Night's Omen

He had to chuckle a little at the comment, but it wasn't really a happy sound.  "You flatter me, even if I think that I've gotten myself into enough trouble that I don't deserve it," he said with a long sigh.  He definitely needed to learn how to stay out of trouble, especially considering how the stakes had gradually begun to rise over time.  Now, he was bonded to a vampire, and what could really get worse than that?  Unless a vampire actually turned him, he couldn't really do much worse at this point where trouble was concerned.  Well, unless you counted the potential for death, but he didn't want to consider that.

"Oh, God, Lore, I'm sorry," he told her, instinctively reaching over to pull her chair closer so that he could give her a hug.  Women liked hugs when they cried, so long as they weren't heavily armed.  That much he knew.  "You have enough trouble, but I have been looking for Simon.  Even Val hasn't been able to find him, but if Simon's in Midnight, none of my circles extend inside too well."

It was a shame, but it took a rather serious ally to get reliable information out of Midnight and not get caught at it.  Connor did NOT have one of those yet.

Lore tried to get her sobs under control enough to at least speak intelligibly.  "I-I know!  You're t-trying so hard, even with all this happening... and Vin and Dom and I are all looking, too, but...  Nothing!  There's n-n-nothing!  In all this time!"  The last couple of sentences were wailed more than spoken.  She was a wreck.

One thing a person had to understand about Lore:  she was no crybaby.  Vin's little sister didn't just start sobbing for no good reason.  She'd all but given up tears when she was about nine years old, when Dom had told her that her brother might not ever come back from any given mission.  She'd vowed to be strong, for him.

But Simon...  Simon was her cousin, practically the only other family she had, aside from Vin, that she actually cared about.  And he was helpless.  Someone had kidnapped him, done unspeakable things to him, and Lore hadn't been able to protect him.  She hadn't been able to be strong for the one person who'd really needed it.  Vin could take care of himself, but Simon had been partly her responsibility. 

And now, she couldn't even find him to tell him she was sorry.

Somehow, Connor got the feeling the shoulder of his shirt was going to serve as a kleenex that night.

"Shhh, we'll find him, somehow.  Things somehow always work out, babe," he told her, and he meant it.  Even with as messed up as his life was, things always seemed to work out.  Just look at how much worse his life COULD have been.  He should have been dead how many times over?

"Someone has to get wind of him.  He's a young blond, and didn't you say you think he's a shifter?  Eventually, we'll hear something.  I need to try to find a source in Midnight, and if I can, we'll know what's happening."  Really, he shouldn't have said anything about looking for that sort of a source, but he was.  The guilds needed one.

Lore was too upset to do anything but cry on Connor's shoulder for awhile, but she tried to calm down, letting his words soothe her.  Of course he would help her find Simon.  He was Connor.

"Yeah, I'm almost sure of it," she sniffled.  "He was sick for awhile, and stayed in his room, but I could smell something different about him.  Also, his "flu" was just like what I went through when I changed.  I don't know what kind of shifter he would be, though."

His mentioning a source in Midnight made her stiffen slightly.  "Whoever you get to play double agent for you in Midnight better be willing to risk their life," she said flatly.  In training, she'd learned as much as any Hunter could learn about the two Vampire settlements, without going into them herself.  It made her shudder just to think of it.

"Actually, my cousin might be able to help you figure out what sort of a shifter Simon could be," he admitted.  He wasn't a HUGE fan of shifters, and never wanted to be one, but he loved his little cousin dearly.  The brat.  "He was born a shifter, a leopard, so he's familiar with a lot of other breeds.  He can probably pinpoint what Simon is.  Just...don't tell anyone other than maybe your brother what breed Darren is.  Leopards are really uncommon, and I don't want anything happening to him, too."

The fact that a few things had already happened didn't help.  "He was hit by a car not long ago because a vamp was screwing with him, so the last thing he needs is more trouble, but I doubt he'll mind going into a hunter's house.  I can ask him, if you'd like," he offered, wanting to help wherever he could.  Maybe if they could get a definite breed, they could pay closer attention to what information they got.

As for a double agent, though...  "I'd go in myself, but I don't think Val will do it, and I'm obviously not a leech.  Besides, some Midnight vamps might recognize me, and that's just looking for trouble.  It's going to have to be someone they wouldn't know, or it won't work, and hopefully we can keep them as safe as possible.  Nothing's ever guaranteed, though," he said, sighing.  There was nothing more he could do.

"That's a great idea!" Lore told him, cheered slightly.  Any clue at all would be good, really.  It would make her feel that much closer to finding Simon.  "When can we get him to come over?  I'm sure Vin won't mind, once we tell him why, and Vin wouldn't do anything to get your cousin in trouble."  By 'in trouble', she naturally meant the sort of trouble that, well, Simon was in already.

Back to the Midnight issue...  That proverbial light bulb suddenly went off over Lore's head.  "Hold on, I might have someone in mind," she said slowly.  A couple weeks ago, she'd run into her swan prince friend, John, once again.  Glad that he'd gotten away from Vin, she was nonetheless a little startled that he'd been accompanying the vampire that had interrupted Vin's mission.  Once introductions had been made, however, and John explained that Nikos was letting him live with him, Lore conceded that yes, there WERE good vampires in the world.  Maybe.  Just a few, though.

"Have you heard of Nikos?  He's with Single Earth.  Doesn't really associate with other vampires, from what he told me.  Maybe he's gone unnoticed enough in the circles at Midnight that they wouldn't recognize him?"  It was a stretch, but just maybe...

"I can call him tonight, if you want.  I could probably get him to stop by tomorrow if you can be at home.  I think he's off on Sundays," Connor responded, shrugging.  He trusted that Vin and Lore wouldn't get Darren in trouble, but there was also the fact that he DID have to ask her not to say anything.  He didn't want her to do that damage without even thinking about it.  That would suck.

"No, I haven't heard of that guy, but if you can give me his number, I'll get in touch with him.  If he's willing to help, then maybe he'll work."  Could he maybe have a plan for this?

Maybe.  That was exciting.

"Thanks, Connor," she told him with utmost sincerity.  "You're the best."  Impulsively, she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I have Nikos' number right here on my phone."  Pulling out her cell, she scrolled through her contacts until she found the one for "John".  It was technically Nikos' home phone number, but John assured her that she could reach him there or leave a message.  "Here you go."