NationStates Jolt Archive

"Don't know what you want?" Nicolette examined the clothes and pulled out a beautiful shirt the color of Toric's eyes and a pair of black slacks. "Try that."

Apep looked over at Aneera as she talked about ancient Egypt. She knew her history. He wondered how old the twins were. At least a couple thousand, as Toric fought with Hannibal. But that gave only a minimum to guessing how old they were.

To Braedan, he nodded slightly and said, "I've met a few of them before, yes. Do you know which ones will be appearing tonight?"

Braedan thought. "Yes, Djehuty will be here. That's all i know for sure."

OOC: Everyone should RP for a representitive from their area please.

"Ah, he's about as ancient as they come," Apep said with a nod. His suspicions were confirmed. "Did you know that he was a major proponent for human development in ancient Egypt? Or, so the history books tell us."

Braedan's eyes grew wide with youthful curiosity. "Really?"

"He was always big on science and development, while many of the other lycans of those days were busy with infighting," Apep continued. "I supposed that's why he has become as prominent a member of the Council as he has. If I'm not mistaken, he may even have been one of the original founders of the Council, but then I never really paid too much attention to the history books on that, so I could be mistaken."

"This must be an important event if he's coming. Perhaps it's because the Wolcott is being started up again after such a long time."

Braedan nodded. "Interesting. The reformation of the Wolcott seems to have a huge effect on everyone. Nicolette was against if from the start, she fought it tooth and nail. Then they called her before them to tell her she was the new Alpha. I'm not sure if she was happy that she could make a difference, or......" Braedan looked away. "She was a child when the last Wolcott was shut down. The story is infamous, if only because it's such a secret. Colette is one of the few who know the story, but she never tells it. The old chairman who retired at that time, and a few select members of the Council are the only other ones who know the whole story."

Braedan turned back to Apep. "It's that secret that made Nicolette the right choice for Alpha, no matter what it was."

OOC: TG Rhinara

Toric smiled and set the shirt and pants down, beginning to undress without even thinking.

Amara was quiet, patiently waiting for the represenitives and ancients to arrive. She was nervous, she wondered how they would react to a lycan bitten at eighteen? Hopefully well.

She looked at Braedan as he addressed her and as Nicollette went off with the panthers, obviously pissed. "Thanks...when I started my tour of the world I never expected to go anywhere fancy...but still..."

Amara went quiet and felt her palms sweat as time ticked way.

Apep was intrigued as to what happened with the Wolcott, since the cloak of secrecy kept the information well away from him. But superiors often had their reasons for keeping things a secret, and Apep could understand that, so he would not try to dig it out of Nicolette.

"Hmm," he nodded. "Then I'm sure whatever the problem was with the last one wouldn't be repeated this time around as she's in charge, despite the irony of the situation."

(OOC: TG replied)

Nicolette gasped and blushed. "Uh...perhaps you'd like to do that in that change room."
+++++++++++++
Braedan nodded. "Yes, I suppose it is ironic."
OOC:TGed back

people can bring in reps now.

"How do you-" Apep began, but was interrupted as the first of the guests arrived.

There were two of them, a man and a woman. Both of them had tanned skin and had an almost regal look about them. Dressed impeccably, the woman's arm was in the man's as they entered the dining room.

The servant that led the two in announced, "Councilman Djehuty and his wife Hathor, Ancients of Egypt."

"Now now, dear," Hathor held up a forefinger at the servant while smiling. "Be careful who you're calling ancient." Her smile grew wider at him before she and her husband continued toward the table, where their host was.

Djehuty's eyes met with Apep's, and they both looked away without further incident. "It appears we're the first ones here," he commented to Hathor. "And I thought Serket was always the early one," he chuckled.

Braedan stepped forth and bowed. "Hello, I am Braedan of the dark valley. I am pleased you could come to this gathering at my home and the New Wolcott's headquarters. If there is anything you need feel free to ask." She smiled his most rakish smile. "Anything at all."

OOC: well I've been on for far to long. i'm going to go. bye

Toric looked at her and then realized his mistake and smiled shamedly while gathering the clothes. He went into the changing room and after a few minutes came back out again. He seemed to be struggling with his tie and looked at the changing room that his sister was using and sighed. He gave up on the tie and waited for her to come out.

"Why, aren't you a dear," Hathor smiled back at the elf.

Djehuty returned Braedan's bow with a formal nod of his head. "Thank you. And, may I say, it is an honor to be here at this important moment in Zev history. It is most gracious of you to open your home to be the headquarters of the Wolcott."

"Excuse me, hon," Hathor said to her husband before giving Braedan another smile and breaking off from the group.

The councilman nodded to his wife before continuing with Braedan, "So, how is the new Wolcott team faring so far?"

Hathor sat down next to Amara and introduced herself. "Hello there. I'm Hathor. You must be one of the new members. What's your name?"

Amara looked at the woman sitting next to her. On the outside was the obvious age difference that was tiny compared to the zev age difference. Amara gave her a pleasant smile.

"I'm Amara. Nice to meet you."

"Amara, what a beautiful name," Hathor said, who looked to be in her thirties for a normal human. Her husband looked about a decade or so older, but otherwise not that old at all. She glanced over at Apep, who was sitting not far away. "And you must be Apep," she said with a smile.

Apep nodded to her, "I am, Lady Hathor."

"Oh please, just Hathor," she said. To the both of them, she asked, "How does it feel? To be here and doing what you're going to do?"

Nicolette saw Toric's struggle and walked over to the change room knocking gently. "Do you need help with your tie?"
=============
Braedan considered the question. "Well, Councilman Djehuty, they seem to be fairing quite well, other then a few small incidents that arrived earlier today. The Alpha seems to be doing very well with the group, however they haven't allowed me to observe them train yet." He shrugged his shoulders gently. "I believe they are establishing a dynamic before they allow outsiders to watch them work."

Braedan smiled to himself, he hadn't sounded like an ignorant child once. If he could do that for the rest of the night he'd be set.

Toric shook his head, waiting for his sister.

"He won't let anyone near his throat", came near Aneera's response just prior to opening her own door and stepping out, "been that way since the injury." Once she stepped out, he followed and she quickly tied the tie for him, leaving it somewhat loose, though presentable.

"Let's go then!" The trio descended the stairs to the dining room.

Toric and Aneera strode out behind her, following her back into the dining room.

"Okay I guess."

Amara said in the 'slightly akward moment' teenager tone. She was a little uncomfortable around this woman. Probably it was because of the fact she had so little experiance with other immortals, she didn't know how to act around them. The team had at least closer ages to her own and she guessed she was most likely the youngest.

Hathor chuckled, a light and mirthful laugh. "You sound so uncertain, dear!" She looked at Apep, "And you, Apep?"

"It is a priviledge to be considered for a position in the Wolcott," the man replied.

She gave him a wry expression. "Oh, come now, is that really all you have to say?"

Apep paused momentarily. "It is a...great...priviledge."

That brought another chuckle to Hathor. "Men," she said to Amara.

***

"Ah, good, good," Djehuty said with a nod. "That's why your wife is the perfect person for the job. She knows what's needed to be established for the Wolcott."

He glanced to the side. "Ah, speaking of which..." he said as Nicolette and a couple others appeared.

Amara shrugged at Hathor's comment. She didn't know how she was suppose to be acting around ancient weres and decided that keeping her mouth shut and looking nice would probably be the best way to go tonight.

Nicolette smiled broadly. "Councilman Djehuty, how wonderful it is to see you. And on a much happier occassion then our last meeting." She offered her hand with a childish grin.

The twins entered with Nicolette and Toric pulled out Aneera's chair who resumed her seat gracefully with a soft thanks to her brother. Once seated he moved to Nicolette's chair, pulling it out for her. Aneera eyed the newcomers, wondering if she had ever met them in her long life. Egypt had already waned in her power before Aneera had been born. Besides which the twins had spent most of thier time exploring africa and the orient after the loss at Zama. Once the new world opened up they went and explored there and in south america. Then they began to hire out to whoever would pay their asking price.

"Indeed, Lady Fenris" Djehuty said with a big smile to Nicolette as he took her hand and offered a light peck on it. "I am glad to see that you are doing well. Our host here and I were just speaking of you. I hear you are doing a good job with the new recruits." He looked over at the gathered bunch of lycans.

***

"Oh, you really are a quiet one, aren't you, dear?" Hathor chuckled when all Amara did was shrug.

When Aneera and Toric sat down, Hathor looked over at them. Though they looked very different from each other, she could tell that they were the siblings she heard about. "Hello there," she said to them. "I'm Hathor. You two must be the twins?"

"Yes the matter of second in command has become an issue." Nicolette sighed.

Aneera inclined her head respectfully as Toric stood near Nicolette's chair. "We are. I'm Aneera. This is Toric. It is both an honor and a privilege to make your aquantance."

Toric smiled at Hathor, but said nothing.

"Oh?" Djehuty inquired. "What is the issue?"

***

Hathor gave the twin a warm smile. "I was just asking these two about how they feel about being in the new Wolcott," her hand motioned at Amara and Apep. "You two signed up to join it, right? Is it like what you expected, at least, so far?"

"Twins don't possess the strength needed to lead, and Gregori will not follow my commands." Nicolette paused trying to find her words. "Amara is far to young and unexperience so the only one suitable is..." She trailed off and sipper some wine,

Djehuty fell silent and his expressions grew grave. He then looked over at Apep, briefly before turning back to Nicolette.

"That is an issue," he agreed. "And what of Mister Perry?"

Djehuty looked around, seeing that Zack was noticeably absent from the gathered group.

"As far as I can tell he's AWAL." Nicolette sighed. "Now you know very well I can't assign positions of leadership without full support of the Council. Now I know that you and Apep have.." Nicolette daintily cleared her throat. "history. But the Wolcott is in a very tight bind, Councilman."

Djehuty did not like the idea of Apep receiving a position of power. Especially one within the Wolcott.

Finally, he nodded to Nicolette. "Very well. If that is your decision, then I will support it."

His voice lowered ever so slightly, "But keep in mind that he is a dangerous man. As the Native American tale goes, it is the nature of the scorpion to sting." He glanced around, his voice returning to normal, "No offense meant toward Serket, of course." The edges of his lips drew up slightly in a smile, although his eyes still showed a bit of concern.

Nicolette sighed. "Yes, I realize that, but as Norse legend state. The Children of Fenris will destroy the planet. We both know what thinking of that sort resulted in." The young lycan shook her head.

OOC:TG RHINARA

"Well", Aneera replied, "we are only in the training stages. So we really haven't had a taste of the real action. So as of now, I'm just trying to keep Toric out of trouble."

Toric's eyebrows shot up as Aneera shot him a grin and glanced over to see if Nicolette was paying any attention at all to thier conversation. When she did she heard Nicolette's comment and shot a glance at Toric.

Toric's face turned suddenly to bitter saddness and he moved over to take a seat next to his sister. When he did she laid a hand on his arm and leaned over to whisper into his ear. When she did he just nodded.

"Just a word of warning," Djehuty said. "I have seen the things he could do."

***

Hathor laughed at the joking and exchange between the siblings.

Then Aneera whispered to Toric. "Ah, keeping secrets, are we?" Hathor chuckled.

(OOC: I'm in the middle of finals week, so I'll probably be on even more sporadically than usual.)

Nicolette nodded. "I understand."

Aneera was silent for a moment and finally looked up at Hathor, "It's complicated", was her only response.

(OOC: Hey guys. Sorry for my absence. Been a very busy week or two. Finished with finals, but now I have graduation and a ton of packing to do, as I have to move right after graduation. Probably won't be able to post for a while yet. Bring in the other council members so I won't feel so bad about bringing the RP to a grinding halt! Have fun!)

OOC: If you weren't moving after Grad I'd be pissed. I have finals and Grad and I still try to get online to do this stuff. THen again I only have one final. haha

(OOC: Heh, I'm also kinda homeless right now, which makes accessing the internet a little tricky. I'm currently at the library, and I can't stay on for too long. Hopefully, I'll move into my new place by the end of the month and get my internet up and running. TG, Thrope.)

