Hi there. Well, I hope Paul's early years were interesting for you. In this chapter, something happens that many of you have been waiting for since the last book. Can you guess what it is? I'll give you a hint, it has something to do with Joe. Let's have a look.
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Crown Vic to a Parallel World: Stolen Love The third and final installment of the ongoing adventures of Church Philips
27
Verpa's Information and Joe's Hate
I'd been so wrapped up in Paul's story that I didn't realize how much time was passing. It was well after ten, closer to eleven, when Bem walked into my kitchen to give me a hard time for being late. As soon as Bem's presence reminded me of the time, Paul and I got ourselves moving and followed Bem. He led the way to the main dining room and talked as he went.
"Leah found Ancillarum. He was compromised. When she confronted him, he admitted it. She has him at Shawn's practice. I sent Andy and Comitis in the jet to get them. They'll be back here by one or one-thirty. Ancillarum doesn't seem to know anything. He says he received money from a nameless woman to give her generic information on the workings of this household. What he says is possible, or it could be a clever cover story. I'm going to question him with Vulp and probably Joe."
"Can I..." I started to ask.
Bem cut me off with a sharp word and a sharp glance over his shoulder. "Don't even ask to be there when I question him. You know better."
He was right. I knew better. If it came out that the servant was the key to the kidnapping, I didn't trust myself not to hurt him...a lot. I shut my mouth and let Bem continue talking. "Altus released the compulsion on Primis a little while ago. Primis is going to try to get his father alone so they can talk. Altus thinks if Primis can be near Verpa, he can use their proximity to guide his telepathy. He hopes he'll be able to communicate directly with Verpa.
"That will make the whole process less risky. It's impossible to accidentally overhear a mental conversation. If the guards at the house, Domus' people, if one of them is a telepath or a clairvoyant, they could listen in," Bem said using air quotes around the words `listen in,' "but they'd have to time it just right or have their power activated all the time, which we know isn't possible for anyone that hasn't spent time with you, Big Guy."
Bem hustled us across the grand entryway and down the hall toward the main dining room. He sounded excited, almost to the point of chattering. Paul and I had to rely on our long strides to keep up with the scurrying smaller man.
"Altus is going to link with Hannah when he makes contact with Verpa and Primis, and she's going to call me so we can conference into the conversation. The plan is to do this as soon as possible, but as close to eleven o'clock as is practical. That's why I came to find you. I didn't want to message you and risk you messaging back and interrupting my call if Hannah was on the line. Vulp, Cy, and Neb are already waiting for us."
`The original team together again.' I thought as we entered the dining room and moved to take seats around the table. We could have easily been in conference room 603 at The HALL all those years ago. The only thing we'd need to complete the setting would be for us all to be dressed in black and blue fatigues with grey overshirts.
The one addition to the original team, besides Paul, was Cass who stood against the outside wall of the room with his hands in his pockets. He raised his eyes to me as I entered the room and greeted me with a short nod. I nodded back and followed Bem to a spot at the table.
Bem moved to the head of the table and remained standing while Paul and I took seats along the side. Seated opposite of us was Neb to Bem's left with Cy and Vulp next to her. Lenis hurried in and sat next to Paul. She greeted him with a warm smile and a familiar pec on the cheek. Deep color rose in Paul's face. I wondered if he'd read her mind or if he was just reacting to the `kiss hello.'
Bem's phone rang and the room fell silent. Bem answered the call with a `yes,' and pressed the phone to his ear. I heard only Bem's responses to what the caller, presumably Hannah, was saying. "Yes," he said, "everyone is here. We're ready."
Bem lowered the phone from his face and pressed his palm to the microphone to speak to us. "It's Hannah," he confirmed, "she is telepathically linked to Altus, who is in direct communication with Verpa. She will be speaking aloud for him and thinking what we say back to him. I am recording so we can go back and listen if we need to. NO ONE SPEAKS BUT ME." Bem insisted with a pointed look in my direction.
I put my surrender hands up to show Bem I agreed and that seemed to satisfy him. He took his hand from the phone and pressed a button to activate the speaker. Just as he did it, the door to the dining room swung open and Joe strode in, talking as he went. "So, this is where you are. I've been looking everywhere. Am I part of this team or not?" He demanded through a shitty scowl.
