"All right... so Clent Station's supposed to be safe... you were right, Maeve," Dreamer said softly.  "Try to... get comfortable back there.  We don't know how long we'll have to drive, or through what... uh..." he trailed off as he drove around the corner of a corn field and spotted the three bodies strewn across the road.  "Uh... stay down, you three."<br/><br/>He scowled as he slowed the car but neared the bodies.  Three dead furs... three dead police officers.  They'd evidently been captured, then mercilessly executed... that could only be the work of the human rebels.  But what had they been doing here?  Had they been trying to reach Maeve... or Lakran?<br/><br/>"Kitten... take my seat," Dreamer said softly.  He took the car out of gear and opened the door slowly.  "Put it back in gear and hold the brake.  If there's trouble, FLOOR it.  Leave me behind if you have to."  He stepped out of the car, holding his handgun in his left hand, the safety flicked off.  The strange green blade was sheathed at his left hip, within easy reach of his right arm.  "I'll move them.  Be ready... this looks all too much like a trap.  Sherra... there's a heavy weapon at your feet.  Be ready to use it if you have to."  He knew Maeve wouldn't want to touch the thing if she could avoid it.<br/><br/>Quietly he walked toward the three bodies.  He tried to look around for a possible ambush without looking too obvious about it, and he hoped the dead sheepdog-fur on the car's hood would discourage any human attack.  They might show themselves without being hostile if that was the case.<br/><br/>Still... as he neared the corpses, he had a strange feeling like he should look at them more closely before he tried to move them.  For all he knew they'd been set down on mines... something he'd been taught to do ages ago.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Vultana grimaced within her beak as the remaining snipers dropped completely out of sight.  She had no targets to fire at... not even anyone with a spyglass.  She knew they were there, probably moving around out of her sight, but she had no idea exactly how many there were.  She waited, her muscles all tense, her right wing feathers fluttering up against the aeration duct she'd hidden next to.  The moment they showed themselves she would resume fire... assuming they weren't quicker than she was...<br/><br/>Had they spotted her?  She cursed herself for having worn such a visible red dress, though logically they shouldn't be able to see it from behind the roof ledge she was crouching behind.  Still, if she had to run, it would be a damn beacon...<br/><br/>The snipers suddenly rose back into view, trying to conceal themselves as best they could behind the Palace's ramparts and spikes.  Through the scope she saw that they were already aiming in her direction...<br/><br/>They had underestimated her avian eyesight, however.  The moment they showed themselves, she picked all four of them out; the time it took their spotter to locate her exact position gave her time to readjust her scope's focus, center her crosshairs on one sniper's forehead, and fire.  The time it took them to focus their own rifles gave her time to put a slug into a second one's face.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, that second sniper took his shot before she could take him down, and the thrid sniper had a clear shot.  From a great distance she saw both muzzle flashes and she had a moment to mourn that she had died so uselessly.<br/><br/>Then a SPANNG sound next to her made her jump as a slug tore through the aeration duct; a sharp cry slipped from her as a slug smashed into the top of the ledge, not getting through but showering her left side with biting shards of stone.<br/><br/>She'd gotten lucky, she realized.  She'd fired many shots already, so had been able to get a feel for how far the slug dropped from the effects of gravity before reaching its target.  These snipers had just fired their first, hurried shots... they'd come close, but they'd missed.<br/><br/>Angrily she brought her golden eye back to the scope.  She focused on the last sniper and fired, sending her slug straight into the scope and out the back of his head... but not before he fired also.<br/><br/>"G'hahh!"  She cried, and she dropped down behind the ledge, releasing the rifle and clutching at her neck.  She'd gotten him, but he'd managed to draw blood.  He'd sent his shot through the flesh between her neck and her left shoulder.<br/><br/>Whimpering, she was down for a few moments... but she realized she had to get back into position.  At least two rifles were still left, and one more guard, on that roof... she had to finish him before he could get into position to shoot her as his colleague had done.<br/><br/>She gripped her rifle again, rose up, and pointed it right back at the Palace of the Wolf's roof...