Djehuty glanced down at his watch and frowned slightly. "Has Serket called saying she would be arriving late? It is not like her to be anything but early."

***

"Oh?" asked Hathor. "Perhaps I could be of some help, if you would like?"

Aneera shook her head and laid a hand on Toric's arm. "No, nothing that won't come eventually."

Nicolette opened her mouth to reply, when there was a servent came to introduce the Vice-Chairwoman of the Zev Council had arrived. Braedan went to greet him.

"Hello, dear, where is everyone?",she looked around the room. "I thought more people would be hear by now."

Braedan shook his head. "As did I, it's very odd."

Hathor grinned at the twins. "Ah, a mystery for us, how exciting! You know, you two almost remind me of something I've heard, about twins being telepathic with one another. I wonder how true that is?"

***

Djehuty gave the vice-chairwoman a greeting nod from across the room when their eyes met.

"It seems I am not the only one wondering," he commented to Nicolette. "Well, if the others insist on being 'fashionably' late, then I say we do not wait up."

"Toric and I can sense each other emotions easily, sometimes thoughts. It's become necessary." Aneera had tensed at the beginning of the woman's statement, wondering if thier reputation had preceeded them.

Braedan lead the vice chairwoman to her seat, and nodded to Djehuty "Yes, I suppose we should begin." The fey rang a bell and servents brought in the first course. Nicolette laughed and turned to Djehuty.

"You know, I'm happy the rest have not arrived. I'd hate them to see my look of shock when the servents appear. I never seem them, then suddenly there are dozens upon dozens of them. Though I do hope the others arrive before dessert." While it was meant to be light-hearted, a string of wariness caught the alpha's voice on the last line.

Aneera and Toric looked at each other at the same time. Something was wrong. There were those opposed to this, surely, and someone may have begun taking steps against it.

Gregori walked down the stairs.... and immediately cursed under his breath as he saw the servants bring out the meal. After the ass whipping he had gotten from the battle simulator (although he had lasted longer then some were betting on...) he was unwilling to disobey any orders at all, or make himself stand out as being uncooperative. Being late to this party would do just that. He breathed in and decided to bite the bullet after all.

Gregori walked calmly into the room and bowed.
"Apologies to all of you for being a tad bit late, I fear I had more trouble then I had at first though at getting my suit on."
You notice that while Gregori's suit is rather fashionable, he seems and looks ridiculous in it. His body is not made for formalities, as he is a soldier, born and bred.
Sitting down, a general look of acceptance to his inevitable punishment on his face, but he still manages to ask.
"Has Remani arrived yet? I had figured a gathering of elders would undoubtably contain one of our oldest."

Nicolette seemed slightly annoyed at Gregori's late enterance, but his comment caused her to stir uncomfortably. She shot a look to her husband that said, I don't like this

Braedan for his part looked wary as well, but not wanting to cause unrest among his guests. So even as he handed a note to a servant to figure out what was going on, he tried to change the subject.

"Now now, I assure you the others will arrive shortly. They may have simply lost their way on the road. Now, as the Wolcott members will tell you, Nicollette and i had a silly tif this morning over where or not I was part Incubus. But I ask you this, how many believe our new Alpha is part Wila (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wila)?"

Fenris laughed softly, thankful for the distraction, though she was still uneasy.

"How very fascinating!" Hathor said to Aneera, with a bit of awe in her voice.

Djehuty chuckled at Nicolette. "But dessert is the best part of the meal! The more for me, the better! Although, my wife would tend to disagree..." he chuckled again as he watched Hathor wag a finger at him.

Apep, in the meanwhile, remained silent and quite still, watching what everyone was doing and listening in on the conversation. He merely nodded to Gregori when the other man arrived late before going back to his observations. Something was afoot, and he did not want to be caught off guard.

Hathor, on the other hand, had a mischevious grin on her face as she looked from Braedan to Nicolette. "Maybe we should pluck one of her hairs?"

"Trust me", Aneera replied to Hathor, "knowing what he's thinking or feeling is not always a good thing." She grinned as she glanced at Toric then Amara and then looked back at Hathor.

Toric almost choked on his drink and cast a baleful eye at his sister. He then made several motions with his hands after setting down his glass.

Aneera read thier 'battle signs' and grinned. "Then I'll have to remember not to spar with you."

Gregori looked around. He could definitely sense the general sense of unease, even as most people carried on casual conversation. He truly did wonder where his elder had gone off to, as he was not one to be fashionably late... nor was he one to go back on his promises. For he had promised he would come to visit, Gregori firmly remembered that... however as he looked at the delicious meal his thoughts eased into a gentle haze. The brutal reprimand that he had been given today through overwork had made him more ravenous then he had thought, and it took all his self control not to simply devour his entire meal. However as his mind recovered, he simply had to mention it once more.

"... Not to harp... but has there been no word from any of the other elders? None at all...?" He knew this question wouldn't be liked, but it was one worth the risk.

Braedan chuckled at Hathor's comment. "I wouldn't like her to be a wolf at all times, however I have wondered what would happend if I grabbed her fur when she was in wolf form."

Nicolette smiled lightly. "I think that only works for swans, or other feathered beings."

The Vice-Chairwoman laughed as well, but at Gregori's comment all three turned to him. Not one knew how to respond, Braedan pulsed gently with power that caused a weird light in the room.

"Something's wrong," he stated this coldly. Before anyone could respond, a servent girl came in with a sealed enveleope. The young woman placed the letter before Braedan who read it, and cursed. He handed it to Nicolette who read the letter allowed.

"How dare you reinstate such a vile orginization as the Wolcott. You should be ashamed, but we suppose scum like you know no shame. Even if the creation of such a horrible wicked group was tolerable those you have chosen to be in it simply will not do. We know there stories, we know their pasts. You make us all sick.

You have have three options;
1)Disban the Wolcott Forever more
2) Reform it with more agreeable agents
3) Do nothing and we will do away with the elders which we have in our custody."

Nicolette's face contorted with anger, before a long string of curses in Norse, Polish, Gaelic, and many other languages poured out of her lips. For a moment she sat perfectly still, breathing hard, before regaining her composure and standing up.

"Well, I believe we have our first assignment."

Amara listend as Nicolette read the letter she had recieved. Oh hell, fanatics.

Amara looked up the table at the Alpha. "Any idea of who these hostage taking dicks are and where they might be?"

Gregori was stunned. He knew his nation's elder's personally, and the fact that anyone would do what these beasts did was unfathomable. He simply let out a growl, a mix of anger and dumbfounded surprise.

"hostages? Why would they do this? Were simply trying to improve relations! What precisely did this wolcott do in the past to destroy it's reputation so?!"

He stood up, disregarding etiquette altogether (not as if anyone cared anymore)
and slammed his hand on the table before realizing what he did.

"Let's go then. My brother in tribe is in danger, and I must not let him down."

"Trust me Gregori. The actions of the last Wolcott have stained the minds of many people. They did something so undeniably horrible that we must bare their penence." Nicolette gently fingered her hair and shook her head. "However, others should not be harmed by the weight we all must now carry."

She turned to Aneera. "I was hoping to save these announcements, but Aneera you'll be central control, so I'll need you to run some scans on this note. Toric as head of weapons I'll need you to help me choose our hardware. The rest of you start getting ready. Apep as second in command make sure Gregori and Amara are ready on time and please explain their assigned roles."

The white haired lycan turned to the guests and her husband. "Sorry to have to leave so abruptly, but I'm sure you all understand why." She turned back to the twins, "Ready?"

Aneera and Toric didn't particularly care that the elders were being held hostage, they had always been loners, but a contract was a contract. Both stood as the positions were announced and Aneera reached for the letter.

Toric signed to Aneera, who nodded, "I'll see if I can narrow it down any, but start getting ready for a general smash and grab, I'll let you know if I get anything specific."

Toric was already headed out to get the weapons that would be needed as Aneera nodded to Nicolette, "We're ready", she said, waiting for the letter.

Nicolette handed Aneera the letter with a muttered 'Good Luck', she then ducked away for a quick change of attire, and followed Toric to the armory. She watched carefully observing his choices. She was confident in the male panthers ability with weapons from his file and what she'd seen earlier that morning. She only stood there to make sure her choice was right.

Once she was confident in his choice for the team, she went unlocked a cabinet and pulled out an impressive pair of Desert Eagles and slid them into her holster. Fenris never liked guns, she preferred melee weapons. However, as a well trained warrior she knew the advantages of being a good shot. She wasn't a perfect markmen, but she handled a few guns rather well, especially her Eagles.

Once she had stockpiled her magazines, she turned her attention back to Toric. She was impressed.

Toric had chosen several light semi automatic rifles and spare magazines. He supplemented it with two heavy placement mount autos for him and the other military man, though he had forgotten Gregori's name. Backing it all up with some semi auto sidearms. He set aside several knives, not sure as to the hand to hand capabilites of the others.

He pulled up his own bag then and took out a well worn broadsword, his own, and an authentic set of ancient of Ninja-to blades, which were the personal favorite of his sister and finally a norse Cinquedea, the wide bladed dagger he later came to favor.

Gregori tried to keep his patience as they got set for the mission. He knew he would have to be outfitted properly, but does it HAVE to take so long? Who knows the current status of his elders? He brushed the thought off immediately. He knew they were safe. He forced himself to know. Finally he was handed an FN Minimi to use. With it he took a ka-bar and an IMI Jericho (The Desert Eagle's smaller caliber brother) as back-ups. From there it was little more then waiting... excruiating waiting.

While Toric assembled the weapons, trying to take into account general action only, Aneera analyzed the note. She checked it for fingerprints, though she didn't expect to find any, and while the computer was eliminating the prints of thier own people she photocopied the sheet and then cut off one corner for an analysis of the paper. If it wasn't common then she might be able to get a geographical location for it's source and potentially limit the possibilites.

She then cut off a small portion of the written area to test the ink for the same reason and then sat back and read the letter over several times.

"Whoever it is, is either older or intelligent, could be both. If I had to place odds I would say older.

Vile, know no shame, wicked, forever more. Not language typically used by more recent generations.

I don't think it's a terrorist type group. No flat out single demand, but rather a list of options. I would say that it's either someone who really doesn't like the Wolcott", and she looked over at Nicolette, "for whatever reason", then looked back at the note, "or someone who thinks we might learn something that would interfere with them."

She laid down the copy and checked the computers progress on the various analyzes and then looked over at Toric. "In either case I think I should get inside and have a look around to see if there's anything I might be able to find on the matter. They might have a comp I can snoop in."

Toric nodded and added a few small C-4 charges and a remote detonator and pulled out the headgear for the personell then quickly signed to Aneera who translated for Nicolette.

"He says that the explosives can be used on one side and then a team can hit from the opposite side. While thier defenders are split a small team, one or two, can get in and get the elders. If I go I might be able find out why they are so desperate to get rid of us as well." He finished and started to double check the weapons before handing them out.

"I dont' know who's in charge of your strategy, but maybe run it past them", she said and then accepted the Ninja-to set, and a small black belt bag, but nothing else, then returned to the computer.

As everyone got prepared, Amara made a quick change into a pair of black, skin tight leather pants, shirt, and some black combat boots. The young lycan came back downstairs into the preperation room with a small bag and began to load her own kit. She trusted Toric with weapons, but she personally liked picking her own stuff.

She collected a Heckler and Koch P2000 automatic with spare magizines and a H&K MP5K with magizines. She also grabbed a silencer and a scope for the weapon if she wanted to mount them. Collasping the buttstock, it easily fit into the old school book bag.

Taking a deep breath, Amara hoped she was ready.

Djehuty and Hathor both had looks of concern. Fenris going into immediate action was of some help, but the worry did not completely fade from their faces.

While the team sprung into action, Apep remained seated in his place at the table, observing even more carefully his surroundings. To the servant girl who brought the letter in, he asked, "Where did you get that letter from?"

Before the girl could respond, though, Hathor reached out for a glass of red wine in the hopes of calming her nerves a tad bit. Apep's eyes shot toward the glass, his eyes narrowing at he watched her pick it up.

With a sudden jump, Apep lept out of his chair and reached across the table for it. Djehuty, however, grabbed hold of Apep's wrist first, not allowing the other man to touch his wife.

