From the Case Files of Mick St.John: Wrong Turn (coco)PG-13

[kpyle]

Wow!! That was amazing! I loved the way you told that story! And I did notice the hesitant look on Mick's face when
Beth had asked him that question in that episode! What a lovely story for the explanation!!

Kelly

[wpgrace]

Oh man, Lucky! You are just about the Queen of Historical fic around here... Josef AND Mick! And Coco, I SO love the premise you gave Lucky... that one quote from Beth... one of those annoying damn things left dangling by the Big C.

This is a tragic and wonderful story... a real story here. But you've included a few things that I just must note... I love how you had Mick state that he had gotten a rep for doing whatever it takes... taking the words right out of Mrs. Turner's mouth. Love that! I love the nod to the BDB books, about Mick NOT being able to turn off the light switch with his mind. And I LOVE that you noted that Marcin and Mick were the bad guys' back-up plan. I am assuming, knowing you, that all this was quite on purpose. The kinds of little asides and details that made an already well plotted, well told, well characterized story just that much more enjoyable.

Excellent. Kudos to you both!

[lynnrxgal]

I'll let the literary experts do their thing here. Just want to say that this so fits in the storytelling gaps created during the first 16 episodes... Trevor would be proud!

[Phoenix]

*speechless* Brava, ladies.

[Fishy]

Have very much enjoyed this story, Lucky and Coco. One could hear Mick speaking, and I totally agree it is the little revealing snippets that you drop in to your work Lucky, that brings your characters to life. I too remember that scene in the show and was I glad at the time that Mick had a chance to duck the answer because of his reaction to the question.

Congratulations on your succesful collaboration.
Fishy

[Fleur de Lisa]

Wonderful job, you two. Enjoyed the historical aspect as well as the action----a really intriguing look into Mick and Josef's past--rich with detail.

Great idea!

[Lilly]

I can’t begin to tell you how much I love this fic. I’ve read everything you’ve written and beta’d about 95% of it (at least by word count), so I think I know whereof I speak when I say that this may be the best thing you’ve ever written. Josef may be in your heart, but Mick is in your head – big time. Or, more accurately, you’re in his.

I know from experience how you rise to the occasion when someone throws you a tidbit of an idea, and I have to say coco handed you prime filet with this one. And I know her input and questions helped forge this piece into what it is.

There is so much to love here, from the overall plot to the tiny details, but what really jumps out at me is Mick’s voice. This is not 2008, post-rescue Mick. Well, it was, as the story began, but it slid back into an edgier 1980’s Mick, so true to what he was at that time. You bring us back to where he was emotionally then – he’s Mick but not quite the Mick we know.

A few passages that set the tone:

And hey, my friend Josef might have had enough scratch to keep hot running freshies living in, but back then, I was struggling. Living and working out of a combo office/apartment in a third floor walkup whose greatest charm was the fact that the neighbors never stayed long enough to notice that the guy in 3B didn’t seem to get any older.

... Maybe his sights were a hair off. Who knows, but the result was that instead of having his brains splattered across my couch, Marcin Borkowski was going to be waking up. He might have a bitch of a headache, but I’m guessing it beat the alternative.

So the situation had gotten fragile. Normally, I wouldn’t worry about a man with a gun. Even two. But I did have some scruples about getting Marcin shot. Especially if Josef had been grabbed. Besides, it’s bad form to let a client die. Tends to have a negative impact on future clients.

And then there’s the reason – Josef.

I’d always said I’d never take the choice from someone, the way it was taken from me. For thirty-three years, I’d raged against the vampire inside, and cursed my condition. Now, I was at a crossroads. Marcin was dying, and if he did, he would take with him my last chance to find Josef. I didn’t have hours or days to think this over, to reason it out. It was Josef, my mentor, my friend, the one who had pulled me back from the brink of madness more times than I could count…or Marcin, who had come into my office a couple of hours ago. And who was dead no matter what I did…

And you leave us with no doubt that Mick’s choice was justified:

About then, Josef lifted his head and snarled in the blond vampire’s face. I could see from my vantage point that he was fully vamped out, and knowing his iron control, it told me just how bad the situation was for him.

And these two very powerful, very vivid images will be burned into my mind’s eye for a very long time:

At one point, I was distracted by a drip on my face, and glanced up to see Josef’s body hanging above us like some kind of bleeding vampire crucifix.

