Wolf Killer (The Hammer Commission)

by John Van Stry

"You're still not having a vacation," Helena pointed out.

  "True, but this is a lot closer to home, plus you don't need a passport to come visit," Mark smiled. "Once things get settled down here, and I know exactly what they want me to do, I'll see about time off, so I can come home and spend some quality time with all of you."

  Helena looked at him a little surprised, "You've been here a week, and you have no idea why they wanted you here?"

  Mark chuckled and shook his head, "When they first started asking to borrow someone, I'm sure they had a reason, but that was several years ago. Now that they finally got someone?" Mark shook his head, "The original matter has been resolved I suspect. Now I think they're just looking for some pointers."

  "Maybe you should see if you could work from home, then," Helena said smiling.

  "It would have its advantages," Mark smiled back and leaned over to kiss her.

  "Oh, one other thing," he began.

  "What?"

  "Once I get settled in, I want to take all of you to New York to meet my mother."

  Helena looked at him a little surprised, "All of us?"

  "Well, as many as I can get to show up," Mark said with a shrug, "Of course for you and your sisters, that will be a mandatory attendance."

  "Oh, really?" Helena giggled, while raising an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

  "Because the woman I was working with, the one I took by Hope's after I got skunked? She's threatening to call my mother and tell her all about you and the kids if I don't show up and tell her myself. She said my not telling my mom about my family was a crime against mothers everywhere."

  Helena laughed at that. "Well, as a mother myself, I must say I think I side with her. Think your mother's heart is strong enough?"

  Mark shrugged, "Judith thinks she'll just chalk it up to the over achiever in me."

  "How long did you work with that woman?" Helena asked, looking rather surprised.

  "A month, why?"

  "Because she sure has you figured out! If you hadn't told me you weren't sleeping around on us, I'd be feeling jealous."

  "Well, we can't have that, now, can we?" Mark said and slid over a bit closer to his wife, as he put an arm around her.

  "It's going to be nice having you around again," Helena sighed and leaned into him.

  Mark nodded and gave her a hug. The last few years had been rough. Maybe he should ask to be kept on assignment here in the states, once his 'suspension' was over. Traveling Europe and Asia without Jake around anymore wouldn't be much fun anyway.

  4 : Blacksburg, Va.

  "That's it Karen, look at the camera, focus on the camera, make love to it, that's it baby, the camera is your friend, your lover, the man of your dreams, he's watching you, and he likes what he sees!

  "Now, tease him, that's it, baby! Tease him, tempt him, beckon to him!" Craig said moving around the studio and getting shots as his newest model posed topless on the couch, wearing only panties, stockings and a garter belt, pressing her chest into the fabric so as to not expose too much of her breasts.

  Craig smiled at her, and tossed her a large pillow. She wasn't half as shy now as she was last week.

  "Okay, Babe, use this and keep it going! You need to tease the camera, keep those sultry looks coming! Think of the man you want the most, imagine that he's here, watching you, wanting you! That's it! You're flirting with that man, you want him, and you're driving him wild! Great! Keep thinking of him, wanting him, desiring him! You want him to make sweet love to you. Perfect!"

  Craig nodded and continued the encouragements as she started to hold and caress the pillow. The shots he was getting were fairly good, she had the look, and when she pouted for the camera she looked rather angelic.

  Next time he'd work her up to baring her breasts for the camera, he was sure she'd go for it by then, and with her looks, he'd be able to peddle those shots to a couple of agencies for online adverts and such. A day or two after that and he'd be able to start in on the real money shots, the stuff that paid the big dollars.

  "Okay, I think that's enough for today," He said and set camera down. Picking up a robe he came over and wrapped it around her and smiled, pulling her close and giving her a kiss as she smiled back and leaned into him.

  "Do you really think I'm that good?" Karen asked, surprised.

