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DISCLAIMER: I don’t own ‘Moonlight’, or any of its wonderful characters. I’m just taking them out for a run! No copyright infringement is intended.
SUMMARY: A multi-chapter action-adventure featuring Mick, Beth, Josef, Logan, Guillermo, Talbot, Simone, and a few really big werewolves, among others. Rated PG-13 for mild language and violence.
SPOILERS: Follows on from all 16 episodes of ‘Moonlight’, as aired on CBS. Follows on from Allegrita’s FanFic, ‘Presto Agitato’, Ch 1 & 2. (Mick and Beth ‘seal the deal’ and become lovers.) Follows on from Desdemona’s FanFic, ‘Silver’, Ch 1 thru 7 only. (Talbot finds out about vampires in general, and Mick in particular, the hard way!) Borrows, with Eris’ kind permission, her original character of ‘Karl’ from her many fine FanFics.
Ready? Are you sure?! OK….Hold on! This is going to be a white-knuckler!
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Logan opened his eyes sleepily and yawned, his fangs dropping immediately in his need for breakfast. He took a moment to stretch and soak up the luxury surrounding him.
He was in one of Josef’s vampire-friendly guest rooms, and inside the ritziest freezer it had ever been his pleasure to sleep in. The walls and lid of the case were thick glass, so he could see what was outside without even opening the lid. There was nothing outside……he had the room to himself…..but being able to see out was new to him, as was the soft mattress beneath him. He smiled, feeling spoiled. This was a far cry from the Kenmore chest freezer in his parents’ basement.
His parents! He needed to call to check on them, make sure they were doing OK, and let them know he was alright. His mother was a worrier.
He quickly popped the freezer’s lid and scrambled out, grabbing a bathrobe hanging from a peg on the door of the little freezer room. The freezer room was adjoining the guest room’s large bathroom. Logan hurried through to the bedroom suite, with its tastefully understated décor, and the large entertainment center Logan hoped he would soon have the chance to do some gaming on.
He headed for the phone and called his parents’ home. His parents were elderly, so it rang several times. While he waited, Logan glanced at the clock on the wall. Alittle past 10 PM…..he winced, hoping he wouldn’t be waking them. It appears he had overslept again.
He was just starting to get worried when his mother answered. Logan sighed with relief. “Hi mom! It’s me!”, a pause, “Yeah, I’m doing great. My friends have an awesome place….I’m having the time of my life! Sorry about calling so late…..I overslept. How’re you and dad doing? You need anything?” He smiled softly as his mother reassured him that she and his father were just fine. She then went on to gush about how happy she was that he was finally getting out alittle, instead of spending all his free time cooped up playing video games in his basement apartment. Logan rolled his eyes, “Yes mom.” Then his eyes wandered back to the HD big screen TV on the wall…..wouldn’t World Of Warcraft look amazing on that thing!? Oooooh yeah!
After saying goodnight to his parents, Logan hung up and headed for the little fridge in the room’s kitchenette. He was famished. Nothing….. the little fridge was empty. No bottled rations for him, apparently. Mick had said this morning that Josef wanted Logan to continue using his freshies. As hungry as he was, the idea still made him fearful of doing something wrong…..fearful of doing damage.
Still, he had done just fine with Amy last night, thanks to Mick’s supervision and guidance. He needed to trust himself…..that’s what Mick had said.
He dressed quickly and headed out into the hall, taking a moment to orient himself, and to focus on retracting his fangs. Walking around with your fangs hanging out was about as socially unacceptable as…….
Josef’s office was this way…….Logan trotted down the hall, but found the office empty. Damn….. He turned and headed back towards the stairs. As he approached the top of the stairs, his attention was captured by the heartbeats and laughter of the numerous freshies in the Patio Room downstairs. His laser-focus on those sounds was the reason he failed to notice a tinier, faster, heartbeat zooming towards him. It was too small to be a threat, so his instincts ignored the information.
Smokey darted between Logan’s ankles just as he started to step down the stairs. Logan tripped and lurched forward…..his hands shooting out to grab the banister rail about three steps down. He slammed into the banister and landed, half-sitting, half-standing, on the staircase, still fairly close to the top. The momentary silence that fell over the Patio Room below left no doubt that everyone had witnessed his demonstration of vampire grace and agility. Great….just great…..way to impress the freshies, Griffen.
The casual chatter resumed quickly in the room below, but the laughter he heard earlier stopped. No one downstairs wanted him to feel like he was being laughed at…..
Picking himself up with as much dignity as he could manage, Logan looked for the source of his humiliation. She wasn’t hard to find. Smokey sat at the top of the stairs, gazing down at him with her large green eyes. Her sleek fur, a patchwork quilt of gray and rust, glinted in the soft lighting.
