SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

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francis
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SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

Post by francis »

While I drove home to my apartment in the cool morning I could still smell Josef’s scent in the leather of the seat. I missed him. Not because I hadn’t seen him in a while, but because he seemed so different today. I would have missed him even more if he was really dead, but since he behaved not like Josef it wasn’t that far off.

Hadn’t he always told me to be careful and avoid exposure? Bickered about me not having any backup plan for relocation in case it was necessary? Told me to change my name once in a while, like he had „inherited“ his money and house from his „uncle“ Josef Kostan?
Was all of this his way of saying goodbye? Did he plan on faking an explosion in his office and something went wrong? Did he maybe hire Martan himself? But that made no sense, he could have easily taken him out if he wanted to. And why bring the name Whitley up?
Or was this Whitley really the man behind the attack, some old enemy finally finding Josef? But how did he find him at all, and how did he know that Josef was a vampire? Martan didn’t know, obviously, but why then use this much firepower for the first attack?

I was confused. When I reached home I went to my office and called Josef’s house. Maybe one of his staff would tell me something, though I doubted it, if Josef himself didn’t open up to me.
„Josef Kostan’s, Karl speaking.“
„Karl, it’s Mick. Can I speak to Josef, please?“
„He is not here, sir.“
„Do you know where he is?“
„No, sir, I just got home. I wouldn’t be at liberty to tell you.“
„So he left instructions not to tell me? Does he plan to relocate?“
„I cannot say, sir.“
„Loyal as always. Thanks, Karl.“

I made another phonecall to book a flight for two to New York. They told me the next flight was in 20 minutes, but I wouldn’t be able to catch that. Every other flight that day was overbooked, but I got two seats in the 7 pm flight. Oh, well, I needed to sleep anyway, and probably could do some research on Whitley. Only problem was that maybe Josef got a flight in the morning and would have killed Whitley before we got there.

Frustrated, I jogged upstairs to throw a few items into a bag, then I called Beth. I told her we wouldn’t get away until the evening. She was okay with that, she wanted to write the story about the murder of Tom and the open questions surrounding the Kostan case, as she called it. That way it would be easier to convince her editor to let her fly to New York for further research. I promised to pick her up at 5.30 pm.

I slept all day, knowing that I wouldn’t have a freezer in New York. When I got up I made sure to feed more than I usually would. I couldn’t take anything with me into the plane, they didn’t even allow a thermos anymore. Travelling wasn’t easy for vamps. I sat down in my office and tried to find old records on Whitley, anything that might link him to Josef. But as I didn’t know Josef’s alias, nor his adress or occupation back then, I couldn’t find anything. What I found was that the sports arena that Josef was sponsoring here in L.A. was dedicated to a Sarah Whitley. Was there a connection? Why did Josef dedicate a building to Whitley’s daughter that vanished in 1955? And wasn’t it more than dumb to do so when Whitley was still alive? I still couldn’t make head or tails of it.

In the evening I drove to Beth’s house in a cab because I didn’t want to leave the Benz at the airport. I told the driver to wait. When I knocked she was obviously arguing with Josh. I felt like the intruder I was and started an offer to wait outside, but Josh just rushed away. She didn’t want to talk about it, so I carried her suitcase downstairs and we took the cab to the airport.
She was silent, thinking hard about something. Her face showed her confusion. I didn’t want to intrude, but I felt that she and Josh were drifting apart, and that maybe my person was one of the points why. I enjoyed working with her tremendously, and at some point or another I already had entertained the idea of what it would be like to be with her. But she had a boyfriend and they both didn’t deserve to be broken up. Josh was a decent guy and just what she needed. I was just a ghost, I couldn’t give her anything.

We boarded the plane and she immediately closed her eyes and pretended to sleep. Not that she could deceive a vampire who could hear her heartbeat, but I wasn’t going to call her out on that. After a while she fell asleep for real. She had to be emotionally exhausted after her argument with Josh. I didn’t know what it had been about, but I could guess she had told him we would go to New York, and he wasn’t fine with that. He was bound to get jealous with all the time she spent on the hunt with me. What was her take on the situation? Was she in love with Josh? I better didn’t dwell on thoughts in that direction, as they would just be clouded by speculation, wishful thinking and my actual feelings of loneliness.

