Chapter 22
Disclosures
Intro Song: Evil Thoughts, Foxy Shazaam
Just as she had thought, Sunday night was turning out to be a bitch. I'll be glad when this fucking thing is over, Gabrielle thought, wandering from guest to guest - with one exception. Victoria's spacious study left sufficient maneuvering room for her to physically avoid Durin Scanlin – but he was most definitely in her head. Gabby had as little contact with her sire as possible, and planned to keep it that way, no matter what happened tonight. As always, she had done her job well, contacting the key members of the New York City vampire community to invite – and in some cases, coerce - them to the Sunday evening gathering. They were all here tonight, including Durin, who had received his invitation via e-mail rather than in person. The rest was in Victoria's hands.
The whole situation, however, made her jumpy, especially since she felt like they were on their own, isolated in this large group. Not for the first time, she reminded herself, I have to get Victoria to call Josef when we're done. Even if Kostan and St. John were too far away to be of any real assistance from a practical standpoint, she would still feel like someone had their back in case something went wrong.
"So, where is your boss, little one?" Durin planted himself in front of her, surprising her out of her reverie.
"Don't call me that, Durin!" she snapped, moving to pass around him. He moved with her, again blocking her path. "This isn't funny," she snarled, glaring up at him, eyes flashing blue-white as she bared her fangs.
"No. No, it isn't... Gabrielle. There, is that better?" He leaned in, towering over the petite vampire to provoke her further. "What is this all about? Yet another waste of my time and play for attention?" Without waiting for her to respond, he added with a growl, "I'm growing very weary of this grandstanding and posturing - and I'm not the only one. You would serve your 'master' well to tell her that." He watched her bristle at the term, as he had anticipated, smiling inwardly. You are so predictable, Gabrielle. Having delivered his message and achieved his aim of irritating her, he stepped to one side, giving her a quick - and unexpected - peck on the cheek as she passed by.
Gabrielle bared her teeth at the unwelcome familiarity, eyes glittering, but restrained her urge to jump on him and sink her fangs into his neck. Victoria would not be pleased if she made a scene - especially if it were with Durin Scanlin. Master - ha! She knew he used that term just to irritate her. And it worked... Sighing to herself, she sat down on a love seat and thought again, I'll be really glad when this fucking night is over.
At that moment, Victoria appeared and glided into the room, not stopping to acknowledge the greetings of members of New York's vampire counsel as she made her way to the front of the group. As she turned to face them, there were audible gasps from the congregation. Gabrielle had not seen her since Friday evening and her first thought was, she looks so fragile. Victoria's natural paleness had taken on the grayish pallor of a human with a terminal illness and there were dark circles under her eyes. It was those eyes, however, that were the most striking - they had an odd tinge to them, her normally blue irises streaked with silver.
Without preamble, the vampire leader began, her voice unusually soft and weak. "I think you can all see for yourselves why I asked Gabrielle to invite you here. I am not well. The silver compound I was injected with has taken a toll on my health, and, according to the good Dr. Spector...," here, she paused for a moment, smiling at the physician to acknowledge the presence of the only human at this gathering, before continuing, "...it is not yet completely eliminated from my system. So, it would appear that my previous statements to you regarding my well-being were perhaps...premature. " She ignored the murmurs of concern. "As you know, I am convinced that recent incidents - including my unfortunate episode - are the work of Crucis. I remain committed to obtaining proof of that. Proof that will finally convince the doubters among us."
She looked straight at Durin Scanlin, locking eyes with her old nemesis. "However, the perilous nature of our situation demands full attention - and strength. Clearly, I cannot provide those right now, and I would not be doing our vampire community justice, were I to remain in my position as your head during my recuperation, especially since Dr. Spector is unable to predict the amount of time it might take. Therefore...," she paused, swallowing hard as if the words were choking her. "Therefore...I am temporarily stepping down as head of the New York City vampire community." She raised her hands to silence the cacophony of comments and questions from the assembled group. "And... I am asking Durin Scanlin to take over my responsibilities in the interim." Durin's head jerked up, his mouth dropping open in surprise at the news, as the room exploded.
Victoria allowed the group to vent for a few moments, and then held up her hands again. Looking around the room, she saw concerned faces - but also a number that appeared to be pleased. Nothing you didn't expect. "As you can see, this comes as a surprise even to Durin himself. I point that out because I do not want anyone to think that this decision was the result of lobbying or pressure. I assure you all that I thought this out very carefully before approaching the vampire council to elicit their approval. Their support was unanimous, by the way, Durin."
