"Okay. What do we know?" asked Martin Stovall twenty minutes later, as he was greeted at the entrance to City Hall by the Moon Lake Police Chief.
"We still don't have a solid ID on the perp, but apparently the FBI has been looking for someone who has an interest in a new family that recently moved to town," the Chief growled, because his fursona was a bulldog.
"Not the Charlstons?" the mayor asked. "I thought those issues had already been resolved."
"They have been, and no. This centers around a family named Lawson. One daughter, high school age. All weres because the parents used to live in Moon Lake before the husband entered the military. Who the suspect is and what his beef is with them remains unknown. You know how cooperative the Feds can be."
"Yeah, so how did we get tipped off?"
"One of their guys called Samantha Twist trying to get a hold of you," said the chief. "According to the Town Chancellor, there are a lot of people there for some kind of Sunday afternoon get together, including a couple of minors besides the Lawson kid."
"What have you done so far?" the mayor asked the police chief.
"I've got a man trying to sneak over there now covertly for recon, and the Were Team's on standby, but with outsiders involved, I don't want to move in unless absolutely necessary."
"I see," replied Martin Stovall. The Were Team were, in or out of human form, the absolute best members of the Moon Lake Police Department, comparable with any other police department's SWAT Team. "Do we have any idea of the exact number of people involved?"
"From what we've been able to gather, the perp's acting alone, but we don't even know how armed he might be, let alone whether or not he's a were too. The only people we can be sure are in the house right now are Evan Lawson, who has a very impressive record as a Navy SEAL. At least, according to his public jacket. No telling how much more might be classified," said the police chief, impressed with the man's credentials. "He's a werewolf. His wife Maggie Lawson is a doctor and a werecat, Their daughter is a natural hybrid, but there seems to be some confusion as to exactly what grade Spencer Lawson is or should be in."
SPENCER? thought Martin, remembering the chat with his daughter Julie. It couldn't be. Could it?
"Do you have a map of the area?" asked the mayor, getting his mind back on the business at hand.
"Right here," said the police chief, showing him a folded section secured on a clipboard. "If you give the authorization, I'll split the Were Team up between two squads. We'll go in civilian vehicles and park between this playground on one side, and this shopping center on the other with the Lawson residence in the middle. But we're not going to be able to approach the target or start evacuating the area without drawing attention from either the Feds or the perp."
"Isn't there a neighborhood substation at that shopping center?"
"Yes, sir."
"Okay. Stick with the civilian vehicles, but send all your men there. Yellow alert, but they're not to take any further action until ordered otherwise. Meanwhile, I'll see if I can establish a new line of communication with the Feds, and you see if anyone's heard from Samantha Twist since she contacted me," the mayor ordered the police chief.
MEANWHILE...