The startled Hathor paused from bringing the glass to her lips. "What? What is it?"

Apep and Djehuty just stared at each other, exchanging glances that were not exactly friendly. Finally, Apep broke the staring contest and looked away. To Hathor, he said, "Forgive me, but you must not drink from that."

"Why not?" Hathor asked, looking even more concerned than before.

"Please, give it to me," Apep requested.

Hathor nodded and handed him her glass of wine, and Djehuty released his grip on Apep's wrist.

Apep leaned back into his seat and sniffed at the drink. Then a forked tongue snuck out from between his lips and flicked into the glass, just barely touching the wine with the tips. His serpentine tongue drew back into his mouth and he sipped in some of the wine. Swashing it around in his mouth for a little bit, he then spat it back out into the glass.

"It's poisoned," Apep said. "Egyptian asp. No sensations of pain; the victims would be dead before anyone knew what happened. Highly lethal; a small dosage of it can kill any one of us and yet not be detected under the strong taste of the wine."

"But you detected it," Djehuty said, almost accusingly.

Apep looked at the Egyptian ancient straight in the eyes. "When one has been banished for centuries into the deserts under pain of death and has no food aside from the creatures of the desert, one gets used to these tastes."

He looked at Braedan. "Get me the wine servers." To the servant, "Now, the letter?"

Gregori checked and double checked his weapons in his own nervous fashion, forcing himself to think of something rather then the mission he was going on, or why he was going on it. He could hear noise and acknowledgement of said noise all around him, but he didn't see any movement, so he knew that his comrades were not quite ready, which just made him check his weapons all the more...

Nicolette nodded to Aneera. "Do what you need."
====================
Braedan was off in the study with the Vice Chairman trying to confirm that the letter was not a hoax. The news from Council HQ supported the fact that the elders were missing.
==================
The servent girl's eyes grew wide. She quickly turned heel and began to run away.

Apep immediately got up from his seat and grabbed the plate in front of him. He emptied the contents by turning the plate upside-down, and curved his arm in preparation to throw. His species of snakes had an uncanny coordination ability, allowing him to accurately throw the plate like a discus right into the back of one of the servant girl's knee as she ran.

The girl cried out and collapsed, sliding a short distance on the polished floor of the dining hall. He was soon upon her, holding onto her to make sure she could not make another getaway.

Looking toward Djehuty and Hathor, Apep asked, "Can one of you find Gregori and Amara and tell them to come to me when they are finished being prepped?" His sense that something was wrong had been pacified, and he could follow Nicolette's orders regarding those two now.

Hathor nodded, "I'll check right away." She went off in the direction of where the rest of the Wolcott disappeared to.

Djehuty approached the servant girl as Apep began his interrogation.

"Now, please explain why you were running off like that," Apep asked in a calm but no-nonsense tone.

Gregori immediately came up as Hathor ran by yelling something about poison. He didn't even bother dropping his weapons, thinking that he might need them at some point anyway. He walked upstairs to see food all over where Apep had flipped his plate so quickly, and Apep himself on top of a girl. Taking the hint, he ran up to Apep.

"I heard something about a poisoning, is everything alright?"

Amara turned as Hathor came calling for her and Gregori. The male quickly ran off while Amara moved at a hurried pace, but not as quickly as Gregori and she arrived about a minute afterward. She looked at the servant girl Apep was holding down.

"What is all the hub-bub?"

"LET ME GO!", screamed the girl. She squirmed and struggled but kept her mouth shut otherwise.

"Everything is under control," Djehuty said to Gregori and Amara. "She tried to run away when Apep asked her a question."

Apep waited for the servant girl's reply before he would turn his attention to Gregori and Amara. When the girl chose not to be helpful, Apep looked at the two and acted as if nothing of great import was going on.

"Ah, good! You're both here sooner than I expected," he said to them while still keeping the servant perfectly in place despite her struggles. Although he was no match against Toric or Gregori in terms of sheer muscles, his thinner frame nonetheless belied his actual strength.

"Let go!" the girl repeated, still trying to free herself.

Apep ignored her and continued with, "And you two appear to be all prepped. Good. I will explain your roles in a moment. Right now, there is a mole that has some answering to do."

He looked back at the girl. There were three routes he could take to get a quick answer out of her. The first was to torture her, although that was probably not a good idea. Fun, but not good. The second was to continue to ask her nicely, but it was already apparent that such a tactic would have little effect on her. In fact, if she worked for the very people who sent that letter, then it was almost certain that tactic would not work.

That left him with the last option. What Apep lacked in physical strength compared to other lycans, he made up for in other areas. Using his free hand to hold onto her cheeks so that she had to face him, he looked directly into her eyes. To get her attention, he said, "I will let you go. Just answer some questions first..."

Apep's pupils turned into slits, as in his snake form. Once he and girl locked eyes on each other, he began hypnotizing her. "Calm down...calm down..." he almost purred. "Everything will be alright. You're safe here. You're calming down...yesss...no need to struggle...everything is just fine... Now, where did the letter come from?"

OOC: Rhinara is going to take over for the girl.
IC: Nicolette left Toric and Annera with orders to contact her via the com links she had just grabbed if they needed her. She was going to go upstairs to see how the others were doing and give them their tech. She walked in to find Apep pinning one of the servent girl's to the floor. This did not look well.

"What's going on?"

"Did you not hear? Someone was apparently almost poisoned... And then she started running. I'm not sure what Apep is doing now, but I wouldn't bother him, it seems to be working." Gregori grins.

The girl noticeably calmed down and stopped struggling as her eyes locked onto Apep's, entranced.

"Where?" Apep repeated.

"From the Theriac," she said, quite calmly now.

Apep tilted his head slightly. "Who are they?"

"Nostrum remedium. From the likes of you."

Apep narrowed his eyes slightly and released his grip on the girl. She remained where she was, still hypnotized.

Standing up, he turned to Nicolette and said, "I believe she is in league with those who kidnapped the elders and sent that letter. However, judging by her answers to my questions thus far, it sounds like she's been brainwashed by propaganda, and probably knows little more than what she just told us. Especially given her young age. Although..."

He looked back down at the servant girl. "You must have a way of contacting the Theriac while you're here. How do you do that? Is there another agent of the Theriac working here or at the Council building that you know of?"

"There is a glade about a mile north of here, near a stream that feeds into the lake. I meet with someone there at designated times," she said. "There is no one else from the Theriac that I know of around here."

"Will you be meeting with this person at the glade any time soon?" asked Apep.

"Tonight, after my shift, to tell him of your decisions."

"Hmm," Apep intoned with a slight nod of his head. To the other lycans, he said, "Her contact will likely be there right now, since we could act quickly and she'll need to warn him straightaway. If we can capture him, chances are he'll know the whereabouts of the elders and the rest of this Theriac group. We'll have to be careful, though, as he may have a means of contacting the Theriac and alerting them of what we're doing should he see us approaching him."

"I know how we can capture him." Amara said. Apep's little hypno trick had impressed her, yet it also made her warry of the snake. She didn't want him hypnotizing her and making her do stuff. She looked at Apep.

"There are a few fifty caliber rifles downstairs. I am handy with a rifle, got training from a Ranger. I say get me and Toric within a hundred meters. We each blow away a knee of this guy. He goes down, he ain't gonna be running anywhere and you and Gregori or whomever can nab him."

Amara paused. "Though, the downside is of course if he isn't a lycan and the wound won't close and he will bleed to death."

"The other downside is that while his legs won't work, his voice will sure as hell still be there. If he has a way to contact them such as a cell phone or walkie talkie, he'll be talking quite a lot, even if he isn't walking..." Gregori grinned, looking over at Amara. "No, we need to tranquilize him. It will cost us time, but I'm not sure how else we can get to him without him noticing us. Unless one of us can get close enough with a gun to hold him at gunpoint and interrogate him on the spot... which is also risky." Gregori shrugs. "Don't take my ideas though, I' m the muscle not the mind. Apep, Nicolette, what do you think?"

"Damn it", Aneera mumbled. "Fairly common stuff with specific origins from wide areas of the globe. Anyone could have gotten it anywhere. And no fingerprints to go with."

Toric nodded and smiled, signing 'You tried' to her.

"Yeah, I just wish it came up with something", she told him walking over to him. "What was that comotion a moment ago?"

Toric shrugged. He had his orders, that was all that mattered to him.

Nicolette frowned darkly. "The only worse then lycan hating terrorists slipping into a Council meeting undetected is the fact that they are in the largest Zez populated nation in the world." She looked like she was going to be sick. "This needs to be taken care of fast."

She listened to both Amara and Gregori's suggestions. "Greg has a point. He probably has means to contact his superiors. However," she turned to face Gregori, "you're forgetting something, Greg. He probably NEEDS to contact these people by a certain time. Which means if we knock him unconscious, he won't be able to and they get suspicious unless....." Nicolette's eyes flashed with enlightenment.

"Amara, could you go get Aneera for me?" She then turned to Apep, "Are your abilities limited to hypnosis?"

After listening to the others' input, Apep said to Nicolette, "Once I've hypnotized the person, I can suggest they do certain things once out of the hypnosis, and yet retain no memory of any of it."

"Aside from hypnosis, my snake form can be as large as six meters long or as short as one. I can sneak through the brush easily in the latter size, but I will be completely unarmed when I return to my human state. I can also grow into the larger size and attempt to constrict the target after sneaking up behind him, but the process of changing sizes is not instantaneous, as you saw back at the Council building. If he is alert, he may notice me as I grow."

"My species is the naja nigricollis nigricollis; the black-necked spitting cobra (http://www.kingsnake.com/elapids/Nnn5.jpg). So I can also accurately spit venom at a target some meters away to blind them. While my venom can be quite painful and potentially debilitating, it is usually not lethal to full-grown humans."

"I would say thats our best bet then. A face full of poison and he definitely won't be thinking of doing much else besides screaming and rubbing his eyes. Should keep him busy long enough to grab him... well then, shall we go? I'd rather not keep a friend of mine in whatever hell hole they have him in for a moment longer."

Amara nodded to Nicolette and departed before Apep dove into his talk about his species. She moved quickly down the halls and quickly located the panther.

"Aneera, Nicolette wants to see you right now."

With that, the young wolf turned and moved back to the rest of the group.

"Alright now we just need to see if we can get Aneera to do what I need, and we'll be set." Nicolette waited for the female panther, hoping she wouldn't take too long in getting upstairs.

Aneera nodded, following closely on Amara's heels. She glided more than walked, having long ago learned that walking on the balls of the feet made her far more silent.

She had never liked guns and never used one, but she had become an expert in stealth. Ninjutsu was a rather impressive art, even it had been created by mundanes. But then, the men of the east seemed to have more of an affinity with thier environment where those of the west seemed to want to fight it at every turn.

Apep nodded. As they waited for the arrival of Aneera, he asked Nicolette, "Is there a detention facility on the premises for the young lady?" He tilted his head toward the servant girl on the ground.

"Ah, and another thing. Gregori's role - which I assume is akin to a law enforcement officer's - how is it so different from, say, Toric's gun position?"

Nicolette shook her head. "I think we misunderstood, as an enforcer Gregori is simply muscle. Or more so, when we have nothing left to throw. We are out of weapons and at ideas, we just send Gregori in to strong arm the situation. It's a rather classic position." She then added, "Most importantly thought, I'm not putting Toric anywhere near the frontlines unless Aneera or I am right behind him. We can't send Toric on a mission that needs to be radioed in, no matter how talented a gun slinger he is."

"As for a brig, I think we have one somewhere. What is taking Aneera?"

"I'm right here", Aneera replied, standing behind Nicolette. "I didn't want to interrupt your conversation." Even to a Lycan she was silent. Vampires were harder to sneak up on, it was a fifty/fifty proposition at the best of times and usually less since something typically got in the way. Even dirt on the floor made enough sound to alert them.

"For future reference, you need not be polite in an emergency situation. Now," Nicolette faced Aneera head on. "Can you make a voice altering device withing the next ten minutes? One that should be able to copy any voice it hears?"

