Read The Vampire and The Paramedic: An Extreme Medical Services series prequel Page 4
James paced in his penthouse apartment overlooking the center of Elk City, watching the glow that signaled sunrise on the horizon. Brooding all night, James had been striving to understand what he had done wrong. He had built the new emergency medical services station, purchased equipment and the ambulance. All of that should have been a signal that he appreciated things a certain way. The presentation of the Jeep was merely more of the same. And yet she had accused him of bribing her. Bribery! It had been years since he had had to bribe anyone. Not since he was in the old country, where such greasing of palms was so common. He prided himself on assimilating here in the United States and fitting into the social customs and norms that made polite society. Bribery was frowned upon. He understood that. So, how could that woman, that girl, tell him he was trying to bribe her? It was preposterous. James had just wanted to show his appreciation to the individual as well as the system that both, together, saved his vassal and friend. That should be an easy thing to do. No one at the Elk City Fire Department even blinked when he proposed to help fund a new ambulance station in an underserved section of town. They didn’t think of it as bribery. They called him a philanthropist, using his wealth to help his fellow Elk City community members.
He walked over to the remote control tablet in the center of the room and touched a button on the screen. The blackout shutters lowered over the windows and the interior lights brightened. The vampire lord continued pacing in his living room for several more minutes before footsteps down the hall to the office interrupted his thoughts.
“My Lord,” the female vampire said from the hallway. “I’m finished the progress reports you wanted on the latest construction jobs. If you’re all finished with me, I’m going to leave and get some rest. I’ve had a snack waiting for me for about an hour, and he’ll likely leave and return to the agency if I don’t get down there soon.”
“Certainly, Celeste,” James said. “I will look over the reports and mark any necessary changes for your return tonight. Enjoy your meal.”
The raven-haired beauty nodded and turned towards the elevator hallway. James watched her go. There was a woman who understood gratitude. Celeste Teal had served him as a human for 20 years before he finally offered her what she wanted. Since he had turned her, she had been his able assistant and secretary for over 150 years. It was surprising how well she had adapted to the changes over the years. She had been among the first to start using willing humans for meals, rather than simply taking one when hungry. It had proved to be a much better option as human forensic science became more advanced. The evidence of their attacks would have been harder and harder to hide even if they avoided killing their victims. The fact that there were humans who were willing to be paid to be drunk from had surprised him after centuries of sensing nothing but fear from his prey. Celeste was off to drink from one such human right now. He approved of the practice. Even in the old days, he had not often killed his meals, opting to cloud their memory and send them on their way, weakened but alive. Only a fool crapped in his own yard and killing too many people raised eyebrows among the humans who knew of their existence.
The arrangement between humans and Unusuals had been an uneasy truce at first until they learned they could trust their ancient nightmares to live peacefully alongside them. Between the access to readily available animal blood and the humans who willingly offered their necks to his vampire kind, the last hundred years had experienced little conflict between the two parallel communities of humans and vampires. The other Unusuals had followed the lead of the blood drinkers and found ways to coexist peacefully. But there were still old ways that died hard, and the feudal system of government that the Unusual community followed had not been suborned by the advent of the democracy that started in the new world of America. The various regions of the world of Unusuals were still ruled by overlords who reported to and worked alongside the human government to govern the land.
The arrangement worked surprisingly well. But there were exceptions. Sometimes there were wrinkles in the way the arrangement worked when human and Unusual services interacted. This situation with Brynne Garvey was one such situation. An Unusual employee would never turn down a gift from a superior, even an expensive or extravagant one. Humans, especially Americans, who prided themselves on their independence and self-reliance, were a different animal altogether. But James was not one to give up so easily. He felt honor bound to give the girl something for her service. That it was difficult to find the appropriate gift for her was now apparent, but he would not give up. He needed to find out more about her and discover what she desired. Once he found that out, he was sure he would find the one thing she couldn’t refuse from him. An idea occurred to him. James picked up his phone and dialed a number on speed dial.
“Dr. Spirelli?” James asked as a voice answered on the other end of the line. “I didn’t wake you, did I?
“No, James, I’m an old man. We are awake at all hours it seems. What can I do for you?”
“I’m calling to check on one of your young paramedics in the Station U Program, a Miss Brynne Garvey. Do you know her?”
“Yes, I’ve met all the paramedics in the program,” Doctor Spirelli responded. “Is there a problem? I have to say that she’s one of the best paramedics we have.”
“No,” James said quickly. “There is no problem. I was intrigued by her skills and wondered if you could tell me something about her background. I’m wondering if there isn’t something we can do to offer the paramedics in the system more access to our community to gain insights into those they are treating. I thought, based on my interaction with her during the recent events with my colleague Rudolph, that we might try out a sort of internship with her?”
“I’m sure something could be arranged.” Doctor Spirelli said. “Let me make some calls. It is late for you so why don’t I call you back after I talk to a few people. I’ll get back to you with some more thoughts on how this can be set up this evening around sundown.”
“Perfect, Doctor,” James answered. His fist pumped the air next to him in victory. “I’ll look forward to your call. Goodbye.” His smile broadened as he thought of how this plan might be used for two goals. It would further this unique medical program for his subjects. It would also get him closer to this infuriating girl who had tied up his attention for the last few weeks. James turned and headed back to his bedroom for some much-needed rest. He could stay up for days at a time, but even his undead form needed some rest from time to time, if not actual sleep.