Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction which will included m/m relationships, and probably some sex too. If it is illegal in your area to read this, or if you are not old enough to read this (you know who you are), stop here. Otherwise, please enjoy.
Note: This story is from the recess of my mind, but a few elements of this world have been borrowed from another story with permission from the author. His work has been an inspiration to me and I would recommend it to anyone. please visit jaygordonstories.com for his stories, its free to join and there are chapters and stories only available to members.
Also i have made my own site to post this and hopefully many more tales too. please drop by and say hi on the blog and let me know what you think :-)
http://mikeysmusings.weebly.com/index.html
Also Angel in black and any future stories by me and several other authors can be found at:
http://Mikey.thestorycloset.org
Edited with help from Jason Gordon and MommaB and Guy Cornelius, Thanks guys :-)
Angel in Black Chapter 16
Ghosts: Part 1
Midmorning just outside Sydney a red sports car sped along The Great Western Highway toward the Blue Mountains. Victoria was completely preoccupied with what was going on: where did Jackson disappear to, and what did Consul Larson have to do with it? She was so taken by it all that she didn't even notice the police cruiser that had been attempting to pull her over for the last few kilometres.
The officer driving the cruiser was sick of being ignored so decided to approach Victoria's car from the right side to get her attention, lights and sirens blaring.
Victoria, startled out of her preoccupied state, glanced to her right and saw the cruiser just as the officer pulled up along side her and through the P.A system in the cruiser said, "Ma'am pull over now!" She immediately took her foot off the accelerator and slowed down, pulling off the highway. AS she came to a stop in the empty emergency lane, the officer pulled in behind her.
As the officer got out of the cruiser and made his way to Victoria's car, she quickly moved her rapier from the passenger seat to the floor behind it while getting her drivers licence from the centre console.
The officer cautiously approached the driver's door, one hand resting on his weapon. "Ma'am, do you realise you were speeding? I have been attempting to pull you over for the last 4 kilometres!" he stated, sounding very annoyed.
Victoria had to think quickly as how to get out of this unwanted situation. "No officer, I had no idea I was speeding or that you were behind me... My mind is on other things right now," she said, trying to buy a few extra moments to work out how to talk her way out.
"Well obviously your mind isn't on driving. You can tell me what's got you in such a rush while I check this all out. Please step out of the vehicle and follow me," he said.
"Yes officer," she replied. Victoria needed to get away from the officer quickly, but she didn't want to harm him unnecessarily.
Meanwhile, Matthew turned off the road and into the prison's visitors parking area; he parked the car, turned off the engine and sat there a moment before looking over to a tense Alex in the passenger seat. "Are you ready to do this and put it all behind you?" Matthew asked Alex soothingly.
Alex turned to Matthew with an expression of fear and uncertainty, and replied, "As ready as I'm ever going to be."
Turning to Alex and taking his hands, Matthew said, "It's going to be alright love! I'm here and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Let's go and do this."
They let go of each other's hands and got out of the car, then Matthew again took Alex's hand as they headed to the visitors entrance. As they passed the exercise yard a prisoner yelled out, "That your boyfriend? Bet he's a good fuck!"
Furious, Matthew looked over at the prisoner about to respond when Alex mumbled, "I'm not in the mood for this." The prisoner suddenly turned white and collapsed. A few of his buddies ran over, calling out to the guards for help.
Matthew turned back to Alex with a shocked look on his face. "He's not dead, but he won't be waking up for a few days. But when he does he'll wish he had died," Alex said, continuing to walk towards the entrance.
"What did you do?" Matthew asked as he shook off his shock and quickly caught up to Alex.
"I made him relive all his crimes over and over; it's put his mind into overload, he's in a coma and probably will be for a few days," Alex said flatly, continuing on.
Matthew was a little confused, so he asked, "Weren't you going to do that to Jackson?"
"Yes," Alex replied.
Matthew visibly paled as he realised. "And it did that to a human," he said aloud.
"Yes, and given the decades worth of crimes Jackson committed it probably would have fried his brain, thereby killing him," Alex explained.
"I'm glad you didn't do it to Jack then," Matthew sighed as they reached the entrance.
"So... Victoria, why are you in such a hurry?" the officer asked, getting her name from the drivers licence.
