From: syren@interaccess.com Date: Mon, 08 Dec 1997 02:23:03 -0600 Subject: (1/5)When you have a friend in the Nightcrawler...Who needs enemies The charectors and situations of Forever Knight were created by James Parriot and are owned by him and all of TPTB, no infringement is intended. Thank you Knightbryd and Nancy for betareading and all the folks in fandom who have encouraged me to write. This story contains a xover, some of you may be able to guess it before the end, and a challenge for anyone interested in writing it. Unsuiteds Challenge: When you have a friend in the Nightcrawler...Who needs enemies. Part (1/5) By Michele Alexander (syren@interaccess.com) One minute I was getting on this plane with the captain, the next I woke up here. I'm not really sure where here is, but it isn't anywhere I've ever seen. >From transporting a prisoner to becomeing one ... man, oh man, what a day. It's getting close to dark and I'm really starting to regret missing dinner. I've always loved souvlaki but it drives my partner crazy when I eat it in his precious car. So I decided to be nice and didn't have any last night. Who knew I'd be tied up when dinner rolled around. Finally I manage to get lose from the handcuffs and ropes. Hey, there's a limit to just how long you can keep a good cop tied up. Then I walk over to the door, but it's bolted from the outside real good, so I go over to the window and pull away the curtains...and that's when I get a real shock. Then I walk over to the door, but it's bolted from the outside real good, so I go over to the window and pull away the curtains...and that's when I get a real shock. I recognize the building down the street and it's tellin' me I'm not in Kansas anymore' if you know what I mean. I was in an airport in Toronto and now I swear I'm looking at the Sears Tower. Which means something really strange is going on. Cause I sure as hell didn't cross the border and come all the way to Chicago and end up tied to a chair by myself. I've just managed to jimmy open the window and I'm out on the ledge trying to decide if the jump to the fire escape is worth it, when suddenly this guy is just standing in front of me. And he isn't standing on anything... just kinda floating there. It only takes me a minute to recognize him, of course. It's that Nightcrawler guy, the one that my partner, Nick, listens to. The one that's his Uncle or something...the vampire. Uh Oh, I know I'm in trouble now. "Why don't we go back *inside*, Mr. Schanke? I'm sure you'd be much more *confortable* there." The Nightcrawler's voice is smooth, like a velvet glove over a knife. ********************* Disclaimers and Acknowledgements in part 1 Unsuiteds Challenge: When You Have A Friend in the Nightcrawler...Who Needs Enemies (2/5) By Michele Alexander (syren@interaccess.com) ***************** Yep, he's floating in front of me, that definitely means that whole little talk we had when I caught on to Nick was some kind of joke. This guy is definitely, one hundred percent a vampire and that means so is my partner. Hey, he really didn't *need* to turn on the glowing eyes and the teeth to prove it. It's not like he didn't already have my attention. I'm going to positively *kill* Nick ... if I ever see him again, that is. We climb back in the window...well, I climbed. He just kind of appeared when I turned around. "Why did you bring me here," I asked him, deciding to come right to the point. "How very *astute*, for a _mortal_ that is," he said, dismissing me as he would an imaginary fleck on his elegant black suit. "I brought you here on a _whim_, a mere passing fancy, I suppose." "You were lonely?" I dared to ask. "Yes..." he replied, seemingly surprised by his own discovery. "Nicholas has grown _distant_ from me...he is captivated by the *allure* of the mortal world. He *trembles* under the weight of those he has killed. "It has made him _weak_. A laughable concept... a *vampire*...with a conscience." The vampire sneers in a smooth yet menacing voice. I should be scared out of my wits...I'm terrified but... some how I can still think straight even though a creature out of horror movies is starring me right in the face. Maybe it's all the time I've spent with Nick, even though I didn't know what he was. I mean, I thought he was a *little* weird, what with the sun allergy and the macro-biotic diet, and all but Nick really makes a good cop and he is a top quality human being...even if he is a vampire. Even while this Nightcrawler guy is running his fingers down the side of my face... and I can tell he's evaluating me as a main course...I keep thinking. There's this animal magnetism about Lacroix. Suddenly I can feel it pulling on me full-force, and I'm having a real hard time even remembering my wife's name. I understand now why the women are always watching Nick that way. I don't think