Monday, October 13, 2014

The Magnificent Seven


The old school bus rolled up the interstate and crossed into Montana at speeds at odds with its shabby appearance. Inside it had been refurbished into a mobile transport with generous living accommodations, and more defenses than one would expect from its faded yellow exterior.

Like the bus, its passengers were more than their outward appearance suggested. There were seven of them.

The casual observer’s attention is almost always drawn first to the leopard. Though only of average height, he’s generously muscled and uncommonly handsome. He has a habit of staring down others, as if constantly assessing how their flesh might taste. Surely one so powerful in body and personality must be the one in charge.

You might think that. You’d be wrong. Watch closely, and you’ll see him defer to the diminutive woman with the striking black-and-white hair. Cool, quick-witted, quicker still in flight, the gyrfalcon commands this team. Her keen eyes miss nothing. She has commanded these commandos for five years now. Under her watch, they’ve never failed.

The two wolves are the trackers of the group. They’re so similar in appearance and personality, as alike as twins, that it’s hard to credit they’re from separate packs. The male counts coyote blood among his ancestry; the female boasts of fox. These genetic combinations make them more imaginative than the average wolf. It also makes them reckless, and dangerous. Only their respect for the gyrfalcon keeps their wilder impulses in check.

The owl is their tech man. There isn’t a system on the planet he can’t crack, no computer program he can’t hack. He likes to fiddle with random electronic devices just to see what new inventions he can come up with. He once fashioned a Taser from a garage-door opener and a TV remote. As a boy he’d had two posters on his bedroom wall: Nikola Tesla and MacGyver.

Out of the seven, most people instinctively recoil from the crocodile. He honestly can’t understand this. He’s an Australian freshwater croc, mild-mannered and a trained botanist. What the owl is to gadgets, the freshie is to plants. He can whip up a poultice or a poison with equal ease, as the situation demands. He’s also a talented cook. The team might eye his dishes sidelong, but the falcon trusts him. That’s all the others need.

Except, of course, for the assassin. The team’s hired killer trusts no one, not even the falcon. He’s an English Dorset sheep, and quite psychotic. The others don’t particularly care for him. The sheep is fine with that. Raised as prey in a world run by predators, he developed a philosophy of “get them before they get you.” When it comes to getting people, the sheep can be quite inventive. He doesn’t partake of the freshie’s meals, preferring to prepare his own food. He doesn’t sleep much either, or soundly, and often bleats wild unexpected laughter.

Given a choice, the gyrfalcon would not have had him or any assassin on her team. But she hadn’t been given a choice.

Their orders had been depressingly specific. “Infiltrate Talbot’s Peak,” their master said. “Become friendly with its people. Learn its secrets. Here is the list of people I wish you to pay particular attention to. And then, when the time is right, you will kill Dante Hancock.”

17 comments:

Rebecca Gillan said...

An assassin psychotic English Dorset sheep? That ought to be interesting...

Savanna Kougar said...

If Dante is their 'kill' ... and they decide to follow orders, they're going to easily meet failure face to face.

Rebecca Gillan said...

I suspect it might splatter them all over the rocks. I got ten bucks says they don't even get past Hoover and his famous nose before finding themselves taled. Or tailed, which ever.

Savanna Kougar said...

Even now Dante is howling with laughter... and his witch posse has them under scrying observation. But yep, the tail has been deployed to watch their tails.

Pat C. said...

Heh. Just messing with you. I was scribbling aimlessly in a notebook and this is what happened. I decided to use it as a blog since I had nothing else on tap. The last line was added deliberately to stir things up. Ain't I a stinker?

Do we want to turn this into a round robin novel, or just let it lie?

I think my favorite's the croc. He already sounds like Steve Irwin in my mind, just a lot less frenetic. Maybe I'll name him Irwin. Yeah.

These characters are out in the world now. Have fun with them.

Savanna Kougar said...

Yeah, had a feeling you were stirring the pot. Regardless, I'm liking your characters. Although, right now, I'm focusing on flash scenes leading up to the Halloween Blog Hop.

Rebecca Gillan said...

You should totally run with this, Pat! Omg, I keep picturing that crazy assassin sheep butting heads with Bo and Han! Lol!

Rebecca Gillan said...

If the offer of a round robin is still on the table, I would totally like to write something from the mad sheep's POV.

Pat C. said...

Go for it! I suspect nothing, if anything, will happen with this storyline until after the blog hop. Next Monday's should be the promised Lamar and the stuffed unicorn post.

I like these characters too. This blog is turning into my test kitchen for concepts. (Yes, I'm trying to come up with a plot to continue "The Wolf-Shifter's Destiny."_

Savanna Kougar said...

This is a great test kitchen!

Serena Shay said...

Pat, that was awesome! I like the storyline actually. Just 'cause this ragtag group is being sent into TP with the orders to eventually take out Dante, doesn't mean they'll agree once they get a load of our little town. I get the feeling this group definitely doesn't follow orders well. :D

I'm digging the techie owl! I might have to indulge in a bit of brainstorming on him. I wonder what he's doing for Halloween? ;)

Pat C. said...

Whatever you want him to. :)

None of these characters (other than Irwin the crocodile) have names yet. Feel free to jump in. Just make them good.

And no, they're not likely to follow orders. And who are they working for? I should have thought this through more.

Savanna Kougar said...

That's the question Dante, his posse, and the witches are tackling... who are they working for? So far, whoever has kept themselves well shielded.

Pat C. said...

Inspiration update: the falcon's name is Stefanya, and she has ties to one of our cast members. In fact, that person is the one who trained her. Stefanya is the Black Widow/Emma Peel of the team.

Zhere Ghan did not hire them. He's as surprised as anybody when they turn up in Talbot's Peak. Was it Damien? Has the crazed pack leader decided to shut down his renegade son once and for all? Or is somebody else pulling strings?

Savanna Kougar said...

Love the falcon's name. Did Sergei train her?

Damien would know better than to hire an assassination team, knowing Dante would smell them miles away. Besides, it's not Damien's style... then there's the matter of his core respect for his son as a real alpha.

What's Morloxian up to these days?

Pat C. said...

We have a winner! Right now I'm not sure if Steffi was married to Sergei's son Mikhail/Misha or if they just had a fling.

Morloxian's gone mainstream. See Rebecca's email.

Savanna Kougar said...

Yeah, I was reading the article as you were replying... enlightening about Morloxian and other Dr. Moreau practitioners.