In Moonlight - Ch 7 - What's Going On?

"OK, what's going on?" Genie asked, half to herself, looking at the memory stick Jenny had brought her.

"You tell me," Jenny shrugged. "I go for my morning jog and end up meeting a spy, who tells me you're looking into things that powerful people don't want looked into."

Genie shook her head, confused.

After seeing Kassidy the evening before, she'd decided that her little sister needed her support. So, though she hadn't planned to, she'd decided to stay on and try to help. Fortunately, Stephens had come to the same conclusion ahead of her, and with his typical efficiency, had already started airing out the guest house, carried over her small travel bag and laptop, and fully stocked the kitchenette.

Her best idea for helping Kassidy was to understand what had happened to her friend, at least as much as random violence could be understood. So, setting up her laptop in the dinner nook, she'd started digging into the death of Shannon Charm. It had been slow going. 

Still, she'd never expected Jenny to turn up with this story about spies and coverups.

"No, seriously, tell me," Jenny repeated.

"I'm really not sure," Genie said as she led her into the dining nook. "I know that Kassidy's friend Shannon Charm was killed. The news reports, what there are of them, agree with what Kassidy told me. A mugging gone wrong. But thinking about it, that's weird all by itself. I mean, a gang mugging... much less one that turns fatal... in Gesellschafter Square? It's not exactly the Spice District back in the City.

"Then there is Shannon Charm herself. Kassidy says she was an organizer for Speak for the Trees, which is more than I've been able to find out on my own. Public records show a Shannon Charm, age 21... no arrest record, no university education, no job history, no driver's permit... about all I can find is a minimal but solid credit history and that she's a resident of Windenburg. It's like she doesn't quite exist in the world."

"Maybe she was a spy too," Jenny offered excitedly. "Ohhh... maybe she's in hiding. Living under a false identity like Miranda and Mariah are!" 

"Maybe," Genie mused, "but if she's Agency, why isn't the Agency able to investigate her death? Unless Candice was lying about that... but why would she? And if Shannon is in hiding, what's she doing leading a major pubic protest? I feel like I'm missing something important."

"Well, what's on the memory stick?" Jenny prompted.

"Right, let's have a look," Genie agreed, plugging the stick into her laptop.

"Ok, we have the police report, medical examiner's report, and a police background check," Genie said. "Where do you want to start?"

"Background check," Jenny said. "Maybe they got more than you could."

"OK," Genie said. "Let's see. No, this looks pretty much the same. Shannon Charm, age 21, born June 21, 2005. No arrests, no university, no job history, no driver's permit... wait a minute. Shannon Charm is the daughter of Darrell Charm. Baron Darrel Charm. He's a Lord of the Upper House. My dad's talked about him. The Charms are an old noble family. Like old money and old power."

"So, our murdered environmental activist was a member of a wealthy and powerful noble family,"  Jenny said. "Why isn't that all over the news?"

"Good question," Genie nodded. "Are the Charms burying it? Are the police covering something? Or... Well, there are a lot of possibilities."

"What's in the police report?" Jenny asked.

"Umm, a lot," Genie said. "Let me read for a minute."

Jenny fidgeted while Genie "hmm'd" and "oh'd" for a time. Finally, she couldn't take the waiting. "Well, what does it say?!" 

"Sorry," Genie said. "OK, the big things we didn't already know - First, there was a witness. A woman named Jade Rosa saw the whole thing! According to her statement, a woman in a black hoodie approached Shannon, spoke with her briefly, and when the woman walked off, Shannon collapsed. She died before Ms. Rosa could call for help.

"Second," Genie continued, "the original investigator on the scene was almost immediately replaced. It looks like the new investigator, a Detective Inspector Glass, changed the direction of the investigation to focus on street crime, completely dismissing the witness statement and the medical examiner's... the phrase he uses here is 'wild speculations.'"

"So there is a cover up," Jenny said eagerly.

