Chapter 33 – Trap in the forest – part 1

While Aniya was in her company talking with the big group that Anna Kent had invited, Nick was walking along a path in the woods with Adrian Gordon and three of his friends.
The journey from the apartments to get there took them almost an hour, and while Adrian was talking with his friends during the voyage, Nick remained most of the time looking at the scenery and talking as little as he could. Not enough to disclose more than he wanted, but not too little to make the others suspect his silence.
When Adrian turned left from the main road to a side street, he drove the car for ten more minutes, before parking it behind an abandoned house. They were making their way on foot, with Adrian’s friends carrying one backpack each, and Nick was worried because, as he walked, he wondered how he would tell Aniya where that place was. The first thing that Adrian did before they entered the car was to confiscate everyone’s cellphones, and he turned them off so that they couldn’t be tracked.
When Adrian pointed to a path hidden between two trees, Nick frowned, because the high grass was a clear sign the path hadn’t been used for a very long time.
After ten more minutes on that path, they reached an old wooden log cabin. Adrian took a key from his pocket and opened the door.

He then said, as he entered, “There is nothing much here besides a table, two chairs, and two seats made of logs. There is also a small room with two beds that have seen better days and a stove. We won’t need to stay here for long, but we are going to stay for the night. In the backpacks, there are sandwiches and fruit, and I even brought two board games and some cards. In the morning, the others will arrive, and they will go hide in the woods around us, waiting for our prey. As for you, Nick, tomorrow I will give you your phone and you will send a message to your friend with the location of this place. I am betting they will arrive in force in the afternoon.“

Nick shrugged. “I can do that, but why not tell them today? The Hunters would have more time to gather their troops, but they would all fall into our trap.“

“No, it’s better if we start slow. Let’s see how many people they will gather on such short notice to test them. I think they won’t have enough time to assemble many, but I called all of my guys and girls, just in case. I want to be sure they all die without having time to call for backup. On another day, we will set another trap, and depending on the outcome tomorrow, I may give them more time. For now, what about some poker?“

They all smiled and joined Adrian at the table, with Nick pretending not to be worried about the way Adrian prepared things. At least Davis was sure to be nearby, because according to their plan during dinner, he would follow them from a safe distance to see where they were going to warn Aniya.
Outside, hidden behind a cluster of trees, Davis was checking the coordinates of that place on the GPS of his phone, and writing a message to Aniya. He smiled as he read her answer, asking him to be careful and to be sure Nick was safe. Davis sat on the floor and closed his eyes, dedicating his full attention to his hearing, to be sure everything was quiet inside the log cabin, and also to lower his heartbeat and breathing so that the ones inside didn’t hear him.
…

Morning came, and Davis was still seated and leaning against a tree. Inside the cabin, everyone was sleeping, and he took that opportunity to retreat for more than fifty meters. He carefully searched for a tree that he could climb that would grant him a clear view of everything around.
Using a big rope, Davis tossed it over the thickest and highest branch he could find on a tall tree, and by sheer force, he pulled himself up. He used that same manoeuvrer two more times, and when he was certain no one on the ground could see him, even if they were looking right underneath the tree, he checked to see if he had a clear view of the log cabin. Two branches were on his way that he easily snapped and used to make a more comfortable base for him to sit on. From the backpack he had, he took his sniper rifle and carefully assembled it, not forgetting the silencer on the tip. A belt with bullets completed the setting, and Davis slowly put it around his waist, loose enough so that he could easily rotate it to grab the bullets.
One last message to Aniya saying that he was in a position to provide backup, because Nick was inside the log cabin with Adrian Gordon and three more, and it seemed they were going to be the bait for the Hunters.
Aniya was leaving her room to have breakfast with her parents, and she bit her lower lip as she read Davis’ message. She got back inside and changed her clothes. Instead of the light yellow dress and high heels she had, she quickly changed to sneakers, a pair of dark leggings, and a tight dark shirt, and she went to the dining room in a hurry while tying her hair in a ponytail.

She sat at the table and faced her father, speaking even before he could open his mouth, “I am going to be in the first Squad that is going in the afternoon to that place. My friend is there, and I want to be sure they don’t hit him during the mess. It seems Adrian took him and three other guys, and they spent the night there.”

“That will be dangerous, Aniya! The Squad that goes first will go with their guns blazing so that the rest of that group thinks there is only that Squad. Your friend just has to be sure he stays away from the line of fire!”

