Revelations
Warning: Slight drug reference
The two dozen Federation soldiers carefully enters the clearing, but doesn't see a living thing. They keep their eyes open for lookouts as they try their best not to cause too much noise as their boots land on the snow laden ground. The leader checks his watch and sees its past midnight; hopefully their advisories are in a deep slumber.
The soldiers make their way to the edge of the clearing and found multiple burrows. They all load their SA rifles, and cautiously approach the holes in the ground. One by one, the soldiers take a grenade in each hand, save for three who stays back with their rifles aimed at the small caverns.
The leader of the group whispers a single command. The Feds prime the grenades and rushes forward. Sprinting as fast as they could, they toss the frags into the dens, one for each hole. Finally the soldiers make it to the end of the burrowed land and as one they turn, raise their rifles and wait.
Simultaneously, the grenades went off, shaking the ground and choking the dens with large clouds of dirt and smoke. The Feds rush back in, crouches and sticks their heads into the dens, expecting to see dead wolves.
Instead they see nothing.
Moving quickly the soldiers checks the other burrows, but all with the same result; they are all empty, there is no sign of life anywhere.
The commander of the small squad starts cursing and kicking a nearby tree in frustration while his soldiers do their best not to laugh at their leader's actions.
Not far from their position, there is a little ridge where two wolves are observing the humans; a black and grey wolf and a reddish brown wolf.
"Wow," Garth whispers, "it happened just the way Damon said it would."
Humphrey whispers back, "You don't think he's psychotic do you?"
Garth frowns and gives the grey wolf a strange look before asking, "You mean psychic?"
Humphrey gives an embarrassed smile, "yeah that."
The Alpha merely rolls his eyes before stealthy rising back to his feet and turns back around saying, "let's head back before they see us."
"Right," replies the Omega as he turns and follows Garth.
As they walk through the dark forest, they soon become jumpy and edgy, every shadow was now being seen as a human with a gun aimed right at them.
"Did you ever think this human war would reach us here?" Humphrey asks, not really expecting an answer.
Garth shakes his head, "No, remember those humans who use to come around here, park rangers I think they were called, and they made sure no one with guns would ever enter the forest?"
"Yeah," answers Humphrey, wondering what the red wolf is getting at.
"Do you remember when they stopped coming, or when it was when all the humans stopped coming?"
The Omega is stumped as he thinks of an answer before finally saying, "No, but then again we didn't usually see a lot of humans to begin with."
"Yeah, I guess we never realize how nice it is to live in a park" Garth mutters as they continue to walk through the forest. They walk for thirty minutes, occasionally they go in circles, sweep away their tracks and takes long routes around their obstacles in an attempt to ensure that the Feds won't follow.
Finally they walk unsteadily along the side of a nearby hill before leveling out some as they come upon the small party of gathered wolves. Many of them are standing on guard, Alphas and Omegas, making a perimeter that rings their current residence as they watch out for any Federation soldiers. Alongside the hill the wolves have made three burrows, one for the pups to sleep in, one for Damon, and one for the Federation prisoner.
Every so often a moan would emit from the third hole where the captured soldier resides, but by now the wolves have ignored it. They decided it was best that they wait for Damon to wake up and deal with the soldier. After the events of the previous morning the Ghost just about collapsed, but he stayed awake long enough to inform the wolves that they were no longer safe at the Alpha school. The wolves didn't take too long to convince, believing they would be putting the pack at risk if they all return to their dens, the wolves instead decides to find a place to hide rather than at their homes, which lead to them now residing on the side of the hill.
Upon the two wolves' arrival, Kate and Lilly quickly rushes forward and cuddles with them for a bit before Kate leans back and asks, "Well?"
Humphrey is the one to respond, "It's just like Damon said, the soldiers came at midnight and tried to kill us, or they thought they were trying to kill us," he says with a grin.
Kate releases a small sigh, "I can't believe it, it's like there's nowhere safe for us."
The wolves could only nod in agreement when they hear a moan slightly louder than the others.
"How long has he been groaning," demands an annoyed Garth.
"Almost an hour straight," answers Lilly, "we still have no idea what is wrong with him."
"I think I do."
All the wolves jump and turn in the direction of the voice. Damon emerges from the cave he was sleeping in, hugging himself for warmth as he walks out. The human doesn't look good; he has removed what he has called his "web gear" leaving him with his usual wear attire. His clothing is cut, while his hair and parts of his exposed skin is matted in blood. His movements are slow and careful, he lightly drags his left leg behind him, obviously hurting but forcing his limb to move either way. His back is slightly arch but he does his best to walk straight.
Yet most distinctive is his face. It is dirty, covered in blood and has tiredness written all over it. There are black bags under his eyes, his usual facial features, including his usual smile, seems to be slacking and hanging loosely from his folds. His blue eyes are partially open and within they reveal the depth of his exhaustion, but he still trudges onward.
After taking in the sight of the human, Lilly walks forward and says, "Damon, you should be resting-'
"I did rest," the Ghost replies, "or as best as I could," he hisses as he lowers himself to the ground and sits in front of the wolves, gathering his legs from beneath him.
