The Delacours: Part Deux

seven.

When I reached Jason's office, I was greeted by a small dark skinned woman. She had bright pink hair and wore glasses. She looked up when I stepped off the elevator.

"Hi," I said, confused. "I'm here to see Jason?"

"You must be Liz!" she said with a very bubbly attitude and a Bronx accent. "I'm sorry, I meant you must be the Magister! Jason's waiting for you in his office! Let me just give him a call?" I nodded my head and looked around a bit. It was very dark in his office and there was a smaller office to the side which I assumed belonged to his Lieutenant. "Madame Magister?" It took me a second to realize she was speaking to me.

"Yes?"

"Jason's ready for you!" She motioned me over to her and then walked me to his office. "Hey! She's right behind me, honey!" She led me in and then closed the door behind her when she walked out of the office. He started to stand up but I raised a hand for him to stay where he was as I took a seat on the other side of his desk.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked.

"I'm okay for now. So," I started. "Have you found someone to be a Lieutenant for the Buroughs?"

"I think so. She's one of the toughest vampires I've ever known."

"That's great, but can she keep up with the requirements? You have a new ripper almost every month, Jason!"

"I know, and I don't know how to stop it!"

"How many vampires do you have?"

"I have no fucking idea. My clan has ten of us. Beyond that, I couldn't tell you. I have vampires who come through here all the time. New York is home to a lot of vampires, but this is also a stopping point for a lot of traveling vampires. I have no way to keep track!" I shook my head.

"Yeah, you're not wrong there... What measures do you have in place though?"

"Honestly, Liz. I got handed a clusterfuck twenty years ago and I still can't manage to figure it out. The last Sheriff of New York was a drunk bastard who ran this state into the ground."

"Where's your paperwork?"

"For what?"

"Your registered vampires?" He looked at me confused. "You don't have any, do you?"

"No. I-I have a few, but it's not nearly accurate. Half those vampires are probably dead. I don't even know where to start with this." He leaned back in his chair and over to one side as he put his face in one hand.

"Can I be brutally honest right now?" He looked up from his hand. "How the fuck did Anna make you a Sheriff? How the fuck did she let you get away this shit? When I was Sheriff of Massachusetts, if I so much as put a toe out of line, she was on my ass about fucking paperwork and she likes me. What the fuck is even happening here, Jason?"

"Because I've been giving her bogus paperwork... I've been filling out false information just to keep compliant." I stood up from my chair, nearly throwing it to the floor. I walked towards his desk and leaned in close.

"I suggest you get your shit in order Jason or I'll relieve you of your position. I expect by tomorrow morning that you will have something in place to get this problem on its way to being solved."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Figure it out." I turned to the door and placed a hand on the door handle. "It would be a real shame if something happened to the human you have as your assistant."