If Sookie was honest with herself, she wanted to be back at the farmhouse and more importantly, in bed with Godric. Jason though, had other ideas, the game was on at Merlotte's, and he had talked Godric into going. Who, in turn, talked her into joining him. So there she was at a crowded Merlotte's trying very hard not to look like she'd rather have her teeth pulled. Her disposition was made no better by the looks Sam was giving her; she hadn't seen him in a while, and it would be rude not to go by and say hello. Whatever his views on vampires were, he had given her a job when she struggled to find one. Of course, being a telepath made waitressing the most straightforward job on the planet, or at least it was until she started tending bar at Fangtasia.
"Sam, how are you?" She planted her butt on a bar stool with a long sigh.
"I'm good, Sook, and yourself?" His eyes wandered over to the boot she'd just vacated.
"Got no complaints." She responded with a smile looking over at Godric, who smiled at her despite his ongoing conversation with Arlene.
"Really, then life with the sheriff's maker is good then?" He just about managed to keep the sneer out of his voice.
"It's damn near perfect." She retorted.
"I see, it's that why we don't see you around here anymore."
"Actually, I am here quite a bit, you just never seem to be. No matter how busy I am, I still have time for my friends. I also haven't forgotten your lack of appearance to three invites."
"I wasn't in town when you had those barbecues." He sighed. "And in truth, I'm not keen on the company you Stackhouses keep these days. I mean… why vamps, you could do so much better. All they do is take. What could he possibly give you? Your bloodline is sure as dead with you and Jase deciding vamps are who you want to spend your life with." Sookie swallowed her anger.
"We are immortal Sam, who would you have us marry. As for kids, I am not going to bring them into this world and watch them grow old and die. That is what will happen if I marry a mortal of any kind." Sam's jaw dropped.
"You are… I had no idea, I mean, I knew there was something about you and Jase, but I never figured..." his voice trailed off. "I had no idea." He repeated after Sookie said nothing.
"Would have, if you had just asked." She jumped off the stool when a waitress approached their boot with their food.
Half an hour later, even Godric struggled to stay focused. He didn't get most modern sports in general. In this day, games and combat went hand in hand. Every competitive activity had its roots in fighting. "What exactly is achieved by throwing this ball around?" Sookie let out a peal of laughter in response.
"Where you are concerned, I guess not much, but to most the pride of your team winning." He still didn't get it. Sookie wondered how Thalia was doing if Godric was that lost, Thalia might just as well be spinning with no aim in mind. "We could always go for a walk." He stood quickly and took her hand in his.
"That is a perfect idea." They were out of the bar before anybody could protest.
"I believe a vacation is in order after this unfortunate business with Russell is over." Godric murmured as they sat on the swing on the porch of the farmhouse.
"Don't you have to be around for the takeover?" Sookie sighed.
"No, if things have worked as well as we planned, it should be the smoothest transition I have ever witnessed." He chuckled. "I promise, after this, we will be far removed from vampire politics as can be. Any issues that arise next will not be from my end." He teased.
"You better not be implying what I think you are." She threatened with little bite.
"I am not implying, I am stating… you Fairies are just as much trouble as vampires. If your kind didn't taste so good, we would get along well."
"Yes, blame us for your inability to control your thirst around us."
"I do." He chuckled, earning an elbow to the abdomen.
"Ouch." He laughed. She relaxed against him with a satisfied sigh. Her relaxed mood was short-lived when both their phones rang.
"No rest for the wicked." She whispered as she teleported them to Fangtasia.
"He's holding everyone who wasn't on the compound that day. We have no idea where though we know they are not on the compound. My fiancée is among them." Debbie was shaking uncontrollably, Jason knew it was more from withdrawal symptoms from V than anything to do with Russell having taken her fiance. "Word is you believe Russell killed Talbot for your blood." She added.
"From what I know so far, it's the only probable conclusion I can draw. Unless you can tell me something… tell me about the events surrounding Talbot's true death."
"I can do better than tell you. I can show the security footage from the compound, and the death itself." Grant, Cooter's second, brought out a laptop.
Jason hit play and watched Talbot's true death and the events surrounding it on the screen. "Where was Talbot going?" he asked as he watched it again.
Debbie stared at him perplexed. "To get the blood, you hid for him in the outhouse. That was what Russell said, at least."
"No, I left it in the pool house. Did any of you see me head that way?"
"Come to think of it, no." Michael murmured.
"Earlier, you said Russell was in a meeting." Grant nodded. "So he left his meeting to see watch Talbot head up to the outhouse, and… where is he looking." Jason paused the screen as everyone looked. "What's there?" Jason asked.
"Nothing, that leads to a small patch of woods and then the main road leading further into Jackson," Grant answered.