"I'm going to give that a solid maybe," Genie nodded. "Hang on, I want to look at the medical examiner's report... see what 'wild speculations' Inspector Glass is dismissing."

"Well, don't keep it to yourself," Jenny insisted.

"OK, OK, give me a minute," Genie said. "So according to the medical examiner, Shannon Charm was stabbed three times in the torso, with blows striking the lungs and heart. She would have died quickly... which lines up with the witness statement. Aha! Here we go... He stresses the precision of attack and speculates that the killer likely has military or covert operations training."

"Holy shit," Jenny breathed. "So... we have an environmental activist, who is the daughter of a wealthy and powerful noble family, murdered by some kind of trained assassin, and someone in the National Police is covering it up."

"Yeah, I think maybe we do," Genie agreed.

-----------------

"Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Ms. Rosa," Genie said.

After a restless night, Genie had awoken even more determined to uncover the truth about the death of Shannon Charm. She still wanted to find Kassidy some answers, but she admitted to herself that her reporter's instincts were smelling a story here. Maybe a big story.

Jade Rosa, who turned out to be an analyst at an investment firm located near Gesellschafter Square, had been relatively easy to track down. Even better, she'd quickly agreed to meet Genie at a nearby coffee house during her lunch hour.

"I'm happy to help," Ms. Rosa replied. "It's just horrible what happened to that poor young woman. It's like Representative Friend has been saying... crime just getting so bad these days."

"Actually, I think crime rates are down," Jenny pointed out. After staying the night in the guest house, the actress had shown no intention of going back to the City, tagging along instead. Genie had to admit that she didn't mind the company.

"Well, that's what the Unity government would have you believe," Ms. Rosa huffed. "But, clearly, there is a serious crime problem. I mean, a nice young woman like that... even if she was obviously a radical... killed in the street, right in front of the Von Windenburg Bank. I mean, it's just so shocking."

"Thank you again for your time," Genie interjected smoothly, before the two of them could get any further into a political argument. "I don't want to keep from your day any longer."

"Well, if there is anything else I can do," Ms. Rosa said, rising.

"I have your card, and you have mine," Genie said smoothly. "If you think of any other details, please don't hesitate to email me."

"I certainly will," Ms. Rosa nodded. "I'm sure you'll get the real story out there, Ms. Elderberry. I voted for your father, you know."

"I know he appreciates that," Genie said with completely false cheer.

"So, did we actually learn anything new there?" Jenny asked as they left the coffee house. "Other than that Ms. Rosa is an Axis voter and she doesn't know you don't support your father's politics, that is."

"We learned that what she told us matches what was in the police file you got from Candice," Genie said, walking over the nearby fountain. "That's at least partial confirmation of Candice's information. That's important. Especially since DI Glass's office just forwarded me to the police media liaison, who just repeated the official story."

"Why do people fall for Mr. Friend's bullshit?" Jenny mused, obviously still stuck on her interrupted political argument with their witness.

"Because he's offering Peace and Order, Stability and Tradition," Genie said, tossing a coin in the fountain for luck. She felt like they could use some. "Those sound like good things. They can be good things. You know, my dad was a good guy once. Sure he was always kind of stuffy and conservative but that's not bad, necessarily. Lately, since he's gotten involved with Mr. Friend and the Axis, he's become willing to hurt a lot of people to get power and stay in power. That's what I have a problem with."

-----------------

"Do you really think you can get in?" Jenny asked.

After the coffee house, they had taken the bus out into the rolling hills above Windenburg. This open, parklike countryside had been preserved from the steady expansion of Windenburg's urban sprawl by virtue of tradition and the wealth and power of the old aristocracy, who were determined to keep those traditions alive.

"I'm not sure," Genie admitted, looking up at Stoneridge House, the antique Windenburg mansion of the Charm family. "It can't hurt to try. We're just here to offer Baron Charm our condolences... and if the Elderberry name works in my favor twice in one day, I'll take it."

