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"Queen of the Human Pets"
"Queen of the Human Pets"
6/29/2018
I.
As the taxi pulled away, Jeremy Bane stepped into the middle of the sidewalk and gazed up at the twenty-three stories of the Compton Tower. In the afternoon sunlight, the white stone and chrome and mirrored glass was blinding. He wondered how pilots flew over downtown Los Angeles without being disoriented by buildings like these. Bane had adjusted to the sun and heat after a few hours here, and even in his usual outfit of black slacks, turtleneck and sports jacket he was comfortable. As people rushed past him, he turned his eyes up to the penthouse which jutted out slightly at the very top of the building. Was anyone up there staring down, perhaps spotting him and reporting his arrival to Queen Caliya? He thought it was possible.
Now in his early fifties, Bane did not look much different than he had when he first had entered the Midnight War so long ago. He was still the Dire Wolf, six feet tall, lean to the point of being gaunt. There was a little grey here and there in the full head of black hair, but the face was still tight and grim with no sign of sagging around the jaw. When he took off the sunglasses and stowed them in a jacket pocket, pale grey eyes were revealed that still regarded the world warily. He went into the Compton Towers lobby and found it surprisingly tasteful, all shades of brown and tan, with small kidney-shaped couches scattered about. In a recess to the left was the reception desk with two Asian women in neat blazers and skirts. Leaning against that desk with a newspaper he probably had read a dozen times, stood a huge muscular man with a thick neck and suspicious eyes. He watched Bane go by. So did a similar man in a chair in a corner by a fish tank, putting down the cell phone he was pretending to use.
At the rear were four elevators, with an unmarked door next to the last one. Bane studied the control buttons for a second, then pressed the top and bottom ones at the same time. The unmarked door slid open to reveal an elevator cage and he stepped inside. There were no controls in it. As the door closed, Bane felt the cage rising and a pink light in the ceiling brightened. His information had been good so far.
There was a ding! and the door slid open. Two men were waiting there, both wearing dark suits and ties. Neither had the usual bodybuilder look but Bane immediately felt that they were a much greater threat than the obvious goons in the lobby. These men were about his size and build, with short tawny hair and bright green eyes. They stood just out of arm's reach, one slightly back behind the other and watched him step out.
"Here we go again," Bane said casually. They were in a narrow corridor, all off-white with curtained windows from floor to ceiling along one side. The air was almost chilly. The nearer of the two men gestured with one hand to follow, and the Dire Wolf complied. The other man followed behind them, just far enough back to be out of reach. Not bad, Bane thought, these guys have worked out a system. They went through a door into a tiny foyer with a coffee table and some chairs, and here the nearer man patted Bane down. He took the .38 Colt from its holster behind the left hip and then opened the door to the balcony.
It was quite a sight, a platform maybe fifty feet by a hundred feet, open to the air. In the bright sunlight, the white tile and metal chairs were dazzling. A standing wall held bottles of champagne and wine in refrigerated compartments, with glasses hanging stem up, and there was a buffet table under an umbrella. Ten chrome chairs with white cloth seats were arranged facing the wall of the hotel. As Bane was shown through the doorway onto the balcony, he glanced back and saw what he had hoped he would not.
Lined up along the wall for five open cages, waist high, and in each was a naked man. They were quite young, he saw, teenagers or in their early twenties, all in decent shape and good looking. The prisoners huddled on their knees or sat in corners of their cages and did not look up. Bane saw they were sitting on rough blankets and each had a bowl of water but no food. The Dire Wolf's expression did not change, he was careful not to give anything away. One of the guards took him by the arm and tugged him away.
Now, around the corner of the balcony, a half dozen people strode lightly into view. Five were so similar to the guards that they looked like members of some big extended family. All were tall and slim, with light yellowish hair and startling green eyes. They were black or tan slacks and dress white shirts with the collars open. It was the final person to appear who took command of the situation. She was maybe forty, handsome and regal rather than pretty, with long tawny hair past her shoulders. In a diamond-shaped face, her eyes lit with that same pale green shine as the others. She was wearing a snug dark bodysuit that covered her from neck to ankle, with only her hands and feet bare.
