Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 16:19:50 -0500 From: Calliope Haven't done fanfic in a while. Gotta catch up. Characters: Not mine. Story: Mine. Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (1/10) ---WARNING! "Last Knight" spoilers!!!!! --- ------------------------------------- * * * * * * " ... I suppose that a lot of changes in life are made like this. It takes something that hits close to home to really make a difference. I know; my life was completely turned around by something that was so close, it was amazing that I had never seen it before." -- Joe Reese, *A Life Chasing Shadows* "Oh, God, is that really what I sound like?" Joe Reese flipped off the audiotape in disgust. It had been offered as part of the new promotional package for the latest Reese book, and somehow he had been suckered into the idea. Reece shook his head. That just wasn't it. They didn't understand. Most of his readers thought that the whole thing was a joke; thankfully, though, he knew that at least a few out there took him seriously. Sighing, he switched on the windshield wipers and tried to concentrate on the road ahead. *** It was the close-to-home things that really changed lives. It had only been ten years since his life was altered, and look how much things had shifted now. It seemed like just a few days ago that he had been at Tracy Vetter's deathbed, watching the heart monitor beeping pathetically. "C'mon, Trace ... don't do this to us," he pleaded. It wasn't only Tracy's life on the line; his entire precinct was on the chopping block at that minute. When Commissioner Vetter heard about this .... Reese suppressed a shudder and held Tracy's hand. "Trace, I know you can do it. You're a fighter -- you can pull through!" But it was hopeless. He knew this, and yet he continued to urge Tracy on. For a moment, he thought he saw her eyes flutter. *Naw. Mind's playing tricks on me.* But still ... His eyes grew wide as Tracy twitched, lifting her eyelids and staring directly at Reese. "Ca ... capt'n?" "Yeah, it's me, Tracy. You're gonna be better, you hear me?" Tracy strained to keep her eyes open. The effort was visible, and Reese held his breath. "Nick?" Tracy wheezed. Her mind flashed back to the shooter. What had happened to Nick? She tried to remember. "He's gone home, but I can get him --" "No -- is he -- the man shot -- " Tracy's eyes widened with realization. "Shot? Tracy?" Reese asked anxiously. "What's Nick got to do with this?" "He's -- he's a --" Tracy began to hyperventilate. The heart monitor began to chatter noisily, and Reese stood up. "Nick? Nick's what? Trace, I've gotta get you a doctor-" But Tracy had calmed down very suddenly. Tears began to well in her eyes. "You ... you wouldn't ... wouldn't get it, capt'n," she moaned. "There's a lot of ... stuff out there ... lot of weird things - weird people -- and Nick - ... hidin' in the shadows all the time," Tracy whispered. Reese watched in shock as her eyes rolled suddenly to the back of her head. "Doctor! We need a doctor in here! Quick!" end part 1 Comments? usleamys@usa1.com waits for your call... Onward and upward ... Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (2/10) WARNING! Big Ol' Spoilers for "Last Knight"!!!!! * * * * * "I once read a line that spells out the whole world right for you. 'There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy.' But it isn't just my philosophy anymore. These 'things' are really there." -- Joe Reese, introduction of *Sentenced to Darkness* *** In the past, LaCroix had savored his fantasies of this moment, when he would at last be the maker and undoer of his wayward son. He had considered Nicholas unworthy of his gifts and fit only to die. But now, when the moment itself was at hand, LaCroix could only turn away in anguish. Behind him, his son's whimpers of agony grew fainter and fainter still. LaCroix could stand it no longer. He turned and fled, checking that the blinds were open. Soon the suns rays would obliterate any trace of his murdered child, and with luck, the loft would remain abandoned for weeks. Who would come to pass by, to drop in on Nicholas? Only two had done so in the past, and these two were both present at Nicholas' death; one dead, and one beyond death. Nobody. That left nobody. LaCroix threw open the door to the roof and took off into the night sky, shaking the blood-tears from his eyes. It was time to leave Toronto. *** "Nick?" Reese called. It was the first time he had ever visited the "Techno- cave," as one