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Beth settled herself into the passenger seat of Oscar's Jeep, barely shutting the door before it began to move. "Are we in a hurry?"

"No." Oscar checked traffic and pulled quickly away from the curb. "I have an assignation."

"Assignation? As in appointment?" Oscar didn't answer and Beth shook her head. He rarely responded to direct questions and she found it particularly irksome today. She tried another question. "Did you get an invite to Josef's Red Cross Ball?"

"Yes." Oscar glanced at the rearview and quickly took an exit. "I have been before."

Beth blinked in surprise. "Are you bringing a date?"

"I'll have guests, yes." Oscar gave her a quick look, the corner of his mouth raising slightly and Beth blinked again. "Guests, as in you're bringing more than one girl?"

"If you are there, you will see." The Jeep slowed with traffic and Oscar looked at her again. "You will be coming with St. John?"

"I guess so, Mick hasn't told me about it yet." Beth began to gather her things as the Jeep turned onto Drexel Avenue. "Will you be coming up with me?"

"No." Oscar pulled close to the curb and lowered his head to scan the area near the door. "Security has already okayed your arrival."

"Oh, alright then." Beth nodded, surprised by yet another level in her protection. "I wonder if Mick's home?"

"He is." Oscar's mouth twitched again as she got out of the Jeep. "You need to work on your breathing again, Beth. He will know you are home as soon as you leave the elevator." The Jeep peeled away before she could close the door and Beth shook her head, turning to go inside.

The apartment was dim and quiet as Beth set her purse on the couch. "Hmm? I thought he'd be up?" She walked to the staircase, listening upstairs. "Mick?"

A slide of something and a muffled thump answered. "Yeah, I'm in the bedroom."

"Okay." Beth jogged up the stairs and hurried to the room. "What're you doing up here?" The door was slightly open and she pushed it wide, stopping in her tracks. "What...?"

Mick smiled from his squatted position on the floor, a dark fedora perched on his head. Beth began to smile as he rose from the floor and hitched the white pajama pants a fraction higher on his hips. "Um, nice hat."

"Thanks." Mick lifted the brim slightly and settled it back on his head. "I was looking for something to wear to Josef's ball." He sauntered toward her. "Whadda ya think?"

Beth looked up into his smile. "I think you should wear more than a hat."

Mick chuckled and pointed toward the bed. "I've got the suit and maybe something for you, too."

"Oh, really." Beth walked to the bed to look at the dark suit. "What'd you pick for me?"

Mick rubbed his brow with his thumb, suddenly nervous that he'd made the wrong choice. "Its, um, a couple 40's era dresses I thought you might like."

"Oh, cool!" Beth's eyes brightened as she reached for the garment bag. "I love dress-up." Mick breathed a sigh of relief as she dug happily into the bag.

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Guillermo slid the last rack of blood samples into the cooler and pulled the latex gloves from his hands with a snap. All the human and vamp remains had been processed and he was ready to catch some freezer time in drawer #6 before his shift started again in five hours. One more swallow from the Starbuck's cup and he was…

"You got anything for me yet?"

Guillermo smiled against the plastic lid. "Not yet, Carmen. The tests aren't done." He schooled his face to seriousness and turned to face her. "The coroner requested additional time on the bloodwork."

"Great!" Carmen dropped the box she was holding on the exam table. "Kostan's already called me five times today."

Guillermo hid his smirk as he stepped forward to look at the evidence tags on the small paper bags in the box. "And you're working for him, right?"

"Not as exclusively as he thinks." Carmen frowned, opening her bag to flip through the loose reports. "I look for the truth."

"Right." Guillermo sniffed slightly while she was distracted. Subtle jasmine and… "ADA Talbot sicked Beth on you, too?"

"Not yet." Carmen pulled the list she was looking for from her bag and stepped closer. "Here's the list of "male" evidence from the club. You just need to match the evidence with the appropriate body."

Guillermo glanced at the report. "This stuff all clean?"

"Of course it is." Carmen raised a brow. "You think I'm an amateur?"

"No, no." Guillermo rubbed his spiked hair in a quick nervous gesture. "I'll match it up with the human plants as close as I can."

"Good." Carmen slung her bag over her shoulder and turned to leave. "Call me when its ready."

Guillermo put the box back down. "I'll need your number then."

"Sure." A smile touched Carmen's lips and she held out her card. "I'm on the clock at 8 p.m. Before that, you take your chances."

A slow smile spread across Guillermo's face as she walked away. "Yeah, I'll take my chances. Maybe you'll tell me what's going on between you and Oscar. "

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The large black sedan pulled to a stop in front of Coraline's party house and Edward scurried around to open the door for Lance. Exiting the car, Lance settled the trenchcoat about his shoulders and looked around with obvious distaste. Scanning the surroundings, he sniffed, pointing with his chin. "Find refreshment for us. I'll wake Coraline." The smile that touched his lips held no humor. "She should be delighted to see me."

