Hey there, random person who stumbled upon my fanfiction! :)
1. This story is set shortly after episode 12 and kinda during eposiode 13 of season 3. But till "New Seattle" is created there will be a little more time than in the series I guess.
2. I just got back into the fanfiction game, so I'm not sure if I am that good at writing about other's universes and characters anymore.
3. Obviously English isn't my first language and trust me, tranlating is very time consuming. Especially when you try create the same atmosphere, try to translate certain idioms that probably don't really exist in the other language and so on... I think you get it. So my writing style could definitely be more refined here and there, but applying my personal style to another language just takes too much time. Since my English is not perfect, I would appreciate if you correct mistakes. But please be nice, I translated this at like 2 am.
4. Sorry for the ugly 5-minute cover ^^"
5. None of the characters (expect for Vivia) belongs to me.
1. Ain't no scratching in the club
Actually I could have enjoyed my vacation today, but although it looked like it, my pretty black dress, laboriously curled hair and the martini in my hand were deceptive.
With glares that could have killed I looked around the hotel bar. While others relaxed here sipping their drink, let the day end and maybe even had one or the other person in mind for a night together, I sat on one of the green leather couches and held the Y-shaped glass between my fingers. I wasn't here to enjoy myself and I only chose this bar for one reason. Katty Kubbs.
Describing us both as "friends" wouldn't have been quite accurate, but we had known each other for years and I liked her enough that the news of her death hit me. Katty had a very special lifestyle, but why would anyone want to kill her? Something about the story had made me wonder. It was an occupational disease as a policewoman. In my mind's eye I saw the drunk Katty again, who told me about her incredible find: brains in the stomachs of the dead, fresh corpses that decayed far too quickly. And then of course there was the investigation that led her to Seattle. What if she was on to something - something big - and had to die because of it?
You are not really believing in conspiracy theories, Vivia. Yes, probably brain-eating zombies killed her to prevent anyone finding out about their secret world domination, I thought sarcastically and automatically shook my head, making my reddish hair dance around my face.
Maybe it was just a feeling, but something was wrong here. This suspicion was the reason why I had used my few days of vacation to travel to Seattle and now sat again in this hotel bar, where Katty had probably stayed every evening, too.
What exactly I was expecting from this kind of investigation, I didn't even know, because so far I had found out absolutely nothing. And yet I did not move from the spot and examined the guests one by one. Finally my gaze met that of a man who gave me a sleazy smile, lifted his glass awkwardly and, to top it all off, gave me a meaningful wink. Even the bartender didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about his behavior and was about to ask him to leave. Another one of those kind of guys... Just what I need today. I demonstratively averted my eyes off him.
My God, what am I doing here? This investigation was nothing but a stupid idea and this strange guy reminded me that it was definitely time for me to go home now.
"Hey, gorgeous," a voice startled me out of my thoughts. I feared that the man at the bar had ignored my obvious signal that I was not interested and would now stand in front of me.
Sadly I guessed correctly. Slowly he stumbled towards me. A tie hung loosely around his neck, his sweaty button-down shirt was half open and his hair fell tousled around his face. A businessman who had a damn bad day and now, out of frustration, downed one glass after the other - that was how he looked to me and therefore not like someone I really wanted to spend time with.
"I'm waiting for someone," I said coolly, hoping to get rid of him. But I didn't have high hopes he would really leave me alone. To dispose of men like him was never that easy.
"I noticed ... just face it, he blow you off", he slurred. "Such a pretty woman shouldn't be alone." He grinned again and his alcoholic breath hit me. An intense mix of whiskey, vodka and beer. I grimaced with pure disgust. Obviously this guy didn't understand the principle of getting a brush-off.
"Thank you. I like to be alone. "
"Come on ...," staggering closer to me, he grabbed my arm.
Immediately my heart started beating faster. I was a police officer, I knew how to deal with idiots like him, and yet I automatically felt sick, my pulse racing in fear.
"Get you gone or you'll regret it," I growled in his ear, while my head analyzed very quickly how I could get his massive body face down on the tabletop the fastest.
"I think this lady left no doubt that she's not interested in you, mister." The calm, cold voice kept me from my plan and instead made me watch in surprise how the drunk was pulled away from me.
"Fuck off, asshole. I saw her first!" The drunkard turned awkwardly to the man, who was now looming over himremaining completely unimpressed. Stony-faced he grabbed the drunks arm, who instantly grimaced in pain.
