* I'm very sorry for posting the new chapter that late, but my betas and me were so busy the last weeks, we hadn't much time for reworking this story. I have to admit that this chapter is still not reworked by a native English speaking person, for both my Betas are not finished with their correction yet. Still I wanted to post the next chapter for I think you've waited long enough and I don't wanted you to be angry and stop reading my story. I'm sorry for every mistake in that chapter and hope you don't mind. And lot of thanks for your reviews!! It's so great to her that you like what I've written so far! Oh, what I almost forgot – as you'll now see the whole story is written from two point of views – Josef's (first-person narrator) and Beth's (third-person narrator) *

Edit: I thank toria515 for also reworking this chapter!! It's much better now, I think.

Insights

"Maybe you must have felt love to truly understand friendship."

Sébastien Chamfort

Beth Turner hated two things more than anything else: resignation to the status quo, and an abrupt dismissal of her capabilities. She was a warrior by nature determined to overcome any obstacle to achieve her goal. When thwarted, her energies, charm, focus, and confidence rose to staggering heights. Unfortunately, Beth rarely considered the consequences of her actions when those she cared about were involved. She tended to forget her own self-interest and rushed to the rescue with fearlessness and courage that belied her small size Beth took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and pushed open the heavy doors to the Kostan building. She marched straight up to the reception counter in the middle of the entrance hall, clothing her face in a radiant smile. Beth knew that most men were unable to resist her natural charm.

"Is Mr. Kostan in today?" she asked directly. As soon as the man at the front desk had seen her walk into the building, he'd nervously started to smooth his shirt and hair, straighten his jacket, and rearrange his tie while awkwardly returning Beth's smile.

"Err… um… yes", he stammered but then remembered his instructions. "However, today he isn't receiving anybody, unless it's something terribly important."

"Oh, it is!" Beth smiled headed for the elevators. "Please don't announce me! I'm a surprise."

"But… but, Ma'am…!" he called to her helplessly as he started to follow her. But the elevator was faster and Beth stepped in quickly. She gave the man another mind-blowing smile when the door closed in front of his nose. She took a deep centering breath and tried to relax. Beth knew full well that she had to gather her energy to gain the victory in this upcoming fight with that stubborn vampire. Focus, her innate stubbornness, and perseverance were the keys to this situation. Yet somehow memories of the day about one year ago when she had also been standing in this elevator made her both excited and nervous. Back then she had sought Josef's advice about her future with Mick. It had been the first personal talk between them and somehow it had distinctly ameliorated their relationship. It seemed to her as if it had been just yesterday…

(Flashbacks will always be written italic from now on)

Luckily the office was empty. Josef was sitting at his large desk, eying her from top to bottom with relish while she was slowly walking up to him.

"Well what an infrequent visitor." He welcomed her with a charming smile and stood up immediately. "Unfortunately I already had breakfast – or didn't you come here to give me what Mick denies himself with such a vengeance?"

Beth returned his smile. "Maybe another time," she replied flirtatiously. "But today it is about something else."

"Another contract killing to save the beloved one?"

Her smile disappeared abruptly. Damn, why was this man always able to put her at a disadvantage! "Excuse me," he smiled, "it was just too tempting to pass up. Do sit down." He gestured at one of the cosy swivel chairs that were elements of his new office, and took his place on the one opposite her. Beth accepted his invitation as she asked herself if it wasn't wiser to leave this place very quickly. To touch upon such a delicate and private topic with this sarcastic and ironic man was maybe not her best idea, especially because it always afforded him such pleasure to embarrass her in some way. Apart from Mick, there was no better person who could help her with this problem. However, Mick always evaded her when she wanted to bring up this topic.

"So, you want to talk," Josef concluded, before she had said a word. "About Mick?"

"Yes," she admitted freely and felt herself blushing at the very thought of what she was about to ask. "About sex with Mick?" was the next surprising question. There it was again that mean, knowing grin.

