Chapter Three: Somewhere a Clock is Ticking
I drummed my fingers on the bar counter, my thoughts travelling a mile a minute. It had been nearly an entire week since Pam had left. I had half expected her to be back now, with or without Eric in tow. But she was still gone, or at least that's what the doorman at Fangtasia had told me every time I've ventured there. Apparently Pam had given every single staff member the strict order to not let me inside the bar. While I was annoyed by it, I did understand why she would do so. While I doubted Pam cared about my well being, I knew that should anything happen to me while Pam wasn't supervising, Eric would be furious with her. So she took measures to ensure that while she was away, I couldn't get myself into trouble. Of course, that left me with nothing to do. I've already talked to Isabel enough times for her to think I was absolutely insane. I've talked Maggie's ear off a couple dozen times this week alone, and I was pretty certain that Alcide was avoiding my constant calls. Sookie and Sam had tried to keep me busy, but to no avail. I needed something to keep me occupied, something to keep my mind off of all the horrible scenarios playing out in my head.
Hell, I even tried to dig up what I could on the Mississippi bombing, but I soon discovered that using the same investigating tactics as all the characters in the mystery novels and movies I've watched weren't exactly helpful. In fact, I got absolutely nowhere, and possibly even a restraining order from one of the reporters. I was at a dead end, not sure where to turn, what to look for in my search for Godric, and everything was beginning to feel impossible. I didn't want to feel this way. I wanted to be able to just find him already, to have my life back in order. I'd rather Eric being gone as my biggest problem. Godric being missing, potentially dead, that was just pure torture.
"Okay, you need to do something." Sam shook his head as he stopped in front of me on the other side of the bar. "You're driving yourself crazy."
"I can't just give up, Sam."
"I know, but at the moment, there's nothing else we can do. You can't go to Fangtasia until Pam gets back...and don't give me that look, you are not sneaking in there!" he gave me a stern look.
"But..."
"No, Ellie. It's too dangerous. I'll tie you down to the stool if I have to." He warned. It was at that moment that I found myself comparing Sam to my brother. He was just as protective as Matt would be, trying to keep me safe and out of trouble.
"Oh fine, I won't try to sneak in there." I pouted. "But what else am I supposed to do?"
"I don't think there is anything else you can do right now." Sam shrugged. "Not until Pam gets back. And then either she'll have Eric with her, or you'll be able to resume going to Fangtasia. But until then, I think it would be safer to just lay low. We don't even know who's behind these bombings. We don't want to attract any sort of danger."
"I guess." I sighed, knowing Sam was right. If I kept digging with my terrible investigating ways, then we might just attract trouble, and that was the last thing any of us wanted. While I could protect myself, I did find myself at least wanting Pam around, as backup I suppose. I'd much rather Eric or Godric, but neither of those exactly were suitable options at the moment, considering one was in Sweden and the other was god even knows where.
"Here." Sam tossed an apron at me. "Arlene called in sick and can't work the evening shift."
"I never said I wanted to work." I pointed out.
"Yeah, but this will keep you busy and in my sight." He smirked. "Now hurry up, table 10 is waiting for you."
I pulled a face but tied the apron around my waist as I stood. I stuck my tongue out at Sam before hurrying over to the table with a wailing baby. I was actually grateful that Sam had found me something to do, even if it was catering to the nosy residents of Bon Temps. I had thoroughly enjoyed working here when I had years back. It had proven to be a nice distraction from all the problems in my life and god know I could use a distraction right now. All my problems would be there waiting for me after tonight. Maybe running around with my head cut off, catering to others, would give me a break from the constant searching for Godric, the constant defeat I kept finding.
"For such nosy people, they certainly do tip well." I was amazed at how many tips a few smiles and some southern charm earned Sookie and I at the end of the long and exhausting night. It had gotten busier than any of us imagined and it got to a point that I was pretty sure I wasn't even paying attention to anything that was going on around me except keeping orders straight and intact. It seemed to work out as Sookie and I would be walking away that night with a suitable amount of money, courtesy of the kind, and potentially drunk, residents of Bon Temps.
