Moving On By Gary Woodard The characters of the Forever Knight Television program, are the property of James Parriot and Barney Cohen, and Sony/Tristar Television, I only brought them out of their box to play for a little while, all other characters are mine, and any similarities to other fanfics and the original program are purely coincidental... Timeline; Mid year 2000. This story takes off where the Vampire Convention left off. A few members of the community are feeling that its time to move on. Even Nick is feeling this way, but is held back by his indecision, afraid that he would kill Natalie if he attempted to bring her across. At about the same time, it appears that the local mob has decided to have a war and even the Police and Medical Examiner's Office are not immune from the tragedy. Note, There is some adult content in this story, mainly language and violence, and some sexual content... (Characters, Nick, Natalie, Lacroix, Tracy, Vachon, Reese, Urs ). ********************************************************************* Chapter 1 Walking out in front of his favorite Italian restaurant, Don Felix Costello waited patiently with his bodyguard. The limo pulled up, the doors opened up, and before his bodyguard could do anything, they were both riddled with machine gun bullets. In a matter of minutes, both Costello and his bodyguard lay dead on the sidewalk. Fifteen minutes later, across town, a uniformed police officer is gunned down in the same way. Officer Jim Costello, son of the infamous Don, had decided to go straight, and didn't want anything to do with the family business. But the family business came calling on him on this warm night, and not even the bulletproof vest he was wearing could save him from the Teflon bullets tearing through his body. He too, lay dead across the hood of his patrol car. ********************************** "Knight, Vetter," Reese bellowed in his own familiar way. They looked up as he walked to where they were sitting at their desks. "Yes Cap," Nick said. "We have a double homicide at Morrello's Cafe on Beaker St. It appears to be a MOB hit You two had better get over there and find out what's going on." "OK Captain," Tracy said, and with that, both Tracy and Nick headed out of the precinct house. Once outside, Tracy said, "Nick, we can get there faster if we fly." Nick just chuckled and said, "Yeah, I know, but if we do that too much, we'll get caught eventually. We better take the car this time." On the way there, she told Nick, "Since Vachon taught me how to fly, I don't see any reason to drive much anymore." "I understand how you feel. It's a new sensation, and it can be fun. In times of emergency, flying can actually save your life. But what we need to do right now, is work among the mortals. In order to do that successfully, we must act like them in every respect." As they were approaching the crime scene, the road was blocked with emergency vehicles, and a crowd trying to get a glimpse of the mayhem. Nick parked the Caddy, and they approached the front of the crowd. As they started to cross under the crime scene tape, a uniformed officer informed them that they were not allowed in, Nick and Tracy both flashed their badges, and were then escorted to where the bodies were. Natalie and the forensics team were already there. "Hi Nat," Nick said, "What have you got here?" Natalie looked up, "Oh hi Nick, Tracy. It looks like we have a hit of some kind here. Nick, this is Felix Costello, you know, the big Mafia boss that the Canadian Government tried to put out of business last year. He got off on a technicality. Anyway, it looks like somebody put him out of business tonight, permanently!" "And, I assume," Nick said, "that is his bodyguard right next to him. Looks like they were both dead before he even had a chance to go for his gun." "That's what it looks like to me," Nat said. "Well Trace, I guess we better get started. Let's start with the crowd, maybe someone saw something." Among the people in the crowd, only one saw the limo pull up just before the shooting started, "And what is your name sir?" Nick asked. "Brite, Griner Brite. I was out walking my Scottish Terrier. I saw the limousine pull up in front of Morrello's. Then you could tell the doors were opening on the other side of the car. Two guys wearing hoods got out and started shooting what sounded like machine guns. Then Scotty and I went back around the corner to take cover. Then I heard the car drive off, and called the police." "Do you know what kind of car it was?" Tracy asked. "Yes," he said. "It was one of those nice new Cadillac's that was stretched out to a limousine, the kind you would see in a funeral procession." "Thank you Mr. Brite, if we need you, we will be in contact," Tracy said. Nick called Reese on his cell phone, and gave him the information they had gathered so far. "Nick," Reese said, "there was another shooting tonight. Police officer Jim Costello was gunned down on the far end of Pulaski Road. It seems that who ever did this used cop killer bullets, Nick." Nick stood there stunned, "That's one of our own captain! That's not supposed to happen! We'll get on it, I'll let Natalie know what's going on." Nick walked up to Natalie, "Nat." She looked up, "Yes, what is it?" "There's been another shooting. This time, it was a cop, Officer Jim Costello." "No," she cried, "I know Jim. He's a good cop. He didn't want anything to do with his father's business. We have been friends from college. He took criminology classes at the same school," she then looked into Nick's eyes, "Is he?" "I'm afraid he's gone, Nat. He didn't have a chance. The killers used cop killer bullets." "Oh my God, NO," she cried as she laid her head on Nick's shoulder. She stayed in his arms for a few minutes to regain her composure, then said, "I guess you had better get over there then. Where did it happen?" "On the far end of Pulaski Road." Then she said that she and the team would be there as soon as they were done here. ******************************** Begin Flashback Chicago February 14, 1932 Nick and Lacroix had been at the meeting of the bosses of the Chicago Mafia. It had been a hard struggle for the power distribution of the crime families in the Chicago area. Everyone wanted more than could be given. All but one had come to an agreement. Al Capone refused to have any dealings with the others. As they all entered the garage, they were met by a group of men brandishing Tommy guns. Then the shots rang out, and seemed to go on and on. All were dead, with the exception of Nick and Lacroix, who, of course, were vampires. Flying bullets were only a minor irritation. But they played dead until the shooters left. Then they knew that the best thing for them to do, was leave before the cops got there. End of Flashback *********************************** Arriving at the other crime scene, Nick was beginning to tire of all of this. Lacroix had mentioned just after the convention, that it really was time to consider moving on. He had been in Toronto for more than 10 years; in fact, it was approaching the 11-year mark. Nick had been in the homicide department of the Toronto Metropolitan police for more than 10 years now. But what to do about Natalie? He knew he loved her, more than life itself. But did he love her enough to try to bring her across, so that she could spend eternity with him? Or was this something that she really wanted? His train of thought was broken when he heard Tracy say, "Hey chief, we're here." "OK," he said as he was getting out of the Caddy. Walking up to a uniformed officer, he asked, "What have you got here?" "Not much, there were no witnesses. Another patrol car just happened to come this way. It's pretty deserted out here, so we don't come out here too much," he said. "And what's your name officer?" Nick asked. "Branden," he answered, "Jeff Branden." "Well Officer Branden, let's make sure no one messes with the crime scene before forensics gets here." "Yes sir, and you are?" "Nick Knight, Detective Nick Knight." "Oh yeah, I've heard of you. You have solved some of the toughest cases. I hope you can solve this one, Detective. It has a whole different feeling about it when it's one of our own." "Yes it does, Branden. Yes it does," with that, Nick went back to his car to wait for Natalie and the others. When Natalie and the forensics team had arrived, it was beginning to get close to dawn. She walked over to Nick and Tracy and said, "Listen guys, there isn't much you two can do out here this morning. It's getting close to dawn. We'll do the forensics work here, and call it a night. I'll get a report to you tonight. You two go home and get some rest. I'll take it from here." "OK Nat," Nick said," but you're looking pretty out of it yourself." "Yeah, I know," she said, "It's been a tough night." "It's been tough on all of us, Nat," Tracy said. "Yes it has at that," Natalie trailed off. "We'll see you tonight, Nat," Natalie waved them on as she was walking to where the body lay. ********************************* As Nick approached the stop sign at the end of Pulaski Road, Tracy looked around and said, "I'll fly from here, Nick. You go on home and get some rest, ok?" "Yeah," he smiled, "go ahead." As she flew off, he thought to himself, it is a whole lot easier when your partner is also a vampire. He then turned the Caddy and headed in the direction of the Raven. Upon entering the Raven, Nick noticed the place was practically empty. Only the wait staff was in doing the final cleaning of the day before retiring downstairs. Lacroix was standing at the bar sipping on a glass of his favorite house special, uncut human. "Well, Nicholas, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Lacroix asked. "I've been thinking," Nick said. "I see, isn't that a dangerous thing for you to do Nicholas?" Lacroix asked with a slight grin on his face. Nick just chuckled and said, "No, it's just something you said after the convention." "And what was that, Nicholas?" "Something about it being time to move on." "Do you feel the need to move?" Lacroix asked. "Not right this minute," Nick replied, "but probably very soon." "I see, and what pray tell, do you intend to do with your Dr. Lambert?" "I don't know yet, Lacroix." "You do love her, don't you Nicholas?" "Yes, I love her." "Does she love you, my son?" "Yes, she has even said so." "Then you must consider bringing her across or leaving her behind. But if you're intending to get to your loft, you had better get going, or you will be stuck here all day." "You're right, Lacroix. I'll come back when we have more time to talk." "All right, Nicholas. I'll be expecting you soon." As Nick headed out the door, he noticed the sun coming up over the horizon. It's a good thing he lives just a few blocks away from the Raven. He wouldn't have time to get home if he lived much further. Pulling the Caddy into the garage, he shut the overhead door with the remote. He got into the elevator and turned it on, upon entering the loft, he used his other remote to close the steel shutters on the windows, "It's a real pain in the ass being a vampire sometimes," he muttered to himself as he was going up to the bedroom. ************************************* Chapter 2 Nick met Tracy at the precinct. They were sitting at their desks, trying to figure out whether the killings from the night before were done by one of the other families or by one of the newer foreign gangs. Some of the gangs in Chinatown or the Mexican Mafia might want to increase the size of their territory. Or maybe it was Felix Costello's older son, Martin, who was widely known to want to take over the family business before the old man kicked the bucket. Just then, Natalie walked in carrying the preliminary report, "Hi Nick, Tracy," she said. "Hi Nat," Nick replied. "What have you got so far?" Tracy asked. "Well guys, it appears that both Felix and James Costello were killed with the same weapons. We will only be sure when ballistics is finished with the bullets, but they are all the same caliber, all Teflon. Some were recovered from the bodies, lodged in various parts; it's the same with the bodyguard. We don't have a name on him yet." "I thought we had all their names, from the top on down," Tracy said. 'That was last year Trace," Nick said, "some of these crime families will import people from the old country. They sometimes feel they can trust someone from home more." "Well guys, I need to get back to the morgue. I'll see you guys later." "OK Nat, see you later," Nick replied. "Hey Trace, why don't we get out of here and check out one of the contacts I have with the Prizia family." "What!" Tracy exclaimed, "you have contacts with the Prizia's?" "Well, one really high level contact anyway. He will know who is most likely behind this. If he refuses to give us any information, we will know it's within the Italian community. Other than that, he will tell us. But we have to keep him out of it." "Nick," Tracy said, "you know the darndest people." "Yeah, I know, but we had better get out of here before Reese comes in. You know how it is trying to get out when he wants the reports done." Immediately Tracy said, "Let's get out now, Nick. Let's move! What's taking you so long?" they both laughed as they were going out of the precinct. Getting into the Caddy, they drove to the high society side of town. Pulling into a large circle driveway, Nick stopped the Caddy in front of a very large house. As they stepped up to the front door, the butler greeted them. "Yes," he said, "may I help you?" "Yes," Nick replied," we need to talk to the Don." Both Nick and Tracy flashed their badges. The butler then said, "Yes, you are expected. Please come in. You can wait right here in the library for Don Prizia." "Thank you," Nick replied, as they both settled in to wait." Tracy asked, "Nick, why were we being expected?" "Because of what happened last night. If they had anything to do with it, we wouldn't be standing here now. I don't think they were involved." "Well, I see I have some visitors this evening. Hello Detective Knight. And who is this?" Mr., Prizia asked. "Hello, Mr. Prizia. This is Detective Tracy Vetter, my partner," Nick said. "Very young, very beautiful, and related to the police commissioner to boot," Prizia said. Tracy blushed at the last statement, since she didn't like using her father's name. In fact, she really didn't like her father, but she pushed all this to the back of her mind. "I'm assuming you are here regarding someone's activities from last night," the Don continued. "That's correct," Nick said, "We were hoping that you might be able to help us with a little information." "Well," the Don continued, "if I was looking for the killer, I would look close to home. We know that the Chinese Mafia took over part of Costello's territory by early this morning, so they may have been involved. But I suspect since they didn't take over everything, that Martin Costello might be involved as well. And, remember, I didn't say anything to