Title: Who wants to live forever (part 4)
Author: BELOVEDbyWAR
Rating: PG-16
TV verse: Blood Ties
Disclaimer: Not mine, not making any money..
Wc: 1487
Sequel to: Expectations
AN.: A big THANK YOU to luvinmike for being such a great beta!

Part IV:

Sheepishly offering Coreen a soda, Dave looked over to Crowley's office, which Vicki had stormed over to half an hour ago and since then had not stopped announcing her unhappiness with the current situation.

"You don't think she will shoot the messenger, do you?" he asked hopefully, which was so cute that Coreen had to hide her grin behind the can.

"I think she will save that for the body snatchers," she tried to reassure him.

"Yeah? Whew! I mean, it's just, well, that woman's got a nasty temper herself, just like…"

Then he stopped, shoulders sagging and desperately looking downwards. Coreen, too, had to swallow the sudden lump in her throat. Even if she had not known Mike for long, the headstrong, but kind man had wormed his way into her heart and she had even forgiven him for the Mendoza incident. Not that it mattered anymore.

She quickly wiped her stray tears away.

"By the way, where is Detective Lam?"

He sadly shook his head. "She took the day off. What a shame!" He made that almost chiding sound that only black people were able to pull off. "Such a fine woman. What a waste!"

The sudden banging of a door was heard before a furious-looking Vicki stalked over to the duo. To Coreen's amusement, the chubby police officer unconsciously stepped behind her.

"Dave," Vicki nodded coolly, before continuing:

"Coreen, we're leaving!" she announced as she walked briskly to the exit.

Coreen smiled apologetically and then threw a short "Bye" over her shoulder while she quickly followed her employer.

It took her a while until she managed to catch up with Vicki.

"So?" she asked breathlessly as they hurried in the direction of the morgue.

"One day I'll murder that bitch!"

"Crowley?"

"Who else? She actually dared to warn me to stay out of it and that, and I am serious here, they had it under control! HA!!!!"

"You wanna know what else? Bodies have been found all over the city with their heads, their freaking heads, missing. Under control my ass!" she all but shouted.

"That's weird. So now what are we doing?"

"Visit Rajani and see what else we can find out!"

***

(The Harbor)

"No, no, no, NOOO! Incompetents! I am surrounded by incompetents!"

All day long thugs had presented him with one decapitated head after the other, but there had been no sign of immortal residue, much less an actual Quickening.

"By now the guy must have risen. How am I going to find out who the hell he is now?"

Hearing this, one of the subdued men standing at the far corner of the room cleared his throat and pushed a dim-looking fellow in his direction.

"Yes?" he asked testily.

"You see, Boss, umm…" the man looked hesitantly back to the man who had shoved him.

"You may continue. What is it you have to say?" the ordinary-looking man in designer clothes said, almost coaxingly, suddenly directing all his eerie attention to the poor man.

"We, we were at the precinct, doing what you ordered and brought you all the heads," he pointed at some of them lying at the man's feet.

"But?" the man asked silkily.

"Umm-" the thug looked ready to piss his pants," W-We might not have gotten them all." He cringed, as if expecting a blow and started to sweat profoundly.

"Not all?"

"Well, we got all that were there, of course!"

A brow was raised questioningly.

"Well, we, we found files, umm, so we checked and – a file was there but the body was not. Thought you'd want t' know that's all."

Something unholy glittered in the otherwise unremarkable features of the leader before he swung an arm around the man and turned them, facing the assembly.

"This is what I am talking about! Good man, using his head not only, well never mind," he patted the now nervously laughing man on the shoulder.

"And did you happen to find out the deceased's name, by any chance?"

"O' course, Boss! T' was that sodding Celluci!" he pronounced proudly.

"Ah, Detective Celluci. Isn't that interesting? Off you go. All of you!" he ordered calmly, but the moment they were gone he stepped near the heads and stomped on them, one after the other, enjoying the feeling of hard bone breaking, squishy brain tissue gushing, and eyes popping out.

