Lanius had dismissed his Patriots after the battle and took Diana back to the home they had shared. He was exhausted but he fought off the tired feeling and took care of her.
"After a shower you will feel better." He said
"Yes, a shower and a good night's sleep. Will you stay with me, my Lord?"
"Yes, my love. I will stay with you. I will never leave you again."
They showered together and washed each other. They kissed but were both too tired for any other amorous activities in the shower though they both wanted it. After showering they slept, bodies entwined as before. Lanius felt complete.
"I missed you terribly." he admitted to her.
"And I missed you." then, sheepishly she asked "Did Lucas tell you about what I have done?"
"I saw what you did downstairs. And yes, Lucas told me the rest but it shall remain between us three. You were distraught and I could not bear to bring you before the Triumvirate to be judged for it. Fear not."
`
When Lanius awoke he found a message on his phone. It was from the Magistrate in San Francisco.
Inspector Martin Gendron was here. He has given us two days to give him an explanation about the happenings here. I told him of the death of Kimberly.
I just told Diana I would not leave her and now I have to go to San Francisco he thought and looked over at her still sleeping soundly. She will understand.
He gently awoke her first by calling her name softly and then by caressing her cheek.
"You're still here." she said through a groggy smile.
"Yes, but I have received a message and am needed in San Francisco immediately. I'm sorry but my duties must take me away from you for a couple of days."
"So, you will return to me?"
"Yes, I will return to you. I never should have left you. I love you."
"And I you." she said with a broad smile. She embraced him in a long hug and then kissed him softly on the lips. "Go, then. Attend to your duties and return to me and things can go back to normal."
"I hope so." he replied and kissed her gently. "These matters in San Francisco are delicate and I must be tactful. The human police are asking questions and we have to provide an explanation to them about what happened there."
"Surely you will think of something, my Lord. You always do."
"I will do what is needed, as I always have done. While I am gone would you please go to the property in the city and gather my things and bring them back here? I will stop there and pack a few things for my trip but I would like for you the bring the rest back here."
"Of course, my love. Happily. Now go, the sooner you go the sooner you will return."
He kissed her on the forehead. "I will see you soon."
`
Lanius arrived at the Magistrate's office in San Francisco and he did not keep him waiting long. The Magistrate told him of Inspector Gendron's visit and their conversation.
"He seems inclined to be helpful to us but we have to give him something. I have an idea. There is a surgeon here in the city whom we have been watching. He spends his free time carving up homeless people for his own amusement. The human police don't even suspect him of anything but I think we can give him to them rather than make a meal of him."
"That's a start but we still have to explain why so many of the murders involved exsanguination. Do we have any help in the medical supply chain somewhere?"
"Yes, that's possible. One of our volunteers works for a pharmaceutical company. What are you thinking?"
"Our saliva is a natural anticoagulant. Surely the human police have discovered that an anticoagulant agent was used in the removal of the blood from the bodies of those murdered but, obviously, cannot identify it. We will have a need for that vampire to back date orders of Lixiana. It is a lesser known anticoagulant and difficult to identify. He would also need to back date an order of a transfusion machine.
"I will contact him immediately. Will you be meeting with the Inspector yourself?"
"Yes, I will go and meet with him now. Text me as soon as you find out something.
`
When Marty saw Lanius at the sergeant's desk he recognized him immediately. He walked over just as the sergeant was turning to go and ask if he could see a visitor.
"Oh, Inspector, you're just who I was looking for. This gentleman has asked for a few minutes of your time. Will you see him?"
"Yes, I will take it from here, sergeant, thank you."
Marty reached the desk and shook Lanius' hand.
"I'm glad to see you, and a day early."
"It's a pleasure to see you, Inspector. It's been a long time. We should talk elsewhere."
"Of course, let's go get a cup of coffee."
`
The coffee house was busy and loud. The odor of fresh brewed coffee filled the air. Most of the tables were occupied. Some by groups of people talking loudly and a few with a solitary person tapping away on their laptops. There were many people coming and going. They waited silently in line and got their coffees. They found a booth near the back that was empty and sat down.
"I'll get right to it." Lanius said "We have someone you can pin these murders on. He's a surgeon, not even on your radar but we've been watching him. He likes to perform surgery on homeless people for his own amusement in his spare time. His name is Dr. Dennis Millman."
"Okay, but how did I come upon suspecting him?"
"We're working on a back order of a transfusion machine and lots of an obscure anticoagulant. I assume you know that each murdered body had had an anticoagulant administered that you couldn't identify."
"How did you know that?" Marty asked raising an eyebrow.
"It's in our saliva."
Just then Lanius' phone buzzed, a text message from the Magistrate.
