Author's notes: Plot time! Ashton is very creepy. Little does he know what's coming next chapter....
Masterlist - Part 16
Content: Vampire whumpee, human whumper, struggle involving a gun, ransom call, referenced torture, mouth whump
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Muir truly felt hedged in on every side now. Granger sat on his left, Orville on his right, and across the table from him sat the grinning pig who had been sent by Ashton to keep an eye on him.
Muir avoided his laughing gaze, trying to ignore Granger who was also attempting to catch his. He had to think of something. His eyes drifted to the Chief who was talking with one of the other detectives, getting every last bit of information collected and ready for the meeting they were about to have. It had been two days now, and he had yet to find a way to speak with the Chief. He did not want to be alone with her as that would surely have dire consequences for Joseph, but he needed to get some kind of message across. Something, anything, to let her know there was a rat in the hen house.
He licked his dry lips, turning his attention away from the Chief to take another sip of water. He huffed, annoyed as it did nothing to quench his thirst. Joseph had not been fed, and Muir's increased attentions on the bond meant he could feel more and more through it. That also meant that more and more was getting through and affecting his own quality of life. He knew it was stupid to keep pushing it, that vampires had lost their minds when they had pushed the bonds too far and began living in multiple places at once, but that sort of mental break took months to develop. Muir was just getting a little thirsty because Joseph was very thirsty, and that was all. He was fine. Joseph would be rescued before there could be any serious consequences for their bond.
Muir rubbed his throat as the phantom sensation of a collar brushed against the sides of his neck, rattling gently with the sensation of Joseph's pulse and he amended that maybe he should consider backing off a little just to be careful.
Chief Staton cleared her throat and the conversations between the officers and detectives quieted down.
"Thank you," she said, glancing down at the paper in front of her. She leaned forward, hands steepled. She looked very severe today with her red and grey hair pulled back tight across her head and wearing one of her more serious suits. "Now, we have tried to get in contact with Ashton and his gang. Ashton has made it clear he wants only for us to stay out of the way and Joseph will not be harmed. We have been working on a plan and we have received a warrant for the warehouse we believe Ashton is working out of. Based on the times detective Muir has sensed Mr. Blackham being tortured, paired with the evidence that has been sent to us through detective Muir's phone and the men we have sent to watch Ashton's movements, we have been able to place him at that warehouse during the times Mr. Blackham has been hurt."
A warrant was good. Muir relaxed, and he couldn't help but send a self satisfied look at Harrell, who looked rather like he had bit into something rotten.
Not much time left for you here, I'm afraid, Muir thought smugly.
"We will move in this afternoon. Typically we would have negotiators working this through and see what can be done without violence, but since we have been unable to hold contact with Ashton, it will be better for us to move in quickly and decisively," Chief Staton said. She stood up and flipped a white board where the warehouse and surrounding buildings were pinned on the board.
She started to explain the route they would be taking, whose teams would be where, and who would move first. Muir's attention had drifted from her back to Harrell who was looking down at his lap intently, likely at his phone.
What are you doing? Muir thought, getting nervous now. He had to be reporting everything back to his boss, of course. Joseph would be out of that warehouse soon, but not if Ashton knew what to expect.
Muir lashed out under the table and Harrell gasped at the sharp pain in his shin, dropping his phone. Muir dove under the table at the same time as Harrell, a shout going up from the people they disturbed.
Muir had the advantage, being a vampire, but Harrell still had a gun, and while he was grabbing for his phone with his one hand, his gun was out and ready in the other.
"GUN!" Muir shouted right as he grabbed Harrell's wrist, pointing the weapon up and away from his face, a shot going up through the table.
Muir held Harrell's wrist tightly, going for the phone again, but quickly had to abort from that as Harrell moved to switch the gun to his free hand.
Muir slammed his fist into Harrell's face, knocking Harrell back into his chair and out from under the table where people were able to grab him and someone got control of his weapon.
Muir grabbed Harrell's phone and got out from under the table, looking down at the open screen to see what Harrell had sent.
