Jay tapped his controls, then bit on his thumbnail. Even though he was more than proficient at operating the high-end Altus LRX, this time it was for high stakes. "Number two is running empty."

Parker glanced over at his monitor. Sure enough, the battery was dangerously low. "It's been up there over two hours. Send number four out and bring it back."

"Sure thing boss."

While the drones were a perfect surveillance tool and gave them eyes on the ground, they could only last in the air for one hundred and fifty minutes. Granted, this was nearly twice the average life of the standard commercially available drone, but when money wasn't an issue, they could afford the best. And the Altus intelligence UAS's were top of the line.

A bang on Joe's pub's front door stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Can't they read the fucking sign," said Michelle.

Marie placed a coffee beside Parker and grimaced. "Keep your voice down."

All eyes were on Joe as he ambled across to the entrance.

She glanced around the room. Alice who, with Dr. E. had been clearing imported beer out from one of the fridges to replace it with morphine, hauled in a sharp breath. Despite returning from Atlanta with the formula for a Werewolf strong masking agent, Alice blamed herself for not finding a vaccine to the Lycan's poison. No amount of arguing would convince her otherwise.

"We're closed. The health department found some asbestos in the ceiling," Joe called out through the closed door. "Come back in a couple of days, it should be clear by then."

After a bit of a grumble, whoever was trying to get in, left.

A collective sigh of relief spread across the room when Joe returned. Now it was safe to resume their frantic activity, Parker pushed a button on her phone, then tapped the Bluetooth headset.

"How're things on the ground?"

"There's been a build-up of activity but no move yet to leave," said Daniel. He and Morgan had taken up a position at Kaitlyn's team's sharpshooters post. The remainder of the alliance forces were divided in a convoy of cars ten blocks away with the rest scattered in the abandoned buildings nearest the hospital. No one wanted to show their hand before time. "There's a good line of sight from this position."

"I agree," said Kaitlyn. She had already set up her sniper rifle before heading to her unexpected initial mission. "Make sure you don't touch the Lapua Magnum. I've got it the way I like it. And make sure none of those other immigrants up there touch it either."

Daniel chuckled. "Wouldn't think of it."

"I wish they'd hurry up," Simon said with a grumble. "It's freaky down here, and the rats are getting a little bolshy."

Parker couldn't help the smile that escaped her lips. Simon hadn't stopped complaining about his assignment since he was conscripted.

Daniel cut into the conversation "Murphy, are your teams in place."

"Affirmative. We've got ten teams ready to go depending on how many of Elise's roll out."

The only information that Michelle and Joe were able to furnish was that Bradley, and an unknown number of others, would be headed out that evening. While he appeared to be loose-lipped about most things, his destination wasn't something that slipped out.

Parker readjusted her headset. Unlike the werewolves, it was hard for her to distinguish the multiple voices on the open channel. She focused back on the real-time footage from the drones. Night had well and truly fallen, and the partial moon did not provide much light on the area. A few street lights gave them some visibility, which suited them just fine. The masking formula had been a godsend. They had moved half of their fighters into the nearest buildings, confident their scent would not be detected.

Zeke headed towards the back door and waved to her. "Just heading up to the roof with a new battery."

She nodded to him and filled Daniel and the other in. "We're swapping out a drone."

"Make sure it stays high. The last one came too low, and we could hear it."

"Boss, we've got movement."

She rushed to Jay's monitor. A moment ago, the grounds just outside the hospital had been clear. Now, not so much.

A small group gathered by the sidewalk in front of the main entrance, with a few cars scattered along the circular driveway. The minutes ticked slowly by, and more of Elise's converts trickled out.

Those assembled in the pub, and on the open comms line had fallen silent. She didn't want to breathe in case it gave them away.

Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen...

Her heart dropped as more sauntered out of the building.

What if they're all Lycan hybrids?

By now, everyone was crowded around the monitor.

Marie stiffened, and one hand went to the small bump on her stomach. "That's him. That's Bradley," she whispered.

The man, Joe's pregnant waitress, had pointed to, emerged with three others from the hospital.

Jay let out a low whistle. "He's a giant."

"Team GPS are you ready?" Daniel whispered.

"Affirmative," replied Kaitlyn.

Simon, Demetri, and Adam echoed the same response. However, Simon followed up with, "It's about time."

"Murphy, they're headed to the vehicles... It looks like there are six, with four to five in each..." Daniel paused. "Shit, it looks like two of them are stacked full with guns under the tarp."

Murphy grunted. "We can get rid of a couple with the rocket launches. The rest we'll deal with somehow. Just make sure you take care of her once and for all."