This strange woman went to a chair and dropped lightly down, smiling at him. "The famous Dire Wolf! I thought our paths would inevitably cross. Wait. Before we go any further, Elum and Gilag will disarm you. Please hold out your arms."
Bane did as instructed. Two of the green-eyed men came closer and, as the others watched closely, tugged the twin daggers from their sheaths on his forearms. Those sheaths were covered with ingenious rubber molding that felt like the muscles of a human arm. They had escaped notice in dozens of searches over the years. The one called Elum, who alone among them had a jacket on, brought the knives to his queen. She regarded them with a sly smile.
"Oh, I can smell the silver!" she said quietly. "You know, of course, that our kind need not fear common bullets or blades. It is silver alone which can harm us. I spent time rearching you, Mr Bane, and the references to these silver daggers and the way you carry them on your forearms, alarmed me."
Bane stepped forward and took a seat facing her without it being offered. "Queen Caliya. I haven't faced your Race before. You seem rather elusive."
"As suits us," she smiled thinly. "We are no common werewolves, killing crudely and leaving a shambles behind us. We are an old Race, a bit more polished and- dare I say it?- more aristocratic than the crude Howlers you have often fought before."
"Polished and aristocratic?" he echoed. "If you say so. The prisoners behind me are a sign you guys are not any better than the other monsters I've tackled in my time."
"Oh, please. Don't be tiresome. Predators need prey. It's just Nature." She grinned wickedly, her mouth smiling but her eyebrows remaining lowered. "If you are being honest, you must admit you yourself love to fight and you need prey."
"I've heard that before," Bane said. "If you don't see a difference between what I do and what you do, there's no use explaining." "
She was still entertained by the conversation. "Be fair. Humans keep cats as pets. Let the Cat People keep a few humans as pets. The lucky ones may be called to my bed as the whim strikes me. Perhaps one will be driven up to the north to be let loose for a chase, but humans hunt animals, don't they? We are just keeping a balance."
"Look. I was called in because of the missing boys. Ten young men disappear in the past two months in the Greater LA area. No common factor beyond that they were all good looking, almost pretty. Two bodies found in dumpsters during the same period, slightly ripped up by animal attack. Forensics suggested the victims had been mauled by big cats."
As he said that, the watching men grinned and several chuckled.
"Yeah, I thought you'd like that. So the LAPD gave me a call and I came out here. I've handled weird mysterious stuff for them before and they thought I would want to resolve this mess." He placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward. "And here we are."
Queen Caliya studied him with amusement. "But I must know, how did you find us?"
He snorted. "Nothing exotic. Over the years, I've built up observers and informers. Some work for cash, some owe me favors. That's all."
The five men and the two guards had moved in closer and they were beginning to look different. The pupils in those green eyes narrowed to vertical slits. The tawny hair bristled. They showed very white, slightly sharp teeth as they smiled. Bane saw this and he said, "Your boys are getting eager."
"Predators need prey, as I said. You don't seem as concerned as you should be. I know you are fast and dangerous, but so are we. Say we are roughly equal in physical terms. But there are eight of my family and one of you. Only silver can harm us and Elum there is holding your famous weapons. Now is when you should start begging, my friend."
Bane raised one eyebrow. "Tell your friend there to look at those daggers more closely."
In that instant, as Queen Caliya glanced up to see the dumbfounded expression on Elum's face, the smile dropped from her face. "Wait... you mean?"
