Agent Theodore Green, Detective Smith, Moon Lake's Officer Ryan Connor, and three other Seattle officers, who had been present for the raid on the warehouse where the Rat Pack was scheduled to meet, carefully made their way following the blood trail on the cement that had come from none other than Lionel Ulysses, the man who had killed Jeff Decker and who the raid was supposed to catch. The raid had failed to catch Ulysses, but the Rat Pack had been taken down and Ulysses was wounded in the course of his escape. The man had been shot and the blood from that wound was what they were following. Though that didn't make things fully comfortable for them.
The thing that left things uncomfortable was that Lionel Ulysses was a were, a wererat to be precise. When he was shot, according to the officers that had been involved in the gunfight, he seemed to have grown a tail as he fled. The description wasn't that great and the officers sounded unsure, but it'd be obvious that normal human beings do not have tails, and if Ulysses was growing a tail that would be a sign that he wasn't a normal human. This had both Teddy and Officer Connor the most nervous, as Ulysses wasn't a normal human. He was from Moon Lake and was a wererat. Officer Connor was fairly certain Ulysses transformed reflexively when he was shot and that created an issue where there was the potential for Moon Lake and its were population being exposed to the world.
The fear of exposure was something that Moon Lake had long feared as it would mean the Medieval hunts and executions would resume for no reason other than that weres weren't human. Teddy and Officer Connor knew that wouldn't be just or right, as weres weren't the mindless monsters depicted in movies and folklore. Teddy because his wife was a werecat and Officer Connor because he was a werewolf, but that alone wouldn't sway public opinion. However, Teddy also knew that they couldn't let Ulysses get away, as his escape wouldn't protect Moon Lake's secret and would only let him continue to run wild and cause trouble. They had to catch Ulysses, and continued to follow the blood trail.
"The trail is starting to dry up," Officer Connor commented to Detective Smith, "You're sure your K-9 unit is on the way?"
Being a werewolf, Officer Connor didn't need a dog to track Ulysses. He had the wererat's scent and could easily follow it on his own, but he knew this wasn't Moon Lake where his abilities were known and supported. He'd end up exposing himself as a were if he truly went by his abilities.
"Yes," Detective Smith answered, "she's on the way. It'll take a little while to get here as since this raid wasn't intended to turn into a pursuit, we didn't have a K-9 unit with the original teams."
"So long as we catch him, it doesn't matter," Teddy answered as they moved along.
The trail of blood had been obvious at first and wound through some of the alleys that went between buildings in the warehouse, but Ulysses did his best avoid areas where people were working out of sight. That would do well to hide the fact that he had transformed, but it also would mean that while the initial wound might be major, it wouldn't be too long before the wound would close and they wouldn't have the blood trail to follow. It might take a few days to fully recover from the gunshot, but Officer Connor knew that if the entrance wound closed they wouldn't be able to continue their pursuit, not until a Seattle K-9 unit arrived. They came around the corner of a warehouse and continued to scan the ground for signs of the blood trail. There were a few small specks on the concrete, but they were growing fewer and father between.
However, as they came around the corner, they approached an area that was part of the areas between the various warehouse buildings wide enough for vehicles. And as they did so, a car with the words "Seattle Police Department: K-9" written on its side pulled up. A lone woman climbed out of the car and then opened the back door allowing a black and tan furred German Shepard Dog to leap out. The dog approached the woman, tail wagging with some excitement for a moment and then turned. Officer Connor watched as the dog looked to him, it gave a low half bark, as if it recognized the wolf in him.
"Easy Trooper," the woman officer spoke as she pulled a leash from her belt and set the loop to the dog's collar, "easy."
The dog sat and looked to the woman officer while Agent Green's team moved to talk with the newly arrived officer.
"Officer Marion," Detective Smith spoke to her, "You understand the nature of the mission here?"
The newly arrived officer, Maggie Marion, nodded, "Trooper and I are to track down your suspect as far as we can to allow your team to catch said suspect."
Detective Smith nodded, "We've been following a blood trail. I'm sure your dog can track the scent..."
"Trooper can," Officer Marion answered and gave a soft tug on the dog's leash to move him to the spots of blood that Detective Smith pointed to. She then got down on one knee and pointed to one of the spots of blood, which got the dog to sniff at the blood.
"For a word of warning, our suspect is presently wounded," Teddy said to her, "he is likely desperate and if he's still armed... he may be less hesitant to fire than he was before."
Officer Marion ran a hand over her bulletproof vest, "thus why I came prepared. And my gun will be drawn."
"Good," Teddy answered as the dog, Trooper, began to move forward.
They followed it as the dog moved across the road ways in the warehouse district. Eventually they came to a high chain-link fence and the path went along it until they came to a large hole in the fence. Several of the links even looked like they had been cut years ago. Officer Marion went through first with Trooper. Teddy and Officer Connor followed next with Detective Smith and the three remaining Seattle officers went last. Trooper lead them across another small street and into an apartment complex area that was near the warehouse district and ultimately to a brick building that looked like it was still sturdy but had clearly seen better days. It's main door was open and Trooper lead them. They were greeted by a rather nervous looking man in a white tank top and gray bicycle shorts.
"Did you see 'em?" the man said from a nearby doorway.
"See who?" Teddy asked.
"Don't know," the man answered, "I'm the building's super... was doin' some work on the plumbing in the laundry room here when I heard a loud bang of the door opening. By the time I made it here, I saw that door close..."
The man then pointed to a set of wooden doors that were right in front of them with a hallway flanking each side of the doorway.
"Where does that lead?" Detective Smith asked, ignoring the scratching of Trooper at the door.
"The basement," the man answered.
"Any way out?" Teddy asked.
"Besides this staircase? No," the man answered, "and if he's a crook, I want him out of my building."
"He will be," Teddy promised as he and the officers drew their weapons. He then turned to Officer Marion and instructed, "Open the door."
She opened the door to reveal a narrow wooden staircase that went down into darkness. Teddy approached the stairs and looked down into it.
"Alright, Ulysses," Teddy yelled, "I know you're down there and I know you can hear me. This is Agent Theodore Green of the FBI. You are trapped and caught. Do the right thing and surrender yourself. If you do not... I and the officers with me are clear to use lethal force if necessary!"
With that, they moved. One of the three additional officers remained at the top of the stairs to act as a guard, while Officer Marion and Trooper lead the way. As they went down the stairs, Teddy flicked a small light-switch that was on the wall of the stairway to illuminate the apartment building's basement.