Disclaimer: I do not own Josef, Mick or anyone else that you may recognize. Riley and all of the others that come out of my head are of course mine. No copy write infringement is intended

Chapter 10

-Josef's POV-

Ok so maybe I had over reacted when I stated that Mick and I were pretty much screwed. We were now back in LA and still all in one piece. We left Texas almost 18 hours ago and were now trying to sort out our next move. Our talk with Mario had been interesting to say the very least and we had a guess as to what Charlie's next move might be. For the first time in the past three days I was starting to feel like things might be working out.

Mario told us why Charlie had come to him to change her and why he had agreed. As it turns out, Charlie had been almost dead when she had finally found Mario. She had found out that, like many in her family, she had cancer. Doctor after doctor had told her that there wasn't anything that could be done about it. She knew that she was running out of time and probably wouldn't have made it through the week if she hadn't found Mario. According to Mario, she had begged and pleaded with him to change her after she had found out what he was. He finally gave in when she mentioned her revenge. Mario had been in a situation similar to hers when he had been changed and felt for her.

After the change, Charlie quickly become much more powerful than Mario had ever dreamed of. Similarly to me, she was a true vampire, through and through. She disappeared about 6 months after she had been turned. Mario hadn't been able to track her down until almost 3 years ago.

While he refused to help us outright, Mario had given us the names of a few people that might be willing to help us track her down. Mick and I had spent the last few hours finding these people and getting what information we could. I had just spoken with the last of my leads and come up with nothing. I hoped that Mick had had better luck than I did. There were only four more days to track her down if we had any hope of bringing Riley back in any way other than a body bag.

I knew that Mick had said he would call either when he found something or when he had run out of leads, but I was to the point where I didn't know how much longer my patience was going to be able to hold out. I needed to know that we had a lead of some sort. I refused to admit that we had once again landed ourselves back at square one with no idea as to where to go. I got up and once again began to pace. That in itself was not a good sign. I should have better control over myself than this. I needed to get control if I was going to be of any help in finding her. I knew that I couldn't allow myself to get carried away but there had to be something that I could do in the mean time.

That's it. I couldn't take it any longer. I was going to go over to Mick's apartment and wait there for a response; maybe I could help him track someone or something down. I grabbed my phone and my keys and walked to the door. Just as I was about to leave, my house phone rang. I turned and almost ran back over to the phone.

"Mick, is that you?"

"Relax, Josef. I have worked through all of the leads and I think we might have found something. I called someone who worked with her a few months ago. They said that they were helping Charlie to set up two different apartments, one just outside of Miami and the other in New Orleans. One of these could be the place that we are looking for. If this is it, we might be able to find Riley before any real harm comes to her." I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"That's good. I will pack a bag and I should be over in less than an hour. Call and book a flight for us to New Orleans, we can start there and then head to Miami. Thanks Mick." I hung up and ran upstairs to pack a bag. When I had finished with that, I walked a little bit more slowly to my kitchen and grabbed a pint of blood. It had been to long since I had fed. I was pushing myself too far in that area since Riley had gone missing. I finished off the bag I had opened and then proceeded to drink two more. No reason to be careless when we were so close to maybe finding her.

I couldn't help but think of Riley. She was beautiful and strong. I hoped to god that she still had that same spirit when we found her. Last time, Charlie sent me a picture five days after she had kidnapped my assistant. Even before she had been turned, Charlie had been able to destroy the poor girl. The picture that I had received showed how broken she had become. I held on to the knowledge that Riley was one of the strongest willed human girls I had ever met. I knew that she would be able to hold on longer than most. However all of those thoughts resonated out of the picture I had received when Charlie was still human. Now that she had been turned, I didn't know what to expect.

I took a deep breath and pushed all of that aside. I couldn't dwell on the mental picture that I was getting of Riley as just a shell. I had to get to Mick's so that I wasn't just sitting around any longer with free time on my hands. I grabbed my suit case and walked out of my house to my car. These past few days had been more than a little exhausting. I was running on pure adrenaline at this point but I didn't need anything else as I drove over to Mick's apartment once again. I didn't even have to get out of the car this time. Mick and Beth came walking out of the front door, both carrying bags.

"Beth, are you coming with us this time?" My question was directed just as much to Mick as it was to Beth.

"I tried to talk her out of it but she pretty much insisted on coming along." I could hear the strain in Mick's voice as he answered my unspoken question. It was clear to any one within a 100 mile radius that Mick would have preferred Beth stay behind and out of danger. Beth laughed as Mick responded, I am sure she could also sense the effort it took for Mick not to lock her up in one of his spare bed rooms.

"If either of you really thought I was going to just sit on my ass here while you two were off playing hero, you are both bigger idiots than I thought. Besides, I am just as anxious to find Riley as either of you are." With that Mick climbed into the front seat and Beth slide into the back. I was pulling out of the driveway probably no more than a second after Mick pulled the door shut.

