Forever Knight isn't mine, and any other characters are my own creations. FK belongs to Sony/Tristar and no copyright infringement is intended. I try to create new stories rather than rehash old ones, so if I do good please let me know. Any similarities to other stories or fan fiction is purely coincidental.
I've gotten a lot of email lately about 'when am I going to write another story' and I'm flattered. I hope this story meets all of your expectations and I hope it was worth the wait.
Special thanks to my beta-reader, Stephanie, Buffy and FK fanatic and Die-hard. If I ever need Buffy info, I know exactly where to get it. {{{{Hugs}}}}
**Minor bad words here, but they were deemed necessary to convey the intensity of the situation.**
========================================
Bad Medicine
------------
By Cousin Raven (raven@naturesong.com)
Time Period: *After "The Fix" (Minor Spoiler)
"...there ain't no doctor that can cure my disease..." -Bon Jovi, 'Bad Medicine'
------
The darkness of the night was complete, covering the benches and trees of the park. A soft breeze rustled the leaves and the navy pea coat of a man sitting on the bench. He muttered to himself, "Better get here soon...I got things to do..." He clutched a brown paper bag to himself self-consciously and sighed.
He heard footsteps approaching and a man in a long brown overcoat appeared on the path.
"'bout time," the man on the bench said.
"Yeah, well, time isn't something I'm worried about anymore. You got the stuff?"
"Yeah, right here," the man on the bench says and hands over a brown paper bag.
The man in the brown overcoat looks in the bag and says, "Good." Then he reaches in and takes out a small syringe and a small vial of clear liquid. He upends the bottle, sticks the needle in, and draws some liquid out.
"Hey, man," the man on the bench says, "Where's my money?"
"Right here," the man with the syringe says and plunges the needle into the mans throat.
The man drops, clutching at his neck.
The other man calmly puts the cover back on the syringe, drops it into the bag along with the bottle, and calmly walks away with his stolen prize.
------
Cut to opening sequence...
------
Natalie stared into the microscope and waited for a reaction. The small blood sample she had taken from Nick for research was almost gone and still she had made no progress.
She'd started a new spin on her research by observing the blood itself; it seemed like a living being on it's own, which she decided it was. The 'vampire factor' had planted itself in every cell she had examined *except* the red blood cells. It seemed to eat them like candy, hence the need for blood.
She checked the clock and tried to hurry. The small sample would shrink in size as it fought to live, absorbing everything into the vampire factor. She could make it last longer by adding a small amount of human blood, but eventually that too would be absorbed. The final product of a full pint of vampire blood after a week of experimenting was a small dime sized drop of almost black liquid plasma that proved impervious to everything but sunlight. That explains why they get stronger as they get older, she noted.
The end products of her experiments, woefully unchanged, collected in a small glass vial in her purse. She didn't really know what else to do with it; she couldn't very well just leave it in the lab.
She watched as the sample on the slide proceeded to absorb yet another red blood cell. It just wrapped around it like it was swallowing it whole, then it burst the cell wall in an unknown way and 'drank' the insides. It was almost a mirror to a vampire killing a mortal. She shivered involuntarily and made notes in her book. It was almost 3/4 full and the only success had been the Litovuterine, which was 'only temporary' a sad scrawl noted at the end of that experiment. Further research in the lab had proved impossible since the vampire factor had developed a tolerance.
Natalie sighed and sat back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. It had been a long night and she poured the last bit of 'vampire leftover' into her vial, screwed the cap on and put it safely away in her purse.
The door to the lab opened and Nick was there, the hopeful, boyish look on his face. "Hi, Nat," he said.
"Hey, Nick. Another raging failure I'm afraid."
He looked confused for a minute, then disappointed. He brushed it off as he had a thousand other times. "Want to get some breakfast, Nat?"
"Breakfast? You?"
"Well, you eat breakfast, I'll talk."
"If you're buying, it's a deal."
Nick smiled and gestured for the door, "Ladies first."
"Age before beauty," Nat countered and mirrored Nick's gesture.
His eyes widened. "You got me there," and they made their way together to the caddy.
----
'Breakfast' turned out to be donuts and coffee at the local donut shop, Sweet'ums Donuts, a favorite hangout of Schanke's. As luck would have it, he was not here tonight.
"Schanke off tonight?" Nat asked as she blew on the warm coffee in front of her.
"Yeah, Jenny's got a school play so I told him I'd cover for him. He's supposed to come in after it's over."
Nat nodded and concentrated on her coffee. The swirling pattern the milk made reminded her of her latest experiment - actually, everything was making her think of her latest experiment, especially the subject who sat before her and seemed to wink out into some kind of flashback every once in awhile. She sighed and remembered how many times she had done just that thinking about Richard. It was too late for regret now, she could only keep trying and hope for the best.
A floating image of Nick making Richard a vampire appeared in her head. He hadn't shared blood with Richard, but yet it still worked. Her head started to pound but an idea formed in her mind.
"Saliva," she said, matter-or-factly.
Nick blinked from his memories. "What?"
"We've never checked your saliva...could be some good stuff in there, anti-coagulants, painkillers, who knows what else."
Nick didn't appear excited about this idea. "Uh, just what would this experiment entail?"
"Well, we'd put a suction device in your mouth and collect a specimen..." When Nick began to squirm she laughed. "What, you don't mind needles but you can't stand to have a tube in your mouth?"
He smiled, "Silly, huh?"
Brushing his lack of enthusiasm off, she continued, "We could go back to the lab after this and..."
Just then the loud beeping of both of their beepers started. He sighed in relief and checked the number. It was the Captain.
"Well," Nat continued, "*THAT* can only mean one thing."
"Yeah," Nick said, "Let's go."
----------
The darkness faded as spotlights were placed around the crime scene. The park bench was now unoccupied, the man in navy pea coat was still and very dead on the ground. Police tape surrounds the area.
Flashes go off and as they finish taking pictures, Nat walks over and starts to examine the body.
"Who found him?" Nick said at random to the nearest uniform, Murphy. He pointed and Nick made his way to the man indicated.
"You found him?" he asked the man, a middle aged executive type with graying hair cut in a military style. A german shepard lay at his feet.
"Yes, sir, I'm Martin Bradley. I was taking my dog Sampson out for a walk and I saw him slumped over. I tried to feel for a pulse, but I didn't find any, so I called you all."
"And did you see anyone else around?"
"Nope, just me and Sammy here...I'm sorry I can't help you more."
Nick looked back at the body as they started to bag it up for autopsy. "Me too," he said.
--------
Somewhere else...
The man in the brown overcoat sits on a curb on a quiet street several blocks from the crime scene. He examines the items in the paper bag for the 100th time. It was all there, he couldn't believe it. After ages and ages of working out a plan, it was finally going to happen. "Yup, this world ain't gonna screw me anymore, no sirree, Master Joe is on the prowl tonight...beware." He whispered the last part, then stood up and started for the main streets of town.
---------
"His name was Malcolm Banks Jr.," Nat said as she studied the face of the man on the autopsy table. "He is...or rather was...a drug dealer on the west side."
Nick sighed and read the report aloud, "'Two counts of possession of a narcotic, one count breaking and entering'...Not your average murder victim."
The morgue door opened and Schanke came in, "I hear I missed the party..." He looked at the corpse on the table, "And is this our lucky winner?"
"Yeah, apparent drug overdose, I found a track mark in his neck, not the usual place for a voluntary injection *and* nobody found a syringe. I've got samples at toxicology now, but I'd say we're looking at a homicide."
"Okay," Schanke said and rubbed his hands together, "When do we get started?"
"Now, Schanke, let's go..." Nick winked at Nat as he ushered his partner out of there. It wasn't that he didn't like to be in her presence, he just knew she was going to pull out some tube and stick it in his mouth for an indeterminate amount of time, and he just wasn't ready for that yet.
--------
The blue-green caddy rolled through the night in a smooth motion and Nick was glad. For some reason, Natalie's upcoming experiments made his stomach do flip-flops.
"We got a next of kin?" he asked Schanke.
"Yeah, partner, right here," he passed the paper over, "Looks like he's got a sister on Lakeside, Cynthia Banks."
"Great, Schanke," Nick said and pointed the car in the direction of Lakeside Drive.
**flashback**
A man opens up a rolled packet and reveals various medical implements, including an ancient syringe, several hooks, and a rather dull looking knife. He picks up a hook and looks at Nick, "Okay, open up."
*heartbeat* Nick: "That won't be necessary."
"Nonsense, everyone gets checked..."
**end flashback**
They pull up to a rather nice looking home and step out. They knock and a woman answers the door with a child at her waist.
"Yes?" she asks tentatively.
"Cynthia Banks?" Schanke asks.
"Yes...well, now it's Cynthia Harper, I got married last week."
Nick nodded and said, "This is detective Schanke," he motioned, "And I'm Detective Knight. We'd like to talk to you about your brother, Malcolm." They showed their badges and she let them in.
----
(End part 1)
(Start part 2)
Disclaimers in part 1
----
Natalie lifted Malcolm Banks' liver onto the scale and read the numbers. She flipped the switch on her tape recorder and started to dictate: "Subject's liver weighs 1.36 kilograms at time of autopsy. Severe damage to subject's liver indicates heavy steroid use, appears mildly cancerous..." she took it off the scale and began to examine it more thoroughly, "Pre-cancerous cells, some cirrhosis." She cut into it and let out a gasp. "Inner surface of liver indicates a healthy individual, with no past drug use." She continued to poke around, finally saying into her recorder, "It appears he died of a large dose of some kind of steroid resulting in acute cirrhosis of the liver."
She finished up the autopsy and picked up the phone. After dialing the numbers, a distinctly male voice sounded over the phone, "Narcotics, Detective Nelson."
