Bloodbound {L.s}

9

After taking it easy for the weekend, Harry shows up at work, as instructed, at 8pm on Monday night. Louis isn't there yet, so Harry sits at his desk and waits, fiddling with the office supplies.

"He did say 8pm, didn't he?" Harry thinks.

Harry glances at the clock again and sighs. Just then, the elevator door chimes open. Louis emerges, all business, something clearly on his mind.

"Harry. Good. You're here. We have a lot to do," Louis says then quickly adds, "But where are my manners? How was your weekend?"

"Oh... pretty boring, honestly," Harry shrugs.

"Oh?"

"I mean, after attending Frida Giannini's fashion show and nearly bring killed by a rabid vampire, pretty much anything is boring, right?"

"You'd be surprised. One thing I can promise, this job will never be dull," Louis smirks.

"That's one of the main reasons I took it, so... So far so good."

Louis picks up the little flower Harry folded out of a Post-It note and turns it in the light.

"Very nice. Been waiting a while?"

"Punctuality is one of my greatest strengths," Harry says.

Louis smiles enigmatically, "Glad to hear it. I actually do have a new assignment for you... Although... it is not without danger."

"I'm in," Harry says without a doubt.

Louis nods, pleased, "You're brave. I appreciate that."

"I try," Harry says.

"Good. You'll need that bravery tonight," Louis warns.

Louis gestures for Harry to follow him into his office and he does just that. Louis sifts through some papers on his desk.

"The Feral that attacked us in the park? I've identified him. His name is, or was, Douglas Courette. He was a bartender employed by The Baron," Louis says.

"'The Baron?'," Harry asks.

"Yes. He's one of the six members of the council. In life, he was a gangster in the 1920s... Prohibition Era. A brutal, remorseless killer. Then he was Turned into a vampire, and it only got worse," Louis answers.

"Yikes."

"The Baron has his grubby hands on every last bit of organized crime in New York."

"Hold up, one of the members of the Council is a mobster? Whose idea was that?" Harry asks surprised.

"When the Pact was formed, The Baron was one of the more powerful vampires in the city," Louis says angrily, "All he has to do was snap his fingers... and he'd have an army of criminals doing his bidding. We had two options. Let him in so we could work with him and control him... Or go to war."

"So you didn't have a choice."

"Oh, we had a choice. And this is the consequence. A true monster with a permanent seat on the council," Louis says.

"Sounds seriously scary..."

"Whatever you're imagining? He's ten times worse."

"Okay... So what does this mean?" Harry asks.

"As you know, the Council issued a zero growth order, so the population of vampires remains stable."

"But now, someone's been Turning people unauthorized... creating Clan less vampires who turn Feral," Harry says.