by Sean Hayden
"Oh God, please," he muttered before he handed me the camera. "I'm sorry, please take the film. I work for the newspaper and I'm doing a story, I swear," he cried.
"Who are you?”
"S-s-steve Jezwyrski, I'm with the Tribune."
"S-s-steve, I'm Agent Ashlyn, FBI."
"I know, I saw you at the press conference on TV. I'm sorry, but I was doing a story on restaurant closings at Navy Pier when I saw you. I saw you take the vampire from the Carnival for questioning, and I wanted the story."
I started to get angry. Angry because the stupid press conference had made me a target for newshounds when I had a job to do. I didn't need this shit, and then I realized the perfectness of the situation. Eighteen years of mediocre luck at best, and I finally catch a break. Happy Fucking New Year!
"You're going to run a story on me hauling in a vampire for questioning?"
"Y-yes Ma'am, I had planned on it," he stammered again.
"No Mr. Jezwyrski, you are. You most definitely are. Here's your camera, I'm sorry I scared you. Have a nice day," I added over my shoulder as I headed back up to the eighth floor.
As I stepped out of the stairwell I knew something had gone wrong. Not a sound permeated the entire deck of the parking garage. Then I smelled blood, human blood. "Oh, no," I groaned and ran to the Suburban. I found Michaels there on the ground, bleeding from a head wound. I watched the rhythmic movement of his chest, so at least I knew he lived, thank the gods. I spun in circles looking for Matt the vampire; I couldn't see or smell him anywhere. The shit had officially hit the fan.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out my little cell phone and frantically dialed 911. I gave the dispatcher my name and location and told her we had an officer down situation. I thought about picking Michaels up and driving him to the hospital myself, but I figured it would be better to follow procedure. I would just have to follow in the Suburban. I would finally get to put those driving skills I learned at the academy to the test.
I waited and finally heard Chicago's finest coming down the street. Their sirens echoed off the buildings of the street and I have never been so glad to hear anything in my life. Their tires screeched as they rounded the curves of the many levels of the parking garage. I don't think they even had the vehicle in park before they jumped out, started dragging equipment out and ushered me out of the way while they examined Michaels. One of the uniformed officers who had followed the ambulance to our location ran over to me to begin the questioning. I flashed my badge and gave her a quick synopsis of what had happened. My experience with people so far had been pretty limited, but even I could tell she thought I was a moron for leaving my partner alone with a vampire.
When you're born a vampire and have all the strengths of a vampire, it is quite easy to forget those around you aren't always as tough as you are. It wasn't a mistake I would ever make again. I'm just glad I was lucky enough for Michaels to have survived my fuck up. I just didn't want to deal with him when he woke up. He wasn't going to be happy. Silently I cursed Matt the vampire. I had plans to protect him from Cicero's goons. Now I wasn't so sure.
The ambulance made it to the hospital in record time. I followed right behind them with the little flashing lights under the grill of the Suburban on the whole way. If my heart beat, it would have stopped when we pulled into the hospital and I recognized it. Northwest Community, the same hospital my aunt had worked for most of her life. I was about to be surrounded by people who knew my aunt probably a little better than I did. I felt my chest start to tingle and again, if I breathed, I would have probably started hyperventilating.
I pushed the fear back down my throat into the pit of my stomach and stepped out of the vehicle. This wasn't the time for worrying about my aunt. Paramedics were wheeling my partner in on a gurney from the rear of the ambulance, and I needed to concentrate on him, and not the ghosts of my past. I made for the doors right behind the paramedics and followed my partner into the ER.
* * *
He woke up about an hour later laid out on a bed in a curtained-off corner of the ER. His skull had been X-rayed and no fractures had been visible, but he did have a nasty concussion. I silently thanked Matt for not being overzealous with his blow to my partner's head. I know he could have easily killed the fragile human, but I still silently hoped Cicero's goons found him before I did.
"Pete?" I noticed him stirring for the first time in almost two hours.
