Taming The Tiger Man - Genma Series #1

The morning sun illuminated the trees in a restricted area of the zoo located in Jakarta. A large fence with a warning sign prohibited visitors from entering that place. There was one paved road for vehicles while mown grass covered the rest.

To the south, there were three meters in height and two meters wide iron cages. There were faucets installed in each corner and connected to a tiger exhibit.

All those cages were empty except for one.

Several officers in green uniforms and black boots with tense expressions stood around to watch two Sumatran tigers standing face to face. Fear flashed in her yellow eyes as the larger of the two, a male, roared.

However, in a blink of an eye, one of the officers shouted with a pale expression. “The tiger is going berserk!!!”

Other officers turned four water faucets to the max before they lifted hoses to spray high-pressure water into the giant metal cage in front of them as the male tiger attacked his mate.

Unfortunately, the male tiger ignored them, focusing on his partner. He lunged, causing the tigress to hit the cage side and collapse.

"Increase the water pressure! Bunga will die!" ordered the first man. He continued to splash the face of a male Sumatran tiger. Meanwhile, the beast attempted to bite the neck of a female tiger.

"How? I cannot turn the faucet up any more than this!"

The orange-black beast took a few steps back as water entered his nostrils. However, he dashed back to lunge when the female started trying to get up.

"Face! Spray Bowo in the face!”

The officers attempted to separate the tigers. They were unaware of the presence of a slender woman dressed in a bright casual blouse and black trousers. She ran towards the cage and made her short black ponytail wag wild.

Her young adult face indicated that she was around twenty-nine years old or even younger. She fearlessly aimed a stun gun between the iron bars and shot the male tiger while he avoided the water spray.

Bowo roared in pain. The one-hundred-three-kilogram beast wobbled before collapsing near his mate. The woman fired another stun bullet knocking the other tiger out too.

“Doctor Angelina?!” The men cried with relief. They lowered their hoses, making the stream of water drench the grassy ground and wet their shoes.

Angelina snorted with annoyance. She glared as she turned around to face the four officers in front of her with arms akimbo.

“I told you, it’s not time yet! I just pulled Bowo’s teeth yesterday! He’s not in the mood for mating!”

“They were fine this morning, Doc. Bunga had been in heat since yesterday. Bowo also didn’t seem to —“

Mukti stopped talking as Angelina showed a sign of displeasure by narrowing her pupil “Sorry, Doc ….”

Angelina grunted as she examined the sedated tigers. “Did they mate already?”

“They did, Doc, but Bowo became aggressive after finished.”

The water from the hose that soaked Angelina’s black sneakers stopped flowing as one of the officers took the initiative to turn off the faucet. However, the doctor didn’t even notice. She was lost in her mind, trying to calculate.

Although there is a chance of pregnancy, the result can only show in several weeks. I hope Bunga will be fine.

Angelina sighed. Never mind, they didn’t have any bad intentions, just too hasty.

“It’s a good thing I saw Mr. Mukti’s tranquilizer gun on the chair over there. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how to separate them ….,” muttered Angelina, who had been certified to shoot three years ago, in a much more relaxed tone.

Angelina turned her body towards the long chair to get her brown backpack. She put down the stun gun before unzipping her bag to pull out a purple vet shirt.

“While they are sleeping, let me check Bowo’s teeth and treat Bunga’s wound.”

“But, isn’t it Doctor Sandi’s turn now?”

“He had a patient scheduled for an operation at nine in the morning, so we switched our schedules.”

Angelina’s voice muffled as she slipped her head through the T-shirt, covering her blouse. She redid her ponytail with a rubber band before she realized the others were watching her.

“Is something wrong?” Angelina looked down to observe her far-from-elegant appearance and found nothing unusual there.

The four men responded by shaking their heads and looking the other way. Mukti—a mustachioed fat man—coughed before giving an awkward smile.

“Uh, no, Doc, I’ll get the medical supplies.”

Angelina furrowed her brow in confusion. However, she chose not to pursue an explanation and nodded, allowing the four officers to proceed with their tasks.

It was almost four o’clock in the afternoon when Angelina walked with a tired expression to the doctor’s parking lot to find her car, a white 2012 Honda Jazz. She opened her back door and tossed her bag before yawning.

Doctor Sandi, who is Angelina's coworker, couldn't attend because he was bitten by a female Doberman, his patient, right before administering sedation. This left Angelina covering double shifts and dealing with a situation where she had to manage a tug-of-war between Siti, a female gorilla, and Joko, the new gorilla handler. Joko now had visible blue bruises on his left hand and emotional strain from his close bond with the gorilla.

Angelina’s stomach rumbled as she started her car's engine. She sighed in resignation.

I forgot to eat lunch.

Angelina turned on the tape. The familiar voice of a famous singer in 2016 flowed from there. Angelina fastened her seat belt before starting to drive. However, her cell phone rang.

