I like a look of Agony,/ Because I know it's true Emily Dickenson // I like a look of Agony

It had been three days since Dylan and Molly's deaths, and Vicki found herself standing before Henry's door. She hadn't done a case since Vicktor Conrad had disappeared from her office. Mike still wasn't answering her calls, and she'd been ignoring both Henry and Coreen. Vicki couldn't take the self imposed isolation. After a day of not talking to anyone, not even her mother who kept calling, Vicki felt nervous as she stood before Henry's door almost as if she was going on a first date.

She took a deep breath, and lifted up her hand to knock on the door, but the door was opened before she could. Stupid Vampire with their ultra sonic hearing, so they could truly embarrass her more, she grumbled mentally.

"I like a look of Agony. Because I know it's true." He smirked at her, as he leaned against the door frame.

"So, your old hunting buddy escapes from police custody, and you are quoting Dickenson at me, great one." She tilted her head to look at him. Why did he have to read her those Emily Dickenson poems a few weeks ago, and now she had just managed to get them out of her head, he managed with one statement to put them right back.

Henry chuckled, "I figured it would get some of your biting sarcasm back. One, he wasn't really my hunting buddy, and two I had nothing to do with his escaping, he conned some rookie working a triple shift to let him out."

Vicki frowned deeply. "I know. I have just been trying to figure out for the last day how to find him. I've gone through all the vampire books, and searched all the places I could think of around town, and am getting nothing." Vicki sighed deeply.

"Why don't you have Coreen help you, or were you ignoring her, as well?" Henry moved away from the door frame so she could enter his apartment. She looked uncomfortable standing in the hallway.

She came into the department her head down, a defeatist attitude coursing through her body. "I've been trying to do things myself." She had hoped that by finding Conrad and staking him that she could make things up to Mike. She had to do whatever she could to make things up to him.

Henry closed the door behind her. He doesn't say anything as she walked around the well-furnished room, passing the two sofas and going across the room to the fireplace. She picked up the sword that hung above the fireplace, rubbing her hands along the cold steel.

She put the sword back, turning back to him. "I don't know what to do, especially since Dave told me that I was requested to stay away from the funeral."

What Vicki didn't know was that Molly had requested she not attend, almost two years ago, when Mike and Vicki had been having an affair. Molly had always meant to change it because it had been done out of spite but she always put it off, thinking that she would have many years to change it.

---
Two nights ago

Vicktor Conrad had to only wait five minutes after Henry had left before a rookie officer came to see if he needed anything. He knew he had to act now, because if he didn't he was liable to be killed. Conrad watched the young man for a few minutes before the young man made the mistake of looking into his eyes. The pupils of Conrad's eyes grew bigger, and he said very Jedi-like. "They are holding me against my will."

The officer looked confused for a second, and found himself uncuffing Conrad. His mind was telling him that he was going to get in trouble, but the man's eyes were telling him he wasn't going to.

Conrad grabbed the man quickly, plunging his teeth into the man. He quickly drained the officer of blood, before handcuffing him to the table. He fled out of the police station, being glad the only vampire trick he had managed to master well was hypnotism.

---
Mike Celluci sat behind his government issued desk. He thought he could try to get some work done, but he hadn't been able to open a file or put anything on the clear plastic board the hour he had been sitting there. Even the coffee, he had poured had just set on the edge of the table growing ice cold.

Dave Graham worked on a case a few feet away from him at his own desk. He put the pen down, and walked over to Mike's desk, and sat down in the chair to the left of it. He frowned at his friend, who looked disheveled and his chin stubble seemed like it had been untouched for three weeks. Dave didn't even think that Mike had noticed that his suit didn't match, and his tie was laying limp around his neck.

Dave rebuttoned his black jacket. He waited a full two minutes, before saying, "Why don't you go home, we can get things done without you?"

Mike blinked hard. He had just realized that Dave had sat down beside him. "I'm behind on a lot of my cases." He said mechanically.

"That may be true but you have been staring off into space for an hour. Everything will be here when you get back, or it can be reassigned to someone else. "Dave stood up, where he was standing over Mike.

Mike sighed deeply; he wasn't sure how to respond to that. He had always thought that work was a cure for any hard ships in life. With his whole world seeming to be crashing down around him, it disappointed him more that this belief wasn't true all the time. It was the last thing that he had been holding on to that was keeping him sane at the moment.

His mind tried to calmly tell him he was okay, that there was nothing wrong with experiencing his grief. How could he expect to get back to work on gruesome homicides when people he loved had died?

When Dave repeated, "Go Home," in his calm brotherly manner, it reassured Mike even more. Dave patted Mike's shoulder.

Mike nodded. "Maybe after the funeral I will be able to come in." His voice was numb, and had a tone as if he himself didn't believe that.

Dave gave Mike a hug. "I'm sure the boss lady is going to tell you what I am going to tell you. Take as much time as you need," He wasn't really sure Mike should be trying to work when he wasn't ready. "In the meantime, you should at least try to get something to eat, and get some sleep."