Lentan's voice tore through the radio.  "Where's your great master now, Mark Karogen Junior?!  Come to think of it, whatever happened to Mark Karogen Senior?!  Are either of them there to cower in the dirt with you?!?  ARE THEY?!!"  There was a pause.  Lentan was catching his breath.  His voice returned, more somber this time.  "If any one of your people dies, it's not on my hands or those of my men.  They are your defenders.  I guess you just don't recognize a favor when you see it."  The radio clicked off.<br/><br/>The lieutenant's eyes were quivering, but his voice was steady when he replied to Karogen.  "Nobody's perfect.  But at least we're really doing something.  Now get the hell back down there."  He pointed to the stairwell with his revolver.<br/><br/>In the command bunker, Lentan massaged the bridge of his nose.  Karogen really had lost his spine.  And he'd gotten himself into this mess.  If he'd just stayed quiet, he would've stayed under both sides' radar.  But now...<br/><br/>Granted, if Karogen hadn't made a noise, Lentan wouldn't have been compelled to keep him out of the Bitch's hands.  Now he half wished the Bitch WOULD get hold of him, but then Lentan would have lost one of the two people he had left in the world.  For a brief moment, Lentan's thoughts strayed to Jessica and where she was, what she was doing.  Before his vision could blur he shook her away and turned back to controlling the war.  Humanity's war.<br/><br/>The lieutenant and the three privates left the building and returned to their positions in the nearby alley.  Not a few moments later, a lookout ran over to the lieutenant.  "Shadows in the street to the west, sir," he reported.  "At least twenty or so."<br/><br/>"Here they come," said the lieutenant.  He checked his revolver.  "Pass the word to the men to wait for my signal."  The lookout ran silently off, alerting all fifteen defenders of the oncoming attack.  A moment of deadly silence reigned in Hempstead.  Then there were twenty-five wolves, jackals, and wolverines in the street, marching in urban-combat formation, wielding exquisite battleaxes, swords, and spiked balls on chains.  The lieutenant swallowed his own bile down.  His men were outnumbered and out-disciplined.  But they had the advantage of surprise.  His men were arrayed near the S.E.M. building, occupying positions that would allow them to encircle the furs.  Two teams of three humans each were hiding behind buildings on either side of the street, ready to come around at the sound of combat.  If the furs just marched a little bit closer...<br/><br/>The column of furs came to a halt as their leader, an imposing jackal, sniffed the air, trying to scent any opposition.  Drool dribbled from a more feral-looking wolverine by his side.  If they scented the humans behind them...<br/><br/>The wolverine snarled.  The jackal motioned his troops forward.  Close enough.  The lieutenant sent his signal by shooting the jackal in the head.  As he fell, the humans dashed from their alleys, rushing into a maelstrom of death.  The furs reacted as they were surrounded, but quickly slashed their way out - right through the lieutenant's group.  The lieutenant fell to the ground in agony, clutching for an arm that was no longer there...<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>Sergeant Halvorson nodded at the halfbreed, finishing off his jerky.  Suddenly, the blond lieutenant entered the room.  "Get your act together, Halvorson.  Furs have been spotted coming at us."<br/><br/>"Shit," said Halvorson as he and the others scrambled to their feet.<br/><br/>"Get over by the western lookouts," the lieutenant ordered.  "Hold the line."<br/><br/>Halvorson heaved the halfbreed up and took him outside as Janus, Fenson, and Collins followed.  "'Hold the line,'" he muttered with contempt.  He led his squad to a deli in a building that a lookout was leaning out of.  He took them inside, lining them all up behind the counter.  "Wait for them to pass us," he told his men.  "Bane, tell me what you hear.  Oh, and if you're not gonna use that gun of yours, I'll borrow it for a minute."  He held out his hand.