Chapter 1

We made it back to the plane and were in the air in less than five minutes. Coraline laid it out for me and Simone about the talk she had with her friend Cynthia Walker Davis, and the plans her brother had laid out for the vampires living in Los Angeles.

When she was finished, the first thing I thought about was Mick.

Oh sure, he can take care of himself. From militant ex-soldiers to crazy vampires to even crazier ex-wives, he has fought them all... and won.

But this? How can he fight this?

This entire situation makes the Dean Foster picture fiasco pale in comparison. God knows what he would have done. I know he wouldn't have touched him, which is why I brought those pictures of Mick's hit-and-run to Josef.

Whatever happened after that, I have no clue. With Josef's history, I don't think I want to know.

The thought of a purge ... a reign of terror, to get rid of every vampire in the city is beyond comprehension.

I have to get back to Mick. I've lost so much recently with Josh and Maureen gone. I don't want to lose him, too.

I have to get back to him now.

"You're kidding me. She hired you and your little buddy to do what?"

Leaning against the counter in Mick's kitchen sipping orange juice, Beth bit back a grin while she watched Josef pace in front of the ceiling-to-floor bookcase talking on his cellphone. He noticed her staring and rolled his eyes while circling the air around his right ear with his index finger.

"Well listen up, my new best friend. You and your pal are going to be getting a call from an associate of mine in around thirty minutes or so. My advice would be to pay close attention to what he has to say because you two are going to benefit from all this. Understand?"

Josef received an acknowledgement. "Good." He ended his call and walked over to the kitchen area displaying a wide grin. "You will never guess what your boss got his detective doing now."

Beth frowned. "What now? Like sitting here waiting on Judgment Day isn't bad enough."

"No, no. Apparently Talbot hired Alex Sanders to put surveillance on me and Mick. Nothing really evasive but enough to cramp my style if I want to drop somebody off of the Hollywood sign."

Beth chuckled. "Okay. What are we going to do?"

Josef smiled. "It's already taken care of. Sanders made some hires but she doesn't know the two she reached out to, I myself have used them from time to time. Hires of a ... brotherly sort, if you catch my meaning."

At that bit of news, a hint of a smile appeared on Beth's face. "Well, that's good to hear. Send this Alex Sanders out on a wild goose chase."

She started to take another sip of orange juice while Josef poured himself some plasma from a pitcher on the counter. "Wait a minute. What reason would you need to use vampires for surveillance? You almost remind me of the Archivist with his setup."

Josef said nothing as he inhaled deeply. "I thought we were never going to bring this up but I'll bite. No pun intended. Do you remember your situation with Dean Foster a while back?"

Beth's eyes widened at the mention of the photographer's name, an unspoken subject since she presented the pictures of Mick's mysterious hit-and-run to Josef months ago. "Yes," she said.

Josef crossed his arms and gave Beth a hard look. "Mick didn't want me to tell you but it's too relevant and too big of a coincidence. Talbot has a copy of one of Foster's pictures."

Beth gasped. "You're kidding."

He continued to stare at her in silence. "You're … not gonna throw him in the tar pits, are you?"

Josef smirked. "I know I come across with a cavalier attitude about life in general every now and then. Being a vampire with more money than God does that. But I have this attitude because I don't skirt the issues. I handle the issues. Maybe not the way Mick would, but they are handled. Best bet would be just to ... not let your imagination wander. For your sanity. But don't worry. I'm not going to touch your boss."

He smiled and tapped her chin with his right index finger. "Besides, the most important thing is our current situation. A purge three hundred years ago is one thing. Things like newspapers, news channels and the Internet weren't around then. If one happened now, not only is Los Angeles a battleground but anywhere there are vampires living."

Beth shuddered at the thought of dozens of vampires, exposed and out in the open, fighting humans. "Have you ever thought about possibly moving back to New York?"

Josef chuckled. "Oh the thought crosses my mind every few decades but it's easier said than done for me to pick up and move cross country."

"What about Sarah?"

Josef did not immediately reply, almost causing Beth to apologize for encroaching onto a delicate subject. "All I would be able to do is sit there beside her and watch her sleep in an unexplainable limbo. It would do me no good and helps her even less."

He finished the contents of his glass, savoring the taste on his tongue. "Los Angeles is my home."

The huge painting by the apartment door split open beside them, and Mick entered from his office. "I talked to Logan to see if he knew a way of getting in contact with Lance. Nothing. It's like he's not on the grid at all. But he's here now to set up a program on my computer."

Beth looked from Mick to Josef. "What about Coraline? I mean, that's her own brother and she can't find him?"

Mick shook his head. "They haven't been on good terms since the incident with the vampire cure and when she left L.A. with a stake in her chest courtesy of dear old brother. And Cynthia's not talking, either. At least not to me."

Beth grabbed her purse and walked over to Mick. "Well, I am going home to take a shower and get a change of clothes so you guys don't make a move without me, okay?"

