Markus Rage-Like-Fire walked quietly along the dark corridors of the makeshift hospital. He had to go carefully around the beds and cots that overflowed from the rooms. Some of the wounded slept fitfully - in pain or in dark memories of combat. A nocker slowly limped down the hall, and with each painful step the air turned softly blue with his cursing. A young mage, barely twenty years old, hurried by with a tray full of potions and amulets. But mostly the makeshift hospital was still.
It took him a while to find the woman he was looking for. She was slumped in a chair and snoring quietly - a thin woman in dirty, ragged denim. Her hair was speckled gray with concrete dust.
"Jessie? Jessie Smiles-of-Sunshine?" he whispered.
The BoneGnawer opened an eye. "Ehg?"
"How are you?" the Get asked.
"Got any mouthwash?" she whispered back. "Ah should know better than to bite a vampire. But he was slick, Ah'll tell ye."
She glanced at the cot next to her. Andrea was curled up asleep in the cot, her tail covering her nose. Another Garou, with a hand in a cast, watched over her. "Yer not goin' wake the Fox Doc are ye? She needs a rest."
He shook his head. "I'd like to talk to you. Let's step outside."
Jessie glanced at the bandaged Garou, who nodded at her.
"Sure."
New York City never slept, but in the morning it was torpid. The two Garou stepped out onto the presently deserted sidewalk.
"You did a good job yesterday. You know that vampire you killed? He was Theo Bell."
Jessie cocked her head. "He famous or somethin'?"
Markus Rage-Like-Fire nodded. "I can't tell you how happy we are."
"Well, ye can try." She looked thoughtful. "Ah had help killin' that leech. Rhiannon O'Brien fer one; her Faith kept him focused while Ah gave him the Big Bite. And there was an old guy, Charles; he gave up all his Dream stuff to hex the ammo." She shuffled her feet. "They deserve somethin' fer it. Remember them."
"We will," the Ahroun said.
"Can Ah have his watch? Ah collect them, ya know."
Markus blinked at her. "I... suppose so."
"And his gun. Ah took it from him." She rubbed her head. "Ya know, concrete hurts."
"Nice catch, though. You probably saved Lady Andrea's life."
"Yeah... " she looked down for a moment. "..yeah. Hail Mary pass." She looked back up and smiled broadly, "So, what's next?"
"Since you're ambulatory, I want you to help sniff around and see if we missed anything. We have enough people here to guard Andrea. And Albrecht said you were a good hunter."
"Ah'm a canary in a coal mine!" she pronounced gleefully.
"Good, good. Ah... you don't mind working with the Technocracy types, do you?"
"Ah got some reservations... but a Techno type saved our asses at the hospital. A Sam somebody or other?"
"Sounds good. They're meeting in the park just down the block. You'll report to a Captain Cromwell."
He watched her amble off to meet the assembling squad and shook his head. "Collects watches? You're a strange one, Jessie."
In the park, Jessie discovered a motley group just gathering: a tall, dignified man in a business suit, a nervous young girl in tie-dyes, a slim fit woman in a jogging outfit, two men comparing PDAs, an imposingly large man who stood neatly at attention, and a lanky youth in his twenties dressed in a feather cap perched on the wall.
She looked at the last one again and decided the feathers weren't a cap at all. One of the geeks not only had the requisite Palm and cellphone but a wicked-looking sword. The other man's business suit flickered between old wool and armor.
Pooka. Nocker. Sidhe. Jessie shook her head. It was time to get disenchanted again.
She walked up to the sidhe and gave him a salute. "Reportin' fer duty."
"Jessie?" the captain asked.
"She is 'Jessie-Smiles-of-Sunshine'," the hulking man confirmed in a monotone.
She looked at man closely. "Hey, ain't ye the guy at the hospital node?"
"I was there," he replied flatly.
"That was right fine shootin'."
"It was within parameters."
"Ladies and gentlemen," Cromwell said impatiently. "I know you haven't worked together before, but we must make sweeps of suspected areas. We will proceed to our designated area, divide up by twos and search for any remaining Wyrm creatures or their masters. Thompson: you and the Etherite?"
The two men looked up from their PDAs and high-fived each other. "Technology rules!"
The lanky man dropped from his perch and landed next to the teenager. "I'll take Melanie."
The sidhe frowned. "A COX mage and a pooka? Pete, I expect you to behave."
"But I always behave!" the pooka protested. He draped a feathered arm around the girl's shoulder. "So, which do you prefer, a thirty-ought-six or a forty-five?"