That much is certainly true, Gabby thought. Victoria had done an excellent job of convincing the Eastern Council of the wisdom of her proposal, despite their doubts. She, herself, was on-board with the strategy, but that didn't keep her from feeling like she'd been out in the sun - unprotected - whenever she looked at Durin's face. That vampire was trying to appear both humbled and appreciative, but Gabrielle knew better. Scanlin was inwardly gloating and the thought of his assuming power was abhorrent to her. God, give me the strength to resist killing him. She focused her attention back on Victoria, rising to stand with the assemblage.
"Now, this is not permanent - much as Durin would probably like it to be." There was uneasy laughter in the room. "I'm sure he will be reaching out to all of you shortly. Let me say, I fully expect to be back in my position in short order. However, I cannot, in good conscience, continue with the threat that I know exists to all of us. I care too much about..." Victoria's voice caught; she stopped and turned away from the group, catching Gabby's eye. Help me, her look seemed to say.
Gabrielle responded by moving forward and standing in front of her. "Thank you, Victoria," she said, shaking the vampire's hand. Others in the crowd followed suit, with several stopping to speak quietly with her and offer encouragement. Scanlin, however, stood back with his arms folded. Gabby noticed him watching the scene around Victoria closely. He doesn't trust us. Knowing what was expected of her, she swallowed her pride and made her way over to him. "So, Durin. Congratulations are in order, I see."
"Why, thank you my dear. A most unexpected honor. And, from the look on your face, I gather it was unexpected for you, as well."
"Yes, Durin, it was. I think it is proof that Victoria puts the good of our community first. I hope you'll use her as a role model." She said this through clenched teeth, and then turned to step away. Scanlin caught her arm roughly and spun her back around to face him.
"Why don't you stick around, sweetheart." He leaned in closer until their noses were almost touching, as he hissed, "If you are really as concerned about this community as you profess to be, I would think you would want to offer me your assistance."
Pulling her arm free, she flashed her fangs at him. "I help those who deserve my help, Durin." She stalked off to join Victoria, who put a warning hand on her arm.
"Gabby, stop."
"I can't help it, V. He makes my skin crawl. You know that."
"And you know how important this is. You are going to have to get hold of yourself, go back to him, and apologize. I need for you to be at his side." Seeing Gabrielle shake her head, defeated, Victoria added, "Now be a good girl and go suck up to him." She flashed a quick smile, gave Gabby's arm a final squeeze, and slipped out.
You don't know what you're asking of me, V. Gabby shrugged off the thought, squared her shoulders, and strode back into the crowd to find Scanlin in the throng. She stood on the edge of the group surrounding him, listening to the platitudes and congratulations coming from other vampires. How quick they were to desert Victoria and throw their support to Scanlin. Blood suckers, she thought bitterly.
Durin finally broke free from the press of well-wishers and started for the door, stopping short when he saw the younger vampire standing there. The smile on his face turned her stomach.
"So, Gabrielle, have you decided to come over to the Dark Side of the Force?"
She stiffened. Durin knew she had been a huge Star Wars fan, sitting in cool, darkened theaters during the day to watch the movies over and over again, enthralled. I hate that he knows me that well. Gritting her teeth, she responded in as friendly a tone as she could muster. "I hope that we are all on the same side. I would like to set our differences aside - for now, at least. As you said, if I am concerned about this community, I owe you that."
He stood there silently for several beats, scrutinizing her intently. "What's the catch, Gabrielle? It's been many, many years since you have approached me voluntarily. Are you that ambitious that you would throw Victoria on the scrap heap so quickly?"
"What if I am?" Gabrielle lifted her chin defiantly, tossing her glossy black hair. "Isn't that the way you taught me to be?"
He snorted. "Yes, but you never gave me any indication that you listened to me. Of course, you always were a willful child - part of your charm, Gabrielle."
She ignored the jab - and the reference to their shared past. "So, do you want my help or not?"
"I would be delighted to take you up on your offer, my dear. Please accept my apology, but I think you can understand my reticence given our history and your obvious reluctance to be around me in the past. Had you told me you wanted to help me because you cared about me, I would have been very suspicious. But ambition? That I can understand. I'll be having a planning meeting in my offices downtown tomorrow night at 10:00. Be there." I'm going to have some fun with you, darling.
Durin leaned in as if to kiss her on the cheek again - a move that caused her to bristle, as he knew it would - then stopped,, his lips inches from her face. "Be careful, my dear. I do not tolerate deceit by those around me." He pulled back without touching her and sauntered away.
