Rated: G
A/N: Hugs and thanks to PNWgal for her valuable feedback.
The Interview
“Josef, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Mick said as he opened his door and stepped aside.
“It’s business, actually,” Josef replied as he walked into Mick’s loft. Reaching into the inside breast pocket of his suit coat, he withdrew an envelope and handed it to Mick. “You are being requested to appear before the National Council.” He walked quickly to Mick’s bar and poured two glasses of Scotch. “And when I say 'requested' I really mean 'commanded.'”
Mick was stunned. As he pushed his door closed he looked at his name written in exquisite calligraphy on the front of the envelope before turning it over to see the Council seal pressed into red sealing wax on the back.
“Why am I being brought before the Council? On what charges? I haven’t done anything!”
Josef offered Mick one of the glasses, which he took and swallowed in one gulp. “Mick, relax. Not everyone who is brought before the Council is being accused of anything. Believe me; if you were being brought up on charges you’d know it.”
“How?” Mick asked skeptically.
“Well, for one thing, I would have been accompanied here by Cleaners.” Josef sat on the sofa and took a sip of his drink. “Do you see any Cleaners?”
Without thinking, Mick automatically looked over at his security camera, half expecting to see armed Cleaners standing guard outside his door, waiting to take him into custody.
“No,” Mick replied. “Then what do they want?”
“I suggest you open the envelope and read it.”
Mick broke the seal on the envelope, removed the rich vellum paper and quickly read the contents. “Tomorrow night?” He dropped his hand and looked at Josef. “They want me to show up tomorrow night? Just like that?”
“Just like that,” Josef confirmed.
“What if I already had plans? Or had to work on a case or something?”
With a heavy sigh Josef set his glass on the coffee table and looked at Mick. “You would change your plans. Look, Mick. It’s the National Vampire Council. They say ‘jump’ and you say ‘how high?’ Just because you aren’t in trouble, doesn’t mean it’s not important. It’s very important.”
“So what do they want? The letter doesn’t say.”
“They want your presence at the meeting.”
“Josef…”
“Mick, I can’t tell you. It’s not my place. My job was to deliver the invitation to you, which I have done.” He stood and made his way to the door. “I’ll send my driver around to pick you up.”
“So you’re going with me?” Mick asked.
Josef adjusted his sleeves. “No. My driver will take you; I’ll already be there.” He put his hand on the doorknob and looked at Mick. “Remember, Mick, these vamps are old, very powerful and expect the utmost respect. Leave the snark at the door. Any request is just being polite; you don’t really have the option to refuse. Not even something as simple as a drink.” He opened the door, stepped across the threshold, paused, and turned back. “And wear a suit, or at least a jacket. Maybe even a tie. And think about a haircut.” Turning away, Josef walked down the hallway to the elevator.
Mick stepped out his door and watched his friend leave, but Josef never looked back.
MLMLMLML
Josef’s driver was already waiting next to the car when Mick exited his building the following night.
“Hey, Richard! How are you doing tonight?” Mick asked as he stepped off the curb.
“Good evening, Mr. St. John,” the driver said as he opened the rear door of the Cadillac.
Mick paused. “‘Mr. St. John?’ You’ve known me for years, Richard. It’s always been ‘Mick.’ What’s up?”
“I have never driven you to a Council meeting before, sir.” Mick stared at Richard, gave a slight nod and got into the back seat. “The bar is fully stocked, sir, per Mr. Kostan’s specific instructions,” Richard said as he pulled away from the curb.
How considerate of Josef, Mick thought as he poured himself a drink. “So where is this big Council meeting, Richard?”
“Downtown, sir.”
Mick realized no further information was forthcoming. He took a swallow from his glass and sighed as he ran his hand through his freshly trimmed hair. Every time he got a haircut, his hair seemed to become curlier. Oh well, nothing for it, he said to himself.
Thirty minutes later Richard pulled the car up to the front of the headquarters of a national bank, its gothic architecture reminding Mick of his own building. Somehow Mick knew he was expected to wait until Richard came around the car and opened the door for him. He stepped out, adjusted his suit jacket and nodded at Richard before beginning to walk away.
