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Patricia Jones had been with the police department in Harper Rock for twelve years now. She had made it to the rank of detective and that was when her whole life changed. Before then she had been a straight cop, looking to find justice where she could and making sure the law was followed, she had worked most of her years in the homicide department and she still did. She just had the luxury of meeting the right people at the right time.

When she went into being a detective things had started out good, she followed the letter of the law. Until she began seeing all the things her partner could afford. She was a smart woman and had connected the dots, but before she had been able to turn him in he flipped her and in the process she killed him taking over his business. At the time she didn’t even realize what had happened. She lied to everyone, told them all it had been a gang shooting which wasn’t too hard to believe.

Of course as things go, one line turned into another and it became harder. People covered for her but for a price. After starting at the bottom once again in her new twisted life she came to love it, to outsmart them. She made her own side dealings, got her hands on more and more money in the process, she was killer for hire and she had the law on her side if someone died. Most the time it was a set up other times it had been dumb luck, she didn’t mind either way as long as the job got done.

She never made the mistake of vowing to one gang or to the mob. She was smarter than that. Few people knew and those who did would never tell because she had far too much information on them for them to ever be dumb enough to step forward with it. She had a reputation, she was good at what she did and business was booming. It seemed always someone wanted someone dead and would do whatever it took. She had people on the inside for her keeping their eyes and ears on things so she would know when she needed to get involved.

Tonight was like any other. It was a set up some guy had raped another man’s daughter and he wanted him dead. It wasn’t hard to understand she didn’t mind. She had already been sitting on the guy for close to a month now and tonight was the night. She watched him leave the bar, and sure enough he stumbled into the alley like every other time. Throwing up his guts on the ground before stumbling and leaning on the wall, she grinned. Slipping out of her car she made her way across the street. There were no camera’s here no chance of any evidence. The same way people have burn phones she had a burn gun. Her name nor prints were nowhere on the gun, not even on the pullets. She wore two pairs of gloves to be sure. The gun where she held it was wrapped in plastic making sure to leave no trace behind.

Walking up to the guy she smiled, her steps alone got his attention. He grinned as he saw her, drawing the gun she didn’t blink didn’t even flinch before she pulled the trigger. In moments he was dead, the gun had a silencer no one would here, no one would even know till morning. Looking up and down the street she grabbed a photo of his id. She never took the id just a picture on an old Polaroid camera.

Glancing around, she smiled. She didn’t care about what she had just done, it didn’t bother her anymore. In the beginning it had, it had devastated her, but her depression turned into her anger. If it had not been for James she wouldn’t be in this life she wouldn’t have been forced to turn into a bad cop, a crooked cop. She could remember when she was green and she was on the fast track to a good life. Now this is what she would be for the rest of her career. She knew she couldn’t advance or there would surely be a price on her head. She had gotten to good at what she did if that was possible.

Walking from the alley she pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Taking long drags from it she smiled. Her car was two blocks away now. The car she had been sitting in had been her employer. Dropping off the photo she grabbed her money and left. Walking down the streets of the city she calmed herself. It was an adrenaline rush for her now. She missed the chase through and missed what a real fight was like, when people saw her now though they didn’t care to fight her, didn’t care to even try, because if they did she wouldn’t work for them. She had rules and her rules were like the Ten Commandments for her. She never strayed from them or broke them. They are what had kept her alive and out of prison.

Making her way around a corner she put out a cigarette. She was a block from her car now, and soon she would be in her bed. The night was over, her job completed. It hadn’t been too hard, it was one of the easier ones and she didn’t mind. An easier job met easy money and that was what she cared about. She was smart about it though she had an exit plan prepared if she ever had to use it. She would flee the country in one of her past employer’s jets. He owed her and he knew one day she would come calling on that. Of course that day was not today and she could live with that. Finally she could see her car making her way over to the vehicle she checked the area around her one more time.

The last few nights had been filled to the brim with activities. Anyone who might have seen Doc strolling through the city streets at night, would have passed him off as a businessman on his way home from a bar, or man who had just dropped his date off and he was on his way home. He gave that impression from the easy laid back manner of his stroll. He did not appear to be in a hurry. There was nothing furtive about his actions. He looked relaxed and comfortable, as he wandered the streets and alleyways.

But Doc’s attention to what was going on around him, belied that casual aura he gave off. As he strolled, he was making note of the persons out on the street, human or vampire. He was looking for a Paladin. Now that he had examples of their tattoos, it would only be a matter of time before he found one. However, this night was more quiet than most. It seemed as though the city inhabitants all agreed to have an early night.

He caught the scent of a human, perhaps two. He altered his stroll in order to bring him closer. He could hear the obvious sound of someone retching. But there was something more, there was another person shadowing the first person. Doc turned the corner and saw the second person heading into an alley, a female. There was something familiar about that dark haired female. Her gait was one of a purpose, this wasn’t a casual meeting or coincidence for her. She was hunting. He knew that look; he was intimately familiar with it.

