The Wolf Who Cried Girl

by Geonn Cannon

  “Traitor,” Dale said.

  “Is that where you got the bulletproof vest for my wife?”

  Dale said, “It is.”

  “Then I think I’ll let it slide, just this once.” She looked back at the hunters. They were now all handcuffed, lying on their stomachs in the middle of the street. The officer who had done all the talking was now speaking into a radio mounted on his shoulder, most likely calling in for more units. “Four more hunters in custody,” Diana said. “Guess that means the guy who got away was riding solo.”

  “Could’ve been worse.”

  “Could’ve been a whole lot worse,” Diana said. “Come on. Let’s get inside and get our stories straight for my colleagues here.”

  Dale looked back one more time. The police had opened the back of one SUV and was beginning to inventory the weapons there. Lots of weapons, lots of very deadly force, that these men had planned to use against Ari, Gwen, and Milo. She shivered and hugged herself as she went into the house. Any doubts she might have had about herself, any fear of lingering hunter seeds lying dormant in her brain, had just been effectively put to rest.

  She would never be that kind of monster. And she was willing to do whatever it took, even if it put her in danger, to protect the people she loved.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Val’s tension was so high that she twitched like an electric charge had passed through her when the door to her cell opened. Hayden came inside, glancing over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him. She’d been sitting on the bed and stood up, squaring herself for a fight.

  “What the hell is going on, Hayden? Where’s Gwen? If you hurt her...”

  “Sh, shut up.” He was holding his phone, which he turned around so she could see the screen.

  At first she didn’t understand what the picture meant, but she leaned closer and slowly realized it was Dale, crouching next to Gwen.

  “This is tonight?”

  “Just a few hours ago,” he said. “Ms. Frye and I have an arrangement. I don’t believe it’s necessary to kill all the wolves. Roemer and I disagree about that. Hopefully we’re making progress on a compromise that will keep Marin Cardoso safe when all of this is over. But for now, Gwyneth Willow is safe at home with her family.”

  Val said, “And Roemer knows?”

  “Oh, yeah. Everyone knows. They just sent out a damn militia to the Willow house, so I don’t know how long Gwen will stay free. But I did my part, Dale is going to do hers, and I hope I can count on you to do yours. Keep Marin safe and healthy until this whole mess is dealt with. If anything happens to her and we have to cut the feed, this whole thing will have been for nothing.”

  “Of course I’ll keep her healthy. Not for this twisted game of yours, but because she’s a person. She didn’t ask for any of this. I’m not going to let her suffer out of spite.”

  Hayden nodded. “Good. Good, I just... I wanted to be sure.”

  Val clenched her jaw and crossed her arms. “So now the two of us are your only hostages?”

  “I don’t like the word hostages.”

  “How do you feel about kidnapper?”

  He flinched. “I hate everything about this, but it’s the only way. People will only believe the truth if they see it with their own eyes.”

  She laughed. “Really? How exactly is the livestream working for you? Are people out on the streets shouting about werewolves? Are there watch parties waiting for the moment the world changes? Or is it a joke? I imagine the late night comedians are having a field day with it.” She tilted her head. “Actually, there’s a woman being held prisoner in the video, so it’s probably a touchy subject. Even if you do get a transformation on camera, what will it prove? That you have really good CGI? At best you’re going to get some video essays on YouTube and a subreddit dedicated to canidae truthers. Honestly, those groups may already exist. So well done. You’ve stolen close to a year of my life to start a conspiracy theory.”

  “We’re making strides. We’re creating awareness. We’re--”

  “You’re spinning your wheels. You want to let people know werewolves exist. To what end? Peace and cohabitation? Have you looked outside lately? Humans don’t accept other humans for the tiniest, stupidest reasons. We’re endlessly fighting wars because one person decides to believe one book over another one. How is this revelation going to be anything other than a bloodbath?”