----
"Thank you very much, Miss Harper," Nick was saying as they made their way from the house.
As the door closed and they approached the caddy, Schanke sighed, "Well, that left us with zip. 'A straight A student, lovely boy.'" He imitated Cynthia. "You know, Knight, we would've got better help from the local street gangs; At least we wouldn't have had to listen to *that music*."
Nick gave Schanke a funny look as they got into the Caddy, "What, you don't like Chopin?"
----
The lab was quiet on the night shift, one of the reasons she'd agreed to it years ago, but tonight she felt uneasy. Her head was aching yet again and the pain just seemed to make it harder to concentrate.
Nat held her head as she read the toxicology report, "I was right, acute poisoning by unknown steroid combination. " She looked at Nick, "And I called Nelson at Narcotics and he says there's a new drug going around the streets called 'Rage', it's supposed to cause violent tendencies; when taken in small doses, it causes a euphoria, and they say the power can be intoxicating." She gave Nick a pointed look. "I've got the lab working on it now to determine if that's what we're dealing with."
"So, what are we talking about here? Cynthia said he was a good boy, never took drugs or anything..." Schanke interrupted Nat's stare.
"Ah, yes, that was my finding as well...at least until last night. It seems to me that someone popped him one with a syringe full of this stuff and it zapped him into next week."
"Immediately?" Nick asked.
"Well, not quite, he had time to bite off his tongue from the pain."
Schanke winced.
"Okay," Nick said, "Let's go find out what else he was into besides getting good grades."
----
The bullpen was mostly quiet except for the massive search going on at Schanke and Knight's desks. Papers cluttered both desks and both detectives were furtively searching for some clue.
"Here's his credit report, looks like he was in a bind, credit cards maxed out, overdue utility payments, this guy was a mess," Schanke sighed, "I don't know, Nick, I mean, it's like this guy was living a double life."
"How about the employee report?"
Schanke sorted through the papers, "Six month eval: 'Great worker'...12 month eval: 'Best worker on staff'..." His voice trailed off as he examined the paper more thoroughly. "'Cornell Pharmaceutical'..." he read aloud..."This guy worked at Cornell Pharmaceutical."
Nick's eyes widened, "Let's go."
-----
Nat tried to clear her mind and work on the case, but her head was pounding. She'd had a dull headache for almost two days now and nothing she took seemed to help. She sighed and tried to imagine just how she was going to get Nick in here for a saliva sample.
The headache dulled slightly and she decided she'd have to get the sample tonight. She picked up the phone and a familiar voice answered, "Lab, Maggie Johnson here" a sleepy voice said. Nat smiled.
"How's my old friend doing?" Maggie had been in medical school with Natalie and the two had become close friends. She had gone to work at a local college, doing some experimental work with some pretty expensive equipment. Natalie hoped to borrow some of it, just for the night or so.
"Nat? Oh, I'm just fine...working late," she stifled a yawn. "Guess you caught me nodding off."
Nat smiled remembering her first month working nights, "Say, remember that favor you owe me? Well, I was wondering if I could call it in."
---
The warehouse district was usually deserted at night, save for a few homeless individuals and some stray cats. Tonight, a different type of person was there, in an abandoned warehouse, invading the space usually taken by the stray cats, and the sound of loud music disturbed any that happened to pass by.
Joe stared at his vials and carefully measured out a correct dosage of the drug. Beside him, a small silver radio played his favorite station, and as luck would have it, his favorite song started to play as he prepared his arm with a strap of rubber and patted his arm to get the vein to rise. When it did, he stuck the syringe in, undid the rubber strap and pushed the plunger slowly.
The song seemed to echo his own emotion as it played... "I don't like the drugs but the drugs like me" by Marilyn Manson.
He felt the rush of power and strength it gave almost immediately and pulled the syringe out. Carefully, he put the cap back on the syringe and put it in the bag. He took a bottle of the drug out along with a single clean syringe. He rolled up the bag and stowed it in his secret place, a small vent. With a sigh, he felt the adrenaline kick in and he moved quickly to his next target.
----
Although the Cornell Pharmaceutical building was usually closed up tight at night, this night someone happened to be working late in the lab. As luck would have it, she knew Malcolm.
Mandy Smith, Malcolm's co-worker, was sitting opposite Nick and Schanke in a company break room.
*sniff* "I just don't believe it, he was such a good person."
"Miss Smith, can you tell us if he was having any problems at home? Did you notice him hanging around with any of his co-workers a bit too closely?" Schanke pushed.
A fresh burst of tears...then, "Just me." *sniff* "He liked to tell me what was going on in his life..."
"Did he tell you he was a drug dealer?" Nick asked.
"No, no, he...he wasn't a *dealer*, he just made the drugs, then the dealers would give him money...he needed the money--bad," she looked down. "It was his wife, she was running up bills all over the place, he had to do something to stay afloat."
"And where did he get the drugs...or do I have to ask?" Schanke asked.
"Well, at first he just took a little bit, you know, just skimmed off the leftovers and created known combinations of drugs...then he started to experiment with larger and larger amounts. I tried to get him to stop-" *sob* "But he said the money was too good, that it would dig him out of debt...It's her who should be dead, y'know, she was the one that made him do it!"
"Do you know what her name is?"
"Cynthia something."
"Cynthia Banks?" Schanke asked, openmouthed.
"Yes..."
"That's his sister," Nick said softly.
"Sister...but, he told me...that bastard."
----
The parking lot near the local downtown nightclubs was quiet tonight, the only sound the buzzing of the neon signs proclaiming, "Girls! Live!" and the occasional car that passed by quickly. A fashionable car was parked near a corner, the occupant was quiet but vigilant.
Joe is peering out a car window, scoping out the prostitutes outside the nightclub, Red Hott. "Joe's coming to getcha ladies...got something to make you feel good." He took out a syringe and measured a large amount into it. "Come and get it..."
----
The Caddy smoothly cut through the Toronto night, an almost full moon hung in the sky making it a glorious shade of dark blue. Nick could remember nights like this, the darkness seemed like a living being...beyond understanding of such small creatures as vampires and humans--
"Hello! Earth to Nick. He had her duped to help him, Knight, that much is obvious."
Nick shook himself from his reverie and responded, "Yeah, but that makes me wonder who the *real* husband is...she did tell us she just got married. And if she was spending her brother's credit cards up, then she'll be spending her husband's credit cards up, too."
"Probably...hey, Knight, maybe you know, what is it with women and shopping? I mean, if they're not buying something, they're thinking about what they want to buy next time..." He sighed.
Nick hesitated...then, "Schanke, as long as I've been alive I haven't been able to figure women out, so maybe you can give me a few pointers, huh?"
----
The buzzing sound of the neon signs faded in Joe's mind as he spotted his prey. With predatory skill, he homed in on the one who looked most likely to take his offer. She smiled sweetly, her face showing excitement, but her eyes showing boredom. He held the car door open first and she got in. He reached for her to kiss her roughly and she pushed him away.
"No, no, I want the money first..." He'd managed to pick up a short, skinny woman who looked like she took drugs regularly and rarely ate. Perfect...and he wanted her.
"No money, baby, I got your pay here," he squeezed a bit of liquid from the syringe.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a small .22, firing a round.
"B*tch!" he yelled and stuck the needle in her throat, squeezing it fast and hard. She started to scream and he grabbed the gun and ran.
----
Cynthia Harper's apartment was quiet now, her daughter fast asleep in bed. She had grumbled under her breath as she opened the door, not appreciating being woken from sleep. She sighed in resignation and offered the two detectives a seat. They declined.
"Miss Harper? Can we talk to you about your husband?" Nick was calm and cordial as always, but guarded.
"Why not? You've ruined my sleep once again..." She lit a cigarette and sat down in her leather-clad chair.
Schanke began to look around and noticed lots of things that were way to expensive for what her brother had made at Cornell Pharmaceutical. Antique vases, curios, and other adornments around at least a $5000 living room set.
"Where is your husband?" Schanke asked innocently.
"He's out, making money."
"So you can spend it?" Schanke sighed.
Nick gave Schanke a pointed look, "Where does he work?"
"Here and there, he doesn't tell me where the money comes from."
"What about your brother? We hear he was trying to make some money for you, too, just what did you have on him?" Schanke tried to smile.
"Malcolm was a good brother, he helped me out when I needed it..."
"By paying your credit card bills?"
"Yes, sometimes. Look, am I being accused of something?"
Schanke glared at her, "Not yet."
The sound of both Nick and Schanke's beepers pierced through the conversation.
----
(End part 2)
(Start part 3)
Disclaimers in part 1
----
The neon buzzing had become an all-too familiar distraction lately. The crime scene was sealed off ever since the first uniforms had arrived at the parking lot near Red Hott. Doctor Lambert had already done the preliminaries and the body was being prepared for transport as she gave the report to Nick and Schanke.
"Well, it looks like she's been here two to three hours," Nat read from the paper she had prepared as she examined the body. "It appears that she suffered the same acute overdose as your Malcolm Banks did, except this time there was evidence of a struggle."
"Struggle?" Schanke said as he looked around the car, "How do you figure?"
"There was a bullet hole in the roof of the car, but no one's been able to find the gun."
"Great," Nick sighed, "Now we have some sicko out there with a syringe and a gun. Just great."
"Nick, I need you to come down to the lab tonight..." Nat was saying.
***flashback***
"Just open your mouth, we gonna have to examine your teeth, the army don't want their people dropping dead in the middle of fighting."
