If there was one thing Jack wanted to do going forward, it was to throw a big fucking monkey wrench in the plans of whoever it was raising the dead and killing people around Vegas. It was about time to introduce some setbacks in whatever plan was going on here. Jack started heading toward the car, thinking about ways to get the teens inside to turn back around and head off for a less risky place to make out. He did at first wonder why they would be so soon coming up to a place where two of their peers had been murdered already, but then Jack remembered - teenagers. He just shrugged his shoulders and kept going. The zombies were a ways off - seemed there were downsides to using undead underlings - for one it was difficult to get them to move around very quickly.
The wooded area of the hills was pretty dense in some areas and lighter in some others. It was pretty obvious as Jack navigated the trees and bushes that this was a place a predator could use to his advantage. Definitely gonna have to keep the Werewolf away from this location. Jack did not want any dead teens on his own conscience. Not when he was working this hard to save them from the Necromancer and his goon squad.
Huh, Jack thought as he started to get closer, the smell was different this time somewhat. It wasn't easy for him to tell the exact difference, but there was something distinct about this one. He wondered if there might be something to consider about this.
As Jack came up on the car, he saw it was actually a pretty nice vehicle, bright red and silver and expertly honed. Man if he was ever gonna get a car he'd want a beauty like this, though it'd need some room inside. The werewolf side of him didn't handle enclosed internal spaces very well. Jack started to wonder then why the Necromancer would target these kids in specific if he was going after poor people as he'd thought. Maybe, he contemplated, there was something more going on.
Jack got his answer when he got close enough to see the car's inhabitants and why the smell was so distinct. Before the other teens' vehicles had the smell of a woman and a man inside. This one had the smell of two men intwined in carnal desire. It had stopped and Jack could tell the two men inside were starting to kiss and make out. Car was pretty nice, and the guys inside were not exactly poor - looked like gay private school guys.
Now how to go about this...
Jack approached the car, and just as he got close enough the window started to roll down. One very cagey and obviously spooked jock looking guy looked out and at Jack, looking around as he did, "Is---Is this my mother sending some private investigator to intrude in my life? Look, it's 2020 and we're not living in mom's 1950s Stepford Sub---"
Jack put his hands up and said, "Woah woah woah, who said anything about me working for your mom?" Jack shook his head, "I also got no problem with the relationship you guys got going on. Just...maybe take it somewhere else? I mean, there was a murder---two murders around here. Maybe it's wise to find somewhere a little safer? More secure? Y'know somewhere probably more comfortable than in a car?"
The other guy in the car seemed to be a nerdy sort and it seemed his glasses had gotten a little fogged up in the course of the passion between the two. He adjusted and looked Jack over, "Wait...I think I know this guy, Philip. He's uhh, Jack. Jack Romulus, you know, I'd seen a few of his or I mean your photo shoots. Super fucking hot. But what brings a guy like you out here?"
Well, it was admittedly a little flattering that he had some fans, Jack thought to himself, though maybe...maybe this could help out his plan to save these two's lives. The less chatter he got up to, the more he could make sure these two were in less danger from the Necromancer.
Philip - the by all indications publicly closeted jock - seemed to contemplate and then said, "Well, we're both eighteen, and at the top of our classes, and a male model of such rippling countenance shows up. Bit of a dark set up, but it seems to me to sound like the lead in to something dare I say it pornographic." Philip grinned a little bit, and asked, "Would you like to join us for a little bit of gay debauchery? You're okay with that, right Jasper?"
Jack wondered if these two had anything on their minds but sex and getting freaky, but there WAS a way he could do this, he thought, to use that to get these two out of danger.
Jasper - the nerd of the two - suppressed a greater reaction and almost jumped out of his seat regardless, "Oh I'm really fine with that! Always wanted to make out with a hot male model..."
Jack - not exactly interested in men but very interested in derailing the plans of the guy who for whatever reason wanted these two dead - looked at the two of them with a grin. He was already formulating a bit of a plan in his head, "Well, don't tell my girlfriend, but I'm good with going out with you guys. How about I jump in and we head off to a more romantic location?"
