Chapter 6

"You need to get over here," Josef stated, staring into the window of Talbot's apartment. Beth had arrived a few minutes ago, and they were getting into a very heated conversation.

"Why? What's going on?" Mick asked, his voice tense. Josef chuckled, shifting in the seat of his car.

"It seems Benjamin and Beth are having a bit of a lover's spat," he replied, watching as Beth headed towards the door.

"What are you talking about?" Mick questioned, his voice irritated. Beth opened the door, but Talbot yanked her back and slammed it. Josef got out of the car quickly and shut his door, ready to run inside if things got worse. He knew that if anyone touched Abigail like that he would have been in there instantly, but this Mick's job. He didn't want to do anything that would make Mick hold a grudge.

"Talbot has told something to Beth, I don't know what. And now he won't let her leave his apartment. I suggest you come over here and break it up," Josef answered, watching as Talbot smacked Beth across the face in response to something she said. That was it, he was going to stop this before someone got killed. "Now, Mick."

"Alright, I'll be there in a minute," Mick said, and Josef shook his head. Beth didn't have a minute, she had maybe thirty seconds. Josef wasn't going to let anything happen, he wouldn't be ridden with guilt because he didn't stop him.

"I'm going in, Mick. He just hit her," Josef snapped, hanging up and running inside. He knocked on the door, his body tense as he smelled Talbot on the other side. He opened it slowly, his face in a sold grimace as he looked upon Josef.

"Do I know you?"

"Not yet. I got a text from Beth, something about a problem she needed help with," Josef replied, stepping into the apartment and looking at her. Her eyes were thanking him, one of her cheeks unnaturally red from Talbot's anger. Josef heard the door close and turned around, a sudden pain shredding through him. A stake. He should have seen it coming, he should have moved, he should have stopped it. Talbot pushed him backwards and he fell to the floor, the wooden instrument protruding from his torso.

"Josef! What's wrong with you?! Let me go, Ben! Stop!" Beth exclaimed, her face angry and scared as Ben grabbed her and moved towards the door.

"We have to leave, it's not safe here," Talbot responded, opening the door and stepping back. Mick stood there, his eyes pale with anger as he hissed. Talbot shoved Beth out of the way, Mick growling as she fell to the floor. Before Josef could comprehend what he had seen, Mick was on the floor near him. A stake was centered in his chest, his eyes full of pain and sorrow as he watched Ben yank Beth from the floor and light a match. He dropped it on the rug near them, the fabric catching fire as he pulled Beth from the apartment.

"Let go of me, damn it!" Beth screamed, trying to wriggle out of his grasp and help Mick.

"No! Don't you see, Beth?! They were planning on killing you!" Talbot yelled, pulling her towards the door. Josef could see the flames in the corner of his eye, helpless as he watched Beth dragged away.

I run up the stairs and sprinted to Talbot's apartment, a sickening feeling hard in the pit of my stomach as I reached his door. It thrust open and Talbot looked at me in horror, smoke reaching my nostrils. He reached into his jacket and shoved a stake into my chest before I could react, my eyes moving from his face to my rib cage. I looked back up at him and hissed, yanking the stake out with ease.

"W-what?!" he stumbled, walking back into the room.

"I'm a special circumstance," I hissed, grabbing him by the throat and pulling him off his feet. I threw him across the room and into a wall, watching as he fell on to a table, unconscious. I saw Mick and Josef, stakes nailing them to the ground as fire licked near them. I ran out into the hall and broke the glass that encased the fire extinguisher, pulling the pin and running back into the room. I squeezed the trigger and aimed it at the fire, putting it out quickly. I saw Beth crouched over Mick, her hands curled around the stake that held him captive.

I heard a gasp as she pulled it out, falling to my knees next to Josef. I grabbed the stake and ripped to out in one smooth motion, my eyes beginning to water as I heard him yell with anger. He sat up with effort and brought me to him, his arms wrapped around me tightly. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I buried my face in his neck, thanking God that I had listened to the bad feeling I had gotten and came to Talbot's apartment.

"I had a bad feeling, I had to come. I thought something happened," I said, Josef kissing my head and wiping my tears away with his thumbs.

"Good timing," he whispered, kissing me. I kissed him back, his hands strong as he helped me up off the floor. Beth grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, her body trembling as she stepped back.

"How did you know?" she asked, wiping away a tear as Mick wrapped an arm around her waist protectively.

"I didn't," I answered, turning to look at Talbot's limp form.

"What did he say to you?" Mick asked, staring at him.