The wolves exchange weary glances. Though many of the pack members no longer trust him, they all know he is the only one capable of protecting them from the full wraith and destruction of the Federation soldiers. To see him down and hurting like this is almost like looking at a reflection of the pack's current state.
Almost like he is reading their minds, Damon says, "I'm fine," every single one of the family members gives him a dubious look before he sighs, "alright, I could be in better shape, but I'm still ready for the next bout."
Still seeing the doubt in his companion's eyes, Damon next questions, "what's the status on Winston?"
Kate shakes her sadly, "the messenger that we sent reported that…well Nana is doing the best she can; she'll let us know if anything changes."
Noticing the sad and sullen looks on Kate and Lilly's faces, Garth decides to change the subject, "you said you know what's wrong with the soldier," he said as he jerks his head in the direction of the Fed's cave, "what is it? I swear we haven't done anything to him."
Damon blows his hands before reaching into his pocket and pulls out a small energy bar. As he unwraps it, he explains, "There have been rumors that the Diablo Elite are stronger than average soldiers, it is believed that is because they are on a type of drug. It supposedly makes a soldier faster, stronger and even claims to make him a better shot."
The Ghost jerks his chin over his shoulder, "Whatever drug he took, it made him oblivious to any and all wounds he had obtained. And now, I'm guessing the effects are wearing off and he is now feeling every ounce of pain inflicted on him."
As if to prove his point, a small cry escapes from the cave, causing everyone to look around to make sure no enemy ears has heard it.
"If these…drugs can do that," questions Humphrey, "why don't you take some, especially now when we need all the help we can get?"
"Because," begins Damon as he chews on his snack, "any and all drugs have a side effect, slowly and most defiantly, it'll destroy the body and mind of the user, which is why our military don't use it, unlike the Feds, we don't throw away people's lives."
"Oh," Humphrey says in a small voice.
The group falls silent before Garth says, "they went to the school like you said they would, how they found us?"
Damon stuffs the bar into his mouth and puts the wrapper in his pocket. As he does this, he debates whether or not to share his theories, but so far these wolves are his best friends, if he doesn't trust them, then why is he fighting for them?
He sighs before saying, "I think it has been Oliver who has been giving the Feds all this information, if I can befriend you guys; then he must have made some pals among the Federation soldiers."
The small group is silent for a time before Kate says, "it would make sense considering he's an Alpha and knows how we work."
"But what about what happen two nights ago?" questions Lilly, "when you tried to enter the soldier's camp and they caught you?"
Damon sighs and nods his head, "Exactly, I think one of Oliver's friends has been helping him, informing him of our plans, or my plans to be precise."
"Or it could be a wolf that happened upon Oliver and he or she told him about your plans," Suggests Humphrey, "it might not be any of his friends."
"Or it could not be any of us," next voices Kate, "it could be another wolf or wolves who are working with the soldiers from another pack."
"Or it could be my dad," all of them froze and turns to a sad looking Garth as he says, "he doesn't like you Damon, what if he has been helping them all along?"
"I don't think so" the Ghost responds, more to comfort his friend rather than to defend Tony's name, ""he doesn't seem to like any humans, and he's now the pack leader, he wouldn't put you guys in careless danger like that, beside if he was working with the Feds he would have handed me over to them a long time ago."
Damon sees this put his friend at ease, but that still leaves them with trying to answer this mystery.
Another moan cuts through the night, reminding the Ghost that their answer just might be a few feet away from them.
He stands and says, "there's only one way we're going to find out what's going on and that's by asking our new guest here some questions," he finishes by taking his mask out and placing it over his head.
The wolves are used to seeing his mask by now, but they still shiver at the sight of the skull and the scars present. Without saying anything further, Damon gets back onto his feet and starts walking towards the prisoner's cave, leaving the small family of wolves to look among each other in concern.
Damon enters the cave and passes the two Alphas guarding its entrance. They both gave him a weary look, but he was allowed to pass nonetheless.
The cave is dark, but Damon uses one of the flashlights he took from one of the fallen Diablo commandos and switches it on. The cavern isn't very large, the ceiling only rises up to six feet and tree roots poke out, forcing the Ghost to crouch before entering.
The captured Diablo is slumped against the far wall, eyes halfway open with his mouth hanging open. His left leg is folded in an odd position, the leg with the broken kneecap. His forehead has a nasty bruise where Damon slammed his fist into his metal gas mask, forcing the iron in the face cover to bump against his skin. His shaved head is shining in sweat, probably from the pain as his face is slowly turning into a violet shade of crimson. The dark brown eyes squint slightly as he gazes into the beam of the light, but they enlarge upon seeing who it is holding the light.
He tries to stand but the bad leg forces him to collapse. He instead tries to crawl away, only to find his hands shackled behind him, ironically enough, with his own handcuffs.
Damon places the flashlight on the ground with the beam centered on the Diablo. The captured man could only watch in enraptured fear as the skull face American approaches as he steadily pulls out his butcher like knife.
