usual disclaimers regarding ownership.  unusual disclaimer regarding
content; this ditty takes place after AtoA, and before LK.  permission to
mel to archive, thanks mel.  comments and virtual attacks to:
vampwrtr@aol.com

FOREVER KNIGHT

"Still Innocent"

for Ren

He had told her in no uncertain terms.  He had looked straight into her
eyes and told her simply, 'no'.  But she didn't quite believe him.  Her
instincts were telling her otherwise.  She had always trusted her gut.  She
had wanted to believe him, to trust him; in many ways she had trusted him.
But not about this.  No, there was something in his deep brown eyes when he
had looked at her in denial of her question.  There was something that her
intuition knew he hadn't told her.

The pain of it quickly came crashing in upon her.  He was gone.  Forever.
She slammed her eyes shut against the sudden onslaught of heartache.  They
hadn't had enough time to really know each other, and now he was gone.  The
being who was responsible for opening her eyes to new and seemingly
impossible alternatives, was dead.  It still hurt.  On some level, she knew
it always would.  She shook her head; now was not the time.  There was
something she needed to do.

She entered the noisy club and looked around.  Dancing bodies, goth-clad
creatures, glasses of red wine everywhere.  Her eyes moved over the
patrons.  She could feel it.  More than that; she could feel them.  It
almost made her shiver.  There was a whole underground community which
existed; a race of which most mortals were blissfully unaware.  She took a
calming breath.  No cause for any kind of alarm.  After all, they didn't
know that she knew.

As she passed by some of them at the bar, she thought she heard a slight
hissing.  She turned in the direction of the sound, and for a moment,
believed she saw glowing yellow eyes.  She probably had.  Moving quickly
toward the back hallway, she checked behind her to see if anyone had
noticed.  No one was looking.  She slipped into the dark hallway, unaware
of the silent pair of blue eyes watching from a distant corner of the club.

Even the hallway was creepy.  She could see the glow of a red light at the
end of the corridor.  Her pace slowed as she peered around a corner and
into the window of the soundbooth.  The glow that the 'on air' light cast
upon the figure within, lent an almost fiendish gloss to his already
frightening features.  She momentarily closed her eyes, in an attempt to
quell the slight fear that had arisen in her throat.

She still remembered with perfect clarity the odd feeling she had received
from him the night they brought him to the precinct for interrogation.  So
sinister and polished was it, that even Reese was convinced that the man
was evil.  She opened her eyes and looked again into the booth.  It was
empty, and the red light extinguished.  Frowning, she moved to step closer
to investigate when his soft voice filled her ear.

"Well, Detective Vetter.  What a......pleasant surprise."

Tracy started ever so slightly, and turned to find herself staring into the
icy blue eyes of Lucien LaCroix.  He was leaning into her; it was too close
for her comfort, but she had nowhere to go.  He had effectively trapped her
against himself and the wall.  She glared up into his eyes, and couldn't
help but be infuriated by the smug and unsettling smile that lit his lips.

"Do you make it a habit....sneaking up on patrons of your club?"

His smile widened, "Only when my patrons try to make a habit of sneaking up
on me, I assure you."

The smile alone was making her squirm, not to mention the relentless stare.
She looked away for a moment, but her anger got the best of her, and she
glared back at him.

"Could you give me some space here?"

He just stared for a moment, then in his best most gentlemanly fashion,
stepped back as he purred, "Of course...."

For a long moment, they just stared at each other.  LaCroix was recalling
what Nicholas had told him; she was a resistor.  She was a resistor whom
his son wished him to hypnotise into believing that Vachon had simply moved
on.  He regarded her for a long moment.  She was certainly not
unattractive, and moxie he'd have to give her.

Tracy began to glare at him.  She could feel it again; that sensation she
perceived when in this kind of proximity to one of them.  Swallowing
slightly, she looked straight into his eyes.

"Are you.......?"

An eyebrow raised up at her, and his face took on a slightly darkened
quality, the amusement that had previously been there, gone.  He said
nothing, instead he watched her wrestle within herself.

She started again, "Are you...."

"Am I what?"

"Are you like Vachon?"

"What do you mean?"

She glared right into the penetrating iceberg eyes, "Are you a vampire?"

His lips curled into a most amused expression, "My dear Detective Vetter,
do you actually believe that such things exist?"  He laughed, "They're
merely the concoction of some misguided minds."

Tracy continued to stare at him, "You did know Vachon, didn't you?"

