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Chapter 3: Hunting Trips
************* Lydia was growing impatient. They had gone through all of the suspected sightings and had found no trace of anything even remotely wolf-like, much less lycanthropic. She gave an exasperated sigh and leaned back in her chair. Fate seemed to be working against them tonight. Then again, they had been lucky enough to not hit that....that... Lydia suddenly sat bolt upright and grabbed the map from Jo. Jo swerved a bit, the map obscuring her vision for a second, before pulling over to the side of the road."What the heck was that about?" demanded Jo, panting a little with the shock of another near-crash. "I think I know where it is!" Exclaimed Lydia. "We missed two sightings when you almost hit that mini-van!" "Hey, that wasn't all my fault." Protested Jo, "You were distracting me with that map!" "That's not important." Lydia replied. "What's important is that we missed these sightings and they're probably what we're looking for." Jo turned the van around and made for the scene of their near accident. As the van pulled up to the house, she noticed the broken back door. It looked like Lydia had been right. The state of the house reminded Jo of how her grandfather's house had looked. "Uh oh... looks like there was another sighting." Observed Jo. Lydia swore. "We must have just missed him. Come on, we may still be able to track him down." The two hopped out of the van, Lydia wearing a new HUD that clearly showed wolf tracks in the dirt outside the house. Following the tracks, Lydia soon entered the woods and saw the result's of David and the werewolf's scuffle. Lydia was confused by this. After all, it looked as if a man had chased the lycanthrope, then turned out to be a werewolf as well and... fought? Why would two werewolves fight? More to the point, who was the second werewolf? Lydia's radio chirped in her ear. "Lydia, we need to ge-" The rest was cut off. Muttering something about dropped communications and overcharging cell phone companies, Jo pulled off her headset and walked into the woods to talk to Lydia face to face. After a few minutes of following the quite obvious trail that only a fleeing werewolf could make, Jo found Lydia. "As I was saying, we need to get samples from this guy so we can ID him if we see him again." Lydia snapped her fingers triumphantly. "That's it! Maybe we've seen this other guy before!" She grabbed the two hair types and stood. "Come on, there's still a chance that we can find this guy." She took off at a quick trot for the van. Jo followed, tripping over an exposed root in the process with a curse. ************* David and Ruth continued their journey to pick up Bill, which turned out to be the name of the werewolf responsible for the whole mess. As they passed by the house of the person Bill had infected, David noticed the white van."Hey, isn't that the van that almost hit us?" David wondered aloud. Ruth peered out the window as they drove by. "Hey, it is... wonder what it's doing here?" She suddenly caught sight of two figures walking up from the woods. "Oh no..." She turned on David, panic evident in her voice. "Step on it! Now! Those are Hunters!" David swore and jammed on the gas. The mini-van responded admirably, the modifications made by the group of mechanics at the base showing themselves. As they careened around a corner, David thought to ask Ruth just what the heck they were supposed to do now. "So what the heck do we do now? Go for the pick-up or abort?" Ruth shook her head at the second question. "No, we have to get to him before they do. We can't just leave him to get killed!" "Whatever you say." David replied, and kept his eyes alternating between the road ahead and the satellite map on the dash. ************* Lydia and Jo watched as a black mini-van slowly went by their van, and then quite unexpectedly took off like a shot. Jo stood miffed for a moment, then a look of recognition appeared on her face."Hey! That was the same mini-van we almost hit! I bet they have something to do with this!" Lydia stared at her partner in shock. "Are you sure it was the same van?" Jo nodded. "Absolutely certain. It even had the same dent on the driver's side door!" "Well then let's get after them! Hurry, I bet they're the ones responsible for this mess!" Lydia sprinted for the van and leapt inside. "Come on Jo, they're getting away!" Jo hopped into the driver's seat, started the van, and took off after the fleeing mini-van. Fortunately, they had gotten to the street quickly enough to see which road the mini-van had turned down. Rounding the corner, they saw the mini-van parked further down the street. "Stop here. We'll continue on foot." Lydia opened the door as soon as Jo parked and hopped out, crossbow in hand. Moving forward silently, she waited for the first werewolf to show itself. ************* Inside the house, David and Ruth were attempting to convince Bill that he was indeed in grave danger. Bill, however, would not be convinced. After all, he argued, it had been almost two weeks and nothing had happened. What were they so worried about.Ruth sighed. Some people just didn't get it. "Look, those Hunters keep records of every report of suspicious animal sightings or attacks. When you accidentally bit that guy, it was probably reported. Sooner or later, the Hunters will put that together with other sightings and send people