Derek covertly made his way back to his Beta, Evan Lawson, to report. "They've split up. Bower Senior is currently heading northwest, while whoever that werebear partner of his is is doubling back to where we left the third man."
"Northwest?" growled Evan, his eyes glowing feral as he looked at the other members of his werewolf/SEALs team and the weres of the Moon Lake Police Department present. That would take the enemy away from the high school, but— "With no one home and not falling for the false trail, that bastard's heading for the hospital, probably hoping to take Maggie hostage."
"And when he discovers your wife isn't there, it still gives him plenty of other potential hostages to choose from," realized one of the MLPD.
"Okay. We split up. Half come with me to the hospital. The rest double back and stop Bower's accomplice before joining us," said Evan.
"I'll radio ahead about the situation," said the officer who warned of the potential hostages.
"Good, and when you men capture the other guy, try to find out how many more are attending this little shindig of Bower's. I want to know how many more graves we've got to dig besides that bastard's," growled Evan Lawson, before the angry wolf started running toward the hospital with some of his men following close behind.
MEANWHILE...
Maggie Lawson reentered the Teachers' Lounge of Moon Lake High School, announcing that dinner would be coming to them soon. "I don't know what it will be, but the officers are raiding the cafeteria kitchen."
"OH NO! NOT THE MYSTERY MEAT!" the high school students all seemed to say in unison, which brought a smile to Maggie's face.
"No, but we will have to warm up whatever it is in the microwave here, because we're trying to keep as low a profile as possible so the bad guys don't know where we are."
"Well, there's one less of those than there was," said Nate Anderson, before telling her about the phone call from Ben Twist.
"Good. Hopefully Evan and his SEALs will have this all dealt with soon, and we can have a good Thanksgiving tomorrow," said Maggie.
"Where are my folks?" asked Eric.
"They're staying in the kitchen to help carry everything back," was Mrs. Lawson's answer, but in truth, William and Martha Anderson had found a supply closet in the cafeteria and were about to have a 'quickie' together while they waited for the food when she left them.
Lucky stiffs, thought Maggie. Come home to me soon Evan. Safe and sound!
Where the police found paper plates, no one was certain, unless they brought their own.
Dinner was actually pre-cooked hamburger patties that still had to be nuked, along with all the side fixings: cheese, onions, pickles, etc.
Pre-bagged potato chips took the place of french fries, and cold canned sodas for drinks.
The adults sat at one table together, although every once in a while Spencer spotted her mother playing footsies with one of the Andersons under the table.
Nate took a chair and positioned himself in front of the TV, hoping to catch some news about what was going on, if not the latest sports news. But the only indication of anything being amiss was a small red W in the upper right hand corner of the screen. He would find out later from the Twists that was the "Were Warning". The symbol meant that all weres were to stay indoors, take any necessary precautions, and call the police immediately if they spotted anyone they didn't recognize.
It was Spencer Lawson and Eric Anderson who had the most "fun" under the circumstances.
Eric had picked out a table for them. After helping his girlfriend with her dinner since Spencer still had her right arm in a sling, Eric grabbed his computer tablet out of his travel bag.
A few moments of scrolling through the touch screen later, he propped it up on the table between them.
Spencer wasn't sure what she liked more. The smooth jazz coming through the tablet's tiny speakers from Moon Lake College's radio station, the repetitive GIF of a lit candelabra on the computer screen to add to the romantic mood, or the fact that Eric had gone to all this trouble to make their first dinner together special, despite the circumstances that led to it.
A smile crossed her furry muzzle as Spencer reached out her left paw to hold Eric's right hand as she whispered, "Eric Anderson, do you know how much I love you?"
"Yes," he whispered in return, staring directly at her. "At least as much as I love you," before he picked up her paw in his normal human hand and kissed it.
"You're really something. You know that?" asked Spencer, going back to her meal, because even if there wasn't anyone else in the room but them, she couldn't take the conversation or any other activities too far because her boyfriend was still a normal. "What else do you have in that bag of tricks of yours?" she wondered, indicating his travel bag.
"What would you like?" he asked in return.
"I don't suppose you have a chess set in there, do you?"
"Afraid not. But there is a chess app on this," said Eric pointing to the tablet. "I didn't know you play."
"Dad taught me. Says it's a good way to learn strategy. Can it do two players?"
"I don't know. Before now, it's always been just me, but we'll find out," promised her boyfriend.
"You're right," Maggie Lawson whispered to Martha Anderson. "They do make a cute couple."
"I'm in no hurry for their relationship to progress to that point, but I do hope when the time comes, they can work out the differences between Eric being a normal and Spencer being a hybrid were," whispered Martha in return, because there was no way of knowing what Eric would turn into after losing his virginity to Spencer unless he was already a were before then, which presented other issues for the couple to deal with.
"I know. Why does love have to be so complicated?" wondered Maggie, while briefly reaching out to hold Martha's hand.
"Having been on both sides of the fence, it's humans who complicate it more than it should be," answered William Anderson, while holding his wife's other hand. "In many ways, becoming weres has been the best thing that ever happened to us. So open and free about so many things," he added, before kissing his wife on the cheek.
"You two get me going, and I'm not going to be responsible for my actions," whispered Martha in return, licking her lips and thinking about a hot and steamy menage a trois with her husband and neighbor.
"Promises, promises," said Maggie with a smile and a wink, before letting go of Martha's hand.
SUDDENLY, the lights went out in the Teachers' Lounge.
The only thing still active was Eric's computer tablet, with which he had stopped everything else and was trying to find some news.
Then one of their police guards came in, heavily armed.
"Okay folks, no need to panic." I hope, he silently added, while locking the lone door to the room behind him. "We're not sure how or why we've lost power, but I need everyone to move to the far corner of the room as a precaution. And please turn off that computer. No noise." He never mentioned that without electricity, the school's security system and surveillance monitors were now inoperative too.
Eric complied as everyone moved over to the corner with the couch that Nate Anderson had occupied earlier.
The ladies sat down, with Eric on the arm rest closest to Spencer. William Anderson and his son sat on the floor near the corners, while the officer had assumed a defensive position facing the door with his back to them.