For the sake of the story, I imagine that Stan (one of the vampires in Dallas) did not die during the explosion at Godric's nest. Instead I like to think he was just injured badly, and unable to do anything the rest of the time everyone was in Dallas. Hope that's okay with everyone! :)
When our plane slowly and gradually started to descend, I immediately knew something was wrong. The flight should have taken at least another two hours.
Scanning out with my mind, I found the pilot and co-pilot, and could hear their conversation through their heads.
"How much are we getting paid again?" The co-pilot asked, and the pilot shushed him.
"Not so loud. We don't want the girl to hear us…but the guy said that as soon as the job is done, then twenty thousand will be put into each of our bank accounts. He said something about that girl being able to hear really well, so don't say anything else about it."
They went quiet, and a moment later the pilot's voice came over the intercom. "We're sorry, but we have an engine light flashing for both of our main engines, and by regulation we must land at the nearest airport. We'll get you on your way as quickly and efficiently as possible, and once again we're sorry for the inconvenience."
I felt a buzzing from our bond as Eric woke up, and immediately opened my emotions to him. Glancing out the window, I could see that we probably had another hour until dark, and he wouldn't be able to come out until then. He read my emotions, and sent me reassurance and love, which I happily accepted. I looked around, and noticed that the only flight attendant had disappeared, and then I felt something new from Eric a moment later.
He was angry, and it only took a second before I heard a roar of rage come up from below the passenger area of the plane, followed by a scream which cut off abruptly.
The door to the pilot's cabin opened up a few minutes later, and the co-pilot came out, giving me a strange look. "What was that?"
I shook my head as though I hadn't heard anything. "I don't know what you mean, but have you seen the flight attendant? She said she'd be going down into the belly of the plane, and hasn't come back." His eyes widened, and he looked worried. When I glanced into his thoughts, I could see that the stewardess was in fact his girlfriend, and in on the scheme.
"I'll go check it out." I did a mental cheer of victory as he took my bait, and walked to the access hatch in the employee only area at the back of the plane. Once he went down, I stood quickly, and ran back to where he had disappeared. What sounded like a thud reached my ears, and I opened the hatch, going down the ladder.
A pair of strong arms grabbed me from behind, and Eric pulled me against his chest. "Are you alright?" We asked each other at the exact same time, and I turned around to face him, giving him a kiss.
"I listened to the pilots, and they were talking about how someone is paying them to land us somewhere other than where we want to go." He thought for a moment, and I could feel his calculating thoughts through the link.
While he thought, I looked over to where his travel coffin lay, and could see that both the humans were slumped to the ground next to it. They didn't look hurt, and I guessed they were only knocked out. Or at least I hoped that was all that was wrong with them.
"Alright, this is what I want you to do." He said, and started to explain himself to me.
I walked toward the cockpit of the plane, closing all the window shutters as I went. They were light tight, and the passenger cabin would have been completely dark if not for the lights in the ceiling. When I knocked, I spoke at the same time.
"This is Sookie Stackhouse, can I come in? I'm worried about the flight attendant, and the co-pilot. They both went downstairs, and I heard a lot of loud thumping noises for a long time. Now it's quiet. Is everything okay?" I played it off as though I was the stupid blond southern bell that everyone always assumed I was, and listened to him. Damn it, if he jeopardizes this job by joining the mile high club, I'll kill him.
"One minute." When he opened the door, I stepped in, and could see that the sky outside was almost completely dark. Perfect. "Now what did you say you heard?"
"Well, first the flight attendant went to the back of the plane after telling me she needed to check something in the cargo hold. Then the co-pilot went to follow her a little bit later. There was a bunch of thumping noises for a while, and then it sped up and I heard someone say someone else's name kinda loud, and they've been quiet for a few minutes now. Do you think they are okay?" I asked, with a stupidly concerned look on my face.
This poor girl is dumber than a box of rocks, no wonder she follows that vampire everywhere. He's probably got her so glamoured that she doesn't even remember her own birthday. "Don't worry." He said in a slow voice, making sure I understood him. "I'm sure they're just…playing a game."
"Oh! Ok. Maybe they want someone else to play with them, should I go see?" I asked him with a smile.
"No!" He rushed to say, "I'm sure the game is almost over, so it wouldn't be very fun. Just sit there and don't touch anything, and we'll wait for them to get back." He directed me to a seat behind his, and I sat there quietly as he maneuvered the plane. When the sun was fully down, and the sky was black, I stood and the pilot looked at me.
"Can I go use the restroom?" I asked, and he nodded.
As soon as I closed the cockpit door behind me, I ran back to the hatch for the cargo hold, and opened it. Eric came up, and the co-pilot climbed the short ladder behind him. "He's glamoured." Eric whispered, and I followed the two men to the front of the plane. "Now get the door open." The co-pilot nodded, and knocked a special pattern on the door.
