Natalie crinkled her brow as she tried to focus on the horizon from 
the airplane window.
This was definitely cutting it close for Nick. She could barely make 
out the yellow-orange
hue from the soon-to-be sunrise. "Damn." She said as she glanced at 
her watch for the
umpteenth time in the last ten minutes.

"Pardon, miss?" The overly cheerful flight attendant smiled down at 
her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Natalie blushed in embarrassment as she realized her 
less than stellar
remark must have reached other ears on the plane. "I didn't realize 
it was this late."

"Do you have a connecting flight to meet at Pearson International? I 
can always call ahead
and have them hold the flight for you."

Natalie wished it could be that easy. "No, that's not the problem. 
I'm just concerned about
a friend who is picking me up is all."

The flight attendant tapped her shoulder lightly. "I'm sure he'll be 
waiting for you."

Natalie watched the attendant continue down the aisle. Well, I should 
be able to breeze
through customs, she thought. Afterall, who could possibly be flying 
into Toronto at
5:00am on a Friday morning?

----------------------------------

Nick could not believe his bad luck as he nervously watch the skyline 
turn from a pitch
black to light gray. I don't know what would be worse, he thought. Me 
catching fire and
burning into a pile of ashes or Natalie getting a hold of me after I 
don't pick her up at the
airport. 

Nick leaned on the horn in his impatience. This whole Caribana 
festival was going to be a
nightmare, he decided, after sitting motionless on Lake Shore Blvd. 
for the past twenty
minutes. Why they had to close the entire street off just to assemble 
a performance stage
beat the hell out of him. Letting loose a heavy sigh, he flipped his 
cell phone open.

"Schanke? It's  Nick. Yes, I know you just got home but I need you to 
go pick Nat up at
the airport. Yes, I know she's gonna be ticked. Yes, NOW  I know Lake 
Shore is closed
for the Caribana festival. Could you've not told me that sometime 
over the last nine hours
I spent with you tonight?! No, I'm not blaming you. Please, just go 
get her will you? 
Thanks, Schank. I knew I could count on you."

He glared at the workers who flipped him off when they heard his horn.
  Who ever
thought of having this festival the same weekend 30,000 lawyers from 
the States were
going to be in town had to be absolutely mad. Nick pulled the Caddie 
into a vacant lot and
locked it. 

"Hey, buddy!"

Nick turned towards the voice.

"That'll be twelve dollars to park it there." Nick could not believe 
his morning. He handed 
the cash over to the slightly balding, overweight lot attendant. 

"If you want to come back this evening to the Medieval Times Dinner 
theater, you'll get
10% off the price of admission." The man flashed a toothy smile.

"Medieval dinner?" Nick began to walk towards the alley. "Been there, 
done that."

--------------------------------------

Natalie kicked her bag forward with her right foot as she lifted the 
carry bag that was
cutting into her shoulder blade. Where did all these people come from?
 She'd been in the
customs line for forty minutes already and she was finally one person 
away from the front. 
She could not help but smile as the customs official laid into the 
American in front of her.
He was really grilling her on why she was there and who did she know.


Natalie's ears perked up as the exasperated girl tried to explain 
she'd met her friend on the
Internet three years ago, but, no, they had never met face to face.  
They were NN-packers.

What the hell is an NN-packer? Natalie thought to herself.  The 
customs official must have
decided this one NN-packer was not going to wreck too much havoc on 
the city of
Toronto as he motioned Natalie to the spot just vacated by the girl.

"Name?"

"Dr. Natalie Lambert. I'm with the Toronto Medical Examiners Office." 
She flashed her
credentials at the man.

"Dead people?"

"Several."

"Whose  picking you up today?"

"A friend."

"Whose your friend?"

"He's a police detective."

"How did you meet?"

Oh, great, she thought. How do I explain this without sounding 
nuttier than the
NN-packer?   "Look. I'm a resident. I don't understand why I'm 
getting all of these
questions."

"How did you meet?"

God,  he sounded like a robot . Was that all he could say?  Natalie 
exhaled and began, "He
was brought into my morgue after a pipe bomb went off in his face.  
Ten minutes later he
sat up on my examining table and said `hi'. That about covers it."

