(no subject)
This is definitely still a work in progress, but I wanted to at least get a couple chapters out for all to read. Tell me what you think, what else you'd like to see, etc. I'm always open to suggestions.
Title: War, chapters 1-3/?
Rating: Strong PG-13, maybe a possible R
Pairings: None, really.
Author's note: The time frame is before "Fever." Just a heads-up, but I usually write more 1st or 2nd season based fics, because I think Schanke is an easier character to write. However, I know for a fact that this story wouldn't work without Vachon and his crew, so 3rd season it is. Therefore, if I get Tracy all wrong, please slap some sense into me. Additionally, the story will eventually become AU. I have many devious things planned. Bwahahaha.
Nick ran in his hands through his hair and continued to stare blankly at his computer screen. Three open case files sat piled on his desk, almost mocking him with their mere existence. None of the victims were connected in any obvious way, none of the cases had witnesses on the scene, and they had each occured on different sides of his precinct's jurisdiction. But the most annoying fact about them all was that he solve them. He just didn't dare to do so.
The media was already having a field day with speculations. When the first case came in a week ago, Nick thought it would all blow over like usual. Bold headlines of "Mutilated body found in city park" would splash across the front page for a day, and then everyone would forget about it. But another body, destroyed in the same way as the first, had been found the following night. Then one on the 28th precinct's beat. And a couple appeared in areas north of the city. Reports even came in of a similar case out of Montreal. Now, the whole city was buzzing with stories about the serial killer who kidnaps his victims, tortures them, drains the bodies, and leaves the corpses for all the world to see.
Pressure was coming in from every higher power to catch the culprit. Additional force was being brought in from neighboring cities, and there were new faces in the bullpen almost daily. In his years as a detective, Nick had never seen such cooperation among the precincts. Everyone wanted this guy off the street. Phones were ringing off the hook with tips from snitches, private eyes, and even citizens just trying to do their civic duty.
An exasperated sigh caught Nick's attention, causing him to look at his partner. Tracy threw her pencil at her blotter and let her head fall to the desk. "I give up," she mumbled. She cocked her head slightly so that her chin rested on the desk surface, allowing her to gaze at Nick. "How do they possibly expect us to solve this? We have no witnesses, no leads, no nothing. New bodies are coming in almost every day, and it's like they want us to pull the answer to this one out of thin
air."
"How can you say we have no leads," Nick answered with the slightest hint of sarcasm, "when we have all of these wonderful phone calls coming in?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about those." Tracy pulled her notepad close to her and flipped back a few pages. "A guy named Tom Walls called to say it was his neighbor, Mr. Friedlander. Mr. Friedlander called to say it was Mr. Walls. I have had five people call to tell me the devil is responsible. Five, Nick." She flipped a couple more pages. "I think this call came from my father's barber. And while we're all busy chasing down these leads on the off-chance they might tell us something, the real killer is out grabbing someone else."
Nick allowed Tracy her rant. Of everyone in the room, Tracy was the only other person who could understand the frustration he was feeling. They both knew exactly who was responsible, and they both knew that putting "rogue vampire" on the report just would not work.
The first case had clued Nick into exactly what had happened. One of the Community had been very sloppy, not only killing a mortal but failing to properly dispose of the body. At the scene, Nick had chanced a glance at his partner, and he knew she had put the pieces together. He would have been disappointed if she hadn't. There may as well had been neon signs blazing "Vampire Attack!" posted around the body. As if the fang marks around the neck and wrists were not a dead giveaway, the victim's bones had been broken at angles that could have only been made possible by an inhuman amount of strength.
With each additional body, it was becoming more apparent that this was not just some sloppy kill. The display of the bodies was intentional. Someone wanted the world to know exactly who was responsible, and it was becoming more difficult for him to find "reasonable" explanations in order to delay the inevitable.
