NightShift
by
Lisa Y. Drexel
Please remember that I don't own Buffy or any of the rest of the WB cast--that goes to Josh. Neither do I own Forever Knight (Sony's) or Highlander (Rysher's)--they all belong to someone else and I'm just borrowin' them. I promise to give them back when I'm done and not to ever make any buckos off of them ever!!!
Chapter One
"Hey Terri! Take a look at this!"
The woman’s redish blond head turned towards her partner’s voice. "Another one! A male. ‘Bout the same age," he said as he pointed downwards.
She nodded as she dropped a glance at the corpse at her feet. "I’ll be there in a sec!" she called out, shaking her head at the wierd deja-vous feeling that seemed to blanket the whole crime scene. Except this time, she was the seasoned cop and her partner was the fresh-behind the ears detective straight out of uniform.
My, how things change, she thought to herself as she squatted down to take a better look at the body.
The lifeless figure in front of her once was a person--a young woman--sixteen according to her drivers license--and she had a name--Felicia Marie Thomason--and a soul.
Now, her body was a bloodless empty corpse tossed haphazardly towards the bushes in Sunnydale Park--as if it was nothing more than a container that held something more precious than herself.
That’s where the deja vous came from.
Sighing, she pulled out her latex gloves from her coat pocket, ignoring the roaring in her ears and the rising beat of her heart and snapped them on over her hands. Once gloved, she quickly surveyed her surroundings, double checking that all the crime scene personnel were otherwise occupied, and then placed two fingers under the chin of the body and gently turned the head to check the girl’s neck.
Her heart stopped.
A pair of bite marks.
Oh, so achingly familiar, yet foreign in this place where she was now.
Yes, things do change.
Only to remain the same...
Silently cursing, she stood up and walked over towards her partner, Marc Gonzales, as he stood sentry by the second body, ready to give her his report, oblivious to the ramifications of these two highschoolers deaths, eager to prove his worthiness upon receiving his detective shield...wanting to please Teresa like she had wanted to please her mentor and first partner in Homicide.
Nope, Marc wasn’t that much different than she--Sgt. Teresa Anne Vachon--when she was a rookie. Except then, when she had been that eager, she was Tracy Vetter, daughter of the police commissioner, friend to one undead Javier Vachon, partner to Nick Knight, and most important of all--mortal.
Now, she was none of these.
Sighing, she bent down again, taking reassurance from the katana that was safetly tucked inside her coat and checked the next victim. This time she didn’t need to turn his head--most of the neck was gone--apparently savagely bitten.
The young man never had a chance, she thought to herself. Neither of them did. She looked around the crime scene and spotted a tall paper cup laying on its side, with the lid half off and brown liquid and ice cubes slowly leaking out.
Just two kids out on a Friday night and taking a walk. Probably talking about the latest rumors or their parents or that awful biology teacher they had...never to know that they had been marked for someone’s next meal.
She stood up, nervously biting her bottom lip and wondered where she should go from here.
Vampires.
After a year and half, she finally found some and for the life of her, she had not a clue as to what to do next.
She looked up at her partner and arched an eyebrow. "Well?" she asked as she started walking towards her brand new black Bronco. Once they reached the passenger side, she leaned against the car and waited for him.
"Felicia Marie Thomason, 16 years old, junior at my old alumni of Sunnydale High School. The guy--his name was Wade Cunningham--"
"As in Richie?" Tracy asked with a smile on her face, as a picture of Ron Howard flashed in her mind.
Marc nodded nervously, with a tight smile. "Also a junior at Sunnydale. The cup you saw is from the local teenage hangout, The Bronz. I guess that’s where we should start," he said as he ran his hand through his dark curly hair.
She nodded as she pushed off the side of the Bronco and walked over to the driver's side. As she opened the door, she caught a glimpse of her partner's face. For a moment, she would’ve sworn she saw a flash of fear flash in his eyes, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.
Great, she thought to herself. Now, I’m projecting. Chuckling at herself, she slipped into the car and started the engine, all the time mentally readying herself for whatever the night was going to bring them.
Just remember, Vetter, she told herself as she put the vehicle in gear and began driving off. This was what you wanted. You wanted to be a cop and you wanted to find Vachon--which meant you wanted to find vampires...just remember they can’t kill you unless they take your head...
But somehow, although factual, the thought gave her little comfort.
St. Louis
Wolf’s Bane
As Natalie Lambert sipped her drink and waited for Nick, she occupied her time by people and/or vampire watching. Although no longer mortal, she found that she was still infinetly curious about people and enjoyed just observing them. And, for her own peace of mind, when she was around, she liked to keep an eye on things. As one of the medical examiners for St. Louis, she had no desire to see any of the mortals who liked patronize LaCroix’s establishment to also become one of her customers.
And as LaCroix’s childe, her presence had somewhat of a calming affect on the Bane’s more gregarious of customers.
It was one of the few welcome benefits of being the General’s offspring.
Grimacing, she took another sip of the house special, savoring the sweetness of human blood mixed with the best of wines.
