Ransomed Knight II
by J L Kerr
August 1998
jlkerr7864@aol.com -or- eaglesmoon@aol.com


[Author's note: This story is a sequel to 'Ransomed Knight', written in July 
  1997 and picks up where the first ended. I want to thank everyone that 
  sent their wonderful comments and I hope you enjoy my latest story. As 
  always, all comments are welcome. Thank you, JL]

[Timeline: third season. Nothing explicit. The pursuit of revenge goes
  both ways. Flashbacks to 20th c. Vietnam and 13th c. China.]

[Main characters: Nick, LaCroix, Natalie, Tracy, Reese, Vachon, Urs]

===
Chapter One


	LaCroix reached out and took the envelop. It looked identical to 
the first, even down to the handwriting on the outside. LaCroix slowly 
opened the envelop and pulled out the single sheet of paper.  It read:

	'You should be happy, General. You behaved well and 
	you have your son back, alive. But lest you think this was 
	the end, it is merely the beginning.'

	LaCroix seethed with rage as his fist closed tight, crumpling the 
offending paper. He quickly turned his back on the two mortals, who were 
watching him with rapt attention. Breathing deeply, he quickly regained 
his tensely held control. Whoever sent this was playing a very dangerous 
game. He would not be toyed with, he thought furiously.
	"Well, what does it say?" asked Captain Reese apprehensively, 
frustrated by the situation and intimidated by the tightly leashed fury he 
saw standing before him.
	"LaCroix?" asked Dr. Lambert hesitantly, as she stood by 
nervously. "Can we see the note?"
	Without turning towards them, LaCroix held his arm out behind 
him, allowing Reese to remove the note from his hand. Once the Captain 
had taken possession, he quickly read it and then, with an audible sigh, 
passed it to Natalie.
	"So, what do you think this means?" asked Reese.
	"I'd say that was rather obvious, Captain," replied LaCroix 
sarcastically.
	"Nothing about this is <obvious>," retorted Reese. "And I think 
there's a lot more going on here then what very little you've told us."
	LaCroix slowly turned around, until he was facing Reese. He 
appeared calm, and completely in control. "It's late. I would like you to 
leave," he said.
	"And I think it's time you gave us some straight answers," said 
Reese, insistently.
	Narrowing his eyes as he looked down at the Captain, he turned 
to Natalie and ordered, "show the Captain to the door. I wish to check on 
Nicholas." With one final look at Reese, he turned and headed down the 
hall.
	Turning to Natalie, Reese said, "I don't believe this. You'd think 
he would want to find out who was behind this."
	"Believe me, Captain, he does," said Natalie, knowingly.
	"Yeah. Then why isn't he more helpful?" asked Reese, 
increasingly more frustrated.
	"He's right, Captain. It's late and we could all use some rest. 
Nobody's had any sleep in the past 24 hours. Nick's safe, and you've got 
people working the case. I think we should all go home, get some sleep, 
and start fresh tonight," she said reasonably.
	"Yeah, you're right, Doctor. But you tell him, I'll be back tonight 
and I expect to get some answers," stated Reese purposefully.
	"I'll tell him," she said, as she ushered Reese out the door and 
closed it behind him. Sighing, she pressed her forehead against the door 
and rubbed her eyes. She should take her own advice and go home and 
get some sleep, she thought. She headed back to Nick's room, for one 
final check on him before leaving.
	Upon entering his room, she saw LaCroix sitting in a chair next to 
the bed. Nick was sleeping peacefully. He didn't look like he had moved 
since she had last seen him. She stood at the foot of the bed and gazed 
down at him.
	"The Captain has left, I take it," said LaCroix quietly.
	"Yes. I suggested it would be a good idea if we all got some 
sleep," she replied, glancing at LaCroix.
	"I suppose that would be wise," he replied, feeling a little tired 
himself.
	"Unless you need me for something, I'm going to head home," 
said Natalie. "I think he'll be all right. Sleep is the best thing for him right 
now," she continued, indicating Nick.
	Not turning his eyes from his son, LaCroix replied, "you may go, 
Doctor."
	Natalie suppressed the annoyance she felt at LaCroix' 'granting 
her request to leave'. They were all tired and she knew he was worried 
about Nick. "I'll be home. Call me if he needs me," she said, turning to 
leave.
	LaCroix merely nodded as she departed. At the sound of the 
front door closing, he shut his eyes and leaned his head against the back 
of the chair. He did not want to admit to how tired he was. The past 24 
hours had indeed been draining.
	Whoever was responsible for Nicholas' kidnapping, was still out 
there. And from the last note, it was obvious they weren't through yet. 
LaCroix was wracking his brain, trying to determine who this unseen 
enemy might be, and what they wanted. They obviously knew him well 
enough to attack him through his only vulnerability... Nicholas.
	But what now, he wondered. And why was Nicholas allowed to 
survive? Whoever this adversary was, he must know that his son's 
kidnapping would not go unchallenged. There would be retribution. What 
purpose did this abduction, and subsequent release serve? What was the 
lesson to be taught? What had the enemy gained through all this? Could 
it really have just been about money?
	It didn't make any sense. If anything, now he was forewarned 
and would be prepared. He was determined to find out who was behind 
this and to make them pay for what they did. And he had no doubt that he 
would discover who this opponent was, and his revenge would be 
exquisite.
	LaCroix looked up from his reverie as Nicholas stirred slightly. He 
was still sleeping soundly and gave no sign of waking soon. LaCroix 
thought it best if he himself took this opportunity to sleep. There was 
much yet to be done and he would think better once he got some much 
needed rest. With one last look at his son, he rose and exited. He left the 
doors between their rooms open to the hallway. He wanted to make sure 
he was alerted should Nicholas wake during the day.

	Meanwhile, across town in his rented estate, Lei Kung paced 
back and forth in front of his large fireplace. The tension in the room was 
thick with menace. His associates waited nearby, nervously anticipating 
the worse. Lei Kung did not tolerate failure.
	"Master, what should we do now?" asked Chang, dreading the 
response. He had been with Lei Kung the longest of any, and he was well 
aware of his master's fearsome temper. The unpleasant task of relating 
the night's events had fallen to him. He shuddered even now, recalling 
the last meeting.

-- Flashback to an alley, a few hours ago --

	"So, Mr. Black, you have done well, yes?" asked Lei Kung, 
congenially.
	"I have done everything you asked, and here is your ransom," 
replied Mr. Black, as he handed the small bag of diamonds to his 
employer.
	"Very good," replied Lei Kung, taking the bag and removing a 
small quantity of the diamonds for his inspection. "Yes, these are very 
good. I must commend you, Mr. Black."
	"Thank you. Now, if you'll just pay me my fee, I'll be on my way," 
answered the mercenary leader.
	"Of course," said Lei Kung. Then turning to his associate, whom 
he noticed was standing nervously nearby. "Yes, Chang. Is there a 
concern?"
	"Yes, master. All did not go as planned," answered Chang, 
bowing and turning his eyes towards the ground, after having stolen a 
quick glance at Mr. Black.
	Lei Kung's stance tensed as the words were spoken. "Speak!" he 
ordered.
	"The son lives, master," said Chang, bowing even lower.
	"That's not possible," said Mr. Black, mildly annoyed. "There is 
no way they got him out of that trunk before it exploded."
	"Chang, what say you to this?" asked Lei Kung quietly, his eyes 
not leaving Mr. Black.
	"I witnessed the father pulling his son from the burning car. He 
took him to safety before the explosion. The son lives," related Chang, 
meekly.
	"That's not possible," said a now angry Mr. Black. "That key I 
gave him didn't fit the lock on the trunk. And even if they could have 
gotten it open, the detective was tied securely inside. They could not 
have released him in time. I repeat, there is no way he could have gotten 
him out. You're mistaken," he said to Chang. "And besides, before putting 
him in the trunk, I even injected him with enough of that drug to kill an 
elephant."
	"I told you not to underestimate his abilities," said Lei Kung, 
seething quietly, "or those of his son. I told you they were powerful and 
dangerous. You should not have disregarded my warnings."
	"I didn't. I did everything you asked," said Mr. Black, "and more."
	"Why did you not destroy the son directly, instead of giving his 
father a chance to rescue him?" asked an angry Lei Kung.
	"You said that LaCroix would know if the son died, so I had to 
leave him alive until the end," explained Mr. Black, heatedly. "I only 
needed a couple of minutes to make my escape, otherwise he might 
have killed me and you wouldn't have your diamonds."
	"The son's death was more important than the diamonds," raged 
Lei Kung, letting his anger loose. His eyes began to glow red and his 
fangs glistened in the light cast by the street lamp, as he advanced on 
Mr. Black. The shocked mercenary leader's death came swiftly, as Lei 
Kung sank his teeth into his victim's throat. Once the body was drained, 
he tossed it aside. "Fool!" he hissed.
	Chang pulled out a long knife, and bending over the discarded 
body, sliced open the throat, obscuring the puncture marks leftover from 
his master's anger.

 -- End flashback --

	'What should we do now?' the question lingered in the air as Lei 
Kung continued his pacing. He needed to think this through carefully. He 
was not going to allow all his planning to fall apart. After all, he was barely 
past the first stage of the plan. And the son was the key to the plan's 
success. He would not fail now.
	The death of the mercenary had only somewhat appeased Lei 
Kung. The folly was truly his own for trusting so important and integral a 
task to a mere mortal. But that had been part of the plan also. Now he 
would need to change those plans. His advantage was gone. His 
opponent would be more dangerous now, then ever before. The note he 
had written in haste, and pinned to the mercenary, would not fool LaCroix 
for long. He needed a new plan. He was not prepared to go up against a 
2,000 year old, angry, cold-hearted warrior general out for revenge. He 
needed the advantage that the devastation of his son's death would have 
given him. The son must die!

