Chapter 9

Beth stared at the newcomer vampire in part surprise and part disgust.

Coraline Duvall.

The vampire who kidnapped me all those years ago. Had Mick going crazy for weeks pretending to be a photographer for BuzzWire when she was really his ex-wife ... except she was human at the time. A compound she had created temporarily masked her vampire abilities.

And when I found evidence proving that she was Coraline, I took a stake to her. I had to convince Mick that he was actually right all along, but it totally backfired in my face because he already knew. And because she WAS human, Mick rushed her to the hospital.

In spite of all that, she never reported me. She never turned me in.

Now she's back. For what?

Mick stared at his ex-wife for several seconds before speaking. "What kind of danger, Coraline?"

Coraline's eyes flickered back and forth between Mick and Beth before realization set in, but she chose to ignore it. "The events of the past seventy-two hours have not gone unnoticed. Someone threatened to expose every vampire here in L.A."

Mick nodded. "Emma Monaghan."

Coraline turned to Josef. "And you had everything cleaned?"

"Of course. I told you already."

Coraline folded her arms. "Then why is it a list of vampires in this area was downloaded off of the database?"

Mick swore under his breath as Josef's expression hardened. "That type of information is never to be released. No hard copy of it should exist! None!"

Simone held up a hand. "Uh, I'm a little lost here. What database? And who is she?"

Josef ignored the last question but answered the first for the humans' benefit. "The database is a record of all vampires that is maintained by the Archivist. He is one of the oldest living vampires we have out right now. He has dedicated his existence to travelling the world in order to record everything vampire. When one is turned, accomplishments, etc."

Coraline nodded. "Very few vampires have seen him in the past hundred years. He has set up a secret network of spies both human and not so. Like a watcher society. And plus he keeps a very close eye on the Internet for vampiristic facts."

Coraline walked to the globe resting in the room's center and spun it on its axis. "It's rumored that he has close to 10,000 vampires from all over the world in his database. But his main rule is that he doesn't let anyone else see it. He is the only one that has access to it."

Josef sat down in a chair, leaning forward as his elbows rested on his lap. "For that list to even be printed, much less in the hands of those not authorized, it goes against everything the Archivist stands for."

His eyes took in his guests for a long moment before speaking again. "Our very lives are in grave danger."

"Why did you come back?"

Coraline was sitting with her feet in the pool, enjoying the coolness of the water. She did not turn around at Beth's approach behind her."Believe it or not, I came back for Mick," she said, taking in her own reflection in the pool. "No matter what you mean to him, he and I still have a connection. That can't be denied."

Beth stopped several feet away. "I'm not denying it at all. The last time you were in town, however, you had Mick going crazy over you, and this miracle cure he was almost killed over."

"And according to our findings, the compound should have lasted for at least six months, which leads me to believe this." Coraline looked over her shoulder at the younger woman. "He had himself turned voluntarily ... for you."

Coraline stared at her in silence for several seconds before nodding. "No one had to tell me anything. I saw it in your eyes when I walked into the room. You two are in love."

Beth stood in silence, so Coraline continued. "You have nothing to fear from me, Beth. I won't interfere with your relationship. That time of our lives was a long time ago."

Coraline rose from the edge of the pool and stepped close to Beth. She started to reach for her shoulder but Beth took a quick step backwards. Instead, Coraline clasped her hands behind her back. "Despite our issues, my feelings for Mick have not changed. I chose to come here and tell the few people I know who can make a difference and stop this before ... before ..."

She fell silent a few seconds before finishing. "Before I lose him forever," she whispered.

Beth frowned at Coraline for what seemed like an eternity, mulling over her words. "I can set my hate aside for the greater good. This time."

She closed the space between her and Coraline with a single step, standing a few scant centimeters apart. "I hope for your sake, you are here to help."

"What if I tell you there's a way to prove that? Is there anything you wouldn't do to help Mick?"

Beth answered without hesitation. "No. There isn't."

"Josef asked me to go to the Archivist. Feel him out. See if he sent this list out himself. Thing is that list is probably already floating somewhere here in Los Angeles. Mick is needed here to track it down."

She walked past Beth to the bar behind her and poured herself a glass of blood. "The Archivist lives somewhere in Detroit, which is not good because time is of the essence. Also, he is very peculiar of who he sees. He won't see Mick because he's still young by vampire standards. Josef, because of his celebrity."

Coraline turned back to Beth, her eyes shining. "I propose we team up. You and I fly to Detroit. You are an excellent investigator. I'm sure if there's something I miss, you'll pick up on it and vice versa."

Beth mulled her request over. "Mick won't go along with it," she finally said. "It is a good idea, though."

