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Chapter 2: Authoritative Moshing
************* David was also asleep, dreaming that he was a young boy again, only eight years old. Back at home, he'd been a terror to his parents, always refusing to go to bed when he was told. This time, he'd snuck downstairs to steal some cookies from of the kitchen. He was always a hungry boy, after all (especially for things of the cookie genre). He heard his father talking to someone who he called "Overseer." How strange, the young boy thought, and went in for a closer look. This Overseer seemed to be talking to his father about some unfinished project."I told you Overseer, the project is being completed as quickly as possible. You'll get what you need." His father was standing face to face with a cloaked figure whom David assumed was the Overseer. A chilling voice echoed from the depths of the hood. "When? I grow impatient." David's father shrugged. "Ten years, at the most. These sort of things you're asking us to do take time. Lots of it." "Very well Kenny." The Overseer rumbled. "You have ten years to complete the project. You are fortunate that I'm a patient man. " David's father sighed with relief. "Thank you Overseer. You are most kind." The cloaked figure raised a hand, pointing a finger in warning. "Do not mistake my patience for kindness. You have ten years, and if it is not-" The Overseer suddenly looked over where David was. "Come out young one." David obeyed. An iron grip clamped down on his shoulder, and he squirmed with pain. "I'll take your son if you fail." David's father had looked dismayed, it seemed as if he realized what he had gotten himself and really, his whole family into. "It'll be done in ten years, ok? Just don't hurt my family!" "I won't, as long as you keep your promises." The Overseer began to dematerialize into the thin air, then suddenly re-materialized. "Oh, and I need to use your bathroom. Do you mind?" David sat up in his bed, panting. What triggered that? ************* A dilapidated police station rested on the corner of an intersection near David's old home. The officers who staffed said station were all sleeping. No harm in that, the late night shift was never all that interesting. Just drunks and assorted junkies. Occasionally someone would complain about the odd stabbing, but the officers generally ignored those as a rule. Obviously if someone was being stabbed, they'd have to fill out a mountain of paperwork as a result. Considering the chances were high that the person doing the stabbing was a government assassin anyhow, it wasn't worth the effort, or the firepower it took to get rid of a government created android.Officer Ron McHelmsly was one of the staff currently napping. An ex-Marine, he was considered to be one of those people that were not to be ignored when he gave an order. A real warrior, a natural leader, a... secretary. He may have been in the Marines, but unfortunately, everybody on the police force had been in the military at one time or another. The police forces were the first to be drafted into military service during the war. Officer McHelmsly just happened to be better at sorting papers than at shooting the Europeans. Except for the French. He was good at killing them (unfortunately, France surrendered before it even declared war). Currently, McHelmsly was drooling on a police report on the slaying and subsequent arson on the Kenny family by what was probably a rogue android. The term "rogue android" was what the police used to say "government assassin." It was therefore a shock to everyone in the station when an agent of what was the CIA (but was now the Bureau of Secretive and Dangerously Over-Aggressive Assassins) entered the station and demanded a cup of coffee and a donut. That agent was Agent Shannon O'Davis of the BSDOAA. The officers knew her presence could only mean one of three things. First, she was there to waste them all. Second, she wasn't really an agent and was in fact a singing telegram to sing happy birthday to the Chief. Third, and most unlikely to them, the killer at the Kenny household was actually a rogue android and not a government assassin. So it was an even bigger shock when Agent Shannon said, "We have a rogue assassin on our hands gentlemen." "Well hell, " an officer said, "send in the cruise missiles." A general grumbling reverberated through the station, more because the officers had been woken up than the fact that innocent civilians were going to be murdered. The police had their priorities, after all. "Can't it wait until morning? I'm not a fan of this whole 'night time police work." another officer said. Agent O'Davis was growing impatient with the rank and file officers. "Where is your chief? I want to speak with him." Officer Rob pointed to a closed door. "He's in there, but it's locked. Wouldn't enter right now anyhow. He's-" The secretary was cut short by the pistol that suddenly was placed on his forehead. "I don't care what he's doing, unlock that door and then get out of my way." Agent O'Davis was a bit annoyed by this time. Officer Rob sighed. "Fine, just don't say I didn't warn you..." He got up and reluctantly unlocked the door, then walked back to his desk without opening it. "Have fun in there lady." O'Davis opened the door and stormed inside, slamming the door behind her. Officer Rob counted to twenty, then ducked. A gunshot rang