of Knight's coworkers had put it. Reese had expected an elaborate electronic system of safety and near-paranoia; he had not been disappointed. But the door was *ajar* ... ? "Detective Knight?" Fingering the buttons of the elevator, Reese glanced around nervously, waiting for the shaky steel cage to finish its ascension. Crossing his fingers, he prayed that Nick was home. He could get the man to take a day off, to at least sit down while he told him the bad news. One partner, then another -- it was enough to break any man. The elevator jerked to a stop. "Nick, are you ho -" Reese began, but halted in midsentence. The door swung shut behind him, and he was left alone in something that years on the force had never prepared him for. "Oh, god...." end part 2 Comments? usleamys@usa1.com is open 24/7 And miles to go before I sleep ... Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (3/10) WARNING! Here Be There Spoylers! "Last Knight"!!! * * * * "But who are we to say what is right or wrong? Even among members of our own race, the multitudes of cultures are so different that morality changes according to location. Likewise, when the question is posed to a completely new race, who are we humans to predict its reply? What is murder to one may be a mere matter of survival to another." - Joe Reese, *The War of Shadow and Light* *** On the horizon, the skyscrapers of Los Angeles came into view. But the blinking lights and shimmering steel meant nothing to Joe Reese. They were another stop, another hunting ground, another story. The moon hung in the sky beside a cluster of stars; Reese couldn't help but wonder what *they* saw on gorgeous nights like this. It reminded him of his honeymoon ... Reese shook his head, clearing out the bad memories. Three years since his divorce had done nothing to steer him from his quest. *** His first instinct was to collapse onto one of the black leather chairs and pass out. No. Reese held his breath and shut his eyes, counting to ten as he did. It was still there. Reese gaped at the bodies of his star detective and the county coroner, both apparently dead on the floor. Sweat broke out in his pores. It's only a crime scene, Joe, he told himself. Calm down. Don't touch anything. Don't move anything. Check the bodies. He knelt down at Natalie's side. She appeared to be sleeping, but the lack of pulse at her wrist told differently. What had happened to her? A number of possibilities ran through Reese's mind -- blow to the head, overdose, heart attack -- And then he saw the wounds. A small amount of blood welled in a puddle on the floor, dripping from gaping holes in Natalie's neck. Reese's stomach turned. She must have bled to death, he thought. But then where's the rest of the blood? Then his eyes turned to Nick. The detective laid on the floor, his body crumpled like a rag doll. He seemed to be clutching a massive stick in his hand. Reese stepped closer to get a better look, and realized that the pole had actually *impaled* the man. "Oh my God," Reese gasped. He reached for Nick's cordless phone and began to dial the numbers of the emergency service. Before he could dial the last number, however, he dropped the phone in shock, watching as Nick's body appeared to crumble into dust before his eyes, leaving only the huge stick, which rattled onto the floor. end part 3 Comments? Give me a buzz! usleamys@usa1.com And miles to go before I sleep... Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (4/10) WARNING! Really Big Ol' Spoilers for "Last Knight"! * * * * "I've done some pretty drastic things in my time, both as a cop and as a writer." - Joe Reese, *A Life Chasing Shadows* *** The cordless phone tumbled from Reese's hand and smacked against the floor. Reese goggled at Nick's body as it disintegrated into dust, clouding up from the floor. *Oh my God,* Reese thought. *Oh my GOD.* He struggled to think clearly. What was going on? Was it something in the air? Was it toxic? No; Natalie's body lay unaffected only a few feet from Nick's body. Maybe it had to do with Nick's condition. Reese's mind frantically searched for an explanation. Nick's condition. Right. So how does that tie in? And how did Natalie get killed, with only two -- Reese stopped in midthought. Images flashed in his mind, and he began to put the pieces together -- *two wounds, in the neck* -- *no blood* -- *crumbled to dust* -- *Nick* -- *skin condition* -- *night shift* -- *lot of weird people -- and Nick -- hiding in the shadows* -- "That can't be," Reese whispered. "It's impossible." But looking down at Nick's remains, he realized that it was the only plausible answer. Nick hadn't merely been killed, he had been *staked.