Tom found both Yoshiro and Ichiro waiting for him and Alice as they came out of the Stevens home that morning. It was still early and rather dark as the sun was yet to come up, but that was understandable given nature that until either the big reveal was made or the threats from the two Luna Brotherhood members ceased would be requiring both Tom and Alice to commute to their jobs in Seattle. Moon Lake wasn't that terribly far away if one went by a straight line and assuming that traffic was good it wouldn't take too long to drive in, but because Moon Lake was relatively isolated in the mountains, the roads weren't straight and there could be plenty that could slow travel down.
"You wouldn't be staying here?" Tom wondered, figuring that if the two Luna Brotherhood members that confronted him could find and contact him at his job in Seattle with the ease that they had they could probably eventually find out that he'd moved his pace of residence for the moment. And if they were to take things to the next step, actual threats or attacks, that could mean that the Stevens home might be in danger. Tom didn't think it likely, but it did have to remain a concern on his mind.
"Much of the work that will relate your future in-laws' home will be handled by the Moon Lake police, they do actively patrol Moon Lake's streets on what would be a "normal" day," Ichiro commented.
"Often with the mission of keeping an eye out for any potential rogue behavior and standard police work, but that would still serve the purposes of making sure that Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr do not pull anything that would threaten the lives of your in-laws or their home," Yoshiro added, "which will mean the greatest danger to you will be in transit between Moon Lake and Seattle, and likely any travelling your paper will have you do."
Tom slowly nodded as that was one of the things he already expected, "Hopefully nothing happens... though to give you a head's up, our route may start a bit differently from what is normal."
"As moving things here was a bit fast and hectic," Alice spoke in agreement, "as my shop in Seattle isn't close to the paper Tom works for. We'll be stopping by our apartment so I can get my car. I will then drive to my shop, and Tom will follow along in his vehicle. That way if you follow in your car you won't have to worry about splitting up immediately."
Yoshiro and Ichiro both politely nodded at that. Privately they would have figured that it would be best that Tom remained in Moon Lake until his business with the "big reveal" was completed, but both grandsons of Akane no Tachibana could recognize that Tom Herald especially had responsibilities that couldn't be so easily dodged. It would make things difficult for the Skulk to provide direct security for him, as while their security services had some contacts in Seattle for individuals that sought personal protection, they had no such contacts with the newspapers or other news media in Seattle. That was the thing that most complicated the present mission, as while the actions of the two Luna Brotherhood members would qualify for a report to the Seattle police for possible violent threats, Tom couldn't do that until AFTER the "big reveal" was finished and handled. Some of that was from what Tom had promised to the Moon Lake City Council with regard to how he would work with it and some of it was also due to the fact that at present most wouldn't believe Tom's claim that he was threatened as a means to keep the were secret without revealing the were secret.
In this the two Skulk agents had largely planned to keep things at a relatively safe distance. For it was unlikely that Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr would be able to really pose a threat to Tom's place of work as it would have its own security to protect it. Alice's shop might be a bit more difficult to protect in the traditional sense, but it would be likely that obviously hanging around would come off as suspicious. This had lead to their plans being rather loose and careful in how they would handle things outside Moon Lake. They would stay close enough to loosely monitor things and would try to keep cellphone contact with Tom and Alice, just in case anything more came up and to coordinate things should Tom have to travel beyond Seattle, as it would be likely that Fives and Amehr would potentially run into the same sorts of problems should they try anything more than simple conversational confrontations.
"We thank you for your consideration," Ichiro answered and both then bowed.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The drive from Moon Lake to Seattle went relatively quietly with Tom and Alice being able to observe the trees and mountains around them as they drove west and down out of the mountains. There were no fallen rocks on the road of anything of that nature as they drove around the mountain roads and eventually coming down onto the bigger roads that lead down toward Seattle. Traffic was low enough that it was easy for Tom to get to where his and Alice's apartment was. He pulled up next to where Alice's car was parked and then sat by and waited. If Alice's car had been vandalized in some way, Tom would go with Alice.
"Here goes," Alice said slowly as she climbed out and looked back to see Yoshiro and Ichiro watching from their car presently parted on the side of the street.
"Love you," Tom said to her.
Alice nodded and then looked over to the east as the sun was rising over eastern horizon. She climbed out of Tom's car and quickly began digging in her purse. She thought she picked up her keys before she left Seattle the previous day to make sure that no one would be able just find her car and drive off with it. Thankfully she found the plastic casing for the key and set about starting her vehicle after getting in and sitting behind the wheel. Alice was nervous for a moment, but as she turned the ignition key, things started easily and safety. Alice breathed a sigh of relief, and she looked out through her driver's side window to see Tom sigh in relief as well.
Tom was relieved to see that no one had done anything with Alice's car and watched as she backed up to take the lead position while driving between where hers and Tom's Seattle apartment was and then driving to her place of business. Tom soon followed in his care and it became a sort of informal parade with all three vehicles going in a line and at the same pace. Traffic began to pick up a little bit as they made their way toward Alice's shop, but no one lost pace and they eventually managed to all park in the empty spaces in front of the small costume shop. As they stopped, Yoshiro climbed out of the passenger side of his vehicle and Tom watched as he came up between Tom's car and Alice's while Alice out of her car.
"I will begin checking some things in the area," Yoshiro said to Tom, "making sure that there is no real threat to your bonded mate."
"Thank you," Tom answered with a small smile.
"Will you need a ride later?" Alice asked him as she came around the front of her car, "Tom may still have his work for much of the day... but with it being Sunday, my open hours will be shorter... and unless someone really raises a ruckus, I'll probably head back to Moon Lake sooner."
"That would be appreciated, but for the moment, that will have to wait while Ichiro and I monitor the situation as it is here," Yoshiro said slowly, "If Fives and Amehr are highly active or there are signs that they have immediate allies here... some of that may be a necessity, but it will take some time to figure that out."
"Hopefully nothing like that will happen," Tom said hopefully, even though a part of him was privately certain that something would happen eventually. Societies that kept secrets rarely liked those secrets getting out, even if the exact details in said secret might not be as "bad" as some might think of it at first. And the were secret was one of those things. And even if the "big reveal" worked quickly and worked well, both in the presentation and legally with regard to equal rights after it, that didn't remove the fear of things being tough, and that fear would surely spawn resistance to it.
From there, Tom soon backed out and Ichiro followed him in his car as the two made their way from where Alice's costume/party shop was to the parking area near the "Seattle Times" offices. Things were again quiet as the two drove along and Ichiro ultimately waved to Tom with one had when he made it to the parking area entrance. He took that as some sign of respect and that things would probably go discretely so long as things stayed quiet. He couldn't be one hundred percent sure of that, but there wasn't too much more that could be done but hope for the moment. Tom still had his work and his responsibilities that went beyond what he felt was needed for weres to successfully move forward. For the moment, the biggest thing he had to do was go over the appointments he had scheduled already with regard to his present assignment and make sure he'd have the rest handled. Because for the moment, that was going to determine a lot of how he would be able to work on the "big reveal" planning with Moon Lake's City Council.