Between the screaming and the gunfire, the fight outside had caught the attention of the partying cops. Four of them, including Captain Reese, grabbed their guns. They went outside and stood in front of the alley, unable to see into the darkness.
++++++++++
Nick looked down at the hole in his shirt where the bullet had hit him. He then gazed up at Jim, red eyes shining. Jim gulped as the vampire walked toward him, but felt relieved when a voice sounded from outside the alley:
"We have the alley blocked off. Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up."
Jim smiled at Nick. "Game's over. You can't touch me now."
His smile vanished when Nick gave him a chilling grin that made Jim's blood run cold. Nick, of course, noticed the change.
++++++++++
"I repeat," Reese said. "Come out with your hands up."
Suddenly, a man came jumping out of the dark, gun in hand. Instinctively, the cops opened fire. However, they realized, too late, that the man hadn't jumped at them but had been thrown at them. As the man's dead body plopped to the ground with a sickening thud, two of the officers cautiously entered the alley. Except for a faint whooshing sound, the pair heard and saw nothing. They returned to the captain.
"I can't believe it," Reese said.
"What is it, sir?"
"Jim McKay. That's who this man is," the captain replied. "He's wanted for the rape and murder of four women in Vancouver."
"What's he doing here?"
"My first question exactly. My other question is who threw him out at us."
All of the officers shrugged.
++++++++++
Nick watched from the rooftop. While he watched the cops search the alley, he managed to calm down slightly. His eyes had faded back to green and were starting to go back to blue, until he heard about Jim's crimes.
His eyes flared red again. He cursed himself for letting the others run away without second-guessing their intentions as well as Jim's. He shot into the sky in order to find Jim's associates.
++++++++++
Jim's friends finally stopped running. Even though they were blocks away from the police station, none of them felt safe.
"What the hell happened back there?" one of them cried out.
"That guy nearly broke Jim in half," another exaggerated.
A third man bent over in pain from the stitch in his side. "Who was that guy anyway?"
Jim's fourth friend looked up in the air and gasped.
"Dude?" asked the first. "What is it?" He also looked up with the other two following suit.
All four of them screamed as Nick swooped down on them.
++++++++++
Captain Reese and several others were cleaning up the precinct after the party. Almost everyone had gone home, leaving these poor unfortunates to all of the work. Reese dreaded to think of the paperwork following the shooting. After the paramedics had taken McKay's body, every reporter had questioned him and the other three participants. Now, a couple hours later, the excitement had ceased and only clean up remained.
Just as Reese was about to leave, Knight came walking in with four men in tow. Still in some of his costume, Nick had substituted the cape for his usual leather jacket, zipped to hide the bullet hole. He also "took out" his fangs and contacts.
"Knight, what's the meaning of this?" Reese questioned.
"Captain, these four men are under arrest as the accomplices of Jim McKay. I think you'll find that they'll be very agreeable and cooperative."
Reese stood wide-eyed. Knight had done the impossible again. Reese quickly called on some of the uniformed officers to take the four men into proper custody. The captain noticed that the men actually hurried to be with the cops, as if eager to get away from Knight.
"Care to tell me how you did this?" Reese asked.
Nick smiled sheepishly. "Maybe at tonight's shift. Right now, I'm a bit tired." Nick made a big deal of yawning right then. "Plus, with my allergy, I have to get home before the sun comes up."
Reese smiled. "Right, the whole vampire/ no sun thing."
Nick almost gasped when he mentioned that, but then the evening's charade came back to him. He kept his smile. "Yeah, the whole vampire thing."
"Okay, Knight. You go home and get some rest, but I'll expect a full report tonight."
"Fine by me," Nick said, and then walked out of the building and flew back home.
++++++++++
When Nick landed in front of his loft, he noticed Natalie's car in the driveway.
"She made it here safely," he thought to himself.
Taking the elevator up, he opened the door and found her dozing on the couch. As quietly as possible, he closed the elevator door and walked to the refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle and removed the cork with his teeth. He had put the bottle to his lips when Natalie's voice sounded from the sofa: "You're supposed to lay off the hemoglobin."