"Gods, don't want much do ya?" she replied, thinking furiously. "Well it depends on if I have what I need to start. Size is another factor. Voice recognition is easier than synthesis. Does it have to fool another computer or someones hearing? Plus I would need extensive voice records to feed into the programming. Speech pattern, dipthongs, coloquelisms. Wouldn't be much point in generating a British voice that spoke in american slang, that sort of thing. And in ten minutes? Offhand I would have to say no. But assuming you need it, I'll go see what I have to work with anyway."

She didn't speak with an attitude, but rather in a thoughtful voice as her mind went over everything. Once done she turned away and then stopped, not sure at this point if leaving would be considered rude or a breach of protocol to a leader.

Nicolette nodded and thought. "Would it be easier or harder if we just taped one voice that we need you to copy? And gave you the same time limit after 5 minutes or so to think." She sighed. "This is going to be a rush for everyone." She turned quickly to Apep. "Can you get everyone set up please, judging by the fact our mole should be getting to her meeting soon, we don't have much time."

Amara adjusted her black, skin tight leather clothing and looked at Apep. It was obvious the teenage looking wolf was eager to prove herself and prove that she was very capable dispite her crying at breakfast.

"I'm set. I got a gun and I am ready. Though, I should ask should I and Gregori be ready to turn into our wolf forms to run this guy down and knock him to the ground and pin him till you guys get up? We can move faster than any human can. That is...if he is human. If its a lyacn, we can fight him to delay him."

"One voice? Hell I can have that in about 3 minutes", she replied smiling and began moving away humming to herself, though the other challenge was more to her liking the time limit sucked, this would be easy.

Apep nodded to Nicolette after her explanation, then listened as she and Aneera talked about voice synthesizing. The marvel of technology these days...

He gave the Alpha another nod when she gave her orders.

To Aneera, he said, "If you'll be passing by Toric, please send him up here as well. Otherwise, I'll have someone send for him."

Then, turning to Amara and Gregori, he looked them over briefly and saw that, indeed, they were prepped and ready for action.

As for himself, he was as ready as he could be. He had a few daggers hidden in his robe, which he usually had with him everywhere. But since he would be changing into his snake form and sneaking up on someone, any clothing and weaponry he brought along would have to be left behind where he changed form anyway - too far away to be of use should a fight break out between him and the other man.

"That may become necessary," Apep replied to Amara's query. "The plan is for me to sneak up to the man in my snake form and spray his eyes with venom. You will know when I have struck by his screaming. That ought to subdue him before he can call for backup - assuming more of his people aren't within hearing range of his screams - and I can also constrict him if need be until you and Gregori reach us."

He glanced between the two of them now. "Should that plan fail and he manages to run off, you two will have to intercept him. We'll split up some distance from the clearing where the man is supposed to be; Gregori, you'll circle to the west, Amara to the east."

"We want him alive, as it sounds like the Alpha wants to record his voice. Therefore, your firearms, especially given nightfall and the fact that we'll be in the woods, may not be the best weapons you possess for this situation. I don't know whether you two have sniper training or not, but if you can't shoot him down without being absolutely certain that you won't miss and accidentally kill him in the process instead, then use your physical abilities to capture him."

"Unless Aneera has all her voice recognition and synthesizing software on a laptop to bring along, we may have to bring him back here for that and for further questioning."

Djehuty stepped closer to the three. "I can help too."

Apep looked over at the other man. "Thank you for the offer, but we should be able to handle it just fine."

"My friends are being held captive by these people," Djehuty said. "I must help."

Apep took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Your duties are as councilmember; this is ours. If we are unable to rescue the others, then you and the vice chairwoman will be all that's left of the Council. We simply cannot risk allowing anything to happen to you."

"It is happening to you again," Djehuty said, glaring directly into Apep's eyes. "None of these others can tell, but I can. Now that you are assuming a positi-"

"I assure you that is not the case," Apep interrupted, his tone a little harder than before. Djehuty was about to say something back when Apep quickly interjected again. "But, now that I think of it, there is something you and your wife can help me with. She," Apep looked down at the servant girl, "will need to be placed in the brig, and I don't trust any of the other servants right now."

Djehuty looked at Apep as if the latter were kidding. That was not what he meant by helping, and he knew that Apep knew it. His face began to redden just slightly as he pointed a finger at Apep and said, "You are-"

"Dear!" it was Hathor's turn to cut him off. Placing a hand on his shoulders, she said to her husband, "The Council needs you right now. Let's just stay out of the fighting and help get her off the floor, okay, dear?"

Djehuty clenched his teeth. He continued to stare at Apep while answering back to Hathor, "Fine. I will search for our host and see if he knows where this brig is." The councilman walked off to find Braedan, clearly not pleased.

"I'm sorry about that," Hathor said. "He can be a bit hardheaded when he sets his mind on something he believes he ought to do."

"It's fine," Apep told her, despite the wasted time that it caused. Turning to Nicolette, he asked, "Is there a map of the surrounding area I can look at?"

Sensing the unease and impatience from some, he added, "Our man no doubt knows the layout of the land fairly well. If we are to execute this plan as flawlessly as possible, then we need to even those odds. I understand we are pressed for time, but to wander blindly into new terrain that the enemy is already familiar with is simply folly."

Aneera headed back down, not stopping to see Toric, but they were close enough. As she sat down and began working on the synthasizer Toric nodded to her mental information and, grabbing his gear, headed up to where the others waited.

Braedan exited his office with the chairwoman only to be face to face with Djehuty and Hathor. He opened his mouth to crack a joke to ease the tension of the two ancients, when he was hit by the feelings of the others in the house. Braedan cringed. 'Great, I'm an empath.' Elves of the Dark Valley had a sort of magical puberty from the ages of 25 to 50, where there abilities came into effect. Though a powerful weapon when controlled properly, psychic empathy in an untrained individual during a crisis was not good. Braedan held his pulsating heart and head.

"What's wrong?" He hoped they would explain without getting to emotional. Unrest, he was discovering, hurt like a kick in the....
==================
Nicolette nodded. "Yes they are programmed into the comlinks. If they are working." She tossed Apep a pair of shades that had the tiniest of ear pieces exiting the back of the frame. "Tap the side to turn on the computer. I think it's all up to snuff, it's controlled by voice recognition and eye movements." Nicolette gently fingered the stylized shades (http://graphics.gaiaonline.com/images/thumbnails/b49b96f4ed.png) on her crown. "I've been testing mine for weeks."

Amara simply smiled at Apep. I'll have no problem running a man down. I've done that more than once. She didn't feel like she needed to tell them she hunted humans on a regular basis back in the Golden Simatar. They were criminals and once a month on death row inmate would 'escape' into the forests and only a pool of blood would remain come morning. Amara had no problem with killing and thankfully for her she had reached the age where she was no longer slave to the moon.

Now, she was free to transform whenever she pleased. Though, Amara didn't like doing it unless it was needed because it hurt like a bitch. Amara looked at Gregori and smiled.

"You able to keep up with a pup old man?"

Toric came in, long loping strides carrying him quickly to the others. He was fully geared and as he approached he nodded politely to Nicollete but came to Apep as his sister had told him that he had wanted him. When he stopped he raised an eyebrow, his way of asking what was up without moving close to the man to whisper. Most were rather uncomfortable with that.

"I need to find the brig," Djehuty answered Braedan. He had resumed a more or less professional tone of voice, though there were still hints of his annoyance around the edges, and he did not feel like bringing it all up again. "One of the servants poisoned the wine and possibly the food."

***

Apep caught the glasses and looked over them like a new toy. He had never used something like these before, and was slightly skeptical. After all, one of his friends recently acquired a voice recognition program that would write out what the user said into the mic, only, it started to write out words even while everything was silent. But this was likely of much higher quality, seeing as how Nicolette had been using it for weeks.

When Toric arrived, Apep looked over at the larger man and said, "Ah, Toric. I thought you should be briefed on the situation before we left." Glancing over at Waggner, he said, "Amara, if you would please tell him everything I told you so far."

He then slipped the shades over his eyes and put into place the peripheral components. Tapping the side of it, a small display popped up right in front of his eyes stating that the system was ready. He felt like some kind of man in black, minus the suit.

As he did so, he said to Nicolette, "Toric is the only one without something to do on this mission that I'm aware of. Do you want him to come with us, or do you need him for something else?"

Wondering how the verbal command worked, he tried the first thing that came to mind: Star Trek. "Computer, display a topographical map of the surrounding area."

The words "Invalid Command" flashed in a corner of his vision.

"Hmm... Computer, display a topographical map of the surrounding area, please?"

Again, the same two words.

Braedan cringed at the councilman's annoyance. Negative emotions were painful, that wasn't surprising. At the mention of the mole, Braedan himself felt annoyed until a thought hit him. The girl would be in a bad mood after being captured. He addressed Djehuty once more, "Is the girl....subdued?"
============
Nicolette nodded at the problem. "Yes I realized that." She faced Toric. "We don't need you to shoot for this mission, so you have some options. First, you can circle the area with Amara and Greg to stop our target in case he runs. Second, you can observe. Third, you can go down to the armory with free range to work on or design any armaments or ammo you want."

As she waited for Toric's response, she heard Apep speak and laughed. "One moment Toric."

She walked over to Apep, and slid her shades on. "Total Override Code: Alpha."

The words "System Override" flashed on on the screens in both pairs of shades. The alpha then continued. "Search Maps."

There was a small swirling ball of color and then a message appeared, "Search Recovered 1,000,000,000 matches. Do you wish to specify?"

Nicolette paused. "Search maps of Wolcott Headquarters and surrounding areas."

The ball returned for a moment then Map appeared before her eyes and those of Apep. Fenris offered the computer one final order. "End override."

Nicolette's shades returned to normal while Apep's stayed on and flashed a message over the map. "Do you wish to continue previous commands; yes or no?" The options were stacked and the Alpha explained. "Use your eyes like a scrolling tool, look up to go up, sideways to go sideways, etc. Once you have the option you want just blink long." She then shrugged. "Or say, yes I'd like to continue. Eye scrolling is usually only good for reading message or maps." The white haired lycan paused for a moment.

"Actually as long as it's on, and you are specifc it should work. For example, you said "the surrounding area" the computer isn't tracking you so it has no clue what you mean. Also, don't start commands with computer it confuses it. Got it?"

Toric laid down his weapons, except the dagger and sword and pointed at himself, then Amara and Greg and then outside, nodding. He hadn't considered the mobile weapons platform design, and his sister had 'neglected' to mention that it wasn't actually necessary. She did this firstly because it would give him something to do and secondly because, being sure he would come up with something, she would then have the opportunity to improve on it with computer systems.

"Ah, I understand. Thank you," said Apep. Seeing as how he would likely have to use this device on stealth missions, he decided to test out the silent method. Selecting the yes option with his eyes and taking an extended blink, Apep then looked around at the surroundings while the others spoke.

(OOC: My house is having an internet problem, so my availability would be decreased until we get it fixed.)

Nicolette nodded. "Alright, a little insurance in catching the target is always good. Is everyone ready to head out?"

OOC: Rhinara you only responded to half my post.

Toric nodded in response to Nicolette's question. He wouldn't adjust the straps on the sword and dagger just yet, not unless he definitely needed to change his form.

Djehuty nodded, "Apep seems to have her in some kind of trance at the moment."

***

Apep tapped the shades to turn off the computer before removing them from his head. "Affirmative," he replied, for his part.

Nicolette was about to give the orders to head out when Braedan walked in. He looked like he was in pain, and a shot of remorse filled Nicolette. Braedan cringed for a second, then smiled so handsomely at Nicolette that she blushed crimson. His smile grew then he turned to Apep.

"I was told you have a mole under a trance that you need me to bring to the brig." Braedan paused looking worried. "She is under a trance right, not aware and angry?"

A flash of confusion ran through Fenris, though her face revealed nothing. Braedan's head tilted then he turned and smiled softly at his wife. "I'll explain later."

Nicolette blinked.

(OOC: Sorry, lost my internet for a while. Darn internet problems. Hrm, where's everyone else?)

"She is quite placid at the moment. You'll have no trouble taking her there," Apep answered, glancing down at the entranced girl. "She will not remember any of this when she awakes from her trance. How she will react when she realizes she is in detainment, however, I cannot say."

