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1.
It was the nearing the end of August, a Thursday afternoon that had the Wolves nearly climbing the walls to get out of the office for the day; the air conditioning was on the fritz again, the Director was extra testy whenever Redfield’s name was mentioned, and shit rolled downhill to hit the HWS and their Captain for all the tasks no other department wanted to deal with. In short, it had been a rough week and they wanted to go home.
The stairwell door opened, catching the attention of everyone in the office; they weren’t expecting any visitors today, as Leon was away on a mission somewhere, Valentine and Oliveira were deployed as well. They lit up when L walked into the bullpen, heels clicking softly as she made her way in to see them.
“Good Afternoon, Pups. Be there are a large, grumpy Alpha about? I’ve heard he’s nae in a good mood today.”
“Hi Mom! Yep, he’s finishing a conference call in his office. Should be done any time now.” Piers smiled, the rest waving happily.
“Thank ye. I also hear the putz upstairs hasnae been a good sport about things lately. Is he making your jobs harder?” She spoke from the kitchenette, getting a cup of chilled honey mint tea from the pitcher she’d made earlier in the week there. “And why is there so much tea left in this heat? Have ye nae learned your lessons on the benefits?” Making an irked noise of disapproval, she poured a round of cups and set them on each desk before getting a larger mug for Chris when he’d finished the call.
Getting a round of sheepish apologies, the Wolves were ready to answer after sipping the refreshing beverage under her watchful eye.
“He’s been… more overbearing than usual. Driving every department crazy, and the overload of tasks are getting pushed onto us to finish up stuff we don’t normally take on because we’re the fastest.” Night Howl answered, taking another large drink.
“Mmm. I see. He’s been trying the same thing on me, foisting off patients from Med Bay I’m nae legally qualified to treat unless I go back to school for a few years. Had enough of school for this decade.” Wrinkling her nose.
“How did you get into school though, for real? You’ve said that you don’t legally exist on paperwork.” Lobo asked quietly, shutting down his computer for the day with the rest of the Squad.
“Ehm… I have connections. While I do have a formal education, it is considered vastly outdated from the time I got it until present day. I did most of the schooling by correspondence, ye ken? After I had a proper paper trail for applications and re-emergence into modern society in in ’98, I was able to re-take my corporation as the ‘heir apparent’. It was a matter of scheduling sabbaticals in my courses to get the internships lined up so I wasnae running around three different schools in three states at the same time to finish up my Masters. The English Lit I got in the 60’s was still useful when I had to write a thesis for one of them. Grammar rules havenae changed, thankfully. When Christopher was in Curaçao, I was taking the last part of the chiropractor boards and getting the education stuff verified so I could practice officially.” She sipped her tea with a hum of approval, noting that the Wolves had finished theirs and looked a bit perkier.
“How many degrees do you have?” Tundra asked, eyes wide.
“A few. Ye ken that I’ve had a lot of time to get them, yes?”
“What all did you study?”
“Well, there was English Lit in the 60’s, and I had some fun with a Masters in Botany at the same time, boggled the professors to nae end. It wasn’t as helpful as I was hoping, as America had seemingly forgotten much of the herbal knowledge that I grew up with. After I rejoined society, I went back to school and got my Masters in Kinesiology, and Physical Kinesiology. Then came Massage Therapy and I finished Chiropractor. I need a little less sleep than you do, ye ken?”
“Wow… that’s a lot.” Umber stated.
“I wanted to be a schoolteacher, but I just couldnae do it after I lost my wain. I would have to be more nomadic if I pursued that career and that complicates matters too much for my taste. I like putting down roots in an area, even if it gets me into trouble sometimes. After meeting Christopher, I decided to go with something more hands on. Be good to help in other ways, ye ken?”
“You…had a child?” Canine asked hesitantly, not wanting to upset her.
“Aye, she was only two. My sweet Méabh. My husband Kellan was murdered along with her on the same day.” Taking a breath, she gave a tremulous smile. “The one who stole them from me still walks the earth, and there are whispers that they are nae too far from New York right now. When I come across them finally, I’ll have my vengeance. Until then, I wait and keep myself busy.”
“I’m sorry if this is too forward… but is Alpha one of the things to keep you busy?” Piers asked quietly, voicing a quiet concern they all shared at her revelation.
“No, young Nivans. He holds my heart in a way that nae another person ever has. I love him with every fiber of my being, Pup.”
The Wolves relaxed at that. The office door opened and Chris stepped out, looking both aggravated and somehow relieved at the same time.
