The third season was shaped by one terrible event, the plane explosion
that killed Schanke and Cohen, stopped Vachon from leaving Toronto, and
made Tracy and Nick permanent partners... so what if it hadn't happen?
Disclaimers: Forever Knight is the property of James Parriott and
Sony/Tristar, no copyright infringement is intended.
Archive: Permission to archive granted to Mel at www.fkfanfic.com and the
DP, all others please ask first.
Thanks: As always to my lovely beta babes Ren Miller and Shana Nolan.
That Old Black Magic (1/7)
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
March 1999
Nick woke with a start, shaking his head to remove the last remnants of
his unpleasant dream. Why he was remembering his ill-fated ride on the
'Titanic' he didn't know. Going downstairs, he grabbed a bottle from the
refrigerator, not bothering to check if it was bovine or human. He was
taking his first swig when he happened to glance across the room at the
crinkled 'People' magazine Nat had left after their last movie marathon
night. James Cameron's face smiled unseeingly back at him, seemed the
'Terminator 2' director was going to make a very expensive movie about
that damned ship.
"It'll be a flop." Nick snorted. After all, who wanted to watch
something the promised to end so tragically? Well, that explained the
dream at any rate. He walked across the loft and grabbed his universal
remote control. A small smile tilted his lips, he just loved gadgets.
He hit the button that controlled his entertainment center, absently
flipping on the news.
On the TV, Bob Bingus, newscaster for channel 8 Action News, looked down
at his notes before continuing, "...Will be moved to Alberta this
evening, along with crucial evidence regarding the deadly courthouse
bombing in Edmonton this past July. Dollard, apprehended last week in
Toronto, is believed to have acted alone."
Nick frowned, something still didn't feel right about that case. Even
though it had been him and Schanke who had collared Dollard, Nick still
wasn't convinced that the political activist hadn't had help. The
bombing just had a too neat feel to it, something that didn't seem to fit
with the over zealous Dollard...
Suddenly the phone rang shrilly, forcing Nick to put aside his doubts
for at least a moment. He headed to the phone, it was probably his
partner, calling in before his flight. On the second ring he grabbed the
receiver, "Knight."
"Heya Nicky-boy, did you see? Bob's toupee just gets worse every time,
I swear." Don Schanke groused. He was -not- happy about having to fly
to Alberta.
"Yeah, it was just on the news. Oh, wear the good suit, Schank. You can
expect some press out at the airport. " Nick smiled, wondering what ever
happened to that polyester number his soulvaki loving partner had once
sported undercover.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Schanke rolled his eyes, before checking his watch.
"Man oh man, I'm going to be late. Look partner, while I'm gone, Myra
and Jenny-"
"Oh, don't worry about them. I'll drop in, see if they need anything."
Nick interrupted cheerfully, "Maybe Myra will want to fool around a
little."
"Watch it Knight," Schanke growled. First he got stuck with
baby-sitting duty flying a crazed bomber... coach. Then, even better,
because of Nick's 'allergy' he wouldn't even be with his partner, instead
it would be the Captain. And Cohen had it out for him, he swore she
did. And now Mr. Blonde-Super-Cop was making cracks about his wife?
"That's it, no Alberta souvenirs for you."
"It's a joke, Schank. It's a joke, okay? Joke." Nick grinned, knowing it
was going to take a lot of donuts to make this up to him.
"A joke?" Schanke frowned, he was going to miss a very important league
tournament with this trip, he wasn't in a joking mood.
"Yeah... Yeah." Nick shook his head. A lot of donuts.
"Fine," Schanke sighed then, hearing Myra honking the horn out front,
hurried it up. "Look, while I'm gone don't go getting yourself shot or
anything, okay? And finish the Debson write up if you get a chance. Oh,
and the-" He paused, thinking he really should have made his partner a
list. Knowing Nick nothing was going to get done while he was away,
"Look, maybe I should swing by real quick and-"
"No, I think we can all survive a week without you." Nick laughed, he
was 800 years old and still got treated like a junior partner. "Just
give me a call when you get there, okay?"
"Yeah, will do." Schanke put a hand over the phone and yelled, "I'm
coming! Geez Myra give the horn a rest!" A second later he was back
with Nick, "Right partner, gotta motor. Hasta la bye bye."
"Yeah. " Nick nodded, listening to the click as Schanke hung up.
Slowly he put the receiver down. This week was just going to drag by
without his partner to liven it up.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Later that night, Nat looked up from an autopsy while Nick hovered
around, "All I'm saying is that if you want results, you have to follow
the rules."
"What if the rules aren't working?" Nick asked sullenly.
"You've got to give them time." Nat rolled her eyes, what did he want
'magic beans'? Actually... he probably did. Nick just didn't seem to
get that the cure wasn't going to be an over night deal, it was going to
take work. A lot of work, from both of them.
"Four years."
"Is an eye blink to you." Nat pointed out.
"I can barely get raw hamburger down."
"See? You couldn't even do that when we first started." Nat smiled in
triumph as he proved her point. She looked down at her small tape
recorder, "Hold that thing up for me, will you?"
Nick shrugged and held it up, pressing the prominent orange button.
"Subject's jaundice and excessive bilirubin indicate liver failure due
to acute cirrhosis." She then nodded, giving Nick the signal to stop the
recorder. "Now, this guy drank himself into an early grave. You really
want a shot at mortality? You've got to give it a chance. Don't give up
on me, Nick."
"Well, maybe if I spent a little less time in morgues." Nick made a
face.
"Or just stood a little farther away from the table." She shooed him
away a bit, giving herself room to work, "Thank you." Suddenly the phone
rang, she sighed, she was never going to get any work done!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
An hour later, Nick trailed after his temporary Captain, Joe Reese.
Nick respected the heavy set black man, but it was Reese's first shot at
being the Captain of such a large precinct and, being a bit of a social
climber, he seemed to have some strange ideas about how to go about
things. Like assigning him a temporary partner while Schanke was gone.
He didn't need this. "Why me?" He asked, his tone slightly whining.
"Because you collared the bomber. Because last week you were all over
the 5 o'clock news, and because I want to keep her safe on my watch. And
you're without a partner for an entire week." Reese explained as they
headed down the hall, he side-stepped a ladder and looked up at a
painter, "And can you please tell me why it is you guys can afford a
paint job every six months, and we can't get urinal deodorizers? Look,
the bottom line is that you could've been on your way to Edmonton
tonight, and Schanke would have pulled the job... " He paused, thinking
the press wouldn't have liked that nearly as much, "Well, maybe not, but
you get my point."
"Her father's on the police commission." Nick pointed out. He really
didn't need such a high profile partner, like Reese said, he'd already
been all over the news last week. Notoriety wasn't something he wanted.
"Which I wasn't going to bring up, but since you did, yes, he is. And
if I want to get a job like this permanently, I'm gonna need his support.
Which is why I've assigned his precious daughter to a bona fide hero
during the one week I'm here." He didn't smile, but his eyes lit up at
the idea. This was a PR bonanza. "And why you are going to do
everything in your power to make sure she stays in one piece,
understood?"
Nick rolled his eyes. This was a bad idea. Was it too early to whammy
his new boss?
Noticing the look, Reese continued, "Hey, if she weren't any good, she'd
still be in blues. Kid's got a head on her shoulders. Disciplined.
Feet on the ground." He'd read her file, she was a good cop. Lots of
arrests, never made a mistake in her six years as a uniform, whiz at
cutting through red tape. He'd send Knight a copy, maybe that'd make him
feel better. He led the detective down the hall to where he'd left his
new partner over an hour ago. She was asleep. He frowned, giving Knight
a look. She'd pulled a twelve hour that day, what with all the paperwork
for her promotion, but Knight wouldn't understand that. "Detective
Vetter."
Tracy Vetter woke up with a start and jumped to her feet. When she saw
that it was her Captain, and presumably her new partner with him, she
turned bright red. What a first impression! "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry.
Sorry. I guess I'm just more of a day person."
Nick looked at Reese, but the Captain's eyes warned him not to say a
thing. Nick looked back at his new partner. She was young, good
looking, tall, slender and blonde. The press was going to love her.
Damn. "Hello, Nick Knight." He held out his hand to shake hers. She
took it immediately with a strong, self-assured grip.
"Tracy Vetter," She shot him a sunny grin, though her eyes sized him up
quickly. The 96th's golden boy Nick Knight, boy she didn't need this.
She glanced at Reese, turning up her smile a few watts, all the while
wondering how long it would take to get a real assignment.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tracy sighed, looking out the car window before glancing at her new
'partner'. Though he wasn't -really- her partner, this was only for a
week after all. Hopefully once Cohen was back she would give her
something to sink her teeth in to... and not make her go through with the
whole pony and cart show Reese had set up to please the press. Tracy
shifted in her seat and turned even more towards Nick, wondering what he
was thinking. Hell, who was she kidding? "All I'm trying to say is I
didn't ask for this. I mean, I know what you're thinking."
Nick glanced at her, clearly annoyed, "I wasn't thinking."
Tracy bit back the nasty comment that popped into her mouth at -that-
statement. After all, it really wasn't Nick's fault they had to go
through with this farce. After their disastrous first meeting, he'd
suggested going for a ride, more, she suspected, to get out from Reese's
beaming presence than to show her around the city she'd lived in all her
life. "Yes, you were. Don't try to deny it. Everyone thinks it. The
Academy. The streets. It's like it's a big neon sign over my head.
