Homecoming

by Heath Stallcup

  Pushing open the steel blast door, Bob was surprised to find nearly all of the tactical team hard at work. Once Jack had assumed his position, the first thing he did was took the first and second degree Lycans and augmented their training in order to make the men more efficient warriors. As wolves, they were the deadliest of the deadly, but as men, they lacked certain skills that Jack felt were needed. Once he was satisfied with their abilities, he allowed them to call themselves ‘Hunters’. He would put his Hunters against any Monster Squad in the world and bet on the Hunters. Thankfully, their goals were the same, but the Hunters were a private squad and their coverage area much more localized. Then again, they weren’t bound by national agreements or boundaries.

  “What’s up, boss?” Bob tossed the towel aside as he stepped into the office.

  “We need a strike plan for Geneva.” Jack pushed the file folder across to Mueller and crossed his arms as he allowed the man to assess the structure highlighted in the file.

  Bob scanned the documents and the architectural drawings of the building. “The roof. Come in through the skylights.” He handed the file back to Jack who was trying unsuccessfully to hide a smirk.

  “My assessment as well.” He placed the folder back on his desk and glanced at the other men working diligently in the room. He lowered his voice as he addressed Bob, “The real question is, can these guys handle a HALO jump?”

  Most of the men paused and one actually turned to address their commander. “Sir, with all due respect,” his heavily accented voice spoke, “we can handle anything you ask of us.”

  Bob slowly turned to the man. “HALO jumps aren’t like what you’re used to. You have to use oxygen, and if you’re off at all with the wind patterns, or if you over-correct the tiniest bit, you end up kilometers off course.”

  “Not to mention you nearly freeze your ass off,” Jack added.

  “I think we can handle it.” Bob and Jack both studied the man as he confidently made his statement.

  Jack nodded slightly, “We’ll see if that’s true.” He turned back to the file and pulled out the architectural drawings. “Bob, our best guess is that they’re using this large common room as their council chamber. Any meetings will most likely take place there.”

  “Hence the skylight option. We’ll have to be careful on our approach not to block out the moon or stars. They’d be sure to notice.”

  “Agreed. I think if you approach from the south here, you’ll have these spires to block their view.” Jack pointed out the tower that the commandos could use as a staging area. “Wind will be your biggest concern.”

  “Swiss Chicago.” Bob rubbed at his chin as he studied the terrain. Between the winter winds and the buildings altering the natural currents, putting a man on the roof from a HALO jump would be nearly impossible even if he were experienced. Bob glanced around the room again then caught Jack’s eye. “Maybe I ought to be the one to take the roof. We can find another way for the rest of the team.”

  Jack shook his head. “There’s only one other way in and that’s through the front doors.”

  “There’s a good chance we’ll lose men on this one.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of.” Jack closed the file and stuffed it back into the drawer of his desk. “We have some time to figure this one out. If I know Rufus, he’s still trying to figure out a way to get his foot in the door without losing his head.”

  Bob scratched at the back of his head as he thought. “How solid is our intel?” His eyes searched Jack’s before he clarified. “On the whole death sentence thing, I mean.”

  Jack groaned inwardly. He hadn’t told all the members of the teams how he came across the information, but it was time Bob knew. “During the showdown in Nevada, I ran into an old friend of mine. I use that term loosely now because the guy was a real snake, but in the end, his intel was good. He was from the Brit team, and he had been contracted by the council to assassinate Rufus.”

  Bob was taken aback by Jack’s statement. “A team member went mercenary?”

  “They threatened his family and…it got convoluted really quickly. In the end, Sherry came clean with a little persuading, and we scooped his family up, relocating them someplace where the council would never think to look. They’re basically in the witness protection program.”

  “What happened to your buddy?” Bob wasn’t really sure he wanted to know.

  “He walks with a limp now. But that was his doing. He should have been more forthcoming when I asked him to come clean.” Jack showed no emotion when he spoke of the man. What happened between them didn’t sit well with him and left their relationship unrepairable. “We used to be pretty tight, but after he allowed himself to be compromised I just couldn’t…”

  Bob nodded. “You lost respect for him.”

  “That’s one way of putting it.” Jack squared his shoulders and turned to leave the office. “Either way, the intel is solid. We know that the council has their sights set on Rufus. We just have to figure out a way to either change their minds or take them out.”

  *****

  Little John finished his portion of the debriefing rather quickly. There simply wasn’t much to tell from his part of the operation. Once he was dismissed, he hit the showers and changed into a clean uniform then headed to the lounge where the main portion of the teams were hanging out and unwinding as the night drifted on.

  The men were broken into groups across the room. Some played table tennis; others were playing cards while some sat around the room swapping stories. His eyes scanned the group and settled on the other three new guys who had arrived and went through the same training that he had endured. He listened as they swapped battle stories with the seasoned operators of the squads. Part of him wanted to join the others and pretend to be interested, but if he were to face the truth, he simply wasn’t interested. He thought maybe a good book and a little down time in his bunk would do him more good than the camaraderie shared by the others. He had just turned to leave when one of the others called his name. He could almost feel his gut tighten as he paused and painted a false smile across his face. He turned to greet the others as Vince Carbone, one of the new members stood and waved him over.

