A Werewolf In Under-Town

Finding the place was the straightforward part. But getting there was a pain in the ass. Shaggy and his pack decided to stay in human form to save their strength for whatever was waiting for them. Which meant they had to walk through the back alleys and rooftops. Which was normally easy, but tonight the HLO and their drones were out in droves.

Sneaking past the various patrols and drone flyovers reminded him of when the cops had been hunting them. It was like the entire neighborhood north of theirs was on constant alert. Stanley recommended they use the sewers, but that was quickly shouted down. Mostly because of the smell. But Shaggy was seriously considering it when they were almost caught for the fifth time on the same block.

Thankfully, once the patrol moved on, they had enough time to make it to their destination and scope things out. Their goal was a warehouse that took up an entire city block. Tom blew out a whistle as they all hunkered down on a nearby roof.

“That’s… an enormous building.”

“Thanks, Tom. We would have missed it if you didn’t say anything.”

“I’m just saying. Imagine the shit they could hide in there?”

“Why can’t we hear anything from inside?” Vick asked.

Shaggy took a second, and he realized Vick was right. The warehouse was alive with movement and lights. But they couldn’t make out a sound. There weren’t any trucks going in and out of the place. But the sheer number of workers should’ve made a hum of noise or something. Shaggy shrugged his shoulders as he looked back at his pack.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s an ordinary measure so they don’t wake the neighbors as they work late into the night?”

“Either way, it doesn’t matter. Do you see that entrance? They’ve got HLO troopers guarding their front gate.” Rita said, pointing a finger at the gate.

“And two on the roof doing patrols.” Sybil added.

Ephemara shifted back into view, shaking her head. Shaggy didn’t even realize she had gone. The thought made him look around for Tom and he found the slim man still pondering the building. The vanishing woman shrugged at him.

“I had to check, boss.”

“And?”

“And I can get right next to the building, but the bricks are shielded or warded or something. Any entry we make is going to be loud.”

“Not necessarily.” Stanley said, pointing a finger at the roof. “There are only two guards on the roof. There has to be a way in up there, right? Otherwise, how did they get up there?”

Shaggy nodded and turned to Ephe and Tom. Ephemara shot him a cheerful grin as Tom rolled his eyes and sighed. Tom moved to the edge of the roof and gauged the distance between their roof and the faraway edge of the warehouse roof. He gave a half-snort/half-groan.

“Boss… how are we even supposed to make that? Plus, our dense-ass bodies hitting the roof are going to make some noise.”

“Stop complaining.” Ephemara said, swatting a palm at him. “Look, there’s a ladder to the side there. You do your sneaking thing and I’ll meet you. Then we’ll each take a guard.”

Tom started grumbling, but he leaped from their rooftop down to the ground and vanished into the night. The warehouse itself was surrounded by large lamps shooting light in various directions. But they were aimed low, so they didn’t annoy the neighbors. Shaggy looked around at the other houses. At a glance, they looked like residential buildings. But there were no lights on in any of them. Not even a porch light or something.

“What’s up with these buildings?” Shaggy asked, waving a hand and sniffing the air.

But all he got was the scent of the guards at the warehouse… and a family of cats who seemed to wander the neighborhood. Rita followed his gaze and shrugged her shoulders. Sybil and Vick were watching Tom and Ephemara’s misadventure. So Shaggy waved a hand at Stanley and Cekrass.

“Can one of you see if you can get a look into one of the nearby windows?”

Cekrass and Stanley shared a look before they ran off in opposite directions. Rita looked around worriedly as she asked.

“You think it’s trouble?”

“I think it’s weird that in this neighborhood around a giant warehouse, the residents are being unusually quiet. No one’s taking a dog for a late night walk? No one is off to the kitchen for a snack? It could be nothing, but I’d like to make sure.”

Rita nodded slowly, but then turned her attention back to the warehouse. There was a lot of movement for the middle of the night. Especially with no trucks going in or out of the area. However, a few minutes later, a truck showed up. But it was ushered into the warehouse proper as multiple workers swarmed it like a bunch of ants.

“One guard down.” Sybil reported.

“His friend noticed, though. You gotta get Tom a quieter weapon.” Said Vick.

“He has a dagger. How is that loud?”

“The guy’s death throes alerted his friend. But Ephe’s got him. Roof’s clear and they are waving us in.”

“Then let’s hop to, people. Across the street, through the outer fence and onto the roof. If you see anyone, take them quietly. I’d rather start a fight from ambush then get into a running fight when we don’t know what’s in that warehouse.”

He got nods all around as Vick and Sybil went over the side of the roof. Rita stuck with him as Cekrass and Stanley came back. The boy was breathing hard from running, but the big lizard alien was waiting patiently to report. Shaggy cast a sideways glance at Stanley, but nodded at Cekrass.

“The buildings are empty. Hollow. Full of crates that contain foodstuffs.”

“Foodstuffs?”

“Animal food, boss. I went into a building and checked some crates. They are full of animal food. Raw meat too, but it’s mostly large portions of bird and cat food. There was even a crate of insects.”