The Ghost positions himself in front of the Diablo, casually flipping the blade around his fingers as he inspects the prisoner who is trying his best not to look into his apparent interrogator's eyes.
Finally Damon asks, "You speak English?"
The Fed is silent before saying, "Si-"
Damon leans forward quickly and leans against the soldier's injured knee.
The soldier tries to let out a scream, but the Ghost places a hand over the Diablo's mouth to smother his cries.
"Let me ask again," The Ghost says in a calm voice as he removes both his weight and hand, "do you speak English?"
The soldier groans before looking down and mutters, "Yes."
"Good," Damon says as he reaches into his pocket and brings out the piece of paper he has taken from Estrada, "then you won't mind reading this to me would you?"
He holds the paper in front of the soldier and shines the light on it. The Fed slowly looks up and squints at the paper as if it's a long distance away.
"Well," demands Damon, "What does it say?"
The Diablo seems to be thinking before saying, "it's an invitation."
"To what?"
Damon knew what is coming next when he sees the soldier's lips curl into a smile, "to your mother's house-"
The fist slams into the Diablo's stomach, forcing him to bend over. While he's looking down, Damon grips the prisoner's head and slams it into the cold floor. Before the Diablo could recover, Damon grabs his pants and shirt, he wills what little strength he has left, lifts the Fed up and slams him into the ceiling. The soldier barley has enough time to let out a gasp before Damon drops him and he lands on the floor once more, this time falling on top of his wounded knee, causing him to let out a blood freezing wail.
The Ghost still feels rage boiling from within after the soldier's comment, but he keeps it in check, he needs the Diablo alive if he is to get anywhere.
Damon growls as he cracks his knuckles and growls, "alright, this time no funny business, I want answers, or else-"
"Or else what?" chokes out the Diablo as a smile appears on his face again, "I have been prepared for this, prepared to be tortured by the most devious devices known to man, devices you are short on." He smiles mockingly at the Ghost, "I can withstand anything you can do to me American, do your worse, there's nothing on this earth that will make me talk."
The Ghost feels his anger starting to burn, but before he could release it, he hears slight feet patters and turns to see a wolf walking towards him. Curious at what is going on, he meets the wolf partway and sees its Lilly. She appears fearful as she whispers into Damon's right ear, but unlike her, the Ghost slowly starts to grin underneath his mask before he turns around and faces the Diablo again.
"If you are unwilling to speak, then I'm going to let my associate take care of you," the Ghost said, his voice heavy with amusement.
The Diablo fearlessly smirks, "And who, pray tell, is your associate American?"
"Her," Damon says and jerks his head towards the entrance of the cave.
Walking in is the silhouette of a wolf, darken by the shadows, but its eyes are red and it's growling sounds are loud enough to shake the Earth. The soldier's smile slowly disappears as his eyes begin to scan the room for a means of escape but sees none. Stepping into the light, both men sees it's a golden color wolf, teeth bared and its eyes full of malice.
Damon only grins as he says, "This is Eve, and she has a bone to pick with you," to confirm his words the wolf releases a fresh growl, causing the Diablo to back himself into a corner, eyes wild with fear.
The Ghost pats Eve's shoulder and says, "Do what you want to him, just make sure he tell me when he is ready to speak freely."
Eve only gives a snarl in conformation, signaling it's time for Damon to go.
He gives the Diablo one last look before waving and says, "have a good time," with that, he turns and leaves the den.
The Diablo watches as the Ghost leaves and turns his eyes back to the wolf before him. Absolute horror fills him as the she wolf smiles and says in a cold voice, "this is going to be fun."
Damon barley sat down under a nearby tree and removes his mask when the screaming starts. Everybody tenses and scans the area, making sure that there are no enemy soldiers near enough to hear the cries. The Ghost sees Tony just a few feet below him and hears him talking to Hutch and Cando.
"Double the patrols and place some of the Omegas up as sentries, until Eve is finish having her fun, we must be sure there's no one around to hear, understand?" The two Alphas nods before turning and takes off.
Damon has disliked Tony ever since he first arrived, but he must admit the Alpha has the situation pretty much under control. However that doesn't mean he is looking forward to calling Tony sir. He holds that respect towards Winston, hopefully he'll be ok; the wolf is the only real power keeping the pack from tearing the Ghost to pieces.
He hears timid footfalls and turns to see Meadow coming out of the cave that housed the pups. He sees worry and fear etched in her eyes but they disappear as soon as she sees him.
"I heard the screaming," she says as she sits next to him, "I was afraid you were in trouble again."
The Ghost rolls his eyes, bemused as he says, "I'm fine; I can take on an army if I have to."
"Really?" questions Meadow as she raises her paw and places it on his bruised back.
Damon releases a small yelp before leaning away from Meadow muttering, "Ok, ok, maybe I could be in better shape."
She laughs lightly before turning her gaze out towards the forest and Damon follows suit.
