Moonlight – Virtual Season 2
Short 16.1 – Sundown
Rating: R/M
Writer: Misfit
Beta'd: Writers Group
VS2 Writers Group includes Candomom, ClChen, Conni4, Evilous, Misfit, Mx wwmickd, Night Owl, Phantom Phoenix, Photosue and Sunny.
Disclaimer: Moonlight and its characters are owned by CBS and Warner Brothers. All use of Moonlight and its characters in this venue are for entertainment purposes and completed solely for the pleasure of Moonlight lovers. The original storylines and episodes have been created by the VS2 Writers and Discussion Group. We hope you enjoy.
This short takes place after virtual episode 16.
The diner was a dump, but I'd known that when I told the reporter to meet me here. There wouldn't be anyone I knew who would recognize me and the colorless café curtains on the dirty windows would keep passerby's from seeing me, too. I paused for a moment, just inside the door, until the regulars lost interest. I was nobody and I wanted to stay that way.
I picked out the reporter right away; a pretty blond with big blue eyes. Yeah, she had to be the reporter; she looked as out of place as I felt and she was watching me expectantly. I made myself start walking. Here goes nothing.
"Excuse me? Is this seat taken?"
The blond smiled. "No, help yourself." She looked past me to signal the waitress. "Could we get some coffee here?"
I had a minute or so to study her while the snail of a waitress shuffled to our booth with the coffee and I made myself relax. She didn't have the hard, serious reporter look I'd been expecting. Maybe this won't be so bad.
Once the coffee was situated and the waitress had trudged out of earshot, the reporter pulled a little recorder from her purse and laid it on the table. "Is this okay?"
"Yeah, I guess." I was pretty sure no one would recognize my voice but I needed to be careful. "Who's going to hear this besides you?"
"No one." She said and I don't know why, but I believed her. She switched on the recorder and looked me over. I tensed; waiting for the judgmental look I knew was coming. I mean, you know, here I sit in a skin-tight dress that's so short I don't want to bend over and my short leather jacket has seen better days. I look like what I am; a prostitute, a hooker, just a plain down-on-her-luck Freshie. I'm not one of those high-class women the rich vampires keep; all pretty and pampered. I'm a few steps down the ladder and the vampires I service are, too. It's who I am and I'm not ashamed.
The blond didn't seem to be judging me at all. I thought it strange until she held out her hand and introduced herself. "I'm Beth Turner and you are?"
"You can call me… Buffy." I used the first name that popped in my head and I tried not to be too obvious as I looked at the bite marks on her arm. One bite was faint, older and barely visible but the other was still pink and newly healed. I knew without asking; two bites, two different vampires. Beth Turner knew the big secret and more tension drained from my body. She might believe me. I pushed up my sleeve along with the stack of cheap metal bracelets on my wrist. "I see we have something in common."
"We do." Her tone neither agreed nor disagreed as she studied my wrist. Beth Turner was a cool one and she pushed the recorder a little closer. "Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"
She was getting straight to the point but would she believe me? I considered my answer as I poured too much sugar in my coffee. "I assume you know about Freshies?"
Beth nodded once, her face neutral. "I've met a few."
"But probably not like me." I pushed my hair back from my throat, turning slightly so she could see the other bite scars. "I sell more than my blood."
"Okay." Beth lifted her coffee cup and her hand was shaking. Maybe she wasn't as cool about this as I thought. "Do you sell both at once?"
"Here lately, yes." I stirred my coffee, watching her face. "There've been some strange things going on in LA lately; men asking for girls who are into bloodsports. A couple of the girls took them up on the offer and ended up in a bad way. They were injected with almost lethal doses of silver. Do you know what happens when a vampire ingests silver?"
"Yes, they die." That got a reaction and Beth was frowning when she asked. "Do you know who these men are?"
I didn't know so I shrugged. "They're humans who want to kill vampires, that's all I know. I've stopped doing humans and the vampires are suspicious of all of us now. It's hard to find a date."
"But you do… find dates." Beth faltered with her questioning. Talking about sex and blood seemed to be making her nervous. Maybe she'd never had the pleasure. That made me smile. "I have my regulars and I'm very careful about accepting new dates. You never know what kind of sex or bite you're going to get until it happens. It can go wrong very quickly. That's why I called you."
"Okay." Beth blinked a couple times and I could see a lot of questions in those blue eyes. She finally settled on one and she asked. "Do you know something about the prostitutes who have gone missing?"
"Yes." My confidence in her went up a notch. Missing prostitutes weren't headline news but Beth knew about them. "They were my friends. I haven't seen either of them since they were picked up by the same vampire while we were on the stroll. I think…" The thought made me tear up and I hate crying so it took me a minute to get my composure back. Beth handed me a napkin and I dabbed at my eyes. "I think he killed them, Beth. They wouldn't just disappear. Bailey had a kid, she wouldn't leave him."
"Can you describe him?" Now Beth was the hard, serious reporter I thought I was looking for but I couldn't answer her question. I sighed. "I know I saw his face when he put Bailey in his car but I can't describe him. All I get when I try to picture his face is something like a digital blur."
"That's really weird." Beth was looking at me like she was trying to see inside my head. "Would you know him if you saw him again?"
"I don't know." I was almost sure that I would but I didn't plan on being around to find out. "I'm scared, Beth. I know he saw me and he knows where to find me. I don't want him to. As soon as we're done here, I'm catching a bus up to San Francisco. I can't help you find him." It made me sick to my stomach to think I couldn't be more help to Bailey and Kate, but I don't want to die. Okay, I guess I'm a coward but at least I'm going to be a live coward.
I got up to leave and Beth scrambled up, too. "Can I give you my card in case you remember anything else? You can call me night or day."
"Sure." I took her card and shoved it in my pocket. "If I remember anything, I'll call you." I meant it but I doubted I would ever remember. "Thank you for listening to me, Beth, but I gotta go."
She didn't try to stop me and when I got outside, it was raining. The bus stop was three blocks away and I walked as fast as I could in the four-inch heels. I'd only gone a block or so when I noticed the car. There wasn't a digital blur on that face now. I kicked my shoes off and started to run. The rain was cold and my heart was crying in my chest. I wasn't going to make it.
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