Kicking the tires

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Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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Author's notes: I'd like to thank you all for your support, the favs, the follows and the comments. I reply to reviews individually, so you won't find the answers here.

This one's from Marko's point of view, as will be the following two. At first, I thought this would be difficult for me, but then a weird thing happened: The chapter practically wrote itself, as if someone was telling me what to put down. I suddenly felt a strange love for motorcycles, and … well, see for yourselves. ;-)

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The car was parking directly at the edge of the cliff. Laddie and Star were both in the backseat. Star did not look too happy about seeing them, but she did not look surprised, either. Unlike Michael, she was not daft, and had surely figured out beforehand that three teenage boys would be no match for four fully grown vampires – not even at daytime.

"Hello Star," David greeted her, calm and composed as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened that day. Marko admired him for his self-control. "You're getting company." David hoisted Alan into the backseat, and, after a moment's hesitation, Star helped to make the kid comfortable. She gave the boy a sad and knowing smile.

Paul shoved Edgar into Dwayne's arms unceremoniously, and hurried over to retrieve his beloved leather jacket. In turn, Star took off the cape she had been wearing and tucked Alan in.

Meanwhile, Dwayne had rounded the car to dispose of the little nagger he was carrying. "Hi Laddie." He smiled fondly at the child. "I'm afraid you'll have to close ranks in there."

Laddie answered him with a happy grin, and went to cuddle with Star. She again reached over to help get Edgar into the car. The kid tried to brush off her hands, muttering something about filthy bloodsuckers. He must have received quite a hard squeeze from Dwayne in retribution, for the Frog seemed to choke on his words a split second later. Dwayne continued to manhandle the boy, yanking his jacket off of Edgar with a low growl.

"Dwayne," Star tried to appease him, "please don't. It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," Dwayne replied, his face grim. "You behave!" he snarled at Edgar. "Or you'll have to answer to me! Understood?"

As restrained as he usually was, an angry Dwayne was a terrible sight to behold. Apparently, Edgar thought the same, and, therefore, quickly nodded his affirmation.

Marko snickered. The kid was riling them all, and it was good to see him put into place time and again. He only wished the Frog would stay there. But, on second thought, that would have been far less amusing …

Marko felt a bit reluctant to part with his burden. To his own surprise, he had taken a liking to Sam. He knew that he shouldn't, for there was no way to know how things were going to turn out, plus, the boy had been among the brainless band trying to off them. But, so what? He liked him nevertheless. Under different circumstances, Marko was sure Sam would be fun to be with. The boy had character, and he had obviously inherited all the available intelligence as well, which, sadly, left none for Michael … Marko grinned.

Said Michael was holding open the door at the passenger's side, and Marko carefully settled Sam into the seat, stripping him of the trench coat in the process and handing it over to David. He spied the blanket on Laddie's lap. "May I borrow that?"

"Sure." Laddie passed him the blanket, and Marko started to cushion the broken ankle with it. He was cautious, but Sam grunted with pain all the same.

Michael stood only feet away. He seemed anxious, but did not dare to intervene.

"There. All set!" Marko announced finally, giving Sam an encouraging pat on the back.

Michael glared at him, then got around the car to take the driver's position.

"We'll go get the bikes. You follow," David ordered.

They took off into the air and began racing each other, all the while staying close to the ground and, especially, the car. Paul was hooting and doing some acrobatic flying tricks, forcing Marko to join in by grabbing him by one ankle and turning him upside down. Marko was highly amused, and became his willing accomplice in no time. Alas, they were not able to cajole Dwayne into partaking, and did not even try to convince David.

Sam and Alan were watching open mouthed as they danced and spun through the air. Even the moody Frog seemed quite impressed. Laddie was clapping his hands enthusiastically.

After about half a mile, they arrived at the expertly camouflaged shack where they kept their bikes, and touched down.

Marko yearned to feel his lady between his legs again. Riding was almost better than flying – at least, as far as he was concerned …

Paul pushed the gate open, and they all submerged into the semi-darkness of the shack.

Marko did not need vampiric eyesight to find his baby, he knew her by heart – her smell, her feel, the purring sound she made when they were racing on the highway, the different hum she gave off when they were chasing down the beach … She was a dual-sport Honda with a four-stroke engine, but Marko had, of course, modified her to make her lighter and more able for off-road use. Now, she was pretty nifty and reliable.

Marko pushed her out and mounted her, starting the engine, while the others did the same to their bikes. Soon, they were kicking the tires and lighting the fires.

Jeering, Paul took the lead, with Michael following and the others tailing and sometimes overtaking them.

It was a fair distance to Max's house.

Marko enjoyed the ride even more than usual. He was well aware that his continued existence had been on a knife's edge that day, and he felt so alive because of that …

The wind was ripping at his hair and his clothes, the drone of the engines drowning out every other sound. He sped up and drew level with the car, waving a gleeful greeting over to the group in the back. Laddie waved back, of course, and Star gave Marko a strained smile. Alan leaned forward a bit to have a better view as Dwayne accelerated, too, and raced past Marko and his Honda. That was, naturally, a challenge, and Marko barely had time to notice the indignant expression on Edgar's face as he blew the boy a mocking farewell kiss in passing. He got ahead of the car, outrunning Dwayne as well as Paul, now spearheading their little group.

