Matters of Grave Importance - Chapter Three

[Maxx]

Department 7 Headquarters - The Cemetery - 9:52PM - Paul

Paul took a deep breath.  "I think he wants me to follow him," he said to Nicky.  He paused a moment before slipping into the growing darkness after the wolf-dog.  It took the hypersensitive noses of the shapeshifters to detect the slight change in his scent but the sudden change in his movements was clearly visible.  He had always been quick and surefooted.  Now he moved through the darkness like greased lightning.  Either Nicky or Samuel could match his speed but both knew it was well beyond the reach of most normal humans.

"Isn't that interesting,"  Nicky said, almost to himself.  "Okay, Tonto, let's go bag us a grave robber.  If they show up that is."

He followed Paul deeper into the cemetery, towards the older section. 

[Darkflame]

Department 7 Headquarters - The Cemetery - 9:53PM - Alice

The graveyard was pretty big. Alice supposed it had been around for a while.  All those humans.. living.. dying.. and ending up nothing more than dirt in the end.  The process of decomposition was fascinating, really.  Just part of the cycle of life and death.  But sometimes, it was more intersting when the cycle was disrupted.  Sometimes it wasn"t.

Alice fixed the poor sap she had caught digging up graves with a disturbing stare.  She was crouched on the freshly dug earth,wearing a black pinapore dress with a white collar, and was leaning a bit on the shovel in her tiny hand. He, however, was mostly buried in the earth, just his head and some of his shoulders above the soil.  He was babbling something at her that even she was having a bit of trouble understanding.  Her pale blue eyes shifted to the body of his cohort, a creature that seemed both canine and feline.  She had some idea what it was, and if she was right, it would be fascinating to perform an autopsy on it.  She really had wanted to keep it alive, but sometimes things don't work out that way.

She looked back at the man she had buried.  "Tic tock goes the clock. Come now.. you haven't got forever."  She said in her soft, somewhat breathy voice.  Then she stiffened, her eyes flitting from tombstone to tombstone, suddenly on alert.  Something wasn't right.  Something was off.  "You.. did you bring more friends?"  She asked, her agitation palpable.

[Maxx]

Department 7 Headquarters - The Cemetery - 9:54 PM - Talbot

"There,"  Talbot said, pointing.  "Crouching on that dirt pile.  Monroe, you circle around behind.  Eve, you're with me.  No heroics.  She's not dressed like a groundskeeper, so it's a safe bet she's our perp.  I'm suspecting a leech, so don't let her bite you.  We try to take her alive but if she fights, we fight to win."

He began moving forward, like the soldier he was.  He was going in to battle and Tabby could smell the fierce joy that that thought brought to him.  This was what he was made for, to fight and kill the enemies of Gaia.  He wasn't trying to hide.  There was no stealth to his approach.

"Contact," he said over the radio.  "one crouching near a grave.  We are engaging.  I do not anticipate needing assistance but stand by."

Then he raised his voice.  "You!  With the shovel!  What the hell do you think you're doing?"|

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 9:54 pm - Samuel

Interesting is a good word, he thought. He inhaled deeply trying to get a better scent picture of the change that had come over Skater Boy and filing it away for future reference as they headed out after after them.

The night was alive in a way humans would never truly understand, even in a cemetery. He enjoyed the sensations even as he focused on the task at hand.

He was so focused on the search that when Major Ass came over the radio it startled him. He looked at Dundee with a grin that looked feral in his current form. "Well, he may not need it but apparently all the action is on his end. Wanna start heading that way?"

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 9:54 pm - Nicky

"Curiosity killed the cat,"  Nicky replied in a basso profundo accent, the irony of applying the old adage to Samuel not lost on the Bonegnawer.  "Besides, we have our own task.  Just because he's got a hit, doesn't mean that's the only game in the cemetery tonight."

As if to illustrate his point, Paul's voice came over the radio.  "I can see somebody digging.  South side, about a hundred yards from the fence.  One man.  Doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry.  He has a flashing sitting on a gravestone so he can see where he's digging.  Light is on the north side, in case you want to come in from behind it."

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 9:55 pm - Samuel

"But satisfaction brought it back", Samuel chuckled back. He was about to admit they should probably do their jobs as assigned when he heard Paul come over the radio.