you." "I didn't hear you say anything," Nick said with a slight smile. "Thank you detective." "Thank you Don Prizia." "Until we meet again then." "Until then," Nick said. As they were pulling out of the driveway, Tracy asked, "So, how is it that you know how to get information out of one of the biggest crime lords in the city?" "I saved his life a few years back. He was so grateful, that he said he would help with any cases that might involve any of the organized crime in this area, as long as he was kept out of it," Nick said. "Even if it involved his friends?" Tracy asked. "No," Nick countered, "nothing that would bring dishonor to his family and other close friends. In case you're wondering, Martin Costello isn't what anyone would consider a close friend to any of the local Mafia leaders." ************************************ On their way back to the precinct, Nick started to think again about moving on. What would he do about Natalie? Where would he go? Would he go back into police work, or would he take up being a teacher, or possibly be a doctor again? Maybe this time, he would take up law. Well, maybe not, that would require too many daylight hours. Nick kind of laughed to himself. On a whim, he decided to stop at the coroner's building. "What are we doing here Nick?" Tracy asked. "I just wanted to check with Nat about something, can you wait for me?" "Sure," Tracy said. Upon entering Natalie's office, he had some butterflies in his stomach. "Hi Nat." "Hi Nick, what brings over here so soon?" Natalie asked. "I wanted to talk to someone." She looked up into his blue eyes and could sense he was troubled, "What is it Nick?" she asked. "I've been thinking about moving on," he said, after a brief silence. "I see, and why this sudden need to move on? "Well, I've been here for well over 10 years, and for a vampire, that can be dangerous. As everyone around us ages, we don't. Sooner or later, it becomes noticeable." "Well Nick, that certainly makes sense. It would be somewhat obvious that you're not aging. But don't you think this is sudden?" "Not really, when we start to feel like we're outstaying our welcome, then it is usually time to move on." "And, you're beginning to feel that way," she said. "Yes, a little. Listen Nat, Tracy is outside waiting in the car, and we really need to get going on this case. I want to talk to you more about this." "OK Nick, I'll meet you at the loft at about seven then." "OK," he said. "I'll see you then." "OK," she said, "I'll see you then." Back in the car, Tracy said, "Nick, Vachon is thinking of moving on." "What?" Nick gasped, "you're kidding." "No, I'm not. And since he is my sire, he says I should come with him. Nick, I've been thinking about this for a few weeks. He says I can have my freedom if I want it, but I would not be under his protection and leadership if I stay behind. He really has been pretty good at teaching me about my new unlife. Urs is even going to go if he goes after a few months. She wants to stay a little longer, but not more than a few months, what should I do?" "Go," he replied, "you are really too close to the mortal community here. Remember what it was that Don Prizia said earlier. He alluded to the fact that your mortal father is the police commissioner. If you're not near Vachon, no one else is going to protect you. I will if I'm here, but I, too, am considering moving on." ********************************** Back at the precinct, Nick and Tracy sat in the car talking over their feelings about moving on, when they heard a familiar voice. "Hey you two, aren't there any reports to do sitting on your desks? Or maybe you would like to solve a case or two?" "Oh, hi Cap," Nick said, "we have just been out checking with an informant about the Costello case." "I see," Reese said, "well?" he asked. "We may have something to check out. It seems that Martin Costello isn't too well liked by the organized crime families. And he might be in league with the Chinese Mafia. He might have been a little too eager to take over the family business, and didn't want to wait until the old man died on his own." "I see," Reese said, "well, it would be a little presumptuous to call on anyone at this late hour tonight. Maybe you should wait until tomorrow night to go calling on Mr. Costello. In the meantime, would you two PLEASE WORK A LITTLE AT THINNING THE STACK OF UNFINISHED REPORTS ON YOUR DESKS?" Reese bellowed! "Yes captain," Tracy said, "we'll get right on it." Back at their desks, they started going through the stacks of papers and folders. By 5:00 a.m., they were actually done, and it was time to call off duty. Outside, Tracy said, "I'll see you tonight." "OK Trace," Nick said. With that, they both drove off in the respective directions of their homes. ************************************* Arriving at the loft, Nick went into the elevator, upon entering the loft, he noticed the rhythmic heartbeat of a mortal. One, Natalie Lambert, he would know that heartbeat anywhere. He knew the one he loved. Now it was time to talk about Natalie coming with him when he moved on. "Hi Nat," he said as he sat down on the couch. "Hi Nick, how was your night?" "Well, outside of being yelled at by Reese, we had a pretty good night, and yours?" "Well, ballistics came back on the Costello case, and including Jim Costello, all the murders were related, there were matches of the bullets in all three victims." "We talked to a confidential informant. He said, it seems that certain people in certain places are not happy with young Martin Costello taking over the family business. It also seems that the Chinese Mafia was involved in the murders. Their reward was one third of the Costello territories. We will be confronting young Martin this evening." "OK," she said, "about what we were talking about earlier, Nick. Remember a few years ago? You were preparing to move on then. I told you I had faith in you. You tried to bring me across. I almost died that night. Nick, what was the problem then? What would prevent that from happening again? Is Lacroix going to be around with a ready blood supply this time? I still love you Nick, and I still have faith in you. If it means we can be together Nick, I am still willing to be brought across, as long as we can be together." "Nat, I'm willing to try again. This time, I might have more control. I've actually been consuming more human blood than cow over the last few years, so I do have my strength and will power back. I have brought others across in the past, including Janette, when she became mortal. The last time, I wasn't in the best of health, after one hundred years of consuming cow blood. Tracy was in the hospital from the gunshot. She almost died. The review board was breathing down my neck, and with all the other things happening, I lost control. I took too much. You were very lucky that Lacroix had a hunch about what was going on that night. He came over with a ready supply of blood to save your life. That was strange, since he usually doesn't have much use for mortals. I want you to think about this. It is a big decision. It will change your whole life, however long that may be!" "You mean you aren't going to do it today?" she asked with smile on her face. "I'm not moving on today, Nat," he said. "You do have time to think about it. I'm just as worried as you are, and just as scared. I do want you to think about it." "OK," she said, "we will talk about this again." With that, Natalie said, "I'm going to go home now. I think I need to sleep on it as well." "OK," he said, "I will see you tonight then." "Sure," she said with a smile, "and regarding the Costello case, it sounds like your informant might know what he's talking about. If Martin Costello didn't want to wait for dear old dad to die, he didn't want to take a chance on little brother having a change of heart either." "You may be right," he said. "I'll see you later Nick." "OK see you later." ******************************** Chapter 3 Nick sat on the couch thinking about that night four years ago. Natalie had faith in him. She loved him. He knew deep in his heart that if he let her get away this time, he would be kicking himself for the rest of eternity. He began to flash back to that night. Begin Flashback, March 22, 1996 "Have you ever had faith Nick?" "Faith in what?" he asked. "Oh, I don't know, faith in a being that loves us, faith in yourself, faith in anything. Nick, if it means we can be together, I'm willing to do anything. You just have to love me as much as I love you. You just have to have faith. I have faith Nick. I have faith in you, Nick. I trust you. Take just a little. Make love to me, Nick." As he looked into her eyes, she began to sense his vampire arousing, his eyes glowed gold, his fangs extended. "Take just a little. I have faith in you." He bit into her neck. She was suddenly aroused, and Nick lost control. When Natalie lost consciousness, he laid her on the floor. Lacroix walked in at that moment. "What is the problem, Nicholas?" he asked. "I've taken too much", Nick said, in a panic. "Oh Nicholas, I see that neither one of us is ready to move on. Let's give her some blood, I have a ready supply. We can revive her." End Flashback. At that point, he figured he was too weak to bring anyone across that night. But now, he might just be able to do it right. At least he was back on human blood. He just couldn't take the cow that much anymore. It was really beginning to weaken him. He was getting tired, and decided to go to bed. *********************************** That evening the phone awakened Nick. He bolted upright and answered, "Knight." "Yes Nick," Reese said on the other end of the line. "There's been another shooting." "Where is it?" Nick asked. "It's at Jodie's Bistro." "I'm on my way. Is it related to the Costello case?" "It might be, Nick. Two guys went into the cafe. They shot up a family. The two women are dead, the man is barely alive." "Do you know who it is?" Nick asked. "Yes, the Prizia family. I'll be there as soon as I get out of here," they hung up. Nick took a quick shower, got dressed and was out to the garage in a matter of minutes. He had just talked with the Don the night before. Now it seemed his life was in danger. Upon arriving at the cafe, he noticed that Natalie was already there. "Hi, Nick," she said. "Hi, Nat. What have you got so far?" "Well, for starters, 16 year old Nancy Prizia. Neither she nor her mother, 45 year old Susan, had a chance. Mr. Prizia has been taken to the hospital. He wasn't hurt as bad. He knew to duck, I guess. He was shot in the arm three times, and played dead." "Smart on his part," Nick replied. "In that case, I'm going to have to go to the hospital and have a talk with the Don." Just then, a uniformed officer came up to Nick and said, "From what we can gather, no one saw anything. They are all claiming they were in the kitchen at the time of the shooting." "I see," Nick said with a bit of sarcasm. "Seems no one ever sees anything these days, doesn't it?" "That's true, Detective," the officer said. "Hi guys," Tracy said as she was walking in. "Hi Trace," Nat said. "We're going to head for the hospital to try to get something out of Don Prizia," Nick said. "I'll fill you in on the way, Trace." "OK," she said, as they walked out to Nick's car. ************************************ "You fucking idiots, I send you out to do a simple job and wipe out the Prizias. Now you can bet we can't get anywhere near the Don," Martin Costello yelled at Joe and Vito. "You two were supposed to kill them all. I knew I should have used the Chinese hitters again, but they're expensive." "We'll get him boss," Vito said. "You couldn't get past a minimum wage security guard. How do you think you can get near Prizia now?" Martin said. "His people are among the best bodyguards and underbosses in the country! We won't be able get him now at all. We have to make sure there is a war among the families. That way, we will split half the territories with the Chinese. They can help supply the heroin for us, as well, maybe even the cocaine. You know that Wang has the best connections in the business. Now it's going to be impossible to get Prizia out of the way. Just like my late father, Prizia doesn't want to sell drugs. But, gentlemen, I can't pass up that kind of profit. These old farts are standing in the way of my greatness. I'm not going to allow it any longer, it's time to get them out of my way." "OK, boss," Joe said, "if we go after Romano, and do a successful hit there, do you think we might have a chance?" "Maybe," Martin replied, "but he is in league with Prizia, and you can bet that his security is being beefed up as we speak. But we do have our own people in the Romano organization. Maybe some well- placed explosives in his shitter. He could get an uplifting experience some morning!" "That's a terrific plan, boss," Vito said. "When can we do it?" "As soon as possible, and let's make it look like Prizia did it." ************************************* As Nick and Tracy arrived at the emergency room, they were in luck. It was a busy night, and since the Don's injuries weren't life threatening, he had not been taken into surgery yet. In fact, the Doctor hadn't seen him, yet. So they were able to see him. As Nick and Tracy approached the curtain that hid Prizia, they were stopped by one of Prizia's henchmen. "Detectives Knight and Vetter of homicide," Nick said, and they were permitted to pass. "Well, hello Detectives Knight, and Vetter." "Hello Don, Prizia. What happened tonight?" Nick asked. "Well," he said. "We were having dinner, and two guys walked in, and just started shooting. I know who they are. They are Martin Costello's right and left hands. My people have already notified Romano and his people. We also know that Costello has some of his people working in the Romano family. They are being watched. They won't get close to Don Romano, Detective. Why don't you just let us handle this within the organization?" "You know, I can't do that officially," Nick said, "but I won't get in your way. Just don't let me see what your people are doing. OK?" "Fair enough," Prizia said. "Maybe you can make something clear to me. I understand why Martin Costello had his father killed. What I don't understand, is why he had his brother killed?" Nick asked. "Well, because he still had a very good relationship with Felix. Felix was still hoping that Jim would change his mind. I think Felix was supposed to meet Jim that night on Pulaski Road. Martin knew this, and wanted to make sure that Jim would never have a change of heart." "Very well. Then, we will see you again. Get well soon," Nick said. "I will, until another time." As they were headed out to the Caddy, Tracy said, "Nick, we can't just stand by and do nothing. We have to go after the perps on this one, after all, they did kill a cop." "Yes Tracy, I know, and so does Prizia. What he was telling us is, they are planning to go after Costello. So that we don't get hurt, we should stay out of the