48Moonlight, The Next Chapter: Darkness
Chapter 2
Borrowed Time
Intro song: : Borrowed Time, A Fine Frenzy
Mick glared at the silent phone after his East Coast counterpart hung up. He was worried about her. The vampires on the Eastern Council, having witnessed Gabby, in a fit of rage, kill a Crucis prisoner in front of them, had taken the stance that she was a loose cannon, a threat to their community. Josef had confessed that several had lobbied for her execution that day.
He could only imagine how she must feel, having to interact with them, knowing that they were watching her every move, waiting for the tiniest of slip-ups... Mick frowned. What could he do to help her? He had no connections or influence with anyone on the council. The only vamp he knew out there was Victoria Silver and she was already advocating for Gabby.
Talk to Josef.
That was his best bet, he decided. The billionaire vamp's presence had been influential in keeping the Council from exacting retribution on Gabby at the time of the incident. Maybe Kostan could follow up with some of them, let them know she was helping him with his investigation into Sara Whitley's death - and the attack on him. A good word now that the dust had settled slightly on her transgression might be helpful. Yeah, talk to Josef.
As if on cue, the steel-reinforced door to his office swung inward and Josef Kostan appeared in the doorway, key fob in hand.
"Hello, Josef." Why did I ever give him that key?
"How's the 'invalid'?" Kostan asked with a grin as he sauntered into the room.
"The 'invalid' is jumping out of his skin, that's how I am." Mick's irritability showed in his voice. Josef had been dropping by every day since he came home, on one pretense or another. It was clear to the P.I. that his friend was checking up on him, making sure he was adhering to Dr. Spector's restrictions - and the billionaire's own dictates to preserve his identity.
"Now, now. You should be enjoying your little vacation. Catch up on your reading, watch a few movies - as long as they aren't porn, of course."
"Very funny, Josef. As least try to pretend you're being supportive, will you?"
"I thought I was!" Kostan protested as he flopped down in one of the chairs opposite Mick's desk and smirked at his friend. "For instance, I've hardly mentioned the fact that you've had to be celibate for... what? Three weeks now?"
"This is you being supportive?"
"Sure, you didn't notice?!" Josef's dark brown eyes danced with amusement. Teasing his best friend was one of his favorite activities. "I mean, I could have walked in here with a half-dressed freshie on each arm, just to give you a... rise...so to speak."
Disgusted, Mick pivoted his chair away from his friend, looking out the bank of windows behind his desk to the setting sun, its rays filtered by the special tempered glass. Even at that, light that would normally not bother him at all, felt like pin pricks all over his body. With a sigh, he turned back around.
"What are you doing here, Josef?"
"Just trying to show some caring for my best friend, that's all." Kostan tried to maintain an injured tone. And to make sure you aren't out trying to get yourself killed again out of sheer boredom. "I could be off making money. There's plenty to be made, you know. In fact..." Josef pulled his smartphone from the inside pocket of his hand-made Armani suit and consulted a screen. "In fact, I made you $350K this week. Add that to the $500,000 from the deal I got us in on last week, and I would say you owe me a tad more respect. I should be welcomed with open arms, a slutty freshie, and the world's best cognac!"
"You trashed all the world's best cognac," Mick responded acidly.
"Oh. That's right. Damn. Okay, world's second best, then. I'll send you some recommendations. Well, if I'm not going to get to see the fair Beth..." Josef pushed himself up out of his chair. He looked down at the P.I. for a moment, his face inscrutable. Unknowingly, he mirrored the question Mick had posed to Gabrielle. "How are you really doing?"
"Fine. I'm fine." Mick shoved back his chair and shot upright, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a fighter. "See? Rarin' to go." He moved around the desk to stand in front of his best friend. "That's the biggest problem now. I do feel fine. I want to get on with things - my life, this investigation..."
"Sex with Beth..."
Mick exhaled noisily. "Yeah. That too."
Josef peered at him closely. "Mick, your eyes..."
"I know. It doesn't look like those silver streaks are gonna go away. Spector thinks it's because I still have some traces of silver in my body that he can't get to," the P.I. patiently explained. As long as humans didn't notice, he'd be fine. Guess I can always say I'm wearing fancy contacts...
"No, that's not it." Kostan's hand on his arm turned him back around, toward the fading sunlight. He studied his friend closely, then nodded. "Yep. Just what I thought. DSB."
"What?!"
