Mike lived. But only because, after a quick shower, Shaggy didn’t think the kid was worth it. Levy had a quick conversation with the kid and after a few tense moments, he left. Shaggy worried that the magical teen would shoot his mouth off. But Gina and Levy both assured him that, while an asshole, Mike was a true criminal through and through. The wizard would go back to Korrigan’s magic academy or whatever and sulk.

For now, Shaggy was more concerned with Old Man Obadiah’s new mission. They had gotten another assignment through the tablet while they were waiting for the basement door. While he had expected several crazy snatch-and-grab jobs from the old man, Shaggy wasn’t ready for this.

Target: Jerruza Tippon’s House

Operation: Breaking and Entering, Theft.

Time Frame: Two Weeks

Notes: Subject will be away for a month on assignment for a certain company. Break into the subject’s house and steal any and all electronic storage devices. DO NOT HACK INTO ANYTHING. Any attempt will mean you forfeit your earnings and cancel any future missions. Anything else you and your team grab from the house is fair game. But you will have to fence it yourself. Drop Off location to follow when the mission is complete.

While Shaggy didn’t think the old man would send them on a suicide run. The lack of Ms. Tippon’s employer made him look it up. The woman was a magical researcher for K-Tech and, given his own run-ins with the company, he wasn’t sure about running straight at one of their employees. But his team and his wife seemed excited at the prospect of some good old-fashioned criminal work. So Shaggy acquiesced. But only after they checked out the tunnel Mariposa had shown them. If all went to plan, those maintenance tunnels were going to be their way in and out of the apartment building.

So, for now, they were prepared to take on the tunnels in full force. Sans the magic team, Cekrass, and Sybil. They were staying to handle the kids and any outside police interference. If it came. So Shaggy, Levy and the rest of his pack were waiting for the spell on the door to finish up. Which should be any second now.

“What do you think is in there?” Tom asked excitedly.

Shaggy shrugged as Vick answered. “probably nothing. Damn tunnels have been sealed for years. So they’ve most likely sat empty ever since they walled them up.”

“Well, that’s no fun.”

“You want me shooting rifle rounds in close quarters?” Vick asked, running a hand down his assault rifle.

“No, but you know you can grab a shock stick or something, right? You don’t always have to be Mister Gun Man.”

“Mister Gun Man? What the fuck, Tom?” Rita asked. “What do you call me? Sword lady?”

“Mostly? I call you bitch.” Tom grinned.

The small storage basement erupted in an argument as Shaggy stared at the door. Vick tried to calm the older woman down as Tom cackled happily at his own joke. Shaggy felt his wife move up next to him and turned to smile up at her. Levy returned his smile as she bent her head at his pack.

“Wild bunch of kids you’ve collected.”

Shaggy snorted. “They’re the best of a pretty weird bunch. You didn’t get to meet everyone yet. But we have some real characters back at the bar.”

“Besides the Rhino-man and snake-kid?”

“Oh, I don’t mean Players. I was talking about NPCs. If you get to talking to a few of them, they’ll surprise you.”

Levy sat on a stack of boxes as she gripped Shaggy’s arm. “Oh I know, the SUB-AI’s running the NPCs are amazing. They really feel like real people. It’s a little eerie.”

“All for a better gaming experience.” Shaggy grinned. “Well, I don’t know about better, but I’ve certainly enjoyed my time thus far. Even with the trips to Deathville and a short romp through the sewers. It’s been a blast so far.”

“Don’t forget, we also have an old villain to raid.”

“I know. Hows the recruitment been going for that by the way?”

Levy got a far-away look in her eyes as she checked the game’s forums. She had placed a call to action for a combined Hero/Villain raid on Cog. The plan was to get a bunch of people to agree to share information on where Cog was and then once they found him. They’d launch a massive raid.

“So far, so good. The heroes keep requesting in-game meet ups. But the Villains ain’t having it. No one trusts anyone to stick to their word. But for now, people are sharing information. Once we find him, we can talk about coordinating with the Supes. But for now we got a bunch of Psychics and magical types trying every power they can think of. While you more mundane folk use the more old-fashioned methods.”

“Ha! Ain’t nothing mundane about me, love.” Shaggy cackled.

Levy grinned and gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I know. You’re still my crazy little Shaggy.”

Shaggy grinned and leaned in for another kiss. But a sharp pop brought him back around to the maintenance door. Whatever spell had been cast on in seemed to sparkle and fade as he and Levy stood. Vick and the others quieted down as the door swung itself open and the smell of stale air hit them all. Shaggy felt his face scrunch up as he listened for anything. He wasn’t sure if Vick was right about nothing being in the tunnels. But he figured better safe than sorry.

Shaggy felt his pack ready up behind him as he moved toward the door. Not sensing or smelling much of anything, he stuck his head into the wide maintenance hallway. The hallway was at least six feet across and double that in height. Which made it just wide enough for them to walk two by two. Luckily, they only had one direction to choose from, to the right. Which meant they would be moving northward under the apartments.

