Chapter 35

Maelstrom, Part II

Intro Song: Think For A Minute, The Housemartins

Deep breath in, long breath out... deep breath in, long breath out...

Beth hoped that the metronomic chant and rhythmic actions would generate at least a few moments of Zen. Moment of Zen? Too many podcasts, Beth. Try as she might, she couldn't shake the sense of foreboding about the San Diego case. Worse, she couldn't pinpoint exactly why. Mick's life was chock full of dangerous situations, some because of his work – and some because he was a vampire. So why was this trip so worrisome to her? Was she having some kind of premonition? Beth scoffed to herself. She didn't believe in such things. Yeah, well, you didn't believe in vampires either and now look at you…

She scrutinized the papers on her desk, heaving a sigh of relief to find only routine messages waiting for her. Her email box was another matter, but her quick scan turned up nothing urgent. See? No ticking bombs, no boogie men hiding under the desk... When she arrived, she saw from the schedule that Ben would be in court most of the day. Thank god. That usually meant she could get caught up on her case load. With the added bonus of not having to talk to Talbot.

"Speaking of…" she muttered, reaching into her file drawer. Carefully, she flipped past the various tabs... Walker... Waters... until she landed on the manila folder marked "Williams, Robert and Elaine." It may be the 21st century, but she still liked paper files.

Even before her stint as a reporter, Beth had always questioned everything, frequently driving her mother and friends crazy with her relentless queries. Her time at BuzzWire had just reinforced that natural tendency. Now, all her instincts and training screamed that this particular case was anything but what it seemed. But just like with her anxiety over Mick's investigation in San Diego, she couldn't identify exactly why, other than the fact that statistically, women were seldom the killers in a murder-suicide. Rare, but not unheard of. Don't make assumptions. Well, at least the Williams case could occupy her thoughts for a while. You know your life is crazy when a murder-suicide case helps you relax...

"Morning!"

For once, Beth didn't jump - she'd seen Jamie coming out of the corner of her eye. Being around a vampire so consistently seemed to be sharpening her own reflexes, or was, at least, making her more aware of her surroundings. "Hey."

"I could use some coffee to jumpstart me today. Want to come?" When her colleague didn't move, Jamie crossed her arms. "Come on, Beth, help a sister out. This place is a ghost town today - everyone is in court. I need someone to talk to before I start talking to myself. Again," she grinned.

Beth hesitated taking Jamie up on her usual coffee run. When she was in the office, it had become part of their normal routine for the two of them to grab coffee and chat during the day. Truthfully, Beth was glad for the company and happy to have met a friend in her new place of employment. Mick's admonition regarding Jamie, however, had given her pause. She had learned the hard way that his investigative instincts were accurate more often than not. Today, however… Today, she needed the diversion, craved the opportunity to talk to someone. And, she could certainly use another shot of coffee. You're going to pay for the extra caffeine, her inner voice warned."Okay," she finally agreed.

"You're quiet this morning," Jamie began cautiously as they headed toward the break room. "Upset about that San Diego case?" Inwardly, she winced at the lack of tact, but she'd decided that bluntness was probably the best tact today - she was rapidly running out of time for subtleties.

Her colleague shot her a look, but remained silent.

Damn, she is worried - and probably pissed. Understandable. Mick was spending an extended period of time in the company of observant cops. Cops who didn't know about vampires but who would surely spy things that were unusual. Like drinking blood… How often did they have to do that anyway? Once again, Auxilium had left big gaps in her education. Perhaps they didn't know – it wasn't like they had one on their team to answer their questions. And why is that, Jamie? She silenced that niggling voice that sometimes raised questions about the organization she worked for.

Then there was where the two men were going. If they investigated where the bodies were found, they'd be in the desert. The sun, the heat...it all combined to create a hellish environment for a vampire from what her leaders had said. But, does she even know what Mick St. John is? Beth gave no hint, no clue that Jamie could detect, that indicated that she saw Mick as anything other than the man she was in love with. Any anxiety over the San Diego trip could also be explained in purely human terms. Beth had watched her last boyfriend die in front of her eyes, executed by a vicious drug cartel, and there was strong evidence to point toward this same drug gang involvement in this case. This trip could – in fact, likely would - put Mick in their crosshairs.

