Natalie sat in the living room for a while longer.
Finally she got up and wandered over to the mantel,
and pulled out two pictures from the myriad scattered
there. One was the photo that Janette had looked at
earlier, with Natalie and Nick sitting on a picnic
table together, his arms wrapped around her shoulders
and her leaning back into him, both of them smiling.
It had been an unusually light moment for Nick. She
smiled fondly. The other picture was of Nikki dressed
up for Halloween the previous October. She had been
dressed as an angel, with large wings and a long white
gown, her smile large and impish at the same time.
Tears formed in the corners of Nat’s eyes as she gazed
at both pictures. The two people she loved most in the
world, both of who were lost to her. She closed her
eyes and willed herself not to weep. She had shed so
many tears in the last two days that she wondered that
she was still able to cry. Finally, a slow-burning
anger replaced her anguish and helplessness. She
slowly started burning with a rage against the person
who had stolen her daughter from her. He would pay,
she would see to it. In one respect, she knew exactly
why she had called LaCroix; he would understand her
need for revenge and would be willing to act on her
behalf to make sure that the monster that was doing
this to her was unable to ever hurt anyone else again.
She sighed to herself, wondering why she felt so
driven by to punish the scumbag that had stolen her
daughter, rather than be content to let the law take
care of it. She wondered what Nick would say if he
knew that she was being so base and petty. Oh well. He
wasn’t here, and LaCroix was. Weariness finally
caught up to her as she put her photos back and
trudged to her own room to get some sleep.

Natalie’s alarm woke her up at 4:00 PM. She got out of
bed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. She
was tense and hadn’t slept well, knowing that today
was the day she would hear from the kidnappers and
hopefully get Nikki back. While she was in the shower,
she reached out with her mind along the link she
shared with Nikki. She felt fear emanating from her
daughter, and sent back feelings of reassurance and
love, masking her growing fear. She hurriedly finished
her shower and if up in a robe. She went down to the
kitchen, not sure LaCroix would be awake.

She didn’t see the ancient master vampire anywhere,
but she noted that although it was raining, there was
still some weak light coming through the open windows
and French doors leading from living room into the
back yard. She went over to the windows and closed the
blinds and curtains, cutting out even the pale, watery
daylight. It would soon be dark. She turned on lamps
around the house so she could see. After finishing
that task, she went to start a pot of coffee for
herself, feeling the need for caffeine to help her
face the evening’s ordeals.

Suddenly she felt a prickling on the back of her neck
and turned to see LaCroix standing in the doorway to
the kitchen, dressed in his habitual black Armani
suit. He had approached silently. She realized that
her knowledge that he was there was very much part of
her attenuated blood link with him, through Nick.

“Nikki is frightened. I picked up her feelings about
20 minutes ago.”

“We shouldn’t have much of a wait to hear from the
kidnapper.” LaCroix walked to the refrigerator and
opened it, pulling out a bottle of bloodwine, which he
opened and poured into one of the wine glasses Natalie
had shown him the previous evening.

Natalie watched him, feeling strangely calm with the
tall vampire filling up the space in her modest
kitchen. She decided that she needed the reassurance
of mundane chores to help her keep herself calm. “I’m
going to get dressed, then make something to eat. Do
you need anything?”

“Thank you, no. I shall remain here.” He inclined his
head as he headed into the living room, sat down in
one of the chairs, and picked up the book he had been
reading the previous evening.

Natalie went back up to her bedroom and closed the
door. She reached out with her senses to Nikki again,
but all she got was the same feeling of fear. A tear
slipped down her cheek. “It’s OK baby, I’m here.” She
tried to send reassurance again along the link,
frustrated by her inability to do anything more.
Finally sighing, she went to her bureau and pulled out
a pair of jeans and a light sweater. If she had to go
somewhere suddenly to meet with the kidnappers, she
wanted to be comfortable and in versatile clothing.
She looked at her watch and saw that it was just after
five p.m.

When she entered the kitchen, she made herself a
sandwich and poured some coffee. The stress of the
situation was beginning to wear her down, and knowing
that Nikki was afraid only set her nerves more on end.
Finally deciding to try and do some research, she
finished her lunch and announced she was going to try
and get some work done, then went into her office.
LaCroix raised his eyebrow, but said nothing. After
2000 years, he had patience to a fine art.

