ONE

Night had settled late, sky slowly shifting from orange to pink to darkest violet. Niki had watched the afternoon traffic on the freeway from his balcony, the streaming lights eventually slowing to a crawl once peak-hour hit, sucking down a cigarette and coffee before cleaning his gun. No appetite on nights like this. Something had unsettled him, something was about to happen and he couldn’t place what it was. More than that though, a sense of unease had been creeping up on him for weeks now. Hunting the past few nights had been slow. It was as if even the vamps knew something wasn’t right. He had not felt happy about coming out tonight at all. But he hadn’t had a choice, work was work.
Pulling the collar of his jacket out, he shielded the cigarette between his lips from the bone chilling wind. He’d walked aimlessly for hours, none of the tips he’d been given checking out. On the breeze came smells of the city: take-away spices and cooking fat; exhaust fumes; the underlying reek of decaying garbage.
The flare of the match coloured his face soft amber as he lit his cigarette. He huddled closer to the wall, waiting, feigning nonchalance. He could feel eyes on him, an insistent itching at the base of his skull, trickling down his spine. But from which direction was that gaze coming? He dragged on his cigarette, exhaling a fine stream of smoke.
Itch.
There. He could feel it clearer now. In one fluid motion he let the cigarette fall from his fingertips and withdrew his pistol from its holster. Spinning on his heels, he aimed the weapon up at the looming figure sitting on the fire escape above him. Niki’s finger twitched on the trigger, but hesitated. Something felt different about this. Was this what he had been waiting for?
Long leather clad legs dangled carelessly, blonde curls were set ablaze from the lights above, haloing a silhouetted face. Broad shoulders rolled forward as the figure tilted his head, scrutinising Niki from the shadows. Judging from his frame he had to be at least eight inches taller than Niki’s diminutive build. Niki’s finger tensed again on the trigger. This could be a tough hunt.
A low chuckle preceded the familiar Irish brogue. “Jesus Christ, Niki, I could have drained you dry and dumped your corpse in the time it’s taken you to find me.” With a creak of metal he eased himself down to the street.
Niki dropped his gun, eyes expanding with shock. “Will?!”
Will grinned broadly, lines crinkling the corner of his eyes, lines that hadn’t been there when last Niki saw him. Same strawberry blonde mop, though, same stupid smirk, same jade eyes. No, wait, something new behind that gaze, something raw…
“Niki?” The smirk was exchanged for a look of concern. “It’s okay man, I didn’t mean to scare-”
“William Morrow, you dumb fuck, I nearly shot you!” Niki cut him off and finally smiled himself, throwing his arms around his oldest friend. It had been so long since he’d been in Will’s presence, years. He slowly broke their embrace, holding Will still at the elbow, making sure he wouldn’t suddenly disappear. Niki stared up at him, again seeing murky emotions churn behind a deceptively lighthearted visage. Drifting just at the edge of his consciousness, he could almost put his finger on it. A loss, some kind of loss… I can almost… no, it’s gone.
Pushing dark thoughts to the back of his mind, Niki forced another smile, patting Will’s arms before finally putting his gun away. “When did you get back? How long are you staying?”
Will could see the excitement bubbling in Niki and he felt a pang of guilt for having been away as long as he had. He’d practically raised this kid. Except he wasn’t a kid anymore. Then again, Will wondered if Niki ever had been. An old soul in the body of a wiry underdeveloped and dirty street rat, that’s how he’d first seen him. He smiled, putting a hand on Niki’s shoulder. “You know what, it’s a long story, how about we discuss it over drinks?”
“I’m on duty until 4am,” Niki paused and checked his watch. Barely midnight.
“Somehow I don’t think Natalia will mind.” Will winked. “In fact, I think we might even be able to claim it as a work expense.”
Clearly he knew something that Niki didn’t. “Alright, you’ve got me curious, drinks it is.”
Will grinned again, slapping Niki on the shoulder. “Good choice. Now lead the way, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

FINIS (for now…)

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