A Werewolf In Under-Town

"And they just left."

"Like a bunch of bats out of the mouth of a cave at sunset."

"That's a poetic mental image. Even so, do we know if they'll be out there waiting for us?"

"That was the Mission I assigned them. I can feel Cekrass out that way now. I figure once his team scouts the meeting location, they'll back off."

Levy nodded as she switched lanes. "Make sense."

The car they had borrowed from Sybil's workshop was an old beater sedan. But it was the first 'fully clean' car Sybil and the Bug Brothers had put together. Each of the pieces came from a different car. But with the paint job and the part parity between certain car manufacturers, you couldn't tell. The ride was smooth, the plates were forged, and the drones were passing them by. So Shaggy figured they were in the clear as they drove to the meeting.

Bodecker had given them a brief business breakdown of the Sqwilliup construction company. But it was fairly standard stuff. The only wrinkle was the alien company's unwillingness to push deeper into Austin. Before contacting Shaggy and the Legion, the crime family front seemed content building small custom condos on the outskirts. They mostly operated in the spaces between the major cities. Shaggy didn't know if that meant that San Antonio and Houston had their own Mafias, but he didn't rule it out.

Their refusal to enter the bigger cities was why Shaggy and Levy were currently driving out to Driftwood, Texas. A tiny little town with one of the Sqwilliup family's latest construction projects. The spot was less than an hour away, so Shaggy settled in and watched the virtual world pass by his window. Even as they left the city, signs of Supers and Villains were everywhere. Flying bastards in tights would soar through the air in some direction or another. Usually they were followed by a veritable fleet of drones, too. Massive explosions and powers would flash in the distance as they traveled down the road. There was even a slight detour because of a sludge monster on the highway.

"I keep forgetting how big this game is." Levy muttered as they wound their way through a collection of side streets.

"One-to-one recreation the real world, love. At least that's what they say, and I have to say I believe them. So many Players out there just cutting out their little piece of the world."

"Pretty soon, those pieces are going to collide, Shaggy."

"I know. We just have to make sure we're ready when that happens. But I think when that moment comes it'll be like the normal guild to guild interaction. Each League or Group will set up their own havens and rule them as they see fit."

"That's if the game lets them." Levy said, finally pulling them back onto the highway. "For all we know, there are stronger Supes out there waiting to slap down the player guilds."

Shaggy shrugged. "We'll just have to be ready for anything, then. Try to keep our noses down and rule the world from the shadows."

"The world, huh? Shouldn't we start small first?"

"Of course! Austin will be first and then the entire digital world!" Shaggy raised a fist as he finished speaking and shook it.

"Pfft! I was thinking closer to home. Maybe we try ruling our little slice of turf first?"

Shaggy playfully waved his wife off. "Please. We'll be just fine there. We've got good people, and the League is thriving. All we have to do is stay the course."

Levy hummed happily before changing the subject. "So what are we expecting with this meeting?"

"I imagine it will be the same bullshit posturing we see with a lot of criminals. They'll flex their muscle, their history…"

"Their connections, their overall clout." Levy finished, nodding along. "That makes sense. How do you want to respond?"

"We play it aloof unless they push too hard. We need to show that we can't be pushed around. Also, that we won't be used as some sort of proxy army against the Rakgu family."

"But we are going to have to fight the Raks at some point, though."

"Agreed. But when we do, it'll be on our terms."

Levy hummed in understanding. "So we approach this clearly as a business deal. Not an alliance. Do you want me to do the talking?"

"And I… what? Stand around and look menacing?"

"Sure. Let them underestimate us and then we take them to the cleaners."

"Sounds good. You can handle all the business stuff. You're better at it."

Levy snorted but said nothing else as the road turned slightly west. They were getting closer to their destination and Shaggy could feel Cekrass waiting in the distance. The big Lizard-Were was eager and waiting for them to arrive. Shaggy couldn't get a lock on the rest of the big alien's team but common sense said they'd be with Cekrass. He navigated Levy toward Cekrass' location. But the sparse landscape made the job way easier.