For a moment Beth stared at her opposite with wide eyes. How could he know that? She swallowed and tried to recollect what she'd intended to ask Josef. "More… in general… about sex with vampires," she tried to get out as calmly as possible.

To her surprise Josef heaved an abysmal sigh. "Thank goodness! Finally! I almost thought you would never ask!"

"You expected me to ask?" Beth was confused.

"But of course!" he smiled. "At the end, every relationship amounts to one thing: sex. Some are quick to learn that; others more slowly, and then there is Mick, the masochist, who is deeply yearning for physical affection, but is addicted to self-mortification. I barely think that he's the one who will make the first move in that direction." He clenched a motivating fist into the air. " You've struck a blow for women everywhere!"

Beth looked at him with a mixture of doubt and confusion and didn't quite know how to reply. This was all was somehow… weird. She was sitting here with a dangerous vampire she barely knew attempting to talk with him about such intimate things she only discussed with her best women friends. Additionally Josef seemed to enjoy it, for he was grinning again in that salacious way.

"But why did you anticipate that I would ask you anything?"

Josef leaned a bit forward, as if he wanted to tell Beth a secret. "When it's about sex, sooner or later any woman ends up with me." He took a short break just to give the hidden message enough time to burgeon in her mind. "But before we waste too much time with talking…" His gaze roamed over her body provocatively and that leering smile was back on his lips, "is it just about theory or also practice?"

Beth leaned backwards in her chair and succeeded in returning his smile in the same provocative way. "Theory. Practically I'm more the learning-by-doing type."

"And the fellow for that is definitely chosen?" Josef asked still smiling.

She just nodded and he let out a regretful sigh.

"Well – for theory… I think for the moment we can skip the part including the different positions," he went on. "I think you're more interested in the part concerning the workings of Mick's vampire side when you come close to each other. Am I right?"

"More or less", Beth admitted reluctantly and regained some self-confidence at the directness of Josef's question.

"How far did you get yet?" Josef asked with raised brows and a widening smile.

Beth's face began slowly but surely to glow again. "Can't you just explain the difference?" she asked, purposely ignoring his intimate question.

"Which difference exactly?" Josef asked back innocently.

She took a deep breath. She wouldn't let him play mind games with her again. This was just too important. "What's the difference between sex with a vampire and sex with a human?" she asked directly.

Josef's brows jerked up and then he let his teeth bang together, shortly but distinctly.

"Oh," she mumbled automatically touching her neck. "That's all?"

Josef was grinning at her. "No. But I think, it's the most important difference – the one Mick fears the most… and… maybe you as well?"

She thought about that. Certainly in her imagination, the thought of losing blood while having sex was a bit frightening… but she had let Mick drink her blood before and it hadn't been that dreadful. Besides the neck was famously an erogenous zone, maybe it felt totally different there.

"Some people like it," Josef interrupted her thoughts. "That depends on how much trust you have in Mick and how much you want him. It may give you a buzz if you are able to relax and just savour it."

Beth looked at him thoughtfully. "But why is Mick so afraid to bite me if it's such a pleasure?"

Josef shrugged and looked pensively at his carefully manicured fingernails. But when he looked up again, she knew that he wouldn't lie to her.

"It has happened from time to time that vampires killed humans while having sex."

"Oh," was again the only thing she said.

"It won't happen to Mick, Beth – he loves you," Josef added instantly and furrowed his brow. "Seems as if I have more trust in my friend than he does in himself."

"Have you also…?" Beth didn't continue. Joseph realized what she was driving at and didn't seem to have any problems discussing his own sex life. It was quite the contrary.

"Slept with human women?" he asked and his voice had suddenly a much softer, much more sensual sound. "But of course. I don't miss anything." He grinned broadly. "Killed them? No. More than 400 years of experience will do to develop enough self control in situations like that."

"Do you think 85 years will do it as well?"

"Do I really have to answer that question? You know him. Mick has managed to be close to you for a hell of a long time without pouncing on you, although you've wanted it. – If that's not self control…"

Beth's face was burning like fire by now, but she bravely kept to the point. "How long ago?"