The woman in the jogging suit spoke up. "Captain, may I fight by your side?"
He nodded his head. "I would be honored to stand next to a Knight of your reputation. That leaves..."
"Me and the tin man?" Jessie said.
The HITMark regarded her impassively.
"Good enough," the sidhe said. "Remember, the mundanes may be shaken up by the events of the last few days. They may be only human, but some of them know something's been going on, so be discreet. Questions?"
Jessie held up her hand. "Can we grab some breakfast? Ah'm hungry."
A few minutes later Jessie slouched in her seat on the subway. "Ye gots a name?"
"My designation is HITMark unit SM17XR43," the android replied. Was that a fractional hesitation? "I am usually referred to as 'Sammy'."
"Sammy and Jessie." She grinned at him. "Sounds like a comedy team."
The doors opened and several people got on. The car was starting to fill up.
"I'm not programmed for comedy," Sammy said softly.
"Ah don't know; Ah think you'd make a great straight man."
They got off at the next stop.
"Okay. Jest trust The Nose," Jessie tapped her nose, "and follow me. If somethin's left we'll find it."
Sammy nodded, remarkably life-like for a machine. "Passive scanning mode engaged."
The crowds parted for the imposing HITMark as they walked up into the daylight. The street was becoming alive with traffic and people. Jessie slowed and tilted her head. She sniffed the breeze. "Got something."
"I sense no designated hostiles within range," Sammy shifted his gaze across the crowd. "Are you tracking an immediate threat?"
"Nah. I smell breakfast. First things first." She scanned the street and stopped. "Sammy, would ya stay a little behind me?"
"My instructions are to stay with you."
"Yeah, yeah, but Ah need to talk to people and you're crampin' mah style."
"I should be present for any interrogation."
"Then turn up yer hearin' aid," she quipped.
"Acceptable."
Sammy loomed farther away as Jessie strolled airily down the street. She stopped at a panhandler and dropped a dollar in his cup. "There ya be."
"Thank you," he said weakly. His breath smelled of alcohol.
"Ye look a might peaked." Jessie made a motion with her hand. Another dollar appeared as if she pulled it from thin air. "That'll help, won't it?"
He smiled. Well-looked-after teeth showed behind the stubbly beard. "That was good."
She stuffed the bill in his cup. "Want to see it again?"
He nodded and she waved her hands. This time a five dollar bill appeared. "Here. Ye need this more than Ah do. Ah mean, Ah'm not roamin' the streets no more. Hear it gets pretty hairy out at night."
"You're lucky," the man replied as he accepted the money. "It was really bad the last few nights. Seen some pretty weird things... " he paused to examine Jessie suspiciously. But her open, gray eyes and calm manner disarmed him. "...like some battle was being fought. I've seen combat... but this was like, ghostly." He squeezed his eyes closed. "And I kept seeing things roaming around... ugly things... terrible things. And there were... other monsters and people all aglow that killed most of them."
"Most of them? Ye think them monsters are still around?"
"No. No. They don't exist," he said hurriedly.
Jessie touched the man's arm. "Ah know. Ah've been there."
The man looked up at her. "You served in the military?"
She nodded. "And Ah've seen the monsters. Ah know."
With a flourish she produced another fiver. "Here. Ye gets yerself some help, hear? Ah needed others... they helped a lot. Can't fight demons alone ya know." She gave him her best, brilliant smile.
He managed to smile back. "I will."
"Wait..." Jessie dug into her voluminous jacket and pulled out a business card and a pencil. She scribbled on the back of the card and handed it to him. "Go here. Hand them this card and tell 'em you're a veteran and need to get off the streets. They helped me. Tell 'em Jessie sent ya."
He looked at the card and nodded. "Thank you."
She gave him a nod and walked away. After about a block Sammy stepped up next to her. "That man is a witness to the operation and should be properly debriefed."
"That's why Ah sent him to a shelter run by kinfolks. They'll be good to him."
"We have better debriefing--"
Jessie raised a finger to silence him and glanced to one side. "Breakfast is this way."
They turned a corner.
"You have passed several places where food could be obtained," Sammy commented.
"I'm goin' fer something special," she murmured. She slowed and looked into a window. "Bingo. A two-fer. Look in and tell me what ya see there, Tin Man."
"An eating establishment, independently owned by people of foreign birth..."
She rolled her eyes. "Skip the long story. See the guy with his back to us sitting all by himself?"