While Nicolette and Braedan had their exchange, he said to the rest of his present team, "The ground around the clearing is fairly flat, with the only obstacles being the forest itself for several miles. The lake will be to the east-southeast. If he does start running, my guess would be that he won't be going south, seeing as how that's where this manor is, so you three will circle around to the other three cardinal directions and lay wait. If I have our target subdued, you will know when to come to me by this sound." He then made a bird call. "Otherwise, if you see someone running through the forest, then I have likely failed to capture him, and you will need to pursue."

Toric nodded in understanding. He made a gesture encompassing the whole of the mansion and held his left hand up, palm outward, pointing the bottom. Then he pointed to himself and to the right side of his palm as faced them, indicating that he would take the east side of the clearing.

Braedan nodded at Apep before taking the girl, and leading her to the brig.

Nicolette stood shocked for a moment as she watched her husband leave. Something was going on with him, and it concerned her. She tuned in to the last part of Apep instructions to the rest of the team and saw Toric signal he'd been in the East.

The Alpha nodded. "Alright, I'll be in a tree that's on the North-West edge of the clearing. It's has heavy foliage and a y shaped trunk so I'll be able to survey the whole clearing without being seen. I'd ask, if it's possible, for everyone to leave the comlinks on. That way I can give you all a heads up on the situation."

Amara looked at Apep and nodded. She dropped all of her weapons spare for her pistol and a spare magizine. Tonight, she would use her natural form instead of her human form so the amount of weapons she orignally had would not be needed.

"I'm all set. Lets rumble."

"Very well," Apep said. "Gregori, you'll stay on the west side. Amara, you'll go with Toric and then swing up to the northern end of the clearing. My initial approach will be from the south."

Then, glancing towards the exit, he said, "I'm ready to go. Or, are we waiting for Aneera's device first?"

(OOC: I'll be gone for a friend's wedding for the next few days. Don't let me stall things though; just moving along with the RP as if Apep's following along.)

A snort came from the entrance to the room from below. "Don't ever let it be said that you have to wait for me", Aneera told them as she strode in, carrying a laptop with a plug in microphone. "Sorry about the size, but in the time given it was the best I could do. If we might need something like this as a piece of standard equipement I can design and build a small wearable version." She set the laptop on the table and opened it up, "Simple, plug in the microphone for pickup, open up the lips icon, yeah, so it's cheesy, sue me. Once you have what you want, click run program and your all set."

Fenris grinned and accepted the laptop from Aneera. "Glad to know you work well under pressure. Thank you." She put the laptop gently in the pack on her back. "Alright, let's all head out. Just go to wear you need to be and keep your eyes and ears keen. If you can't remember the directions to the clearing, just use your comlinks." She turned to Amara. "Amara, you'll be responsible for passing on any information Toric may want to give the rest of the team. Everyone all clear?" With that the Alpha headed out the door.

She didn't need to wait for her team. She had faith in them, and also knew it would be suspicious if they moved together. It took her about twenty minutes to get to the tree and she climbed up and got into position. She scanned the area. No one was in the clearing yet. She watched and waited quietly.

Aneera gave Toric a chaste kiss and said, "I'll be watching", nodding toward the door downstairs where the computer system was. "So no kinky stuff", and she winked at Amara eliciting a blush from Toric who turned to head out following Nicolette to a point where split off and took a position on the east side, climbing and crouching on a limb with leaves in front of him.

Aneera, meanwhile, went downstairs and accessed the computer system again, watching the link to the glasses and following each of the party's locations as they took thier positions.

Amara blinked at Aneera as she looked at her from Toric. The wolf straightened herself, she didn't know what was going on in the panther's head. Maybe she thought that she had a crush on Toric or something. Amara liked Toric, she never hooked up with a man before and she really didn't know what qualified to be 'hooked up' or having a crush would be.

"I'll take him if he runs north, guess you get the west Gregori. Once I transform the comlink comes off."

Amara followed Toric and she gave him a pat on the shoulder and mouthed 'Good luck' before she kept moving. Taking her position in a small depression in the ground, she quickly made sure she was concealed behind bush and branches. There, the young lycan stripped off her black leather and smiled as she felt the cool wind against her skin. This way she could transform without wasting time taking her clothes off, as she hated tearing clothes every time she changed.

Amara got down low and watched the clearing, smelling the wind and waiting for the prey.

While he was still some distance from the clearing, Apep stooped down by some bushes and began changing into his cobra form. His robe started collapsing down as the man's limbs began to deform an meld into his body. Soon, everything he had on him were on the forest floor as a small snake weaved its way out of the robe.

Transforming was not a particularly fun thing to do. It never was, as it placed a lot of stress on the body. But Apep had a least gotten used to the process, if not immune to it.

He twisted through the maze of undergrowth in a northerly direction, being careful to disturb as little of the brush as possible. His tongue flicked in and out, trying to catch the scent of anyone nearby, and possibly natural predators of snakes in the forest. By the time he neared the edge of the clearing of meter-tall grass, someone was already making their way through it from the north-east.

The man was dressed all in black, and as he came closer to Apep, the snake saw something that made him silently curse. The man was wearing nightvision goggles, which not only made it easier for Apep to be sighted, but also protected the man from Apep spraying venom into his eyes.

Stopping not far from Apep's hiding spot, the man pulled out a two-way radio unit and depressed a button. "Diver to base," he said in a hushed voice. Apep felt the vibrations of it through the ground moreso than he heard it. "I'm at location. No sign of Pianist yet. Will report back in fifteen if she's still not here. Over."

"Roger that, Diver. Over and out."

The man put the unit back on his belt and began scanning the clearing for the girl.

Apep had to think fast, as the original plan was already falling apart and they had only fifteen minutes to record the man's voice and speech patterns. He was supposed to keep the man from calling to his friends to tell them he was under attack by the Wolcott, so the first thing that came to Apep's mind was to sneak up behind the man and bite down on his neck. The problem with that was, of course, that they then would not be able to make a recording of his voice either.

Looking over "Diver's" equipment again, the man appeared to only be sporting a pistol and a knife, although the tall grass could be concealing other items below his waist.

No more time to waste. Apep slithered around to behind the man, slowly making his way through the grass so that he would not shake the grass too much, thereby alerting the man to the presence of something down there, and stopping altogether when the man's occassional scans of the area caused him to look in Apep's direction.

After glancing around at the clearing, the man, looked back toward the south again, where he was expecting the servant girl to appear at any moment. Apep got within a meter of the man before enlarging his serpentine form behind the man's back. As the man looked around for another scan of the area, he was only able to see a blur of something flying at his waist. He was knocked down from the sudden impact as the now large snake latched onto his walkie-talkie with its mouth and ripped it away from his belt.

He quickly got back on to his feet and pulled out his pistol, capped with a silencer. His communications unit was nowhere to be seen, but the snake was still right in front of him, and he immediately pulled the trigger. Several flashes of light burst forth from the tip of his weapon, followed by the high-pitched but muffled sound of a fast-moving projectile.

The large snake hissed before disappearing back into the tall grass. The grass began tossing about as the snake moved around, and the man continued shooting at where he figured the snake would be by the swaying of the grass.

From the edge of his vision, he saw another blur coming at him from his left side, and before he could react, a sharp pain shot up from his right wrist. The man grunted loudly in pain, dropping his pistol as he did so. He quickly balled his left hand into a fist and pounded the snake as hard as he could, forcing the creature to let go of his wrist. Blood began flowing out of his two big puncture wounds, which he held close to his abdomen as he pulled out his combat knife with his left hand.

By then, the snake had arched it self up several feet over the man. It opened its mouth and bared its fangs with a loud hiss at the same time its cobra hood unfurled around its head, making the tall and menacing predator look even bigger and more fearsome.

That was when the man decided against physical combat with the creature and turned around to run away at full speed, headed toward the northeast.

Amara watched as the man walked out into the field. In the faint light, she could see something attached to his head and the girl instantly hit the dirt. She knew it was night vision or some other enhancement system. She waited, her mind wasn't thinking about Apep's problem with the eyes, she was more worried about if the man had silver nitrate rounds. She had seen videos of what one round, even 9mm, would do to a werewolf or a vampire, even one round near the heart would be enough to kill or paralize for some time.

Her head came up as she heard of a struggle. Amara watched as some black object was fighting with the man and with the gunshot flashes, she could see Apep's scales. Oh God I hope he is okay.

She grabbed her radio and simply hissed. "I'm going in to help Apep."

This only was in her thoughts for a second as she stood. Her eyes clouded over into a deep black onyx color, her skin began to ripple and change color as she tranformed.

Amara (http://www.upcominghorrormovies.com/images/underworld36.jpg) stood now fully transformed, having no human looks left to her. Her sharper eyesight caught the man running towards her and off to the left. Her lips curled back in a snarl, if she couldn't get him, Toric would.

Amara's head reared back and roared into the night sky. The lycan set her sights on the man again and began to run at full speed towards him.

Toric was already moving, as soon as the shots went off, but Amara was in full change which meant she would reach him first. He wouldn't be far behind, though, and had not changed in order to better hold the man once they had him. Besides which he still enjoyed the thrill of combat in his human form, rather than the usually much shorter combat of full transformation.

Nicolette watched in silence as the man came out from a few meters away from her. She silently thanked nature for not placed the tree at due north, and locked her eyes and ears on the man in black. 'Of course he has night vision goggles.' She shooke her head, then cursed under her breath when she heard him mention that he'd be calling back in fifteen minutes. That didn't give the team much time to get eveything done.

She didn't notice Apep moving into the clearing until he'd started to exit the grass. The naive part of Fenris' mind hoped that Apep could subdue the hostile without any trouble, but she knew it wasn't possible. If anything, only because the venom in the eyes plan had been ruined by the man's goggles.

The white haired lycan watched the whole scene apprehensively, willing Apep to capture the enemy, but hoping the cobra was uninjured. The moments after Apep had opened his hood moved swiftly. Nicolette saw the man begin to run, and heard Amara saying she was coming to help. There wasn't really time to think, and the Alpha went with instinct. There was a moment as the "Diver" was running by where there was the possibilty of a clear shot. Taking a breath, Nicolette hit the trigger. If her aim was on she'd get his shoulder and knock him down, so that the others could easily grab him.

If she was off....well she didn't have time to worry abou that as she pulled the trigger.

Diver swiftly looked behind him and did not see the snake giving chase after him, but the roar from not too far away told him that he was not out of thick just yet. Then a sudden and sharp pain in his shoulder caused him to stumble and fall to the ground. He muttered something about excrements and forced himself back up while trying to ignore the pain, but things were not looking good.

The servant girl must have slipped up and gave away the operation, and it was up to him to let the rest of the Theriac know what these monsters were up to.

Before he could get much farther, however, another dark and large form rushed at him with incredible speed. He knew there was no outrunning the creature, especially since it was almost on top of him, so he swung his combat knife, the surface of which was laced with a thin film of silver, at the wolf.

Amara charged at the man on all fours, giving her all the speed that her body could muster. She watched him stumble and fall shortly after the crack of a gun but he got up and kept moving. At only a few meters, the wolf moved to her hind legs and roared as she moved in just as she saw the knife.

The momentum being too much to stop, several hundred pounds of raw muscle slammed right into him. Amara roared as she felt the silver coated blade bit into her flesh, her blood flowed out of the gash, but her addrenaline was too high for her to think on it.

The man had been sent tumbling back on his back from the brute force of her impact. Amara roared at him, her black eyes shimmering in the light. Her lips curled back into a snarl, showing her massive teeth as her tongue lashed across them. Usually the man would already be dead by now, his stomach wide open as she feasted upon his insides, but tonight...tonight was different.

The lycan stared at the man and the knife that lay next to his hand, she growled, almost daring him to try and make another go at her.

Nicolette hope from the tree and dropped her gun. She still had a daggar on her person, but she appeared to be unarmed. Her dark pants and top resembled street clothes, more then mercenary attire. She pulled the hood of her sweater over her hair. Her new plan was foolish, but it might be the only chance they had. Taking the risk Nicolette calmed herself and began to whistle softly, sounding much like any young girl hiking through the woods. She was only a few meters away when Amara growled at the Diver.