"Those are not my real daggers," Bane said. In a flash, he reached into the tops of his boots, straightening up to stand with a gleaming knife in each hand. The Dire Wolf plunged forward, spinning, both arms whirling as he slashed in all directions. The Catmen shrieked in pain, slashed deeply across abdomens or throats. One rushed forward and walked right into a high side kick that lifted him off his feet to fall back onto another Catman. They were transforming now, fingernails turning into talons and their fangs extending, but too late. Moving in between the three remaing monsters, Bane thrust a knife to the hilt in the chest of each. As they fell, the Dire Wolf lost hold of one dagger but managed to keep the one in his left hand. Only one shape-changer was left and he now looked barely human. The monster snarled and rose up on his hind legs just as the silver dagger slid across his throat, cutting the windpipe open.
As that dying creature dropped before his feet, Bane whirled barely in time to spot Queen Caliyah racing for the door. His arm blurred and the silver dagger sank into the back of her right knee. She let out a ringing scream and fell to one side. The Wolf was there in an instant, rolling her over and yanking the knife out before she could get to it.
"Oh God, it hurts, it hurts!" she yelled.
"It's not as bad as what you made your victims feel," Bane answered gruffly. "How come you're not turning into a cat like your boys?"
She did not answer, preoccupied with her ruined knee. As Bane kneeled next to her, Queen Caliya glared at him and tried to push herself up off the tiles. He pushed her down roughly. "Stay put," he said. Bane rose and went over to the rows of open cages. None of the young men in there had stirred at the uproar and they did not meet his eyes now. They seemed dazed.
"Hey, do you keep these poor souls sedated?" he asked and turned just as the Queen rolled to a sitting position and raised his own .38 Colt at him. The Dire Wolf had never reacted more quickly in his life. He dropped to one knee and threw the silver dagger again. As the pistol fired, it was already falling out of a hand that could not hold it any longer. Queen Caliyah sagged to the balcony floor with the knife sticked up from her chest.
Standing up, Bane exhaled sharply. That had been too close and it was his own fault. He had not kept track of what the guard had done with his revolver. Had he handed it to Caliya? Or had he left it on that cabinet near the door? Either way, Bane thought bitterly he should have watched out for its location. He went over and retrieved the gun and his dagger, turned and followed where the trajectory would have gone. Right up in the air. He went to the edge of the balcony and looked out, trying to figure out where the bullet would have gone. Most likely it had hit the blank wall on that red brick building right across the street. He couldn't see any broken windows. The Dire Wolf scowled and went back to examine each of the Catmen. All were quite dead, but they had not reverted to completely Human as werewolves usually did. He tugged his dagger free and wiped it carefully on the dead Catman's shirt.
Next, he checked out the prisoners. They were still unresponsive. He bent closer and tried talking to them but got no response. Frowning, he dipped his fingers into one of the water bowls and sniffed them. The slight citric smell was all he needed to know. Bane didn't think Caliya kept them sedated out of kindness, if anything she would have enjoyed their fear. No, most likely it was so they would be quiet. There was nothing he could do for them. They needed medical attention. The Dire Wolf remembered he had one more detail to attend, and he went over to where the Catman named Elum sprawled and found the fake silver daggers. This made him smile very faintly. They were ordinary steel knives, but he had applied silver paint to the blades. Once or twice before, he had been in situations where he thought he might be searched thoroughly and by now his daggers were all too well known. Maybe he should start wearing the decoys and carrying the real daggers in his boots as a regular procedure.
Taking another few minutes to think things over, he was satisfied and went through the door, down the white corridor and into the elevator. It took him automatically to the lobby. Once there, he strolled casually out to the street. Long ago, he had developed the habit of not leaving fingerprints. The small Eldar talisman he wore for protection had the useful added effect of blurring cameras so he would not be identified by any cameras in the lobby.
Back out on the street, Bane began walking. He wanted to make an anonymous call to LAPD so he could have some plausible deniability. They would know he had done the job on that balcony, of course, but he needed to keep evidence just thin enough that they would not be obligated to charge him. The Dire Wolf knew he was useful as a freelance vigilante but he had to meet the police halfway.
His problem now was that public phone booths were almost obsolete....