Nick does it on purpose most of the time. I think it's just part of what he is. The way that people just trust and fall for him because something instinctive tells them to. It probably helps that Nick really is a good guy; he doesn't want to hurt people. Not like this Lacroix. Even though my body keeps telling me to surrender, there's a little voice in the back of my head that keeps saying 'danger' like a broken record "All your broadcasts on the radio...you do it to taunt him...to control him," I manage to stammer through the hypnotic fog clouding my brain. "My son requires a _reminder_ of what he is and the bond we share. He savors guilt like the finest vintage. I have taught him for almost eight hundred years and still he refuses to appreciate the gift of eternal life. Tell me detective, is yours a vintage to be *savored*? Do you yearn for the power to fight back at what you perceive as injustice. To become judge, jury and _executioner_. The hunter or the hunted, what is your choice...and do I wish to give you one? Which will draw my son back to me to have you join him in darkness or to gift him with...your bloodless corpse?" In a lot of ways, I feel sorry for Nick. He is so human in every way that counts. You can tell he really cares about our work...about the people he helps. He caries around a lot of pain though; you can see it in his eyes. I put a lot of pieces together and suddenly I know why it's *cow* blood they found in his refrigerator and why Nat is always doing those experiments on him. What this Lacroix guy said makes everything clear. I've got a couple of really shrewd guesses why the other vampire is mad at Nick. 'Cause if there is one thing I'm sure of ... this conversation isn't about me at all. I remember him trying to tell me that he had an addiction. Nick doesn't want to be a vampire...he doesn't want to be under this guy's thumb any longer...and this guy just refuses to let go. And there it is. Nick is a vampire and ... it doesn't matter. I *know* the guy. Now that I'm in on his big secret ... well, he's still my partner. And I'll be damned if I'm going to do anything to help the Nightcrawler torture my best friend. **************** Standerd disclaimers and acknowledgements in part 1 Unsuiteds Challenge: When You Have a Friend in the Nightcrawler...Who Needs Enemies (3/5) by Michele Alexander "I won't help you hurt Nick...Lacroix" "Ah, but you see *you* already have..." Suddenly he places a newspaper in my hand. The picture...the headline.....all I can do is gasp. "It *seems* there has been an *accident*. Your plane flight did not reach it's destination." "Oh God! Nick!" "Yes, *my* son will no doubt find a way to torture himself. There really is no need. The bomber has such _delicious_ plans for the whole city. He is going to blow it up just like he blew up your plane." The Nightcrawler's smile, the very nonchalance with which he refers to blowing up people, sends a chill up my spine. It's as if they didn't matter. It's like he isn't human...but then he's not supposed to be. "Oh... do continue reading, detective. It will be _amusing_." Almost against my will, I find myself glancing at the ruin of my life printed out in black and white. I can't believe I'm reading about my own funeral. Everyone I know, everyone I love, thinks I'm dead. I may not live through this night or I may live forever, but everyone...my wife..my daughter...my partner, thinks I died in that plane crash. And I've got a *bad* feeling that the Nightcrawler here ain't gonna let me change their minds. "Interesting, isn't it," The Nightcrawler purred, tilting my head back and running his cold fingers across my face and throat. I can feel his cold breath against my skin as his voice bores into my mind, freezing my will to resist. "Can you _feel_ the despair of losing that which you have spent so much of your life achieving. It is gone...all of it is gone. Your *family*, your *friends*, all making meaningless noises. Pretending that your puny life made a difference. Tell me Detective, how does it *feel* to abandon your family? How does it feel to know that your wife will move on to someone else. That your entire *life* is less than nothing? That in the end your meaning is nothing at all?" "I'll go back, Lacroix. And even if I do not...even if you kill me...someday Nick will discover the truth and I think...maybe... he'll even forgive you." At first Lacroix gets really angry. His eyes change hue and I'm sure that he is going to kill me right then and there. But then he goes really silent for a long moment as we both realize that it is the truth. I think they've both been fighting for so long that they've forgoten where the boundry between love and hate is. It has to make things strange. Nick's been around for eight hundred years and this guy has to be even older. "Tell me Lacroix...how old does