Logan’s eyes flashed to crystal-white and he showed the little cat some teeth. “You are so lucky Josef said you’re off-limits!”, he growled softly.
Her ears flattened against her skull, and Smokey showed some teeth of her own, as she brazenly hissed at the young vampire. Having made her point, she then turned and sauntered off down the hallway.
Logan stood there on the stairs, silently fuming. Damn cat!
“Logan?”
He turned at the sound of a woman calling his name.
“Are you alright?” It was Heather. The Harem-Manager. He had met her briefly this morning. She stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at him, an expression of polite concern on her face.
Logan was grateful that he couldn’t blush. He smiled. “Yeah….I’m fine. I just….tripped over that cat. No big deal.” He shrugged, trying to sound casual and relaxed.
“You tripped over Smokey?” Heather sounded mildly alarmed and her eyes darted to the top of the stairs. He heard her heartbeat accelerate. “Is…..is she OK?”
“The cat? Yeah….she’s fine. She walked off down the hall towards Josef’s office.” Logan felt mildly put-out that Heather seemed more worried about that damn cat than him…..must be her cat, he thought to himself.
Heather sighed with relief and smiled at Logan. “I’m so terribly sorry she tripped you. It’s not like her at all. She usually hides from vampires she doesn’t know.” She paused, considering something, “When a cat trips a person…..it generally means they’re trying to get their attention……I can only assume that Smokey is trying to make friends with you.” She chuckled softly. “It seems my cat likes you, young man!”
“Trying to cause me to tumble down a flight of stairs seems like an odd way to make friends.”, Logan remarked dryly.
Heather shrugged. “It’s just how cats are…..it’s what they do.”
“I knew there was a good reason I hate cats.”
Heather smiled gently at him, and decided to change the subject. “Are you ready for breakfast, Logan?”
Now she had his full attention. “Yes maam…..please, if it’s not too much trouble. Where’s Josef and Mick?”
“They’re both at Josef’s office building in town right now. Don’t worry. We’ll manage.”
She motioned for him to come downstairs and take a seat in an overstuffed leather chair in the Patio Room. He obediently did so. From this seat, he could watch the freshies in the pool outside. Great view…..not to mention the bevy of beautiful young women milling about in the Patio Room itself. Each one that caught his eye offered him a smile, but none of them approached him. He wondered who would be feeding him.
He watched Heather key an intercom on the wall nearby. “Melissa? You’re up, dear. Yes, now. In the Patio Room. Thank you.” Then Heather pressed a different button on the intercom. “Karl? We need a stand-by. Our young guest is ready for breakfast. The Patio Room, please.”
Logan was startled but the abrupt arrival of the blond giant a second later. He came from wherever he had been with hummingbird speed, a blur of motion far too fast for the human eye to track. Suddenly he was standing beside Logan’s chair. Several of the freshies in the room smiled with amusement and then looked away.
“Thank you, Karl.” Heather said.
Logan risked a glance up at the enormous vampire, all six foot, eight inches of him. He was a lot older than Mick, but not as old as Josef. Logan remembered him. He was the fellow Josef had sent with a car to pick him up at his parents’ house and bring him here the other night. Logan had tried at that time to strike up a conversation with the big guy. He tended to talk when he was nervous. But it was like pulling teeth to get two words out of this fellow named Karl, let alone have a conversation with him. Logan had finally given up and ridden to the mansion in silence.
A new woman wandered into the room. A beautiful blond, striking enough to audition as a Bond Girl, and land the part, no problem. This was Melissa. She was 27 years old. Her bright blue eyes peeked out from behind long bangs, and her wavy blond hair hung to the middle of her back. She was wearing a tank top and flannel PJ bottoms. Like Amy, Melissa was barefoot.
Logan’s jaw dropped and he swallowed hard…..steady…….steady.
Beside him, Karl growled softly…..an unmistakable warning to mind his manners.
Melissa saw them and sauntered towards Logan. She stopped in front of him and smiled softly down at him. “I understand you’re hungry?”, she asked playfully.
Logan bobbed his head in affirmation, speechless.
Melissa’s smile widened. She settled into his lap, so that she was facing Karl on Logan’s right. Addressing Logan, she said, “Amy told me what a great job you did with her…. so…..just rinse and repeat. Remember to keep one ear on my vital signs, and we’ll both be fine. You don’t want Karl here to have to remind you to watch my vital signs.”
Logan glanced up at Karl again. The elder vamp’s already pale blue eyes flickered for a moment to crystal-white, and then back to cool blue. Yeah…..the message there was pretty clear. He would not allow Logan to injure the freshie. Any intervention by Karl might result in injury to Logan, but not the freshie. She was under his protection.