===
Chapter Two


	LaCroix rose early, well before dusk. He immediately went to 
Nicholas' room where he saw that his son will still sleeping. The condition 
of the blankets, and the position of Nicholas' body implied that his sleep 
had been restless. As was his wont, he had drifted near the edge of the 
bed and was laying on his stomach. His left arm dangled partially over 
the side of the mattress, and his head was no longer on the pillow. He 
had dark circles under his eyes and a slight frown creased his brow, 
indicating a tenseness within, however, his breathing was slow and 
steady. LaCroix decided to leave him be. He did not want to take a 
chance on waking him.
	Crossing the hallway, back into his own room, he quickly 
showered and dressed. After another quick look in on Nicholas, he 
headed for his den where he started on the search that should inevitably 
lead to the identity of his opponent. He placed his first call.
	The phone was answered on the second ring with the urgent 
greeting, "hello."
	"I'm searching for someone, and I expect you can assist me," 
said LaCroix, with no need to identify himself to the called party. His voice 
was recognized instantly.
	"LaCroix, of course. Who are you looking for?" replied Feliks 
Twist, curious and eager to find out what was going on and why LaCroix 
had needed two million dollars in diamonds so quickly.
	"I am no longer in possession of the diamonds you acquired for 
me. I wish to know who is," answered LaCroix. He knew from previous 
encounters that Feliks was completely trustworthy and would not dare 
deliberately deceive him, however, it was in his own nature to be 
cautious.
	"I suppose it's not as easy as asking who you gave them to?" 
replied Feliks, wistfully.
	"He is dead," stated LaCroix.
	"It may be helpful if you could tell me what you needed them for 
in the first place. I'm assuming it has something to do with Nicholas,"  
commented Feliks, curiously. There was a long pause, followed by an 
audible sigh. Then Feliks listened intently as LaCroix related the events 
of the kidnapping. At the conclusion, all Feliks could say was, "oh, my. 
Oh, my. Nicholas, he is well?"
	"He will be fine. I want to locate whoever is responsible," 
responded LaCroix determinedly.
	"Yes, yes, of course," said a nervous Feliks. "I will do whatever I 
can to help. Now, about the diamonds. I will alert my sources and should 
any attempt be made to market them, I can assure you, I will be 
informed."
	"And you will contact me immediately," demanded LaCroix, 
quietly.
	"Absolutely," replied Feliks.
	With that promise received, LaCroix hung up the phone and 
made his second call.
	Again, the telephone was answered on the second ring, "yes, 
hello," said a cautious voice.
	"Aristotle, I need to know if anyone has come to town recently," 
inquired LaCroix, casually.
	There was a slight chuckle, followed by, "LaCroix, you know I 
can't tell you that."
	"If you know something, and you do not tell me, I can assure that 
you will regret the omission," said LaCroix, mildly threatening.
	"Do not threaten me. I won't tolerate it," said Aristotle, annoyed at 
the presumption. He didn't care how old and powerful LaCroix was, he 
would not be bullied into divulging confidential information.
	"I'm not asking you to break any of your <solemn vows> of 
anonymity, I am simply inquiring about new arrivals to the city," snapped 
LaCroix. This one's irreverence had always annoyed him, but he forced 
himself to retain a semblance of civility that he did not feel.
	"Most new arrivals find their way to the Raven, sooner or later. I 
would think you would have better luck looking around the dance floor, 
than calling me," quipped Aristotle.
	"You will call me if anyone comes to mind," ordered LaCroix, then 
abruptly hung up. Well, he hadn't expected much cooperation from him. 
He supposed he should have told Aristotle why he was asking, as he and 
Nicholas were friends, but he was irked by Aristotle's attitude towards 
him. Oh well, perhaps something may yet be learned from that quarter.
	Continuing on, LaCroix made a number of other calls. These 
were mainly to some of the more loyal members of the community that 
frequented the Raven. At dusk, a search of the city would begin. Although 
it was not confirmed that his opponent was another vampire, LaCroix felt 
certain that it was so. No mere mortal, not even a zealous hunter, would 
dare to play games with him. This must be someone who felt they could 
defeat him, therefore, it must be another vampire. One who felt as old 
and powerful as the one he sought to defeat. He would be found. LaCroix 
felt no doubt. It would be impossible to hide his presence for long.
	As LaCroix sat at his desk, contemplating on his opponent and 
his options, he heard a noise that sounded like the front door of the 
apartment opening and then closing. No one would dare enter uninvited. 
As he rose to confront this intruder, he sensed a mortal heartbeat. He 
stood in the hallway and watched dumbfounded as Dr. Lambert crossed 
the living room, heading in his direction. Perturbed, he stepped out to 
greet her.
	"Dr. Lambert," he said quietly. Natalie jumped at the sound of his 
voice, even though she had been expecting to see him. "Did I startle 
you?" he asked, insincerely.
	"Uh, yes. I don't know why though. I was expecting you would be 
up already," she said, nervously.
	"Really? Tell me, Doctor, how did you get in here?" he asked 
sternly.
	Holding up a keychain, she replied, "I used Nick's keys. I thought, 
under the circumstances, you wouldn't mind."
	"I see you feel quite confident in your conclusions, Doctor," he 
said, sounding surly. He wasn't at all happy that she had let herself in. He 
just wasn't sure that he wished to do anything about it, at least not at the 
moment. "I suppose you are here to see Nicholas," he stated, a bit more 
congenially.
	"Yes. I'm on my way into work and wanted to check on him. How 
is he?" she asked. She was still feeling quite nervous. LaCroix was 
obviously not pleased to see her, and she really had no idea how he 
would react. Now that the immediacy of this morning had worn off, he 
may not be willing to accept her help any longer.
	Stepping aside and indicating that she should proceed down the 
hall, he replied, "he is still sleeping. He has been a bit restless and I am 
reluctant to disturb him."
	"I'll try not to wake him," she said, as she stepped into Nick's 
room. She sat on the edge of his bed, setting her medical bag down 
beside her. The main intention was to gather another blood sample. She 
wanted to see how the drug was progressing through his system. She 
reached out and ran the back of her fingers across his temple, then 
across his forehead. He stirred slightly at her touch, but did not awaken. 
"I expected the injection I gave him this morning to have worn off by now. 
I'm surprised it hasn't."
	"And what makes you think it has not?" inquired LaCroix.
	"Nothing, really," she said, extracting a syringe from her bag. 
After looking at him curiously for a moment, she turned to LaCroix and 
said, "I need to get a blood sample. I can't really do that, the way he is 
laying here."
	LaCroix looked at her for a long moment before responding. His 
desire to make sure Nicholas was truly all right overrode any concerns he 
had regarding the doctor. "Move aside," he ordered.
	Natalie stepped away from the bed. LaCroix took her place at 
Nick's side. He quickly pulled the covers back, and gently took Nick by 
the arm and rolled him onto his back, taking care not to wake him. Once 
Nick was settled comfortably, they exchanged places once again. 
	Before taking the blood sample, Natalie decided to check his 
bandaged wrists and ankles. She was very surprised to see that the 
wounds, while much improved over this morning, were far from being 
healed. LaCroix seemed equally as surprised. "Has he fed?" she asked.
	"No."
	Having already assumed that, she wasn't surprised by his 
answer. "I don't think he's had anything since before all this started. That 
may be why he's healing slowly," she said. As she finished changing his 
bandages, Nick began to stir and pull away from her. She paused in her 
ministrations, and he settled back down and appear to once again be 
sleeping.
	She gently took Nick's arm and pulled it towards her. She pushed 
his sleeve up, and tied the rubber strap around his arm, in preparation of 
taking a blood sample. Nick began to stir again, and pull away from her. 
She captured his arm and held it down. Nick opened his eyes slightly, 
and called out quietly, "LaCroix."
	"Sshh, Nick. It's okay," she said, attempting to soothe him. 
"Everything's going to be okay."
	"Where's LaCroix?" he said in a whisper, still pulling his arm 
away from her.
	LaCroix moved to stand at the head of the bed, hovering over 
them both. Leaning down, he placed his hand on Nick's forehead, and 
brushed his hair back. "I am here," he said soothingly. Nick immediately 
calmed. "You will allow the doctor to do as she wishes, tres bien?" he 
said.
	In reply, Nick relaxed and closed his eyes. His arm mildly tensed 
when she inserted the syringe, but for the most part, he remained 
relaxed. When she was done, she looked up and saw that Nick was 
looking at her. "How are you feeling?" she asked.
	Looking briefly up at LaCroix, then back to Natalie, he barely 
whispered, "I'm fine." 
	"Nicholas," said LaCroix, a mild reproach in his tone. "Tell the 
doctor how you are feeling."
	He looked up at LaCroix and held his gaze for a long moment. 
Then, with a sigh, he turned back to Natalie and said, "I'm tired."
	"And?" Natalie prompted. Judging by the fact that his wounds 
had not completely healed, she couldn't believe he wasn't still feeling 
some of the symptoms from this morning.
	"Nicholas," warned LaCroix, sternly.
	"My stomach feels funny, and everything hurts," he finally said, 
speaking so softly she had to strain to hear him.
	"Where does it hurt most?" she asked.
	"Here," he said, indicating his chest. Natalie checked his chest 
for injuries, and found none.
	"Are you hungry?" she asked, curiously. In reply, Nick placed his 
hands over his stomach and, after a moment's thought, shook his head 
no, grimacing slightly from the pain this caused.
	"Well, when I get to work I'll run some tests on your blood and I 
should know more then. My guess is that it is taking awhile for that drug 
to dissipate from your system. You're still feeling the effects from it." 
Pulling a vial, and another syringe from her medical bag, she continued, 
"let me give you some more of what I gave you earlier this morning. It'll 
make you feel better and you should be able to sleep easier."
	"No more drugs," whispered Nick, pulling his arm close to his 
chest.
	"This is a good drug," said Natalie lightly, trying to cajole him into 
acquiescing.
	Nick just held his arm tighter against his body. When it was 
obvious he wasn't going to willingly comply, LaCroix leaned down and 
ordered, "you will allow this."
	Nick left out a deep breath and turned pleading eyes upon 
LaCroix. "LaCroix," he said beseechingly. 
	"Nicholas," he said firmly.
	Nick turned his head away from them both, and at the same time 
stretched out his arm and let it fall upon the bed, easily within Natalie's 
reach. She took the prepared syringe and quickly injected it into his arm. 
Extracting the needle, she rubbed his arm and said, "come on. You're 
going to feel better. I promise."
	He turned tired eyes upon her, and then closed them as he felt 
the effects of the drug start to affect him. All the aches he was feeling 
faded away and he started to drift off. He felt like he was floating, and 
then he fell into a sound sleep.
	"That should keep him asleep for a few hours at least," she said 
to LaCroix, as she closed her bag and stood to leave.
	"Yes. He does seem more relaxed," replied LaCroix, gently 
brushing his fingers across Nick's brow. "You will call me with your 
findings," he stated.
	"Yes. Of course," she replied. "I'll plan on stopping by again when 
I get off work. Is that okay?" she asked, remembering his annoyance 
when she first arrived tonight.
	"Yes. I will be expecting you, Doctor," he replied, begrudgingly. 
She has been very attentive and helpful where Nicholas is concern, he 
thought, justifying her continued involvement to himself.
	After seeing the good doctor out, he went to check on Nicholas. 
Sure that he was resting comfortably, he returned to his den to continue 
with his plans for locating this adversary.

	When Natalie reached her office, she immediately started the 
tests on Nick's blood. When she checked her desk, she found the 
autopsy results for the mercenary leader waiting for her to sign off on. 
The day shift had concluded the autopsy and determined that Mr. Black 
died from having his throat cut with a knife. They further concluded based 
upon findings and forensic evidence, or in this case, the lack thereof, 
since most of the blood seemed to be missing from the scene, that the 
murder must have occurred elsewhere from where the body was found.
	Natalie knew that she needed to double check this for herself. 
The body was waiting for her examination. It didn't take her long to find 
what she had been expecting. Hidden within the slashed throat was 
evidence of two puncture holes to the neck. Just the kind of evidence that 
would be left behind from a vampire attack. From the size and spacing of 
the punctures, she was pretty sure the vampire was male. This is the 
proof that she had been looking for.
	She called LaCroix to let him know what she had found. He had 
not seemed surprised. She was pretty sure that was what he was 
expecting her to find. Well, if nothing else, this does confirm what they 
previously believed. A vampire was behind Nick's kidnapping, and 
LaCroix was determined to find him. 

===
Chapter Three


	There was a steady throbbing in his temples that reverberated 
throughout his body. He felt like he was waking from a long sleep, and 
yet he still felt so tired. He placed his hands on the mattress and tried to 
push himself up. He felt shooting pains in his wrists, so he let himself 
collapse back onto the bed, too weary to try again. He closed his eyes 
and pressed his cheek against the cool sheets, trying to make sense of 
what was happening to him, within him. He didn't remember ever feeling 
like this before.
	He remembered... what did he remember? His memories were 
fuzzy. He remembered LaCroix, and also Natalie. His memory saw them 
together, but he knew that couldn't be right. He was so confused. On top 
of all that, he felt like every muscle in his body had been pushed past 
their limits. He was so tired. He remembered strange voices, faces he 
couldn't see. He thought he heard voices now. LaCroix was here, he 
could sense him nearby and coming closer.
	LaCroix entered Nicholas' room and saw that indeed, he was 
awake. He had left Urs in the apartment to watch him, with instructions to 
call him the moment he woke. He had decided to spend the evening 
hours in the club. Aristotle may be correct in his suggestion that he find 
who he was looking for amongst the patrons of the Raven. Marcus and 
the others were alerted and would inform him the moment anything was 
learned. He had also ordered the security tightened around his 
apartments to further ensure that there would be no unexpected visitors.
	Bending over the bed, he placed his hand across his son's 
temple and gently rubbed his thumb against the silky skin. Nick's eyes 
fluttered open and LaCroix could see the pain and confusion reflected 
back at him. "Nicholas, how are you feeling?" he asked softly.
	There was a long pause before a quiet reply was heard, "I don't 
feel good."
	"Yes. I think I know what you need. Be patient, I will return 
directly," said LaCroix, rising to leave. He returned moments later 
carrying two bottles and a large cup, which he placed on the bedside 
table. He opened one of the bottles and filled the cup. The smell of the 
blood caused Nick to frown. There was no indication that he was drawn 
to the scent. 
	Leaving the cup on the bedside table, LaCroix placed an arm 
under Nick and lifted him to a sitting position. He offered no resistance. 
Nick put his hands behind him, trying to steady himself, but was unable. 
LaCroix sat on the bed slightly behind him and placed one arm around 
him to hold him upright. Nick leaned back against LaCroix' chest and let 
his head rest against his shoulder.
	LaCroix picked up the cup and held it to Nick's mouth. Nick made 
as if to drink, and then turned his head to the side, away from the cup. 
"Come, you must be hungry," stated LaCroix firmly, believing Nicholas to 
be reluctant because the blood was human.
	"The smell is making me queasy," said Nick, taking a couple 
deep breaths.
	"That will pass. Drink," said LaCroix firmly, moving the cup to 
Nick's mouth once again. 
	Nick turned his head away once again. The nausea was too 
overpowering. With his one free hand, LaCroix grasped Nick by the chin 
and held him still as he pressed the cup to his lips. Nick tried to turn 
away, but LaCroix held him firmly as he poured the blood into his mouth. 
"Drink," he commanded.
	Having no choice, Nick swallowed. LaCroix continued to force 
him to drink while Nick weakly tried to resist. After about his fourth 
swallow, Nick stopped resisting and began to eagerly drink. LaCroix was 
pleased, and released his grip, allowing Nick to raise his hands and hold 
the cup to his own mouth. Nick handed the empty cup back. "Would you 
like more?" asked LaCroix, curious and relieved over Nick's sudden 
change and desire to feed. Nick simply nodded, so LaCroix refilled the 
cup. Nick drank a total of four cups before he indicated he wished to stop.
	"So, how are you feeling now?" asked LaCroix.
	"Better. I feel better," said Nick weakly, sounding a little 
surprised.
	"And your stomach?"
	"It's okay," he answered. He closed his eyes, leaned back and let 
the full weight of his body fall against his father. Even though he did feel 
better, he was very tired. The throbbing in his head had not diminished, 
but it seemed a bit easier to bear. LaCroix slipped out from behind him 
and eased Nick down onto the pillows.
	"You will sleep now," said LaCroix, pulling up the blankets and 
tucking them around Nick.
	Nick rolled onto his side and settled himself more comfortably. 
He was very tired. He closed his eyes and with a final deep breath, 
allowed himself to start to drift off to sleep. He felt LaCroix adjust his 
blankets, and then opened his eyes suddenly as LaCroix was leaving the 
room. "Where are you going?" he asked, a confused panic sounding in 
his voice.
	"I'm not going anywhere. I will be here," answered LaCroix, 
returning to Nick's bedside. "Would you like me to stay until you fall 
asleep?" 
	Nick didn't answer. He just watched as LaCroix sat in the chair 
next to the bed. When it was obvious that he wasn't leaving, Nick closed 
his eyes and once again settled down to sleep.
	LaCroix watched by his bedside until he was sure Nicholas was 
sleeping. Returning to the living room, he called downstairs to the bar. 
When Marcus answered, he told him to send Urs back up to the 
apartment.

	"Marcus, has there been any news," asked LaCroix, as he 
stepped up to the bar after having just come back downstairs.
	"Nothing, since last you were here," answered the Raven's head 
bartender. He had only known LaCroix for a short time, having come to 
work for him shortly after ownership of the Raven had transferred to him, 
but he and many of the others were having a difficult time believing that 
someone would knowingly go up against this ancient member of their 
community. Although he had never seen LaCroix 'in action', he had no 
doubts what he was capable of, or what the likely outcome would be. And 
to say LaCroix was on the warpath, would be the understatement of the 
century.
	"Pour me a glass," order LaCroix, as he turned to run his intense 
gaze over the crowd, paying special attention to the immortal patrons. 
There were no faces that he had not seen many times. His opponent 
would be a fool to show a presence here, he thought, and I don't think he 
is that. He turned as he heard the sound of a glass set down on the bar.
	As LaCroix raised the glass to his lips and took a long sip, 
Marcus asked, "so, how's Nick doing?"
	"He will be fine," answered LaCroix. "Why do you ask?"
	"While you were upstairs, that Captain Reese called. Said he 
wants to stop by later, and bring a couple of detectives with him," relayed 
Marcus. "He wants you to call him."
	Sighing, LaCroix replied, "I'll call him later."
	"Sure thing," said Marcus, and then moved down the bar to mix 
drinks for the cocktail waitresses.

