Little Fighter (The Lost Boys)

Chapter Twenty: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

"Touch by touch - little by little

I'll unchain your heart

Don't be afraid of the dark

Take my hand - little by little

We'll break down these walls

Don't be afraid of the dark..."

Across the vast night sky stars twinkled and glittered like a hundred thousand tiny diamond fragments. The tell-tale power chords of the Y&T hair ballad drifted out of the Chevelle's car radio as neighbouring crickets accompanied the lead guitarist with their own leggy solos. It was a perfect moment caught up in a perfect minute.

"Lincoln, do you believe that there's such a thing as heaven?"

Lincoln did not respond to the question right away. Instead he took a long drag on the stub of his Cuban cigar and kept his eyes trained on the fading star scape overhead. The Cohiba was his favourite pick for the last inhale of the evening. They always carried that faint genuine smell of hot sun and the sweat of a gorgeous dark-eyed woman.

"I guess." He exhaled a string of smoke rings, each one smaller than the last.

"Really?"

Sarah turned her head to the side so that she could study his profile. She had not expected that answer, not from him.

"Think I'm joshin' don't ya? Well, maybe I am. Maybe I'm not."

A coy smile appeared as he chomped on the spit-soaked end of his cigar and tucked his hands behind his head.

"C'mon don't be like that. Do you honestly think so? That there's something more out there? Bigger than all this?"

Lincoln knew that the girl had been dying to pester him with questions ever since the sun had gone south for the day. There had not been enough time to get an word in edgewise between getting things sorted with the Boss and hauling the kid out for another round of bloody tag for the second evening in a row.

Mergers were a damn tricky business. Things never went down quite as smoothly as they did in the fine print. The old Master had to head north to Frisco tonight to tie up some final loose ends that required an expert touch that only he could provide. That meant that the old bandit would have to spend the next day hunkered down in some over-priced penthouse. Alone.

Lincoln was none pleased about that.

Going on two nights side-lined with nanny duty when protocol demanded that he be front and centre where all the action was made him twitchy. He should always be one step behind the Master Vampire like a flea on a mangy dog's ass. A second set of eyes were needed when dealing with those upstate powder puffs who thought they were Regan's gift to the western trade settlements. Big city vampires had all manner of big cooperate ideals. They did not like being told what to do. Especially on their own turf.

It was dangerous and Lincoln smelt a red herring.

But he had been given his marching orders. There was no sense in arguing with the old bleeder once his mind was made up. Lincoln had managed a single syllable before the authority gavel was brought down hard on his head.

Lincoln had done good so far with the kid and the Boss was impressed. Now he had to expand his teachings. It was time to broaden the horizons and take things to the next level. Tonight's target had been a sensible family style hatchback with a nice unsuspecting couple inside. A decent enough challenge for a beginner with quite the grand prize.