Jamie sighed to herself. She had never anticipated problems and complications like this when she joined the Auxilium effort. Once she learned about vampires from them, she had wondered how people could not know they existed. Now that she knew they were real, she had assumed that, if she ever met one, it would be immediately obvious. How wrong she had been! If she, herself, hadn't known in advance of meeting Mick St. John, there was no way she could have detected anything odd at all about the... man? What the hell were they, anyway? How was she supposed to think of them? Auxilium thought of them as a resource. But Mick seemed very human to her. And, certainly, his affection for Beth looked real. Then again, it could all be brilliant mimicry... but yet, it sure as hell felt genuine... Her thoughts spun round and round in her head, like some insane mental merry-go-round. What have I gotten myself into?!

"Pardon me?"

Jamie saw the look on Beth's face and realized with dread that she'd probably muttered something she was thinking, out loud. "Sorry, I... this... dammit, Beth, I don't like this deal at all! This whole situation with San Diego... it's just…off!"

To her relief, Beth nodded and finally started talking. "I have that feeling, too. Why send Carl and Mick out of jurisdiction for a case that San Diego should be more than able to handle?" Remembering Josef's statements, she added, "If the border is involved, that's for the Feds, border patrol, ATF... those people deal with that kind of thing on a routine basis. And if it's to find Josh's killer, why aren't we just turning over our information to them, instead of the other way around?" She hesitated, then added, "This is uncharitable to say, but I can't help thinking that it's all just to help Dickbot's career. You know, bring Josh's killer to justice when no one else could…" She trailed off as the image of Josh's agonized face from that horrible day flashed before her eyes.

"I think we really need to talk," Jamie interjected. She needed to tell her friend what she knew about the San Diego investigation

"Yeah," Beth agreed, unaware that she had something very different in mind than her companion. She was eager to find out more about this woman who had set off Mick's alarms. Her investigative 'Spidey' senses tingled. "Talking's good."

Once the two of them reached the back kitchen, they grabbed mugs, and poured what felt like life-saving elixir into them. Jamie led them both to a small conference room down the hall. "Nobody has booked it this morning," she explained, "so we should have some privacy, especially with almost everybody in court today."

Beth grabbed a seat at the table, sipping her coffee while Jamie rummaged through the various storage units, first below, then overhead. "Ah! Here we go!" She tossed a couple of writing pads and pens onto the table top and grinned. "Nothing like note pads and paper to look official. Oh and one more thing." She punched a sequence of buttons on the conference room phone. Glancing slyly at Beth, the young woman said, "I just forwarded our extensions to this room, so no missed calls - hope you don't mind."

Even in her current mood, Beth had to smile at that. The woman had a level of… deviousness... that she liked. Too bad Mick's suspicions were acting to temper her approval. "So... about San Diego..."

"Carl isn't too easy about it either. I talked to him last night while we were out..."

"So you finally got that second date?"

Jamie smiled shyly. "Yeah, murder and mayhem decided to give him a pass for once. It was…nice." She took a long gulp of the hot coffee, stalling for time while she debated on how to phrase things with Beth. "While we were out, I really pressed him about this San Diego case. He's doing his bit for 'the team', as he called it, but it doesn't feel right to him either. I asked him point-blank if he thought this was political maneuvering by Talbot - or a witch hunt on Mick. He finally admitted that originally he thought it was all about Mick – which I know you is hard to hear – but that his spin on it now was that the primary reason was political. Getting info on Mick is just a sidebar, especially since Carl won't go along with that. He wouldn't elaborate any further though."

"To what end? Is Talbot planning to transfer? Higher office?"

The administrative assistant shook her head uncertainly, her mass of curly brown hair bouncing on her shoulders. "I don't know, but don't underestimate Talbot's ambitiousness. You don't hear his calls or the people he's talking to like I do." She paused, gauging Beth's reactions. I've got to start being honest with her - she won't trust me otherwise. "Beth," she began, staring down at her mug, "there's something I need to tell you."

"I'm listening," Beth said, eyebrows raised, those 'Spidey' senses on alert.

Jamie had second thoughts for a moment...maybe this isn't the time to tell her everything...but, she'd opened Pandora's Box, and now she had to say something. Silently, she cursed her tendency to speak first, think second. This was all more - much more - than she had bargained for, or been trained for. She should know this if Mick hasn't told her... "You may already know this, but I found out from Carl that Mick tried to decline the case during yesterday's meeting. He wanted to back out of this trip."