	Sometime later, LaCroix was still sitting at the end of the bar, 
nursing another glass of the house special. This waiting was driving him 
crazy. He wanted to be out doing something, not waiting around. At the 
moment, he had no choice. He didn't want to leave Nicholas. He had 
been up to check on him twice already, and he was still sleeping. Urs had 
assured him that she would call should Nicholas awaken. He had spoken 
to a number of those he had out searching, and nothing. Well, he could 
be patient. He had time. There was no immediate threat.
	He looked up as he saw Dr. Lambert make her way towards him 
through the crowd. As she reach him, he greeted her by saying, "back so 
soon."
	"Hello, LaCroix," she said, returning the unheartfelt greeting. She 
had never spent so much time around him before. Heck, she'd never 
spent any time around him before, and seeing him so much was making 
her nervous. For the most part, he had been fairly civil and had accepted 
her assistance. She wasn't sure if this should worry her or not. After 
everything Nick had told her about him, he hadn't behaved at all how she 
would have expected him to. But on the other hand, neither had Nick. 
She remembered earlier tonight when he had first woken, she was there, 
yet he had still asked for LaCroix. It was his father he wanted, and 
LaCroix was there for him.
	"I take it you're here to see Nicholas," he stated.
	"Yes. I'm on my dinner break and thought I would drop by and 
see how he was doing," she said.
	Motioning to Marcus that he was going upstairs, he said to 
Natalie, "very well."
	She followed him through the backrooms and up the stairs to his 
apartment. When she entered the living room, she was surprised to see 
Urs rising from the couch. "He's still sleeping," said Urs, to LaCroix. "You 
must be Dr. Lambert. I've heard about you," said Urs, inquisitively.
	Natalie looked at LaCroix, curiously. "Dr. Lambert, this is Urs. 
She's been keeping an eye on Nicholas for me."
	"Do you want me to leave?" asked Urs.
	"You may go back downstairs. I will call when I want you to 
return," he answered.
	Urs walked past them and out the door, casting a lingering look 
at Natalie as she went.
	LaCroix started to head down the hall when Natalie stopped him. 
"Before we go see Nick, I've got the results from his blood test," she said. 
LaCroix just looked at her, expecting her to continue. "It's what I thought 
earlier. The drug is dissipating from his system, just very slowly. I believe 
the drug is responsible for his headache, tiredness, nausea and slow 
healing. The body aches, I believe, are due to the injuries he received. 
They're just slow to heal because of the drug."
	"And you still believe this drug was engineered specifically to use 
on vampires?" he asked.
	"Yes I do. My tests show that the doses he was given, and the 
frequency, would have killed any mortal. That, along with the fact that it's 
so effective, is what makes me think it was targeted for vampires," she 
explained. "I mean, there's not too many things that work on you guys."
	"And can you tell where this drug came from?" he inquired.
	"That's going to take some doing, but I think I may be able to 
trace its' origins. I probably won't know for sure until sometime tomorrow, 
maybe later," she answered.
	"You will tell me immediately what you find," he stated.
	"Of course," she replied. "So, how's Nick doing? Has he woken 
yet?"
	"He woke a couple of hours ago. I was able to get him to feed, 
then he returned to sleep," he said.
	"What did you feed him? How much, and was it hard to get him to 
drink?" she asked, pulling a pad from her bag to make notes. Not hearing 
a reply, she looked up and saw LaCroix, standing with his hands clasped 
behind his back, simply staring at her. "I'm his doctor. You need to tell 
me."
	There was a long wait, while LaCroix pondered how much he 
really needed her involvement, before he finally decided and answered 
her questions. "He drank one bottle of human blood, and no, it wasn't 
hard to get him to drink," he said with a slight smirk.
	Natalie didn't let his answer bother her. Nick had told her what 
LaCroix thought of the cow blood that he normally subsisted on, so she 
really hadn't expected otherwise. However, "he wasn't nauseous?"
	Frowning, LaCroix answered, "perhaps at first. But he got over it 
quickly."
	"Did he complain of any new symptoms?"
	"No."
	"Okay," she said, closing her notepad and tossing it in her bag. 
"Let's go see him."
	He was laying on his back, head turned away from them. His far 
arm was laying across the pillow while the other rested on his chest. The 
blankets were rumpled and pushed down to his waist. He seemed to be 
sound asleep.
	"Must you wake him?" asked LaCroix.
	"If I do, I'll make sure he gets back to sleep," she answered 
distractedly.
	LaCroix leaned against the wall facing the foot of the bed, arms 
across his chest.
	Natalie sat on the bed and placed her bag beside her. Extracting 
a syringe, she pulled Nick's arm towards her, pushed his sleeve up, and 
quickly took a blood sample. He stirred slightly as the needle pierced his 
skin, but didn't wake.
	"How much blood do you need, Doctor?" asked LaCroix, 
sounding annoyed.
	Without turning around, she answered, "I want to see if feeding 
has affected the dissipation rate of the drug." She reached up and placing 
her hand alongside his cheek, turned his head to face her. Taking her 
pocket flashlight, she lifted first one eyelid, than the other, rapidly 
scanning the beam of light across his pupils. This did get a reaction and 
caused him to wake.
	He brought a hand to his eyes and slowly rubbed them. 
"Natalie?" he asked, seeing her perched next to him.
	"Hi. How're you doing?" she asked, placing her hand on his chest 
and gently rubbing. She saw him look over and make eye contact with 
LaCroix. She started unbuttoning his pajama shirt.
	"What're you doing?" he asked, starting to wiggle away from her.
	"Lie still," she ordered. She lifted her stethoscope for him to see 
and said, "I'm just going to listen to your chest for a minute, okay?"
	"What for?" he asked, sounding confused.
	"Last time I was here you complained of chest pains. I just want 
to hear you breathe," she answered, placing the stethoscope against his 
chest. "Just humor me, okay, and breathe normally." She moved the 
instrument back and forth across his chest as he continued breathing. 
"Can you sit up?" she asked. He stared at her for a moment, then put his 
hands on the mattress, and with her help, struggled to a sitting position.
	She put her hand up the back of his shirt, "when I tell you, I want 
you to take a deep breath and hold it, okay?" Nick nodded. Making sure 
she had the instrument where she wanted it, she said, "okay, now." He 
exhaled as she moved her hand to a different spot. "Okay, again. Take a 
deep breath." Moving her hand again, she said, "one more time, deep 
breath." Without warning he pushed her away. It so surprised her, she 
lost her balance and fell to the floor.
	LaCroix moved quickly to the side of the bed, stepping over 
Natalie as he did so. Nick was trying to lean over the bed to check on her 
when LaCroix pushed him onto his back. "Are you all right?" asked 
LaCroix, a bit confused by Nick's actions.
	"How's Natalie?" he asked in reply.
	"I'm just fine," she replied, as she picked herself off the floor. "Do 
you mind telling me what that was about?" she asked, trying not to sound 
annoyed.
	"I don't know. I couldn't help it. I just, all of a sudden, heard 
another voice and I needed to get away," he hurriedly explained. "I'm 
sorry Nat. I didn't mean to hurt you."
	"You didn't hurt me. I'm fine," she said, as she sat back on the 
edge of the bed.
	"Who's voice did you hear?" asked LaCroix, who was now 
standing at the head of the bed, looking down over them both.
	Looking up at LaCroix, he replied, "that man, Mr. Black, he put a 
cloth over my mouth and told me to breathe."
	"He is dead," stated LaCroix, a touch of venom in his voice.
	"You killed him?" asked Nick.
	"No. I'm afraid I wasn't given the opportunity," answered LaCroix.
	"Another vampire killed him," said Natalie.
	Nick just looked at her with a confused expression on his face. 
"Who? I don't remember what happened," said Nick tiredly, as he closed 
his eyes and rubbed at the pain in his chest.
	"You should return to sleep. We can talk about it more later," said 
LaCroix, looking meaningfully at Dr. Lambert.
	"Yes, that's a really good idea," said Natalie, reaching into her 
bag. She pulled out a vial and quickly filled a syringe. "Give me your 
arm," she gently said.
	"I feel better," said Nick. "I don't need that."
	"Your chest hurts because you have some congestion in your 
lungs. This will relieve that, as well as make everything else feel better," 
she said, as she smiled and reached for his wrist. 
	"Okay," he said, sighing and turning his head away and closing 
his eyes.
	"There, that's not so bad," she said, as she finished extracting 
the needle. 
	As soon as he fell asleep, she gathered her bag and headed for 
the living room. LaCroix followed her just moments later.
	"Have you talked to him about what happened?" she asked. 
"What does he remember?"
	"We have not discussed it. He has been sleeping," replied 
LaCroix.
	"Okay, I'm going back to work. I'll stop by again on my way 
home," she said, heading for the front door.
	"Very well," replied LaCroix, reaching the door first and opening it 
for her. "Doctor, please tell Marcus to have Urs return."
	"Sure," she said, as the door closed behind her.

===
Chapter Four


	Chang walked down the hallway, closely followed by another. 
They paused outside the doors to the library before Chang carefully 
pushed them open and proceeded into the room. He brought them to a 
stop in front of a large ornate desk. Bowing low, he announced, "master. 
Wen has returned with the news you seek."
	After a short pause, Lei Kung looked up from the papers he was 
reading and stared at the two who bowed before him. "You may speak," 
he stated imperiously.
	Chang stood and moved to the side. Wen also stood, then 
stepping forward, bowed again. With his head down and eyes on the 
floor, he reported, "it is as you believed, master. The son has been taken 
to his father's home, in the nightclub they call the Raven."
	Even though this was as had been expected, the news did not 
please him. "Do you have a plan to reach him?" asked Lei Kung, 
expectantly.
	"We must wait," stated Wen, calmly. He knew his master would 
not welcome these words.
	"And why is this?" demanded Lei Kung.
	"The father has surrounded the son with guards. Security around 
the club has been increased. I was very lucky not to have been noticed," 
answered Wen.
	Lei Kung rose from his desk and stormed across the room to 
stand in front of the fireplace. After a few moments meditation, he turned 
and said, "I do not depend on luck. You will come up with a plan," he 
ordered.
	"What would you have me do, master?" asked Wen, standing 
very still, head nervously bowed.
	"We need more information. Do you have anyone in the club?"
	"No, master. I was afraid to send anyone in. Any new face would 
be suspicious," explained Wen hurriedly.
	"If I may speak, master," said Chang, who up until now had been 
standing quietly off to the side.
	"You may speak," ordered Lei Kung, looking to his long time 
servant.
	"There must be one we can bribe for the information. Not all will 
be loyal to the General," said Chang. "Then we need not send our own 
and risk discovery."
	"And how will we find this one?" asked Lei Kung.
	"We will watch this Raven, and follow those who leave. If 
someone is unhappy with the General, they will surely wait to leave 
before expressing themselves. We will watch and listen and then we will 
find," explained Chang, humbly, bowing again. He was pleased at his 
thought and expected to be praised for his subtle thinking.
	"That is very good, Chang, very good," said Lei Kung. Turning to 
the other, he continued, "what say you Wen? Can you do this?"
	"Yes, master. This will be done," said Wen, grateful that an 
acceptable plan had been provided.
	"See to it then," ordered Lei Kung, dismissing them as he 
returned to his desk.
	Chang and Wen, bowing low, slowly backed out of the room, 
leaving their master to continue forming his new plan.

	Shortly before dawn, LaCroix returned to his apartments. Urs 
turned off the television and rose from the couch. "How is he?" he asked.
	"He never woke," she replied. "Is there anything more you want 
me to do?" she asked helpfully.
	"No. You may go," he replied, as he crossed the room heading 
towards the hallway.
	Nodding at his retreating back, Urs sighed and headed for the 
door. She assumed he would have her stay with Nick again tonight. With 
all the extra security, everyone was tense, and it made it very hard to 
relax around here. She had already decided to go spend the day with 
Vachon.
	She left the club through the alley door, and after a quick look 
around, took to the air. After a short flight, she landed behind the church, 
never noticing that she had been followed. She walked around and 
entered through the front door, calling out to Vachon as she did.
	"Hey, Urs, what's up?" asked Vachon, as he came up behind her.
	"I thought I'd spend the day here, if you don't mind," she replied, 
fully expecting to be welcomed.
	"Sure, of course," said Vachon. "Come on in." After they got 
settled in, Vachon asked, "so what's going on over at the Raven?"
	"You heard about what happened to Nick?" she asked.
	"Yeah. I heard all about it. I understand LaCroix is on the 
warpath," he said.
	"That's putting it mildly," said Urs, with a 'you're not kidding' tone.
	"So, how's Knight?"
	"He's okay, I think. LaCroix had me stay in the apartment tonight 
so I could call him if he woke up. That Dr. Lambert came by a couple of 
times. I left while she was there, though," explained Urs.
	"Does LaCroix know who tried to off Knight?" asked Vachon, 
curiously.
	"I don't think so," she answered, thoughtfully. "And I sure don't 
want to be anywhere around when he does, I can tell you that much."
	"Yeah, I hear you there. I think I'll keep my distance, and maybe 
you should too," he suggested.
	"He needs me there," she said quietly.
	"Who, Knight?" asked Vachon, surprised.
	"Well, yeah, but I meant LaCroix," explained Urs. "I don't think he 
wants to leave Nick alone and he doesn't trust hardly anyone."
	"He seems to trust you," said Vachon grinning, "leaving you to 
baby-sit his favorite son, and all."
	"Vachon," she said warningly, knowing he was teasing her.
	"So, how does Knight feel about having you for a baby-sitter?" he 
continued, kidding her.
	"I don't think Nick knows I'm there. He's been asleep the whole 
time," she replied.
	"Wow," replied Vachon, turning a bit more serious. "Sounds like 
he's really out of it."
	"They gave him some kind of drug, and I guess it's not wearing 
off very fast," she explained.
	Vachon turned to stare at the wall, thinking this sounded a little 
more serious than he had originally thought. He hadn't talked to Tracy in 
awhile. He decided he would look her up tomorrow night. Turning back to 
Urs, he said, "let's get some sleep. I have a feeling we're all going to 
need it before this thing is over."
	The sun was going to be up shortly, so with Urs' ready 
agreement, they settled down for the day.

