I climbed the fire escape on Simon Burn’s building, on the other side from his apartment. He always had guys sitting on the fire escape outside his apartment.

  I walked over the roof and lowered myself down on the outside rails as quietly as I could even though the loud music would cover almost anything I could do. Two of Simon’s friends were sitting and smoking pot instead of keeping watch. I could smell the sickly-sweet smell.

  They really didn’t take anything seriously.

  They didn’t see me coming down behind them. And they sure as hell didn’t even notice when I banged their heads together so hard that teeth were flying all over the place. I lowered them down easily, so not to make any more noise.

  I looked in through the window. Simon was dancing in front of his bed and boy did he lack rhythm! It was more like an epileptic seizure than anything like dancing. Not a pretty sight. It was the stuff of nightmares.

  When he went into the other room I decided to slip through the window. Only it was rigged and the alarm was not a silent one. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t looked for an alarm before bursting in like an idiot. I shook my head and went in anyway.

  Gun in one hand and knife in the other, I waited for the gun-toting ogres to walk through that door.

  The adrenaline course through me and I was eager for a fight. Claws and fangs were threatening to emerge and my body felt super charged.

  This was taking too long!

  Bah, fuck it, I thought and kicked the door as hard as I could. I sent it flying.

  And I mean flying! I really sent the door flying into the room in a hail of splinters. My adrenaline went through the roof, and I started growling with anticipation.

  This was going to be fun!

  It took me a second to realize that I was about to do something very, very stupid. I was going in with guns blazing. It was something I would never do. I was never impulsive. This wasn’t me.

  I didn’t act like this, did I?

  In a burst of supernatural speed, I was out on the fire escape again. I was over the rail before I remembered that I was three floors up.

  There was a brief feeling of panic before I remembered that I wasn’t really human anymore. Still, I was certain this was going to hurt. I hit the ground, tucked and rolled with the fall. The guns in my parka dug into my side as I rolled. It hurt, but not as much as I thought it would. And no broken bones.

  I was around the corner, before anyone poked their head out the window.

  I would have to get a grip on my situation before I killed myself being stupid. My fathers used to say, “it’s okay to be ugly, but it’s not okay to be stupid!” I was a new and tougher girl now, but I needed to be smart about it. I had no idea what my limits were and there were smart way to find out, and dumb ways to find out. I didn’t really want to see if I could survive being shot full of holes.

  The good thing was that I wasn’t hurt, and that no one had seen me. The bad thing was that it had all felt so damn good. The anticipation of a fight and perhaps a kill was a rush. I had looked forward to killing everyone up there, not even thinking that I might be the one to get killed.

  I had never in my entire life done something as stupid as that. I didn’t like that I had two different sets of instincts. All my training and skills said one thing and my new-found abilities said a whole different thing. One said “dangerous” and the other said “fun” and tried to override the other.

  I was changing. And I knew it wasn’t all physical either. New body and new instincts with no experience could only spell trouble. Whatever happened, I couldn’t walk away from Simon Burns and hope that he would leave Tony’s family alone. Tony had made him back down, or rather Tony’s father had, and that had made him lose face. I doubted Tony’s death would make Simon stop. Simon was a coward, but he was a stubborn coward with grudge. And he was damn vicious. And I was still on his radar. Of that, I had no doubt.

  My anger came and went in waves. I felt pumped and anxious as I took the long route back to Simon’s building. I was definitely turning schizo. I wasn’t the sanest person to start with, but right now I was not that far from all-out killing rage. And I was sure that it would be a bad thing to let go of the few walls of sanity I had left, so I did my best to keep calm.

  I walked around for a few hours before returning to Simon's building. Everyone needed to calm down, me most of all. I slipped in the main entrance this time and walked the three flights of steps. The hallway was well lit and there was a guy outside Simon’s door pacing back and forth. I turned down the other hallway and decided to wait for an opportunity. Exactly what, I had no idea.

  I concentrated on the sounds coming from the corridor. I knew of the guy guarding the door. He was called Slim and tended to be a bit rough with the ladies and commonly regarded as a bit slow. His real name was Francis Mosley.

  Slim was pacing nervously. If this was a movie, he would be the first to die. Guys called Slim were always the first to die in movies. I could hear his breaths coming a bit too fast for a relaxed guard. He had a knife he was playing with as he paced outside the door – a butterfly knife. A knife loved by amateurs and show-offs.

