undergrounds | Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me Come In (Hunting For Alex)

I. Not By The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin (OTA)

Well, this had just been a peachy month for Cooper. Things just seemed to be falling apart in Islington, from the new leader's manic laws to the Southwark claim failing spectacularly. (He was still going to be blaming that one on Jean-Claude.) Now his home was in the territory of a bunch of lousy witches. His personal life wasn't much better, but the last thing Cooper wanted to do was think about that. What he had spent a lot of time thinking about, as his injuries had mended, was his failure in bringing in Alex. The little werewolf had bungled things up awful good, not just for her pack, but for everyone in general.

The reward money didn't interest him. He was old enough to have plenty of that stored about. This was more personal. His pride had been hurt in letting some little nothing of a wolf take him down. So Cooper, usually so rash to act, uncharacteristically decided to take things slow. He sent out the word among his allies that he was looking for a certain young werewolf. He knew there was going to be at least a few interested parties, so he made it known that he would be at The Three Cripples. He waited there now, ready to follow any rumor or lead that happened to cross his path.

II. Then I'll Huff and I'll Puff... (Closed to Natasha)

Chasing down people who might have seen or known something had been a fruitless and frustrating search thus far. Natasha hadn't been at the top of the list that people would turn to. It seemed like she had taken a different route when it came to the squabbles that tended to make up the ever-lasting conflict between vampires and werewolves in the city. Then it occurred to Cooper, that reason right there might mean she knew something he didn't. Having an outsider's perspective was just what he needed.

So he'd headed for the Redbright Institute, remembering that she had told him that she worked there. He figured she might be around and about. A few questions pointed him in the right direction. A redhead that stunning was hard to miss. He sidled up to her, dressed in his usual leather jacket and T-shirt. "Have time for a talk?"

III. ...And I'll Blow Your House In! (Closed To Alex)

Finding Alex hadn't been easy, but what Cooper lacked in brain cells, he made up for in sheer persistence and tenacity. He'd spent weeks following every lead and rumor. Most of them had been fruitless, leaving the vamp more and more determined to track the girl down. Finally, a breakthrough had come. He knew that even a werewolf on the down low couldn't hide around the full moon. Someone had spotted Alex shortly after the moon had set in the sky. From there, it was simple enough to track the girl back down to where she was holed up.

Not about to mess things up by acting like a reckless fool (his usual modus operandi for dealing with problems), Cooper considers the problem at hand. Goal: To take in Alex, preferably alive. Strategy: Isolate her, get her alone, and hope the wolfsbane he had in his pocket was enough to give him an advantage. Cooper had been waiting, sitting on a deserted stoop along a street that would take Alex back to where she was currently staying. She'd have to pass by eventually, and when she did, the vampire was prepared to act.

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Cooper stood up from where he had been sitting. He waggled a finger at Alex as if she had been truant from school instead of being wanted for murdering one of the most powerful vampires in London. "You, missy, are one hard wolf to track down."

He seemed casual and a bit obtuse. It was an act. She had to be riding high after escaping the vampires for so long. She'd managed to take down Cooper last time they'd met. Not without at least a little bit of effort, his ego consoled him. In order to get her guard down, he'd need to play to that over-confidence. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way." The old cliché. "Choice is yours."

"Beating you up seemed like the easy way last time." Alex did her best to seem casual, but she was still snarling at him, and her eyes followed every slight movement. As cocky as she was about her ability to beat him, she was also very on edge.

If he was here, waiting for her, he knew where her new apartment was, and her usual route back to it. There'd be no point in simply running and losing him, she'd have no place to go to ground. The easiest explanation for his being here was that Natasha had given her up - whether by choice or under duress - so she couldn't even flee to her best ally. And besides, she didn't want to run. The only option was to beat him again.

She swung the grocery bag as hard as she could at his head. It wasn't very heavy, but it might distract or confuse him long enough for her to get close enough to hurt him.

Of course she wasn't going to go quietly. She was young and full of blood 'n vinegar. Cooper wasn't so old that he couldn't remember how it had been to feel like that. He watches the grocery bag come towards his head. He could dodge the blow but he doesn't. He wanted her to get close to him. The wolfsbane was in a handkerchief in his pocket and she'd need to be within spitting distance for it to work at full potency.

