DISCLAIMER: "Same as it ever was" – David Byrne.
Some notes: thanks to many, many web sites. Knight Vision helped me to get more of a feel for everything---the downloaded clips are very helpful (come back, honeybat, come back). Bright Knight, Amy's Fan Site was also helpful for timelines (Nick was in SF in 1910, not the 1890's—but of course, who really knows about every moment of his time?). The web sites Darkness Embraced and Vampires Only, as well as the Sanguinarius web sites are very illuminating. I recommend that anyone writing about vampires of any kind really read this stuff.
Anyway, they belong to TPTB, except the Reno crew. They are all mine and ever changing. Can't wait for the DVD set to come out around Halloween. Spoilers, or are they teasers for most every episode shown are interspersed within my story. Thanks for the reviews. Now, on with the show:
CHAPTER 5
"Enchante, Monsieur. You must be Nick," said she, in a slight French accent. "I've heard you described."
"Enchante de faire votre connaissance," replied Nick, kissing her hand.
"Merci."
"I knew you'd two get along," smiled Cary.
Nick would have blushed if he could.
"So, do you like it here?" asked she, with a tone that implied that the question could be applied to Reno, Bloodlines or both.
"Thus far," Nick answered, noncommittally.
"Bon. Ou, logez-vous?" still in French. Then in English, "Where are you staying?"
"With Cary."
The blonde vampress raised her eyebrows at this and looked toward Cary, who shrugged.
"His house is being built, Esme. Would you rather he stay in a hotel?"
"C'est vrai," she admitted. "That's true." She turned her attention back to Nick. "I hope he's being hospitable."
"He is," said Nick, in a cautious tone. What was going on here? "So, qu'est-ce que vous faites dans la vie?" asked he, changing the subject.
"I own VamCom. It's a vampire online security firm," she said, to his puzzled look. "You have computer problems, identity problems—you come to us, vous comprenez. Reno requires police cards for any money or liquor handling, they check with the FBI and other government agencies. That could possibly be a risky problem and we do operate sans tamboures ni trompettes."
"Like Larry Merlin."
"Oui, the Bill Gates of vampire computer programmers," Esme acknowledged. "He's the best there is, and helped us with le commerce. He deals mainly in Canada and the East Coast. My firm does things mainly for the West Coast. We also deal somewhat with the Asian community. And how is your little venture coming along? Ca y est?"
Since Nick needed certain legal documents, it only made sense that she knew about his plans. He told her about the building and the way that he was trying to work with the various service agencies in town. There was a definite need for a shelter, for a place to stay for the homeless. Esme nodded in agreement.
"It is needed, Nick. I just wish we had something like that when I was younger, that you could run to when everything was destroyed," she said, wistfully. "That's why the Community is not against you building this thing."
Glad to have another sympathetic ear, Nick outlined all his plans. Esme readily agreed to help, and even volunteered to buy computers for the center. After all, she pointed out, with the new millennium coming, everyone really needed to know how to run one.
"And if you are nice to me, mignon, I will even get someone to teach a class, d'accord?"
"Avec plaisir," smiled Nick.
The reverie was broken by Paul, who leaned over to Nick and started asking him how Aristotle was. That started them telling stories about the different vampires they knew. Esme even knew a few—for instance, she knew Janette. They met it seemed during the French Revolution. Somehow that did not come as much of a surprise to Nick.
The music changed and varied couples started getting up to dance. Esme looked at him and he knew what was coming. Sure enough, it came.
"Voulez-vous danser?" she asked, coyly.
Looking around, Nick saw everyone had gotten up to either visit someone else or to dance. He shrugged and resigned himself to this. He rose, helped Esme from her chair like a good noble, and they soon found themselves on the dance floor. The music was from the 1940's—big band. Nick never considered himself much of a dancer, but dancing was perhaps beside the point. Esme pulled in tight and he tensed a little. Too soon after Nat, too soon after Janette. Esme looked up at him; she was shorter than the coroner was, but taller than the other was. Unlike them, but like most of the women he had dated in the past eight centuries, she had blonde hair. Like them, she also had sapphire blue eyes. In a way, she reminded him a lot of Janette, less the seductress maybe, but they were strikingly similar.
