Daniel slowly made his way out of the conference room as the briefing ended. He was a bit depressed in the sense that the Gambonis were able to find a way to track Moe down, even WITH all that had been done to protect the family. They had to be going through a lot and wrestling with the fact that Moon Lake was not like most other cities, and the fact that a known mob family had been chasing them across the country didn't make that any easier. He'd made the promise to Moe that he would keep Moe and his family safe. So far, it seemed that he'd largely failed at that.
He could hear Agent Baoman already talking on his phone and likely calling in the agents he had available for the sting operation they'd have set up. It was a good plan in many ways, Daniel just wished it didn't come with having to move the Charlestons across town as well and away from him and the Brooks family. He knew that Moe had been semi-hesitant with regard things related to the mandatory were law, and Nichole had been pretty much outright in opposition to it when they first arrived. Some things may have gotten better in that regard, but that didn't mean they were fully over it. Moving again would likely make them hurt worse.
"Officer Brooks," came a calm voice from behind him, making Daniel turn to see Chief O'Hara standing there with his arms crossed behind him and with Samantha Twist standing beside him, slowly shutting the door to let Agent Baoman converse with his agents in private. "A word please."
Daniel nodded and turned around to face both his Police Chief and Moon Lake's Town Chancellor.
"I will remind you, Officer Brooks," O'Hara spoke, "that while you may be personal friends with Moe Charleston, your responsibilities to this department and this case are to be professional in nature. Understood?"
"Of course, sir," Daniel nodded, "I'm sorry if I said anything out of place... I... I promised Moe I'd protect him and his family, that's all, sir."
"And you will, just keep your professional focus," O'Hara nodded with a tight lip and looking almost unreadable, "In the meantime, it'll probably take a little while for Agent Baoman to get his agents here. In this, I want you to go about visiting with the Charlestons directly and let them know of what's happened and the measures that are being taken."
"I'm not sure how Moe will take it, sir," Daniel warned, "I mean... we promised..."
"No one could have predicted the Gambonis would find a way to hack into the banks as a means of tracking them," O'Hara spoke, "and with that... they will HAVE to move until the Gambonis are caught. I'll talk with Tara and update her on the situation. The Strange's live close enough to town that we can claim jurisdiction but far enough off the city limits on the southwest side that they won't stumble onto them on their way in. That will give the Agent's sting the best chance of success."
"And I can handle anything that will relate to the school," Samantha added, "Your heart is in the right place, and all of this is with that in mind."
"Thank you," Daniel answered.
"In the meantime... you'd best get going," O'Hara instructed, "We don't have much time."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Finding the Charlestons, however, proved to be a bit more difficult. He drove up the street from the police station and past where his own home was and then up to the Charleston home. Daniel pulled a U-turn and then parked along the side of the street and came up to the front door. He didn't see the Charleston's car there, but the small garage that was on the south side of the home was closed and Daniel guessed that they might be inside. Not everyone in Moon Lake had a garage, but those that did have a garage did use theirs. With that Daniel walked up the front path to the front door and pushed the button to the right of the door to ring the doorbell.
The bell rang and there followed a moment of silence, leaving Daniel to wait there. There was no action, he didn't even hear the sound of footsteps. After a moment of waiting he pressed the button again and kept his eyes focused on door in front of him, and privately hoped things went well and the Charlestons could return home quickly, though with the present tension of the moment, a part of Daniel's mind was also paying attention to all other possible sounds that might be heard. So far he hadn't noticed anything, but that could change. However, after a few moments of no response and no scent of anything wrong, Daniel went back down the path and returned to his squad car. He climbed in behind the driver's seat to find the radio blinking.
"Officer Brooks, come in," a male voice spoke over the radio, though it wasn't the normal dispatch officer.
Daniel collected the walkie-talkie receiver that would allow him to answer and pressed the red button on its side with his right hand while fully setting the switch to talk with the officer contacting him.
"Brooks here, is something going on?" Daniel asked.
"I heard some of the alerts that we're all to be on look out for the Gambonis IN Moon Lake... they know the Charlestons are here?" came the response.
"According to what the Feds figured out with their computer guy's stuff," Daniel answered, "orders are to go on high alert to keep an eye out for them. The Feds plan to come in with a sting operation and we're to move the Charlestons to Strange's cabin."
"Yeah... I got that from dispatch," the other officer answered, "Just lettin' you know that they're presently where Ruggio's Deli used to be."
Daniel blinked at the memory of a small deli that was closer to the center of town. The food had been good, but after he became a weredog, he found that their portion sizes were too small and the cost was too high for the portion sizes that most weres preferred. In this, he realized that Moe had to be working to get his pizza place set up again, and that was the reason for the loan and thus how the Gambonis found out about where they'd moved to. Moe had to be working on getting things ready, or at least getting a starting assessment.
