In this episode…
Mick works for Josef trying to track down a vampire by the name of Delores Maxford Whitaker, aka Lola that he has an on again, off again relationship with. She has disappeared, taking with her 1 million of Josef’s dollars. Mick starts investigating and discovers that she bought a metric ton of silver, which is poisonous to vampires and causes them to be paralyzed. Mick discovers the body of a vamp in a warehouse where Lola had the silver shipped; the body had been drained of blood and then burned. Meanwhile Beth is working a fashion shoot per Maureen who is a bit irritated with her. As she and Steve shoot footage, one of the models collapses and dies. Beth finds out that she had been to a new club the previous evening, Club Valis. Beth decides to go there and investigate. At the club she learns that there is a VIP room, but she cannot gain access, although she can’t figure out why. She goes to the morgue to look at the models body (Renee Beresford) and discovers that the tech had pulled a microchip out of her hand. She also had high traces of silver in her blood, most likely what killed her. Beth knows that microchip is the key to getting into the VIP room and takes it. Outside she runs into Mick who has brought the vamp body in for Terrance to check out. Beth asks Mick if he knows a good vet and after he tells her he doesn’t he said he had something else though. He takes her to his apartment and using a syringe, inserts the microchip into her hand. When Beth tells him that the model died of too much silver in her blood he decides to go to the club with Beth. Since she has the microchip she goes in through the front door and Mick has to jump up to where the VIP room is. Beth is given a vial of a black substance called Black Crystal, a powerful drug. Shortly after getting inside the club is raided by Josh, the police and Carl Davis. Mick and Beth are separated and later Josh takes Beth home, angry because she was as the club. At home, Beth investigates the drug and decides to try a bit of it to see what it feels like. Unbeknownst to her, the blood is actually vampire blood and it makes her ready to take on the world. She walks to Micks and tries to seduce him, asking him to follow her upstairs. Mick is torn, he wants her more than he can admit, but he won’t take advantage of her in her drugged state. Upstairs, he pulls her into the shower to try and sober her up. She pleads with him to turn her and he tells her it is only the drug. The next morning Beth wakes up on Micks couch, in one of his shirts, not quite sure how she got there. Mick goes back to the warehouse to confront Lola, the person that he has been looking for and they fight until Mick throws her into a tank of water that is laced with silver, which paralyzes her. He then blows the warehouse up to get rid of the evidence. Back at his loft he tells Josef that Lola is dead, which visibly stuns and distresses Josef.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
October 25, 2007
Maureen is pissed at me; not surprising since I didn’t have the camera’s rolling when Cherish reunited with her parents. I’m definitely NOT her golden girl right now. Since then I’ve covered a pet show, a 100th birthday celebration of Fischer’s Deli and the latest, a fashion show. At least it has a lot of promise.
I’ve been working a fascinating story, starting with the fashion show; a girl collapsed, convulsed and died right in front of us. A terrible thing, but when Josh and Carl showed up I knew that I was onto something big. Especially when they ordered me off of the story.
On the home front I feel at odds with almost all the significant people in my life; Josh, my mom as well as Maureen. It’s a good thing I haven’t talked to Lani lately or I’d probably make a mess of that too. The one bright spot was that Robbi came up for a girl’s weekend and we had so much fun. It was right after I had managed to make an idiot out of myself by impulsively kissing Mick in the Buzzwire parking lot.
He didn’t hate it, I know, but I felt foolish afterwards. I kind of have to wonder why I did it; honestly, I don’t know why. I sort of felt compelled to kiss him – at that moment it felt as necessary as my next breath. It felt good, and so right. But if that’s true then what about Josh?
In all honesty, it’s getting harder to be with Josh. He is such a great guy and he should be perfect for me, and yet it somehow just misses the mark. He’s caring and patient and allows me to be who I am. Most women would kill to have someone in their life like that, as I’m often reminded by Marissa and other friends. Even Robbi asked me if I understood what I was doing. Of course, no real surprise there as she is the mother hen of us all and will always take the safe approach. That’s Josh, safe – something that cannot be said for Mick.
