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"RAILROADED"
Chapter five
Railroaded
Walking the several blocks home, in 6 inch high, hot-pink, platform heels was probably not the best way to get there, but Elliane needed the time to think.
Her mouth was as dry as ash, and the swirling, sickening sensation in her stomach refused to go away. Something was very wrong. Puzzling together the pieces, her mind started up on a whirl of all possible conclusions to the recent events, each outcome the same.
There was slight vibration against her hip and Elliane pulled out the new, slim, flip-top mobile phone with a look of disgust. One message from George, it read. She let out a soft hysterical laugh. She already knew what the message would say.
"Too late George," she said aloud.. "TOO! FUCKING! LATE!!!!"
She almost slammed the phone onto the ground, as the coded message popped up.
blk rook flew blk queen nest – blk rook to wht pawn
Like a floodgate, the tears started pouring forth, streaming down her cheeks as she suppressed the sobs into hiccupped tones. She slipped off her platform heels and started to run, barely aware of the small stones that bit into her tender feet, very aware that she was being watched at that very moment. Did it matter? Was her fate not already sealed?
The problem was the spy; the one that had been planted in Fangtasia long ago. A mole, whose job was to observe and report, and this informer reported every single unusual action of Eric Northman onto federal authorities. She knew nothing of the agent. What she did know, was that they reported often and reliably, which was evidence in itself, that a mole did exist.
The file on Eric Northman had been large. It was a pity that the information which she had limited access to, before she had headed out this way, hadn't included a picture. A real pity. She would have rejected the job. And she would have had grounds to do so, since her cover would have been at risk. Both FBI and CIA were aware that he had recently started selling V. That he was supplied by Queen Sophie of Louisiana.
Though he was unaware, Eric's activities were given a certain amount of license. Compared to others, he was good sheriff, and most of his business was above board, so he was a vampire that they wanted to keep around. He kept the others in Louisiana under control.
There were other vampires in similar positions. Nan Flanagan was involved in a whole world of underground operations and she was considered untouchable on any level.
Sookie Stackhouse also had a file. She was a person of great interest to the CIA. Someone they had observed for some time and were hoping to some day recruit. Sookie was a telepath of phenomenal ability. Most telepaths had to exert themselves to use their power. Sookie had to exert herself to turn hers off. Although agents were trained to put up mental shields to prevent telepathic espionage, Sookie's ability was un-ranked, because it was off the rank scale. It was suspected, that a telepath of her ability could break through almost any mental shield. Sookie was also at the disposal of Eric, and it was here, that her current predicament presented itself.
If Eric was as smart as Elliane suspected, he would get Sookie there tomorrow when she arrived to obtain the information, and get the telepath to read her thoughts. Option one, was to not go.
Unfortunately, if she didn't go, Eric now knew enough about her, to track her down, and obtain information from her with Sookie's help anyway. Which, she suspected was exactly what he would do. He was cautious. An agent in his bar would surely cause him some concern, especially as there were a few underhanded activities to which he did involve himself. He would want to know exactly what was known about him. Wouldn't he? This wasn't the problem however.
As there was a mole, a spy already planted deep into Eric's business activities, that spy was likely to leak back the information; that a female person of suspicion was about to be examined by Eric's telepath. If it was known that her cover had been blown, she would immediately become a liability. She knew too much about them; Eric, Queen Sophie, Nan Flanagan, Sookie, not to mention the Vampire Council. Simply put - liabilities were terminated, especially when they risked assets.
Elliane slowed her pace and dropped back to a walk. Would George call her? Would George even know if her status changed? George was loyal to the job. Would he even try to pass on the danger to her, she wondered.
She continued walking with no intention now of returning to the apartment she had rented. She changed her route. Sensing that she was still being observed, she headed towards downtown Shreveport detouring through a large park. She forced herself to regain control of her nerves, which seemed an easier task, now that the initial shock of her idiocy had worn off. She would wait for George's call, and in the meantime try to work out a plan.
"What do you want Eric?" said the male voice on the end of the phone.
"Bill Compton," drawled the voice of Eric. "It seems you are improving your ways, I am glad I didn't have to pay you another house call."
"I am very busy right now Eric, how can I help you?" said Bill.
Eric smirked. Leaning back on the office chair, he put his feet up onto his desk. "I have a need for Sookie, Bill." Eric deliberately lingered on the word 'need'. "Can you have your human come to Fangtasia tomorrow night at eight-thirty?"
There was a hiss on the end of the phone.
"Why?" said the voice bitterly. "Sookie is not yours to command whenever you will it, Eric! She has commitments to work and family."
"Bill, you forget she promised to assist me whenever I needed it. It won't be for long and I need her to come alone." Eric added the last bit, just to stir Bill up.
