Chapter Text
“Are you okay?”
Doris gazes at him in concern, and Guy exhales in frustration.
“Yeah. Just disappointed.”
They’ve ducked into a local bar for Guy to get some food, and Doris to find some low-life to drain. Even though Guy’s back in the U.S., his life hasn’t returned to normal. He’s not sure if it ever will — or if he even wants it to.
This is the third lead they’ve followed to try and find his mom, only to be met with another dead end. Guy doesn’t blame Doris, she’s actually very helpful and sweet. After what went down in London, Guy thinks of her like an aunt. Which may be silly since she’s arguably the most valuable asset to the Talamasca, but it is what it is.
He doesn’t see her as an asset like they do, anyway. She’s a person. Well, a vampire, but still.
“I’m sorry, Guy,” Doris says, dropping her gaze.
“It’s not your fault,” Guy sighs. “I’m not mad at you.”
Guy’s grateful for her help. They’re connected through Keves and Helen, and although Guy knows that Doris is anxious to disappear to protect him, it seems like she’s determined to help Guy find his mom first. Maybe he can convince her to stick around, after they do.
“Who are you angry at, then?” Doris asks, studying him. Now that he knows she and Helen are twins, Guy notices all their little similarities. Doris looks at him with the same sad worry that Helen did.
“The Talamasca,” Guy chuckles. “Do you even have to ask? They’re the fucking worst.”
Doris shrugs. “Yeah, they are. But I don’t think you’re only angry at them.”
“What?” Guy frowns.
Guy’s burger arrives then, but he doesn’t touch it despite his hunger. Doris hesitates to answer.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“You’ve just been in a bad mood,” Doris says carefully. “All the time, even when we think we’re close to finding your mom.”
“So what?” Guy scoffs.
Doris sighs. “Nothing. Eat your food.”
Guy does, but he’s not happy about it. He tries to tap into Doris’s mind to hear what she really wants to say, but like always she’s locked up tight.
“What about you?” Guy nods at a single guy sitting at the bar. “He would be fine. Thinking about all the good times he’s sexually assaulted women.”
“He’ll be happy to meet me then,” Doris says, standing up.
“Until he’s not,” Guy mutters.
Guy learns more about vampires on the road with Doris. He learns that they’re not all the same.
Doris told him that, in London. That she’s not very powerful, and can’t read minds or stop time. Not like Jasper could.
Guy notices other differences, too. He notices that Doris’s nails aren’t as sharp, her fangs not as large. She’s not as strong or fast as Jasper either.
Maybe the differences don’t really matter, but Guy can’t stop noticing them. He can’t stop noticing, and thinking about Jasper.
He only knew Jasper for a day, but for some reason the vampire left a strong impression on Guy. Maybe it was the piercing blue eyes, or the army of zombie vampires.
Probably the zombie vampires.
Every time Doris stalks off to feed, Guy thinks about Jasper. He never killed or fed in front of Guy, but Guy remembers his fangs. He remembers how sharp they felt, barely touching his skin as Jasper pinned him down in that parking garage.
When Guy wakes up each evening, in some uncomfortable bed of whatever cheap hotel they’re staying at, he thinks about Jasper’s bed he slept in and the vampire waking him up.
One time, they checked out a fancy hotel that his mom may have stayed at. When Guy took a bathroom break, he had to blink a few times since the gaudy bathroom looked similar to Jasper’s, where he healed Guy’s forehead.
It’s like Jasper marked Guy so deeply that he didn’t go a day without thinking of him. Still, Guy pushes away all thoughts of him as soon as they happen. The guy tried to kill him, why is he thinking of him?!
Well, you hit him with a shovel and left him to burn, something inside Guy points out.
Guy firmly tells himself to shut up and focus on the fucking task at hand of finding his mom.
“So what’s our next move?” Guy asks.
It’s a few hours past sunset, and they’re at some roadside motel in Alabama. Doris has a map spread across the old table, and Guy tries not to think about how close they are to Texas.
I walked from Bolivia to Texas —
“I didn’t want it to come to this,” she sighs. “But I need more information about your mom.”
“Why?” Guy frowns. “Didn’t you say that you knew where she is?”
“I said I thought I did, Guy. But I think my information is outdated, or at least incomplete. I escaped the Talamasca years ago, your mom might not be using the older safe houses or places I know about.”
Guy grimaces. “So what now?”
Doris taps a spot on the map.
“We need to go to the New York Motherhouse.”
“I don’t like this,” Doris murmurs.
“This was your idea!” Guy protests.
“I know and I don’t regret it,” Doris rolls her eyes. “I’m just saying, I don’t like it.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like it either,” Guy mutters. “You’re sure we don’t have any other options?”
They’re sitting in a late-night coffee shop across the street from the New York Motherhouse. They’ve been here for a few weeks, watching the comings and goings and being very careful about keeping their heads down. They’re actively wanted by the Talamasca after all, it’s very risky to do this. Guy’s willing to take the risk to find his mom.
The risk is a lot greater for Doris, since the Talamasca would lock her up and throw away the key if they get their hands on her again. Guy’s worried about her, but he’s not going to refuse her help when she’s his best chance.
“This is the best option,” Doris says. “How’s your range today?”
Guy closes his eyes. He lets the noise of the coffee shop fade away, and tries to focus on a Talamasca agent walking up the steps into the Motherhouse. Guy hears the guy running through his to-do list for the night, making a mental note to order cat food, and an image of the coffee he’s going to make in the break room. He watches through the guy’s eyes as he heads to the elevator, and presses the button for the second floor.
