The next chapter! 25 pages in my file! I'm really proud to have written and translated this. And I of course hope you'll like it. Thanks for your last reviews again. *Hands out cookies and chocolate* I loved to read them! More… more… *grabs greedily around* I'll be back at Sunday again and hope to hear from you until then. Have a great weekend, yours Jenna/Lilith
Translated by Lilith
Beta read by SG6169
Answers
"Anyone who asks questions must also reckon with getting answers."
Cameroonian saying
"Are you alright?"
Beth had great difficulty not wincing when Mick's warm voice ripped her out of her deep thoughts and she looked into his questioning, dark blue eyes. It was no wonder she currently wasn't able to concentrate on what lay before them and had again sunken into a deep rumination - just too much had happened in the past few hours and the way it was looking, it was going to continue like that for a while. After it became clear that Alejandro wasn't going to make it to the meeting with Talbot, they had set off without him and were now sitting in the 'new' van Eddy had gained for them. They had stopped not far from the factory building and were now busy with final preparations for the meeting.
Beth nodded quickly because Mick was still waiting for her response and tried to put on as confident a face as possible, but she probably hadn't been so convincing, because Mick raised a hand to her face and skimmed his fingers gently over her cheek.
"It's going to be okay," he said firmly, trying to give her an optimistic smile in return, she immediately replied with another nod. She took his hand before he could pull it away and squeezed it briefly, letting him know that she really wanted to believe in a positive outcome. Mick's face became soft and tender and just a second later his lips were on hers, to let her feel once again how good it felt that she was here with him. All too soon the contact was over. Mick's thumb gently stroked her cheek again, then he turned to Logan, who was pretending to be utterly busy. For a few minutes he had been attempting to fine-tune his controls to the security system of the factory.
"And? Are you in now?"
Logan nodded hesitantly, his forehead building deep wrinkles with concentration. "Well, I'm now connected directly to the cameras inside the building," he said and typed a few more commands in on his keyboard. His face brightened considerably, as more images from the video cameras appeared on his laptop. "As well as to the external cameras," he beamed at Mick and Mick patted his shoulder with an approving smile.
"And do the motion detectors now work on your computer too?" Mick asked, staring at the screen, concentrating, and Beth moved a little closer to try and gain a little more confidence. She didn't know exactly why her fears concerning their action were growing. She just knew she had to fight these feelings if she was going to be of any help to Mick.
"Jupp," Logan grinned at the question and opened another file. "If there's anything going on outside that shouldn't be, it will immediately set off the alarms here. Actually, nothing can go wrong with a set up like this."
Mick nodded satisfied. "Then show us again our means of escape."
Logan's fingers flew over the keyboard and a split second later a floor plan of the factory opened up in front of their eyes. Beth noticed it was a three-dimensional rendering of the building and as Logan moved his mouse a little the floor plan changed shape, the walls and even the cellar became transparent.
"Well…," Logan began a bit pretentiously and let his mouse roam a second time. "Here… here… here and here…," different parts of the building lit up in red at his words – from what Beth could tell they looked like doors, "are regular exits. And here…," the building rotated, showing the lower level a little more clearly, and finally a door in the wall of the cellar, "…is the entrance to the secret tunnel." Logan clicked on the door, so that it opened and the picture changed again. The building's image became a bird's eye view and shrunk further away, while a red line wandered through the hinted forest and then ended at a distant point again.
"The tunnel comes out here," Logan went on with his explanation. "If someone shows up, that's a threat to you, I'll be waiting there. It wouldn't make sense to use any of the other exits, as long as you have this tunnel option. No one will notice where you are and in which direction you've left. I just have to be careful no one sees me."
It was a relief to hear Logan say that and Beth noticed the queasy feeling in her stomach that had emerged along with her fears, tormenting her for sometime, began to subside somewhat.
"Why don't you go there as soon as we get out of the car?" she suggested. "Just to be on the safe side, then no one will notice you later."
Logan frowned and then looked at Mick, who was nodding.
"It couldn't hurt," said Mick. "And if nothing happens, you can still pick us up in front of the building."
"Okay," Logan agreed with a shrug of his shoulders and then threw a quick glance at his watch. "You should hit the road. Talbot will probably be early."
He leaned forward a little, grabbed a bag sitting next to him and pulled it to him. Beth frowned a little confused until the vampire reached into the bag and pulled out a CD. This had to be the CD Gabriel had talked about on the phone…
"You need to give this to Talbot," Logan explained, holding it out to Mick. "He'll…"
"… give it to his uncle," Mick finished the sentence for him. "I know." He reached out his hand for it, then stopped. "Did you make a copy?"
Logan opened his eyes wide in horror, holding his breath, as if that had been the worse thing he'd ever heard in his life. "I'm not crazy!" he uttered full of respect. "I'd like to keep my head!"
"Gabriel won't kill you for that," Mick returned slightly angry lowering his hand again.
"He said it's for Talbot's and his uncle's hands only," Logan gave back quickly and reached out his hand further to Mick, waving the CD impatiently as if it was red hot and burning his fingers. "Now take it, will you?"
Mick leaned back a little, took a deep breath and looked sternly at his friend. "I want you to copy it!"
Logan shook his head. "Gabriel said…"
"I don't care!" Mick interrupted him immediately.
"But I do!" Logan rose up. "Gabriel made himself perfectly clear in the last meeting! Everyone had better abide by his orders or they'll be a head shorter!"
"No one will know!" Mick shot back stubbornly. "It won't leave this van…"
Logan continued to shake his head. "Gabriel is no ordinary vampire, man," he added to his defending gesture. "He… he has skills the rest of us can only dream of…"
"You act like he has some kind of radar that can track us here and tell him what we're doing," Mick interrupted him sternly.
"You never know," Logan replied, and, because Mick didn't want to take it, he put the CD down next to his laptop. "I'm not doing it!"
Mick inhaled deeply again, his arms crossed over his chest and critically eyed Logan up. "Aren't you just a little curious?"
The young vampire shook his head much too vigorously to come across as an honest answer. But Beth understood. Even though she felt the same curiosity Mick did, she really didn't like the idea of going against Gabriel's instructions. Of course it bothered her too that the old vampire apparently followed his own plans for the Legion and seemed to be keeping a few secrets he wasn't ready to share with them, but she had seen first hand how strict he could be against his own family, and the consequences if you didn't do what was expected of you. Maybe it really would be better to speak with him directly, to ask him the questions that were bothering them and not just go behind his back and ignore his instructions. But Mick seemed to see it differently.
"Well," he said in a tone that promised nothing good, "then I'll do it! Move over!" He nodded towards Logan with such a grim facial expression, that the young vampire left his place without further discussion so Mick could settle in front of the Laptop.
"Are you… are you really sure you want to do this?" Beth asked cautiously and stepped closer to him.
Mick opened the CD drive, put the CD in and closed it again. Only then did he look at her. "Gabriel's been doing a whole lot of things without consulting us. Every time something happens and our world starts to fall apart, there he stands all cool and collected - and I'm sure it's not just because of his vast life experience and self-control. He knows a lot more than we do and is therefore better prepared for all eventualities. There's a lot more going on behind the scenes with this whole Legion-vampire-story than he's letting on and it's having a huge effect on all the events going on around us. And I'm tired of trotting around behind him like some silly sheep, doing just what he tells me to do. This is about our lives Beth, about our fate and I won't put it blindly into the hands of a man who keeps his cards so close to his chest!"
Beth didn't quite know how to respond because she found every word Mick had spoken was right, but she also knew she couldn't tell him that. It wouldn't be good for him to start thinking he couldn't trust Gabriel anymore. And rather than declare war on the old vampire, it would be better for him to just go to him directly and tell him what was bothering him.
The CD drive gave a faint hum and Mick turned away from her to try and retrieve the information from the disk. But it didn't appear as if it were going to be that easy, because all at once a blinking cursor appeared on the monitor.
To Beth's surprise, Logan stepped closer. "I expected that… It's encoded. You're going to need a password to decipher it."
"Do I still need one if I just want to save the content?" Mick asked impatiently.
