Sheeple Ch. 05

"Kate! Call the police, and don't leave the car. Lock the doors now!" he hollered at her. Then he turned back to Jake. It was the blood he had smelled when he came around the corner. Still fighting the urge not to shift, he sniffed the air around the doorway as he looked at Jake. He knew better than to move him much or disturb things. He didn't know if anyone was still there, even after he hollered at Kate. He didn't want to risk it. Checking Jake's pulse, he knew he wasn't too badly hurt. He could also smell the men who had beat Jake up. What he couldn't tell was if they were still in the shelter. He waited.

*

It took a few minutes for the first of the flashing lights to come into view. Ambulance, police and the sheriff. The paramedics took care of Jake while the police entered the building to look around. Eric stood with Kate by her car. Suzanne was on her way and they were waiting for her. Kate had called the house as well, to let Andy know what was going on. She didn't want to worry him, but knew he needed at least a heads up as to what was going on.

"This is just great. Second mess like this in less than a year. Did the police say what kind of damage was inside?" she asked after talking to Andy.

Eric shook his head. He was trying to keep an eye on the building to see if anyone fled out the kitchen door while the police went in the front. The local cops were alright, but not too bright. No one went to guard the back door.

Suzanne walked up to them. "I guess I should have listened to my gut instinct."

"There was no way to know for sure. I just feel sorry for Jake. Busted nose, cuts and bruises and a tooth or two loosened up," Kate said.

"It could have been worse. He could be dead." Eric nearly growled.

Both women looked at him. They sighed and then nodded their heads. Eric was right even though it was a harsh idea.

"Do we know how bad the damage is inside yet?" Suzanne asked.

"No. Just that they really tore the place up. It will be a while before the police let us in. Somebody taught them how to do finger printing and they are going dust happy." Eric's hint of sarcasm wasn't lost on the women.

Kate just rolled her eyes. She knew Eric's opinion of their local force and wasn't exactly in disagreement. "When will they get done?"

"Maybe soon. One of them just came out the back door. I would assume that that means there is no one left in the shelter." Eric pointing at the rather rotund cop standing on the back steps.

*

They didn't have long to wait. The sheriff and chief of police came up to them together. The sheriff did all the talking which was a good thing. James was a good man and a much better officer than his cohort.

"Suzanne, Kate, sorry about all this. We need you to help us go through the wreckage and see what's missing. You can come along too Eric." James motioned for them to follow him into the building.

Moving past the blood stained entrance was the easy part. Furniture was tipped over, shredded and in some places broken up beyond recognition. It looked like a war zone. The previous break-in was a far cry from this mess.

They went to Suzanne's office first. It was in much the same condition as the front entrance. Furniture turned over or broken. Pictures smashed or at least thrown to the ground. File cabinets trashed and the desk had every drawer dumped. Suzanne's computer was gone. There were a few power cords left and the box of back-up disks was gone as well. "Shit." Suzanne said and just walked out. Without a computer, the shelter was shut down. The new regs demanded that all information be entered on a computer with that software they all detested. She went off in a corner to use her cell phone and call her supervisor to let him know what had happened.

Meanwhile, Kate and Eric decided to go see what was left of her office. It looked like a tornado had touched down on her desk. No file drawer or desk drawer had been left untouched. Computer disks littered the ground in tiny pieces. Her monitor had a crack down the center of the screen where it had been kicked. The keyboard was smashed, and the machine itself was gone.

"Oh..... Eric..... do you think?"

"No. I don't think. I know. Can't you smell it? They pissed in here."

Kate looked around, sniffed and realized that someone or something had pissed all over her chair and in the corners of the room.

"Oh gods. I am so glad I took that disk home yesterday. I wasn't going to but changed my mind at the last minute."

Eric looked at her with relief playing across his face. "Thank goodness for small favors. I was just thinking of where to start looking for that disk. Especially as all of Suzanne's were gone, but most of yours seem to be broken up on the floor."

Kate and Eric were still trying to assess the damages when James stuck his head in the door.

"Can I talk to you two for a minute?"

"Of course James. What do you need?" Eric asked.

"Um..... well, there's something written on the wall back here that we need to know if you two understand. Suzanne didn't have a clue." James started to head down the hall.

Eric and Kate looked at each other and followed James. In the hall back by the kitchen written in what first looked like blood, but was really ketchup was one sentence. 'Come out Nic.'

