Tom was a bit tired when he returned to the apartment he now shared with Alice, though when he heard her moving about in the kitchen, it felt like his heart began to beat with far more cheer and energy than it had after finishing up interview with the Seattle Chief of Police regarding the main assignment that his editor had for him... On some level it was an important story and one that the people would need to be aware of, as the region had had at least two major violent crimes that had involved major action by law enforcement.
The first was the arrest of Lionel Ulysses, who was ultimately killed by the man who fought the second battle with law enforcement. That was the fight Dymixious Drake had had with police in the little town of Moon Lake. And these incidents had come back to back, which could well raise concerns over whether or not there was a major change in the flow of law and order in the state of Washington and whether or not law enforcement was had noticed anything. To a certain extent some of these things wouldn't be that much of an issue, as Seattle was a big enough city that their police force would see a fair number of calls, but the fact that there was one battle that included a fairly decent sized gang and then another in a small town to the northeast of Seattle was enough to worry him.
The fact that the second incident had happened in Moon Lake was even more worrying for him. While it was true, his only visit to the town had been to visit with Alice's parents, who had welcomed him, the town had seemed small enough and friendly enough such a battle wouldn't be likely. Now, of course there was the concern with it and the town probably went through fairly routine issues to make sure that the town's were population wasn't "exposed" to bad press, but from what he'd seen the town didn't seem all that obviously different from any other small town in America. Thus, having such a battle with law enforcement be waged there was enough for Tom to feel the story his editor wanted him to pursue made some sense.
However, that didn't mean he wanted to be talked down to by the Seattle Police Chief, which was in a sense tiring. A part of Tom figured he probably deserved it as his investigation into Lionel Ulysses' tail had challenged what they figured to be the truth and without any evidence that they were mistaken beyond his own hunch and pushed it rather hard. The only thing that really stopped that was essentially finding out the likely bad press that it would generate that would likely cost him the beautiful woman he found pouring herself a glass of milk while working on their dinner.
"Hey, Tom," Alice said with a smile to him, "did you have a good day?"
"Good in that I wasn't doing sports reporting," Tom answered, "tiring in that old hunches and things are coming back to bite me."
Tom approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her into a warm hug and gave her a small kiss on the cheek.
"Though I am feeling a bit better now," he managed a smile at that, though the bond in the back of his mind assured him that Alice would be there for him when he needed her.
Alice was a werefox vixen and he'd met her as part of the investigation into Lionel Ulysses and his supposed rat tail, which probably was real, but that was besides the point. She had been kind and sweet and for reasons he couldn't explain, he had welcomed some small talk with her and even shared some of his private feelings, things that he never thought he could tell anyone. They talked and eventually she told him about her secret and that she'd felt a strong bond forming between them and that she loved him greatly. At first, Tom might have been drawn to her because she was far more voluptuous than women he'd known in the past, but for reasons he couldn't explain, he felt real love growing and on the night she turned him, he could feel the same bond forming within him as well. It was like all that mattered in the world was Alice, and he would do anything to make her happy.
Tom had his issues with the were secret and all that, but in talking with Alice and later with her father he got some understanding as to why weres had went with it for so long. He didn't see it as the best decision, particularly after the arrest of Lionel Ulysses, and that the secret had to end sooner rather than later and under circumstances that wouldn't connect it to a crime. He had his plan for it, though a lot of that would have to wait until he could clear things through with Moon Lake, the only were community that he knew of. If successful he'd make the world a place where Alice would be truly free and not living in fear of anything. But for the moment a lot of that would have to wait until Friday. Until then, he was content to spend his time with Alice, who he found beautiful and loving and had happily said "yes" to a wedding proposal.
There would be, of course, also eventually introducing Alice to his own parents, but he had the fear they would respond with some disbelief, as the relationships they knew of didn't end well. But Alice was different, in that the bond between them as werefoxes was unbreakable. She told him she'd felt it forming with her after just a few of their conversations and he could feel it after she'd turned him. It was like a great and ever present assurance that between them love would find a way to succeed in a way that was more than just saying it. In this, Tom preferred to wait on that end until after the big reveal to actually introduce Alice to his parents in person. For the moment he was content to have her pressed against him and him against her.
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Alice smiled to him, "but we'll need to get started on dinner if there is to be time for some fun later."
There was a certain tone in that Tom caught onto and he couldn't help but smile at. He was still a bit "tired" from his day, but just being around Alice was enough to re-energize him, and he set aside his things while Alice took a sip of her milk and the began putting together dinner.
"So... what's the plan for dinner?" Tom asked.
"Nothing to fancy," Alice answered, "Just some chicken and rice... my day was a bit tiring..."
"Super busy?" Tom wondered.