As Natalie opened her laptop and started delving into
her work, she managed to distract herself enough that
she lost track of the passage of time. Suddenly the
doorbell rang, and she bolted upright, trying to
figure out who it could be. The kidnappers had
indicated that they would contact her via telephone,
but she still had no idea what time to expect the
call. She left her office to answer the front door and
found Janette standing there. It was full dark, and
after eight p.m. Without saying anything, Natalie
ushered Janette in. The beautiful vampire went to the
kitchen, opened the door and pulled out the opened
bottle of blood wine. Natalie produced a glass for her
just as LaCroix walked into the kitchen. He walked
over to Janette and kissed her on the cheek. Natalie
noticed the easiness between the two vampires and
wondered about their relationship. LaCroix refilled
his own glass and the three of them went into the
living room. Finally Janette broke the silence.

“It might be prudent if we have some sort of a plan,
no?” Gracefully, she sat down on the sofa, her casual
slacks and sweater reminding Natalie of a 1950’s
starlet.

LaCroix returned to the chair he had been occupying.
“Yes, I have been considering some of our options.
Much will be dependent on whether or not this affair
truly is the work of Mr. Andropov.” He looked to
Natalie. “I am assuming that of primary importance is
getting Nicole safely back into your custody, then
secondarily…eliminating…this trash. Is that your view,
Natalie?”

Natalie nodded. “I don’t care what happens to the
kidnapper once I have Nikki back. That is ALL I care
about right now. If he disappears off the planet, I
won’t lose any sleep over it.”

Both LaCroix and Janette got a predatory look on their
faces and Natalie shivered at the twin expressions on
their faces.

Janette took a sip of her blood wine, then looked at
Natalie calculatingly. “I think it is safe to say that
this particular individual, whomever he may be, will
never bother you or anyone else after this is
resolved.”

LaCroix merely nodded and started outlining his
thoughts. “I suggest, Natalie, that you explain to the
kidnapper that I am providing you with the money and
that I am insistent upon accompanying you, assuming he
gives the standard ‘you will come alone’ speech. And,
of course, you should insist on speaking to little
Nicole. He does not know of your blood link to your
daughter, and will expect you to demand proof of her
continued well-being.” Natalie nodded miserably.

“It also a somewhat logical assumption that he will
either choose to have you go on a scavenger hunt or
else he will try and choose a relatively remote
location and give you a very tight schedule. Now, my
one question is: do we fly or drive?”

Natalie blinked at him. The thought of flying had
never occurred to her. She had completely forgotten
the vampiric ability which could be highly
advantageous in the current situation. Janette got a
speculative look on her face.

“LaCroix, I would like to make a suggestion. Perhaps
it would be wise to take a two-pronged approach to
this. You and Natalie take her car, and I will take to
the air. I am guessing that this person will somehow
be following Natalie’s actions. If I leave here soon,
he will have no reason to suspect that I am part of
whatever rendezvous he has planned. You can alert me
to the plans via our blood link, and I can precede you
to the meeting point, and then we will have an
advantage they could not possibly know about.”

LaCroix nodded. “An excellent plan, my dear. Natalie,
do you agree to this?”

Natalie nodded.

“Excellent. So Janette, you should be off before they
call.”

Janette stood, as did Natalie. She walked over to hug
the shorter woman. “Do not worry, Cherie. We will get
your little one back, and make sure that this animal
never troubles you or anyone else again.” She kissed
Natalie on one cheek then walked out of the house.
They heard her car start and pull out of the driveway,
and knew that she would only drive a few blocks away
before taking to the air and finding a waiting place
that would allow her to take off as soon as possible.
“Natalie, I think it would be prudent to have
everything in readiness. You should get the money out,
and put it in a satchel so that when the call comes we
are ready to go.”

