The Vampire and The Paramedic (4 page)

“What is this?” She demanded.

“It’s for you,” James said, offering her the
keys. “A thank you for saving my friend’s life.”

“
I can’t
take this,” she said, her voice rising in alarm. “Are you insane?
You can’t just go around buying people things like this just for
doing their jobs. Especially city employees! I can’t take a gift
like that from a citizen. It would be seen as bribery.”

“I’m not trying to bribe you!” James said,
his voice rising in volume. “I’m trying to thank you.”

“Well, I don’t know what you usually expect
from the people you deal with. I am not someone you can just throw
money at and impress me,” Brynne said. “Besides, I already told you
that the new station was awesome and much appreciated. That’s an
appropriate way to thank someone for doing their job in my line of
work.”

She stopped talking, seeming to James to take
hold of her emotions. She took a deep breath and continued in a
more measured tone. “Look, I appreciate the gesture but I cannot
accept this. Thank you for all you’ve done for expanding our
service and getting our station here. That is enough I assure you.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I do appreciate it.
Really.”

She turned and went back inside, leaving
James standing there, the keys to the Jeep still dangling in his
fingers, wondering what went wrong.

James stood for a long time before Rudy’s
chuckle in the shadows behind him shook him back to his senses.

“It’s been a long time since anyone said ‘no’
to you, eh, my friend?” Rudy said, resting a hand on his shoulder
from behind. “Why don’t you give me those keys and I’ll take the
Jeep back to the dealership?”

“No,” James said turning to look at his
friend and tossing him the keys. “Drive it back to the garage at
the apartment building. I like it, and perhaps I can persuade her
to change her mind.”

“I haven’t been around women for nearly as
long as you, James, but that girl meant what she said.”

“I can change her mind,” James said through
gritted teeth.

Rudy let out a loud, barking laugh. “Want to
lay some money on that?”

“If I can’t change her mind in a month, you
can have the Jeep,” James said. “If I can, you pay for it.”

“I can live with that,” Rudy said showing his
teeth with a broad grin. “I can use a new ride.” He climbed in the
Jeep, started it up and drove away laughing.

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.

Four days later, at precisely six o’clock in
the evening, the elevator bell rang on the top floor of the
apartment building where James lived. He glanced at the gold Rolex
on his wrist and smiled. He liked subordinates who were punctual.
Celeste stood next to him with a file folder of papers. The doors
slid open, and Brynne Garvey stepped out into the opulent
surroundings that made up James’ personal domain. He noticed the
prominently displayed silver cross at her throat and chuckled to
himself. She stepped forward extending her hand.

“Mr. Lee,” She said, shaking his hand. “I
appreciate this opportunity to learn more about your culture and
your needs for our service.” She turned to Celeste before he could
answer. “Miss Teal? I think we have talked on the phone making
arrangements for my visit.” Celeste took her hand. James noticed
the corner of her mouth quirking up in a smile. It no doubt amused
her seeing the way the human woman deflected her employer’s
attentions.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Miss
Garvey,” Celeste purred in a smooth southern drawl. “I’ve heard a
great deal about your talents from Rudolph and Mr. Lee. Won’t you
come this way?” She turned and led Brynne down the entry hallway,
through open double doors and into a large open area of the
penthouse, with multiple living spaces created by the different
furnishings around the room. Brynne glanced around as she was led
to a large desk backed by windows that looked out over the lights
of the city below.

James moved around to stand in front of them,
taking back control that had temporarily been wrested from him. He
offered them a seat in one of the two high-backed leather chairs in
front of his desk while he walked around to sit in the large padded
chair behind the desk.

“Brynne,” He paused and then continued. “I
hope you do not mind me calling you that, we are on a first name
basis here.” Brynne nodded, and he went on. “I’m glad you accepted
our offer of this internship. It is my hope that you can help us
build a broader understanding between the human and Unusual
community here in Elk City as it pertains to the emergency medical
services you and your team provide.”

He nodded at Celeste as he continued.
“Celeste here does have some standard paperwork that I will need
you to sign to begin this project. It is essentially a series of
non-disclosure forms for you. Should you learn anything vital about
my business ventures, they will ensure your discretion and
confidentiality.” The secretary seated next to her offered the
newly opened folder and a pen to Brynne. She looked down, back up
at him and then back down at the pages in front of her.

“Ok, just give me a second to read through
them,” Brynne said. “My father taught me never to sign anything
without reading it first.” She began to scan the documents in her
lap. James looked over at Celeste where she looked back with a grin
that said, “I told you so.”

“Brynne, there’s no need to be concerned,” he
assured her.

“Mr. Lee. I mean, James, I appreciate that
you think that, but I need to read through these documents to make
sure I understand them before signing them,” Brynne said. “If that
is a problem, I can leave, and we can arrange someone else to help
out with this project.”

Celeste turned and was staring intently at
something outside the window without looking his way. She was
enjoying this. “I understand your concerns, Brynne. I assure you
that everything in those documents is straightforward and just as I
described. Please take as much time as you need. We’ll wait.” He
leaned back in his chair, adopting what he hoped was a pose of
relaxed impatience. Based on the look Celeste shot him, he wasn’t
succeeding.

After a few minutes of reading and turning
pages, Brynne picked up the pen in her left hand and signed the
three pages requiring signatures before closing the folder and
handing it back to Celeste.

“I’ll email you scanned copies of these for
your records, Brynne,” Celeste said, rising and turning to James.
“If that’s all, sir, I’ve got quite a pile of reports and emails to
get back to.” He nodded, and she left the two of them sitting there
facing each other across the desk.

The silence continued for at least a minute
before James spoke up. “Brynne, I wanted to apologize for offending
you by offering you that Jeep. I come from a different world where
I am expected to reward people lavishly for doing their jobs well.
I should have thought about it from a more modern, uh, human
perspective.”