When she came in for another blow, he dodged, and reached out to grab one of her wrists in an ironclad grip. His goal was to pull her in and then make her breathe in the wolfsbane. That would incapacitate her long enough for him to her back to the Night Council. And then, well, he wouldn't want to be in her shoes. But all that thinking would do him no good if he lost right now. He had to stay sharp and on his toes.

Alex didn't suspect a thing when the grocery bag hit him in the face - she just assumed she was faster than him. That only made her more certain that she was going to win this fight. She dropped the bag as she aimed a punch at him, but his hand clamped down on her wrist like a vice.

She spun around, putting her back to him, hoping to use her free arm to elbow him in the face.

With his free hand, he reached into his pocket for the handkerchief. She was struggling mightily, but Cooper was a stubborn son of a bitch if nothing else. He was trying to move his hand around and put his opened handkerchief over her nose. Then he saw the flash of movement out of the corner of his eye that he knew was an elbow coming towards him. That caught him square on the nose. Ouch. He was going to be feeling that tomorrow morning.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, he swung the handkerchief around and pressed it tightly over Alex's nose and mouth. Even if she held her breath, she'd have to breathe in some of it eventually. The potent wolfsbane would help to slow her down and incapacitate her.

Alex tried to use the momentary distraction of elbowing him to wrench her wrist out of his hand. She saw something coming towards her face and tried to move her head away, but the cloth covered her nose and mouth and she caught the stench of wolfsbane.

She held her breath and struggled harder, thrashing against him even as she started to feel lightheaded. In one last desperate ditch effort to get free before she'd have to inhale, she kicked backwards hard, hoping to hit him in the knee and take his leg out from under him.

Cooper could feel her struggles growing more desperate as he continued to hold the cloth over Alex's nose. It wouldn't be long now. He was expecting another blow from her, and so when she kicked out, he managed to sidestep before she could take out his knee. Small as he was, if he went down, he'd be hard pressed to keep the advantage he had.

"C'mon, Fuzzy," He growled out. His patience was beginning to wear thin. "Breathe. In!" He aimed a jab at her ribs, trying to make her inhale.

As soon as it became clear that kicking wouldn't help, Alex started trying to pry his hand away from her face. She felt like she was almost succeeding, she thought she could almost feel one of his fingers start to bend, when he hit her in the ribs and any last bit of air in her lungs was sharply driven out.

It was totally involuntary. She gasped for air, breathing in the wolfsbane and almost immediately feeling the effects. Most of her strength was gone, but she kept trying to pry his hand away even as she sagged against him.

The vampire could feel it when the wolfsbane took ahold of Alex. Suddenly, the fight had almost gone completely out of her. He kept the handkerchief there for a few more moments before taking it away. He was tense, waiting for a trick. Nothing came and he took on her full weight as she sagged against him.

This was going to be the riskiest part. If someone saw him with a young lady close to being unconscious in his arms, there would be a lot of awkward questions to answer. Cooper quickly looked up and down the street. Nobody to the left and nobody to the right. He had lucked out. He guided Alex's form, half carrying and half dragging her, towards an inconspicuous van parked about halfway down the street. Once he had her inside, the job would be half done.

She could barely stand up, but Alex kept trying to get away, pushing against him and dragging her feet, anything she could do to make it harder for him to get her in the van. She didn't want to attract attention, though - she figured the vampire would just kill any human who tried to help her - so she stayed quiet while he dragged her along.

"What happens now?" she mumbled. "You take me back to your new boss, he kills me? You think he'll give you a pat on the head and tell you what a good boy you are?" Truthfully, she was terrified of what the vampires would do to her. Dying didn't scare her, but she knew how inventively cruel vampires could be when they wanted to make an example out of someone, especially with that mind control power of theirs.

Cooper hefted her dead weight into the van. If he didn't take as much care as he should have and she bumped her head, well, oops. He settled her into the passenger seat, even clipping her seat belt into place.

Her question made him pause. "Back to Harris? That nutcase?" The scorn in his tone made it clear that he had very little respect for the new leader of his nest. He slammed the door, walking around to the other side and hopping in. "Oh no. You're headin' straight for the Night Council, missy. You're on their most wanted list."

Little Pig, Little Pig, Let Me Come In (Hunting For Alex)

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