William's morning went fairly well as his classes went along smoothly and outside of the interruption in the first class of the day, had no interruptions. It let him continue to make progress and catch up from what was lost in the missing some class time of Yvette Smith's hearing in court, which was good. By now, William would probably thank Yvette for what she'd done, as while he hadn't planned on becoming the first Anderson to become a were, he wouldn't give it up. Becoming a werefox had strengthened his bond to Martha and "saved" their marriage from any potential weakness. Though, forcing it on him was still something that didn't sit right with him, and why he'd never actually thank Yvette to her face. She might reform, when Moon Lake got around to sentencing her and when that sentence was served, and William did feel she would have a right to redemption, but that was potentially in the future and she would still have to EARN it. For now, William's most important focus was on his classes.
And those were going fairly well with a fairly intelligent community of students, which William liked. The thing that troubled him at the moment was the interruption in the morning for Harry Jenkins and Jennifer Harper. On some level, William felt a bit responsible for Jenny's "induction" into were society, as if perhaps he'd truly said "no" to Yvette when Yvette first introduced herself to him, perhaps he could have talked Yvette down and there never would have been an incident in which Yvette would have attacked Jenny in order to lead the police away from her. Hearing some comments on Jenny's father's behaviors had also kicked William's own parental instincts into high gear. In a way, a part of him wanted nothing more than to take Jenny home to Martha and that he and his wife would adopt Jenny as a daughter, protect her, love her, and support her the way good parents should. That was why he made the offer to Jenny to let him and Martha take on a surrogate family role if her biological parents wouldn't accept what she'd become or accept her love for Harry.
That also drove him to worry a bit over what had happened to cause the interruption of his class. He knew that something had happened, as it had brought both the dean and Akane no Tachibana, the Skulk's leader to his classroom door, and given the worries Jenny had about her family and the seriousness in the dean's voice, the parent in William was worried that something was seriously wrong. However, he couldn't check on that for most of the morning, because he still had classes to teach. By lunch time, William had the time try and find his answers. He started with getting his cellphone and calling the dean before leaving the English department building and heading for the commons building where he could get lunch. William heard it ring twice before he got an answer.
"Hello, Dean Myers speaking," came the dean's voice over the phone.
"This is Mr. Anderson, sir," William responded, "Do you have the time to talk over lunch?"
"I can... is something wrong?" Dean Myers asked in reply.
"Not with me," William answered, "I'm just... concerned about what happened this morning."
"I see," Dean Myers answered simply, "I'll meet you at the Commons and we can talk there."
"Thank you, sir," William answered.
With that William continued on. He waved politely to some students that recognized him and waved and enjoyed the scents that came from the trees that were planted along the college's grounds. It created a mixed nature/civilization scent between the trees and the college's lawns which were well manicured and well fertilized. In fact the grass still looked rather green for it being late October, though William also guessed that the Pacific coast didn't have as cold or as early a winter as Minnesota could have. Though some of that he couldn't be sure on, as even in his human form, he'd noticed that cooler temperatures weren't bothering him too much, if the temperatures were getting cooler. In a way it was nice, but it didn't distract him all that much from his present concerns, and an almost parental worry for Jenny's safety and happiness.
His thoughts remained focused on that as he went into the doors to the Commons building that was closest to the English department building and then made his way to the flight of stairs that would take him up to the area where the main dining room was where he would meet the dean. As he arrived at the lunchroom entrance, he found Dean Myers approaching from another hallway and likely coming from the Administration building. The dean was calm as the two men approached. They nodded and payed for their lunches on the key pad that had their own account numbers in the system to pay for their lunch. Once they got their lunches, the two made their way into the main dining area.
"Let's take the most quiet section," Dean Myers instructed and pointed to a table in the corner. It wasn't empty, but it wasn't packed with students either, "I don't want this to become some sort of rumor running around the campus. We had enough trouble with THAT when the rogue was running around."
