Karen was nervous as she talked with Tara, partially because she knew the consequences of if her parents had overheard her and partially because she wasn't sure. From what she'd read in the guidebook, any sort of sexual interaction with a were would result in a near instantaneous transformation soon after. But none of that had happened, and perhaps it was just her own anxieties over the Gambonis and her own desires just bringing things forward, and that was the reason. But she did remember what she had done... and if something had resulted in a delayed transformation for some reason, she'd need to be ready. And her mind dwelled on this, not knowing of anything that had gone on earlier that morning...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It was just about six as Agent Baoman pulled into the small parking lot in front of the Moon Lake Police Station. The night had been reasonably quiet with no emergencies to report regarding the Gambonis, which could be both bad news and good news in a way. Bad news in that they might have longer to wait and good news in that they wouldn't be caught off guard. Surprise and intelligence were the biggest parts of the entire sting operation that had been put together. Vito's caution and attention to something in Moon Lake was enough to be potentially worrying, but as far as the leading agent on the team knew, there were as yet no surprises. As he came up onto the sidewalk in front of the station, he found Chief O'Hara coming up the same step.
"Morning," Agent Baoman said to the Moon Lake Police Chief.
"Morning," Chief O'Hara answered slowly, "I trust there were no emergencies last night?"
"None that would relate to the Gambonis," Agent Baoman answered, knowing full well that that was the issue that Moon Lake officer was concerned on. It had brought a large number of Federal Agents to his small town and cost him some authority with regard to dealing with criminal actions in his city. Agent Baoman didn't know of any police chief that wouldn't have similar concerns, particularly when dealing with organized mobsters like the Gambonis, "Though I did figure to check in with those who'd been on the night shift listening in... See if Marcus or Vito said anything in the night. You're more than free to come along."
Chief O'Hara nodded slowly moved to open the door for the agent. His desk officer saluted as they walked by, which O'Hara nodded toward as they went into the station. It didn't take them long to come to a small office area that was behind the front desk where one of the FBI agents was finishing up his work with the "night shift," as was the night's dispatch officer. Both snapped to a rather alert status as their respective heads came into the room.
"Anything happen overnight?" Agent Baoman asked.
"Nothing really "over night," sir, but about thirty minutes ago Vito got a call from someone," the agent reported, "we can't say with one hundred percent certainty... but based on how he answered and talked, my guess it was the Gamboni family's Don."
"Could you hear him?" Agent Baoman asked as he looked over to Chief O'Hara, who also looked rather serious.
"We could only hear Vito and Marcus..." the agent answered, "but whoever Vito talked to... it was enough to get him to put together, or at least announce what his plan is."
This caught Agent Baoman's attention completely.
"They intend to make their move just at or just after sunset, they'll drive up to the Charleston home and kick in the front door," the agent continued, "and trying to do it quickly."
"That'll trigger the sting," Chief O'Hara said slowly.
"Which is what we're expecting," Agent Baoman gave a confident smile, "and what we're generally prepared for. There will need to be some phone calls to go to the team waiting at the Charleston house to let them know when the Gambonis plan to move and make sure they're rested. But that's pretty much logistics. We'll have them in custody by late evening at the latest!"
Chief O'Hara nodded. In a way that was good news as they would have some awareness on when the move was to be made, which would let the sting go as planned. It would prevent the sort of rushed action that Agent Baoman feared would lead to unnecessary casualties and what he'd felt might be needed the previous day given other issues that the Moon Lake Police Department might be having to handle in the future. If things went well, Agent Baoman's business in Moon Lake would be concluded and some of the edge that the town would be under in thanks to the Gambonis would climb back down to what was normal for Moon Lake. Though not that that meant that there wouldn't be work to do. The sting team would need to be alerted.
At the same time, there was also some "were" business that was also to play out during the day. Chief O'Hara wasn't aware on exactly how it had been done, but the Charlestons were still going through with whatever procedures and investigations that related to their compliance with the Mandatory Were Law. In theory with the circumstances, that was on hold and none of the Charlestons would be held to its requirements while the issues with Gambonis were still going on, but there were procedures in place to such circumstances and required the vetting of anyone going to Tara's cabin to fill out those procedures. Chief O'Hara had been made aware of a werelioness being requested to meet with Karen Charleston in the early afternoon today, which would mean some vetting that was needed to be done before then. Tara could handle that, as it was her cabin, but that would require some careful movements and conversation as well...
In this, there was a lot to do...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Daniel Brooks was resting for a moment, once again in what was normally the Charleston's kitchen while awaiting the alert that the Gambonis were moving. It was a potentially exhausting role, as he was also tasked by Chief O'Hara to keep the FBI agents there from either getting too curious about anything they might hear coming from the neighboring houses or the woods behind the house. That was busy and Daniel had to rely on the fact that as a were, his energy reserves were much higher than they were before he and Fran joined were society. Though even with that, even he had his limits. Thankfully the agents with him didn't get too curious about anything.