  “I have faith in humanity--”

  “Me too,” Val said. “I believe the majority of people are good. But I also believe there are those who will do awful things, and that a lot of people will suffer just because of what they are. My father would look at Ariadne Willow and consider her inferior. For a lot of reasons, actually. A woman, gay, a wolf. But she’s a better person than him in every single way that matters. I’m not going to base my judgment of a person on how or where they’re born. That’s humanity 101.”

  Hayden worked his jaw, clearly fighting the urge to snap at her. Val didn’t want to let him off the hook, so she stepped closer.

  “What, Isaac? You want to scream at me? Or would it be easier to just hit me to shut me up? I’ve known enough people like you to make a guess which one it is.”

  She didn’t know if he would have actually done it, because the moment was broken by the sound of someone shouting outside. Hayden snapped out of his rage and went to see what was happening. He neglected to secure the cell door behind him, so Val followed.

  “Roemer! Get your damn ass down here!”

  One of the hunters, a gym rat named Bruno Lutz, had stormed into the main room and was already halfway to the stairs. He looked like he was dressed for an assault but, going by the redness of his face, it hadn’t gone to plan. Hayden moved to intercept the man before he got to the stairs.

  “Bruno, what’s going on? What happened? Where’s the rest of your team?”

  “I don’t have a fucking clue,” Bruno said. “The fucking wolves ran us off.” He was breathing heavily, and he hadn’t blinked since Val had been watching him. “They were waiting for us. It was three wolves, and some other bitch in a motorcycle helmet.”

  One of the other hunters said, “Probably their human bitch. The Frye woman.”

  “I don’t think so,” Bruno said. “Taller than her. But I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one who told them we were coming.”

  “Neither would I.”

  Hayden turned to see the mysterious woman had arrived at the bottom of the stairs. She advanced on the group.

  “I’ve been monitoring the police band. There was a call to Gwyneth Willow’s address a few minutes ago. Sounds of a brawl, possible gunfire, a car accident. Four men have been taken into custody and officers on the scene report their vehicles are full of unlicensed weaponry.” She slowly turned her head until her eyes locked onto Hayden. “Dale Frye was, in fact, on the scene according to one of our men on the force.”

  Val could see the worry in Hayden’s eyes. “Of course she was. We’re using her as a double agent. The Willows have to believe she’s on their side. Besides, Frye had no idea you were planning to assault the house. How could she have blown an attack she wasn’t even aware of?”

  The woman considered the defense. “Be that as it may, we’ve lost four good men to these damned wolves. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of letting them have the upper hand. They are animals. Beasts in skin suits. We will not be beaten back by them.” She worked her jaw as she considered her next words carefully. Finally, she looked up, her decision made. “We still have a stockpile of weapons, correct?”

  “Of course,” one of the hunters said. “But if the cops are already at the Willow place--”

  “We’re not taking them to the Willows,” the woman said. “There are more than enough other wolves in this city, and it’s high time we start to show them how things will be from now on.”

  Hayden said, “You have any particular wolves in mind?”

  The woman looked at him. “Marin Cardoso has a sister, doesn’t she? A
nd she’s part of a pack?”

  “Lot of eyes on them after that press conference stunt they pulled,” one of the hunters warned.

  “Good. I want every wolf in the city to see it and know who they’re up against.” She turned and walked back to the stairs, giving one last command over her shoulder as she left. “Willow, Cardoso, or any other wolf... I want pelts on my wall by breakfast time.”

  The hunters, all on the verge of insanity after playing babysitter for so long, jumped into action. Val watched them with dread, saw them open crates to remove weapons of every variety and size, while others disappear into other sections of the building to return with body armor. They’d been waiting for this ever since Milo and Gwen were taken prisoner, and now they had permission to run loose. She looked at Hayden, who seemed just as disturbed by this development.

