...And The Big Bad Wolf

"Um, Luc?"

Luc looked up to see Sally. She looked pale and worried. "What's wrong?"

"That... that HVAC guy is back, only he didn't check into the office. I got nervous and none of the janitors or Mr. Swanson are around, so I came to get you."

"Where was he?"

"Near the HVAC room."

"Sally, you come with me back to the office. Two policemen will be heading this way. Direct them down the hall when they arrive."

"Why are police men coming?" Sally was perplexed.

"Charles and I found extra cameras on the system, and we called the police."

"Oh. Okay. Shouldn't we call a lockdown?"

"That's why we are going to the office. If things are okay, no. If they aren't, yes. Do you understand?"

Sally nodded.

"If I don't call you on the radio after I go to the HVAC room, you hit that button."

"Okay Luc."

Luc and Sally headed back to the office. When they got to the main hall, Luc headed towards the back door to the HVAC room. Sally went into the school office, and waited. Part of her thought that they should hit the panic button, and start a lockdown, but she didn't want to do it if everything was legal. She didn't want to panic the students either.

The man at the computer was getting frustrated. Derek had been gone for nearly an hour. That should have been plenty of time to get the camera checked and hopefully fix that Internet system. He drummed his fingers on the desk.

David and Seth walked into the school and headed for the office. The secretary looked scared, and yet relieved to see them. She checked their ID and then began to talk.

"Luc said to wait a minute or two before I triggered the lockdown," she said.

"How long has it been?"

"About two or three minutes."

David looked down the hall. "We'll wait a minute longer."

Luc opened the door softly. It was behind a few racks, so the man who entered a moment after he did never saw Luc. Luc moved forward until he was only a few feet from the man.

The man pulled out a cell phone and made a call. "Yeah, system is still down. What do you want me to do besides replace the camera? No, I don't think so. Too many people in the building at the moment. No, I know which kids, I just don't think this is the moment. Give it a day or so. Yeah, right. Look, it won't hurt to wait a day. Besides, some of the kids are at the library, and... Yeah. Fine. Talk to you in an hour." The man closed the cell phone. "Damn bastard. Do this, do that! Can't wait a day or two to grab kids. Not this guy. Oh no," he said to himself. Sitting down at the computer, he tried again to make the system work.

The man at the computer slammed his fist onto the desk. Derek would pay. He'd find someone else to do the snatch and grab. He opened a file and began looking down the list he had on the screen. Finding the name he wanted, he dialed the number.

Luc had enough. Moving out from the racks, he stepped up behind the man and clicked his radio. As the man reacted to the noise, he turned and half stood up. Luc grabbed the man by the throat and hoisted him up towards the ceiling. As the man tried to fight and get out of Luc's grasp, Luc keyed the radio once more. "Sally, if David is there, send him down please."

Sally startled when the radio squawked. She didn't have time to pick it up, before David and Seth were heading quickly down the hall. "They'll be there in a second, Luc," she said when she finally picked up the radio.

Luc was growling and squeezing the man's throat tighter when David and Seth entered the room.

"Luc, you can put him down."

Luc looked at Seth and growled.

"Come on Luc. Can't scare the kiddos," David said softly.

Luc brought the man down slowly, but didn't let go of his throat. The man tried to kick and swipe at Luc when the pressure lessened due to being closer to the ground. Luc reacted quickly, swinging the guy up high again, and gripping the throat tighter. David grabbed the guys feet and as they brought him down a second time, Seth cuffed him.

"Dhon't mohve," Luc growled. He let his shifted eyes be seen by the man. The man would have squeaked if his throat would have let enough air pass. "Cell phhone."

Seth searched the man's pockets and came up with a few bills, an ID saying he worked for an HVAC company that matched the shirt, a cell phone and two numbers. "Got it. Now how do we get him out of here without being noticed?"

Luc let go of the man's throat and shook himself. He worked the shifted muscles back into place, and took a deep breath. "Go tell Sally that everything is okay. Then we go out this back door." Luc pointed to the door he'd entered. "It leads to the back parking lot."

The men nodded. David went to tell Sally that things were taken care of, while Seth and Luc escorted 'Bill' out. After stuffing 'Bill' into the police car, David and Seth spoke to Luc.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" David asked Luc.