He turned back to the young woman in his lap. Focus, he told himself. He heard Mick’s voice telling him, ‘You can do this….. trust yourself.’ He took in a deep breath and let it out. Relax, he told himself……then he began focusing on wanting Melissa to relax…to be calm…..completely comfortable. His pheromones began to take effect quickly. He felt her lean against him, as her muscles let go of hidden tension.
Melissa let out a long contented sigh, and smiled at Logan, offering him her left forearm. “You’re doing great so far, kid. Keep it up.”
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The predator was growing impatient. His hunger was burning inside of him…….. more than simple hunger, it was a deep craving need. A need for the high, the rush, that a meal of vampire flesh gave him. All that energy, that power. It was beyond ecstasy.
He had been waiting for hours now, on the roof of an older building close to, but downwind of, the high rise office building that currently held his 400 year old prize. There was some sort of soundproofing technology in effect in the penthouse, so he couldn’t hear them. But the ancient vampire had not left the penthouse either. He was forcing himself to wait, because this hunt would be a lot more visible. A glass tower…..in the heart of downtown LA. He needed to wait for the human traffic on the streets below to empty out alittle…..to minimize the number of people who might see him. Some distant part of his mind was screaming at him……don’t!…..you’ll be seen!…..you’ll expose your kind! But he didn’t care, and he ignored that small voice inside him, that voice that told him this one meal, this one vampire, was not worth the enormous risk. He didn’t care.
His need was like a fire inside him, and it was becoming harder and harder to make himself wait. He wanted to watch the window that he knew his prey was sitting near, but he feared being sensed by that annoying little blond woman again. She seemed to know when he was looking in her direction. As long as he didn’t look at her, he was OK.
Just alittle longer, he told himself, alittle longer.
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Beth and Mick sat speechless at the conclusion of Josef’s story. Josef stared at his own desk top, seemingly lost in thought.
Finally Beth broke the silence. “So…..did you ever see Phelan again?”
Josef looked up at them and smiled. “No. And, besides Ireland, which I tried, as I said, I had no idea where to look. Phelan always kept to himself, and did what we would call ‘living off the grid’ today. So, I can’t exactly Google him.” He chuckled. “I don’t even know if he’s still alive…..but I like to think he is……” That sad, distant expression returned to his young face. He blinked quickly as tears threatened, and were promptly put down. “Knowing him….he’s probably living in a cabin in some remote backwoods location……somewhere. I’ll bet he doesn’t even own a cell phone.”
Josef smiled at his two friends, making an effort to seem light-hearted, but failing to fool either his fellow vampire, or the human. “Well……It’s getting late! Mick, you should take the lovely lady home. She has to punch that time clock in the morning!”
He rose to his feet as his guests got to theirs. Josef pressed another button under the edge of his desk top, and there was a soft hissing sound, followed by the sound of doors unlatching.
Immediately, his receptionist spoke through his intercom. “Mr. Kostan!? Are you alright? I didn’t know you were going to go silent tonight! I couldn’t reach you! I’ve been worried sick!”
Josef winced slightly. “Yes Mary….I’m fine.” His receptionist was a member of his freshie Harem. He cared about her, and she cared about him. “I’m sorry I didn’t give you some warning…..it was all rather impromptu.”
The receptionist chuckled softly. “No worries, Mr. Kostan. As long as you’re OK.”
Once the intercom was closed, Josef met Mick and Beth’s eyes. “Please remember…..what I’ve told you tonight is in the strictest confidence. The only thing that a few members of the vampire community know is that I was once friends with a werewolf, a long time ago, and that I learned a lot from him. No one else knows the…… embarrassing details…..that I just shared with the two of you.”
Mick gave one curt nod, his expression solemn. Beth glanced quickly at Mick, and then looked at Josef. She smiled softly and nodded. Josef returned the smile. He knew he could trust both of them.
“You know, Josef,” Mick pointed out, “everyone was a Newbie once. It’s nothing to be ashamed of…...”
“Being a spoiled candy-ass who needed to be rescued, and wet-nursed, by a werewolf, is something I would rather keep to myself, if you don’t mind. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, I’ve always been the pillar of strength and wisdom that you see before you now.” Josef quirked an eyebrow at Mick. “Are we clear?”
“Crystal clear.” Mick grinned, “No one will ever know you were once a candy-ass.”
Josef favored his friend with a good-natured growl. Beth grinned. This ‘guy stuff’ between Mick and Josef was just hilarious sometimes.
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The predator could wait no longer. He glanced at a large exterior clock face on a nearby building. It was well after midnight. Since it was a weeknight, the traffic on the streets below was becoming more sparse.
He shucked his shoes and socks off, followed by his pants. Then he pulled off his filthy jacket and shirt. These clothes were important to his homeless-man camouflage, so he folded them neatly and tucked them against the wall of the roof top utility shed. It occurred to him that he would probably have to leave LA after tonight’s hunt, but he would still need something to wear to help him slip out of town unnoticed.
