Knowing Rated PG

[Ella713]

Moonlight Fanfiction
Knowing Rated PG
By Ella713

The Changeling Kimberly Swift returns and her gift has been amplified.


Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Brian had been keeping a close eye on Kimberly Swift for a few years now. She was eerily successful in whatever task she was given. Isabelle had told him of her gift, but he never took it seriously, but now he was finding out how gifted this young woman was. Perhaps it was time to give her something that required her to think more on her feet. Improvise. If she proved herself to be truly useful there was no limit at Kostan Industries.

Kimberly was happy. Unbelievably happy. Her job at Kostan Industries was everything she had hoped for. One client was stunned by her work, he wanted to steal her away so she could work for him in his London office. But Kimberly was loyal to a fault . When she committed to one thing, she stayed with it until she grew tired or the place was no more. Kostan was thriving, so she couldn't even imagine leaving. However, she was feeling lonely. Her job left her very little time to meet new people or even go on a date. She would have to do something about this. She decided to up to Bailey's apartment and chat with her for a while. Bailey opened the door wide, gave her a big hug and poured her a glass of wine.
"What's happening? You look restless" Bailey asked.
"Nothing really....just feeling like something missing from my life, you know? Maybe I need....." Kimberly started to say.
"A man" Bailey finished for her.
"I suppose. I mean really I should be on top of the world right? A successful career, a good income, I'm healthy. I should be living it up, but to be honest...I feel kind bored" She finished.
"Sounds like what you need is a challenge. Surely Kostan has some once in a lifetime opportunity that everyone feels is a waste of time. Find out what that opportunity is a take it" Bailey said with smile. "You know I heard Brian say to Isabelle they should look for someone to send to Morocco. They want to open a headquarters there. Something like that would be perfect for you. It's different and unexpected." Kimberly thought about what Bailey said and the more she thought about it the more she wanted to do.
"You're right! I'll speak with Brian tomorrow!" She said feeling great for the first time in a long while.

Kimberly stood in Brian's office waiting for him to give her an answer. She could never guess how Brian would react to anything. He was so closed off from everyone.
"You do know that going to Africa comes with some dangers. Especially for Americans." He said looking straight at her.
"Well of course, but there are just as many dangers here in Los Angeles." She said trying to sound braver than she actually was. Brian continued to stare at her.
"And this is something you truly want to do?"
"Yes it is" She said. Brian nodded. Of course he had every intention of letting her go, but he wanted to make sure this was something she wanted. Her gift was a little too dangerous to ignore her legitimate request.
"Alright Kimberly. I will make the arrangements, but I'm sending a couple of more people with you." He said typing some information into his computer.

Kimberly found out that three employees would be travelling with her. Prentice Fox who was Kostan's go to person in International Trade, Larry Bennett was an attorney and Fred Hasanoglu was.....well, no one really knew what Fred actually did for the company, but judging by the size of the man, one could guess.

[Ella713]

"You are sending Kimberly to Morocco?" Isabelle asked Brian.
"Actually no. Kimberly requested that she be sent and I approved. She apparently wants to test the waters. Personally, I don't think she's ready to go anywhere, especially Africa." Brian stated.
"Agreed. But one has to wonder what she will be able to achieve." She said. "Africa has always been resistant"
"But a changeling might be able to persuade things in our favor" Brian said.

Kimberly marvelled at the luxuriousness of the company jet. This was her first flight anywhere! She wasn't afraid of crashing or anything but she really wanted to do a good job. Prentice saw the look on Kimberly's face.
"Relax. Trust me, you're safer on the Kostan jet than you are in the streets of L.A. any day!" She said laughing.
"Have you ever been to Africa before?" She asked.
"No. I think Fred went on a safari a long time ago, but Africa hasn't always been hospitable, so this is huge." She said. "Of course Morocco is a lot different from the other countries. They tend to operate on a broader scale. They boarder the Mediterranean so they have a lot of minglings culturally."
"What about terrorism?" Kimberly asked suddenly feeling really scared for the first time in her life.
"Morocco is very staunch about that. They have an absolute no tolerance for anything of that kind. So far they've been successful in protecting their boarders from militant groups"

