Pet Noir by Pati Nagle Page B

When I was sure he wouldn’t drift, I let go and began grooming my ruffled fur.
    â€œYou are not bringing that into my apartment, by the way,” Devin said, crouching down to watch me. “Hey, are you bleeding?”
    I had started licking where the rat’s claw had hit me. It stung, so I was just as glad to pause and look up at Devin.
    â€œJust a scratch,” I muttered.
    â€œJeez, the chief’s gonna kill me. We better get you looked at.”
    â€œI’m fine.”
    I went back to working on the cut. It was in an awkward place, the inside of my thigh. I had to stick my leg up in the air to get to it.
    â€œLet’s just make sure, OK?” Devin said. “That could get infected. The chief’ll have my hide if anything happens to you.”
    I glanced up at him. “Like getting in a fight with a rat?”
    Devin frowned. “Did I tell you to fight the rat?”
    â€œI seem to recall an intimation that it was part of my job.”
    â€œWell, that was before I saw him. That is the hugest goddamn rat I’ve ever seen.”
    â€œYeah,” I said between licks. “Strong bastard, too. Thought he had me for a minute.”
    â€œCripes.”
    I paused and lowered my leg, thinking. The rat had been amazingly strong. Really bold too, I mean—weren’t rodents supposed to be afraid of hunting animals? He hadn’t seemed scared of me at all.
    â€œDevin? What do those enhancers look like?”
    â€œHm?” He glanced around at the empty warehouse, then lowered his voice. “They come in different forms. The most common is an inhaler, but they tend to be unstable in that form. They can be in tablets, too.”
    â€œI’d like to find out what they smell like. Got a file we could bring up on the holo?”
    â€œUh, yeah, but not here. Shift’s almost over?”
    The sound of the warehouse door opening made Devin jump and crack his head on the underside of the desk. Muttering a curse, he backed out and stood up to talk to someone while I crouched protectively beside the rat. I wasn’t thinking too straight, but I had the feeling that rat was important, and not just as a trophy.
    The visitor turned out to be Devin’s relief, who’d come in a little early. I heard Devin asking if he minded taking over now, explaining that his “pet” kitten needed medical attention. Sensing I was about to be grabbed in the unceremonious way Devin had, I ducked back and got hold of my rat.
    Sure enough, Devin reached under the desk and caught me around the middle, his hand brushing against the dead rat in the process. He made a face but didn’t say anything about it.
    â€œBye, Steve,” he said to the other guy, who had dark skin and green eyes. “Thanks. I owe you.”
    â€œYou got that right,” Steve said, grinning. “I’ll be sure and remember. What’s he got there, a toy?”
    â€œUh—kind of. Come on, Leon.”
    Devin didn’t say much as he carried me to headquarters. I had my mouth full of rat, and I wasn’t supposed to be talking in public anyway. He took me into his office and put me on the floor.
    â€œOK, spit it out,” he said, grabbing an evidence bag. “We can put it in here.”
    Reluctantly, I let go of the rat and watched Devin close it in the bag. It wasn’t that I wanted to eat it—I wasn’t feeling hungry. Just kind of possessive.
    â€œNow let me bring up that holo,” he said, setting the rat aside. “And I’ll buzz the medic to come see you.”
    â€œSecurity has its own medic?” I asked, jumping up onto the desk to sit next to my rat.
    â€œOn call. Don’t need a full-timer, thank God. Gamma isn’t that rough.”
    The holopad lit up with data about enhancers. I’d seen a lot of it before, but the detailed file Devin brought up was new to me. It showed an inhaler, slowly rotating. I walked up to it and sniffed.