Most of Tom's day was spent keeping in touch with the various police departments and law enforcement agencies with regard to the last assignment he'd been given by his editor, a piece that was designed to research into the nature of the recent violent incidents that had occurred in the state. One had been in Seattle itself, which to a certain extent wasn't that much of a surprise, as the larger city would have the potential to draw in criminal elements, but the second major incident was a gun battle in Moon Lake, which was essentially a suburban down to the east of Seattle. Seattle might be a big city and might be more open to that sort of thing because of its larger population, but towns like Moon Lake, with only around six thousand people in total weren't the sort of place one would expect that kind of violence.
The fact that there had also been incursions by some other criminal elements, including some organized crime groups from the East Coast had also provided some worries. So far from what he'd found, the Seattle PD and the FBI's Seattle Field Officer were quite on top of things as it were, and that while these incidents were surprising to say the least, they weren't entirely beyond their ability to control. In that, from what Tom had found so far, there was no need for panic, which was a good thing. Panic tended to lead to complicate problems and was usually a sign of chaos, which would only lead to the proverbial flip of the coin as to whether things got better or not.
Thankfully, the present assignment wasn't something that would require a new article out in rapid time. Tom's editor had wanted the article as factual as possible and had even given Tom the time to coordinate the research needed for the article that was wanted. For the moment that included making various phone calls to get in touch with police departments in Washington and arrange for interviews, and for those that responded with a positive response for the request would then include not only scheduling the interview but also scheduling the trip to that location, which would likely be out of his own pocket if it was something that would take beyond basic commuting distance with Seattle. That sort of thing took some time and often because he wasn't close to these departments, their schedules took some precedence over his, though this was tolerated so long as he kept his editor updated on his progress.
"Some of these guys seem to be dragging their feet," his editor commented after Tom updated him on what some of the other answers he'd gotten from other departments.
"Some of them are in different parts of the state and probably aren't as affected by what happened in Seattle with Lionel Ulysses and in Moon Lake by Dymixious Drake," Tom commented, "It'd be news, surely, but their papers likely got their articles through the Associated Press, the same way WE got the article on the battle with Dymixious Drake."
"Did you get any contact with their local papers? Any opinion on the events from them?" his editor wondered.
"Not directly... but I'd think I can probably drop by with them while I'm in each town for those scheduled interviews," Tom answered, "it shouldn't be too hard and will give us all the facts that we need."
"Very good," his editor smiled, "I'd still think they're dragging their feat on us... but I suppose progress is progress. Hopefully you can get the information so that we have the story out before Thanksgiving... Christmas at the latest."
Tom slowly nodded. There was the first "deadline" that his editor had put with the story, which would mean there would be the potential that he might not be able to get everything for it. However, for the moment with the information he had, he was certainly on pace for having things ready for the timeframe between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that was even with his private project that he knew was the bigger story than even this. However, he couldn't even mention that until after he could talk with Moon Lake's City Council with regard to the were secret. It intersected with his present assigned story in the sense that both Lionel Ulysses and Dymixious Drake were likely weres and that what had happened with them had the potential to reveal the were secret in a way that wouldn't benefit weres at all, but because weres had kept their existence secret for so long it had also become a liability.
There were stories, that would repeat many of the negative things people would associate with weres, but as people began to loose belief in weres, the more things like that would become more a thing of myth. Until Alice told him she was a werefox and that she was bonding with him, even though they hadn't had even a formal date, Tom didn't even fully believe that weres were real. There were always mysteries to uncover, but for the most part he'd figured there would have to be some sort of scientific explanation for those mysteries. When he became Alice's bonded werefox, Tom could understand the fear that came with why weres kept themselves secret, but at the same time, he still understood that that secret wasn't going to go well forever. And if the were secret was ever exposed in connection with a crime committed by those weres that did commit a crime, things wouldn't go well, as people would jump to conclusions without factual information.
In this, Tom was certain the secret needed to die and weres come out into the open. It wouldn't be easy and there would probably be plenty of "civil rights fights" that would come of it, but with some measure of control, the reveal would enable weres to present the truth and earn some welcome. Which would be better than a lone rogue using his/her abilities to commit a crime and then being exposed in the process.
"Keep up the good work," his editor spoke, "and I'll see you tomorrow."
"Of course, sir," Tom nodded, knowing that he'd have more work with that tomorrow, but he'd also found that as a were, he'd actually gained more energy and be able to handle all those things. That would enable him to drive out to Moon Lake and handle the debate/discussion with their city council and then return to Alice, "Have a good night."
With that, Tom then made his way out and was soon on the road, driving east. The drive wasn't too long and as he made his way into the mountains, he was greatly pleased by the woods that he drove through. It was a beautiful drive and Tom enjoyed it. After about an hour, he made his way into Moon Lake, nestled in the woods and the mountains with a crescent moon shaped lake on its northwestern edge. Unfamiliar with all its landmarks, he drove to the one location he knew, where Alice's parents lived. He found Harold Stevens, Alice's wereraccoon father, waiting for him.
"Hello, Tom," Harold spoke as Tom pulled his car onto the driveway next to Harold's own vehicle, "I trust you're doing well?"
"Yeah... busy with press assignments and so on," Tom answered casually.
"And you still want to go through with this?" Harold asked calmly.
Tom nodded, "The truth must be told and in a way that it can be fully told. And it won't be something that exposes every were or Moon Lake. Just me. And we'll go from there."
Harold Stevens slowly nodded, "Okay then... though... for warning, reports on this meeting have spawned a lot of rumors. And the city can be fairly liberal with allowing the citizenry to come and observe. Usually we don't see a lot of guests... but it has spawned rumors, likely with some of my other council members commenting on it... or guests from the earlier meeting commenting on it. It's something where people trying to figure things out will want to know what's going on."
Tom only nodded. He had no great illusions on his proposal being widely accepted. With weres living in complete secrecy since the Middle Ages, there would probably be a strong element that wouldn't want to take the risk, especially when most of the stories on weres tended to repeat the negative stories on them and thus increase the fear of discovery. However, he'd found that weres weren't the mindless monsters of folklore, and could actually be quite good. That was something well worth presenting and setting the basis for equal protection for weres under the law.