Kat shifted distractedly in her seat, the thin layer of cushion doing little to hide the cold metal curves of the arena’s chair. Below her in a sand-filled ring, a wolf, highlighted by a series of overhead neon strobe lights reared up onto its hind legs.

The crowd roared with appreciation, drowning out the announcer, a man in his early forties with a gleaming cyberarm and a dapper tophat as he shouted something before gesturing at the wolf. A series of three large metal hoops burst into flame. The lights that had been on the wolf panned across the sandy floor before affixing themselves on the burning circles.

“Honorable patrons!” The public address system crackled as the announcer’s voice boomed once again, barely audible over the screaming crowd. “You are in for a rare treat tonight. I’ve already introduced Hanz, biological marvel and scourge of the prehistoric prairies, but you aren’t here to hear me sing his praises, though there may be many.”

“No!” The ringleader shouted, jumping onto a large box as a series of spotlights lit him up from every direction. “You are here to watch Hanz perform feats of agility and strength that will wow and astound you. You are here to see the untamed ferocity that allowed the direwolves to rule over the North American Prairie with the same level of dominance that the lion asserted over the African Savannah.”

“The same ferocity that cost me this arm!” He yelled, thrusting the chrome limb up in the air where it was lit by an array of green lasers mounted in the building’s rafters.

The crowd screamed again, a roar that had a tinge more bloodlust to it than Kat felt comfortable with. A row down from her, a pair of men leapt up hooting and pumping their fists as the announcer preened for the crowd.

“It took a year of training to transform Hanz from a pup into the sleek and athletic killing machine you see today,” he continued, voice ramping up as he played the crowd. “He is not any tamer, no! It was only yesterday that he almost tore an assistant of mine limb from limb! Instead, we have made him a better predator, more vicious and ruthless than ever.”

“And now!” The lights in the stadium suddenly dimmed, dropping them all into darkness outside of the flaming hoops. “Hanz will demonstrate that killer instinct for your enjoyment.”

“But wait,” the man’s voice took on a playful tone. “We’re missing something. After all, what would a predator be without prey!”

Another spotlight lit up the sandy floor of the arena as a hidden hatch opened, revealing an elevator as it ground toward the surface. In the center of the newly illuminated metal plate stood a goat, bleating frantically as it pulled at the chain connecting it by a collar to a stake welded to the lift.

The dire wolf perked up, hair on the back of its neck standing on end. It lurched from its haunches into a half crouch, eyes fixed on the struggling goat.

“Hanz,” the announcer paused for a second, letting the audience’s gaze fall onto the quivering wolf as a second spotlight lit up its grey fur. “Kauen.”

The canine bolted into action, transforming itself into a blur of grey as it leapt from its crouch through all three of the hoops in one smooth motion. Sand exploded into the air as a steel wall thrust up through the arena floor directly in Hanz’s path only for the wolf to plant its paws on it and kick off.

It landed in a ready crouch in the center of the arena, spotlights illuminating its taught muscles. The wolf let out a low growl, flexing its haunches.

Then there was only a cloud of sand as the spotlights struggled to keep up with the sprinting animal.

This time, there wasn’t a concealed wall to protect the goat, and the wolf hit it like a freight train, practically snapping the chain that connected it to the stake. Blood sprayed across the stadium, spattering some of the audience in the lower bleachers.

They went wild, cheering and surging to their feet as the wolf crunched through the mass of flesh, bone, and cartilage that had once been a living being.

A brief brush of fingertips on her shoulder drew Kat’s attention away from the circus below. Emma smiled down at her, prompting Kat to stand up so that her friend could slip past and take a seat.

“Crap,” Emma pouted, looking down at the arena. “I missed half of the dire wolf show. All that’s left is the obstacle course and the intern putting their arm in its mouth.”

She paused for a second, cocking her head to the side. “I do want to see the intern put their arm in the wolf’s mouth. I know nothing’s going to happen, but still, even over smartglass it’s such a tense moment.”

“What about the transceivers?” Whippoorwill hissed at Emma impatiently from Kat’s other side. “Did you manage to get the monitoring and rebroadcast equipment into place? If we’re coming back later in force, we’ll need a proper cross section of the building.”