  “Hey, Bone.” John sauntered toward the group and took a seat.

  “We were just swapping stories, buddy. So tell us what happened tonight.” Carbone gave him a light elbow to prod him along.

  John shook his head. “Not much to tell really. They had me sitting overwatch again. I bagged a couple of runners while the others went in and made a mess of things.”

  Chad McKenzie, another of the new members sat up and leaned forward on the couch, his voice lowered. “I hear from the veterans here that things have really quieted down since we got here. They don’t talk much about all the crap that went down before, but I’ve been hearing rumors from some of the support staff.”

  Ben Carmichael leaned in and nodded to Chad. “Like what?”

  “Like there was a major battle that went down in the desert. They called in all the squads from across the globe.” Chad’s eyes narrowed on Little John. “I don’t guess you’ve heard anything about that, have you?”

  John shook his head. “That’s all in the past, guys. We’re here to work in the present.”

  Carbone nudged John again. “Those who don’t study history are doomed to repeat it, brother.”

  John leaned forward in his chair and glanced away from the other rookies. “Trust me, guys, if there was something we needed to know, they’d have told us.” He stood up to leave. “They’re not going to keep us in the dark if it’s something that could mean the difference in saving a life.”

  Chad sat back and smiled at him. “Says the guy who works for a super-secret, black operations, military group that fights monsters and volunteered to be genetically augmented with werewolf genes.” He laughed half-heartedly and looked around at the rest of the new recruits. “Tell me you knew anything about this group before we were recruited, and I’ll buy your
argument.”

  John paused and bit back the retort he wanted to shoot at the man. His mouth formed a tight smile, and he secretly counted to five. “No, I didn’t know anything about the squads before we were recruited. But I know for a fact that if there was a big battle in the desert, and any part of it was key to our training or becoming better operators, they would have already told us.”

  Carbone lowered his voice, “Just because they don’t talk about it, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”

  John sighed. “I’m not saying it didn’t happen. Hell, I’m not even saying that if it did happen, it was important. I’m just saying that they aren’t purposely holding back anything just to keep us in the dark.”

  “How do you know?” Ben asked.

  John flustered a moment. “Because, we’re all part of the same team here, Carmichael. That’s how I know.” He didn’t mean for his voice to rise in volume, but it did. Most of the heads in the room turned toward Little John who stood above the others, his face flustered, making his desire to leave that much stronger. “Just drop it, will ya? If they decide to tell us, they will.” With that, he turned and marched out of the room.

  Spalding set down his ping pong paddle and approached the group still muttering amongst themselves. “What was that about?”

  Chad looked up and shrugged. “Nothing, sir. He’s just a bit wound up still from being in the field tonight.”

  Spanky watched John’s retreating form a moment then turned back to the group. “What did he mean, ‘if they decide to tell us’?”

  Ben cleared his throat and glanced away sheepishly. “He was just…well he had heard some rumors about the big fight in the desert. I think he’s a bit bent out of shape because it seemed important, but nobody is really talking about it.”

  Spanky eyed the man a moment and gave a curt nod. “Some things are best left alone.”

  Ben simply nodded. “Understood, sir.”

  “Stop calling me ‘sir’. I’m not an officer.”

  “Yeah, but you’re still a team leader,” Chad interjected.

  “That doesn’t change protocols.” Darren looked again at the doorway that Little John had disappeared behind and saw Apollo enter. He excused himself and worked his way over to meet him privately. “Let’s talk.”

  “Okay. What about?”

  Darren glanced over his shoulder then lowered his voice. “The big guy on your team. Little John.”

  Apollo groaned as Darren pulled him back outside.

  *****

  A large white panel delivery truck pulled into the driveway and as the backup lights came to life, so did the annoying beep that accompanied it. The driver slowly backed the truck up to the loading dock until the familiar thump of the rear bumper meeting the thick pads shook him. He shifted the truck out of gear, set the emergency brake, and then turned off the engine. Reaching above the visor he pulled down a set of reading glasses and flipped through his manifest. Three crates, one address, night delivery. Joy.

  The driver slipped the manifest under his arm and stepped out of the cab and into the chilly winter air. He pulled his jacket tighter around himself and moved to the rear of the panel truck. He stepped up onto the step bumper and unlatched the rear door, rolling it up and out of the way. He walked into the cargo box and placed the manifest on a built-in shelf as he rifled through his belongings and came up with a flashlight. Flipping it on, he scanned the shipping numbers on the sides of the boxes and crates in the rear of the truck and eventually found the three that were to be delivered here.

  All three crates were bulky, but none were exactly heavy. He slipped the handcart under each one and wheeled it to the loading dock then stacked them carefully. Securing the back of the truck, he looked around for either a night watchman or some kind of employee that could sign off on the delivery. His eyes fell upon a button on the side of the roll away door, and he chanced that it might be a buzzer of some type. Mashing the button, he listened intently as an old school bell sounded within the building.

  The driver stepped back and waited for someone to open the door and nearly jumped out of his boots when a voice sounded behind him, “May I help you?”

