Recoil--Chapter 6-7 PG13

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MoonShadow
Logan's WoW nemesis
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Recoil--Chapter 6-7 PG13

Post by MoonShadow »

Episode: Loosely based after Sonata
Pairing: The whole gang
Rating: PG13 Language
Spoilers: I wish it had a spoiler
Beta Thank You: Lilly and Morbius
Summary: Nothing happens by chance, beware of coincidences

CBS & Paramount owns Moonlight, No copyright infringement is intended.

Recoil
By Moonshadow

Chapter 6

Mick toyed with the stem of the wineglass watching as Beth pushed her salad around her plate. “Can you tell me what’s got you so upset?” he asked finally. Breaking into Beth’s silence, she glanced up, smiled, and set her fork aside.

“I’m sorry; I’m not much of a lunch date am I?” She sighed, reached over for Mick’s hand and squeezed it. Just looking into Mick’s eyes made her feel as if she was looking into his soul. The warmth of his smile wrapped about her heart and the world seemed to fall away.

“Excuse me Miss, would you like a refill?”

Beth jumped at the intrusion and blushed slightly as she let loose of Mick’s hand. He leaned back in his chair and watched as the tip of Beth’s nose flushed pink. Learning her subtle signals gave him a sense of joy that went beyond words.

“Another glass of wine for you sir?” The waitress asked as she set down the newly filled water glass.”

“No, thank you this is fine.” He replied.

Beth picked up her fork again only to set it back down. “I ran into Carl Davis, on my way here. That’s why I was late.”

Mick tilted his head watching as Beth folded her napkin, unfolded it & refolded it. Mick blinked with the slightest of frowns. Beth does that when she’s frustrated he thought. “Working on a case?”

“No” Beth shook her head, “he was ordering lunch.” She laughed at the look of confusion on Mick’s face. “I stopped to say hello on my way here. Carl and I go way back.” She stopped and snorted at the sight of Mick’s eyebrow clambering up his forehead. “I guess I need to adjust my frame of reference. Way back for me just isn’t the same to you is it. Carl dated my roommate in college.”

Mick nodded and leaned back in his chair bracing his ankle over his knee. His body English unconsciously telling Beth that he was opening up to her. His actions encouraged Beth to talk and Mick relished this time.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Beth pushed her salad aside, looked over at Mick and continued. “It’s a long story, anyway, Carl is looking for work and it sounds like he wants to move out of the area.”

Mick watched Beth as she stared into space, “And now you’re loosing another piece of you past.”

Beth looked down before asking, “Does it ever get any easier?” She subtly shook herself. “Did I tell you Carl’s the one who got me to shoot a weapon?” She giggled at the look on Mick’s face. “I wrote a pretty nasty piece in our college paper about the mindset of students majoring in Criminal Justice. Carl was dating Caroline and accused me of being biased, careless with my research and completely inflammatory.”

Mick laughed, “Ouch! That had to smart!”

Beth laughed and nodded. Truth is Carl taught me a valuable lesson. As a journalist I have a responsibility to my readers. If my research is sloppy, so is my story. So I took some classes, volunteered in the judicial system, got an education and became a much better writer.”

“Did you change your opinion of cops?”

“For the most part; no. But I understand the whole us versus them thing a lot better now.”

“So you ended up dating Josh.”

Beth blinked at Mick’s words. I never thought of that. I guess I felt safe being part of that world. Journalism has its own version of the same mindset.” She looked across the table and raised an eyebrow mimicking Mick’s body language and added, “so does your world.”

Mick blinked. The memory of a poisoned beheaded vampire corpse caused a shiver to climb his spine.

------------------------------------

Josef poured a goblet of O positive for his guest and paused before he poured a second glass for himself. He preferred fresh from the vein, but that would have meant risk. That was something he preferred not to indulge in at this time. It wasn’t about risk to him. No, it was risk that word would get out. Word that someone had upset The Cleaner and more importantly upset him; and thereby upsetting the balance and control that ruled over the vamps on the greater L.A. area. And that was the risk he wasn’t ready to gamble with at this time.