He stood in the darkness. The lose fit of his homeless-man rags had been concealing the lean muscles beneath. He was tall and powerfully built. His black hair and short beard were unkempt and dirty, but soon, that wouldn’t matter. His dark irises flashed to lantern-yellow and remained so, glowing in the darkness.
Still in the deep shadow of the roof top utility shed, he scanned the surrounding buildings, scenting the air, listening. No one was watching.
He flexed and stretched his muscles, beginning to shift. His mouth gapped open as his teeth rearranged themselves, growing longer and sharper. In a matter of seconds, his body expanded, stretching, transforming into a shape that it was very familiar with…… thick black hair sprouted and lengthened everywhere. There was no pain…..he embraced and enjoyed the feeling of the shift…..the feeling of stretching…..getting stronger, bigger, faster. His body rippled like water. Curved, razor sharp claws exploded from his fingertips and toes. His coccyx, or tailbone, as it is often called, burst free of his rump and lengthened, becoming a thick half-tail. Shiny black fur draped down from the half-tail, stirring in the gentle breeze that was blowing across the roof top. Tall pointed ears rose up atop his head…..his face became a lengthening muzzle. His already lengthening fangs became longer, and larger still. His feet stretched, lengthening. He rocked forward onto the balls of his feet, as those quickly became his enormous hind paws. What had been the heels of his human feet rapidly became the hocks of his powerful lupine hind legs. If he had been standing on a scale, its readout would have been spinning as his mass rapidly increased to alittle over 900 pounds.
He dropped forward onto all fours with a soft thump. His jet black fur shone in the dim light. He shook himself, loosening up his powerful muscles, and causing his shiny black coat to swing side to side, from his ears to his tail. This promised to be a challenging hunt. Golden eyes glinted with anticipation. Soon….very soon……
His ears pricked forward abruptly, orienting on the Penthouse. He suddenly realized he could hear them again……the soundproofing mechanism had been disengaged. He listened, motionless. Something about being a ‘candy-ass’? He rolled his eyes…..what were those two vampires babbling about? OK….they appeared to be saying goodnight……the younger vampire and the human female were preparing to leave. He crept on his belly towards the roof’s façade wall and crouched there, waiting.
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As they rode the elevator down, Beth turned to Mick. “What now?”, she asked.
“Well….first you drive me over to get my Benz at the DA’s Office. Then I was thinking we could head back to your place for awhile and just relax.” One corner of Mick’s mouth crooked up in a slight smile. “I think we’ve earned some down time…..don’t you? Maybe you could call in sick for work tomorrow…….you know…..a mental health day?”
Beth was completely captured by those amazing hazel eyes of his, and that gentle, slightly mischievious, smile. The man was completely irresistible. She smiled, flushing slightly. “Yeah….OK….that would be nice.”
Mick’s smile widened and he nodded, slipping his arm around her shoulders as the elevator doors opened.
They strolled through the lobby and out into the night. It suddenly occurred to both of them that it wasn’t wise to linger outside, given the current situation. They exchanged a quick glance, and then walked briskly across the street to the parking structure.
Beth’s little silver Prius chirped and blinked, sounding almost happy, as it sensed the proximity of her remote key. It obediently unlocked its doors and turned on its interior light as her hand touched the handle. Beth smiled…..she really loved her little hybrid.
They slid gratefully into the car and Beth immediately locked the doors. The Prius started for her with the push of a button. She guided it out of its parking slot and headed for the street access.
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The predator was listening from the nearby roof top. Keeping his head down, he heard the younger vampire and his human female exit the office building and cross the street, entering the parking structure.
His target, the 400 year old vampire, had remained in his penthouse office.
He listened as the human woman’s little hybrid car started up and headed for the parking structure’s exit. He heard the vehicle pause for a second in the driveway, and then, because there was little traffic, the vehicle pulled out onto the street.
It was then that the predator made a serious error. He forgot not to look at this particular human. He raised his large lupine head to peek over the roof’s façade wall, ears flattened to minimize his profile, his lantern-yellow eyes fastening onto the back of the little hybrid car, watching it drive away.
The Prius’ brake lights came on instantly, and the car lurched to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street.
Horrified, and realizing his mistake too late, the predator flattened himself against the roof top and jammed his eyes shut, silently cursing his own carelessness.
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Mick scented, and heard, the sudden change in Beth’s physiology a split second before she slammed on the breaks. Adrenaline was flooding her system. Her pulse jumped and began to race. He could almost feel the hair on the back of her neck standing straight up.
“Beth?!” Mick said, startled, “What are you doing? What’s wrong?” He looked behind them……fortunately, there were no other cars coming. Most people had to work in the morning and were home by now.
