When The Hunter Becomes the Hunted, Part 11
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 by Teri- Sept 23, 2000

We left off in part 10 with:

"Nat, you okay?  You don't look good."  Schanke looked concerned.
 
      Natalie gave a rueful smile and thought, "I'm fine!  I'm fabulous!  Do 
you realize that the *whatever* that did this has also killed two other 
people and almost killed a vampire?  And we have no idea *what* it is?  And 
our best shot at finding out lies with LaCroix?  The Master of the Prince of
Darkness routine?"  To him, she said, "I'm alright, Schanke, just a bit 
tired."  She knelt to examine the body, and found that Nick had been correct.
The heart and liver had indeed been removed.  "Well, Nick," she thought, I 
certainly hope you can get something out of that sire of yours."

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And now......Part 11


"Man oh man! Just when you think you've seen it all, they come up with 
something new," complained Detective Schanke. "Right here in the coroner's
building, no less." He squatted beside Natalie as she continued her 
examination of the eviscerated corpse. "What do you suppose they could want 
with internal organs? Black Market, perhaps?" As much as he loved to 
tease Nick about his apparent squeamishness around the sight of blood, right 
now Schanke had a much better view of the victim's interior than he himself 
was comfortable with. Not that he would ever admit it....

"No," Natalie shook her head. "From the looks of the surrounding tissues, 
those organs wouldn't be in any condition for transplant. They weren't 
carefully, surgically removed. I'd have to say they were just simply ripped 
from the body, for whatever reason."

"And where the hell did Nick go?" Schanke didn't try to cover his aggravation
over his partner's latest disappearing act.

Nat looked up, wide-eyed. "He didn't tell you?" 

"He mumbled something on the way past about going to talk to somebody, but I
didn't catch who or where. Did he say anything to you?"

Nat opened her mouth as if to speak, though she really had no clue what she 
was going to say. How much to tell him? She was saved from having to figure 
out an answer by the sound of shattering glass and footsteps racing toward 
them. Nick came flying around the corner, his feet barely seeming to touch 
the floor. The one small part of Natalie's brain that somehow was still 
managing to remain calm and analytical was proud of the fact that Nick was 
maintaining his illusion of mortality for Schanke's sake and was actually 
only moving as fast as was humanly possible......well, at least if that human 
were being chased by the devil himself.

Schanke was on his feet the instant he saw Nick charging down upon them but 
Nat was still kneeling beside the victim. Nick didn't even slow down. He 
scooped her up off the floor with one hand and grabbed Schanke with the 
other, propelling them both into the morgue ahead of him and slamming the 
door behind them. As they both tried to catch their breath, and their wits,
he looked frantically around the room for something to prop against the door 
and block it. Nat noticed with a sharp stab of concern that Nick was even 
more pale than usual and she watched him wipe away a smear of fresh blood 
from his cheek, but she wasn't able to tell if it had been his blood or 
someone else's. Or someTHING else's, she told herself. And that someTHING was still out there,
still rapidly approaching, and the only thing between it and them right now 
was a fairly flimsy door and one obviously frightened vampire. 

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next.....