Shaggy sniffed the evening air as the sun continued to set. Even with the sweaty teens and his equally sweaty pack, he could still pick up plenty of scent trails. While the roads were pretty clear, the passage of civilians was still on the wind. He wasn’t getting animal scents. Besides Vance and his pack, but that didn’t mean the Wild Bunch wasn’t on the lookout somewhere. He glanced over to Vance and saw the older man chatting amiably with some teens. Mari was excitingly talking the old Werewolf’s ear off.

Luis and some others were a couple of blocks over, traveling in an equally large group. Shaggy wondered what they must look like. If any residents of the nearby apartments stuck their head out the window. They would see three adults traveling with seven or eight kids. Maybe they looked like a school outing? Shaggy hoped that was the case. The last thing they needed was for someone to call the cops because a gang of kids was on the streets.

According to a kid named Nico, they were only a few more blocks from the grocery store. But then they’d have to wait until the large supermarket closed. Apparently, the store used to be open twenty-four hours a day. But because of under-staffing, they had to pull back the hours. If Shaggy had to guess, it was nine or ten in-game time. So they probably would have to find a place to chill and keep an eye on things. Which was good. Shaggy wanted his pack to do their own recon. Maybe there was a blind spot for the cameras or a nearby building they could jump over from.

“Yep, taught him everything he knows.” Vance said loudly, drawing Shaggy’s attention.

When he looked over, Shaggy saw that several teens and Cekrass were staring between him and Vance in awe. He didn’t know what the old man was talking about. But he didn’t think he liked it. Shaggy snorted and then looked back up the street.

“You beat my ass and then threw me to the wolves. There wasn’t a lot of ‘teaching’ going on.”

“Bah!” Vance shouted, waving a hand. “Tough love is the best kind of teacher. It teaches you to be self-reliant. None of that namby-pamby hand-holding shit. You go wolf, you hunt a few punks, then you get a handle on your abilities.”

“I already had a handle on them, dingbat! I just needed you to tell me how to go full wolf. Even that I had to do myself.”

“Hey! I was present for that. When your first hunt went to shit, who pulled you out of the fire?”

“I killed them all! THEN you showed up!”

“And I got you out of there before their friends could show up! You would have been dead in that alley. Still refusing to snack on a kill because it was bipedal.”

“Wait. You EAT people?” One teen asked worriedly.

Vance grinned, showing an array of pointed teeth. “Wolf’s gotta hunt, kid. Meat is meat. One way or another. If you take too long to feed the beast, then it’ll overtake you, then consume you. At least that’s the case for us Pure Were’s. I don’t really know how it works for the Mutts. I understand that each is different.”

“Is that what you’re doing with us, Perrito? Are teaching us with tough love? Cause I think I’d prefer a little more teaching.” Mari asked Shaggy.

Shaggy turned fully and walked backwards as he addressed the group of teens. “I haven’t taught y’all anything yet. We still need to set-up our new home. Once we get everything settled there, then we can figure out your future criminal careers. I don’t even know what all of you can do yet.”

What followed was a barrage of eager teens explaining their skill-sets. Cekrass and Vick got the kids to settle down as they drew looks from pedestrians. The few on the streets gave their group a once over and Shaggy saw a few eyes try to work out the relationship. He ducked his head and kept walking. Thankfully, drones were still few and far between. Which probably explained all the gang graffiti everywhere. Even if there didn’t seem to be any gangs.

“Mari?” Shaggy called as he turned back around.

“Yea?”

“Are there more gangs around here?” Shaggy pointed to various walls spray painted with images and alien writing.

“There used to be. The Wild Bunch took most of them out and y’all hit the Lampers. The rest of the Bunch made allies and consumed. Now there’s just one gang in this part of town. Least that I know about.”

Shaggy nodded as he filed that information away. “Then where are they? Shouldn’t they be patrolling their turf? Group of people like us have got to stick out.”

