The Finish Line

Once Nic saw Val pass him, he kept on her tail for a while, but never did catch her. It was a fun race none the less, and he wondered how she would do if they were more evenly matched.

When they left the highway, Nic left Val's path, but was still able to keep somewhat of an eye on her as he traversed the surface streets. The parts of town they were driving through were almost totally rolled up for the night, and following a car like her's made the task easy. He doubted there was another Vanquish in all of Nachton.

He arrived in front of Flannigan's after she had, but her car helped him find the place. Smiling as he saw how far away she had parked, he moved his bike up to the sidewalk and rode just up to the door, and then parked it alongside the building. He was lucky there was a nice street lamp at that particular section of the street, so the bike was well lit. He wasn't stupid enough to think that the light would keep the bike safe, but after disconnecting a small part, and dropping it into his helmet, he knew at least the bike would be impossible to be driven away.

Helmet in hand, he walked into the bar and scanned the small crowd, finding Val almost immediately. As he walked to her booth, he nodded at the barmaid, indicating he knew where he was going. She smiled and went about her business, but he hoped she would attend to them quick enough. He had ridden up a fine thirst.

"Guess we should have had a bet down on that, right? I'll buy the first five rounds, though...it's only fair."

He winked and grinned as he sat down across from her. Of course he was buying tonight, he had invited her, and would have in any case. But making it sound like she had won a wager would remove any feminist notions she might harbor. He hoped.

"Next time though, we'll wager before hand, and we'll be more evenly matched."

And he already hoped there would be a next time.

Nic came and her whiskey laced coffee followed nearly immediately with the waitress waiting for Nic’s order.

“Oh not to worry I’ll let you buy.”

Why wouldn’t she, for the most part Val was pretty open about things like that. She’d buy her fair share another day. Some women tried too hard to be equal it was something that should come naturally.

She grinned at the idea of being evenly matched, Nic would need the traffic to keep up with her. On an open road she’d be the winner every time.

“Money up front? I can play that game but maybe we should find a more even playing field.”

After letting the barmaid know he wanted a Guinness, and a bowl of pretzels, Nic settled into his seat, and smiled at Val.

"Oh, without a doubt, either I've gotta have a car, or we need to get you on a bike. I like nice odds but I'm not crazy.

So tell me Val, are you all settled in yet?"

Being human or vampire rarely mattered to Nic. He had worked among humans for so long he had never had developed any prejudices. However, due to the recent chain of events in his life, he was really trying to be prudent. Outside of his Evenhet clan, it seemed he attracted Tacharans like a magnet, first Addison, then Alexandra. He thought Maeve, a fellow Evenhet, might bring him better luck; however, that didn't pan out either. Might he hope that Val was Anantya? He'd yet to meet anyone from that clan...that he was aware of anyway.

Being that he seemed to be running into and spending more time with Valentine, he had to wonder about her now. He had only seen her a few times, and each time it had been night of course. She had been with Maeve the last time, and he knew what Maeve was. So...he had nothing concrete to begin to base any assumptions on. Great. In the old days he would have just enjoyed her company, and could still do so now. Whether or not she was a vampire still didn't matter. Whether or not she was Tacharan, might.

"You don't happen to, by any chance, belong to that crazy Tacharan clan, do you?"

As blatant as that was, he really didn't think it was a dangerous question. If she wasn't vampire or a familiar, she wouldn't know what Tacharan was, and the question would be easily explained away. He was pretty sure she wasn't Evenhet, only because he had made it a project to learn all the Evenhet names. Anantya would still work the same as Tacharan. It made sense to him...but would she bite?

“A car it is then, I’m not ready to take you on. Not on a bike any way.”

Guinness; she wouldn’t be impressed until she saw it was served at room temperature. However, the pretzels came nearly right away and she nibbled at one.

“Very much so. I’ve always liked cities though. Of course they’re all different but I’ve found if you can settle into one you can be happy in any of them.”

Chicago would always be home and her favorite, but New York, Dublin, San Francisco, it had never mattered so long as she was in the heart of things.

That was an interesting question. Extremely blunt, and bold enough to confirm her suspicions about Nic. But the way he’d brought up Tàcharan was not positive so he wasn’t one of them. But why would he ask like that?

