Part 3

The next morning Melissa sneaked out of their room even before Alexandra woke up. In the cafeteria she looked anxiously around to see if she could spot Dawn. When she couldn't she got a table and ate her breakfast. Soon Jolene appeared. Melissa said a polite good morning to her. Jolene replied and sat down. They ate in silence. Finally, when Dawn arrived, Melissa mumbled an excuse to Jolene, picked up her tray and walked over to Dawn.

"Let's sit and talk," Melissa said and motioned for an empty table.

"Right," Dawn said. "You know, what happened last night. I realized how good that was."

"Yeah?"

"I mean you were... what you did, it was so helpful. I would have had to track them for several days, and..." her voice lowered at this. "You saved Alexandra's life. I wouldn't have been able to do that."

"I... It was mostly you and Konrad..."

There was an awkward pause.

"How's Alexandra today?" Dawn asked.

"She's... it's good that you mention that... she's been acting weird."

"Weird?"

"Um."

"Maybe you should ask her to talk to Konrad."

"Why? I mean... what happened to her?"

"What do you mean?" Dawn lowered her voice. "She was kidnapped, for all we know threatened to her life. They would have killed her eventually, if we'd not been able to get there so fast."

"I guess."

"Don't guess... what you, well maybe Konrad too, but I saw you, and I know... what you did was... it made the difference here."

There was a long silence under which they concentrated on their breakfast. Melissa was staring at her yogurt. Dawn was leaning back in her chair and pushing her fork into her pancake. Both women could feel the uneasy atmosphere.

"Dawn?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about yesterday."

"Why?"

"I interrupted your night out."

"No worry."

"So... you're hunting... 'Creatures of the Night', huh?" Melissa said in a conspirational whisper.

"Uh... well... yeah," Dawn replied. "I was actually thinking that since you seem to be so good at locating demons, maybe you should join me?"

Melissa jumped in her chair, looking around as if she was afraid someone would listen, then she stared at Dawn again. Shook her head and leaned back.

"Listen... I don't know how to kill those things... And..."

"I can do that. You just have to locate them."

"I don't know how to do that either. I only did what Konrad told me to."

"I think you can learn. Maybe with his help?"

"Listen," Melissa said, "I'm very happy Alex is safe and sound, but I've had a... well... I'm not up for problems right now... I'd rather concentrate on my studies."

"Just so you know," Dawn said and placed her hand on top of Melissa's. Melissa met Dawn's gaze. She felt herself getting lost in the other woman's dark eyes. "I'd really appreciate working together with you."

"We can always... go for a coffee sometimes."

A tray was put down on the table, just beside their hands and as they looked up, Alexandra was standing over them staring into their eyes. Dawn got up and pulled out Alexandra's chair.

"Hi Alexandra... why don't you sit?"

Alexandra frowned but sat down.

"How are you feeling today?"

"I... Fine. Why?"

"Why not?"

"Okay."

"So, how are you doing?"

"I'll survive."

"I'm glad we found you. It would have... I mean..."

"I survived."

Jolene had discovered that Melissa, Alexandra and Dawn wasn't going to join their table so she got up from her table and walked over to their table. Susan and Kaitlyn looked confounded for a couple of seconds before they too got up and walked over to the new table.

"Hey," Jolene smiled and sat down. "Anything interesting going on?"

Melissa looked around the table. Alexandra was silent, so was Dawn.

"No," Melissa replied. "We're just talking. Join us."

"So?" Susan said and put her tray down at their table too. "You trying to avoid me, Jolene?"

"What?" Jolene looked as if someone had accused her of stealing the jam and she'd been as surprised by finding her hand in the jar as the one accusing her. "What did I do?"

Kaitlyn joined the table as well. "Nothing Susan hasn't done too."

Susan made a mock frown. "You're following me."

"You're keeping tabs on where I'm going, so you can go there before me."

"What did I do?" Jolene asked.

"You got up, and left our table with no explanation," Susan said and took a bite of her bread.

"No, Jesus Susan, we always lunch together, you know that."

"Well," Kaitlyn said in an attempt to defend Jolene, "everybody is running around like wild hen today."

"I didn't mean to just walk out on you," Jolene said. "I just didn't... think."

