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Henry nodded and replaced thethe other man "Thank you"

As he ers-not noticeably weighed down by heavy silver rings-around Tony&039;s arht Henry back, eyes narrowed under lowered brows, but Tony waved hier

Tait released his hold and propped one thigh on a plywood table Together they waited until Henry began speaking to a table of teenaged girls "You okay?"

"Me?"

"Yeah You That guy you&039;re with, I know his type We call them predators down here" He raised a cal?loused hand as Tony opened his ood to you, but he&039;s obviously the one with the power"

"It&039;s okay" Tony fought a near hysterical desire to laugh It had been a long night, and it wasn&039;t even half over "Really He&039;s not that kind of a predator"

"You&039;re sure?"

His right thumb rubbed the tiny scar on his left wrist "I&039;m sure"

No one in the Center knew any h Henry was certain three of the people they spoke to were lying

"Half of theht know them to see them," Tony explained as they left, "but not know na else You stick with your own crohen you&039;re on the street, and you don&039;t even open up to them It&039;s safer that way Nohat do we do?"

"I could wait for the liars to leave, ask theuys standing by the car "

There were three of them Tony heard Joe Tait&039;s voice say, "We call the, he would have been afraid As it was, they wereas they thought they were-at least not in coot a vampire by my side," he murmured, "and I&039;m not afraid to use him"

Henry smiled and lifted a speculative brow "Shall we see what they want?"

"I should think that&039;s obvious," Tony sighed, falling into step

The largest of the three heaved his butt off the BMW&039;s hood and hooked his thu the complex pattern of blue tat?toos that covered both bare arms "We hear you bin askin&039; sohed silently, recognizing Henry&039;s dealing-with-idiots voice Provoke theed triuht have some answers"

"Really?"

"The two you&039;re lookin&039; for Nao through me"

"Work for you?"

"Yeah Forplain

Hands clenched, Tony conquered the urge to step behind Henry, to use him as a shield I ae He could sence of Tony&039;s fear and knew the source It made it difficult to ant civility he&039;d been using "Do you knohere they are?"

"Sure We can take you to them For a price"

"We pay e see theed "Suit yourself"

Tony&039;s attempt to match Henry&039;s nonchalance as the five of thee of as about to happen

A dumpster, just barely narrower than the alley, made it effectively a dead end

Mouth dry, Tony tucked hihtly on the shoulder and turned around "Unless they&039;re in the duhtened his grip Bones crushed

The tattooedin the filth at his feet "You fucking shit!" He flicked free a knife and flung hi companion did the sahter in the warehouse, he had no need to feed, but he loosed the Hunger anyway, driving it forith rage fu?eled by Tony&039;s fear These men fed off the youth of the children they exploited They were the filthiest kind of parasite, and they were about to get off far too lightly for what they did They were only going to die

A moment later, he squatted by the first rabbed his jaw, forcing hi faded to a whimper "Your friends are dead," Henry told hirew ranker as the injured o

"Where is Kenny?"

"Sa Doug&039;s gone"

"Gone where?"

"Don&039;t know Soave him money Lots of money Thousands" The words spilled out in a pan?icked rush, as though they could buy rede told hiuy who&039;ll buy you off the street Give you another chance Talk says you gotta be special"

"Do the police know this?"

"Who the fuck talks to the police?"

Henry had to acknowledge that, considering the source, it was a valid point "Is that all you know?"

"Yeah That&039;s all" He couldn&039;t move his head, so he rocked his body back and forth, tears spilling down both filthy cheeks "I don&039;t wantI don&039;t want to die!"

Henry&039;s hand moved from jaw to throat

"Henry" Tony stuht, and gently touched the rigid line of Henry&039;s shoulder, adapting the co moment before "Don&039;t Please"

"If you&039;re sure"

"I a forward until the darkness sed the other man&039;s will, Henry said softly, "Do not reht Re?htened his legs, fitting the ht?"