"Yes. I'll turn the camera back on, and the guy bankrolling this will think that 'Bill' here has fixed the problem. From the conversation I overheard, I don't think 'Bill' would call the guy back. However, we now have a cell phone with numbers you can trace. In the mean time, you talk to this guy while I call the family."

"What if he doesn't want to talk?" asked Seth.

"Shift. Just enough." Luc glared at the police car.

"Okay. Meet in an hour?"

"Yes." Luc headed off to the tech office to let Charles know that things were okay. Plus, he wanted to send the threesome back to class. Luc knew that Sara would be better eyes and ears than those cameras.

The man at the computer smiled when the cameras came back up. Maybe Derek would work out after all. He watched the students file thought the halls, noting where certain ones went and made notes. In a few more days...

(14)

David called one of the detectives and had men sent down to watch the church near the homeless shelter to see if their guy turned up to hire any more homeless men. Then he went into the interrogation room where Seth and the guy from the school sat.

"I want a lawyer."

"Fine." Seth just glared at the man. "Your name?"

"Fuck you! I want a lawyer first. I know my rights."

"Rights? Um... Seth, did you read him his rights?" David asked.

"You know, I think I forgot. What with finding a terrorist in a school computer room."

Derek looked from one man to the next. Those three words, terrorist, school and computer, were rather damming. "I want a lawyer."

David and Seth looked at each other and smiled. Seth turned back to the suspect. "Well, if I wanted, I could take on a new client, although that might be a conflict of interest."

Derek looked from one man to the other. He was confused.

"I'm a lawyer as well as a policeman," Seth said. "I'm also related to some of the people you and your employer have been hassling." As he smiled, he let his canines show.

Derek screamed.

"Name?"

"DDDerek Jones."

"Address?"

"The homeless shelter on 6^th Street."

"Employer?"

"Ain't got none." Sweat beaded on Derek's forehead.

"Nhow, Ih Dhon't Believh That," Seth said, his jaw shifting a bit more and with heavy sub-vocals.

"I... I don't know his name. Really! He pays me in cash. Met him at the shelter."

"Description," asked David.

"Average hheight. Um... brunette hair, brown eyes. He really hates shhifters." Derek was getting more rattled by the moment.

"What did he pay you to do?"

"Yesh, an dohn't lie. I can shmell lies." Seth stared straight at Derek.

"Bug the school. Put cameras in. Ffind these kids and I was... um..."

"Yesh?"

"I was suppose to take them to him."

"Anything else?" David asked.

Derek took a deep breath. "Nno."

Seth noticed a change in scent. "Dohn't lie."

"Um... I umm..."

Seth growled.

"I killed a guy! Okay? I killed a drunk for him. Please don't kill me!"

Seth growled again.

Derek pissed himself and passed out.

David looked at Seth. "Did you have to?"

Seth smiled, shook his shoulders to settle things back in place. "Yesh." He looked back at Derek with a puzzled look on his face. "Reminds me of something, and I can't figure it out."

Davil laughed. "Don't most drunks piss themselves when you growl at them?"

"Yes, but..." Seth shrugged and left the room.

"Hey David!" called a detective from across the room.

"Yeah?"

"I got a lead on that cell phone number."

"What do you have?"

"Seems a job lot got stolen a few months ago up in Portland. Got a friend doing a GPS sorta low-jack search for you at the moment."

"Good." David took notes and then headed back to his desk.

Luc called Meg and Ginny to pick the kids up at the end of the day. He briefly explained and had to calm Ginny down, who was ready to rip out throats right then and there. When he was done with that, he called Sandy, Andrew, and Patrick, explaining to them what was going on. They would be at the school as soon as they could. While Luc waited for them to arrive, he and Charles worked on tracing the system that was operating the cameras.

The man at the computer was happy. Things were going to plan. Derek had done as he asked and the man he called was on his way. If all went right, by tomorrow, the children would be in his hands, Alpha Tech would be up in flames, and the shifters would be exposed for the dangerous creatures they were. He checked the cameras once more, and watched the targets.

Patrick walked in to find Luc, Charles, Andrew and Sandy looking at a map. "What are you looking at?"

"Co-ordinates of a GPS signal, the homeless shelter, the first office and ISP records," said Luc.

"Oh? Is that where the bad guy or guys are?"

"We hope so. David and Seth are running down a few leads. Our HVAC guy spilled his guts. Unfortunately, this guy is good. Never gave names, always pays in cash. Half the time, he only talks to his workers by phone. Hell, even uses drunks out of the shelter," said Charles.