"I think," Susan said with a grin, "you and Philip should just get together."

"Ah," Kaitlyn said, "they would forget they had a relation going before... well... they'd have a relation going."

Melissa raised an eyebrow at that. "You know what they say? Once you get old enough and desperate enough..."

"That statement only goes for boys," Susan said.

Melissa was about to reply when she felt Alexandra's hand on her thigh. It was hidden under the table but Jolene was sitting not too far away on Melissa's left side. Alexandra squeezed just above her knee and Melissa jumped as she felt a strange sensation right between her legs. It was as if her knee was connected straight to her crotch and when Alexandra squeezed, muscles stretched from one place to the other.

Melissa glanced over at Alexandra who was smiling innocently. None of the other people around the table seemed to notice anything was wrong. Part from Dawn. Melissa suspected Dawn knew something was going on; she was looking at Alexandra in a funny way.

When Alexandra scratched her nails over the fabric in Melissa's jeans she pulled her leg away and tried to stare her down. What the hell? she thought, what's going on here?

"Gotta go," Dawn said and stood. "I'll see you guys tomorrow?" she said to Jolene, Kaitlyn and Susan. She gave Alexandra a smile, but said nothing. Then turned to Melissa, "and, don't forget what we talked about?"

"I wont," Melissa replied. "But I'm not promising anything!"

"Think about it?"

"Sure."

Melissa glanced over at Alexandra and just as she suspected Alexandra was staring down into the tabletop straining not to frown.

What the hell is going on here? Melissa thought. Is she jealous? Jealous of what? Dawn picked up her tray and left. Melissa could watch Alexandra's eyes following her.

At first she thought Alexandra was angry, she might think she had a reason, at least if she was jealous of anything imagined going on between Melissa and Dawn, then she saw something else in Alexandra's gaze and when she suspected what she was watching was nothing else than well concealed lust, Melissa wondered if she was seeing the proper cause for Alexandra's jealousy.

Surprise!she thought but when Alexandra got up while mumbling an excuse, and rushed after Dawn, Melissa fought to keep her smile to herself. So that's it?

Living the life she did, Dawn had developed a seventh sense for discovering danger. She was walking along Fourth-Street towards her car when she felt that something was wrong.

At first she wasn't sure what it was but after another couple of minutes she understood someone was following her. When she saw whom her shadow was she didn't believe her eyes but a second glance made it obvious; Alexandra was following her.

What the hell? she thought decided to counteract. She walked over to her car. It was impossible to park closer to the university than at Pinewood Drive. Dawn used to curse that fact, but now it helped her. She could gain a head start on Alexandra and disappear before Alexandra even understood her target was gone.

She rounded a corner of MRC Tech and hurried the last yards to her car. She got in the car and managed to get away before Alexandra rounded the corner and could see what had happened. It would keep Alexandra in the area for some time before she would know she had lost Dawn.

Dawn didn't drive far though. She double parked on the west side of the Liberty building and within another couple of minutes she was back at MRC Tech. Instead of walking over to the north-western side of the building, where Alexandra would be, trying to figure out where Dawn had gone, she entered at the south side and made her way through the whole building.

MRC Tech was built like an indoor galleria with a glass-covered passage in the middle and buildings on both sides. Dawn wondered if maybe the passage had been a street once, but the buildings on both sides seemed too much alike. Once she approached the north side of the building she slowed down and kept her eyes open in case Alexandra had entered the building.

It was good that she did because sooner than she'd expected it Alexandra came walking down the passage towards her. She found a coffee shop a few yards away and escaped into it.

She hid in a corner just inside the door. She knew Alexandra might decide to look in the coffee shop and stumble over her, but since the shop had large windows and it was possible to see everyone in it Dawn hoped Alexandra would settle with a quick glance and then go on.

Alexandra didn't. As she passed outside she stopped, Dawn bit her lower lip while waiting for Alexandra's next action. For a couple of moments it seemed Alexandra wasn't sure what to do, then she reached into her pocket and pulled out her mobile.

Dawn held her breath while Alexandra was dialing. If she could listen in on Alexandra's conversation it might just happen that the problem of figuring out why Alexandra was following her would solve itself.

"It's me," Alexandra said into the phone. Her jaw set as she continued, "I am calling you now. If you're gonna fuck with me... I swear to God..."