"Now, do you two have any ideas?"

Kate and Eric looked at each other. Kate just shook her head, not knowing what to say. Eric stepped closer to take a better look at the scrawl.

"James, I don't know. Nobody by the name of Nic works here. I'm sorry I can't help you." Eric shrugged his shoulders and started to head back down the hall. He turned half way. "If I think of something though, I'll give you a call." He headed back to Kate's office. Kate followed.

*

Once they were back in the office, Kate finally took a deep breath.

"Eric,"

"Stop. Not here. Not inside. We'll come back in the morning and see what we can do. Right now, I want to get home. Fast."

Kate nodded in agreement. As they passed Suzanne, they said their goodbyes and told her they'd see her in the morning. She waved them off as she was deep in conversation with one of the police officers.

*

The ride home was fast and silent. Eric still wouldn't talk about anything. He wanted to get home and make sure everything was okay and the family safe. Flexing his hands to try and stop the shifting he so desperately wanted to do was more than occupying his mind. Kate drove as fast as she dared. When they got there they both shot out of the car and up the back steps. The barking of Luna and Gretchen was reassuring. Andy was waiting for them in the kitchen, and had just put the kettle on.

"Everything okay Mom?"

"No. Everything is not okay. Is everything quiet here?"

"Sure. Not a peep from the kids or even an odd bark from Luna."

That was reassuring as Luna barked at anything. Birds, lightning, doorbells, cats three yards over, and even her own dog dish. Noisy was good. Eric looked around the house. "I'll be right back," he said as he headed downstairs to check on the kids and the back door. Kate was getting cups out for tea. Anything to not think about the shelter.

"What has you spooked Mom?"

"There was another break-in at the shelter."

"Yeah, you told me that over the phone."

"We think it was the same people Eric had trouble with at the beginning of the school year."

Andy thought for a moment, and then understood why both of them looked so nervous. "Oh. Alright. So what are we going to do?"

"Nothing at the moment except try and stay calm," said Eric who had just come up from the basement. "The kids are asleep and the back door is locked. I made sure the bells were on the door so we'd know if it opened."

"Good. What are we going to do though. They know 'Nic' is somewhere around, and..." she started to say.

"Yes. And they will probably take a day or so to see if they flushed him out or if they will start hitting houses."

"Hitting houses...... like this one?" Andy asked.

"Yes. They obviously didn't get the information they wanted out of Jake, otherwise we'd have had visitors already," Eric said.

Kate tried not to let the panic rise to the surface. "Eric, do we need to get the kids out of here?"

"That would probably be a good idea, but we have to make it look like a normal thing, and not them fleeing. Otherwise we will attract the wrong kind of attention."

Andy got a thoughtful look on his face. "Mom, it's the weekend. I could take the kids out to the farm Pat's working at in Levette. It wouldn't look out of place."

"He's right. It wouldn't look odd." She looked at Eric.

Eric thought for a moment. Kate swore she could see his braincells firing ninety miles an hour. "Yes. Andy, get things packed now and have everything ready to go. Don't call Pat until you are about half way there. I don't want any calls going out from here."

"Okay Eric. I understand. I'll get right on it. I'll wake up Jon and get his help as well." Andy started downstairs to get the kids clothes together.

"I am so glad that Zach and Anne are down at her mom's this week," Kate said.

"Me too. I'm glad Andy is so responsible and doesn't fluster easily."

"I trained him right?" She tried to joke to ease some of the tension.

Eric smiled at her and took her in his arms. "Yes. You did a wonderful job with him. With all your boys." He hugged her more tightly to him.

Kate looked up at Eric. "And what are we going to do?"

"Get ready. If it is who I think I smelled, we are going to be busy in the next few days. I am going to get the shotguns out of the closet and make sure they are operational."

"You think it will be that rough?"

"It might be. I'm also really glad that Zach and I taught you how to shoot. Even better that you are a good shot."

Kate gave an involuntary shudder. "I... I never really expected to have to shoot someone."

"Not a person. A wolf. Hopefully not me."

"Eric, I... Don't you think we aught to talk to James about this?" She didn't want to think about just how serious this might become.

