Another chapter. I have to plug, btw, my new yahoo group called The Raven, which is an FK RPG. I haven't written yet, but I plan to in the future. Just trying to catch up on storylines now. Also, did you hear the news that Season 2 is being released, tentatively in January? Yippee!
Once again, VIN is the property of Susan Garrett.
Also, I set this story sometime in early spring of 1998—April, perhaps. According to Jasmine's FK website, The Human Factor was set in 1996. There were 6 more episodes after that one, so that could conceivably take until 1998. Presuming that Last Knight happened in early 1998 that would give Nick a few months off and also give Nat a chance to recover. But this is all speculation. Also, in Last Knight everyone is wearing winter clothing. Comments on this are welcome in the reviews or you can email them to me.
CHAPTER 15
"Nick?" Nat's voice sounded strong on the other end of the line.
"Yeah. How are you?"
"Fine, healing nicely. I'll be back at work in another month." Nat sounded surprised to hear from him. "Any you, how are you doing?"
"I'm alright," Then he told her all about the shelter. She laughed when he came to the name.
"Nanatte's Place? Flattering." A pause. "So have you met anyone yet?"
"I have. I'm staying with the leader of the Community here. His name is Cary and he's—interesting. There's a large Community here. There is even a sort of Raven here, except the backroom is where the vampires meet."
"Still interested in your humanity?"
Nick sighed. "No, that was a dream that I'm afraid won't come true. I wish it would, but I know it can't. So I just have to live with my monster—control it. Nanatte's Place will help with that. I can help people put their lives together. There is something satisfying in that."
"Well, Tracy is doing fine. Her father tried to get her to quit, but she's still determined. And Schanke is doing well. He and Myra just came back from a second honeymoon trip to the States. They went to Atlantic City for the weekend and then he came back complaining about how much money he lost."
Nick and she shared a laugh.
"So, Nick, how are you really feeling? You moved on. Isn't it unusual for a vampire to keep in contact with his old acquaintances?"
"For any normal vampire, but then again Nat, I am not a normal vampire."
"Do you still drink cow or are you back on the real stuff?"
"No still cow. I've drunk human blood twice since I've been here, both times out of a bottle. I seem to not be alone in that sense of not wanting mortal blood. I was told that a lot of newly born vampires are opting to drink animal blood as well. Screed would be proud." This last said as a joke.
"Tracy seems to really be missing Vachon. She and I go off a lot to movies or what have you."
A few seconds of rather awkward silence. Then Nat laughed at something Sydney did and she shared it with Nick. The conversation then turned more lighthearted—neither saying much really. Nick felt a sense of despair at this. Had they grown apart so soon?
Shortly after getting an update about the Captain's new house, Nick hung up the phone. Then he sat on the leather sofa. This one was softer than the other and still smelled new. He jumped up to one of the windows and looked out. This window faced sort of west so he could see the myriad colored lights that made up downtown Reno. It looked like a painting—fluorescent lights from the different casinos—purple from the Eldorado, white from Harrahs, pink from the Flamingo, the yellow arches of Circus Circus, and the silver domed ball on top of the Silver Legacy. All lit up. More concentration revealed Mount Rose and Slide Mountain. Mount Rose still had a dusting of snow on top, as it would until early summer.
Snow. Toronto, situated as it was, never got a lot of snow, if any really. Rain yes, snow no. Reno on the other hand got very little rain. It depended on the winter to bring the water with the snow melting off the mountains into the thirsty city, though groundwater wells were built to withstand Reno's longest drought which had been eight years.
Nick glanced at his watch and noticed the time was two am. 'I must have dozed off for a while', he mused. With a stretch, he rose from the rather comfortable couch; a real change over Cary's antiquated style of furniture.
He took on last look around and smiled. Another week or so and he would be here. True, he would miss the companionship, but figured the Center would keep him busy.
Nick exited out the private entrance in the back and unlocked the Caddy. Cary he knew was at work and curiosity overtook him as to what exactly the dark haired vampire did for a living. So he drove southbound McCarran to Longley Lane and turned. The road was named appropriately, Nick mused, for it was a longley lane. He soon arrived at Cary's office, a square shaped building of one and a half stories. He pulled into the parking lot, noting with amusement that Cary had his own parking space—"Reserved for President", it said. Nick parked the Caddy and walked up the path into the main reception area.
Here sat two security guards, watching close circuit monitors, both vampires.
"Can I help you?" asked one, gruffly. The sentinel seemed to recognize his own kind. Nick wondered if mortals got the same treatment.
"I'm here to see Cary Shelley."
Both men laughed.
"No really, I'm a friend of his and I just got through with what I had to do and thought I'd come for a visit." The men still had grins on their faces. "Look, can you call him?"
