by T S Paul
"What about down there? Do you know where they all went?"
"Sir, this structure has a lower level basement." Daniel just stared at the former slave.
"Let's go then! We have a pack to eliminate." Daniel started down the stairs to the lower level.
Outside, the Jaeger Pack survivors staggered around amongst the wounded. They killed any Petrov they came across, but they, in turn, were felled by expert shots from the Pepin Pack.
"I love it when a plan comes together." The Reverend Austin glanced at his twin Betas: Laskin and Kuna.
"Reverend, Daniel has committed to his attack." Josiah looked in the direction of the house.
"Stick to the plan. Send half our people to secure my son and his people. Terminate if necessary. Take the rest and finish off the remaining Jaeger forces. I will send the signal activating our people." Josiah pulled out a small transmitter.
~~~~~~~
Rapid gunfire was being followed up with single shots.
Stephan looked up toward the interior of the house. "We should have trained and practiced more."
"Not your fault Stephan. Only Daniel knows what rolls around in Daniel's mind. Who would think a brother would destroy the Pack of another brother. Even in our society."
"We still should have prepared more, Charles. I blame myself for all of this." Looking around the basement level, Stephan smiled. Even in the midst of battle his house servant Arthur was keeping things normal.
"Cup of tea, Sir?" Arthur held out a cup to Stephan.
Taking the cup, Stephan replied to Arthur. "Thank you."
"You are welcome, Sir. It pains me to do this, but orders are orders." Arthur pulled out a silenced pistol and shot Charles in the head at point-blank range.
Horrified Stephan dropped his cup of tea and jerked back. The gun came back to his direction and fired again.
Chapter 19
Daniel now knew what total freedom meant. He and his Special troops were killing Petrov Pack members with cold efficiency. All of the upper floors were now clear of the vermin. Outside the amount of fire had lessened, as he nodded his head in time to a fragment of internal music about being wild. Less gunfire meant that Freddie was on top of things and taking care of his end. Now they just had to eliminate Stephan and finish it. Daniel almost looked forward to the death of his brother. Almost.
The basement was where they had to be holed up. One of the Specials gave his life to break through the barricades by becoming a human bomb.
"That was so cool! We should remember that tactic for later." Daniel spoke to the Alpha leader of the Specials.
"Yes, Sir." There was a tingling sensation just below the hired Mercenaries right ear. He reached up and touched the subcutaneous button.
"Activate mission sixty-six. Assure that Stephan and his leadership are killed, then execute the Jaegers. Do you understand my orders?" The voice belonged to his true master and leader.
"Yes, Sir. I understand."
"What was that?" Daniel glanced in his man's direction.
"Nothing, Sir." The Alpha leader fired in the direction of a group of defenders, killing them efficiently.
"This has to be the last barrier! Come on!" Daniel and his nine-man team of Specials shot their way through the last group. An aid station was set up in the corner. Several heavily wounded Weres lay on the ground. The attending aides shifted and charged the attackers.
"Damn it! Kill those mongrels." Daniel shouted. The Specials, as well as Daniel, armed with silver rounds made short work of the wolves. "Find Stephan!"
Daniel gazed around the room, looking for his half-brother. He needed to know that Stephen was dead. Stephen's claim to the diamonds would die with him. Single shots echoed in the near empty room as the Specials began killing the wounded. A single Petrov stood in the corner with his hands raised. Daniel's eyes narrowed. Bodies surrounded the lone man wearing the elegant suit.
"Where's Stephan?" Daniel's eyes had a faint gleam of yellow to them.
"Hello, Sir. My former master lies there along with his Beta." Arthur pointed behind him to the two bodies on the ground.
Daniel yelled at his troops. "Hold him." He rushed over checking the bodies. Each had a small hole in the center of their foreheads.
Arthur smiled at the Specials. They looked back at him without any emotion at all.
"Who did this? I wanted to kill him! Who?" Daniel rushed back.
"That would be me. I killed them, Sir." Arthur smiled at the raging Jaeger Alpha.
"You will die a thousand deaths for this. Why kill your Alpha?"
Arthur smiled. "He's not my Alpha, Sir."
Daniel stared in shock. "Who... Who do you work for then?"
"At the very end, you start to understand. Goodbye Daniel Jaeger. The Reverend Austin sends his regards." All nine Specials turned their weapons on Daniel at the same time. The would-be ruler of Arbor and future diamond tycoon died as his head exploded.
"Search out any survivors. There is a tunnel behind that door. Search and destroy." Arthur pointed to the small closet door.
"It will be done." The Specials spread out killing everyone they found.
~~~~~~~~
I quickly scanned the smoking battlefield that used to be a magnificent-looking estate. Freezing the whole place took time that I didn't have. I stroked my bracelet praying that it would protect me.
"The side door looks clear. I'll freeze anyone I see, but I need you two to get inside. Stephan may not be perfect, but he's the lesser of three evils around here. Try to find him." Standing up, I felt yet another shot ricochet off my shield.