'Commissioner's daughter. Proceed with extreme caution.'" She paused,
Nick still wore the same annoyed expression. Despite her vow to be
pleasant, she started to lose it. Looking around the huge classic car he
drove, she bit, "They really let you drive this fossil?"
"I won't tell anyone if you don't." Nick smiled, not rising to the
bait.
"See? My point exactly." Tracy smiled humorlessly, everyone thought she
was a spy for the Commission. 'Well,' she thought, her shoulders
slumping, for some reason... she turned back to Nick, she wanted to make
him understand, "Look, I am my own person, with my own talents, and who
my father is--"
"Has nothing to do with where you are in your career." Nick finished
for her, saying what he thought she wanted to hear.
"No... " She smiled, embarrassed, "I'm not going to say that. We both
know it's a lie. I'd just like to be--"
"Judged on your own merit?" Nick raised an eyebrow, surprised she'd
admit to the influence of her name.
"Exactly. Thank you. Sorry. I just had to get that off my chest." She
sat back, still a little chagrined by her rant.
"No problem." This time Nick's smile was genuine. Maybe she wasn't so
bad after all.
"So where are we going?" Tracy asked.
"Nowhere in particular. I just thought we'd drive around, get
acquainted." He shrugged, he could survive a week of this. At least she
was cuter than Schanke... and she didn't smell of garlic.
"Keep me out of harm's way?" She rolled her eyes.
"I didn't say that." He frowned, his new partner was a tad defensive.
"You didn't have to." Tracy sighed, then glanced out the window, "We're
almost at the airport."
"My subconscious must be working overtime." Nick looked up, wondering
if one of the planes passing over head might be Schanke's.
"So why didn't you go? You made the collar." Tracy asked, curious.
"Schanke made it to." He told her.
"No, no, no. They said Dollard would have gotten away, but that you
somehow beat his car to the end of the block, and forced him into a
wall?" Tracy raised an eyebrow, not sure she bought that story. She
knew the press tended to exaggerate such things, look at her friend
Fuller, he was -always- going for headlines by hyping up his column with
that kind of super-hero angle.
"Well, the guy panicked. I got lucky." Nick shrugged again, trying to
sound disinterested. Truth was he'd had to fly to catch Dollard, it
wouldn't be good if someone figured out that the time line he'd given
just didn't work.
"So, you gave up a week in Alberta." Tracy sat back, eyeing him. She'd
just realized that there was something very strange about Nick Knight...
If she didn't know better, she'd say he was hiding something.
"I hate to fly." Nick answered, wishing she would drop it. He knew she
was just curious, and as a cop she should be... but she was getting a
little too close to the truth.
"I heard that you were allergic to the daylight? Phototropic, or
something?" Tracy frowned, watching him tense at that. His condition
must not be something he likes to talk about.
"Yeah." Nick nodded, locking his eyes on the road. If she asked about
blood he was stopping the car right here.
"So why the convertible?" She asked, really, that just made no sense.
Surprised, Nick looked back at her. No one had ever asked that before.
Suddenly there was a loud roar as a low flying plane swept over head,
effectively ending their conversation. Thank God.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Please note that the plane did -not- go boom ;-)
Comments and coffee mugs to anteros@juno.com
*Disclaimers in part one
That Old Black Magic (2/7)
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
The next night, well before her shift, Tracy made it a point to stop by
Buckstars. No way in hell was she falling asleep at work like she had
last night! "Double shot Mocha, tall, please." She told the guy behind
the counter.
"Right-o." The twenty-something grinned at the pretty blonde, only
charging her for a short... and throwing in a free biscotti.
Tracy smiled wide, she knew there was a reason this was her favorite
coffee place! After being handed her coffee, she thanked him and made
her way to her usual table near the edge of the patio. She flipped
through the evening paper as she waited for her coffee to cool.
Suddenly, she became aware of strange noises coming from the alley behind
her.
Leaning back in her chair, she tried to peer through the darkness, but
only succeeded in nearly breaking her neck when the wobbly wrought iron
tumbled backwards and dumped her on the cement with a splat. Smiling
self-consciously at the other coffee drinkers, Tracy climbed to her feet
and decided to just give in to her curiosity rather than throw herself to
the ground again. That resolved, she plucked up her coffee and gingerly
made her way into the mouth of the alley.
She side-stepped a few discarded piles of god-only-knew-what and went in
as far as the lights from the street reached. She looked around, what
had she heard? She waited, but the noise didn't repeat. "Probably just
a rat," She sighed, taking a sip of her mocha. Her over active
imagination was going to get her in trouble some day, it was really only
a matter of time.
She shrugged and turned to go back to the cafe, when she heard it again.
A loud metallic bang, like someone hitting the side of a van with a
baseball bat. Tracy frowned, knowing she should just leave it be or at
least call for back up. But then again, it probably wasn't anything...
She set down her coffee and made her way a little further into the alley,
her eyes adjusting to the darkness. There was a full moon out, it wasn't
too bad, she told herself.
She walked to the end of the alley where it broke off to follow behind
the buildings on either side. A cyclone fence stood in front of her, a
good 12 feet high. She looked down either way, trying to figure out
where the noises were coming from. Then it sounded again, like a big,
off-key bell. Jogging towards it she pushed back her jacket, ready to
pull her gun if she had to. Then she saw him, a man going down the line
of dumpsters and opening the lids one by one... then letting them drop.
"Screed, I know you're in one of these." She heard him say, he sounded
angry. "Why do you hide?"
Not knowing what he could be doing, Tracy frowned, "What the-?"
His head snapped up at her voice, though Tracy could have sworn she'd
barely whispered. He froze and just stared at her, like he didn't know
what to do, but also with no small amount of interest.
Tracy felt herself blush, he was dressed a bit oddly, but the guy was
just plain gorgeous! She took in flashes of dark hair and eyes, broad
shoulders and the face of a male model. "Uh..." She flipped her coat
back and hoped he hadn't noticed she'd been about to pull her gun on him.
"What are you doing?"
"I-" He opened his mouth, then closed it. Lifted an arm to indicate
the row of dumpters, then let it fall.
"Yeah, looking in the dumpsters. Saw that." Tracy nodded, obviously
there was something going on here. Probably an illegal something. Damn!
Why did all the cute ones have to be criminals? "So why are you looking
through the dumpsters?"
Just as soon as the words were out of her mouth, the lid of the dumpster
at the far end banged open and a skinny figure darted out and ran down
the alley away from them. Tracy jumped when she thought she heard what
was almost a growl emanate from the dark man, then he started after the
figure.
"Wait!" Tracy called out, and for a second he froze, he turned and gave
her one last look. A look that defined 'bedroom eyes' and caused Tracy's
heart rate to sky rocket. But then he was gone.
Tracy frowned, he hadn't ran, he had just... She looked around, she
must have blinked and missed it but... She looked around the alley, he
hadn't gone between any of the dumpsters... and he hadn't jumped the
fence. She looked up... It was like he'd just... she shook her head and
decided she needed another cup of coffee, obviously she still wasn't
quite awake.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Nick looked up in surprise when Tracy plopped herself behind his
partner's desk like she owned it. She sat a very large travel coffee mug
square on a coaster and began thumbing through some files she'd brought
with her. Nick quirked a brow, wondering if she was even going to bother
to acknowledge him. "Evening Tracy."
Her bright blue eyes darted up, "Oh, hi partner." She shot him a
bright, sunny smile. The same smile she'd given him when they 'd first
met. A smile Nick was beginning to realize was completely fake.
Nick sat back, his chair squeaking, as he watched her take a sip of her
coffee. From the smell of it he'd wager there was chocolate in the brew.
Well, it wasn't as noxious as some of the stuff Schanke ate at his desk.
Nick glanced down at the files Tracy was holding. "Hey! That's the
Dollard case!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah," Tracy looked up, made brief eye contact, then went back to her
reading, "You know... something about this just doesn't ring right."
"What?" Nick asked defensively, never mind he'd had the same thoughts
himself.
"Well it's just," She laid down a file and pulled a few sheets loose,
"Look, 4 court bombings, the first three are all bombs carried in by
janitors, but the 4th..." She pulled out a photo, "Was placed under the
Judge's bench." Her eyes came up to meet his, "He broke his pattern,
why?"
Nick stared down at the report, it had taken her one night to pinpoint
what he'd been stewing about for two weeks. "I'm not sure, but he did."
He looked at her, "Dollard was behind all four bombings. He confessed."
"Yes, but," Tracy sat back and took another sip of her coffee, "But were
they all done, like he said, alone?"
Nick frowned, not willing to completely dismiss her ideas... even if she
was irritating him. "You're saying the first three were done with an
accomplice and then the fourth was Dollard alone?"
"Could be." Tracy shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to look into it, right?"
Nick nodded, it wasn't like Reese was going to give them a real case
anyway.
For the rest of their shift they dug through file after file on unsolved
bombings. Reese came by and smiled at them, pleased to see that they
were actually working together, but didn't bother to ask what it was they
were researching so intently.
"Hmm, four years ago," Tracy looked up from her computer, "Seattle.
Three bombs all aimed at firefighters. Then three more, city officials
in Edmonton."
Nick walked around the desks and stood behind her as she flipped to
another screen, "In Montreal it was postal workers. Three bombs again."
He read thoughtfully. "A serial bomber."
"Yeah, pattern of three." Tracy nodded, picking up a file and tracing a
finger across a highlighted section. "Press call him 'Vudu' because he
uses music boxes with the song 'That Old Black Magic' as detonators on
his bombs."