"Mick and sex?" Josef thought for a moment then nodded. "You're right. That makes the whole thing even more exciting. Jeez, Mick is truly a paragon of self-control. That's almost…masochistic…"

"That means…?" Beth looked at him, raising her brows.

"Um, four, five years," Josef considered, "I don't know it exactly. I wasn't always by his side. But I witnessed him refuse some really explicit offers."

"Oh, my…" Beth's hand was touching her mouth. She couldn't bear such a long time without sex.

"Yeah, Saint Mick overdoes it sometimes with his monasticism", Josef sighed gloomily. "I begin to understand his reserve. Whoa, when he's on the loose…"

Beth looked down pensively and then shook her head. "He wouldn't hurt me," she returned calmly and was suddenly dead certain. "And he wouldn't kill me." "No he wouldn't kill you, but…" Josef fell silent again and his serious expression awoke a bit of anxiety in her.

She breathed deeply. "Well, then I ask you directly. What do I have to be prepared for, I mean, besides the biting?"

"That's a good and reasonable question," Josef gave back again with a faint smile. "And I'll try to answer it as adequately as possible." He drew a deep breath. "When vampires have sex it's different from human love-making. Wilder, unbridled, raw, sometimes almost brutal. Like I told you before, it's possible to lose our temper very quickly and then we just obey our very strong animal instincts. Vampire women like it for they're not very different, but some human women…" He shook his head almost unnoticeably. "Let's say the lesser evil would be if they are shocked and disappear never to be seen again. Others…" He took a long break for effect, smiling with relish. "Others can't get enough of it. It's said, if a women has once slept with a vampire and enjoyed it, she will never want to have sex with a human male again."

Somehow Beth felt a bit warmer inside. That explained why the kiss on the roof terrace had begun so intensely, unrestrained, almost violent. For a moment Mick hadn't been able to control himself anymore and had just come to his senses because of her softer influence. In her imagination, the thought of Mick lunging at her predatorily, ripping her clothes off, and taking her wildly and boisterously did anything but frighten her. She felt aroused. Her mouth was suddenly dry and her heart was beating much faster.

"And if we have started once, it's very difficult for us to cool down again." Josef continued, as his voice grew deeper and softer. His gaze had also changed, had become more intense and searching. "Then just a slight touch will do to make our blood boil and to turn us into a weak-willed slave of our own desires. We are very untiring lovers."

Beth swallowed the huge lump in her throat and was unable to look at Josef any longer. She was certain that he could read her like a book, that he knew his description hadn't shocked or scared her, but rather had whet her appetite for Mick.

"You will have an easy time with Mick when you have persuaded him that his fears are totally unfounded," Josef added much lower. "And even if his fears come back afterwards, believe me, just one touch…"

Beth breathed deeply and now was looking into his eyes again. He seemed to be oddly aroused and his gaze was wolfishly roaming over her body for another long moment. Yet this time she didn't shrink from the look in his brown eyes.

"If he bites me…"

"He will," Josef cut in and she had the feeling that he was now clearly breathing faster than before, "even if he doesn't want to – it's been much too long. He has lived the life of an ascetic and has had to control himself in front of you for too long. He can't prevent it."

"But maybe he will cut himself off from me again…"

"Yes, but this time you'll have more control over him, Beth," he reminded her eagerly. "His blood won't cool down so fast. If you corner him he won't be able to resist you. You have the chance to allay all his fears. You just have to want it."

The clear ting of the elevator ripped Beth abruptly and cruelly out of her memories. She had reached the floor on which Josef had his office. When she left the elevator she had to ground herself again by breathing deeply. She didn't feel strong and determined anymore, but rather wounded and helplessly lost in her bittersweet memories. Her hand was absently touching her neck, which had worn two small wounds for a while – remains of an unforgettable, intoxicating night. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to remember how he had felt skin on skin, how he had smelled, and tasted and noticed, horrified, that the memories of the few hours she and Mick had together were slowly fading. Beth could not allow that to happen. She and Josef had to take care that they didn't forget Mick. Because of that alone, the suggestion to return tacitly to the 'human world' was totally absurd.