way. As soon as what happened tonight kind of blows over. We are involved in the meantime." "I see," Tracy said, "but we still can't condone the activities of these crime lords. They are still criminals, and we should be arresting them all." "I know," Nick said, "but right now, we are going to do something. We are going to confront Costello tonight. We aren't going to get in their way. And, I might add, we wouldn't ever get enough evidence to convict all of these criminals, if any. So we will get what we can get, OK?" "OK," she said, but she wasn't happy. ********************************* Back at the precinct, Nick and Tracy got started with the reports, so they wouldn't get behind again. "What's this?" Reese asked, "My detectives doing their paper work? Will wonders ever cease?" "Well Cap," Tracy said, "we thought that if we got a head start, we wouldn't get so far behind." "I see," he said with a smile. "Maybe you're gaining a little wisdom with your age." "When we get done here, let's knock off early tonight. I have to go and see someone," Nick said. "I thought we were going to confront Costello tonight," she said. "Well, he should still be amongst the living tomorrow night," he said, "but this is really important to me. I need to talk to Lacroix about moving on." "Oh yeah," she replied, "I guess I should talk to Vachon about that also. Nick, I think you're right, by the way. Moving on could possibly be the best thing for me. Have you thought about a time yet?" "Yes, I have," Nick replied. "I was thinking about doing it as soon as this case is over. As for where I might end up, for me, it's a toss up between New Orleans, LA, or Austin, TX. I haven't decided yet." "I haven't even gotten that far yet myself, Nick. But the South does sound nice in the winter months, not that the cold bothers our kind," they both smiled and understood. When they were up on the reports, they both signed off early and went their separate ways for the night. Nick sat in his car for a long moment, thinking. Then, he turned on the radio, and started driving in the direction of the Raven. "Good evening, gentle listeners. It's the Nightcrawler again, bringing you my infinite knowledge and wisdom, things that only come from age. When you have been wronged, is revenge the right thing? When you have been wronged in business, is it right to do the unthinkable and eliminate the competition? It seems like something's afoot out in the city lately." At that point, Nick was just pulling up in front of the Raven. Upon entering, Nick was greeted at the bar by Stephen, "Good evening, Mr. Knight." "Good evening Stephen. I'll have the house special." "Are you sure?" Stephen inquired. "Yes, I'm sure." "OK, one house special coming right up," Stephen handed Nick a glass with uncut human. "Are you here to see Lacroix?" Stephen asked. "Yes, I'll wait until he's finished broadcasting. In the meantime, I'll just sit back and enjoy the music." "Very well," Stephen said. "Let me know when you need a refill." As soon as Lacroix was finished with his broadcast, he came out of his broadcasting booth and noticed Nick's presence immediately. "Well Nicholas, I'm always so glad to see you. I guess you are here to discuss your feelings about moving on?" "Yes I am," Nick said. "Have you decided where you might go?" "Yes, I was thinking about either New Orleans or Austin." Lacroix sat there with bewildered look, "New Orleans, I understand, but Austin? Texas? We don't even have anything resembling a community there. There's no equivalent to the Raven there. The nearest community is in either San Antonio, or Dallas. Neither of which are the best of communities. Houston has a pretty decent community, but in Austin, there is nothing." "That's one of the things I wanted to discuss," Nick said. "Some of the community here are thinking of starting a new one in the Austin area, including Merlin. It's an opportunity to really get a fresh start at something new." "In that case," Lacroix said, "I would tend to agree. I spent a few hours in Austin back in the 80s. It does have a nice nightlife. We would be close enough to the Houston community there. But I must warn you, Nicholas, there is always much work to starting a new community. And it's not always successful. On the other hand, if the new community starts out with some old friends, you might have a chance at it. Are you sure this is where you want to go?" "Not yet, like I said," Nick replied, "it's a toss up." "And what about Dr. Lambert?" Lacroix asked. "We have discussed it a little. She would like to be brought across. But I'm afraid I would take too much, and it would turn out the same as last time." "Well Nicholas, if you weren't always trying to become mortal again, you wouldn't have been so weak the last time. You might have even been successful, but of course, you almost ended up killing her." "That's precisely why I'm afraid to try again. I know I have been drinking uncut human in the last couple of years. But I still feel I could kill her by taking too much. I don't know what it is, with her. I just lose control." "Well Nicholas, if you don't decide soon, you will just have to leave her behind. She now has too many memories to do a decent whammy. She'll just have to get on with her life. I think that would break both your hearts. Sleep on it the next few days, Nicholas. You still have time to decide the fate of the good doctor." "OK Lacroix, but in the mean time, I'm going over to see Vachon. I think he's planning to move on as well." "Very well then," Lacroix said, do think about it, Nicholas," and he watched as Nick walked out the door. ************************************ Landing at the front door of Vachon's church, Nick entered, going into where Vachon, Tracy and Urs were lying in the bed. Noticing his presence, Tracy said. "Hi partner, take your clothes off and join us." "Oh yeah," Urs said, "I've wanted him since I first met him." "C'mon Nick, join us," Vachon interjected. "The more the merrier, I always say," Tracy said with a chuckle. "Sounds like fun", Nick said as he started to get undressed, just getting his shirt off. Tracy got up and walked over to him, and started kissing him, and helped him to finish getting undressed. Then she stood back and admired this beautiful creature whose manhood was now in her hand. She became very aroused, as was he, and they started kissing. Both could feel the vampire rising to the surface. At about the same time, they both sank their fangs into each other's necks, and started to do the vampire kiss. She led him over to the bed, where Vachon and Urs were already engaging in sex. Tracy immediately guided Nick into her. In what seemed like hours, very pleasurable hours, they both climaxed, and were both exhausted. Nick looked at his watch, realizing that the sun was up, he knew he was stuck there for the day. "Don't fret it Knight," Vachon said, "with these two, we can rock and roll all night, and party every day." With a smile, Nick said, "I think I heard Urs say she always wanted me too." "I do. Nick," Urs said with a smile. "OK then," Vachon said, "lets switch partners." And they started the process over again. ************************************** Chapter 4 Leaving the morgue that morning, Natalie was standing at her car, fumbling for her keys, when suddenly, shots rang out. Natalie ducked, but it was already too late. She had been hit three times, along with several other people. She was rushed to the hospital. On the way, she lost consciousness. She had been shot in the upper right shoulder, the lower back, and in the left leg. "It will be touch and go," said the EMT, "but I think she can make it." Three of her colleagues were killed in the attack. Six others were injured, whoever did this knew what time the day shift would be arriving for work. Natalie should have left over an hour before the attack, but was caught up in some paperwork. She was leaving late, and as it turned out, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. *************************************** That evening, as Nick and Tracy were walking into the precinct, they noticed a flurry of activity. "What's going on here, Cap," Nick asked as they were approaching Reese. "Nick, I have been trying to reach you all day. Haven't you heard?" Reese exclaimed. "Heard what, Captain," Tracy asked.. "There was a shooting at the morgue this morning during the shift change, three dead, seven injured, including Dr. Natalie Lambert." "What?" Nick said, with a frightened tone. "Is she alright?" "The surgery went fine Nick," Reese said. "But they said she lost consciousness on the way to the hospital, and hasn't even begun to respond to any kind of stimuli. The others have all recovered. But Dr. Lambert was hit worse than the others, with the exception of those that were killed, of course. I want you two to get on this case right away." "But Captain, what about the Costello case?" Tracy asked. "The Costello case can wait, Detective. I want you two on this one right away." "Yes sir," Nick said. "I need to go to the hospital, Captain," Nick said. "Not yet Nick, you can't do anything for her there. Solving this case will do more for her at this point. Please Nick, this might interest you, the bullets match one of the guns used in the Costello shooting. Ballistics ran a rush on this one, since the bullets used in the morgue shooting are also Teflon." "I don't care about the bullets matching the bullets in the Costello shooting, Natilie needs me now, I can solve the case later," Nick said with an anger coming up in his voice. "Nick, Please, listen to me," Reese started, "I really need you on this one, it seems to be connected to the Costello shooting." "But Captain, why would the the Costello shooters go to the morgue, and start shooting?" Nick asked. "Well," Reese started, "they didn't match all the bullets from the Costello shooting. They just match some of the bullets, it seems that one of the shooters dropped his gun, which a few years back was a standard practice of MOB shooters, likewise, some of the bullets matched at the Jim Costello shooting, so the same weapon that was used to kill Jim was also used at Morello's Cafe, same with the gun used in the morgue shooting, there were no match's with the Jim Costello shooting, but they match some of the bullets at the original Costello shooting." "I'll get on it Captian, just as soon as I make sure Natalie is alright, and right now I'm going to the hospital." "Okay, I guess I can bend a little," Reese said. "Do you have any ideas, Nick?" Tracy asked as they were getting into the Caddy, and starting to head in the direction of the hospital. "I don't think it's related to what we were working on. Judging from the time of the incident, it seems Natalie was late leaving work this morning, so it wasn't anything aimed specifically at her, or us," Nick said. "How about former employees? Was anyone fired recently?" Tracy asked. "That very well could be," Nick said, "that would be the only logical explanation. The only other thing would be a gang related drive by shooting. we'll check the disgruntled employee theory just as soon as I know Natalie is alright." "Here we are now, I hope she will be alright," Tracy said," While you wait with Natalie, I might go and check some things out on my own, will that be alright with you Nick?" "Yeah, just don't let Reese find out your working alone, you know how he is, do you need the car?" Nick asked. "I think I can get by without it tonight Nick," Tracy replied,"I'm only going to talk to Grace at the morgue, maybe she can shed some light on who did this, especially if it is a former employee." "True, listen, I'm going to be with Natalie for awhile, I might even be stuck here for the day, and maybe tomorrow as well, I'm not leaving her side until she wakes up." "Nick, did you ever consider bringing her across?" Tracy asked. "We've discussed it, obviously it hasn't happened yet." Nick answered. As they arrived at the information desk, Nick enquired about Natalie. "Lets see," The volonteer said," Yes, she was brought in this morning, according the file I have here, she is still in recovery, are you a relative?" "No, we're very good friends, most of her family is deceased, and we've been working together for about ten years," Nick said. "I'm sorry sir, only family members are allowed in recovery to visit loved ones," the volonteer said. "I told you she is my sister," Nick said in a very hipnotic tone. "Yes, you did at that didn't you," the volenteer replied," just go up to the fifth floor, she should still be there." As Nick went upstairs to the recovery area, Tracy left and went to the morgue to talk to Grace, Natalie's friend and coworker, after exiting the rear entrance of the hospital, she looked around to make sure she was in the clear, and then flew off toward the coroners building a few blocks away. Arriving at the Coroners Building, she walked inside and were greeted by Grace, Natalie's friend and coworker, "Hi Grace." "Detective, where were you this morning?" Grace cried out. "I know," Tracy said, "I feel just as bad about this as you do." "I'm sorry Tracy. I've just been trying to put this whole thing together. I don't understand why anyone would shoot at people who work at the Coroners office." "Well Grace, that's why I'm here now, I would like to understand that myself, and so would Nick," Tracy said. "And where is Nick?" Grace asked. "He's at the hospital with Natalie," Tracy replied," he intends to stay there until she wakes up. "Good for him," Grace said."I guess I had better answer your questions then, shouldn't I?" Choking back her tears.. "Grace, I know this is hard for you, but I do need to ask you some questions," Tracy said. "I know," Grace replied. "Do you know of any former employees that might hold a grudge?" "There might be one," Grace said, "but I don't think he would actually kill anybody. He did have an attitude that would make you run for cover." "What is his name?" Tracy asked. "Griner Brite," she said, "here, let me go and get you his file out of personnel. I'll be back in a few," with that, Grace left to go upstairs to the personnel office. That name sounds familiar, Tracy thought. Tracy flipped through her note pad, "Yes, here it is. He was the only witness, but I failed to get an address on him." She said to herself. Just then, the elevator door opened and Grace walked out with the file in hand, and handed it to Tracy,"Grace, do you know this Griner Brite?" "I've met him a couple of times," she said. "Do you know what he looks like?" "Yes," she said," he's a short little fat man, bald, has a scar on his left cheek, and he has a dragon tattoo on his right arm." "Thanks Grace," Tracy said, "I will be in touch soon." "I will," Grace said. Arriving back at the hospital, using her sences, she found Nick in the recovery area, sitting right next to Natilie, just staring at her with love in his eyes. "Nick, I may have something here, they had just fired a man last Friday," Tracy whispered to Nick, "seems