Human Purity Alliance (Hypernaturals 4)

We Are Oh So Clever Here

Our planning to try and get the HPA to make a play for me led up to my next Siren meeting. Time to do the Liaison thing. I should not hate this meeting as much as I do, because being Liaison is a big part of how I got off probation faster than any male known. I was able to save a poor Vampire woman from five years of captivity and sexual abuse as well. That should mean something, and it does. I do the gig, even though I hate it.

For all the fictional writing on the forum, and the responses, 'we' have not obviously hooked anyone yet so this may end up being a regular meeting. If so, that will be frustrating. Normal Siren/Vampire meetings are hard enough, what with all the pretending to be someone I am not, and having to be on one hundred percent alert all the time to see if anything useful slips out from Larry, or someone else at that bar. I have no future in politics if this role is an example because I dread every time I have to go and play this role.

This is the kind of stuff Helen digs. She is the family politician. That did not matter because even if the Siren's would accept her in the talks, which they would not because she is a female, Helen is still gone. Jessica and I both frequently look up the stairs to where Helen used to be, and it's always a depressing moment.

As far as I have been able to determine Larry is pretty low down in the scheme of Siren hierarchy, but that's only fair. I am hardly high up in Vampiredom. Sure, I live with a Councilwoman. Sometimes. When she is not off doing business.

Or being mad at me.

I have no official position on Council, other than I report everything Larry says to the head of the Council, Victoria. Sometimes others, depending on who needs to hear some new thing.

I always report to Helen, when she is around. I am totally OK with giving her anything that helps her in her political world. I tell her things, and she points out things I missed. Things I thought insignificant but that Helen considers important.

Part of what makes me dread these meetings is that the point of them is not to really make progress. It is about making sure that each species knows what the other is up to. There is no trust between us, and given our relative histories, that is understandable. Vampires tried to wipe Sirens out of existence after all.

Larry likes to operate the inter-species talks from his home turf: surrounded by other Sirens. This may seem a bit cocky but I never worry about my safety when I am at the Siren bar. I have fought Sirens and an ancient Vampire in the bar turned into a battle arena. As any proper geek would know the phrase: 'Hulk smash'. I smashed lots of things, including Sirens.

I have street creds here.

If Larry wants to feel a little more comfortable being at his place, I'm OK with that. It's not like he is really safe. What protects him is that I am not someone that enjoys killing and also he is an ass but not worth killing.

I also am in his place, which means, as intelligence operations go, I always learn more about Sirens than they learn about Vampires. I see their place. I see how they treat each other. I see and scent a room full of subtle clues about what is going on. How everyone is reacting to what is being talked about. If the Sirens were smart, they would do this on neutral turf. From Vera alone, I know that some are very smart. That makes me think that I can only see a coating to a deeper world here. This is what the Sirens WANT me to see.

The Sirens have learned about Vampires. They saw me in violent action three times, and that is valuable information. They realized they had bad Intel about Vampires and our capabilities, and that stopped their Vampire wipeout plan. The one we knew about, in any case.

I also get free beer.

Larry and I have been talking about a treaty for a while now. Larry doesn't care if a treaty emerges or not. Larry likes the feeling of the power and the responsibility flowing through him. It enhances his standing with the local Sirens and probably gets him laid a great deal although not by Vera. Nothing ever really needs to move forward for Larry. He likes the status quo just fine.