Returned Favour (Mick/Beth/Talbot; G) 2009

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Tam
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Returned Favour (Mick/Beth/Talbot; G) 2009

Post by Tam »

Characters : Mick St John, Ben Talbot, Beth Turner
Rating : G
Spoilers : Ep 16 of Moonlight, season 1
Summary : A.D.A. Benjamin Talbot calls Mick into his office to confront him with Dean Foster's photographs.
First posted : ff.net, April 2009

Disclaimer : The characters are not mine, no money is being made and no infringement is intended.

Returned Favour


Mick entered the Assistant District Attorney's office, his eyes immediately going around the room taking in details. A private investigator's hard to break habit. The two framed art prints on the wall. A golf cup. A miniature bust of Abraham Lincoln on his desk. The statuette of Lady Liberty on the windowsill. The usual office supplies. Apparently Talbot had moved his desk to another corner of the room since the last time Mick was there, and added some personal touches to his office. So he was there to stay, Mick concluded.

“Where’s Beth?” he asked by way of greeting, assuming he was called in on a case.

“St. John, thanks for coming in,” Benjamin Talbot said pointedly, not wanting to forego manners. “Take a seat. Beth’s in a meeting, but what I called you here for doesn’t involve her.”

Mick raised an eyebrow, and sat down in the chair opposite of Talbot. “So what did you call me here for?” he asked. He didn’t pretend to like the man, and he was quite sure the feeling was mutual. He didn’t trust him around Beth, despite her saying she had no romantic interests in him. After all, that didn’t exclude Talbot having romantic interests in her. He crossed his arms over his chest. This wasn’t a social call.

“Well, we’re currently investigating the death of Dean Foster,” Benjamin Talbot started. “It took the lab 3 days to identify him by his molars.”

Mick waited for the punch line. It had taken Guillermo only a few seconds and a deep breath to establish COD on Foster, and Mick suspected the Lost Boys, who had probably been after his cameras.

“What can you tell me about Foster?” the assistant district attorney asked neutrally, looking at Mick closely. Mick shrugged.

“He was stalking my client, Tierney Tate. Haven’t heard from him since she died. I thought you had him as a suspect, didn’t you? Before I helped solve the case?”

Mick played the ball back into Talbot’s court, who briefly raised his eyebrows and grimaced.

“Yeah. Well, now he’s dead. Murdered. But before he died, I received this from him.”

He took out the brown envelope from his desk drawer and threw it on the desk, cocking his head. Mick took the bait, and reached out for it, keeping his eyes on Talbot before opening the envelope and taking out the pictures of his car accident. He swallowed, took a deep breath, and slid them back into the envelope.

“Your point being?” he asked tersely.

Benjamin Talbot gave the private investigator an inscrutable look.

“That car hit you full on. How come you are still sitting here?”

“I was a stuntman before I became a P.I.,” Mick said dryly.

“No, you weren’t, I ran a check on you,” Talbot replied.

“Not professionally. It’s a hobby. This is Hollywood, we all dream of making it on the silver screen. I auditioned for The Transporter.”

Benjamin Talbot sighed. He really did not like this guy. He was arrogant, crude- and too damn smart for his own good.

“Why didn’t you file charges against the driver?”

“Who says I didn’t?”

“The police. The licence plates are visible on the photographs. Such a case was never filed.”

Mick frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m trying to say, that Foster takes pictures of you in a situation that even I find…pretty hard to explain, you don’t file charges or even break a leg - and a couple of days later, Foster’s dead. It seems to me you are covering something up.”

“Yeah? Like what?”

“The driver’s identity, or what you were doing that night? Any other personal reason you might want Foster dead? I don’t know. Look,” Talbot said, letting out a deep breath, “I didn’t call you in to question you.”

“Could have fooled me,” Mick replied. His mind was racing, though he tried not to show it. The A.D.A. had proof of his vampire abilities on film. He ran down the list of possibilities. Kill Talbot. Claim he had a doppelganger. Kill Talbot. There weren’t that many options.

“I’m not going to use those photographs on the Foster case. Instead, I’m going to give them to you for your personal scrapbook, or whatever you want to do with them. Have a blast. Send them to your grandma to put on the mantelpiece.”

Mick paused, and looked at Talbot in disbelief. “You’re going to give me the pictures?” he repeated, stunned. “Why on earth would you do that?”

“Because you saved my life. Consider it a returned favour and the debt between us is settled.”

“And I am not a suspect on the Foster death?”

“Your alibi checks out. You were with Beth that night, weren’t you?” Talbot asked.

“I was,” Mick replied, still amazed. Talbot nodded.

“Then your secret is safe with me.”

“No digital copies?” Mick asked warily.

“None.”

Mick had only the A.D.A.’s word for that, but surprisingly enough, he believed him. His vampire senses could not detect the telltale signs of lying. At that moment, Beth walked into the office.

“Checking out the competition?” she asked cheekily, smiling at her boyfriend and her boss.

“Actually, we were comparing notes,” Benjamin Talbot replied, smirking. Mick sucked his teeth. He still didn’t like the guy. He got up, tucking the envelope under his arm. “Thanks,” he offered.

“My pleasure, I’m sure,” Benjamin Talbot replied, watching the P.I. as he left his office, Beth following him.
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francis
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Re: Returned Favour (Mick/Beth/Talbot; G) 2009

Post by francis »

Uh oh. So now Mick has the evidence and both are off the hook - for now. Ben won't get killed (and I'm sure he somehow knows how close he came) and Mick's secret is safe. But I think that Ben will have Mick's hide in case anything else happens that's strange around Mick. He's curious, but he knows that he has no chance to get around Mick's evasions.
I love how they play with each other.
jen
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Re: Returned Favour (Mick/Beth/Talbot; G) 2009

Post by jen »

This is wonderful.

There was quite a bit of tension in that office, but I'd like to believe that they got past it and became allies.

Eventually.

Thanks, Tam!

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