that this is the same man that witnessed the shooting at Morello's, a certain Mr. Griner Brite." Nick turned to look at Tracy, " You mean to tell me this could be our shooter?" Nick asked. "It certainly looks that way," Tracy said. Turning back to Natilie, he whispered in her ear," I will be back soon my love," Tracy noticed what she thought was a small smile curle on Natalie's lips. "Let's get over there and see what his problem is with the coroners office," Nick said. "Do we have an address on this person?" Nick asked. "Yes, on 45th St., just around the corner from Morrello's," Tracy replied. ************************************** Arriving in front of the building on 45th St., they got out of the Caddy, and proceeded to enter the building. "Apt. 410", Tracy said as they began to climb the stairs. When they got up to the apartment, they knocked the familiar police knock. "Who is it?" a voice said from the other side of the door. "POLICE, OPEN UP," Nick shouted, the door slowly opened. "Is this about the shooting the other night officers?" Griner asked, as he was motioning for them to enter. "Not exactly," Tracy said, "it has more to do with the shooting that took place this morning." "You wouldn't happen to know about that would you Mr. Brite?" Nick asked. "Of course not", Griner said with a worried look on his face. "Well, this shooting took place in front of the Coroners building downtown," Nick said. "We have three people dead and six injured." "We also have your personnel file from the Coroners office. Were you employed there?" Tracy asked. "Yes I was, but I was fired." "For disciplinary reasons?" Nick asked. "Well, yes", he said. "According to the notes in your file, you kept threatening your coworkers. Would not work well with others, and threatened to kill everyone there when you got fired. Is this true?" Griner hung his head, and said, "Yes, it is true." After a long moment, Nick asked, "Did you have anything to do with the shooting at the Coroners building this morning." "Yes," Griner said as he began to sob. "Why don't you tell us about it Mr. Brite," Tracy said. "OK," he replied. After regaining his composure, he started to talk. "I had just been fired the other day. That night, while I was out walking the dog, that shooting took place around the corner at Morello's. One of the shooters dropped his gun when he was getting back into the car. I picked it up and hid it. This morning, I was still in a rage. These places want to work you to death, but you just don't get decent pay, or appreciation. Then they fire you. I was in a rage this morning. I picked up the gun from the place I had hidden it. I drove over there, and I opened fire on them. I wanted to kill them all! I wanted to kill them all!" He started to sob again. "What did you do with the gun?" Nick asked. "It ís in that closet over there," Brite replied pointing to the closet by the front door. "Can we search your apartment, or do we need a warrant?" Tracy asked. "You may search," he said. "Well," Nick said, "I need you to stand up." Nick put the handcuffs on Mr. Brite. "You are under arrest for three counts of first degree murder, and ten counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and ten counts of assault with intent to kill. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law. You also have the right to an attorney, to have one present during any and all questioning. If you do not have an attorney, the court will appoint one to you. Do you understand your rights?" Nick asked. Griner shook his head yes, and was led away to a waiting patrol car that Tracy had called for while Nick was making the arrest. ************************************* Back at the precinct, Captain Reese greeted Nick and Tracy. "Great job, you two. Now that's the kind of police work I like to see. As soon as youíre done with the report on this case, I would like you to get back on the Costello case, OK?" "Ok," Nick replied. After they were done with the questioning of the suspect, and the paperwork, Nick decided to head over to the hospital and see if Natalie was doing any better. They hadn't heard a thing since they had talked to Grace. ************************************ Nick went into the room and observed Natalie lying in a very peaceful state. He noticed that she wasn't on a respirator. She was breathing on her own, and her heart was beating at the steady rhythm he knew only so well. He knew that it was only a matter of time, and she would wake up. Just then, the door opened, the nurse looked in and said, "Time ís up Detective. When we get her down to another room you will be able to stay longer." "OK," Nick said as he was walking out into the hallway. "Here ís my cell phone number. Please, let me know when they move her?" "Sure, Detective," Nick left the hospital. He knew it was getting near sun up, and he had better get going if he was going to get to the loft. ********************************** Chapter 5 That evening, Nick and Tracy decided it was time to confront Martin Costello. They talked it over and figured that there was no way that Costello was going to let them leave his place alive. Since they were vampires, bullets wouldn't be anything more than a minor inconvenience. But they decided that they would play dead, and take it from there. On the drive over to the Costello mansion, they parked the Caddy a block away, and walked up to the door. Answering the knock at the door, the butler said, "Yes, may I help you?" "Yes," Nick replied, "Detectives Knight and Vetter, to see Mr. Costello." "Yes," the butler said, "please wait in the library. Mr. Costello will be with you shortly." "Well, well, well, we have a couple of hotshot detectives," Martin said as he entered the library with Joe and Vito close behind. "I suppose you're here to confront me about the shootings of my father and brother. It ís true, I was behind all that, and the Prizia's as well. You know, of course, I'm not going to let you go anyway. As far as I'm concerned, you're both dead already." He said with a snicker! "Oh really," Nick said, "you know you will never get away with killing two cops." "What do you mean by that?" Martin said, "I've already had one killed, my little brother. Now the little pain in the ass isn't going to get on my nerves anymore. Vito, Joe, take them out and kill them." At that, Joe and Vito pulled out their guns, "OK, you two, it's time to say bye bye. Let's go out the back." Nick and Tracy were led to a white van parked inside the garage. Vito opened the side door, "Get in." As Nick and Tracy got in, they heard four shots muffled by a silencer. By all appearances, Nick and Tracy were killed instantly. They each were hit twice. Nick whispered to Tracy in a low whisper only she could hear. "Just play dead, until we get to where they think they will dump our bodies." "OK," Tracy said. After what seemed like about a ten-minute drive, Vito pulled the van into a wrecking yard. Joe said, "I think we can find a nice trunk to put them in. That ought to hold them until we can get back here and dispose of them properly." "After all, we wouldn't want to leave litter lying around now would we," Vito said as they both just laughed. As they pulled up to a junk car with a lot of trunk space, Nick whispered to Tracy in a low voice only she could hear, "When they open the door, go for one and I'll go for the other. You know instinctively how to kill. Don't worry, I'll show you what to do from there." "OK," she said. "You see," Nick said, "we do get to feed on fresh blood once in awhile." Tracy just smiled at that statement. Suddenly, the door opened. Joe and Vito didn't know what hit them. Both Nick and Tracy flew out at them almost immediately. They were both subdued, and within minutes, both were drained and dead. After that, Nick showed her how to dispose of the bodies. If she ran into a similar situation in the future, she would know what to do. "Nick?" she asked, "I thought you didn't believe in taking a human life, why did you do it now?" "I normally wouldn't, but there are times in the long life of a vampire, that it becomes necessary. Do you know where we are, by the way?" he asked. "I think so," she said. "Good, let's go get the car," and soon, they both took to the air. By the time they got back to the precinct, it was time to go home. Tracy went home. Just as Nick was getting ready to drive off, his cell phone rang. "Knight," he answered. "Yes, Mr. Knight," a female voice said over the phone. "Yes." "This is nurse Jacobson from Toronto General Hospital." "Yes, is there any change?" "Not yet Mr. Knight. But she is still breathing on her own. I just called to let you know that she has been moved down to room 433. You can visit during regular visiting hours." "Thank you," Nick said. "Thank you sir." They both hung up. It was time to get to the loft; it was time for him to get a good day's sleep. ******************************* That night, Nick woke up fully rested. Since he was off for the night, he decided to go to the hospital and spend some time with Natalie. When he arrived, he was pleasantly surprised to find Natalie awake, somewhat groggy, but awake. She asked, "How long have I been here?" "Two days," he replied. "Surely you haven't been here all that time have you?" "No, I wasn't allowed at first. Captain Reese made me solve the case before I was let loose," she smiled at the statement. "Did you solve it?" "Yes, it was a disgruntled employee from the morgue. He's already in custody. He confessed. So it's an open and shut case." "Was anyone else hurt?" Nick gave her a serious look, thinking about how much to tell her. He decided to just tell her what she would find out anyway. "There were three killed, and seven injured. You were the most seriously injured." "I remember being carried into the ambulance. I remember fumbling for my car keys, but everything else is a blank." "They said you lost consciousness on the way to the hospital." "How badly was I hurt?" "I think I'll let the doctor talk to you about that." "OK," she said. Just then, the evening nurse came, "It's time for you to take your meds, my dear," she said as she entered carrying a small syringe. "I'll just put it into the I.V., are you feeling any better since you woke up this afternoon?" the nurse asked. "I feel like I've been run over by a train," Natalie said. "After what you've been through, I have no doubt about that. This should take away any discomfort. You should get a good night's sleep." Then she turned to Nick and said, "Visiting hours are almost over. She will be asleep soon." Nick said, "OK, I'll leave. I will see you tomorrow night Nat. Do me a favor, get better soon." Natalie just smiled and said bye and then began to doze off. ********************************* "Don, Prizia, it's nice to see you home again," Charles said. "It's good to be home, Chuck. Gather our inner sanctum. You know who to leave out of the meeting." "Sure thing, boss." Charles made a couple of phone calls, and within an hour, the meeting was in full swing, just then Charles entered, "Boss, Mrs. Costello is here with her daughter, Maria, she says its urgent that she see you." "Okay Chuck, put them in my study. I will get to them as soon as I can." "OK, boss." "Good afternoon, Mrs. Costello, and Maria. What can I do for you?" Prizia said as he was entering the study." "Oh, Don, Prizia, you must protect yourself. My son, Martin, is out to kill you. Maria and I overheard him making plans with some of his new people. They are planning on blowing you up in your bathroom." "Ah yes, we are already aware of this," he said. "He wants to start a war, so he can take over all your territories, and split them with the Chinese mobsters. You must do something." "I assure you, Mrs. Costello, we are doing all we can to stop him. Do you need sanctuary Mrs. Costello?" he asked. "Yes, it has gotten to where I can't trust him. My own son has had his father and brother killed. I can't trust him anymore." "Then you shall stay with us until it is safe for you to go home." "Thank you Don, Prizia." "Thank you. I must be getting back to the meeting. I will let Charles show you to your rooms. And please, make yourselves at home." "We will, sir. I'm sorry about Susan and Nancy." "Thank you." the Don said, and with that he headed back to his meeting. "I just had a meeting with Felix' widow and daughter. She is even on to Martin's schemes. She confirmed that she had overheard him making plans. He did bring in the Chinese, so we must do something quickly," he said. "Don, Romano said, it is most likely Wang's group. Costello hasn't learned from the last time. What do you think we should do?" Prizia asked. "I think we should blow him away at the same time as Martin gets it. That should back the Chinese off all right. Then the families will take all of our territories back." "It's agreed then, gentlemen. Let's do it post haste." ************************************* Chapter 6 The next morning, Martin Costello got out of bed, and after checking out the bathroom, just to be sure, took a shower and got dressed. He then went down to his study, after checking out every part of the room. He relaxed and sat behind his desk. "I'm just getting too paranoid," he thought. "I think I'll call Chicago. I need to get out of town while Wang takes care of things here." As he picked up the receiver and started to dial, he heard glass break and felt a sharp pain in his back. Then glass broke again, and the second bullet went into his head, laying his head on his desk, he was dead. At the same time, Wang sat in his office in his restaurant in Chinatown. He had just started to try to reach Martin, but the line was busy. He wasn't having any luck reaching Martin. "Well," he thought, "I'll just drive over there, and we can get our plan underway," he went out the back door that leads into the alley. He and two of his bodyguards climbed into his Mercedes. Inserting the key into the ignition, he turned the key to start the car. The car exploded immediately, killing him and the bodyguards instantly. ************************************** That evening, Nick and Tracy met out in front of the precinct, "Hi Trace." "Hi, Nick, what's up?" "Not much," he said, "I guess we will see if anything is up when we get upstairs." As they were entering the bullpen, Reese caught sight of them and said, "Nick, Tracy, I need to see you both in my office, now." "OK Cap," Tracy said, "What's up?" "I'll tell you what's up," Reese said, looking at them both with a look of disgust. "It seems that the late Mr. Costello's son has been shot. He's dead. His housekeeper found him early this morning. Also, there was a car bomb in Chinatown this morning, a Mr. Wang, of Wang's China Garden Restaurant, was in the car. He was killed with his bodyguards, do you two have any ideas?" "Well Captain," Nick said, "I've had relatives that were in organized crime in Chicago. If Martin was responsible, then it was bad enough when he had Felix killed. When he had Jim killed, that was going too far. The mob