Ahkina and Thor 3: The Hunt Begins Nick begins the search for Lucius at an abandoned oil complex. They run into all kins of people who want them dead or captured. By: Shadow Wolf Ahkina awoke beside Nick who had his arms around her waist. She smiled to herself as she enjoyed his warmth but realized it was morning and they needed to move. She gently shook Nick awake. He mumbled in his sleep about five more minutes and she smiled. "Come on sleepy head," she insisted. "Time to get up." He grumbled and rolled over. "You brought this on yourself then," she said. Then she licked his ear. He was instantly awake and grabbed her around the waist. They kissed deeply and broke off, looking into each other's eyes. Then they noticed Karen and Thor weren't present. Ahkina poked her head out the tent door and looked around the clearing. She saw the two snuggled together on the other side of the clearing at the edge. She brought Nick over and showed him what she saw. He let out an exaggerated sigh and exited the tent. Then he went over and nudged the two awake with his foot. "Getting cozy with our hostage?" He asked as Thor sat up. Karen looked at Nick with fear in her eyes. "Relax, I'm joking," he smiled. "Get dressed, both of you. We have a very busy day ahead of us." He turned and went back to the tent muttering, "how can you stand this cold bare naked?" "We do have fur you know," Thor shot. "Helps keep us warm?" Nick shook his head as he began to dismantle the tent. "Wise guy huh? Guess someone's in a good mood." He smiled at Ahkina who wagged her tail. "He has a good reason to be," Karen said. "We made love half the night and might I say he is a FANTASTIC lover." "Gaahhh not in front of his sister!" Ahkina said in mock disgust. They all laughed but after the camp was dismantled they turned serious. "We're going into this oil complex at noon to see what we can find out," Nick said. "It's possible that there may be fights happening as we infiltrate so keep low and keep quiet. If we can help these furres that are held there we will, but don't be heroes." He looked at Karen and then to Thor who met his gaze. "I want to help," Karen said as if reading their minds. "I don't like the way our kind is being treated." "Fine but Thor is in charge of you. Do what he says when he says, got it?" Nick said. She nodded and Thor handed her his pistol. She shook her head as she returned it. Then she drew a wicked looking blade from a thigh sheath that no one noticed before. "I was attacked when I first changed. I've learned self defense from my adoptive father once I could communicate properly." Thor looked at her in surprise. "You never told me that." "I didn't think I had to," she replied with a light touch on his arm. "If you're tangled up with someone wielding a firearm how will you defend against it?" Ahkina asked dubiously. Karen answered by flipping the knife it her hand from the handle to the blade and throwing it at a tree. It flew straight and true and buried itself to the hilt. She then went to it, gave a hard yank, and pulled it free. "Something else I've taught myself." She smiled and returned to the group. "If everyone's ready, we'll load up and head out," Nick said. They all nodded and within ten minutes they were heading east on the dirt road away from the main roads. They spotted the oil complex a half hour later. It certainly looked abandoned, but there were several trucks and SUVs sitting in the overgrown parking lot, all with closed trailers hitched to them. They pulled in around the side so as to hide the truck from view. Then Thor, Ahkina, and Nick loaded their weapons and put rounds into the weapons' chambers. "Remember, keep the barrel pointed at the ground unless you need to use it. If you need to use it, shoot to wound, not kill. Only kill when ABSOLUTELY necessary." He then unfastened his belt and pulled a sheath off. He handed it to Karen who took it with a questioning look on her face. "Incase you have multiple targets," he explained as he refastened his belt. The squirrel pulled the combat knife half way out of its sheath. "Nice," she said in approval. She put it back in and hooked it through a belt loop of her tight fitting jeans. "We'll stay together if we can. If we get separated, don't panic. Just keep looking and asking questions and we'll meet back here in an hour. That should give us enough time to neutralized the personnel, extract information, and call this place in to the authorities. We'll want to be out of here by the time police and swat teams show up though," Nick said. They all nodded and entered the complex through a side door. The room they entered was filled with empty cages, probably in preparation for a big fight event. Thor uttered a low growl and bared his fangs at the thought of fellow furres being abused like this. The group moved out of the large room and into a hallway, checking every corner of possible contacts. They heard voices in the next room so they positioned themselves near the door. Nick put a finger to his lips. "We'll breach the door and take out any hostiles inside. We need them alive to question them so shoot for the knees," he whispered. They all nodded and put