Natalie was a real hero in the field. One knowing look from Nick at the first scene, and she had immediately started fabricating a convincing cover story. It was not long before every medical examiner in the area followed her lead that the multiple marks on the victims' bodies were caused by some two-pronged device -- possibly a small pitchfork or something similar -- that assisted with draining the victims' blood. She was keeping a close eye on all of the incoming bodies, just in case some new tell-tale sign appeared that would threaten the status of her cover-up.
Tracy snapped her fingers, bringing Nick out of his recollection. "Earth to Nick. I asked if you wanted some coffee while I was up."
He rubbed his eyes for dramatic effect. "No thanks. Too much caffeine, and I'll be flying home." As Tracy walked toward the break room, his mind wandered to the flask hidden in his jacket pocket. The case was hitting far too close to home, and he found that sneaking a couple sips of blood every few hours was the only thing capable of steadying his nerves. He was debating heading to the men's room for another drink when his phone rang. He lifted the receiver to his ear. "This is Knight."
"It's me." Natalie sounded exhausted, and rightfully so. Nick knew she had barely slept since this whole mess began. "I've got something. How quickly can you get here?"
Nick put his hand around the phone's mouthpiece. "It depends on if I need to take my car. Is this something Tracy should hear as well?"
"Probably not. Just hurry."
"I'll be right there." As he hung up the phone, he grabbed his note pad to write a brief excuse to his partner. Hopefully, by the time she had read it and headed to the morgue after him, he would have had a few free moments to speak with Natalie. If she was encouraging him to fly, she must really be onto something.
He practically ran out of the precinct and into the parking lot, eager for the temporary respite the night air would provide.
~~~~~end chap 1~~~~~
Natalie paced from one end of the morgue to the next, nervously chewing on her pencil. The two newest bodies from the 23rd were just wheeled in, and being in their proximity was making Natalie's hair stand on end. The pair of them could possibly blow a huge hole in her cover story if anyone else took a close look at them.
She pivoted on her heels to begin walking in the opposite direction and found Nick standing directly in her path. She looked up at the clock. "Five whole minutes. I thought I told you to hurry."
"And had I just taken off from the parking lot, Tracy would have noticed my car sitting there," Nick explained. "I had to move the Caddy at least a block away."
"Fine." Natalie grabbed a ruler from her desk and moved toward the rightmost corpse. "Let's just hope Grace and the others don't come back from lunchbreak early." She pulled back the sheet enough to expose the victim's head and neck, and Nick took a good look at the man on the table. Crew cut, square jaw, thick neck muscles -- it appeared as though the man had been pretty athletic and not someone who would easily cow to a fight. And now here he was, looking like someone had picked him up and shook him like a ragdoll. Bruises covered the man's face, and a long gash streaked from his temple to his jaw. Instinctively, Nick's eyes traveled to the jugular and the puncture wounds he knew would be there.
"Marcus DeSantos. Jerry rolled him in earlier." She lowered the ruler to the man's skin. "Look, the span between fang marks is almost four centimeters."
She shifted to the other body and pulled the sheet back to reveal another man. This one had very shaggy hair and looked slightly overweight. "No ID on this one yet. Came in about fifteen minutes ago." Again, she measured the gap between the punctures.
"Four centimeters," Nick observed.
"This time exactly four. The gap between the marks on his wrist, however, measures three centimeters and a half." Natalie allowed the realization to flood over Nick. "I looked back at every body we have in the deep freeze. The earlier victims all have marks matching DeSantos', but they start varying around the fourth body."
Nick pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "Which means more than one vampire is involved."
"This could have been pretty bad if I hadn't been the one to notice it. It's already a stretch for people to believe some maniac is getting his kicks by draining people's blood with a barbeque fork. What do we say now? That he wanted to get creative and use a fondue fork as well?" She threw her ruler back at her desktop but missed her mark, instead hitting her mug off the edge. The mug shattered as it hit the floor, splattering lukewarm coffee all over the linoleum. Natalie threw up her hands in defeat. "Great. Just what I needed."
