A Werewolf In Under-Town

"Is he okay in there?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Do… Do we take it off him?"

Slink came to with a throbbing headache and a pain all across his body. One of his dumbass minions set off some kind of explosive. But the game menus and his senses told him he was still alive. But he couldn't move and he was entombed in darkness. The sound of muffled voices reached his ears and, for a moment, he worried they'd been blown out.

"You touch that damn thing. I ain't doing it."

"I'm pretty sure it's unconscious."

"Bullshit, I saw it's eyes move."

"How long do you think he can survive in there?"

Slink pushed past the weight on his chest to try to say anything. But all that left his lips was a groan as the weight on him seemed to squeeze tighter.

Protect!

Moe's voice echoed in Slink's mind and he realized what he was wound up in. The giant orange snake had used its body to shield him. Probably got hurt in the process, too. Slink could feel all three of his snakes as they hissed in pain. But at least they were alive.

"I dragged the thing all the way up here and it didn't bite me."

"Then you can drag it back out. We need to go."

Slink focused past the pain screaming across his body and ordered Moe to release him. Reluctantly, the big bastard agreed and started to uncoil. Light filtered in to Slink's cocoon as he was unwound from Moe's embrace. Nearby, Larry and Curly were hissing their displeasure as well. All three of his companions preferred him safe, but Slink had shit to do.

Slink's knees hit the hard cement floor as noise and smells came back to him. He almost choked on the sensation as he felt Moe slithering back inside his body. Larry and Curly joined their bigger brother, and all three settled in to rest and heal. The explosion had done some damage to the two smaller snakes and Slink could tell it would be awhile until he could call them back up. Moe was coiled like a spring inside him, just as injured, but ready to defend his host.

Slink sent the gigantic snake calming thoughts as he felt two firm hands grab him.

"Boss! Are you okay?! What the fuck happened?! What exploded?!"

"Jeez, Skanda! Let the boss breathe a little bit," Petra's voice echoed in Slink's ears. Not in the way they normally did, though.

"Besides, I told you the state the lobby was in. Someone detonated a damn bomb." Gossamer intoned sagely. "Blew all my men to fucking smithereens. Only thing left was that big orange bastard. It was only when I tried to move it that I found out that the boss was inside."

"Trap…" Slink wheezed as ash shot down his throat.

He was covered in dirt and debris still, but relatively unharmed thanks to Moe. He made a mental note to hunt down some giant rats in Under-Town. Petra, Skanda, and Gossamer all looked at him to explain more. But Slink shook his head and gestured toward the hacker teams.

"How we doing?"

"Really? Boss? That's the first thing you ask?"

Slink shrugged at Skanda, sending a wave of pain through his shoulders. But Petra was a true professional.

"We've barely broken through. We can skim the top for some bits of information and account numbers. But we don't have much time. That explosion put a lot of eyes on us."

Slink growled, angry at himself and the team of Lackeys that he'd lost. But Petra was right. That explosion was going to draw the wrong kind of attention. Especially with how close they were to the Exchange. It was time for Plan GTFO.

"Tell the teams to drop their spikes and grab what they can. We're moving out as planned: service elevator down to the storm drains and then east. Once we're far enough out, the teams are to scatter and meet back at The Den. Clear?"

"Yes, Sir!"

All three of Slink's Henchmen jumped to work. Gossamer and Skanda got the people moving as Petra double checked the information they had gathered. Slink watched with a grimace. Mostly from the shock of the explosion, but also from having to leave without succeeding. This was surely going to be a blow to morale. Jane, as she was pulled from her pod, looked hurt and scared as she was shuffled off with the others. Slink tried to say something, rouse the troops, but nothing came to his mind. He had failed. On his first big endeavor too.

The sting was enough to hurt his eyes. He brushed a dirty sleeve over his face and felt dirt smear across his face. Slink contemplated leaving it there and just trudging out of the building with his tail between his legs. But he wasn't going to go out like that. Even if he had failed. With a shaky breath, Slink stood straight, cracked his back, and went to help his people. At the very least, he could help destroy the equipment just fine.

He was collapsing a table into its easy to move formation, when the sounds of drones shook the windows. Slink bit his lip and let the table he was folding drop. He caught eyes with Petra and Skanda before issuing new orders.

"Fuck the clean-up. Use the incendiaries and burn what we can't take. Gossamer, go help load the elevator. Make sure to protect the rest of our people as we make a run for it."

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The humanoid barely had enough time for a nod before he disappeared into thin air. Slink assumed the man was following orders as he found a crate of what he was looking for. It was full to the brim with small silver egg-like bombs. Each with a symbol in the shape of a raging fire. Petra grabbed a few as well and the pair of them threw the mini-grenades into their old equipment. The eggs cracked mid-flight and spewed fire over everything. Randa had assured him that the flames would burn anything they cared to throw them at. But Slink still watched as the metal tables and plastic terminal keyboards went up in flames.

"That's the lot, boss." Petra coughed. "We need to go. This shit is gonna bring in the drones."