One of the guards, Buck, by his ID badge, picked up the phone.
"Hey Abi, its security. I have someone here who is looking to speak with Mr. Shelley…I know, but he's insistent…Thanks a bunch, I'll hold." Silence as he held the line and asked Nick his name, which he divulged. "Ms. Arron? I have a Nick Knight down here and…Of course, ma'am." More silence. "Yes, Ms. Arron, I'll send him right down. Thank you." Buck hung up and shoved a clipboard at Nick. "Sign in."
Nick signed and a visitors badge was given to him with the admonishment to wear it at all times. The other guard pressed a button and Nick was allowed entry into S & G Enterprises—whatever that was.
What he stepped into was a call center. A large room of desks, all connected in one wavy line with divider walls between them and a computer and phone at each station. The walls were decorated—some with sports teams, others with frogs or bears, or just blank. People—no--vampires sat at these desks, most chatting on the phones or working on the computers. Each had a name plate on a wall so that one could stand at the end of a diagonal row and see all the names quite clearly.
Nick estimated that 90 percent of these vampires were wearing headphones. Others were ensconced in glass enclosed cubicles, managers by the names on the walls. In the middle was a huge square desk, elevated from the rest of the floor. This held more people, no walls, and more computers and looked to be some sort of operation center.
"Can I help you?" asked a young, efficient looking vampire, who stood behind a small reception desk crowded with pictures of rabbits from the Trix Rabbit to Bugs Bunny to some left over Easter ones. Even her screen saver was of a rabbit. Nick had to smile when he noticed her name was 'Bunny', even though her badge read Abigail. She was young, maybe 18 or 19.
"I'm meeting Mr. Shelley."
"Yes, please wait here for Ms. Arron. Thanks." She gave a bright smile to the handsome blond and went back to typing whatever she was working on.
Nick took a seat and crossed his ankles, patient. The center was very busy and Nick noticed some mortals in with the vampires. Bunny looked at him.
"Would you like a drink?" she asked.
Nick was startled. "No, thanks." A drink?
A few minutes later, a sinuous blonde came over to him. She held her hand out.
"Nick Knight? Gwen Aaron, Cary's administrative assistant. You wanted to see him?"
The male vampire gave this women a once over. Assistant, huh?
"Yes I did. I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by, as a surprise."
"Well," laughed Gwen, "he certainly will be that. If you would follow me, please?"
The secretary led the way to the back of the center and up the staircase to the executive offices. The catwalk led to the right and to the left. Nick noticed a suite for Alex and was led down the hall to the right and to the end. There the name plate by the door read CARY SHELLEY—CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AND PRESIDENT. He shrugged, thinking it did fit the other's ego.
Gwen entered the outer office, obviously hers. It was very Victorian, just like the house. Nick smiled and shook his head at that. Cary did love his era, or at least the upper class part of it. Nouveau rich, which was what he was. LaCroix would love him and his pretensions.
The girl Friday, for that was what Nick would find out she was, knocked twice on the door to the closed inner office. A voice said to enter. Gwen opened the door, told Cary who was calling and left the room, shutting the means of entry behind her.
"Nick!" Exclaimed Cary, standing and holding his hand out, as if he hadn't seen him in an eon. "What brings you to this place?"
Another shrug. "Just wanted to see where you worked and what it was you did here."
"Well, so you see."
"No, I don't."
Cary sighed and brushed a dark hair back from his forehead and gestured for Nick to sit in a very plush bergere chair in dark rose, very elegant and plush. Nick looked at the computer Cary had been working at and noticed—free cell. He blinked once or twice at that.
"I take it you've been working hard," he commented, sarcastically.
The brunette vampire laughed a little and smiled, showing all his nice white teeth. As with most vampires, if you looked very closely, with a microscope perhaps, you would see the tips of the fangs. Cary had smaller secondary ones behind the first as well, an inheritance from his master possibly. Nick had noticed this when he bit the mortal Jill had brought for him.
"Very." Cary deadpanned. "Actually, I just finished accounts payable—fun fun signing checks, spending money."
"So, you never answered my question," Nick got to the point. "What do you do here, exactly?"
"Oh, sorry. Well, we sort of do distribution. Of products that vampires could use and some that mortals use as well—hairless shavers, exercise machines, and the like. Telemarketing you could call it. Of course the—umm, special employees are routed for things like Sanger wines and the like. We are one of five centers that supply blood wine orders. There is one here, one in Miami, one in London, one in Kyoto, and one in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Lots of money in this business."
"That's all you do?" Nick was amazed. Cary's wealth couldn't come from just that. And the center was fully employed.
"Well, no, we also run VIN."