South Mountain Pack Ch. 11

"I think we should LoJack the girls," said Paulo quietly. "Well, all the young ones."

"LoJack, like they use on stolen cars?" questioned Frank as the men looked at each other in confusion.

"Something similar, a small homing device that could be planted in their backpacks, on their clothes, or in the girls headbands. It would be small so it could fit almost anywhere," said Paulo. "We would have to make sure they have an on/off switch so if they were swept for electronic devices it wouldn't detect them, then afterwards they would be switched on. Give me a couple of days, and I'll have a prototype."

"The idea that Joel and Jerry had with the backpacks could be incorporated, but in a sneakier way," said Damian in a serious tone. "We put a false bottom in all the backpacks and pack small items in there that could help if any of the girls or youngsters were abducted. We could go over the list later, but things like a lighter, handcuff key, cayenne pepper, a knife, even a disposable cell. The bottom would have to be sewn so it isn't noticeable in case the packs were searched."

"Especially in the little ones packs; we could make sure the top of the Pack contains coloring books, crayons, dolls, the type of things if they were kidnapped would keep them occupied and quiet. Nobody would suspect Hope, Brooke or the other little ones of having things like that in their Packs," said Anthony with a shrug.

Paulo looked at his laptop and said, "I checked the program I have running and there hasn't been any unusual activity. I'd love to get a copy of the hard drive from Charles's computer and I'm still running a program to access the email accounts from the two Alpha's from New Mexico. Since we don't have school tomorrow, and Hood doesn't start until next week, I'll spend tomorrow morning in my office working on the prototype and a few other things, then tomorrow afternoon I'll go over what we need for the security upgrades at The School House."

Lorenzo looked at his father before looking at Carlo and addressing him, "I was thinking the next time you go to an Alpha Council meeting you should take Aldo. See if he gets an uneasy feeling or any other premonitions being around any of them. Even walking down the hall into the Alpha chambers may trigger something, since that is the last physical evidence of the men who started the Were War."

"What physical evidence? I thought they were scattered in the forest," questioned Gabby as she looked around the room.

The men physically tensed as Carlo said quietly, "When they were hung with silver chains, my grandfather castrated them and put their uhmm..."

"Bits and pieces," supplied Carmelo with a shudder.

"Their bits and pieces into jars and they are kept in a display case in the hallway to remind everyone the punishment for rape and murder," finished Carlo.

"Those bastards deserved it," said Maria with a frown. "Look at what they did to all those girls, and the number of Were's that died because of them."

Gabby nodded her head in agreement, "I think they got off easy."

"Your grandfather was a bad-ass wasn't he?" questioned Sophia as she looked closely at her Alpha.

Carlo smiled and said, "He was the most loving grandparent a boy could ever want, he taught me how to fish, how to drive, how to play poker, shoot pool basically he taught me everything. He made sure I studied hard so I would be prepared to take over the stores, but more importantly he taught me how to be a man, a good man. He taught me how to love and care for my mate and my little ones and my duty to my Pack." He smiled at Gina and Anthony before turning back to Sophia, "But he also taught me how to protect those I love and the belief that living in fear is no way to live. We have not chosen to start this fight, but we will not back down from it, or let any of our females be taken from us."

Carlo glanced at the clock and saw it was after 1 AM, "I think it's time for all of us to go, we have a long day tomorrow and a lot to do." Within fifteen minutes everyone was gone, Ric, Rocco and Luc were staying in the converted carriage house at Joe and Annie's house where his parents stayed when they weren't travelling.

The Carlucci household wasn't the only one filled with anxious family members that night, throughout the Pack families gathered as the men revealed what happened at the meeting and tears were shed upon learning of their Alpha's murder. After discussing ways to increase their security, safety drills were practiced, safe rooms were inventoried, 'Go bags' were brought out and their contents evaluated and changed, but most of all they were together as a family.

Tuesday morning, the air was crisp under a cloudless bright blue sky as the men gathered in the woods surrounding The School House. They were looking at the maps of where the cameras were placed and discussing where the new ones should be installed when they stopped talking as they scented the air and waited silently as the females and youngsters approached them. Gina took a deep breath and said, "We talked it over and we knew most of the men are at work so instead of having our usual Tuesdays Women's Group, we thought you might need our help."

"I's boughted my shovel," said Brooke who gripped a Little Tykes gardening shovel in her hand waving it in front of Lorenzo's face as he held her.

"And I's boughted my buckets," added Hope who waved her bucket at the men while being held by Vin.

"Why don't you move the little ones to the clearing over there," said Gina with a smile. The older ones laid out blankets and the young ones and little ones opened their backpacks and got out coloring books, dolls, and toys and started to play. Their brothers stood around the perimeter with their backs to them and scanned the surrounding area just like they had seen their dads and the older boys do. As Gina watched them she smiled and said, "It's wonderful to see all of the young ones and little ones together, though I wonder how long they'll be content to stay still."

