They're still friends of mine!

Author's note:
Sorry this one took longer to get out. Between random sickness, and suddenly having to move out temporarily because of plumbing issues, I was late in getting this set up. That said, I have not forgotten you all and here is the chapter!
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Grant looked at the trio of people slinking down the road, an almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. It had turned dark roughly an hour ago, and in the four days since the Claiming started, people had decided to wage war against the street lights. Why, he couldn’t figure out, since it wasn’t like they did anything to represent a danger to most folks. He could also think it was women **** to avoid being Claimed like the too obvious target the trio ahead of him represented, but the damage was too widespread to be any single group. It certainly made the fact that the cul-de-sac he lived in, along with the small group that had banded together under his direction, stand out more for not destroying their lights.

As he watched and debated, the trio passed just close enough to a light for Grant to get a better look at them. Three women, each with their head’s covered in black wool caps, with dark blue or black pants on each of them. Enough to help them blend into the night, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Hannah and Katie had seen them as they moved near a brick wall, Grant doubted he’d have been aware of them enough to wait for them to get even as close to the light as they did.

Whispering for his girls to come with him, Grant led a strange procession forward. First behind him was Hannah, or at least he thought it was Hannah. Her and her twin enjoyed the same twin game that the Weasley brothers in the Harry Potter movies did. Always switching themselves around to mess with people. After the presumed Hannah was Amy, Alice, and Brittany. Following those girls was Greg, the construction worker who had first followed behind.

Doing his best to lead quietly, Grant kept his eyes on the women ahead. Anytime they stopped, he stopped. Anytime they started going, he gave them a few steps so that he wasn’t followed into taking a step if they paused immediately afterwards. He followed them for a good two miles before the trio stopped outside of a hardware store. It seemed a practical place, and no doubt at least one of the women were inclined towards the more physical end of things, as only a very brief discussion was whispered before the lady in the middle crept forward, knelt in front of the door, and began to pick the lock.

Hannah growled softly in his ear as she watched the trio of women attempting to break into the hardware store. On one hand, Grant fully understood. Not just as a police officer who was watching what, a week ago, was a crime taking place in front of her, but as someone who was also watching others get to the loot that they themselves had thought to get.

“It’s okay, Hannah. Besides, this might be a great opportunity for us. You and I both know the law is basically nonexistent right now. Maybe that’ll change in a little bit, but I’m not betting on it. The ability to get into things quietly, however, is always going to be useful. Much better than shattering glass and physically wrenching things open with crowbars if we don’t have to do so.” Grant whispered back, his mouth so close to her ear that he could see the hairs above her ear stirring with his breath.

Turning back to the trio they had followed, Grant was just in time to see the trio pull the door open quietly, and then vanish inside. Giving them a slow ten count, Grant led his small party forward after them. As they got closer to the hardware store, the occasional rustle could be heard inside. Whatever it was that they were looking for, they were noisier finding it than he had anticipated that they would be. On the other hand, it wasn’t like they could use flashlights without drawing attention either.

As Grant drew up even to the door, he heard the slight crunch of gravel or something else on the floor just inside of the shop. It was so faint that he almost didn’t think he’d actually heard it, but the former members of the police **** that he had Claimed had been working with him to trust his instincts. That, even if he was wrong, he should at least take basic precautions to check and verify those instincts. And right now, his instincts were saying that one of the girls they had followed was just inside the door on the right. No doubt she was acting as a bit of a lookout in case someone had followed them. How they had snuck up on her he didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to question the good fortune that was following him. It wasn’t like it could go on forever, but while it was here he was going to thank Luck, fickle mistress or no.

Reaching his hand in through the open door, he was thrilled to feel his hand connect with someone. Without hesitation, he murmured that he claimed her, and the gasp that had started cut off suddenly. Motioning for Greg to follow him in, Grant went inside as quietly as he could and looked to see which of the three women he had just added to his team. It was with an absolute grin that he noted it was, indeed, the lockpicker that he had captured. Maybe the trio didn’t think there was much she could do once she had gotten them inside, or maybe they had just gotten unlucky on their lookout. Whatever it was, Grant was thrilled to add someone with that skillset to his team, and from the two sharp gasps behind him, Greg was just as happy to add two more women to his team as well.