Tom sat there quietly as he eyed the two men. They'd spoken relatively quietly and in tones that were low enough that the diner's other guests wouldn't hear, but there was a clear antagonism and even hostile measure to the tone these two men had taken. He could tell they were werewolves by their scent and guessed they were from Moon Lake, though they said they just happened to be there when they heard the news report. It was something that didn't sit right with him. Both of them struck Tom as little more than stereotypical secret agent trying to protect secrets in a bad spy movie.
"To create a world that is better," Tom answered simply and softly, "One where wonderful people like my fiancée don't have to hide who they are."
"Then move to Moon Lake and take her with you," Gustavus answered with narrowed eyes.
"The world is not ready for weres to be revealed," Quintus added, while looking over his shoulder to make sure that none of the diner's other patrons were paying close attention, "it'd be nice... but the world isn't ready."
"And how can you be certain?" Tom answered, "because Hollywood doesn't make movies that make werewolves the hero and gives them the ability be proud of being werewolves? Please. That's fantasy, and shouldn't be used as proof of the world not being ready."
"It does reflect a common viewpoint on weres," Gustavus pointed out, "if the world was truly accepting... there would be more positive portrayals of werewolves in media."
"It represents repeating of old myths, not the truth," Tom spoke back with narrowed eyes, though inwardly he was rather nervous as both of these werewolves sounded potentially aggressive, "and hiding the truth out of fear over old legends and beliefs isn't going to work."
"It's worked for centuries," Quintus spoke in warning, "and men like Gustavus and I have through history done a very good job of helping protect that secret. Making sure rogue weres don't reveal weres and making sure that people who are unnecessarily nosy are kept silent, one way or another."
That carried a very direct threat that Tom could easily hear. Again, the two men across the table hadn't raised their voices, but the tone was clearly aggressive and Tom seemed to instinctively know that if it came to a physical fight, these two werewolves could kill him with their own bare hands with little real opposition. And their spy-like talk seemed to reinforce Tom's suspicion that the pair of them had little intention of letting him carry on with his plan. And some of the official lines seemed to make it seem like they were officially part some sort of secret organization that likely engaged in protecting the were secret, something he saw as the heart of the problems that were society faced.
"And so you intend to kill me?" Tom asked.
"If you continue to push an agenda that will leave weres exposed and vulnerable," Gustavus said firmly but softly, "Yes. The were secret MUST be protected, for humanity is not ready."
"Again, what is your proof that humanity is not ready?" Tom answered, "or that humanity isn't a point where they will find out anyway? After all... technology is changing and growing better."
"The fact that the world still has so many racists, homophobes, and people with noting but hatred in their hearts is enough proof of that," Quintus spoke, his voice growing a bit weaker and more frustrated, "You're a newspaper man... and I'd hope you respect telling the truth of the story. Can you honestly say that humanity would openly accept humans that are vastly different from the rest of humanity when they've routinely demonstrated they can't accept other normal humans openly?"
"Humanity has always had its problems," Tom replied, "but those problems are ALWAYS going to be there. You're never going to see a world where you won't have some portion of the population preaching their praise of some vile cause. It's why NO ONE'S utopia has ever come to pass. And I'm not saying that what I'd see happening wouldn't mean that there wouldn't be things to overcome... but the world is changing, and if this secret is to remain until something that is impossible reach practically happens... then all you will be doing is hiding in perpetuity. And THEN you have the issue of what to do when someone like Lionel Ulysses gets caught either in his were form or transforming... and then what will you do when you can't hide at all?"
"Cover it up," Gustavus spoke, "Just as we did to make sure your repeated denial of Lionel Ulysses' tail being a costume piece didn't gain momentum."
Tom did his best to keep his calm. No one was sitting close enough to overhear them, but there was a enough to know that a major and heated exchange wouldn't do anyone any good. In this, he doubted that these two would actually kill him in broad daylight, but that didn't mean he could openly argue, as he had promised not to do anything until a full plan had been worked out. In that, Tom figured that whoever these two men worked for had to have some power that relied on secrecy. If he could trust them, he figured there might be some way to play to that to help secure were's protection once the Great Reveal was handled, but for the moment, he really didn't trust them.
"And suppose you can't do that?" Tom asked, "technology is getting better and better everyday. One day you're going to wake up and find that a rogue were is caught on camera and there is no way to deny it or cover it up... or that a rogue will deliberately expose himself as part of some insane scheme to spite someone. Things are changing, and just because you've kept the were secret a secret for centuries does not mean that you can keep it going forever. One way or another, it will come out eventually. My point and plan is that it'd be better to do it while we have some measure of control over the reveal. Show the good and the successful and allow that to demonstrate that the negatives will be in the minority. Not wait until the situation has gone beyond what we can control and that the reveal is too heavily connected to a crime that would only connect weres to the crime."
"But you can't prove with one hundred percent certainty that the response will be positive!" Quintus argued.
"No more than you can prove that the response will be negative," Tom answered, "but at least I am willing to provide humanity with the sense of honesty that we all would claim to value... rather than hiding until it is impossible to hide any longer. At which point, weres will only be at the mercy of others and without any room for debate if things go wrong if that reveal happens to be connected with a crime."
"That's not anyone's argument," Gustavus countered, "the point is to wait until the time is right and we know the time is right."
"And when will that be?" Tom countered, "Because if that is the excuse... there will always be an excuse how humanity will NEVER be ready... which will mean that when the time actually comes... weres will never be ready or will never be in a position of control."
"With that... I'd find it better to stand by a point of honestly and honor," Tom finished as he stood up, "and will work with Moon Lake's city government to move forward. Because we are probably past the time where the way things worked in the past can really keep working."
With that, Tom slowly made his way out. No one had overheard the conversation, based the fact that those that were there only moved when they heard the sound of Tom's footsteps move across the tile of the floor. However, they didn't respond in any way that would indicate that they had heard the conversation, since none had seemed to respond while Tom and had talked with the two men in anyway. Non of the men smelled like weres, which was enough to indicate that they weren't weres and that gave Tom good enough reason to guess that that the diner was a trap.
Gustavus and Quintus sat quietly and looked around. They were also quite sure that none of the other patrons in the diner had heard anything that they shouldn't have, which was good. However, with Tom having quietly made his way out, neither had really any idea on what to do. Chasing after him would attract unnecessary attention and would risk attracting attention that would risk exposure to them and to weres, and at the same time, by what was said, it didn't quite seem that Tom Herald would fall into the category of a rogue were. At least not in the traditional way, which would only make the situation a complex one.