Pet Noir Read Online Free PDF Page A

chief a sour look. “Ha, ha. You’re early, it’s two weeks ‘til April.”
    â€œIt isn’t a joke,” said the chief, frowning at me. “Come on, Leon, say hello.”
    I wanted to keep the game going, but since the chief was my food source, I humored him. I tilted my head and looked Devin up and down before speaking.
    â€œHiya, bub. Got any French fries?”
    â€œHoly crap!”
    The lazy eyes opened wide and he took a step back. Pleased with this reaction, I belched, then licked my paw, stretching my thumb to get at a greasy spot.
    â€œWhat the hell is that?” Devin said.
    â€œLeon is a modified feline,” the chief told him. “Specially engineered. He’s, ah—here to help us with the enhancer smuggling case.”
    â€œA cat??”
    â€œHe’ll be working undercover with you. Posing as your pet.”
    â€œOh, no way. I’m not a pet person.”
    â€œYou are now,” said the chief, a steely edge creeping into his voice. “It’s cover, Devin. We need a reason for him to be in the warehouse. You’ll bring him in, put down a dish of kibble for him—”
    â€œI like the liver flavor,” I put in.
    â€œâ€”and he’ll be free to roam around and listen in on the shippers’ conversations.”
    Devin shook his head, frowning at me. “It’ll never work. They’re too cagey.”
    â€œToo cagey for you. That’s why I brought Leon in.”
    The glare Devin shot the chief indicated offense taken. I saw an opportunity to chalk up a couple of bonus points with the chief.
    â€œI’m new to all this,” I said to Devin. “I’ll be counting on you to show me the ropes. I asked specifically to be partnered with the savviest human on the security team.”
    Devin looked surprised. He glanced at the chief, and so did I, giving the chief a wink that Devin couldn’t see. The chief cleared his throat.
    â€œAhem, that’s right. With your experience and Leon’s specialization, I expect you to be a highly effective team.”
    Devin seemed mollified. The chief handed him the carryall he’d brought along on the trip from Astara.
    â€œHere’s everything you need to take care of him. Both of you remember, Leon shouldn’t talk when anyone else is around. As far as the public’s concerned, he’s just a cat.”
    â€œYeah.” Devin gave me a sidelong look. “OK, let’s go or we’ll be late.”
    â€œOne more thing,” I said. “We need some kind of signal so you can tell me when one of the suspect shippers come in.”
    â€œOh. Uh, I’ll whistle,” said Devin.
    â€œOK.”
    Devin headed for the door. I jumped down from the table and followed him. The chief called after us.
    â€œGood luck!”
    I was excited, I admit. This was the first time I’d ever been out on my own in a large human habitat—well, except for the one time I got out of the lab at Astara, but since that only lasted about forty-five seconds it didn’t count. I felt proud, grown-up and responsible. Interstellar Investigator Leon, on the job. I got into investigating right away, starting with the trash canisters out back of a sandwich kiosk.
    â€œLeon!” Devin shouted. “Come on, we’ve got to get to work.”
    â€œSo—ah, mew.”
    He grimaced and shook his head, striding off toward the rotunda’s center. I had to run to keep up, and was a little winded by the time we got into an elevator. Local transport, similar to the one the chief had brought me down in, except we didn’t have to go through customs to get there.
    Gravity seeped away as the elevator moved upward. It wasn’t zero gee, but it got pretty close toward the center of Gamma’s axis. I began to float up from the floor.
    This time there was no box to keep me contained, and before I knew it I was drifting in midair. Not a fun sensation, and I