Nick leaned down closer to the screen, ignoring how wonderful Tracy's
hair smelled. She was his partner, not lunch. "So this is the
accomplice."
"I'd say so," Tracy nodded, "Probably the only reason Dollard got caught
was because he screwed up and went alone for that fourth court. Vudu is
too crafty to just get run down like that." She stopped, her eyes
widening, "Um, no offense Nick. I mean, I'm sure you would have-"
Nick smiled, shaking his head, "Yeah, I know what you mean." They read
a few more articles, but it wasn't long before Nick noticed Tracy's eyes
starting to droop. "Listen, I think we should call it a night, you're
still on day shift hours."
"You sure?" She asked hesitantly, though her eyes were hopeful. "I
could stay, I'm not-" She was cut off by a yawn.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Nick laughed, "Go home, get some beauty sleep... not
that you need it."
Tracy blushed, something that reminded Nick that it was way past his
usual feeding time, and whacked him in the arm, "All right, I'm out of
here then."
"See you tomorrow," He said as she gathered up her things and headed
out. He sat there a moment, thinking that she wasn't such a bad partner
after all... though he'd still be glad when Schanke got back. His
stomach growled and he checked his watch. Maybe it was time he booked
off too.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Instead of heading straight home, Nick decided to stop by the Raven. It
had been awhile since he paid Janette a visit. Smiling at the thought of
seeing his vampire sister, Nick made his way into the crowded nightclub
and came up short when he noticed the changes. The music was the first
thing that hit him, instead of the slow, sensual arias that usually
filled the club, there was loud dance/punk band playing. As he ventured
further in, past the milling crowd, Nick saw exotic dancers, both male
and female, gyrating on raised platforms. He frowned and made his way to
the bar, but instead of Miklos, Janette's favorite and the usual
bartender, there was a man Nick didn't recognize. "Where's Janette?"
"Who?" The bartender looked genuinely confused.
"Janette." Nick repeated, but the man just shook his head and walked
away. Nick slid onto a stool, confused. Behind him he could feel his
master approach, maybe Lacroix would know what was going on.
"Well... Like the changes? Sex is back. We have a strip on Friday
night." Lacroix told him in an oddly chipper voice.
"Where's Janette?" Nick asked, not interested in playing games with the
old Roman.
"I broadcast from a little booth in the back. It's really quite
convenient." Lacroix continues, ignoring his son's increasing annoyance.
"Where, Lacroix?" Nick scowled.
"It really does pay to keep in touch, Nicholas. It must be at least a
month." Lacroix sighed, then dropped his attempt at levity, "I don't
know. She wanted it that way. She thought it would be easier to leave
without saying goodbye."
"She's gone?" Nick's eyes widened.
"It was her time. She'd been here twenty years. Said it was getting
stagnant. Been there, done that -- sold me the club for a song... "
Lacroix looked around the club, obviously not too thrilled with his
prize. He looked back at his son and continued in a soft voice, "Don't
go searching. She doesn't want to be found. Somewhere down the line,
your paths will cross again. You know that. That's the way it always
is."
Nick just shook his head, "How could she just leave?"
"The same way any of us 'just leave.'" Lacroix bit out with annoyance.
"Sooner or later you will 'just leave' yourself. And it will be your
little doctor friend asking that question."
"I would at least say good-bye." Nick insisted.
"And that would make it less painful?" Lacroix arched a brow.
Nick looked away, then around the club. He chuckled.
"And what, may I ask, do you find amusing?" Lacroix hissed.
"What you did to Janette's club," Nick looked back at his father and
shook his head, "She's going to stake you."
Lacroix sniffed, "She'll do nothing of the sort."
"Maybe I can get you a Kevlar vest from the S.W.A.T. team," Nick mused
out loud as Lacroix continued to scowl at him. "They withstand
bullets... it could help."
"Drolê, Nicholas."
Nick chuckled, realizing that redecorating the Raven was Lacroix's petty
revenge against the vampiress. So... his father wasn't nearly as
understanding about Janette's departure as he'd like him to believe.
Nick sighed, he would miss his sister, seeing her every day. Well,
having the option of seeing her everyday, he amended, remembering it
-had- been a month. But Lacroix was right, their paths would cross again
some day. Nick looked around the club again, shuddering. Maybe it was
better if that day were a long while off.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"I be tellin' ya Ursula," The thin figure from the alley perched on the
end of a church pew and looked at his crew mate, "'E wuz so struck by da
bird 'e gone an' fergot nearly all 'bout ol' Screed."
"We are talking about the -Inca- aren't we?" Urs blinked, that hardly
sounded like their master's relentless pursuer.
"Yeah," Screed nodded, "I didn't know 'e liked girls neither!"
"I didn't mean that!" Urs' bow shaped mouth tugged into a frown as she
glared at the sailor before her. She didn't know why she'd even come to
the empty church to meet with him. It wasn't like Vachon was here
anymore, he'd flown out just two nights ago, probably never to return.
And just because Screed and her shared a master... that didn't mean she
had to spend time with him! It was like Vachon said, they weren't
running as a crew anymore. She didn't owe him anything. "So what do you
want anyway?"
"My, my, don't get yer panties inna wad," He snorted, "I jus' thoughts
we could compare cliffy notes, ya know, keep one step ahead o' Herr Inky,
but if next time ya wants it ta be you 'oo..." He trailed off, giving her
a curious look.
After a few moments passed, even Urs' reserve of patience began to run
out. She liked to think of herself as a pretty abiding vampire... but
Screed would try the patience of a saint. "What?!" She demanded at last.
"Welly I were jus' thinkin' made ya don't wants ta evade Amorous Amuru
no more, seein' 'ow 'e's gone all softs en gaga over girlys now," He
leaned in and leered at her, "Is that it? Ya wanna get in da Inky's
britches now that Vachetti is outta tha picture perfect?"
Urs glared at him, "Bite me."
"Now there's a thought." He seemed to ponder that a moment, making her
glare all the more, "Nah, I think I'll stick wit me squealers. But
thankee fer tha offer."
With a frustrated growl, Urs got up and stomped out of the church, she
had to get to work anyway, plus she couldn't stand being with the
carouche for another minute, not without throttling him.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comments and coffee mugs to anteros@juno.com
*Disclaimers in part one
That Old Black Magic (3/7)
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
The next night Nick walked into the precinct and headed towards Reese's
office. He wanted to talk to him about their theory. If they could link
Dollard to Vudu, it could be just the key to breaking the serial bombing
case wide open. He gave a quick rap on the door.
"Enter," Reese's voice called out. When the Captain saw Nick in the
doorway he waved him in, but motioned for him to be quite a minute while
he finished his phone call. "No, no, no, thank you, sir..." Reese beamed
as he paused, listening. "No, I couldn't have done it without your
support... Yes, sir." His grin faded somewhat, "Yes, I'll make sure she
stays out of trouble... Yeah, you know I will... Thank you sir." Reese
hung up and looked at Nick, who was watching him with a raised brow,
"Well, so I suck up. Everybody sucks up. That's how you get ahead in
this world."
Nick just shook his head.
"Oops, sorry Nick," Miller leaned passed him through the open door and
handed Reese a package, "Captain. It's from the Commissioner."
Reese picked up the card, "'Captain Reese, Congratulations from the
Commissioner.'" He beamed, rubbing his palms together. "Put in a little
effort, and it all comes back to you."
Nick smiled. He was about to tell Reese their theory, when he heard
Tracy enter the bullpen. Three days and he could already pick out her
heartbeat out of the dozens of others in the building. He turned to look
out the glass, and Reese followed his gaze.
"She really is a looker," Reese commented, then gave Nick an odd look.
"Schanke will be back in 4, right?"
"Right," Nick nodded absently, then realized that Tracy should be in on
giving their theory too. He leaned out and called her in.
Tracy dropped her ever-present coffee mug off at her desk and made her
way into the office.
"Chocolate?" Reese offered, holding out the box, "They're from your
father."
Tracy shook her head, "My father hates chocolate. Says it acts like a
germ collector in the throat."
Reese shrugged, setting the box down. He turned to Nick, "All right
Nick, what did you want to tell me?"
Nick leaned forward, his eyes lit with excitement. "Vudu."
"Voodoo?" Reese repeated blankly.
"The serial bomber," Tracy clarified, quickly slipping out of the office
to grab the files from their desks... and her coffee. Once back, she
spread them out on the Captain's desk. "We think Dollard was working
with Vudu on the first three court bombings."
"You're serious?" Reese asked, after thoroughly looking through their
research. He shook his head, he'd hoped that pairing these two would be
a good move... but that they were on to something so huge already... "I
gotta call the RCMP." He picked up the phone and shook his head again
before dialing, "Vudu."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Out in the hall Tracy grinned at Nick, "I think he was impressed,
partner"
"We got lucky," Nick shrugged, but couldn't quite hide his smile.
"Luck? Ha!" Tracy struck a pose, "It was skill, baby!"
Nick laughed, cutting short when Nat walked up on them and gave him a
questioning look. "Hi Nat."
"Hello," Tracy blinked, not knowing who Nat was.
"Oh, Tracy this is Dr. Natalie Lambert, the ME," Nick introduced them
quickly, "Nat, Detective Tracy Vetter, my new partner."
"Until Schanke gets back." Nat clarified with an arched brow.
"Right." Nick answered off-handedly, "'Til Schank gets back."
