OOM - Fangtasia/Northman residence

[lazy_but_loyal]

Okay. She's got this.

Eric has left with Russell Edgington and his new bride Sophie-Ann. And now Pam has ensconced herself in Eric's office and is actually doing stuff. And things. Because she has to, and procrastinating isn't an option. With one eye on the clock, she needs to get things in order at Fangtasia at least an hour before dawn if they're going to be open for business tomorrow night.



She calls the number for the professional cleaners that ask no questions and talks to a guy with a Russian accent who requires cash up front. It's a lot of cash, but it'll be worth it. They'll be at the club in forty-five minutes.

With that out of the way, she calls Ginger.

"Pam!" she nearly shrieks over the phone. "Oh mah Gawd, are you all right? I was at the bar two nights ago, but there were these guards at the door who wouldn't tell me a thing, so I tried callin' y'all and callin' y'all, but there was ever any answer, so I figured you and Eric were outta town or somethin', but why--"

"Ginger."

"...Yes, Pam?"

"Shut the fuck up and listen."

"Sure thing, Pam."

"Don't come in to work tonight. But come in tomorrow during the day, and straighten up the place. It looks like a fucking pigsty."

"Okay, I can do that. Anythin' else?"

"That's all for now."

"Okay! Just lemme know if there's anythin'--"

"I will."

Click.

Pam rubs her temple. That Ginger.

The Magister's minions had trashed the bar. Fortunately they hadn't destroyed much of what was in the storeroom, but Pam will still need to restock their supply of liquor and TruBlood. And buy new glassware to replace what's been broken. Fuckers.

And now she has to tell the rest of the staff not to come in. That's easy enough. She leans back in Eric's chair and scrolls through her phone's saved numbers, and after composing a quick text message, she sends it out to all the staff.

There. Done. Next?

Jay. Pickup truck. Right.

She calls the vampire-friendly rental place. The woman on the other end of the line tells her that they can get a truck to Fangtasia within the next two hours. Awesome. Pam will just have to get a ride home with Jay, but whatever.

While she's putting in orders for liquor, the cleaners arrive. They are two large men in overalls, one human, one vampire, equipped with an industrial grade vacuum pump, mops, and a large drum of bleach. Pam pays them, and then shows them down to the dungeon. As is their business motto, they don't ask questions. It takes them about an hour to completely sterilize everything. Pam is impressed.

No more Magister.

It's not long before the pickup truck arrives in the parking lot. Pam signs the paperwork, and the driver hands her the keys.

So far, everything is going according to plan. She anticipates the moment when the whole thing goes off the fucking rails, but for now, she'll take it.

Time to go get Jay.

Milliways napkin in her back jeans pocket, she opens the door to Eric's office--

--and enters the bar at the end of the universe.

Comments

[lazy_but_loyal]

Eric's coffin is sleek, glossy black, with a blood red lining. The Corvette of coffins.

Pam closes the lid on herself, and as the darkness settles into her bones, her last thoughts before she fades are of him.



When dusk falls, Pam emerges from Eric's room. The house is quiet.

She stalks upstairs.

Oh, look, breakfast Jay is sprawled on the couch. At least he took his boots off.

Giving his shin a firm pat, she wakes him. "Rise and shine, sweetheart."

[runningred]

Jay opens one eye and then the other. And then smiles sleepily. "I can rise but it's gunna take a hell of a lot of buffing to get me to shine."

He stretches languidly before flicking himself to his feet far more acrobatically than anyone just waking up has any right too.

[lazy_but_loyal]

Ugh, he might be beginning to grow on her.

"Showoff."

There's an undertone there that might suggest she doesn't think that's an entirely bad thing.

"How much work do you still have to do?"

[runningred]

He dips her a deep, flourished bow that smacks more of an older brother she may never meet. "I'd say I'll be here all week but it really won't take me that long."

"I just have Eric's door to do and then the calibrations run. Shouldn't take me past midnight." He nods towards her door which doesn't look any different than it did when she went to bed. Except the doorknob is now slightly larger and shiny clean. "Mind testing it for me? Just turn the knob the same way you normally would."

As she does, the knob will warm slightly to the touch and vibrate in the minutest way only a vampire might detect.

[lazy_but_loyal]

She rolls her eyes at the bow. That may be a little much.

Still, she is stoically impressed with how much he's already gotten done.

Her bedroom door does look as plain as it ever was, but she saves remarking on it until after she actually touches and turns the knob. Ordinary as it seems, she feels the faint heat and vibration.

"Is it scanning? I was expecting some kind of touch screen or whatever like they have in spy movies."

[runningred]

"Eric specifically requested discreet. You can't pick the lock you can't see. The donor's also been reinforced so even a SWAT battering ram won't get If down in a hurry."

He nods to the outer door. Apart from the keypad having a new inch wide black trim around the edge of it and some metal filings Jay missed it the clean up, it's much the same too.

