Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

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librarian_7
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Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by librarian_7 »

Author’s Note: Some time ago, I wrote a little story about Beth and Josh going out for Chinese food, the night before she met Mick at the fountain. (If you haven’t read it, it’s titled “The Fortune Cookie,” and you can find it here.) Anyway, in the course of commentary on that story, someone mentioned that it was a bit odd that Mick was just getting up and around at the time of Beth’s middle-of-the-night webcast. He seems to have chosen to stay very late in his freezer that particular night. I was asked to take a shot at explaining that…and I’ve finally gotten around to it. I hope you’ll find it a reasonable explanation!

This seemed like the perfect day for Mick to talk about what had happened, five years ago.

Disclaimer: Five years, and I STILL don’t own Moonlight, or any of its characters. Darn.


Five Years Back

Five years ago. Five years ago, I logged into a website, and watched a pretty girl give an earnest, compelling report about a body found in the fountain at the Pacific Design Center. I say compelling now, but it may have been the girl more than the report that drew me out of my apartment and over to the center. I've never been quite sure why it was I chose that night to let her spot me, to step out of the shadows.

But I can tell you how it was that I came to be doing my usual early evening routine, at a little past 1 a.m. that night. See, most nights I'm out of the freezer pretty much as soon as it gets dark. And yeah, first things first, I usually get a glass or two of A+, sit down to check my e-mail, and login to Buzzwire to see if little Bethie has any new bylines. I'd been keeping tabs on her so long that it had gotten to be a habit. Besides, I'd found that I actually enjoyed reading her stories. She was young, but she was a good journalist. I guess I should've known that it was only a matter of time until she made the move from writing to webcasting. Anyway, most nights, I’d only have found the webcast hours after the filming had wrapped, and she was long gone from the fountain.

That night, I was late getting out of bed. I’d had a rough few days, and as usual, it was all Josef’s fault. It’s funny how often it works out that way.

It’s like this.

About a week before, Josef had dropped by. Walked in without knocking, which is not uncommon for him. Whenever I asked him if it ever occurred to him I might not be alone, he only gave me a pitying look and said, “Boyo, since you offed your wife, I’ve never known you to be anything but alone.” Thanks, Josef. That makes my night complete. There are things that suck more than being a vampire. Brooding alone in the dark is one of them.

Although, I have to admit, he had better timing than usual; my schedule was fairly empty. And I’d never say it to his face, but the old man’s a traditionalist. It’s just that he pretty much invents his own traditions.

True to form, he spent the first five minutes of his visit bitching about the quality of the bagged blood I had on hand. Doesn’t stop him from drinking it—and my single malt, too. Anyway, once he’d exhausted the topic of how I ought to keep a few freshies on tap around the loft—and how I’m supposed to manage that, I don’t even want to hear his suggestions for—he moved on to what he’d actually come to talk about.

“We’ve got a problem, Mick,” he announced.

“We? Or you?”

He looked exasperated. Clearly, any problem he had, was my problem as well. “The community. It could be a problem for the whole community.” He pulled a flash drive out of his pants pocket, and lobbed it to me. “The documentation is on here.”

I caught it in midair. “Want to give me the executive summary?”

Josef shrugged, and looked uneasy. “I got a call from the Cleaners last night.”

“So?”

“I have this account set up—not every vamp in L.A. can afford their services. And I’d rather shell out to cover mistakes made by indigent vamps, than let the humans find drained bodies around town. Keeps questions from turning into suspicions.”

“Civic-minded of you.”

“Bite me,” he said, but without heat. He paused for a moment. “Anyway, there’s been a significant uptick in activity lately, enough that the Cleaners thought they’d better get an authorization to cover the additional fees. And this bothers me. Not the money, it’s nothing.”

I was starting to get the picture. “But the number of incidents. It’s trouble.”

“Yeah.”

“And you want me to check into it.” It wasn’t a question.

“That’s the idea. Usual retainer, of course.”

I didn’t even bother to add, plus expenses. Josef has always thrown a certain amount of work my way, and he’s always been good for the paycheck, unlike some of my clients. Besides, we have a mutual trust thing going.

I glanced at the flash drive as I walked over to my desktop. It was brushed stainless steel, with an engraved Kostan Industries logo, and 32 gigs. “Tell me this thing isn’t full, Josef.”

