Hybridization

Chapter 151 – The Drop

“Sure, what kind of toxin do you want? Or better, who do you want to use it on? That might help me narrow down the best one. If you tell me the effect you are after, it will help prevent any unwanted fatalities.” – Skezic, talking about his ‘hobby’

Meanwhile, in a city to the north of Grand Rapids, and a straight shot up US 31, another conflict was taking place. It was just a much more public conflict than what was happening with Kurt and the girls. It was also a more annoying conflict.

“Don’t you know they support monsters!” shouted a protester to a man in his fifties wearing stained denim coveralls with a pair of welding gloves sticking out of the pocket.

The man turned and looked at the masked person waving a sign at him. “Listen, son, I have been coming here since before you were a glimmer in your father’s eye. I just want a good cup of coffee and a bagel sandwich before I go back to work for another six hours.”

“But they support monsters!” the protester repeated the same line.

“They haven’t done nothing to me or the bagel sandwiches so…” he turned around as his words trailed off and entered the door, he had been holding open.

“Morning!”

The welder stopped just inside the door and looked at the young man behind the counter he had never seen before. “Umm…” he then looked around, confirming he was in the right place. “Sorry, just haven’t seen you before. Where are Kate and Jamie?”

“Oh, we are here too. Morning, Tom.” Kate called out and stood up from where she had been restocking supplies under the other end of the counter. “This is Calum, our new employee that we brought on to help us rotate out and have time off on occasion.”

Tom smiled and walked over, offering a hand to the new employee. “Tom McMannus. Good to meet you.”

“Calum Parsons. A pleasure.” Calum replied, taking the welder’s hand with a firm grip.

“You got quite the hand shake there.” Tom remarked. “Don’t see that much outside the trades these days.”

Calum shrugged. “Eh, grew up on a farm, spent some time overseas and now I am just looking to slow my life down a bit.”

“Veteran huh?”

“Something like that. What can I get for you this morning?”

Tom placed his order and Calum had him rang up and out the door in a couple minutes, making casual small talk the whole time. He was just putting away some washed and dried appliances when he noticed Kate looking him up and down.

“Sup?” He asked. He had caught her staring a few times over the past couple days and didn’t mind. He would be skeptical too if someone had just been randomly assigned to work in his business. “Did I do something wrong?”

Kate shook her head. “No, it’s just… you seem so natural with handling customers. I figured you would be a little gruffer when I heard they assigned a werewolf to help us. More like Kurt and his general demeanor.”

“Ahh. Well, I have been in customer service for quite some time.”

“I thought you only worked in a starbucks for like six months before joining an Order goon squad.” Kate shuffled over to stand near him and not talk so loudly. She leaned against the counter next to him, close enough that their arms brushed on occasion. She had been standing closer and closer to him as the days wore on.

“Yup, and there I did a different sort of customer service. Doesn’t mean I can’t to both with a smile on my face and be as polite as possible.” Calum said with a little quirk of his lips in a half smile.

“What is polite about…” Kate looked around, once again confirming the store was empty. “About shooting people.”

Calum barked a laugh. “Ha! Nothing at all, but it’s like they say, ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ and all that.”

Kate giggled and swatted him on the arm, letting her fingers trail down his biceps. “Stop! You’re so bad.” The door alarm chimed before their banter could go any further and they looked up to see who entered the building.

“Morning Trent!” Kate called.

Trent looked out the window as he entered the building. “Hey Kate. Looks like you guys are still popular. The wrong sort of popular but it still counts.” He crossed over the open area and set his thermos on the counter. “Usual please. Hi Cal. How are ya?”

“Oh, if I were any better, I’d be dangerous.”

“Haha, good one.” Trent laughed. “Hope the uninvited guests aren’t driving off customers.” He gestured to the street corner where a couple of the protesters were being told that they had to move by one of the local cops. The corner right outside the shop wasn’t large enough and most were relegated to the small park across the intersection or farther down the sidewalk where they didn’t block traffic and take up parking spaces.

“Nope, if anything sales have picked up since they came.” Kate said while bringing over Trent’s thermos. “A couple of the local retirees have taken up to having coffee hour and watching them from in here. They then spend a bit extra rather than just popping in for a coffee and getting breakfast elsewhere.”

Calum rang him up for the drink. “I never thought of protesting as a spectator sport, but I guess people will watch anything as long as its dramatic.”

“Isn’t that like the whole premise of reality TV?” Trent asked after paying and putting the lid back on his travel mug. “Well, that and TV dramas, I guess. All about shock value.” He then looked out the window again. “Looks like they got a pretty big crowd now.”

“Yeah, but only a couple of them are locals. Nine outa ten are from elsewhere.” Calum said idly.

