Chapter 2 -- Abduction
"So, where's Gwen?" Vic asked, looking around the bar. In the past few months, Gwen had turned into an almost constant presence at the Watchfire, whether she was working or not.
"Pharmacy. Needed a refill on her Imitrex..." Mel told him as she poured him another drink.
"Ah." Vic nodded. Gwen could often be seen popping a variety of different pills, but she never let the chronic migraines that they fought interfere with her sunny demeanor. "And where's Cole?" he asked guardedly. He had not seen Mel's strange roommate much recently, and was curious. He liked to keep an eye on Cole, make sure that he was not doing anything that might endanger Mel, especially since the murder at the Watchfire and the subsequent disappearance and death of the suspect. When pressed, Vic could have come up with a dozen different reasons for his dislike and distrust of Cole, but it would never have occurred to him to cite jealousy. As good as the Detective was at picking up the subtlest cues in others, he had completely missed the obvious in himself.
"Out..." Mel replied vaguely.
"Yeah, that explains everything..." Vic muttered.
Mel found herself once again irritated by Vic's suspicions of Cole. "He's visiting a friend, okay?" she snapped.
"Hey, you don't have to get defensive."
"I'm getting sick of you... persecuting Cole." Mel shook her head, frustrated. "Damn it, Vic. Why can't you just try to be the man's friend?"
"Because Cole Hauser is bad news." Vic sighed. Mel had an enormous blind-spot where the strange man she lived with was concerned, and he considered it his duty as her friend to keep an eye on things between the two.
"Face it, Vic, that's jealousy talking. You have nothing on Cole and you never will." That struck Mel as sounding too much as if there was in fact something to be had on him, so she added, "Because there's nothing there." She sighed and shook her head. As annoying as he could be at times, as much as he wanted Cole out of the picture, as frustrated and perplexed as Cole was by him, Vic Bruno was her friend, and she wanted him to stay that way. "Vic, please. I like you a lot, but this thing between you and Cole has to stop. Do not force me to chose between the two you."
"Mel, I'm only trying to protect you."
Mel scowled. She did not want Vic's protection any more than she needed it. "I can protect myself..." she began, trailing off as the front door to the bar opened.
Cole led Lontoria in and, when he saw Vic with Mel, straight towards the apartment stairwell. Vic turned slightly, watching Cole and the young woman. Young girl, he corrected himself, doing a double-take. Whoever she was, she probably was not old enough to vote yet. And she was incredibly anxious over something; her every move telegraphed that to the experienced Detective. When she saw him staring at her, she tugged anxiously at the collar of her turtleneck and looked up at Cole, obviously waiting for him to react before she did.
Cole smiled carefully. "Oh, hello, Vic."
"Cole." Vic nodded almost imperceptibly. "Who's your friend?"
"Jamie Swinson..." Lontoria provided, not liking the look this man was giving her friend. Her initial suspicion was confirmed. Jealousy.
Vic nodded. "Shouldn't you be in school, Jamie?"
"We're on a break." She scowled at him wondering if he was always this nosy or only in matters involving Cole.
Vic nodded, but frowned. This girl was about as forthcoming as Cole and Mel. And she still appeared distinctly unsettled, more so since noticing Vic.
She looked at Cole. "Can we go upstairs now?"
"Of course we can." He nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Mel, I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah, Cole." Mel nodded. "Jamie."
"She's a little young for him, isn't she?" Vic muttered to Mel as Cole and Lontoria resumed their interrupted trip across the bar. Although tone and phrasing were less than friendly, he was pleased that Cole had started to take an interest in someone other than Mel. He just hoped the pretty young lady was legal.
Mel glared at him, shaking her head at Cole who was looking at her questioningly. Lontoria, who obviously did get Vic's meaning, shook her head and tugged sharply at his sleeve.
"Come on, Daggon..." she muttered.
Cole nodded and started unlocking the stairwell door. He turned when he heard a startled shout from Mel. Several people, dressed in black and heavily armed, were pouring into the bar, looking for all the world like an over-armed SWAT team. Cole started forward at the same moment as Vic rose from his stool and started towards them. One of the men raised a modified gun and shot Cole, who dropped to the floor, shivering violently.
"Daggon..." Lontoria muttered, running to him.
"Go... Go..." he gasped, knowing that these men, these aliens, were after her. They had to be. Obviously she had been very much mistaken about who was after her and why.
She nodded and started to rise, only to be shot with a second round from the weapon. With a cry, she collapsed on top of Cole. They ignored Vic and started towards Cole and Lontoria.
"Mel, get down!" Vic shouted as Mel raced across the bar towards them.
