Keys

[holiday_pirner]

The man at the front desk of the swank hotel wasn't much older than Holly, she surmised, watching him from a bench in the foyer. He checked a few people in, intermittently answering the sleek black telephone. She stood and stubbed out her cigarette in the pillar ash tray, then approached the shining mass of mahogany.

"How can I help you, miss?" He gave her a customer service smile, the ambient lighting catching his brass name tag. Will.

"Hi, Will," she said, placing her hands, palms down, on the counter. "I've come here to visit my aunt, she has a suite here, but she forgot to tell her room number and I think she's out tonight with some colleagues." Holly looked at her suitcase, and he followed her line of sight.

"I just had a terribly long flight and all I want is to drop these things off and have a nice, hot shower." And here, she smiled, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones. He ducked his head, his own smile changing quality. "Her name is Julianna St.Clare. Could you make me a key?"

He nodded, grabbing a plastic key from beneath the desk. She waited patiently, pretending to study some of the adverts for the nearby casinos. The clerk slid a paper envelope across the counter to her. "Will you be needing anything else?"

Holly peeked at the room number written on the envelope. "That'll be fine. Thank you, Will." She gave him a backward glance over her shoulder as she rolled her suitcase toward the elevator.

Comments

[tiny_dancer81]

Jesus, she'd thought she'd never get out of there.

Theresa was on her way out, having just shut the door with a quiet snicking sound. She was dressed moderately conservatively, having been passed off as her latest client's niece, and the small purse she carried was heavier than it had been when she'd ridden the elevator up. She looked forward to spending the day sleeping, because it was very late.

The elevator dinged open, and the vampire stepped into the smaller space. She'd go back to Daniel's and crash while the sun was up, then count her savings. She'd have her own place soon enough, and then she could get out of his hair.

[holiday_pirner]

When the silver doors opened and Holly saw Theresa standing there, she had to smile. How could her week get any better? She entered the elevator, her eyes traveling over the smaller brunette.

"Late night?" She smirked, leaning against the handrail that wound around the square space. She pressed the round button for Julianna's floor, and it glowed orange.

[tiny_dancer81]

"Too fucking late."

Theresa had tossed a look over Holly's shoulder to make sure Daniel wasn't about to barrel inside and take up the incident of the other day with her, then leaned the back of her head against the wall of the elevator and closed her eyes. But as long as the human didn't seem pissed about anything, she could ride up with her. It'd help her get the lay of the land at her temporary home.

"I hate it when they take forever," she added as she re-opened her eyes to watch the floor indicator light up and then go dark. "I should have told him to stop drinking sooner." The vampire shook her head. Never mind, work was done for the night.

"Visiting or moving in?" she asked, gesturing at the suitcase.

[holiday_pirner]

Holly bit her tongue, lowering her head to keep from laughing. When she had composed herself, she spoke. "Oh, I hate when that happens, too." She tapped her fingers against the fake wood.

"Neither, actually," she said, holding up the key card. "I'm sort of breaking in." If she was careful and covered her tracks, Julianna need never know Holly had been there, unless the desk clerk opened his mouth.

What would the older woman do? Tell on her?

[tiny_dancer81]

Theresa raised one eyebrow, giving Holly a closer look. She took a sniff at the air. It didn't smell like she'd been drinking. Then she looked at the key card.

"Why are you breaking in?" She'd done some theft at hotels when she was alive, stealing cash and jewelry while the guests were out. The night clerk had been in on it, taking a cut of the profits. She'd done okay at it.

"C'mon, you gotta tell me," she prodded. "I can help, maybe. Who are you gonna steal from?"

[holiday_pirner]

"I'm not stealing anything."

And that was another issue that separated the human from the vampire. Holly didn't know what it was to want for anything material. The idea of stealing from Julianna was a needless one, and hadn't even occurred to her.

She wondered, then, what it must be like to be Theresa.

