by T S Paul
I studied the picture and looked at the rap sheet Chuck pulled up. I shook my head. “No. Our boy would keep a lower profile than this.”
Chuck replied, “Exactly what I thought as well. So, this next one is Jonathan Peters outta Grand Rapids, Michigan. His adult record is clean but not the juvenile one. It’s sealed under a court order. I’ve got a warrant request in for it.”
Cat and I looked over the man’s record. It was clean. He was a model citizen. “What about the last one?”
“I didn’t want to be prejudiced about this one, so I ran it twice,” Chuck told me.
“Why would you be prejudiced? Who is he?” I asked.
“Meet Lucas Jack Pepin, but he goes by Austin now,” Chuck pulled up the man’s rap sheet.
“Pepin? As in Joshua Pepin?” Cat asked grabbing the printout of the man’s face.
“Yes. His birth certificate says he’s Joshua’s son. I put in a record request from Arbor, Sheriff Geri says hello by the way. According to his rap sheet, he was in Nevada or New Mexico when the war went down. We didn’t meet him there,” Chuck informed us.
I tapped the printouts. “It’s either my gut or precog, but I think he’s the one we want. Give Geri a callback and see if they can rush this. Ask him as a favor to us. We need to know everything about this guy and whoever is left of the Austin and Pepin Packs. We might be up against more than one. Why is it that history always repeats itself?”
Chapter 19
Coach Chris Fox was freaking out.
While the coach knew of the existence of Werewolves, Vampires, and other creatures of the night he pretty much had never encountered them before. There was that one guy in college that everyone said was a Vampire, but he just had a skin condition. Now he was in the middle of a pack of Werewolves about to run for his life. What did he ever do to these people to deserve this?
“A losing season is what. We thought you knew that.”
The coach looked up at the figure at the door. “Did I say that last part out loud?”
“The boss overlooked your indiscretions in college figuring you could really help those kids this year. But you know what?” The man in the doorway paused for a moment. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”
The coach blinked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Robert Aaron reached into his pocket and pulled out a distinctive purple whiskey bag. Chris was suddenly roasting. He could feel little beads of sweat start forming on his forehead.
“Your sock drawer is a pretty unimaginative place to hide something like this.” Robert tapped his nose. “We sniffed it out pretty easily.”
“That’s not mine,” Chris said as he sat down forcefully on the small cot in the room.
Robert smiled at him. “Of course it’s yours. Just like the money, we found in your freezer is yours as well. Not that it was a good place to hide it. Only next time, if there is a next time for you, pick an empty box of something you would actually eat.”
Chris looked puzzled, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Your whole house is full of health food and whatnot. Way in the back of your freezer was a box of ice cream sandwiches. Pretty easy,” Robert answered.
Chris cursed himself. “That money is mine. I earned it fair and square.”
“Probably. But the boss’s bargain with you still stands. Win the race, and you get a cool million free and clear. We’ll toss in the ice cream box too then. Lose, and you get nothing. Remember, there is no option three. If you try to get away and by some miracle do escape, keep in mind, it’s your word against ours, and your house is still full of drugs.” Robert smiled with his canine teeth showing. “Best start warming up. Tonight’s the night.”
Chris watched the door close and cursed. As soon as this mess was over, money or no money he was moving back West. People in the South were crazy!
“Is he ready?” Gundi asked Robert. As one of the original pack members, Robert was tasked with much of the organizational projects the pack participated in. The ‘Hunt” was his idea originally.
“You picked a good one this year, Gundi. We all thought for sure it was going to be that Joseph guy.” Robert answered her.
Gundi shook her head no. “I thought about it. He’s too straight and narrow to do it the right way. He’d never be able to do his job properly afterward. No, this guy is better. You should know since you did the initial research on him.”
“That team is a personal project of mine. There’s no reason why we can’t have the best high school team in the state,” Robert answered.
“They are humans, they only have so much in them. Sometimes they need a little push to get there,” Gundi smiled.
