‘Something like that,’ Emily agreed, taking off her coat. ‘Where is he now?’ She asked, sitting down and flicking through the handover notes.
‘Don’t know, don’t care. I’m out of here. See you later. Have a great day. Let me know if it’s something interesting.’
‘Will do. See you later.’
*
‘Emily. You’re here. At last. Did Amanda tell you that I needed to see you as soon as you arrived?’ Simon crouched down and slid an arm around the back of her chair. Emily eyed the arm and replied,
‘She said you wanted to see me, yes.’
‘It’s 9.30. You’ve been here for nearly an hour already.’
‘To be fair, you’ve not been in here to be seen.’ Emily swung around on her chair, forcing him to move back, and indicated his empty desk. She shrugged. ‘I’m here now. And I can see you.’
‘I guess you’re back with him.’
If this was all he was interested in…
‘None of your business.’ Emily shrugged again.
‘Which means yes.’
‘What do you want, Simon? Amanda said you’d asked her to call me at five this morning. It wasn’t to discuss my personal life.’ It came out more harshly than she’d intended and she was surprised to see him look rather taken aback.
‘Emily, I hope we can rise above any personal issues we might have.’
What did he want, she wondered? She replied slowly, choosing her words with care.
‘I don’t have a problem with that.’
‘Good. I need your help with something.’ Emily bit back a sarcastic comment.
‘What can I do for you?’
‘I need you to call two of your clubs. They’re both big clients and I know that you know their ad reps well.’
Emily raised her eyebrows. ‘Why don’t you call them yourself? I’m sure you’d have much more clout than me. You’re the journalist.’
‘True, however I need a subtle approach on this one. I’m trying to find out their plans.’
‘I’m sure they’d be more than happy to tell you.’
‘Maybe, maybe not. This is for the new update section on the Net that Bernstein has set up. Breaking news, specifically regarding the HeadHunter case.’
‘Has there been another murder, at one of the clubs?’
‘Yes to the murder, last night, no to at one of the clubs.’
‘Surely the murder will be the lead story then?’
‘Obviously. And I’ll be getting back to the scene as soon as I get this sorted.’
Emily shook her head.
‘What do you want to find out?’ Her hand hovered over the screen to bring up a database of clients.
‘I heard a rumour last night, before the murder, that Frank McNamara and Dave Blackwell are planning to start segregating their clubs.’
‘What? But that’s illegal.’
‘Not strictly true. Each club has the right to refuse admittance. It’s policy.’
‘I know that, but surely they won’t turn away customers.’
‘They won’t be if you think about it a little less emotionally.’ Emily bristled, but Simon continued, ‘Same customers. Just no crossover. Humans out, bloodsuckers in.’
‘But why? Anyway, how will they tell? Unless they’re suddenly going to be employing a lot of vampire doormen.’
‘No, no. They wouldn’t be able to trust them even if they did.’ Emily chose to ignore that comment. ‘No. I heard they were planning on using adapted card readers.’
‘That is illegal. Always has been,’ Emily said.
‘That’s why I need you to find out what’s going on. If they have the guts to do it, that’ll be six vampire free clubs,’ Simon pointed out.
‘Seven actually,’ Emily said, hardly bothering to keep the dismay from colouring her voice. ‘Frank owns four, Dave three. And they won’t be ‘vamp free’ as you say, they’ll just be segregated.’
‘Will you do it please, now?’
‘Do I have a choice?’
‘Not really. I can pull rank if I need to.’
Simon’s phone began to ring. He pulled it from his pocket.
‘Got to go. Security Forces on the phone – details about the latest victim, I guess. Mail me when you find out. I’ll be back later.’ And with that, he left.
Emily sat, stared at the number for Moonshine that she’d pulled from the client base. It was McNamara’s biggest club. How ironic that it should be that one, where Rachel died, where she and Lucas had first met. She was tempted not to make the call, but Simon had planted the idea. Surely, he had to be wrong? She needed to find out.