The butler who answered the door was rail thin and so pale that at first Genie caught herself wondering if she might catch a glimpse of fangs when he spoke. She didn't, but there was definitely something odd about him. He looked younger than Genie herself, except for his eyes, which looked too knowing for someone that young. He had clearly been trained in the same traditions of service as Stephens. He'd also clearly taken extra coursework in Advanced Snotty.

"Can I help you?" he said in a tone that was anything but helpful.

"Ms. Genie Elderberry and Ms. Jenny Poole," Genie said, offering her card. "My father, Representative Rohan Elderberry, is a colleague of the Baron's. We've come to offer our condolences to the Baron for his recent loss."

"Elderberry?" the butler repeated, as if tasting the name on his tongue and finding it unpleasant. "You are Ms. Genevieve Elderberry, daughter of Luna Villareal."

"Yes, that's... that's right," Genie nodded.

"You dare to come here," the butler snarled, naked fury burning away his professional disdain like wildfire. "You have the audacity to set foot in this house. No Villareal is welcome here! Get out or I will take great pleasure in removing you myself!"

"OK, I was wrong," Genie said as they walked away. "It did hurt to try."

The rain was coming down harder now, soaking the wild green country around the old manor house. She'd been quiet since their startling ejection from Stoneridge House, letting Jenny lead the way without really wondering where they were going. 

"What was that about?" Jenny asked gently.

"I don't know," Genie admitted. "I mean, I know the Baron and my dad aren't exactly friends or even political allies. I mean they aren't even in the same House. Upper House nobles and Lower House representatives usually just meet at dinner parties. I have no idea what could have offended the Baron that much... unless..."

"Unless?" Jenny prompted, stopping.

"He didn't say Elderberry," Genie said. "He said Villareal... mom's maiden name. 'No Villareal is welcome here.' ... and there's something else...

"When I first arrived and mom was being a bitch about Kassidy being upset, she said 'Associating with people like... Shannon Charm, only leads to pain and grief.' No, she said 'especially people like Shannon Charm.' It almost sounded as if she knew Shannon."

"Or maybe she knew the Charms," Jenny offered. "Clearly there's some history between the Charms and the Villareals?"

"Except the Charms are old aristocracy, and Grand-père Villareal was a gangster," Genie replied.

"Yeah, because gangsters and aristos never have anything to do with each other," Jenny said sarcastically.

"Jenny, what if this does have something to do with gangsters?" Genie asked. "What are we getting into here?"

In Moonlight - Ch 6 - So, Let Me Tell You...

"So, let me tell you what happened after you guys left last night," Missy said. 

The sales floor at S-Mart was quiet at the moment and Rotten Josh, the store manager, was nowhere in sight. Mary took a quick look around anyway. She didn't want to get barked at. Not because she was intimidated by a middle aged, overweight man with a nametag and delusions of power, Mary reflected. More because she was still feeling a little too 'Mariah' to take Josh's attitude without responding in a way that might risk blowing her cover. 

"Sorry we ran out like that," Mary replied. "Mandy wasn't feeling well."

"She did look kinda upset," Missy said. "Anyway, it's OK. Clay and I stayed with Knox."

"Actually, he and Clay got into a big argument about Evergreen Development," Missy continued.

"Well, Clay did kind of ask for that," Mary chuckled. "I mean, he did try to distract Knox by asking him about 'evil developers.'" 

"... and Knox went right into this whole thing about protected lands, shady deals, crooked politicians and stuff like that," Missy chuckled. "Of course then Clay went into his whole thing about investment and jobs and hard-working people. They really got into it."

"OK, I'm sorry but I'm glad we left when we did," Mary chuckled.

"I know, right," Missy laughed. "And there I was, trying to play peacemaker. I swear, at one point it got so bad I told them if they really wanted to settle things, they should just whip out their peckers and compare."

"Cavoli! No way. You didn't say that?" Mary laughed. 

"I did," Missy grinned. "You know, your accent gets thicker sometimes."