out here to look for you. When they find you, it will be messy, and you'll probably die." "Yeah right!" Retorted Bill. "Nobody's observant enough to file reports. Why, I could walk out there in wolf form and nothing would happen." To prove his point, Bill transformed and flung open the front door. Stepping outside, he flung his arms wide and shouted. "See? Nothing!" "Got him." Said Lydia. The crossbow twanged. Bill looked down in horror at the bolt sticking out of his lung. A startled "Wha-?" was all he had time for before he collapsed onto the front step. David was in shock. To see what had been until recently a speaking werewolf suddenly collapse with a bolt in the chest was enough to unnerve anyone. It also provided a massive dose of adrenaline to his system, which meant he transformed against his will. It was an unpleasant experience for him. To switch forms against one's will was painful, the sudden onslaught of heightened senses and instincts very often caused the brain to go haywire for a few seconds. David's brain was no different, and it sent all sorts of pain signals to his limbs. A clock in another room of the house suddenly flew apart for no particular reason. Three blocks away, a fire started in an apartment building, meaning that the authorities would no doubt be there in a half hour or so. Ruth managed to keep her head long enough to consciously transform. Grabbing David, who had regained control of himself, she pulled him away from the doorway. "We've got to find a way to get to him! We can't just leave him there!" Down the road, Jo saw the werewolf go down and had to restrain herself from crying out. She hadn't ever seen Lydia make a kill before. It helped her not to think about what was happening that way. She could stand to see the result, but seeing the actual process made her feel guilty. Jo felt nauseous and put her head between her legs, then wound up vomiting out the door. She didn't think she could watch anymore, but for some reason she couldn't look away either. Suddenly, she realized that the werewolf was still alive, and was in fact painfully writhing on the sidewalk. Pity and guilt now made their presences known, and Jo became more and more convinced that there just had to be another way to solve the problem. Lydia was also horrified. She had never seen a lung shot before. Usually the werewolves were dead instantly, but this one was writhing on the ground, whimpering and coughing up blood in a foamy pink spray. Lydia had seen enough. She reloaded her crossbow to put this poor creature out of its misery. Taking careful aim, her finger slowly pulled the trigger... Her aim was thrown off by David's form crashing through one of the front windows and charging her. Lydia saw the werewolf charge, and for one second, she froze in terror. That was all David needed. Lashing out, he knocked the crossbow from Lydia's startled grasp and lifted her up over his head. "No!" Screamed Jo, diving out of the van. Unwilling to kill she may have been, but the sight of her friend about to be snapped in two was more than enough to override any caution Jo may have had. David looked over to see a wiry looking woman charging. With a grunt, he waited until she was close enough, then tossed Lydia into her. Jo and Lydia collided midair and collapsed in a heap. David then turned his attention to Bill, who was still writhing on the ground in agony. Ruth came out of the house as well, and with David's help, they managed to carry Bill to the mini-van and put him into the back. Ruth stayed in the back to try and perform first aid on Bill, while David drove like a madman to get back to base in time. Lydia and Jo remained in a heap on the ground, both of them unconscious. It would be at least ten minutes before they awoke. Luckily, they were able to make it out of the suburb safely before the cops arrived. After all, the call came in while the football game was on. No way they were missing that. ************* The mini-van screeched into the garage, to be met by a team of medics, courtesy of a frantic phone call from David. The rear hatch slowly worked its way upward, allowing those assembled a pleasant view of the bloody interior. Ruth helped the medics remove the stretcher, and then a few stayed behind to hose out the interior. David was white faced, still in shock from what had happened. Not only did he feel sadness for Bill, but he also felt frustration. His first mission out, and this is what happened. David was also curious as to why he had almost killed the Hunter. It wasn't so much the fact that he had been angry, something in him had urged him to terminate the woman. He very nearly had, but had caught himself. What had caused him to feel the need to kill? Was it part of the wolf's instinct?Ruth was a bit shaky exiting the mini-van, her shirt was sprayed with blood from Bill's coughing. She had done all she could, but she still wasn't sure that was enough. She couldn't bear the thought of Bill dying, though he had been a bit of a moron and braggart. Not for the first time, Ruth found herself wondering why there was such animosity between werewolves and humans. Why were they hated? Didn't humans understand that the werewolves who had killed had not been able to help their actions? It seemed obvious to her, though it was a nasty truth, it was still the truth. Perhaps that was the real problem, she decided. A lack of understanding. She shook