I waved in the direction the shot came from and muttered my spell. No other shots came from that direction, so I assumed I got him.
Bodies lay everywhere. In the few short hours after the attack had begun, three packs had been devastated. I hoped they were still holding on inside the house.
Cat and Chuck crashed through the doors with their guns drawn. I was about four or five steps behind them. The foyer looked like a slaughterhouse. A lone gunman was checking bodies and killing survivors. Not giving him a chance I zapped and froze him.
"I think I'm going to be sick." Chuck turned his head to one side and yakked in a potted plant. Cat smiled at me, but even she looked pale.
We heard more gunshots coming from somewhere in the house. "Spread out."
Chuck wiped his mouth and went upstairs. Cat jerked her head in the direction of the rear, and I followed her. There were even more bodies here. The fire-blackened walls told the tale. This was the last stand.
The bodies of people shot in the back as they tried to flee littered the stairwell. "Do you think Stephan is still alive?"
I let out a sigh. "If anyone could survive this it would be Stephen. We need to know either way."
A finely dressed man stood at the rear of the room staring into what appeared to be a closet. He turned as we stepped into the dimly lit basement room.
"Ah, ladies. Nice of you to join us. It's a shame we didn't kill you earlier at the ambush, but I can correct that oversight right now. Kill them!" When he shouted the order, two huge WereWolves and an enormous WereBear charged out of the closet.
I quickly cast a freeze spell at them and nothing happened! My bracelet gave me a little tingle.
The man started to laugh. "Surprise! Did you really think my Master would send me here without protections?" He pulled a pistol and began firing at me.
"Agatha! Get down!" I ducked as Cat pulled her guns and began firing at the Weres six-gun-style. The fancy man ducked behind the door to avoid getting shot.
Peppering the other Weres with silver only made them that much angrier. I looked at them with my Magickal sight. They each had a shiny object around their necks.
One charged straight at me! The massive Wolf hit my shield with a thump but continued to attack it repeatedly. The Bear and other Wolf went after Cat. I said a prayer to Artemis and drew my weapon.
~~~~~~
"Robert, I think it's
over. Tell the snipers they can stand down." Joshua stared out at what used to be a house.
Grabbing his radio, Robert started talking. After a moment, he clicked the radio a few times shaking it. "Boss, we have a problem!"
Joshua turned away from his view of the battlefield to answer his Beta. "What is it Rob..." He never got to finish before ten heavily armed men rushed into the clearing. Robert never stood a chance once his legs were cut from under him with a Benelli shotgun.
"You need to come with us." Kuna stared at Joshua with dispassionate eyes.
Joshua had always heard this man called Number Two by his father. "Why are you here? The battle is over. I think we won."
"I'll say it again in case you didn't understand the first time. You need to come with us."
"But Robert's hurt. Let me fix him up." Joshua reached into his bag for something, and a shot rang out. His father's Beta, Number Two blew the smoke out of the barrel of his pistol. Robert lay there unmoving with a smoking hole in his head.
"Last chance." He turned the gun on Joshua and shot him in the leg. The Beta turned to his troops. "Kill whoever you find and report back to base."
The pain was almost unbearable to Joshua They say your life flashes before you when you die. That was exactly how he felt at this moment as his eyes fluttered shut and he passed out. Things had always been handed to him. His foster father had been a communications executive. Upon his death, Josh inherited enough to found his own utility company. Rumors of diamonds and easy money led him to Arbor, and his true father stepped forward.
"Wakey wakey." Someone dumped a bucket of water over his head.
"Father. What happened? My men! Why did Robert have to die?" He was roughly pulled up to his feet and held.
"To everything, there is a season or something. The Gods give, and they take away. Imagine my surprise when the Texas Pack kicked me out for unsavory practices. I had to form a new pack from the outliers that the Austin Pack gave me. One of my new forced Pack members had an interesting tale to tell me. It appears that he fell in love with a WereGirl in the 'Big Easy' and her family ran him out of town on a rail. It seems she liked him so much that she had his kid. He kept track of his boy and was proud as punch the kid was a new Alpha. We were of similar build and gait. Not all that much trouble to assume his identity and become him. He didn't survive the experience, though. Too bad, so sad."
I thought Josiah Lucas Austin to be a much better name than Gregor MacGregor, George C. Parker, Jefferson Randolph Smith, and a variety of others through the years."
Joshua stared in horror at his 'father' the man who convinced him to wipe out his rivals.
The big man began to laugh. "You finally see it don't you? It wasn't just a triple cross but a quadruple cross and the finest con of my long career. Some sacrifices needed to be made of course. It was so tragic about the warehouse fire that killed the three Packs from this area."
Seeing the look on Joshua's face. "What, did you think I would keep anyone alive? Less chance for rebellion if you just eliminate everyone."
"Are you even related to the Austin Pack at all?" Joshua kept shaking his head.