"Really, I never noticed," Mary said, cursing inwardly. "Anyway, they didn't... did they?"

"Of course not," Missy grinned. "Not that it would have settled anything, really. They're about the same."

"You know this for a fact, do you?" Mary blinked, reflecting that Missy might at that. 

The vivacious redhead was notorious in the neighborhood for considering casual sex roughly the same as a hug, just a nice thing between friends. When they had first become friends Mary had made it very clear that she wasn't a hugger... or anything more. She was pleased that Missy had accepted that with the same relaxed good cheer she seemed to do everything else.

"I mean, I haven't done a side-by-side comparison or anything, but..." Missy glanced down at her hands, making a gesture that had Mary biting her lip not to laugh out loud. "Yeah, about the same."

"I did not need to know that," Mary said firmly.

-----------

"Home, sweet home," Mary said softly.

Apart from gossip with Missy, work had been uneventful. Annoying but uneventful. Mary had passed the time, as she did most days, trying to quietly analyze the customers. Someday, she hoped to put her psychology degree to real use, maybe doing social work. Sadly, it just wasn't something she could safely do while hiding out.

Still, hiding out wasn't all bad. The little house she and Mandy rented was nice. Paying bills was a new experience for both of them. Mary, at least, had some experience with living on modest means. Mandy, though she'd never been snobbish or thoughtless about it, had grown up never needing to think about money. She was still adjusting to the idea of a grocery budget. Mary smiled at the memory of watching her wife trying to navigate S-Mart's grocery aisle for the first time.

The living room was cramped and the furniture was simple, cheap and mostly supplied by S-Mart again. We're getting a lot mileage out of my employee discount, Mary thought.

Music wailed loudly from the stereo, a lone violin like a mournful ghost, slow and sorrowful but already building toward a howling fury. Mary recognized the solo from "Lost In Nightmare," a song from Cassie Goth's album Haunted. In Mary's personal opinion it was one of the Raven Witch's best, but also most painful, songs. Not everyone appreciated Haunted. 

Being Mandy had freed her wife to finally really embrace Cassie Goth's music, something she had never been entirely willing to do as Cassie's daughter Miranda. 

"Mandy, are you home?" Mary called and added half to herself, "Or did you leave the stereo on again?"

"Upstairs," Mandy called back.

"OK, that explains why I could practically hear your music from work," Mary teased as she started toward the stairs.

No reply came, but Mary wasn't sure Mandy had heard her anyway. Loud music and short responses usually meant her wife was focused on something. Haunted was an unusual choice for Mandy, but it fit with the brooding mood she'd been in when Mary left for work this morning. 

Putting on a smile, Mary headed for the stairs.

Mary found her wife right where she expected to, sitting at the little table in the bedroom they used as a desk, laser-focused on the laptop.

"Hey, what's got you blasting the Raven Witch at the neighbors?" Mary asked brightly.

"Our nearest neighbors are a vacant lot and a busy street," Mandy pointed out curtly, not looking up. "I don't think they'll mind."

"Si, OK," Mary said more gently. It wasn't like Mandy... No, it wasn't like Miranda to be so short with her. "So, what are you working on?"

"I'm trying to find out more about Shannon's murder," Miranda answered.

Kicking herself for not realizing how deeply bothered Miranda was by the news of her old school friend's death, Mary... no, she needed to be Mariah now... stepped into their shared room. Even as the door swung shut behind her, she could still hear the music of Cassie Goth's grief, pain and rage wailing from the floor below.

"But there's nothing!" Miranda continued, visibly frustrated. "One short article in the Windenburg News. That's it! A woman was murdered on the streets of Windenburg, and it hardly rates a mention! Seriously?"

"What does the article say?"

"Shannon Charm, 21, was killed during a mugging in Gesellschafter Square," Miranda read. "National police are pursuing all leads, but confidential sources close to the investigation say that the police believe the murder is connected to a gang of local ruffians. Like I said, nothing." 