Sammy's eyes narrowed. "Affirmative. By the speed with which he's eating and the tension in his shoulders, the probability of his being under a great deal of stress is eighty-five percent."
"And the possibility of him bein' Wyrm tainted is one hundred percent."
"Eliminating him in a public establishment is against my directives."
"Funny, mine too. He's jumpy. Let's flush him."
A minute later Sammy entered the narrow restaurant and ordered a plate of eggs and toast to go. As he was waiting their suspect stood up and turned to leave. Sammy stood in his way and stared at him. The man's eyes widened and he turned quickly and made his way out the back door.
A well-timed foot tripped him.
"Hey there, ghoulie," Jessie taunted. "Where ya goin' in such a hurry?"
The man snarled at her. He stood and reached into his jacket.
Jessie slashed his hand and he dropped the pistol.
With a crinos-sized fist she socked him in the face. He fell against the wall. She waved her clawed hand at him. "Ghoulie ghoulie ghoulie! Runnin' home to yer master? Good! Ah want ta meet him."
"Dog!" the ghoul spat. He twisted away from her - and grinned as he saw Sammy stroll out the back door. "I'm an easy target. What're you going to do against that?"
Sammy extended a paper plate covered with tinfoil towards the Garou. "You have change coming."
"Thank ye! Keep the change."
The man's jaw dropped. "But... she's..."
"Less of a designated threat than you are," Sammy said evenly. "You are Daniel Russo, servant of a Kindred-type Reality Deviant known recently as Fredrick Severt."
"You know this guy?" Jessie said surprised.
"I have extensive files."
"Cool! Ah interrogated the last guy," Jessie remarked. "You can have this one. Just gimme his watch."
Before the man could move Sammy pinned him against the wall and roughly removed the watch. He examined it carefully. "This watch has data functions."
"Ah knew it!" Jessie said between mouthfuls. "Can ye do... that data thing?"
"Downloading."
The ghoul made a brief protest and Sammy almost absentmindedly pushed him farther into the wall. The HITMark glanced at the Garou. "Data transfer to headquarters complete. I included our situation and location."
He paused briefly. "They are sending someone to pick up the prisoner."
"I'd rather be given to the wolf than to more machines," the ghoul grunted.
"What makes you think you have a choice?" Sammy replied.
A few minutes later a van pulled up in the alleyway. Uniformed men came out and packed the ghoul into the vehicle.
"Busy night?" Jessie asked one of the men.
Blearily, he stared at her. "We've been on call since yesterday. We been up twenty-five hours and haven't had a break yet."
"Try hittin' a concrete wall with yer head at high speed. Worked fer me."
The Technocrat looked at Sammy. Sammy shook his head minutely. "Yesterday."
Sammy turned to Jessie. "I am receiving orders. We must rendezvous with the other teams to coordinate an attack."
"Based on the data from the watch?"
"Affirmative."
"Can't ye jest say yes?" Jessie sighed.
"Affirmative."
"If Ah didn't know better, Ah'd think you was funnin' me."
Half an hour later they were behind a rundown block of buildings next to a locked and barred doorway. Jessie leaned casually against the old brick wall. Sammy stood stiffly erect.
Jessie looked him over and shook her head. "Pardon me, but weren't ye guys built ta look like and act like humans?"
"That is correct."
"Well, ye ain't doing such a good job. Yer always standin' at attention! Yer gotta relax. It calls attention to yourself when yer always stiff like that. Ye gotta learn ta relax like me an' be at ease."
"I know 'at ease'." He placed his feet slightly apart and clasped his hands behind his back.
"Sure yer not programmed fer humor?"
"I'm sure. May I ask a question?" Sammy inquired.
"Sure."
"By what means did you detect the Reality Deviant in the restaurant?"
"Ah could feel him," she tapped her chest, "here."
"I do not detect an implanted device..."
"No, no, no. It's a sense of rightness or wrongness - it comes natcherly to Garou. We can feel the life force; Gaia - and can feel when it's bein' disturbed by somethin'. Sometimes it's jest an uncomfortable feelin', or a smell..." She gave him a suspicious look. "Ah thought ye had extensive files and such."
"Correct. But I was hoping to add to my data files with a direct interview with a Garou."
"Ah guess you could call it a bi-o-logical radar. Ghoulie-ghoulie showed up as a blip." She thumbed towards the door. "This place has me ringin' like a fire alarm. There's somethin' more here... somethin' in the Umbra..."
"An extra-dimensional being?"
"Maybe a bunch of banes... big ones." She briefly showed bared her teeth. "Seriously of the Wyrm."