Nick have to be before you allow him to grow up. Children need to be nurished, punished, and protected...but you said it yourself, you've been Nick's father for almost eight hundred years. Isn't it time to let him live his own life?" "You do not understand anything, Mr. Schanke! And neither does Nicholas. As long as he acts like a child I will treat him like one. A disobedient... foolish...self-destructive child. One who is so ungrateful that he seeks to reject the gift of eternal life. The gift that *I* gave him." *************** *************** All standerd disclaimers apply. Now on to the Story... Unsuiteds Challenge: When You Have a Friend in the Nightcrawler...Who Needs Enemies (4/5) By Michele Alexander "The gift that *you* gave him! That's what all of this is about...isn't it?" I turn to face him, forcing myself to meet those piercing blue eyes that seem to burn through my brain and devour my soul. Scared does not begin to describe how I feel right now, but somehow I meet those eyes and for a moment they flicker with....respect. And then the nonchalant, detached visage returns. Now I know it for what it is - a mask. He glances at the open window where the sky is just begining to lighten with the first hints of false dawn and I know that soon...one way or the other something will be resolved. I should be terrified but a feeling of ... peace steals over me. Maybe it's acceptance; maybe it's understanding. I don't know. I've never been a philosopher. I'm only a simple cop. A man who had his feet so firmly planted on the ground that it took him two years to even suspect that a man he knew and trusted, a man who was his partner, wasn't a man at all. "It is nearly dawn. I sugest you take the blanket detective. It may be somewhat _chilly_ where we are going, and I believe it is time for this conversation to *move on*...as it were. The piercing blue eyes demand instant obedience and even leaning against the window sill with seeming nonchelance, he is a commanding presence. The instant I grab the blanket he draws me back out on the ledge. "We are going on a little *flight*, Mr. Schanke. I *do* hope you _enjoy_ the ride." Lacroix gives a chilling smile, exposing his lengthening canine teeth, and I do my best not to shiver trying to meet those glowing eyes. "Don't you need to...uh...file a flight plan or something?" I stammer. "No, Mr. Schanke. A flight plan will _not_ be neccesary." The next thing I know we're airborn, moving so fast the city below us is almost a blur. Suddenly he dives and we race past the darkened windows and bright lights of city skyscrapers, weaving between buildings by the narrowest of margins. Then we plummet beneath the buildings and into a maze of underground streets and parking garages that coexists with the foundations.. It's an almost eerie subterain world existing beneath the city streets, yet the outside world occasionly peeks through with every bridge and overpass. "Where are we?" "They call it Underground Wacker, beneath the city. I prefer it to the sewers for day time travel, although they can also be reached from here. During the day, it is relativally safe near the buildings. But at night more than just vampires stalk those *foolish* enough to venture into the darkness. Have a good day, Mr. Schanke. I suggest you do not venture far. I wouldn't want to have to _hunt_ you down." And with that he disappers in a rush of cold wind. I found myself locked inside what appeared to be a subterrian bunker beneath the city. I could hear little except the cars racing overhead and the vermin that inhabit all such venues. The room was bare of all wood or other weapons and securely locked. The only place to go was miles and miles of uncharted sewers and catacombs without a light or provisions of any kind. I decided to sit and wait, guessing this would prove to be a test of some kind. But boredom made me edgy and I began to explore the confines. When I finally discovered the hidden computer terminal, I knew I was right. Most of the files required a computer encryption key. I wasn't a computer genius, I wasn't even going to try, but there was one file that was different. It appeared that I had been meant to access it. It was a brief history of of three vampires who had lived as a family for hundreds of years. It was biased, all seen from Lacroix's point of view and written as fiction, but I knew it was Nick, Lacroix, and Janette. I should hate Lacroix. He's taken everything away from me to play this sick game of control with Nick Knight or whatever his real name is. Funny that - naming himself Knight. It's what he really is; a knight. And I don't mean just 800 years ago. My history is a little rusty but somehow I'm sure he was a crusader...it just fits. Yes, he was; it's all in the files. I don't know if deBrabant is for real or not, but all three of them were royalty. It