Fic snippet: Kit Cavanaugh

[meridian_rose]

A snippet from WiP novel WRE. El and Romaine meet fellow shapeshifter Kit (who took on a bigger part earlier than I'd expected, he could not be merely background until the second planned, if currently far-off, book!)
One use of bad language.



"Oh thank God, back-up," the man said. He was average height, so around four inches shorter than Romaine, a Caucasian with a tan that suggested recent time overseas, and piercing blue eyes that were filled with relief as they approached.

"ID?" Romaine asked, though he could sense the man was a Therian. He could also tell that there was blood in the air.

The man pulled out a badge. "Kit Cavanaugh," he said. "Specialist Support Services."

"Agent Romaine Saint Clair; this is my partner, Agent Torres."

Cavanaugh nodded to a scowling woman sitting on the ground, cable ties around her wrists and ankles. "My prisoner, Talia Reyes. Say hi, Talia."

"Fuck you," Talia said and fell into sullen silence.

"There's a warrant out on her," Cavanaugh said. "You can take her, do the paperwork, I don't really care. Just be careful, she's all teeth and claws."

Romaine frowned. "Are you bleeding?"

Cavanaugh shrugged. "Maybe a little? It's just a graze. It'll heal up when I shift." He caught El's eye and gave a flirtatious smile. "Cat Sidhe."

To Romaine's surprise she tipped her head, smiled. Flirting with an actual Cat?

"Let me see." Romaine was not about to have a Specialist bleed to death on his watch.

"I'll go change." Cavanaugh darted into the trees and Romaine followed, telling El to stay put and watch Talia.

Cavanaugh was stripping off with speed and an utter lack of shame, talking the whole time. His dark curly hair was longer than expected now Romaine could see the back of his head, where a ponytail was tied into the nape of his neck.

"The Taser barely touched her," Cavanaugh was saying, as he got down to his underwear and Romaine glanced away. "I'd heard they were hard to take down but I didn't expect that."

"You're not a field agent," Romaine said, trying not to scold. "And you had no back-up. You took a hell of a risk."

Cavanaugh sighed. "You've seen her record? I wasn't going to let her get away. They ought to let us carry guns. We're out in the field too."

This wasn't the time to debate the differences between the roles and duties of field agents and Specialists, and Romaine didn't actually disagree that Specialists should be given more leeway and personal protection, so he stayed quiet. Nearby there was the sound of a car, maybe two.

Cavanaugh gave a howl of pain which turned into a Cat's yowl as he shifted.

"It was a little more than a graze, wasn't it?" Romaine rolled his eyes. "You okay now?"

Cavanaugh prowled over, a beautiful creature.

"Romaine!"

He pulled his gun. "She never calls me that," he told Cavanaugh, and dashed off, Cavanaugh following but stopping at the edge of the trees, eyes glowing in the undergrowth.