"My files indicate that the being you refer to as 'the Wyrm' is a part of your mythology," he stated blandly.
"Myth? HA! Yer extensive files is no substitute fer real experience!" She opened her jacket and pulled up her shirt. A nasty jagged scar was exposed. "Ye think a myth did that? Caught that fightin' a Chaos Crawler. Damn *ugly* thang."
"But that was not 'The Wyrm'."
"No, jest one of its minions. Ah know it exists by its minions and helpers." She pointed to him. "Jest like Ah know the Technocracy exists by ye and yer buddies."
From the front of the building there came the sounds of gunfire. "Oh shit. That don't sound good. We'd best go in the back." She pulled out a set of lock picks. "Have that door open in a jiffy."
"Allow me."
Sammy broke the door in. It opened to a storage room. Someone wearing a heavy coat ran in and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Sammy calmly coming his way. With inhuman speed he pulled out a pistol and fired.
The HITMark ignored the bullets as they struck him. He struck his opponent in the head, splattering blood and brains on the wall.
"Better wash yer hands before ye eat," Jessie remarked as she bounced into the next room.
"HEL-LO!" she shouted. Grinning toothily, she shifted to crinos.
Sammy followed her. It was a large room filled with office cubicles. The windows were hastily boarded up and lit only by drab fluorescent lighting. It was also filled with flares of magic, Fae swords, random flying bullets, a confusion of bodies locked in combat, one shaggy Garou - and some very surprised and unhappy vampires.
*Snick*
Jessie blinked as Sammy popped out a wicked-looking set of built-in claws. With a precision bordering on grace he stepped into battle, slicing into undead flesh with mechanical efficiency. Jessie was more exuberant as she leaped from one opponent to another. Some she sliced with her claws while others she merely landed upon, letting her weight do most of the work. Desks and cubicles lay flattened behind her.
When the last of the vampires and their flunkies were dispatched Captain Cromwell looked about for his troops. "Where the hell is everyone? Melanie? Pete?"
"Over here," the pale woman looked up from tending the knight.
"You called?" the pooka grinned.
"Asshole! Who told you to start firing? Thompson? LeBlanc?"
"Here and here!" the two geeks sang out as they began to check out the computers.
Sammy stepped forward, blood dripping down his arms. "I am present and fully functioning."
"And I can see the werewolf," the sidhe commander said under his breath.
"Arooo?" Jessie said. She shifted back to homid. "Ah got a few scratches but Ah'm okay."
Cromwell looked around. "Did we kill everything?"
"There's somethin' in the Umbra but Ah think we'll need a few Theurges fer that," Jessie replied.
"I have contacted the alliance base and informed them of this," Sammy said in a monotone. He regarded his gore-drenched arms. "If there is water here, I should wash before leaving this place."
"We'd better wash up now or else the stains will set in yer sleeves," Jessie remarked. She took the HITMark's arm. "Come on. There's washrooms down here." She wrinkled her nose. "Ah can smell 'em."
A few minutes later they stepped out of the bathrooms. Jessie stopped Sammy and adjusted the collar on his jacket. "Gotta make ye look handsome. Ye might be a bit of a looker if ya smiled a little more."
"Appearance is important for interaction," Sammy agreed. And he smiled.
Jessie made a sour face. "We'd ye learn how ta smile like that? Ya look like ya have gas or somethin'. Look at me." She gave him a bright cheerful grin. "Try that."
She inspected his attempt. "That's better, but yer eyes don't smile." Jessie blinked and her expression became compassionate. "I'm sorry. Yer eyes can't smile."
"Smiling is not an occular expression," Sammy replied factually.
"Well, it is if yer alive. But yer not alive are ye, Tin Man?" She put a hand on his arm. "Poor guy."
"I am fully functional. That is all that matters."
A call from Captain Cromwell interrupted their conversation. "Sammy? Can you come here? We've found something weird."
Sammy and Jessie went back into the cubicle room. The rest of the team was clustered around one of the administrative computers. A diagram was displayed on the screen. The Nocker and Etherite were both shaking their heads. "Never seen anything like it."
Cromwell gestured them over and the team parted for the HITMark. The sidhe pointed to the screen. "What do you make of this?"
Sammy stared at the screen. "Unknown. Contacting other data banks." He stood unblinking for several seconds. "I must jack into this system to confirm." A cable snaked out from his sleeve.
"Ah'm not takin' the easy ones," Jessie said under her breath.
"Mind if I?" asked the pooka who was perched on a nearby desk.
