"So, Lisa," asked Solange, "Since Wendy has not died, does the order to gift our daughters still stand?"
Lisa paused, thinking before giving an answer.
“Girls, the pack IS going to have to expand, and we are going to have to get our children out of here. I want another pack meeting at ten o’clock tomorrow...er, well…make it this evening. I’m not sure what the airline schedules are, but Heather and Dita are out of the United States as soon as possible, I encourage you all to do the same.” She smiled, “If you want to send them with Heather and Dita, wonderful.”
Sharon asked, “What about schoolwork? Katie has just started high school. I don’t want her falling two weeks behind already”
Lisa walked over, placing her hand on Sharon’s shoulder. “We’re sending our girls to Ireland. Brenda has family in Galway.” She tuned to Brenda. “Your mother and father wouldn’t mind accepting some schoolbooks and assignments in the mail now would they?” Brenda shook her head, “They wouldn’t, and they know about the gift. I’m sure they’d love to meet the girls.”
“Fine,” said Lisa. Let‘s get together at ten this evening. For now, let’s take care of our families, I’ll let you know at the pack meeting who gets gifted, if anyone.
Lisa and Debra hurried back to Lisa’s house. “Lisa…you are my dearest friend, and you know I would never challenge you in front of the pack. Lisa you saw how Dita and Heather reacted when we told them what would happen, and they are practically adults. Katie’s just FOURTEEN years old hon, she’s a LITTLE GIRL. Please Lisa, don’t force it on her babe; she’ll hate you for it.”
Lisa pulled the silver Cherokee over to the side of the road. She rested her head on the steering wheel, breathing heavily. “I’m sorry…I-I’m sorry” she whispered. “Debbie, you drive. Let’s go home.”
__________________
Dan sped through the streets, racing towards the home of Subject One. Slightly addled by the alcohol, he nearly clipped several cars and raced through a red light just as it changed from amber.
This last infraction caught the attention of EPD Sergeant John Thompson, a burly but jovial officer just a few months away from making Lieutenant. He flicked on the blue and red light bar, settling into position behind Dan’s BMW.
Dan immediately saw that he’d been noticed and stomped on the accelerator, realizing that even if they didn’t connect him with his FBI car, he’d still probably be arrested for DWI.
“Oh come on kid, you don’t wanna do this,” Thompson muttered to himself . He picked up the radio. “Hey Cindy, I’m west bound on Division Street pursuing a black or dark blue BMW M3, Virginia plates, K12 734FI. Anything on it?” He waited several moments. “Virginia K12 734FI registered to Dan Ramer, currently wanted on suspicion of homicide in the killing of two law enforcement officer. Subject is a federal employee; assume to be armed and dangerous. Exercise extreme caution.”
“Roger, get me some backup here!”
“Shit,” thought Dan. Well, first order of business was to get these city cops off his tail before they brought out their heavy equipment. He turned sharply right at the next intersection, tires squealing, the white squad car and black Mustang barely keeping his BMW in sight. He took the next right off Weinbach onto Franklin, and then left onto Kelsey. Thompson saw the black Mustang slide in front of him. “Dispatch, I have a black Mustang with FBI plates. Are they in on this?”
“Roger, continue pursuit.”
The BMW continued north on Kelsey, then turned right onto Virginia. Thompson barely saw the BMW turn left onto Alvord, pursued tightly by the Mustang. Dan pushed his car harder heading east onto Iowa, into Wesselman Park.
Dan turned off the headlights as the car entered the park to evade his pursuers. Though the darkness provided some concealment, it also hid some highly immobile botanical features that stopped Dan’s car quite permanently as he missed a turn and ran into one at forty miles per hour.
Stunned and thankful for airbags, Dan collected his belongings and ran off into the woods as the police and FBI drew closer.
“Dianna Vixian, Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
“John Thompson, Evansville Police Department. So one of your agents has been a bad little boy hasn’t he?”
“That’s putting it mildly; he killed another one of our agents and one sheriff’s deputy a few hours ago,” said Vix flatly. “What were you going to get him for, running that red light?”
Thompson chuckled. “I think it would have been a bit more than that, after all he was also speeding and evading. Look, we’ve got the dogs on the way, it’s only a matter of time now.”
Vix nodded. “As long as your people understand that the United States has priority with this, we appreciate your help.”
____________________
Around five in the morning, Wendy slipped from unconsciousness to normal sleep, her eyes flickered as she began to dream.
“Doctor, look at this!” said the attending nurse.
“Hmm! She’s dreaming. Good sign here.”
“Doctor, how long had her heart been stopped again?”
Van Pelt shook his head in wonder. “They brought her in unconscious for at least 5-15 minutes according to their reports. It took us another 3-5 minutes to get her heart and lungs working. By any reasonable standard she should have suffered severe brain injury. We’re either seeing the best healing person this hospital has treated in its history or we’re witnessing a miracle.”
____________________
Lisa and Debra drove up to Lisa’s home. “Shall we wake the girls up and tell them the good news?” Lisa shook her head. Let them sleep. We’ll tell them in the morning
____________________
Eight in the morning. September 23, 2006
Heather felt the warm rays of the sun on her face and heard the distinct crackling of bacon cooking. She sat up yawned and stretched, then reached over to shake Dita awake. The teenagers made their way downstairs to find Debra making bacon. Debra smiled as they entered the kitchen.