He was staring off into the distance, lost in thought. “Hmmm? Oh. I don’t think so.”

My computer was already on. I plugged in the drive, and pulled up the file menu. Shit. It wasn’t full—quite. I was going to be burning daylight on this one. The first folder was labeled Cleaners, the second, far larger, Police Records.

“Have any of these killings been picked up on by the police?” I asked, dismayed. That would make things much harder.

Josef wandered over, looking past my shoulder to the monitor. “No. Those are records on some of the victims.”

I clicked on the folder. Twenty freaking two files. “Some, Joz’f?” Oh, crap.

He shrugged. “Okay, most. Whoever this vamp is, he’s not exactly picking on upstanding citizens.”

Sighing, I closed the folder, and spun my chair around to face him. “Okay, this is going to take a while. You want to get out of my hair, or were you planning on sticking around and drinking up all my morgue blood?”

“I don’t think so,” he replied with a shudder. He could be, I’d noticed, oddly fastidious for a centuries-old vampire.

I merely raised my eyebrows. Josef took the hint, and his leave. I turned back to the computer, with a sigh.

The Cleaners file had two major sub folders. Correspondence, and reports. I opened the correspondence file, unsurprised to find it had only a few documents. Since the first memo was dated well after the earliest of the reports, I turned to that. The first few reports, starting some two years back, were pretty minimal. Again, no surprise. The Cleaners…clean. They aren’t big on record keeping, except for financial purposes. So the first six records were brief. The time, date, and location of the call. The team ID. An attached recording of the call for service, which did surprise me. Technically, it was a little more advanced than I’d thought they’d be. Then again, they were pretty adamant about tracking down clients for payment. And all the records finished with “Caller unknown. Bill to Kostan Industries account number…” What was missing, was any indication of who the victims were. No effort had been made at identifying the dead. At least not until report #7.

Report #7 was…considerably more detailed. They’d started pulling available ID from the victims, and noting the contents of the wallets. Some of the later reports even included a set of fingerprints, and some photos of the scene.

The correspondence indicated the reasons for the shift. After a few hits in the same neighborhood, the Cleaners got suspicious about so many cases that needed to be thrown to the Kostan account. Josef was generous, especially when it came to anything to do with protecting the community, but even he had limits. So the Cleaners contacted KI, and started keeping better reports, just in case.

The other big file on the drive listed the criminal records of victims 7-22. Going through them, I came to some conclusions, especially after I pulled up a map and started marking where the bodies were found.

By about noon, I had some ideas. And some questions.

I found Josef in his office, about three in the afternoon, looking fresh and rested, the bastard. I hadn’t seen the inside of my freezer yet, and he was looking like a million bucks, as usual, and making me feel like something the cat dragged in. I commented as much.

“A million? That’s an insult to my tailor,” he replied. “So, do you have my killer identified?”

“Not yet. I can tell you a few things about him, though.”

“Such as?”

I shrugged. “All the victims I have identities for, are what the police call multiple offenders. Pimps, pushers, that sort of thing. Even if the cops caught wind of these deaths, I doubt anyone would be losing sleep investigating. They’d write it off as NHI, ironically enough. What the cops call, “No Humans Involved.” And they’d be half right. But so far, our friends in the cleaning business have kept things very quiet.”

Josef fiddled with a pen on his desk, looking thoughtful. “Mick,” he said, “I’ve known a lot of vamps who really enjoyed the kill. Most of them started out swearing they’d only kill people who deserved it. And all of them ended up, killing someone innocent. I wouldn’t give a rat’s ass if some vamp wanted to off a few pushers. Pimps, even less. There’ll be more to take their place by the next night. But this business of expecting the Cleaners to take care of the mess, that’s not so acceptable to me.”

“You’re just overflowing with the milk of human kindness, aren’t you?”

He gave me that sly smirk, the one that usually meant he wasn’t telling everything he knew. “I haven’t been human for a long time, Mick,” he said.

He had a point, there.

“What else can you tell me?”

“That your killer is targeting a specific neighborhood. If you map out the locations, and trust me, I have, there’s no pattern, but the killings all take place within a two mile radius. It’s a bad part of town, but it’s not the only bad part of town, so I have to assume the killer either doesn’t have a car, or has some sort of connection to the area.”