Parker found it hard to breathe as she watched the unfolding scene. It was agony.

The flurry of butterflies in her stomach reached panic point. Her throat grew parched, and it was difficult to swallow. All eyes were glued to the small monitor. The drone's onboard camera gave them a bird's eye view of the hospital and the activity along with it.

Daniel and the rest of the alliance force were out of sight.

"Are you ready with three?" she asked.

Jay let out a deep breath. His normally jovial face was pinched as he focused on the controls. The high-tech drone that resembled a miniature helicopter would follow Bradley and his team as far as its range would allow.

She crossed her fingers. Provided luck was on their side they would have an alternate way of tracking them. The drone could go only so far.

"Would you just stop jabbering and go already," said Joe.

Marie, who stood beside him, eyes wide as saucers, wrung the towel in her hand even tighter. "As usual, he wants to be the center of attention."

Alice clenched her hands together and glanced towards Dr. E. "If this goes wrong we may have patients much sooner than we thought."

Parker reached out and touched Alice's arm. "You can do this. It's no different from the last time."

Alice hauled in a sharp breath. "That's the problem."

Jay fidgeted in his chair then snapped forward. "They're off... no their not."

Her focus moved back to the monitor, and her stomach dropped. She tapped the unmute on her headset. "Are you seeing what we're seeing?"

"That explains why they haven't left," said Daniel.

He updated Murphy on the new development. The information didn't seem to phase the FBI profiler.

She held her breath as Bradley's car headed out and was quickly followed by the others in the convoy.

"This tension is not good for the baby. I can't watch." Marie spun on her heels and headed back towards the bar. "Let me know when its over. I'll make another batch of coffee."

Parker tapped Jay on the shoulder. "Don't lose them."

Michelle snorted. "That's hardly fucking likely considering there's only one way back out to the main road."

That single fact was the only known element of the plan. The rest was going to be pure dumb luck.

The cars snaked around the desolate one-way streets. As they approached the one that would lead out to the main road and then onto the freeway, Parker's heart thumped in her chest. She tapped the unmute button. "They're five seconds out. Be ready."

Bradley's vehicle turned the corner and headed northwards. At the top of the street, between the convoy and the main road, was a large city garbage truck. In the dim light, all Bradley and the rest of his cohorts would see was a woman in a city-issued high viz overalls directing the oversized vehicle to perform a U-turn on a single lane road, effectively blocking their path.

"And here's my curtain call," said Kaitlyn under her breath. She called out in a loud and overly exaggerated irritated voice, "It's supposed to be a three-point during you idiot, not a thirty-three point."

Kaitlyn turned towards the oncoming lead car and raised her hand to slow it down. When it stopped just in front of her, she strode around to the passenger's side. "Sorry, it's his first night on the job. We'll be out of your way in a sec. Really sorry about this."

Bradley rolled his window down and craned his neck out the window to the offending truck. "No problem sweet cheeks. If you like, I can get out and show you how a real man drives."

Michelle held her hand up to her neck, squeezed and made gagging sounds. Joe swiped at her to quieten her down.

Kaitlyn, without skipping a beat, leaned further towards him.

Parker held back a chuckle. Even though the comms was on mute, she didn't want to risk it. Kaitlyn had made sure the overalls reeked just as much as the garbage truck, insisting that it had to appear authentic.

Bradley coughed, and his head disappeared back into the truck. He tapped the button multiple times to get the window up. "Hurry it up will you?"

A moment later the truck successfully turned, allowing the cars to pass by.

Kaitlyn ambled back towards the truck and hopped in. Once the last car turned the corner, she jumped back out and peeled off her glow in the dark overalls. The driver threw out a black beanie hat which Kaitlyn caught effortlessly. She piled her hair under it and set it into place.

Now dressed from head to toe in black, she jogged across the road and stood in the middle. "Coast is clear."

The manhole cover near where she stopped moved. Kaitlyn scrunched up her overalls, tucked them under one arm, reached down and held out her hand.

"Freak, take a step back will you, you stink to high heaven."

Kaitlyn threw her overalls at Simon. "I should have backed the truck up and emptied it on your head."

A low growl echoed through the now open comms channel. Daniel clearly wasn't thrilled with the conversation. "Did you get the job done?"

Simon jumped up onto the road and pushed the heavy cover back into place. "Textbook."

Parker moved across to a small monitor and a red dot blipped on the freeway, heading west. "The tracker is on, and we have a clear signal."

She let out a sigh of relief. Simon had successfully placed a GPS tracker on the lead vehicles undercarriage. It was a risk, and they had no way of guaranteeing the cars would stop in the right place.

"We see it too," said Murphy. "I'll send back the ones I don't need."

