What We Do In The Shadows: "Jen..."
Summary: There are unexpected consequences when Laszlo seeks a new human familiar…
Part LXVI…
Dressing room of the Colonial Theater, Broadway…About four months previous…
"So…Miss Lesley Ciara…" a young female reporter in her twenties, seated at Lesley's invite as she wiped make-up, following her final performance of her starring role in the hit revival of "South Pacific", gushed… "Now you've wrapped up your starring role in this new hit, what's next for you?"
"Well, I hope to move on to more straight drama…" Lesley began.
And fewer retreads of old hits…
Knock…
"Lesley?! Lesley!"
Oh, Lord.
"Just a min…My producer, Saul Fring. Give us a sec, will ya, dear?" she beamed to the reporter who nodded, sure…Rising and still eagerly beaming.
"Just wait outside…I'll be right with you after Saulie and I talk."
"Of course, Miss Ciara." Beaming nod.
I can wait…Simon can wait…A bit. Samarta thought, heading out, passing a short, balding pudgy man, entering.
"Lesley! What a great night!" Saul closed door.
Immediately dropping his oleaginous manner and giving her stern look…
She, sighing…
"Well?" she eyed him.
"Who was that?" he pointed.
"Reporter, from the Post. Reviewing tonight's last show."
"She's good. Well concealed…But you should have sensed her."
"What? Her?" Lesley looked over to the door. "Seriously?"
"You're getting flabby. Though she was good. Must be using something strong to cover."
"You think she's…"
"Sure…But she may only want a celebrity bleeding…Or doll to play with. Or she might even actually be a reporter, some of them do try to have careers." His face somber. "You want I should get the guys?"
"I can take one vampire, Saul, if she's trouble. 'Flabby' as I may be, working my ass off for you."
"The show was a sure hit. People love the old stuff and you're good. It wasn't that hard to sell." He frowned. "But you're letting your eye off the ball, Ciara."
"I have a career, Saul. And you people are killing it." She glared. "One more 'hit' revival and I'll be doing North Shore Music Circus or fancy dinner theater."
"We went to bat for you. I went to bat for you. On the understandin' you'd get on with your real work."
"Sticking wood into a few mangy vampires or a tramp like that one."
"She seemed like a nice girl, in her cover anyway. Might be one that keeps its nose clean and its fangs in a blood bag, cows, or volunteer donor boyfriend." Saul, shaking head. "Lets not forget they were people once, a lot of them not to blame for what happened to 'em. Like my Sibyl…" sigh.
Always on about Sibyl..Jesus…Lesley sighed.
He had one date in high school and she's the love of his life, tragically taken…And I saw the pics, she was cute but nothing overwhelming…Though out of his league for sure unless she was hard up.
Vamps do tend to be, at times. Not having steady employment opportunities.
When she came to him, she no doubt had heard he was making out as a producer…
Besides, you staked her the night she showed up at your door, she eyed him. Hardly a deep romance…
"Well, anyway, I'll deal. She might really be a reporter anyway. I'll let her get her story out if she is, then take care of her. With empathy, Saul." To his stern, somber look.
"So?" she eyed him. "You didn't come here to save me from the foul creature of the night…?"
"Things have played as we hoped. Simon the Devious is interested in you." He noted. "He called and asked if I was planning anything new for you. And he called your agent. He wants an interview."
"At last…You must be thrilled." She frowned.
"It was why we brought you here." He nodded. "Devious isn't easy to get at."
"He's just another bloodsucker." Frown. "Open a window, shove a stick, end of problem."
"You get too cocky, girl. You're good, one of our best…But you're not the Slayer, nor are you the best."
"Good enough for your crew, Saulie." She glared. "And lets remember just whose great-great-great granddaughter I am."
You're not the Slayer…Haven't I heard that since I was twelve and told about my Destiny.
Screw her, supergirl with demon extra, I bet I could match her vamp for vamp…
"That counts but you've played that card one too many times. You have your assignment. Do your job."
"Don't kill him? Just find out what his game is with those special candidates?"
"Right. Get close and find out. We believe from our friend and your ancestor he means to interfere with us. He hates them and wants to thwart their Redemption."
"So…Lets finish them and send them off to Heaven." She frowned.
"It's not their Time yet. They have to be taken at the right time, you know that." He shook head.
"Fine. Lets do another 'Dracula'. But what about me and my career? You people have made promises to me. And been slow to keep them. I was supposed to be out of this several jobs ago."
"I can't help that. Take it up with your ancestor."
"Funny. You know he's never spoken to me, direct. And you never let me in to see him when he does to you or the Doctor."
"We never know when he'll contact us." Saul frowned. "But he must approve whom he'll speak to in any case."
"And it seems, despite all my work for his cause, I'm not worthy."