I stood up once and perused the other passengers to see if Josef had made it into this plane. I couldn’t find him in business class, and I couldn’t get into first class without arousing suspicion. I smelt one other vampire, we exchanged a nod but there was no need to get acquainted. When I came back to my seat Beth was awake.

„Where did you go?“
„Just looking if Josef took the same plane.“
„Would be weird to find him here, then. Did you?“
„No. He must have taken one before.“

We fell silent again. I wasn’t sure where to go from here. I couldn’t really tell her about my suspicion that Josef was relocating, and especially not about my hurt feelings.

„What are we gonna do once we get there?“ she asked.
„We will have to start with visiting John Whitley. But it will be late when we get there. You should probably get some sleep. I will try to get more information, I slept all day.“
She nodded. „I found out that Josef is involved in the new Hearst College arena. It is called Sarah Whitley Memorial Arena. Coincidence?“
„I think not. I found that, too. Maybe that’s why the killer found him in the first place. Dumb move.“
„What is his connection to Sarah?“
„I don’t know. We will see when we visit Mr. Whitley.“

In New York we took a cab and I booked two rooms in a small hotel in Manhattan. She went to freshen up a bit, I just dropped my bag in my room. I wanted to take her out to a restaurant, but she was tired and jetlagged and felt the need to have a walk. So she bought something from a street vendor and we did a little sightseeing, just walking down 5th Avenue. She told me that she had been to New York once for a weekend during college, and always wanted to go again. I told her that I was in New York to embark for Europe during the war. She wanted to hear some old stories, and I provided.

Somehow New York made me feel like I was on a holiday. A holiday with Beth, I could live with that. But at some point she was swaying on her feet, and we had work to do in the morning, so I called a cab and we made it back to the hotel.

In the elevator I could smell her more than usual. Maybe I was tired, too, emotional and needy. I could sense her sweat, her perfume, her hair, and her exhaustion. At our floor she said her goodnight, and we parted ways.
In my room I immediately felt the cloud of depression hover over me. A foreign room, a dark and strange city, Josef’s location still unknown, riddles still unsolved. I could almost pretend to feel Beth’s heartbeat through the walls. Her room wasn’t even adjoining mine, it was pure fantasy. I pictured her, standing in the small bathroom and combing her blonde hair out, lying in bed in some silky nightgown, sleeping. I hadn’t seen her in her sleep since she slept on my couch after she took that drug. The memory of how she came on to me, how I held her under the cold water, how she passed out, how I undressed her and put one of my shirts on her, how I watched her deep slumber until I could sense her waking up and started coffee, it all came back to me now.

I had to admit it to myself. I was in love. It could never be, of course, but there was no way I could convince myself that this wasn’t what I felt.
Slowly I stepped out of my clothes and took a long cold shower. Today it wasn’t only the fact that I missed my freezer, but I needed to get a grip. I wanted to be able to look her in the eyes tomorrow, so self gratification was not an option. Telling myself to get over it, I laid on the bed under a thin sheet and tried to calm down. The bed was too warm, too soft. So I got up again, dressed and grabbed my keys. I called the local cleaner at the usual number and asked for a contact. Then I left a note at Beth’s door in case she woke up, and left the hotel. I wanted to spend the night on New York’s busy streets and get some blood. I just hoped the coming day wouldn’t be half as crappy as this one.
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Re: SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

Post by mitzie »

Great chapter!

Off to read more!

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Re: SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

Post by Fleur de Lisa »

I so wanted Mick to just go back to Beth's room. Argh.
I enjoy the speculation as to what happened on the plane, when they first arrived in NY, etc.
So much of that wasn't addressed on the show.

Thank goodness we have you here for that!
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Re: SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

Post by moonshine »

maybe my favorite chapter so far!!
I really like how Mick is around Beth and the end when he realized his feelings; really great!!!
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Re: SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

Post by bluedahlia3 »

It's good to know he's admitting his love. And I can see him prowling the streets of New York...if he wants cold and distant then a big city will do that. Great chapter francis.
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Re: SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

Post by jen »

Once again, it is perfectly logical that Mick would speculate on the possibility that Josef was planning on relocating.

Very nicely done.

Off to read more!

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Re: SB 11 - Following (Mick's POV) (PG-13)

Post by maggatha3 »

Mick has so much in his hands and mind right now! Amazing though,how his thoughts drifted off to Beth and the truth shone on him, even at such a stressful situation..The two most important and loved people in his life seem to be moving around him ,but none is within reach ..yet! :flowers:
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