His cocked his head slightly to one said and said, "Two separate graves being dug up in the same cemetery at the same time on the same night? Now that, is a hell of a coincidence. I'm assuming you want to do the talking. I'll come in from behind the light and see if I can see anything else of interest. Unless you have something else in mind", he added belatedly. he wasn't used to working with this many people in general and certainly not used to the sort of formal structure and order that were called for here.
He understood the need, he just wasn't completely comfortable with it.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 9:55 pm - Nicky

"Sounds like a plan,"  Nicky said, his voice rising as he shrank down to his human form.  "Paul, you and Vesper hold tight.  Only move in if we need you."  The Bonegnawer moved off through the grave stones, his wandering path looking like the meanderings of a homeless man.

He took his time approaching the light, giving Samuel time to get into position.  Then he moved in, making no effort to hide his movements.  "Hey, Mate, I'll dig that hole for twenty bucks," he said, interrupting the man's excavation.  "You grave robbing?"

Startled, the man turned to Nicky, the shovel held waist high like a spear.  "Not grave robbing," he said as he relaxed, clearly not seeing Nicky as a threat.  "Just working.  Cemetery closes at dusk.  You really shouldn't be in here."

"Neither should you,"  Nicky replied.  "If you worked here, I'd know you.  I know all the staff out here.  So, tell me, what are you really up to, Mate?  I'm not going to squeal.  I just want to make a few bucks to buy a hot meal."

The man stuck the shovel in the ground and pulled a twenty out of his wallet.  "Here.  Now go away and leave me alone."

"Can't really do that, Mate," Nicky said, pulling out his wallet and showing his credentials, which didn't show up well in the dark.  "I've got orders to find out who's been digging up graves and why.  Now I know who but I need to find out why."

The man grabbed the shovel and with a two handed toss, lobbed it towards Nicky.  Then he bolted deeper into the cemetery.

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 9:56 pm - Samuel

Samuel gave a slight incline of his head and flashed a slight smile as he moved out, sliding through the darkness of the cemetery smoothly, silently making a rapid arc of the area behind the grave in question using the senses that Gaia had blessed him with trying to find a trace of anyone or anything else that might be near before moving into position behind the headstone that the light sat on.

He wasn't worried about being seen or heard by the man but he was naturally cautious just the same. He got into position as the man told Dundee that he wasn't grave robbing. If they weren't actually on the job he would have been laughing out loud as he listened to the exchange and watched the man's reaction. Humans could be so damned funny sometimes.

He waited a fraction of a second for the man to move outside the light where his eyes would have to adjust for a moment before he began pursuing him with inhuman speed and liquid grace. He also thought it was nice of him to give him that extra time to get moving. Granted it would almost certainly be irrelevant but at least it was more fun.

[Darkflame]

Department 7 Headquarters - The Cemetery - 9:54 PM - Alice

It wasn't so much that she was surprised.  Well, not really.  It was a bit hard to truly surprise someone like her.  No, she was a bit startled though.  She certainly wasn't expecting to be interrupted.  She thought the fool man had a friend out here, but this certainly didn't sound like a graverobber. It sounded like someone who worked here, or was some sort of authority.  It didn't bode well. Humans insinctively distrusted her.  It would be better to flee.  If she was lucky, they would think she was a frightened child that had been caught where they weren't supposed to be, and she could come back for the body of that creature.  If she wasn't lucky, then she might be forced to defend herself... and that could get ugly.

As she straightened to run, however, she did recieve quite a surprise as she felt a singular sensation- the resonance of her azoth, the very essence of her being reacting to the proximity of another like her.  It surprised her so badly she stumbled, her plan to flee momentarily forgotten.  Pale blue eyes searched for the source even as she landed hard on her bottom, still clutching the shovel.

[Sonovaditch]

The Cemetery - 9:56PM - Vesper Novak

Vesper gave a start before remembering Nicky's orders - don't move in unless instructed. He whined audibly, trotting slightly on the spot as his muscles begged to drive him into action. He recalled Paul's inhuman speed… Vesper had been bounding though the darkness, happy to stretch his legs and really run. He thought himself a good racer! Speedy and near-silent as he streaked through damp grass and dead soil on light paws. That was until Paul caught up with him.

