Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, they own me. Special thanks to Toby Whithouse and BBC3 for the playground. Beta assistance from Whimsyfox & TJ4ev enables (most of) my grammar to pass muster for Hal.
I must extend heartfelt apologies for the month-long wait on this one. The amount of things that took me away from writing in August threw me for a loop. Every week that went by did not pass unnoticed. The reviews, comments and favs that peppered those weeks lit me up and made me yearn to get back here all the sooner.
Richard Turner was sleeping.
A sprawl of magazines and paperbacks littered the floor underneath the holding cell's bench. With his head pillowed on his arm and face relaxed, he looked almost human. Innocent.
Alex folded her arms over her chest, then kicked one of the metal bars with her boot, loudly. The dozing vampire stirred at the clang, eyes coming open to stare at her with indifference, like a cat.
"Miss Millar," he said as he gracefully sat up. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" Lazily, he stretched his back and rolled his neck side to side, then ran his hands over his stubbled face. Alex watched him until he looked up again. "Well?" he insisted. "You must be here at this hour for a reason."
"I want you to leave us alone."
Richard blinked, his dark eyes narrowed briefly. "You people do realise that I'm in a cage, correct?"
"After this. They haven't killed you, so eventually they must plan to let you go."
"How very sweet of them. My faith in this so-called 'Department' extends about as far as my reach. Which at the present moment isn't very far. Why should I care what you want?"
Alex kept her posture strong and assertive even though it was increasingly opposite of how she felt with every move Mr. Turner made. Maybe this wasn't such a grande idea, Millar. "Because I have what you want," she stated, her bravado forging ahead.
Richard's eyes flashed in widened surprise before he raised one sharp brow. "I take it he's finally told you. How very... interesting," he drew out the word, making Alex realise she had inadvertently given something away about Hal. Still, she kept her stance while Richard scrutinized her. "And you would just give it to me?" he asked flatly with a sideways sneer.
"I know what he promised you. Which makes our situation… complicated," she settled on the word, not wanting to give anything else away if it could be helped. If she could make good on Hal's promise, then no one had to get hurt. Hal wouldn't have to consider killing anyone, and maybe Richard could be retained as an ally. The vampire had kept Hal's secret all these years, after all. "If it can be done without harm," she continued. "But then I want you to leave. Never speak of us. Work out whatever you need to with Hal, but after that, pretend we're not here. You never saw us. And," she added, "I want you to throw Hetty off our trail."
Richard regarded her, his posture unwavering and eyes boring into hers. He studied her with an unnatural stillness. A supernatural stillness. As Alex returned his gaze, she recognized a hint of ages lurking behind the charm of his eyes. She was attempting to make a deal with a very old and powerful being. An inkling began to spread as to how "Lord Henry Yorke" had come to partner with this man.
Richard blinked languidly, and the spell was broken. "I can see why he's fond of you," he eventually said. It was so familial, so casual, that Alex was taken aback. Here was someone who knew Hal well, both as a dry vampire, and not. Alex realised she was mistaken. Her words hadn't inadvertently given away anything. Richard Turner was intuitive enough, and he knew Hal well enough, to have put two and two together on his own.
"Would you still want it if you had to keep it secret?" she asked.
Richard cocked his head, then stood. He slowly came up to the bars. "I observed Henry for years," he started with a conversational tone, then leaned a shoulder next to her. "Manipulating this, maneuvering that; always steps ahead, that one. He had to be, you see. Association with Snow was a dangerous game," he said, as if that explained everything, but he continued. "As much as I had wanted the power of it once, I came to realise something. I held a unique advantage in being separate from them. Those darling elite. It was better by far to earn a living from them. That being said, however... I still want what he has. It was always going to be secret my dear. That was the deal," he confessed darkly. With a casual shrug, he added, "I enjoy travelling."