Val was curious and didn’t think she’d get an accurate answer if she were honest. She smiled lightly, properly perplexed as if she had no idea what he was asking.

“Sounds rather like a rock group.”

"Oh...I think you're ready, but I'll give you however much time you need."

Tiny she might be, but there was nothing about Val that appeared fragile to Nic. Which wasn't to say he didn't see a softness about her, but he would be extremely shocked to find she was unable to take damn good care of herself.

He nodded when she admitted to settling in, and was glad.

"That's good to hear...must mean you'll be around awhile. I bet Maeve is glad too."

So, alright, that was less than subtle, and even though he had all but written her off, he still had interest.

"I mean...to know her friend is going to be close."

And though Nic had no idea how close the two women were, he was doing his best to find out...something...anything.

Her response to the whole Tacharan remark was conveniently interrupted by the bar maid with Nic's beer. Taking a swig, he twirled the bottle around between his two hands, then looked at Val.

"No...not a rock group. I guess it's kinda like the Masons...or Lions...or Elks...?"

So she didn't know, or she was very good at keeping things to herself. Considering the woman was adept at selling cars, Nic knew she would have those talents. Unfortunately, he was striking out left and right tonight, so far anyway.

Dare he go on? It had worked with Alexandra, but he didn't think he could put Val into the same category. Maybe he should give her the floor and see where she went with it.

It wasn’t as if she didn’t know Nic was interested in Maeve, but it was a bit odd to have another woman brought up just now. Of course Val had no right or reason to be either miffed or jealous, so she was merely curious as to how interested he was. Things couldn’t be too serious if they were here now.

Rather than immediately set herself up as a rival though Val just half smiled.

“No, no plans on going anywhere for a while. Now Maeve did say you’d escorted her to the recent ball. It sounded like you had a blast.”

It was a terrible and unnecessary pun, but she couldn’t help it and smiled with impish good humor as she said it.

Which was fortunate as she nearly laughed at his analogy, comparing the clans to the Elks. Yes, they were exactly a like except instead of playing bingo Tàcharan raided compounds and blew things up.

“So you belong to this club then? It might be interesting, its an Irish word you know.”

Frustrating didn't begin to describe the way Nic was feeling. He just knew there was more to Val than she was letting on, but had no choice but to let things slide for the time being.

He made an exaggerated grimace at her next statement.

"Yes, we did attend the Mayor's Ball, and a 'blast' was an understatement, as I'm sure you are aware."

It was in all the papers and across the television news for days, no one who lived anywhere near Nachton could have missed seeing about it. He felt he needed to qualify the mention of Maeve though, having brought it up, but merely as a means of eliciting information, and not fostering any suspicions of a relationship.

"It was interesting going through a semi-traumatic event like that, and you can learn a lot about a person in a short amount of time. She's a good kid though."

He did still like Maeve, but due to the subsequent circumstances surrounding their 'date', he figured nothing further was to become of the two of them. Now, hopefully, there wouldn't be any confusion about their relationship, or lack thereof.

"Tacharan is Irish?" He didn't know why that surprised him, other than he hadn't given it's origins much thought at all. Anymore than he had Evenhet, or Anantya. Though he guessed he really should know more about his own clan, and felt a little sheepish that he didn't.

"And no...I don't belong to that...clan. I belong to another one entirely...but not being familiar with the local brotherhoods, I'll not bore you with the details."

He took a good pull on his beer, and tossed a pretzel into his mouth, before signalling to the barmaid to bring another round.

"So what, besides scouting the parks at night, and cruising the highway, interests Ms. Valentine?"

If nothing else good came out of this evening, Nic could now say he had met someone female who was interesting, and not a Tacharan. That seemed well worth the time spent already.

“It was a good evening. A little more… energetic than I generally like my find raisers but no one could say it was boring.”

‘Semi traumatic’? Most people would qualify that as fully traumatic and Val wondered exactly what Nic considered a wild time.

‘Good kid’, however, sounded much more promising. Apparently there wasn’t anything too solid going on.

Rather than go into inter clan politics Val just nodded confirmation that it was indeed an Irish word, sipped her coffee, and let the conversation go on.

“I just bought a filly a few weeks ago. She’s down at Belmont.”