The lupine Vesper had ran hard to keep up with the younger boy who smelled different in that moment than he had before... Adrenaline, mostly. And something else foreign to him. Regardless, surpassing him would have meant truly pushing himself. Hard. And that was on all fours. Now, if they had tried, this running suspect wouldn't have stood a chance of outrunning Paul, and though Vesper did not consider himself strong, if he caught up and changed to his Hispo form he could at least have kept the gravedigger at bay until Nicky and Samuel caught up.

But in a sudden burst of energy emerging from nowhere, Vesper saw the situation was taken care of the moment Samuel whipped past… Agile, nimble… Liquid elegance swept past them in a flurry of feline fury. Samuel was King of the Jungle remade in a man's image and Vesper, for all his unspoken feelings of engorged self-worth where speed and subterfuge were concerned, was wowed. He kept his throughly jaw-dropped doggy self in place, waiting with Paul obediently for further instructions, all the while watching and listening and smelling the pursuit in progress as avidly as his senses allowed. 

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 9:56PM - Paul

"Better make sure he doesn't escape."  Paul took his fingers off Vesper's fur (he'd been playing with the thick soft fur for almost a minute, as if lost in the sensation) and started through the trees, following the running man at a distance.  "He's need to jump the fence to get out," he said over the radio.  "It's ten feet high, easy.  Otherwise he'll need to cut north, because if he keeps going west, he's going to hit a fifty foot drop onto a set of train tracks."

[Sonovaditch]

The Cemetery - 9:56PM - Vesper Novak

Vesper's itching muscles burst into action the moment Paul's absent-minded touch left him. He was a follower, through and through - even though Nicky had asked them to wait for more orders, Paul's sudden reasoning was enough to sway the older male's insubstantial convictions. Now, Vesper matched his speed with Paul's, determining in advance that he would only work to surpass him should their pursuit (or Paul) require it of him. Or should anyone on his team so much as mention it, for that matter, if his recent actions were to prove an exemplary behavioural trend…

[Goosekat]

The Cemetery - - 9:52 - 9:54 p.m. - -  Tabby

Tabby found a small clump of bushes on the side of a mausoleum that she slipped into with ease.  When she came back out she was in full lupus form.  If anyone other than the bad guys saw here they would probably either give her a wide path or call animal control, after all she did look like a rather mangy Aussie Shepard-Mix that was most likely covered in fleas and ticks.  She shrugged her shoulders, or at least did her best in her current form, as that thought crossed her mind.  Falling into a lopping gait Tabby quickly caught up with Eve and Major Talbot.  She was just about to pull out front and scout ahead when the Major spotted something. 

Tabby looked to where the Major was pointing and noticed a small figure crouching on the mound of dirt.  She started to make her way around the person as directed, when it suddenly stood up and then stumbled and fell.  "A child?" she blurted out without thinking, completely forgetting she was in lupus form.

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 9:57 pm - Samuel

Samuel heard S.B. come over the radio (he'd started mentally abbreviating Skater Boys nickname since it was kind of awkward to use the whole thing) covering the possible escape routes and his first thought was, It's not like this guys going to make it 50 yards before I run him down, but the professional part of his brain was impressed that the kid kept his head about him and was thinking the situation through.

Over the radio he said, "He isn't going to make it fifty yards but be ready to cut him off from the northeast, just in case." He briefly considered shifting forms to gain more speed but he was already so much faster that it seemed silly to waste the energy and there was still the other team that might need backup.

[Tinker]

The Cemetery - 9:54-ishpm – Eve

Following was something that took no thought whatsoever. Listening, looking, watching, observing; those were all focused activities that Eve excelled at. She kept close to man that seemed to invoke almost as much negative energy as she did, taking his orders like a well trained pet, obeying as much as her clumsy form would allow.

The discovery of the little falling shape brandishing a shovel called to the thunder that lived in her chest. Great arcs of hot blue lightning flashed in her mismatched eyes and furious little golden sparks jumped from contact point to contact point across her chest. She softly stretched out one large hand in front of Talbot until it came to land weightlessly on his chest to prevent him from moving any further forward. her second had rose to point at the small figure and her shaggy head cocked to the side like a more curious version of one of her four legged team mates. The voice that had no right to come from her body lyrically sounded in the dark, "No, not a child. One like me."

