Underdogs The First Stories - By Geonn Cannon Page 0,50

down on it and cause her some pain. She pulled back and ran her tongue over her lips.

"You're going to help me out. You're going to give us exactly what we want."

"Where's Dale?"

"She's our leverage. You do what we ask or--"

"Or you'll kill her?" She looked at Beck again. "You're not a killer."

Beck shook her head. "You're right. That's not the plan."

Sadie leaned in again and pressed her lips to Ari's ear. "I'll change her."

Ari bucked against Pen, throwing her weight back and getting just a fraction of freedom in her arms. She rolled forward and tackled Sadie, knocking her into the table. They grappled briefly, neither of them able to get a good angle for a solid punch. Ari sat up to give herself more room, but she opened herself up to a blow on the side of the head from Pen's stone fist. Ari sprawled on the tile floor. Sadie jumped on her and pinned her with a straight arm across the back of her neck.

"She'd make a lovely fox, don't you think? That lovely red hair, those eyes... she has such delicate features. Of course... well, that's assuming she survives the first transformation. You know that's why we don't change adults, and we start changing during puberty... young bones knit so much easier. They learn and adapt. So the canidae decides that's the perfect time to train our skeletons how to go back and forth. But Dale is all grown up, isn't she? Why, I bet the first time she transforms, every bone in her body will break. And if she tries to be human again, she'd be crippled for life. If she--"

"Shut the fuck up." She was on the verge of hysteria. "What do you want?"

Sadie laughed. "My dear Ariadne... I thought you'd never ask. Listen closely, wolf. Here's what you're going to do for your new best friends..."

Chapter Three, Junkyard Dogs

Dale was somewhere dark, cold, and dirty. She lifted her head and whimpered at the pain that shot down her neck. When she tried to reach up and massage the ache away, she discovered her hands were bound behind her back. She was curled on her side, knees tucked against her chest. She heard footsteps on wooden stairs behind her and twisted to look. The light at the top of the stairs were mostly blocked by her captor. The woman was tall enough, or the basement was narrow enough, that she had to bend forward slightly to avoid bumping her head on the braces that ran across it.

The sight of the woman reminded Dale of what had happened. She'd gone downstairs from the office for lunch and a woman, this hulk of a woman, had asked her where Morrison's Grill was. Dale turned to point. When she turned back, the woman had closed the distance between them. Dale had just enough time to be frightened before she was hit. Then a choking chemical smell, and nothing. She remembered the other woman asking her questions. Ari was in trouble. Somehow they had figured out who Ari really was.

"What do you want?"

"Right now, your clothes."

Dale tensed. "Go to hell."

"We need them to prove we really have you. Either you can give them to me, or I can take them from you. Your choice."

Dale rested her head on the dirt and closed her eyes. "My hands... I need my hands free."

The woman leaned closer and unlocked Dale's handcuffs. She put a hand on Dale's shoulder and squeezed until she yelped in pain. "Go ahead and try to escape. I don't like to threaten. I prefer to show people what I'll do if they cross me."

"I won't try anything."

Dale unbuttoned her blouse as quickly as possible, then twisted out of her skirt. She was left in her black bra and matching half-slip, feeling ridiculous in the fancy lingerie. She'd planned to meet up with Natalie after work. She tossed the clothes to her captor and then reluctantly presented her wrists to be handcuffed again.

"Ari's going to stop you."

The woman smiled. "Ari isn't in much of a position to stop anything right now. She's a good dog."

Dale watched her go and then dropped her head to the dirt.

#

Ari jerked away as Pen threw the shirt in her face. She didn't need canidae senses to recognize Dale's perfume. Sadie picked up the cloth and pressed it against Ari's face anyway, smothering her with the smell. She had been dragged from the kitchen and into the living room where she was currently