A nice little arrangement: Part II

Larry Early was not in the best of moods as he made his way into Legion's tiny police station. 'I like to sleep in on Saturdays, Mark,' he snapped at his junior deputy. 'You know that damn well.'

Mark, who had been slouched over the front desk, leapt to his feet. 'Sorry chief, just thought you'd like t'know.'

Early grunted and swept past towards the jails one and only cell.

Harvey was standing in front of the cell and gave his boss an apologetic look. 'The guy did hurt Jonas boss.'

'I bloody didn't,' said the occupant of the cell.

Early moved past his deputy and looked at the caged Englishman. 'Mornin,' he said.

Wesley glared at the diminutive sheriff. 'I was defending myself and he let a sodding vampire bite me,' he snapped and pointed at Harvey.

Early glanced at the prisoner's bandaged right forearm. 'I'm told you had a cross on you.'

'So?'

'City ordinance 9, no unregistered crosses are to be carried anywhere within the environs of Legion County and there's a five-day waiting period for anyone wishing to purchase one.'

'What?'

'I'm not blaming you, Mr. Price…'

'Wyndham-Price.'

'Hm. Anyhoo this sort of Peter Cushing BS isn't welcome round here and quite honestly you're lucky to have a friend in me.'

Wesley took a couple of seconds to look at his injured arm and then around his cell. 'Oh, thanks. Friend!'

Early smiled and then gestured to his deputy. 'Harvey, unlock the cage.'

'Chief,' the deputy protested. 'He could have burnt Jonas' face off.'

'But he didn't and he's a guest here, one who doesn't understand the arrangement, now let him out. Mayor's sayso.'

The deputy grudgingly unlocked the cell door and pulled it open. Wesley didn't move he just stood there staring at Harvey.

Early smiled. 'Harvey, why don't you pop outside and see if the Mayor needs a hand with Joanie Disciple's boy.'

Harvey gave Wesley a look that clearly said later and walked off.

'It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you,' said Early when Wesley failed to move. 'I'd have just locked Harvey in there with you if that was the case.'

Wesley gingerly stepped out and edged away from the sheriff. 'You know about vampires?'

'Yup.'

'They're killers.'

'Pretty much a given.'

'And yet your pet pitbull assaulted and arrested me for trying to defend myself against one of them.'

'He shouldn't have done that.'

Wesley wasn't sure who the sheriff was talking about. 'Harvey or the vampire?'

'Both actually, the Mayor gave old Jonas a real ragging for that. Totally uncalled for, attacking a stranger, it doesn't do much for the tourist trade.'

'Are you insane?'

Early held up a hand in a placating gesture. 'Look, things are little different round here. I don't blame you for being upset, you're not thinking straight, what with the Watchers Council and all.'

The words hit Wesley like a blow. 'W-what?'

'The Council, easy to see why'd you get so antsy around vamps. You've been blinded by years of bad press.'

'How the hell do know I was a watcher?'

'The letter. We had to search your room to find out who you were. You were a bit too handy with that cross and as I understand it you Brits ain't exactly religious as a rule. So you had to be someone special.'

'Oh.'

'Bad break with that slayer huh?'

'Look…'

'I didn't think it was possible to have more than one at time.'

'Well it is and now you know what I am, or rather was, what are you going to do with me?'

Early shrugged. 'Nothing.'

'Nothing? So I can leave?'

'Didn't say that.'

'Well what are you saying?'

'That I'm not going to do anything to you. Look, old bean, you're not in any danger here you know. Jonas just made a mistake and no one's going to bear a grudge just because you were part of the Council.'

'So why can't I leave?'

'Well for one thing ol'Clinton tells me your bike ain't going to be ready for another couple of days while he works out exactly how much to over charge you. So unless you feel like walking…'

An inhuman scream echoed throughout the jail and caused Wesley to leap three feet into the air. 'What was that?'

Early grinned. 'An example of how we do things in Legion.' He threw an arm round Wesley and steered him out towards the main street. 'I want you to come and see the arrangement for itself. You're right, we have vampires but they're not like any you've ever seen before and you can see for yourself why they don't ever kill round here.'

The dry scorching heat of the Kentucky sun hit Wesley as soon as he stepped out of the air-conditioned jailhouse. There was quite a crowd assembled on the main street and they were clustered around Clinton's workshop, which was directly opposite the town jail.

'You'll love this, seeing as how you're in the trade and everything,' said Early.

Before Wesley could ask what he meant he saw Harvey the deputy making his way through the crowds. Or at least the deputy was trying to get through, the receptionist from Wesley's hotel was clinging to his left arm and trying to slow him down. 'Please, Harvey,' she sobbed. 'He's only a boy!'

'Not no more he ain't,' Harvey didn't even bother to look round as he walked toward the garage. Joanie was pulling as hard as she could but she was more than a foot shorter than the deputy and might as well have been trying to drag a mountain. A couple of seconds later Harvey, still without looking round, shook his arm and threw the crying woman off. She landed face down in the dirt, much to the merriment of the watching townsfolk.

Early, noticing the expression of concern on Wesley's face, scurried over and helped Joanie up as the crowd roared with laughter. When she was on her feet Joanie buried her face in her hands and ran off which only served to stoke up the townsfolk even more.

'Very neighbourly,' Wesley sneered as the sheriff returned.

Early shrugged. 'We do things differently round here.'

