Midnight, September 26. District Attorney’s Office.
Lisa, Wendy, and Vix had a long conversation during their drive back to the meeting. Wendy understood everything and confirmed several parts of Vix’s information. This increased Vix’s credibility to Lisa, but there was still a lot that she wanted to know.
The unexpected appearance of Wendy in the room sparked glee amongst all of the coven members. They all swarmed her with hugs and questions of how she was doing. Wendy blushed under all the attention and with Lisa’s help, got everyone settled down. Vix moved over to her laptop she left behind. She typed in her password and sighed in relief when it informed her that no one else had tried to access it. However, she checked her email and found that there were no new messages. “How long is it going to take them to respond,” she muttered.
“For who to respond?” asked Wendy. She managed to escape the barrage of attention.
“I’ve been trying to take control of the Ranger team, but my department hasn’t mailed me back yet,” Vix frowned.
“Have you tried contacting the next in command for the team?”
“No, I doubt they would help me. They’re under orders to watch over the homes of the coven members in case Dan returns.”
“Maybe I can get through to them. Can I use your laptop to email them?”
Vix thought for a moment. “Go ahead,” she said getting up from the chair. Wendy sat down and started typing with Vix looking over her shoulder.
Debra looked over at the pair looming over the laptop. “They’re getting along pretty well. Vix wouldn’t let anyone near her laptop before.”
“Wendy has more in common with Vix. They’re both federal agents,” Lisa inputted. “It’s natural for them to work through times like these.” She hoped that Wendy would innocently sway Vix into the pack.
As the hour passed, Vix and a few pack members had brought in more equipment from her car while Wendy instructed Lisa on answering Dan’s call. Several snacks and drinks were also bought in as they all worked about.
“Wendy, I’ve been thinking.” Vix started. “What if Dan decides to call one of the other girls here instead of Lisa to throw us off?”
“That’s a good possibility. Dan has been known for not following the guidelines.” Wendy beckoned for everyone to listen to her instructions.
Another hour slowly goes by as Vix sets up a tracer feed on everyone’s cell phone. Wendy got done instructing and goes over mock conversations with everyone else. During one of the mock conversation Wendy was having with Brenda, Lisa’s cell phone rings. Everyone paused to look at the phone. Vix quickly checked the time. It was only 2:00 AM, thirty minutes before Dan said he would call. Lisa calmly stood over the phone. Vix held up her hand in signal to ‘hold on’ as she started the trace. After the third ring, Vix nodded once at Lisa. Both Wendy and Vix had headphones on to listen in.
“Hello?” Lisa answered.
“Mom, hi it’s me!”
“Dita honey! Thank you for calling. How was your flight?” Lisa motioned her hands in false alarm. Both Wendy and Vix let out their breaths while taking off their headphones. “Dita, I need you to get to Galway straight away and check in with Rachel’s grandparents. Sharon has been kidnapped.”
“What!?” Dita’s voice boomed over the headphones.
“I’m sorry honey, things has been difficult lately. Can we talk about this later?” Lisa said worryingly. Several sobs were heard from the headphones. Vix quickly turned the volume down.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Just take care of Heather and Rachel okay, dear?” Lisa paused to listen.
“I love you too, honey.”
“I will, and take care.”
“Bye.”
The entire room was seldom silent. Everyone thought of their families and what might happen if they were gone. That is everyone except Vix. “The call was traced to Dublin, Ireland. They’re fine,” Vix said. “We should get ready in case Dan decides to call.”
Everyone was still quiet, ready for the next interruption. Wendy’s thoughts turned toward Vix. Where did I see her? Was it while I was in the Navy? No, it was before that. Was it during ROTC? She looked at Vix who was currently typing into her laptop. Her black eyes and hair were distinct; I know them from somewhere… Wendy wondered, trying to pinpoint a memory.
Vix had stopped typing for a moment and glanced around the room. She sees Wendy staring at her. Vix grinned and stared back. Wendy was a big help in setting everything up. Had she not been infected, Vix would have most likely befriended her. It was sad to her that such a talented agent succumbed to lycanthropy. Vix then looked around at the other women in the room. They all have such normal lives, Vix thought. Same fears, same emotions, same desires like any human. But they’re not. Vix closed her eyes. She saw a vision of her family beaming in radiance and happiness. But those images were replaced with torn remnants of their corpses, a large hulking beast looming over them. Her mom, dad, and brother’s lifeless eyes peered at her as if they were looking into her very soul. She ran as fast as she could into the woods, suddenly emerging into a memory of a funeral of someone she called her father; he was her foster parent. It was there when she learned the truth of lycanthropes, from an agent that he worked with. ‘Your father died in protecting a secret… He made me promise to tell you the truth.’ A flash of light from the barrel of a revolver, Vix was shooting into the beast from her nightmares. Blood covered her as she looked down at the werewolf. Its body ridden with varies pieces of silverware and a burn mark on its open paw. A burn shaped like a crucifix. Vix opened her eyes back into reality. This is what they do, what they always do. Vix held fast to her convictions, I won’t let them harm anyone else. I’ll kill them all or die trying.
It was 2:30 AM, the time Dan had set up for them. Everyone waited anxiously looking at their cell phone, wondering who he will call.