"What would you like me to tell him," Eric asked with some amusement.
"First, he might not want to take that call in his office. Then offer him my services." Sookie said with a shrug, as though she hadn't thought this out long before she even got on her bike this evening.
"His office is bugged." Eric surmised as he texted Stan. Sookie nodded
Pam chuckled. "Would you like a drink?"
"Oh, that would be great. I would like a gin and tonic." Sookie cheered. Pam was gone and back in seconds. She'd given her drink order to Ginger.
Stan called before back before Eric had the chance to. "Is my office bugged? How do you have that information?" Stan groused.
"Yes. I have here with Miss Brigant. She is a telepath that can help if you want to hire her services." Eric offered.
"I take it she is the one that informed you my office was bugged. I am curious about how she came by this information, so yes, I would like to hire her." Stan groused.
Eric handed Sookie his phone. "Hello, Mr. Davis."
"When can you get here?" If there was one thing that grated on Sookie's nerves, it was the vampires' simple inability to feign politeness.
"I do not need to be there. I already know the answer to every possible question you can ask."
To her surprise, Stan laughed. "Okay, where is Farrell?"
"In the basement of the building occupied by the Fellowship of the Sun. He was kidnapped from The Bat's Wing club. Rachel will confirm she saw him with a blond vampire at the club, and they enter the bathroom. The blonde vampire aided in the kidnapping and glamoured the minds of any human who witnessed the two of them."
"Who is the vampire?" Eric noted Stan's tone had lost its skepticism.
"Mr. Davis, before I answer any more questions, I expect payment."
"Yes, of course. I can mail you a check or a wire transfer to any account…"
"No, I do not want money. I do want one human in particular in your nest. As long as you agree to that, I will be more than happy to answer any questions. I will have my spy in the Fellowship compound get Farrell out without incident. Any other attempts at a rescue will result in a public relations nightmare."
"I cannot give you a human that belongs to another." Sookie had expected nothing less.
"Even if said human planted the bug?" Eric's eyes widened. He could see just how much going there without all this information would have resulted in a clusterfuck of a mission.
"What do you need me to do?" The sheriff acquiesced. Eric would have done the same. Frankly, it would have been the first in a long list of punishments for the vampire who brought a traitor to his nest. Also, one of the many reasons he didn't like nests.
"Just your word, you will hand the human over. Sheriff Northman and his second are my witnesses. Mr. Davis, you do not know me, but rest assured, make any attempts to break your word, and you and your nest will pay for it, that much I can promise you. Do we have an understanding?" His growl had Sookie pulling the phone from her ear. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Ginger trying to get a better look at her when she brought her drink, but Pam didn't give her the chance.
"You have my word." Sookie mouthed her thanks when Pam placed the drink on the desk.
"Good." Sookie winked at Eric. "The blond vampire is Godfrey, a renouncer. Hugo Ayres bugged your office. The second my associate calls me and tells me Mr. Ayres is in his possession, I will have my spy help free Farrell. If I find Mr. Ayres glamoured to circumvent any usefulness he might have to my company, my earlier warning applies." Sookie ended the call, rolling her eyes at Stan's growling.
"You do realize if you don't make good on your threat if they cross you, it leaves you vulnerable. Not that I think Stan will cross you; just be careful with your threats; make sure you can carry them out."
"Oh, my threat is real. The Fellowship will retaliate by shooting the nest with silver bullets. Of course, the minute Barry informs me he has Hugo, and he hasn't been glamoured to be useless or insist on going back, I will warn Stan." Pam just shook her head; the telepath was damn right impressive. She was now more sure than ever that Sookie could help them with Appius and Freyda.
That is how I saved your life." Eric surmised.
"Yes, and you promptly negated that selfless action by tricking me into sucking the bullet out just to get your blood in me. Of course, if I had used a little common sense, that action would have opened my eyes to Bill's bullshit." Sookie grumbled, taking a sip of her drink.
"Ooh, top self stuff, nice." Sookie smacked her lips.
"Only the best for you." Eric purred. There was so much she hadn't told him that night.
A knock on the door had both vampires groaning. "Sorry, Master, but the humans are complaining with you not out there and all. Just one of you out there will help." Belinda informed them.
He wasn't about to miss the end of Sookie's deal with Stan for a bunch of whining humans. "Will be out in a few minutes."
Do you ask me to go out there," Pam warned before the thought entered his mind.
Luckily for the pair, Sookie's phone rang then. "Barry."
"I have him, and his mind is perfectly intact. He has also signed the preliminary contract with a great deal of gratitude and crying." Sookie could see Barry rolling his eyes.
"Luna?"
"She is currently headed in the direction of the nest; the minute the bat is in the car, we are headed home," Barry said with a nonchalance that had Sookie shaking her head.
"Okay, I will see you tomorrow." She ended the call.
Eric was already calling Stan before she'd even asked. "In a hurry, Mr. Northman," He ignored her teasing.
"Mr. Davis, I believe you have your vampire back." Sookie's phone alerted her to a message.
'Farrell killed Gabe
and Godfrey.'
"I do. I would like your number to arrange to have the humans in my nest read." Sookie expected nothing less.
"That can be arranged. One final piece of business. You might want to evacuate your nest. The Fellowship will respond with a hail of bullets. I can guarantee that, as Farrell killed a human piece of filth and Godfrey. The Fellowship has been denied its crowning moment. Burning of a vampire on live TV."