Trent turned back to him. “How do you figure?”

Calum internally panicked a little but remained outwardly calm. He was probably not supposed to share what Feraz had found out. “Overheard a couple old timers chatting about it. They only recognized four of them and they seemed like the sorts to know everybody in this town.” He lied smoothly.

“Huh, probably Steve Porter and Larry Estann. They seem to have info on everyone around here.” Trent muttered and scooped up his things. “Well, have a good one, stay safe and I’ll see you later.”

“Bye Trent!” they said in unison as the property manager left.

Kate nudged Calum in the side with her elbow after retaking her place next to him. “Nice save.”

“Thanks, didn’t think he would buy it so easily.” Calum chuckled. “Who are Steve and Larry?”

“Couple retirees from the fire department. They usually sit at table six and have to yell at each other because they are too stubborn to get hearing aids.” Kate said.

“Ah, those two.” Couple characters if you ask me.” Calum commented before getting a rag to wipe off the counter where Trent had dripped some of his coffee.

The duo went back to their work in silence, each one getting ready for the little rush around lunchtime. Jamie ended up coming in and helping to prep some things then get them through the lunch rush before running out to the store to get a couple items they were low on.

After the lunch hour, Kate wandered over and leaned on the counter next to Cal as he texted someone. “Hey Cal, can I ask you something?”

“Shoot.” Calum answered while putting his phone back in his pocket, they were once again alone in the store.

“What’s it like being a werewolf?” Kate asked, rushing the words out before she lost her courage.

Calum shrugged. “Hard to say, been one my whole life.”

“Does it hurt?” Kate pressed. “Like when you transform.”

“HAaaahaha.” Calum broke out into a belly laugh and had to fight to control himself. “S-sorry. It’s just ahhh, it makes us sound like Autobots or Decepticons when you say it like that. ‘Transform’.”

Kate flushed, her neck and ears going scarlet. “You know what I mean. And what am I supposed to call it? I didn’t grow up with all this. I didn’t even know about it until the veil broke.” She bumped him with her shoulder, barely even moving him.

“We call it shifting and no, it doesn’t hurt. Well, not normally. I heard that Kurt had it pretty rough before the Order came around.” Calum answered honestly. “Why do you ask?”

“Just curious about you. That’s all.” Kate said in a mumble.

Calum nodded. “Sure. Anything else you want to know?”

“Do you like curry?”

“Oh, sure, we like all kinds of food. Nothing really bothers us since lycans don’t get allergies and are immune to most toxins.”

Kate chewed on her lip for a moment, thinking about the meaning of his answer before responding. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Ah, probably cycling off and getting some dinner on the way home.” He didn’t let on that Ra had something planned for him and the others.

“Want to come back to my place?”

“I think Gus is going to be covering security tonight so he will be there.”

Huffing, Kate turned to face Calum directly. “Cal, you aren’t very experienced with dating and girls, are you?”

Frowning, Calum shook his head. “I mean, I had a couple girlfriends a while back. What does that and my plans tonight have to do with being a werewolf?” He wasn’t sure about this line of questioning and how it related to her curiosity about lycans.

Kate rolled her eyes and muttered something faintly under her breath before reaching out and grabbing him by the collar to pull his face downward. She planted a quick peck on his lips before letting him go. “Because I was asking if you wanted to come back to my place for dinner and to maybe stay the night. And to be perfectly clear, I mean stay the night inside, with me, not lurking around in the shadows outside or in your car.”

“Oh… umm. Yes?” He said with a silly little grin. He was still startled to be suddenly pulled into a kiss by the significantly smaller woman.

“Is that a question?” Kate raised an eyebrow.

Calum quickly shook his head. “No ma’am.” He then corrected himself. “Ah, no, Kate. Should I… should I bring something?” He wasn’t quite sure what he should do or offer. Maybe if she…

“Just yourself.” Kate said before turning around and walking to the back. She called over her shoulder as she went. “Let’s get ready to close up for the night. I will handle back of house if you want to do front?”

“You got it.” Calum smiled and got out the stuff to wipe down the tables and counters. “Huh. Never thought that would happen.” He mused while going to scrub and restock the condiments counter. He was suddenly pretty happy with how his assignment was going. Even if he would miss out on the fun tonight, he thought dinner with a cute girl would be just as entertaining.

*****

“Right, Gus, you are going to take Cal’s spot tonight.” Ra said and moved his magnetized name placards on his whiteboard.

“What is Cal doing?” Aster asked, looking to Gus.

“Kate, probably.” The older wolf chuffed a laugh.

Aster frowned. “I thought he was on security during the day?”

