Chapter 16

Balancing Act

Intro Song: Get the Balance Right, Depeche Mode

Thursday afternoon at the District Attorney's Office was finally almost over – and that suited Jamie Sommers just fine. Blessedly, Talbot had spent the bulk of his day in his office, door closed, taking various phone calls. She was particularly concerned about his conversations with Lieutenant Davis, given the meetings they had been having. Thanks to her occasional visits to Talbot's office, she'd gathered small pieces of conversation that told her Mick St. John was the main topic of discussion. Jamie frowned; this did not bode well for her or her mission. There wasn't any more time to observe or strategize; she needed to make a move now.

Earlier that day, betting on Beth's altruistic nature, Jamie had planted the idea she needed help regarding a missing person. Knowing that St. John was a private investigator, she hoped this would be enough for her to get face time with him soon. But in the meantime, there were a few things she needed to finish up before the fast-approaching end-of-day. She bent over in her chair to tug open a lower desk drawer.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you… but could you please direct me to Beth Turner's desk?"

"No problem," Jamie responded, ignoring the open desk drawer to straighten and turn toward the speaker, brushing curls back off her face as she spoke. "Her cubicle can be tricky to – ." The administrative assistant stopped speaking as her eyes focused on the tall visitor. With a particularly handsome face, striking hazel eyes and thick, wavy brunette hair, he warranted a pause. He was dressed in dark denim with an untucked white pinstripe shirt and navy blue jacket that complemented his eyes. Startled, recognition crossed her face. "You… you're Mick St. John."

The man's eyebrows furrowed. "Yes… is anything wrong?"

Jamie organized herself quickly. "Yes… No… I'm fine…just suffering from 'Friday-Eve' coma." Beth's friend, Marissa, had not exaggerated; this man could render someone speechless.

He smiled and responded, "Haven't heard that term before. I'm sorry though. Have we met?"

Not yet, Jamie thought. Aloud, she replied, "No. We haven't met. I'm very sorry for my bad manners – it's just that I've seen your picture on Beth's desk..." She trailed off as she noticed the tasteful arrangement of picture-perfect long-stemmed red roses that he held carefully. "Hey - would you like a vase for those?"

He smiled. "That's very kind of you, thank you. If you have one available, that would be great. I didn't even think of it."

"Come on, I'll take you." Jamie's mind was going fifty miles an hour as they walked down the hall, stressing over how to handle this unexpected encounter. With a vampire, Jamie. Still, she couldn't help but be irritated by the heads that popped up over cubicle tops like meerkats, tracking them as they walked by, with ill-hidden smiles and whispers. "God, I hate office gossips," she muttered under her breath.

"I didn't catch that – were you talking to me?" Mick glanced down at the young woman, the amused look on his face clearly saying he knew what she was talking about.

Jamie decided that the best way to handle the situation was to treat Mick St. John like any other insanely good-looking man that might walk into the office. In other words…flirt. Looking up at him, her eyes wide, she said primly, "I'm apologizing for the meerkats in this office who apparently weren't taught manners when they were growing up. I haven't been here long but they clearly need some office etiquette lessons."

Now his amused look turned into a full-blown smile. "And with that accent, I'll bet you are just the person to give them lessons. Louisiana? N'Awlens, I'm guessing." He pronounced the city of her upbringing just as natives of that metropolis would.

Jamie couldn't help but be impressed that he had pinpointed her after so few words and said so, adding, "So what gave me away? I cleaned all the beignet sugar off my face hours ago." She smiled up at him, genuinely curious.

"Been there quite a few times and still have some friends there although most of them left after Katrina. I've always thought it is one of the most charming accents anywhere. And if you have found beignets worth having here in L.A., I'd like to know about it!"

Now who was flirting with whom? Damn, he was fine. "Mr. St. John ‑"

"Mick, please," he corrected.

"OK…Mick it is. This is our fancy kitchen." Jamie guided him into the small break room with a flourish. "There are a few vases up there," she added, pointing to one of the overhead storage compartments. "Would you like me to hold the roses for you while you look?"

"Thanks, but I'm okay," he responded absently as he peered into the shelves. He eyed a simple rectangular glass vessel and grabbed it.

Leaning against the counter, Jamie crossed her arms and asked, as casually as she could manage, "So, how long have you known Beth?"

