Author: Mirrordance

Title: For Every Evil

Summary: Legolas is a policeman in 2004. His colleagues start to wonder why the 10-yr veteran doesn't age & more trouble ahead after he runs across the Fellowship & some friends in modern incarnations, resurrected along with a new world-threatening peril.

9: This Time

Lost Angeles, Mid-2004

His secretary was a stern-faced, middle-aged dragon, who let them into the main office just before briskly walking away. The room was very neat, and at that moment, empty. As Anatalia sat upon a seat poised next to the doctor's desk, Elladan, Elrohir and Legolas strolled to a wall lined by Adrian Aaron's family photographs.

Ana watched their backs with a raised brow; the similarities amongst the three were startling, and even after spending a few weeks in their company in the Vienna estate, she still found them surreal and marvelous.

Elladan was the most level of the three; she admired his careful, poised control. His moods were very even most of the time, though she has seen that royal temper courted by her own father (which was understandable!). Elrohir was more spirited. He had an easy smile, and was too clever for his own good. He was very attentive to her, and very impossible to his brother, whom he often teased. As for Legolas… he had a quiet loneliness about him, some reserve, too much caution. She's seen his more playful side courted by the irrepressible twins though, especially after he's learned to be more comfortable with her. Despite their differences, they had this… light to them she could not explain. Something old, or better, timeless.

Dare I believe…?

The subject of Elladan's claims were set aside from open conversation for a few days, though it oft crossed her beleaguered mind… To even consider it was laughable, and yet here she was, wasn't she? In an American doctor's office, with a silly request.

"Arwen," Elladan said suddenly, and his melodious voice caught her attention in the quiet of the room. She did not bother to rise and see what it was the three were fixated on, this photograph on the wall. She would not have been able to look over their tall shoulders. Much as she felt she was loved and welcome, she also understood that they had a world of their own (whatever world that would be…)

"That is my mother Rowena," came a voice from the door. The three elves started at the sight of 'Estel,' approaching them with an accommodating smile.

"She is very beautiful," Elrohir said, quickly regaining his composure, although his eyes were loathe to leave the face that had once belonged to a much-beloved brother.

"She's sixty, and she would be very happy to hear that," Adrian said, walking over to them and shaking their hands. Legolas watched the faces of the twins carefully, wondering if they found the sensation as surreal as he had.

"Lieutenant," Adrian greeted Legolas with a nod, "Ah, so you've come to see me at last."

"I am not here for that," Legolas said quickly, "I'm here for some whole other reason. These are my friends Ana, Elladan, and Elrohir."
"So what may I do for you?" Adrian asked.

Legolas glanced at Elladan, unsure. "We were hoping you offer some testing services," Elladan replied, "Of DNA. And genes and things."

The adan's brows furrowed in thought. "That is not my specialty. I know some things, of course, I took it up, but it is not my chosen field. Needless to say, I am not well-versed on the latest techniques of the subject. It's very dynamic. I can recommend some colleagues, however—"

"We'd prefer you," Elrohir said quickly.

"I was very impressed by your work with Rafael Montes," Legolas added, "He was all-praises for you."

"He was half-asleep and tanked on drugs for most of our meetings, Detective," Adrian said wryly, "What is this really about?"

"We want to examine the characteristics of our genes," Elladan said coolly, "You can help us, I never knew it was necessary to ask why. Is it not simply a question of your ability, and my money?"
"Yes but I have the liberty to choose my patients, sir," Adrian replied, "And I am a bit… uncertain, about what has brought you here."
"We were told we can count on your discretion," Anatalia piped in quickly, "Is this true?"

"Of course," Adrian answered, "but this is a privilege accorded to any patient anywhere, in theory. Basic medical ethics."

"In theory?" Ana asked.

"Some do not abide by it," Adrian replied, "But most do."

"You do," Ana pointed out, "That is why we are here."

Adrian's eyes narrowed in thought, and he chewed at the inside of his mouth before asking if they were doing anything illegal.

"Oh, no, no," Ana said with a shake of her head, "I am merely looking for a sperm donor."

Elladan could have choked on the air he was breathing, and he coughed once as Legolas looked at him wryly and Elrohir grinned at his perspective sister-in-law with admiration.

"I've narrowed my prospects to these three gentlemen," she continued, not even batting an eye at the lie, "Because they look the best. But I want to know what is inside. I do not want to have a child who is good-looking but has a propensity for cancer, or all that genetic stuffs. I want an inventory, signore. I want to know what is inside, and I want this done quietly. That is why I wanted the procedure here, rather than in my own country."

Adrian Aarons stared at her for a long moment, deep in thought. He could tell that something was not quite straight and right with her, with her companions, with the entire situation. But he was curious. He was always curious. It was probably one of the driving forces that took him to his field, and as surely as he succumbed in youth, he succumbed this time too.

"All right," he smiled at his patients, "But I can only oversee a team of specialists, people I can personally vouch for."

"How many?" Ana asked.

"Two other fellows," Adrian replied, "It is not atypical. It is either this or go to somebody else, I earn well, I don't have a problem with that."

"Fine," Elladan said, "You are personally accountable."

"As always," said the doctor coolly, "So. I'm going to need you to sign some forms first, though."

"Will it be necessary for my lawyer to have you sign a confidentiality agreement?" Anatalia asked him, still playing her part.

