It was the second male who stepped forward first.
"Gary Rathmensen, Detective Second Class," the male spoke calmly, "to subdue the big bad wolf."
Bobbi came forward next, "Bobbi Lot, Sargent. To free Frank and Daryl."
"Bernie Hive, Sargent, to end the curse being spread by the wolves."
"MJ Isisnt, Detective Second Class, to stop the big bad wolf.
"Wanda Yexus, Detective First Class, to subdue the big bad wolf."
"Nellie Tyre, Sargent, to undo the wolves' brainwashing."
"Lexi Tyre, Sargent, to stop the big bad wolf."
"Megan Washburn, Detective First Class, to undo the wolves' brainwashing."
"Sasha Rhymm, Sargent, to save Frank and Daryl."
"Fox Renard, don't make fun of my name, Detective Second Class, to stop the big bad wolf."
"You have a dog's name..." the last lioness giggled.
"It's the name of a dog... and foxes are actually more cat-like in their behavior then dog-like," Fox growled back irritated.
"The fox's genus is Vulpes while most other wild dogs are of the genus Canis," Serenity commented, "but..."
"That isn't the point, name, rank and mission, giggle-puss," Gill grumbled, wishing they paid him more.
"Sorry sir," the lioness came back to attention, "Elise Hubert, Detective Second Class, to save Frank and Daryl."
Gill then turned to Serenity for a moment.
"Well, your the expert on this game," Gill told her, "They say anything out of sorts?"
"I wouldn't think so," Serenity sighed, "but then I didn't know your officers, and wasn't their for the transform... so I do not know how many of them started out female other then Bobbi, but I'd say the game is already affecting them in a way I don't like with many wanting to stay this way and nearly all of them likely attracted to Brian or Gary."
Gill slowly nodded, "I think with the exception of Bobbi, all of them were male... and Bobbi started out male before he became Bobbi, so technically all of them were male."
"And one of the reasons I didn't want to do this from the start," Serenity sighed, "I had hoped you'd let your officers use a tranquilizer dart or something."
"Ashley is larger then a normal wolf, Ms. Serenity," Gary said politely, "and none of us are skilled with tranquilizers. Too little, and they could potentially kill or at least hurt someone before they go under... too much and the tranquilizer could put them to sleep. It'd be easier for us to grab them individually, wrestle them to the ground, breaking an arm or leg if we have to and tie them up."
"Breaking an arm or leg?" Gill asked.
"It would be better then killing them," Gary answered, "and given our new size and weight, we could easily kill them."
"What do you mean?" Gill asked pointedly to Gary.
"Well, we're all rather uniform," Gary answered, "Brian and I are the same height, although he might weigh a little more then I do... and all of the lionesses are the same height with Bobbi weighing the most, and nearly all of it muscle may I add."
"I can see that," Gill said.
"Well, their largest wolf is Jensen himself, which according to Ashley is only as tall and as muscled as our females," Gary continued, "his pack does have other males, but they are all considerably smaller then him... about the same size as his Alpha Female, her "copies" and the Betas. The rest of their females are all Ashley's size roughly. Larger then humans, but tiny in comparison to their Alphas... and other then Frank, Daryl, and a gray she wolf named Nicole, NONE of them have any real training in hand to hand combat. They've mostly relied on being stronger then their victims. If we can get into the manor, even with all their numbers, I'd think the fight would last approximately ten minutes with us winning without a single injury."
"Don't get cocky," Serenity scolded, "Nicole, Frank, and Daryl could train their pack mates, and even with your twelve your still outnumbered and they will likely fight to the death if you assault the manor."
"Not to mention they got that black and gold monster guarding their pups," Trevor shivered in Serenity's arms.
"You'll also need to assume that Jensen is smarter then we are," Serenity spoke, "Most criminals using the game are usually fairly stupid in how they go about things and are easily caught... this case has been the hardest I've ever been on, and the longer its gone on, it's almost like Jensen isn't deliberately trying to be a criminal... it's just that that is how things are turning out."
"He's made them all into a family," Bernie commented, turning heads.
"His victims, and himself were all unwilling victims, according to what Ashley told us, but he's done a lot to provide for his pack," Bernie explained, "giving all of the wolves the full run of the manor, even areas that the Smiths likely kept them out of, unless it was to work, providing them with food and protection, insuring that they have a means of legally keeping the manor. It's almost like Jensen is starting his own little civilization there that wouldn't depend on the rest of Glendale."
"You make it sound like what he's done is a good thing," Gill commented.
"I don't mean to," Bernie answered, "I'm just saying that I think the curse has altered the way he's thinking... If Jensen is Jennifer Smith II, then he has to have changed in some way. I did some "Dare" work with the schools... from what little I saw, Jennifer Smith didn't really care about anyone, including her "friends", but Jensen seems to actually care about the wolves in his pack... at least that is what I've got from Ashley. It doesn't justify what he's done to them, but most of it would likely be chalked up to the curse..."
Penny nodded, "Yeah, I don't think Ashley will press any charges against Jensen. She seemed sorry for the wrongs they've done, and has told us a lot... but she still seems loyal to Jensen."
Gill sighed, "Serenity and I have already figured that we'll likely have a pack of wolf people around the Smith manor when this is over... the goal though is that we are to free them of their brainwashing so that Jensen can't just hold them there and that they are free to leave or at least interact with their families... what I want to know is how are you going to go about this?"
Every lioness turned either Brian or Gary. Will Gill didn't acknowledge Brian, those turned to him turned to Gary.
"I really don't know," Gary said, "Once we're in the manor that should be easy to subdue them. The problem will be getting in. Ashley told us, they've ringed the manor with six grotesques who's sole purpose is to guard the manor."