her head. No, it was deeper than that. Even if humans knew everything about werewolves, they would still fear them. Ruth hated being a werewolf, she hated the rules that had to be followed to keep it secret. She was tired of it. David looked over at Ruth and saw she looked troubled. He wanted to say something, to ask if she was all right, but somehow he knew that nothing he said would help. He didn't understand being a werewolf yet, and didn't think he could find anything to say if he did. After all, he hadn't been in the back of the van with Bill. Hadn't worked to try to save him, hadn't tried to stop the bleeding with the meager medical equipment they carried. Then again, the medical equipment wasn't for wounds that serious. It was for things like cuts or the occasional broken limb. Things like this weren't supposed to happen. It was supposed to be a simple mission. What had those Hunters been doing there? Doc finally arrived on the scene, a look of relief on his face. "Thank goodness you two are all right. When we got the call, we thought Ruth was injured." He looked down the hall where Bill's form had just disappeared. "How bad was it?" Ruth sighed. "Well, I can't be certain. He wasn't in good condition when we brought him here, but they say that he may have a chance." Doc sighed. "Well, if anyone can help him it's our medics. They're very well trained. That and most of 'em caught the virus from treating the wounds of other Hunter targets who we didn't get to in time. So they're pretty familiar with how to treat those types of wounds." David nodded, then thought of something. "Say, were the Hunters who did this arrested? I'm pretty sure they were comatose when we left." Doc shrugged. "We'll look for any records later, but I doubt it. There was a football game on tonight. I doubt the cops are even there yet." David looked shocked. "There was a game tonight? Did I miss it all?" Ruth gave a short sigh. She'd never understand peoples fascination with that sport. Then again, she was pretty bored, so she decided to follow David and watch it if it happened to be on. It wasn't. David was a bit disappointed, but Ruth was content to watch the news report on the sudden disappearance of both William Martin and Harold Thorn. It also reported on the sudden fire that had broken out in an apartment building. Muttering something about how there was never any good news on television, Ruth irritably reached to turn off the TV, then stopped. A public service announcement was on the television. A smiling man dressed up like Uncle Sam greeted viewers. "Good evening folks! As you are no doubt aware, the US government is dedicated to the people's security. We know that sometimes you must sacrifice some of your privacy to do so, but We know what's best, don't we? You're security and protection are important to us. That's why we've began a policy of bugging the houses of everyone who has ever worked for us, like William Martin in suburb C of Minneapolis. William can rest easily knowing that we're watching his every move. Isn't that right William?" What was obviously a previous recording of Bill popped up on the screen. "I love you Uncle Sam!" The recording declared. 'Uncle Sam' then made a few short statements about the right of the government to terminate you if you looked suspicious, then ended with a shot of the American flag waving in the breeze. Ruth's jaw dropped in shock. "Oh.... we're in trouble. We're in very big trouble." David, who had been napping, looked up. "What are you talking about? What's wrong?" Ruth pointed at the TV screen. "We may have just been caught on video, that's what's wrong." "Oh.... that's not good, is it?" David observed unnecessarily. "I think that we should pay a visit to the computer techs." "Yeah, that would be a good plan." Ruth said, and the two took off at a sprint for the computer labs. ************* Jo and Lydia sat in their van, watching as police combed the area around Bill's house and collected blood samples from the sidewalk. Jo was quiet, unable to purge the image of the wounded werewolf from her mind. It gnawed at her, and she knew that what they were doing could not be the way to deal with the problem. In fact, she was sure of that now. It just remained to be seen if Lydia felt the same way. With any luck, she would, because otherwise Jo knew she'd have to leave. After that sight, there was no way she could stay. Her conscience would not permit it.Lydia was also quiet, but it was more because she was frustrated than anything else. Why hadn't she been able to pull the trigger earlier and finish him off? The sight of the lycanthrope in pain was unsettling, but she had still wanted to make the kill. Her thirst for revenge still dominated most of her being, so she couldn't fathom the idea of her hunting being wrong. Still, the look on the wounded werewolf's face had seemed so human.... Lydia banished the thought from her head. They were not human. They were animals. Jo finally gathered the courage to ask Lydia a question. "Is what we're doing right?" Lydia snorted. "Of course it's right. We have to get rid of the werewolves before they overrun us." "But is this the right way? Couldn't there be some way to cure them? They were all human to begin with, weren't they?" Jo protested. "They may have once been human, but now they're only animals." Lydia made this statement with surprising coldness. "There is no hope for them." Jo