The forest is relatively silent and peaceful. A full moon, the first full moon of the month, is starting to shine its silvery light upon the land. The trees are still covered in snow, causing a sparkling like sensation to occur. It reminds Damon of a Christmas card, but he knows that somewhere down in that peaceful setting is a small army of Federation soldiers, blood thirsty and ready to fight to the last man.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" Meadow asks, pulling the Ghost out of his state of paranoia.
Damon is silent, he didn't want to tell her how he sees the setting, she's young, it's best that she sees the world as a beautiful place, not the dangerous battlefield that he started to see the planet as.
"You don't think so?" voices Meadow after his prolong silence.
Damon remains quiet before silently stating, "I believe it's best that I don't tell you what I think."
The Ghost soon hates himself for saying this as Meadow looks away and an awkward silence fills the air.
Damon begins to berate himself for his comment. He keeps forgetting that these wolves never experienced the full extent of a war or any of the hardships that the American people have endured. But how could he help it, these wolves are so human like in personality that he often forget they are of a different species.
"What was that monster you fought yesterday?"
The question brings Damon out of his level of thinking as he looks back at her and asks, "Monster?"
Meadow nods her head, "That giant…thing, it was like a great big gun that could move."
It soon dawns on the Ghost what she is talking about and says, "That's a tank, it's a vehicle like a car, people ride inside and control them. They are very hard to take down if you don't have the right gear for the job."
"But you did," notes the she-wolf.
Damon grins as he shakes his head, "I was lucky the soldiers were carrying an RPG I could use."
Meadow frowns at the word but doesn't ask, deciding that this "RPG" was the weapon used to destroy the thing known as a tank.
Another scream is heard from within the cave, causing both the pup and the human to look at the entrance, unsure what to think. Even the Alphas standing guard nervously peeks in as if afraid to se what is happening within.
"Who's in there?" Meadow asks curiously.
"Eve," Meadow turns to him, still confused so he says, "she just now came to tell us of Winston's condition, which is still the same, and when she heard that there's a Fed that needed to be...asked some questions, she immediately came in and started doing what she does best."
"Do you think she will kill him?" she wonders out loud as she looks back at the cavern.
The Ghost responds almost instantly, "I hope not, we still need him to tell us information."
Meadow switches her gaze back to Damon and demands in a semi-angry voice, "Is that all you're worried about? Information and not a person's life?"
The Ghost gives Meadow a hard stare before saying, "may I remind you that these are the people attacking us and are currently destroying your forest? These men, the Federation, has to be stopped Meadow, before things get worse, and they will get worse unless we can figure out how to beat them before it's too late."
Meadow doesn't say anything, but Damon can tell she is upset by the way she is grinding her teeth together.
Damon sighs a bit before saying, "Sorry meadow, but that's the stark reality of things…you're lucky you're a pup," Meadow gives him a strange look before he finishes, "you aren't aware of how dangerous the world is."
Meadow now feels even more confused by this comment but doesn't know the right question to ask for clearer clarifications.
Finally the Ghost speaks again, "Where's Devan and Talia? I didn't see the, yesterday."
The she-wolf shifts slightly on her feet, "Oh…they're around…they're just tired that's all."
She isn't looking Damon in the eye; in fact she is avoiding it. The Ghost does his best to stifle the sigh that is threatening to escape; most likely Devan and Talia no longer trusts him. The thought of the wolves that he had played with suddenly fearing him is enough to cause a sort of pain to cover the interior of his chest.
He's not sure if he really wants to know, but he decides to ask anyways, "and Ann, how is she doing?"
"She's uh…well she wasn't really gloomy the other day," is the reply, which she again said without looking at him.
Translation; Ann is doing well because she finally had a small taste of revenge.
Damon wished that the Feds never came here. Of all the places they could have gone why did they had to come here. These wolves were happy and oblivious to human wars. He thought of the pups as they ran, played tag and hide & seek. Now here they are hiding in their own homelands while invaders slowly destroy it and the pup's innocents along with it. Humans, wolves, all in the end, one way or the other, they'll lose a small part of themselves and change forever. That's small piece is something that can never be retrieved, and Damon loathes the Federation for taking it away in the first place.
"But, on a brighter side, Max is telling the others how you, the human who can fight without air, overcame the soldiers yesterday," Meadow says with a grin.
The Ghost moans and covers his face with his hand in fake modesty.
Before anything further could be said, they hear someone calling Damon's name. They both look back towards the cave and see Eve smiling brightly at him, unnerving the Ghost a bit.
"Guess that's my cue," Damon says as he stands.
Meadow leans over a bit and rubs his leg, "Please be careful."
Damon scratches her behind her ears and nods, unable to bring himself to make an empty promise as he makes his way upwards to the cave.
Eve is still smiling at him in a chilling manor as she gestures for him to enter. Not wanting to experience her interrogation skills first hand, Damon quickly enters the cavern, pulling his mask on as he went.
The interior is dark once more, causing the Ghost to pause slightly before he finds the deactivated flash light on the floor right where he left it. He flicks it back on and winches slightly.
