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Chapter 16 - 6

You head off in the direction of the weapons hangar, unsurprised to see Tiva joining you for the trip. Together, the two of you slink from shadowy alley to alley, slowly closing the distance to the weapons hangar.

"It's right where the elders said it would be," Tiva says through a wolflike grin. "It's a good thing we kept talk of this little trip quiet. They would never have let the location slip otherwise."

The army's weapons hangar is an unassuming gunmetal gray, sitting on the southern end of the base, looking for all the world like a long-forgotten refuse heap. From the outside anyway. Only a few of the elders have ever been allowed inside for janitorial duties, but they spoke with awe of the weapons and ammunition hidden between those corrugated metal walls.

"All right," Tiva says. "How do we get in?" She points to the front door where a single guard sits at a small round table, his head drooping. "The guard is asleep, but we don't know how many more there are inside."

She shifts her finger to the left, indicating a smaller door with a push-bar. "We could check there first, see if we can get in through the side." She looks back at you. "Then again, we're bigger and stronger than they are. Maybe we could just force our way inside." She pauses. "What do you think?"

You motion Tiva low to the ground and take the lead, silently creeping across the open space between the alleyway and the hangar.

The guard snorts as you pass him, a thin line of drool wavering beneath his bottom lip. For a moment you're afraid he'll come awake, but he settles deeper into his chair, head slumped, eyes closed.

Breathing a sigh of relief, you and Tiva enter the hangar, sticking to darkened areas and corners. Two additional guards wind through the interior on a regular circuit within the central area, kept bright by a number of floodlights.

"We'll never get a good look at this stuff with them in the way," Tiva growls.

You point Tiva to the guard on the left while moving silently to the right, stalking the soldier from the shadows around the wall of the hangar.

You take your time, waiting for the man to pause to adjust his uniform before you strike. You lash out from the shadows like an avenging demon, dragging the soldier out of the lit area and into the corner, one paw over his mouth to muffle his screams as the other slashes his throat open.

Moments later Tiva joins you, and the two of you walk into the lit area of the hangar, blood-spattered fur shining a dark crimson in the stark light of the floods.

You expected more of a fight from trained military men. You're beginning to wonder if the Haven outpost has become a station where the military sends its problem soldiers as punishment.

Next

Each side of the hangar is filled with stacks of wooden crates labeled enigmatically in blocky black stencil. The first several that you pull open reveal items of little use to a werewolf, especially one not trained or armed. Boxes of ammunition of all shapes and sizes finally give way to crates of semiautomatic rifles.

Tiva grabs one and pretends to fire it, her ears perked up in excitement.

"Think it's me?" she asks coyly as she flexes her trigger finger.

You shake your head and continue to paw through the boxes. Tiva frowns and eventually resurfaces from her stack with a pair of gleaming handguns. "These will be easier to hide back home anyway."

You are about to give up your search when a strange metal box catches your attention, cached behind several crates of rifles.

The container opens silently on well-oiled hinges, revealing a strange metal gauntlet. You pick up the device and hold it up to the floodlights, marveling at its intricacy before trying it on. The burnished metal only extends over the back of your hand, leaving your fingers and claws open to the air.

You flex your muscles and feel something within the device puncture your arm. Wincing in pain, you try to remove the gauntlet only to discover that it's latched on tight! You smash your fist to the floor in an attempt to break it off and are astonished when the concrete crumbles beneath the weight of your blow.

Tiva raises an eyebrow. "Looks like someone just found some strength enhancement hardware! Is there another one?"

You shake your head, worry fading away for the moment as you ponder the appeal of your enhanced strength.

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