6/3/2013
6/29/2018
I.
As the taxi pulled away, Jeremy Bane stepped into the middle of the sidewalk and gazed up at the twenty-three stories of the Compton Tower. In the afternoon sunlight, the white stone and chrome and mirrored glass was blinding. He wondered how pilots flew over downtown Los Angeles without being disoriented by buildings like these. Bane had adjusted to the sun and heat after a few hours here, and even in his usual outfit of black slacks, turtleneck and sports jacket he was comfortable. As people rushed past him, he turned his eyes up to the penthouse which jutted out slightly at the very top of the building. Was anyone up there staring down, perhaps spotting him and reporting his arrival to Queen Caliya? He thought it was possible.
Now in his early fifties, Bane did not look much different than he had when he first had entered the Midnight War so long ago. He was still the Dire Wolf, six feet tall, lean to the point of being gaunt. There was a little grey here and there in the full head of black hair, but the face was still tight and grim with no sign of sagging around the jaw. When he took off the sunglasses and stowed them in a jacket pocket, pale grey eyes were revealed that still regarded the world warily. He went into the Compton Towers lobby and found it surprisingly tasteful, all shades of brown and tan, with small kidney-shaped couches scattered about. In a recess to the left was the reception desk with two Asian women in neat blazers and skirts. Leaning against that desk with a newspaper he probably had read a dozen times, stood a huge muscular man with a thick neck and suspicious eyes. He watched Bane go by. So did a similar man in a chair in a corner by a fish tank, putting down the cell phone he was pretending to use.
At the rear were four elevators, with an unmarked door next to the last one. Bane studied the control buttons for a second, then pressed the top and bottom ones at the same time. The unmarked door slid open to reveal an elevator cage and he stepped inside. There were no controls in it. As the door closed, Bane felt the cage rising and a pink light in the ceiling brightened. His information had been good so far.
There was a ding! and the door slid open. Two men were waiting there, both wearing dark suits and ties. Neither had the usual bodybuilder look but Bane immediately felt that they were a much greater threat than the obvious goons in the lobby. These men were about his size and build, with short tawny hair and bright green eyes. They stood just out of arm's reach, one slightly back behind the other and watched him step out.
"Here we go again," Bane said casually. They were in a narrow corridor, all off-white with curtained windows from floor to ceiling along one side. The air was almost chilly. The nearer of the two men gestured with one hand to follow, and the Dire Wolf complied. The other man followed behind them, just far enough back to be out of reach. Not bad, Bane thought, these guys have worked out a system. They went through a door into a tiny foyer with a coffee table and some chairs, and here the nearer man patted Bane down. He took the .38 Colt from its holster behind the left hip and then opened the door to the balcony.
It was quite a sight, a platform maybe fifty feet by a hundred feet, open to the air. In the bright sunlight, the white tile and metal chairs were dazzling. A standing wall held bottles of champagne and wine in refrigerated compartments, with glasses hanging stem up, and there was a buffet table under an umbrella. Ten chrome chairs with white cloth seats were arranged facing the wall of the hotel. As Bane was shown through the doorway onto the balcony, he glanced back and saw what he had hoped he would not.
Lined up along the wall for five open cages, waist high, and in each was a naked man. They were quite young, he saw, teenagers or in their early twenties, all in decent shape and good looking. The prisoners huddled on their knees or sat in corners of their cages and did not look up. Bane saw they were sitting on rough blankets and each had a bowl of water but no food. The Dire Wolf's expression did not change, he was careful not to give anything away. One of the guards took him by the arm and tugged him away.
Now, around the corner of the balcony, a half dozen people strode lightly into view. Five were so similar to the guards that they looked like members of some big extended family. All were tall and slim, with light yellowish hair and startling green eyes. They were black or tan slacks and dress white shirts with the collars open. It was the final person to appear who took command of the situation. She was maybe forty, handsome and regal rather than pretty, with long tawny hair past her shoulders. In a diamond-shaped face, her eyes lit with that same pale green shine as the others. She was wearing a snug dark bodysuit that covered her from neck to ankle, with only her hands and feet bare.