Robert pointed at the closed door. “Not his sort of help. This isn’t going to turn out the way he thinks it will. My bet is on that Jack fellow. He’s both tough and fast.”
“You’re always betting on strength over guile. Sybil is my choice. She wants it very badly. Anything to start her life over the way she wants is her heart's desire.” Gundi smiled at the thought of helping the abused woman.
“But we give that to them regardless. I don’t see the point.” Robert scratched his chin in thought.
Gundi cocked her head at closed her eyes for a moment. “You’re not a woman. It’s how we think. Trust me on this, Robert.”
Robert held up his hands. “We argue about this just about every Hunt. I bow to your judgment.”
Gundi snorted. “That’s a first.”
Robert chuckled. “Let’s go check on the rest of the contest. I can almost sense in here that our hunters are up to no good.” Robert tapped his nose.
“You think? We left them downstairs alone. So, of course, they’re getting into trouble. They’re Weres.” Gundi laughed and pulled Robert’s arm toward the lower stairs.
<<<>>>
“How do we look Sheriff Bowen?” Adam Moon asked. He and Nate were getting the final results of the search and clearance.
“Like I told the FBI, we ‘found’ some drug dealers and arrested them. Everything went according to plan. Clearing out that encampment was a bonus that I do thank you for. The city council didn’t want to go on record giving me the order to do that. Something about human rights violations,” Sheriff Bowen smiled.
“What did you do with the prior inhabitants? They could just set up another camp somewhere, you know.” Adam pointed out to the sheriff.
Bowen shook his head. “No, we thought of that. I did my police academy training in South Georgia. While I was there, some of the officers from local cities gave lectures and ‘what if’ scenarios that we worked out answers to using actual data from the field. One of those was homeless issues.”
“And?” Adam asked.
“When I was there, they had a unique solution for it. Most departments have a discretionary fund. The common policy was to buy the miscreant a bus ticket to the next large town over. Tickets were marked non-refundable, and the locals made sure they got on the bus.” Bowne replied to Adam’s question.
Adam frowned at the sheriff. “That just moves them down the line. What does the next town do with them?”
“No idea. We sent ours to Memphis. A couple of my boys are making sure they get on the bus.” The sheriff smiled at his solution to the problem.
“Next time consult with me first. Passing our problems to another to deal with isn’t the pack way. We deal with it here. It’s too late to stop it now, but next time we’ll figure something out. What about the FBI?” Adam asked.
“Them. They haven’t left. That Witch, Agatha Blackmore, says she’s sure the killer is one of the newbies or someone in the pack itself. I told her to show us some proof,” Bowen answered.
Adam smiled. “Good. She’s got nothing. Like I told you. No crazy people here among us. Now, for tonight, have your boys coordinate with Chief Jonas and block off the required roads. Most of the locals know what the ‘hunt’ is and won’t interfere, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Expect
heavier than usual traffic today. There are quite a few out-of-town pack members coming to this little shindig. Thanks for all your hard work sheriff. Expect a bonus this month.”
<<<>>>
I stared at Austin’s picture and shook my head. Ignoring the past is never a good idea. “How sure of all of this are we, Chuck?”
“Very. Ana’s still running verification through some of the FBI’s systems but, we’re pretty sure that this guy is our man.” Chuck tapped the picture from one of the towns surveillance cameras of LJ Austin.
Cat pointed at the various traffic cameras showing on the screens. “Tonight the main event's at the Pack House. The Hunt we keep hearing about. I gave Dad a call like you asked me to.”
I looked expectantly at her. I could see a puzzled look on Blake’s face. “Blake, Cat’s father, is the leader of the National Were Council. He oversees the existing packs and pronounces judgment if necessary. We’ve worked with him before.”
“He told me to tell you, they dug down into the records about Moon and his pack. The Hunt isn’t a new idea. They’ve been conducting it for years. According to his information, they don’t hunt humans at all. Usually, the victim is another pack member. It’s not so much about catching the prey as it’s the chase itself. They want to see how the inductees cooperate and react to certain situations.” Cat handed me a printout. “That’s the historical record he referred to.”