Sitting in the exact same place in the corner is the Diablo, who didn't look good at all. His clothes are torn to shreds and some blood is lightly seeping out, but he makes no move to cover or care for his injured self. His face is stretch taught and has a sheet white color to its texture. His eyes are still wide with shock and pure terror, making Damon wonder whether the man is still aware with what is going on around him.
The Ghost approaches and squats in front f the man, keeping the light centered on his face, but the man continues to remain motionless. Finally Damon raises his hand and snaps his fingers in front of him. The soldier finally blinks and turns his fright filled gaze upon Damon.
"Are you ready to speak now?" The Ghost asks.
The Diablo is silent before becoming stiff at the sound of a growl. Damon turns and smiles when he sees Eve coming up next to him, giving the Fed an evil glare.
Satisfied the Diablo will be more corruptive, Damon looks around before finding the discarded piece of paper and holds it up in front of the Fed as he demands, "What is this? What does this letter say?"
Shaking with terror, the Fed reaches forward and carefully takes the piece of paper. Eve releases a light snarl, causing the Diablo to retract his hand quickly and looks the paper over.
Damon waits for a second before asking, "What does it say?"
The soldier gulps a couple times, casts nervous glances at Eve, before finally saying, "Ready to send full shipment by the end of the month, passage is clear, Submarino ready for launch, soldiers are equipped-"
"Whoa, whoa, wait, stop," the Ghost's voice causes the man to freeze and looks fearfully up at Damon and Eve, waiting for the next command.
"What did you just say?" asks Damon.
The soldier gulps as he looks down and rereads, "soldiers are equipped for-"
"No," Damon says in a loud voice, "before that."
The soldier looks down once more and says, "Submarino ready for launch."
The Ghost thinks this through, his mind going a million miles an hour. Submarino…Submarine?
"Where is this…'submarino'?" the Ghost asks.
The soldier is quiet before saying, "I don't know."
Damon sighs and asks, "Eve?"
The golden wolf suddenly gets down in a pounce position when the Diablo screams and backs himself up against the wall screaming, "No! No! I swear! I don't know where it is!"
"Bull," the Ghost says and gestures Eve forward. Quick as lightning she takes off and buries her teeth in the flesh of the man…in a place where no man should be hit.
The soldier finally howls, "In the lake! In the lake that the base is built next to! Please! Please call this animal off!"
Damon waits for a minute before saying, "Eve I think that's enough, he's already crying."
Reluctantly she releases the soldier and growls, "hurt my family again and you'll receive worse than that."
The Diablo mutely nods before curling into a ball and releases pained moans.
Damon ignores the scene as he thinks of what he has just learned. This explains everything; the Federation is sneaking into Canada via submarine. But how? The Diablo claims it's in the lake…is it possible that there is an underwater cavern that leads directly to the ocean?
Damon is too excited to think, believing he finally has something solid, but for good measure, he kicks the Dialo and demands, "When I first arrived here there were large pieces of machinery, what were they and what did you do with them?"
The Fed breathes heavily before responding, "They were…they were used to…make the corridor better accessible by drilling it clean."
"Corridor," mutters Damon as he thinks before saying, "you mean beneath the lake?"
The Diablo nods his head, still trying to remain wrapped up in his futile ball of protection as he says, "The submarino isn't there, it's in South America, but it will come back before bringing in the full invasion force to make sure this area is pacified before beginning the initial takeover."
"Takeover of what?" the Ghost demands, "Canada?"
The Diablo nods again, "The Canadians forces are ready to fight if they have to, but they will fall, they aren't expecting us to come in from the middle of the mainland."
The Ghost takes a deep breath as he process this. Canada will fall, then America will be flank and it will be the end of both countries unless the Feds are stopped here and now.
Finally he asks the question that has been on his mind for months now, "One last thing, who is the spy in this pack and who is Archangel?"
The Diablo quivers for a bit before looking up and asks, "Who?"
"Eve," Damon says when the Diablo starts screaming, "I don't know! I swear I don't know who you are talking about!"
Damon considers this before asking, "Are you sure?"
The Fed is silent before saying, "I know colonel Estrada talks to a mysterious source every so often, I don't know who though, no one does, that's all I know, I swear."
The Ghost breaths heavily before nodding his acceptance and turns to exit the cave, Eve right behind him, both leave the shivering body of the soldier on the cold ground of the cave.
"What's a…Submeanie?"
Damon rolls his eyes at Humphrey before replying, "Sub-marine, Humphrey, come on, I said it a dozen times already."
"Well I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who is still confused by this," comments Humphrey.
The Ghost has to admit that the Omega has a fair point. None of the assembled wolves seems to be able to comprehend what it is that Damon has been saying. The thirty odd numbers of wolves stare back at him with confusion, weariness and fear. Most of them are Omegas while the Alphas are off their patrols. Damon wishes the whole wolf pack is here so he wouldn't have to explain more than once, but beggars can't be choosers.
One of the Alphas present, Tony, asks, "What I want to know is, how does this submarine works and how do we get rid of it?"