"What did you expect to find?" Mariah asked softly.

"More. Something," Miranda groaned. "I don't know. Something to tell me if this was really just random gang violence."

"It could be," Mariah suggested.

"It's not. There's something more going on here," Miranda said with absolute conviction. "I know it. I can feel it... Goddess, I feel like I'm 16 again, hiding out in Moonwood Mill and just wishing I could talk to mom or to Gwen. I do wish I could talk to mom or Gwen. They'll know more about this. I'm sure of it. Gwen knows the Charm family."

"Why don't you?" Mariah asked. "I mean, I know we can't call them. Even with the Altos' leadership being rounded up by the police, it's still too risky for us to contact people we know right now. At least, not in the usual ways... but you have some unusual ways, mia amata. That little fairy friend of yours... what's her name? Tinkerbell?"

"Bluebell," Miranda corrected. "I can't summon her. She might be seen."

"I don't think our non-existent neighbors, or people walking by the street, would even believe they saw a real fairy flying through our window," Mariah pointed out.

"It's not our neighbors I'm worried about. Not directly anyway," Miranda said. "But Evergreen Harbor is big enough to have a vampire nest. If the wrong person sees Bluebell and word reaches the vampires, the Dark Court could track us down. The Altos would be the least of our worries."

"Right," Mariah sighed.

It wasn't enough that they were hiding out from gangsters. They were also hiding from the secret power behind the gangsters - the Dark Court. 

The secret society of vampires and their minions lurked in the shadows, hiding, hunting and waging their centuries-old blood feud with the equally secret society of witches. 

When they'd first met, Mariah had only half-believed Miranda's stories of the war between vampires and witches that threatened her and her family. She had never imagined that her own life had already been defined by that war. That her own father had been killed in it, an almost incidental casualty in a power struggle between vampire factions.

How many others, she wondered as she looked out the window at the street below. How many people had lost a loved one? How many children had lost a parent? All just collateral damage of a war they didn't even know was going on around them?

The more she thought about it, the more she understood why Miranda needed to know what was going on.

In Moonlight - Ch 5 - Playing Spy

It's OK, Jenny Poole thought as she set out on her morning jog.

So what if I've lost The Urbz, she thought. I've lost parts before. I can get another part. People know my name. I was Babette! I was engaged to famous heart throb Christian Harp. OK for, like, five minutes but it made all the gossip shows! Besides, I'm dating Orange Bailey-Moon now. 

Hell, she thought, I helped to bring down the Alto family... and that wasn't even a scripted drama. That was real life! 

I'm Jenny Poole, she smiled to herself. I'm good at playing a role and at playing spy! 

"Excuse me, Ms. Poole," a woman called from the side of the jogging path.

Slowing, Jenny put on her best 'for the fans' smile. 

She wasn't interrupted on her morning jog that often, mostly because the park was almost always empty this early in the morning. Usually she just saw a couple of other early joggers, focused on their own morning workouts. Her fans would probably be shocked to learn that Jenny Poole, party girl, was up before dawn most days. People didn't understand the kind of hours shooting a daytime drama demanded. 

Still, this woman could be a fan. A creepy fan in a black trench coat and shades. A creepy fan in a black trench coat and shades who looked oddly familiar.

"Hi," Jenny said cheerfully. "I'm sorry, have we met?"

"Candice Barnett." The woman said smoothly.

"Oh," Jenny's eyes widened. "You've changed your... everything."

The last time Jenny had met Candice Barnett, the other woman had looked, and sounded, very different. Candi, as she'd called herself then, had been the ditzy blonde mistress of crime boss Marco Tennari. In reality Candice was a real-life secret agent who had infiltrated the inner circle of the Alto crime family. 

When Jenny and Genie had been caught sneaking around the Altos' penthouse, it had been Candi who had rescued them from the clutches of Marco's second in command, the terrifying Mr. Grey. Jenny still had nightmares featuring Mr. Grey's cold, dispassionate voice explaining his ruthless plans to murder her and her friend. 