"I only want a look around the place. Maybe some papers, or..." Holly trailed off. So she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for, but she had some time to kill and it had seemed a good idea at the time.

[tiny_dancer81]

That was less exciting, but Theresa wanted to ingratiate herself with the human. She was manipulative and opportunistic, but if she liked someone, she'd at least try to make friends.

"The cleaning people don't come in until just after dawn," she said. "In a city like this, most people are just starting to hit the after-hours bars and peep shows. Vegas isn't much different than Hollywood, there's just less chance of seeing the ocean. Party all night, sleep all day."

The elevator arrived at the floor Holly had chosen, and the doors whooshed open silently. The diminutive brunette poked her head out, looked up and down the hallway. It was a ghost town out there. The doors tried to close. She put one hand out to keep them open.

"Come on. Let's go take a peek."

[holiday_pirner]

Holly led Theresa down the hall, silently reading off the small plaques with the room numbers. She stopped in front of the corresponding door, sliding the black stripe through the reader. Green means go.

She opened the door; the room was in complete darkness save for the red glow of the alarm clock. The drapes were drawn shut, but slivers of moonlight struggled through.

Her hand searched the wallpaper for a switch. The hallway light came on, illuminating the two women. "Anything you touch has to be put back exactly as it was," she told the vampire, her voice low.

"And if you're going to steal, which I wouldn't recommend, don't take anything that will be immediately missed. Got it?"

[tiny_dancer81]

"Fine, I'll behave."

It was a whisper, as if they were in a library or a museum. Theresa could smell perfume, something really expensive. There was more than one room in the suite, the bedroom separate from a small sitting room and leading to a balcony. The bathroom was off of the hallway.

The vampire took several steps into the sitting room. The television was a silent gray square in the gloom. Her eyes were sharp enough that she could see without light, but Holly would need more illumination. She turned, picked out the human by pinpointing her heartbeat.

"Let's get some more light on the subject. Try the bathroom first. If someone's going to hide something, they pick the john because they think that's the last place you'll look."

[holiday_pirner]

She considered this begrudgingly. While Theresa had the wealth of experience in this matter, Holly would never admit it. "I know that," she said sulkily.

Holly entered the bathroom, the heels of her shoes striking against the tile floor. There was a small bag on the vanity counter. She zipped it open carefully.

Hair brush, tooth paste...the brunette pulled out a box. Durex. She nearly dropped it. "Well, at least she's practicing safe sex." She nudged it onto the counter. Nothing of note there.

"Hey, Theresa. Do you need condoms?" She suppressed a giggle. She was sleep-deprived for sure.

[tiny_dancer81]

Theresa moved to the bathroom door, saw the box of condoms on the counter, and she covered her mouth to bury the snicker. "That's a lot of rubbers. They must keep busy."

There were two large suitcases in the bedroom, one open and one closed. The vampire clicked on the bedside lamp, carefully sorted through the clothes in the open one. Slacks. Blouses. A jacket. Designer labels. Underwear. Black silk, Theresa could tell when she touched it. She was unable to resist pulling out a bra, stared at it for a minute in the yellow glow of the lamp.

"Whoever she is, she must have a sensational rack," she said, holding it up to her own small breasts. "I'm jealous."

She put the bra back, taking care to not re-arrange the other things in the suitcase too much. "You said we were looking for papers?" she said, raising her voice a little so Holly could hear her. "Like papers from a bank, or something else?"

[holiday_pirner]

Holly exited the bathroom just in time to watch Theresa playing with the bra. "Can you not? I file this under Things I Can Never Unsee." She shook her head, crossing her arms and scanning the room.

"Her notes, maybe, or some letters." She crossed the room to the nightstand, pulling out the top drawer. A box of tissues, a phone book, and a spare remote control.

Maybe she should feel bad about invading the woman's privacy like this. Holly paused, trying to see if she could pinpoint any guilt.

Nah.

"Any ideas, Iris?"