The official narrowed his eyes and gave her a good look. "You a NN-
packer?"

"No! I, mean, I have no idea what one even is," she stammered.

He waved his hand. "Welcome home, Dr. Lambert. Take this form to the 
next station."

"You mean I drag myself back on the red-eye from Aloha, Oregon just 
so Nick can pick
me up and he's not even here?!"  Natalie shoved her bag at Schanke 
who quickly realized
he better take her bag or else he'd be eating her bag. "He's the one 
who insisted I go to the
DNA conference in the first place!"

Schanke had to double-step it to catch up to the fuming Natalie 
Lambert. "He was on his
way here but he got caught up in Caribana traffic, Nat."

Natalie stopped dead in her tracks. "The what traffic?"

"Caribana Traffic. It's this weekend and its supposed to be a big 
deal... 200,000 people."

"Perfect." Natalie began walking again at a slower pace. "Last year, 
we had that stabbing
at the waterfront. I can't wait to see what the cat drags in this 
time."

Natalie dodged two girls who were running towards a tall reddish-
brown haired girl in a
jean jacket with the words Forever Knight stitched on the back. 
"Schanke, have you ever
heard of a group called the NN-pack? They seem to be all over this 
airport."

He shook his head. " Wolfpack... Brat Pack....Rat pack. No, never 
heard of a NN-pack."

She shook her head. "I guess its not important, after all they did 
make it through
customs."

---------------------------------------

Nick woke when he heard the elevator kick in. It could only be one of 
two people, he
thought, as he picked up the sole heartbeat. He said a silent prayer 
as he pulled on his
jeans that it was Natalie.

"Nick?" Bingo! It was Nat.

He leaned over the Loft railing and smiled inwardly as he watched 
Natalie's eyes focus
on his bare chest. "Let me put a shirt on and I'll be right down."

Nick Knight, I'll give you a hundred dollars to leave that shirt in 
the drawer. Natalie
blushed slightly as this thought ran through her mind before she 
could stop it. "Take your
time. I'll just pour you a protein shake in the meantime."

"Great. Now comes the punishment for missing you at the airport." 
Nick mumbled to
himself. 

"Did you say something, Nick?"

"Nothing. I didn't say a thing." He answered as he headed down the 
steps. "Nat, I am
really sorry I didn't make it to the airport."

Natalie silently handed him the shake and gave him her `you better 
drink all of this or
you're dead meat' look.

He grimaced slightly but managed to choke the entire contents down in 
one long gulp. 

"Good boy." She took the glass back from him and put it in the sink. 
"You're forgiven."

"Can I have a hug so I know for sure I'm back in your good graces?" 
Nick wrapped his
arms around her and inhaled deeply. "I'm glad you're back. I missed 
you."

Natalie melted into his embrace. " I missed you too. But I did..." 

Her words were cut off by a high pitched squeal followed by an almost 
giddy chuckling 
sound from below Nick's window. 

"What the heck?" They said at the same time. Nick and Nat headed to 
take a look below,
but of course Nick stayed back away from the sun's rays. 

"What is it Nat?"

She shook her head. " It's a group of about 15 or 20 girls in the 
parking lot.  They look
like they're taking pictures of  your building."

Nick tried to take a peek. "Now why would someone want photos of this 
warehouse?"

"Wait a minute, Nick. I know who these people are. They belong to a 
group called the
NN-pack. Have you ever heard of them?" Natalie gently pulled Nick 
from the window. He
was just a tad too close to the sun light for her peace of mind.

"Hmmmm.... Wolfpack...Brat Pack... Rat Pack. No, I've never heard of 
them. Maybe I
should call this in to Metro." Nick reached for his phone just as 
Natalie's pager went off.

He handed the receiver to her. "Ladies first."

Gasping for air, Natalie gratefully reached the top step. "Detective 
Schanke. The next time
we get jumper out at Casa Loma, don't call me."

"I'm with you, Doc. This isn't even our jurisdiction but some slob 
over at dispatch said the
entire 23rd is working the ...."

Natalie's glare shut Schanke off mid-sentence. "If the words 
`Caribana festival' are
anywhere in your next sentence, Schank, I will scream."

"Anyway, we're on this one, Nat." Schanke looked at the Bat painted 
on the wall of the
belfry. " Bats... I hate bats."

