The Owl Estate, Boston, Massachusetts:
Nick looks at the email Nancy sent to him. She informs him about a DOJ agent named Ada Franklin and how she came across an old den map. She had included everything she had gathered about Mrs. Franklin and how recruiting her might be a good idea.

Nick looks at his pet owl, Samson, sitting on its stand in his home office. He has been retired from that business since he became too old to continue. He knew his old partner Jack was still active, but he had several teams working for him, including his daughter. He knew Gina Bounty was running the organization and that she had bought the rights to The Phoenix Foundation.

There were only four of them left of the original team. They had lost Clair Wong in the late nineties to radiation poisoning. Their friend Dave Valiant had died in his sixties of cancer. It seemed all those times he worked on those engines and brake jobs in his shop. The dust and exhaust had contributed to him getting lung cancer.

All the treatments the doctors had tried on Dave didn’t work. He offered to give Dave a shot from the serum he used on himself, but Dave turned his offer down. Dave knew he was too far gone for the serum to do him good.

Nick would have done anything to keep Dave alive. Dave had designed both their bases and several of their hidden lairs. He was their chief vehicle designer and designed several of their specialized aircraft. He and Jack financed all of Dave’s creations.

As Nick sits behind his desk, there is a knock on his office door.

“Enter.”

The door opened, and a little girl with light brown hair came in, followed by a baby pug. A smile appears on Nick’s face as he spots his granddaughter Katelyn and her pet pug Wobbles.

“Granddaddy.” As Katelyn runs towards her grandfather.

“What are you up to, little one?” A smile appears on his face.

“Looking for you.” Katelyn liked being around her grandfather.

Samson looks down at the pug, following the little girl. He wasn’t happy when other animals entered his territory. The office was his territory, and he didn’t like intruders.

Nick looks over towards Samson. “be nice, Samson.”

The giant eagle owl looks at Nick and then at the small dog. It knew better than to go after the children. He was to protect them.
Katelyn runs past Samson’s stand and into her grandfather’s waiting arms. She throws her arms around him and hugs him. She feels her grandfather pick her up and sit her on his lap.

Nick holds his youngest granddaughter. He never thought he would live long enough to see his children have their children. All the stuff he and his team barely survived. The serum he took slowed his aging, but it was taking a toll on his body and spirit.

“Why aren’t you with grandma?” Nick looks into Katelyn’s baby-blue eyes.

“Grandma is busy with Henry.”

Nick shakes his head. He glances at the calendar on his desk and sees that today is Henry’s bath day. It usually took his wife and their maid to wash Henry. His wife was getting too old to deal with Henry. Sometimes, he wishes Jack had never given him and his family an Irish Wolfhound.

Jack knew he wasn’t a dog person, but they needed something to protect his wife and children when he wasn’t around. Since Jack knew how much he hated wolves, he gave them a mated pair of Irish Wolfhounds to raise and breed.

The thing was, he disliked dogs. He was an owl person, but his wife loved Irish Wolfhounds. Her family had raised them when she was little.
Nick would talk to his wife, Aine, about hiring a groomer to tend to Ailean and Sionn. She was getting too old to handle both of them. He turns back around towards his desk to work on an email. It didn’t bother him that his granddaughter was sitting on his lap.

After twenty minutes of answering emails and researching a new restaurant to eat at., Nick carries Katelyn out of the office and puts her down.

“Go see your grandma.”

Katelyn smiles at her grandfather and says, “Okay.” As she starts skipping away with her puppy following her.

Nick shakes his head as he recalls his daughter doing that when she was young. He wonders where the years have gone as he goes to the kitchen. When he arrives in the kitchen, he fixes himself a ham and cheese sandwich. He grabs a beer and walks outside to sit on the patio.

“You look happy, Dad.” Wayne spotted his father walking outside to the patio.

Nick looks at his youngest son and notices he is wearing a suit today. He wonders what he has been up to.

“I am. What have you been doing with yourself today?”

“I had a funeral to go to today.” Wayne sits down on one of the wicker seats.

“Anyone I know?” Nick takes another bite from his sandwich.

“Nope, you didn’t know this one. He was Shawn, Robert’s middle son.” Wayne still couldn’t get over the fact that Shawn was killed over two hundred dollars.