"Make sure you take enough Enforcers with you to get the job done. Our primary goal is to protect the pack they are after," said Daniel. He paused, and the line fell quiet. "Everyone to their assigned stations."

Kaitlyn waved towards Adam who put the truck in gear and pulled away from the curb. They needed to ditch it well away from their current location. It wouldn't do to attract any form of attention when they were trying to stay under the radar. Kaitlyn broke into a sprint. "On my way."

Parker's heart began to race again. This evening was going to give her a coronary. This was it. There was no backing out now. They would need to wait until Bradley and his team were well away from the city limits before attacking the hospital.

They had to assume that Elise would be in contact with her bulldogs in the early part of their journey. Once they had cleared the city, Parker would enable the cell phone jammers placed in strategic locations around the block. It wouldn't do for the team that got attacked first to warn the others.

***

Joe rubbed his face with both hands. "Struth, the waiting is a bitch."

Parker echoed his sentiments. Only thirty minutes had passed since Elise's strike force had left. But each second felt like an hour.

Everyone's nerves were frazzled and the night had only just begun.

A loud, persistent bang at the door broke through the tense silence. They were so rattled everyone in the pub physically jumped at the sound.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Who the fuck would be trying to get in at this time of night?"

Joe, who was having a crash course in first aid, headed across to the door. Both he and Michelle would ferry the injured from the battle zone to Alice and Dr. E to be treated. "I'll deal with it. It'll be just another punter who can't read for shit."

Parker noticed one of the drones had dropped altitude. "Take it up twenty feet. It's drifting too low."

Joe shouted at the entrance. "We're closed. Come back next week."

Instead of listening to Joe's instructions, there was another pounding at the large wooden door. "I need to speak to Dr. Alice Hayes. It's urgent. And don't tell me she's not there because she is."

Parker's stomach dropped, and her head snapped to face Alice. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. "What's she doing here?"

Alice was just as shocked at the voice. Her face lost color, and she visibly gulped.

Joe, unsure what to do, looked back across the room and raised a brow.

Parker let out a sigh. "You'd better let her in."

What the hell is she doing here?

Joe slid the bolts back and turned the locks on the door in order to open it. When he did, Dr. Petra Baghurst stood on the sidewalk. Next, to her, a large plastic water container rested on a handcart trolley. He poked his head out the door and looked up and down the street. "Lady, if you're coming in, get in."

Petra moved toward the cart, but Joe got to it first. The cart and Petra were bundled into the Pub in quick succession, and the door bolted shut.

Alice's brows fused together. "W..what are you doing here?"

Parker crossed her arms over her chest. "More to the point... how are you here?"

Petra shrugged. "Microdot on the inside of the cover of Alice's phone." Her face swung back to Alice. "I have a spray that will mimic the cloud seeding rain... only with a lot higher content of silver... I think it might work. I only had a limited time to test it on the tissue samples, but it's better than nothing, and I think it will help."

Zeke leaned towards Jay. "What's she talking about?"

Jay shrugged and continued to divide his focus between the drone and the drama playing out in the bar.

No one moved. While no one said a word, their expressions spoke volumes.

Petra took a step forward. "Look, I don't know exactly what's going on, but I do know that you are about to go into a major fight with whoever is behind the killings. I also know this includes Lycans, these poisonous animals they have at their disposal."

The breath went out of Parker's lungs. Her brain buzzed—and not in a good way. The warning bells were ringing in double time. Not only did the CDC doctor manage to track them down, she knew they were headed into battle. More importantly, how does she know about the Lycan?

A beep in her ear brought her out of her stupor. Daniel had unmuted his connection to the open comm channel. "We're in position. How far out is Murphy's team?"

She tapped her earpiece and grimaced. "Can't talk right now. I'll get back to you."

Until I have this under control, he doesn't need to know about this.

After muting it again, she scanned the room. No one had taken their eyes off of Petra. While Alice hadn't expected the CDC doctor to front up, her expression wasn't one of surprise at the revelation of knowing what they were about to do.

She narrowed her eyes at Alice. "I think you have some explaining to do."

Alice ignored her and moved across the room to stand in front of Petra. "How sure are you?"

"Without one of the poisonous animals to test it against, it's my best-educated guess. It won't stop the effects of the poison, but it should help those who come in contact combat it."

Alice bit on her bottom lip and stared at the large water container.

Hope bloomed in Parker's chest. In her shock at the doctor's sudden appearance, the reason for it had not registered... until now. She remained silent. This wasn't her area of expertise. Alice's decision would guide their actions.

"What's the delivery mechanism? Are they supposed to drink it?"