Reluctantly, Nick opened his mouth and the dentist looked around. "There, now, everything seems in order, you appear to have excellent health..." he picked his hook in several different places in Nick's mouth. It picked a spot and a small dot of blood erupted, causing Nick's eyes to golden in anger. He closed his mouth as a precaution and the 'dentist' waved Nick away. "Next!" he yelled as Nick heaved a sigh of relief.
***end flashback***
"You're not going to stick something in my mouth, are you?" Nick wavered.
"Yes, but it won't hurt, I promise." She shook her head, "You're just like a little kid sometimes, you know."
----
Papers rattled as they were smoothed out, read, and moved to various piles of evidence: "useful", "maybe", and "definitely not." So far, the "useful" pile had absolutely nothing but it's sign, making it the opposite of what it proclaimed.
Officer Murphy approached Schanke and Knight as they shifted the papers, "The car was reported stolen yesterday, and here's the rip, just faxed from headquarters."
Nick took the paper and looked at it. "You'll never guess..." he said to Schanke.
"Cynthia," Schanke said and Nick nodded the affirmative.
The phone rang and Nick answered it, "Detective Knight."
"Yes, Detective," Natalie's sultry voice played over the telephone wires, "I'll need you to come down here before you do anything else. I've got a spare half-hour for lunch and I intend to use it to it's fullest."
Nick sighed, "Okay, I'll be right there."
It was going to be a long, long night.
----
Joe had been watching the papers and he'd seen the cop in charge of tracking him down, some scum named "Knight". Well, he had beaten better cops than that, he was sure. Carefully, in his brand new stolen Jaguar, he watched the precinct and waited. Sure enough, he saw the detective in question come out, with his partner in tow.
He expected him to get into his car, an ancient blue-green Cadillac, but he didn't, instead he went across the street to the coroner's lab. He watched him go in and wondered. He'd seen the detective and the coroner together at his last crime scene and something wasn't right. It just didn't seem like a professional relationship, but it wasn't from what they did, it was from their posture. It gave them away, the way they leaned toward each other when they talked.
Well, if they were in love there was only one way to get at the detective - get his girlfriend.
With a satisfied sigh of one who has decided on his next course of action, Joe settled back to wait.
----
The lab was impeccably clean, as usual. Nick walked over to Nat and Schanke hung back to give the two a chance to talk.
"How's the body?" Nick asked. As Nat saw him there, she turned and stuck a small plastic tube with a reservoir underneath in his mouth. It was connected to a small motor that was running quietly. It started to suction his saliva and she gave him the report. He read as the suction worked.
"M mph? Mor suuuur?" he said around the tube. Resigned, she took the tube out and said, "What?"
"The same? You're sure?" Nick reiterated.
"Yup, overdosed on the same drug." Nat smiled as she looked at the collector. The saliva wasn't much, but it was a start.
He kissed her on the forehead and said aloud to Schanke, "Let's go find Cynthia."
"I'm with you partner," Schanke intoned. "What'd I miss?"
"It was the same killer, Schanke, and I have a nagging feeling Miss Harper is tied into this somehow..." they left the lab.
----
Joe watched them go out of the coroner's office and get into the ancient vehicle. He fought the urge to go after them, instead taking his cell phone out of his pocket and hitting 'redial'. After the second ring, a female voice answered, "Hello?"
"Yeah, Cynthia, baby, I'm working late tonight, I've got something big coming up."
----
Nat carefully dripped some of Nick's saliva onto the slide and put it under the microscope. She picked out three distinct cells that shouldn't be there -- none of which looked like the vampire factor. Her head pounded for a minute, and she closed her eyes to wait for the acuteness to pass. It did and she stared into the microscope again.
A machine beeped; a test was done. She opened the test strip and stared at it, comparing the results to a chart of "known" substances. There was definitely anti-coagulant in the saliva, but there was coagulant as well. She sighed. They must know when to activate through some chemical process.
The computer she'd borrowed from the university continued to chew on the saliva sample. It would show a graph on the known substances and was known to be more accurate than the test strips. It finished processing and displayed the graph. The line was all over the place. Anti-coagulant, coagulant, something similar to morphine, and at least three other pain killers. It had also dinged on an "unknown". She stared at it for a minute. It could only be the elusive "vampire factor" that it had dinged on. She decided to try an experiment.
The pipette was a small one and she took a few drops of human blood from a sample pack and prepared to drop it on the slide. She peered into the microscope and squeezed the pipette. She saw the drops mix with the saliva and for a minute, nothing happened. Then she saw one of the cells explode and vampire factor spilled out into the human blood. It bonded with it and started to replicate. Before long, more cells exploded and the entire sample was exactly like the vampire blood she'd experimented with. True to form, before long it shriveled down to a single drop of black plasma. She sighed. Was that a success? She'd found out how it was transmitted, so that was a boon, anyway.
With eyes suddenly widening, she realized something and took the slide out, replacing it with a fresh slide. She dropped some of Nick's saliva on it, then some of her own and watched. To her intense relief, the vampire factor did *not* release this time, but it did not die either. It just sat there. Nat shivered. That meant, if she kissed Nick and she had a cut somewhere, it would infect her. It was a rather sobering thought and she promised herself to be more careful in the future.
She stretched then and looked at the clock. Time to go home. She started to clean up and realized she still had a small amount of Nick's saliva left. She debated what to do with it for a moment, and finally decided to put it with her "vampire factor" in the vial in her purse. She opened the vial and dribbled the saliva into it. The solution mixed instantly and turned a bright red that slowly darkened to a maroon. She capped the vial, made a few notes in her notebook and replaced the vial in her purse.
----
Nick scanned the horizon and decided it was time to go home. "Schanke, how 'bout we go bring in Cynthia tonight, I've got to go..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, your allergy. You go, I'll go home and see if maybe I can catch Myra before she goes to work," he held a twinkle in his eye and Nick smiled back at him. "I tell ya, Knight, there's nothing like a woman."
Nick had a vision of Natalie--as she could be, waiting for him when he got home and smiled back. "I know."
----
The sun was just cresting the horizon as Natalie made her way to the parking lot. She even whistled to herself; tonight had been more successful than usual and she couldn't wait to get home and call Nick to tell him all about it. She slid the key into her car door and turned it.
The feel of a cold metal barrel against her side stopped her. "You better do what I tells you," a rough male voice says, "Old Joe don't take no for an answer."
Nat swallowed and tried to make a run for it. The shot struck her in the shoulder and she fell, crashing into the asphalt. She felt the burning pain course through her body, then all went black.
----
Nat woke to her own groaning. Opening her eyes, she tried to peer into the gloom. She was in some sort of abandoned warehouse. Empty boxes and crates littered the floor around her and she whimpered. Sunlight streamed in though various holes in windows and she knew she was on her own. She moved and fought the scream from the pain in her arm. She felt lightheaded and weak. Beside her, a small pool of her blood showed the massive amount of blood she'd lost. It wouldn't be long now...she almost smiled to herself; she'd imagined dying of blood loss but somehow she'd always pictured Nick there with her.
Hallucinating. Her purse. She reached over with her good arm and picked it up. The wallet and car keys were gone, that was to be expected. Deep inside though, she found the vial. With a sigh, she clutched it to her breast. Below, she heard a door open and the rough male voice yelled, "Honey, I'm home..." followed by a deep echoing laugh. "I've come to make you happy...you are awake now, aren't you? I want you awake so you can feel me hurt you..." he taunted as he made his way to where Natalie lay, unmoving. She stared at the vial and then at her shoulder wound. Was it enough? What would it do to her? Why was she even thinking this? What would it be like to be raped? Should she just play dead? The thoughts fired through her brain at rapid pace and finally, she decided she had little choice. She opened the vial and poured it on her wound.
'FIRE', her mind screamed, 'PAIN' it screamed again. She convulsed once and then lay still. She flickered between consciousness and unconsciousness. She saw him now, coming from in between two boxes. He was leering...then unconscious, she saw him become a huge dragon with evilly wicked fangs...then he was normal again. The pain in her shoulder dulled to an ache that moved through her body. The virus poured through her bloodstream, replicating as it went. The flow of blood brought it full circle and finally, the pain receded to nothing. She felt it as a wave, it flowed from her arm to her body, down her legs and arms and finally to her head. As the wave proceeded she felt it rush over her eyes, turning her vision golden. She felt her teeth begin to ache, making room for the new arrivals, she realized. It had all happened so fast, she almost didn't believe it.
"Are you awake, lovely? I've got something for ya..." She heard a zipper unzip and cracked her eyes open a little. The amber tinges showed he was standing in sunlight, but that he'd have to come into the shade to 'get' her. She closed her eyes and waited. A minute later, he was there, whispering in her ear, "Come on, baby, wake up, I want to show you what I'm made of..."
With sudden fury, she lashed out, shredding his left cheek and causing blood to run down his neck. "You b*tch!" he said and drew his arm back to knock her into next week.
Suddenly strong now, and very hungry, she grabbed his arm in mid-flight and twisted him around, sinking her new fangs into his blood coated neck. He let out a weak yelp and then succumbed to Toronto's newest vampire's hunger.
----
Nick grabbed his pillow in his sleep. Something was wrong. He could feel it as if he were dreaming. He felt himself shot, pain flowed over him, then burning... He woke in a blood sweat just as the last fragments of the dream and pain left him.
----
(End part 3)
(Start part 4)
Disclaimers in part 1
----
Natalie woke and stretched in a dark corner of the warehouse. All was quiet, night had fallen. She checked her arm and found it was healed fully, without a scar. The killer and would-be rapists body was exactly where she'd dropped it. Thoughtfully, she realized she'd have to cover it up. She took out a pair of surgical gloves from her purse, put them on and searched his pockets and found the vials of 'Rage' and two of his syringes. She drew a little drug into each syringe and stuck it through the holes she'd left in his neck. They were smaller, but it would have to do. She squeezed the plunger a bit and the liquid went in. Carefully, she manipulated his hand so it seemed from his fingerprints that he'd squeezed it himself. Then she set him down in her own pool of blood, carefully placing his torn face in that direction.
