“We’re from the Federal Bureau of Magic. I’m Agent Sloan Cosgrove. We have a warrant to search the premises.” Said Agent Cosgrove and showed Tim the warrant.
Tim looked at the huge man who spoke to him, with the warrant held out so Tim could see it. He was easily as large as Tim was when Tim was in human form and the flak jacket he wore made him look even larger. Agent Cosgrove had a neatly trimmed short iron-grey beard, bushy eyebrows that almost grew together and his salt and pepper black hair was in a crew cut. Tim had noticed his pointed teeth, much like his own, as he spoke. Tim’s cock gave an involuntary.
“We’ve tracked an unlicensed artifact to this location and our warrant permits a search of the house.” Agent Cosgrove said and then he addressed his partner who had a gun trained on Tim. “Agent Kenswick, I think Mr. Orff here is going to cooperate, aren’t you, Mr. Orff.”
Tim nodded, slowly lowering his muscular furry arms to his sides.
“Mathers, search the cellar.” Cosgrove said to the man in the kitchen. “Armstrong, go down and help him.”
The two agents did as ordered.
“Why don’t we have a seat in the living room and we’ll discuss this while my men conduct their search.” Cosgrove said.
Tim moved into the living room/lounge and on the broken couch was Kelvin, in half bear form. Tim moved to the couch and sat beside him.
“As I said, we’ve tracked an unlicensed artifact of great power to this house. As you know, every artifact must be registered with the F.B.M. and possession of an unregistered, unlicensed artifact with a Etherometer reading of greater than twenty on the Klausemann scale is a felony.” Cosgrove said to Tim.
“I don’t understand what this is about?” Tim said.
“Don’t you, Mr. Orff?” Agent Cosgrove said and it looked to Tim that he halfway believed Tim. “Our agency has tracked the ‘Box of Ten Thousand Wonders’ to this location, it was part of an estate sale of a Mr. Felix Tal. It’s a powerful transformation artifact that, until a few years ago, was merely an object in some ancient Persian and Chinese legends. Supposedly it was created by two eastern magicians working together; Kai ibn Azim Al Jafar and Xiao Yi and found it’s way to the Chinese Emperor Yao. Emperor Yao is said to have changed into a jade dragon and ascended into heaven after touching the box leaving it to his son who was wise enough to have it locked away in his father’s unused tomb. That’s the legend and because of recent archaeological digs in China, I the Bureau believes the legend to be true. Our Etherometers show readings of eighty on the Klausemann scale and neither Mr. Tal nor you have a license to own such an artifact, we’ve checked Bureau records on both of you.” Mr. Cosgrove said.
“I do have a box and Mr. Tal did show up earlier to take it back, he said it was his, but he seemed to have left it.” Tim said.
“So he didn’t take it… how very odd.” Cosgrove said.
“It was part of the estate sale you mentioned. I had no idea what it was, I didn’t even know it was magical until this morning when it…” Tim paused.
“Go on, Mr. Orff.” Agent Cosgrove said, slightly leaning forward with interest.
“Well, this morning, I was sort of messing around with the box and… and it changed me into a bear. It changed Kelvin too.” Tim said.
Kelvin nodded, “I was just messing around with it and it turned me into a bearman.”
“You should both count yourselves lucky, according to legend some people have shrunk away to nothing or become hideously deformed.” Agent Cosgrove smiled a pointy tooth smile, “Luckily, you two just became werebears. People can become shifters in a couple of different ways; this one was just a bit more unusual. You both were inadvertently changed and that is precisely why there are laws that prohibit the ownership of such powerful artifacts as the one you seemed to have stumbled across. They can be very dangerous to the untrained.”
“So, you’re a shifter? What do you become?” Tim said, his question motivated more by his attraction to the burly agent than by curiosity.
“A bit of advice, since you’re newly changed and obviously don’t know; don’t ask outright if someone is a shifter or what they become, it’s considered rude. One always waits until the information is volunteered.” Cosgrove said softly.
“I’m sorry.” Tim said, somewhat embarrassed, and remembered that he’d had the same advice from Richard a few years before when he’d asked almost the same question. It was one of many parts of the shifter culture that Tim was unaware of.
“It’s OK, I guess I shouldn’t have expected you to know. Yes I’m a shifter and my species is grizzly, like you two.” Cosgrove said. “Now, where did you put the box?”
“Down in the cellar in…” Tim said and was interrupted.
“Sir, we’ve found a safe in the cellar, the readings are lower than we expected for an artifact, but that’s probably due to the steel of the safe.” Agent Armstrong said.
