Full Circle - Beth's Story, Chapter 14
[x]Title: Full Circle - Beth’s Story
[x]Author: Galaxy451
[x]Rating: This chapter - PG-13
[x]Warning:
[x]Pairing: Mick/Beth, Jo/Beth
[x]Genre: General
[x]Spoilers:N/A
[x]Summary:The year is 2014. Jacqui Kostan (aka Beth Turner) is now a vampire, and she tells the tale of what happened in the years post Sonata, beginning from after the door closed......
Meanwhile, in the present time, little does she know, but things are about to come full circle....
[x]Disclaimer: Not my property, unfortunately. All rights belong to.... whomever they belong!
Previous chapters:- Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13
Full Circle - Beth’s Story
Chapter 14
Monday morning came, and still I’d heard nothing from Mick. My apartment was so clean it sparkled, my closet organized regimentally by type and colour, shoes paired up and arranged in neat rows, even my underwear was stacked neatly in the normally disorganised drawers. My CD collection was all but alphabetised and catalogued, and my kitchen cupboards were as orderly and pristine as they were ever likely to get.
I had plenty to occupy me at the office. Ben had asked me to investigate some more names, although he still wasn’t forthcoming as to exactly what I was looking for. I was to carry out a general search and profile, and discover as much information as possible on the subjects involved, cross-checking for any connections between them. Two of the names on the list rang a bell with me for some reason, although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. No doubt the explanation would become clear during the course of my research.
By 4:30pm the case files were stacking up, and reams of paperwork on each individual were scattered across my desk. Collating together a stack of papers, I searched around for my stapler to bring them into some kind of order. Rummaging in vain through my drawers, my search came up fruitless, and I pushed back my chair and headed over to Ben’s office, where I knew he kept one in his top drawer. Ben was in court for the afternoon, and his office was locked, luckily however, I had a spare set of keys for emergencies, and even though my lack of stapler wasn’t exactly an emergency, I didn’t think he’d mind if I snuck in to borrow his for half an hour.
Slipping the key into the lock, I let myself in and made a beeline for his desk. The drawer wasn’t locked, so I slid it open and peered inside, searching for the stapler. There was a wad of papers on top, so I lifted them aside, sifting through the contents until I found what I was looking for. Dropping the papers back down, I was just about to close the drawer and head out when something on the top sheet of paper caught my attention, and I hesitated, scanning the list of names with growing interest. Knowing I really shouldn’t be prying into Ben’s private things, I cast a quick glance toward the window, checking there was no one watching, and surreptitiously began to leaf through the pages. Most of the names meant nothing to me at all, but a few I recognised. Some were the names that Ben had asked me to make enquiries about, and a few, to my mounting unease, were people I’d met, or names I had heard mentioned by Mick or Josef, in connection with the vampire community here in L.A. My apprehension growing, I continued to skim through the list, my blood running cold as I read the final few names typed in stark, black ink on the sheet of white paper. Logan Griffen, Josef Kostan, and Mick St. John.
My heart thumping in my chest I had a quick look around, and, quickly pushing the drawer shut, I headed back to my desk. Swiftly stapling my papers together I shoved them into a folder and reached under my desk for my purse. After a little rummaging around, I finally located my cell phone, and, scanning the office to make sure no one was watching, I activated the camera function, slipping it into the palm of my hand. Picking up the stapler, I headed back to Ben’s office, trying to appear calm and unruffled, but inside my stomach was churning as I cast furtive glances around to check I wasn’t being observed.
Letting myself back into the office, I strolled as nonchalantly as possible over to the desk, opened the drawer, and leafing through the papers with one hand, proceeded to take hasty snapshots with the other, all the while keeping one wary eye on the outer office. It felt like it took forever, but at last I had snapped the last page, and slipping the phone back into the palm of my hand, I replaced the stapler and made a hasty exit. Just as I sat back down at my desk, I heard the bang of a door, and footsteps coming down the corridor. As I glanced up, Ben nodded and smiled to me in greeting, and I smiled back as casually as I could manage, although my face felt like it was on fire with the sudden rush of blood at nearly having been caught. I let out a huge sigh of relief as he disappeared into his office.
