Decode


Beth pushed her almost full shopping cart down the frozen food aisle at Walmart. She had already picked up everything she needed on her list; tampons, shampoo, conditioner, razors, laundry detergent dish soap and the basic food groups, chocolate; a large Hershey bar, chips; an assortment of Pringles, Cheetos and a bag of Barbeque Fritos, cakes; cup cakes, Twinkies, and Ho-Hos. Her last was the freezer section, home of the last two food groups, ice cream and microwavable Chinese food.

Beth grabbed a few pints of Ben and Jerry's ice cream in a variety of flavors and moved further down the aisle. She spotted her favorite Chinese food a few doors down and added that to her cart; Innovasian's Sweet and Sour Chicken, Chicken Fried Rice, Spicy Beef and Broccoli and General Tso's Spicy Chicken.

She had only come in the store for a few items, (just the bare essentials and some groceries), but as anyone who's ever gone into a Walmart knows, that's pretty impossible. Okay, so maybe she didn't need a garden hose, but it was half price, and Beth wasn't one to skip on a bargain. Perhaps she could give it to her Aunt Liz. Wasn't her birthday was coming up?

Beth was just about to chuck the garden hose onto a half price table at the front of the store, when she spotted Steve Balfour her friend, and Buzzwire cameraman, standing beside a large book display.

"Steve!" she called across the store.

Steve covered his face with his hand and turned away from the sound of Beth's voice. Beth watched as he proceeded to ignore her.

"Steve!" she said rather impatiently waving her hand in his direction.

Again Steve ignored her. This time, he turned from the display and went down the magazine aisle. Beth groaned in frustration and pushed her cart across the store to the book department where Steve lifted a Woman's Weekly from the magazine rack. He spotted the approaching Beth, made a noise and lifted the magazine to his face.

"Steve!" Beth all but shouted as she made her way towards him.

Still he ignored her and kept the magazine, which was upside down, in front of his face.

Beth came to stand in front of her co-worker and quickly snatched away the magazine he was using to hide behind. "Hi Steve." she stated her voice hard.

Steve looked at the blonde and smiled. "Oh, Hi Beth. You shop here? I didn't know you shopped here." he coolly folded his arms across his chest.

"Yes I shop here. Is there a particular reason you were ignoring me earlier when I was calling your name?"

"You were calling my name?" Steve asked playing dumb. "I must not have heard you the music they play over the intercom is so loud…"

Beth glared at him. "You saw me Steve and then you ran over here to look at Woman's Weekly."

"Ugh.." Steve tried.

"Well?' Beth asked. "Why were you ignoring me? You know better than anyone how I hate to be ignored."

"It's not you Beth! It's just… Maureen said that none of us were supposed to have any contact with you. That means talking to you, and I'm pretty sure running into you at the grocery store is contact." he explained.

"She can't keep you and I from speaking at a grocery store." Beth assured him. "Besides I wasn't going to ask you about Buzzwire. I was simply shopping and spotted a co-worker. What if I needed advice on something I was buying? Like for example.." she picked up the garden hose.

"A garden hose?" Steve asked. "Beth, you don't garden, and you live in an apartment. Why would you need a garden hose?"

"How do you know I didn't move or take up gardening since the last time I saw you?" Beth replied tossing the hose at him.

Steve caught the hose looked at it strangely and set it on the shelf beside them.

"You haven't moved and you don't even like house plants. I know you Beth. You didn't come over here to ask me about your garden hose."

"Ugh! Fine!" Beth said with a groan. "Alright I didn't come over here to ask you about garden tools. How's Buzz? How many juicy stories am I missing?"

Steve covered his ears with his hands. "La La La La La La La." he sang.

Beth groaned again. "C'mon Steve please gimme something."

"La La La La La.." Steve continued.

"STEVE!" Beth grabbed Steve's arm pulling his hand away from his ear. "I won't ask you anything else about work. Just quit doing that!" she pleaded over his off- pitch singing.

Steve stopped singing and uncovered his ears. "No more questions about.. Buzzwire?" he whispered the name of their news show as is if were a secret.

Beth raised her hands. " Not a one." she promised. "So how have you been?" she asked Steve with a smile.

Steve shook his head. "Okay I can't do this. I can't talk to you. Maureen will know and then I'll be stuck being her gopher. I just can't do that, Beth. I'm sorry…" he apologized as he walked away.

Beth followed pushing her cart in front of her. "I'm sorry Steve. I don't want to get you in trouble." she assured him.

Steve stopped at the book display he was standing in front of earlier. He grabbed a book from it and stood to face her.

"Beth, do yourself a favor get a hobby. Read a book." he told her as he dropped the book into her cart with a smile. "You'll enjoy that one." He wagged his finger at her cart and walked off casually.

"Thanks." Beth muttered after him.