This strange woman went to a chair and dropped lightly down, smiling at him. "The famous Dire Wolf! I thought our paths would inevitably cross. Wait. Before we go any further, Elum and Gilag will disarm you. Please hold out your arms."
Bane did as instructed. Two of the green-eyed men came closer and, as the others watched closely, tugged the twin daggers from their sheaths on his forearms. Those sheaths were covered with ingenious rubber molding that felt like the muscles of a human arm. They had escaped notice in dozens of searches over the years. The one called Elum, who alone among them had a jacket on, brought the knives to his queen. She regarded them with a sly smile.
"Oh, I can smell the silver!" she said quietly. "You know, of course, that our kind need not fear common bullets or blades. It is silver alone which can harm us. I spent time rearching you, Mr Bane, and the references to these silver daggers and the way you carry them on your forearms, alarmed me."
Bane stepped forward and took a seat facing her without it being offered. "Queen Caliya. I haven't faced your Race before. You seem rather elusive."
"As suits us," she smiled thinly. "We are no common werewolves, killing crudely and leaving a shambles behind us. We are an old Race, a bit more polished and- dare I say it?- more aristocratic than the crude Howlers you have often fought before."
"Polished and aristocratic?" he echoed. "If you say so. The prisoners behind me are a sign you guys are not any better than the other monsters I've tackled in my time."
"Oh, please. Don't be tiresome. Predators need prey. It's just Nature." She grinned wickedly, her mouth smiling but her eyebrows remaining lowered. "If you are being honest, you must admit you yourself love to fight and you need prey."
"I've heard that before," Bane said. "If you don't see a difference between what I do and what you do, there's no use explaining." "
She was still entertained by the conversation. "Be fair. Humans keep cats as pets. Let the Cat People keep a few humans as pets. The lucky ones may be called to my bed as the whim strikes me. Perhaps one will be driven up to the north to be let loose for a chase, but humans hunt animals, don't they? We are just keeping a balance."
"Look. I was called in because of the missing boys. Ten young men disappear in the past two months in the Greater LA area. No common factor beyond that they were all good looking, almost pretty. Two bodies found in dumpsters during the same period, slightly ripped up by animal attack. Forensics suggested the victims had been mauled by big cats."
As he said that, the watching men grinned and several chuckled.
"Yeah, I thought you'd like that. So the LAPD gave me a call and I came out here. I've handled weird mysterious stuff for them before and they thought I would want to resolve this mess." He placed his hands on his knees and leaned forward. "And here we are."
Queen Caliya studied him with amusement. "But I must know, how did you find us?"
He snorted. "Nothing exotic. Over the years, I've built up observers and informers. Some work for cash, some owe me favors. That's all."
The five men and the two guards had moved in closer and they were beginning to look different. The pupils in those green eyes narrowed to vertical slits. The tawny hair bristled. They showed very white, slightly sharp teeth as they smiled. Bane saw this and he said, "Your boys are getting eager."
"Predators need prey, as I said. You don't seem as concerned as you should be. I know you are fast and dangerous, but so are we. Say we are roughly equal in physical terms. But there are eight of my family and one of you. Only silver can harm us and Elum there is holding your famous weapons. Now is when you should start begging, my friend."
Bane raised one eyebrow. "Tell your friend there to look at those daggers more closely."
In that instant, as Queen Caliya glanced up to see the dumbfounded expression on Elum's face, the smile dropped from her face. "Wait... you mean?"
