Title: Commitment Issues 2
Fandom : Moonlight
Characters : Josef, Mick, Beth, Simone, OCs
Rating : PG 13
Spoilers : Ep 1-16 of Moonlight, season 1 / fanfiction 'Commitment Issues 1'
Summary : Sequel to Commitment Issues.

Disclaimer : The characters are not ours, no money is being made and no infringement is intended.

Chapter eighteen

Her heart was beating fast. Beth tried to block it out of her ears, and she pushed open the doors of the bookshop. There were a few other customers inside, browsing. In a corner, a young woman was sitting on a low chair, reading aloud. Gathered at her feet were several small children, listening breathlessly as she read about The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Beth smiled. She loved that story. Then, she focused back on her task.

Pretending to browse the 'teenage fiction' section, she focused her hearing on the voices around her, selecting what she wanted to hear like Mick had taught her.

"Should we get this for her birthday? I haven't read it but..."

"I don't like that one. How about this?"

"Come on, we have to go, we'll be late for Kindergarten-"

None of the conversations in the room interested her. Beth was startled as someone behind her suddenly cleared their throat. She spun around and looked at the man who had snuck up on her. He wore a t-shirt promoting the fight against illiteracy in third world countries. Beth could hear his heartbeat. He smelled lightly of tangerines.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"I hope so," Beth replied, keeping her voice steady. "I am looking for Tommy Thumb's Little Song Book."

The man raised an eyebrow and glanced at the section they were currently standing in.

"Well, you won't find it under teen fics," he said dryly. "Are you looking for a song in particular?"

"Yes," Beth said, unflinching. "Little Boy Blue."

She studied his reaction. Though he kept a calm exterior, she could hear his heart speeding. His eyes wandered to the counter. One of his colleagues was standing there talking to a customer.

"Excuse me," the man said, and walked to the counter. Beth followed him with her eyes, and focused to listen.

"I need to go find something in the back, can you keep an eye on the store?" the man asked, and his colleague nodded. The man came back to Beth.

"Follow me," he said simply. Beth cast a look outside over her shoulder, hoping Josef was still there in case she needed to get out, fast. In her pocket, she gripped her mobile phone, her finger poised on the speed-dial.

The man opened a door in the back of the shop, which lead to a staircase. She followed him up the stairs, and into a small room with a desk and two chairs.

"I'll be right back," the man said curtly. As he left, Beth took out her phone, quickly typed a text message and sent it to Josef.

I'm on the second floor. There's a window to the south.

The man returned, accompanied by a woman. She looked in her mid-thirties, blonde, formidable, strict. A bit like Buffy all grown-up, Beth mused idly.

"What do you know about Little Boy Blue?" the woman asked.

"I know it has two extra verses," Beth replied. "My mother taught me."

"Do we know your mother? What is your name?"

"My name is Cindy. I'm from New York. But I've heard that the organisation operates here as well. I want to help."

The woman exchanged looks with the man before looking back at Beth.

"What makes you think we need your help?" she asked bluntly.

"I don't," Beth replied. "But I know what you're after. I have...information."

She could tell by the reaction of the man that he was eager. The woman seemed sceptical.

"What kind of information?" she asked.

"There's a club, where they feed. Strictly vampires and freshies. I can give you the address."

The woman narrowed her eyes. "How come you know about it?"

Beth took a deep breath and let it out. "I used to be a freshie," she said slowly.

"My mother was in the New York Legion. After everything she told me, I guess I became... curious. I wanted to find out for myself. I came here and I met one of them. He took me there."

The man approached her. "You let them bite you?" he asked in amazement, his eyes going to her neck. Beth pulled away her collar. He gasped as he saw the marks.

"It was a mistake," Beth continued, telling the story as she had practised it with Mick. "I... shouldn't have trusted him. He tried to kill me."

"So, what? Now you want him dead?" the woman asked sarcastically. "Maybe you should have just listened to your mom."

"Yes, I should have. But I didn't. They are monstrous. They do not deserve to walk this earth." She hoped it sounded okay.

"So where is this place?" the man asked eagerly. Beth gave him the address of the club she had gone with Mick. The woman exchanged looks with him again.

"Outside," she commanded.

"I don't trust her," the woman said, standing in the hallway. The door to the room where Beth sat was closed, but thanks to the vampire blood, Beth could hear them perfectly.

"Why not? She seems honest enough," the man replied.

"Gut feeling. Something's wrong."

"What about the vampire club?"

"Have your guys check it out. If the address is valid, prepare for a raid tomorrow night. UV lights, silver shots, stakes - full equipment. Take no risks."

Beth followed the exchange from behind the door. She had heard enough. The address was valid, so there'd be a raid. As the man and the woman came back into the room, she pretended to have been playing with her phone.

"Will you give us a number where we can reach you, Cindy?" the man asked. "We'll be in contact soon."

Beth gave him the number of one of Mick's cell phones; the line he kept for cases. If traced, he had Logan set it up to rout to Beth.

"Don't try to go to the club on your own," the woman said sternly. "We'll deal with this."

Beth nodded. As she followed the man back down the stairs, she kept her ears focused on the woman staying behind. She could hear the digits of a cell phone being typed. The woman repeated the phone number she had just given into the cell phone, and told the person on the other end to trace it. Beth smiled. It had worked. As they reached the door to the shop, the man turned to face her.

"I'm sorry for what happened to you. You made the right choice coming here. Your mother will be proud," he said kindly.

"She is," Beth replied. The man was honest. She smelled no malice on him. He was truly convinced that he was on the right side. Was she?

Beth left the store and looked over her shoulder. The man from the shop was immersed in conversation with a customer. No one was watching her. She took out her phone.

"I'm out," she told Josef.