Fever Redux (or, No-Star Cell Service) [ch. 6] PG13

[NocturneInCMoll]

Author’s note: Sorry this chapter took longer to post than I thought…but anyway, here’s Josef! He demanded that he not be interrupted, so we’ll have to check back in with Mick and Leni in the next chapter…

Beta: The ever-fantastic Barb (Bank1115)!

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Fever Redux (or, No-Star Cell Service) — Chapter 6

The young man tilted his head and waited for them to speak.

Beth finally found her voice. “Josef Kostan? I’m—”

“Beth Turner, Buzzwire. Oh, such beautiful women on the internet.”

“Uh, thanks,” Beth smiled uncomfortably. “…I guess…”

Josh was scowling when Josef turned to him with a knowing smirk. “And you are—”

“Assistant District Attorney Joshua Lindsey,” he moved closer to Beth and put his arm around her.

“Fine,” Josef smirked as he reached out to shake Josh’s free hand. “Now that we’re all acquainted, why don’t you tell me why we’re all standing here awkwardly?” He moved around behind his desk again but did not sit down.

Josh scanned Josef’s desktop, then looked at him questioningly. “I thought we were interrupting a dinner meeting?”

“You did,” Josef stared at him calmly. “I had the room cleared while you were on your way up. If you’re hungry, I didn’t quite finish my chicken souvlaki.” He waved a hand, indicating a styrofoam container in a trash can beside his desk.

Josh glanced at the trash can and inhaled. He could smell the chicken. “He had food, Beth.”

Beth frowned and turned suddenly to Josef. “Do you know Mick St. John?”

He raised an eyebrow. “I think it’s obvious that you know I do, since you used his name to try and get up here, and”—he spread his hands—“here you are.”

“Um…right,” Beth bit her lip. “I meant, are you…are you a client of his, or a friend?”

Josef leaned forward. “Excuse me?”

“We’re looking for…friends…of Mick’s,” Josh cut in.

“Well, I am a client on occasion, and we play poker every other week, but other than that you could say we’re drinking buddies.” Josef’s eyes flicked back and forth between Beth and Josh as they shared a long glance. He picked up a file folder, held it high above his desk, and dropped it.

Beth and Josh startled at the loud smack it made when it hit the desktop and turned back to him.

“Good. Now that I have your attention, what’s this really about? I don’t have time to answer twenty questions on who I play with during recess.”

“So you’re…close friends with Mick?”

“Yes. In fact, he is my best friend. I’ve known him for…years. Would you get to your point?”

“I’m sorry…I wanted to make sure before I…before I…” She paused to take a deep breath and two tears rolled down her cheeks. “Mick’s dead!”

Josef immediately sat down in his chair. “Are you…sure? What happened? Where is he?”

Josh guided Beth to one of the chairs and stood beside it, still holding her hand. “I…hired him to find a witness that disappeared after an assassin appeared at our safe house and took out two cops. I wanted someone outside the force to investigate since there seemed to be a leak in my department. Mick tracked Leni to Victorville. I don’t have the details on what happened yet, but Mick and Leni stole a police cruiser and they were attacked—the man I’m prosecuting is an arms dealer. The car was in flames.”

Josef was silent. He stared at a flaw in the surface of his desk and poked at it. “And what do you want me to do?” he said quietly.

“We just thought someone should know—in case something…special…needs to be done,” Beth said shakily.

“Mick said he ‘talked’ to you,” Josef leaned back in his chair and regarded her. His eyes were cold and hard. “Where does he come into it, though?” He nodded towards Josh without breaking his gaze.

“I—I told him.” Beth lifted her chin. “After I found out Mick was dead, I…needed someone to talk to. I trust him. You can too.”

“Yes, well, you’ll forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.” He eyed Josh darkly while still addressing Beth, “You’ll also forgive me if I’m not too pleased with you at the moment. I knew reporters were trouble—especially blonde ones!”

“I’m still…processing what Beth told me,” Josh said quickly. “—But I promised I would keep the secret.”

Josef smiled slightly. “You don’t really believe her, do you?”

Beth dropped Josh’s hand and looked up at him. “You don’t?”

“Right now I don’t know what to believe—I mean, look—he had dinner!” Josh gestured to the garbage.

“Mr. Lindsey, I would think that you of all people would know that things are not always what they seem. Perhaps I only wanted you to think I had dinner.”

“So, what, you’re saying you buy and throw out food to make it appear as though you eat…food?”

“It’s not like I couldn’t afford it,” Josef put his feet up on the desk. “But this is all purely speculation, of course—since you don’t believe Miss Turner, here.”

“You could prove it,” Josh said bluntly. “Show me.”

“Josh!” Beth gasped.