shook her head. "No, there must be another way. Killing them isn't right, it's cruel. You saw that werewolf tonight. He was a man in pain, not some animal." "Hey, if we hadn't hurt him, he would have killed us! All of their kind are killers! We have to get them before they get to us!" Lydia snapped back. Jo looked down sadly. "If that's what you think, then I have to go. I'll find some way to study them, maybe find a cure." She looked at Lydia, sadness etched on her face. "They can't all be killers. Why else would we still be alive? That werewolf had you over his head, but he didn't finish you off." Lydia sat shocked. "You- you're leaving? No, you can't!" Jo was her friend, her trusted confidant. She couldn't throw the friendship away, could she? Lydia had never considered what Jo thought of hunting. Now, she was forced to take a good look at the whole situation. If this bothers her so much, then why am I doing it? Lydia decieded to try to reason with Jo. "Look, we can study them, but wouldn't we need a specimen to study first?" Jo thought for a moment. "Yeah, but don't we have plenty of those at headquarters?" Lydia shook her head. "No, we don't usually keep them around. We cremate the bodies to prevent infection. If you want a specimen to study, we'll have to get one ourselves." Jo considered this for a moment. On the one hand, she didn't want any more killing to take place. On the other, she needed an example to study if there was going to be any hope of finding a cure. Reluctantly, she agreed. "Ok, we'll need to find out where another lycanthrope is hiding. Then we have to get it and keep the other Hunters from finding out." "Right. Let's get these samples checked out and we'll see if we can find a subject that way." Lydia suggested. Jo nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good plan. Let's get started." The van pulled off of the street, headed for the main base of the Hunters. Jo drove cautiously to avoid another ticket while Lydia called in to update the base on the Hunt's progress. ************* Aaron sat in his chair and listened patiently to Ruth's explanation of the situation. With a grunt, he turned back to his computer and stared at it for a moment, then turned back to Ruth."I'll need a better computer." He said, casting a look of almost disgust on the PC currently situated on his desktop. Ruth shook her head. "You're lying. You just want a new one so you can play better video games!" Aaron snickered. "Normally, that would be the case, but for once, I'm telling the truth. There's no way my processor can make the calculations I'll need to hack into the BSDOAA's database. It's too well encrypted for this poor thing here." "You just got that computer last week!" Exclaimed Ruth in astonishment. Aaron grinned winningly. "Well I didn't know I'd need to hack into one of the most secure databases that exists in the USA, otherwise I would have gotten a better one." Ruth sighed. "Fine, fine, tell me where to go and we'll get you a new computer." Aaron shook his head. "No no, I'll select it myself. Just need a few new things and I can probably get this pile of junk on my desk to do it for us. Like a processor, and more RAM, maybe a new hard drive..." Ruth cut Aaron off before he started drooling over the thought of new hardware. "Ok, but you'll need to hurry. I don't know how long it will take the police to get access to that video. If they get that, the Hunters will have a picture of David and me. Then we're screwed." Aaron nodded. "Aye, that's true. Can't have that happening to you now can we? After all, you do the hard work. I just sit 'ere and fix your little messes." He got up and made for the garage. "I'll head out an' get that right away." Arriving in the subterranean garage, Aaron made his way to a dilapidated looking car, whistling a tune. Reaching the car, whom he affectionately called "Floyd", the kilted lycanthrope opened the passenger door and reached across to open the driver's door. People always asked him why the heck he didn't replace his car, but Aaron would only respond that the thing had been so good to him, he saw no reason to replace it. Besides, where he was heading, it would blend in with everyone else perfectly. ************* Jo and Lydia sat in the headquarters, relaxing for a moment. The two were glad of the rest, after all, being thrown about by a peeved lycanthrope was no picnic. It tended to cause soreness. It also gave the two plenty of time to work out the finer details of the plan."Ok, so here's the real question. Where are we going to keep the specimen if we ever find it? I mean, it's not like we have a place to keep it other than here. Neither of us exactly have our own apartment or anything." This part of the plan was what really bothered Lydia. Not the capture, but the storage. Jo considered this problem for a moment. "Well, there's plenty of abandoned buildings around. I'm sure one of those could be used." "Are you nuts? We need equipment to contain those things if they're still alive. We'll have to find somewhere that has the equipment required for containment." Lydia noted. She was actually more in favor of killing the werewolf before studying it, but Jo was hoping to have a living subject. Jo didn't seem concerned with this. "Couldn't we just buy the equipment we need? I mean, I'm sure that we could easily find what we need." Lydia snorted. "I don't know, not many places sell massive