Philip didn't even question it any further and unlocked the backdoors to the car, and let Jack hop in and buckle in before getting the engine started again to try and head off and away from the Make Out Point. Jack for his part didn't intend to really do anything with these two, he was very passionately into Vicki, but as long as these two were around... "So, you seem like a pretty athletic type, Philip am I right? What school do you go to?"
"Oh, I'm Varsity on the Lakebridge Private School's Football Team. We square off against a number of other private academies of similar though less elite pedigree." Philip gloated and kept driving, looking around as he did, "As far as dear old Mom and Dad know, I'm as straight as can be. You know how it can be."
"Oh yeah," Jack said as he thought back to his own parents and their derogatory expression about what being a male model meant.
There was a sudden screeching stop as a car pulled out in front of the rich guys' vehicle. Jack's heart started to race, as he wondered what might be going on. He looked out the window in time to see it was of all things a police car. Philip seemed to start panicking a bit as he shuffled and pushed something under his seat. If Jack had to guess, the young guy dabbled in weed or something. There was a lingering scent around here of it.
The police car doors opened up and who else would walk up to the car but Eric Battle. Another conspicuously close encounter right when the Necromancer's underlings were probably trying to close in on a target. The cop showed his badge and approached Philip's vehicle, seeming to be smirking a little bit. Both young guys in the car looked at each other, significantly weirded out and more than a little scared. Jack whispered to them, "Lemme handle this."
"Handle a cop?" Philip asked, looking urgently around.
Approaching the door to the car, and getting Philip to roll it down with just a gesture, Eric Battle leaned forward, "Alright boys, what are you two doing up here?" The policeman seemed to look around, and then asked, "Might I need to check your car out for any illicit substances? I mean, with what happened around here just last night, maybe the only reason you fff-fine customers thought this was smart was by some sort of drug induced overconfidence. So...do I need to make you two get outta the car while I investigate? Yeah I think I do..."
Jack started to actively feel confused by whatever was going on here. Why was Detective Battle randomly making these two get out of the car? There was utterly no reason in particular to have these two suspected for drug use. By now Jasper was just plain seeming like he was panicking, hyperventilating as he said multiple times he was "too young to go to jail". But Jack was starting to suspect there was something else going on here.
A full inspection of the car would take some time, and if Jack was right, the zombies were still around. Maybe...
Impulsively, Jack unlocked his own door and unbuckled, stepping outside in short order. This seemed to absolutely floor Detective Battle, who outright blanched when he saw Jack exit the car. He took a step back and only barely stopped himself from shouting, "Ohh uh, well, wait...what? What are you doing with these two, Jack? I mean...why are you here of all places? With these two underage---"
"We're both eighteen." Philip interjected, and this only made Battle's repressed anger surge to the surface.
"Shut UP, you fucking fag!!" For a moment there was silence, and Jack started putting things together. He almost could not even believe that Battle had just used a slur like that - just...exploded like that. It was an ugly bit of bigotry and it seemed to come out of nowhere. Well, unless Jack's hypothesis was true. Then that supplied a different motive should Detective Battle be the Necromancer. It wasn't wholly an economic thing. Based on this slur and the way he conducted himself, it could be that Battle saw himself as some sort of culture warrior.
Cleansing the Vegas streets of anyone he deemed "degenerate".
Jack spoke up and said, "...Excuse me, Detective? Well, I mean, none of us are under arrest, right?" Jack knew he had something here he could use to get these teens to safety. That explosive bigoted temper tantrum exposed a bit too much.
"And...you know," Philip spoke up from inside the car, "I have a pair of witnesses here, and a cell phone that can get pictures and audio. And I just started recording. Should've started earlier, mind." The jock grinned a little bit and said, "Perhaps you should let us by. We can probably be believed when we say you showed such non-professional conduct. I don't know why you wanted us out of the car, but we're not getting out now!"