out, and the bullet shattered the glass window on the door, ricocheting off the secretary's desk before burying itself in the ceiling with a group of other bullet holes. Agent O'Davis was confronted by a clearly unkempt looking man with a gun pointed at her head. Not sure what to make of this sudden development, she decided the best course of action would be to freeze and look shocked. This was something that her body was only too willing to do. The chief (at least she assumed it to be the chief) spoke in a deep throaty voice. "Next shot goes through your head missie. I don't like being woken up without good reason, and unless you're a singing telegram, I sure can't think of a reason not to blow your head off after you've explained yourself anyhow." The chief took a little more time to inspect the intruder and suddenly seemed to think of something else. "Unless you're a stripper." O'Davis decided that at this point, it was time to explain who she was. Surely this worthless officer would realize the gravity of the situation. "I'm an agent of the BSDOAA. There's a loose assassin running amok here, and we need to know where it is." The chief was totally uninterested. "Whoopie, the government's gone and lost another android. The only possible sighting we have is from an eyewitness to a double homicide and arson. Young girl, black hair, as I recall. Not too bad lookin' either," the chief leered, "Said she saw the android, claimed it was brand new. You missing any new models lately?" O'Davis nodded. "Yes, but we tracked it down a week ago. There must be a new model missing somewhere else that we are not aware of." "Or you fellas decided to waste another target. That's always a possibility, isn't it sweetheart?" The chief got another idea. "Say, you wanna come back to my place and we'll discuss this in," the chief coughed, "private." He gave another leer at the agent. His leer suddenly disappeared as Agent O'Davis drew her own gun and aimed it directly at the chief's privates. "One more word, chief, and you won't ever have to worry about women again." Agent O'Davis may have been startled by a gun in her face, but she would not sit here and be hit on by a half-drunk police chief. The fact that he was just a police officer offended her more than the drunkenness. The chief swallowed. "Suit yourself baby, but you just turned down the keys to a hot rod." Agent O'Davis' response was far too scathing to be repeated. ************* A nondescript white van sat parked on a street corner in the ruins of Minneapolis. It was a large conversion van, and it seemed to have a small satellite dish perched atop the roof. Inside, two female forms lay snoozing on their respective bunks, one having all ready been up and fallen back asleep, and the other never having stirred at all. A small alarm clock lay on the floor, a sonic time-bomb, waiting patiently to go off. A few minutes later, it did, shattering the early morning quiet and reverberating through the van's interior.Jo gave a slight curse as she reached for the alarm clock, only succeeding in falling out of her bunk. Lydia, however, picked up a pistol from a table near the bed and shot the clock, putting a hole in the bottom of the van. "Was that really necessary?" Jo griped as she began the slow process of attaining lucidity. "The gunshot was louder than the clock!" Another curse as she stood up too fast and hit the top of the van. "I suppose you had a better idea? My way was quick and efficient. No need to get out of bed, or even to wake up fully. Therefore, my idea was better." Lydia mumbled from her pillow. "Besides, I didn't sleep well last night, and I don't need some alarm clock waking me up in the morning." Hunting assignments stank. Jo was definitely not a big fan of them, being a bit squeamish about killing in general. It wasn't that she didn't want a way to end the threat of werewolves, she just wasn't sure exterminating them was the best path to take. Unfortunately, it was the only way available at the moment, so she simply worked the more technical side of things, helping to run the hunts from the main base, which in this case was the nondescript white van. Jo found herself longing for a proper bed and perhaps proper food too. The rations that were handed out to Hunters were only meant to satisfy hunger, not to be taste explosions. Lydia, on the other hand, was a big fan of hunting trips. It seemed that with every kill she made, her father's death didn't hurt so terribly. She felt at peace after a successful hunt, safe in knowing that there was one less lycanthrope to destroy someone else's family. Plus, she thought the rations were delicious. ************* David awoke late in the morning, feeling refreshed and in most ways all right. He seemed to have transformed sometime during the night--at least, that was the only reason he could think of for the new chew marks on the bedpost. After stumbling into the bathroom that he had located in his "apartment" the previous evening, he took a shower to wake himself up further and put on some fresh clothes that seemed to just appear in a dresser across the room. He could only assume there was some sort of room service that took care of it. Stretching out his back, he shuffled out into the hall, and began looking for wherever breakfast was served. Instead of finding a dining hall, he instead ran into Doc Wolf again, who seemed to be on his way