felipe
studied

the
room’s
charming
decor,
Sarah
brought
up
the
messaging
screen
and
typed
in
a
note
for

Dana.

Checking
in.
Thought
you’d
be
here.

When
Dana
didn’t
respond
within
a
minute,
Sarah
loped
into
the
kitchen.
She
did
a

silent
cheer
upon
spying
the
fridge’s
contents.
There
were
definite
perks
to
working
for
a

woman
whose
sweetie
was
a
pub
owner.
Patrick
had
stocked
Sarah’s
favorite
beer.
None
of

the
other
Shrews
would
touch
it.
It
was
too
dark.
Too
bitter.
It
was
a
bit
early
to
be
hitting

the
sauce,
though,
so
she
grabbed
a
couple
of
bottled
waters
and
carried
them
to
the
living

room.

She
handed
one
bottle
to
Felipe,
who
accepted
it
with
a
nod.

Dana
had
replied
by
then.

Sorry,
S.
We
have
a
bit
of
a
problem.
Got
a
report
about
a
mauled
cat
at
a
nearby

hospital.
Billy
said
it’s
one
of
the
older
girls.
She’s
not
going
to
heal
instantaneously

like
the
young
ones
do,
but
we
still
need
to
examine
her
wounds
before
they
close
up.

Maybe
we
can
figure
out
what
we’re
dealing
with.
Anyway,
we
have
to
get
her
out
of

here
before
they
insist
on
taking
blood
or
running
tests.

“Shit.”
She
closed
the
laptop
lid
and
raked
her
hands
through
her
hair.
If
she
never
saw

the
inside
of
a
hospital
again
it’d
be
too
soon.
She’d
seen
enough
of
them
when
she
came

home
burned,
and
then
as
she
recovered
from
what
that
research
study
did
to
her.
Good