“Beth, you said yourself you could hardly believe it at first, but you’d seen Mick with your own eyes!” Josh started to pace, then stopped. “Look, I need to know what I’m doing, here—I need to know this isn’t all just some surreal dream. I need to know what’s real—and if that’s vampires, fine; I’ll deal with it. But I don’t deal well with uncertainty.”

Josef regarded him for a long moment. “Very well,” he finally said with a hint of a smirk. “Will flashing you my pearly whites convince you, or do you want a front row seat for the dinner theatre show? If I may remind you, you interrupted my meal earlier.”

“I think the former will be sufficient…sir.”

“Josh…” Beth began, but Josef waved her off.

“Very well. The former it will be. As for the latter, I’ll just have a doggie bag made up.” Josef enjoyed Josh’s slight twitch when he suddenly leaned forward, swung his feet off the desk, and rose. “—But this isn’t a party trick, mind.” He shook his finger at the attorney. “—I won’t keep doing this whenever you want for your amusement.” He shut his eyes.

Josh nodded stiffly, “Of course not. I didn’t mean any disrespe—” He cut himself off when Josef’s eyes snapped open, a bright blue so pale they were nearly white. For a moment, Josh was caught in the icy gaze.

And then Josef smiled.

“Oh…I-I see. Th-thank you,” Josh said. His legs wobbled and he sat down, but the chair was three feet behind him and he fell hard onto the floor.

Josef’s human countenance returned, and he walked calmly around the desk and held out his hand to assist him up. Josh hesitated a moment before accepting it—then found himself jerked up by the collar and staring close-up into the face of a vampire.

“Mick may be a teddy bear with fangs, but I’m not,” Josef snarled, “I take threats to exposure very seriously. I have no problem with you personally, or with you knowing our little secret, as long as you can keep your mouth shut and don’t cause trouble. If vampires are exposed, a lot of people I care about, and some people I don’t even know, could get very hurt—and that includes humans. Think of me as a vampire district attorney, trying to protect the community—oh, I also go for the death penalty when I deem it necessary, and there’s no chance for appeal. Understood?” he tightened his grip.

Josh nodded quickly and Josef released him. “And that goes for you, too, Blondie!” he turned and said sharply to Beth. “You need someone to talk to, you come to me!” he pointed emphatically at himself. “No more telling unauthorized humans.”

“Oh-kay,” Beth croaked.

“Now, I’m sorry for scaring you,” Josef said, his face morphing back to its human facade. Then he smirked. “No, wait—I take that back. I’m sorry I found it fun to scare you—which is actually really something, coming from me. I don’t apologize very often.” He straightened and smoothed Josh’s collar for him.

Josh’s jaw tightened. “I can imagine.”

“And I imagine you didn’t like that, understandably—but you didn’t go through the normal screening process,” Josef shot a dark look at Beth, who shrank back, “so I had to do a rapid initiation. I hope there are no hard feelings—and do tell me honestly if there are. You see, I can sense when you’re lying.”

He stared Josh hard in the eye, and Josh returned his gaze evenly. A cell phone began to ring. Josh snatched the phone out of his pocket, only breaking Josef’s gaze to look at the screen. “I should take this—it’s my office.” He turned away and began to pace the length of the room.

Josef cocked an eyebrow at his retreating back and took a seat in the chair next to Beth. He grinned at her, and she returned it uncertainly.

Suddenly Josh stopped in his tracks. Josef sat straight up in his chair, his eyes on him. Beth looked back and forth between the two men.

“What do you mean there were no signs of bodies in the car?” Josh was rubbing the back of his neck.

Josef had already risen. “We need to go to the desert—now.”

“What? What’s going on?” Beth scrambled out of her chair.

“If Mick was in that car, he’d be ash—there would be no body,” Josef said and began yanking open drawers in his desk and slamming them shut. “But your witness was human, and there’d be something left of her.”

“But…what does that mean?”

“It means that next time you decide to blab a dead friend’s secret, make sure you verify the dead part first—Mick may still be alive.”

Her eyes widened.

Josef suddenly held up his hand. A set of car keys dangled from his fingers. “I’ll drive.”

Josh hung up the phone and turned around, only to find Beth clutching her purse and Josef tapping his foot. “Oh. So, you—”

“Already know what’s going on and decided we’re taking my car to the desert to look for Mick and the human.”

“Okay then. Let’s go.” Josh took a step and froze. “—Oh, crap.”

“The expression ‘oh, crap’ is on my Top Ten List of Things I Wish Were Human So I Could Murder Them With My Teeth,” Josef scowled. “What is it?”

“After I heard Mick and Leni were dead, I still had to find the leak in my office,” Josh shrugged awkwardly, “so I did a little experiment with misinformation…and told some people in my office that they were still alive. One of them called Fayed…and, thinking they were dead, we never bothered to correct them.”