Victoria had to think fast and say something that might evoke some sympathy from the officer. "It's my brother. He's had a really bad heart attack; the doctor at the hospital in Wentworth Falls told me to get there quick as he doesn't have long," she said, noting that the officer briefly stopped what he was going when she mentioned her fictitious brother.
"I'm so sorry, but that doesn't excuse your speeding. I can understand your wanting to get there quickly, really I can, but you need to be more aware when you're driving," the officer said.
"Yes officer... It's just that we lost my dad the same way and so suddenly! I didn't make it when dad died, and I don't want to miss my brother like I did my dad," Victoria said, forcing herself to shed a few tears hoping the officer would empathize.
The officer was trying not to let Victoria's emotional state get to him as he proceed to put her licence and registration information into the computer in his cruiser. He noted that she had never been fined or convicted, then just below that the letters TC flashed on the screen briefly, so he cleared the inquiry from the computer before saying, "Ok look, you have no prior convictions. I'm not letting you off, but I know how stressful this kind of crisis is so I'm not going to fine you. I will put a note in the system saying that you have been pulled over but there were extreme circumstances so I let you go. IF you get pulled over again the officer will fine you!"
"Yes, officer. Thank you so much, you have no idea how much this means to me," Victoria replied, sincerely relieved at the officers statement.
Handing Victoria back her licence, the officer said, "Just keep it under the limit and you won't draw any attention."
"I will, officer, I promise," she replied, then quickly walked off to her car and resumed her drive up the highway.
The officer watched Victoria take off quickly; he then leaned over and took a cell phone out of the glove box, dialling the only number in the phone's memory. "Hello?" asked the person on the line.
"Sir, I've just had an interesting encounter with the TC high chair," the officer said.
"Really, what happened?" asked James.
"She was speeding up the highway, ignored my attempts to pull her over, and even gave me some fiction about her dying brother. She did mention Wentworth Falls, so I figured she's coming to see you. I didn't prosecute her, I just let her off with a warning. I thought you might appreciate a heads up," said the officer.
"Thank you for the warning, sergeant," James said.
"Anytime consul," the sergeant replied then ended the call and put the cell back in the glove box, continuing up the highway himself.
After breakfast, and his talk with Marie, Jack decided to go for a walk around the compound, ending up on the same large flat rock that Tommy and James had been a little earlier in the morning.
Jack sat on the rock looking out on the valley contemplating his past, at least what he could remember of it, and his future, and what he could do with his life. Tyson already explained to him about his position on the Thylacine Council, but knowing what he and others on the council had done, Jack already decided that he wasn't going back.
"What do you want to do Jack?" Bill asked, quietly walking up behind Jack.
Slightly startled, Jack turned to Bill and asked, "Bill! How did you know what I was thinking?"
Bill laughed softly before saying, "I didn't, but I know when someone's deep in thought, and there really isn't that much for you to be thinking about."
"Right! And how did you know I was here?" Jack asked.
"Again, I didn't. I came for a walk to think about a few things myself," Bill replied.
"Ah," Jack responded and went back to looking at the valley as Bill sat beside him on the rock.
"So what are you going to do? I assume you were thinking about your current situation?" Bill asked.
"I was, and I don't know, but I'm not going back to that council of murders!" Jack exclaimed.
"I'm sure if you're here long enough, something will come up. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just focus on you for now: I think that's the best thing for you right now," Bill said comfortingly.
"Thanks," Jack replied before continuing, "Bill, after yesterday, why are you even talking to me? I mean, from what Tyson told me, I came to your home and had people try to kill your family; I don't really understand why everyone is being so nice to me but you least of all. If I were you I probably wouldn't be so forgiving."
"Easy. I don't blame you! You wouldn't have found my home if it wasn't for Leon; he gave your people the location. It's him I blame," Bill replied flatly.
"But knowing what I did, what I could have done, how can you just sit there?" Jack asked, remorse-filled tears falling from his eyes again.
Bill turned to Jack and took him by the shoulders saying, "JACK! Relax! Believe me, if I thought you were to blame for what happened at my home, you wouldn't have made it out of there. My son knew what you did, and still he helped you, even gave you a second chance! I have done plenty in my time to be ashamed of, but if there's any one thing I'm proud of above all else its Alex and his judgement. I trust him, and when he says you're a good man, I believe it."
