Unlucky - Chapter 2 PG
Posted: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:21 am
Disclaimer: Don't own Moonlight. Not making any money. No copyright infringement intended.
Initially, I forgot to credit a kind and brilliant lady around here, one of our fabulous Mods, Llbrarian7 or Lucky, as we call her. She agreed to look over the story and make some suggestions. If the story is not terrible, thank Lucky. If I wasn't able to salvage it, that's my own fault. Lucky, I am so sorry for forgetting to do this when I first put it up!!!
Unlucky - Chapter 2
Like most freshies, Allyn had a soft spot for Josef Kostan, but she thought he was wrong about Beth Turner. She understood his concern for Mick, but thought that anything that hurt Beth automatically hurt Mick and that also worked for anything that helped Beth, in turn, made Mick feel better. She decided that her employer just wasn't thinking things through.
She’d met the blonde reporter once at Josef’s home and respected the mental toughness, intelligence and courage she saw behind the her eyes. Beth Turner was also dipping her toe in the waters of vampire society, as Allyn was, and that took guts.
At the very least, she could her offer condolences.
She walked up and knocked on the door--Beth opened it, her eyes dry and reddened.
“Beth?”
“Yes? I know you. You’re…Allyn. We met at a reception at Josef Kostan’s home a few weeks back.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m sorry, please come in.” Beth opened the door.
“I just wanted you to know how sorry I am about your loss.”
“Thank you, Allyn. Did you know Josh?”
“No. I never met Mr. Lindsey, but I know you’re a friend of Mick’s and of my employer, Josef Kostan. If you need anything, call me.” she passed her a card. “Mick misses you, too. I know he’s worried.”
“Have you seen him?” Beth asked. There was tension behind the question. Not surprising.
Her visitor nodded. “Earlier today. Can I give him a message?”
Beth shook her head. “No. Mick and I’ve said all we need to.”
“Don’t shut him out of your life. I shut someone I cared about out of my life and it didn’t turn out well. I wish I hadn’t.” Allyn regretted her works immediately. This wasn’t the time or place for personal revelations or unsolicited advice. “But I do have something that may make you feel better. I got a package of sleeping pills at a pharmacy this morning to help me through a bout of insomnia and a good night’s sleep may help you, too.” she opened her purse and took out the sleeping pills. “Do you have something you can put this in for now?“
“I’ll find something. Josh’s funeral is later this afternoon or I’d take them right now. I will as soon as I get back.” said Beth, accepting the foil wrapped packet of pills. “Thank you.”
“Be sure to take them with water. I generally have about twenty minutes before ‘lights out‘. Turn off everything that needs to be turned off. Change into something to sleep in and crawl into bed. I have a hunch things will look better in the morning.”
*************************
Following a hunch of his own, Mick returned to the gym and Otto.
“Hey, Mick. How’s that brace working out for the ribs?”
“Feels a lot better, Otto. Thanks. Can I ask you about something else?”
“Sure. Come into my office.” It was small and a bit cluttered with an old grey metal desk and two mismatched file cabinets.
“Do you know anything about gang activity on the West side? I’ve got a friend with a younger brother involved and he won’t talk to her. I thought since you have clients from all over you may have heard something.”
Otto chuckled. “Just like in the movies--gym owner grilled by P.I. Actually, my sister lives in that area, so I do. The gang is into drugs, theft, the old reliable protection racket and maybe more--those are just what Rachel told me about. Folks nearby are afraid to leave their homes. Be careful. You aren’t invincible, son.”
“I know.” Mick unconsciously put one hand on his bruised ribs, feeling the faint ache returning. “Thanks for the information.”
As he walked back to the Mercedes, he mused briefly that enhanced senses and rapid healing would come in handy about now and was surprised, never thinking he’d miss anything about vampirism.
Allyn was back shortly after he returned to his loft and they discussed what he’d learned.
“What are you going to do?” she asked
“Go there, take a look around and hopefully talk to him.”
