Disclaimer: Lost Girl belongs to Showcase or SYFY and I am only playing in their universe.
A/N: Happy Day everyone and to those celebrating - Merry Christmas! Time to bring all our players to the same place – this will take a few chapters. Thanks so much for the reviews and reads. Enjoy your comments and input…
"Okay Bo Bo, I have to go, the beast is running out of gas." Kenzi was talking on her cell as she eyed the red gas indicator watching the little plastic strip as it started bouncing off the bottom of the gauge. She giggled as her friend got all motherly on her at that bit of news.
"Damn it, Kenzi you have to watch that. Driving off in the middle of nowhere without any gas…" Bo was lecturing. She was right but still lecturing. Kenzi rolled her eyes at the tone but appreciated the concern her best friend was showing.
"Well put some gas money in my account sister," laughed Kenzi. "You're my sugar momma right, and you're finally working cases again." There was relief in Kenzi's voice. It had taken almost a year for Bo to recover from being held by the Wanderer. To hear that she was up and had her powers somewhat under control was a definite improvement. Well truth be told, Bo had enough control to be around fae to work cases, if she let her anger get the best of her at least no one died.
"You come home and I'll show you what a good sugar momma I can be." rumbled Bo. It was that rich, sultry teasing sound at held just a hint of how powerful a fae the succubus was and held all the sexiness she could offer. Hell Kenzi could almost see the blazing blue of her eyes through the phone.
The sexy tone made Kenzi giggle and slam a hand into the steering wheel, "Bo is back, YES!" she thought. She replied with attitude, "You can dream succubus. You can dream." the feisty retort sounded just as good to the women's ears. They were recovering, slowly yes, but both had turned a corner thanks to the passage of time and were on the mend. "Put a few buck in the account anyway. I'll be home soon okay." It was a lie she shared near the end of each call. The car started to sputter. "Crap, Okay Bo, I have to go." She peered around, "I'm at a place called the Fort near an armpit called Red Valley. God the places I have been. Love ya sister." She hung up as the van rolled into the parking lot and groaned its last.
Lauren looked up from the bar as she heard the engine of the approaching vehicle. "Damn that thing is in the need of a tune up." She thought as she listened to the motor die a slow death. She moved from the bar and into the kitchen to grab something for the newcomer to drink. It was also the place she checked out the monitors to see what was happening outside. Gunner interrupted her on the way to the screens as he walked in from the back door. The metal fabricator had been working out in the shop. Lauren had been keeping the young man working on all sorts of interesting "tools" in the last three months since the fae attack. He loved it. She had placed him on the payroll as Fort handy man and he could not have been happier.
"Lew that last piece needs to be reworked. The secondary release mechanism just is too unstable. It only will release half the time." He tossed the simple looking metal bar to her. She pressed the trigger and the iron spikes shot out as normal. Unfortunately, the barbs that lined the shaft which should have released stayed tight. He raised an eyebrow at his boss as if questioning how she could have doubted him. The familiar expression on the handsome face screamed that the boy had been spending too much time with her thought Lauren. She was about to say she'd work on it, when a yell sounded from the front that caused Lauren to spill hot coffee all over her hand.
"Little help here." Kenzi yelled from the bar and playfully slammed a hand on the bar.
"Damn Lew are you okay?" said Gunner as he saw Lauren wince and jump, he figured it was at her coffee burned hand. She stammered, "Ya, can you handle this one?" She motioned to the front and the young man agreed only after pointing to the sink silently telling her to get her hand under some cool water. He pushed out the door and Lauren jumped for the monitor. Her heart stopped, it truly was Kenzi. The girl was standing in Lauren's bar, smack in the middle of her new life. What was she going to do? She listened in to the conversation trying to find a way to escape.
"Okay, keep your shirt on already." the young man yelled as he hit the swinging doors. The kid had the looks and kindness of his grandmother and the tact of his grandfather. "I'm coming…" the words froze on his lips as he took in the woman standing near the windows at the front of the bar. She was in leather pants with sturdy boots to match. Well-toned arms shown from the sleeveless T-shirt she wore. With her hair in a ponytail she looked young, a rarity here at the Fort. But even the young ones did not hold a candle to this woman.
"You show me yours and I'll show you mine," came the fast retort from Kenzi but it kinda died on her lips as she turned around having been looking out the front and took in the sight of the man staring at her from the bar. "Oh my," thought Kenzi taking in the muscled frame in the white t-shirt, sandy hair, and violet eyes. "Damn it," she mumbled and then shook it off. "Gas." she said flatly. There was no place for these types of thoughts on her mission. He would just be a distraction.