‘Hi Elliot. It’s Emily Gregory over at the Entertainment Times. How are you?’
Emily spun out the polite conversation with Elliot Thompson, her contact. It had to be a while since she’d called, she had to agree, and had she heard? The club’s revenue hadn’t gone down since ‘that girl’ had died. Emily swallowed anger at the throw away comment, resisted the urge to say ‘That was my friend’. Time to steer the conversation back to what she needed:
‘Anyway, heard you might want to update your ad for this week’s edition.’
‘Really?’ Elliot’s voice was suspicious.
‘Yes. I heard you’re offering segregated entry to all your clubs?’
‘Who did you hear that from?’
‘Just one of our journalists.’ She wasn’t going to let Simon totally off the hook. ‘Also heard that Dave Blackwell’s doing the same with his.’
‘It’s true. I was going to sort it out tomorrow, but as you’ve called me, I might as well do it now.’
‘But why? The clubs have always been mixed.’
‘The boss feels it’ll give people a greater sense of security. There are people who don’t trust the vampires,’ Elliot said, although Emily noticed that he lowered his voice.
‘What? Whoever’s doing these murders isn’t necessary a vampire you know.’
‘I know that. But I’m sure there’s plenty of vampires that’ll feel safer with just their own kind as well.’
‘And you’re just going to rely on people being honest?’
‘No. We’ve got some new, adapted credits card readers.’
‘Illegal though?’
‘Apparently not. The Security Forces are installing them later this week. We’re offering special entry prices, to give people that extra incentive. The boss is expecting the clubs to be heaving. Can I mail you the details later – once the design team have got it sorted?’
‘Of course.’ Emily sighed and ended the conversation.
She composed a succinct mail to Simon:
‘Rumours are true. They are going to segregate. SF have approved new card readers. Claimed it would be reassuring for all customers.’
She sent it, trying to ignore the chill feeling of unease that settled between her shoulder blades.
‘Thanks for the message,’ Simon said as he re-entered the office later in the morning. ‘Picked it up on my phone.’ Emily shrugged. ‘Can’t stop. Article to get done.’
‘Same as before? The murder?’
‘Yes. Decapitation. Head in a different place. Quote from RAGE. Man this time. And two more reports of missing bloodsuckers. It’s dangerous out there. Thanks again.’
A message appeared in her mailbox from Simon towards the end of the day, just as she was beginning the handover notes for Amanda. As he’d been civil to her, she decided to read it:
‘Thanks for the detective skills. Maybe we’re a good team after all? Pity that this segregation business will limit where mixed couples can party.’
She should have known he wouldn’t be able to resist. Not that she cared. There were plenty of other places to go. She finished the notes and then put her coat on. She had a few moments to spare before Amanda was due. She clicked onto the paper’s Netsite.
There, in the all new ‘Updates’ section was the announcement of the segregation of the clubs. The final sentence of the editorial was
credited to Bernstein, but Emily couldn’t help thinking it was all Simon:
‘The ET approves this radical but essential move by these brave club owners. We trust that more will follow suit in helping keep everyone safe.’
Almost against her will, she read the details of the previous night’s murder. The RAGE quote was along the same lines as the others – a call to arms, to restore society to the way it should be. How there could be any doubt that a human was responsible for all this, Emily did not know. The RAGE quotes were so obvious. Too obvious, Simon would argue. And why vampire victims too if it was a vampire? She wished she had some answers, wished someone did.
One thing she did know however, was that segregation was playing into the HeadHunter’s hands. This would just make it far easier for him to pick his victims. One from the humans. One from the vampires.
Simon was right: It was dangerous out there.
Fifty Seven
Emily’s phone rang just as she was about to enter the newspaper building the following morning. It was Lucas. Even the warmth of his greeting did little to shatter the cold of the morning.
‘Hi. Where are you?’ she asked.
‘All safely tucked up in bed. Where are you?’
‘Just outside work, but wishing I was there with you,’ Emily replied.