to David's room anyhow."Ah, glad to see you're finally awake." The doctor said. "It's time for more training on controlling your lycanthropy." "That's just great Doc, but do you think I could get some breakfast or something?" David's stomach was growling, he hadn't had much to eat during his stay in Minneapolis. "I'm afraid there's no time, lad. We're behind all ready." The doctor reached into his pocket and withdrew something that looked suspiciously like a doggie biscuit. "Here, these are pretty filling. Try this." David eyed the bone-shaped biscuit suspiciously before shrugging and accepting it. The thought came to him that perhaps he should just change into his wolf form and complete the picture, and so he did. For some reason, he found the treat more appealing that way. Wolfing it down hungrily, he addressed the doctor again. "So, what am I being trained about? Anything involving fighting or such?" Doc shook his head. "Not yet. There are still a few basic guidelines you should know about being a werewolf." The two rounded a corner and approached a classroom. Doc sat in the front, David sat at a desk, and resisted the urge to fall asleep. School settings had that effect on him. Of course, at school they never told you about sorcery and DNA altering viruses. During the hour or so Doc talked, David learned a few more things about his newfound abilities. Silver wasn't lethal, but most lycanthropes did have a slight allergy to it. Whilst in the form of a wolf, he was faster, had improved night vision, and had a keen sense of smell. The downside was that he would also have to contend with the instincts of a wolf, such as the instinct to mark territory and to defend that territory (class was halted for a few minutes while Doc cleaned up David's 'claim' that he had the sudden urge to make on his desk. Class was also halted when David tried to bite Doc for cleaning up his mess. David's nose was sore from where Doc whopped him with a rolled up newspaper). Finally, it was time for David to get a better look at the compound where the lycanthropes of Minnesota resided. Doc walked David down another hall, then paused at a door. "Here, you can see how we gain information on what the government is doing. We've been fortunate so far, but there's the chance the authorities will get suspicious and try a raid or something. We like to be out of the area when that happens." David peered into a room full of computers staffed by a legion of what could only be described as hackers. Doc walked up to an obviously sleeping man with shaggy black hair and a crop of facial hair that seemed to be growing with reckless abandon. "Wake up you silly sod! Come on then, meet the newest recruit." The man's eyes snapped open, revealing icy blue eyes that bespoke a Celtic origin. "You cad! 'Twasn't sleepin', I was restin' me eyes fer a second! Can't a fella take a break now and again?" He stood, revealing that he was quite tall, and quite broad across the shoulders as well. David would have been intimidated, but the man was also wearing a kilt that threw the whole image off. The man extended a hand to David. "Name's Aaron. I'm the leader o' this band of computer nuts. If it's got a processor and a hard drive, my boys can get into it." The tech beamed with pride. David nodded politely, but couldn't resist asking one question. "Um... what's with the skirt?" "Kilt you ignoramus, kilt." Aaron seemed a bit put out by the use of the word 'skirt.' "And I'll tell ye why I wear it. It makes it much more comfortable when I transform to a wolf. More freedom, y'see. Plus, " and here he took on a conspiratorial whisper, "chicks dig men in kilts." "Uh... huh..." David was a bit weirded out by this techie, but seeing as David was no stranger to computers, he couldn't really judge. "Well, it was pleasant meeting you Aaron." "Anytime you need help with anything technical, you come down and see us, right?" Aaron called after David and Doc's retreating forms. He then turned back to his monitor. "Odd lad. Don't see what he's got against kilts. Ooh, here we go. Come to papa, you little password... the FBI doesn't need you to stay that secret..." Doc and David continued their tour of the compound, David occasionally asking a question or two. "So, is this place underground or what?" Inquired the young lycanthrope. "You bet it's underground. It's the safest place we've got. We're not exactly a well-received group, as you're no doubt aware." The doctor's face took on a slightly saddened look. "Some of us are even shunned by our families..." he was lost in thought for a moment, then looked up. "And there's the Hunters to worry about too." "Hunters? What are you talking about?" David's curiosity was roused. "Hunters are humans who have sworn to destroy all lycanthropes. It is a hatred born out of misunderstanding and just plain bad luck. Many of those who become hunters have had a loved one killed by a werewolf. You'll remember I told you that not all who Manifest run away. Some kill. That's why we try to keep track of where werewolves are known to reside, and if they may have spread the virus. We can sometimes get to those infected in time to keep that from happening. With those hunters out there though, it's a dangerous job." Doc continued to explain, "They've been around as long as we have, as far as we can tell, and they're about as secretive." David nodded, surprisingly at ease with