	It was about an hour after sunrise. LaCroix was in his den 
finishing up with a few follow up telephone calls. He had checked 
Nicholas earlier and left him still sleeping soundly. He looked up as he 
heard a knock, followed by the front door opening. He could sense 
multiple mortal heartbeats entering. Listening carefully, he discerned one 
of the heartbeats as belonging to Dr. Lambert. He stepped out into the 
living room to see who else she had brought with her.
	He immediately recognized Captain Reese, but did not know the 
other two men accompanying them. "Hello, Doctor, Captain. What can I 
do for you?" he asked, letting his annoyance show.
	"Hello, LaCroix. I was just stopping by to check on Nick and ran 
into them on the street," explained Natalie, indicating Reese and the 
other two men.
	"So you decided to escort them to my door," replied LaCroix 
sarcastically.
	"Excuse me, Mr. LaCroix, but I did call earlier and you never 
returned my message," retorted Reese.
	"I have a lot on my mind right now, Captain," said LaCroix.
	Turning to the men accompanying him, Reese said, "these are 
Detectives Bissett and Clarke. They're handling Knight's case and we 
came by to talk with him."
	"He's sleeping," snapped LaCroix, glaring at the small party.
	"We won't take long and he can go back to sleep when we're 
through," explained Reese.
	"You cannot see him. I would like you to leave," ordered LaCroix.
	Natalie was beginning to get nervous. She could see that LaCroix 
was getting upset, and Captain Reese was pushing him. Trying to 
mediate the situation, she said, "Captain, maybe later would be better."
	"Excuse me, Doctor, but it has been over 24 hours and we really 
need to talk to Knight. Supposedly, he was well enough that he didn't 
need to go to the hospital, and that being the case, I'm sure he is well 
enough to talk to us now." Turning back to LaCroix, he continued, "we 
would like to see him."
	"I said NO," said LaCroix, quickly losing his patience. "I will not 
allow you to disturb him. Now I suggest you go before I really get upset."
	Reese was just getting ready to reply, when they all heard a 
voice from the hallway, "what's going on?" They all turned and saw Nick 
standing in the hall, dressed only in his pajama's, one arm leaning 
against the wall for support. His hair was disheveled and it was obvious 
he was exhausted.
	"Nicholas, return to bed," ordered LaCroix, gently.
	Nick, looking past LaCroix, could see Reese and Natalie. 
Standing behind them, he also recognized Detectives Bissett and Clarke.
	"Hello, Captain. What are you doing here?" asked Nick.
	LaCroix glared at Reese, and before the Captain had a chance to 
answer, he ordered more insistently, "Nicholas, return to your bed."
	Nick wasn't feeling well. He had only gotten out of bed because 
he had heard the arguing in the living room, and recognizing familiar 
voices, thought to see what was happening. He wasn't sure it was a good 
idea to leave now. LaCroix seemed to be getting upset. "I'm okay ...," he 
started to say, but was quickly cut off.
	"Do as you are told," demanded LaCroix gently, but firmly.
	Sensing that he would not be able to reason with LaCroix, and 
being too tired to even attempt it, he turned to go. He had only gone 
about three steps when he was overcome with a wave of dizziness. He 
turned and pressed his back against the wall, looking for some support to 
keep from falling. "LaCroix," he whispered, as he closed his eyes. His 
knees gave out and he began to sink to the ground.
	Meanwhile, LaCroix had turned his attentions back to the 
Captain, and was in the process of once again demanding that they 
leave, when he heard Nicholas call to him. Turning, he then quickly 
rushed to his side. LaCroix put out his arm to catch him and to stop his 
slide to the floor.
	Nick seized the arm supporting him and briefly opened his eyes. 
LaCroix grabbed him by the chin and pulled his head up so their eyes 
met. "I'm sorry," whispered Nick, as he again closed his eyes. He really 
wasn't feeling well.
	"Sshh, it's okay," he heard whispered in his ear. Then the hands 
around him shifted. An arm circled around his back, grasping him firmly. 
Then another arm came up under his knees and lifted him into the air. He 
felt himself being carried and then placed onto his bed. The dizzy feeling 
was staying with him. He gasped for breath a couple of times, and then 
felt himself rolled onto his stomach. He pressed his face against the 
sheets and began to take some deep breaths. His world gradually 
stopped spinning and he began to relax. It was then that he noticed a 
strong hand, rubbing his back, while words meant to soothe were 
whispered into his ear. He slowly opened his eyes and saw LaCroix' 
concerned face looking at him. "Better?" he was asked. He just carefully 
nodded, then taking another deep breath, closed his eyes.
	"LaCroix," said Natalie from the doorway. LaCroix turned to look 
at her. Reese was behind her. Standing, he approached them. "May I?" 
asked Natalie, indicating she wished to go to Nick.
	Taking another glance at his son, LaCroix stepped aside and 
allowed the doctor to pass. Turning to Reese, he said, "come with me." 
He then proceeded to return to the living room. Reese had taken a quick 
look at Nick and seeing him laying quietly, Natalie beside him, followed 
LaCroix into the living room.
	"I will not have you entering my home, and upsetting my son. Do 
I make myself clear, Captain?" demanded LaCroix, leaving no room for 
argument.
	"It was not my intention to upset him, surely you know that," 
explained Reese.
	"I know nothing of the sort," stated LaCroix.
	"Look, he's my detective and I want him to get well just as badly 
as you do," retorted Reese.
	"Somehow, I doubt that very much," responded LaCroix.
	Trying to calm down, Reese took a deep breath. "Okay, you were 
right. He obviously isn't up to answering any questions. But as soon as 
he is, we want to speak to him," stated Reese firmly. "We need any 
information he has so we can figure out who was behind his kidnapping."
	"Your assistance isn't required," replied LaCroix firmly.
	"Oh, really. And why is that, General?" asked Reese 
sarcastically. Seeing the look on LaCroix' face, he continued, "thought I 
forgot? Well, I have a list of questions for you too. Since Nick's not up to 
any questioning right now, maybe you could spare some time, Mr. 
LaCroix."
	Realizing that antagonizing the Captain further would solve 
nothing, LaCroix forced himself to be calm. "Captain, it is late and I would 
like to attend to my son. I suggest that we do this at a later time," 
reasoned LaCroix. Seeing the look start to come about on the Captain's 
face, he continued, "I assure you, I will answer your questions tonight. 
But not this morning."
	After a brief moment of them staring at each other, the Captain 
finally said, "okay. We'll talk later. And believe me, there will be a later." 
LaCroix simply nodded and then with a gesture, indicated the door. 
Reese headed in that direction, taking Detectives Bissett and Clarke with 
him.
	Returning to Nicholas' room, he saw Dr. Lambert closing her bag 
and standing away from the bed. She looked up as he entered the room. 
"I gave him something and he should sleep most of the day."
	"Doctor, is it really a good idea to be continually giving him more 
drugs?" asked LaCroix, concerned. It was not known that his kind could 
be affected like this and he didn't like it. In fact, he only had her word for it 
that this was even the case. For all he knew, it was this drug she was 
giving him that was making him sick.
	Unaware of his thoughts, she explained, "to tell you the truth, I 
don't know. I've never treated vampires with drugs before, but the blood 
tests I've been doing are showing an improvement. That last test I took, 
after he had fed, show an accelerated dissipation rate. I think that's 
encouraging."
	"And how do you explain his nearly fainting in the hallway," asked 
LaCroix, sounding a bit accusatory.
	"There's nothing strange about that," she replied, beginning to 
sense an undercurrent to LaCroix' questions. "He's weak and shouldn't 
have been out of bed. He needs to get his strength back. He's going to 
be fine. I just checked his wrists and ankles, and they're almost 
completely healed."
	Somewhat mollified with her answers, he decided to let it go. 
"Very well, Doctor. Until tonight then," he said, ushering her towards the 
door. After she left, he looked in on Nicholas, who was sleeping soundly. 
He then went to get some sleep himself.

===
Chapter Five


	"Detective Vetter, I told you to stay out of this," demanded 
Reese, yet again. He felt like he was talking to a wall. "This is not your 
case, and you're just going to have to deal with that."
	"But, Captain, he's my partner. And I was there when he was 
kidnapped. I can help," insisted Tracy. "You can't keep me off this."
	"And that is exactly why you're not part of this investigation. In 
case you've forgotten, Detective, you're a victim, as well as a witness. 
You can't be objective. This case belongs to Bissett and Clarke, and 
that's final," proclaimed Captain Reese. "I am not going to change my 
mind."
	Tracy continued to stare helplessly at the Captain. She had tried 
every argument she could think of, all to no avail. He wouldn't budge. "So 
what am I suppose to do?" she asked in exasperation.
	"Your job, detective. I presume you do have other cases that you 
should actually be working on, am I right?" he asked.
	Frowning with disappointment, she replied, "yeah, I do."
	"Then I suggest you get to it," he responded, dismissing her.
	With one last look at the Captain, she turned and noisily exited 
his office, letting her obvious displeasure and frustration show. She 
walked across the office to her desk, and plopped heavily into her chair. 
She looked across the aisle as she heard Bissett address her.
	"So, Vetter, get anywhere with the Captain?" he asked, a bit 
rudely. Seeing her just glare at him in response, he continued, "maybe 
you could call your father. See if he can pull some more strings for you."
	"Stow it, Bissett. You're not funny," she snapped at him. It 
annoyed her whenever her co-workers alluded to her father, Police 
Commissioner Richard Vetter, as having pulled strings for her to get this 
job. Nick was really the only one who ever gave her a break on that 
score. These guys never let a chance slip by to remind her that they 
didn't think she belonged here. Watching their faces, she could tell they 
also thought she was responsible for Nick's kidnapping. It had been her 
tip, her meeting, and she had led him there. How was she suppose to 
know it was a trap?
	"Tracy. Maybe you can give us a hand in interrogating those 
mercenaries we arrested," said Detective Clarke, sincerely. He knew why 
she wanted to help, and he didn't blame her. He would feel the same way 
in her position, and besides, they could really use the help. There were 
seven of these guys, and none of them were talking.
	"I don't know that that is such a good idea," said Bissett. "You 
heard the Captain. She's not suppose to be involved."
	"I'll talk to the Captain, and I'm sure he'll go along with this," 
replied Clarke, to his partner.
	"Thanks, Clarke. I appreciate it, and I would like to help," said 
Tracy, glaring at Bissett, daring him to tell her again that she couldn't.
	Bissett, looking down at his desk, tossed his pencil aside and 
said, "fine. Whatever. But let's get this over with. I'm tired of going round 
and round with those guys and not getting anywhere." 
	"Okay, let's do it," said Clarke, motioning for Tracy to follow them 
back to interrogation.

	Nick opened his eyes. He felt like he had been sleeping for days. 
He pushed himself up to a sitting position, and raised his hands to his 
head. It was still throbbing, not as bad as before, but it still hurt. He slowly 
lowered his arms and took stock of his surroundings. He vaguely had an 
idea where he was, and why, but his memory was really fuzzy. It had a 
dream-like quality to it, and he couldn't be sure what was real and what 
wasn't.
	As he checked out the room, he recognized it as the bedroom 
LaCroix kept for him at the Raven. He knew LaCroix was nearby, he 
could sense him. The door to the hallway was open, and everything was 
very quiet. He was hungry. He rubbed his stomach, and was surprised he 
didn't feel nauseous.
	He kicked the blankets off himself, and swung his legs over the 
side of the bed. As he stood, he felt a wave of dizziness pass over him. 
He leaned against the wall and steadied himself until the feeling passed. 
He made his way to the hall, with the intention of heading for the kitchen. 
He noticed the door to LaCroix' bedroom was open and he looked in as 
he paused in passing. LaCroix was in bed sleeping. Nick tried to get a 
sense of what time it was, but couldn't focus that clearly. He just 
assumed it must be day.
	He continued on to the kitchen and straight for the refrigerator. 
Looking inside, there was only one choice to be made, so he grabbed the 
nearest bottle. He thought of getting a glass, but he needed one hand 
free to use as support when he walked. He was still feeling a little 
disoriented, and the dizziness seemed to come and go. He made his way 
to the living room and sank onto the couch. He pulled his feet up until he 
was sitting almost cross-legged, tucked into the corner against the 
headrest.
	Grasping the cork between his teeth, he pulled it out and let it fall 
to the floor. The smell of the blood caused a slight nausea in his stomach, 
but it passed quickly, leaving only the hunger. He put the bottle to his lips, 
and slowly swallowed a few mouthfuls. He paused long enough to make 
sure the nausea didn't return, then quickly downed about half the 
contents of the bottle. That seemed to be enough to take the edge off his 
hunger. He lowered the bottle to his lap and gasped for air in order to 
catch his breath.
	He ran a hand across his mouth, and closed his eyes. He could 
feel the energy returning to his body, but not enough to take away the 
feeling of exhaustion. The throbbing in his head hadn't diminished and his 
muscles still ached all over. Even with all that, he thought he was feeling 
better. He took a deep breath, and tried to remember the details of what 
had happened. When he tried to force the memories, it made his temples 
pound. He didn't want to think about it right now.
	Spying the remote on the table by the couch, he picked it up and 
turned on the television. He flipped through the channels, not really 
paying attention, just knowing that he didn't want to go back to bed. 
Judging by the shows that were playing, he figured it must be late 
afternoon. He finally settled on a talk show where everyone seemed to be 
calmly talking about something, he didn't care what, and the camera 
wasn't jumping around a lot making him dizzy.
	He took another long drink from the bottle in his hand, then 
closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch. He let the 
background noise wash over him, blocking out all other thoughts. It 
seemed like only a couple of minutes had passed, as he dozed off for a 
moment. He was startled awake when he felt the bottle pulled from his 
grasp. He opened his eyes to see LaCroix standing above him, pouring 
the contents of the bottle into a cup.
	Handing the cup down to him, LaCroix merely said, "drink." Nick 
took the cup and raised it to his mouth and drank. When he finished, he 
handed the cup back to LaCroix. "More?" asked LaCroix. Nick shook his 
head no. Now that his hunger was fairly sated, the tired feeling was 
taking precedence once again.
	"Come, I will take you back to bed," said LaCroix, holding his 
hand out to Nick.
	"I don't want to go to bed," said Nick, staring back at LaCroix.
	"You're tired. You should be sleeping," explained LaCroix gently.
	"I want to stay here," replied Nick wearily.
	Nick could barely keep his eyes open, he was so tired. The 
energy he felt from feeding wasn't enough to rid him of his exhaustion. 
He closed his eyes and rubbed them with his hands. He was so tired, 
they hurt. He felt LaCroix reach up and cup his chin firmly. Nick opened 
his eyes to see LaCroix intently scrutinizing him. "Let me take you to 
bed," suggested LaCroix again.
	"No," said Nick, as forcefully as he could, as he raised his arm 
and knocked LaCroix' hand away. "Leave me alone."
	"Very well," said LaCroix. Picking up the bottle and cup, he 
walked away.
	Nick could hear LaCroix moving around in the kitchen. When he 
felt sure LaCroix was not coming back to force him to bed, he relaxed. It 
didn't take very long before his eyes closed, and he dozed off again. He 
half woke when he felt an arm reach around his back, and another push 
under his legs. He made a feeble protest when he felt himself lifted into 
the air, but was too tired to struggle. Moments later he felt his body 
lowered to his bed. 
	"Sleep," he heard LaCroix whisper in his ear, as he rolled over 
and hugged his pillow to his body. His blankets were pulled up and 
tucked around him. He took a deep breath, and was sound asleep before 
fully exhaling.