[tiny_dancer81]

"Ha."

Theresa put her hands on her hips, looked around. There was a writing desk, but that only held some pens with the hotel name on them and stationary with fancy letterhead. The bed had been turned down for the night by the maid when the room had been vacuumed that morning. Nothing under the bed.

"Check the closet," the vampire suggested, pointing at the closed door. "You're taller than I am, if something's on the shelf I won't be able to reach it."

[holiday_pirner]

She stalked over to the closet. Julianna had hung up some dry cleaning, but other than that, the closet was largely empty. Holly stood on tip-toe, sweeping her hand over the top shelf. Her fingers brushed over something, and she pulled it out.

It was a manila folder. She flashed it at the vampire. "And the lady is a winner."

Holly took a seat on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and settling the folder in her lap. She opened it and pulled out the first page. There was a sharp intake of air as she read the first paragraph.

[tiny_dancer81]

"What's the Watcher's Council?"

Theresa was over Holly's left shoulder, craning her neck to see because she was nosy and because this caper was going to be pulled off with her help. It looked like a letter, and the vampire rubbed the back of her neck as she scanned over the words.

"The death was accidental, but due to the unusual circumstances of the event we must deal with this in-house. Said Slayer will be taken to an undisclosed location and stripped of her abilities that we may bestow them on another subject. She will then be incarcerated in an asylum for the rest of her lifetime." The shorter brunette looked at the mortal, confusion plain on her elfin face.

"Is that what you wanted to find? What's a Slayer?"

[holiday_pirner]

"Someone made to kill you," she replied, her voice chilled. She flipped through the other pages. A letter from someone named Edmund. Holly took note of the address. London.

The human shut the folder and stood, smoothing out the wrinkle she had left in the duvet.

"It isn't fair," she said, looking at Theresa. "She didn't know. And they've locked her up forever, and it was all their fault."

Holly was beyond torn. From feeling sympathy for the former Slayer, to thinking of Daniel being in danger from the very same women, to Julianna's lies, and her father. It was too much.

[tiny_dancer81]

Theresa felt something weird at that, an inner twinge, and she unconsciously placed a hand over the spot where her heart no longer beat. Dane had never told her anything about something called a Slayer. Her existence, the existence of her kind, was common knowledge to someone who could kill her?

She flashed back on Dane's dying screams, the way he'd burned. Had that been a Slayer's doing? She'd thought they were just someone who'd been pissed off by something he'd done, but what if she was wrong? She was very young for one of the undead and hadn't had enough time with her sire for him to teach her everything.

Her reverie was broken when she saw the expression on Holly's face, and cool hands came to rest on the mortal's shoulders. She didn't do the comfort thing, didn't do a lot of touching at all unless it was sexual, but her hands were gentler than they could have been.

"Hey. Hey. Stay with me. I'm your friend." It was an exaggeration, but Theresa didn't feel like splitting hairs. Not when somebody might have killed her sire over something other than a grudge. He'd been kind of a moron, but he'd made her.

"I'm your friend."

[holiday_pirner]

Holly wondered what it was about herself that convinced others she was on the verge of mental collapse. Maybe there was something to this. "What makes you my friend? What do you want from me?"

Then it hit her as she studied Theresa's face. "Don't worry. I'm not going to tell Daniel on you."

She turned and began straightening the room, putting Julianna's belongings back in their perfect places. How could she think what the Council did was right?

[tiny_dancer81]

Theresa made a face, dropping her hands so she could fold her arms across her not-that-impressive chest. She'd been telling the truth, she was jealous of this stranger's bra size. The toe of one shoe drew a line in the carpeting, then moved in the opposite direction, erasing it.

"Four months ago, someone set my sire on fire with gasoline," she said, and you'd have had to really listen to hear the note of confused hurt in her voice, but it was there. "Burned him into a pile of ashes. That's why I'm not in Hollywood anymore, I ran for my fucking life because I thought they wanted to kill me too. I thought he'd made somebody mad. Maybe I was wrong."

