Two nights passed with no sightings of Alanna. By night three, the tension was beginning to tell on the Enforcers. It ramped up even more when Antton received a report that the mangled body of a young male had been found in an alley several blocks from one of the clubs they were focusing on.
As they had each of the previous nights, the group met briefly once the clubs had closed to compare information. Or as Ulrik wryly put it, lack of information. They were about to disperse when Antton got the call from one of his police contacts. He was swearing when he hung up.
"She's struck again," Antton said tersely, telling them about the dead body.
"She didn't pick him up at the club I was watching," Ulrik stated adamantly.
"Or at mine," Antton said, as his was the closest one to Ulrik's.
"I thought, when she killed, she left the bodies behind the clubs," Brand said.
"Usually, but not always," Antton told him.
"Do they know if the victim had even been to one?" Randulf asked.
"It's too soon to tell. The body was only found an hour ago. My man will keep me updated. However, if it was her and not feral dogs who killed him…" He sighed angrily.
"Either way, the word will get out and people will start to panic," Lew pointed out. "Two kills in a week will be hard to keep quiet."
"Antton?" When Antton looked at him, Brand said hesitantly, "You told me when we first met that you can pick up the scent of a werewolf if they're within a mile or so of you. Couldn't you, or one of the others, visit the site of the kill and see if you can track where she went?"
Antton glanced at the others, muttering, "Is 'stupid' tattooed on my forehead, because it should be."
Lew chuckled. "It isn't. He's right though, one of us should do that and since you're the leader."
"No," Randulf put in. "It should be you, Lew, since you can hide the fact you're a werewolf, even from us. If she did kill that man and if she can be tracked from where she left the body, there's no sense in alerting her to the fact there's another werewolf close by. She's not stupid. She has to know there are Enforcers out looking for her."
"Oh she does, and she loves being able to evade us," Antton said.
"Then I guess it's up to me," Lew said, standing. He started to say something more, then paused.
Probably was going to be one of his smartass comments about how he's the best man for the job. Brand was surprised, and so was everyone else from the looks on their faces, at what Lew did say.
"I think it would be a good idea if I had some back-up. Not too close, for the very reason that you're using me to track her, if I can." His glance fell on Randulf. "If you're willing, because of all of us, you have the best mind shielding abilities." Lew smiled slightly. "Sorry, Antton, but in that respect, he's even better than you."
"No argument there," Antton replied.
Randulf hesitated then nodded, saying tersely, "Let's do it."
*****
::This is her kill,:: Lew mind-spoke to Randulf.
::Is her scent strong enough that you can follow it?::
::Here it is. Presuming she didn't do something to hide it farther away, we should be good.::
::I don't recall seeing any streams in the area, although if she headed toward Standley Lake, there are some there,:: Randulf said.
::Then let's hope she didn't.:: Lew glanced at him. ::Give me a good half-mile head start.::
Randulf scowled. ::I know what I'm doing.::
Lew merely nodded in reply then started walking, swiveling his head as he sniffed the air, and occasionally kneeling to get closer to the ground, where Alanna's scent was stronger.
At one point, much to Lew's surprise, Randulf chuckled. ::If anyone was watching you, they'd think you need new shoelaces that would stay tied.::
Lew knew it was just Randulf's way of trying to release some of their tension, so he laughed softly and didn't bother to reply. But somehow it made him feel better.
For the next few miles, Alanna had kept to alleys or side-streets. She seemed to be heading north, despite several turns to the right or left, as if trying to throw off anyone who may have been following her.
Lew had a sudden thought and voiced it. ::Why is she on foot instead of driving?::
::Can you tell which form she used?::
::Yeah, her human one, since her scent isn't as strong as it would be as a wolf.::
::So either she doesn't have a car or prefers the freedom of movement she has on foot::"
::Or…:: Lew didn't like what he'd just thought. ::She expected an Enforcer would be smart enough to do what we're doing and is leading us to who knows where. It could be to throw us off about where she really goes to ground or to lead us into a trap.::
::Both are possibilities. That means I should probably pull even farther back.::
::Good idea.:: Lew felt the distance between them widen.
After going another mile, Lew realized something. ::She's moved into an open space area, with streams, and she's not using them to cover her tracks.::
::Of course not! If she's leading us somewhere,:: Randulf replied scathingly, ::she wouldn't.::
Lew sighed. The truce, if that's what it was, and he'd thought they might have been establishing one, seemed to have vanished.
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