	A few hours later, the frustrated Detectives were back at their 
desks. The seven mercenaries they had arrested were back in lock up, 
and they had no new information. None of them were talking. Bissett and 
Clarke were comparing notes, trying to decide what avenue to follow 
next. Tracy was at her desk, trying to figure out how to stay involved, 
when Natalie entered the office and approached her.
	"Hello, Tracy. How's it going?"
	"Hi, Natalie. Going? It's not going. We're getting nowhere fast," 
she said, indicating the other two detectives as well.
	"You haven't made any progress?" asked Natalie curiously.
	"None," was the answered barked out by Detective Bissett. 
"Those mercenaries are real cool customers."
	"So, what brings you here, Doctor?" asked Detective Clarke.
	"I have the autopsy reports, and all the test results on our Mr. 
Black," she said, holding out the file folder in her hand towards the 
detectives. Clarke reached out and took it, and started glancing through 
the file.
	"Anything in there?" asked Tracy, not expecting any answers.
	"Nothing that will help, I'm afraid," she replied.
	"So, how's Nick doing? Have you seen him tonight?" asked 
Tracy, hoping for some good news. Bissett and Clarke also looked up 
attentively, to hear her answer.
	"Not yet. I was just on my way over there next. But when I saw 
him this morning, he seemed to be doing better," she said, seeing the 
concerned looks.
	"Yeah? He didn't look too good to me," said Clarke, remembering 
how Nick had practically fainted.
	"You saw him," asked a surprised Tracy.
	"We were there with the Captain, early this morning," said 
Bissett. "But Mr. LaCroix wouldn't let us talk to him. He and the Captain 
got into it, and then Nick came out while they were arguing. That LaCroix 
guy ordered him back to bed, and then he fainted in the hall."
	"That LaCroix guy is his father," said Tracy snappishly.
	"Well I tell you, his father is one scary guy. I guarantee you, I 
don't think I want to be on his bad side," said Clarke, thinking back on this 
morning.
	"Trust me, you don't," said Natalie, knowingly. Turning the 
conversation back to Nick, she said "I checked him out after you guys 
left, and I expect him to be doing better tonight. I'll let the Captain know 
after I see Nick," she said, turning to leave.
	"It would be helpful if we could talk to him," said Bissett. 
"Preferably without his father hovering over us." 
	"Don't count on that," said Natalie, referring to the likelihood of 
LaCroix' presence during their talk with Nick, "but like I said, I'll let you 
know."
	"Dr. Lambert, may I have a word with you before you leave?" 
asked Captain Reese, stepping out of his office for a moment.
	"Sure, Captain," replied Natalie, following him back into his office.
	"Were you on you're way over to the Raven?" he asked.
	"Yes. I was going to stop there on my way back to the lab and 
check on Nick," she replied.
	"Good. You'll let me know how he's doing?"
	"Of course, Captain," she replied. After a brief pause she asked, 
"was there something else?"
	"Oh, sorry, Doctor. Yes. Will you remind Mr. LaCroix that I plan 
on speaking with him tonight. He can either come here, or we'll go there. 
Whichever he chooses, but I do want to talk to him... tonight," said 
Reese, firmly.
	"All I can do is pass the message along," replied Natalie.
	"I understand, Doctor," answered Reese. "That would be all I 
would expect. Thank you."
	"Sure thing," said Natalie. She turned and left his office. She 
gave a short wave to Tracy as she headed out of the bullpen and down 
the stairs. She hoped LaCroix was in a better mood tonight, but that was 
probably too much to hope for.

	A few minutes after Natalie left, the phone rang. "Vetter," 
answered Tracy.
	"Hey, Trace. I was wondering if you could meet me," said 
Vachon.
	"Uh, sure. Where and when?"
	"How about now, down by your car," he replied.
	Hanging up the phone, Tracy grabbed her coat and headed out 
the door. "I'll be right back," she said, answering the questioning looks 
from her fellow detectives.
	Reaching her car, she looked around and didn't see anyone. The 
driver's door opened, and when she looked inside, she saw Vachon 
sitting in the passenger seat waving at her. She climbed in and shut the 
door.
	"So, what's up?" she asked.
	"I thought you could tell me," he replied. At her confused look, he 
continued, "with your partner, Knight. What happened?"
	"What have you heard?" she asked, curious why Vachon seemed 
so interested.
	"Not much," he began carefully. He had been going over this in 
his mind before calling her. He needed to make sure he didn't slip up. 
She didn't know that Nick was a vampire, and she certainly didn't know 
about LaCroix. That would be a certain death sentence. "I hear things, 
you know. And since he's your partner, I just wanted to make sure you're 
all right."
	"As you can see, I'm fine," she replied. At his subtle urging, she 
told him the entire story, beginning with the actual kidnapping at Ling Po's 
and ending with the failed interrogations of this evening. "I feel really bad 
about what happened. I know it wasn't my fault, but I sure feel guilty 
anyway," she said.
	"There's nothing for you to feel guilty about, Trace," said Vachon, 
still mulling over much of what she told him. "So, everyone knows 
LaCroix is Knight's father, and he's staying at the Raven?"
	"Yeah, can you believe it? Nick had never told anyone that 
LaCroix was his father, except I'm pretty sure Natalie knew. And the 
funniest thing is, all those times I complained to Nick about my 
overbearing father always trying to run my life. Well, compared to Nick's 
father, I think mine qualifies for sainthood."
	"I guess you have to give him credit. It can't be easy having 
someone like LaCroix for a father," said Vachon, sympathetically.
	"That's right, you know the guy, don't you?" asked Tracy, 
curiously excited.
	"What do you mean?" said Vachon cautiously.
	"I mean, LaCroix owns the Raven and you hang out there all the 
time. You must know him, right?"
	"I know who he is, but we're not friends or anything," explained 
Vachon.
	"Well, everyone thinks Nick was kidnapped to get to LaCroix. Do 
you know any reason that might be?" she asked hopefully.
	After a brief pause, looking her straight in the eye, he replied, 
"no. No idea at all."
	"We're running a check on him now, hopefully something will turn 
up. We figure he has some kind of military background. The kidnapper 
called him General, and we think that means something," she said, 
thinking out loud.
	"What do you think it means?" he asked. "Has anyone asked him 
about it?"
	"Captain Reese tried to talk to him about it a couple of times, but 
so far, he always has a reason why it's not a good time to talk. He said he 
would talk to Reese tonight, so, I don't know," she answered.
	"Is there anything I can do?" he asked.
	"If you see or hear anything, let me know," she suggested. 
"Would you do that?"
	"Sure. I'd be glad to," he answered.
	"Look, I've got to get back," she said, as she opened the car 
door. "Keep in touch, okay?"
	"Trace," he said, climbing out of the car on the other side. When 
she turned back to look at him, he said, "be careful. Whoever this is, they 
sound pretty serious. I don't want to see anything happen to you."
	"Don't worry. I'll be fine, but thanks for worrying," she said with a 
smile, then turning her back to him, hurried back into the station.
	As Vachon headed down the street, he didn't notice the silent 
eyes watching him. He would have been more worried had he known that 
another pair were watching Tracy.

===
Chapter Six


	Natalie got out of her car and walked the half block to the 
Raven's entrance. She was surprised at the number of customers lined 
up waiting to get in. She made her way past them, and was quickly 
ushered inside by the doorman. She had not noticed the eyes that had 
been tracking her movements; from the morgue, to the precinct and now 
to the Raven.
	As she made her way towards the bar, she spotted Urs on the 
stage, dancing. She stopped to watch her a moment, noting the admiring 
throng of an audience. If Urs were down here, then LaCroix must be 
upstairs she reasoned as she headed for the private apartment.
	LaCroix had two security guards at the entrance to the back 
rooms, as well as at the foot of the staircase leading upstairs. They all 
stepped aside to let her pass. She took that as a good sign as she 
climbed the staircase. The door at the top was locked. Using Nick's keys, 
she entered into the living room. LaCroix was no where to be seen.
	She found him sitting in a chair next to Nick's bed. He looked 
tired. "How is he?" she whispered.
	"He's been restless," he answered softly.
	"So I can tell," she said, moving to the side of his bed. Looking at 
Nick's disheveled appearance, it was obvious he had been tossing and 
turning. He was currently laying on his side, facing her, one arm 
outstretched and the other held close to his chest. He was frowning and 
his body was tense. She sat, reached down and gently brushed the hair 
off his forehead with her fingers. "If you have something you need to do, I 
can sit with him for a short while," she offered, her eyes not leaving Nick's 
face.
	"Your offer is very tempting, Doctor, but under the circumstances 
is most likely not a wise suggestion," he replied dryly.
	"Why is that?" she asked, turning to look at LaCroix.
	With a slight smile, he answered, "because, he has been quite 
hungry."
	Natalie raised her eyebrows in surprise. It was then she noticed 
the bottles on the night stand, most of which were empty. "I see," she 
said. "Actually, that's a good sign," she continued. "It means he's getting 
better."
	Opening her bag, she pulled out the necessary items needed to 
take another blood sample. LaCroix watched in silence as she completed 
this task. Nick stirred slightly, but didn't wake. She noticed that his 
breathing was deep and steady. She pulled out her stethoscope, and 
after unbuttoning his shirt, listened for any lingering sounds of 
congestion. There were none. Next, she removed the bandages around 
his wrists and found the wounds to be completely healed. The skin was 
smooth and unmarked. Turning to the foot of the bed, she uncovered his 
feet and removed the bandages from his ankles as well. They were also 
completely healed.
	"This is very good," she said to LaCroix, happily. "Definitely a 
good sign."
	"Yes. It is amazing what a decent diet will do for one's health," he 
replied sarcastically.
	Choosing to ignore his jibe, she asked him, "have you spoken to 
him at all? I mean about what happened."
	"No, and I would appreciate it if you didn't either," he replied 
decidedly.
	"Why not?" she asked curiously.
	Sitting up in his chair, he leaned forward, placing his elbows on 
his knees and looked at her intently. "Regardless of what you may 
believe, Doctor, we are not impervious to trauma. He has been through a 
severe ordeal and I do not want him subjected to any further agitation. I 
will not tolerate anyone who causes him further upset. Does that answer 
your question, Doctor?"
	"Yes, of course. I totally agree with you," she said, a little 
surprised. She thought it somewhat amazing that LaCroix had admitted 
that vampires might have a vulnerability, and she was also surprised that 
she hadn't considered this herself. She had seen Nick deal with some 
pretty bad situations, and he always seemed okay. It hadn't occurred to 
her that it could affect him on a deeper level. Sure, she'd seen him 
emotionally distraught, but he always seemed to get over it. The fact that 
his physical wounds healed so quickly, caused her to assume that any 
emotional wounds would heal as fast. This was certainly food for thought.
	"Now, if you're through, perhaps you should leave," suggested 
LaCroix.
	Natalie had been absently rubbing his back. She looked down at 
Nick and studied him carefully. He still had dark circles under his eyes, 
but he was sleeping better. His breathing had eased up and he seemed 
more restful. She was debating about whether she should suggest he be 
given more medication to help him sleep, or to let him be and see how he 
does. Watching how soundly he was now sleeping, although his body 
seemed tense, she decided to let him be.
	Picking up her bag, she stood to leave. Turning to LaCroix she 
said, "call me if he gets too restless. Otherwise, I'll stop back on my way 
home in the morning."
	"Very well, Doctor. Is there anything else?" he asked, curious 
over her hesitation in leaving.
	"Yes, one other thing. Captain Reese asked me to remind you 
that he wanted to talk to you tonight. He said if you didn't want to come 
down to the precinct, he would come here. I think he wants you to call 
him," she said from the hallway. Seeing the dark look that came over his 
face, she turned and quickly headed for the exit.
	As she walked the half block back to her car, once again, she did 
not notice the one who followed her. As she later pulled into the parking 
lot at the morgue, and walked to her office, she still did not sense that she 
was being observed.

	Having assured himself that Nicholas was well fed, and once 
again sleeping soundly, LaCroix summoned Urs to his apartment. He 
figured now would be a good time to get this interview with Captain 
Reese out of the way. He impatiently paced the living room, waiting for 
her arrival. 
	As soon as she entered, he wasted no time with pleasantries. "I 
want you to sit with him and call me immediately should he awaken," he 
said. "You can reach me on my cell phone."
	"Sure, no problem. Where are you going?" she asked. She was 
surprised to think he was leaving the club, so it must be very important.
	After a short pause, he replied, "I will be at the police station, 
speaking with Nicholas' Captain. While I am gone, do not let anyone in. I 
do not want him disturbed under any circumstances." 
	"Why are you going there, rather than him coming here?" she 
wondered.
	"His last visit here was too distressing. I wish to avoid a repeat of 
that situation," he explained. "I will also leave instructions with Marcus to 
contact me should other news arrive." 
	"Okay. I'll call you if he wakes up," she promised, as she headed 
for Nick's bedroom.
	LaCroix watched her go, mildly contemplating his willingness to 
entrust Nicholas into her care. It would only be for a short time, but there 
had always been something about Urs that drew LaCroix. She would not 
deceive him, or go against his wishes. He knew he could trust her. True, 
she would be no match for any vampire intruder, but that's what his 
guards were for. Pushing these stray thoughts aside, he turned his focus 
to tonight's objective and left for the precinct.