An agitated Gabrielle left the room and headed in the opposite direction from Scanlin and his entourage, rushing to put some distance between her and her antagonist. She felt the need to hear a friendly voice, talk to a friend... I need to talk to Mick. She made her way through the spacious condo toward Victoria's office, sure she would find her mentor there.
The vampire thumbed Mick St. John's number as she walked, the call rolling immediately to his voicemail. "Damn it!" she cried aloud, disconnecting and trying again with the same result. Checking to make sure the hallway she was in now was deserted, she left a terse message, outlining the steps she and Victoria had taken. "Call me when you pick this up, Mick. We have to talk." Come on, Mick, I need you!
Mick moved quietly down the stairs from the bedroom he now shared - part of the time, at least - with Beth. It was always hard to leave her, but as the hours crept toward morning, he eased out of the bed and moved silently through the chill air of the bedroom to toward the door. On the way out, he paused and adjusted the thermostat for the room. Beth had insisted on turning the bedroom temperature down for him as far as she could tolerate. He didn't have the heart to tell her that setting the temperature at 50o rather than 70o made very little difference in his comfort. It did, however, make her uncomfortable – and there was no reason for her to freeze in the bed by herself. With a glance back at the blond head barely visible above the edge of the heavy silk comforter, he reluctantly headed down to his office.
An hour later, he was finishing some file notes and billings for recent cases, pausing occasionally to sip from a large glass of ruby-colored blood he had stopped to pour on the way to his desk. Over the years, he had become a fastidious record-keeper. IRS audits were not the friend of the vampire and his profession made him an easy target for such scrutiny. He considered, not for the first time, the irony that, even with the advent of computer technology and high-tech surveillance, jobs for a private investigator had never been more plentiful. A sign of the times, I guess. He took only those cases that appealed to him - ones that called out for justice, or had an interesting twist to them - or that had to do with the vampire community. Thanks to Josef's expert financial guidance, money was not a motivating factor.
Reaching out to shut down his computer, he suddenly realized that he hadn't received any new information yet from Logan or Ryder. Since putting them on the job of tracking down any unusual activity around munitions or silver on Friday, they had been disappointingly, ominously, silent. Damn, Beth really had distracted him. The P.I. scanned his e-mail one more time but the only recent item from either of them was the summary of their excursion into the Renaissance intranet system that he had asked them to compile. Come on, Logan. At least send me an e-mail telling me you didn't find anything! Maybe Josef was right in his assessment of the geeky vampire. Sighing, he picked up his phone & dialed Logan, who answered on the first ring.
"Mick! I was just getting ready to call you!"
"Sure you were, Logan. Ryder too, I'll bet." There was silence on the other end, so he continued, "I didn't get a call or e-mail from either one of you. What's going on?"
"Well..." Logan surreptitiously put down his 'Guitar Hero' instrument, wincing as the neck hit the computer console with an electronic twang. Something in Mick's tone told him that the P.I. wouldn't appreciate the seriousness of trying to set a new record on the latest game release... "Actually, I was going to call you - to tell you we haven't found anything yet. Which is pretty weird."
Mick frowned. "Nothing? No thefts, no large credit card purchases...nothing. Is that what you're telling me? What about those multiple plane tickets for Rebecca Bledsoe? You figure out which one she actually used yet?!"
"No, sorry. We haven't given up, though," Logan hastened to add. "Ryder has been checking the CIA database tonight and I'm checking Homeland Security and the Transportation Department..."
"Tonight?!" Mick interrupted. "You guys are just getting around to that tonight?! Logan, I talked to you about this on Friday! It's Sunday night and you guys are just now getting around to checking the CIA files?" His tone was incredulous.
"Come on, Mick, gimme a break." Logan was huffy. What the hell does he expect from us? " We've been looking into this all weekend, but we had to have some organization to it. We looked at national incidents first, then international, then the FBI's database - and now the CIA and Homeland Security databases are next. The Transportation Department is my next shot to find out where the Bledsoe woman actually went. I know you're impatient, but do you have any idea how big and complex these databases are? This stuff takes time!"
"Logan, can you honestly tell me you were looking into the Homeland Security database just now when I called you?" Mick's tone was, understandably, skeptical.
"Um..." Logan quickly weighed the pros and cons of lying to his friend and decided there was no future in it. Hesitantly, he confessed. "No. Not right now - but I was just taking a break!" Hearing Mick sigh into the phone, Griffen bristled. Fuck it, if he tears my head off, he tears it off... "Tell me you didn't take any 'breaks' this weekend with Beth!" He held his breath, waiting for the explosion that was sure to come.
