More Spoilers: these for the Pilot ep…

Chapter 3 – Brothers in Blue

Vic was grateful for Mel's help in walking from the car to the admission's desk. His throat, healed by Cole, was probably the only part of his body not bruised. At least, it felt that way as he limped in, leaning heavily on Mel. A nurse took one look at him and immediately called for a wheel-chair. Equally anxious about Vic's physical and mental well-being, Mel followed close behind as they wheeled him into a curtained-off area.

"Are you going to be okay?" she asked quietly after they had been left alone to wait for the doctor.

"I will be." Vic nodded. "Sore, but I'll survive."

"No, I mean…" Mel shrugged.

"Oh, that." Vic sighed deeply. "You've really known all this for more than a year?" he asked. "How do you--" He stopped in mid-sentence as the curtain was pulled back and Maria walked in.

"My God!" she gasped, walking over to him. He looked like death warmed over, only slightly worse.

Vic smiled weakly at her, relieved to see that, except for a few stitches over her left eye, she looked pretty good. "You okay?"

"Concussion. You?"

"Doc hasn't seen me yet."

Maria nodded. "Hi, Melanie," she greeted her. "You drive him?"

"Yeah." Mel nodded.

"Thank you so much." Maria smiled gratefully at the woman. She wondered how Vic's ex had come to be the one to bring him to the hospital, but she was grateful all the same.

Mel nodded slowly. Her cell-phone rang and she had it to her ear in an instant. "Yeah, Cole?" She listened for a few moments, a frown marring her expression. "Oh, that's just wonderful." The last was clearly sarcastic. "No, Cole. I don't know. Yeah. Yes… No. Look, just… wait for me, okay? Thank you. Okay. No, just stay put. Damn it, Cole, you promised. Okay. Yeah, Cole. Me, too." Mel sighed and hung up the phone, shaking her head.

"Everything okay?" Vic asked uncertainly.

Mel smiled reassuringly, shrugging. "You going to be okay here, Vic? I kind of need to go keep Cole from doing something stupid…"

Vic nodded. "Yeah, Mel. Go ahead."

She frowned apologetically. "I'm really sorry, Vic."

"Hey, it's cool."

She sighed and nodded. "Look, Vic. You come by tonight if you want to… talk or anything. Okay?"

"Will do, Mel." Vic grinned and nodded.

As Mel left, Maria looked at Vic again, shaking her head. He was so pale. "Not bad for a feather-weight like Gregory James, huh?" she asked lightly. As bad as he looked, it was clear to her that he was going to be okay, and that was a relief.

"Proof positive that you should never judge a book by its cover," Vic agreed wryly.

"You two on again?" Maria asked, jerking her head in the direction that Mel had departed.

"Yeah, I wish," Vic muttered, shaking his head.

"Because it kind of strikes me as odd that you get hurt and she's the one bringing you in…"

"Long story."

"I'll bet." Maria raised an eyebrow, curious. As much as she would have liked to have heard the whole story, though, she knew that Vic was not likely to be forthcoming about it. If he had been in an expansive mood, she would already have known the whole story.

Taking in his appearance, she shook her head. It was not lost on her that, among other things, Vic was not wearing the same pants as he had been that morning. In fact, the pants he was wearing were not even his. They were at least two sizes too large. And there was blood on one of his shoes. She had smelled the scotch on his breath, too, even over the coffee that he had had since. Which at least explained Mel's involvement. It was odd that he had decided to go for a drink before reporting back in, but Maria was willing to reserve judgment.

"Trust me, you really don't want to know," Vic told her, knowing that curious expression when he saw it.

Maria shrugged, accepting that this was probably the case. She decided to change the subject. "Cole? That her new guy?"

"Not exactly." Vic shook his head. "He's a boarder. She… keeps him out of trouble."

"Those his pants?"

Vic winced at the observation but made no move to deny it. Maria was an observant woman and it was fairly obvious that they were not his pants. As long as the questions did not get any deeper, he was fine.

"I really don't want to know, do I, Vicky?" she asked with a grin, amused and wondering exactly how Vic had been taking his mind off the attack by James.