	"LaCroix has left his club," said Wen, bowing low before his 
master, who had the ever faithful Chang at his side.
	"Where has he gone?" asked Lei Kung.
	"We did not attempt to follow him, as he would detect us for 
certain," replied Wen. He hurriedly continued as a look of displeasure 
crossed the face of his master, "but our man at the police station saw him 
enter there a short time later. We believe he is speaking with the police 
captain."
	"LaCroix must be quite irritated with having to continually deal 
with the local authorities. This does not leave him free to do as he 
wishes. He must be careful, as I am sure they will be scrutinizing his 
every move," said Lei Kung, pleased at the notion.
	"Yes, master," agreed Chang. "It was most brilliant of you to force 
the General into having to work with them. The fact that his son is a 
detective made it so much easier, and most assuredly ensures their 
continued involvement. This most surely gives us an advantage."
	"Should we go after the son now?" asked Wen.
	A thoughtful look crossed Lei Kung's face as he absorbed this 
latest information. If LaCroix was at the police station, the son must still 
be in the club. Of course, he would not have been left unprotected, but 
would those guardians truly be able to fend off an attack by his forces. 
They may not get another chance. But on the other hand, it was too much 
to believe that LaCroix would be this careless with his son's safety. No, 
he would not have left his son vulnerable. He would not make such a 
mistake. Lei Kung forced down his eagerness.
	"I think it is time we sent the General another message," said Lei 
Kung. "I do not want to risk going after the son at this time. I believe we 
have some loose ends of our own to clean up at the police station, do we 
not?"
	"Yes, master," agreed Chang. "This would be an excellent time to 
tidy up."
	"Wen, you will take care of this?" ordered Lei Kung.
	Bowing low, with a smile on his face, Wen replied, "yes, master. 
It shall be taken care of. There is a plan in place. We shall execute it 
immediately."
	"Good. You may go," he said, waving his hand in dismissal. Wen, 
keeping his head low, slowly backed out of the room. Once the door was 
closed, Lei Kung turn to Chang and said, "we must find a way to reach 
the son. Have our watchers found anyone they think may be helpful?"
	"There may be one, master, but it is too soon to tell," replied 
Chang. "We wish to watch a bit longer to be sure, before we approach 
this one."
	"Who is this one?"
	"We do not know his name, but he has been seen with one from 
the Raven, as well as one from the police. All those loyal to the General 
are searching for us, however, this one has avoided any involvement," 
explained Chang. "We are not sure what this means."
	"Very well. Keep me informed," said Lei Kung. "You may go."
	"Yes, master," said Chang. As he departed the room, he saw his 
master move to the window and stare out into the night. Shivers ran up 
his back as he sensed the rage boiling from within. He did not know how 
long his master would maintain his patience, or what would happen if this 
LaCroix continued to thwart their plans.

-- Start flashback, Vietnam 1971 --

	It had taken a couple of months to travel from their haven in 
southern China, to Bin Loc. The American forces were still very much in 
control of this area, even though it was rife with Viet Cong. Lei Kung had 
been deathly silent throughout the entire trip. They had been living 
comfortably at the plantation near Kunming, China, when Lei Kung had 
felt the overwhelming pain caused by the death of his son.
	Chang did not know why they were bothering to travel to Bin Loc, 
as Lei Kung already knew without doubt that his son had met the true 
death. Le Loi had been Lei Kung's favorite, these past 300 years. Le Loi 
had shown a remarkable talent for survival, this was in spite of his near 
fanatical obsession with local politics and the near godlike power he 
chose to exert over his subjects. It was no wonder that he had attracted 
the attention of those who wished him dead. It had only been a matter of 
time.
	It was early in the evening when they arrived at the estate of Le 
Loi. The main house had been burned to the ground, along with the 
surrounding buildings. There was virtually nothing left. Once they set up 
camp, Lei Kung sent Chang in search of anyone who could tell them what 
happened. It took a couple of days before they found a farmer, cowering 
in the remnants of an old barn.
	Bringing the mortal to Lei Kung, they were able to get the name 
and location of a surviving house servant. Chang found and brought this 
man before Lei Kung, who was forced to control the man's mind in order 
to calm him enough to tell the story of what had happened to Le Loi. The 
man related the events of the nights leading to Le Loi's death. 
	There had been a visitor early one evening. A tall elegant 
gentleman, with short blond close-cropped hair. He and Le Loi had 
argued about some plantations further north. Le Loi's army had been 
burning and pillaging plantations all over the area. The servant was under 
the impression that the tall gentleman was the owner of some of those 
plantations, who had come demanding Le Loi's protection of his property. 
Le Loi had been rude and disrespectful to the visitor. The gentleman left 
in anger, the situation unresolved.
	Later that night, Le Loi sent his men to the northern plantations 
and had them purposely burned to the ground. Everything was 
destroyed. Le Loi bragged to his men and followers, that he, and only he, 
had the power to decide the fate of men and property. He derided his 
visitor for even suggesting that he could dictate what Le Loi could or 
could not do.
	For many weeks, following that night, Le Loi's forces were 
constantly under siege. They were slowly being decimated, and all the 
territory and power Le Loi had accumulated was slowly eroding away. 
After one extremely fierce night of fighting, Le Loi, and his now small 
party of men, straggled into their main house shortly before dawn. Le Loi 
ranted most of the day, never resting.
	Then, that night, just as the sun set, they were besieged by a 
small army. They destroyed most everything and most everyone. This 
servant was in the main house, and saw the gentleman from the weeks 
before, enter Le Loi's den. The house was already aflame and everyone 
was trying to escape. Le Loi was raging at his men, demanding they stop 
the onslaught, when he spied the visitor from before.
	"You, you did this!" he exclaimed in his rage.
	"Yes, I did," said the visitor, an evil smile forming on his lips. "I 
gave you an opportunity to avoid this, and you chose to ignore my 
warnings and challenge me. I will not be disregarded."
	"Then you will die!" raged Le Loi, as he attacked his visitor, eyes 
glowing red and fangs extended.
	The visitor caught Le Loi easily, and tossed him up against the 
wall. Before Le Loi could regain his feet, the visitor had him by the throat, 
ripping and tearing it with his teeth. When Le Loi lost consciousness, the 
visitor threw him aside with a look of disgust. He then proceeded to set 
the room ablaze, and when the fire was burning uncontrollably, flew 
straight up through the roof.
	During this recital, Lei Kung had become stiff and silent. When 
the servant had been dispatched, Chang asked his master, "do you know 
this visitor?"
	Lei Kung turned deadly eyes upon his faithful servant and 
replied, "oh, yes. I know this visitor. We have met before, long, long ago. 
And we will meet again, soon. Yes, I will destroy him," said Lei Kung with 
more vehemence than Chang had seen him display before.

-- End flashback --

===
Chapter Seven


	LaCroix was seated at the table in the interrogation room. Seated 
across from him was Captain Reese and Detective Bissett. Behind the 
mirrored glass, LaCroix could sense two other mortals; one he 
recognized as his son's partner, Detective Vetter, the other he assumed 
to be Detective Clarke. The two men in front of him were awkwardly 
shuffling through some papers they held.
	"May we proceed, Captain? I would like this to take no longer 
than necessary," said an impatient LaCroix.
	"Of course, Mr. LaCroix. We certainly wouldn't want to 
inconvenience you, now would we?" replied Reese sarcastically.
	LaCroix stared coldly at the two men, his brow furrowing in 
displeasure. He took a deep breath and willed himself to remain calm. 
"Ask your questions," he ordered.
	Bissett reached over and activated the tape recorder. "For the 
record, what is your name?" asked Detective Bissett, leading off the 
questioning.
	"Lucien LaCroix," he replied tersely, staring at the mechanical 
device.
	"You are the owner of the nightclub, the Raven?"
	"Yes."
	"You are also the late night radio talk show person known as the 
Nightcrawler?"
	"Yes."
	"And what is your relationship to Detective Knight?"
	"I am his father."
	"Do you know who kidnapped Detective Knight?"
	"No."
	"Do you know why Detective Knight was kidnapped?"
	"Two million dollars in diamonds."
	"So, you think they were after money?"
	LaCroix took a deep breath and steadied himself. Each question 
annoyed him more than the previous and he made no effort to hide his 
annoyance in his tone of voice. How could Nicholas continue to work with 
such ineffectual fools? Standing abruptly, he turned to Reese and said, "if 
this is the extent of the type of information you are seeking, you are 
wasting my time."
	"Now wait a minute... "said Detective Bissett, angrily, before he 
was interrupted by his Captain.
	Reese jumped to his feet. "Please sit down, Mr. LaCroix, we're 
just getting started."
	"And why should I bother? It's obvious you don't know what 
you're doing," he sneered.
	"Fine, then let's cut to the chase. Please, sit down," said Reese 
firmly. He probably should be feeling intimidated by LaCroix' formidable 
presence, but after spending a full day trapped in the briefing room with 
him while they dealt with the kidnappers, and then the meeting with Mr. 
Black, this was nothing.
	LaCroix sat back down. He continued to stare intimidatingly at 
Reese, who to his credit, didn't blink.
	Taking over the questioning from the obviously angry Detective 
Bissett, Reese asked, "so how come Nick never told us you were his 
father?"
	"That one's not hard to figure out," replied Bissett, under his 
breath.
	"You will have to ask Nicholas," replied LaCroix, ignoring Bissett, 
but letting his annoyance show.
	"You said you didn't know who was responsible for kidnapping 
Nick, so I don't suppose you could come up with a list of people who may 
have it in for you, could you?" asked Reese sarcastically.
	"I find your attitude unwarranted, Captain. You seem to forget, it 
was <my son> who was kidnapped. While he was working for you, I 
might add. I would think you would be less hostile and more 
accommodating, seeing as I am the injured party," answered LaCroix, a 
bit sanctimoniously.
	Reese rolled his eyes as LaCroix ended his little speech. "Injured 
party, my ass," he quipped. LaCroix frowned, not sure whether he was 
annoyed or amused by the Captain's obvious disdain towards him. "Tell 
me, Mr. LaCroix, why did the kidnapper refer to you as General?"
	After a fairly long pause, where they just stared at each other, 
LaCroix finally replied, "I believe that may be a reference to a military 
career."
	Reese looked at him as if he expected him to continue. When no 
further reply was obviously forthcoming, Reese picked up a piece of 
paper and held it out to LaCroix. "Here are the scant results of a 
background check we ran on you. There is no reference to the military 
anywhere in this document."
	Glancing briefly at the paper, and then dismissing it with a look, 
he replied, "I wouldn't expect that there would be."
	"And why is that?" asked an annoyed Reese.
	"My activities were... highly classified, on a need to know basis 
only, you might say," he replied with a smirk. "I doubt very much if you'll 
find a reference to them anywhere."
	"And how am I suppose to confirm your story if there is no record 
of service?" asked Reese, sounding frustrated.
	"I suppose you'll have to take my word for it, now won't you?" he 
asked, patronizingly. "After all, I'm not the one on trial here, am I?"
	"Okay, fine. So how many people know about this supposed 
career of yours, and dislike you so much that they would kidnap your 
son?" asked Reese, smirking a little himself.
	"Obviously, more than I would like," he replied.
	"Let's go at this another way. Whoever is behind this made sure 
to refer to you as General. Therefore, this must have something to do 
with this <career>. Where were you assigned?" asked Reese, raising his 
pencil to take notes.
	Smiling with an air of superiority about him, he replied, "my 
travels have taken me to all reaches of this planet, Captain."
	Taking a deep breath, and releasing it in a sigh, Reese said, 
"okay. How about telling me about the last place you were assigned."
	LaCroix took a long thoughtful pause, then answered, "southeast 
Asia."
	"Could you be a bit more specific," said Reese, gritting his teeth 
tightly. If this was LaCroix being cooperative, he pitied the poor fool who 
had to deal with him otherwise.
	Elbows resting on the table, fingers steepled in front of him, and 
chin resting on those fingers, LaCroix was deep in thought. He was 
remembering the last time he ran into a vampire opponent, on opposite 
sides of a war. This opponent was dead, he was sure of it. He had killed 
him personally.

 -- Start flashback, Vietnam 1971 --

	LaCroix and Nicholas had traveled to Vietnam early in 1971. The 
war had attracted a number of their kind, and there was known to be a 
small community near Bin Loc, headed up by a rather young vampire 
named Le Loi. LaCroix had plantations just north of there and thought to 
see what he could do to protect his property. Nicholas, a bit shocked at 
the wholesale slaughter that was going on around him, and not the least 
bit interested in the plantations, chose not to accompany him north. 
Although he did finally show up much later, working under the guise of 
the Red Cross, of all things.
	Early one evening, LaCroix arrived at the plantation house to 
meet this Le Loi, to see what kind of arrangement could be struck. The 
young ingrate was rude and disrespectful. LaCroix had tried to be 
reasonable at first, and then finally resorted to intimidation and threats. All 
to no avail. Le Loi become irrationally enraged, and the more LaCroix 
tried to reason with him, the more irrational the upstart became. By the 
time threats were being hurled, LaCroix decided he would get nowhere 
with this one, and took his leave.
	Later, word had reached LaCroix that Le Loi had purposely sent 
his army north to his plantations and had them burned to the ground. 
LaCroix was furious. Well, there was a war going on, and this Le Loi 
obviously wanted to play. He apparently had no idea who he was going 
up against, but LaCroix was determined that he would learn.
	LaCroix and Nicholas had met up with a number of their kind 
when they first arrived. With the exception of Nicholas, they had chosen 
to travel north with LaCroix. This small group became LaCroix' personal 
army. He took great delight in laying siege to Le Loi's forces, slowly 
decimating them a little more each night.
	After a few weeks of this, LaCroix had become bored. This was 
just too easy. He decided to put an end to it. After one especially vicious 
night, he planned a final raid on Le Loi's home at sunset the following 
night. His antagonists attempts to defeat him were pathetic, at best. 
When LaCroix finally confronted Le Loi in his den, the fool became 
enraged and attacked him. LaCroix had grabbed him and thrown him 
against a wall, knocking him into near unconsciousness. As the defeated 
vampire unsteadily rose to his feet, LaCroix grabbed him by the throat 
and then shoving his head to the side, sank his fangs into his neck and 
drained him dry.
	He then threw the lifeless body to the floor and proceeded to set 
the room aflame. He watched as the fire consumed the walls, furniture 
and the body of Le Loi. When he was sure the body was in flames, he 
flew straight up, through the roof.