Disappointed with her lack of a conversation with Steve, Beth pushed her carriage away from the book department and towards the checkout area. She pulled into an empty checkout line and started putting her purchases on the conveyor belt. She made small talk with the cashier as she rang up and bagged her items, swiped her debit card after her bill was totaled and after everything was paid for left the store with her purchases.

After Beth had put her groceries in her trunk, and stashed a pint of Ben and Jerry's in her purse, she got into her car and began driving in the direction of her apartment. She stopped at a red light and opened her glove compartment in search of a plastic spoon. After finding one left over from an on the go lunch a few weeks ago, she then reached into her purse for her ice cream, her hand brushing against the envelope that Mick had given her.

Beth sighed as she put the spoon in her purse and pulled out the envelope. She had yet to let Mick know whether or not she was interested in taking him up on his offer to help him with his latest case. She was angry with him yes, but she was also currently out of work and soon to be bored out of her mind. Working on a case with Mick couldn't hurt anything. Could it? Everything would be fine as long as she made it perfectly clear to him that it was just work. Nothing more.

The light changed, Beth flicked on her left turn signal, carefully pulled into the left hand lane and turned down the street towards Mick's place.

"Just a case nothing more." she told herself as she drove to Mick's apartment.

* * *
"Just a case." Beth assured herself as she stepped off the elevator her purse over her shoulder, the envelope from Mick in one hand.

"Just a case." she repeated.

Beth took a deep breath and raised her hand to the door ready to knock. Through the door she could hear the sounds of Mick's TV. She rapt her knuckles softly against the heavy door and before she could even exhale, the door opened to reveal a very sweaty Mick.

He was dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants cut so low that her eyes had no choice but to go to his very defined waist and hips. Beth took another quick breath trying to ignore the fact that there was a beautiful sweaty half dressed vampire standing in front of her.

"Mi-ck." Beth said her throat suddenly feeling dry.

"Beth." he replied looking rather smug. "If you came by to throw things at me, you're out of luck. I had everything that can be thrown at me, nailed down as soon as I left your apartment this morning."

Beth smirked at him, not amused by his joke. "I didn't come here to throw things at you Mick. I'm here about the case." she explained showing him the envelope she'd brought with her. 'and only the case.' she thought to herself.

"Oh the case." Mick answered coolly. "Yeah sure c'mon in." he motioned to the sofa in his living room. "Have a seat."

Beth walked into Mick's apartment and moved to stand in front of the couch. "Is this a good time? Are you sure I'm not interrupting? I could come back later…" she babbled.

Mick shook his head. "Nah. I was just about to drink some dinner, sit down to watch the news…"

"Oh." Beth replied softly as she sat down on the couch. "I haven't been watching the news much, since you know… I can't be a part of it." She set the envelope down on the coffee table in front of her.

Mick turned off the TV and sat down in a chair across from Beth. "I can watch the news later. I'm glad you came by." he smiled at her warmly.

"Mick." Beth sighed "We need to get a few things straight. I didn't come over here to talk. Frankly, I think we did enough of that earlier… "

" I think I remember me being the one doing the talking. You screamed and threw things at me." He reminded her with a light laugh. "And threatened me with a turkey baster. I'm just glad you ran out of wooden spoons."

"I apologize for screaming at you and threatening you with kitchen utensils." she answered her voice flat.

"But you didn't come over here to apologize." Mick realized.

"No Mick, I'm just not ready to go back to the way things were… before. I need some time…" Beth explained wringing her hands in her lap.

Mick nodded his understanding. "So I'm guessing you don't want to work on the case?"

"No! No, I do. I'm going to go crazy not being at Buzz." Beth explained. "If your offer is still good?" she asked hopefully.

"Did you get a chance to read the case file?" Mick questioned.

Beth shook her head. "No, I haven't looked at it."

"Then how do you know you want to take the job?" he quirked a brow at her.

"Because I'd take any job right now. Hell, I'd work for Josef just to keep from being bored." Beth replied with exasperation.

"Hey, working for Josef isn't that bad, of course unless you happen to cross him, then it's well… murder." Mick smiled.

Beth smiled back. Things were getting friendly and Beth wasn't sure she was ready to be friends with Mick again just yet.

"So the case?" Beth asked trying her best to control the conversation.

"Missing Cheerleaders at Belmont High School." Mick replied.

"How many?" Beth questioned suddenly very interested.

"As of this morning, it's three. But it was only two yesterday." the vampire informed her rising from his chair. He walked out of the room for a moment and returned wearing a white Henley and holding a case file in his hand.

"Any leads? Do you think it's a kidnapping?" Beth asked from her place on the couch. She reached across the table opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. The happy faces of two very beautiful teenage girls smiled up at her.

"Summer Ford and Rachel Marx. Summer's been missing since Sunday. Rachel, since Monday ." Mick pointed to the pictures in Beth's hand before taking a seat across from her. He opened the file he was holding and handed her another photo. "And this, is Melanie Burke. She was reported missing this morning. The other two were reported last night and the night before. They are all cheerleaders for the Belmont Broncos. They attended night practice like they normally do and never came home. Summer's car was found at the football field. There is no sign of Rachel or Melanie."

