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THE DOVER BROTHERS: CHAPTER ONE: A New Start
CHARACTERS
Ben Dover, Age 46 -- Detective Captain, Houston PD
Cliff Dover, Age 38 -- Biology Instructor and Archdruid (but much more about that later!) and Ben's baby brother.
A SHABBY STUDIO APARTMENT NEAR DOWNTOWN HOUSTON
Ben Dover sat alone in the nearly-dark studio apartment: the TV droned in the background but since the former police Detective wasn't paying attention to the thing it didn't matter whether it was broadcasting sports, news or whatever. All the big man wanted to do was look at the 8x10 family photo he cradled and brood. In it Ben, looking strong and stolid, watched fondly over his short, slim wife Robyn who smiled with a genuineness that no photo-filter could fake. Little Doug, age 6, had his father's brown hair, blue eyes and sturdy build but the sunny smile was all his Mom. The former Detective Captain (Narcotics Division) for Houston P.D. tried to stuff the pain that was gnawing away at his insides deeper down but, as usual, it just wasn't working.
Robyn, his wife, and only son Doug lost their lives in a drive-by shooting: Ben, the intended target, survived--only losing his right eye to the would-be assassin. A Mexican Drug Cartel wanted to "send a message" to the Houston Police--and that message got through, just not in the way the cartel had expected. His innocent wife and child lost their lives: Ben still remembered little Dougie dying slowly in his arms while they waited for help to arrive. The ambulance came too late to save his son but Ben had made it through--not that what he was doing now could really be called "living". He'd quit the force and spent the last six months sitting in this cheap studio apartment brooding. Ben had gotten very good at brooding but not at letting go. The former Chief of Detectives was so wrapped up in his own thoughts he didn't hear the lock click and the door open...
"Wow, Heath said it was bad but I didn't expect this!" The voice belonged to Ben's younger brother Clifford (Cliff to his friends). The Dover brothers shared the same big, beefy body type, strong, handsome features and dark blue eyes but that's where the resemblance ended. While Ben's hair, dark brown and graying at the sides, was worn close-cropped, Cliff had lustrous golden-blond locks that fell in the thick waves caught up in a loosely-bound ponytail at his neck. Cliff was deeply tanned from years in the California sun while Ben was relatively pale (since he usually wore a suit). Ben was tattoo-free but Cliff had the entire right side of his body tattooed from neck to ankle. More than anything though it was their apparent difference in age that would strike anyone who saw the two brothers: Ben had the weight of the world on his shoulders and looked older than his 48 years while Cliff looked like a 25 year old surfer boy not his actual 38 years. "Come on bro'!" he said, "we've got a lot to do if we're gonna get your ass out of this place!" The new arrival turned off the TV. "That's a good start!"
This seemed to wake Ben out of his stupor. "Wha'... who?" Then years of police training took over and he focused on the new arrival. "Cliff--what are you doing here?" he asked.
"Saving you from yourself!" the other man replied with a smile. He wrinkled his nose: "jeez bro'--when was the last time you took a shower? You stink!"
Ben knuckled his eyes trying to remember. "Last week?" he finally said tentatively. "I think..."
"That changes now bro'!" Cliff snapped. "Up and at `em Ben--we've got a plane to catch! I talked the Landlord into letting you out of your lease: 24 hours from now there's going to be a cleaning crew in here!"
"I--don't have anywhere to go..." Ben felt like a drowning man that had just been kicked off the rescue raft. "What you want from me!''
"You're coming home to Kings Harbor with me bro'!" Cliff told him in a voice that would brook no argument. "You can stay with me until you're ready to fly on your own: I have the room and Gods know I haven't had a project' in a while! Now--get those clothes off or do I have to cut em off!" The man produced the sharp silver Druidic sickle he used in rituals.
"How did you get that thing through airport security?" Ben asked as he started to focus on the `here-and-now' in spite of himself.
"Checked in my bags!" his brother replied. "I told them it was a `religious item' used in the practice of my Druidic faith!"
"And they bought that load o' horse shit?" Ben asked. Even as he said it the former Detective knew the answer: when Cliff turned on the surfer-boy charm he could get practically anything he wanted!
"I also gave the TSA Screener one of these..." Cliff gave Ben one of his most-winning grins. (Ben recognized "Charming Smile #5.) That smile and the twinkling blue eyes had been known to cause clothes to literally FLY off potential lovers. "She barely checked the rest of my bags!" Then the blond man's expression grew serious: "I wasn't kidding about cuttin' your clothes off!" he said.
The older brother knew when he'd been beaten. He stood up and shucked out of his shirt then kicked out of his pants and stood naked and hairy in front of his brother. "Satisfied Cliff?" he asked.
"Gettin' there..." Cliff pulled his tie-dye tee off over his head them unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. As usual, the blond man had forgotten his underwear. He kicked off his sandals and tossed the jeans aside so he was just as nude as his brother. Unlike Ben, Cliff was mostly smooth except for a generous light brown pubic bush and hair under his arms. The last thing he removed was a leather necklace with a silver "Tree of Life" charm and a silver hammer: Ben knew they had something to do with the Druidic faith his younger brother practiced and they were always with him but not much more than that. "Now I'm satisfied!" he announced. "So--lets hit the shower already! I'd forgotten how hot and humid Houston gets in the summer!"