‘Me too. I won’t keep you then.
‘No. Tell me what happened last night. I saw a few protests on the NetNews about the segregation of the clubs, but there wasn’t much.’
‘I don’t know much more than that. I wasn’t there long. Gabriel was there obviously. This situation seems to have awoken some sort of public spirit in him. Spurred him into action. He was one of the key organisers. That’s why I went along really.’
‘Were you at Moonshine?’
‘Yes, for a bit, then Gabriel moved on to Checkers to see how it was going. I’d had enough by then and went home. From what he said, it was pretty successful. Most of our kind either joined the protest or just stayed away. Hardly anyone went into the clubs. I think there were a few hundred protestors outside at the peak times.’
‘Good that there was no trouble,’ Emily said.
‘Not much anyway. There were a few arrests, I think. Mainly people who’d had a bit too much to drink. There were plenty of Security Forces around. Rather a lot, now I come to think about it.’
‘I guess they just wanted to keep everyone safe.’
‘Probably. I’m sure it’ll all turn out to be nothing.’
‘I hope so. Anyway, I’m nearly frozen out here, and you’d better get some sleep.’
‘I suppose so.’
‘Good night then,’ Emily said.
‘Good morning. Speak to you later.’
Emily smiled. She liked the way they always ended the conversations that they had at this time of day. She was glad too, that nothing had come of the previous night’s vampire demonstrations. The sooner everything was back to normal, the better. Still, that wasn’t going to happen until the HeadHunter was caught.
On reaching her work station, she found a note from Amanda saying that she’d left early to join the protest. Volcano was her favourite club, according to her message. Emily turned the computer on and logged in. The large screen as you entered the building that always carried the headlines had told of the protest with the words: ‘Vampires shun segregated clubs’. Probably not the best headline anyone had come up with, she reflected.
She hoped Lucas was right – that this was just a moment in time. Shorter for him than her, no doubt. She pushed the thought away. Even though she fully accepted who, what, Lucas was, thoughts like that, reminders of the length of his existence so far, still made her insides tangle. All that he must have seen and done, that life he’d had… his wife and child.
When she allowed it to, it overwhelmed her, scared her even. How could he possibly settle for her? She couldn’t imagine, didn’t want to, getting older, getting old even, while he stayed the same. How could he possibly want her then?
Before starting work properly, Emily read the full report on the vampire protests. Nothing she didn’t know already. Was the tone slightly condescending? Superior vocabulary trying to make out that the protest had been trifling, hardly newsworthy at all. Simon was credited so that was entirely possible. Had he been there? she wondered. That was a strange thought: Lucas and Simon in the same place.
Perhaps she’d call Elliot again, see how things had gone down at Moonshine from their point of view.
She dialled the number, pen tapping out the rhythm of the ringing down the line.
‘You need to put that phone down. Now.’ Simon said, his voice low. He put his finger on the hang up button.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing?’ Emily’s tone was sharper than it would have been with anyone else, but then, no one else would have acted like that. ‘I was about to make a call.’
‘I could see that.’
‘Then, I repeat, what the hell do you think you’re doing?’
Simon didn’t answer, but squatted next to her. He glanced around the office, as if to check who was in there.
‘I need you to do something for me,’ He was speaking in a voice that Emily considered too loud. Too obvious. She looked at him. His face was serious. She bit back a further retort.
‘Here, I’ll write down the contact for you.’ Again – too loud. Now she was the one looking furtively around. There was no one who seemed to be the least bit bothered or even interested in their conversation.
Simon took her notepad and wrote,
‘Don’t make any calls to advertisers today.’ Emily looked at him. He read her frown now, correctly, as a sign of protest, but as she opened her mouth, he wrote,
‘Don’t argue.’
Aloud, he said,
‘Is that possible?’ Emily narrowed her eyes. To the rest of the office, it would seem like a simple follow up to his request.
‘Maybe,’ she replied. Simon rose.
‘It needs top priority. And don’t forget to check your messages.’