"Why do you think I like working here?" Sookie grinned as she slipped onto the stool beside me at the bar.
"And here I thought it was all because of Sam." I couldn't help but smile over at the blonde.
"Nah, he's just an added bonus."
"Hey now, I heard that." Sam came waltzing out of the back hallway, a bright smile on his face. "I thought I was the number one reason you stuck around."
"Maybe number three or four." Sookie winked at him.
I snorted, shaking my head as the two teased one another back and forth.
"It's nice to see you smile." Sookie mused, interrupting their friendly banter to gaze back at me.
"I wasn't smiling." I quickly masked the smile that had wormed its way onto my face somehow. How was I able to smile when my best friend was out there somewhere missing, or worse, dead? I felt guilty for finding even the smallest sliver of happiness while he could be hurt and waiting for me to find him.
"You were. It's okay to be happy." Sookie nudged me, as if she had been able to read my mind. Which I knew wasn't the case as I had been keeping my mental walls up lately. I didn't want Sookie to know the horrible thoughts I had running through my mind concerning Godric. It would only worry her even more. So I made sure she couldn't even get a glimpse into my train of thought. It was just better for the both of us that way. "I don't think Godric would want you to mope around all the time. Actually I'm 100% certain about that."
"I just feel guilty." I sighed, tugging out the ponytail I had pulled my hair into earlier that evening. I shook my long locks out, running a hand through to tug out any tangles. "Like I'm not supposed to laugh or smile or be even the slightest bit happy when Godric is missing somewhere."
"You've been doing everything you can." Sam pointed out. "We're at a dead end right now. I think he would rather you have a little fun than be miserable and driving yourself crazy."
"Maybe, but..."
"I don't know Godric as well as you do, but I know him well enough to know that he would not want you to be putting yourself through this. If he's alive, we'll find him Ellie." Sookie took my hands in hers, squeezing them softly. "I promise, we'll help you in any way that we can. But you can't do this to yourself. He wouldn't want it. You deserve to be happy, in any way that you can."
"I guess." I nodded, knowing she was right. If Godric knew how I had been acting this last month, I was sure he would lecture me, telling me I was being an idiot. He was a 2000 year old vampire. If he was alive, which I desperately believed that he was, then he would find his way back home. And if not, then we would do everything in our power to find him and bring him back to safety. He was my number one priority right now. But maybe Sookie and Sam were right. Maybe it was alright if I let loose every once in awhile, to let myself smile and have a good time. It didn't mean I didn't care about Godric. It didn't mean that I wasn't working my ass off to find him. It just meant that I was human and needed a break. "Okay you're right."
"We always are." Sookie's eyes brightened. "What should we do tonight?"
"Besides sleep?" I raised an eyebrow at how cheerful she still was after the evening we had.
"I'm not even tired, to be honest." Sookie admitted, glancing at Sam. "What about you?"
"Well I could think about a few things we could do..." a wicked smirk slid across his lips.
"And that's my cue to leave!" I grabbed Sookie's car keys from the bar counter and slid off the stool. "You two love birds go do...well I don't want the imagery, but you know what I mean."
"Don't wait up!" Sookie called as I began towards the door.
"She probably won't make it home tonight." Sam snickered
"And that was too much information." I muttered as I left the bar and began around the side of the building to the back parking lot where Sookie had parked the car. I found myself whistling a tune as I leisurely strolled over to the small yellow car and pushed the key into the lock. Before I could open the door however, I heard the distinctive crunch of gravel behind me. I froze in spot as my eyes widened. I could faintly hear Sookie's laughs inside, and I doubt Sam would have come out without her. Which meant that there someone sneaking up behind me not wanting to be heard. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I prayed whoever was behind me wasn't a vampire or else they would be taking great delight in my fear. I concentrated deep within myself, the familiar warmth beginning to spread throughout me. Should whoever it was try to attack, I would be ready. I was just glad I had gotten these powers under control to a point that I was sure of my abilities. I still remembered the times that I was so clueless concerning my powers. But I was no longer confused. I knew my abilities, and I knew I could kick some serious ass if need be.
