========================================================================= Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 23:29:25 -0400 Reply-To: Jill Marie Spetoskey Sender: Highlander TV show stories From: Jill Marie Spetoskey Subject: Mortals 6/14 (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Thu, 18 Apr 1996 22:00:32 -0400 From: k s gritten To: Multiple recipients of list FKFIC-L Subject: Mortals 6/14 Mortals 6/14 Nick thought about the case that was unfolding before them as he followed Vachon through the cool night air. The cause of McKenzie's death was simple enough, but why had McKenzie been in Toronto in the first place, and why had Richie, and apparently this Joe Dawson as well, been trying to find him? Did they know about the vampire community? Nick could not tell. Thinking of the community brought him back to other pressing concerns. He realized abruptly how lucky he had been to have a friend like Natalie who could help cover up the occasional deaths that connected to the vampires in Toronto. Nick had for centuries run with his family, LaCroix and Janette, moving from place to place with connections to no one. Toronto in this era was different, though. Rarely had he seen a congregation of vampires not bound by literal blood ties living so closely in the same region for an extended period of time. Too often the vampires had been forced to move on, for fear of being found out or easy prey for occasional Hunters--mortals who discovered their secret and set out to destroy vampires. Natalie's help in keeping their secrets had aided the task of maintaining the community's safety. But now there were too many people asking questions, too much attention focused on this death. Hopefully Carmen would be able to provide some answers. Vachon led him to a top floor apartment in a high-rise building. Without knocking, Vachon pushed open the door and moved inside. Nick had never actually met Carmen, an artist who had been brought across sometime in the sixteenth century. "Vachon, my pet! I see that you've brought the tame vampire to question me--what fun!" Carmen swirled through the room in a flash of color and light, her clothes a shattering blend of sun colors. She lighted upon the couch, settling her long red hair about her like a cloud. Vachon lounged in a chair next to her, watching with amusement Nick's expression. Most vampires chose to be a bit less...ostentatious than Carmen. "This is Nick," Vachon acknowledged. "Did you leave the Raven tonight with a man named Michael McKenzie?" Nick began, deciding that there was little point in taking notes of the interview. 'Yes Captain, I interviewed the prime suspect in her apartment, and then she flew away. Like this, as a matter of fact. Whoosh.' Right. "McKenzie." She rolled the name around her tongue with an air of distaste. "Yes, that was his name." She turned to Vachon, saying, "I know that I shouldn't have killed him so near the Raven. LaCroix will be annoyed, I'm sure. Still, he is so stuffy. I miss Janette--at least she knew how to have a good time." Nick grimaced at the description of LaCroix, but continued, "So you did kill him? Why?" "He offered me money to bring him across! Can you imagine? *Money*!" Carmen looked outraged. "One doesn't create vampires for money. For love, for pleasure, for revenge--" Nick cut her off, not wanting to hear the catalogue of vices. "McKenzie wanted you to make him a vampire? Why?" She waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, he was nattering on about his work, something about wanting to live forever to finish it." She paused for a moment, her expression growing thoughtful. "As an artist, of course, I can sympathize with wanting to continue the creative process. But still, he was an annoying, clumsy man." She grinned, her eyes darkening. "Tasty though." Nick sighed. It was time to have a serious talk with Richie and Joe Dawson. ****** Natalie pushed open the door to her apartment, and saw Richie lounging on her couch. "Hey Doc!" Spotting the figure behind her, Richie got up and greeted him warmth. "Joe! You got here quickly." Joe Dawson sank into a chair and nodded. "Yeah, I left as soon as I got your call. Natalie brought me over here after I saw McKenzie's wife." Nat thought about the confrontation between Joe and Lisa in the parking lot. In the car Joe had been quiet, not wanting to discuss it. Still, they had progressed from 'Dr. Lambert' to 'Natalie', so she thought perhaps it would not hurt to ask, "Joe, what exactly did McKenzie do for you? What was his job?" "He was a Watcher." The hiss came from the doorway, and they all jumped. Lisa McKenzie stood just inside the apartment, a gun trained on the three of them. Joe pulled himself out of the chair saying softly, "Lisa, don't do this." Lisa aimed the gun at him steadily. "Don't make me shoot you, Joe." He held his hands up, trying to look non-threatening. "Okay Lisa. But let Dr. Lambert go--she's not part of this." As he gestured towards Natalie, drawing Lisa's attention to the two of them, Nat saw Richie edging around the back of the couch, towards the door. "Oh, but she is part of this. You don't know everything Joe Dawson. But I do. I have plans for both of you. Now move slowly towards the door, with your hands up." As Joe and Natalie complied, McKenzie swung her gun directly at Richie. "That's far enough, Immie. You're not part of my plan." And she fired the gun. "Richie!" Natalie screamed, trying to move towards the man who fell to the floor with a startled expression on his face, but Joe grabbed her arm and held her back. Lisa gestured towards the doorway with her gun. "Get going," she ordered. "You can't just leave him there. He'll die!" Natalie exclaimed, but Lisa merely edged them closer to the door. "It's okay," Joe hissed in her ear. "Just do as she says. As long as she leaves him there, Richie will be okay." Natalie looked at him as if he too had lost his mind then, casting a glance back at the now obviously dead young man, moved through the doorway with Lisa McKenzie close behind.