Nick stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nat, we're going to take care of this."
She shrugged off his hand and moved away from him. " 'We?' 'We,' who? We, the police? Or we, the other vampires who are obviously sitting on their hands and doing nothing?" She walked over to the coffee mess and began to pick up the broken pieces. "Ever since I met you, Nick, you have made a big deal about how your existence has to be kept secret. About how it's dangerous for mortals to even have an inkling that the big, bad monsters are actually real. What happened? Did someone just decide to change the rules? Because otherwise there is no excuse for this to be happening!"
A soft cough caused them both to whip their heads in the direction of the doorway. Tracy stood with her hands behind her back, looking almost guilty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on an argument. Nick's note said...and we just got a call about--"
"It's okay, Trace," Natalie interrupted. She shot a look at Nick. "We're done now." She walked to the trashcan and dumped the collected broken pieces into the container. "I'll let you both know if I find anything new."
Nick took one last look at Natalie and then turned to his partner. "We got a call?"
Tracy nodded. "Disturbance just by the mall. Came in over the radio while I was on my way over here. A patrol is on the way, but Reese wants everyone in the area to respond, just in case."
"Okay, I had to park a couple blocks down, so go on ahead. I'll meet you there."
"Deal." Tracy turned to walk out of the room. "Natalie, keep your fingers crossed that you don't get called to the scene too."
Natalie watched as both detectives walked out of her morgue. Once they were out of sight, she sank into her chair. "I'd cross all of my toes too if it would help end this all."
~~~~~end chap 2~~~~~
The scent of blood hit Nick like a tidal wave the moment he stepped out of the Caddy. He leaned against the car to steady himself while the dizzying sensation washed over him. Almost instantly, his fangs dropped, digging into his bottom lip. He squeezed his eyes shut just as the world started to fade into hues of red and orange. The Beast within him struggled to break free; to throw its head back and roar.
And then Tracy's voice rose above the din of the sirens and spectators. "Nick, you okay?"
Desperation took over, and Nick forced the Beast back into its dark corner. After taking a few calming breaths, he opened his normal indigo eyes to meet Tracy's inquisitive gaze. "Fine. I just got out of the car too quickly and got dizzy." He shrugged. "It happens. So, what do we have?"
He felt his composure settle again and moved away from the car. Tracy instantly fell into step beside him as they walked toward the scene. "What we have is a mess. Three vics. One of the security guards called it in. The other guard is -- is--" Her voice trailed off as she stopped in her tracks.
Nick looked back. "Trace?"
"Would you mind if I just spoke with the witness? I just -- This one's bad, Nick, and I don't think I can look at all of that again." She looked back to where a couple uniformed officers were speaking to a female night guard. The woman's face was streaked with tears, and she could not get more than a few words out before sobs took over. Tracy looked back at her partner. "And I'd like to get her out of here."
He nodded solumnly. "Go ahead. I'll handle things here." He watched as she claimed the guard and both ladies walked to Tracy's car. It was not until they drove away that Nick turned back toward the scene and entered the fray.
Immediately, he knew why Tracy wanted to leave. In all of his years on Earth and countless travels with LaCroix, he had never seen something this gruesome. His intincts went to war: part of him was fascinated in the carnage, and the other part wanted to run screaming. Even the most hardened veterans on the scene seemed green at the gills.
The dumpster against the wall caught his attention first. Rather, it was the limbs sticking out from behind the metal container that drew his eye. At a glance, it appeared there had to be more than two bodies, based on the placement of the limbs. Normal logic would dictate there was no way a man's own ankles could rest flush with his own head, but as Nick moved closer he knew this was the case. The two men wedged behind the dumpster were both bent sharply at their midsections, folded in on themselves.
Nick ducked under the yellow police tape already cordoning off the area and gingerly stepped closer to the pair. Even in the minimal light of the mall's back alley, he could see multiple puncture marks on their necks. Both sets of dead eyes seemed to bore into Nick's as he studied them closely. Then, he braced himself and turned his attention on the third corpse.
