Title: The Attack

Fandom:Ultraviolet

Pairing: Jack/Michael

Rating: R

Author: Alison

Status: 6 in a series of 8.

Disclaimers: The characters Jack, Michael, Pearse, Vaughan, etc. from 'Ultraviolet' belong to Channel 4/World Productions and the wonderful writer, Joe Ahearne. I am just taking them out to play with, and will return them as found. No copyright infringement is intended, and no money has passed any hands.This has all been done for love.

Points In Time 6: The Attack

by Alison

Vaughan stretched and got up from the desk, glancing ruefully at the pile of reports in front of him and yawned. It was late and the building was quiet and deserted except for the security guards and dogs. He’d stayed late, disturbed by some of the reports that had been coming in of unexplained activity by suspected leech collaborators, and had felt it necessary to double check the reports again. He felt he was beginning feel that something very bad was in the offing but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.

Pearse and the others, sensing his unease, had been slightly twitchy over the past days. They were leaving the glorious long nights of the summer behind them, and a general gloom at the thought of the long nights ahead had descended over the team.

Security was tight at all of their houses and movement during the night had been carefully controlled and managed. There had been increased security at HQ since Michael had crossed over. UV lights were left on night and day at entrances and exits, and changes in personnel and practice had been implemented on Vaughan’s orders.

Vaughan stretched again and turned to return to the reading then catching movement out of the corner of his eye, froze in shock, as he took in a figure standing by the door. He had his gun out and was firing even as he recognised who it was. The figure stopped and staggered slightly, but continued to move forward. Vaughan fired again but the figure continued and was within hands reach as Vaughan attempted to shoot for the third time.

"Hello Vaughan," Michael said cheerfully. "Nice to see you’re still the same, you should have started running after the first bullet though," and he pulled Vaughan forward with ease, disarming him and slamming him against the wall.

He stood for a brief moment, looking at Vaughan with a strange expression on his face. Then pulling handcuffs from his jacket turned him to face the wall and secured his hands tightly behind him. He span Vaughan round and pushed him into the chair.

Vaughan looked up in something like amazement at Michael. He felt stunned and furious, how could this have happened in headquarters off all places, and why hadn’t Michael been destroyed with his first shot? Michael smiled down at him, easily sensing his confusion.

"I learned a lot from you old mate," he said, squeezing Vaughan’s shoulder with apparent affection. "More than I had appreciated. "You’re a good soldier, that’s why you’re still alive. My lot want you on their side, and I find it surprisingly difficult to contemplate killing you."

He grinned. "I’m glad to see you haven’t gone soft though, no hesitation there was there Vaughan," he grinned again and continued. "Mind you I told them it was no go with you, maybe your old mates could persuade you, though I doubt it, somehow I don’t think you have the same type of love and loyalty to them that made me such easy pickings for Jack."

He looked down at Vaughan again in contemplation. Vaughan felt a desperate need to shout and scream, to respond to the taunts, to tell Michael how much he despised him and his kind, but he kept quiet. I might learn something to my advantage he thought fiercely, and then with desperation he knew he couldn’t see a way out of this. The leeches were just too fast, and somehow, something had changed. Deep in his misery, it took him a few seconds to realise that Michael was still talking to him.

"It was funny, but talking about your mates, killed in the ‘friendly fire’ incident, got me think about those ashes in the incarceration chamber." Michael was saying. "The others knew something like it must exist, and as I described it to them it was suggested that many of our problems would be solved if we could just get access to it ourselves. Yes the UV was a major stumbling block but surely we could get to the power source and shut it off?"

He moved a little looking towards the door. Vaughan realised he was listening, and following his lead stayed quiet and strained his ears toward the door.

"Yes," Michael said, seemingly to relax infinitesimally "We’re in," and at that precise moment the lights went out in the room.

Vaughan sat there as his eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light, he couldn’t think, he had never ever known such feelings of inadequacy, fear and total and utter despair.

