Hammers in the Shadows

Part One: Shadows and Ice - Chapter Nine

I nodded, looking at the positions, "Very good, that looks like you've at least done your homework." I told him before I turned to Jerome, "Jerome I hope that you realize that you are in one of the most secure locations in the Pride, anything you hear or see in this room doesn't go beyond those doors" I said pointing to the doors that lead out into the hallway giving him a slight mental push that made it a Lord's Order.

"Yes, Pride Lord." He answered automatically before he pointed to the satellite map that I had brought up on the big 42' TV on the wall that we used for secondary briefings. This is Shadow Valley, and it is nothing like what there is here."

I tried to make out something on the satellite view, "It looks as though Vladimir has at least done a good job of concealing the place from satellite observation."

"Yes, though that's not really what makes the place remarkable sir. What truly sets Shadow Valley apart from any other Pride or Pack House in the world is the sheer size." He said, and I could sense that he truly believed what he was saying. "I've never seen of, nor heard any other Were structure in the new, or old world being even half as large." He then picked a rather damaged looking phone from his pocket and pried the CDC from it and handed it to me. "Take a look sir and you'll see what I mean."

I plugged the card into the TV and scanned it before, one by one I brought up the photos that had been contained on the phone, some of them I couldn't bear to look at. Obviously, the previous owner of the device had been Ivan and his insanity had turned him into a truly awful sort of person. The images that I was interested in detailed some of the defenses that were available to Shadow Valley. What most impressed me wasn't how large the Pride House was, and it truly was massive, built on a scale that almost boggled the imagination, but how flimsy the defenses looked. The structures of the defenses and the positions themselves were decently arranged and built, but they look grossly undermanned. "It doesn't look like Vladimir has the manpower to properly defend Shadow Valley." I commented.

"Not really Fedor, is always stressing over that fact and keeps calling for more positions." He said shaking his head.

"You're telling me that Fedor is the one in charge of their security there?" I asked, rather surprised at that fact.

"Yes, though, for the most part, I was under the direct command of Ivan, though I spent most of my time jumping whenever Pietor gave me an order." He told me

"What about remote monitoring and surveillance?" I asked, I really needed to know what they had in terms of modern technology.

To that question, Jerome shook his head, "You know how those cats feel about technology, they feel that it can't be trusted. Fedor, once told another cat that had asked that we didn't need fancy toys, our eyes, ears, nose and whiskers were far better than any sensor net ever built."

I growled and shook my head, "Stupid, stuck-up, ignorant, fossilized, old fool. His thinking is still stuck in the Nineteenth Century." I muttered before I spoke out more clearly, "Well that should make things a whole lot easier for us, since patrols can be ambushed, guards can be subdued through silent stealth and if we're careful we should be able to reach the Pride House without being detected." I stated, "How are the gates defended?"

Jerome smiled grimly, "There are four cats in the guard house, they are armed with rifles and an RPG-7." He replied "The phone there doesn't always work either, Vlad cheaped out on almost everything there, though I have heard that the structure of all of the defenses and the Pride House are built properly, everything else is the cheapest that he can possibly get.

I saw my father nod, "That must make your jobs as Protectors all that much harder eh Jerome?"

"You got that right sir, the only reason I've stayed, beside those bomb collars was to help guard my mom and my sister from the depredations of Vlad and his cronies. Recently Vlad had her killed because he asked her to do something, I don't know what it was, and when she refused he used his remote to kill her... in the main plaza."