Chapter One Hundred Sixteen He let Lindy drive for a change. She seemed to know where she was going. It was several days past Marrok Deschamps' deadline for Lindy to find another way for him to see his son. Just under two weeks after she'd confessed her 'sin' to Nate. And, probably foolishly, they were taking Mulder's advice. They were confronting Marrok as a pair...well, a trio. In animal form, Walter was riding along for their protection. If Marrok had violence in mind, Walter's wolf nose would smell it coming long before the vampires did. Glancing past Lindy in the driver's seat, Nate met the wolf's gaze. "No chewing on the upholstery." Lindy didn't have to look in the rear view mirror to know that Walter was giving Nate a baleful glare. She shook her head at Nate. "Are you both ready for this? I doubt he's going to be too pleased to see us coming. Especially without Liam, although I wouldn't have brought him along for anything." "I don't think there's any such thing as being ready for this, Lind. And hopefully he won't see us coming. That's the idea, to surprise him. Then he won't be 'ready' for us." He glanced back at Walter again. "I'd still expect to see his boyfriend there. Tall, ugly, Wrangler-wearing cowpoke, most likely carrying a shotgun. Hopefully he just has it for show, but you never know." Lindy nodded as she pulled up to the gate. It wasn't butterflies she had in her stomach. It was more like pterodactyls. "Okay. Here goes nothing." Lowering the window, she pushed the button on the call box next to the gate. "Hello?" "Yes?" Despite the tinny distortion, she could tell it was male. "I need to speak to Marrok Deschamps. Tell him Alinda Rudenko is here to see him." Without another word, the gate slowly began swinging open. She thought about saying thanks, but decided she should just drive through. As she slowly moved up the driveway, she saw the wolf at the same time Walter did. Sprinting back to the house, Marrok had obviously not been expecting company. And judging by the look he shot over his shoulder, they weren't exactly welcome, either. "Was that him?" Nate asked. Walter's bristling and light growl was enough of an answer, but Lindy spoke anyway. "Yeah, that was him." Unlike the previous time she had been here, she wasn't frightened of Marrok. She was scared about what might happen with Liam, but with both Nate and Walter here she felt secure. That he couldn't touch her. "Well, let's get this over with." Nate got out of the car quickly, immediately walking around to stand next to Lindy as she opened Walter's door. "I don't think it's a good idea to go near the house. Let's stay here and let him come to us. It's about the only slight advantage we have." Walter dipped his head as if nodding in agreement. He sat down on Lindy's feet, making Nate grin. "Oh boy...here comes John Wayne now." She watched as the older man came towards them. Lindy gave him a polite smile, noting that he wasn't scowling at her, but at Nate. He didn't look to thrilled to see Walter either. "Hello," she said as the man's gaze fell on her again. "We're here to see Marrok Deschamps. Is he here?" Still looking between the other two men, the cowboy said, "He is. Wasn't expecting visitors, especially not more than one. May I ask what your business is here?" "That's for Marrok to find out," Nate said, a bit too arrogantly. "We'd like to speak to him out here." Still looking pissed, the cowboy nodded to the outdoor patio. "I'll have to ask you to take a seat over there. Your dog better stay here. We've got one of our own and I don't need to be breakin' up any fights." Lindy nodded. She waited for the cowboy to turn his back before addressing Walter. "Why don't you go wait by the car? You should be able to see us." She didn't blink when Walter stared at her, the same stare that had withered junior FBI agents, before he turned around and slunk over by the car. Grabbing Nate's hand, she started towards the chairs the cowboy had pointed out. "I don't like this," Nate muttered under his breath, before saying out loud, "Can't you chain your dog? We'd really prefer to have ours with us." "Nope," the cowboy said. "Don't know where he is, and he doesn't like being chained. Besides, we don't know your dog...and I don't want him runnin' around loose when there's a little girl on the premises. She likes animals too much and might end up gettin' bit." Sighing heavily, Nate grabbed one of the chairs on the patio and scooted it closer to the Lindy's. The earthenware fireplace kept the patio area warm, even with the slight chill in the air. But he didn't like facing the fire like this. He couldn't see the door to know when Marrok came out. Shifting his chair again, he pivoted it so he could see the door. "Who is this boob?" he whispered to Lindy, indicating the cowboy. She shrugged. "Help, I guess. He let me in to see Marrok the last time I saw him." She flushed slightly at Nate's sharp, startled look. "Yeah, I came here to tell him that I couldn't go through with it any more. I didn't quite trust that he'd believe I was sincere if I did it over the phone." Nate let out another loud sigh and looked back towards Walter. "I hope you're hearing this Walter. Maybe I won't feel guilty if I'm not the only one yelling at her on the way home." Walter let out a soft whuff that sounded like an agreement. All three heads turned when they heard the screen door open. Lindy didn't say anything when she saw Marrok standing there. She felt a little spike of nervousness, but was otherwise calm as she looked back at him. His feet were bare as he stepped out on to the patio, but he was otherwise completely dressed. She knew that had to be a rush job after just Changing so quickly. She was fairly certain that his hired help didn't know what he was. Keeping it quiet had to be tricky. Making sure the cowboy stayed nearby, Marrok walked towards them with a slight hesitation. His eyes skipped towards Walter and then back again. He was obviously wary. Instead of sitting down, he stood just behind his chair and braced his hands on the back. "What business do you have with me?" "I think you know," Lindy said calmly. Her eyes flicked to the cowboy and then back to Marrok. There was nothing submissive about her glance now