Liberation: Oscar's Story

Chapter 26: Pt. 1

"I'm sorry that I wasn't able to meet with you sooner." Mayor Lance Dafowick bustled around his oval-shaped office, fixing overturned trophies and stacking contracts and spreadsheets atop one another. "I've been busy with so many things that I haven't gotten the chance."

"It's fine." Oscar was sitting on a murky green chair situated in front of Mayor Dafowick's desk, and he observed the frazzled Mayor with a lazy, if not, irritated eye. "I've had my problems to deal with, anyway."

"Indeed. Isn't life difficult as a leader?" Mayor Dafowick laughed. "Everyone thinks that the job is so fulfilling and pleasant. They think that I have free time. Pha! I haven't had any time to myself since I took this blasted job."

"Then why do you keep running for every election?" Oscar raised a plain brow. "If you're tired, then just quit. It's easy for you, anyway. You humans don't have generational ties to your positions."

"Some of us do, but besides that, nobody else would want to be Mayor. Bourdier is a respected town, Alpha Yuen, but many of the people here have let that praise get to their heads. If any of them were to become Mayor, our reputation would plummet." Mayor Dafowick shoved two stacks of spreadsheets to his right and fell onto his chair with a sigh. "Goodness, I'm beat."

"I can see that." Oscar studied one of the gold trophies. "You did karate?"

"When I was young, yes." Mayor Dafowick smiled fondly at the gold piece. "I remember being particularly invested in the art because of a young girl in my class. I wanted to impress her." He laughed. "Don't we all when we meet someone we come to like?"

"I suppose so." Oscar tapped his foot. "So, you're worried about Bourdier's reputation? That's why you don't want to quit."

Mayor Dafowick hesitated. "Partly. Of course, there are plenty of other reasons, but I don't want to bore you with them." A glint appeared in his eyes. "I have plans for this town, Alpha Yuen, and I'd like to make them happen sooner rather than later." He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a manila folder and a fountain pen. "Regardless, I didn't have you schedule a meeting with me to engage in aimless chatter."

"Hardly." Oscar leaned forward. "I must admit, you've put my wolves quite on edge with this recent revelation. Is it true that Egon has escaped?"

"Escaped, broken out, been freed - whatever. Yes, he's gone." Mayor Dafowick opened the manila folder and spread three sheets of paper over the desk for Oscar to see. "This is Egon's criminal record. We combined what General Karsten gave us and what we found to create this. I believe I sent you a copy."

"You did." Oscar ran through the notes. "How was he in prison?"

"Well-behaved, if not, prone to occasional fits of insanity," Mayor Dafowick said. "He's a young man who's probably not in the right mind. He seems intelligent, though, but inexperienced in the realm of evil."

"Egon was always a bright boy," Oscar said. "He was a good student, though I remember that he was inept in combat. His mother had put him in the military regiment. I would assume that that's where he became adept in killing."

"Most likely. Does being a hybrid do anything to help?"

"No. In fact, it creates a sense of instability in a wolf, which I can now correlate to Egon's behavior. Being a hybrid effectively kills his wolf, but his DNA is a mess of strands, which is why it was near impossible to catch him."

"I see. So, silver does nothing to him? That's what werewolves are afraid of, right?"

"Silver is our Achilles Heel," Oscar said. "It can kill us, but it can't harm Egon. If he were not a wanted wolf, I'd have requested him to participate in a few harmless tests, but obviously, I can't do that." He then looked at the two photographs in the file - one of Egon's cell and the other of Egon himself, sleeping on the cot. Oscar noticed how humane the young man looked and felt a pinch of sympathy.

"Silver, eh?" Mayor Dafowick muttered to himself. "Well, it wouldn't have held him, then. We still don't know how he escaped."

"Was there any CCTV footage?"

"None. The cameras were destroyed and we couldn't get any of the cards."

"What about the guards?"

"They were knocked out by some type of chemical. It wasn't chloroform."

"It could have been gyranum. It's a supernatural substance used primarily by rogues. It's illegal and deadly, especially to humans. Did you send those guards to the hospital?"

"No. They woke up shortly after the explosion."

"Have them checked out as soon as possible. I'll have a few of my nurses come as well." Oscar rubbed his chin. "Has the cell been looked at?"

"It was destroyed," Mayor Dafowick explained regretfully. "The explosion took out everything. We were keeping Egon in an isolated area, so there wasn't anyone else. I've had my men check for any clues, but we've found nothing."

"I'll send a few of my wolves to look as well. There could be some supernatural traces that your technology can miss." Oscar chewed his cheek. "Can I see the scene? I'd like to try and find some clues."

"Of course." Mayor Dafowick stood and led Oscar out of his office. They walked in silence down the hallway and stood apart on the elevator, each lost in his thoughts. Oscar was particularly engrossed with a raunchy fantasy, something he felt both excited and ashamed to think about. His passionate session with Ananya was still fresh on his mind and he found that he was very regularly stuck with an erection. It proved to be annoying, as he was forced to walk in anything but his boxers or sweatpants in the comfort of his home. It didn't help that he hadn't seen Ananya since the festival.

As fate would have it, the elevator stopped on the third floor, and the doors opened to reveal a red-faced January Bayor and a giggling Ananya, both of whom went quiet upon noticing Mayor Dafowick and Oscar.

"Hey!" Ananya beamed and waved, stepping into the elevator. "This is a surprise." She stood in front of Oscar, her back inches away from his chest. "I missed you," she murmured, soft enough so that only he heard.

His breath hitched. "So have I," he replied softly. "We should meet up."

"We should."

"Tomorrow? If you're free?"

"I have a video call with my aunt tomorrow," Ananya groaned. "It's her weekly check-up. How about Saturday?"

"That works for me."

"Great." She grinned, and her lips parted in such a way that the dim light of the elevator reflected on her lip gloss, arousing a sense of urgency in Oscar. His palms prickled and he suddenly wished that Mayor Dafowick and January Bayor weren't in the elevator with them so that he could shower the pent-up affection upon his adorable mate.