#edit: i should add that i am looking forward to the eclipse still | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

1989dreamer · 6 years ago

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Chapter 16 of Looking for a Place to Call Home

Un-edited. Will look at later. Thanks for reading!

~ * ~

As soon as they step foot in the hospital, Derek feels his hackles rise.

Under the medicine and the death, he can smell the musk of a werewolf. He hadn’t smelled it last night, and it’s still fresh.

Laura growls low in her throat, pushing Cora and Derek back. Her eyes go red. The other werewolf is near.

“We need to go,” Derek tells Erica. “It’s not safe for us.” He tries to pull her, but suddenly his strength is gone. Frightened, he turns to his alpha, only to find Laura staring back at him, the same fear mirrored on her human face.

The nurse from last night sees them and hurries over. “Erica, kids, what are you doing here?”

“Derek has a checkup,” Erica says. “What’s going on?”

Melissa takes Erica’s arm and leads her to an office. “We’re in lock down. We have someone running around attacking our patients. We have a call out to the Sheriff’s Station. I need you to stay here while I get the director.”

Laura steps forward. “We can help.”

“No,” Melissa says, “we activated the dampeners. You can’t help us right now. Lock the door behind me.”

As soon as the door closes behind Melissa, Erica locks it. Then, she turns to Laura. “What’s the dampeners?”

Laura picks up a heavy nameplate from the desk, hefting it easily due to her strength. Her eyes glow slightly red, like the dampeners aren’t fully on right now. “What do you know about werewolves?” she asks.

Erica eyes the makeshift weapon with disbelief. “Werewolves?” she says faintly. “Is that how you survive when you should be at least forty pounds heavier?” She isn’t looking at Derek, but he feels her question deep in his chest.

“A lot happens in three years,” he says quietly.

“Like Sheriff Stilinski losing the election to Coach Lahey,” Erica says. “Like this town losing its collective mind today. First the Sheriff’s Station is in distress. And now the hospital is too. And werewolves. What’s next, an abominable snowman?”

“Banshee, actually,” Lydia says behind them. “Welcome to my office.”

For a moment no one moves, and then Laura drops the nameplate, Lydia’s nameplate, back to the desk. “You’re a banshee?” she demands. “Why couldn’t I smell that earlier?”

“Because I wear scent blockers. It’s easier than subjecting the supernatural population to the stench of death and wrongness that I’ve been told I smell like.”

“Why didn’t you say anything when Stiles’ dad was explaining what we are?” Derek asks her.

Lydia frowns. “It’s easy to prove the existence of werewolves. Just flash your eyes, grow some fangs and claws. It’s harder to prove banshees exist. I scream, I hear the dead, and I can find things no one else can, but aside from my altered smell, I appear completely human.”

“Does your wife know what you are?”

“She’s an Argent. What do you think?” Lydia sighs. “She’s the one who helped design the dampeners and the scent blockers because she knows what the hunters look for when they’re searching for victims.”

“So what’s happening here?” Laura asks. “Why did the nurse put us in here?”

“There is a werewolf running around the hospital. He’s already attacked one person. We’re trying to contain him right now. In addition to the dampeners, we’ve activated the eclipse simulator.”

“The what now?” Laura stares at Lydia.

“Right before Melissa put you in here, did you notice you lost your powers?”

Derek nods. So does Laura.

“That’s the eclipse simulator. As soon as we can pinpoint the werewolf’s location within the hospital, we can ‘turn off’ his werewolf abilities and hopefully stop him from hurting anyone else.”

“Who did he hurt?” Laura asks.

Lydia shakes her head. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Do you know who the werewolf is?”

“No, I don’t, and I wouldn’t be able to tell you anyway.”

“Are you going to turn the werewolf over to the hunters when you catch him?” Derek asks.

“No,” Lydia says. “We have our own system for dealing with dangerous, supernaturally inclined people.”

“Has this werewolf killed anyone?” Laura breaks in. “If they’re in need of an alpha, maybe I could—”

“You couldn’t,” Lydia interrupts. “Even if we could get him to accept you as his alpha, we’d still need him to answer for what he’s done. I’m sorry, I know you’re just trying to help, but I can’t let you.”

A warning bell starts ringing, muffled from behind the dampeners.

“What’s that mean?” Cora asks. “Did they catch the werewolf?”

Lydia nods. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe to go out there yet. Right now, security is going to activate the eclipse simulator. Once it’s disabled, then it will be safe to leave.”

“Will the eclipse simulator affect us in here?” Derek asks. Already he can’t hear the siren anymore.

“Yes,” Lydia says again. She sits behind her desk and folds her hands in her lap. “Go on, sit down,” she urges them. “This could take a while.”