Petra shook her head. "Because we don't know whether it was the rain on the animal or on Murphy's wound that diluted the effect, we need to replicate the original delivery... albeit in a stronger dose."

"You mean we need to make it rain?"

"No, not necessarily. You just need it to rain on the... you know..." Petra took a deep breath. "I don't believe I'm saying this... battle zone."

Alice turned to Parker. Her eyes were pleading. "We have to try. Our mates and families are out there."

Parker fluttered her eyes closed. Of course, they would try it. She'd attempt anything if it meant making sure Daniel came out of this in one piece. Dare she hope? A small part of her clung to the possibility. But how did they make it rain over the hospital?

The answer smashed into her, and her eyes flew open wide. That's it!

She put her glasses on and reached for her tablet. "I want to know the maximum payload for each of the drones."

"On it boss," Jay and Zeke said in unison.

She turned to Michelle and Joe. "The rotor UAV's came with extra fittings. I need you to find where the hell we put them."

Her brain moved into overdrive. If she needed to move heaven and earth to give Daniel and the others a chance, that's exactly what she'd do.

"Dr. Baghurst, I am going to need you to walk me through how this thing works and how much rain I am going to need to spread."

***

By the time Petra walked them through her solution, Joe and Michelle had retrieved the agricultural spray containers from the packing boxes.

"That's not going to be enough."

Parker scanned the bar area. "We are going to need to jimmy something up then."

Joe scratched his jaw. "There's an electronics store just down the road. They've got security on the front, but nothing around the back. If we need any additional supplies, I suggest we go shopping."

"Fine, but we will be paying for what we take." She checked her watch and took a deep breath. "Time's running out. Daniel is getting ready to attack. I need to give him an update."

Parker cringed. He knew something was up. His constant demand for her to unmute was becoming louder and louder as the seconds ticked by. She lifted her hand to touch the small button on her earpiece when Petra frowned and glanced around the room.

"Where's Joshua?" Petra asked.

"He's with Murphy's team."

Parker groaned aloud. She'd completely forgotten their strategy to take Elise on with two separate teams. What if Petra's silver concoction worked? "They're on a separate mission and left about forty-five minutes ago." She turned to Jay. "How far out?"

"Only fifty miles. It looks like there was an accident on the I76 and it's only just cleared."

She frowned. I76? That leads to...

A sharp pain daggered itself behind her left eye and threatened to turn her headache into a full-blown migraine. She kept her breathing even as she unmuted the connection to Daniel. "Switch to 13."

This was the agreed signal when they needed to speak privately.

"Why have you been ignoring me?"

"I know where Elise has sent her team?" she said in a rush, ignoring his outburst.

The line fell silent. "Something tells me I'm not going to like this."

She rubbed her eye. The pain was getting worse. "Pittsburgh. I'm not a hundred percent sure but that's my best guess."

Dread welled up from her feet and exploded in her chest. Site B for the Chicago pack had been moved from its original site to Pittsburgh. How could Elise know? It was decided after Tamas's defection.

"How deep does her poison go?" The anger in his tone was loud and clear.

"At the moment that's the least of our problems. It means she may know we're on to her."

This is not happening.

Petra, deep in conversation with Alice, caught her eye and the flicker of hope that gave birth at hearing of a way to reduce the effects of the Lycan's poison pushed through. "We think we have a way to counter the effects of the poison." She gave him a quick rundown of the unexpected arrival of Petra, thankful that he had to keep his temper in check. It wouldn't do to give their whereabouts away so close to Elise's army.

By the time she finished their conversation and Daniel proceeded to track down the Chicago pack alpha, they had a plan. Not a great one. But a plan.

She turned to Petra. "How much silver rain do you have?"

"There's nine more like this in my car."

"I've done the math," said Alice. "If the entire contingent is hybrid, Murphy's team will need three containers, at least. Even if we got to them in time, we still have the issue of the delivery mechanism."

Petra reached for the trolley cart she'd brought with her. "Leave that to me."

She hesitated, unsure of what the CDC doctor was up to.

"Damn it! For once just trust me. I am on your side. If there's a chance I can help Joshua out of this mess, I'm going to take it."

Parker sighed. "Alice, give Jay Petra's phone number so he can forward her updated information on their location." She called across to Joe, "Get the containers from the car and leave three. Daniel is sending two of his men back to get it to Murphy's team."

She stood toe to toe with the CDC doctor and narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

Petra nodded firmly, her expression set and determined. While she didn't know it, her need to protect Joshua came from a connection she had yet to understand.

Parker's headache hadn't budged. She breathed in and let out a deep breath. "Dr. Baghust, I hope you are prepared for whatever you are about to face."