Logan took a deep breath and blew it out noisily. "No…," he replied, now leaning forward over the keyboard and mouse, he typed in a few commands. Beth saw a small, satisfied smile flit over Mick's lips that Logan hadn't noticed, and had to smirk slightly herself. Nice to see she wasn't the only one who couldn't resist Mick in certain situations.
"Okay," Logan said after a few seconds and withdrew from the computer with his hands held up in the air as if he was afraid the device could explode any second. "Now all you have to do is click 'okay' and the contents of the CD will be stored on my laptop. Oh and just for the record: I had nothing to do with this!"
"Of course not," Mick replied without looking at him and did what Logan had told him. The device immediately began to transfer and Mick got up.
"Now all I need is for someone to crack the code for me later," he said off-handedly, and raised an eyebrow provocatively in Logan's direction.
"Well it's certainly not going to be me!" he replied with his hands up defensively and Mick only nodded.
"Of course not," he said with a straight-face. "That never crossed my mind."
The soft beep of the PC revealed the copying was complete and Mick took the CD out swiftly and put it safely back in its case then slipped it into the inside pocket of his jacket and turned to Beth.
"Shall we?" he asked with a gentle smile and her heart made a small jump. How quickly one could forget what lay ahead - and suddenly everything came rushing back again: the doubts, the fear, and the slight nausea… Nevertheless, she nodded bravely, took one large step to the rear door of the van and opened it. Immediately, glistening bright sunlight poured into the dark interior and with its brightness, a little more confidence was brought inside.
"You're to radio us, once you've arrived at the tunnel's exit, okay?" she heard Mick ask, as she had already set one foot on the dusty road on which the van stood. Logan had apparently responded to Mick nonverbally, for she hadn't heard him despite her currently well-functioning hearing and Mick stepped into the sunlight next to her. Like hers, his gaze roamed over the landscape around them. It was a relatively green and well-vegetated area in which they found themselves, with meadows and fields to their right and a small forest on the left. The gray elongated roof of a building peered out between the treetops in the distance - the factory building, if she wasn't mistaken. Their meeting place… Their destiny…
Her eyes went up to Mick's face, who now looked back at her and gave her an encouraging nod in the direction of the building. She didn't need any further encouragement. It felt good to convert this tension into motion.
Covering the distance to the factory didn't take long and it didn't bother her that Mick was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to start a conversation with her. She was not in the mood to put her thoughts to words - quite apart from the fact she really couldn't afford some of them. This was simply not the best time to bring up certain things. Even though Mick had tried, during their common journey to the meeting place, not to show how much the upcoming conversation with Talbot was bothering him and made him nervous, she knew him too well, knew the telltale signs of his face and body, could read in his expressive eyes the feelings that were putting such a strain on him. There was fear, uncertainty and especially great concern. He knew just as well as she or even Josef, how risky it was to meet in such a hurry with Talbot, barely secured or prepared. And he knew his own nerves were not especially stable by the events of the previous action and that it could happen again too easily, that the vampire in him could take control in a stressful situation. Only this was probably the reason he had allowed her to come along. She was his lifeline, when he himself was no longer able to pull the emergency brake, because next to Gabriel, she was the only other person who had any control over the still not so civilized vampire inside him.
But of course, on the other hand, her presence caused even more stress for Mick, because he couldn't switch off his protective instincts towards her and it only increased his worries three fold over her safety than if he had just come here alone. Beth wanted to reassure him, to calm him, and show him as much confidence as possible, but she couldn't. She too was feeling the stresses of the last few days and not really herself anymore, felt weak, and vulnerable and her nerves were very fragile. There was just so much currently going for which she wasn't prepared, so much of it was unclear, making her nervous, and if that wasn't bad enough, she also felt so exhausted and physically drained like she hadn't felt for some time and all she could dream about was climbing into a soft bed with Mick, and snuggling up against his warm, strong body and just sleeping – at best for several days. That she couldn't, made her sad, ill-tempered and nervous…
Previously it had always helped to think about something nice as a distraction, but that wasn't helping at the moment because any thoughts that occurred to her now were somehow connected to her problems and the strong desire to finally solve them, to roll some of the burden from her shoulders. Actually, Gabriel's call was specifically to blame for this, not just because of what he had said, but because she had actually heard it. Mick had to have been a good 6 feet away from her and she had understood every single word the ancient vampire had spoken. She hadn't even needed to strain to do it. And this strange behavior of the old vampire… his demand for Mick to leave the room so she wouldn't be able to hear them… Of course this had only made her sit up and take notice, it also had made her extremely nervous.
She had not stayed in bed, but had tip toed up to the door and listened, had brought her hearing to a new heightened capacity. She hadn't been able to hear Gabriel anymore, and only parts of what Mick was saying. But what she had heard, she hadn't liked. It had been this exact conversation, this moment in which she had become aware for the first time that she had in fact changed, that she suddenly had skills she had not previously possessed - and that these skills were not subsiding slowly, but in fact were steadily growing stronger. Even though her physically constitution wasn't the best at the moment - her senses had never functioned this well in her life before. It had only been a few months ago that she thought she might be getting near-sighted - now it was the total opposite. She saw things that were very far away razor sharp and also found her way around in the dark surprisingly well. Her nose perceived odors even in the subtlest of nuances and her hearing picked up things a normal person wouldn't have been able to register at all. And then there were these hot and cold flashes, the light circulatory disorders that came over her from time to time, especially during her resting periods. None of this was normal!
Mick had talked with Gabriel about the incident with Hendrik and she had felt weak at her knees. So far, everyone had acted as if her contact with the vampire's blood hadn't been that bad and that nothing was going to happen. As it looked right now, this wasn't quite true.
At some point in the conversation, Mick had spoken so low it had become too hard for her to make it all out. But she was sure she had heard the words 'blood-type' and 'transformation' several times and then he had asked for a list and that had completely confused her.
Of course the things Beth had learned from the conversation were so vague and allowed for all sorts of conclusions which could all turn out to be wrong, but there was one thing that frightened her the most: the thought of still turning into a vampire from Hendrik's blood. Didn't everything point to it? Wasn't it the extremely well-functioning senses that distinguished a vampire? What if she was feeling so physically bad because she was turning, because her human metabolism was adjusting itself slowly to that of a vampire? Mick had told her that such a thing had never happened before and Peterson had also said that people, especially with her blood type, turned particularly fast into vampires - which of course would have excluded her from being infected by these vampire hormones through Hendrik. But what if they were wrong? What if she was the only one in their history who transformed so slowly. There have always been miracles in the world - only in this case she really didn't want to be such a miracle…
"Yeah…" Mick's voice ripped her out of her fearful thoughts and when she looked up at him again, she noticed that he was not talking to her, but with Logan, as he pressed the receiver deeper into his ear to understand him better.
Beth fumbled hastily to pull her own device from her pocket, which she had previously stuffed in there and forced herself not to focus on the conversation between Mick and Logan, to not be made aware again that her hearing was working extraordinary well. She pressed the button into her ear so impatiently it almost hurt, and then inhaled, relieved when she heard Logan's voice clearly in her own ear.
"… already pretty close," he had just finished his sentence and Beth, only now, ventured to look back at Mick again. His eyebrows had contracted a little and the look he gave her told her he had noticed her strange behavior and didn't know exactly what to make of it.
"And they seem to be driving at a terrific speed," Logan went on. "Our transmitter indicates they're moving pretty quickly towards us. So you'd better get going…"
Mick nodded slightly and looked again at the building they had stopped in front of. Beth immediately did the same. The factory didn't really look like one. It was simply too small and in really bad shape. Gray, bare concrete walls, steel doors, and some large windows high up on the walls, some of which were no longer intact. They stood in front of a door that seemed to be made of heavy steel and Beth, frowning, stated that it had neither a doorknob nor lock.
"Um… Logan?" she heard Mick say and deduced from his tone and the deepening furrow between his brows, that he must have spotted the same problem. "Exactly how are we supposed to get in?"
