What We Do In the Shadows: "Jen..."

What We Do In The Shadows: "Jen..." Part III...

Summary: There are unexpected consequences when Laszlo seeks a new human familiar...

Part III

"And the search goes on..." Laszlo, walking down the hallway to the library of the community's manor, notes, a bit sheepishly.  "Without success as yet though one or two of the potential candidates to date were not too bad...Just that Sally was a bit old."

Cut to night a few days ago, Laszlo talking to tall, late sixtiesish woman at her doorway...

"I'd met her outside the local library, not really seeking but just gone there as I sometimes do to review the latest works. She was carrying a copy of 'War and Peace' , that new novel by the Russian, Tolstoy, and we fell into conversation. While I have no specific objection to an older person as my familiar...The likely endurance with so many chores is limited and usually older persons are a bit set in their ways and require enthralling to hold, which limits their life expectancy even further than their age. I'd actually hoped she might have a daughter or niece or granddaughter about with similar interests...She was a very intelligent person and truly charming to speak with..."

Cut to Nadja in her open coffin a bit later... "Laszlo and his taste for older women...I suppose I should appreciate his willingness to look beyond the surface but sometimes I must wonder if it might be a subtle thrust at me, suggesting I lack some of their intellectual qualities? On the other hand, older women, bah...Come on, I'm Eternally Youthful and quite sexually fierce." Proud tone.  "And of course should he get too attached to one, it's easy to kill them and blame their deaths on their age and the work, pitiful lambs."

...

Guillermo, passing Laszlo who pauses...

"Guillermo, could you possibly clean a couple of corpses' bodily fluids and other waste from my cell this evening? Oh, and dispose of the corpses themselves? Good lad." pat on back as he continues on.

Guillermo to camera... "You saw how I ignored him, not even a 'certainly, Master Laszlo'. Yes, I am still angry about the other night at the club. Of course I'll speak to Master Nandor and see about this extra work...Which of course he will tell me to do until Laszlo finds a new familiar." Sigh, then brightening... "But it will re-establish the proper chain...Master Nandor giving me my orders not...Laszlo. And nothing says I must do my best work. Though, as I am a professional and an acolyte, I will." pause. "Please don't tell Laszlo I didn't call him Master Laszlo...Even though it doesn't seem to bother him that I do. I suppose nothing I do, bothers him or matters to him in any way..." sigh.

...

"Bit of a tricky situation developing with Guillermo, I sense." Laszlo, now in library, seeking a copy of "War and Peace". "He was, I suspect, a bit hurt by my not meeting him at the club the other night. In fact, as you know, I did see him when that nice waitress with the strange metal in her nose pointed him out but...Well, Guillermo, you know? But he's been lacking that mix of groveling deference and genuine eagerness to please in our encounters recently. Not good in a familiar who has the power of life and death over one, especially another vampire's familiar. Especially Nandor's familiar, Nandor being very protective of his people, a trait from when he was a general and governor and had to hold Ottoman territories against all sorts of enemies, till one of course turned out to be Undead. Besides, I really do like the boy. I probably should have been a bit more considerate. Well, I'll make it up to him. And he actually could be very useful in my quest." Ah...He spies the book he'd been seeking and flies up the shelves to it.

"You know I really regret not meeting Napoleon. A fellow like me, with a sense of History, really should miss no opportunity to meet major world figures and leave my impressions of them for Posterity. I only wish the UN were open late at night to visitors, but someday I'll slip in and find a way to meet a few of the world leaders in late night conference or something. Who knows, I might well kill some manic who's bent on nuclear holocaust. Just being a vampire doesn't mean one can t take an interest in the world and its fate." solemn nod.

...

"So 'Master' Laszlo wants you should be cleaning up after him?" Nandor the Relentless, relentlessly questioning his minion, Guillermo, in his cell. "Well, tell 'Master' Laszlo, fine, though you have plenty of chores to do for me and he should clear such things with me first. But, all right, we don't want the house a pigsty, eh? But in the future, I insist he put such matters through me." smile to Guillermo, who nods. Little smile to us...

...

Colin, in his basement bedroom... In trademark beige sweater and beige pants...

"I generally keep to my agreement not to drain the human familiars...Especially Nandor's Guillermo, who really doesn't have a lot of energy to begin with anyway...Cause they get all pooped and instead of cleaning the place, they may start pooping around the place, too tired to even get to a bathroom. Place gets awful...The corpses, their stuff, yuck. So, I've agreed generally not to drain the familiars unless their owner asks me to...Sometimes a few thralled ones get too peppy and start wanting to leave. But I was a bit miffed by Laszlo not wanting me to come with him to his club the other night." frown.

"I nearly went anyway but I found a bunch of very angry people screaming things at some Muslim woman on the way and they really did it for me. I actually prevented what could have been quite an incident, the lady assumed I'd calmed the others down and was very grateful. In fact I'm invited to her mosque to attend a prayer service. It should be interesting and, I hope, nourishing. But anyway, I think I will drain Guillermo and see if he'll tell me what the club was like. He rarely talks to me and I think Nandor doesn't want him to, as the others don't like me to know where they're going at night and so on...Afraid I'll spoil their victims, which, I do...It's who I am."

...

Back to Laszlo, in library...

"So the other somewhat promising candidate was this delightful young girl, Terry, I met while looking in windows along the main boulevard in town. She was out with some friends and asked me if I was an actor. Naturally, to cover my true nature, I said yes...And it is true I performed in some amateur theatricals in my village and have a couple of times briefly performed on stage since my transformation. During the Crimean War I was impersonating an officer with the British forces...A damned good officer, by the way, compared to many of that lot, I kept my boys in order...And was asked to help out in a performance to raise a few funds to help the sick and injured. Of course I agreed without hesitation...One may kill humans but I never delight in their suffering. And I was, according to the camp newspaper reviews, rather good doing bits from 'Hamlet' and 'King Lear'. Anyway, Terry was interested in acting and questioned me about the Craft for a good half-hour...Very bright child, seems to have a real depth and breath to her knowledge I think though, fourteen is a bit young. Though if I took Sally now and waited say, oh, ten years...Especially if her dreams fail and she finds herself in a hopeless, blighted life...My offer of employment might become very attractive to dear Terry at twenty-four or so. Still, I will keep looking for now.

And it is true, Sally does have a young grandchild, a girl of five or so...The daughter a total wreck, in prison for fraud and theft, a drug addict, I understand from Sally, which ummn...Please, I heard that in confidence so, if we could avoid last names, thanks? Hard to believe, a woman like Sally with a daughter like that. Definitely not to my taste... But Sally, then either the granddaughter or dear Terry, that could work.

I did implant an instruction to Terry to contact me when she's twenty-one. Even if I don t need her as a familiar it would be nice to see how her life's coming along." fond smile.

"Oh, and I did come across something interesting back after my trip into town and feeding on a few passers-by. A real estate agent left a card in our mailbox...Asking us to contact her. You know, I have noted property values in our area have been finally starting to rise quite a bit. Perhaps we should consider putting the place on the market and finding something grander? Be one way to impress Baron Afanas... Yes, I'll speak to the others...I mean, this is a grand old place but it is rather getting infested with rats and such, due to the blood and corpses, I imagine. A more modern place or at least one with fewer rats might be very appealing. Would be nice to have one of those wall-sized home theater things..."