It doesn’t really have anything to do with Mick, not really. I was feeling this way before Mick came along, although it has certainly exacerbated the Josh situation with him in my life now. Since the bite in the desert I have only to stroke my arm and it tingles and brings Mick directly into focus. Is that normal after a vampire bites you? You feel some internal connection that you can’t shut off? All I know is that I don’t want to shut it off, but if I have that connection with him where does that leave Josh and me? I have so much to figure out.
Mom is still upset with me and I don’t really know why. Since I was there for dinner a couple of weeks ago she calls regularly and when she asks what’s going on in my life and I tell her she just seems to get more upset, and I don’t have a freaking clue why. I’m obviously not giving her the right answers but the only thing I’m withholding is the information about Mick, which she couldn’t possibly know about. I love her so much and I don’t know what is wrong. When I ask her she tells me nothing at all. It’s like a brick wall is in place and I don’t know how to climb it. Even when Robbi and I went to see her she wasn’t her usual self. I guess I just need a bit more patience diary!
Later…
OOOOOOOOOOOO
“Hey Beth?” Robbi asked as we were getting pedicures. The technician had left us alone to soak for a few minutes. “Are you happy?”
“Yeah, I guess so. Why?” Beth asked with a frown.
“I don’t know, it just seems like you are distracted or something. Is everything okay with Josh?”
Beth pursed her lips and Robbi watched as it furrowed her brow. “I don’t know really. I feel, well, like something is missing Robbi. Not like when you’re just in a boring spot, but where something significant is just not there.”
“Was it ever there?” she asked. Robbi liked Josh, but in some ways he and Beth had never seemed like an ideal match to her. Josh was steady and safe and somehow Beth always seemed drawn to the men that were a bit more on the edgy side, like Carl had been. Robbi had adored Carl and was genuinely sorry when he and Beth didn’t make it.
“I don’t know Robbi. He was great from the start, so much fun, you know? I felt comfortable with him and he was so easy to talk to. Now, things just aren’t clicking any longer.”
“That almost sounds like a great friend Beth as opposed to a lover.”
“In some ways I guess that’s true. Don’t get me wrong, things in that area have always been good, but the connection seems to be fading. I feel it slipping away and yet I’m unable or maybe even unwilling to stop it.”
“Is there someone else Bethie?”
“I don’t know. I know – that’s a stupid answer. I know someone that I feel a connection with, but I have no idea whether or not he has any interest in me. Actually, I’m pretty sure he doesn’t, for, um, complicated reasons. But Robbi, I feel alive when I’m with him in a way I haven’t felt in years.”
Robbie digested this last bit of information for a moment before answering. She took a deep breath and said, “Perhaps he won’t come any closer to you because of Josh? Beth, you need to figure out what you want and need and then take action to straighten all this out. It’s not like you to string two men along and I can’t believe you are happy doing it. Figure out who you want and then do something about it!”
Words that were easier said than done Beth knew.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
Mick was working on a case for Josef and it was starting to piss him off; there was a lot more to this than Josef had shared with him.
Josef wanted Mick to locate an on again off again booty call for him which in itself was unusual. All Josef needed to do was snap his fingers and he had a dozen women lining up for the pleasure of his company. So, what made Delores Maxford Whittaker so special? Josef had admitted that she had taken a million dollars from his account after admitting that he had given her the password.
She was a vamp, an old one Josef had said and very powerful. She was also very beautiful; Mick stared at her driver’s license photo and was impressed. Mick had also discovered that she had purchased a metric ton of silver with Josef’s money.
“She got a vampire problem that you know about?” Mick asked, watching Josef’s reaction.
“I don’t know anyone who would want to go up against her,” he answered, looking a bit lost.
After a bit more probing Mick realized he had gotten all the information out of Josef that he could. What the next step was involved finding out what she was doing with all that silver.
