This is the sequel to "Whispers in the Dark" (for the under 18 crowd,
that was the sequel to "Unwelcome Guest") This is the last in my
little series, since I think I've dragged this out long enough.
Title: Day of Reckoning
by Emma Lighton
Tracy walked into the precinct with a happy bounce in her step. A
night off usually improved her mood, but after last night, she was
having a hard time keeping a smile off her face.
Nick didn't seem to be there yet, but Tracy wasn't really
surprised. She always seemed to get here before him. She headed for
her desk, giving Miller a cheerful greeting as she passed.
"Whatever you had yesterday, do you think it's contagious?" Miller
teased, taking in the young detectives mood.
"Maybe." Tracy plopped down in her chair, still smiling. The smile
didn't even waver as it took in the pile of paperwork her partner had
left for her.
She leant back in her chair and, closing her eyes, she let her mind
drift back to the previous day. While Tracy was sure nothing would
ever be quite as erotic as the sensation of being brought across,
Vachon had certainly tried to prove her wrong. Their lovemaking had
only been interrupted by Vachon teaching her what she'd need to know
to survive, and by their first argument.
Tracy opened her eyes and glared briefly at Nick's still empty
chair. She still couldn't believe Nick hadn't told her. Vachon had
eventually managed to make her understand why he hadn't said
anything, but Nick had constantly put her in danger by not letting
her know the truth. The memory of all the times she'd risked herself,
unnecessarily trying to save his butt, started to chip away at her
good mood. Taking a deep breath, Tracy turned her thoughts,
hurriedly, to other things.
Closing her eyes again, she let her new senses explore the familiar
interior of the room, filling in information that had always been
there, but her mind hadn't been able to register before. The scents
and sounds mingled enticingly, causing her to feel somewhat light
headed.
Suddenly, she stiffened slightly, as she realized her fangs had
dropped and that her eyes were burning behind the lids. Quickly,
Tracy focused herself, as Vachon had taught her, and carefully pushed
back awareness of the offending sensations.
Once she had herself back under control, Tracy opened her eyes
cautiously, to see if she'd attracted any attention. She was greeted
by the sight of Natalie heading towards her. Tracy greeted her
warmly, deciding not to hold Natalie's silence on Nick's condition
against her. She definitely agreed with Vachon on that one, Nick had
left a lot of people caught in the middle by demanding their silence,
and her own sense of fair play said she should give Natalie a chance
to explain her reasons before passing judgment. After all, she hadn't
told Schanke either.
"Hi Tracy, glad to see you're feeling better." Natalie paused to
study Tracy's expression. "You know, I haven't seen you in this good
a mood since you met..." She let the statement trail off awkwardly,
unsure if Tracy wanted to be reminded about Vudu.
"Don't worry Nat, this one's not a serial bomber." Noticing the
coroner's empty hands, Tracy changed the subject before Natalie could
start asking questions. "Looking for Nick?"
"Actually yes, have you seen him?"
"No. I just got here myself, but I don't remember seeing his car in
the lot." She watched Natalie's body language, and decided that she
hadn't noticed anything different.
Natalie was about to say something, when Tracy felt the presence of
another vampire tingle along her senses. Looking up she saw Nick
standing in the doorway, his eyes scanning the room. Finally, his
gaze settled on her, and he recoiled slightly, as if punched.
"Speak of the devil." Natalie turned and noticed Nick.
"He looks surprised to see you."
"Probably decided that if I called in sick, I had to be on my death
bed."
"Probably." Natalie laughed and went to talk to Nick.
Tracy watched Nick as he tried to end the conversation with Natalie
as quickly as possible, without arousing her suspicion or offending
her. His gaze kept flashing back to where his partner was seated
calmly behind her desk, sorting through their paperwork.
*Probably thinks I'm going to sneak off and kill someone* Tracy
thought, remembering what Vachon had told her about Nick.
Finally, Natalie left and he made his way over to his desk. Nick
leant forward across the desktop to glare at his partner. "What have
you done!"
"You mean besides sorting out the paperwork *you* should have
done?" She held out a stack of folders. When he ignored them, she
dropped them on his desk.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about." His eyes narrowed as he
stared at her. "I warned him. When I find Vachon, I'm going to..."
"Knight, Vetter," Reese's voice interrupted Nick's threat. "They
just found a body, near a club called the Raven. Sounds like a messy
one." He gave Tracy an apologetic look.