“Everything alright Alpha?” Lobo asked, seeing his expression.
“Yes, Jill and Carlos are on their way back, no deaths this time. Our deadlines got pushed back to the middle next week, so we have some breathing room to not need overtime tomorrow to complete the assignments. The board is also in the process of looking for a new director as well but keep that to yourselves.” Looking to the kitchenette, a small smile softened his features immediately. “Líle?”
“Aye, Big Boy. Two emergency appointments this afternoon, and got called in. Here, have ye some tea.” Pressing the large mug into his massive palm with a warm smile. “I was also going to thank Kennedy for his playlist, I like it quite a lot. But the bugger’s away and gone dark again.”
“I’m sure he’d be happy to hear a review after he comes home.” Sipping, trying to ignore the grinding sensation in his belly he felt from missing his lunch due to a meeting earlier.
“Sit down, handsome man. I know that face.” Back into the kitchenette and opening the fridge to get his lunch bag, opening it and making another noise of disapproval when she found it mostly untouched. “They need to make lunch meetings open to nutrition. Or be better with their time management so that everyone can finish on time. Very disrespectful to all parties involved when they cannae break bread properly.”
“Going to take that up with HR?” Redfield teased lightly as he took a seat, sideways to the Wolves.
“I may. I have a few things to discuss with them now, ye ken? I think it may be better to hammer out a deal for the safehouses with HR or with the individual teams worldwide. I cannae make up my mind yet, but I’ll start with HR here to see how they want to play ball first.” She set a plate in front of Redfield, leaning against the table next to him and obscuring the view of his meal from the rest of the room.
“That’ll piss off the Director even more.” Canine chuckled.
Redfield took a bite of the sandwich and nodded, eyes almost rolling back in his head with relief after he swallowed the bite. The Wolves made chatter with L as he finished the meal in peace, still hungry but feeling less aggravated and sore. Sipping the ice-cold tea, he leaned back in the chair, ignoring it’s creak of protest.
“If you piss him off much more, he might have a heart attack. Every time I see him, the vein in his forehead is throbbing.”
“That’s just because he’s picturing you and West spit-roasting me. Or we’re all doing the Eiffel Tower.” She sipped her tea with a straight face, watching the chaos ensue.
“MY EARS!” Piers moaned, clapping his hands over them.
“Brain bleach. Stat!” Lobo groaned, shaking his head.
"These are things my mind doesn’t need to know about!” Umber Eyes shook his head like he was trying to get the images out.
Chris was chuckling while Tundra looked like she was trying to figure out what the Eiffel Tower meant. At least until Night Howl leaned over and whispered in her ear, turning her cherry red. Canine was the only one with a straight face, although it was cracking slightly when he looked at Tundra’s bright complexion.
“He told me to go fuck myself when I said he looked stressed in the elevator today. I told him I nae have to; getting the Good Dick at home.” Another sip of tea from the professional menace in the kitchen.
If Chris had been chuckling before, he was full on belly-laughing now; head back and roaring as the Wolves just sunk into their seats to try and hide from L’s comments.
“I don’t want to hear about old people sex. Especially not our parents!” Piers shouted, the others laughing and complaining equally.
“Hold on now, old people sex?” Chris sat up straight in the kitchen and looked at Nivans with both brows raised.
“I said what I said, Dad.” And he said it with his full chest.
“Congratulations are in order then. You’re all in Time Out tomorrow, brats.” Redfield promised as he finished his tea.
“Position fifty-three tonight, Big Boy.” L’s final quip set off a new round of laughter and pained moans.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Do you really think we’re in time out today? What are we, five?” Umber asked as the Squad walked into work the next morning.
“Piers did call both of them old.” Canine pointed out.
“And we all laughed about it.” Lobo added.
“I am almost afraid to find out what his definition of time out is… Like are we sitting in corners today?” Tundra piped in.
“We’re about to find out.” Piers chuckled, Night Howl nodding.
As they arrived in the bullpen, they were met with something they had not expected; there were no chairs at their desks. Instead, they saw ammunition crates where their comfortable desk chairs should have been, and every placement had a stack of looseleaf paper with a ballpoint pen. On the whiteboard there were instructions for lines to be written before they could move on with their normal tasks.
“I will not disrespect my Alpha and Luna by calling them old to their faces ever again” x 500. And the fun PT time I had planned is cancelled, you little shits.
“Oh man... He was serious.” Umber groaned. “Should we get Luna some flowers to apologize?”
“Let’s see if he’s still annoyed when he gets in, make that decision later.” Piers offered.