"I've overwritten the keycode so it won't activate on its own. If you drop your fangs just before you enter the code, it will kick in. And the handle has the same sort of palm scanner as your door. I built in an extra layer of protection so if someone tries to tamper with the keypad or puts pressure on the door, it will lock down your rooms and send alerts to both your phones. That way you'll know if someone's tried to break it."

[lazy_but_loyal]

Pam, an eyebrow raised, is a little less stoic now.

"Well, fuck," she drawls.

"If I were the type to actually be interested in how all this stuff works, I'd have a hard-on by now."

This is praise.

"Should I test the keycode lock, too?"

[runningred]

He laughs. "I'll take that as a complement."

He steps back out of her way. "Please do. I want to be sure the pick-up is sensitive enough before I start on Eric's door."

[lazy_but_loyal]

Pam does have a sense of humor. Eric has always found her to be funny. Not everyone shares his opinion.

She steps into the stairwell with Jay and closes the outer door, and it shuts securely. After eyeing the new look of the keypad for a moment, she curls her upper lip and her fangs drop with a sharp click. Fangs bared, she enters the code, and turns the doorknob. The door opens.

"It works."

[runningred]

Jay looks thoughtful and pulls a tool from his pocket and opens the edging on the keypad, fiddling for a moment. "Okay, that should react a little faster now. Do you want to try it again at vampire speed?"

[lazy_but_loyal]

There could be a time when such speed would be necessary, so she's game.

Retracting her fangs (it has a subtly different sound), she pauses a few seconds before dropping them again -- and in a blur of motion too quick for the human eye, her fingers punch in the numbers and turn the knob. The door opens again.

[runningred]

That's what he figured. "Good. I wasn't sure I'd calculated the speed right. So as long as Eric's not much faster that you, it should work just as cleanly for him."

He nods upward. "I'll install a solar panel on the roof and a back up battery so even if you lose power to the house for whatever reason, the locks will still function."

[lazy_but_loyal]

She ticks her head in a nod and retracts her fangs.

"Sounds like Eric's getting his money's worth."

[runningred]

Jay shrugs. "I enjoyed the challenge of building it. And he knows he'll get what he asks for and better." Not just because Jay has feelings for him but also because Jay's nature is to tinker.

[lazy_but_loyal]

She still can't help but think of Jay as one of Eric's pets, but Eric wouldn't stand for that.

"Well. I'm gonna go get ready for work. Have you eaten at all?"

Not that she's too concerned; she just doesn't want him falling off the roof or whatever.

[runningred]

He nods, smiling. "Don't worry about me, I've eaten. If you're happy for me to keep working, I can drop the pick-up back at the bar when I'm done."

[lazy_but_loyal]

She nods.

"That works for me. Do what you have to do."

And she leaves him to it, turning to go to her room.

It'll take her about two hours or so to shower (she has a private bathroom), do her hair and makeup, and put a couple of outfits together for the evening.

She doesn't think about too much. This is her time.

[runningred]

Jay doesn't seem fussed that her routine takes time. He has work to do.

By the time she gets ready, he's kneeling on the floor, rewiring the inside of Eric's door. His tee-shirt rides up as he works, the line of skin at his hip showing and his hair falling over his face; intent on the job at hand.

[lazy_but_loyal]

When Pam emerges from her room, she's wearing a black-and-red bustier that bares her midriff with a pleated leather miniskirt and thigh-high stiletto boots. She's carrying a fuchsia colored overnight bag containing a more modest change of clothes.

She spots Jay working, and she can't help the smirk that twists her lips. Seriously, it's like the beginnings of a bad porno plot where a hot handyman pays a visit to rewire her circuits.

She walks over to him and stands close enough so that her boots are in his line of vision.

"I'm leaving in a bit. Why don't you take a little break?"

It might not be a suggestion.

[runningred]

He looks up. And up. And his eyebrows rise further still. He is very much and rather suddenly aware that he's on his knees at her feet. "Did you have anything in particular in mind?" He's very much open to suggestions at this point.

[lazy_but_loyal]

Looking down at him, she rests a hand on her hip.

"Yes," she says simply but pointedly. "I haven't had breakfast yet."

[runningred]

Jay smiles and tilts his head, just so to show off his neck.

[lazy_but_loyal]

Pam smiles as well, eyes narrowing like a cat's, and her fangs drop.

"Get up."

[runningred]

He does, obediently and with grace of his own. He gives her his own little smile and keeps his head cocked.

[lazy_but_loyal]

She drops her bag and splays her hand on his chest, pushing him back against the wall. Not hard enough to hurt him. ...Okay, just a little.

With a low purr, she scents along the curve of his bared neck. His scent is heavy, musky, masculine, and underneath it all, there's the hot sweetness of his blood.

Tangling her fingers in his wild hair, she keeps his head at an angle. Cool lips and fangs trail over his warm skin--and she bites down. Blood fills her mouth, and she moans, pressing up against him.