With the conscious human cowering away from him, he clutched the other body like some obscene parody of a mother and child. He’d fallen to his knees, and he was fighting what he wanted to do, what he had to do, and what clearly he feared to do.

And then, the introduction of the man Mick would do anything for to the one he did it to. It was almost surreal in its calmness, its normalness. The irony in Josef’s words was painful, as he himself at this point probably could not imagine what Mick had done for him.

Josef nodded, and got slowly to his feet, extending his hand. “Grandson,” he said. “ Time flies. Welcome to America, Marcin.”

Since this comment is longer than some of my own fics, I'll stop now before I end up quoting the whole thing.

Just one last thing -- perhaps my favorite line:

I regret a lot of things in my life. Dragging that cowering human, the one who’d watched them torture my friend, over to be a meal for Josef, isn’t one of them.

This is the Mick that went after LeeJay and the Mick that finished Tejada. It's Mick with a sense of vampire justice, and it only serves to highlight further the constant internal struggle he faces.

This is just pure gold.

[coco]

I can't tell you how pleased I am to see Lucky's wonderful story get such an amazing reaction. It is richly deserved. I had an absolute blast working with her on this story and to see the whole process of how a story comes together for a writer was a joy for me being such a fan of fanfic.

I was extremely nervous about this challenge as some of you know and Lucky put me at ease instantly and encouraged me throughout and we had a fabulous time working on this story together. I'm so pleased I put my name forward for the challenge.

Lucky I just want to mention publicly what I've already said by PM to you - this story is truly amazing and I I'm delighted that your idea for your story and my prompt for the challenge worked together so well. This story has such a fantastic "noir" feel to it and I adore the Mick back story immensely.

[Albra]

Gurus of Moonlight fanfic said everythink about yours story.

I have only one word to express my feelings : AMAZING

[librarian_7]

WOW, Lucky & Coco. That was fantastic. I was enthralled through the whole thing.

That was very noir, and very Mick. I could see it all happening. Poor Marcin--I don't think that's what his grandfather meant when he said, "find Josef Kostan." So tragic. (Although, how did he know his name was Josef Kostan? Unless Josef was also Josef Kostan back then.)

P.S. I also love how Mick says Josef's name, "Joz'ef."

I'm thinking that Josef may have a list of names he cycles through, and may reuse names down the road from time to time. I'm also going on the supposition (as I've done elsewhere in my fic) that "Josef Kostan" could be something akin to his original name.

And thank you so much for the comment...this story is a special one.

Lucky

[librarian_7]

Good lord... this is a phenomenal story. Trevor would be so proud! It's dark, gritty, painful, redemptive--I'm kind of lost for words. There's so much to absorb in this story that I really can't formulate a very coherent response to it at the moment. But WOW. All I can say is, you two make a good team! I'm giving you a virtual standing ovation for this!

Alle, thank you so much for that comment...I'd like to think we were as true as possible in this to Trevor's vision.

eris, DSR, Lilly, your comments are just wonderful. I knew as coco and I worked through this story, that we had something special coming together....sometimes things just fall into place, and this was one of those times.

Lilly fusses at me sometimes for not writing Mick often enough...well, I do love dear Josef. But I think Mick is a lovely character to write, too, so who knows what the future will bring?

coco--it was a pleasure working with you. Let's do it again sometime. You asked the hard questions at the right times to make this story better.

Lucky

[Fleur de Lisa]

I did the speed reading thing last night when I read your fic--it was getting late and I so wanted to read it. Today, I savored it.

Lucky--you are the queen of gorgeous detail. I see everything so clearly with your beautiful descriptive prose. I already know what a fantastic Josef you write, but your Mick is pretty phenomenal, too.

The two of you should be very, very proud. This was a stunning piece.

[RangerCM]

Absolutely wonderful. This was such a pleasure to read. The telling was so vivid, I could see every moment of it playing in my mind. I can see this being one I'll want to re-visit again and again.

[jenstc2003]

Beautifully done ladies!! The "fights like a girl" line was absolutely classic. You've managed to create a little world here that is so perfectly done- I can see Mick in exactly this place before he met Beth, and Marcil is fascinating. I believe that Mick must have turned SOMEONE, given his reaction to Beth's question in Sonata, and a situation like this would be perfectly sensible for it to have happened.

[Emma-lee]

Nicely done...I loved it..