* "Weird people out there -- God, Vetter, why didn't you tell me about any of this?!" Reese's mind strained to get back onto a logical path. "Nick's dead. Dr. Lambert's dead. This is a murder investigation." He shook his head. It was no use; the evidence that defied all logic continued to stare him in the face. Natalie was dead, and Nick was a ... "Fine," he muttered. "Fine. So what if it's true. What does that do? One case of missing persons, one case of unsolved homicide. Detective disappears. Coroner found dead. Two small wounds, drained of blood. Oh, God," Reese sighed, exhasperated. "If they hear about the cause of death and the fang marks on her neck - the media - they'll have a field day! When word of this gets out, I'll have a goddamned panic on my hands!" Somewhere in his mind, a small idea formed. Biting his lip, he replaced the phone on the receiver and wiped the handle free of fingerprints with his coat sleeve. He crept over to the kitchen area and began to ease the drawers open one by one, covering his hand with his sleeve. "Jackpot," Reese whispered. He withdrew a small kitchen knife from the drawer and crept back over to where Natalie's body laid. Lord, forgive me, he thought as the blade of the knife bit into Natalie's flesh, tearing into the smaller wounds and obliterating them. end part 4 Comments? usleamys@usa1.com The story continues ... Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (5/10) WARNING! Spoilers ahead for "Last Knight"! ---------------------------------- ----- * * * "Their needs drive them .... [They] are more animal than man in their quests for survival. And I guess you could say that I am too. In my quest for the truth." - Joe Reese, *Sentenced to Darkness.* *** It was nearing the time. Joe Reese glanced at his watch. He didn't know what this one would prove -- a new book, maybe? A new chapter for his latest work? Or the answer, the one that he had been searching for, the one to a question posed ten years before? He gazed around at the unfamiliar buildings. Which one was it? *** Outside in the night air, Joe Reese stopped to catch his breath. Had he covered everything? The wounds were disguised, the stake had been hidden, and all of his own fingerprints had been wiped clean. Anyone finding the scene of the crime would think that it had been some kind of slashing rather than ... what it really was. What more was there left to do? *I'll tell you what more there is,* Reese thought. *I wanna know what happened.* Ducking into a phone booth, he rang the police station. "I'd like to report a homicide," he mumbled, his voice disguised by both on purpose and by his nerves. Shaking, he told the officer the address and then quickly hung up. What now? He noticed his trembling nerves and thought, I need a drink. The only shop around was a coffeeshop at the corner of the street. He had already gotten into a line when he realized that this was Tracy's coffeeshop. That just figures, he thought. Ordering a cup of herbal tea (coffee would have been near fatal at that moment), he sat down at a table and tried to think clearly and assess the situation. Nick is a ... - no. Nick attacks Dr. Lambert. Better. Nick tries to drink her ... -this is too weird... but before Nick can kill her, she nails him with the stake. "But that doesn't make any sense," Reese murmured aloud. He knew Nick as one of the best detectives of the precinct. His "skin condition" and obviously enhanced track record had been established for quite a while. If he had been ... what he had been, then he had managed to restrain himself for that long. Why now? Why Natalie? Why would a man like that *do* such a thing -- but he's not a *man*, Reese reminded himself. He's a ... Yeah. One of those. But what exactly do *they* do, anyway? Reese frowned, stood up, and stepped up to one of the cashiers. "Is the public library open at this time of night?" end part 5 Comments to usleamys@usa1.com And miles ... aw, I'll quit saying that now. Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (6/10) Warning! Les Grandes Spoiliers pour "Last Knight"! * * * "You have to have faith. You have to have drive. You have to *want* to succeed. And in the end, *that's* how you find what you're looking for." - Joe Reese, *A Life Chasing Shadows* *** The weeks after the mysterious disappearance of Detective Nicholas Knight and the deaths of Detective Tracy Vetter and Doctor Natalie Lambert seemed to pass in a blur, and only a short while later, the precinct barely seemed the same. As everyone had expected, Commissioner Vetter conducted a massive investigation into his daughter's death. All possible causes were traced and fingers were pointed more than once. In the end, a few officers were sent for retraining or even relocated in different departments. Everyone in the precinct looked to Captain Reese for help and guidance during this time, and each person was surprised to find Reese greatly changed, even weeks after the incidents. Reese seemed moody and preoccupied, not his usual friendly self. He was seen spending great amounts of time in the local library; one officer, out of sheer curiousity, waited one day until the captain left his office and sneaked a glimpse of the captain's preoccupation. He was amazed to find the captain's bookshelf full of library books about the paranormal and supernatural -- thick books about ghosts and demons, pulp novels, and even several encyclopedias and reference sources on vampires. Rumor circulated around the station that the captain had become unstable after what was now known as "the incident." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the captain took off for a week on vacation soon afterward. But even time off had no effect on Reese. He returned even more preoccupied, allowing entire cases to slide by and investigations to be conducted at minimal performance. "Joe, what's happened to you? You're letting things slip!" "I'm sorry, Commissioner. I haven't been ... feeling well lately." "It's more than that, Joe. Your performance has really gone downhill. I've been told to ask you ...would you consider ... a more suitable ... um...." "Would you like me to leave?" Reese broke in. "'Cause I will. I'll take early retirement. Forgo on some of the pension. I'll leave if you like." Soon afterward, the walls of Reese's office lay bare, and Reese himself took one last look at them before hoisting up a cardboard box and stepping out of the office. Heaving the box into his car, he patted it once for safety. Inside it were his only clues -- everything he had been able to steal from Nick's desk and Dr. Lambert's office a few days after the incident. end part 6 Comments? usleamys@usa1.com But wait -- there's more! Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (7/10) WARNING! Rilly rilly bigol' thingies that will spoil NOT ONLY *Last Knight* but *Ashes to Ashes* as well!!! ---------------------------------------------- --- * * * "There were secrets in everything. The real question was, how willing was he to find the answers? How far would he go to learn the truth?" -- Joe Reese, *On the Night Shift* *** Joe Reese had learned to categorize the unfamiliar sites he visited in his travels. He could tell where the radicals met for coffee and revolutions, where the sporting types went, where the lonely ones gathered amongst themselves, shunned from the rest of the world. And he could tell where the outsiders met, where those who didn't quite belong would rest in their attempts to become insiders, to fit in. Where the freaks went. And where he followed. He glanced up at the small building with the malfunctioning neon sign hanging above the door. This was one of *those* places. *** The contents of the box fascinated Joe Reese. Even his hasty retirement ceremony and heartfelt pleas from his wife could barely drag him away. He had begun with the contents of Nick's desk. Not much to go on -- the usual assortment of keys, bent paper clips, official paperwork. But that was before he found the photograph. It was a simple autographed publicity photo, a black and white glossy, curled around the edges from being stuffed inside the desk. Reese gasped as he recognized the somber face of Lucien LaCroix, the murder suspect from a short time before ... "the incident." *You never forget a man like that,* Reese thought, shuddering. *Now what does this mean?* He had suspected something at the time from the way that Detective Knight acted around the suspect. Nervous, like a mouse in a snake's cage. How did Nick know this man? Who was this man, anyway? Reese thought back to the investigation. Mr. LaCroix, he was the owner of that spooky nightclub. *Wait - there was more than that.* He owned the nightclub ... nightclub ... night ... nightcrawler -- that was it. He was that creepy radio guy, the Nightcrawler. Reese remembered listening to one of the broadcasts after releasing Mr. LaCroix, just to see what he was about. *Brrr. Now that was a scary thing.