The goofy grin on the drunk’s face, as the female closed the distance between them, clearly said he wasn’t expecting trouble. But that goofy grin died rather quickly as the bullets from her gun stopped the drunk’s heart. The female nonchalantly took a Polaroid of something. Doc knew it was proof of death. She was a paid assassin. Imagine, assassins in Harper Rock. What was the world coming too?

As the female turned to exit the alley, Doc melted into the shadows and got the first real good look at her face. ‘Well **** me..’ he thought as she exited and crossed the street. That female, the one that was so familiar, was none other than Detective Jones, of Harper Rock Homicide.

They had met before. Det. Jones had been on the missing girls case. She had come to his home and actually questioned him. He had told her had seen the girls, he had purposely given her the wrong descriptions of the girls, so she never came back. But Doc had researched her, in his line of business, it paid to know your enemy. At the time, Detective Jones had a clean record, at least what he could find, she was clean. Now however, he saw she was not so lily white after all. He grinned.

Doc followed Det. Jones to her vehicle. She was good, she didn’t head straight back to her car, she double backed and looped around the area where her car was parked, carefully checking around her every so often. He stepped out of the shadows and pulled his cell phone out, and held it in his hand. He held in such a way it would be easily noticed by her. He called out to her as she got her keys ready.

“Detective Jones.. what a surprise to see you here.. Working a case in the area?” His mouth twisted in a closed lipped smirk.

She was almost there, almost home clear. Then she heard her name. “Well **** me.” She mumbled under her breath before turning around. She recognized the face, she was good with faces. She would recognize that face anywhere. She had questioned him about a missing girls case, a case that if she could feel bad she would. It had haunted her for a few years till she turned and now well now other things haunt her. Taking a slow melodic breath she saw the phone. Well ****. She thought, there was no way he could have seen her she had been so careful she told herself over and over in her mind.

”I am tying up a few loose ends is all, little questioning and what not. The typical, how can I help you?” Her voice was mundane and she showed not a single sign of her lying. She was good at it, hell she had perfected it now. Standing there she remained calm, her focus on the man and keeping her heart from going all erratic and making her looks nervous or guilty. Patricia looked at the man she saw his posture nothing about him seemed off except the fact that he was here. She wasn’t naive or dumb enough to think this was a coincidence.

She knew she couldn’t call for backup she was far enough from the scene but yet still too close for her comfort zone. She couldn’t use the gun as her gloves were already off and it had been discarded off carefully. No she had no escape plan out of this one she would have to talk her way out of it. She didn’t even have her badge on her, she never carried it on these types of things because then her fall back would be she had been doing some undercover work and it got messy. As long as she used the right department for it they would be trapped in paperwork for months before being able to do a thing. This though she hadn’t prepared for, now she saw her flaw and would be sure to fix it.

“Loose ends? Is that the new word for murder in cold blood these days?” Doc nodded, and tapped the cell phone, idly against his thigh. “I think the boys in blue.. would call it something else.. Don’t you … Detective?” He clearly enunciated each syllable of the word and wore his arrogant smirk.

Doc closed the distance between them to no more than ten feet. “But, I think you and I can come to an equitable arrangement. Don’t you?”

He lifted an eyebrow in silent but arrogant query. She wasn’t stupid she had seen the phone. His words proved, he knew what she had done. He slipped the phone into the inside breast jacket pocket, as he gave her an assessing look up and down. Her clothes were quality, but not designer. She knew how to hide the money she made from extra-curricular jobs. Ever her car, it was nice, but not over the top. This told him, that she had been on the take for a while. She probably had her cash in safety deposit boxes instead of savings; or it was under dummy accounts.

But Doc didn’t want her money, he wanted her to give him information, and to wipe information out of the cops database. Surely that wasn’t too much to ask to keep from getting turned in as a murderer, unless she had grown too comfortable and got cocky...

She stood there looking at this man. She held her composure as she looked at him. ”All I seen was a phone, what evidence do you have a crime was even committed, no weapon, no trail.” She blurted back to him, the last time someone blackmailed her it had been James Henderson her old partner, the partner she killed. She had hated him for it, and now hated herself for killing him. It was the first kill she had done not on the job.

She held her composure though she wouldn’t let this man see her flinch or react to his accusations. She knew better than that. Knew better than to admit her guilt to, unless she saw some hard evidence then and only then would there be a conversation. She was smart enough to know that. To know what she needed to do and how she needed to act right now. She didn’t carry her badge or for that matter her issued gun. She only bought what had been necessary for her to bring along.