He vanished for almost an hour only to reappear smelling of scotch and wearing another man's pants. If she had not known him better, she would have worried. As it was, she was mostly just amused by his obvious discomfort with the topic. Still, the blood on his shoe made her wonder, especially since he had no visible injuries. Did his own pants, perhaps, have some blood on them as well?

Her reflections were interrupted as the doctor walked in. "Detective Bruno," he greeted Vic. "Says here you got into a bit of a scuffle with a suspect?" he asked, indicating a chart.

Vic nodded. "Yeah."

"What hurts?" the doctor asked.

"What doesn't?" Vic replied, shaking his head. "My back is killing me."

"Let's get your shirt off…"

Maria turned to leave, then changed her mind. Vic might not like it, but he would not protest too strongly either. It was in his nature not to want to make too big a deal out of things. It was, in her opinion, a crime to keep a chest like that hidden behind a button-down shirt all day, and for all her professionalism, she was not above copping a quick look-see when the opportunity presented itself. After all, he was single now, by his own admission and, thus, fair game. Ah, the possibilities…

Vic stared, startled when she decided to stay. What the hell? his mind demanded as she leaned casually against the wall. She may have been his partner and therefore entitled to stay, but she was also a chick. He rubbed his mouth, wondering how to proceed. Asking her to leave was as good as pointing out that he was shy around her. Which was not something he had ever thought about before. She was his partner, why was he suddenly shy around her? He glanced at her again. Ah, right. She was also quite a beautiful woman. How had that one managed to elude him for so long? Mel, right. Well, beautiful or not, Maria was making no move to leave and Vic was not about to press the issue. She was probably just being a mother-hen, anyway.

With a shrug, he started to pull off his shirt. Maria winced as he gingerly removed his shirt, revealing a patchwork of bruises on his chest and stomach. From the look on the doctor's face as he circled around Vic, his back was as bad, if not worse. Suddenly less interested in his physique than in his health, Maria walked around the bed for a look of her own, wincing.

"My God, Vicky! What'd this guy do to you?" she demanded, staring at the livid, black areas on his shoulders and lower back.

"Threw me 20 feet into a brick wall," Vic replied honestly. "Told you, Mar, he knocked me around pretty good."

"I should say so." She nodded, incredulous and amazed that he had managed to make it as far as the Watchfire without assistance. Man must have needed a drink in a very bad way. Without thinking, she reached out to touch one of the bruises, confirming the reality of the brutal attack to herself.

"Ow!" he protested, leaning away. "Come on, Mar…"

She winced in sympathy, dropping her hand. "Sorry… That must… you must… wow…" She shook her head, horrified. The obvious brutality of the attack to which her friend had been subjected left the hardened homicide Detective sick to her stomach. And here she had been trying to ogle the poor guy! She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply, suddenly needing a drink in a very bad way herself.

***

Declining Maria's offer of a ride home after he was released from the hospital, Vic took a cab to the Watchfire, curious and wanting more answers. The bar was already getting crowded, but Cole and Mel were nowhere in sight. One of the bartenders waved cheerfully at Vic as he walked into the bar, looking around for them.

"Evening, Detective. Miss Porter's upstairs."

"Thanks, Bridgett." He nodded and turned to leave.

"Hey, you feeling okay? You don't look so good."

"Oh, had a little scuffle with a suspect this afternoon. No big deal." He forced a smile, then turned and made his way across the bar before she could question him further.

Vic could hear Mel and Cole arguing as he ascended the stairs. That in itself was unusual. Mel seldom raised her voice and he had never heard Cole raise his. He paused, unsure how to proceed.

"Cole, you promised!" Mel said in a voice that suggested that she had probably already repeated the phrase at least 20 times already.

"Mel, this is important," Cole replied reasonably.

"Cole, she is dangerous. You can not go after her until you are back up to full strength."