[Darkflame]

The Cemetery - 9:55– Alice

It was suddenly painfully obvious that she was in much more trouble than she originally thought, especially when the crazy man she had mostly buried in the mound of dirt he had been disturbing started frantically calling out, some incoherant words mixed with a general type of 'help me' fear response.  It certainly didn't help that the air seemed almost charged with electricity as the other like her reacted to her presence, much as she had reacted herself.  She swore behind the loud cries of her captive that she heard a chuckle, a small breathe of laughter next to her ear, and her eyes narrowed for a spilt second.

She righted herself, carefully and slowly, her eyes scanning for the source of the voice that questioned her childlike appearance, realizing that she was rather close to being completely surrounded.

"Oh, do be quiet already." She groused at her captive, her breathy voice barely audible over his increasing volume.  Her face screwed up like a child's might when they were told they couldn't do something they wanted to.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 9:57 pm - The Running Man

Despite Paul's comment regarding the sheer drop he was facing, the grave robber continued his sprint towards the west edge of the cemetery.  He dodged gravestones with uncanny ease and even threw a look in Samuel's direction, even though the Bastet was moving with inhuman speed and stealth.

The fence along the western edge of the cemetery was not like the ten foot chain link fence along the southern side.  It mirrored the eastern fence, which was only four feet high but made of green painted wrought iron.  Whereas the eastern fence, bordering the sidewalk and road, was well maintained, the western fence was not.  There were many places where sections were broken or missing and it was for one of these that the running grave robber made a bee line.


The Cemetery - 9:57– Talbot

The werewolf looked down at the hand on his chest as if astonished to see it there.  "Okay, Sparky, I'll take the gloves off." 

He stepped around Eve's hand, swelling into his own version of Mr Hyde.  "Stay exactly where you are," he said, his voice loud and deep.  "If you attempt to run, I will catch you and I will probably bounce you off at least one or two of the larger pieces of granite in the area just to make you a little more co-operative."

His voice dropped to barely above a whisper as he keyed his radio on.  "Okay, Monroe, time to earn your keep.  Circle around behind her and make sure she doesn't get away.  Keep an eye open.  I just caught a scent that I can't identify and it's mixed with a lot of blood.  Monsters are most dangerous when they're wounded."

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 9:57 pm - Samuel

Samuel had a grin as he sprinted after Jack Rabbit. It took him a couple of seconds to realize something was wrong...his grin began to slip when he realized he wasn't overtaking his prey with anything like the speed he would normally expect. It took another couple of seconds, when the man looked back to track Samuels location, that he realized he had not only a real puzzle (what was this guy?) but also a real chase on his hands.

There is no way this guy is going to lose me and sure as hell not on his first time out with the team, he thought. "I don't think this guys human, gloves are off", he spoke over the radio, "he's headed for a gap in the fence."

As he spoke his voice began to both deepen and take on high pitched overtones as his physical body flowed growing into his full Crinos form. As the change completed, he took advantage of the increased stride and grace it granted him and letting out a brief snarl that was both irritation and eagerness, he poured everything he had into reaching Jack Rabbit.

[Darkflame]

The Cemetery - 9:58–  Alice

The girl's pale blue eyes widened as she witnessed the change in the werewolf, mesmerized.  Her mind instantly whirled with questions, so many that she couldn't seem to settle on one to ask.  A werewolf.  Here. It was more than she could ever hope for, and whats more he seemed to be working with another like her.  Could she dare hope to be able to ask the questions that were bouncing around her head?

Then his voice filtered through, and she blinked.  He was threatening her.  She had heard that they were often violent, but there was no need to threaten her.  She hadn't done anything wrong, at least not that she could figure.  Her captive was nearly screaming now, a high pitched cacophony of sound that annoyed her.  She scowled, agitation overtaking her curiosity.