"You have gas?" said Gunner and then cringed. He could have sworn he heard laughing from the kitchen. "I mean," he said, "I mean you need gas?" Kenzi rolled her eyes and lifted an eyebrow. She would have thought the guy was messing with her but the blush and his quick recovery told her he was just being, well he was just being a regular guy.
"Yes, I need some gas." said Kenzi. He smiled at the fact she hadn't taken offence or made fun of him. She gave the impression that she could rip him to shreds if she wanted to. Kenzi sighed at the smile, it was a very good smile. "Shit," she growled. Hoping to keep him farther away she said, "Just point the way, okay?" there was a harshness to her voice that said she was used to taking care of herself. The man stopped and the smile toned down, replaced with more of look of interest. Just moments ago he thought he caught a hint of curiosity in her eyes, now she was dismissing him. He looked at her and then pointed off to the side. Next, closing his hand then reopening it to put up four fingers and making and "O" with the other hand. "Are you messing with me?" snapped Kenzi trying to figure out what this guy was doing. The grin returned at his face.
"Just trying to get the message across that the gas is that way, but you have to go about forty miles. Our pumps aren't working right now. " Said Gunner. Lauren who had been listening in the kitchen shook her head. There were gas pumps just outside the workshop for emergencies just like this and they were working just fine. Taking another look at the kid in the monitor, Lauren rolled her eyes and knew just what he was up to. Gunner reached in his pocket and pulled out a set of keys, "The best I can offer is a lift to Red Valley, I'll throw in lunch for your trouble."
Kenzi rolled her eyes at the obvious ploy, "Is there anyone else I can talk to about this?" she had her hands on her hips and a look of total disbelief on her face. Lauren stiffened this was it she was going to be outed right now. She started breathing hard fighting the panic welling in her chest.
"Nope, my boss just stepped out. It's me and my truck or you and the pavement?" said Gunner he fiddled with something on the bar top, hiding the lie in his eyes. If the woman protested or pushed things he would fold in a minute.
"Whatever!" said Kenzi in a huff. "Let's get going." She turned and walked toward the door. She made a motion to her leg as she moved off. Watching the motion, Gunner saw that the girl had a knife strapped to her thigh. Somehow that just made her more intriguing to the young man.
"Really? Ah… I mean okay, my truck is right this way Miss." said Gunner, that winning smile back on his lips. Making sure that Kenzi could not see him, he made a pumping fist motion and ran out the door. Lauren felt her breath return. Carefully she moved out to check the driveway and watched as Gunner and Kenzi drove off towards Red Valley.
"Kenzi what the hell are you doing here? Where is Bo? What the hell are you driving?" Lauren growled her mind a mess and she felt dizzy from lack of oxygen. She had ninety minutes to figure out what to do before Kenzi got back. It was not lost on Lauren that this was her chance to learn a little bit about what was happening with her friends. Who was she kidding, this was a chance to learn something about Bo. Looking at the van parked out front, Lauren cussed and ran for the vehicle. She would hate it but she would be going over every inch of that van for information.
Lauren made a mental trade. For her snooping she would help Kenzi out, gas wasn't the only thing wrong with the van. If Kenzi was going to drive away from the Fort in a timely manner, Lauren would have to do some fast repair work. Lauren quickly locked the front of the Fort and put up the 'check out back' sign in case any of the regulars showed up. She ran to the van, she checked the left wheel well and found the hid-a-key she knew would be there. She opened the driver's side and popped the wreck of a vehicle to neutral. Running out back she pulled her truck around and hooked up a tow rope and in minutes had the van in the shop.
Her tricked out repair bay had everything she need to make fast fixes to her vehicles. Before this job she had not visited her mechanical side forever instead she focused on her biological interests. With time to focus and a desperate need to have reliable vehicles and weapons at her disposal Lauren revisited her skills in this area and was pleasantly surprised to find she wasn't half bad at it. The van was up and the oil was draining as she readied the van for a quick change of fluid. She did a fast computer check and found the engine was in need of just a few things and there were no huge problems. She had the tires off and replaced them with new ones, she topped off all the fluids and replaced what she could get to, the fuses, filters, and the battery whatever the shop had to offer. The brakes were in good shape and she had the thing back on the ground with in fifty minutes. Oh yeah, She did fill the thing up with gas too.
