27. Watch Your Ass

H arlow eyed Tony and Charity as they sat down across from him at the dining table, Foxx taking the seat next to him.

"Before we go into the new pain in the ass situation that's cropped up…" Tony sighed and slid a large manila envelope onto the table, pushing it towards him. "As of one hour ago, you are officially registered."

Foxx sputtered. "Already?! How is that even possible?! It took them six months to fully process my damn registration form! And that was only after multiple invasive bloody in-person screenings!"

Harlow eyed the envelope. Foxx wasn't wrong… It was pretty fast. While there were laws about how quickly one had to register with the Paranormal Existence Acknowledgement Registration Agency, along with rules on when and how many times one had to update one's file… The fact was…those dates were more for when one had to submit the registration form and/or the PEAR amendment paperwork. It was basically impossible to be fully registered within the month's time they gave for new turns, and those who just came of age, because of how tedious all of it was, on top of…well, just the normal, poorly run government agency thing. As long as your paperwork had been submitted within the time frame it was fine.

"I guess it is possible when you have connections," Harlow mused while grabbing the envelope, and finding it not sealed, he dumped the contents out. A PEAR ID fell out, along with a piece of paper that was a processed and accepted registration form with official stamps and everything.

He picked the ID up, examining it. The species listed was dhampir. It had all the normal government seals on it, with the most noticeable one, and the only one not faded in the background, being the one that depicted a trait from one's species. In his case, it was similar to the vampire one, except there were four fangs instead of two.

His date of birth, and all that other legal stuff, was there. The picture was oddly…recent—just a headshot on a white background, his expression empty. If Harlow wasn't wrong, it was captured from surveillance footage at the Guild. It's a good thing they use some high-quality security cameras, he supposed.

Tony grunted. "You'll be amazed what can be pulled off if you kiss enough asses and pull a shit ton of strings. Me vouching for him did help. As did the fact that Harlow had just recently had a Guild physical due to his back."

"It's official," Charity chimed in. "And the information is live. I even checked the database myself. Good timing all around as now I don't have to bother faking a vampire registration form for you."

"Really, all that is left is to wait and see how the vampire council reacts when they find out," Tony said with a sigh.

"And they will find out," Foxx stated. "Even if they aren't supposed to have access to the database, they do. Someone will be monitoring the system, especially after the one successful registration…followed by a few failed attempts."

"What about my job?" Harlow asked.

As great as it was that he was registered, it didn't really address his lack of humanness. Which had been a requirement, as far as he knew, for his current partnership with Foxx.

"I started talking to the higher ups about that…but…" the man hesitated.

Charity snorted. "You say that when you already know what is going to happen. Not nice, lightning bug."

The other human rolled his eyes.

"You, my dust bunnies, are being restricted to paranormals only. I read the new law, and the bylaws of the Guild, along with the shit ton of legalities surrounding hunters, and…technically there is no law or rules against it.

"And on another wonderful and convenient technicality, the new law is actually quite vague when it comes to the section about granting paranormals permission to join the Guild in a partnered capacity. While it clearly states that humans must be paired with a paranormal partner, there is no such requirement mentioned for paranormals, in terms of them having to be paired with a human. In fact, it only mentions—again, vaguely—that you must be paired, but doesn't state with who."

"So, we are good to stay together?" Foxx asked with a giggle.

"Yes, sunshine," she laughed. "You two are good to stay together and carry on in your insanity."

Tony scoffed. "For now… We don't know what the higher ups will ultimately decide or try to change. But for now, you two are in the clear to continue your jobs in a limited capacity. Cases involving humans are off the table, as neither of you are human. There are protocols dealing with safety, that due to how the current laws are written, you can't use them now.

"Harlow, you should know exactly what protocols I'm talking about. As for you, Foxx, you should know at least one of them, considering it was activated in order for you to wipe out those human cult members last year.

"Either way, the laws could change, but probably won't. Which means, if you get put on a case and discover humans are involved, you will have to step back and call in another team."."

Harlow blanched. "Call in another team?"

There were a lot of protocols coming to mind that he would assume he couldn't use now, due to him no longer being human. And as for the one case last year…Harlow remembered it a bit too well. He was the one who activated the protocol. A protocol that Foxx, at the time, had no clue about…and no ability, or as it turned out, permission to activate on his own. Harlow had apparently firmly joined the club of people who did not have permission to activate shit—lucky him.

"It is what it is." The human shrugged. "Normally, human cases are easier to handle. So having a team just for paranormals shouldn't cause too many problems. But that brings us to the next pain in the ass situation…the not so easy, human-involved case."

"Maverick," Harlow grunted.

Foxx cleared his throat. "We have something to say about that too. And as what we have to say may change what you have to say…we should probably go first."

Tony's brow pinched as he slowly said, "Okay…"

"Okay, as in…go?" Foxx asked with a frown.

The human rolled his eyes and waved him on.

"Right. We secretly took a pint of blood from the last infected vampire we faced."