"Dr. Lambert, I've been dying to meet you," Tracy smiled, holding out
her hand.
"Well, people usually do." Nat cracked and shook her hand. "So you're
Commissioner Vetter's daughter?"
"Yeah, that I am." Tracy grimaced, then glanced down at her watch, "Uh,
look, I'm supposed to run some paperwork down to time and attendance...
something about my complete lack of vacation days," She wrinkled her
nose, "I'll catch you later, Nick. Nice meeting you Dr. Lambert."
"Nat." The coroner corrected.
"Nat." Tracy repeated with a smile. She waved and then was off.
Nat turned to Nick, wondering at the blonde's quick departure. "Did I
interrupt something?"
"What?" Nick shook his head, "No, She's just touchy about her father."
"Don't see why," Nat shrugged, "Word is he got her the job."
"That's not true," Nick shook his head, "She's a good cop, real good."
Nat frowned, "And you... like her?"
"Yeah," Nick shrugged, not noticing Nat's discomfort. "Hey," He looked
down at her suddenly, "You want to go to lunch?"
"Lunch?" Nat perked up, "And will you be eating too, Detective?"
Nick's smile looked somewhat forced, "Sure."
"You're going to wrap your food in a napkin and hide it on your lap
aren't you?" Nat laughed, "Amy does that too."
"Are you saying I'm only as smart as your ten year old niece?" Nick
gasped in mock offense.
Nat giggled, "Amy is a very smart ten year old."
"Oh," Nick pretended to think about that, "Well, then, I guess that's
okay."
They smiled at each other and headed off to Nat's favorite Chinese
restaurant.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
After filling out the forms, in triplicate, Tracy headed back to the
bullpen only to find that her partner had already booked off for lunch.
A little put out, Tracy grabbed her cold travel mug and decided to head
over to Buckstars for a Danish and a refill. She tried to tell herself
that she wasn't looking to run into Mr. Tall, Dark and Studly, but it
didn't work.
As she drove over, she smiled about how silly she was being. Sure he'd
been handsome, but he'd obviously been up to something. Him and his
skinny friend. "Vetter, you're just pathetic." She sighed as she pulled
into the lot, "Sure you haven't had a date in three... no, four, months.
But really? Guys in dumpsters?" She shook her head, grabbed her mug
and got out of the car.
She tried not to, but as she walked towards the cafe she found herself
looking at the alley. She was staring so hard in fact, she didn't see
the man standing on the curb in front of her until she walked right into
him. "Oh, sorry!"
"No, no, my fault. I wasn't looking." He said.
"No, my mind was somewhere else." Tracy blushed... namely in that
alley. She glanced down, looking for something to say, she held up her
mug, "Night shift -- it takes it out of me. I always need a good hit of
coffee to get me through the day."
"Yeah, I do the same thing, working nights." He told her.
"Oh, yeah? Graveyard? Me, too." Tracy grinned, for the first time
noticing the guy was darn cute. She knew she liked this coffee shop!
"Gary Reynolds." He introduced himself, giving her a lop-sided grin
that showed his dimple.
"Tracy Vetter. Hi." She smiled, no dimple.
"Listen..." He hesitated, "Can I- maybe buy you a cup of coffee?"
Tracy grinned, really was a better pick up line possible? "I'd like
that."
They spent the next hour drinking coffee and talking. Gary was nice, a
bit on the boring side, but Tracy reminded herself that there was nothing
wrong with that. He told her he was an underground engineer with the
city, worked nights just like her.
"Oops," Tracy looked down at her watch, "Lunch break's over. I better
skeedaddle"
"Yeah," Gary stood and gestured down the block. "I should go too."
"Nice having someone to talk to, since my partner abandoned me and all."
She made a face.
Gary smiled, "Well anytime. Oh, actually..." He fished a pen from his
pocket and wrote on a napkin, "My phone number... you know, if you want
to get coffee again? Maybe breakfast after our shifts?"
Tracy smiled, "That'd be nice." She took the napkin. "Well, see ya."
"Bye." He gave her one last dimpled smile.
"Bye." Tracy smiled as she watched him walk away.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comments and coffee mugs to anteros@juno.com
*Disclaimers in part one
That Old Black Magic (4/7)
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
Nick and Nat were just finishing up at the Great Wall Restaurant when
Nick's cell rang. "Knight."
"Hey, Nick, sorry to bother you, but this can't wait 'til you get back
from lunch."
"No problem, Cap't," Nick tossed a tip on the table and helped Nat on
with her coat before following her out to the parking lot. "What's up?"
"Looking at your paper work, just tying up a few loose ends." Reese
said as he gathered up the last to send out to the RCMP. "Those music
boxes were a dead end, right?"
"Right," Nick scanned back his near perfect vampiric memory, "Four
thousand manufactured to date in Taiwan. The shipment to Vancouver was
reported missing in '84. The serial numbers match, but the trail ends
there."
"All right," Reese grunted, scratching down a few notes.
Nick started to say something when all the sudden a loud explosion
echoed through the night.
"What was that?!" Reese asked, hearing the explosion over the phone.
Nick looked around quickly, but only Nat was around, so he leapt into
the air and landed on the roof of the Restaurant, looking. "About two
blocks from here. The 25th Precinct."
"Are you sure?" Reese asked with a frown, absently digging through
contents of his box of chocolates. Suddenly the box begins to play
music. "Oh hell." Reese cursed, knowing without being told what it
meant.
"What is it?" Nick heard the music over the line, "The music, where's it
coming from?"
"The candy box," Reese admitted with a sigh, "I've got my hand on a
piece now... it just started up."
"Don't move your hand, Reese. Vacate the building and call in the bomb
squad. Now!" Nick barked into the phone, shutting it quickly before
leaping into the air.
"Everybody out!" Nick called out when he landed minutes later at the
hastily evacuated 96th Precinct, "Miller, get everyone out the south
side, and keep the back alley clear!"
"The 23rd, Lansdowne and Queen Street -- they've all been hit. Bomb
squad's disarming one at Davenport right now." Miller told him as Nick
rushed passed him into the precinct.
Reese looked up as Nick walked into his office, his hand still on the
candy. "How the hell did you get over here? We just got off the phone."
"I flew," Nick shrugged, moving around the desk and putting his hand on
the box.
"Say that again." Reese blinked, then looked down at Nick's hand, "Hey,
what are you doing?"
"We're going to trade places." Nick told him calmly.
"The hell we are. The bomb unit's--"
"All tied up." Nick insisted, "And we don't how these things are set
off."
"Why should you do this?" Reese asked, "The package was addressed to
me."
"Because you have a wife and two kids. Because this is something I have
to do." Nick caught the Captain's eye, adding a little power of
suggestion to his words. "I think you understand, don't you?"
"Yeah, I do." Reese answered, slightly dazed.
"I've got it now." Nick put his own hand on the candy and lifted
Reese's. "Stand up and get out of here."
"Knight--?" Reese hesitated.
"I've got it. Go. Go!"
Outside Nat's car screeched up, she leapt out and ran toward the
building, only to be caught by Reese as he came out. "What's going on in
there? What is it? What the hell's going on?"
"There's a bomb. Knight's got it in my office." Reese told her,
holding her when she tried to push past him.
"Nick!" Nat cried. "Nick... we can't just leave him in there!"
Just then Nick released the trigger and dove through the back window
into the emptied alley, a huge fireball explosion blasting behind him.
Minutes later he walked around the building, seemingly fine.
Nat saw him despite her tears and ran to him. "Nick Knight don't you
-ever- do something that stupid ever again!" She cried, launching
herself into his arms with a force that made him stagger back a step.
"Shh... it's okay Nat," Nick soothed her, kissing the top of her head.
"I'm okay, you're okay. Everything's going to be fine."
Nat looked up and gave him a watery smile. "It was still a stupidly
heroic thing to do."
"Those are my specialty." Nick grinned, before leaning down to capture
her lips.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The next night, Nick tried to slip past the crowd of reporters into the
precinct, but due to his notoriety from both last week's collar and his
new partnership with Tracy Vetter, they spotted him immediately.
"Det. Knight! Do you have any idea why police stations were targeted?"
The reporter shoved a microphone in his face while a photographer snapped
pictures.
"Not at this time." Nick answered curtly.
"And you can confirm that it is suspected to be related to the court
bombings?" He asked.
"No, I can't confirm anything." Nick bit, they knew he couldn't confirm
anything like that, why did they even ask?
"But you are part of this investigation now?" The reporter pressed.
"Look, we just lost over a dozen of our people at the 25th," Nick
started to lose his patience, "I don't think anybody, not the RCMP, the
FBI, no one's going to tell us to sit on our hands right now, okay?
Thank you." He pushed his way inside and slammed the door behind him.
The minute he entered the bullpen, Reese walked up to him, "Make it
through the circus?"
"Barely." Nick shook his head, "Sometimes I wonder if they take classes
in 'maddening.'"
"I hear that," Reese laughed, then apparently decided they'd had enough
small talk, "Conference room, I'm briefing the Night Watch." He directed,
"Your partner is already inside."
Nick followed the Captain into the large, badly lit room off the hall.
As he entered, Tracy looked up, "Hey Nick."
"Trace," Nick nodded, looking around the room curiously. Most of the
night crew was already present, no big surprise, Reese seemed to be one
for giving mass presentations. Nearly every night there was a
'briefing,' but from what Nick had seen, usually they consisted of
divvying up the donuts. Not that he was complaining... plus Tracy said
it built team spirit.