What he found disgusted him; a warehouse facility with a dead vamp in it. A very dead vamp, one who had been paralyzed with silver, drained and then burnt. He and Terrence stared at the body in the morgue with confusion.
“That’s a little excessive wouldn’t you say?” Terrence asked when they looked at the body.
Mick agreed. It puzzled him why someone would want the vamps blood. Terrence said the same thing.
It was a mystery that wasn’t going to be solved immediately and he left the morgue, still thinking about it all. Outside he ran into Beth, who was following up on a story where a model collapsed and died.
It felt a bit awkward between them; they were both remembering the kiss in the Buzzwire parking lot. Beth was embarrassed about it because she didn’t know how Mick felt about it; for his part he wanted to pretend that it hadn’t happened because if he didn’t then he might have to admit that he actually had feelings for her.
He knew that he was attracted to her and ever since the desert he couldn’t get her out of his head. He felt embarrassed at watching her from her balcony last week and yet he felt hope in his heart that maybe she felt something for him as well. The kiss only seemed to prove that she did and for a brief while he reveled in that knowledge; but then reality set in and he knew that nothing could happen between them. It would be too dangerous and besides, she had a boyfriend; a nice, safe human boyfriend who cared about her. It had to stay that way.
As they chatted about the story and case they both relaxed a bit. Finally Beth asked Mick if he knew of a good vet.
He chuckled and said, “Vamps can’t really be trusted with pets. Why?”
Understanding flowed over Beth and she smiled and shrugged. “I need this chip implanted,” she told him as if it was the most normal thing imaginable.
“Well of course you do,” Mick said, playing along. “Okay, I don’t have a vet but I have something else. Come on.”
She followed him back to his loft and before too long she was staring at the largest syringe she had ever seen. Her knees were shaking just thinking about him using it to implant the microchip in her hand.
“About the kiss?” he said, watching her closely. “I was thinking maybe that was an accident?”
“Oh, okay,” she answered. Inside, she wondered if he really thought that it was an accident. But they both left it at that. She explained that she needed to get into the VIP room of this club because Renee Beresford, the model who had died had been there. There had been silver in her system when she died.
“Silver?” Mick inquired. “I’ll go with you.”
“Oh, I’ll be okay,” she reassured him.
“The silver makes me think I’ll find the person I’m looking for there. A woman.”
At that last bit of information Beth’s eyes narrowed and she felt a flash of jealousy, which Mick immediately noticed. He couldn’t help but feel a bit happier about it all now.
“Meet you there in two hours,” she told him as she was leaving.
Mick watched her go feeling lighter of spirit. Then he laughed; she hadn’t even felt the microchip being implanted in her hand. He couldn’t wait for the two hours to pass.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
While he waited for Beth to show up at Club Valis Mick scanned the crowd, searching out other vamps or people who might get in his way. For the most part the crowd consisted of club bunnies and wanna-bes, all waiting to be allowed to enter the club.
Finally Mick spotted Beth walking across the street, heading directly for him. He couldn’t believe how beautiful and sexy she looked. His eyes ate her up and had he been human he swore his heart would have stopped. She smiled as she approached him and it made his whole night. If she were to kiss him right now he knew he would never let her go.
They finally agreed to meet upstairs in the VIP room; Beth using her microchip to gain access and Mick the sexy vampire jumping thing. She laughed when she told him, “Just being human is so lame!”
“I know, but you wear it well,” he countered and watched her walk away from him and past the door attendant. His mouth practically watered as he watched her; damn the thoughts she inspired in him!
When Beth got upstairs she stared around her with curiosity; it was a whole different world up here than down on the floor. Most everyone was ‘coupled’ here and some of their actions were downright sexual. She wasn’t sure exactly what she was looking for up here or what she had expected, but this was pretty interesting. She didn’t have long to wait before she was approached by a server and asked if she wanted Black Crystal.
Finally! This is what it’s all about – drugs.