“Good luck tonight, Mr. St. John, sir,” Richard said. Mick stopped and turned to look at him.
“Thanks, Richard.” Mick turned back to the front of the building and walked up the stairs. Just as he reached for the large handle, it opened by the Council’s majordomo.
“Welcome, Mr. St. John. Please follow me,” he said. Their footsteps echoed in the empty building as they walked briskly across the floor, up a sweeping staircase and into an anteroom. “Please wait here, sir, until they are ready for you.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure, sir,” he said with a curt nod before turning on his heel and walking away.
After he was gone Mick immediately walked up to the large, wooden double doors and put his ear next to them. The thick doors made the room on the other side practically soundproof. Even with vampire hearing, Mick could barely detect a few murmurs and no discernible words. Next Mick closed his eyes and inhaled. He scented “old” vampire, but had no idea if there were five or fifty of them.
With a sigh he gave up and sat in one of the available chairs along the wall. But he was too nervous to sit still, so he got up and walked around the room looking at the portraits of former bank presidents. He became so engrossed reading their histories that he was startled when the doors opened at last.
“You may come in now, Mr. St. John,” said the majordomo – Mick had nick-named him “Dom” in his mind.
Obviously there is another entrance to the conference room, Mick thought as he followed the majordomo through the doors. It took Mick only a few seconds to take in his surroundings: four long, ornately carved tables arranged in a rectangle, open in the center. The left, center and right tables sat five vampires each; fifteen vampires in all. Mick figured that the youngest of the group was still at least a century older than he was. All fifteen were staring at him, Josef included. The rich wood and leather seats offered the only warmth in this room. One lone chair was on the remaining side, right in front of Mick and facing the head table.
“Mr. Chairman, sir. May I present Mr. Mick St. John, of the City of Los Angeles.” Mick’s escort gave a curt bow and disappeared.
The man in the center seat of the head table stood. “Welcome, Mr. St. John,” he said. “I am William Nelson, Chairman of the National Vampire Council. Please, have a seat,” he said as he pointed to the empty armchair in front of Mick.
For an instant, Mick thought about saying “Hey there, Billy! Nice to meet ya!” and thereby testing Josef’s admonition from the night before, but thought better of it.
“Thank you, Mr. Nelson, sir,” he said instead as he nodded and sat down. Nelson returned to his seat.
“Would you care for something to drink? We have a Macallan single malt with a splash of fresh O+ that I think will be to your liking,” the Chairman said as Dom appeared next to Mick with a cut crystal glass on a gold tray. Mick accepted the proffered drink.
“Thank you again, sir,” Mick said politely. He stole a quick glance at Josef. Of the five vampires at the head table, Josef was seated at the left end, with one person between him and Nelson. Mick deduced from this that Josef, while not the Chairman’s right-hand man, was indeed a vampire of quite some importance on the Council. Mick took a sip of his drink and declared, “It’s excellent.” He set his glass on the table and noticed Josef give him a slight nod.
“Wonderful!” Nelson replied. “Now, Mick – oh! May I call you Mick?”
“Please,” Mick answered with a nod.
“Good, good. Now, Mick, please tell us a little about yourself.”
Mick was sure the Chairman, and probably everyone in this room, knew everything about Mick already, down to his shoe size. But I’ll play along.
Mick took another swallow of his drink and set the glass down. “Well, I was born in LA in 1922, was turned at age 30 and will be 85 in November.” Murmurs swept around the room. Mick picked out enough words to tell they thought he was too young. For what, he wondered. Nelson rapped his gavel on the sound block and the room fell silent.
“Your bloodline?”
“House of Duvall, out of France.” A few quiet gasps. Maybe everyone here doesn’t know all about me after all, Mick wondered. But I’m sure Chairman Nelson knows.
“And your turning?”
He’s fishing; wondering if I’ll tell the truth. “My turning was against my will and without prior knowledge of vampires.” Audible gasps from the sides. Mick noticed the head table showed no reaction.