"Okay people, quiet down," Reese walked up to the front of the room,
tonight's briefing was important, "The bombs were Semtex. Forty kilos of
the stuff was stolen from an Alberta mining company last July. Same
batch, which means he probably has a lot more. Detonation device was a
music box mechanism, which appears to be radio activated by a mobile
phone."
He paused and looked around at his stunned officers. "Here's the
objective: catch Vudu. Simple enough? Bad news, we don't even have a
rough sketch of the guy. He took out the 25th, he tried to take us out,
we're going to get this bastard before he tries again. No one messes
with the good guys." Mumbles of agreement swept through the assembled
officers.
"Now," Reese continued, "I want everyone from Detectives to metermaids
working on this. What we're going for is anything suspicious, people.
We've got a bomber out there, targeting our city. Vudu could be anyone,
but we're looking for odd behavior. Break-ins to hobby shops, anyone
seen casing public buildings, you see something that hits you as odd:
check it out. Let's go!"
As the precinct sprung into action, Nick and Tracy walked to their
desks. "So we head out?" Nick asked. "We should swing by forensics,
see if they found anything new about the bombs."
Tracy chewed her lip, something was nagging her, "You go ahead, I want
to check out a few things first."
Nick quirked a brow, "Anything serious?"
"No," Tracy shook her head, "It's probably nothing."
"All right, catch up with you before lunch." Nick nodded, "Be careful."
"Always am," Tracy grinned, then her smile took on a playful edge, "Say
'hi' to Dr. Lambert for me."
Nick's eyes widened slightly, and if he could have blushed he would
have. Their lip lock in front of the precinct last night had not gone
unnoticed, "Um, will do. See ya partner."
"See ya," Tracy echoed, dropping into her chair as Nick departed for the
lab. She turned on her computer and stared at the screen for a moment.
Reese's speech had made her think of the guy from the alley again. Tracy
blushed, okay so maybe she'd already been thinking of him. But now she
was thinking of him as a potential suspect. She didn't want to think
that a man she'd found so attractive could have anything to do with the
serial bombings, but the cop in her couldn't ignore that his behavior had
been very suspicious. She chewed her lip, but how to find him?
"He called the guy in the dumpsters 'Screed.'" Tracy mumbled, quickly
typing the name into the database. "Maybe that'll give me something..."
She blinked as the most unusual rap sheet she'd ever seen flicked on her
screen. Nothing major: disturbing the peace at a bar after the English
won the World Cup, drunk and disorderly conduct at a public kiddie pool,
selling counterfeit Beanie Babies at a swap-meet downtown, lewd and
lascivious behavior in a public fountain. Bicycle theft... a circus
clown's bicycle.
"All right, so he knows freaks." Tracy mumbled, looking for an address.
"A church?" She frowned, shaking her head. She stood up and grabbed
her bag, "Might as well check it out."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Nick walked into the morgue to find Nat and Grace were busy on the
bombing victims from the 25th. As he walked in, Nat looked up, her
expression grim. "Talk to Schanke?"
"Not since last time. He's supposed to call again before my shift
tomorrow," Nick stepped back, there was a lot of blood in the air, he
struggled to keep the hunger out of his voice when he continued, "I'm
sure he'll be sorry he's missing all the fun though."
Nat snorted, "Fun, right."
"How's it going?" Nick asked, stepping aside as Grace made an obtrusive
exit. Nat's assistant was more than ready to give them some 'alone
time.'
"Well," Nat shrugged, then looked at the body they'd been working on,
"Least they aren't hard. Cause of death: Bomb. Not much else to say."
"We'll catch him, Nat." Nick promised.
"I know you will," Nat sighed, staring at the body, "Doesn't help him
much, does it?"
"No," Nick frowned, "But it will stop it from happening again."
"And that's all we can hope for," Nat looked up at him, "We can't change
the past, but we can try to make it a better tomorrow."
Nick raised an eyebrow, "Is this a subtle moral lesson?"
"Why would I stoop to that?" Nat's eyes lit in an evil smile, "Where
there are so many after-school specials to do it for me?"
"I don't watch after-school specials," Nick smiled.
"You don't know what you're missing then," Nat started back to work, her
mood much improved. "All life's problems summed up in an hour, how can
you beat that?"
"It would be hard." Nick chuckled.
"So where's your partner?" Nat asked after a moment of compatible
silence.
"Checking out a lead," Nick shrugged, "Probably nothing she said."
"Hmm, gotta check out everything I guess." Nat said as she continued to
work, "Sure she should be going out by herself though? Thought you had
baby-sitting duty."
"Tracy's a good cop." Nick shrugged, "She can take care of herself.
Besides... I wanted to see you."
Nat looked up to see him giving her the look that always made her knees
melt, "Oh, there's a new shake in the 'fridge." She said, looking down
again to cover her blush.
"Oh... goody." Nick gave her a sunny smile... the one he'd learned from
Tracy, Nat laughed, not buying it for a minute.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comments and coffee mugs to anteros@juno.com
*Disclaimers in part one
That Old Black Magic (5/7)
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
Tracy parked her car outside St. Anne's Church, the place had been
abandoned for years, it looked it too. The paint was peeling, the cement
steps cracked and stained, there were shingles missing on the roof. She
took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before going inside. If
possible the interior was worse than the outside. Most of the pews were
broken, there were a few tarp covered shapes in the shadows, but mostly
it was miscellaneous junk that cluttered the space.
"Hello? Anybody here?" She called out, moving further into the drafty
church. As she entered the main chamber, she saw the darkness was cut by
numerous candles, obviously someone had been here recently. Taking no
chances, she pulled her gun. "Hello?"
Moving in a bit further, she heard a noise above her, looking up she saw
the man from the alley on the balcony overhead. Suddenly he leapt down,
grabbing her. "Where is he?!" He demanded.
Tracy struggled against the apparent madman, "I'm a police officer. Step
back or I'll shoot." She shoved her gun hard into his stomach, letting
him know she meant business.
"I should have known you were involved!" The man sneered, "The Spaniard
-would- find you first."
"Let go!" Tracy repeated, but he didn't release her. Given no choice,
she pulled the trigger. The man flinched, and suddenly his eyes turned
golden, his lips parting to reveal fangs. "Oh, my God!"
"Where is he?" He demanded, truly angry now. He lifted her up, yanking
her into the air with him as he flew up, "You must tell me before you
die. Where is he?"
Tracy looked down, seeing that they were a good half dozen feet off the
ground, she went pale, "Oh hell!"
Suddenly a blur of gold tackled them in mid air, Tracy and the man
tumbled down, slamming into the crumbling plaster wall. Tracy looked up,
dazed as a blonde woman stood over the man, or whatever he was, that had
grabbed her.
"You really have a way with women, Amuru, you know that?" Urs shouted,
then looked at Tracy, "You okay?"
Seeing that the woman's eyes were the same gold as the man's, Tracy just
nodded mutely. Urs turned her attention back to the Inca. "What the
hell do you think you're doing anyway?"
"I must find the Spaniard, you know that," The Inca glared at her,
rising to his feet with a small grunt. He walked over to where Tracy sat
slumped against the wall. "You will tell me where he is." He demanded
again.
"The Spaniard?" Tracy raised an eyebrow, covering her fear with
sarcasm, "Antonio Banderas is the only one I know, and, unfortunately,
that's not personally." She looked from the Inca, to Urs, and back
again, "So what are you?"
"You screwed up big time, Amuru." Urs giggled, only to be cut off by his
glare.
Amuru crouched down beside Tracy, demanding her complete attention with
his now dark eyes, "It is my duty to find Javier Vachon. You -will- tell
me where he is."
Tracy felt a strange humming in the back of her mind, but shook it off.
"I told you, I don't know any Javier Vachon," She mimicked his accent
perfectly as she repeated the name, ignoring his surprised expression,
"Now who, or should I say -what-, are you?"
Urs' eyes widened, "Oh you -really- screwed up Amuru! She's a
resister!"
"Urs," He shot her a warning glance, "Just shut up."
Tracy bristled, "Hey, don't talk to her like that."
"Uh oh, Mate. Girl power." Screed strolled out of the shadows, "Watch
out, their bras will probably burst inta flames ennie second-like."
"Screed," The Inca sighed wearily, this just couldn't get any better
could it?
"Welly, what do we 'ave us 'ere?" Screed leaned down close and peered at
Tracy, only to be shoved away a second later by the Inca, "Par-undone
me," He snorted, "If she won't bamboozle ya gots ta do tha deed. Drain
'er."
Tracy's eyes widened and she looked around for her gun, not that it had
helped much before...
"No!" The Inca almost shouted, causing the younger vampires to take
steps back. He looked back at Tracy and drew as slow hand down the side
of her face, "I cannot."
Urs and Screed exchanged a look. Screed slipped a hand under his shirt
and mimicked a beating heart, mouthing 'He's got it bad,' to the stunned
Urs, who nodded.
"You're-" Tracy cursed herself when her voice cracked, "You're
-vampires-?"
Amuru grimaced, then swallowed, "Uh, no?"
"You're a vampire," Tracy giggled nervously, "And a terrible liar."
"Oh God, tha Inky is bein' cutesy wit' a mortal?" Screed huffed and
fell back into a dusty couch, "It's one a tha seven signs, we're all
doomed!"
