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PROJECT REGULUS III - A Pack of Dire Wolves

6/17-6/18/1990

I.

Bane had seldom felt his awareness of danger react more strongly. Every sense was keyed up to the point where it was taking an effort to stop himself from turning around and heading back to his car. What he felt was not fear so much as an awareness of imminent threats all around him. The Dire Wolf made himself breathe deeply and slowly, bringing out his enhanced hearing but still not being able to pinpoint what was alarming him.

At two o'clock on a muggy Sunday morning, this area off Wall Street was as deserted as any part of Manhattan ever became. The darkened skyscrapers on all sides were so tall that it felt like being at the bottom of a canyon, and he had not seen anyone on foot since coming down here. Every five or ten minutes, a taxi or police car might roll by, but that was about it. This was not a residential area. In the shadows of a deep doorway, Bane stared at the ancient church across the street and was annoyed at not being able to specify what was bothering him.

The church of Our Lady of Perpetual Hope was a protected historical site, dating back more than two hundred years and still in use. It hunched down between two towering office buildings, set back from the sidewalk behind a wrought iron fence, lit by a standing lamp post with a plaque detailing the church's history. Funny that the steeple had once been the tallest structure in the neighborhood, he thought. By the side of the church, pressed up against its wall of closely packed stones, was the woman who had called him here.

He had spotted her immediately but she was not the threat that was keeping him alarmed. Her body language indicated fear and uncertainty, not aggression. The woman was tall, about five feet eight, thin, dressed in a dark windbreaker and slacks. Straight black hair reached to her collar and even from across the street, he could see how unusually pale her skin was. But it was not her that his training was warning him about.

Finally, Bane strode across the street toward the church. The woman straightened up as he came into view. Getting closer, he saw she had a narrow face with pale eyes and there was something unsettlingly familiar about her. He realized that she looked a lot like he himself did...

Not speaking, still watching and listening as if surrounded by wild animals on all sides, the Dire Wolf walked up to her. He stopped just out of reach in a wary stance, ready to move in any direction instantly.

"Oh, you came at last," the woman said just above a whisper. "I'm Lucinda. I called you."

"Well, here I am." He turned slowly in a half-circle. "Is someone following you?"

"Yes. We have to get somewhere safe," she said. This close, her features were so much like his that they could have been brother and sister. "I have to warn you, there is danger..."

"You're telling me," Bane snorted. He whirled just as a dark figure dropped down off the roof of the church right at him. The Dire Wolf sidestepped and drove a hard left hook up into the attacker's oncoming body. The man grunted from the impact but still landed lightly on his feet. As the attacker straigtened, Bane was within a split-second of throwing a follow-up blow when he sensed something behind him. Quicker than any normal Human, a second attacker pounced and seized him around the body to pin his arms down.

The first man closed in fast, whipping out a straight jab. Bane rolled his head back so that blow barely scraped his jaw and pushed back against the man holding him so he could blast a front snap kick that cracked against the first man's chin. Bane brought that same leg back down to hook behind his grappler's ankle and got him off-balance.

If anyone had been passing by, they would have seen only a confusing blur of motion as Bane traded blows with his attackers, striking and blocking faster than an untrained eye could follow. He realized with a jolt that these men were just as fast as he was, maybe even a bit quicker. Snake men? Gelydrim? It was so rare that he encountered anyone who could meet his enhanced speed that he was taken aback. They were skilled fighters, too, and he had his hands full.

One of the men had drawn a knife and managed to get in a slash along Bane's cheek but he was left open by the swing and Bane caught him with a backfist that spun the man around. In the same continuous movement, the Dire Wolf whirled and drove out a high side kick that slammed the other attacker back against the wall of the church directly behind him. Bane had felt the man's bones crack under his boot at that blow. The attacker slumped limply to the ground.

Stepping back, the Dire Wolf touched his cheek and found the bleeding had stopped already. His healing factor from the tagra tea diet was at its peak. He stared down at the men he had beaten. Everything had taken place within a second or two and for the first time, Bane got a clear look at his enemies. The two men were wearing all black and they looked exactly like him with one difference. Their skin was the flat dull grey of a corpse.

"Project Regulus...." he growled.

( the rest of the story )