She took one last look at the 'crime scene' as it was, or would be, and made her way out. As luck would have it, her car was in the parking lot - the keys in the ignition and the door unlocked. She smiled and as much as she'd rather try to fly home, she realized she'd have to 'remove the evidence' as it were. She drove home carefully, every person on the street, every dog, every movement seemed to catch her attention. How did Nick live like this? And the hunger! It had started at a low burn when she first woke and she'd thought it was just the presence of so much of her own blood, but it had not dulled since she left, if anything, it had gotten sharper and more painful. With a sigh, she turned the car in the direction of the Raven. There would be no killings on her conscience tonight.
----
"Nick, buddy, we got the rap sheet on our girl Cynthia's new husband. It's about the length of my arm," Schanke sighed and dropped a thick file on his desk. It fell heavily with a loud 'thunk'. Then, he dropped another smaller file, "And this is our girl Cynthia's file...fraud, polygamy, just about every scam you can think of...Nick are you okay?"
"Yeah," Nick said a little loudly.
Schanke sighed. "We got Cynthia in lockup now...say, you're not okay, buddy, what's wrong?"
Nick was distracted, "Have you seen Nat?"
Schanke shook his head, "Nope, why? Are the natives getting restless?"
"I'm serious, Schanke, there's something wrong, Nat didn't show up for work yet, and I've got a really bad feeling."
Suddenly serious, Schanke sighed, "Okay, partner, I know, I've learned to trust my gut instincts, too. Let's go looking for her." He took the rap sheets with them, it might prove good reading.
----
"Mon dieu!" Janette said as she saw Natalie, dirty from the warehouse, and pale as a sheet. Nat stood in the back doorway of the Raven and prayed that Janette would let her in, if only to have a drink. She'd not tried the front door for fear of hostile vampires - she had no idea how *anyone* would feel about the current circumstances.
Relief flooded Nat as Janette pulled her into the room and uncorked a bottle of her personal stock for her. The smell flooded Nat's senses and she drank it gratefully.
When the bottle was empty, Nat set it down with tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Janette. I don't know how to thank you..."
"Mon dieu, you can tell me what happened to you, how did you end up this way?"
Nat started to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. It was certainly not what she'd ever expected would happen if she ever crossed over.
A knock sounded at the office door and Nick's voice came through, "Janette, have you seen Natalie?"
Nat became alert. She was not ready for this, not like this. She glared at Janette for a minute, then put her finger to her lips. In a second she'd sprinted out the back door.
"Come in, Nicholah," Janette intoned, "I have not seen the good doctor," she smirked, "But I'm sure if she needed you, you would know."
"Janette -- something's wrong, I know it. Do you know what it might be?"
"I'm sure it's something you can handle," then she started to laugh. It was all just too much, and she wasn't even sure what the whole story was, but it was certain to be a dozy.
----
Nick was almost sick with worry as they pulled away from the Raven. Janette knew something she wasn't telling.
"You okay, partner, you look like death warmed over?" Schanke's good humor penetrated everything he said, and this was said with the mirth of someone who knows something's up and wants in on the joke.
Nick just stared straight ahead as he drove the caddy. Things were just so strange and he couldn't figure out why.
"Hey, this guy's got arrest warrants for possession, distribution and manufacture of various drugs, two convictions for rape, and two counts of attempted fraud. Our Cynthia sure picked a real winner..." Schanke sighed.
"Maybe she had plans for him..." Nick sighed, not really thinking about the case, "Like an insurance policy payoff or something..."
"Yeah--" Schanke agreed, "We'll have to check that--"
"81-Kilo, 81-Kilo" the radio blared, shaking Nick out of his musings.
Schanke answered it, "81-Kilo, yeah."
"81-Kilo, we got an anonymous tip, body in Simmons Warehouse at Elbow Street, coroner is rolling, no further info."
"81-Kilo, roger," Schanke barked and Nick put the police light on the dash. They were on their way.
----
"Looks to me like he did himself in," Nat was saying as Nick and Schakne walked into the warhouse. The syringes still stuck out of his neck at odd angles and the blood was now completely congealed. Nick felt a wave of recognition and realized there was another vampire present, not far away. He looked around and didn't see any obvious candidates. Taking a deep breath to ward off the hunger that came with this much blood, he approached the body.
Curiously, Nick turned the victim's head and saw the fang marks beneath the syringe needles. Nat screwed up her courage and went over. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you..." Nick asked her.
Schanke interrupted with "Hey, did you change your hair or something?" He looked at Nat.
She shook her head 'no' and examined the area on the victim's neck that she knew all too well. Schanke turned away to talk to some witnesses.
"Does this remind you of anything?" Nick asked Nat quietly.
She smiled. He really didn't know. She whispered to him in his ear, "It reminds me I'd better be more careful next time."
Nick jerked away for a minute and the assembled uniforms and other plainclothes looked over. "What's wrong," Schanke asked. "Did you see something?"
Nick swallowed thickly, "Nothing, everything's great...[whisper]...just great."
"What? You don't like the *new me*?"
Nick shook his head disgustedly and walked away. "Why didn't you wait for *me*, Nat?" he said softly as he slipped back into his 'cop persona' and turned away.
Nat couldn't believe it. He actually thought she'd gone out and found some strange vampire to do this to her. Now that she thought about it, it was kind of like artificial insemination; the new life from a test tube. Idly, she wondered if she was the only 'test-tube vampire' in existence and fought to keep from laughing out loud.
She left the body and pulled on Nick's jacket to get his attention. "We have to talk," she said.
"There's nothing more to say, Nat, you got yours and I got nothing...again."
"Oh, Nick." It was all she could think to say. Words failed her and she broke inside, the pain, the trauma, everything just welled up inside her.
With wide eyes, Nick regarded her. He'd felt the emotion, somehow. "It was LaCroix," he sneered, "Wasn't it?"
Her knees felt wobbly like she was going to pass out. He couldn't be this thickheaded, but yet he was.
"Dr. Lambert?" Cohen was talking to her. She blinked back the reddened tears and said, "Yes?"
"They're ready to bag the body, is there anything more you need to do?"
Nat glared at Nick and sighed. Work must come first. She turned away from him and finished her preliminaries. It was going to be a long night.
----
"Why, LaCroix, why?" Nick had raged into LaCroix's sound booth nearly knocking the older vampire over.
"Why what?" LaCroix hissed.
"Why did you do it? Did she ask you to, or did you force it on her? Tell me LaCroix, or a swear I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth..."
"Hunt me down, my, that sounds like fun; however, I don't know whom you are speaking about. Is it Janette? Your Dr. Lambert?" Nick winced then and he knew. "Just what has happened to make you feel this rage?"
"Natalie's turned. I want to know who did it and why."
"Well, I certainly don't know."
"But you know everything that happens in Toronto..."
LaCroix steepled his fingers in thought, "Apparently, not this time."
"You're telling me the truth?"
LaCroix smiled. "Nicholas, I have *never* lied to you."
----
Natalie finished the report with a flourish. "Suicide by lethal injection," she read aloud. It worked beautifully, and since she was the coroner, there was no one to dispute her. Justice was served. She put the file into the "Out" box to be filed in the morning and sat back in her chair. No more headaches plagued her, and it felt wonderful. She was just drifting into a comfortable doze when she heard the door open. She felt the rush of emotion and she knew it was Nick. Not even opening her eyes she said, "Hey, Nick, what's up?"
"I thought we could talk," he sounded subdued, even apologetic. Nat opened her eyes. He was standing near her desk, arms at his sides. He looked like the little boy who just broke his parent's window with a baseball.
"What do you want to talk about, Nick? How you think I betrayed you?" the pain hissed from her voice and he felt it physically.
"I'm sorry, Nat, I was just disappointed. I can forgive whatever you did."
Nat gave a helpless gesture with both hands, "That's just it, Nick, can't you see, can't you *feel* that I *didn't* betray you?"
Silence hung in the air for a minute. "How then?" Nick asked quietly.
The empty vial, still in her purse, came out then. "Do you know what I used this for, Nick?" He shook his head and she continued, "Every time we did an experiment, there was a little, tiny amount of blood left. I didn't want to throw it out, I didn't want to just leave it around, so I collected it in this tube." Nick's eyes widened. "I never did get to tell you how that last batch of experiments with the saliva went. I found out how the virus passes from person to person." She laughed and put the vial on her desk, "Rather a moot point now, but I did. All the leftovers went in this vial. The other day, your killer," she motioned at the coolers, "Shot me in the arm, kidnapped me, and was going to rape me. I was bleeding pretty heavy from the gunshot and started to feel lightheaded. I was going to die, Nick...I just figured this would be the ultimate experiment."
"So...it's all me."
"Yes, Nick. The world's first test-tube vampire." She tried not to laugh.
He took her hand and held her close.
"Hey, partner!" Schanke announced as he walked into the lab, "C'mon, we gotta go catch bad guys, there'll be time enough for this later...Hey, did he tell you? We got Cynthia. She's being extradited to the states, seems she's got a hell of a long rap sheet there, too..."
Nick reluctantly let go of Nat's hand and allowed himself to be piloted toward the door. As he reached it, he grabbed the doorframe and turned to face Nat.
"You are an amazing woman," he said.
"No...I'm a scientist," she smiled, "I'll see you later, then?"
Nick let himself be pushed down the hall by his overly anxious partner and said, "Definitely!"
(End part 4)
End Bad Medicine
==============================
Well, you got this far, what did you think?