"The other cheerleaders? Has anyone spoken to them?" Beth questioned as she stared at the photographs in her hands.

Summer was beautiful probably about seventeen years old with big green eyes and long brown hair. Rachel, who was younger, was a red head with blue eyes and freckles. And Melanie, who Beth could tell was shy from her photo, was blonde with deep brown eyes. They were all young, beautiful girls. Her heart broke for all three of them.

Mick shook his head. "I haven't been able to speak to the cheerleaders, most of them are minors. The parents are concerned and don't want their daughters talking to strangers." he explained.

"What about the coaches? Other students?" Beth asked setting the pictures down on the coffee table. "Someone must have seen something."

"The cheerleading coach Willa Mitchell hasn't been very cooperative either. She's been under a lot of pressure from the school to keep the disappearances quiet. She told me she was too busy trying to find a new assistant coach and she didn't have time to speak with me."

"The woman sounds like a flake Mick. She could be a suspect. Too worried about finding a coach then to talk to you about her missing cheerleaders?"

"No. I think she's just concerned with the principal finding out that she was speaking with me. Like I said, the school administration doesn't want to alarm the other students. They have an award winning cheerleading squad and an All-star football team. Missing cheerleaders would tarnish their reputation."

Beth snorted. "And three dead students who happen to be on the varsity cheerleading squad wouldn't?"

"The police are involved since the girls have been reported missing by their parents, but it was the football coach, Brandon Creassup who approached me." Mick told her. "On behalf of the parents."

"The football coach?" Beth questioned.

Mick nodded. "He's a decent guy. He's a widower, one son one daughter. His son is the varsity football captain or he was until he was diagnosed with some rare form of cancer. He's tutored at home most days but attends classes and games when he can. His daughter lives with friends in Vancouver."

"Poor kid. To be taken down in the prime of your life like that..." Beth said softly.

Mick nodded his agreement.

"Okay." Beth began turning her full attention to Mick. "I'll take the job. But I'm confused, Mick. Where do I fit in? I can't use any of my Buzzwire contacts, I can't write a story about the missing girls to generate public interest."

"I was thinking you could go undercover." Mick replied.
"Undercover? As what? A cheerleader? I might look young Mick but I can't pass as a teenager, college student, yes, but teenager? I don't think so." she answered looking at him quizzically.

"No, you're right, I agree. Even as young as you look, you'd never pass as a seventeen year old."

"Never?" Beth muttered shooting him a look.

"Okay not never. But I did have something else in mind. I was thinking since the cheerleaders need an assistant coach and you're young and in good physical shape and have a background in dance…"

"I have a background in journalism Mick. I haven't danced since I was in high school." Beth insisted.

"Tap, Jazz and Ballet for 6 years Beth qualifies as a dance background." Mick kindly pointed out.

"Six summers." she corrected. "And lemme just say that there are times that I hate that you know so much about me. Technically I was just there to help out the younger kids, and to save up some money so I could attend college and someday become a journalist."

Mick smirked at her. "The point is Beth, you're qualified. I mean how hard can it be? You shake some pom-poms, dance a little smile and cheer with the crowd." he asked.

"You've obviously never been to cheerleading tryouts." Beth replied. "They're vicious. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the missing girls are killing each other. Or one of the parents. There was a woman who killed to get her daughter on a cheerleading squad Mick, literally. Cheerleading is serious business." she informed him pointedly.

"All the more reason to get to the bottom of what's going on with these missing girls." Mick insisted. "If you want to do it, I have to know. "

"I do Mick, but I can't just walk into Belmont high school and say 'Hi I'm Marla Hooch and I want to be your assistant cheerleading coach." Beth reminded him

"Marla Hooch?" Mick questioned giving her a strange look.

"A League of Their Own? It's a movie about the first female baseball team, starring Rosie O'Donnell, Madonna, Tom Han-.."

"You want you're undercover name to be Marla Hooch?' Mick interrupted with a laugh.

Beth shook her head. "NO! It was just to make a point. If I'm going to go undercover I'm going to need a new identity, a fake ID, fake social security card, fake residency all for the school paperwork. Can Ryder do all that? I thought he was still on vacation." she wondered aloud.

"He is. So he can't, but Logan can." Mick assured her.

"Logan? Isn't he your vampire friend who hangs out in his basement and likes to play video games all day?" Beth made a face.

"He's also great with computers, can hack into anything, likes cats and long walks on the beach at night." Mick replied sarcastically.

"So this Logan, he can get me all this information? Create a completely new identity for me?' Beth asked.
"I'm pretty sure there is nothing that Logan can't do." Mick answered.

"Alright." Beth said with determination as she rose from the couch. "When do we start?"