"Screed, be nice," Urs scolded. She'd come to meet the carouche for
God-only-knew-what reason, they weren't a crew anymore, especially with
Vachon gone, but maybe it was just habit? Who knew? It didn't matter
now anyway, she looked back at Tracy, they had more important things to
worry about. Normally she'd never say a mortal was 'important' but this
wasn't just any mortal. This was a mortal who had pulled the Inca's
attention away from finding Vachon, and even if it didn't last more than
a moment, it was still longer than Urs had seen in her over 100 years.
Suddenly something occurred to her, "Hey, why are you here anyway?"
It took a second for Tracy to realize that the woman, Urs?, was talking
to her. "I'm a cop, Detective Tracy Vetter. I'm supposed to be out..."
She looked from Urs at the two male vampires then back again, "Looking
for suspicious behavior."
"Ya sayin' is ya spotted da Inky an' yers truly an' we seemed odd in
that there alleyway?" Screed asked, his tone was shocked, but his eyes
danced with amusement. "Well, I nev'r!"
Tracy started to laugh, but then stopped short. This was just too
bizarre. Vampires. There was no such thing, there couldn't be. But
she'd seen their eyes change, the fangs... hell she'd even shot Amuru
point blank in the stomach! What other explanation could there be? She
shook her head slightly, willing herself to just put her disbelief aside
for the moment. She focused on the situation and let the cop in her
surface, "Who the hell is this Vachon?" She asked suddenly, sensing that
whoever this character was, he was very important to understanding these
three... vampires.
Screed and Urs exchanged a look over Amuru's head, Tracy saw them frown,
but the Inca just continued look at her. For the longest time he said
nothing, as if trying to decide whether or not to tell her anything.
Finally she saw his shoulders relax slightly, his dark eyes seemed to
focus on some faraway point and he began to speak. "I am a soldier of
the Great Atahuallpa, leader of the People of the Sun. I met my death in
1531 at the hands of a Spaniard named Javier Vachon."
Tracy gasped. That was over 450 years ago!
"Ice it dude," Screed hissed, "Tha bird don't need ta 'ear that!"
But the Inca ignored him, just continued on as if he and Tracy were the
only ones present. "He was a soldier under the rat-pig Pizarro, he wore
too much armor. I thought I could crush him with ease."
"You attacked him from behind a tree," Urs accused, having heard this
story enough times from her master. "Behind his back."
Amuru paused, turning to glare at the pixie-like vampiress before
turning back to Tracy. He shrugged, "He invaded my land."
"Go on," Tracy encouraged in a neutral voice, not really sure if she
really wanted to hear this, but too fascinated to even consider stopping
him.
"Two great warriors, fighting for our lives, but by the time the sun god
had left the sky we were spent, we only had enough strength left to
deliver our final blows." Amuru nodded, his hand absently came up and he
gently touched Tracy's cheek. The detective didn't know whether to be
comforted or threatened by the gesture, she sat still under his hand. "It
was in the darkness that she came to us. She'd been watching. Said that
she could still hear courage in our dying hearts."
"Who?" Tracy whispered after he was silent too long.
"The Angel," Urs signed, dropping to her knees beside Tracy, she turned
then and sat against the wall beside her. She looked across the mortal
at Amuru, but his eyes were focused on some random spot on the wall, lost
in his memories. "She was their master, she made them vampires."
"She bit them?" Tracy frowned.
"Sucked 'em near dry she did," Screed cracked, though his words were
sarcastic, his voice carried an edge of awe.
"Bound them together for forever." Urs continued solemnly, "Charging
them to stop senseless killing in the world. She wanted those that
treasured life to live, and those that didn't to die."
"We were her warriors. We were her chosen ones..." Amuru whispered,
breathing the words as if they were part of a chant. Something the
faithful would say over and over again to assure themselves that
everything would be all right.
"What happened to her?" Tracy asked, somehow knowing that the 'Angel'
wasn't around any more.
"She fried 'erself, that's wot 'appened ta 'er," Screed snorted from his
dust-covered couch. "She waited 'til tha ol' burnin' sun came up an'
done 'erself proper."
Tracy craned her neck to look past Amuru, who seemed to have chosen to
ignore the Cockney vampire yet again. Tracy saw the oddly dressed
vampire sink further into the couch, almost wilting into it. "Did you
know her?" She asked softly, a human shouldn't have been able to hear
her from where he was, but when he looked up she knew he had.
"'Ow old do ya take me fer?" He snorted, "I weren't evern close ta
bein' yanked en' spanked way back when. An' befer ya ask, Urs is even
younger 'en me, she only clocks in at a 'undred."
"Oh," Tracy said softly, cocking her head to one side. He had the air
of an orphan about him. Actually... she looked from Screed to Urs and
back at the Inca, they all did. Long ago abandoned by a mother that two
of them had never even met. "And Vachon? What happened to him?"
Suddenly Amuru stood up with a growl and stalked away. He crossed the
church floor quickly and ripped open a pine crate, withdrawing a dark
green bottle he quickly opened and drained it.
"Um, I take it this is not a good memory?" Tracy turned her eyes on
Urs, who shrugged.
"Vachon tried to stake him," The woman admitted, "But you've got to
remember that they'd been trying to do that before they were brought
across too."
"Needless ta say 'e didn't succeed. V-man 'as tha arm o' a girl
sumtimes." Screed chuckled, climbing to his feet and taking few steps
towards the corner where Tracy and Urs sat compatibly. He paused,
looking at them, "They werra mismatchid pair, Felix en' Oscar to a tee.
Vachonetti took off as soon as 'e got a chance."
"He ran?" Tracy's eyes widened. Until this point the story had had a
kind of heroic epic feel to it, holy quest and all, "But," She frowned in
confusion, "Why run?"
"He claims because he was young." Across the room Amuru sighed,
reminding Tracy of a father of a rebellious child. Or maybe an older
brother. He understood his motives, he just didn't approve of them.
"Immortal. He had eternity and the last thing he would have wanted was to
spend it chained to a mortal enemy."
"Javier's always running; from Amuru, from responsibility. That's part
of his charm, you see. He's so hard to catch." Urs gave Tracy a small,
sad smile.
"I don't think I would like Vachon," Tracy declared, then asked, "Where
is he? Is he dead?"
"Nah, 'e pulled up stakes en' blew town fer parts unknown." Screed
shrugged as if that were to be expected.
"So they say." Amuru said, clearly not believing it.
"We ern't runnin' as a crew no more so me an' Ursula stayed." Screed
continued. "See tha Inky 'ere is always tryin' ta 'erd the V-man inta
'elpin' 'im fight tha good fight. Apparently me an' us don't count none
towards tha'."
Tracy wasn't sure if he sounded relieved or put out by that, maybe a bit
of both. She looked to Amuru, but he just shrugged and looked down at
the bottle in his hands. A bottle of blood, she realized with a start.
"I gotta go." She said suddenly, causing all three vampires look up at
her in surprise, almost as if they'd forgotten she was there. "I-I'm
still on duty..." She trailed off, looking towards the door.
There was a long silence, "You can't tell anyone." Amuru said finally.
"You mean I can't call Jerry Tate?!" Tracy mock whined... only Screed
laughed. She sighed, "Look, I'm not going to tell anyone. Who would
believe me, right?"
"You will be killed if the others find out you know." Amuru told her
matter-of-factly.
Tracy swallowed, "How many others are there? In Toronto, I mean."
"Lots, more than Boise that's for sure," Urs piped up cheerfully, then
frowned, "But they're right, we can't let anyone know you know, 'cause if
they know you know it'll be over, they'll kill you." Urs stared at her
with wide blue eyes.
"So it's against the rules for... non-vampires to know about vampires?"
Tracy asked.
"Aginst tha Code," Screed nodded, "Thares also the Enforcers, who'd do
us all iffen they find out tha Inky 'ere spilled tha beans."
Amuru glared, but didn't correct him. He turned to Tracy, "You may
go... Tracy." He said her name uncertainly, as if expecting her to take
exception to him using it.
She just nodded, climbing to her feet. She started towards the door,
but then turned back and looked at the three vampires, they looked back.
"How will I find you again?"
"We'll find you." Amuru and Screed exclaimed, though Urs just bit her
lip and shook her head slightly.
Tracy stared for a moment, then nodded sharply and walked out into the
dawning light.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comments and coffee mugs to anteros@juno.com
*Disclaimers in part one
That Old Black Magic (6/7)
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
"Closeness, loyalty, duty... just what is it that binds people
together? Is it blood? Family...? Ah, family."
Nick shook his head and switched off the stereo in him loft. Obviously
Lacroix was not taking Janette's departure well at all. For the first
time in as long as Nick could remember it was his master who was more
moody than him. He shrugged, glancing at the clock. Right at 7 the
phone rang. "Knight."
"Heyo partner o' mine, how's it hanging?"
"Hi Schank," Nick smiled, his partner seemed in a much better mood then
last time they'd talked, he must have finally forgiven him for missing
that bowling tournament. "Good. How's Alberta?"
"Ah, can't complain." Schanke pulled the receiver away to take a bite
of the chili cheese dog in his hand, "Dollard has been locked up, the key
tossed." He continued, his mouth full, "Made Cohen's day. Thought she
was going to do a victory dance right there in the middle of court."
Nick laughed, "So you'll be heading back soon?"
"Yep, tomorrow hopefully," Schanke smiled, already picturing how happy
Myra and Jenny would be to see him. He shook his head, clearing it of
the dreams of the soulvaki welcome home dinner that awaited, "So, you
surviving without me? How's the baby-sitting duty?"