She scowled at him. "Ye be nice to Sammy."
The HITMark plugged into the computer and stood at attention. "Transferring to secure server. Confirmed. Object listed as stolen from a Technocracy research station. Data obtained suggests device's safety interlocks have been compromised. Ascertaining location. Obtaining control codes."
He removed the cable. It vanished up his sleeve.
"We must hurry," he said to the sidhe. "The device is nearby and we must deactivate it as soon as possible."
"Or what?" Cromwell asked.
Sammy started moving. "You do not have the clearances..."
"Oh never mind!" Jessie interjected. "Let's jest follow the Tin Man!" She touched him as he walked by. "Tag! You're Nose!"
The team - minus the CoX and the wounded Chorister - stepped out to see normal New York City traffic.
"Surface transportation is unacceptable," Sammy said. "The subway will be faster if we hurry."
They waded through the crowds and hopped the train going downtown. "Isn't this exciting?" Jessie asked Sammy.
He spoke in a monotone. "No."
"Sheesh, you're no fun. Don't know what fun is, do ya? Playin' frisbee, catchin' balls, running jest because ta feel the wind in yer fur. Makes me feel young again. Then again, I'm only eleven!" She chortled. "How old are ye, Sammy?"
"I was first activated fourteen days, eleven hours and twelve minutes ago."
The nocker and Etherite exchanged glances. "Hardly broken in yet."
"Don't want him broken," Jessie retorted mildly.
The train stopped and the HITMark rose. "We must leave the train now."
"Glad ye waited until we stopped moving," Jessie said falling in behind him.
"Attempting to disembark while the train was moving would have looked suspicious," Sammy replied quietly.
The group scurried along with the quickly moving HITMark. They reached the surface. "I want to know more about our target," the sidhe demanded.
"It is a containment device." He spoke quietly as the group weaved through the crowded city streets. "It holds a dangerous extra-dimensional being. Data obtained suggests it is well guarded and they may be attempting to open it."
"Is backup coming?" the nocker asked.
"Yes, but it may not arrive on time."
"Allied backup?" the Etherite probed.
"They have been contacted."
The nocker swore. "Bet you called your own people first."
Sammy nodded. "They are more knowledgable about the device than our allies."
"Jest like Roto-Rooter," Jessie interjected.
Cromwell shook his head. "If it's an emergency, fine. But we need a plan of action."
"I have some lousy suggestions..." Pete said.
The guard behind the desk looked up from his monitors and raised an eyebrow at the four men and one woman as they entered. "I'll need to see your security passes, please."
One man stepped forward. His face became inhumanly handsome and his air commanding. "We're here to inspect your security system." Eyes bright as searchlights fixed upon the guard. "You will let us examine it," the sidhe commanded.
The guard's face grew ashen. "Yes. Yes, of course, sir," he stammered.
"You will assist my technicians in every way."
"Of course, sir. Yes, sir."
The Etherite and the Nocker came around and studied the security setup. After a few moments of tinkering the Etherite winked and gave a thumb's up.
"Can I shoot him now?" the pooka asked.
"No," the sidhe said sternly.
Pete winced. He pouted. "I don't get to shoot anybody."
"Go get yourself some coffee," the sidhe instructed the guard. He nodded and quickly left.
"Stairs or elevator?" he asked the HITMark.
"Stairs." Sammy strode purposefully away and quickly outpaced the others.
Six floors up the stairwell of the small office building, he paused and waited as they arrived, puffing and panting.
"Damn you, you did that on purpose," the captain said.
"The old elevators in this building would have been slower and we could have been trapped within."
Jessie caught her breath. "Yeah, so you say."
A door opened and a woman in a lab coat stepped out and closed the door behind her. She looked at them with hesitant curiously. "I don't think you're supposed to be here," she said and moved to reopen the door.
A hole appeared in her head and she fell over backwards.
Pete waved his pistol. "Silencers. Don't leave home without one."
"Was that the lab?" Cromwell asked.
"Affirmative."
"Then we should move quickly."
Sammy broke down the door. He was followed by Cromwell, Pete, the two technogeeks and finally Jessie as rear guard.
The lab was several stories high and lined with racks of equipment. Cables snaked everywhere and the room was filled with the sharp scent of ozone. To one side was a classic, glass enclosed computer room. Across the room and high above them was a glass-lined control center. At the center was a glowing grayish box the size of a dumpster. Six weirdly-angled antennas that glowed blue and orange were arrayed in a circle around the container.