“Crates of Shame for all of us.” Canine nodded, sighing and getting settled in.
2.
The last week of August brought heavy rain on the twenty-sixth, the final Wednesday of the month. It poured so heavily that the HWS were halfway soaked just from running into the building from their cars. Toweling off a bit more in the locker rooms, they made their way to the fourth floor to get the morning workload started. The morning proceeded as usual, working on assignments until lunch, eating, and then training in the afternoon. What came as a surprise was the set up in the gym, and their Alpha.
Chris Redfield stood in the gym on the far side, with thickly padded gym mats set up on the vast floor space opposite of the equipment. He was dressed comfortably in knee-length loose athletic shorts, a tank top, and barefoot on a mat when they arrived, Carlos and Jill similarly attired as the trio waited for the Wolves. Taking a cue from their Alpha, they came out sans socks and footwear to join them only a few minutes later.
“Today we’re sparring and doing grappling. There’s going to be times when you’ll be grabbed by B.O.W.s, and by other opponents that may be larger or at least stronger than you are. You’re already improving with agility, today you’re going to learn leverage and submission to get the upper hand on your opponents.” Redfield explained. “Valentine and Oliveira will be your opponents, and I’ll be the B.O.W., as I can throw harder than they can. Don’t worry, I only aim for the thickest mats.” He grinned.
“That’s not as reassuring as you think it is, Sir.” Tundra stated, eyeing his massive shoulders and biceps on display.
“I’ll be gentle-ish. Getting tossed a few times is good for you, I’m told.” A small smirk.
Jill and Carlos got into position, explaining the maneuvers for basic grappling as the Squad watched, before being partnered off to begin using what they observed. About an hour went by when Redfield called the sparring to a halt, moving on to what it looked like for a B.O.W. to grab a significantly smaller opponent and preparing to throw them.
“If the B.O.W. you’re facing has you like this, the best thing you can do is to leverage your weight so that the joint is strained as much as possible. They’ll do one of three things typically: lose throwing strength and you make less of an impact, drop you, or try to reposition you to defend themselves against the strain if their intelligence is high enough. The third one is very rare, typically only a Nemesis in my experience but a handful of normal Tyrants have done the same thing.”
Getting a nod from Valentine, Chris hoisted her up above his head easily, mimicking how they’d seen Kennedy get seized a few missions ago.
“Not much she can do like this, best bet is to leverage my shoulder as much as she can to make it harder to throw her. Jill, don’t pop it out of joint, Ren Faire is in two weeks.”
“I don’t think I could pop your shoulder out of joint if I wanted to, Big Red. Too much beef holding it in place.”
They watched as Jill shifted her weight, causing her to start dangling at an angle that drew Redfield’s shoulder back into a very uncomfortable position. Letting go, she slid down his back to land lightly on the mats. They did this a couple more times before Jill gave him the go ahead for more force and speed to show them what to do in real-time.
Grabbing her by the side, Chris hoisted her violently upwards and to the side, ready to throw her with force. Jill grabbed his huge arm, shifting her legs sharply to the side while swinging her frame to an angle that jerked his shoulder and arm back into the same uncomfortable position and he dropped her involuntarily as a result. On the second time, she wasn’t quite fast enough to finish the movement and got thrown about eight feet away into the thickest mat, rolling out the impact with a chuckle.
“That was reduced force throwing?!” Tundra squeaked.
“It was.” Chris nodded. “Carlos, you’re up next.”
Oliveira grinned as he and Chris went through similar maneuvers, but this time Carlos was leveraging to cling to the opposite shoulder to abort the throw and get into a position to damage the B.O.W. with a combat knife or gun. Running through the motions, the Wolves were stunned to see their Captain grab, hoist, and move the 200 lb Columbian as easily as he had Valentine, throwing him about ten feet away when Carlos failed to be fast enough.
Oliveira laughed and came back for more, the two officially sparring for a couple minutes before he succeeded a second time.
“That kinda looks fun, in a way.” Umber snickered as Oliveira was sent sailing again before submitting.
Chris heard him, taking a water break with a chuckle.
“If you like it that much Elba, you’re first up.”
Umber swallowed drily and nodded, the others snickering as they watched.
The next hour and a half was spent with laughter, learning, and a whole lot of Wolves flying through the air onto the protective cushioning of the mats. Jill had taken a break, capturing quite a few pictures of the training for the sheer entertainment value, making certain to get a video of each Squad member getting thrown like a frisbee at least once.
