Shaded Truths (open)

[Lacey Lowe]

Lacey peered out from the broken window, the sun was just setting over the horizon sending the sky into a beautiful hue of oranges pinks and purples. Soon she would be able to hunt her target. Vladimir Z. Her information on the man was bleak all she knew was he was considered to be dangerous and he was kidnapping young woman to sell their organs on the black market. Her contact told her he will be at this specific street tonight, and to steak out the area. 

As the colorful evening faded into the ominous night  Lacey made her way to the top of the abandoned building. She crouched on the edge of the roof  and peered down at the alley way. From up here there wasn't anything her piercing eyes wouldn't catch.  The night had a sharp chill to it, to which Lacey paid no attention to, her slim fitting black sweater and running pants kept her as warm as she needed to be. She was cold blooded after all. The wind picked up blowing her golden brown hair into her face obscuring her vision for a brief moment.  She did not care, it was too early for Vladimir to show any way. She watched as a few people came into view right as the wind picked up again sending a sickeningly sweet whiff of air into her face.  Her throat burned signaling the smell was the blood  from their veins.  She could hear their hearts pumping wildly in their chests. It was just a couple out on a date, she didn't feel like killing two people tonight anyway.  Their giggles echoed in the alleyway causing the hidden mice to scurry to an even better hiding place. 

An hour had passed and Lacey was bored, she was contemplating whether or not to just leave this for another day. She did move down to Essex to get away from all the work she was doing anyway.  Her phone buzzed in her pocket. 
Michael: Hey Lace, we are going to need you to call the office later, there's something you need to know.

Lacey groaned softly while she read the text. Why did they need her to call the office? She groaned again realizing it was probably to change her hit. She decided to put it off as long as she could. Laceys head snapped to the left as she heard footsteps entering the alleyway. She looked to where the sound was coming but saw nothing. She shook her head, her long golden hair whipping back and forth in the air, maybe she was just hearing things.  But she's a vampire! vampires don't just hear things, she is always correct.  Lacey stood from her crouching position and shifted her weight back and forth before she leaned over the edge and peered into the darkness. She knew someone was there watching her, but who that person is was still uncertain. 

[Lazarus Orion Constatine]

If Lazarus was there an hour earlier, he would have seen his wife giggling with another man – walking in an alleyway arms intertwined like a couple. If he was there, he would have probably attacked them both… Or maybe just the guy. Actually, he wouldn’t know what he would have done. The man was loyal with his woman and loved her dearly. It was really sad that even with him as a werewolf hybrid, he was not able to tell which kids he was taking care of were biologically his. Maybe he did but his mind decided to cloud up that information so he wouldn’t do anything stupid? Who knows… Either or, Lazarus found himself around the same alleyway about a few hours later that night…

Why was he here? Simple – he was going to a bus stop from one of his side-jobs with a patient. His car wasn’t doing so well so his wife dropped him off there hours ago… Before she sadly went out with another man – leaving their neighbor to watch over the kids. Sighing and seeing some of his breath in the air due to how chilly it gotten that night, Lazarus shoved his arms in his black hoodie and continued to walk down the alleyway. Man, he wished he had his car working but it wouldn’t be fixed until the morning or if it was a bad fix, some days after. Shuffling his feet, he ended up tripping over a bottle. He didn’t fall on the floor, but he did drop his wallet and cell phone on the floor. “Ah crap.” He said, not noticing someone else was nearby him as he bent over to pick up his phone. Seeing all his cards and money out of his wallet, the man sighed before trying to scurry to get everything before the wind blew them away.

[Lacey Lowe]

Lacey heard the tinkling of the glass and snapped her head in the direction it was coming from. She stared the culprit down before she realized who it was. Lazurus. Her neighbor, whom she couldn't get out of her head. What was he doing here? Wasn't he here an hour ago with his wife? She stared at him a little longer feeling the heat rise in her cheeks. Wait why was his outfit different? Earlier he was wearing a red button up and now he was wearing a black hoodie that clung to his body. She bit her lip and decided it was time to go and talk to him.

Lacey stood from her crouched position and swiftly turned her body so her back was to the ledge. She crouched back down again and wrapped her fingers along the roofs ledge before pushing off with her feet. She hung 45 feet up on the ledge before letting herself drop and catching an open window five feet down. The window sill groaned and creaked under her weight. She pulled herself up into the window sill and ran towards the stairs taking the many flights to the bottom of the building.