That had allowed him to make one run out to his own home the previous afternoon. The mission was to essentially take out the garbage that Daniel and the other agents had generated. They couldn't do anything that would lead to the impression that the Charlestons were generating more garbage than what a three person family would generate. If Vito was as smart as what the agents hinted at, he'd notice the amount of garbage that was out and thus guess that there was more than three people in the Charleston home, which could then betray the sting that they were tasked handle. Thus, he took the excess garbage to his own home, which was how he'd been at his own home to answer the phone when Karen had called the Brooks home.
But now, he was back at his post in the Charleston home and waiting for the alert to action. Unlike the day before, most of the agents that were there were asleep at the moment. This is what brought Daniel to quickly reach for and answer his phone when it rang.
"Hello," Daniel answered, "are they moving?"
"Not yet, Officer Brooks," came the dispatch officer's voice answered, "but the FBI's agents following the bug has figured out when they will be moving."
Daniel paid attention to that and sat forward, noting an agent sitting up from his spot in the living room and walking toward him.
"When?" Daniel asked.
"This evening... either right as the sun sets or just after it," the dispatch officer answered, "that's when they move. Instructions from Chief O'Hara is that you have what would be bedroom lights on and a kitchen light on by late afternoon and everyone is in their ambush positions when the Gambonis move."
"I trust we'll still get an alert when they actually move?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, those still monitoring the Gambonis and watching the motel are still on duty and will still be watching for when they go out to their car," the dispatch officer answered, "In the meantime... relax and keep your energy up."
Daniel nodded and then gave a confident smile to the approaching agent and gave a confident smile. At the same time he could hear another agent in the hallway having a similar conversation on his phone. It was something that gave them some confidence in knowing what the Gambonis planned to and when they planned to do it. There was a sense of anticipation to it all...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"And this girl wants to be a werelion?" the werelioness said softly inside Tara's office at the Moon Lake Police Department.
They were thankfully away from some of the main areas where Agent Baoman might come in, but both women kept the voices down and the werelioness was in human form at the moment. The werelioness was well dressed for a college student, and had reported that she had a couple of free hours at the moment. It was something that gave Tara the time to talk with her, and Tara guessed that Karen had been continually looking into her research into what were to be. Tara wasn't sure exactly how it had been arranged, but the arrangement had been made, and thus here she was vetting the werelioness, an Abbigail Tyeree.
"From what I understand her choices are focused on the feline requirement that are not mono-gendered or carrying specific sexuality requirements," Tara answered as she continued to type in Abbigail's information onto her computer. Vetting and background checks wasn't normally one of the things she did, but within Moon Lake's database, she was more than capable of doing so. "Werelion just happens to be one of the ones she wants more information on."
"I see..." Abbigail Tyeree commented, "well... I can assure you that no one in my specific pride has been involved in any rogue behavior and I'd never attack her."
"I'm sure... but rules are rules," Tara answered as she finished entering the information and waited a few moments as she finished entering the information hitting the "enter" button. It wasn't long before the specific software that related to the records Moon Lake kept on either convicted rogues or potential rogues along with any possible alerts that the MLPD might have received from outside law enforcement agencies. It wasn't too long, but the information did come up clean. "Okay... things look clear, though I will need to make a call before clearing things with Chief O'Hara and then heading out in my vehicle."
Abigail nodded...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Now... I'm going to have to ask you, Karen... WHO were you with?" Tara spoke through the phone, while Karen scratched at the spot on her back again, this time finding nothing, "and have you noted any physical signs of transformation?"
"I don't think so..." Karen said slowly, "I've had some dreams and all... but nothing quite like that..."
"Again, Karen, WHO were you with?" Tara asked again.
"All I have is his first name, Rich..." Karen admitted, "I'll admit to getting curious... and..."
"Rich... the only Rich that lives in the area is Rich Kruger," Tara said slowly, "something of a child prodigy... skipped a grade or two... he's about your age, but is actually enrolled in the college."
"Okay," Karen said slowly.
"And any signs of physical transformation?" Tara asked again.
"I don't think so..." Karen said slowly.
"Karen this is important," Tara spoke firmly, "If you wandered out and Rich clawed you by accident or in protection of a deer kill he made or in protection of anyone he was with, it won't matter whether or not I tell your parents. Your body will begin to change and you will need to have your transformation completed."
"He didn't claw or bite me," Karen answered, "I... I... I kinda gave him a blowjob."
"And you aren't a weretiger already?!" came the return shriek, "Oral sex is STILL sex. If you brought him to orgasm... that transformation would be instantaneous."
"I didn't swallow any," Karen answered, "he actually pushed me off before he... uh... came... I don't think anything happened, and maybe nothing did... But I've still had some odd dreams since then... and... well... I'm afraid I might have missed something or it went through my skin..."
"Not unless you had an open wound," Tara answered, "Did you?"
"No..." Karen answered.
Karen heard a sigh on the other end, guessing that this was something that Tara hadn't had to deal with too much. She was grateful that Tara had agreed not to tell her parents, though with the way things were progressing, she wasn't sure as to how well that would work.
"But you still think something is going on?" Tara asked.
