by Sydnie MacElroy
>"That's settled then. Zenya, you're with me. I want >your insight when I meet this guy tonight. I need to >know if he's on the level. Martin, you come too and >bring you cynicism."
>"Are you trying to imply I'm cynical?" Martin said >with mock surprise.
>"Maybe just a little," Jordan laughed. "Anyway, you >guys better get your equipment and don't let them give >you any aggravation - just get what you need, no >questions answered," he smiled.
Zenya checked her watch and found that there was plenty of time before they had to meet their mystery informant, if that's what he was. "I would like to stop by the hospital and check on our survivor," she said. "If he's able to talk, he might be able to give us some useful information. It might be to our advantage tonight if we knew.. something."
Jordan nodded. "It couldn't hurt. All right, if there's nothing else, let's get going."
The group began to split up. Zenya caught up with Leo in the hallway and gave him a quizzical look.
"What?"
"We couldn't help it that that thing got away from us," Zenya said, suddenly unsure who she was trying to convince.
"Or that there's another victim down there somewhere," Leo added with a nod.
"So did I do the right thing? Stopping you from going after it?"
Leo considered his answer for a moment. "Probably," he said and grinned. "So don't worry about it. Or about me tonight, for that matter."
Zenya laughed. "Me? Worry? Actually, I'm a little bit jealous. It sounds like you're going to have a much more interesting evening than I am." She winked at him, glanced quickly up and down the hallway, and seeing no one, gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "Have fun," she said, then headed off to join Jordan and Martin, who were waiting for her.
*****
[The hospital, 5:00PM]
The patient had been identified as Derek Collins, age 24. He had required numerous stitches, a transfusion and treatment for shock, but he was out of danger and resting. The doctors were at first adamant that no one except his family be allowed in to see him, but finally relented when the patient himself woke up and started demanding to see someone. Martin was questioning the doctor about the man's injuries, so Zenya and Jordan went into the room.
Collins, bandaged and bleary-eyed from the drugs he'd been given, tried to sit up when he saw them, and his eyes immediately fell on Zenya. He frowned.
"You were there, weren't you," he asked.
"Yes, I was."
"Where's Angie? No one's telling me anything."
"We don't know where she is, Mr. Collins," Jordan said.
"Well you have to find her! Send someone back for her!"
"Please, try not to excite yourself. We'll do our best to.. to locate her," Zenya said, unable to think of any other response that wasn't an outright lie. She glanced at Jordan, who nodded.
"If there's anything you can tell us about what happened, it might be helpful," Jordan said.
Collins shook his head. "I don't know what I saw. If I saw anything." He laid back and closed his eyes. "We were walking along, just sort of talking about.. well, stuff, ya know? Then she sort of screamed and Rex started barking. By the time I turned around, she was gone."
"How did you get hurt," Zenya asked, nodding at the lines of stitches on him, most of them across his chest.
Collins opened his eyes, looked down at himself, and frowned. He closed his eyes again. "I.. I don't remember. I think I saw something, but I couldn't have seen what I thought I saw. You know?"
"Tell us what you thought you saw."
"You ever seen The Curse of the Werewolf?"
*****
[Hospital parking lot, 6:15PM]
"That might not be too far off the mark, if what we've heard so far accurate," Jordan observed.
Zenya nodded. "It really isn't too much of a stretch from a half-man, half-wolf beast to a genetically engineered German Shepherd. I'm not sure it tells us anything new, though."
"We know it's getting bolder. And that it.. or they have attacked three times in as many days."
"How about something we can use to stop it," Jordan said.
"Can't help you there," Martin said with a shrug.
Zenya frowned. "If we knew how it tracks its prey, maybe we could set a trap for it."
"Well, let's see what we can find out tonight," Jordan said. "What did the doctor have to say?"
"Nothing new," Martin said. "It looked like an animal attack. Probably a large mammal."
*****
[Brookhaven, south gate, 9:50PM]
Jordan stopped the car several feet from the gate, just out of range of the street lights, and shut off the engine. The sky was slightly overcast, making it darker than usual. And it was quiet. Almost too quiet, Zenya thought, then grinned at the clich�. She stopped grinning, though, when she saw Jordan pull out his gun, check it and then put it away.
A rustling in some bushes to their right caught everyone's attention and all eyes turned in that direction. They were silent, listening for something more, but nothing happened.
"Probably just the wind," Martin muttered.
"Please step out of the car," a deep male voice said from somewhere on the left.