My mind was racing at the possibilities. This had to be a list of all the vampires living in L.A. didn’t it? Did Ben know that? Or was he asking me to look into connections between the names because he didn’t know? Where had the list come from? How long had Ben had it? Emma had threatened to reveal the names, but surely she hadn’t had the chance, and if she had, then certainly Ben would know the correlation, and why would he need me to research them? The one thing I did know for certain, was that Mick needed to know, and he needed to know soon.
I cleared my desk and grabbed my jacket, pausing at Ben’s office to let him know I was off home and that I’d have his reports ready for him in the morning. As soon as I was out of sight of his office, I raced out to the parking lot as fast as my legs would carry me, and pulled my cell phone out the second I was in the car. Mick’s number went straight to voicemail, and I briefly pondered calling Josef, then decided to go straight to Mick’s and wait, in the hope he was either tied up in his office with a client, or on his way back home. The traffic was snarled up, so it took me longer than expected to get there, but finally I pulled up at Mick’s brownstone building, disappointed to see that Mick’s car wasn’t in it’s usual parking slot. Lack of car notwithstanding, I made my way up, dialling Mick’s number again as I waited for the elevator to reach his floor. It went straight to voicemail again, and I cursed in frustration.
As soon as the doors opened I was out and hammering on the door like my life depended on it. And maybe Mick’s did. I got no response and tried the office door as well. When there was still no response, I leant against the wall and let myself slide to the floor in defeat. Maybe Josef would know where Mick was? Luckily I had Josef’s office number stored on my phone. Whether I would get through or not was another matter. I listened to it ring for a couple of seconds, then it was briskly answered by a very efficient sounding woman.
“Mr Kostan’s office. How may I help you?”
“It’s Beth Turner here. I need to speak to Mr Kostan; and please can you tell him it’s urgent.” I crossed my fingers, and prayed she’d put me through.
So much for prayers…. “Mr Kostan is in a meeting at present, may I take a message?”
I took a deep breath, “No, no message, I need to speak to him now. Please can you tell him who’s calling and make sure he knows it’s a matter of extreme urgency. I’m sure he’ll take the call.” I wasn’t at all sure he would, but it was worth trying the bluff.
The woman on the other end sounded very firm, “Mr Kostan said no interruptions. I’ll give him your message as soon as he’s out of his meeting.”
I took the bull by the horns, “If you don’t put me through right now, I promise you I will come over, in person, and force my way in, and I’ll make sure that Mr Kostan knows exactly why it was necessary.” I hoped I sounded sufficiently sincere, although I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t actually carry out my threat is she refused to put me through again.
There was a slight pause, then she spoke in a rather affronted tone, “I’ll see if I can interrupt. Please hold.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I waited, until finally Josef’s rather displeased voice came on the line, demanding to know what was so important that he’d been dragged out of his meeting.
“Josef……” it was such a relief to finally get through, “I’m really sorry, but I can’t find Mick, and there’s something I need to tell you that really can’t wait. I don’t want to discuss it over the phone though, is there any way you can meet me?”
“Beth…” he sounded dubious, “this is a really important meeting..”
“Josef, please. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t urgent.”
I heard him sigh. “Okay… where are you?”
“I’m at Mick’s, but…..”
He cut me off mid sentence, “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Abruptly the phone went dead.
“…but he’s not here..” I finished lamely, looking at the phone in exasperation. Great!
I had just settled back against the wall to wait, when the elevator dinged and out stepped the most captivating man I’d ever seen. Crisis or no, the sight of him sauntering towards me in a pair of tight black jeans that showed off his well muscled legs to a tee, had me mesmerised and gawping like a teenager salivating over her screen idol. Wavy dark brown hair framed his well chiselled features, and his eyes, seeming to reflect the colour of the cobalt shirt he wore, appeared a startling blue, framed by long dark lashes. His shoulders were broad, as was his chest, and his well defined abdomen tapered to a narrow waist and hips. I was too busy gazing at him to notice that I was sitting on the floor with my mouth hanging open, and it wasn’t until his boots came to a halt a few inches away from my feet, that I snapped out of my reverie, and attempted to recall the purpose of my visit..
“Beth…” he smiled down at me, looking all too pleased at the effect he had on me.
“Mick..” I scrambled to my feet, sobering up as reality kicked in, and I remembered the reason I was here, “we need to talk. Can we go inside?”
To be continued/…………………….
