Before the WERE ALERT was issued...
Samantha Twist sat in her Moon Lake office as Town Chancellor and contemplated her future while trying to slosh through the endless reams of paperwork she faced in both her own position and that of acting Mayor while Martin Stovall took time off to deal with his daughter's legal issues.
Even if I was in my fursona right now, I'd think my paw would fall off from filling out these forms, she thought. Imagine how it will be when I'm officially Mayor Pro-tem when Martin resigns, let alone if I decide to run for the office outright next year.
Samantha and her wife had been through a lot of late. First she had that weird dream of either prophetic warning or simple nightmare that claimed Frances would die in labor if the Twists tried to find a sperm donor so they could have a child of their own naturally, which caused Samantha to go out and adopt two normal feline kittens without Frances' consent or input.
Then they discovered that Frances' mother was hospitalized with ovarian cancer, recovering from a total hysterectomy, her father was still a jerk, and all the other unwanted drama dealing with the Carters brought with it.*
Frances is the best thing that's ever happened to me, but sometimes I wish it was possible to pick your in-laws, she mused.
Then the intercom on Samantha's desk buzzed.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Arnold Stewart Stevenson of District 1 would like to talk to you if you have the time," announced her secretary.
"Just a second," said Samantha, taking a few precautions. Then she said he could come into her office.
"Hello Representative Stevenson. How are you today?" asked Samantha, standing up to shake the man's hand as he approached her desk.
"Fine. Yourself?" asked the overweight man with graying temples as he sat down in one of her guest chairs.
"Okay. To what do I owe this visit?"
"First, I hear congratulations are in order," said Arnold.
"Oh? News to me," replied Samantha. While both were currently in their human forms, the werecat studied the were-donkey closely.
"Come on Twist. We both know what's going on. Sooner or later Stovall's going to have to resign as Mayor because of his daughter, and then you take over as Mayor Pro-tem**, at least until whoever wins the next election takes over."
"Whether or not Martin Stovall resigns has yet to be officially announced," pointed out Samantha.
"Only a matter of time," countered Arnold. "Don't know what the guy will do afterward. Personally, I feel sorry for him with all the mess that brat of a daughter's caused him."
At least no one's publicly aware of Martin becoming the new were-mer rep on the Elders' Council when Andrew Curtis resigns next year,*** happily thought Samantha, before asking, "Was there anything else?"
"Yes. Any word on the building of the new elementary school?" asked Arnold.
Here it comes, realized Samantha, as she replied, "You know as well as I that the Moon Lake School Board will be scheduling a hearing on that after the first of the year."
"Any chance a good word can be put in for my construction company?" asked Arnold, leaning a bit closer to Samantha. "I can make it worth your wile," he added with a smile.
GOTCHA! You jackass! thought Samantha, because she activated her computer webcam before he came in and was recording the entire conversation.
But before Samantha could spring her trap, both her's and Arnold's cellphones started chiming an ominous ring tone, a signal that was being echoed on every mobile device across Moon Lake.
WERE ALERT! said the display screen.
Flashing through the data message to get the particulars, Samantha stood up and said, "We'll have to finish this another time. Now secure your office, and either scram or join the hunt!" she ordered Stevenson.
Knowing what to do, Samantha shoved the District 1 representative out her door even as she was telling her secretary the same thing. "Secure the office and then either go home or join the hunt!"
Racing across the hall to the Mayor's formal office, Samantha only paused long enough to use the Public Address system in the outer office.
"Building security, report to me immediately. Everyone else, secure your offices and then either go home or join the hunt! We're in lock down until at least 9 am tomorrow morning. I'll text everyone later if the situation dictates otherwise," Samantha announced over the system.
With that, Samantha waited outside the Mayor's office until the security team arrived.
"You know the drill folks," she began, addressing those present, "but considering who's involved, I'm overriding standard orders on my authority. Contact the night shift and make the proper arrangements. Even if it's just a token force, I want a security team on duty around the clock in case Julie Stovall decides to come here for some reason. Otherwise, once everyone's out and the town hall's secured, those who ain't staying join the hunt if they can."
"Yes ma'am," replied the security chief on duty, before leading his force into action.
But just as Samantha was about to gather her things and leave as well, her cellphone rang again.
"Hello?" she said anxiously, upon seeing it was her wife's office calling.
"Samantha? It's Rudy. Frances is all right but I wanted you to know that she just left in the ambulance with Melissa Stovall. She fainted in Frances' office when the Were Alert was issued."
DAMN! "Okay. You know what to do?" asked Samantha.
"Yes. Cancel Frances' appointments for at least the rest of today. Forward the phone to the answering service, secure the office and go home because hunting a rogue were is best left to trained weres and not a normal human like me," he said.
"Good man. You take care of yourself," added Samantha, as she sat down at her computer.
"You too," replied Rudy, before he hung up.
Samantha stayed at her desk long enough to make copies of her recorded conversation with Stevenson on flash drives, putting one in her purse and the other in her office safe before securing her computer and the town documents she was working on.
At this point, Samantha longed to go to Frances and see how she was doing, especially since being at the hospital meant being near her mother, and possibly her father as well.
But even if she wasn't covering for Martin Stovall, Samantha Twist was still a were and the Town Chancellor. Her duty was clear.
With that, she locked her office behind her after making sure her secretary's computer was secured, then headed for her car to drive to the Elders' Council building.
___________________________________________________________________________
*Recent episodes involving Samantha and Frances.
**The Moon Lakes of Earths 1 and 3 officially have a Deputy Mayor, but whoever is Town Chancellor covers Mayoral absences on Earth 2.
***But not before Benton Knight's issues with the Elders Council are resolved.—tmw.