two on each side of the door. Nick held three fingers up and counted down, then pumped his fist. He stepped back, lifted his leg, and kicked the door in. Everything seemed to slow down for them. Thor entered first, firing his weapon on anything that moved. Nick came in next followed by Karen then Ahkira. There were three men left and Nick saw a knife fly by him and embed itself in the thigh of one. Ahkina put a round in the shoulder of another, and he dropped the last with a round to the knee cap. Then time seemed to speed up to normal and they were all breathing heavily. "Relax guys," Nick said taking a deep breath. "Someone had to hear that. Close and barricade the door, we'll start interrogations." Thor and the others nodded. They dragged a table against the door and Thor put a heavy filing cabinet on top of it. A drawer fell open and he collected some files from it. "Look at this," he said holding one up. "These are dates and times of up coming fights. Names are on here as well." "Good work," Nick said. "Let's see if these guys can give us any information on Lucius." He went to one man and grabbed him by the shoulders. Then dragged him to his feet only to slam him against a wall. "Where's Lucius?" He asked calmly. The man didn't answer. "I'm gonna ask one more time. If I don't hear what I like I'll let my friends here at you," Nick said. "Where's Lucius?" Still the man didn't answer. He just looked at Nick with a sneer. "Have it your way," Nick snarled. "Karen would you be so kind as to relieve this man of his balls?" Karen plucked her knife from her takedown with a nasty suction sound and strode over to Nick's hostage. The man's eyes instantly grew as big as saucers and he began struggle. Karen knelt in front of him and cut the man's jeans from around his hips and thighs and grabbed his nuts. Then she put her blade against the base and pressed. The man groaned in pain. "Ok, ok, ok, I'll tell you!" The man screamed. "Just call the bitch off!" "Karen, stand down please," Nick said. "Now you're going to tell me everything you know about Lucius." He dragged the man to a chair and sat him down forcefully. The man ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply. "All I know is he runs the entire underground fighting. He's the head honcho of everything, finances, scheduling, everything." "That's nothing we don't already know," Thor growled from his position at the door. "Where's he run everything from. Where's his headquarters?" Ahkira asked. "I don't know that. I told you everything I know," the man said. Karen moved forward and pressed her knife to his jewels again. "He's stationed somewhere down south!" The man cried. "Please, I don't know anything else! I'm just a security grunt!" He began to sob as Karen backed away. "I have a wife and two daughters, I needed the money, everywhere I applied for an honest job turned me down. This was the only way I could support my family." "Yeah well now you'll be spending probably the rest of your life in federal prison," Nick said. "We have company," Thor growled. "I hear footsteps outside the door." "Don't fire until fired upon," Nick said. "I need to make a call." He pulled out his cellphone and dialed. It rang three times and was picked up on the other end. "Jimmy? It's Nick. I need a favor," a pause. "Had to cut vacation short, Jim. Something's come up. Just trust me. I need an FBI squad dispatched to these coordinates." He relayed the location of the oil complex. "Be warned, it's under heavy security. I also need a sanction." Another pause. "Yeah. You know that meteor impact? It changed some of the animal population into humanoid creatures. And some humans were also affected." He waited as Jim pit an earful to him. "Jim trust me on this. Ever since The Change... SHIT!" Gunfire rang outside the room. Rounds pierced the wooden door. Thor and Ahkina returned fire as Karen dived for cover. "You need to get that sanction and a squad out here NOW!" Nick yelled into his phone. He hung up and took up a position to cover Karen. "Not much longer till they come through the door!" Thor yelled. "What do we do Nick?" "Hold position here! Now's the time to shoot to kill! Anyone come through that door, knock 'em down!" He replied. "We don't really have a choice!" Ahkina shouted. "Back up's on the way! FUCK!" Nick yelled. The door was blew in and a few armed men entered. "Take 'em out!" Nick yelled. He fired his assault rifle and dropped one of the men. Thor decided to drop his rifle and reverted to his brute strength. He plowed right into a man who came through the door. The man dropped his rifle and attempted to fend off Thor but he was slow compared to Thor's animal instincts. Thor picked the man up and threw him right back out the door into several other men attempting to enter. He roared a challenge and picked off another man. Ahkina fired her side arm three times, each time hitting their mark although they weren't exactly lethal hits. She grunted as she absorbed an impact from a tackle, rolled, and flipped her attacker over her head. Nick shot him in the head. More men continued to respond to the commotion and Nick thought they might be overrun. But he was far from being right as an explosion sounded further down the hall. