The bug in the room that Vito and Marcus got at the motel related to much of the nature of the sting operation that was planned. It was something that had been arranged and the motel had been eager to cooperate in order to deal with the Gambonis. Agent Baoman had even been personally impressed by how eager the people of Moon Lake were to help. More often than not when he'd had to deal with city police departments, state highway patrol agencies, county sheriffs, and presently the MPs at Fort Wolfe, there was often a great deal of push and pull over jurisdiction and authority, and many businesses weren't keen on being involved in dealing with groups like the Gambonis. From Agent Baoman's perspective, this was probably what shaped so much of the Charleston's country wide flight from them.
But, Moon Lake seemed quite different in that regard. They seemed to be quite eager to help, which had made getting the bug put in the room and having the motel give Marcus and Vito that room quite easy. And now that they knew where Marcus and Vito were in Moon Lake, Agent Baoman had begun to change the arrangement of his agents. He no longer needed agents in shifts on the edges of the town, as that had been done to figure out from which direction the Gambonis would come into town and serve as a warning in case the first thing they did was trigger the sting at the Charleston home. Since that wasn't done, those agents at the edges of the town could be brought into a smaller net and help him and his aid from their operation headquarters at the Moon Lake Police Station. It was there where they had their equipment set up to listen to the bug and had their cellphones ready in case the agents assigned to monitor Marcus and Vito noted any movement.
"What do you think is spooking him, sir?" his main aide asked Agent Baoman, not noticing the Moon Lake dispatch officer leaving the room for a moment, "I mean... yeah... from what I've seen a good many people here seem to be VERY healthy, but that's not something to be truly nervous on... right?"
"I wouldn't think so," Agent Baoman commented, "it could just be that the people here have some different means of exercise that most don't know on... others could simply be coincidence and nothing more."
His aide then nodded, "So what would Vito be suspecting?"
"I don't know," Agent Baoman said slowly, "He doesn't seem to have picked up our presence in the city... and neither does he seem to suspect any hint of a trap at the Charleston's home..."
"Maybe he's nervous about running into some of Moon Lake's residents," his aide guessed, "with as fit and healthy... and this includes the women as a few of them have VERY good muscle tone too... if they catch on to him and Marcus and grab him, they could fear being beat up."
"Maybe," Agent Baoman commented, "but we've discussed this with the police chief and he's assured us that Moon Lake's citizens will stay out of the line of fire as it were."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, at the Charleston home, Daniel sat quietly at the small table in the Charleston kitchen. The night had gone reasonably quiet with most of Moon Lake's residents in the area accepting the alerts that the police department had made regarding the FBI's planned sting operation. Anything the agents with him might have heard through the night was relatively mundane and presented no problem. The scouting run that Vito made after 1 AM had put them on alert, but the Gambonis never triggered the sting and the FBI alerted them that Marcus and Vito returned to the motel on the south side of town. From there it was now simply a waiting game, as the Gambonis would have to make their move sooner or later.
But they hadn't yet, and that gave Daniel and the other agents some time rest and get some things to eat. Daniel also noted that they did like the Local Diner's food, which was good. He quietly ate and sipped his coffee while waiting for the inevitable alert that the Gambonis were moving. He jumped a little when his cellphone went off, and he quickly answered it, expecting it to be the alert, though as he answered the phone, he found that it was actually the dispatch officer that was presently on duty.
"Hey, Dan," the dispatch officer spoke, "I got something I need to warn you on..."
"Are the Gambonis moving?" Daniel asked, expecting this to be the alert so that he and agents waiting with the sting could then move to the spot where they wouldn't be seen and could catch Marcus and Vito before they could do any real damage.
"Not at the moment," the dispatch officer spoke, "though... Vito seems spooked by how healthy we are."
"Nothing wrong with being healthy," Daniel answered him, but getting the hint that this was some alert that would relate to the were secret.
"Yeah... but Vito seems to be paying a lot of attention to this," the dispatch officer warned, "I don't think anyone will tell him that most of Moon Lake is populated by weres, nor do I think actually suspects that... But he is aware on how healthy everyone is and doesn't want to make a move until he knows more..."
"If that's his game, he'll likely find few actually giving him the answers he wants," Daniel answered, "so it's doubtful he'll figure anything out... and the city's already been alerted to the potential of the Gambonis coming here and to stay out of the way of the sting operation."
"Maybe," the dispatch officer admitted, "but it could mean that he may not trigger the sting quickly... and that could lead him into ultimately drawing some conclusion that could turn the FBI onto us."
