by Robin Roseau
"For now," she said.
"As long as there are wolves who think we are weak, then we are all in danger, my babies most of all. These wolves think we are weak. I am about to disabuse them of that notion. I will not have my babies taken by wolves, Angel!" I said the last almost as a yell. Then I calmed down. "I'm sorry," I told her.
"Oh Michaela," she said. "We'll keep Rebecca and Celeste safe. You know we will. We'll keep you safe, too."
"Honey, I know you would try. But your job will be so much easier when I am done here."
Angel begged with me for a while. I let her. Finally she said, "Elisabeth is here. She wants to talk to you."
Angel didn't wait for permission. The next voice I heard was my sister-in-law's. "You are being foolish," she told me.
"Tell me I am wrong, Elisabeth. Convince me we're safer with them alive."
"We're safer with you a respected member of the pack!" she said. "We need you."
"I would have come home when I was done, Elisabeth. I would come home and accept my punishment. But I will not leave my babies in danger. I'm sorry."
"You're destroying Lara for your vengeance!" she yelled at me.
"My babies must be safe. I must be safe. No one messes with the Madison pack and gets away with it. The message must be clear. Lara didn't kill them all, so I am going to. If you have anything nice to say, say it. Otherwise we're done, Elisabeth."
She was quiet. We both were for a long time.
"I love you, Little Fox," Elisabeth finally said.
"I love you too, Elisabeth. May I speak to Angel one last time."
"Oh Michaela," she said. "Please come home."
"You know I can't. Please, let me speak with Angel now."
She handed the phone back to Angel. She was crying, and I heard Scarlett whimpering with her.
"Please, Michaela," Angel said.
"I'm sorry, Angel. I love you so much. Take care of your girl."
"No!" she said. "You're coming back!"
"I won't be welcome, Angel. I love you so much. Always remember that. Ask Elisabeth if you don't understand. I have to go now."
I hung up the phone and powered it off before it could ring again. Then I sat in my car and cried. Twenty minutes later, I drove away. I drove back to Iowa City and found a place I could park and sleep for a few hours. I made a cocoon in the back seat and tried to sleep.
* * * *
It was still dark when I woke. I was warm in my little nest. I stretched. It was cold in the car. I climbed back to the front seat and started the engine, turning the heater on after giving the engine a chance to warm up.
I contemplated checking my phone for messages, but I knew it would be more of the same. I wondered if they even understood. How could they not? How could they believe my babies would be safe as long as there were wolves who thought they could hurt us with impunity?
The Iowa wolves would learn. I would teach them.
I chuckled at that thought. I was a teacher, after all. Then I grew sober.
I warmed up, grabbed a bite to eat, and found a gas station that was open. I used the restroom, then drove to my first location. I scouted carefully first from the car, then on foot. There was no sign my chosen location had received any particular attention during the day.
I pulled the things I would need from the car and set them into place. Then I retrieved my rifle. I bundled up in warm clothes, pulling a white blanket over me at the end. It wouldn't stand up to a serious look, but it might disguise me a little against the snow. Slowly I moved until I was peeking over the top of the hill. I found the correct house and settled in to watch.
It was after seven when I saw the first wolf on the deck. I waited patiently. That wolf went inside, and I saw no more movement for another half hour.
Then I saw a female step outside. She moved stiffly. I looked through the scope on the rifle directly into Kimbelee Morten's face.
She was still alive.
I watched her for a while, and then she moved back into the house.
I waited. It was cold, but I waited.
Another wolf came out, lighting a cigarette. I watched him.
And then I saw a male wolf standing at the upstairs window. I couldn't make out who it was, but I didn't care. I had two male wolves in my sights.
I chambered a silver round, took careful aim, took a breath, held it, then gently squeezed the trigger.
I didn't wait to see what happened. I immediately worked the bolt, chambering the next round. The one on the deck looked startled, and he was looking around; he must have heard the report from the gun, but he wasn't taking cover. I centered the crosshairs on his face, then lifted it for elevation, took a breath, held it, and squeezed gently.
The kick of the gun meant I didn't see the impact, but I took one quick look, and I knew I had gotten the second one. The evidence was clear. I wasn't sure about the first one.
I slid backwards down the hill, leaving my surprises behind, and ran to my car. I got in, started the engine, and was gone thirty seconds after taking my second shot.
I drove carefully but quickly to my second location. I left the engine running and took only my rifle with me. I climbed the tree, leaned out on my branch, and then waited, staring through the scope.
It took them ten minutes to find my first spot. There wasn't a chance of hiding it, of course, if they were at all determined to find it. The smell of gunpowder and fox would be overwhelming to a wolf nose. I watched as first one wolf, then two more prowled around my firing position; none of them was Brody Mortens or Johnny Mack. One of them was one of my three other kidnappers. I centered the crosshairs on his head, waited for him to pause, took a breath, and squeezed.
I didn't wait to see what happened. I beat my time from yesterday, driving away carefully.
* * * *
I drove south for an hour, watching for a tail. I never saw one. I didn't want to remain in Iowa; I was sure the motels wouldn't be safe. I wasn't sure how much longer I was safe in Wisconsin, but I felt perhaps if Elisabeth caught me, at least she wouldn't execute me.