The messages were to someone named 'Cigar King' and while the text made perfect sense, there were double meanings behind every word. Thankfully, he'd only sent one message, his second one still sitting in the draft bar.
You should really talk to her about your new toy. She's getting ready to leave.
The second, unsent message was a mess of words he couldn't sort out that must have had something to do with the plan the Chief had been outlining.
"MUIR!"
Muir looked over at the police chief and held out the phone to her. "He's been working for Ashton, Ma'am. He threatened me the other day, and I wasn't able to say anything at the time for fear of what would happen to Joseph."
Chief Staton nodded, taking the phone and looking over the messages nearest to the bottom. Her eyes narrowing before she turned her attention to Harrell. "You wouldn't happen to have been the one to mess with the security footage in the interrogation room, were you?"
Harrell kept his face blank and said, "Ma'am, he is clearly out of his mind with worry and grief. I may have deleted some footage, but that was to protect him. He tried to attack me in the interrogation room when I went in to check on him-" Muir barked out a laugh- "And just now he kicked me, causing me to drop my phone and when I went for it, he attacked me under the table."
Chief Staton raised her eyebrow. "And the gun?"
"He's a vampire," Harrell replied with an easy shrug. "I'm not."
Muir could see why the man had been able to hide in the force for so long while he was in Ashton's pockets. He was an excellent liar.
Chief Staton turned to Muir, and raised her eyebrow at him next. Muir shrugged. "I am worried about Joseph, but I am not lying. I have acted responsibly and have not acted out against orders. You can tell just as well as I, maybe even better than I can, that those text messages have some sort of code hidden within them. I could see he was typing and was afraid he was giving away our plan."
She nodded. "Take Harrell into custody. Muir, you do realize you'll be staying here while we retrieve Joseph, yes?"
Muir closed hie eyes, fighting back the rising anger and protective instincts. "Are you sure I can't at least be come along and stay in the vans?"
Chief Staton was silent and he opened his eyes, surprised to see a powerful kind of respect in her eyes.
She opened her mouth to answer when a secretary popped his head in and cleared his throat.
"Chief? Ashton Keaton is on the phone for you."
She pursed her lips. "Tell him I'll take the call at my desk in 10 minutes. And get me an earbud with a negotiator. You three, take Harrell to the cells. Officer Harrell, you are being detained. You will turn over you weapon and we will go through your phone."
She handed off the phone to be sent to the tech department and moved to leave.
"Chief, he said that detective Muir needed to be there for the call as well. He said he would hang up if Muir wasn't there."
Her glower grew even darker, but she waved for Muir to follow.
He did so, glancing back at Granger and Orville who looked somewhat confused, and Orville even looked a little hurt. Perhaps because Muir hadn't told him about Harrell?
The chief's office was uncluttered and neat, but there were mementos and pieces of personable art on the walls. She sat at her desk, Muir taking a seat from the wall to come sit at the side of the desk rather than in front of it, staring at the blinking light on the Chief's phone cradle.
She settled in, thanked the tech who brought her an earbud connected to a negotiator, and turned to Muir.
"I need you to stay calm. He will try to rile you any way he can-"
"I know. I won't speak much. I can stay calm," Muir replied. "My only focus is getting Joseph out of this safely."
She nodded. "Alright. Simply let him know you're here and be careful of how and when you speak after that."
Muir nodded and she pressed a button on the phone cradle, the sound of soft phone noise filling the air between Muir and the Chief.
"This is Chief Staton. Is this Ashton Keaton?"
"That it is. It's good to hear from you, Dawn. Long time not see."
"Refrain from using my first name, Keaton," the Chief said firmly. She nodded to Muir and he cleared his throat.
Before he could speak, Ashton asked, "Ahhh, is that Joshua with you?"
Muir shivered and said, "Refrain from using my first name as well, Keaton."
"You two are no fun, and in no position to be asking me for anything."
Muir felt a phantom hand in his hair and then pain in his scalp as a muffled yelp, compressed through the phone speakers, nearly set Muir on a rampage. Still, he gritted his teeth and stayed still, waiting for the Chief to take the lead.