Eric Battle could definitely tell when he was beaten though, and clenched his fist so tightly that Jack swore he could smell blood in the air. "You heard nothing. You saw nothing. You fucking brats just go on and do whatever it is you're out to do. But just know that I've got my eye on you in particular, Jack Romulus. I don't buy these two being eighteen for a second. Don't make me drag you into the station."
"We can literally produce our State ID Cards!" Philip shouted as Eric Battle stomped back off to his car, started the engine and then drove off in a hurry.
Jack stuffed his hands in his pockets and noted the police car was driving up an unusual path. Definitely made Detective Battle a lot more suspicious, not to mention a whole lot more obviously detestable. He turned and looked at the two gay teens in their car, "Alright you two, head off. I'm not really in the mood any more." Jack waited until he heard the car engine starting up after some chatter between Jasper and Philip.
"Hope to see you again, man, something tells me you're a life saver!" Philip shouted back at him as the car drove off out of the Make Out Point. Jack watched it go, content knowing he had probably saved two lives today who would have otherwise been cut short by the claws of the undead. He looked back up the point, and started walking back up a bit. He couldn't smell the undead from afar any more. It seemed shortly after Battle withdrew that the zombies likewise left the area.
This more or less confirmed Jack's suspicions about the man. He was if not the Necromancer himself some sort of assistant or Igor type fucker who drove people into the grasp of the undead. With that, Jack ran off again, deciding to return back to Vicki's home and see what in all she might've managed to piece together about the detective and the cases involved.
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By the time Jack returned back to the mansion, it was already about early afternoon, and he was feeling a pleasant burn in his legs from all the running. If there was one upside to all of this, it was that he was getting a hell of a lot of exercise. Entering and looking around, Jack immediately headed up to Vicki's computer room. He entered and saw three cups of coffee by the computer, with Vicki having printed out some sheets of paper in a folder with "INFO 4 JACK" written on the top.
"Oh, you're back already!" Vicki said, looking over at him, "I got some records and news reports printed out over there about our police friend."
"Yeah, and I have a feeling I know what I'll find." Jack started and then ran a hand through his hair, "I checked out the place where the last attack happened and I could smell some zombies on the loose. Not hard to smell that kind of rot in the air. And when I got some teens outta there guess who showed up? Battle. And he had quite some nasty, homophobic words for the teens in question..."
Vicki nodded and looked at the computer screen, "You'd think they'd know to turn Facebook private by now. Because this isn't a one time thing for the Detective. He's gotten in a lot of hot water before for some really gross comments on social media, let alone the news reports over there. Let's just say he has a history of not exactly treating everyone equally under the law. You think he's the one responsible for these...zombie attacks?"
"If he's not," Jack stated as he started to take out and look over the files and news reports Vicki printed out, "He's at least in leagues with the Necromancer..." Jack whistled as he started taking in some of the info, "Jesus Tittyfucking Christ, Battle. Police officer involved in potentially unlawful use of force. Police officer involved in sting operation on gay men. Police officer accused of using unlawful amount of force on homeless population...police officer accused of involvement in fucking multiple murder?"
Yeah it was pretty clear, Jack decided, that even if Eric Battle wasn't the Necromancer, he was a massive piece of shit. And yet he was given a job with PD around here nonetheless. These guys kept on perpetuating the "dirty cop" image that was so common. Well, it did have more than a basis in reality.
Vicki commented, "He's been fired from or resigned from ten or twelve different PDs across the country, all of the departures from service involving some sort of mistreatment or brutal police action that caused significant egg on the face of the department he left behind. Eric Battle is also apparently not exactly easy to know on the force. Habit of treating female police officers very poorly."
"Well, isn't he just a ray of fucking sunshine." Jack responded and then looked around. "I'm gonna get myself some lunch. Care to join me?"
"Yeah, I think a break would do us both a world of good."