The document was written in an odd form of English. Too many loops and curves for me to completely understand. I handed it to Chuck. “Make sure Ana gets that.”
“If this man is our killer, why hasn’t he killed again? According to the information that the BAU left with us, he should have followed his pattern by now. Did you fax off that report to them?” I asked.
Cat sighed. “I did, but you know how much they love to cooperate.”
“Maybe he killed someone we haven’t found yet?” Blake asked.
“I asked it the sheriff if there were any unexplained deaths recently. He told me no. Short of checking each and every body in the morgue, we have to trust his information,” I explained.
“We could do that you know. It shouldn’t take all that much time to check each body.” Blake told me.
Both Chuck and Cat looked skyward and hummed a little ditty under their breath. Something about the end of the world and shades. I looked away from them and focused on Blake. “First off, it requires a warrant I’d rather not try to get. We need hard evidence for something like that. Fishing expeditions aren’t allowed. Lots of morgues hold onto bodies for extended periods of time. Every state is different, but most will hold onto the bodies in open cases when they’re unclaimed, or they have no identification. Many times they have to get state money to cremate them or even beg the local funeral parlors for crematorium space. I’d rather not have to tell the Director we spent weeks running identity searches on frozen bodies.”
“Chuck, give Sheriff Geri a call again. See if he has anything we can use about this guy. Vague records aren’t going to be enough if we have to storm the place tonight. I’d rather not take on a couple of hundred pissed off Werewolves on purpose,” I informed him.
Anastasia approached our group. “Agatha, don’t worry about that report. I just got off the phone with Sheriff Geri. The juvenile record is bad. Really bad. As we already know, Lucas Jack Pepin was born to Bethany and Joshua Pepin. He attended the local elementary school until he was around seven. When it was reported that the child was coming to school with rapidly healing bruises and other injuries, County Children’s Services intervened. But Lucas was a member of the pack and the alpha’s son. The case was illegal under treaty law and thrown out. Pepin pulled him from public school and supposedly sent him to a pack educator. There is no record of who or where that was.” Anastasia paused for a moment to allow the information to sink in.
“Unreported abuse continued until the boy was in his teens and it was then increased. Pepin used a number of techniques to keep unruly pack members in line, and it was rumored that he tested them out first on his son. Bethany Pepin showed no love for him whatsoever. Officers responded to a major bout of screaming and reported fighting at the Pepin house on the child’s seventeenth birthday. Geri himself had to pry Reverend Austin off his son Joshua. It seems that the Reverend was indiscreet with his daughter-in-law and was the boy’s true father.”
“Ouch! That’s way too much to dump on a kid.” Chuck winced and shook his head.
“Yeah. So Joshua banished Lucas under pain of death and started his Empire building. We know the rest of the story. War and then death,” Anastasia remarked.
Cat touched Ana’s arm. “What happened to the child?”
“According to the sheriff, he hooked up with one of the many street gangs and left town. After that, there was no word of him except for one incident,” Ana explained. “It was after both the war and relocation for much of the three packs. Bethany Pepin stayed in Arbor. She knew where much of the pack funds were and used them to live on. Until one night a year ago. She burned to death in her home. It was ruled an accident but knowing our killer…”
“It may have been the first kill. Good work, Ana. Couple that with what we already know, and we might have enough for a warrant.” I looked at my team. “Nobody, and I do mean nobody, is to set so much as a toe on Moon’s property until we have that document in hand. I don’t care if you hear the hounds of hell racing across that property. We follow regs on this one all the way. Understood?” I looked at everyone in the room and nodded. “Start prepping for assault and capture. Cat, Chuck, Blake and I will serve the warrant. Ana, do you want in on this as well?”
“I’ll stay here and monitor the situation. I can send Ivan if you need a driver or assistance,” Anastasia offered us.
