A/N: It took me awhile to find my way in this. Had some serious writer's block, but I pushed on through it. Hope you are happy with the result.

Chapter 12

MICK

Josef's private jet was the height of vampire comfort, with plenty of freezer berths to go around, blood on tap from the freshie flight attendants, and his best scotch on the wet bar. And so it was that I kept Beth close when the human women greeted us at the door. I felt her interest pique, noted her flared nostrils and the faint silver cast to her eyes. I guess I should have foreseen this possibility of disaster, but on the other hand, she had to get used to being around humans sometime. This was a controlled environment, with three other vamps to help her maintain control, and humans who were well aware of what we are. I hoped Josef and Simone would refrain from partaking of the freshies' services while Beth was aboard. That would certainly make my job as sire a bit easier.

Josef and Simone had already arrived and were lounging in the leather seats, both dressed in evening wear.

"Sorry to interrupt your evening plans," I said, looking at Simone as she and Beth hugged.

"He's promised to make it up to me," she said, shooting her husband a warning glance.

"And I always pay my debts—in full—plus interest, I might add. Lots and lots of interest," Josef smirked suggestively at his wife. "Hello, Beth. How's my favorite newbie today?"

"Fine, thanks. And we do appreciate you loaning us the jet on such short notice." He looked from Beth to me, and back again, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.

"We? Are you two a crime solving team now? I thought you just needed my vampsitting services."

"Beth's helping me on this one," I replied evenly. "I mean, we used to do this all the time, remember?"

"Yeah, but it was usually against your better judgment," Josef said.

"Oh, really?" Beth shot me a look of annoyance. "You didn't used to like me to work with you?"

I sighed. Josef always knew the best way to stir up trouble. "I told you on many occasions that I thought the cases I was involved with were too dangerous for you. For a human, that is. Now, I'm happy to say I don't have to worry about you so much."

We all sat down and buckled up, as the flight attendants began preparing for departure. The pilot interrupted briefly to announce our clearance for takeoff. I leaned over and kissed Beth's temple, trying to smooth things over.

"Besides," I continued, "Beth handled herself very well awhile ago. We managed to get away from a couple of German shepherds, relatively unscathed."

Beth held up her leg and pulled up her slacks so they could see the nearly healed bitemarks on her ankle.

"Awww…baby's first dog attack," Josef grinned. "You must be so proud, Mick."

I nodded and smiled. The plane began taxiing down the runway, picking up speed until it gently became airborne.

"Damn, Beth. That looks like it must have hurt." Simone said sympathetically. "I haven't been around animals since I've been turned. I take it dogs don't care for vamps much."

"Well, these dogs certainly didn't," Beth replied. "But I showed them who was boss and they ran away with their tails between their legs."

Josef laughed. "That doesn't bode well for you, Mick. She's sounding scarier all the time."

To Josef's immense amusement, Beth flashed a hint of fang to emphasize his words.

"Hey," I hesitated, taken aback, "I think Beth could use some blood to take the edge off, don't you?" Seeing her that way outside the bedroom was still a little startling.

Josef snapped his fingers and one of the ladies reappeared with a tray of blood cocktails.

"So," Josef began conversationally. "Tell me about this case you're taking my jet all the way to Chicago for."

"That's client privilege," I said.

Josef shrugged. "You're no lawyer—thank God." He ignored the elbow in his ribs from Simone. "And since you're not wearing your priest's robes…spill it."

I briefly explained the situation and Josef's face went abruptly from amusement to concern when he heard the name of my client.

"Simon Partridge, eh? I've heard of this guy."

"What about him?" I asked.

Josef leaned forward in his seat. "He comes from big money. I've met his father, Arthur Partridge. Good guy. The man was self-made, like me. Invented some computer program that made him rich. But he didn't want his son to ride on his success, so he made young Partridge go to college and make something of himself. He's the P in P&A Securities, right?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "So, what's so bad about this? His father sounds like a savvy guy."

"From what I hear, Simon was very spoiled and used to the good life before daddy kicked him out of the Partridge nest. He started his own business, alright, but went to the wrong people for financing. I bet his investors have come to collect their profits. My guess? His partner, Archer, found out about it, took the money, and split."

I considered this angle a moment. "Any idea who those so-called investors are?"

"Oh yeah. Vampire mafia. That's why I know so much about this."

Beth's mouth fell open. "Vampires have their own mafia?" She looked at Josef suspiciously. "Are you in it?"

He laughed. "Beth, Beth, Beth. I myself am self-made. I have no need for a bunch of goons to prop me up. My business is mostly on the up and up, I promise you. I have no desire to have the law snooping around. As for the mafia...they know I don't like the way they do business, so they stay well clear of me."

"Even the mafia is afraid of you." I said with a grin.

"And well they should be," he said, a dangerous edge in his tone. "The Council looks the other way, though, unless they do something stupid that risks exposing the entire community."

"No wonder Partridge didn't want to go to the police," Beth surmised. "Does he know they're vampires?"

Josef shrugged. "Doubtful. The fangs only come out when they're being particularly threatening, from what I've heard. Did Partridge seem afraid when you met him?"

"No," I replied. "He just wanted to find his missing partner and the money he took. Now what he wants to do with him when we find Archer—that's another story."

"I was right about his aura," Beth said triumphantly. "He was being secretive, Mick."