  Craig nodded and gave her another kiss, "Yes, I do, Babe. I get a lot of women coming through here, and you are definitely one of the better ones. Once we get a full portfolio worked up, I don't think I'll have any problems selling your shots. They're always looking for fresh new faces, and I've sent quite a few girls to the advertising houses in New York and Los Angeles," Craig said and used a little of his glamour on her. He'd never sent any of his girls anywhere; well, at least not anyplace they wanted to go!

  He smiled and gave her another hug, "In a couple of weeks, I'll be selling your shots for enough to cover your tuition," He promised, not that she'd see any of it of course. "Now, why don't you come upstairs and get cleaned up, before you head back to your dorm?"

  "I, err, I don't..." Karen hesitated. Craig was handsome, and he'd been so nice to her, they'd gone out to dinner twice so far and he'd been a perfect gentleman each time, but a shower sounded a little risky. She had a guy back home, and she wasn't sure she wanted to dump him.

  "It'll be fine," Craig said and smiled, leading her to the stairway. "Besides, the only other shower is in the basement, and it's all smelly and damp down there, you don't want to go there, right?"

  Karen nodded slowly and let him steer her out of the studio and towards the staircase. She saw Colleen; she was one of the girls who worked here, standing behind the counter in the showroom. She was rather beautiful, but looked kind of sad all the time. Craig had told her that Colleen had failed out of Tech last semester, and was working for him now as she tried to decide what to do with her life.

  But what stuck in Karen's mind the most was Colleen always looked at Craig with a hopeful kind of longing, yet Craig always ignored Colleen in favor of her. He could easily have Colleen, and yet he wanted her! That gave her a warm feeling inside, to be wanted like that.

  When they got to the top of the stairs, Craig steered Karen into his bedroom, and removed the robe from her shoulders.

  "I, I don't know if I'm ready for this, Craig," Karen said to him as he pulled her close. But honestly, after posing for him for the last two hours, in less and less clothing, and in more and more provocative poses, she really was more than ready, and he was so big and strong.

  "I'll be gentle," he whispered in her ear, smirking to himself. She was panting like a bitch in heat, and soon enough, she'd be one of his.

  It was almost closing time, when Craig finally escorted Karen down the stairs and out the front door of his shop.

  "Tuesday, don't forget, Tuesday," he said with a smile and gave her a parting kiss.

  Karen smiled back and lingered as he kissed her, it had been wonderful! He was a strong and passionate man, and much more experienced than she, or her boyfriend back home. She honestly couldn't wait to see him again.

  "Bye," Karen said and gave a little wave, heading to the bus stop to catch the next one back to the campus.

  "Bye, Karen," Craig said sweetly, then closed and locked the door. So sweet, so clueless.

  He turned to Colleen and scowled, "Go get changed, we're doing a shoot tonight."

  "Yes, Master," Colleen said looking down at the ground and ducking her head in submission. The thoughts of what he'd done to those two new girls were still fresh in her mind.

  "And get Dianne, it's time for her to star in a new series of her own," Craig laughed.

  "Yes, Master," Colleen said and fled the room, going down the stairs to the cellar. She felt sorry for Dianne, the stars of the master's evening photo and video sessions got whipped and beaten, and then tortured! She'd seen one of the older girls, Claudia was her name, beaten until she could no longer scream, only whimper, for their master's pleasure and his photography.


  Because he'd made them all his bitches, as he continually reminded them, the damage healed quickly and rarely left a mark that any could see. So they had no right or reason to complain, he told them. It was only temporary after all, and they had to earn their keep somehow, didn't they?

  However Colleen knew that it still hurt tremendously. She wished she could leave him, run away, but where could she go? She found it hard to go against him now, and he was right, they were no longer human, and if he didn't take care of them, they'd die. He'd told her more than once what people did to werewolves when they found them, and she could feel it in her bones that he was telling her the truth. That he had seen it. That he knew.

