The day for the Moon Lake PD had been hectic as the department had had its fair share of things to respond to during the day. The attached DARE officer had to pass by the High School Office in the morning to deal with the results of the fight that had gone on when the day started. A pair of uniformed officers had to go down to the college to assist campus security officers deal with the larger fight/riot that had happened there closer to the lunch out and several arrests were ultimately made that came on varying charges and it soon became clear that the evening/night shift wasn't going to get any easier as Officer Charles Reynolds, the father of Ava Ross's new friend Ashley, and his partner were updated on what was going on.
"Reynolds, Red-Fang, come in," came the dispatcher's voice over the radio.
Charles continued to drive on as his partner reached forward well tanned hand to the car's radio. Warren Red-Fang was a werewolf of Native American ancestry, though Charles had never learned what tribe he belonged to, and had worked with Charles fairly frequently as they rode together on most assignments. They hadn't been together back during Halloween as Warren had married a normal Human woman who'd moved to Moon Lake a few years before, and she'd had a young daughter who had been sick on Halloween. Now that things were better on the "home front" the two were back in partnership and as the call came to them, Charles found his partner's presence a good thing.
"Red-Fang, here, what's going on?" Red-Fang spoke as Charles drove along the outer edge of Moon Lake's Central Park. This was normally a quiet patrol, particularly as night fell on Moon Lake, but with some of the things that had been going on, there was always the concern or worry that things might not be normal... at least not by Moon Lake's standards.
"We have a report of a disturbance outside the Stevens home," came the answer from dispatch, "it's being described as an unregistered protest with a request to disperse."
"Has anyone been attacked or property damaged?" Red-Fang inquired.
"None reported, but the report is that they are load and angry," was the response from dispatch.
Charles nodded to his partner and then turned onto another side street that would head out to outer circle that made up Moon Lake's central hub in its wagon wheel layout, which would be needed in order to double back do where the Stevens home was. They had already gone past the straight road that would go toward it, and thus they had to run to double back, but with the reports that had also been there for the Moon Lake PD, it was something to be aware of. Harold Stevens was part of Moon Lake's City Council and the department knew that Tom Herald, the were who had brought about the argument for the "big reveal" was presently staying with the man over concerns to his and his fiancée's safety.
Thus the police had added extra patrols in Moon Lake to make sure that nothing was directed violently at Tom Herald, and a potential protest could very well become something like that. Something like the reveal that had been discussed was going to generate some hurt feelings and thus arguments because of those feelings, and so far, there had already been some things going on that fit that description. Charles and Red-Fang couldn't arrest anyone there, unless they came across the organizers of the protest and they revealed some scheme for a distraction to do something else, but that wasn't expected as likely at the moment. As the prior incidents in the day had been low key and largely over personal disagreements, not something that could be seen as clearly part of a conspiracy. Thus the present protest was likely no different.
"We're on our way," Red-Fang told dispatch.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Outside the Stevens house, Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr both made sure to move about through the center of the crowd that had gathered outside the residential home. While the crowd wasn't as big as had been hoped for, it did attract some general attention and raised anger at those blamed for Tom Herald's plan. While Quintus had some regret that some of this had meant attacks on Alice Stevens, which had never been planned for in the beginning when they were trying to lure Herald away from finding out about Lionel Ulysses. Of course, at the time, they'd never expected Alice Stevens to fall in love with Tom Herald, and from a certain point of view that made her a "casualty" of the Luna Brotherhood's efforts to defend weres from the forces that would destroy them and to protect Humanity from rogue weres. But it ultimately allowed for some attention, as there were plenty of lights on as the crowd chanted their slogans and moved up and down on the Stevens' front lawn.
The two of them took that as good news and were more than pleased to see that while they may not have gotten as many as they would have liked, those that did come were loud, angry, and more than willing to demonstrate it. It would be the thing that would either present the potential opportunity to get at Tom Herald or at least find out where the weakness in the security around the Stevens home was. That would be something that was important, as after passing out the signs in a park area where they had called the present crowd to meet them and then marched in formation to the Stevens home they found at least two members of the Moon Lake Skulk's security services in their black suits and black ties, standing very much like secret service agents and were not something that either Gustavus or Quintus wanted to tackle head on.
And that was a concern that they had to be aware of. In general, the two werewolves had little to fear from werefoxes. They were bigger and stronger and without weapons, they could easily overpower a werefox in a one on one fight. The Moon Lake Skulk presented a very different challenge and with the two members they could see providing security for the Stevens home that was even more of an issue. For the two were Japanese/Americans and so far as Gustavus and Quintus knew were employed with in Tachibana Enterprises' security division, and by reputation had skills in martial arts that went to a level well in excess of what most people would have and that posed a threat. Gustavus and Quintus were confident that their training could allow them to overcome the two werefoxes, but it likely wouldn't be easy and that might betray to the real point of their mission.