The body was crumpled on the other side of the alley from the dumpster. Nick recognized the man's tan uniform as the same the female security guard was wearing. Everything from the neck up on the man resembled hamburger more than a human head. Blood splatter was everywhere, but the large, slowly drying spot on the wall above the body indicated his skull had been repeatedly slammed into the bricks until it was pulverized. None of the guard's facial features remained intact.
Sudden movement on the opposite side of the alley startled Nick out of his observation. After a glance behind him to see if anyone was watching, he flew down the alley and grabbed the intruder just as he turned the corner.
"Watch the arm, Knight!" Vachon hissed.
Nick let go of the other vampire's bicep and stepped back. "What are you doing here?"
"Window shopping." His weak attempt at a grin fell flat when Nick only glared. "Look, there's an exit from Screed's place not a hundred feet from here. I was just leaving when I heard all the commotion."
"You saw who did this?"
Vachon nodded and cradled his right arm in his left; only then did Nick notice the bone protruding from just above the spaniard's wrist. "Up close and personal. I got here just as they were starting on the guard. I think the poor guy showed up just as they were finishing with pressing the other two between the rock and the hard place. And you know me, I just had to jump in to help the underdog."
Nick motioned with his head to move further from the crime scene, and they both stepped away from the alley's mouth. "How many were there?"
"Three. I've never seen them around before. The girl and the glorified gorilla kept me out of the picture while the pretty boy did his job on the guard." Vachon winced and drew his arm a little closer to himself. "They're strong, Knight. I barely shook them loose enough to get the hell out of there, and it's only because the other guy's laughing distracted them."
"Get to the Raven. Tell LaCroix what happened and have someone look at your arm. I'll join up with you later."
"You'll be at the meeting later?" When Nick nodded, Vachon sighed in relief. "Good, because we're going to need the whole Community there. Maybe someone knows who these guys are and how we can stop them from exposing us all."
~~~~~end chap 3~~~~~
Title: War, chapters 1-3/?
Rating: Strong PG-13, maybe a possible R
Pairings: None, really.
Author's note: The time frame is before "Fever." Just a heads-up, but I usually write more 1st or 2nd season based fics, because I think Schanke is an easier character to write. However, I know for a fact that this story wouldn't work without Vachon and his crew, so 3rd season it is. Therefore, if I get Tracy all wrong, please slap some sense into me. Additionally, the story will eventually become AU. I have many devious things planned. Bwahahaha.
Nick ran in his hands through his hair and continued to stare blankly at his computer screen. Three open case files sat piled on his desk, almost mocking him with their mere existence. None of the victims were connected in any obvious way, none of the cases had witnesses on the scene, and they had each occured on different sides of his precinct's jurisdiction. But the most annoying fact about them all was that he solve them. He just didn't dare to do so.
The media was already having a field day with speculations. When the first case came in a week ago, Nick thought it would all blow over like usual. Bold headlines of "Mutilated body found in city park" would splash across the front page for a day, and then everyone would forget about it. But another body, destroyed in the same way as the first, had been found the following night. Then one on the 28th precinct's beat. And a couple appeared in areas north of the city. Reports even came in of a similar case out of Montreal. Now, the whole city was buzzing with stories about the serial killer who kidnaps his victims, tortures them, drains the bodies, and leaves the corpses for all the world to see.
Pressure was coming in from every higher power to catch the culprit. Additional force was being brought in from neighboring cities, and there were new faces in the bullpen almost daily. In his years as a detective, Nick had never seen such cooperation among the precincts. Everyone wanted this guy off the street. Phones were ringing off the hook with tips from snitches, private eyes, and even citizens just trying to do their civic duty.