I thought about shouting my brother down, or trying to silence him quickly, but in all the years I'd known Joe, silencing him had never been quick. I built a box around him and dragged him to the table inside it. I took my phone out, composed and sent a text explaining things, and opened the box just long enough for my text to reach Joe's phone. I slammed the box shut again and gestured for Bem to do his thing.
I spared a glance toward my brother. He'd read the message I'd sent and was angrily punching words into his phone. He lifted the black rectangle up and waved it at me while he pointed at it with his free hand. I didn't plan to open the box to receive his anger when more important shit was happening. I held my hand up with my index finger raised to request he give me some time. He beat his fists on my magic like an angry child. I switched my index finger for my middle finger and directed my attention to Bem.
Hannah's voice came tonelessly through the phone speaker but projected clear and loud as if she were in the room with us. She was speaking with Verpa's blustering cadence. "I'm a prisoner, in MY OWN HOME! Under guard like a CRIMINAL! THEY took Chordus. I didn't have anything to do with it. I don't know where he is. It's not MY FAULT!"
My hands balled into tight fists on top of the table as I listened to Verpa's words in the voice of my niece. This asshole is posturing.' My brain raged. I knew I had to keep my mouth shut and stay calm, but it was getting tougher with each word of Verpa's put upon' routine. I was almost to the point of exploding when one of Paul's large hands wrapped around my closed fist. His touch settled me just enough that I didn't open my mouth to scream.
Bem remained professional in spite of what he may or may not have been feeling. He tried to reason with Verpa. "Are you in danger?" He asked.
"YES, I'M IN DANGER!" Verpa boomed through Hannah. "UNDER GUARD LIKE THIS! I NEED HELP!"
Bem was a model of restraint as he continued to try to reason with the unreasonable man. "We have resources monitoring your situation. If it becomes necessary, we will intervene. Right now, you're better off than Shawn because we know where you are. We need to find him first. We will come for you once he is secure. Please tell me anything you know about what happened to him."
"UNACCEPTABLE!" Verpa insisted. "You save ME! Then Mendax will not have any reason to hold Chordus. I AM the priority HERE, not HIM!"
"We don't share your view." Bem insisted calmly. "I need the information I have asked for. If you don't have any for me, we'll handle the situation without you."
"I'll force your hand," Verpa threatened in Hannah's voice, "tell Mendax's people you talked to me. You'll have to come then."
My anger, that had been building steadily since Verpa started speaking, spiked to rage and my mouth flew open. "I!" I shouted at the beginning of a very angry tirade.
Paul squeezed a vice-like grip onto my hand and barked at me. "DON'T!" He shouted.
I clamped my left hand over my mouth and took the right out from under Paul's hand to add it over the left. I removed the hands, stuck the heel of my left hand between my teeth and bit down hard. I tasted blood. The pain was blinding, but it gave me something to hold onto, something that would keep me quiet. I put my focus on Bem and went back to listening. His eyes ate into me, but not too deeply.
"Verpa," Bem said, like a parent whose patience was wearing thin with a misbehaving child, "now is not the time for theatrics. We're trying to find your son. Will you help us or not?"
"I'll help YOU when you help ME!" Verpa insisted.
I bit down harder on my hand. The pain grew sharper and instead of merely tasting blood, the hot fluid started to run into my mouth and down my chin. I wanted to scream. I wanted to hit. I could do neither. I bit my hand and felt the blood drip on my shirt.
Bem's voice dropped a full register. His normal baritone deepened to a full throated, menacing bass. I wondered if the tone would translate through Hannah's telepathy, through Altus, to Verpa. "If you don't help us, and something happens to Shawn, I will kill you."
Bem let the statement hang in the air and the silence drew out like a wire through a die. I wondered what Verpa thought of Bem's threat...of Bem's promise. I had full faith that he would not make a statement like that without the intention of backing it up. The ultimatum was issued. Verpa could either help us or be killed by Bem. The choice was his. I was so pleased with Bem, I was able to take my teeth out of my hand.