figures. So Lacroix was a Roman general and Nick was a crusader Knight, and eight hundred years later Lacroix still confuses command with parenting and Nick is torn between the moral codes of three very different worlds - that of his mortal youth, the present day mores, and those his 'father' tries to foist on him. And at heart even Janette is still an illegitamate noblewoman, Forced into a life of prostitiution only to be given both freedom and slavery at the hands or fangs of Lacroix. And what's this...she was the one who enticed Nick, but it was Lacroix who pulled the strings and made Nick a vampire. The ultimate power trip; the ultimate control. Nick had recieved enternal life...eternal slavery. Well perhaps not. He let them go from time to time. Allowed them to live together for 98 years, but he was always waiting, with his hands like a puppeter carefully manipulating the strings. He is proud of it, brags about his ability to control. The Roman general who treats his children's spirts as a battlefield to be concurred, he hones them into weapons in his own image, mirror reflections that are purposely kept too weak to oppose him. I should hate Lacroix, I really should. He planned my death weeks before in an effort to make Nick vulnerable, to force him to move on and leave the most happiness he has had in a very long time. And then we had a conversation and he decided to spirit me away instead, that I might make an interesting play thing or an even more powerful weapon against his son. I guess that's why I can't hate Lacroix. Because he's Nick's dad...like I'm Jenny's. I can't believe anyone who is such a good cop and a Grade-A human being could ever have been produced by something as purely evil as Lacroix seems. Yes, beneath all that postering and menace is a man who truly loves my partner like the son he is. Bullets may not be able to phase them, but that invulnerability doesn't extend to what they feel inside. Yeah, he cares about humanity...Nick really does. And Lacroix has his own moral code. It isn't human, but maybe it doesn't have to be. And I can't even be mad at Nick anymore for always beating me to the scene of the crime and disapearing like that. Here I thought *I* was the one with more experience in this partnership...guess I gave him a good laugh. In a lot of ways I feel like a fool, thinking of some of the things I've said and done to him. All those double meaning statements and inside jokes that always went over my head. He and Nat had a lot of good laughs at my expense, I'm sure. I feel like a fool both for not seeing things and for doing and saying things that had to only make it harder for him and yet I think even Lacroix sees that Nick needs me. Someone once told that before I met him, people were scared of Nick. He'd put on that dark and mysterious air and they'd go out of their way to avoid him. I get it now; I understand a lot of things. Seeing Lacroix, suddenly Nick being a vampire just isn't as scary anymore. I'm a cop; I was trained to get answers and seek justice for crimes. Maybe Nick is a criminal. I realize now that he sees himself that way, but it was a different time. It just proves that people can change...even vampires. I'm a cop..no...a man. That's all I have left now. My life...my family...it's all gone. Even if I die or become a vampire, nothing can take that one thing away from me. Nick has proven it; you don't have to lose your humanity just because you aren't a part of the human race. No matter what he does, I won't let Lacroix take my humanity from me or from my partner. That's something else I still have...loyalty. I'll stand by Nick. Even if trying to make Lacroix understand ends my life, it's the right thing to do. I have nothing left to loose, maybe my final act will be to convince Lacroix to treat Nick like an individual, not a possesion. If I can do that much, it will be dying in the line of duty...furfilling our partnership. I don't want to die, but at least if I can make LaCroix understand as one father to another, my death will have some meaning. For a long time I just stare at the pictures of Myra and Jenny, feeling the tears run down my face. I can see Nick in my mind, thinking I'm dead and blaming himself. I know he will...Nick always does. Lacroix may succeeed in driving him away from Toronto, from Natalie, but if Nick ever learns the truth...well, according to the journal, Nick is quite formidable when angry. Lacroix thinks allowing yourself to feel human emotions is a weakness, but for all that Nick is tortured by those emotions, rage lends him strength. Knowledge is the only power Lacroix still holds over Nick. Lacroix knows how to use his abilities and he knows how to keep Nick so twisted up inside that he will never be able to learn. He keeps Nick ignorant because he is far more powerful than Lacroix will ever