When she made it out of the building she waved and called out his name "Lazarus!" She smiled at him before stopping a few feet in front of him.She took in his face as she stood before him before realizing the man she saw earlier was not at all him. The man she saw earlier was shorter, with salt and pepper hair. Although he was well dressed he was not as handsome as the man she stood before in this very moment. Her hair finally caught up with her and blew in front of her face shielding her blushing cheeks from his view.  Her long hair also obstructed his view as her face fell. Lazarus her friend was being cheated on by the woman that promised to be faithful til death do them part. "What are you doing in such a creepy alley way?"  She asked with a little suspicion in her tone.  She just couldn't help it, maybe being an undercover spy was her calling after all.  She tilted her head letting a waterfall of light brown hair fall down over her right shoulder; what was left of it framed her face and blew gracefully in the wind. A few seconds later after examining his face she realized her tone was too suspicious . "Uhh... Not that it matters, I mean why would it matter? Its not like you're a bad guy."  She paused a few seconds and giggled uncomfortably.  "Uh, This alley way is as much yours as it is mine, I was just curious." Her words came pouring out, as she grew more and more flustered. Her cheeks were bright pink by now as she stood there fumbling with the sleeves on her clingy long sleeved black shirt. 

[Lazarus Orion Constatine]

Just yesterday it was warm… Or well warmer than it was today. New Jersey was just like Michigan in many ways – too hot? – wait five minutes, it will be a sauna in no time. Either or, he wasn’t going to complain. He at least had a hoodie – even though it was a thin one that basically clung to his body like the arms of a woman around his waist. Some people didn’t have clothes like this, so he wasn’t going to complain so bad. Though when his stuff fell out of his pockets, yeah, he muttered some stuff under his breath. He really couldn’t lose that stuff. This was extremely important information. So the man bent down and grabbed the items that fell out of his pocket with extreme haste. There was one thing to give stuff to people, then there was another of identity theft.

As he picked up his stuff, he shoved it in his pocket and finally paid attention to Lacey, who he hadn’t seen in some time. Not like forever, just longer than he wished to. Having multiple children and having a job that forces him to go overtime quite a lot, he didn’t have much free time. His wife on the other hand, had a lot of free time… That she spent with other men besides Lazarus. For a hybrid, his senses weren’t too keen in picking up the scents on her and the scents on his children – that weren’t even his. “Uh, because it is a short cut to the bus stop?” His answer was in a questioned tone as her blabbered comments seemed quite suspicious to him. Why get all defensive for no reason?

Arching a brow, Lazarus tilted his head to the side a bit, confused. “Why are you acting so weird?” He questioned her. Everyone was weird in their own little ways but she was acting weirder than normal. Weird enough that he took notice and note of it. “Did you see a murderer walk past here or something? What gives?” He questioned her, tilting his head to the other side now, awaiting her answer. He was pretty positive that, due to how late it was, that the bus wasn’t going to come anytime soon… So why not convene and converse for a little bit?

[Lacey Lowe]

Lacey shuffled back and forth on her feet trying to look at anything but Lazurus. She looked at the tree next to him, the streetlight behind him, anything but his gaze.  Sure she was trained to not crack under hard questioning, but it was different with him. She cared for the man and couldn't bear to see him hurt. She fidgeted with her sleeves and looked up to his eyes, the way his head tilted was utterly adorable and she couldn't stand it. She bit her lip hard and shook her head the taste of metallic began to flood her mouth. "I didn't see a murderer..." She spoke adding under her breath "I wish that's what Isaw, I would have been home by now." She began to shuffle back on  her feet again and sighed softly. Why couldn't he have shown up an hour prior? Why did she have to tell him his beloved was with another man? It wasn't her place to tell him. Plus if she did, he would rip her to shreds. She groaned softly, her job wasn't going to happen today, she already ruined any chance she had the minute she ran to Lazurus. "I can't really tell you what I saw.. Its kinda confidential?" She tilted her head biting her lip again. All she could really do was buy time until the bus came, or deal with a severely P*ssed off werewolf. She didnt like her odds of fighting so she smiled a little before licking the blood off of her lips. "Can we pretend I acted normal a few minutes prior?" She knew he wouldnt let it go, she just had to hope she could hold out another 45 minutes..

[Lazarus Orion Constatine]

She was avoiding his gaze. That was for sure. It wasn’t something that he’d usually notice but since she was acting very weird lately, he couldn’t help but to take notice at her behavior – whether it was obvious and loud or not. Usually she was normal and well… Happy. Something was amiss. Lazarus here wasn’t too keen and in tune with his hybrid senses… Usually he ignored half of them… But he knew something was up. So he was kind of determined to figure out what it was. He knew the bus wouldn’t be here for a little bit longer so he could talk and possibly get some information out of her…

So she didn’t see a murderer? That’s good. Lazarus dimmed his eyes, still looking at her with suspicious eyes. “So what was it then?” He questioned her, wondering what she would say next. “Confidential? Uh, no.” The man was quite a nice guy; however, he was the kind of man to also not take crap. This was crap. “If there was something that you didn’t want to tell me, then you wouldn’t have acted suspicious and said certain things as if you wanted me to press and pry the answers out of you.” Grumbling under his breath again, his hand moved to his pants pocket, patting it down and making sure that his stuff was still there. Call it a slight hint of paranoia. “So what is it?”