"Taushi…"

"No!" Mel's voice was firm as she cut him off. "Cole, Zarreth nearly killed you the first time you went up against her, and you were at full strength then. In the past twenty-four hours, you have used hyper-speed, you have fought two fugitives, you have healed yourself once, Vic twice, you have--"

"I know, Mel," Cole replied firmly, cutting her off. "I am weakened right now. I know that. But you told me yourself that this… smallpox is dangerous to humans and--"

"And you told me that she's not going to be in a position to try for it for another 48 hours at least!"

Vic could not help but wonder if they had been arguing like this since Mel had left him at the hospital. From their aggravated tones, he was willing to bet they had. He was very curious, wondering what one of Cole's fugitives wanted with a virus.

"Guys?" he called, not wanting to catch them unaware or seem to be eavesdropping.

Cole appeared quickly, opening the apartment door and gently catching Vic's arm, helping him up the rest of the stairs.

"What's wrong with your eyes, Vic?" he asked without preamble.

Vic blinked, startled. "Um, painkillers." He shook his head. "Not important. What's going on? I heard you two arguing."

"Cole wants to go after Zarreth now," Mel explained, shaking her head in disgust as she steered Vic towards the couch. "Like you, he's got this delusion that he's completely invulnerable…"

"She's worried," Cole explained quietly to Vic, shrugging.

Vic nodded slowly. "Um, who's Zarreth?" he asked, deciding that this was as good a place to start as any.

"She's a thief, Vic, a Dessarian," Cole explained, not thinking to further explain.

"She's after this military shipment of smallpox," Mel added, shaking her head and sitting down next to Vic, exhausted from hours of trying to argue some sense into Cole. "It's a funny strain, incredibly resilient, not like anything we can defend against now…"

"Um, what is the military doing with smallpox?" Vic asked uncertainly. As far as he had known, there were only two or three samples of the disease left in the world, and they were controlled by organizations like the CDC.

"They're trying to produce a new vaccination against the virus," Cole explained. "As Mel said, this strain is not like any other… that leaves your species very vulnerable to it..."

Mel sighed. "The government is afraid that some terrorist cell is going to get their hands on a sample of smallpox and…" She shook her head.

Vic nodded slowly. Biological warfare had been in the news a lot lately, new weapons in the new war. "What's this… Zarreth want with it? To give it to Zin?"

Cole considered for a few moments before answering. "Probably. I can't really see Zin having much use for it himself, but he would be more than willing to sell it to the highest bidder."

Vic stared, shocked. "Doesn't he realize how dangerous that could be? The consequences?"

Cole shrugged. "He's a smart man, Vic. I'm sure that he would have his own people vaccinated first."

"And just… throw the human race to the wolves?" Vic shook his head, disgusted.

Cole nodded. Zin would not have hesitated to do something like that. Humans were nothing more than pawns to him, assuming they even held that much value for him.

"And Cole wants go after her now. Even though he's weak and vulnerable…" She shook her head, angry and worried.

Vic frowned uncertainly and glanced at Cole. "Are you?"

Cole nodded unabashedly. "Yes, Vic."

Vic glanced from Cole to Mel, who looked worried beyond words. "Then you should wait to go after this… Zarreth woman." He paused, but quickly went on when it looked like Cole was going to protest. "Cole, this is years as a cop talking. You said you've got 48 hours? Two days? Wait. You tip your hand on this early, and you risk Zin bringing in someone else to finish the job."

Cole considered this rationale for a minute before nodding gravely. "I think you're right, Vic."

"Thank you, Vic," Mel whispered, relieved, if somewhat annoyed that it had taken Vic about ten seconds to talk Cole out of something that she had been trying to talk him out of for hours. She rose. "Look, guys, I'm sure it's getting pretty hectic down there without me…"

Cole nodded, smiling. "Yes, Mel."

She smiled faintly and turned towards the stairwell. "So why don't you two… talk shop or… whatever. And, Vic, if you need anything, you know where to find me."

Vic nodded and rose himself. "Actually, let's all go downstairs. I could kind of use a drink," he said, knowing that Mel seldom kept alcohol in the apartment. Living over a bar, she did not really need to.


Cole nodded. "We can talk as easily downstairs, Vic, if there was something you still wanted to know."

"Sounds good," Vic agreed, and the three retired down the stairs.

