Ravenport: Luna's Awakening

by Alistair Jones

  “Let me come! I can help!”

  Miguel turns a side long glance towards her and speaks very firmly.

  “No.”

  “But why? It really sounds like you could use it!”

  Miguel enters the living room and steps towards the door.

  “This is my fight kid. Just mine. Not yours.”

  Luna enters the living room after him, her voice growing increasingly more worried. “That’s just the thing though, I don’t want you getting hurt either. You helped me. You...saved me. What happens if you die down there?”

  Miguel reaches the door, grasping the knob. “...Then I die.”

  Luna stops a few feet behind Miguel, still talking to his back and standing straight up.

  “Why are you being so stupid about this? Why won’t you let me help you?” Luna pleads. “From what it sounds like, these guys aren’t normal. I don’t know what I’ll do if you don’t come back.”

  Miguel’s back trembles as his emotions get the better of him, turning his back against the door and running a hand through his hair in grief.

  “Because I don’t want someone else getting hurt because of me. Look I...I lost everything due to my job. Everything! I lost my family, the house I saved for years for...I even lost half of my damn body. Every day I wake up alone, it reminds me of what I used to have. Every morning I’d wake up and Maria would already be making breakfast. I’d go and get my little Sophia and get her ready for school. Then we’d all get together and eat as a family.”

  Tears start to flow down his face, his voice wavering. “I miss them so much.”

  Luna watches him and goes quiet, her ears and tail going limp in empathy.

  “And there are days...there are days where I would just sit in bed and wonder why I survived that night. How much simpler it would have been if they just put a bullet straight between my eyes and called it done. Just another mess for the city to clean up. But I’m still here. Patched back together like some modern day Frankenstein. Still living. Still breathing. And missing my family every single second of every single day.”

  Miguel’s resolve strengthens and he looks directly at Luna, stepping towards her and grabbing her by the shoulders.

  “But those assholes...wanted to see me suffer. Nobody needed to see what I saw that night. And all because I was just doing my JOB. The entire time I was recovering, I was planning. When I got my arm first, I started making phone calls and using the computer, following the tiniest shred of a lead I had. When I got my legs and learned how to walk, I started visiting people. I walked the beat. Cyberization is supposed to take eight years calibrate properly. Eight, long, excruciating years as they attach nerve endings to the synapses in the limbs, Luna. I did it in five.”

  Luna gulps at the intensity of the conversation, nodding a few times in understanding. Miguel drops her shoulders, taking a few steps away and seemingly calming himself.

  “So when I say that this is my fight, this is why. When I say that I will do what I have to, that is why. And when you ask me if I’m worried about dying, I tell you that I don’t care.”

  Luna awkwardly raises a hand to grasp at her shoulder, scratching the fur on it. She searches for the right words to say and eventually lands on a conversation she had very recently.

  “...I care.”

  Miguel looks up towards the werewolf in surprise.

  “I do care if you die. I know it’s going to be dangerous and you might get hurt...or worse, but I’m coming with you. How am I supposed to feel if you walk down there and get killed, knowing full well that I could have done...something! Anything! Hell, how would I even know? You’d just never come back and I’d just be stuck wondering and then I’d have to try to find some place else to live.” Luna chuckles towards herself, shaking her head.

  “And I don’t know if you’ve looked at me recently but the chances of me going off and renting an apartment on my own are pretty slim...”

  The beginnings of a warm smile tug themselves into existence on Miguel’s face.

  Luna’s tone lightens. “So don’t worry about me getting hurt. I’ve got like, crazy healing powers or something. We’ll figure something out, okay?”

  Luna walks forward and scoops Miguel up into a soft hug, which finally warms Miguel up enough to smile earnestly. He returns the hug and just holds her for a moment before pushing a finger up to her soft black nose.

  “Alright then La Loba, I’ll let you go with me if you promise me three things.”

  Luna looks up at him with wide crossed eyes.