-- End flashback --

	"Mr. LaCroix, I asked where in southeast Asia, specifically," said 
Reese, repeating himself.
	"Vietnam, and southern China," he finally replied.
	"And is it possible there could be someone seeking revenge for 
something that happened then?" asked Reese, curiously.
	"Possibly," replied LaCroix, distractedly, obviously still thinking 
back on those times.
	"When were you there?" he asked.
	Snapping back to the present, LaCroix replied, "I'm afraid that 
would be... classified."
	"You don't look old enough to have been a General during the 
War," commented Reese.
	"Perhaps I am older than I appear," suggested LaCroix, amused.
	Reese reclined back in his chair, a sigh of exasperation on his 
lips. He looked over at the glowering Detective Bissett, who to his credit, 
had sat mostly silent throughout this questioning. Reese was just 
beginning to challenge LaCroix' last statement, when an officer entered 
the interrogation room.
	"Captain, you're wanted in lock up, right away," said the officer, in 
a rush.
	"What is it Miller?" asked Reese, annoyed at the interruption.
	"There's been an incident. Those mercenaries that were 
arrested... they're all dead, sir," said the panicked Officer.
	"What!?!" exclaimed Reese, unbelievingly.
	As Reese and Bissett jumped to their feet and left the room, 
following Officer Miller, a startled LaCroix followed. As they reached the 
lower level of the building, and entered the lock up area, LaCroix' senses 
were assailed by the overwhelming smell of blood. Following the Captain 
and detectives, they crowded into the short hallway adjoining the cells. 
The seven mercenaries had originally been divided and placed into three 
separate cells. Now, each cell door was wide open, and bloodied bodies 
were strewn randomly in their cells. The bodies of the two officers 
assigned to guard the lock up were amongst them, apparently rendered 
unconscious somehow.
	LaCroix could sense all, but the two officers, were dead. He also 
detected the scent of vampires, at least four of them. They had known he 
was here and this was a message to him. It was an unmistakable 
challenge. LaCroix still had no idea who was behind this, but his desire 
for retribution grew. He struggled to maintain his control. Watching the 
bedlam around him, he took this opportunity to leave. He knew his 
security at the Raven was nearly impenetrable, but he needed to be 
there.  

===
Chapter Eight


	LaCroix entered the club from the alley door. Taking a moment to 
assess the current situation, he detected no disturbances. Whoever was 
responsible for the killings at the precinct had not been here. He took a 
minute to inform Dillon, his head of security, about the incident at the 
precinct and then tore up the stairs to his apartment.
	As he entered Nicholas' room, Urs looked up from a book she 
was reading. "What's wrong?" she asked, jumping to her feet.
	Crossing to the bed and looking down at Nicholas' sleeping form, 
he replied, "there was an incident at the police station. I wanted to make 
sure everything was well here."
	"He's been sleeping since you left," replied Urs, trying to offer 
some assurance.
	"Stay with him. I'll be downstairs," he said, sparing one last look 
at Nicholas before leaving.
	LaCroix had barely sat down behind his desk when there was a 
knock at the door. After giving permission to enter, Dillon entered the 
office and closed the door quietly behind him.
	"There were at least four of them at the police station," seethed 
LaCroix. "They knew I was there, so this must be their little idea of 
sending me some sort of message."
	Dillon shuffled his feet slightly and looked off towards the wall. He 
didn't remember ever seeing LaCroix this angry before. He really wasn't 
sure how he should respond. He had heard about LaCroix killing people 
just for saying the wrong thing, and he didn't want to find out if the stories 
were true.
	"What do you want me to do, boss?" he asked, tentatively.
	Standing suddenly, LaCroix replied vehemently, "I want you to 
make sure that no one gets upstairs, and I mean no one."
	"Right. Just you, Urs and that Dr. Lambert. No one else," agreed 
Dillon.
	"And make sure that Dr. Lambert doesn't 'escort' anyone with 
her," he added, remembering her bringing those Detectives in yesterday.
	"Absolutely, no problem," said Dillon. "Anything else?"
	"That is all," said LaCroix, dismissing him.
	After satisfying himself that Dillon would do as he requested, 
LaCroix paced back and forth in his office, trying to figure out how to find 
his opponent. There was obviously a number of them, and he didn't 
believe that any of the club regulars would be part of this. LaCroix had 
been in Toronto long enough that the local residents knew to fear him. If 
any of them had the slightest complicity in this, their lives were forfeit. He 
knew it, they knew it.
	So, that means they must be from out of town, which he had 
already surmised. He chuckled a little to himself thinking back over the 
question Captain Reese had asked him. It would most likely take him 
weeks to make up a list of all his enemies, assuming of course, that he 
could remember them all. But there was something that triggered the 
memory of Vietnam. Perhaps there was something there that he was 
overlooking. He needed to think on that more.
	There was a knock at the door. At his query, the door opened 
and one of his guards stuck his head in, "Dr. Lambert is here to see you, 
sir."
	"Show her in," he replied, returning to his desk and seating 
himself.
	After the door was closed behind her, LaCroix waved her to a 
seat in front of his desk. As she sat down she said, "wow. You've really 
increased security around here." LaCroix didn't reply. He just stared at 
her with that penetrating gaze that made her very uncomfortable. "I heard 
what happened at the station. Is that why? Are you worried that they'll try 
to do the same thing here?"
	Releasing a heavy sigh and looking away, he finally said, "what is 
it that you want, Doctor?"
	Annoyed at his attitude, she quipped, "Am I bothering you? If so, 
I can just leave. I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding something better 
to do with my time."
	"Everything you do <bothers me>, Doctor, but for Nicholas, I 
tolerate it. Now, why are you here?"
	He was glaring at her again, and now she was glaring back. 
"Fine. If you don't want my help, just say so and I'm out of here."
	Steeling himself to be calm, he replied, "you obviously came 
down here to tell me something, so why don't you just tell me."
	"Fine," she snapped. She lifted her briefcase up and set it on his 
desk. Flipping open the top, she rummaged quickly through some papers, 
then pulling out a small stack, plopped them down in front of him. "Here."
	"What's all this?" he asked, as he picked up the papers and 
started to sort through them.
	"That," she said with emphasis, "is the origins of the drug that 
Nick was given."
	LaCroix looked at her, slightly surprised. "Tell me what it says," 
he requested, almost eagerly.
	Feeling some satisfaction, she recited, "it's an opiate base, with a 
lot of other chemicals mixed in. I'm pretty sure it's the chemical mixture 
that is causing the reaction in Nick. I couldn't really identify all the 
chemicals, or trace them, but the opiate base was traced to a region of 
southern China. It's grown in an area around the southeastern Yunnan 
province. There's a listing of all the pharmaceutical companies that use it 
in their manufacturing. The only one that trades outside China is in Hong 
Kong, a Thunder Laboratories. It's a small research company that 
specializes in opiate based drugs."
	LaCroix had been reading through the papers as Natalie spoke. 
"Is there information here on who, or what, owns this company?"
	"Yes. That last page. It says it's a privately owned company, 
owned by a Mr. Chao Lee of Hong Kong. Couldn't really find any 
information on him, except that he is originally from Kunming, China. 
Immigrated to Hong Kong about 20 years ago," she finished.
	"Kunming," he said thoughtfully. It seemed that he should 
remember something, but nothing came immediately to mind. Turning to 
Natalie, he said, "this could be helpful."
	She just stared at him for a moment, watching him read through 
the papers. "Your welcome," she finally said, sarcastically.
	Looking up at her in annoyance, he replied, "is there anything 
else?"
	Standing, she grabbed her briefcase and said, "as long as I'm 
here, I thought I would look in on Nick. Is that okay with you?"
	"Of course, Doctor," he said pleasantly.
	For some reason, that really set her off. But, she bit her tongue 
and didn't say anything. She reminded herself that she was probably 
lucky that he was letting her see Nick at all. In fact, she was surprised 
that he hadn't whisked Nick away where nobody could get near him. That 
sounded like something he would do, or at least according to some of the 
things Nick had told her, it was something he would do. But then again, 
from her viewpoint he had been behaving out of character this whole 
time. Either that, or Nick wasn't as accurate with his description of him as 
she had thought.
	"Was there something else?" she heard him ask, breaking her 
out of her reverie.
	"No," she said, turning to leave. "I'll just go see Nick now."
	"Fine," he said, watching her leave, then turning back to study 
the sheath of papers.
	Natalie shut the door behind her and headed for the staircase. 
The guards moved aside as soon as she neared. She figured that 
LaCroix must have already told them it was okay for her to go up. 
	Urs was sitting in the chair next to Nick's bed, reading. She put 
her book down when Natalie entered the room. "Dr. Lambert," she said, 
in greeting.
	"Hello. Urs, isn't it?" asked Natalie.
	"Yes," she answered. "Do you want me to leave?"
	"No. I'm only going to stay a minute," said Natalie. "I was here 
seeing LaCroix so thought I would check in and see how Nick was 
doing." She looked down at Nick, who appeared to be sleeping soundly. 
He still had the dark circles under his eyes, but they looked better than 
before. "Has he been restless?"
	"No, not since LaCroix put him to sleep a few hours ago," replied 
Urs.
	Natalie just nodded her head, then looked curiously at Urs. "So, 
have you known them for long?"
	Urs looked at her in surprise, not sure how to answer, or even 
whether to answer. She finally decided that Natalie must be okay, or 
LaCroix would never let her up here. "No, not really. Just a couple of 
years, maybe."
	"LaCroix must trust you a great deal," said Natalie, leaving the 
statement hanging.
	"I suppose," replied Urs, non-committally.
	"You don't seem very frightened of him," said Natalie, 
questioningly.
	Smiling shyly, Urs replied, "no. He doesn't frighten me, not much 
anyway."
	"Why is that?" asked Natalie.
	Urs just shrugged.
	Seeing that their conversation was coming to an awkward end, 
Natalie quickly checked Nick out, and seeing that he was sleeping 
peacefully, left to return to her office.
	She left the Raven and walked the one and a half blocks to her 
car. Just as she unlocked the door, a hand reached around her and 
pulled the door open. At the same time a voice said, "allow me."
	Stifling a scream, she jumped back and quickly turned around to 
face whoever this was. "Vachon!" she exclaimed in a whisper. "What the 
hell do you think you're doing?"
	"Sorry Doc, didn't mean to scare you," he said, not really very 
apologetic.
	"What do you want?" she asked, obviously quite irritated.
	"Get in the car," he said, still holding the door for her.
	After glaring mightily at him, she complied and sat down behind 
the wheel. Vachon walked around and got in on the other side. "Can I 
drop you somewhere?" she asked, wondering what in the world this was 
all about.
	"Just wherever you're going is fine," he replied, settling into the 
passenger seat.
	"I'm going to the morgue," she said, matter-of-factly.
	"Fine, let's go," he said, indicating that she should drive.
	Once she had pulled out onto the street and was driving, she 
asked, "is there something specific you want?"
	After a long hesitation, he answered, "did you know you're being 
followed?"
	Surprised, she exclaimed, "what!"
	"Yeah. I was just going to see you at the morgue. I got there just 
as you were leaving, so I followed you. That's when I noticed that 
someone else was following you," he explained.
	"Who?" she asked.
	"I couldn't tell," he replied. "You think LaCroix is having you 
followed?"
	"Why would he do that?" she asked.
	"Oh, I don't know. To make sure nothing happened to you, 
maybe?" he suggested.
	"Trust me. LaCroix would love for something to happen to me," 
she replied, humorously.
	"So, who do you think it is?" he asked.
	"I take it, it's one of you?" she asked. She looked over at Vachon 
and the expression on his face said 'well, duh'. "Then how should I know. 
You saw them, you find out," she said, annoyed now.
	They rode in silence for a short while, then Natalie asked, "you 
said you were coming to see me. What did you want to see me about?"
	"Oh, yeah. I spoke with Tracy earlier, and she told me what 
happened. I wanted to see how Knight was," he replied.
	"Are you two buddies now, or something?" she asked, grinning.
	"Well, he is Tracy's partner. She's worried, so I thought I would 
check things out," he answered.
	"You can tell Tracy there's nothing to worry about. He's going to 
be fine. He just needs a few days rest is all," she answered.
	"You're sure?" he asked.
	"As sure as I can be," she said.
	"Okay, great. Why don't you let me out here," he said, just as 
they were passing Eaton Centre.
	As soon as she pulled over to the curb, he hopped out of the 
passenger seat. Leaning back into the car, he said, "you should probably 
tell LaCroix you know you're being followed."
	"Why's that?" she asked.
	Smiling, Vachon replied, "in case it's not him."
	She nodded in agreement as Vachon closed the passenger door. 
Then, pulling back onto the street, she continued to the morgue.
	Vachon, not really having anything to do, and having at least 
temporarily satisfied his curiosity, decided to hang out on the other side of 
town tonight, away from any goings-on at the Raven. He knew he didn't 
want to get drawn into the middle of whatever was happening with 
LaCroix and whoever was after Knight. That was most assuredly going to 
be detrimental to someone's health.
	He headed for an alternate rock club he hung out at sometimes, 
up on Bloor. Even though he had spotted someone following Dr. Lambert, 
he was unaware of his own follower. In the back of his mind, he had 
assumed LaCroix was having her followed, if just to make sure no one 
tried to use her to get to Knight.
	He entered the packed club and settled at the end of the bar 
nearest the band. Looking around, he decided this was as good a place 
as any to spend the next few hours. There was a lot of activity in the club, 
with lots of people coming and going. He was totally unaware of the 
young Asian who had followed him into the club, sitting in the far corner 
watching him. He remained unaware, as about a half hour later, this 
young Asian was joined by two others. After about another hour had 
passed, one of the trio quietly departed. The other two remained, 
unobtrusively keeping watch over the young Spaniard.

