by Robin Roseau
I looked up. Elisabeth was looking at me, and we nodded to each other.
"We understand, Sister," Lara said. "Go on."
"I used the date on Saturday to scope out the situation as best I could without being obvious. I was expecting her to pump me for information, but she acted like someone on a first date. She wanted to know about me, and she seemed more fascinated with me than others I've gone out with, but if I hadn't known of her surveillance outside Lycaon, I wouldn't have been remotely suspicious of her."
I didn't interrupt this time.
"However, she did mention the full moon, which I found was interesting. And then she agreed to a date for the night of the full moon. At that point, absolutely no one would have thought she knew my true nature."
"I did know, more or less," I said quietly. "I decided to trust you when you said I was safe."
"Foolish," Michaela said. "If what everyone thinks they know about werewolves was true, you'd be dead."
I shrugged. "I'm not dead. Yet."
"On Tuesday, I took her to an isolated location. My goal was not to test or intimidate her, but simply to get her far from her apartment so she wouldn't catch my team."
"What?" I said. "You broke in?"
"We used your keys, which you left in my car," Elisabeth said.
"Oh. Will you tell me who it was?"
"A team run by me," Karen said. "You don't need to know the rest. We found photos of Elisabeth, confirming Ms. Young's interest was in her and not Lara as originally suspected. In the time we had, we were unable to bypass her computer security, but we placed monitoring devices on the network and bugged the crap out of the apartment."
"I told you my apartment was bugged."
That generated some feeble laughter.
I turned to Karen. "Did you find bugs by anyone else?"
"No, and we did a sweep."
"I guess I haven't been pissing them off enough lately."
"And you're going to stop pissing them off," Lara said. "Do I make myself clear?"
"You can't-"
"Yes," she said. "I can. If you walk away from this, you may continue to do what you are doing, but no more arrests. Nothing that's likely to draw attention to you and, in turn, us."
I thought about it and wasn't ready to concede the point.
"You can do more working with us, anyway," Michaela said. "And this is non-negotiable, Zoe."
"I'm sorry. Of course."
I thought it was a good sign they were talking about my living through the day.
"We still weren't sure of her interest," explained Elisabeth, "so we invited her away for the weekend, and then I made sure she kept her computer behind."
"And got me to tell you my password."
"That was a bonus," Elisabeth said. "Thank you for that. It made the rest so much easier. We found absolutely no evidence that she has attempted to tell anyone else, but we found a video I wish she didn't have. We've all seen it."
"All right. And what about today?"
"A few things," said Elisabeth. "She has vowed to maintain my secrets and by extension, pack secrets. She's been growing increasingly distraught all week until finally today she called me. We have video of her actions prior to that call."
"What?"
"What part of 'bugged the crap out of' wasn't clear?" Elisabeth asked.
Portia had a computer. While Elisabeth had been talking, she'd been using it. Finally she did something. Behind me, I heard my own voice. I turned around, and there was video of my apartment.
"Move aside," Michaela ordered, and I moved towards Elisabeth.
We watched for about ten minutes, which ended with me leaving the apartment to meet Elisabeth.
"We have a great deal more, but it's more of the same," said Portia after ending the video. "We have no evidence she has made any attempt to forward anything she knows to anyone else. She doesn't even mention her dates to anyone."
"During her drive here," Karen added, "she made no phone calls except to Elisabeth. She made no stops and drove straight here." Karen then gave a review of my state when she drove me to Elisabeth's.
Elisabeth relayed our conversation.
"That is what we know. I will have more to say before we reach a final decision."
"Of course, Elisabeth," said Lara. "Thank you." She turned to me. "Tell us everything about the videos. We've seen the content. Tell us what we don't know. Take your time and be thorough."
I moved back to the end of the table and explained everything I'd already said to Elisabeth. It took perhaps five minutes to relay everything.
Portia stood up and began setting cameras on the table. "These cameras?" Lara asked.
I stared at them. "The same model," I said. "That's the kind I use. But there are only five. I had seven." And Portia put one more on the table.
"Do you have another one in that bag?"
"No?"
"They look like mine," I said. "If you have a map, I'll show you where mine were."
"Portia, can you bring up a map?" Lara asked.
A moment later, there was a Google Maps view on the screen on the wall behind me. I turned to it. "Someone help me. Where is the eagle's nest?"
The map shifted, and then there was a mouse pointer. "This tree, I think," Portia said.
"Got it. You're in too far. Zoom out. Again. Okay." I looked closely. "These are the two nearest roads, right? One along the west, the other along the north."
"Correct."
I looked carefully then shook my head. "This doesn't look right. Are there two eagle nests?"
"What's wrong with it?" Elisabeth asked.
"There's a curve in the road along the north." I gestured. "It should be here. Maybe I am misremembering, but it was only a few weeks ago. I don't think this is where my cameras were. If this is where you got those cameras, they aren't mine."
I turned around. They were all studying me carefully. Then Michaela said, "Portia, shift the view to the middle of Madison and then let Zoe drive."