There weren't a lot of buildings in Driftwood. Mostly it was a few homes and a couple of stores. At the far end of the main road was a half constructed building. It rose high into the sky but sat half-completed. Brick walls wrapped around uncovered steel beams. Construction equipment and supplies were littered along every floor. The plot of land took up the entire block and a tall chain-link fence went around the entire plot. Large sign boards advertising Sqwilliup Construction covered the fencing.

Shaggy directed Levy to park in a small shopping outlet who had more closed stores than opened. He could feel Cekrass waiting in one of the boarded-up stores and signaled for his pack mate to come out. Levy turned the car off and smiled as Cekrass stepped out the door of a defunct nail salon. The pair of them got out of the car and walked over to the big lizard, careful to take in their surroundings as they went.

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The air smelled of dirt and rust to Shaggy. But he could almost smell something deeper. Below the normal scent of a rural town. But he put that on the back burner as he met with Cekrass. The lizard used his body to block Levy from the street and waved them both inside. The nail salon had been picked clean in the past. Either by the city or possibly thieves. But Cekrass' team was waiting quietly as they entered. Shaggy gave them all a nod before turning back to Cekrass, who was still acting like Levy's security.

"There are a lot of strange types out, boss." Cekrass said in his raspy voice. "We've got a few overzealous thugs hanging around."

"Not to mention the sea of teamsters that just walked into the construction site," said a slim alien on Cekrass team.

Cekrass hissed a warning at the young man for speaking out of turn. But Shaggy raised a hand. It was fine. Cekrass' team was here to scout, so Shaggy wanted to know what they had found. The big lizard sighed, but nodded in understanding before waving for his team to continue speaking. A deluge of voices echoed in the empty salon and Shaggy had to clap his hands to calm things down.

"One at a time, ya idiots. Slim, you first. What you got?"

The young alien that had spoken up looked confused for a few seconds before he started talking. "Uh, well, me and Jared spotted a few vans coming down the road."

"Y-Yeah! But not like the main road. It was like some dirt access road or something. They made a beeline for the construction site and sat there for a while. A few minutes before you showed up, though, we saw a bunch of big guys heading into that incomplete building."

Shaggy nodded at who he assumed was Jared. He waited a few beats to see if either of the men had anymore to say. When they didn't, Shaggy raised an eyebrow at the crowd. They all seemed a little gunshy, but soon a stocky woman spoke up.

"Uh, I caught a glimpse of some wannabes. I think they know somethings about to go down."

"Yeah, they've been staking out the building site too," said another voice from the crowd.

Shaggy nodded along before he turned back to Cekrass. He gave the big lizard and thumbs up and grinned.

"Good work, C. You'll need to teach them how to give a proper report. But B+ for effort."

"I'd give him an A." Levy chuckled. "They got the important bits out."

"What do you want us to do, boss?" Cekrass asked.

"First, y'all need to sweep the wannabes out of the neighborhood. If they seem chill, invite them out our way. If they want to throw down, fucking dust them and move on. Levy and I are moving into the meeting location. Once the surroundings are clear, take up positions outside the building site and wait. If everything goes well, you shouldn't have to do anything."

"And if it doesn't, all of you can come running." Levy nodded.

Cekrass didn't seem happy with that plan. But he kept his mouth shut and nodded slowly. Waving a scaly arm at his people, Cekrass' team moved out of the salon. Shaggy gave them a few seconds to jog off before he held an arm out to Levy. The two of them linked arms and stepped back out into the scorching sun.

With a slow gait, the pair of them made their way through the parking lot, to the sidewalk, and down main street. Shaggy was a little unnerved by the lack of people out and about in the small town. But he could still smell people off in the distance. It was just that no one was drawing close.

"They warned people away from here." Shaggy guessed as they got to the end of the sidewalk and crossed the street.