Mel crouched next to Cole, checking his pulse because she could not think of anything else to do. "Come on, Cole... Get up!"
"Mel..." Cole groaned, struggling without luck to move. "Get out. Get Vic and get out."
"Vic, get out of here!" Mel shouted, shaking her head desperately at him. They were aliens, had to be, and they seemed less than interested in Vic. The odds were good that he would be allowed to flee as long as he did not do anything stupid.
Vic, apparently, did not realize this, because he was doing his best to stop them from advancing any farther into the bar, shouting at Mel to get out while he leveled his gun at them. A small female stepped forward, removed the gun from his hand and casually tossed him across the bar.
"Vic!" Mel shouted, freezing, unsure what to do next. She could never fight them, could not protect Cole. She might be able to get Vic out, but was not sure if she should move him, given the fact that he had just been tossed twenty feet through the air and into a wall.
"Take her, too..." the woman who had thrown Vic ordered, pointing.
"No..." Cole groaned, trying to push Mel away. "Go, Mel..."
Mel nodded and started to rise, but was quickly overwhelmed by sheer force of numbers. She fought as well as she could, injuring more than one of her attackers, but she could not fight the force of the stun-gun that was applied repeatedly to her chest and stomach. She slumped to the floor, unconscious.
The woman who seemed to be in charge, nodded her approval. "Take them..." she ordered, giving Vic a last look. He was conscious, but dazed. If she had not been under orders, she might have killed him for the fun of it, but that would have made Zin quite furious with her. Intelligence identified him as a friend of the Tracker's human mate, a homicide Detective, not a man whose death would go unnoticed.
Two men crossed the bar, one swiftly kicking Vic in the ribs on the way. They bent over and each picked up one of the downed Cirronians, slinging them over their shoulders. A third picked up Mel and slung her over his shoulder, then the entire group left, leaving Vic alone. Groaning in pain, Vic pulled out his cell-phone and dialed 911, reporting on what had just happened as best as he could. As the haze that clouded his brain cleared, it was replaced by anger.
Obviously he had been right to suspect Cole of being a dangerous influence in Mel's life. What had he gotten her involved with? Whatever it was, Cole had a lot to answer for, and Vic planned on making him suffer for what had happened to Mel.
As the paramedics bandaged his head and checked his abdomen for injuries, he did his best to describe the tactics of the team who had taken the three, mentioning their use of tazer-like weapons on Cole and the girl, and the stun-guns that had been used against Mel. In his opinion, and the officer taking his report agreed, the group worked more like a paramilitary unit than normal criminals.
"This makes no sense..." the responding officer muttered as he documented it. "Were they involved in anything illegal?"
Vic nodded gingerly, his head aching. "Hauser might have been. I've had my eye on him for months now."
"What in the bloody hell?" Gwen gasped as she walked into the bar and was confronted by a scene of organized chaos, with police swarming everywhere, CSIs sweeping the barroom, medics patching Vic up. "I leave them alone for twenty minutes..." she muttered, shaking her head and closing her eyes, her stomach sinking. She had heard most of what Vic had told the officer. To Gwen who knew more than those around her gave her credit for, it was clear what had happened here. She hurried over to Vic, doing her best to look clueless. "Are you hurt, Detective Bruno? What happened?"
"Cole..." he muttered, shaking his head in disgust.
"Is Mister Hauser hurt?" Gwen asked. "Where's Miss Porter?"
"Long story, Gwen."
"Looks like you've got some broken ribs, too..." the paramedic announced.
"Concussion?" Gwen asked, looking at Vic's eyes. "Pupils look like it."
The medic looked surprised, but nodded confirmation. "Yeah."
"What happened?" Gwen repeated.
"Uh, we're still piecing that together..." Vic said evasively, not wanting to upset the girl.
Gwen shook her head, looking around. "This is unbelievable."
"I am going to kill Cole!" Vic snapped.
Gwen turned to face him, her expression neutral. "Why would you want to do a thing like that, Detective?"
"For getting Mel involved in this... whatever it is!"
Gwen crouched in front of him, speaking in low tones and keeping her voice free of emotion. "Detective Bruno, at the moment you're under a lot of stress, physically as well as psychologically. Between that and your concussion, you may well be seeing things that aren't there. You have a habit of doing that anyway, at least where Mister Hauser and Miss Porter are concerned." She lowered her voice further and leaned closer to Vic, imparting him with some friendly advice. "Acting rashly would be... inadvisable. You're liable to... regret your actions." There was nothing friendly about the smile that Gwen flashed the Detective.