Why? Why won't you speak to me, Grandfather plus 5? How have I failed? Too full of myself? Too unwilling to completely dissolve my existence in the Cause? I never condemned anyone. I've saved hundreds of condemned people and protected maybe millions. Why? Cause I'm afraid to die? Afraid to get old when I see there are ways around falling apart into a shallow grave? Your pal the Doctor is still alive and hearty…Why is it too much for me to want to live and remain young? I don't say I wanna be a vamp and kill people…She looked at the mirror, searching for lines.
"No one's ever said that. The jobs you've been given speak for themselves. You've gotten most of the toughest, no question."
"And gotten damned little in return except a chance to make money for you and them." She gave a sour look in the mirror.
"And I'm not gettin' any younger. It won't be long before it's too late for me." She sighed. "I'm better than revivals and musicals…I should be making movies, doing hit dramas."
"When it comes, we'll back you." Saul noted.
"Except while you need me to stake vampires. I've passed on three movie opportunities and a great dramatic part for you." She frowned. "When do the chains come off, massa?" glare.
"Take care of this one properly and we'll talk. The Slayer is reactivated and she'll be able to help out soon."
"Sure she will. Like I've been hearing for the past ten years. She's taking her time, Saul."
"She's just a kid…She has to grow up, recover her buried memories and skills."
"What an idiot to come back again. I thought she was happy with her guy."
"She knows she's needed. And it's for her guy, to prove he and others like him aren't responsible for what happened to them. Besides, he's back as well. They'll find each other, they always do."
"Lets hope it's not you, Saul." Smile. "Though with your devotion to her memory, she may find her husband is a fiftiesish, chubby but cuddly Broadway producer who hunts vampires on the side. Kinda always wondered about you, given your lack of girl-chasing." Grin.
"Nah, I'm just gay." He shrugged. "Though it would have been an honor to find out I was William, reborn. But he's around, somewheres."
"I'd love to meet him. He sounds like quite a guy."
"Many girls have tried, none last. Some end up dead when the Dark Side tries to foul them up."
"So the legends say, I know. But maybe he's come back to get away from Her." Grin. "He may not have found the right girl yet."
She eyed his stricken face… "Sorry, Saulie. Forgive my 'blasphemy'." Mock solemn nod.
"I get too involved in the whole romance of the thing…" he shrugged. "Never been lucky there myself, I guess."
"The right guy'll come along." She smiled, patting him. "Or you can always fall back on me."
You really could've, once, Saulie. She sighed inwardly.
I may be a bit of a self-absorbed bitch but I want a nice, good, cuddly guy to love me. Someone who'd die for me, if need be.
And you would, I know. But only as an abstraction…A needed star player. Hell, you'd die for the cleaning lady in the theater here. You're a hero by nature, despite your appearance.
I, however…Despite tryin' my best to please you…And the others…And great-great-great- you know…
Simply am not.
Hard to bear, but the gods' honest truth. And I've come to grips with it.
I want more and I want what I know I deserve and then some…And I'm tired of waitin' for it. And knowing, one day, however good I am…I'll die or be turned or become some vamp's toy, then die…And who'll care but a few fanatical followers who'll forget me in a few days, having too many others to mourn and too much 'saving' to waste time.
Still, I need to keep with Saulie and keep my options open…
"Ok, I'm in. I'll meet with this Devious character and see what I can get out of him. Ok? You happy now?" she eyed him.
Goddamn you, I loved you and you could see me go and die without a qualm. I don't matter to you except as a good member of the team you'd like to keep for a while longer.
…
Present day…Auntie Rosa's ranch/estate…
"You've read the Book, you know your Duty…" Rosa, looking remarkably well, propped up on pillows in her bed, addressed Guillermo, seated, alone, at her side.
"I can guess at it. Do I know it? No."
"Good answer." She nods.
"I can't just kill my friends…I know that makes me an accomplice in their crimes…"
"No." the old woman notes shrewdly. "Helping them in their crimes makes you an accomplice. Don't dodge your responsibility, boy."
"I…Wasn't…" he sighs.
"Well, maybe a little…"
"You had no one to guide you. The glamour of the Undead caught you…Mostly the fault of Phillippe's damned…Truly so…Jerk of a grandnephew, Vladimir and his writer. 'Dracula' set off a whole cottage industry of romantic vampire novels and films and TV shows. Ridiculous, in most cases. Like showing a cow getting moon-eyed over the fellow in a slaughterhouse about to club her brains out because he sweet-talks her. But, even the best of us…Cicely Afanas, for example…"
"She loved her husband…" he notes. "And Barren seems to have been good to her."
"Perhaps. And perhaps, with calculation…At least at first, though I'll concede that he did love her these many years. He even offered his life for hers once…To me."
"He did?" Guillermo blinks.
"She was condemned by the Council for dereliction of Duty. Though I suspected at the time, probably rightly, we had some anti-Semites, even Nazis on the Council, who were happy to turn on a Jewish Vampire Hunter. I think Hitler even had us infiltrated, hoping to learn enough about the Undead to use them. But when I was sent to deal with them both…" she pauses.