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Jack predictably found himself eating a large amount of meat - he guessed that his digestive capabilities had more or less completely changed. He felt no inclination toward the salads or beans that had otherwise been a part of his fitness minded diet. Wolves were after all obligate carnivores. A large plate of beef, pork and chicken wings arrayed out in front of him already had a sizable dent put in it, and Jack still felt hungry. He guessed it was to be blamed on the sheer amount of activity that day. Plus he had a transformation coming up that night. He needed to make sure he had the energy to go through with it!
This would be the second night of the Full Moon Cycle, and thus it would be another night for him to roam while the work was being done to try and turn the cellar into an effective holding area. Much as Jack despised being caged, he could understand that it was for his own good at least as a human, and for the good of others.
Vicki commented on the amount, "Gotta say I'm both surprised and not that you eat so much these days. Your transformation probably causes your body to burn through a lot of energy. If there are any more werewolves, and there probably are, I think this can probably be a cue about them."
Jack looked at his girlfriend and gulped - man, he thought, after all that time today he did deserve some pleasure tonight as some kind of reward...and there were his impulses again.
By the time Jack was done eating he admitted he seemed to be going from one biological urge to another. The second day of the lunar cycle seemed to be bringing out some of his urges. "I'll uhh, be right back."
Vicki asked, "Is something wrong? I mean if I can help I can---" She looked down at his pants and recognized what kind of problem Jack was going through, "Ohh. Well, if you really want to take care of yourself by yourself, I'm all good with that. You know I'm always up for ah, helping you deal with your urges."
Jack walked over, leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "Thanks, but for now I'll just be dealing with this myself. Don't know if getting myself too worked up might cause anything to happen."
With that Jack headed up to the guest room after taking care of the plates, and looked around. Once the door was closed, Jack stripped down and ran a hand over his chest and abdomen. He noted The hair was just a bit thicker today than it was before. If he had to guess it was something related to the progression of the lunar phases. Groaning and taking a seat on the bed, he started to take care of himself, breathing at first calmly before taking rawer, quicker breaths.
God fucking dammit, Jack could admit he could get used to the sensitivity and strength upgrade he felt. Even just tensing and flexing in the midst of this activity told him just how strong he was now as opposed to when he was just a normal human. It'd be easy to fall into thinking he was better off now than he had been before...but Jack still remembered when he was a normal human. The relationship with Vicki. He sighed and breathed again.
Well, at least he figured there was an unarguable upgrade in his size when it came to his organ.
As Jack moaned and gasped, taking care of himself, he started to hear noises coming from the window. He growled a little bit as he recognized what they were - the sounds of barks. He guessed that might be another thing related to this shift. The myths always talked about how dogs didn't really care for werewolves, and it seemed every damn stray dog for a few miles had found its way here just to interrupt Jack's private time and bark at him.
He tried to keep going, but it was really eating into his focus, all this noise coming from the window. Even shutting it only dimmed the noise, but did not dissipate it altogether. Eventually, Jack stopped himself, hoisted himself up by one arm on the window sill and howled out the window in desperation. He wasn't even in lupine form and the noise seemed at least rather impressive. The dogs seemed to stop at that, and started running away.
"Yeah, fido, you better fucking run away..." Jack murmured and felt his emission getting close, "Aww fuck...don't tell me becoming a werewolf made me a quickshot..." He hopped to his feet and managed to get a rag in time to stop himself from making a mess around Vicki's guest room. His face showed relief and ease with his urges. Jack realized he probably was gonna have a similar time like this during the second day of the Lunar Cycle during the next month too...
"Let's just hope Vicki's not too bothered." Getting himself dressed again, Jack decided there'd been at least enough fun now. He needed to get back to work before the moon rose that night. He could help Vicki out around the mansion, to get the exit to the den---cellar---whatever patched up, or he could look into more about Battle and his link to all of this. Hopefully - if he was the Necromancer - finding someone able to say how he did all this.
There were always weirdos around Vegas who said they had some sort of mystical power. Maybe one of them knew - had some sort of legitimate power that could tell him what he wanted to know...