Chapter One

The man impatiently looked at his watch's crystal face. He wanted to get rid of the item, and fast. Tick, tick, tick. Where was the woman? They should have sent a man. So much more efficient. Someone rounded the corner. He melted into the shadows, until he heard her whisper "Supernano." Grabbing her arm, he roughly yanked her behind the dumpster. "What took you so long?" She opened her mouth, surely about to have a snappy answer. "Forget it. Here." Tossing the case on the damp ground in front of her, he held his hand out for payment. She set a small box in his furry hand. His claws sharpened as he closed his fist around it. "You owe me two more!" he roared, shaking her beak and leaving claw marks. letting out a startled squawk, she tossed two more boxes at him, then jumped up and flew away with a flurry of feathers. The man's laugh filled the shady alley, sounding more and more like a howl with each sound wave. He sprung from the ground to the brick wall and scuttled up the bricks. Neither he nor the fleeing woman saw the boy in the alley's doorway with his hand tight over his beagle puppy's mouth.