I'd really love to know.
Cousin Raven
raven@naturesong.com
I've gotten a lot of email lately about 'when am I going to write another story' and I'm flattered. I hope this story meets all of your expectations and I hope it was worth the wait.
Special thanks to my beta-reader, Stephanie, Buffy and FK fanatic and Die-hard. If I ever need Buffy info, I know exactly where to get it. {{{{Hugs}}}}
**Minor bad words here, but they were deemed necessary to convey the intensity of the situation.**
========================================
Bad Medicine
------------
By Cousin Raven (raven@naturesong.com)
Time Period: *After "The Fix" (Minor Spoiler)
"...there ain't no doctor that can cure my disease..." -Bon Jovi, 'Bad Medicine'
------
The darkness of the night was complete, covering the benches and trees of the park. A soft breeze rustled the leaves and the navy pea coat of a man sitting on the bench. He muttered to himself, "Better get here soon...I got things to do..." He clutched a brown paper bag to himself self-consciously and sighed.
He heard footsteps approaching and a man in a long brown overcoat appeared on the path.
"'bout time," the man on the bench said.
"Yeah, well, time isn't something I'm worried about anymore. You got the stuff?"
"Yeah, right here," the man on the bench says and hands over a brown paper bag.
The man in the brown overcoat looks in the bag and says, "Good." Then he reaches in and takes out a small syringe and a small vial of clear liquid. He upends the bottle, sticks the needle in, and draws some liquid out.
"Hey, man," the man on the bench says, "Where's my money?"
"Right here," the man with the syringe says and plunges the needle into the mans throat.
The man drops, clutching at his neck.
The other man calmly puts the cover back on the syringe, drops it into the bag along with the bottle, and calmly walks away with his stolen prize.
------
Cut to opening sequence...
------
Natalie stared into the microscope and waited for a reaction. The small blood sample she had taken from Nick for research was almost gone and still she had made no progress.
She'd started a new spin on her research by observing the blood itself; it seemed like a living being on it's own, which she decided it was. The 'vampire factor' had planted itself in every cell she had examined *except* the red blood cells. It seemed to eat them like candy, hence the need for blood.
She checked the clock and tried to hurry. The small sample would shrink in size as it fought to live, absorbing everything into the vampire factor. She could make it last longer by adding a small amount of human blood, but eventually that too would be absorbed. The final product of a full pint of vampire blood after a week of experimenting was a small dime sized drop of almost black liquid plasma that proved impervious to everything but sunlight. That explains why they get stronger as they get older, she noted.
The end products of her experiments, woefully unchanged, collected in a small glass vial in her purse. She didn't really know what else to do with it; she couldn't very well just leave it in the lab.
She watched as the sample on the slide proceeded to absorb yet another red blood cell. It just wrapped around it like it was swallowing it whole, then it burst the cell wall in an unknown way and 'drank' the insides. It was almost a mirror to a vampire killing a mortal. She shivered involuntarily and made notes in her book. It was almost 3/4 full and the only success had been the Litovuterine, which was 'only temporary' a sad scrawl noted at the end of that experiment. Further research in the lab had proved impossible since the vampire factor had developed a tolerance.
Natalie sighed and sat back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. It had been a long night and she poured the last bit of 'vampire leftover' into her vial, screwed the cap on and put it safely away in her purse.
The door to the lab opened and Nick was there, the hopeful, boyish look on his face. "Hi, Nat," he said.
"Hey, Nick. Another raging failure I'm afraid."
He looked confused for a minute, then disappointed. He brushed it off as he had a thousand other times. "Want to get some breakfast, Nat?"
"Breakfast? You?"
"Well, you eat breakfast, I'll talk."
"If you're buying, it's a deal."
Nick smiled and gestured for the door, "Ladies first."
"Age before beauty," Nat countered and mirrored Nick's gesture.
His eyes widened. "You got me there," and they made their way together to the caddy.
----
'Breakfast' turned out to be donuts and coffee at the local donut shop, Sweet'ums Donuts, a favorite hangout of Schanke's. As luck would have it, he was not here tonight.
"Schanke off tonight?" Nat asked as she blew on the warm coffee in front of her.
"Yeah, Jenny's got a school play so I told him I'd cover for him. He's supposed to come in after it's over."
Nat nodded and concentrated on her coffee. The swirling pattern the milk made reminded her of her latest experiment - actually, everything was making her think of her latest experiment, especially the subject who sat before her and seemed to wink out into some kind of flashback every once in awhile. She sighed and remembered how many times she had done just that thinking about Richard. It was too late for regret now, she could only keep trying and hope for the best.
A floating image of Nick making Richard a vampire appeared in her head. He hadn't shared blood with Richard, but yet it still worked. Her head started to pound but an idea formed in her mind.
"Saliva," she said, matter-or-factly.
Nick blinked from his memories. "What?"
"We've never checked your saliva...could be some good stuff in there, anti-coagulants, painkillers, who knows what else."
Nick didn't appear excited about this idea. "Uh, just what would this experiment entail?"
"Well, we'd put a suction device in your mouth and collect a specimen..." When Nick began to squirm she laughed. "What, you don't mind needles but you can't stand to have a tube in your mouth?"
He smiled, "Silly, huh?"
Brushing his lack of enthusiasm off, she continued, "We could go back to the lab after this and..."
Just then the loud beeping of both of their beepers started. He sighed in relief and checked the number. It was the Captain.
"Well," Nat continued, "*THAT* can only mean one thing."
"Yeah," Nick said, "Let's go."
----------
The darkness faded as spotlights were placed around the crime scene. The park bench was now unoccupied, the man in navy pea coat was still and very dead on the ground. Police tape surrounds the area.
Flashes go off and as they finish taking pictures, Nat walks over and starts to examine the body.
"Who found him?" Nick said at random to the nearest uniform, Murphy. He pointed and Nick made his way to the man indicated.
"You found him?" he asked the man, a middle aged executive type with graying hair cut in a military style. A german shepard lay at his feet.
"Yes, sir, I'm Martin Bradley. I was taking my dog Sampson out for a walk and I saw him slumped over. I tried to feel for a pulse, but I didn't find any, so I called you all."
"And did you see anyone else around?"
"Nope, just me and Sammy here...I'm sorry I can't help you more."
Nick looked back at the body as they started to bag it up for autopsy. "Me too," he said.
--------
Somewhere else...
The man in the brown overcoat sits on a curb on a quiet street several blocks from the crime scene. He examines the items in the paper bag for the 100th time. It was all there, he couldn't believe it. After ages and ages of working out a plan, it was finally going to happen. "Yup, this world ain't gonna screw me anymore, no sirree, Master Joe is on the prowl tonight...beware." He whispered the last part, then stood up and started for the main streets of town.
---------
"His name was Malcolm Banks Jr.," Nat said as she studied the face of the man on the autopsy table. "He is...or rather was...a drug dealer on the west side."
Nick sighed and read the report aloud, "'Two counts of possession of a narcotic, one count breaking and entering'...Not your average murder victim."
The morgue door opened and Schanke came in, "I hear I missed the party..." He looked at the corpse on the table, "And is this our lucky winner?"
"Yeah, apparent drug overdose, I found a track mark in his neck, not the usual place for a voluntary injection *and* nobody found a syringe. I've got samples at toxicology now, but I'd say we're looking at a homicide."
"Okay," Schanke said and rubbed his hands together, "When do we get started?"
"Now, Schanke, let's go..." Nick winked at Nat as he ushered his partner out of there. It wasn't that he didn't like to be in her presence, he just knew she was going to pull out some tube and stick it in his mouth for an indeterminate amount of time, and he just wasn't ready for that yet.
--------
The blue-green caddy rolled through the night in a smooth motion and Nick was glad. For some reason, Natalie's upcoming experiments made his stomach do flip-flops.
"We got a next of kin?" he asked Schanke.
"Yeah, partner, right here," he passed the paper over, "Looks like he's got a sister on Lakeside, Cynthia Banks."
"Great, Schanke," Nick said and pointed the car in the direction of Lakeside Drive.
**flashback**
A man opens up a rolled packet and reveals various medical implements, including an ancient syringe, several hooks, and a rather dull looking knife. He picks up a hook and looks at Nick, "Okay, open up."
*heartbeat* Nick: "That won't be necessary."
"Nonsense, everyone gets checked..."
**end flashback**
They pull up to a rather nice looking home and step out. They knock and a woman answers the door with a child at her waist.
"Yes?" she asks tentatively.
"Cynthia Banks?" Schanke asks.
"Yes...well, now it's Cynthia Harper, I got married last week."
Nick nodded and said, "This is detective Schanke," he motioned, "And I'm Detective Knight. We'd like to talk to you about your brother, Malcolm." They showed their badges and she let them in.
----
(End part 1)
(Start part 2)
Disclaimers in part 1
----
Natalie lifted Malcolm Banks' liver onto the scale and read the numbers. She flipped the switch on her tape recorder and started to dictate: "Subject's liver weighs 1.36 kilograms at time of autopsy. Severe damage to subject's liver indicates heavy steroid use, appears mildly cancerous..." she took it off the scale and began to examine it more thoroughly, "Pre-cancerous cells, some cirrhosis." She cut into it and let out a gasp. "Inner surface of liver indicates a healthy individual, with no past drug use." She continued to poke around, finally saying into her recorder, "It appears he died of a large dose of some kind of steroid resulting in acute cirrhosis of the liver."
She finished up the autopsy and picked up the phone. After dialing the numbers, a distinctly male voice sounded over the phone, "Narcotics, Detective Nelson."
----
"Thank you very much, Miss Harper," Nick was saying as they made their way from the house.