"Costume changes are something our professions have in common," Candice said with a sardonic smirk.

"So, I'm guessing you're not just randomly standing around next to the jogging path at 6:00 AM," Jenny said. Candice wasn't the only hot blonde who also had a brain in her head, Jenny thought. "And I'm guessing you're not going to ask for my autograph."

"Sadly, no," Candice nodded. "Do you know what your friend, Genie, is doing right now?"

"She's out of town," Jenny said carefully. "She had a family thing."

"A family thing that, for some reason, has her pulling every available news article about a fatal mugging in Windenburg," Candice said coolly. "That also has her trying to get access to confidential police records regarding that same killing."

"Well, you know, Genie's got a complicated family," Jenny replied. Good God does she have a complicated family, she added inwardly. 

"Yes, she does," Candice said, her voice dry enough to make Jenny feel like reaching for moisturizer. 

The two women looked at each other for a long moment. 

"Your friend is investigating something that certain people don't want investigated," Candice said at last. "Powerful people." 

"And you want her to stop?" Jenny snorted.

"No," Candice replied firmly. "I want her to keep digging. If I could, I'd investigate it myself, but the Agency has been specifically told that this matter is the jurisdiction of the National Police. We have been ordered to stay out of it. Normally, that would be reason enough to for me to be assigned to the case but, as I said, powerful people are blocking the investigation."

"So you want us to look into it, because you can't," Jenny said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice.

"You should take this seriously, Ms. Poole. You are, once again, getting involved in something that could be very dangerous. This kind of work comes with risks," Candice said, slowly removing her shades. 

"Oh my God!" Jenny gasped. "Your eye!"

"When we last met, I believed that my disguise as ditzy bimbo Candi would be enough to cover my involvement in your escape. I was wrong," Candice said. "Mr. Grey was not convinced. He said that either I saw more than I claimed... or, I was so unobservant that I wouldn't miss the eye."

"Oh my God," Jenny breathed again.

"Take this seriously, Ms. Poole," Candice repeated. "I may not be there to save you this time."

"You can still walk away from this," Candice continued, a little more gently, as she slipped her shades back on. "Genie's investigation will be blocked, but that complicated family of hers should protect her if she doesn't press the matter."

"... and the mysterious and powerful bad guys get away with it," Jenny said, shaking her head. "Genie won't stop. Once she's got an idea in her head, she won't stop. What do you need me to do?"

"This has the police files Genie can't get on her own," Candice said, pressing a memory stick into Jenny's hand. "Make sure she gets it... and make sure she understands the seriousness of the situation. If you both decide to walk away, do it. If you keep investigating... I'll be in touch."

Watching the other woman walk away, Jenny took a deep breath and tucked the memory stick safely into her pocket. 

Playing spy always sounded more fun that it actually was, she reflected.

--------------

By afternoon, Jenny was in Windenburg. It always amazed her how the trains could get her from the City to almost anywhere else in the Republic, quickly, easily and comfortably.

From the train station it was a short hike to the pier and the ferry across the bay from Windenburg proper to the Crumbling Isle. Jenny never understood the name. The island certainly didn't seem to be crumbling, and the mansions of the wealthy aristocratic families that lived there were all well kept. 

I not will let Genie see that I'm impressed with the Elderberrys' stately old home, she told herself. After all, I've partied at some of the most glamorous mansions in Del Sol Valley, and I'll bet the Elderberrys' doesn't even have a golden toilet.

The door was answered by a butler. An honest-to-God butler. Not impressed, Jenny told herself. She vaguely remembered Genie mentioning him before. What has his name? Thomas? Richards? Henry?

"Can I help you, ma'am?" the butler asked formally.

"Yes, please let Ms. Genie Elderberry know that Ms. Jenny Poole is here to see her," Jenny replied, calling up the attitude she'd used when auditioning for a guest spot on Dignity and Decorum. Even though they'd passed on her, she felt she'd nailed the character. 