Gus nodded. “Yah, he is.”

“Then what is…”

Ra sighed. “Aster, drop it.” He then looked at the wolves gathered around the briefing room in the bunker. “Alright, here is the plan. Feraz dropped the recordings on us this morning and it seems that the protesters are going to be up to something tonight.”

He then clicked on a projector that shown on his whiteboard. It was now a large map that gave a pretty good view of the city and the main strip in particular. “Our friends are holed up in two hotels, here and here. Leadership seems to be split between them, but they have been meeting several times a day at one or the other. Apparently, they have decided that they weren’t getting anywhere in the past two days because they are planning on something tonight.”

“Any idea what they are planning?” Skezic called out from the back of the room, his raspy voice very distinct amongst the rest of the pack.

“Varies by the hour.” Ra answered. He went over and began writing on the margin of the whiteboard. “We have vandalism, harassing employees, B&E, assault and arson to name the popular ones.”

Mathew made a disapproving sound in his throat. “Always comes down to violence and bullying with these types.”

“In this case, yes.” Ra surmised.

Aster raised her hand. “So, are there any that are more likely or are we going to just be ready for anything?”

Ra smiled in a very lupine way when she asked that question. “Why Aster, I am so glad you asked.”

“Wait! I changed my-”

“We are going to set a little trap. You just volunteered to be the bait.” Ra cut her off before she could really complain.

“Why her?” Gus asked.

“Because we need bait and we are going to dress her up like Hannah. We are going to stick her in a wig and dress her up a little and then borrow a car and a set of keys.” Ra explained. “If we let her go and enter the front of the building, clearly alone and after hours, maybe we can bait out an attack.”

“And if that doesn’t work?” Mathew asked.

“Well, then we can go to them and maybe use some of that poison that Skezic keeps wanting to try.” Ra shrugged and clicked over to a bunch of photos with names under them. Many of the photos were mug shots but most were just the footage Feraz sent over. “Really I want to start putting the screws on them now that they think they are the big dogs in town, and nobody will stand up to them. They got a little too comfortable with people around here minding their own business.”

“Why not both plans?” Skezic once again called out. “Both is good!” There was a general murmur of approval that ran through the werewolves at that suggestion.

“Well then… both it is.” Ra grinned. “Now, let’s figure out how we are going to get this stuff into their food or water.”

*****

“Just go away!” Aster yelled as the trio of people harassed her and chased her around the car. “Why can’t you leave me alone!” Sure, she was hamming it up a little, but that was beside the point. She was also making sure to keep far enough away that they couldn’t actually touch her.

“Hey, we just want to talk.” One of them called.

“Yeah, just hear us out. It’s just a litt- Damn it. Ember, go around.” Goon number two cut himself off as he stumbled, tripping over something in the dark while Aster once again circled the car and put them on the wrong side. It was then that the wolf in sheep’s clothing got the mental communication to move to the next step of the plan.

She bolted… well she ran at a reasonable rate for a human woman in her thirties. Her goal was to make it across the parking lot to the alley that ran between buildings. She wanted to make it look like she was running back to the store so they would chase her.

“Hey! Come back!” The one called Ember yelled and gave chase.

Aster looked over her shoulder, making sure she wasn’t out pacing them too much and then had to fake stumble so they could catch up. Once the trio was back on her tail, she kept a steady, if zig-zag path to the dark alley where the overhead light had gone out mysterio- conveniently… that is to say, Ra had broken it on purpose to set up this little ambush.

Up the alley and around the corner of a loading dock was a trio of werewolves. Aster ran right past them, tripping once again as she scrambled along the wall. She wasn’t yelling anymore, trying not to draw any more attention to what was about to happen. She then ran into the chain link fence that separated the upper and lower section of the alleyway. She made a show of trying to climb it with her foot slipping before she could get off the ground.

The three people chasing her cackled as they approached, thinking they had her cornered. “Looks like we get to have that chat now.” One of them said and flicked his wrist, a collapsable baton snapping out to its full length.

“Lets make it quick, she made a lot of noise back there.” The woman known as Ember said while producing one of the handheld stun guns that were popular but mostly useless.

Aster fought hard not to roll her eyes at the snapping noise of the stun gun. She knew better than to fear the mall ninja garbage that could be bought at nearly every gun show in the country. Their voltage was so pathetic that a moderately determined person could push right through the pain after a brief flinch.

Not that they had the chance.

Once the last of them cleared the loading dock, their eyes focused on the prize, Gus, Mathew and Kenst slunk out of the open door and right up behind the thugs. A trio of haymakers to the back of the head put each of them down before they knew what hit them.

“Took you long enough.” Aster huffed, standing up straight and straightening her jacket.

