Adira Clawhauser Chapter 18
#18 of Adira Clawhauser
Mansa woke with a start.
The effect of pain relievers was long gone. He felt as though his chest was splitting in half.
He tried to get up, and fell back onto the floor. He could only sit there and wait, as agony pulsed through his whole body. His heart pounded ferociously to supply enough oxygen to keep his miserable self alive, his throat parched and he just wanted to die.
Lionheart knocked on the door. Nobody answered. When he saw Mansa panting on the floor clutching his wound, he immediately called a team of doctors to work on him.
Only one hour more to go until the press conference, Lionheart had to patch Mansa up to at least stay conscious for 10 minutes in front of the reporters.
Mansa felt dizzy and dazed under the never-ending flashlights of the cameras. Lionheart excused the reporters for not having Mansa say anything, explaining that the officer that led the team to the successful drug bust was still too shocked by the loss of his partner to answer any questions. He claimed to bear all responsibility for losing one precious member of the force, telling the reporters that the main cause was because of his incompetence.
Mansa was glad that the interviews were finally over. He had other things to do other than covering up the incident.
Mansa called his old friend, detective Oates, to investigate on the reason behind Benjamin's sudden change of behavior.
'I want you to find out why one of my officers went savage. Benjamin Clawhauser, cheetah, aged 24.'
'Bogo? You haven't called ever since I became a private detective and now you're asking for my help? Didn't you despise investigators like me? The ZPD can't do it?'
Mansa had no energy to retaliate anymore. He just stayed silent.
'Fine, a case is a case. I assume you'll be treating me to a drink one day for this.'
'I'm recruiting you to the ZPD.' Mansa promised, 'I've heard of the cases you solved, innocents you helped. Why don't you join us?'
'I'm a free horse, Bogo. Reins don't fit me.' Oates chewed on his oat straw, 'But I'll help whenever you need it.'
'Thanks, it means a lot.'
He visited Benjamin at the hospital, to no avail. Benjamin was still unconscious, though Mansa could hear him moaning in his sleep. He couldn't do anything except hold the cheetah's paws, hoping to at least give him some comfort.
He called indoor designers to work on a front desk for the station. He needed a new position for Benjamin, free from harm and exempt from active duty. He would not allow anything to upset the poor cheetah anymore.
He visited the armory, requesting the development of tranquilizer dart guns in place of real guns. He wanted a safe and reliable way to stop savage mammals, if the same situation were to arise again. It could also work against criminals harmlessly.
He visited Benjamin again. He wiped tears off Ben's face and finally told him the bad news. Ben seemed to take the hit quite badly. Mansa was afraid of Ben's description of his nightmare. He told Ben the things he saw never happened.
It was the first time in many years that he lied so blatantly to another mammal.
He had a phone call from Oates after he left the hospital.
'Oates here, I found out something your friend.'
'What is it?' Mansa said quickly.
'Legends tell the tales of great warriors in the past, who were able to overpower whole armies empty-handed and their power was passed down along family. However, this phenomenon had disappeared for centuries. Your friend may be a distant descendant of those ancient families, if what you said is true.
'What can I do to prevent him from unleashing his... powers?'
'Keep him calm and happy. His rage can be unleashed in danger or if he loses something precious to him, like family. Speaking of which, you need to be careful too, Bogo.'
'What about me?'
Oates seemed reluctant to continue, 'Never mind, forget what I just said. Call me again if something as intriguing as this arises again.'
Bogo's family name was also seen in the more obscure historic records, but Oates decided against telling the truth. From what he heard in the news, Mansa had enough worries of his own that he didn't want to add to his strain.
Mansa barely put down his phone when Lionheart called him to return to the station. The former chief went through all the standard procedures with Mansa to prepare him for the new position. When the buffalo clocked out it was already late in the evening.
He went back to the hospital, carrying a large box of donuts to share with Benjamin. Mansa unwillingly stood up and limped to the door when nurses came in for vital checkups, announcing the end of visit period. Mansa lowered his head as he went through the doorway and it was where he finally collapsed.
His wounded body couldn't keep up with him anymore.