Beth inhaled deeply and walked on. From the floor one could directly enter Josef's office, and because there was no door she could hear voices from afar. He wasn't alone. The voice of another man responded to Josef's questions in a curt and concise manner.

"It looks as if the problems with their own people are much worse that we assumed. This odd behaviour can't be explained in any other way."

"Did they notice that we're spying on them?" That was Josef and he sounded a bit excited unlike his usual demeanour.

"No," the other voice replied. "As strange as Logan sometimes seems to be, he and his friends are very careful and pass unnoticed so far. Seems as if Mick's old friend is indeed a little genius."

Beth considered for a moment whether or not to stay outside the office and go on listening. Then she remembered that Mick had always been able to scent her from a distance and at least one of the two men in the huge room in front of her was also a vampire. So she walked on resolutely, while she wondered why Josef didn't stop the conversation.

"And you're certain that the men they are searching for belong to their own staff?" Josef insisted.

"Yeah, but they aren't just seeking them. If you ask me, they want to neutralise them once and for all," the other man responded. "By the way, Josef, I think you have a visitor," he added before Beth rounded the corner.

"I know," Josef replied softly and a warm smile spread over his face as she entered the room. He stood not far away from her in front of a table in the middle of the room. The other man, who was sitting on one of the swivel chairs ogling her from top to bottom, Beth had never seen before. He was tall and slender, wore his long red hair in a ponytail, and radiated the same natural arrogance, as did Josef. Beth assumed that he also belonged to the upper class. He wore a very expensive looking suit and white silk shirt, whose uppermost buttons were opened so far down that one could see more skin and hairs than one wanted. After the vampire had finished his inspection he looked up to Josef with a questioning smile on his face.

"A little snack?"

"Sorry, no," Josef smiled, while his eyes watched Beth, who slowly walked up to the two men. "And if you weren't the arrogant, bloodthirsty asshole you are, Henry, I might introduce you. But now I have to ask you to go."

"Oho!" Henry laughed, but most astonishingly he stood up instantly. He was in fact half a head taller than Josef, but still he appeared not nearly as powerful and dangerous as Josef did.

"Seems as if the days of generous sharing are over," he added.

Josef now turned to him. His smile stayed but it got distinctly cooler.

"I'll call you," he said. "We absolutely have to talk about that again."

Henry nodded but his eyes were resting on Beth and she didn't really like the expression in them. 'Bloodlust' was probably the most appropriate word.

Josef's hand dashed forward and he grasped Henry's neck. This time his smile rather seemed to serve him for just showing his teeth than kindness. "Put that idea right out of your head," he said in a low voice. "Otherwise you could lose it."

Henry swallowed heavily and then nodded reluctantly. He was able to leave the office without looking at Beth again.

For a moment Josef looked at her without saying a word and then shook his head with a faint smile.

"Haven't I told you to go and try living your life in peace and quiet?" he asked finally and proceeded towards his desk.

"Not literally, but roughly," she answered. "Since when did I ever heed the advice Mick or you gave me?"

Josef answered with a deep sigh and plunked down into his leather armchair. "Mick is dead, Beth," he finally said. She could almost feel how hard it was for him to speak the words out loud. "So, why are you still coming back here?"

Beth breathed deeply and then pulled one of the swivel chairs to the desk to sit down directly in front of him. "Your name was on the List as well, Josef," she said with a steady voice. "And the names of many other vampires I've met because of Mick."

"I know," was the short answer. "And we'll handle that problem."

"Fine," she said, "I will do so as well."

Josef knitted his brows in annoyance. "You will what!"

"I'll find out who belongs to the Legion," she replied calmly. "And I will find out what they've done with Mick."