The bar was getting fairly crowded, but Mel declined Cole's offer of help, shooing him and Vic into a corner to talk. She carried Vic a drink and reminded herself to keep a close eye on her friend, who was, after all, going through a lot.

"So, you were, like, a prison guard?" Vic asked as he sipped his drink.

Cole nodded and absently turned his coffee-cup around in his hands. "Yes, Vic, for several years." He stared somberly into the mug, falling silent.

Vic was a little startled by Cole's abrupt shift in mood. "Not great years, I'm guessing?" he ventured quietly.

Cole shook his head. "I hated Sar-Top. I wanted to die." He shrugged.

Vic blinked, amazed by the casual revelation. "If it was that bad, why did you stay?"

"Rhee was there." Cole looked up at him, thinking for a moment before speaking. "Rhee killed Nallia and Ashi. I had to keep him there, to keep others from suffering that. It was the only thing that kept me going for a long time."

"Nallia and Ashi?" Vic asked slowly, surprised by the quiet pain in Cole's voice as he spoke the names.

"My wife and daughter, Vic. Rhee killed them. It's when I stopped being a Tracker, a cop, and started being a guard."

Vic swallowed hard, staggered. Cole had been married, had a child, and that had been taken from him in the worst way imaginable. Even though he knew the picture to be an unrealistic one, he could easily imagine Cole, a little younger, with a beautiful young wife and a perfect little daughter. In his mind, all three were humans, his wife and daughter like characters out of some feel-good made-for-TV movie. He could easily picture the three laughing and playing together in one of Chicago's many parks, a golden-retriever running and barking nearby. Unrealistic the image may have been, but it was compelling all the same. Whatever the participants had looked like, there could be no doubt from the look on Cole's face now that they had loved each other dearly. And that had been torn away from him in one brutal moment in time. It was, as always, painful for Vic to consider.

"God, man, I'm… sorry," he whispered.

Cole looked up at him, nodding faintly, pain clearly written on his gentle face in spite of his efforts to control it. Mel was there then, on the pretext of refilling his coffee. She had been covertly watching the conversation, worried about Vic, when it had become obvious that the topic had turned to Cole's family.

"You okay?" she asked gently, setting the coffeepot down and watching him with concern.

Cole nodded quickly, not wanting to trouble her. She worried about him so much… He managed a smile that had nothing to do with how he felt. "I'm fine, Mel," he assured her, nodding. When she had reluctantly left, Cole looked at Vic. "How many humans can this virus kill?"

"Um… hundreds of thousands," Vic said after a moment's thought.

"Indiscriminately? Women? Children?"

"Yeah," Vic said slowly, wondering what was going through the other cop's mind.

Cole inhaled deeply. The virus was like Rhee, killing indiscriminately, tearing families apart. But unlike Rhee, once loose, it would not be possible to contain it. "Zarreth can not be allowed to have it, Vic."

Vic nodded. "I agree, Cole. So how do we stop her?"

"We?" Cole shook his head. "Not your fight, Vic."

"Wanna bet?" Vic shook his head. "Cole, you're talking about a disease that could decimate my species. Don't tell me that this isn't my fight."

"Zarreth is not a human criminal, Vic. She's my problem."

"You really want to get into a jurisdictional spat with me over this woman, Cole?" Vic asked gently, crossing his arms over his chest. "'Cause, last time I checked, Chicago was my turf."

Cole closed his eyes, faintly irritated by the human's stubbornness. He was worse than Mel. "Zarreth is a dangerous woman, Vic. She would not hesitate to kill you if you stood in her way," he reasoned gently.

Vic sighed and shook his head. It was all well and good that Cole was trying to protect him, but Vic was not a child, and he did not like being treated like one. "I'm a cop, Cole. I catch the bad guys. It's what I do. It's what we both do, man." That knowledge made him that much more eager to help Cole. They were, after all, brothers in blue, fellow cops, and cops had to stick together.

Cole sighed deeply. "Vic, do you really understand what Zarreth is capable of? Can you? She is not just a thief. For twenty years, no one knew who she was because she never left a single witness… She takes life as freely as she takes property."