"Well... I've had some odd dreams since it happened... more than just what one might expect from a dream," Karen admitted, "they've felt rather real... And I've largely been leaning heavily toward being a weretiger, anyway, so I wouldn't exactly complain... but I really don't want to get myself grounded."
"Okay... I'll bring your pills... and I'll call the Krugers," Tara spoke, "if something from this blowjob you gave their son is causing you go into the initial stages of transformation... possibly because for some reason the concentration of the were-virus is lower... if you ingested any at all... that ill mean you will still need to complete your transformation... and if you are "infected..." you can expect your actual transformation to begin after the sun goes down. Similar to weres who are born weres. And once it starts, it will go quickly... You'll need to meet with Rich to complete your transformation."
Karen nodded, even though Tara couldn't see that over the phone.
"If not... you'll at least be ready for when you are ready to join were society officially," Tara spoke, "but like I said... you will owe me."
Karen nodded, and as the call ended, she made a beeline for the bathroom.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Much of the morning for Chief O'Hara and Agent Baoman, after they initially came in was soon alerted to changes that had been made to Vito's plan. From what had been overheard early in the morning, it seemed like the plan was fairly simple and to move straight up to the Charleston house, go in through the front door and then deal with the Charlestons as they panicked. It was a plan that would easily trigger the planned sting and would easily see Marcus and Vito Gamboni caught and caught with less risk of a gun battle, the thing that Agent Baoman had been most anxious to avoid.
However, as Agent Baoman discussed with Chief O'Hara on how the on duty patrol officers at the time that the Gambonis were expected to move were to be placed, largely as a measure make sure that Vito didn't drive past squad cars on patrol. It was something that was figured might tip Vito's "danger sense" off. Chief O'Hara agreed with it, in principle. Moon Lake was generally pretty quiet, and while there was always the potential for something to go on, the town was a bit on edge as a result of the Gambonis coming it. And with Moon Lake's weres not wanting their secret to get out, it was likely that many would either lay low or avoid drawing attention to themselves. However, that issue soon became bigger when Agent Baoman's aide came in with updates to Vito's plan.
"So they intend to walk in... and through the back door?" Agent Baoman asked as his aide summarized things.
"That's what it sounded like," the aide commented, "though where they intend to park and what exact route they intend to take is a bit of a mystery. I'm only guessing that Vito plans to go through either the backyards or the woods behind the Charleston house."
Chief O'Hara frowned. That wouldn't necessarily change the sting plan. From how Daniel described the layout of the Charleston home, he and the agents could still easily be in a position where no one would see them when trying to come into the Charleston home, letting them keep the element of surprise. But the Gambonis going on foot into the woods, even the woods that were within Moon Lake's city limits and were largely transplants of trees from other parts of the country and even a few "exotic" places, would raise the risk of them running into a transformed were. The only thing that he could hope on was that the people on the street the Charleston's lived on and the streets adjacent to it either stayed in their homes or wouldn't be in the area.
"The real question would be "why?" This town may have its wild side and a close to nature theme to it," the aide said slowly, "it's not like what Vito and Marcus are used to. There are no dark alleys... no horde of people that might obscure someone's vision of them."
"The trees can be thick enough that they might not be clearly seen," Chief O'Hara commented.
"Perhaps... but that'd still be difficult to navigate through if you're carrying an unconscious person," the aide commented, "We must remember that Marcus has wanted Karen Charleston as a wife/love interest. He might not be above killing the Charleston parents if given the chance, but I wouldn't think he'd purposely run through woods and risk her getting cut up on branches. Not to mention that by leaving the car, we can easily claim it with the recon teams not presently assigned to the motel. They can trail the Gambonis and move in on the car after they leave it..."
"Then if they escape the sting, they're still caught and they'd have no hostages," Agent Baoman mused, "and still on ground they don't know."
"Correct," the aide spoke, "even if we didn't alter our plans... the actions Vito is taking makes little practical sense. Speed is very much the key in this sort of thing... and while maybe he's thinking to avoid attention and thus think that the MLPD won't respond, he's still giving them a lot of extra time to respond and catch him, even if the house wasn't a trap for him."
"That could just be whatever's spooked him," Chief O'Hara commented, though also knowing that going into the woods could well take Marcus and Vito into any transformed were that had decided to go outside.
"That might be it..." Agent Baoman spoke, "but... we don't have to change too much and still keep our men rested for what's to come tonight."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In the bathroom after a few moments of shocked staring, the fur on her back seemed to vanish. It was as if it wasn't there. It didn't necessarily ease Karen's fears, as eating raw meat and being pleased at eating raw meat wasn't "normal," but then she had been distracted. Maybe she'd just been seeing things, mostly coming from her interest in Moon Lake's weres and the fact that she'd gotten a bit too interested. Especially as thoughts of Peter Brooks also aimlessly wandered through her mind along with the promises she'd made to him and her parents.
"Yeah... I'm just seeing things, that's it," Karen thought to herself, "as if what Rich gave me was enough to turn me... I should have turned hours ago..."
Her thoughts were only interrupted by a knock on the downstairs door.