"You will not interfere!" Josef bent forward to her threateningly and his eyes were digging into hers. "That's got nothing to do with you anymore!"

"Mick has nothing to do with me anymore!" she shot back. "For sure he has!"

Josef leapt to his feet. "He is dead!"

"So?" Beth was back on her feet as well. "I won't let them get away with that! They have to pay for it, Josef!"

"They will. But it will not be at your hands!"

"You're not my boss! I can do what I want to!"

"Then you'll die!"

"SO WHAT! IT"S MY LIFE!"

Her last outburst caused a dead silence between them. They stood in front of one another, bent forward, breathing heavily. Only the table was standing like a barrier between them. But the sorrow and fear, shown uncovered in Josef's eyes, slowly appeased her.

"If you want to protect me, do it properly," she finally said much more calmly.

"That means?" he asked reluctantly.

"Let me help you and stay close," she replied softly. "If I've learned anything in my time with Mick, it's that the best protection against any danger in this world is a vampire at your side. You're even older and stronger than Mick was."

"That doesn't mean anything," Josef replied and sluggishly sat down in his armchair. This discussion seemed to take a heavy toll on him. "Mick loved you deeply. He would have died for you. He had a very heroic side. I don't."

Beth gave him a caring smile and sat down as well. "Everyone can be a hero," she said in a low voice. "You just have to want it."

Josef let out a ripple of laughter. "You're a lot like him," he stated with a smile. "You're also as stubborn as Mick."

She grinned while at the same time she sensed that the pain in her innermost soul was gripping her again. She was not the only one in pain.

Josef evaded Beth's gaze, noisily clearing his throat before he could speak. "You really want to join us?" he asked looking at her urgently. She nodded decisively.

"Do you understand that that means you are fighting against humans in this war?"

"Not against all, but against that specific group of criminals, yes."

"You'd better understand: if you really join us, you won't come out of it unscathed even if the responsible persons are caught and punished," Josef warned her.

"I know," Beth responded firmly. "But it isn't just about that."

"So what else is it about?" Josef was a bit confused.

"About you," she answered honestly.

Her friend was now fully confused. He wasn't prepared for her answer and was totally overwhelmed.

"Josef, you've become one of the most important people in my life," Beth told the flat out truth. "Didn't you notice? I know we made a bad start, but now you're my best friend! I won't let them kill you as well. If they succeed in doing that then Mick will truly be dead." She thought that Josef would contradict her, but strangely he seemed to understand her completely. His eyes were shimmering suspiciously while he held her gaze, but he looked at her full of warmth and affection.

"When you left Mick's apartment two days ago," he said softly, "it felt exactly like that, as if Mick had now left my life completely, and the…," he had to clear his throat to speak, "… the moment you entered my office today, he was suddenly somehow …" He cut off in mid-sentence, rose and turned to the large window of his office.

Beth stood up immediately and approached him cautiously. She didn't want him to feel threatened, but she knew how important it was for him to let out all his grief and despair. She knew that Mick had meant much more to him than he would ever admit to himself.

"You know, there are many different kinds of friendship," she said softly. "Superficial ones and intense ones. Those intense ones, those that can last for a lifetime, which can give you so much, only a few people are able to find. But you and Mick, you were that close. I knew that. I could feel it."

Josef breathed deeply and haltingly. Then he turned to her and now she could clearly see the tears in his beautiful eyes. "He was my family," he whispered desperately and the first tears were running down his cheeks. "My family, Beth."

She nodded with complete understanding and then simply threw her arms around his neck and pulled him into a comforting hug, so that he had no time for turning into the cool, controlled businessman again. Instead of that he leaned against her, reached for her and pressed her against his chest like a drowning person and cried noiselessly into her shoulder.

"You're not alone," she whispered and caressed his hair and his back, while tears were running down her cheeks as well. This time she was stronger than he; she was the one who could convey comfort and warmth. "We'll grieve this together, Josef, together."