Nodding at the mention of a race horse, Nic could do nothing more. He didn't know the first thing about racing horses.

"So your love of speed extends beyond what you can physically control, eh? I've been to the derby a few times, but really don't know much about horseflesh. Has she raced yet?"

That could be interesting...watching a race where he knew something about the owner of the horse, even if he knew nothing about the horse itself. Nic always found it to lend more excitement to an event if he knew a little about the players. Much like the Academy Awards.

"Better yet, what name should I look for in the races, and will I win if I bet on her?"

He couldn't imagine Val buying a losing horse, so he had to know her answer to the last question would be a resounding yes.

Val let lose with a full on laugh.

“There is very little I can’t control.”

The look she gave him boarded on suggestive, at the very least it was flirtatious. Nic was starting to look like fair game and Val wasn’t about to turn that down.

“The races came first. Da was a trainer, I was an exercise rider, I wanted to be a jockey but things just didn’t work out.”

Val was still slightly bitter about that, but if she had become a jockey, she probably wouldn’t be here now. So all for the best, you know.

Being back at the track had brought back many and vivid memories, she was kicking herself for not doing it sooner. She’d only been able to see the very early morning work outs but she’d been there, had her hands on the filly, been around the sounds and the smells and seen her run Val had been practically giddy.

“White Gold. She’s a two year old and has won two of five. I’m angling her for the Kentucky Oaks next year. She’s a closer like her sire so watching her run is quite the nail bitter but she has a great deal of promise.”

The sound of her laughter was fun, and Nic appreciated that she could let herself go like that. So often it had been his experience with women, where they felt the need to hide their laughter behind a hand. Val laughed like she really meant it, and Nic joined along.[i]

"I'm not at all shocked to hear you say that. I think I recognized that about you the first time I met you at the Piazza. You probably even get a little tense when you don't feel in control...riiiiiight?"

[i]Nic winked as if he were teasing, but he believed what he said. And he saw nothing wrong with Val being that way either. That he was almost totally opposite from her in that respect, allowed him to see that trait in her as everything positive.

When she began talking about her equestrian background and the horse, he could see such raw passion in her face that it would have been impossible not to get caught up in it.

"Now that would be something worth seeing, I'll bet. Maybe sometime you might think to introduce me to White Gold?"

Even though Nic liked his speed in the form of metal and mechanics, it didn't mean he wouldn't enjoy watching her horse run as well. He suspected he would get a bigger kick out of seeing it through Val's eyes though.

"Have you considered taking on more than one horse...and is she your first?"

He was intrigued by what stirred the passion in Val, and for now would settle on hearing about her horse. He couldn't help but wonder a little about her other passions.

He wasn’t entirely wrong, but it was much easier to take it as teasing and let that flaw in her personality be self-explanatory. There was no point in trying to explain or excuse it; especially not when it didn’t bother her one iota.

“Me? Tense? Never. What ever happens, happens; right?”

That was the only down side to being back in the racing game. She couldn’t attend. Very few tracks did races after dark, one in California and that was mostly Quarter Horses. Maybe she should look into trotters.

“I don’t often get to see her race, work keeps me away. But if you don’t mind a 4AM work out you’re welcome to come out.”

It was the best time to be at the track any way, everything happened first thing in the morning.

“She’s the first I’ve owned properly and I hope not the last. Before Goldie, I’d helped pick out some of the horses but had never owned. Just didn’t have the money. Have you thought about buying?”

It was the way he lived his life, much to the chagrin of his friend Kem, but didn't often find anyone else who had a sense of 'c est la vie'. Responsibilities and practical goals always seemed to get in the way.

Was Val really that much like him in that respect?

"Que sera sera? The only way to live, I agree."

Again he smiled at the light in her eyes as she went on to talk more of the horse. The barmaid brought by another beer for him, and coffee for Val, and Nic exchanged the empty bottle for the full one.

"No...at the moment my buying power is being directed to things of the architectural variety... I'm still looking to buy a building, or lot to build a hotel on. That's where I was returning from earlier. I had just met with attorneys for a man who owns property here in Nachton, but I couldn't get him to budge on his asking price. Nic shrugged. He was still smarting a little from the refusal, but was also already thinking ahead to other possibilities.