"It's about time!" I could hear the pilot inside. I hope he had his fill of that bullshit, because I'm not letting him leave his chair until we land. I can't believe he would do that at a time like this…the idiot. We need to land this thing before the vamp wakes up or we're all dead. The door opened, and Eric immediately moved inside, taking the pilot under his control.
"Put the plane on auto-pilot." The pilot flipped several switches, and then sat still, waiting for another command. "Now, who is paying you to land the plane early?"
"I don't know." His voice was even and calm, and I was glad for Eric's skills.
"How did he get ahold of you? Explain the plan." Eric pressed, and I waited anxiously.
"He called me, and wouldn't tell me his name. He said all I had to do was fake an engine light and land at an airport of his choice. After we landed, you two would be taken from the plane, and we would leave and take the plane to Louisiana as though nothing had happened. Within a week, my co-pilot and I would find twenty thousand dollars in each of our bank accounts." He stopped talking, and Eric thought for a moment.
"Where is the airport that you're supposed to land?"
"It's not an airport at all. After I agreed he told me that I was to land the plane at an abandoned air strip just twenty miles north of Flagstaff Arizona." I could almost see the light bulb that flicked on in Eric's head, and he smiled.
"No he didn't. Don't you remember? He told you to take us to the privately owned airstrip ten miles west of Dallas, Texas. Now do your job, both of you." They took they seats, and Eric released their minds just as he shut the cockpit door behind us.
"Why are we going to Dallas again?" I asked, not liking the idea. Everything hadn't turned out very well the last time we had been there, and Godric had met the sun.
"An old friend of mine, who was also one of Godric's followers, has taken up the roll as sheriff of that area. He will help us. We can't go straight back to Louisiana yet, not until we figure all this out." I nodded, and felt the plane as it started to regain altitude. About an hour later I could feel the plane lowering again, and Eric lifted a shutter from the window to check where we were. He nodded, and I knew we were in the right place.
When we landed, Eric turned on his phone, and started typing furiously. Then he dialed a number and called. "Marcus, I need your help. Are you available? Good…I'm at the airstrip that Godric owned ten miles out, can you come get us? Yes us, I have my wife with me. No I'm not sure yet." The person who I assumed was Marcus said something else, and Eric just nodded before hanging up.
As we got off the plane, we retrieved out luggage from a cart where a worker had put it, and watched as the plane moved to take off again. We only waited for a few minutes before a black SUV with all black windows pulled up to us just inside the hanger. "Are you Northman?" A man rolled down the window slightly and asked.
Eric nodded, and the back door on the SUV opened smoothly. He put our luggage in the very back, and we got into the back seat. The driver didn't say a single word, and started driving. It didn't take long before we started pulling down a road I recognized, and up to the newly rebuilt Sheriff's house. Everything about it was almost the exact same as the old one, but I could tell that there had been more added in the back. When we walked inside, there were several vampires lounging around, as well as a couple of humans, and all the vampire eyes were instantly trained on me.
A silent rumble vibrated out of Eric's chest, and I realized that I had forgotten to mask my scent. But it was already too late, so I just let it go. Eric's arm came possessively across my shoulders, and led me to a room in the back.
It's a large spacious office, and when we walk in, I can tell that there is someone spun around from our view in a large leather chair. I hear him speaking as though he is finishing a phone call. "I'll have to get back to you on that, I'll call tomorrow night just after sunset." The voice strikes me as familiar, and I hope that my suspicions are wrong.
But when the chair turns, I sigh as my feeble hopes are dashed. There sits Stan, and I remember him from when Godric was missing. He had charged into the Fellowship of the Sun church with about a dozen blood thirsty vampires, all ready to slaughter every human there. They almost had, and would have if Godric wouldn't have stepped in.
A chill creeps over me as he stares at me for a long moment, and then he gives a sly smile and looks at Eric. "So, what can I do for you on this fine fine night?"
I can already feel a slight irritation coming from the bond, and wonder if Stan realizes that he shouldn't be pushing him. "We were flying home, when we discovered that our plane's pilots had been paid by an unknown source to take us somewhere else, where we did not want to go. I ask for shelter and protection here in your home until I can uncover the threat to me and mine, and neutralize it."
We fell into silence, while Stan put his hands together and fell into thought and seemed to contemplate his request. He looked at me a minute later, and turned back to Eric quickly. "Alright, but this will not be free. I will expect compensation at some point."
Eric grinned, "As long as it's nothing too unreasonable, then that would be fine. Where will we be staying?" He asked, and Stan summoned a girl into the room with the push of a button.
"Make up the guest suite on the upper level, the one in the back with the balcony, and at some point before sunrise escort them there." The girl nodded, and left without having ever said a word. He returned his attention to us, "You have full access to the house and feeding areas. There is an underground hallway that leads to the donor's house next door, and you're free to browse our selection at any time. The grounds are open to you, as is the wait staff. I'll let you know when I want in return for your stay." With his last sentence, I could tell that we were being dismissed, and Eric turned us around to leave.