"Well, I had a rough night."
Surprisingly, Nat backed off. "One drink shouldn't hurt. I mean, you were my knight in shining armor tonight. I think you might deserve it."
Nick smirked and gulped down the liquid straight from the bottle. He stopped when he noticed that Nat was beginning to get an annoyed look.
"I meant a small drink," she said. She changed the subject. "Did you take care of that jerk?"
"That 'jerk' was a wanted murderer," he informed her. "He and his buddies bet each other that they couldn't abduct someone from a police party. They spiked the punch so to keep everyone else distracted."
Nat interrupted. "Wait, he was a wanted murderer? As in past tense?"
Nick bowed his head. "I kind of lost control."
"Nick, you didn't"
"Not directly," he said. "But I did assist in the matter. You'll probably read about it in the morning paper."
Natalie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It wasn't working. "Okay, so you nearly kill a guy and then decide to down a whole bottle of plasma? What were you thinking? Maybe, 'Hey, I'm sick of trying to be human. I'll just revamp myself.' Is that is, Nick?"
"He would have killed you, Nat," Nick defended himself. "I couldn't allow that to happen."
She quickly shut up, thinking about what he had just said. Calmly, she stated, "You don't have to protect me."
"I know that normally you could handle yourself, but for one thing, you were against five incredibly dangerous men and, two, you were drunk and not thinking straight."
Natalie sank back down into the couch. Nick replaced the cork in the bottle and put it back in the refrigerator. Then, he went back and sat next to Nat. She looked at him with an apologetic look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Nick. I'm just on edge. That whole experience was a little too much for me. You were just looking out for me, and I appreciate it."
Nick slightly nodded. "It's okay. I understand." He grabbed the remote and shut the blinds, just as the light of sunrise hit the edge of the windows.
"Not a bad Halloween," he jested.
Natalie laughed. "All Hallow's Eve. The night for monsters and heroes." She looked at Nick. "My hero."
Nick leaned forward and kissed Nat on top of the head. She smiled and rested her head on Nick's shoulder. Together, they fell asleep on the couch and had peaceful dreams.
++++++++++
Nick looked down at the hole in his shirt where the bullet had hit him. He then gazed up at Jim, red eyes shining. Jim gulped as the vampire walked toward him, but felt relieved when a voice sounded from outside the alley:
"We have the alley blocked off. Drop your weapons and come out with your hands up."
Jim smiled at Nick. "Game's over. You can't touch me now."
His smile vanished when Nick gave him a chilling grin that made Jim's blood run cold. Nick, of course, noticed the change.
++++++++++
"I repeat," Reese said. "Come out with your hands up."
Suddenly, a man came jumping out of the dark, gun in hand. Instinctively, the cops opened fire. However, they realized, too late, that the man hadn't jumped at them but had been thrown at them. As the man's dead body plopped to the ground with a sickening thud, two of the officers cautiously entered the alley. Except for a faint whooshing sound, the pair heard and saw nothing. They returned to the captain.
"I can't believe it," Reese said.
"What is it, sir?"
"Jim McKay. That's who this man is," the captain replied. "He's wanted for the rape and murder of four women in Vancouver."
"What's he doing here?"
"My first question exactly. My other question is who threw him out at us."
All of the officers shrugged.
++++++++++
Nick watched from the rooftop. While he watched the cops search the alley, he managed to calm down slightly. His eyes had faded back to green and were starting to go back to blue, until he heard about Jim's crimes.
His eyes flared red again. He cursed himself for letting the others run away without second-guessing their intentions as well as Jim's. He shot into the sky in order to find Jim's associates.
++++++++++
Jim's friends finally stopped running. Even though they were blocks away from the police station, none of them felt safe.
"What the hell happened back there?" one of them cried out.
"That guy nearly broke Jim in half," another exaggerated.
A third man bent over in pain from the stitch in his side. "Who was that guy anyway?"
Jim's fourth friend looked up in the air and gasped.
"Dude?" asked the first. "What is it?" He also looked up with the other two following suit.
All four of them screamed as Nick swooped down on them.