“Morning ladies. Dita, your mom has had a rough night, but we got some good news from the hospital when we had the meeting; Wendy is alive!”
Dita and Heather squealed joyfully, hugging each other and Debra. “How??” asked Dita, not really caring to hear the answer, just wanting affirmation that she hadn’t lost their new friend.
“She was smart, Dita. She brought a bulletproof vest to the meeting. I guess the man that shot her used a high powered pistol, because even with the vest she was knocked unconscious. There was enough silver kicked up in the impact that her heart remained stopped, but they were able to resuscitate her.”
Heather thought a moment. “Will there be any …permanent damage?” Debra answered, “If she was still a normal human being, she probably wouldn’t have survived at all. Her heart and lungs was badly bruised, and she’ll need some time to recover, but in a few days to a few weeks, she’ll be the same Wendy.”
Dita asked, “and the deputy?” “No, honey, there was nothing they could have done for him. According to the news, he was married with a six year old son. And I’m afraid the killer is still out there, though he’s being sought by the FBI and local authorities.”
Heather and Dita exchanged worried glances. “So what does that mean for us?” asked Heather. Debra smiled broadly.
“As we get the tickets, and find out what we’re going to do with the other children of the pack, you two are going to Ireland for a couple of weeks. One or two other girls might join you, almost certainly Rachel since her grandparents are there, possibly Katie as well.”
“IRELAND!?!” squeaked both girls happily. “We thought it would give you a chance to stay safe, since the person we’re looking for won’t have a chance to leave the country. We also figured you should have a traditional werewolf experience in Europe for you birthdays.”
Oh yeah, there was that aspect as well. Their faces fell slightly.
“Mom, I spoke with Mrs McDonald yesterday before gym, to get excused from gym for a few weeks. During the conversation, she warned me not to mention the pack in front of Rachel, that since Lisa want to protect the pack, anyone who finds out about it has to be changed. If Rachel is coming with us, isn’t she going to find out, since supposedly Dita and I will be out of commission for three days.”
“Why were you going to be excused from gym?” asked Dita. Heather held up a finger, asking her to be silent.
Debra answered. “That’s a good question, sweetie. That MAY not be a problem. Lisa is calling a pack meeting and she may change that standing order. And we will need you both at the D.A’s office at tem this evening.
“Er, Mom, I have a date tonight with Mike Kramer.” Dita smirked. Just Heather’s luck, she thought to herself.
“Well you can still go on your date, just call him up and schedule it to end earlier. But you do need to be involved with this.”
_____________________
Nine in the morning. September 23, 2006 – Pittsburgh
“Hello?”
“Mr. Patel, this is Doctor Van Pelt of Holy Cross Hospital in Evansville. I’m not sure what happened to your daughter, but she’s taken a dramatic turn for the better. Are you still coming in this evening?”
“Of course we are! Is she conscious? Can I speak to her?”
“We gave her a sedative to keep her sleeping. Her heart and lungs took a tremendous beating, but her body is healing itself at an unprecedented rate. She might be a bit groggy for the next several weeks, but I expect no permanent brain damage. Do you believe in miracles, sir?”
“If I hadn’t before, I think now would be a good time!”
“You have a fortunate little girl, Mr. Patel. I look forward to meeting you and your family.”
“Doctor, thank you so much!” Ravi Patel hung up the phone in relief. “GITA, MARCO!!” he called to his wife and son.
________________________
Eleven in the morning. September 23, 2006 Evansville
“OK, so Heather, do you still want to come over to see the game?”
“Sure Mike, it’s just that I NEED to be somewhere tonight at ten. You won last night, right”
“Thirty-eight to seventeen, I had two TD passes in the second half! See you later then?”
“Bye Michael, thanks for understanding.
____________________
Three-twenty in the afternoon, September 23, 2006 Evansville
Wendy stirred. She groaned, her chest felt like she’d been hit with a jackhammer. She tried to assemble her thoughts, but they scattered like leaves in the wind.
“Relax, Wendy…you’ve had a very rough night.”
Wendy? She looked up, seeing a kindly looking man with dark grey hair in a white coat, a stethoscope around his neck. The memories slowly coalesced.
“I’m …SHOT!” Her voice came out as a rough croak.
The Doctor nodded. “That vest you wore was what saved you. He used a very powerful pistol, but the bullets were softer than usual, and I see you used the strongest ceramic inserts. It’s a good thing he didn’t shoot you in the head or neck, like he did with the Sheriffs deputy. I’m Doctor Scott Irizzary by the way.
“Hi” she said weakly.
“Wendy, you were brought in with no heartbeat, and the estimate was that you’d been without oxygen for no less than ten minutes. It’s amazing that you’re alive, miraculous that you’re talking to me less than twenty-four hours after it happened. You remember what happened?” She nodded.
“Excellent. Your family is on their way down from Pittsburgh, they should be here in a few hours. The FBI will be in to question you, and I see that we’ve gotten calls from several other friends of yours. For now I want you to rest, and we’ll keep you overnight for observation.