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" A voice shouted. "On the ground NOW!" "There's our back up!" Nick yelled. "Friendlies comin' out!" He helped Karen to her feet and fired his weapon as someone fired at him. "Keep moving and stay low," he told Karen. "Thor!" He pointed at Karen then down the hall. "Get her out of here! Ahkina and I will cover!" Thor nodded and threw a man aside. He picked up his rifle, grabbed Karen, and bolted down the hallway toward the FBI squad. Weapons fire followed and two more men from the complex fell. "Friendlies comin' out!" Nick yelled again. He grabbed Ahkina and pulled her behind him as he headed for the barricade of FBI agents. The two dived behind a wall behind the line and the whole squad began to move back out of their breach hole. They then sealed it off with plexiglass. "Is Captain Jimmy Hall here?" Nick asked one of the men. He nodded and pointed to a rolling command center. "Thanks." The man nodded and returned his attention to watching the breach hole. "Cap'!" Nick yelled once he reached the command center. He banged on the heavy metal door of the rig. "Captain Jimmy Hall!" The door slid open and Jimmy stood with a pistol in his hand. "You didn't tell me you were here," Jimmy said as he stepped down from the rig. "Didn't have time, got kind of caught up," Nick replied. "Glad you're here though." Jimmy looked past Nick at the three furres with an eyebrow raised in question. "These three with you?" He asked. Nick nodded an affirmative. "Yeah. The two wolves are Ahkina and Thor, the squirrel is Karen. There's probably more of their kind in the complex no doubt being held hostage now." "Mind telling me what's going on?" Jimmy asked. "Ya got a cup of coffee and something to eat?" Nick returned. Jimmy just smiled and shook his head. "Come on in," he said. "This started a few months ago; about a month after The Change. I found Ahkina and Thor looking for food under my deck and took them in," Nick explained. "I taught them everything they would need to know to be able to fit in in human society; well aside from the obvious factors. They didn't know they were being followed by one of Lucius' men. And we picked Karen up in town a few miles west." "So you were forced to fight against your will?" Jimmy asked Thor who nodded slowly. "Alright. Here's what I think we should do. We'll lock this place down and get the furres out of there. Anyone you haven't shot will be arrested and turned into the local authorities. I do have a sanction for you on this. But the rest of your journey will be questionable." Nick shook his head in dismay. "Which is why I'm coming with you," Jimmy added. "I want to see this for myself so I can alert Command to the threat. If there's underground fighting going on, there's no doubt there's money being trafficked around. And who knows what that money's being used for." "Let's get this place locked down then," Nick said. "I'll take a Thor, Ahkina, and Karen with me and two of your men. We'll secure the furres." Jimmy looked at Nick. "It would mean a lot to Thor and Ahkina to free the furres knowing what they're going through," Nick explained. "Done," Jimmy confirmed. "Thanks Jim," Nick said. "Let's get moving." "Jackson, Shellhammer!" Jimmy called to two men posted near the breach hole. "You're with Felker!" "Yes sir!" The two replied. Nick trotted over to them and took a knee. "We're going back in, gentlemen," he said. "We're going to find the holding cells where they're kept and escort them out of the there. Keep it tight and shoot only when necessary." "Yessir," the two men replied. "We're gonna go in by way of air vents," Nick continued. "They know we're here obviously but they don't know we're here for the furres. We stick together in there, we cover each other's back." The two men nodded and they followed Nick around to the rear of the building. The group found a large air vent and popped off the grate covering it. Nick went in first followed by Thor, Ahkina, and then Karen. Jackson and Shellhammer came in last. They eased their way down an air shaft and landed on a platform hanging above an arena. No one was present but there was fresh blood on the dirt floor. Thor bared his fangs at the sight of it and let out a growl causing Jackson and Shellhammer to flinch. "He does that," Nick said. "It's his way of letting us know that he's upset." "More than upset, Nick," Thor replied. He leapt over the railing and landed on a walkway behind bleachers. The rest followed. "Looks like they might've cut a match sort because of you," Jackson said. "All the better," Nick replied. "Looks like there's only one way in or out of the arena." He pointed to hallway leading out of the arena. "Let's see where it goes." "Let me go first," Thor said pushing passed. "I can smell others like me." "Follow him," Nick said to Jackson and Shellhammer. "I'll see if I can find anything in the announcer's booth." The two nodded and followed Thor down the hallway. Nick and Ahkina stayed behind with Karen. "Look for anything with numbers or names," Nick said. "That'll give us an idea of who all's