"May not be as big as desired, but we are at least getting attention out there," Gustavus said to Quintus as the crowd chanted, "and that may hopefully draw more attention and more opposition to Herald's plan."
"Maybe, but I haven't seen anyone come out to join," Quintus said slowly, "that might just be because it's a Monday night... but one would think that if this were to create more attention... we would have at least had a handful of additional people come from their homes."
"Then we'll try again and again... and potentially in different parts of town," Gustavus spoke insistently, "draw a large following. One that can give us the ability to get the job done."
Quintus quietly nodded at what "the job" was. The intention was to kill Tom Herald eventually, but with the Moon Lake Police not offering to help to protect the were secret and with the Moon Lake Skulk providing additional security, the most straight forward method wouldn't work. It would generate too much negative attention that the Luna Brotherhood's network of connections and fronts wouldn't be able to cover up and thus they needed weaknesses and information. How large was the Skulk's security detail and how active were they in the area and if Tom Herald was coming here, which seemed likely since Alice Stevens had come here, were critical things they needed to know before the final actions needed were executed. For both understood Moon Lake fairly well, even if they didn't live there normally.
This "big reveal" was a surprise, but it was limited to Tom Herald's ability to debate the Moon Lake City Council, something that neither Gustavus nor Quintus expected... Though there was much about Tom Herald that they didn't expect, for normally when Normals became Weres, they were often the fiercest defenders of the were secret, because they loved what they'd gained and wouldn't want to lose it to some paranoid zealot. The fact that Herald would push for this as a new were and whatever debating skills or knowledge that he had was what allowed for his point to progress as far as it had. And these things happened from time to time, usually with someone looking for conquest or a war that weres knew they'd never win or some dreamer that just wanted to be free. And in the past the Luna Brotherhood had been there to deal with both types, and all had the same result. Once the one pushing a reveal was either dead or saw the error of their ways, their movement collapsed, and Tom Herald would be no different. Once Herald was dead, Moon Lake would vote down his bill with no one left to push it and things would return to normal, or at least that was what was expected.
But the crowd wasn't large enough to fully scout around the Stevens home and so far they'd seen no sign of Tom Herald there. It puzzled Quintus a little, but he couldn't dwell on it too much, and as he glanced to the road and seeing a lone black and white police car begin to approach from the south he got the sense that it was time to go. They had given instructions not to do any actual property damage or physically assault anyone, which would prevent anyone from being arrested for a crime, but Quintus also knew they had filed no formal paperwork for such a large scale protest, which would mean it was well within Harold Stevens's rights to ask that the crowd disperse. And with the police likely protecting Tom Herald, it would be a good idea not to be present or potentially identified when the police arrived.
"I think we need to go," Quintus said to Gustavus and shook his head toward the approaching police car. The siren lights weren't on and it had its low beams on its headlights, but it was slowing down.
Gustavus nodded and turned to a nearby member that had shown up. He motioned to the man and then tapped him on the shoulder and didn't speak until the man turned to face the two Luna Brotherhood members.
"My partner and I need to head out to use the restroom... it's something of an emergency," Gustavus whispered quickly to him, "There looked to be a pizza joint out on the curving road headed to the east from here that might be still open. We'll head there. It isn't too far."
"Okay," the man said slowly, "but uh... when do we call it a night. I mean... the City Council doesn't meet tonight and we can't stay here all night."
"Just stay as long as you can," Quintus urged, pulling his legs tightly together, pretending as if he needed to use a restroom, "and hold onto the signs and posters. If Stevens doesn't listen tonight... we may try again on another night... or before City Hall when they have their next meeting or before the police station because they won't arrest Herald... but regardless..."
"Just go... wouldn't want to make a mess of yourselves," the man nodded, and with that Gustavus and Quintus quickly departed.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Man... I know that this thing is going to have the town on edge... and might well be a mistake," Red-Fang commented as Charles pulled up toward the front of the Stevens home, "but... I don't think there would be this..."
"Supposedly Deputy Mayor Chambers had some people protesting her vote after the debate," Charles commented as he pulled to a stop on the side of the street and was thankful that none of the crowd of people that were there jumped into the street or did anything hostile. However, as the crowd noticed their arrival, the crowd did turn to the newly arrived officers and their car. "But from what I heard... it was much smaller and she just let them be."
Red-Fang nodded and noted some of the signs. He read one that showed a crudely drawn werefox holding a newspaper hanging from the gallows with the writing "Herald heralds the Death of Weres" on it in black letters. He'd heard some reports on what had happened after the debate, and protesting Katherine Chambers' vote would make sense. City Council votes were generally pretty private, especially when it came to things like this. For situations with the were secret or the Mandatory Were Law were potentially big changes that would often require that the City Council be trusted to act in the best interests of Moon Lake, even if the action might be taken as problematic and it was figured that having the votes too open, it would be too easy for outside parties to pressure Moon Lake's City Council into supporting outside interests that might not benefit Moon Lake.