We pulled up in front of the air port and quickly made our way to our gate in less than 20 minutes. I was not looking forward to yet another plane ride, but there was nothing else I could do. We boarded the plane and eventually took off for our five hours of waiting. I spent most of the time throwing myself into my work in order to keep my mind off of what was happening, yeah right. I should have known that something would come up and spoil it for me.

I had just pulled up a news cast from one of the local LA stations only to find that I was the main topic of discussion. I reached over and taped Mick on the shoulder.

"Mick, I do believe that we are in for a little trouble." I was beyond upset at this point. This was exactly what I had wanted to avoid. Mick leaned over and I turned the volume up just enough so that we could both hear.

"We have just received word that a Ms. Riley Michaels, personal assistant to Mr. Josef Konstantin, was reported missing earlier this morning. Michaels was reported missing early this morning by her brother, Mr. Adian Michaels. Michaels called the police after many phone calls had gone unanswered by his sister. Police have not released any official suspects as of yet, but rumored to be on the list is Mr. Konstantin. This case is all too similar to another almost 20 years ago, also involving one of Mr. Konstantin's personal assistants." At that point I had heard enough. I sat back in my seat and sighed. I looked over at Mick and saw that he was in a similar position to myself, head tilted slightly back and eyes closed.

"What the hell am I supposed to do now Mick?" I tried to keep the panic out of my voice, but if police did announce that I was one of their prime suspects, I wasn't going to be able to run for long. I expected the calls to have started already. I was sure that my voice mail at the office was completely full already.

"There isn't much that we can do until we land and find out if you are a suspect. If you are officially under investigation, you will probably be flown back to LA. If you aren't, then we just make sure that you ant be found. This means that you can't access you bank accounts, you can't use your credit cards, and you can't turn your cell phone on. It also may come down to you having to stay hidden in the hotel room for a portion of our visit."

"Listen, you know damn well that I will do everything on that list except return to LA and stay shut up in a hotel room, no matter how nice it is. We have to find her and I plan on being a large part of that. If I get arrested I need you to bail me out and I also need you to come up with an alibi for me. Seeing as you were on the phone with me when she disappeared, or at least during part of that time frame, I can't be a suspect. I have the ransom letters as well so that should do something. Thank god you're a PI other wise we would be really screwed." I could tell Mick was trying not to laugh at the end of my rant.

"Josef, relax, your not going to jail, and I wont let you get sent back to LA. We will figure a way to get you out of this until we find Charlie and Riley." Mick then faced the front again and I could tell that he was trying to clear his mind. I lay my head back against the seat but I couldn't still my mind. I couldn't help but run through the many situations that could be awaiting us when we landed.

After what now seemed like too short a time, the plane started its decent. The plane pulled up to the gate and we grabbed our bags out of the overhead compartments. We walked off of the plane and I was relieved to see that no one seemed to be waiting for us. I glanced over and Mick and he gave me the briefest of nods. We quietly walked down to where our car was waiting to take us to the hotel.

When we got to the hotel, Mick and Beth went into their room and tried to get settled. Unable to do anything to keep my mind calm at this point, I began to pace. About five minutes into my pacing, there was a knock at the door. I walked over and took a deep breath to calm myself down. My anxiety was almost through the roof as I pulled open the door. I was able to breath a sigh of relieve as a hotel employee stood before me.

"Excuse me; I am looking for a Mr. Konstantin. I have a letter for him."

"I am Josef Konstantin." I stated simply. He nodded and handed me the letter. I thanked him and he walked away as I shut the door. I pulled the envelop open and scanned the letter quickly.

Josef –

I am sure that you have been waiting to here from me. I knew that you would eventually track me to New Orleans. Before you get to anxious, Riley is still alive. You still have a few days to finish tracking us before I kill her. I wish you could see her. She is truly a strong girl. As I am sure you have guessed I am working to break her. You will be glad to know that I haven't quite gotten to that point yet.

Look at the picture I sent with this, you should still be able to make out some of her personality.

Three more days to this game. I would normally wish someone good luck in this, but I would be lying to both of us if I said I wanted to you succeed. I guess I shall see you at the finish line.

Charlie

I reached into the envelop once again and pulled out the picture. It was Riley, but not how I had last seen her. Her leg look odd, probably broken. Her shoulder also looked like it had been pulled out of its socket. Her face was cut, bruised, and bloody. Worst of all was looking into her eyes. I could tell that some of the old spark and fight was still there, but I could also see that she was starting to give up. Part of her didn't think that there was any hope left and she was starting to let her body shut down. Mick walked through the door and looked at me. I looked away as one lonely tear slid down my cheek.

A/N: Ok hope everyone likes this chapter!!! I really like how it turned out. Leave a review and let me know what you all think. I love getting your feedback so please take the time to leave a review. I am going to try and get another chapter up before I start school again, but I make no guarantees.