“I want to go with you.”
“Not a good idea.”
“Josef said you’re more vulnerable now/ You’re used to having the reflexes and senses of a vampire. I think he wanted me to keep you out of trouble.” she reasoned. “Besides, Eric’s my brother. Please, Mick.” She said nothing, but sat silently waited, giving Mick the look she used on Josef to get what she wanted. The result was the same.
Mick sighed. “Let’s go.”
********************
Allyn was silent as the Mercedes pulled out of the parking garage onto the late morning L.A. streets.
“Eric’s lucky to have you in his corner. He’s no longer a juvenile. If he is convicted now, he could do hard time. So, tell me about this brother of yours.”
And she did.
He heard how she held him in her arms the day her parents brought him home from the hospital. How his parents discovered artistic talent when he started drawing in kindergarten and immediately got art lessons for him. She told Mick how her parents always had great expectations for his future. Then relayed how he’d broken his right arm skateboarding and been upset he over his inability to sketch had been missing his art classes. He worked slowly and by the time he was healed sufficiently to resume drawing, he was able to draw reasonably well with his left hand, too. She told of how his father had bought him a ridiculously expensive dirt bike when he was fifteen only to wind up in the hospital shortly thereafter when he wrecked it. Allyn had been away at college when their parents’ marriage dissolved. She’d had problems of her own, dropped out of school and came back to L.A. A few months later, she got a job with Josef Kostan.
“He overheard our parents fighting all the time at the end of their marriage--one night, Dad told Mom they stayed together only because of the kids and now I was in college, so it was the perfect time for them to end it. What Eric heard was, ‘Allyn is important to us, but not Eric.’ The loved me enough to stay together for me,, but not him. Then, when he was sent to live with mom’s sister, that confirmed it as far as he was concerned. He felt so betrayed.”
“Allyn, you’re his sister, not his mother. Give yourself a break.”
“Then, he fell in with that damned gang. He’s stopped all his art and it was once the center of his life. Sometimes, I think I don’t know him anymore.”
She went into detail telling Mick what a great kid he’d been, how it really wasn’t his fault--talking more than she had in all the years he'd known her. In his experience, people who don’t babble may do so when (a) they don’t know what to say and are filling the silence with words; (b) are afraid; or (c) are trying to convince themselves of something they don’t entirely believe. He couldn’t say for certain, but he suspected it was one of the last two. Probably both.
“This is the house,” Allyn pointed and the Mercedes slid to the curb. There was a new chain link fence around the outside of the yard and Allyn’s frown deepened the closer they got to the house. Opening the gate, they walked up the sidewalk past tall grass. Weeds were crowding out the flowers in the flower beds. He saw her eyes flicker to the closed and shuttered windows. She rang the doorbell and waited.
“What?” he asked.
“Something is very wrong. she said. “Aunt Sharon takes great pride in her yard and flowerbeds, especially the roses. This is a simple neighborhood and everyone considers this house a showplace because of them. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were at the wrong house. It’s like she doesn’t live here.” She pulled a key from her wallet and opened the door. Mick motioned for her to stand back as he entered first.
“Aunt Sharon?” she called walking to the center of the cool semi dark living room. There was no answer. “She also likes the drapes open to let in lots of light.”
That was enough for Mick. “I think we need to get out of here.” he said softly, walking over to her.
“What the Hell?”
The man standing in the front door bore little resemblance to the boy in the photograph. He was an inch taller than Mick and outweighed him by at least twenty pounds. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and mustache that made him look older than his eighteen years. Chestnut hair and light brown eyes were the only features suggesting that he was related to Allyn.
