Industrial Magic
Page 84
Aaron turned and met her gaze. Cass, you stopped doing that years ago. Decades. Youre notYoure not part of anything anymore. Youre disconnected.
Disconnected?
Im not trying to give you a hard time. There have always been two vampire delegates for a reason, one as a resource and one as an ombudsman. Now that Lawrence is gone, youve taken over his old role and, well, someone needs to do yours.
When she didnt respond, he touched her elbow, but she yanked her arm back.
I am not disconnected, she said.
Aaron sighed, and looked at me. Think about it.
I nodded. We finished up and left.
The New Orleans Vampire Situation
I SWITCHED THE CELL PHONE TO MY OTHER EAR AND walked into a quieter corner of the airport. We have a flight for New Orleans leaving in an hour, so Ill be stuck there overnight.
Perhaps I should have come along, Lucas said. I havent accomplished much here. My father convened an intra-Cabal meeting this afternoon, and he says that no one recalls any dealings with vampires. That, of course, is preposterous. Even if no vampires have approached them, they must have encountered one or two in the course of business. Either they think Im stupid or they just cant be bothered to lie more creatively.
I let out an oath.
My sentiments exactly. Now, my father has admitted to one recent Cortez Cabal encounter with a vampire. Apparently one tried to arrange a private meeting with him in July. The request was denied, of course, and the matter ended there.
What did this vampire want to speak to him about?
No one bothered to ask. As soon as they found out he was a vampire, they didnt care to hear anything else. Not a reason, not a name, nothing. And as much as Im predisposed to think my father is withholding information, I must admit that this is exactly how Cabal employees are trained to deal with vampires.
Can I just say arghh! When this is over, we dont ever have to work with these nice people again, right?
You have my word on that. Perhaps then, one good thing will come of this. It might persuade you to join me in future anti-Cabal work.
Hey, no one needed to convince me. I was always willing to help. You just had to ask.
Silence buzzed down the line. Cassandra appeared at my shoulder to say that the plane was boarding. I motioned that Id be right there.
I have to go, I said to Lucas.
I heard. About working together, I was always under the impressionthat is to say He paused. You need to run, but Id like to discuss this later. And dont forget to call me when you get to New Orleans.
I wont.
Cassandra had said little since wed left Aaron. Again, she bought me afirst-class ticket. I knew Cassandra had money, lots of it, and I doubted she ever flew coach, but it was still a nice gesture. She also offered me her in-flight meal, which I refused, though I did accept her package of cocktail nuts. By the time I finished dinner, she was on her second wine, which told me something was wrong. Id never seen Cassandra drink more than half a glass at a sitting.
When the flight attendant came by with dessert, I looked at the gelatinous square they called lemon meringue pie, and opted for a tea instead. Cassandra motioned to her wineglass for a refill.
How long have you been attending council meetings, Paige? Cassandra asked as the attendant left. Five, six years?
Almost twelve.
Twelve years, then. She fingered the stem of her glass. Youve always had a good memory, so perhaps youll remember better than I can. Whens the last time we investigated a vampire concern?
In 98. Dallas, Texas. We had a report of a killer draining his victims blood. Turned out it was a human killer, though, so I suppose that doesnt really count as a vampire concern. I paused. Lets see, before that it would have been 96. A vacationing Russian vampire was raising a ruckus
Yes, yes, I remember that. I meant when did I last bring a concern before the council?
Like what Aaron was talking about? A situation thats worrying vampires in general?
Exactly.
I took my tea from the attendant and pulled out the bag. Youve never done that.
Oh, come now, Paige. Of course I have. She leaned back in her seat. Never mind. You were only a child, and you were always goofing off with Adam
Hey, I never goofed off in a meeting. Dont you remember all those times Robert gave Adam shit for not paying attention like I did? Drove Adam crazy. Then hed take it out on me afterward, teasing me about brown-nosing I stopped, noticing Cassandras attention had wandered to her wineglass. Point is, I paid attention. I took notes. Quiz me if you like. Dates, places, I can name them. In twelve years, youve never brought a vampire concern to the council.
That didnt strike you as odd?
I shrugged. Numbers-wise, vampires are rare, and youre all pretty self-sufficient, so I figured you didnt have concerns. It never bothered anyone else, so it didnt bother me. Lawrence didnt bring up concerns when he was your codelegate.
Thats because Lawrence was so old, he didnt care about anyone but himself. She fluttered her hands over her table. Took off to Europe and never even bothered to tell us he wasnt coming back. I may be self-centered, but Id never do that.
