Forsaken of Federal Hill

The group gathers and passes out their findings.

Cho was excited, he'd done it!
I uh... I found the p-place by the water, confirmed it's a hangout of one Midas the dope d-dealer. But uh... that is to say... I don't think that's where uhm... that is I doubt Helen is there." he shook his head, then clicked a few things on his laptop and flipped it around, beaming with pride.
"But uh... got some footage off cameras that uh... that the police missed." he pressed play and grainy footage from a home security camera showed several men carrying Helen's limp form into a house. A few more clicks showed the other angles the neighbor's camera could show them.
"I uh... I've seen four dudes come in and o-out."

Cho, that is so cool what you did! Could you make out an address for the house?

"Awesome. Your skill and Luke's dream should have gotten us most everything we need. We need to head out and get Valentine out of there first. Luke's on point for that. Then retribution." He looked over to the star, "You ready to be the shining knight?"

Luke could feel his hackles rise at the footage and even growled quietly. It was near impossible to not want to run out the front door and go charging into the place after her, as it was his nature after all. Knowing that kind of behavior could put her in danger calmed him and kept him from doing anything rash, at lead for the moment while they figured out a plan of action.

”I say we rally the pack and take down the place before they know that hit them. It will send a clear message that we don't take lightly to one of our own being harmed,” he said still staring at the screen. Rashid's comment about being a shining knight stung, even though he knew he didn't mean them in that way. It was his fault Helen was in this mess so it wasn't fair that he should pretend to be some sort of savior.

Rose had been quiet while everyone did their part.She had considered calling Price for help but decided to sit on it for now and boy was she glad she did. "Cho, that was amazing. I'm so glad you have that software. We'd be lost without your skill." She meant every word. If he hadn't thought to use her access to create that program, they still wouldn't know where Helen was." Then she turned to Luke and studied him for a minute."You ready to go rescue our family and to explain, with a live demonstration, why fucking with our pack gets you dead? Because I sure am. Rose smiled her wolfish little smile and continued her thought. "I vote for wiping them all out."

"So, one choice we have. Get Valentine, or talk to this Cat first? If we go get our packmate first, we risk the crew tipping off the Scorpion bosses and losing that lead, or letting them bring in more heat. If we don't talk with the cat, unless someone knows a better way to find the things weak spots, we will be in for one hell of a fight."
Rashid stood up again and started pacing, he just wanted to do something. "That's about it. Risk the escape, deal with a fight we probably won't all come out of, or force our girl to be strong for a bit more as we make sure we have all of this right. I don't like it, but that's our level."

We can split the difference. I'm not much good in a fight anway- Rory and/or me can go talk to the cat and see what it knows, unless it is something directly relevant to rescuing Helen now- we don't need the information now. On the off chance that the information is valid, I'll call. I imagine you're going to have to do a bit of recon on the location anyway, so if everything works out perfectly I should be calling you without much delay before you'd be pulling Helen anyway.

Rashid didn't need anything else. No lip from Rory about priorities, no headlong lovestruck rush from Luke. he had a setup, and someone who offered to help on the other end.

"Done and done. Echo, Rory, remember to keep a position of strength. We dont need the information. It needs to give us the information so we can protect it from an enemy IT made.
Is it time? Yes, it's time. What's more fun than the chase? The kill!

"Between Luke and Cho we got Helen and her location. The two of you ride in the lead car. Everyone else pile in where you can. Let's go get our wolf back!" He was inching out the door even without the pack, but a little motivation and some energy never hurt anything, right? Right.

That's all Luke needed to hear. He jumped up and was out the door before anyone else started moving. The ride was even worse, he was anxious to get there and save their pack member but also afraid of what they might find. Normally he would be giving the group words of encouragement, or hell even turning the radio onto something blood pumping but instead he sat staring at the window.