The carpet smells like…carpet. Indefinable and dusty. Derek curls up on it, face down, knees tucked under his chest. It’s softer than a lot of the surfaces he’s spent the past three years on, and he’s able to close his eyes and rest while they wait for the eclipse simulator to be turned off.

~ * ~

Stiles pulls into the Burger Joint and parks directly behind the animal control van. Neither Isaac nor Boyd is in the vehicle.

He finds them inside at one of the booths. “Gentlemen,” he says, resting a hand on his holster, the other casually on his hip.

Boyd glares at him. “What do you need, Stilinski?”

“Callie didn’t tell you?” Stiles feigns surprise. Not very well from Boyd’s intensifying glare. “I need to talk to you outside.”

“About your wolf?” Isaac asks accusingly.

“Yeah.”

“Can it wait until we’ve eaten?”

“Actually, it can’t.” Stiles shrugs, smiling.

Boyd swears, throwing down his burger. “What did the wolf do?”

“Yeah, that’s the thing: he hasn’t done anything.” Belatedly, Stiles adds, “And he’s not a wolf.”

“What did he do?” Boyd repeats.

“Outside, please.”

Reluctantly, they follow him out. Boyd swears again when he sees how Stiles parked.

“What is your fucking deal, Stilinski?” Isaac snaps.

“What do you know about the attack on the Sheriff?”

Isaac says, “What attack?” at the same time that Boyd says, “Attack?”

They exchange a quick look of surprise. Unlike his earlier display, Stiles thinks they’re both being genuine.

“You didn’t know?” he asks.

“Know what?” Isaac asks. “That my father was attacked? No. He was fine when I last saw him.”

“And when was that?”

“This morning,” Boyd answers. “Isaac spent the night at my house and then I went with him to his father’s house so that he could get a change of clothes before we went to work.”

“And why did you accompany him to his father’s house?”

“Because,” Boyd begins. Isaac stops him.

“My father is controlling and abusive. Boyd has been working with me to get me out of that house since high school.”

“Fourteen years?” Stiles asks, incredulous.

“Eighteen, actually,” Boyd corrects. “Every time we have things nearly figured out, Isaac’s dad comes out of nowhere and ruins it.”

“I was going to college, so Boyd and I saved up a few grand to get me started. My dad used it to remodel the house.”

“The basement,” Boyd puts in. “He made closets and boxes designed to torture Isaac. Of course, I couldn’t prove it and his dad had him convinced that no one was going to help him.”

Stiles turns to Isaac, noting that he won’t make eye contact. Stiles sighs. “I need to tell you something,” he says, “but I have to do it at the Station. Will you please come in?”

Isaac shakes his head, pale, sweaty. Terrified.

“No,” Boyd says, unnecessary. “Whatever you have to say, you can say here.”

Stiles looks around. Their conversation hasn’t been private by any means, but the lunch crowd is thinning out enough that Stiles doesn’t think he’ll be overheard.

He opens the passenger door of his cruiser, indicating that Isaac should sit. He does, glancing at Boyd in confusion.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this way,” Stiles apologizes. “Your father did not survive the attack.”

“Wait,” Boyd says. “Wait. Michael Lahey is dead?”

Isaac sags immediately, covering his face with his hand. At first, Stiles thinks he’s crying. Isaac reaches blindly and Boyd grabs his hand. Isaac is laughing.

“My dad is dead?” he asks. “Seriously? What kind of fucked up shit is that, Stilinski?”

“Are you joking?” Boyd looks around like he expects the sheriff to pop out from the planters.

Stiles drops a hand onto Isaac’s shoulder, not surprised when he shrugs it off. “It’s been confirmed,” he says, gently.

Isaac freezes. “It’s true?” he whispers. “My dad is really dead?” Stiles nods. “What did he die of? Who attacked him?”

“I can’t discuss that with you outside of the Station.”

“Do you seriously expect Isaac to go to the Sheriff’s Station where he’s suffered abuse not only from his father but from other deputies too?”

Stiles pulls out his notepad. “Which deputies?”

“What are you going to do about it?” Isaac demands.

“I’m going to do everything I can to ensure that you have justice.”

Isaac snorts. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” He stands up, pushing past Stiles to stomp toward the van. Boyd puts his hand on Stiles’ arm to keep him from following.

“You chose to come back to Beacon Hills,” he says. “Some of us never got to leave. Don’t push where you can’t go.”

Stiles sighs. “I’m just trying to do my job. If the Sheriff’s Station is too hostile of a meeting place for Isaac, then I’ll need an alternative.” He pauses, studying Boyd’s impassive face. “Look, if you know the names of the deputies who tormented him, please tell me. I am going to do my best to rout them out.”