After having been in his foyer she could have guessed that, and he still hadn't answered her question. He must have sensed a lack of understanding in her impassive expression as he continued, "Half the world is filled with bloody churches and sacred grounds. It makes sightseeing a little difficult, if you know what I mean," he joked with a smile she didn't return. Richard kept his casual stance, but dropped his hands into his pockets. He peered at her through the bars and his mouth hardened. His face took on an expression that momentarily reminded her of Hal in an internal debate, but then it was gone. With a sigh, he elaborated, "In some ways, Henry had it easy. There was only ever one direction on the proverbial ladder to go - what with his background." Richard teased a knowing smile, then looked her in the eye. "Myself? Well. Let us politely say I had an entirely different life ahead of me." He paused and Alex tilted her head, pondering the history he was alluding to. Richard's gaze grew distant, and almost as an afterthought he added, "I miss it, sometimes. The way the music would resonate."
There was truth in his simple words. Maybe she was playing this one right after all. She dropped her arms and raised an eyebrow. "You know, I can see why he likes you," she said with a disarming smile. Richard huffed a small chuckle at her parry, but Alex returned to serious. "But now though - could you take it and never speak of it? Could you have that power and not tell anyone? I know you're in with Hetty. And I know the shite's changing real quick in your world."
"I'll keep making deals regardless of what little Miss does," he shrugged again. "So, yes, to answer your question. In a heartbeat. I'd do it right now," he gave her a nod of his head. "Except we need your beau."
"Oh," she slipped.
"He didn't tell you how to do it, did he?" Richard asked, knowingly. Reluctantly, Alex shook her head. He sighed, "Well, it's bloody good to know he's still Henry."
"What do you mean?"
"Aside from the general belief that he's gone and truly lost it due to lack of nutrition?" Richard barbed. "The sheer magnitude of what he walked away from…" Richard looked down at his shoes. "You can't even fathom. He was a king. Now this?" He raised his arm and met her eyes. "Look around. You've seen this place. The Henry Yorke I know wouldn't be working with these red-tape bumbledoms."
"That's complicated."
"And isn't it always? Don't you see what they've done? Here we are, two of the most powerful vampires left standing in the western world. And they've put us in cages."
Alex shook her head, "But Hal isn't -"
"He's not? Really? Sound carries down here better than they think."
"What have you heard?" she cautioned the demand.
"Enough to be concerned. I'd watch your backs, if I were you. The priority here is most definitely not with supernaturals."
"And you think he doesn't know that?"
"Honestly? I don't know what to think about Henry anymore," Richard stated with a sad shake of his head. His gaze turned almost wistful for the barest of moments, then softened. "Look. I appreciate the gesture. It took some bawbles for you to come here. And… I take it our dear Henry doesn't know?" he asked. Alex remained impassive. She had learned from Hal the power of silence in negotiations. Especially when you didn't really want to answer the question anyways.
Her pause worked as Richard continued, "I do know that you're important to him. He made that abundantly clear." The way he stressed the last two words made Alex wonder just what exactly Hal had told him. "So," Richard leveled her with his charmed smile. "If you can get me out of here, the three of us will talk. Sooner, rather than late, would be most superb."
"I'll erm, see what I can do," she answered, her bravado lagging. "I'm afraid you're nigh well stuck 'til they can clear your name from the suspect list for those bombings."
"And how do you suppose they're going to do that?"
"By finding the ones actually responsible."
"Hmph," Richard gave an incredulous laugh. "Please, give my regards if you do manage to mention our little chat."
Richard stepped away, apparently finished with his interest in speaking to her. When he turned his back to her, staring at his assortment of reading materials, Alex nodded to herself. Right then. Feeling oddly dismissed, she rent-a-ghosted away.
Appearing in the soft darkness next to the mantle, she was relieved to see that Hal was still asleep. Without her, the blankets had twined around his waist and his back was to the empty space of the bed. She teleported clear of her clothes, then remembered to slip off her rings one by one. Discreetly and slow, she lifted the blankets and gently lay down beside him. He sighed lightly, awake, and Alex tried not to freeze. Instead, she dropped her arm over his side and nestled against him.
With a whisper light kiss, she pressed her lips to the back of his neck. Whether he had been awake and knew she had gone, or whether he only slightly awoke just then, she wasn't sure. Her forehead rested against him as her hand flattened over his stomach, and his breathing softened. Relaxing into her presence, he returned to sleep.