"Oh, I see," the young vampire replied. "Wait…"
It wasn't even a full second before a click and then a loud rumbling was heard. And the miracle happened…
"Open Sesame!" Beth heard Logan say in a deep voice, and the door pushed open by itself with a metallic screech and a very unpleasant grinding noise. "I just love technology!" he added enthusiastically.
Mick didn't want to lose any more time. Without further hesitation, he entered the much less gloomy looking interior of the building. Beth's pulse quickened as she followed him, even though she knew there was no threat of danger there yet. But with each passing minute she became more aware that Ben and Carl would soon be there and that there would be no escaping this conflicting conversation.
The interior of the building consisted of a huge room that held large machines, forklifts, conveyor belts and several rows of work tables and judging by the cans that were packed in a few of the cardboard boxes, this was where corn was processed and canned. That probably explained all the corn fields in the vicinity. You could tell it had been some time ago that anyone had worked here, because all around them a thick layer of dust had settled and in the corners large spider webs hung - inhabited spider webs as Beth noticed on closer inspection with disgust. Spiders were not creatures she was particularly fond of.
"Where do we need to go now?" Beth heard Mick ask while she continued to look around. To her left was something that looked like a buildingwithin a building - a slightly larger shed-like room, probably an office.
"On your left there should be an office," was Logan's reply already and Beth immediately walked towards it, opened the door and was pleasantly surprised when she found that the room didn't look nearly as bad as she had first expected: Only a few spider webs and a lot less mess! In the right hand corner of the room was an desk with a swivel chair, behind which a couple of filing cabinets stood, and on the left was another larger table with four chairs - just enough for their round of talks.
She felt Mick step into the room behind her and walked to the table, relieved she wouldn't have to stand while leading this exciting conversation. Her legs were already quite wobbly. Through the window on this side of the room one could observe the entrance to the building and Beth noticed that Logan had left the door they had entered earlier open, probably to give Ben a reference to where he and Carl could find them. Also, right behind her there was another door that Mick briefly opened and closed again probably checking to and see if the escape route was blocked or not. He gave a satisfied impression when he looked at her and gave her another confident, lop-sided smile that she had no problem returning this time. So far it all looked pretty good – now all they had to do was hope they hadn't been wrong about Ben Talbot and that he would show up as promised, without police or even their enemies. Normally she could depend on her instincts for human nature, but at least one time or another in her life she had still been wrong.
"Well, if I'm right, then this should be Talbot driving up in front of the building now," said Logan, and Beth's heart took a leap when she indeed heard the noises of an engine and the crunching of gravel under tires. She wasn't the only one. Mick, who was standing next to her, concentrated his gaze on the entrance to the building from the window as well, and visibly tensed up and Beth noticed a scarcely perceptible tremor run through his body, as the clapping of car doors was now heard.
Only a few seconds later the first figure appeared hesitantly in the doorway: tall, handsome, and dressed in an expensive gray suit, a briefcase in his hand, looking around suspiciously. He looked a little out of place in this dirty, old factory and Beth's heart pounded much faster now against her ribs. It almost seemed as if an eternity had passed since she had last seen him although it had only been at the most a week ago. Only they hadn't been able to talk freely back then, neither had had the opportunity to ask the tough questions they wanted too, nor give evasive answers. It must not have set well with Ben because he now gave a much grimmer, more determined impression than at their last meeting. An impression that worried her a bit.
Behind Ben came Carl Davis now walking through the door with a suspicious frown and a tension that was already visible from this distance. Although Beth didn't know how the lieutenant was involved in the whole story, it somehow did her good to see him. It felt as if he brought a little bit of home with him. There were the familiar features, the well-known gestures and facial expressions… but also this determined and focused look, that had previously always told Beth he was investigating a serious matter and that it was going to be difficult for her to get the information she wanted from him. The 'serious matter' this time was her and Mick and as for the information… well, at least she could hope it was going to be different this time. After all, they were both, in a way, informants.
"Looks like they're alone," said Logan, and a wave of relief swept over Beth's body. This was definitely a good start.
Ben's eyes had now stopped at the office, or rather the large window through which she and Mick were more than likely visible to him. He moved again, headed straight towards them with rapid steps, followed closely by Carl.
"Well, here goes," Mick muttered and immediately turned to the door, bracing himself for anything. "Let's get this poker game started…"
Beth took, almost simultaneously with him, a deep breath and just seconds later Ben entered the room. He stopped for a moment, letting his gaze first roam to her and then far more conspicuously over to Mick. Then he shook his head and a strange smile appeared on his lips. Carl however, gave an almost shocked impression when he entered the room and discovered Mick standing there. One could clearly see he had not really expected to see him there.
"St. John…" Ben muttered softly, still smiling and shaking his head again. "If truth be told, I hadn't really expected you to show up." Once again, his gaze slid over Mick's figure, who had probably decided to just keep quiet in the beginning and wait to see what the two new arrivals would say or even do. Beth decided to do the same, although she didn't really care for the 'keeping quiet' part all that much.
Ben stepped closer, while letting his gaze roam critically over the interior of the office and his lips twisted into a disapproving Davis, however, stood still, stared at Mick perplexed and then uttered a faint "How is this possible?".
"Yes, how is that possible?" Ben immediately took his question and let his gaze wander from Mick to Beth. "Nice to see you too, Beth - although I must say I had definitely expected to see youhere, whether it was to tell me I'd have to wait a little longer for my talk with Mick or to just lend him your helpful support. But I guess I don't need to tell you how glad I am that it was for your support, do I? "
"No, you don't," Beth freed herself from her silence and tried for a somewhat friendly smile. "And you know, Ben: I'm a firm believer in, one-hand-washes-the-other practice…"
Talbot uttered a little, not really convincing laugh. "That's what I thought. But a little information upfront about the miraculous healing of Mick St. John wouldn't be bad to – lets say - relax the whole atmosphere between us a bit."
"Dr. Milford at the University Hospital told me you'd been injured so badly that you probably wouldn't have survive this… this kidnapping," Carl addressed his question with continuing dismay directly to Mick. "And that's only been ten weeks ago…" He shook his head like Ben before and finally dared to step closer, examining Mick closely. "How… how can you look like this, move so easily?"
"This is indeed a very good question," Ben added, lifting his eyebrows encouragingly.
"Maybe we should sit down first," suggested Mick and pulled out one of the chairs, pointing encouragingly at the seat.
Ben hesitated for a moment, then came over and sat down and nodded to Carl. The lieutenant could only bring himself to do the same after Beth and Mick had settled at the table, thus showing them they were willing to give answers - maybe not to all their questions, but to at least some.
Ben inhaled to say something, but Carl was faster. "Do you realize you're wanted by the police, Beth? Not only from this story yesterday, but since you and your friend abducted Mick from the hospital. You and this Josef Kostan are accused of kidnapping and negligent homicide. You owe it to Ben for sweeping this matter under the rug…"
Beth nodded and felt obliged to shake her head at the same time. "We saved Mick and hadn't jeopardized him and…" She paused, trying to concentrate better. "What do you mean by, the story from yesterday?"
"They're saying you robbed several gas stations and shot a man," Carl explained and deep concern was shown in his brown eyes, while Beth's eyes grew wider and horror took control of her vocal cords.
Mick on the other hand let out a noise that resembled a laugh but voiced much more clearly his own disbelief. "Gas stations?" he repeated.
"Exactly," Talbot said now, leaning back a little in his chair, eyeing him up again. "This naturally caused photos of you to be sent to all the gas stations in and around LA…"
"… so we'll now have no chance of refueling our car undetected," Mick finished his sentence, while Beth became hot and cold at the same time. "Very clever."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Carl probed immediately. "Who's clever?"
"The people following us," it burst out of Beth immediately. "Who else? Or did you really think that we had something to do with that, Carl?"
Her old friend looked thoughtful for a long moment, then shook his head. "Not really. I just got this report and…" He glanced at Ben and the ADA allowed him with a curt nod to continue. "Ben and I… we… we've been working on this case together for quite a while now and so I thought almost immediately that this report was a trick. And so far no one on my team has been able to find the gas stations that were supposed to have been robbed, or the dead person connected with the alleged shooting."
