Title: "Playing With Fire Pt. 2"
Author: Rebecca Bradstreet
Rated: PG-13
Archive: Sure.
Summary: Becca learns a few things in Atlanta.
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 include the end of Part One 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. 2"
Rebecca Bradstreet (c) 2001Jade Dragon,
Saturday Feb 17, 2001<<He could get lost in her eyes, and what scared him was it didn't scare him.>>
John's cell phone rang, and he cursed around a mouthful of noodles.
"Want me to answer that for you?" Becca offered in a soft genuine tone. She wasn't teasing. Suddenly Grant's noodles where a cold lump in his throat, he nodded to her. She leaned forward, and slid his cell phone out of his pocket. Drake suspected the phone would be Bailey, but she answered it with a simple, "Hello?"
"Becca?" Malone tried to sound surprised to hear her answer John's phone, but he couldn't quite hide his amusement.
"Bailey?" Drake managed to sound complete indifferent to his good humor.
"Are you two ready to go?" Malone asked deciding not to ask her where John was. Becca told Grant, "He wants to know if we're ready to go."
John shook his head swallowing the noodles stuck in his throat.
"We're not quite ready yet." Drake told Bailey.
"Well when you two *are* ready, get over here. We can go now." Malone told her.
Atlanta
Headquarters of the Violent Crimes Task Force
Parking Garage
Sunday Feb 18, 2001"Bailey...are you sure John is already here?" Becca was reluctant to ask Malone about Grant, but she knew she could trust Bailey to answer her question.
"Yes, Becca. The Porsche over there is his. He's already working. Are you ready to?" Malone asked getting out of the car.
"I said I'd work your case. I came. What are you getting at Bailey?" Drake asked narrowing her eyes at Malone.
"When was the last time you fired a gun Becca?" Bailey asked coming around the car to stand in front of her.
"I told you I'm not taking a badge. What does it matter?" Becca said her voice hardening.
"You've signed on to hunt a killer. You know why it matters," Malone told her keeping an even tone. Drake sighed.
"I know. I can drive a stick shift, operate automatic weapons, and boot up a computer. I'm not a technophobe. I haven't allowed time to pass me by. I can keep up Bailey. I won't be a danger to this case." Becca gave Bailey a weak smile.
"That's my girl. Let's go see if George has your ID ready," Malone squeezed Drake's shoulder and steered her towards the elevator.
Laboratory
Dr. Grace Alvarez sat at her desk in the lab -- her lab. Grace had her frizzy brown curls partially contained in a clip, and was looking over the Medical Examiner's reports from Missouri's Regional Preternatural Investigation Team. RPIT had a mess on their hands, and she wondered what Bailey was going to pull out of his sleeve for them. Malone was undoubtedly up to something. He'd taken John with him. Looking over the ME reports she hoped Bailey was up to something good. Grant slipped in through the lab door, and knocked softly on one of Grace's tables.
"Hey?" John smiled tentatively at Alvarez. She closed the report she was looking at and smiled up at him.
"Hi. This is ugly. I hope Bailey has something to help with this," Grace held out one of the reports to Grant.
"Someone actually," John grinned broadly, taking the report and glancing at it without really looking at it.
"Oh?" Alvarez asked, knowing Grant wanted to say more. They'd worked together at the Atlanta Police Department before signing on to Malone's task force. It didn't mean John had been the first person she'd told Morgan had moved out, or that Grace was the first one he'd told when he'd had second thoughts about joining the VCTF, but it meant they had conversations that weren't strictly work conversations.
"Rebecca Drake, she's an expert on shapeshifters. Becca's 5'5" with this long baby fine light brown hair she wears back in a ponytail. Some of it gets out in wisps around her face. Her eyes are...I dunno grey, or green, or blue. I think it depends on the lighting, or what she's wearing, or maybe her mood. Grace, Becca is..." He ran out of words, and Alvarez shook her head smiling.
"Becca is an expert on shapeshifters. Does Bailey think this might have been done by a shapeshifter?" Alvarez was curious about a woman Malone would bring in as an expert, and who clearly had stolen Grant's breath away.
"Bailey's sure it's preternatural. Becca's the closest thing Bailey can get to a preternatural expert. She knows about a lot of things Grace. She..." This time when he stopped Alvarez didn't smile. She didn't frown, but she was sure he'd stopped because he knew something he couldn't share, or wasn't going to anyway.
"Okay, when do I get to meet her?" Grace asked deciding not to fish any further.
"Bailey is bring her in today in fact," John glanced at his watch once, twice, and tossed the ME report he'd been holding back to her.
"I better get out of here," Grant told her over his shoulder as he disappeared from her lab.
Command Center
"George Fraley, Rebecca Drake. George do you have Becca's ID ready?" Bailey asked, taking a seat at the conference table.
"Sure Bailey, it's all here the ID, credit card, even the cell phone you wanted for her." George handed Becca a pile of things from next to the computer he'd been working on.
Drake nodded to Fraley as she took the things from him, and studied him. He had a thatch of brown hair and light brown eyes. She might have called his eyes hazel if she'd liked the word. Though he was clearly the master of the computer system at headquarters, he didn't wear glasses, or have a hunch. He had a nice hand shake, and a good smile. Thinking about his smile made her search the room for John. Grant slipped into the room and smiled at her. John leaned against the wall crossing his arms over his chest, and waiting for something.
"The ID, and cell phone I understand. The credit card?" Becca asked holding the credit card out to Malone for inspection.
"Becca, you're coming in as an FBI consultant. You're taking a Bureau ID, and cell phone. The card is part of working for the Bureau. You give it back when you're done like everything else," Bailey grinned at her, John shook his head smiling, and George snorted. Drake shook her head wondering why she'd asked.
