"Hush, Lukan," Selene hissed, night-vision binoculars in her left hand lighting up the fenced-in-yard of the mansion an irritating shade of green.  The lad had been babbling on to himself for the better part of an hour, not saying anything in particular.  "If you want to be of help, grab my duffel bag."  Raze was around the back side of the building, performing rear-side reconnaissance as she watched the comings and goings from the front gate.  There were four guards along the perimeter, walking armed with high-powered rifles and equipped with trained dogs.  The rottweilers of the Death Eaters were part of a proud tradition.  Had Kahn escaped, he would have continued unchecked as the best guard dog trainer that they had ever seen.  Selene tried not to think on her old friend, concerned that he would have become her enemy if he had managed to escape the scrape with the Lycans.  Everything had changed. 

            The gates had been updated with newer technology, technology Selene had become unfamiliar with since her fall from grace.  They were going to have to figure out a way to scramble the system and get past the new measures.  The mansion itself remained virtually unchanged.  The front looked quiet, elegantly decaying and looking for all the world like it was falling into disrepair.  It was a good forefront to keep curious humans away, and an even better ruse against a Lycan or Vampire not using an attentive eye.  Lukan had begun muttering to himself again when Selene finally nudged him.  "Come on, we're moving in closer.  I need to take some surveillance photos."  She uncapped the lens on her camera, slinking with all the grace of a feline on the prowl.  Her legs muscles contracted and she sprang over a low hedge until she was only ten feet away from the gate.  She knew from her experience as a Death Eater that the dogs would be able to detect her at any time, and that she had to work fast.  Lukan looked on, suddenly at a loss for words as she moved along the property line, photographing each length of fence with urgency.  She had a cocked gun held beside the camera, ready to fire in case she was discovered.  He rummaged through the duffel bag he had hauled for her.  He had asked to be allowed on this mission, and he didn't want to sit around idle in the event of an attack.  He found a beretta and a pre-loaded clip and knelt for a better angle.  He had used a gun only a few times before, and never on a moving target.  He swallowed hard as his worst fear was confirmed. 

            It started out softly at first, but the barking of the dogs quickly grew to a cacophony and the sound was directly headed for them.  Selene had heard the dogs, and had already turned to head for the hedge.  The dogs appeared to have run ahead of their handlers, for he saw no bipedal targets through the binoculars Selene had left behind.  Shouldering the duffel bag, he cocked the gun and prepared to run at an angle that would intersect with Selene's flight path.  In the distance, he could make out some of the Death Dealers running along the perimeter fence.  The alarm was tripped, and the dreadful howl of the warning siren brought back terrifying memories to the young Lycan as he grimly set his jaw and gave chase.  He watched Selene tumble acrobatically, firing two direct hits at the oncoming dogs.  It would prove to be the wisest move she could have made.  Without the dogs to scent the intruder, the guards were having a much harder time finding her.  She sprang over the hedge and began tearing down the empty street, silhouetted in the yellow lamplight.  He caught up with her about a half a mile down the road, clutching her chest. The glow of flashlights scanned the undergrowth around the mansion.  "We can't wait on Raze," Selene whispered, matching her running gait to his.  "He can take care of himself.  Let's find a place to lie low for a few minutes."  She grabbed his wrist, spurring him to a faster pace as the remaining dogs picked up their scent and tore after them down the road.  Selene led them into a stand of trees, tossing him up into the lower branches.  "Climb," she ordered, returning to the road.  "After they pass, head back to the hospital."  Lukan nodded, not daring to speak.  Selene continued down the road, leading the dogs away from his hiding place and with them, the Death Dealers. 

            He watched as they hurried past not two minutes later, the dogs getting louder and more excited as the scent carried them toward their prey.  He watched as six men rushed past, long coats trailing behind them.  Breathing a sigh of relief, he slowly descended the tree, doing as he was bidden and heading back toward the center of town and the hospital.

            Selene tried harder to evade her pursuers, plunging herself knee-deep in a nearby creek.  The mansion was fairly remote, on the outskirts of town, and unfortunately, she was leading them away from the city.  She wanted to be certain that they wouldn't be able to locate the haven and her friends, particularly Michael.  She was getting tired fast.  If they weren't thrown off soon, she'd be facing a head-on confrontation with the Death Dealers.  Her odds were unknown, as she wasn't certain exactly how many were following her.  She resigned herself to lying flat in a ditch.  Her sides were heaving and her chest felt as though it might split in half.  She was covered in a layer of dust, and the air felt oppressively hot, although it was nearing winter.  Sparks swam across her vision.  She wondered to herself if she would even be able to get up.  Holding her gun next to her cheek, she tried fervently to slow her breathing.  She tried not to think of what would happen if she was captured.  Thoughts of Michael and his temper crossed her mind as the dogs sniffed up and down the bank of the creek, not more than fifteen feet from where she lay.  "Did we have a visual?" one snapped. 