Slink could already hear the things on the main staircase. He just nodded at the dragon-lady and rushed toward the service elevator. The Lackeys were loading up Jane's pod as Slink and Petra arrived. Skanda was already inside the elevator, helping to pull the big pod in. Slink cursed as he noticed the immediate problem.

"We're not going to fit." Petra snapped as she looked at the dimensions of the elevator and the Lackeys inside.

Slink kicked the Pod the last few inches into the elevator and slapped the down button. "You lot head down. We're right behind you."

Petra gave him a dirty look as she watched the elevator doors closed. "We don't have the time, Slink!"

"I know that, Petra!"

Slink counted down from five as the sound of drones getting closer got louder behind him. When he reached five, he bolted forward and wrenched the elevator doors open. His arms screamed at him in protest and he felt like a vein in his head was going to pop.

"Macho guys in the vids always make this look easy." Slink swore to himself internally.

Once he finally got the doors open, Slink turned to Petra and offered his hand. She looked at it before looking back at the open elevator shaft. The car cable was hanging in the middle, rushing past as it carried the car to the basement. She raised an eyebrow at Slink, clearly dubious about his choice of action. To be fair, Slink wasn't too sure about it either. But he wasn't going to say that.

When Petra was too slow to move, he reached out and grabbed her forearm. With little more than a shout, he pulled the taller woman close and leapt into the elevator shaft. Careful to pick the right cable, Slink used his free hand to grab it and slide down. The scales on his palm blunted the friction from the move. But Slink could feel them cracking from the maneuver. Petra was, rather creatively, cursing in his ear as they fell.

The elevator car below them was moving faster and Slink did his best to count in his head. If his math was right, then it should only take the elevator a matter of seconds to reach the basement. Which, if he timed it right, meant they hit right before the car pulled to a complete stop, hopefully softening the blow.

Slink could feel his hand bleeding now, the slick blood making it tougher to hang on. But Petra's weight at his side seemed to galvanize what little strength he had, and he held on. Slink checked upward and saw the gleam of light beams from the drone's cameras. They were probably dealing with the fire they had set, which should give them some time to get out.

"SLINK!" Petra screamed in his ear.

He returned his gaze to below them and spotted the elevator car slowing down. They were coming up on it fast now. Real fast. Slink gripped the cable tighter, his blood-soaked fingers aching. But the move slowed them down a bit. Not enough to save Slink's knees the pain from landing. But enough not to break them.

They hit the roof of the elevator with a meaty thud, and Petra practically leapt out of Slink's embrace. She looked ready to scream at him when a laser bolt shot straight through the elevator car's roof. It passed right by Petra and Slink's feet and up the elevator shaft. Petra's ire was turned downward as she shouted.

"Who the fuck is shooting at me now?! I swear I'll dock your damn pay! Open the fucking service hatch!"

"Boss!?" someone shouted from inside.

Slink nodded, even though no one could see him. "Hurry up! The drones are still above us. But I don't know for how long!"

The service hatch on the roof of the elevator was opened and Slink offered Petra a hand down. She glared at him, but Slink could see any heat in her eyes. She was mad, but not especially so. For his part, Slink was nursing his hand as it bled by his side. It had been an awesome maneuver. One to be shared around the table at The Den with the guys. But he wasn't sure he was going to do that again. Or anything like this.

As he dropped into the elevator and closed the hatch behind them, Slink did a headcount. They had lost their entire protection team and burned a shit ton of equipment. Sure, they have to take stock and see what they made back. But he wasn't optimistic. Even with jane. The thought of the young girl made Slink look for her. He found her in a crowd of Lackeys talking excitedly as others moved past to the basement exit. He spotted Gossamer disappearing out a side door as he approached the young girl.

"Boss! Boss! That was sooo cool. Like the coolest thing I've ever been involved in. And the Exchange's network? Fucking pristine, boss! So choice. I can't wait to get back and put the information to use."

Slink smiled at the girl's attitude. "What information?"

"The account numbers, of course."

Slink looked Jane over for a data pad or sheet of paper. When he found none, he cranked an eyebrow up. Jane giggled at the look before tapping her own head.

"The ones up here, silly. I've got several account numbers memorized and ready to be drawn from. All we need to do is make dummy accounts to move the funds."

Slink realized that the hacker team surrounding the young girl were all looking at her like she was their goddess. They all had joyous expressions on their faces, even as they lugged their equipment toward the door. Slink found a little bit of hope entering his heart at the news. Maybe the day wasn't completely wasted. Maybe he had accomplished something.

He was so excited that he turned to tell Petra and Skanda, only to find Petra's hand. The slap came with a meaty thwack that echoed in the basement. Slink felt the blow and recoiled hard. Then he spent the next few moments calming Moe down before he attacked the woman. Petra glared at him with a face half-way between anger and something else. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed angrily. Slink wasn't sure, but he thought he saw smoke shoot out the woman's nose.

"We need to talk, mister!" Petra said, tapping a finger against her arm.

Slink could only grin as he readied himself for what was to come.