"Okay I exist once more. Where are the case files for me to look at?" Becca was sure Malone hadn't finished introducing her to all of his team.
"Grace has been going over the ME reports. She's in the lab." Grant answered before Bailey or Fraley could.
"Then show her to Grace, John. George and I have a few more things to go over here." Malone nodded to Grant. John moved to stand next to Drake. He wanted to offer Becca his hand. She wanted to take his hand. They kept their hands at their sides. John nodded his head in the direction of the lab, "It's this way, Becca."
Laboratory
Grant led; Drake followed quietly behind him. John stepped through the lab door, and Grace smiled up at him, "So where is the *beautiful* Becca?"
Alvarez didn't understand why he suddenly looked so embarrassed until the woman he'd been describing to her earlier stepped out from behind him. Grace looked at Drake. The young woman was just the way Grant had described her. John had even been right about the indistinct coloring of her eyes. They were indistinct in color, but plenty quick to see the insecurity in Grant's eyes. Becca reached out and squeezed his arm. She smiled up at him with a reassuring warmth. John's eyes filled with an answering warmth. Alvarez had to cover her own smile looking at them. There was no question that as smitten as Grant was Drake was equally taken.
"Hi? Dr. Grace Alvarez, you can call me Grace, VCTF's ME. I wish I could add to what RPIT's ME has to say. The furniture and carpets in the houses are torn up by claws, but not burned. The remains such as they are are burned pieces of the former occupants," Alvarez held out the case files to the couple in front of her. Becca let go of John's arm, and for a moment they both wore embarrassed looks. The looks only lasted for a moment. Even as Grant leaned forward to take the files from Grace, Becca slid a hand into one of his, and he squeezed it tight.
"Rebecca Drake, you can call me Becca, the preternatural expert for this case. No evidence that the bodies were burned somewhere else?" Drake nodded to Grace, and asked her question as she slipped her hand out of Grant's to look at one of the case files.
"No evidence. The case wound up in RPIT's lap because the evidence says the victims were burned alive in their own homes with no damage being done to their carpets," Alvarez answered. Becca closed the file she was looking at, and took a few more of the case files out of John's hands.
"I'm definitely going to need to see the crime scenes myself," Drake told Grant watching him find the balance of the smaller stack of files.
"Let's go see when Bailey's scheduled our flight out," Grant smiled at her. They left the lab, their hands full of the case files, but their arms rubbing. Grace shook her head smiling to herself.
Command Center
"From these files I'd say whoever passed this case to RPIT had it right," Becca told Bailey as she set her share of the case files in front of him. John followed her lead stacking his share of the files on top of hers.
"You think it's preternatural?" Bailey phrased it as a question, but he plainly didn't think it was anything else.
"It might have been done by people using magic rather than a monster, but yeah it's preternatural." Drake told him.
"We're flying out tonight meeting with RPIT tomorrow. You need to pick up anything you forgot to bring with you you should do it this afternoon," Malone said dismissing Becca.
"John your on that flight the same goes for you," Bailey gave them both dismissive waves. Grant and Drake head for the parking garage.
"So where is the good Italian in this city?" Becca smiled at John as they got in the elevator.
John's Apartment
"I'm just curious. Does Burtucci's have sit down space?" Drake asked as she decided which slice of pizza she was going to take next.
"Yes, but," Grant shrugged eating his second slice of pizza.
"But we're supposed to make sure we're ready to fly out of here tonight," Becca finished for him, picking her third slice of pizza, and tasting it. John nodded.
"Do you get issued silver ammo? I know RPIT finally is. I also know two of them had to nearly get killed before it was okayed," Drake's voice was a mix of anger and sorrow.
"The VCTF has silver ammo. I don't know if Bailey had to kill anyone to get it," Grant smiled at Becca as he finished his second slice of pizza.
"I don't think Bailey has killed anyone...recently. What do you know about vampires, werewolves, the simple monsters we'll probably have to deal with just trying to find whatever is killing people in St Louis?" Drake asked finishing her third slice of pizza.
"I know why Bailey makes sure we have silver ammo. I know not to make eye contact with a vampire...should I avoid eye contact with you?" John asked the humor fading from his face leaving it serious.
"I don't have the power to roll anything with my eyes. I can't read minds, or set things on fire just by willing them to burn. I'm a pretty straight forward monster even if I am a scarce one," Becca answered him. Grant nodded.
"How about needing a cross?" John's voice was teasing his seriousness forgotten.
"Nooo. Do you have one?" Drake challenged.
"Actually...can you keep a secret?" Grant reached inside his shirt after a fine silver chain she hadn't noticed.
"My mother gave it to me before she was killed," John told her showing her the little silver cross.
"It's beautiful. I promise I won't mention it to a soul," Becca grinned at him.
"I could ask you questions all afternoon, and I'm not sure I'd be ready to leave tonight," Grant told her looking at her with warm wonder in his eyes.
"Some things we are never ready for," Drake told him with a smile.
St Louis
Monday Feb 19, 2001Dolph stood in the yard of his third crime scene as Bailey Malone rolled up.
"So, where is your preternatural expert, Bailey?" Storr asked eyeing Becca and Grant as they got out of the car.
"Detective Sergeant Rudolph Storr, Special Agent John Grant, and my preternatural expert Rebecca Drake," Malone made the introductions. Drake held out her hand, and Storr shook it. Becca liked his handshake, and was careful to match it.
"May I have a look at your crime scene Sergeant Storr?" She asked waiting to see if he'd let her look at it alone, or insist she go over it with an audience.