As the door closed and they approached the caddy, Schanke sighed, "Well, that left us with zip. 'A straight A student, lovely boy.'" He imitated Cynthia. "You know, Knight, we would've got better help from the local street gangs; At least we wouldn't have had to listen to *that music*."
Nick gave Schanke a funny look as they got into the Caddy, "What, you don't like Chopin?"
----
The lab was quiet on the night shift, one of the reasons she'd agreed to it years ago, but tonight she felt uneasy. Her head was aching yet again and the pain just seemed to make it harder to concentrate.
Nat held her head as she read the toxicology report, "I was right, acute poisoning by unknown steroid combination. " She looked at Nick, "And I called Nelson at Narcotics and he says there's a new drug going around the streets called 'Rage', it's supposed to cause violent tendencies; when taken in small doses, it causes a euphoria, and they say the power can be intoxicating." She gave Nick a pointed look. "I've got the lab working on it now to determine if that's what we're dealing with."
"So, what are we talking about here? Cynthia said he was a good boy, never took drugs or anything..." Schanke interrupted Nat's stare.
"Ah, yes, that was my finding as well...at least until last night. It seems to me that someone popped him one with a syringe full of this stuff and it zapped him into next week."
"Immediately?" Nick asked.
"Well, not quite, he had time to bite off his tongue from the pain."
Schanke winced.
"Okay," Nick said, "Let's go find out what else he was into besides getting good grades."
----
The bullpen was mostly quiet except for the massive search going on at Schanke and Knight's desks. Papers cluttered both desks and both detectives were furtively searching for some clue.
"Here's his credit report, looks like he was in a bind, credit cards maxed out, overdue utility payments, this guy was a mess," Schanke sighed, "I don't know, Nick, I mean, it's like this guy was living a double life."
"How about the employee report?"
Schanke sorted through the papers, "Six month eval: 'Great worker'...12 month eval: 'Best worker on staff'..." His voice trailed off as he examined the paper more thoroughly. "'Cornell Pharmaceutical'..." he read aloud..."This guy worked at Cornell Pharmaceutical."
Nick's eyes widened, "Let's go."
-----
Nat tried to clear her mind and work on the case, but her head was pounding. She'd had a dull headache for almost two days now and nothing she took seemed to help. She sighed and tried to imagine just how she was going to get Nick in here for a saliva sample.
The headache dulled slightly and she decided she'd have to get the sample tonight. She picked up the phone and a familiar voice answered, "Lab, Maggie Johnson here" a sleepy voice said. Nat smiled.
"How's my old friend doing?" Maggie had been in medical school with Natalie and the two had become close friends. She had gone to work at a local college, doing some experimental work with some pretty expensive equipment. Natalie hoped to borrow some of it, just for the night or so.
"Nat? Oh, I'm just fine...working late," she stifled a yawn. "Guess you caught me nodding off."
Nat smiled remembering her first month working nights, "Say, remember that favor you owe me? Well, I was wondering if I could call it in."
---
The warehouse district was usually deserted at night, save for a few homeless individuals and some stray cats. Tonight, a different type of person was there, in an abandoned warehouse, invading the space usually taken by the stray cats, and the sound of loud music disturbed any that happened to pass by.
Joe stared at his vials and carefully measured out a correct dosage of the drug. Beside him, a small silver radio played his favorite station, and as luck would have it, his favorite song started to play as he prepared his arm with a strap of rubber and patted his arm to get the vein to rise. When it did, he stuck the syringe in, undid the rubber strap and pushed the plunger slowly.
The song seemed to echo his own emotion as it played... "I don't like the drugs but the drugs like me" by Marilyn Manson.
He felt the rush of power and strength it gave almost immediately and pulled the syringe out. Carefully, he put the cap back on the syringe and put it in the bag. He took a bottle of the drug out along with a single clean syringe. He rolled up the bag and stowed it in his secret place, a small vent. With a sigh, he felt the adrenaline kick in and he moved quickly to his next target.
----
Although the Cornell Pharmaceutical building was usually closed up tight at night, this night someone happened to be working late in the lab. As luck would have it, she knew Malcolm.
Mandy Smith, Malcolm's co-worker, was sitting opposite Nick and Schanke in a company break room.
*sniff* "I just don't believe it, he was such a good person."
"Miss Smith, can you tell us if he was having any problems at home? Did you notice him hanging around with any of his co-workers a bit too closely?" Schanke pushed.
A fresh burst of tears...then, "Just me." *sniff* "He liked to tell me what was going on in his life..."
"Did he tell you he was a drug dealer?" Nick asked.
"No, no, he...he wasn't a *dealer*, he just made the drugs, then the dealers would give him money...he needed the money--bad," she looked down. "It was his wife, she was running up bills all over the place, he had to do something to stay afloat."
"And where did he get the drugs...or do I have to ask?" Schanke asked.
"Well, at first he just took a little bit, you know, just skimmed off the leftovers and created known combinations of drugs...then he started to experiment with larger and larger amounts. I tried to get him to stop-" *sob* "But he said the money was too good, that it would dig him out of debt...It's her who should be dead, y'know, she was the one that made him do it!"
"Do you know what her name is?"
"Cynthia something."
"Cynthia Banks?" Schanke asked, openmouthed.
"Yes..."
"That's his sister," Nick said softly.
"Sister...but, he told me...that bastard."
----
The parking lot near the local downtown nightclubs was quiet tonight, the only sound the buzzing of the neon signs proclaiming, "Girls! Live!" and the occasional car that passed by quickly. A fashionable car was parked near a corner, the occupant was quiet but vigilant.
Joe is peering out a car window, scoping out the prostitutes outside the nightclub, Red Hott. "Joe's coming to getcha ladies...got something to make you feel good." He took out a syringe and measured a large amount into it. "Come and get it..."
----
The Caddy smoothly cut through the Toronto night, an almost full moon hung in the sky making it a glorious shade of dark blue. Nick could remember nights like this, the darkness seemed like a living being...beyond understanding of such small creatures as vampires and humans--
"Hello! Earth to Nick. He had her duped to help him, Knight, that much is obvious."
Nick shook himself from his reverie and responded, "Yeah, but that makes me wonder who the *real* husband is...she did tell us she just got married. And if she was spending her brother's credit cards up, then she'll be spending her husband's credit cards up, too."
"Probably...hey, Knight, maybe you know, what is it with women and shopping? I mean, if they're not buying something, they're thinking about what they want to buy next time..." He sighed.
Nick hesitated...then, "Schanke, as long as I've been alive I haven't been able to figure women out, so maybe you can give me a few pointers, huh?"
----
The buzzing sound of the neon signs faded in Joe's mind as he spotted his prey. With predatory skill, he homed in on the one who looked most likely to take his offer. She smiled sweetly, her face showing excitement, but her eyes showing boredom. He held the car door open first and she got in. He reached for her to kiss her roughly and she pushed him away.
"No, no, I want the money first..." He'd managed to pick up a short, skinny woman who looked like she took drugs regularly and rarely ate. Perfect...and he wanted her.
"No money, baby, I got your pay here," he squeezed a bit of liquid from the syringe.
She reached into her purse and pulled out a small .22, firing a round.
"B*tch!" he yelled and stuck the needle in her throat, squeezing it fast and hard. She started to scream and he grabbed the gun and ran.
----
Cynthia Harper's apartment was quiet now, her daughter fast asleep in bed. She had grumbled under her breath as she opened the door, not appreciating being woken from sleep. She sighed in resignation and offered the two detectives a seat. They declined.
"Miss Harper? Can we talk to you about your husband?" Nick was calm and cordial as always, but guarded.
"Why not? You've ruined my sleep once again..." She lit a cigarette and sat down in her leather-clad chair.
Schanke began to look around and noticed lots of things that were way to expensive for what her brother had made at Cornell Pharmaceutical. Antique vases, curios, and other adornments around at least a $5000 living room set.
"Where is your husband?" Schanke asked innocently.
"He's out, making money."
"So you can spend it?" Schanke sighed.
Nick gave Schanke a pointed look, "Where does he work?"
"Here and there, he doesn't tell me where the money comes from."
"What about your brother? We hear he was trying to make some money for you, too, just what did you have on him?" Schanke tried to smile.
"Malcolm was a good brother, he helped me out when I needed it..."
"By paying your credit card bills?"
"Yes, sometimes. Look, am I being accused of something?"
Schanke glared at her, "Not yet."
The sound of both Nick and Schanke's beepers pierced through the conversation.
----
(End part 2)
(Start part 3)
Disclaimers in part 1
----
The neon buzzing had become an all-too familiar distraction lately. The crime scene was sealed off ever since the first uniforms had arrived at the parking lot near Red Hott. Doctor Lambert had already done the preliminaries and the body was being prepared for transport as she gave the report to Nick and Schanke.
"Well, it looks like she's been here two to three hours," Nat read from the paper she had prepared as she examined the body. "It appears that she suffered the same acute overdose as your Malcolm Banks did, except this time there was evidence of a struggle."
"Struggle?" Schanke said as he looked around the car, "How do you figure?"
"There was a bullet hole in the roof of the car, but no one's been able to find the gun."
"Great," Nick sighed, "Now we have some sicko out there with a syringe and a gun. Just great."
"Nick, I need you to come down to the lab tonight..." Nat was saying.
***flashback***
"Just open your mouth, we gonna have to examine your teeth, the army don't want their people dropping dead in the middle of fighting."
Reluctantly, Nick opened his mouth and the dentist looked around. "There, now, everything seems in order, you appear to have excellent health..." he picked his hook in several different places in Nick's mouth. It picked a spot and a small dot of blood erupted, causing Nick's eyes to golden in anger. He closed his mouth as a precaution and the 'dentist' waved Nick away. "Next!" he yelled as Nick heaved a sigh of relief.
