Captain Smith offered to aid the officers with their search for Heinrich and as a noted veteran of the Second Boer War and champion archer and swordsman, though for the past fifteen years he had favoured the Japanese katana, his aid was welcome. Though his Yumi and katana were back at Quebec Castle, Captain Smith made do with a common bow and rapier borrowed from a local archery and fencing club.
Captain Smith's intentions had been to leave Alexander behind and take only Cnut, yet the Northern caracal would have none of it. He followed his master, even running out of the suite before him and Cnut, something that had resulted in Captain Smith picking him up and carrying him back in. When Captain Smith and Cnut did manage to get out before Alexander and the former was able to close the door before Alexander slip out, the Northern caracal began meowing at the door. From the other side, Captain Smith could do nothing but sigh, while Cnut looked up at him with those pleading eyes a canine had.
Opening the door, Captain Smith looked down at Alexander and said: "Come on, but keep out of harms way!"
Running through the door, Alexander rubbed against his master's legs for a moment before proceeding to walk ahead and make his way down to the lobby, fifteen feet ahead of Captain Smith and Cnut. Seeing the three officers waiting, Alexander approached the three, looking up at them, meowing and then proceeded to rub against the legs of Inspector Thompson.
Chuckling, Inspector Thompson knelt down and gently pet the caracal on the back. "Hello, me old mucker. He is a fine creature this Darius, don't you think so, Williams?"
"Actually, Inspector, I spoke with Sir Arthur and he told me, as Captain Smith told him, that Darius died last year. This would be Alexander."
"A fine name!" commented Inspector Thompson.
"Well, when his intended mate is named Roxana, his mother is named Olympias and his predecessor was named Darius what else was I supposed to call him?" asked Captain Smith, now reaching the final step with Cnut beside him. "My initial plans had been to either name him 'Darius' as well or to name him 'Philip' after my fiancée's uncle's old hunting caracal. I'm glad I didn't. His fur is far redder than Darius' and Philip was awful and mean-tempered, even fought a wolverine."
Flabbergasted, Constable Harris inquired: "Is that how he expired?"
"It's how the wolverine expired." Replied Captain Smith. "Philip only lost an eye. He died taking down a rogue elk that had attacked his master."
"Good lord!" exclaimed Detective Williams. He was normally a stoic man, but naturally hearing that an animal with a shoulder height of twenty inches dared to take on an elk and succeeded, albeit with a Pyrrhic victory, was something that would shock even the most stoic of people. "How did he manage that?"
Captain Smith was about to answer when Sir Arthur approached. "Captain Smith, I was wondering if I could join you. I trained as a boxer and as a doctor and think I might be of some help."
Alexander watched as his master rose an eyebrow. He did not know why the brow was raised, only that he had seen it a few times. When Captain Smith nodded, replying: "Yes, and you can be the one to write down how Heinrich, the man-eating lion from Tsavo, was stopped here in Toronto. Now, gentlemen, I would say, that this is, as is said, where the hunt begins."
And begin it did.