The man he thought was his father pursed his lips. "Austin? Sort of. One of my uncle's cousin's, college roommates once knew an Austin." He started laughing. "Seriously, though, I did to them what I did to you. I'm on the rolls as a minor Alpha. Distantly related to the pack through marriage. I volunteered to come out here to push for more territory."
"You were a good kid Joshua. Anyone would be proud to have you as a son. Just not me. I did appreciate your help in taking over this area. Couldn't have done it without you. Sorry." He waved at his Beta.
Without a word, the WereWeasel pulled his gun and shot Joshua.
~~~~~~~
I'm not the greatest shot in the world. I passed the FBI requirements to carry, but only by a hair. My magic is my weapon of choice. But now only my shield is working. The well-dressed man and the Weres attacking us had on some kind of anti-magic charm. My bracelet tingled every time a bullet hit my shield. I needed to stop these people.
Reaching into my bag, I pulled out a handful of Wolfsbane and threw it into the face of my attacker. To the Wolf, it was as if I tossed cayenne into the air. He began coughing and hacking as the herb penetrated his nasal passages and coated his face. His wolf retreated as the herb made him lose consciousness. Basically, the wolf went to sleep leaving the man alone. The bomb that my family built worked on the same principle as the herb only much faster.
With a whine, the Wolf man half shifted into his warrior form. He lay there gasping for breath. This was my moment of truth as an FBI agent and a member of law enforcement. Do I shoot him or try to subdue? I had no way to restrain the Wolf man, and I was still under fire from the man by the door. My herbs would only keep him human for minutes, and his anti-magic jewelry stopped me from freezing him. I wavered there for a moment. Should I take the shot? I glanced in Cat's direction for a split second. I took the shot.
Cat was outnumbered and getting tired. Her martial arts skills were only good for short time incidents. Not for the full on attack, these animals were doing. Firing her guns at the WereBear seemed only to piss it off! Silver had little effect on it as it charged her. She dodged to one side, dropping her gun and pulling a silver plated knife out with her right hand. A sideways slash caught the Bear across his shoulder and flank, the blade sinking in and hitting meat and fur. Blood sprayed both her and the concrete floor as the Bear screamed in pain and rage.
The other WereWolf took this moment to move in for the kill. Cat fired at him with her left hand hitting him in the leg temporarily immobilizing him. With both opponents down, she started her shift.
The scream of one of the great cats heard in the wild will chill you to the bone. However, they all pale in comparison to the original, the Saber-toothed Tiger. Only the FBI and Cat's family knew she was a throwback. Her scream of the challenge made everyone look. She was twice as large as the bear and three times as mean. Her four-inch claws slashed downward, maiming and tearing the Wolf's leg completely off.
The Bear roared a challenge in response to the yelp and whine of his partner. Bullets began to fly in her direction as the fancy man hiding in the closet opened fire on her.
I saw my friend under fire and charged. Throwing as much force as I could forward, I slammed my shoulder into the door throwing the fancy man backward to the floor. Ouch! That always worked in the movies.
Sounds of battle filled the house as Cat fought for her life against the WereBear.
~~~~~~~
"...will call Washington to complain! People are dying damn you!" Anastasia stared at the phone in disgust. "He actually hung up on me!"
Bill had a phone to his head as well and felt for her. None of his contacts could help the situation. There were at least two Were Packs going toe to toe with military weapons, and nobody gave a damn! Each agency or supervisor he called passed the buck. Magical Crimes was supposed to take care of these things is what they all said.
Slamming the phone down, Bill looked at Anastasia. "Is it always like this? How in the hell did Jack do this for twenty years?"
"Carefully. Jack knew how to play the system, and Washington always sent a Russian merc with him. Usually, that was enough to combat most things. This? Who knows? I assume you noticed Agatha hasn't called. She knows there isn't any backup."
Bill breathed heavily. He liked the young Witch, but he never considered just how hard the job she was doing was. No backup. That just sucked!
"Is there anything we can do?"
"Pray? I would say start calling the hospitals and ambulance services. They won't come within a hundred miles of a Pack war. Only when it's over will we get help. Just pray." She stared at her screen. The unit had use of a satellite, and she could see the slaughter that was Arbor. "How are the children?"
Bill glanced to his left. Ivan was playing with Thomas, but Joey and Chandler just sat there staring off into space.
&nb
sp; "I guess they're OK. Did you call Sheriff Geri?"
"First thing. He should be here any minute. According to him, the State Police won't get involved, but they will take the kids off our hands if he brings them in." Ana checked her exterior cameras.
"He's here." She pointed to camera four. The Sheriff was driving a panel truck. As they watched, he backed it into a neighboring space behind the RV.
"That's weird. He parked just out of view of my cameras." She fiddled with the controls.
"Is that the best view you have?" Bill walked over to the main screen.
"No. I am always prepared." Ana pressed a button, and a camera rose from the roof to aim at the Sheriff's vehicle.