He stared deeply into her eyes, and his voice took on a very deep quality
as he concentrated upon her heartbeat, "There are no such things as--"

He caught himself.  He had promised Nicholas that he wouldn't take her
knowledge of vampiric existence away.  He looked down, breaking the spell.
His face, for a moment, showed the slightest hint of consternation, but
then it was gone.  Tracy blinked at him, and a frown creased her face.  Had
he just tried to hypnotise her?  She wasn't sure, which was odd, because
Vachon was never able to do it, of that she was certain.

She looked at him again.  There was something about him, something that she
hadn't felt from any other of his kind.  But what was it?  He glared at
her, sensing that she was picking up far more than any mortal should.  This
was going to require a little effort on his part.  He sighed and looked
into her eyes once again.

"What is it that you want, Detective Vetter?"

"How about a straight answer to my question?"

He smiled at her again, "You are persistent, aren't you?"

"That's not an answer."

"No, I do not suppose that it is."

He smiled that unnerving smile at her again.  This was getting old.

"Look, LaCroix, I know you're like Vachon.  I can feel it."

He just continued to look at her, showing no outward signs of discomfort.
Tracy had to hand it to him, he was smooth, that could not be questioned.
She smiled back at him; two could play this game.  For a long moment, the
staring contest ensued.  When he could see that she would not be deterred,
his smile changed from a smile meant to intimidate, to a smile of
acquiescence.

"Very well, Miss Vetter.  It is as you say; however, I cannot allow you to
maintain such knowledge of me."

Her eyes showed the slightest hint of fear as LaCroix once again closed the
distance between them, effectively pinning her against the wall.  The last
thing she remembered, was reaching for her gun.

Nick watched silently from his corner of the Raven.  He looked at his
watch; it had been over thirty minutes.  What was LaCroix doing?  Just as
his patience was waning, he saw Tracy emerge from the back hallway.  She
looked slightly dazed as she made her way through the crowd and then out
the front door of the club.  Nick quickly made his way to the soundbooth,
where he found LaCroix sitting in a chair, looking slightly tired.

Nick entered the booth and glanced expectantly toward his father, "Well?"

LaCroix looked up, "Resistor doesn't begin to describe it."

Nick frowned, "Are you saying you couldn't do it?"

LaCroix smiled, "No, I worked my way around it, but it was far more trouble
than it was worth.  I should have just had a quick meal and called it a
night."

"That's not funny, LaCroix."

"I wasn't attempting humour, Nicholas, I assure you."

Nick glared, "LaCroix--"

"--Do not concern yourself, Nicholas.  I kept my word.  Your partner is
unharmed, and now believes that her good friend Javier has simply moved
on."  LaCroix stared into Nick's eyes for a moment, "She knew about me,
Nicholas."

"What?  How is that possible?  I'm sure Vachon would not have told her."

"He did not.  She guessed.  But that brings up an interesting question,
does it not?"  Nick just glared, not picking up the bait, so LaCroix
continued, "If she senses these things, then you might find yourself quite
compromised, Nicholas.  Frankly, I'm surprised she hasn't approached you
already."

"What did you do?"

"I 'suggested' that Vachon was the only one of our kind in existence;
however, I sincerely doubt that such an allusion will last."

They held a long look.  Nick sighed.  He'd deal with it if and when the
time arrived.  He looked sincerely into LaCroix' eyes.

"Thank you, LaCroix."

LaCroix simply nodded.  Nick smiled, turned and left the booth, leaving his
father to his own thoughts.  LaCroix knew it was only a matter of time,
until Tracy either allowed herself to believe what she already
intrinsically knew about Nicholas, or until something happened that would
reveal him to her.  Her innocence could not remain intact forever; Vachon
had unwittingly made that so when he divulged his true nature to her.

LaCroix stood up, walked to the door, flipped out the lights and made his
way toward the back staircase.  The memory of apricots and quiet innocence
still filled his senses.  In the back of his mind, he hoped that it would
remain so, but somehow, he knew that it could not.  There was always a
price to be paid when his kind became entwined with mortals, and it was
almost always the mortals who had to pay it.  Why Nicholas still did not
understand this, was beyond his own comprehension.  He shook his head as he
ascended the steps and fit his key into the lock.  For now at least, Tracy
Vetter was still more or less innocent.  LaCroix hoped for his son's sake,
that it would remain so.

fin

5 May 1999

end part 1
vampwrtr@innocent.com
http://members.aol.com/vampwrtr/forever_lacroix/