"Not bad, she's a good cop." He smiled, "But she's no Don Schanke."
"Yeah, but who is, right?" Don laughed, "Any word on who'll be getting
Vetter once she's done with you?"
Nick raised a brow, "Schank, you make it sound so... sordid."
"I try."
"And I don't know," Nick stared out the darkened windows, it was almost
time to leave for work. "Hey, I have to get going. See you when you get
back?"
"Hell yeah," Don smiled, "You're picking me up at the airport."
Nick groaned good-naturedly, "As long as you land -after- sundown."
"I'll think about it," Schanke laughed. "Take care partner. Oh and
about that Vetter gal..."
"Yeah?" Nick's brow furrowed.
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He laughed and hung up.
Nick put down the receiver and shook his head. "See ya partner."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Later in the bull pen, Nat walked up to Tracy and Nick's desks. Nick
still wasn't in, so she turned her attention to the -other- blonde
homicide detective. She frowned, she hadn't really connected with the
younger woman before, but it didn't take a close association to tell that
she was positively rattled now. "Hey Trace, you look a little
shell-shocked. Something happen?"
Tracy started at the sound of her voice , "Yeah, yeah. It's just..."
She looked at Nat, "Have you ever had something happen that just, I don't
know, changes -everything-? Like one day your life is completely normal,
you're in control, you know where you're going and then -BAM- someone
throws you such a curve ball that..." Tracy blushed, looking back down at
her desk, "Never mind, I'm not making a lot of sense."
Nat gave her a measuring look, "I don't know about that."
"So, I don't sound like a nut job?"
"Well, I don't know about that either," Nat gave her a wink, "I'm just
saying I-" But whatever she was going to say was cut off when Reese and
Nick walked up, holding something between them. "What's that?" The ME
asked.
"Some swap meet dealer brought it in twenty minutes ago. Bought it from
a scavenger -- homeless guy who found it on a sewer pipe. Idiot thought
it was a cellular phone transponder." Reese shook his head.
"Okay, not a transponder," Tracy stood and looked down at the at the
metallic box, "So what is it?"
"Vudu," Nick growled, popping the box open, "Techs already looked it
over, detonators are a positive match."
"A bomb?" Nat gasped, taking an unconscious step back.
"This one's already been disabled," Reese assured her, "But it's got
enough Semtex to level a city block. And he's got enough of the stuff to
make sixty of these."
"In the sewers..." Tracy's eyes went wide, "He's going to take out the
city!"
"All right, we're getting people off the streets. Out of the subways.
Downtown apartment buildings. Hotels. We've got to get everyone out."
Reese told them, "We're also setting up search teams. They could be
anywhere, but since this one was underground, we're starting there."
Nick grunted, "Good a place as any."
Tracy's mind immediately flew to the vampires, could they help? "Okay,
lets start." She grabbed her coat and started for the door behind Nick
and Reese, then stopped, "Oh, wait."
Nat looked up from where she was staring at the disabled bomb, "Yeah?"
"Look, I gotta check something-" She trailed off, she pulled Gary's
number from her desk. There was a coffee stain where she'd set a cup on
the napkin, she hadn't actually planned on calling him. "Gary Reynolds,
he's an underground engineer with the city." She explained at Nat's
questioning look. "He asked me out." She admitted with chagrin.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Nat laughed. "Well, call."
She prompted.
Tracy nodded, then dialed the cell number, "Gary, hi, it's Tracy. Have
you got a minute? I've got an emergency here."
"Sure, anything for my favorite cop." Gary told her, "Just finished
some structural inspections over on Bloor. Just taking a break now."
"I've got a really bad bomb situation. The entire downtown area. We
think they may be underground." Tracy continued, "Maybe sixty of them.
Blue metal boxes, about the size of an oatmeal carton."
"Do they say 'City of Toronto' on them?" Gary asked.
"You know?" Tracy asked in surprise, she glanced at Nat, who looked
back with wide eyes.
"Yeah, I've seen a bunch of them. I thought they were the new gas
monitors." Gary explained, "I can show you where." He offered.
"That would be great," Tracy said, then frowned, "Actually, I have
something I've got to do..." She looked up at Nat, who was still watching
closely. She covered the receiver with her hand and explained, "He saw a
bunch, but they might not be the bombs, can you go with him and see?"
"Yeah, absolutely," Nat nodded, figuring Tracy was going to head off
with a bomb squad. Since she wasn't a cop, Nat couldn't join in the
hunt, but she -could- meet up with the engineer then call a squad if they
indeed found more bombs.
"Great," Tracy smiled, then turned her attention back to the phone,
"Listen Gary, can you meet my friend instead?"
"Uh..."
"Nat's an ME," Tracy explained, "She works for the city too."
"Sure, I can do that. Have her meet me at St. Patrick's Station, say in
ten minutes. They're underneath in the heating tunnels." Gary told her.
"All right," Tracy beamed, setting down the receiver and turning to Nat,
"He'll meet you at the train station, St. Pat's in ten minutes."
"All right, sounds like a plan," Nat nodded, watching Tracy smile before
marching out of the precinct herself. Nat sighed, sure meeting the city
worker wasn't as much as the cops were doing, but she was glad to do her
part. And, she admitted to herself, she was secretly glad -her- job
wasn't quite so dangerous as theirs.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tracy started down the front steps, only to come face to face with the
Inca. She froze, so did he, and for a moment they just stood there,
staring at each other. "Amuru."
He breathed in sharply, it was the first time she'd said his name. "The
news, bombs."
Tracy nodded, catching on at once. "Vudu, we think he's going to try to
blow up the entire city. There was one in the sewers. I thought maybe
Screed..."
The Inca nodded, then quickly pulled her around the building.
"Hey, what are you-" Tracy started, then gasped when he pulled her into
his arms.
"Hold tight," He whispered, leaping into the air. Minutes later they
touched down in an alley several blocks from the precinct, he released
her and pulled up a heavy storm grate, "Ladies first." He motioned, a
small smile tilting his lips.
"You've got to be kidding me," She looked at him, his amusement clear,
"Do you have any idea how many diseases are represented down there?"
"You wanted to speak with Screed." He explained, "It's not my fault he
lives underground."
"Some of us can actually die from them, you know." Tracy muttered,
giving up and sitting down to lower herself into the darkness below.
Somehow he was there to catch her before she touched the ground, "How'd
you-?"
"I won't let you die," He whispered, letting her slide down his body
before releasing her and taking a step back.
"Okay." Tracy looked back up at the open grate, wondering just how fast
he could move. She looked back at the Inca, his dark eyes watched her as
if waiting for something. "Screed?"
"Yes," He nodded, "This way."
Tracy followed him through the dark twisting tunnels, almost wholly
devoid of light. Obviously vampire eyes were much better than human's,
she couldn't see a thing. Her hand crept forward and grabbed his, he
stilled a moment, but then gave her hand a quick squeeze and continued on
silently.
After what seemed like forever, Tracy spotted an odd glow coming from up
ahead. Her nose twitched when she picked up the smell of candle wax, it
was a welcome scent after what she'd almost grown used to in the tunnels.
She looked at the door, from what she could tell it was a roundish hole
cut through the sewer wall into some building's basement, covered with a
bit of burlap. The Inca pushed it aside, revealing a dingy little room
filled with mismatched furniture and, Tracy grimaced, several husk-like,
dried rat bodies hanging by a string across the ceiling.
"Is that you, Vman? Thought ya'd be on yer way ta udder ports o' call by
now." Screed's voice carried up from a little tent made of stained
sheets.
Tracy looked to Amuru, but he didn't chose to correct the Cockney
vampire. In fact, he stayed silent, maybe waiting to see what Screed
would tell 'Vachon.'
"Da Inky's lookin' fer ya, shure yer surprised ta 'ear that." He
laughed, "Anyhoo, made a haul tonight. I am knacked. T's putting in
these cellular transponders. Bring me a bill easy down at the swap
meet."
"They aren't transponders," Tracy piped up, she should have guess the
scavenger was Screed!
There was a muffled curse, then Screed's head popped out of his tent.
He looked briefly at Tracy, before glaring at Amuru. "Oh, fine, bit o' a
party down 'ere while we're about it, shall we? 'Ey, ya even brought yer
lil' blonde birdy wit' ya. 'Ow nice an'-"
"Be quiet, carouche," The dark vampire growled. He spotted one of the
bombs sitting on a nearby table, he scooped it up, "You will tell her
where you found this."
Screed swept out of his tent and grabs it, "'Ands off!"
"You know what that is?" Tracy asked tentatively, reaching forward and
tapping it lightly with her finger.
Screed looked down and watched her trembling hand, knowing that
something was wrong. "Sure, it's a phone trans..." He trailed off when
she shook her head, pointedly ignoring the Inca's almost inaudible growl.
"Well, wot is it then?"
"It's a bomb," Tracy explained, "With enough Semtex in them to blow up a
city block."
"That would be the goo what's inside?" Screed looked down at the box
worriedly.
"Yeah. Oof, thanks" Tracy huffed when he shoved it into her arms with a
little more force than was necessary. "We need to find as many as
possible, get them to the bomb squad."
"An why should I 'elp ya?" Screed eyed her, "I's ain't no superzero li'
you en tha Inky."
"You will help," Amuru grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against
the wall, "Or you will die!"
"Let him go!" Tracy yelped, yanking uselessly at his arm. She wasn't
strong enough to have any effect, but after a moment he shrugged and
released him. She turned to Screed, who was rubbing his neck and
mumbling about whiplash. "Ten bucks each." She offered.