  “One…”

  Miguel holds up a single finger. “You follow my command without exception. Two…”

  He holds up another finger. “That I can trust you...and three…”

  The final finger goes up. “That you are in this for the long haul. I don’t know how long it’ll take to get this jackass out in the open but we’ll have to keep hitting him in his pocketbook until he shows. Do you promise? If you break any of these, your butt stays home. Permanently. No begging or pleading. Got it?”

  Luna’s eyes look down for a moment before she nods, her tail wagging softly.

  Miguel nods back and breaks the hug, holding up a finger again. “Then let me get you something that will help.”

  He walks around the werewolf and heads back into his bedroom, disappearing around the corner. From there Luna could hear the shuffling of boxes as Miguel searches. Finally, he returns with a small black rectangular device with a speaker on it. Miguel hands it to Luna while pulling out a correspondingly colored ear piece for himself.

  Luna inspects it, finding an off switch and a small red button. “What the heck is this thing?”

  “A secure band walkie talkie. When the force switched off of these, they had an auction. I bought a set. I’d explain how to use it but it’s kind of self explanatory.”

  Luna sniffs at it for a moment before sliding it into her sweat pants pocket.

  Miguel walks around Luna again and leans on the door. “Now, go get dressed. We’re going to smoke us out a criminal.”

  ∆∆∆

  Unlike the rest of the city, which slows down at night and is most active during the day, the docks were always a hive of activity. The sounds of night owls taking up the graveyard shift is common, as flood lights kept the bay well lit and the shipping cranes kept the cargo going. As a result, the western part of the city is quite noisy. The surrounding neighborhoods were tone-deaf by now but it would still be jarring for any visitor who dared subject their ears to it.

  Luna very rarely if ever came to this side of the city, so when her and Miguel pull into an alleyway adjacent to the docks, her fingers were shoved into her ears to lessen the noise. It wasn’t reaching nerve wracking levels for her hearing, but trying to pick up on distant conversations would be impossible. Miguel steps out of his SUV and motions for Luna to follow him. Luna steps out of the car when prompted, but while Miguel almost blended into the shadows, Luna’s large, pale pink hoodie weren’t going to make this any easier.

  The alleyway itself isn’t unlike others of it’s type; cramped, dim and filled with dumpsters or other things nobody desired. The snowfall had also eased up, giving the pair a clear night with wet clingy snow on the ground to work with. The two walk a short distance to the back of the apartment building nearest to the storage warehouses of the docks, Miguel grunting in annoyance as the fire escape seemed to be pulled up this evening. He gestures towards Luna and speaks quietly.

  “Hey. You think you can get that down?”

  Luna looks up and judges the distance visually. To be legitimately honest, she had no idea. She could suplex a bear but how high she could jump was beyond her. Luna crouches to gain strength and then pushes off of the ground in a mighty leap, accidentally flying about dozen feet into the air. She easily gets enough height to grab onto the side of the fire escape grating and severely rattles it while steadying herself. Luna freezes in place as the sound eventually passes and no windows adjacent to the escape
lit up. She slowly slides into the metal stairs and heads down a few flights to get to the lowest one. The werewolf then starts pressing a foot down on the stairway to the ground, but the sudden shift in gravity sends her down the stairs instead. She sliding over the tops of each one until she hits the snow-covered alley, head first. She passes a playful grin towards Miguel, her tail wagging in sheer embarrassment.

  Miguel sighs and facepalms hard enough to smear his facial features, shaking his head.

  “Hey now,” Luna says, picking herself off of the ground and keeping a foot pressed on the stairs to keep low enough to access. “Let’s see you try to get used to a brand new body in a short period of time.”

  Miguel slowly raises a brow in response to that, the male crossing his arms over his chest.

  Luna takes a moment to realize the ramifications of what she just said, the werewolf curling her muzzle into a sheepish smile. She gestures towards the ladder in a fashion similar to a girl showing off a car. “Hehehe...after you. Heh.”

