CHAPTER 37

Sookie builds upon her research on the coven by meeting with Colonel Flood and speaking with Amelia.

CPOV

"How did Sookie fare yesterday during your training?" My grandfather asked as we strolled through the district park in Monroe.

"Better than expected. I threw everything at her and she succeeded after some proper motivation." I relayed to him. We walked at a leisurely pace and I relished the short time we could spend together.

He stopped walking and said, "What type of motivation did you provide her?"

I stopped my movement and turned to address him, "The type that only her heart identifies with." I placed my hand on my chest for effect.

"I see." He placed both of his hands on his cane and rested his weight on it as he deliberated my answer.

I continued my explanation of my tactics, "The woods reeked of their mating," he didn't answer so I continued again, "You are allowing this?"

"How did she seem to you?" He replied to my question with one of his own. What was it with my family and avoiding my questions? Deflection was getting old.

"You mean aside from her normal willfulness?" I asked, still surprised by his reaction to Sookie lying with the Northman.

"Yes."

"Happy."

"Good. You and Claudine will continue to watch and be available to her during the day. If anything else changes notify me immediately."

He left me in the park to think on this turn in fairy/vampire relations. I smiled to myself and shook my head in amusement at my little cousin and her vampire lover. For all of my perceived disdain for her, I genuinely cared for Sookie and was pleased at her development. Fintan would have been proud of her and I find myself thinking, I was too.

SPOV

"Excuse me Kira, when will the Colonel be available? When I called you yesterday I was told my appointment was for 12:30pm. It is now almost 1:00pm."

"I'm sorry Miss. Let me check his calendar again." She answered politely.

She pretended to check her calendar by punching aimlessly into her keyboard. In her mind she was stalling. I changed seats so that I was closer to the Colonel's office and tried to listen in on the Colonel's thoughts to figure out why he was so reluctant to see me.

[…damn Kira. Sending me another email about Ms. Stackhouse. She can wait out there longer if she has to. She's so young. She can't be any sort of help with the witch. I should have told Northman earlier about her, but I thought I could handle it. She's squeezing the pack for money. Damn it. I might as well talk to her or I'll have Northman on my ass to.]

I composed myself as I heard the door open to the Colonel's office and the elder were stepped out. Compared to his worried mind, he was calm and collected.

"Well hello, Ms. Stackhouse." He extended his hand to me and I shook it respectfully. "Welcome to Barksdale Air Force Base."

"Thank you Colonel. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Come, come inside and have a seat." He ushered me into his office and I sat in a chair in front of his desk.

"Thank you for granting me this appointment, Sir. It means a lot to Sheriff Northman that we maintain an open line of communication amongst your pack and the vampires of Area 5." I began in a strong and assertive voice.

"Yes, well I try my best. How old are you by the way?" He said, but his thoughts continued.

(She must be sleeping with him to hold this position at such a young age. Northman doesn't suffer fools.)

"My age has no bearing on these conversations, nor does it matter who I welcome into my bed." I was trying to be respectful, but his thoughts irked me.

"Excuse me." He said suspiciously. (Did she just read my mind?)

I quickly reverted back to my professional demeanor and kept talking to wipe my earlier words away from his mind, "What I was trying to say Colonel is that all that matters to my employer is that we continue to work in a cooperative fashion for the betterment of both groups. And I speak for the Sheriff in saying that we will maintain this relationship whether you are willing or not." I sat straighter in my seat and let the words come out more strongly than before.

"Understood Ms. Stackhouse. I'm sorry I did not take you seriously before. Please accept my apology." His thoughts backtracked and his apology was honest, but I didn't come here for apologies.

"No need to apologize. All I ask is for your cooperation and your time." I returned my voice to its normal level and composed myself.

"You've got my attention. What is it you would like to know?" He leaned back in his chair and awaited my response.

"The Sheriff had informed me that you had inquiries into my alias, Mary Johnson." He reacted to the name and his hand moved automatically to a folder on his desk.

He pulled the folder to him and opened it and asked, "That was you who brought down Sarah Newlin?" He gave me an assessing look and squared his shoulders.

"I cannot speak on my involvement, only that I was informed that someone from her organization was trying to conduct background checks on Mary Johnson."

"Either way Miss, we owe you our gratitude. I am sure that once we decide to reveal ourselves to the world, we'll become a target just as much as the vampires. Northman is lucky to have an asset such as you. And yes, there were inquiries made. We threw up enough red tape that they backed off, but the only information they would be able to gleam upon is your name and that you were married to a Sergeant Johnson who is currently deployed. In this folder you will find the faxed request for information and the names of the people that called. We also have some rather blurry surveillance photos of some stiffs that tried to obtain information about you. I am sorry we have not had time to investigate it further." He pushed the manila folder across his desk and I reached for it.