Mari looked around, as though she was going to see an animal-human hybrid on a roof. Although Shaggy wouldn’t doubt it. Not with this game. After she was sure they weren’t being watched, she shrugged.

“Don’t know, Jefe. Maybe they are busy elsewhere in the city. They’ve been pushing out into other neighborhoods since the Cog shit went down.”

“Well, I don’t like it. Tell everyone to keep their heads on swivels.”

Mari gave him a mock salute and fell back to the large part of their troop. Vance took her place grinning like a man without a care in the world.

“Lord, ya gotta love the youth. Full of oil and fire, but too stupid to know ya don’t mix the two. These kids have enough chips on their shoulders that you could serve salsa and not go hungry for days.”

Shaggy snorted, but kept his eyes forward and his nose sniffing. Vance noticed and took his own whiff of the air. The old Were grimaced but said nothing. They walked in silence as the kids talked amongst themselves. But Shaggy could feel everyone was on their toes, ready in case they were attacked. But, after a brief uphill stretch of road, a large gray building appeared in the distance.

The ground around the building had been flattened, and large swathes of grass surrounded it. But the grass looked unnatural. To Shaggy, it looked too green, and he thought it was artificial. The dirt and cement that surrounded the buildings next to the M-Mart attested to that. Whatever corporate entity behind M-Mart had spent good money to dress up the land their store was located. Which just made it stick out against everything else. A lone green patch amid a sea of brown and gray. Shaggy let out a sigh at the half-full parking lot.

The building was doing great business and any question of the whereabouts of the Wild Bunch was answered. Several gang members were hanging about the parking lot, shooting the shit and drinking beers. Shaggy spun and shot a glare at Mari and even Cekrass. They had done recon. How had they missed this? Cekrass shrugged, confused, but Mari got angry.

“They weren’t here before!” She muttered as they skirted the large parking lot and headed to a nearby block of buildings.

Shaggy kept an eye on the ten gangsters in baggy clothes. Most were animal hybrids, maybe mutants or aliens with animal characteristics. What kind of gang hangs out at the local supermarket like a bunch of out-of-work twenty-somethings? Vance tapped his shoulder as they hustled across the street.

“You smell that?”

Shaggy took a large whiff of the air and tried to focus. But he couldn’t get anything different. He shook his head, and Vance snorted.

“Need to work on that sniffer. I think them Mutts are dealing in some high-powered stuff.”

“Glow?” Shaggy asked

But the old werewolf shook his head. “Naw, that shit smells closer to sulfur. This is something more medicinal smells like a solvent, to be honest. Probably something else this group of punks cooked up.”

They had made it in front of a large department store. There wasn’t much foot traffic, so Shaggy thought they were fine. But they also need to be off the streets. No sense waiting around for an hour in the middle of the road. A sharp whistle brought Shaggy attention further down the street. He could just make out Sybil’s slight form as she stuck half her body out of an alley and waved. It looked like the second group had gotten here first.

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Shaggy herded the others toward Sybil’s alley. It was just wide enough for a car to drive through, and Shaggy expected everyone to be there. Instead, it was just Sybil. At his questioning look, the little Fire Starter pointed upward. The brick building they were standing near had a decent-looking fire escape going all the way up. After pointing, Sybil rushed up the ladder and toward the roof. Shaggy shrugged at the look Vance gave him and followed his pack member. A roof was better than the streets, unless a drone flew overhead.

Once he had cleared the roof edge, Shaggy looked around. The roof was a solid cement-looking slab with a large door enclosure sticking out of it. Someone in the building had been growing plants, cause the roof had three rows of flowers. At the other end of the roof, Rita’s group of teens all sat under a plastic awning, looking bored. The awning seemed to be another part of the green thumbed roofer’s little hideaway. It had a small couch and a few chairs and even a ratty-looking rug. Shaggy briefly wondered about the roof user coming up here, But Rita’s voice cut into his thoughts.