"So why are they still searching for us?" Beth wanted to know and couldn't prevent a little outrage from resonating in her tone.
"Because it's not that easy to stop an ongoing investigation of such importance," Ben replied this time to her question. "It takes time - quite apart from the fact that it prompted this meeting so we could finally have this long overdue conversation and it's showed us that Mick's alive and well."
He smiled provocatively and Mick returned his smile in the same insincere way.
"You said you've been working on this case together for a while," Beth stuck stubbornly to the matter and turned her attention consciously to Carl, because she felt she might get more out of him. "What did you mean? For Mick's abduction?"
"Among other things," Carl replied evasively, and again a glance towards Ben followed his words.
The lawyer looked at Beth now. His smile had disappeared and for the first time since being here, she noticed he wasn't really giving the impression he had relaxed yet. There were even dark shadows under his eyes, which proved he hadn't gotten much sleep lately, and a hint of concern in his gaze that penetrated his cool masquerade.
"We've already talked about that, Beth," he replied a bit languidly.
"Not in detail," she replied. "This was more of… a struggle than a real exchange of information…"
Ben's beautifully curved eyebrows rose and Beth knew she'd gone too far out on a limb. But there was no turning back now.
"So you want to be more open, more honest?" He didn't even wait for her answer. "I like that. That's the same I want. What about you?" He cast a questioning glance at Carl, who nodded immediately.
"I think a little more openness wouldn't hurt anyone."
"All right then," Beth now agreed also. "Please… don't hesitate to set a good example and kindly answer my question. Your case - is it about… Mick?"
"Let's put it this way," said Ben slowly, "it all started with Mick. The direction this whole thing would take neither Carl nor I could have realized at that time. I'm not a fan of conspiracy theories - I think most arise from the fantasies of mentally ill people – but from what we've seen in recent months and found out…" He didn't continue, because he probably felt he would blurt out his own worries and concerns. Instead, he took a deep breath and tried again to sort his thoughts. "There is in reality an organization that's hunting for you - for whatever reason – and is using all imaginable resources to find you. And they're powerful, more powerful than I had previously thought. At least I know they've got influential allies throughout our state's legal system. I came to this conclusion after our little chat via the Internet and unfortunately it's been confirmed. What has also become gradually clear, is the fact that this group of Josef Kostan's has seemingly unleashed the emergence of this… Legion so it's not as if your friends are just poor innocent victims. And if I'm not mistaken, this Josef also has quite a lot of influence and doesn't seem to be one to shy away from any unfair practices when it comes to winning this power struggle with the Legion…" Ben's eyes rested now on Mick's face.
"Then you've probably been misinformed," Mick returned composed and Beth couldn't help but secretly admired him for it because she herself was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable. Not only because Ben's tone was so cutting and reproachful, but also because she couldn't escape the strong suspicion that the moment of truth had now arrived. Whatever agreements he had had with Josef beforehand - she was sure they would get nowhere with Talbot as long as they continued not to give him the answers he wanted, and if they were unable to convince him they were the 'good guys', that they needed to work together to fight the Legion.
"Really?" asked the lawyer, and raised an eyebrow challengingly. "Then I guess they're just a bunch of good ol' boys hanging around who just want to help you fight this evil organization that… What was it you say they did to you again?"
"I didn't say," Mick replied calmly, although Beth could clearly feel that Talbot's last comment had provided for the noticeable tension in his body. "The Legion has been around a lot longer than the group that has gathered around Josef and I. They are threatening us, not vice versa. This is about self-defense in a situation in which our so called highly regarded state's legal system can apparently do nothing about."
This time it was Ben, whose eyes glimmered angrily. Mick had hit a raw nerve and caused the lawyer's cool facade to begin to crumble. "Up to now, I hadn't really got the impression that you were looking for help from the state authorities to try and solve your problem through legal means," he replied sharply.
"Maybe that's because we already know it wouldn't work," Mick countered immediately.
"From experience?" Talbot probed keen-eared. "Does this mean there have been difficulties between the Legion and your 'little resistance group' once before?" The way Ben had stressed the three words alone, told Beth that he knew full well their counter-organization wasn't nearly as small as Mick lead them to believe.
"Maybe," Mick replied evasively, but added nothing else.
Ben looked at him for a moment in silence and now Carl bent forward a bit. These two had slowly turned out to be a pretty good team.
"What I don't quite understand is what these people want from you, Mick," he said very much softer and more empathetically than Talbot. "This is all … such madness. You're abducted, reappear seriously injured and disappear again… now you sit here like you've never suffered any injuries. The doctor at the clinic said you had blood values he'd never seen before, and Ben told me that your kidnappers had done experiments on you. So what the hell is going on here?"
"What have the people of the Legion told you?" Mick asked back and Beth could tell by looking at Carl that Mick's words had hit the mark perfectly. He didn't wince, but there was such a flickering in his gaze and he backed away a bit.
"Ben told me that they contacted him," Beth now stepped in again. "And if you really worked with him as closely as you claim, then you'd know this."
Carl remained silent for a moment. Then he nodded.
"Have you seen the list?" Beth probed. Again, a nod was the answer. "Then why are we beating around the bush here? You've seen the names and know how many people are being threatened by the hit squads of that organization. All we want is for this to end!"
"Well, I don't think Julius Caesar or the Marquis de Sade are currently on the run from these people," Ben opposed with a small, snide smile. "The simple fact of the matter is: This list is as weird as all the other things going on around you and before I can continue to work with you, I have to know exactly what's behind all this. I need to know what makes you and indeed the other existing people on this list so interesting, so special to the Legion, Mick! And I need details, like Beth, so eloquently stated earlier."
Mick crossed his arms in a quite defensive gesture over his chest and raised his eyebrows. "And I'll also ask you once again: What did the people of the Legion say to you about this?"
Ben paused again, eyed, with a hint of anger, Mick's motionless face. "If I remember correctly, I already told you in our last conversation. But I'll repeat it again. I had some very strange phone calls and a direct conversation with one of their delegates. The things they told me were very… strange - and I thought, up until now, that these people weren't quite mentally healthy, but they hadn't just given me empty words, but provided solid evidence - of things that couldn't possibly have happened and things that can't actually exist…"
"Such as?" Mick probed.
Ben just looked at him for a few heartbeats. He started to open his mouth but closed it again, and there was a look in his eyes that betrayed how much he struggled with himself to keep from blurting out what preoccupied him. He was simply too rational a person to really accept such superstitions and myths and then to voice that out loud in front of others.
"Demons," it slipped from Carl's lips from where he sat and he too shook his head as if he couldn't believe he had just said that. "To be specific… vampires."
There it was, the word Beth had known would slip out eventually, and knew it would make the whole situation even more difficult.
"Vampires," Mick repeated and the little smirk crossed his lips really masterfully, causing Carl and Ben to began to grin and finally they all broke out in a joint, much too cramped laughter, of which everyone knew was only put on.
Ben was the first to get serious again, leaned forward and looked directly at Mick. "Of course we don't believe in these mythical creatures," he said quietly. "But after all the mysterious things that have been going on around you and your friends, we sat down and went back and forth trying to come up with a rational explanation for why certain people would have these special characteristics, and the easiest method to clear all this up. At some point we realized, that maybe we didn't need to, that things are perhaps just what they appear to be."
"What… what's that supposed to mean?" Beth now probed with a wildly pounding heart.
"I mean that history has shown us time and again that such legends, the emergence of such specters are usually based on a grain of truth. In the Middle Ages and unfortunately even later, Epileptics had been considered possessed by demons. Women who were experienced in natural medicine have been burned as witches and because some dead bodies moved from natural processes in the body, the first stories about zombies emerged. What I'm looking for is that grain of truth in the things I was told, because that's what's probably to blame for your abduction and the experiments they've done on you, Mick."
"And we should help you in this," Mick added for the lawyer.
"If you want me to help and support you in your struggle against the Legion, you should."