Stan was quiet for a good while. "Had I not kept my word, you would have kept this information to yourself." Sookie didn't respond, and he didn't expect one.
"Can I ask if you know why Hugo betrayed Isabel?"
"He'd grown to hate her but couldn't leave because he was addicted to sex with her. Her refusal to change him compounded the issue."
"I see. Thank you, Miss Brigant." With that, he ended the call.
"Pleasure," Sookie murmured, finishing her drink.
"You are staying?" Eric asked. He'd hate for her visit to have been solely about getting Isabel's human. "Why did you want the human?"
"He is a lawyer and one well-versed in the supernatural world," Sookie answered.
"I thought you had your godfather?"
"Yes, he is my personal lawyer and helps with the contracts, but I need a lawyer who can travel with us. Get my guys out of trouble, you know, bail and such if it ever comes to that." Even with her shields up, the looks Eric was getting pretty much told her what some of the women were thinking.
"He betrayed Isabel and the entire Area 6 nest to the Fellowship. Are you not worried about him betraying you?" Eric would not have allowed Hugo anywhere near his establishments.
"Isabel made the mistake of trusting him implicitly; I will not be making the same mistake. Hugo will have to work hard to earn my trust, and even then, I will read him regularly. I read my staff; they expect it and, in fact, insist on it. It keeps everybody honest and secure."
"And you have your contract," Eric added.
"That too," Sookie smirked.
She managed an hour sitting in Eric's booth before she bolted, much to Eric's disappointment. She'd had a long day already and another even longer one ahead of her. She was meeting with an interior designer in the morning to finalize designs for the new office space. She sighed happily as she crawled into bed. Her mattress, a new purchase, felt out of this world.
The alarm going off was mockingly cruel as she felt she'd only just closed her eyes. "Why we have to meet so early in the morning is beyond me." She complained as she got out of bed begrudgingly. She got through her usual morning routine without her usual enjoyment. She normally enjoyed her showers, especially after she turned Jason's old bedroom into an en-suite and closet space.
"The one morning I don't have time for breakfast, and you've got quite the breakfast going." Adele raised an eyebrow at her, not because she swiped a sausage off her plate.
"That's yours." Adele pointed to the takeout container by the microwave.
"You are the best." Sookie planted a kiss on her cheeks as she ran out the door. Luckily, she didn't have far to go.
With the fencing now down, she could finally appreciate the beauty of her new office space. She will admit she wasn't all that keen on the antebellum-style the architect proposed. That was until she looked at the renderings, and even better, reality surpassed all expectations. She would be proud to welcome any client here. She was going for a welcoming, relaxing atmosphere. The foyer had to represent that above all else. Beyond the foyer was a waiting room, offices for her staff, a large kitchen, and a break room. Jason insisted she needed a games room, so her office was getting one.
Her office was on the second floor, with views of the back garden. It would be a nice large lawn surrounded by trees and flowers. The first-floor basement will house four light-tight rooms for her staff in case of an emergency. A safe room because you never know, a storage room, and an experiment space for Lafayette and Jesus. Jesus was currently experimenting with a couple of gifts she had received. The second-floor basement was the room Bill had christened and six detention rooms. It was unfortunate that they needed such rooms, but she wasn't going to be ignorant and stupid about the realities of her job. In a couple of years, she would no longer be a rumor, and that would bring out the nasties she did not know about. The likes of De Castro and Madden she knew how to deal with. It was those who would come for her because they would want her for themselves, would be many. The A.P. had made that clear. Hell, Alessia even tried that with the Ancient Pythoness herself.
She had a simple brief, relaxing, and, above all else, welcoming, and that was precisely what the designer presented, which made for a swift meeting. It allowed Sookie to kick her heels off and enjoy her still-warm breakfast. She had a few hours before she had to deal with Hugo.
"It's signed." That surprised Sookie. She'd expected him to at least negotiate, considering his profession.
"I was…" Sookie put her hand up, stopping him.
"We both know I saved from certain death. Chances are you would have suffered from some torture before that death came. Think about even betraying me, and you would wish I had left you where you were to suffer your fate. Protecting human life regarding supes is a cardinal rule of mine and this company. I can't dictate how supes decide to punish their own. Betray me, and you will wish for death, knowing it will never come because I don't kill. Have I made myself clear?" From his thoughts, it was evident he was determined not to screw this up. He was well aware of the opportunity he had. It had helped that Barry had also put the fear of God into him on the drive to Shreveport.
"Yes, perfectly. I will not betray you." He meant it.
"Good. Where are you staying currently?" Sookie asked.
"He's staying with us." Barry thought at her.
"Call this number and ask for Kristy. She will help you find a place, a nice one at that. I will pay your security and first month's rent and vouch for you." He nodded. "Mr. Cataliades is expecting you tomorrow morning. You will work out of his office until the new place is ready. This is a good opportunity to learn what I require of you. Make sure your passport is up to date, as you will travel with the team often. Okay, welcome to the team."
"Thank you, Miss Brigant." Sookie ended the meeting with a firm handshake.
Unfortunately, a good few hours were spent with her accountant, which meant by the time she made her way home, she was bone tired and looking forward to an early night. Of course, that was unlikely, with her favorite Viking hovering over her new offices.