“It’s okay. My name is Mick St. John, I’m a private investigator here with your sister. She’s worried about you-”
“I don’t give a damn what she’s worried about.“ he snapped at Mick, while turning to Allyn. “I thought we were finally communicating.“ he said. “I guess we weren’t. I told you people either learn the easy way, the hard way or they don’t learn at all. We’ve already tried the easy way and the hard way. Neither of those worked. That‘s really too bad-”
“Oh, cut the ‘tough guy’ crap!” Allyn shot back. “You think I don’t get it. I do--you say you’re into ‘bad stuff’ but the way I see it, you’re still wrecking that expensive dirt bike to get dad’s attention. News flash, Eric--our parents can’t deal our problems. Hell, the can’t even deal with their own problems. One of these days you’re going to have to grow up and move on!”
He looked genuinely surprised. “Now, I was not expecting that. Didn’t know you had enough honesty to show me anger.”
While brother and sister traded barbs, Mick quietly positioned himself to be equally distant from both, thinking he could move quickly in either direction, as needed.
“-but what you don’t understand is that I already have moved on and I don't want you to be a part of my life any more.“
“What about your art, you had contacts as a couple of galleries.“
“Marks on paper! That’s not real. What I’m doing now is real-“
“Causing pain, fear, and who knows what else. Is that what you are trading your future for?“
“If I have to cause pain, yeah, and it really looks like I‘m going to have to cause some more.”
Before Mick could move, he took two steps to Allyn and slapped her, hard across the face. Immediately, Mick threw a punch connecting with Eric‘s jaw, but Eric turned the momentum of the blow into a roundhouse kick he delivered to the bruised ribs Mick'd been unconsciously protecting. He fell hard.
“Now, that’s useful!” said Eric, pleased with himself.
The pain was blinding for a few seconds and during those few seconds of paralysis, Eric hauled him up, pushed the P.I. and his sister into a small room off the kitchen, grabbed some clothesline from a shelf, and tied Mick’s hands behind his back. He started to bind Allyn, too, but decided against it. He left her untied, huddled beside Mick. They heard the padlock snap on the other side of the door.
With each passing breath, Mick’s strength returned and the pain abated. He was grateful to Otto for the brace that absorbed part of the energy of Eric's kick. Otherwise, it would have done much more damage.
Allyn stood up and pulled the cord of a single low-wattage light bulb suspended by a wire from the ceiling. It illumined the area by the door, but little else.
She knelt beside Mick and helped him sit up with his back against the wall.
“You okay?” she mouthed, and he got the message. They needed to be quiet. He nodded, glancing around the room. The bulb overhead cast a circle of light around them, but the back of the room was in shadows. He could see clearly enough to know there was no door there. Only one way in or out. Not good.
They overheard a muffled conversation on the other side of the locked door, as Eric telephoned one of his associates.
“Zool, I need you to get a couple of the others and bring the van to my house. Yeah. She came back and brought a private investigator with her. I know. You were right and we can’t put this off any longer. Nah, he wasn’t any trouble. He’s tied up and they’re both locked in the pantry. They won't be going anywhere.” there was a pause in the conversation his associate replied. “They don’t have any idea about that. I have to admit, I want to see the look on Allyn’s face when I tell her that Aunt Sharon doesn’t live here any more.” he chuckled at his own joke. "Oh, she's around here somewhere, she just doesn't live here!"
Sitting on the floor beside Mick in the pantry, the color drained from Allyn’s face. She closed her eyes slowly as she absorbed the meaning of Eric's words.
“Allyn,” Mick said softly. “Focus. Our first priority is getting out of here.” He wondered how they could proceed with Eric right outside.
“We aren’t getting out that way,” she whispered, pushing her emotions down for the moment. “Fortunately, I know more about this house than he does. Aunt Sharon was my babysitter for years.”
Slipping out of her Prada flats, she walked to a nearby shelf and returned with a box cutter for Mick’s bonds. Then, she took a flashlight from another shelf and walked back to the far wall that was solidly covered in metal shelving units about three feet wide by five feet high, sitting side by side. She walked up to one and started swiftly and quietly moving items to other shelves. However, before she had finished she heard the key go into the padlock outside.
Eric was coming back!