Vic nodded his understanding. "Risk I'm willing to take, considering the stakes."

Cole closed his eyes again, considering. Vic was right. This battle was as much his as it was Cole's. More so, even. Vic's species would be the one to suffer if Zarreth were allowed to take what she was after. Mel's friend was a brave man, a good cop. With time and training, he could prove a valuable ally. He suspected that the thought might please Mel as well. Opening his eyes, he regarded Vic thoughtfully for a moment. The human's resolve to help was obvious. Like all cops, regardless of species, he had an inherent sense of right and wrong and an inability to stand by and do nothing while evil occurred nearby. He was not about to back down. Cole nodded firmly, rising.

"Come with me, Vic. I'll give you a copy of Zarreth's dossier."

As he crossed the bar with Vic, he was aware that Mel was smiling smugly in their direction. He shook his head and opened the door, ignoring her. If he had not known better, he would have assumed a human conspiracy. Smiling to himself at the amusing thought, he led Vic into the war-room and offered him a seat.

"So, what's all this stuff actually do?" Vic asked as Cole sat in front of the main screen and began typing quickly. He glanced around, curious. The room was a chaotic-jumble of MacGyvered-together equipment. Toasters, microwave ovens, other items modified beyond recognition. They must have formed some kind of coherent whole, but Vic could not really tell what anything did, or even how most of it was connected to the mainframe. Whichever one that was.

"Different things," Cole told him absently. He nodded towards a screen with a map on it that Vic was regarding curiously. "That one is linked to a… spy-satellite. The blue dots represent fugitives."

Vic blinked at the screen. Cole had not been kidding. There were hundreds of them, all over the world. Cole was in over his head.

"Here is Zarreth's file," Cole told him, direction his attention to the main screen. "It will take the computer a few moments to translate it into English."

"Is that… your language?" Vic asked, pointing to the glyphs that filled the screen.

"Yes, Vic. Cirronian." Cole nodded.

"What's it say?" Vic asked, curious.

Cole pointed as he spoke. "Zarreth, Dessarian female. Grand theft, grand theft, capital murder, grand theft, misappropriation of a national treasure, grand theft, capital murder, misappropriation--"

"Um, think I get the point." Vic smiled. It was striking how similar this dossier was to a thousand other rap-sheets he had seen in the past. Seemed like no matter where you went, criminals were all the same. "How many counts?"

"Thirty-six that they were ultimately able to prove. 18 of grand theft, 10 of capital murder, eight counts on various other criminal activities including conspiracy and kidnapping."

"Jeez!" Vic shook his head. "Kidnapping?"

Cole nodded. "Just another form of theft in her mind."

"That is messed up."

Cole nodded in agreement. "The ransom was substantial, but she should have stuck to what she was good at."

Vic grinned. "That how she got caught? Got greedy?"

"Yes, Vic." He nodded. "She decided that she could make more money by ransoming the son of Dessaria's Prime Minister."

Vic shook his head. "They never learn."

Cole smiled and nodded. "Which is just as well for those of us in law-enforcement."

Vic grinned again, nodding. "Guess it's pretty much the same on any planet."

Cole nodded mildly. "Usually, yes." He printed off the first few pages of Zarreth's dossier before loading the rest.

"Is that what she looks like?" Vic asked, staring at the screen. "Whoa!"

Cole smiled, bemused by the reaction. In spite of the fact that they were not exactly mammalian, Dessarians were, really, more similar in outward appearance to humans than any of the Migar species.

He nodded slowly, stifling his smile. "Yes, Vic. That is what Zarreth actually looks like. She's quite attractive by Dessarian standards."

Vic looked at Cole slowly, aware that he was amused. "Do you find her attractive?" he asked, grinning.

"Yes, Vic. Her outward appearance is… appealing." Cole nodded.


"Doesn't it bother you that she has no hair?" To say nothing of the fact that she seemed to have scales. Or possibly a very nasty skin-condition…

Cole chuckled softly and answered in a roundabout way. "When I first arrived on Earth, Vic, I was appalled by the amount of fur that your species has." He smiled more widely. "Especially when I started sprouting it, too."

