Life With A Werewolf

The Nobility Part 7 - The Life of Bait

          Cecily and Killian had the perfect banter of brother and sister. Inside jokes. Strange werewolf jokes and innuendo that I won’t be putting in this blog. The sorts of things that shows the close ties of a brother and sister who are used to working and fighting together. So, of course I got along great with them almost from the start. After all, a soldier recognizes a fellow soldier, regardless of what war they’ve fought in.

          “So, remember,” Cecily said, “You won’t see us. But that’s okay, cause we’ll see you.”

          “So,” I replied, “Just don’t be afraid of the two over grown dogs stalking me through the day as I run my errands and try to get kidnapped by other overgrown dogs. Gotcha.”

          Killian placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, “You know,” he said, growling a bit, “some werewolves might take offense to being called a dog.”

          “Oh, come on,” I said, trying not to wince at the strength of his grip. “It’s a term of endearment. Besides, it’s not like I called you mutts,”

          I dragged the word out and chuckled as Cecily leaned forward and smirked, “that would be bad for you. Perhaps we’d be a little late in our intrepid rescue, hmm?”

          “Do that,” I smiled, “And Crash may get mad.”

          It was like I poured ice water on our light teasing. A tenseness grew in the room, and Killian removed his hand from my shoulder, turning to work on a backpack of sorts. We were standing in the living room prepping for my first round of “errands.” It was to be a simple thing. Go out a few places, ask around about Crash and Zack and Kris. In general, make myself as exposed as possible without looking like bait, to which there is an actual art form to it. We had been teasing all morning through this. I didn’t expect my small joke to have such an impact.

          “What,” I asked. “What happened?”

          After a heavy sigh, Cecily said “Let’s just say that we owe Crash. Especially dad. We owe him a lot more than this. More than that, it is not our tale to tell, unfortunately. Perhaps Crash will relay it to you one day.”

          I nodded. There was a sense of something there. A loss of sorts that felt as if it was cavernous enough to lose more than just a friendship in. But I kept my suspicions and wonders to myself for a change. Even I could feel that it wasn’t the time for digging where I wasn’t wanted.

          The plan was simple. It was something Roam, Tanika and I had been cooking up since they arrived. I go out, make myself as available to kidnap as possible. They would monitor my movements: Cecily and Killian from somewhere close by, while Donte and Eleanor monitor my trackers with Sean from the house. This plan we had created a few hours after everyone had arrived, giving the crew and us time to try and rest some after essentially being up almost a full day.

          So, after resting a day, and prepping and prepping and prepping again, checking equipment three and four times (at my behest, to be honest) I went out and did my best to try and be the most attractive bait I could possibly be. Which is to say, I ran errands. Talked about Crash. Asked about our missing roommates. And moved on. Bought food, went to the bar (something I’m not sure I’ve ever done before in this small place), and was seemingly ignored by just about everyone as I did so.

          It’s a good thing the trackers were small. A thin one in my shoe that had a small battery and antenna so everyone could see my GPS location. A small one in my belt buckle. And of course, my smart watch. The days of taping wire and microphones to people have been gone since the nineties thank God. But still I felt naked, exposed somewhat. You always do during these things. But it’s a good type of naked exposure. The kind that keeps you a bit alert. Let’s you see things even I would normally over look. Like the old lady who kept opening the same app and closing it again on her phone while she stared at me through the reflection on the window in front of her in the donut shop. Or the guy pumping gas and talking to his friend, while casting glances in my direction.

          Of course, it could be paranoia. But a little paranoia in the business of being bait is healthy. After all, just because you’re paranoid, don’t mean they’re not after you.

          Killian and Cecily were excellent at their jobs. During the two days I wandered around, I never saw them once. Even though by the end of the second day, I was looking for them, seeing if I could see their dark hair, their olive skin, their smirking face amongst the people I was weaving through in the bank, at the post office, at the restaurant. Perhaps searching for a sense of that blanket that was protecting me from far away. But all I saw was nothing. Just more of the crowd. And more of those suspicious glances.

          When it finally happened, my paranoia had been sharpened to a fine razers edge. I expected to feel the stiff press of a weapon in my back. A growl of a threat in my ear. To be told to ‘act natural’. Or to simply be grabbed and thrown. Though when the white minivan pulled up next to me, I did feel my heartrate quicken.

          I was leaned over my trunk, setting a bag of groceries inside when it pulled up. They were smart. Let me unload all of my groceries. Let me close the trunk and put the cart away. Then the door opened. And something hit the back of my head. And everything went black.

***

          While I was under the ever-loving care of The Nobility, Donte and Eleanor was monitoring my progress at home. They could see my movements, going from the minivan to another vehicle, to a third and finally to a private residence on the outskirts of the county, out amongst the simple Amish folk that everyone leaves to their own devices. “Working like a charm,” Eleanor said. She sat on our couch where Zack would always sit playing his games, tapping away at her keyboard.

          “You trying to clear up the signal,” Sean asked, leaning over Eleanor’s shoulder. He held a mug of coffee in his hand that trembled a bit with nerves as he spoke. He was never good with large groups of people, always leaving that part of things to Kris.

          “Oh no,” she said. “That program runs in the background. All I have to do is sit here and watch it, really. I’m readying another script, typing up something that will ring everyone and the authorities in order if need be. A big red panic button, so to speak.”

          “Oh,” he said, standing back up.

          “Is everyone settled,” Tanika asked. She was standing in the door way, dressed as if for battle with her hair pulled back in a pony tail. Though she had no visible weapons, one could never say a werewolf was ever unarmed.

          “Appears so,” Eleanor said. She tapped a couple of buttons on her cell phone. “Sent everyone a pin to where the cell signal stopped. I suspect Killian and Cecily are there already.”

          Tanika looked at Roam, fire in her eyes. “We should go.”

          Roam smiled, “Yes, Killian and Cecily aren’t likely to save any fun for us if we let them.”

          And then, like Sean later told me when he told me about all of this, they “like left, dude.” Donte, never one to let a good silence go to waste filled it with all sorts of conversations about movies, games, music, anything he could think of, really. It felt like hours, according to Sean. But really was probably only ten minutes later before there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it,” Donte said, motioning to Sean. “You should still stay out of sight.”

          He disappeared through the front door, then came back holding a plain cardboard box. The top of it was open. Donte’s usual jovial look was gone. He looked down into the box with a vague look of shock and horror. “I don’t…” he muttered, “I just…”

          “What,” Sean asked as he stepped forward. He peered inside. Inside the box was a human heart, whole and intact. Next to the heart was a note that read “If you want the rest of him, come to this address.”

          “Kris!” He shouted, then sprinted for the door.

          “Wait!” Donte shouted. He tried to grab him, but Sean had the power of panic at his side and slipped from his grip.

          “Shit!” Eleanor shouted from the couch.

          “What?” He asked.

          “Our trackers. They just jumped four different locations and disappeared. Jason, Mom, Dad, Cecily and Killian. All gone.” She stared at the screen for a moment, then looked up at Donte.

          He began rubbing his head absent-mindedly as he paced. “And then there were none,” he said. “What are we going to do?”

          “I don’t know.” Eleanor said. “I honestly don’t know.”