"Okay I have helped now I am going to take a look around." Lauren said aloud as if her hard work made up for the intrusion on her friends privacy she was about to commit. Driving the van forward and moved around the back to open it up. There was a number/letter pad lock. "What the hell would Kenzi use," growled Lauren. There were not enough letters for vodka, Lauren smiled and dialed in BOBO and the thing opened.
Never in any of Lauren's wildest dreams would she have expected to find what she did. Where Lauren's workshop was an arsenal, Kenzi was driving a weapons supply truck. Lauren swallowed hard as she checked out the spotless interior space. In a caged work area there were boxes of what looked like explosives. Lauren read the side and was confused to find that they were all phosphorescent grenades. Other containers held what looked like glow sticks but Lauren would have bet the effect would be much more powerful. There were iron spikes and wooden stakes in various bins.
Along the side of the van were samurai swords and knives. There was one sword in particular that caught Lauren's eye. It was beautiful, a normal snoop might have touched it but Lauren knew better. If the doctor didn't know better she would had said that these were all things to hunt and kill vampires and night fae. "Why would Kenzi be mixed up in that?" thought Lauren. She settled on Kenzi moving the van as part of a job for Trick. What else could it be?
There was a sleeping area with a computer tablet. As much as Lauren wanted to take a look she found the tablet was out of battery charge. She looked but could not find the power cord. Checking her watch she saw she was running out of time. There was no way she could find a power cord that would work and get the van back in place before Kenzi returned. Lauren was crushed, that was her best hope of getting some information about Bo. She was pulling back to leave when she saw the pictures.
They were taped to the ceiling of the van. As Kenzi went to sleep at night she would be looking up into these faces. There were at least thirty pictures, Lauren recognized many of them as ones out of the shack were Bo and Kenzi lived. Lauren noticed that there was one bigger image of Bo, Kenzi and herself in a big hug after a night at the Dahl. Lauren reached out and ran soft fingers over the image. "Why did Kenzi have pictures from the shack here? Did Bo and Kenzi have a falling out? How long had Kenzi been on the road?" Lauren ran a hand through her hair in frustration. Looking at the rest of the images she found almost all were of Kenzi and a handsome man Lauren didn't know. She was startled by these images. In every picture the couple looked to be very much in love. This had to be something that had happened since she had left. "Where was he now? Why was Kenzi driving across the country with all these weapons? God!" Lauren thought as she had nothing but questions.
Suddenly she felt what she was doing was so wrong. Double checking that everything was as it had been she moved out of the back and locked it up. She drove the van around the front and made a point to park it in the exact same spot. She unlocked the Fort and ran for her cell phone. Moments later Lila picked up. Lauren didn't let the woman get a word out she just said, "Lila I need you." The woman's reply was simple "I'm on my way."
When Lila reached the Fort, Lauren had worked herself into quite a state. It took two cups of tea for Lila to hear all that Lauren had to tell her. Lauren had to weave a very careful story replacing the fae with what sounded like the mob and leaving out large sections at the end of the story as to exactly why the doctor was really on the run. Lila was confused by Lauren's convoluted story but had the idea that Kenzi, a person from her past was here and Lauren needed help getting information about what was happening from her former life. She could tell it was killing Lauren to have to lie to her so she put a stop to it.
Lila put her mug on the table and said, "Lew most of what you just said was still not the truth but I appreciate you trying to share more." Lauren hung her head. "Stop that," snapped Lila, "You have your reasons and I know that. As frustrating as you can be you're worth it." Lauren looked up and Lila smiled at her, "You are giving me and the crew permission to integrate your friend and I accept the challenge for all of us. We will do our best to have fruitful fact finding evening." Lila winked and stood walking away making calls on her cell. Hearing Lila put it like that struck terror in Lauren's heart.
Gunner's truck was pulling in as late afternoon rolled around. Both the people in the cab looked to be unhappy. Evidently the trip to Red Valley had not really gone as planned. The rest of the evening wasn't going to get any better for them. The table on the patio in front of the Fort was full of most of the normal suspects, Cappy, Cook, the Colonel, and Lila. Lew, Roger and the General were missing. Gunner knew something was up when they all seemed to turn at once and smile. "What the hell?" muttered the young man as he opened the door. Kenzi exited the truck with the exact same thought.
"Gunner," yelled Cook, "where you been all day boy?" he had a grin on his face that was not appreciated by the young man. Lila followed with a quick, "And just who is that lovely young lady with you?" that question brought Kenzi's head up. Had she just been pulled into this little question and answer session?
