Scarlet Queen Ch. 04-05

Chapter Four

Ellie was sipping her morning cup of English Breakfast Tea, and snacking on a glazed raisin scone. She had already been ribbed once by Detective Winston over the matter, but she didn't care. A scone and cup of tea was the best way to start what she knew was going to be a long ridiculous day.

She sat in front of the components of the bomb, studying them from every angle. Ellie unfortunately had a lot of experience with bombs; she had worked for Scotland Yard, during the height of the bombings in London in the seventies. Judging by the components, it was an uncomplicated build, and notably an amateur creation.

If Ellie had to hazard a guess, she would say that it had been originally a plastic explosive, and had been wired to detonate from the vehicle clock.

Ellie looked up at Detective Winston, "It's not a complex build, guy was a real amateur. The components aren't hard to come by though, unfortunately. There is one the bright side here, it does tell me quite a bit about the bomber."

"Go on," Detective Winston prompted intrigued by her remarks.

Ellie swallowed a piece of scone and spoke, "The bomber is a loner, this isn't a group cause bombing. Generally speaking, someone will claim responsibility quite quickly, or they have a bomb signature. This bomb was also improperly wired too, that means that the criminal didn't really think this through. He was probably just lashing out in anger. This leads me to think that this might be a crime of passion."

"Whoa there, you got all that from these scraps? How could you tell that it was improperly wired too?"

Ellie put down her scone on the wrapper, and put on a pair of gloves, before picking up the detonator to show Detective Winston.

"The green wire and blue wire are crossed, see?" She said pointing out the crossed wires.

"Holy crap, you're right. You got anything else?"

"I don't think the bomb was planted at the studio. To wire a vehicle, even incorrectly, it would take quite a bit of time. I checked the security logs that you had for the parking garages; nothing suspicious was ever reported. I need to speak with Rain, and see where he had the vehicle serviced last, or where it was stored."

"I could ask him for you if you like, though I doubt he'd know, because the vehicle was registered to the record company."

Ellie looked up at Detective Winston in confusion, "Hold on, did you just say that the car was the record company's not Rain's?"

"Yeah, I spoke with a rep at the record company, apparently Rain was given the vehicle that night. He was supposed to use it for a promo party the next day."

"It was for a promo party?" Ellie asked trying to make sense of what the detective was saying.

"Yeah, it's the newest thing for product placement, celebrities are contracted to drive certain cars, or brand certain things, it's like a living billboard."

"So who contracted Rain and was this car ever used before?"

"That I don't know, though the company rep Melissa Smith would. Hold on, I have her number."

Detective Winston looked through his phone until he found the number, then he dialled it and waited.

"Hi, Ms. Smith? It's Detective Winston of the NYPD, I have more questions for you. Would you be able to answer them today? ... Later? Hold on I've got a meeting then, but I have an idea, I have colleague here who could meet you at the event," Detective Winston looked over to Ellie who nodded in agreement.

"...Right thanks, I'll tell her where it is. She goes by the name Ellie. Good bye."

"She's at the 'Party in the Park,' It's a huge urban promo concert. You're going to need other clothes, though, those business clothes will definitely stick out. Here's the address to it."

Ellie thank him, and left the precinct heading directly to the nearest small urban clothing shop. She grabbed a purple hoodie with NY stitched across the front, a pair of black skin tight leggings and high-top white running shoes. She paid for the items and changed in the bathroom.

Ellie stuck her things into her backpack and took off to meet the company rep.

Later...

Ellie mingled into the crowd, trying to look like an average person. When she came across the first promoter, she asked for Melissa Smith. The guy pointed Melissa out to Ellie, and she walked towards the tall woman with a clipboard.

"Melissa Smith?" Ellie asked.

Melissa frowned at Ellie not recognizing her, "Do I know you?"

"No, but you know of my colleague, Detective Winston. Is there somewhere where we can talk?"

The other woman nodded and she led Ellie over to an empty booth.

"So you're a detective, too?"

"Yes, that's right," Ellie said using the 'voice' so not to draw unwanted questions about where her credentials were.

"Oh, okay then how can I help you?"

"I wanted to know about the vehicle, when was it contracted to Mr. De Guerre?" Ellie asked.