cages anymore." Jo raised an eyebrow. "Who said anything about cages? Couldn't we just create an electric fence or something? That would be much easier, and we could find all the parts we need in the electronics market." Lydia got a slightly disgusted look on her face. "Down there? There's all sorts of weirdoes there." Jo laughed a bit. "Well, now that we know your feelings on the subject, we can get moving." ************* Aaron's trusty steed maneuvered it's way through the crowded marketplace. The electronics market had been formed in the aftermath of the technology crash of the early century. The technology corporations had gotten too big, and with the rate of technology increasing so much, people suddenly learned to be satisfied with what they had. This was not good for the technology-oriented companies, who had begun to go belly up rather rapidly. The sudden collapse of so many companies in such a short time had resulted in another stock market crash, and because Social Security was too disorganized, the US had entered another Depression. Fortunately, it was around that time that the war with Europe started, so the depression didn't last too long. It had lasted long enough, however, for a black market in technology to spring up to replace the old corporations.Aaron didn't care about all of that history. All he knew was that the electronics marketplace that had sprung up in the outskirts of Minneapolis' wreckage sold good stuff for cheap. That was why he was there. To get equipment. David and Ruth's problem was a pretty tricky one after all. As he exited his car, he reminded himself that he only needed a new processor. Then he saw the newest video cards, sound cards, and a set of headphones that not only "cancel out surrounding noise, but also totally bypass the eardrum, sending the electrical signals directly to the brain for increased listening comfort", and decided that as long as he was there, he might as take advantage of the low prices. After all, hadn't his mother always said to be thrifty? ************* Jo pulled the white van into the market, then found a suitable place to park, hoping that it wouldn't be broken into. Not so much because of her fear of the van being robbed, but because the security system was a bit unforgiving to intruders. Not many people enjoyed 12,000 volts shot through their body, and that was exactly what the van would do if anyone touched it for too long.Lydia always liked to sit and watch hoodlums get fried, but she also disliked the marketplace enough to want to leave as quickly as possible. There were too many odd people about. When too many techies met in one place, there tended to be tons of unusual people. Like the man wearing a kilt that seemed to be doing some sort of victory dance holding a video card. She thought that Jo would find this funny, so she pointed it out to her friend. Jo peered at the kilted man. "Hey, a kilt. I hear we're supposed to dig kilts." Lydia snorted. "Yeah right. He's wearing a dress." Jo shrugged. "I dunno, it does look kinda nice on him." Lydia sighed. There just wasn't any understanding some people. ************* Aaron, having completed a mad victory dance over a new video card, suddenly remembered the reason he was there and went to look at processors. A seedy looking booth boasted the "fastest processors until an hour ago", and it was there that Aaron made his way, the crowd parting on either side of him. There were a few advantages to looking like a gorilla, and not having to push through crowds was one of the many that Aaron enjoyed. The other perk he enjoyed was the people who assumed he was going to steal their lunch money and threw it at him.The man running the booth looked something like a weasel with bad teeth. His breath, Aaron found out, was even worse. The weasel man spoke in a nasal tone, which only made it harder for Aaron to tolerate speaking with him. "You come for processors sir? You come to right place!" Great, all that and he's French too. Aaron resisted the urge to run away and hide, harboring a dislike of the French that dated back to his taking the language in high school. "Yeah, that's what I'm here for. I need something real fast." Aaron explained on about the intended use of the chip. The merchant beamed. "Well, we certainly don't condone such behavior sir, but we have what you need. Wait for a moment. I get it for you." The merchant disappeared into the back for a few moments. After a few loud noises and the distinct sound of something being hit with a hammer, the merchant returned. In his hand was a tiny chip, presumably what Aaron was looking for. A grin was on the merchant's face as he made his way back to the front desk and spoke. "This will do whatever you ask it to. It's a very speedy chip. It was top of the line only two days ago." Aaron was impressed. "Two days ago eh? Well, that just may be what I need then." The merchant nodded. "Ah yes, exactly what you need. That'll be $720. And no trying to use US currency on me either. I only accept electronic transfers." Aaron took on a defensive tone. "You think I'd have US currency on me? I'm not an idiot. Here, here's my card." He handed over an e-card, containing access to his electronic funds. The merchant accepted the card. "My apologies, but we must take precautions sometimes." Swiping the card, he handed it back to Aaron along with the processor. "Enjoy." Aaron grunted his thanks and