Gunner shot Kenzi an evil look, "This is Kenzi. Believe it or not she is from nowhere and strangely enough traveling there too." Kenzi shot him a dirty look. Gunner just smiled back and said, "Grandma, I think Kenzi just needs a good meal and to sit down and relax with us this evening. She's been on the road so long that polite conversation is really tough for her." It was a mean thing to do but he didn't care. Gunner walked around and took Kenzi by the arm she was mumbling Russian curse words as he pulled her up the few stairs and pulled out a chair for her. "Please have a seat while I get you a nice cool drink and change my shirt for dinner." Gunner almost felt sorry for the girl as the crew looked like sharks that had smelled blood.
Kenzi had been a true pain in the ass the whole trip to the Red Valley and back. Gunner had been very nice and tried everything in the book to make it a pleasant time but Kenzi was having none of it. "You are as bad as Lew. What is it with good looking women these days." he had said at one point when Kenzi would not talk about her past at all. She had a glass of water when Gunner had taken her for lunch and then told him to wait in the truck when she filled the three gas cans up and paid for them.
They had traveled back to the Fort in silence. Kenzi was ready to bolt but the senior citizen ambush put an end to that. She had been on the trail of a small group of the Wanderer's swarm but now they had to be long gone. She would have blamed Gunner but she knew he had not set it up this little dinner party. This was just karma for her being a bitch all day.
She was ready to be really put out but dinner arrived and her taste buds took over. Every dish was one of her favorites. It was almost as if someone had planned every part of this meal just for her. Each was paired with a wonderful drink and soon Kenzi had forgot her surly vampire hunter self and was truly having a good time. Lauren was watching her friend from the hut and it hurt her not to be part of the fun.
When it got dark they all moved into the bar and Lila got Kenzi at a table alone. Cook kept the alcohol coming as he was playing bartender and soon the whole group was good and tipsy. The girl was spilling her guts in no time. Lauren was startled to see the expression on Lila's face as what she was being told hit her. At one point Lila wiped a tear off her face and Kenzi's face. Lauren was going nuts and could have sworn that Lila keep glancing at the surveillance cameras with looks of concern.
As time passed and the evening regulars started arriving, the crew was pulled here and there taking over Lauren's usual duties. Lila stayed with Kenzi for a while but Gunner had made his way around and the smiling grandmother offered him her chair and left the two alone. Lauren smiled with relief as she watched the two young people finally give in and smile at each other. With a big laugh they began truly talking to one another. After a few more drinks the twosome made it to the dance floor and spent the rest of the night there. Both were having fun and it was good to see. Lila waved to everyone and she, the Colonel, Cappy and Cook called it a night as the late night crew showed up to take over the duties at the bar. With a quick glance to a camera Lila mouthed the word "Tomorrow." Lauren growled in frustration.
It was late in the evening and no one paid any attention as a small group of visitors walked in to the bar and took a table in the corner. They ordered a couple of pitchers of beer and were happy to just stay amongst themselves so no one paid them too much attention. The strangers stayed for an hour or two and left as quietly as they had arrived. Kenzi only looked up from a dance with Gunner to see the last them walking out the door. She froze and Gunner tripped up a little at her lack of motion. "You okay?" he said and turned to look at the empty door. Kenzi forced a smile and then pulled him close as the next dance started. It was only a matter of time before she would be on the hunt again. Her promise of revenge talking over and making her push everything else aside.
It was 2:00 a.m. when the Fort closed and Gunner walked Kenzi to one of the little cabins in the back. Kenzi told him that her van was fine but he would not hear of it. "Look," he said, "These things are great little places. Really well built and comfy, I could come in and show you all the …" Kenzi thumped him in the chest and he laughed. He held out the key and waited until she opened the door.
Turning Kenzi saw those violet eyes and sighed, "Thanks for the day, I'm sorry I wasn't the best company earlier." Gunner smiled. Kenzi said, "Think a good night sleep is what I need so….Good night." Gunner said, "And good night to you Kenzi. Pleasant dreams to you." Kenzi half expected him to step in for a kiss but he just gave her a nod and walked away. She watched him go thinking at another time this evening would have had a much different ending. With a sigh she waited at the door until she saw his truck drive away. Closing the door she dropped to the bed to think out her next move.
She quickly started to formulate a plan. She had seen a vampire leaving the Fort. If she hadn't been dancing and more alert she would have seen which way they drove off. It had to be the ones she was following. The swarm under the Wanderer control had been much larger than anyone expected and Kenzi had tracked down almost one hundred of his followers, but there were so many left. She checked the clock, she cursed as she had three hours till sun up. They would be looking for a place to hide for the day. There was the off chance she could catch their trail closer to dawn as they became more desperate for a place to spend the day. She would get a couple hours sleep and then get moving. Tonight had been nice, too nice. Times like these were a luxury that she just couldn't afford. It made her sloppy and that could get her killed. She had made a promise and she was going to keep going until every one of the miserable bastard's swarm was dead.