            "I think it was female, but I can't be sure," a second answered.  "I only got one look at her, and she was barely more than a shadow.  I thought there was a second, too."

            "Thought isn't going to hold up well with Erika.  She'll have our heads if we lost the intruder."

            "Sod her," a familiar voice growled.  Selene was almost certain it was Kahn's best friend, Xanatos.  "Let's go back. We'll tell her it was a fox again."

            "She won't settle for that excuse all the time," the first voice countered.  Still, they all seemed to respect Xanatos' point-of-view and turned back the way they had come.  Selene breathed a sigh of relief.  She wasn't sure if it had been luck on her side, or if Xanatos had recognized her, but she wasn't taking any second chances.  As soon as they had leashed the dogs and moved two hundred feet away, she took to her feet and limped painfully in the opposite direction, prepared to return to the city after a large loop.  After a short while, she bent to drink from the stream.  The water moistened her lips, its coolness hard on her stomach.  She fell to her knees and retched. She was trembling all over. 

            "Something's going on.  My eyes must be deceiving me.  Selene, is that you?"  Xanatos was soon at her side, everything about him the same as ever.  He had soft Russian undertones to his accent, but those were very muffled by his years at Kahn's side.  He had been Kahn's right hand when developing new technology, and he had always respected and trusted Selene as a warrior and colleague.

            "Are you insane?" Selene choked.  "They'll kill you if they find out!" 

            "They don't question me," he replied gently.  "Where have you been?"

            "Here and there.  Xanatos, go home.  I'll only be more trouble for you.  Or bring me in, if you want.  That might be better for you."  Xanatos met her hazel eyes with his troubled gray ones. 

            "I wouldn't dream about it.  I'm fed up with the Coven.  We're little better than slaves under Marcus anyhow.  He's particularly interested in you and that Michael Corvin.  Care to tell me why?"

            "I…can't," she replied.  "Raze'd shoot me if he found out.  Unless…"

            "Unless I change my allegiances, right?  You were checking out the mansion, Selene.  You're planning something.  I can help."  Selene allowed him to help her to her feet. 

            "I have to get back into town."

            "I have a car waiting on the edge of the woods.  I'll take you.  It's the least I can do.  Kahn believed in you, Selene.  We saw things that prove corruption.  They're writing off Kraven's disappearance as your doing as well.  Kahn didn't believe that you did anything wrong.  Neither do I.  If you promise me you can help us by helping those Lycans in that mansion, then I'll do whatever it takes."  Selene nodded slowly. 

            "Xanatos, they might not let you leave the haven once we get there.  We are paranoid of being found.  If they had any idea that Michael was here as well as me, I'd be putting more people in danger than I care to claim."  Xanatos nodded. 

            "I'll take that risk." 

            Michael was rampaging up and down the length of the room, trying to keep his temper in check.  "I'm not letting her go out if she keeps taking risk like this!" he bellowed at Lukan.  "You're sure she wasn't caught?"
            "I can't be sure of anything.  There were only six of them.  Selene should have been more than a match for them, if they found her, right?"  The recovered Lycans were all sitting together on the ledge, watching in silent interest as Michael switched back and forth between him human form and his Hybrid one.  Adam was particularly interested, and the most silent.  It appeared he was ashamed with himself for not believing Michael when he had come for help all those years ago.  

            "I can't rest on assumptions.  She's being reckless, as usual.  I can't sit here anymore, you know?"  Michael calmed himself.  "I'm sorry." 

            "They're coming in.  The guy she's with isn't Raze, though," Catarina clarified.  Selene entered the room in a flurry of motion.  Michael eyed her companion suspiciously.  He smelled like a Vampire. 

            "Michael, this is Xanatos.  He's a Vampire, a friend from my Death Dealer days.  He's going to help us."  Michael relaxed a little as she came and took his hand.  "This is Michael."

            "I thought you were a myth," he admitted, shaking Michael's hand.  "Selene tells me you want to rescue the Lycans from the lab.  I want to rescue the Vampires from slavery.  It appears Marcus is the cause of misery for both races.  Let me help." 

            At a nod from Michael, Xanatos was welcomed into the haven.