She took a deep breath and looked around, suddenly aware that she was after all not alone in the passage. "I am relaxed. So, stop fucking around! I lost track of her."

Alexandra stared up into the glass ceiling and moaned. "I am reporting in. You stay the fuck away from this!" Her gaze snapped down and Dawn almost thought she had been caught but Alexandra was too absorbed in her phone call. "Don't talk to me about managing, fucking hell!"

Dawn didn't know Alexandra that well but she thought what she was displaying right now was ab bit on the extreme, even for the stressful situation she no doubt must be in.

"Don't talk to me about control," Alexandra continued, "I am in control. No... Not now! I'm telling you, I've had fucking hormones kicking my ass all morning, this is not funny!" She took a deep breath.

Alexandra realized a couple of students were walking just a few meters from her. They weren't looking at her but she could see they had heard her and was quickening their pace to get past her. "Well, you know damn well what I'm gonna do... I didn't call for you to piss me off. I'm done with this shit. I'm going to the next phase."

As she listened to the phone she glared after the group of students that had passed her and for a second Dawn wondered if she would follow them and try to beat them up or something to that effect.

"I'm getting a weapon," Alexandra said, "that's what's happening now. And if you're nice from now on I wont use it to cut your fucking ears off and shove them up your ass... you need to be fucking nice, I'm telling you."

She snapped her phone shut. Dawn watched her as she marched off down the passage. She had heard enough and she decided it was time to act.

Konrad was staring at Dawn, his eyes wide with a mix of surprise and something else that might actually be fear. She had stormed into his office, more or less thrown out one of his clients and closed the door. Then she had asked him a steady stream of questions.

"Are you in on this?" she said and crossed her arms.

Konrad shook his head. "I'm having a hard time even understanding what you are taking about? You say Alexandra followed you?"

Dawn frowned and sat. "Then she was having this really weird conversation."

"How do you mean, weird?"

"On her mobile."

"Well, I mean," Konrad shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I find most people with mobiles weird. The things people say when on them. Sometimes I think we humans are too stupid for the technology we've managed to produce."

"This isn't than kind of weird, this is the kind of weird where I felt you were the first person to talk to."

"If it will calm you I can assure you that I've not... what? You thought I was somehow involved in Alexandra following you? That is... I mean, I guess most people have a paranoia or two..."

"I'm not paranoid, I'm telling you, this girl... if you'd heard her," Dawn trailed off and silenced.

"Okay, so you want me to do what?"

"With your expertise I'm thinking you'd be able to deal with this."

"I cannot really talk to Alexandra before she comes to me, any other way would be very unfavorable for the therapy. I'm merely the copilot when people consult me."

"That's hardly our biggest problem right now," Dawn frowned.

Nicolas was leaning against one of the abandoned warehouse's wooden crates. One of his hands playing with a pair of sunglasses while the other was resting on the edge of the crate. His steel blue eyes gazed at the man in the middle of the room. The man was fat and he was sweating. Nicolas smiled at him. Every time he'd done that, the man had snorted back. This time however he just glared.

They were in the middle of a deal. Nicolas was the seller; the fat man, Everett Lemann, was the buyer. At least this would be the case if Nicolas got his will through. It seemed, however, Mr. Lemann wasn't sure he liked the deal.

"I can't do much about the price," Nicolas said. "However..."

He noticed that Mr. Lemann was staring at a point behind him. Nicolas frowned. "Elle?" he said and swallowed. He kept eye contact with Lemann, trying to keep his thoughts straight. He had heard the clatter of high heels from outside the warehouse, felt her presence, but he hadn't realized what it meant. Somehow he was always dense around Rachelle. He thought he might be able to keep his head straight as long as he didn't look at her, but then it was as if she had leaned close and blew on the small hairs in his neck. Nicolas shivered.

"Come sit," he said and patted the crate beside him.

Rachelle was lacking almost half a foot on Nicolas height, this even though she was in her high heels. If she was short her exotic, Latin features still got men's attention, and whenever exotic failed, her 34D's, usually did the trick. However, Rachelle was one of those girls who never failed to attract the attention of anyone she wanted. She smiled at Nicolas and jumped up on the crate, landing beside him on her butt.