'Perfect'

Fenris stopped whistling and set out on a full run toward the area where the man was. She saw Amara, and hoped the younger lycan understood the ploy.

"Oh no!" She stopped just short of the scene her eyes darting from Amara to the man. She yelled at Amara.

"HEY! YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO HUNT HUMANS! GET OUT OF HERE!" She shot Amara a glare and turned her attention to the man, using her sweetest voice.

"Sir, are you alright? You weren't biten were you?" Her tone was and eyes were filled with concern. She turned attention back to Amara.

"You heard me! LEAVE!" 'Please Amara, have enough common sense to get what I'm doing.'

Amara knew what Nicolette was doing. She had seen enough dective shows on the Discovery channel to know Nicolette was trying to a sting. Still, Amara made it look like she didn't know. She snarled and snapped, crouching, her teeth bare as though it looked like she would jump, but it was only use as intimidation.

The lycan continued to snarl but smelled the air and paused. Amara growled and bared her fangs once more at Nicolette and then at the man. As Nicolette walked forward, Amara took a step back before turning and moving back into the woods and out of sight.

Amara originally had thought of going back to her clothes and getting dressed, but nixed the idea. Instead, she positioned herself in the woods overlooking the pair, she was hidden by the black and trees, yet she still had a clear view of them.

Amara was ready if the man slashed at Nicolette to run back in and knock him down if the Alpha wanted help.

Toric saw Amara move off and approached Nicolette and the man. He wasn't sure what was going on, perhaps she had the man under control. In any case he stopped a few yards out, watching what transpired. He wouldn't interfere unless it became necessary, or unless Nicolette told him to.

Given the force and speed at which Amara rammed him, it felt as if Diver was hit by a car. He went reeling backwards, his knife and goggles flying off somewhere. He was stunned momentarily, and a great deal of pain wracked his body when he tried to move. He gritted his teeth and stopped moving, as at least one thing was more than likely broken. He could taste the blood and bile starting to build up at the back of his mouth before it would come dribbling out the side of his mouth.

He was certain that this was the end for him, that the vile creature before him would rend him limb from limb. There was no begging of mercy to such a mindless killing machine, so he would just have to stare death in the eyes.

But then a feminine voice came from somewhere behind him and made the monster hesitate. Diver could not turn his head to see who it was, as trying to breathe was enough to sap all his energy, since every intake of air caused something to jab painfully into his lungs. When Nicolette came into view, the combination of the dark night and her obscuring hood with the fact that his vision was blurring helped to keep him from identifying who she was. The pain and his slightly dazed state also helped to keep him from realizing that there was something odd about this person, that she was not the servant girl he normally met at this clearing.

His curiosity in how she managed to get the wolf to go away was trumped by the fact that it actually went away. Toric, meanwhile, remained unnoticed behind him.

"Get me my knife...and help me up," Diver said, though it hurt to speak. "We must...warn the others."

Nicolette gently picked up the knife with the sleeve of her sweater and slid it carefully into her pocket, making sure not to hurt herself. She was lucky. The man had lost his goggles, she had his knife, and though they were out of sight she could sense there presence close to her. She kneeled beside the man.

"Normally, I would help you up, but you're obviously far to injured to move. The only thing helping you up would do, is further rip any wounds." She softly shrugged her shoulders, and she continued to scan the man. He was badly hurt, and though part of her tingled with remorse, she was mostly glad that he couldn't easily attack her. She began to mutter to him about broken ribs and doctors and many other things, before she paused. She knew by now his last words would have sunk in for a normal individual. She faced him, looking directly in his eyes, while keeping her face covered.

"Others? What do you mean others? And why are you this far out in the woods at this time of night? You weren't..." She paused and placed her hand to her mouth. "You weren't Zev hunting were you? That's highly dangerous, not to mention totally illegal."

The white haired Lycan kept her guard up as she watched the man. She'd left her comlink on the whole time, so after her small warning she placed her a hand to her head and shook it as a disguise to tap the glasses. Quickly, she chose a recording option, anything the man said after this would be sent to Aneera. That was, if the man spoke again. Nicolette hoped nothing went wrong.

She tilted her head slightly. "Listen, right now I'm not really concerned about why you're out here. You're really messed up. I'm Alexis Darkwood, I live a few about twenty miles from here. If I could get my hands on a phone, I could call the hospital to send some paramedics to come retrieve you. Do you have a cell?"

The Alpha was not lying with her second last phrase, if the man spoke to her, then gave her his cell, she really would call the 911 to get him some medical help. She'd have what she needed, and she wasn't heartless. Besides, the paramedics wouldn't take long to arrive and they could easily keep him sedated.

'Nice move Alexis', Aneera muttered as she set up the computer to dump the vocal patterns into the laptop. 'Come on, say something you rotten bastard. I don't need much.'

What? This wasn't Pianist? What was she doing out in the middle of the woods at night!?

It was still a little difficult for Diver to think straight, but he did the best he could under his circumstances. He could not believe he slipped like that, though.

"No...no phone..." he said. "We must...warn others...that some Zev are hunting human... It came at me...without warning...bit me... Listen...I might have...a concussion. I need...medical help. But you can't leave me...I might fall asleep...can't do that with a concussion... I know a place nearby...you must help me get there...it's the only way..."

With any luck, she would get him back to the others and they would make sure she disappeared.

Nicolette made a thinking pose, to hide the fact she was turning off her recorder. She thought for a moment, if she followed this man then she could find the enemies location, however she'd be put at risk. This was the thing she hated about the field, you always had to make split second decisions. As she saw it she had three options; help the man to where he wanted to go, knock him out, or keep him grounded while she got the others to keep him subdued.

If she followed him, she'd be in danger and the team might not be able to follow. On the other hand, knocking him out wasn't any good if he really did have a concussion, she didn't need comatose humans showing up. The Council and the Thrope government would skin her hide for sure if she did that. There was only one option left. Nicolette placed a hand on man's sternum, and put a mild amount of pressure on it. The pain from the pressure combined with his fractured ribs would be enough to relieve the operative of the ability of movement, without causing lose of consciousness.

"Before I can move you I have to make sure you're ribs aren't broken, we don't want you to get a punctured lung. How badly does this hurt?"

Nicolette whistled at Toric, and tilted her head for him to come over. She hoped Apep and Amara could see the signal, too, and come over.

Toric moved quickly to Nicolette. Though he hadn't changed he was still an odd sight with his favored sword's hilt sticking above his left shoulder and the dagger on his left hip. He looked down at the man on the ground and then at Nicolette.

Bit? Stupid twat I only scratched. Amara thought as she overheard the man saying what had occured. She remembered she had slashed at him and probably cut him somewhere, she licked her fangs, no blood. With that, she moved back to where she had left her things.

Transforming back to human form, the gasping Amara took a few seconds to catch her breath. Once the addrenaline was down, Amara slipped back into her tight black leather and began to head back to where she had been spying Nicolette and the man she had attacked.

She was just able to catch the end of the Alpha's whistle and head tilt. With a sigh, Amara quickly adjusted her hair and moved down to the lycan and the man.

"Ugh, hey! Stop that!" Diver demanded, trying to grab Nicolette's wrist with his left hand to make her stop.

When Fenris whistled Toric over, he rolled his eyes up as much as he could to see who was coming. "Who's this?" he asked upon seeing the large man.

Why were the two of them here at this hour anyway? He wished his vision was not so impaired at the moment, but even without being able to see clearly who the two were, he had a bad feeling that he already knew who they were. The large man must have been one of the two mercenary siblings. He was in trouble, and he knew it. His only solace was in the fact that the Theriac would know something was up in a few more minutes, when he would not radio in. Then these abominations would be sorry they did this.

Apep, meanwhile, remained near the site of his short fray with the man. He did not want to move much on account of his bullet wound, and he most certainly did not want to transform back to his human form. He had done it before, and he did not care to repeat the experience of transforming with a fresh wound such as this, especially since it could result in even more damage to his body.

He was partially coiled up, to keep the wounded section of his body higher than the rest so that he would not lose too much blood. His head, however, rested on the ground to pick up on the vibrations of Nicolette's and Diver's words.

When the whistle came, his head popped up over the field of grass, just enough so that he could peek out of it and see what was going on. Apparently, Toric and Amara were headed toward Nicolette in their human forms. Did she want him there as well?

The snake picked up the walkie-talkie with his mouth, then slowly and painfully uncoiled himself to head toward the Alpha. However, since Nicolette probably wanted to keep the illusion that she was not whom she appeared to be, Apep decided not to reveal himself, for that would surely ruin the ploy. Instead, he ascertained the situation from a concealed location, and when he saw that the man on the ground only had a limit visual range, he went around behind the group where Diver could not see him, but the other three could, and remained there silently while a little bit of black blood continued trickling down one side of his elongated body.

Aneera analyzed and then synthesized the voice and sent the information to the laptop. She opened a channel to Nicolette, "Got it", she said, still keeping her voice low, "the more we get the better, but I'm working on a database to draw from now and downloading it to the lap." She made an adjustment to the program and the vocabulary gradually grew more quickly as the computer had more to work with, 'That's it, sing me a lullaby', she muttered in a habit of talking to the computer as she worked and forgetting she still had the link open.

Nicolette pulled out a cell phone that was on her belt. She gentled her hold on the man, it was enough to keep him pinned but the pain would be minimal. She dialed 911, making showing this to the man she was holding down, even if his vision was comprimised the large glowing numbers were impossible to miss. She then hit send.

"Hello?...Yes this is a medical emergency........A man, human, about late twenties early thirties.....Fractured ribs, gun shot wound in his shoulder, possible concussion and other broken bones.....yes he's still conscious.......The clearing near Darkwood Castle.....Yes....Could you send Doctor Alexander with them?.....great....ten minutes...alright. Thank you."

Nicolette shut the phone then nodded to Toric as he arrrived, before giving him a curious look. "You couldn't have dropped that stuff. Listen, I need you to help me get this man onto the helicopter to the hospital. I have a personal friend taking on this case. That way we'll be ensure he gets sufficient care, and isn't released prematurely. We'll wait until the chopper lands, before we try to move him."

Nicolette watched the skies, waiting for the helicopter to land.

Toric looked at Nicolette in confusion. His weapons had been as much a part of him as his hand would be and he never had given them a second thought. Aneera opened a channel to him, 'Render and shield.'

He immedietly understood his mistake and bow his head slightly to Nicolette, showing his embarrassment, but nodded when she told him about moving the man to the helicopter. He could do that easily enough.

Aneera made a mental note to check with Nicolette about teaching him stealth. Such was normally her area but then they didn't normally have a computer like this for her to man.

He could not be captured. He must not be captured. And clearly his chances of escape would be dramatically decreased when more of their kind arrived. Who knew what this Doctor Alexander would do to him. No, death would be a better alternative than what these monsters had planned for him.

With much pain and effort, Diver used his right hand to grab at the arm Nicolette was using to hold him down and quickly pulled her closer to him. His left hand immediately struck up at her throat, squeezing it as hard as he could with what energy he had left.

Toric moved in quickly and dropped to his knees, presenting his right hip, so his dagger was out of easy reach and grabbed Diver's wrist in a crushing grip strong enough to break bones and reached over with his other hand to applying pressure to either side of the man's larynx cutting off the main artery flow to the brain in an effort to make him slip into unconsciousness but not kill him.

Nicolette cringed at the pain in her arm. She should have just knocked the idiot out and dealt with the reprocutions. If this man died she'd been in huge trouble. She struggled to pull loose her arm, as Toric tried to help and knock the man unconscious. She could hear the helicopter nearing, but that meant is was still a few miles away. She did the only thing she could think of in the situation.

"If you don't let go of my arm, I will bite you. My saliva will mix with your blood and you'll be infected. If you do let go of my arm, you'll be taken to a humans only hospital. So it's your choice. Do you want to die here as a werewolf, or be hospitalized as a human for a few weeks."

Fenris paused and added, "You may not trust me, but I give you my word, even you can't believe the promise, the threat is certain."

