"Fuck. Yes, the cubby is soundproof, considering what I had expected us to do in there, and I wasn't wrong, I made sure of it. But that's beside the point. What are they doing?"
"Looking for me, it seems like. You didn't put any cameras upstairs, so I can't see. Thanks for that though."
"You're welcome. Are they all upstairs?"
"No. One is posted by the front door and some of the ones from outside are coming to help search. Eric, they're coming closer to the cubby. They can't get in, right? Even if they open the cabinet, there's no way they can get in?"
"No. I made sure of this. Vampires are very careful about their resting places and I built that room with both of us in mind. Even if they open it, when you typed in the pass code you triggered a fake set of shelves to come down while the cement barricade came down on your side. It will look just like the inside of an armoire."
"Good, because they're opening it now," she whispered, unnecessarily.
"Our plane is touching down, I will need to go to rest. Know that no matter what, they cannot get in and you are going to be okay. They will likely wait there, thinking you are not there. So do not be too afraid. They cannot touch you where you are."
"Okay, you should go then. You need to focus."
"Yes, though I do not want to. When the sun sets here, I will be taking care of the problem so you will not hear from me unless I hear from you stating that there is a problem. Stay where you are and do not alert anyone to your position. By sunup tomorrow I will have the issue taken care of. Please keep your phone volume on, as I will call you again as soon as I can."
"Okay, but Lafayette asked me to call him if anything went down, I swore I would. Should I tell him to keep people away from my house?"
"Yes, I believe that is the best course of action. As long as they think you are not there, they will likely just linger waiting for you. So it is best you keep others from approaching."
"I'll call him after I get off the phone with you."
"Thank you, Sookie."
"Hey, it's my own damn fault I'm in this mess. If I'd just let you come to me the night after that night I saw you were cured, I wouldn't be in danger. So really I should be thanking you."
Eric paused over the phone, "Where has this mature woman come from? I quite like her…"
Sookie rolled her eyes, "Let's just say without Bill here to cloud my judgement, things make a bit more sense."
"Yes, well we shall have to investigate that further when I get back. Until then, we are landing now so I must go. Be safe," he paused, his voice dropping in volume and octave, "Please."
"I will, Eric. I promise. I'll text you updates while you're asleep."
"Thank you," he said, quietly The line cut after that, she assumed he couldn't say anymore and had to get off the plane.
She watched on the monitors as the men opened the armoire and found nothing but shallow shelves. They closed it again and continued searching the house. Eventually they settled into the living room, believing her not to be there, and waited.
She dialed Lafayette's number on her phone next.
"Sooks, what it do?"
"There are men at my house, they don't know I'm here. But I wanted to let you know not to come here. And if possible, make sure no one else comes here. As long as they think I'm not here, everything should be fine. Eric's taking care of everything else, so it should be okay in a couple of days. If they find where I am, I'll call you. But for now, I'm okay."
Lafayette sighed, "Sooks, you need a long ass motherfuckin' vacation when this shit is done."
"Sure, and I'll have Eric pay for one when he gets done. Until then, just, I dunno, spread the word that I'm out of town or whatever so no one comes by here. I don't trust these fuckers not to get trigger happy if anyone comes to the door."
"Sure thing, Sooks. You keep us posted, though."
"Will do," she hung up the phone, settling in to wait her unwanted guests out. She watched them for several hours go through her house, evaluating every nook and cranny for a potential hiding place, finding none. Until one of them came back into the den, evaluating the armoire once more. He stared at it from the outside for a while, before opening the doors and looking at the shelves again, obviously realizing how shallow the shelves were compared to the armoire. He started breaking the shelves and tearing at the wood to find out what was behind it. When he found the concrete barrier, he called out to the others. They gathered around, and Sookie reluctantly picked up her phone realizing it was past sunset.
"Lafayette, can I talk to James?"
"Sure, Sooks, hold on."
"This is James."
"James, has Lafayette filled you in?"
"Of course, Sookie. What is the matter?"
"They know where I'm at. They're going to try to get in."
"I see. You are in the well-hidden armoire, yes?"
"You knew about that?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course. Vampires are always aware of places to hide. What do you need? Do you need me to come kill them all?"
"No offense, James, but they were trained against vampires, I don't know that you could. Maybe you and Lafayette could come play a distraction? Asking where I am or something? Anything to get their attention off of the armoire."
"No, I will not bring Lafayette. But Jessica and Keith would come. They'd know we are vampires, but probably wouldn't hurt us. Maybe we could be looking for you and say we'll stick around until you get home. If they want to challenge us, between the three of us we could probably take them."
"Are you sure, James? I don't wanna ask this of you if it will cause you trouble."
"Eric is our Sheriff. He has already alerted us to our duty in his area to keep you safe. We will do so because we care for you, and because it is our duty. The vampire hierarchy may be in shambles, but we know who is left that still holds power."
"Okay, but if it starts to get ugly, please leave. I think my cubby can withstand most things, since Eric built it. So I'd much rather they burn my house down than cost your lives. Don't use violence unless absolutely necessary, please."
"Sookie, I appreciate your concern, but we will do whatever is necessary to ensure your safety, while also ensuring our own. Should we succeed, and you are alive we will have that as comfort, but also Eric will reward us greatly. We are happy to do this. I must go, we will be there soon."
The line went dead and Sookie called Eric's number, just to keep him posted. It went to voicemail as she knew it would, "Eric, they know where I am. James, Jessica and Keith are on their way. I'll call again as soon as I can."