admit. But someday one of them will kill the other. It's only a matter of time, unless something changes. Suddenly I sense Lacroix standing behind me, looking at the picture of my child as I think about his. "It's hard to lose someone you love. It's hard to let go. But it's something we all have to do as parents. Lacroix. We have to let our children grow up and live their own lives. I'm only sorry that Jenny will have grow up at such a young age because you can't acknowledge that Nick is more than ready to live his own life. "You have a child...a daughter. Tell me, detective, did you not also give her a *gift*? The gift of life. Nicholas is my son and the path he travels can only lead to more suffering and death." His words strike me to the core and suddenly I'm reminded that beneath it all, Lacroix really does love Nick even if his interpretation of the concept is a *bit* heavy on the control side. "There are many deaths and many types of suffering, Lacroix. Is death at the end of a long, furfilling, mortal life such a travesty? My grandmother died happy, with a smile on her face and all those she loved in reach of her arms. Would you rather watch Nick happy for the length of a mortal life or tortured for eternity?" "How would *you* feel if your child told you she wished she had never been born? What if she tried to kill herself...began running with the wrong crowd...got involved with drinking and drugs? Tell me, detective, do you try to spare your daughter pain? Do you try to teach her the lessons you have learned with your greater years?" "I don't know if there's a way for him to become mortal, but Nick deserves the chance to find it. If being mortal is what will make Nick happy, then he has the same right as you or I do to try and find that happiness. Personally, I think he can do alot more good with his abilities and well... I don't think I'd mind being a vampire so much if I never had to kill. I don't believe being a vampire means being evil. Not now, when blood banks can provide for all your needs without causing a single death. He loves Natalie and he has true friends on the force, who respect and care for him. I have a feeling it has been a long time since Nick has been happy in your world, Lacroix. The path he chose isn't an easy one, and yes, it will cause him pain. But isn't that better then growing cold inside? Don't you see that constantly destroying his foundations can only lead to tragedy for you both? You'll drive him to try and kill you again...or himself. Is that what you want... for him to die as a vampire because you won't allow him to live and die as a human being? I may not have known Nick as long as you have, but I've watched him on the job and it's what he was always meant to be. I know my Jenny would never make a good cop and I would never force her into my line of work. Why force Nick to be something he doesn't want to be?" "Because Nicholas is *not* human! He _is_ a vampire and this childish obsession with being human has grown tiresome! It is time for him to add Dr. Lambert to our entourage, or kill her and be done with it. Those are the only ways to deal with a human life that entices us, and the sooner he grows up and remembers what he is, the sooner I will let him go knowing he is no longer a menace to himself and our society." *************** Alright everyone this is the finale piece of my Unsuiteds Challenge story. It has been an interesting ride and I think after writing this story, I may finally understand Lacroix and be able to explain L.C. lite. This story is the first time I have ever been able to write Lacroix and I'm still not sure where half his lines came from. I hope it was worth the wait. Thank you once again Knightbryd for sticking with this story from it's very strange beginnings and Nancy for comming through on beta-reading this finale part and all the other things I've sent you. Without your wonderful editing all my work would would be a lot more difficult to read. I will be issueing a new challenge at the end of this story Comments and requests for missing pieces to Michele at syren@interaccess.com Enjoy ---------------------------------------------------- Unsuited's Challenge: When You Have a Friend in the Nightcrawler...Who Needs Enemies Finale: Part(5/5) by Michele Alexander "Lacroix...I don't know which perspective is right...I'll admit that. But I've raised a daughter and I've known a lot of kids...and I've known a lot of parents. The way both of you act it isn't about being vampires...I've seen it hundreds of times before. You care about Nick...I know you do...but you also want...need to control him. And he does care about you as a father; maybe it is teenage rebellion, just a stage in his life. Or maybe he is a man who has made his own decision, who is capable and right in doing so. I can't pretend to know these answers, to know