Predatory Desires

The sounds of a scuffle echoed off the walls of the narrow alley, mingling with a  low, threatening  sound much like a tiger growling. When a louder snarl rumbled out a moment later,  followed by a  careening garbage can lid rolling wildly out of the inky blackness, the sparse late  night crowd stopped  their habitual sauntering of 'Strip Boulevard' and focused on the alley.

Gathering within the pale circle of light cast by the corner's street lamp, the small  crowd suddenly  surged back as a large, well-muscled man hurtled toward them, landing on his back  on the sidewalk.  He sprang to his feet and dropped into a defensive pose, one hand snaking toward  his back pocket  as the other hand dragged across his nose, smearing a trail of blood across his  scarred cheek. The  calm emergence of a second man from the dark alley, his long, black leather coat  flowing around him  like a mantle, silenced the murmuring, nervous crowd, ensuring everyone heard the  'snick' of a knife  snapping open. The long, silver blade softly glistened in the wan light as its nervous  owner  continuously rolled the smooth handle round and round in his hand.

"Come on, Richard. Give it up." Power radiated from the deep baritone voice, as  the handsome  blond man stopped his advance at the mouth of the alley and eyed the gathering  crowd. <Not  good> he considered, uneasy about his quarry's actions around the pedestrians.

To the fascinated crowd, this determined challenger displayed total assurance, not  to mention  authority. Most of the crowd worked this part of town regularly, so both players in  this little drama  were known. What held them was the uncertainty of how this standoff between  Detective  Nicholas Knight and the perp would play out. Richard, 'The Snake', Huffman  wasn't any pushover.  Most of the crowd knew his reputation for violence and murder; a few knew from  first-hand  experience that reputation was genuinely warranted.

"I ain't goin, cop!" The hired muscle sneered as he circled away, trying to work his  way back toward  the darkness -- away from the crowd -- and away from Knight. "You push me,  we'll find out if  you're as good as they say!"

With that statement, Huffman made a lunge at Nick then spun around and pulled  one of the curious  spectators from the crowd. Recognizing his victim, Snake jerked the young  runaway close and laid  the knife across the boy's collarbone, the dim light winking off the blade. "Now  what's it gonna be,  cop?"

"No! Let go!" Chaz screamed and tried to wiggle free, his fear palpable to the  crowd.

"Shut up, whore!" Richard snarled, tightening his grip.

Nick quickly spoke up, trying to calm the boy before he enraged Huffman. "It's  okay, Chaz. Calm  down. It'll be okay."

"Yeah, go ahead and tell him that, cop," Snake taunted, edging slowly away from  Nick. "We'll just  see how 'okay' he's going to be if you meddle in my business anymore tonight!"

Responding to a curt gesture from Snake, the crowd parted, opening for his escape.  With a nervous  eye on the crowd and Knight, Huffman cautiously backed down the street, dragging  his young  hostage with him.

"Break it up, everyone! Stay out of the way!" Nick ordered as he carefully  followed. He didn't want  any innocents turning up dead, particularly the hostage.

Lucien LaCroix had just arrived home and was sipping on a glass of something dark  red and thick  when an intense wave of emotion flowed over him. "Hmmm," he murmured as he  closed his eyes to  savor the delicious feelings coming from his favorite child. A slow, predatory smile  graced his lips.  "So... Nicholas is hunting." He placed the half-empty glass on the mantel of the  massive fireplace  and turned to face the exquisitely decorated reading room/library. The smile grew  larger. "And he's  enjoying it. Good." A soft breeze filled the space the tall form had occupied only a  second before.

Huffman dragged his feebly struggling hostage deeper into the darkness. He was  sure he had lost his  pursuer. He was very good at this, after all. "Please..." whispered a small,  frightened voice from  beside him. A vicious grin grew as he considered his next course of action. Maybe  he *did* have  some time for a little fun.

"Let me go," Chaz pleaded, then unintentionally cried out when Hoffman spun him  roughly around  and gave him a lewd once-over. A low groan of pain bubbled out of the young man  moments later  as he was slammed against the wall of the alley. A hard body pressed against him as  his tormentor  towered over him.

"Now, what am I going to do with you?" Snake teased, as he ran the point of his  blade randomly  under the tense chin of his current plaything.

"You might consider letting him go." The voice casually sounded from the  surrounding darkness,  echoing through the dank alley. Spinning around, Huffman clamped his left hand  onto the boy's  shoulder and wildly looked around.

Several overflowing garbage cans were lined against each side of the narrow,  shadowed side street.  A small trickle of water ran sluggishly down the center of the asphalt, heading for  the storm drain  located at the corner. The only sounds he heard were the frightened panting of  Chaz and the faint  squeal from a rat as a yellow striped alley cat concluded his hunt with a kill.