"Um, about mid afternoon on the day of the explosion, it was a last minute switch."

"Really? Who was supposed to be driving the car?" Ellie asked very intrigued by the new turn of events.

Melissa Smith pulled out her PDA and scrolled through her calendar, "Ah let's see,... oh here it is! Jinx was supposed to drive it, but he couldn't make the promo event. He had a lucrative photo shoot in the morning, so we asked Rain who agreed provided he could have it for the week. He was thinking about buying the same model, apparently."

"Jinx, who is Jinx?" Ellie asked

Melissa frowned at Ellie, "Surely you've heard of him, Jinx is the hottest rising star, he's had two number one singles over the last year. He's quite popular with the starlets too, he's been linked to: Hanna, Emily, Anna, Linzi..."

"Hold on, you said Linzi, as in Linzi Arbinell?"

"Yes, they were quite an item before the whole cult kidnapping incident. Apparently, since her return, Linzi broke up with him and went into hiding because of what happened. She doesn't want to have anything to do with fame. Kind of a shame, she's really talented and, God knows, the public loves a 'survivor' story."

Ellie chose to ignore the last part as she felt the odd sensation of missing something that was glaring her in the face. Maybe she was still missing too many puzzle pieces but she had a feeling that Jinx was the key.

"Where's Mr. Jinx now?" Ellie asked.

"He's going to be on stage shortly he's on in two acts."

"Do you have a backstage pass for crew or something that I can use? I really need to speak with him." Ellie said, again using the 'voice' to get what she wanted.

She hated using that power so often, but she had a feeling of dread building up in her stomach. Something was going to happen here, Ellie just didn't know what it was yet.

Melissa handed an all access pass to Ellie, who tossed it around her neck and took off into the crowd. She wove quickly through the crowd, eventually making her way up a small flight of stairs that lead to the back of the stage. Ellie hid near the side of stage, staying in the shadows as much as possible and watching the crowd. Something sinister was in the works and she didn't have to be a dhampir, nor a detective, to realize it.

It was kind of terrible to say, but it was the perfect place for a crime to happen. There were pyrotechnics, loud music, and crowds of people who were all intent on enjoying themselves and not paying attention to one another. Not to mention that, when something did happen, there would be utter pandemonium. No one would notice the culprit; it would take days if not weeks to piece all the events together.

Ellie shook her head at her thoughts. She really needed to go on a vacation soon, somewhere completely quiet, because now she was starting to see evil intent everywhere. She blamed Rain and Dante, as they had thrown her off her 'A' game, because whatever they were plotting for her loomed in the back of her mind.

Ellie half listen to the announcer introduce Jinx. She looked over to see a man with dark green spiked hair walk on stage and start singing. Ellie went on high alert, ready for something to happen.

She was distracted by a thump, thump, thump noise that sounded like the bass, but something was off with the rhythm. Though it could have been the way the song was meant to be Ellie wasn't sure. She'd never heard the song before, but it didn't sound right.

The thumping continued to stand out against the song, but the singer didn't show any signs of something being wrong. Ellie focused in on him and noticed that he had something in his ear. Using her supernatural powers, she listened in to it, only to realize that he was listening to the song through an ear piece. He couldn't hear the thumping that she could, in fact all the musicians had ear pieces in. Ellie reached out with her powers and shorted the device, to see if Jinx noticed it.

Just as she suspected, Jinx stopped and stood still mid-performance, though he continued to sing/ He frowned and then he looked back at the bass. Focusing on the noise, Ellie listened to the pattern once more; she realized that the sound was coming from both up above and below.

Then it all became clear - it was a signal that the stage was collapsing.

"Shit, Everyone off the stage now!" She shouted issuing a mental compulsion to everyone to run away.

She ran for Jinx, who had frozen up on stage and had disregarded her command. She fly-tackled him to the ground and rolled with him, just as one of the centre beams fell through the middle of the stage. A large piece of metal debris pierced her arm and some smaller pieces ripped across her back. Though in pain, she used her powers to form a barrier against more debris and protect Jinx underneath her. Feeling the drain from using too much, compounded by the combination of the approaching new moon and her injuries, she didn't have the strength to hold the shield. Instead, she formed a physical barrier, using some of the heavier pieces to form a cocoon to protect them.