Verpa spoke through Hannah again. He sounded different, cautious. "Is Ars there?" He asked.
"I speak with his authority." Bem announced as his tone returned to normal.
"I might have known." Verpa said. Hannah was faithfully recreating his speech patterns, because this came through as a mutter and Verpa's next statement sounded almost reasonable. "I don't know what they did with him. Mendax has him somewhere. He could be anywhere. Mendax has places, properties all over. I assume he's at one of them. I don't think he'll hurt Chordus. He just wants money. I could help with that."
Verpa sounded like he'd been struck with inspiration. "Give me the money. Let me negotiate with him. I could have this settled one, two, three if you'd put the matter in my hands."
Lenis spat, "idiot," just loud enough for me to hear. Her addition to the meeting made me glad she was there to listen. The anger in her voice filled me with fresh wonder that she'd married the man in the first place. I was glad she had, because Shawn was born from that union, but I didn't get it. Lenis' outburst settled my rage enough that I could start to think clearly again. My hand throbbed with angry pain. I realized I'd had it resting on my left thigh and my pants sported a growing spot of red. I wrapped my hand in magic to hold the wound closed and went back to listening.
Bem became very businesslike as he continued the conversation. "We'll take that under advisement." He said blandly. "Is that all you can tell us?"
Verpa was indignant. "Isn't that enough?"
"Quite enough." Bem replied flatly. "We'll be in touch. Do NOT attempt to contact us unless your life is immediately threatened. Remember my warning. Any action by you that compromises our plans will carry severe consequences. Am I clear or do I need to explain in detail?"
"I AM NOT A CHILD!" Verpa boomed.
"Then don't act like one." Bem retorted, childishly I thought. "Goodbye."
"Hannah." Bem addressed himself to his stepdaughter instead of to Verpa.
"Yes, Daddy?" Hannah answered as the fullness and emotion returned to her voice.
"Tell Primis to check in with Altus at least three times a day. I want to know everything he sees. I want the names of the guards, when they're changed, if they carry weapons, what those weapons are, when they eat, when they sleep, everything about the routine of that house."
"How do you want me to report?" She asked.
"Text me the data as you get it, and call at the end of each day for a verbal recap...and...and so I can hear your voice." Bem said with traces of `daddy' leaking into his professional tone. "Call your mother so she doesn't worry."
"Da-ad." Hannah complained.
"Don't da-ad me," Bem scolded, "you know your mother worries. If she doesn't get to talk to you at least once a day, all I hear about is how worried she is. Do it for your dad...please?" Bem's scolding turned to wheedling.
"Yes, father." She said like a typical teenager. I half expected to hear the echo of her stamping her foot.
"That's a good girl. Thank you. I'll make sure your sister calls you when she gets home. How's Altus holding up?"
"He's OK." Hannah said with a shrug in her voice. "Those women don't like men AT ALL, but they don't like Uncle Shawn's father even more, so they're treating him OK. He'll be glad to get out of there."
"And I'll be glad to have the three of you home. You're doing great sweety."
"Da-ad...you're embarrassing me." Hannah objected.
"I'm sorry. Signing off."
"Signing off." Hannah said with crisp precision and ended the call.
I couldn't help smirking at Bem as he pressed the button on his phone to end the recording. He pocketed the device and met my eyes. He tried to scowl at my smirk, but the expression wouldn't stay on his face. The smile kept slipping through. "You did a good job with them." I offered some gentle praise to my friend.
Bem grinned his thanks for the compliment and went back to being businesslike. He jerked his chin at my side of the table. The motion made me look passed Paul and Lenis to where my brother was still locked inside my magic. He had his arms crossed over his chest and a festering scowl on his face. "Oh fuck." I said to myself and dropped my face in my hands to rub it.
When I pressed my hands to my face, the magic that had been wrapped around my left hand squeezed out, and the perforated heel of my hand smeared blood across my cheek. The fresh insult to the wound brought tears to my eyes. I dropped my hands and looked at Joe, who was still angrily waiting to be released. I dropped my magic and tried to head off the explosion with an apology. "I'm sorry. Hannah was on the phone, and I didn't want to waste time trying to explain things to you."
