Eddy looked over Ben's poke face, spotting it for what it was at an intuitive level. He didn't trust it as far as he could throw it. Mayor Figueroa took this promise with a grain of salt. This little shit was going to make one great politician if it was elected.
There were a few things that Eddy could figure out in their short meeting together, but they were things he believed firmly.
Firstly, Benjamen Samson was an arrogant little p.r.i.c.k. He didn't know if it was a personality trait or a quality of his newfound species but, quite frankly, Eddy didn't care. How kind it was that Benjamen Samson, private citizen running for office, wanted to make sure that the Mayor of the fucking city was kept up to date with the supernatural political occurrences within his own city! Eddy was reminded sharply of when Jennifer, his oldest, was eight and she tried to convince him about the Democratic stance on state taxes, as if he wasn't wrist deep in it everyday at work. Back then, he had smiled and handed her off to her mother. Likewise, Samson clearly thought he wasn't aware of everything that happened in his own city. Samson was treating him like some old fool. Funny, really.
Secondly, Benjamen Samson knew how to play the game already. In their brief exchange so far, the vampire had managed to come up with an easy, fluffy answer for every problem Eddy proposed without actually promising much of anything or taking any responsibility for the shit that had already happened. It was smart. There were no gifts given until the day of reckoning when he was elected to office. It made Eddy think that somehow this kid had a connection to some kind of politics before choosing to run for office in 'Central District'. With everything that had been going on lately, Eddy hadn't had the time to look into the identity of the rich little fuck who paid him off. What was that saying about a gift horse?
Lastly, Benjamen Samson had access to an expansive amount of resources. Eddy hadn't missed the point where Ben spoke about 'cross-checking' voters. Somehow this little nuisance had access to some kind of list that Eddy didn't. He couldn't be sure, of course. Was it only the list of humans 'in the know'? Or was it the entire list of supernaturals in the city? He didn't even begin to wonder how the kid had gotten any of that information - Eddy had been briefed on who the old Oligarchs of the city were and Samson's name hadn't been one of them. In fact, before the purchase of the private lands for that stupid private Academy - which put enough cash in Eddy's pockets to send all three kids to Brown University for four years and still have money left over for to pay off the mortgage - the name Benjamen Samson hadn't been in any files or heard on anyone's lips.
Friends close, enemies closer, and all that.
"When you're elected District Leader," Mayor Figueroa began, sure that the events would come to pass one way or another, "I want Central District to take the reigns and train the human and supernatural first responders who are the front line of this city the proper information they need to pick up the messes caused by supernaturals and humans alike. I want the Ward reinforced with human responders as well. I want to know that when my EMT's go out into the city and face the carnage of a werewolf attack they'll deal with it safely, effectively, and with as little psychological damage as possible. I can't train them on how to treat a werewolf or vampire bite. I don't want my teams getting blindsided by some... demon because someone heard a mysterious noise in Pisky and called it into the human law enforcement. That's my concern. I want whoever gets to the scene of the crime first to be fully prepared for anything this city can throw at them. It's only fair.
"You can look at it as part of some 'city improvement' crux to your campaign. Tie it in with the Supernatural Relief fund as some package deal. The public loves more protections. You want to look like the good guy? That's one way to do it.
"In the meantime, I'll make sure that census makes its way to you right after yours and McCloud's stances are made public." The smile that he offered was as fake as any he had given that night. Samson would either give in to Eddy's request or not get the list.