Mick said nothing, but just looked at Ben. His cheek muscles twitched slightly, because he knew just as well as Beth, that they were now entering dangerous territory. It wasn't to their advantage that the Legion had already been so open with Ben, because it forced them to have to be even more honest with him, to tell him more than what was perhaps healthy for them. But if they really wanted to have the ADA on their side, all they would need to do now wasovercome this balancing act between truth and self-protection, and hope they didn't lose their balance.
"Let's just stick to my approach from our talk via internet," Ben simply started and nodded to Beth requesting.
She took a deep, slightly tremulous breath. "The theory on the genetics of… of specific people?"
He nodded and seemed to slip instantly into a friendlier mood. "Let's say, nature in its infinite variety has created humans who are a little different from others," he continued, looking closely at Mick, who had put on a fairly impassive face. "People who've inherited a few rare traits like…" He glanced at the ceiling and then shrugged his shoulders. "… like an enormously rapid ability to heal. I mean, nature has already come up with other miracles, so this wouldn't be so far fetched, would it?"
"No," Mick replied, now with a fake smile. "And you're speaking purely hypothetical of course…"
"Of course," Ben smiled back as false. "So hypothetically speaking, bones would grow together rapidly, wounds would close within minutes and so on. Something like that for example would make it possible for a man to - lets say - be hit by a car and then be able to get up and walk away as if nothing happened."
Mick moved weighing his head from side to side and then shrugged his shoulders as if he wasn't aware that Talbot was hinting about the photos taken by Dean Foster. "Maybe," he added.
"Such a person would generally also need a fairly stable body," said Carl and both Ben and Mick nodded approvingly, while Beth was too tense to even show any reaction. This was worse than the shower scene from 'Psycho'. She could almost hear that terrible music…
"Something like that would surely cause quite a stir among other people and would raise some very strange rumors," Ben went on now. "Because people back then didn't understand yet, that the slightest change in human genetics could cause the strangest things…"
Mick looked at his opponent, frowning. "Then this would mean such a person wouldn't really be vampire?"
"… but just a person with unusual genetics," Ben just finished his sentence at his own discretion and seemed to feel with this term much more comfortable than using the word 'vampire'.
"… and a person wrongfully placed in the category of a demon," Carl also did his part to keep their conversation to a more comfortable, more objective level.
"It would also explain the research interests of the people of the Legion," it slipped softly from Beth's lips and she could hardly believe it herself, that she still had enough nerves to re-engage in the conversation.
"Especially since there could perhaps be even a few more peculiarities with these genetically modified people," Ben immediately got into this, his gaze still glued to Mick.
"Such as?"
"Maybe… they don't age. I mean, with such fast healing bodies that could be quite possible, right?"
Mick thought for a moment and then nodded. "Absolutely… yeah."
"That could mean, a person for example born during the Roaring Twenties would today be almost ninety, but might still look like they were in their thirties - speaking purely hypothetically of course." Ben's stilted smile belied his own words and Beth could almost physically feel how hard it was for him to proceed so politely and discreetly. But he pulled himself together, because for some reason he really didn't want to annoy either Mick or her.
"Why so timid?" Mick replied almost exuberantly. "Why not someone born at the time of the Crusades. If aging can be stopped, at least age in years will have no relevance. Concerning the outward appearance of a human being anyway."
"An unbelievable imagination," Ben added this time with a really appreciative nod.
"What about the speed?" Carl asked, clearly curious now. "Could such a person move faster than a normal person?"
"Maybe," was Mick's short reply.
"Would they also be physically stronger?"
"Probably," Mick admitted also this time and Beth wondered if it was indeed good to speak so openly about the abilities of vampires. She herself already felt a little sick, and her heart had taken up a remarkable pace, for it was clear that Ben and Carl had just made friends with the idea that vampires actually existed - even if they were using a different term for it now.
"A perfect form of existence," added Ben. "Or are there any drawbacks? I mean, where does the rumor concerning this… this dietary change come from?"
Oh, what a clever description for a vampire's addiction to human blood.
"Every life form has disadvantages, Ben," Mick responded calmly. "And this 'dietary change' could of course be one of them."
"We are talking about blood, aren't we?" the young lawyer asked and in his eyes sparkled a large portion of disgust and anger. "I mean, that's the main point in the myths concerning vampire. If someone really had to have it, they would have to attack people, perhaps even kill them…"
"If this someone was a wild animal - probably, but then the headlines would be full of such stories, Ben. Today there're easier ways to obtain blood…"
"The blood bank, perhaps," suggested Carl and Ben gave him an annoyed look. He didn't seem to care for the idea that his friend was trying to portray vampires as civilized beings.
"Or maybe there are even people who voluntarily donate their blood," Mick added and Ben let out an incredulous laugh.
"Honestly! Why would anyone do that?"
"Maybe it's not as unpleasant as you think," Beth joined in anew and regretted it the very next moment, because both Ben and Carl gave her a puzzled look. Of course, they could only conclude from her remark, that she herself loved to be bitten by vampires. How embarrassing!
"Speaking purely hypothetically, of course," she added much too hastily.
Ben looked at her broodingly for a heartbeat then turned back to Mick.
"So you're trying to tell me that va… these genetically special people are in fact civilized, innocent people who get along in our society without any problems and fit in with our legal system?"
"Well, I think you'll find criminals everywhere, but in this group of 'genetically special people' there might also be certain people who serve justice and would punish those trying to escape the laws of this society because of their superiority."
Ben nodded understandingly. "People like you?"
Mick furled his eyebrows slightly and tilted his head. "Somehow I can't help the feeling we've just left the realm of hypothetical thinking…"
"Well," Ben raised his shoulders slightly, "that may be because I'm more the type that likes to deal in fact. And to cut to the chase now: Did these scientists of the Legion conduct experiments on you because you're… different from normal people?"
Beth's eyes rested on Mick's face as her heart upped its speed once again. She could tell by looking at him that he was weighing what next to say to Talbot, while simultaneously struggling against his own reluctance to say anything about his time in the lab.
"Yes," he said finally, and now Beth's heart also gave a small leap. Her eyes flew over to Ben, whose mind seemed to be working as feverishly as Mick's.
"What is it they're wanting exactly?" he asked the next dicey question.
"Invincibility," Mick responded monosyllabically. But the word was well chosen. It fanned Talbot's fears about the Legion, Beth could tell just by looking at him, even though he tried to hide it. He glanced at his intertwined fingers, which rested on the table in front of him and then inhaled audibly through his nose.
"That means they want your special abilities for themselves, to create a new superior form of existence?" he asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly.
Mick nodded. "That's their goal at least."
"And how close have they come to reaching it?"
"Not as close as they would've liked." Mick leaned towards him a bit now. "Currently there's no way to transfer these special abilities to a normal human, without inflicting significant damage."
"But they believe they'll succeed one day," Ben concluded and looked at Mick inquiringly. "And they probably think you're the key to all this, right?"
Mick hesitated considerably, but then nodded again and Beth knew what Ben was going to now ask even before he took a breath.
"Why? What makes you so different from all these other special people?"
"I can't tell you," was the dismissive response.
Now Ben leaned forward to him, looked him straight in the eye. "You can't tell me or you won't tell me?"
"I can't, and it would take too long to explain what I do know," Mick stated evasively. "But I know someone who can and will if I ask him to."
Ben's eyebrows were moving toward each other now. "You're talking about this professor… Dr. Peterson, aren't you?"
Mick nodded slightly.
"And where is he?" Ben asked, briefly looking around the room. "You'd need to bring him here immediately, because I want answers today, now, in the next ten minutes!" The harshness in his tone had increased markedly and with his last words, he even tapped his index finger on the table to emphasize them.
"The Legion has him," Mick said with emphasis. "And if we don't find him soon, he may not be able to do anything for us ever again."
"Is this the moment where I'm supposed to keenly offer my help?" Talbot asked sarcastically, leaning back. "Do you really think I'd let myself be lured into this so easily?"