"FUCK YOU!" He shouted.
The swear surprised me. Joe never swore. He didn't believe in it. I assumed that meant he was mad, but I didn't have the energy to smooth down his ruffled feathers. I hoped to sidestep his anger without addressing it. "That's fine." I said to him. "I get it. Would you yell at me later please? I want to see what Bem has to say about this thing with Verpa."
"I hate you." Joe growled in response.
"That's fine too." I said and tried to get back to Bem.
Joe wasn't done yet. He was bound and determined to hurt me. "I hate you, and I hate this place, and I hate this world, and I hate being here, and I hate your friends, and I hate your husband."
Everything was fine, until Joe said he hated Shawn. That removed all of my restraint. I stood from the table and faced Joe squarely to challenge his words. "You what?" I asked.
"You heard me." He challenged me back with his voice low in his throat.
I didn't want to fight with Joe just then. I wanted to work with Bem to get Shawn back. I wasn't going to let Joe get away with hating my husband though. I demanded he apologize. "That last one," I said to him, "I want you to take back that last one."
Joe leaned into the words. He doubled down on the meanness he spewed. "I...HATE...SHAWN!" He sneered.
I moved around Paul and Lenis, took enough steps to put me in my brother's face, hauled off and planted my right fist across his jaw. Joe didn't expect me to strike him. He wasn't ready for it and the hit sent him sprawling across the dining room table, or it would have if I'd let him land. I caught him with magic, stood him up, and punched him again. With every ounce of strength and hate I had in my body I punched my brother's face.
The room around me erupted. People screamed; feet ran toward me. I built a box around Joe and me to keep them out. I slugged my brother again, this time in the guts. I held him in my magic, to keep him from doubling over from the hit. He wretched and heaved and gasped for breath.
I gathered fistfuls of his shirt and released the magic holding Joe so I could shove him, still gasping, against the wall of my power. I forced his head up and shook him as hard as I could. The back of his head knocked against the magic. Blood ran out of his mouth, and I could see where his teeth had torn the side of his face where I'd struck him.
I looked at the damage I'd done to Joe and was proud of it. I hated myself for being proud of hurting my brother, for hurting my own flesh and blood, but everything he'd done since I walked into his house twelve years before, had seemed designed to hurt me. I felt I was getting my paybacks and that made it sort-of OK.
I shook him again to make sure he was conscious, and I had his attention. His eyes focused on me. They hated me as much as I hated him. "WHY?" I demanded through clenched teeth.
Joe tried to speak but his words got lost in the blood that ran from his mouth. He spat it at me. An ugly red splat of blood and saliva landed on my shirt. Joe gasped a breath and accused me of crimes against him. "Stole...stole...my life...stole my son...hate you."
"That's fine." I said to my brother. His eyes tried to close but I shook him until they opened. "You and me, we're gonna settle this. I'll take you to Met, get you fixed up, then we're gonna have this out. Get me?"
"Hate you." He gasped at me.
I wrapped my magic around Joe to keep him from falling and turned to deal with the crowd that was beating on my magic. I opened a small hole in the back of the box around Joe and me, just enough for my voice to get through. I announced my intentions but didn't provide room for discussion. "I'm taking him to Met, then he and I are going to work out our differences. Paul, will you come with us?"
Paul rocked his head up and down in the affirmative. The others started to clamor but I shouted them down. When they were quiet, I tried to check in with Bem, but was interrupted by a single dry cough from the opposite side of the room. Cass stood off the wall and made eye contact with me. "I will accompany you as well, my boy. Perhaps me and Paul...an attorney and a man of God, both mediators after all."
I nodded permission to Cass. He lowered his head and moved toward the room door ahead of us. I turned my attention to check in with Bem. "Will you stay on track?" I asked my friend. "I need you to do your thing without worrying about what I'm going to do. Will you do that?"
Bem hesitated. He eyed me like he was trying to judge my intentions. "I need you to trust me." I pleaded with him.
"I trust you, Big Guy." He said finally.
I released the box around me and Joe and walked out with my semi-conscious brother floating at my side, Cass ahead of us, and Paul following behind.