The Ghost thinks for a moment before answering, "A submarine is a vehicle that is made to travel underwater; it can transport supplies, people, and is also known to have an assortment of weapons."
"That's what I don't understand," voices Hutch, "why is there a submarine in the lake? There's no place for it to go, right?"
"That's what I thought," admits Damon, "but the soldier we captured claims there's an underwater route that leads from the lake and goes all the way to the ocean, I'm guessing that's how they all got in without us noticing in the first place."
The wolves' eyes widen a bit at this and Damon doesn't blame them, he has never heard of a underwater tunnel that go under land for miles, it must be pretty deep for people not to notice.
"Well, can you destroy it?" asks Lilly.
Damon gives a shrug, "If I have explosives on me, yeah I can, which I do."
While he was asleep, the wolves returned to the recent battlefield and retrieved the vests and combat gear that belonged to the fallen Feds. Among the new material are body armor, pistols, AK rifles, grenades, and now to his delight, packages of C4 explosives complete with detonators. All he needs is his target to be in view before moving in and planting it; without the Feds noticing him of course.
"Right, so does that mean you have a plan?" asks an overeager Cando.
Damon does have a plan, but he bites his lips as he considers the wolves before him. Somewhere among them is a spy, someone who is informing the Feds of all their activities. Before he lays out his grand plan, he needs to find this person.
"Not at the moment, that's all I believe" Damon finally says, much to the confusion of the wolves as they look among themselves. Usually the Ghost would tell them an elaborate idea at the end of such meetings, but they nod towards Damon and slowly starts to disperse, leaving only Tony, Humphrey, Garth, Kate and Lilly.
"Alright, what's really the plan," demands Tony as he looks back at the Ghost.
Damon sighs, unsure how the wolves are going to take it, but he decides to just spill and says bluntly, "I'm planning that we do an all-out attack, we take out the base, the sub if it's there, and destroy the threat all together."
The wolves stare at Damon with wide eyes, and ,in Humphrey's case, with a jaw hanging loosely.
Finally Tony responds in a low voice, "Are you out of your mind?"
Damon responds by holding up the piece of paper, "According to this we have no other choice; by this time next week they'll be more Federation soldiers, an entire invading army." He looks around at the circle of wolves as he says, "We're not the only ones at stake; so are other wolves of other packs and the people of the United States and Canada, if we don't do something, thousands of people will be killed by the end of the month."
The wolves look around at one another as the full reality of the situation hits them. For all they know, the lives of millions could be resting on their shoulders.
Tony sighs, "If that's the case, shouldn't we be telling the pack, not unless you're planning on attacking with only us five in tow."
Damon rubs the back of his head before saying, "That's the problem, we still have a spy, and I am sure you can see how much trouble he is putting us through."
"Well you said earlier it could be Oliver," voices Kate, "he's an Alpha so he knows the location of the Alpha school."
"Yeah, but someone told the Feds about my nighttime raid," counters Damon, "he was chased out of the pack before I told you guys, so it has to be someone else telling the soldiers."
"Like who?" asks Tony, "It can't be one of us, aside from Humphrey and Lilly, we are charged with the protection of the pack so it couldn't-"
"Now wait a minute," the Ghost says before stopping himself, "Humphrey and Lilly are Omegas but that doesn't mean they can't help, Lilly took on a bear for crying out loud-"
"They are not meant to fight-" Tony starts to say before Garth cuts, "but they have been giving training dad."
"Well I'm not sure if we are good fighters-" begins Humphrey before Kate cuts in, "Yes Humphrey you are-"
Soon the small group is entangled in an argument. Damon, Tony and Garth are debating whether the Omegas can fight or not while Humphrey, Kate and Lilly discuss whether they are truly able to fight or not. A full minute of debate goes by with no end in sight when a new voice suddenly says, "Shut it!"
Instantly the group fall silent and turns to see who is speaking. Viola is standing before them, and they all notice she appears to be shaking and has a nervous twitch in her eyes as if she is unsure what she is doing.
Speaking in an unexpectedly soft voice, Tony asks, "Viola? What's wrong?"
Her shivering increases as she gives Damon a sideways glance. Damon is shocked to see her eyes are filled with fear before looking away again.
Kate moves forward and rubs Viola's side as she says, "Viola, its ok, what is it?"
Finally the brown she-wolf takes a shaky breath, looks down at the ground and says in a near whisper tone, "I'm the spy."
A moment of absolute silence enthralls the group as they stare at her unsure if they have heard her correctly. Viola is the spy? The Alpha, the head Beta, the one that seems the most willing when it comes to killing Feds? How is this possible?
She nervously looks up at Damon, terror lace in her eyes. It is then that he realizes that she is expecting him to attack her, or maybe even kill her.
Before he could say anything however, everyone jumps when they hear a growl and turns to Tony as he snarls, "You? I'm not sure whether I should kill you or banish you from the pack, maybe both so you may suffer."
Viola steps away from Tony, but before he could attack, Damon suddenly stands up and steps between them, and gives the pack leader a hard stare before saying, "Tony, stop."