“We broke the handle off the door. We should be alone for a while.”

“Unless they use the fire escape like we did.” Shaggy said.

Rita just shrugged and continued watching the M-Mart parking lot. Shaggy sighed, but figured if it came down to it, they could knock the poor gardener out. Clattering behind him, let Shaggy know that the rest of his group was coming up. Now it was all about the waiting game. They had two hours until the place closed, maybe another thirty to get out all the stragglers and then they could make their move.

He moved to where Vick was crouched, looking at the M-Mart through the scope of his rifle.

“Anything of note?”

Vick snorted. “Pfft! You mean besides the random Bunch dealer moving around the damn parking lot? Or maybe the undercover cops getting ready to arrest a few buyers and sellers? How about the damn drone cradles sitting on top of the damn M-Mart roof? What kind of grocery store has their own fleet of drones?”

“Yeah, boss. This job just got a lot more interesting.”

Shaggy rubbed his eyes and sat down. “Okay, I saw the dealers. Tell me about the cops.”

“I spotted two. It looked like they tried to make a purchase and were rebuffed. They went back to their car and they’ve been waiting. Probably called in some help.”

“Why didn’t the dealer sell?”

Vick shrugged. “No clue. Maybe he scoped the cop before he tried to buy. Either way, that parking lot is going to get rowdy if more cops show up.”

“Will it? I mean, if the cops come, they’ll arrest those idiots sooner and we won’t have to worry. Or maybe the Bunch will hightail it out of there early and give me some peace of mind.” Shaggy groaned as he sat back in his hands.

“Not likely, boss.” Rita said. Pointing a finger upward, she added. “If more cops come, that means they’ll bring their own drones. That means we have a greater chance of being spotted.”

Shaggy growled as he looked around. The group of teens were all standing and sitting around, looking bored. They were going to need a hell of a good reason to have twenty people standing on a rooftop in the middle of the night. Shaggy sighed and waved a hand at Luis and Mari.

“Can you guys get lost? Just scatter for a bit, go shopping, buy some food, do whatever. We can’t all be up here. Not unless you got some music and party balloons. We need to keep a low profile.”

Mari looked ready to argue, but Luis but a hand on her shoulder. “We gotcha, boss. But we are going to need some creds if we want to buy food, y’know?”

Shaggy growled loudly this time and looked at his pack. Rita and Vick snorted as Tom and Sybil groaned. Cekrass was already taking the credit sticks he had out of his pocket. He was handing them out to a few of the teens who were already standing. They formed a line, and the Pack handed out a few credit sticks per kid and reminded them to all meet up in a few hours. Shaggy gave the last one a pat on their slim shoulder and walked over to Vance.

“You gonna stick around here?”

Vance kicked up his on a nearby planter and smiled at the dark sky. “Yeah, I’ll stick around. It’s nice to be in the presence of other Weres. Not normally my thing, but you do miss it. Once in a while.”

Shaggy nodded as he returned to his spot next to Vick and monitored the M-Mart parking lot. He didn’t have Vick’s enhanced sight, but he could still make out people in the parking lot below. Vick even pointed out the black sedan that the cops were in. Nearby, Tom was rolling around on the roof trying to sleep as Sybil cleaned her older pistols. She had left the police variants behind. They were sure they couldn’t be tracked, but better safe than sorry. Rita stood stoic at the edge of the roof, looking out toward the M-Mart. She looked so thoughtful that Shaggy had to ask.

“What’s got you so thoughtful?”

Rita stretched out her arms and let out a low laugh. “I’m a fucking werewolf.”

Shaggy saw her flex the fingers of each of her hands before she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“I can smell so much, and my body is in the greatest shape I’ve ever been. It’s so much. That’s not including the healing and overall increase in strength. A lot to take in, boss.”

“We haven’t even transformed yet,” Tom grumbled from his spot on the roof. “Imagine what that will be like?”