I turned east and drove into Illinois, then worked my way back into Wisconsin, well east of the border to Iowa. I drove to Madison, found a place to pull over, and turned on my phone.
It was full of messages. I ignored all of them. It was one-thirty in the afternoon, ninety minutes after the deadline Elisabeth had given me. I called Angel.
"Michaela!" she said when she answered.
"Hello, Angel," I said quietly. "Are you allowed to talk to me?"
"No," she said.
"All right. I don't want you to get into trouble."
"I'm not allowed to talk to you, but no one said I couldn't listen to you," she replied.
"Angel," I said slowly. "You've learned too many games from me."
"I have one message for you. If you called, I am to tell you to call Greg Freund."
"I can't afford him," I said.
"Lara told me to tell you to call him," she said. "Please, call him."
"All right," I said. "I'll call him."
"Will you tell me where you are?" she asked.
"I'm not in Iowa right now. I think perhaps I'm not currently very welcome."
"You got them already?" she asked. "Oh god, Michaela. Please come home!"
"I can't, Angel. I'm not done. And I'm too late."
"No! You come home, Michaela."
Instead of answering her, I told her a story from my childhood. A happy story. It was perhaps the only happy story from my childhood I had ever told her. When I got done, I told her, "I have to go. I'm pretty sure Elisabeth is trying to track me."
"Please call Greg Freund," she said.
"I will. Now, go report this phone call to Elisabeth so you don't get into trouble. You know they'll have your phone bugged, and mine too. So they know, but you go report it anyway."
"Please come home."
"Goodbye, Angel."
"Wait!" she yelled. "Don't stop calling. Please, Michaela
. I need to know you're all right."
"Not for a few days," I said. "I'm going to find somewhere safe and hide for a while, maybe a week. I can't use my phone, or else I'll have to move again. Bye."
I hung up and immediately began driving, heading east. I drove for twenty minutes before calling Greg Freund.
"Hello, Michaela," he said.
"Are you allowed to talk to me, Greg?"
"The Madison alpha has indicated to me that one of her pack members has gone rogue. However, she also informs me that the Madison pack has no current ties or interests extending outside of Wisconsin, and if I were to take any contracts for the surrounding areas, she would not mind."
"I can't afford you, Greg."
"I was given to believe you perhaps had some funds available."
"Some, yes. But not the million you need."
"Perhaps you could use better intelligence gathering than you have at your disposal, Michaela."
"What would a hundred thousand dollars buy me, Greg?"
"I can monitor all their communications. I can also tell you if they move."
"Have you been monitoring them?"
"As soon as Lara called me yesterday morning. You stirred them up good."
"I wouldn't suppose it was Johnny Mack or Brody Mortens in the upstairs window."
"I'm sorry, no," he said. "Or if it was, you missed. We've heard both of them making calls."
"Greg, I don't know how to get the money to you. I moved it, but I don't know if Lara moved it back."
"Give me the account information, Michaela, and we'll see."
I dug some papers out of my bag and read the account information to him. There was a pause, and then he said, "The money is still there."
"Greg, Elisabeth tells me I am banished."
"I know," he said softly. "I asked the Madison Alpha if she would mind if I were to hire any former members of her pack. She told me she had no problem with that."
"Did you just offer me a job?"
"I believe I did," he said.
"Do you have to ask Daniel permission for me to enter his territory?" Lima Consulting, Greg's company, was based out of a compound near Boulder, Colorado. Daniel Bancroft was the Boulder alpha.
"Yes," Greg replied.
I thought about it.
"I'm sorry it's come to this, Michaela. Think about it."
"Greg, grab that money. I'm not going to need it. I'll take whatever intelligence you think is wise. If they move, I really need to know."
"I'll send you another phone," he said. "Where do you want me to send it?"
I thought carefully before answering.
"Michaela," he said. "I just took your money. I never stab my clients in the back. You are now a client. I won't report you to anyone else."
"I'm heading to Eau Claire to hole up for a few days. Let them be on high alert for a while."
I heard keyboard tapping. "There's a motel east of Eau Claire." He gave me the name and directions. "How are you on cash?"
"I'm good," I said.
"Don't use your credit cards," he said. "And Wisconsin plates in Iowa are going to stand out."
"Already taken care of, Greg. Thanks so much. I have to go. I'm sure Elisabeth is surprised to see I'm in Madison and already has every enforcer in the pack heading my direction."
"Be careful, Michaela. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
We hung up and I powered my phone down, then turned around and headed for Eau Claire.
Four, Five
The motel was exactly where Greg said it would be. This was the big test. If he was lying to me, I could expect company in the next few hours. I checked in and climbed into bed.
I was pretty sure he wouldn't sell me out to Iowa; I wasn't sure he wouldn't sell me out to Lara. I needed to know.
I woke up six hours later to peace and quiet.
I stayed at the motel for four days, venturing out only for meals. I received the phone from Greg and got daily status updates.
"I don't have any ears on the ground," he said. "This is strictly electronic. But they are electronic idiots; they never change out their phones. I am pretty sure your main targets haven't left the house."