"Who are you?" the burly thug yelled, bluffing past his fear. Brandishing his blade,  Snake demanded,  his voice growing angrier, "Where are you?"

An abrupt wisp of air blew past the nervous criminal, immediately followed by a  powerful grip  circling his left wrist as the solid form of Detective Knight suddenly materialized  behind Chaz.  Surprised, Snake flinched back, but stubbornly refused to unhand his hostage. He  grunted in pain  when the detective forced the issue by tightening his grip.

"Arrgghh!" Huffman exclaimed and released his tight clench on the boy. The thug  staggered a half  step back, shaking his aching wrist and hand. <Impossible! How did Knight do  that! > He moved  so fast...and his strength!

The first tinge of despair surfaced in Snake as he watched his hostage scramble  down the alley,  disappearing from sight.

Nick could feel his beast clashing against his will, wanting loose. Stalking the pair  of humans through  the back alleys had stirred similar memories of hunts long past. He had enjoyed it  more than he was  willing to admit. Now, in close proximity to these two humans, very old and  powerful instincts were  surging forward. He could feel the vampire's heat trying to bloom, turning his usual  blue eyes flaming  crimson laced with gold. With a supreme effort, he forced the vampire down,  exerting his will on the  beast. Since he couldn't tame the animal inside, he was determined to control it.

With his immediate battle won, Nick brought his full attention back to the drama at  hand. He gave  Chaz a careful shove once Huffman released his grip, propelling the teen-ager out  of harm's way.  The young man stumbled briefly then scurried away, disappearing around the corner  to safety.

"When will you learn, Richard. I warned you about working my precinct," Nick  stated, his voice  sliding into the vampire's deep baritone as he abruptly reached for Huffman's arm  again. Taking a  firm hold, Nick began to pull the unwilling man to him, when he saw the knife  spearing toward him.  Only his vampiric reflexes saved him from harm as he sidestepped the slash. "Damn  it, don't make  me hurt you!" he snarled roughly, annoyed.

Suddenly, he froze as a strong presence enveloped him, distracting in its intensity.  His blood sang in  answer to the familial touch and the vampire within rushed forward again. In his  struggle to subdue  his internal beast, Nick failed to see the knife in its return arc.

Richard felt his panic rising when Knight easily recaptured his wrist. He blindly  lashed out, only to  miss his mark. <How did the cop dodge that?> The big man groaned in dismay.  "Shit," he  muttered, noting Knight's rising anger; if he was lucky, serving 10 to 15 years in jail  would be all he'd  endured out of this encounter.

Snake pulled against the tight grip encircling his wrist, but with little results. He  suddenly felt the  detective freeze and glanced at his face. Knight was staring off into space,  oblivious to his  surroundings. In a last desperate attempt at freedom, Huffman plunged the long  blade through the  breast of Knight's black coat into the detective's chest.

A surprised whoof of air wheezed from Nick as the blade entered his body.  <Stupid, Nick! You  know better. Never take your attention from your prey! > Nick silently chided  himself as a burning  sensation began to grow in his chest. He staggered slightly and his grip loosened on  the perp's wrist,  then released altogether when Snake reared back and planted the sharp, long bladed  stiletto back  into his chest, burying it clean to the hilt.

Huffman stepped back as the blond detective collapsed against the wall, a grimace  of pain clearly  etched upon his handsome face. He waited for Knight to take his last breath,  watching Nick slowly  slide to the ground and smiled, knowing that his aim had been true. He had pierced  a lung and  possibly even the cop's heart on that last thrust. He could wait -- particularly since  he was  determined to get his blade back.

Huffman's face twisted into an ugly sneer as he watched Knight breathe his last.  Fearing an ambush,  he toed the detective roughly. The cop continued to limply lie at his feet, not  responding to the hard  kick. Feeling confident that Knight was dead, he quickly bent down and jerked the  blade loose,  whispering tenderly as he caressed the blade during its cleaning, "We got another  one, baby."

A low, deadly rumble purred from behind Richard. Whirling round, his mouth fell  open as he saw the  red-eyed, fanged apparition standing a mere arm's length away from him.

"What...what..."

With a snarling roar, LaCroix wrapped his fist around Snake's right hand, effectively  neutralizing the  stiletto's potential for mischief. The tall vampire pulled the man close and bent his  head to the side. "I  think you chose the wrong prey tonight. Now, *you're* dinner." With that, he  buried his fangs in the  hot flesh and began to feed.

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All comments can be sent to me, April, at: knightwave@aol.com or knightwave@juno.com