++++++++++
Captain Reese and several others were cleaning up the precinct after the party. Almost everyone had gone home, leaving these poor unfortunates to all of the work. Reese dreaded to think of the paperwork following the shooting. After the paramedics had taken McKay's body, every reporter had questioned him and the other three participants. Now, a couple hours later, the excitement had ceased and only clean up remained.
Just as Reese was about to leave, Knight came walking in with four men in tow. Still in some of his costume, Nick had substituted the cape for his usual leather jacket, zipped to hide the bullet hole. He also "took out" his fangs and contacts.
"Knight, what's the meaning of this?" Reese questioned.
"Captain, these four men are under arrest as the accomplices of Jim McKay. I think you'll find that they'll be very agreeable and cooperative."
Reese stood wide-eyed. Knight had done the impossible again. Reese quickly called on some of the uniformed officers to take the four men into proper custody. The captain noticed that the men actually hurried to be with the cops, as if eager to get away from Knight.
"Care to tell me how you did this?" Reese asked.
Nick smiled sheepishly. "Maybe at tonight's shift. Right now, I'm a bit tired." Nick made a big deal of yawning right then. "Plus, with my allergy, I have to get home before the sun comes up."
Reese smiled. "Right, the whole vampire/ no sun thing."
Nick almost gasped when he mentioned that, but then the evening's charade came back to him. He kept his smile. "Yeah, the whole vampire thing."
"Okay, Knight. You go home and get some rest, but I'll expect a full report tonight."
"Fine by me," Nick said, and then walked out of the building and flew back home.
++++++++++
When Nick landed in front of his loft, he noticed Natalie's car in the driveway.
"She made it here safely," he thought to himself.
Taking the elevator up, he opened the door and found her dozing on the couch. As quietly as possible, he closed the elevator door and walked to the refrigerator. He pulled out a bottle and removed the cork with his teeth. He had put the bottle to his lips when Natalie's voice sounded from the sofa: "You're supposed to lay off the hemoglobin."
"Well, I had a rough night."
Surprisingly, Nat backed off. "One drink shouldn't hurt. I mean, you were my knight in shining armor tonight. I think you might deserve it."
Nick smirked and gulped down the liquid straight from the bottle. He stopped when he noticed that Nat was beginning to get an annoyed look.
"I meant a small drink," she said. She changed the subject. "Did you take care of that jerk?"
"That 'jerk' was a wanted murderer," he informed her. "He and his buddies bet each other that they couldn't abduct someone from a police party. They spiked the punch so to keep everyone else distracted."
Nat interrupted. "Wait, he was a wanted murderer? As in past tense?"
Nick bowed his head. "I kind of lost control."
"Nick, you didn't"
"Not directly," he said. "But I did assist in the matter. You'll probably read about it in the morning paper."
Natalie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. It wasn't working. "Okay, so you nearly kill a guy and then decide to down a whole bottle of plasma? What were you thinking? Maybe, 'Hey, I'm sick of trying to be human. I'll just revamp myself.' Is that is, Nick?"
"He would have killed you, Nat," Nick defended himself. "I couldn't allow that to happen."
She quickly shut up, thinking about what he had just said. Calmly, she stated, "You don't have to protect me."
"I know that normally you could handle yourself, but for one thing, you were against five incredibly dangerous men and, two, you were drunk and not thinking straight."
Natalie sank back down into the couch. Nick replaced the cork in the bottle and put it back in the refrigerator. Then, he went back and sat next to Nat. She looked at him with an apologetic look on her face.
"I'm sorry, Nick. I'm just on edge. That whole experience was a little too much for me. You were just looking out for me, and I appreciate it."
Nick slightly nodded. "It's okay. I understand." He grabbed the remote and shut the blinds, just as the light of sunrise hit the edge of the windows.
"Not a bad Halloween," he jested.
Natalie laughed. "All Hallow's Eve. The night for monsters and heroes." She looked at Nick. "My hero."
Nick leaned forward and kissed Nat on top of the head. She smiled and rested her head on Nick's shoulder. Together, they fell asleep on the couch and had peaceful dreams.