Freely given and freely taken. That was important to her. Although Nick still stuck to his bovine diet, Natalie was too young a vampire to dabble with her diet. Although the scientist in her had no idea why, it seemed that human blood provided vampires with the proper nutrients and sustenance to maintain their high metabolic and immortal existence. But when she was human and was working on a cure for Nick, she hadn’t found the reason either. But that was before she realized how intense and all consuming blood lust was. Before, she thought it was an addiction--psychologically based even. But now, she knew better.
How could one be addicted to something never tried before? But yet, her First Hunger was.
Sighing, she looked up and once again began to scan her surroundings. Nick was late. They were suppose to meet LaCroix here after work, for he had some ‘interesting news’ to share with his children. Curiosity peaked, both Natalie and Nick agreed to show. Now Natalie was left alone, LaCroix somewhere in the club and Nick no where to be found.
Natalie heard a creak and instantly glanced at the front entrance, once again grateful that LaCroix had left it un-oiled, and froze.
"Vachon."
Sunnydale, CA
The Bronz
It wasn’t until Tracy had gotten out of the car, did she feel something. A tickle in head, not unlike a warning of an Immortal, but somehow different. Or maybe not. After spending some much time with strong Immortals, maybe her perceptions were off. She stopped and glanced at her partner as he got out of his car. His face was pale and for a moment she thought he was going to be sick.
"Marc, what’s wrong?"
He shook his head. "Nothing."
"Bull. What is it?"
He shrugged. "Must’ve been something I ate."
"Yeah, that corndog was nasty. I don’t know how you can eat that shit. Listen, I’ll just call a cab. Take the Bronco," she said as she tossed him the keys.
"Are you sure?"
Tracy swore she saw his face gain some color. He’s scared, she thought to herself as she nodded. "Yeah, I’m sure," she said as she opened the door and slipped inside. She opened the glove box and pulled out her wallet and stuck it in her inside pocket. Glancing at the keys in the ignition, she remembered her house key. She pulled it off and got out. She had her house key, her wallet, her gun and her sword. What else did a girl need? She asked herself.
"I’m sure. Go, get some sleep. I was going to go home after this anyway. It’s late and our shift ends in an hour," she said as she glanced at her watch. Eleven pm. "You can pick me up tommorrow. Deal?"
He smiled weakly. "Deal." He stepped up inside the truck.
"And Marc?"
"Yeah boss?"
"And tommorrow, maybe you can tell me why this place spooks you so much."
His face paled once again as he nodded. "Maybe I’ll give you a bit of Sunnydale history," he said as he started up her Bronco.
She closed the door. "I’d like that. It helps to know these things." She slapped the door and stepped back. Seconds later her Bronco was driving away.
Once satisfied that he had indeed left, Tracy took a deep breath and reached back for her sword. Once in hand, but still in her coat, she cleared her throat. "All right. Come on out! I don’t want any trouble!"
Although no one responded, she could still feel something. "Damnit!" she cursed as she began to chew on her lip. "I don’t have time for this shit!" she whispered to herself as she began to walk down the alley towards the entrance to the Bronz.
Then she heard it.
Almost a whisper in the air.
Within a second her sword was out and up as she whipped around to face the street where she had just come from.
A tall figure stood in the light, the face hidden.
This was what she felt.
"What interesting creature has Hellmouth attracted now?" he asked as he laughed. "I thought I met them all," he began to walk towards her.
His voice had a hypnotic rhythm to it--not unlike LaCroix’s. A vampire. Tracy felt an insane giggle escape. Now what, Vetter? He thinks he found dinner.
Finding her voice, she laughed. "Creature? Who me? That says a lot coming from you, asshole." She kept her sword up high, readying herself to pounce. "I don’t want to fight you. But I don’t want to become your next meal."
He stopped. Close enough for her to see his face, but far enough so her sword couldn’t accidently touch him. His hair dark, skin--pale and eyes brown, not unlike Vachon's. Despite the cruelty she could easily see in his demeanor, he was very good looking. Different circumstances, she could see herself being drawn to this vampire as well.
But where Vachon had been practical and resigned in vampirism, this one wore it as if he were a manevolent dictator. It wasn't just who or what he was--it was all he was.
For nearly five minutes, neither one said anything. Instead, he began to circle her and she in turn, followed his every move--sword up and ready--heart racing faster than she thought possible--all the time wondering if maybe Adam had been right after all--it wasn’t worth the risk. She should’ve become an a teacher or writer instead of a cop sifting through the world’s undead population just so she could find her possible one true love...
It happened so quickly, she hadn’t even realized she had been distracted until her sword had been yanked from her hand and thrown to the side. One moment he had been an acceptable distance away, the next he was pushing her against the wall, and her head snapped against the wall.
"I forgot. Too quick." And she passed out.
St. Louis
Wolf's Bane
Natalie downed the last of her drink as her eyes followed the Spanaird as he walked slowly into the nightclub and began to study his surroundings. When his eyes met hers, they widened in surprise and he grinned. In a flash, he was at her table, pulling her into his arms and giving her a huge bear hug.