doesn't like that kind of attention. It appears that they have solved our case for us. I don't think that we will ever be able to catch the perps on this one." "Yeah" Reese started, "but wasn't Jim Costello related to Felix Costello? And wasn't that why he was killed." "It doesn't matter," Nick stated. "The fact that Jim Costello was a cop was the fact that probably bothered the mob. Just like one of their own who suddenly turns state's evidence. It's one thing to kill a cop in self defense, it's quite another to put a contract on one." "OK," Reese said, "but what, if any, is the connection to Wang. Isn't that a totally different crime organization?" "It was rumored that Wang was involved with Martin Costello," Tracy said. "So there is probably a connection there somewhere." "Well," Reese said, "we have a lot of other work to do. I know how much we would all love to get organized crime off our streets, but I can't waste the city's time on a case that's obviously not going anywhere. Why don't you two just update the reports on this one and we'll put it in the cold case file. I don't know what else we can do on this one." "OK Captain," Nick said, "we'll get on those reports right now." "Great, I guess it's time to move on to something else," Reese said, as all were leaving his office. ******************************* After updating the reports, Tracy said, "Nick, did I hear the Captain say it was time to, move on?" Nick and Tracy just smiled, "Yeah, that's what I thought I heard." "I haven't had much time to think about moving on, with Natalie in the hospital, and this case. I guess I had better get back to thinking about what I plan to do." "Have you thought about what you're going to do about Natalie? I know she loves you, Nick. I think you love her, too, don't you?" "Yeah, I do. It's true. We love each other. I have to admit, without Janette around, it's been a little difficult to maintain the relationship with Natalie." Tracy gave him a quizzical look. Then he said, "I was always able to go and have sex with Janette, something I wasn't able to do with Natalie, because I would end up killing her. I almost did that once before." "How did that happen?" she asked. "I tried to bring her across in '96. I took too much. If Lacroix hadn't been there with a ready blood supply, she would have died. I failed, because I was still trying to become mortal again. I was still consuming cow blood, instead of human." "Nick, why would you even consider becoming mortal again. I mean, you know, I'm happy being a vampire. Why would you even consider it?" "800 years is a long time to live with a cold heart. The immortality makes us this way. You may have noticed that many of our kind don't have a very nice disposition toward mortals. It's because over the centuries, they have had to kill to survive. Sure, we could survive on lower animals, just like the mortals do. I drank cow blood for almost 100 years. But just like most of our kind, I've had to survive." "I guess I'm too young to realize what our kind had to do before we could stockpile our food source," she said. "Oh yeah", he said, "you're way too young to know what it was like in the days before modern refrigeration and donated blood. Anyway, our shift is almost over, and I need to see Lacroix. If I don't see you before tomorrow night, then I'll say goodbye for now." "OK Nick, I'll see you later. But I will say this, if you and Natalie love each other, then you need to bring her across. Stop fooling around, Nick. She is still growing older with each passing minute. And if she were to be shot again, you might end up kicking yourself in the ass for all eternity. I can honestly say, she would be getting a terrific lover," she said with a smile. Nick just smiled back. ******************************** "Well, well, well, it's always nice to see my bewildered offspring. And how might I ask, is our Dr. Lambert?" "You know about her being shot then?" Nick asked. "Well Nicholas, I do occasionally catch the news." "I see, well, she was awake last night, and was starting to come out of the effects of the medications. I'm hoping she will be home soon, so we can get our plans back on track." "And just how does she feel about being brought across?" "She says she's willing, if it means we can be together." "Well, you definitely need to wait until you have her home. Once she's home, you can heal all of her hurts." Nick just smiled at the thought, then said, "Yeah, but do I really want to condemn her to this hell we call eternal life?" "God Damnit Nicholas," Lacroix said with a disgusted tone, "will you just stop chasing this pipe dream, and understand that if you could become mortal again, that would be a hell in and of itself? Do you not understand how many times I have pulled you out of situations that you have gotten yourself into, all because of your silly quest to become mortal again?" "I know, Lacroix, maybe I just see it differently than you do. I'm just not happy being a vampire. I have felt this way several centuries. Now I guess I'm beginning to see that there is no going back." "Well Nicholas, I would hope that you have learned that by now. What do you mean, condemning her to such a hell? Nicholas, your problem is you're lonely. You need a life long companion. I know the two of you love each other. I sense it every time you talk about her. I see it in your eyes as well as hers when I see you two together. Nicholas, you can't become mortal to be with her. She must become immortal to be with you, there is no other way!" "I know, I just wish, oh well, I can't do anything until she gets out of the hospital anyway, but the thing that worries me most. I'm afraid of a repeat performance like last time." "Nicholas, if you need help, I'm always here. You know that, just come to me." "I know, but it's the chance of killing her I don't want to take." "Well, you know as well as I do, that when you go to bring someone across, sometimes it doesn't work." "That's precisely what worries me." "Okay Nicholas, I will be here for you. You know that, whatever happens." "Okay, well, I better get going then. I'll see you tonight." "See you then, my son," Lacroix said as he watched Nick walk out of the Raven. ********************************* Chapter 7 That evening, Nick arrived at the hospital with a bouquet of red and white roses. Upon entering the room, he was pleasantly surprised to find Natalie sitting up and eating. She looked up and saw the roses, and got a wide-eyed expression on her face. "Oh Nick, those are lovely, but you didn't have to." "Yes I did," he said. "Go on, read the card," he said as he handed her the flowers. It read, "To the One I Love. Will You Be Mine Forever?" She looked up at him, knowing what it meant, and said, "If it means we can be together. Nick, I still have faith in you, the answer is yes." He was still apprehensive. He felt a twinge in his gut, he knew most likely he would have to call on Lacroix to actually bring her across. If only he could go back across, it seemed it would make things so much easier. He stayed until visiting hours were over. Then he needed to get to the precinct, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow night then." "They said I might get to go home in a couple of days. I'm kind of looking forward to getting out of here soon." "That will be great," he said, "we can discuss bringing you across when you get out of here." "I look forward to it," she said. Nick kissed her gently on the lips, and continued looking lovingly at her as he was leaving the room. In just a few more days, she would become one of his kind, and would be with him forever. *********************************** "Knight, Vetter, In my office, now," Reese said in a tone that said we have a new case. "There was a body found down by the waterfront, seems to be a sexual assault. Forensics is already on the scene. You two had better get down there and see what we have." "Ok Cap, was there anything else?" Nick asked. "Not at the moment detective." "We'll get on it then Captain, Tracy said as they were headed out of Reese's office." On the way to the waterfront, Tracy brought up the fact that Vachon was talking about going to Austin, seems he wants to be a part of starting a new community. "I'm not really surprised at that, Nick said, in fact, it might help me to make up my mind as to where I might be going." "Well, I think Vachon has already got his mind made up, I understand that Lacroix is thinking about opening up a new Raven in Austin if you guys go there." Nick looked at Tracy, "I haven't heard anything to that effect, but I wouldn't be surprised, I did talk to him about maybe going to Austin, maybe he has made up his mind," Nick said with a smile. About that time, they were arriving at the scene, Tracy parked her car next to a patrol car, crossing under the yellow crime scene tape, and Officer Jeff Branden greeted them. "Hello detective Knight, how are you doing this evening?" "Just fine Branden, what have you got so far?" "Well, what we have here is, a young, blonde female, approximately between the ages of 14 and 17, it appears she was beaten pretty severely, and I think forensics should have more." "Thanks Branden," Nick said as he and Tracy approached the body. Walking up to Dr. Wolfson, Tracy said, "Hi Doc., what have you got for us?" "Well hi Tracy, its been a long time, how's the old man?" "He's fine I guess, I haven't seen him in awhile either, just too much work to do." "I know what you mean, anyway, we have young female, blonde, looks to be about 15. She has been raped. She was left here in the surrender position, in the nude. It looks like we have ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. It appears she was beaten very severely. Looking at her back, it looks like she was whipped with some kind of cat-o-nine-tails." "Wow," Nick said, "do you know the cause of death yet?" "I'm assuming that it was strangulation, judging from the bruising around her neck. But I can only be sure when I get her back to the morgue, there of course, I can do an internal, gather the semen evidence, and all the other things we must do to find her killer." "Ok Doc," Tracy said, "we'll let you get on with your part of the investigation." "Tracy, I think I'm going to look around the crime scene a little, I'll be back in few." "Ok Nick." Tracy went back to talk to the man who had discovered the body. "Hi, I'm detective Vetter, I understand that you discovered the body?" "Yeah, that's right, like I told that young cop over there,", "I was just coming into work, I work the evening shift out here on the docks. I was pulling up to park my car, and there she was, just lying there. It was kinda plain to see she was dead, so I called the cops." Tracy looked at him and asked, "I see the parking area for the employees is on the other side of the building, why were you parking over here?" "I do it all the time. Since the day shift is still here when I get here, and we don't have too much customer traffic at night, the evening and night shifts are allowed to park over here by the front doors. It's easier for us to get in and out." "I see," she said, "and why didn't any customers see her laying there earlier, would you know about that?" "Look lady, all I saw is what I saw when I came to work tonight, I can't speak for anybody coming or going during the day." "Ok then, I need to get your name and address." "John Smith..." "Yeah, ok." "Really, here's my drivers license to prove it." "Alright, is everything on here up to date." "Yes it is lady, I've been working here for over ten years now, and I've lived at the same address for much longer..." "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere Mr. Smith." "Ok, I won't." Going back to her car, Tracy decided to call in a warrant check, she didn't like the guy's attitude, or his big scruffy dockworker looks. But after checking him out, he appeared to be on the up and up. "Ok Mr. Smith, here is your license back, if we need anything else, we will be in touch." "So I'm free to go then?" he asked. "Yes." With that, he left. Nick came walking up, "It looks like she might have been killed here. The ASSAULT WAS sexual, so that didn't take place here. But I think she died here. Were you able to come up with anything?" "I'm not sure Nick. I didn't like the attitude of John Smith, but so far, he's clean. What I don't understand, is if she was killed here, why didn't anyone coming or going during business hours see anything, do they know a time of death?" "Dr. Wolfson is estimating about two hours or a little better. He says she is going into full rigor mortis now, that usually happens about two to three hours after death." "Ok," she said," do you think there are any missing person reports on her yet?" "Let's get back to the precinct and find out. Maybe if we know who she is, it might make it easier to find her killer." *********************************** Arriving back at the precinct, Tracy set about calling the missing persons division, while she was doing that, Nick went in to bring Reese up to date. "Well Cap, what we have is a blonde white female, approximately 15 years of age. It is confirmed that she was raped, and badly beaten. She also had ligature marks on her wrists and ankles. Dr. Wolfson estimates she died at about 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. this evening. Tracy is checking with missing persons to see if anyone fitting that description has been reported missing." Captain Reese just looked down at his desk, appearing to be ready to shed a tear. "Is there anything wrong Captain?" Nick asked. Reese looked up, "You know Nick, I have two daughters of my own. My oldest is about to turn 13. I don't know what I'd do if the police came knocking on my door in the middle of the night. My heart goes out to the parents of this young girl whose life has so tragically ended this evening." "I know Captain, it all seems that what we do here is so useless at times." Just then, Tracy came in, "Guys, we have three girls in that age group, fitting that description that have come up missing in the last 72 hours. All we need now is a set of morgue shots, and we can start doing some visiting. That's the hard part." "No kidding, Detective," Reese stated, "why don't you two get those morgue shots, and get some of the reports done. Nick, Tracy, I have a bad feeling on this one, this guy isn't done, he's going to strike again." "We'll get on it, Captain," Tracy said, "of course, all we can do now is wait. Hopefully, forensics will be able to give us a lot more to go on." "Let's hope, Detective, let's hope," Reese said. "Well, we had better get to work on it then," Nick said as he was motioning Tracy back out to the bullpen. "What's eating at him Nick?" "Whenever we get cases like this, the Captain always seems to start thinking about his own kids, even though I don't have kids, I think I understand how he feels." "Yeah, I guess your right, I never thought about it that way, I guess we should get the reports done for tonight, Vachon