"For a while," the vampire responded cryptically. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious… making small talk." Clearly, St. John was guarded, even with a simple question. As a private investigator, his suspicious nature could be an occupational hazard, or it could be because she was a stranger or…it could be because he's a fucking vampire, Jamie! Don't blow this. The P.I. was key to her mission, and she'd damned well better tread carefully and lightly. Deciding that the commented-on Southern charm and hospitality were perhaps the best route, she purposefully laid her New Orleans accent on heavily. "Mick, I am so sorry, I didn't even introduce myself to you, did I? And here I was going on about the manners of other people in this office and asking you personal questions! My gran would have my head. I'm Jamie. Jamie Sommers."

Mick set the flowers and vase down to shake the young woman's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you," he said warmly. "I'm pretty sure you do your gran proud."

Jamie did her best to hide her nervousness when she took his hand. His grip was strong, with a touch that was cool, but not at all unpleasant. Cold hands, warm heart... The old saying popped inanely into her head. Perhaps the information she'd been given about him was incorrect...

"So… Jamie…you must not have been here in L.A. all that long since I can still hear that charming accent."

She couldn't help but wonder if Mick was manipulating her, rather than the other way around. "I'm fairly new to these parts - been here at the DA's office for just shy of two months give or take."

"And how do you know Beth? Do you work closely with her?" he asked nonchalantly as he arranged the roses in the borrowed glass vase.

Oh yeah, he's working you. Jamie swallowed. She remembered one of her gran's oft-repeated sayings: "Honesty is the best policy, Jamie." "Beth and I both work with Ben. She's normally in the field a good part of the day, as I'm sure you know better than me. As the administrative assistant, I'm more or less office-bound. Lucky me," she added dryly.

"Sounds like you aren't having much more fun at your job than Beth is these days."

"Well, are any jobs really fun?" Realizing how cynical that sounded, Jamie tried again. "I'm sorry, that was a pretty negative comment, wasn't it? You caught me on a bad day, I guess. Like it or not, I'm used to being a desk jockey – but Beth certainly isn't. I'm sure those roses will cheer her up."

Mick nodded in acknowledgement but said nothing. He gave the arrangement a few tweaks until he appeared satisfied. "Okay, this looks good enough."

She smiled encouragingly. "They are beautiful. And nothing smells as wonderful as roses. Come on, I can't wait for you to surprise her." She walked out of the kitchen area, the private investigator following closely behind.

Mick surveyed the office reflexively as they moved, his enhanced hearing catching bits of office conversations as he wove through the maze of cubicles behind Jamie. He couldn't help comparing it to a zoo. No wonder Beth doesn't like being in the office. One conversation between two men they passed attracted his attention.

"Did you see the new blond working with Talbot?"

"Yeah… her name's Beth Turner. I met her yesterday, seems nice. I think she's taken, though ‑ got a picture of some guy on her desk."

"Could be her brother for all you know. Did you ask?"

"No."

"Did you see any ring on her finger?"

"Nope, but to be honest I wasn't staring at her hands."

"Can't say I blame you. Lot of nice stuff on her worth looking at –"

"Good afternoon, gentlemen."

The two men turned around to face a tall, strongly-built, man, carrying a vase of roses – and sporting an expression that was anything but friendly.

"Uh… John," the smaller of the two men began in a stuttered whisper to his coworker, "that's … that's the guy…"

"Yeah," Mick St. John acknowledged, "That's me. The guy from the picture. Just a couple of things I thought I'd mention. First, this is the District Attorney's office, and I think you should be especially careful of how you speak." He moved closer to the twosome. "And, more importantly, Beth Turner is definitely not my sister, so I'd really appreciate you not talking about her that way." Taking advantage of his 6'2" height to lean threateningly over them, he asked softly, "Do we have an understanding?"

The startled men nodded their compliance in unison.

"Good!" Mick chirped with a menacing smile. He patted "John" on the back, just hard enough to knock him forward into a nearby cubicle wall before leaving. "Take it easy."

Only then did he notice that Jamie was watching him. He chided himself. Great, the St. John temper never fails to entertain. He should know better – the DA's office was the last place he wanted to cause problems or attract attention. Beth was beautiful, and other men were bound to notice – and she could most definitely take care of herself. He shouldn't let the idiotic comments from a couple of insignificant rubes affect him. Chagrined, he returned to his guide and opened his mouth to apologize but, to his surprise, she smiled at him and continued on her way as if nothing had happened.

"Listen," Mick began, "about back there ‑"

"Back there?"

He jerked his head toward the cubicle they'd left behind. "You know..."