Boyd looks torn. Stiles can sympathize. “Let me convince Isaac to talk to you. I hope you find your murderer, but I also hope you know Isaac had nothing to do with his dad’s death.”

“I’ll let the evidence speak for itself,” Stiles stills him. He may be positive that Isaac (and Boyd) had nothing to do with Sheriff Lahey’s death, but that also didn’t mean that he shouldn’t work the case without investigating every lead he can find. “Don’t take too long to convince him. I’ll hold off the other deputies as long as I can.”

“Don’t act like you’re doing us a favor.” Boyd snorts at him, like a bull getting ready to charge before following Isaac to the van. Stiles shrugs it off. He kind of had that coming.

His radio crackles when he climbs back into his vehicle.

“Dispatch, this is Unit 5. Go ahead.”

“Unit 5, you need to get to Beacon Hills Memorial ASAP. Unknown subject spotted on the grounds. Potentially armed and definitely dangerous.”

“Copy that, Dispatch. I am enroute now.” Stiles hangs up his radio and turns on his lights. Boyd flips him off when he passes the animal control van. Stiles doesn’t care. Right now, all he can think is Erica was supposed to take Derek back to the hospital for a checkup.

What if the unsub is another hunter come to finish the job Kate didn’t get to?

Stiles steps on the accelerator.

~ * ~

MP, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

#Teen Wolf Fanfiction #Derek Hale #Stiles Stilinski #My Story/My Writing #LfaPtCH

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preciousmetals0 · 5 years ago

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PG&E: Let Them Eat Stocks

PG&E: Let Them Eat Stocks:

A Hill of Beans

Of all the financial newsletters in all the towns in all the world … the “people familiar with the talks” had to walk into mine.

You know how those “people” said that a trade deal would happen before the deadline for new Chinese tariffs on December 15? About that … we’re apparently kicking the can down the road once more.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. and China are “laying the groundwork” to delay this Sunday’s tariff increase. Part of the delay, the Journal says, is getting China to agree to considerable purchases of U.S. farm products (i.e., soybeans) — a key point President Trump has harped on for some time, though it’s not why the trade war started in the first place.

While the two sides are still reportedly haggling over the finer points of a very close trade deal — you wouldn’t believe how close — White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that there are “no arbitrary deadlines” in the trade talks.

I’ll take that as shorthand that December 15 isn’t a deadline for an agreement.

The market sees it that way as well. After yesterday’s pause in the action, stocks are rallying once again on temporary good news.

The Takeaway:

I get it, I get it. Things change. This is a negotiation, after all. It’s just that … we’ve heard this all before.

The actors are the same. The words are the same. We’re “very close” to a trade deal for, what, like the 14th time this year? How many times have we delayed tariffs, only to have them ratcheted up when things go south?

So far, we’ve only heard from President Trump’s advisers. We have yet to hear from Trump himself on the current trade deal’s prospects or the reported delay of this weekend’s new tariffs.

What’s more, the issues at the heart of the U.S.-China trade war — Chinese subsidies for domestic companies, technology transfer, intellectual property protections — aren’t even included in the talks for a “phase 1” deal, according to the Journal.

As it stands, though, the markets will be happy with a deal … any deal that eases tariff pressures on U.S.-China relations. Right now, such a deal is tied directly to Chinese agricultural purchases, which China has tied to tariff rollbacks.

Once again, we’re in “wait and see” mode. All the bluster has been taken out of this week’s manufactured urgency for a trade deal. We’re kicking the can down the road once more.

In the end, it would be nice if a U.S. trade deal amounted to more than just a hill of beans.

The Good: Breaking out of the Zone

AutoZone Inc. (NYSE: AZO) is humming like a well-oiled machine today.

The do-it-yourself auto parts retailer posted a stellar quarterly report this morning, beating both top- and bottom-line targets.

Earnings arrived at $14.30 per share, blowing past Wall Street’s target of $13.70 per share. Revenue rose to $2.79 billion, also besting the consensus estimate. Finally, same-store sales completed the trifecta, rising 3.4% and towering over expectations for a gain of just 2.5%.

As a result, AZO investors stepped on the gas today. The stock broke out to fresh all-time highs, eclipsing former resistance at $1,200.

That said, investors probably shouldn’t chase AZO today. The stock is sure to consolidate these gains in the coming week. If you’re looking to add AZO to your portfolio, look for a test of support in the $1,230 to $1,220 area before jumping in.

The Bad: Chewy Results

Last week, I bought my cat Kylo a new cat tower. It’s covered in carpet and dangly toys, and it has a nice comfy hammock for him to sleep in.

Kylo, however, sleeps in the cardboard box the cat tower came in.

That’s kind of how investors have treated Chewy Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) since the online pet supplies retailer’s initial public offering.

