This is a work of gay-themed romantic fantasy: some Chapters contain graphic descriptions of sexual activity (which may not always be consensual). If reading material of that nature offends you or is illegal for any reason in your area (I expect you know your laws better than I) then kindly leave by the way you came in. Otherwise enjoy!
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
Grateful acknowledgement to Tripp Savidge who's work "The Lab" inspired and influenced the last section of Dover and Son. Check it out if you have the time and inclination.
Shout out to "Mike" from Virginia who graciously allowed me to use "him" as a character in my story and another shout-out to "Chef" Charles: thanks for the nice note and you will DEFINITELY be notified when new content is available! If you want to be like Charles drop me a note at HonableRonable@gmail.com or RonVenable@hotmail.com and I'll see you are notified. Questions, comments, suggestions and constructive criticism are always welcome. You might also find yourself a Character in the Doververse! I'm still fairly new at this writing thing and I try hard to please my "fans".
CHAPTER SIXTEEN: Betrayal
CHARACTERS
Ben Dover, age 49 -- our Hero
Sascha Markov, age 36 -- Gypsy Princess and Witch
Harrison "Harry" Stanford" age 41, - Father of a kidnapped Mer Prince
Gretchen Merriwyck AKA Gret'TchenAA -- Succubus masquerading as the head of Women's Studies Kings College
Mike Meyer, age 57 -- Werebear Security Guard
Carl Cipriano, age 55 -- Wereboar Construction Forman
Several people were gathered in the deepest sub-basement of Seacliff Manor: Ben watched the Gypsy Witch Sascha Markov drawing a complex pentagram on the clean-swept floor. "Listen VERY carefully dahlinks!" she told the assembled group. "Do not, under ANY circumstances cross or erase the outer boundary of the Pentagram! In addition--do not remove or blow out any of the candles at the Cardinal Points until I tell you! The Demon inside will threaten, bribe or entreat you to free her but once she's out we'll literally have the Devil's own time controlling her! Are we all clear?"
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Harry Stanford asked. He was pacing nervously. "What if this goes wrong?"
"I won't say I'm an expert," Sascha opined, "but I HAVE done this before! Trust me my leetle `pupik'! I know what I'm doing--otherwise I wouldn't be doing it!"
Ben sighed. "Our Sons have been missin' f'r a day and a half!" he snapped. "Gretchen Merriwyck has information and we're, by God, gonna see she gives it up! If y're not comf'table with doin' this, ya don't hafta stay!"
"I'll stay..." he finally said. "All my money and family influence haven't turned up a dam thing so I guess we're just going to have to try a different approach!"
"Good," the big man replied. "Just don't do anythin' stupid! You fuck this up Stanford and there'll be another `missin' person! We clear?" Cowed, the other man nodded and stepped back.
"You have the Demon's `True' Name, dahlink?" Sascha asked. Ben nodded. "Then repeat the spell exactly as I taught you!"
Ben stepped up to the point of the Pentagram that was oriented to True North and spoke the words he'd carefully rehearsed: "Gret'TchenAA! By the Sovereign Power of your True Name I Conjure and Compel Thee to appear before me!" He repeated the incantation twice more than watched as something began to appear in the center of the Pentagram.
"What the fuck!" Gretchen Merriwyck had clearly just gotten out of the shower: she was clad only in a bath towel with another wrapped turban-style on her head. She saw Ben and lunged, claws extending to the length of daggers. "You! I'll eat your heart for this!"
"Ya hafta escape th' Pentacle first darlin'!" Ben drawled. "Miz Sascha tells me long as y'r in there an' I'm out here I'm safe from you AND y'r power! So--maybe we could have a nice `civilized' chat b'fore I d'cide what t' do with you! Otherwise ya c'n stay in there an' rot f'r all I care!"
"You can't do this!" the Succubus raged. "You have no RIGHT!"
"When ya helped t' have m' Son kidnapped that was all the right I needed!" the Texan shot back. "Now--are we gonna talk `r do I need t' leave ya here f'r a few weeks?"
"The authorities will find you!" she threatened.
"Really?" Ben said mildly. "How, pray tell, r' th' Cops, r anyone else f'r that matter, gonna connect y'r disappearance t' me? If I were a bettin' man I'd say you've got y'r place warded sixteen-ways-to-Sunday! Nobody's getting' in there `thout y'r say-so! Ya can't use y'r magic t' alert one o' y'r puppets, an', thanks t' th' time o' day we snatched you, ya don't have a cell phone t' call f'r help! Face it Doc, y'r playin' a mighty weak hand!"