***end flashback***
"You're not going to stick something in my mouth, are you?" Nick wavered.
"Yes, but it won't hurt, I promise." She shook her head, "You're just like a little kid sometimes, you know."
----
Papers rattled as they were smoothed out, read, and moved to various piles of evidence: "useful", "maybe", and "definitely not." So far, the "useful" pile had absolutely nothing but it's sign, making it the opposite of what it proclaimed.
Officer Murphy approached Schanke and Knight as they shifted the papers, "The car was reported stolen yesterday, and here's the rip, just faxed from headquarters."
Nick took the paper and looked at it. "You'll never guess..." he said to Schanke.
"Cynthia," Schanke said and Nick nodded the affirmative.
The phone rang and Nick answered it, "Detective Knight."
"Yes, Detective," Natalie's sultry voice played over the telephone wires, "I'll need you to come down here before you do anything else. I've got a spare half-hour for lunch and I intend to use it to it's fullest."
Nick sighed, "Okay, I'll be right there."
It was going to be a long, long night.
----
Joe had been watching the papers and he'd seen the cop in charge of tracking him down, some scum named "Knight". Well, he had beaten better cops than that, he was sure. Carefully, in his brand new stolen Jaguar, he watched the precinct and waited. Sure enough, he saw the detective in question come out, with his partner in tow.
He expected him to get into his car, an ancient blue-green Cadillac, but he didn't, instead he went across the street to the coroner's lab. He watched him go in and wondered. He'd seen the detective and the coroner together at his last crime scene and something wasn't right. It just didn't seem like a professional relationship, but it wasn't from what they did, it was from their posture. It gave them away, the way they leaned toward each other when they talked.
Well, if they were in love there was only one way to get at the detective - get his girlfriend.
With a satisfied sigh of one who has decided on his next course of action, Joe settled back to wait.
----
The lab was impeccably clean, as usual. Nick walked over to Nat and Schanke hung back to give the two a chance to talk.
"How's the body?" Nick asked. As Nat saw him there, she turned and stuck a small plastic tube with a reservoir underneath in his mouth. It was connected to a small motor that was running quietly. It started to suction his saliva and she gave him the report. He read as the suction worked.
"M mph? Mor suuuur?" he said around the tube. Resigned, she took the tube out and said, "What?"
"The same? You're sure?" Nick reiterated.
"Yup, overdosed on the same drug." Nat smiled as she looked at the collector. The saliva wasn't much, but it was a start.
He kissed her on the forehead and said aloud to Schanke, "Let's go find Cynthia."
"I'm with you partner," Schanke intoned. "What'd I miss?"
"It was the same killer, Schanke, and I have a nagging feeling Miss Harper is tied into this somehow..." they left the lab.
----
Joe watched them go out of the coroner's office and get into the ancient vehicle. He fought the urge to go after them, instead taking his cell phone out of his pocket and hitting 'redial'. After the second ring, a female voice answered, "Hello?"
"Yeah, Cynthia, baby, I'm working late tonight, I've got something big coming up."
----
Nat carefully dripped some of Nick's saliva onto the slide and put it under the microscope. She picked out three distinct cells that shouldn't be there -- none of which looked like the vampire factor. Her head pounded for a minute, and she closed her eyes to wait for the acuteness to pass. It did and she stared into the microscope again.
A machine beeped; a test was done. She opened the test strip and stared at it, comparing the results to a chart of "known" substances. There was definitely anti-coagulant in the saliva, but there was coagulant as well. She sighed. They must know when to activate through some chemical process.
The computer she'd borrowed from the university continued to chew on the saliva sample. It would show a graph on the known substances and was known to be more accurate than the test strips. It finished processing and displayed the graph. The line was all over the place. Anti-coagulant, coagulant, something similar to morphine, and at least three other pain killers. It had also dinged on an "unknown". She stared at it for a minute. It could only be the elusive "vampire factor" that it had dinged on. She decided to try an experiment.
The pipette was a small one and she took a few drops of human blood from a sample pack and prepared to drop it on the slide. She peered into the microscope and squeezed the pipette. She saw the drops mix with the saliva and for a minute, nothing happened. Then she saw one of the cells explode and vampire factor spilled out into the human blood. It bonded with it and started to replicate. Before long, more cells exploded and the entire sample was exactly like the vampire blood she'd experimented with. True to form, before long it shriveled down to a single drop of black plasma. She sighed. Was that a success? She'd found out how it was transmitted, so that was a boon, anyway.
With eyes suddenly widening, she realized something and took the slide out, replacing it with a fresh slide. She dropped some of Nick's saliva on it, then some of her own and watched. To her intense relief, the vampire factor did *not* release this time, but it did not die either. It just sat there. Nat shivered. That meant, if she kissed Nick and she had a cut somewhere, it would infect her. It was a rather sobering thought and she promised herself to be more careful in the future.
She stretched then and looked at the clock. Time to go home. She started to clean up and realized she still had a small amount of Nick's saliva left. She debated what to do with it for a moment, and finally decided to put it with her "vampire factor" in the vial in her purse. She opened the vial and dribbled the saliva into it. The solution mixed instantly and turned a bright red that slowly darkened to a maroon. She capped the vial, made a few notes in her notebook and replaced the vial in her purse.
----
Nick scanned the horizon and decided it was time to go home. "Schanke, how 'bout we go bring in Cynthia tonight, I've got to go..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, your allergy. You go, I'll go home and see if maybe I can catch Myra before she goes to work," he held a twinkle in his eye and Nick smiled back at him. "I tell ya, Knight, there's nothing like a woman."
Nick had a vision of Natalie--as she could be, waiting for him when he got home and smiled back. "I know."
----
The sun was just cresting the horizon as Natalie made her way to the parking lot. She even whistled to herself; tonight had been more successful than usual and she couldn't wait to get home and call Nick to tell him all about it. She slid the key into her car door and turned it.
The feel of a cold metal barrel against her side stopped her. "You better do what I tells you," a rough male voice says, "Old Joe don't take no for an answer."
Nat swallowed and tried to make a run for it. The shot struck her in the shoulder and she fell, crashing into the asphalt. She felt the burning pain course through her body, then all went black.
----
Nat woke to her own groaning. Opening her eyes, she tried to peer into the gloom. She was in some sort of abandoned warehouse. Empty boxes and crates littered the floor around her and she whimpered. Sunlight streamed in though various holes in windows and she knew she was on her own. She moved and fought the scream from the pain in her arm. She felt lightheaded and weak. Beside her, a small pool of her blood showed the massive amount of blood she'd lost. It wouldn't be long now...she almost smiled to herself; she'd imagined dying of blood loss but somehow she'd always pictured Nick there with her.
Hallucinating. Her purse. She reached over with her good arm and picked it up. The wallet and car keys were gone, that was to be expected. Deep inside though, she found the vial. With a sigh, she clutched it to her breast. Below, she heard a door open and the rough male voice yelled, "Honey, I'm home..." followed by a deep echoing laugh. "I've come to make you happy...you are awake now, aren't you? I want you awake so you can feel me hurt you..." he taunted as he made his way to where Natalie lay, unmoving. She stared at the vial and then at her shoulder wound. Was it enough? What would it do to her? Why was she even thinking this? What would it be like to be raped? Should she just play dead? The thoughts fired through her brain at rapid pace and finally, she decided she had little choice. She opened the vial and poured it on her wound.
'FIRE', her mind screamed, 'PAIN' it screamed again. She convulsed once and then lay still. She flickered between consciousness and unconsciousness. She saw him now, coming from in between two boxes. He was leering...then unconscious, she saw him become a huge dragon with evilly wicked fangs...then he was normal again. The pain in her shoulder dulled to an ache that moved through her body. The virus poured through her bloodstream, replicating as it went. The flow of blood brought it full circle and finally, the pain receded to nothing. She felt it as a wave, it flowed from her arm to her body, down her legs and arms and finally to her head. As the wave proceeded she felt it rush over her eyes, turning her vision golden. She felt her teeth begin to ache, making room for the new arrivals, she realized. It had all happened so fast, she almost didn't believe it.
"Are you awake, lovely? I've got something for ya..." She heard a zipper unzip and cracked her eyes open a little. The amber tinges showed he was standing in sunlight, but that he'd have to come into the shade to 'get' her. She closed her eyes and waited. A minute later, he was there, whispering in her ear, "Come on, baby, wake up, I want to show you what I'm made of..."
With sudden fury, she lashed out, shredding his left cheek and causing blood to run down his neck. "You b*tch!" he said and drew his arm back to knock her into next week.
Suddenly strong now, and very hungry, she grabbed his arm in mid-flight and twisted him around, sinking her new fangs into his blood coated neck. He let out a weak yelp and then succumbed to Toronto's newest vampire's hunger.
----
Nick grabbed his pillow in his sleep. Something was wrong. He could feel it as if he were dreaming. He felt himself shot, pain flowed over him, then burning... He woke in a blood sweat just as the last fragments of the dream and pain left him.
----
(End part 3)
(Start part 4)
Disclaimers in part 1
----
Natalie woke and stretched in a dark corner of the warehouse. All was quiet, night had fallen. She checked her arm and found it was healed fully, without a scar. The killer and would-be rapists body was exactly where she'd dropped it. Thoughtfully, she realized she'd have to cover it up. She took out a pair of surgical gloves from her purse, put them on and searched his pockets and found the vials of 'Rage' and two of his syringes. She drew a little drug into each syringe and stuck it through the holes she'd left in his neck. They were smaller, but it would have to do. She squeezed the plunger a bit and the liquid went in. Carefully, she manipulated his hand so it seemed from his fingerprints that he'd squeezed it himself. Then she set him down in her own pool of blood, carefully placing his torn face in that direction.