"Shhh," he said. It must be one hell of a headache; I barely whispered his name.
"You okay?" I made my voice even softer.
"No. My head feels like I rammed it into an aircraft carrier. What happened?"
"Mr. Matt decided he didn't want to go with the nice FBI agents. He hit you when I went after the guy with the camera."
"Oh. Did he get away?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, Pete, I shouldn't have left you. I saw the flashes and I acted. Are you going to be okay?"
"I think I'll live. Right now I don't want to though. Reese is going to chew us both up and spit us into the shit can though. I shouldn't have taken my eyes off the vampire, and I should have stopped you from going. Why were we getting our picture taken?"
I filled him in on what happened with Steve Jezwyrski, and also how I had let him leave with his film intact. I expected another lecture, but he seemed as happy as I had been with how fate had played out. We waited for the doctor and when he finally came in, he released Pete to go home and rest. He told me what to watch for as far as vomiting and loss of memory and gave me a prescription for some powerful headache medicine. Thank the gods for twenty-four hour pharmacies. I'd pick it up on the way back to the apartment.
I helped him out to the Suburban and got him into the passenger seat so I could drive. We headed out from the hospital parking area by the ER and made our way into traffic. We made good time in the predawn morning and had plenty of time to stop to fill the prescription and make it back to the apartment. I thought about turning on the radio to cut through the silence filling the inside of the massive vehicle, but thought better of the idea when I looked over at Michaels' pain ridden face. I pulled into the pharmacy and left him in the vehicle while I ran in and filled it. The young man behind the pharmacy counter asked for my ID so I gave him my FBI issued one. I would have to remember to use it from now on, talk about speedy service. I expected to wait for at least a half an hour, but the clerk had me ready to go in less than ten minutes.
We made it to the apartment and I pumped him full of pills and got him into his room into bed. He hurt so bad he didn't even make jokes when I took off his shirt, shoes, and jacket. No sexual innuendo from Pete was never a good sign. I laid him down on the comforter and debated taking off his dress slacks, but thought better. Seeing Pete in his tighty whiteys wasn't something I wanted burned into my memory. As far as males of the human species went, he made the upper percentile, but he had a few decades on this little vampire.
I wasn't dead though. Nor did being a vampire eliminate whatever causes sexual desire, and the sight of his naked torso kind of made me feel a little funny in certain areas. I have always dealt with these feelings in the "traditional" method, and kind of groaned inwardly when I realized I might have to do so again later. Maybe if I took an ice bath I wouldn't have to worry about it. The thought of doing anything like "traditional" stress relief in Michaels' apartment kind of turned the old stomach. Besides, he might hear me and then I would never live it down. He'd probably tell the whole office. "Ashlyn the masturbating vampire", I could hear it now.
I covered him with a sheet from the linen closet in the hall and left to take my ice bath. It helped, but only a little. I dried off and fired up the laptop to email Reese a report on what happened. I debated calling him because I knew he would want to hear details in person, but I wasn't going to call him at five o'clock in the morning, wake him up, and get yelled at for being stupid, getting my partner almost killed, and waking him up to boot. I'm not into suicide. I'd let him yell when I went into the offi
ce tomorrow. I knew Pete wouldn't be up to duty tomorrow, so I would probably be flying solo.
I hit send on the email and closed the laptop. I debated shutting my cell off, but I knew Reese would call as soon as he read the "Dear Reese, I am a moron" email. I set it to charge on the nightstand by the bed and laid back and closed my eyes. I remembered all I had on was a highly uncomfortable wet towel. Lying down made it a little difficult to take off, but I managed. The pills would knock Pete out for at least twelve hours, so I would have time to get dressed when Reese called. So naked, I fell asleep.
* * *
I sat straight up when I heard Michaels yell, "Oh my God!” I blinked twice to clear the fog of sleep from my brain and looked over at Michaels who stood in the open doorway of my bedroom. I jumped out of bed and wrapped myself in the towel I had tossed on the floor last night. I moved so fast, he couldn't have seen much.