  He held his hands out, indicating helplessness. “This has always been a race against the clock, Dr. Byrne,” he said. “I’m afraid the counter just hit zero.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  After the police left with the arrested hunters, after Diana promised to get statements from everyone present for the official report, and after Ari got Dale some ice for the shoulder that was now starting to throb after her wildly ill-advised move with the grenade, the group gathered in the living room of the Willow house. The wolves had retaken human form and changed back into their clothes. Milo sat with Gwen on the couch, Dale took the armchair, and Diana and Lucy sat on the hearth. Ari was pacing, head down, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

  “We can look at the bright side,” Gwen said to break the silence. “Four more hunters have been taken into custody. It doesn’t matter what our story is. They were caught red-handed outside a private residence with their cars loaded for war. Either they come up with some lie, and I can’t imagine a plausible legal reason to have that kind of firepower, or they tell the truth and get locked up for ranting about werewolves.”

  Lucy said, “The video could actually help us in this case. We could say it caused some kind of mass hysteria. People on the verge of a mental break heard about werewolves and started seeing them everywhere. It’s like that Twilight Zone episode where everyone was worried about aliens showing up so they turned on their neighbors.”

  “Mob mentality,” Ari said. “It’ll more than likely become a real issue soon enough, so it would be nice to use it to help us out while we still can.”

  She started to say something else but was interrupted by Diana’s cell phone chirping. She checked it, answered. “This is Detective Macallan. Yes.” As she listened, her expression became darker. She stood up and held out her hand for Ari to come closer. “Were you... good. Fantastic. How many?” She nodded. “Hold them on the scene until I get there.”

  Ari raised her eyebrows when Diana hung up. “Good or bad?”

  “Little of both,” Diana said with a sigh. “The officers I assigned to watch Eva Cardoso’s house spotted a suspicious vehicle circling the block. They called in the license plate and found it was a rental. I told them to expect just what Lucy was talking about. Eva made herself a very public, very searchable face of any ‘werewolves are real’ conspiracy theorists who might want to take matters into their own hands. Looks like we caught a break.”

  Milo said, “But she’s safe?”

  “Oh, yeah. We moved her whole pack to a safe house after the press conference. It seemed like the best course of action. The officers let the hunters go ahead with the assault and caught them in the act. The condo will need a new door, but no one was actually injured.”

  “How many hunters were involved in the assault?” Gwen asked.

  “Ten,” Diana said. “I guess they decided to go whole-hog since they didn’t know how many wolves would be there. All ten of them were taken into custody.”

  Ari stood up straighter, suddenly invigorated. She looked at Gwen. “How many hunters would you say were at the building?”

  Gwen shook her head, uncertain. “Less than twenty, more than ten.”

  “And we just saw four of them get carted away by the police. That makes fourteen hunters in custody, including the one who was injured the other day when they were going after Eva’s pack. There can’t be that many left behind at the building where Marin and Val are being held.”

  Gwen and Milo both got to their feet. Gwen answered the question Ari hadn’t asked. “I can get us there, no problem.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for going back there?”

  “Oh hell yes,” Gwen said.

  Milo nodded. “Same goes for me. I can’t wait to even the score a little bit.”

  Dale stood. “You’re going to need me, too.”

  “I always need you,” Ari said, “but I’m not about to walk you into a potential war zone with an unknown number of hunters.”

  “Oh, cool,” Dale said. “That’s fine. So, uh, which one of you is good enough with computers to cut off the live stream? Milo? Mom?” She looked around as if she actually expected someone to raise their hand. “Anyone? Or is it just me?”

  Ari grunted. “You’re not smarter than me just because you can work the magic glowing box.”

  “No, no, I’m smarter than you for other reasons, too.” She winked and folded her arms over her chest. “Besides, if I’m not there, Hayden may hold onto the idea that I’m really a double agent. I would like to personally dissuade him of that belief.”

  Ari shivered. “Okay. That gave me chills. You can come.”

  Dale winked at her.

  Diana said, “I’ll coordinate with the arresting officers. They should know that all our wolf hunters are part of the same organization.”

  Lucy said, “I’m not sure what I can contribute to the fight, but I’m willing to do what I can.”