"Of course, Ms. Poole." The butler's nod was almost a bow. "If you would wait here a moment."

"If you would come with me, Ms. Poole," the butler said when he returned a few minutes later. "Ms. Genevieve is staying in the Guest House. I will escort you."

"Sure... I mean, very good," Jenny said.

OK, she thought, Genie's family has a mansion full of fancy art, a swimming pool that could hold a small yacht, and a guest house bigger than my dad's hardware store. Maybe I can act a little impressed. 

Also, she thought, her butler has a seriously cute butt. He's, like, the butt-ler. 

"Jenny, hi," Genie greeted her warmly.

"Hey, so... first thing, I gotta admit it. The house. I mean the whole 'estate' thing. Wow. Like, wow," Jenny stammered out in a rush. "Also your butler has a really cute butt. I mean, you could bounce a quarter off that man's ass."

"Umm... thanks and also eww," Genie chuckled. "Jenny, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you will not believe this... or, you know, maybe you will," Jenny said. "Anyway, let me tell you what happened..."

In Moonlight - Ch 4 - Something More

"I told you once already Cletus, I ain't interested in sellin'," Kurt 'Lumber' Jackson said firmly. "The way you keep on about it makes a fella think you got somethin' more goin' on."

Not that Kurt particularly cared what Cletus might have in mind. The Jackson family had lived on the edges of the Moonwood since before the Revolution. If Kurt's generation of that family lived in a beat-up old cabin, well now there had been plenty of hard times to go with the good ones over all those years. Maybe the Jacksons weren't a grand family, in a grand house, but what they had was theirs and so was the land it sat on. That was enough for Kurt.

"Don't try to be clever, Kurt," Cletus Harris snapped.

"Never figured myself for clever, Cletus," Kurt scoffed. "But I got the brains God gave me and the good sense to use 'em. You might try it sometime." 

"Well use your brains on this," Cletus snarled. "I'm makin' you a fair offer on this land... and you're gonna sell. You can do it today or you can do it tomorra' after maybe some'tin happens. Then maybe this land don't fetch quite as nice a price as I'm offerin' now."

"You threatenin' me, Cletus?" Kurt asked hotly. "You mean to say you're comin' all the way up from the Harbor, to try 'n bully me into sellin' our land?"

"There now, you're gettin' it," Cletus said evilly. "And you sayin' you ain't a clever man."

"Where 're you even gettin' that kind of money?" Kurt asked. "You ain't gonna tell me you got all that rich, not even with you sellin' meth."

"Oh, I got plenty o' money," Cletus sneered. "I'm offerin' you a good deal... and I'm givin' you one last chance, here 'n now, to say yes. If I gotta come back..."

"You ain't comin' back up here 'n makin' any trouble for anyone, Cletus," Kurt said confidently.

"Who's gonna stop me?" Cletus grinned back. "You?"

"Nope," Kurt smiled. "Hey, there Rory. Lou, Demarco, Etta."

"Hey, Kurt. Hey, Cletus." Rory Oaklow smiled at Cletus, and only a fool would mistake the powerfully built woman's smile for anything but the feral baring of teeth it was. "Is there a problem here?"

"Well, Rory, I'm thinkin' there might be," Kurt said. Rory hadn't always been the easiest neighbor to have, he reflected, but by God, she was a good one to have on your side.

"This ain't your business, Rory," Cletus said firmly.

"It's my people," Rory said passionately. "My town. My mountain. That makes it my business. Wildfang business. You don't mess with Wildfang business, Cletus."

"No, Rory, you don't mess with my business. Not anymore," Cletus snarled.

"Cletus, Cletus, Cletus. I'm sure we talked about this the last time your boys tried to build one of your meth labs in my territory," Rory said, her voice lowering into a growl. "You remember... the fire, the explosion. Those boys you sent up afterward ending up in the hospital. My brother Jake insisted on that, you know. Those boys owe him a 'thank you.' Me, I would have left them in the woods... for the wolves."