Diver gasped from the two-pronged attack from Toric, but refused to answer Nicolette at all. Her words were utter poison to his ears. Soon, however, his eyes rolled up toward the back of the sockets and his body went completely limp.

Apep then slithered up to the assembled group, trying to keep his wounded section off the ground, and let the man's comms unit gently roll out of his mouth and onto the ground. "It issss...tooo laate. I maay haavve bitten hiiim during our frraay. Myy...apologieesss."

Toric ceased his pressure as the man went unconscious and then leaned toward Nicolette, getting close enough for her to hear him. "Are you alright?" he asked in his husky whisper and leaned back to see her face and arrange the man so he could lift him onto the helicopter when it arrived.

Amara quickened her pace as she saw the struggle before her. She aimed the Walther P99 she had at the man, but with Nicolette and Toric holding him down, there was no need for her to put a slug into the man's knee or shoulder. Amara's sensitive ears picked up movement and she spun, her gun angling toward the ground only to have the snake form of Apep slither on up.

This is gonna suck balls. But at least it wasn't me. I have already bitten one human. Amara thought as Apep apologized. She knelt down next to the snake at an angle that would let the start and moonlight land on Apep.

"Apep, I'll bite my wrist and dribble some blood onto your wound so it'll heal faster. Its a trick vampires use to heal thier friends and comrades. I just need to know if the bullet is still inside of you or if there is any other fragment of some sort."

Nicolette nodded at Toric. "I'm fine, but this is not going to go over well." She looked down at the body. 'What a waste.' A minute later the helicopter came into sight and landed. "Please get the body Toric." Taking a calming breath, the white haired lycan rose. She walked over to where the aircraft had landed. A handsome man with salt and pepper hair got out.

"I'm sorry Justin. We tried to keep him alive, but he'd attacked two of my members and the wounds must have been too much. And...." She looked at the sky, "He had this." She handed the doctor the knife.

The man nodded. "I'm sure the Prime Minister, Queen, and council will understand. I'll get him to the morgue and we'll keep this quiet."

Nicolette nodded. "Can I borrow a stretcher?"

One of the EMT's pulled out one and handed it down towards the Alpha. She nodded and left Toric and the paramedics to the task of loading the body. She walked over to Amara and Apep, placing the stretcher next to the snake's body.

"I think we should carry him back on this, for his own sake. Alright? How are you both? Any wounds Amara?"

Toric lifted the body and carried it to the helicopter, bowing down some as he got close to the rotor's. He slid the body onto the transport bunk and then climbed in to strap him down. Once done he exited, got clear of the chopper and gave a thumbs up to the pilot before returning to the others.

****

Aneera sighed, thinking, 'Damn I wish he could talk to me.' After a moment she ran and grabbed a headset, a kit and some parts. Then she got back to the console and grinning began to disassemble the headset.

Amara looked at Nicolette. "I'm okay. He got a slash on me before I brought him down."

Amara moved her shirt and pants, showing the slightly distorted skin from the attack. "Its healing. It'll be back to normal in no time. Apep got it good in the side. Speaking of which, hold still and keep your fangs in check."

Amara cleaned the wound as best she , removing some small bits of debris before she moved her shirt sleeve a little and looked at her wrist. Her mouth was open slightly as her eyes shut and she growled softly. Nicolette could see Amara's teeth alter slightly to fangs and the girl was trying to keep the rest of her body from transforming. Amara bit into her wrist, just enough to get some blood out. Opening her eyes and letting go of the transformation, her black eyes shifted back to brown as she dribbled blood onto Apep's wound. The lycan let her blood flow for a little while before stopping and licking the wound, which was still bleeding a little but was begining its healing process.

"That should speed up the healing. It may burn since you are not wolf but it should work at closing the veins opened by the gunfire. Nicolette. We carrying him to the bird or back to HQ?"

"We'll be taking him to HQ," explained Nicolette. "For contamination reasons, we can't let Zev into human medical vehicles or buildings, when they are injured." Nicolette looked at her watch.

"We only have five minutes until the call needs to be made." She picked up the com that Apep had gotten from the Diver. "I'm going to run back to HQ, you and Toric will take Apep back. Take your time."

Fenris nodded at the group and began to run. She wasn't as fast as she'd be if she was in wolf form, but purity did have some nice advantages. It took her only two minutes to return to HQ. She looked for Aneera.

Toric nodded and looked at Apep, waiting to see how he could be of help. They couldn't carry him in his present form and he wasn't sure if Apep would want to transform just yet as it might cause more damage.

****

Aneera was at her place at the computer and had pushed a disassembled headset to one side as she monitored Nicolette coming down the steps. No one had accessed the laptop and she assumed that Nicolette had come to set up the ruse. It was only then that she realized that she had neglected to mention that this could be done from the laptop itself and she was damned if she was going to mention it now.

Nicolette entered the room with the master computer in it.

"Are you all done with the program? We only have a few minutes left, and I brought the operatives com so we have their radio frequency. Now all we need to do is figure out what to say."

The white haired lycan sat in the chair next to Aneera.

"Ready to rock", Aneera replied as she set the program to send. "We've got a decent database already for vocabulary and the voice synthesis is all set. If you want a word that's not there we can get it, I just have to tell it we want that word and it'll figure out how he would say it. We can only do a base tone, though. In other words we can't set it to have him sound angry or frightened or anything like that. I would need more examples, some of each, and from what I heard that's not forthcoming."

Apep winced from the pain caused first by Amara cleaning his wound, then by the wolf blood. He was a little ashamed at being the only one with any serious injuries, but it was all part of the job. The werewolf's healing abilities were sure nice, but he was not going to complain, as his kind had their own specialties.

"My gratitudessss," the snake thanked Amara after she finished helping him with his wound.

Glancing down at the stretcher Nicolette got from the chopper, however, Apep said, "I do not wisssh to be a burden to eeitherrr of you. I caaan still move, aalllbeit slowlyyy."

Toric nodded and reached down to get the stretcher. Nicolette seemed to know the people who came rather well, so he was certain that it would be returned in a short time. He moved around behind Apep and Amara, keeping watch behind them as they moved back toward the mansion, wondering idly if there was a doctor on the premises.

"Okay. Well, let's do a test before we try to connect." She pondered a moment. "Try, "This is Diver, Pianist has yet to arrive.""

Aneera made a couple of quick adjustments and then did a test. The voice sounded long and drawn out. She adjusted the speed rate of the output and tried again.

"This is Diver, Pianist has yet to arrive."

It came out perfect and Aneera smiled. "We're ready."

"No worries." Amara said as she and Toric gently lifted the snake form of Apep onto the streacher. The pair moved as quickly as they safely could without causing discomfort to Apep as they carried him back to HQ. Once the pair had entered, Amara called out.

"Need a medic! Need a doctor!"

"You know, if we were both much less mature then our ages, and we didn't have an important mission, we could have a lot of fun with your program" She laughed for a moment and looked at her watch. "Alright, it's time. When the party on the on other side of the line responds I'll write out the message you'll send back. Once I turn on the radio, you send that first message out."

Nicolette turned on the radio.

Aneera grinned and nodded at the instructions. As soon as the radio was turned on she sent out the message and waited for the reply that she would need to send back.

"My thankssss again," said Apep as he curled up to fit on the stretcher and they carried him back to the manor.

His head sunk low onto the stretcher when Amara seemed to make such a big deal about him. He was a little embarassed, but it was unavoidable.

***

There was a moment of pause as no response came in.

"Copy that, Diver," a voice finally said over the unit. "Determine the cause, but do not engage the therianthropes. Report back in twenty. Over."

Nicolette quickly wrote. "Roger Base. Over and out"

===============
Braedan had left the couselmand and his wife in the brig watching the prisoner. He came running when her heard Amara's call. He could feel everyone's emotions and was getting a bit of a headache. Finally, he entered the Entrance Hall, he could feel some pain coming off of Apep.

"What happened?"

Aneera typed in the message with great speed and accuracy and hit the enter key. The machine processed the message and there was a seconds delay as it synthesized some of the words.

"Roger Base. Over and out"

After a moment Aneera said, "Well that bought us twenty minutes, now what?"

Amara looked up at the elf. "We nailed the bugger, but he also got Apep. I cleaned the wound as best I could and I dribbled some of my blood onto the wound. That should begin healing the wound But we need him to a medic or someone who take a closer look just to make sure I didn't miss anything."

Nicolette switched the com off only a moment before Aneera spoke. She thought about that for a moment.

"I wonder if anyone here can implant memories." She paused. "Because, if we can do that, then I have a great plan. First, let's check on the others."
=====================
Braeden eyed the snake, before leaning next to him. He ran a glowing hand over the Apep's body before pausing. He then took out a daggar that was on his belt, for costume reasons, and proceded to dig out the bullet. He then pressed both of his on each side of the wound. It quickly closed.

"Now that's only a band-aid effect. We'll get a doctor for you in the morning. However, you should be able to change bad to humanesk form." He sighed. "I relieved most of the staff except the security guards and Chef that Nicolette chose. We'll have the new staff by tommorow afternoon."

Aneera nodded and stood up. She patted the console of the computer, "Great work", she said and followed Nicolette in her search for the others.

"Thank youuuu," Apep said in his hissing voice.

He tilted his head slightly at the rest of what the elf had to say. "Arrre you keeping the girl captivvvve, sssstill? If the Theriaaac findsss out that all the ssservantss were relieved of sssserviccce sssave for her, they may figure that ssshe hasss been compromisssed. They maaay then resssort to violenccce upon the zzzev they are holding captivvve."

Nicolette came in at just as Apep spoke. "You relieved all the servents?" An elegent brown raised.

"Yes, but..."

"Perfect. Now we don't need to much of a back story." The Alpha pondered, before turning to Apep. "Can you create false memories?"

The snake dipped its triangular head in a nod to Nicolette. "It isss not much different tthhan making tthem forget."

Nicolette grinned. "Perfect. I have the best plan possible, but it will take a lot of team work. I need to know that I can count on you all."

Apep dipped his head again. "Assss long asssss it doesss not require muccch pphhyssicaaal exxerttiion on my part, given my predicamenttt."

Aneera shrugged. "Toric and I honor our contracts. Whatever we need to do we'll attempt to get done", she said practically.

"Basically, we are going to set the girl free." Nicolette raised her hand to hush any possible arguments that might arise. "We'll drop her off, unconscious about ten miles due north of the clearing. We'll have Apep place false memories in her mind about....the note being discovered, Braedan and I firing all the servents after questioning them, she stayed calm the whole time. Then she left to meet Diver at the clearing. We'll have "him" call to ensure he sees her coming." She grinned at Aneera. "She'll remember telling him that the monsters are more caustious then they thought. She'll remember leaving with him, then she'll remember hearing him yell something that she can't remember before blacking out."

Nicolette smiled at her plan. "We'll leave the com with her, and implant a tracker. Sound good?"

Aneera rubbed her hands, "I'm set. The program will is working fine. Do we have a tracker? Or do you need me to come up with one. Wouldn't be hard."

"I caaan do ttthhhhat," Apep said. "Tthhe more detailsss, the better, like the thingssss Diverrr would ssssay. It helpsss to keep herr from quessstioning thesse memoriesss."

Nicolette considered what Aneera said before grinning. "We have some, but I love your work. So let's see what you can whip up mixing your knowledge with what we have. There are some fairly experimental prototypes down there." She then spoke to Apep.

"You and I probably observed Diver more closely. So using the voice program and anything you and I noticed we'll plan out the memories."

While everyone else discussed what to do now, Amara found a chair and relaxed. The evening was excellent in releasing a lot of pent up engery for her and getting to hunt down a human in her lycan form; though she was sad she didn't get the pleasure of killing the man. She twisted slightly and lifted up her shirt and grinned, seeing nothing but smooth skin.

Putting the chair on its two back legs and leaning against the wall, Amara sighed and crossed her arms. A very good night indeed.

Aneera smiled and headed downstairs, followed by Toric. As she set to work on the tracker he went to work in gym. Though all went well, and he knew it had, though not as well as one could have hoped, or so it seemed by Nicolette's reaction to the dead man, he hadn't had a chance to excersize his pent up anger at the intrusion into the mansion and took it out on the weights, climbing walls and bags.

