A lot of the work that went on during Sundays was often relaxed to some degree. It was true that there were plenty of things that could happen in Seattle, and as the Seattle Times would still keep its reporters on duty for the day, to keep track of events, organize things that they got from the associated press, and so on. Many times this allowed for some lighter schedules in case it was a slow day, but Tom's schedule was anything but light. He'd had an old assignment that had run for the past week to catalogue and document the potential for a large crime wave to sweep into the state, given the gun battle with Lionel Ulysses, quickly followed by his murder, and followed by a gun battle in Moon Lake between the police and the suspected murderer of Lionel Ulysses, Dymixious Drake. In such rapid succession, that was something that made some sense and Tom had been assigned to cover that.
And now he'd finally gotten some responses. He'd have some travel days he'd have to take coming up and he also had to check with Google Maps to get directions to where he'd need to go for some parts of the present assignment, but it was still a response, which was better than nothing. For the day, Tom only had three meetings. The first was with the Federal Marshalls in Washington State's western district and then the second would be with the state police in Olympia. These two put Tom on a tight schedule, as he would need to do more to be ready and they weren't too far apart, but he figured they were workable and that would let him compile more notes and data for the story. He gave his editor a quick update on the replies and then set off to prepare for these interviews.
The preparation was largely in relation to a more formal suit than what he would normally wear, particularly when following things into the field and that sort of thing. Especially as his present assignment wouldn't involve that many field reports, which made a formal suit more appropriate. As such, he made his way to the apartment and set about changing for the interview. As he arrived he sound found that he had been followed, though this time more for his protection than anything else as the one who'd followed him was from the Moon Lake Skulk's security services, Yoshiro Tachibana.
"You are done for the day this early?" Yoshiro wondered as he got out of his car and walked calmly up to Tom.
"No... more that I've gotten some replies on a major story that I've been assigned to and thus some interviews to conduct," Tom answered, "interviews that will probably require things a bit more formal than what I have on. My shoes and trousers are fine... I just need to add a jacket and tie. I'll probably pick up some of the extras while I'm picking them up."
The two walked along quietly as they made their way up to the elevators to ride up to the floor that Tom and Alice's apartment was on. It was quiet for a moment or two.
"I will say that things have been relatively quiet for the morning," Yoshiro spoke, "no one sneaking around the outside of your paper or your fiancé's shop."
"That'll be good," Tom said slowly, "though... I'm not really into all the cloak and dagger type stuff, so I can't really predict what Fives and Amehr will do. All I know is that they don't like the idea of change and seem dead set on preserving it in some way. If things are vocal and limited to protests... and maybe the occasional tomato or two, I'd understand. That sort of thing happens with the press from time to time. I've even had my own editor think about it given how deep I've often wanted to go with some stories... usually on a hunch. But something with those two... made me fearful that they may not limit their activities to just talking and protesting. And I don't want Alice hurt or her family hurt by them."
Yoshiro nodded and followed him as they moved down an interior hallway that ultimately lead to the apartment. From what the Skulk had, the apartment was actually in Alice's name and that Tom had apparently only moved in after he'd bonded to Alice and became a werefox, himself. For the moment he was there as base security given some of the supposed threats that Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr had made to Tom over his plans regard the were secret and the associated reveal. The Skulk would have preferred that Tom remained in Moon Lake to handle the negotiations and be in a position where extra precautions wouldn't need to be taken, but Tom was dedicated to his work and couldn't back down. Yoshiro could actually respect that. The apartment was modest and really only had some basic furnishings, which Yoshiro noticed. He waited in the living room while Tom headed back to the bedroom to collect what he'd need.
"And what is this story about, may I ask?" Yoshiro wondered.
"A lot of it is fallout from some of the big things that have gone down since before Halloween," Tom answered, "we had members of the Gamboni crime family come into the state and three were arrested. One was caught at Fort Wolfe on trespassing charges. One killed a park ranger down at Mount Saint Helens and was then later caught with another in Moon Lake after what the FBI stated was a bit of a running chase through the woods there. Then all the business with Lionel Ulysses bringing in an FBI from the Washington DC area to Washington state and the gun battle that took down the Rat Pack... and then Dymixious Drake. That's a fair number of major crimes and major crime figures coming into the state in the span of a month. My editor wants to get information to see if any of this was a sign of something bigger... and if so, is law enforcement ready for it."