The Alpha gapes at him before snarling, "She's the one who has sabotaged your attack and betrayed us to the soldiers, she should feel the full wraith of the pack for what she has done."
"No! No! Please, I'm sorry," begs Viola, "I didn't think something like this would happen."
Before Tony could start throwing threat around again, Damon looks back to Viola and asks softly with a hint of sadness within, "Why? Viola why are you working with the Feds? I know we aren't close enough to be considered good friends, but I never thought you hated me that much."
The she-wolf looks down, probably in shame as she says, "I'm so sorry Damon, but I thought…the soldiers said they just wanted you, they said they wouldn't hurt the pack, but now I can see they don't seem to care with whatever agreements we have made."
Tony tries to advance on Viola, but both Humphrey and Garth jumps in front of him and tries to pull him back as Damon asks, "When did you make contact with the Federation?"
She looks down and says, "After I went into the forest…looking for Oliver."
"Why were you looking for…" the Ghost trails off as the answer hits him.
Seeing he knew what she was going to say, Viola nods her head painfully before continuing, "You are right Damon, after he left; he formed his own allegiance with the soldiers. He showed me to them, and they promised that they would leave only if I help in handing you over to them."
"You're Winston's head Beta," Damon mutters, "So I'm guessing he told you about my plans of infiltrating the camp."
She doesn't look up as she says, "yes."
The Ghost shakes his head, "Viola, I'm sorry this happen to you-"
"Don't be," she said, "It's all my fault, I was blinded by my own stupid daydreaming that I didn't realize how dangerous things were getting until the soldiers attacked us. I'm so stupid, I should be an Omega."
"Hey!" shouts an offended looking Humphrey.
"Not now," The Ghost says to the pride hurt Omega before looking back at Viola, "Why are you telling us this?" he asks, wary of her sudden change of heart.
He is surprised when she lets out a fierce growl, "Because I want to make Oliver and the Federation soldiers pay for lying to me and trying to kill my family," she finishes with fire in her eyes.
"This still doesn't excuse your act of treason," barks in Tony.
"Not entirely," Damon said, surprising the wolves, "Viola, I can't say I'm happy with you actions considering they almost got us all killed," she looks down at this, "but now is the time for absolution, I want you to tell me everything; their numbers, their strengths, what kind of vehicles they have and most importantly, what are they up to."
She nods her head, "I'll do what I must to gain revenge."
"Good," Damon says, ignoring the glowing look of Tony as he asks, "does Oliver know you are no longer with him on this?"
Viola shakes her head, "I haven't seen him since…since you tried to attack their camp."
"Excellent," Damon says, shocking the wolves that are present, "because here's what I need you to do…"
Viola stands alone in the middle of the forest, moving every so often to keep her blood flow going as she looks out for any approaching figures.
Damon watches from the shadows of a tree to her left, about twenty feet away, Lynx rifle in hand with his mask on. Lying next to him are Humphrey, Garth, Tony and Kate, all waiting to see what is going to happen.
Every so often Viola will looks towards their position before looking away, her nerves still on edge. She admits she is always nervous whenever she meets Oliver, but now she is terrified, one false move and they could all be killed on the spot.
Humphrey opens his mouth to allow a yawn out, but Damon quickly clamps his muzzles shut. The Omega's eyes widen, his cheeks expand as the yawn backfires and he seems about ready to explode when Damon removes his hand away from the wolf's mouth, allowing him to exhale.
"Geez, don't do that," Humphrey silently whispers, "There's no telling how my body will react to surprises like that."
"Well stay silent so I won't have to," Damon says as a comeback as he continue to observe Viola through his scope.
Humphrey rubs the side of his mouth before saying, "I still don't get it, why did Viola go after Oliver? He was exposed as a bad wolf right before he was banished."
Damon turns and gives him a dubious look, "seriously? You have no idea why she did that?"
"Well…yeah," the grey wolf admits, unaware that everyone else are rolling their eyes at him.
The Ghost shakes his head and says, "She did it for the same reason you didn't get on that train and leave Jasper Park."
Humphrey gives him a strange look, "but I came back because I loved Kate, what does this have to do with…" the wolf's confusion clears up as his eyes widen and he says, "oh."
"Yeah, oh" Damon says before looking back through his scope.
Kate looks up at the brightening sky before leaning over and says, "It's almost dawn, she said he doesn't come when it lights out."
"Well he better," mutters back the Ghost, "After what that soldier told me, we don't have long before-"
"Shh," hisses Garth, "somebody's coming."
The group becomes tense and so does Viola as they watch a four legged creature step forth from the shadows. They aren't far away, but Damon puts the scope of the rifle to his eye and peers through again. Sure enough, strutting out of the trees is none other than Oliver himself.
Damon eyes the black wolf; he doesn't look like he has changed much. Then he notices the wild tousled fur, the scars on his snout and the dangerous gleam in his eyes; the Alpha has changed greatly. Viola told them that Oliver was introduced to the Federation's small K-9 unit and he claims to have beaten all their German Shepherds into submission and raised himself as their leader. With Oliver now in command of his own domestic pack, Damon is sure he is now an experienced fighter.