He can backorder the Lixiana but can't help with the transfusion machine. He said he can attest to one stolen from there but we would need a back dated police report.
Lanius rested his head back against the vinyl of the booth and sighed. "Marty, we need a favor from you to make this work."
"What kind of favor?"
"We have a contact who can back date a large order of the anticoagulant but not the transfusion machine. We would need a back dated police report for the theft of one, he agreed to be the witness."
"I don't think that I can do that." Marty said wondering. "I'd have to involve some people in another department and what am I supposed to tell them?"
"Marty this is the one thing that we need from you to make this work, surely you can find someone willing to help you?"
"No, I'm basically alone in this and I'm already crazy for helping you as much as I am willing. I can't go involving more people from the force. You'll have to find another way."
"I'm uncertain there is another way, Marty. Is there any way I can convince you to do this?"
"No. I'm sorry, Lanius. I'm willing to follow the trail of anticoagulant to your doctor but I can't be falsifying police reports. You'll have to think of something else. You have one more day. In the meantime I'll look up this anticoagulant. Text me the details on it and I'll run it through the proper channels. So I can start tracking this doctor."
With that he stood up. "It was nice seeing you again, Lanius. You haven't aged a day and I am getting old. I hope you find some way to help me out here."
"It was a pleasure seeing you, too, Marty" Lanius said and Marty walked out.
`
"It has been a long time, Mirella." Lanius said stepping in front of her cell. She was lying on her cot reading. She had books piled up next to the cot. The place stunk of pigs blood. The walls were leaking from the rain outside and it dripped from the ceiling, too. She was thin. Lying there in the prison issued jumpsuit he could see that she was not well. She looked up from her book.
"What are you doing here?" she asked with acid in her voice.
"How would you like to get out of here?" he asked.
She sat up. "How would that be possible?"
"We need your help."
She laughed. "Why would I help you? You locked me up for life for a few human lives. I've been living on pig's blood for eighteen years and rotting in this cell because of you."
"You would be helping Marty, too."
She was shocked at the sound of his name. She started as if she had been slapped. "Is Marty in trouble?"
"We need you to convince him to help us and in doing so help himself. We have a serious situation here and we need him to do something to help explain it away but he is less than willing. He is inclined to help us only so far. If you can convince him to go a step further, I will commute your sentence and you will be freed."
"What do I need to convince him of?"
"I'll explain once we are on the way. The officer will bring you your clothes and some make up. Clean yourself up and I'll be waiting."
He turned and walked away. She listened to his footfalls down the hallway and the memories of Marty cam rushing back. She had thought of him almost every day she had been in prison but now she thought about seeing him again. All of the things she imagined she would say to him over the years if she ever saw him again filled her head. Would she actually be able to face him? He will have aged and she had not. He won't be the young man that she remembered but an older man, and he has had a career while she rotted in this cell. He must have had women, maybe he was married now? She had no idea what to expect of seeing him again but she sorely wanted to. Suddenly she thought she may not know what to say to him.
The officer appeared with a bag. "Let's go." he said "You're to hit the showers and get ready to go with Lord Lanius so let's not dawdle. He isn't one to keep waiting."
`
In Lanius' truck on the way to the police station Lanius explained to Mirella what had happened in San Francisco and the battle in Chandler. He told her about the doctor and the conversation he had had with Marty.
"So, you want me to convince him to falsify a report of a stolen medical device
"Yes. That is all that you have to do and I will have you freed. You will be able to feed on humans again and your exile to San Francisco will be lifted. You will, of course, be subject to the rules once again and if you break them I am uncertain what will be done with you."
"There's no way he will do that. He isn't going to break the rules, even for me. Remember? What am I supposed to say? Pretty please, for old times sake, do what you wouldn't even for true love?"
Mirella sat in silence for a long time as they drove. She was thinking about seeing Marty again and how she could convince him to do such a thing. After what he gave up for his oath to the law with her how would she get him to go along with such plan? Her mind was whirling with these ideas when Lanius stopped the truck.
"Here we are. Go inside and ask for him at the desk. You must find a way to convince him of this. We have no other way or else you would not be here, you understand that, do you not?"
"Yes. I will do what I can but I cannot make any promises. Marty is very serious about his oath to the law, you understand that."
"Yes, I know. You must find a way. We have no other recourse."
"Okay, here I go." she said and got out of the truck. She was nervous. She was trembling all over and felt shaky. She walked toward the front door of the police station on unsteady legs.
`
Marty and Mike were at the warehouse that Stott had used for an address to rent the trucks. It looked abandoned. Most of the windows were broken out and the parking lot was littered with garbage and broken concrete. The building was a faded blue and the paint was peeling everywhere. Mike was peering in through the window in the door.