At precisely the set time of their meeting Josef felt rather than heard Mariel alert him to The Cleaners arrival. Straightening he tugged his jacket into place, turned and stood ready; poised to greet her. The flair of her nostrils told Josef that she had caught the coppery scent of fresh blood. Good. Ball is clearly in my court; be ready to play by my rules. Smiling gregariously he grasped the goblets, gracefully twisted in a swift glide, the offered glass like a prize before her.

Delighted he watched the brief flash of annoyance in her eyes. She walked towards him perfectly controlled, knowing Josef had baited her and won. Bastard, you always win. You’re always in control, she thought. We’ll see how in control you are when you know what I know. “Josef” she purred, “Thank you for seeing me.”

“A delight as always. Care for a drink?”

She nodded with the softest shake of her head. Accepting the glass from his hand placed her within his reach and indebted her to his hospitality. She glided towards him smoothly accepting the treat and moving outside his strike zone.

Josef smiled at the instinctive actions. She was lovely, well trained and always careful. Truthfully he was glad that she had accepted his offer all those years ago, and took this position. She’d done a marvelous job with it. He found the obligations and requirements tedious at best. By and large, Josef found dealing with stupid people boring. “I’ve been remiss lately in thanking you.” She looked at him calmly waiting for clarification. “It’s always a relief to know that you are doing your usual excellent job.”

She smiled briefly, knowing how he detested ignorance and waste.

“So what brings you to my office?”

She sipped, sliding her tongue over a fang and delicately licking the edge of her lip. Enjoying the treat, she sensually embraced the smooth column of the goblets shaft, raised the glass, and offered a toast. “Thank you for both the compliment and the refreshment.”

Taking her cue from Josef as to the pace of their meeting she continued, “You are correct. I do have something I believe you need to be aware of.” She turned towards the window briefly before letting the trouble reflect in her eyes. “Josef, I have four dead vamps. At least I ‘m certain of three and suspect the fourth,” she clarified. Watching for his reaction and seeing none she took a deep breath and let it out. Josef already knew or at least suspected. Fine, she reevaluated how to present the information, it was better this way.

“Three dead, staked, beheaded and two were poisoned with silver for good measure.” Josef nodded at her news. “I suspect another vamp is in the same condition but I don’t have a body yet.” Josef looked at her quizzically. “A past due account. The last two were past due accounts.” She continued, “I’m sure St John told you about one.” Josef didn’t blink. She stopped and waited, Josef wasn’t about to react to her venom.

He knew the cause of it and understood completely what it meant to loose trusted friends, especially ones that had endured over the span of 100 years. “Mick was asking about you.”

She sipped and remained still.

“We had no choice in the matter,” he reminded her, “but it doesn’t mean that we have to like it.” The glimmer of gratitude in her black eyes was thanks enough. “Now, tell me about the dead vamps. Everything, the who, the what, the where, the when.” He snapped as he began pacing about the office. Mercurial as ever Josef worked the probabilities through his mind and reached the same conclusion that she had. Someone was hunting vamps in L.A., very efficiently and with precise accuracy. And, hunting was exactly the word he wanted. But who and why?

Josef refilled her glass, resumed his pacing contemplating the options. “I need you to find that missing vamp. I don’t need a panic. Use Mick. He’s the best one for the job and I don’t want you out of contact with any of your teams; at anytime. Visibility is a liability. The tribe needs to be alerted. Any infractions will answer directly to me. We’ve been careless, visible, sloppy.” Josef snapped. His voice was barely below a roar.

She drained the glass then set it down delicately. As calm as always she turned back to Josef and nodded with grace. “Josef as always.”

Standing immobile Josef watched the diminutive figure glide from his office. Her dark hair swept behind her like a silken train.

