Animal Soldiers: Hannibal by Jonathan Brazee

Author:Jonathan Brazee [Brazee, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Semper Fi Press
Published: 2018-10-24T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

Hannibal

“When we talk to Castillo, if you don’t think you can do it, just stay quiet and I’ll handle the rest,” Hannibal told Lord Jim as they walked through the base toward the armory.

Hannibal could feel the bonobo take in a deep breath before hopping off. He handed his Steinmaster to the duty armorer, then unhooked Hannibal’s grenade launcher and passed it through the window. The armorer cleared the Steinmaster, logged it in, then took the launcher.

“You fired one,” he said.

“I bit the trigger,” he said, once again the truth, but edging toward the murky realm of lying. It wasn’t that felines were inherently honest, but that was in action, vice words, and when they were given the capability to speech, their programming precluded out-and-out lies.

“How many times have I told you Weres you’ve got to be careful with these things. I swear, I don’t know what genius thought you could design a one-size-fits-all oral trigger,” he said. “But don’t worry. I can scrounge up another and log you in full.”

“Thank you,” Lord Jim said.

Hannibal, as usual, had forgotten the social niceties expected by humans. The fact that Lord Jim remembered was a good sign, he hoped.

Any hope that Lord Jim was OK was dashed when he jumped back up on Hannibal’s back. He always walked in camp, and Hannibal was tempted to tell him to get off. A bonobo on the back of a leopard was sure to draw attention, but he knew his teammate needed that extra comfort and safety, so he remained quiet.

Hannibal had reported in as they arrived, so Castillo would be waiting at the briefing tent. Just before they reached it, Lord Jim said, “I think I’ll be OK, but maybe you can do the talking? I’m still . . . I don’t know what to call it, but I’m not back to normal yet. “

“Don’t worry about it, buddy. I’ve got you covered. But remember. Nothing about the tiger. Nothing that’s going to lead to any questions.”

Hannibal had come close to lying twice today, and now he was going to leave out an important part of the mission.

What’s happening to me? Am I turning human?

Lord Jim slipped off his back, and the two entered the tent. Castillo was there with Alicia del Torres, their heads close together. They startled, then looked up guiltily as the two came in. Del Torres stood up, said, “I’ll leave you alone now. I’m on my way to the chowhall. Catch me there if you finish soon enough.”

Castillo took a moment to watch her leave, only turning to his two Weres as the tent iris closed.

“OK, let’s look at this,” he said, pulling up their track. “You made nice time until the end. Intel said these sensors are pretty sturdy, but they can malfunction. That’s why they always go for four at each position. But you two spent too long there. If you’ve got a problem, you need to tell me. Don’t sit there trying to figure out a fix.

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