When we got to the front room, most of the vampires from before were gone, and different ones had appeared. "I'm hungry, is there somewhere I could get something to eat?" I asked Eric, and he called over a young woman who was in a uniform that marked her as one of Stan's personal assistants. .
"Escort her to the kitchens, and have something made for her to eat." He instructed the woman, and she nodded happily.
"If you'll follow me miss?" I smiled back at her and Eric gave me a quick kiss before I moved to follow the woman. She led me to a back room, where a dining area was set up, with a large table and lots of chairs. "What would you like to eat?" The girl asked, and I noted that she looked like she was only nineteen or twenty.
"Whatever you have will be fine." I said, and sat down at the table, but the girl smiled kindly again.
"Sheriff Baker doesn't often have human guests, who are really cared for by their vampires, but he still employs a full staff of cooks. Really they just sit around most of the time, but it's their job. So you can order anything you want and it won't be a real problem at all." I thought for a minute, before asking for grilled chicken and mashed potatoes, and she ran off to get it made for me.
It surprisingly only took about ten minutes for my food to come out, and it was the best chicken I had ever had. The girl sat with me as I started to eat, and just looked around the room contentedly.
"How did you get to be working here?" I asked and she smiled.
"Well, I only work here part time at night. The Sheriff and the other vampires are kind to me, and pay me very well. I am using the money to go to college during the day." I lowered my shields, and listened to her. In her head I could see a replay of how she had explained her situation and need for money to Stan during a job interview, and how only after listening her, did he suddenly offer more flexible hours and a much greater pay. She had happily accepted, and started working immediately.
After watching the scenes play out in her head, I was surprised that the Stan I had seen being so ruthless before, could be so nice to a girl in need. But he had in fact done it, and I could tell it wasn't just a glamour or illusion. Her thought and feeling from all the memories were authentic, and suddenly I started to wonder just what kind of person Stan really was. "Wow, I always thought that he was kind of harsh on everyone around him."
"H-he is…he's unforgiving and vicious to anyone that doesn't do as he says in his area." She hurriedly responded, and I looked to see that her thoughts said otherwise. Not long after she had just started, Stan had asked her out on a date when nobody else was around, and she had agreed. He'd rented out the entirety of the nicest restaurant in town and taken her there, letting her have anything she had wanted. When they were alone together he was the kindest and sweetest of vampires, and she already loved him.
I finished my meal without asking anything else, and she took me back to the main room just in time to catch Eric between conversations with other vampires. He took me back into his arms, and held me as he said. "How was the food?" His tone of voice showed that he was actually interested, and I smiled.
"Never had better." It made him happy to hear that I had been given what he called 'appropriate sustenance', which in his mind didn't include any meal under a hundred dollars, and a chef who hadn't been to gourmet cooking schools all over the world. One time I had asked for a cheeseburger from a McDonalds and after he showed me the research he had done on where their meats and such came from, I vowed to never go there again. He didn't mind sitting with me while I ate, and had often taken me to several very expensive restaurants in Shreveport. I couldn't help but remember how Bill had always insisted that I eat before he came around, because he couldn't stand the smell of human food.
We mingled with other vampires and humans for several hours. Then as the night pushed toward dawn, the number of people around started to dwindle as people either left the nest, or went to their rooms within it.
About an hour before dawn, the first woman we had seen Stan command reappeared, and guided us to a room on the second floor. We got inside, and I was speechless. The suite was huge, with two large separate rooms, and an extra-large master bathroom and an empty walk-in closet. A set of solid double doors were positioned in the bedroom, and led out to a cute small balcony. The other room had a large flat screen TV on the wall, and several couches and chairs all scattered around as well as a minibar stocked with different snack foods and a room service menu. Everything was modern, colored in blacks, reds and greys, and there were large floor length windows with metal shutters on that would slide in place during the day. He picked me up as soon as we were inside, and carried me into the bedroom.
I got up before he could follow me onto the bed mattress where he placed me, and went to the closet to find all my luggage right where Eric had promised it would be. Closing the door behind me, I made him wait as I slipped into one of the naughtier pieces of lingerie that I hadn't had the chance to use during the honeymoon. A ruffled red and black skimpy corset with matching black fishnet stockings. When I stepped out of the closet, he was lying on the bed perfectly still with closed eyes and a peaceful expression. Before he could look up, I crawled up, and straddled him.
My hands rubbed his chest through his shirt, and he opened his eyes to look at me when I became more persistent and started to grind against the small bulge growing in his pants. As his eyes met mine, and they scanned down my body, a sudden fierce and powerful hunger becomes apparent in the bond and in his eyes. His hands caress my legs as I loom over him slightly, and his growl is low as he whispers to me. "Vixen." He mumbles, and kisses me with all the passion and heat that he ever has, before flipping me onto my back beneath him.