Tares City

57. Pulled Back In

"I CAN'T LEAVE CALVIN ON HIS OWN!" Dean exclaims cutting off Quinn's rant. 

Quinn scoffs at him, speaking before he can continue, "Oh, is that it? You can't leave your friend with me? Why on earth? Is this because of the last case we worked together? Because we have different perspectives on the world? It's that right? Do you think that I'm some kind of dangerous extremist hunter so now I shouldn't recruit your friend to work with me - at our job?! A major opportunity for him might I add! His skill on this -,"

"No, it's not like that."

"He's a big boy, Straken. He can make his own judgments and decisions. He said yes to my task force, I didn't force him, he could have declined, " She argues.

"Stop and let me explain, okay?" Dean says, holding his hands up before him in surrender. Quinn folds hers in response, glaring at him, giving him his chance to speak.

"Look," Dean begins. "I'll be honest, our last major case..it was Lycan related...and I almost lost him. Twice, in fact." He explains softly to her, watching her expression soften as he'd hoped. "Calvin is my best friend. He's like my brother. The only person I truly have in this world and I was helpless then. There was nothing I could do to save him...help him, and he almost died. I need to be there with him. Tares is way messier than it was, and this task force is going to carry him deep into these situations. I...I can't lose him, Quinn."

"Straken-"

"I know it was low and underhanded, me going to the captain to get in, and I'm sorry... but I was desperate. I have to be by his side through all this."

Quinn lets out a heavy sigh, the two of them standing in silence as she thinks over Dean's words. Dean waited anxiously, hoping that the angle he'd chosen to play would work.

"Alright, Straken," Quinn responds reluctantly with a stiff nod, turning to walk away without saying anything more. Turning back to his car, Dean lets a smug smile grace his features, his plan having worked perfectly. 

~

Two days after landing himself a spot on Quinn's task force, Dean and Calvin find themselves in Quinn's first official meeting. She'd recruited seven others, making them ten in total. 

"Alright, guys. Let's get to it. We've wasted enough time," Quinn addresses the room. "First, let's get this out of the way - All of us in this room know about Lycans. I've hand-selected everyone here because, one, you're aware of the situation or you're a hunter and two, I think your practical skills will be an asset in helping us achieve the goal of this task force."

Dean looks around the room at Quinn's words, having never thought these particular persons before him were hunters. he knew the force was full of them, but knowing whom exactly was a little surprising to him.

"So, by now we're all aware of the L-XV, yes?" Quinn begins again, pausing for the room to nod in response. "Well, this task force's purpose is to find the head manufacturer and distributor of the drug. Our goal is to get that cursed thing off the street and stop more Lycans from becoming mutated super beasts. They're bad enough as is, we don't need them indestructible and on a rampage through our streets."

"Damn right!" Daniel, a detective Dean had worked alongside a couple of times comments. 

"Now, I'm part of a hunter organization. I'm under the Kennedys. The Kennedys recently came to Tares as they are expanding their empire. Daniel, Luther, and Kaylah here m are also part of that organization. Kaylah recently transferred over to us.  There's another organization in the city run by the Berlins." Quinn explains. 

Dean's eyes rise slightly at the mention of the Berlin name, but he reigns in his surprise -  Intently listening on.

"They've been the main and only hunter organization here in Tares until recently." She says to them.