Ainge's Changes, Part 24
When 12-year-old Tommy Ainge discovered he was a werewolf, he never realized just how much more complicated his life would become. Although he's been embraced by the local pack, the constant threat of Paladin attacks now looms over him. A Paladin has already claimed the life of the pack's Junior Alpha and wounded their leader, and the fallout has caused Tommy's boyfriend Ryan - the son of a former Paladin himself - to become infected with lycanthropy as well. Who's behind these attacks? And can Tommy save himself and his friends before it's too late?
November 1992
It felt like being sent to the Principal's office.
Tommy was not looking forward to meeting with Mr. Grey for the first time since the Paladin attack two and a half weeks ago. The local Alpha had recently been released from the hospital after the injuries he suffered on the previous full moon. Joining Tommy and his father for this emergency meeting was Benny Jamison, the African-American werewolf who'd been serving as Alpha while Mr. Grey was recovering; and Andy Bernard, the boy who'd taken over the role of Junior Alpha since Anthony's son had been murdered.
"I'm not going to say that what happened on the last full moon was anyone's fault," Mr. Grey said, drinking his coffee with a right arm that was still bandaged up. "Obviously it wouldn't have made a difference if I'd known where Thomas and his father were hiding. But I want to make it clear: under no circumstances do you ever go off on your own during a full moon without informing me first. We need everyone in the pack present and accounted for, and you guys ducking away to spend the night at a hotel puts undue stress on all of us."
"We apologize, Anthony," Tommy's father said, almost in a whisper. "We were just in a panic about what to do. We didn't want to be right across the street from Linus when thought for sure that his son had told him about the pack."
"I get that, but there's a difference between finding a safe place to ride out the night and just taking off without telling anyone." Mr. Grey took another sip of coffee. "And I know what's been said about Linus and his whereabouts that night. This notion that Linus wasn't aware of us or had nothing to do with the attack, or that he didn't have the information necessary to carry it out, is nonsense. He's behind this whole thing."
"Anthony, you've gotta stop with this," Benny pleaded. "Linus didn't do it. There's gotta be another Paladin in town."
"Another Paladin that Linus likely called in to do the dirty work while he goes off on a date night with his wife," Anthony said back. "Think this through, people. Does anyone else not find it suspicious that Linus just happens to be away from home on the night of a full moon? As though he didn't plan to be as far away from the crime scene as possible? The Paladins are a very organized group - they could very easily send someone like Linus in as a spotter. Someone that nobody would expect as a killer, casing the neighborhood for targets. Then, when they have enough intelligence to act, they bring another Paladin from out of town to complete the mission. It's one of the reasons why they're almost never caught."
"So what do we do about it, then?" Mr. Ainge asked. "You don't have any evidence against Linus, so even if he had a hand in the attack-"
"Mr. Ainge, are you questioning my judgment?" Anthony barked, rising out of his chair.
"Come on now, Anthony," Benny said, putting a hand on Mr. Grey's shoulder. "Settle down. He's not questioning anything."
"I lost my wife to a Paladin, Mr. Ainge," Anthony lectured. "Not long after Justin was born. And then I lose my son to a Paladin when he was just starting to grow into adulthood. I am much more familiar with Paladin encounters than anyone else in this room. So when I say that Linus was responsible for my son's murder, I don't want to hear a word out of anyone - especially a human - suggesting otherwise. Am I clear?"
Tommy watched as his father locked eyes with the Alpha, somehow managing not to break eye contact despite the dressing down. "Crystal," Mr. Ainge replied.
"Good. As for what we do going forward, it's clear that we need surveillance on the Colton house to see who he's communicating with. The department is already pulling his phone records from the last three months, so we should know if he's communicating with anyone in the organization. Andy."
The Junior Alpha looked up in attention.
"I don't want any contact between Ryan and any of the kids in the pack. That includes at school, at the park, anywhere. If he's on the same sidewalk as any of us, we cross the street. I don't want to give these people any opportunity to find out what our future plans may be. Understood?"
Tommy could sense some reluctance in Andy's body language, considering the promises that had already been made about being nicer to Ryan. But duty to the pack came first. "Yes, sir."
"I'm going to arrange for a stakeout to be held near the Colton residence to see if we can catch him going anywhere besides his practice. And as for you and your son, Mr. Ainge," Anthony directed his attention back at Tommy and his father, "the next full moon is in a week and a half. I expect the two of you to spend it here. This way I can keep tabs on you instead of being left completely in the dark about where you are like last time."
"Understood," Mr. Ainge replied.
"Good. You guys are dismissed," Mr. Grey announced, taking another sip from his coffee cup.
Tommy followed his dad and the other guests outside, closing the door behind them. Andy quickly made his way back home, but at the foot of the driveway, Tommy felt a tap on his shoulder. Tommy looked up and saw Benny, handing the boy a paper note. He gave Benny a quizzical look, which Benny responded with an encouraging nod of his own. He unfolded the note.
Meet me at the restaurant. We need to talk. - B
Tommy looked over at Andy, some distance away now, clearly not having received the same instruction. He presented the note to his dad, who looked over at Benny and started to speak, but was stopped by a finger on Benny's lips. "It's not safe," he mouthed.