Yoshiro nodded. He could see where some things might generate some concern over that, particularly the Gamboni Crime Family, who were fairly big in New York and New Jersey but according to all published reports rarely did anything west of the Appalachian Mountains and even those news clippings seemed to indicate that the activities were either indirect or covering up something else. And he remembered some of the added restrictions and calls made regarding the presence of the FBI in Moon Lake and the arrival of the Gambonis. Thankfully that seemed to resolve itself before Halloween came. Yoshiro wasn't sure on where that trial was, but he did know that was being run in Seattle. Still, the fact that an East Coast mafia group came to the Pacific Coast would be big news to any news team in the region.
Some of the rest, though, wouldn't have the same impact. While Lionel Ulysses was known for running with a street gang that ran drugs and other things before supposedly making his way to northern Virginia where he's believed to have killed a US Marine Corps Major before returning to the Seattle area, the only thing that really stood out in his arrest on the Seattle docks was the body camera footage of him starting to transform after being shot. The action was one that was instinctive with weres, and while it could be suppressed, it took a great deal of self control to do so. Outside of that, many of the actions that Lionel Ulysses was wanted for in Washington State really wasn't beyond what was normally expected. And Seattle was a big enough city that the vigilantism issue that Dymixious Drake then presented wouldn't be too far beyond what would be considered "normal" in law enforcement circles. The only thing that really made the issue with Dymixious Drake big for Moon Lake was that his battle with the Moon Lake police came shortly after Lionel Ulysses was killed and could have well continued to drive worries of weres being exposed after the footage of Ulysses' tail being seen on police body camera shots. But he supposed that Tom Herald's editor didn't know that and was just wanting to be clear.
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Once dressed and with additional suit jackets and ties packed neatly into the backseat of his car, Tom soon continued on his way. He had to settle for some fast food before heading to the courthouse building where the Federal Marshalls operated for the Washington, Western District. It was a bit imposing in a way, largely because he didn't always get assigned the crime stories to be used these sorts of offices. But he did manage and made it through the security checks fairly well. One man sort of looked at him with a raised eyebrow when comparing him to his press badge, but he was still waved through. As he made it through he was greeted by a man in a dark grey suit with his slicked back.
"So... you're Tom Herald with all the questions of what we suspect?" the man gave a small smile which made a fair number of wrinkles and age lines seem more obvious as Tom approached.
"Mostly touching things that you've noticed of late and what you would be ready for," Tom answered, "Given some of the string of major issues that have gone on... One East Coast mob. One local street gang getting into a major gun fight and then the vigilante that killed one of the gang members battles it out with a small town police force. That's a high level of violence that has included Federal officers as well as local officers in some way shape or form."
The man nodded, seemingly accepting the answer Tom gave and then offered his hand, "Hank Torte, if you'll come with me we can handle your questions and get them handled quickly."
Tom nodded as he shook the man's hand and then followed him. He got the pretty standard "this is outside our normal press release/interaction policy" lecture as they walked along, but Hank Torte did seem to at least be willing to tolerate it. It was one of those things that left Tom with the thought that the assignment was handed to him as punishment for how hard he'd pushed his editor on certain stories. Particularly when the interviews he'd had so far didn't seem to indicate a pattern that would indicate anything major. Tom didn't say anything, though, and then followed Hank Torte to a small office. The marshal offered Tom a seat and then moved to his chair on the other side of the desk.
"Again... I'll thank you for speaking with me on all of this," Tom spoke, "especially when it is outside your normal procedures and policies."
Hank Torte nodded and then shrugged, "you have a job to do. And from what you described this assignment as... it would seem to be more than what is normal... Your editor must be overly spooked on things."
"Mostly the list of events that have happened in rapid succession," Tom answered, "Lionel Ulysses having a gun battle with the Seattle PD and the FBI and then him being murdered... and then his murderer battling the police in a small town in the mountains. Add in that we had a major East Coast crime family come into the state..."
"That would be a lot of things that would startle people on the surface," Hank Torte answered, "but much of it is unconnected. The Gamboni crime family coming in... is unusual for them, but from what the FBI told us when they handed them over to us to hold for trial was that their motivation was in chasing some girl that the youngest son took a shine to. The FBI also let us know on some of the connections with regard to Lionel Ulysses... and he had no connections to the Gambonis, and ultimately neither did Dymixious Drake. In fact if one looked into his family history... one would see that Drake's record is more as a proactive opponent of crime than the sort that would involve himself in major criminal activity."
"Do the Gambonis you have in custody know Ulysses or Drake?" Tom asked.