the knowledge that there was a group of people out there who wanted him dead. "Oh, I see. So what are the other things you do around here?" The doctor glanced at David. "Why, protect the innocent, of course. Right the wrongs, fight a guerrilla action against the oppressive governments of the world, that sort of thing." "Right, so what else do you do around here besides spitting out BS to the newcomers?" David didn't believe a word. Doc held his hands up in surrender. "All right, all right, you caught me. Other than find new recruits and keep to ourselves, we also have been searching for some way to either cure the virus or to at least get rid of the beginning unawareness. That's pretty much the same as running into a brick wall over and over again. We've made a few discoveries, but all of them just show how much more complicated this virus is than we previously thought." "One more question Doc," said David, "How do you finance this place? I mean, it's gotta cost a bundle to keep a place like this operating, doesn't it?" "Sell doggie biscuits." Replied Doc. "No really, how do y--" "Doggie biscuits." "Really? Like the one I just ate?" "Yep. We've got plenty of folks willing to taste the merchandise." Doc grinned. "Lucky thing dogs are only like a domesticated wolf. At the least they're alike enough that if a wolf likes the taste of something, there's a good chance a dog will like it too." This seemed like a good enough explanation to David, who was, in fact, thinking to himself that another one of those biscuits would really hit the spot right about now. He was interrupted from his biscuit fantasy by the arrival of Ruth, who, she explained, was there to help continue his orientation/training. This suited David just fine. Ruth and he had hit it off as friends almost immediately--not counting the incident with the artillery. "So, what am I learning now?" Inquired David as Ruth led him down yet another hallway of the compound, Doc having excused himself to get back to his research. "Well, considering you're particular background, the higher ups have decided that you are going to help find new recruits. You did manage to at least survive more than fifteen minutes with an old assassin android after you, and that sort of thing is unheard of enough that they figured you'd be good for the job." Ruth replied, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Besides, you'll have a partner to make sure you stay alive." "Well, that's great, isn't it? Pairing me with someone I don't know." David groused. "Oh no, I'm your partner." Ruth replied. "They usually place the older folks with the new people, but the higher ups also think I'm good enough to train you." David resisted the urge to do a victory dance and merely nodded. "Oh. I see." What David didn't know was he was wearing a thoroughly ridiculous grin on his face, and that Ruth was doing her best not to giggle. "C'mon, we'll start with basic hand to hand." Ruth led him into a well lit room. Padded cushions on the floor and walls bespoke a rigorous training regimen. David entered the room peering around cautiously. "So, where's the instructor?" He finally asked. "Oh, he'll be here in a moment. Just make sure you see him coming." Ruth replied, and exited the room, saying she'd return when he was done with his lesson. David shrugged his shoulders and sat against one of the walls, waiting patiently for the instructor to arrive. He didn't have to wait long. The instructor dove out of the rafters and onto David's back and began to quite simply, beat the stuffing out of him. David growled, changing forms to his wolf shape, feeling suddenly more alert. Lifting up the instructor by the leg, David tossed him against one of the walls. The instructor got up, nursing bruised ribs. "Very good." The instructor commented. "You've learned the first rule, in any case. You always fight more effectively in your wolf form. The second rule," the instructor said as he changed into a wolf himself, "Is to make sure the other guy isn't a lycanthrope too. Otherwise you'd better be the superior fighter." Over the next three hours, David was beaten bruised, and generally tossed around by his instructor, who occasionally would give out a helpful hint or technique before landing another blow. David began to realize that he had a lot to learn. When the lesson was over, the instructor stuck out a paw/hand. "Not bad for a first-timer. My names Jason, by the way." Jason grinned. "Sorry if I was a bit too rough on you in there, but we need to train you fast." "Oh, no, really, I'm all right." David said as he painfully dragged himself to his feet, leaning on a wall for support. "I'm sure there's no permanent damage done." Ruth then returned with a bag of ice. "Figured you'd be wanting this." She observed dryly as David began to hobble out of the training room. "If you think anything is permanently damaged, you can go see one of the doctors later. Right now, I think you should go shower or something. I'm in human form and I could smell you down the hall." David gave a grunt of thanks and made his way back to his room, where he hopped in the shower, then collapsed onto his bed and took a nap. He was interrupted an hour later by a knock on his door. Wondering who it could be, David opened the door to reveal Aaron standing outside. "Heard you got treated a bit rough in hand-to-hand training. I'm here to offer my assistance. I'm