whether Nick's quest is attainable or a pipe dream. I don't think it matters, just because someone is young or old, ignorant or learned doesn't change the validity of what they feel inside. You've lost someone...another child...in the past. The way you act is no different then any human parent who tries to smother a remaining child and force them to make up for the loss of another. "Don't you understand Lacroix, Nick is a bird who wants to test his wings and you keep clipping them. Whether he is ready to fly yet, I don't know.... Neither of you are human...I don't know. Valid or not Nick wants to lead his own life...to make his own decisions...to learn from his own mistakes. Not those you force him into. Every snatch of freedom comes at the bitter price of one of your lessons...lessons that only prove that you haven't taught him enough...and you never will." The entire time I was speaking Lacroix just stared at me with those piercing eyes daring me to stumble and falter over the words. He wanted to be able to laugh at me, to be able to dismiss my words as the meaningless sounds of a terrified victim...I wouldn't let him. I met him stare for stare though it took every drop of courage I had. He acted as if my words were less important then the detailed perusal and filing of his fingernails. His practiced nonchalance and vivid gaze were more frightening then a school of hungry piranhas closing in for the kill. I knew he could snap me in half with out wrinkling his suit or straining his conscience, my fate was in his hands and he knew I was aware off it. He *wanted* me to be aware of it. He had made one mistake though, in that manuscript he had bragged about his ability to unnerve and dismiss lessor creatures including his children. I knew what he was doing was solely for the impact on myself. And he would forget himself slightly when a point hit home just the right way. The disdainful nonchalance when a second before I had met a glaring gaze or those dagger eyes instantly replacing the practiced boredom then fading again. At times he appeared only inches away and it was all I could do not to flinch. His quiet mocking laughter rang through the silence but it was only an exercise in fantasy. I was making him think, but I was also making him very angry. I knew his anger could easily be my death. I walked a tightrope between arguing for my life and my partner's freedom and being dispatched like the mere insect I was. It was only because Lacroix valued his control so highly that I still lived. He had to be in control of this deadly dance, to choose when and how to kill me not be goaded by an emotion as human as anger. Soon a point would come when he would kill me solely for endangering his self-image, though that would not be the reason he gave himself. I had seen this kind of personality before during my years as a cop, my chances for survival were slim but it wouldn't be the first time I took a gamble...of course my luck hadn't been so great when it came to gambling in the past. "Don't you even see what you've done to him? Every time he tries to slip away from you...establish a life of his own, you take it away from him...you tighten the leash. You clip his wings and send him crashing to the ground. You want to protect him but you don't ever want to let him go. Someday he isn't going to come crawling back to your protection...someday you're going to tighten the leash too far...clip his wings once too often and something is going to snap. I've seen it happen to kids...people before. Some go mad, so filled with rage that nothing can survive the destruction, others run from the world. Do you want him to run so hard from you that death is the only alternative? Or maybe you will break him Lacroix.... Maybe one day his mind will snap and you'll be left with nothing but a mindless empty shell...obedient but empty of everything that makes him the son you love. Is that really what you want...?" For a very long time we sit there in silence. I try to echo his nonchalance as the Nightcrawler's face flickers through a plethora of emotions. Finally for just a moment all the masks are gone. "No.... That would be a fool's victory...I would not accept it on any battlefield." I allow the true sympathy and understanding to enter my voice willing all my sincerity across the bridge of our staring eyes. "My grandfather had a saying, if a tree doesn't bend in the wind it will break.... A tree can only bend so far.... Everyone has a breaking point Lacroix, even Nick...even you. What will you do when the game is over, Lacroix? When Nick will bend no farther and everything you have come to cherish lies in a thousand broken pieces beneath your feet? "All the king's horses and all the king's men....I did *not* build the wall...and I _will not_ allow my son to become a scrambled egg," Lacroix said with sardonic