SNAP: The World Unfolds

CHAPTER TWELVE

We landed in Newark a little before five in the morning.  It was still dark and dim lights in the hangar didn’t make much of a dent in the cavernous gloom.

I’d slept a couple of hours but Jean-Louis was still awake.  “Let’s spend some time talking,” he said, “before I get some sleep.”

“OK, what’s so important that the Baron designated you as the official breaker-of-news?”  I was cranky.  Lack of sleep, the adrenaline hangover and resentment of whatever special status Jean-Louis had, made me snappish.

“Has anything struck you as different at SNAP?” Jean-Louis asked.

“A lot of things, but I’ve never had such a responsible job at such a rich company before.  What specifically?”

“It’s not just the money, it’s that SNAP is a vampire company.”

“A lot of people think Murdoch is a vampire,” I started when he interrupted me.

“I’m not talking about the business practices, I mean real vampires,” his voice was deadly serious.

“Oh, come on.  You mean the blood-sucking, flying-around-at-night-in-capes kind?  Like the guy who attacked me this morning?  From the Huszar family?  Like the demon, Carlos?”

“That’s a little over the top, but basically, yes.  We don’t fly around at night in capes or attack people and suck blood, but we do live on blood.”  And at that he smiled fully for the first time since I’d met him.  His canine teeth were pointed and fang-like and I recoiled.

“Get away from me!  Don’t touch me!” I screamed, ran into my bedroom and slammed and locked the door.  What the hell was this, some kind of sick joke?  I’ve been dumped before but the guy didn’t show me fangs to chase me away.

Jean-Louis knocked lightly on the door.  “Don’t be afraid, we knew you weren’t one of us.  That’s one reason we recruited you.”

“Who’s ‘us?’” I stammered.  I was backed up on the bed, hugging my arms around my drawn-up legs and trying to keep my neck covered.  The past day had just gone to the sublime.  There weren’t vampires and demons, right?  And they sure didn’t run international conglomerates.

After the attack in the garage, I knew I didn’t have much physical courage.  Now I felt what moral courage I’d stored over the years up gush out.  I was beyond scared, I was almost speechless with terror.  With one of the nameless fears of the dark side facing me I felt myself blacking out.

Jean-Louis’ voice, calming in its everyday tone, came to me from the other side of the cabin door.  “Well, starting with the Baron, there’s me and Carola and Chaz and Mira and several other production people.  Some of the night crew, obviously.”

“How...what....why me?”

“We watched you for a couple of years.  We, the Baron, really liked your charging right in and taking things on.  Your understanding of the kind of journalism we do, your not being afraid to tackle the big people and the hard questions.  There are tons of publications, emags, blogs, magazines, cable shows today.  It’s not like Photoplay and Silver Screen anymore.  Everybody covers celebrities and we need to keep our place at the front of the pack.

“We also needed a regular to be the door, the portal, between our world and yours.  The person had to be quick, unafraid, knowledgeable, able to relate to both worlds.  When I say we watched you, we were watching a few others, as well.  But you’re the one we wanted.  You’re the key that translates information for us.  We want to expand into what were the Eastern Bloc countries, and especially into Asia. India, Southeast Asia, even China are economies on fire and more than three billion people live there.  The advertising alone is staggering. 

“That’s why the Huszars want you.  They think they’re going into competition with us and they need you for instant credentials.  They watched us become powerful and wealthy and realized they’d missed the boat.  They stayed home and killed people for food.  We went out and found power, and food, in other ways. Jealousy really riles the blood.”

I was reeling. 

“You’ve heard that there’s a vampire colony in the Los Angeles area, right?” he asked.

“I’d always heard that.  But I thought it was just one of those urban myths,” I managed between numb lips.  “Like alligators in the sewers.”

“Don’t you remember a few years back when there was an alligator in that lake?  He got there because somebody dumped him and he sure wasn’t a myth.  We’re not either.  The Baron will be telling you more of our history, but I’m supposed to get you acclimated to the idea that you’re working for vampires.”

At that point I didn’t think I’d ever be acclimated.  This was just too big to wrap my mind around.  At UCLA we had acquaintances who’d dressed all in black, wore cloaks, slept all day and partied all night.  But there were just college kids, playing.   Or so I’d thought.  What if some of them were members of the colony?  How big was the colony?  Where did they live?  How did they live?

I started to stammer a question but Jean-Louis’ voice overrode mine. “Open the door and come out and talk to me.  I’m the same person you’ve worked with and even the same person you’ve danced with.  You weren’t afraid then.”

God, he was right!  I’d danced with a vampire?  How was that even possible?  I got off the bed and sidled to the door.  “If I come out you won’t grab me will you?”  It came out through chattering teeth. 

He gave his throaty laugh.  “No, I won’t grab you.  You’re far too valuable to us as you are.  Besides, if I was going to grab you, I’d had plenty of opportunities before this.”

I stuck my head around the corner of the door.  He was standing there and looked just the same.  Black hair, dark-blue-verging-on-violet eyes.  My mother’s voice, Don’t trust anyone prettier than you.  He still was prettier and I wondered how she knew what would happen.