"That would be unnecessary," Adrian replied dryly, "I'm sure if I said anything to anyone, you have other devices to make me regret it."

" " "

"I don't think he likes me very much," Legolas said to his companions, as the four friends stepped out of the hospital building and walked toward their car.

"He practically caught you stalking him, mellon-nin," Elrohir chuckled, "I would not be so surprised."

"You stalked the doctor?" Ana asked him, "What on Earth for?"

"He resembles a dead brother," Elladan replied, "One that incidentally always gets in trouble the very breath he leaves your sight. I understand your anxiety, Legolas, I was loathe to leave that office as well. Estel's descendants resembled him, yes, but not to the extent of that one. It's as if I was talking to him again. The fire in his eyes, the look of thought, curiosity. Uncanny."

"You are once again talking about things that are beyond me," Ana said, "What are you going to do if that DNA test yields that you are just as human as me, hm, have you thought of that? To find that you age, and you will one day die? That you've deceived yourself all these years…"

"I would actually be very relieved," Elladan laughed.

They stopped before the deep green Altis, and just as they were boarding, a jovial voice called upon Detective Leland Greene, and Legolas' face opened to a welcoming smile as he turned away from his friends and jogged toward the new arrivals.

The two men who had called upon him were a comical-looking pair. One of them was heavily-built and stocky, the other was tall and lean and awkward-looking, much younger. Side by side, they looked like the number '10;' one fat, one tall and thin. They were walking away from a police car, and were wearing identical uniforms and identical grins as they stepped toward Legolas.

Elrohir and Elladan watched, helplessly entranced and curious. In this lot, it seemed, that Legolas' two lives melded together in a curious fashion. They held their ground and looked on, Elvish ears easily picking up on the conversation from where they stood.

"We've not seen you in ages, detective," the stocky one said, "The other day, Montes said you went and got married already."

"That's him being an ass," Legolas replied easily, laughing, "And being very delusional and hopeful."

"Too bad, boss," the thin one said, "But I think I see a foxy chick in your car."

"Then that means you missed the two gentlemen with her," said Legolas wryly, "I'm attending to some family matters. Anyway, Montes is pretty much out too, I really might as well take the leave."

"I think the Captain's wigging out," said the thin one, "He's not used to you not being in the station. You know when he gets all authoritative and robot-like? He struts over to your office like he wants something from you, then he finds it empty forgetting you're not there, and we all end up pretending we didn't see or else we'd get the most sucky-assed job the rest of the day."

"So anything interesting happened?" Legolas asked.

"Nothing new, lieutenant, nothing new," said Stocky, "I'm just getting older and older and the job's still the same."

"Yeah, we just picked up this guy," said Thin, "Real wacko. A street prophet, one of those again. Found him at Wal-Mart proclaiming the end of the world. He's all right, but you know, he freaks people out and he doesn't make the place look so hot."

"Sounds like another day on the job," laughed Legolas.

"Hey! Heey!"

Legolas turned to the raving old man waving a cane sitting at the back of the nearby parked patrol car, and his eyes widened in surprise. His breath caught, and his pair of companions did not notice because they were looking at the old hobo too.

"Shut up, man!" Stocky exclaimed.

"I got a prophecy for you," the old man yelled, "I am gonna take a piss in this car, and you'd have to clean it up if we don't leave now!"

"Aw, shit," Thin muttered, "Hey lieutenant, we won't keep you, 'ayt? We gotta go."

Legolas nodded at them distractedly as the pair rushed over to their squad car. He took a tentative step forward, but simply looked on as they drove away. He was not quite sure if his eyes were deceiving him, but he wondered if it was indeed Mithrandir who winked at him from behind the glass as they passed him by.

Taking a deep breath, he ran over to his own car and hurriedly stepped into the driver's seat. His companions uncertainly did the same as he gunned the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Did you see that?" Legolas asked the twins breathlessly.

"Your friends?" Elrohir asked.

"Mithrandir," Legolas replied, "They have him, at the back of their car."

"Arrested?" Elladan's eyes widened in surprise.

Anatalia, feeling distinctly left out, just watched the exchange with eyes that seemed to be taking stock of everything. She knew they would not tell her much and she was determined to try to pick things up herself.

"Are you actually, actually speeding and breaking all sorts of traffic rules trying to follow a police car?" Elrohir asked, astounded at the mad driving the Mirkwood elf was employing. They had a rather unhealthy batch of near-misses, reminding Elrohir of the prince's just-as breathtaking antics on horse during the war. But navigating L.A. traffic held its own brand of menace, and at least on horse, Legolas was often on his own and represented a threat only to himself and his foes.

"I'm not sure," Legolas admitted, and they felt the car slow down slightly.

"Think about this first," Elladan said, "What crime did he do and where would they take him?"

"He was just disrupting the peace a little," Legolas replied, and this time, the car did slow to a more reasonable pace.

And disrupting my peace a lot…

"They will release him in an hour, maybe two," Legolas said, taking a calming breath, "He's not going anywhere."

And I'm not letting him out of my sight, anymore.

"Good," said Elladan, "We'll just wait for him to come out of the station, then."

"You're sure it was him?" Elrohir asked.

"Yes," Legolas breathed, "Absolutely."

"Then we had better find out what it is that he wants from us," said Elladan, "This time."

TO BE CONTINUED…