“How did he die?” Nick felt that there was more to the story.

“He was killed over two hundred dollars, Dad. He had just changed shifts at the gas station where he worked when a man wearing a ski mask came in and demanded that he hand over all the cash in the drawer. When he complied and did what the man told him to do. The robber shot him three times.”

“Normally, a robber doesn’t shoot his victim after he gets what he wants.”

“I know. I’m thinking someone had it out for Shawn.” Wayne figures that there is more to this.

“Is it being investigated?” Nick looks at his son as he takes a sip from his beer.

“A detective, Araiza, is looking into the case.” Wayne didn’t know a lot about the detective.

“I’ve never heard of him?” Nick looks at his son to make sure it is a male.

“I’m not sure, dad. I’ve never met the person. I would research the Boston police department to see who the person is.” Wayne knew his father liked to know who people were investigating friends of theirs.

“Let me know what you find out, please.” Nick liked to be kept in the loop.

“I will. Are you still meeting up with your friend Jack?” Wayne knew every year his dad and Jack got together twice a year at different locations.

He once asked his father why they did that, and his response shocked him. He learned that the two of them liked to be unpredictable. They still
had enemies who would love to kill them, and it kept the government agents who monitored the two of them on their toes.

He thought his father was paranoid until, one day, he accidentally ran into an undercover agent. The person had been working at his father’s law firm as a cleaning person. After that discovery, not only did the person disappear. But the agency that the person worked for mysteriously destroyed their database. That included all their backups as well.

When government agents showed up at his law firm to confront him about what had happened, Nick told the government to provide proof, or he would sue the US government for harassment and release sensitive information they didn’t want to get out. He gave them a taste of the information he held. The look on their face had been priceless.

An evil smile appears on Nick’s face as he looks at his son. “Of course I am. Is there something you would like for me to ask him?”

“Just tell him hi for me, please.” Wayne liked Mr. Bounty.

“I will.” At one time, Nick thought about marrying one of his sons off to Jack’s daughters. However, he knew that might cause problems because the government didn’t like either of them.

Jack brings death and destruction wherever he goes. At the same time, Nick was more subtle than his friend. He was like Jack at one time, but now he brought total financial ruin. Not only that, he destroyed their reputation as well.

He was the Owl, representing wisdom, knowledge, divine understanding, and spiritual insight. They also symbolize death and destruction. Jack was the wolf, representing power, loyalty, guardianship, teamwork, and wildness. They also are highly intuitive and have an almost supernatural instinct that can detect dangerous situations.

Except in Jack’s case, death and destruction were his stock and trade. He didn’t fault his blood brother. The thing was, he had seen enough blood and death for several lifetimes. Now, he tries to bring justice using the law, even if it means using information to destroy his enemy.

Nick watches as his son walks off and heads into the house. He takes another sip from his beer and looks out towards his lawn.

Jack’s Ranch, Caldwell, Montana:
Jack checks on Haylee after he finishes feeding the animals. Julia was at work, Christmas was at school teaching, and Catori was on a field trip. Haylee was home feeling sick and told Julia he would check on his granddaughter while she was working.

Jack walks into the house and upstairs to Haylee’s bedroom. Before entering, he knocks gently on her bedroom door and spots Haylee sound asleep. Roxy and Crackers were sleeping on the bed as well. Roxy looks at him as he steps into Haylee’s bedroom.

Jack walks over and checks his granddaughter’s forehead. She had a slight fever, but otherwise, she was okay. Out of all his grandchildren, Haylee was his favorite.

Haylee opens her eyes when she feels someone touching her. She looked up and noticed it was her grandfather.

“Hi, granddaddy.” A smile appears on Haylee’s tired face.

She had gone to Africa with some friends from college. They were with the Peace Corps and were helping a village rebuild. It wasn’t until their time had been up and they were heading home that she started getting sick. By the time her mothers met her, she was feeling deathly ill.

She was taken to the hospital, where they discovered that a parasite had entered her system. The thing was making her extremely sick. She hadn’t been the only one infected either. Some of her friends had been infected.

“How are you feeling, sweet pea?” Jack knew Haylee would be okay, but it was taking its toll on her.

“Like someone used me as a punching bag.” Every joint in Haylee’s body was hurting her.