"I think it's time to go." The voice of my uncalled savior was piercing cold.
Obviously, despite the alcohol, the drunken business man - if he even was one - was still lucid enough that he understood he should better not displease him any further and actually stumbled away from us, cursing and staggering. Out of the corner of my eye I only saw how the staff removed him from the hotel bar. After all, such guests did not ensure a particularly good reputation. However, my attention was no longer entirely on him, but on the man in front of me.
"Are you okay?" The coldness in his voice had completely disappeared and the stern expression on his face softened a little.
"Yes. I had everything under control, but thank you," I replied, feeling pretty stupid. After all, I had just watched while this stranger helped me to get out of this situation.
"I am sure of that. But you don't look very happy considering that you are having the pleasure of enjoying this excellent martini served here. I hope that idiot didn't spoil this evening for you. "
I was sure I hadn't seen him here today, yet. It was impossible to not notice someone like him, even in a crowd. Not just because he was really handsome, with his hair combed back, hauntingly brown eyes, and muscles clearly showing through his shirt. It was more about his charisma, the way he moved and acted that was so appealing. Despite the charming smile on his face, he couldn't hide the almost military authority he exuded.
"Don't worry, I have already forgotten about him. I always look that grim." One of the corners of my mouth twitched a little forming the hint of a smile.
"Long day, wasn't it?," he interpreted my words as confirmation that I was really not in a good mood, with which he hit the bull's eye.
"Yes, something like that." Although I was solely responsible for that. After all, I could have gone on vacation on my days off just like every normal person would do. But no, Vivia Williams had to get into a sudden intuition and play cop even in her spare time.
"That makes two of us. Would you mind if I keep you company and invite you for a drink? "he asked nonchalantly, the corners of his mouth lifting in a charming smile. "Or are your really holding out for someone else?" He added in the same tone, when I hesitated for a moment almost as if he knew that this was not the case and that there was no reason to reject him. In a strange way, I felt caught out.
"Why not?" I answered with a smile.
He dropped elegantly next to me on the emerald green leather and extended his big hand to me. "Chase," he introduced himself.
I hesitated for a moment, looking from his face to his hand and back into his eyes. Maybe it was the martini talking, but after three fruitless evenings in this bar I wasted my vacation with ... why shouldn't I have fun once? Because even if my investigations demanded so, I didn't want to get rid of Chase to stare at the other guests for the rest of the evening, ask a few questions, and then return to my friend's spare room without any new discoveries. It was probably time to accept that my plan and suspicions had been unfounded and stupid, and that I'd be better of using my days off for what they were meant to be: having fun.
"Vivia," I replied and took his hand, feeling his surprisingly firm handshake.
"Nice to meet you, Vivia." Leaving his lips slowly the name sounded like something beautiful, special, exotic. Moments passed in which he did not loosen his grip and I thought I almost saw something like regret on his face, when he let go of me. Probably the dimmed light was just playing a trick on me.
"You know, actually I'm not here for pleasure," I began and would have liked to slap myself in the face. The policewoman in me spoke up before I could stop her and remind myself that there was no point in getting this whole thing started. The murder case was considered solved, and that the investigator, who was investigating on his own, incidentally met the killer somewhere or came across all-changing evidence was something that practically never happened in real life. Since my life was real and not just part of a TV-show or movie chances weren't good that things like this would happen to me.
If I didn't stop right away, Chase would most probably leave soon. Getting asked questions about a murder was usually not considered flirting. Rather the opposite.
"Oh really? What else could you have in mind when visiting a bar?" Chase asked amused.
"I'm a police officer. Do you come here often? Did you happen to see this woman?" I handed him a small photo.
Chase glanced at it, as if he wasn't really looking. "Yes, I think she used to be here a lot."
He knew her! Better than what I had achieved before. Apart from the staff, I hadn't met anyone who even recognized her. At least that's what they'd say.
"Did you ... talk to her?"
"May I ask why you are asking me this questions before I answer?" His voice still sounded as calm and charming as before, and his demeanor revealed nothing.
"She was murdered," I replied simply, watching his reaction. Nothing. Not even a blink of an eye.
"That's unfortunate," he responded thoughtfully before the smile returned to his face. "I'm not a suspect, am I? Should I call my lawyer? "
"I don't know. Do you think you need them?" I asked the counter-question provocatively and raised an eyebrow.
