When one of the four men mocked Dreamer's words, his hopes of this ending without bloodshed plummeted.  Still, he kept his expression amused as he walked up to them, and he gestured at the sky.  "Yeah, looks like it's going to hail," he agreed, and smirked.  "Or looks like<span style="font-style: italic">hell,</span>maybe, for the animals... I mean, the furs back that-a-way."  He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, back down the road toward what had once been Sombquist.<br/><br/>He shrugged.  "Just heading out toward the Vein and Clent to see how things are.  We're really not sure what's going on in the Bitch's lands yet... for all we know she's wiped out the resistance there and she's preparing to send troops this way.  From what I hear, she'd see this as an ideal chance for a takeover."  He shrugged again.<br/><br/>Each time he shrugged, the wound at his shoulder had to be quite obvious.  He almost swore as he remembered that a glint of silver might show if they looked closely enough... damn it.  "Look," he said, "just let me and my driver through, all right?  I already had to kill a fucker that had gotten power-drunk overnight and wanted to interfere with the orders Shark gave me."  He really doubted these guys had heard about any of that, but he was ready nonetheless for if they suddenly moved.  "Shark's going to be pissed enough as it is."<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">I hope so,</span>he thought at the back of his mind.<span style="font-style: italic">We'll have escaped right under his people's noses.  He might even be pissed off enough to come after me... and he's free to try.  Once Maeve and Feldana are safe...</span><br/><br/>He kept smiling, the smile strained now, but deliberately as he mentioned having had to kill another human.<span style="font-style: italic">Don't move, assholes, or I'll have to kill you, too.</span><br/><br/>--- --- --- ---<br/><br/>Vultana was waiting, and ready when the lupines leaped out.  Or at least, she had<span style="font-style: italic">thought</span>she was ready.  The moment they appeared, she pulled the trigger, almost a flinch... and missed, the slug harmlessly going through the wall and into the machinery shed... the rifle was powerful enough to do so at this range.<br/><br/>The two split up, one running straight, the other running away from her to disappear behind the machinery room.  Her sight followed that second one until he disappeared, then slid quickly to the other.  She had a split second to fire before he reached cover, and took the shot... and missed again, sort of.  The slug went through one of the metal pipes and emerged on the other side... just as the wolf was passing behind them.  The slug, slowed and somewhat deflected, ended up tearing into his right bicep.  His body armor kept it from going into his ribs as well, though by the winded sound he made the impact still might have broken a few ribs.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Wounded,</span>she thought,<span style="font-style: italic">not dead, but wounded.</span>That already made for better odds than before, for her.  She brought the scope back around to the machinery shed.  She waited, knowing the wolf there could poke his head out on either side... and when he made a run for the stairs, right below where she lay, she had an all too clear shot at him.<br/><br/>The first slug, fired quickly, went into his chest instead of his head, but it stopped his forward rush and sent him reeling backward.  He flailed, eyes wide in shock but not quite dead --- even though the slug seemed to have gone clear through his body --- and she put a second slug into his face.  Or tried to.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Click.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Aw, no!</span>She thought in dismay.  No more slugs... however as she lifted her head from the scope to stare at him, and his eyes met hers for a terrified instant, his staggering backward brought him to the edge of the roof.  He managed a winded gasp... and then toppled over the edge without another sound.<br/><br/>Vultana stared in surprise and relief for a few seconds before dropping out of sight.<span style="font-style: italic">Well, not exactly what I had in mind, but that works,</span>she thought.  She looked at her rifle... useless without ammo.  She might be able to get back to her ammo case inside the machinery room, but the other wolf was still alive and probably still capable of killing her despite his wounds.  Besides, they might well have carried the case out... she didn't want to end up cornered in there...<br/><br/>She grimaced, laying low, trying to figure out what to do.  She had a small idea... but it would be a hell of a risk... and depended on her acting.  She'd learned to be real good at faking things with Lord Berus... but she wasn't<span style="font-style: italic">that</span>good, was she?