| Supernatural Fiction posted June 9, 2020 | Chapters: |
...14 15 -16- 17... 
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A chapter of a Novel of the Breedline series/rewrite
A chapter in the book THE CURSE
Attack of the Rogue Wolf
by scongrove
The author has placed a warning on this post for violence.
| Background Thanks for taking the time to read my chapter. I am going back and rewriting, so if you see any mistakes, please let me know. Enjoy & be safe! |
With his mind focused on Captain Hodge’s office, Manuel started down the hall when he heard shouts as two officers led a guy in handcuffs toward the conference room. As Manuel stopped and cast a glance in their direction, the prisoner glared at him and shouted, “What the hell are you lookin’ at, pig?”
One of the detectives that were guiding the convict said something back, but Manuel didn’t hear it. Whatever he’d muttered was effective, as the shaved head scumbag immediately shut up. He was a witness in the Benedetti crime family, who had been trafficking guns, drugs, and prostitution for generations. His name was Jimmy Fratianno III, grandson of the late Aladino “Jimmy the Weasel” Fratianno. Three years ago, they brought him in on cocaine and heroin transportation charges. Captain Hodge had offered him a deal in exchange for a bigger fish. If Jimmy gave up the names of his connections, it could take five years off his sentence.
When Manuel turned around, his partner was motioning him over.
“Get your ass in gear, Detective,” Frank told him. “You’ve got exactly thirty seconds before Captain rips you a new one.”
“Keep your pants on. I’m coming.” Manuel was about to start for the door when he heard a shotgun go off.
He instantly ducked. “What the f—”
In the corner of his eye, Manuel caught sight of his partner’s torso twist like a rope. Frank went with the force of the blast, spinning to the ground with his hand covering his shoulder.
Moving fast and low, Manuel got Frank the hell out of the way, managing to take cover behind a desk in case the shooter was ready for round two.
“Stay down,” Manuel told Frank as he quickly took stock of his injury. It was nothing too serious. Fortunately, it was just a graze.
Frank winced. “It burns like a son of a bitch.”
Manuel slipped out of his jacket and pressed it against Frank’s wound. “Oh hell, Perkins,” Manuel grumbled quietly. “Suck it up. The slug barely grazed you. It’s bleeding like a sieve, but it’ll slow if you keep pressure on it.”
As Frank held the jacket over his wound, Captain Hodge shot around the corner on his hands and knees like a bat out of hell.
“What the hell is going on?” Hodge demanded. Then his eyes homed in on Frank’s bloody shoulder. “Shit! You all right, Detective?”
Frank nodded. “It’s just a flesh wound, Captain.”
Hodge let out a heavy sigh. “Did either of you get a look at the shooter?”
With his eyes locked on the captain’s, Manuel shook his head. “No, but I think I have a pretty good idea who the asshole is,” he said to Hodge. “It’s Jimmy Fratianno.”
Hodge checked his watch, realizing it was time for Mr. Fratianno’s deposition. “Shit,” he cursed through gritted teeth. “I almost forgot about the damn Beneditti case.”
“Yeah,” Manuel said. “Jimmy was supposed to give up those names, but it looks like he suddenly had a change of heart.”
“For Chrissakes,” Frank chimed in. “How in the hell did he manage to get his hands on a damn shotgun?”
Manuel reached for his Colt .45 and kept his voice low, “I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out. Captain, stay here with Frank. I’m going in.”
Captain Hodge nodded in agreement. “Head around the back,” he said as he put a hand on his holster that held a Glock .40 caliber. “I’ll cover you from the rear.”
With his weapon in hand, Manuel slipped out from behind the desk and made a run for it while Hodge covered his back.
Craaack! The blast from a shotgun split the silence and hit Hodge’s office door, sending wood splintering into pieces.
Blam! Blam! Blam! Captain Hodge immediately fired back.
Shit! Manuel cursed as he swung around a corner and flattened himself against the wall. Then, more shots fired. Thinking quickly, he jogged down a narrow hallway, past several armed officers who were crouched behind their desks and came to the backside of the conference room. When he peered around the corner, he saw the two detectives from earlier, lying on the floor, appearing unconscious. Beside them was Jimmy’s attorney. Blood pooled on the floor beneath him.