"He said that you, Josef, and Abigail were vamps. He kept telling me how you guys were out to kill me, out for him. He said he had a list, he was going to bring justice down on you," she replied, her face stricken at the thought. I snarled, leaning on Josef as we all studied him. I walked over to Talbot's small kitchen and started opening drawers, moving odds and ends.

"What are you looking for?" Josef asked, and I furrowed my brow, smiling when I found it.

"The silver silencer," I replied, everyone staring at me blankly. I rolled my eyes and held up a roll of duct tape, waltzing over to Ben and rolling him over. Beth walked over to me and took the tape, studying it as she rolled it over in her hand. Even after everything he had just done, I half expected her to protest my idea, but there was a first time for everything.

"Give me his hands."

"Put him the back of the truck," Claudia Black stated, head Cleaner who was personally overseeing the clean up of this particular situation. When she had found out Talbot was involved, she wanted to make sure this was taken care of properly.

She stared down at the burnt rug, watching as her helpers picked up Ben and took him from the room. Abigail Brooks stood across from her, Josef Konstanton standing next to her. Claudia studied the pair. She didn't understand how they were suddenly so close, how they seemed so at ease with each other, even though they'd only known one another for a couple of weeks. She knew something else was hiding at this surface of the apparent new couple, but she didn't think it would hamper her investigation, she'd have someone look into it later.

"That's it then?" she asked everyone in general, glancing at Mick. He nodded, his arms crossed as he stood close behind Beth Turner, her face a mix of emotion. The scraping of wood against linoleum caught Claudia's attention, turning to watch Abigail move a kitchen chair and stand up on it. She looked at the fire detector and took off the cover, pointing at a gap in the plastic.

"How planned out was this? I mean, the batteries are missing. Did he know he was going to set someone on fire?" Abigail questioned openly, stepping down off the chair and lying the cover on the table. Beth walked underneath it after Abigail moved the chair back to it's original position, looking up at it with big, pretty eyes.

"What about the one in the bedroom?" she asked, and Abigail shrugged. Claudia nodded to one of her helpers, and she walked back into the room. She came back out with an empty hand, signifying the missing batteries. Abigail whispered something in Josef's ear, Claudia studying his reaction. He didn't show any emotion at all, nodding in response as she continued on. He turned his head and murmured something in her ear, her face just as blank as he spoke, even too quiet for vampire ears.

"Guys," Mick stated, both of them looking in his direction as he waited for them to explain.

"We're going to rip his teeth out," they said in unison, heading towards the door.

"Wait, what? What about innocent until proven guilty?" Mick asked, both of them stopping. Abigail laughed quietly, neither of them turning around.

"More like guilty until proven innocent with this one, Mick," Josef answered, taking Abigail's hand and leaving the apartment. Beth grabbed Mick's hand and followed, walking down the hall. They were gone, and Beth huffed her breath. She pulled out her phone and dialed, putting it on speaker phone and listening as it rang.

"I was hoping you could spend a few moments without me," Abigail answered, and Beth laughed.

"Where are you going? Scratch that. What are you doing?" Mick questioned, Beth looking at him and raising her eyebrows.

"No comment." He laughed, pressing the down button for the elevator.

"No such thing," he replied, holding the doors open as Beth stepped in, following and closing the door. She reached down and pressed the lobby button, waiting for Abigail's response.

"As a private investigator I expected you to understand that," she snapped, and Beth rolled her eyes.

"Ignore him. Where are you going?" Beth asked, and Abigail laughed.

"No comment," she answered, and Beth sighed.

"Honestly, you two need to be smart and not cause trouble. You're both well over three hundred years old, I expected you to have some common sense," Mick said, silence for a moment.

"Shut up and stay out of our business, Mick. Find something to busy yourself with, get concerned with someone else's doings," Josef said, catching Mick off guard.

"Sorry, I didn't-"

"Think? Yeah, that happens a lot. Call me when something comes up with Talbot," Josef interrupted, a quiet click as the line was cut. Mick stood quiet in the elevator, his mouth slightly parted at Josef's harsh words. He hadn't realized Josef was listening, he probably just really pissed him off. Josef would never insult Beth, and here Mick was returning the favor by calling Abigail ignorant. Not smart. Beth turned the speaker phone off and dialed again, putting it up to her ear.

"Yes, Beth," Abigail answered, and Beth almost smiled.

"I'm sorry, he didn't mean it," Beth responded, looking towards Mick as they stepped off the elevator.

"I know. I was only joking, I doubt I'd be able to even get close enough to him," Abigail replied, her voice tired and Beth stopped.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked, Mick staring at her.