Her hand was scanned before the vial of Black Crystal was handed over. Beth held it in her hand for a moment, her heart pounding with fear and anticipation. She started to slip it into her purse when she was approached by a beautiful woman in an elegant and sexy black gown.
“We prefer you consume it on the premises,” she informed Beth.
“I was just waiting to share with a friend,” Beth told her. She couldn’t believe how her voice trembled with the words. Where was Mick?
Just then he appeared next to her and said, “Sorry I’m late.”
Delores Maxford Whitaker, aka Lola’s eyes narrowed as she took in the strikingly handsome vampire standing next to the little blonde. He’s here to protect her!
Beth watched them as they discussed a mutual friend and realized that this was the woman Mick had been looking for. She was absolutely stunning and Beth felt a bit unsure of herself in front of her, especially when she quickly became the focus of Lola’s attention.
“Don’t you want to know what it feels like to move through the night so powerful that nothing can touch you? Try it, just once and you’ll see,” she promised, indicating the BC in the vial.
Beth did want to know, but she was terrified of what that world might offer. She often thought about Mick and his world and wondered those exact things. What did it feel like?
Just then sounds erupted from below, the club was being raided. Lola whispered into Beth’s ear, “Remember darling, half the world is night,” before disappearing.
Mick and Beth stood rooted where they were, waiting for the police to come up the stairs. They didn’t have long to wait.
Josh and Carl came up the stairs and Josh saw Beth there, along with Mick. His heart sunk, it was worse than he could have imagined, seeing her with him. To Carl he said, “Pat everyone down, starting with him,” indicating Mick.
“Sure thing. C’mon private eye, you know the drill!” Carl roughly shoved Mick up against a pillar and started frisking him. Mick let him, just to get it over with but he would really have liked to tear his head off. He couldn’t help but over hear Beth and Josh speaking.
“I asked you not to follow this story Beth.”
“You have no right,” she said as they moved away.
Carl finished and told Mick to beat it. He couldn’t help but notice the look Mick threw over his shoulder at Beth as he headed down the stairs. He didn’t like that look one little bit.
After most of the upstairs had been cleared Josh was downstairs talking to a few of the remaining patrons. Beth was sitting on a couch upstairs waiting for Josh; he was going to give her a lift home, which was unnecessary since she had her car. He had insisted and said that one of the officers would drive the Prius back to her place. She knew that what all that meant was that he was mad and there would be an argument.
Carl came over and sat down next to her on the couch and looked at her; she was miserable but he wasn’t completely sure why. Getting caught here with Mick St. John wasn’t good, but there was more to it than that.
“Hey Beth.”
“Carl,” she said, leaning back and crossing her legs. She definitely was not in the mood to chit chat with Carl.
“Beth, what’s going on with you? Why were you here with St. John?”
“I wasn’t here with him Carl; we were both working on separate issues. We just happened to be here at the same time.” It was mostly the truth, but she knew that neither Josh nor Carl bought it.
“Beth, forget about St. John. Josh loves you, you know that. I know you Beth; you like a little bit of danger, but in the long run, it’s only a fleeting thrill. Forget St. John, okay?”
“Carl, there is nothing going on between Mick and I! We were working together, nothing else!” Beth was sitting straight up now and her eyes were flashing a brilliant blue.
Carl sighed, he knew that look – he’d pushed too far. But he also knew that whether or not she admitted it, she was attracted to Mick St. John. He really did want her to be happy and if he thought for a minute that St. John was capable of making her happy he’d be their biggest supporter, but that wasn’t how he saw it. Mick wasn’t really a bad guy and he had helped the police on more than one occasion but there was something a little bit sketchy about him and he decided he needed to poke around a bit.
“Okay Beth, okay. Look, I only want you to be happy, really. If you need anything, you just call me, okay?”
For a minute they stared into one another’s eyes and Beth could see that Carl was telling the truth, he did just want her to be happy. But Beth knew that he didn’t think Mick was the one who was capable of giving her that happiness.
That was okay, she loved Josh. Right?
To be continued…
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