~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The female keeper was stunned into silence by a single sentence. Her expression froze in shock, and for a long moment she couldn't say a word.
Just as she was about to speak again, a balding, middle-aged white man with a stocky build—wearing the same uniform—walked over.
"Kylie, don't bother Mr. Brown with your routine."
Compared to an overly idealistic young person, a middle-aged white guy responsible for administrative affairs was far more smooth and worldly.
He stepped forward and immediately extended his hand.
"Mr. Brown, I'm Andy Thompson, the zoo's administrative director. The FBI has already contacted us and explained the general situation.
"As long as you sign a few documents and settle the temporary custody fees, you can take your pet with you. However—"
The balding man hesitated and glanced at him.
"—how exactly are you planning to take that tiger away?"
"Oh, I drove here. I'll just have her sit in the back seat."
Andy Thompson said awkwardly,
"Um… that's not quite what I meant."
"See, Andy! This guy didn't prepare anything at all. Why should we return a tiger to a criminal? If he ends up in prison, who's going to take care of that tiger?"
The girl shouted excitedly.
The balding man looked extremely embarrassed and said,
"The FBI just notified us that Mr. Brown was mistakenly identified as a suspect. It was all a misunderstanding.
"That's why they instructed us to allow Mr. Brown to reclaim his pet. You already knew this—why say something so rude?"
He pulled the emotional girl behind him protectively and said,
"I apologize, Mr. Brown. Kylie just started working here and isn't familiar with certain matters yet."
The intent to shield her was obvious. Henry had no desire to argue with a woman who clearly had something wrong in her head.
"Forget it. Whatever needs signing, however much it costs—bring it over. I want to head home as soon as possible. My place is a total mess and needs cleaning."
"Mr. Brown, the documents are all here."
The balding man hurriedly handed over the clipboard along with a pen.
Henry didn't even look at it, signing his name rapidly. In truth, he had already read everything—nothing more than standard liability disclaimers, plus fees for personnel support and the duration of custody.
Handing the clipboard back, Henry asked,
"How do you want payment—cash, check, or credit card?"
"Any of those are fine," the man said with a flattering smile.
Because the zoo had dispatched personnel and specialized vehicles to assist with containing the tiger, all labor costs were charged to Henry. The custody fee mainly covered meals and the manpower required to care for her.
Strictly speaking, in a wrongful case caused by FBI error, Henry—the victim—shouldn't have had to pay any of this. But considering that he was already dumping a massive problem onto someone else's head, it was better to resolve the money issue quickly.
Wasn't there a saying like that?
If money can solve it, it's not really a problem. Spending a bit of cash to smash a huge black pot onto someone else's head—satisfying!
Too lazy to haggle, Henry pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for the full amount, even though it was a significant sum for most people.
He could've paid cash—he had more than enough on him—but using a check in this situation also served as proof of payment, preventing future disputes.
The balding man accepted the check, signed a receipt, and handed it back, smiling professionally.
"Kylie, take Mr. Brown to retrieve his pet."
"I refuse. He doesn't look like someone capable of properly caring for a dangerous animal. Just look at him—he came empty-handed."
The female keeper turned her head away in dissatisfaction, refusing to look at anyone.
"You—!"
Andy Thompson gave up on instructing the stubborn woman and decided to lead the way himself.
"Mr. Brown, please follow me. The temporary holding area for large predators is this way."
Henry didn't say anything and followed. When passing by the girl, he deliberately controlled the direction of his head, refusing to even glance at her.
People like her were no different from online keyboard warriors—the more you argued, the more excited they became, like they were shooting adrenaline. Ignoring her was best. Not even worth the breath.
But although Henry intentionally ignored her, the girl seemed unwilling to let it go and followed anyway.
No one stopped her. No one bothered with her. Her legs were her own—she could walk wherever she wanted.
Entering the predator section, most of the enclosures were open-air pits without roofs, designed to make the beasts seem almost within reach rather than separated by glass.
There was only one large building—an internal multi-purpose center for zoo staff. Cub care, medical treatment, and routine checkups all took place there.
Katie, as an external tiger, should logically have been temporarily housed in one of the individual rooms inside, designated for large predators.
However, when Andy Thompson led Henry to the room that was supposed to be Katie's temporary holding area, what they saw was an empty concrete chamber.
There were no obstructions inside—certainly nothing capable of hiding a beast roughly the size of a motorcycle. The walls were painted white, which was hardly camouflage for a yellow-and-black striped animal.
The balding man stared at the empty room in disbelief. He didn't even consider the possibility that the tiger could turn invisible—he personally unlocked the iron gate and went inside to inspect it.
"Kylie, what is going on? Where's the tiger?"
All rooms suitable for housing large predators were clustered together in this area, fully visible at a glance. Yet all four rooms were just like this one—completely empty.
The female keeper said smugly,
"I put her into the tiger enclosure, together with the other tigers."
"You—what the hell are you doing? Do you think that was smart?!"
Andy Thompson exploded in rage.
"Tigers have extremely strong territorial instincts!
"The tigers in this zoo have lived together for a long time—that's why they can coexist peacefully. You let an outside tiger come into contact with them without any protection at all—what do you think is going to happen?!"
After chewing her out, the balding man immediately ran outside toward the tiger enclosure to assess the situation. If a tragedy had occurred, they would need to seal off the area immediately.
The zoo was a family destination, full of children. If they witnessed too much bloodshed, tomorrow's headlines would be a nightmare.
Passing by another zoo employee, the balding man shouted,
"Get Raven and bring the tranquilizer gun—we might need it!"
The female keeper finally realized she'd likely screwed up and hurried after him.
Henry, meanwhile, was thinking about what might happen when Katie—who hadn't seen another tiger since being brought to the U.S.—encountered her own kind.
Would she even remember basic tiger social behavior? Or would she be pinned down and beaten by the zoo's tiger group?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉
I'll release one bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!"
Let me know what should I do
Your support means everything—let's crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~