Shaggy nodded as he glanced around the neighborhood. There were several large buildings surrounding the warehouse on all sides. They looked like three-story houses, but if each was empty, that was a massive amount of space.

“I checked three buildings, boss. They were all the same.” Stanley said as Cekrass nodded.

Shaggy got an impatient feeling from Ephemara and turned to Rita. She was clearly waiting for his orders. So Shaggy spoke his thought process aloud.

“So if it’s food, then they have to be keeping animals in that warehouse. Which is good to know. It’s also good that the buildings aren’t housing HLO stooges. So I think we can carry on with the heist. Once inside, we go nuts and take out the guards from the inside.”

“What about if they call in reinforcements?” Rita asked.

“You and Ephe are on that. Find whatever communication equipment they are using and shut it down. The rest of us will deal with the HLO. Just be careful of the animals. I don’t know what they are using the things for, but we aren’t monsters.”

He got more nods and then led the way over to the building’s side and landed in the alley. Several soft thumps came from behind him as the rest of his pack joined him and Shaggy rushed across the street. The fence already had a hole thanks to Tom and Shaggy pushed his way through. He crossed the darkened space between the fence and the warehouse and then to the ladder. With minimal effort, he pulled himself to the edge of the roof and started up the side. As he did, he realized the sound was still muted.

It was like he was walking on something soft or carpeted instead of a metal roof. Even so, he was careful as he approached the apex of the curved roof. Ephemara, Sybil, Tom, and Vick were all there waiting and staring down into a hatch at the top of the roof. Light and noise streamed from the hatch and Shaggy pushed his way to the front. Peering down into the hole, Shaggy winced against the noise. It was utter chaos as animals screeched and roared while people and troopers rushed around the building.

A wave of gross scents hit Shaggy in the nose and he recoiled slightly. They clearly weren’t cleaning out the animal cages. Squinting his eyes against the tears forming in them, Shaggy put his head back down near the hatch. Orders were being shouted and large crates were being moved around. As one was turned to the side, Shaggy got a glimpse of what was inside the large crate. It was an alien tiger. A giant alien tiger.

The purple beast clawed and roared ineffectually at its cage. Its purple and black striped body seemed to bristle as it paced angrily. Shaggy looked around at the others, confused.

“They are stockpiling animal hybrids, boss.” Tom said. “The warehouse is full of them.”

“You didn’t go in there, did you?”

Both Ephemara and Tom shook their heads.

“It’s way too crowded for Tom, and I got a weird vibe off the warehouse foreman.”

“Weird vibe?” Rita asked.

Ephemara’s answer was to stick her head down into the hatch and then come back up again. When she did, she pointed toward the southern end of the warehouse near the entrance.

“Big guy with black hair wearing a trench-coat. He's the one giving orders.”

Rita stuck her head down the hatch, the same as Ephemara. But when she came up, she merely shrugged, confused. Shaggy took his turn and looked for the foreman. But when he found him, he snapped his head back up and almost started running. But he caught himself as his entire pack stepped toward him worriedly.

“Ryall.” Shaggy said, remembering the Were-tiger that had killed him.

The big mercenary was the one issuing commands in the warehouse. Shaggy seriously contemplated leaving this place and smashing more checkpoints. But his will met the iron-hard resistance of his pack. They were all glaring at him, sensing his distress, and waiting for answers. Shaggy blew out a breath and began to explain.

“It’s the Were-tiger that beat my ass last time.”

“The one that triggered you into upping our damn training?” Tom retorted.

Though Shaggy guessed that the pale man was angrier at the memory of the exercises. He suppressed a snort and nodded.

“Yep. The bastard is here and in charge. That’s a trip. I thought Mr. White was angry with him.”

“For what?” Rita asked.

“For failing to kill me,” Shaggy said.

But that was a lie. The tiger-man had been too fast for Shaggy. He was worn down and then beaten into motes of light. Then, on top of that, he was buried under another damn building. The thought made Shaggy wonder if he could crash this building down on the big cat’s head. But Shaggy quickly rallied himself. This time, he wasn’t tired. This time, he wasn’t alone. Now he could smack that arrogant smirk right off that cat-bastard’s face.

Shaggy’s feral grin was mirrored by his pack, as his feelings seemed to pulsate through the entire pack. They seemed eager and ready to throw themselves at a worthy opponent. Shaggy quickly formulated a plan and then nodded to himself.

“Ephe and Tom, find the whatever array this building is using for communications. If you have to cut power to the whole damn building, do it. The rest of us are going to get into the rafters and make our way toward Ryall. Do not attack him alone. The fucker is fast and as strong as I am. He even has full control of his man-beast form. So don’t fuck around. Once he is out of the way, we can raid this warehouse for whatever we want and then burn the fucker down. Clear?”

Silent nods and feral grins met him as he looked around. Although Ephe looked a little let down. Shaggy shrugged. She was the best suited to making sure their backs were safe. But he felt the need to placate her somewhat.

“Don’t worry, Ephe. He’s a tough sonofabitch. We’ll still be dealing with him when you’re done.”

“Actually boss, if you could kill the big scary guy quickly. That would work better for me.” Tom said, twirling a dagger in his fingers.