  Miguel rolls his eyes and sneaks in a good natured pat on Luna’s head before he heads up the fire escape with Luna heading up behind him. After carefully letting the stairs back up, the two shimmy quietly up to the roof, which, outside of a few chugging air conditioning units and a ton of snow, seemed quite barren. The pair slink over towards the corner facing the warehouses and Miguel pulls out a pair of binoculars, crouching next to the brick parapet. Luna looks between him and the warehouse he appeared to be looking at with a curious expression.

  Miguel points his finger out towards a specific warehouse after a small search. “There’s the one. You see the one with the ‘V’ insignia on it?”

  Miguel passes the binoculars to the side to let Luna take a look for herself. It takes a few adjustments, but she eventually spots the target: On the sides of several trucks and on the warehouse itself was the symbol of a V, offset to the side and having a circle painted around it. There were a few workers there who were hauling big wooden containers that looked like they might be a little awkwardly large for a regular dockhand to be hauling alone. The warehouse also had a small parking lot next to it and a chain link fence around the perimeter, preventing intruders from sneaking in easily.

  “Yeah...I see it. It just looks like a regular warehouse to me. Bunch of people moving stuff...Hold on…”

  Pulling up at the vehicular entrance for the warehouse is a figure riding a sports motorcycle. They’re wearing black riding leathers and blue jeans, boots and a sleek motorcycle helmet, but oddly seemed to be sporting a katana on their hip. They roll in through the sliding chain link fence and park in the parking lot.

  “Somebody with a sword just showed up. Like a katana or something.” Luna says, passing the binoculars back to Miguel.

  Miguel takes a look for himself and nods and then looks around towards the exterior of the building, making mental notes. “I’ll need to grab some tools from the back of my car, but I think I see an entry way. Luna?”

  Miguel passes the binoculars back over towards her before pushing himself up and sliding his ear piece in. Luna looks up towards him as he stands, seeming attentive.

  “You are going to be my eyes and ears kid. Tell me what you see out here. The idea is for me to find the office, find out some shipping info and if it’s clean, then...damn, I guess we leave. But...if it’s contraband…I guess we’ve got some fireworks for that.”

  Luna blinks a few times and nods quickly. “That...sounds easy enough. But what if you get in trouble?”

  Miguel doesn’t answer, deciding to walk off the roof and make his way down the fire escape.

  Luna sighs and brings the binoculars back up to her eyes, watching the warehouse like a hawk.

  Chapter 8

  Tactical Espionage Action

  After a quick trip to the back of his car to pick up the supplies, Miguel darts across the street to the warehouses and slows down his pace to a walking speed as to not arouse suspicion. Luna’s voice electronically reaches his ear as he walks around the back corner of the property, crouching down and producing a pair of pliers to cut his way through the fence.

  -”I can’t see anyone near you, but sword guy went inside.”-

  It takes a moment or two of effort, but Miguel eventually makes a cut high enough for him to pull back and sneak into. Along this side of the building was a single door with a rather simple looking doorknob on it. Miguel crouches and starts to turn the knob, but it doesn't budge. Locked. He swings himself out in front of it and takes out a set of lock picking tools and a small flashlight. He shoves the flashlight in his mouth and turns it on while working the door. A small click of success is heard, and he withdraws his tools, returning them to his pocket.

  Miguel barely speaks above a whisper, just enough to let the transmitter in his ear pick up on it. -”Luna, how many people do you see? And can you see anything inside?”-

  The werewolf pauses for a few seconds before responding.

  -”Uh...not really. The place has a lot of boxes in it. There’s a truck outside. But I’ve only seen about...six people, counting sword guy.”

  Miguel puts an ear to the door, listening for any sounds or voices, but doesn’t pick up on much of anything.