Disconnected?
Im not trying to give you a hard time. There have always been two vampire delegates for a reason, one as a resource and one as an ombudsman. Now that Lawrence is gone, youve taken over his old role and, well, someone needs to do yours.
When she didnt respond, he touched her elbow, but she yanked her arm back.
I am not disconnected, she said.
Aaron sighed, and looked at me. Think about it.
I nodded. We finished up and left.
The New Orleans Vampire Situation
I SWITCHED THE CELL PHONE TO MY OTHER EAR AND walked into a quieter corner of the airport. We have a flight for New Orleans leaving in an hour, so Ill be stuck there overnight.
Perhaps I should have come along, Lucas said. I havent accomplished much here. My father convened an intra-Cabal meeting this afternoon, and he says that no one recalls any dealings with vampires. That, of course, is preposterous. Even if no vampires have approached them, they must have encountered one or two in the course of business. Either they think Im stupid or they just cant be bothered to lie more creatively.
I let out an oath.
My sentiments exactly. Now, my father has admitted to one recent Cortez Cabal encounter with a vampire. Apparently one tried to arrange a private meeting with him in July. The request was denied, of course, and the matter ended there.
What did this vampire want to speak to him about?
No one bothered to ask. As soon as they found out he was a vampire, they didnt care to hear anything else. Not a reason, not a name, nothing. And as much as Im predisposed to think my father is withholding information, I must admit that this is exactly how Cabal employees are trained to deal with vampires.
Can I just say arghh! When this is over, we dont ever have to work with these nice people again, right?
You have my word on that. Perhaps then, one good thing will come of this. It might persuade you to join me in future anti-Cabal work.
Hey, no one needed to convince me. I was always willing to help. You just had to ask.
Silence buzzed down the line. Cassandra appeared at my shoulder to say that the plane was boarding. I motioned that Id be right there.
I have to go, I said to Lucas.
I heard. About working together, I was always under the impressionthat is to say He paused. You need to run, but Id like to discuss this later. And dont forget to call me when you get to New Orleans.
I wont.
Cassandra had said little since wed left Aaron. Again, she bought me afirst-class ticket. I knew Cassandra had money, lots of it, and I doubted she ever flew coach, but it was still a nice gesture. She also offered me her in-flight meal, which I refused, though I did accept her package of cocktail nuts. By the time I finished dinner, she was on her second wine, which told me something was wrong. Id never seen Cassandra drink more than half a glass at a sitting.
When the flight attendant came by with dessert, I looked at the gelatinous square they called lemon meringue pie, and opted for a tea instead. Cassandra motioned to her wineglass for a refill.
How long have you been attending council meetings, Paige? Cassandra asked as the attendant left. Five, six years?
Almost twelve.
Twelve years, then. She fingered the stem of her glass. Youve always had a good memory, so perhaps youll remember better than I can. Whens the last time we investigated a vampire concern?
In 98. Dallas, Texas. We had a report of a killer draining his victims blood. Turned out it was a human killer, though, so I suppose that doesnt really count as a vampire concern. I paused. Lets see, before that it would have been 96. A vacationing Russian vampire was raising a ruckus
Yes, yes, I remember that. I meant when did I last bring a concern before the council?
Like what Aaron was talking about? A situation thats worrying vampires in general?
Exactly.
I took my tea from the attendant and pulled out the bag. Youve never done that.
Oh, come now, Paige. Of course I have. She leaned back in her seat. Never mind. You were only a child, and you were always goofing off with Adam
Hey, I never goofed off in a meeting. Dont you remember all those times Robert gave Adam shit for not paying attention like I did? Drove Adam crazy. Then hed take it out on me afterward, teasing me about brown-nosing I stopped, noticing Cassandras attention had wandered to her wineglass. Point is, I paid attention. I took notes. Quiz me if you like. Dates, places, I can name them. In twelve years, youve never brought a vampire concern to the council.
That didnt strike you as odd?
I shrugged. Numbers-wise, vampires are rare, and youre all pretty self-sufficient, so I figured you didnt have concerns. It never bothered anyone else, so it didnt bother me. Lawrence didnt bring up concerns when he was your codelegate.
Thats because Lawrence was so old, he didnt care about anyone but himself. She fluttered her hands over her table. Took off to Europe and never even bothered to tell us he wasnt coming back. I may be self-centered, but Id never do that.