Technicians shouted in panic before they were gunned down.
A command came from the control room and antennas turned a reddish color. The box's sides swirled and flickered. They became transparent briefly and something visibly wriggled within the container.
"FUCK!" Jessie shouted.
They dove for cover as gunfire was returned.
"Hang on," the Etherite muttered and tapped on his PDA. Holograms of soldiers entered the room and drew fire away from them. The nocker pulled a tube from his pocket and stuffed it with a cloth while humming tunelessly. The guards' gunfire decreased briefly as the spell jammed their weapons. Laughing merrily, Pete squeezed off several more rounds - and cursed as the bullets slowed and halted in mid-air.
Sammy ignored all and ran for the stairs leading up to the control center. He bounded up the first flight only to have the landing explode just before he reached it. Instantly, he leaped forward up to the remainder of the stairs. The metal stairs sagged under his weight. Bullets thunked into him as he continued his climb.
"Damn, he's gonna need help," Jessie proclaimed. She looked at her shiny wristwatch and slipped into the Umbra.
The lab still existed in the Umbra, but it was a mess of wires, generators, and motors webbed into place by pattern spiders. A half dozen painlings - banes no bigger than a large turkey - squabbled at her.
"Get ye guys later," she said and shifted to her war form. She bounded across the room and up the ladder with the flock hot on her heels. She climbed up onto the roof of the control room and thumbed her nose at them.
Slipping back out of the Umbra Jessie suddenly saw Sammy going up the last bit of stairs. She saluted him briefly. With a couple of quick swipes she ripped through the corrugated metal roof and peeled it back.
As she dropped down into the crowded room, one of the technicians growled, "Hoo, you have picked the wrong day to be here! You're gonna regret the day you was born!" and grew into crinos form himself. His fur was ugly and patchy, and his ears misshapen, more like a bat's ears than a wolf's.
Jessie charged the Dancer. The corrupt Garou snarled and stepped forward to meet her.
People began to spill out of the control room. Those affected by the Delirium fled heedlessly down the stairs and ran right into Sammy. A few who still had shreds of rational thought left vaulted the railing and took their chances on the three story fall. The HITMark ignored the flood of people and pressed onwards into the control room.
The radiation from the antennas continued to hammer away at the box, which began to glow softly.
As Sammy entered the room, Jessie and the Dancer were locked in combat. They wrestled, bit and clawed each other - crashing into control panels and computer terminals. Gunfire smashed the control room windows and riccocheted around the room. The few remaining technicians were either leaping out the broken windows or cowering against the wall; prisoners of the Delirium.
Sammy reached for the Dancer.
Within moments, the corrupt Garou was dead. Wounded, Jessie held herself up by holding her hands on her knees. She was bleeding and panting. Sammy turned to the control console. It was battered from the battle and pockmarked with bullet holes.
"These controls are no longer fully functional," he said to Jessie. "I cannot safely stop the reaction from here."
Another pulse of energy hit the box, making the contents clearer. Jessie stared out the broken window and snarled.
"My instructions are that if we cannot safely shut down the system then we must wait for the proper technicians to arrive."
Jessie moved towards the door but Sammy grabbed her arm... and held it, stopping her. She growled at him.
"If the system isn't shut down in a balanced manner the chance of explosion is very high," the HITMark said evenly.
Jessie glared at him but nodded. She moved back towards the window.
A stray bullet struck a vital section of an antenna. The few still functioning alarms went off as the field became unstable, shimmering like heat waves on a summer road. An ominous hum filled the room.
"I have updated orders."
Jessie and Sammy leapt out the window. They landed next to opposing antennas. Jessie savaged her antenna with her claws while Sammy efficiently disconnected the power cables. Working in sync, they shut down or shredded opposing antennas. Within moments the field collapsed in a shower of sparks and smoke. The sides of the box became an opaque dull gray.
When the smoke cleared and the bullets stopped flying, Jessie jumped up on the box. Even though she was bleeding from several gashes she capered atop the container like a vaudeville dancer.
A group of newly arrived Technocracy soldiers stood staring up at her. "I still don't believe we have to work with those animals," one remarked.
"It dances better than you do," another replied.
A heavily-armed Technocracy officer ran over to Sammy and yelled at the top of his lungs. "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO THAT FOR? YOU COULD HAVE BLOWN THIS PLACE TO HELL AND GONE WITH AN UNCONTROLLED SHUTDOWN!"
Facing the officer, Sammy braced to attention. "I had updated orders, sir."