It wasn't too long until Josef was able to regain his poise and adjourned for a short moment to the bathroom a bit embarrassed, but Beth felt that their friendship had reached another level. She felt closer to him than ever before and was sure that he felt the same. It was somehow astounding how close people grew together when they discovered commonalities – most of all when that commonality was the shared love for another person. Love tied close bonds.

When Josef came out of the bathroom he seemed to be much more collected and calm. His eyes showed a bit of insecurity that he tried to cover with a faked smile.

"If that is on the front page of some newspaper tomorrow, I'll know whom I have to visit," he joked as he sat on one of the swivel chairs.

"I don't work for the press anymore," she replied with a smile. "Although a bit of positive publicity wouldn't be that bad for you."

"So that my staffers think I'm a person with a soft heart?" he asked. "Then they won't let me fleece them anymore. Where would that end?"

She had to laugh and looked at him full of warmth. "But you have a good heart, Josef Kostan, even if you always try so hard to hide it. I sussed you."

"Don't flatter yourself," he retorted. "You won't see my soft spot so quickly again." He took a deep breath. "Let's get to the important things now. If you really want to help us, you should know as much as possible. Everything about our situation."

"Who are 'You'?" she asked instantly.

"A group of vampires, who got together for fighting against the Legion and if possible destroy it," Josef answered. "We are mostly old vampires, who have survived several extinction strikes of the Legion and know this organisation very well. There were a few half-hearted attempts to stand up against the Legion but they didn't succeed. Our attempts cost many of the lives of other non-involved vampires whose names weren't even on the List. This time we're much better organized and equipped. The contemporary era has given us cutting edge technologies that could make it possible to defeat the organisation this time. And some of us have acquired a unique characteristic which makes it possible to get everything that we need for this fight."

"And the Legion doesn't know that?" Beth asked surprised.

"I'm sure they know," Josef gave back. "I think that's the reason why they're working slowly this time. They know that we're much more dangerous than ever before and that they've got to be very careful. They work in secrecy and deal with the younger vampires. They can get at the youngest more easily and most of all unseen."

"That means you're not as threatened as others?"

"We're all threatened. The Legion works like we do with modern technologies and the most sophisticated tricks. They have to because they're humans. Otherwise they wouldn't have a chance. They are splendidly trained in close combat and own weapons produced just for killing vampires. They are assassins with the specific sphere vampires."

"That means basically they could march into this room any moment and just kill you?" Beth stared at him in shock.

"It's not that easy to kill me. You should actually know that Beth," he returned with a bland smile. "Besides, my new security system is much better than the one before. And there's a second reason why they won't appear here any time soon. I'm too much in the public eye. They have to come up with something special for me."

"You should hire two strong vampire bodyguards," Beth said seriously. "Just in case."

Josef was smirking. "I'll think about that," he promised half-heartedly.

"Let me just conclude then," Beth said. "The Legion wants to decimate you, so that you stay a neat multitude. But this time they have to move carefully for you are on guard and they don't want other people to notice what's going on."

Josef nodded his approval.

"You yourself have founded an organization which is trying to fight against the Legion and seems to be more successful this time."

"We hope so. But like I said, our technologies are much better than before and we have more people."

"How many exactly?"

Josef thought about that for a moment and then shook his head. "I can't say. Not just because I don't know it exactly but also it's better if you don't know the exact number – and most of all no more names."

"The vampire who just left, is he one of the members?" Beth asked nevertheless.

"Yes," Josef admitted after a moment of hesitation. "But believe me you don't want to know him much better."

Beth frowned. "Is he that bad?"

"Not all vampires are like Mick, Beth," Josef explained. "Most of them see humans just as food. I'm not much better. That I've threatened you in a fairly friendly manner was part of the Mick-likes-her-so-be-nice-to-her bonus."

"Friendly?" Beth repeated with raised brows. "At the beginning I had the strong feeling that I was a thorn in your side."

