O’Sullivan and Nathan looked at each other and moved their heads in tiny nods of agreement. Meg rolled her eyes at this display of law enforcement solidarity.
Skippy flopped down on his Wolf bed, clearly pleased to have performed his watch Wolf duties.
“I’m working alone at the consulate right now, so I was heading over to the Stag and Hare to pick up a sandwich. Would you like me to pick up one for you?”
“I don’t know what kind of food they have there.” But it was a safe bet that they wouldn’t be serving bison.
“It’s basic pub grub,” O’Sullivan said. “The food at Meat-n-Greens is better, if somewhat more creative, but the Stag and Hare gets its supplies from human sources. With the loss of the meat in the butcher shop, it didn’t seem fair to buy a sandwich here when I can go across the street.”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll get some money.”
“We can settle up after. Any kind of meat you don’t like?”
Nathan snorted. Meg ignored him. O’Sullivan smiled.
“I’m fine with any of the ordinary meats people eat,” Meg said.
“I’ll choose a couple of things and you can take your pick.”
“Thank you.” Meg scowled at Nathan. “Why don’t you and Skippy go out for your break now?”
O’Sullivan had pushed the door open. Now he stopped and looked at her. “Like I said, there is no one at the consulate right now. If your friends are going out, you should lock the door until I get back.”
“Arroo,” Nathan agreed as he stepped off the Wolf bed and stretched.
Skippy made no move to leave. He just watched Meg with bright-eyed eagerness.
She looked at O’Sullivan, then nodded when he held up three fingers to show he understood he would be buying a sandwich for Skippy. The ITF agent went out the front door, holding it for Nathan. The Wolf looked toward Main Street, then turned sharply and trotted up the access way. She watched O’Sullivan look toward the intersection of Main Street and Crowfield Avenue. She watched him gauge the traffic and dash across the street to the Stag and Hare instead of going up to the crosswalk.
“Roo?”
Meg blinked. Focused on Skippy.
She looked at her right arm. Her left hand hid the evenly spaced scars on her upper arm. Her hand clenched around the arm so hard the muscles hurt.
And the spot on her tongue began to prickle.
She turned the simple lock on the front door. She would get her keys and lock it properly when Agent O’Sullivan returned. Maybe she would ask him to escort her to Howling Good Reads or the Market Square.
Then again, maybe he was the reason she was starting to feel prophecy prickle and burn under her skin. Maybe something was going to happen to him.
She pressed her hand against the pocket of her jeans and felt the shape of the folding razor. Something was going to happen, was happening now. She had the uneasy feeling that even if she made a cut, it was already too late to give a warning.
? ? ?
“Simon! Vlad!” Merri Lee shouted. “Something is going on across the street.”
Dumping a handful of books back on the cart, Simon rushed to the front of HGR with Vlad right behind him. Merri Lee stood on the sidewalk, mobile phone pressed to one ear, shouting, “You kids! Clarence! Knock it off!”
Simon wasn’t sure what he was seeing. Four human pups were on the grass between the Denbys’ den and the apartment building. That Clarence seemed to be taunting the Frances while Lizzy and Sarah stood nearby, looking like young prey who didn’t know if they should run or huddle together to defend themselves against a predator. Was this a different kind of play the Others hadn’t seen before?
Sam and Robert were still on the porch, obeying Eve’s orders, but they were on their feet, watching that Clarence and the girls. Leetha moved toward the girls but seemed uncertain about whether to act.
“Leetha says this is typical play between that Clarence and the Frances,” Vlad said.
“That isn’t play,” Merri Lee snapped, rounding on Vlad. “That is wrong. Damn it, Eve, pick up.”
Not play. Wrong.
The light was green, so traffic moved in both directions on Crowfield Avenue, cars bunched together and going too fast for him to safely dash between them. It would be like leaping into a bison stampede, with much the same result for anything that wasn’t just as big. He’d wait until the light turned red and the cars stopped moving before going over and showing his teeth. Besides, there was no real urgency to cross the street since Leetha was already there and that Clarence wasn’t doing anything except yelling things that upset the female puppies.
Except something about this reminded him of the mock battle Montgomery and that Cyrus had last week.
<Nathan?> Simon called, feeling uneasy.
<Here.> Nathan stepped onto the sidewalk in front of the customer parking lot.
<Where is Meg?>
<In the office with Skippy. She locked the door until O’Sullivan returns with food.>
Still watching the ruckus across the street, Simon started moving toward the intersection. It was daylight, not the time Meg saw in the prophecy dream, but he still wanted to stand at the corner where he could see the entrance to the delivery area—and see anyone heading for the Liaison’s Office.
“Girls!” Leetha shouted. “Over here.”
Perhaps because she was more familiar with the Sanguinati who lived in her building, Lizzy was the first to obey, dragging Grr Bear by one arm. The Frances, dodging a swipe of the Clarence’s hand, raced after Lizzy. But Sarah had been standing closest to the sidewalk and was now farthest away from protection—and was the most innocent fawn among the three girls. In her effort to escape, she ran too close to the predator, and that Clarence grabbed her. He locked one arm around her, bending her at the waist, and pulled her shorts and underpants down, shouting, “Show ’em your bald pussy, bitch!”
In that moment, annoying behavior turned into a real threat.
Vlad turned to smoke and raced over the cars, startling some drivers into hitting the brakes.
Robert screamed, “Sarah!” and leaped off the porch to defend his sister, with Sam right there with him.
Changing direction, Simon grabbed Merri Lee to keep her from leaping between a car that had stopped and the one behind it that didn’t stop in time, adding the crunch of metal to the shouts and snarls of a fight—and the sound of horns honking and tires squealing on Main Street. Despite Merri Lee’s swearing at him and digging her short nails into his arms as he hauled her away from the curb, he noticed how Sam and Robert moved as a team to harass the somewhat larger predator. That Clarence flung Sarah to the ground and turned his attention to the other young males.
“Gonna stick you, Wolf,” that Clarence shouted, pulling a small knife from his pocket. “Gonna stick you good.”