The flight was long but very restful and when they landed a limo was waiting for them. They pulled into the Palais Sheherazade which was in Kimberly's opinion the most opulent building she had ever seen. Fred, who she found out was from South Africa originally, translated when he needed to. Everyone looked at the large man with fear. Everyone seemed to know who he was and Kimberly could see they respected him. Her room was like a dream she wanted to never wake up from. She felt like Cleopatra in this room! She threw open the curtain and drank in the sight of the tiled swimming pool. She had always envied the idle rich, who flew to places like this for family vacations or romantic getaways. While Kimberly wasn't poor by any stretch of the imagination her family certainly didn't have access to wealth of this magnitude. She turned when she heard a knock at her door.
"These are for you. They are short biographies on each of the people we will be meeting with from African Free Trade Commission" He said placing the papers in her hand.
"What is it exactly we want from them?" She asked thinking that maybe this wasn't a good idea. She was in over her head. "When has free trade ever been free" Kimberly joked. Fred smiled.
"Exactly. It never is and never will be ." Fred said turning away. Kimberly shut the door and sat on the bed and started to read. After reading all there was she reached into her suitcase and pulled out her journal. She really wanted to succeed at his opportunity. She wanted it so badly she got one whammy of a headache. She stretched out on the bed and kept her eyes closed until the pain subsided.
"What the hell was that?" She asked in surprise. She never became ill, or got a headache ever in her life. No measles, mumps or any childhood disease.

[Ella713]

The next morning Kimberly felt much better than she had last night. Her thoughts were clearer and she felt like she could do anything.

Larry, Prentice and Kimberly all sat at the conference table at the African Trade Council. Prentice out lined what she thought would be best for all parties involved and Larry went over the legalities of each point. Abasi a rather stern looking African stared straight at Kimberly.
"And what is it that you wish to offer?" He said. Kimberly stared back with no fear.
"I offer you Kostan Industries." She said.
"You are offering me a multi-billion dollar industry? I do not think it is yours to offer" He laughed.
"What I offer you is the Kostan name. That name carries weight in not only the financial world but the political world as well. Who would dare to confront the nation that had the trust of Kostan. You would be one of a select few. Kostan Industries is very selective in who we choose to do business with. The fact that you have made it to this stage shows the world what Kostan thinks of your country. The publicity alone will bring you revenue from all over the world. That is what I'm offering you" Kimberly said and took a drink of the sparkling water in front of her. Abasi whispered to his co-workers for a moment before saying.
"Please, tell Mr. Petzer that we welcome his business and hope to have a prospering relationship!" He said with a large smile.

"Wow!" Prentice said in admiration "Talk about our little kitten has claws! Who knew you could do something like that?"
"I'm stunned myself. But it went well didn't it?" Kimberly said.
"It sure did. Not only did they sign the agreements, we got a lot more leeway than other corporations! Mr. Petzer will be pleased! We should celebrate!" Larry said.

Fred called Brian and let him know how the meeting went.
"If what you say is correct about her, this could mean endless possibilities" Fred said.
"Indeed, but handle her with care Fred. A broken heart could mean disaster and not just for this ego. But if you decide to take this on, know that she will be sought by many. And most would kill for her." Brian warned.
"Understood sir." Fred said and hung up.