"Ash, I'm sorry. I thought you would be awake. Reese has been trying to call you for over an hour. He isn't happy. He finally broke down and called my phone. I told him you were asleep. Call him right away, I'm going back to bed," he said and turned around leaving me and my towel all alone.
I stared at the empty doorway for a minute and thought, "I can let this completely freak me out, or I can just ignore what happened.” Guess which one I opted for. I reached down and picked up the cell phone still plugged into the charger. Shit, I had shut the volume off while I had been at the hospital with Pete and never turned it back up. Oh Reese tried to call me alright. Twenty-seven missed calls and not one from anybody else.
I debated calling him first, but decided on getting dressed instead. I had no desire to talk to my boss naked. I ran into the bathroom and scrubbed the old fangs and dressed. I really wish I could drink coffee. I had never slept so late before in my life, and I still felt a little groggy. Finally I sat on my bed and flipped open the little cell. I found Reese's name in my contacts and pressed the send button, held the phone up to my ear and waited for my reaming.
It rang twice and Reese picked up on the other end. He didn't even say hello before the tirade of my idiocy began. I didn't interrupt, just sat while he ranted. For an old coot, the man had serious lung capacity. I was impressed. Finally he realized I wasn't listening.
"Ashlyn," he said and paused. "Are you listening to me?"
"Yes, sir. I am, sir."
"Good, I've given Michaels a couple of days off, get your ass down here to pick up your temporary partner and I have something else to show you. Let Michaels know if he needs anything he should call me and not you. You are going to be very busy tonight,” he finished on a firm note.
"Yes, sir. On my way sir."
I listened as the line clicked dead and put the phone in my jacket pocket before heading out to face the music.
Chapter 17
The office parking garage seemed a little more packed than usual. I pulled the Suburban in one of the few remaining parking spots and made my way up to Reese's office. I drew a few stares from the agents sitting around their desks as I made my way through the sea of desks. I didn't know why they were staring at me, and I'd like to say it didn't bother me, but truth be told it made me more than a little nervous.
I stopped at the entrance to Reese's office and rapped my hand on the door frame three times. I looked at the man behind the desk and I felt immediately guilty. I ignored him on the phone, and blew him off yesterday when I told him about my plan to use Matt as bait. Now I had truly fucked up and now my partner would probably be bedridden for a few days at least. He had the handset of the phone glued to his ear, but motioned me forward to sit and wait. I liked Reese. He had given me the opportunity to make a life for myself and I would always be grateful, but he had the role of the only authority figure in my life so the tiny rebellious streak present in every woman under the age of thirty had only one outlet, him. I made a mental note to be a little more understanding and cooperative in the future.
I sat and listened to him finish his conversation. It ended with a, "Love you too," so I hoped he had been talking to his wife and not the Deputy Director of the FBI. He gingerly set the receiver down and stared at me for a full minute. I contemplated smiling at him to ease some of the tension in the room, but I listened to the little mental note I had stashed away a few minutes earlier and lowered my gaze to the grey flats I wore instead.
"You screwed the pooch big time, little girl," he said flatly.
"I know, I shouldn't have left Michaels alone with the vampire. I am sorry. Trust me when is say it won't happen again."
"I know it won't, but you're a new agent. Screw ups happen; it's what makes us better agents and how we learn. They can only teach you so much at the Academy, the rest you have to learn on your own. I'm pissed, but shit happens. Michaels getting hurt isn't what I'm talking about. This is" he said and picked up the newspaper sitting on the desk next to him and opened the paper to expose the front page. He turned it to face me and tossed it down on the desk in front of me.
I almost said something stupid like, "What?" The garish headline read, Vampires Beware! That and a picture of me escorting the vampire Matt through the crowds at Navy Pier said it all. "Oh crap," I said aloud. I quickly read through the meat of the article, and the further I made my way through the nonsense, the angrier I became. I had been expecting an article on myself taking into custody a vampire for questioning, but instead perused an article about how the FBI had leveled the playing field by hiring one of the scourges of mankind. They even labeled me as the "Verminator". I wasn't sure if it might have been a cute reference for being a vampire terminator or that Jezwyrski had a death wish strong enough to call vampires vermin. Either way, his life might be even in more danger than my own. Serves him right too.