“I’m sorry to hear that, sweet pea. Dr. Bailey said it would take a while for the toxicants the parasite left in your system to run its course.” Jack sits on the edge of the bed.

He hated seeing Haylee in such a state. She was always the upbeat and energized grandchild of his. He had a soft spot for all his grandkids, but Haylee was his favorite.

Haylee reaches out and grabs her grandfather’s hand and holds it. She knew her parents wanted to stay home with her, but her grandfather and grandmother said they would check on her. Also, their housekeeper, Katy, was keeping an eye on her.

Haylee closes her eyes and falls asleep. She squeezes her grandfather’s hand just as she falls asleep.

Jack brushes some of Haylee’s hair out of her eyes. She looked pale and wondered how long Haylee would have to keep taking Dr. Bailey's prescribed medicine.

“She looks so pale just laying there.” Katy had come upstairs to check on Haylee.

She heard Haylee and her grandfather talking and didn’t want to interrupt them. She knew Jack knew she was just outside Haylee’s bedroom. He was a hard person to surprise, and only Haylee and Misty were capable of sneaking up on him.

Jack turns his head to look at Katy. “how much longer is she required to take the medication Dr. Bailey prescribed her?”

“Two more days. The drugs are powerful, and the parasite Haylee picked up in Africa is extremely rare.” Katy knew Jack would want to be updated on his granddaughter.

Jack asks Katy, “Where did the Peace Corps send her in Africa?”

“I’m not sure, sir. I’ll have to look at her passport and paperwork.”

“Send it to me. I want to know where she went.” Jack wants to know where his little angel went to help.

“I’ll get the paperwork and send it to you, sir.” Katy knew Jack looked after his family.

Jack kisses Haylee’s cheek and looks at Roxy and Crackers. “watch over her.”

Both animals look at him. They felt his power and knew he was Alpha. They would protect Haylee with their life.

Katy shivers from feeling Jack’s energy. It causes the hair on her arms to stand on end. She looks at Jack. “You know, that is freaking weird.”

“Sorry about that.” Jack sometimes forgets that the new power Death gave him surfaces when he loses control.

Jack places his hand on Katy’s shoulder. He looked into her eyes and knew she would do everything possible to protect Julia and her family. She would look after Haylee as if she was her child.

“It’s alright, sir.” Katy knew Jack was still learning about himself.

“I may not say it enough, Katy, but you do a good job making sure my daughter and her family are well taken care of.”

“After everything they did for me, sir. I would give my life for them.” Katy remembered the rough spot she had been in when Julia rescued her from it.

“Well, let’s hope nothing like that will ever happen.” Jack walks downstairs and walks back to his house.

Chaos runs up to him as he walks towards his place. Jack reaches down and scratches his favorite wolf as they walk.

“What mischief have you been up to, boy?” Jack knew his wolf patrolled the property, making sure everything was fine.

Even with the pack of werewolves watching the southern part of his property. Chaos wasn’t happy unless he was going over his territory. Chaos stops when he feels something isn't right.

“Gotcha Grandpa!” Rennie jumps out of the woods and onto her grandfather’s back.

“Umph!” As Jack feels Rennie jump onto his back.

“So, you have Rennie. You have been taking lessons from your mother again.” Jack was surprised by Rennie jumping onto his back.

Chaos looks up at the young elf girl. Yesterday, she got him with a water balloon. He didn’t mind because she hugged him afterward.

“Where are your parents, Rennie?” Jack knew Rae and her new husband were Rennie’s adopted parents.

“They’re on a mission for the council, Grandpa. So, I’m staying with you and grandma.” Rennie wanted to go and help her parents with the mission, but it was too dangerous.

“Well, I’m glad you are here. Does grandma know where you are?” Jack knew Debbie would be worried if something happened to Rennie.

“I told her I would go and play with Chaos.” Rennie looks down at the old wolf.

“You know you have to be careful around him, Rennie. Chaos isn’t like the other wolves.”

“I know, Grandpa. So, how is Haylee doing?” Rennie liked playing with Haylee.

“She’s doing better. She still needs a couple more days to recover.”

“I hope she gets well soon. I miss playing with her.” Rennie likes her cousin a lot.

“She will now let’s get you back to the house.” Jack didn’t mind giving his granddaughter a piggyback ride.

