Title: "Playing With Fire Pt. 6"
Author: Rebecca Bradstreet
Rated: PG-13
Archive: Sure.
Summary: Becca goes back into the warehouse.
Warning: Darkness, and death.
Disclaimer/Notes: This is a Profiler/Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Crossover. I don't own John Grant, Bailey Malone, or any other Profiler character. I don't own Rudolph Storr, Jean-Claude or any other Anitaverse character. I do own Rebecca Belinda "Becca" Drake. After all she is just a dragon version of me. I've included the end of Part Five at the beginning of this part inside <<>>. I use // for thoughts, and ** as emphasis. This isn't beta'd so all mistakes are my own. ;)
"Playing With Fire Pt. 6"
Rebecca Bradstreet (c) 2002St Louis
Cafe
Saturday Feb 24, 2001<<"Are we going right over to the new crime scene? I still think my next stop should be the warehouse," she didn't anticipate anything new at the latest crime scene. There were things she'd missed at the warehouse.>>
"I promised Dolph I'd take you to the new crime scene first. I'm sure he'll let you go over to the warehouse when you're done there," Malone said, smiling and shaking his head.
"If you're sure," Drake grinned at him getting up. Becca grabbed her coffee, and headed out to the car without looking to see if Bailey was following her.
The Bennett's House
Detective Sergeant Rudolph Storr watched Malone, and Drake climb out of their car. Becca looked different from the day before. The day before she'd looked like walking wounded soldiering along, today she seemed less drawn. Of course the cup of coffee Becca had in her hand might have had a part in that. Bailey walked up to Storr, and nodded, "The scene ready?"
"For Drake?" Dolph asked watching Becca sip her coffee at Malone's elbow.
"For Becca," Bailey smiled following Storr's eyes to Drake. She noticed them both looking at her, and grinned.
"I hear there's a fresh crime scene for me to look at?" Becca asked cheerily.
"Yeah, fresh," Dolph answered warily.
"I understand there are more dead this time. It keeps escalating. We have to catch it soon," Drake told him firmly.
"Take your look around," Storr told her, deciding it was more than just the coffee. Becca was getting better.
She considered asking Malone to hold her coffee. It was bad form to spill your morning coffee all over a crime scene -- even one the techs had finished going over. Before Becca could decide what to do with it, Bailey took the cup out of her hand. Without the coffee to worry about Drake headed into the house. Though Becca didn't envision finding anything different at this crime scene she made sure to go over it carefully. She wasn't about to miss something new by simply not looking for it. Becca *did* notice one thing going over its latest attack. The thing seem to be getting stronger. It was doing more damage to the exits it wanted to get through so badly, //Kill a few more kids at your next stop, and you may get free. We've got to stop you.//
Drake stepped back out of the house, and Dolph and Malone seemed to be just where she'd left them, "Tell me you guys haven't been standing in the exact same spot the entire time I've been in the house."
"Anything new?" Bailey asked not answering her. Becca hadn't really expected an answer out of either of them.
"It's getting stronger. There's more damage around the exits. A few more kills, and it may be able to break out of the houses. Can I have my coffee back now?" She asked Malone plaintively.
"It's cold now," Bailey teased as he handed it back to her. Becca shrugged as she took a big gulp of her cold coffee.
"That's all?" Storr said. Drake wondered if he'd made Malone bring her out to the Bennett's house just to confirm what he'd already decided about it.
"Yeah that's all. Can we go out to the warehouse now?" Becca looked at Dolph. He nodded.
The Warehouse
"Damn," She whispered when she got a good look at the remains of the spell she'd destroyed. Becca had asked John a lot of questions before they left Atlanta, but she'd missed an important one.
"Bailey how long have you worked with John?" Drake asked as she stood up and rubbed her hands on her pants.
"Five years why?" Malone wondered where she was going with the question.
"Do you know he's got Power?" Becca wished she'd some idea how she'd failed to ask Grant that question.
"Power? Did you just say that with a capital p?" Bailey asked.