It was official; absolutely no good came of last night's operation. I couldn't do anything right, and I am doubly stupid for trusting a reporter. I am a fucking moron for trusting the vampire. I did the only thing I could. I wadded up the newspaper into a tiny little ball (woo-hoo vampire strength) and tossed it back to Reese. He caught it with a surprised look on his face and I stood up.
"Where do you think you're going?" Reese looked stunned.
"I'm gonna go kills me a reporter. You want a leg or a thigh?"
"Sit down. The damage is already done, and I'm glad you see the problem with the article. You and I are at least of a like mind. I can't believe the reporter wrote it, or the paper printed it. I hope he has a bodyguard; he's going to need it. You on the other hand, do not have a body guard. The odds of any vampire in the city cooperating with you before had been slim to none. Now it's just going to be an outright fucking miracle if they don't attack you outright."
All I wanted to do was put my head in my hands and cry. I would never trust a reporter again. I sighed and looked back up at Reese. He stared off into space with his chin resting on his fingers. I would have paid a good portion of one of my paychecks to know what thoughts played across his brain.
"What?"
"Just thinking about having the paper print a retraction, but I don't even think it would do any good. The paper is already out and been read. What's the point? Plus, asking for a retraction would piss off the Deputy Director. I phoned him and sent him an electronic copy of the paper and believe it or not, he's friggin ecstatic about the article. I'm just glad I didn't open my mouth and say what I thought about it. We'll just have to get through this. It's not like you're going to be assigned here permanently."
"I know. I just don't want to have to watch my back all the time. Did you say something about a new partner on the phone? It's not necessary. Michaels should be up and running in a few days. I can take care of myself."
The look he gave me silenced me almost before I finished. Apparently even though I had learned from my mistakes, I had still screwed up enough to warrant a babysitter. Shit. At least it would be for only a few days. I would get by just fine, right?
Reese picked up the phone and pressed the intercom button and dialed an extension
. I heard the phone ring three times and then a voice replied with a "Yes, Agent Reese?"
"Thompson, come in here please. She's ready."
Reese put the receiver down and I sat in my chair and pouted. Yes, I pouted. I didn't stick out my bottom lip or anything, but I wasn't going to be happy. I heard footsteps come through the door behind me and I didn't even turn around to see my babysitter. I couldn't. The rules of etiquette concerning pouting forbade it.
"Ashlyn, this is Special Agent James Thompson who will be your new partner until Michaels makes a full recovery. Go find your vampire from the pier and bring him in this time. You might have only been using him as bait, but he still hospitalized an agent of the FBI. Now I'm going to fry his ass. Go, the both of you, and Thomson, you had better keep her out of trouble."
"Yes Sir! Come on, newbie, let's go find the vampire," he said. His voice shocked the hell out of me. He sounded like James Earl Jones with a chest cold. I stood and turned to meet my new partner and had to look up a couple of feet to see him. Jesus, he looked like the bouncer from Fangloria's only bigger and darker, and he smelled like sage to boot. He definitely wasn't human, and he made my mouth water. I knew better than to lock myself into a vehicle with him. He smelled too good. I hadn't eaten since Navy Pier two nights ago and I didn't exactly trust myself to be alone with the giant snack cake.
I stared at him for a moment to get the hunger under control. He didn't have an ounce of hair on his head, but I could see stubble, so I knew it to be preference over genetics. His massive head ended at his shoulders without so much as a hint of neck. No neck made for a difficult meal, oh well. I gazed down at his massive chest, waist, and everything. Finding suits in his size must be a stone cold bitch.
"Newbie?"
"Yes. New Agent. Newbie," he rumbled back at me.