Call Wolf

Chapter Eleven

The plaN

Maria stared at Kripin. He stared back. She crossed her arms, leant against the frame. He sunk further into the couch. Maria instantly regretted entering the livingroom at all - was it too late to go back to bed?
"Where's Charles?" she asked, clearing her throat from sleep.
"He'll be in shortly."
"And why are you here?"
"I could ask the same thing."
Maria knew how she must look but fought the urge to comb through her hair and pull on the coat, not wanting him to have the satisfaction.
"He will make a full recovery," Kripin broke through the silence, his voice so sharp it made Maria jump. "The packmember you injured."
Oh, thank God.
"Oh, that's... unfortunate."
Kripin's face darkened. He eyed her with a certain look she'd seen a hundred times before, trying to determine if she was a threat or not. It didn't really bother her. What ever his conclusion was, he didn't have time to act on it as they both heard the door slam closed from across the den.

Charles entered the livingroom and threw down a duffel bag onto the floor. He bent down, began digging through it, but then froze. His nose scrunched. He looked to Maria.
"Good morning," she murmured.
"It's the middle of the day."
"I trust you slept well," Charles said, ignoring Kripin's remarks. Maria decided to do the same. She took a few steps towards the bag, noticed the scratches and patches of dirt.
"I've been doing some work."
"Clearly. This looks a little beat up, are you okay?"
Kripin released a sound and stood up. He pulled out the bag from under Maria's nose, earning a nasty glare, and went into the kitchen. As they'd all made it, Kripin placed the duffel bag on the table and crossed his arms.
"Does she know anything, boss?" Charles shook his head.
"Know what?" Maria interjected, taking a seat near the bag. Kripin noticed and gave a disdained grimace but didn't say anything. Both of them looked to Charles.
"We are going to infiltrate the Hillbury Ball."

Maria was at once very happy that she was sitting down. Her hands were suddenly over her mouth but then she couldn't breathe and she instead put them down on the table. Her fingerprints branded into the wood.
"No," she said slowly. "You can't do that, why would you do that?"
"We're going to find mayor Gooden."
"And do what?" She quickly retracted her hands. "Oh no, are you going to kill him?"
"Of course not," Kripin snapped. "But he doesn't know that. The plan is to talk to him, convince him to keep his 'civilian troop' away."
"You mean you're going to threaten him."
The two men shared a look.
"I've been gathering a few things this morning. Tickets, IDs, proper clothes from higher ups. It wasn't perfect given the time frame but we won't be found out. The ball is the first saturday of every august," Charles informed, avoiding her pressing gaze. "We imagine we can get in and out before raising alarm."
"You do, do you?" Maria questioned with a pointed look directed at Kripin. Then she noticed the smell of burnt wood and quickly retracted her hands from the table.
"You're coming, too, pyro."
Maria's head whipped to Charles. He looked disapproving of Kripin's harsh words but didn't argue against him.
"No," she repeated. "I won't be able to help anyway. No. I can't meet him again. I will not."
"You won't," Charles said, successfully intercepting Kripin. "We need you to identify him, that is all."
"This is crazy."
"It's necessary."
"Charles--"
"This is bigger than you, Maria, and you won't come to any harm."
Maria shot up from her chair, slamming a palm down on the table. She opened her mouth. Then closed it. Her angry expression fell flat at the same time her gaze met Charles'. It was replaced by one much less enjoyable.
"You can't promise that."
And then she exited the kitchen.

An hour passed before Charles found Maria. She had then returned to her room and, as Charles entered, finished putting on the set of clothes she'd been offered. They were pale and stiff, nothing like her, but would grant more protection against the weather than the coat.
She saw him enter through the mirror and did the last button. She smiled wearily.
"I'm sorry for how I reacted back there."
"Your safety would be prioritized, Maria."
"I'll do it."
"Oh, you are?"
She nodded and observed herself in the mirror, running her palms down the skirt.
"I look very normal, don't I?"
"Like you're one of us."
Maria tried not to show how much that hurt. She turned around, eyes steely again. She motioned towards the bed.
Charles sat down.
"I'll just be going in and out, right?"
"Yes. We'll have a few other packmembers along and once you give the signal, we engage and you make your exit."
"Sounds easy enough... but, err, Charles?"
He frowned, eyeing her fiddling hands, and nodded, not actually certain he wanted to hear what it was she was going to say.
"I'll come along, but I need a guarantee. From you."
"Anything."
"I've been trying to escape from these people for my entire life, and we are now about to willingly enter a nest full of them. There is a chance they'll recognize me. And there is a chance they'll want to take me back."
"They won't. But if they do then I'll break you out. You have my word."
Maria shook her head and seemed to grow even more anxious.
"I escaped once. It was hard, and I barely even made it - I know I won't be getting out again. So, if they get me then I need you to..."
Charles didn't understand. He refused to. Maria saw the struggle in his eyes and sat down beside him. She took his hand. Guided it to her throat.
"If they take me I need you to make sure I don't go back there. By any means necessary."
Charles quickly pulled back his hand, watched her with a horrified face.
"What did they do to you?"
"Enough for me to know that I can't stand even a second more of it."
Maria repressed the anxious heat but it still glowed faintly underneath her skin.
"Promise me," she murmured.
"You can't ask that."
"Please. Promise me this and I'll help however I can."
Silence. The longest silence in the history of the universe.
"Alright... I promise. If you get caught," Charles' right hand transformed into its more beastly state, "then I'll kill you."

A/n

Woop de do, here it is