Tom was still moping in the morning room where he had been interviewed when Sergi found him. Sergi looked down compassionately at the young man slouched down on the sofa. He remembered back to his first encounter with the supernatural. Sergi knew of the shock, disbelief, and turmoil Tom was going through to come to grips with this new reality. Sergi cleared his throat at which Tom looked up and then jumped to his feet.
"Thank you, Thomas," said Sergi, holding up a file for Tom to see. "Anya just gave this to me. I know it was a difficult decision, morally and ethically, for you to make."
Tom could not stop his lip from curling into a grimace at Anya's name.
"She's makes my life difficult, too," chuckled Sergi. "I spoiled her when I should have spanked her, but she's bright, intelligent, and full of life."
Tom had to smile at Sergi's obvious adoration for his granddaughter.
"...and let's not forget too keen of a wit and a mouth that does not know when to stay closed," added Sergi, which started Tom laughing. "Shall we go over the file and track down our quarry's lair?"
"Have you...thought about taking her money?" asked Tom, looking thoughtfully at the file. "I don't mean for ourselves, but a lack of funds would hamper her, wouldn't it?"
"Impractical for a number of reasons, Thomas," replied Sergi. "First, it would implicate you and your firm. Second, detectives are very adept at what they call following the money. It would not stay hidden long. Third, I do not believe Covington would keep all of her eggs in a single basket. As sizeable as her assets seem in this file, I am positive that it is only a portion of her wealth."
"It was just a thought," stated Tom.
"It was good in principle, but you are not a thief," said Sergi, kindly. "You did not think it through to all of the possible conclusions and consequences." Sergi scrutinized Tom's face. "You are tired...go and rest."
"No, I'll give you a hand with the file."
"No, Thomas," stated Sergi firmly. "Go and rest. Let your mind and emotions process what you have seen. Go down to the pool. I have had a gym built next to it."
"I didn't bring anything to swim in," said Tom, blushing slightly.
Sergi gave him a hard stare before turning away and said, "Jump in fully clothed or with no clothes on at all. The nearest neighbors are kilometers away. Go have fun. I can go through the file myself."
Sergi left Tom alone in the morning room. Having nothing better to do, Tom headed down to the pool. The Olympic-size pool was next to a large two-story building. The water looked inviting, but Tom just knew that if he jumped in naked, Gretta was sure to show up. Tom paused a he heard faint thumping sounds coming from inside the building. Going inside through the men's locker room door, Tom was surprised to find a spiral staircase inside leading upwards. The noise was coming down through the opening above.
Tom climbed up the spiral staircase cautiously, unsure of what was causing the noise. He found himself in a spectator area with tiered benches, looking down on the floor of the gymnasium. Only the light illuminating the gym were on, leaving his location in dark shadows.
Half of the gym was set up for basketball. The other half of the floor was covered with mats and had al sorts of gymnastic and boxing equipment situated around. The noise Tom heard was being caused by Anya kicking and punching a heavy canvas bag.
"Stupid!" grunted Anya as her foot lashed out at the bag. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"
"Tom..."
Tom turned when he heard his name called out softly from behind him. In the dim light, he saw Hannah sitting a couple of rows higher up. She beckoned for him to join her. Hannah moved over a seat so Tom had to sit down on the unscarred side of her face.
"Rough morning?" asked Hannah, not looking at Tom, but watching Anya punch at the heavy bag.
"I've had better," quipped Tom.
Hannah shook with a little snort of laughter.
"Yeah, right!" she said with a trace of sarcasm. "You're wearing clean clothes that don't belong to Tex. You've got your wheels. You got the file without getting caught and something personal happened between you and Anya."
"What?" exclaimed Tom quietly and a little startled. "How could you tell?"
"From the way she's taking out her frustrations on that bag, and by your ticked-off attitude," replied Hannah. "Do me a favor and close your eyes."
"Okay," said Tom as he closed his eyes.
"Describe me."
"Frizzy brown hair...down past the shoulders...and the, uh...the, um..."
"Scars?" supplied Hannah.
"Yes, the scars," stated Tom, feeling his face burn in embarrassment. "Your eyes are...uh...I don't know."
"That's okay, Tom," said Hannah. "It takes awhile for people to get past the scars. Some never do. I've learned to live with it. Will you do me another favor?"
"Sure," said Tom Looking into her brown eyes. Seeing past the scars, tom suddenly realized that Hannah was pretty and her face reflected her inner strength.
"Will you stand up and drop your trousers?"
"What? Here?" hissed Tom in shock. He then asked suspiciously, "Why?"
"Just to see what the big deal is that gets you so worked up," replied Hannah calmly.
"Fine," snapped Tom angrily.
Ho stood up and unzipped his jeans. Tom then yanked his pants and underwear down and placed his hands on his hips, while glaring as Hannah. Hannah stared at his cock for a long time. Tom's anger began to subside and his nervousness grew as Hannah's silence dragged on. Worse still, his prick began to stiffen up under her constant gaze.
"Impressive," stated Hannah at long last as she turned to watch Anya again.
Tom stood still, unsure of what to do in the face of Hannah's seemingly indifference. He slowly pulled his pants back up and buckled his belt. In a daze, he sat down beside her again.
"Hannah, I don't understand."
"Don't you?" asked Hannah. "Your Johnston is the same as my scars, only not as visible. It's a part of you you're just going to have to learn to live with. I can imagine you growing up with something that size. It must have been extremely embarrassing, especially if you made out with girls who lacked the maturity to deal with it...intimately, lovingly, and, most importantly, privately. Let me guess, you shunned intimacy and sex after a while."
"Yes, I did," replied Tom grudgingly.
"Some men are totally repulsed by my scars," stated Hannah. "Others find them highly erotic. Neither type can see past them to see the real me, but..." Hannah looked at Tom with a big smile on her face. "...every now and then, there's one who sees me and knows the scars are only a small part of the whole person. Ah, I think Anya has finally worked out all of her frustrations."
Tom looked down to the gym floor. Anya had collapsed onto the mat, both perspiring and breathing heavily. He leaned over and kissed Hannah on the cheek.
"Thanks, Hannah."
"You're welcome, Tom. Uh, you don't mind if I have a couple of erotic dreams about you tonight?"
