Book One: A Wolf Among Beasts

Chapter Twenty Three

Bruce's pulse monitor pushes over 110. He can't do this much more before... Eli pulls him through an alley, around a corner. Pops out and sees...the black van, side door ripping open and looking right at them is...General Thaddeus Ross. He and Bruce lock eyes for the first time in five years. Equal adrenaline. Eli growls and grabs Bruce's hand, instead of turning and running, she pulls him along as she dashes across the street right in front of the Van and back into the alleys like a rocket.

"Okay...Past mobile unit now and heading oh-nine-zero" Cabot in the van announces.

...................

In the Alleys, Bruce is breathing too hard. Too freaked by Ross. Has to hide. Eli takes a hard right and into a favela bar. Plenty of people drinking. Perfect. Pushing through to the back toward the kitchen. She runs right into a body, a guy from the factory Bruce has had issues with, and three of his pals. And they are drunk and looking to fight and nobody better could have showed up. No chit-chat...the guy curses and takes a swing at Eli. Eli can't play dodge games and in a swift move takes the guy's wrist, goes under his arm, grabs the back of his neck and levers him into the bar, Bruce passes them and out the back, Eli growls in warning...and splits out the back without breaking stride, catching up with Bruce who looks up at the bottling factory ahead of them.

............

The tough guys pound out of the alley and move along the side of the huge factory, hear the sound of a chain rattling, come around the corner and see... A metal door in the back of the factory, it's security chain hanging too loose. They shush each other and the tough leader directs two into the door to go after Bruce and Eli and pulls one with him around to the other side.

.............

In the bottling plant changing room, Eli presses Bruce back against a wall and listens to the sounds of the factory. Bruce is trying to calm his racing heart. Mind racing. There is the wet drip of showers. A clank. Eli reacts... Bruce's pulse rising again.

......................

Bruce follows Eli as she creeps through the factory, pausing to listen. Hears the whispers of the drunk toughs, clumsily following. Weaving through the innards of the machinery...almost to the far side now. An Exit sign glowing dim green in the dark...Bruce touches Eli's arm before he moves to it. Pushes gently on the latch and opens it to slide out into...tough guy; smiling. He shoves Bruce back into Eli with a loud laugh. Eli grunts a little and stops Bruce from falling. She grabs his hand and they run back into the factory but the other toughs have come up behind them ...and now they are all around them. Two of the guys grab Bruce, Eli spins slightly to stop them by the tough leader grabs her by the hair and yanks her back, she lets out a hiss as he shoves her up against the machinery behind him. He leers down at her a smirk on his face. He holds her throat against the machinery and runs a hand up the outside of her leg.

"Show you real man, huh, amor?" he asks her sliding his hand around her waist, she clenches her jaw and glances to Bruce who looks horrified, she turns to the Tough Leader.

"Please don't make me do this" Eli whispers. Tough Leader slaps Eli lightly across the face, taunting her and Bruce.

"What you gonna do, huh?" he asks her, her eyes turn yellow and she grabs his arm, her claws are buried deep in his flesh, he screams in agony, she uses this to throw him aside, he goes cartwheeling across the room. She turns to the two men holding Bruce and then cocks her head. Her eyes find something behind Bruce, a gun muzzle, she moves and grabs Bruce from their hold turning her back to the muzzle just in time. Blonsky fires. Eli takes a dart to her neck. Bruce's pulse is literally racing up through 180...200...Eli pulls out the dart and rubs at her neck as Bruce backs away unable to alter his heart rate. His flesh ripples green, his control waning.