She took it from the dashboard and smiled as she saw the name—Paul, my husband—flash on the screen. Without thinking, she answered the call with a cheerful expression. “I’m on my way home. Do you want some fried chicken? I want to stop by Mrs. Ida’s stall first…”

Paul laughed on the other end. "Hey Angel, you should've said hi before quacking like a duck. I was having lunch with a client."

Angelina’s cheeks felt warm with embarrassment. They had been married for two months. However, Paul’s soft rebuke still made her heart beat faster.

“Which client?” asked Angelina while trying to calm her pounding heart. She drove the car to leave the zoo. She also smiled back at a guard who waved at her. “The one who wants to renovate the house at Pondok Indah or the one who wants to build a house from scratch at Kemang.”

“The one in Kemang.” Paul’s voice sounded crisp and pleasant. Angelina’s eyes softened as she gazed at the simple gold ring on her ring finger while holding the steering wheel. Who would have thought that a wrong seat in a movie theater six months ago would have caused her status to change from spinster to Mrs. Paul Candra, wife of a handsome, up-and-coming contractor?

“So, where are you now?”

Angelina looked around. She had just past several buildings towards the Cilandak intersection. As usual, the traffic in Jakarta was crowded, especially during work hours.

Angelina’s lips thinned when the traffic light turned red before she could turn left. An annoying motorcycle drove next to her at a slow pace and prevented her took the left lane.

“I hit a red light at—“

Crash!

Angelina’s body pushed forward as something hit the car from behind. She hit the brakes while squealing in surprise.

“Angel? What’s wrong?”

Angelina turned her head and found an unknown big car parked too close behind her. “Looks like the car got hit. I’ll be right back.”

She placed her phone on the dashboard, pulled the handbrake, and went out. A brand-new black Fortuner kissed her car’s bumper. However, the figure from that car caused Angelina's eyes to bulge in surprise. The driver turned out to be a woman of her age. However, if Angelina looked rumpled with dirt on her shoes and some animal hair stuck to her hair and jeans, the stranger looked like a misplaced model.

Angelina was pretty sure that the dark purple color of the stranger’s short hair was the result of a hair dye because, from her skin color—light brown, she must be a native same like her. Her eyes scanned the woman who walked towards her.

Dark red lipstick adorned her lips. She styled her eyelashes to resemble those of a cockroach. She wore pearl earrings, each the size of a five hundred rupiah coin. A tight black blazer covered her upper body, paired with a mini skirt. Completing the ensemble were pink seven-centimeter heels. Did she look like an actress returning from work?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” the pretty woman stammered. Her reddish-brown eyes—no doubt the result of contact lenses—glanced at their cars before smiling awkwardly.

Angelina walked towards the back of her vehicle. She took a quick breath when she realized that the Fortuner wasn’t just giving her bumper an affectionate peck but also crushing it.

“What’s wrong with you?! I could spend millions to fix—”

“Sorry, Sis. It’s an accident.”

The Fortuner driver cut off Angelina’s sentence with a guilty expression. She shortened the distance while apologizing. “I didn’t mean to.”

Angelina inhaled a sweet aroma. It was so strong and made her sneeze. Great! She was also fond of bathing in perfume!

Angelina instinctively scanned her surroundings and gasped. The scene attracted the attention of the public. Pedestrians and motorcyclists gathered to witness the accident. However, she couldn't spot any police officers nearby.

“What if I give you a million and my ID as collateral? If that’s not enough, I'll throw in more. Hang on, let me grab my purse.” The purple-haired woman went straight to her car without waiting for Angelina’s answer.

Angelina felt a headache. She surveyed the damage to her car while biting her bottom lip. If she had insurance, she wouldn’t feel this bad, but wasn’t everything fine even without insurance?

The red light turned green. The queue of vehicles behind them started honking.

“Ma’am, hurry up. We are making traffic jams,” Angelina felt annoyed and scolded the woman.

From Angelina’s view, the artist’s long legs seem to dance behind the Fortuner’s door. Angelina guessed if that woman still had not found her purse.

“Ma’am, just pull over!” The exclamation of a motorcyclist made Angelina agitated.

Angelina’s panic was contagious. The purple-haired head poked out from behind the Fortuner door and returned Angelina’s frantic gaze with the same pale expression.

“Sis, I forgot to bring my cell phone. I can’t do m-banking and only have thirty-four thousand in my wallet. Let’s go to the ATM first.”

“Gosh, how could you forget to bring your cell phone?!” Angelina’s temper started to rise as her panicked expression turned sour. Is there an ATM nearby? Do we have to go to the mall first?

“Please, Sis. I did not mean it.”

The Fortuner driver's pleading tone, combined with the honking and shouts of the crowd, overwhelmed Angelina's thoughts. She eventually relented, saying, "Lead the way."

The artist’s face brightened. She got in and closed the door of her vehicle, causing Angelina to rush to her car and slam her door.

As Angelina started to drive, the green light turned yellow. She allowed the Fortuner that had collided with her car to pass.