"Doc!" he greeted her, laughing. "Man, the General told me he had a few surprises for me but I had no idea that you coming across would be one of them."
Natalie pulled away a bit and really looked at Vachon. He looked well, but still a little haggard. Maybe I can help him. I am the doctor of the undead, she thought to herself. She squeezed his forearms and beckoned him to sit with her. She waved at the waitress and held up two fingers.
"LaCroix and Nick are both meeting me here. I assume that you are part of what he wanted to share with us."
The waitress placed a wine bottle and two empty glasses on the table. "Compliments of the house, Doctor."
Natalie nodded and turned to Vachon. "So, what happened. I thought you were dead?"
He shrugged and smiled slightly. "We're not as hard to kill as I thought. Tracy removed the stake and also poured a bottle of house speciality on the grave. That and a six months of slow rejuevenation, and I managed to dig myself out of the ground." He stopped and took a sip of his drink. "After that, I wandered for nearly a year, until I finally contacted Aristostle for a new identity. That's how LaCroix found me."
Natalie nodded as she watched his face. There was more to his story, but he was in no mood to share. Maybe later, she thought as she felt her master enter the room.
She looked over her shoulder and saw Lucien LaCroix lean over and speak to the bartender. He then turned to Natalie and nodded once. He turned and headed back to his living quarters.
Natalie picked up her purse and glanced over to Vachon. "He wants us to meet in his quarters. Apparently Nick is going to be late."
He nodded and picked up the bottle and his glass as Natalie had done and followed her to the back of Wolf's Bane.
Outside the Bronze
Sunnydale, CA
"Well, at least I didn't die," Tracy muttered to herself once she woke up. She looked around and found that she had been thrown into a pile of wooden crates and one of the boards was poking her in the butt. Grimacing, she leaned against the wall and pushed herself into a standing position. Once upright, she tentatively stepped away from the wall to test her legs and was pleasantly relieved to find that everything seemed to be working fine.
Thank God for Immortal healing powers, she thought to herself as her eyes scanned the area looking for her sword. Within a minute, she saw a silver flash and walked towards it. She pulled up her 16th-century katana and smiled again. It was unmarked.
"Adam would've killed me," she whispered to herself as she placed it under her coat.
Brushing the leaves and dirt off her clothes, Tracy took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Other than a slight headache, she was fine. Everything was just fine...
Except her ego.
"Score one for the vampires," she said as she opened the door to the Bronze.
Inside, it was like any other teenage hangout she'd been to. Loud music, surging hormones and lots of giggling adolscent girls. Oh joys, she thought to herself. I hated it when I was like that, and I hate more now that I'm older. Inwardly sighing, she walked over to the bar and waited for the bartender to notice her.
A man, mid to late twenties, medium height with sandy brown hair and hazel eyes, looked up at her, took in her dress and smiled crookedly.
"What can I get for you, officer?"
Smirking, she pulled out her badge and showed it to him. "I'm Sgt. Vachon with Sunnydale PD and I was wondering if you remember seeing these two here tonight?" she asked as she showed him the two high school pictures taken from the couple's personal belongings.
He picked up both pictures and studied them carefully for over a minute. For a second, a flicker of fear, flashed on his face, but quickly vanished by the time he looked up at Tracy.
"Sorry Sergant, I can't say I have. Not that they couldn't have been here, but look at this place! It's been like this since 6pm, when we opened and has not let up since." He shook his head. "I swear, there must've been five hundred kids waltzing through this place tonight," he said as he gestured at the tables.
"Can I ask around?"
He shrugged. "Be my guest."
Although Tracy could tell he was hiding something, what, she didn't know. With both pictures in hand, she began to ask around the bar. Within a half an hour, she had an idea of how Felicia Thomason's and Wade Cunningham's evening went before they met their end.
Once sure she had gotten all she could, she left the loud confines of the Bronze and stepped back outside where the cool evening breeze whipped about her. Heading for her car, she walked to the street and for a short second, she thought her Bronco had been stolen. But then she remembered she had leant it to her partner and she was supposed to have called a cab to meet her here.
Sighing, she mentally calculated how far her apartment was and decided a couple of miles wouldn't kill her. She began her trek home.
Angelus stood on the roof overlooking the alleyway by the Bronze and watched the woman walk back towards the residential area of the town. Silently, he followed her, jumping from one building to the next, and finally, once there were no more warehouses to hide on, he followed her on foot--careful to remain outside hers and his 'sensing' range.
He didn't ask himself why he was doing this or even why he hadn't killed her earlier, for he feared the answer. Something deep inside him, in the demon, was drawn to this woman, and for the first time in over 240 plus years, both Angel and Angelus were at a loss as to why.
To be continued...hopefully!
Unfinished Stories Highlander
Forever Knight SunnyHell
Haven
Crossovers General
Fanfiction Page
If you're confused or don't quite understand what's going on--it might help for you to read the first story, Too Late for the Damned, Undead and Immortal.
©1998 Lisa Y. Drexel