"That is out of the question! If Sookie goes, it will be with me," replied Bill.
"Just make sure she gets here. It is important, and you know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't."
"What sort of danger are you putting Sookie in now!" Bill demanded.
"She will be safe this time, Bill. She won't even leave the club."
Eric heard Bill Compton sigh in frustration at the other end.
"I will see what I can do," Bill responded. "But Sookie is her own woman. The decision will be hers."
Eric hung up the phone just as Pam entered.
"So Pam," he smiled brightly. "What have you discovered?"
Pam looked bored. "This human you say that Godric has already claimed, has not returned to her home."
Eric raised a brow.
"I daresay," Pam continued, "that she won't do so either. She will wait until dawn. She is presently in a park, at South Shreveport. She has spent the past hour watching the other blood bags walk around."
"Thank you Pam" Eric nodded. He briefly contemplated sending Pam back to watch Elliane and then decided against it. Elli was Godric's human and as he was Godric's childe, as well as being Sheriff of this area. He felt the duty of her care fell directly to him.
Elliane watched the couples that passed her with a small smile. A mild distraction from her thoughts, but any feeble sort of diversion was exactly what she wanted at the moment. She stretched her legs, crossing them at the ankles, and rested her arms out along the back of the park bench that she sat upon. It was quite uncomfortable really, but it would suffice.
A few lowlife types had approached her occasionally to see if she was selling tricks. Not an entirely unexpected assumption, dressed as she was, in the middle of a park at night.
Elliane felt her phone vibrate against her hip as young man approached.
"Do you mind if I sit for a while?" he asked politely.
"Not at all, have a seat," she replied, and as she shifted herself to retrieve her phone, she shuffled down to make room for him.
One message from George, the phone read. She flipped it opened and read the text.
Love you kiddo, it said simply.
She drew a sharp breath. George was saying goodbye. Obviously there was no discussion on this matter.
Elli closed the phone and placed it beside her on the bench. She leant forward, resting her elbows on her knees and covered her face with her hands. Only a miracle could help her now.
"Do you need assistance," said the companion beside her. "You are feeling ill, yes?"
Elliane turned to the gentle eyes of the nice looking, young man beside her. He spoke with a pleasant voice that had a slight accent and was dressed simply, in a white linen shirt and dark jeans.
"There is nothing that can be done to assist me," she said without emotion. "But, thanks for asking."
"Oh really?" he replied, his lips broke into an encouraging smile as she looked back over to him.
She shook her head.
"I'm am not ill, I've got myself into a fix at work," she gave a slow sigh and looked over the park, to focus on the buildings in the distance. "And tomorrow, I will be…ah… terminated." She couldn't help but smile at the irony.
"What happened?" he asked simply.
She looked at him curiously "Well, to put it plainly. I have become less than worthless." She said.
"How can you be less than worthless," he asked, his lips twitched and she detected that he was mildly amused.
"Easy," she countered. "Being less than worthless, is when you are not only worth nothing, but you are also an encumbrance."
His brows knitted together concerned.
"Is it really that bad?" he asked.
She shrugged. Why was she burdening this poor guy with her problems?
"Maybe not, it just feels that way at the moment."
"Is there not anything you can do to fix things?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No. At least I can't think of a solution at the moment. And someone," she gestured to her phone, "has just told me that a decision on the other end has been made"
"Well, if there is nothing you can do, it is pointless to dwell upon it," he stated, his accent becoming more profound.
"Easier said than done, in this instance," she responded.
"What you need is a distraction," he said. "Let me tell you a story."
"A story?" she answered bemused.
"Yes, I love stories. They are a good way of teaching people. Storytellers have helped people for centuries. For courage and morale, storytellers and bards have been awarded and respected in every country in the world."
Elli nodded, surprised at his small speech.
"This story," he started, "is about Tyr,."
"Isn't Tyr the name of a Norse God," she asked.
He nodded. "This is very old folktale about him."
"I see," she replied with a smile. "I am all ears."
"Tyr was the son of Ymir, born from a giant that had been created by Ymir before the heavens and the earth were formed.. " he started.
"Oh, so who was Ymir?" she asked interrupting.
"Ymir was a frost-giant. In the Norse mythology, it was from Ymir that Odin and his brothers created the world."
"So who then created Ymir?" she asked.
He grinned, amused at her interruptions. "Ymir was created with the coming together of fire and ice. From him a race of frost giants were born, who were produced from his sweat."
"Nice," said Elliane with grimace.
"Tyr is often depicted as a God of War, but he was more than that. Tyr was a champion of justice. He sacrificed his sword hand to defeat Fenris the wolf."
"Loosing your hand.. that is bad luck for a warrior," she said.
"It was. However, Tyr had decided that he would travel the creations - before the end of time. For at Ragnarok he is destined to fight Garm, the monstrous guardian of Helheim, and will die fighting the wolf."