So…My dream was right…Guillermo blinks. They did duke it out over Afanas once.
"He knew I was hunting for them and came and pleaded for her life…Said she was his hope of Redemption, but even if that failed he loved her." Sigh.
"And you let him go." Guillermo stares.
"Cicely doesn't know all of it but she knows I spared them for love of her. And love of Love, I suppose. I never found it myself…" wan smile to Guillermo. "The only one I ever came close with was already long taken…"
"Dracula." He says, simply. "You're in love with Dracula."
"Phillippe Acura. A somewhat different personality from the Count, but much of him all the same." She sighs, then a wide smile.
"What a sweet for you to say 'you're'…Present tense." She grins.
"Love never dies." Guillermo shrugs. "It lasted centuries for Dracula and his Elisabete…For decades and forever with Cicely and Barren…And with the Slayer, whoever she is now and her husband, whoever he is now."
"And sometimes, it's forever unrequited." She looks down. "But I think it would have hurt me far more in a way if Phillippe had settled for me. After all, I still have Eternity…And perhaps, someone…My Dracula, my Barren…Is out there, waiting."
"Maybe me too…" he smiles, faintly.
"Maybe you've found her." Calm stare.
"No. Susan doesn't love me. She's drugged. She's in love, or thinks she is, with Nandor. And I'm the cheap substitute. Hell, Phyl loves me too. Probably all of those poor women do on some level, cause I'm chief Minion."
"Doesn't mean it can't be true. Not of all them came running after you to Mexico."
"When this is over and they're free…If I live…They'll hate me. Probably either have me jailed or kill me themselves. I can't blame them."
She shrugs…
"They'll probably be upset, some will hate you, perhaps because they let themselves love you. That's part of your atonement too, boy."
"Yeah. Of course, if they found out the truth about me…About you…And Granduncle plus, they'd kill me right now."
"Regretfully, but very likely they would. So, to protect them from doing so as well as protect them in general, you must not let them learn of your secret until you are ready to finish the work."
"Yeah…Auntie? What do I do now? When is the right time, if I ever decide…?"
And how do I do it, given how powerful my friends are and their human minions can supercharge with adrenalin in seconds?
"You'll know when the Time comes…" smile. "Yeah, you knew I'd say that. Sorry, kiddo, that's how it is. And you'll figure out how to do it and protect the poor ladies. The Book will help you focus your skills, Phillippe will alert you to when Van Helsing's helpers are nigh and the Slayer is ready to come on the scene. He can advise you to some extent on their powers and while he can't do the Redemptive work himself, he's one god-awful Vampire Killer when it comes to vamp guards and types like Devious. As will the Slayer and the Vampire Hunter Corps. You aren't fully alone, Guillermo. There are just some things only you can do."
"So, she is around, the Slayer, really?"
"Closer than you think…" she smiles.
"No…Don't tell me, Sue…"
"No…It's not that easy to enthrall a Slayer." Chuckle. "Just ask Phillippe. He'll tell you when he judges the time is right to meet her or summon her to your side."
"Right at the middle of the battle when I'm about to die, huh?"
"Could be…I've faced many such scenarios. If this were easy, honey, everyone would be a Hunter and there'd be no vampires running around."
"Wish he'd intro me right now. Auntie?" he looks to see her head fallen back, eyes barely open.
"Auntie…" he felt her arm.
Oh…
Eyes popped open, skin glowing…
"Guillermo…" lewd comment. "Come here, my love…"
Fangs just visible now.
"Nein! Avant!" he whips stake and stakes her…
Auntie…As her face returns to a look of peace…
Though somewhat regrettably…She does not turn to dust…
Lovely…He eyes the blood-soaked sheets…
"You might have told me this was coming. It's why you wanted me here, alone with you, wasn't it?" he addresses the corpse…And looks to see a folded piece of white paper on the ground.
"Guillermo, my sweet boy…" he reads the open paper.
"I suppose I transformed on Death and you've staked me, as I hoped. I preferred it be you, rather than Cicely or poor Phillippe, who in his kindly way, did love me, even if not as I could have wished. Sorry to unload this burden on you. Can't actually tell you who was the vampire who left a bit of his or her own in me, there were several over the years and it's an occupational hazard, as you might guess.
I'm also sorry to leave you with a mess and a messy situation. But call Bette and she'll help you arrange things so Roderigo and others don't have the shock of their lives. Phillippe will handle the death certificate and having me prepared for a Christian burial. Thank you, sweet boy, for allowing me that. Enjoy what you inherit and feel no guilt about it. Save that guilt for helping your friends and their poor minions. And don't close any doors to life, Guillermo. I regret the ones I did. Goodbye till we see each other again. We will, I have faith in you. All my love. Aunt Rosa."