"It looks empty." he said
"We should still be on our guard, we don't know what's in there waiting for us. Catch my drift?
"Well if that's the case will our guns do us any good?"
"No."
Mike tried the door and it was unlocked. They both drew their guns and Mike pushed the door open. They stepped inside cautiously looking in every direction. It was a large, open space. It looked like squatters had been living there as there was the remnants of a couple of tents and a circle of broken chairs around a burnt out barrel toward the center of the huge space.
Marty pointed at the office space upstairs and Mike nodded. They were careful to be quiet, watching their every step so as to avoid alerting anyone that they were there. Trying anyway.They ascended the steel stairway side by side and reached the door at the top crouching. Marty peeked up over the edge of the window and scanned the office inside.
"There's someone in there but he doesn't look like he's moving." he whispered.
Mike tried the knob and the door opened with a creak on rusted steel hinges. They entered low, checking the corners. Marty went right and Mike went left. Mike checked the back of the office.
"All clear." he called out
"Yeah this guy isn't putting up a fight." said Marty standing over a body slumped in a chair. "Ten to one this is Stott." he said.
"Fuck." Mike said walking over to stand next to his partner. "We have nothing if it is."
"Well, let's call in the forensic boys and have them start their thing here. It'll take them days to comb through this place and there won't be much that's solid. I bet most of the prints they find will be of the homeless that squatted here before Stott came around. Call the coroner, too. They can bring in this guy and confirm if it's Stott. My bet is that it is. And look, the two punctures on the neck. It looks like Kimberly covered her tracks by draining him dry."
"We're going to have to go with the story the vampires gave us. There's no other leads, we're fucked." Mike said as they went back down the stairs.
"Yeah but their story isn't solid. Do we know anyone in robbery that would be ... friendly to the cause?"
"There's a sergeant in robbery that owes me a favor but I'm not sure we can tell her all of this. She'll think we're nuts."
They were outside near the car now. Marty was deep in thought. Can we really do this? How are we going to pull this off?
"Let's just head back to the office. Maybe forensics will find something and maybe that isn't Stott."
"Those are big 'maybes' partner." Mike retorted.
"Well, it's all we got right now."
`
Marty stopped in mid step when he saw her. The love he lost so many years ago, sitting in the waiting room of the station. She hadn't aged a day but looked unwell. He was suddenly aware of how old he was. The memories of his time with her came flooding back. The nights spent making love, the evenings out with Cassidy. And the, finding her making a meal out of that man at the club and the betrayal he felt. Following that the thoughts of her revealing her secret and his decision to stop seeing her.
"It's been a long time, Marty. How have you been?" she asked standing to greet him. She extended a hand to shake his but he embraced her in a deep hug. he smelled her intoxicating aroma and was transported back to that magical summer.
"It's so great to see you." he said holding back tears "But I know why you're here."
"I came to talk to you. Can we go to your place?'
"Of course." he said, knowing that Lanius had sent her. On the drive to his place they caught up. He told her how he had never married and wasn't seeing anyone and hadn't really had a relationship since her. There had been a few women but nothing steady. He found himself giddy seeing her again but knew her real purpose.
They arrived and he let her in. She looked around at the mess he lived in. Clothes strewn about, dishes piled in the sink and the house was just plain dirty. Cobwebs were formed in one corner and the carpet needed to be vacuumed.
He made them both coffee and they sat at his dining room table.
"So, Lanius has sent you to talk to me." he said. "I guess he is desperate."
"Yes, You need to help us. Don't you see you would be helping yourself?"
"I know what Lanius is asking of me and I'm not sure that I can do it. I don't mind taking down a bad guy and pinning these murders on him but falsifying reports is crossing a line."
"I haven't told you where I have been since we parted. I've been in prison since about a moth after we broke up."
"You've been in prison for eighteen years?" he said incredulously. "For what?"
"When we broke up I felt that I had nothing to live for. I broke the rules. I made meals out of random people rather than researching for bad people. They were watching, I was judged. Since I was already serving a lifetime exile they had no choice but to imprison me. If you help us with this, I will be freed. Not only that but my exile will be lifted."
"How did they treat you in prison?" he asked
"Well, I lived in a windowless cell to protect me from the sun. I was fed only pig's blood to live on. I was allowed a few hours outside each night to exercise but other than that I would just spend my time reading in my cell." she paused and swallowed hard. "I 'thought of you every day since we've been apart."
Marty was taken aback by this information and struggled to imagine her locked away in a tiny cell for so long while he lived his life.
"I thought of you very often over the years." he said, and then "I figured that you had moved on, living your life taking down bad people one meal at a time. When missing people came across my desk I often wondered if it had been you who had dispatched them. It made me feel close to you, in a way."