“And this is of interest how?”

“It means I have a pretty good idea where to look for the son of a bitch.”

“That’s a start. So why not come back when you’ve caught him.” He started to turn away, dismissing me.

“Hang on, buddy,” I said. “I’ve got a few questions.”

Josef bit his lower lip and peered up at me from under raised eyebrows. “You know I have no secrets from you.”

To my credit, I didn’t laugh in his face. Josef’s left fang has secrets from his right. But I kept a straight face. Okay, a reasonably straight face. “Yeah. So, how is it that you’re calling me in now, 22 victims into this little spree?”

“Remind me sometime,” he replied dryly, “to introduce you to my new head of accounts receivable.”

“Oh?”

Josef gave one of those noncommittal little shrugs. “The old one retired.”

“La Brea.”

“So I’ve heard.”

And that was all the answer I got to that question. It pretty much blew several others I’d thought of asking out of the water, at that. Still, one more thing I needed to know before I left. “Yeah, one more thing, Josef. How do you want me to deal with this vermin when I catch up to him? He’s gotta be just this side of rogue.”

I could have sworn Josef winced a little. Interesting, but I had no idea what I’d said that got a reaction from him.

He frowned, thoughtful. “Depends on him. If you think there’s something there worth saving…do it. Or put him down. As long as he stops with the killings, it’s all the same.” And then he turned away for real, leaving me staring at his back.

I figured that I might as well catch a few hours in the freezer. After all, the kind of men this vampire was hunting preferred darkness as much as I did.

Late September, and summer is fading into fall, even in Los Angeles. It’s still light well into the evening, but the sun seems softer, somehow, and the sunset is creeping in earlier all the time. When night fell, I was on the street, armed with pictures. The next few nights, I spent all my time talking to working girls—and boys—who knew the not-so-dearly departed, and stimulating the local economy, one twenty dollar bill at a time. You’d think the traffic would die down, later in the evening, but as it turned out, I spent from sundown to at least 4:30 a.m. for several nights running.

I found a lot of people who would admit to knowing the more recent kills, although to a person they had no idea any foul play had gone down. I got the impression, though, that they were glad to hear that these guys wouldn’t be back to trouble them. But for all that, no one had a clue who might have been around, the last night any of the vics had been seen.

It was frustrating, and expensive. I was starting to think that only luck would bring me across this vamp. He was a shadow, a ghost. In the filthy alleys where he’d dumped the bodies, there were no spectators, and even his scent was lost in the foul aromas of garbage and piss. And I could hang out night after night, without ever catching sight of this guy. I needed a break in the case.

And as it happened, about four in the morning, my fourth straight night of hanging around the neighborhood of the killings, I got one. I was about to give it up for the night, and go on back to my loft, when I heard a distant scream. It didn’t sound like a woman. I had the direction pinpointed immediately, and set off at a dead run, no pun intended.

As much as I hate being a vampire, I have to admit, the hearing, the speed, the strength come in handy. I covered the two blocks in the blink of an eye, skidding around the last corner into yet another filthy alleyway. I caught a quick glimpse of a vampire, all silver eyes and haggard face, a fall of lank, greasy hair, bent over a limp figure. He was holding the body close to him, his fangs sunk into the throat, gulping the rich arterial blood as though he were starving.

When he saw me, he lifted his bloody face and snarled, then, the way they always do, turned and ran, pelting down the alley and up, over the wall that blocked the end of it. Okay, so he had a little head start on me, and he had the additional advantage of having just fed on some very fresh blood. But I could tell in the first few steps that I had longer legs, and even vampires vary in degree of athleticism. I could tell, also, that he hadn’t had the benefit of Father Patrick O’Casey’s coaching in cross country track, back in high school, as I had. The good father has been in the ground quite a few years now, but his teachings live on, in some odd way, whenever some idiot runs from me in this city.

It didn’t hurt that I’d spent what seemed like countless hours wandering around this particular neighborhood the past few days. Maybe it’s a quirk, but I tend to be good at mental maps. I knew where this punk could run, and where he probably would run. And I was there.

He tried all the usual tricks, throwing garbage cans into my way, vaulting over walls. I’m a pretty good jumper, too, so that didn’t slow me down.