A few times the Wolves froze up when Chris grabbed them in a different way than first shown, stuck above his head when his other hand came up to give them a gentle shake before plopping them back down to earth to try again. Piers got air-jailed twice when he got a little too cocky on his approach, getting roars of laughter when he tried everything before he was launched.
Calling a break, Redfield flopped down on his mat to drink some water and let everyone rest for a few minutes.
Leon S. Kennedy wandered into the gym, having heard laughter on his way down from a meeting with the Director and Hunnigan on a joint-op coming up. Kicking off his shoes and socks, he made his way over to where Chris was flopped on his back, prone and vulnerable while the Wolves rehydrated and rested.
“I wouldn’t do that Kennedy. It’s a trap.” Jill warned, already chuckling when she saw the grin on his face.
“He’s laying down, this is the perfect time to get him finally for all the skinny jokes. He looks tired and a little out of breath.” Leon heard Chris snort and chuckle from the mat.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Leon got down on the mat, scooting and seizing Chris by the left wrist and pressing the nerve point to render his hand unable to close. Moving like lightning, he manipulated the arm so that his legs were around the shoulder, twisting the arm into a submission lock. Chris grunted and raised his head to look at Leon with a smile that said, 'Hello New Toy'.
The Wolves watched in bated breath as Redfield proceeded to sit up with Kennedy curled around his left shoulder and arm like a snake, getting to his feet before performing a few bicep curls.
“What the fuck, you behemoth?!” Leon cried out in both dismay and amusement as he was used as a living dumbbell. “Rebecca was right when she said you’ve been benching her car on the weekends you don’t work.”
“If you weighed more, I’d at least have a challenge Kennedy. Air jail for your scrawny ass, trying to ambush me after I threw everyone else around for almost two hours.” Twisting his hand out of Leon’s grip, he adjusted and managed to sling the smaller man across his shoulders, both arms coming up to secure him there easily.
“Aw hell no! Put me down Chris.” Trying to wiggle around to escape or at least tickle if he could get an arm free.
“Don’t see why I should. I was minding my own business when you attacked me, Leon. Not very polite.” Walking around, totally unbothered by the struggle on his shoulders.
“I’m going to tickle the shit out of you when I get an arm free.”
“Go ahead, try. I grew up with Claire.” Heading towards a stack of mats that Carlos had gathered up, noting that he’d placed the softest and thickest one on top for max cushioning.
“Don’t you dare body slam me into those, Redfield. I’m warning you.”
“Oh? That’s ballsy; making requests of the man you attacked in vulnerability.” Continuing on across the room.
“Haven’t I suffered enough? You know how many times I’ve been thrown. Do I deserve to get crushed by the Destroyer of Chairs too?” Almost pleading, eyeing that stack of mats like it was a bomb.
“Yap, yap, yap. All I hear is lip.”
“I’m going to tell Claire you tried to kill me today.”
“Go ahead. Think I haven’t slammed her too? Why do you think she’s so good at avoiding getting grabbed in the field? I trained her.” Chuckling deeply as he was two feet away from the mats now.
“I haven’t even written a will yet!”
“Should have thought about that sooner.”
In a quicker movement than his size suggested he was capable of, Chris had Leon hoisted totally above his head, arms fully extended, looking like he was about to power slam the Agent into the mats with a brutal force. Instead, he slowed the momentum and dropped Kennedy with a solid smack.
“There, stop crying you chihuahua.”
Leon blinked for a moment in surprise at the gentleness of his landing before his eyes narrowed.
“Chihuahua?! Come on, I’m at least a greyhound. I’m fast as fuck.”
“Yap, yap, yap. ¡Yo quiero Taco Bell!”
3.
Saturday Night brought the Hound Wolves to Central Park near 72nd Street to try out a skating event put on every weekend until the weather was too cold to enjoy it. Tonight was themed with dance hits from the 90’s. The first couple of hours was family friendly, after that the DJ was known to have a little more fun with the music.
Emily and Piers had never done rollerblading before, but the night sounded like so much fun that both had purchased a pair and practiced at home to be able to at least be able to stand up and move a little without faceplanting instantly. Plus, their Squadmates had already promised to guide them through, and not laugh too much if they ate asphalt a few times.
Getting into the entrance, the entire team went to the table by the entrance that had fun glow-stick necklaces and bracelets, Emily giggling like a schoolgirl as she got the guys to don at least one. It was only fair; everyone else participating was already geared up with multiple neon colors glowing in the sunset decorated a variety of roller-skaters and bladers alike.
