The Werewolves of Brooklyn

The police officer stared blindly into the screen before him, beads of sweat gathering on his forehead. He had no idea what he was looking at, but he knew someone who would know what it meant. Now, all that remained was for him to call on the detectives in charge of the case. They would make sense of what he was looking at.

Just then, the head detective walked into the room, her face twisted into a frown.

“What have you found?” the detective asked, her eyes boring into his own.

His lips quivered to speak. “No-nothing. It seemed the person with those fingerprints wiped off everything about him from our database.”

“What?!” the detective blurted out suddenly. “But we both know that that is impossible.”

“It is,” the officer mumbled.

He watched as the detective paced aimlessly around the room, her face wrapped in confusion. Then, she turned abruptly and faced him.

“He had help from the inside. That’s the only way he was able to achieve such a feat.”

The words fell on his ears like a bombshell. He had a hard time comprehending what she had just said.

“Ma’am, this is the NYPD we’re talking about, not just some small agency. You really think someone would take the risk to help a criminal by committing such a crime?”

He watched as she knitted her brows together, her eyes making rapid movements.

“You know what, John? I am going to find this man or woman wherever he or she is. I will run that fingerprint with every database I can lay my hands on until they are found.”

She walked out before the officer had the time to say another word to her.

Unknown to both of them, there was another officer by the door, eavesdropping on their conversation.

He scurried away quickly as soon as he heard the detective’s footsteps approaching the door. Then, he made his way back to his cubicle.

His hands shook as he took the burner out of his pocket. The small cell phone had been given to him by his werewolf brother to ensure end-to-end encrypted communication between them.

With his hands still trembling, he pressed a button on the burner and listened to the dial tone as it rang. A moment later, he heard a click on the line.

“Hello,” the raspy voice said.

“Make the move, now!” he whispered and ended the call.

***

The woman danced slowly to the rhythm of the music. She could feel her soul wriggling along with her as she wriggled her body to attract the attention of the men of the moment.

She was beautiful, and she knew that. With flawless tanned skin, thanks to the long summer that had just passed, and her long blonde hair sitting on her back like a mane, onto the attractive blue eyes well set on her oblong face, the woman knew she was a sight for sore eyes.

Tonight, she’d thrown all caution to the winds and had come here to have fun; that was if her definition of having fun was dancing her heart out to the admiration of the boys in the club.

She glanced at the bar and caught a glimpse of her best friend, Amelia, smiling sheepishly at a man. The woman stopped at once and looked.

Amelia looked like she was enjoying whatever the stranger was saying to her. She’d gone as far as stretching her hand and rubbing it all over the stranger’s face.

A part of her wanted to go warn her to be careful about the kind of guy she was losing her guard with. But a part of her simply didn’t care. Amelia was having fun, and so would she. She wasn’t going to be a killjoy tonight.

Just then, the woman felt a warm breath behind her. Then, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist. It took a moment for her to process what was happening. Someone had finally taken notice of her and had come to keep her company. She hoped it was a fine man.

“Why’d you stop dancing?” the deep baritone voice asked. “I was having a good night right until you stood still.”

The woman began to smile slowly. “How long have you been watching me?” she asked.

The man did not respond immediately. Instead, he ran his rough hands over her smooth skin and savored the feeling.

“You’re very beautiful,” he commented. “And just so you know, I watched you dancing for so long that I began to feel jealous about the other people watching you too. That’s when I knew I had to come close to you.”

“Really?” the woman said, chuckling. “Let’s not waste each other’s time then. If you need all this beauty to yourself, that’s going to cost you 150 bucks. Can you part with that much for me?”

She’d half expected him to argue or move away from her if he’d already weighed his pockets and realized she was far above his league. But instead, she heard him chuckle softly.

“There’s a lounge about two streets away. Let’s go there.”

For the first time since they’d met, the woman turned to look at him, a myriad of questions racing through her mind.

“I… I came with my friend. We can just use the lounge here if you don’t mind.”

There was a thoughtful look on his face that lingered for a moment.

“That’s okay. Let’s go.”

Hand in hand, the new couple snuggled out of the club, brushing past sweaty youngsters dancing like it was their last day on Earth. They made their way through the guarded door and stepped out into the night.

The moon was full and shining radiantly in its full glory.

“It’s a beautiful evening,” the woman commented. “Would you just look at that beautiful moon?”

The man did not say a word. His breath was becoming strained like he was troubled with something. The woman took one look at him and began to panic.

“What’s the problem? Are you okay?”

“The loun…ge,” he managed to say. “Where is it?”

She shot a curious look at him and said, “Right this way. Follow me.”

The man followed behind her wordlessly. His breathing continued to slow, and with every step he took, it felt like he was running out of breath. The woman panicked more by the second. The unspoken question was: what kind of man had she gotten herself involved with?

They both came to a stop before the heavy door marked room 30. The woman passed an uneasy smile to the man, who smiled back at her faintly. She unlatched her clutch purse and removed a single key from it. Then, she inserted it into the keyhole, and the door swung open.

The man’s eyes widened in surprise. “You have the key to the room? I thought we were supposed to get to the reception first.”

“Well, I happen to have a few guys here who slipped the key to me earlier this night,” the woman mumbled.

She walked into the room while the man followed behind her. It was a small room with some carefully arranged items. A small, easy chair was kept in the corner, while the huge bed occupied the greater part of the room.

The man fell to the bed at once and beckoned her to join him.

“Come over here,” he said in a whisper.

The woman hesitated, the uneasy feeling in her guts heightening.

“You still remember the deal, right? 100 bucks.”

“Sure,” the man affirmed, much to her surprise.

She gazed at him for a moment. “Don’t you think you should have some wine to put you in the mood first before we get on with this?”

“No!” the man refuted impatiently. He was trying to rise to his feet.

The woman staggered backward in fear. She was right. Something was definitely amiss.

Before she had the time to grab the door handle, she felt a pair of strong arms drag her from behind, then the same warm breath she’d felt the previous time pressed against her neck. A searing pain in her neck followed.

Something was happening to her. She could feel the burning sensation of the pain as it traveled through her body. Who was this man, and what had he done to her?

She turned to face the man and found him staring back at her with his mouth filled with blood. Her own blood.

The woman began to move backward, biting into her mouth to stop herself from screaming. The end was near. She could feel it. The noise from the disco in the club was now a tiny echo in her head. Her vision began to dim.

Then, suddenly, everything went black.