Eventually, I ran him down. A flying tackle, and he was on the pavement, writhing and twisting like a bag of snakes, trying to get away from me. Not a chance of that. I had him face down on the pavement, trapped under my weight. “You settle down, or you’re going to get the stake.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” he whined.

I gave his face an extra little bounce against the asphalt. “You willing to bet on that?” He stilled, but I didn’t loosen my grip. “Answer me.”

“You wouldn’t kill me, would you? I gotta eat,” he said. “And who’s gonna miss that guy? He was no good.”

“Shut up. You can’t go on killing these guys.”

“Yeah, but—“

A couple of things were sinking through to me. He didn’t know—hell, he didn’t know anything. “What’s your name?”

He didn’t answer at first, and I gave him another little bounce to persuade him. “Leo,” he blurted.

“Okay,” I growled, “listen up, Leo. We’re going to go somewhere private, where we can have a little heart to heart. And you’re going to behave. Otherwise, you’re getting a stake through the heart. You got me?”

I could feel the fight go out of him. He honestly thought I was threatening to kill him on the spot. Well, I could work with that, if it meant he wouldn’t be fighting me every step of the way. I let him up, keeping one hand fastened on the collar of his dirty jacket. As we marched back to my car, I gave the Cleaners a quick call to take care of Leo’s latest kill. It was dicey, but I couldn’t leave the body lying in plain sight for much longer.

Back at my loft, I locked us in, then left Leo to explore a bit while I made some more calls. Watching him scuttling from shadow to shadow was like watching a cockroach, looking for a place to hide. He smelled like he hadn’t had a bath in months, and I didn’t even want to think about what kind of place he normally holed up for the day in.

Maybe it would have been smarter, in the long run, to have just ended him that night. But I kept thinking, you know, what Josef had said, if I saw something worth saving. I’d gotten second chances, more than my share. So how was I going to deny this kid one more try?

So I poured him a glass of blood, and we sat down to talk about life, the universe, and everything. Vampire 101. Okay, I’m probably not the ideal person to take care of educating a newbie, but I’ve done it, a time or two. Sometimes the baby vamp is receptive, sometimes not. We talked until past 9 that morning, and I think I found out almost as much as he did. He’d had a rough road, all right. He’d been a street kid, a runaway who’d been assaulted, abused, and eventually, accidentally turned. I can’t give his sire much credit, but I will say that after the boy was turned, he took just enough care to make sure Leo didn’t go feral. The kid had no idea you didn’t have to kill when you drank, and I have to give him credit, he was stretching the time between feedings as long as he could. He’d overheard his sire calling the Cleaners, and had the snap to steal the phone number. He’d been using it himself, from one disposable cell phone after another—and all with no idea that there was a fee for the service, and someone else was picking up his tab.

After we’d finished our conversation, I got on the phone again, and mobilized that frighteningly efficient corps of private secretaries Josef keeps at Kostan Industries. It took some hours, but by the time we were done, Leo had—admittedly minimal—lodgings, the promise of a paying job with KI, and a tab with Guillermo at the local morgue for blood supplies. Josef and I were still subsidizing him pretty heavily, but at least the kid had a chance at survival. A chance to make something out of his life besides a dark scuttle from shadow to shadow.

And me? I took a long shower, trying to get the dirt of those alleyways off my body. I might have succeeded in that, but I knew I could never wash away the stains on my soul.

Back in my breathing days, I used to love the old hard-boiled detective novels. Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, even Mickey Spillane. They were gritty, sure, but there was a certain glamour about the whole thing. And besides, usually, the good guys ended up saving the day. Not always, but usually. It may have been part of what made me take up a career as a private investigator. That, and the fact that my special abilities were a good match for the life. But that didn’t make it pretty, a lot of the time. I spent my nights in scum and filth, and my days waiting for another night to start, to do it all over again. About the only bright spot was the time I spent, more and more of it in front of a computer screen, watching over a pretty little blonde girl who had grown into a vibrant, beautiful woman. A woman who was everything I was not. Clean. Alive. Pure.