As Manuel looked away, he saw Jimmy Fratianno, setting up, taking aim at the desk where his captain and partner took cover.
“Jimmy!” Manuel yelled before he could fire off another shot.
Jimmy heard his name and turned just in time to see Manuel, a semiautomatic in his grasp and the barrel aimed in his direction.
“Drop your weapon, now!” Manuel ordered.
Jimmy turned to fire his weapon, realizing it was over. In that nanosecond before he pulled the trigger, Manuel unloaded his.
It seemed as though everything moved in slow motion. He watched as Jimmy’s body took the impact and the shotgun flung from his hand. Blood spurted from his head and torso like a crimson geyser as he toppled to the floor.
Manuel moved next to Jimmy’s body with his weapon drawn and kicked the shotgun away. As he crouched down to check for a pulse, something strange happened.
Straining muscles rippled beneath Jimmy’s face, while the tendons in his neck stood out like thick cable. Then, one by one, the gunshot wound in his left temple and chest contracted, disgorging the embedded fragments. The bloody bullets clattered onto the floor and rolled across the tile toward Manuel’s boots.
“What the—”
In the blink of an eye, Jimmy’s body began to expand like something within him was overtaking his natural form. As his orange prison jumpsuit came apart at the seams, coarse black fur sprouted from his pale skin, covering the two bullet holes and various prison tats throughout his body. All the flesh-twisting carnage took Manuel by surprise.
The detective’s eyes widened in alarm as he finally became fully aware of what was happening. In that moment, the 1981 British-American horror film, An American Werewolf in London suddenly came to mind. Whatever Jimmy had shifted into, it looked similar to the grisly werewolf in that movie. Acting on instinct, Manuel raised his gun, but the snarling creature swatted it away with a sweep of its massive paw. Knocked off balance by the force of Jimmy’s newfound transformation, Manuel staggered backward.
As the wolfish beast stalked toward Manuel on all fours, police officers swarmed forward with their guns raised. When the creature heard the distinctive sounds of rifles cocking, it stopped in its tracks and growled. The rogue wolf in Jimmy wanted nothing more than to lunge for Manuel’s throat. Regardless of the odds against him, the wolfish fiend realized that, even with his supernatural strength, he could very well be at a severe disadvantage if their weapons were loaded with silver. Although, silver wasn’t lethal to his kind, but it burned like hell. Searching for an escape route, its glowing eyes seized on one of the windows. The hideous beast growled at Manuel one last time, then sprang through the window. Glass shattered and rained down onto the floor with the force of the monstrous impact. Police officers shouted, and opened fire, missing the mysterious creature by mere inches.
Damn it! Manuel watched in disbelief as some sort of werewolf managed to escape a precinct full of armed men and women.
Did it really matter? he thought. Whatever Jimmy Fratianno was, the son of a bitch somehow survived a bullet to the head, not to mention the one that hit him square in the heart. The question weighed heavily on his mind. Did Jimmy’s transformation have anything to do with the creature they were after? It couldn’t be the same creature, Manuel figured. Jimmy Fratianno had been behind bars during all the recent attacks. It was bad enough having to deal with one freak of nature. Now there were two? Shit!
Continued...
One of the detectives that were guiding the convict said something back, but Manuel didn’t hear it. Whatever he’d muttered was effective, as the shaved head scumbag immediately shut up. He was a witness in the Benedetti crime family, who had been trafficking guns, drugs, and prostitution for generations. His name was Jimmy Fratianno III, grandson of the late Aladino “Jimmy the Weasel” Fratianno. Three years ago, they brought him in on cocaine and heroin transportation charges. Captain Hodge had offered him a deal in exchange for a bigger fish. If Jimmy gave up the names of his connections, it could take five years off his sentence.
When Manuel turned around, his partner was motioning him over.
“Get your ass in gear, Detective,” Frank told him. “You’ve got exactly thirty seconds before Captain rips you a new one.”
“Keep your pants on. I’m coming.” Manuel was about to start for the door when he heard a shotgun go off.
He instantly ducked. “What the f—”
In the corner of his eye, Manuel caught sight of his partner’s torso twist like a rope. Frank went with the force of the blast, spinning to the ground with his hand covering his shoulder.
Moving fast and low, Manuel got Frank the hell out of the way, managing to take cover behind a desk in case the shooter was ready for round two.