"A capital p? I guess. I can't tell from this spell if John is psychic, magically gifted, or both. He's sure as Hell enough of at least one of those to have tripped this spell. It didn't jump Jean-Claude or me because we didn't meet its definition of human. It wouldn't have jumped you or Storr because the two of you together don't have enough power to catch its attention. John... What *do* you know about him Malone?" She looked at Bailey.
"I know he has *some* psychic ability he tries to ignore. John could have more that he's denying?" Bailey looked not just curious, but worried.
"Power leaks. Has anything spontaneously combusted around him, or thrown itself across the room?" Becca asked.
"No. He's seen Sam's spirit animal; had some premonitions. John hasn't blown anything up at least not without shooting it first," Malone smiled trying to get Drake to do the same.
"Bailey, denying his psychic ability nearly got him killed. This spell was set to ignore people with no power like you and Dolph because you can't see the remains of the ritual. And, this spell was set to ignore monsters like Jean-Claude and me for a similar reason. *You* don't have enough power to see it, and *we* don't have the right kinds of power. It attacked him because he *has* enough power to see these remains. John has enough power so this spell saw him as a threat. It would probably have jumped Detective Reynolds or Anita Blake if they'd gotten here first," Becca's face was grim.
"So the spell was set to guard against psychics and witches. Is there really enough left of this ritual to make the spell worth setting?" Malone asked as he digested what she'd said.
"Whoever set this spell thought there were enough remains here," Becca put her hands in her pockets, and started walking back towards Storr who was waiting for them between the warehouse's opened doors.
"That doesn't answer my question," Bailey fell in step beside Drake.
"Detective Reynolds could only say that there was a ritual here. I can't tell you that much. I just told you Malone *I* can't see the ritual remains. I doubt Sam could tell you more about the remains than Reynolds. Sam is a good psychic, but she isn't the trained witch Detective Reynolds is," Becca told him wondering if Sam knew how much power John had.
"You can't see the ritual; how can you see the spell?" Malone questioned Drake.
"Two reasons -- *first* I was here when it was triggered. While I wasn't included in the things it was supposed to attack once it activated it had to...ah...take my presence into consideration. And, *two* I destroyed it. Even when you destroy a spell by blundering into it with raw power it's kind of a personal thing," Becca explained to Bailey looking uncomfortable as she did.
"So you can't see the ritual. How do we learn more about it?" Malone asked taking Drake's explanation about the spell.
"I think if Reynolds says it was a ritual she should sit down with George and work on computer modeling it. Computer modeling a ritual gives a witch the chance to try filling in some of the blanks in the ritual without having to worry about triggering its effect. Besides even if Reynolds and George can't pin down the specific ritual they can start building a database of where the caster might have found the ritual," Becca smiled at Dolph as they got close enough for him to hear their conversation.
"Storr can we put Detective Reynolds on a plane to Atlanta?" Drake grinned.
"Why," was Dolph's typical monosyllabic response.
"We want her to sit down with our computer expert; go over the ritual with him on our computer system," Bailey explained to Storr.
"Right now our best lead -- Hell our only lead -- is only visible to Reynolds. Metaphysics is still physics. George and Detective Reynolds can make a computer model of the ritual we can see. They can also work on putting together a database of where the caster might have found the ritual," Becca told Dolph.
"Okay," Storr said to Drake. Somehow Becca doubted Reynolds would be on a flight to Atlanta without Dolph's talking it over some more with Malone and Detective Reynolds, but it needed doing. She wanted to head for the hospital, Becca needed to talk to John, but she wasn't sure how to tell Bailey.
"Dolph lets go see Detective Reynolds. Becca take the car. I'll meet you back at the hotel later," Malone handed Drake the keys to the car, and started walking with Storr to his car. Becca was positive Bailey wasn't psychic. She had to face the fact he just knew her *very* well. Becca sighed, and headed for the car.
The Hospital
The Lady's RoomBecca had driven right over to the hospital. She'd made it as far as John's floor before she'd gotten cold feet. Not that she'd turned right around and run screaming from the building. At least Becca hadn't run screaming from it just yet. She was standing in the lady's room staring at her reflection in the bathroom mirror, and trying to get her courage up to march into John's hospital room and say...well everything she had to say to him. Becca had promised Jean-Claude she'd tell John that she needed him. She had been expecting to learn more about the case at the warehouse. Becca hadn't been expecting to learn more about John there.
