Mark Wilson was hiding all trace of his illegal campsite when he felt the cellphone in his shirt pocket vibrate.
Seeing who the Caller ID said it was, he quickly answered the phone. "Morning boss."
"Where are you starting out from today?" asked Dieter Wilhelm.
"I made it through Arkansas and Oklahoma, and had just entered Colorado when I had to call it a night. Not sure exactly where I am at the moment, because I've been taking all the back roads and lesser used routes I can to keep a low profile like you told me to."
"Good," said Wilhelm, checking an atlas laid out across his executive desk. He was at his management position at a local Alabama power plant while his henchman was taking care of other matters for him. "How far do you think you'll get today?"
"If the weather's good, I should make it through Colorado, Wyoming, and at least into Idaho by tonight. But regardless of how well I do in the potato state, I'm not planning to enter Washington until tomorrow," said Wilson.
"Oh? Why?" Wilhelm wanted to know, not willing to tolerate any delays.
"I've checked maps at several truck stops along the way already, and none of them have this dang Moon Lake listed."
"I'm not surprised. James Harper showed me the brochure for Moon Lake College that his daughter Jenny left behind. It seems like a decent enough school, but the only information it included about the surrounding town was that the place is barely over 6000 people and somewhere on the Pacific side of the state."
"So in other words, a somewhat better than average hole in the wall," commented the henchman. At least I'll probably won't have to worry about too much interference from the local police if things get hot there.
"You know your mission?" asked Wilhelm.
"Yes," was all Wilson would say. Once he arrived in Moon Lake, the henchman was to keep an eye on "his boss' girl Jenny Harper", and if there was a chance to get rid of the interloper Harry Jenkins before he forced Jenny to marry him on Halloween...
"If I could get away to do this myself, I would. But my absence would be too noticeable. Sometimes it's tough being a big fish in a small pond," complained Wilhelm, not wanting to admit that he preferred others to do his dirty work so his hands remained clean.
"We should all have such problems," was Wilson's only comment. "But how come old man Harper isn't stepping up and taking care of business himself?"
"Because James Harper is a weak willed idiot!" bitched Wilhelm over the phone. "Despite the fact I'm paying everybody's expenses for this trip, he let his wife talk him into not going before the actual day of the wedding. Why he ever let my Jenny go to college so far away from home to begin with..."
"Don't worry boss, but I've got to ask. Why Halloween?"
"Huh?" asked Wilhelm, not understanding the question.
"A woman wouldn't even know how to boil water properly if someone didn't explain it to her first," complained the bigoted Wilson, "so it's not surprising that your girl might have been misled by a slick smooth talker into going against her promise to you and marry him instead, but why have the wedding on Halloween?"
"I asked Harper that myself, but the only answer I go was that they allegedly wanted the wedding as soon as possible and that was the first open date at the church," said Wilhelm. "But it doesn't matter if they try for the 31st or the 32nd. There will be NO wedding unless it's to me!"
"I got you. A man has to show a woman who's the boss. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything when I get there," promised the henchman, before hanging up.
Meanwhile, although already expecting trouble at the impending Harper-Jenkins wedding next weekend but unaware of its exact nature, the town of Moon Lake began to stir that Friday morning.
No child had to go to school that October 23 because of a scheduled Teachers In Service, although only the high school educators actually had the day off because of Stovall Systems scheduled overall of their computers.
The Skulk had a meeting scheduled that night to welcome their newest members, but otherwise it was starting out as just another ordinary day for an average small town; despite the fact that four-fifths of the local population was also shape-shifting were creatures.
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The above is Episode 273 of this specific thread!
On behalf of all the creative people involved with this and all the other Moon Lake story lines here on CYOC.net, we hope you are enjoying our efforts.—tmw.