“Stay down,” Manuel told Frank as he quickly took stock of his injury. It was nothing too serious. Fortunately, it was just a graze.
Frank winced. “It burns like a son of a bitch.”
Manuel slipped out of his jacket and pressed it against Frank’s wound. “Oh hell, Perkins,” Manuel grumbled quietly. “Suck it up. The slug barely grazed you. It’s bleeding like a sieve, but it’ll slow if you keep pressure on it.”
As Frank held the jacket over his wound, Captain Hodge shot around the corner on his hands and knees like a bat out of hell.
“What the hell is going on?” Hodge demanded. Then his eyes homed in on Frank’s bloody shoulder. “Shit! You all right, Detective?”
Frank nodded. “It’s just a flesh wound, Captain.”
Hodge let out a heavy sigh. “Did either of you get a look at the shooter?”
With his eyes locked on the captain’s, Manuel shook his head. “No, but I think I have a pretty good idea who the asshole is,” he said to Hodge. “It’s Jimmy Fratianno.”
Hodge checked his watch, realizing it was time for Mr. Fratianno’s deposition. “Shit,” he cursed through gritted teeth. “I almost forgot about the damn Beneditti case.”
“Yeah,” Manuel said. “Jimmy was supposed to give up those names, but it looks like he suddenly had a change of heart.”
“For Chrissakes,” Frank chimed in. “How in the hell did he manage to get his hands on a damn shotgun?”
Manuel reached for his Colt .45 and kept his voice low, “I don’t know, but I’m gonna find out. Captain, stay here with Frank. I’m going in.”
Captain Hodge nodded in agreement. “Head around the back,” he said as he put a hand on his holster that held a Glock .40 caliber. “I’ll cover you from the rear.”
With his weapon in hand, Manuel slipped out from behind the desk and made a run for it while Hodge covered his back.
Craaack! The blast from a shotgun split the silence and hit Hodge’s office door, sending wood splintering into pieces.
Blam! Blam! Blam! Captain Hodge immediately fired back.
Shit! Manuel cursed as he swung around a corner and flattened himself against the wall. Then, more shots fired. Thinking quickly, he jogged down a narrow hallway, past several armed officers who were crouched behind their desks and came to the backside of the conference room. When he peered around the corner, he saw the two detectives from earlier, lying on the floor, appearing unconscious. Beside them was Jimmy’s attorney. Blood pooled on the floor beneath him.
As Manuel looked away, he saw Jimmy Fratianno, setting up, taking aim at the desk where his captain and partner took cover.
“Jimmy!” Manuel yelled before he could fire off another shot.
Jimmy heard his name and turned just in time to see Manuel, a semiautomatic in his grasp and the barrel aimed in his direction.
“Drop your weapon, now!” Manuel ordered.
Jimmy turned to fire his weapon, realizing it was over. In that nanosecond before he pulled the trigger, Manuel unloaded his.
It seemed as though everything moved in slow motion. He watched as Jimmy’s body took the impact and the shotgun flung from his hand. Blood spurted from his head and torso like a crimson geyser as he toppled to the floor.
Manuel moved next to Jimmy’s body with his weapon drawn and kicked the shotgun away. As he crouched down to check for a pulse, something strange happened.
Straining muscles rippled beneath Jimmy’s face, while the tendons in his neck stood out like thick cable. Then, one by one, the gunshot wound in his left temple and chest contracted, disgorging the embedded fragments. The bloody bullets clattered onto the floor and rolled across the tile toward Manuel’s boots.
“What the—”
In the blink of an eye, Jimmy’s body began to expand like something within him was overtaking his natural form. As his orange prison jumpsuit came apart at the seams, coarse black fur sprouted from his pale skin, covering the two bullet holes and various prison tats throughout his body. All the flesh-twisting carnage took Manuel by surprise.
The detective’s eyes widened in alarm as he finally became fully aware of what was happening. In that moment, the 1981 British-American horror film, An American Werewolf in London suddenly came to mind. Whatever Jimmy had shifted into, it looked similar to the grisly werewolf in that movie. Acting on instinct, Manuel raised his gun, but the snarling creature swatted it away with a sweep of its massive paw. Knocked off balance by the force of Jimmy’s newfound transformation, Manuel staggered backward.
