I parked my car at the designated spot. I unzipped my jacket and adjusted the shotgun to be more accessible but still not hinder my movement. I shouldered the bag with the listening device and started the short walk to the rally point. A chill wind blew across the tops of the trees, and I turned up my collar. I was starting to wish I had worn a hat. I arrived at the spot Teddy had marked as to where we should meet, behind a restroom near the amphitheater. After waiting for a few moments, Teddy appeared from behind a tree like the world’s poshest ghost. I noticed he had a satchel of his own.

“Whatcha got in there, partner?” I asked, nodding at Teddy's bag.

“Few bits and bobs,” he answered nonchalantly. “You ready?”

“You know it.”

Teddy snapped out the foregrip on his MP7 personal defense weapon and adjusted the shoulder stock. He let it hang freely and led me on a perimeter of the amphitheater. We still had an hour until the meeting was supposed to take place. We completed two laps and decided on a spot on the west side. It provided excellent cover, was away from the entrance from the amphitheater, and provided a direct line to our vehicles if needed.

We got comfortable, and I set up the listening device. I snapped the radar dish onto the ray gun and plugged in the headphones. I powered it up and gave Teddy a thumbs up. He had gone into his satchel and pulled out what looked like one of those desktop Zen gardens. He arranged some tiny trees and two small metal figures and then drew a circle in the surrounding sand. He then lit some incense. The incense burned, but I couldn’t smell, well, anything. I also noticed that the smoke dissipated after only a few feet. Teddy placed a tiny lampshade over the cherry to dim the light. Then he pulled a silver earring out of his vest pocket and clipped it to his ear. The earring looked like an outward spiral. He pointed at the earring and then pointed at the listening device and then spread his hands apart as if to say, “It’s maaaaagic!” Finally, he put his monocle in, and we waited.

Stakeouts aren’t fun, even with the chili dogs. And we didn’t have chili dogs; we were just chilly. Sitting in an uncomfortable position, not being able to make noise, or even to move too much, is really not fun. It’s like another level of not fun. Minutes seemed like hours. After I checked my watch for the third time, Teddy slugged me gently in the arm. I was not good at waiting. I never was. I needed something to occupy my mind. I alternated between staring at the enormous moon in the sky and intensely visualizing the mole in the middle of Agent Santiago’s cleavage. I strained and strained until the moon became the mole. I was so proud of myself I almost missed the Werewolf, er Coyote.

He came out of freaking nowhere, silently padding through the trees like a phantom. He was in the hybrid form, half-man, half-coyote, moving slowly and carefully. Every few steps, he would stop, sniff the air, and listen. I saw a second one about thirty yards to the left and then a third to the right, both following the same pattern. They were fucking sweeping the woods. If they all kept on their present headings, one would pass within a few feet of us. I couldn't believe they hadn't spotted us already. It looked like we weren’t going to even get to the listening part of this little adventure before we had to shoot our way out. My hand eased inside my jacket to the handle of my New Vaquero. Teddy noticed my movement and shook his head. He pointed to the zen garden and covered his eyes, ears, and mouth in quick succession. He then pointed to the incense and his nose. Teddy smiled and made the “It’s maaaaagic” gesture again and gave me a thumbs-up, nodding.

The Werecoyote inched closer to our position, and the Weird Feeling started pounding at the base of my skull. He was a big boy, maybe a foot taller than me. He had mottled grey fur and was wearing only oversized black cargo shorts. He blended almost perfectly into the background. My eyes kept losing focus on him. As he crept closer, I could see the shafts of moonlight coming in through the treetops to illuminate his eyes and snout. He moved almost soundlessly, and I couldn’t hear his careful footfalls over the persistent wind until he was within a handful of steps. They were stalking us, and they didn't even know it. They got closer and closer. I could see them but barely hear them. They were finally close enough that I could make out the individual hairs on their bodies. Despite that, they didn't react. Just pace, stop, sniff, listen. Pace. Stop. Sniff. Listen. Pace. Stop. Sniff. Sniff. Sniff.