Elliane gazed at the young man with wonder. How kind he was - to sit and entertain her so. Elliane wanted to keep him talking all night; to listen to the soothing accent of his voice.
But keeping him with her was unfair. She was about to be - put out of the picture, so to speak and having no idea how or when exactly that procedure would come about; she didn't want him to be caught in the mess of it.
She leant over impulsively and surprised him as she brushed her lips against his cheek.
"I am sorry to interrupt, but I must let you go now. It is getting late and you are surely wishing to be home."
He jolted at the touch of her lips. "I have no-where else to be."
"It is better that I be left alone now," she continued.
They fell silent after that. He didn't leave as she requested, but remained while she sat and watched the stars; neither of them speaking. An hour or more past, and Elliane reflected that it was rare to find a person that could be quiet for so long. There was an energy about him that was peaceful yet alluring. She wondered if she should make him go; for his own safety... but an inner desire wished him to remain.
She then decided on a whim. If this was to be her last night alive - she had nothing to win or loose. No reputation to protect.
She raised the back of her hand to stroke his cheek. It was cold she noticed, as he remained still... quietly watching her. Her eyes dropped to his lips. He had such sensual lips she thought. She leant forward, closing her eyes as she pressed a kiss against his beautifully sculptured mouth. Elliane had not kissed anyone in a very long time.
It was like a collision of cosmic energies. His explosive response surprised her; and her kiss was returned with a hot fervor unlike anything she had ever known. His arms encircled her and, in a fleeted moment he had shifted her to lie down against the seat of the park bench. He captured her hands, holding them over her head as positioned himself over her. And then he released her lips to gently nip along the line of her jaw. Elliane felt her blood sear, as it pulsed a wild, sensual heat through her veins. He stopped and then spoke suddenly, a harsh utter against her cheek.
"Why do you give yourself away?"
She felt sharp teeth graze against her skin as his mouth burned a trail towards her neck. He pulled away, so that he could gaze scaldingly upon her face.
Under the faint lights of the park-lamps she could see his fangs. His eyes seemed to glower with an unearthly desire and the pleasant angles of his face, now appeared chiseled and harsh in the shadowed light. He was fighting to control himself.
"Vampire," she breathed distractedly. Still dazed by his brief onslaught of lust, she laid in a passive heap beneath him, vaguely aware that he was angered by her actions. What had she done to make him angry.. And then a reality had hit her. This was her assassin.
She went cold and a tremor went through her. "Just make it quick please." She said - her voice soft and resigned.
He could sense her dread, her anguish, just like he could before. It was overwhelming; almost enveloping him.
"Why do you think I am here?" he said, looking at her face
"I've been compromised," she answered. "I'm a liability now… so I am here, finding peace in my final moments… before you.."
He hissed at her and brought himself closer down to look her directly in the eyes. "Are you saying, that you are here, awaiting your own death?"
She did not answer, but she looked away in despair.
"NO!" he answered. He eyes lit up like burning embers and he stood beside the bench... pulling her to her feet in front of him. A flurry of movement arrived by his side as he continued. "You are not to die Elliane. You are to live and procreate."
"Godric," said a familiar voice at his side. "Give her to me, I can hide her."
Godric turned his head to look sharply at Eric, "I will take her back with me to Dallas."
"There is not time, the sun will arise in two hours." Eric responded.
Elliane just looked stunned. What was going on? The vampire was offering to protect her? Dear God, had she really just thrown herself at Godric! Was this the elusive Godric; the oldest vampire on this side of the world. They had started talking rapidly in a foreign language. Elliane suddenly felt very small and insignificant.
Two hands took a hold of her own and she glanced up at Godric. His earnest eyes and kind demeanor had returned. Her own eyes narrowed.
"Elliane, Eric will take you with him, and he will make sure you are well hidden and protected."
Elliane nodded mutely and he continued. "I will see you at dusk tomorrow. I can sense that you want to ask me some questions."
She tried to smile, but a deep suspicion had entered her thoughts. Before she realized he was a vampire, there had been a tender emotion for the kind, young man that had spoke so pleasantly to her, but it had now vanished.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked. "I thought us humans were nothing but blood bags to you. Cattle to be fed on and slaughtered.. slaves to be used and discarded."
"Not all of our kind thinks like that, Elliane. It might surprise you to find that many of us are working towards living in harmony with humans."
Elliane felt a burst of anger at his response. Her own sister had been drained dry by these beasts! But she kept quiet. After all, it would appear they were protecting her now. Even if they did so to suit the own interests... which, was most likely the case. It would buy her some time.
Eric had stepped behind her now and wrapped one of his arms about her waist. Bracing her like a child against his side, he elevated into the dark sky.