Ben let his brother lead him into the bathroom and numbly watched as the blond beach-god adjusted the shower to a nice warmth without generating steam. Cliff followed him into the shower and started soaping his older brother: at another time this might have seemed either overly-familiar or overtly sexual but Cliff knew this wasn't the time or place for that--not yet at least. He washed his brother without any flirtatious commentary or frivolous banter: he simply did the job with the ruthless efficiency of a trained nurse.
"No man has touched me like this since I married my little bird..." Ben mumbled: in spite of his pain and guilt it felt good.
"I know bro'," his brother softly replied as he turned Ben around to get the back. "I knew you were gay maybe before you did: I also know you loved Robyn and you'd never cheat on her! But they've passed on now--it's time for you to start a new life!"
"Heath is fine with this?"
"Dude--who do you think helped me pull this off?" Cliff replied brightly. "Heath is just as worried about you as I am--he just didn't know how to get you out of your funk! Luckily he has a clever and charismatic identical twin who isn't afraid to do what needs to be done when the time is right!"
The older brother was now fully-awake and engaged. "How did you manage to pull all this off?" he finally asked.
"You know me," Cliff said brightly as he stepped out of the shower. "When I set my mind to something I git `er done!" Ben knew this was true: once Cliff decided on a course of action it did about as much good to tell the sun not to rise as it did to try and prevent him. "I bought some moving boxes with me: we'll ship the stuff we don't take with us back to California. Not like you've got that much here: most of your clothes aren't fit for a homeless person! You sold pretty much everything along with the big house so that's not a problem!"
"I kept a few momentos..." Ben admitted. "So--how long have you been plannin' this?"
"Long enough to make sure everything came together as it should!" Cliff replied. "When Heath told me you'd quit your job and isolated yourself here so I knew I had to do something. Oh `bee-tee-dubs'--you have an interview for a teaching position at Kings' College Monday at 10:00 AM! There is a small Criminal Justice Department and we unexpectedly lost one of our Instructors!"
This peaked Ben's interest but the big man decided to let that pass for the moment. Stepping out of the shower as he gave his brother a disbelieving look. "Y' know I don't have a teachin' degree!" he finally managed. "What am I gonna do with a bunch o' wet-behind-the-ears college kids?"
"Kings' College is a private institution," the younger man replied as he began to dry himself. "Unlike a State school you don't need "book learnin'' to teach specific classes! You're bright enough to teach from a syllabus so that's not going to be an issue. Furthermore--you already educated a bunch of young Detectives--you'll be doing the same thing with these kids! This only difference is this time you won't be shot at periodically!"
"You think I've got a chance in Hell of getting' the job?" Ben asked. Honestly, the idea that someone would want an old beat-pounder like himself teaching the sons and daughters of America's elite seemed frankly far-fetched to him.
"It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it bro'!" his brother assured Ben as he finished drying and started getting back into his clothing. "Besides--I have an `in' with the Dean of Faculty!"
"Old girlfriend?"
"Current boyfriend!"
Ben nearly choked. "Oh my God bro'! You're..."
"A Druid? Devastatingly charming and handsome? Too awesome for words? The best brother ever?" Cliff couldn't resist teasing his brother. Then; "yes Ben--100% all-American Gay Male!"
Ben was floored by his younger brother's frank confession. "Does Heath know? How did he take it?"
"He was the first person I came out to--in the family at least...," Cliff replied lightly. "After Mom and Dad melted down and all but threw me out I didn't bother discussing it with the rest of the family: once you and Robyn hooked up I was pretty sure you'd put that part of your life behind you..."
"So what's changed now?" Ben wanted to know.
"For starters--you have!" Cliff said mysteriously. "The time is right, the signs and portents tell me you'll be needed out in California and that, ins spite of what you may think right this minute, you're ready to take that first step!"
"So why are we on such a tight schedule?" the older brother asked.
"Heath persuaded a friend of a friend to lend us a private jet," Cliff told him (as nonchalant as telling Ben he'd borrowed a cup of sugar from the guy next door.) "We only have the jet for a few hours so get a wiggle on bro'! Last minute commercial flights cost a bundle!"
GEORGE BUSH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: PRIVATE AIRCRAFT TERMINAL
Dusk had fallen when the Dover brothers finished packing and made their way to the Departures Counter to check in. The agent behind the desk gave the pair a jaundiced look. "Benjamin Dover, Clifford Dover--those have got to be the stupidest names I've ever heard! Are you to pulling my leg?"
The blond brother obligingly pulled out his California Real ID. "Clifford Owen Dover, ma'am," he said. "That's the name my loving parents hung on me at birth! To make matters worse I have an identical twin--Heathcliff Owen Dover!" He gave her Winning Smile #4.
She looked at the blond brother and couldn't resist returning that smile. "Wait," she said. "Would that make you two the white Cliffs O. Dover?" she asked.
"Got it in one!" Cliff gave her "Depreciating Moue #2" which made her smile grow even wider.
"Did your parents hate you or something?"
"Our folks had a strange sense o' humor Ma'am," Ben rumbled. "They thought it would be `clever' t' give us kids--unique names!"
"We're lucky he didn't name one of us `Sue'!" Cliff chimed in. "You get used to the teasing after a while and honestly after about 8 or so nobody was dumb enough to tease us twice!"
"F'r obvious reasons!" Ben said and gave her a bit of a flex under his snug-fitting black tee. "None of us Dover Brothers r' what y'd call faintin' flowers'!"
"Oh I can see that!" she replied as she gave the pair a frankly-appreciative un-and-down glance., "Well it looks everything is in order here. Your pilot is ready for you to board so have a nice flight!"
END CHAPTER ONE: more to come soon!