Alex caught the sinking - that pull to join him in rest, but she hesitated, resisting. She wanted so much to escape it all and sleep with him, but didn't dare. The loosened gap of the shield Maggie had placed was like a window left propped open, one she didn't know how to reach to close. Instead, she settled next to him and allowed her mind to drift. From Richard Turner and the subtle things he had hinted about Hal, as well as the not-so subtle things, to Rook and his Department. It wasn't exactly like sleeping, but the night passed quickly all the same.
Hal was entangled with Alex when he awoke. The hunger was there, as it always was, but distant. Her head was on his chest, her arm across his torso. The press of her - in warmth and bone reality, made him ache. That she could have this. That he could give her this. That he could have this.
She nuzzled against him and his arms around her tightened. To hold her in this moment was enough. His love for her was enough to keep his monster at bay. For now. His heart nearly broke at the taunting of his inner voice, but he ignored it. She had idly begun stroking his stomach, then moved her hand to his navel, circling.
"You always stop there," he smiled into her hair.
"I like this spot," she said so matter-of-factly that he chuckled. The pressing pout of her lip at having been called out graced his chest. "No, really," she lifted her head to look at him. "I think of it as…" she paused, then looked away. "It's a part of you where you're still human."
He was absent-mindly tapping between the indentations of her vertebrae and didn't answer. She had such funny notions sometimes. In part, she was right. It was a mark of having been born. A different life, a different person. Alex twirled her fingers over his navel, then edged below the blankets.
"Did you sleep?" he asked gently, before she could proceed any further.
"Nae," she answered simply, watching his face.
"I thought you had left," he murmured, the distraction of her trailing touch muddling his thoughts.
"Still here," she said blithely before she kissed him. Avid and intentionally, she resumed her roaming beneath the blankets. Hardly appropriate for departing bed by a decent hour, but he didn't stop her.
"I can't believe you went without this for a lifetime. Hey - maybe my unfinished business is to help you make up for it? For a lifetime. Or two," she joked, writhing against him.
Hal kissed her deeply. It was one of those kisses he would have used for other means, in a different time, but the effect was the same.
Breathless, Alex managed a soft retort. "What - no protest?"
"No protest," he whispered.
When Tom returned from his Sunday brunch shift at the hotel, Hal was waiting for him at the kitchen table. A steaming pot of tea and a tray of biscuits was set out across from the paper. Alex was sprawled next to him, leaning back in her chair as she flipped through a magazine.
"Eat quickly. We have a meeting with Rook," Hal said when Tom opened the fridge.
"What? He showing up here again?" Tom asked, closing the fridge and eyeing the tray as he dropped his jacket over the back of a chair.
"No. Our briefing is at the Archive."
"So when are we going, exactly?" Allison asked jovially as she joined them in the kitchen, one finger keeping place in the book she had been reading.
Tom shot her a look. "A briefing? With all o'us?"
"As if I'd miss this. Really Tom," Allison tutted then reached for a biscuit.
"Yeah, but -"
"Don't you even start. I have just as much right to be there as you. And besides, Rook likes me. I'm getting into that Archive. Finally!" She took a bite of her biscuit then turned back to Hal. "So when do we go? It will have to be soon if we're to meet with the Pack again tonight."
"Our meeting is at four," Hal answered and folded his paper. "You'll drive."
Mike Nave met them in the woods just beyond the mossy hulk cloaking the entrance to the Archive. His surprise wasn't disguised at all, however.
"All of you? What, car troubles again?" Nave joked lightly about the time Hal's car wouldn't start, when Tom had been trying to evade him. When his question was met with Hal's hard stare, he fumbled, "Oh, er, well. Right."
Nave led them into the depths of the Department, occasionally glancing back to ensure they were still following him. Alex noticed that the Archive was bustling with uncharacteristic sounds of activity: distant voices, a telephone ringing, and hurried footsteps. A preoccupied, grey-clad operative passed by, but bedsides from a small nod to Nave, he barely gave their group a second glance.
Eventually, they came to the large conference room that Alex had been to previously with Hal. Pinned to the whiteboard was an oversized aerial print of the Barry Island Pleasure Park. A full box of untouched jam donuts and a steaming carafe sat front and center on the long table - a welcoming contrast to the long-barreled pistol sitting heavily between the two occupied seats.
