A Kink in the Tail

Chapter 9 - Target

"Suddenly I'm popular." Adam was at a loss as to why everything was turning to shit. He'd just finished Uni and was looking forward to finding a job. It was a simple plan. He would continue to pretend to be human and eventually become financially independent of his family. Totally free.

"Do you suppose they want to kill me too?" He was being sarcastic, although he did wonder if he had a target painted on his back.  It didn't help that when Constantine replied he was perfectly serious.

"No, I don't think so. They are sniffing around because of Thanos. They would have checked us out and will know we've been here for some time and we have been too busy blending in to be a problem." Adam pulled off his towel and roughly dried his hair with it. Naked and oblivious of Constantine's gaze following him around the room he dropped the towel and started searching in his wardrobe for a set of clothes.

"The pack has had nothing to do with the Homeland for years so it's understandable they are curious why the heir of one of the Pure is coming all this way.   I'll organise a meeting with them for tomorrow, we'll play nice and get it over with quickly. Once they see we're no threat to their pack they'll forget about us." After looking at Adam's butt for far too long Constantine he let his eyes drop to the carpet at his feet. "How about we go for a run out at Mulengow? It'll be nice and cool around the Weir."  

"We?" Adam, still starkers, turned and looked at Constantine. He was surprised at the suggestion. Constantine knew Wolf only ever ran alone. He realised it was an olive branch of sorts. There needed to be more compromise between them if they were to survive together.  Eventually, he saw them going their separate ways.  But for now, they needed each other. 

 "Sure, why not. How many days have we got before Thanos arrives?"  Adam pulled on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

"About 5 days. He arrives early Saturday morning." Constantine left the room feeling awkward, trying to be nice to Adam was hard work. It was going to be difficult to change their dynamic.  What was it anyway master/servant or jailer/prisoner, whatever it was it was engrained in both of them.  There was a lot to consider, they were about to leave everything behind and go into hiding indefinitely. 

..... 

Adam hated traveling in Constantine's big 4WD because he had to abide by Driver's Rules, which meant he couldn't turn the radio on.  As neither of them was the sort to make small talk the drive to Mulengow was made in silence.   It gave them time to think about their future.  Adam thought sadly about his friends, they were the only thing he regretted parting with. While Constantine finally came to terms with the fact that there was no hope of ever going back to his home and family. He thought about how it had come to this.  He had gone from bound wolf to rogue.

They stepped out of the air-conditioned car into thick humidity. It had been an exceptionally hot summer and it was making one last effort at melting the city. It was midday and the car park was empty except for a Ranger's ute.

"We need to stay in human form until we get to the Weir." Constantine pointed to the ute. "The walking trails stop there and beyond the terrain gets rough so it's unlikely we'd meet anyone."  He pulled a backpack from the boot, handed Adam a water bottle and they started off.

....

It was a half-hour walk to the Weir and by the time they arrived, it was the hottest part of the day. They hadn't passed anyone along the way and the cool water was too tempting not to swim. They stripped off,  hung their clothes and the backpack from a tree, and jumped into the lake.  It was bliss. Once they cooled off they emerged on the other side where the scrub turned into thick bushland.