His partner interrupted his thoughts by asking about life in Toronto. He told her about the loft, The Raven, highlights of his job. The good things, not about anything recent. She asked after LaCroix.
"Do you know LaCroix as well?" he asked, incredulously.
"The vampire world is not a big place, Nick. If you're around long enough, and active enough in the Community, you usually meet everyone at one time or another, n'est-ce pas. Also, LaCroix is very old. Anyone over 2000 years is bound to be known, if just for that."
Nick looked off into space. "Let's not talk about him, entendu?" He was surprised how easily he lapsed into French with her. He had not done that often with Janette, though she did it often with him.
Presently the music changed over into something that might be played by The Raven's new management. He begged off the floor and led her back to the table. It was then that he noticed that everyone was making his or her good-byes. Paul clapped him on the shoulder.
"Ring me up if you want to talk and Cary's in a mood," he said, gently. He took the arm of his 'wife' Maria, as he called her, and left.
"Hey, I've got a great deal on your variation. Call me and let me know, Cary's got the number. It's becoming more popular nowadays. Some of the new breed do not like to kill anything at all!" This from Tyler Peery of Sangster Wineries.
"Have fun, sugar. Don't do anything I wouldn't. Or not," laughed Sonya, with an air kiss to his cheek.
"Have Cary explain the rules if he hasn't already done so," the Enforcer, Colin, told him. "I want a copy for my records."
"The rules?" asked Nick.
"Yeah, rules. Signed and witnessed, thank you."
"I didn't know there were written rules," said Nick, wondering when the Community decided to do this.
"Welcome to Reno, my friend. It's a different world." Colin held out his hand and Nick took it, the first time in his existence he had done that with an Enforcer. In fact, if you had told him just yesterday that he would be doing it, he would have scoffed. Different world, indeed.
Cary came up, Jill on his arm.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
Nick looked at Esme, should he or shouldn't he? Well, why not? A little female companionship might be just what he needed. He held a hand out to her and she gave a slow smile as she took it. Jill giggled, earning her a jab in the ribs from her date.
They exited the club and the valet brought around Cary's car. The Caddy had just arrived and Nick had not yet had a chance to register it. Esme it seemed flew in, earning her a hard look from the Community leader and a hiss from her back at him. Jill had rode with Sonya and another vampire friend, Allison.
"So the night is still young," Jill practically sang out. "Where to now?"
No one had any real suggestions, so Jill suggested bowling. Friendly enforcers, all right. Signed rules and jobs for this rather preppy, affluent Community, ok. Dancing and hanging out in a nightclub, fine. But bowling? Nick's mouth dropped. It was no wonder every vamp in Canada had grinned when he told them about his destination. He could not even imagine LaCroix, Aristotle, Larry, Janette, Alma, or even Vachon (well, maybe Vachon) bowling. Vampires did not bowl—or at least not till now.
Still stunned with the very suggestion of this very Schanke-like outing, Nick soon found himself at the Reno Hilton, which had 24-hour lanes. They received their shoes and found some of the heavier balls. It was nearly deserted, so no one thought twice about a 110-pound woman like Jill hefting a 20-pound ball. Nick had bowled once in his life, good old Donny had badgered him into it. Of course, he used to play bowls during the Renaissance, but that was not like this.
They decided to play men versus woman. Jill turned out to be an excellent bowler, maybe that was why she suggested it. Esme was middling, with every throw she examined her manicure. Cary was not bad, but he probably did this a lot with the redhead now on the lane and lining up her spare, which she made.
Nick decided that he did not fare too badly, considering. The girls won anyway, and Jill was not shy about letting the two males know it, as they got into the car once more. Nick decided that he liked this upbeat vampire. She had certain flair to her. It surprised Nick not one iota when she told him she was brought across in 1930 and had been a real 'jazz- baby' before then. She looked as if she would be at home in a cloche dress and a roadster with a flask of gin by her side and a boyfriend who owned a juice-joint. In fact, that was how she described herself to him, using 20's slang just as easy as Cary used Victoriana.