______________________
Chapter 15
[x]Author: Galaxy451
[x]Rating: This chapter - PG-13
[x]Warning:
[x]Pairing: Mick/Beth, Jo/Beth
[x]Genre: General
[x]Spoilers:N/A
[x]Summary:The year is 2014. Jacqui Kostan (aka Beth Turner) is now a vampire, and she tells the tale of what happened in the years post Sonata, beginning from after the door closed......
Meanwhile, in the present time, little does she know, but things are about to come full circle....
[x]Disclaimer: Not my property, unfortunately. All rights belong to.... whomever they belong!
Previous chapters:- Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13
Full Circle - Beth’s Story
Chapter 14
Monday morning came, and still I’d heard nothing from Mick. My apartment was so clean it sparkled, my closet organized regimentally by type and colour, shoes paired up and arranged in neat rows, even my underwear was stacked neatly in the normally disorganised drawers. My CD collection was all but alphabetised and catalogued, and my kitchen cupboards were as orderly and pristine as they were ever likely to get.
I had plenty to occupy me at the office. Ben had asked me to investigate some more names, although he still wasn’t forthcoming as to exactly what I was looking for. I was to carry out a general search and profile, and discover as much information as possible on the subjects involved, cross-checking for any connections between them. Two of the names on the list rang a bell with me for some reason, although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. No doubt the explanation would become clear during the course of my research.
By 4:30pm the case files were stacking up, and reams of paperwork on each individual were scattered across my desk. Collating together a stack of papers, I searched around for my stapler to bring them into some kind of order. Rummaging in vain through my drawers, my search came up fruitless, and I pushed back my chair and headed over to Ben’s office, where I knew he kept one in his top drawer. Ben was in court for the afternoon, and his office was locked, luckily however, I had a spare set of keys for emergencies, and even though my lack of stapler wasn’t exactly an emergency, I didn’t think he’d mind if I snuck in to borrow his for half an hour.
Slipping the key into the lock, I let myself in and made a beeline for his desk. The drawer wasn’t locked, so I slid it open and peered inside, searching for the stapler. There was a wad of papers on top, so I lifted them aside, sifting through the contents until I found what I was looking for. Dropping the papers back down, I was just about to close the drawer and head out when something on the top sheet of paper caught my attention, and I hesitated, scanning the list of names with growing interest. Knowing I really shouldn’t be prying into Ben’s private things, I cast a quick glance toward the window, checking there was no one watching, and surreptitiously began to leaf through the pages. Most of the names meant nothing to me at all, but a few I recognised. Some were the names that Ben had asked me to make enquiries about, and a few, to my mounting unease, were people I’d met, or names I had heard mentioned by Mick or Josef, in connection with the vampire community here in L.A. My apprehension growing, I continued to skim through the list, my blood running cold as I read the final few names typed in stark, black ink on the sheet of white paper. Logan Griffen, Josef Kostan, and Mick St. John.
My heart thumping in my chest I had a quick look around, and, quickly pushing the drawer shut, I headed back to my desk. Swiftly stapling my papers together I shoved them into a folder and reached under my desk for my purse. After a little rummaging around, I finally located my cell phone, and, scanning the office to make sure no one was watching, I activated the camera function, slipping it into the palm of my hand. Picking up the stapler, I headed back to Ben’s office, trying to appear calm and unruffled, but inside my stomach was churning as I cast furtive glances around to check I wasn’t being observed.
Letting myself back into the office, I strolled as nonchalantly as possible over to the desk, opened the drawer, and leafing through the papers with one hand, proceeded to take hasty snapshots with the other, all the while keeping one wary eye on the outer office. It felt like it took forever, but at last I had snapped the last page, and slipping the phone back into the palm of my hand, I replaced the stapler and made a hasty exit. Just as I sat back down at my desk, I heard the bang of a door, and footsteps coming down the corridor. As I glanced up, Ben nodded and smiled to me in greeting, and I smiled back as casually as I could manage, although my face felt like it was on fire with the sudden rush of blood at nearly having been caught. I let out a huge sigh of relief as he disappeared into his office.