Chapter 7

Mick sat at his desk contemplating his monitor and the puzzle displayed on it. He decided to work from the assumption that the fourth vamp was dead. Aside from that single and rather obvious fact, nothing else seemed to link the cases together. He had tried mapping the areas of their deaths, lives, and employment. Nothing seemed to mesh. Why these four? How had they been selected? What facts tied the four lives and deaths together? Frustrated Mick couldn’t find the pattern. From every angle it appeared that they were four random deaths; four lives that had never intersected before death. Mick shook his head; something told him there was more to this than just random bad luck. Disgusted with his lack of success, Mick tossed the pen down spun his chair about to watch the skyline. The inky blackness made him think of The Cleaner.

The call had not surprised him after talking to Josef. Her demeanor was professional and direct. His respect for her had elevated after his visit with Josef. As Mick watched the lights below he thought of Beth and the friends that she was losing by moving deeper into his world. Wondering if he would have the strength to go through those looses alone. After Coraline had turned him he’d had the support of the vamp nation to sustain him. Through the years of change it was the world he’d been able to retreat to for comfort and solace. Beth didn’t have such luxury, as her support system fell away she had nothing to replace it with but him. Mick thought of her grief and wondered if he would be enough for her. Would his love be enough to sustain her?

Beth sat cross legged on her loveseat a yearbook lay open to Carl’s picture, she cradled a glass of wine in her hand, staring into space lost in memory, still raw from the days work. Was this what her life would be like? Each friend, each mentor, each human contact in her world slowly stripped away until it was just the two of them? Is that when it will happen? Is that when I will ask Mick to turn me?

Beth jumped as the ringing of her phone shattered her revere, slopping her wine, grabbing for her phone. The automated sales recording felt like a slap of reality. Who else but Mick would call? Beth stood the wine’s bitter taste in her mouth sickening and dropped the phone onto the table. She walked into the bedroom. “Okay Beth, what’s it going to be? Movie, gym or shopping? You’re getting out of here tonight. No more moping about. No more pity parties.[/i]

Changing clothes she thought about calling Mick and decided against it. No. Tonight is about getting back into human company. What was it Josef said? The mortal coil.

The Cleaner sat at her desk. She’d contacted each team and sat waiting for them to arrive. She’d deal with David in the morning, she snorted in the silence, “And I thought paperwork was a pain in the butt.” Looking through the glass into the warehouse she reviewed her plans looking for holes and flaws.

She waited as the teams arrived, watching as they greeted each other, looking for any clues; any tension, any hostility that would give away a guilty conscience. All she could see was a general sense of confusion and a strong sense of camaraderie. Well, time to get this show on the road.

Standing in a loose loop her teams watched as she joined them. “We have a problem people, someone has killed four vamps. Staked and beheaded. Whoever’s behind this knows exactly how to kill us. Two of the victims were also poisoned with silver. But we can’t identify the source of delivery.” She paused, took a deep breath and let it out slowly for effect. Watching their faces, judging the reactions of each member, “It would be easy to assume it was a human with some agenda. But, that would be careless and sloppy. We are not known for either. What we will do is change, adapt and survive.” Shoulders around the room straightened, confidence blossomed.

“Because of what we are, we’re a weak link in the security that surrounds the tribe. We will only respond to emergencies. Word is being sent throughout the nation, no one is to draw attention to our kind. Any accidents will be dealt with harshly. Does anyone have any questions?” The Cleaner looked about waiting for the effect of her words to sink in, “No? Good. I’ve emailed specific instructions to each team. Each van will be painted, you’ll have corresponding uniforms and you’ll only be contacted by cell phone.” She picked up a stack of disposable phones and began handing them out. “I’ll give you the addresses where you will be operating from.” She looked about the circle. “Come on people, I know I didn’t think of everything and this is our lives. Not to mention my bank account!” The tension broke and a general rumble of nervous laughter rippled through the room. Several people raised questions and together they worked through the options. An hour later she felt better about their chances of survival. Now baring any unforeseen incidents everything was in place.