As the elevator starts up, a flash of pain stabs Guy’s temple and he hisses, blinking rapidly and clutching his head. He loses his connection to the guy’s mind, and reaches for the painkillers in his pocket.
“To the elevator,” Guy groans. “This isn’t working.”
“Yes it is,” Doris reassures. “A few days ago you couldn’t make it past the door from here. We’ll keep practicing.”
“And how long will that take?” Guy says. “It’s been two weeks! How many more nights of camping out here, hoping the Talamasca doesn’t notice us?”
Doris presses her lips into a thin line. “Then what do you suggest? Waltzing into the Motherhouse and just asking for what you want, like you did with Jasper? How did that turn out for you again?”
“Shut up,” Guy snaps.
Doris stares at him, and Guy immediately feels guilty.
“I’m sorry, I don’t know where that came from.”
He runs a hand through his hair, and tries not to think about Jasper doing the same in that bathroom. Tries to convince himself that the only reason he’s thinking of that right now is because Doris brought Jasper up.
Doris sighs. “Guy. I don’t like it anymore than you do. But it’s the best plan we’ve got.”
Suddenly, someone slides into the booth next to Doris.
“What if I told you there’s a better plan?”
“Olive,” Guy grits out, clenching his first. Doris looks like a deer in headlights.
It’s over. The Talamasca caught them. They’ve probably already got all the exits surrounded. Guy wonders if he can make a scene big enough to get lost in the crowd —
“Calm down before your head explodes,” Olives drawls. “The Talamasca doesn’t know you’re here.”
“You’re the Talamasca!”
“Officially. But as you’ve known since London, I have my fingers in many pies,” she grins.
Guy scowls. First Raglan James, now her. Why is the Talamasca such a clusterfuck? Do they really pay so badly?
“What do you want with us?” Doris asks.
“Why, the 752 of course,” she replies. “I know you have it.”
Doris and Guy trade a glance. It.
She doesn’t know it’s you, Guy mentally speaks in her mind. Doris nods slightly.
“Why should we give it to you?” Guy asks.
“Because I won’t tell the Talamasca you’re here,” Olive says slowly, like Guy’s stupid.
“If you do that, I’ll just tell them you’re working with Jasper,” Guy counters, irritated. “I have the memories to prove it.”
Olive frowns in genuine confusion.
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“Jasper,” Olive says. “The Talamasca have him in Amsterdam.”
Guy stares at her, dread creeping up his spine. “What do you mean, have him?”
“Restrained,” Olive shrugs. “Captive. I heard they’re using him to make their own personal army of vampires. Kinda cool, right?”
Guy’s stomach drops, and his head spins.
Jasper, held captive and restrained by the Talamasca, the very people he hates most in the world? Guy can practically hear his voice, see his face as he told Guy about what happened to his family in Bolivia. How the Talamasca ripped his family apart, scarring Jasper so badly that he made it his life’s mission to destroy them.
Guy also remembers what Jasper said to him, about how many vampires there were in the world. Not enough.
And now the Talamasca is using Jasper to make vampires out of their own people? Against his will, in chains?
Guy feels like he’s going to be sick.
Doris watches him with worry, her eyes shining with are you okay, but Guy can’t think clearly enough to mentally answer her right now.
Doris turns to Olive. “Instead of threatening each other, how about we all get what we want?”
“Oh?” Olive says, amused. “What do you propose?”
“Information about Guy’s mom, in exchange for the 752.”
“No,” Guy manages to say, shaking his head. “No, Doris.”
“It’s okay, Guy,” Doris murmurs, placing a hand on his arm. It grounds him, helps get his mind off Jasper and back to the present.
Their eyes meet, and Guy hears her thoughts. I can take care of myself. She seems like she wants the 752 to herself. Maybe we can all run from the Talamasca together.
“I don’t like it,” Guy mutters.
“Guy — ”
“I’m down,” Olive announces, leaning back against the booth. “If we all cooperate, we’re more likely to get what we want. Quid pro quo is always better than blackmail, in my experience.”
“It’s settled,” Doris nods. “You help us get information on Guy’s mom, and we’ll let you have the 752.”
“Easy,” Olive says. “Except for one problem.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?” Guy grumbles.
Olive smiles.
“We’ll need a vampire.” Doris opens her mouth, and Olive snorts. “Not you. You’re weak, right? It’s why you didn’t expose yourself as a vampire in the first place? No, we need a strong vampire to help us get something specific.”
“What?”
“Time.”
Olive smirks.
“After London, the Talamasca upped security on all the Motherhouses. Paranoid, in my opinion. They followed you over here, did you know that?” Guy’s eyes widen, and Olive laughs.
“Don’t worry. I took care of it for you. Couldn’t let them get their hands on you before I could, eh?” She takes a swig of Guy’s drink. “The upped security is the problem. I could go in there and get the information, but they’d know about it immediately. The search would ping, and I’d never make it out the door.”
Guy doesn’t know what she’s getting at, but Doris’s eyes light up in understanding.
“We need a vampire who can stop time, giving us a chance to get in and out without them seeing.”
“That’s right,” Olive grins. “All we need is a powerful vampire. I think Burton’s still around?”
“No,” Guy says firmly, making both women look at him. “Not Burton.”
Olive frowns. “He’s the easiest, and the closest. Who else?”
Guy stares her down, all the emotions he shoved back during their conversation rising to the surface. Now that he knows, he can’t ignore it. Can’t ignore him.
“Jasper.”