  -”I’m going inside. Watch the front.”-

  He opens the door a tiny crack and peeks inside cautiously. As Luna said, there were indeed boxes, including a pallet full of them stacked directly in front of the door. Wasting little time, Miguel crouch-walks inside and quietly closes the door behind himself and stands up behind the boxes and gets a feel for his surroundings. The warehouse wasn’t well lit, which was indeed an advantage, but he spots the office for the place, which is on a metal walkway above his current location. He looks for a way to get up, but the ramps for the office place were on either side of the main entrance. Considering he was towards the far back wall, sneaking up there might be difficult. It also didn’t help that the railings up there were well lit and provided no cover, meaning that he’d be easy to spot from a great distance.

  On the ground floor, there were dozens upon dozens of pallets filled with nearly identical looking boxes. They were packed in fairly tightly but left enough room between each one in order to allow single-file foot traffic. After sneaking around a few of the pallets,

  Miguel spots a way up for someone at the back of the warehouse; a singular ladder, that was, unfortunately, in the middle of an aisle and therefore easily visible to anyone who even glanced in that direction. Miguel silently curses as he sneaks his way over it, making sure that nobody saw him crossing lanes.

  -”Luna. How many people do you see now?”

  Miguel waits tensely for a response.

  “Five. I still don’t see sword guy.”

  Footsteps draw near Miguel as he freezes up. Without being able to see, he had to guess where probable sword guy was going. He waits patiently as the footsteps draw closer and closer...and then the door where Miguel had entered from opens.

  -”Oh, there he is. Sword guy went out that door. I can’t see him anymore now though.”-

  Miguel breathes a sigh of relief as he sidles forward, hiding behind the crates nearest the ladder.

  -”Is it safe to go up?”-

  -”I...think the guys outside are just talking. I think they finished unloading from that truck.”

  Miguel grabs the ladder and climbs it as quickly and quietly as he could manage, sneaking up onto the higher walkway. Cursing the lack of thick safety rails, he quickly moves over to the corner office, eager to get out of the open. The room itself had a window in the door and looked dark inside, minus the pale glow of sleeping electronics. Miguel finds the door unlocked and sneaks inside, letting out a huge sigh of relief for his luck. Lockpicking that in his position would have been a nightmare. The flashlight is turned back on as he looks over the office interior.

  The dark office looked pretty basic with no sign of anything out of the ordinary. The owner of said office is fairly unorganized as papers were scattered acro
ss the room, though none were on the floor. A computer sits in on the desk in the center of the room, as well a single shelf pinned against the wall and a pair of filing cabinets. Miguel decides to try the computer first, reaching over to touch the keyboard.

  The computer’s screen lights up, and a password box appears, demanding input to proceed.

  Miguel curses a second time and leaves the computer be, putting his flashlight in his mouth and sorting through all of the papers. Most of them appeared to be shipping manifests, but closer inspection mentioned shipping a material called ‘Rust.' In fact, several of the manifests mentioned this material. Miguel’s cursory glances also found that this stuff was shipping from other countries, and seemed to be heading to...clubs. The Silvernote Jazz Club, Ravages, and the Dragon’s Inn, to name a few. He grabs one of the papers that mentions a recent overseas shipment of Rust and folds it up, putting it in his back pocket. Miguel then leans over to open a few of the drawers in the desk to check their contents.

  The first few contained more papers, none of which were any more illuminating than the last, but the bottom-most one appeared to contain a bottle of red liquid. Miguel grabs the bottle and inspects it, spinning the bottle in his hands. The liquid is thick and greatly resembled blood, but the label on it read ‘Brandy.'

  Confused, he put the bottle back and closed the last of the desk drawers, sighing. He clicks the flashlight off and scratches his head. This wasn’t going as well as he hoped. Miguel places his hand on the wooden workspace and scratches his head, unsure of what to do next. He could try to interrogate those guys, but if those were of the same sort of weird guys that invaded his home all those years ago, then it wouldn’t go well. He walks around the other side of the desk and starts to speak but as he does he hits a power cable coming from the wall and unplugs it with a small spark of light.

  Miguel stoops over to investigate the outlet when a voice speaks into his ear.

  -”Hey...uh...all the guys went inside. I can’t see anyone anymore.”-