Amber Waves of Angst

Chapter 18

New Council Headquarters

"So, let me get this straight. Three gay werewolves are going to end the world?" Captain Leif Thorbardin asked. After twenty years in the mercenary game, this was by far the weirdest mission he'd ever been sent on.

Gallows glared at him through his one good eye. "Who they sleep with has no relevance; the fact of the matter is that there is a solar eclipse tomorrow. Six days after that there will be a lunar eclipse. If they are still alive by the time that happens, and if they manage to find the prison of the Chained God, then the world...as we know it...will end. Have you ever owned a dog?"

Thorbardin was caught off guard by the odd question. "Yes, when I was a teenager."

Gallows smiled indulgently. "Have you ever seen that dog play with a chew toy? One shaped like a ball, perhaps?"

'He's insane. The money is righteous...but he's definitely a few sticks short of a bundle.' thought the muscle bound mercenary. Out loud, he said: "Yeah, sure."

Gallows nodded, still smiling. He was suddenly right in front of Thorbardin, picking the hugely muscled soldier up by the neck. The grizzled commander was impossibly strong.

"THAT'S WHAT THE GOD-ROTTING WOLF WILL DO TO THE WORLD, YOU MEAT-HEADED IMBECILE! NOW STOP ASKING MORONIC QUESTIONS AND GET YOUR MEN TOGETHER TO FIND THEM AND CUT THEM IN HALF!" he bellowed right in Thorbardin's face.

Gallows released Thorbardin and dropped him to the ground, where he lay choking and nursing his bruised windpipe.

"I'm sorry, son. These endgames...they always bring out the worst in me. The traitors decimated the Council; as luck would have it our finest Hunters were all gathered there for the briefing when the complex was destroyed. I had one small team of commandos left...and they were killed in the line of duty by a boulder thrown at their helicopter. Do you have any idea how much boulders weigh?"

Thorbardin's sarcastic side wanted to ask if that was a moronic question, but his windpipe (perhaps in an effort to save his life) remained stubbornly closed. He merely shook his head 'no'.

Gallows embarked on a lecture as if he were teaching a freshman seminar for a community college.

"The average sandstone boulder weighs 150 pounds per cubic foot. This boulder was granite, weighing 175 pounds per cubic foot. The complete unbroken spheroid was measured at 64 cubic feet...roughly 10,240 pounds. That is over 5 tons, I might add...and it was thrown like a goddamned baseball! The velocity of the boulder was estimated to be just over 100 miles per hour...a speed that would put your average baseball pitcher in the Guinness Book of World Records, faster even than Ron Guidry who played for the New York Yankees...and had the nickname 'Louisiana Lightning'. That is why you are being paid such an enormous sum, and that is why you are not to underestimate your quarry for any reason. These beings are the most dangerous predators the world has ever known, and the three I want you to destroy make the average werewolf look like the Pokey Little Puppy!"

Gallows leaned down and glared into Thorbardin's face once more.

"So the very least of your concerns should be whether or not they'd want to 'tap your ass'. Am I understood?"

Thorbardin nodded again.

"Excellent. Now, the two young wolves and the adult Alpha will be doing their best to remain human until after the lunar eclipse. Sheer idiocy, since this will deliver the victory into our hands. If we can kill even one of them, they lose the war. Therefore, you are to kill none of the other Betas until one of the Big Three is dead, since this would trigger the appearance of the Avatars. Then you can wipe them out at leisure. Should you succeed in your mission, your names will be glorified for all time...you will have carried out the grand objective of an ultra-secret order that began under the auspices of Pope and King...and which now consists of myself and four bloody computer geeks. I have provided you with satellite maps of the protected forest land of Beacon Hills...and I can find no trace of the prison that holds Fenrir. Once we have dealt with the wolves, we will find and destroy the cage... and the being inside it...forever. The weapons that your men will need are in the armory on level three. Do not waste a single round of ammunition...it is costly and difficult to procure since our supplier...went over to the other side. That concludes your briefing. If you have any further questions...please feel free to ask me!"