"Claire, Shane, come in," she said, and cut a glance at her assistant. "We're not that formal here."
The receptionist's mouth tightened into a lemon-sucking pucker, and she stabbed at the keys on her computer as if she intended to sink her fingerprints into them.
Mayor Moses-that sounded so strange, honestly-closed the door behind the two of them and said, "Sorry about Olive. She's inherited from two previous administrations. So. What was so urgent?" She indicated the two chairs sitting across from her desk as she took her own seat and leaned forward, elbows on the smooth wood surface. There was something elegant and composed about her, and something intimidating, too....
Hannah was a tal woman, angular, with skin the color of very dark chocolate. She was attractive, and somehow the scar (a souvenir of Afghanistan and her military career) just worked to make her more interesting. She'd changed her hair; the neat cornrows were gone now, and she'd shaved it close to her head in a way that made her look like a beautiful, scary piece of sculpture.
She'd exchanged her police uniform for sharply tailored jackets and pants, but the look was still somehow official...even to the Morganville pin in her lapel. She might not have a gun anymore, but she still looked completely competent and dangerous.
"Here," Shane said, and handed over his ID card. "What the hel is up with these things?"
He certainly wasn't wasting any time.
Hannah glanced at it and handed it back without a smile. "Don't like your picture?"
"C'mon, Hannah."
"There are certain...compromises I've had to make," she said. "And no, I'm not happy about them. But carrying ID cards isn't going to killyou."
"Hunting licenses might," Claire said. "Michael's letter said they were back in force. Each vampire can kil one human a year, free and clear. Did you know that?"
That got her a sharp, unreadable look from the mayor, and after a moment, Hannah said, "I'm aware of it. And working on it. We have a special session this afternoon to discuss it."
"Discuss it?" Shane said. "We're talking about licenses to murder, Hannah. How can you sign up for this?"
"I didn't sign up for it. I was outvoted," she said. "Oliver's got...influence over Amelie now. In defeating the draug-which we had to do, for the safety of the human population-we also removed the only thing that vampires really feared. They certainly aren't afraid of humans anymore."
"They'd better be," Shane said grimly. "We've never taken any of this lying down. That's not going to change."
"But-Amelie promised that things would change," Claire said. "After we defeated her father, Bishop. She said humans would have an equal place in Morganville, that allthis hunting would stop! You heard her."
"I did. And now she's changed her mind," Hannah said. "Believe me, I tried to stop the whole thing, but Oliver's in charge of the day-to-day business. He's put two more vampires on the Elders' Council, which makes it three to one if we vote along vampire versus human lines. In short, they can just ignore my votes." She looked calm, mostly, but Claire noticed the tight muscles in her jaw, and the way she glanced away as if reliving a bad memory.
Claire followed her gaze and saw a lone cardboard moving box in the corner. Hannah hadn't had the job very long, so it could have just been unpacking left to do...but from what she knew of her, Mayor Moses wasn't one to just let things sit around undone.
"Hannah?"
The mayor focused on her, and for a second Claire thought she might talk about what was bothering her, but then she shook her head. "Never mind," she said. "Claire, please take my advice. Drop this. There's nothing you can do or say that wil change her mind, and Amelie's not the person you knew before. She's not reasonable. And she's not safe. If I could have put a stop to this, I would have; seven generations of my family come from Morganville, and I don't want to see things go south any more than you do."
"But-if we don't talk to Amelie, what are we supposed to do to stop it?"
"I don't know," Hannah said. She seemed angry, and deeply troubled. "I just don't know."
At times like these, Claire was sharply reminded that Hannah wasn't just some smal -town sheriff upgraded to mayor. She had been a soldier, and she'd fought for her country. Hannah had taken up arms in Morganville before, and in a fight there wasn't anybody Claire wanted at her back more (except Shane).
"That's not an answer," Shane said. He tapped the identification card again. "You're not serious about really carrying these things."
"That's the new law of the land, Shane. Carry it or get fined the first time. Second time, it's jail. I can't advise you to do anything else but comply."
"What do we get the third time, stocks and public mockery?"
"There wouldn't be a third time," she said. "I'm sorry. I really am."
He looked at her for a long moment, then silently put it back in his pocket. Claire knew that look, and she saw the muscle jumping uneasily along his jawline. He was counting to ten, silently, letting go of the impulse to say something crazy and suicidal.
When he let his breath out, slowly, she knew it was okay, and she felt tension she didn't even know she had start to unbraid along her spine.
"Thanks for seeing us," Claire said, and Hannah stood to offer her hand. Claire accepted, though she still felt awkward shaking hands. Trying to be professional always made her seem like a fraud, like a kid playing dress-up. But she tried to hold Hannah's gaze as she returned the firm, dry grip. "Are you sure you won't come with us?"