says he has something to teach me tonight before sunup, so I need to get out of here soon." "Yeah, I need to get to the loft and get some sleep if I'm going to see Natalie before I come in tomorrow night." As soon as they were done with their preliminary reports, they both checked out for the night. They both knew there wasn't anything they could do on this case tonight, it would be at least twenty four hours before they would hear anything, so going home was all that they could do. ********************************* Nick sat on his couch in his loft, reading the early edition of the Toronto Sun, nothing there to interest him. He just sat there thinking, each of the last few times he entered a crime scene, he had been getting a bad feeling, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. "Well, after I finish this bottle, I'm going to bed," he thought, sitting there drinking his favorite, uncut human. Something was tying these crimes together. Nothing in the last week was related, with the exception of the mob killings. That was easy enough to solve, just not so easy to prove. But tonight definitely gave him a bad feeling. "Reese is right, this killer isn't done, in fact, the killer was at that scene tonight," Nick could sense it. "But who is it, and why? I'll look more into it tomorrow night," Nick thought to himself, and then went up to bed to sleep on it. ******************************** Getting up the next evening, Nick went into the bathroom and took a shower. Looking into the mirror, he still carried that uneasy feeling that the killer was at the crime scene the night before. "I know he was there. It isn't a vampire. I would have sensed that right away. He has a nervous condition that is giving him away. Why wouldn't he try to get away, he just committed murder, there is definitely something strange about this case," Nick mused to himself. Hesitating no longer, Nick finished shaving, and got dressed. Going downstairs, he got a bottle of his favorite nectar out of the fridge. Turning on the TV, he watched the news for a short time. there was Nothing there to help him shake that uneasy feeling he just kept having. After finishing his breakfast, he washed out the bottle, put it back in the case, picked up his jacket and headed for the elevator. After getting into the garage, he climbed into the Caddy. He had heard on the news that rain and thunderstorms were coming into Toronto by midnight. He decided to put the top up. There was no reason to be driving around wet. Arriving at the hospital, Nick took the now too familiar route he had been taking since Natalie was brought in just a few days ago, entering her room, she looked up and smiled. "Hi Nick." "Hi. You sure are looking chipper." "Yep, guess what," she said with excitement in her voice. "What?" Nick asked. "I get to go home tomorrow night." "That's great, do you need me to take you home?" "I'd really like that Nick." "And Nick! I want you to consider bringing me across, I mean it Nick, I almost bought the farm this time, I think being condemned to your so called hell would be better, than ever going through something like this again..." "Ok, if that's what you really desire, I will do my best, but when it comes to you, I lose control, and I think that may be a small part of what happened the last time." "I know Nick, but remember, you were also weak from all that was going on around you at the time..." After visiting for a little while longer, visiting hours were over, and it was time for Nick to leave, it was also time for him to catch up with Tracy and find out where they were on the rape/ murder case that was started last night. ********************************* Outside the hospital, Nick could see the clouds gathering for the on coming thunderstorms, dialing Tracy's code on his cell phone... "Vetter," she answered into her cell phone. "Hey Trace, have you got anything new yet?" "Well, I don't, but I do have a message waiting at my desk to call Dr. Wolfson, he might have something for us." "Ok, why don't we meet at the coroners office in a half hour?" "Sounds good to me. While I'm here at the precinct, why don't I get some pictures of the missing girls from missing persons, maybe we can get an I.D. on our Jane Doe." "Sounds good, I'll see you there then." "Ok." They both hung up. Nick drove to the morgue and went inside just as the first raindrops were starting to fall. Grace must have been out running errands. She wasn't at her station. Going on into the examining room, he noticed Dr. Wolfson looking over his notes. Dr. Wolfson had been working at the morgue for more than seven years. He was Natalie's boss. With his gray hair, and lighthearted smile, he could put the world at ease... "Well hello detective Knight, how are you this fine evening? Getting enough of that liquid sunshine?" "Hello Dr. Wolfson. It is just now starting to rain. Do we have anything on our Jane Doe yet?" "Well, I don't have an I.D. on her yet, but I do have some other things that might interest you." "Great, Tracy is on her way over here with some files from missing persons, maybe we can I.D. her that way." "That would be great. If this girl is missing, if, on the other hand, well, I don't want to think about the other hand at the moment. What I do have is this, she was definItlEy strangled, and whoever did that was very strong, The damage he did to her neck was most likely the cause of death. Also, whoever raped her, his blood type is A positive. I'm in the process of putting together the rape kit now. I'm also going to send off samples for DNA testing." "So, that's a lot farther than we were last night." Just then, Tracy came into the room, "Hi Nick, hi Doc, how's it going?" "Its going fine Trace," Nick said," have you got the files?" "Yes I do, and now I already recognize her," pulling a file out of the stack she held in her hand, "she looks like this girl here, see..." "It does look like her," Nick said, "Doc?" "Yes, I would have to agree, I see that they already have fingerprints in the file, maybe we can confirm her identity right now, I'm going to the desk to get the fingerprint kit..." "Loraine Hartford, is the girl in the file, been missing for four days, the report was filed by her parents, so she at least has someone who cares," Tracy said. "How long will it take to confirm whether or not this is Loraine Hartford Doc?" Nick asked. "Oh, about a half hour if you want to wait, it does look promising." "We'll wait then," Nick said. After about a half an hour, Dr. Wolfson was able to confirm that it was, in fact, the body of one, Loraine Hartford, age 14, last seen at a convenience store in her neighborhood. "I guess we had better let the parents know," Tracy said with an apprehensive tone to her voice. "Yeah, I know, this is the hard part...." ******************************* Arriving at the Hartford residence, a modest house in a working class neighborhood, they both got out of Tracy's car, and headed for the front door and knocked. "Yes, who is it"? a female voice called from the other side of the door. "It's Detectives Knight and Vetter. May we come in and talk to you about Loraine?" The door slowly opened, inside the door stood a woman with the lines in her face showing that she was obviously worried about her daughter. Unfortunately, the news that Nick and Tracy were bringing wasn't what Mrs. Hartford was hoping for. "Mrs. Hartford?" Nick asked. "Yes." "I'm detective Nick Knight, with the Metro Police, may we talk a little bit." "Sure, come in, my husband is in the bathroom, let me go and get him," with that she left the living room and went to get her husband, a few minutes later, they both returned. "Hi detectives, I'm Bill Hartford, you have news about my daughter?" "Yes we do, I regret to have to inform you, but your daughter is dead. She was found last night, down by the waterfront. She has been raped and murdered. We are doing all we can to catch the perpetrator. We also need you to come down to the Coroners building at your earliast conveiniance to identify the body, just to confirm that she is in fact, your daughter." "I will come down tomorrow and identify the body," Mr. Hartford said with a quivering voice.. With that news, Mrs. Hartford lost it. Falling into her husband's arms, she sobbed heavily as they tried to console her. Even her husband was in tears at this news. Nick and Tracy exchanged some more information with Mr. Hartford, then headed back to the morgue to get the Caddy, and then on to the precinct to update the reports. ***************************** After getting all the reports updated, Nick went in and related everything to Reese, bringing him up to date on the case. "Have you told the parents yet?" "Yes, they didn't take it too well." "I would suspect that they wouldn't." "Captain, have you ever had a gut feeling?" "You know I have Nick, remember what I told you about the Jordan Manning case?" "Oh yeah, I do remember that one." "Why do you ask, Nick? Are you getting a gut feeling in this case?" "Yes. It seems that I have been having these feelings ever since the Costello killings. Just a sense that something or someone who is responsible is standing right there." "I know that feeling well Nick. You can't just ignore it either. They say that an arsonist will quite often return to the scene to see his handiwork in progress. You could have a serial killer with the same intent. And I do believe we have a serial killer here Nick. I don't think he's done with his killing. In fact, if we don't catch him, he will go on killing and killing again, he won't stop." "I agree with you there. I just got the feeling that the killer of Loraine Hartford was right there watching, waiting, seeing what was going on with his handiwork. Tracy says she doesn't like the attitude of John Smith, the guy who found Miss Hartford's body last night. But I just don't see it as being him." "Just keep plugging away at it Nick, you and Tracy will eventually catch this guy, its unfortunate that more girls will most likely die in the process, but we will catch him..." ***************************** As the sadistic killer enters his house, he walks to the spare bedroom in the back, opening the closet. He releases his next victim and brings her out of the closet. "Hey bitch, I've had a tough day. It's time for me to relax and have some fun. Now bitch, after I'm done attaching these cuffs to the bed, I'm going to fuck you in the ass. You like that don't you BITCH!!!" "Please, let me go! You don't want to do this." "SILENCE, BITCH, MY LAST BITCH IS DEAD. DO YOU WANT TO END UP THE SAME WAY?" "Please don't hurt me anymore, please!!" "Don't you understand, you are about to PISS ME OFF WITH YOUR FUCKING WHINING, SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO WHINE ABOUT!!" "Please stop, that hurts, don't, PULL IT OUT, IT HURTS!!!" When he was done, he reached over and picked up his cat-o-nine- tails, and proceeded to whip her back, butt and the back of her legs. "DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE NOW YOU CUNT, YOU WOULDN'T SHUT UP AND ENJOY IT, NOW I'M GOING TO USE YOU UP!" For the rest of the night and into the hours of the morning, he continued to repeatedly rape and sodomize his victim, but he wasn't quite done with her yet, this gave her another reprieve to live through another night of torture.... ******************************** Chapter 8 At about 7:45, Nick woke up from one of his frequent nightmares. he was somewhat excited and terrified at the same time. He knew when he picked up Natalie, that She would expect him to bring her across, probably tonight. IF he let her get away, he would kick himself for the rest of his long unlife. In spite of his misgivings, He went ahead and got ready to go and pick up Natalie from the hospital. He got dressed and went down to the garage. Opening the door, he noticed that the rainstorms that had started the night before were still lingering. "Great!" he thought, "I still need to keep the top up," he then proceeded in the direction of the hospital. Arriving at the hospital, Nick quickly headed in the direction of Natalie's room. Entering the doorway, he saw that Natalie was packed and ready to leave. She looked up and smiled, glad to see him. She went right to him and hugged him, whispering in his ear that she loved him. He returned her hug. "I'm so glad to get out of this place. Can we go now?" "Sure we can," he said. "Have you got your release yet?" "Yes, I was released about an hour ago. Don't worry, I knew you couldn't get out into the sunlight." "Yeah, these short summer nights are a hassle, but that's the way it is." "Well, let's not let that get us off track, Nick. Let's go to your place.We have work to do." "Ok, let's go then," Nick said with a smile. Arriving back at the loft, Nick got Natalie all settled in, then they sat and talked for awhile. He had been looking forward to this night off. Finally, Natalie said,"Nick, make love to me." "The moment of truth," he said. "Yep, I still have faith in you Nick. Just do it. I know you can. I still believe you can do it." At that moment, Nick opened the psychic link with Lacroix. At the Raven, Lacroix sensed what was happening. He said, "Stephen, take over, I'll be back in a little while." "Ok Lacroix. I've got it covered on this end." Lacroix went into his back office. Going into his office fridge, he pulled out six pints of type B negative blood and put it into his satchel. Going to the roof of the Raven, he took to the sky, and a few minutes later, he landed on the roof of Nick's loft. Peering down through the skylight, he observed Nicholas in the process of bringing Natalie across. "I know you can do it Nick." "Yes, I can, and I will," he was staring into her eyes now, his fangs fully extended. He kissed Natalie, slowly working his way down to her neck, gently sinking his fangs into her throat. She was suddenly in ecstasy. Upon a full climax, she began to pass out. At that point, Nick withdrew his fangs. Laying her down on the couch, he said to her, "I have brought you to the point of death. If I leave you like this, you will die. Do you choose to live, or die?" "I choose to live," she said. At that, he opened his wrist, allowing his blood to drip onto her lips. She began to lick her lips and started gulping at the sweet nectar. Finding his arm, she grabbed it, bringing the open wound to her lips. She started sucking at his wrist. She did this for a few seconds, until Nick, who was obviously feeling his life quickly flow out of him, started pulling away. When he finally pulled loose, he pulled back, knowing that he was successful. Lacroix, who had been observing from the roof, came down into the loft. "Hello Nicholas, I'm going to say I told you so. You can be successful. You did it my son. You have brought her across, and I'm very proud of you." Nick looked up at Lacroix, "Thanks, father," he said with a smile. "She's going to wake up hungry, Nicholas. I have a supply of her blood type. That should hold her until you get stocked up." "Thanks