To be continued (and the next chapter will be the conclusion)…
Initially, I forgot to credit a kind and brilliant lady around here, one of our fabulous Mods, Llbrarian7 or Lucky, as we call her. She agreed to look over the story and make some suggestions. If the story is not terrible, thank Lucky. If I wasn't able to salvage it, that's my own fault. Lucky, I am so sorry for forgetting to do this when I first put it up!!!
Unlucky - Chapter 2
Like most freshies, Allyn had a soft spot for Josef Kostan, but she thought he was wrong about Beth Turner. She understood his concern for Mick, but thought that anything that hurt Beth automatically hurt Mick and that also worked for anything that helped Beth, in turn, made Mick feel better. She decided that her employer just wasn't thinking things through.
She’d met the blonde reporter once at Josef’s home and respected the mental toughness, intelligence and courage she saw behind the her eyes. Beth Turner was also dipping her toe in the waters of vampire society, as Allyn was, and that took guts.
At the very least, she could her offer condolences.
She walked up and knocked on the door--Beth opened it, her eyes dry and reddened.
“Beth?”
“Yes? I know you. You’re…Allyn. We met at a reception at Josef Kostan’s home a few weeks back.”
“That’s right.”
“I’m sorry, please come in.” Beth opened the door.
“I just wanted you to know how sorry I am about your loss.”
“Thank you, Allyn. Did you know Josh?”
“No. I never met Mr. Lindsey, but I know you’re a friend of Mick’s and of my employer, Josef Kostan. If you need anything, call me.” she passed her a card. “Mick misses you, too. I know he’s worried.”
“Have you seen him?” Beth asked. There was tension behind the question. Not surprising.
Her visitor nodded. “Earlier today. Can I give him a message?”
Beth shook her head. “No. Mick and I’ve said all we need to.”
“Don’t shut him out of your life. I shut someone I cared about out of my life and it didn’t turn out well. I wish I hadn’t.” Allyn regretted her works immediately. This wasn’t the time or place for personal revelations or unsolicited advice. “But I do have something that may make you feel better. I got a package of sleeping pills at a pharmacy this morning to help me through a bout of insomnia and a good night’s sleep may help you, too.” she opened her purse and took out the sleeping pills. “Do you have something you can put this in for now?“
“I’ll find something. Josh’s funeral is later this afternoon or I’d take them right now. I will as soon as I get back.” said Beth, accepting the foil wrapped packet of pills. “Thank you.”
“Be sure to take them with water. I generally have about twenty minutes before ‘lights out‘. Turn off everything that needs to be turned off. Change into something to sleep in and crawl into bed. I have a hunch things will look better in the morning.”
*************************
Following a hunch of his own, Mick returned to the gym and Otto.
“Hey, Mick. How’s that brace working out for the ribs?”
“Feels a lot better, Otto. Thanks. Can I ask you about something else?”
“Sure. Come into my office.” It was small and a bit cluttered with an old grey metal desk and two mismatched file cabinets.
“Do you know anything about gang activity on the West side? I’ve got a friend with a younger brother involved and he won’t talk to her. I thought since you have clients from all over you may have heard something.”
Otto chuckled. “Just like in the movies--gym owner grilled by P.I. Actually, my sister lives in that area, so I do. The gang is into drugs, theft, the old reliable protection racket and maybe more--those are just what Rachel told me about. Folks nearby are afraid to leave their homes. Be careful. You aren’t invincible, son.”
“I know.” Mick unconsciously put one hand on his bruised ribs, feeling the faint ache returning. “Thanks for the information.”
As he walked back to the Mercedes, he mused briefly that enhanced senses and rapid healing would come in handy about now and was surprised, never thinking he’d miss anything about vampirism.
Allyn was back shortly after he returned to his loft and they discussed what he’d learned.
“What are you going to do?” she asked
“Go there, take a look around and hopefully talk to him.”
“I want to go with you.”
“Not a good idea.”