What had happened, how could it have happened, and Michael, somehow the despised and pitied Michael seemed to have been instrumental in all of this. He looked over towards him, and knew he had to know.

"Why didn’t I destroy you?" he asked slowly and painfully.

Michael smiled at him, "Did you ever find that letter I wrote?" he asked apparently at random.

Vaughan nodded

"I’m still glad I hid it, I wanted to explain, and even afterwards I did nothing to reclaim the note, I know you will not believe me, but in many ways I am still the same person you knew."

Vaughan shook his head violently.

"You’re a fucking leech," he said angrily, "and you were a pathetic human."

"No, I wasn’t Vaughan," Michael corrected gently. "Certainly not pathetic, even you said I had potential, but definitely a little lost, lonely, miserable and unsure. All the certainties and foundations of my life had just been torn apart and I didn’t find the choices left open to me very palatable. I tried, and for a time found some comfort with Frances, but I could never be so certain as the rest of you, and so I was vulnerable to Jack."

He smiled wryly, looking directly at Vaughan. "I do appear to be a little special thanks to my dear mother, I seem more able to think as a human, to put myself in your place easier than the other do, and I’m impatient at their superior attitude to using human weaponry and skills."

He grinned in amusement. "Also, and you’re going to hate this Vaughan, I have a limited tolerance to UV, very limited and I’m sure you will be glad to know I find it extraordinarily painful, but that is how I got in here with the human workers."

He walked towards the door and looked out into the corridor before returning his attention to Vaughan.

"I do seemed to have rather hogged this conversation," he said cheerfully, "but you wanted to know why you didn’t destroy me." He laughed. "I remembered that Jack wore one when I shot at him, and I persuaded the others that it was the most sensible precaution we could take." He unbuttoned his shirt slightly and Vaughan saw the bullet proof jacket beneath. "Simple really isn’t it?"

He returned his attention to the corridor, smiling as another figure appeared. Vaughan watched numbly as Jack and Michael exchanged a few quiet words, then Jack turned to him. He grinned wickedly and licked his lips.

"Well hello again, Vaughan," he smirked. "Mike has had to do a lot of talking, and favours to stop me killing you," he looked across at Michael and smiled. "I’ll have to let him more often, it was most enjoyable."

Vaughan watched them exchange smiles and said with disgust, "I always knew there was something more up with you two perverts."

Michael laughed. "Such tolerance Vaughan, I’m really cut to the quick, anyway, can Vampires be perverts?" He looked down with amusement as Vaughan’s face went blank.

Jack moved further into the room and bent down so that their faces were level.

"Something Mike said gave me a brilliant idea as to how I could get even with you, and not annoy the elders. Mike thinks I’m being a right bastard but I’m sure you’d expect that of me."

He licked his lips again before moving to join Michael by the door, turning back to Vaughan with an evil grin.

"Some old friends of yours will be very keen on seeing you Vaughan, and I think they are going to be a little hungry after all that time in storage. I’ve made arrangements for them to be the first ones reanimated, because I’d hate for you to have to wait to long. Perhaps I’ll be seeing you, but personally I think not." He grinned again, winked, threw his arm round Mike’s shoulders, and together they left the room.

Vaughan shut his eyes, his shoulders drooping in despair, wishing desperately for a gun. He began to relive his time in the warehouse, feeling the same sense of resigned detachment kick in that he had felt in the first minutes of his waiting. The sound of heavy boots marching down the corridor towards him, roused him. He began to struggle against the cuffs, well aware how futile the effort was but unable to stop.

As Michael and Jack walked towards the chamber to help with the restoration, a scream of anguish rang out from the room they had recently left, but was quickly silenced. Jack stopped, looked at his friend, and grinned viciously.

"All’s well that ends well," he intoned solemnly, ignoring Michael’s frown of disapproval.

Continued in Part 7: The Aftermath