Lauren watched from her office as everyone cleared out. Gunner had walked Kenzi to one of the cabins but she figured that the girl would not stay there long. There was something about Kenzi's behavior that had changed and Lauren would have to wait to talk to Lila to find out what that was. The Fort manager set up for another all-nighter and waited. It was only a couple of hours later that Lauren saw Kenzi leaving the cabin.
Tracking her motions with the monitors, she saw Kenzi move around to the van in front. Lauren gave a small laugh as Kenzi looked at the new tires and shook her head. After that she moved around the back of the van where Lauren could not see but the girl had to be checking out her supplies. Kenzi then moved around to the front seat and started up the van. The engine turned over and sounded good as new. Not turning on the head lights, Kenzi backed out and hit the road. Lauren sighed as she watched a bit of her past drive away. Clicking off the monitors Lauren headed for bed, crisis averted, but a terrible loneliness was left by the departing van.
Getting far enough away from the Fort, Kenzi had to pull over to set her GPS. She really was in the middle of nowhere and the small area of houses looked to be the last of what was part of this community. Well for sure it was the last of the street lights. As if hearing Bo's voice in the back of her mind she checked the gas gauge. Gunner must have filled up the tank at some point. "All's good Bo Bo, were on full." In fact Kenzi thought the van sounded great, it even looked like she had new tires in the moonlight. "Weird but good." she added as an afterthought.
Looking at her options on the small screen, she set up the guidance system for Red Valley. The little slice of heaven she had visited earlier today. That brought Gunner to mind and she brushed that thought away. Between him and he's family and friends she felt half way normal tonight. They had been so nice, nosy but nice. That Lila woman was so easy to talk to, it was strange. But it had felt so familiar, like a good night at the Dahl before everything had happened. "Damn," Kenzi said out loud at the thought "Maybe I have been on the road too long." Quickly she remembered Massimo and her promise. She sighed and decided to move on. Kenzi was about the pull away from the side of the road when she saw it. She was dumbstruck. Not one hundred feet away from her stood a vampire.
Kenzi scrambled for some type of weapon. She had moved a phosphorescent grenade up with her but left everything else in the back. The bastard would just fly away if she set it off. Kenzi had figured the vampire she had seen leaving the bar must be way out of town by now. Instead the bastard was standing looking at her and laughing. He held out a hand and waved her towards him. With a squeal of tires the van leapt forward. The vampire just popped into a cloud of smoke and was gone. "You can go run but you can't hide." Kenzi yelled, she had been doing this too long to give up because of a little vampire smoke and mirrors.
She pulled back the moon roof cover and checked the sky. "You have to come down some time asshole." she growled and started driving the streets of the spread out neighborhood. She spotted the dark patch against the sky about five minutes later and hit the gas. As expected the thing was heading out of town. She saw the back road option on her GPS and took the route as she grabbed for the grenade in the glove compartment.
As the van wheeled it's way around a couple of corners, Kenzi hit what had to be the truck route. She slammed her foot on the gas. With nothing but open desert around the vampire would be hard pressed to find any type of protection. If she could keep the creature on the run, the sun might do the work for her. Kenzi had a nagging feeling. There had to be more vamps out there. She had been chasing a small group. Rolling her head on her shoulders she willed herself back into the right mind set. Lack of focus would get her killed.
Checking the dark patch in the sky, she started looking for others. Rolling down her window she listened. What sounded like a dog barking was ringing into the night. Then she saw it off to the side, not hundred feet in front of her, the flash of pale yellow eyes. There had to be four sets. With a yell she gunned the van at the points of light. With a blink they disappeared into dark smoky patches, slamming her hands on the steering wheel, Kenzi strained to see where they went. She was off her game tonight. The thoughts of going home, being with Bo and regaining something of her old life had her messed up. Part of her was screaming that she should stop and allow some time to gather herself. She would live to hunt another day. The strongest part of her was frantic with the need for revenge.
As her subconscious fought for control, Kenzi maneuvered the van around a sharp curve. With a scream, she cranked the wheel and slammed on the brakes. Kenzi was no dummy and she knew that even with her best efforts to avoid it, she had just driven right into a trap set just for her.