Mavis woke up first. Her cloth less form was covered by the silky duvet, and her husband had his arms around her. The clock marked 20:22, and she knew she was now able to go outside if she wanted to. But the bed was comfortably warm, and her husband held her so tightly that she doubted he was sleep. She didn't mind it at all, enjoying their first intimate moment in months, and wanting to never let go of him. She meant what she had said last morning. It hadn't been something motivated by the heat of the moment, it was something she had always believed in since she married him, but had never gotten around to say. It wasn't that she didn't feel a love as strong as that of her husband, but rather that life had given her a very cynical and harsh outlook in life. She really tried to be sweeter with him, he deserved it, but sometimes it was a bit hard. But he had a way of softening her up, with his unconditional love, his usual surprises for her, and the way he always did his best to see her smile, even if it was in the goofiest or looniest ways possible. In many ways, he was a lot like…
Johnny.
She shifted, now uncomfortable. It had been a long time since she had last thought about her Zing. She didn't like to, it felt like she was cheating on her husband. But it is a natural reaction, to wonder what it could have been, and the vampiress could not avoid it. Not that it made any difference. The redheaded boy was gone, lost in a world with more than 7 billion people in it. But even if by some miracle they reconnected, or saw each other again, it was already late. Far too late. Her life was now on a path, with her husband and her son. Zing or no, Johnathan was now just a memory, and it was perhaps for the best…
A low grumble broke her reverie, and she felt O'Donnell shift slightly as he woke up.
"'Morning, beautiful"
"'Morning, handsome. Had a good sleep?"
"Yep. How about you, darling?"
"My sleep wasn't bad, but I preferred our morning… activities"
"Hmmm, you devious girl! They say morning exercise is good for health, you know?"
"Really? And… evening exercise?" a playful smile appeared in her lips, followed by a blush when she realized what she had just said. She was about to apologize for it when she felt him leaning closer to her neck. She flinched by instinct, but allowed him to continue, him sinking his teeth in her skin. He didn't bite her strongly, in fact, it could be described as tender biting. The young vampiress could not avoid moaning, the wave of pleasure coursing through her body, and making her shiver every time he breathed on her skin.
"Well, I am no doctor, so I wouldn't know about the benefits of 'evening exercise'… but we can do some… research. Can't we?"
And then there was no more talking.
The 747 landed at Dublin Airport little after midnight. Johnathan and Daniel went through customs and baggage claiming as quickly as they were allowed. They got on a cab outside the terminal and rode in silence to their booked hotel.
"Thanks for coming. I know that you really want to go to look for… the girl. But this is really important, Johnny"
"I know, that's why I came, but I meant what I said, bro. I'm leaving after you are done here"
"Fair enough"
His hotel room was cozy and classy, something Johnathan hadn't gotten very used to. He could remember some of the youth hostels he had been to while in Europe, none of them even near as luxurious to his current beddings.
"Now I know why there are so many spoiled rich kids" he muttered to himself, changing out of his suit into a long-sleeved, high-necked black T-Shirt and khaki cargo pants. He threw in a black leather jacket for good measure and then exited the room, taking the keycard with him. He met Daniel down at the bar, where his sibling was drinking some scotch while looking at copies of (what Johnathan presumed to be) the copies of their contracts with Flintridge Logistics, formerly known as O'Donnell Logistics.
"I was hoping to catch some Zs, instead, I'm on a bar, looking at you go through some paperwork. Don't you think it would be better to rest the jet lag off?" Johnny declared, voice slurred from lack of sleep. He poured himself a finger of scotch and gulped it, then setting the whisk as far from himself as possible. Breaking his drinking addiction had been a very difficult task, and he wasn't about to relapse just because he had a long flight.
"Yeah, sorry, bro, but I want to be armed for tomorrow's evening"
"You have a whole day to do that, Dan, come on! Let's hit the sack, or go and reel a girl in for yourself, I don't know, we've just arrived and I already feel like I am dying."
"Come on, Johnny, I'm sure you did worse in the army, you can't tell me this is rougher than that!" Daniel mocked him, setting the papers on the table.
"Yeah, but I'm no longer in the Army, am I? I'm a civvie now, and so are you. I can go to sleep whenever I feel like, can't I?"
"Yeah, you can, but I actually wanted to talk about the decision you made before. Johnny, are you sure of this? Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to talk you out of it, but think about it: it is probably just a dream, she might not even exist. You are gambling heavily on something hypothetical! How can I make you see that?"
"You can't, Dan. You might think I'm crazy or out of my mind, but I am absolutely, positively sure that she's real. I know she's somewhere out there. I have to at least try!"
"BUT WHY?! You don't even know her! You don't know anything about her! You can't feel something for someone you don't even know!" Daniel's sudden outburst caused the few patrons in the bar to turn and look at both of them. The awkward moment was very brief, everyone going back to minding their own business. Johnathan waited for his brother to cool down before saying one simple, terse sentence.