Jessie sat on the container and shifted to homid. "Would've been worth it ta keep this nightmare locked up," she said matter-of-factly. "Ye've got yerself a right nasty Bane here. A big one."
She licked her wounded arm. "Got any bandaids? Looks like Sammy's gonna need a few." She gave the HITMark's oozing wounds a concerned look. "Maybe a whole box."
"We will take care of it," the officer said tersely.
He turned at the howling of a Garou war cry as two crinos, two hispo and a single glabro burst into the room. They glanced about intently for signs of battle but found only wreckage. One hispo whined in disappointment.
The Technocrat turned back to Jessie and spoke quietly through his teeth. "The contents of this container are part of a top secret project and I suggest you keep quiet..."
"Bane in the box! Bane in the box!" Jessie called to the arriving allies.
The Garou in glabro and crinos form shifted to homid. One was dressed in a battered business suit while the others were in buckskins. "We'll take care of this," said the one in the suit as the war wolves took up their place on either side of the box.
"My orders are to retrieve..."
"And mine are to kill the Wyrm and its minions. We'll take that container..."
"I DO NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM ANIMALS!"
This sparked a raging debate amongst the allies about who had custody over the box and contents.
"Knock it off!" Jessie chimed in cheerfully. "Sammy and I share coup on this one - which makes it half Techno and half Garou. You'll have ta share the bane."
"And who the hell are you?" asked one of the buckskin-clad men.
"I'm Jessie *Smiles* of Sunshine." She bowed. "Bone Gnawer Ragabash."
One of the hispo Garou sniffed her over and made significant canine noises. {"She is the one who killed the leech called Bell. She is an honorable warrior - for a Ragabash."}
"Why thank ye! Ah had help. Jeez, you'd think this Theo Bell guy musta been somethin' special." She waved at them. "Hang on a sec."
Jessie slipped off and wandered over to the medical team to one of the gurneys.
"How's everyone else?" she asked the bandaged and prone Captain Cromwell.
He sighed in relief. "They'll make it. The Etherite was lucky: he got suddenly dizzy, fell to the ground, and missed being shot at. Thompson took one in the chest, but he'll make it. The damn pooka just got winged. As for myself, I just took a couple hits in the arm and took a bit of shrapnel."
He glanced sideways and spoke softly. "I also notice that most of the Technocrats are busy quietly tearing apart the computer room. Makes me wonder if there wasn't a separate problem we weren't told about."
"Ah wouldn't doubt it. Captain, was mah pleasure servin' with ya." She saluted the sidhe as he was rolled away.
The other Garou gathered around her. "We need to talk," the suit said.
"We sure do," and she grinned. Her eyes lit up mischievously.
After about fifteen minutes the huddle broke up and she went to sit next to Sammy. A technician was removing another slug with a pair of pliers.
"Oh man, that must hurt. Ah know - I've taken a few slugs in my day."
"Pain is irrelevant. I register damage but it is not disabling."
"Look, Sammy - Ah know there's been bad blood between my people and yours. Not that yer really people bein' a machine an' all. And me not being people because Ah was born a dawg an' suchlike... but we did good. Made a fine team. And Ah'd like to honor ye in a special way."
He turned his head in her direction.
She leaned in close and whispered. "Special Garou ritual. Calls up the spirits of the ancestors so we can give 'em the good news that more Wyrmy things are dead. We drum, we dance, we party. Can you come?"
"I must obtain permission," he said blandly.
"Well, get a note from Momma an' we'll do this! Whoo-hooo!"
Four crisp knocks sounded on the door of the warehouse. "That's our guest!" Jessie bounced up and sprinted for the door.
She opened it and Sammy loomed there. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "Good evening," he said.
"Hey! Ye been workin' on your smile! Come on in!"
"Yes. I also brought the requested beverage."
"Not motor oil?"
"You didn't request motor oil." He handed her a large bottle.
"Wow! This is good rum! Thank ye, Sammy."
"You're welcome," he said mechanically.
She brought him to an open space where industrial machines had once stood. A group of men and women tuned up sets of home-made drums and percussion instruments while several large dogs of various breeds came over to sniff the newcomer.
"This used ta be an old tool-makin' plant," Jessie remarked. "Thought it'd make ya feel at home."
The HITMark said nothing.
"Now, I'll remind ye, when the spirits arrive they'z gonna sniff ya over worse than these rude dawgs are doing. Don't mind them; they'z jest checkin' ye out."
One of the dogs barked angrily. Jessie put a finger on her lips. "Hush. Sammy's our guest."