To his surprise, after a long silence, Mick laughed. "Okay, Logan, you have a point," he admitted. Sobering, he continued. "Look, I know I'm pushing you guys hard, but I wouldn't do it if it wasn't important."
"So, what the hell is going on, Mick? I think you owe Ryder and me an explanation for all this urgency and extra work."
Mick hesitated. Logan was right - and he and Ryder might be more efficient if they understood what was really going on. Not too much, though. Not yet. Besides, what did he really know himself?
"You're right. I don't know a whole lot myself, but I should fill you in. Sara was a woman from Josef's past, someone very important to him. You already know that the circumstances around her death were...mysterious. Mysterious and suspicious, I should say. I'm sure she was murdered. The woman was comatose though, and had been for some time, with no potential to come out of it. Who would go to the trouble and risk of killing someone like that? I'm still trying to get to the bottom of it all." That's all true, Mick told himself, uneasy over the wall of secrecy he had erected. "And then, there's all the information you guys have uncovered about Renaissance since then - the excessive intranet security, those multiple plane tickets for Rebecca Bledsoe, her phone being shut down... are you telling me that you don't think all this warrants further investigation?"
"N-no, I do, I get you. I just have the feeling you aren't telling me everything, Mick."
"And that's because I honestly don't know everything. I'm not sure what's going on myself even though I spent two days chasing my own tail in New York. And that's why what you two are doing is so important, Logan. I really need you on this."
"OK, Mick, you can count on me, I promise. I'll get back on this right away."
"Thanks, Logan. You and Ryder keep track of your hours too. I'll see to it that Josef reimburses both of you – and I'll make sure he's generous. Keep me posted even if you aren't finding anything, okay?"
Mick disconnected the call and was about to head off for his freezer when he spotted the voicemail message on his cell phone. He'd forgotten that he'd silenced the phone and left it on his desk when he went off to bed with Beth. Dammit! Thinking to himself that he needed to establish some order in this new routine of his, he punched the button to hear the message,. Leaning his head on one hand, he listened to Gabrielle Sinclair's voice, eyes darkening, and frown deepening, with every sentence.
They had discussed Victoria's determination to set a trap for Crucis in previous conversations. She was convinced that capturing Crucis members was the only way to prove their involvement to the rest of the New York City vampire community. He had thought the maneuver dangerous from the outset, and had expressed these concerns to Gabby. For once, the two of them had disagreed; Gabrielle had been firm in her conviction regarding the importance of convincing the other vampires to take the threat of organized attack seriously. Obtaining the proof of a conspiracy was, in her view, the easiest way to accomplish that. Until now, she had not shared the details of the plot she and Victoria had concocted - and the specifics made Mick more convinced than ever that it was a fool's errand.
He selected her number and growled when the call rolled over into her voicemail. "Gabby, I got your message. You know how I feel about this. It's about 5:00 AM Pacific Time so you may be in your freezer by now. Give me a call this evening - I want to talk live with you about all this." He paused. "And...please take care of yourself."
St. John sighed as he hung up - now he needed to update Josef. This night is never-ending... Reluctantly, he hit his friend's number and sat back, staring at the picture of Beth on his desktop screen while he waited for Josef to answer.
"Wow, finally got off her long enough to call me, huh? Mick, I'm flattered!"
Mick ignored the jab. It was the best way to deal with Kostan's humor, he had discovered the hard way over the years. "Josef, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"As a matter of fact... you are." Josef smiled at the young woman sitting next to him, her neck bearing the marks of his interrupted feeding. "Not for the first time, I might add."
"You're keeping Simone up pretty late aren't you? Maybe she could use a break." Two can play at this game, Josef...
"Well, I would be if it were Simone... but she does, indeed, need her beauty rest, as it turns out." He brushed the lovely blonde's hair back from her neck and leaned over to lick at the sparse drops of blood still welling from the puncture wounds. A voice speaking up from the farthest corner of Kostan's mind wondered about his reawakened fascination with feeding from the neck indiscriminately, but he quickly tamped the thought down. "So, what's up."
Mick filled him in on Ryder and Logan's progress - or, more accurately, their lack thereof.
Josef snorted. "Why am I not surprised about that?!"
"Well, I am, a little," Mick admitted, "Although I don't know why I should be - nothing about this whole situation has been easy. I lit a fire under Logan about it, so I think he and Ryder will stay on top of it." He hesitated. Should he bring up the message from Gabby? Josef needs to call Victoria... "There's something else..."