"That's not what's going on here!" it burst out of Beth now. "We never baited anyone! You want facts? Well here are your facts! The Fact is the Legion hunts and kills people while successfully bypassing our legal system. The Fact is they're trying to create new super-humans by experimenting with numerous, innocent people and we can all imagine what their purpose for doing this is! The Fact is they've done things to Mick that's unimaginable and have made it so he's dependent on specialized medical care for a very long time, care he can only get from Frank Peterson. The Fact is Frank is the only person who really knows all the details about these medical things, but right now he's in the hands of the Legion. And the Fact is that you, Ben Talbot, have always claimed to serve the law and justice – how can you even sit there and hesitate in helping us?"
Beth took a deep breath, because she had forgotten to breathe in her turmoil, but still kept up the intense eye contact with Ben. The young lawyer was speechless for a moment, just like Carl, who was staring at her even with his mouth open. But she wasn't currently interested in the lieutenant. It was Ben who had to be convinced, for he alone had the power and resources to help them with their difficult situation. She could see in his dark eyes how emotion and reason were battling against each other, could see what turmoil her words had triggered in the otherwise cool and composed lawyer and she knew this was a good sign, knew they still had a chance of winning him over.
Ben visibly clenched his teeth, his jaw muscles twitched, then he looked away from her and bent down. A snap noise told her he had opened his briefcase and after only a few seconds he straightened up and placed a relatively thick file in front of him on the table.
"Why do I hesitate?" he repeated her question and opened the folder, pulling out photos, one after the other of five men and women and spread them out on the table in front of them. "Because of these people…"
Beth's eyes flew over the different faces. Most of them she didn't recognize - but one she had already seen a few times, in newspapers or magazines. She automatically reached out for his photo, moved it closer to her. An older, sturdy man with short white hair, half-bald head and glasses…
"That's right Beth, Senator Miller," said Ben and Beth raised her eyes, wrinkling her forehead while looking at him. "And this…" He pushed the image of another man over to her, and suddenly she felt she had seen this man somewhere before was a little younger and slimmer than the senator, but wore a similar suit and had the same pompous look on his face. "…is Harald Jefferson."
Ben gave her and Mick a moment to process the information, but she wasn't sure what he was getting at. She knew the names from their last conversation, knew these two men had something to do with the research on vampires and that they were now on the run from both sides, the vampires and the Legion, but she still found it hard to understand exactly what Ben wanted from her.
"Do you know what all these people have in common?" Talbot asked finally and his eyes went to Mick, between whose eyebrows, this all too familiar, thoughtful and critical folds had developed.
"Their names and information were on the stick we gave to you," Mick returned immediately, but the slight tension resonating in his voice told Beth, he knew there was more to it.
"That's right," Talbot replied coolly and seemingly had his emotions completely back under control again. He leaned back in his chair and interlaced his fingers. "But there's something else," he added and his searching glance remained on Mick's face.
A dark idea surfaced in Beth, pressed against her will to the forefront of her mind and made her pulse quicken again. But she couldn't bring herself to voice this thought.
Mick did it for her. "They're all dead," he said, and she knew he was right.
"Exactly," Ben responded softly and his gaze was no longer just scrutinizing but rather piercing. "And I wonder why…"
"Does this mean… they've been murdered?" Beth finally found her tongue and fought bravely against the nausea that attacked her again. The Legion was thorough and even more ruthless than she had thought. Jefferson and Miller had been so important to this organization before…
"Not officially," Carl now also joined the conversation again. "Jefferson had a tragic car accident when he re-emerged from obscurity and Senator Miller has succumbed to a heart attack. And that's the way it goes on and on…"
Ben tapped his finger on a woman in her early fifties. "Suicide." His finger wandered to a man in his forties. "Climbing accident on a steep slope." Another woman in her forties. "This is interesting. Fell from the roof of a parking garage. Apparently leaned over the railing too far, while enjoying the beautiful view…"
Beth looked at the photos shaking her head and felt, in addition to all the other unpleasant feelings, something like pity welling up in her, even though she knew that Mick owed it to them that he had suffered so in the last year. They must have had families who now mourned and missed them and were also suffering too.
"And you think we did this?" she heard Mick ask and her head shot up again. Full of disbelief as she watched Ben hesitate before answering.
"You're kidding!" it burst out of her before he had even inhaled. "This clearly bears the signature of the Legion!"
"Does it?" Ben probed sharply, clearly fighting her reproachful tone. "I think it could just as easily be the signature of a person who wants to take revenge against the people who held him against his will for a whole year as a test subject and caused his abuse."
Mick gave a little incredulous laugh. "And how did I accomplish that? I wasn't even in the States for a couple of weeks."
"You wouldn't necessarily need to do such a thing yourself," Talbot said with a shrug.
"We're busy enough escaping these people," Beth threw at him angrily. "For such well-organized and well covered-up murders we have neither the time nor the facilities. This is how the Legion works. This is how they cover their tracks. It's their way of keeping their own people from betraying their leaders…"
Ben let out a slightly frustrated sigh and closed his eyes for a heartbeat. "I'd really like to believe you Beth, but I just don't know enough about how your counter-organization works," he responded now a little more gracious. "I need information on what you've already done, what you're doing at the moment and what your plans are for the future. I need assurance that you aren't even more dangerous than the Legion!"
"You don't really think we killed these people," said Mick vigorously and for a split second Beth saw in Ben's eyes what Mick's much more subtle senses had picked up long ago: Doubt and… uncertainty. Then his cool facade was back again, this almost obsessive clinging to his dominance.
"I can't exclude it, however," the lawyer replied now completely calm again.
Mick tilted his head slightly, gave his opposite a critical frown. "Don't we even get the benefit of the doubt?"
Ben smiled. "Do you feel accused?"
"In a way," Mick confessed. "And I don't really understand why."
"Because you've given me quite a few sleepless nights, Mick," Talbot openly admitted astonishingly. "And even before you were abducted, before this whole drama started. I always had the feeling you were carrying around a lot of secrets…"
"Who doesn't?" Mick countered and there was a rebellious glint in his eyes that made Beth a little nervous, for it was a sure sign that Mick was starting to bid adieu to his defensive behavior. "I can't imagine that it was this 'feeling' alone that caused you to start making inquiries about me," he now added provocatively.
"So what do you think motivated me to do this," Ben asked with a charming little smile.
Mick shrugged his shoulders, put on a deliberately innocent face. "Maybe anger over the fact that I've done a better job on some of your cases than the DA's office and the police combined."
Carl and Beth held their breath - but probably for different reasons – and she cast a warning glance at Mick. But he had become so fixated on his opponent that he hadn't noticed Carl's indignation nor her effort to prevent an escalation in the conversation.
"In a very mysterious way," Ben agreed, to her surprise relatively calmly. "And often the results were that the suspect would disappear without a trace. Just like some of the other people I found in other documents you've sent me. And the number of missing people is growing."
Mick uttered a small sigh, shook his head with a strange smile. "Do you actually know how much I'd love to be able to tell you that I'm indeed the one who did this?" He surprised everyone present - including Beth - with his honesty. "Do you know how much I'd love to track down every single one of them and show them exactly what it means to endure pain, how I would love to make sure none of them ever experiences happiness again in his life? But I can't, because I currently have neither the power nor the time nor the strength to do so. I've got my hands full protecting my friends and myself. To get revenge is perhaps what I want most deep down inside, but it's not what I can or will do." Mick's eyes roamed again to the photos in front of him and his cheek muscles twitched with inner tension. He seemed to recognize more people than Beth and the sight of them was slowly stirring him up. Then he looked back at Ben, who had been watching him all the time deep in thought. "You know that I'm not to blame for the death of these people – so what exactly is it that you want from me?"
Ben leaned a little further toward him, pointed strongly to the images before him. "I want the killings to stop!"
Mick also came a little closer, not shying away from the intense eye contact with the lawyer, despite his growing emotional stress. "That's the same thing I want," he said firmly.
"Does that mean you're not planning a bloody campaign of revenge against the people who are to blame for your kidnapping and all that happened after it?" Ben probed and Mick looked at him with determination.
"All we're trying to do at the moment is to get to the heads of the Legion," he said, and Beth even believed him herself, although she knew from experience that Mick showed no mercy when he met with members of the Legion. Well, that wasn't really a planned campaign of revenge, more like a kind of frenzy that struck a bloody swath through the ranks of his opponents…
"And what then?" Ben probed now suspiciously.
