Tom's morning in Spokane, Washington was quiet as he tried to prepare for his late morning interview with the Federal Marshalls for Washington State's eastern districts. The assignment was fine in and of itself and to a certain extent, Tom didn't really expect anything that would go beyond what he'd already been told with regard to the assignment he had, trying to see if some of the things that had happened recently in the Seattle area were indicative of anything more coming into the state. However the report he'd gotten from Alice the previous night had left him nervous and that kept him up for a little while and kept his night rather restless.
He had the sense that his reveal plan would ruffle some feathers as it where. He expected that many wouldn't be keen on it, as Alice had told him a fair bit about were society as he she explained things and he found himself bonding to her even before becoming a werefox. In this he knew that societies that had stayed closed or hidden or behind a set way of thinking generally tended to be fairly firm in how they acted and wouldn't easily change, and were society would likely be no different. They might need to change, but that wouldn't necessarily mean they would overwhelmingly want to change. However, things like the perceived threats to him and the report of people protesting outside he Stevens home and apparently saying "horrible things" were more that things were going farther than he expected.
"And Alice is important to me," Tom though to himself as he tightened and straightened his tie as he looked at his reflection in the mirror as his mind dwelled on that as he prepared himself, "If I were to loose her..."
He'd wanted to leave Spokane and rush to her when he'd heard of the danger she was in and keep the two Luna Brotherhood members that were likely behind it away from his bonded mate. The only thing that really kept him from doing so was Alice's urge for him to remain and continue with his work. It reminded him of the things he already knew with regard to how were society and its secrets, though that didn't ease his worries for her and they were still there when he woke up and began getting ready and as he finished dressing they remained with him. Even though he had to carefully compose himself as he finished and then made sure his bags were zipped up and then moved to head out to attend to the job he was presently assigned to do.
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His thoughts and worries about Alice were still with him when he arrived at the Marshall's Office. There were some differences between it and the other law enforcement offices that he'd visited in the course of carrying out the assignment his paper had given him, but much of these were aesthetics that he really didn't pay that much attention to. They weren't that important as he was met by a man in a dark blue suit and a red tie.
"I'm Justin Thire, I work with the state's eastern district's press corps," the man introduced himself and offering a hand to Tom, "and you're the guy from Seattle I've been told is worried about a huge crime spree."
The tone was familiar to Tom, as it was one that sort of looked at his present assignment as though he was some panicked individual engaging in the story to try and drive people to similar hysteria. Privately he figured he'd feel the same way if he were in Justin Thire's shoes as there had been no answer that would be indicative of anything "big" coming into Washington at the present time. Though the thought of Alice being under threat either by the Luna Brotherhood members or an angry mob of anti-reveal weres still ran through the back of his mind, even as he moved to shake Justin Thire's hand.
"Tom Herald with the Seattle Times," Tom spoke, "and yes... my assignment relates to some fears on something big coming into Washington State."
Justin Thire nodded and lead Tom along until they came into a small sort of conference room. There were windows on the far wall that let in some light and Justin Thire ushered Tom to the long table that dominated he center of the room. Tom accepted and nodded. They eventually sat down in separate chairs that were opposite each other.
"Now... I'm sure this is something you're not used to... as most times we'd either have a reporter here for our paper or we'd buy rights to an article from Spokane's paper from the AP," Tom began, "but there are some circumstances that are different in this case. Namely some of the incidents that have happened in the western part of the state. That's what has some people with my paper nervous. Between the actions of Lionel Ulysses leading to a rather public shootout. We had the Gamboni crime family operating in the area before Halloween. And then there was an incident just to the east of Seattle where a local police department ended up having to kill a man that was at least suspected of murdering several people caught in various parts of the country for various crimes. Many of these things came back to back and in near rapid succession, thus the possibility of a connection between all these actions... or at least the potential for something big coming the state's way."
"Yes," Justin Thire nodded, "I've seen some of the television reports regarding the Gambonis, Lionel Ulysses, and... I believe it was Dymixious Drake that was the last that you mentioned. Though all of that took place outside our jurisdiction here in the eastern half of Washington. Initially we did have some contact with the FBI, just in case the Gambonis were found in the area... but when reports of their activity being in western Washington, we were largely just kept on alert in case something happened. Though... from a general perspective, I would put much of that up to coincidence than anything else. They all occurred, yes, but from what the news has posted, none seemed to know the other."
"With those actions... potentially, yes," Tom nodded, "but that doesn't mean there aren't bigger fish or connections that haven't been found. Such as the potential for anything bigger and pulling the strings, as it were... or perhaps that there could simply be an increased wave that could be coming in. Not necessarily connected but seeing some kind of vulnerability in the state and are taking advantage of it."
"Well... I wouldn't say that we've seen anything or anyone like that that's come into or investigation or custody," Justin Thire answered, "in fact much of what we've really had to deal with has been with illegal hunting and trapping, requiring us to work with Washington State's Game Wardens with some particular offenders that might be better armed or better coordinated. But much of that has been within the norm for what we've been called to in this part of the state for years."
"So nothing out of the ordinary?" Tom asked.
"Not in our jurisdiction," Justin Thire nodded, "if there has been... it's been at such a low level that not even the local police departments have noticed. Though, I'd also doubt that anything has happened. Perhaps you could trace the movement of some people in their particular groups of friends with odd beliefs... but much of that is more going to relate to things like the First Amendment and so long as they don't actually cause trouble, police departments won't arrest people for having a poor opinion."
"So there is nothing to indicate that trouble is coming... at least so far as you've noticed?" Tom asked
"So far," Justin Thire nodded, "does that answer your paper's questions and concerns?"
"Pretty much," Tom answered, "at least with regard to your department is concerned. There are other questions... but most of them are going to be something better answered from the smaller and more local levels. For they may see things that might indicate a larger problem but don't have the full puzzle. And right now... my assignment is pretty much to assemble all the pieces."
"Good luck with that," Justin Thire commented as the two men stood up.
Tom checked his notes and made sure the answers he had lined up with what had been said and then shook the man's hand. Though even as he did so, his thoughts drifted more to his fiancé and the potential threats she faced. Though for the moment, he faced a long drive across the state with the last parts being on some roads that weren't that good for "high speed travel," which would likely delay him. He could only hope that the protest from the night before was isolated and not something that would grow bigger.