He filled the vampire in on the situation in New York and the plan that had been set in motion to come up with evidence of Crucis involvement. Finishing, Mick waited for his response, hoping that Josef would decide to call his old friend in New York.
This time, it was Kostan's turn to sigh. "You know I think Victoria is chasing ghosts, Mick. I'm assuming you told me all this because there's something you think I should do about it."
"Yeah, Josef, there is - I think you should call Victoria. I just don't understand why you are avoiding her like this."
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you had a crush on her!" Smiling at the sound of his friend's groan, Kostan hurried on. "Look, I know Victoria well enough to know that nothing I could say to her would keep her from carrying out her plans - foolhardy or not. And, from what Gabrielle told you, it's already been set in motion anyway. I told you I would talk to Victoria when - and if - we know more. And I will. Until then, it would just be a waste of my time. Time I can put to much better use," he added, leaning over again to kiss the beautiful young woman beside him.
The P.I. started to say something more, but Josef cut him off. "Case closed, Mick. Let the New York vamps duke it out. It's not our fight. Not yet, at least. And believe me, you should hope it stays that way." The phone went dead.
Mick sat, lost in thought, for several minutes, idly spinning the phone on the desktop in front of him. Hearing footsteps on the stairs, he jumped, then relaxed as scent followed sound. He was not used to Beth being here yet. It was one thing to logically know she was, at least for the time being, living with him; quite another to adjust to the random, unpredictable movements and actions of a human that accompanied that fact.
He smiled when she walked into the office, wearing only his brown striped dress shirt. I think I've lost that shirt for good. The thought didn't bother him in the least. It looked way better on her anyway. As Beth padded around the desk, his nostrils flared slightly, absorbing her fragrance, an intoxicating blend of the two of them. It conjured up erotic images and reminders of the evening they had just spent in bed. Would he ever become accustomed to the pleasure of having her in his life? In his bed? I doubt it. Hell, he didn't even have a bed before Beth.
Stopping behind him, she put her hands on his head, running her fingers through his hair and massaging his scalp gently. It felt heavenly. He leaned his head back against her with a sigh, and closed his eyes, all thoughts of the night's disturbing events temporarily banished by the luxury of her touch.
"Is everything okay?"
He opened his eyes to see her inverted face bent over his, blue eyes intent. Forcing a smile, he reached up and pulled her head down to his for an awkward, upside-down kiss, which made her laugh, as he knew it would. "Nope, just catching up on paperwork - my least favorite part of the job - before I climb in the freezer. What are you doing up?"
"I woke up and you were gone." Her tone was plaintive.
"It's not that I don't want to sleep with you, Beth. Believe me, there's nothing I'd like more - but I have to spend time in the freezer. I'm trying to balance it all out." He gazed up at her face, still hovering over his, watching her expression change to one of concern.
"Oh Mick, ignore what I said. I'm unbelievably selfish! Do whatever you need to. Contrary to how I just sounded, I'm quite capable of being independent. I just - I love being close to you & getting to know your world better, that's all. And when I walked in, you looked like the weight of the world was on your shoulders." Her eyes looked down at him intently, her face framed by long, silky hair.
She knows me too well already. "No, just some unfinished business in New York. And you aren't selfish at all," he added. "I feel the same way. I have a hard time leaving that bed, believe me."
Beth was certain he was trying to distract her. There was something more going on than he was saying. She straightened, pulling his head back against her abdomen again and resumed running her fingers slowly through his hair, down to his neck to rub it, then up to his temples to massage them gently. "Any more word from your contact there about what happened?"
Mick considered his answer carefully. Beth had an nimble mind with a special gift for investigative work and he didn't want to involve her at this point - there was still so little to go on and what he did know made him uneasy. Besides, there was the little matter of Victoria Silver. Nope, New York is not the place for Beth to be involved.
"Nothing concrete, but there are still some leads she is following up on out there. Right now, we're playing phone tag. I may know more when we can hook up live." He exhaled slowly; her touch was hypnotic, relaxing, her warm fingers sending a pleasant sensation coursing through his body. "If you keep that up, you're going to put me to sleep, you know."
"Want me to stop?" she teased, pausing with her fingers buried in his thick hair.
"Absolutely not!" He reached his arms up behind him to pull her back down to him again, kissing the underside of her chin, sending shivers down her spine.
"Too late!" She pivoted his chair around and eased onto his lap, claiming his attention for the next hour, until the sky began to lighten and glow with pre-dawn radiance.
End Song: Making Love Into the Night, Usher