Lacroix, but I built up my supply days ago. I appreciate the fact that you were there to save her life again." Lacroix just laughed, "Well, you did open up the link. I knew I had better be here just in case." "And I thank you for that." "Well, you can still use this blood." "Oh yes, I'm certain that I will go through a large amount of blood..." Just then, Natalie began to stir, she then bolted upright, grabbing her stomach, "I'm hungry," she cried... "Here, here, little one, I have just what you need right here," Lacroix said, putting a blood pouch up to her mouth. Her new fangs extended and she emptied the one-pint pouch in seconds, then another, and another, and yet another, finally her hunger began to subside a bit, she looked up and saw Lacroix sitting over her. "Don't tell me, he failed again." "No, he didn't, he was quite successful, you are now a vampire, you are now, one of our kind." "Wow, she said, "Nick, what do you think?" "I'm just glad we can finally be together..." "Well then," Lacroix said, "I'll just be on my way, and leave you two to consummate your new unlife together," and with that, he flew out of the skylight. "You will need to teach me how to do that someday." Nick smiled and said, "I will teach you many things my love." **************************** "Well, how is my fucking little whore tonight," the sadist said. "Why are you doing this to me, can't you please just let me go, I won't tell anyone, I promise." "But my dear, you are here for my pleasure, and we are in for another night of fun and games, and I want you to enjoy it too..." "But I don't enjoy this, please let me go." "I will not let you go, now shut up and enjoy it," and he started the whole process over again. After hours of beating and torturing her, and raping and sodomizing her, he began to lose control, "ALL YOU DO IS COMPLAIN, I'M SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR CRYING AND COMPLAINING AND WHINING, IT DOESN'T HURT THAT MUCH, AND I KNOW THAT YOU LIKE IT." Taking up the cat-o-nine-tailS again, he began to flog her. She was bleeding profusely. He picked up his leather paddle and began spanking her hard. The pain was almost unbearable. She kept crying out in pain. Finally he had had enough; he doubled up his fists and started beating her. He lost all control and wrapped his arm around her neck. After her struggling stopped, he knew he had killed another one... ******************************** Chapter 9 Arriving at the precinct the next evening, Nick and Tracy came in at the same time, talking the small talk that they always did, Reese noticed them signing in and heading for their desks. "Knight, Vetter", they both looked up as Reese was approaching them, "don't get comfortable yet, there's another one, found right in the same place as the last one, you two had better get down there and see what's going on..." Arriving at the crime scene, it was just like it was two nights before, only this time, the young girl was a brunette, her hair was cut short, in an attractive way, crossing under the yellow crime scene tape, Nick heard the now familiar voice of Jeff Branden. "Hey detective Knight, how's it going tonight?" Branden asked. Nick looked at Branden, "its going, that's all I can say," suddenly noticing that bad feeling returning. "Doc," Tracy said, "what have you got so far?" "It looks like a repeat of the other night, only difference is, this one is a brunette." "Great, I guess it was John Smith that discovered the body, Nick, I need you with me on this one." "I understand that you discovered this body tonight as well." "Yeah lady, I did," John said. "Would you be willing to submit to blood and hair sample tests?" Nick asked. "Yes, I'll do that, if it will prove my innocence." "Ok then", Tracy said, "let's get you to the hospital, and we can get this taken care of." With that, the three climbed into Nick's Caddy, and headed for the hospital... ****************************** Arriving at the hospital, John was led into the emergency room. The staff on duty took hair and blood samples, packed it up in evidence bags, and handed IT back to Tracy. She would turn it over to the forensics team back at the crime scene. On the way back to the crime scene, John said, "Now I hope the guy you are looking for doesn't have B positive blood, that's my blood type. Tracy looked at Nick, "I hope we didn't just make asses of ourselves," she whispered in a low voice only another vampire could hear. "I don't think he's our man anyway," Nick whispered back. "I know its inconvenient Mr. Smith, but since you were the one who discovered both bodies, we need to eliminate you as a suspect," Nick said. "I understand, I want you to get this guy, I'm afraid some guy like that would get one of my little girls, and that would tear me up." At that point, Tracy was beginning to feel like she had egg on her face, "Mr. Smith, I'm sorry for the other night. I felt your attitude warranted checking you out. I guess I've been doing this too long. I'm sorry that it seems like I don't notice that it has an effect on you as well. When we get back to the scene, we still must insist that you not leave town." "I don't have any plans on leaving town, not until next spring anyway," John said. "I think we will have this case solved by then," Nick said. After dropping John Smith off, Nick and Tracy went back over to the scene. Forensics was almost finished, and both detectives decided to have a look around. Nick decided to confide in Tracy, "I have my own suspect," he said. "Oh really, who?" "I can't quite put my finger on it, but I notice that ever since the first of the mob shootings, Jeff Branden has been at every crime scene." "Nick, how could you suspect him? He's a cop!" "I know he's a cop, but I can't help it. He seems to be at all of our crime scenes lately." "He was at the Felix Costello shooting. He was at the Jim Costello shooting. He covered the crime scenes for both Martin Costello and Wang. When these murders started, he has been the first officer on the scene. I don't think he was at the Prizia shootings though, at least I didn't see him there." "He was there Nick. I was talking to him outside just before I came in." "So, he has been at all of our calls since the Costello shootings." "Hmmm," Tracy thought," do you think it's possible he could be involved in these murders." "I've seen stranger things, but we can't search his place, we don't have any probable cause for a warrant." "What do you think that Reese would think?" she asked. "Now that there are two murders, I think he will be calling the FBI in Quantico, Virginia, I think he's thinking about getting a profile on the killer, I guess we can call him a serial killer now." "I'm with ya there partner," Tracy said... ********************************* When they got back to the precinct, Nick made out the report to Reese, who promptly decided to call the FBI; he wanted to try to get a profile of the killer. Nick went back to his desk and called his loft. "Hello," came Natalie's voice. "Hello, so what's up?" "I'm really having a good time Nick. I didn't know Lacroix could be such fun." "Oh really, just how much fun has he been?" "I'm enjoying his company, and he has been keeping me fed. But I get so tired, and then I just seem to sleep, and sleep, and sleep. I don't understand." "You will for a short time. It will wear off after a few days, and then you will start gaining strength. Then we can start doing things like learning to fly, do the whammy, things like that." "That'll be great," she said. "Listen, I'm getting sleepy. I'm going go back to sleep now." "Ok, I'll see you when I get home later." "Ok," she said, and they hung up. "So, how is Natalie," Tracy asked. "She's one of us now." "What, you mean you brought her across? Nick why didn't you tell me sooner?" "I'm sorry," Nick said, "but I kind of got caught up in this second murder." "I think I understand." Just then, Reese walked out of his office and over to their desks, "Listen up people. I just got off the phone with the FBI. THE first thing they said is that, the killer is what they call a repeater. That means he will usually kill in exactly the same way each and every time he kills. And then he tries to position the bodies in the same position each time, and if possible, in the exact same place. And, get this, they said this guy could have a career in the military or law enforcement." Tracy looked at Nick, and Nick looked back at her, "What is it?" Reese asked. Nick then said, "I suspect Jeff Branden." "Do you have a reason for that Nick?" Reese asked. "Yes, he's at every crime scene Tracy and I have worked lately. I have seen him at every one since the first of the Costello shootings. And on these murders of the teenage girls, he's been the first one on the scene each time." "Well Nick," Reese said, "that could all be coincidence. After all, he does work out of this precinct." "It could be. But what are the odds of a traffic cop being at every murder scene we go to investigate?" "Well, we could keep an eye on him, and anonymously check him out," Tracy said. "Yeah, I'll go for that for now," Reese said, "now you two get on over to the morgue. I want to see what Dr. Wolfson has for us. And by the way, how is Natalie?" "Natalie is fine, and is recuperating, she ought to be back to work in about a week." "That's great, I know Doc will be glad to have her back." "We'll get over there, Cap," Tracy said. "Ok, I hope he has something for us, maybe just once, we can luck out." ******************************* Nick and Tracy arrived at the morgue just as Doc was finishing up the autopsy. "Hi Doc," Tracy said as they entered the examining room. "Well Hi, I might have some things here you would be interested in." "What's that Doc?" Nick asked. "Well, the good news is, this murder was done by the same perpetrator as the last murder. Same with the rape, it's all the same person doing this. We also have the identity of this girl, Wendy James, age 16, her drivers license was left near the scene, and forensics picked it up. Oh, you can also take John Smith off of the suspects list..." "Yeah, I feel the egg on my face," Tracy said. "So," Nick said, "what your saying is that the reports will read the same as those for Loraine Hartford." "Exactly, in fact, except for the obvious differences, they should read almost verbatim." "Very well then," Nick said, "we'll be on our way, thanks Doc." "Yeah, Thanks Doc." "You two just get this guy that will be thanks enough." ********************************* Chapter 10 As the sadist entered his house once again, he locked his front door and headed straight for the back bedroom. Opening the closet, he unshackled his third victim, a pretty young blonde of 15 years of age. He pushed her onto the bed, " Baby, you're in for the time of your life, we are going to have all kinds of fun tonight." What the sadist didn't know, was that he was being followed. Jim Donaldson and Sam Coruthers, both detectives with internal affairs, were doing servailance work on him. He was suspected of being a dirty cop, he had been seen doing business with the late Martin Costello. He had also been seen going into Chinatown and doing business with Mr.Wang, also deceased. The fancy house and both the Lexus and Mercedes this cop owned could not be afforded on a cop's salary. Just then, they saw Nick standing, looking at the house. "Hey Sam, I know him, he's with homicide." "Who is it?" Sam asked. "That's detective Nick Knight. I investigated him a few years back. He had killed a mental patient that was awaiting transport. The mental patient, Dawkins I think was his name, had just shot Knight's partner. Nick picked up Dawkins and threw him against the wall so hard it killed him instantly. He might not look like much Sam, but I wouldn't want him to lose his cool with me. Anyway, I had better find out what he's doing here." "Hey Nick," Jim said as he was walking up to where Nick was standing. "Jim, what is Internal Affairs doing here?" "We're doing surveillance." "On me?" "No Nick, on Jeff Branden. Why? Should we suspect you of anything?" Nick laughed and said, "No, I was here doing the same thing." "What are you checking up on Branden for?" Jim asked. "Well, I've seen him at every crime scene I've gone to investigate recently, ever since the Felix Costello shooting. And more recently, it's disturbed me even more that he's shown up at the last two murders I've been assigned. Both victims were young girls, both raped, beaten, sodomized, murdered, and both found in the exact same spot, in the exact same position, with almost the exact same injuries. I suspect he is involved, even if he's not the guilty party." "Damn," Jim replied, "he brought a young blond girl home with him last night. We don't normally stick around after that. He doesn't leave home much. He doesn't have anybody he could do business with; they're all dead. So I would suspect he might be your man. If you would like, we can help on this." "I would love to get a look inside that house," Nick said. "Now that you mention it Knight, I would too. Let us see if we can get a search warrant in the morning. We'll meet with your Captain and with you later at your precinct. Youíre still at the 96th aren't you?" "Yes, and so is Captain Reese. Tracy Vetter is still my partner." "So she did pull through that night." "Yes, she's very healthy now," Nick said. "She's been with you a long time then." "Yep, she's the best." "We'll meet up at the precinct later then?" Nick asked. "Sure thing Nick. My partner and I will be there at around 8:00. Does that work for you?" "Sure does." "Great," Jim said, "see you then." "Yes, I'll see you then." In the meantime, Branden had started torturing, beating, raping and sodomising his next victim. Repeatedly, and beating and whipping her. But the girl didn't squirm, she cried silently, and just let it happen, hoping sooner or later that he would make a mistake, and when he did, she would make her escape... ******************************* The next evening, Jeff had time for one more fling before work. After he was done, he went to his own bedroom to get dressed. Coming back in to the back bedroom to check on his victim, he was just getting ready to shackle her back up in the closet. She looked up and said, "How can you do these things to me and still wear that uniform?" "Shut up slut, how dare you speak to me like that. I'm a damn good cop. I work hard. I'll be damned if some little blonde cunt is going to talk disrespectful like that to me." "I'm not a cunt. I'm a human being. My name is Tara. I have feelings and rights just like anyone else." "I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP! YOU'RE ONLY AS HUMAN AS I SAY YOU ARE. YOU ARE A NASTY LITTLE CUNT. I WILL HEAR NOTHING ELSE!" With that, he hit her several times, putting the full force of his fist into her face repeatedly. She landed on the floor. He then began kicking her. HE kicked her in the face. He knocked her out and thought he might have killed her. He knew he didn't have time