“We don’t have to.” Vick lit a cigarette and turned to Shaggy. “What’s it like, boss?”

Shaggy chuckled and put his back to the wall. “Like everything Rita said, dialed up to eleven. It’s like your senses go into overdrive and you feel utterly invincible. But you are just as fleshy as you normally are. Healing isn’t any better. Although You are stronger and faster.”

“You are also waaaaay denser.” Vance snorted. “You gotta be careful where you step when you’re a wolf. Otherwise, your heavy ass will go straight through some things.”

“And water’s a pain in the ass,” Shaggy added. Vance laughed, but nodded in agreement.

Tom rolled over onto his stomach and glanced between Vance and Shaggy.

“That’s all good. But when do I get to be a werewolf? Huh? It’s been forever sense you bit us.”

“It was early today, you jackass,” Sybil laughed as she threw a bit of trash from the roof at Tom.

The others all chuckled, but Shaggy saw Vance look thoughtful. He didn’t know if he liked the old man thinking. Especially if he was thinking about his pack. Rita caught his eye and nodded toward the old Were. But Shaggy let it drop. They were on a job and they need to stay focused.

A short while later as they were discussing more aspects of being a werewolf. Another black sedan pulled into the M-Mart parking Lot. Shaggy swore and handed a credit stick to Vick.

“Looks like more cops arrived.” Vick chuckled.

“And the Bunch are still dealing right in front of them. Like a bunch of fucking dumbasses.” Sybil shook her head.

“What do you think they’ll do?”

“I don’t know? Probably arrest the lot of them. Then go inside and get the parking lot cameras. Which means more questions and probably more cops.”

Everyone nodded at Shaggy assessment and settled in to watch the situation come to a head. The second black sedan pulled into the edge of the parking lot. Right next to its twin. Shaggy figured both cops were going to share info and then the new guys were going to make a run at the dealers. Shaggy heard Vick’s rifle shift against the brick roof.

“Uh, boss the Bunch are on the move. All of them and they are headed right for the cops.”

Tom clapped lightly. “Ha! Looks like will get a show after all.”

Vance stepped up to the edge of the roof and set a foot on the rim. “I don’t think so.”

Suddenly, two flashes appeared between the black sedans. If Shaggy hadn’t been paying attention, he would’ve missed it. It was so quick. Next thing he saw were two people get out of the newer sedan and move toward the first. As they did, the members of the Wild Bunch joined them. Vick had his eye glued to the scope of his rifle and Shaggy could only guess at what he could see. From his position, it looked like the Bunch were going to take the sedan.

“Did what I think just happen, happen?” Rita asked.

“They killed the other cops.” Vick answered, still watching through the scope. “The gang members are moving the bodies into the first car’s trunk. One of them is handing the second set of cops something. Now the second pair of cops are leaving.”

“That explains why and how they can just do this out in the open.” Shaggy said. “It’s not like the parking lot is a secluded location.”

“Still though,” Vance rumbled. “Two cops? That’s going to raise some questions.”

“Who’s going to ask them? Even if they have families, they are going to go to the police and get what? Nothing.”

Vance shrugged as Shaggy watched the two black cars leave the parking lot. The Bunch dealers went right back to selling whatever drugs they had. He grimaced as he watched the dealers happily selling their wares. But there was nothing he could do. Besides, it wasn’t really a problem for his crew. If anything, the Wild Bunch had just cleared an obstacle for them. Now they didn’t have to worry about the cops. In fact, anything they did to the M-Mart was probably going to be blamed on the Bunch. A grin filled his face as Shaggy came up with an idea.

“Boss?” Rita asked

Shaggy turned and looked at his pack. Everyone except Vick was watching him. He didn’t know what they got over their link. But Tom and Sybil were grinning. He grinned back as he opened his mouth.

“Let me tell y’all about a Partial Shift.”