  “You told me what the bangflasher was,” Dale said. “That was a huge help.”

  “Flashbang,” Lucy corrected, then shrugged. “Well, if you need any more esoteric useless information, I’m your gal.”

  “For now,” Diana said, “you’re needed safe at home. I think you’ve been at the heart of enough excitement for tonight.”

  “Since you’re going to be more on the administrative side of things,” Lucy said, “I’m willing to agree with you. I just wish I could be of more help.” Her eyes widened. “Oh! The dazzler!”

  “What’s the dazzler?” Ari said.

  “It’s one more way my useless research information can come in handy. Do you have time to swing by our place to pick something up before you go after the prisoners?”

  Ari said, “If it will help us succeed, absolutely.”

  Lucy grinned. “I think you’ll be very happy with it.”

  Diana looked as confused as everyone else. “Well, if we’ve all got our assignments, I think we better get this show on the road. I’ll keep you informed if anything changes with the hunters we have in custody.” She rubbed her hands together and looked at Lucy. “Do you want to say it?”

  “Say what?” Lucy asked.

  Diana said, “Oh, come on. They’re about to go off and...” She sighed and rolled her eyes, then raised her hand to give an exaggerated wave. She squinted one eye shut and spoke out of the corner of her mouth in an old person’s voice. “Have fun stormin’ da castle!”

  Ari stared at her. “You’re a dork.”

  “You’re a heathen if you don’t like that movie,” Diana said.

  “I love the movie,” Ari said, “but whatever you just did was... sad.”

  Diana sighed and rolled her eyes. “Fine. Go put on your fur coats and kick some hunter ass.”

  Ari smiled. “Now that’s a send-off.”

  ***

  The Macallans lived in North Seattle, but it was late enough that they didn’t run into any traffic and made the trip in record time. They drove Lucy home and waited when she went inside and came back with a duffel bag full of riot gear: batons, elbow- and kneepads, safety goggles, helmets. Ari stared at the display with more than a little surprise.

 
“You just have this stuff lying around? You’re a comic book creator.”

  “And I need reference material. One of Diana’s colleagues loaned me all this stuff when I did a comic about a special-ops team. You can take all of it, it’ll probably come in useful tonight, but the things I wanted to show you...” She put the bag down and dug around until she retrieved a small device that looked like a flashlight. “The dazzler. It’s supposed to be mounted on the barrel of a rifle or shotgun or something, but you can also use it manually.”

  She aimed it at the wall and triggered it, creating a bright strobing flash. Even the reflected light was so bright that Ari and Milo both brought up their hands to cover their eyes.

  “That’s why I included the goggles. No sense blinding yourselves at the same time. It’s perfect because even if you accidentally catch Dr. Byrne or Marin in the flash, they’ll recover without any permanent effects.” She returned the dazzler to the bag and handed it to Ari. “Never thought I would be a gunrunner for a guerilla army of werewolves, but I guess life surprises us all.”

  Ari leaned in and kissed Lucy’s cheek. “You’re a hero, Lucy Macallan.”

  “I still feel like a coward for sitting safe at home while you’re all out doing the dangerous stuff.”

  “You made it a little less dangerous,” Ari said. “That’s enough. Now get inside. We’ll keep you in the loop as much as we can.”

  “Be safe, all of you.”

  Ari nodded and waited until she was inside before she picked up the bag and carried it back to the car. Milo followed her, glancing at the car where Gwen and Dale were waiting. She put her hand on Ari’s shoulder to stop her on the sidewalk.

  “Are we really going to let them help us out with this?”

  “You’re lucky I’m letting you help,” Ari said. “You’re still recovering from everything that happened. Mom hasn’t even been free for an entire night. The idea of taking her back to that place is killing me. But we don’t know how many hunters are there, and I don’t want to risk being outnumbered. Mom can take care of herself. So can you and Dale. So if you’re all willing, I’m not going to waste time trying to be the Lone Ranger.”