* But when he called the Raven to speak to the man, Reese found that he had left town, turning the club over to someone else and cancelling the radio show. *Nothing spells suspicious like ditching town,* Reese thought. It did present him with a dead end, though. With no forwarding address and no means of contact, Mr. LaCroix provided him with as much information as ... well, as the beheaded corpse found in his bar. Reese turned his attention to the contents of Dr. Lambert's desk instead. Most of the paperwork was of even less interest than the things in Nick's desk, except for one thing. Good job he had convinced the doctors at the morgue to allow him to search Dr. Lambert's office. If they didn't suspect anything missing, well, ignorance is bliss. They'd never expect to find what Reese had found, anyway. It was a notebook, some sort of journal, judging by the dated entries. Although most of it was in "medical-ese," Reese understood what it meant. The journal was to keep track of Nick and all sorts of drugs and chemicals and their effects on him. *She was trying to help him,* Reese thought, *and all he could do to repay her was kill her.* He shook his head. *No, that can't be right.* He spent that night going over the journal, and the night afterwards, and the night after that. The contents of the box and books from the library became his obsession, and he barely noticed one night when his wife was late coming home from work. end part 7 Comments? usleamys@usa1.com is waiting for you ... And now, part eight. Through the Information Superhighway to your home desk! Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (8/10) WARNING! If you read this, "LAST KNIGHT" will be *spoiled*, yes, that's right, *spoiled*! ------------------------------------ * * * "'I didn't understand,' she cried out. 'All this time, I thought that the world was a fixed place, easy to understand. Don't you get it? You changed all that! All of you, all you people in the shadows!" -- Joe Reese, *Sentenced to Darkness* *** It wasn't until quite a while later that Joe Reese realized that somebody else's name was mentioned in the journal. A few others' names, in fact. A woman named Urs was described near the end, though the medical terms made it difficult to understand why. And somebody only known as "J" some pages before that. In the margin of that page, Reese found Natalie's writing cramped into the corner of the page. "She found the cure! Why can't I???" It had been underlined and circled several times. *The cure?* Reese wondered. *What cure? Does she mean the cure for being ... for being like Nick?* Reese nearly dropped the journal as he realized that this meant there were others out there. Other people like Nick. *Other vampires.* The nighttime obsession became a daytime obsession, and what should have been Reese's retirement days were spent in even more of a frenzy than when he had worked. Three weeks later, as Reese drove across the province to a renowned bookshop on the supernatural, his wife spent the night in another man's bedroom. end part 8 Comments? usleamys@usa1.com, the mailing address for all your needs Please! Make it stop! Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (9/10) WARNING! Ginormous spoilers for *Last Knight*!!! ----------------- * * * "'You're the man of two worlds,' he explained. 'But you don't realize that it's impossible. Shadows, light, you have to choose. One builds up around you while the other crumbles underneath your feet. When are you going to decide which is which?'" -- Joe Reese, *The War of Shadow and Light* *** Joe Reese glanced over the crumpled paper for what seemed like the hundredth time. What was taking so long? He switched on his car radio and tuned to the station printed on the flyer in his hand, but the broadcast was a show on auto repair. Definitely not. As he switched off the radio, he nearly missed the shiny black car as it pulled into the station's parking lot. Reese steeled himself. This was probably it. *** It was at Night's Children Paranormal Resource Center that Joe Reese concluded that he knew just as much as all the other weirdo writers that filled the shelves knew. He had been looking at all the pulp novels with glossy covers depicting half-clad women with fangs and he had thought, *How many of them know what the hell they're talking about? I bet none of them have ever even heard of a real-life vampire.