"Madame Gina is going to give me the tour of the store tomorrow, this is more important," said Maeve with a shy smile. "Momma and Nana Ellen made muffins and scones."

"Carlo, are these the Millers?" questioned Dante as he stared at the family.

"Yes, I'm sorry I forgot to introduce you to Todd and his father last night," said Carlo as he quickly made the introductions. Dante continued to stare at Todd and his daughters; something about their eyes intrigued him and nagged in his subconscious.

Allison Martin, Senator Martin's wife, said, "Clay explained what you planned with the new cameras and I have an idea. We know they'll be looking for the cameras, so we should plant some in an obvious manner, on the main trails. This way we channel them where we want them to go, like you had planned, but we give them a surprise. We should dig some pits, like the one the youngsters fell into during the training exercise, but make them bigger and put stakes at the bottom. Even if only a few of them fall into them it'll serve a purpose to make them more cautious and take more time, which will give us more time to evacuate."

"The stakes should be made out of wood; their wolves may sense the metal, like in 'Predator'," said Beth Costello with a smile.

"I think the first thing is we have some of you shift into your wolves and avoiding the main trails make your way down to the perimeter wall," said Rose as she gestured to the woods. "We start section by section and work our way around the entire perimeter. Annie brought her camera and will take pictures and Rita bought her video camera so we can study where the best places to place the cameras, obstacles and the pits."

"Paulo adjusted the view finder on my camera so it has the same angle as a security camera, so that'll help," said Annie as she looked at her mate.

After staring at her for several minutes and letting the silence around them build to a nerve wracking tension, Joe smiled and said, "You never cease to amaze me."

"For that, I may let you catch me later," she replied with a smile as her youngsters started groaning and Damian pretended to gag.

For the next five hours they mapped the perimeter until they were satisfied every inch was covered. The little ones were starting to get antsy and hungry so Carlo called a break for lunch. As they walked quietly back to their vehicles, Carlo said, "I'd like to thank everyone for coming to help, we got everything done in record time and your suggestions really helped." The women nodded their heads in acknowledgement and smiled as they thought of the other surprise they had in store, which they knew would be met with greater resistance from the men.

The women made plans to meet at The Manor House at 1:45 to go to the safe room, and the Moretti's, Miller's, Rossi's, Whitmer's, Poffenberger and Costello families went to Frank's house where Rose and Annie had prepared two large crock pots of venison steamers and had also made macaroni and potato salad for lunch.

After lunch, the young ones were loud and boisterous after being quiet for so long and Frank suggested the older ones take them out in the yard and play tag to release some of their energy. Excited shouts could be heard from the yard as they chased each other while Damian walked around like a zombie since he couldn't run until a piercing scream captured everyone's attention. Frank and Joe, realizing it was Maria raced out the door followed by the other men and were met near the pool by Alberto who had Maria in his arms as he ran towards the house.

"She was running, tripped and fell," he said hoarsely as Maria continued to cry. "I heard it snap as she landed on it."

"It hurts Daddy, worse then last time," cried Maria, cradling her arm against her chest as she scented Alberto's neck to try and calm down. Her forearm was bent at an awkward angle and was already swollen and turning purple.

Seeing how upset the little ones were getting, Vin said, "Let's get them inside and put on a movie." The older ones hurriedly grabbed the younger ones and brought them inside while Victor and Sophia stayed close to Maria.

Annie came running towards them and said, "I already called Doc, he's expecting us. Alberto, carry her to the car." Victor ran alongside Alberto, rubbing Maria's back trying to soothe his twin as Joe and Annie ran ahead to open the doors.

"She broke her arm Friday night and today is Tuesday," Carlo said to Frank quietly. "That is more then enough time for it to have healed properly, especially since she shifted into her wolf Saturday night, which should have sped up the healing process."

Frank nodded his head and said, "I know." He pulled Sophia into a tight embrace and held her as she cried and he murmured, "She'll be fine little one, she'll be fine." His eyes met Carlo's and they were full of worry.

Dante watched as the rest of the older youngsters stood around the yard, their worry for Maria evident on their faces. As he glanced at the Miller girls, his attention was once more drawn to their eyes and he searched his mind as he tried to recall a vague memory, something his grandfather had told him years ago. As he continued to stare, he saw the youngest girl approach her uncle, her arms open to receive his hug and her eyes were filled with unshed tears which turned them into liquid silver.

"Come on, let's go inside," said Frank as he turned to the house, his arm still encircling Sophia's shoulder.

It was something about the eyes, liquid sterling silver eyes ... and then it hit Dante like a ton of bricks. As he realized the significance of those eyes, he whispered, "Son of a bitch."