I fought down a wave of panic. Thousands of years of predator/prey instinct was telling me to get the fuck away from this monster before he saw me. The Weird Feeling was stronger than it had ever been, pounding into the base of my skull, ice water in my veins. I was about to skin my shooting iron and start blasting when I looked over at Teddy. He was watching the middle of the amphitheater, nodding his head side to side, and looked almost bored. He noticed me looking at him, and he gave me his friendly little smile. He must have been supremely confident that his magical relics could keep us concealed. I took a breath and tried to relax.

I’ll confess, I may have closed my eyes for a moment or two. Not because I was afraid, exactly because I wasn't. But because I didn’t trust myself not to ventilate these monsters before they discovered us. Something deep inside of me demanded that I take action. Which would, of course, blow our cover, prevent us from learning anything, and give us at least three more bodies in a case we shouldn't have been working. So I may have closed my eyes and imagined the Farfalla's rear end as she had jumped from rooftop to rooftop. Maybe.

A moment later, the monsters had edged past us, and my anxiety subsided. They continued their way around the woods surrounding the amphitheater and made their way down to the stage area. Three other werecoyotes, who had swept the other side, joined them. They congregated near the edge of the stage, and I pointed the listening device at them.

“Nothing in the woods. The area is clear.” The big grey one that has almost bumped into us said to the others. The rest nodded their agreement. The one I had named Grey Daddy keyed a radio and spoke into it. He mumbled, and so I couldn’t make out what he said. The six Werecoyotes spread out around the perimeter of the stage and took positions just out of sight.

Again we waited. We waited so long I was beginning to wonder if this wasn’t going to happen. Well after midnight, some movement drew my eye back to the circle of the stage. One second nothing was there, then the next, there was a large werecoyote with red fur. This must be Vanessa. She appeared out of thin air. It could have been magic, but I had a feeling she was just that stealthy. She approached Grey Daddy, and they had a conversation that I couldn’t pick up. She then walked toward the center of the stage area. I now had a superb view of her in the bright moonlight. Vanessa’s coat was much fuller than the others and tinged with silver. She was wearing a pair of khaki cargo shorts and what appeared to be body armor in a coyote-colored carrier around her middle. I noticed several hoops in both her rounded coyote ears. She was also much bigger than the rest of the pack. It was hard to tell from our distance, but based on her in relation to Grey Daddy, I figured she topped eight feet tall.

I waved a hand to get Teddy’s attention. I pointed to Vanessa and indicated her body armor. That could be a problem if we had to go loud. My .357 magnum and shotgun slugs would likely not penetrate her body armor. Teddy tapped his MP7 and smiled. He was right. The 4.6x30mm ammo that the MP7 used was designed to defeat body armor. Unless Vanessa was also packing a ballistic plate, Teddy should be able to sort her out if it came to it. My partner again impressed me with his preparedness.

Vanessa pulled a cell phone out of the pocket of her cargo shorts. She tapped a few keys and replaced the phone. A few seconds later, the wind went from a gentle puff to a noticeable breeze. A doorway of bright white light opened, and a robed figure stepped through. Finally, our mystery man had joined the party. He looked sufficiently like the cinematic evil villain, which seemed appropriate. He wore an ankle-length black robe with a deep hood that totally obscured his features.

There was apparently not a great deal of trust between Vanessa and Hoody McHooderson, as they stood a good ten feet apart. That would make it very easy to listen in on them.

“Vanessa,” he croaked. “There has been a great disturbance in the force.” He didn’t actually say that, but my mind filled in the blanks.

“Why the fuck are we meeting out here in the middle of nowhere?” Vanessa sounded pissed. Her growly voice was barely understandable, and I could see the spittle flying from her mouth. “You have exactly three seconds to....”

The robed figure raised a hand, and his sleeve fell back from his arm. A blue runic tattoo flared to life, and Vanessa immediately stopped talking. She put a massive paw to her throat and fell to one knee. I could hardly believe my eyes. Hoodrow McGee was force choking this bitch! What a fucking cliche! A few seconds passed, with the only sound being Vanessa's gasps and gurgles. Cliche or not, I couldn’t argue that it was an effective display. The other members of the pack began growling and posturing. The cloaked man turned his head to look at Grey Daddy, who must have been the second in command. He held his gaze for a second and then released Vanessa. She recovered with far more grace than I would have, hardly missing a beat. She took a few shuddering breaths and regained her feet.

