Undercover Magic by Judy Teel

my disguise and shoved it behind the pile of trash next to me. Another quick scan
     of the street and I turned and bolted for the alley behind me.
    Halfway down and shrouded in inky blackness, I hit my first piece of bad luck. Some
     enterprising citizen group had scared up the money and ambition to install a forty
     foot para chain link and razor wire fence, even springing for an extra topping of
     extra nasty barbed wire. Beyond the fence, the rest of the alley and the road that
     ran past it waited for me.
    Behind, at the mouth of the alley, the search light flashed by. Breaking their usual
     pattern, the cruiser had apparently turned around and come back.
    I was trapped.
     
    *  *  *
     
    When someone wanted you dead, the two most important rules to survival were to keep
     moving and not to be seen.
    Cooper loped at a steady pace over the upper canopy of the Dead Zone jumping easily
     from roof to roof and shadow to shadow, Marc only a few paces behind him. When they'd
     first stumbled into the search area, they'd doubled back, fearing the manhunt was
     for them. After some cautious reconnaissance, they'd determined that someone else
     was the unlucky recipient of the city's sparse resources. As long as they stayed out
     of it, they were probably safe.
    That didn't stop Cooper from maintaining a hundred yard radius sweep with his senses
     while his thoughts plowed through all the possibilities of who might be behind the
     assassin attacks. The sooner he got this resolved, the sooner things could go back
     to normal. The quicker that happened, the quicker he could be with Addison again.
    As if his wish had called her forth, a familiar smell touched the edges of his perception
     and his mind jolted with awareness. Cooper skidded to a stop and pivoted in the direction
     of the scent. He pulled in a deep breath and tensed when he felt her fear. Deep in
     his core, the wolf stirred.
    Marc stuttered to stop a few feet ahead of him, turned and jogged back. Lifting his
     nose, he tested the air and frowned. "She can take care of herself. We have to keep
     moving."
    The wolf howled, heating through Cooper's blood, silent and compelling. A growl scratched
     against his throat, fighting to get out. The need to protect her was unavoidable.
    Cooper ignored Marc and ran.
     
    *  *  *
     
    I pulled back into the deeper shadows near the building as the cruiser stopped at
     the entrance to the alley. Both cops got out, one with a flashlight, the other with
     his weapon drawn. They approached the trash pile cautiously. When the taller man aimed
     his flashlight at the ground, my stomach felt like I'd suddenly dropped three floors.
     They weren't supposed to find my disguise until morning.
    "I knew I'd seen something," the taller cop said, zeroing his light in on the tuft
     of blonde hair sticking out. He reached down and pulled out the bundle.
    The other officer got on his iC. "Facial ID from the photo confirmed as likely. We
     just found a wig and uniform matching witness descriptions."
    I glanced to my right and then left, fear pressing up against my throat. If I got
     caught it was all over. I couldn't help Cooper, Falcon would be in danger, and the
     kids...I couldn't let that happen.
    Fighting wasn't my first choice, after all the cops were just doing their job, but
     it looked like I wasn't going to have a choice. I would at least try to only disable
     them.
    I drew my gun and braced myself.
    Behind the cruiser on the other side of the street, a woman suddenly sprinted past.
     For a moment I thought I was hallucinating as she flashed by the ambient glare of
     the cruiser's search light.
    Same hair, same build, even her clothes matched mine. If I hadn't already been so
     scared, I would've been completely freaked out.
    The cops turned instinctively toward the movement and their attention hit the woman
     full blast. They called out for her to stop, but she either didn't hear or wasn't
     interested in playing by the rules. Instead