===
Chapter Nine


	Natalie waited until early morning, after the sun had risen, before 
leaving the morgue. It had disturbed her to find out that she was being 
followed by an unknown vampire. While Vachon may have been amused 
to think it was LaCroix, for some reason, she doubted that he would 
bother. Well, she was about to find out.
	She entered the Raven. All the customers were gone and there 
were just a few employees left cleaning up. LaCroix' guards were still 
very much in evidence. They watched her cross the empty dance floor 
and head up the back staircase, stepping aside when she needed to 
pass. She supposed it should bother her to be around so many vampires, 
but for some reason it didn't frighten her like it should. She had become 
desensitized to the danger they represented. She guessed this was due 
to being around Nick so much, although she knew better, she had a hard 
time believing that any of them would seriously hurt her, let alone kill her.
	When she entered the apartment, she was amazed to see Nick 
up and sitting on the couch. He looked comfortably ensconced in a large 
quilt, and was watching television. He looked up in surprise as she shut 
the door and walked over to him. He pulled his feet closer to his body to 
make room for her to sit next to him.
	"I'm surprised to see you up," she said brightly, smiling as she 
sat down.
	"What are you doing here?" he asked, somewhat alarmed.
	"I came to see how you're doing?" she replied. "So, how do you 
feel?"
	"Natalie, you should go before LaCroix comes out," he said 
hurriedly, worried for her safety.
	"Nick, it's okay. He knows I'm here," she answered, 
understanding his concern.
	"He does?" asked Nick, confused.
	"Do you think I could get through all this security if he didn't?" she 
asked lightly, trying to put him at ease.
	It was beginning to dawn on him that he was really missing out 
on what was going on around here. "What security?" he asked warily.
	"What exactly, if anything, has LaCroix told you?" she asked, not 
exactly sure how to proceed. LaCroix had cautioned her earlier about not 
talking to Nick about the kidnapping. She agreed then, and still did, that 
LaCroix should be the one to talk to him about it.
	"Other than I should stay in bed, nothing," said Nick irritably.
	"Well, he's obviously relented on that score, seeing as you're not 
in bed," she replied.
	"That's because he didn't have any choice," answered Nick 
determinedly.
	"I see," she said, casually looking him over. "Tell me how you're 
feeling."
	After a long pause, where he had turned to stare at the television, 
he finally responded, "I'm fine."
	"You look tired," she replied, raising her hand to lightly brush her 
fingers across his temple. He pulled his head away before she could 
touch him and glowered at her. "What's wrong?"
	"I said I was fine," he answered stubbornly. He had just been 
through this argument with LaCroix and didn't want to get into with Natalie 
as well. It had taken most of his energy to make LaCroix let him up. It 
was bad enough that LaCroix thought he should be confined to his bed, 
he didn't need Natalie encouraging him. "Maybe you should go."
	"Not just yet," she replied, accurately guessing what was behind 
his current attitude. Taking note of the bottle and glass on the table 
beside him, she asked, "are you feeling nauseous at all?"
	Glancing to where she was looking, he quickly turned his head 
away. With a guilty look on his face, he shook his head no. "Natalie," he 
started to say, feeling he needed to explain.
	"Nick," she said, interrupting him. "It's all right. You don't need to 
explain. I'm just glad you're feeling better." At his questioning look, she 
continued, "really, I mean it."
	Nick relaxed and leaned back against the couch. He hated to 
admit it, but he was tired, and his head still hurt. He closed his eyes 
momentarily and raised his hand to rub at his temple. He opened his 
eyes as he felt Natalie's fingers brush across his brow. She dropped her 
hand back to her lap when he opened his eyes.
	"Your head still hurt?" she asked, looking concerned.
	"Maybe a little," he admitted begrudgingly.
	"How about the rest? Body aches, muscle aches?" she 
continued, trying to draw him out. In reply, he just shrugged. "I could give 
you something that would make you feel better," she offered.
	"No," he said, quick to reply. "I'm fine, I don't need anything. I'll 
be okay."
	"You're sure," she stated, questioningly.
	"I'm sure," he replied quietly. He was staring at his lap, not 
meeting her eyes.
	She could tell he was feeling uncomfortable with her here, but 
she wasn't exactly sure why. When she saw him glance at his glass, she 
figured it out. "Maybe I better go," she suggested.
	He looked up, and after a moment said, "thanks for coming by."
	Standing, she replied, "your welcome." After a slight pause, she 
asked, "where is LaCroix?"
	"Why?" he asked curiously.
	"I need to speak with him before I leave," she answered casually.
	"About what?" he asked, a touch of concern sounding in his 
voice.
	She was saved from having to come up with an answer, as 
LaCroix chose that moment to emerge from the hallway. "Good morning, 
Doctor."
	"LaCroix," she answered, in greeting.
	Nick looked rapidly from one to the other, trying to determine 
what was going on. He knew LaCroix did not approve of Natalie and he 
didn't understand why Natalie would want to see him.
	"I understand you were just leaving. I'll walk you out," said 
LaCroix to Natalie as he moved towards her, gesturing she should 
proceed him to the door.
	"Wait," said Nick, slightly alarmed. He pushed the blanket aside 
and started to rise from the couch.
	"Nicholas, unless it is your intention to return to bed, I suggest 
you stay put," said LaCroix firmly, leaving no room for argument. "I will 
see the Doctor <safely> out, and will return straight away."
	Nick sank back onto the couch, feeling at least assured that 
LaCroix didn't plan on harming her.
	"I'll stop by and see you again on my way in to work tonight. Try 
to get some rest," said Natalie, giving him a quick smile and a wave as 
she left.
	LaCroix gave him a look that said 'stay put', and then followed 
her out the door, closing it behind him. Nick just stared at the closed door 
for a long moment, not really sure what was going on. He knew LaCroix 
would be right back, and he planned on getting some answers then. 
While he was waiting, he tried to remember the events of these past few 
nights.
	He remembered he and Tracy going to Ling Po's. He 
remembered the mercenaries; being handcuffed, blindfolded, gagged and 
drugged. His memory from that point forward seemed disjointed. He 
wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't.
	He recalled Mr. Black, and LaCroix telling him he was now dead. 
He remembered being in a lot of pain, especially his head. Thinking this 
caused him to focus on his current condition, but it was nothing like it 
was. He rubbed his temples, trying to still the throbbing in his head. He 
remembered the phone calls between Mr. Black, Reese and LaCroix. 
Confusion reigned in his mind. Reese and LaCroix? What would they be 
doing together. Nick was sure he was really confused. And what is with 
Natalie and LaCroix? He remembered them being together, helping him, 
but he thought that must be a dream. None of this could be true, could it? 
And then there was this explosion, but the details were vague.

	Meanwhile, LaCroix guided Natalie into his office, downstairs 
behind the bar. "You wish to speak to me, Doctor?" he asked.
	"Are you having me followed?" she asked, plunging right in.
	Staring at her for a moment, he replied, "no. Why do you ask?"
	"Because, according to Vachon, someone, a vampire someone 
that is, is following me. He thought it might be you," she answered, 
expecting a reply.
	"And why would I do that?" asked LaCroix.
	"To make sure nothing happened to me," she answered.
	Amused, he replied, "I can assure you, that is not the case."
	"Well, that's what I thought. So, if you're not having me followed, 
who is?" she asked, not finding this amusing in the least.
	"That is a very good question, and I can only think of one 
answer," he said, lapsing into deep concentration.
	"And that is?" she stated, pulling him back into their conversation. 
He had begun pacing the room, deep in thought, considering all the 
possibilities. After a few minutes of this, Natalie lost patience and said, 
"well! What is going on?"
	"If you are being followed, then others are probably being 
followed as well. This would indicate a lack of information on behalf of my 
adversary. A vulnerability, if you will. They are looking for a way in," he 
said, expressing his thoughts out loud. "I will have to give this some more 
thought and determine how best to turn this to my advantage."
	"What do you want me to do?" she asked, not sure how knowing 
this was going to help.
	"Do as you have been doing. Change nothing. We don't want our 
observers to know, that we know, they are watching," he instructed. "I will 
tell you if I wish something different."
	"How about Captain Reese?" she asked.
	"What about him?" asked LaCroix dismissively.
	"Should I tell him?" she asked tentatively, already guessing at the 
answer.
	LaCroix just looked at her with an expression that said 'you're 
certainly not serious'.
	"Right," she responded. "I'll wait until I hear from you. And in the 
meantime, like I told Nick, I'll be by tonight, before sundown." She started 
to move towards the door, LaCroix close behind her. As they headed 
across the dance floor, she said, "by the way, he should stay in bed. He's 
still not feeling well, even though he says he's better."
	"I have said as much to him as well, and as you saw, he is 
watching television," replied LaCroix, a bit exasperated.
	"You mean he's a little stubborn," she said, amused at LaCroix' 
frustration.
	"You have absolutely no idea, Doctor. None whatsoever," he 
commented.
	"Maybe it's your approach," she suggested tentatively, not 
wanting to say anything to anger him.
	"And what approach would you suggest?" he asked, amused to 
have her think she could give him advice on handling Nicholas.
	"I'm sure you're aware of 'the carrot or the stick' theory. Maybe 
you should try more carrots," she said.
	"My dear Doctor," he began, "Nicholas doesn't perform for 
'carrots'. He merely accepts them as his due, then continues as he 
pleases."
	"There must be some way to get through to him, without hitting 
him over the head with a stick," she reasoned, figuratively speaking.
	"Do tell, Doctor. In your vast experience with Nicholas, what 
method have you found that bends him to your will?" asked LaCroix, 
clearly enjoying this discussion.
	Natalie just looked at him, completely annoyed. He was silently 
laughing at her. "Fine. You're his father, you deal with him," she quipped, 
then headed out the door to her car.
	"Touché, Doctor," said LaCroix, laughing openly now. "Touché."
	He turned and headed back for the apartment. He had been 
gone a little longer than expected, and he was sure Nicholas was worried 
that he had gone back on his word. When he entered the living area, 
Nicholas was still on the couch, anxiously awaiting his return.
	"Natalie leave okay?" he asked, as soon as LaCroix had shut the 
door.
	"Dr. Lambert is fine. She is on her way home and will stop by this 
evening."
	"So, what took you so long?" asked Nick.
	"She wished to speak with me," he replied, vaguely.
	"About what?" demanded Nick.
	"You, of course," he said, still amused over his last conversation 
with her.
	Nick picked up on his amusement, and curiously asked, "what 
about me?"
	"She thinks you should be in bed, and that I'm being irresponsible 
as a parent by allowing you to be up and about," answered LaCroix, 
grinning slightly.
	Nick just looked at him warily. "She never said that. You're joking, 
right? That's why you're laughing."
	"Oh, no. Not at all. In fact, she even went so far as to instruct me 
on how best to get you to behave," he replied.
	"You're lying," said Nick, disgusted. "She would never say any of 
that, especially not to you."
	"Maybe not in those exact words, but I assure you, that is what 
she said," he responded. "If you don't believe me, call her. She should be 
home soon."
	Nick slumped back against the couch. This didn't make any 
sense at all. He closed his eyes and rubbed them. He was tired, but he 
didn't want to go back to bed. He felt like he'd already spent days there. 
He was feeling a lot better than he had, but still didn't feel well. He 
opened his eyes when he felt LaCroix sit very close next to him. His 
father reached out and put an arm around him, and with his other hand, 
caressed the side of his face. Nick wriggled uncomfortably at the close 
contact, but didn't pull away.
	"Come. Let me take you to bed," whispered LaCroix.
	"I don't want to," Nick whispered back.
	"What do you want?" he asked solicitously, running his fingers 
through Nick's hair, gently caressing him.
	"Tell me what's going on. What's really going on," said Nick, 
looking LaCroix directly in the eyes.
	Sighing, LaCroix replied, "I'll make you a deal." Seeing Nick 
warily begin to pull away, he quickly finished, "I'll tell you what's really 
going on, and then you agree to go to bed. Okay?" Nick studied him for a 
long moment, then nodded his head reluctantly in agreement. "First, you 
tell me what you remember, then I'll fill in the blanks. How's that?"

	A few hours later, LaCroix stood over Nicholas' bed after making 
sure he was securely tucked in. His son was exhausted, but had refused 
to return to bed until satisfied that he had been told all that was 
happening, or had happened. After listening to what Nicholas 
remembered, LaCroix was able to help him sort out the real from the 
unreal, and then as promised, told him the rest, omitting almost nothing. 
Nicholas had nearly fallen asleep a couple of times while they were 
talking, but as stubborn as usual, would not allow himself sleep until they 
had concluded their talk.
	He had been pleasantly surprised with one new piece of 
information Nicholas was able to supply. Apparently, while he had been 
held captive, the vampire responsible for his kidnapping had called Mr. 
Black. Nicholas had overheard the conversation and would be able to 
recognize the voice when heard again. Nicholas had described the voice 
as male, and as having a strange timbre. While this meant nothing to him 
now, it may be useful in the future.
	Gazing down at his sleeping son, LaCroix let some of the stress 
of the last few days wash over him. He had come so close to losing him, 
that he still couldn't bring himself to contemplate it. Just the mere thought 
of someone taking him away from him, drove him into a blinding rage. But 
he would not give in to it, at least not until his adversary was before him. 
Then, and only then, would he unleash his fury.
	Quietly, LaCroix left Nicholas and headed for his own room. He 
was tired as well, and he was sure tonight was going to be a long night. 
He had better get what sleep he could, while he could.

===
Chapter Ten


	Early the next evening, well before sunset, LaCroix was already 
up and dressed. Nicholas had been up twice during the day, and after 
getting him back into bed this last time, LaCroix decided there was no 
point in returning to bed himself. He had come up with an idea that he 
planned on pursuing this evening and wanted an early start. As soon as 
Urs arrived, he would leave. Ever since Nicholas' came to stay, she had 
been staying with Vachon, the young Spaniard. He couldn't blame her. 
He certainly had not been in the best of moods, and since Vachon was 
her sire, she probably felt safer and more comfortable with him.
	He was taking the time to glance at the evening newspaper, 
where the front page article focused on the killings at the police precinct. 
He was nearly finished reading the article when he heard the phone. He 
rushed over to answer it before the ringing woke Nicholas. "Yes."
	"LaCroix, I have news," said Feliks excitedly.
	"What is it?" demanded LaCroix.
	"Some of the diamonds were traded at a jeweler's in New York 
City, last night. The money from the sale was transferred to the Bank of 
Canada, here in Toronto, early this afternoon. The corporate name is 
listed as Thunder Laboratories," he finished reciting.
	"Is there a name on the account?" he asked.
	"The President is Chao Lee. Along with him, there are two other 
signers on the account. Ho Chan, Vice President and Liu Tong, 
Treasurer. We don't know who, if anyone, is in Toronto. All the fund 
transfers are being handled electronically, through their Hong Kong 
offices."
	"How much was traded?"
	"Half a million," replied Feliks. "I'll keep an ear to the ground for 
the rest and I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything."
	"Do that," said LaCroix. As he hung up the phone, he turned to 
the voice standing in the doorway behind him.
	"Who was that?" asked Nick sleepily.
	"That was Feliks. It seems our adversary must be running short 
on funds. He traded some of the diamonds yesterday, in New York. He 
had to have known the transaction would be traced. He's taken quite a 
risk," said LaCroix, thinking ahead on how he could take advantage of 
this information.
	"What are you going to do?" asked Nick through half open eyes, 
as he watched LaCroix walk over to him.
	"Take you back to bed, for starters," he replied, taking Nick by 
the shoulders and turning him around and then with a gentle push on his 
ba