sincerity. "He had to build that wall.... No one can live in a gilded cage. Just like he had to climb it. He can't come down from that wall now Lacroix. He won't return to that cage and he can't make it down to the other side, not while he is still trapped in an egg. He doesn't want to splatter on the ground. Let him break free from that shell, the only way down is to fly. When he does walls won't matter any more. Sometimes compromise is more important then victory." "Oh well spoken...well spoken." He clapped mockingly in my direction, then proceeded to regard me with disdainful patronization. "I suppose you have earned your reward. Very well," he purrs. The cold fingers travel down the side of my face causing me to shiver, the voice all but mesmerizing as he tips my head to the side and I can feel the cool breath on my skin. "I will give you a choice." His voice is a dangerously seductive whisper. "You see I *am* capable of letting go. It's what you wanted is it not...to control your own fate.... That little speech wasn't really about *my* son...it was a *pathetic attempt* at _self-preservation_. You _amuse_ me...Mr. Schanke." "No, I frighten you...Lacroix. I speak the truth, you don't want to hear?" "I see." He raised an eyebrow both mocking and thoughtful. "And your argument is truly on *my* son's behalf.... Indeed." "Live or Die Detective, what is your choice?" "Do I really have one?" I met his level gaze. "No...." He considers this for a moment. "I suppose you do not...but it is proper form to ask." For a long moment he assesses me, those eyes boring into my mind and soul. Finally he turns toward me totally vamped out.... He smiles at the fear I can not help but show in my eyes...and then the world goes black. ***************************** I'm not really sure how much time has passed when I awaken with a splitting headache somewhere I've never seen before. After a quick assessment I discover that it is several hours past nightfall and the door is unlocked. On the table is an unaddressed envelope, a change of clothes, a wallet, and a set of keys, none of which are mine.... I notice that my own wallet is missing and I have only the clothes on my back to my name. Inside the envelope is a typed note I'm pretty sure is from Lacroix. ------------------------------- As you may have surmised you are alone and still in the city of Chicago. In the wallet you will find much of the paperwork of your new identity. Being an officer of the law is important to you so I have allowed you to remain one. The first key is to the door of your new home, the second belongs to a hidden safe in that home; you are a detective, after all, I'm sure you can find it.... In that safe is all necessary paperwork and plenty of funding for the remainder of your mortal life. This identity should never be called into question if you do not cause it to be. I would _suggest_ you do nothing to cause _difficulties_. Enjoy this life Mr. Schanke, you will be allowed to live it, but I will be watching. Eternally. -------------------------------- I opened up the wallet and found a driver's license and a badge for Officer Donald McNally attached to my own face. There was a bit of money in the wallet, simply labeled cab fare. With no other course of action and knowing that Lacroix might still be watching, I changed into the provided outfit, picked up my new possesions and walked off to start a new life as Officer McNally of the Chicago Police Department and find my home. At least the weird part of my life was over, or so I thought. In case anyone hasn't figured it out this story is also a Xover with "The Relic". Once again thank you all for being patient with this story, RL and FINALLY owning some FK tapes can cause some facinating posting delays. I am now issueing a new challenge to crossover the Relic with Forever Knight. This story should preferably occur after Schanke is believed to be dead. The Relic charector may or may not be Schanke, you decide, but either way he looks, acts, and sounds a *lot* like him. Permisson is given to archive on the FTP and Mel's page if anyone wishes to archive elsewhere please tell me. These charectors and the world of "Forever Knight" are the property of James Parriot, Sony/Tristar, USA Network, the Scifi channel etc. Officer McNally is the charector that JK(Schanke) played in the movie "The Relic" neither this charector nor the movie he appeared in belong to me, I do not own them and no infringment is intended. To the extent it can be this story is mine. Thank you once again to my wonderful betareaders and stay tuned there are many more stories to come. Michele-syren@interaccess.com Knightie both Dark and Light with N&N packer and FoD tendencies and fanfic that has tendencies of its own CR of the Knight, FK Writer's Loop, FKnight Riders, Ger's Black Harbour, ST:(OS,TNG,DS9,&V), QL, & HL