Gretchen turned slowly, observing an array of faces, none of whom were friendly, until she came to Harrison Stanford. "Oh God Harry!" she pleaded. "You've got to help me! These people are crazy!"
"Nice try Gretchen!" the man replied, showing some real character for once. "I heard you threaten to eat Ben's heart! Drop the `innocent' act and tell me what you did with my Son!"
"That smarmy little Merman was your Son?" she scoffed. "Harry! I had no idea you could produce such a devious little fuck! I'm actually proud of you! Too bad he got mixed up in this mess! Let me out of this Pentagram and I'll make a quick call: he'll be home before lunch!"
"And what about Jay?" the man asked. "Can you get him out too?"
"Why would you want to waste your time on him?" the imprisoned woman asked with mock sweetness. "Your Son doesn't think much of him--why should you?"
"How do you know that?" the man asked.
"Because he TOLD me, you idiot!" she snapped at him. "I don't know how he found me but he came asking for something that would put magical creatures to sleep! He wanted to teach, and I quote, `some one-eyed fat freak not to interfere in Mer business! I asked a few leading questions and it didn't take me long to figure out WHICH one-eyed fat freak he was talking about!" The succubus gave Ben a nasty smirk then she turned her attention back to Harry. "Your Son should never have been involved! Get me out of this prison and I'll see he's freed!"
"She's lyin'!" Ben cautioned. "You gotta know that!"
"I do," Stanford said with a touch of sadness. "If Colin is still alive whoever took him won't dare release him! I know that much!"
"I can make it happen!" Gretchen promised.
Ben's heart sank and he found himself praying Harry wouldn't listen to her honeyed promises. "No," Stanford finally said. "I've been in the game long enough to know how it's played: somebody with a lot of money and power snatched the boys and they won't risk releasing them! If the boys start talking their whole operation would be blown sky high!"
"I could give them forgetfulness!" she pleaded.
"Can you give `forgetfulness' to everyone in this room?" he asked and there was bleakness in his tone. "I don't think you can! Ben can resist Colin's powers! I'll bet he could resist yours too! So, what are you going to do? Kill him?"
"That's an option..."
"You'd have to wipe out the rest of us too!" Sascha said. "My Gypsy kin wouldn't take kindly to slaying their Princess. I don't think the rest of the Druids would take it too kindly if you murdered their leader and his mate either!"
Harry nodded: "even if you are telling the truth--which I highly doubt--I'd never have a moment's peace! Tell Ben what he wants to know and maybe he'll release you!"
The Succubus turned her attention to Ben: "and if I don't?"
"I have--other resources I c'n bring t' bear..." the man replied.
"Bring it on Fatso!"
"Don't say I didn't warn ya, darlin'..." Ben went to his knees and raised his hands to heaven. "In th' name of th' Father, Son an' Holy Spirit!" he prayed fervently. "I, y'r tuly believin' supplicant pray f'r y'r Divine Retribution against this--"
"STOP!" the Succubus shrieked, "I'll negotiate!"
"Tell me where my Son is!" the Texan growled. "Tell me ever'thin' I want t' know an' you'll leave th' Pentagram in one piece!"
"Barnsdall Pharmaceuticals has been collecting Exotics!" the Succubus said in a rush. "The Survivors are being held in an ultra-secure complex east of Silverton!"
"How do we knows the boys are among the survivors?" Harry asked.
"They never captured a Mer before!" she told them, "and they don't know what to make of Jay! I spoke with Peter Barnsdall himself last night and he's keeping Jay alive--for now..."
"How much influence do ya have over him?" Ben asked.
"Not as much as I'd like," Gretchen admitted. "Frankly, Tubbo, he's crazier than you!"
"Is there anyone in the facility we can trust?" Ben asked.
"Yes," she replied. "His name is Mike Meyer: he's a Werebear but they don't know about him. I don't have his contact information but a clever guy like you can dig it up!"
BB nodded. "I have contacts in the Lycanthrope community," he told the group. "It shouldn't be too hard to track him down."
"Fine--let me out of here! NOW!" the Succubus seethed.
"As per `r' agreement," Ben drawled. "Gret'tchenAA--GO TO HELL AND NEVER RETURN TO EARTH AGAIN!"