Jamie stopped and looked around quickly to make sure no one was within earshot. "Listen," she began, her voice low, "those two assholes had it coming, and no one – I mean, no one – would say a word. If either one of them even thinks of lodging a complaint, I'll tell them that I overheard everything they were saying, and that Human Resources has a zero tolerance policy on that kind of speech in the office place. Or, they could force the issue, start an internal investigation, and have every female they've managed to piss off, give an on-the-record statement." She grinned at Mick's surprised look, and patted him on the back. "Trust me, you have no worries – unless it's being labeled the office hero."

Mick grimaced sheepishly. "Thanks, Jamie."

"No, thank you!" she countered enthusiastically, genuinely pleased that she had made some sort of a connection with him. They rounded the last corner together. "Okay, almost there. I hope you dropped some breadcrumbs."

The first thing Mick noticed was Talbot's office, door closed, with the ADA on the phone. He couldn't help thinking that a glass cage suited him perfectly. The vampire purposefully stared into the office, making eye contact with the ADA who had apparently decided to make it his life's mission to antagonize the private investigator at every possible turn. Yeah, I see you, you miserable fuck… He continued staring as he walked by, turning his head to keep contact.

Talbot shifted uneasily under the scrutiny, seeming to pause in his conversation before finally turning back to his phone. I thought so…. Mick smiled, the vampire in him highly satisfied with the interplay. Let him sweat. It was the least he had coming for his constant, irritating disrespect.

"And she's right over… here."

The sound of Jamie's voice pulled Beth's attention from her screen, where she had been reviewing the deposition of a potential witness.

"You have a visitor," Jamie announced unnecessarily, stepping aside for her guest.

"Mick!" Beth blurted out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to see you." He placed the vase of roses on a clear corner of her desk, and bent down to kiss her.

When they came up for air, Beth acknowledged the fragrant bouquet. "These roses are beautiful!" she said, touching her fingertips against the delicate blooms and bending forward to inhale their scent. "Mick, this is so sweet, but you didn't have to ‑"

"No, I wanted to," he countered. He tenderly brushed some errant blond strands from her face. "You deserve flowers every day."

Beth stood up to hug him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Well, I don't know about that, but I'll take them, that's for sure," she teased, tilting her head back to look up at him.

"See, that's what I call a friendly work environment."

Stunned by the voice in her ear, Jamie whirled around to face its owner. "Carl?! Wha… what are you doing here?!"

Carl Davis stood with hands on his hips, his badge clipped to his belt loop. "It seemed the only sure way to get you since you didn't return my calls last night."

Embarrassed, Jamie glanced at Mick and Beth, who had moved apart at the arrival of Davis and were both staring at her with interest. A knowing grin appeared on Beth's face as she watched Jamie's discomfort.

A blush bloomed across the admin's features. Ohhhh, I'm gonna pay for talking to Beth about Carl. "Carl, not here, okay…?" she replied with as much calm as she could muster. "We'll talk later."

"Okay," he agreed cheerfully, "we can talk over dinner."

"Wow… didn't know the District Attorney's Office was the hook-up spot. I'm jealous."

Both couples turned to see Ben Talbot step out of his office and join them, attempting to joke about the goings-on.

"What do you want, Talbot?" Mick growled, not even pretending to be cordial. He instinctively stepped forward, moving Beth protectively behind him.

If he was at all ruffled by the private investigator's tone, the ADA didn't show it. "Well, first off, it's my office, so I'd be more inclined to ask you that." There was an awkward silence.

Beth put her hand on Mick's arm and squeezed gently. He took his cue from her and made a conscious effort to relax. "I guess you're right about that. Sorry if I was rude, didn't intend to be." He turned to tell Beth goodbye, blocking Talbot's view as she mouthed 'thank you' to the vampire.

Talbot smiled to break the tension and said, "Before you go, St. John, since you and Davis are both here, I'd actually like to talk to the two of you about a case that just hit my desk this morning. It's such a hot potato, I've been on the phone off and on all day dealing with it."

Mick shot a glance toward the detective, who inclined his head almost imperceptibly. He looked back at Talbot and nodded. "Okay, as long as we can make it quick."

Ben nodded. "Follow me, gentlemen," he instructed curtly, walking back into his office. Mick hesitated for a moment, glancing at Beth with a raised eyebrow and a shrug before following the ADA and lieutenant. As soon as all three men were inside, Talbot closed the door and sat on the edge of his desk, facing them with arms folded.