//John Grant you're a damn fool! Not that you're the only one. Oh God, I love you, and I can't believe you're such an idiot. Okay, I can believe it. It's easier to believe than the thought that you've been in control from the start, and you let yourself get mauled just to test how fine your control over me is. I can't believe you've been playing me from day one, but...// Drake closed her eyes, and shook her head. He didn't bring her shields crashing down with power. John just did it by...by accepting her -- giving her the security to lower her shields. Damn him! She felt so safe around him, and he was a danger to himself and others. She had to talk to him about his power, and...
//He's got power he's suppressing -- denying. John has to have a reason, and I'm not sure I'm up to forcing that reason out of him.// Becca was going have to grill a man in a hospital bed about something in his past he wanted to leave there, and if that wasn't enough to make her ache she loved him.
//Well, I can tell him that we did find a genuine lead at the warehouse. Let him know RPIT's witch will be working on the lead with George soon. I wonder what he thinks of witches. Oh God, I don't know nearly enough about him for this.// Becca shook her head some more, and started to pace in front of the mirror.
//I know he likes Chinese, and Italian. I know he...likes me even if I am a 4,000 year old monster. Heck he didn't let Jean-Claude intimidate him. Of course maybe we aren't human enough to be wrong. I know his mom is dead, and she didn't just die she was killed. Maybe the question is how his mom got killed -- by what, or who. I've got to make him stop denying his power. I just...// Someone came into the lady's room. Drake snapped her eyes open, and smiled stiffly.
//Guess I might as well get on with it.// Becca walked out of the lady's room, and headed for John's room.
John's Room
Grant watched Drake step nervously into his room. John wondered what had her so tense. Becca couldn't meet his eyes at first. She let her eyes wander the rest of the room discovering the chair she'd slept in was still sitting next to his bed. Becca moved to sit in the chair, and then she let her eyes meet John's. Grant was looking better than he had the last time she'd seen him. Of course it had been a couple of days since Becca had seen him last. She reached out for his hand tentatively still not speaking to him. John took her hand in his, and smiled, "Long day?"
"Yeah, you could say that," Becca grinned faintly.
"How's the case going?" He tried making conversation.
"We've got a lead...at the warehouse. The spell there was guarding the remains of a ritual. RPIT's witch will be on a plane to Atlanta as soon as Bailey can talk her and Dolph into letting us put her on a plane," Drake answered.
"It was a spell?" John asked.
"Yes, one set to destroy any psychic or witch strong enough to see the remains. Jean-Claude didn't trip it. He's just a vampire. I didn't trip it. I'm just a dragon. *You* tripped it, John. You've got enough power so it saw *you* as a threat," Becca seemed pained, and relieved at the same time. She'd taken the plunge. Becca had told John she knew he had power.
"I tripped it?" Grant echoed her.
"Bailey told me you've seen Sam's spirit animal; that you've had some premonitions. You *are* psychic, John. Maybe you're just a powerful psychic, and maybe you've got magical power too. Either way that spell saw you as a threat to be destroyed. If you were trained you might have been able to fight it yourself instead of having to wait for me to stop it," though Drake's words had started fiercely they became hushed as she approached the thought of how she'd nearly lost him.
"Becca, I...I couldn't have fought it. I can't...can't control my powers. I've tried. I tried to..." John shook his head; broke his eye contact with Drake. He didn't let go of her hand. Becca could feel the tension in it.
//You *can* control it, and you *will* get that control just as soon as you face up to how you failed then. You tried to what?// Drake let the thoughts float through her head voicing only, "Tried to what, John?"
Grant let his eyes meet Becca's once more, and the pain in them was so raw...she knew she would give anything to wipe it away. John quietly looked at her with that terrible anguish for a long moment before he spoke, "I tried to keep my mother from being killed."
"Oh, John," Becca whispered squeezing his hand tight in hers. She started to cry, and she felt so foolish doing it. It wasn't her loss; her sense of guilt she was being overwhelmed with. Becca was crying for John's loss because she felt it was something that deserved tears.