Without even a backward glance, Simon marched off to his desk and gave his full attention to his computer. Emily sat still for a moment. What was going on? Something wasn’t right surely? Something more than just this vampire ban. Why wasn’t Simon crowing his glory at that? Emily shifted uncomfortably in her chair.
She clicked through to her messages. What she read there froze her.
‘To all employees: The Entertainment Times has been given information pertaining to a total ban on vampires in the clubs listed below. This will be in effect from the end of the human hours tonight.
‘This information does not need verification by any employee. Any employee found attempting to contact the listed clubs will receive a formal disciplinary warning. All calls to and from the office will be monitored from this point on. All staff will refrain from using mobile phones within the building, unless special permission has been granted.
‘If this information is proven to be incorrect at some point in the future, the Entertainment Times will not hesitate to print an apology.’
Emily could not look away. Formal disciplinary warning. Her heart banged into her ribs seemingly hard enough to fracture them.
Slowly, she turned to look at Simon. He’d saved her. She shook her head. The icy feeling that had crept over her when Simon had been talking to her now claimed her completely. She sat, unable to move. What was she going to do? Carry on as if everything was normal? She looked around her. It seemed as if everyone else was doing just that.
She looked back at her computer screen. The message had been sent five minutes after the end of the vampire shift. Small wonder there’d been nothing from Amanda about it. Simon really had saved her from a whole heap of trouble. Her hand hovered momentarily over her keyboard, and then she stopped herself. She couldn’t possibly send him a message to say thanks, no matter how cryptic. If calls were being monitored, then mail messages certainly would be.
Her eyes fell on
her notepad. On what Simon had written. She’d better get rid of it. She stood, limbs unsteady, leaden, and crossed, with the note amid a wedge of scrap paper, to the main office cross-shredder.
As she returned, she looked across at Simon. He was watching her now. She risked a small smile. He nodded an acknowledgement and then turned his attention back to his keyboard.
It had been a bizarre day, Emily thought as she began to tidy her workstation towards the end of her shift. She’d definitely be glad to get to the safety of her flat tonight. How she’d filled her day, she wasn’t sure. She’d made calls, of course she had, but very polite, very formal calls to clubs that were not on the list. Her heart had spent a great deal of time cluttering her mouth in case any of her contacts had mentioned the vampire ban. None of them had. Another sign that something was going on.
Reaching into her bag, she saw that her phone was flashing. She glanced around. No one was watching. Surely she could risk seeing if it was a message. Missed calls. Five of them. She dared a further click. Four from Lucas, one from Amanda. Maybe Amanda had been delayed. Fair enough, but four calls from Lucas? He knew what time she finished.
She still had half an hour to kill. She could check the Net edition. She clicked the desktop link. The headline there shouted another murder. She scanned Simon’s latest article. Everything the same. No detail of the quote to go with this one though. Was that what Lucas wanted to speak to her about? Did he know something? He’d been in the Entertainment District last night, for the protest. Had he seen something? No. Surely he’d call the Security Forces, not her. No. It had to be about something else.
She clicked through to the article about the new segregation rules.
‘TOTAL BAN. The Entertainment Times believes in the light of last night’s vampire protests, several clubs have decided to close their doors to the vampire community.’
The article then listed the names of twenty clubs, some of which had been running the original segregation policy, but not all.
Plenty of people had read it, she noticed. Plenty had chosen to comment too. She randomly clicked on one. And could hardly believe what she read.
Praise for the bravery of the clubs. Praise for taking a stand. She clicked another, much the same, and another. She could almost separate the comments from the humans and those from the vampires. Same level of fervour; admiration or outrage their main distinction. How could people live in this society and hold such views? The vampires had a right to be angry. The humans? They were just hypocrites. They all worked alongside vampires. Until the other day, they’d socialised more than willingly beside them too. Where had all this hatred come from? Surely all these comments couldn’t have come from RAGE members?
Symbiosis: A Vampire Psycho-Thriller Page 31