Josef stood before the glass watching the city lights behind him the final report lay open on his desk. Staring he scented, Simone’s perfume still hung in the air. The icy calm of his dark eyes held another skyline in their gaze. “Regrets”. He wiped the corner of his mouth with the index and thumb fingers of his right hand in an unconscious reflex action at the word. He hated regrets.

Josef spun from the view paced back to the desk, flipped the folder closed, hefted the report and tossed it back onto the glossy surface. His annoyance with the messenger covered the irritation he felt with himself. “You are willing to stake your life on these results?” Josef stabbed a finger into the manila surface.

“Completely, Mr. Kostin. My work is impeccable.”

The arrogant smirk pasted on the Chemist’s face interrupted Josef’s thoughts. A lesson in humility would do a lot for your demeanor, Josef thought. Maybe I ought to turn him over the hunters and save myself the bother of dealing with Deloris’s sire.

The silence of Josef’s stare ate at the Chemist’s calm of self assurance. He blinked and shuffled a foot.

Good. Josef thought. Squirm a little more while I decide just how to deal with you.

Josef glanced back to the report. I never intended to let him go once he knew about Sarah. Regrets, liabilities, they’re like morals and scruples. Fine as long as they serve a purpose.

Josef tugged at his cuffs and paged Muriel. “Gather everything in the lab. I want everything destroyed.” He snapped the paper laying on the manila folder with a pop and watched the Chemist jump. Fear was beginning to creep into the priggish eyes that watched Josef’s every move.

“You can’t hurt me. I’m too valuable.”

“Is that so?” Josef let the words hang. Toying with the Chemist like a cat playing with a mouse. “Are you certain that I haven’t been asked to remove a loose end?”

“Well, maybe I could try another avenue of research.”

“You told me this was your best work, your final answer. Why would I believe the word of a man willing to say anything to save his neck?”

The Chemist mopped at his brow in a parody of human response. Josef watched the little man twist in the trap. What am I going to do with you? The precision used by this hunter bothered Josef to no end. Tossing bait into the water would be too much like chumming and Josef decided that he wasn’t ready to do that just yet.

Beth mopped the sweat from her face. She’d run three miles and the endorphin rush felt liberating. She stretched as she cooled down satisfied with her thoughts. Striping in the locker room she slammed the metal door and stepped into the refreshing water. Arching backwards she smiled as water poured over her. Regardless who left her life, new friends, new adventures and new challenges would always present themselves. How she chose to embrace that future was hers and hers alone.

Mick stood and stretched, walked out of his office and headed for the kitchen, ready for a drink and a break. Holding the mug he watched the fading light and wondered where Beth was. Tempted to call, Mick chose to drop by Josef’s place instead. He needed to get answers to a few loose ends.
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francis
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Re: Recoil--Chapter 6-7 PG13

Post by francis »

There are lots of loose ends in this story and I'm enjoying the mystery. :hearts:
jen
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Re: Recoil--Chapter 6-7 PG13

Post by jen »

Moonshadow

This is wonderful. You are brilliant at illuminating the questions while keeping the answers just out of reach, leading us to examine the questions more closely and understand them more thoroughly.

What a superb original character you have created in this new Cleaner. She is good at her job, knows it and has developed more than a little arrogance in this process of learining just how good she is. Proof that given enough time and a chosen focus, a level of expertise becomes somewhat inevitable.

Looking forward to seeing if she will be able to dismiss her anger at Mick for his perceived guilt in Emma and Jackson's deaths.

Thank you!
Mick and Beth--two of the lovely faces of Moonlight
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MoonShadow
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Re: Recoil--Chapter 6-7 PG13

Post by MoonShadow »

The Cleaner was a character that I really liked. I loved digging into this personality.
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Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.

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