Jonathan Castle, impeccably dressed in departmental grey, was tapping something swiftly on his mobile, ignorant of the ghost leaning on her elbow across from him. Maggie Dan smiled as they entered, laugh lines radiating out from the edges of her eyes. "Hello again dear," she greeted Alex.
"Wicked!" Tom took the seat nearest to the box of confections. Allison sat next to him, but her eyes were taking in the large room with its white boards and heavy steel table. Mike Nave pulled out the chair next to Castle, and Alex filed in after Hal.
"I'm Tom," he extended his hand to Maggie.
"Maggie Dan," the old ghost replied and gave him a friendly handshake. "And you must be Allison?"
Allison beamed and shook the ghost's hand as Castle looked up, setting his phone down with a click against the industrial metal table. Allison turned towards him and extended her hand across the table. "Allison Larkin," she introduced herself.
"I know who you are," Castle answered dryly just as Dominic Rook joined them in the room. Allison withdrew her offered hand awkwardly.
"Mr. McNair, Miss Larkin," Rook gave them a small tilt of his head in greeting, then glanced to Hal. "Everyone is here, I presume?"
"We were just making introductions," Hal answered Rook, then glanced back across the table. "Weren't we Mr. - ?"
"Castle. We didn't quite meet in London."
Rook promptly closed the door behind him. He walked to the head of the table and regarded their assembly. "Thank you all for coming," he announced diplomatically, then gestured to Jonathan Castle. "I have invited Castle to join us, as he will be our man on the ground for this operation."
"With us?" Tom asked as he reached for a jam donut. "Won't the wolves -"
"I know how to stay upwind, McNair," Castle stated with a haughty air.
"Castle is one of our more highly skilled operatives," Rook continued. "He has worked, undetected, with werewolves many times before. Yourself included."
Tom turned sheepish, remembering that Mike Nave had run into Castle after fleeing from Hal, which was how the investigator had come to join the department in the first place.
"Now," Rook began. He extracted a silver pen from his suit pocket and pointed to the large photo print of the Pleasure Park. "We have already initiated plans for a supposed gas leak and concurrent telecom black out. Civilians around the park will be evacuated in time, with Maggie Dan's assistance, if necessary."
"What? You'll haunt them out?" Alex asked, curious.
Maggie smiled. "Just a little reassurance dear."
Rook continued as if this were an everyday occurrence, unable to hear the discussion between the two ghosts. "Our team will be stationed here," Rook tapped the photo with the tip of his pen. "Here and here. We will remain in range, but out of sight. Which, hopefully will convince the Type Threes there are still people present to witness their little war."
Rook stepped away from the aerial and returned his pen to his pocket. His bright blue eyes met Hal's briefly, then continued to acknowledge the rest of the room. "The London vampires have been deterred thanks to the efforts of Yorke and Millar, but we must not assume that is the case for all Type Twos. There are those who would come merely for the frivolity, and the off-chance of sport. We will be prepared for them as well. The Park poses a convenient gathering place for the wolves, but it has made the aspect of entrapment a feasible possibility for us."
"I'm curious," Hal interrupted. "How do you usually approach rogue wolves?"
"Well, normally this department only engages with one, maybe two at a time. Our field operatives trained in tracking follow the beast until they are in range of their quarry, then..." Rook shrugged a slender shoulder.
"You shoot us?!" Tom cried out, with a glance to the pistol lying on the table.
"Yes," Rook answered calmly. "With large game tranquilizers. How else would you expect your kind to have been kept quiet?"
"You put the wolf to sleep," Allison stated bluntly.
"Of course. When it is necessary. We cannot allow a newly turned wolf to stray into a township and have its way. Sooner or later, the individual will source a containment of their own. Some sooner than others," he gave Allison a small tilt of his head. "They never recollect our involvement, and in theory, we have slowed the spread of the contagion."
"So you don't go around tranquilizin' us every month then?" Tom pressed.
"Heavens no. We can't be everywhere, regretfully."
"Though we sure do seem to try," Nave grumbled and reached for the carafe. Next to him, Jonathan Castle huffed a sigh and began analyzing his cuticles. Even his lanky slouch seemed exasperated. The young operative was obviously bored of their briefing. Maggie Dan rolled her eyes at the pair of them and Alex smiled.