Mick looked down into her blue eyes. "Would we ever?"

Beth gave him a wry smile. "You I trust. Him, I don't know. See you later, Josef."

Josef raised a hand to stop her. "Oh, before you go, I'm having a little soiree' at my party mansion later tonight, and I would be honored if you could attend."

"Party mansion?" Beth gave him a puzzled look. "What, you don't allow humans in your real house where all your blood, your freezer, and maybe the ashes of past enemies come and gone is stored?"

Josef smiled. "You catch on quick, my dear!"

Beth frowned. "I don't know, Josef. Last party we were invited to didn't turn out so good."

"Well this one should be okay. A fundraiser for one of my many charities. So make sure you doll yourself up for tonight. And don't forget your plus one."

Beth smiled and stood up on her toes to give Mick a kiss. "After I see you first, of course," she whispered.

He watched as she closed the door behind her and continued to stare at it for a long moment until Josef snapped his fingers. "Mick?"

"What? Oh, sorry. " Mick moved over to the counter and poured a glass of blood. "What was the call about?"

"Just a little proactive planning." Josef took the pitcher from Mick and poured himself another glass. "Shoring up final details even as we speak."

"Good to know." Mick gestured to the office passageway. "Let's check in with Logan and see how he's progressing.'

The two moved into the office where Logan Griffin sat at the desk working on the computer. He checked the connection on the webcam and gave a satisfactory nod. "Okay, everything's good to go," he said, rising from the seat. "It will ping on his end until he or one of his goons connect."

Standing in front of the desk, Josef stared in silence at Logan as he packed his computer tools into a small bag. "Uh, what's wrong, Josef?" asked Mick.

"Who is he?" Josef was pointing at Logan. "Where did he come from?"

Logan's mouth fell open. "Seriously, dude? I was here a couple of nights ago. Remember? Calrissian? I threw myself in front of Monaghan's van a few nights ago!"

Josef leaned against the desk with his arms crossed as if in deep thought. "I remember Guillermo, and the Cleaner and her crew. Who can forget those three? Hmmm."

Logan muttered under his breath as he headed through the passageway to the apartment. "That was low, even for your standards, Josef," said Mick as he sat down at his desk.

Josef snapped his fingers. "Oh! He lives in Sex Offenderville!"

Mick shook his head as he adjusted his monitor and pressed a button on the keyboard. Almost immediately an unfamiliar face with long black hair filled the screen, almost causing him to jump involuntarily.

"You," he said, pointing a finger at him. "I know you,"

Mick leaned forward. "Am I speaking to Magnus McClane? The Archivist?"

The man on the monitor stared back at Mick. "I know you," he repeated. "You're that St. John character. Your freshies were here yesterday to straighten out some mess you and that Kostan hack got yourselves into."

Josef emitted a deep growl from behind the monitor. Mick pointed at him for silence before refocusing his attention on the Archivist. "You already know your security was breached by one of your own, McClane. Compromising the secrets and lives of countless vampires here in Los Angeles, and you blame us? Those who are trying to clean up your mess?"

Taking Mick's cue, Josef gave him a wink as he settled within the webcam's view. "Think of the respect you will lose from the vampires all across the world if it gets out that our greatest secrets can be put up for sale to anyone. I mean, is your position one you are appointed in or you yourself assumed?"

He gave Mick a wry grin as he whispered, "Somebody will be looking for a job in Detroit pretty soon."

McClane exposed his venomous fangs in anger. "You wouldn't dare!" he seethed. "I will take your heads from your paralyzed corpses!"

Mick dismissed the threat with an unconcerned wave of his hand. "It doesn't even have to go that route, McClane," he said, trying to speak over the growls issuing from the computer speakers. "We're looking for the location of the one who initiated the breach in your database. You give us that information. If it pans out, then no one ever has to know. I will make sure that this little nasty secret stays between us."

The Archivist slowly calmed himself as he considered Mick's offer. His eyes flickered back and forth between cobalt blue and vampire gray shades several times in anger before he closed them tight. "Agreed," he snarled. "I will get you the information you seek. Who is it?"

Mick smiled. "His name is Lance. Last name unknown. Right eye is solid black."

McClane's eyes widened as he recognized the description. He quickly recovered and nodded to someone offscreen. "Stand by." He snapped his fingers and the monitor went black.

Mick looked up at Josef who shrugged. "Unemployment scares even the toughest of vampires."

The monitor came to life once again seconds later and McClane's face filled the screen. "What time of mad joke are you trying to play, St. John? Inquiring about this fella when you should know where he is yourself?"

Josef leaned back into view. "What are you talking about, you idiot?"

McClane's eyes focused on Mick as if they were only inches apart. "What I'm saying is your fella is there, right now even as we speak. Lance is in Los Angeles."

- Chapter 1 -