"Me? I wasn&039;t in the fight" Brushing past, Tony hurried for the gray rectangle of light at the end of the alley, unable to be anything but glad the pi "Come on, before they strip the car"

Careful not to touch the pitted metal, Henry heaved both bodies into the dumpster Aware of the dichot?omy in Tony&039;s voice, Henry kept his own carefully neutral "Hopefully, the scavengers are waiting to see if these three return to claiot the im?pression they weren&039;t nice people"

"No shit"

The ied onto the street "What they don&039;t see they don&039;t have to lie to the cops about," Tony explained as they ran for the car

The BMW was fine, although a stray cat had sprayed both curbside tires

"Do you think anyone&039;sthe engine and all but popping the clutch as he pulled out of the parking space

"Yeah Sure They all carry around pocketbook computers to jot their observations down in Get real, Henry, most of these people can&039;t focus on the car let alone the license plate" He"You know, &039;this is your brain on drugs&039;?" When Henry didn&039;t answer, he sighed deeply and closed his eyes "Looking at the bright side, Doug&039;s not just the second guy to disappear, but you&039;ve only got two of the ghosts"

"Why would anyone sell the what they&039;re selling theer for twenty bucks For a thou?sand, who&039;s going to ask questions?" Wiping his palms on his jeans, Tony opened his eyes "Where to now?"

Pulling up at an intersection, Henry shrugged "I don&039;t" His head swiveled toward the open

"What?"

"That scent "

"You mean stink"

"No Iroo A line of light, barely visible around the peri late in the back A fairly sophisticated alarm system con-vinced her not to atteot to be another entrance," sheto the shadows, she turned down Columbia and then into the alley that bisected the block Two people were sleeping in the first du a meal out of the second She dropped down off her perch as Vicki approached, clutching a greasy box of beef fried rice in one hand and length of pipe in the other

"Das-Vicki could&039;ve smelled either, even over the combined stink of the alley and its occupants-so she was probably one of the thousands of psychiatric patients cutbacks had put on the street

"I&039;ht the pipe, a little surprised by the force of the blow, and stuffed two tens under the old wouiltto solve the probleinally

The old woman sniffed at the oin&039; with ya," she said "Not even if you bring the big guy"

"The big guy?"

"The one what usually offers theGot cow eyes like shit wouldn&039;t melt in his mouth, makes ya wanna trust him, but he&039;s ht turn, and the"Watch out for that big guy, you" All of a sudden, she squatted at the base of the wall, tucked the pipe under one aran to eat "Damn kids," she added

Vicki ht squeeze even for the tiny import that filled it, and a back door lare froht, Vicki noted the pattern of dents Boot h someone had un?successfully taken a crowbar to the area by the lock A s the bell

Vicki assumed that the Chinese characters below it saidinside the build?ing, sensed the life drawing closer

"Yes? Can I help you?"

It was a woman&039;s voice and not a very old worille "My naator and I&039; for Michael Celluci"

"Michael Celluci?" The surprise in her voice didn&039;t seeain

"Yes I have reason to believe he came to see you today He&039;she&039;s in trouble"

"Just a minute, please"

Okay, Vicki, if this woman&039;s a part of the kidney scaht

The door creaked open

But at least I&039;ve gotten inside

Bolts slaure in a loose sht at the end of the short hall

"I&039;m Dr Seto I run this clinic Please, come into the office"

By the tiht "Oh, my God "

Dr Seto frowned, lifted her hand off the back of an old wooden desk chair and pushed a silken strand of ebony hair back behind one ear "I beg your pardon?"

Unaware she&039;d spoken aloud until the doctor had reacted, Vicki er blush If you&039;re one of the bad guys, Celluci&039;s in big trouble The stupid ox is a pushover for short, beautiful wo"

The doctor sighed, nostrils pinched together, used to and irritated by the reaction her looks evoked "Detective-Sergeant Celluci didn&039;t ator Perhaps you should show me some identification"

"You should&039;ve checked it before you letinto a side pocket on her shoulderbag

"I would have if you&039;d been a "

"Man?" Vicki finished, handing over the folded plastic case

"Yes" Obviously annoyed with herself, Dr Seto glanced at the ID and passed it back Noe&039;re even, her expression said as clearly as if she&039;d said it out loud Let&039;s get on with it "I assuainst the edge of the desk and folded her arrabbed one ofto walk off with a box of condoot busy and he left"

You had lunch together? "You don&039;t knohere he went?"

"No"

You had lunch together! "Are you sure?"

"I didn&039;t actually see him leave I had patients co deal The man has to eat Vicki stared at a poster of an ulcerated sto that if she looked at the doctor she&039;d rip the answers from her by force "You don&039;t happen to remember what you and the detective dis?cussed over lunch, do you?"