”Beth!? You’re sitting in the middle of the street!”
Having ascertained that they were not about to be rear-ended by someone, Mick turned to look at Beth.
She sat staring straight ahead, her eyes wide, her hands in a death-grip on the steering wheel. “He’s here.”, she whispered.
“What?” Mick was confused for a moment, forgetting what had transpired in the alleyway hours earlier. “Who’s here?” He quickly looked out the back window again, confirming that there were still no other cars headed towards them.
“Him! The rogue! I felt him watching us again for a moment! Just like in the alley!” Beth said, whispering breathlessly, panicky, “He’s close!”
She sucked in a deep breath and forced herself to focus…..she thought of her Grandfather’s courage in the face of such things. She knew Mick was worried about other cars, but she didn’t care….let any that came along go around them…..she was busy.
“Beth!” Mick said urgently, “We can’t just sit in the middle of traffic like this! At least pull over!”
Traffic? What traffic? The street was nearly empty. Other cars were the least of their worries right now. Beth ignored that concern and made a conscious effort to hone in on what she had sensed. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she concentrated…..searching. Her heart rate and respirations slowed as she took control of herself and the situation. Even though she could no longer feel his eyes, she knew he was close. She had no idea how she knew this….but she knew it none the less.
In the passenger seat, Mick was nearly beside himself, dividing his attention between Beth and the rear window. Still no other cars coming. No giant wolves either.
Beth’s eyes suddenly widened again, and her breath caught in her throat, as her mind brushed up against what she was searching for…..she felt its burning desire…..its longing for……
“Oh….gosh…..he’s after Josef!”, she gasped, “I can feel it! Mick…..call Josef! He’s got to get out of here right now!” She was rapidly becoming frantic again.
“OK, OK….” Mick tried to reassure her, “I’ll call him…..but start driving! If the rogue is close, we need to get out of here too.”
“Call Josef first! He has to be warned! It’s coming for him!” Beth demanded, “ Call him now!” They were still sitting in the middle of the street.
Mick fumbled for his cell phone and began to dial the number he knew by heart. “OK! I’m calling now! Move!”
Beth took her foot off of the brakes reluctantly and the Prius began to roll forward again. She drove slowly, not sure now of their course, and absent mindedly glanced at the doors’ locks, making sure they were indeed, locked. Foolishness, she told herself. A werewolf could rip the doors off the car if it wanted in….locks weren’t a deterrent. But the gesture provided an important, if false, sense of security.
Josef recognized Mick on the caller ID and picked up right away. “Miss me already?” He quipped.
“Josef, listen…”, Mick said without preamble, “We’re just pulling away from the building and Beth says she senses the rogue again. She says he’s very close…..and that he’s after you.”
Josef was silent for a moment on the other end of the line. Then, “Really?…..OK…..” Mick was stunned to hear genuine concern in his friend’s voice. Josef was clearly caught off guard…… rattled. Mick hadn’t expected Josef to take Beth’s……ESP……so seriously, but clearly, he did.
“Josef?”, Mick prompted.
“OK.”, Josef said, firmly back in control, “You get yourself and Beth out of the area. If it’s focused on me, it probably won’t follow the two of you. But if it does, Beth should sense it, and you have the pistol with the silver rounds.”
“Josef?” Mick asked, “How is Beth doing this? How is she able to sense it?” Beth glanced at Mick as she drove. She wanted an answer to that question herself.
“Beth is very special….. it’s complicated, Mick. I’ll explain when we have more time.”, Josef replied, “Where are you and Beth headed now?”
“Well, first we’re going to pick up the Benz, and then meet back at Beth’s place…”
“No!” Josef snapped, “That’s no good…..not secure enough…..and don’t worry about the Benz! I’ll buy you a new one if anything happens to that old heap!”
Mick sucked in a breathe to protest the ‘old heap’ remark, but Josef continued, cutting him off. “You and Beth go straight to your loft and stay there. Your building has fairly good security…..certainly better than Beth’s apartment.”
“Beth seems to feel like you should get out of there now, Josef. She says it’s coming for you.” Mick said.
“Typical female knee-jerk reaction.”, Josef answered dismissively, “Leaving here is probably the worst thing I could do. I’m on the top floor of a very tall building, with lots of security, in the middle of downtown LA. The rogue would have to be crazy to try to attack here. He’s most likely planning to grab me on the way out. I’ll just sit tight til it’s full daylight outside. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to go after me in broad daylight in the middle of a big city.”
“Got silver?”, Mick asked.
“Not in this building, no.”, Josef answered, sounding like he regretted the oversight very much. “It’s all at home. I never expected an attack in the middle of downtown.”
“We can come back…..”, Mick began.