"Um, Luc, can I talk to you for a second?" asked Patrick.

Luc stood up and the two of them walked over to one side of the room. "Yes?"

"Luc, does Charles know? About us?"

"Nope. Haven't had a chance to have that little discussion."

"Ah. Alright. Everyone else aware?"

Luc nodded. The two of them walked back over to the rest of the men. "We have a two mile square area that this guy could be in right?" Luc asked.

"That's the way we see it. Just wish we had a better idea of what this guy looked like," said Patrick.

"We all do," chimed in Sandy. "I spent the afternoon with the drunks, and even they didn't know much more than they told David and Seth."

"Meg and Ginny picking up the kids?" asked Patrick.

"Vivien too. Wouldn't leave her by herself," said Andrew.

"Geeze Luc, you're going to have half your family here," said Charles.

Luc nodded.

Meg, Vivien and Ginny checked in at the office, and then waited for the school bell to ring. Parents were suppose to pick kids up in the cafeteria. They found seats and waited as each teacher brought their class down the hall.

"Aunty Twizzler!" cried three bodies hurtling through the crowds. Vivien barely had time to brace before she was mobbed.

"Hello you three." She smiled as she received hugs.

Meg gathered the twins up and then the eight of them headed for the door and the two Subarus. Once they were all belted in, Meg locked the doors and then called Luc.

Luc's cell phone rang just as the men were getting ready to head out. "Yes? Good. See you in a day or two. Love you." He put his phone back in his pocket. "Meg and company are headed to George and Angie's. We ready to do this?"

"I um.. Good luck? Or is this good hunting?" asked Charles.

"Good hunting. When this is all over, we need to have a long chat." Luc shook Charles' hand.

Charles nodded. He watched the men leave and then turned back to the computer and the network traffic. He was suppose to call Luc if there was a major change.

(15)

The man at the computer closed everything down. He dropped the trash down the incinerator chute and then changed clothes. He put what he'd been wearing in a bag, and hung it on a hook in the back room, behind some boxes. He put his computer in the bottom of a shredder basket, and covered it with shredded paper. Then he grabbed a bottle of cheap whiskey and drank a sip and spilled some on his clothes. The last thing he did was set the security system. His cell phone would chirp if anyone came in. Locking the door, he stuffed the key into a slit in his shoe. Then he headed outside and down the street. When he got to the homeless shelter, he stood in line with the rest of the men waiting for supper.

"Hey Bubba, you got some juice on yah?" one of the drunks next to him asked.

"Nah, drank the last. Mebbe tomorrow."

"Youse get some work today?"

"A little." He shuffled forward with the rest.

"Hmmm, mebe I's go wif dat man, get some work."

'Bubba' nodded. Head down, he smiled as they moved into the shelter for dinner and the chance to sleep inside.

Patrick and Sandy shifted. Luc, David, and Andrew 'walked' the big dogs. They were quartering the area, with the homeless shelter at the center. David had brought a wash cloth he'd had Derek rub on his body to collect scent. Derek had admitted that he had been to the office at least once, but he couldn't remember an address. Just that there was a stairwell, and a door painted with some sort of gang signs. They all sniffed the rag, and then David pocketed it.

After thirty minutes, they struck a waft of scent. The five of them jogged along following the trace. Ten minutes later, they were at the bottom of a long fire escape, and at the top there was a door with 'west side hos!' written in green spray paint. Luc and David walked up the stairs slowly. When they reached the door, Luc checked it for traps, wires or alarms.

"Luc, is that a wire?" David pointed to a think piece of plastic that seemed to go between the door and frame.

"I think so. No camera, but it might be on the inside. Biggest issue is the locked door."

"Let me fix that." David took a credit card out of his wallet and slipped it in next to the door handle. A quick wiggle and the door clicked. "After you."

Luc opened the door carefully, and followed the wire. It led them to a small office at the back of the building. There was a desk, chair and a window facing the homeless shelter. Luc found where the wire met a camera and sensor. He pulled the wire, and watched the light go out. "Deactivated. Now we can search. Don't know how long we have though."

David walked back to the door and called the rest up. When everyone was in the room, they began to search. There was the faint scent of Derek, ashes, another man and cheap whiskey. He and Luc checked out the chute, and found that it was an incinerator.

"Well, that's convenient for getting rid of things," remarked David.

