“All we need now are some signatures,” Magnum said, spreading some papers on his desk. Tracker and Antoinette signed, followed by Scott and Marsha as witnesses. Then, after shaking hands with Tracker and hugging Antoinette, Scott and Marsha left the office.
Taking a deep breath, Antoinette turned to Magnum. “M’sieur, we want to adopt the little ones, Tracker’s brother and sister.” Her fingers flicked towards the Doctor, holding the twin vulpinoid babies. “The Doctor is willing. Can you do it, and if so, how soon?”
Magnum raised his eyebrows and looked at Doctor Moreaux. “They don’t even legally exist, is that right?”
”That is correct, sir. I created them at Castile’s orders, using genetic material from myself and a red fox, just as I did Jon.” He smiled at Antoinette and kissed one of the babies on the top of its head.
Magnum smiled at Antoinette. “Then I see no problem. We’ll create the paperwork to give them a legal status, using you and Tracker as adoptive mother and father — and the Doctor as grandfather. Would that be satisfactory?”
She stared wide-eyed at him. “Could you do this for us?” He shrugged and nodded. “Ah, oui, m’sieur, that would be too wonderful! How soon could this be done?”
”A week or so, no trouble.”
Dismay clouded her features. “That is not soon enough, m’sieur.”
”What’s the hurry?”
She raised her hands, palm up. “Walter. He is trying to brand Tracker as a criminal. If he succeeds, I am afraid the State will not give the little ones to us.”
”Unofficially, I think that’s unlikely, but I see your point.” Magnum leaned forward and pressed a button on his desk.
”Doris,” he said when his secretary entered. “Mr. and Mrs. Redd want to adopt the two infants but the babies have no legal existence. I’d like you to put together the necessary documentation for them — birth certificates and everything. The Doctor, here, will give you whatever information you need. I’ll sign off on it under oath as a FORCE Deputy when you’re through. And we’re in a bit of a hurry, so call in favors, twist a few arms.”
”Can do, sir,” Doris replied.
Magnum left the Doctor answering Jackie’s questions and led the other two to Carfield’s office.
”Henry, go ahead and debrief them. Make copies available to both Prosecution and Defense attorneys.” Carfield nodded and gestured for Tracker and Antoinette to sit as Magnum left.
Tracker’s initial debriefing was concise, terse. Antoinette’s was more idiosyncratic, a narrative rather than a report. Carfield patiently asked questions, clarifying points. Finally he dismissed them. “After breakfast tomorrow, I want you both to get detailed physical and psychological testing. Don’t talk about what’s happened to anyone else for now, no matter what. After Med gets done with you, I want you both back here so we can elaborate on your debriefing.”
”Oui, m’sieur,” she said, looking solemn. Tracker nodded curtly.
Tracker was tense and alert as they walked to the cafeteria. At eight in the evening, it was nearly deserted. “Let us eat quickly, mon amant. I need for you to take me to bed,” she said softly.
”I need you, too,” he replied with unwonted intensity.
After eating a hasty dinner of Steak Tartare for Tracker and chopped steak for Antoinette, they hurried back to their rooms. She turned, palm-locking the door as he dropped his cape and kilt to the floor. As she turned to face him, hands on the hook fastening her halter-top, he caught her in his arms, kissing her with unusual force.
She melted into his grasp, returning his kiss with feverish intensity. He tore her halter-top up the back, flinging it aside and bending to caress her with his tongue. “Ahh!” she cried, arching her back in shivering delight. “Ah, mon amant!” Part of her mind wondered at the forcefulness of his lovemaking, but it was submerged in her own rapidly-rising passion. He tore off her skirt, paying no attention to the buttons, and picked her up in his arms, carrying her over to the bed.
He roused her powerfully with tongue, fingers, and tail, doing everything she’d taught him to do previously without the hesitation or fear. He reached a certain point, then paused.
“What is wrong, Tracker?”
“Umm…. I don’t know what to do next?”
“Silly fox! Just hold me tight and I’ll take care of the rest.”
She pulled him down against her, guiding him inside her body with a whimper of desire and locking her legs around his waist.
Her love-making lacked the celebration, the sense of playfulness, of spontaneous joy, that it usually had. Instead, it had an urgency, a desperate, despairing hunger matched by his own savage lust for her. He climaxed quickly, then rolled over onto his side, holding her closely. She pressed him over onto his back and settled herself astride his hips. She climaxed quickly, repeatedly, her fingers knotted in his fur, head back and face tight with concentration. At last, she lay on his chest, exhausted. He brought his tail up between her legs, covering her, and looked at her with pride and love. Her face was wet with tears. “What’s wrong, darling?” he asked, suddenly worried.
She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. “My heart is so afraid that this will be our last night together, that when you tell them, they will arrest you and take you away from me.” She ducked her head against his chest, weeping.
He held her, stroking her hair. “Please, Antoinette, don’t cry. I don’t have to do it, but –”
”Non!”
She sat up, grabbing his shoulders, her eyes fierce. “You must do what you think is right! I am afraid, oui, but that does not change what is right or wrong for you. You must not let my fears push you away from what is right for you to do. You are not a doll, to do whatever I want. You must do what you think is right and I must master the fears and stand by you.”
He nodded. “Yes, we must face our fears and do what is right. That is what makes us human. And I don’t think we’ll be separated until after the trial, at the earliest.”
”I hope not, but we must make the best use of this night, mon amant. Hold me, and let us rest for a while, then make love to me again.” He took her into his arms. Hours later, they fell asleep.