Tony's eyes widened, while Charity cried, "Ahhh, my honey bunches are so smart!"

"Did anyone see you do it?" their boss asked.

"If you're asking if anyone has tried to blow us up like they did those trucks, the answer is…not yet," Harlow drawled.

"We gave it to Doc." Foxx pulled a small tube filled with blackish, brownish, murky blood out of his pocket and set it on the table. "Doc filled this up for me… Just in case something happens to him. We figured you'd hold on to it."

After discussing it with Harlow, they'd decided that with Harlow likely being a target for Maverick, it was best to not keep it with them.

Tony eyed the vial. Picking it up, he held it out to Charity. She blinked and slowly took it with a frown. "Harlow, and by proxy, Foxx, are likely on Maverick's radar. But so am I. You are, however, an unknown to him, Charity. And he has no reason to think you have formed any sort of attachment to Harlow. In fact, from what he knows of Harlow's personality, he would never imagine you'd hold any sort of importance to the man at all."

"I feel…" Harlow mused with a smile. "That there was an insult in there somewhere."

"There definitely was," Foxx snickered.

"I feel the insult was more towards me," Charity huffed. "Harlow, you better at least care about my ass to some degree!"

Glaring, the woman pulled out what appeared to be a leather lip gloss holder. Opening it, she switched the blood vial with the lip gloss inside, snapping it shut before dropping everything back into her purse.

"Well?!" she snapped when the dhampir remained quiet.

Foxx glanced at Harlow, and found the man eyeing her. "You…are…a person that is…one of my things."

Charity gasped sharply. Choking on air, she began to cough.

Tony, on the other hand, threw his head back on a laugh. "Charity, that is as good as it's going to get, I'm afraid."

Foxx giggled. "I mean, it could be worse. At least your declaration didn't come with a threat to kill anyone who dared to try to date you."

"What?!" the woman croaked, sounding alarmed.

He just smiled when he felt the glare coming from his right, and began snickering as his chair was dragged sideways, an arm sliding around his waist.

"As if you didn't love every fucking threat I made," Harlow growled. "You love me, remember, brat."

Foxx huffed as he faced him. "But I was denying it at the time, so like, really, besides being slightly turned on, I also wanted to smack you. Though, the smacking thing is really an ongoing battle of wills."

Harlow smirked. "Since when have you ever held back, brat?"

"Since I started dating a dirty old man who likes to kiss my ass."

"I mean, there is just so much to kiss," Harlow murmured as he stood. The man's hand slipped around and down, his other joining it as he cupped Foxx's ass.

"There will be less to kiss if you keep biting it."

"It's not like I actually take a full bite. Just a nib?—"

"No more!" Tony snapped.

Foxx blinked, glancing over at the two humans. Eyes wide and looking startled, Charity's cheeks were flushed. Tony, on the other hand, just seemed angry. The vein on his forehead was bulging in a slightly concerning way. And…it wasn't the first time Foxx had noticed the vein there… Maybe the man should get that checked out…

"For fuck's sake, did you two forget you weren't alone?!" the man hissed.

"Less that we forgot, more just a lack of caring," Harlow said blankly with zero shame.

Tony scoffed in disgust. "Returning to the topic at hand. You need to be careful, Harlow."

He rolled his eyes. "I feel like I've heard that way too often lately."

"Stop pissing people the fuck off and maybe you'd hear it less," the human snapped.

Charity cleared her throat, her face a bit flushed. "I mean, to be fair, it's not as if he could control the dhampir thing."

"Yeah, that's more about what his parents did than him," Foxx snorted.

This was true. It kind of felt odd being on a hit list that he hadn't actually earned. Well, it's not like they were wrong about him completely. He definitely wasn't sane.

"Gee, he did exactly nothing one time to get on one hit list. What's his excuse for all the other fucking ones?! And Maverick does hate your ass, Harlow. He is gunning for you."

"Why exactly does he hate Harlow?" Charity asked with a frown.

Harlow smiled. "I shot him."

"On purpose," Foxx said in time with Tony.

"Oh yeah, definitely on purpose," he chuckled.

Charity's face pinched. "The way you all just admitted to that really should concern me. But so should the majority of this job. So…I guess I'll just be extra careful with each case that comes across my desk."

"Speaking of…" Tony let out a tired sounding groan. "I'll begin to dig into past cases. There is no way Maverick could have pulled off the other night without first testing whatever drug they have come up with. So, you be careful with their cases, while I dig."

"I'll help," she said. "Dig, that is. Another set of eyes will make it go faster. And it's a lot of cases to cover."

Tony grimaced. "No, it's too dangerous. We don't know how many eyes and ears he has."

"I'm helping," Charity stated firmly.

Tony sighed.

"Who's the boss again?" Foxx whispered to him.

That was the question, wasn't it? And it was not one he could answer, so he just shrugged.

When Tony turned a glare on Foxx, the vampire pouted. "What?! I was just asking!"

