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Taking a seat at the secluded end of the bar in the nearly empty pub, John signaled the bartender for a beer, then nodded at the man he'd sat down next to. He was pleased at the wary look Chris Argent gave him in return.
"Sheriff Stilinski."
"Mr. Argent."
His beer arrived and he took a sip, then, once he knew the bartender was out of earshot, he said, "So, werewolves and werewolf hunters, huh?"
It really wasn't a question and he was also pleased to see Argent's look turn constipated, then the man sighed and drank half his beer in one swallow. "How'd you find out?"
"My grounded until he's thirty son finally stopped lying to me. A hell of a lot of what's happened in the last year makes sense now. I will say that if your father was still alive, he'd be spending the rest of his life in one of my cells for what he did to my kid. You're not in one because Stiles made sure I knew you had nothing to do with the kidnapping and beating of a minor. Any of the minors. I understand there was torture of a couple of the teens that night, too."
Argent swallowed hard and rubbed his hand over his face, then sighed tiredly. "We have a code about kids and innocents, and apparently I'm the only one following the damn thing."
"Keep following it and I don't have a problem with you. My kid, his Pack, his Alpha..." Argent gave him a startled look and John nodded. "Stiles is still human but he's Pack and, they may be fucked up teenagers with an emotionally constipated leader, but they're not killers and they're under my protection. You leave them alone and I'm all for you helping police with whatever else supernatural crawls out from under a rock and into my town. I'm not too proud to ask for help against shit I don't understand. Stiles said you helped with this Alpha Pack, kept all of his friends alive. I thank you for that."
"It's...You're welcome, but it's selfish on my part. My daughter..."
"Yeah, that must burn." That was a bit nasty, but the man had been running around his town hunting and shooting things for the last year, right under his nose. John didn't blame himself for not seeing it, because who would even think to see the supernatural?
And Argent wasn't a milquetoast. "From what I hear, Derek's more than just Stiles' Alpha."
"Touche. And I know. He told me that, too."
"And yet Hale's not in jail?"
"Oh, I'm perfectly aware Stiles is lying through his teeth about how far he's gone with his much older boyfriend, but I'm willing to turn a blind eye to that as long as he stops lying about the deadly shit."
"Good of you."
"You're letting Allison date Scott."
Argent sighed. "I'm sure you're aware how impossible it is to keep a stubborn teenager from the one they love. She got that quality from her mother."
"So did Stiles." John smiled a bit sadly, then beckoned again to the bartender. "Want something stronger?"
"Hell yes."
End