"From what the FBI has turned over as evidence for their trial... we've had no evidence of that," Hank Torte told him, "which makes that unlikely."
Tom watched Hank shuffled a couple papers from a manila folder and then passed them to him. He carefully reached over the table to take them.
"Those are copies of the reports that have already been entered into evidence," Hank explained, "they reference recorded calls, emails, and conversations that we have from the Gambonis... along with reports from the FBI and agents close to that case while they were in he investigation. There were no mentions of Ulysses and no one saw anything that looked like him or Dymixious."
Tom looked over the papers and saw as the quoted lines and reports. As he read through Hank continued.
"And it could be possible that something might come..." Hank spoke, "but for the moment there is no evidence of connections that would lead to the kind of increase in crime that people in the state would really need to worry over. And regardless of jurisdiction issues... the Marshals Service here in the Western District will be ready for it, as will the FBI."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
He would actually thank Hank again for the information and then made his way out. However with the fact that he also had an appointment with the Washington State Police at 2:30 PM, he knew he'd also have to get going in order head out to Olympia. It was nearly one PM when he made it back to his car and didn't want to be late. The drive between Seattle and Olympia could be quick, but Tom hadn't had assignments that took him to Olympia very often and thus the made a quick call back to his editor and was soon on the road. He managed to arrive a bit early, but retained his confidence as he walked into the building with his notepad. He was quickly directed into a waiting area near the front lobby.
The area was quiet and the chairs weren't the most comfortable, but they likely worked well enough for most of the things that would be there for guests to the building, particularly in his case since he wasn't a regular part of the press pool for the agency that would essentially supervise county sheriff's offices and the state highway patrol. Eventually he heard some footsteps and looked up to find a middle aged woman. Her hair was largely black and done up in a bun, but he could see some streaks of silver in it as she approached. It kind of matched the black suit jacket she wore which had silver stripes on it. There was also a pin on the lapel that showed the state flag.
"You would be Tom Herald? I take it?" the woman spoke as she approached. Tom nodded and then stood up to shake her hand as she spoke again, "Carol Marcus. I work with the state police's press management department. I've been assigned to handle the questions you have."
"I wouldn't be speaking with an officer or the head of your department?" Tom wondered.
"Well... your request was in order, but is outside what we would normally work with," Carol Marcus answered, "as the request didn't seem to be on policy or a particular case."
"No... it's some general concern after a series of violent incidents in Seattle and then Moon Lake in short order to one another," Tom answered, "my readers would like some general assurance that these incidents were just localized outbursts and not a sign of an increasing trend to be wary of."
"Yes... I've seen the reports on what happened up in Seattle and what followed," Carol Marcus commented as she lead him along, going through a couple of doors and then into a long hallway before finally coming to a stop at a door that had her name on a small plaque on the front of the door. "Though all of that seemed to be handled well and by more local agencies to the problem... City police and all that."
"The arrest of Lionel Ulysses included some FBI agents, mostly for his murder of a Marine Corps officer in Virginia," Tom answered, "and while other sources I've checked with don't have any connections between Ulysses... or his suspected killer, Dymixious Drake, with an organization that could mark an increase in major criminal activity... like say the Gambino crime family... that wouldn't necessarily mean that other outside groups might be moving in."
"Thus your requests for data on things like smuggling... particularly things like drugs on the state's highways?" Carol Marcus asked.
Tom nodded, "It could at least be a window into other patterns... are they within the norm for the state, which would be good news to my readers or are their increases that could be troublesome?"
"Well... if it's going to be something that would be indicative of like what happened in Seattle with Lionel Ulysses, you'll need to contact the county seats and the local troopers there," Carol Marcus answered, "but I can give you a general set of statistics. They may be rather general... and we will voice some concerns in some areas... with DUIs and associated charges with having drugs while on our roads. Which we see thousands of those cases a year."
Carol then promptly handed a printed page across the desk to Tom who took it and looked it over. So far, it seemed like many of the numbers were on par with the year before. Some numbers looked a little different, but not enough to be worried over specifically.
"So... my editor is worried over nothing?" Tom asked.
"I wouldn't say nothing," Carol answered, "there could always be something that we don't know. For example, we could have caught Marcus and Vito Gamboni before they even got to Moon Lake if we knew the vehicle they had at the time. But so far... we've seen nothing on the large scale that would be indicative of a major problem being likely."
"Well... that will be good news for my readers," Tom managed a smile.