"No. Not right now. By the time we got him comfortable with the idea that there are shifters, that the government uses shifters in military and non-military operations and that I'm one; it would be next week. It would be too late. No, we'd be better off calling the dog catcher and telling Ronny that there's been a stray dog hassling our dogs. Better off asking him to keep an eye out for strange dogs or coyotes than to call James." Eric brought the shotguns and rifles out of the one closet and placed them on the bed to inspect them.

Kate thought about Ronny. He made Jake look brilliant. Great with animals, and absolutely no social skills with people. He'd spend his entire paycheck buying food for the local stray population and forget to buy food for himself. Ronny had been one of the first people to come to the shelter and their first success at integrating a homeless person back into society. "You know, you might have been jesting, but I think that is a great idea. It's not too late to call Ronny at home. I'll be right back." She headed for the phone.

Eric had finished with the guns and was just coming back into the kitchen when Kate came back in with a smile on her face.

"All taken care of. I talked to Ronny and let him know we'd had some strange dogs hanging around and that Max, Luna and Gretchen were going nuts."

"What did he say to that?"

"Said we weren't the only ones calling up. So, he'll keep an extra eye on the house first thing in the morning and just before he goes off duty at supper time."

"Great. I can see it now. Animal control officer defeats terrorists." Eric smiled halfheartedly. "Although, I'm glad you did call, I'm not sure he will be much help."

"Well, it doesn't hurt now does it?"

"No. Let's lock up and get some sleep. I don't expect them tonight, but tomorrow is wide open." He wrapped his arm around Kate's shoulder.

*Early the next morning, Andy and the kids left for Levette with a reluctant Jon in tow. Andy promised to let him drive his jeep once they were out at the farm. Kate and Eric waved them off from the back steps.

"So far, so good. Nothing in the breeze." He smelled the air as they stepped back into the kitchen.

"Nothing in the pee-mail you mean." Kate managed a little smile.

Eric shot her a look. "I didn't think you'd notice."

"Oh yeah. You walking around the yard sniffing the air. No one else might notice, but I did. So, what's on the agenda?"

"Well, You need to go to work." .

"Wait a minute. The 'bad guys' are due to show up and you want me to go to work?"

"Yes. Normal routine. The last thing you want to do is not act normal."

Kate thought about this for a moment and knew he was right. "Okay. So I go to work. What will you be doing?"

"Me... I'm going to be a good house mate and clean house. Do a little gardening work, fix the fence... watch the dogs, that kind of thing. Oh, and drive you to work, bring you lunch and pick you up."

Kate gave him a look that the boys called the hairy eyeball. "So, you'll keep guard on the house and me, eh?"

"Yes."

"And take care of the bad guys, if they show up, all by yourself."

"Um... well... if necessary," Eric said, knowing he was caught.

"I don't like this."

"Kate, I don't like putting you or even that damned cat that pees on my shoes in danger. So, yes, I will do my best to guard you and keep you out of the way." Eric had a bit of a growl in his voice.

"Alright." She knew that she had lost the battle. "I"m still not used to being taken care of I guess." Between being a widow and the wife of a traveling man, Kate had gotten use to being in charge. Some of their biggest points of contention had been over Kate not dealing well with Eric's desires to be in charge, or at least help out. The boys joked that he'd have to take her clothes to keep her in bed when she was sick. They were very close to the truth. Lifting heavy objects, getting the car worked on or even taking out the trash were often bones of contention. Zach and Andy commiserated with Eric on more than one occasion over Kate's overt sense of independence.

Eric smiled. He hugged her to him. "You'll get used to me being here and taking care of you some day," he whispered in her ear.

"Yes. I guess I will. I love you."

"Good. Now get ready for work."

*

Eric dropped Kate off at the shelter. It was a beehive of activity. Suzanne was supervising from the doorway as trash and broken furniture was dumped into a skip in the parking lot.

Kate walked in and had the smell of cleaning fluids smack her in the nose. Being more sensitive to smells wasn't always a bonus.

"Gads! What are they using Suzanne?"

"Carpet cleaner and some sort of green gunk that is supposedly environmentally safe. Those idiots peed on the walls in your office," Suzanne said in disgust.

"We noticed that last night. I came down to see what was salvageable today. There was just too much broken glass and stuff in there last night."

"I had some of the cleaners put unbroken stuff in a box when they started in your office. There isn't much. Most of the paperwork is a loss as well. Wet, if you know what I mean."