William nodded in the affirmative and followed the dean. They ultimately took seats at the other end of the table and as far from the present students in the cafeteria that they could manage.
"I'm sorry that I had to interrupt your class this morning," Dean Myers spoke softly, "but what happened was rather important..."
"What did happen?" William asked, "did this Dieter Wilhelm arrive and pose a threat to Jenny?"
The dean blinked but let that go for the moment, "Apparently someone shot Harry Jenkins's older brother just as he arrived at work. From what I was told, the police were in the area and pursued the guy immediately, but they and the Skulk's security services suspected this guy was the agent that Wilhelm had sent to deal with Harry and keep Jennifer Harper for Wilhelm. My interruption was more for Mr. Jenkins's knowledge than anything else. Ms. Harper's being informed is more due to the fact that this agent would be after her and in the sense that she is marrying Mr. Jenkins, she does deserve to know."
"Of course," William nodded. "Did he..."
"As far as I know, the police are still chasing the guy and that Mr. Jenkins's brother was rushed to the hospital," Dean Myers answered, "beyond that, I haven't received any update yet..."
"Is there anything we can do for them?" William asked.
"I wouldn't think so," Dean Myers answered, "neither of us are in law enforcement..." William watched as the dean flexed his fingers, as if he were extending his claws, which the dean couldn't do in his human form, "and the guy didn't appear to be headed toward the college."
William gave a heavy sigh. This agent's actions easily topped anything that Yvette had done. Yes, Yvette Smith had clawed him against his will and then clawed Jenny against her will, but her attacks didn't put anyone in the hospital with immediate risk of losing their life. Jenny's issues had to do with the completion of her transformation, but from William had managed to find in the book that Nate had gotten when they first moved to Moon Lake, the risks in an incomplete transformation were more mental than physical. Though, William had to admit that he didn't know enough to be a real judge and that things could escalate, but even if that was the case, Yvette had been caught with enough time to complete Jenny's transformation before the worst happened. This agent had put a person in the hospital with a gunshot, and depending on the person aiming the gun that could be decidedly lethal.
"There's got to be something we can do..." William said softly, "they're young... they're smart... they're in love and DESERVE to be happy..."
"You sound almost like a concerned parent," Dean Myers said slowly.
"In a way... I suppose I am," William spoke, "Ms. Harper... Jenny... has told me about her parents and this Dieter Wilhelm character. It's struck me that they could be the sort to reject her outright because she isn't a carbon copy of them... and after what she had to go through with regards to her transformation... she wouldn't deserve to lose the support of a family. And... the father in me can't let that happen. She deserves a man who loves her, which hopefully Harry will be... and she deserves a family that will support her, which my family can give her..."
Dean Myers blinked for a moment before saying, "Just be careful with this... You do not want to take this beyond the boundaries of what would be professional between teacher and student."
"We can't let her go it alone," William pointed out.
"And if all is right with Moon Lake, she WON'T," Dean Myers spoke, "I know we all have our own little communities within the city... but we do try to get along and help each other out as best we can."
"I understand," William nodded, "I've always tried to be a good father, and at least with regard parenting, I'd like to think I've done alright by my sons, Nate and Eric. That part of me can't accept what Jenny's described to me regarding her parent's behavior. I will keep it professional, sir, but... if her family abandons her, I will take what steps I can to see that if she... and Harry as well... ever need help, it's there."
Dean Myers looked down at his tray and then out at the cafeteria. Thankfully no one was that close to them, and even with a were's hearing, he and William had been talking softly enough that the noise around them, be it the hum of the kitchen's and the soda fountains, cars outside, or other students talking with each other, was enough to keep what they were discussing private.
"Good to see that she'll have someone who cares," Dean Myers spoke, "Just remember to keep it professional."
William nodded. He might know for sure on whether or not Jenny and Harry were okay and what he'd learned only added to his worries. As if this agent was still lose he could do more harm. For the moment he could only hope that everyone was recovering and that the agent was caught, not knowing that Huck was indeed recovering and that the agent had been caught.