“Sure,” the blonde girl waved a hand dismissively as she squinted at the wolf rolling around like a puppy in the sand covered arena. “I even made sure to tuck them away into the HVAC vents and inside light fixtures. Any time someone bothered me I just batted my eyelashes at them and said that I was looking for the bathroom. It was easier than sneaking out of the house in high school. Piece of cake.”

“I don’t think I ever actually had to sneak out of the house,” Kat replied thoughtfully, cocking her head. “My mom was usually so tired after working a double at work that I’d just walk out the front door.”

“Oh it was basically the same for me,” Emma half-turned to flash Kat a brilliant smile before returning her attention to the wolf’s antics. “I mean Daddy didn’t want me to go out and had guards to stop me, but it only really took a ditzy smile and a couple good excuses to get past them. No one wanted to be the person that stopped me from going to my tutoring sessions in town.”

“I mean,” she continued hurriedly, putting a hand on Kat’s wrist as she spoke. “It wasn’t totally a lie. I was learning after a fashion. Mostly about how Margaret’s boyfriend was actually sleeping with Penny’s boyfriend.”

“What?” Kat asked, blinking as she tore her gaze from the arena where a terrified looking young man in a rhinestone covered outfit was being urged by the ringleader toward the wolf. “That sounds awful.”

“No,” Kat felt the other woman’s fingers pressing deeper into her wrist, “it was delicious. Penny and Margaret were actually on a tryst of their own when they found out. They were at a nightclub together when they spotted their boyfriends while they were supposed to be out of town. The two of them managed to sneak out without the boys noticing, but they were fuming.”

“They had to pretend not to know, but they were livid,” Emma continued excitedly, “it was the talk of our school for months before they finally confronted their boyfriends just before the end of the year.”

“Wait,” Kat interjected, frowning. “Weren’t your friends dating too? Why were they upset about their boyfriends hooking up if they were doing the same thing?”

“Will you two get your heads in the game?” Whippoorwill asked with a hiss, glaring at the spot where Emma was holding Kat’s wrist. “We need to make sure that the other team has placed their monitoring devices so that we can extricate ourselves and plan our next steps. You are literally chatting about high school drama while we are in the middle of a mission.”

“But what are we supposed to do?” Emma asked, cocking her head. “There are still another thirty or so minutes left in the show. If we left now it would just draw attention and make the three of us look more suspicious. Wouldn’t it be better for us to just enjoy the show and blend in with the thousands of other tourists here for exactly the same reason?”

Whippoorwill sputtered for a second, turning red as she searched for an answer. Kat took pity on her, gently extracting her wrist from Emma’s grip before responding.

“It’ll be fine, Whip.” She smiled at her friend soothingly. “Emma’s right. At this point we’ve gained access to the building and planted the surveillance, broadcast and intrusion hardware. There’s basically nothing more for us to do but look and act casual.”

“Still I-” Whippoorwill shifted in her metal seat, visibly uncomfortable.

“Just enjoy the show,” Kat cut her off, reaching out to squeeze her friend’s knee in an attempt to calm her.

Whip stiffed, closing her eyes as Kat’s hand made contact with her leg. Kat could feel her muscles tense and then unclench under her fingers before the other girl nodded.

“Great.” Kat smiled, leaning back into her seat and turning her attention to the show. “We can go over the surveillance results once we get back to the hotel.”

Below them, the trembling intern put his arm into the wolf’s open mouth. The crowd roared, causing the man to flinch. Through everything, the big animal just sat there, jaws open and with a bored look on its face.

Finally, with a curt nod from the ringleader, the poor man yanked his arm away from the dire wolf, only for the announcer to toss it a chunk of meat the size of two softballs. The animal snapped it from the air, devouring it in one or two quick bites.

“Now!” The public address system crackled once again as the circus master approached the wolf. It lowered its head, allowing him to scratch it behind its right ear. “It is time for the other crown jewel of the Neon Dome circus, our world renowned lion pride!”