An exasperated sigh caught Nick's attention, causing him to look at his partner. Tracy threw her pencil at her blotter and let her head fall to the desk. "I give up," she mumbled. She cocked her head slightly so that her chin rested on the desk surface, allowing her to gaze at Nick. "How do they possibly expect us to solve this? We have no witnesses, no leads, no nothing. New bodies are coming in almost every day, and it's like they want us to pull the answer to this one out of thin
air."
"How can you say we have no leads," Nick answered with the slightest hint of sarcasm, "when we have all of these wonderful phone calls coming in?"
"Oh yeah, I forgot about those." Tracy pulled her notepad close to her and flipped back a few pages. "A guy named Tom Walls called to say it was his neighbor, Mr. Friedlander. Mr. Friedlander called to say it was Mr. Walls. I have had five people call to tell me the devil is responsible. Five, Nick." She flipped a couple more pages. "I think this call came from my father's barber. And while we're all busy chasing down these leads on the off-chance they might tell us something, the real killer is out grabbing someone else."
Nick allowed Tracy her rant. Of everyone in the room, Tracy was the only other person who could understand the frustration he was feeling. They both knew exactly who was responsible, and they both knew that putting "rogue vampire" on the report just would not work.
The first case had clued Nick into exactly what had happened. One of the Community had been very sloppy, not only killing a mortal but failing to properly dispose of the body. At the scene, Nick had chanced a glance at his partner, and he knew she had put the pieces together. He would have been disappointed if she hadn't. There may as well had been neon signs blazing "Vampire Attack!" posted around the body. As if the fang marks around the neck and wrists were not a dead giveaway, the victim's bones had been broken at angles that could have only been made possible by an inhuman amount of strength.
With each additional body, it was becoming more apparent that this was not just some sloppy kill. The display of the bodies was intentional. Someone wanted the world to know exactly who was responsible, and it was becoming more difficult for him to find "reasonable" explanations in order to delay the inevitable.
Natalie was a real hero in the field. One knowing look from Nick at the first scene, and she had immediately started fabricating a convincing cover story. It was not long before every medical examiner in the area followed her lead that the multiple marks on the victims' bodies were caused by some two-pronged device -- possibly a small pitchfork or something similar -- that assisted with draining the victims' blood. She was keeping a close eye on all of the incoming bodies, just in case some new tell-tale sign appeared that would threaten the status of her cover-up.
Tracy snapped her fingers, bringing Nick out of his recollection. "Earth to Nick. I asked if you wanted some coffee while I was up."
He rubbed his eyes for dramatic effect. "No thanks. Too much caffeine, and I'll be flying home." As Tracy walked toward the break room, his mind wandered to the flask hidden in his jacket pocket. The case was hitting far too close to home, and he found that sneaking a couple sips of blood every few hours was the only thing capable of steadying his nerves. He was debating heading to the men's room for another drink when his phone rang. He lifted the receiver to his ear. "This is Knight."
"It's me." Natalie sounded exhausted, and rightfully so. Nick knew she had barely slept since this whole mess began. "I've got something. How quickly can you get here?"
Nick put his hand around the phone's mouthpiece. "It depends on if I need to take my car. Is this something Tracy should hear as well?"
"Probably not. Just hurry."
"I'll be right there." As he hung up the phone, he grabbed his note pad to write a brief excuse to his partner. Hopefully, by the time she had read it and headed to the morgue after him, he would have had a few free moments to speak with Natalie. If she was encouraging him to fly, she must really be onto something.
He practically ran out of the precinct and into the parking lot, eager for the temporary respite the night air would provide.
~~~~~end chap 1~~~~~
Natalie paced from one end of the morgue to the next, nervously chewing on her pencil. The two newest bodies from the 23rd were just wheeled in, and being in their proximity was making Natalie's hair stand on end. The pair of them could possibly blow a huge hole in her cover story if anyone else took a close look at them.
She pivoted on her heels to begin walking in the opposite direction and found Nick standing directly in her path. She looked up at the clock. "Five whole minutes. I thought I told you to hurry."