"No problem Cap. They don't bother me as much now." Tracy stood up
and grabbed her coat. "You coming Nick?" He straightened up and
followed her.
* * * * *
Tracy glanced at her partner's face as the car weaved swiftly
through the late night traffic. Nick's expression looked forbidding,
but she knew that they had to have this confrontation sometime.
"When did I ask you to start making decisions on how I want to live
my life?" Her question startled him.
"I'm wasn't trying to run your life, I was just trying to protect
you. You have no idea what you've sacrificed, do you?"
"I don't need your protection. I am old enough to make my own
decisions. Just because you regret a choice *you* made eight hundred
years ago, doesn't mean that that choice is wrong for everyone else."
"What about your soul? What about the incessant hunger for human
blood. Are you really prepared to become a murderer?" He turned to
glare at her, and the caddy began drifting out of it's lane.
"Nick, watch the road." He pulled the car back out of the oncoming
traffic. "Look, I was never a really religious person, and back
before blood banks, this probably wouldn't have been the choice I
would have made, but just because I now live on blood doesn't mean
I'm going to become some mass murdered. There are other options."
"You're new at this. Give it a couple of days, you'll see I'm
right." He didn't look at her, and drove the rest of the way in a
gloomy silence.
* * * * *
The crime scene wasn't pretty, just as Reese had predicted. Tracy
paused by the side of the caddy, long enough to block out the
overpowering scent of blood. Then she pushed through the crowd of
gawking bystanders, and followed Nick into the alley behind the club,
where Natalie was already examining the corpse.
"Looks like multiple stab wounds." She announced as the two
detectives approached, then she raised her head to look at them.
"Nick, are you okay?"
"I'm fine Nat." Despite his assurances, Tracy thought he looked
very uncomfortable. Before tonight, she would have chalked it up to
nausea, but now... Something clicked into place, from what Nick had
said and what she'd been told about him.
"I'll go talk to the witnesses, unless you'd rather do it?" She
told Nick. He looked up at her. Judging from his expression, he
expected her to be battling for control, and he was surprised at her
composure.
"I think I'd better do it."
Natalie gave them both a questioning glance, and Nick simply shook
his head before moving off. She turned her gaze to Tracy, who just
smiled sweetly.
"I'm sure he'll explain later." Looking frustrated Natalie turned
her attention to the body.
After a few more minutes, the body was ready to be moved, and Tracy
turned her attention to the gathered crowd. From their appearance,
most of them seemed to have come from inside the Raven. Knowing he
was the curious type, Tracy concentrated on their link, and quickly
located Vachon.
Casually, Tracy worked her way out of the crime scene and stopped
near the mouth of another alley. Vachon appeared by her side a few
seconds afterward.
"He doesn't know how to control it properly, does he?"
Vachon shrugged. "Probably not. His master is the really
controlling type. I guess he figured, the less Knight can control the
beast in him, the more he can control Knight."
"And I thought my father was bad."
"Who knows, maybe watching you will convince him it's possible. I
think he'd be a lot happier that way."
"Well, before you feel too sorry for him, he was in the process of
threatening to kill you before we were sent here."
"I think he's past that. He looks more depressed than angry at
the moment." They both watched Nick exit the alley, and stand looking
around despondently.
"I think he's looking for me." Tracy gave Vachon a quick kiss. "See
you after work." She headed back towards the car. Some of Nick's
depression receded as he saw her, replaced by curiosity.
"How did you..." He shook his head. "It's not possible you could
have that much control, in such a short period of time."
"Look Nick, I've heard all about your problems and your quest.
Didn't you ever notice that none of the vampires around you seem to
have the same problems? How many have you seen lose control and start
killing everyone and sight?" Nick thought for a minute.
"Two." He shook his head in despair. "I never should have brought
them across."
Tracy gave an exasperated sigh. Nick really was a brick at times.
"How about vampires other people have brought across?"
He stared at her blankly for a long time. "Are you saying that they
went out of control, because I didn't teach them something? I taught
them everything I knew." Tracy nodded, then watched as realization
dawned. Nick turned towards the club's entrance, with a murderous
expression in his eyes.
Grateful that the street was now fairly deserted, Tracy grabbed his
arm and dragged him back towards the car. "I've got a better idea,
instead of trying to pound your master's head in, to get the
information, I'll tell you on the way back to the station."
The End
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