Suddenly a revving sound emanated from the garage, accompanied in no small part by some hysterical screaming, and the crowd parted as a pick-up truck, with Harvey at the wheel, slowly rolled out on to the street and crawled past the jailhouse. As it trundled past Wesley saw that the screamer was a young looking vampire who had been shackled to the rear of the truck and was slowly burning alive as the midday sun hit him.

The vampire began to vomit huge globules of congealed blood as its skin peeled off and the crowd, far from repelled by the sight, started to throw rocks. After almost a minute of this the vampire, which was completely aflame, arched its back and screamed out 'MOM!' and then crumbled to dust.

The crowd began cheering and hi-fiving and then as one they turned to face Early and started applauding. The sheriff held up his hands for calm and yelled out, 'Hokay folks, you know the drill, all entries to be in by sunset and the draw will be one hour later, y'all have a good day now y'hear!'

As the crowd dispersed, Early turned his attention back to the shell-shocked Wesley. 'C'mon, I know what you need,' and he led him back into the jailhouse.

'Sit,' Early said and directed Wesley to take the chair in front of his desk. Early went round the other side and produced a bottle of scotch and a couple of glasses from his desk draw. 'I know, I know, dry county right! One of the advantages of being the law round here is it's a case of do as I say, not as I do. Here,' and he poured Wesley a generous measure.

Wesley took the glass and emptied it in one go. 'That-that…that was the most barbaric thing I've ever seen!'

Early looked surprised. 'Whoa, what's the problem chief - you're a vampire hunter aintcha?'

'I'm not a bloody torturer! The Watcher's Council isn't run for sadism's sake! It exists to serve and we kill when we have to, vampires cannot be reasoned with, they live to kill and maim and every one of them was once a human being whose soul was destroyed by the monster that sired it.'

'And we just killed a vampire that attacked a local girl.'

'You didn't kill it, you had a bit of sport! You'd captured and restrained it, one stake and it would have been over in a second, that little event was purely to pander to the mob's bloodlust it…ugh!'

Early gave his guest a tolerant smile. The vamps round here are probably a little different to the ones you're used to, see we don't consider it to be a curse, it's a privilege.'

'What's a privilege?'

'Being chosen of course, sired.'

Wesley couldn't have been more surprised if Early had suddenly sprouted wings. 'What?'

'To ascend of course.'

'Ascend,' Wesley looked decidedly ill. 'You call that ascending, you know nothing. How can losing your soul be considered an ascension? I've seen one of those up close, the real thing!'

'Soul? The boy hadn't lost his soul.'

Wesley could barely speak. 'what?' He whispered.

'Stevie Disciple still had his soul, that's why he was crying for his mother and why old Joanie was making such a fuss. He might have been a vampire but he was still her little boy. That's why it's considered such an honour round here to be chosen. Our vampires only feed off animals (so you were in no danger from Jonas last night) but the power went to Stevie's head. He got carried away and assaulted Everard Somner's girl Elke. That's 'out of bounds' as you might say, attacking a human carries a death sentence.'

Wesley was too stunned to make much of a response. 'He still had a soul,' he repeated dully.

'Sure, and once he had a taste of human blood he totally lost it. Harvey had to find the girl and let Stevie have an extra nip then clobbered him with some holy water while he was busy. But the girl's alright though,' he added hastily. 'Just a bit all shook up.'

Wesley was silent for a few seconds, when he spoke it was in a dead, flat tone. 'How could the boy have a soul?'

'Cause the local clan leader has one, you'll meet him in a few minutes, he promised to stop buy once he'd had a word with Joanie Disciple. See when he showed up here about eighty years back this little town was practically dead, the kind of vamps you're used to had practically killed everyone here, only about sixty or so people left and they were in cages. Well sir, he just killed the lot of them, freed the prisoners and dusted every last of the sonsabitches. Ten of the prisoners were fatally wounded during the uprising so before they died he sired them, see a vampire sired by one with a soul will retain his and everyone else in town is descended from the fifty or so humans left alive.'

Though inwardly he was astonished and more than a little interested, Wesley tried to maintain his calm demeanor. 'So what about the boy?'

'Oh, well we had an accident a couple of years back. Fred Willets, one of the original ten tripped one night and fell on a toothpick that someone had stuck into the ground and got himself dusted. See the Mayor and his clan of ten act as a kind of army, keep all the others away, look after us - leastways they did, the Mayor's had this great idea that will mean we'll all be able to take care of ourselves real soon. Anyhoo, someone had to replace Fred so we had a lottery, everyone over sixteen wuz allowed to enter and young Stevie won. He couldn't handle it and now someone else will get the chance. After today I'm pretty sure whoever wins will be sure to behave themselves.'

Wesley stood up. 'I'd like to meet this Mayor of yours,' he said quietly.

'Likewise, told you he'll be hear in a minute. Think you'll get on, he's from your side of the pond as well…oh.'

The jailhouse door opened and Wesley turned to see a figure step in out of the sunshine. The man was tall and covered by an ankle length cloak, a broad brimmed hat and thick scarf that covered his face except for his eyes which were hidden behind a pair of mirrored sunglasses.

Early flashed a broad smile at the newcomer. 'Ah, Liam. This here's Wesley Wyndham-Price. Wes, this here's Mayor Angelus.'

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series, and all characters are created by Joss Whedon and owned by him, Kazui Sandollar®, Mutant Enemy®, 20th Century Fox® and the Warner Bros. Network®. No copyright infringment is intended anywhere. This is a story purely for entertainment purposes. No profit is gained from this story. The author has no connection to Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Angel the Series, except having a complete love for the show. No harm or copyright infringement is intended.