Trevor shuddered, remembering the feeling of being watched when he passed them on the way investigating the manor.
"To ward off bad luck or "evil spirits"?" Serenity asked.
"No, they are fully capable of movement and if commanded to could fight," Gary spoke, "Ashley doesn't know what type of rock they're made of, but believes that even the M-16s our SWAT officers have would be ineffective against them... which means that even with our strength and skill, I doubt we could beat these things."
"They can move?" Trevor gasped in horror.
"Impossible," Serenity also gasped, "Stone isn't a living thing."
"Neither is glass, yet they have three pups made of glass that are indestructible," Gary added, "As you said earlier, Ms. Serenity, Jensen is smart. Even with twelve lion officers and the Hardys for backup, we can not beat six gargoyles that will blindly follow Jensen as he is."
"So they're curse victims as well," Serenity concluded.
Gary nodded.
"Are their forms locked?" Serenity asked.
"According to Ashley, the only ones with locked forms are the wolves themselves, including the glass pups," Gary sighed, "Which I guess will make Frank and Daryl, Fran and Darla now... right?"
Serenity nodded, "can they respond?"
"What?" Gary asked.
"Can they respond to the game?" Serenity asked, "if you can't beat them in combat, the only other option would be to use the game to change them back."
"Ashley doesn't seem to know," Gary sighed, "They can move, and definitely hear, but she doesn't know if they can vocalize anything. She says they were already transformed when she and the interior staff were transformed. Oh... and the two people they turned into deer likely can not be changed back unless we have a deer that can speak both human and... whatever animal language deer speak... as they were made to be ordinary deer... though Jensen's promised not to harm the two that were transformed."
Serenity thought that to be odd, but wasn't about to argue with it. They were learning more about Jensen's character, and she wasn't about to complain.
"So how do we deal with these gargoyles?" Gill asked, "Short of calling the army to borrow a Bradly Fighting Vehicle."
"My best guess would be to draw Jensen and Pack members out," Gary shrugged, "those gargoyles are likely some line of defense, not attack. If we could draw the pack outside the estate area and undo their brainwashing, they could then order the gargoyles to stand down and we could see if they can respond to the game."
"No, we're against a clock," Serenity told the other male lion, "Jensen's attack on the Hardy's home was likely because of me. Julie hired me to free Frank and when he got her children and then her, he learned of me and sees me as a threat to his pack. Mary transformed her parents during the attack and Trevor and Paul gave them the time needed to drive off the attack and capture Ashley. Jensen is smarter then any I've faced before. If brute force won't work, he may simply flee Glendale altogether."
"The Island," Bernie spoke slowly.
"What?" Gill gasped.
"Ashley said something about an island sanctuary for them," Bernie then said, "she doesn't know the location... other then that it's in the middle of nowhere."
"Then we need to get in there quickly before they can leave!" Brian spoke from the sidelines.
"This conversation is for OFFICERS ONLY," Gill said firmly, "You want to join the academy, fine, first lesson, you listen to your superiors WITHOUT QUESTION. And that will include Fran and Darla when they're officers again. Understood?"
Brian slowly nodded.
"They are right though," Serenity nodded, "if Jensen leaves, all we'll have is an empty manor that can't be sold because it's the principle home some of the Pack's victims."
Gill then turned to Gary again.
"So how do we get by the gargoyles?"
"Well," Wanda spoke up, "sorry to interrupt, but if the gargoyles there were made to be defenders, we could scout the manor's edges out and look for potential blind spots. If they were human sentries, they'd turn their heads like you would expect them to... but if they're to look like carved statues until something threatens the manor or are called to action by Jensen, they won't be turning their heads, as that would attract attention, which means they likely have blind spots that we can sneak through and into the manor before they or the wolves know we're in. We can then neutralize them before they can flee and free them..."
There was a silence for a moment.
"The only other option would be to surrender and let Jensen continue as he is, which I don't think anyone wants," Wanda then finished.
"That might work," Serenity commented, "Tricky and dependent on the gargoyles not being able to see everything, but it might actually work."
+++++++
"What is this?" Kaylee spoke as she found Zack and a collection of she-wolves talking about something with Abbey standing by.
The triplets had gone for Pearl and June and their pups with Zack, while Jensen waited for them to come to him for any final instructions, and she had been sent to check on the progress of the preparations for the evacuation. Many were on task, but she found this group together, with the females arguing about something with Zack and Abbey standing by.
"Megan wants to get Ashley back and punish the mean cat that hurt Roger," Abbey told the Alpha Female.
"We all do," Kaylee told the glass wolf, "We all do, what is the problem?"
Megan looked at the reddish brown she wolf for a moment. She had caught them and Abbey had blabbed, but didn't exactly mention that she was actively planning on making such a rescue attempt.
"No, Alpha Female," Megan spoke weakly, "I mean I really want to do that. I intend to go. Those lions have one of our family. It doesn't matter if she's told them anything or not, she is Pack we have to get her back. Put her with those who care or and love her... and that monster familiar... he... he... he hurt Roger, my brother, not just by pack but by family. He must PAY for that... I should have been with them. I always looked out for Roger, but with his upgrade, I turned my back on him and now he's likely to have lost the use of one eye. I failed him, Alpha Female. I failed him."
Once Megan got to talking about her brother, she broke down and ended up grasping Kaylee in a hug, whimpering into Kaylee's shoulder. This startled the red-brown female quite a bit, but she found herself doing something else unexpected. She stroked Megan's back, as if trying to comfort the pastel green female.
"It's alright, Pastel Green," Kaylee spoke, her lack of familiarity with the Smith family staff still in the fore, "Jensen and I might have an idea to get the numbers needed to crush those nasty lions and preserve our Pack. And Julie isn't sure. You're brother's eye may heal."