"That is so cool, Beth," Simone said. "You could really tell he wasn't being truthful, I mean beyond vampire perception?"

"Yeah. Dr. Fontaine is amazing. He's taught me so much."

Josef and I both looked heavenward; neither of us enjoying hearing the girls rhapsodize over the Australian pretty boy.

The rest of the three and a half hour flight, we talked of lighter things, and what we liked about Chicago. Too bad it wasn't a pleasure trip, at least not for Beth and me. So, while Josef and Simone went dancing and had sex on top of various tall buildings, Beth and I would be tracking down Harrison Archer at his hotel on Michigan Avenue.

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Josef's limo dropped us off, and we would either meet up later at the airport, or get a room for the night, depending on how things went.

It was eleven o'clock local time, and with the time zone change, we'd helpfully gained two hours for the night. Of course, the clerk at the swanky hotel would not give us Archer's room number, and even stated that there was no one registered under that name. Obviously he and his family were laying low, but I had the printout with Archer's confirmation number so, using the hotel lobby's guest computer, I was able to hack into Archer's online travel agency account and find out what name he was using. I called the desk from the lobby phone and was put through to Archer's room. No answer.

"Dammit," I said in frustration.

"Hey," Beth said. "There's only one person at the front desk right now. I could distract him while you try to get a look on their computer at Archer's room number."

I grinned at her affectionately. "I've always loved the way you think. But are you feeling in control? Had enough blood on the plane?" There were humans coming and going in the hotel lobby, and I was trying to divide my time between my investigation and watching out for Beth.

"They smell delicious, I'm not gonna lie; but I think I'll be okay."

I looked at her carefully, and she did seem fine. Not a hint of silver in her eyes. "Okay. But you get so much as a twinge, you abort the mission and come and find me, you got it?"

"Yes sir!" She smiled at my daddy voice.

I bent and lightly kissed her smart mouth. "Oh, I'll make you pay for that one. What's your plan?"

A few minutes later, and I used Archer's assumed name to look up his room number: 1205, registered to him, his wife, and child. I narrowly avoided having to wait on a customer by making myself scarce and heading for my rendezvous with Beth at the side elevators.

She arrived a minute later, her smile wide and accomplished. "I did it. No problem. Not even a twinge."

"That's my good girl," I said, purposefully condescending. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. We made one another pay in the elevator all the way up to the twelfth floor, so much so that we were both left extremely frustrated by the time the doors dinged, then opened. Our bodies still humming, we stepped out into the hall. We both stopped abruptly in our tracks: vampires had been here.

"You smell that?" I asked Beth.

She inhaled softly. "Yeah. Vampires, right? And…blood."

"Yeah. Something tells me this is not a coincidence." We stood outside room 1205, and the scent had only grown stronger. I listened, and could hear no heartbeats, but the smell of human blood was very strong. I looked at Beth. She'd never had to fight vampires before. If they had a machete, or a stake, I wasn't sure if she could handle herself. As if reading my thoughts—or maybe my aura was showing my fear for her—she said, "Don't worry about me. I've got all this newbie super power, remember?"

"Stay behind me anyway, Superwoman." She smirked, but did as she was told.

I looked down the hall both ways, and, seeing no one, promptly kicked the door in. No one was there, but a pool of human blood dampened the bed's cream colored comforter. The window was wide open. I went to it, pulling apart the heavy curtains that blew gently in the nighttime breeze. There was only a small security ledge, no balcony. It was more or less a straight jump down, or up. Droplets of blood decorated the windowsill.

"How many different people and vamps do you smell?" I asked, using the crime scene as a training opportunity.

She sniffed again, then wrinkled her nose in concentration. "I smell at least two vamps. Only one human, though. This fresh blood nearly blots out every other scent for me." I could see that her exposure to the blood was wreaking havoc on her earlier control. I needed to get her out of there soon.

"Good. I smell three vamps and three humans." I leaned out the window again. "I can't tell whether they went up or down with the breeze obfuscating things. The vamps have obviously abducted the Archers. From the smell of it, I'd say maybe one or two hours ago. Let's go downstairs below this window and see if we can pick up their scent again, then if that fails, up to the roof."

"You think they're dead?" Beth asked, no doubt remembering the picture of their little boy.

I put my hand on her arm as she stood beside me at the window. "I'm not sure. One of them has lost a lot of blood. I can't help thinking that this is a message for Partridge, or maybe an attempt to extort the money he owes through kidnapping. I'll call Josef and find out who he knows in the Chicago vampire mafia." I snorted. "Did I really just say that?"

"Yeah," said Beth, for once not sharing in the humor. "Just goes to show that both worlds have their fair share of evil in them."

I looked at her, pulling her into my arms. "It's just one world, Beth. And we're going to do what we can to make it better. Starting with finding the Archers."

"Oh God, Mick. Get me out of here, please." The blood on the bed had finally become too much for her.

"We're going, baby. For one thing, I don't want to be in the middle of a police investigation."

Downstairs, I picked up the scent again, but it disappeared at the curb. The vamps likely had a vehicle waiting for them. I took out my phone and speed-dialed Josef. I hoped he wasn't going to be too pissed off that I was interrupting his night on the town…again. That's three I'd owe him.

A/N: So, this moves things right along. More intrigue on the way. Please review—I'll love you forever ;)