As the wolfish beast stalked toward Manuel on all fours, police officers swarmed forward with their guns raised. When the creature heard the distinctive sounds of rifles cocking, it stopped in its tracks and growled. The rogue wolf in Jimmy wanted nothing more than to lunge for Manuel’s throat. Regardless of the odds against him, the wolfish fiend realized that, even with his supernatural strength, he could very well be at a severe disadvantage if their weapons were loaded with silver. Although, silver wasn’t lethal to his kind, but it burned like hell. Searching for an escape route, its glowing eyes seized on one of the windows. The hideous beast growled at Manuel one last time, then sprang through the window. Glass shattered and rained down onto the floor with the force of the monstrous impact. Police officers shouted, and opened fire, missing the mysterious creature by mere inches.
Damn it! Manuel watched in disbelief as some sort of werewolf managed to escape a precinct full of armed men and women.
Did it really matter? he thought. Whatever Jimmy Fratianno was, the son of a bitch somehow survived a bullet to the head, not to mention the one that hit him square in the heart. The question weighed heavily on his mind. Did Jimmy’s transformation have anything to do with the creature they were after? It couldn’t be the same creature, Manuel figured. Jimmy Fratianno had been behind bars during all the recent attacks. It was bad enough having to deal with one freak of nature. Now there were two? Shit!
Continued...
A reference for terms and cast of characters, especially for new readers:
BREEDLINE - A species of humans that have the ability to change from human form into wolf form if they are born an identical twin. They are not like the old legend of the Lycanthropy myth. The Breedline species can shift into their wolf at will. The moon has no power over them. They do not pass their ability to other humans. Although they live among humans, their species is secret. In wolf form, they have super-strength, speed, and heightened senses. Compared to humans, Breedlines have tremendous advantages when it comes to health. Their bodies heal fast and are not subject to illness or diseases. The only thing that slows their healing process is silver. It is their kryptonite. Besides old age, a silver bullet to the brain is the only way to kill a Breedline.
All male Breedlines change into their first wolf at the age of eighteen. Female Breedlines do not go through the change until they make love to their Breedline bonded mate.
ROGUE WOLF - A Breedline wolf who has killed with the intent of evil. They can never shift back into their human form.
Detective Manuel Sanchez - He is a homicide detective at the San Francisco Police Department who late discovers he carries the Breedline genetics. His partner is Detective Frank Perkins. His sister is Lailah.
Detective Frank Perkins - He is Manuel Sanchez's partner and discovers the secret world of the Breedline. Born as a human, Frank pledges his loyalty to the Breedline. Fighting alongside his partner, they take an oath to help the Breedline protect the world from corruption and unknown creatures that prey on the innocent.
Captain James Hodge - Unaware of the Breedline species, he is Detective Manuel Sanchez's and Detective Frank Perkins' superior at the San Francisco, California Police Department.
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. BREEDLINE - A species of humans that have the ability to change from human form into wolf form if they are born an identical twin. They are not like the old legend of the Lycanthropy myth. The Breedline species can shift into their wolf at will. The moon has no power over them. They do not pass their ability to other humans. Although they live among humans, their species is secret. In wolf form, they have super-strength, speed, and heightened senses. Compared to humans, Breedlines have tremendous advantages when it comes to health. Their bodies heal fast and are not subject to illness or diseases. The only thing that slows their healing process is silver. It is their kryptonite. Besides old age, a silver bullet to the brain is the only way to kill a Breedline.
All male Breedlines change into their first wolf at the age of eighteen. Female Breedlines do not go through the change until they make love to their Breedline bonded mate.
ROGUE WOLF - A Breedline wolf who has killed with the intent of evil. They can never shift back into their human form.
Detective Manuel Sanchez - He is a homicide detective at the San Francisco Police Department who late discovers he carries the Breedline genetics. His partner is Detective Frank Perkins. His sister is Lailah.
Detective Frank Perkins - He is Manuel Sanchez's partner and discovers the secret world of the Breedline. Born as a human, Frank pledges his loyalty to the Breedline. Fighting alongside his partner, they take an oath to help the Breedline protect the world from corruption and unknown creatures that prey on the innocent.
Captain James Hodge - Unaware of the Breedline species, he is Detective Manuel Sanchez's and Detective Frank Perkins' superior at the San Francisco, California Police Department.
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