"Very good idea," announced Simone, stepping outside. Beth did not notice her standing close enough to hear the conversation. "It's so good that Josef has already authorized a private jet at our disposal."

Coraline started to protest, but Beth cut her off. "Simone is Josef's attorney, and three sets of eyes are better than two."

Coraline gave both of the women a wan smile. "Whatever you think is best."

"Sometimes I feel I can read your mind, Mick."

Mick held up his hands in a gesture of defeat at Josef, who was typing at his desktop computer in his upstairs office. "And what am I thinking? Oh! Ex-wife, who kidnapped girlfriend over twenty years ago, is flying to Michigan with girlfriend who mind you - staked ex-wife a couple of months ago! Do you see the logic in that?"

Josef almost smiled as he continued to type. "No, nothing we do anymore is logical. But I just sent a message to a friend of mine in Detroit who will meet with the ladies when they arrive. They'll be perfectly safe, I assure you."

He leaned forward, pointing a finger at Mick. "I wouldn't have set it up if I thought for a second they were going to be in any danger, my friend. What you need to do is contact your computer geek and see if he can run a trace whenever our names pop up. If that list is out in the open, we need to set up some sort of contingency plan."

Mick shook his head. "It'll be better if I stop over to his house. Chances are he's either asleep or playing some sort of loud video game." He looked at his watch and sighed. "Might as well get over there now so Beth can get her things together for the flight tomorrow. What time?"

Josef rose from his desk and gestured for Mick to follow him out into the hallway. "Wheels up no later than 6 a.m. The Archivist is very peculiar when it comes to visitors coming to see him. He's almost considered as royalty by most of the older vampires in the tribe."

Mick nodded. "By the way, what does he have against you?"

Josef shrugged as they reached the staircase and headed down. "It's about a bunch of interviews I gave years ago."

"Oh? About what?"

"Fort Sumter, the Titanic, take your pick."

Mick shook his head.

Beth tilted her head back against Mick's lap to look up into his face. "When was the last time you took a vacation?"

They were resting on the couch in Mick's apartment. The television was on but muted and the shades opened to a full night view of the city skyline.

Mick rubbed his chin in thought. "I honestly can't remember. The one time that jumps at me was Kennedy's assassination. The country was in shambles during that time and - HEY!"

Beth reached back with her right fist and playfully backhanded Mick in the chest. "Really?! The '60s?! Come on!" She sighed and leaned forward, swinging her feet to the floor.

"I think that after we get this business taken care, we get out of L.A. for a few days," said Beth. She clasped Mick's right hand in between hers."Before the next incident threatens to shake us to our core. Before the end of the world."

Mick smiled. "Somewhere sunny, where we can take midnight swims because we both know that the sun is harmful to me -"

"Or somewhere nice just like that with plenty of excuses to stay indoors? Like I care about sun." Beth leaned over and kissed Mick on his lips. "I'm serious, Mick. We need to get out of here for a while."

"I know, I know. Let me think." Mick rubbed his chin again his his free hand as he considered everything. "I don't have any pending cases, and Josef is more than capable to watch out for himself in a mature setting every now and then."

Beth's eyes widened in anticipation. "So?"

Mick's cell rang before he had a chance to respond. "Hold that pose," he said, noticing it was Logan calling and pressed the speaker button. "Calrissian, what's going on?"

Logan's voice sputtered through over rock music in the background. "I set up your query trace and started to get my Call of Duty on and some pings like you wouldn't believe already. Whoever's doing the pinging has been at for a few hours."

Mick sat up straight in his seat. "What kind of queries?"

"It's all on your buddy Josef. Financials, history, bank statements. Main thing that caught my eye was some sort of action in New York. Josef has been paying a bill over there through trusts and shell companies for decades."

Mick glanced over at Beth who mouthed one word. Sarah.

"What? Did Beth say Clara?"

"No, no. She didn't say anything," Mick said hastily while gesturing for an utterly shocked Beth to be quiet. "Okay, supersleuth, I don't think Josef will appreciate you going through his personal life like that," said Mick. "That was good work though. Keep your eyes and ears open for any more ... pings, okay? I'll be over in the morning."

"Okay doke, but this work is gonna cost you extra, my friend. So make sure you bring over some of your fine -"

Mick pressed END and shook his head. "Josef is not going to like this at all," he said.

Beth nodded at the cellphone which was still resting in his hand. "Are you going to call him now?"

Mick shook his head, letting it slide from his hand while pulling Beth closer to him. "Nope. We only have a few more hours before you leave, and I want to make the most of this time."

- Chapter 9 -