not just a programmer, I used to wrestle myself." The kilted tech offered. David considered this proposition for a moment. "All right, sounds good to me. When could you help me out?" "Why, as soon as you're ready." Aaron replied. "I'll see if I can't give you a few pointers to keep Jason from trouncing you again." "Well, I'm feeling all right now, why don't we just head on over to the training room and start things off?" Aaron grinned. "Sure, let's go." Off the two went, chatting amiably, to the training room. Aaron turned out to be an excellent teacher, and David soon trained with him after his sessions with Jason every day. ************* Back at the police station, Agent O'Davis was becoming more and more convinced that she was dealing with a group of (to put it lightly) total idiots. So far, their frantic search for the missing android (or so they thought) was going nowhere fast. What was worse, the eyewitness to the double homicide seemed to have vanished into thin air. The address given turned out to be an abandoned building, and so the obvious assumption was that the girl was obviously a homeless person.The only other theory was that the girl was feeding the police false information, but that was quickly dismissed. After all, the chief had said, no woman could lie to him. He was just too irresistible. O'Davis didn't exactly buy the last part, but she had to admit that there weren't many people who could lie about something so important to an officer of the law. It was a damn shame that she was wrong, but that's the price one paid for working in a government job. A suburb-wide dragnet was in place and moving to (hopefully) contain the threat. Meanwhile, public service announcements on the local television station cheerfully told residents not to die whining should they encounter this threat. "Could somebody please tell me why there's no coffee in this pit?" The peeved agent demanded. "We don't drink coffee." Officer Rob replied. "We drink beer to get us up in the morning. Sometimes it's bourbon, but that's only on special occasions." O'Davis was at a loss for words. The sheer volume of regulations that were being ignored, broken, or downright thrown out was staggering. However, she was thirsty, and last night had been pretty rough.... With a mental shrug, she grabbed a cold one out of the (also illegal) mini-fridge that resided under Officer Rob's secretary desk. After all, if you can't beat 'em.... ************* The Overseer sat in his chamber and brooded. The boy was nowhere to be found. Despite his best efforts, he simply could not locate him. As a matter of fact, he had only just found the remains of his assassin. This hadn't really put the 1000 year old sorcerer in the best of moods. After all, why go through all the trouble to put out a hit on a young boy because the boy's father made promises he couldn't keep, only to have the father (and mother) killed instead. The Overseer was almost glad that the android was destroyed, the chances were he'd have done it himself. Whatsisface Kenny had been a good worker, and now he was no longer available. It was a good thing the mother had died too, or the life insurance policy would have been murder. The Overseer couldn't bear the thought of having his rates risen again. It had been bad enough when Kenny's project had escaped after killing thirteen of his guards.It wasn't as if he had asked for much, was it? He just wanted to create a lycanthrope with his own special brand of majik. Not much to ask at all. A werewolf that could manipulate the laws of the Universe. Of course, Overseer had fully intended to abandon his current body and possess the body of said lycanthrope/sorcerer, but unfortunately, not only had Kenny accidentally infected a female with the new virus, but he had gone and decided to allow her to continue to be conscious of her surroundings. The raw power that coursed through her body had twisted her a bit, and she was quite the model of twisted evil. This had suited the Overseer just fine, after all, that personality would die when he took control, but he hadn't expected the project to break her containment and slaughter thirteen guards. The insurance bill had just been horrendous. The Overseer idly wondered where the girl had gotten to, then shrugged it off. There was a new hybrid under construction anyhow. The thought suddenly struck him that the altered virus may have been contagious. No matter, without any proper care she'd die anyhow. ************* The girl in question was currently prowling through the woods near the remains of David's house. Without any skills to remember from her time as a human, she was left to rely on what she had learned during her captivity and what the instincts of the wolf half had to say. With this, she was able to survive. A disguise had been procured from a free store, and with this, she was able to track down her surrogate father's home. She had been shocked to find that he had a son, and had decided that he would fit in to her plans perfectly.Infecting him had been so easy. A handshake, that had been it. But why hadn't he been driven to use his power? Was there something wrong with it? She didn't know, and she was frustrated by it. She would find him again, and keep track of him. Simple. The plan formulated, she dematerialized from the woods, transporting herself to the last place she had seen him.... ************* As the