involved in this. It'll also give us an idea of how much money is being circulated through here." He pulled a drawer from the desk and dumped it. "Nothing," he muttered. "I'm not seeing anything," Karen said from a filing cabinet. "Nothing over here," Ahkina agreed. "They must've moved everything," Karen guessed. "Alright, let's catch up with the others and see what we have to deal with," Nick said. The three of them moved down the hallway, weapons ready with Nick at point. They heard movement ahead of them and stopped. Nick put his finger to his lips and they eased forward slowly. Gunfire emitted from further down the hall and they pushed against the wall providing a smaller target. Nick fired back and was rewarded with a yell. He moved forward and found a man dead in the hallway; not one of his own. They came to an intersection and stopped. He saw a shadow and raised his weapon but lowered it when he saw it Jackson. "Down this way," he said leading them down the left hall. "We found the holding cells but the cages have heavy duty locks on them. Some of these guys in here are pretty big." "Alright," Nick replied surveying the room. Every cage was occupied by bloody, scarred furres that looked malnourished. "Radio for another team and have them bring heavy duty bolt cutters." Jackson nodded and relayed the mesage. "What have we got here Shellhammer?" Nick asked. "Lots of these creatures, mostly carnivores. Leopards, lions, wolves, couple bears. All male. They're beat up pretty bad." He looked over the room in dismay. "I'd suggest lockin' this place down first before we move them. Only a handful are able to walk outta here by the looks of it." Nick nodded and went to Thor and Ahkira who were standing to the side with Karen. All three of them had rage in their eyes but their tails were drooped in emotional agony. "We're getting them out of here," he said putting a hand on Thor's shoulder. Ahkina nuzzled into him and Karen buried her face in Thor's chest, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Nick," Jackson called. "Jimmy sent two teams in through the breach hole. They have the complex mostly locked down but are meeting heavy resistance near a reactor in the south wing." "What about getting a team to us? We need a medic in here." "A team's on the way through the air vent. We'll hold here. He wants you to back up the guys in the reactor." Nick nodded and motioned to Thor, Ahkina, and Karen. Five minutes later they heard the sound of a fire fight. Nick stopped the group and peered around a corner and sure enough there were complex security guards shooting down the hall at FBI agents. He looked at Karen and motioned his hand miming a knife being thrown. She nodded and drew her own knife and the one Nick had given her before reaching the complex. She stepped around the corner and threw both of them at the same time. Both knives struck their marks and two men went down. She then stepped back behind the corner and let Thor take her place. He pulled the trigger of his assault rifle and sent a hail of rounds down the hallway. He stepped back and smiled as another man screamed and hit the floor. Nick stepped around the corner and yelled down the hallway. "Friendlies twelve o'clock! Watch your fire!" Three men turned and fired and he was pulled back around the corner. "Don't so that again!" Ahkina scolded. "Thought I'd get you excited," Nick replied. He peered around the corner and saw that the three men who turned toward him were now dead. "Ahkina and Karen, get in that room and see what they're so viciously protecting. Thor and I will cover you." The two girls nodded and dashed to the other side of the intersection. They crouched behind the wall and made ready to bolt. Nick and Thor stepped from behind their wall, changing clips as they went, slammed a round into their chambers and sprayed the complex security with rounds. Karen and Ahkina and bolted for a room halfway between them and the security. Two men went down but two more took their place. The two girls threw themselves into the room and slammed the door behind them. "Alright they made it!" Nick yelled. He grabbed Thor and dragged him back behind the wall and they switched mags. Then they stepped out again and put two more men down. The FBI agents on the other side of the security began advancing their position and three more security went down. After about fifteen minutes of shooting, and, eventually, hand-to-hand combat, they thinned the security down and finished them off. Nick acknowledged the FBI squad and they opened the door to the room. "We got everything," Ahkira said once she realized it was Nick. She lowered her sidearm. "Names, dates, financials, locations." "Good work girls," Nick said as he took the papers. "These need to go to Jimmy. We'll look through them and find out where Lucius is hiding his sorry ass." Ahkina hugged him tight and even kissed him. The FBI agents looked at him in surprise but didn't say anything. "Let's see how the evacuation's going," Thor said. "I need to know if the others can be freed." "Alright. Thor, Karen, get back to Jackson and Shellhammer. See if you can communicate to the furres that we're here to