SEVEN
Axel knelt down, dipping his fingers into the puddle. "Oil. Damn." He had half been hoping it was blood. Blood meant a trail they could follow. Nothing meant nothing. He stood, brushing his hands off on his jeans.
Henry was still, listening. His sensitive hearing picked up only city sounds – people, cars honking, dogs parking.
Nyte recovered just as quickly as she broke down. By the time Mohadevan and Vicki had reached her, she was pulling herself up to full height, taking deep calming breaths. "Well that's one John Doe with a name now." She stepped back from the body, still breathing deeply to re-center herself.
"Damion Prince?" Mike asked, watching the vampire pace quietly. One moment she was very emotional and in less, then an eye blink she had pulled up a mask.
"No. Marcellus…..um gawd…Boyle I think he was using. Yea…chose it after watching the Exorcist."
"Vampire with a sense of humor?" Mike asked wearily.
Vicki opened her mouth to cut Mike off but Nyte beat her to it, her eyes flashing. "You think we can't have normal personalities? Feel the whole range of human emotions? We may be dead…ish but some of us are very much alive inside. Can you deny some of you mortals feel dead inside? Happens when you loose touch with the world. I may be five thousand years-old but I don't feel a day over two hundred."
Mike stuttered. Five thousand?!
Nyte cocked a slight smile and winked at Vicki. "That was one hell of a rainstorm too." Nyte was going to have fun with the good detective. She was not too fond of him to start with and he had some serious issues with vamps.
"You're full of shit." Mike growled under his breath.
Nyte just winked at him before loosing the grin. "I'll have Marcellus' file sent to you from New York. He's a buddy of Damion's which isn't boding very well."
Nyte looked at Mohadevan, "I trust none of this is going to be in any report right?"
"You'll never hear it from me….John Doe no longer John Doe. Unusual blood type. Cause uncertain. Cause of death…decapitation." Mohadevan added. She had met Henry and Vicki saw it fit to fill her in on his secret. After all, she helped with the whole Mendoza nightmare.
"I'm sorry about Mike…he's" Vicki started as they headed towards Nyte's car.
"He was your lover t one time and he's still madly in love with you but jealous of Henry and your closeness with him so he's being an asshole…" Nyte finished for her. She had experienced people like that before in her life.
"Is this some vampire thing? You die and all of a sudden you gain this knowledge of the world?" Vicki snapped. Nyte pretty much summed up Mike's whole problem.
"No. It's just when you live this long you become a good judge of human character." Nyte seemed distracted for a moment. "We're not endowed with any special knowledge of the universe. We just muddle through life like everyone else does." Nyte seemed like she wanted to say more but her cell phone cut her off.
"Finally" She muttered.
Axel ran his hand through his hair and adjusted his hat as his wife updated him. "So Plan X then?" This one was Nyte's idea and he fought her tooth and nail on this but other then resorting to darker magics, which Nyte refused to be part of, there was not any better way. He asked her to be careful before hanging up.
"Plan X?" Henry asked with a slight smile. They barely had a plan A and now they were going with their last resort.
"Plan X then." Nyte sighed. This was not her best idea but it would work if the bait were taken. "How far is High Park from here?" Nyte asked Vicki.
Nyte and Vicki walked on the deserted running trails. Vicki insisted on her baton, though Nyte did remind her that her night vision was more then enough for the both of them. Nyte could not imagine what it was like to be Vicki. Having to give up your career because you were going blind, knowing one day you would wake up and the world you knew is suddenly gone, hidden behind a haze of darkness. She hated having to place Vicki in danger, but it was too widely known that Nyte Chevalier was overly paranoid.
Nyte paused hearing breathing. "Showtime" she thought. Nyte looked over at Vicki, on guard with just a metal baton. "Vicki run!" Nyte snarled at her, eyes flashing black. She could not put her in danger.
Vicki started to protest when Nyte was slammed down to the ground. Nyte struggled with her attacker, trying to get a good hold on him. "Run dammit!" Nyte felt a sharp prick in her shoulder. "Fuck" she muttered as she fell to the ground with a thud.