I didn't turn around, but a moment later, she slid her laptop down to me, and a moment after that, Angel was offering me a chair. I sat down and then spent a minute or so finding the right spot.
"I think this is it," I said. "Right here. You can't see the nest in the pictures."
"Keep going," said Elisabeth. "Where are your cameras?"
"Four along here," I said, gesturing with the mouse. "Can you see that?"
"Yes. Can you be more exact?"
"Um. Maybe. Here, facing north and a second one facing south. They're supposed to catch cars coming and going, and they are aimed at the road. Then there's one here facing towards the nest, and another one up here. Finally I have one here, watching south again. Then up on the other road, there are two more, in case people approach from that side. I think about here and here. They're not that hard to spot."
I looked up. "Is there a nest there, or am I lost?"
"You're not lost," Elisabeth said. "There's a nest there."
"Two nests?"
"No."
I turned to Portia. "You were testing me?"
She shrugged.
"Which cameras did you use to capture me?" Elisabeth asked.
"You were briefly on this one, just a flash," I said, indicating one of the first. "But it was these two that caught more of you."
"When we're done," said Lara to Portia, "Go find that last camera. If you can't find it, bring her to help."
"If you tell me which ones you found, I can give a better description."
"I got the ones along the west road. Explain the two along the north road."
"They're mounted in trees just like the others. Most of them are only about eight feet off the ground, as high as I like to go with a ladder. But this one..." I gestured with the mouse, "is higher. That tree is easily climbed, and the camera is in a vee between two branches. It's hard to see, but it's nearly directly across from one of your No Trespassing signs and." I closed my eyes, thinking about it. "There's a dead tr
ee just past it, still standing, but the trunk is bare of bark."
"That's the one I'm missing," she said. "I'll find it from that description."
I closed the computer and sent it back down to her.
After that, they grilled me for two hours, but it wasn't until the end when Michaela said, "Almost anyone, having that footage, would do two things. First, he would try to acquire more, some sort of definitive proof. Then he would tell people, perhaps selling the footage. Perhaps call law enforcement. Someone. Why didn't you do either of those?"
"You're kidding, right?" I asked. "You already know the answer, Michaela."
"Tell me."
"Because if anyone found out, they would try to destroy you."
"So? We're monsters."
I looked away. "I was worried you might be monsters. That's why I left a copy at the bank. You're not monsters. But that's how people would treat you."
I looked back. "No one has flat out said it, but I knew my life was on the line the moment I decided to call Elisabeth. I didn't know it's been on the line for two weeks. But even if you have to kill me, you're not monsters. You're just people trying to live your lives."
I turned to Lara. "Will you tell me when it's time to plead for my life?"
"A few more questions," she said. "How do you propose we retrieve the video from the bank?"
"I don't know. I'll agree to whatever you want. I don't know how you can send someone, unless the bank will let you do that with a letter or something. If not, then I assumed you would send someone with me. I presumed she would have a gun or something."
"Portia and I can handle this part," Karen said. She looked at me. "You could betray us, but you won't live long enough to enjoy it."
"I have no intention of betraying you."
"Unless Greg has a better plan," Lara said, "I'll leave that with you, Karen."
She nodded.
"Does anyone have any questions?"
No one said anything until Michaela leaned forward. "I have one more. When you saw that video, what was your response?"
"Oh god," I said. "I don't know exactly. I think I said, 'Oh my god!' followed by, 'Who is that?' and 'She's amazing'. Something like that."
Michaela smiled for a moment. "I should have wagered."
I didn't understand that, but I let it go.
Lara turned to me. "Now is when you plead."
I nodded. "Before I do, I asked Elisabeth for three favors, if you decide you have to kill me."
"What are they?"
"I want a chance to say goodbye to her, but after that, I don't want to see it coming, and if you can do it so it doesn't hurt, I'd appreciate it."
"Is that it?"
"That's one. I suppose it sounded like three. Two, I asked to see Elisabeth's wolf. And third, I asked if you'd answer my questions."
Lara nodded. "If we have to kill you, we'll grant your requests. I don't want it to come to that." She took a breath. "Did you have immediate questions?"
"So many." But I looked at Michaela. "What are you?"
Michaela looked at me for a while, then she asked, "Lara?"
"Your choice, honey."
Michaela nodded then she stood up. She loosened her clothing then began to jump onto the table. By the time she landed, she wasn't a woman.
She was a fox.
She slithered out of her clothes, then stretched, her mouth dangling open and her tongue lolling out. She turned sideways, giving me a good look.
"Oh my god," I said, and I felt the tears begin to crawl down my cheeks. "She's beautiful."
"She certainly is," Lara said. "And now that you've told her that, she'll be on your side. She's very vain."
Michaela turned around and snapped her teeth at Lara, but then leaned forward and licked her face.
"She's a werefox?"
"Yes," said Lara. "She is exceedingly rare."
I stared. "Could I... Michaela, would you let me touch you?"
Michaela turned towards me and, walking carefully, she approached, but then she stopped and looked over her head at Lara.
"She's very delicate," Lara said. "It is easy to hurt her. You need to be very, very gentle."
"I will."