  Craig went into the other studio, the one he used for making his movies, and uncovered the special table that he'd had made and started attaching the chains to each of the corners. Tonight would be a special treat, Dianne's first time on the table. None of them ever thought he'd chain them to the table, not until he did. The fear, the panic, the begging, he loved it, it was better than sex, and it all looked so great on the camera. It was why his films sold so well, and for so much, the people who bought them knew these weren't staged, that the women actually suffered, and that they knew what he was going to do to them, but they still submitted to him anyway.

  He thought about tonight's video. He'd tease Dianne first for a while, maybe even give her a few false hopes, before he brought them crashing down, and then he'd have Colleen whip her. Colleen had never whipped anyone before, so the look on her face as she was forced to do it would make for a wonderful scene as well.

  And if Colleen didn't whip her hard enough? Well, then he'd demonstrate the proper technique on Colleen! He always enjoyed that part as well; his bitches would do anything to avoid pain, just as they'd do anything to avoid making him mad.

  After Dianne's back had gotten good and bloody from the whipping, then he'd have Colleen flip her over and start on the other side. Though tonight, maybe not the whip, he pondered that for a few moments, perhaps he should put on a hood to hide his features and get involved, this was Dianne's first time after all, and how would she know he cared if he didn't take a hand in it himself?

  Craig looked over at the small electric braiser in the corner, he'd used it a few times, hot irons really did look good on film, and the sounds of the flesh sizzling was one that some aficionados really paid top dollar to hear.

  He nodded slowly to himself, sure it would take her longer to heal, but he could put Aurora though one last really hard scene while he waited for Dianne to heal. Aurora was pretty much all used up anyway, so he might as well get one last good show out of her. Yeah, he wouldn't be able to take her to the cavern and give her to the sage, but there were other benefits for using her up here instead. It would teach the girls a nice lesson, and Ursula would be her usual grateful self if she got to watch, and maybe even help.

  Besides, what good was having all of these bitches and feeding them if he didn't get a little pleasure out of them once in a while?

  Walking over to the braiser Craig turned it on and put a couple of irons in it while smiling happily. Life was good.

  Taking it was even better.

  5: Washington DC

  "What's got you so tired?" Agent Sikes asked as he picked Mark up on the way into work Monday morning.

  "My wife Helena showed up," Mark said and yawned.

  "Oh, so you had one of those nights!" Agent Sikes said with a smirk.

  Mark grinned, a little wearily, "Partly. Though we haven't had a lot of time to talk over the last year, work had me away from home for a lot of it. So we also just spent a lot of time catching up."

  "They make you guys travel a lot?" Agent Sikes asked surprised.

  Mark nodded, "They only had a handful of us to do the dirty work, so I racked up a lot of miles."

  "I'm surprised they let us have you then."

  Mark shrugged, "We took a lot of casualties this last year, I lost my partner, one team was killed, and another guy was forced into early retirement for medical issues. So they decided that as long as they had to recruit and train up a new bunch, that they'd increase the number of active agents. As I don't really have a partner right now, and it will be some time before they finish training any new ones, I guess they figured it was safe to loan me out."

  Agent Sikes had winced when Mark had mentioned their losses, "Damn, you lost four people last year? And your partner? Sorry to hear that, that must have hurt."

  Mark nodded, "Yeah, it was rough, but they're all in heaven now, so you can't feel too bad about it."

  Agent Sikes gave Mark a look.

  "What?" Mark asked.

  "You really believe that? That they're in heaven?"

  Mark nodded, "One of the benefits of the job, you stay loyal, and you go to heaven. Oh, they may throw you in purgatory for a little while to punish you for your sins, but it's guaranteed. When you think of what some of those devils can do to you, you need that kind of backing to stand up to them."

  Agent Sikes shook his head, "I don't know, Mark."

  Mark looked at Agent Sikes for a moment, "Do you believe in Heaven and Hell, Michael?"

  "Mark, let's not get into religion, okay?"

  Mark rolled his eyes and looked at the roof of the car, "Just answer the damn question, Michael, it's important, so answer it."

  "Why is it important?"

  "Why are you dodging the question?"