"… we want to negotiate with them."
Ben raised an eyebrow with obvious skepticism. "Negotiate…" he repeated and Mick nodded.
"And what if they don't want to negotiate?"
"They'll want to."
"How can you be so sure?" Ben's slightly superior smile was back and Beth had to admit that this really was a good question. Gabriel and the others had planned all this quite wonderfully, but so far no one had yet asked the question, what would happen when in the end the Legion didn't play along as they had wanted them to.
"Everyone is willing to negotiate when there's something they absolutely have to have, what they desperately need," Mick replied and the pressure in Beth's stomach grew once again, while her mind brought home the horror of what Mick was hinting at. And she wasn't the only one whose thoughts were set in motion with Mick's words. Something changed in Talbot's gaze. His eyes widened and he opened his lips as if to say something, but at first no sound came out of his mouth.
"And what exactly would that be?" Carl asked instead into the short lasting silence. "What has such great value for the Legion, that they would want to make a deal?"
"You," Ben finally uttered quietly in Mick's direction. "You're Kostan's joker. They urgently want to get you back. But why?" He drew his eyebrows together thoughtfully. "We covered this point once before, didn't we?"
Mick nodded and Ben immediately joined in. "And you'll probably just refer to Professor Peterson this time as well, if I ask you why you're so important to the world."
Mick again responded with a nod.
"But there's one thing I'd really like to know," Ben simply went on. "Were you also before your abduction… special or was it only after?"
"Only after," was Mick's honest answer.
Ben needed a moment to digest this news and Beth could see in his eyes that his sympathy - or at least pity for Mick had somehow grown. That was good - more than good.
"Am I right in assuming that these people now think of you in some way as their property?" he asked on and took one more unerring step towards the most sensitive issue that there currently was for Mick, one he still hadn't been willing to talk about with anyone in detail.
"Not in some way, but totally," Mick surprised Beth with his frank answer. She was even more surprised when he immediately continued, even though she knew just how difficult this was for him. "For them, I'm not a human but an animal that they… they can do with whatever they want. This is all we are to them… animals…" Mick's gaze roamed to his hands and he then closed his eyes briefly, trying with a deep breath to fight the growing turmoil in his interior. This issue was leading him too close to his buried memories, scratched at the surface of all the things he otherwise kept hidden from others so successful during the day. Nevertheless, he bravely raised his gaze, seeking contact with Ben's eyes, who now looked visibly shocked.
"People died in these labs, Ben," Mick brought out with a slightly trembling voice and Beth's heart slowly but surely began to pound in her chest because she wondered if Mick wasn't demanding too much of himself with this much-needed honesty for Ben. Her urge to protect him, to stop him from going too far grew with every second that passed, but somehow she just couldn't intervene, just sat quietly by while Mick sacrificed his nerves, and his much-needed self-protection mechanisms for a higher purpose.
"They were chained to stretchers and they injected them with drugs their bodies couldn't tolerate," he now continued with a slightly trembling voice and his own emotional turmoil was reflected unvarnished in his eyes again. "They tested the effects of poisons and other special weapons on them and only tried to keep them alive as long as possible so they could do it again. They died in pain and torture in these laboratories, in the middle of LA and no one came to their rescue. The Legion simply stripped them of all their rights and in particular their right to live - just because they were different… because we are different. And they still believe they are entitled to do this as long as they want to. They believe they're above the laws of this world, that they don't need to fear anyone but themselves. They need someone to show them this isn't true, someone to put them in their place. The question is whether you want this too."
Ben leaned back in his chair. For a moment he wasn't capable of looking at Mick or her. His troubled gaze roam over the photos in front of him and then stared, like Mick had before, at his hands. Beth used this moment to look at Mick quickly. Even though he still appeared calm and controlled outwardly, Beth could read in his eyes, his facial expression and body posture that he wasn't feeling that way any longer. The twitching of his cheek muscles had become stronger, more pronounced, his whole body was taut and his eyes wandered nervously around the room again and again, seemed to be looking for something in his environment to distract him, to help him to come to rest again. Beth laid a hand on his forearm automatically and immediately garnered his attention. He wanted to show her with a barely perceptible shake of his head that everything was okay, but he couldn't deceive her. For the anxiety in his interior was all too evident in his eyes - these eyes which had become far too bright. His internal constitution was quickly heading for a borderline.
Talbot had, in contrast to Mick caught himself again. His chest expanded under the heavy breath he took. Then he shook his head deeply in thought and as he raised his eyes again, Beth's heart made another small jump, despite her concern for Mick - not because she was frightened, but because the expression in his dark eyes, told her they had won. Mick's words had reached him, had changed his mind enough that he was now willing to help them.
"I don't want this organization to just fear me," Ben began to speak again. "I want to bust it, terminate it. And when that's done, we - you, this Kostan and I - will sit down together again and get to the bottom of all of this… all these peculiarities of yours. I'm ready to cooperate with you until then."
Beth found it really hard not to heave a sigh of relief, but she contained herself, even remained sitting quietly and unmoving.
"It's not only because I believe you, Mick, and I'm prepared to do everything I can to prevent you from once again falling into the hands of these butchers, but also because I've been informed from another source a little bit about the machinations of this organization and someone told me roughly the same things you did - someone I trust very much who has promised me his support. I'm fed up with all this." His hand again performed a spanning gesture over the images and the file. "I want this to stop, all the killing, fighting, arguing and this… this secret-mongering. I don't want anymore missing person reports and more mysterious calls. And if cooperating with you is what it takes in order to stop it, then that's what I'll do, but I want honesty and openness from you. And if this leads to the first negotiations with the leadership of the Legion, I want to be in on it."
"That can certainly be arranged," Beth said quickly, although she was sure Gabriel and the others would be anything but enthusiastic with this idea. But she urgently wanted to give Ben the feeling that they would accommodate his wishes and that he would somehow profit from their cooperation. Mick seemed to look at this the same way, because he nodded and now leaned back a little in his chair. Beth made three crosses inside, because this was a definite sign that he had calmed down a bit on an emotional level - at least he was trying to. Now they just needed to end the conversation as quickly as possible so no new issues could be raised for Mick to have to cope with.
"Good," said Ben, pushed his photos together and put them back in the file. "Then I'll be honest with you," he added, and raised Beth's curiosity when another photo was pulled out of the file and placed before them on the table. Beth forgot to breathe for a moment. The picture was of a tall, broad-shouldered man in a dark coat, seen coming with hurried steps from a doorway. Clear-cut face, dark, slightly longer hair and a gaze that literally pierced right through you - unmistakably Gabriel.
"A man of the Legion, that I met with gave me this picture," Ben explained quietly and Beth had real difficulty not showing she knew this man. "He told me that if I ever saw this man, I should call him at a specific number he gave me and to tell him exactly where he appeared." Ben paused for an instant and studied their faces thoroughly. Beth avoided his eyes, stared again at the picture before her. It was certainly a few years old and in the shop window next to the entrance was a sign written in another language. French if she wasn't mistaken.
"He also told me that this man is one of their most dangerous opponents and totally unpredictable and that I should stay away from him," Ben explained. "And that I should inform them immediately if he should show up. That if they could catch him, all the other problems would sort themselves out."
Beth looked up again and knew that Ben would add nothing more to the story. His searching glance revealed he now expected a statement from Mick and her in regards to this, because he had the feeling they had both recognized the man in the photo. She heard Mick inhaling next to her and then he leaned forward to Talbot. So quickly the tension was back again, the dangerous flicker in his too bright eyes. That the Legion was specifically searching for Gabriel seemed to make him just as nervous as Beth.
"I think the Legion is right," he admitted, nonetheless. "Gabriel is probably the most dangerous man in the world - to them. He's the one they fear the most, who's able to inflict, with his knowledge and his experience of the Legion, the most damage on them. Of course they want to catch him because they know he's already on to them!"
"So in other words: You do know him," Ben drew, as usual, the right conclusion. "Gabriel… what?"