Calming, Jack looked Bill in the eye and saw no malice, just the sincere meaning of a wise man. "Really, thank you Bill, that means so much coming from you," he said gratefully.
"Don't mention it," Bill smiled.
Matthew opened the door for Alex then followed him into the visitor's entrance of the building; they stepped up to the sign-in desk but were stopped. "Marcos?" asked a corrections officer as he walked towards them.
Matthew turned around to see a familiar face coming towards him; he was relieved to see a big smile on the man's face. "Mikey! It's so good to see you! It's been a long time," he said, smiling back before giving the man a hug.
"Way too long! But it's good to see you too. Nice to have you back working for the council too, Matthew," Mikey laughed, pulling back from the friendly hug.
"Heard about that already then?" Matthew asked.
"Of course! You think I would miss my best mate's return to the civilised world?" Mikey asked.
"Never, but I've been out of touch for so long, I don't know where all my mate's are or what they're up to," Matthew replied sadly.
"We're all here man; we've just been waiting for you to surface. Now stop being rude and introduce me to cutie, here," Mikey said, making Alex blush slightly.
"Ah, yeah, this is Alex Davies, my boyfriend and new vamp," Matthew said.
"Nice to meet you, Alex! I'm Michael Andrew but you can call me Mikey," he said as he shook Alex's hand.
"Hi Mikey! It's nice to meet you too," Alex said forcing a smile.
"Someone's not in a good mood! It's alright though, I understand. I had a call from the consul about an hour ago; he told me to get Jordan Wright into a private interview room before someone arrived. I had no idea it would be my mate though! He helped the consul train me when I was first turned. Good times," Mikey said.
"Yes, well, we can relive the old days later... Alex and I are here to take care of a ghost from his past, and we'd like to get it over with ASAP," Matthew said.
"Ok, yeah, I guess we can catch up later. Ok! Well follow me and I'll take you to the interview room," Mikey said as he started to walk away.
"So what brought you out here to think?" Jack asked as he and Bill sat looking out over the Jamison Valley.
"I paid Leon a visit earlier; my intentions for going to see him weren't particularly good," Bill said softly.
Jack was surprised; he wasn't expecting that reply from the kind man, so he asked, "What did you do?"
"Absolutely nothing! I honestly don't know what I was going to do; but he's caused so much pain for my family, I felt he needed to suffer. James stopped me, then he and I had a talk, after which I came out here to think," Bill explained.
"How long was Leon double dealing?" Jack asked.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it would have had to have been a long time for him to be so scared of James now. he actually BEGGED me to kill him so he wouldn't have to face James," Bill replied, again surprising Jack.
Just as he was about to reply, Jack froze and visibly tensed up. Bill of course noticed and immediately went on the defensive. "Who's there? Show yourself now!" Bill demanded, standing with his wakizashi drawn.
"Relax, Bill, it's just me! I didn't mean to startle either of you," James said calmingly, coming out from behind a tall gumtree.
"Sorry, James! With everything that's happened in the last few days you can never be too careful," Bill said as he returned his sword to its sheath.
"Too true, my friend, too true. And that was a good reaction time too! I was only standing there a few seconds," James smiled.
"Thank Jack for that! He sensed you were there which warned me," Bill replied.
"Good! It's nice to know that you still have control of your were side Jack," James said.
Jack didn't respond to the comment; he just sat looking away from the pair. "Jack?" Bill asked slightly concerned.
James stepped forward and carefully placed a hand on Jack's shoulder then kneeled down beside him. Turning so he could see Jack's face, James was a little surprised at first to see it in a state of partial transformation. James quickly realised why. "Jack, look at me! You're safe! No one's going to harm you... relax!" James said soothingly, trying to get through to an edgy Jack.
James watched and waited for Jack to calm, as Bill watched them both concerned. Slowly Jack's face returned to normal then he blinked a few times as if he were returning from being in a trance. "There we go! How are you feeling Jack?" James asked, still gripping the man's shoulders.
"Ah... what happened? I heard a noise that reminded me of what happened to me and my boy then I must have blacked out... I don't remember," Jack said confused.