Vic shifted backwards, startled. Had Gwen just threatened him? No, Gwen was more right than she had known. He was seeing things that were not there, acting paranoid. After all, what possible reason would the girl have to threaten him. He smiled reassuringly at her and patted her shoulder. Gwen left his side and asked one of the officers if it would be okay for her to start straightening up. The Officer checked with the Detective in charge, then gave Gwen the okay.
Gwen kept herself busy, straightening chairs and table, until everybody had left. As the door clicked shut, she pulled out her cell-phone and dialed quickly.
"Andy Cutter."
Gwen did not bother to mask the urgency in her voice. "We need to talk. Now."
There was a slight pause, and she heard a sigh. "I can be at your place in an hour."
"Yes. I'll be waiting."
She hung up without bothering to say good-bye. Her mind moved rapidly, connecting dots to form an outline and then filling in the outline based on the things she had overheard Vic tell the officer. There was no doubt in her mind what had happened or who had been responsible for it. It was a connection that Vic, as smart as he was, would never have made, in spite of his unwillingness to trust Cole. That had always been there, and Gwen had always assumed that it was just a matter of jealousy. Threatening to kill him, though? That was... not good. Vic Bruno would bear careful watching, Gwen decided as she left, securely locking the door behind her and putting up the 'closed' sigh.
***
When Cutter let himself into her apartment, she was waiting with two drinks mixed and sitting on the coffee-table in small brandy-snifters. As was typical when she was alone or entertaining Cutter, the overhead light was off and the room was illuminated by a handful black-lights. The drinks glowed iridescent blue in that light. She handed him one wordlessly and half-drained her own.
"You know what happens when you do that to yourself..." he told her gently, sipping his own and nodding in approval at the taste. Almost like going home. "Not bad for a human. Almost." He sat down next to her on the couch. "Tell me."
"Cole Hauser, Mel Porter, and Jamie Swinson were abducted today from the Watchfire by a heavily-armed group." She drained her glass, knowing full well that she had just consumed an amount of the drink that would have left a human twice her weight with a nasty hangover. "A man who witnessed the attack said that a tazer was used against them, but we both know better. I don't think they were human, Kettai." She regarded him searchingly, waiting for his reaction both to the pronouncement and to her use of his real name.
Kettai listened, frowning, then shook his head. "I can't help, Gwynlyn."
"You have to." The glass shattered in her hand, causing her to wince more from the sound than from the glass biting into her palm.
"Give me your hand." Kettai gently took her hand in his and pulled out the shards of glass. He lightly touched her throat, then covered her hand with his own, healing it in a golden glow.
Gwen held onto his hand long after the healing was finished. "Please, Kettai. These people... Mister Hauser, Miss Porter... they're my friends. Now, I know that you've got your little... Prime Directive thingy that you need to abide by, but I also know that if anyone can help them, it is you."
He shook his head apologetically. "I am powerless."
Gwen wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and drew him close, lowering her voice. "I may not know much, Kettai, but I do know you. And you are seldom powerless in anything." She reached out, caressed his throat, dropped her hand to his chest, and brought it to a rest over his heart. "My friend..." she whispered, pleading. Although the action was more physical than most of Gwen's interactions with the opposite sex, it was less flirtatious and more direct by far. It was the same gesture he invoked when making a point about their friendship, and their love, for each other.
He sighed and imitated the motions that Gwen had just gone through. "Your life-force is very beautiful, Gwynlyn. Very dark, but very beautiful."
She covered the hand on her heart with her own. "Help me, Kettai. You owe me this much."
"I owe you this and more." He nodded, agreeing to help her. "If my superiors find out..."
"They won't from me."
He smiled and nodded. He lifted his hand and fingered the silver triangle that hung from her right ear. "I'll do what I can."
"Thank you." Gwen smiled and rose to clear away the broken glass on the coffee-table.
"They don't know about you, do they, Gwynlyn?" Kettai asked, leaning back and sipping his drink.
"No, they do not." Gwen regarded him cautiously.
"They won't from me." He smiled at her and drained his glass. "I should be going."
"Thank you so much, my friend."
He smiled and lightly patted her shoulder. "Be calm. I will do what I can." He turned and started for the door.
"Can I help?" Gwen offered.
He considered, then shook his head. "It is never a wise thing to walk into the Lion's Den."
"Unless you are prepared to be the lion."
He smiled faintly at her allusion to his pacific personality and her own, more martial, one. "My lioness, alone, I stand less chance of being noticed. By Zin and by the SST."
Gwen sighed and nodded, hating how powerless she felt. "Light of the gods guide your path..." she muttered as he left. Shaking her head, she poured herself another drink, not caring how felt in the morning.