Vic laughed, shaking his head. "Cirronians don't have… fur?"

Cole shook his head, grinning at Vic's intentional choice of the word 'fur', echoing Cole's statement. Smiling, he pulled up his own personnel file. "This is a Cirronian," he announced, pointing to his own picture.

Vic was obscurely reminded of the movie Cocoon. Except that this creature was more stunning, more beautiful. It was perfect, beautiful, compelling. "What's it say?" he asked, nodding towards the text on the screen, wondering what crime such a beautiful, perfect creature could have committed.

"Daggon, guard, Sar-Top prison satellite, four seasons and pending. Tracker corps, Enix field office, three seasons. Tracker corps, Cirron field office, two seasons. Tracker corps, intern, Migar Security Council main office, one season… and before that information on my teaching career…"

"That's you?" Vic asked, startled. He looked from the large, muscular man before him to the slight, willowy creature on the screen. He had automatically assumed that it was a female. It was just so… beautiful. In fact, it was gorgeous, actually, disturbingly, attractive to the human Detective.

Cole smiled and nodded, amused. "Yes, Vic, it is. Mel was surprised as well."

"I'll bet. I mean… jeez!" Vic shook his head. He took another look at the picture on the screen, still uncomfortably attractive to him, and shook his head. "Um… what do your, um, your… women look like?"

Cole smiled. "The same, Vic. Non-Cirronians can seldom tell the difference." His smile widened as he sensed the human's discomfort. He turned off the screen. "Don't worry, Vic. I won't tell anyone that you think I'm… hot," he told the human with a smile. He regretted the promise a little, knowing that Mel would have been very much amused by the story, but doubting that Vic would want it to reach her ears.

"Hey! I never said…"

"Humans have very powerful pheromones, Vic," Cole said gently. "It was… fairly obvious…"

Vic flushed and shook his head, embarrassed, but also amused. A lot of men would have been ticked off, but he was not such a man. And it was kind of funny. "Um, damn… I could… use another drink."

"Scotch?" Cole asked, rising.

"Big one," Vic called after him, picking up the file that Cole had printed off. He laughed to himself, shaking his head, as he read over it.

Laughing and shaking his head, Cole descended from the apartment and walked over to the bar. "Mel, can I have a large scotch?" he asked once he reached it.

"You don't drink," she pointed out, smiling curiously at him. He had a strange smile on his face.

"It's for Vic. He… was a little… um, surprised by the… outward appearances of some of the guards and prisoners at Sar-Top." He bit his lower lip to keep from smiling, a habit he had picked up from Mel quite recently.

"This story I've got to hear," Mel told him with a grin, knowing that there was a lot more going on upstairs than Cole was letting on. She handed him a tall glass of Vic's favorite brand of scotch without ice as Vic preferred.

"Perhaps Vic can tell you about it," Cole suggested mildly, turning away.

"Cole!" Mel protested, laughing. "Come on. Tell me!"

"Perhaps Vic can tell you about it," he repeated with an enigmatic smile.

"Oh, great. My boyfriend and my ex-boyfriend are engaging in intergalactic locker-room talk upstairs…" Mel laughed and shook her head. "On second though, maybe I don't want to know."

"Yes, Mel." Cole smiled and nodded, then turned and left.

Bridgett, one of the bartenders, glanced at Mel as Cole left. "Um, Mel, not to be nosy or anything, but I could have sworn that I just heard you say something about… intergalactic locker-room talk?"

"Intergalactic locker-room talk?" Mel repeated in a curious tone. She had learned long ago that, when overheard saying something that she should not have, the best thing to do was often to feign total ignorance. "No, I think you must have misheard." She smiled and shook her head. "It is kind of noisy in here tonight."

"Sure is." Bridgett nodded in agreement, then hurried off to deliver a tray of beers to a corner table, shaking her head and laughing at herself. Whatever Miss Porter had said, it had obviously not been what she had heard. Her mother had always said that the hearing was the first thing to go, but that bad hearing made life interesting. Obviously this was a prime example of the phenomenon.