  I could smell that he had been eating onion bagels recently and that he used AXE as a deodorant. AXE was worthy of a death sentence in itself. There was also a foul smell of the mix of old-fashioned gun oil and Prolix, so I knew he was packing.

  After standing like a statue for ten minutes and waiting for some kind of opening, I realized that Freaky Fred and I had some things in common. I was turning into Psycho Mar, just waiting to hang around the parks feeding squirrels and killing and eating the pigeons who try to take the food from the squirrels.

  I had lost the element of surprise. The only thing going for the situation was that amateurs were hard-pressed to stay on high-alert for this long without losing focus.

  I threw a quick glance around the corner. Slim was relaxing a bit; he was flipping his knife as he paced in front of the door. Then I heard a thud. Slim had dropped the knife.

  This was my chance. I turned the corner in a dead run and, and boy could I run! The only focus I had was Slim who was facing away from me, bending over to get his knife. He seemed to move in slow motion. My eyes zoomed in on Slim, fixing my sights on him for the attack. I was clear and focused, but it was scary clarity. Like the world didn’t exist except for me and my prey. I could feel the power in me, as I ran down the hall. The adrenaline rush of attacking, of hunting, coursed through me. Because, make no mistake, this was a hunt!

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  I reached Slim in perhaps two seconds. No more than that. I had to give it to him, he reacted to something, but he was way too slow. I hit him on the top of his head with my elbow as I came down from my last jump. He was out before he had a chance to do anything, and I caught him as he slumped down. It wasn’t even a thrill. Too easy.

  I pulled the hood tighter and checked that the faceguard of my parka was fastened properly. It would give me some protection for being recognized. The next step probably wouldn’t be as silent. From what I noticed from Simon’s bedroom, there were three from his crew there with him. I was pretty sure there weren’t more than three.

  I growled low in my throat and gave in to the anticipation, the thrill of it all. Fuck it, I wouldn’t go in guns blazing, but I would come down on them like an avalanche.

  I drew my gun and a knife and looked at Slim. He would do. I hefted Slim and held him with my knife arm in front of me. He felt like he did not weigh more than a feather. Okay, not as light as a feather because he was blocky and unconscious and a bit awkward to handle, but I had no problem in holding him in front of me with one arm, but I needed my hand to get a good grip on him. I slid the knife back into its sheet again. I wouldn’t need it. I kept the gun, so that I had something to scare them with, but I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t really need the gun either.

  Pausing and listening to the sounds from the apartment with Slim in front of me might have looked a bit, should we say, suspicious. I didn’t really care though. I needed to hear how many people were in the room. None of the people inside were close to the door. A small hallway inside gave off a funny echo. I realized I was already processing information from my improved senses, without turning my brain into mush. I was ready.

  I opened the door and quickly stepped inside. There was a short hallway with a closed door that lead into the living room of the apartment. It was a security door. The door was a very good door, but it was only as good as the wall it was fastened to.

  I took a running step and kicked it hard. I sent in my second door for the evening flying. It was almost as spectacular as the first. I moved into the room with Slim in front of me and the MP7 sweeping back and forth in a very controlled fashion. Anyone who knows guns, would agree that it is a mean-looking thing.

  Simon and two others had probably been standing arguing, because I could still smell the iron-tinged scent of anger. The three stood like frozen to my right and Simon was gawking in fear. I don’t think it was the gun, but the rumbling growl I was giving off. It was a warning. And a challenge. I was almost hoping that they would call me on it, but it looked like they wouldn’t. The fear I could smell made me growl louder and I felt canines trying to push into my lips. I was so close to drooling, just by the smell of the fear.

  Simon’s right hand man, Martín, put his hands up quickly. I could sense his fear. I also noticed him squinting faintly at me, like he saw something he didn’t couldn’t really identify but felt that he should.

  I quickly hit the light switch to turn off the light in the room. I didn’t need them to recognize me. The faceguard and the darkness would help. I hoped it was enough.

  I could see my eyes glowing, reflecting what little light came in from the outside, in the reflection in the windows. Two amber-colored points of light glinted in the reflection, giving my hood a sinister, evil look.

  “I can still see you,” I said in a sing song voice. “I can still see you almost as well as in daylight.”

  Growling, I kept my eyes on Simon. They could not see the slight change in my jawline as my body tried to change. They could only see my glowing eyes. While they couldn’t see the hate, they felt the shift in the atmosphere.

  “We kept our side of the bargain…” Simon was begging.