"You know, DSB!" Josef paused for dramatic effect. "Deadly sperm build-up. One of the worst cases I've ever seen. It's so bad, you've got the little fuckers swimming around behind your eyeballs!" He grinned broadly. "You, my friend, are hornier than a three-balled cat!"
Mick shrugged off the older vampire's hand in frustration. "Very funny. Wouldn't you be?!"
"Absolutely. But then, I would never have gotten myself into a situation that required me to be celibate in the first place."
"Not like I planned it."
Sobering, Josef changed the subject abruptly. Or maybe it isn't such a change of subject... "Speaking of all that, what about McGowan? Any leads on the guy's whereabouts?"
"Nothing. Not a damn thing," the P.I. replied shortly.
Kostan glared at Mick as if he were personally responsible for the disappearance of the San Diego detective. Ever since the fireworks display at Temecula had jolted the injured man into remembering who had shot him, the billionaire had been on a mission. He wanted his revenge on his friend's near-death so badly he could taste it. It was both irritating and frustrating that, up to now, he had been unable to lay his hands on the man responsible. He wasn't used to such delayed gratification.
Mick threw up his hands. "Josef, I don't know what else to do. Ryder, Logan and I have been working on it all week. Since they found the notice of his car being towed from LAX, we haven't been able to come up with anything else. We've checked every plane and train roster, every bus ticket...nothing. I've called the police station in San Diego he works out of and they just say he's out of the office every time."
"Maybe those two just aren't that good," Josef responded testily. "As far as I can tell, the only thing that's come of all this is that Logan now thinks he's a permanent fixture and he's practically moved in!"
"Well, you did put him on a retainer," Mick pointed out mildly.
His friend groaned. "Don't remind me."
"You know, only so much can be done by computer - and Ryder and Logan aren't detectives. At some point, you need feet on the street. Someone has to go out and do the legwork in person, Josef. Someone like me."
"Okay, Magnum, I get it," Kostan snapped. "For your information, I've had two private investigators doing just that for the past several days. Of course, they aren't 'dicks' like you..." he paused, hoping to get a rise out of his friend, but, to his chagrin, Mick ignored the jab. Killjoy. Shaking his head, the vampire continued. "They came highly recommended; should have been able to handle this. Besides, didn't you say that Beth told you the cops have put out a missing person report on him? I guess their 'feet on the street' didn't exactly catch the world on fire either. So kindly do not lecture me."
"I'm sorry, Josef." Mick drained his glass and poured another generous shot of scotch, then let loose. "I'm frustrated too. Believe me, getting this guy is pretty high on my 'to-do' list too! I talk to Logan and Ryder every night, call Gabby, go over all of it with Beth when she comes home...and there's nothing. No new leads, just a bunch of dead ends. Not even any new attacks."
He took a long swallow of his drink. If this went on much longer, he'd be labeled an alcoholic, given the amount of drinking he'd been doing since he got home. Catching sight of Josef's raised eyebrows, Mick said, "Don't get me wrong, no attacks is a good thing, but I can't help feeling like we're waiting for the axe to fall. To make things more complicated, I'm hesitant to put too much on Gabby – I'm worried about her being in a precarious position with the Council. I wanted to talk to you about that."
Josef shrugged. "Not much to be done there. I talked to them for her - you know that. If Gabby sticks to her job and doesn't pull any more dumbass stunts like killing a witness in front of the whole Council, she'll be fine. If not..." He spread his hands. "One thing I've learned over the past four centuries, Mick. There's no controlling female vampires."
"Or human females," Mick muttered.
Kostan's eyes sparkled. "Oh? Trouble with the little woman?"
"It's not her fault. It's mine. I'm irritable and picking fights with everyone. I'm going fucking stir crazy!" He stopped, hearing himself. He sounded like a ten-year-old kid throwing a temper tantrum.
"And you're horny," Josef interjected helpfully.
"Yeah." Mick muttered. "Way horny." He finished his third glass of scotch since Josef had arrived twenty minutes before, beginning to feel the effects of the strong alcohol.
The billionaire studied his friend keenly. It was no surprise to him that Mick missed being intimate, especially after finally coming off a maddeningly long dry spell, thanks to Beth. God bless you, Beth. These two were headed for one hell of a sexual collision. Too bad Mick was such a prude and would never allow him to watch...
A cocked eyebrow and crossed arms alerted Kostan that he had been busted. Uh oh, did I say that out loud?