"And this?" Hal indicated the pistol on the table.
Rook took a breath, his gaze meeting Hal's. "Since you are working with us, the lines have blurred somewhat. Normally, we do not directly interfere with supernatural dealings. If you wish to kill each other, well, so be it. We do however, protect our own. If we can get a clean shot you will have backup during the fight," he affirmed, then glanced at the pistol. "That is for after. One of our tranquilizers, should you be cornered. It will not work right away, so be forewarned. If you can manage, try not to shoot anyone before or during the change. They will remember, and there can be adverse affects if the wolf is not allowed to... manifest."
"Right nasty for the whole month, they are," Maggie tutted and shook her head.
Tom snorted at that, and was about to ask something, when Hal interjected.
"You have made an assumption that I will be there." Hal stated flatly.
Rook folded his hands behind his back and changed his stance. With a prepared tone, he said, "Never in my time here have we attempted an operation of quite this magnitude. I have requested support from our other divisions, however, we are still out of our depth. We have scanned and researched the Archive, but previous dealings of this scale were... archaic to say the least. In our current day and Age, making thirty unconnected individuals disappear would be a feat, even for this department. But, if the individuals could be kept in the park and occupied up until after the change, then they could simply be put to sleep. All without showing our hand. It is my understanding, Mr. Yorke, that you have an intimate knowledge of how such a thing could be done."
Alex shook her head abruptly, "No way Hal. You barely managed just Tom the once!"
Hal met her concern but shook his head. "I was ill-prepared that evening," he answered Alex, then looked to Tom, who put down his second jam donut and met Hal's gaze almost knowingly. "There are… tricks one can employ. Especially if you have a team."
Tom squared his jaw and his eyebrows knit together as he dropped his hands into his pockets, but he didn't say anything. It was as if he was reluctantly awaiting what else Hal may have to say on the matter. Castle finally seemed interested, and Nave sipped his tea, curious.
Allison looked between them, then to Alex, trying to suss out exactly what was being insinuated. Alex had a vague idea, but Hal still hadn't spoken of his past with werewolves directly. Rook was waiting for Hal to say more with an eager tilt of his head, and Allison pursed her lips and pushed up her glasses. "What exactly are you asking, Mr. Rook?"
"The assembling group is not an established Pack, so therefore, unpredictable. Even within the confines of the park, there is no guarantee that every Type Three will remain. We cannot allow for dispersal, as you well know, and may have to resort to archaic measures. Except, if my sources are correct, Mr. Yorke has led such operations in the past."
"Let us say that there is a way for the wolves to be corralled," Hal started reluctantly. "Could your marksmen handle them then?"
Rook's tone was even. "Of course."
"This is hardly top secret information," Hal said.
"No, but the implementation is before our time."
"Silver."
"Silver? That doesn't actually work." Allison scoffed. "I experimented my first month and -"
"It works if you happen to be in wolf state," Hal answered, stopping any argument from Allison.
"I fail to see how silver could contain them," Rook pressed. "It is a known deterrent, yes. But it will only send them away."
"Not if you have the park surrounded, Mr. Rook."
"Surrounded? Without detection? Impossible," he scoffed.
"No, it is really quite simple, actually." Hal looked down and lightly pressed his fingertips to the tabletop. "Bury or disguise silver thread along the perimeter. When the change is taking place, have the inside of the line discreetly and swiftly spattered with vampire blood." Hal looked up, leveling Rook with a detached expression. "The wolf will claw through, seeking the vampire but exposing the silver, and thus be repelled. Voilà. Hours of fun."
Rook opened his mouth, then his pale eyebrows met. He regarded Hal with a mixed expression of astoundment and curiosity. "That is… brilliant."
Castle however, shook his head with a frown, unimpressed. "I'm still not seeing how that would corral the beasts into an area to be captured."
"Again, it is quite simple," Hal answered the young man. "Have the trail end with actual vampires."
"Oh, but they'd be slaughtered," Maggie Dan shuddered.
Hal didn't look at Maggie when he affirmed for all to hear, "Yes. They would be slaughtered."