The Pentagram blazed up in white-hot fire and the woman inside began to fade. "You BASTARD!" she shrieked. "You cheated me!"
"I promised y'd depart in one piece," Ben told her. "I just didn't say how! I c'n deal with y'r meddlin' in MY life but when y' involve m' Son? That's goin' too far an' y'r gonna pay the price! Bye now. "Don't come back--y' hear?" The succubus gave one final despairing scream as she faded away.
"Are you sure nobody can connect her to us?" Harry asked nervously.
"As long as everyone keeps their mouths shut, dahlink, we're golden," Sascha told him. "Ben already explained this to you: if you keep your mouth shut--and don't tell your wife--who's going to connect her disappearance to us?"
"But just to send her back to Hell?" he protested. "I know Gretchen! She's kind of a bitch--but does she really deserve that?"
"Sweetie--if you knew the number of lives she's ruined..." Sascha told him. "Gretchen Merriwyck is just her latest identity: she's been on Earth for hundreds of years and I shudder to think of the human misery she's caused in that time!"
Harry sighed. "She's responsible for my Son being kidnapped..." he finally said. "I guess I can keep quiet about this!"
"You better do more than guess'!" BB told him. "Word of this gets out--Sascha will be outed' as a Witch but I'm sure she'll make sure it gets out that you're Mer!"
"Dahlink," Sascha said. "Like the man in the chair who grabbed the Dentist's ball said-- `we aren't going to hurt each other, are we?'" She smiled. "Call me a bloodthirsty bitch if you must bubeleh, but I'm not the least bit sorry for getting rid of that monster!"
"I guess I'm just not cut out for this kind of life..." Harry finally said. "I'll keep quiet and make sure my wife doesn't find out." Then: where do we go from here?"
"We hafta find this `Mike Meyer' fella," Ben said. "Once we talked t' him we see where we go from there!"
----------THAT NIGHT AT BURGER BETTY'S----------
Locating Mike Meyer proved to be easier than Ben had expected: he'd made a call to Carl Cipriano to ask if the wereboar might know the guy and found out the two were good friends. The whole Golden Gables crew knew about the kidnapping so it didn't take much persuading for Carl to agree to bring his friend to meet Ben. They selected Burger Betty's a popular, crowded and noisy Diner on the edge of town.
The Texan was just starting to wonder if he'd been stood up when Carl came stomping in: he was accompanied by another older guy with the same beefy build but a rather hairier body (although not as hairy as he might have expected a werebear to be). He had gray sidewalls on almost military-cut short dark-brown hair and an impressive moustache. Mike moved like ex-Military, casing the joint for exits and possible trouble. Ben found himself wanting to like the guy at once (although the fact he worked for the company that had kidnapped his only surviving son tempered that a bit). Introductions were made and dinner orders taken then the three men got down to business.
"So," Mike said rather bluntly, "my buddy Carl here tells me you need me to help you break into Barnsdall! You wanna tell me why?"
"Barnsdall Pharmaceuticals kidnapped my Son!" Ben told him. "They're holdin' him an' a bunch o' other Exotics in their Silverton facility!"
"Fuck!" the werebear said. "So THAT'S what's goin' down in the `Top Secret' Wing! I thought it was just drug and beauty product research!"
"It is!" Ben told him, "they're just usin' captured Exotics f'r bodily fluids an' God-knows what else!"
"That explains a lot," the Werebear said with a sad shake of his head. "Barnsdall has been on a crusade to rid his company of `undesirables'--by which I thought he meant Liberal Democrats. Then I started realizin' what he ACTUALLY meant was Exotics! I'm used ta keepin' my head down because of my Military service so I escaped notice--but I can't let these bastards kidnap kids!"
"Ya realize, ol' Son, at th' very least y'r riskin' y'r job if we get caught!" Ben told the man.
"So lets make sure we don't get caught!" Mike said.
"I'm coming too!" Carl announced.
"That's not necessary..." the Texan said.
Ben might have said more but the Wereboar cut him off. "Boss, stop!" he scolded. "Mikey is my best buddy and I'm not lettin' him go into combat without someone ta watch his back! Besides--you're a good guy and I wanna help ya get your son back!"
"We c'd all end up dead-- `r worse..." Ben said.
"So lets make sure we don't die!" Carl said. "I trust you got some plans made..."
END CHAPTER SIXTEEN