Fred met them all in the lounge. Kimberly had changed into a beautiful gold kaftan that hung gracefully from her long frame.
"Hey Fred, did you hear?" Larry called out to him.
"Of course I did. I heard Kimberly has made her way into the pond with the big fish" He said.
"Nothing of that sort." Kimberly said.
"Don't be humble. It takes a certain kind of daring to deal with Africans the way you did. You should be proud. But tell me how did you do it?" he asked. Kim shrugged her shoulders. She couldn't tell him.
Hell, she didn't even know if it was true. It just seemed to be that way always. Fred ordered a round of drinks. Larry who was always up for a good time, drank the glass down without questions. Prentice looked hesitantly in the glass.
"What's in this Fred?"
"Pomegranate juice, peach nectar, warmed spiced rum" He said taking a sip of his own.
"Alright, I'm trusting you Fred." Prentice said and took a cautious sip. "Oh my! This is delicious!" She said having another sip. Seeing how much Prentice enjoyed the drink Kimberly took a small sip and Prentice was right. It was very very good!

[Ella713]

After dinner and drinking and celebrating Kimberly made a vow to enjoy herself more. This was just the beginning for her.
"So, when did you first notice that you had this gift?" Fred asked quietly. Kimberly froze in her seat.
"What are talking about?" She replied.
"The gift to get the things you want of course. You're not the first you know. You don't have to be so skittish about it." He said trying to ease her mind. "Do you have a ritual or prayer that must be said before or does it just happen to you? I'm assuming you were quite little. Surely your parents must have noticed." Fred said continuing to talk.
"Fred, you're not making sense" She lied.
"I knew this guy in my homeland who also had this gift. He would just speak the words and all the things he wanted came to him. Often in bizarre circumstances but came to him they did. In South Africa it is called Sterkte for luck. But in the end it drove him crazy. He took his own life" Fred finished.
"When was this?" Kimberly asked becoming interested
"Many years ago." Fred said shaking his head. Kimberly wanted desperately to speak to someone about all of this, bur feared no one would believe her. She had never trusted one person until now.
"Fred. If you want to listen, I'm ready to tell you my story" She said quietly. Fred stood up and held out his hand to her.
"This must be a private conversation" He said looking around the lounge and leading her to his suite above. He poured her a glass of wine and sat next to her.
"Tell me your story" He said with serious eyes. Kimberly told him of how she had always gotten what she wanted right from the start. She told him of how she wanted a certain bicycle, but it was very expensive and parents said she would have to wait until they saved for it. But she had really wanted it. Then out of the blue her father won a raffle at the state fair and the grand prize was the exact bicycle! Things just came to her simply if she wanted it, but it wasn't until high school she'd noticed that when she wrote things in her journal, these thing materialized more quickly. She'd try not to use it unless it was really important, but admitted to being petty about some things like a boy she liked who had a girlfriend or a parking spot. She started to feel guilty. The tears fell from her eyes heavily as she told him of her life growing up.
"And this why you wanted to make this trip?"
"At first I thought I could do it on my own, but then I realized I was in over my head."
"So you used the journal" He answered.
"You're not going to tell anyone are you" She asked suddenly becoming suspicious.
Fred said nothing.

As Kimberly laid in bed she kept going over her conversation with Fred. It was stupid of her to share this with him. What had made her confess everything to someone she had never met before? It just wasn't like her to anything like that. Maybe he put something in her drink! The more she thought about it, the more she disliked Fred. Disliked him very much.

Fred knew he peaked Kimberly's general paranoid demeanor. And all he had to do was wait and see what happened. Was it really possible? He knew that she could generate good fortune for herself but could she also do harm to others? Mr. Petzer would be quite pleased with this information.

Fred sat in large chair in his room and waited. At around 3:00am a large crash could be heard in the hotel. People became frightened and stepped out into the hallway.
"I think it came from this room" Some said pointing at the room Fred was staying in. Kimberly held her breath as she watched security from the hotel insert their card into the lock and slowly go in. The huge chandelier above the bed had come crashing down taking a small portion of the ceiling with it. The head of security left the room.

