My breath was coming a little hard, and my whole body felt pumped and full of blood; there was even a little roar in my ears, which meant I shouldn’t try to curl that much weight again. So I wouldn’t, but… There was absolute silence from the men, as if they’d forgotten to breathe.
I put my hands on my waist and fought to control my breathing; it would all be for nothing if I looked dizzy or unsteady now.
Someone said, “Oh my God.”
I looked at the lieutenant and the sergeants where they stood off the edge of the mat. “I can carry my own weight, Lieutenant.”
“Hell, you can carry me,” Mercy said.
Santa said, “How did you do that? There’s not enough of you to lift that much weight.”
“Could you do it again?” Grimes asked.
“You mean reps?” I asked.
He nodded.
I grinned. “Maybe, but I wouldn’t want to try.”
He gave an expression that was almost a smile, then shook his head. “Answer Santa’s question, Anita.”
“You’ve heard the rumors. Hell, you checked up on me before I stepped off the plane.”
“You’re right, I did. So you really are the human servant of your local Master of the City.”
“That won’t make you this strong,” I said.
“I saw your medical records,” he said.
“And,” I said.
“You’re a medical miracle.”
“So they tell me.”
“What?” Santa asked, looking from one to the other of us.
“So, you really are carrying five different kinds of lycanthropy, but you don’t shift.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Wait,” Santa said, “that’s not possible.”
“Actually,” Grimes said, “there have been three documented cases in the United States alone; you would be the fourth. Worldwide there have been thirty. People like you are what gave them the idea for the lycanthropy vaccines.”
Someone must have made a movement because Grimes said, “Yes, Arrio.”
“Is her lycanthropy contagious?”
“Anita,” he said.
“Shapeshifters are only contagious in animal form, and I don’t have an animal form, so, no.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Not a hundred percent, no. I wouldn’t drink my blood, and if you have a cut, you might not want me to bleed on you.”
“But you’ve got five different kinds in your blood, right?” Santa asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Then if you bled on me, I wouldn’t get just one, I’d get them all, or nothing, right?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Would it make me be able to do what you just did?”
“You can do what I just did.”
He shook his head, frowning. “Able to curl over twice my body weight, so, six-ninety, seven hundred pounds.”
“I’ve seen a shapeshifter about your size that could do it, but I’m not as strong as a real shapeshifter. If I were, I could do reps easy, and I can’t.”
“So a shapeshifter your size would be even stronger?” Davey, the tall blond with the nice mouth, asked.
“Absolutely.” I looked back at the lieutenant. “That’s what I mean about the vest and helmet. It just won’t protect you from that level of strength.”
“It will protect you if you get hit in the chest or head.”
“Some.”
“You’ll wear the full gear when you go out with us, Anita.”
“You’re the boss.”
He smiled. “Reports say you aren’t much for following orders.”
“I’m not.”
“But I’m the boss.”
“For these men, this unit, you are, and if I want to work with you, that makes you the boss.”
“You have a federal badge. You could try to be the boss.”
I laughed. “I’ve seen the way the men react to you. I could have a dozen federal badges, and that wouldn’t make any of these guys see me as their boss.”
“It will let you take all your weapons into the main station if you want to rub their faces in it.”
“I’m trying to make friends here, not enemies.”
“Then you’ll be the most polite fed we’ve met in a while.”
I shrugged. “I just want to start hunting these vampires before dark. Tell me what I have to do to make that happen, and I’ll do it.”
“Collect your gear. We’ll take you to Shaw.”
“Do I wear my gear or just carry it?”
“You asking my opinion?”
“Yes.”
“Carrying it is less aggressive, but they may also see it as a weakness.”
“If I asked you to just take me to the crime scene, would you?”