"So here's the situation. Apparently, over the last few weeks, there has been a rash of dead aliens on the U.S. side of the border. At first, the incidents were sporadic. But the numbers have exploded, along with attacks against U.S. Border Agents. The agents I talked to this morning said they've found another twenty victims this week alone - and that doesn't count two agents who were murdered a couple of days ago.

Talbot paused to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Usually, these aliens die in the desert due to exposure or other mishaps while attempting to cross illegally. Happens a lot. However, I just found out that this case has an odd M.O. Specifically, all victims were burned beyond recognition. This is gruesome stuff. It has all the earmarks of a drug cartel, but it's pretty brutal, even for them."

The ADA could feel the mood in the room change almost instantly. "I've been networking with the various agencies to see if there are any of the 'usual suspects' we should be looking at, but so far, we're drawing a blank. Now, no one would confirm or deny, but this could be retribution for a large seizure at the San Ysidro checkpoint a few weeks back. We got several hundred pounds of cocaine – enough to piss off even a drug lord. Rumor has it that the dope belonged to the Hermanos En Muerte. I suspect Tejada."

"Wait, I know that Tejada's group was part of the HEM brotherhood, but didn't they go underground after Josh's murder?" Carl's face reflected his interest. He still had a score to settle with Tejada.

"Yeah, no sign of them here in L.A., but my guess would be that someone else took over and they just moved their base of operations. With the kind of money in drug trafficking and money laundering, they weren't just going to go away, unfortunately. We haven't heard of any movements from him, but Tejada is still a wanted fugitive, of course. And now he has a capital offense hanging over his head for Josh's murder. With his ties to El Salvador, and access to damn near every drug pipeline running through Guatemala and Mexico, he doesn't need to be here. HEM was always particularly vicious, but this level of carnage here in the U.S. would be unprecedented even for them."

Mick carefully kept his face expressionless. Whatever is going on out in the desert, it isn't Tejada. You're never going to hear from him again.

Talbot droned on. "Considering the situation, you understand why I wanted to discuss this with you privately. We all know that HEM has murdered before, but this..." He shook his head in visible disgust. "According to reports from the San Diego coroner, at least some of the victims may have been alive when set on fire. Many were burned beyond recognition. Some remains were only ash."

Mick flinched involuntarily, thankful that his reaction would be seen as normal given the particularly heinous nature of the acts described. Ash meant one of two things: either the victims were burned at extraordinarily high temperatures – or not all of them were human.

"This is certainly serious, Ben, but isn't it outside our jurisdiction?"

The ADA shrugged his shoulders. "Technically I agree, Carl - it is outside of our jurisdiction. But if there is even the slightest chance that Tejada may be involved, that gives us justifiable reason to pursue this case. It was ourdeputy district attorney who was murdered - and the DA wants in. Therefore, we are acting in the spirit of inter-agency cooperation, and are going to extend our resources to the investigation."

Davis nodded enthusiastically. "I'm with the DA on this – this was our friend who was murdered. I definitely want in. Send whatever you have to my office, I'll start looking at it right away."

That left only one holdout. Talbot turned to the private investigator. "St. John, I pulled you into this discussion because I know you were involved in the situation surrounding Josh's murder. Lieutenant Davis has told me how much help you were - and how hard you tried to save Josh. The department owes you and I thought you might want a piece of this. We'll be able to pay you as a consultant to the department. Are you in too?"

The private investigator, who had remained quiet throughout the discussion, considered the offer. This had special significance to him, given all that had gone on before, from the "mark" Tejada had put on Beth, to the kidnap and murder of Josh Lindsey, and his own lethal vengeance on the drug lord, with all its complications. Talbot was right about that part, at least. This was personal.

Mick thought back over the events that had transpired with the drug cartel - including purposefully "vamping" in front a captured henchman to get Tejada's final hideout, and very publicly destroying that location, leaving behind any number of witnesses. He was still smarting from the lecture Josef had delivered after that episode. To say that the elder vampire had been furious when he found out about it was a gross understatement.

The possibility that the HEM Brotherhood had re-emerged, coupled with the 'odd' modus operando, all but assured that Mick was obligated to check it out. Still… "Why me?" Josef's paranoia would kick into high gear over this...

The ADA was blunt. "Because you're the best."

St. John was caught off-guard. He certainly had not seen that coming. "Well…thanks. I didn't think that was the impression you had of me, but I'll gladly take it. I have a few things I need to check on first that I have to finish up. Can I get back to you on Monday?"