Natalie nodded, then went to the closet where she had
hidden the money, and pulled it out as well as a
nondescript gym bag. She started stuffing the money in
the gym bag, but then pulled it out. She pulled the
pouches open and started emptying the cash directly
into the gym bag. When she had finished the task, she
closed the zipper and took the parcel into the living
room. She pulled out a jacket, her cell phone, and a
medical bag to be ready to leave on an instant’s
notice. She glanced at LaCroix, then went into the
kitchen and pulled three bottles of blood wine out of
the refrigerator and put them into the valise that
Janette had originally transported them in. She took
the valise into the living room and put it next to the
medical bag and the gym bag. LaCroix looked askance at
her.

“If you or Janette should for some reason become hurt,
you’ll need blood. I don’t have any whole blood here,
so I want to make sure we have something on hand for
you.”

”Excellent thinking. I think this person has vastly
underestimated you. Not only your own resourcefulness,
but also your intelligence. A pity for him, but he
will soon learn the error of his oversight.”

They sat looking at one another. Natalie glanced at
her watch. It had been just after nine when Nikki had
disappeared, and it was eight fifty-five. There was a
palpable tension in the air. Natalie got up and
started pacing, looking at the phone. LaCroix merely
watched her, his expression unreadable. Suddenly the
phone rang, shattering the silent tension. Natalie
rushed to the cordless and hit the speakerphone.

“Hello?”

“Speakerphone, Dr. Knight? That doesn’t bode well for
this conversation.”

Natalie recognized the voice from the night Nikki was
kidnapped.

“I have someone here who has a vested interest in this
conversation; he is the one who is providing your
ransom money. He is an old family friend.”

“Hmmmm. I suppose that’s acceptable, assuming he isn’t
a law enforcement professional. Speak up, family
friend. What is your name?”

“My name is Lucien LaCroix. I am most definitely NOT
in law enforcement. There is no love lost between the
authorities and myself.” LaCroix’s cold, aristocratic
tones sent shivers down Natalie’s spine.

The disembodied voice chuckled. “Well. That’s
refreshing. So. Do you have ALL the money, in cash,
unmarked bills as I specified?”

“Of course. We expect some indication that Dr.
Knight’s daughter is still alive and well. You will
put her on the phone. Now.”

“I don’t think that you are in any position to
dictate, Mr. LaCroix.” The voice had become menacing.

“Let us just consider this a business transaction, and
as such agree that I am paying you top dollar for
merchandise, which I expect to be in mint condition
for the money I am providing.” LaCroix’s eyes were
starting to glow golden; Natalie was very glad that
the caller couldn’t see the dangerous gleam in his
eyes.

“Well, I think I can agree to that. Very well. One
second.” There was a muffle on the receiver, and a few
sounds that could be made out in the background.
Natalie’s heart was racing and adrenaline was pumping
into her system.

There was a sound on the phone and a whispered command
“Say hello to your mommy.”

“Mama? Are you there?” Natalie’s heart broke to hear
Nikki’s voice.

“Nikki, are you ok? It’s me. I love you, Baby.”

“Mama, when am I coming home? I miss you.” There were
tears in her voice, and Natalie could feel the fear
from her daughter in the back of her mind.

The phone was muffled again, then the kidnapper came
back on. “There, as you can hear, she is fine, for
now. I think this conversation has gone on long
enough. Dr. Knight, I suggest you get in your car and
head toward the city. I’ll call you on your cell phone
once you are en route with further directions.” The
line cut out.

Natalie was already moving, putting on her coat and
grabbing her purse, keys, medical bag and the duffel
bag. LaCroix reached over for the valise of blood wine
and went to the door into the garage, holding it open
as Natalie walked out.

They went to her car and got in, opening the garage
door. Natalie took her cell phone out of her purse and
handed it to LaCroix. She backed out and headed back
toward the Beaverton Hillsdale Highway, fighting the
tears that were threatening to spill.

As they got onto the road, LaCroix closed his eyes and
pushed into his link with Janette, letting her know
that they were heading toward the city. He received a
flash of confirmation from her, and an indication that
she would fly toward the city and wait for more
information from him. They drove in silence. LaCroix
had an air of threat about him, and his demeanor
reminded Natalie of the years when they were
adversaries. She was amazed at how things had changed
so much over the intervening years.
===================
Kristen Fife, All Rights Reserved 2004
fenix23fyre@...