"Don't play games, Josef. I'm not in the mood." And what I am in the mood for, I can't do... "I think it's time for you to go. As you so often point out, I need my freezer time."
Josef rose out of his chair. "Before I go, I'm just curious. What's on your agenda for the weekend besides sex with the lovely Miss Turner? Or can't you think past that?"
Mick walked toward the door, anxious to get the older vampire out of his hair. "Believe it or not, I can think beyond sex. I actually have some company coming this weekend, like real people do."
Josef stopped dead in his tracks. "Okay, now you've got me curious. Who are you meeting with, Bill Gates?!" His ongoing feud with the tech mogul was no secret and it was Kostan's idea of the worst visitor one could entertain. They had rubbed elbows at various charitable functions over the years and Josef had found his attitude, which he termed as 'holier-than-thou', tremendously irritating. The immortal vampire had to admit that he was also concerned about Gates' astute observations regarding his youthful appearance over the years. The damn guy paid attention and saw too much.
"What is it with you and Gates? He and his wife do good work; get over it, Josef!" Mick already regretted opening his mouth, but now he saw no way out of telling the elder vampire the truth. As casually as possible, he added, "No, Carl Davis is coming by."
Kostan exploded, wheeling around on his friend. "Oh, great! That's just great! Didn't he get a close enough look at you that night in San Ysidro with your guts hanging out?! Are you trying to get yourself outed? By a cop, no less?!"
"Calm down, Josef! It's fine. It'll be fine." Mick spoke with a certainty he didn't feel. "Look, Davis was with me when I was shot and he wants to see how I'm doing. It'd be more suspicious if I refused to see him."
Josef snorted in derision. "Not from where I'm standing! He led you into an ambush and almost got you killed! If you'd been human, you would be dead! I think that's sufficient grounds for removing him from your list of close, personal friends."
Taking a deep breath, he continued in a calmer voice. "Look, Mick, if he sees you up and about like this, all healed up, he's gonna know there's something weird about you. He can't be dumb enough not to notice that, not even if he is a cop." The billionaire's opinion of Los Angeles' finest was only slightly better than his view of Gates.
"Give me some credit, Josef! How stupid do you think I am?!" Seeing his friend open his mouth to respond, Mick held up his hand. "Don't answer that!" He sighed. "Look, Beth's gonna bandage me all up and I won't get off that couch while he's here. I'll act the part of the recovering invalid. He won't suspect anything."
"Are you sure about this, Mick? Cops notice things. Detectives especially. In general, it's not a good policy to let one into your home."
"I've got it covered."
"I sure hope so. I'd hate to see you get this guy killed after you almost died protecting him."
"Is that a threat?" Mick's voice was icy.
"No. It's a fact. Secrecy is all we have to protect ourselves. You know that. You can't play around with humans that are in Davis' line of work. Next thing I know, you'll be inviting him out on the town with you." Seeing Mick shift his gaze guiltily, Josef groaned. "You didn't. Please tell me you didn't."
"Nooo." Mick thought back to the conversation he and Carl had had during their ill-fated trip to San Diego. A connection over their relationships with their fathers. Their shared interests in jazz and cigars. The promise of a night out. "Not really."
Josef stuck his hands on his hips in exasperation. "I know that tone. End it, Mick. Make nice with him this weekend, if you have to, but then end it. You obviously like the guy but he's no Beth. He's a cop and you can't trust him. Don't put him in danger."
Much as he hated to admit it, Mick knew that the elder vampire was right. Letting any humans into their world was risky business, but cops... that was the kind of thing he would chastise Gabby about if she tried it. A friendship with Carl would not only be risky for the detective, but also for him - and, anything that put him in a precarious position in the vampire world was dangerous for Beth, as well. He sighed again. "You're right, Josef."
"Excuse me, what? What did I hear you say? 'You're right, Josef'?" The billionaire grinned widely.
"Don't push your luck," the younger vampire snarled. "Now, get the hell out."
"I'm going, I'm going - but only because you have no freshies. I'll be back tomorrow night – there's no way I'm letting you meet up with this cop without me. " Kostan disappeared out the door before Mick could argue.
As the reinforced door settled into place, Mick frowned, scrubbing at his scalp in exasperation. He hated being called out by Josef, especially when he was right. He would have to make sure that he and Carl had nothing but professional contact after tomorrow.
In the meantime, he had time to kill and he couldn't face spending any more time on the computer today. With a sigh, the bored vampire wandered off, in search of his guitar.
End song: Fly Away, Lenny Kravitz