"Right," Jason whispered and got back to the video. "There." He paused the video again.
"I can't believe I missed it." Michael murmured.
"Is that a bullet?" Debbie asked.
"I believe it is," Jason whispered.
"What does that mean?" Grant asked.
"I have no idea." Jason sighed, scrubbing his face. "I mean… how long did the shooter wait to get that opportunity? What are the chances of getting Talbot on his own? Why did he go to the outhouse?"
"Russell sent him there to give his shooter a chance… I mean, you just said... what are the chances." Another were Jason didn't know piped up.
"What are the chances indeed," Jason muttered. "I stand by my decision, especially in light of you telling me that Russell said he went to get the blood I gave him. The blood is in the pool house, and it's more than likely still there."
"Well, Mr. Stackhouse, it appears you seem to be in Jackson doing exactly what you refused to do. Since you are already here, why not take a step further and come to the compound." Russell's southern drawl seemed more pronounced at that moment.
"There is no need for me to step foot on your compound, I already know what happened, and kidnapping their loved ones hoping to get me to do your bidding isn't going to work either." Jason sat with a smug smile that belied his situation. There he was in Russell's territory, in a bar that was packed with his wolves, and yet he seemed more at home than anybody else. "I don't think I ever told you why it is I'm so good at my job. See, I can't be lied to." Jason stood and took a step towards Russell. He already tested his ability on Godric, and it worked with little effort. It would have been foolish not to before walking into the lion's den all those weeks ago. "Tell me, Russell, did you have Talbot killed."
"Yes." Russell shook his head, wondering why he had given that answer. He hadn't killed Talbot, and yet he had just admitted to it. Of course, he couldn't have known that Jason had used his glamour on him the night he got drunk in that very bar.
"No, that's not..."
"I can't be lied to. Did you really think I didn't know you forced them to call me?"
Russell leveled a menacing glare at Jason. "It doesn't matter, you are here now, and mine. You are right, they will do as I say if they want the continued supply of my blood. Whether I killed Talbot or not matters very little now. I have your blood now." The sudden searing burn around his throat put him on his knees.
"As if we would let him walk into your state alone when we all know what you want." Sookie yanked on the chain earning a hiss from Russell.
"Where are you holding the weres and vampires," Jason asked.
"Warehouse just outside town, it's the last…" Russell roared in an attempt to stop himself from saying more, but it was too late.
"I know where it is." Grant piped up. There was a sudden flurry of activity as the weres readied to leave to get their loved ones and pack mates.
"Thank you, Russell, you have been most cooperative." Jason drawled in the same exaggerated accent as Russell.
"Let's get him chained up and ready to leave," Godric uttered as he stared at Debbie, whose eyes hadn't left Russell's kneeling form.
"You can leave him with us." Another were piped up, his shaking so much worse than Debbie's.
"Him alive isn't a chance we are willing to take," Thalia muttered.
"Oh, he will meet the true death just after we have a little fun with him," Debbie said with a chuckle.
Not a chance they were willing to take. "We do not need the AVL and the Council on our case. We are doing this by the book." Godric added.
"I guarantee he will be dead by sundown tomorrow." Grant offered. Debbie's shaking had gotten worse, and now they had more eyes on them now. This was something they clearly hadn't accounted for. The weres desire for the continued use of Russell's blood.
"Oh, fuck this," Eric growled, and before anyone could wonder what he meant, his stake was firmly in Russell's chest. "You killed for a crown that meant nothing to you." They both knew Russell had no idea who he truly was or what his words meant. "The AVL and the Council can come after me," Eric growled as he walked out.
"Well, that's that then," Jason muttered as he stared at the horrified faces on the weres. Their blood supply was gone. Vampires in the state of Mississippi would have to watch out for V addicted weres until Sophie-Anne dealt with Cooter's pack.
"You do realize you are now king of Mississippi." Grant offered unnecessarily. Eric scoffed at the notion before walking out.
"I will handle it," Godric said as they all walked out of the bar. It was a pathetic sight the way the weres stared at the blood on the floor. "That will be the first thing we handle in this state." Godric murmured as he got his phone out. Sophie-Anne's people were waiting at the border for his call. They had to get the vampires free before the weres got there and decided their blood was more important than their freedom. "Send them in." He ordered.
The takeover was smooth. The vampires in Russell's retinue were happy to stay on and work for Sophie-Anne, which made the transition a little easier as well. Russell's torture of them robbed them of any loyalty they might have felt for him. Their biggest problem it appeared were the wolves. Their need for V made them volatile and dangerous to vampires in the state.
The weres had been their allies for so long, not that they did so willingly, but still, they had helped in taking Russell out. Now it appeared if the situation weren't handled well, the weres would become a problem.