However, because Katherine Chambers voted at all after the debate, that had shown that the vote had tied and she had to make the deciding vote. People would then know how she voted on the issue and would make it understandable that some people would protest her vote. However, the Stevens would be a different situation, where the only possible reasoning might be Tom Herald, but neither Charles nor Red-Fang could expect a bunch of random Moon Lake citizens, regardless of how they felt on the "big reveal" to pick this spot to launch a large protest over a City Council decision with the knowledge that Tom Herald was presently staying in Moon Lake until the threat posed by Gustavus Amehr and Quintus Fives was ended. Both officers looked to each other as they got out and moved toward the crowd.
"Excuse me...do you have permission to be here?" Charles spoke as he approached, noting the numbers that were present. He could catch the scent of various weres and knew that if they got violent, he and Red-Fang wouldn't be enough. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Yoshiro and Ichiro, who were apparently the two Skulk agents assigned to guard duty and assumed that they would help, but with thirty to forty people there and a good many of them weres, it was doubtful that even the two Skulk agents could provide that much backup. In this Charles had to hope that the crowd wasn't going to be violent.
"We're protesting an injustice!" one person near the front of the crowd spoke as he stepped forward, "You know... exposing us to all Human kind for them to turn us into rugs or guinea pigs or something..."
"We haven't attacked anyone!" another spoke up, "we just want Herald to go away and never return and admitting that the secret is the best for weres forever!"
"You're all certainly entitled to your opinion," Red-Fang said slowly, glancing to Charles and seeing that while the crowd was large and the voices sounded "angry," they didn't appear to be violent, "but you're also on private property and a man's home. If you're wishing to protest the City Council's decision here, I'm afraid you'd Harold Stevens' permission to do so. You are on HIS lawn."
"Booooo!" came a voice from the crowd.
"We don't make the rules... we just enforce them," Charles spoke calmly, "Now... is the organizer of this protest here?"
"They had to go to the bathroom a few minutes ago," one large man came forward, "they aren't here..."
"Did they mention a permit?" Red-Fang asked, getting some sense that this had the handiwork of Gustavus Amehr and Quintus Five's fingerprints all over it. They had been alerted to the threats that Tom Herald had perceived from the two as well as some of the interactions the two had had with the rest of the Moon Lake PD when dealing with Dymixious Drake. Their insistence on being involved made things complicated, and to Red-Fang, even if they opposed Herald's reveal idea, that didn't justify threatening him.
"No..." the large man said slowly.
"No permit..." Charles said slowly.
"No permit," the first man answered.
Charles and Red Fang looked to each other and Charles could feel his hand drift down toward his holster, just in case things escalated and escalated quickly.
"Then I must ask that you disperse," Charles spoke, "I'm sure the Stevens are well aware of your opinion of Tom Herald's plans. If you wished to send a message, that message has been received."
"What if they don't do as we say?" a woman came forward.
"That we'll have to wait and see on... and in the end... things may be early enough that I'm not sure we can confirm whether or not the plan is the right or wrong thing to do," Red-Fang spoke, "I'm sure a lot of you are upset over the vote... but how much of that is with immediate knowledge of trouble and how much is shock and anger and major change. All of this will require everyone to THINK. You go around punching people or demanding that things only go your way and you're not going to get anywhere. Talk with your Ward Representatives in a way that you can voice your concerns and let them explain why they voted the way they did. As that's the way a democracy is supposed to work. The more it becomes an ideology contest where a preset belief is the sole measure of what is to be trusted... the more likely that the very principles we believe in will be lost."
There was a silence for a few moments there was a brief silence, but then the crowd began to break up. They carried their signs with them and didn't litter anything, which was good, and it wasn't too long before they were gone. Some went up the straight street that went out toward the edge of town and a few actually followed the curving road until they came to one of the corners that existed in the central parts of Moon Lake. Charles and Red-Fang watched quietly as the crowd dispersed, seemingly without complaint or problem.
"Well that went easier than expected," Red-Fang said slowly.
"Yes... though given the numbers..." Charles commented, "It wouldn't surprise me if Fives and Amehr were the organizers. Remember the two that we were briefed on to be aware of while all this reveal debate is ongoing?"
"Yes," Red-Fang nodded, "and I'd even agree with you."
"And you didn't tell me you majored in philosophy," Charles commented to his partner with a teasing tone in his voice.
"It's more something that my father taught me," Red-Fang responded, "HE is the philosopher... though it was a good lesson that I never forgot."