"Thanks, I'm on my way there with instructions from Chief O'Hara, thank you for the update," Daniel spoke back into the radio and then hung up. It wasn't long before he pulled forward and was headed back toward the center of town.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The radio update had proven correct. The Charleston car was parked outside the small diner that had once been Ruggio's Deli. Daniel pulled and parked next the Charleston car and calmly got out. He then calmly walked in through the front door that was in front of him. He could tell they were there, as there were also some lights that were on that he could see through the open window, however, he couldn't see anyone in the dining area. He entered through the door, finding it unlocked and noted some basic cleaning supplies in that main dining area that were left on the floor or on one of the tables, with a dust cloth laying over the rounded corner of one of the tables.
"Hello?" Daniel spoke slowly while waiting for an answer, though there was none at first.
Though, that proved more that he hadn't been heard at first. As he made his way in he soon could hear conversation coming from the kitchen area, and he was drawn toward that door.
"Well, there's another expense we'll have to adjust our budget for," Daniel heard Moe say through the door, and wondered what that was. With that, Daniel continued to walk toward the door.
"Hey, Moe!" Daniel called before he got to the door and heard a slight "urk" which Daniel guessed was the sound of Moe jumping as he came in to find Moe, Karen, and Nichole standing in the kitchen area.
Nichole was presently standing close to Moe near a central table built on wooden cabinets while Karen was looking at another set of wooden cabinets near the northern wall of the kitchen. Moe turned and gave a small smile at first, but that smile soon faded when Daniel couldn't return the smile.
"Is something wrong?" Moe asked when he saw that Daniel was both in uniform but wasn't smiling back.
"For the moment... yes," Daniel gave a heavy sigh, "for it seems that the Gambonis had other means of tracking you, means that we didn't find out until this morning."
"What was that?" Moe asked, his hands reaching for Nichole, as if seeking comfort with her.
"Apparently Albert had done more than bug your phone with a virus laced email," Daniel said slowly, "he'd also hacked into most of the major banks in the US so that they could access their accounts and systems as though they were the CEO of the bank..."
"So... they know...?" Nichole said with wide eyes.
"They know you took out a business loan and know the address of where you live," Daniel nodded solemnly, "and contacts we've had with the FBI aren't fully sure as to what the Gamboni's schedule is... but based on recent actions they may be desperate."
"We'll be safe... right?" Karen wondered as she slowly approached her parents.
"The city and the FBI have a plan that should catch Marcus Gamboni and whoever is with him when they decide to launch their little raid," Daniel assured them, "but for the moment... with your safety in mind... it will mean that some of your plans will need to be postponed. As we don't know when the Gambonis may move..."
"But you will catch them, right?" Moe asked.
"We do have a plan... a sting of sorts, that with the FBI's help should work without bloodshed," Daniel assured them, "though, it will require us to borrow your home here, while at the same time moving you to a safer location."
"A safer location?" Nichole wondered.
"Some place away from inside of town and where the Gambonis might see or get clues when the arrive," Daniel said slowly, "they may not know about your buying this place, but they may recognize your car if they drive by it. And if something seems off to them, they may not buy into the sting operation that has been planned. Especially as the plan will involve ambushing them... we don't want to risk tipping them off and leading to a gun battle."
"Where would we go, Dan?" Moe asked as he checked on the nervous looks from his wife and daughter.
"Your place?" Karen asked.
"No... as part of the plan, the safest place would be with Tara Strange, the tech officer you met, Moe," Dan answered, "her cabin to the southwest of town isn't on any road that could lead in our out of Moon Lake, and most don't live around here probably wouldn't even know about it at first glance. Her parents aren't that far away. The Gambonis wouldn't be able to notice you there... and once they're caught, you'll be free to come home."
"But what about all the stuff with the mandatory were law and all that?" Karen wondered, "I've been looking into things with Peter's help..."
"That will have to wait until after the Gambonis are caught," Daniel answered, "Please... we're wasting time. Please... put away things here and get some changes of clothes before coming to the police station. Officer Strange will then escort you to her home and you'll be safe there until we can put the Gambonis away."
Karen looked down for a moment, as she had been looking forward to seeing Peter again as part of her research into what were to be. A part of her did have some interest in Peter, but then at the same time she figured that some of that had to be because Peter had actually been a gentleman to her, rather than the egotistical, self-absorbed jerk that Marcus Gamboni was. Moe sighed and held Karen for a moment, who looked up to him with some worry in her eyes.
"Don't worry... things will be fine," Daniel assured them, "Officer Tara Strange grew up in Moon Lake... she was too young to become a were when her parents moved in and became werebears. Thus, she is what people here would call a Moon Lake Normal, someone who's grown up here and knows that weres aren't the creatures mythology has made them out to be. So there will be no risk of anyone being forced into anything you don't want... and you will be safe."
"Okay," Moe spoke, trusting his friend almost without second thought, and at least glad they had a warning and that there was a plan.