  After clutching his chest and catching his breath, the driver held out the manifest. “Delivery.” His hands shook as he extended the clipboard, and the man behind him took it.

  “Ah, yes, we’ve been waiting for this.” He pulled the pen from the top of the clipboard and scribbled something along the bottom of the sheet.

  The driver pulled the yellow copy from below and handed it to him. “You scared the bejeezus out of me.”

  “Yeah, sorry about that.” The man pulled a device from his coat pocket and pressed a button. The roll away door began to rise as he addressed the driver again, “Do you mind bringing those inside? I don’t have a dolly, and my back isn’t the most trustworthy.”

  The driver paused a moment then turned back toward the crates. “Sure, I can do that.” He scooted the hand cart up to the stack of boxes. “They really aren’t that heavy. They’re just sort of bulky. Besides, you’re my last delivery for the night.”

  “I truly appreciate it.” The man waved the driver inside. “If you could just put them over here.”

  As the driver positioned the boxes a woman approached the two from within the building. “Darling, do we have company?”

  “The delivery man was kind enough to bring our packages inside for us.” The man then pressed the button for the roll away door again, closing off the chilly wind from outside.

  “How sweet of him.” She approached the two men and eyed the driver like a cat would eye a cornered mouse. “How deliciously sweet of him.”

  The delivery driver’s head swiveled between the now closed door and the extremely attractive woman that stared at him as though she were undressing him with her eyes. At his age and weight class, he knew that wasn’t a real probability. Chubby chasers only existed in bad porno movies and in the fan written erotica of men’s magazines. “Yeah, well, I really need to be going now. It was really nice meeting you two.” The driver tipped his ball cap to the two and pulled the cart toward the now closed door. When he realized that the man wasn’t opening it, he glanced to either side to see if there was maybe a standard door that he should be heading toward. He paused and turned back to the couple. “Do you think…um…maybe you could open the door for me again?”

  “Oh, sweetheart, I think he wants to leave us,” the man said in an almost teasing manner.

  “Darling, he’s simply too sweet. We can’t let him leave just yet.” Her eyes flashed with erotic mischief as she licked her lips. “Not until I’ve had a chance to thank him properly.”

  The delivery driver began to quiver with fear. He had no idea what these two were up too or what they might be capable of. He wished now that he had simply unloaded the crates on the dock, rang the bell and drove off. He would be a good ten minutes into his return trip home if he had. He watched as the crimson haired woman stepped seductively toward him, slowly pulling the top of her dress off of her shoulders. He could feel his jaw tremble and heard his voice stammer, “W-what are you doing?”

  She paused and practically purred at him. “Why, thanking you properly, of course.” Her smile made his knees go weak and he felt his heart rate nearly triple. She pulled one side of her dress further down until he could see the top of her breast, and his mouth went suddenly dry. “You do like women, don’t you?”

  His eyes never leaving her ample chest, his head bobbed up and down. “Things like this just don’t happen to guys like me, that’s all.”

  She laughed and he watched as her breasts jiggled. Definitely real. “They do tonight, my sweet, sweet man.”

  She took long seductive steps toward him and his eyes were transfixed to her breasts as she pulled more of the material down. He felt a familiar pang in his crotch as she continued to tug at the top of the dress and he was just about to see her nipple when she closed the gap between them and brought her mouth to him. H
e opened his own mouth to kiss her when she suddenly turned his face and sunk her teeth into his throat.

  The driver froze for just a moment as his blood-starved brain tried to make sense of what had just happened. By the time he finally realized the severity of the situation, the crimson haired seductress was greedily sucking the very life from him, and he found himself nearly paralyzed. His eyes widened with the shock of the betrayal, yet somehow in the back of his mind, he knew it had been too good to be true. Still, he had that little glimmer of hope that maybe…

  “I love how you do that.” The man stood behind her as she drank from the driver, slowly lowering him to the ground.

  She lifted her blood smeared face and smiled at him. “Makes you hot, doesn’t it, lover?”

  “Everything you do makes me hot.” He knelt beside her and fed from the other side of the driver’s ruined neck. When the two had drained the driver and rolled his corpse to the side, they stripped each other’s clothes away and had violent sex in the blood pool of their feeding.

  Afterward, as they both lay naked and covered in blood, the red haired vixen ran a long nail along her lover’s chest. “That was breathtaking.”

  “I loved every moment of it.” He rolled over and licked the dried blood from her belly. “You are such a naughty girl.”

  She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “Are you sure you couldn’t be happy with this body, lover? I’m starting to get used to it.” She held out her other hand and admired the long fingers and thick, pointed nails.

  “I’ve told you, darling, I want the real you.” He nipped at her flesh again and she flinched, smiling.

  “This one is very close.” She pushed him slightly so that she could stand. “When I first saw this one, it reminded me so much of the real me.” She spun quickly and pulled him to her. “It really is uncanny.”

  “Perhaps, but it’s not you.” He nuzzled her ear and nipped at her lobe.

  “This one has heavier breasts.” She teased him by lifting them to his face and alternating them in front of him.