Oliver approaches Viola with a huge grin as he says, "Viola my darling, it's so wonderful to see you unharmed."
He leans in as if to kiss her but she backs away, a look of disgust on her face as she says, "you didn't tell me the soldiers would be attacking the pack."
He gives her a wicked smile as he says, "sorry, but what can I say? If you don't give them results, then they become…aggressive."
"Results!?" demands Viola, "I gave them the information they wanted, if it's anyone's fault that the human Damon isn't killed, it's theirs-"
"I beg your pardon," a new voice interrupts.
Damon and the rest of the wolves stiffen at the words as another figure emerges from the shadows; this one however is walking on two legs. Damon feels his blood boil at the sight of Estrada. He is wearing a snow forest camouflage suit with a rifle slung on his back, pistol in his holster and his black cap still perch on top of him.
Damon wants nothing more than to fire a round, now with the man's head in his crosshairs but restrains himself. Estrada is no fool, he wouldn't reveal himself unless he is being covered, no doubt there's a fire team hiding in the bush behind him or there's a sniper somewhere out there watching him. The Ghost keeps his finger on the trigger, but for now, he keeps himself from firing.
Estrada approaches the two wolves, causing Viola to back up a bit when his gaze turns towards her.
"Are you actually implying that this Ghost, this American, is better than all of us put to together?" he demands of the she-wolf.
Viola backs herself away some more before stuttering, "N-n-no, I didn't say that at all."
Damon wants nothing more than to shoot the man dead, right then and there, no longer caring if he gets killed in the process. But he remembers the wolves that are at his side, if he exposes them, then they will all be killed.
Finally regaining some composure, viola turns to Oliver and asks, "What's he doing here?"
Oliver looks embarrassed as he says, "Well you see, he's getting impatient to leave this place-"
"Very," Estrada says as he crosses his arms.
"So, we need to know what it is that the Ghost is planning to do next," finishes Oliver.
Viola tries to stand tall and turns to Estrada, "only if you promise not to harm anyone else in the pack-"
She is cut off when Estrada moves forward with lighting fast speed and slams a boot on Viola's foot, causing her to howl in pain. Damon instantly becomes alert and almost fires, but reminds himself of the dangers and keeps his trigger figure in check. The wolves all raise their hackles and releases muted growls, only Tony remains silent as he watches the pack's betrayer suffer.
"I'll promise to let you keep your foot, if you tell me what the American plans to do next," Estrada growls. Damon looks at Oliver, but the black wolf remains motionless, he just looks away and occupies himself by sharpening his claws. Now Damon wants to shoot Estrada and Oliver.
Viola releases a small whine before saying, "The Ghost, Damon, is planning to leave the forest."
"Really?" asks Estrada in a doubtful voice, "it's not often that a Ghost surrenders so easily."
"He's hurt, alone and was just outcaste from the pack," she says quickly, "he's staying with them for one last night before he and the pack heads back to the dens, once they reach that point, he'll leave."
"And where is this American now?" Estrada asks with suspicion heavy in his voice.
"I don't know," Estrada presses down harder, causing her to whine before saying, "we split into different groups, the pack leader knows there's a Alpha traitor among them, so he's having the Omegas running messages between the separate groups, I don't where he is, I swear."
Viola is repeating everything Damon told her to say, but now he feels guilt gnawing at him as he watches her writher in pain.
Estrada considers the she-wolf for a moment until finally he lifts his foot and steps away, leaving Viola panting on the ground.
"Good," Estrada simply says before turning and marches back into the shadows of the forest.
Oliver approaches Viola as she nurses her wound and says, "Once the Ghost is gone, and the pack bows before these humans, we can form our own pack and rule this place, wont that be great?"
"Oh yes, super," she says bitterly, "me and my future mate who won't even defend me."
Oliver frowns before saying, "I'll right everything once I'm in charge, when I'm in charge, then everything will be perfect." He leans in to kiss Viola again, but she steps away. He merely sighs before turning and follows the same route Estrada took.
Kate makes ready to walk forward but Damon grabs her shoulder and holds her back. She gives him a look but he just shakes his head. There could be Feds still watching, he didn't want them to think there's anything amiss about the recent meeting.
Slowly Viola picks herself up and limps towards the group. Once she is concealed in the trees, they move forward to greet her. Humphrey and Garth are by her side and helps support her as she hobbles on her flatten foot. Both Damon and Kate look on with sympathy while Tony remains silent.
Viola looks up at Damon and asks, "How did I do?"
"Perfect" the Ghost says, "I'm just sorry you were hurt."
"Don't be," she says with a growl, "just give me a shot at Oliver and we'll call it even."
Damon smirks under his mask, "Agreed."
Finally Tony speaks as he asks, "now what?"
Damon looks back at the Alpha leader, "Now? Now we get the pack together. Tomorrow, one way or another, it's going to be all over."