My mind was racing at the possibilities. This had to be a list of all the vampires living in L.A. didn’t it? Did Ben know that? Or was he asking me to look into connections between the names because he didn’t know? Where had the list come from? How long had Ben had it? Emma had threatened to reveal the names, but surely she hadn’t had the chance, and if she had, then certainly Ben would know the correlation, and why would he need me to research them? The one thing I did know for certain, was that Mick needed to know, and he needed to know soon.
I cleared my desk and grabbed my jacket, pausing at Ben’s office to let him know I was off home and that I’d have his reports ready for him in the morning. As soon as I was out of sight of his office, I raced out to the parking lot as fast as my legs would carry me, and pulled my cell phone out the second I was in the car. Mick’s number went straight to voicemail, and I briefly pondered calling Josef, then decided to go straight to Mick’s and wait, in the hope he was either tied up in his office with a client, or on his way back home. The traffic was snarled up, so it took me longer than expected to get there, but finally I pulled up at Mick’s brownstone building, disappointed to see that Mick’s car wasn’t in it’s usual parking slot. Lack of car notwithstanding, I made my way up, dialling Mick’s number again as I waited for the elevator to reach his floor. It went straight to voicemail again, and I cursed in frustration.
As soon as the doors opened I was out and hammering on the door like my life depended on it. And maybe Mick’s did. I got no response and tried the office door as well. When there was still no response, I leant against the wall and let myself slide to the floor in defeat. Maybe Josef would know where Mick was? Luckily I had Josef’s office number stored on my phone. Whether I would get through or not was another matter. I listened to it ring for a couple of seconds, then it was briskly answered by a very efficient sounding woman.
“Mr Kostan’s office. How may I help you?”
“It’s Beth Turner here. I need to speak to Mr Kostan; and please can you tell him it’s urgent.” I crossed my fingers, and prayed she’d put me through.
So much for prayers…. “Mr Kostan is in a meeting at present, may I take a message?”
I took a deep breath, “No, no message, I need to speak to him now. Please can you tell him who’s calling and make sure he knows it’s a matter of extreme urgency. I’m sure he’ll take the call.” I wasn’t at all sure he would, but it was worth trying the bluff.
The woman on the other end sounded very firm, “Mr Kostan said no interruptions. I’ll give him your message as soon as he’s out of his meeting.”
I took the bull by the horns, “If you don’t put me through right now, I promise you I will come over, in person, and force my way in, and I’ll make sure that Mr Kostan knows exactly why it was necessary.” I hoped I sounded sufficiently sincere, although I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t actually carry out my threat is she refused to put me through again.
There was a slight pause, then she spoke in a rather affronted tone, “I’ll see if I can interrupt. Please hold.”
Breathing a sigh of relief, I waited, until finally Josef’s rather displeased voice came on the line, demanding to know what was so important that he’d been dragged out of his meeting.
“Josef……” it was such a relief to finally get through, “I’m really sorry, but I can’t find Mick, and there’s something I need to tell you that really can’t wait. I don’t want to discuss it over the phone though, is there any way you can meet me?”
“Beth…” he sounded dubious, “this is a really important meeting..”
“Josef, please. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t urgent.”
I heard him sigh. “Okay… where are you?”
“I’m at Mick’s, but…..”
He cut me off mid sentence, “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Abruptly the phone went dead.
“…but he’s not here..” I finished lamely, looking at the phone in exasperation. Great!
I had just settled back against the wall to wait, when the elevator dinged and out stepped the most captivating man I’d ever seen. Crisis or no, the sight of him sauntering towards me in a pair of tight black jeans that showed off his well muscled legs to a tee, had me mesmerised and gawping like a teenager salivating over her screen idol. Wavy dark brown hair framed his well chiselled features, and his eyes, seeming to reflect the colour of the cobalt shirt he wore, appeared a startling blue, framed by long dark lashes. His shoulders were broad, as was his chest, and his well defined abdomen tapered to a narrow waist and hips. I was too busy gazing at him to notice that I was sitting on the floor with my mouth hanging open, and it wasn’t until his boots came to a halt a few inches away from my feet, that I snapped out of my reverie, and attempted to recall the purpose of my visit..
“Beth…” he smiled down at me, looking all too pleased at the effect he had on me.
“Mick..” I scrambled to my feet, sobering up as reality kicked in, and I remembered the reason I was here, “we need to talk. Can we go inside?”
To be continued/…………………….
______________________
Chapter 15