started to make his way back to his car. Remembering that he had forgotten the rest of his purchases back at the processor booth, he sighed and turned around. This meant that the masked robber who had been following him for the past ten minutes ran straight into him. Aaron peered down at the robber, who had a gun pointed at the tech's chest. "Hand over the chip man, I'm serious!" Aaron was usually an even tempered guy. But the annoyance of having to go back to the booth, as well as having some idiot point a gun at him, made him a little angry. "Look pal, why don't you run along. I'm not in the mood right now. Go play cops and robbers somewhere else." The robber was not to be denied. Pointing his pistol in the air, he fired a single round into the sky. "I'm serious man, give me that chip or the next shot goes through your heart!" ************* A few booths away, Jo and Lydia heard the shot and looked over. Jo pointed out the gunman, as well as the intended victim."Look, it's that guy in the kilt! We should help him." She started to make her way through the crowd. Lydia heaved a sigh and followed. Jo could be such a problem sometimes. ************* Aaron was not any further amused by the gunman's attempt at intimidation. In fact, he was toying with the idea of just transforming and then fleeing the scene. Still, it would be better if he just tried to be polite about it first. "Look bud, I'll give you one more chance to walk away and leave me the hell alone. I all ready said I'm not in the mood."The gunman responded by pointing the gun at Aaron again and pulling the trigger, only to find that the annoyed tech had grabbed the gun and shoved it to the side. The shot grazed Aaron, but then just ricocheted into an abandoned building. The gunman also noticed that instead of a pissed off man in a kilt standing with the gun barrel in hand, there was now a pissed off werewolf in a kilt standing with a gun in its hand. Placing its free hand to its side where the shot had grazed it, the wolf snorted in annoyance. "Look what you've done now. I'm bleeding you little bugger! Ruined a good shirt you have! Now I'm afraid I'm going to have to get good and properly angry." Aaron removed the gun from the trembling gunman's grasp and gave the would-be robber a whack over the head with the butt of it. ************* Jo took one look at the angry werewolf and decided that he wouldn't be needing her help. She elected instead to turn around and head for the van. "Come on!" She called to Lydia, "We may be able to get this one easily."Lydia nodded and made for the van as well. She hoped that Jo knew what she was doing. They didn't have a place to keep the lycanthrope if they caught him. Looked like they'd just have to incapacitate him for a good long time while they set up a holding cell somewhere. ************* The gunman's day was not improving. With a smarting headache from the gun butt, he now found himself dangling in the air by the foot. Aaron brought his muzzle close to the gunman's face and growled dangerously."Now, I'll be nice this time. You ever come near here again, and I'll eat you raw. Understood?" The gunman nodded furiously, then wet himself. Aaron got a disgusted expression on his canine face. "Oh for the love of-- would you learn some self-control?" Flinging the gunman across the street, Aaron turned his attention to the crowd of shocked onlookers. "Oh come on. Don't tell me you've never seen a robber before! Get the hell out of here." Reverting to his human form, Aaron stalked back to the processor booth, collected the rest of his purchases, and headed for his car, blood staining his shirt. Opening the passenger door, he leaned across to open the driver's door, and was surprised to see another gun barrel in his face. "Oh come on, didn't I all ready tell you to go away? You must be-" Aaron suddenly realized that this was not the lone gunman, but two women. Not just any women, either. Women with guns. Pointed at him. Jo held the tranquilizer rifle in her hands and tried to sound commanding, though to be honest, she was pretty terrified. After all, she had just seen Aaron toss a fully grown man across the street as if he were a football. "You're going to come with us." Aaron got out of the car, closing the passenger side door, and began to walk around the car to the driver's side door, which was now open. "Is that so? And why, pray tell, should I bother to pay attention to what you have to say?" Lydia pointed a rail gun at Aaron. "Because. She may only have a tranquilizer rifle, but I assure you this isn't." Aaron sighed. "Oh fine. You can have the stupid chip." He reached into the car and grabbed the processor. "If you wanted it that bad, you could have just bought it. Would have been cheaper than that bloody big rifle." Lydia shook her head. "No, you don't seem to understand lycanthrope. We want you to come with us. Now." Aaron crossed his arms defiantly. "Oh really? That's just too bad. You see, I've got this delivery to make, and I'm afraid that it just can't wait. So, as much as I'd love to stick around with you folks, I really have to go." The last statement was punctuated by Aaron transforming and knocking Lydia's gun out of her hands. Jo hesitated for a split second, then fired a dart into the werewolf's back. "Say now, that wasn't too sporting of you..." Aaron fell over in a heap. ************* |
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