The crunching grew louder as the form grew closer to me from behind. Not wanting to be taken by surprise, I spun around and threw my hand out. I had to call back my powers however, when I realized that the form that had been sneaking up on me wasn't a threat at all.
"Damn it Alcide, what the hell!" I let my hand drop back down to my side as I tried to calm my racing heart. I shook my head at the Were that had stopped in his place, his eyes wide as he realized what was just about to happen. I think he spent one too many days around Debbie; he's lost some brain cells. Whatever you do, never sneak up behind a fully transitioned Phoenix. Especially a very paranoid Phoenix who would attack before thinking. "Don't sneak up on people!"
"Sorry, sorry." He held his hands out in defence, though he kept a good distance between us. Good, or else I would have slapped him for his stupidity. "I just didn't want to startle you."
"I could have fried you like bacon, Alcide." I rolled my eyes.
"I know, I'm sorry." He did look ashamed, and for that, I shook my head and waved the moment away. There was a reason Alcide was here, there had to be unless he just liked sneaking up on women in dark parking lots. And if that was some sort of kinky fetish, then I was glad Sookie was with Sam.
"Is there a reason you're here?" I asked, moving the conversation along. While the weather was starting to grow warmer, there was still a chill in the air that went right through the jacket wrapped around me.
"I was hoping we could talk." He looked unsure. He glanced around, as if expecting someone to jump out at him, and that began to worry me. "It's important."
"What's going on?" I nodded for him to continue.
"We shouldn't talk here. It's not safe." Alcide shook his head.
Now that really worried me. "Do you remember how to get to Sookie's? I've been living there for awhile now."
"She's not there, is she?" he looked hesitant.
"No, she's with Sam." I nodded at the building. "She won't be back tonight."
"With Sam." He murmured to himself, a look of jealousy crossing his face.
"Hey now, you can just wipe that look off your face." I frowned. "You lost the right to be jealous, Alcide. She's happy now, leave it be."
"I know." He sighed, his shoulders slumping forward. "I did care about her, Ellie."
"I know you did, but you chose Debbie over Sookie. So she chose Sam instead."
"I never chose Debbie." He defended. "There was no one else to look out for her. She was going through withdrawal, she needed help."
"Couldn't you tell Sookie that instead of springing it on her by bringing her here unannounced?" I raised an eyebrow. "She's not here by the way, because I will kick her ass into next year."
"She's not here." Alcide looked surprise at the warning.
"Speaking of which, how come I never saw you parked in the front?" I tried to remember if I had seen another car in the front of the building, but didn't recall anything or anyone in the empty parking lot.
"I parked near the road." He explained. "I wasn't sure if you were here or not and I didn't want to..."
"Run into Sookie or Sam." I finished for him with a nod. "Alright, well I'll meet you at the house then? It's getting cold out here."
"Yeah of course." Alcide nodded, turning on his heel and beginning back through the parking lot.
I waited until he was out of sight before I slipped into Sookie's car. I started the engine, basking in the warmth the heater provided. I was intrigued as to why Alcide was here. Did he know something about Godric? Was that why he was so worried that someone might hear, that it might be unsafe? I was both worried and excited about the prospect that he might know something. I had absolutely squat right now, all of my leads taking me down a dead end. If Alcide at least knew something, dangerous or not, then maybe I would be able to take a step closer towards finding my best friend.
"Do you want anything to drink?" I offered as Alcide and I stepped into the house. I flipped on the lights as I glanced at Alcide, who was looking far more comfortable than he had been in the parking lot at Merlotte's.
"No thanks." He shook his head.
I nodded and led the way into the living room. I sat in one of the plush chairs while Alcide took a seat across from me on the couch. He leaned forward at first, his hands clasped together as he looked around the living, as if searching for some sort of change from the last time he had been here, more than likely with Sookie hanging off his arm. I just sat there, waiting for him to begin. He was the one who wanted to talk, who wanted to come here to discuss something he deemed important. After a few minutes though, I found myself growing impatient. I was exhausted from work and now I was worriedly wound up with Alcide sitting in my living room. I was hoping he would just blurt out whatever it was so I could get to bed already.