"No... more just the standard sort of stuff that comes after Halloween," Alice answered, "I have plenty of party supplies and other business to get through the year... but it's at a point where there aren't that many costumers and I need to move stuff around to market to those that will be coming in. So it's a lot of back and forth without many people to talk to..."
Tom went to the cabinet where Alice had rice stored and pulled out the cardboard box that held it. He turned back to Alice as he opened the box to pull out a pair of plastic bags that held the rice to cook.
"I did tell you about this, right?" Alice asked to which Tom nodded. After he nodded, Alice moved on to ask him about what he'd said earlier, "but what's this about stuff coming back to bite you?"
"It mostly relates to how I went about looking into the story Lionel Ulysses' arrest," Tom answered, "I saw the film of him growing the tail and figured that there was a lot that wasn't quite right with the report that it was just a costume piece..."
"And it probably wasn't," Alice answered, "intense pain or surprise can and at times has triggered a were's transformation. It's not the moon triggers the involuntary transformation sort of thing like in the movies, but more that the were is hurt or startled and instinctively changes to either accelerate the healing process or frighten what has startled them... It doesn't always happen, and those with a lot of mental discipline could probably avoid it... but it CAN happen. And I wouldn't think that gang members would have the mental sharpness to keep full control..."
Tom nodded at that while Alice set pot on the oven and began to pour water into it. The rice would be mixed in later and after that the water would be boiled to cook the rice. Tom busied himself by getting what utensils Alice needed and responding as quickly as she said she needed them. He had some understanding on what Alice had mentioned, as it was something that struck him as part of the "were secret." In the long run it would be something that needed to go, as there were too many minute details that would make that secret difficult to keep, too many openings for things to go wrong.
"But beyond my own suspicions, I had no proof," Tom answered, "and the more I dug and the more I asked questions based on those suspicions... the more I irritated the city's police."
"No one likes to get criticized or be told they're wrong," Alice shrugged, "especially those in positions of power..."
"True, but if one is to criticize them or point out that they're wrong... having facts and proof works better," Tom said with a sigh and pausing in the kitchen to scratch behind his head, "and about all I had was just theory, and since the story of a costume piece made sense, and didn't need outright proof because of it... it's that I created an irritation that the police weren't going to like, regardless of how I argued the case."
Alice nodded and paused in cooking to give Tom a small hug. While he hadn't said anything untrue, it was one of those moments where Alice knew that he needed some reassurance and a hug seemed like the best way to do that. Still holding onto him, she looked up to his eyes.
"This relates to this story on seeing what police think about crime coming into Washington State?" Alice asked.
"Yes," Tom nodded, "the police chief did speak with me... but a lot of it involved being talked down to. NOT something I liked, but given the circumstances from the previous week... I can't fully say I don't deserve it, either."
Tom did hug her back, though, gladly accepting the assurance she provided.
"Hopefully things will go better with some of the other police departments and the federal law enforcement offices here in the state," Tom sighed, "as the worries that some of these things... be it Ulysses' arrest and battle that was had down by the docks. His murder and the hunt leading to a gun battle in Moon Lake of all places..."
"I still can't believe something like that happened there," Alice cut him off, "things there are normally pretty quiet. At least they where when I was growing up."
"And there was some report that some mob family from the East Coast was or is active in the general area as well," Tom added with a nod, "all of which could be indicative of something big headed this way... and I'm not referring to anything related to the were secret or anything like that... I'm talking the potential for a major crime wave and that is where people would like to hope that the police are aware of the potential and on the alert... which to a degree they probably are..."
Alice gave a small smile to him as they continued to stand in a loving embrace in the middle of the kitchen. Tom smiled back for a moment and then looked down.
"But because of the way I pursued the story on Lionel Ulysses arrest and challenged things so heavily without proof..." Tom sighed, "they don't want to run into things that they will perceive as a waste of their time and the Seattle Police Chief made that pretty clear."
"And your schedule for this story?" Alice wondered.
"For the moment, it's still just research," Tom commented, "get all the facts before commenting on them. I have a interview with the FBI's Seattle Field Office tomorrow, but most of the other departments that I've called that would be the best placed to notice or have concerns on increased major criminal activity haven't responded yet. And there I'll have to make sure to keep Friday pretty clear for what will likely be a big debate with Moon Lake's city council."
Alice nodded at that. The debate related to the were-secret and something that Tom saw problems in and had good points in why it would be better to come out into the open. Though, Alice was also well aware of how fearful weres could be at discovery. There were few weres old enough to actually remember the last were and witch hunts that had been launched, and those that did were approaching the point where they were nearing the end of a were's lengthy lifespan where old age was finally catching up with them. However, there had been enough horror stories of humans hunting innocent weres and slaughtering entire were communities, usually the result of a rogue that many weres still feared that. She'd grown up with that fear and knew that Tom would have an uphill battle in that regard. However, she was fairly certain he could do it.