“Yes, yes. Quite unfortunate, that.”
Unfortunate? That’s one way of putting it.
“And what is it you do, now?”
“I’ve been a private investigator since the early Eighties. But I’m sure you already knew that.”
“Yes, perhaps I did. You work with humans, is that right?”
“I use my special abilities to help whoever needs my help, human or vampire. But yes, mostly humans.”
“I see. Well, now. I suppose you are wondering why we brought you here tonight.”
“It had crossed my mind, yes.” Mick caught Josef giving him a warning glance, but he ignored it. Probably noticed I’ve dropped the ‘sir.’ Tough.
“This is an historic moment for the Vampire Community, indeed the Vampire Nation. Now is the time. Here is the place.” A few grumbles from some of the members. The Chairman ignored them.
“For what?” Mick asked.
“After more than a year of deliberations,” Nelson continued as he looked around the room at the others, “some of which were quite contentious, it has been decided that it is time for the Vampire Nation to reveal itself to the human world!” His voice rose as he announced this, accompanied by a smattering of applause from the conference room.
Mick was stunned. “Excuse me?”
“That’s right. It is time to make our presence known.”
“And what have I got to do with this announcement?”
Nelson smiled at Mick across the room. “You, my friend, have been chosen to represent us. We want you to be the face – the poster child, if you will - of the Vampire Community!” He spoke as if this was some high honor being bestowed upon Mick.
“WHAT?” Mick exclaimed as he started to stand. A hand on his shoulder kept him in his seat; Mick knew it was Dom.
“Now, Mr. St. John, let me explain…”
“Someone better!” Mick didn’t care what Josef thought of his attitude now.
“We wanted someone young, so as to still be in touch with his human past. But not too young – we don’t want anyone who can’t control himself around a lot of humans. Someone who is comfortable being near humans on a day to day basis. It was Mr. Kostan here…” Nelson looked over at Josef and smiled broadly before turning back to look at Mick, “…who recommended you.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Mick glared at Josef, whose face remained impassive.
“Yes! He said you would be perfect for it. And that you have that ‘perpetual coolness’ factor that we want. And I must say, you do have it in spades.”
Mick remembered Josef’s words from the previous evening: It’s not a request; you don’t have the option to refuse. He sighed. “So what exactly do I have to do?”
“Now just hold on there a minute!” The voice came from the right side of the room. “This whole idea of a big reveal was crammed down our throats as it was, but at least we had the opportunity to vote on it.” Murmurs swept around the table. “Now you want us to accept this slicked-back whippersnapper who’s not even 100 years old based solely on the recommendation of Kostan? He’s probably just Kostan’s puppet anyway!”
Josef was out of his chair so fast it fell backwards with a bang. Mick managed to get to his feet before Dom restrained him.
“Krueger,” Josef snarled. “I suggest you keep quiet since you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“What’s the matter Kostan, truth hurt?”
“Now just one minute…” Mick tried to get in.
“Keep quiet, Mick,” Josef warned. He turned back to face Krueger. “It is Council knowledge that once Los Angeles was chosen as the location, Chairman Nelson asked me, as head of the LA area, to recommend someone who I felt was right for the job. I did and he is. Is that too complicated for you to understand?”
“Gentlemen, gentlemen! Enough!” Nelson’s voice rose above the sound of his gavel and the others. “Please return to your seats.” Shooting daggers across the room, Josef righted his chair and sat down as did everyone else who had jumped to their feet.
“That’s better. Now, Mr. Krueger, you have something against Mr. St. John being our spokesperson?”
“I’m just saying we don’t even know him. It should be a decision by the whole Council, not just Mr. Josef Kostan.” Krueger practically spat out the name.
Before Josef could say anything, Mick spoke up. “Fine. What else do you want to know about me?”
“How many exclusives do you own?”
“None.”
“What do you mean ‘none’?”
“Just what I said. I don’t own any exclusives. Humans are not property to be collected and displayed.”