Daniel sighed at that and paused to sip his coffee again, not wanting it to go cold. That related to many things that Moon Lake had always feared, for much of the town's "truths" and culture were vastly different from the rest of the country. Mostly the result of Moon Lake's existence as a were sanctuary and the major differences between weres and normal human beings. The fear was always there that a higher authority would get suspicious over something and then focus on Moon Lake as a result of it.
"Well... if the Gambonis aren't moving right now, there is nothing I can do," Daniel warned, "Let Chief O'Hara know and let him handle things with Agent Baoman. As it is his operation and we are helping him."
"Right," was the dispatch officer's response and the phone went dead soon after.
"What was all that about?" one of the agents that was with them at the Charleston home asked as he came into the kitchen.
"Mostly an update on what the Gambonis are up to," Daniel answered, "they aren't moving yet... but Vito seems unnaturally spooked by something."
"Really wouldn't take much to spook Vito," the agent answered, "he's always been the most cautious among his brothers... not as hot headed as Marcus... and not as self-assured and self confident as Albert. It may make catching him a bit more difficult... but given how long these guys have been chasing the Charlestons, they will eventually come here."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The dispatch officer did just as Daniel had urged him to. He reported what he'd overheard to Chief O'Hara in his office. The Irish American officer listened carefully to the report and slowly nodded as the dispatch officer finished the report.
"So... what do we do, sir?" the dispatch officer asked.
With that, Chief O'Hara slowly stood up and brushed off his suit for a moment. He then looked to the dispatch officer and could see some of the nervousness on the man's face. It was perfectly understandable, as if Vito was nervous over something related to the "were secret," and delayed any and all action as a result, it could cause problems going forward. He had some knowledge of potential trouble coming as Halloween approached, and in that sense the fewer potential people that might look on Moon Lake's weres negatively the better. But Daniel Brooks was correct. This operation with the Gambonis was an FBI operation and one that Agent Baoman had the final say on.
"First, you will return to your normal duties," Chief O'Hara spoke as he came around his desk, "as they must be managed. I will talk with Agent Baoman."
With that the dispatch officer nodded turned to head out with Chief O'Hara following behind him. As they came out they came across Agent Baoman who was returning to the main conference room in the Moon Lake PD's station that had been used as their main headquarters while in Moon Lake. Agent Baoman paid the dispatch officer no mind as he went past but he did look to Chief O'Hara, as the city's police chief would have more authority and thus had some right to information on the operation.
"I don't think there is too much to add to things right now," Agent Baoman spoke as he opened the door to the conference room.
"Yes... my dispatch officer was just updating me on that," Chief O'Hara commented, "that Vito seems spooked by something."
"Yes... it's odd, though not necessarily out of Vito's character," Agent Baoman nodded.
"That could mean that they're hesitant," Chief O'Hara commented, "things are fairly calm... we could pool our resources together, lend your agents some of our extra bullet proof vests and move in with some of your extra agents and officers in a joint effort."
"Push up the attempt to get them?" Agent Baoman raised an eyebrow, "Rush things?"
This was something that he was naturally resistant to. The Gambonis had long proven to be dangerous and a direct confrontation would be likely to lead to a shootout and would likely only add to the body count the Gamboni family was responsible for, even if there wasn't the evidence to prove it. The sting was devised as a means to get them when they wouldn't be on ground that they knew. They might be more "alert," but because they wouldn't know the ground they wouldn't have the ability to have defensive plans ready.
"Not rush things, and we can even leave a few agents in the park where they can keep an eye on things to alert the sting team," Chief O'Hara spoke, "while the remainder of your agents and a few of my officers move on the room. We have enough bulletproof vests to equip you as well. And your agents can have tactical control over the situation."
"I will thank you for the offer..." Agent Baoman said slowly, "but if it is done... the strike will need to come at night and evening. Vito isn't aware that we're listening in on his room, but he is looking out the window. He'd likely see any strike team coming. I don't want this to be a gun battle. I don't want any more dead police, agents, or civilians because things are rushed. If we strike... we wait until night, when they won't see it coming... It'd also mean you'd need to talk with the city, see if the street lights outside the motel could stay off for a bit once the sun goes down."
"Improve concealment?" Chief O'Hara asked.
"Making it more difficult for the human eye to see at night," Agent Baoman answered, "and that would be it. I can understand wanting to catch Marcus and Vito Gamboni, but we cannot rush anything."
"I'll make some calls, and see what we can set up," Chief O'Hara answered.