Michaela turned back to me then walked the rest of the way, finally turning sideways and sitting down at the end of the conference table.
Slowly I reached up and ran my hand down her fur.
"It's rough," I said.
"The guard hairs," Lara said.
Elisabeth stood up and moved to my side. "Here." She dug her fingers in, and she massaged Michaela's back a little. "Gently."
I did the same, much like I had Portia earlier.
"Up and down her spine like that," Elisabeth said. "Not the tail though. She doesn't like anyone messing with her tail."
And so, slowly, I dug my fingers into Michaela's fur, very gently pinching my way all the way up to the base of her skull.
She closed her eyes and accepted the attention.
"Put your hand on the table," Elisabeth said. So I did, and then Michaela put her paw next to my hand. Her paw was much smaller than my hand.
The tears were still crawling down my face. "Thank you," I whispered. "You are so beautiful. I never knew there were people like you. I never knew."
Michaela turned her head to look at me, and then she stood, arched her back for a moment in another stretch, and shook her fur out. Then she walked down the table again before jumping down next to Lara. She shifted back into human. She began dressing, her back to me.
"In the movies," I said, "it's slow and hurts."
"That's a long story," said Lara. "Perhaps another day."
I nodded. I liked the idea there would be other days.
Angel got up, went to the fridge, and when she came back, she had a box of tissues and a bottle of water. She set them both in front of me, and I took a minute to clean up, then opened the water and drank heavily. "Thank you, Angel."
She nodded to me.
I turned back to Lara. "If you decide to kill me, maybe at least we can talk for a few hours." She inclined her head. "And I'd love to hear a howl." At that, she smiled.
I stood up straight. "I'm not going to plead. I won't tell. No one would believe me, anyway. I'm a crackpot environmentalist. What little respect I have with anyone would be gone if I ever told. But I wouldn't. How could I? It would be going against everything I believe in. They would try to lock you up, or worse. The hunters..." I looked away. "I don't want to think about that. I won't tell. Ever."
"This story could be worth a great deal of money," Lara said.
"Yes, I've demonstrated by my current lifestyle that money is my main motivation in life." That was said sarcastically. "I'm sorry for my tone."
"No, don't be," she said. "It was an honest reaction. You could use that money to further your goals as an environmentalist."
"Destroy what you have here so I can save a tree somewhere else? No. I won't tell. Ever."
She studied me. "What do you feel is the absolute best possible outcome from this?"
"Best?" She nodded. I turned to Elisabeth. "That your sister still wants me."
Elisabeth didn't say anything, and I couldn't read her body language. I turned back to Lara. "That we can be friends. If there's a way to apply to join the clan, that you would welcome me."
"We can't make you a werewolf."
"Elisabeth said Scarlett's father is human."
"He is, and a few others. This is what you wish?"
I nodded. "Yes. You asked for best. That's best, or at least the start of best."
"You didn't ask for money."
"If you want to support GreEN, you know I'll accept. I don't need you to support me."
I paused.
"I'm still vegan though."
There were chuckles about that.
"I won't expect anyone else to be, but I would always offer the things I make."
Lara shook her head. "I do not know that we can allow a vegan into the pack, b
ut we will take your words to heart. Do you have anything else to say?"
"I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. I wasn't trying to cause trouble."
I turned to Elisabeth. "Please don't hate me."
"I don't," she said.
"Then that's all I have to say."
"We have a cell," said Lara. "It holds an adult werewolf. It will hold you. Is anyone expecting you for anything in the next few days?"
"No. I need to use the bathroom, and if you're locking me up, may I have something to read?"
"Elisabeth, take care of it. We'll resume in fifteen minutes."
Cell
The cell was small, cold, and boring, but they gave me a chair and some mats on the floor. Elisabeth apologized but said, "When we throw someone in here, it's usually a disciplinary matter, and curling up on cold concrete is part of it. They are usually very angry, and anything we put in here tends to get destroyed."
"It's fine."
"What do you want to read?"
"Lesbian romance."
She laughed. "No promises."
"Anything. Michaela's textbooks, if nothing else."
She nodded. "I'll send someone with something. If you need anything else, knock on the door firmly. Someone will be on duty."
I nodded. She turned to go.
"Elisabeth?"
She turned back.
"Will you hold me?"
I didn't have to ask twice. She opened her arms, and I ran to her. She wrapped her arms around me, holding me tightly. I squeezed, molding my body against hers.
We stood like that for a minute or two.
"Thank you," I finally whispered. "If it goes badly, I understand."
"I think you can have hope," she said. She kissed the top of my head. "If there's anything else I should know, you need to tell me."
"Nothing else," I said.
Slowly, she pulled away. "I'm sorry. Also, we don't know how to cook for you, so the best we can do is bread and fruit. The bread isn't vegan. It's just normal bread from the store."
"Potatoes are good, too, if they can be produced vegan. Thank you." I looked up at her. "Could you... stand to kiss me?"
She put two fingers on my chin. I closed my eyes, and a moment later, our lips met.
It was a chaste kiss compared to most of ours, but it was a kiss nevertheless.
