What To Do Now?

Bill had been so out of touch with the world that he had locked himself in the safe haven that was his office. He had spoken briefly with Dexter and told him that he did not want to be disturbed, he just wanted to be left alone. He had cancelled all of his meetings for the next few weeks, his mind clearly not in the game after everything that had happened. Isabel may have be gone, the war was ended but in the end he had lost everything in the process.

His phone buzzed on his desk as he watched it vibrate itself almost towards the edge of the desk, it was a number that Bill did not give out very often so whoever it was needed to get a hold of him. He grabbed his phone off his desk, opened it and listened to the voice-mail that was left - Sam Merlotte.

Curious as to why Sam of all people would be calling him he hit call back on his cell placing it to his ear, the sooner he got this over with the sooner he could go back to wallowing in his self pity.

He heard his cell go off and looked at the caller ID. Seeing it was Bill, he picked up and sighed. -I see you got my message. I uh, think we should talk.- Things at the bar were dwindling down because of all these vampires thinking they could just come in and take over. He remembered Sookie saying a vampire king of that particular area had to control the vampires in that kingdom. Bill was supposedly a king, so he had to help fix this.

-I see you got my message. I uh, think we should talk.-

Hearing those words was the last thing that Bill needed right now, he was not in the mood to talk to anyone and especially Sam. Maybe this could distract him from his thoughts right now, Bill would take anything to shut out his mind.

"Merlotte the last time that we spoke you made it very clear that you wanted nothing to do with me" he recalled Melotte's words to him.

Sam sighed and rubbed his temples, frustrated. -Yeah, well...some things have changed Bill. You're supposedly this vampire king and we have a vampire issue. So do you feel like helping me or not?- He blew out a breath and stood from his desk, pacing his office.

-Something has to be done. Something to protect the town and the people in it. They don't deserve this Bill, to live in fear like this. There must be a common ground we can conceive between vampires and humans. Something beneficial to everyone.-

"Merlotte the last time vampires and human tried to achieve peace all hell broke loose. Do you really want to risk another war? There is no vampire authority left, no one to govern this great peace that you seek" he told Sam.

Bill sank into his chair pondering over Merlotte's words, the last attempt at peace ended up with Governor Burrell creating Hep V that had killed his youngest progeny and many other vampires.

"What do you have in mind Merlotte?" he sighed heavily.

He heard the hesitance and uncertainty in Bill's voice and felt the same way. He wasn't all that confident in his own ideas but he had to try. -Well, you can first start out by explaining to me what the hell is happening to vampires around here. They don't look right, got these black veins all over them and they walk like something out of Resident Evil.- He needed to know what he was up against. What was happening in the vampire community that humans and other supes didn't know.

Where to begin? If Merlotte didn't know what was happening to the vampires then this was going to turn into a long story.

"Governor Burrell was working on creating a virus that would that end all vampires, and with the help of Sarah Newlin he created the perfect weapon against us. It is in the True Blood, any vampire that drinks it will end in the same way as my youngest progeny. I advise that you refrain from selling any more True Blood. There is no known cure for this Hep V Merlotte. This may very well bring the end of all vampires" he told Merlotte honestly and openly.

If Merlotte wanted to know then Bill would tell him, everything was laid out on the table.

His brows rose and his eyes widened. -Hep V?- He was trying to follow, but all he gathered was the True Blood was tainted with something that could kill vampires. Genius as it was, it wasn't right. As much as he didn't care for vampires, he didn't see a reason to hurt innocent, well to do vampires who never caused any issues.

-Explains why these vampires are attacking, they are looking for fresh blood in hopes to cure themselves?- He pondered for a bit. -Is this fatal or harmful to humans? If a vampire bites a human, can they be infected?- He needed to know as much as he could about this in order to get with the Mayor on his findings.

"As far as I know it is not fatal to humans in any way possible. Although humans can be carriers of the virus but it will not cause them physical harm. One bite to an infected human the vampire will be lucky to last one or two days" he replied back with the best of his knowledge.

He sat up in his chair allowing his elbow to rest on the edge of his desk.

"I strongly advise that you do not sell any more True Blood Merlotte, Hep V has already spread to Texas and parts of Hawaii. It will not be long before Hep V takes over Louisiana. We need to stop it from reaching our streets" he ended sternly and direct.

He blew out a hard breath. -I'll make sure to throw the new case out. That's putting me down a grand already. Who else knows about the Governor? I'm in contacts with the Mayor of Bon Temps, he came to me to help figure something out. I'm pretty much at a loss, I mean it's not like we can screen the whole town and then pair vampires up with humans.- He chuckled and shook his head, a thought forming.

-Or...could we?-

"Everyone who was in that vampire facility, many vampires did not make it through the night as I recall. Every regent within the US knows of the situation but without a cure vampire will feed on humans without thinking. The Governor has started a war, and without a full understanding of Hep V it will end the very existence of vampires Merlotte" he ended making his opinion very clear to him.

But it was Merlotte's last words that caught Bill's attention and made him think seriously on the idea.

"It is possible. With the right equipment and samples...It is possible. But I hardly think the mayor of Bon Temps would agree to a vampire banquet on his door step Merlotte" he scoffed.

Sam thought about all Bill had said and stopped pacing, looking at his watch. -He screwed a lot up now it's up to us to fix it. If you're willing to help that is. I read your book, I know the type of man you are Bill. You're a vampire but you were one of the only different ones, compassionate. You care. I heard..things...but I know we all make mistakes. The priority is the well being of our town and the people here.-

He ran a hand through his hair and nodded. -About that.- He grinned. -The mayor informed me he plans to retire in a few weeks and he liked how I ran Merlottes, liked how much I put back into the town. When I brought it up to him about protecting the town, he offered me to run as his successor. He thinks I have a good shot, I'm still...not sure if I want that responsibility.-

Read his book? Well that certainly did have Bill surprised and especially that Merlotte had even picked up a book and none the less. His book. 

"The mayor is retiring? I hadn't expected him to last as long as he did in all honesty. But he offered you to run as his successor? Well I will admit that you are not the worst choice to have as mayor for this town. If you require my help on this I shall send my own personal advisor down to help in any means necessary. He can be very discreet if needs be, he can be trusted in these matters" he assured Merlotte.

Bill knew that he was alone, but all thoughts running through his head he had a hard time focussing on just one particular thought.

"I would advise that you do not make this your head campaign Merlotte, the last thing we both need is for the humans rallying against the vampires. They will retaliate by brute force if cornered" he advised Merlotte with a stern tone. There was only so much that Bill could do right now.

He chuckled. -Thanks Bill, I'll uh..I'll let you know. I haven't even told Nicole about it yet, no one knows. So keep that between us. I'm still not really sure what I want to do actually, but I do know I want to help protect the town. Fix all this mess with vampires and maybe come to some kind of arrangement.-

He moved over to sit at his desk again and kicked his legs up on the desk, reclining back in the chair. -Thank you for the offer though. Nice to know I have you in my corner.-

"Your secret is safe with me Merlotte, I can assure you of that....This is my home town Sam, I was born and raised here. I will do what I have to, to help you fix this town" he assured Sam.

This town meant a lot to Bill and it was were his children were born and raised. Bon Temps held a place in Bill's un-beating heart. He would help Sam where he could and do what he could.

Sam nodded. -I appreciate that. I'll let you get back to whatever it is vampire kings do.- He grinned and said his goodbyes, making a mental note of the things that needed to be done. He was running low on time and funds, but if selling the bar worked out right...then he wouldn't have to worry.