Before they could start competing in earnest, however, he felt a gentle pull in his mind. 'Not now!' David told them firmly.

Marko sighed and slowed down, so that he was level with Paul. Dwayne fell back even further, joining David at the rear.

Mere minutes later, they entered the Santa Carla suburb were Max was living at reasonable speed, heeding almost all traffic regulations. How totally and utterly boring …

They parked their bikes and the car in front of the house. Marko killed the engine with regret. If he had to chose between Max and the Honda, his bike would win any time. Unfortunately, the visit had been scheduled in advance and could not be avoided. The circumstances were a bit different than planned, however, since Michael had gone off his rocker and tried to have them killed …

Max was dining with Lucy tonight, and it had been agreed that they would join them at some point, along with Michael, Sam, and, perhaps, Star and Laddie. In that mad mind of his, Max had composed a theatrical play of revelation and amalgamation, putting them all into a pot, stirring and mashing eagerly, and – voilà! – serving perfect family soup.

No one but Max himself had ever believed that it would work out, but … well, this was Max. He was certainly persistent when it came to his weird plans.

This time, Michael insisted on carrying his brother himself. Marko let him, hiding his smirk behind his fist, catching and returning the half puzzled, half amused glance Sam was casting him.

The Frogs were able to walk, but Alan needed a guiding hand to do so. It was Star who took the job, draping her arm around his waist in order to steady him. The kid seemed so excited by this that Marko could not help but snicker.

If Edgar had been prudent, he would have accepted the arm Dwayne held out for him to lean on. But since he was not, the boy stumbled awkwardly towards the house, ignoring the offered help, favouring each and every one around him with his glares, his own brother and Sam included.

That one certainly got a hot temper. He would be fun to play with – which did not equal fun to be with …

Thorn's angry barking started as soon as they passed the gate to the garden. Max's guard did a good job, but he was not overly fond of them, so they had to be careful around him. A hellhound could do a lot of damage, even to a vampire.

David knocked on the front door, using their special code. The barking stopped. A minute later, the door opened, and Max stepped out into the garden, Thorn at his heel.

"Hello, Boys," he said. There was actually something akin to affection in his voice. He had to be high as a kite on his happy family drug.

"It did not go as planned," David said as a greeting.

Marko raised his hand to his mouth to hide his sneer. Max absolutely hated it when one of his plans got busted.

"Yeah," Paul added, nodding hello to Max. "Dear Mikey cracked up and sent the cavalry in to off us all." He made a wide sweeping gesture, indicating towards Sam, Alan and Edgar in succession. "They very nearly got Marko. Staked him. Wasn't pretty."

Slowly, Max turned to Marko. The concern on his face was genuine. "Are you alright?" he asked, taking him by the arm and drawing his hand away from his mouth, first searching his face, then locking eyes with him.

"Yeah … sure," Marko replied haltingly.

Max's penetrating stare always made him nervous. They all were used to hearing each other in their minds and receiving orders from David that way, but Max was a different kind of animal. He was, as Sam had so nicely put it, their top bat, and none of them could hide from him. David usually accepted it when they told him to get the fuck out of their heads, but Max, naturally, did not.

Marko felt a hand on his chest and looked down to see Max smoothing his jacket aside, shoving his shirt up and inspecting the scar. There was still a sizeable dent as deep as a man's fist, and the skin was glowing an angry red. Marko felt fine, though, he really did.

"I'm 'kay," he said, tensing under Max's probing touch.

"How much blood did you need to heal that? Did it go all the way through?"

"Yeah," Marko said, "it did. It was fucking agony …" He momentarily shuddered at the recollection. "My brothers all gave me as much as they could spare. I also drank from two of the kids through them, and from one directly."

He really wished Max would stop touching him. It was somewhat embarrassing.

"It is not," Max replied to his thoughts and feelings. "I'm just checking on you. You know that, don't you?"

Marko was not so sure. Max had this thing for boys, after all …

He caught Edgar staring and could practically hear the wheels in his head turning. Now it was Marko's time to give him a glare.

Max dropped his voice, so that the mortals would not be able hear. "This time, I'm doing it right, boys. Believe me."

The doubt was apparent on all of their faces.

Max decided to change tactics. His piercing gaze turned to each of the half-vampires and mortals consecutively. "That's a very serious thing you did. Very serious indeed," he told them. There was nothing threatening in the way he looked, but his voice was like ice. Marko saw Alan shiver involuntarily as Max's gaze first lingered on him, then on Edgar.

Max turned to David. "Why did you let them live?" His tone was completely devoid of emotion.

Wow. Now that was serious.

David was holding Max's gaze. "Cause I'm considering taking them in," he answered calmly. "Alan, at least. But since they are very close, I'll probably have to take the set … Even if Edgar does not seem very forthcoming at the moment."