Main street ended in a T-junction and the building site sat along the perpendicular road. Once they were across the street, Shaggy and Levy found a gate in the fence and let themselves in. As soon as they crossed the threshold to the place, a swelling of noise filled their ears. It wasn't the noise of people working and constructing a building. It was the sound of people happily talking, shouting, and arguing. Shaggy looked around and saw a sea of blue-collar workers all wandering about the place. It was like a giant party was going on that you couldn't see from the streets. Barbecue pits had been set up and people everywhere were cooking and drinking beer and carrying on. He and Levy caught a few gazes, but nothing lasted long.

"Well, this isn't what I expected." Levy said with a smile.

"Me either. But keep your head on a swivel."

"Always love."

The two of them wandered around the open area in front of the half-completed building. But no one stuck out to Shaggy. Everyone was going about their own business. So Shaggy lead Levy over to the ground floor of the building. There fewer people were hanging about, and Shaggy was sure someone would approach them soon.

"Should we ask someone?" Levy giggled.

Shaggy snorted, but was considering it when a pale hand tapped his shoulder. He had been aware of the person passing him to his left. But he hadn't expected the stocky man to touch him. Fighting the desire to start posturing, Shaggy met the dark red eyes of the man who had tapped him.

"Greetings! Welcome to the Sqwilliup Construction Company's barbecue. We've been expecting you."

Shaggy sniffed the air, but found the whirling scents from the cooking and the mass of people a little disorienting. The white-skinned alien with red eyes grinned as he raised an arm, indicating they should proceed deeper into the construction site. Levy and Shaggy shared a glance, but went the direction shown.

The ground floor of the building was a little more completed than the top floors. The walls were all put in the doorways, cut out, and some stairs were already built out. He and Levy were surrounded by gray walls of brick and steel. He was sure it was meant to be intimidating. But he merely grinned up at Levy. By the look in her eyes, she had come to the same conclusion. This was all theater. The Sqwilliup family was trying to put them on the back foot. Unnerving them before they started negotiations. Shaggy almost rolled his eyes, but he kept himself under control. He needed to remain aloof.

They walked until they reached a completed lobby area. All it was missing was a front desk and some chairs. Waiting for them in the middle of the wide room was a pair of alien men. One was clearly a lawyer, if his expensive suit was anything to go by. The other one was dressed the same as the workers outside in jeans, a t-shirt, some work boots, and, for some reason, a hard hat. Both aliens had pale white skin, but it was mixed with patches of blue that stuck out like cow spots. The four of them had enough time to evaluate each other before the lawyer-looking alien spoke.

"Mr. Shaggy! So good to see you. I hope you don't mind, but we took the opportunity to give our workers some well-deserved time off."

Shaggy said nothing and crossed his arms across his chest. He was here to be the silent muscle to Levy's calculated brain. Both aliens frowned at him until Levy picked up the conversation.

"That's no trouble at all, sir. My husband and I were just remarking how lively your workforce seems to be."

The two aliens shared a confused look before the worker nodded at Levy.

"Yeah. Our folks love a good party and there's no better excuse than new work."

Levy smiled widely and waved a hand. "I would think that your group should finish one job before starting another, no?"

The worker alien's face grew into a tight frown as the lawyer alien gave a professional smile.

"Yes, well, unfortunately, funding for this particular project ran out. So now we use it for social functions and meetings with new clients."

"Ah. Well, we aren't exactly sure if we are new clients yet. We wanted to meet you and get a sense of your work ethic and… building style."

Levy leaned casually against her staff as the two aliens stared at her and then back to Shaggy. The alien shared another look before the worker alien addressed Shaggy.

"Is she going to be doing all the talking, or are you capable of taking your nuts from her purse?"

Shaggy snorted loudly at the obvious bait thrown his way. Both sides were still trying to get a sense of one another and the Sqwilliup duo seemed ready to start sniping. But Shaggy wasn't going to bite. Levy, on the other hand, grunted in aggravation as her staff lit up. In the blink of an eye, purple chains shot out from Levy's staff and attached themselves to each of the worker alien's limbs. The alien was raised into the air and held there as Levy glared at the white and blue man.

Shaggy heard the sounds of footsteps coming from behind him and he wanted to sigh. Things had started so well. He shot Levy a glare, but his wife merely stuck her tongue out at him coyly. She was just as bad as he was.