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“This meeting only includes those in the North American region. After several discussions, we decided more could be accomplished in the short time we have through smaller group meetings. The topics each group will address are the same. We will spend the next two nights discussing them. On the last two nights, everyone will reconvene with each region presenting their decision. At that point, we can decide if we wish for a unified solution across the globe, or if certain issues are better addressed at the regional level. Any questions?”
No one said anything as Alistair looked around the room. The scent of nervousness faded as the humans focused on the task at hand.
“Good. Now I will sit in on each of the meetings. Stephen will oversee the discussion. If you please, Stephen.”
Stephen stood up, all business. Gone was the smiling, joking friend from yesterday.
“Tristan, the projector,” he said, addressing Vegas’ artificial intelligence.
A light appeared on the ceiling above the table. Stephen stepped out of the way as words showed up on the blank wall behind him.
It read: Human violence against vampires.
Stephen didn’t look at the screen, instead addressed the room. “You’ve all been notified beforehand of the topics for discussion. They’re also in the folder in front of you.”
Gabby opened the folder and scanned the sheet, which detailed the itinerary for the day, including the times for the meetings and break times. The second page had the first topic on the top, with a few bullet points listing current statistics and countermeasures for human violence against vampires.
“Today’s first topic is human violence against vampires. As you know—”
“These topics are all related to vampires.” Everyone’s attention jumped to the speaker, who dared to interrupt a vampire—an older Anglo-Saxon male in his fifties with short gray hair and piercing gray eyes who had the bearing of someone used to being in command.
The Secretary of Defense, Bill Karlson, Nikolas told her.
He looked down and flipped through the pages as he continued, “Violence against vampires. Discrimination against vampires. Increasing presence of vampire-run businesses. What about vampire crimes against humans? The people are scared as is. If we increase vampire presence in their community, even in the country, we might have another riot.”
Stephen remained calm and collected, not a hint of annoyance from him for being interrupted. Gabby smiled inwardly. Her friend had changed from the hotheaded male she’d known.
Next to her, Felix leaned back in his chair and stretched out his long legs. When his right leg brushed against hers under the table, she shifted away and scowled at him. He gave her a slow smile. It would be too childish to stand up and move away from him now.
Stop distracting me.
Stephen will take care of it.
She had no doubt Stephen will, but she needed all the knowledge at her disposal. If she had lived through the changes of the last few centuries, she could be as lax and bored as Felix was.
She told him as such.
Nikolas and Maria had been an invaluable help in transitioning her into this new period, but she needed to stand on her own two feet as soon as possible.
“We’ve established a joint task force of vampires and humans to track down vampire criminals,” Stephen explained in a no-nonsense voice.
Gabby sat taller. She had not heard of this.
“We tested out the task force in the last decade in a few cities like New York and Chicago and deployed it in all the major cities in North America beginning last October. We have seen a significant increase in humans reporting vampire crimes. The resolution rate across the board for the joint task force averages eighty-five percent, which I understand is significantly higher than the resolution rate for a typical human police force.”
Felix watched as Gabby’s lips tilted up slightly at the jab Stephen made. He didn’t know she’d be so interested in what he considered a boring and pointless meeting with the humans. With her gone, he hadn’t been interested in how the world functioned and had done the minimum to keep Eden together.
Considering how the world had changed more in the past century than the last thousand years combined, her interest made perfect sense. It once again hit him how little he understood the new Gabby, the vampire who’d matured away from him.
He’d been stuck in time ever since she’d died in his arms. The memories brought needling pain to his chest. Unless he learned to move on, he’d lose her again more permanently than when she’d died.
But how could he balance his primitive desire to protect her against her demands for freedom?
Felix plotted while a part of him paid attention to Stephen. If Gabby found this interesting, then he’d listen in, too. Who knows? Maybe he’ll learn a thing or two.
“—same law for all vampires,” Stephen was saying. “However, for human criminals, the laws vary by state and country. For example, in California, murdering a vampire has the same sentence as murdering a human, but in Louisiana, the sentence is half compared to the sentence for murdering humans. Our goal is to agree on the same punishment across the board. After the Gathering, we will work to pass and implement the laws.”
Someone scoffed. “Good luck.”
