Author's Note: Grazi, grazi grazi for all the reviews. Here is Chapter Four, and as a refresher, you might want to go back and read a bit of "Ghost Stories"...this chapter brings back Jessica Anders, Stella's roomie, also, the second chapter of "The Last Thing I Said" would also be good.

CHAPTER FOUR: Exposed

Mick was sure the New York City Crime Lab was completely lost in the turn of events- enough so that they would surely keep an eye out for him everywhere. He'd wanted to stay and talk to the woman at the hospital, but at the last second realized if he was going to bust Josef out, there were a few things he was going to need, so he'd quietly disappeared, but not before catching the rest of the conversation she'd had with someone back at the crime lab. Yeah, they were definitely looking for him.

And then with his and Josef's stunt that night...this whole situation, well...it sucked. No pun intended.

Josef barked out orders to the staff members that were carefully loading his Sarah into his private jet to take her back to Los Angeles. She would stay in one of Josef's several extra bedrooms. And he'd called his and Mick's friend Guillermo to keep an eye on her on when she got back. Josef released the arm of Jenessa, one of his favorite snacks, and she swayed a little in place from the blood loss...but the bite marks on her arm disappeared quickly. She leaned against the private jet's stairs for som support.

"All right, she's on." Josef looked at Mick. "You could still come with, we haven't left yet. Leave them dazed and confused in typical human fashion while we disappear like the creatures of legend," he said with a grin.

Mick shook his head. "No, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to figure out who tried to kill the two of you, y'know, if that's okay with you."

Josef shrugged. "No, please do," he said. "And then make sure I'm formally introduced to them," he added, letting his canine teeth grow just a hair longer and pointier.

"I'll be sure to do that," Mick said. Meaning, No, don't think so.

Josef turned in the early morning light to get on the plane.

Then Mick heard it. Faint, but the unmistakable sound of a crossbow bolt being put into place.

Josef froze on the steps...hearing the same heartbeat he'd heard the previous day. He turned, locked eyes with Mick. "Take off!" Josef yelled into the plane, before leaping off the steps and coming to a stop next to Mick. "He's here," he growled over the roar of the jet engine. The plane began taxiing down the runway, not even bothering to lift the stairs.

"I know," Mick replied. "Why aren't you getting-"

"This guy's not gettin' the best of me twice in two days," Josef replied, low and determined.

Mick saw a brush of color. "There!" With one move, he was across the tarmac, next to a luggage train. Something whizzed by his head, missing him by millimeters. But the person hunting them, whoever it was, was gone.

It was then that Josef looked back, and saw that one of his staffers...Jenessa..one of his favorites...lay on the asphalt behind them, eyes staring, a silver bolt sticking from her stomach.

Mick looked at Josef. Josef looked down at his freshie. "This guy either doesn't know the difference between vampires or humans...or he just doesn't care," Mick said. Suddenly there was shouting, and airport personnel came running toward them. There was no way Mick and Josef were getting out of there discreetly.

"Damn it." Josef threw his hands in the air. "Call the NYPD...but you're explaining this one."


When Detective Jessica Angell arrived at JFK Airport and stepped onto the tarmac, with Sheldon Hawkes and Stella Bonasera on her heels, she just about fell over. Her jaw hit the pavement as she stared at the two people waiting there for them.

So did Hawkes. For Josef Kostan was standing before them, alive and well.

At least...as far as they knew.

"Mick St John," Stella noted. "You owe me some answers."

"That I do," Mick agreed seriously. "Sorry for taking off on you earlier."

Hawkes and Angell couldn't stop staring at Josef Kostan.

The vampire raised an eyebrow. "Do ya mind?"

"You're dead," Hawkes said flatly.

Josef shrugged. "I can see why they made you a CSI- you're sharp."

Angell finally spoke, "How-"

Mick winced as sunlight filtered over the top of the building. "Can we take this inside, please?" he suggested. Next to him, Josef hissed and put his sunglasses on, holding one hand over his eyes. "We don't do well in sunlight."

Stella nodded. "Let's go downtown, shall we?"

"Good a place as any," Mick agreed, all the while wondering why these people were so damned calm.


The eighteen year old that stepped into the lab looked around nervously. Jessica Anders felt like she shouldn't be there. Even though she knew just about everyone there, through her roommate.

It didn't help that the last time she'd been here she had been accused of leaving her boyfriend and his sister to die in an abandoned mental hospital. Jessica shifted from one foot to the other. She cleared her throat as a passing lab tech came by. "Excuse me?"

The guy jerked. "Oh! I, dyuh...uh...sorry."

"I'm trying to find Stella Bonasera's office?" Jessica said. "Could you point me in the right direction?"

"I...yeah, I'm actually...I'm headed that way." He seemed very flustered by her presence. "I'll...well, I'll take you there."

"Thanks," Jessica said with a smile. She studied the man. He was younger, maybe no older than 25. He had curly brown hair and green eyes. He was wearing a white lab coat over an AC/DC t-shirt, jeans and Converse sneakers. He's cute, Jessica noted as she walked with him. They stopped in front of an office. Jessica recognized Stella's spider plant near the window. "This is it," the lab tech announced.

They both moved to go into the space at the same time. It went on like a Three Stooges marathon for a moment, until finally, Jessica slipped into the office. She smiled. "Ta da," she offered.

His ears turned bright red, and Jessica couldn't help but chuckle. He tossed a manila folder into Stella's inbox. "Okay...well, uh, guess I'll see you," he said.

Jessica shook her head. "I'm Jessica," she said, offering her hand.

He looked at it for a moment, then shook it. "Adam," he said.

"Hey, Jess!"

Jessica looked up to see Flack coming down the hall. She grinned. "Hey!"

"What are you doing up here?" he asked her.

"Stella and I have an appointment to go look at bridesmaid dresses," Jessica responded. "What are you doing up here?"

"Looking for my fiancée," he replied.

"Stella's out on a case with Angell," Adam told Flack. "They should be back here pretty quick."

"You think anybody'd mind if I just hung around up here?" Jessica asked.

"No way, kid, you're always welcome here," Danny Messer replied as he and Lindsay joined the group.

"Which dress are we looking at?" Lindsay asked the teen. Jessica pulled out a bridal magazine, and the two girls immediately started thumbing through it, ignoring the men completely.

Flack, Danny and Adam all shrugged. "Women," Danny said. "Especially married ones." He grinned at Flack. "See what you have to look forward to in a month?"

"I heard that," Lindsay shot back without missing a beat, then said something to Jessica about flowers and hair.

"Glad I don't have this problem," Adam declared, his eyes drifting to Jessica. He turned to Danny. "Do you have some stuff for me to run?"

"Yeah," Danny said, handing over the evidence bags. "Fingerprints. Did we get anything back on the bullets in our undead vic?"

"Traces of silver," Adam replied. He shivered. "Silver...stakes...you don't think-"

Flack thought of the Winchester brothers sitting downstairs. "Let's not jump to the supernatural conclusion," he said. "Maybe there's a rational explanation."

His cell phone rang. His brow furrowed in confusion as he read the text from Angell. "And then again...maybe not." He turned to Danny. "If you can pry your wife away from that girly stuff for a second...you two might want to come downstairs and check this out."