“No!”, Josef said abruptly, “You and Beth get to your loft right now! Stay put there. I’ll let the Cleaners know that our shaggy friend is outside my office somewhere. This is their department. They can handle it.”
“OK, Josef.”, Mick said reluctantly. “Be careful.” He added as he hung up. “Skip the Benz.”, he told Beth, “Head straight for my loft.”
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The predator listened to what was said between the old one, the young one, and the human. He heard the human female’s warning to the vampires. He snarled softly to himself. She was really thorn in his side….but he was beginning to develop a grudging respect for her abilities. He heard the conversation between the two vampires. And he heard his cocky target announce that he planned to stay in the penthouse until well after sunrise…..and that he had no silver in the building.
Well then, if the mountain won’t come to Mohamed. The predator shook his head. He knew this was stupid…..beyond reckless…..but he didn’t care.
He slunk over to the alley side of the roof, and, with one glance to make sure the alley was empty, he dropped, landing softly in the darkness below.
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Josef sat starring at his cell phone in his hand for several seconds after he and Mick hung up. Amazing devices, these cell phones, he thought to himself. He remembered the first ‘brick’ cell phones……he remembered when land-line telephones were considered an amazing device.
He shook himself out of his ruminations. It was out there, somewhere, close. He knew Beth would be right……
He dialed the Cleaner, THE Cleaner, the Head Cleaner of LA. He was one of the few vamps in LA that were privy to her personal number. When she answered he explained that he had it on good authority that the rogue wolf was outside his office building, and that he expected her to ‘handle’ it.
She argued that she had not yet acquired adequate weapons, or the extra staff, that she felt she needed in order to safely take on the beast. Josef tersely informed her that there was no way to ‘safely’ take on a were…..just do it.
He hung up, feeling annoyed. Well, at least he had plenty of work to keep himself busy tonight. He could hear his office humming with activity below him. His vampire employees were attending to business, while his freshies assisted them in their secretary/lunch roles. On the other side of the globe, it was the middle of the business day, and business was booming. Three freshies were recuperating on the building’s freshie floor. One was asleep. Two were awake, but still listless, recovering, downing the food and fluids brought to them by the freshie wing’s attentive staff.
Everything was normal, Josef told himself……everything would be fine. Business as usual. He would simply stay in the penthouse office until after sunrise. The brute outside would tire of waiting for him, and would leave, in search of more accessible prey. Or, with any luck, the Cleaners would bag and tag themselves a rogue tonight.
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Brent sat at the main desk in the lobby, filling in for Karl, and feeling honored to be doing so. He alternated between scanning the street outside, and watching the interior and exterior security monitors.
He was young, only about 50 years old, as a vampire, but he looked even younger, having been turned at about 24 years of age. He had worked for Josef for many years, spending all of that time in Security, serving under the legendary Karl.
He was a handsome fellow, light brown hair and brown eyes, with aristocratic features.
A faint movement across the street caught Brent’s eye. Turning away from the security cameras, he focused his keen vampire vision on an alley between two neighboring buildings…..something had moved in there.
Brent had heard about the rogue werewolf, but it still didn’t seem real when he made out the shape standing in the shadows across the street. Enormous…..tall triangular ears….long muzzle….. four long legs……gleaming black fur…..lantern-yellow eyes. Shit!!!! Brent gasped out loud.
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The predator was watching the young vampire at the Security Desk, and he knew he had been seen. He saw the expression of shock on the fellow’s face, heard the startled gasp…….
No time left to debate tactics with himself. He had to act…….now.
The predator broke cover and charged.
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Brent’s jaw dropped. This couldn’t be happening…..but it was…….here it came! He watched in horror as the huge black wolf leapt out of the alley across the street and charged, coming straight at the front door of the office building. With his heightened visual comprehension, the creature appeared to be running towards him in slow motion.
He saw it galloping, stretching out to cover as much ground as possible, as quickly as possible.
Moving with hummingbird speed, Brent did the only thing he could to protect the building……he hit the Panic Button, a literal large red button on his panel. An alarm sounded, and in a split second, a heavy steel mesh deployed, descending from the ceilings throughout the entire building, covering the interior of every door and window.
Brent watched as the gigantic black wolf skidded to a halt right outside the front door. It glared in at him, golden eyes glowing with rage. He starred back at it…..amazed. He hadn’t expected it to be so big!
He watched the creature as it sized up the steel bars on the inside of every glass surface. He saw it snarl. He starred, mesmerized.
Then, he saw the beast look up.
“Ahh, shit!”, Brent said out loud as the wolf gathered itself and sprang upward towards the side of the glass tower.
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Throughout Josef’s office building, vampire and freshie staff alike looked up in astonishment as the protective steel mesh deployed over every door and window. In seconds, the building was secure, supposedly safe from external attack.