"Thank you Colonel. I am sure the information will prove useful to me." I stowed the folder in my briefcase to review later.

"Is there anything else you need?" He asked.

"I believe both Area 5 and your own pack are under threat by a common enemy. A were by the name of Marnie Stonebrook."

"I am aware of the situation." His hands ran nervously along the sides of his chair.

"And yet, you have not notified the Sheriff until she has begun to encroach upon his area." I said in a delicate voice, trying not to reprimand the pack leader too harshly for his negligence.

"I, uh we thought we could handle the situation. We were wrong. She's also a witch." I felt relief at his words. I was afraid I was going to have to drag it out of him.

"Hence, the communication. If the lines of communication are not open, we will be unable to assist you in this threat."

"Understood. Does Northman have anything planned in regards to this threat?"

"We have been surveilling the property Ms. Stonebrook is occupying and have noticed an increase in activity. Other than that we have not seen anything actionable. More information is needed. Would you be able to shed any more light on the situation?" His eyes shot down at his desk and I knew whatever information I needed was located in his files in this room. The Colonel surprised me when he pulled a key from his pocket and opened his desk, pulling out another folder, thicker than the previous one. He placed it on the center of his desk.

"This is the file we have on the situation. Everything you need to know is in there. I have had a pack member by the name of Rema watching the coven as well. Only recently the protection spells have prevented her from surveying the property during the day." He lifted the folder up from his desk and handed it to me. I took it and placed it on my lap.

"Do you need this back?" I asked, hoping for sufficient time to examine the contents.

"I've spent hours, even days looking through that file and have not come upon any more useful information. Maybe your fresh eyes will pull something from it. You may keep it as long as you need."

"Thank you. I'll return it in a few days' time." I placed the folder into my briefcase. "In the meantime, I would like to ask a final favor."

"Go ahead, Ms. Stackhouse."

"The full moon is tonight. We need your pack to keep Ms. Stonebrook occupied during your run. We plan on going on a fact finding mission to her coven location this night."

"That can be arranged. We'll keep her busy as long as we can."

"Thank you for your time Colonel. I look forward to working with you and your pack. Here is my card and going forward I will act as Sheriff Northman's liaison in matters regarding your pack. Any communication for him should be directed through me." I handed him my card and he quickly placed it in his desk.

"No thank you Ms. Stackhouse, you're a breath of fresh air compared to the Sheriff's previous dayman."

"Good luck on your run tonight."

"Thank you. Goodbye Ms. Stackhouse."

"Goodbye Colonel."

I left the Air Force base with more than just some folders. The Colonel was a surprisingly loud broadcaster and I was able to find out where I could find the Were named Rema Tanner. She was the only one that would be able to decipher some of this military jargon within the reports. Eric and I could probably figure it out on our own, but we were running out of time. I drove toward the exit of the base only to veer off to the right toward the troop barracks. I brought my briefcase and walked confidently in the direction of Rema's apartment. One guard had noticed me, but he allowed me to continue my forward progress. I made it to her door and I gave it a swift knock. She approached the door and peered through the peephole, but didn't voice a reply. Her thoughts screamed for her to be cautious. She didn't voice her concern and remained silent on the other side of the door. I decided to make the first move.

"Staff Sergeant Tanner. My name is Susannah Stackhouse. I've come to speak to you about your current assignment with Colonel Flood. What I wish to speak with you is a delicate matter and I would prefer to speak with you in private." I said in a quiet voice as to not notify the patrolling Were of my intentions.

"I'm sorry I cannot help you Ms. Stackhouse. You are a civilian and if you require any information I can direct you to the appropriate channels." She said through the door. I heard the reluctance in her voice, but her mind was full of curiosity as to who I was and what I was here for. I just had not asked the right question for her to risk opening the door for me.

"You and I are not so different." I began in a reassuring voice.

"You know nothing about me. Please go away, or you leave me no choice, but to remove you." She asserted.

"Please hear me out." I pleaded.

"You've got 30 seconds."

I pulled a folder from my briefcase. The folder I was holding was only the one about the FOTS inquiries, but it would work as my prop. I reached out to her with my telepathy and purposely paged through the folder pretending I was reading her personnel file, instead of her.

"We both work in a world that is dominated by men. And we work hard each and every day doing more than is required of us to show we are just as good and deserve just as much respect and appreciation as our male counterparts. What we do may benefit our employers and seem small in the scheme of things, but at the end of the day we do it to prove to ourselves that we can." I let my words settle through the door and I took a step back from her doorway to give her the space she required. "Don't let the work you've done be for naught."

The door finally opened and I was greeted by the resilient form of Rema Tanner. "Please come in Ms. Stackhouse. I think I can help you."