Vic was still reading over the dossier when Cole returned with his drink. It was amazing the number of crimes that this woman had committed over the years. And Cole had been right. She took life with the same casualness with which she took property.

"Ah, thanks, Cole." Vic nodded gratefully as he accepted the drink from Cole. "This Zarreth chick has definitely been around the block a few times."

Cole nodded absently. "Yes, Vic." He paused for a moment. "Vic, what is 'locker-room talk'?"

Vic frowned, confused by the question, seemingly apropos of nothing. "Um, why do you ask?"

"Mel thinks that we are having… intergalactic locker-room talk up here. What does it mean, Vic?"

Vic sniggered and shook his head. "Locker-room talk, it's, um… you know… guy talk."

"Guy talk?" Cole repeated, shaking his head. "I don't understand, Vic. How is this 'guy talk' different from any other form of communication?"

Vic stared at him for a moment before it sunk in that Cole was not kidding. "Um, when women talk about 'guy talk', or 'locker-room talk' it's… not a polite term. Usually it means that guys are talking about sex."

Cole tilted his head quizzically at Vic. "Sex?" he repeated.

"Yeah. You… do know what that is?" Vic asked, frowning.

Cole nodded. "Yes, Vic, of course. I did have a wife and daughter."

"Right." Vic nodded, embarrassed.

"I just… am not sure I see much point in talking about it. Why do human men engage in this 'locker-room' talk?"

Vic stared at Cole with wide eyes. It took him a few minutes to realize that he was serious. "Um, you know… brag about the big score…"

Cole's frown deepened. "Scoring is for sports…"

"Or sex. Sports or sex," Vic explained.

"Why?"

"Um…" Vic's face was growing more red than it had when he had realized that the babe on the screen had been Cole. "It's like… an achievement… Sleeping with… a beautiful woman," he explained uneasily.

"Oh…." Cole nodded absently, returning his attention to Zarreth's dossier. It was easier for him to read it directly off the computer, in Cirronian, while Vic leafed thorough the translated printout.

"Looks like she always works alone?" Vic asked, glad to be able to change the subject.

Cole nodded. "It allows her to keep a lower profile. It's part of the reason that it took us so long to apprehend her. And, the lack of accomplices made framing charges against her somewhat more difficult."

Vic nodded his understanding. Accomplices were useful to Prosecutors if they could be encouraged to turn State's evidence.

They reviewed the dossier together for several hours, the silence only broken by Vic's occasionally questions and Cole's explanations. Finally, Vic yawned, causing Cole to glance at his clock.

"You should go home and rest, Vic. It's very late." Belatedly, he remembered that the Detective had also been taking pain medication. And drinking. "Yes, you need to rest now. I'll drive you home."

Vic nodded reluctantly. "Guess so. Can I drop by tomorrow? We can discuss this more?"

Cole nodded. "Of course, Vic."

"Okay. Vic nodded and rose. "What time should I stop by tomorrow?" He frowned as he realized that he would need to take a cab to the Station and pick up his car first.

"Any time is fine."

"How early in the morning? I don't want to wake you up, especially if you're going to be working late."

"I don't sleep, Vic," Cole explained gently.

"Um, okay…" Vic nodded, surprised, but not as surprised as he had been by some of the day's other revelations. "I'll drop by around ten, then. How's that sound?"

"That's fine, Vic." Cole smiled and rose, walking downstairs with him.

"Hey, guys." Mel smiled at them as they passed. "Make any progress?"

"I was showing Vic Zarreth's dossier, Mel, but he needs to rest now. I'm going to drive him home now and we're going to talk more in the morning."

Mel nodded. "That's fine. See you then, Vic."

He nodded. "Night, Mel."

"Night, Vic. Call if you need anything." She gave him a reassuring smile as they left.

They drove in silence, Vic reflecting on everything that he had learned today, Cole reflecting on how to best keep Vic safe from the menace that he was determined to face. Cole walked Vic to his door.

"Good night, Vic. I'll see you in the morning. Or, if you need to rest for longer, the afternoon is fine as well. I have a lot more research to do between now and then anyway. I'll brief you when you get there."

