Things are starting to liven up now :o)
11. Action stations
"Don't be ridiculous!" Elena hissed to Clay as they sat in the living room later in the day. "I'm not staying here for babysitting duties. I get enough of that at home." She sulked.
"It's for your own good." Clay told her, as she rolled her eyes. "Look, there are bigger things to consider here – I'd be much happier knowing you were here, where it's safe." He glanced over his shoulder at Nick, and dropped his voice. "Besides, Nick doesn't want Belle to be here by herself." He made his way to the front door with Nick and Antonio. "You know I wouldn't normally want this, but…" He let his words trail off.
Elena snorted and strode out from the room, pausing in the doorway. "I can say the same for you." She told him and made her way out the back door. She walked around the patio area in the back yard trying not to hear her rental car being driven away.
"I can't say I'm all together too happy with it either." Belle said joining her as she wrapped a cardigan around herself and sat on a garden deck chair, her legs covered up to her knee's in brown leather boots.
"I didn't mean for you to hear that." Elena apologised, stamping some of the coldness from her feet in the cold February afternoon as mist started to shroud the ground around them. She examined Belle's face and the distant look in her eyes. They were rimmed in red. "You want to go as much as I do…" She said intuitively.
Belle met her gaze. "He's my son." She stated staring Elena down once again. "Do you know where this place is?" She demanded getting to her feet; Elena froze, arguing with herself weather to disobey an order. Finally she looked away from Belle's searching gaze and nodded. Belle paused for one brief moment and stormed into the house. Elena traced her upstairs into a room she hadn't been into yet - Matthew's bedroom.
By the size of it, it was once the master bedroom before the extension was built. The walls were painted dark blue, which poked through underneath a mass overlay of poster's of various rock bands; sports car's and scantily clad women. All-in-all a typical sixteen year old boy's bedroom. Elena had to keep from holding her breath as Matthew's scent filled every available inch of the space.
"Sorry about the smell." Belle said almost reading Elena's mind as she reached to open the window. "Matt always goes on about how he can tell when I've been in his room." She rolled her eyes and started rummaging through some drawers.
Elena didn't want to fill her in on the other chemicals she could smell, such as a distinct smell of cigarette smoke, and a little bit of weed – instead she took an interest in what Belle was doing. "What are you looking for?" She asked, politely looking around at the unmade bed and clothes sprawled around on the floor, poking her head into the walk in closet.
"Car keys…" Belle mumbled picking up a pair of jeans and rifled through the pockets placing all the change she found on the nearby desk.
"But isn't your car out front?" Elena asked confused.
"Yes, but it's not the fastest of cars unfortunately… and I think the occasion calls for some speed." Belle explained. "They have a little '8 Ball' on them." She muttered discarding the pants and moving onto a leather jacket that hung on the back of the chair. "Ah-ha! Success." She exclaimed picking up his school back pack, emptying its contents on the desk before passing Elena on the way out from the bedroom, leaving the werewolf to follow.
Arriving in the kitchen, Belle took out a bottle of water from the fridge and a first aid kit from under the sink, throwing both into the bag. Her fingers searched through a drawer, finding a long slim knife with a carved wooden handle, before putting it into the side of her boot. Ignoring the questioning look she got from Elena she stormed ahead with her collection of supplies.
"What else do you think we need?" She asked stuffing a silver Mylar blanket into the bag.
Elena momentarily hesitated. "Have you got any cable ties or rope, and a torch at all?" She asked.
"I think I have some rope or something in the garage…" Belle replied, leaning into the cupboard under the kitchen sink, and pulling out a large torch, before continuing to pick up a couple of other items and stuffing them into the bag.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Elena asked following Belle through a little hallway into a double car garage. Parked in the middle was a black and red sports car. Elena couldn't say what make it was; only that the badge was missing and half of the paintwork was chipped due to dents and scratches covering it.
"I do apologise for the state of this – got it through a guy I was seeing a couple of years back. Matt insisted I buy it. God only knows why." She said dumping the back pack in the trunk. "The guy was a mechanic and Matt worked on it with him over last summer… The guy however, turned out to be real asshole; don't worry the engines in a much better state than the rest of it." Belle added seeing the look on Elena's face.
*******
Meanwhile Nick, Antonio, and Clay had come across their destination. They stood before a – not so abandoned - house in the middle of nowhere. They could all pick up traces of the scents left at Belle's house, but their attention was distracted by a loud noise barrelling through the nearby woodland.
A young man broke through wielding an axe above his head, running towards the trio.
In the blink of an eye, Clay ducked spinning on his heel, to catch the ruff of the man's neck breaking his momentum as the guy staggered to a stop. Grabbing the axe he snapped his wrist and threw him down to the floor pinning him.
"Where's the boy." Nick growled, kicking the axe away from their captive.
"What boy?" The attacker asked scuffing his face in the dirt. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Clay stood on his outstretched broken wrist as the man yelped in pain. "Answer the question!" He ordered increasing the pressure.
Defiance showed in the attackers eyes, biding his time – well, that's what he thought. Nick stood back and let Clay do the rest. The sickening crack of the neck being broken resonated in Nick's ears as they walked into the house.
There was only one direction the scent trail flowed. Clay distinguished at least three people had trodden this path in the last hour. Luckily, one of the scents owners was now hidden in some undergrowth outside the house.
Antonio made a notion with his hand. 'Stop and Listen'.
Sounds could be heard coming from down a set of stairs leading to a basement. A high pitched 'yip'. Then a 'thud' as something heavy was thrown against metal and then a low resonating growl.
"Keep it down, or you'll get another beating!" A hoarse voice followed.
Nick's stomach knotted, as he involuntarily clenched his fists into balls. Antonio led the way, silently descending the steps keeping his back to the wall.
They froze half way down as one of the men made a move closer to the steps.
"Joe, where are you going now?" Asked the hoarse voice.
"Cant a guy go and take a piss?" Replied another voice; presumably Joe. "Besides, Ted's been gone a while… Not like him. " Joe sounded concerned.
A deep sigh floated up the stairs and a newspaper being put down. Antonio took one more cautious step down flexing his hand. "Fine, go – no more than ten minutes though." The other man warned. "I'm not risking my arm to give him another shot by myself."
The three male Werewolves' waited anxiously as they heard the footsteps draw ever nearer. Finally a shadow flickered across the bottom of the steps and a young fair haired man started to walk up the stairs. He got to the third step, and looked up to see his exit blocked by Antonio.
"Oh sh-" Was all he managed to say before Antonio leapt at him throwing him down into the nearside wall.