Beth's eyes grew huge. "He did?! Then why is he still going?!"

"Because Ben, in so many words, said that if Mick didn't go, he'd send you. Carl told me that both he and Mick were livid. He said that Mick didn't want you anywhere near anything to do with HEM. Not after what happened to Josh and your being targeted by them. He thought it was really dangerous. Both of them were outraged that Dickbot would even suggest it."

Jamie's words hit Beth hard. Mick was, once again, risking himself to protect her. No wonder he'd resisted her efforts to change his mind so stubbornly. But why didn't he tell her? To protect you… "I'm going to call him - I can go... I don't want him out there in the desert–"

"Do you think they are going to run into HEM there? In broad daylight? They'd both in danger..." There was real panic in Jamie's voice. She honestly hadn't given a thought to Carl's safety on this case before. Her focus had been on Mick's involvement, but now that the idea was in her head, she couldn't believe she'd been that naïve. The realization hit her hard. Of course he'd be in danger, Jamie. He's a cop, he'll always be in danger…

"Beth...what should we do?" Her question was sincere - Jamie was at a loss as to how much to share, how to resolve the situation, how to protect them...and Carl.

Both women jumped when the conference room phone loudly interrupted.

Jamie reached over and snagged the receiver. "Good morning, District Attorney's Office." She listened to the caller, eyeing Beth. "Yes, Ms. Turner is in the office today, but she is temporarily unavailable." Seeing Beth's approving nod, Jamie poised her pen above her pad. "May I take a message for her?" She listened, her eyebrows gradually rising as the caller continued. "Yes... well, Mr. Williams... No, no, she is definitely planning to meet with you. I believe there was an emergency here in the DA's office this morning... yes, and she was involved with that. Could you hang on for just a moment, and I'll check on her status." Not waiting for an answer, Jamie punched the hold button and looked across the table at her companion.

"Beth, this is Jack Williams - the son of the attorney and his wife, that murder/suicide case. He says you were supposed to be meeting with him right now..." She trailed off at the look of horror that came over her colleague's face as she realized that she had completely missed an appointment.

"Oh my god, Jamie, I totally forgot! Damn it!" And, damn you, Mick St. John, for making me lose my mind like this! Beth jumped up, grabbing the blank notepad reflexively and glanced up at the clock on the wall. "Could you cover for me, please? Tell him I was held up and I'll be there in fifteen minutes?" She looked pleadingly at the admin.

"Don't worry about it. I've got you." At that moment, Jamie felt sorry for the young woman, normally so efficient and organized. It won't hurt for her to feel like she owes me a favor either... She immediately felt ashamed of that thought, even though it was true. "You get going, I'll take care of him. It's gonna cost you lunch though!" She kept her tone light but she desperately hoped that Beth would agree. The more she was around her, the more she wanted to help her – and Mick. And she had to get to him. Soon.

Beth jumped up from her seat and whispered "Thank you!" as Jamie hit the call button. "Mr. Williams? I do apologize - this was my fault. There was a crisis here in the office on a case and Beth knew she would be delayed. I was to call and let you know that and I completely forgot. She is on her way now." Jamie looked up and mouthed 'go' at Beth, who ran for the door. She turned her attention back to the caller. "Yes, no more than fifteen minutes." Silently, Jamie thought, if she makes it in fifteen minutes, she can fly like Superman - or Dracula... "Yes, thank you for being willing to wait. Again, you have my apologies. I hope this doesn't inconvenience you too much."

Alone in the room, Jamie replaced the receiver gently and looked down at her notepad and the doodle she had made while they were talking. She was horrified to see a mouth with bared fangs and dripping blood sneering back at her. The young woman ripped out the sheet and wadded it up, but stopped short of throwing it in the trash basket. Thoughtfully, she smoothed out the paper, looking at the picture for a long moment. Then slowly, deliberately, she tore it into smaller and smaller pieces, until all that remained was a pile of confetti on the table. Sweeping the pieces into her hand, she clutched the wad of paper tightly as she got up and left the conference room, turning out the main light as she went, leaving only the muted beacon from the security lamp for illumination.

A small scrap of paper had fluttered, unnoticed, from Jamie's hand. Coming to rest on the carpet, the tip of a crudely-drawn fang was visible in the faint light, etched on the paper's surface.

End Song: Together, The Kin