Sammy extended his hand down for the lupus to sniff. The dog snuffled it and trotted away.
"Ye been studyin'!"
"I have acquired files on canine behavior."
"You'll get a whole 'nother chapter after tonight. Take a look-see here. We got drummers for the ritual to call up the ancestors - jest like in the good old days. They got braziers set up so we can make offerin's."
"They appear to be barbeque grills," Sammy observed.
"We're 'Gnawers. We ain't fussy."
"What kind of offerings do you make?"
She grinned and rubbed her hands together. "Steaks. Yum."
Jessie continued. "We sit in the center as honored guests. They drum, chant and howl and then the ancestors come. They'll come an' check us out - you know, us bein' heroes and such. Ye might feel somethin' cold hit ya." She cocked her head. "Or maybe somethin' warm. Don't know. It's different for everyone. Then we're given instruments so we can join in."
Jessie and Sammy took their places in the center of the room. The lupuses ran around them and howled. The drummers began a ragged beat. After several long minutes lupus howls and human drumming locked into sync - and stopped.
From a dark corner of the room an old lupus appeared. Scarred and toothless, he limped towards them. He sat in front of them and began to speak in the Garou language of low growls, small woofs, and particular body movements.
Jessie leaned towards Sammy and whispered. "That's a very old an' honored Garou. He's invitin' the ancestors to come." She drew a breath. "It's a great honor to have him officiate."
The old lupus withdrew and drums began to beat once again. Jessie shivered. "Whoa. They're here," she whispered.
"I do not detect any extra-dimensional beings."
"We're talkin' Garou spirits. They may not register on yer spook-o-meter... or they register as something else entirely."
"I do detect some form of energy directed my way."
"That's them. The Old Ones." She shivered again. "Oh man, they're comin' in like summer thunderstorms."
A female gracefully danced towards them. She handed Jessie a hand drum and Sammy a pair of shakers. Then she vanished into the darkness.
"Can you keep time?" Jessie had to yell out over the din.
"To the nanosecond."
He shook the shakers precisely. "They are not drumming in sync," he commented.
"They're in sync with each other," Jessie replied. "Don't try to keep exact time... jest follow their rhythms."
For the next twenty minutes people would step away from their drums and dance around the two. Lupuses circled clockwise, then counterclockwise, howling and barking. Jessie occasionally shivered and let out a short bark. Sammy tried but kept failing to lock into the rhythms the drummers were pounding out. After each change in pattern and tempo he would pause, listen briefly to the new beat and copy it.
The music grew louder, the circling faster.
At last the HITMark caught the groove and was on the beat with everyone else. The music quickly rose to a crescendo - and everyone stopped. All the Garou except Jessie let out long eerie howls.
The old lupus returned. Barked once, twice, a third time. He limped away and growled and woofed like an old man talking to himself.
"That's it," Jessie said. She stood and stretched. "The ancestors were pleased at yer work, even though yer not Garou."
"Is this the end of the ritual?" Sammy asked in a monotone.
"Yep. Hope you liked it. Some are gonna stay and dance and eat, but Ah'm jest gonna have a few drinks, yank a steak off the grill and head off."
She walked him to the door. "Hey! Got a joke fer ya. How many kinfolk does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
He paused briefly, then gave the required response, "How many?"
"Just two. But they have to be very small to fit inside the bulb."
Sammy stared at her silently at her for a moment. "I understand. You find the double meanings of 'screw' humorous." He nodded in an almost human manner. "Since we last met, I have updated my files on psychology and humor."
"But you didn't laugh."
"No. There were no programs available for humor routines." Something flickered in his eyes and the corner of his lips quirked upwards. "So I had to settle for sub-routines."
Jessie stood drop-jawed as another Garou laughed. "Oh god, it made a computer joke!" the Glass Walker said.
"Ye made a joke! And a good one!" Jessie broke out in her broad, happy grin. "Good fer you!" She patted him on he chest. "Ye take care, Sammy."
"Good evening."
The Glass Walker put an arm around Jessie as the HITMark walked away. When it was out of sight they closed the door. "It was fscking hard - especially working around all those protections they layered on him and not letting him sense it - but Number Five is alive!" he chuckled in her ear.
"He deserved ta be alive."
"He's an AI; *very* advanced. He was close even before we started the ritual."
Jessie nodded. "And it's a good prank. Let the Technocracy figure that one out. Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Not staying for the party?"
"Ah'll be back later." She looked over at the assembling lupuses. "It's garbage night."
- END -