"Maybe I should start small. A place like this would be nice, and once I get my foot in the door, it may be a lot easier to build upwards. The only advantage I have is that I'm in no hurry. Whatever I ultimately decide on, it will be here in Nachton. That much I've decided on...I'm sticking around here too."

And as he looked around the homey little bar, Nic could see a lot of potential for him in owning a place like this. As he remembered, there were empty lots on two sides of the bar, as well. He'd check into the ownership on both of them, first thing tomorrow. Though the area wasn't the best in the city, there was a lot to be said about fixing up the community, and driving property values up. Everyone would benefit from that, he thought.

“Well here’s to sticking around then.”

She raised her coffee cup to him, surprised to find that wasn’t bad news. It might even be good.

Val raised an eyebrow at him as Nic discussed hotels or building. That also surprised her, it didn’t seem to fit the guy how threw his date under tables and bought two Ducati because she’d had them in stock or even the guy who’d randomly asked if a strange car dealer could get a hold of one.

“I have to admit that doesn’t sound like you. Granted I don’t know you that well but I wouldn’t have pegged you as the cute bed and breakfast type.”

He had to laugh at that. One thing Nic liked to be was unpredictable. Being an actor, he never wanted to get pinned into any one stereotype, and if he could keep people guessing about his personal self, he felt he was doing a good job of avoiding just that. What was even better was he didn't have to work at being unpredictable...it was just something in his nature.

"Sorry, I'm not laughing at you, but at the whole bed and breakfast type... I don't think it would sustain my interest very long...not enough activity goes on in those sleepy little hostels. Besides that, my tastes in living accommodations run more towards the modern, and that just wouldn't quite go with my perception of a B and B. They tend to run to the quaint, and antique, don't they?"

Though Nic wasn't completely set on what he wanted for his hotel, he did see it as something sleek, and bordering on the futuristic.

"You may not be familiar with the Liefde Towers...that's where I live now...I'd like my hotel to be even more 21st century than that structure is, but along those lines. It won't appeal to everyone, but I think with the accommodations I'm planning, I'll have a large enough market to sustain it."

He had done his homework, and was working with one of his real estate specialists from the London office, to make sure everything that could be thought of, would be. Market studies had been done for three different areas of Nachton, and the most appropriate sector was where he was trying to buy now. He had also spoken to three architects, and four builders, and was still waiting to see the results of their efforts, and bids. Hopefully, as soon as he had the land, work could commence quickly.

"Is that what you're attracted to...timeworn, and comfortable?"

Knowing what little he did about her career, and love of speed, he couldn't picture her sitting by a fire on a chintz sofa. But he was no where near as good a judge of character or personality, as he was successful in investing money.

Val had some fine memories of quaint B&Bs in rural Ireland. Not that they often stayed sleepy when she came to visit them.

Liefde? That confirmed it, Val officially knew who she was dealing with. He didn’t seem much like part of Evenhet, but then again she’d hardly gone out of her way to meet many of them. She wondered if there were any way, this could be used to her advantage but quickly dismissed that thought.

Right now, she wanted to enjoy the company and the view.

“Modernism can be too stark. Don’t get me wrong I don’t do the rustic thing at all but what can it hurt to have a little style?”

After all even her Vanquish had style, it wasn’t just a cold hollow bucket of bolts. It had character.

"Oh, yes, I totally agree, and I don't plan on cutting corners or going at this at all cheaply, which can make a hell of a lot of difference. when I think modern, I think of a lot of soft, supple leather...the kind that has a slightly brushed feel, so it's not cold in the winter, or hot and sticky in the summer. And though I do see sleek, plain lines, I see them in walnuts, and stained glass, and chrome, but not the plated crap...really heavy brushed metals...I see fountains of bronze and glass and water...light sculptures, and artwork by Brancusi, and Alexander Calder, and Henry Moore.

Speaking of which, have you been to the local museum? They've got a Dali, and a couple O'Keefes that are a lot like what I'm talking about."

Nic normally didn't like talking about styles, and decors, mainly because he knew what he liked, but could rarely remember the names that were used to describe them. Val just happened to get him on a night when he was batting a thousand, and didn't sound like a half wit.