  "They told us not to talk to you about religion, said they didn't want any religion in the office."

  "What, they're afraid I'm going to start preaching in the office or something?"

  "Something like that, yeah," Agent Sikes nodded.

  "Well thanks for letting me know, now, do you believe in God, any religion, heaven, hell, any of it?"

  "I thought we just had this conversation?" Agent Sikes said glancing at Mark.

  "And we're still having it. You're also learning an important work lesson."

  "Oh? What lesson is that?"

  "That when you're in an enclosed space with a monster, you should answer his questions, because pissing off a monster is definitely a good way to ruin your whole day."

  Agent Sikes glanced at Mark, "You wouldn't!"

  "Kill you? No, of course not. Teach you a lesson? Most definitely. Now answer the damn question, and answer it honestly or you are going to be one very embarrassed FBI agent when we get to the office."

  "No, no I don't believe in any of that stuff, I did when I was a kid and all, but these days? Heaven? Hell? I don't know man!" Agent Sikes said shaking his head.

  Mark smiled, "See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

  "What kind of a monster are you, anyway?" Agent Sikes grumbled.

  "The kind with diplomatic immunity and a desire to see you live to collect retirement."

  "So, why all the questions on religion?"

  "Because you were skeptical when I mentioned heaven."

  "Why should that matter?" Sikes said turning into the FBI parking lot, flashing his badge and nodding to the attendant as they drove through the gate.

  "You know that I've dispatched devils, and you don't believe in heaven or hell?" Mark shook his head, "That's a logical fallacy, right there."

  "Devils are just a different type of monster, that's all."

  "No, no they're not. You can't kill a devil, you can destroy its earthly form, but that just sends it back home. Same for angels actually. Never tackle a devil, especially if you don't have any faith, you just won't be able to."

  "Have you ever seen an angel?" Agent Sikes asked looking at him.

  Mark nodded, "Once. They're not supposed to show themselves, but one did me a favor once when I asked."

  "What about God, ever seen him?" Sikes asked a little snarkily.

  "You only get to see God when you're judged," Mark said ignoring Michael's tone, "and well, if you go to heaven, you get to see him there too I suppose."

  Agent Sikes didn't say anything, but he didn't look very impressed as
he parked the car.

  "Look, Michael, it's up to you really, but I would advise you to pick a religion and follow it. In this business, there will be times when you will need something to cling to, and it will possibly save your life, and probably your sanity."

  "So, monsters go to heaven?"

  "Only the good ones, and only if they have souls. And believe it or not, all monsters have religion, so it's really important that at the very least you understand it, though it is always better if you have a little too."

  Mark got out of the car and led the way down the stairs and into the office today, his conversation with Sikes made him realize he needed to clear up a few things in the office.

  Mark waited until the morning briefing was almost finished, they locked the doors for that, and only the agents and Agent Wood's secretary, Marylyn, were allowed inside the room during the morning briefing as some of it was highly confidential or classified information.

  "So, any questions?" Agent Woods asked looking around the room.

  Mark stood up, "If I may, I'd like to address everyone, Agent Woods."

  "Of course, Agent Levin," Agent Woods said and Mark walked up to the front of the room.

  "Okay, I want to ask a few questions, and maybe clear the air on a few things, this is just between those of us in the room, but if you feel you need to talk to me in private afterwards, or file a complaint with Agent Woods, or even HR, I'm fine with all of that. Remember, I work for the Vatican and Interpol; I don't work for the FBI. So feel free to complain if you don't like what you hear, you can't hurt my career and I can't hurt yours.

  "That being said however, there are a lot of things out there that can kill you, and do even worse things to you. And before anybody asks, yes there are worse things than death and I have seen them with my own two eyes."

  Mark looked around the room, "So, forgetting all that bullshit that the HR people told you, how many people here have a religion, and believe in it? Show of hands, please."

  They all looked at Agent Woods, who raised his hand. "You heard the man, if you don't like it, you can file a complaint with HR and he won't care."