“If the safe had been cast iron, we wouldn’t have found it at all.” Kenswick said.
“Would you care to unlock the safe for us, Mr. Orff?” Cosgrove said.
“Certainly, I’d be happy to cooperate.” Tim said.
“Mathers, get the containment unit from the van.” Cosgrove said and the agent nodded and left as Cosgrove, Tim and Armstrong headed down the stairs to the cellar.
Armstrong was showing Cosgrove the readings on the Etherometer as Mathers brought in the containment unit.
Armstrong, looking at his instrument said, “The readings jumped off the scale and then dropped to five just now, sir!”
“Open that safe up, Mr. Orff.” Cosgrove said.
Tim opened the safe and was shocked to find that it no longer contained the box.
Cosgrove looked in the safe, “Where is it?” Cosgrove demanded.
“I don’t know, it was right there on the top shelf, I put it there before you arrived.” Tim said.
Cosgrove poked through the contents of the safe.
“It sure as Hell isn’t here now, just some valuables, papers and a teaching crystal… all perfectly legal.” Cosgrove said.
“What happened to the box?” Tim said.
“I don’t know, but if it’s gone, I’m guessing that Mr. Tal has a few talents with fourth dimensional physics or the box can come and go as it pleases. Either way, you two are in the clear. Look, I’m going to need you two to fill out some paperwork, so if you could both shift back and get dressed, we’ll head down to the branch office on twenty third street.” Cosgrove said.
Tim shut and locked the safe and headed up the stairs.
Tim and Kelvin both went to Tim’s bedroom to dress.
Cosgrove dismissed his team except for Kenswick. When the other agents had filed out of the cellar he turned to the burly young man.
“Kenswick, watch how you say, ‘Shifter’. I didn’t like the way you said it to Orff. Perhaps you forget that I’m a ‘Shifter’ too and may take offense. We ‘Shifters’ have rights, just like you ‘monoforms’ and deserve to be treated with respect, do I make myself clear?” Cosgrove said with a bit of an ursine growl in his deep voice.
“Yes, sir. I’m sorry sir.” Kenswick said.
“So do you have a problem with Shifters, Kenswick? Because, if you do, I want to hear it.” Cosgrove said.
“Is this off the record, Sir?” Kenswick said.
“You may speak your mind, I won’t file a discrimination report on what you say to me.” Cosgrove said.
“Sir, I don’t have a problem with you, I’ve come to know you, but most shifters aren’t like you.” Kenswick said.
“Oh and how am I different?” Cosgrove inquired. There was an edge in the bearman’s voice.
“No disrespect, sir, but most shifters give me the creeps.” Kenswick said.
“Do I give you the creeps, Kenswick?” Cosgrove asked.
“Respectfully sir, yes, at first you did. When I first came to work at the bureau and heard you were a shifter and I was assigned to your team, I was creeped out.” Kenswick said, averting his eyes from Cosgrove’s stare as he ended the statement.
“And do I still creep you out, Kenswick?” Cosgrove asked.
“No, sir.” Kenswick said, meeting his eyes again.
Cosgrove sighed, “It sounds like you have a serious personal problem that you need to work out. If you know and trust me, but still use that tone with other shifters, I suggest you see someone professional and talk out your prejudices. There’s no room in the Bureau for prejudice.” Cosgrove said.
With that the two climbed the stairs and joined the other agents.
Tim and Kelvin went with the agents to the bureau office, down town. By the time they returned to Tim’s house it was seven in the evening. At last, they were alone and the two bears headed upstairs to Tim’s bed. Tim followed Kelvin grabbing handfuls of the bearman’s ass as he ascended the stairs.
“I’ve waited all day to jump your bones and no one better interrupt us or I’m going to put my fist through their head.” Tim growled as he began to take his clothes off in the bedroom. He’d already began to change as had Kelvin.
The two bears, finally alone, made love. After they were finished, holding each other in the afterglow of passion and just beginning to drift into sleep, a loud series of knocks came at the front door.
Tim looked at Kelvin.
“Who the Hell could that be?” Kelvin said groggily.
“I don’t know, but whoever it is, they have some nerve!” Tim picked up a baseball bat he kept by the bed; it was a rough area of town.
Tim headed downstairs in his powerful half bear form, closely followed by Kelvin who was also in half bear form. Tim wondered how anyone could have gotten through the locked gates and not disturbed the guard dogs as he approached the door.
Tim opened the door, bat raised to strike, and saw…