"Hm, so this is going to be an interrogation?" A hint of a smile told me that he was still completely relaxed.
No. Yes. Probably. Actually, I didn't know what I was doing. So far it looked like I was driving an attractive, likeable man off with useless questions. At least that would inevitably happen if I didn't stop soon.
"I'll tell you everything, even if there isn't much to tell. I saw her in the bar every now and then and usually she wasn't alone if I remember correctly. I do not know more. You're not planning to arrest me, are you?" Something about the way he said that made me believe he knew I wasn't able to do so ... that no one had sent me here but I was pursuing an investigation on my own that no one had ordered. Or maybe I was just subconsciously worried that my boss might find out about it and will read the riot act on my return.
Stop asking those stupid questions, Viv, I silently warned myself, trying to silence the part of me that had begun this strange kind of interrogation with the last sip of martini.
"Hm ... who knows?" I looked at him with a grin to let the last bit of the serious mood disappear.
Chase leaned back relaxed, one arm resting loosely on the backrest, and brought his whiskey to his mouth, which showed a little smirk. "What if I didn't mind? I have a weakness for handcuffs," he said in a warm, dark voice before the crystal glass and the amber-colored liquid touched his lips, and my heart leaped.
"Well, that's good. Before that, however, I would like to take your offer." I slewed the empty glass in my hand suggestively. "Hopefully your invitation for a drink is still open, right?"
"I thought you weren't here for pleasure."
"That's true, but I see my work as finished for today."
Not just one, but a lot more drinks and no idea how many minutes or hours later I had almost forgotten the reason why I was really here. My attention was centered solely on Chase, who after his classic whiskey had ordered some cocktail which name I couldn't remember. Only one thing was clear: the stuff was hot and burned like fire in my mouth.
I immediately regretted having tasted it. I grimaced in disgust and clumsily suppressed a cough before bursting out laughing. "How can you drink that?"
"I like it a little spicy." He seemed to find my reaction entertaining and I just hoped my face wasn't as red by now as the chilli pepper that must have been in his drink.
"A little bit? If hell were a cocktail it would be this one," I assured him seriously. "What else do you do besides drinking cocktails that are way too hot after a bad day?"
"I ensure law and order in Seattle," he explained with a smile and raised his glass to his lips to take a sip of the colorful drink, fascinatingly unmoved by its heat.
"We probably have one thing in common. Are you a detective too?"
"Not quite."
I raised my eyebrows in amazement. "FBI?"
Laughing softly, he turned to me. "So curious?" That meant no.
"Now I know: Mafia boss," I explained pretending a triumphant grin and sipped my martini. I wasn't sure how many of those I had, yet. Three? Four? Five? In any case, the alcohol rushing through my body was slowly starting to become noticeable.
It made me feel more relaxed, my thoughts leaving my lips more unfiltered.
"Oh you've got me there. Since you know already, tell me more about this mafia boss," he said with a smile.
"One of the really bad kind. A 'shoot first, ask questions later' kind of guy. Having lots of skeletons in the closet. Cold-hearted. If it weren't for this one weakness ... " I paused meaningfully.
"What kind of weakness?" Chase looked at me without breaking eye contact for a second. And yet it was impossible to guess what was going on in his mind. He was inscrutable. It was too easy to drown in his eyes and too difficult to escape from that power. Still, I forced myself to tear myself away from it.
"The enemy," I explained with a provocative smile, "FBI agents, policewomen ..."
"Why such women of all people?," he asked with interest.
"It's the handcuffs, you see. He likes women who know how to handle it." As I slowly pushed the olive off the cocktail stick with my teeth, I watched his reaction attentively.
The corners of his mouth twitched up to the already familiar smile. "You see through me completely."
"Well, don't even try to hide anything from me," I replied jokingly. "Now it's your turn. What can you tell me about me?"
For a while he watched me intently, looked me over as if he could actually get an answer like this. The longer he did that, the more he made me feel like he could really read me like an open book. His looks left a warm tingle on my skin, exciting and soothing.
"You are conscientious, you take your work very seriously. Murderers should watch out for you. You have a very strong and incorruptible sense of justice," he finally broke the silence in a low, thoughtful voice. Why did I get the feeling that he was really seeing through me and that this was no longer just a game? "But you also have a small weakness."
I swallowed. "Which one?"