"I can't get near her." Coraline ducked her head as Lance pushed her hair back from her face. "She's already staked me twice and I've been warned."

"Kostan has no authority over us," Lance scoffed, "he knows the cure comes before his personal interests." Stepping back slightly, he offered her his hand to assist with her exit from the freezer. "My word carries more weight within the hierchy than some upstart from the Colonies."

Coraline warily avoided his hand to climb from the freezer herself and grabbed her robe. "Your word won't keep them from killing me if I try to get close to Beth again." She flinched as Lance's long fingers lifted her chin and she met his cold eyes. "You'd let them kill me to get to her, wouldn't you?"

Lance's lips curled in semblance of a smile. "Oh, sister, of course not." His cold hand pulled the collar of her robe closer to her throat. "You acquire Miss Turner and the family may let you keep St. John."

Coraline glanced away and then slowly back, her eyes as cold as his. "Tell me what you want me to do."

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Simone's bedroom was lit by a soft amber glow and she sat draped in the canary sheets as Josef dressed beside the bed. "The Whitley Trust is reviewing grant requests next week. We've processed at least a dozen from various vamp hunting groups."

Josef slipped on his shirt, frowning at the news. "Are any of them potential threats?"

"Not as far as I can tell. They're mostly newly formed groups looking for money." Simone swung her legs over the side of the bed and lifted the damp cloth from the nightstand to dab at her newest bite. "There are, however, a couple research requests we should consider; studies involving blood born pathogens and antibodies that seem very well thought out."

"Push them through," Josef answered matter-of-factly. "We farmers need to keep the food healthy. Anything else?"

"Well, I thought we could talk." Simone patted the bed beside her in invitation. "Have you given more thought to our turning conversation?"

Josef groaned inwardly. "Yes, I've been thinking about it. And, no, I'm not making such an important decision in the middle of all this turmoil." He smiled as Simone narrowed her eyes. "Trust me. I wouldn't put you off if it wasn't so dangerous right now."

Simone sighed and rested her chin on his shoulder as he continued to smile. "You know I'd make a great vampire and be an asset to the tribe."

"Yes, you would." Josef kissed her nose and got up to collect his jacket. "As soon as I deal with this Legion problem, we'll have this talk again."

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Josef moved quickly through the small parking area of Simone's building, headed for the Ferrari, his Blackberry in hand. Now that the human business day was over, he could get on with the more pressing vampire… The decay smell brought him to a shuffling stop. "What the hell…"

He vamped, turning slowly in a circle as the night whispered around him. The scent of decay shifted, wafting close and then away and Josef growled, low and threatening. "I know you're here. Show yourself."

"Took you long enough, child." The disembodied voice grated in reply, sending him spinning in search of its source. "What do you want?"

Laughter rattled like dry twigs. "I'm only watching, watching, watching…" The voice touched him from every direction and Josef bristled with anger. "Watching me, why? Do you need financial advice or the name of a good tailor? What the hell do you want?"

"Be at ease, boy." He was there, dark, faceless in billowing blackness. He began to circle. "Lady Wallace said you were smart, wise beyond your years," his voice mellowed to a more human tone. "You have much responsibility and much to prove."

"Prove to who?" Josef sneered as he circled, matching the old one's pace. "The Legion?"

"No, child." The old one moved faster, his voice rising as he blurred to a swirl of darkness. "Yourself, boy. Prove it to yourself."

"Prove what?" Josef shouted to the empty parking lot. The old one was gone. Chest heaving, Josef took one last look around. "Fucking vampires!"

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"Logan…" Josef barked into his phone, "Meet me at my office." Continuing to curse Josef summoned his security staff to meet him as well. "I need real time information, so call if you need to… don't wait for me to arrive."

Hell, Lady Wallace and old vamps delivering messages… as if I didn't already know that the Legion in LA is my mess… my security which failed at the club. Vamps at the fringes of LA society are already leaving… the Lost Boys, who had handled Dean Foster were now stalking celebrities in London. Vamp deaths were up all over but not place was as bad as LA and it was only the confidentiality of the Cleaners which was keeping people from knowing how many vamp deaths have already occurred.

It's vamps like myself with business interests, who can't leave LA… we make ideal targets.

Mick… it's time for him to stop… Hell, stop what… I need his head in the game, to figure out security and coordinate with the Cleaners.

Over the whine of the Ferrari he hears the signal from his Blackberry and flicks a glance at the screen.

Fuck! Coraline and Lance… No doubt, Coraline was coming to claim Mick again and Lance to claim Beth citing the ancient rights of French nobility… it was the wreckage from Coraline's little experiments that focused the Legion on LA to begin with. I guess I'll just invite the wicked step mother and her wicked brother to the ball… Josef smiled at the though of Lance having to rub elbows and socialize with the food.