Esme peppered her speech with French words and phrases, again reminding Nick painfully of Janette, or Erica, or even Alyssa (though she was Austrian). The one person she did not remind him of was Natalie Lambert—in no way, shape, or form.
Since it was still early by their standards, only about 1am, Jill suggested they pick up a couple of movies to pop into the VCR. Nick found out then the difference between his former home and his new one—you could find a video rental store open this late. The foursome earned looks from the patrons of the store. Nick wondered briefly what they looked like to mortal eyes—2 very handsome men and 2 very beautiful women. Then he sort of snorted at his own vanity, though it was true.
Jill led the way to the Classic aisle and found "The Blue Dahlia" with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Esme picked out "Marie Antoinette" with Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power. Cary passed on everything, though he stopped at Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence", with Michelle Phifer and Daniel Day-Lewis. He just sort of sighed and went on. Nick didn't pick out anything at all. "Interview With the Vampire" made him pause a moment and think about Emily Weiss.
Soon they were back in the car discussing movies. Jill declared that she loved Alan Ladd and anything with him in it, even "Nevada Smith". She made the suggestion to Esme that if she fixed her hair differently; she could have that Lake look.
"C'est con, impossible to do any work with," huffed up Esme, glancing at herself in Cary's rearview mirror and holding a hand to her hair. "You do remember, l'ami, that during World War 2, the government made her pull her hair back."
"Oh, banana oil! What do I care about what the government did?" exclaimed Jill. "I think that the hairstyle's the cat's meow, and you are being a wowser."
"By the horn spoons, stop. This is becoming a picayune conversation. Esme, she was just making a comment. And Jill, some folks are interested in mortal doings."
That quieted everyone down and Nick blinked once or twice. Three different ways of speaking from three very different era's. This was going to be an interesting rest of the night.
Some notes: thanks to many, many web sites. Knight Vision helped me to get more of a feel for everything---the downloaded clips are very helpful (come back, honeybat, come back). Bright Knight, Amy's Fan Site was also helpful for timelines (Nick was in SF in 1910, not the 1890's—but of course, who really knows about every moment of his time?). The web sites Darkness Embraced and Vampires Only, as well as the Sanguinarius web sites are very illuminating. I recommend that anyone writing about vampires of any kind really read this stuff.
Anyway, they belong to TPTB, except the Reno crew. They are all mine and ever changing. Can't wait for the DVD set to come out around Halloween. Spoilers, or are they teasers for most every episode shown are interspersed within my story. Thanks for the reviews. Now, on with the show:
CHAPTER 5
"Enchante, Monsieur. You must be Nick," said she, in a slight French accent. "I've heard you described."
"Enchante de faire votre connaissance," replied Nick, kissing her hand.
"Merci."
"I knew you'd two get along," smiled Cary.
Nick would have blushed if he could.
"So, do you like it here?" asked she, with a tone that implied that the question could be applied to Reno, Bloodlines or both.
"Thus far," Nick answered, noncommittally.
"Bon. Ou, logez-vous?" still in French. Then in English, "Where are you staying?"
"With Cary."
The blonde vampress raised her eyebrows at this and looked toward Cary, who shrugged.
"His house is being built, Esme. Would you rather he stay in a hotel?"
"C'est vrai," she admitted. "That's true." She turned her attention back to Nick. "I hope he's being hospitable."
"He is," said Nick, in a cautious tone. What was going on here? "So, qu'est-ce que vous faites dans la vie?" asked he, changing the subject.
"I own VamCom. It's a vampire online security firm," she said, to his puzzled look. "You have computer problems, identity problems—you come to us, vous comprenez. Reno requires police cards for any money or liquor handling, they check with the FBI and other government agencies. That could possibly be a risky problem and we do operate sans tamboures ni trompettes."
"Like Larry Merlin."
