Henry's Apartment Building
Halfway home, Mike Celluci had a strange, urgent need to talk to Vicki. During the drive, he considered the excuses if he had to justify it to the department. He settled on Colin and the antique store. The fire was indirectly connected to his case and she might have information. It sounded weak, he concluded, finding the nearest parking space. Walking toward the building, he realized he needed an explanation for her also. Except he didn't have one.
Mike looked at his cell phone. He could give her the same excuse he intended for the department. But she would see through it. He had no idea what to tell her. Then he thought about calling Coreen to see how Vicki was doing.
A car door shut and seemed to echo. It grabbed his attention for some reason. He looked over and saw a man wearing a hoodie. The man had something heavy, like a gun, in his pocket. Mike knew the hoodie man was after Vicki. Figuring out how he knew that had to wait.
Mike hurried toward the entrance. Ideally, he could end the situation in the entryway. When he heard the gun shot, he knew it wouldn't be that simple. He stopped and looked through the glass doors. There was blood splattered on the wall behind the doorman's desk. But hoodie man wasn't visible.
With his gun drawn, he entered the building slowly. Seeing and hearing nothing, he stopped at the desk. The desk man was moving. Mike used the land line to dial 999. What was no more than a matter of seconds felt like an eternity. He quickly identified himself to the operator and described the situation.
"The gunman may have access keys." Hoodie man hadn't used the elevator.
"Wait for back up." That was procedure.
But Mike couldn't. Unless Henry was home, and Mike doubted it, Vicki and Coreen were defenseless. He hurried for the elevator wishing he could follow the man up the stairs. That required a key, meaning he could only assume who hoodie man's target was.

Vicki Nelson heard a gun shot downstairs and knew. It was a safe neighborhood with extensive personal security. Not the kind of place she expected gun crime. Although nowhere was truly safe from violence. Her first thoughts went to a gun, but she couldn't have fired it even if she had one.
Coreen rushed into the bedroom. She held her cell phone. "I called Henry. His phone goes straight to voice mail."
From what he said before their call ended, he needed to feed. A reality of his existence she tried not to think about. But it meant he was at a club somewhere. Probably across town. He couldn't get to them in time. She wondered if the gunman somehow knew that.
"Do we have cleaning supplies?" Vicki swung her legs over the edge of the bed, trying not to grimace.
That took Coreen a moment to understand. "In the bathroom."
"Turn the lights off. Quickly." Vicki stood, wondering if she could walk to the bathroom without help. Between the injuries and the baby, there wasn't a lot she could do.
Which included getting under the sink to see what options they had. Chemicals required getting close. Not ideal with a gunman. But their only other option was to hide and hope they weren't found. As a police officer, she saw the end result of that scenario too many times.
Sirens sounded in the distance. Maybe they could buy themselves some time.
"Maybe…" Coreen was interrupted by metal slamming wood.
It was definitely about them. Vicki could only imagine the person was hitting a door with something. Except it wasn't their door. It was down the hall. The person, or people, thought they were in Henry's apartment. Suggesting they had partial or old information.
"Are all the lights out?" They might leave if they didn't know where to look.
Coreen nodded.
The movement blurred as the dim lightening in the bathroom brightened. Vicki tried to speak, but nothing happened. She reached for the counter. Then vaguely felt hands grab her. Indistinct whispers surrounded her and everything went black.

Mike Celluci looked around the hallway corner at Henry's apartment door. Hoodie man held a fire extinguisher and used it against the lock. Thud. Glowing symbols appeared on the door. The man set the extinguisher down and removed something from his pocket. He chanted and the symbols changed colors.
A low growl surprised hoodie man. He backed away as the symbols shifted again glowing bright red. Halfway down the hall, he stopped and removed something else from his pocket. As he chanted again, the growling increased with symbols appearing on the floor near him.
Mike held his gun and waited as hoodie man backed toward him. "Police. Put your hands on your head."
Hoodie man gripped someone in his hand as he reached for his gun. The growl became a roar and he fell back with a look of horror.
"Hands on your head," Mike repeated, pointing his gun at hoodie man.
Everything from there, except explaining it to Crowley, went smoothly. The ambulance and officers came and went. With no damage to the door, it appeared Mike stopped hoodie man before he tried to break it. He went with that. No one would believe what actually happened anyway.
Coreen opened the door as Mike approached. They had already exchanged texts and a phone call. Officially, he needed to take statements. Her tone worried him. She looked paler than usually as she quickly closed the door behind him.
"You need to sit down."
"Vicki's having seizures. I think it's the baby." Tears slid down Coreen cheeks.
"What baby?"
Coreen quickly summarized what she knew of Vicki's pregnancy and her increasing health problems. "She collapsed in the bathroom. The seizures started as I tried to get her back to bed."
Mike wondered when any of it became a possibility. "Was she affected by Henry's magic security system?"
"What?" Coreen shook her head. "Henry didn't use magic..."
Who did that leave? "Nicholas?"
She looked toward the bedroom. "The baby…"