Chapter 47
From his hiding spot, Antoine Brown watched and listened carefully to the exchange between Gary and Luke, and the surprise entry of the Reverend Timothy Pearson. He was not shocked when Luke shot the clergyman after the latter demanded a review of his compensation for future transactions.
Antoine didn’t know much about Luke Thompson, but the little he did know was not exciting at all. Why would the idiot think that creating an army of werewolves was a brilliant idea? And what made him think that werewolves only existed for the amusement of people like himself and his friends in the CIA, assuming that part of the story was true. And to add insult to injury, he had plans of selling werewolves to the highest bidder, which by all accounts, was a recipe for disaster. Imagine the chaos that would be unleashed if some unscrupulous wealthy people owned werewolves who they used to terrorize their enemies or innocent people? How would humans be able to tell the good and bad werewolves apart? Wouldn’t that make humans turn against werewolves in general, regardless of which side they were on?
We will not let that happen, Antoine vowed silently as he watched Gary follow the armed men led by Luke, into the facility. He waited for them to walk into the compound before he gave the signal to the wolves behind him. They shot forward like bolts of lightning, covering the distance between their hiding spots and the compound within seconds, just as the gate began to close.
The armed men were caught by surprise as over a dozen giant wolves pounced on them, knocking them off their feet and sinking sharp fangs into their necks. The ones who eventually recovered from their initial shock began to shoot sporadically, but it was a little too late. They were surrounded by creatures that were ten times their size. Even the tallest men among them were dwarfed by the larger-than-life wolves.
Luke did not waste time taking to his heels with some of the armed men running with him and firing shots in the direction of the wolves to keep them at bay. Some wolves got hit, but they didn’t stop fighting. Four Betas stood in front of Gary to protect him and shield him from being hit by stray bullets.
“Step away, boys,” Gary told them. “I need to get my paws on that son-of-a-bitch called Luke.”
“Luke is mine,” Andrew said. “It is my duty to avenge my son!”
“Do it, brother,” Antoine encouraged him. “Make sure none of his limbs remain attached to his body by the time you’re done with him.”
“Cover him!” Gary ordered, as Andrew braved the oncoming rain of bullets to follow Luke into the ominous building.
The wolves became even more ferocious, attacking anyone who might aim at Andrew, thereby creating a safe path for him to pass.
Inside the building, Luke ran into his office and shouted to his men, “Shoot anyone that comes into this place that doesn’t look like any of you!”
He bolted his office door and leaned on it to catch his breath. He never could have imagined that tonight’s exchange would turn into this horrific blood bath. Those crazy werewolves ambushed him. The bastards!
He hurried to his desk and grabbed his landline to make an urgent phone call. His hand shook as he dialed the familiar number of his contact person in the CIA.
“Yes?” Came the response from the other end when his phone call was answered.
“There’s been a problem,” he said tensely.
“What sort of problem?”
“The werewolves. They ambushed us. I barely made it to my office alive. I need your help!”
“Is this line secured?”
“Who cares?” Luke shouted in frustration. “My life is in danger. Save me! Send a chopper or the marines or something. This place is filled with werewolves, and if I don’t get help soon, they’ll kill me.”
“That’s on you, Luke,” the voice on the other end said coldly. “You had strict instructions to secure the leader of the clan and you promised us that you would, but now you are telling me a different story. What am I supposed to do now?”
“You’re supposed to get me out of here and keep me alive so that I can keep working for you!” Luke said desperately. “We have reached the crucial stage of this research, let’s not allow this little debacle ruin decades of hard work.”
“I am sorry, there’s nothing we can do for you, Luke. We fulfilled our part of the agreement and from the looks of it, you have breached your part of it. There’s nothing we can do for you anymore.”
Luke was shocked. “Are you kidding me? Did you hear me at all? I have been ambushed by giant wolves. My men are dead. I’m barely alive. You need me if you want Operation Werewolf 012 to come to fruition. I am the key to making it happen.”
The voice on the other end chuckled. “You overestimate your importance, Luke. You seem to have forgotten that scientists before you have made the same attempts as you, and they failed just like you have. Many others will come after you and keep trying until one of them eventually succeeds, assuming these beings are still in existence by then. Why do you think the project has 012 on its title? This isn’t our first attempt, Luke, and it won’t be our last.”
Luke felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. These devils were going to leave him hanging when he needed them the most. Why was the CIA suddenly treating him like an outcast after all he had done for them?
“You can’t abandon me like this. Please, help me. These wild creatures are going to kill me!”
“Sorry, Luke. You’re collateral damage at this point and there is really nothing we can do for you anymore. Deal with the situation as best as you can. Thank you for your service.”
“No! Wait, listen to me, please!” He pleaded desperately. “Don’t let me die out here like this. I have a son. Hello?”
He heard the dial tone that told him the call had been ended from the other side. It was then that Luke realized that it was over for him. When he heard the gunshots outside his door, and his last remaining men screaming in pain and landing on the ground with heavy thuds, he knew it was only a matter of seconds before he joined them in the afterlife, if there was truly such a thing.
When his office door burst open and a humongous brown wolf strolled in with bared, bloodied fangs, Luke did not bother to run or offer an explanation. He instinctively knew that he was standing face to face with Eric’s father.
“I should hunt down your son and do to him what you have done to my son,” the wolf said menacingly. “But my quarrel is with you and now I am going to send you to a place where you will never be able to hurt anyone ever again.”
“Please, have mercy,” Luke whimpered fearfully.
“You don’t deserve my mercy,” Andrew replied and lunged forward, pouncing on his prey with full force.