So five years ago, when I rolled out of my freezer, late, because of all the trouble with Leo, and saw her webcasting live from the Pacific Design Center, I let my emotions override my good sense, and went to see her, walking through that freezing fountain, at 2 a.m. in a crisp September night.
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darkstarrising
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by darkstarrising »

It is a perfect day to tell this story, Lucky. :rose:

In retrospect, you have Mick thinking back to the night he let himself step out of the shadows and let Beth see him. But this is as much a story about his relationship with Josef as well. His explanation for getting 'up' so late was so very Mick.
That night, I was late getting out of bed. I’d had a rough few days, and as usual, it was all Josef’s fault. It’s funny how often it works out that way.
In your stories, you have a gift for setting the scene for the reader, and this one is no exception. What struck me in this story, though, were the little things that Mick notices about Josef, himself and Leo. This exchange had me both nodding and giggling
“Hang on, buddy,” I said. “I’ve got a few questions.”

Josef bit his lower lip and peered up at me from under raised eyebrows. “You know I have no secrets from you.”

To my credit, I didn’t laugh in his face. Josef’s left fang has secrets from his right. But I kept a straight face. Okay, a reasonably straight face.
This got my attention as well
“Yeah, one more thing, Josef. How do you want me to deal with this vermin when I catch up to him? He’s gotta be just this side of rogue.”

I could have sworn Josef winced a little. Interesting, but I had no idea what I’d said that got a reaction from him.
I wonder what did cause Josef to wince...and why Mick didn't pursue it.

Even when Mick spots Leo and gives chase, you have him recalling things he learned as a human - and indication that he's never fully let go of his his humanity, which is demonstrated when he finally does catch up with Leo. Leo is not some vicious vamp needing to be put down, but rather a scared newbie in need of guidance. Mick provides that guidance and sets Leo on a better path. Afterward
I took a long shower, trying to get the dirt of those alleyways off my body. I might have succeeded in that, but I knew I could never wash away the stains on my soul.
I don't know, Lucky, but I think Mick washed a few of those stains away that night. Lovely story, honey, and I'm so very glad you posted it.
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by Marigold »

You're in your usual fine form, Lucky! :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:

I love the story you've created to explain why Mick slept in that one night in question. :happysigh: This story is about Mick and Beth's meeting, but it focuses on other relationships: Josef and Mick, and Mick and Leo.

I really feel for Leo. His sire gave him the Coles Notes version of vampirism. Leo did the best he could with the information and resources he had. :comfort:

Very nicely done! :rose: :hearts:
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by jen »

Lucky

This is exceptional!!!!! (Would have said fabulous, but I'm trying to give it a rest and go for the synonyms).

I don't think I've read any back story for Leo before. It is pitch perfect Josef and it explains Leo very well. His history, his grunge, and his survival as a vampire.

I guess the job with Kostan Industries didn't work out. Too bad. I would like to see Leo turn his unlife around.

We also got a fabulous glimpse of Mick's habit of watching internet news because of a certain blonde reporter.

Thank you!

Jenna

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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by allegrita »

Oh, Lucky... thank you so much for giving us this story today. :hearts: Please don't hate me, but much as I adore your Josef POV stories, I think that, in a way, I like your Mick POV even more. Because your Mick is the Mick I fell in love with in the early episodes. Dark. Gritty. Sad, but wryly funny. Feeling lost and beyond redemption, but somehow hoping against hope for that very redemption. :Mickangel:

And, of course, you nail Josef, from the fast patter and snarky dialogue to the fact that he never tells anybody everything he knows. Oh, yeah... and the fact that he's got a soft spot in his heart, there behind the tar pits and the Armani.

I've always wondered how Mick met Leo, and now I know... and I just LOVE this story. This perfectly early-Moonlight tale. :hearts:
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by Lucy »

Great to know the background of one more part of Moonlight! :clapping:
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by cassysj »

I hear Mick's voice so well here it's like watching an episode.
How do you want me to deal with this vermin when I catch up to him? He’s gotta be just this side of rogue.
I imagine this bothered Josef because he doesn't like the superior species being put down. If it is necessary for the safety of the tribe it's has to be done but I don't think he ever likes seeing a vamp destroyed. Murdered is different than destroyed. I also suspect he has fears of what condition Sarah would be in if she ever wakes up
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by librarian_7 »

Thanks to all for reading, and commenting! You how I love, love, love your comments...