“You don’t fucking bark at me, girl. We meet where ever and whenever I feel it’s necessary.”

Vanessa met his gaze for a few long moments and then looked at the ground. “Yes, Sleeper.”

“Apologize.”

Vanessa growled. A long strand of saliva quivered from her jaws. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“What was that?” he thundered.

“I’m sorry! Please, Sleeper, the moon is full! Can we get to business? I beg you.”

The Sleeper was quiet for a long moment. This guy was really pushing it. Finally, he spoke. “We must accelerate the timeline.”

“What? Why? Things are going perfectly.”

“They. Are. Not.” The sleeper punctuated each word with the point of a finger. I could tell Vanessa wanted to flinch, but she managed not to. “Those AMI fucks will not leave it alone. You’re not keeping my little batteries in line. One threw an agent off a building and another attacked the local cops. Only luck has prevented my slaves from falling into the wrong hands. Those government jackals were sniffing around the warehouse and one of your pack had to give his life to protect the operation.”

“Juan,” Vanessa growled. She actually looked upset. As upset as an eight-foot-tall coyote monster can look.

“We highly motivated the partner of the agent that was killed. Our friend hasn’t been able to dissuade him. Now the Farfalla has gotten involved. I don’t know her game, but things are coming to a head and there are too many variables. We must complete the process. Now.”

Vanessa scowled. “We don’t have enough. We are making steady progress and good money. Just a few more weeks.”

“We don’t have a few more weeks. It’s only a matter of time before the AMI or the Farfalla or both come calling. Are you still moving people across the border?”

Vanessa looked surprised. “How do you know about that?”

The Sleeper laughed. It was a creepy villain laugh, a screechy chortle. “You are Coyotes are you not?” He giggled a bit at his own joke, which was even creepier. “Thirty more people should be more than enough. Instead of taking them to San Paso, take them to my warehouse. I will take care of the rest.”

“You want me to bring you thirty Mexicans? So you can murder them? To power your device?”

“Is that a problem?”

Vanessa swallowed. I could see her thinking.

Teddy tapped my arm. He pulled back the tiny lampshade covering the incense. I saw it had almost totally burned out. He flashed five fingers at me. I figured we had five more minutes.

I looked back at the amphitheater and the Sleeper had produced a small cooler from his robes. He placed it on the ground and kicked it over to Vanessa. She kneeled down and opened it. It was hard to see because of the distance, but it looked to be full of small plastic bags.

She looked up. “Is this what I think it is?”

The Sleeper chuckled. “I’ve been keeping some of my slaves high on crystal methamphetamine for months. I take their blood right after they smoke it. There are twelve units there. And you will get another twenty-four units upon delivery of my merchandise.”

Grey Daddy gasped, and the other wolves began murmuring. My quads were cramping. I should have eaten more for dinner. Vanessa was still uncertain, but the Sleeper’s patience was at an end. He spoke with a deathly certainty. “You can take the drugs, deliver my cargo, and never see me again. Or.” He extended his other arm from his robe. The sleeve fell back and I could see a green, runic tattoo flare to life. Suddenly lightning crackled across his fingers. “Or I can kill you all right here, right now.”

I couldn’t take it anymore. The pain in my quad was too intense. Without fully thinking it through, I straightened out my right leg. The heel of my boot clipped the lampshade, covering the incense. I saw the small remaining cherry get knocked loose and immediately go dark. The smoke stopped. Shit.

On the stage below, Vanessa bowed her head and picked up the cooler. “We’ll do it. Day after tomorrow. Expect us in the afternoon.”

Grey Daddy began sniffing intently and then took a large inhale. “Someone is here,” he growled menacingly. The pack began to sniff and pace.

The Sleeper nodded. “Two days,” he stated with finality. His door opened again, and he stepped through. A moment later, the stage contained only angry werecoyotes.

Vanessa threw her head back and took a deep inhale. A vicious smile spread across her fanged mouth and she looked up at the moon above. “Black Mesa, it’s time for the hunt.”

I looked at Teddy, who was staring at me like he wanted to slap me in the back of the head.

I really stepped in it this time.