Kimberly placed her hand over her mouth. She had killed Fred. She quickly looked around the hallway to see if anyone was watching her. She walked quickly into her room and shut the door.
"So I guess I know how much power you have over this gift" Fred said from behind her. Kimberly quickly turned around to scream, but Fred quickly placed his hand over her mouth. "You are full of surprises aren't you? I really thought we were friends." He said in her ear. She tried to get out from his grasp but the man was too strong. Unbelievably strong. "I'm going to release my hand and if you try to scream I'll snap your neck before anyone hears a sound. You understand?" Kimberly nodded her head. "Why did you want me dead?"
"I didn't! Are you crazy?"
"Come on now Kimberly, tell me the truth".
"I am telling you the truth. I never wanted you dead, I just didn't like you for a moment" She explained.
"So not liking me for just a moment warrants an entire chandelier falling on top of me? Doesn't seem fair. Did you think I was going squeal on you?"
"Yes!" She cried and tore herself from his grip and sat on the bed.
"I wouldn't do that" Fred said to her. "But you need to get this under control before something very serious happens".

[Ella713]

"Why do you even care? What am I to you?" She cried, thinking that her career was over. There was no way they would risk something happening to an employee or worse a client.
"Kimberly, you have been employed by Kostan Industries for some time now and you know that Kostan believes in taking care of his employees, why would there exception to you?"
"Because other employees can't make chandeliers fall from the ceiling and impale people" She said sharply.
"You were hired Because of who you are and what you can do. Don't you get it?" Kimberly looked up at him.
"That's impossible" She snorted back at him.
"Then how did I know? Kostan has known of your abilities for some time. I think they were waiting for you to grow up a bit to fully use your amazing talents."
"You don't have to flatter me Fred" She replied.
"The truth doesn't flatter. It simply is"
"What if I kill someone by accident?"
"Kimberly, you can't kill everyone. You didn't kill me"
"I wonder why that was"
"Some people can't be killed and that's why I came on this trip. To make sure nothing happened to you"
"You think someone is going to try and kill me?" She said becoming alarmed.
"Most likely. Your gift can attract other like minded people. Things of the supernatural get noticed by others with supernatural gifts. They are drawn together like magnates. And that would be horrific for everyone."


1 Year later
Kimberly strolled into the office Lutz & Kramer. William Lutz and his partner Christopher Kramer were Kostan Industries' #1 competitor. The corporation was fearless and ruthless. And were a constant source of rage for Brian and Josef before him.
"I'm here to see William Lutz and Christopher Kramer. My name is Kimberly Swift. I have an appointment" She said coolly to the receptionist. She sat in one of luxurious leather chairs in the lobby. Both gentleman came around the corner and walked over to meet her. They had no idea what Brian was planning but they were prepared. The world depended on their crop reports to determine the stock market. They were untouchable. The woman was very pretty and not someone they would expect Brian to send. This had to be a trick of some kind they both thought. Kimberly stood and held out her hand. Both men shook her hand and waited to hear what she would say. After shaking their hands, Kimberly picked up her briefcase and began to walk away.
"Wait a minute!" William called out. "What do you want?" Kimberly faced them and smiled.
"I wanted to know what you looked like. It makes it all easier"
"Makes what easier?" Christopher asked. Kimberly smiled wider.
"Easier to take down your company." She replied. William laughed at the thought.
"Whatever you say. And on your way out, thank Brian for the laugh! And you can tell Kostan..or I'm sorry Mr. President, to kiss my ass!"
Kimberly shrugged and walked out their offices.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian sat with Josef in Washington D.C.
"Brian, this is amazing!" He said laying the newspaper down. "So all this time Lutz was faking the crop reports! That's just perfect!"
"Their stock plummeted almost immediately, all of their directors started to lawyer up. Everyone's playing the blame game and we took hold of a new viable acquisition. Agriculture now belongs to Kostan Industries" Brian explained with a smile.
"Good job Brian. How's Kimberly doing?"
"She's perfect sir. Isabelle trained her close to a year. I think she will be ready for new duties."
"Excellent. This will be my last term and then it will be back to business." Josef said. Brian stood up
"It will be good to have you back sir." Brian said taking his leave. Josef took a sip of scotch. Brian was forever loyal and with the addition of the Changeling, there was nothing vampires couldn't do.



The End