"Nothing. What's let of my life is slowly falling in the depths of hell, that's all," she stated, making Beth sigh.

"We'll figure this out, just give it some time. He's bound to break, there's no way he can't. Plus, I'm sure your society has some means of getting him to talk," Beth said, and Mick raised an eyebrow in question.

"Sure, plenty of unimaginable tortures." Mick held the door open for Beth, and she half expected Abigail to be standing in the street waiting for her.

"You're positive you're okay?" Beth questioned, and she sighed on the other end.

"The three of us just nearly died, I can't find the connection between any of this, and..." She faded out, Beth putting her on speaker phone while she set her stuff in the car, standing up again as she breathed in the cool night air.

"And what?"

"There is gum on the bottom of my shoe," she replied slowly, as if she were studying it right then, and Beth cracked up. That was the last thing she would have thought she would say, making it that much more funny. "Thank you, Beth. Your concern and sympathy during this traumatic time helps me so much." Mick smiled, putting his arms on the roof of the car as he stared at her.

"I'm sorry," Beth gasped, both of them studying each other with soft eyes.

"No problem. I can tell you're truly paying attention because you keep giving gaga eyes to Mick. And you, stay out of her pants, at least for tonight," Abigail stated, and Beth spun around as she looked about.

"Where are you?" Abigail laughed, her voice calm and cleansing like the soft breeze that brushed Beth's cheek.

"I'm your angel, babe. I'm with you and not at the same time. I'm always watching, but turning my eyes," Abigail answered, and Beth suddenly felt the need to cry. She had almost lost everything that was dear to her in the world, everyone she cared for so dearly. Her best friend, her playboy connection, and her...she smiled, trying to decide how to describe Mick. Her lover, her partner, her guardian.

"I..." She didn't know what to say, and even if she did she wouldn't know how to say it. Mick was suddenly as her side, wrapping his strong arms around her.

"You, my friend, are a gorgeous heap of trouble that I fell face forward into," Abigail said quietly, Beth laughing and crying at the same time.

"Where are you going?" Beth asked, wiping away the tears from her cheeks.

"Lots of places."

"What are you doing?" Beth questioned, Mick's hand running through her hair.

"Do you want the truth, or do you want me to lie to you?" she asked back, her voice completely steady over the speaker.

"The truth, of course." Abigail laughed nervously, trying to make a joke out of the situation.

"You do realize that if I tell you Mick is going to kill me."

"Why? What are you doing?" Beth urged, feeling Mick tense slightly against her.

"Hunting."

"What?! You can't be serious," Beth said, and Abigail laughed.

"Can't be serious, she says. Guess what happens now? Mick will hunt me down and attempt to stop me before I do anything rash," Abigail explained, her voice irritated at the thought. Beth looked up at him, but his gaze was somewhere else.

"Good guess. You're just kidding, right?" Silence. Beth looked at her phone, the connection lost. She dialed again, but all she got was an automated voice telling her that the caller was in an area that had no service.

"Come on. Let's go home," Mick murmured, and Beth nodded.

Beth's phone buzzed on the nightstand next to her, and she groaned when she looked at the clock. It was ten in the morning, and she hadn't fallen asleep till two that morning. She picked up her phone and looked at the caller ID, wondering why Abigail would be calling.

"Hello?" Abigail huffed her breath, Beth rubbing her eyes in an attempt to wake up.

"I hate you, do you know that? I literally haven't slept in the past twenty-four hours, I'm running on coffee," Abigail stated, and Beth moaned.

"What do you want?"

"They're going to interrogate Talbot at eleven, I thought you'd like to come and watch," Abigail answered, and Beth slowly sat up.

"Thanks, I never would have gotten out of bed in time," Beth responded, throwing back the covers and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"No problem, chick. I know you all too well it seems. It is my gift, and my curse," Abigail replied, making Beth smile, though it was a wary one.

"What do you think they'll do to him?" Beth questioned, she imaged Abigail shrugging.

"Dunno. It all depends on wether or not he gives us the information he knows, and if he's cooperative," Abigail stated, Beth watching as Mick walked in and handed her a cup of coffee. She mouthed a thank you and watched as he left the room, heading down stairs.

"Alright, I'll see you there," Beth said, and Abigail laughed.

"You don't even know where it is! Let me talk to Mick," Abigail chuckled, and Beth frowned.

"Fine. Mick! Phone!" Beth yelled, Mick suddenly at her side. She handed the phone to him and sipped from her cup, studying his face as she tried to read him. He hung up and handed her back the device, heading out the door before she could ask him what was going on. She was very curious, considering he didn't even say anything beside "hello".