A/N Firstly - thank you so much for all the PMs, alerts, reviews, and favorites! If I didn't get to answer your review, rest assured that it made me very happy. And they definitely gave me some ideas on where to take the story.
I actually rewrote this chapter as I got further into the story, deciding to feature some of the more minor character's POVs. As much as True Blood has frustrated me with its infinite story lines, I am trying a similar strategy for this story. And while I'm not a Bill fan, but rest assured, this story won't be Bill bashing. In True Blood form, very few people are truly evil. Then again, it wouldn't be fun if there wasn't a little touch of evil, would it?
I don't own anything. In fact, I own less than anything. So please don't sue.
Agent Bud Dearborn had seen much during his 34 years in law enforcement. But he never expected to be sitting with a god honest vampire, and be discussing the Saints.
"I still think the coach blew it in the last seconds," Vampire Bill insisted, leaning in. "We have a far more robust team this year. There was simply no reason the Packers should have won."
Bud looked skeptical. "I agree that it is a better team than last year, but nothing short of a hail mary would have made a difference in that game. We lost fair and square."
"What game?" Mike Spencer asked, entering the room with Doctor, no, Director Steve Newlin. "I feel compelled to remind you gentlemen that I am a Patriots man, through and through. We may be in the South, and I'll happily let you say whatever you want about the Bears. But if you dare say anything about the New England..."
"Mike, they probably weren't talking about the Patriots. Calm down," Newlin said calmly, putting his hand on Mike's arm. Obediently, Mike calmed and sat down, shuffling his papers.
"Sorry about that guys. Mike here just overheard the guards badmouthing Tom Brady. He's a little on edge."
If Bud didn't know better, he would have thought Vampire Bill had just snorted at Newlin's comment.
"Alright, gentlemen," Vampire Bill started, slipping into agent mode. "Let's begin this meeting. I know we all have places to be."
He moved to turn on the small projector and microphone at the center of the table. Instantly, a dozen faces lit up on one of the walls, as various teleconference participants came online.
With a small remote in his hand, Bill directed a power point presentation to begin.
"Welcome, everyone. This a scheduled status update on the telepathic investigations here at Golden Oaks."
Click. The next slide appeared.
"Subject: Female. 26. Sookie Stackhouse. Currently undergoing evaluation to examine telepathic capabilities regarding vampires."
Click. "Has a demonstrated ability hearing the thoughts of humans, shifters, and weres."
Click. "Past experimental intravenous treatments proved unsuccessful. Coercion though threats were unsuccessful. Pain therapy, also unsuccessful."
Bud felt sorry for the girl. In a different life, he could have imagined being a small town sheriff, and that girl being just some ordinary girl with a family and boyfriend. But Bud had seen enough mayhem caused by vampires and humans just not getting along. Law enforcement needed every trick in the bag they could get to keep the peace. And telepathy was probably the best trick they could get. Heck, as a law man, he could have solved double the number of cases if he could just have read the crock's mind.
"Current treatment began last night. No adverse reactions observed. Assuming the subject suffers no ill effects, we are scheduled to administer second dose in one week."
Click. The screen filled with Sookie pacing in her cell. At least she looked healthy, Bud thought. Then again, if she didn't look healthy, they probably would have just skipped showing a picture of her. He'd never actually met her, so how would he know if this was a recent video of her or not.
"And the donor subject?"
Bud's eyes shot to the disembodied head of Nan Flanagan. The vampire woman creeped him out. Always on tv or talking to people, trying get more rights for vampires.
"We got a tip on the location of an old one a few weeks ago," Bud managed to say without stuttering. "Ma'am" He wiped the tiny beads to sweat beginning form from his brow. "With Delta Team Six and an interagency effort, we managed to capture him."
Nan raised an eyebrow at him. He wondered what she was thinking. Probably about killing him. Or the blood of virgins, or something like that. On second thought, he was glad he would never actually know.
"Well, I suppose that you weren't completely incompentent." If it hadn't been the slight tone of sarcasam, Bud might have thought that she was impressed. "I can't emphasize enough how important this is for vampire-human relations. I don't think I need to remind anyone tonight that the research being done at Golden Oaks is vital for both vampires and humans. William," she bore her eyes at the brown haired vampire at the small, round table, "don't fuck this up."
"Yes ma'am. We'll keep you all informed," Vampire Bill gave all of the faces on the screen a significant look. Bud wondered if he was trying to make some sort of point to Nan. Vampire damn politics. It was enough with all the human damn politics. "That's all from Golden Oaks this evening. We'll hold another VTC on Thursday."
Bud scratched his forehead. Until tomorrow. Another day of this hell hole. In nine months, he could retire. Only nine months.
He hoped by then that they had some way to deal with this vampire shit.
Vampire Bill closed up his folder, and Bud looked at the man he almost considered a colleague. Bill seemed to be a decent guy. Old enough to have retired several times over, he still came into the office every morning with a smile and a kind greeting. He always remembered names, and special events. Heck, the man even recycled.
But why vampires would be so willing to cooperate with humans in these kinds of tests made little sense to him. For a moment, he moralistically thought that at least he and other humans wouldn't do this kind of stuff to their own kind, before remembering Sookie.
With a bitter taste in his mouth, Bud knew that humans and vampires maybe weren't so different after all. But that didn't stop him from much preferring his own kind. He'd take a beer at a barbeque on a sunny day over talking football with a vampire. In a heartbeat.
A/N: How is Bill involved? And why does Nan need the telepathic experiments to work? Stay tuned to find out!