"Those are not my real daggers," Bane said. In a flash, he reached into the tops of his boots, straightening up to stand with a gleaming knife in each hand. The Dire Wolf plunged forward, spinning, both arms whirling as he slashed in all directions. The Catmen shrieked in pain, slashed deeply across abdomens or throats. One rushed forward and walked right into a high side kick that lifted him off his feet to fall back onto another Catman. They were transforming now, fingernails turning into talons and their fangs extending, but too late. Moving in between the three remaing monsters, Bane thrust a knife to the hilt in the chest of each. As they fell, the Dire Wolf lost hold of one dagger but managed to keep the one in his left hand. Only one shape-changer was left and he now looked barely human. The monster snarled and rose up on his hind legs just as the silver dagger slid across his throat, cutting the windpipe open.
As that dying creature dropped before his feet, Bane whirled barely in time to spot Queen Caliyah racing for the door. His arm blurred and the silver dagger sank into the back of her right knee. She let out a ringing scream and fell to one side. The Wolf was there in an instant, rolling her over and yanking the knife out before she could get to it.
"Oh God, it hurts, it hurts!" she yelled.
"It's not as bad as what you made your victims feel," Bane answered gruffly. "How come you're not turning into a cat like your boys?"
She did not answer, preoccupied with her ruined knee. As Bane kneeled next to her, Queen Caliya glared at him and tried to push herself up off the tiles. He pushed her down roughly. "Stay put," he said. Bane rose and went over to the rows of open cages. None of the young men in there had stirred at the uproar and they did not meet his eyes now. They seemed dazed.
"Hey, do you keep these poor souls sedated?" he asked and turned just as the Queen rolled to a sitting position and raised his own .38 Colt at him. The Dire Wolf had never reacted more quickly in his life. He dropped to one knee and threw the silver dagger again. As the pistol fired, it was already falling out of a hand that could not hold it any longer. Queen Caliyah sagged to the balcony floor with the knife sticked up from her chest.
Standing up, Bane exhaled sharply. That had been too close and it was his own fault. He had not kept track of what the guard had done with his revolver. Had he handed it to Caliya? Or had he left it on that cabinet near the door? Either way, Bane thought bitterly he should have watched out for its location. He went over and retrieved the gun and his dagger, turned and followed where the trajectory would have gone. Right up in the air. He went to the edge of the balcony and looked out, trying to figure out where the bullet would have gone. Most likely it had hit the blank wall on that red brick building right across the street. He couldn't see any broken windows. The Dire Wolf scowled and went back to examine each of the Catmen. All were quite dead, but they had not reverted to completely Human as werewolves usually did. He tugged his dagger free and wiped it carefully on the dead Catman's shirt.
Next, he checked out the prisoners. They were still unresponsive. He bent closer and tried talking to them but got no response. Frowning, he dipped his fingers into one of the water bowls and sniffed them. The slight citric smell was all he needed to know. Bane didn't think Caliya kept them sedated out of kindness, if anything she would have enjoyed their fear. No, most likely it was so they would be quiet. There was nothing he could do for them. They needed medical attention. The Dire Wolf remembered he had one more detail to attend, and he went over to where the Catman named Elum sprawled and found the fake silver daggers. This made him smile very faintly. They were ordinary steel knives, but he had applied silver paint to the blades. Once or twice before, he had been in situations where he thought he might be searched thoroughly and by now his daggers were all too well known. Maybe he should start wearing the decoys and carrying the real daggers in his boots as a regular procedure.
Taking another few minutes to think things over, he was satisfied and went through the door, down the white corridor and into the elevator. It took him automatically to the lobby. Once there, he strolled casually out to the street. Long ago, he had developed the habit of not leaving fingerprints. The small Eldar talisman he wore for protection had the useful added effect of blurring cameras so he would not be identified by any cameras in the lobby.
Back out on the street, Bane began walking. He wanted to make an anonymous call to LAPD so he could have some plausible deniability. They would know he had done the job on that balcony, of course, but he needed to keep evidence just thin enough that they would not be obligated to charge him. The Dire Wolf knew he was useful as a freelance vigilante but he had to meet the police halfway.
His problem now was that public phone booths were almost obsolete....
6/3/2013