Schiller snorted. “Of course there’s a list. If vampires are drinking from bottles, like you claim they are, then there’s a list for distribution.”
Gregori sat once again. “Most vampires don’t get home delivery. It would look odd to have blood delivered to your house, and vampires are experts at blending in and going unnoticed. We simply want to go about our jobs and our lives in secret.”
“Do you really expect us to believe you’re harmless?” the secretary of defense asked with a dubious look.
“For the majority of Vamps, that is true. Synthetic blood was invented in 1987, and since then, most Vamps have switched over entirely to bottles.”
“Most Vamps?” General Bond asked. “So some vampires are still going around attacking innocent people?”
Gregori shifted in his chair. It looked like he’d have to go to Plan C. “Yes, just like there are some bad mortals, there are some bad vampires. We call them Malcontents.”
“They’re a small faction that takes pleasure in feeding off humans and killing them,” Sean Whelan explained. “The good Vamps have been fighting them in order to protect us. Just a few nights ago, the Vamps defeated a small army of Malcontents. Their leader, Casimir, was killed in battle. That’s what you saw on the video.”
“The video showed a decapitation,” Schiller said. “That doesn’t sound harmless to me. Why should we trust you?”
“You can trust us because we’ve been risking our lives for centuries to protect you.” Gregori leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “You say you want an alliance with us? The alliance is already there. You just didn’t know about it.”
“What sort of things can you do for us?” the national security advisor asked. “What kind of powers do you have?”
There it was, the question Gregori had feared would come up. “Our sight and hearing is a little better than normal, but that’s about it.”
“What? You don’t have special powers?” President Tucker shot an alarmed look at the CIA director. “You said they have supernatural powers.”
Caprese regarded Gregori with narrowed eyes. “We believe they do.”
Gregori shrugged. “We don’t fly or turn into bats.”
The general eyed him with a disgusted look. “If you can’t do anything for us, why should we help you?”
Gregori adjusted his cuff links. He’d tell Roman and Angus that he had no choice but to demonstrate some powers. Otherwise these guys thought Vamps were worthless. “We have a few abilities you might find useful.”
The president smiled. “Now that sounds more like it.”
The general snorted. “We don’t need these Vamps. They can’t do anything our armed forces can’t do.”
Gregori leaned forward. “Mortals are not equipped to fight the Malcontents. We are. And we’re willing to fight them to protect you.”
The general shrugged. “We can solve that problem by getting rid of all of you. It’s not like we’d be killing you. You’re already dead.”
“We’re American citizens,” Gregori said. “We go to work, pay our taxes, and follow the laws—”
“You’re damned unnatural is what you are,” the general insisted. “The world will be much better off without you.”
Gregori clenched and relaxed his fists, wishing once again that he had a stress ball. There was no reasoning with the general. He’d have to go with Plan C. Show off some of his powers.
He removed the ice bucket from the stand and set it on the coffee table. Rising to his feet, he grabbed the thick wrought-iron stand and bent it easily into a circle.
“Excellent,” the president whispered, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
“Let me see that.” The secretary of defense took the metal loop and tried to straighten it. His face turned red with exertion.
“Superior strength,” Caprese said. “Impressive.”
The general shrugged. “Big deal. I have servicemen who are that strong.”
Gregori zoomed around the men in a flash of vampire speed. The men reacted with gasps and startled expressions.
“Amazing!” the president said.
Gregori came to a halt behind General Bond and tapped him on the shoulder. “If you were a Malcontent, I would have snapped your neck.”
The general leaped to his feet. “He threatened to kill me! Arrest him!”
“No, I didn’t—”
“Arrest him now!” the general ordered.
The Secret Service man lunged toward him, but Gregori teleported to the other side of President Tucker.
“Mr. President, I wasn’t—”