Mick clearly hesitated with his answer. "Des Archanges," he admitted finally - only because he assumed that this name would probably not be found anywhere anyway, and Beth had to join him in this opinion. To her, it had always sounded as if the name was made up, like a stage name.
It also seemed a little strange to Ben, for he frowned slightly bewildered. "Is he French?"
Mick didn't answer. A hint of distrust had flared up in his eyes and caused him to look at the lawyer skeptically and was stuck for an answer. Not good… Why was it that things that had developed so positively moments ago, had to drift just as quickly into a negative direction? Beth decided to intervene.
"At least European," she replied evasively, but it seemed to be enough for Ben.
"And he's…" Ben didn't continue, but only made a vague gesture with his hand in Mick's direction, whose tension was now palpable enough for her to feel it as an energetic tingling.
"Special?" Mick helped him with a tiny smile. But his voice was a touch too sharp to be assessed as a genuine smile anymore.
Ben nodded again.
"He is," Mick replied.
Ben didn't seem to like this fact that well, because Beth could see his chest heave and fall once more under a heavy breath. "And you say the Legion fears him because he knows too much about them?"
Once again, his question wasn't followed by an answer. But this time for a different reason. Both Beth and Mick had heard a crackling in their ears and knew that Logan had just turned on the headsets. Of course it was possible that he was only going to make a comment about their conversation or to ask them to hurry up, but Beth immediately felt that something was wrong, knew even before Logan's voice was heard that a disaster was approaching, that the exact thing they had all feared the most was happening.
"Folks, I really hate to say this…" were the words that made her heart skip a beat and her intestines cramp. "Gabriel radioed. Something's going on around us! You need to leave there as fast as you can! Right now! We've been betrayed!"
Beth needed a moment to digest the news, tried to catch her breath and think straight. But immediately her initial panic made sure she was completely incapacitated for a few seconds. Mick's reaction, however, was far more violent, and was at once directed against Talbot, whom he seemed to blame for this. He moved so quickly that Beth wasn't able to perceive it at first. She only saw the table flying past her out of the way, crashing into the nearest wall, saw Ben and Carl reflexively jumping up and Mick leaping forward. Then the ADA hit the wall with his back, grabbed at the hand gripping him so roughly by his neck, gasped for air, and pressed the other hand against Mick's chest, who in his burning anger had literally launched himself at him. But it wasn't Mick, who drew a horrified scream out of Beth, but Carl, who had drawn in a fluid movement a weapon and now aimed it directly at Mick's head.
"Let go of him! Now!" he shouted at Mick with a trembling voice, while Beth came staggering to her feet, raising both hands defensively. Her mind was still struggling, trying to understand what had just happened here while her raging heartbeat and the breathless panic made it incredibly difficult to her to think straight.
"Carl, stop!" she uttered, but turned her attention immediately to Mick and Ben, who could barely breathe.
"Who else did you tell about this meeting?" Mick hissed through gritted teeth, completely unaware of the weapon that was aimed at his temple and the troubled police officer who once again roared: "Let him go immediately, or I'll shoot!"
"Mick!" now Beth uttered as well, because Ben's face was becoming a critical bluish color. "You're strangling him!"
Despite his anger and agitation Mick let go of his neck, grabbed the collar of his shirt instead and Ben inhaled, gasping and coughing.
"Carl! Put the gun down!" Beth now addressed the policeman with a quivering voice, whose hand shook, showing just how much this situation had overwhelmed him. Mick's quick change of mood had completely shocked him.
"Put down your weapon!" Beth asked him one more time almost pleadingly. "This is just a misunderstanding! We can figure this out without killing each other!"
"He needs to let go of Ben first!" Carl gave back strained, while Mick also started to speak.
"Who's coming for us?" he uttered as his eyes bored into the lawyer's, who was still gasping for breath horrified.
"I… I've no idea," he croaked now and for the first time since Beth knew him his eyes showed open fear. Mick's outburst had completely thrown him off track and not just him.
"Carl, please," Beth addressed the officer once more with the trembling hands. "Lower you gun, at least a little!"
And the miracle happened. Carl's hands slowly lowered, so that the weapon was now only aimed at Mick's upper arm and Beth turned back to Mick, stepped deliberately into the line of fire and touched Mick's arm. He didn't look at her, but she knew she had his attention.
"We need to get out of here, Mick," she brought out urgently. "No matter who betrayed where we were meeting. We first have to get out of here!"
"As… as soon as possible!" a pretty shocked sounding Logan added by radio. "Shit, man, there are two cars and a helicopter heading our way. Get the hell outta there and into the tunnel! You've got no more than ten minutes!"
"Mick?" Beth's voice sounded not only upset and scared, but also desperate and now his almost pale blue eyes wandered over to her, looked into her face.
"Please," she uttered, and he indeed let go of the completely paralyzed looking Ben, so she turned to Carl again. Her old friend lowered his weapon even further with an audible sigh of relief, but still didn't put it away.
"If it wasn't you who betrayed us, then you're in just as much danger as we are," Beth hastened to explain. "And we should all disappear from here as soon as possible. Help me!" She bent down to pick up Ben's briefcase and Carl immediately understood, collected the papers that had flown, along with the table, through the air and stuffed them all into a bag already opened by Beth. Beth didn't like that Mick and Ben were still standing motionless in front of each other, staring at each other like two fighting cocks, waiting for the one to attack the other, but at least the danger of Mick causing serious bodily harm to the lawyer in the heat of the moment was averted for now.
"Ben," she approached the ADA ,who was still having difficulty breathing, handing him the briefcase. He took it, without detaching his eyes from Mick's face and Beth asked herself with a wildly pounding heart, how they were going to be able to carry on once they got out of there, if they ever got out of there. Within a matter of seconds, and because of a few unfortunate words and much too hasty actions, their so laboriously built up trust had dissolved into thin air. But they couldn't work this out now, actually should have long since run for their lives. Beth took yet another deep breath, pushed herself between Mick and Ben, grabbed the young lawyer by his arm and simply pulled him along with her. He didn't struggle, just threw suspicious glances behind him every now and then, because Mick had immediately followed them along with Carl, who was still clinging to his weapon.
"Logan, where do we need go?" she addressed her friend with the headset irritated as they hurried out of the office. Her eyes flew anxiously over to the door, expecting at any moment the squeal of tires and the roaring of a helicopter.
"Turn left two times, there will be a door that leads directly to the cellar," was the quick response. Beth followed his instructions and only a few seconds later she put her hand on the latch of the door described.
"Where are we going?" Ben brought out clearly concerned when she opened the door, struggling a bit to keep up with her. The darkness behind the door seemed to reinforce his fears.
"We're getting outta here," Beth responded and flipped the light switch she had discovered on the wall. Immediately a single light bulb on the sloping ceiling lit up the steps. "You decide, Ben. Either you come with us or you stay here and wait to see if the Legion is indeed as favorably inclined towards you as they pretend to be. But we'll then know whose side your on."
It was quite a bold attempt at getting Talbot to voluntarily come with them after all that had just happened, but surprisingly it worked. Ben straightened his shoulders, nodded slightly and then followed her.
She caught a glimpse of Mick, before she turned around again and hurried down the stairs. He had calmed down and now instead of upset and uncontrolled looked rather tense and focused. But his eyes were still too bright, the vampire in him was still much too active. But that couldn't be helped right now. The enemy advanced and it wasn't clear yet whether they were going to be fast enough to escape the Legion this time. Especially when they had two people with them, who didn't really trust them, and who they couldn't say with any certainty whether they brought the enemy down on them or not. But for now they really had no time left to try and figure it out in more detail.
Mick seemed to see it the same way, because he left the role of leader to her without any objections, probably even felt that his own nerves were far too worn to come to the right decisions concerning the situation anyway. And because Ben had decided to join them voluntarily, it seemed to help him regain a little control over himself. If Talbot had wanted the Legion to get their hands on them he would have stalled for time much harder. He actually gave the impression that he himself was a little afraid of these people and wanted to avoid any direct contact with them. Beth fervently hoped this was the case, otherwise, they would be bringing the enemy directly to Logan, and thus destroy any chance they still had of escaping the Legion…