The next hour I spent with Rema proved more valuable than I could have expected and her surveillance during the day provided much insight into the operation of the Stonebrook coven. I left the base having gained both information and an ally that I desperately needed in this fight to gain the trust of the Shreveport Pack as my new role as liaison to the vampires of Area 5.

I made it back to the fire house around 3:00pm and I knew there was not much time left for me to complete all that I needed to do. I changed out of my business suit into a pair of jeans and a blouse and hit the road again to collect the remaining items for Eric. I plugged in my phone into the in-car phone speaker and dialed Amelia.

"About time you called me back. I thought you forgot about me and decided to become a member of the undead."

"Sorry, I've been busy."

"I'm sure."

"I need to ask you some questions about witchcraft." I asked carefully.

We learned about witchcraft, to an extent at the Academy, but for actual practitioners, like Amelia, they were able to take specialized classes. So I was not privy to the all of their magic or the types of powers they possessed. I was granted the same courtesy for my own powers. This ensured we all had some protection against others learning too much about our vulnerabilities or our individual natures. I was lucky to have Amelia as a resource. I knew she would be able to tell me as much as she could.

"Are you planning on expanding your fairy repertoire?"

"No, just research for my boss."

"All right," She said, "What do you want to know?"

"I need to know about wards."

"What do you need to know specifically?"

"First, detection. How do I know a ward is in place?"

"Oh that's easy, wear your necklace." My brow furrowed at her nonchalance and the mention of my necklace.

"What necklace?" My thoughts quickly searched through my jewelry trying to figure out what she was talking about.

"The one I gave you."

"My "S" necklace."

"Yes, that one." I pumped the brakes and pulled over at the side of the road. "Sookie! Are you driving?"

"Yes, but I'm stopped now." I said tersely.

I looked around the vehicle to make sure the car was in a safe place to be stopped and continued my conversation with Amelia. "Sorry, I'm being a little dense, but how is a piece of jewelry supposed to help me detect wards?"

"The key the necklace is made from was taken from a typewriter that had written a very powerful spell book. This was in the pre-PC days, you couldn't just click save, so the typewriter itself held the memory of what was written. After the completion of the book, the typewriter was spelled to detect magic and absorb any magical energy created from the spells that were written using it." She explained in a calm voice.

"I've been wearing a magical detection device this whole time and you never told me." My words came out a little harsh, but she should have told me this.

"I know, but I gave it to you to protect you from me."

I softened my tone and asked, "Why?"

"You know ever since. Umm….cough…Bob. I've tried to be more careful with my magic, but I wanted you to have it just in case I accidently did something to you."

I stared at the dashboard clock and its blinking was a stark reminder of the remaining daylight, "I need to know how it works and I need to know now."

"What has tall, blonde and dreamy have you doing?"

"Please Amelia." I begged. I didn't have time for her teasing.

"Okay." She exhaled and began again, "It will glow when you are within around 5 feet of a ward. The color indicates the strength of the ward. Colder colors mean the ward can be passed without any physical harm, but may lead to thoughts to avoid the general area. Warmer colors are the exact opposite. You walk through these wards and you may be no more."

"And the spell vacuum." I asked.

"If the spell being cast can be found in that book, the necklace will absorb it. But there are limits to the how much it can absorb and I don't know what those are."

I shut off the engine to the car and let all that she had relayed to me sink in. My supernatural tool kit just kept getting bigger by the day. It was hard to keep everything straight. I closed my eyes. Just breathe, Sookie. No thinking, just breathing.

"Sookie? You still there?" She asked with concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm here." I said calmly.

"I should have told you."

"No, it's fine. You were only doing it to protect me."

"Yeah, but I should have told you. I was thinking pretty hard about it around your birthday, but I know you try your best to shut me out around that time." She was right. If only I had not been hell-bent on trying to actually be surprised on my birthday, I wouldn't have gone out of my way to avoid reading her thoughts.

"Water under the bridge, Amelia."

"Okay. How are you and Eric?"

"Really good."

"That's good. You deserve to be happy." She paused and I remained silent, "Do you need me for anything else?"

"Yes."

The rest of the conversation we talked about trap spells and how to avoid them. The only recourse was to not touch a damn thing. The point of our mission was to find something, anything that would allow us to make a decision on how to approach them. If our hands were going to be tied we must find another way to search. Amelia refrained from asking me exactly why I needed this information and her reluctance to ask seemed tied to her earlier deception with the necklace. I was not mad at Amelia, just a little disappointed, but it was nothing that would break apart the friendship we built over the last eight years. My thoughts returned to tonight and the information I had received from both Were and Witch and hoped it would be enough to get us in.

But what I was afraid of was getting out.

Sookie wore her "S" necklace to Pam's house the first night of inventory (CH24)

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Sookie's outfit to meet with Colonel Flood

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Disclaimer: Not mine.