"You were frightened and starting to transform into your were-form; I'm sure it was the memory and emotion associated with it that triggered it. But I must apologise, it was me startling you that caused you to recollect that memory. You did seem to be fighting the transformation though! Impressive," James said.
"I feel so embarrassed, letting a memory affect me like that," Jack said as he blushed a deep red.
"Don't be ashamed of it! It's part of who you are," James reassured.
"It's not a part of me I want!" Jack exclaimed.
"Looking through your memories that I carry, I can see that you never transformed: not even Sirus could get you to do it. That is a LOT of self control! Even when he brainwashed you, you still didn't transform! Very impressive," James said as he released Jack and stood up.
"I don't know what to tell you. I just know that I didn't want to be what I am, but now that I have my life back I'm going to fight to keep it! I'll never let that part of me gain control!" Jack promised.
"Good man! Well, now that that's settled, we have a situation," James said.
Bill stepped forward and asked, "What kind of situation?"
James looked at both men seriously for a moment then replied, "Victoria, the high chair of the Thylacine Council is on her way here..."
Matthew and Alex followed Mikey through a few corridors until they stopped outside the interview room. "Well, here we are; he's inside waiting patiently even though he doesn't know who wants to see him," Mikey said.
Matthew turned to Alex and looked into his eyes; taking both of Alex hands gently, Matthew asked, "Are you sure you still want to go in there alone love?"
'No, I'm not sure, but I need to do this and having you in there wouldn't help me. Besides, he knows your face. I know it's been a long time but I doubt he's forgotten,' Alex replied, projecting his thoughts to Matthew.
Matthew simply replied with, "Okay." Matthew kissed Alex gently and Alex turned to the door, took a few deep breaths and went into the room closing the door behind him.
Matthew stepped back to the viewing window, intently watching the tense meeting inside and carefully listening to everything that was going on, just in case he was needed. "So mate, what's the deal? what happened with you?" Mikey asked.
"I found what I needed... and got some closure," Matthew replied almost automatically, not taking his eyes away from the interview room for even a second.
"Okay, obviously you did, but I guess you don't feel like talking about it at the moment? Well what about Alex? What's the story with him and prisoner Wright?" Mikey asked.
"Alex was the one that Wright attacked when he was a small child: Alex is here for answers and to try and get closure," Matthew blurted out before thinking.
"Alex was one of Jordan's victims AND is a newly risen vamp?" Mikey asked surprised.
"Yes," Matthew replied.
"And you let him go in there ALONE with that man?" Mikey asked in disbelief.
"I trust Alex; he won't do anything to harm that man Well, nothing fatal," Matthew replied flatly.
"You, on the other hand, would," Mikey added.
Matthew turned to face Mikey and asked, "What makes you say that?"
"Because it's what I would do, and you should checkout your reflection... You're glowing! The last time I saw your eyes do that was when you were restraining yourself from dismembering that murderer the consul gave you to feed from," Mikey said with a smirk.
Matthew turned back to the window and noticed the faint golden glow coming from his eyes; he concentrated on calming down a little and watched the glow fade from his reflection. "Better?" Matthew asked.
"Yeah man," Mikey replied as Matthew turned back to the interview room.
"I saved Alex from that man over a decade ago, only I was a few moments too late to stop him from harming Alex. I healed Alex and addled Jordan's mind to make him confess then I called the police. I could have killed that bastard back then... but I didn't, because I knew someday Alex would want to ask him questions. That day is today, and I promised Alex I would help him do what he needed," Matthew explained.
"So you're here to kill Jordan?" Mikey asked seriously.
"NO! Well Alex isn't," Matthew started.
"BUT you will..." Mikey interrupted.
"I might..." Matthew said flatly.
"What do you mean she's coming here?" Bill asked confused.
"I'm sure once Jackson disappeared she had her people looking everywhere for him. They would have traced his van to my warehouse and therefore to me," James explained.
"Do you think she knows I'm here?" Jack asked worried.
"No, I know Victoria. If she knew you were here she'd think you were being held captive and wouldn't be coming alone. No, she knows there's something going on, but she doesn't know what, and I think she thinks it's me that's up to something. But whatever she thinks is inconsequential: this is the perfect opportunity to talk with her without the rest of the thylacine council listening in," James explained.
"Talk about what?" Jack asked.
