25 MMA Bears Three - Part 3

When Marlow had taken the job of being an administrator for the Cabal, he knew he would have to attend quite a few meetings. However, he never deemed that he would have to attend one uninvited, and unseen.

It was after midnight, the sky was dark, and the diminutive building at the end of the pier seemed insignificant when surrounded by the swishing tide beneath. The dark waters buffeted the wooden dock around him, sounding like a million unseen hands searching from something in the night.

The noise of buoys clinked out beyond the bay, but there were no birds to make a sound, just the creaking wood of the old pier for company. Marlow had managed to sneak a glimpse at a file for which he didn't have clearance. It was further correspondence with LoHawk, and more than that, it contained a suggested meeting place for the next conversation.

Knowing the location and the time, Marlow had been to the small building at the end of the Pier before anyone else. He set up a sound recorder underneath an old crate in the corner of the room - he was lucky that the building only had one room, otherwise he would have had to have set up numerous bugs and microphones, increasing the chances of being discovered.

Back on land, there was a small fishing shed on the other end of the pier, which Marlow had managed to set up in for the night. From there, he had a receiver to listen to any conversations, and night-vision binoculars to make sure he caught everything from distance, visually confirming who was there. Once he had some proof about LoHawk, it was possible the Elder could act directly against the traitor, unless he wanted to wait and see what LoHawk's first move was.

At about 12:30 two cars appeared at the end of the pier. A crew of suited men then scouted out the building, before the fat figure of Harold Whitmore finally emerged and entered the diminutive building.

A few minutes later another car, a rusted old van to be precise, pulled up at the end of the pier. Marlow recognized the three figures who emerged from it immediately. It was LoHawk, tall, dark and menacing. His two henchmen stood either side of him as he entered the building. Marlow now listened intently.

After a few introductions, Whitmore got straight to the point. "Have there been any more movements in Swiftclaw town?"

"No. We had some problems with Bran," LoHawk said in a low voice.

"What kind of problems?" Whitmore sounded perturbed.

"A few of the boys wanted to teach that pure blood Dr, Elizabeth's her name, a lesson or two. Let her know she wasn't welcome."

A thud rang out, and it sounded like a fist being beaten down onto a table. "Damn it LoHawk! I can't have you fucking this up! I told you to leave it alone, get your men in position, and when we are ready we will take Swiftclaw from the outside and inside. Together. Your zeal for removing purebloods from your clan will have to wait a little longer."

A low growl could be heard, it was clear LoHawk did not like being given orders.

"Don't growl at me, boy, remember who you are dealing with. Remember your deal, and remember your head." Harold Whitmore and the Cabal were not to be trifled with. That much was certain.

"Okay. What's the next move?" LoHawk asked. "I can't wait to sink my teeth into that old has-been of an Elder."

"No! We need him unspoiled. He cannot be harmed. It's been centuries since anyone has ever seen a black blood, and we know almost certain your Elder is one. Once we have drained him, he'll be dead, and Swiftclaw will be yours. Agreed?"

While Marlow couldn't see into the building, he could imagine LoHawk's long wild grin. For too long he had tried to undermine the Elder, and now it seemed he had a powerful ally in the Cabal to make his dreams of leading the clan, removing any pureblood influence, and disposing of the Elder, a reality.

"It would be simpler to kill him in his sleep, but I will refrain from doing so. You'll have your black blood, however important that is to you. I can't say I completely understand why you need him, but I don't care, as long as I can have the clan and ensure its purity, then you have my loyalty."

"Good to know, because if your loyalty ever were in question, you'd be dead, and I'd mount your bear head on the wall of my study. Now, we have to talk about removing Bran as champion of the Tournament. Swiftclaw will have too much support from other clans with a reigning champion, it will seem as though we are trying to decide the outcome of the Tournament itself."

Then there was a loud hush. It was as if everyone in the room had stopped talking. Marlow looked intently through his night vision binoculars, but he couldn't see anything. There was moving around over his headphones, and then suddenly the microphone went dead.

They'd found it!

The Cabal's men quickly exited the building jumping into their cars and rushing down the pier towards where Marlow was inside the fishing shed. It wouldn't be long until they found him. There was only one route of escape, and it wasn't one he was going to enjoy. He grabbed his equipment, threw it in a bag and then leaped into the cold water of the sea, swimming to the other side of the bay.

In the following days Marlow was quite sure that the Cabal hadn't seen him the night on the pier. They obviously had discovered that the meeting place had been bugged, which would then cast suspicion on their own organization. Of course he would be a prime suspect for that, being as he was a member of the Swiftclaw clan. But it seemed reasonable to Marlow that the Cabal had many enemies, and it could not be certain that it was Swiftclaw who were watching them closely. This still worried Marlow, however. Why had the Cabal allowed him into their organization in the first place? Sure, Marlow had initially believed it was so that they could find out information, but it seemed a pretty big risk to allow him to run one of their administrative offices. Even when that office was dealing with some pretty day-to-day run of the mill stuff.