"Will you do this? For me?" she asked with tears welling up in her eyes.
Marty sat silently for a long time. How can I say 'no' and send her back to prison? It would provide me with a satisfactory closing of these cases and free her from such pain and loneliness. It's really not a huge misconduct and Mike said he had someone in robbery who owed him a favor.
"I will help you." he said after a long time thinking.
She was elated. "Thank you so much, Marty! " she exclaimed wrapping her arms around his neck in a warm hug. "But don't you, or Lanius, start thinking that I will make a habit of this, understand?"
She lingered there, staring into his eyes and then, finally, tried for a kiss. He pulled away.
"I don't think we should go down that road, Mirella. We know it leads nowhere."
She let go of the embrace, dejected and embarrassed.
"'Okay." was all that she could meekly manage.
He turned serious. "Have Lanius text me the details on this guy at the medical supply place and I'll take care of it. Do you need a ride back to meet him?"
"Yes, I'm supposed to meet him at the Magistrate's office."
They drove silently for a while, uncomfortably.
"What will you do with your freedom?" he asked.
"That depends." she replied.
"On?" he asked
"On you. Are you sure that we can't be together? I can turn you and we can live forever together."
"I don't want to be a vampire. And I can't be with one. Nothing has changed there. I'm okay with bending the rules to help you and to put away a bad man but I can't be with someone who kills."
"Then I will go back east. See if there's anyone left of my family there."
He pulled up to the Magistrate's office.
"Then this is good bye, Mirella. I wish you well." he said holding back tears. She was crying unashamedly, tears streaming down her face.
"Good bye, my love. She reached across and pulled him in to kiss him. She held him fast, not letting him pull away this time. She was too strong for him to resist and he didn't want to. They kissed passionately for a full minute and then she pulled away. She opened the door to the car and hurriedly walked out of his life forever.
The following morning Marty walked into the office and sat at his desk in the bullpen facing Mike who was busy with some paperwork.
"We have to use that favor, Mike." Marty choked over his hangover.
"Really? You want to do that?"
"We have to. It's our only course of action and I made a promise"
"Okay, I'll go see her now. Do you have all of the info for her to do it?
"Yeah. It's PharmaCom Medical supply here in San Francisco. The contact is Xander Malcolm. You have to back date the theft exactly two weeks before we found the Goldman girl, that's when we first started finding the bodies. Then we're going to 'find' a large order of an obscure anticoagulant called Lixiana and it'll lead us to a Dr. Dennis Millman. We'll pin the whole mess on him, using Stott as an accomplice and the good doctor murdered him to cover his tracks."
"Sounds like the vampires came through for us on this one." Mike said "I'll go talk to Molly."
Marty silently disagreed watching Mike walk away.
Mike entered the bullpen in robbery and saw sergeant Molly Singer sitting at her desk.
"Hi beautiful." he started.
"Hi you." Molly replied "What's up?
"I need a favor."
"Oh do you?" she said coyly
"I need you to back date a robbery report."
"Really, and why should I do that for you?"
"Because you owe me one."
"I tell you what. You give me the details on it and I'll do it but you have to take me to dinner this Friday night: a nice restaurant. Pick me up at eight."
"It's a date." Mike said and handed her the paper he wrote everything on when Marty explained.
"This guy will give you a statement and all will look on the up and up. You just have to change the dates to what's there."
"Okay, see you eight Friday. Now get out of here, I'm busy." She smiled through her thick glasses.
`
When Mirella left Marty sitting in his car she stopped at the front door of the Magistrates office out of sight and cried for several minutes. She knew it would be the last she would see of Marty. She finally got herself back together and went in to the Magistrates office to meet Lanius. They were waiting for her.
"He'll do it"she said.
Lanius let out a sigh of relief and the Magistrate pumped his fist.
"Well done, Mirella." The Magistrate said.
Then Lanius spoke. "You will have to go back to your cell for a few days while i clear the commutation of your sentence through the triumvirate but I assure you that you will not be there for long."
"I understand." she said
"He won't be with you, will he?" he asked, seeing her sadness.
"No. Nothing has changed there."
"I trust you will not break the rules again, though. Considering the time you spent imprisoned I would hope that you learned that lesson."
"You have nothing to worry about, my Lord. I plan to go back east and see if any of my family remains there. I know New York has changed very much since 1776 but perhaps
i can find my roots there." "I wish you well, Mirella." Lanius said "but now you must go with the officer."
The officer pulled out handcuffs. "I don't think those are necessary, officer" Lanius said with a wink at Mirella. "She will go with you."
"Very well Lord Lanius." the officer replied and took Mirella by the arm and led her away.