"Oui, the Bill Gates of vampire computer programmers," Esme acknowledged. "He's the best there is, and helped us with le commerce. He deals mainly in Canada and the East Coast. My firm does things mainly for the West Coast. We also deal somewhat with the Asian community. And how is your little venture coming along? Ca y est?"
Since Nick needed certain legal documents, it only made sense that she knew about his plans. He told her about the building and the way that he was trying to work with the various service agencies in town. There was a definite need for a shelter, for a place to stay for the homeless. Esme nodded in agreement.
"It is needed, Nick. I just wish we had something like that when I was younger, that you could run to when everything was destroyed," she said, wistfully. "That's why the Community is not against you building this thing."
Glad to have another sympathetic ear, Nick outlined all his plans. Esme readily agreed to help, and even volunteered to buy computers for the center. After all, she pointed out, with the new millennium coming, everyone really needed to know how to run one.
"And if you are nice to me, mignon, I will even get someone to teach a class, d'accord?"
"Avec plaisir," smiled Nick.
The reverie was broken by Paul, who leaned over to Nick and started asking him how Aristotle was. That started them telling stories about the different vampires they knew. Esme even knew a few—for instance, she knew Janette. They met it seemed during the French Revolution. Somehow that did not come as much of a surprise to Nick.
The music changed and varied couples started getting up to dance. Esme looked at him and he knew what was coming. Sure enough, it came.
"Voulez-vous danser?" she asked, coyly.
Looking around, Nick saw everyone had gotten up to either visit someone else or to dance. He shrugged and resigned himself to this. He rose, helped Esme from her chair like a good noble, and they soon found themselves on the dance floor. The music was from the 1940's—big band. Nick never considered himself much of a dancer, but dancing was perhaps beside the point. Esme pulled in tight and he tensed a little. Too soon after Nat, too soon after Janette. Esme looked up at him; she was shorter than the coroner was, but taller than the other was. Unlike them, but like most of the women he had dated in the past eight centuries, she had blonde hair. Like them, she also had sapphire blue eyes. In a way, she reminded him a lot of Janette, less the seductress maybe, but they were strikingly similar.
His partner interrupted his thoughts by asking about life in Toronto. He told her about the loft, The Raven, highlights of his job. The good things, not about anything recent. She asked after LaCroix.
"Do you know LaCroix as well?" he asked, incredulously.
"The vampire world is not a big place, Nick. If you're around long enough, and active enough in the Community, you usually meet everyone at one time or another, n'est-ce pas. Also, LaCroix is very old. Anyone over 2000 years is bound to be known, if just for that."
Nick looked off into space. "Let's not talk about him, entendu?" He was surprised how easily he lapsed into French with her. He had not done that often with Janette, though she did it often with him.
Presently the music changed over into something that might be played by The Raven's new management. He begged off the floor and led her back to the table. It was then that he noticed that everyone was making his or her good-byes. Paul clapped him on the shoulder.
"Ring me up if you want to talk and Cary's in a mood," he said, gently. He took the arm of his 'wife' Maria, as he called her, and left.
"Hey, I've got a great deal on your variation. Call me and let me know, Cary's got the number. It's becoming more popular nowadays. Some of the new breed do not like to kill anything at all!" This from Tyler Peery of Sangster Wineries.
"Have fun, sugar. Don't do anything I wouldn't. Or not," laughed Sonya, with an air kiss to his cheek.
"Have Cary explain the rules if he hasn't already done so," the Enforcer, Colin, told him. "I want a copy for my records."
"The rules?" asked Nick.
"Yeah, rules. Signed and witnessed, thank you."
"I didn't know there were written rules," said Nick, wondering when the Community decided to do this.
"Welcome to Reno, my friend. It's a different world." Colin held out his hand and Nick took it, the first time in his existence he had done that with an Enforcer. In fact, if you had told him just yesterday that he would be doing it, he would have scoffed. Different world, indeed.
Cary came up, Jill on his arm.
"Ready to go?" he asked.