"A few issues that have been brewing with the Thylacine Council: you were formerly one of the issues, but not now," James replied.
"The murderers..." Jack reiterated.
"Exactly. I do have a plan, though. Let's go inside so I can share it with you; Victoria isn't too far away and we need to be ready," James said quickly moving to go back to the house, Bill and Jack following him.
Alex entered the interview room and froze a moment, before sitting in the chair across from Jordan. Alex, not wanting to look the man in the eyes, sat staring at the table trying work up the nerve to look at him, until Jordan asked, "Who are you kid?"
Alex sat there almost frozen in fear upon hearing Jordan speak until Matthew projected to him, 'He can't hurt you love! He'll never be able to hurt you again. Just remember that.'
Alex smiled to himself as Jordan spoke again, "What, you gonna just sit there and stare at the table?"
"No," Alex whispered, still staring at the table.
"Oh, the boy does have a voice! So why are you here and who are you?" Jordan asked again.
"I'm Alex, and I'm here to ask you a few questions... NO! I'm here because I want to know why you did it?" Alex asked.
"Did what kid?" Jordan asked slightly confused.
"Don't you remember? It's the reason you're in this place," Alex replied softly.
"What? Rape and murder, you want to know why I did THAT?" Jordan asked sarcastically.
"Yes..." Alex started but was cut off.
"Why, for your school project? Some 'from the mind of the killer' bullshit?" Jordan asked.
Alex slowly lifted his head up from the table so his eyes met Jordan's; he stared for a few moments longer before bitterly saying, "NO, I want to know WHY you did it to ME!"
Jordan's eyes widened as he realised. "Who ARE you?" he asked.
"Alex Davies, you remember... the kid you tricked then raped," Alex said, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Remember..."
"Alex?" Jordan heard as the image of a small boy hugging a small backpack flashed before his eyes. When the memory dissipated he asked, "What the hell was that?"
"What was what?" Alex asked.
Before Jordan could reply another memory flashed before his eyes. "Come with me. I know where your parents are!" he heard as he saw the small boy again, but this time his own outstretched arms picking him up. "The little boy, Alex... He's YOU!" Jordan exclaimed.
"I was separated from my parents and YOU found me, but instead of returning me to them... you did that! I want to know why... WHY ME?" Alex asked, tears steadily rolling down his cheeks.
Jordan waited for another memory of the small boy, but nothing. "I... there was no reason! You were vulnerable and I took advantage of that," Jordan said, the slight hint of a smile on his face.
"You did it just because you WANTED to?" Alex asked, confused as to why anyone would want to do that.
"I did it because I could, and I LIKED it! It made me feel good to know that I had that power over someone... over you, that you couldn't do anything to stop me, completely powerless to fight back," Jordan replied, now not even trying to hide his smile.
"You weren't my first victim kid, and not all of them made it, like you did... you were lucky and to be completely honest, I'd do you right now if I thought I could get away with it," Jordan added smirking.
"So why don't you try?" Alex asked, both fear and rage burning just beneath the surface.
Jordan laughed a little before replying, "I'm on good behaviour, and my lawyer says I'll be out of here within the year if I'm good." Jordan then leaned forward in his chair so he was close to Alex, and whispered, "And just between you and me, the first thing I'm gonna do is find some kid to have my way with... just like I did to you."
Alex sat in his chair trying to ignore the scent of blood from the man only an inch or two from his face. It wasn't enticing at all; Jordan's blood disgusted Alex. Sitting back into the chair, Alex thought for a few moments as the tears he shed for his past dissipated. All that was left were feelings of anger and disgust that made Alex feel sick. "YOU truly are a monster! You make my kind almost look innocent, and I can't allow you to leave here if you plan on continuing to do any of that," Alex said firmly.
"You can't ALLOW me to leave? Kid there's NOTHING you can do about it! I'll be out of here in no time and back to doing what I enjoy," Jordan said with absolute certainty.
"You have obviously missed my meaning," Alex said turning and looking directly at where he knew Matthew was watching from beyond the mirrored glass.
Thanks for reading Angel in black chapter 16, be sure to stop by my site where you will find a blog with some interesting insight into the chapters and also the story closet where I also post my work. thanks again, Mikey.
http://mikeysmusings.weebly.com/index.html
http://Mikey.thestorycloset.org