"You don't know who you're messing with, Rory," Cletus blustered.

"But you do," Rory snarled, something feral and dangerous showing itself in every line of her powerful body. "You know exactly who you're messing with. So... Get The Hell Off My Mountain!"

"Thanks Rory," Kurt said, breathing a sigh of relief as he watched Cletus and his boy Jed hightailing it away. No sir, he thought again, werewolves don't always make for easy neighbors, but by God he was good to have them on his side.

"It's what we're here for," Rory said proudly. "Lou, Demarco... make sure those boys make it back to their car and don't cause any more trouble."

"Yes, ma'am," Lou smiled. "I love it when she gets bossy."

"I know," tawny-haired Demarco grinned. 

"The trailer has thin walls," fair-haired Etta added in dry tones.

"Go," Rory chuckled.

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Grimtooth's was the closest thing to a bar in the town of Moonwood Mill. Along with the library, it was the unofficial, official meeting place for the town. It was a sensible place to meet, especially because Rory had been hungry. To Demarco's thinking, a hungry Rory was to be avoided at the best of times. After their run-in with Cletus, Rory had been craving meat, the bloodier the better. She was plainly in a better mood after having scarfed down one of Celene's rare hamburgers.

"It's not just you, Kurt," Jake Volkov, young leader of the Moonwood Collective, said.

If anyone could seriously challenge Rory's claim that it was her town, her mountain, it was Jake. The two had been raised as brother and sister by the legendary Kristopher Volkov, who had been the leader of the little mountain community for longer than any living person could remember. As Kristopher's heirs, they were now, with his passing, considered the new leaders. Demarco was very aware that the balance between them was a delicate one.

"Someone's trying to buy up land on the mountain," Jake continued. "Mostly around the edges of the Moonwood."

"And whoever they are, they're using Cletus and his boys to put pressure on people who aren't likely to sell," Rory added.

"Why?" Demarco wondered out loud. "I mean, this is pretty country. I love living here... but it's not like prime development land. Isn't the Moonwood protected... like, National Trust land?"

"It is," Kurt nodded. "You wouldn't believe the paperwork you have to deal with to get a huntin' license."

Demarco chuckled. She was surprised Kurt ever bothered with getting a hunting license. She, Rory and Lou certainly didn't... though that was a little different.

"Why is a good question," Rory said seriously. "Who is a better one. We need to figure out who Cletus is working for."

"Sounds like a job for us," Etta said, glancing over at Demarco.

This, she thought, was part of the balance that had been agreed between Jake and Rory. Jake's Collective managed things within the town of Moonwood Mill and handled relations with the surrounding communities. Rory and the Wildfangs, who included Demarco, protected the borders of their shared territories and handled things further afield. 

"We get all the fun jobs," Demarco smiled back.

"This isn't a hunting expedition," Jake admonished.

"Don't give orders to my pack, little brother," Rory put in hotly.

The two locked eyes across the table as the delicate balance between those two strong-willed individuals was tested once again. The table fell silent, waiting. Demarco watched them, knowing all too well the struggle between the Wolf's primal instinct to challenge a rival and the human's rational understanding that they needed to cooperate. Finally, with a smile and a simple tilt of his head, Jake conceded the point. Demarco was a Wildfang and Etta, though she was a friend to both packs and a member of neither, was Demarco's partner and lover. Rory's pack, Rory's lead. 

"He's right though," Rory admitted, if a bit grudgingly. "We need information, not... quick resolutions."

Demarco could almost feel Etta relax. Rory's ideas of quick resolutions usually involved at least some level of violence, and she knew that Etta, while more than capable, preferred to avoid fighting when she could.

"Don't eat anyone. Got it," Demarco said, trying to lighten the mood.

"I guess we get to play spy," Etta smiled.