Helen writhed on the floor, trying to get the strength the struggle against the chains holding her down. Something was wrong with her, and every time she started to remember she shouldn't be so calm, something would happen and make her mind swim away.
They were drugging her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew they were using a really high dose of some drug, probably Toxic, to keep her too loopy to call upon her Rage. She tried shifting when she had the energy, but the chain around her throat kept her trapped, despite her wolf form's thinner limbs.
"Shh, won't be long now pretty girl. We'll start the rite and cut those brands off you. Then you can join us. I'm not saying the hurting's gunna stop then, cuz it ain't. But once you're broken we'll put you back together. Then you'll help us take back this whole fucking city." the man's taunting voice called from across the room. Two others were with him, preparing something.
"....gunna.... kill you..... bastard...." she managed to say.
"Haha, you probably would. But I'm not planning to let that happen, and neither's the boss. Nope honey, you're going to lay there drugged out of your pretty little mind until we're ready to start. Give her another dose." he said. One of his cronies came up and knelt down beside Helen, a needle in his hand.
With all her willpower she shifted into urshul, the chains choking her as soon as she did. But she managed to bite. She felt a warm rush of blood and heard a scream of pain as the lack of air to her brain threatened to kill her. She struggled to rise, to face her enemies with tooth and claw. But she felt so sluggish.
Then she heard a metallic click. The gun went off and fire lanced though her flank. Agony worse than anything she'd ever felt threw her down to the floor. It was all she could do to shift back to hishu. Her thigh screamed with agony. Silver.
Her vision swam, the adrenaline helping to fight the Toxic in her veins. She saw the man who'd come to drug her. He was screaming and crying, holding the bloody stump of his arm.
"That's going to cost you." the first man said. She struggled against her chains, but the wound in her leg was draining her of what little strength she had left.
The two other men crossed the room, holding baseball bats. Helen snarled defiantly as they began to swing them.

Cat Who Stalks Secrets made it's way to the outreach center, Be Defeated Nevermore and it's pack had done everything they could to entice it, and Cat knew time was running out. Soon enough Painful Release of Ecstasy would posses the Uratha it had captured, giving it a host in the physical world stronger than any human it had inhabited before.
It would make itself known to the Totem spirit, and await the pack. And hopefully, the plans of the Red Scorpion could be thwarted before it's strength became too much.

Rashid pulled up to their destination with screeching tires right behind Cho, Luke, and Fang. He jumped out of the car and waited impatiently as everyone else clambered out. He was embraced by Dalu before he could think about it, but right now, he relished the power that sat below. Control enough to fight how he wanted, and strength enough to tear anyone down if they went head to head with him.

"Send us off kid. Just stay alert for guns. All of you. I'm betting the big hitters ain't here, so close on 'em quick."

Luke was out of the vehicle before Cho came to a complete stop and met up with Rashid in a few strides.

”Alright, Rose you head around back and listen for our entrance. We’re going to hit loud and hard from the front which should draw their attention.” Luke dug the crucifix from his back pocket and held it out to Riley. ”The power of Christ compels you to kick some ass or some shit like that.” Once satisfied with the Wolf Blood’s change, he tossed the cross back to Randy.

His body stretched and bones popped as he dropped down to his hulking Urshal form, shaking the tension out of his body before he moved to a vantage where he could see the front of the house and wait for Rose to be in place. After giving her a minute, waiting impatiently himself, he looked for his first target an unfortunate fellow who had the duty of lookout through the front window.

The giant tawny wolf tensed, then sprinted across the yard, letting out an ear-piercing howl as he took a flying leap through the window.

Rashid shrugged at what he assumed was supposed to be a rallying charge. It just didn't have the Oomph it should have with the glass around it.

He bulldozed his way through the front door with his shoulder and kept moving forward, taking out the one guy at the sentry spot and send him flying down and through the wall behind. There was a grunt as all of the air was knocked out of him at impact, and he lay covered in rubble and didn't get up, ribs crushed during the collision.

Dust and debris floated in the air as Rashid looked around for Luke and a way down.

