WOLF - pt.3
#3 of WOLF
Part 3...enjoy~
An hour later I found myself still handcuffed but no longer sat in that small interrogation room.
Instead I had traded one enclosed space for another.
It turned out the man who smelled of snakes was one Mr Linus Eckhardt. He was a blend of various jobs and titles: part socialite, part lawyer, part charity organiser and part asshole.
Don't get me wrong, I'm usually a great judge of character and the judgement I made about Linus Eckhardt was that he was a grade-A asshole. I could tell that as I watched him work a silver tongue with Detective Black and the commissioner himself.
"Mr Eckhardt, the charges say more than enough for what Mr Whyatt's future holds," Commissioner Hardaker explained.
"Regardless I would like to offer an ultimatum," Linus replied, painfully positive as he smiled down at the Commissioner.
"Ultimatum?" Detective Black repeated. He was stood, leaning against the bookcase just behind the Commissioner's desk, "What kind of ultimatum?" he continued.
"Simple. Hold off on the sentencing of Mr Whyatt's charges, while he partakes in a self-help course at my estate."
"Excuse me?" Hardaker replied.
"W-What?" this from Black.
"What kind of X-Men crap is this?!" I growled.
Linus just smiled.
Hardaker rubbed the bridge of his nose and asked, "What does this course aim to do?"
"Think of it as a juvenile correctional facility that caters for both mental and physical rehabilitation. Jack is a troubled teen, estranged from what family he possesses, while living on an adrenaline ride of violence and vandalism."
"This is bullshit!" I snarled.
I was sat across the room on a plush leather couch set against one wall.
Hardaker sighed.
"Relax, Mr Whyatt," Black added.
"Easy for you to say, Black! Your not about to be whisked off by Mary-fucking-Poppins here!" I snapped back.
"In this incident he has no legal standing. Your not going anywhere except prison."
Even the Commissioner seemed sure of this as he sat behind his desk.
His portly five-foot-ten frame bound in a similar suit to Black's. His hair was balding here and there, and his eyes were beady and a watered-down grey. But there was experience in those eyes, a hardened determination that Black possessed as well.
Linus grinned. "I thought you would question my legal actions here, which is why-" he reached inside his suit jacket and pulled a white envelope free from the inner pocket. "-I had this court order sanctioned."
He placed it on the desk between himself and Hardaker.
His green eyes narrowed, triumph burned in that deep, emerald green, his mouth curved into a smile filled with confidence.
Hardaker sliced open the envelope and read silently to himself. Black glanced at the piece of paper in Hardaker's stout fingers and then looked up at me.
Shit!
"I think you'll find Judge Anderson has agreed with the need for rehabilitation."
"Fuck that!" I sniped.
"Mr Whyatt, please, calm down."
"Calm down? How can I calm down? Send me down! Let me fuck around in a cell for a while. Do NOT send me to a funny farm!" I snarled at the Commissioner.
Hardaker considered me and then shook his head. "It's out of my hands, Mr Whyatt."
I stared up at Linus who smirked back.
"What are you grinning at, snake-eyes?"
Linus continued to smirk as he asked, "Commissioner Hardaker, Detective, might I have a moment with my client?"
"I'm not your fucking client!" I snapped.
Black added, "Have your moment." He seemed determined not to leave the room.
"Detective!" Hardaker growled.
He stood up and lead the Detective from the room, leaving me alone with the snake.
"So what do you want-"
I barely got my words out before Linus' slender, long-fingered hand encompassed my face. His hand was like steel, fingers like a vice, gripping at my flesh.
"You and I need to come to an understanding, pup!" Linus sneered, he brought his face close to mine and hissed, "You are nothing more than a mongrel, a fleabag roaming the streets, acting out like most spoiled dogs do when no one's watching you eat your own ass anymore!"
"You...can't do...this!" I growled.
I raised my hands, handcuffs and all, and wrapped them around Linus' slender wrist.
"I can do what the fuck I want, dog! Your mine now!"
His eyes slipped from emerald green to an alien yellow-green shade, his black pupil morphed into a single slit in either eye. The smell of serpentine scales filled my nose like poison clouding the air.
Fuck!
And with that I toppled to the couch. I could feel my heart thud against my rib cage. It had been a long time since someone had scared me in a single instant.
He was more than a mere weresnake, he was a fucking monster.
"You've never encountered another were-anything have you?" Linus asked.
I shook my head reluctantly.
He grinned, and added, "You'll soon learn that you are a weakling, a very small fish in a very big pond full of big, bad sharks, especially when you compare yourself with some of your new...colleagues."
He straightened his tie and composed himself before he went for the office door to retrieve the waiting cops.
Lot of good they had done me.
A moment later the door opened, and everyone spilled back into the room, as well as a new face to add to the confusion.
He stood at around six-three and, in one word, was simply broad. Arms, shoulders, chest, everything was broad and encased in black material. A fitted tee stretched across the expanse of his muscular torso, a pair of tailored black suit pants enclosed around his thick legs and shoes encompassed his feet.
A smattering of silver rings encompassed his index and middle fingers, as well as the thumbs on either hand. He had his short, black hair slicked back from his square-jawed face. His eyes hidden behind tinted lenses.
I could smell wolf on this one, a familiar, woodland scent, and something else. Blood.
"Mr Whyatt, might I introduce you to Luis Strong," Linus said as he patted the taller man's shoulder.
Strong seemed like the perfect last name for this particular werewolf. He oozed power and intimidation. Definitely muscle for hire.
"He'll be your overseer until we arrive at Haven," Linus continued, "Do get along."
"Haven?" Black repeated curiously.
"The name of the facility that caters for men and women with Mr Whyatt's...condition," Linus explained.
"Black! Hardaker! Do NOT let them take me!" I demanded.
"Its legally binding. There's nothing we can do, Jack," Hardaker explained.
Shit!
"What good are you then?" I snarled.
I stood up and raised my handcuffed hands to them. "Let me go then!" I growled.
Hardaker and Black looked at one another, and then Black moved forward to undo the handcuffs.
Linus just smiled the entire time.
Snakes. Even weresnakes could be devious it seemed. Just my luck.