"I assume that's Mr. Blackham, then," the Chief said, "Let's cut the chit chat. What-"
"Hold on, Dawn. We can speak in a minute. I want to talk to Joshua."
Muir swallowed, took a breath, and said, "What do you want."
"I want a lot of things. But right at this moment I want to hear how you met your dear Joseph."
"He was injured on the side of the road. I was the closest officer on duty to help."
"That's not very romantic," Ashton said, but before he could get much farther, the Chief cut him off.
"We are not here to speak about Muir's love life," she said firmly. "What do you want?"
"I want-"
"In regards to Joseph. If you are not willing to negotiate, then this call has no purpose."
"Oh, it serves a purpose." There was a whimper across the line from Joseph as Ashton continued, "This is the only thing keeping me from torturing Joseph at the moment."
"Torturing Joseph isn't enough, is it?" Muir asked lowly despite the sharp look he got from the Chief. "He's not what you actually want. You want me."
"Ha! Yes, I do. I really really do. You impress me Muir. You probably already outed Harrell, the smart, resourceful detective that you are, just like you've outed all of my other informants. You have really cut into my bottom line, and you've threatened my operation every step of the way. You'll come down on me, sooner or later. But before then. I want you to hurt."
Joseph and Muir's screams, syncopated by the phone's latency, filled the room as Ashton tore out Joseph's newly regenerated fang.
Part 18
From Dust to Ashes Taglist: @whumpsday @honeycollectswhump @writereleaserepeat @tragedyinblue @hyrules-sleepiest-knight
This whole situation with Joseph Quinn has gotten me so upset... How could someone do something like that? My heart breaks for him, I legit almost cried myself to sleep.
If he decides not to come to Denver I'll completely understand.
“What! you still want to leave?” Reuben wasn’t surprised to hear Esther-Jo echo Joseph’s sentiment. It’s been six months since the funeral and Reuben finally felt ready to leave the family farm. Painting has been his dream, and he knew deep down, that Pa would’ve wanted him to follow this dream. At least he hoped so.
Esther-Jo, on the other hand, wasn’t doing her best to play the supportive little sister. “Reuben, you simply can’t go”, she had whined at him for weeks now and on the day of his departure, had refused to get off his trunk. “EJ,”he’d said, hoping the nickname made her more amiable, “you know I must, and I’ll never be far from you. If ever you do miss me, you’ll have my hat, you can put it on Joseph and pretend I’m here”, he’d smiled. She finally laughed.
Soon it was time to say goodbye, Reuben hugged his brother, sister and his Ma. He felt like a boy of but 5 years, but still, he squared his shoulders, ready to embark on a new adventure. First stop Peggy’s.
"W-wha....?" Teals widen as they caught sight of the message he had recently received from him. Instantly he felt the heat rush to his cheeks, as a blush so red it touched his ears coated his features.
A single trembling hand came up to cup his mouth. All he could do was stare at the image. His heart pounding so terribly loud in his ears it was deafening. It wasnt a bad feeling in the slightest, the sight of it had his stomach fluttering. It was just that he was in the middle of one of his other classes at the moment. Which meant that he would not be able to do anything about the image he'd gotten. (What a damn tease!) Was all he could think. Worst part of it was that in the middle of a lecture, he wouldnt be able to rush out in fear he might miss something. Although he felt that trying to focus on anything else right now would probably be impossible. Maybe the better option was just to excuse himself for the day and find his way home or even to Caesar. Anything would have been a better option than trying to keep himself still in class. Especially when his body was starting to react to the message, stirring fron the waist down. It had him fidgeting a little--his pants suddenly becoming more and more uncomfortable.
(Who sends a damn nude knowing the other person cant do anything about it! Ah, this is bad...)
He resigned to lying his head down on the desk in defeat, a hand slipping below to cover himself in case someone might have noticed. The class was almost over now. So he would try his best to wait it out, even if it was uncomfortable. Then when he was able he would--carefully--leave the hall and go find somewhere to take care of his problem. Nothing could get him passed the embarrassment though, his face remaining red the rest of the talk. Any of the information that had been passed along had been lost on deaf ears as all he could think about was Caesar.