Vic nodded. As badly as he wanted to pull an all-nighter on this, he knew better. There was no way he was going to be able to stay conscious for much longer. Which really made it just as well that Cole did not need sleep.

"Yeah. See you in the morning." Vic nodded and went inside. Out of habit, he checked his answering machine as he got ready for bed.

"Heya, Vicky. It's Mar. Call if you need anything, yeah? Um… take care. Bye."

He frowned. Her voice sounded off. He picked up the phone and got her machine. "Mar, it's Vic. Just got your message. Is--"

"Hey, Vicky," Maria yawned, picking up the phone. "Sorry. Must have dozed off."

"Didn't mean to wake you. You okay? You sounded funny on the machine."

"Just worried. Being a mother-hen again. You okay?"

"I will be."

"Okay. You want to talk or anything? Need company?"

"Need sleep."

"Okay. Call if you do need anything." There was a pause. "Doesn't matter how late, you know. I'll be here."

"Thanks, Mar, but you're supposed to be getting plenty of rest, too."

She chuckled softly. "Look, let's do lunch tomorrow since we both have the day off for some reason."

"No can do, not tomorrow. Another time?"

"Yeah, whenever. You stay in touch."

"You, too, Mar. Night."

"Night, Vicky. Sweet dreams."

He smiled faintly. "Sweet dreams, Mar." He shook his head as he hung up. She could be such a mother-hen at times. It was incredibly endearing.

***

Mel was just finishing closing up when Cole returned from dropping Vic off.

"He wants to help," Cole told her. "I tried to talk him out of it, but he's like you. Stubborn."

Mel smiled and nodded. "He is that." She finished up and locked the front door. "Coming to bed? Or are you going to work all night?"

Cole hesitated for a few moments. "There's not much more to do tonight," he began.

"Then come to bed," Mel suggested, smiling and taking his hand. "No rule says you have to stay all night if you don't want to."

"You know that I enjoy staying all night." Cole smiled and followed her up the stairs and into the bedroom. 'Enjoy' was probably too weak a term for the way he felt about holding Mel in his arms all night.

"Did you tell him about us?" Mel asked as she pulled off her clothes.

"No, Mel. I thought that it should be up to you. Are you going to tell him that you aren't entirely human?"

"I'm… I'm not sure yet, Cole." She shrugged. "One trauma at a time, I think. Let him get used to the idea that you aren't human first. I mean… obviously I'm going to tell him at some point, I just don't…"

Cole smiled and caressed her throat. "I understand, Taushi."


Mel smiled and lit several candles as Cole undressed. As they snuggled together under the covers, she asked, "So, you're going to let him help you catch Zarreth?" The thought was a frightening one. Zarreth was dangerous and Vic… he was only human.

"I think that if I didn't, he would try to anyway." Cole shrugged and sighed, tightening his grip on her. It was a dangerous thing that Vic was asking. "I'm hoping that I can use this case as a kind of training exercise for him. So that he'll be better equipped to help us in the future."

"Mmm, that works." Mel snuggled into his chest as she spoke, knowing that he would not be in the mood for more than cuddling tonight. He got like that when he had been thinking of Ashi and Nallia. "Are you going to stay the night?"

He nodded. "I think so, Mel. I need to meditate." He kissed the top of her head. "Sleep well, Taushi."

Mel nodded. "Wake me up if you want to talk or anything."

Cole nodded, grateful for the offer even though he knew that he would not take her up on it. Holding Mel was incredibly calming in and of itself, and she did need her sleep. Although he planned on spending the night formulating a plan to apprehend Zarreth, he suspected that much of the night would be spent reflecting on the beauty of the woman in his arms. The thought was an appealing one. Until his thoughts turned back to Zarreth and her intentions. Smallpox, a human virus that had killed hundreds of thousands once before, and might again. Men, women, children. Indiscriminately. Men like Vic and Jonas. Children like Tina and Lontoria. Women like Mel… Women like Nallia, his first wife. Children like his beautiful Ashi. To have Mel taken away from him as they had been…

He tightened his grip on the sleeping woman, glad that she was no longer awake to be troubled by the tears that were now falling freely down his face.