"And had I just taken off from the parking lot, Tracy would have noticed my car sitting there," Nick explained. "I had to move the Caddy at least a block away."
"Fine." Natalie grabbed a ruler from her desk and moved toward the rightmost corpse. "Let's just hope Grace and the others don't come back from lunchbreak early." She pulled back the sheet enough to expose the victim's head and neck, and Nick took a good look at the man on the table. Crew cut, square jaw, thick neck muscles -- it appeared as though the man had been pretty athletic and not someone who would easily cow to a fight. And now here he was, looking like someone had picked him up and shook him like a ragdoll. Bruises covered the man's face, and a long gash streaked from his temple to his jaw. Instinctively, Nick's eyes traveled to the jugular and the puncture wounds he knew would be there.
"Marcus DeSantos. Jerry rolled him in earlier." She lowered the ruler to the man's skin. "Look, the span between fang marks is almost four centimeters."
She shifted to the other body and pulled the sheet back to reveal another man. This one had very shaggy hair and looked slightly overweight. "No ID on this one yet. Came in about fifteen minutes ago." Again, she measured the gap between the punctures.
"Four centimeters," Nick observed.
"This time exactly four. The gap between the marks on his wrist, however, measures three centimeters and a half." Natalie allowed the realization to flood over Nick. "I looked back at every body we have in the deep freeze. The earlier victims all have marks matching DeSantos', but they start varying around the fourth body."
Nick pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. "Which means more than one vampire is involved."
"This could have been pretty bad if I hadn't been the one to notice it. It's already a stretch for people to believe some maniac is getting his kicks by draining people's blood with a barbeque fork. What do we say now? That he wanted to get creative and use a fondue fork as well?" She threw her ruler back at her desktop but missed her mark, instead hitting her mug off the edge. The mug shattered as it hit the floor, splattering lukewarm coffee all over the linoleum. Natalie threw up her hands in defeat. "Great. Just what I needed."
Nick stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Nat, we're going to take care of this."
She shrugged off his hand and moved away from him. " 'We?' 'We,' who? We, the police? Or we, the other vampires who are obviously sitting on their hands and doing nothing?" She walked over to the coffee mess and began to pick up the broken pieces. "Ever since I met you, Nick, you have made a big deal about how your existence has to be kept secret. About how it's dangerous for mortals to even have an inkling that the big, bad monsters are actually real. What happened? Did someone just decide to change the rules? Because otherwise there is no excuse for this to be happening!"
A soft cough caused them both to whip their heads in the direction of the doorway. Tracy stood with her hands behind her back, looking almost guilty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on an argument. Nick's note said...and we just got a call about--"
"It's okay, Trace," Natalie interrupted. She shot a look at Nick. "We're done now." She walked to the trashcan and dumped the collected broken pieces into the container. "I'll let you both know if I find anything new."
Nick took one last look at Natalie and then turned to his partner. "We got a call?"
Tracy nodded. "Disturbance just by the mall. Came in over the radio while I was on my way over here. A patrol is on the way, but Reese wants everyone in the area to respond, just in case."
"Okay, I had to park a couple blocks down, so go on ahead. I'll meet you there."
"Deal." Tracy turned to walk out of the room. "Natalie, keep your fingers crossed that you don't get called to the scene too."
Natalie watched as both detectives walked out of her morgue. Once they were out of sight, she sank into her chair. "I'd cross all of my toes too if it would help end this all."
~~~~~end chap 2~~~~~
The scent of blood hit Nick like a tidal wave the moment he stepped out of the Caddy. He leaned against the car to steady himself while the dizzying sensation washed over him. Almost instantly, his fangs dropped, digging into his bottom lip. He squeezed his eyes shut just as the world started to fade into hues of red and orange. The Beast within him struggled to break free; to throw its head back and roar.
And then Tracy's voice rose above the din of the sirens and spectators. "Nick, you okay?"