“Okay. I’ll take the lead, followed by Levy and Vick. Tom and Rita, y’all got the rear. Honey, if anything is down here, you and Vick open up on them. Just watch your fire.”

Levy gave him a quick nod, But Vick grinned as he turned to Tom.

“That’s why I carry a gun.”

“Hey, I got one too.” Tom argued as he raised a police-issued pistol.

Shaggy stared, stupefied, as Vick and Rita groaned out loud. Tom watched all of their faces in confusion as he held up the silver pistol. Seeing that he wasn’t getting it, Shaggy marched over and snatched the pistol out of the slim man’s hand.

“Dumbass. The police can probably track these. Please tell me this wasn’t your only weapon.”

Tom looked annoyed as Shaggy set the gun down. Seeing that he wasn’t getting it back, Tom blew out a breath and grumbled.

“I got my metal claws, but they are upstairs.”

“Well, go get them and take this with you and put it back in the damn police case. Make sure that the wards on the box are intact before you come back. Got me?”

“Yeah, I got you boss.”

Tom sullenly picked up the pistol and ran out of the room. Shaggy gave Levy an apologetic look and turned to the others.

“Neither of you saw him grab a police weapon?”

“I’m not his keeper.” Rita shrugged.

“I saw it. I just didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to bring it.” Vick said.

Shaggy rubbed a hand down his face as he thought back over their conversations. Trying to see if he said anything incriminating. Well, more incriminating than the police already knew him to be. Levy put a hand on his shoulder.

“Relax. It was only probably bugged. It’s more likely they have a locator spell on it. In case a stack of weapons goes missing. We are fine.”

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Shaggy nodded as he settled in to wait for Tom. Luckily, they didn’t have to wait too long as the skinny man quickly returned. The claw glove they had pulled from the Quinica patrol gleamed on his hand as he huffed and puffed. Shaggy grimaced slightly as he compared Tom to the others. Rita and the others had all outfitted themselves at Roald’s shop. But Tom was a tightwad, apparently. He was still in civilian clothes compared to Rita’s silver armor. Even Vick was decked out in heavy leathers.

Noticing his gaze, Tom’s face grew red. “What?!”

“Dude, please spend some money on armor and weapons at some point.” Shaggy ordered.

“Why? It’s all gonna be pointless when I become a werewolf.” Tom argued.

“Can you do that!?” Levy asked, surprised.

“We do not know if I can do that. Even if I can, there are going to be occasions when being a big-ass wolf ain’t going to help things.”

Rita snorted. “Let it go, boss. We’ve had this conversation too many damn times. We’ve all decided to let the Lone Wolf here get himself killed and then we can replace him in the pack. Sybil and I were thinking Yuki.”

Shaggy grimaced as Tom gave an indignant, “HEY!”

Shaking his head, Shaggy returned to the tunnel and started walking. He let the pack link feed him info on how quickly his pack got into position and started walking. The tunnel walls were full of old and decaying piping. Spider-webs filled the dark gaps between the pipes and Shaggy was sure he saw a few bugs skitter across the defunct wires and pipes.

The tunnels appeared mostly empty as they continued northward. There were a few faded directions on various bits of the walls, but Shaggy didn’t stop to make them out. He was mostly trying to identify the various smells in the air. But a good number of them were so old that they were practically nonexistent to his enhanced sense of smell. Even the air smelled old. But then came the problem.

After walking in the dark for over thirty minutes, their group hit a four-way intersection. Shaggy grimaced as he turned back to his pack and wife. Levy’s purple eyes practically glowed in the dark and Shaggy momentarily lost himself in them before he coughed it off and said.

“Any thoughts?”

“Yeah,” Rita said. “You and your wife need a room.”

Vick and Tom snorted as Shaggy shook his head. Levy, however, chuckled demurely.

“Don’t worry about that. Well, get to it. But as to a direction? When in doubt, go left? Works in dungeons… sometimes.”

Shaggy coughed. “Ahem. Left it is then.”

Not bothering to see if they followed, Shaggy hurried down the left tunnel. Soon he felt the low hum of his pack link as information and feelings were shared among them. Mostly, it was suppressed boredom. Which Shaggy could understand. These tunnels were exactly what they needed. But that also meant that they were pretty much abandoned. So all they needed now was a way back up. Unfortunately, Shaggy hadn’t seen any other doors in the tunnels. He was about to suggest turning around and splitting up when a strange smell hit his nose.

He recoiled a bit as he froze and took a deeper sniff. The stale air was broken by the scent of… wet dog. Shaggy shook his head and tried again. But the stench persisted. Shaggy sent out a general warning to his pack and continued forward. Levy followed closely, but whispered.

“Trouble?”

Shaggy shook his head and whispered back. “No idea. I got a weird scent. Maybe some animal found its way down here after all.”