The only course of action left to Marlow was to go about his day as normal, and hope that he wasn't found out. He would spend that week working as usual, then travel back to Swiftclaw town and tell the Elder about what had happened. He knew he had time, whatever they were planning against Bran in the Tournament wouldn't take effect for another month. That was when the next Tournament fight was scheduled. He also knew that he couldn't quickly make an excuse and visit Swiftclaw after that night on the pier, that would surely give him away as the spy.

He therefore prepared for a normal week. But it was to be anything but that.

A certain assistant by the name of Erin made sure of that. For three days in a row, Marlow had worked late with Erin. They were processing some betting invoices connected to the Tournament. However, much of that could have been done by other staff members, but Marlo had his own motivation. Erin was very beautiful, and he thought about her great deal, but it was more than that; he wanted to know why she was working there, so what if the upshot was that he got to be close to her? It didn't matter that that excited him. He had a job to do.

The Cabal was a secretive organization Everyone working at that office was either someone the Cabal trusted, or someone the Cabal wanted to keep close so they could keep an eye on them. And yet Erin stood out. She did not have the air of someone in a secretive organization To Marlow, if a government agency had raided the office, he couldn't see Erin sticking to the cover story that the office was an insurance company. She was quite the puzzle.

Marlow knew that office romances were almost always a bad idea. That, however, did not stop him from feeling an attachment to Erin. He had a mission, he had to keep an eye on the Cabal as best he could. He did not need the distraction. But Erin was most definitely that. He was confused.

On the third night of working late, Erin popped out and grabbed something for them both to eat. She returned, with a Chinese takeaway. As she gave Marlow his food, she smiled at him. Marlow felt a strong urge beneath in response. Erin then proceeded to walk towards the exit, she would have her meal at her own desk outside of Marlow's office.

Better judgement again deserted Marlow, and he quickly said: "Erin, why don't you have dinner with me tonight?"

She turned around and smiled that smile again, the one which seemed to have such frailty yet kindness behind it. "I'd love to." The words just came out, she didn't mean to appear so keen. The truth was she was keen. She'd fantasized about Marlow since the moment she'd met him. At first, it was merely a fantasy about a shifter, but as she had gotten to know him her feelings had solidified into something else. Something more frightening, deeper than just infatuation. She actually cared for him, but there was conflict inside of her too.

Marlow pulled up a chair at his desk and like a gentleman stood until Erin was seated. It was one of the things she liked about him, he was a gentleman. She was thrilled to be sitting with him. That loneliness she'd sensed in him all those hours he poured over accounts and books, she'd just wanted to sit with him and let him know that he wasn't alone. Now she was so close to that she could taste it.

As Marlow ate his noodles, he asked the question which was on his mind: "Erin, if you don't mind me asking, how did you end up working for the Cabal?"

"It's not something I'm entirely proud of. But my family are… Involved in the organization I wanted to be an archaeologist, they wanted me to follow in their footsteps and be involved with the Cabal. I guess I got railroaded into it."

It all seemed to make sense now to Marlow. Erin was not meant for that world, she was not meant for shadowy organizations and their plotting ways. No, she wasn't meant for it at all, but he could see her as an archaeologist. Out in the field, the sun above, of course she'd have to wear a hat to keep the sun from burning her beautiful milky skin - occupational hazard for a redhead. "A female Indiana Jones…" Marlow said without even realizing it.

Erin laughed. "Something like that. So, what about you, isn't it unusual for a shifter to be working for the Cabal? How did you end up here?"

There was a silence. Marlow's questioning had led him into the topic of discussion which he wanted to avoid. He knew the place was probably bugged, and so there was no way that he could be truthful with Her, even though he felt a deep urge to be. "I just kind of ended up here, you know? I'm from a clan called Swiftclaw, it's a few states away. On the coast next to a pureblood town called Wild Cove. I've spent a lot of my life away from it to be honest, but now I can't think of any other place I'd had rather be." Marlow was getting very close to opening his heart to Erin.

Erin then did something that took Marlow by surprise. She leaned over and touched his hand. Erin looked into his eyes in a way that was far more confident than her usual demeanor "Well, if it's worth anything, I'm glad you're here rather than there."

They stared at each other, and on that night, at that moment, they both deep down knew that there was a connection between them. A bond, powerful and impassioned.

"You know, I'd love to see shifter town one day. It must be so exciting." Erin meant it, she'd always dreamt of being an archaeologist and traveling the world. But other than Scotland and a few cities in America, she hadn't really been to many places. She then stuffed her mouth with noodles, too many of them to be honest.

Marlow laughed at her filled cheeks. Without thinking, he opened his mouth: "are you busy this weekend?"