Exposure was one of the greatest fears any were had. Much of it was based on the fact that relations between normals and weres back when humans believed in magic and superstition enough to believe in weres was such that weres more often than not found themselves being hunted by armies or a society's best warrior with some weapon that was supposed to be able to kill weres. It was usually something made of silver, which all weres had a fatal allergic reaction to, or something that had been "blessed" by a religious leader. Once fire arms were made more accurate, normals turned to the raw destructive power of modern ballistics to gun down weres at range. A blow to the body would hurt and slow a were down long enough to finish them off with a shot to the head. This fueled the desire to stay hidden once normals began turn from religion and superstition to science. If normals didn't believe in weres, they wouldn't go hunting them. But if weres were exposed, every were feared they would face being kept in a sort of zoo at the least, if not facing being hunted again.
Jen had been calm as the television news made the report that had so startled Jay, Leon, Tad and Amy, but she did see some nervousness on her son and his girlfriend's face and outright fear on Amy's brother's faces. She sighed as she didn't want them to feel afraid, even though there were some very real reasons to feel nervous. Ulysses' arrest included events that had the potential to expose weres and the fact that he was later murdered would only lead to more investigation into the issue that raised the possibility of exposure in Ulysses' capture. Jen, herself, hadn't been too surprised by this, as Agent Green had already called her about Ulysses murder with the assurance the murderer would be found and this murderer wouldn't get the chance to cause any more trouble.
"I'm sure things will be fine," Jen spoke in an assuring tone, principally to Jay and Leon as they seemed the most nervous by the news report, "there was nothing that was concrete in the news footage and they haven't found anything beyond that yet."
"They could do digging though," Jay commented.
"Yeah... if they saw the guy's tail, they could realize that he wasn't human," Leon added.
"Well... for one, he was caught and died in Seattle," Amy spoke up, not wanting her brothers to be afraid, "even if they find out about weres, they won't know about Moon Lake."
"Hopefully they don't go looking," Tad commented, "since Ulysses grew up here..."
"He did?!" Jay gasped.
"He did," Jen answered, "and he was in bad habits back in high school, too. But for the moment, the police likely won't be looking too deeply into Ulysses being a wererat."
"You're sure?" Leon asked.
Jen sighed and nodded. She was privately nervous over the potential of exposure, but for the moment she had to play an assuring and protective role. It was like when Jeff had been killed and she felt she had to protect Tad, though this time the consequences would be for more than just her son. She had to be strong and hopeful for all weres and Moon Lake as well. She softly rubbed Jay and Leon's heads, the same soft and gentle way that she had rubbed Tad's head and gotten into some bumps and bruises as a young boy. In a way it was a motherly act, and while the two young teens, too young to have had their first transformations yet, weren't her sons, she had to keep them calm for the moment and give them some confidence.
"I'm quite sure," Jen promised them, "I've even had some assurances that the official investigation regarding Ulysses is likely closed."
"Assurances?" Tad asked, catching on to what his mother had said.
"Agent Green called while you were out having fun in the pool," Jen answered, "Twice... First he called to let me know that Ulysses had been caught and wouldn't a threat. At that time there were some issues with the likely trial that I might be called for, but he said that things were through and that we would be safe."
"Who is Agent Green?" Amy asked.
"The FBI Agent assigned to investigate my husband's murder," Jen answered, "was very cordial and polite when we met... I remember smelling a werecat's scent on him... but it was faint and our conversation wasn't personal enough to find out anything..."
"There's a were in the FBI?" Jay wondered.
"No, he isn't a werecat if that's what you're asking," Jen explained, "the werecat scent was TRUE werecat's scent, not a male werecat's scent. Which means, either someone close to him is a were or one of his coworkers is a were. However, at the time, I didn't think it was worth mentioning... especially since we never got into any personal conversation about his life or anything like that."
Amy and Tad both nodded at that. Tad hoped that maybe the FBI Agent would be close to this were, and that he could then protect were's secrecy, but he didn't know enough say anything. None of them knew that Agent Teddy Green was MARRIED to the werecat that Jen had smelled on him and was looking at Moon Lake as a spot to retire to when his wife would need to retire to prevent having to explain to a normal boss why she was older than him but looked like she was far younger than him.
"What about the second time that he called?" Amy asked.
"The second time was to report that Ulysses had been killed and with the warning to be careful as he didn't know who could have killed him or why and that the killer might have agendas in terms of doing business that needed Ulysses out of the way," Jen answered, "the real danger here will be that some drug dealer might set up shop... which I'm sure is something that the police are well prepared for."
"What if it's something unofficial?" Tad asked, "you know... like when dad let me see some of the tanks and equipment that were with the units he served with... which technically speaking he even admitted he wasn't supposed to do."
"Unofficial?" Jen sighed, "like a rebellious reporter or some conspiracy theorist? They're likely the least threat a place like Moon Lake as to fear and I'm sure the town has had to deal with over the years. And those sorts of things are all over the place. So if someone comes here snooping for info on Lionel Ulysses... the town will have measures to make sure the guy leaves with nothing definitive."
"Makes sense," Amy commented.
"What if they still start believing in weres again?" Leon asked again.
"Maybe things will change," Tad commented, "after all with all the furry conventions and computer and video games that will ultimately have werewolves as main characters or playable characters... And America today isn't Medieval Europe. Surely if the worst happens... maybe things like the Civil Rights Act could be used to ensure weres are legally protected."
"The Civil Rights Act?" Jay asked.
"It made racism illegal," Tad answered.
"Oh," Jay commented, "well, hopefully it gets used."
"It could happen," Jen gave sigh, and privately wondering just how much attention Tad paid in his Civics, American History, and Government classes.