Two nights later, Max set out once again for Jackson's territory.

He reached the boundary quickly and watched for a few moments, watching intently for the first of the patrol. It didn't take long. A Frontlinesmen walked by, scrolling through his phone as he did.

Max waited a while after the guard had passed, not wanting to head out too soon. He'd waited until after midnight to make his way to the boundary. He wanted Jackson's pack to be as tired and lethargic as they could be. It was just before three now, and Max hoped they were starting to slack in their duties. It seemed to be the case; the Frontlinesmen yawned as he continued playing the game on his phone. Max waited for him to walk a bit further from him, then darted into Jackson's territory from the shadow he'd been hidden in.

He was careful not to let his bag and supplies jingle, he'd made sure they were strapped tightly to him with no zippers or chains that would cause unnecessary noise. Of course, even after minimizing the noise, there was still a slight amount, but Max made sure he was far enough away that the sounds were both hard to hear and hard to discern. For someone like him, they probably would have been easily picked up, but Max knew that Jackson didn't have a Hunter in his pack. If he did, then he kept him/her hidden well.

He slipped into another alley way, making sure to submerge as much as he could into the shadows once again.

He sensed for any indication that the Frontlinesmen had noticed him. Feeling he was undetected, he continued on his way, carefully watching for any wolves that might be out patrolling.

He came across a few, silently waited for them to pass him by, before heading out again as silently as possible. Hunters were the best at finding others, the bet at hunting down their prey, but they were also adept at hiding. Of course, in the city their skills were harder to utilize that in the wilderness.

Max knew that they would find him. He just wanted to make sure that Joe was dead shortly before, or after the fact.

Max made his way slowly navigating through the streets. He really hoped there weren't any hidden Hunters in Jackson's pack. He'd be found pretty quickly if there were. As it was, if any members paid attention to any of the places he'd stopped at, they still might be able to scent him there. He moved slowly, but felt the pressure of time. He felt the need to hurry, but he knew that was his instinct telling him to run. Running would just get him caught faster.

Finally, he reached the apartment building that Joe was being kept in. He was still unsure of where they were staying in the building, but he knew he should be able to scent him and find him without much difficulty now that he had an old article of clothing.

There were two men loitering outside of the apartment whom Max was sure were members of Jackson's pack. He watched them for a while and came to the conclusion that they were not leaving any time soon. Max slinked around to search for another entrance that he could use.

There was another, but Max kept his distance, watching for any security cameras that might be present. Looking above the door, Max found there were two. One was pointed at the door, the other down the alleyway. He quickly ducked back, hoping that whoever was watching the tape wouldn't find his actions suspicious.

Max wondered if there were camera's at the front as well.

He waited for a moment, unsure. There was no other way to get in. He needed to make it through the front door. After that, he needed to make it to Joe, then kill him, then break back out of the apartment and get out of the territory.

Max thought for a moment, then slinked away, into the shadows once again. He stopped a few blocks away behind a dumpster of a seafood restaurant, hoping it could mask his scent well enough.

He pulled out his phone and dialed the number given to him to reach Mathew's boys.

The line connected after the third ring.

Max waited there behind the dumpster until the sun was high in the sky. His scent seemed to have been masked fairly well by the dumpster and when the employees came to dump more trash into it in the morning, Max was able to avoid being seen.

He stayed there, unhurried and unmoving. He stayed there until the Sun was beginning to dip back down in the sky.

Finally, his phone vibrated from a text. He glanced down, then shoved it back into his pocket and slowly eased out from behind the dumpster.

He carefully surveyed his surroundings. He knew that there would be more members active during the day, but most of them would probably be lower ranking members. He could deal with a few Frontlinesmen and Omegas without issue. But, he still needed the members thinned out. He didn't want to get caught before he'd even dealt with Joe.

So, he'd called the number that Colin and Jared had given him and told them to set up a meeting with Jackson. He'd told them to leak the amount of people and their ranks that they were bringing to the meeting. Jackson's distrustful nature would see their excessive numbers and high ranking as them possibly looking for a fight. Of course, he'd still be worried about them somehow taking Joe during that time and would keep the security around Joe as tight as possible. Joe's personal body guards would probably remain, but Max wasn't as worried about them. He expected to have to deal with them already.

He started making his way cautiously toward the apartment. He smelled like rotten seafood and was relieved that it covered his scent pretty well. He himself would probably be able to scent him, and another Hunter would probably be able to, but Max was fairly certain that Jackson didn't have a Hunter. He hoped it wasn't just because Jackson didn't want anyone knowing about their Hunter and was instead because there really wasn't one there.

Over twelve hours after making his way into Jackson's territory, he made his way toward the apartment building. The front was still guarded by a member of the pack, but it was one member instead of two. His plan seemed to have worked.

He walked a ways away and came to a group of children playing. He could tell they were human, probably just some regular residents without any affiliation to the pack.

He approached them slowly, watching for anyone that might notice him speaking with them.

He pulled a fifty from his wallet.

Max watched from the side as the kid he gave the money to throw a rock at the man at the door, while yelling some choice curses. Just as he predicted, the man stepped away to yell and chase the kid for a few meters.

Max hurried to slip inside the building. He rushed forward, watching his surroundings all the while. He'd come barefoot, as that usually helped him sense other's positions when tracking. It wasn't as helpful as if they were outside and away from the concrete society of the city, but it helped a bit.

He stepped to the stairs and rushed in to shut the door behind him. He sighed as he paused to catch his breath and reorganize his thoughts.

He was in. The first step toward his goal was complete.