“I wasn’t asking father, I was saying what I was going to do. You either make that happen, or I will go right now to take him out of there, and let your friends deal with the consequences afterwards. I went to extreme lengths to be sure this worked, but I won’t risk my friend being hurt.”

Dan Rossi leaned forward and he half-closed his eyes. “You seem rather worried about that friend of yours. Who is he, anyway? A boyfriend?”

“What he is doesn’t concern you. He never failed me until now. There is no way I am going to fail him just because your friends are a bunch of morons.”

“I will see what I can do then, but I can’t promise anything.”

Aniya grabbed a toast and got up. Her father questioned, intrigued by the serious look on her face, “Where are you going?”

“To your office to grab some things. You do your part, and I will do mine. I will leave as soon as I am ready because I want to be there early to check how many we will have to face.”

Dan Rossi spoke in a lower tone to his wife, who was as surprised as he was by Aniya’s reaction. Is it just my impression, or did she seem too worried about a mere friend?”

“I think the same too. It’s better if you make sure you do what she asked, or she may never forgive us if her friend dies. I had never seen her so worried about a man before. For sure, he is someone important to her. Maybe he went to that group to help her, and now she worries about him and feels responsible, but knowing our daughter as I know, he is most certainly her boyfriend. Or at least, someone she likes.”

Dan Rossi nodded and grabbed his cellphone to contact the Hunter’s Headquarters. A few passphrases later, and his call was connected to a member of the High Council, Blake Garvin. “Good morning, we have a situation. My daughter wants to be in the first Squad that is going this afternoon to that place. She fears that her friend, who is infiltrated, could get hurt. Yes, he is with that group in those coordinates. There are four with him, and one is Adrian Gordon, their leader. Yes, the one that escaped last time. I am also going with her as an extra backup. I will tell her, thank you.”

He then nodded at his wife, reassuring her that everything was taken care of.

Meanwhile, in the Hunter’s Headquarters, Blake Garvin was smiling at his cellphone and mumbling, “So, she wants to be in the first group? I know the perfect partners to go with her then. Even if she escapes the Werewolves, she won’t escape them. Tough luck, Dan, but it’s your fault for raising her like that. And you in the package? Perfect timing! Women have no place on the field, and anyone that supports that sacrilege has no use for me…”

He grinned and dialled the number of a Squad of his most loyal Hunters, the ones that he always used when there was a situation to be solved, under the code.
A quick explanation of the objective, and he hung up, smiling at the laptop in front of him, checking the list with the names of the Hunters already contacted for the assault after lunch.
…

Aniya and her father got out of the Uber car that she called to pick them up. She checked the GPS on her phone and went down the side street with her father. As soon as the car went away, she entered the path that went deep into the woods to her right, with Dan Rossi following her.
They were both heavily armed. While Aniya was in the secret room, still choosing what she wanted to take with her, Dan went to get his guns. They both wore a knife and a handgun around their waists, a sword on a sheath around their backs, a double-barreled shotgun, and a belt containing silver ammunition for the weapons.

As soon as they walked two meters, a Hunter dressed in a complete dark uniform with dark leather boots and a military helmet came from the bush on Aniya’s left and greeted them in a low tone. “Miss Lisa and the first assault team are a few metres ahead. If you follow me, I will take you there. From this point on, absolute silence and mind your steps. We already cleared every dry branch we could see, but there might still be one or two hidden in the tall grass.”

Aniya nodded and followed the Hunter, with her father right behind them. He guided them along a large circle and reached a section of the woods with bushes all around. There were four teams there, seated on the floor in different sections of the clearing. Among them, Aniya saw the distinguishable red hair of her friend Lisa, and went to her, while Dan Rossi followed the Hunter to a section three metres away, where a group was looking at a map. Aniya sat next to Lisa with a slight smile and saw her pointing with her head to someone that was in front of them in silence.
Aniya looked to where Lisa was pointing, and she almost shouted in surprise. Looking at them with a serious face, dressed in the same dark uniform and helmet and carrying a short assault rifle, was their friend, the always quiet Violet Green.

Lisa shrugged, but Aniya couldn’t remain as peaceful as they all were. She leaned forward and asked, in a whisper, “What are you doing here? Are you a Hunter as well?”

“Not exactly. I am a member of a special task force that deals with extremely dangerous situations. I am also a Werewolf, and the Hunters rely on me to pinpoint when someone is a Werewolf or not. Do you mind explaining to me what you and Lisa are doing here, fellow Werewolves?”