"Fair enough. We can't get the arrangements completed to get somebody down there until then anyway. Let's talk on Monday morning." Talbot stood up and offered his hand to each man, clearly signaling that the impromptu meeting was over.

Carl Davis and Mick St. John left the office quietly, pausing in the hall once the door was closed behind them. Silently, the detective gestured with his head down the hall and started off, the private investigator trailing behind him. When they were a safe distance away, Davis stopped. "What do you make of that?" he asked, keeping his naturally soft voice low as he looked around cautiously to make sure they were not overheard.

"I don't know," St. John admitted quietly. "I guess we'll find out when we get more to go on."

"If it'll help, I can let you take a look at the information I get."

Mick was momentarily dumbfounded by Carl's offer. He'd never been that helpful before. In fact, Davis had thwarted his efforts to investigate several cases before now, causing his naturally suspicious nature to kick in. First Talbot's comment now this. What was up? "That'd be great. But why are you doing that for me?"

Davis nodded, acknowledging the question. "I get why you'd ask. I haven't exactly been friendly toward you, have I?" He didn't wait for a response. "Look, this whole thing smells but I don't know what Talbot's scheme is. The one thing I do know is that I don't trust that ass in the office any further than I can throw him. I get the impression you don't either. Just give me a chance to review the information he sends me over the weekend. Call me on Monday before you talk to Talbot and maybe I'll be have some more information to fill you in on."

Considering the offer, Mick decided to shelve his suspicions about Davis for now. Talbot was the bigger issue at the moment. Unless this is something they cooked up together… The vampire decided to ignore that small voice of caution. For now. "I agree - something is up, I just don't know what either. And, no, I don't trust Talbot at all so I appreciate the offer, thanks." Nothing more was said as the men approached Beth's cubicle, where she and Jamie were still waiting.

Davis turned his attention back to his more immediate concern, picking up the conversation as if they'd just taken a pause for a drink of water. "So, dinner tonight, Jamie?"

Damn, she needed to conference with the team tonight. "But… I have… something to do…" Lord, make him stop looking at me with those eyes!

"You can do it after dinner, can't you?" he countered. "A girl's gotta eat sometime, right?"

Jamie mulled over the offer. Davis was a valuable contact. She was particularly concerned about the fact that he and Talbot had been talking about the border case - and about St. John himself - prior to Mick's arrival, but hadn't mentioned it. Whatever they were planning could spell trouble for him - and potentially interfere with her mission. Are you just trying to justify wanting to spend time with him? She ignored that inner voice and made her decision. "Um…how 'bout now?"

Carl grinned approvingly. "My kinda woman! OK, grab your stuff – we're outta here."

"Follow me to my apartment?"

Lieutenant Davis snickered, unable to resist teasing the young woman. "Now you're talking!"

"No! I meant, to drop off my car… Ohhh!" Exasperated, she punched him lightly on the arm. "Let's go, before you make me change my mind!" Almost as an afterthought, Jamie turned to Mick and Beth. "Good night, you two," she said shyly before hurrying off.

Carl turned to Mick. "Yeah, have a good evening – both of you." The two men shook hands before the detective followed Jamie down the hallway.

Mick scratched his head. Talbot wasn't acting like a total jerk, and now Davis was being cordial to him. Had the world suddenly shifted on its' axis? Few things scared the vampire; this abrupt, unexplained change in attitude, though, was quite possibly among those that did. "Your office is a lot more interesting than I thought."

"Yeah, more than I thought too," Beth retorted, still trying to figure out what had just transpired between her new friend and the handsome detective. Jamie was turning out to be a bit of a mystery… "Oh! There's something I need to talk to you about anyway. It involves Jamie."

"Okay," he agreed. "So… dinner?"

"At home though," she stated emphatically. "I really am not in the mood to go out tonight. Besides… " She leaned in closer and lightly patted his rear for emphasis. "What I have in mind for dessert isn't on any menu."

He raised an eyebrow. "Beth Turner, whatever am I going to do with you?"

"Whatever you want," she countered in a silky, seductive voice, laughing at his stunned expression. Damn, that line works every time! She shut down her desktop, slung her bags over her shoulder, and wove her fingers through his. "Let's blow this popsicle stand!"

Mick laughed. "I haven't heard that line in about fifty years…" He lifted her bags from her shoulder and slung them over his as they headed off into the evening, trying to ignore the alarm bells going off inside his head.

End Song: Sound the Alarm, Thievery