to place the body tonight. She would just have to lay there all night. It was time to get to work. He just left her on the floor. He knew he would have to leave immediately to be at work on time, since his shift started at 9:00. It was already going on 8:30, and with traffic what it was, he would need the whole half hour. As soon as he was out the door, Tara picked herself up off the floor. Since it was already dark out, he didn't notice her looking out the window watching him leave. As soon as the Mercedes backed out of the driveway and he drove off, she wrapped herself in a sheet off of the bed, and started to slowly head out of the bedroom. Entering the main hallway, she slowly made her way towards the living room. After arriving in the living room, her heart was filled with terror when she saw the headlights of a car pull up in the front yard. She knew it was now or never. If she didn't escape, she would be dead in less than twenty four hours. Heading for the front door, with her heart pounding wildly, and with every last little bit of strength she could muster, she opened it up and slammed her way out through the screen door, only to fall into the arms of Detective Tracy Vetter. "Whoa, whoa, where are you going so fast?" Tracy asked. Tara looked up and cried out, "HELP!" "It's okay, you're safe now, we're the police, are you all right?" Nick said. "That other cop raped me," Tara said, "Please help me," she cried. "Tracy, would you get her in the Caddy and take her to the hospital?" Nick said, as he handed her the keys. "You bet Nick. Will you meet us there later?" "Yes, just get her some help." Nick said, "How could somebody do this to somebody else?" "I don't know Nick, Tracy said, she looks like she's been run over with a Mack truck, repeatedly." "She does look like she has been beaten severely, go and get her some help Trace," Nick said.. "Ok." "Jim, Sam, let's look for some evidence here," Nick urged. "Yes Nick, let's just see what Officer Branden has left behind for us," Jim said. They went into the house to look for anything they could find, and they found the evidence of a dirty cop. They not only found records of his dealings with Martin Costello and Mr. Wang, they also found personal effects belonging to Lorain Hartford, Wendy James, some things possibly belonging to other girls who dissapeared in the past, and some personal effects of the girl they had just found. "We had better get back to the precinct and get things ready for Mr. Branden, Nick said." "I agree with that, there is just so much evidence here, I'm hard pressed to leave any behind," Sam said. "I understand that Sam," Jim said, "but we can come back. We have enough for an arrest. I say let's go with that for right now. We can send forensics in to gather the rest of the evidence." "Ok then, let's go," Nick said.. ******************************* At the hospital, Tracy waited with Tara as the doctors were doing the examination and putting together a rape kit. She told Tracy how she met Jeff Branden. "I was out for my birthday. I turned 15 a week ago. But I couldn't go out on my birthday, so my friends and I went out just the other night. Somehow we all got separated, and I was walking home in the wee hours of the morning. He drove up, just got off duty, so he said. He offered me a ride home. I thought it was ok. He was a cop, you know. I thought it was ok." "Then he took me to his house, and took me to that back bedroom. He used handcuffs, and shackles. He kept me locked up in the dark closet in that bedroom. When he was off duty, he would come in and rape me. And he would also do other nasty things to me, he would call me names, like cunt, bitch, slut, and other things that I didn't like." "You're safe now," Tracy said, "and we'll get you taken care of. why weren't you tied up when we arrived tonight?" "I tricked him into thinking he might have killed me. I know that he very well could have. But he made the mistake of telling me how he had killed two others. He said they would cry and whine and he would just lose control. So I figured, since it was getting close to time for him to go to work, if I could get him to lose control just a little, maybe he would forget to lock me up. I was escaping when I ran into you." "Good for you girl, if only more girls your age would think like that," Tracy said. "Listen, we may need you to testify against him, would you be willing to do that?" "Yes, I will. I want to do my part to make sure he doesn't do this ever again." "Do you think your parents would object?" "No, I don't think they will be a problem." "Great," Tracy said. ********************************* Back at the precinct, Nick, Jim and Sam got the interrogation room ready. Captain Reese was downstairs getting ready to spring the trap on Branden when his sergeant brought him back to the precinct. "I'm going over to the hospital to get Tracy back over here, I know she will want to be in on this," Nick said. "Good, we should be ready when you two get back here," Jim said.. "I shouldn't be more than a half hour or so." "Ok," Sam said. ********************************** Arriving at the hospital, Nick walked into the emergency room, finding Tracy right away, he filled her in on all they had found at Branden's house, and what they were planning to do, "How's the girl doing?" "She will be all right, her parents are with her now. She wants to testify, and her parents aren't going to stand in the way. Mr. and Mrs. Bing, Tara's parents, are very relieved that she's alive and will recover. She will be spending a few days in the hospital." "Great, let's get back to the precinct then, we have a killer to catch." "Let's go catch him then," Tracy said. ********************************* Chapter 11 Since they were in a hurry, they flew back to the precinct. When they arrived, they met up with Donaldson, Coruthers, Reese, and Sergeant Billings, who was Branden's commander. "Are we ready?" Nick asked. "Yes we are," Reese said, "Sergeant, are you ready to bring him in?" "Yes, I'll call him in to pick up his car. I'll hoodwink him into thinking I have some papers for him to sign. Then I'll just bring him up here to see you all." "That sounds good", Jim said. "Let's do it then." "Very well," Billings said. "Let me get to dispatch." As they waited for Branden to arrive, they all discussed how they would handle the questioning. They decided to start with the allegations of his involvement with Wang and Costello, and bring him up to the more recent rapes and murders. When he arrived at the precinct, his sergeant led Jeff Branden upstairs to where the team had assembled in interrogation room 1. "Hello Officer Branden, please come and have a seat," Jim said. "What's going on here?" Jeff asked. "Just come in and sit down and we will discuss it. My name is Jim Donaldson, this is my partner, Sam Coruthers. You of course, know Nick Knight and Tracy Vetter, and this is Captain Reese. The reason you're here is because of some things that have come up recently. It appears that you have had a working relationship with organized crime." "What?" Jeff responded, "I don't know what you're talking about." "We know about Mr. Wang. We know about Martin Costello. We also know that you were involved in the murders of both Felix and Jim Costello. We know that you were involved in the Prizia killings. Your former partner, Tom Banks, requested a transfer. The reason he gave for the request was that he wasn't going to work with a dirty cop. What do you know about that?" Sam asked. "I don't know what you're talking about!" "And what about the drugs you were seen selling just outside of Chinatown?" Jim asked. "I SAID I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" "I think you do officer. I think you have been involved in crime for some time. In fact, you've done everything to make sure none of your buddies get in any trouble selling their drugs. And we know you have been selling. Since your partner transferred, your arrest record is an abysmal failure. You haven't done your duty in months," Jim said. "We have video of your dealings. We also have video of the night you slipped into the jumpsuit and took a ride in a limousine. That was the night that Felix and Jim Costello were shot. We know you killed Jim Costello. We weren't there, but we know you did it. We know you were the driver that took Joe and Vito to the place where they shot the Prizia's," Sam countered. "What do you have to say for yourself?" "But I didn't do any of these." "Roll the video," Reese said. As they ran the video, Jeff knew he was caught in the act. He then began to confess to his part in some OF the organized crime in the Toronto area. Then Nick chimed in, "And what about these young girls, you know the ones I'm talking about." "No I don't." "Yes you do," Tracy said. "We know that you killed them, and we know you raped them. We also have a witness that can and will identify you. Do you know a Tara Bing? She's the girl that was just leaving your house to call for help when we arrived. Do you know anything about that?" "NO! Now stop saying those things. Why are you people doing this?" "We found plenty of evidence at your house. You know, the house you couldn't possibly afford on a cop's salary. We found the personal effects belonging to both Loraine Hartford and Wendy James. It seems that you've been a bad boy." "Please, I can't possibly know what your talking about. Please, you can't possibly put me in jail. I'm a cop." "First off, we need you to turn over your gun and badge. Next you're under arrest. Since I'm with Internal Affairs, let me tell you, you do not have the right to anything but an attorney. Since you are a police officer, you gave up the normal Miranda rights, and you will do prison time. Those parents aren't going to settle for less, I'm sure that they would prefer that you get the death penalty, unfortunatly, Canada doesn't have one. Captain, if you would be so kind, why don't you book him. We will start the process." "It will be a pleasure Jim," Reese said, leading Jeff out of the interrogation room and into processing, he was photographed, fingerprinted, and placed in a cell downstairs. ******************************** Chapter 12 Several months later, after all the trials were over, the jury had found Jeff Branden guilty on all counts, and sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. Nick and Natalie were getting ready to move on. Tracy, Vachon and Urs were doing the same. Lacroix had already moved on, closing the Raven in Toronto. He headed south to the capital of that great state, Texas, he already had the Raven open in Austin, and was already building a strong vampire community, he had also sent word to the ones still in Toronto that all was ready when they would arrive. "Are we all packed yet?" Nick asked. "Yes we are. The movers are getting the last of everything out now, they should be on the road soon," Natalie Replied, as she was entering the bedroom after running up the stairs. "Good, I have set up everything between here and Austin. We have several stops that we can make on the way so we don't get caught having to find shelter in a hurry. I have my last shift at the precinct tonight. It's also a good thing that we have Tracy, Vachon and Urs traveling with us." "I have to agree with that. It's been fun here in Toronto. I grew up in Canada, but I think it's also time for me to move on, especially with my husband." "Nat, are you trying to get on my good side?" he said with a sheepish grin. "I thought I was." "Of course you are." As they began to embrace each other, they started kissing, even without a bed in the room they just did it on the floor. After undressing each other, she took his manhood in hand and guided him into her. They made love for what seemed like hours, not quite that long, but it was good for the both of them. When they were done, Nick got up and got dressed. Natalie did the same. They both got ready to leave, as this was the last night they would spend in Toronto, both were working their final shifts, and both were hoping nothing would happen to delay their departure, the plan was to leave the next evening. They would meet at Vachon's church. ******************************** Vachon and Tracy were doing the final preparations to the van. It was a good thing that Vachon was able to acquire a new van a couple of years back. This one would even be able to haul his chopper on the trailer. Once they were packed, it was time for Tracy to go in for her last shift. She arrived at the precinct just minutes ahead of Nick, " Well partner, you ready to go south?" She asked. "Sure am, I almost can't wait." "Nick", she asked, "is it ever hard to move on? I mean, you know, you have moved on so many times. And I was born and raised right here in Toronto, what if I regret where I end up?" "That's really no problem. You just move on again. You are immortal, so you have the time to think about it. But you will find it a little hard the first time. You will learn that there is good and bad everywhere you go. Some things you like about one place don't exist in another. Then there are the things you may not like about a place that are intolerable. But the place is an otherwise good place. It's a chance you take whenever you move on. Then there are the friends you leave behind. That can be a tough one everywhere. Then there are the places you leave in a hurry." Both Nick and Tracy filled out reports the rest of the night, as did Natalie over at the morgue. Natalie finished up the last of her reports, and decided to head over to the 96th precinct for the last time. When she arrived, Nick and Tracy were also finishing up the last of their reports. "Hi guys," Natalie greeted them. "Hi Nat, are you done over at the morgue?" Tracy asked. "Yep, I'm all done, and I have my last paycheck, and I'm ready to go." "So am I," Nick said. Just then, Captain Reese was walking up to Nick and Tracy's desks," Well people, I'm sure going to miss all of you, but this is also my last night here." "What?" Nick Asked, "you mean your leaving also?" "Yes I am. My wife and I are both from the South, and I have been offered a position at the Austin police department." "Well, that's great Cap," Tracy said, "I guess we will be seeing you there then." "That's a possibility/ if you guys are done by the way, why don't you all go now and call it a night." "Ok cap", Nick said, "we're really going to miss you too, but we do look forward to seeing you in Austin." "I look forward to it too Nick, but I want you guys to have a good time on the trip down." "We will, Cap." "You know Nat, I will miss this place." "I know sweetheart, but you know it's time." "Yes, I too have memories here," Tracy said, "I guess you always have those to FALL back on, don't you Nick?" "Yes, you do, good and bad. I guess all that's left to do now is turn off the lights and close the door." Nick reached over, killing the lights in the bullpen. And they all turned and went out door, arm in arm. The End Look for the sequel, THE ARRIVAL