"You just can't resist dangerous mafia bosses who have a thing for policewomen," he finished with a charming smile.
Without noticing it, I was now sitting much closer to him and for a moment his movement wafted the smell of his aftershave in my direction. The glass filled with a delicate chain of lights, which adorned the table as a lamp, threw a delicate glow on his face and created a play of light and shadow that made every contour and shape stand out. Maybe that was what drew me to him - his looks. Well, no, that wasn't all. His charm, his charisma ... and maybe the many drinks did the rest to make him seem almost irresistible right now.
I definitely drank too much, found the part of me that was still somewhat sober. This part of me would have told me now that flirting in bars that ended in no more than a one-night stand, a single meaningless night before never seeing each other again wasn't really my cup of tea. But why not? Well, it would have told me, if I'd paid attention to it. But at the moment I only heard the pounding of my heart against my chest and gave no thought to how this evening was going to end.
A faint smile crossed my lips. "Correct. I just can't resist you."
I felt Chase slowly bridging the gap between us. Immediately my heart rate quickened. His breath brushed my skin. One of his hands gently touched my cheek. When his lips finally met mine, my pulse seemed to skip a beat briefly. Every thought was swept from my head, including every last doubt as to whether I really wanted this, whether it was wise. The part of me that was taking control over my actions now didn't care about it, definitely wanting this.
His kiss was only gentle for a few moments, almost carefully, before he suddenly pulled me closer at my waist. While one hand stayed there, the other slipped into my hair. Even these small touches sent pleasant shivers through my body and awakened the desire for more.
My hand found his muscular chest feeling his heartbeat through his shirt. I was only a second away from breathlessly breaking out of the kiss to suggest whether we should rather go somewhere else ... Foggy-minded I realized something strange. I froze immediately. His heartbeat. It was strong and yet so ... slow. Scarily, disturbingly slow. Seconds passed in which I felt nothing. And it happened again. I pulled my hand back.
Chase slowly drew back. Just a little, just enough so that our lips no longer touched.
"Is something wrong?" His dark voice pulled me back to reality.
I shook my head and felt my curls fall around my face. "No ... I ... I just thought ... uhm, it's nothing." What I thought I was feeling was completely impossible. I was wrong, nothing more. And yet my gaze was focused on his chest. It had felt so real ... Yeah, I was going insane.
Now he moved further away from me. "Maybe it would be better, if I go now." These words finally pulled me out of my mind, so at first I thought I hadn't understood him right.
"No, I..."
Again the familiar smile appeared on his lips. "You had quite a few drinks, Vivia. I don't want you to think in retrospect that I was just taking advantage of you. If you are sober tomorrow and still interested, call me."
A surprisingly cold wind hit me as I left the building and stepped out into the street. It brushed my skin like an icy blade and after a few seconds penetrated the not particularly warming fabric of my dress. At the moment that was convenient for me, because the cold at least freed me a little from the maudlin thoughts that the atmosphere in the bar, my drinks and Chase's presence were responsible for. I began to see more clearly again. Clear enough that I became very aware of one thing: I had just been dumped.
It was like that, wasn't it? Or was he honest telling me he wanted me to call him? No, Vivia, he hasn't been honest. That is the lousiest way to make excuses to get rid of someone, I reprimanded myself as bitterly as I just could after countless martinis.
You are out of your mind. Yes, I kind of was. I was freezing to the bone out here, hoping to regain my clarity, but it things didn't work that way. The alcohol was still circulating through my body and I really couldn't tell what thoughts and feelings were due to it alone. That's why it was better if, instead of standing around here alone and shivering, I would finally go home and to bed.
Slowly I started moving wrapping my arms around my body, which really didn't have much effect, and looked down on my feet so that the wind at least didn't blow directly into my face.
"Alone again?," said a voice from the darkness and I froze. I turned around in surprise. There he was. The same guy as in the bar. Only more menacing this time.
He stood leaning against a car, looking me up and down and then slowly stepping up to me. My eyes flicked in all directions, but found nothing. Nobody was to be seen. Damn! In that state, I was no longer quite sure whether I would get out of a confrontation easily. The now uncomfortable pumps reminded me that running away was probably not the best option either. So there was only the fight.
While I was still trying to understand what was happening, he ended up coming closer again, grabbing my arm. My fist winded up in his face before I could even wrap my mind around what I was doing. A pain stabbed through my fingers up to my wrist. Adrenaline raced through my body. I had to get out of here!