Kicking off, John and Dion stuck close to Emily, while Rolando and Charlie made sure Piers was vertical at all times. After about fifteen minutes, they felt a lot more confident as the music ramped up with the setting sun and experience with some smaller turns. Chatter turned into laughter and lip syncing along with the hits.
Suddenly there was a pair of skaters coming up next to them to join the group they hadn’t expected to meet; Jill and Carlos with some glow-in-the-dark body paint and necklaces.
“Hey! Fancy meeting you guys here.” Valentine teased as they slowed to a stop off to the side.
“Didn’t know you guys skated. You don’t seem the type.” Piers chuckled, getting a laugh from both of them.
“If you think we aren’t the kind, wait until you see who is further back. Claire managed to get Leon out here for the first time, he’s learning with Becca at his side. Chris and L are here too, having a great time.”
“It’s my first time too, same as Piers. It’s not as bad as I was thinking it would be, balancing is a little rough, but I think I’m getting it.” Emily smiled.
“It’s the stopping that I’m having a hard time with. I feel like a little kid playing hockey, ready to slam into the boards to stop again.” Nivans laughed.
Claire glided to a smooth circular stop next to them with a mischievous giggle, and a slightly embarrassed Kennedy was behind her not too far away. Rebecca could be heard laughing as Leon was a fraction less graceful in his halt, completely devoid of his normal feline grace. Last in line was Chris and L, both smoothly stopping with ease.
The Wolves did a double take seeing their Alpha in faded jeans and a his “Papa Wolf” t-shirt, a glow-stick necklace on and another around his wrist.
“Sir?!”
“Hello All. Surprised to see you, aren’t you a little young for this kind of thing?” Teasing smile and tone.
“Excuse me, Sir, but rollerblading is a massive part of the culture of the Big Apple.” Umber crossed his arms in mock sternness. “And all of us remember music from the 90’s.”
“My sincerest apologies.” Laughing softly.
“You don’t look like this is your first time here, Alpha.” Dion smiled, eyeing their Captain’s comfort.
“Had to get to school as a kid. When we moved to Raccoon City, our Mom used to drive us to school when her husband was out of town. Otherwise, I had to walk with Claire almost an hour to and from every day. But when I was thirteen, I got rollerblades for my birthday from our Grandmother…” Chris smiled.
“And trips to school got a whole lot faster, especially as his legs got longer and I got a pair of my own the next spring.” Claire laughed. “I was a little klutzy, so Chris got stuck towing me along the whole way for the first couple of years.”
“It was more than a couple of years, halfpint. If I didn’t tow or carry you, you’d give yourself a concussion or road rash. And mornings we were gonna be late I had to carr-OOOFFF!” Cut off as Claire elbowed him right in the belly.
“As I was saying, he’s been at this for a while.” She grinned, ignoring her brother’s fond glare as he rubbed the spot her she had hit him.
“I’m going to get you for that one, Claire-Bear.”
“Gotta catch me first, you Sasquatch.”
“Think I can’t?”
“I don’t fall anymore, and you’re built like a brick shithouse. I think you’re slowing down in your old age, Shamu.” Claire took off from the rest of the group, veering off to try and get a good head start on her brother.
“Calling me fat, hairy, and old? So rude.” Chris shook his head as he watched what direction Claire was heading in.
“Well… you are kinda the size of a whale compared to when S.T.A.R.S….” Jill trailed off seeing him level a look at her.
“Jill, I will put you upside down in a garbage can like we’re in high school.”
“Kids these days! Your sister was terribly mean, and you should go teach her a lesson.” She nodded, trying not to crack a smile.
“Off I go.” And he left with a surprising speed, like a heat-seeking missile after the younger Redfield.
About fifteen minutes later, the group had paused on a sidetrack of the park to let Leon, Becca, Piers, and Emily have a quick break. They were treated to the sight of Claire making a lap close by, her nervous giggles getting louder as she spotted her huge brother closing in quickly. With a burst of speed, Chris crouched low to stabilize and caught Claire right up by her waist and straightened back up, the Wolves laughing at her squealed cry.
“NOOOOOOOO!” Her laughter overrode any nervousness from onlookers that didn’t know the siblings were playing.
Surrendering to the fact she’d been caught, Claire lifted her legs and arms out straight on the next lap and called out again.
“WEEEEEEEEEEEE!!! I’m flying!”
Chris laughed so hard that he had to slow down, letting the rest of the group catch up before setting his sister back down.
“No more free ride for you, you nut.”
“You raised me, so the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.”
“I feel like there’s a ‘deez nuts’ joke here somewhere.” Leon sniped with a grin.