* With a start, Reese realized that not only had he seen a vampire die, he had known one as a coworker for months. "That's a story and a half," he chuckled to himself as he paid for the reference books that he had come for. On the long drive home, he began to formulate in his mind a story, a horror story about a policeman who was a vampire, a doctor who had been forced into finding him a cure, and the other vampires in the city who try to stop them. *That's not bad. That's not bad at all.* That night, his newly-bought books laid untouched in their bag as he sat down at his desk, composing the first few ideas for what would later become the novel *On the Night Shift,* which would pave the way for the morality horror story *The War of Shadow and Light,* which would be only the precursor for the bestselling *Sentenced to Darkness,* which would be the final straw that lead to Joe Reese's divorce, seven years after "the incident." None of it mattered to Reese, though. He immediately became a traveler, crossing Canada and the United States tracking stories and rumors. His bestselling novels attracted many readers, and they in turn passed to him news and information, all of which he followed to the end. It was information like this that had lead him here, to Los Angeles, city of Angels. Ironic. end part 9 Comments? usleamys@usa1.com At last! Sweet release! Cathy usleamys@usa1.com Out There (10/10) WARNING! There are still spoilers in this story for *Last Knight*!!! Be forewarned! * * * "She was crying. 'I guess you could say,' she sobbed, 'that he finally found what he was looking for.'" -- Joe Reese, *On the Night Shift* *** Joe Reese watched as the car door opened. *No doubt about it,* he thought. Ten years had been kind to the man. While Reese's hair had greyed considerably and the odd pound had gathered on his frame, the man leaving the car appeared exactly the same as when Reese had last seen him, ten years before. It was he who could provide the answers that four successful novels, one upcoming autobiography, and a legion of informing fans could not come up with. Reese dropped the flyer on the passenger seat. It had been mailed by a starry-eyed young girl in Los Angeles who had read Reese's first novel and was surprised by the similarity between one of the novel's antagonists, an eery radio host with a taste for the macabre, and one of her favorite broadcasters, the host of a confession-style program on a local radio station. She had mailed Reese a flyer showing the radio station's programming schedule. The next day, Reese had set off, driving in the direction of Los Angeles. One of the programs listed had caught his eye; it was that of the Nightcrawler, the same man who had fled Toronto after "the incident" ten years before. The man glanced up as Reese shut the car door. He narrowed his eyes at Reese, lifting an eyebrow questioningly. "Yes?" "Are you ... Mr. LaCroix?" The man blinked, apparently alarmed, but he had the sense not to show it. "Who would like to know?" "I don't know if you remember me. I'm Joe Reese - the police captain from Toronto. We arrested you once." A faint smile appeared on LaCroix's lips. "Ah yes. I do remember you, Captain. You were ...," he paused, biting his lip. "You were Nicholas' superior, were you not?" "Yeah, that was me. I need to talk to you. About Nick." "Oh?" "I know what he was. And if I'm guessing right, I know what you are too." LaCroix's eyebrows rose. "In that case, you are taking a great risk in coming here tonight." Reese shook his head. " I don't want to hurt you or anything. Hell, I don't want to get hurt myself. It's just that -- I saw what he did, ten years ago. I saw him die. And I've been looking for an answer, a reason, for all this time. I thought that, since you knew him, maybe you could ...." Reese trailed off, hopefully looking up at LaCroix. LaCroix considered this for a moment. "Say no more. Come inside. I have a show to begin in a few moments. We can talk in the office." Reese followed the man into the radio station. He didn't know what to think. Would it be the truth? Would it be what he expected? What would he find here that his cross-country travels and five books could not give? He had once written in one of his books that every question has a solution, out there, somewhere. It was just a matter of finding it. As he walked into LaCroix's office, he felt sure of one thing, at least. He had found his solution. After ten years of facing the same question, he would finally be getting an answer. end Comments? usleamys@usa1.com