DSR, perhaps you're right. I know a lot of people have written a lot of things about why Mick chose that night, that time, that place, to step out of the shadows...and this is yet another one. (Heck, I believe I might have taken a swing at it myself, before now!) But someone once said to me that they thought Mick's desire to be a better person might be one of the things that made us love him so, and I think he certainly, in the very back of his mind, thought Beth could bring him some redemption, even if consciously he felt it was impossible. As to what got that strange reaction from Josef, well, "vermin" can be a very hurtful word, can't it?

Marigold, I always appreciate your comments! I honestly had never even thought about Mick getting up so late that night, until someone mentioned it in the comments on another story. And that's exactly the sort of thing that tends to get me started. I think, Hey, that's a good point. Why WAS he getting up so late, anyway?...and it rolls from there.

jen, the only other piece about Leo I'm aware of, is a drabble I wrote from his POV awhile back. Which isn't to say that somewhere out there, there might be an epic Leo story. I haven't seen it, though. (Maybe francis knows!)

Alle, you are so welcome! I do like writing Mick--odd but I always find it much easier to write in Mick's voice than Josef's. (Someone told me once, it's because I like writing descriptions of Josef so much. Can't argue with that logic. :whistle: ) I think Mick's narrative voice comes easier to me, because of the voiceovers in the episodes. We're used to hearing Mick speak straight to us. Josef is always viewed from outside, like the enigma he is.

Lucy, thanks!

And cassy, thanks. Those are good points. Josef does see himself as a leader/protector of the community, it's fairly clear. He's older, richer, and from all evidence, smarter than most of the other vamps in L.A., so he does naturally take a preeminent position among them.
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by jen »

When I commented last night I neglected to mention this absolutely classic exchange between Mick and Josef. Totally spot on.
”Josef bit his lower lip and peered up at me from under raised eyebrows. “You know I have no secrets from you.”

To my credit, I didn’t laugh in his face. Josef’s left fang has secrets from his right. But I kept a straight face. Okay, a reasonably straight face. “Yeah. So, how is it that you’re calling me in now, 22 victims into this little spree?"
Perfect!
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by choccyterri »

:hug: Oh Lucky, this is just fab! The motion and pace to this story is just wonderful... hee, like many I love the lack of trust between Josef's left and right fang. :brow: And your imagery is just wonderful. The little bounces as Mick is prompting Leo..? I can see it unfolding in my head, lovely. Yes, another telling of why Mick woke so late that night, but beautifully written and so very real. Just wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this. :flowers:
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by fairytoes »

Wonderful story! :clapping: Thank you Lucky. :flowers:
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by francis »

I'm not sure, but does Josef wince at the mention of "vermin" because it's close to his human name?

I totally enjoyed this story because it's so Mick! He's running, he's giving a commentary to himself, there's Josef's usual snark and evading, the whole subculture of the Cleaners explained, and Mick chivalrous not killing the poor kid but saving him.
All in a few days work. I get now why he was so tired and why the sight of Beth would get to him so much.

Wonderful story, wonderfully done. :hearts:
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by librarian_7 »

Francis... :batseyes:
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maggatha3
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by maggatha3 »

Lucky! :flowers:

OK, I will go for ''fabulous''...since Jen is going for the synonyms! That was absolutely perfect Mick-voice and spoke so beautifully about him, his feelings, his relationship to Josef and his thoughts about life -human life and vamp life! I liked how he treated Leo, poor guy, and your description of Mick's feelings about his job was brilliant! No wonder little Bethie represented the light and purity of his life! He does live in the dark in all aspects...

Brilliant anniversary piece! :clapping: :clapping:
-It never ends well...
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Re: Five Years Back (5th Anniversary Challenge) -- PG-13

Post by Penina Spinka »

It looks like I caught this late, but I'm very glad I caught it at all. I love the way you think. Leo reminds me of the boy who was turned at 16. He knew enough to try to keep out of the public eye, but he couldn't control himself. Mick tried to help him too, even though the universe/roller coaster/fate had different ideas. Mick's soft spot for trying to do the right thing is what made me fall in love with him and the show. Thank you for continuing the story.
Read Sam stories by Penina My index: http://www.moonlightaholics.com/viewforum.php?f=560
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