Hursey’s Bar-B-Q, Burlington, NC:
Jack and Nick walk into the restaurant. They had agreed that this place would make a good meeting spot. Both men look around at the crowd.
A young woman with short dark brown hair approaches them. She had freckles under her eyes that went across to her cheeks. She had freckles that covered her cheeks. Her voice and speech pattern had that southern twang to it.

“Welcome, gentlemen; how many are in your party?” Sabrina looks at the two men.

Both of them wore tailored suits and looked impressive. One looked older than the other one. She noticed the older gentleman had a silver owl tie clip.

“Just the two of us, Sabrina.” Nick noticed Sabrina’s name on her name tag.

“If you’ll follow me, please.” Sabrina grabs two menus and escorts the gentlemen to a lovely table.

Nick and Jack follow the young woman. Both men were aware of everything around them as they approached the table. Once they arrived at the table, the young lady escorted them. They thank her and sit down.

“Here you go, gentlemen. Your waitress will be with you in a minute.” As Sabrina hands the menus to Jack and Nick.

“Thank you.” Nick smiles at Sabrina.

Once she walked off, Nick and Jack started browsing the menus. Jack spotted what he wanted and knew what Nick would select. He puts his
menu down and looks at his old friend.

“How are you doing, Nick?”

“Good, but I see you have changed. How did that happen?” Nick noticed his friend was years younger than he had ever been. If he had to guess, Jack looked like he did in his late forties.

“I died and was given the choice to come back and continue my work or pass onto heaven.” Jack was still unsure why he was chosen.

“Okay, if I didn’t know you as I do, and after everything we experienced together. I would say you were crazy.” Nick knew some things could prolong your life, but they all had a price. Even the serum he took to prolong his life took a toll on his body and soul.

“Trust me, I was sure I was going to pass on. Remember what I told you about the attack at Sanctuary Ranch?”

“Yeah, I remember. You said that a group of assassins/mercs had been dispatched to kill you.”

“Well, one managed to do it. It was his last act when I killed him. He managed to get a shot off that killed me. Even with one of my people on their way. By the time they arrived, I was dead.” Jack remembers reading the report.

“Is that what happened to Cheshire?” Nick heard about how Cheshire looked now.

“That’s a different story, but it's the same as what happened to me.”

“It sounds like you are really into this supernatural world.” Nick has learned a lot. Before, beings of a supernatural nature had been just rumors. However, now that Jack was part of that world, he couldn’t believe how blind he had been to it.

A middle-aged woman comes over to their table. Jack places his order and orders an unopened bottle of whiskey to go with their meal. He listens as Nick places his order as well after the woman leaves.

“Nancy has been in touch with me.”

“Oh? What has she been up to?” Jack hasn’t had a chance to visit her in a while.

“A map of our lair still existed in the DOJ special archives department.”

“Damn, I thought all of them had been destroyed.” Jack didn’t like learning that their first base still had a map.

“Don’t worry, the woman who found it. She came to explore it, and Nancy intercepted her.”

“I hope she didn’t have to kill her.” Jack was worried.

“We’re talking Nancy here, Jack. She’s only in her early seventies.”

“True, but she is still a surgeon with her shotgun.” Jack knew firsthand how deadly Nancy was with a shotgun.

You would think that with her being the daughter of a police detective, she would be good with a handgun. However, the shotgun was her weapon of choice. She could shoot the wings off a fly with it.

Their waitress brings their food to them, along with a brand-new bottle of high-class whiskey that Jack asked for. Jack looks at the server. “thank you.”

“You’re welcome, sir.” Terry smiles at the men before leaving to tend to her other customers.

Nick and Jack don’t talk much while they are eating. Both men enjoy the whiskey. Jack and Nick end up ordering a second round of ribs, brisket, and two more bottles of whiskey. Neither man was feeling the effects of the whiskey at all.

Jack pays for everything. He looks at Nick. “you can pay for our second meeting.”

“Fine with me.”

As the two men step outside of the restaurant. They spot a late-model sports car speeding by them, followed by two police cars. Whoever drove the sports car gave the police cars a run for their money.

“I wonder what is going on?” Nick watches as the action before them.

Just as they step towards the car they drove herein, there is an explosion. Pieces of debris fall around them. Jack picked up a bit and could tell it was from a vehicle.