It has all the bells and whistles that pet owners love, but investors still prefer that big brown box with the smile on the side (you know the retailer).

I don’t blame them … I got Kylo’s cat tower from Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN), not Chewy.

This morning, Chewy proved that it’s still hanging in there … barely. Earnings for the third quarter came in at a loss of $0.20 per share, whiffing expectations by $0.04. Revenue was a better-than-expected $1.23 billion … but only by about $30 million.

Still, Chewy put fourth-quarter guidance in line with expectations and said that Chewy.com’s active users rose 33%.

The biggest problem for the company remains customers like me, who are already set in their ways with where and how they shop. For me, Amazon beats Chewy on price, and local pet shops beat both on loyalty. It’ll be interesting to see if Chewy can overcome these hurdles down the road.

The Ugly: Catching Fire

Yesterday I wrote about PG&E Corp. (NYSE: PCG) and how the company might finally put the 2017 and 2018 California wildfires behind it.

In my research for Great Stuff, I typically avoid linking to paid or paywall-restricted news sites such as The Wall Street Journal.

It’s easier for you to read these articles if there are no paywalls.

However, in doing so, I overlooked a key piece of information in PG&E’s $13.5 billion settlement with wildfire victims.

I am rectifying that oversight today and issuing a warning on PCG stock. Digging into a report by the Journal, I noticed a key part of the settlement agreement: “PG&E will pay half of the $13.5 billion in cash and half in stock…”

Did you catch that? “Half in stock.” There are two things wrong with this:

“We’re sorry your loved ones died and you lost everything. Here’s some stock.” I hope I don’t have to explain to you the callousness of providing compensation in the form of stock. If I do, you probably eat your fast-food hamburgers with a fork.

What are the victims going to do with that stock?

Think about that last one long and hard. These people need money to get their lives going again. PG&E is handing them $6.75 billion in PCG stock. That’s more than the company’s current market cap of $5.91 billion.

So, where will those compensation shares come from? Out of thin air. Rather, the current PG&E shares will disappear when the company comes out of bankruptcy, and new ones will be issued in their place. The new company’s value will be determined by the bankruptcy experts handling PG&E’s case, and you can bet that valuation will be big enough to cover this settlement and then some.

But what then? The survivors have these shiny new PG&E shares, but what they need is cash … so they’ll sell. They’ll sell nearly all $6.75 billion of those shares when they get a chance. Some will be financially stable enough to hold, but how long will they hold once the selling starts?

In the end, PG&E may nearly be out of the woods on lawsuits and bankruptcy, but investors holding PCG stock are going to be left with the bill.

The Banyan Hill experts were buzzing this morning. What got them all riled up?

An article in Bloomberg about EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. EBITDA is a creative accounting method. While it isn’t a generally accepted way of reporting financial results, that doesn’t stop companies from using it — especially when it comes to securing corporate loans.

The Bloomberg article takes aim at this practice, raising alarms that it could spark the next economic slump. So, how did Banyan Hill’s experts feel?

Charles Mizrahi, editor of Alpha Investor Report, had this to say:

I never look at EBITDA and think I’m looking at real numbers.

For years I thought I was the only one who didn’t take EBITDA seriously.

That all changed when I heard what Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s partner, said about it:

“I think that, every time you see the word EBITDA, you should substitute the word ‘bullshit’ earnings.”

I guess that would make the word E-BS-ITDA?

Charles is a no-nonsense guy who looks at investing with the real world in mind … not the one Wall Street’s talking heads try to sell you. This is the kind of “everyman” investing research that you need right now in this questionable market.

Click here to find out how to get started with Charles’ research today!

Great Stuff: Feed the Beast

You better believe it’s that time again.

It’s time to write to Santa — er, Great Stuff. Forgive me, it’s starting to look North Pole-esque near me this week.

You have two days to drop me a line at [email protected] to make this week’s edition of Reader Feedback.

We take all kinds here: comments, questions, witty remarks and holiday recipes. As always, no cursing, please. We can’t publish that s#&%.

I’ll get the festivities started for you:

What’s your “bull case” estimate for Tesla? And why is it $50,000 per share?

Have you ever invested in biotech stocks?

How about that trade war?

What’s your family’s favorite holiday treat to make?

I truly, madly, deeply look forward to hearing from you. (Whoa there, Great Stuff, slow down a bit!) And you can look forward to what your partners in crime write in this Thursday.

In the meantime, don’t forget to check out Great Stuff on social media. If you can’t get enough meme-y trade war goodness, follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Until next time, good trading!

Regards,

Joseph Hargett

Great Stuff Managing Editor, Banyan Hill Publishing

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goldira01 · 5 years ago

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