At his desk in his penthouse office, Josef himself was equally surprised by the initiation of the Panic Button security measures. He watched the steel mesh roll down and lock in place, his mouth hanging slightly ajar. Well, this was too much of a coincidence……it could only mean one thing……the wolf…….it was coming for him, just like Beth said it would.
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The predator’s leap impacted with the fourth story windows of his target’s glass tower. Large hand-like front paws punched through the shatter-proof UV glass and gripped the steel mesh behind it. The tough glass cut his paws, but they healed immediately. The steel mesh served as a jungle-gym to his clawed hand-like front paws. His huge hind paws kicked through the glass and also found purchase on the steel mesh, hooking through it with long curved claws. The predator chuckled…..perfect…..this would be easier than trying to fight his way through the inside of the building to reach he prey.
He punched through the glass above him, and his claws hooked the steel mesh behind it, beginning his long climb towards his target in the penthouse. His hands and paws were sliced by glass over and over again as he climbed, and they healed instantly, over and over again. In the back of his mind, a small voice of reason was shrieking at him…. Stop!!! You’ll be seen!!!! You’ll be photographed!!! It’s not worth it!!!! You’re endangering the secrecy of you kind!!!!
He shoved those thoughts aside. He didn’t care…..nothing else mattered….only his need mattered now.
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Josef felt the building shudder slightly. A human would not have noticed it. He reached for his security panel and keyed an external camera.
There it was, climbing the exterior of the building, using the protective security mesh as a ladder. Damn. Big black wolf, as big as Phelan. And it was climbing steadily towards him.
Josef heard the squeal of car tires on the street below and looked out his window. Someone had just rear-ended someone else. People climbed out of cars and stood staring at his building. One man pulled out a cell phone and held it up in front of him….clearly taking pictures, or producing a short film.
Great…..just great. Not only was he in danger of being eaten by a werewolf.…. he was in danger of being eaten by werewolf on YouTube.
His desk phone beeped frantically. He picked up. “Kostan………”
“Sir!” , Brent said, “We have a security breach!”
“No kidding? Really? I never would have guessed……what with the steel mesh, and all!”
“Sir! It’s climbing the outside of the building! It’s using the mesh as a ladder!”
“I know. I can see it. Kill the lights throughout the building,”
“Sir?”
“We have a growing audience, Brent!” Josef snapped, “There’s going to be a lot of very public questions about tonight. It’s harder to see, and photograph, a black werewolf against a dark building. The less people can see, the fewer explainations will be needed. Do it!”
“Yes sir!”, Brent replied.
A moment later, the entire glass tower was plunged into darkness. This was not an issue for the vampire employees. They could see just fine, and actually preferred the lights off. The freshies were another matter, however. Several of them shrieked in terror. First the alarm, followed by the steel mesh, sealing them all in, and now the lights went out. It was obvious they were under attack….but by what….from where? Every freshie in the building grabbed on to the vampire closest to them. Every vampire cooed reassurances, even if they were frightened and confused themselves. Protecting Josef’s Harem was part of all their job descriptions.
Josef eyed the security monitor for a moment……watching the black wolf scaling the side of his building. His expression was intense……he prevailed in the business world by staying one move ahead of his competition. This was no different. A plan was forming in his mind.
Josef buzzed Brent.
“Yes sir?”
“Activate the fall-back shelter and evacuate the building.” Josef instructed calmly.
“Sir?” Brent sounded doubtful.
“It’s going to get inside, Brent! Do it!”, Josef snapped.
“Yes sir!” Brent hit another button on his panel.
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Several blocks away, in what appeared to be a simple warehouse owned by Kostan Enterprises, an alarm sounded. A yellow light on the ceiling began to flash. Two human male guards looked up from their card game, surprised.
A computerized female voice spoke…..it was Heather’s voice, recorded to give the computer a personality. Heather’s computerized voice was cool and professional. “Incident….Incident…..Office building locked down…..Evacuation in progress……Lock down of this building in 15 seconds…..All personnel withdraw inside the safe zone……Lock down in 13 seconds……12 seconds…….”
The two guards gaped at each other. They had drilled for this…..but never expected it would ever happen. As human employees of Kostan Enterprises, they occasionally had to serve as freshies for Kostan’s female vampire friends, and the few female vamp employees, but mostly, they worked in Security. They both knew that this particular fall-back shelter was staffed with humans just in case of a prolonged siege. More blood on-the-hoof, so to speak, in case the vampires were trapped for any length of time. That made them valuable in more than one capacity…..and it was also alittle scary. But they trusted their employer. He had always been good to them.
“My car! It’s outside!” , one of the men said, alarmed.
“Leave it!” , his co-worker responded, “There’s no time!”