help," Nick said. The two nodded and headed off. He and Ahkina and the FBI agents went back down the hallway and out the breach hole. An hour later, the four were on the road with Jimmy tagging along. He looked out the window, embarrassed to see Thor and Karen nuzzling each other. "So you and Ahkina?" He commented to Nick. "I guess we kinda grew on each other," Nick replied. He glanced at Jimmy in the rearview mirror. "While I taught them. One night she just kind of crawled in bed and things happened and here we are." "Isn't it... I don't know... Odd? I mean it could border on bestiality," Jimmy said. "I don't know if the government's sanctioned such couplings. Of human and furres I mean." "Not interested in politics or the law at the moment Jim," Nick replied. "All I care about is getting this Lucius guy off their backs and end this underground fighting." "Just so it doesn't come back and bite you in the ass, Nick," was all Jimmy had to say. They pulled off the road and followed an overgrown ATV trail for about a quarter mile and stopped. They set up three different tents, two of them being supplied by Jimmy. Nick took first watch while the rest took to the tents and slept. After an hour, Ahkina emerged and went to him. "What is your intensions after we're done with this?" She asked as she put her arms around him from behind and laid her head on his back. "Well," he replied as he turned to face her. He was shirtless even though it was only forty degrees out. "I figured we could buy a house, the four of us; you, me, Thor, and Karen. Move out in the middle of nowhere." "Mmmmmm, sounds good to me," she replied nuzzling her muzzle under his chin. She licked his neck tenderly. Then she traced his scar on his chest. "What happened here?" She asked quietly. Nick looked away from her and took her hand away from his chest. "I don't like talking about it," he said. "It's too much to talk about, even for me." "Tell me," the she-wolf persisted gently. "I won't judge." Nick looked at her then. "It's not about judgement, Ahkina," he said lowly. "This isn't just a physical scar." He began to pace slowly. "It's a very deep emotional scar. I've never been able to trust anyone afterwards; not even Jimmy..." He paused and took in a shaky breath. "Because he's the one who ordered it." Ahkira stopped him and gently forced him to sit. "What did he order you to do?" Nick took in another shaky breath and let it out. "I had a brother. I trusted him with everything, my social life, personal life; even my deepest darkest secrets," he began. "We both joined the army at eighteen and nineteen, him being the eldest of us. We were put in the same devision and served two years before being advanced to special forces." Another shaky breath. "We dropped out after our tenth mission. Then we were both hired by a private government firm to be black operations assassins, or BOAs for short. We ran a few missions together and some apart, then things started to change with my brother." At this point Ahkina had moved in to his arms and had nestled herself against him. "Jimmy ordered me to kill my brother on accusations of being a high ranking officer for a domestic terrorist group. I didn't believe him so I confronted my brother about it. He denied it at first but then I started asking questions that I knew he knew the answers to. He attacked me. He fled afterwards though. I was forced to track him down and eliminate him." Tears rolled down his cheeks now and he began to sob. "I've never told anyone about this, not even my parents." He sobbed. "They think he was killed in action serving his country. I couldn't bring myself to tell them the truth." Ahkina was quiet as he cried. She moved to face him and he buried his face in her chest and cried. She wrapped her arms around him and rocked back and forth cradling his head against her and shushing him soothingly. His sobbing subsided and he pulled away from her chest and wiped his eyes. "So the story you told me about him being killed across the sea?" She asked. "A lie of course," Nick replied not meeting her gaze. "Even I can't admit the truth sometimes." Ahkina lifted his chin to look into his eyes. "You taught me many things about the world that I never knew. One thing I've learned from you is that you can't keep running from your past. You need to confront it. That's why Thor and I are here. We need to accept the fact of what we went through, and then move on." She kissed him lightly on the lips and wrapped her arms around his neck. "And so the teacher becomes the student and vise versa," Nick said into the kiss. He felt his shaft begin to throb and he gripped Ahkina's waist. "It's the end of my watch you know." "Mmmmm then come to bed," Ahkina moaned. "Let someone else take over."

They stood and Nick woke Jimmy to take over. Then he and Ahkina entered their tent and made wild love all through the night with short power naps to keep them energized.

Author's note: While there isn't sex mentioned or described in this installment I feel that it's an important piece to the puzzle if you will as Nick helps Thor and Ahkira to bring down Lucius and the underground fighting of furres against furres.