Braedan looked at Amara through narrowed eyes, then whispered to Nicolette. "I think Amara is still too much of a newborn as a bitten lycanthrope to be on the team."

Nicolette raised a brow and whispered back. "Why would you say that?"

"Um...", he looked at Apep and Amara. "I'd rather not discuss it in front of others."

(OOC: Sorry for my absence. Been a busy few days.)

Apep nodded again toward Nicolette. Feeling the vibrations of the whispers through the floor and into his ears, he decided to leave to give the two some privacy in their conversation. "If you'll exxcussse me, I'd like go change firrssst."

Nicolette was ushered into another room by her husband, once Apep had left. For many moments, everything was quiet. Then suddenly, Nicolette burst out of the room.

"You're WHAT?!", anger at the bad timing rose inside the female lycan.

"Well currently," replied Braedan stoically,though he winced slightly. "I'm in pain. Try to calm down."

Nicolette felt bad, and Braedan cringed again. Taking a deep breath, the alpha calmed herself and got her emotions in check.

"How can you be an empath?"

The elf just shrugged his shoulders.

Amara jumped as her ears picked up Nicolette yelling and she sighed as she had been pulled from her peaceful slumber. The young lycan walked back towards the training room, feeling like streaching and make certain she was completely exhausted before bed.

When she got down there, she found Toric already busy with the equipment. So far apparently unnoticed by the panther, the wolf leaned against the wall and quietly watched him.

Toric's style was far different from his sister's. Where her's relied on speed and agility, his relied on strength and endurance. He struck with great force, trying to make his target succumb in one hit rather than elude and strike precisely. While his sister was busy at work in the chair at the computer he did his best to weary himself, because in exhaustion he could sometimes avoid his memories that crept upon him as he slumbered.

Amara watched Toric as he hammered away at the bags, she smelled the sweat that came off of him and studied his muscles, watching the way he moved so if they ever sparred she would be a little better prepared to face him. The young girl watched in silence, Toric seemed to lack much skill in terms of outwitting the enemy. He seemed to be more interested in slamming as much force at them and bulldoze past whatever obsticals stood in his way. A good trait, to some degree.

Amara remained silent and simply watched.

Back in his room, Apep was taking slow, measured breaths. Even with the elf's help, he had a feeling that transforming back to human form would be an excruciating process, given the wound. A few moments later, a naked Apep was lying curled up on his side in a fetal position, forcing himself to focus on his breathing to try to overcome the intense pain in his side.

He looked at it, and was glad that at least the wound had not reopened and gotten worse, thanks to the spell. Small beads of sweat dotted his skin, which he wiped off before grabbing some clothes and donning them on. Once done, he headed back downstairs.

Nicolette did not notice when Apep entered. Braedan did, flashing a quick eye too the freshly transformed snake. He'd sensed the moment the other man had entered the room, his wife ,however, was far to distracted to even Apep.

"WHY? Why do you have to be reaching maturity now! I thought stuff like this didn't happen until you were fifty or a hundred or something."

Braedan made a painful sound. "This really hurts me Nikky! Calm Down please."

The white haired lycan tried to pull herself together. "You shouldn't be peaking now."

Braedan shrugged. "I'm an adult, and I'm bonded to another life, there's no reason I shouldn't be peaking."

Nicolette sighed in frustration. "Is this your only new ability?"

"Thus Far, yes."

"THUS...."

Braedan rubbed his temple. "We've had company for the past few minutes." He found Apep's emotions much easier calmer then the alpha's. He really needed to learn mental shielding or something.

Nicolette blushed. "Hello, feeling any better, Apep?"

Toric didn't seem to notice as he continued. His face was set and determined, as though trying to drive something away.

Aneera grinned as she held up her latest quick invention. It wasn't as small as she had hoped but she kept it thin, figuring she could hide it in the woman's hair. She stood and walked over to her brother, non-chalantly ducking a swing with a graceful and dancelike ease and slapped it on him, then dodged back and walked back to the computer.

Toric stopped and looked at her as she sauntered back to the comp and sat down. It was then he noticed Amara and immedietly smiled, then dropped his eyes, flushing slightly. He signed his sister, but she wasn't facing him and then walked over to her and leaned down close to whisper to her.

"What's this?" he whispered.

"Tracker", she replied, "now stop getting me all hot and bothered blowing in my ear and take a run. Two miles out and then high tail it back, Nicky needs this pronto."

He stood up, nodding and moved to the elevator. Once on the main floor he took off for the front door and then out into the night.

Apep was walking with a slight limp, so as to avoid stretching and exacerbating his injured side too much. Upon finding the husband and wife in the middle of a dispute, he decided to respect their privacy by staying at a distance rather than approach them, although it was difficult not to overhear Nicolette.

"I am...functional, thank you," he said as he approached them, deciding not to make a deal out of their marriage problems. "That is to say... I can do what you need me to to Diver right now. Am I correct in assuming that we do not have much time?"

(OOC: Hrm, wasn't the gym in the basement, which was only accessible through an elevator? ;) )

OOC: Yeah, he has a point. There are no stairs that lead to the training area. CW has to edit their post.

IC: Nicolette titled her head in confusion. "You mean, Pianist right? You're sure you didn't sustain any injuries beyond the shot in your side?"

Apep furrowed his eyebrows and blinked a few times as his eyes looked toward the side and downward. "Ah, yes, Pianist. My apologies," he said as he looked back to Nicolette. "I...believe I'm uninjured otherwise," he said in a voice that conveyed that he could only be so certain.

Nicolette signed mornfully. "You are on bed rest once you finish this task. If you leave your room before the doctor examines your in the morning," the corner of the Alpha's mouth raised slightly. "I'll skin you."

Apep made a wry expression. "Is that proper behavior from an Alpha?"

Nicolette chuckled softly. "No, I don't suppose it isn't. You and I will head to the brig now. First, I have to see if Aneera has my tracker though." The white haired lycan headed for the elevator.

"Very well," Apep said to Nicolette as she left.

Turning to Braedan, he asked, "Where is the brig? I wish to see the girl."

Braedan pointed at his wife. "Nicolette is going down now, just follow her."

OOC: Sorry I've been moving into university and stuff.

Aneera monitored Toric's progress, watching the signal as it came in. She was impressed by the quility of the components and the clear signal she was recieving. The fading was minimal, meaning that in a pinch she would probably get about 8 to 10 miles out of the device. At almost three Toric turned around and began the ground eating run back.

"Pushing it again, huh bro?" Aneera asked of no one in particular, "Well I still got ya."

In the meantime she was putting the headset back together that she had been working on with some modifications made to it. It didn't look sleek and stylish, but as long as it functioned the way she wanted, that was all that counted.

(OOC: Good luck at University)

Apep had hoped to speak to the girl while Nicolette was busy with Aneera. But apparently Braedan did not care to humor him.

With a tilt of his head, the man said, "Very well," and headed for the elevator also.

(OOC: Cool. Just graduated myself. Which college are you going to?)

Nicolette rode with Apep down the elevator. "Alright just go down to the very end of the corridor and take a left. That should take you to the brig. I'll catch up with you in a moment. If you get lost just return to the training room."

With that the Alpha went to find Annera. "How's everything coming along?"

OOC: The university of King's College

Aneera looked up from the, now odd looking, headset and then glanced at the screen.

"He's on his way back now. It's small and it ain't pretty, but he was at slightly over two miles with only a 15% signal degradation. I would say 6 to 7 miles safely. Beyond that it would depend on the factors of the surroundings."

She looked up at Nicolette, "I'm sorry, but it was the best I could do on short notice."

Nicolette nodded with a grin. "That's actually pretty impressive. Good work."

"Thanks", she replied, "Toric should be back soon", she said as she continued to work on the modified headset. "How soon do we get going again?"

Nicolette tilted her head. "That all depends on how long it take Apep to finish his job."

She leaned on a chair. "So...My husband is an empath."

Aneera raised an eyebrow, "Really. How old is he?" she asked.

Nicolette sighed and looked a bit guilty. "He's 28."

"Hmm, well he's going to have a hard time. You know that right?" she asked, "He's almost here." She held up her odd looking headset and smiled.

The white haired lycan sighed. "Yeah I really should have been more patient." She allowed herself a moment of sadness before Aneera announced her brother was returning. Nicolette smiled. "Good work."

After several moments Toric came down in the elevator, still covered in a sheen of sweat. He raised an eyebrow toward his sister who smiled.

"Had you the whole time Brother. If you hiccuped I would have known it."

Toric grinned removing the tracker and handing it to Nicolette, nodding.

"Now", Aneera said, "here, put this headset on."

Toric did as she told him and then looked at her quizzically.

"Go in the next room and say something", she told him.

He shrugged and moved into the next room.

"Say something", Aneera told him again.

"This be foolish, sister mine."

Aneera grinned as he came in loud and clear on her own headset, "Hardly, your coming in loud and clear."

"How may this be?" he asked, coming back into the room where Aneera stood.

"I increased the gain on the mic in your headset. Just don't give it away it'll deafen me if someone else uses it."

Toric removed the odd looking headset and looked at it. He said something in her direction.

"Well I can't very well hear you if your not wearing it, now can I? Just don't forget your battle sign, huh? It's still useful after all", she told him grinning.

He smiled and walked over to hug her.

With a nod of thanks, Apep headed toward the brig. There, he found Hathor sitting in a chair by the cell, where the awakened servant girl sat huddled in a corner. There was no sign of Djehuty anywhere.

"How is she doing?" he asked Hathor quietly.

With a shake of her head, Hathor said, "She wouldn't say anything. Poor girl, she must be so frightened."

"Hmm," was Apep's reply before he got as close to the cell as possible. To the girl, he asked, "How are you?"

No reply.

"Well, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to," he said to her. "But if you want anything to eat or drink, just ask. I assure you, they won't be poisoned."

That only earned him a glare from the girl, but still no response.

"That was in poor taste of me," Apep apologized with a slight smile, almost mischevious. He then sat down on the floor. "Let's start over. My name's Apep. What's yours?"

The girl stared at him from her corner for a moment before finally uttering, "Anya."

"Ah, Anya. A very pretty name," Apep said, his smile now more friendly than mischevious. "I can tell we're getting off to a good start already."

Nicolette palmed the tracker and gave it a once over. Aneera really was quite the gem. She smiled to herself. She liked having competent people on her team.

The Alpha watched the end of the conversation between Aneera and Toric and made an assumption. She turned to Annera once Toric had left. "Is his new headset compatible with all the gear, or just yours?"

(My apologies. I seem to have missed the thread when the post was made.)

Aneera looked at her headset rather than Nicolette, "Everyone's", then looked up at the alpha, "I can demostrate if you like."

Toric headed up to his room to his room for a quick shower and to change. He moved as quickly as he could, knowing there was still work to be done.

Nicolette nodded. "Yes, a demonstration will be helpful." In the back of her mind she wondered how long exactly it would take Apep to finish his work.

Aneera turned and made some adjustments on the computer and then opened up the coms link for the headset. She handed Nicolette her own headset and activated Toric's. She whispered into the headset, "Test one, test one, verify and confirm. Alpha, Echo, Delta, Gamma, Confirm." Then waited for Nicolette to repeat the words.

Though whispered, the words came through loud and clear. What Aneera neglected to mention was the com switches she had put on both her and his headset to switch them to a private channel. They hadn't survived in thier business this long without taking precautions.

Nicolette repeated Aneera's words. "Very good. I'm really happy to have you as our techie." She sighed with relief. "For a second, I thought you and Toric would be whispering secrets to each other. Teams need solidarity." She nodded wisely then smiled again. "But I trust you to be upfront about that. Anyway, I'm off to see Apep's progress."

With a quick bow, Nicolette exited the room.

By the time Nicolette reached the brig, the door leading into the cell was wide open. Hathor was standing just outside, looking in as Apep paced in a slow circle around the servant girl, who was standing very straight and rigid, and whose eyes were staring blankly ahead of her.

"Ah, Alpha," Apep said when he saw Fenris. "She's all yours. I don't know the full details of what happened on your end regarding talking to the Theriac, so I have not implanted anything in her mind just yet."