As Bower Sr. and his partner in crime Bruce continued to argue, Derek moved from his position behind a collection of shrubs to the side of the Lawson house. He tried to listen to their conversation, but he feared that if he got too close he’d give himself away.
The few bits of their argument he did get didn’t tell him much, other than they were contemplating their next move. Bower and Bruce realized the house was empty, and had picked up the false scent trail the MLPD left using the clothing Maggie provided.
The only problem with the plan was there was no guarantee they would fall for the trap. If Bower and Bruce headed back to their car, it wouldn’t start. But that wouldn’t stop them from running. And then that risked innocent people, normal people, getting hurt.
Derek slowly retreated back into the forest, and once he was sure he was far enough away, he radioed Evan.
“They’re at the house. I don’t think they’re going to take the bait. Bower is arguing with his second man.” Derek murmured.
“How heavily armed are they?” Evan asked.
“Bower’s a military man, he knew what to bring.” Derek said.
“What’s your position?”
“Hiding about twenty feet from the house. They’re arguing, not certain on what, but my guess, they’re fighting over whether or not to follow the fake trail.”
“Double back, I’m calling McNally and the other MLPD officer back. I think between the seven of us we can surround Bower and whoever he’s got with him. Might get a bit messy, but I want this finished before the sun sets.” Evan said.
“Copy that.” Derek said. He backed away, careful not to snap any fallen branches. He counted the distance in his head, going from twenty to thirty to forty, and so on. Once he was about fifty feet away he broke into a run again.
A breeze suddenly caught Derek’s scent, and Bower and Bruce temporarily stopped their fighting. They sniffed the air, and realized someone was following them.
“What now?” Bruce growled, still angry with Bower for his apparent lack of sense.
“Probably one of Lawson’s dogs. Or maybe a local police officer. Either way, let’s not waste any time worrying about them. By the time they get mobilized, the entire Lawson family will be dead.” Bower said confidently.
But Bruce wasn’t so sure. If that werewolf was following them, there had to be more out there in the forest. They’d probably disabled their car, if they found it. Or worse rigged it to explode or something. Hanson was silent, which worried Bruce more than Bower.
“Hey, did you hear me? I said let’s GO!” Bower snapped, shaking Bruce out of his thoughts
“What?”
“Go, move it! We’re burning daylight.” Bower said. But Bruce didn’t budge. He knew things weren’t going the way Bower had planned. It seemed as if a team of Navy SEALs and the MLPD were at least aware of their presence.
“You go. I’m heading back for Hanson.” Bruce said.
“What? Leave him! He can catch up to us later!” Bower snarled.
“If you’re so damn confident you can do the job, go without me.” Bruce said calmly. Bower quivered with rage, and was very tempted to call Bruce out on his cowardice. Bruce knew Bower wouldn’t, killing the Lawson family was more important.
Bower called Bruce a few choice words before running off. Bruce sighed, and tried again to contact Hanson. Only static could be heard. So Bruce decided to follow the werewolf’s scent, in hopes it would at least lead him back to whoever was in charge. Lawson, or otherwise,
Bruce wasn’t going to die because his friend had some crazy vendetta against some family. He didn’t care for Lawson anymore than Bower, but he had a clear head. And he knew if he followed Jeremiah Bower into the battlefield right now, Bruce wouldn’t make it home to his own family.
-----------------------------------
Meanwhile in MLHS,
Nate’s buzzing cell phone brought him to an upright position. He was mildly surprised to see it was Ben calling him. Then again, since his mother was the Town Chancellor, Samantha probably told him what was going on.
“Ben, what’s up?” Nate asked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Spencer’s ear twitch to the sound of his voice.
“Just checking in on your guys. Making sure you’re not going stir crazy, wherever you are.” Ben said.
“No, just chilling. What’s going on with you guys?”
“Uh, not much.” Ben said. Nate took that to mean his friends had been heaving sex. Which was fine, though he’d still prefer not to discuss it.
“How are your folks, and the Lawsons?” Ben asked.
“Okay. Looking for something for us to eat, but alright.”
“And Spencer…?”
“She and Eric are currently spooning, so I’d say they’re both alright.” Nate smiled when he noticed Spencer’s tongue dart out really quick at him.
“Aw, how adorable. But it’s good to hear you’re all alright. I just got off the phone with my mom. She said they’ve got one of the guys.” Ben said.
“Great! So, do you think we’ll be able to leave soon?”
“Maybe. The plan the cops worked out with Evan’s team seems to be working. Hopefully this will blow over before the sunsets.” Ben said.
“Good, because I’d really rather sleep in my own bed than here tonight.” Nate remarked.
“Don’t blame you. I’m not too comfortable myself.”
“Where are you?”
“Alex is sprawled out on the bed. I sorta fell out.”
“You fell out of bed?” Nate laughed so hard it woke Eric.
“Oh shut up. Just go back to doing whatever the hell you were doing before I called.” Ben said. Nate, still laughing, hung up and looked at his brother and Spencer.
“What?” he asked as the two stared at him.
“Nothing.” they both said, before resuming their cuddling position.