"So..." I urged him to begin.
Alcide sighed and sat back, his hands falling to his knee caps. "I was able to find some information out."
"About?" I knew what it was obviously about, but if he was going to be vague, then so would I.
He raised an eyebrow. "What do you think?"
"I don't know, we haven't talked in awhile because someone has been avoiding my calls. Maybe there's a new problem I'm not aware of." I was snapping now. I couldn't stop myself. I was tired, annoyed, and just wanted Alcide to get to the damn point.
"You called every day." He pointed out.
"I was anxious to find anything out. I might have called once or twice." I shrugged.
"Every day." He repeated.
"Okay, so I called every day. Can you really blame me, Alcide? Godric is my bed friend and he's missing. Everyone thinks I'm insane for thinking he could still be alive. And the longer this goes on, the more I'm starting to believe that maybe they're right." I frowned, ducking my head.
"Well they're wrong." Alcide insisted, causing my head to snap right back up to meet his gaze. "Or else, I have reason to believe that they could be."
"Really?" my eyes widened. "What did you hear?"
"You hear about the bombing in Mississippi?" he questioned.
"Of course." I nodded. "They say it might have something to do with the New Orleans bombing. Does it?"
"We think so, yeah." He nodded in agreement.
"Who's we?" I wondered.
"The Shreveport and Jackson pack have combined over the past few months. Our numbers are lower after both the battle with the witches and now this bombing. It's safer to band together than to be widespread." Alcide explained.
"How many did you lose in the bombing? The news said there were no bodies found." I sat forward, my interest peaking.
"We were able to get in there and collect the bodies before any investigation could take place. We lost nearly half of the Jackson pack."
"Oh wow." I was surprised. I hadn't thought many of the pack still resided at the mansion since the Queen took over the territory. "I'm sorry."
Alcide shrugged his large shoulders as he ran a hand through his dark wavy hair. "It was a loss, but a majority of them brought it on themselves. The packmaster knew it was too dangerous to keep too close to the vamps and ordered them to stay away unless summoned on official business that went through him first."
"I'm suspecting they didn't listen."
"Not at all. They were all V addicts because of Edgington. We tried to get them clean, like with Debbie, but some of them just wouldn't accept help. They hung around the vamps too much, and it ended up getting them killed." Alcide sounded bitter. I knew just how much he despised vampires, and in turn, his own kind that fed on their blood.
"So what does this have to do with the bombing?" I tried to move the conversation along. It didn't seem like Alcide needed much of my sympathy anymore.
"There was a survivor from the Mississippi bombing, or at least, that's what he likes to call himself." Alcide rolled his eyes. "He had just left some sort of party at the mansion when the bomb went off. He was injured, but now that he's healed, he's telling anyone who'll listen what he knows."
"And what does he know?"
"That I don't know. Not yet." Alcide admitted with a sigh.
"Then why are you here if you don't actually know anything?" I was confused now. What was the point of coming here if he barely had anything to tell me?
"Rolland, that's the survivor," Alcide was using the word loosely. "He doesn't do anything for free. Not even a tall tale."
"He wants something in return for gloating." I shook my head. "Despicable."
"That's how the real world works, Ellie. Nothing is ever free."
"Yeah, I've learned that the hard way." I sighed. "So this Were, what does he want?"
"Anything that will peak his interest."
"So why couldn't you just offer him something in return for his story?" I raised an eyebrow.
"I like you, Ellie, but part of me just doesn't want to get involved in something else that doesn't involve me." He wasn't going to sugar coat how he felt at all. I was surprised at how blunt he was being, but I suppose I could understand. We had pulled him into enough of our drama over the last few years, drama that never should have concerned him in the first place. And half of the time I think he was mostly just doing it for Sookie. But she was now out of his life and with some other guy. Not much of a reason to stick his neck out for someone else, even if we were supposedly friends. "And I don't want to get involved with this guy. He's bad business, Ellie. He's dangerous. He's an addict, you can count on that. I can't taint my family name right now, not for my Father. There's a shift in power going on in the pack right now, and I need to keep under the radar."
