“Stan, the plan has changed.Kallie just stormed the castle without us.And she’s…” Carol’s voice broke before she swallowed hard and continued, “She’s a wolf too?Am I supposed to be briefed on that?”
“Fuck.”Stan mumbled the word, but Carol heard it anyway.
“Yeah, clearly from your answer, I’m not supposed to know about it, but it’s too late now.If we want to save her and Harriet, we better get in there now, or we’re all fucked!”
“Go.Now.Gogogogogo!”Stan said as he shifted back into his bear form and barreled through the doors.
He ran from one lab room to another until he came upon Harriet in a pool of blood and Zagan fighting Kalliopi.Kalliopi was a blur as the two of them sparred between the ground and the air.She shifted into her wolf when they fought on the ground, her teeth tearing into Zagan’s bull-griffon flesh.Blood gushed from his abdomen.He then flew into the air before Kalliopi could take a swipe at his jugular.She quickly shifted into her stork and pecked at Zagan’s eyes with her bill until Zagan fell to the ground in a heap.
“Kallie, don’t,” Stan shouted while shifting into human form.
Kalliopi had already shifted into her Eurasian wolf and stood on Zagan’s chest.He began to transform into human form.
“Kallie, don’t!”Stan said again as he ran to Kalliopi, and stroking her wolf’s face, he whispered to her.“He’s not worth it, Kal.Please come back to me.”
Kallie’s wolf eyes gazed deep into Stan’s.Anger, frustration, hate, and something else swirled within each yellow pool.
“Please, Kal.Come back to me.”
Kalliopi shook her head and then dug her claws into Zagan’s chest.She continued to paw at his insides as blood pooled beneath him.When Kalliopi finally plucked out Zagan’s heart, she jumped off him.She glanced at Stan before running out of the room, down the hall, and out of the building.He only caught a glimpse of her as her wolf disappeared into the woods.Stan tried to run after her in his bear form, but she was too quick, and he lost her in the shadows.Only her wolf’s howl remained in the distance, but it was faint, signifying she was already miles away from him.
He wanted to continue chasing after her, but he had to get back to the lab and finish processing the scene.That was what a good agent did.Besides, the look in her eyes before she darted off told him she needed some time to think.
When he got back to the lab, Harriet was getting to her feet.
“How hurt are you, Harriet?”he asked.
“I bumped my head pretty hard, so the paramedics are taking me overnight for observation.The rest is cuts and bruises.”
Captured students from the Academy were being led out of the lab, breaking off Stan’s conversation with Harriet.Thankfully, Fedor was one of them.No one appeared to have been experimented on yet.It appeared they got to the lab in time.Stan let out a sigh of relief.If Kalliopi came back to him later tonight, she’d want to know if he made it out safely.
Once everything was reported, and the lab was cordoned off, Stan, Richard, Jewel, Carol, Amira, and Treasure went to the hospital to visit Harriet.They brought a couple of pizzas and some Chinese takeout with them.
“Okay, so this isn’t exactly a Christmas ham with all the fixings, but it’s still a Christmas dinner, nonetheless,” Stan said as he opened all the containers.
He’d texted Kalliopi right before he left for the hospital, but she never answered.He hoped she would return to his place, but he wasn’t sure if she’d want to.Now that Zagan died, she might have gone to the condo to be alone.
“Any word from Kallie?”Treasure asked as she stuffed a slice of pepperoni pizza into her mouth.
“No.Not even a text.I’m getting worried,” Stan said as he fished out a piece of orange chicken with his chopsticks.
“Well, maybe she just needs some space.I can’t imagine what’s going through her head right now.The lab alone must have brought back old memories of her sister.”
“Yeah, I get that, Treasure.And now she also has to deal with killing Zagan.”
“Don’t tell me they are going to charge her, Stan!She was within her rights to eliminate the problem as a MILF.I mean, yeah, she’s here in BC, and there’s protocol and all but…”
Stan shook his head, silencing Treasure.“No, she’s a soldier and was only following orders.Apparently, even I didn’t have the clearance to be briefed on exactly why she was sent here.MILFs knew about the lab.There was obviously more to it than just being there for the cadets’ transfer.I tried to find out as much as I could.I even asked for the files.But they only sent me an internal email with everything redacted but the date.”Stan let out a sigh.
“So, it could be she’s actually back on a plane tonight, already heading home,” Treasure said.
“What makes you say that?”Stan asked.Though he’d already gotten around to that conclusion, he still held out hope it wasn’t true.
Treasure shrugged her shoulders.“The mission is done, isn’t it?If they aren’t going to tell us anything else, then they’re done with us, and all she has left is to get back to headquarters—on Milos—for her debrief.”
Stan let out a long breath.“I guess you’re right.She probably flew home.I just assumed she’d spend Christmas with us.”
Jewel patted her father’s shoulder to comfort him, but all Stan could do was frown.What if Kalliewasback on a plane?What did that mean for the two of them?Did she think they were done?Had that fight between them really ended things?
