Given the state of the world today, it is not uncommon to find people working when others are asleep, regardless of whether or not the sun is up.
At The Local Diner*, a man no one had ever seen before walked in. Tired, he ordered the "bottomless" cup of coffee and the Hamburger Platter dinner.
Once the waitress brought his order and refilled the coffee mug for the third time, he looked around to make sure he was alone, before making a call on his cellphone.
When the party he was trying to reach answered, he said in a low voice to prevent being overheard (not knowing about the town's were population) "Okay boss, I'm in Moon Lake as quickly as possible as ordered. Direct flight from Alabama to Seattle, then I rented a car under a different fake alias. What now?"
"Find someplace to bed down for the night, then try to hook up with Mark Wilson in the morning," instructed Dieter Wilhelm on the other end. "He'll be off the grid camping somewhere in the vicinity, but you both know the objective." After receiving what he believed to be a text from his henchman, not knowing it was a fake sent by the police, Dieter decided to send Wilson help to make sure the matter was taken care of to his satisfaction.
"Affirmative," replied the man, between bites of his burger. Locate and keep an eye on Dieter's fiance Jennifer Harper, and kill the upstart Harry Jenkins who was trying to muscle in on their boss' girl at the first "safe" opportunity.
But what neither Dieter nor the new arrival knew was that, besides having an outdated photo of Jenny since her looks have greatly improved after becoming a were-vixen, Mark Wilson had already been caught by the police and decided to commit "Suicide by Cop" instead of squealing on his employer.**
"Once that poacher is out of the way," said Dieter, referring to Jenkins, "when I arrive Saturday morning with Jenny's family, I'll be her knight in shining armor and marry her there before we leave that hick town for good. Then I'll teach her not to put me through all this worrying and other shit once we get back home where we belong!"
"Understood," said the man, after motioning to the waitress for more coffee. "I'll hook up with Wilson in the morning and we'll take care of things from there," he promised, before hanging up.
Yet what the new arrival didn't know was that, as part of looking out for one of their own, the town of Moon Lake was already on alert in regards to protecting its secrets.
A member of the Skulk was notified by an agent at the car rental agency when the man asked for directions to Moon Lake, and although her customer thought he had been extremely careful on his end of the conversation, the waitress (who was actually a were-minx) had overheard him talking.
In turn, she had quietly informed the cook, who even now was in the back of the kitchen notifying the police.
MEANWHILE...
The stars shined brightly as the almost full moon drifted lazily over the small town in Washington state.
While some weres were out and about either working or on the prowl, others were snuggled in bed for a good night's sleep.
Well, most of them anyway.
Jennifer Harper looked beautiful in her white wedding dress. A simple number that had belonged to the groom's mother and was hastily refitted to accommodate her buxom bosom and hourglass figure.
They were surrounded by all their friends and family in the small church.
Technically, the happy couple were already officially married, thanks to the earlier ceremony that was held to avoid interruptions.
This "encore" was being especially staged because of the new arrivals entering the church.
"STOP THIS FARCE!" yelled James Harper, Senior as he stormed into the church. He was hastily followed by his wife Elizabeth, oldest son James Junior, his younger brother John, and their other sister Janice. "My daughter is promised to another, not that man," he yelled, while pointing to what he believed to be the groom to be.
"You stop it father!" yelled Jenny Harper, finding the courage to face the oppressive force in her life. "I love Harry. He loves me, and I'm marrying him!"
"Young lady, I have absolutely no idea who the hell you are, so you're free to do whatever you want," replied her father, not recognizing his own daughter since she joined were society. "But that harlot I unfortunately helped bring into this world has no right to be here, let alone wedding anyone other than her intended."
"You mean the jerk you're forcing upon her," replied the groom to be.
"Whoever you are, you keep out of this sir," warned James Harper Senior.
"I'm Harold Jenkins. Your daughter and I love each other and are already married. This ceremony you're interrupting was staged in case you tried to stop us," revealed the groom.
"Really?" said another man, coming forward from the rear of the Harper party. "Then I guess either my Jenny's getting an annulment or else I'm marrying a widow today," said Dieter Wilhelm, before he pulled a handgun out of his suit jacket and shot Harry Jenkins in the head.
As the echo of the gun being fired rang in his mind, Harry Jenkins woke up in a cold sweat, his fox fur matting.
He looked down to see his beautiful werevixen and bride to be Jenny Harper, trying to sleep next to him.
After parting company with Jenny's best friend Karen Yuletide, after having dinner with her and her boyfriend Peter Talbot, the happy couple came back to the Jenkins' house, finished their respective homework assignments, and then turned in early for another day of college and other commitments come morning.
Staring at the woman he loved, Harry noticed Jenny looked a little troubled in her sleep.
Probably more nightmares about her father and that jerk. Damn them both! Harry cursed, before running a paw across her brow to soothe Jenny's sleeping form.
Once Jenny appeared calm again, Harry crawled out of bed and grabbed his cellphone before sneaking out of his bedroom.
When he was alone in the bathroom to avoid disturbing his fiance or his parents, Harry made a call.
After the party on the other end answered and he identified himself, Harry said, "I apologize for the lateness of this call, but I was given this number if I needed assistance."
"Go ahead," said Sora Tachibana on the other end, manning the hotline the Skulk had set up until after the wedding was over and the town was safe again.
"Being new to were society, I hope this was just a common nightmare and not one of those prophecy dreams I've heard about. But I dreamt that not only did the Harpers crash our second ceremony Saturday morning, but that creep Dieter Wilhelm killed me in cold blood."
"How?" inquired Sora, to which Harry explained.
We feared the possibility of violence, but to this extent? wondered Tachibana, writing down the details. Then he told Harry, "You are right. It was just an unfortunate nightmare. Please go back to bed and put that regrettable experience out of your mind for the night."
"Err... okay. Sorry to trouble you," said Harry.
"No. This is a trying time for all*** when one's impending union with their mate should be full of only joy. If you need any further assistance, no matter how large or small, do not hesitate to call. Good night Harold Harper," added Sora, before ending the call but realizing he would have to inform his grandmother**** about it come morning.
With that, Harry Jenkins finished his business in the bathroom before treading back on silent paws to return to his beloved.
There, he quietly crawled back into bed, lovingly wrapped his arms around Jenny's still sleeping form, and eventually managed to drift back to sleep himself.
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*I figure, we've been referring to it as that for so long, it's as good a name as any.
**Part of our ongoing saga over several previous episodes.
***Between the Harpers, Dieter Wilhelm, and the mess caused by Lionel Ulysses in our companion thread: Moon Lake, Tad.
****Tachibana no Akane, leader of the Skulk.—tmw.