The entire room fell silent, the atmosphere shifting within seconds from one of pleasant discussion to hostility. Mick stared wide eyed at Josef, his features a mess of confusion, shock and horror. While they had had no time to discuss a plan for when they entered the meeting with Lance, he was sure that threatening the man was not the best way to go. Mick didn't even know what exactly Josef was talking about.

"I ought to kill you where you sit." Lance growled. "Both of you." He was furious, Josef could tell, but he knew they were going to be fine. Tobias was glaring also, his hand twitching slightly as he geared himself up for a fight.

"But you won't." Josef smiled, like he was trying to please a client and close a deal. "I can help you, Lance."

"Josef…" Mick began, but his friend held up a steady hand. What did he know that Mick did not? He understood the three vampires had known each other for a long time, but this was ridiculous. He was being kept out of the loop.

"How did you know?" Lance spat, his rage gathering momentum. Still, Josef did not appear to look worried. If anything, the air of confidence surrounding him intensified. He shrugged nonchalantly, smile switching quickly to a smirk as he realised he was right. Mick wanted to slap him for risking so much.

"As soon as you took those sunglasses off, I suspected." He pointed to his own eye. "It's been twitching. That, combined with Tobias' defensiveness on the drive over here, no-one has come anywhere near you since our arrival, the fact you're hiding out in the middle of nowhere, paranoid, and your shaking hands, I knew it couldn't be anything else. Is poor Tobias here caring for you all by himself?"

A hiss went up from the left side of the room as Tobias shot up from his seat, chair clattering loudly to the floor. Josef paid no attention, staring only at Lance like he had just checkmated a particularly difficult chess opponent.

"You do not speak to him that way!" Shouted Tobias, baring his fangs.

"I can help you," Josef repeated, placing emphasis on each word as though it was precious.

"No-one can help me now, Josef Kostan." Lance muttered a little sadly. "You think I have not tried to save myself?"

"I think you don't know how." His voice was softer now, sympathetic. There was silence once more, broken only by Tobias picking up his chair and sitting himself back on it. Mick waited, holding an unnecessary breath in expectation of an answer from Lance. Not that he fully understood what was going on anyway. Josef remained cool; patience was a virtue, after all.

"What do you want from me?"

"Find out who is behind these photographs." He said, gesturing to himself. "I will provide you with the cure once the bastard is killed."

"He will die within four weeks if we do not find the cure." Tobias spat, clearly unimpressed with the deal thus far. Josef simply shrugged.

"You better be quick then."

"And how do we know you are not lying?" Tobias spoke again on behalf of his boss, who had grown considerably paler throughout the conversation. He was grimacing now, as though he was in pain.

"I can give you a small dose that will stave off some of the symptoms for a while, particularly those shakes. When you see it works, you can track the rogue down. When you track the rogue, I will kill him -"

"-We." Mick interrupted. "We will kill him."

"Yes," Josef continued tersely. "We will kill him. And when he's dead, I will give you the cure.

"What if I cannot find the vampire you are looking for?" Lance murmured, features creased with the consideration of Josef's proposal.

"Then you will die. It is that simple."

"Fine." Lance said, voice becoming stronger once more. He stood and held his hand out toward Josef. "We have a deal."

Thanks for reading,

Please review,

Charlotte.