TWIN HOWLS: A Tale Of Vengeance

Chapter 4

Screech! Xavier's SUV screeched loudly to a stop, filling the air with disturbance. Other vehicles were also present; most were from the Fed and other various security agencies. Xavier alighted his SUV, dressed as always in a trench coat and a Panama hat. He dashed into the building before him. Several personnels were already present here, but all were just the casual ones, like the reporters and police officers. Xavier ignored them all and dashed to the stairs.

Everyone just watched blankly at the retreating back of Detective Vesther. He didn't have time to use the elevator. The elevator was for people who weren't in a hurry, but he was. He ran and ran up the spiral stairs and, soon enough, he was already on the fifth floor. This was where the main personnels were; the CIA, the SWAT and so on. "Detective Vesther, over here!" Xavier heard his name being called all of a sudden, and he looked in the direction of which the voice came from. There he spotted a man and quickly jogged towards him. The man directed him into the office of the Chief where he met other security personnels and a few reporters taking shots of the scene. There he was, his jaw dropped as he watched with dilated eyes the brutalized corpse of the chief he had just spoken to just hours ago.

The Chief's eyes held a shocked expression fixed on his face. His pot-belly was torn open by several claw marks. Dried and congealed blood could be seen around the cuts. "Who did this?" he asked without facing anyone. But the man who had brought him in answered. "No specific suspects at the moment, sir," he said. Xavier remained silent afterward. He had just spoken to this very man just last night, which was just a few hours ago, and here he was, devoid of life. He knew within himself that this was the work of a werewolf. He could perceive it, the scent was so strong and prominent. But... It wasn't for Xander. No, this wasn't his scent. -Then who is it? Xavier couldn't help but ask himself. He kind of felt bad for taking his brother as the first suspect, but he couldn't help it. He was the only werewolf that knew that was capable of doing this. -But wait! His eyes suddenly lit up. He and the chief had just concluded a near argument about Lord Cornelius just before he left for his own house. And from the looks of things, this had taken place just after he had left. Could it be Lord Cornelius' handiwork? Was he a werewolf? If he was, why would he take the life of this innocent chief? These questions remained unanswered in Xavier's head as he gazed at Chief Jones' lifeless corpse. ... It was late in the night in the city, but the streets were still buzzing with activities. The road filled with various vehicles, the pedestrians roamed the sidewalks and the streets flashed with different colours of lights. Indeed, it was so beautiful night in the city tonight, almost like everyone had forgotten about the gruesome murder case which had taken place just two nights before.

Xander checked himself up before exhaling nervously. He then walks into the bar. Yes, Xander had gotten himself a part-time job as a bouncer in this very bar and this was his first night of work. During the day was when he had thought that he would need a source of flowing income if he hoped to have nice meals and wear decent clothes. Even the black three-piece suit he was putting on was stolen. He had broken into a clothes store and had found this very enticing suit and decided to steal it. Then he had come and applied for the vacancy and here he was, on the first night of work. He gazed around at the buzzling activities in the bar. A nice solo music was being played in the background and people were seated before the counters, having their various assorted alcoholic drinks either alone or chatting with someone else.

"Hey! ''a heavy voice boomed into his ear, tearing him off his thoughts. He looked by his side to see a bulky man who was equally dressed in a black three-piece suit, but Xander's apparently had more quality than the man's. "Um, I'm here to start the job–" the man hadn't allowed Xander to finish speaking before cutting him short. "Come with me" he said and turned without waiting for Xander to reply before moving. He had walked up to six feet away from him when he realized he was going to follow him. -Is he jealous of my nice suit?" Xander couldn't help but think within himself. Why else would the man be so grumpy when he had done nothing wrong to upset him? The man was actually a senior security man, and he only wanted to assign Xander to his duties. In no time, Xander was standing at a corner of the bar, intently watching the activities going on there.

As he watched, a lady walked in. She had three bodyguards following behind her. Xander didn't notice her at first, but when he did, he couldn't get his eyes off her. She was stunning, her expensive red-looking evening gown flowed elegantly as she walked in majestically like she owned the world. Her silk blond hair waved rhythmically with the movement of her head and Xander couldn't clearly hear the clicking of her high heels on the tiled floor of the bar. She was an epitome of beauty and Xander couldn't take his eyes off her. She made her way to the partitioned VIP zone and took her seat on one of the couches there. Her bodyguards surrounded her while remaining standing. He watches as one of the guards bends to hear her and thereafter he calls a waiter who listens to him before leaving to take her order. Then Xander got an idea.

As the waiter was returning with a tray laden with a bottle of whiskey and a wine glass, Xander suddenly steps before him, making the waiter to halt. He stares at Xander in surprise while the latter only smiles slyly at him. The waiter made to walk past him, but Xander instead gently collected the tray from his hands to his dismay. "Don't worry, I've got this, go on '' he said with a sly smile before turning around to walk over to the lady's direction. As he got closer to her, he 'tripped' causing the tray to slip out of his hand. That in turn caused the glass of whisky to spill on the lady's dress. She gasped in shock instantly, looking at her dress with awe that filled in her eyes. She looked up and had done this only to meet the gaze of an overly handsome young man. She had to admit, his eyes were captivating, and his entire look was alluring.

"How dare you?!" one of the bodyguards bellowed, hitting Xander in the chest. The latter quickly put on an apologetic expression. "I am so sorry, my bad, can I clean that for you?" he said and took out a white handkerchief from his breast pocket, but when he cleaned the lady with it, the same bodyguard slapped his hand off. "Get your filthy hand away from the Lady '' he blared loudly with his brows furrowed badly in anger, causing a temporary deformity on his face.

"Enough!" her clear and somewhat musical tone voiced and everyone, including Xander, remained silent. The latter stared at her, mesmerized by her beautiful voice. "I–I am really sorry, miss'' Xander found himself stammering as he apologized to her. Why was he stuttering all of a sudden? He had never felt this way towards another individual in his entire life. "It's okay" she said and Xander could swear he had seen her red full lips curve up in a slight smile before vanishing along with her, averting her gaze from his stare. With a fidgeting hand, Xander slowly reaches for the part of her clothes that was stained to clean it up with the handkerchief. But the lady instead took the handkerchief from him. "Thank you" she said as she collected the handkerchief and used it to clean her dress. Xander instantly felt stupid for even trying to clean the dress for her. -That was too forward, dude. He thought within.

The bodyguards all had a look of dumbfoundedness on their faces. Did their lady just say thank you to someone like this lowly waiter? Where was her usual cold demeanor? All melted away? As he watched her clean her dress elegantly, he didn't know when he uttered "My name is Xander". It had escaped his mouth full before he realized this. -You just met her in an unpleasant manner, and now you're introducing yourself to her and. He scolded himself within. But the lady raised up her head and Xander could swear he saw her blushing. She opened her mouth, ready to do something, when the heavy tones of the senior security man echoed in the bar. "Get back to your position mutt". A slight groan of dissatisfaction escaped his lips as he turned to obey his boss. He was sure he would get to meet the lady some other day even though he didn't know her name).

As Xavier grapples with the aftermath of Chief Jones' murder and Xander navigates the complexities of his new job, their paths become entangled with forces beyond their control. With each passing moment, the mysteries surrounding Lord Cornelius and the enigmatic woman deepen, setting the stage for a gripping tale of suspense and intrigue.