"You gave him the blood already?" Max indicated towards Alan.

"I gave him my blood," David emphasised. "I had to. He was dying."

"We'll discuss this later," Max decided. He did not sound pleased. "Come all in, now."

He held the door open for them, and they filed into the house. It was a big place, very neat and distinguished, and decorated with funky modern art and other unusual, youthful attire like a jukebox and neon signs, but Marko did not like it at all. To him, it seemed oppressive – almost like a trap.

They had all been here several times before, so David took the lead. However, he waited politely at the door of the dining room, and Max slipped past him.

"Lucy," they heard him say, "we got company. Let me introduce my boys to you. – David …"

David stepped through the door, vanishing from Marko's sight. "How do you do?" he heard David ask in a congenial voice. He imagined him bending over to Lucy, taking her hand and kissing it, for that was exactly the thing David would do in such a situation – just for the fun of it.

Marko stepped in next.

"Marko," Max said, giving him a prompting look.

Marko hated it, but he ambled over to poor Lucy and shook hands with her. "Nice to meet you," he greeted. His predatory grin seemed to unsettle her a bit.

"But, Max …" Lucy interjected the introductions. "I thought … You said they were not welcome to your shop … And now you're telling me that they're your boys?"

Max smiled at her, shrugging his shoulders in a gesture of nonchalance. "I told you … They're wild kids. Not good for the business. But the way things are progressing between the two of us, I thought you should get to know each other."

It seemed a bit too much for the woman. "And they … they're all your sons?"

"They are my sons by blood," Max replied, causing Paul to chuckle.

Max cast him a warning look, then shooed him in. "Paul."

"Howdy!" Paul waved cheerfully at Lucy.

"Howdy …" she replied in a feeble voice.

Actually, Marko was feeling kind of sorry for her. There she was, meeting with this well-off, courteous and – apart from his horrid fashion sense – reasonably good-looking guy, and, suddenly, he was conjuring a wild bunch of sons from out of nowhere …

Fortunately, they were big boys, and even if Max seemed to be thinking them in dire need of a loving motherly hand, Marko hoped that Lucy would be able to see that they had outgrown that part already.

Dwayne entered the room and was subsequently introduced. He inclined his head politely. "Good evening, ma'am."

"Good evening …" Lucy whispered.

"Now …" Max beckoned to someone out in the corridor. "Star, Laddie, come in, please. – Lucy, this is Star, and Laddie. Star's friends with my boys, and I believe she has been seeing your son."

"Has she?" Lucy muttered, eyeing Star up and down, then focusing on Laddie and his dirty, dishevelled clothes.

"Good evening, Mrs Emerson …" Star said in a friendly but subdued voice. "Say hi, Laddie."

"Hi."

"Hi ..."

Max was leaning out into the corridor now. Someone seemed reluctant to enter. "You know the Frogs already, Lucy – come in, you two, don't dawdle."

Marko was reminded of a scene in a children's book he had read many years ago, somewhere back in the fifties or early sixties, he supposed. There had been a group of thirteen dwarves, a wizard and a … something, introduced in pairs, so as not to frighten their intended host off. He had thought it quite funny, back then, and he thought it even more funny now. He laughed, but quickly muffled it behind a gloved fist as Max turned towards him with a reproachful look on his face.

In the neat, clean and candle-lit room, the Frog brothers looked horrible. They were both pale as death, and quite unsteady on their feet. Their military garb was smeared with dirt and blood, as were their faces. Lucy probably would not recognize it for blood, though, for it was of vampiric origin and had quite a different look to it. She nevertheless cast the boys a half pitying, half disapproving gaze.

Edgar stayed stubbornly silent, but Alan muttered a soft: "Hello, Mrs Emerson."

"Hello, Alan. Edgar ..." she replied, sounding unsure.

"And, finally," Max announced in a gleeful voice, "your boys."

"Michael!" Lucy got up in a rush, almost throwing her chair over, and stared at her sons in something akin to shock.

Michael was still holding Sam in his arms, who looked little better than the Frog boys. It would have been quite a strenuous effort for a mortal to lug him around like that, for Sam was no lightweight, but Michael was more than halfway through the transformation. He could carried his brother around for hours on end without tiring.

"What's wrong with Sam?!" Lucy was agitated, hurrying over to her sons and taking a close look at her youngest. "Dear me, what happened?! Why can't you walk?!"

"I'm afraid there was a little accident, earlier," Max spoke up. "But nothing to worry about, Lucy, I assure you. We will make Sam comfortable over there, and" –

Lucy did not heed him. "Is that ankle of yours broken, Sam?! Michael, what on earth …?! Did you take him out on your bike again?! Did you crash?!"

"Mum …" Michael muttered, abashed. "Will you stop talking for a minute, so … so that I can …" He seemed at a momentary loss. "Explain?" he then added, somewhat meekly.

Max was rubbing his hands, looking elated. "That's an excellent idea, Michael! Take a seat, all of you. I think we got a lot of explaining to do …"