North American Vampire Council & Past Calling (Hypernaturals 12 & 13)

Safe Space

I asked her no questions. I know Morgan well, and this aspect of her is something I have understood since the very beginning of our relationship. I know she is organizing her thoughts and preparing. Morgan does not like to talk about things or do things she has not yet thought through.

This is why it took forever for her to marry us. It was not merely the life change of becoming a Vampire unexpectedly. It was not merely the idea that she would be moving away from unconventional human to unconventional Vampire. It absolutely was all of those things, but it was also a deep self-examination of her heart. She had to know that she could commit. That it was not a trial balloon. She never committed before, and while I am not supposed to know this, she was thinking about settling down with Wendell before he was killed by what she calls the Cabal.

She thought about herself and Wendell too long and lost him to mindless hatred. She still might not have lost him anyway. She would still have been a 'white' woman the Cabal was trying to control marrying a black man against their wishes. These were (and still are) cretins who care about how much Melanin is in someone's skin. They might have killed them both, in that circumstance. Disobedient women are usually high on the hate list for people with the brain power and general motives of a parasite wasp.

How long Morgan had to decide to be with us was open-ended. Her reasons for ending her self-examination and marrying us were forced upon her by outside circumstances, and perhaps there is an echo of what happened with Wendell and the Cabal there: The Human Purity people kidnapping me again. I never wanted her to feel painted into that corner because I wanted all of her. Turned out, that is what it took, and she has been utterly all in ever since then.

Circumstances are forcing her once again. Morgan is not going to have much time to figure it all out this morning, but there is no point in not giving her the space I can while we drove, got breakfast tacos, drove again, and landed at the office. I was not chatty. I did not suggest stopping at our park to make love, as is our tradition.

We own this entire building, under a holding company name. A thing Helen knows how to do well and helped us set up. Helen said of the idea of us owning the space where Morgan used to rent space: "I will always invest in real estate."

I have no idea how much real estate Helen has. I never ask her about her money or her businesses. I know she owns a Cruise line, plus most of the land Ninovan sits on, among many other things. An entire network of investments that goes back to when she was a member of the House of Lancaster in the 1400s. She has been marrying humans and collecting power and influence for a while. There is a reason the Council lets Helen handle the money. She makes it have money babies.

On the second floor of the office building is Morgan's original suite for 'Olsen Investigations'. Now 'Olsen and Sagan Investigations'. Angel is a Sagan these days as she and Vera both changed their names officially when they married, so I guess it should be Olsen, Sagan, and Sagan, but Angel does not care. She was happy being Morgan's 'Girl Friday' and now is happy being one-third of the investigation team.

It was 'Olsen and Sagan' before all the secret Vampire stuff came along. The things we do that are tied into Council and Crew work. Denise is practically the fourth member of the team now, because of that intersection. As Denise is planning on becoming a Sagan someday, the name will live on.

Morgan has taken on cases for Council for a long time, back when she was a 'trusted human'. Now we do not advertise. People know about us. We have more work than we can handle from time to time from referrals alone. Part of why Denise helps. That and she is family and has 250 or so years of experience on Crew.

My brother Don uses us exclusively for his law firm's investigative needs. Many a case of his has been solved merely by him saying 'oh, and I am engaging Olsen & Sagan Investigations to look into you.' Done. Settled. An Astral, two hyper sensed Vampires, the occasional Crew Lead, plus Morgan's brains and experience, equals results.

For all of that, I wonder if Morgan ever misses her simpler times. When she had hot and cold running lovers, was a homicide cop with a top case closure rate, and she was after the bad guys of the world. Not mixed up in the crazy that is the secret world of Vampires.

My Vampire Council office connects to the OSI office in a couple of places, and the entire second floor is used for our needs these days. I have space for conferences with the Crew, including offices for Denise and Anne, plus Luciana when she is in relieving those two heads of the Crew. Their offices connect to mine and the shared break room.

We also have a very nice shower. Vampires and their showers.

Downstairs on the first floor (ground floor in Europe) is a medical office. On the third floor, it is mixed use offices. A medical lab. A lawyer. A title company. We make enough from that rent to pay the taxes on the building and clear a little profit, which we give to Helen.

Morgan and I set ourselves up with large glasses of milk, napkins, and our fresh Tacos in the shared kitchen. Scattered through the break room space there are a few four-seater tall tables with comfortable tall chairs, perfect to have a small group conversation. We made it as informal and as comfortable as we could.

We wanted Crew to be able to come in for a chat with one of their leaders and have a 'let the hair down' room to chat in. We stock the pantry with food, and there is also wine and beer in addition to the usual tea, coffee, and fruit juice options. An inductive skillet if someone feels industrious and wants to cook something. No vending machines: A grab and go kind of place. Home away from home, except for the signs that let people that have never been here before know 'Reach in here for refried beans' and such.

At first, I worried the perishable food was going to need to be cycled through my house, but as Crew caught on to the new Crew space, they come here all the time. They consume food: Vampires, so lots of it.

Denise teased me about this whole idea once. "I guess Crew just needed a man's touch." In reference to making the team comfortable and happy with their jobs.

I dug into my first taco. My attention has never left Morgan since the call. She is very solemn. I did sort of wonder who might have died other than who I know about based on Angel's comment.

Morgan knows I am waiting for her to let her own hair down, so to speak, and watching her. She knows I am giving her space. I know her. She knows me.

She poked at her taco to move some eggs back inside of the tortilla, but it was desultory. She did not really care if the eggs were in it or not. Or if the taco is in her mouth or not.

Because I am me, all sorts of comments are flitting through my mind. I flicked a quick look at the wall clock. We have over two hours yet.

Morgan inhaled. Held it. Released.