I was beginning to understand why he had come here. He couldn't get involved with this Were, but I certainly could. I'm sure he cared if I got involved with a dangerous Were V addict, but it was better my ass than his own. I should have been mad at him, and if I had been Sookie, I would have kicked his ass right out of this house. But I was desperate right now. I needed any sort of lead I could get. If I could talk to this guy, at least hear his half ass story, then maybe I could find something useful to go on. I wasn't expecting too much, but right now, a little seemed like a whole lot.
"Take me to him." I decided after a moment.
"What?" he seemed surprised I jumped at the chance to talk with this guy.
"Take me to him." I repeated. "You obviously came here so I would go there and talk with him, so that's exactly what I want to do. Of course, you'll know where he is, and I think I should really have an escort if I'm going to have to deal with werewolves, so take me there."
"I don't know about that." He seemed nervous at the idea.
"You didn't come here just to chat, Alcide. You came here with this information and I'm taking you up on it. You knew this was going to happen or else you wouldn't have bothered to tell me." I pointed out. "I'm not asking you to get involved with him, I get that you don't want to taint your name or get involved at all. But if I'm going to go there, I'm not going to go alone. I'm not an idiot."
"You can take care of yourself."
"Of course I can. But I don't want it to get to that point. All I'm asking is for you to take me to wherever he is, point me in the right direction, and I'll do the rest. You'll just be close by just in case." I shrugged. "I'm not asking for a lot Alcide. I know I probably owe you more than you owe me right now, but I'm asking this as a friend."
Alcide sat there and stared at me for awhile before gazing down at his now clasped hands in his lap. He leaned forward, contemplating my conditions, and for a moment, I thought he was just going to walk out and refuse to do it. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and he ended up nodding after what felt like hours of impatient foot tapping on my part.
"Alright, I'll do it." He agreed, though he looked hesitant about it. "Just don't do anything stupid, Ellie."
"Scouts honour." I found myself grinning.
"What do you plan on offering him anyways?" Alcide wondered.
"He gets to meet a real life Phoenix, I'm pretty sure that's enough, don't you agree." My grin widened. "It helps to be a rare mythological being."
Alcide offered a small smile, though I could still tell he was worried.
"Don't worry, Alcide, everything will work out fine. Now, let's get moving." I hopped off of the chair.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Alcide jumped up as well, shaking his head wildly. "What do you mean, let's get moving?"
"Well we don't want to waste time. Let's go." I motioned towards the door. "I'll throw one or two things into a bag and we can be out of here in five minutes."
"No, we're not going tonight." he refused.
"Oh yes we are." I planted my hands on my hips. "The faster we get there, the faster we get our information."
"It's almost 1, and it'll be a good couple of hours on the road to get to Jackson. We won't be able to talk to him until tomorrow." Alcide pointed out.
"Oh I know that, but it'll give us a chance to scope out the bombing site." I shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You do know that it's a crime scene right?"
"You guys took evidence out of a crime scene did you not?" I smirked at the Were. When he didn't say anything, I shot him a smug look. "I thought so. I'll just sneak in and take a quick peek, that's all. Sam went to New Orleans, so I never got a chance to check things over. Maybe I'll be able to find something useful."
"Everything was burned to a crisp, Ellie. I don't know what you're expecting to find." Alcide ran a hand through his hair. "But I don't suppose I have any say in this?"
"None at all." I pushed at his arm. "Now, you go get your truck started up and I'll grab a few things."
"You women." Alcide shook his head and muttered. "You're going to get yourself killed one of these days. Or worse, me."
"Yeah yeah yeah, just get moving." I nudged him before hurrying out of the living room and right on up the stairs.
I couldn't help but feel ecstatic as the prospect of finally having a probable lead. Though I was certain that Sookie and Sam were going to be livid the moment they realized I had skipped town. And in the middle of the night no less!