“You don’t think this came from that car?” As Jack hands it to Nick.

Nick accepts it and looks at it. He was familiar with cars but couldn’t tell you where this piece fit.

“Maybe.”

“I’m going to investigate.” Jack starts walking towards the direction the explosion came from.

Nick follows behind his friend. It was a way, but neither man was deterred. Both men spotted two cops trying to apprehend a young man and getting their butts kicked by the person. When the other cops tried to arrest the person, they got their butts handed to them.

“I told you, I had nothing to do with that. If you had fucking listened to me when I told you. We wouldn’t be in this mess.” The person collapses to the ground.

Jack rushes over to the person and checks them over. When one of the police officers gets up to arrest the person, “I wouldn’t get near my partner unless you want to lose your life.”

“That fucking creep tried to blow up a school.” Officer Tucker was going to arrest the suspect.

“If he was trying to blow the school up. Why would he be heading this way?”

“Because we stopped him from blowing the place up.” Officer Steele was getting up off the ground.

“I seriously doubt that.”

“Nick, call a Medvac fast. This kid isn’t going to last long.” Jack was putting pressure on a spot where a piece of shrapnel had entered the person’s body.

Nick pulls his cell phone out and sends for a Medvac. When one of the Officers moves towards Jack and the person lying on the ground, “I would stop while you still have legs.”

“I’m not going to listen to you.” As Man moves toward Jack.

The next thing the man feels is a bullet hitting his leg, just above his kneecap. The officer goes down, gripping his knee. The other officers pull their guns and aim them at Jack and Nick.

Nick looks at the other three officers and, in a commanding voice, “Get your redneck asses out of here before you end up like your friend.” He had his guns drawn and pointed at them along with Jack as well.

The other officers hadn’t even seen the other man draw his guns. The guy on the ground had his weapon drawn and helped the person they chased down.

“Fine.”

The three police officers helped their injured officer and left. No sooner after the police leave, a Medvac shows up. They land and go about stabilizing the person Jack was helping.

Jack cleans his hands with some alcohol from the Medvac. Afterward, he walks over to Nick, “so, much with keeping a low profile.”

“I agree. Let’s go and find out what that person knew.”

“It’s a girl pretending to be a boy.” Jack got a good look at the person.

“You don’t think they are like Christopher, do you?” Nick had a nephew who was female but identified as a boy.

“I don’t know. She might have just been disguised to blend in with her assignment.”

Jack and Nick walk back to the restaurant and retrieve their rental. They head towards the private hospital the person would have been taken to. Jack and Nick knew most of the hospital locations.

The Private Hospital:
Ray wakes up and finds herself lying on a hospital bed with her chest wrapped up. Her chest hurt like hell. She felt groggy and noticed she had an IV going into her right arm.

“Welcome back to the living.” Jack and Nick leave the shadows and look down at the young woman.

Nick had managed to run her prints and found out she used to be with the DEA. According to her file, she had been fired for insubordination and assault. Other than those black marks on her record, she had an impressive arrest and seizure record.

Ray looks at the two men standing near her bed. “who are you?”

“Nick Law and this gentleman standing next to me is Jack Bounty. Why were you driving a car filled with explosives?” Nick watches the young woman.

“To keep it from killing a bunch of high school students. Many vengeful teens felt that they got the raw end of the stick from their school and several classmates. So, they wanted to get revenge for being expelled and picked on. There were enough homemade explosives in that car to leave a huge ass carter.”

“How did you learn about it?” Jack looks at Ray.

“I was following a lead about drugs being made there at the school. It seemed that the kids who got expelled were making and selling drugs at the school. So, before they could put their plan into motion. I hotwired the car and sped off.”

“Why did you tell those police about it?” Nick kept watching Ray.

“Because two of the pricks were in on it. Who are you gentlemen with?” Ray looks at the two men. One was old enough to be her great-grandfather, and the other looked like he could be her father.

“I bet one of them happened to be the one I shot.” Jack looks at Nick when he says that.

“You should have killed the bastard. Now, he and his crew will look for me and you.”

“They are welcome to come looking for me. I’ll be happy to show them the error of their ways.” An evil smile appears on Jack’s face.

“You know, guns don’t solve everything.” Nick looks at his friend.