The collapse stopped, and Ellie was exhausted. She could hear the screams of the people around them, and, realizing that she probably only had a few moments before someone unearthed them, she spoke quickly.

"Someone is going to great lengths to try to kill you Mr. Jinx. Don't bother to deny it, this was obviously no accident, though it's in everyone's best interest to think so. This is attempt number two that I count. The first was the incident with Rain de Guerre, because you were meant to drive that vehicle, not him, and now this has happened. Care to enlighten me on anything I should know, so I can help keep you alive?"

"It's gotta be some psycho from the cult that took Linzi. When Linzi came back she told me that some guy was going to kill me like he had with her other boyfriends. Apparently, this madman confessed to her, but she couldn't remember what he looked like. The cult had drugged her pretty good. He said he'd come for her, and she was real spooked. Linzi told me to distance myself from her as much as possible, to save myself. I was worried about her, but nothing noticeable happened until three days after she disappeared. I started getting messages, though they didn't start off threatening, more like inquires as to her whereabouts, which I chalked up to sympathy, you know? Anyway, they got much worse, then accidents started happening. I became paranoid, but I didn't want to involve anyone, because I kept seeing Linzi's face. I knew that, if I went to the police, they'd find her and then whoever this sicko was, he'd go after her again," Jinx blurted out.

"You did the right thing by telling me, I'm going to find the rat bastard, and I'll keep both of you safe. Now, how good is your memory?"

"Pretty good, I only have the ear piece so I don't hear the crowd, it's pretty distracting."

"I want you to remember this number, and make sure no one finds this phone, I want you to call this number and listen to the person on the other end of the line, he knows what he's doing in situations like this - plus I trust him with my own life." Ellie said, then whispered the number into his ear.

Jinx nodded slowly and pocketed the phone. Ellie knew that he'd hold onto that number like a lifeline.

Ellie moved off Jinx and ducked into a small void in the debris, where there was a hole big enough for her to get out. It was safer for Jinx not to be found with her, because the culprit wouldn't be aware that she was on the case and would assume that the authorities would write this off as an accident.

"Hey, before you go, answer me this, you're Linzi's 'Detective' aren't you? You're the one who saved her from the cult. You know, you really do sound like an angel."

Ellie smiled in the dark, knowing he couldn't see her, "I'm no angel."

With that she ducked fully into the hole, and pulled out the piece of shrapnel that had lodged in her arm out then she made it through the twisted metal to a small opening. Ducking out, she grabbed a new hoodie from the back of a promo golf cart, and ripped off her old one. Ellie chucked it a nearby blaze that was probably started by the ensuing chaos.

Ellie ran right into the gigantic crowd of people, trying to get away from the venue. Then she did what she did best; Ellie simply vanished anonymously.

* * *

Rain and Dante were sleeping peacefully when Silver burst into their room. Both instantly woke up and looked over at the intruder.

"Get up, something big has happened to another celebrity and I have a feeling that you need to see this."

Rain and Dante looked at each before getting up, summoning clothes to them in case they needed to go out into public.

They followed Silver down to where the television had been paused. All three sat down on the couch as Silver unpaused the news report.

"...Breaking news, a stage collapsed at an outdoor promo event. Rising star, Jinx was on stage at the moment of collapse. Seven people are in critical condition, Jinx is missing, and presumed to be ... Wait! We're getting news, Jinx has been found alive..." The camera panned off to show Jinx being pulled out of the rubble, looking shaken but relatively unharmed.

The three of them continued to watch the coverage until Rain's cell phone rang.

Picking it up, Rain glanced at the caller ID, and then answered, "Hello, Detective Winston, any news?"

"No, none, but Detective Ellie had a lead, she's gone to meet Melissa Smith to follow it up at the 'Party at the Park' festival."

Rain had shiver of fear run up his spine, "The festival on the news?"

"On the news? What are you talking about?"

"A stage just collapsed at the 'Party at the Park', didn't you hear about it?"

"Damn, I hope she's okay," Detective Winston muttered.

Rain murmured agreement, and bid Detective Winston farewell.