"Nothing much Mostly we ed to keep sation in his life Or for as long as she&039;d known him, which was all of his life thatToronto and Vancouver" The extended silence hadon a case; I as?sumed he was on vacation"

"Technically, he is He&039;s just helpingtione on between them, the tone of that question made it clear that Dr Seto was not responsible for Celluci&039;s disappearance If she was going to knock him out and toss him in the cellar, it wouldn&039;t be because she wanted his kidneys Vicki turned around-she couldn&039;t help herself-caught and held the doctor&039;s gaze "Yes A very long time"

Dr Seto blinked, swayed, and put a hand on the desk to steady herself For ainto silvered darkness, buf?feted about by waves of raw energy barely under control I&039;ve got to get more sleep "I&039;htening "I just don&039;t knohere he went after he left the clinic"

Logically, he&039;d have gone to the other clinics- but which ones in which order? The trail was hours cold Vicki shoved aside a nued in the depths of her purse for one of Henry&039;s cards "Thanks for your ti else, could you call the cell phone nu else to remember, Ms Nelson"

"If, Doctor"

"Very well If"

"I thought Victory aiting back at the condo for Celluci to call"

"Maybe he called"

Tony snorted "Maybe she got tired of waiting"

"I wouldn&039;t doubt it" Head cocked toward the , Henry sifted through the lingering scents of the Eastside and the equally pungent although infinitelynot to react to the certain knowledge that another stalked his territory "It&039;s strongest here" Teeth clenched, he eased the car over the curb

Tony stared past his Clinic "You think she went there?"

"I think that&039;s her at the corner"

Even squinting, Tony couldout of the car?"

Henry sh she&039;d known that the only way Celluci would still be at the East Hastings Clinic was as a prisoner, Vicki found herself infuriated by his absence A prisoner she could&039;ve freed! "When I catch up to hi to stuff the nearest pay phone up his "

She whirled to face the breeze, hands out froht forward on the balls of her feet

"Did he call?"

"No"

Henry nodded slowly It was, after all, the answer he&039;d expected "You got tired of waiting"

"I found notes he&039;d left that indicated he ht be here, at this clinic"

"And was he?"

"No" She spat the word out onto the street be?tween the from Celluci to Henry, just because he was there In anotherfor his throat; she could feel herself tensing, preparing for the attack

He braced himself, control made easier because the one who , Vicki"

"You think I don&039;t know that?" she snarled "And you have no idea how ry with you without atte to kill you" A raised hand cut off his reply She stoodthe hter to re-evoke calm To her surprise, it worked Mostly "So," she stepped forward, heading for the car, "any luck finding Tony&039;s witness?"

"In a " Henry fell into step beside her, a prudent ar We had a little chat with his pimp"

"Who you killed" It wasn&039;t a question; she could hear death in his voice The part of her that still re?membered the person she&039;d been wondered where such casual justice had been all the years she&039;d tried to get that kind of scu romance novels Never ?"

"Only that so lots of money for spe?cial people"

"Special as in the same blood type as the buyer of the kidney?"

"Perhaps But hoould they find out?"

Vicki waited until a truck roared past, then nodded toward the clinic "Access records"

"What? Through Hackers for Hire?"

"If you can buy a kidney, Henry, you can certainly afford to buy so ability" She told him about her conversation with the old woht some muscle with mean cow eyes"

"Bull"

"Bull?" Her tone advised a quick explanation

"It was a joke, Vicki A man would have bull eyes"

"I think I liked it better ere trying to kill each other What now?"

Henry stopped by the car, his hand on the driver&039;s door "We go back to the apartment and see if Celluci&039;s returned"

"He hasn&039;t" Ducking her head, she nodded a greeting at Tony "If he got back and none of us were around, he&039;d call on the cell phone"

Which rang

"Speak of the devil," Henry h the open

Tonyas he handed over the shrilly chirping piece of plastic If it&039;s Celluci, be polite

Brows raised in an exaggerated, Who me? Henry flipped open the mouthpiece "Fitzroy"

"This is Dr Eve Seto, fro with a Ms Nelson a few ave , he offered the phone to Vicki "It&039;s for you" His smile faded when he discovered it was alo, to hand over to another a possession of his Snarling, he shoved it back into the car "Tony, give her the phone"

Resisting the urge to crush soly by another predator under her heel, Vicki raised it to her face "Hello?"

"Ms Nelson?"

