Martin Stovall quietly pulled into a truck stop just outside Brookings, Oregon. He would need to double back to Interstate 5 and head north toward Portland, though he didn't know if he'd make it that far before he needed to stop for the night. His thoughts were highly conflicted between various emotions. One was a deep longing to be with Melissa, to make her happy, to show her how happy he was to have her in his life. To see the bright luminescent glow around her that marked her as his one true love. In that, regardless of whatever difficulty there was, seeing Melissa made him happy. He would have waited a century if he had to it that was what it took to be with her, and he wouldn't complain about it. That was how much he loved her.
There was also the expected parental concern over Eric and Julie's relationship. He had talked with Melissa twice, once just before he left his mother's place in California and just recently. In this he knew that his daughter and her boyfriend had acted on their growing love for each other and that Eric was now a merman and had committed himself to be Julie's merman. The latest call gave a bit of a description on what the new Eric looked like and expanded on how close the two of them were growing. It made him happy to see Julie happy and that their relationship remained within Moon Lake's laws, but a part of him was as going into worried/protective dad mode. Julie was young and he didn't want her to rush into anything. Even with Eric being her true love, it'd be his preference to wait before moving into the more "adult" parts of were relationships. They'd have centuries of time together, what would four years be? But in the end, so long as Eric was responsible and never hurt Julie and that Julie remembered her birth control pills that he would be fairly tolerant and let love blossom and glow as bright as his own for Melissa.
The last was some concern over what Melissa had told him on the phone that he would need to talk to his offices at Moon Lake's offices. That made him somewhat concerned, as Moon Lake's status as a sanctuary for creatures thought to be myth and likely to be feared by humanity would mean urgent calls to his office would likely mean that something happened that would raise Moon Lake's security being in doubt. However, he couldn't avoid the problem and as he pulled into a parking space, he prepared his normal phone and was ready to walk away from his car and to a point where he had some privacy. He got Samantha first as he called her office specifically.
"Mr. Stovall... I... I didn't expect to hear from you," Samantha said over the phone and sounding startled, "Is everything alright?"
"As fine as can be, though from what I've heard on my way home... that something is going on," Martin said slowly, "what IS going on?"
"How... never mind, it's probably made the internet by now," Samantha said slowly.
"What happened?" Martin asked, not liking the semi-nervous tone in Samantha's voice, a voice that was normally strong and determined with large hints of kindness and respect in her intonation.
"The FBI and the Seattle police attempted to arrest Lionel Ulysses," Samantha spoke, "a two bit drug dealer who they suspect of having murdered Marine Corps Major Jeff Decker."
Martin stood quietly as he listened, though he did scan the area as he walked along the grassy edge at the far edge of the truck stop. Below him was a slope that lead back down to the highway below him. Beyond was the sea that stretched out to the horizon, but even its tranquil looks couldn't calm him as Samantha continued her report. A report that seemed to deal with the criminal activity of a were and thus carried the potential for weres being exposed.
"Given that Ulysses was a wererat, we sent Officer Connor to assist the FBI in apprehending Ulysses, but he had some booby traps and made capture difficult," Samantha continued, "they ended shooting him and he transformed out of reflex."
"Body cams caught it, I take it," Martin said slowly.
"Yes, and to make matters worse, someone just murdered Ulysses in his hospital bed," Samantha answered, "so we can't count on convincing him to denying that the tail that was seen was real. The FBI agent in charge of the case appears to have gotten the Seattle PD to think the tail was fake, but the fact that the body cam footage showed it... and Ulysses can't deny it himself..."
"We have a situation where all weres could be exposed," Martin gave a heavy sigh, as that would make his return home a bit more difficult. He wanted to be with Melissa, make sure that Eric's welcome to weremer society went well and that his daughter hadn't made him a grandfather, yet, but the town's security was more important.
"Yes," Samantha answered, "thankfully it seems as though this will be focusing on weres in general and not on Moon Lake specifically, but we're still pretty early in the responses to all this. We have no way of knowing how the media will respond to it."
Martin gave a heavy sigh as he looked down.
"Do you have any instructions, sir?" Samantha asked.
"Only that you and Katherine are to go through our basic precautions," Martin said slowly, "though... DON'T rush into anything. If they don't know about Moon Lake, we may not get any attention... but monitor the responses. If anything comes up that makes you think someone might come to Moon Lake in a way that could involve investigation... be ready to have our standard means of keeping the towns secret there."
"And Plan In the Open, sir?" Samantha asked.
"That is a last resort," Martin answered, "if they don't think weres exist... it'd defeat our own purposes. If they do believe but the end political response is positive, it's unnecessary..."
"But if they respond in a negative way, it could be too late," Samantha warned.
"Which is why it's a last resort and why we need to make sure our timing is correct," Martin spoke, "right now... they're probably still moving about. Keep an eye on things and see if they escalate or if they blow over, like what's happened in the past."
"Okay, sir," Samantha spoke, "when can we trust on you to be back?"
"I just got into Oregon," Martin answered, "I'll have to double back a bit to get to Interstate Five, but I should be back in Moon Lake by sometime tomorrow... though what time specifically will depend on where I get to tonight."
"I see, sir," Samantha spoke, "we'll try to have full briefings ready for when you arrive..."
"Paper reports will be better," Martin countered, "I don't want to take away time waiting for me that you could spend with your wife... or visit with family, in case this gets really bad."
"Do you think it will?" Samantha wondered.
"For now... too early to call," Martin sighed.