The wolves sniffed the furniture and then made a beeline for a pile of boxes in another room. One whined and pawed at a box. The other one thumped his head against a plastic shape.

Andrew walked over to the box where Patrick was scrabbling. An oddly familiar scent hit his nose, but he couldn't place it. "I've found some clothes. Anyone recognize the scent?" The others came over, but no one connected anyone with it. Then they walked over to where Sandy had dumped an old industrial shredder. At the bottom there was a Panasonic Toughbook. Luc opened it up and had the password cracked in less than a minute. Lots of files on the family and the icon that brought up the cameras at the school.

"Damn. Now what?" asked David.

Luc looked around. "Trash the place. No peeing. We take the clothes and the computer. Then, just before we leave, I'm going to adjust that little alarm system."

The men trashed the place. They dropped the clothes down the incinerator, and a small box or two as well. Luc gave Andrew the computer and then he reset the alarm system, minus the chirper.

"How does that change things?" Andrew asked.

"When we come back, we'll be able to open the door without him hearing us," explained Luc.

"Ah."

"And yes, I'll be back tomorrow," Luc growled. They left the door open and left.

As Bubba lay there in the dark, the phone alarm softly chirped a few times and then stopped. He looked around. No one had noticed the noise. He couldn't leave either. The shelter had been locked for the night. No way in or out until morning. He sighed and realized that he'd have to wait to see what had happened.

"Youse gonna get a bottle t'day?"

"Mebe. I do, I'll share." Bubba shuffled out with the rest of the men and then ambled off in the direction of his office. Ten minutes later, he climbed the stairs to find the door open. "Shit." he hissed under his breath. The office was trashed. There was a shoe and one sock left, but the rest of his clothes were gone, as was his computer. "Damn junkies." He straightened his clothes the best he could, combed his hair and then headed out. There was a pawn shop two blocks away. That's where he'd gotten the first laptop.

He was back, up and running in about an hour. Too late to watch the children come to school, but he still watched the halls. Around noon, the phone rang. "Yes? That will be fine. Thanks. I'll have your money for you at the shelter. A drunk named Bubba will have it. No, he's bought. Won't take your money. Okay. Bye." The man hung the phone up and went back to watching the computer screen.

Luc, Andrew and Patrick arrived in the alley just after 1pm. "I'll go up first."

"Luc, what are you going to do?" asked Patrick.

"Unless I miss my guess, we will have a body to move," said Andrew.

"Guys,..."

"Patrick, this man threatens our families. Our lives. We know he's not afraid to hire killers. He was going to take the children. What do you think I'm going to do?" asked Luc.

"Luc, this isn't the old days, when Buster or Celia lived. Are you sure?" Patrick started.

"No, Luc is right Patrick," said Andrew. "We can't afford to let someone like this live. Even if we put him through the court system, we couldn't keep him in jail. This kind of man would be put in a mental hospital for raving about werewolves and would be out in two years to do it all again. Or, he'd never go to jail. As much as I dislike the idea, I believe he needs to die."

"How about we lock him up out at Dr. Jeff's?" asked Patrick.

"Right. Like that isn't cruel? This guy has a fear or hate of us. You want to stick him out with a bunch of shifters with issues? No, it would be far less cruel to just kill him now." Luc sighed.

Patrick thought for a moment. "No, you're right. This guy is some sort of psycho. Let's get this over with."

The three of them padded silently up the stairs. Andrew popped the door, and Luc was the first one in. He walked silently into the hall, just across from the room where the incinerator was. They could all smell the man. They could hear that he was talking on the phone. Luc motioned for Patrick to go right and Andrew to stay on his left. Luc shifted just enough to give himself more strength. He peered into the room. The man finished his phone call. He sat with his back to the door as he watched the computer. Luc could smell that it was the same man who left the clothes. He could see that the man was watching the school. Very specifically, the twins classroom. Just before Luc reached the man, he turned.

"You!" Luc cried as he saw who it was.

The man at the computer screamed and scrabbled away from Luc. He threw the laptop and Luc ducked. Then he picked up the chair and swung it at Luc. Luc kept advancing. Patrick came in from behind, and when he realized who it was, he moved closer. Luc stepped forward to try and grab him. It didn't work. Patrick stepped in, and wrapped an arm around the man's throat. His original intent was to incapacitate him. The man flailed, and kicked. Patrick applied more pressure, shoving the man's neck over his arm and stretching him up and over.