"Juniper."
Uh oh. Juniper turned and saw the director of the shows he performed. Although he was judge, this was risky. "What are you doing here? You never visit my official proceedings." He couldn't have been watching the camera, could he? He didn't. He couldn't have.
This was bad, this was real bad if he had. Juniper watched him strut in. A confident strut like a peacock. Oh yeah, he clearly knew.
He didn't even play dumb, just pointed to the safe. "That's got every piece of information, doesn't it? All ten pieces? I want them."
Damn! "I can't give you it all," he reasoned as he scratched his head. "He's bringing back guards, so he gets a piece for each one."
"Well, I'm the director. I can find some guards for the show," he said. "Open the safe."
Bad idea.
"One would wonder what the world would think if said information about real shapeshifting werewolves existing on Wolf's Island would react to this?" he cornered him. "We are sitting on a goldmine, Juniper. You were on the right track for ideas, but not the right course of action."
Damn. All Juniper wanted was a show to do well enough in ratings. He didn't even care if they made up their own drama to get through it. He went to the safe and grabbed the pieces. "I can't believe you were really just watching what should have stayed an empty room."
"Oh private talks with judges during these court proceedings are always entertaining," he admitted. "Sometimes you learn really juicy information, to show you who to stick closer to each other. Don't worry, Juniper. You are covered. Promise."
Juniper didn't get a choice. If he didn't hand it over, he was fired. "Devin Oliver Olivacea will be coming back any minute after getting his friends. They are more werewolves." He was trying to stall for time. "If I don't have anything to give them, they will shred me to pieces," he reasoned. "If I don't give them to you, I lose my job when this is exposed. If I don't give it to them, they will literally shred me alive."
He gestured to Juniper's copier. "Go get copies."
That wasn't right. "I can't do that, that's not fair."
"Stupid judges," he insisted. "You want a hit, but you aren't willing to do what it takes for a hit."
Juniper watched as he pulled a gun on him.
"Guaranteed no one is live streaming this room anymore," he warned him. "Maybe death will be easier this way, but why risk it? Make copies," he insisted.
Juniper turned the copier on and started to make copies, watching the door. Devin hadn't shown up with his fellow werewolves yet. Bad time to be late picking them up. What was taking so long?
He had copies of all the information and handed it to the director. He immediately took him.
"So, when they sign the contracts for their media pieces? Have them sign these."
Juniper took the papers and flipped through. He'd seen thousands of contracts. It all looked the same to him. What was the difference? Oh. Starting date. "This isn't-" The director got closer and aimed the gun right at his temple.
"You will get to sign them. You won't give any lead to anything you see wrong. You only see the surface anyway, and is it really that big of a deal?"
Four years. Why were they waiting four years for this deal? "Hang on, are you actually on their side instead?"
The director had a weird smirk, his fang lightly poking from it but didn't answer.
"For the last time, Mads," I tried to explain to him. "It has to be this way. If we do this, we get four pieces of information. One for each bodyguard."
"There's no reason that information wasn't already copied," Grayson pointed out to me. "It'd be easy."
"He won't tangle with this kind of community for long," Mads backed me up. "Only a foolish human messes with werewolves."
"Grayson and William, I need you to guard Jill and Lily. Zoan, I need you to guard my sister, Mattie." He didn't look well with that. "I will guard Destiny."
"We aren't allowed to guard our own sisters? Of course." He was mad at that, but he probably knew it would be that way. "Treat her well, and I'll treat Mattie well."
"Okay, let's go," Grayson insisted.
"Sure, yeah, stardom awaits," William grumbled. "Guarding stupid wolves."
"Jill and Lily aren't bad werewolves, they worked in an office and never hurt anyone," I tried to help them see. It would take time. If these two weren't physically trying to stall for time to get to their home, they wouldn't be cooperating half as nicely.
When I opened the door back to the judges area, he had four seats lined up with contracts and pens in front of each one. He had brought a folding table out in the room for everyone too.
"Fine the name of who you are guarding," he insisted. His bubbly annoyance had seemed to dissipate. Shouldn't he still be quite smug?
Grayson looked at the contracts.
"Guard for Destinyofages," the judge guided them to their seats. "Right there. Mattie there. Guard of Jill. Guard of Lily. If you talked out the duties, sign."
All of us took a few minutes to read the contracts.
"Hang on, what's this?" William scooted it to the judge. "What constitutues 'fulfilling the request to leave' along with decision of coupled person? I smell something here."
The judge looked at it briefly. "I wouldn't worry about that."
"It means the women can't leave until they are pregnant," I told them.
Grayson and William both glared at me. I knew they weren't happy about that. I had told Mads about it though. It would take living with each other about two or three years, but our area would pull through for us and pull us from this area. It wouldn't happen overnight, but even Mads agreed.
"It's covered," I assured them. "I wouldn't leave my own sister in something so hideous. We've already got plans forming. They aren't quick plans though."
"Good," Grayson said. He apparently believed me and started to sign. William followed his lead. I had already signed. Zoan signed last and all the papers were gathered together.
This judge didn't even smile that he won against us. He just took the contracts and placed them in the safe. "One moment. I'll return with more information."
Juniper left the room and watched the director pour forgetful dust through the air conditioning system they designed. It wasn't much. The director didn't need much.
"Okay, Juniper. I have some part-timers that will help move these people back to their boat," he stated. "They should be calling soon once they dusted the last two."
"Mads and Mattie," Juniper told him. "Ruining lives, at least learn them."
"Oh, Juniper. I wouldn't have been able to do anything if it wasn't for you," he said putting the credit where it was due.
Juniper watched everyone get moved out of his chambers. "What will happen when they get back?" He still didn't understand. He knew the director would end up doing something, changing something against the usual. He wanted a mad hit too, but he wanted it more.
Juniper wanted a basic hit, something so that he could earn a nice year of living for. Maybe make enough that he could attract or put in for a female's attention somewhere. Maybe not and just stockpile that money for all the bad years ahead.
The director. Mister Harri Hubbard. He had been searching for the means of a hit ever since he joined. When it came to the shows that seemed to reach higher, his own antics were often involved. So even though in a few years, Juniper would have a nice year.
He didn't want to think about how.