“Josef said you’re more vulnerable now/ You’re used to having the reflexes and senses of a vampire. I think he wanted me to keep you out of trouble.” she reasoned. “Besides, Eric’s my brother. Please, Mick.” She said nothing, but sat silently waited, giving Mick the look she used on Josef to get what she wanted. The result was the same.
Mick sighed. “Let’s go.”
********************
Allyn was silent as the Mercedes pulled out of the parking garage onto the late morning L.A. streets.
“Eric’s lucky to have you in his corner. He’s no longer a juvenile. If he is convicted now, he could do hard time. So, tell me about this brother of yours.”
And she did.
He heard how she held him in her arms the day her parents brought him home from the hospital. How his parents discovered artistic talent when he started drawing in kindergarten and immediately got art lessons for him. She told Mick how her parents always had great expectations for his future. Then relayed how he’d broken his right arm skateboarding and been upset he over his inability to sketch had been missing his art classes. He worked slowly and by the time he was healed sufficiently to resume drawing, he was able to draw reasonably well with his left hand, too. She told of how his father had bought him a ridiculously expensive dirt bike when he was fifteen only to wind up in the hospital shortly thereafter when he wrecked it. Allyn had been away at college when their parents’ marriage dissolved. She’d had problems of her own, dropped out of school and came back to L.A. A few months later, she got a job with Josef Kostan.
“He overheard our parents fighting all the time at the end of their marriage--one night, Dad told Mom they stayed together only because of the kids and now I was in college, so it was the perfect time for them to end it. What Eric heard was, ‘Allyn is important to us, but not Eric.’ The loved me enough to stay together for me,, but not him. Then, when he was sent to live with mom’s sister, that confirmed it as far as he was concerned. He felt so betrayed.”
“Allyn, you’re his sister, not his mother. Give yourself a break.”
“Then, he fell in with that damned gang. He’s stopped all his art and it was once the center of his life. Sometimes, I think I don’t know him anymore.”
She went into detail telling Mick what a great kid he’d been, how it really wasn’t his fault--talking more than she had in all the years he'd known her. In his experience, people who don’t babble may do so when (a) they don’t know what to say and are filling the silence with words; (b) are afraid; or (c) are trying to convince themselves of something they don’t entirely believe. He couldn’t say for certain, but he suspected it was one of the last two. Probably both.
“This is the house,” Allyn pointed and the Mercedes slid to the curb. There was a new chain link fence around the outside of the yard and Allyn’s frown deepened the closer they got to the house. Opening the gate, they walked up the sidewalk past tall grass. Weeds were crowding out the flowers in the flower beds. He saw her eyes flicker to the closed and shuttered windows. She rang the doorbell and waited.
“What?” he asked.
“Something is very wrong. she said. “Aunt Sharon takes great pride in her yard and flowerbeds, especially the roses. This is a simple neighborhood and everyone considers this house a showplace because of them. If I didn’t know better, I’d think we were at the wrong house. It’s like she doesn’t live here.” She pulled a key from her wallet and opened the door. Mick motioned for her to stand back as he entered first.
“Aunt Sharon?” she called walking to the center of the cool semi dark living room. There was no answer. “She also likes the drapes open to let in lots of light.”
That was enough for Mick. “I think we need to get out of here.” he said softly, walking over to her.
“What the Hell?”
The man standing in the front door bore little resemblance to the boy in the photograph. He was an inch taller than Mick and outweighed him by at least twenty pounds. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and mustache that made him look older than his eighteen years. Chestnut hair and light brown eyes were the only features suggesting that he was related to Allyn.
“It’s okay. My name is Mick St. John, I’m a private investigator here with your sister. She’s worried about you-”
“I don’t give a damn what she’s worried about.“ he snapped at Mick, while turning to Allyn. “I thought we were finally communicating.“ he said. “I guess we weren’t. I told you people either learn the easy way, the hard way or they don’t learn at all. We’ve already tried the easy way and the hard way. Neither of those worked. That‘s really too bad-”
“Oh, cut the ‘tough guy’ crap!” Allyn shot back. “You think I don’t get it. I do--you say you’re into ‘bad stuff’ but the way I see it, you’re still wrecking that expensive dirt bike to get dad’s attention. News flash, Eric--our parents can’t deal our problems. Hell, the can’t even deal with their own problems. One of these days you’re going to have to grow up and move on!”