[Lacey Lowe]

Lacey could feel the suspicion in Lazurus' gaze, it felt hot and heavy. Her breathing shallowed as she thought about what he would do to her when she told him the truth. If she ever did of course. She stood there thinking about all the horrible things he could do to her when she heard his voice harden. Sh*t. She looked up at him and sighed softly before chewing on her lip. The night was cool, and her shirt wasn't doing much to keep her warm so she crossed her arms over her chest to keep her breasts warm.  At least that's what she wanted him to think, she was really just getting her hands close to the knife holster in her bra just in case she needed it. Although she trusted him, Lacey knew Lazurus was a demon wolf hybrid and that scared her.  Werewolves in general scared her; mostly because most wolves hated her guts. She spoke softly while she kept her dead down. "Well tonight was the night I was going to catch and kill the notorious Vladimir z, known for killing women so he can sell their organs on the black market." She started softly "I was here for many hours, starting at sundown."   She closed her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair before starting again. "I was here for a while before I heard giggling, it sounded sort of like your wives...." She trailed off a little and began to chew her lips again as a shiver ran its course through her body.  " So I looked up expecting to see you two on a date night, you know? But I didn't see you." She spoke softly watching his face to see if it changed a little she also didn't tell him how happy she was that it wasn't him with his wife. How could she tell him how she really felt?  "It, she.. well.. She wasn't with you, this man was short.. with uh.. Salt and pepper hair.. He smelled different too." She didn't care if he knew she wasn't human. He was bound to find out anyway. "He well, was in a red shirt, and with your wife.. They were walking arm in arm" Her voice trailed out before quieting as she slowly took a step back. She knew this wouldn't be good; he sort of reeked of wolf. "I am sorry..." She spoke her voice a small croak as she looked down. 

[Lazarus Orion Constatine]

She may be younger than him but in his eyes she was a grown-arse woman and should be acting like it. If she didn’t want him to press and pry then she should have thought before she spoke. That would prevent him from pressing and prying information out of her. He didn’t like doing such things but if he had to he would. When she spoke, he was taken aback. She was open as heck to all her F.B.I. things. “Shouldn’t your job be kept incognito?” As in kept secret from ears like his. After all he was a mere civilian. Either or, he didn’t know much about her job and what she did so maybe she could tell people things. “That’s creepy, but ok…” He commented, just letting her know that he was listening nonetheless. He stood there erect, awaiting for all the information to come out.

With the words that came out of her mouth, Lazarus emitted a low growl from the depths of his throat. Did he mean it? No, but he was upset and sometimes, just sometimes, that growl of his came out. He didn’t appreciate what she just said at all. “What in the hell, Lacey!” He questioned, obviously offended at her words – his tone was mere proof of that. “My wife is at home with our children! What she is doing!? Probably watching Big Hero Six for the billionth time and playing some games with them! Who knows! But give her credit! I did not marry a wh*re! What the f**k, Lacey. My wife!? I don’t even know you anymore…” Yeah, he was mad now… And obviously didn’t believe a word she was saying right now.

[Lacey Lowe]

Now it was her time to growl softly, she was telling him the full truth, what would she get out of it if she lied? She looked up at him, staring into his eyes and let her body stiffen. Her voice came out harsh now as she glared at the man "I TOLD YOU I DIDNT WANT TO TELL YOU" She hissed before sighing and softening her tone. "What the hell would I get from telling you this Laz? Do you think it makes me feel giddy and good to tell you something like this? Im not some D*mn school girl that gets a hard on for gossip." She looked at him again. "Why would I lie? I was trained not to lie.. How could I physically lie when it makes me feel sick?" She understood his anger, and she understood the disbelief, She would be upset too. "You don't have to believe me.." she trailed off and began to twirl her long hair around her fingers using it as a coping mechanism  "But I just thought that you deserved to hear what I saw tonight.." She loved him and his wife, but how could Laz be so oblivious. "I know what I saw, my eyes are probably better than yours by the way." She could remember it vividly, "The man and your..." she stopped "Were walking this way" she turned away from Lazarus and began to walk a little in the direction they went "He was drunk, the woman was a little tipsy. Laz she smelled like your wife.." She trailed off softly. Lacey began to shift on her feet while looking at the man. Every muscle in her body tensed as she watched him, would he hit her? Could she take the  force of an angry werewolf? Would she have to hurt him back in order to get away? Lacey shuddered at the thought and sighed again before looking at him. Her face held no emotion as she watched. She didnt know what to say.