Tommy and his parents made the quick trip to Benny's restaurant, and after a complimentary dinner the family was ushered into Benny's office.
"Close the door behind you," Benny instructed.
Tommy, the last one to enter the room, did as was told.
"I've got a bad feeling about this," Benny explained. "Anthony seems so hell-bent on nailing Linus on this that he's not looking for other suspects. And if he finds out what happened to Linus' kid, who knows what he's gonna do."
"You don't think if Mr. Grey finds out that Ryan's a werewolf now," Tommy posed, "that maybe it'll get him to stop going after Linus?"
"No way, no sir, no how," Benny replied. "Remember what I said at the gathering? Paladins hate werewolves. Werewolves hate Paladins. A Paladin who becomes a werewolf is hated by both. They've lumped Ryan in with his father so much I don't think they're going to treat him any different."
"So why are you so concerned about Linus and Ryan, then?" Tommy's father asked. "Why help out a Paladin?"
Benny looked squarely in Tommy's eyes. "Because Tommy deserves to know who's responsible for killing his birth parents. If Linus didn't do it, maybe he knows who did. And he's more likely to tell us if we keep his boy safe than if we let pack justice run its course."
Tommy looked back at Benny, nodding subtly in appreciation.
"Besides," Benny continued, "I'm starting to get nervous about Anthony. I mean, I feel for him. Nobody should lose their wife and kid like that. But he's getting tunnel vision. We can't go on this witch hunt while another Paladin is potentially out there. The whole pack could be endangered."
"What should I tell Ryan?" Tommy asked. "The guys were just starting to accept him into the group, and now it sounds like Andy's going to make them all shut him out again. They can't keep doing this to him. And this is gonna be his first full moon, too. Who's gonna be there to help him through that?"
"I know, man. I definitely don't want Linus to be the only person there when he changes, for obvious reasons. But there's gonna be hell to pay if Anthony finds out I'm undermining his authority like this. You just gotta find a chance to talk to him and tell him what's going on. But you can't call him. If the police gets his phone records and sees your number come up after we just had this meeting, Anthony's gonna get suspicious."
"Sounds to me like you don't trust your own Alpha," Mr. Ainge mused.
"Hey, I like the guy. I really do. When he came into the pack, I was the one who introduced him to the leadership. I was the one who suggested he take over as Alpha when our last one died. He's been a great leader. But on this one... I think he may be taking things a bit too personally. The day he got back from summer proliferation, he put the whole pack on alert about Linus being in town. And then after what happened to Justin, I don't think you can convince him that anyone else did it."
"How did he know?" blurted Mrs. Ainge, who'd been silent during the whole conversation.
"What do you mean, 'how did he know?'" asked Benny.
"How did Anthony know that a Paladin was in the neighborhood when he came back?" Helen clarified. "Assuming the two of them have never met before, how would he know anything about Linus?"
Mr. Ainge began nodding, stronger and stronger each time. "That's right... Linus told us that he was oblivious to the fact that the pack leader was living so close to him. If Linus didn't know about Anthony, how did Anthony peg him as a Paladin so fast? Is it possible... that there's a history between them?"
"Like what?" Benny asked.
"I don't know. Maybe Linus was the one who killed his wife years ago."
"But Dad," Tommy interrupted. "Linus said he never killed anyone. He worked the infirmary."
"Tommy, no offense," Benny remarked. "But you can't just take a Paladin at his word like that. I know you're friends with his son and all, but that doesn't mean Linus is completely innocent. Even if he wasn't responsible for what happened to Justin, he still belongs to the organization. He's not going to admit to anything."
"I think Thomas is right, Benny," Mr. Ainge said in defense of his son. "I don't think Linus would be so open about his past as a Paladin if he had anything to hide."
"Hmph," Benny grunted. "Maybe so, but let's not presume his hands are totally clean, either. It doesn't really sound like he was denouncing them when he left."
A few moments of silence lingered in the cramped office.
"Right now, I don't think we can do anything but let this play out," Benny said. "If we can make it to the next moon without any other incidents, we'll have a whole month to work this out. I'll see if I can talk to Anthony and get him to widen the search. I doubt the police department is going to want to spend a lot of resources on someone who's already been cleared of suspicion."
"What about Ryan?" Tommy asked. "What if the other kids start shutting him out again?"
"You'll have to talk to Andy about that," Benny replied. "But they know he's a werewolf already, don't they?" Tommy nodded. "Then I don't think you've got anything to worry about. He's got the aura now. It's gonna be tough for them to turn their backs on him - especially if they know his first moon is coming. Look, we'll talk about this more in a couple of days. Just stay safe and let me know if you notice anything out of the ordinary. I'll do the same."
"Will do," Mr. Ainge replied. "Thanks, Benny."
The family left the restaurant and started making their way home. Even though the threat of a Paladin attack still lingered, Tommy felt a pit in his stomach as he began thinking about Ryan. The next ten days leading up to the full moon were going to be tough for the younger boy, and Tommy knew it would be his responsibility to help Ryan through it. The only question was, would his other friends be there to support him, would they shut Ryan out as they'd done before - or would they actually try to keep them apart?