The conversation with the two Skulk agents had been reasonably calm and tactful. The fact that they were in formally dressed suits gave of some of the same "secret agent" type of vibe that he'd gotten off of Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr, but this time it didn't come off as threatening as the two werewolves had. That was something that provided Tom with some means of comfort. The lack of threat was a good thing and that let him talk with the two gathered werefoxes.
"The opinion on what the Seattle Police might do if you told them the truth would probably be accurate," Yoshiro said slowly, "for the moment, things are such that people would not be inclined to believe you without truth."
"And standing by your promise to the City Council was also respectful of your word, which is a good thing," Ichiro commented.
"A man can only be as good as his word," Tom replied, "the instant the truth is sacrificed... the less likely he or she will be able to be trusted."
Ichiro and Yoshiro said nothing immediately, but they did nod to the comment. Tom gave a quick glance down to Harold Stevens, his future father-in-law and noted that Harold did look relatively pleased with the answer. Tom also took that as a good thing, as he'd had the sense that Harold was among those that at least initially was against the idea of revealing the existence of weres. The fact that Tom wouldn't rush things would likely be something that Harold would probably respect. Though things soon came back to the conversation.
"I don't suppose either you or Ms. Stevens could take time off?" Ichiro then asked.
"I could, as I'm self employed," Alice said slowly, "but while my real busy season ended with Halloween... there is still plenty of work that goes on for the rest of the year. If my shop stays closed for too long... my business costs will go up."
"And while in theory I could take leave... I've often butted heads with my editor on things, the coverage related to Lionel Ulysses and his tail being one of them," Tom said slowly, "and I've already asked him for a favor... not to mention that if the reveal goes through... that story won't be on the official list of stories as it were. Even if I wanted to... I don't think I can. Which means I'm pretty much tied to the present assignments that I have."
Ichiro and Yoshiro both sighed at that. It would make things more difficult to handle. As while the road to Seattle wasn't too bad, they likely wouldn't be able to follow Tom on his assignments outside of Moon Lake if he was assigned to cover things in other parts of the state. But they would stand by their respective task to provide some measure of protection for Tom Herald until everything that related to his plan could be covered and presented. They might be limited by what they could do outside of Moon Lake, but inside it, they could do more.
"We can arrange to do plenty to keep you and your loved ones safe while you're here," Ichiro spoke, "but while the Seattle Police cannot be trusted with a report on what happened... the Moon Lake Police Department would not have the same limitation."
"Just a different jurisdiction, though," Tom pointed out.
"They wouldn't be able to truly investigate the threat, yes," Yoshiro nodded, "but if they know this Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr... and they are from Moon Lake, they could have some legal options available to them. And that would include an extra line of defense."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What had followed was a visit to Moon Lake's Police Department. Ichiro and Yoshiro lead the way, but Alice also accompanied Tom. Tom got some sense of worry through his bond with Alice that she was just as worried about things as he was. In this, Tom held Alice's hand as they came in through the front door to the station. While the lobby area was fairly well organized and wasn't exactly bad, Tom got some sense of the discomfort when the officer at the front desk seemed to recognize him.
"Is there something we can do for you?" the desk officer spoke with his eyes shifting between the Skulk's two agents and the man that had played a role in some of the worry that seemed to be going about Moon Lake after the great debate the past Friday.
"We have an incident that will need to be reported, and one involving threats against weres made by fellow weres," Ichiro said slowly.
"Most in Moon Lake probably wouldn't care if HE is the one threatened," the desk officer grumbled.
"Perhaps," Yoshiro answered, "but then we must also remember that the point of justice is not necessarily so much about deciding on what we like but on being fair for all. If we condone violence as a threat between weres... we become no better than those that go rogue."
"Of course... If you wait a few moments, an officer will be out to take his statement," the desk officer spoke, pointing to some of the plastic chairs lining the wall opposite the desk.
Tom immediately obliged and went with Alice, as he didn't want to cause trouble. Yoshiro and Ichiro remained standing, but they did step away from the window area to the front desk, in case anyone new came in. They waited calmly for about five minutes before one of the doors that lead into the station opened and a tired looking werewolf officer came to the door. The officer was in human form, but Tom could tell by scent that he was a werewolf. His eyes were angled a bit down for a moment, and Tom thought he saw the man give a small yawn as he opened the door. That was what made him think that the officer was tired.
"I'm Officer Ryan Conner, if you'll come with me, we can get started," the officer spoke.
"Can...?" Tom began as his arm was still hooked with his fiancé's.
"Your bonded mate can come," Ryan answer, "The Skulk's security agents... no. Though... if something is up and is a potential major problem, we may need to talk."
"We will be at yours and your chief's service," Yoshiro assured him.
Tom and Alice followed Ryan through the department's narrow hallways until they came to a small sort of questioning room. There was a simple table and Tom and Alice moved to sit on one side of it. Ryan stood by quietly and then sat down opposite them while keeping his eyes focused on Tom and Alice.
"Now... I'm told you wished to report something?" Ryan asked.
"Something that happened in Seattle," Tom said slowly, slightly nervous in fear that the werewolf before him might share the opinions of Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr and would also threaten him for his opinion on the were secret, "You may not have jurisdiction over what happened in Seattle, but it was also something that Yoshiro and Ichiro Tachibana suggested as means to protect at least Alice, here, from what actions might happen..."
"Alice..." Ryan said slowly.
"Alice Stevens," Alice spoke as she reached across the table, "My father is on the City Council for its sixth ward."
"And you're the one rocking the boat as it were," Ryan said slowly as he looked to Tom.
"With regard to the were secret... yes," Tom answered, "if only to create a better world where everywhere could be like it is here. Weres don't have to hide... and so on."
"And I take it someone from Moon Lake threatened you?" Ryan asked. He expected something like that, given how much Moon Lake had often relied on the police to carry out the transformations or at least "police" them with families that resisted. These had proved surprisingly rare, but that didn't mean that the issue wasn't something that Moon Lake officers expected. Losing the secret would be something that many weres would be seriously concerned with.
"Well... I can't say if they actually were from Moon Lake," Tom replied, "They said they were in Moon Lake but hinted that they came from outside Moon Lake..."
From there Tom went over the meeting with Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr and the threat they made to him. Ryan listened carefully and wrote things down as needed. When Tom mentioned the names of the two men, Ryan blinked with some surprise. Ryan remembered both of them from battle with Dymixious Drake and the eagerness they had to be involved and their desire to kill Dymixious Drake. That was something that unnerved Ryan, as while there could probably be a case to me made that that sort of action, regardless of its reasoning was also troublesome.
"Thank you," Ryan spoke, "If you can wait back at the front desk area... there are some things I need to share with Chief O'Hara."