Doc shrugged, “That’s fine. We will see what the cops and local news stations think then..” He grinned his closed lipped grin, “Doesn’t matter to me. I can’t lose either way.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket and started texting, like he was sending a file. Which in truth he was, a photo of 'nothing' to Cat. He was imagining what would go through Cat’s mind when she got a picture of nothing, was amusing to him. She would probably corner him later and demand and explanation. The grin on his face just played into his scene staging.

“So Detective Jones.. soon to be Inmate 680995, did you also kill those missing girls you were looking for?” Doc knew she hadn’t, because he had. But how could she prove she hadn’t killed them. “Did they see something they shouldn’t have? Were you silencing your loose ends? You really are a cold blooded ***** aren't you? Killing innocent children.”

Doc made a fake worried face, “I just have to hit send.." his thumb hovered over a button, "And just how long would you have then? You are in between a death sentence and life term. Sucks to be you right now.” He nods slowly.

Patricia stood there looking at the man. She had new proof he actually knew but he surely talked as he did. That was enough for her; at least it would have to be. Looking at him her face held a cold composure to it before she finally spoke. ”What do you want?” She wouldn’t agree to just any terms no she wasn’t that easy to be convinced of anything.

She didn’t even have her phone on herself to make a call; no phones had a GPS within them, why would she bring it with her. Standing there Patricia looked at him, her eyes weaving over his body as if she were sizing him up, she was to be honest. If she had to fight she would fight her way out. Shaking her head she folded her arms over her chest as she watched him. She wasn’t certain what he had on his phone or what he did not, all she knew she couldn’t afford to find out he was telling her the truth. OF course she would have her ways of finding the truth she was no idiot about things.

Doc passively returned her regard, his face was mostly expressionless, only his voice held a hint of something to it as he spoke to her. One person might call it amusement, another might call it skepticism, and another might hear nothing unique to it at all.

“Nothing that great, merely information, when needed.” He lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly. “Money is of no concern to me. So you needn’t think that I would bleed you dry.” he couldn’t help the slight curve of the lips as he said that. “Figuratively speaking of course..” His tone still passive, and conversational as though they were discussing the highway by-pass project.

“Nor would I require your special brand of .. clean up. I do not run in those circles that would require such a contractor...”

Doc paused, as she crossed her arms in a defensive manner. Her body language clearly screamed, she was not convinced. In what he hoped would be perceived as a gesture of goodwill, he moved to re-pocket the phone in his inside breast pocket. “It is not so much, for keeping you out of prison.. you are far too pretty for prison. And being a former cop... you will be targeted...”

Jacquiline stood there looking at the man. Taking a step away from her car she glanced up and down the road. It was quiet, to damn quiet for her own comfort, tilting her head slightly up being sure to look him in the eyes. She nodded lightly with no real concern showing in her features. ”So you expect me, a detective to believe that you have evidence one, evidence I haven’t seen and to be frank I am not so sure even exists, none the less you expect me to just have blind faith and give you whatever information you so want.” She shook her head maintaining her composure. Her voice didn’t show any hint of worry or concern. She was calm everything about her was calm, her heart beat steadily not changing not raising or lowering, just maintaining a steady beat.

She titled her head to the side and raised a brow. ”I don’t make one ended deals, if you expect me to take your deal I will need to see this said proof of yours, otherwise, no deal.. Send it to the media see if I care.” She was stone cold, remembering the things James had taught her when someone tried to out her. Call their bluff he constantly told her, and if they hold true you use your escape plan. It was simple she had the money to leave and could be gone by the morning if she needed to be. It would make no difference to her either way; she didn’t have the patience to be someone’s puppet to toy with. She was too old for that and it was something after she took James’ life she vowed would never happen again.

Doc nods slowly, he smirks slowly, she was calling his bluff, so be it. He put his phone in his pocket. He looked at her for a moment. He studied her stance, feet firmly planted, arms crossed in defensive, yet perhaps shielding manner.

He had long studied body language. It had been a hobby at first. To see if he could gauge instructors and professors attitude before hearing them speak. Then when he was interning, it was to gauge the type of patient he had to deal with and what was the best course for dealing with them, because he tended to be a bit too brusque. So studying body language, and then memorizing the appropriate corresponding stance he should take to diffuse situations, made his job easier.

He casually ambled toward her. His hands lightly linked together in front of him. His attention on her, and her ‘crossed arms’. As he got closer, he changed his impression, it wasn’t defensive, no, there wasn’t enough tension in her hands or shoulders. No she was quite comfortable. It was more of the ‘I am quite capable of handling you, and I am not afraid of you’ pose. Doc’s lips twisted into closed mouth smirk, “You disappoint me Detective Jones, where is the trust, hmm?”

Unlinking his hands as his final steps brought him within easy reach of her, he moved his hand upwards, as though he was going to get his phone. However, holding his fingers flat and rigid, he quickly jabbed her in the throat with a burst of vampiric speed. He hoped he had crushed her windpipe.