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Vlad sat calmly in the Mayor’s Office. Hands folded in his lap. A soft smile playing at his lips. However despite the put together unconcerned appearance he was anything but. His body ached from his last fight. Bruises hidden underneath his meticulously pressed suit. Thankfully it was just bruises now instead of the deep laceration he had not hours before.
Carefully, in what seemed to be a casual move, he shifted taking weight off a particularly large contusion. It wouldn’t due for his current company to be suspicions. Especially not with Daniel hidden in the room not a few feet away invisible to the eye. His Little Badger having come to start their weekly verbal spar only to be interrupted before he could even get the first syllable out.
Despite all their disagreements Daniel still trusted Vlad to not give away his position. If that was a conscious decision or one made instinctively by his more ghostly instincts would remain a mystery. Vlad wasn’t sure how much Daniel understood about his new constitution now that he is no longer human. It had taken him quite a bit of time to adjust. No doubt Daniel still is.
The man that had interrupted their once a week verbal spat was one to be cautious of for all that he didn’t know him personally. His black suit just as perfect with attention to detail. Posture straight as if he was once or possibly still is in the military. Vlad grandly waved to the chair on the other side of his desk. An offer to join him on friendly terms. Equally terms. “Please have a seat Mr. ... ”
The man’s eyes swept around the office before finally settling on Vlad. No doubt not seeing anything amiss. No one would ever find this office anything but perfectly mundane. Pictures of him together with his old friends, Daniel’s parents, set on a side table. His degree and certifications hanging on the wall. Some posher furniture to show off his wealth and like of higher end commodities.
A good lie, he has found, is one that has some truth in it. Put out things that are common knowledge and mix in a bit of more personal information. Make it so no one wants to dig any deeper then the surface. It is how Vlad has been getting by all these years. Ancients know that if he didn’t his secrets would be out by this point.
The man nodded in thanks taking the offered seat. “Smith.” He replied. Voice rough as if he was chewing on gravel. Nothing else was said as he stared at Vlad. Brown eyes piercing. ‘Smith’ was a very common name. You could find dozens of Smiths in a single town, let alone the country wide search needed to track this one down. The man was extremely bad at acting like a civilian. Although maybe he never intended to.
Vlad cleared his throat fringing an awkward gesture to the sudden silence. “Well then. Mr. Smith how may I assist you this fine afternoon?” The man placed down a folder on the desk. Calloused hands flipping it open to reveal several pictures. Most of them blurry, but painfully obvious for anyone that lived in Amity Park. Ghosts.
“It has come to the government’s attention that your town is under threat of... supernatural entities.” The man said. Voice even like he was discussing the weather. Vlad frowned at the photos having spotted some of Daniel and himself. Thankfully their features were blurred due to their natural ghostly presents. “What is even more interesting is that your town has never reported the attacks or requested funds to rebuild.”
“Yes, well who would believe that ghosts were real and attacking a small town in the middle of nowhere?” Vlad deflected his smile strained as he slid the photos to the side. A small stack of papers coming into view holding detailed information on various attacks that have happened over the past couple of years. “It is a sad reality that we have been dismissed as a hoax. On one memorable case even a scam for money.”
“Ah, yes.” The man agreed while leaning back in the chair. “The thing is that you did not even try to push it through. However without fail the creatures attack only for the battleground to be cleaned up and fixed without anyone the wiser. Except for the residents of course. Residents that post videos of the fights. Photos of the creatures flying through town.” He said while tapping the folder. “All the while no one asks for aid against the threat. Almost as if all requests are silenced.”
Vlad stiffened in his chair. Eyes glaring out at the man. “I am unsure of what you are implying Mr. Smith. Perhaps it would be better for you to get to the point.” Daniel had shifted closer while they had talked. Leaning over the desk to see the photos. He could feel the cold patch at his shoulder that the Little Badger naturally created due to his ice core. Vlad itched to sooth the young half ghost, but resisted. It definitely wouldn’t do for the man to know they were not alone.
“The point Mr. Masters is that you are hiding this town.” A second folder joined the first. This one however much more personal. Vlad narrowed his eyes at the papers detailing his history. “Vladimir Masters, forty three years old, CEO of VladCo and current mayor of Amity Park. Son of one Claud and Lenuța Masters. Immigrants from Romania. However that is not the most interesting part.” Mr. Smith said as he leaned forward.
“You went to the University of Wisconsin along with Jack and Madeline Fenton. The three of you built a little club to prove the existence of ghosts. Not a year later you were hospitalized with an unknown sickness that left you bedridden for three years. Miraculously you got better and went back to university getting a business degree slowly amassing a fortune. A fortune that we are unable to follow.”
Vlad sat quietly listening to the man speak. Face blank of all expression. There was nothing new in the files or what the man was saying. He had made sure to leave on trace of his less than legal activities. The cold spot moved to his other shoulder no doubt leaning down to read the file. It wouldn’t surprise him if Daniel tried to interrogate him after this. Sure the boy knew about his parents being friends with Vlad and how he got his powers, but nothing much past that.
“Despite all this you decided to move to Amity Park two years ago. A town of your two ghost hunter friends. A town that coincidentally started being attacked by unknown beings at that exact time. It is quite interesting how these things line up, isn’t it?” The man concluded. Eyes hard as if trying to get Vlad to confess all his secrets.
However Vlad had been in this game far to long to be intimidated by the man. “What government did you say you were from?” He asked instead of answering the man’s question. See this man was not like the petty government officials he was used to playing with. This one was a lot more military oriented and the file pointed to a lot more resources then what was normally allotted.
“The only one that matters.” Mr. Smith replied. Vlad hummed and slid the files to the center of the desk. Allowing space to fold his hands as he leaned back. He ran his eyes over the man again trying to glean any information that he missed the first time.
“Is that so.” Vlad drawled out. “You see. I don’t believe you are.” The man stiffened in affront. Obviously not used to people questioning his authority. “If you were in fact from the United States Government, for example the CIA, then you would know that there is already governmental help here. The GIW. Professionals in the supernatural field and helping to contain the problems we face. No you are something else.” Vlad leaned forward eyes glaring at the man that dares to enter his territory. “Who are you and what do you want?”