Chapter 58

"Hey, Bossman! Did ya miss me?" I called as I walked into Mike's office with Viktor in tow.

"Like a bad rash, Nads," said Mike with a tired smile on his face. "Like a bad rash."

"Ouch, that's a bit harsh don't you think? And here was me thinking that I was important to you," I said as I stuck out my tongue at him. He shook his head and ignored me.

"Hello, Mr. Singer. A pleasure to see you again," said Mike, standing up to shake Viktor's hand. I rolled my eyes at the blatant display.

"You don't have to be that polite," I whined under my breath as I took my regular seat in his office. Viktor took the seat beside me and finally, Mike sat down.

"Unfortunately, I do," Mike replied, not at all put off by my whining. "It's an order from the higher-ups. They have heard that we have a connection with Knights Security, and since they are looking at upgrading our sidearms, they want me to make the best impression possible."

"It would be an honor to work with the NYPD," said Viktor pulling a card out of his wallet. "You can give Nick a call once your higher-ups have decided on what they are looking for."

Mike nodded his head and took the card from Viktor. With formalities down, he stretched his neck and looked at me. I gave him a half smile and turned in my chair to close the office door. Some things were better off said in private.

"I am going to have to put in my resignation," I said, getting the hard part out of the way first. Mike looked startled when I said that; his eyes widened with disbelief. "You know, if you want to retire too, you can always become my Beta full-time. I pay well." I smiled as I looked at the man that meant more to me than most of my blood relatives. But then again, I guess even strangers on the street mean more to me than them so maybe that wasn't a fair comparison.

"Isn't this a bit early to be retiring?" Mike asked half joking, half serious.

I shook my head. "Since I have decided to become Head, I need to dedicate all my time to it. Trust me when I say that it isn't a part-time gig. Plus, there are going to be a lot of unhappy people with me and I don't want to bring their wrath down on the NYPD."

Mike still didn't look too convinced, but that was fine. Once he decided to follow me full-time, he would understand what I meant. I looked at the man sitting across from me, wondering if I would be able to see his thread. I couldn't see anything and the more I stared at him, the more uncomfortable he seemed to get.

"Something the matter?" He asked, looking behind him and all around. I shook my head in disappointment.

"No," I said, "Just looking to see if that bald spot of yours got bigger." I had to duck the stapler that came flying at me and hitting the wall behind me. It wasn't until I looked away from him did I see his thread. A shiny pink thread came out of his heart and seemed to be reaching toward me. It was a lighter pink than I was beginning to associate with humans, but it was healthy and vibrant so I didn't think much of it.

Closing my eyes, I tried to think about what my thread might be. Out of all the webs I saw in the darkness, there was a lone platinum thread that vibrated as I thought of myself. Taking a small bit of it, I wrapped the platinum thread around the pink one that I knew to be Mike's, I watched as my single thread began to form a web with the newest addition. Something told me that after some time, Mike's pink thread would turn platinum.

He clutched his chest, wide-eyed. "What the Hell is going on?!?" He demanded, his eyes looking back and forth between me and Viktor. I shrugged my shoulders, not overly worried about his expression.

"An experiment?" I said, part question, part answer.

"Next time you decide to do an experiment, get a guinea pig," he grumbled and rubbed his chest a few times before regaining his composure. At least now I knew for sure that he would be able to live for a very, very long time. With his thread encased in mine, nothing should be able to kill him.

"Do you need anything from me to process my resignation?" I asked, switching the topic back to the reason I was here.

"Yeah, but I am going to get you to file for retirement. You worked hard enough, might as well collect some type of paycheck," said Mike pulling up some files on his computers and pressing print. "I'll get you to sign these in just a second. When do you want it to start?"

"Today?" I asked, hoping that it was doable. Mike just nodded his head.

"Then I guess I won't get your help on a new case that the Brass just put on my desk," he said, still typing up my retirement papers. Grabbing the file that he was nodding to, I opened it and froze. It wasn't the dismembered body of a young girl in her 20s, it wasn't the blood or the internal organs that were no longer internal… it was the crescent moon drawn with her blood on the wall behind her. Closing my eyes, I opened them again, hoping that I didn't see what I thought I just saw.

"What's the matter?" Asked Viktor, speaking up for the first time since offering his company's business card. At his words, Mike's head swung around, and looked at me, concern in his eyes.

"Nads?" He asked gently, turning away from his computer to give me his full attention. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head and handed the file to Viktor to look over. He browsed through everything, flipping through the autopsy report that I didn't bother with and the crime scene reports. Not understanding what he was looking at, he turned to look at me.

Taking the file out of his hands and putting it in the middle of the table for us all to look at, I turned back to the first page and pointed at the scene. "Do you see it?" I asked, looking between the two men. I had expected Viktor to at least be familiar with what was going on. When both men shook their heads, my eyes widened.

"Seriously?" I asked turning to Viktor in complete disbelief. How could the Van Helsing not understand what this picture meant?

"If you have information, please share it with the class," snapped Mike, clearly not happy.

"The crescent moon, painted in blood. It's a calling card," I started, swallowing a few times before I could get the next few words out. "It's the calling card of the Red Moon Rising. Pandora is back."