"I'm going to bed, and so should you, to sleep you anger off"
He was in his room ten minutes later, looking out of the balcony with a finger of scotch in a whisk. The streets bellow were lit, but there were also some alleys or sectors were the lights didn't quite reached. He entertained himself thinking about what could be going on in these places: drug deals, prostitution, murder, black market transactions… the underworld was pretty much the same everywhere you went. He sipped the alcohol, scanning the neighborhood. He was about to give up and go to bed when movement caught his eye. Something was moving along the wall of what he suspected was an apartment building. It looked like… Someone is walking on the wall?!
He rushed to his luggage and unpacked the small spotting scope he had brought along. He settled on the balcony's railing and supported the scope with his arms. Through the lenses he could see what was clearly a human figure walking along the wall, defying all gravity. He zoomed in, beginning to notice greater details. It was woman, of that he was sure. She had a slender and curvy figure, very attractive, indeed, and he could also tell she was dressed in black when she stepped into the light. He focused the optics on her facial features which slowly came into light, revealing… bangs-styled hair, framing the most stunning face he had ever seen. He almost got lost in it, looking straight into the soft-blue eyes that were now looking at him through the scope, as if they were face to face. The world disappeared outside the round field of view, and time seemed to stop for a while.
It was like… a Zing…
O'Donnell watched as Mavis walked on the wall. The young woman was always thrilled about exploring their destinations from unusual angles, and it made him happy to see her happy, so he tried to keep her pace and guided her through his old neighborhood. The place hadn't changed that much, and he suspected he could still find the person he was looking for. But he wanted his wife to enjoy the trip first and foremost, so he waited until she was on the ground again. She was smiling like a little girl, until she felt a set of eyes on her. There was nobody in the streets, yet she felt like being observed. Anyone else would think of it as slight paranoia, but vampires know the difference between paranoia and being observed for real, and this was the real deal. She turned to look to where she thought the spying set of eyes were, and she felt it. The unmistakable feeling, the one she hadn't felt since her 118th birthday.
A Zing.
He's here. It HAS to be him. But why now? What is he doing here?
She began felling panicked, and resorted to the one thing that would make her feel safer: she hid in the shadows.
"Mavy? Mavy, where are you?" O'Donnell called out, looking for his wife. A set of blue eyes, which looked extremely frightened and nervous, "Hey, are you alright? What's wrong darling?"
The blue eyes were low, proving she was sitting on the sidewalk. O'Donnell knelt in front of her and brought a hand to her cheek. The girl was shaking, extremely afraid of… something. He wanted to know why, but he didn't want to upset the girl any more than she already was. He settled for kissing her forehead and then holding her close. The shaking stopped after half-a-minute, and she composed herself a full minute after that. He held her hands in his' and waited, in case she wanted to say anything.
"I… I'm sorry, it's just… I felt watched, and it scared me. I'm sorry…"
"It's ok, it's ok. Probably just old Count Dracula sending somebody to keep an eye on us"
"Yeah! Yeah! It's… probably that…" she wasn't about to tell him about the Zing. He was her husband, and she felt bad about keeping it to herself, but there were things she didn't know how to talk about and would rather avoid the awkwardness of it. They decided to pretend nothing happened and went on with their plans. O'Donnell took her to an average-looking small house. He knocked on the door and waited, while a grumbling old voice got closer to the door.
"…care who you are, if you try to sell something to me I'll make you a new breathing hole in the chest!" an old man opened the door as fast as he could, holding an old-looking double-barrel shogun and pointing it in O'Donnell's general direction. He stopped at the younger man's sight, the hitting him on the chest with his open hand, as if to confirm he wasn't imagining him.
"I see your manners haven't changed, old-timer" O'Donnell joked, a half-smile on his lips. The old man smiled and embraced him.
"Well, well, you did finally came back, didn't you kid?"
"Yeah, well… I've been kindda busy" he looked sideways at his wife, and the old man finally noticed the young woman that had arrive with his friend.
"My, my. You finally settled down, didn't you kid. Who would you be, darlin'?"
"Mavis O'Donnell. Pleased to meet you, sir!"
"Don't "sir" me, young lady. If you are with this chicken here then you can call me Clive. I trust you've been protecting him all this time? As you probably realized he has a habit of getting himself in trouble."
"Oh, come on!" Mavis giggled softly at that, shaking her head.
"Something like that, s—Clive"
"Fast learner, I like that. Come on in, guys. I might not have a luxurious flat but it's cozy enough"
Johnathan laid on the bed, the darkness of the room allowing him to concentrate on his thinking.
It's her! I know it's her!
But what now? I don't who she is. How do I get close? Will she feel the same way I do?
No way.
Dan is right, there can't be love between two complete strangers. What the hell was I thinking?
We are getting there, don't worry. Sorry I took a week off, this was planned for last week but instead I updated Red Typhoon. Anyways, remember to (please) leave your input, while I write the next chapter (hich will hopefully be published on time.