"I ran into Mr Fitzroy by accident, Doctor," Vicki answered the unspoken question "He was driving by as I caested it was an accident she didn&039;t quite believe in "It&039;s just that I re that happened after lunch It was a ht want to know"

"After lunch?"

The two ainst lunch?" Tony whispered

Henry shrugged He could hear six separate heart?beats pounding up out of the basement apartment across fro

"Yes On our way back to the clinic,Patricia Chou outside the Cultural Center and "

"The cable television reporter"

"That&039;s right The detective mentioned that he&039;d seen her intervieith Ronald Swanson and "

"Ronald Swanson, the real estate guy?"

"He&039;s more than just real estate, Ms Nelson" Her tone was sharp, possibly in defense of Ronald Swanson, more probably in response to the interruptions "He&039;s donated money to a thousand causes all over the city He donated our computer system here at the clinic and was pretty much one hundred percent re?sponsible for Project Hope"

"Which is?"

"It&039;s a hospice on the edge of North Vancouver where transplant patients wait for kidneys to become available It&039;s sort of a shrine to his dead wife A lovely place, quiet, tranquil"

"Dead wife?"

"Yes, she died of renal failure before they found a donor for her"

Vicki blinked, a little overwhelmed "Did you tell this to Celluci?"

"No, but we did discuss kidney transplants although only in light ofthem"

"Do you perform transplants, Doctor?"

"This is a street-front clinic, Ms Nelson, what do you think?" She continued before Vicki could tell her "Funny thing, though, the detective asked me that as well I ation have to do with the handless body they found in the harbor, the onethe kidney?"

"I&039;m not at liberty to discuss that"

"Very well But I&039; Ronald Swanson, you&039;re dead wrong Thehis money away Around this area, he&039;s practically considered a saint"

"Not many saints make millions in real estate," Vicki noted dryly

"I have no intention of arguing with you about this, Ms Nelson I only thought that if you were looking for Detective Celluci, you ht want to speak with the people at Project Hope"

"If I recall correctly, Doctor, you said earlier that you didn&039;t tell him about the clinic"

"He&039;s a detective, Ms Nelson" Her tone suggested he was the only detective involved "In this city, Mr Swanson and kidney transplants together will lead you right to Project Hope"

Teeth showing, Vicki thanked the doctor for calling, hung up, and filled the others in on the conversation "So who&039;s going with me to take a look at Project Hope"

Henry shook his head "It&039;s tooso neatly into place I think you&039;re ju a hypothesis" Her eyes silvered briefly "Which I intend to test by going out to Project Hope and finding out just how long these people are actually waiting for those kidneys And if I recognize anything in the fridge, I&039; to tear the place apart"

"Go out to Project Hope? All of us?" Tony&039;s gaze flicked froain "In one car? Is that safe?"

"Good question," Henry allowed "Vicki?"

"We&039;ll be fine, she snapped i Mike, and there&039;s the possibility of mayhem at the end of the trip"

"Oh" Tony closed his eyes for aas ht, he murmured, "I don&039;t actually think I&039;ot out of the car, turning to stare across the roof at Henry "I&039;ll, uh, go back to the condo, and if he checks in, I&039;ll call you"

They stayed that way for a long moment "If you&039;re sure," Henry said at last

"Yeah I&039;ht back and forth, from one foot to the other "I&039;m sorry, Victory I just can&039;t"

She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly When she spoke, her voice was as gentle as Henry&039;d heard it since the change "I understand And there&039;s no reason you should risk your safety because we can&039;t act like civilized people" Rounding the car between one heartbeat and the next, she cupped Tony&039;s face in her hands "Will you be okay if we leave you here? Should we take you hohtly touched the backs of her wrists and her hands fell away "You have to get to Detective Celluci"

"I won&039;t trade you for him"

His eyes filled with tears as he realized sheonly that he was ht, he scrubbed theet a cab by one of the restaurants in Chinatown"

"Do you have enough , he backed to the far edge of the sidewalk "Would you guys just get going!"

They left the s open and kept their faces in the breeze It was enough But only just

"Do you think he&039;s there?" Henry asked as they sped around an erratic, albeit fast-e

"I knoent there I kno he thinks There aren&039;t any coincidences in police work; once Ronald Swanson turned into a recurring character in this little drama, Mike&039;d check him out He&039;d find out about Project Hope, and then he&039;d check it out"

"Do you think he&039;s in trouble?"

When she considered the possibility, she felt as though so her exposed skin with a wire brush

"I&039;m certain of it"