“Yeah, using a gun is too much like cheating. A good knife or using my bare hands gives them more chance.” Jack cracks his knuckles.

“Who are you two?” Ray looks at both of us, trying to learn about them.

“We’re the last people you ever want to come after you. Give us what you got, and we’ll do the rest while you rest. When you are fully healed, we’ll talk more.” Nick knew Jack was itching for some fun.

Ray shakes her head and gives the gentlemen what she has on the kids and the corrupt police officers. Afterward, she watches as the two men leave the hospital. The doctor who operated on her comes in to speak with her.

During the next two nights afterward, Jack and Nick are busy completing Ray’s job for her. Instead of killing them and leaving their heads on pikes like Jack likes to do. They leave them alive to answer for their crimes. However, Jack does leave a warning stating that if justice isn’t served correctly. He will come back and finish the job. He lets them see his wolf eyes as they flash.

Jack notices that when Nick uses the serum to help him out. He sees the toll it takes on his old friend’s body. When they are done and are getting ready to leave one another. Jack looks at his friend.

“Nick, why don’t you take that water we brought back from the fountain?” Jack knew it would extend and restore some of Nick’s life.

“Because you know as well as I do. There’s a price for using that water, Jack. Plus, we only have one vial of it. We promise not ever to use it unless we need to.” Nick knew what the cost of using that water was.

“I know. I could always share some of my blood with you, Nick.” Jack hated seeing his best friend waste away like he was doing.

“You’re the wolf, Jack. You have always been. I’ve lived a good life, and its time for me to pass on.” Nick knew his time was close.

“I’ll hate to see you go, my friend.” Jack hugs his friend.

“I know, Jack. Just promise to look after my family and protect them.” Nick returns the hug.

“You know I will, my friend.” Tears leak from his eyes.

Jack and Nick separate and go their different ways. On the way back to Boston, while Nick is asleep. He is visited by a woman in white with the head of an Owl. She looks down at the frail human that wears her symbol.

“You have always done what is right, Nick Law. You never abused your gifts and always looked after the innocent as a warrior or scholar. As a reward for your service to me, I restore your life and give you a gift, my servant.” She touches his forehead with her claw hand and channels energy from herself into Nick.

Nick’s body starts to glow white as the mystical energies light up the cabin area of the private plane. Nick’s body becomes younger to the point where he is in his prime. He lets out air as his eyes open and notices the owl woman fading away.

While Jack is asleep, he is visited by the exact figure he was seen by before. A smile appears on his face. “What do I owe the honor of your visit this time?”

“I’ve come to let you know your friend has been visited and will be around for a long time to help you and your other companion.” Lugh knew this would please Jack.

“Why?” Jack wanted to know why.

“Because you and your friend are like brothers. It would be a shame to see a person of his spirit and friendship fade away.”

“True, but everything comes with a cost. Why did you choose him over others who might be better qualified?” Jack knew there had to be others more qualified than Nick.

“Well, I didn’t choose Nick. He isn’t one of mine; you are. Secondly, the two of you share a deep bond. I know you would have given your life or part of your soul for him to live longer. Thirdly, he has done a lot of good, like you. So, the goddess he wears the symbol of weighted his heart and found his heart to be pure.”

“That I already knew. He has always had a pure heart.” Jack knew Nick better than his children.

“One more thing. You might want to send that young woman you saved today to Albany, Georgia.” Lugh’s eyes twinkle when he says that.

“Why is that?” Jack was suspicious.

“That, my dear wolf, is for her to find out.” As Lugh sends Jack’s spirit back to his body.

Jack wakes up and goes about doing what he was told to do.

Private Hospital:
Ray is shocked by the headlines in the newspaper the following days after admittance to the hospital. Everyone she had been investigating was arrested and put in jail. She couldn’t believe what she was reading. Also, she receives a large envelope with a plane ticket for her to fly down to Albany, Georgia. A car has been rented for her, and a room at the Marriot Hotel has already been arranged and paid for.

A folded-up letter was inside the envelope as well.

Ray,
If you ever need anything or would like to come and work for me or my partner, Nick Law. Feel free to contact either one of us.

She noticed two business cards attached to the letter. She wonders why her plane ticket to Albany was in the envelope. She shrugs her shoulders and decides to go and find out.