Chapter Text
Someone was knocking on the door. Carmilla rolled over, hoping that would stop the noise. When it continued, she groaned. “Lora, can you get the door?”
“I checked the cameras,” came the reply. “He’s your pet, you have to take care of him when he bangs on the door in the middle of the day.”
Carmilla groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. Loreli pulled it off again. “Loreliiiiiiiiii,” she protested.
“Carmillaaaaaa. Go take care of your raccoooooon.”
Carmilla rolled out of bed, and walked to the door. Her left knee protested at the weight, but her wheelchair was charging and she didn’t know where her cane was, so it could deal with that.
She opened the door, and Jonny almost fell inside. He looked dishevelled, even more than usual. He was wearing his usual eye makeup, but it was excessively smudged, and…Carmilla had to admit that he looked a lot like a raccoon.
“I need your help,” he blurted, catching himself on the doorframe.
A switch flipped in Carmilla’s brain. She had been going to lecture him on waking people up (it was 3 pm, she should never have to be awake at this hour, she had killed people for waking her up later than this). But now that she knew that her kid was in trouble… “I’ll make us tea.”
***
“What the fuck is this?” Jonny asked, staring into his cup of tea.
Carmilla laughed. She took a sip of her own tea, and the caffeine helped her feel a lot more human–or vampire–than she did when she opened the door. “It’s matcha. No I did not swap it for a dangerous chemical, and yes, it is supposed to be that green.”
“Is it one of those things that’s poisonous to some humans and not others?”
“No. Drink your tea.” When Jonny did so, she asked him, “What do you need help with?”
“Jack wants to hire me to be his hitman.”
Carmilla blinked. “Why? You’ve only murdered one person according to him. Aren’t there people with more experience?”
“I…might have taken credit for four other murders.”
“Why?”
“A couple of the people you and Loreli killed had bounties out for them,” he said defensively. “I’m not going to pass up on free cash.”
Carmilla sighed, but it actually wasn’t too bad of an idea. The problem was with what it lead to. “So why don’t you turn down the job?”
“So, that’s the fun thing! The job is to kill people who owe Jack money, so that their assets can be sold to pay the debt. Can you guess who’s number one on that list? Here’s a hint: his name starts with W, and ends with illiam aka Billy Vangelis.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah. He promised to get rid of my dad’s debt if I worked for him. I said I wouldn’t get involved in Da’s finances anymore, but…can I really go to his funeral, knowing there’s something I could have done to stop it?”
There was no good answer to that. Especially from a woman who had killed her own father. “Do you want my advice on whether to take the job, or on how to do it?”
“I think I’ve made up my mind about the job.”
“Then negotiate on a contract first, read it, and then both of you sign it. Know what the terms are, so he can’t threaten your father forever.
“And as for when you’re murdering someone, don’t look them in the eye. Don’t look at their face or know their name. Shoot them in the back. Pretend they’re a NPC in a video game. Leave immediately after the job is done. And I’ll be here for you. Even if it’s the middle of the day and I’m asleep.”
“Middle of the…Oh, yeah, you’re nocturnal. Wait, did I wake you up? That explains why you look so tired.”
“Do I really look that tired?”
“I mean, it’s normal for older people to look tired so maybe it’s not because of the sleep–”
“Older people?”
“Aren’t you a couple hundred years older than me? I’m pretty sure you qualify as a senior citizen.”
“You do realise how easily I could kill you, right?”
“You’re not going to do that. You love me.”
“Yes, I do, but dementia is a big problem among senior citizens…”
Jonny nearly drops his tea laughing.
***
“We should leave soon,” Loreli informs Carmilla as she gets back into bed.
“Don’t you need another part for the heart?”
“Yes, but that part’s in most stations. And your tests aren’t showing problems anymore, so we should install that part now and leave.”
“There are probably still things I haven’t tested yet,” Carmilla hedged.
“Then you can test those en route to the next station, and we can get the part there. We’ve stayed too long already.”
“There’s no whispers of vampires anywhere in New Texas. We can stay longer.”
“This is about your pet, isn’t it. You want to spend more time with him.” Loreli’s nails dig into Carmilla’s upper arm.
“Yes, but–”
“First we stay on a backwater planet for an extra couple of months so you can spend time with him. Then, next thing I know, you’ve turned him into a vampire, and left me. I–you can’t leave me.” She tugs on Carmilla towards her, and Carmilla feels something pop out of place in her shoulder.
“I won’t leave you. I promise.”
“Good. We leave in a month.” Loreli faces away from Carmilla, and her breathing evens out as she falls asleep.