He looked genuinely surprised. “Now, I was not expecting that. Didn’t know you had enough honesty to show me anger.”
While brother and sister traded barbs, Mick quietly positioned himself to be equally distant from both, thinking he could move quickly in either direction, as needed.
“-but what you don’t understand is that I already have moved on and I don't want you to be a part of my life any more.“
“What about your art, you had contacts as a couple of galleries.“
“Marks on paper! That’s not real. What I’m doing now is real-“
“Causing pain, fear, and who knows what else. Is that what you are trading your future for?“
“If I have to cause pain, yeah, and it really looks like I‘m going to have to cause some more.”
Before Mick could move, he took two steps to Allyn and slapped her, hard across the face. Immediately, Mick threw a punch connecting with Eric‘s jaw, but Eric turned the momentum of the blow into a roundhouse kick he delivered to the bruised ribs Mick'd been unconsciously protecting. He fell hard.
“Now, that’s useful!” said Eric, pleased with himself.
The pain was blinding for a few seconds and during those few seconds of paralysis, Eric hauled him up, pushed the P.I. and his sister into a small room off the kitchen, grabbed some clothesline from a shelf, and tied Mick’s hands behind his back. He started to bind Allyn, too, but decided against it. He left her untied, huddled beside Mick. They heard the padlock snap on the other side of the door.
With each passing breath, Mick’s strength returned and the pain abated. He was grateful to Otto for the brace that absorbed part of the energy of Eric's kick. Otherwise, it would have done much more damage.
Allyn stood up and pulled the cord of a single low-wattage light bulb suspended by a wire from the ceiling. It illumined the area by the door, but little else.
She knelt beside Mick and helped him sit up with his back against the wall.
“You okay?” she mouthed, and he got the message. They needed to be quiet. He nodded, glancing around the room. The bulb overhead cast a circle of light around them, but the back of the room was in shadows. He could see clearly enough to know there was no door there. Only one way in or out. Not good.
They overheard a muffled conversation on the other side of the locked door, as Eric telephoned one of his associates.
“Zool, I need you to get a couple of the others and bring the van to my house. Yeah. She came back and brought a private investigator with her. I know. You were right and we can’t put this off any longer. Nah, he wasn’t any trouble. He’s tied up and they’re both locked in the pantry. They won't be going anywhere.” there was a pause in the conversation his associate replied. “They don’t have any idea about that. I have to admit, I want to see the look on Allyn’s face when I tell her that Aunt Sharon doesn’t live here any more.” he chuckled at his own joke. "Oh, she's around here somewhere, she just doesn't live here!"
Sitting on the floor beside Mick in the pantry, the color drained from Allyn’s face. She closed her eyes slowly as she absorbed the meaning of Eric's words.
“Allyn,” Mick said softly. “Focus. Our first priority is getting out of here.” He wondered how they could proceed with Eric right outside.
“We aren’t getting out that way,” she whispered, pushing her emotions down for the moment. “Fortunately, I know more about this house than he does. Aunt Sharon was my babysitter for years.”
Slipping out of her Prada flats, she walked to a nearby shelf and returned with a box cutter for Mick’s bonds. Then, she took a flashlight from another shelf and walked back to the far wall that was solidly covered in metal shelving units about three feet wide by five feet high, sitting side by side. She walked up to one and started swiftly and quietly moving items to other shelves. However, before she had finished she heard the key go into the padlock outside.
Eric was coming back!
To be continued (and the next chapter will be the conclusion)…
and didn't manage to get this chapter read till today. Now I can run to Chapter 3 and find out what happens! 
I'm on the edge of my seat here, Jenna! 