His green eyes lit up, "Ya'd be willin' ta pay?"
"Yeah," Tracy nodded, "You'll help?"
Screed looked from Tracy to the Inca, then back. He smiled, "Good
citizen Screed, is always willin' ta 'elp 'is fellow man."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comments and coffee mugs to anteros@juno.com
*Disclaimers in part one
That Old Black Magic (7/7)
By: Cousin Mary (Jenkins)
Nat drove up to St. Patrick's Station and climbed out of her car. She
looked around and spotted a lone man waving from a bench. She headed
towards him. Suddenly her cell phone rang shrilly, she answered it,
"Lambert."
"Nat, where are you?" It was Nick.
Nat sighed, "Meeting a friend of Tracy's, underground engineer. I'm
going to look at some boxes he found, tell him if they're the bombs or
just gas monitors."
"Okay, good." Nick's voice was muffled as he explained to someone else,
presumably Reese, where she was, "Listen Nat, if they -are- bombs-"
"Don't touch them," Nat cut him off with a laugh, "Don't worry
detective, I do have enough sense to wait for the bomb squad. Even
though I -have- seen an awful lot of episodes of MacGuyver..."
"Who?"
"Never mind," Nat giggled, "Well there he is, talk to you later." She
said goodbye to Nick and headed over to the man on the bench, "Gary?"
"You must be Nat." He stood and smiled, a smile Nat noticed didn't
quite meet his eyes. Warning bells sounded in her head. He noticed the
fear flash through her eyes and looked away, grabbing a shopping bag from
the bench behind him. "This had been for Tracy," He held it out to her,
"But since she sent you instead..."
Nat looked down at the bag, but made no move to touch it, "You were
going to show me the bomb?" Her voice trembled.
"And I am." He told her smugly.
Her eyes snapped up, "Vudu."
"In the flesh," He smiled, his eyes glazed wildly, "Take it!"
Nat took the bag, looking down at it as if it were filled with snakes.
She looked back up, "Why?"
He said nothing, just began humming 'That old black magic.' He waved
his hands in front of her, making a production of showing there was
nothing up his sleeves, then his hands slipped behind his back, coming
back with a gun in one and a small remote control in the other. Nat
swallowed, realizing there was more to fear from the control than the
revolver.
He held the remote control out and, with the barrel of the gun, pressed
a small flashing red button. Suddenly Nat heard music, looking down she
knew it was coming from the bag she held. The bomb she held.
"Open it. I made it for Tracy, but," He shrugged, "You'll do."
Nat looked at the gun, then reluctantly did as he asked. She pulled out
the music box, opening it to see a small, slender blonde ballerina
figurine twirling to the music. "It looks like Tracy." She sighed.
"Doesn't it?" He laughed, "There's no way to disarm this one. There's
a range of ten miles. A five-minute mainspring. I mean, it's some of my
best work."
Nat shook her head in disbelief, "So how many bombs are there?"
"Forty. Should level everything quite nicely." He told her smugly,
sitting back down on the bench. With the gun he motioned for her to do
the same, "So let's just sit down, listen to the music, and wait for it
to wind down."
Nat collapsed into the bench, "God, this can't be happening." She
looked back at Gary, but he was just staring at the box, humming along.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"That's ten." Screed said proudly, handing the boxes to the bomb expert
as Tracy looked on.
"Very good," Tracy said, her eyes widening when Screed turned to beam at
her.
"'Ell yeah it is!" He agreed, before heading off in search of more.
The Inca came up behind them and dropped off a few more, ignoring
Screed. He turned to Tracy, "That's all I could find here."
"Hmm, I'll call Nat," Tracy frowned, grabbing her cell phone and
punching in a number, "See if the gas monitors turned out to be bombs
too." She frowned after a few moments, then looked back at Amuru,
"That's strange. Why wouldn't she answer?"
"Where is she?" He asked, picking up on her apprehension.
"St. Patrick Station," She told him, quickly explaining about the
coroner and the engineer. She didn't protest when the Inca led her into
the alley, though she almost did when he once again pulled her into his
arms and took to the air. "I'll never get used to this." She mumbled
through clenched teeth moments before touching down at the train yard.
She looked around, walking around the building in search of the coroner,
the Inca trailing behind her.
"There," He pointed to the couple seated on the bench, their backs to
them.
"Hold on." Tracy put a restraining hand on his arm. By the hair she
could tell that that was indeed Nat, but... why were they just sitting
there? Shouldn't they be out looking for the bombs? "Wait here," She
told him, walking towards the couple. "Nat?"
The pair turned, and Tracy gasped. Nat's face was a mask of grief and
fear, but Gary just looked elated.
"Tracy!" He grinned, jumping to his feet and facing her, "So glad you
could make it. Come, join us!"
Tracy saw the gun in his hand, then noticed the tinny notes coming from
the music box, she looked back at Gary, "Vudu."
He bowed slightly, then started to point his gun at her, only to find
Tracy already had hers trained on him.
"Drop your weapon," She ordered, "This is over Vudu."
He laughed, aiming at Tracy none-the-less.
Nat sat there stalk-still, then, out of the corner of her eye she
noticed a movement, a tall, dark man signaling her to sneak away. She
looked back at Gary, but his attention was locked on Tracy. Nat slowly
stood and began creeping away, backwards, keeping her eyes on the madman.
"You won't get away with this Vudu," Tracy repeated, "Drop the gun or I
-will- shoot."
"You think I'm afraid of death, Tracy?" Gary's laugher held a
hysterical edge, "Listen," With a jerk of his arm he indicated the music
box, "When that winds down everything for ten miles will be nothing but
dust." He laughed again, "Isn't that right, Nat?" He glanced away from
Tracy and saw the bench was empty, "No!"
Nat froze, watching in almost slow motion as Vudu spun on his heels and
aimed straight at her. She closed her eyes, waiting for him to fire.
She heard a shot, then a scream... but not her own. Slowly she cracked
open her eyes, only to see Vudu crumble to the ground, a pool of blood
spreading around him.
"Nat, you all right?" Tracy asked, a wisp of smoke curling off the
barrel of her cobalt blue gun.
"Yeah," The coroner nodded slowly, but then seemed to reconsider that
and shook her head 'no' before passing out.
"Nat!" Tracy yelled, racing around to her side as the other woman
crumbled to the ground. When she reached her side, Amuru was already
there.
"She fainted," He informed her, easing her panic.
"Yeah, guess so," Tracy nodded after quickly checking her over for
wounds. She turned and looked over her shoulder at the music box, it was
winding down. She looked back at Amuru, "What are we going to do?"
He said nothing at first, only walked over and picked up the box,
closing the lid on the tiny, blonde dancer. He looked up at the sky.
"She went to Father Sun. I will go to Mother Moon."
"No!" Tracy yelled, leaving Nat and rushing to him. "You can't!"
"There is no other way," He told her sadly, looking back at the box as
the last notes began to twang quietly. He met Tracy's bright eyes, "I
must."
"I know," She mouthed, tears escaping down her cheeks.
He leaned down and kissed her gently, then leapt into the air with the
bomb.
Tracy couldn't look. Seconds past and there was a deafening explosion.
When she opened her eyes, the landscape was still lit unnaturally with
the aftermath of the blast. She looked to Vudu's body and then to Nat's
still form, she fumbled with her phone to call for back-up, still
refusing to look to the sky.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
At Buckstars the next night Tracy sat across a table from Nat, she
nursed her mocha as the pathologist explained, yet again, how fainting
was completely out of character for her. It had only been the stress of
almost losing Nick in the precinct bombing the night before, compounded
with meeting Vudu herself.
"By the way, remind me to -never- let you set me up on a blind date."
Nat laughed, "I have no problem finding my own psychos
thank-you-very-much."
Tracy smiled sadly, "I'll keep that in mind."
"Hey, what's wrong, kiddo?" Nat asked, concern. "Good guys won, and
this time no one died."
Tracy fought back the tears, wanting to tell her new friend that yes,
someone had, but she couldn't. "Yeah, I guess." She forced a smile.
"I know, let's-" Nat trailed off, her eyes wandering from Tracy to
someone walking up just behind the blonde, "Wow, deja vu."
Tracy turned, gasping when she saw Amuru approaching. He was walking a
bit stiffly, but besides that, he looked fine. She leapt to her feet and
threw herself into his arms. He held her for a moment, neither noticing
when Nat discreetly excused herself and headed back to the lab.
"How did you-?" Tracy started, only to be quieted when he lifted a
finger to her lips. She looked at him and, noticing his somber
expression, her eyes narrowed, "You're leaving, aren't you?" She
accused.
He looked away, releasing her instantly when she began to pull away.
"The Spaniard headed east."
Tracy waited, but he didn't elaborate. She sighed, "So that's it then?"
"Screed and Ursula will look after you," He stared at her, "If you need
it."
"How much did you have to pay them to promise that?" She laughed
somewhat bitterly, "I won't need it." A stilted silence fell between
them. "You'll... come back?" She asked finally, looking down at her
feet.
He hesitated, then nodded, "If the gods allow, I shall try."
"I hope so, I-" Tracy started, but when she looked up, he was gone. She
looked around and sighed, "Until next time then."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
So... sequel? Yes? No?
Comments and coffee cups to anteros@juno.com
(
geocities.com/area51/hollow/1228) (
geocities.com/area51/hollow) (
geocities.com/area51)