"This is all your fault."  She hissed at the captive man, whether or not he was listening, which of course he wasn't.  Panic does that to the human mind after all.  "You simply had to come out and cause a ruckus, digging around where you don't belong, getting everyone riled up, and now I'm the one being threatened!"  She gestured wildly, shovel still firmly in hand.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 9:58 pm

Samuel's quarry took one last look over his shoulder, realized that the Bastet would overtake him before he could hit the fence and with astonishing dexterity spun to face the werecat.  At the same time, in a single smooth motion he drew a slender blade from under his coat.

"I'm armed with silver," he said, the blade rising into a high guard position, his accent holding a vague trace of Portuguese.  "Attack me at your peril.  I mean you no harm but I will defend myself.  This is no business of yours, Gato."


"Drop the shovel,"  Talbot said, moving forward.  He hadn't assumed his full Chrinos form, not yet.  It was a battle form and if it came to that, he'd go in claws and teeth flying.  However, the Department wanted prisoners.  He'd do everything in his power to bring them living prisoners but he would make no guarantee of the condition they would be in.

"Come quietly and we'll all get along just fine."  He stopped, taking in the scene.  "Care to tell me why there is a gibbering idiot buried up to his neck?  Is the dirt loose enough to pull him out or are you going to make me dig?"  He was stalling until he was certain that the Bone Gnawer bitch was in position to back him before he made his move.  If she did her job, she'd be a few seconds distraction if nothing else.

[Trellin]

The Cemetery - 9:58 pm - Samuel

Samuel blinked as he pulled up to a stop in front of the man, just outside of lunging distance.
He cocked his head at Jack Rabbit and thought to himself, definitely not human, at least, not anything resembling an average human. Prey just didn't act like that.

He hoped the microphone for his comm gear acted as it was advertised to and cocked his head to look at Jack. He debated shifting to a more human form for a moment and decided against it.
When he spoke it sounded as people might imagine, half squall and half deep rumble. "You're not human, at least not purely. Any normal human would be out of their mind with fear viewing me as I am now. Then you threaten me with silver. There's also the display of physical abilities beyond what a human could exhibit."

"You seem reasonable; let us talk", he said. He relaxed his stance and waited for a response from the strange man, trying to get a hint of what he might be based on his scent as he waited.

[Darkflame]

The Cemetery - 9:59 pm- Alice

She eyed Talbot warily.  "I would like to get along fine..."  she said, pausing to hiss at her captive to be quiet again before continuing.  "But you do not seem to be in the friendly way.. with your.. friend I assume.. sneaking around, so I think I would much rather keep the shovel, thank you."  She told him, inching towards the body of the creature she had killed.  "As for the idiot... he wanted to go digging about in the dirt, so I planted him in it.  You can try and pull him out if you really want."  Although her words were calm sounding, if a bit breathy, she still seemed highly agitated.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 9:58 pm - The Jack Rabbit

"You live long enough, you learn things," the man said.  "Magicians can perform feats that other see as magic when they are really just learned skills.  Fear can be controlled.  I'd say I was as human as you are but clearly you aren't.  I doubt your Australian friend is either.  Now, this can end one of two ways.  You can let me go or people get hurt and I walk away anyway."

The man smelled human but then so did Paul.  There was a distinct scent of fear coming off him but it wasn't strong enough to have been because he was facing a fully transformed werecat.  Even though his focus was on Samuel, he was not so focused that he was unaware of his surroundings.  He shifted his stance slightly to account for the arrival of Paul and Vesper.  Of Nicky there was still no sign.

[Maxx]

The Cemetery - 9:59 pm- Talbot

"You keep the shovel, things get ugly."  Talbot chuckled, a deep rumbling sound.  "Okay, they get uglier.  Put the shovel down and we can all discuss this like civilized people, especially if the gibbering idiot is the one who has been digging up the graves around here.  He's the one I'm here for, although I'd certainly like to have a word or three with you about what the hell went down here before I got here."

[Darkflame]

The Cemetery - 10 pm- Alice

"You can have him.  I was only interested in him because he was babbling about some very naughty things involving the reanimation of dead bits."  She said, her agitation level still high.  "I get to keep the Carbuncle though.  That's the deal.  You get him, I get it.  And... your friend shows themself and I'll put down the shovel.  That should be fair.  It's not like I stand much of a chance, what with three of you and only one of me."