Trouble Brewing

"What the hell?" Imani muttered with a scowl on her face as she stared at where the delivery guy had been standing just a second ago.

"You're getting a fucking one star!" she yelled even though she knew he was too far gone to hear and she walked over to where the bag and its spilled contents lay on the floor when she screamed, her heart beating in her throat, as Lucas suddenly appeared at her side.

Her eyes darted from him to his car and back to him before she realized he must have ran to her at wolf speed, reminding her of what he is.

He picked up the takeout boxes from the floor and placed them into the bag which he handed to Imani as a car descended onto the driveway from the sky. She furrowed her brows at the unfamiliar car as she watched its doors curve back into place.

This was one of the reasons why she didn't like the Renfield XV Sutton. Anyone could decide to land their car on someone else's property and there was nothing to stop them. Though that didn't bother most people because they believed that if a person owned a Sutton car, the person wouldn't land it on anyone's property with malicious intent to harm the property's owner.

Imani eventually realized that the car belonged to the Bridges' when the door swung open and Desmond stepped out along with his best friend, Kyle Bridges.

"I told you to never order from Quik," Imani said to her brother with a frown on her face as she dangled the bag in her hand.

Desmond gave her a sheepish smile which instantly vanished as he furrowed his brows in confusion when he saw Lucas standing next to Imani.

"Dude, I thought you said they weren't together," Kyle stated as he nudged Desmond.

Lucas wondered if Imani and Kyle's father, Tyrone, knew the two boys applied to be interns at his company as he stared at them.

"They're not. I mean... I don't know," Desmond replied, confusion still evident on his face, when Tyrone Bridges slowly stepped out of the car and Lucas gritted his teeth at the sight of the man.

Tyrone rested his right hand on the car door as his eyes darted from Imani to Lucas and he let out a laugh. "Imani... so it's true. I thought you didn't know..." Tyrone gestured at Lucas. "Him."

Imani remembered the time the man asked her if Lucas had approached her while Lucas' jaw ticked as he wondered what sort of relationship Imani had with Tyrone.

"Well, Lucas is just –" Imani stopped talking as she remembered that in one of the e-mails, he'd sent to her last night, he'd specifically said he didn't want anyone else to know the reason for the meeting. "He's a... friend?"

The man tilted his head to the side and Imani shifted from one foot to the other under his scrutinizing gaze. "A friend you go to hotels with?"

"Back off!" Lucas shot back as he scowled.

Tyrone clicked his tongue and Lucas heard him mutter 'mutt' under his breath before a smile grew on the man's face. "Desmond, see you later and Imani... it will be in your best interest to stop seeing him. Get in the car, Kyle. Now."

Kyle was obviously quite confused with what his father said because he was meant to spend the day at Imani's place but he still got into the car with his father after saying his goodbyes to the three of them. After a couple of seconds, the doors of the car slowly opened and curved upwards, revealing the resilient screen that covered the doorway, before the car levitated off the ground and left the residence.

------

"Fever, severe muscle and joint pains, fatigue... Lucas, these are symptoms of the Sirizan virus," Imani stated as she looked away from the holographic lab report that hovered above the phone on the table and at Lucas who was staring intently at her.

After Tyrone and his son had left, Lucas, Imani and Desmond went into the house. Desmond had gone to his room while Imani and Lucas stayed in the living room. Imani was grateful that Tyrone was a father figure to Desmond but what he'd said earlier didn't sit right with her and she decided not to dwell on it. She and Lucas didn't talk about what happened earlier in the living room and just got down to business.

"I know," he replied. "But the cure for the Sirizan virus didn't work for it."

"Are you sure these are the only symptoms?"

"They're the only ones we've seen so far. Could this virus be a new strain of the Sirizan virus?" he asked as she scrolled down the lab report, stopping at a part which had a highlighted text.

"Yes, it could be... Holy shit," Imani said as she read the highlighted text. "It's undetectable in the body?"

"Yes," he answered and fear immediately crossed her face.

"Lucas, I can't- I don't think I can help you with this. You have to let the government know about this," she said in a rush as panic gripped her at the thought of another virus becoming widespread.

He let out a sigh. "Imani, I can't."

"Lucas-"

"They won't help, Imani. They won't help the way we want them to," he said, shaking his head.

She swallowed as she understood what he meant. "You don't know that."

"I do... That's why I'm here."

"Even if I could, I would need a lab so you'd need to speak to Parisa –"

"We have a lab in Wolfborn."

"...Your town?" she asked in a low voice and he nodded. "I – You want me to go to your town?"

He nodded again. "The lab is fully equipped and we can get anything else you need."

'Wolfborn. Lots and lots of werewolves,' Imani thought as she stared at him and the phone next to her chimed with a message but she ignored it. 'I can't go to Wolfborn.'