The man staggered a few steps back - the signal for me to run. But before I could even turn away and force my legs to move, the man's face seemed to turn pale, streaked with bluish veins that suddenly emerged, and two blood-red eyes shone in the middle of his angry expression.
Oh wha ... what the hell is this ?!
Startled, I backed away with weak knees and shortly afterwards hit something hard that was blocking my way. What was that...? How...? It was dark, but there was no way I could be mistaken. There was a ... a monster in front of me! One that would probably kill me. And I was trapped.
A pain flared up in my arm as his hand hit me and his nails cut my skin. Then another blow and everything started to go black. The world blurred and with it the being in front of me. I really saw that, didn't I? The red eyes, this bestial face - I couldn't have imagined it despite the darkness!
He will kill me. It will kill me, I suddenly realized. My fingers desperately searched for something that I could use as a weapon. But I just reached into emptiness. There was nothing there.
So that's how I would end up: Lacerated by a monster in a dark alley. A beautiful way to die.
But it happened ... nothing at all.
There was only an angry roar to be heard. I saw a sturdy man who had a striking resemblance to Chase and who pounced on this something, and all that between bright, dancing dots. I didn't know if the dizziness was from the blow to my head or if that monster had really scared me half to death. The first option would definitely have been more glorious, but who would care about things like that at this moment?
Firstly my mind started to work normally again at some point. Chase! He saved me, but this ... this monster! Was he okay? What if...?
It took my body a little longer to function, but after a while I managed to get up again, take a few shaky steps on my weak legs, and look around. But there was nothing to be seen. A deserted road, no sound but the noise of traffic in the distance. I was alone.
I hurried insecurely over the asphalt at the highest possible speed, but I couldn't find them. Both. Neither this monster nor Chase. Not even evidence of their presence, as if they had never been there. Only the pain in my body reminded me of what had just happened.
That ... that couldn't be possible, could it? Did I go mad? Did someone put any weird drugs in my drink?
I stared into the darkness for a while, but the street remained deserted. Dazed I started my way back by myself, got into the nearest taxi and drove home. Confused, afraid, and no longer sure what to believe in.
Back in his house Chase Graves paced restlessly up and down. What did he do? Returning to the hotel bar after this long day had been a strange impulse that he shouldn't have followed. What was the point of it, after all? That he'd been hoping for a more pleasant reunion with Liv Moore? That he wanted to get away from all the things he had to face in the last hours? He didn't know and now it didn't matter anymore.
And then there was this woman. A human; he had already felt that on her pulse, when she greeted them. He had almost forgot it after those drinks. But I must not forget something important like that! How could this have happened to him? Since when did he ever lose control of himself? Never. Not even a little. But today...
However, even that wasn't his biggest problem now. This idiot attacked Vivia in full-on zombie mode, giving her a glimpse into a world no one was allowed to know about. Even his intervention was most probably too late. He was sure about that. She must have seen it.
His dog looked up at him questioningly and cocked its head.
"Everything went wrong today, buddy." Thoughtfully and inwardly, he tickled the fluffy animal behind the ears.
When he had taken care of the zombie, Vivia had been gone. He hadn't seen any injuries on her, just shock and fear, so she was definitely fine and had just fled. But what would she do with what she had seen? If she had seen anything, but there was little doubt about that. Chase grabbed a crystal glass and poured himself some whiskey, which he downed in one gulp. She had no evidence. With a bit of bad luck, she just joined those maniac anti-zombie fanatics that no one in their right mind would ever believe. However, he didn't even judge her that way. No, she wasn't the type for that. She would investigate ... but sooner or later all of this might be gratuitous anyway, if he were actually forced to start the next phase of plan b. Then not just them but everyone living in Seattle, no, the whole world would know about zombie's existence and there would be no going back.
He ran his fingers through his hair restlessly and took a deep breath. For such decisions he had to be clear-headed. He had to calm down a little.
Exhausted, he let himself fall on his soft bed, on which his dog immediately followed him to curl up next to him. Immediately Chase pushed aside any thoughts unrelated to Fillmore-Graves' upcoming proceedings, as he always did. It was not the time for things like that now as it never was when he had to face the enemy, too. Like in the battlefield had to be sane, focused, and rested now. And yet another thought crossed his mind before he slowly dozed of. If Vivia weren't human, she might have been here right now ...