Shaggy ignored him and waved the stealth team down through the hole. He gave a mental count of five and then rushed down himself, this time heading in the opposite direction. A series of catwalks and rafters hung high above the massive warehouse. But surprisingly, they weren’t being patrolled. Shaggy kept his eyes on the ceiling for any cameras or sensors. But it was Sybil that caught the first one.

She had yanked Shaggy back as they crouched along the catwalk. Silently, she pointed to a small circular device on the catwalk’s railing. It was facing the outer wall. A slim, barely noticeable red beam was shooting from its top.

“Laser tripwire.” Sybil whispered.

Shaggy nodded and sent the word and image along the pack link. They carefully hopped over the laser and continued on their way. As they did, Ryall’s words got louder and louder as he angrily berated the HLO troopers. Shaggy sent Rita, Vick, and Cekrass to the other side of the warehouse so they would catch the tiger-shifter in a pincer movement. As he Sybil and Stanley waited for the other team to get into position, Shaggy listened in on Ryall’s ranting.

“You stupid, weak pieces of shit. I can’t believe the HLO has me working with a bunch of losers. Last contract I take with you slimy devils. Sitting all day in this hot-ass fucking zoo. Do you know what this shit does to my nose? Huh?! This is unprofessional as all hell!”

“He’s a delight.” Sybil whispered.

Shaggy shrugged. “Imagine being cooped up in here all day. The smell would kill us. He’s lucky he’s an overgrown cat.”

Shaggy saw Ryall seemingly sense something and the big guy whirled around. Trench-coat fanning out as he did. Shaggy decided he was going to take that coat when everything was over. Ryall groaned below them as he started to shift. His tan skin was replaced with orange and white fur as he grew in size. He heard Sybil and Stanley suck in a breath as Ryall took his man-beast form. Rita signaled her team was ready just as Ryall’s transformation finished.

“Oooooo!” Ryall chuckled as he spun around. “Doggy, doggy, on a catwalk. Did you think you could hide from me? I’ve got your scent, little doggy. Why don’t you come down and tell me how you survived our last encounter?”

Shaggy watched Ryall as the tiger-man spun around, looking into the darkness of the ceiling. Shaggy didn’t think that the guy could see them. Not with the way he was spinning about. But he also knew he didn’t want to risk it. With a sigh, Shaggy stood and tossed himself over the catwalk’s railing. The distance was pretty far, but Shaggy braced himself accordingly and slammed heavily next to some blue-metal crates. Ryall’s eyes never left him as Shaggy approached. A false smile on his own lips.

“So good to see you again, Ryall.”

Ryall’s green eyes widened and he snorted out another laugh. “Hahaha! Someone’s been talking. Tell me, MR. Robertson, who has been telling tells on me? I need to know who to silence.”

Shaggy scoffed. “That would be your boss, Ryall. He was happy to divulge a lot of information.”

Ryall’s face scrunched up in anger. “Fucking corporate types. They never know when to shut the fuck up. At least the pay is good.”

“Is it? I heard your pay was rescinded. Something about not killing your last target.”

“Yeah, about that. How did you survive? I beat you until your healing stopped, then dropped a building on you. There was no way you could’ve survived.”

“And yet here I am,” Shaggy said, holding arms out and moving closer to Ryall.

They were less than ten feet apart. Shaggy stared into the tiger-man’s piercing green eyes as they searched his own for answers. Soon, Ryall snorted and waved him off.

“Fine. Keep your secrets. Maybe I’ll wait around for you to die this time. Coming here was the stupidest thing you could’ve ever done.”

Shaggy started to trigger his change, when movement caught his eye. Three women were walking up behind Ryall. As they did, they seamlessly transitioned into tiger-woman. Their clothes melted away and were replaced with fur as they all glared across at Shaggy. He froze in surprise as Ryall chuckled again.

“These are my mates and they were a little angry with me last time for not letting them play. I hope you can keep the four of us entertained.”

Shaggy gulped as the four beast-form shifters prowled toward him. But a loud crash from behind Ryall and his mates drew everyone’s attention. A large auburn-haired wolf was pulling itself from the wreckage of some crates. Next to her, a green, spiky looking werewolf also shook its massive head and growled angrily. Behind Shaggy, he felt Sybil and Stanley also hit the ground floor in wolf form. Ryall snarled angrily as he looked between the two groups. Shaggy could feel Vick providing overwatch from above with his rifle. He couldn’t help but smile as he focused on his own transformation.

As the change took him, Shaggy glared across at Ryall. “Let’s see how coCKY YOU ARE NOW MOTHERFUCKER!”

Shaggy voice changed drastically as the shift took him and he stood in his man-beast form. Two of Ryall’s mate’s turned to glare at Rita and Cekrass as Ryall and his third mate glared at Shaggy.

“Good. You brought more little puppies for us to play with. Don’t cry too much if we get a little rough!” Ryall growled before launching himself at Shaggy.

Shaggy activated his own pounce ability and headed straight for Ryall as the rest of his pack pounced on the Tiger-shifter’s mates. And that’s when the lights went out.