Desperation took over, and Nick forced the Beast back into its dark corner. After taking a few calming breaths, he opened his normal indigo eyes to meet Tracy's inquisitive gaze. "Fine. I just got out of the car too quickly and got dizzy." He shrugged. "It happens. So, what do we have?"
He felt his composure settle again and moved away from the car. Tracy instantly fell into step beside him as they walked toward the scene. "What we have is a mess. Three vics. One of the security guards called it in. The other guard is -- is--" Her voice trailed off as she stopped in her tracks.
Nick looked back. "Trace?"
"Would you mind if I just spoke with the witness? I just -- This one's bad, Nick, and I don't think I can look at all of that again." She looked back to where a couple uniformed officers were speaking to a female night guard. The woman's face was streaked with tears, and she could not get more than a few words out before sobs took over. Tracy looked back at her partner. "And I'd like to get her out of here."
He nodded solumnly. "Go ahead. I'll handle things here." He watched as she claimed the guard and both ladies walked to Tracy's car. It was not until they drove away that Nick turned back toward the scene and entered the fray.
Immediately, he knew why Tracy wanted to leave. In all of his years on Earth and countless travels with LaCroix, he had never seen something this gruesome. His intincts went to war: part of him was fascinated in the carnage, and the other part wanted to run screaming. Even the most hardened veterans on the scene seemed green at the gills.
The dumpster against the wall caught his attention first. Rather, it was the limbs sticking out from behind the metal container that drew his eye. At a glance, it appeared there had to be more than two bodies, based on the placement of the limbs. Normal logic would dictate there was no way a man's own ankles could rest flush with his own head, but as Nick moved closer he knew this was the case. The two men wedged behind the dumpster were both bent sharply at their midsections, folded in on themselves.
Nick ducked under the yellow police tape already cordoning off the area and gingerly stepped closer to the pair. Even in the minimal light of the mall's back alley, he could see multiple puncture marks on their necks. Both sets of dead eyes seemed to bore into Nick's as he studied them closely. Then, he braced himself and turned his attention on the third corpse.
The body was crumpled on the other side of the alley from the dumpster. Nick recognized the man's tan uniform as the same the female security guard was wearing. Everything from the neck up on the man resembled hamburger more than a human head. Blood splatter was everywhere, but the large, slowly drying spot on the wall above the body indicated his skull had been repeatedly slammed into the bricks until it was pulverized. None of the guard's facial features remained intact.
Sudden movement on the opposite side of the alley startled Nick out of his observation. After a glance behind him to see if anyone was watching, he flew down the alley and grabbed the intruder just as he turned the corner.
"Watch the arm, Knight!" Vachon hissed.
Nick let go of the other vampire's bicep and stepped back. "What are you doing here?"
"Window shopping." His weak attempt at a grin fell flat when Nick only glared. "Look, there's an exit from Screed's place not a hundred feet from here. I was just leaving when I heard all the commotion."
"You saw who did this?"
Vachon nodded and cradled his right arm in his left; only then did Nick notice the bone protruding from just above the spaniard's wrist. "Up close and personal. I got here just as they were starting on the guard. I think the poor guy showed up just as they were finishing with pressing the other two between the rock and the hard place. And you know me, I just had to jump in to help the underdog."
Nick motioned with his head to move further from the crime scene, and they both stepped away from the alley's mouth. "How many were there?"
"Three. I've never seen them around before. The girl and the glorified gorilla kept me out of the picture while the pretty boy did his job on the guard." Vachon winced and drew his arm a little closer to himself. "They're strong, Knight. I barely shook them loose enough to get the hell out of there, and it's only because the other guy's laughing distracted them."
"Get to the Raven. Tell LaCroix what happened and have someone look at your arm. I'll join up with you later."
"You'll be at the meeting later?" When Nick nodded, Vachon sighed in relief. "Good, because we're going to need the whole Community there. Maybe someone knows who these guys are and how we can stop them from exposing us all."
~~~~~end chap 3~~~~~