“9 seconds……8 seconds…..” Heather’s computerized doppelganger droned on…. “7 seconds…..”
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Inside Josef’s darkened glass tower, the computer was also issuing instructions in Heather’s calm pre- recorded voice. “Evacuate…..Evacuate. Security Breach. Evacuate. All personnel proceed through the emergency tunnel to the fall-back shelter and await further instructions.” The message repeated again and again.
While Josef sat quietly at his desk in the dark, pandemonium reigned throughout his building. Freshies screamed, vampires called to one another, while trying to keep the freshies as calm as possible, given the circumstances. All of them were putting out clouds of soothing pheromones in an effort to keep the freshies from full-blown panic. Throughout the building, Josef’s vampire employees began to gather the freshies together and make for the tunnel access.
Three vamps, with that unmistakable Yuppie look, burst into the freshie recovery wing and gathered up the recuperating freshies they found there, carrying them. The freshie wing’s human staff followed along behind them.
Brent raced up the stairs and collected Mary, Josef’s receptionist, himself. He headed for the escape tunnel with her. Mary flailed against him, ‘what about Josef?’, she insisted. Brent had an idea he knew the answer to that question, but didn’t dare articulate it to Mary.
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“5 seconds…..4…..3….2…..1…….Lock down.”, Heather’s computerized voice said coolly, the words echoing softly through the warehouse.
The two human guards had positioned themselves back to back in the center of the large room, guns drawn, anticipating an attack of some kind before the system finished its countdown. No attack came. They listened to the soft whirring of machinery now as huge steel blast doors slid down into place, covering, and sealing, all the doors and windows in the warehouse. They both sighed with relief and holstered their guns. Safe, for now at least.
“Opening tunnel access…” the computer intoned, “evacuees in route.” Another steel blast door moved, sliding open smoothly. This was the large doorway leading up into the fall-back shelter from the escape tunnel below.
The two guards glanced at each other and then made a bee line for the security console. One of the monitors displayed the dimly lit interior of the escape tunnel that connected Kostan’s office building with the fall-back shelter many blocks away. The passageway was square in shape, and painted white….. floor, walls, and ceiling. They could see the first group of people coming, running, human females stumbling in their high heels occasionally, only to be caught up and carried by the closest vampire. It wasn’t long before one of the vampires decided their progress was too slow, and, carrying a freshie, he went to hummingbird speed, becoming a blur. Several others followed his lead, snatching up freshies and taking off, zipping towards the perceived safety of the fall-back shelter.
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Josef was watching the external camera feed which displayed the gigantic black wolf rapidly climbing the side of his building. Ironically, the brute was using one of his own security measures against him……repeatedly punching and kicking through the shatterproof glass and gaining purchase on the steel mesh designed to keep intruders out.
Josef cursed his own short sightedness. He should have anticipated this….but how could he, really? Werewolves didn’t behave this way…..even those who hunted and ate two-legged prey routinely. They didn’t attack where they might be seen and photographed. They certainly didn’t climb high-rises in the middle of a large city. This rogue was clearly a few bubbles off of plumb.
Josef knew the steel mesh would not keep the werewolf out for long, once it decided to come in. It was simply convenient for it to use it as a ladder right now. That was why he remained in the penthouse as it climbed closer and closer. If he headed for the escape tunnel himself, the rogue would rip through the security mesh right there and chase him through the building to the tunnel. The only way Josef could protect his employees, give them a chance to escape, was to stay right where he was until they had all made it to safety. He was using himself as bait.
Josef leaned away from the monitor and peered out his enormous window-wall, looking down the face of his building. There it was…..he could see it. Very close now. He saw it glance up at him, its golden eyes flashing, its teeth barred.
Josef smiled. “That’s right….come and get it……here boy….good dog.”
His desk phone beeped, demanding his attention. He picked up, “Kostan.”
“That’s everyone, sir!”, Brent reported, “ We’re all clear of the building and heading for the fall-back shelter. I’m holding the door for you…..hurry!”
“Don’t hold the door, Brent.” Josef said quietly, “Seal it and go.”
“But sir!? What about you!?”
“I’m taking another way out.” , Josef answered calmly.
“Another way?! Sir!”
“Go Brent! Now! Seal that exit! I know what I’m doing!” Josef hung up.
Brent felt sick, but his employer was clearly not going to change his mind. Reluctantly, he stepped inside the escape tunnel and keyed the door to seal. A heavy steel blast door slid down into place, sealing the exit off from the building. As he turned and went to full-on vamp speed down the tunnel, Brent wondered what Karl would do to him if Kostan got himself killed on his watch. He was pretty sure Karl would break him in half, literally. And that’s if he was lucky.
I'm so glad you are enjoying my tall tale! 