  I felt my face grow wider and longer. Bones moved again. And pain. Canines suddenly extended and grew past my lips. The deeper growl really made them scared. I could smell the fear emanating from them.

  God, what a rush it was! Prey. They were prey!

  No, don’t make a move! Don’t!

  Just when I was starting to relax, the one standing on his own made a grab for his gun. I spun and threw Slim at Simon and another in a move so fast I broke several of Slim’s ribs.

  The guy who started moving got his hand on his gun as I reached him.

  I broke his arm with my first punch. I pulled his shoulder out of joint, as I surged forward and went around him kicking his knee a bit too hard unfortunately. I wanted to hurt him, not really cripple him, but that last kick shattered his kneecap and broke his leg. I wasn’t sure of my new-found strength, and he paid the price for it.

  In a lightning-quick move I was in front of Simon and the other. They were under the still unconscious Slim. I jumped and landed on Slim. I took care not to land like an elephant, no need to crack more ribs, unless I decided to kill him.

  “The store and the family are off limits! So off limits that if you shop there, I will kill you! No more flirting with other groups to get around it. You made one deal and you live by it or you die by another!” I growled. I hardly recognized my own voice. “Anything traced back to you an’ I’ll kill you all! No more knocking on doors,” I giggled then, but turned serious almost immediately, “just puff…gone. There will not be another warning!” The quiet menace must have hit home because the tall guy pissed his pants.

  I jumped off the cozy pile.

  “Hey! That’s gross,” I said and backed a couple of steps.

  I heard the guy behind me reaching for his gun again. I turned and jumped, flipping in the air in one move. I hit him with a fist as I landed, hitting him so hard he bounced off the carpet. Teeth and blood spilled out of his mouth as the head came down to rest on the floor. That jaw would take its time to heal, if it ever did. But at least he was breathing.

  I walked back to Simon. They were all lying still, smelling like prey. They reeked of weakness. I took deep breaths trying to make sure I didn’t change more than I had. I was clicking the handle of my gun with my claws and it was the only sound in the room. To me it was loud as hell. Like thunder.

  I sniffed the air and tried to calm down. Half the night had passed already, and I had more to do. I had another trail to follow. Shady places to visit, as Wilson would put it.

  Slowly and with great care I reached out and scratched each one of them with my claws. “I have your scent now. I can find you anywhere now, so don’t think you can get away with anything.”

  “We had a deal!” Simon squeaked.

  “A deal with who? Not the ones who guaranteed Tony’s safety. You made them look bad, and they don’t like that! The ones you made a deal with, will face their own consequences.” I was ad-libbing as hell. “If you answer my questions you get another chance. Now, where did you contact them?”

  “I can’t-“ Simon started.

  I used the claw of my thumb to press into his shoulder. He screamed as the claw tore his flesh and reached the joint.

  “You were saying?” I growled out.

  “They came to us! They came to us! They were looking for Maria Smith, and they couldn’t find her! I told them if them if they wanted her, they would have to get Tony!”

  I felt my emotions shut down. They were looking for me? I really was the reason?

  No! Mike Sunderland was the reason. Simon was an accomplice. Simon had pointed them at Tony. I wanted to kill so bad right then, but I had said I’d let him live. Whatever else I had become, I kept my promises.

  “You get to live, only because I promised,” I said as my claw slashed his shoulder with my claw. I held my other hand over his mouth as I whispered, “If you try to contact the killers, you die! If you try anything, anything at all, you die! If I were you, I’d leave Chicago and never come back, because if I find you doing anything…”

  I didn’t finish the sentence. Didn’t need to.

  With one last growl, I walked out the door like an automaton, with my emotions shut off. I didn’t lower the face guard of my parka until I was way a block away.

  To be honest, I was shitting my pants. Figuratively speaking, but nonetheless. Hell, I wanted to kill them all in there. I wanted them to feel fear and panic. The guy pissing his pants was a bit gross, but when their fear skyrocketed, I would have loved to slit their throats with my claws, letting the blood run over my fingers, and...

  Damn, I was turning into Freaky Fred!

  I forced myself to think about something else. I did not want to think about those bite marks again.

  The fog had lifted a bit, but it was still misty and wet, and that was not an improvement. I prefer low visibility to being slowly soaked. I wasn’t sure how to deal with Simon setting the killers on Tony. I really did not want to let him go. I would leave him alone if he ran. But knowing Simon, he would think his way out of doing the right thing - and then I would get to kill him. You could always trust stupidity to do the wrong thing.