Josef nodded. “So Fayed’s people still could be looking for them—and if they’ve got weapons-grade firepower, Mick and Leni could be in big trouble.” He smacked Josh on the shoulder. “‘Oh, crap’ it is!—I’m so glad you’ve mastered the art of the understatement, Joshua.”


To be continued…

[Moonlightsonata]

This is an interesting and different take on what happened. I have to admit I would have thought Josef would be more upset by Mick's "death" as would Beth, but I definitely can feel Josef in this portrayal. Thanks for continuing the story.

[mitzie]

Wow--that was a really knock-out chapter!!!! I loved Josef and his snark!!!! I loved Josh falling on the floor instead of landing in the chair!!!! I can hardly wait for the next chapter, Love it...


mitzie

[redwinter101]

Oh Josh took it so much better this time.

Loved Josef's reaction, BTW, calm but chilled, and ready to strike.

And as far as Josh is concerned, I think he made his point:

“Oh…I-I see. Th-thank you,” Josh said. His legs wobbled and he sat down, but the chair was three feet behind him and he fell hard onto the floor.

Brilliantly visual moment, Julie. Brilliant.

The chase is on...

Red

[NocturneInCMoll]

Moonlightsonata--Thank you! As for Josef's reaction to Mick's death, there's a lot going on besides what's on the surface. His feelings are bottled inside--he was hardly about to break down in front of the humans--and he also suddenly had to worry about the secrecy of the community. I feel he handled it as Josef would. As for Beth, she cried a bunch in earlier chapters and now is keeping busy by trying to help Mick.

Mitz--Haha, thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed Josef, and poor Josh falling onto the floor.

Red--Thank you so much! Tee hee, Josh did take it better this time around, didn't he! Glad you liked Josef's reaction. He had a lot to deal with, and now he's got to drive a couple of humans out to the desert in the hopes of finding Mick alive instead. Hmm, poor Josh falling on the floor seems to be popular, too.

[francis]

I adore your Josef snark. Love his introduction of Josh to his vamp nature, and that he called him Joshua in the end, and that he enjoyed scaring him, and admitted it freely. He's thinking on his feet, and he makes the rules so he can bend them. Otherwise, Josh would have been toast, as would have been Beth.
This was funny and full of suspense at the same time. I think you nailed how Josef would have reacted, and how Josh would have. He's a great guy, once you get over the "he's in the way between Mick and Beth" issue.

[jen]

Julie

This is fabulous. You have so nailed Josef's snark and the entire attitude. Very well done!

This is a Josef without the restraining influence of Mick, but I must admit, he is surprisingly restrained anyway. I was expecting more threats involving immediate relocation to La Brea, but he was actually almost kind.

And now it is out to the desert to find Mick and Leni.

Thanks,

Jenna

[NocturneInCMoll]

Francis--Thank you so much! Glad you liked...everything! I am really glad you found Josef's and Josh's reactions authentic. Josef is indeed bending his rules a little, because a) he just lost his best friend (or so he thought, for a bit) and they are his only connection to him, and b) he needs them to find Mick's dead (now possibly still undead) body... Josh is indeed a good guy, except for the Mick-Beth thing--we'll see what happens. Maybe I should have him fall for a Cleaner! ...Just kidding.

Jenna--Thank you very much! Glad you think I nailed Josef's character. He is being restrained, certainly, partly because Beth/Josh (Bosh? Joth?) had some shocking news for him that threw him for a loop (after 400 years he must be good at hiding his feelings, particularly in regards to losing people close to him) and partly because [see reasons I gave Francis up above]. We'll see what happens in the desert when we return to Mick and Leni.

[darkstarrising]

I really like your take on the Fever episode, Julie ....love having Josh meet Josef this way....now that I think about it, they never did meet in the series

Anyway, I could visualize the reactions - Beth knowing what Josef was, and finding out that he wasn't 'a teddy bear with fangs' - that could be a bit overwhelming. She's suitably nervous. And poor Josh - when he's finally convinced that Josef is a vampire has a perfectly understandable and very human reaction....

“Oh…I-I see. Th-thank you,” Josh said. His legs wobbled and he sat down, but the chair was three feet behind him and he fell hard onto the floor.

A great combination of tension and just the right amount of humor.....anxious to see what's next!!

[NocturneInCMoll]

Thank you so much, Karen! I'm very glad you're enjoying my twist on Fever. Glad you liked Josh's meeting with Josef--we were totally gypped out of one in the show!--and his reaction to definitive proof that vampires exist. I think Josh and even Beth, knowing about vampires, were a little overwhelmed... And then, the bombshell that Mick might be alive after all...we'll see what happens next! I do have lots of ideas, and bits and pieces written, but, as usual, it's a matter of connecting them...