Art, on the other hand, had been something he was fond of, and had definite ideas on. He hoped if he sounded somewhat untrained when speaking on interior design, he could save face with what he knew about artwork. It was important to him that Val took a good impression of him with her.

"And colors too...warm colors, not all blacks and whites and greys. Browns, wines, reds..."

and the more he spoke the more he thought without photos, it was difficult to convey certain images.

"I guess I'll just have to show you...hopefully sooner, rather than later."

Waving his almost empty bottle at the barmaid, Nic realized he hadn't asked Val if she wanted anything to eat.

"Hey, listen, I guess I really have been out of the dating game a while. I'm sorry I never asked you if you wanted anything to eat?"

His enthusiasm made Val grin, although she was careful not to let her teeth be obvious, it was sort of contagious. She had little to no knowledge of art and had no idea what he was talking about but it mattered to Nic and so she wouldn't dismiss it.

Val could tell you the lines of the great horses, who won the derby in 1913, what the first car was the first got go 100 miles per hour and wax poetic about Dizzy Gillespie but art left her completely out to lunch.

"No I can't say I have."Â?

She left a pregnant pause before giving him a light teasing look.

"Is that an invite?"Â?

Over all she approved of the color pallet, not so much the earth tones idea. Earth tones always seemed muddy and dull.

Ah food... well Nic was currently off the menu. Idly Val wondered if she was. If he tried anything wouldn't he be surprised.

"No harm no foul. Usually I'm better about thinking of these things myself. How about some of those loaded potato skins. Its sort of late for anything heavy."Â?

Or early, all depended on who you asked.

The fact that she hadn't been to the museum was only slightly shocking to Nic. Nachton had a marvelous museum, and to live there and not visit it almost seemed sacrilege. But on the other hand, it was the perfect opportunity to test the waters around Val further.

"It most certainly is an invitation. I am no expert, by any means, but I am a great aficionado, and would love to show you what is offered here. I'd be curious as hell to see where your tastes lie, as well."

And returning her teasing look, Nic's grin widened. The night had without doubt taken a good turn, and his earlier disappointment in New York was now but a mere ghost of a memory.

To say it hadn't occurred to him to try a little 'glamour' or 'suggesting' on his date, would have been a lie. Knowing he wanted to get to know her better, he had considered it back on the highway. Yet some of the patience he had been trying to absorb seemed to have worked, and was now paying off. He chuckled as he thought briefly of Kem, and how proud the man would be of him. Kem's teachings seemed to be having quite an effect on Nic, and they weren't going unappreciated.

However...and there was bound to be one of those...Nic knew there was not a tremendous amount of time left before the sun would be rising, and he wasn't at all ready to end the evening. Though things with Val had progressed very well, he didn't think she was ready for anything more intimate. So it was probably good that their date would be ending soon. He had things to think about, with regard to how they would proceed. If she were human he really didn't see how they could go any farther. Nic wasn't a vampire snob, but he had seen a few such relationships over the past few hundred years, and none of which were successful. Though he wasn't planning anything beyond the next few weeks, he wasn't the type to put a lot of energy into something doomed to failure from the start.

So that left him with still trying to find out more about Val.

"Would you be available for dinner and a trip to the museum...say...next Tuesday?"

He could have easily said tomorrow night, but thought a few days to see what he could learn about the mysterious Ms. Connor. And, just to be on the safe side, Nic did slip a bit of 'suggesting' into his invitation, hoping Val would think the thoughts that he really was interesting, and sexy, and worth getting to know better were her own. He left off the glamour, hoping the tiny suggestion would be all that would be required.

There was a certain feeling of self-satisfaction when he confirmed it was an invitation. Val would have been sorely disappointed to find out she wasn't a temptation, or at the very least interesting.

As she wasn't being exactly forthcoming with her identify she had to be careful with her expression and let her eyes convey most of it.

Feeling something shift in her head Val's first impulse was to lose her temper. She'd been warned about those who could command and suggest and she was stubborn enough not appreciate being on the receiving end of either. Keeping in mind he though she was harmless, she suddenly found humor in the situation. And at least his own ideas were too far off her own. Although Val did wonder why he'd feel compelled to slide suggestion into things, was he lacking in confidence?

"I think Tuesday sounds wonderful. How do you feel about Italian?"Â?