She took one last look at the 'crime scene' as it was, or would be, and made her way out. As luck would have it, her car was in the parking lot - the keys in the ignition and the door unlocked. She smiled and as much as she'd rather try to fly home, she realized she'd have to 'remove the evidence' as it were. She drove home carefully, every person on the street, every dog, every movement seemed to catch her attention. How did Nick live like this? And the hunger! It had started at a low burn when she first woke and she'd thought it was just the presence of so much of her own blood, but it had not dulled since she left, if anything, it had gotten sharper and more painful. With a sigh, she turned the car in the direction of the Raven. There would be no killings on her conscience tonight.
----
"Nick, buddy, we got the rap sheet on our girl Cynthia's new husband. It's about the length of my arm," Schanke sighed and dropped a thick file on his desk. It fell heavily with a loud 'thunk'. Then, he dropped another smaller file, "And this is our girl Cynthia's file...fraud, polygamy, just about every scam you can think of...Nick are you okay?"
"Yeah," Nick said a little loudly.
Schanke sighed. "We got Cynthia in lockup now...say, you're not okay, buddy, what's wrong?"
Nick was distracted, "Have you seen Nat?"
Schanke shook his head, "Nope, why? Are the natives getting restless?"
"I'm serious, Schanke, there's something wrong, Nat didn't show up for work yet, and I've got a really bad feeling."
Suddenly serious, Schanke sighed, "Okay, partner, I know, I've learned to trust my gut instincts, too. Let's go looking for her." He took the rap sheets with them, it might prove good reading.
----
"Mon dieu!" Janette said as she saw Natalie, dirty from the warehouse, and pale as a sheet. Nat stood in the back doorway of the Raven and prayed that Janette would let her in, if only to have a drink. She'd not tried the front door for fear of hostile vampires - she had no idea how *anyone* would feel about the current circumstances.
Relief flooded Nat as Janette pulled her into the room and uncorked a bottle of her personal stock for her. The smell flooded Nat's senses and she drank it gratefully.
When the bottle was empty, Nat set it down with tears in her eyes. "Thank you so much, Janette. I don't know how to thank you..."
"Mon dieu, you can tell me what happened to you, how did you end up this way?"
Nat started to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. It was certainly not what she'd ever expected would happen if she ever crossed over.
A knock sounded at the office door and Nick's voice came through, "Janette, have you seen Natalie?"
Nat became alert. She was not ready for this, not like this. She glared at Janette for a minute, then put her finger to her lips. In a second she'd sprinted out the back door.
"Come in, Nicholah," Janette intoned, "I have not seen the good doctor," she smirked, "But I'm sure if she needed you, you would know."
"Janette -- something's wrong, I know it. Do you know what it might be?"
"I'm sure it's something you can handle," then she started to laugh. It was all just too much, and she wasn't even sure what the whole story was, but it was certain to be a dozy.
----
Nick was almost sick with worry as they pulled away from the Raven. Janette knew something she wasn't telling.
"You okay, partner, you look like death warmed over?" Schanke's good humor penetrated everything he said, and this was said with the mirth of someone who knows something's up and wants in on the joke.
Nick just stared straight ahead as he drove the caddy. Things were just so strange and he couldn't figure out why.
"Hey, this guy's got arrest warrants for possession, distribution and manufacture of various drugs, two convictions for rape, and two counts of attempted fraud. Our Cynthia sure picked a real winner..." Schanke sighed.
"Maybe she had plans for him..." Nick sighed, not really thinking about the case, "Like an insurance policy payoff or something..."
"Yeah--" Schanke agreed, "We'll have to check that--"
"81-Kilo, 81-Kilo" the radio blared, shaking Nick out of his musings.
Schanke answered it, "81-Kilo, yeah."
"81-Kilo, we got an anonymous tip, body in Simmons Warehouse at Elbow Street, coroner is rolling, no further info."
"81-Kilo, roger," Schanke barked and Nick put the police light on the dash. They were on their way.
----
"Looks to me like he did himself in," Nat was saying as Nick and Schakne walked into the warhouse. The syringes still stuck out of his neck at odd angles and the blood was now completely congealed. Nick felt a wave of recognition and realized there was another vampire present, not far away. He looked around and didn't see any obvious candidates. Taking a deep breath to ward off the hunger that came with this much blood, he approached the body.
Curiously, Nick turned the victim's head and saw the fang marks beneath the syringe needles. Nat screwed up her courage and went over. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you..." Nick asked her.
Schanke interrupted with "Hey, did you change your hair or something?" He looked at Nat.
She shook her head 'no' and examined the area on the victim's neck that she knew all too well. Schanke turned away to talk to some witnesses.
"Does this remind you of anything?" Nick asked Nat quietly.
She smiled. He really didn't know. She whispered to him in his ear, "It reminds me I'd better be more careful next time."
Nick jerked away for a minute and the assembled uniforms and other plainclothes looked over. "What's wrong," Schanke asked. "Did you see something?"
Nick swallowed thickly, "Nothing, everything's great...[whisper]...just great."
"What? You don't like the *new me*?"
Nick shook his head disgustedly and walked away. "Why didn't you wait for *me*, Nat?" he said softly as he slipped back into his 'cop persona' and turned away.
Nat couldn't believe it. He actually thought she'd gone out and found some strange vampire to do this to her. Now that she thought about it, it was kind of like artificial insemination; the new life from a test tube. Idly, she wondered if she was the only 'test-tube vampire' in existence and fought to keep from laughing out loud.
She left the body and pulled on Nick's jacket to get his attention. "We have to talk," she said.
"There's nothing more to say, Nat, you got yours and I got nothing...again."
"Oh, Nick." It was all she could think to say. Words failed her and she broke inside, the pain, the trauma, everything just welled up inside her.
With wide eyes, Nick regarded her. He'd felt the emotion, somehow. "It was LaCroix," he sneered, "Wasn't it?"
Her knees felt wobbly like she was going to pass out. He couldn't be this thickheaded, but yet he was.
"Dr. Lambert?" Cohen was talking to her. She blinked back the reddened tears and said, "Yes?"
"They're ready to bag the body, is there anything more you need to do?"
Nat glared at Nick and sighed. Work must come first. She turned away from him and finished her preliminaries. It was going to be a long night.
----
"Why, LaCroix, why?" Nick had raged into LaCroix's sound booth nearly knocking the older vampire over.
"Why what?" LaCroix hissed.
"Why did you do it? Did she ask you to, or did you force it on her? Tell me LaCroix, or a swear I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth..."
"Hunt me down, my, that sounds like fun; however, I don't know whom you are speaking about. Is it Janette? Your Dr. Lambert?" Nick winced then and he knew. "Just what has happened to make you feel this rage?"
"Natalie's turned. I want to know who did it and why."
"Well, I certainly don't know."
"But you know everything that happens in Toronto..."
LaCroix steepled his fingers in thought, "Apparently, not this time."
"You're telling me the truth?"
LaCroix smiled. "Nicholas, I have *never* lied to you."
----
Natalie finished the report with a flourish. "Suicide by lethal injection," she read aloud. It worked beautifully, and since she was the coroner, there was no one to dispute her. Justice was served. She put the file into the "Out" box to be filed in the morning and sat back in her chair. No more headaches plagued her, and it felt wonderful. She was just drifting into a comfortable doze when she heard the door open. She felt the rush of emotion and she knew it was Nick. Not even opening her eyes she said, "Hey, Nick, what's up?"
"I thought we could talk," he sounded subdued, even apologetic. Nat opened her eyes. He was standing near her desk, arms at his sides. He looked like the little boy who just broke his parent's window with a baseball.
"What do you want to talk about, Nick? How you think I betrayed you?" the pain hissed from her voice and he felt it physically.
"I'm sorry, Nat, I was just disappointed. I can forgive whatever you did."
Nat gave a helpless gesture with both hands, "That's just it, Nick, can't you see, can't you *feel* that I *didn't* betray you?"
Silence hung in the air for a minute. "How then?" Nick asked quietly.
The empty vial, still in her purse, came out then. "Do you know what I used this for, Nick?" He shook his head and she continued, "Every time we did an experiment, there was a little, tiny amount of blood left. I didn't want to throw it out, I didn't want to just leave it around, so I collected it in this tube." Nick's eyes widened. "I never did get to tell you how that last batch of experiments with the saliva went. I found out how the virus passes from person to person." She laughed and put the vial on her desk, "Rather a moot point now, but I did. All the leftovers went in this vial. The other day, your killer," she motioned at the coolers, "Shot me in the arm, kidnapped me, and was going to rape me. I was bleeding pretty heavy from the gunshot and started to feel lightheaded. I was going to die, Nick...I just figured this would be the ultimate experiment."
"So...it's all me."
"Yes, Nick. The world's first test-tube vampire." She tried not to laugh.
He took her hand and held her close.
"Hey, partner!" Schanke announced as he walked into the lab, "C'mon, we gotta go catch bad guys, there'll be time enough for this later...Hey, did he tell you? We got Cynthia. She's being extradited to the states, seems she's got a hell of a long rap sheet there, too..."
Nick reluctantly let go of Nat's hand and allowed himself to be piloted toward the door. As he reached it, he grabbed the doorframe and turned to face Nat.
"You are an amazing woman," he said.
"No...I'm a scientist," she smiled, "I'll see you later, then?"
Nick let himself be pushed down the hall by his overly anxious partner and said, "Definitely!"
(End part 4)
End Bad Medicine
==============================
Well, you got this far, what did you think?
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Cousin Raven
raven@naturesong.com