Kenst barked a laugh. “Ha, thought you were having fun is all. We didn’t want to interrupt your Oscar worthy performance.”

“Shut it and get them inside with the others.” Gus said after sliding a pair of zip cuffs on his captive and placing a black bag over his head.

“Did we get anything from this group?” Aster asked as she grabbed the feet of the person Mathew was lifting up.

“Yeah, same as the last, but I think that Donnovan guy is getting suspicious. This was the third crew that called about you.” Gus said and tossed his catch on the pile with the others. “Feraz, did it sound like their leader was getting suspicious?”

The goblin perked up from the corner where a folding table held his equipment. “Yeah, when I intercepted the call, it sounded like he was wondering what girl they were after. He was asking a lot of questions all of the sudden.” Feraz had been running a very illegal listening station that he had set up just for this operation. He was intercepting every call made over the local cell towers and listening for any information from any of the ‘protestors’ that were in the area.

Another computer was using a program backed by an AI to pull text data and compile it based on key words to create a known list of phone numbers. That list was being updated and monitored by another Order member who occasionally worked with Feraz on some of the shadier operations that they ran.

“Did they give any descriptions, or does he maybe think that its Kate they were talking about?” Kenst asked as he dumped his package on the pile, setting off a series of groans.

“No description. But how many girls work in the building? Theres only two. So, seeing as we have done this three times, we have pretty much shot our load here.” Feraz said. “I say we close up shop, drag these idiots back to the Order and hand them over to interrogations in the intelligence division.”

“And what does Ra say?” Gus asked.

Feraz rolled his big yellow eyes. “He says that we wait until he has done his part with that fucking psycho Skezic.”

*****

“You are sure about that?” Ra asked as Skezic unscrewed the dropper top of the glass vial he held. He was always a little nervous around the man. Mostly because, despite being a noble werewolf, Skezic had the twitchy personality of a methed out coyote.

“Yeah, DoorDash order room three-ten.” The werewolf answered as he then popped the lids on the eight fountain drinks and placed one drop of the liquid in each. He then recapped them and lifted the trays while Ra took the bags.

“This better fucking work.” Ra hissed through his teeth as they walked down the hall and stopped at the door in question. He knocked sharply three times and glanced down to make sure the borrowed name tag from the hotel was still in place.

“Who is it?” called a voice from inside the room.

“Front desk.” Skezic answered. “DoorDash dropped off your food and left.”

There was a thumping sound followed by heavy footsteps. “Fucking figures.” The door opened to show a heavy set man wearing a grey t-shirt tucked into black cargo pants. He was balding and had a scraggly beard like he hadn’t shaved in over a week but wasn’t trying to grow it out.

The man looked at the two bags and the two trays of drinks. “This all of it?”

Skezic nodded sharply. “Yeah. This is what he said was yours. Apparently, he didn’t want to wait until I called up to your room.”

The man snagged the bags of food and another person, wearing a black sweatshirt and baseball cap, appeared in the doorway before taking the drink trays and slamming the door in their faces.

“Well, I guess that’s that.” Skezic said and clapped his hands once before turning and casually walking down the hall. “Now we have to wait for about… thirty minutes.”

“And what happens in thirty minutes?” Ra asked

“Oh, we are going to waltz right in there and scoop them up. Then we walk them down the back stairs and out into the vans.” Skezic answered happily while pulling out the master pass key card he had gotten from Feraz.

They sat for a while before Ra growled in frustration. “What exactly does the poison do?”

“OH, it’s a paralytic.”

“That’s it?”

Skezic frowned. “Well, yeah. What else did you expect?”

Ra shrugged. “I dunno, maybe something more sinister? Something that makes them suffer?”

Skezic shrugged and they returned to waiting. A few minutes later, there were a series of muted shouts and gurgling half screams that wafted down the hall. Both men turned and looked before Skezic broke out in a grin.

“Did I tell you about the side effects of the distilled sap that comes from this lovely tree in Stalvantol? One if its nicknames if the ‘Nerve Burner’. Turns out if you don’t completely denature the sap of the tree, by bringing the temperature above 250 degrees, it has a nasty tendency to cause all your nerve endings to fire at once, then keep firing until the effect resolves in…oh let’s call it six hours. But who would ever forget to raise the temperature of something like that to its boiling point?”

“But I thought it was a paralytic?” Ra asked, slightly horrified.

“Just because you can’t scream doesn’t mean you can’t feel pain.” Skezic said in a sing-song voice as he skipped his way down the hall to the room full of now moderately poisoned and extremely suffering people. Ra took a moment to shudder before following along his least problematic but most terrifying pack member.