"Yes. I do." Walking up close to Suzanne, she whispered in her ear.

"You did what?" Suzanne said softly.

"I have some of my files on a disk at home," Kate said again in a whisper.

Suzanne hugged her. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. You are a lifesaver."

"They'll stay hidden for a bit I think though."

"I agree. We're officially shut down for two weeks, so no use letting them get lost again."

"Two weeks?"

"Yes. That is how long it will take to clean up, get furniture and a new computer as well as reloading that dratted software."

Kate nodded in understatement. "I guess I'll go see what the crew left of my office."

"Okay. Talk to you in a bit." Suzanne headed towards her own rather empty office.

*

The box of possessions that Kate had to go through was depressing. A few knick-knacks off of her desk, pens and desk clutter, the photo of Eric and the kids, and a few odds and ends. She was picking up the photo when she realized it was thicker than it should be. Turning it over, she found an envelope taped to the back. It was labeled Nic Olman.

Kate's blood felt like ice as she called the house. Eric answered on the fourth ring.

"Eric, you need to come pick up my stuff from the office," she said, trying not to sound too odd on the phone.

"Stuff? What stuff Sweetie. Can't it wait till lunch?" He wondering what was going on.

"No, I think you'd best come get it now. They are really cleaning up my office and I don't want my pictures and stuff getting messy." She stressed the word pictures.

Eric caught the inference that something was wrong. "Okay Sweetie. I'll be down in a few to pick up your pictures and other things. Do you want me to bring your lunch?"

"No. It stinks so bad down here that I couldn't eat here. All the food would taste of cleaning fluids."

"I'll be right there," Eric said and hung up the phone. He grabbed the car keys and made sure all the doors were locked.

*

Five minutes later, Eric was being hugged by Kate in her office. He pulled back a bit, made sure no one was near, and then waited.

"Well?"

"Look." She handed him the picture of him and the kids.

Eric flipped the picture over and saw the envelope. "Okay Kate, I think we can get this all in one box. If you'll grab the picture frame over there, we can make this just one trip. Does Suzanne know you are going to lunch now?"

"No, I'll tell her as we go out the door. There isn't much more I can do anyway until the cleaners get done. Plus, I haven't any real furniture." She turned, looking at her broken desk and chair. Even the file cabinet was dented beyond use. "I just don't understand some people. They ruin it for everyone."

"Yes they do. Now let's get going." He headed down the hall.

"Alright, let me tell Suzanne." Kate headed off to the other office while Eric headed for the car.

Kate joined Eric a few minutes later. "I have the rest of the day off. She has a headache from all the fumes and sees no reason for both of us to be sick."

"Good. I feel better with you here."

"I feel better being with you. At least I'm worrying only half as much."

Eric nodded. "Lets go home and see what that note says. They have obviously figured out where I was, just not where I am. Yet."

"Yeah. That's what has me on edge. I want to know why they want you so much that they'd destroy my office twice. Or worse yet, why are they hunting shifters in the first place."

"That is something we may never know. The guys hunting us might not know. Need-to-know information protocol can be a real handicap at times." Eric finished just as they pulled up to the house. The local Animal Control truck was sitting next to Zach's car. Ronny was leaning up against it, obviously waiting for them.

"Hello Ronny," Kate said, not feeling as cheerful as she tried to sound.

"Hi Kate. I been lookin' round the yard and such. Luna and Gretchen barked at me, but I didn't hear Max. He okay?" Ronny said.

"Yes. He probably is asleep in the basement."

"Oh. I just dinna' want ta pick him up on accident. Make sure he's got his collar on. Not like last time. Okay?" Ronny said, shuffling his feet a bit in the dirt.

"No problem Ronny. We'll make sure he has it on," said Eric, who was going a bit red around the neck and ears.

A month or so back, Eric had been out hunting and came back down the street just in time to be captured by Ronny doing a net sweep in the alley. Luckily, Kate had been waiting for Eric and saw Ronny catch him. She'd had to go inside, find the collar with tags and bring it out. Kate had had to do the whole 'bad dog' routine while putting the collar on 'Max'. Worse yet, 'Max' had eaten something bad that night and chose that moment to hurl it back up. So, on top of the lecture about letting 'Max' out without a collar and or supervision, Kate got a lecture on letting dogs eat roadkill. It had been a poor morning all the way around.