"In fact you were," Josef admitted openly. "You have biased Mick's thoughts and his emotional side completely. One couldn't do anything useful with him anymore. Beth here, Beth there, Beth, Beth, Beth…"

"Wow! You were so jealous!" Beth laughed.

"Oh, no, no…" Josef was raising his index finger, " just full of sorrow! I still had the whole terrible story with Coraline on my mind."

"You were jealous!" Beth persisted on her realization.

"You were about to steal my best friend!" Josef laughed as well. "For sure I was jealous! I wanted to spend my life with him and then you came along with your curves and blond curls and turned his head so much, that he even became human again for a while! I think I haven't felt any worse before. It was terrible."

He looked at his hands abashed for a moment. "After all it would have saved his life if he'd stayed human."

While thinking about that she had to confess that Josef was right. If Mick had been a human, he wouldn't have been that interesting for the Legion and would now be at their side. She took a deep breath and looked at Josef again who was still examining his hands, as if there was nothing more interesting in this world.

She audibly cleared her throat to regain his attention and at the same time freed her throat from the lump inside it. "So, this Henry gave you some new information, didn't he?" she asked.

"Did you eavesdrop?" Josef asked with a smirk.

"You know that I did," she responded calmly. "You must have scented me when I left the elevator."

His smirk was turning into a mischievous smile. "What did you get?"

Beth thought for a few seconds. "That some people are searching some others out of their own ranks and are trying to kill them."

"'Some people' are the members of the Legion," Josef explained. "And they have in fact problems with their own people. If I interpret it rightly there was a big battle between two sects within the organization. For now we don't know what it was about, but it must have been something that was inherently fundamental, so that the Legion is now split into two groups at enmity who are trying to bait and punish each other. They even try to kill each other."

"My goodness, what kind of people are they?" burst out of Beth then a thought flashed up in her mind. "Can't we use that?"

"We'll try," Josef agreed. "Perhaps one of the parties is more willing to negotiate than the other one, when we are able to exert enough pressure. But first we have to find out who they are and what the battle was about."

"May I help you with that?" Beth felt an excited prickling in the pit of her stomach that always assaulted her when it came to researching important things. Her reporter's instinct was awakening.

"Um…" Josef moved his head to one side and looked at her pensively. "Maybe you really can. You surely have some old connections with people you worked with in your time at Buzz Wire, haven't you?"

She nodded eagerly and felt tremendous energies breaking free within her. Josef stood up, walked to his desk and came back with a thick file in his hands.

"Here," he said while pulling out three missing persons' reports with photos and displayed them in front of her. "Those are the only persons of the Legion we know with names and photos and just because they are seeking them themselves."

Beth scanned one report after the other and frowned. "They're all scientists. That one is a doctor and that one… geneticist. Except this one here…" She took the last one into her hands and looked at it again a bit more exactly. "Owner of a company… divorced, two children… nothing special."

"Yeah, one wouldn't think of them belonging to a secret organization," Josef remarked. "And now they're missed. Oh, this one is a small exception…" He pushed one of the other warrants in front of her.

"Prof. Dr. Frank Peterson," she read out loud. "65 years old. Has finished his study of medicine cum laude and received several honours for his work within genetic research. Widower. Oh, his son died as well…" She looked up to Josef again. "What about him?"

"He's been missing longer than the other ones," he explained. "And the missing person report came from the university before the big bang within the Legion."

"But now they are searching for him too?"

"Exactly."

Beth's brain was operating at full stretch now. "Then maybe he doesn't really belong to the Legion. Maybe they have abducted him and now a part of the Legion has disappeared with him – but he's important for the other one as well."

"The question is just: Why?" Josef added.

"You know what?" Beth stood up, pushed the warrants together and put them into her bag. "I'll sniff it out!"

"That's right!" Josef smiled. "But don't forget the other guys. We need as much information as we can get about all of them!"

"Can do!" she called over her shoulder almost out of the office. Finally she had something to do. Finally she had something that freed her from her blue thoughts and memories of Mick.

"But take care of yourself!" she heard Josef call. She would. Definitely.