"How many more steps to the top of the tower? My thighs are killing 
me here." Natalie
gently kneaded her upper legs as a girl wearing U.S. Park Ranger Tee-
shirt scooted by
her. The name tag on her shirt caught Nat's eye. `In Love and Faith 
There is Forever'
What a nice sentiment, she thought.

Natalie turned her head as she heard Schanke groan. " Now I have 
women climbing faster
than me. I gotta lay off the souvlaki."

They reached the top of the open tower  in time to see a green ,
Godzilla-like car screech
into the  parking lot. "One, two, three... how many people fit in 
that thing?" Schanke
watched as a gaggle of girls tumbled out. 

"Are you going to help measure this so we can leave or what?" Natalie 
dropped the
measuring tape down to the uniformed officer below. "Oh, no! The NN-
pack is here too.
Is there no place in this entire city where they aren't today?"

The group of girls gathered around the chalk outline at the entrance 
to Casa Loma.

"Humph... Look, Nat. You'd think these NN-packers see chalk outlines 
of bodies
everyday." Schanke shook his head in disbelief  as he wrapped the 
measuring tape up.
"Ready, doc?"

Natalie grimaced. "I am but my legs are another story."

"Cheer up. It's all down hill from here." Schanke started the climb 
down as Natalie took
one last glance over the wall.

"I can see why you jumped. You probably didn't want to face the hike 
down." With a
determined expression, Natalie began her descent.

------------------------------------------------------

"81 Kilo, 81 Kilo. Respond..."  Nick lifted the receiver as he braked 
the caddie at the
intersection of Yonge and Dundas. "This is 81 Kilo, go ahead."

"There's a disturbance at 28 Grenville. All our uniforms are at the 
Caribana Festival,
Please respond."

28 Grenville...28 Grenville. It sounded familiar but Nick could not 
place it. " 81 Kilo
responding."

He rounded the corner and like a ton of bricks it hit. "The Coroners 
Office!"

As he pulled up he spotted Schanke and Natalie rounding the corner. 
"What's the deal?"
He looked up to see a ticked off Natalie and a semi-amused Don 
Schanke.

"NN-packers! Now what do they want?" Natalie watched as about 30 of 
them were
draped all over the Coroner's Building sign. One lone brave bystander 
was holding twenty
cameras and taking picture after picture after picture.

"What did they just yell?" Schanke asked. "It sounded like Nose Hair..
."

Nick cocked his head. "They yelled `Naked Ger', whatever that is."

"Naked Ger? Is that a rock band?" Schanke, Nick, and Natalie began to 
cross the street
towards the group of girls.

"I don't know, Schank. Sounds like something more of an Adult nature 
if you know what I
mean." Natalie was not amused at all.

Nick waved his arms and the group drew suddenly quiet. "Okay, okay. 
Let's move it out
of here. This is a place of business not Disney land."

One voice piped up from near the tree which was gently bent under the 
weight of the
group. "Not Disneyland, Nick. This is our Graceland." Giggles broke 
out as the group
dissolved and walked towards a line of cars parked illegally on the 
street.

Natalie's foot kicked something soft, but firm. "What the ... ?"

"Well, judging by this," Schanke picked it up and rolled it over in 
his hands. " I think
you were right about this being something of an Adult nature."

Nick looked down at it. "It's an alien in a... a..." Nick grabbed the 
alien and quickly stuffed
it in his jeans pocket. "Put that away before WE get arrested!"

Natalie couldn't help but giggle at the over sized bulge now in his 
jeans pocket. She leaned
up and whispered, "Is that an alien in your pocket or are you just 
glad to see me?"

Nick blushed as much as a vampire can conceivably blush. "I'll let 
you play with it later if
you're a good girl at work today." 

"Promises, promises." Natalie hooked her arm in his. "This has been 
one strange day,
Nick."

Nick smiled down at her. "That's means a lot coming from someone who 
hangs around
with the undead on her off hours."

She sighed. "Well, I can't be any more strange than these NN-packers.
" She waved as the
line of cars beeped and drove by.

"Did they just take our picture, Nat?"

"I think they did." 

They walked up the ramp to Natalie's office. "Tourists..."

The End

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