"Celluci!" he growled.

Of all the motherfuckers it, of course, had to be Celluci!

***

"...No, he doesn't remember. - Yes. - WHAT? ---- NO, no, no, no, Mac! You know I do not take students! You are the one with the helper syndrome not I. -…Funny! --- I don't even know the guy! --- Yea, so? --- A moment of weakness, I assure you! --- Oh, that's helpful! --- What part of SURVIVE do you not understand?! --- No, of course not, but I want to lose my own, even less! --- Whatever! Doesn't Amanda live here somewhere? – Of course… well at least give me the address. – What?! I have to sleep somewhere! – Nag, nag.--- All right. – Yes. – Fine. –Would I ever do that?- Yeah, yeah-"

With this, the phone call ended and the stranger looked like a cat that just gotten away with eating the canary.

"OK, follow me."

A 15-minute cab ride later, they arrived at a luxurious-looking building.

"Mmm, not bad! But Amanda has always had a taste for the nicer things in life. Come on."

They went inside. The man called up and then they took the elevator to a beautiful apartment. An older, but very colorful lady opened the door."

"Welcome! I'm sorry Amanda isn't here at the moment, so you'll have to be content with my charming self," she dramatically batted her lashes, which caused the stranger to smirk.

"Ah, so you, my dear, are the famous Lucy. Enchantez, Madame," he bowed and breathed a kiss on her knuckles. "Amanda told me a lot about you."

"Oh, you charmer! She said you were a sly one. I am so excited! To think that the ol-mmpf," he had put his finger on her mouth until she got the point.

"Well, entrez!"

They did.

"Say, Adam, what brings you and your-" she now turned from the stranger to him, looked him up and down, and then winked in his direction, "charming friend here?"

The slim man sprawled on one of the couches as if he was at home before answering:

"Oh, he is a newbie, I found him. And now he is in need of a refuge and a sword. Oh, and did I mention that he lost his memory and therefore has no clue where he lives or who he is?"

"No, really? How fascinating! I mean, poor baby! Aw, and no clothes either! Look at you!" she took hold of his arm and dragged him in one direction, all the while babbling:

"Let's get you a shower first and I will see what I can come up with. I guess some of Nick's clothes should be here somewhere. They should fit even if he is not quite as tall as you."

Next thing he knew, he was being pushed into a shower.

"Wanna give me your coat?" she asked innocently.

"Ahem-" he clutched the material to his body. "No, thanks. If you don't mind…"

She still looked at him with that gleam in her eyes, until a bemused voice from the door intoned.

"Peas in a pot, I swear! You and Amanda deserve each other. Now let the poor fellow be."

One pouting glance later his hostess was gone, whispering "Spoilsport" as she passed Adam on her way out. He followed right behind her, asking her if there was any beer.

Now that the coast was clear, he removed the lab coat and stepped under the spray, only too happy to be able to wash the disinfectant smell off himself.

***

(The morgue)

"No, you are right. None of those are Mike's remains. Thank God!"

"I told you, Vicki! They couldn't be. I didn't even have time to do a full autopsy, only the basics."

"And why would you even have needed to do one? We told you how it happened. That should have been enough, so no need to-"

"Procedure, Vicki, to determine the cause of death-"

"It was a broken neck, damn it!"

"Vicki, I am sorry. I know how close-"

"Not now, Rajani. Please. What else can you tell us about the…theft?"

"Well, they were very aggressive and turned everything upside down, but apart from Detective Celluci's body, there was nothing missing. No, wait, that isn't quite right. They took Steve's lab coat."

"His lab coat?"

"Yes."

"OK, that is weird."

At that moment her cell phone rang. She was tempted not to answer until she checked the caller id.

"Henry, we have an emergency! Somebody stole Mike's body!"

"Henry?"

The dial tone was her only answer.

***

tbc