Krueger guffawed. “What vampire world do you live in, eh?” He nudged his seatmate with his elbow as several others joined in the laughter.
“I live in the real world. As a matter of fact, I rarely use freshies of any kind, because I usually don’t feed fresh.”
The room became so quiet one didn't need to be a vampire to hear a pin drop. Everyone was staring at Mick.
“What do you mean, you don’t feed fresh?” This came from the left side of the room.
Mick was getting aggravated. “I mean exactly that. Under normal circumstances, I don’t feed on freshies. I get bagged blood from a contact at the morgue.”
Krueger jumped out of his seat again. “See? A vampire who doesn’t feed fresh. What kind of example does that set for our kind? This is who you want to represent us? The guy’s a freak!”
Mick jumped up as well, Dom at his side. “Just what do you think the human population is going to think if every vampire expects to be able to feed off of anyone at any time, whenever they want? You don’t think there will be a backlash to the Community?” He turned his head to look directly at William Nelson. “Have you even given this any thought? If you expect to coexist side by side with humans, they will have to feel that you aren’t considering them for dinner. The freshie system can still work, but there will have to be alternatives.”
Voices rose on all sides of the room. Nelson banged his gavel again to restore order.
“Perdón, I would like to speak.”
“Go ahead, Señor Sanchez,” the Chairman said.
“First, I want to say that just because Señor St. John does not use the freshies, it should not be considered a strike against him. Other vampires choose as he does,” Sanchez said, staring directly at Krueger. Several Council members nodded in agreement. “That said, I would like to ask our guest a question.” He turned towards Mick. “Señor St. John, how do you feel about the vampire pronouncement?”
All eyes turned to Mick. He took a moment to gather his thoughts and then stood up. “I think it is a great idea.” A mix of applause and grumbling from the room. “If done correctly - without coming across as threatening – why, think of the gains. What a boon for the Tribe! No more hiding; no more scrounging. Think of the freedom! I foresee a huge jump in all-night commercial ventures. The freshie market would explode. And if some members of the Community wish to live apart from humans, they should be allowed.” More nods of agreement.
“And what if the humans don’t go along? What if there is a rebellion?” Krueger retorted.
“I think that once the humans discover how integrated we already are in their society, they will realize that a mass rebellion is useless. We are, after all, much stronger and more powerful; I sincerely hope it doesn’t come down to a power struggle.”
“Are there any more questions for Mick?” the Chairman asked. No one said anything. “Then we will have a vote to accept having Mick St. John be the first to broadcast our declaration. Please wait outside, if you will, sir.”
Mick nodded and Dom escorted him from the room. A few minutes later the double doors opened wide and William Nelson was the first to shake Mick’s hand. “Thank you, Mick. You are quite the orator! Josef did well to choose you.”
Mick caught Josef’s eye. “Thank you, Chairman Nelson. May I ask if the vote was unanimous?”
“No, not unanimous; there were three dissenters. But what a day for the Vampire Nation!”
At that, Mick was besieged by those wanting to shake his hand and pat him on the back. Josef was right there with them, for which Mick was grateful. No words were needed between them now; that would come later, at home, with a drink.
“What happens now?” Mick inquired.
“Now, you are interviewed. We have a reporter with a video camera waiting downstairs as we speak. She has a list of questions, which you will answer, and we will of course review the tape before anything is made public.”
“Very well, let’s get this over with.” Chairman Nelson led Mick, Josef and Dom down the sweeping staircase and into a small office with a table and two chairs. There was an insulated mug on the table and a camera set up in the corner. The others stood in the back while Mick took his seat and nodded at the reporter sitting across from him.
“Mick St. John, thank you for joining us tonight.”
“You’re welcome.”
“So, what’s it like being a vampire?”
The End.
If the vampire council ever does decide to go public, Mick would be the perfect spokesperson for the job. 
Of course, Josef was pulling the strings all along. 
No surprise there. 
.... the Krueger half of the room just doesn't seem quite ready for this historic coming-out of vampires .... 