His wife said nothing, but Shaggy felt a hum in the air as Levy called on her magic. Their group was poised and ready for anything. Which is why Shaggy’s yelp of surprise made them all jump. He had gotten another scent. This one was way more familiar to him.

“Blood on the air. There is definitely something else down here and it’s killed something.”

“Could it be rats or something small?” Rita asked from the back.

“Don’t think so. It smells like a lot of blood. But we will find out soon. It’s up ahead.”

They continued forward. The steam and electrical pipes on the walls were now forgotten as Shaggy chased the smell of blood. The once clear tunnel hallway grew cluttered with bits of trash and broken furniture. Shaggy tried to catalogue as much as he could as he chased the scent of blood. They were getting closer. Soon he felt the others pick up the scent, and his already heightened awareness kicked up another notch.

It was another ten minutes of fast-walking before they found it. A pile of corpses. All nude humans and aliens cut up and stashed into a large hole made in the wall. Whatever placed them there had smashed its way through the concrete and dug a little hidey-hole where it kept it’s victims. Shaggy heard his wife retch a little as they all glanced into the room. Men and woman, young and old, all cut up and stripped of any possessions. Old blood crisscrossed around the dirt, showing that whatever had put the people in the hole had flung them there. Something big and strong had killed these people and tossed them in here.

“Claw marks, boss.” Vick said, pointing a finger at several bodies.

Shaggy followed the finger and found that the sharpshooter was right. A few of the bodies had large claw marks across their arms and torso. Shaggy grimaced as he climbed into the deep hole and grew his claws.

“Shags…” His wife said warningly.

“It’s fine, Levy. There’s no one here.”

Shaggy placed his newly formed claw up to the claw mark on the body and studied it. His slim claw barely fit in the groove made on the body. Whatever had done this had claws much larger than his own or used weapons with large blades.

“Not a werewolf then.” Shaggy said over his shoulder.

He felt a general sense of relief come from his pack as they watched the hall. He heard the sound of someone climbing in after him and turned to see his wife shaking dirt from her hands. Shaggy gave her a questioning eyebrow, but she ignored it and moved closer to the body. Shaggy and his wife crouched low over the body and tried to figure out what had done this.

“Jagged cut.” Levy said. “So probably not a claw or magic. More like a crude weapon.”

“Not a lot of force, either. The cuts aren’t really deep,” Shaggy said.

“Just means they bled out instead of being cut in half.”

“But they weren’t killed for food. They were robbed and then stashed here. Was there blood out in the hall?”

He saw his wife shrug and turned to the hole’s entrance. Tom was gazing worriedly inside as Rita and Vick stood guard. Shaggy grimaced at Tom’s anxiousness and shouted.

“Is there a blood trail out there?”

“Sure is, boss! Goes up the hallway a ways and disappears into the dark. Want us to follow it?”

Shaggy snorted. “Not by yourselves. We’re sticking together down here. This shit just got fun and you’re not having it all to yourselves.”

“Boss, we gotta talk about your definition of fun,” Tom groaned as Levy and Shaggy climbed out of the hole in the wall.

Shaggy ignored his pack’s designated worrier and pushed on down the hall. Now that he was looking for it, the sight of dried blood stood out in the dark. Whatever had killed those people had killed them somewhere else and then stashed their bodies down the hall. Shaggy could feel his heart race as a new adventure was starting. He was trying to guess what they would find when he saw a deformation in the tunnel's wall.

“Is that?” Shaggy asked, trailing off as he got closer.

“Yeah,” Levy answered. “That’s a giant-ass hole in the tunnel.”

“Actually, ma’am. That looks like a giant-ass entrance to me.”

Shaggy silently agreed with Vick’s assessment as he moved to the hole in the tunnel's side wall and peered into it. An eight-foot crudely dug tunnel spanned before him and Shaggy could feel his gaming senses tingling. The thought of turning back and grabbing the others briefly crossed his mind, but he shook off the thought as he turned to his wife.

“It’s a man-made tunnel. Probably made by the killer.”

Rita groaned. “Boss, can you not sound so excited by that?”

Shaggy’s grin merely grew as he glanced down into the dark tunnel.

“Whatever is down, there is a danger to us using these tunnels to get around. It clearly doesn’t care about killing people. So we have to get it before it gets us.”

“Pfft. Are you done rationalizing it yet? We’ll follow ya, boss. But I still think you are way too excited about confronting a cold-blooded killer.” Rita groused.

“Can’t we just collapse the tunnel? Bury the fuckers?” Tom asked worriedly.

“That might work, but they could dig themselves out. Besides, I want to know what we are dealing with.” Shaggy said and as he used his limited dark-vision to find footprints in the tunnel’s dirt floor.

“Well then,” Levy said, sounding excited to Shaggy’s ears. “Looks like we’re going down the deep, dark tunnel.”