next few months went by, David's training continued, and he began to show an almost uncanny ability for long-range combat. He was especially gifted with the rail gun, a trait he said he picked up from his grandfather, who had been a sniper in one of the many wars the had plagued the 21st century. After only three months of intensive training, David and Ruth had their first assignment. A new lycanthrope had been infected in one of the suburbs adjacent to David's old home. Excited, David hopped into the black mini-van with Ruth and they headed off for the soon to be new lycanthrope's house.David leaned back in his seat, mulling over the mission details that Doc had presented to him the day before. The subject was a twenty year old male, currently under investigation by the FBI for alleged crime syndicate ties. Doc had also warned that the Hunters may have caught wind of the lycanthrope who had transmitted the virus, and to watch out for them while the pick up was made. They were also told to pick up the (as Doc put it) "moron who caused this mess in the first place." Doc didn't seem to like having new lycanthropes infected. "We're here." Ruth spoke from the driver's seat. "Should we try the direct approach, or are we supposed to wait it out?" "Doc said we should wait until he actually Manifests. No sense in bringing in a false alarm." Replied David. "What about the idiot responsible, as Doc so kindly put it?" Said Ruth. "We'll deal with him after we grab this guy." David answered. "So, we just wait here then?" David pulled out a deck of cards from his pocket. "Yep. Fancy a game of cards?" Ruth shrugged. "Sure, sounds good to me." ************* Lydia and Jo drove their vans through the same suburb, looking for the lycanthrope they knew to be there. Lydia once again had a rail gun, having procured one from the central HQ. Jo was the driver, and kept her eyes on a map of the area while she drove, pins on the map designating werewolf sightings. As the two slowly made their way along their route, Jo took her eyes off the road for a second too long and nearly hit a parked black mini-van. Slamming on the brakes, Jo slammed the steering wheel to the side, missing the taillight of the van by mere inches."What the hell was that?" David swore as the van swerved past. "Don't people here know how to drive?" "What the hell was that?" Lydia demanded. "Don't you know how to drive?" "Sorry." Mumbled Jo, not realizing that they had inadvertently passed up the location of another sighting. "Was looking at the map too much." "Well, be more careful, would you? The last thing we need is to have to talk to the police." Groused Lydia. Jo let her thoughts meander, thinking back to her childhood in Montana. She most fondly remembered her grandfather, a kindly gentleman who was also an excellent hunter. It was he who had taught her to shoot, though Jo was a bit edgy about killing anything. Her grandfather had explained that he only killed animals for his research, he had been an excellent biologist. He had also been a medical doctor, but he had retired from the practice to devote himself to the study of animals. Then one day, her parents had gone to the house with her to visit. What they had found was a scene of utter chaos. Furniture shredded, a trace of blood in the bathroom, pillows torn apart, claw marks on the bedpost. Horrified, Jo's parents had frantically searched for her grandfather, only to find some beast in the living room. It was Jo's first experience with werewolves. The werewolf had gotten up, and had moved toward Jo's parents, almost with a pleading look in its eyes. Her father had beaten it off with a golf club, but Jo never quite forgot the sadness that was present in the werewolf's eyes as it backed up and ran off. Her mother had become so distraught over the apparent slaying of her father that she had committed suicide on the anniversary of his disappearance. Jo's father had dealt with the loss of his wife by searching for answers. He had encountered the Hunters and joined immediately, blaming the werewolf for the loss of his wife and father-in-law. Jo had joined too, but she was never too sure the lycanthrope who had (supposedly) killed her grandfather had known what it was doing. Jo was startled out of her reminiscing by the flashing lights of a police cruiser. "Oh crap." Lydia sighed deeply. It was going to be a long night. ************* David had lost half his savings to Ruth by this time, and was only too willing to stop playing when Ruth suggested that they check up on their subject. David slid into the front seat and retrieved his binoculars from under the seat. Peering out at the house, he shrugged his shoulders and leaned back to talk to Ruth."Nothing much happening here. Are you sure this is the right guy?" Ruth nodded. "He fits the description perfectly, there's no way it's not him." David nodded, though with all the activity this guy had done in the last hour, he was finding it hard to believe the subject was even alive. All he had done was sit at his computer and type. David was getting bored, and more than a little tired. He really hoped that this guy Manifested soon, or he was going to either fall asleep, or just grab him and bring him in anyhow. Of all of his qualities, patience was not one that David had much of. He slumped in the chair. This guy wasn't going to Manifest. He was sure of that. Resting his chin on his