The human rolled his eyes. "Like I said, watch your ass. Both of you. Whatever they gave those people, I'm not sure if it would work on Harlow, but we know it will on Foxx. And Foxx… It's likely the council will aim for you, but that doesn't mean Harlow is in the clear there either. Both of you, watch yourselves." Tony rubbed his face. "I'll head to Doc's after this, and will try to keep you updated on his progress. So, avoid going there if you can. I don't know if Maverick has someone tailing you, but we can't chance it for now. And no one outside of this apartment, besides Doc, can know about the blood you took. We keep it between ourselves.

"As for over the phone… I have a secure line, thanks to Sephira. I'll contact her and have her work on setting up one for all of us. But it will take time. Now that I'm thinking about it…I'll also have her work on something that will keep you hidden from other witches. Because Maverick wouldn't be above using them. He sees them as human. Anyway, until then, no mention of any of this over the phone, or email, for that matter."

"Right…we will just pretend we know nothing," Foxx sighed.

"What should we do until you have Sephira do whatever she plans to do for us?"

"Be inconspicuous. Though…" Tony frowned. "Maybe going out and staying in the public eye wouldn't be a bad thing. It would be harder for the council to do shit with you in public."

"But shouldn't we be careful?" the vampire asked.

"You should, but sometimes, it's better to pretend nothing is wrong, than to stay hidden and risk making it easier for people to corner you. This apartment is secure…as is the area, but…would that even prevent the council from entering?"

Foxx hummed. "It would. I'm surprised you don't know this, but the Inner Village isn't owned by one of my kind. It's owned by a phoenix. It was made crystal clear in the contract I signed when I bought this apartment that I am not to grant access to any paranormal council member or affiliate, in an effort to help them carry out whatever asinine laws they think someone has broken. And I'm not paraphrasing…the word asinine was highlighted and clearly written in bold text."

Tony whistled. "A phoenix."

Harlow couldn't say he knew much about phoenixes, besides that, while they did exist, there weren't many of them. Which was probably a good thing, as they couldn't actually die.

"They're real?!" Charity asked, sounding excited. "Are they as pretty as the drawings depict?"

Foxx giggled. "I haven't actually seen one in their bird form, so I can't answer that."

Harlow frowned on thinking over what Foxx had said. "That was in the contract? What happens if the person living here does help someone who is working for one of the councils?"

"If they are renting, they will be removed and banned, followed by legal action. If they own the property…forfeiture of said property, followed again by legal action."

"That doesn't sound legal," Harlow drawled.

"It's legal enough. While it was in the purchasing contract, it was also repeated and outlined in a separate legal document that was then notarized, confirming we understand what happens if we break that specific bylaw of the Inner Village. It was…" Foxx's head tilted. "Also in the contract you signed when you moved in here."

Yeah, he really should have read that before signing. Yet, interestingly enough, it wasn't a deterrent when it came to wanting to live here. In fact, it was more of a plus.

Yes…he was decided. Harlow would start looking for possible land options for development in the Inner Village. Though, he really did need to find that contract and read it.

Tony stood. "Then…do what you think is best. Stay safe. Try to return to normal activities. You are back on break, officially. Unofficially, you are trying to keep out of sight of others until the council tries whatever they are going to try. Watch your asses. We will be in touch."

"We will definitely be in touch!" Charity chimed. "Oh, Harlow, you really should replace your phone."

Harlow grunted in response, saying nothing as Foxx said his goodbyes and the two left.

"We should stay inside?—"

"We should live our lives," he said, cutting Foxx off. "They will know when they know. Us staying in won't change that."

"Let me finish! We should stay inside until you have mastered pretending to be human."

"Why?"

"Because waiting on the council to act or not doesn't change the fact that any vampire who recognizes what you are will likely react violently, or will report you to the council. Like, we really don't need a fucking phone call trail about you."

Harlow sighed. "Can't I just pretend to be a vampire?"

"You could…" Foxx smiled, slowly approaching him. "But if you master being human…" The vampire's hands slid up from his stomach to his pecks, the man staring up at him now with his large aqua green eyes. "Just think about how much fun you could have fucking with other paranormals' heads when you reveal otherwise?"

Chuckling darkly, he tugged Foxx tight against his body, drawing a gasp from the man. "Can't argue with that logic, brat."

Foxx giggled. "Didn't think you would, old man."

"Let's start tomorrow though."

"Tomorrow? Wait… Isn't that…psychologist coming tomorrow?"

"Ah, fuck, I forgot!" Harlow growled. "Well, I'm still too fucking tired to start today." He yawned, not to drive the point home, but just because he couldn't hold it back any longer. Their sleep had been cut short, and they'd been running for hours now.

"We could cancel?" Foxx said, a bit too happily. "Then we can just sleep through tomorrow!"

"No." Harlow gave the man a peck on the nose. "Nice try though."

The vampire whined.

Smirking, he picked the man up, which did little to stop his whining. "Come on, brat. Let's fucking sleep. And I do mean sleep."