I could see it now. What the confrontation between a Zombie and a Were would be like and shook my head. “No, you keep him. Someone needs to watch the rig. We can handle it without him.”
“Should we call Sheriff Bowen and tell him what’s up?” Cat asked.
“No. We’ll call him when we’re en route. He might try to delay us, allowing Lucas to escape. Once we have the warrant in our hands, our jurisdiction supersedes local law enforcement.” I informed her.
<<<>>>
Adam Moon stepped up onto the platform at the rear of the house. He was joining the fourteen inductees. They stood in front of hundreds of pack members. Terraced seating was in place on both sides of the stage as well as along certain parts of the course. Projecting his voice outward, he began to speak. “I want to thank everyone for attending the seventeenth hunt for the Moon Pack!”
People in the stands and surrounding the stage began clapping and cheering.
“This group behind me are some of the finest applicants we’ve had in years. The project of expansion that we have all worked on for so many years is coming to fruition. They are the future of this pack. Now for some rules.” Adam made a show of pulling out a slip of paper from his pants. He turned and looked at the fourteen new Pack members.
“This is a hunt to test your prowess and speed. You will be hunting that guy.” Adam pointed off to one side. Many of those in the stands had to crane their necks to see Coach Chris Fox standing in the doorway of the mansion.
“As the prey, he will run the course trying to elude you. The one who catches him first gets preferential treatment in job selection and housing. This is a timed race as well as an obstacle course. Several of our pack enforcers, as well as my sister Gundi, are stationed in various places with additional challenges and assistance if needed. This is a fun event so no infighting, please. We want you to have fun and say welcome to the Moon Pack and a new beginning. Release the prey!”
Coach Fox heard some of Adam Moon’s speech before two of the very large and very mean looking enforcers handed him a small pack and pushed him down the hill. He’d had a chance to scout out the course the day before. The same two enforcers had watched his every move the entire time. Even a wild animal kn
ows the forest.
The course was laid out with many of the obstacles that a real forest would contain only more so. There were river crossings, shaded glens, rough mud trails, and quite a few tunnels. Building it must have taken years of laborious work.
Digging in the small pack, Chris pulled out two bottles of water, a short, dull knife, a poncho, and what smelled like some kind of musk. It reminded him of a school trip to Riverview Park when he was a child. The bear pen smelled a lot like what was in the small bottle. Nodding to himself he thought of a few ways to dodge his pursuers. He only had half an hour to get ready for them.
Looking at the trees and bushes reminded Chris of camping with his father. They’d gone out almost every weekend and holiday until he’d shown a proficiency for football. After that, there were no more father and son trips, only practice and drills. An eternity of both. But in those early years, he’d learned a lot of skills that might come in handy out here.
Using his shirt, he made several small snares that could catch a foot of one of his pursuers. He had no illusions that he could stop a Werewolf but slowing one down could help him escape. One of the tunnels led to a man-made cave inside one of the earth berms that lined the course. A pit trap was just inside the inner entrance. It was there he placed the first trap. The next he set in the middle of a rope bridge over a deep stream. Using the knife, he managed to cut halfway through the rope holding the bridge in place. While it didn’t fall for him, it might work for several hundred pounds of hurrying wolf. In the distance, he heard what sounded like a fog horn and a gunshot. He needed to hurry.
<<<>>>
“Are you ready?” Adam Moon yelled at the surrounding crowd.
The members of the pack roared back, “yes!” One of the older members pulled out an air horn and blasted it. An enforcer promptly took it away from her.
“She’s excited. I can tell. Let’s try that again. Ready...Set… Go!” Moon fired the small starter’s pistol he had in his hand.
Thirteen of the fourteen Were inductees began to strip and start the change to Wolves. Most Weres, with practice, could do it in less than five minutes with Alphas being even faster than that. LJ was on a mission. He intended to reach his goal first and then change. Nothing in the rules said he had to change to hunt.