chest, David closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep. A sudden crashing sound prevented him from accomplishing his nap-time. Jerking his head up, he reached for the binoculars, then realized it wasn't necessary. The newly manifested werewolf was looking confusedly at the remains of the chair it had been sitting in which was now broken. The werewolf also seemed confused as to what it was doing in a house in the first place, so it had no regrets about crashing through the back door and making a break for the woods near the house. David was out of the van in ten seconds flat. Calling for Ruth to follow, David transformed and shot after the utterly confused lycanthrope. David swiftly caught up with the fleeing werewolf and tackled it. The wolf growled and tossed David against a tree, snarling. David gave a slight grunt as his back slammed against the trunk, but then regained his wits and struck out with his own paw. It connected solidly with the new werewolf's jaw, and he staggered back, freeing David, who once more tackled the werewolf to the ground. The wolf attempted to toss David again, but he was expecting it this time. Avoiding the flailing arms, David finally pinned the werewolf to the ground and held him there. Ruth arrived on the scene with a tranquilizer, and the werewolf was soon sleeping peacefully. David stood up, panting heavily. "Whew! He put up quite a fight!" An accusing look. "What kept you?" Ruth adopted a face of mock concern. "Aww, did the big mean werewolf hurt you?" She grinned. "You two took off too quickly for me. Tell him not to run so fast next time." David looked down at the slumbering lycanthrope. "So... do we have to carry him all the way back to the van?" "Who said anything about we? I've got to carry these tranquilizers and the rest of the equipment." Ruth said with a devious grin. Grumbling all the way, David hoisted the furred bulk onto his shoulders and slowly made his way back to the mini-van. Laying his burden onto a stretcher that took the place of a back seat, the werewolf was strapped down and the door closed. A little exhausted, David collapsed into the front seat, breathing heavily. "Never knew that someone who looked so small could weigh so much!" Panted David. Ruth nodded. "Well, for some reason we seem to weigh more as wolves than we do as humans. It's another one of those quirks of the virus." "Oh." Said David. "Well, do you think we should return to HQ or should we pick up the other one first?" Ruth thought for a second. Surely the cause of all this knew that she and David would be there eventually. He also probably knew standard procedure in such a situation, which was to lie low until someone arrived to get them out of the site of the infection for a few days. "Let's get back to HQ. I want to get there before our unwilling guest wakes up." "Good point. Let's get back to base first." Agreed David. The mini-van pulled away from the house, leaving a puzzle for the police to figure out the next day. ************* The officer stepped out of his cruiser, cautiously approaching the white van. It may have just been a traffic stop, but he wasn't stupid enough to assume that nothing could go wrong. That was why he was still alive. Caution had saved him on two occasions, and he now was certain that should the situation turn ugly, caution would save him again.Jo sat in the driver's seat, frozen. She was terrible at talking to authority-- in fact, she was so nervous her hands were too sweaty to keep a good grip on the steering wheel. Lydia seemed just exasperated with the whole affair, and didn't seem to care about the fact that her rail gun was still propped up against her seat. Jo noticed this little fact, however, and rectified the situation by knocking it over and sliding it to the back before the cop made it to the window. The officer spoke. "Can I see some ID please?" Jo suddenly realized that her ID was in the back of the van along with several pounds of explosives and firearms of all types. She just knew the officer was going to want to have a look. This made her all the more nervous, but she managed to compose herself enough to reply. "It's in the back. Hold on while I get it." She got up and made to move to the back. The officer stopped her. "Whoa there young lady, what do you think you're doing? I'll get it out for you." The officer walked to the side door and opened it. The first thing that caught his eye was Lydia's boot. The officer fell to the ground, out cold. "Was that really necessary?" Asked Jo as they sped away. "What , the kick, or the unceremonious stuffing of him back into his car?" Lydia inquired innocently. "I was going to say the kick, but now that you mention it, the unceremonious stuffing was pretty unnecessary too." Jo replied. "Oh really? I thought they were both totally necessary. Couldn't have him just laying in the street to get hit by a car or something. Besides, I'm not interested in answering questions dealing with the supplies in the back. I don't have the patience." "Well, when you put it that way, I guess it had to be done." Jo said, a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Now, as long as we don't have any more interruptions, we can get back to the task at hand." Lydia stated matter-of-factly. The van continued its search for the lycanthrope. The hunt wasn't over yet. |
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