She was getting uncomfortable again, feeling too human, and she focused her attention on the folder in Holly's hands. "I didn't want him to kill me, but he did because he took me literally when I said I felt like dying. I learned to cope with it because it was done. If one of these...Slayers did something to him, that kind of pisses me off."

[holiday_pirner]

She stopped, her grip on the folder tightening. Had she actually hurt a vampire's feelings? Her first instinct was to shrug it off, ignore the other brunette. Anything to avoid discomfort.

"Sorry," Holly said. "That must have been...difficult."

Crossing the room, she replaced the documents back on the shelf. "Why don't you kill people? Wouldn't it be easier to just kill them and rob them, rather than sleep with them?"

Holly surfaced from the closet, meeting Theresa's eye. "You're a vampire. You can."

[tiny_dancer81]

"What do you think I was doing other than whoring before I had fangs?"

Theresa's voice was matter-of-fact now, and she made eye contact with Holly because if she wasn't a cautionary tale, no one was. "I had a nose that would outdo a Hoover vacuum cleaner and needed a way to pay for it. It was easier to put out for cash than to try and get clean."

She sniffed at the air, rubbed the spot over her silent heart. "And it's like I said before, murder is pointless and just draws attention to yourself. I don't have to prove how big my metaphorical dick is. I just want to survive."

[holiday_pirner]

"Let's continue this after school special somewhere else, yeah? She might be back at any moment, and our hands are quite red."

Holly took one last survey of the suite. She had tidied everything. She grabbed the black plastic handle of her suitcase.

"Come on."

[tiny_dancer81]

Theresa shut her mouth and went because she was uncomfortable too, and she didn't even pick up the slim wristwatch she saw lying on the bedside table. Those were probably real diamonds. Whoever this chick was, she must have been loaded.

"So what do you wanna do now?" she asked Holly once they'd left the room and closed the door. "I was planning to go back to Daniel's and crash before the sun comes up. I don't know where he goes when he's not at his apartment."

[holiday_pirner]

Holly pressed the elevator's call button. "I have to make a phone call." Once inside, she pressed G. The desk clerk couldn't see her leaving with Theresa and a suitcase. They'd exit through the garage.

'I don't know where he goes when he's not at his apartment.'

She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

[tiny_dancer81]

Theresa wasn't the type to tell Holly it was going to be okay. In her experience, things were seldom okay on either side of the grave. It was all a matter of little moments of happiness and contentment. The elevator started its journey down.

"He wants to take you dancing, to this club I told him about. If you're trying to reel him in, you should totally go for it while he's fresh on the hook."

[holiday_pirner]

"Thanks for the advice," Holly said wryly. She closed her eyes, letting her head rest against the cool wall of the elevator. Each floor dinged on their descent.

She would have to find somewhere to stay, but first, sleep.

[tiny_dancer81]

"You're wired and tired, aren't you?"

The vampire's voice bordered on being kind when she said it, and the elevator was making quick progress because of the lack of foot traffic at that hour. She couldn't wait to sleep herself. And it would be fall soon, which meant the days would start to shorten.

"Hey, Holly? It really is true. What doesn't kill you really does make you stronger."

[holiday_pirner]

Holly opened her eyes when they reached the parking level. She retrieved her car keys, the jingling sound echoed against the concrete.

When she reached her vehicle, she had to stifle a yawn. Just looking at it made her tired.

She turned back to look at Theresa. "You would know, I guess."

[tiny_dancer81]

"Ha. Yeah, I guess that's the definition of irony."

She could get a cab back to Daniel's. She was reasonably flush, and Holly probably wanted some alone time to think. It wasn't the vampire's nature to crowd someone, and she didn't do the touchy-feely thing.

"Sleep for at least twelve hours," she told the human. "If you try to make decisions while you're punchy, you'll make the wrong one."