"Silver, I need a favour? Can you check to see if there's footage on Youtube of the collapse, someone's got to have posted something about it."

Dante frowned at Rain; it wasn't like him to be morbid enough to watch a video of an incident where someone might have died.

Silver didn't question Rain, he grabbed a laptop that was on a nearby table and immediately started searching. After about a minute or two, he found one was posted.

"Here, got one," Silver said.

Rain sat down in front of the computer and watched the grainy cell phone footage .

"Shit! Everyone off the stage now!" A familiar female voice rang clear as people started to clamour away from the collapsing stage.

At the tail end of the clip a small blurry figure in a hoodie ran and tackled Jinx, just as a the main steel beam collapsed and the clip ended.

"Shit! Ellie really was there!" Rain swore.

"What the hell do you think happened?" Silver asked.

"I've got a bad feeling that I don't really want to know. Come on Rain, we've got to search for Ellie, something tells me she's in trouble and I have a feeling that she's going to disappear." Dante stated.

Chapter Five

It was official, Ellie was temporarily human much earlier than she should have been. Given the amount of power she used to protect Jinx when the stage collapsed, it wasn't really surprising.

Normally, Ellie liked being human, though she forgot how much it hurt when she got injured. Especially when this wasn't likely to heal until she became Dhampir again. This was worse than normal because the wounds throbbed horribly, and she had a feeling that an infection was starting to set in.

After leaving the festival, Ellie had quickly bought some essential items before checking into a cheap motel. Wandering into the bathroom with her purchases, she lined them up on the counter. Stripping naked, she took stock of her injuries.

The worst one, by far, was where the metal had pierced her arm and, coincidentally, her side as well. It was wicked looking, she could see that there was still shrapnel inside, and she knew that it was probably too deep for her remove herself. Eyeing her sweaty brow and sallow skin, Ellie knew she needed medical attention ASAP. Unfortunately, she couldn't go to just any doctor. She needed a specialist, she needed Ellington's brother, Gabriel, who was a world famous Harley Street doctor in London and who secretly specialized in treating dhampirs.

Picking up the phone, Ellie dialled Ellington's number and waited until he picked up.

"Ellington? It's Ellie, password is Griffin," Ellie said uttering Wednesday's password.

"Lady Prescott, what's wrong you don't sound like yourself."

"You're right friend I'm not, and I need a pick-up. Also, I need to ask you for another favour."

"Anything, you needn't ask."

"I need you to go to ground for a week or so and protect someone for me. He's going to call you tonight, his name is Jinx."

"I will protect him with my life." Ellington swore.

Though Raphael Ellington was a CEO of a gigantic company, he had also joined the army and done a couple of years in the special services. He still took missions now and again, when Queen and Country needed him.

"I've got a private plane on standby at LaGuardia for you, I'll send a security detail to pick you up and I'm on my way to New York, right now. Never fear, Lady Prescott, everything is in hand."

"Thanks Rafe," Ellie said tiredly.

"Ellie, are really ok?" Ellington asked worriedly, Ellie hadn't called him Rafe since he was a child.

"I'll live for now, but it's probably for the best if I see your brother soon."

"I will ask him to be ready for you at Heathrow."

Ellie thanked him and rattled off the address of the hotel. Ellie knew she probably had ten minutes before they arrived, so she had a really quick shower to clean off the dirt that could infect the wounds and doused them in rubbing alcohol.

Ellie shook as the agonizing burn ripped through her, but, once the burn subsided, she bandaged it as best that she could and got dressed. Just as soon as she was dressed and had bagged all of her personal effects to erase her presence, someone knocked on the door. Peering through the peephole, she saw two men dressed in suits, looking like bodyguards, but then one could never tell for sure.

"Password?" Ellie called, getting ready to run to the other exit, if they were there to kill her.

"Excalibur," one of the men calmly answered.

"Good," Ellie said when the 'pick up' password was uttered and she opened the door.

"Lady Prescott, please come with us," the man on the left said.

The man on the right took the garbage bag from Ellie and they escorted her to a waiting bulletproof limo. Ellie would normally hate riding in a limo because of all the attention it would bring, but, then, given her current state of weakness, she liked the extra safety precaution that bulletproof glass provided.