Nick looked at Esme, should he or shouldn't he? Well, why not? A little female companionship might be just what he needed. He held a hand out to her and she gave a slow smile as she took it. Jill giggled, earning her a jab in the ribs from her date.
They exited the club and the valet brought around Cary's car. The Caddy had just arrived and Nick had not yet had a chance to register it. Esme it seemed flew in, earning her a hard look from the Community leader and a hiss from her back at him. Jill had rode with Sonya and another vampire friend, Allison.
"So the night is still young," Jill practically sang out. "Where to now?"
No one had any real suggestions, so Jill suggested bowling. Friendly enforcers, all right. Signed rules and jobs for this rather preppy, affluent Community, ok. Dancing and hanging out in a nightclub, fine. But bowling? Nick's mouth dropped. It was no wonder every vamp in Canada had grinned when he told them about his destination. He could not even imagine LaCroix, Aristotle, Larry, Janette, Alma, or even Vachon (well, maybe Vachon) bowling. Vampires did not bowl—or at least not till now.
Still stunned with the very suggestion of this very Schanke-like outing, Nick soon found himself at the Reno Hilton, which had 24-hour lanes. They received their shoes and found some of the heavier balls. It was nearly deserted, so no one thought twice about a 110-pound woman like Jill hefting a 20-pound ball. Nick had bowled once in his life, good old Donny had badgered him into it. Of course, he used to play bowls during the Renaissance, but that was not like this.
They decided to play men versus woman. Jill turned out to be an excellent bowler, maybe that was why she suggested it. Esme was middling, with every throw she examined her manicure. Cary was not bad, but he probably did this a lot with the redhead now on the lane and lining up her spare, which she made.
Nick decided that he did not fare too badly, considering. The girls won anyway, and Jill was not shy about letting the two males know it, as they got into the car once more. Nick decided that he liked this upbeat vampire. She had certain flair to her. It surprised Nick not one iota when she told him she was brought across in 1930 and had been a real 'jazz- baby' before then. She looked as if she would be at home in a cloche dress and a roadster with a flask of gin by her side and a boyfriend who owned a juice-joint. In fact, that was how she described herself to him, using 20's slang just as easy as Cary used Victoriana.
Esme peppered her speech with French words and phrases, again reminding Nick painfully of Janette, or Erica, or even Alyssa (though she was Austrian). The one person she did not remind him of was Natalie Lambert—in no way, shape, or form.
Since it was still early by their standards, only about 1am, Jill suggested they pick up a couple of movies to pop into the VCR. Nick found out then the difference between his former home and his new one—you could find a video rental store open this late. The foursome earned looks from the patrons of the store. Nick wondered briefly what they looked like to mortal eyes—2 very handsome men and 2 very beautiful women. Then he sort of snorted at his own vanity, though it was true.
Jill led the way to the Classic aisle and found "The Blue Dahlia" with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Esme picked out "Marie Antoinette" with Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power. Cary passed on everything, though he stopped at Martin Scorsese's "The Age of Innocence", with Michelle Phifer and Daniel Day-Lewis. He just sort of sighed and went on. Nick didn't pick out anything at all. "Interview With the Vampire" made him pause a moment and think about Emily Weiss.
Soon they were back in the car discussing movies. Jill declared that she loved Alan Ladd and anything with him in it, even "Nevada Smith". She made the suggestion to Esme that if she fixed her hair differently; she could have that Lake look.
"C'est con, impossible to do any work with," huffed up Esme, glancing at herself in Cary's rearview mirror and holding a hand to her hair. "You do remember, l'ami, that during World War 2, the government made her pull her hair back."
"Oh, banana oil! What do I care about what the government did?" exclaimed Jill. "I think that the hairstyle's the cat's meow, and you are being a wowser."
"By the horn spoons, stop. This is becoming a picayune conversation. Esme, she was just making a comment. And Jill, some folks are interested in mortal doings."
That quieted everyone down and Nick blinked once or twice. Three different ways of speaking from three very different era's. This was going to be an interesting rest of the night.