Kat leaned back, and lost herself in the show. It was largely more of the same, the announcer waved his tophat and over dramatized fairly mundane activities. True, the lions were fairly impressive when they roared at the audience or made their way through an agility course, but they were a pale follow-up to the genetic marvel of the dire wolf.

Finally, the show came to an end and the three of them filed out. Kat kept her eyes peeled for security cameras and emergency exits as they filed out along with the teeming throng, but eventually they were deposited on the Vegas strip alongside thousands of other excited tourists.

Emma pointed out the falafel stand where they had agreed to meet, and Kat led the way, her Tower granted strength letting her shoulder through the crowd. Upon arrival, Whip and Kat stepped back, keeping an eye out for the rest of their party while Emma cheerfully got in line to order everyone shawarma. Apparently she had seen a special on the food stand and had been making plans to stop there since before they left Chiwaukee. Being in the middle of a surveillance mission was the sort of obstacle that wasn’t even going to slow her.

After about ten minutes of waiting, Kat elbowed Whippoorwill in the arm, pointing out Davis’ tall, dignified form leading Jasper and Iris through the milling crowd. She raised a hand and waved curtly to draw their attention.

Davis nodded and began pushing through the crush of people toward the three of them. Pedestrians either curved out of his way or bounced off of the old man in surprise, no match for his Tower granted strength as he forged a path for his charges through the chaos of the Vegas Strip.

He didn’t slow as he approached, instead brushing against Kat as he walked past, pushing a scrap of paper into her hands before he disappeared into the mass of people, a confused Jasper and Iris in tow. She waited thirty or so seconds, making idle small talk with Whippoorwill before checking the note.

It was the menu for a ramen restaurant. On the back, in Davis’ cramped but neat writing were the words ‘Too many eyes. Will be in the Empress Theodora hotel, room 933, checked in as Petras Sabbatius”

Whip nudged her in the side, raising an eyebrow as she nodded toward the piece of glossy paper. Quickly, Kat committed its contents to memory before tearing it to scraps and discarding them on the well trampled ground.

Emma ambled up to them, a wide smile on her face and a large hexagonal styrofoam package in her hands. Before Kat could say anything, she cracked it open, revealing steaming wraps. Without comment, Whippoorwill grabbed one of the aluminium foil clad meals and pulled the toothpick from it that was keeping it together.

Kat picked up her own, wincing as the heat from the freshly cooked shawarma stung her hands. She peeled back the foil and took a bite of the steaming food, pausing to take in the flavor profile as the sauce and meat mingled on her tongue. Whatever else there was to say about Emma’s highjacking of their mission and turning it into an impromptu vacation, she sure knew how to pick out restaurants.

“Damn that’s good,” Whippoorwill remarked, voicing Kat’s thoughts for her. “But seriously, what now? Merrimack came by but-”

“Just enjoy the food,” Kat replied in between mouthfuls. “He gave us information on our rendezvous, but he also pointed out that a busy street a dozen steps from a food cart is hardly the time or the place to talk about our next steps.”

“I guess,” Whip grumbled, leaning to the side as a drunken couple stumbled past the three of them.

“I mean,” Kat continued, shrugging. “It’s not like we actually planned on raiding the place tonight. We still need to go over the information we pull from the transceivers. This isn’t like our usual runs where we’re flying by the seat of our pants. We have the time to properly analyze their electronic security and guard patrol patterns.”

“That makes sense,” Whippoorwill responded, disgruntled. “Still, it just feels weird to stand here and do nothing while our target is a five minute walk away. We should be doing something, not just standing here and enjoying a meal.”

“I know!” Emma cut in, eyes bright as she looked from Kat to Whip and back. “We could go to the Grande MegaPlex. United Entertainment is debuting a trio of new hyperpop starlets and we might be able to get cameo vids with them before they hit it big.”

Kat put a hand on Whipporwill’s arm to silence her, calming the pink haired woman before she could snap at Emma.

“I don’t know if that’s what Whip had in mind,” Kat replied with a chuckle, “but it isn’t a bad idea. It might feel strange, but for now there isn’t anything we can do but ‘act normal and not draw attention to ourselves’ while the surveillance equipment does its job. We might as well do that at the Megaplex.”