"Is anyone from Madison asking about me?" I asked him on the last day.
"No," he said. "What do you want me to say if they do?"
I was disappointed.
I had photos with me of Lara, the babies, Elisabeth, and Angel. I spent a lot of time looking at them. I brushed the photo of Lara with my fingertips a lot. I kissed the babies a lot.
I missed them all terribly.
I called Greg on the last day. "Greg, am I wrong?"
"About what?"
"About my babies being safer if these wolves know what happens when they mess with us."
He paused before answering. "No, you're not wrong."
"Greg, when this is over, I want you to spread the word. I want you to let every wolf pack in the country know that the Madison wolves are under my protection."
He started laughing.
"It's not funny!"
"Oh, Michaela, it certainly is. A fox protecting wolves. That's funny as hell."
"I'm hanging up now!"
"No, Michaela, don't. I'll make sure the other packs all know. How much may I tell them?"
"Tell them I am like a ghost. Tell them they won't see me coming. Tell them I have faked my own death six times so far. Tell them I killed my first wolf when I was six and have..." I counted briefly. "A hundred and eleven so far."
"Seriously?"
"Yes," I said. "Seriously."
"Michaela," he said. "There were rumors, about ten years ago, of a fox in New England."
I didn't say anything.
"You're that fox."
"No one messes with me, Greg. No one!"
* * * *
I drove to Iowa City late that night, arriving at four AM. I found a spot a quarter mile away, loaded the gun with standard rounds, but had a clip of silver handy, and stepped out of the car. I kept the engine running and the car turned towards my escape route. There was no one on the streets. I threw a foam pad over the hood of the car, leaned down, worked a round into the chamber, and looked through the scope at the front of the house.
I put a round through one of the three visible security cameras. Then, working carefully, I took out the other two, catching my cartridges as I worked the bolt. I took out the security lights. And then I emptied the rest of the clip into the side of the garage, not caring what I hit.
Then I calmly got back into the car and cautiously drove away.
Total duration from first shot to driving away: forty seconds.
I crossed back into Wisconsin at Prairie Du Chien. No one followed me. I swapped the plates again and returned to Eau Claire. My phone rang when I was halfway back.
"Busy fox," he said. "You missed that time."
"I wasn't aiming at anyone," I said. "Do you suppose they'll be on high alert for a few days."
"I would think so," he said. "Do you know what you're doing?"
"Winging it, Greg," I said. "Any sign the police are looking for me? I made an awful racket."
"And yet, somehow, you got away with it. Your luck won't last."
"I don't need too much more," I replied. "Anything I need to know?"
"They're buttoned down tight," he said. "That's all I know."
"Good," I said. "Have they called Lara?"
"Not through any channel I am monitoring," he replied.
"They must know it's me," I said. "There would be fox scent all over."
"Would you like me to call Lara?" Greg asked.
"No," I said. "It doesn't matter."
I slept for a few hours then got up for a meal. I drove west an hour and called Angel.
"Hey," she said when she answered.
"Can you talk?"
"I can listen," she replied.
"I'm fine. Please, tell me, are my babies okay?"
"They miss you."
"They miss bein
g wolf pups. I think perhaps they'll figure out how to shift all on their own much earlier than most wolves do. They know it's possible."
"They miss you," she said. "Everyone misses you."
I didn't respond to that. I sat on the phone. "Anyway. I'm fine. I'll call you tomorrow."
* * * *
I drove back to the motel and slept for a few more hours. Then I returned to Iowa City, again changing into the Iowa license plates. I approached from the west. I found a secluded location to park, stripped out of my clothes, and shifted into fox. I shrugged into the harness I used to carry things while a fox, and I went hunting.
It was four AM. Watchers would be sleepy, alertness having faded hours ago. I circled Brody's house, a mile away, listening very carefully. I did nearly a full circle before I thought I heard someone. I heard a brief scraping sound, perhaps the sound of someone scuffing at the snow with his boots. I listened carefully, and it came again, giving me a direction and distance.
I moved south, then east, listening very carefully, but hearing no other noises. I took my time, then slowly moved north.
I heard him again. He wasn't very good at remaining quiet. I stopped and listened for a good fifteen minutes. I could hear small noises from the houses around me, the furnaces running mostly, and a car drove past now and then.
I moved closer to the noise, closing to within forty yards directly downwind before I saw him; his back was turned, and he never saw me. A large male wolf was watching the street where I had fired from last night. I watched from cover. Every now and then, he scuffed at the snow with his boots and stamped around a little, perhaps trying to stay warm. He wouldn't need to worry about that much longer.
I stepped away carefully, silently, and disappeared around the nearest house. I shifted into human, grabbed two knives from the harness, and then crept back around the house. He had his back to me, and I didn't see any weapons. I picked my path, deciding I could get within ten yards while remaining in cover.
It was cold being in skin, but this wouldn't take long.
I moved closer, fighting to remain silent, choosing each step carefully. When he stomped around again, I moved quickly, closing the distance.
He sensed me right at the last moment and spun around, but I closed the last few yards in a rush, ducked under his attempt to fend me off, and slammed a dagger into his leg, ripping open his femoral artery.