The car ride had been silent, each passenger lost in their own thoughts. Once they reached their destination though, her pack mates had snapped into action. Following directions, Rose wandered around back, walking as silently as she could, reasoning there would be a sentry on lookout outside. She was correct and the lookout was clearly very bored. He was leaning against the building, casually scrolling through his phone, occasionally chuckling at what she could only assume were cat videos. So engrossed in what he was doing, he didn't sense her until he was already dead, he just didn't know it yet. Uninterested in toying with easy targets, she quickly snapped his neck and let the body fall. His phone slid from lifeless fingers, shattering on the concrete. Then she took his place as she waited for the sounds of fighting she knew would be forthcoming.

Riley and Randy came in behind the Champ, Rashid went one way so the went the other. Riley stood a half a foot taller, now about Randy's size and build, and he could feel the Rage his werewolf cousins felt. He couldn't call on it, or if he could nothing had ever made him that angry, but the strength of Dalu form was intoxicating. As were the wicked claws that his fingers ended in.
Two men turned the corner as the wolf-boods made their way into a room that was empty besides a small couch. Clearly people didn't live here full time with how sparse the furniture was.
The two men already had guns drawn, but Riley was faster.



Quick on the draw with the shotgun, Randy exploded the first Scorpion's head before he had time to react to Riley's Dalu form. These weren't wolf-bloods.
Riley surged across the room, raking the gangster's chest with his claws. Blood sprayed all over him and the smell of it made Riley want more. The Scorpion fell back, terrified and in agony, he whimpered as Riley picked him up by the neck, slamming him against the wall, and crushed his neck as easily as a pencil.
"This side's clear! Randy called as Riley let the corpse fall free of his grip.
"Best be more of these mutha fuckers." Riley said angrily.

Blow after blow rained down on Helen, she felt bones breaking and desperately trying to repair themselves. She smelled her own blood, but the loopiness of the drug and her adrenaline made it so she hardly felt the pain.
Then she heard it. And they heard it too. They went rigid with fear.
A wolf on the hunt.
Helen began to laugh, blood spraying from her mouth. They looked back at her, a mixture of fear and anger written on their faces.
"Better.... hope they kill you.... cuz I plan... to eat you alive." she said. It was against the Oath, but in her pain and drug addled state, she meant every word.
"Shut up bitch. I'm not out of those bullets just yet."

Rashid let out a roar of frustration. The goons up here were nothing! Not even to his Blooded brothers. She better have a good reason for not butchering them on her way out, because this was a joke. "Sweep it good boys! Kid, head downstairs, make the second act count."

Rashid didn't bother holding himself back as he stormed through the building. Doors were ripped from their hinges and flung to the side, corners walked by now held claw mangled gouges. Something in him demanded satisfaction.

Luke landed with a thud and shook the glass off as he watched the front door exploded inward with the force of Rashid’s Dalu form behind it. The sound of the distracted sentry’s corpse smashing through the wall made a sickening sound behind him but his nose was already to the ground. Letting the others tear up the men, Luke searched for Helen’s scent, which with the fresh blood it wasn’t hard to find. Rounding on the basement door, he let Rashid rip it on its hinges so he didn’t have to shift before barreling down the stairs in almost a single ferocious leap with another ear-piercing howl to let Helen know he was coming.

The wood under him groaned and creaked as his massive form hit the final landing of the stairs and he was able to quickly survey the room before spurring into action again. The thick smell of fresh blood and the crumpled blonde form immediately caught his attention as well as the two thugs with bats, causing him to throw himself forward in a blind rage onto one of the men.



There was a satisfying popping sound as the man’s bones snapped under the weight of Luke’s jaws clamping down on his shoulder. The two fell to the ground with the massive wolf on top still loudly savaging the screaming man. Harm our pack mate and suffer the consequences

"Lu...k....out!" the words just wouldn't come out of her mouth despite seeing the gunman taking aim. "sl...v...r." she willed her broken mouth to murmur but it was too late.


The shot exploded into the room and Helen knew he was hit. He was going to fall to Kuruth. Good.