'Who is she Paul?' Karl dropped the 8x10 photo in Paul's lap and paced back around the desk.
Paul inspected the photo, his brow was low indicating hard thought.
'Paul?' George enquired.
Paul looked up as his fingers traced the photo absently. 'She's just a girl I met at a bar, nothing special.'
'Her eyes?' Karl encouraged.
'I never noticed it before. She....' He stopped suddenly and swallowed hard.
'Come on Paul.' Karl growled, 'Spit it out.'
'She came to me, said she was fresh out of the academy of magic and needed help.'
'With?' George rubbed his forehead.
'Finding a position.'
'Did she find a position Paul?' Karl prompted. As the question floated through the air, Paul broke eye contact and turned a lovely shade of crimson as he blushed.
'Jesus Paul!' George exclaimed as he stood and started to pace.
'What?' Paul questioned in disbelief, 'so I screwed her a few times, led her on a little.'
Karl snatched the photo, it crumpled in his hand as he shook. Through gritted teeth he spoke, barely controlling his voice.
'We've ran every back ground check we have at out disposal in the last two hours, in which time you primped and pruned yourself in the bathroom before you joined us, over a hundred other super naturals have seen this photo. Everyone! from the government agents to my own Intel and security teams. She draws a blank. An actual black hole. Nothing. Narder. Zip. So if you could actual take you brain out of your pants and try to remember anything. That would be appreciated.'
George's hand settled on Paul's shoulder. 'Please son' George made eye contact, 'She could be a link.'
Paul nodded, he stood sharply, snatching a pen and paper from the oak desk scattered with papers. He wrote something frantically then handed it to his father.
'We used to met here.' Paul handed over the note.
George took the paper with a nod. He scanned the contents thoughtfully, before patting Paul's shoulder.
'I'll pass this on to the team.' George softly as he opened the office door and exited. Karl eye balled the young man before him, barely aware of his friend's departure.
'You can stop it with the intimidating looks Karl. We all know I'm not you favourite person. Hell, I don't think I'd even make a top ten. It should have been me taken, at least you precious Alex would be safe huh?'
Before he could blink, Karl was up in his face, grabbing his shirt in one rough hand, lifting him easily of his feet.
'Listen to me, you waste of breath, I've cleaned up your mess before. Do not misunderstand my emotions now. I tolerate you because your father is my dearest friend and I love you sister. But don't ever, and I mean ever try to use those emotions against me son.'
He released Paul quickly, so much so he stumbled and grabbed on to one of the high back chairs from balance.
'So now all of a sudden this is my fault? I mean precious, fantastic, wonderful Alexis never does anything wrong.' The comment dripped with sarcasm.
Silence descended between them for a moment as Karl calmly collected the maps and papers decorating the desk. He took a breath and looked up.
'All your life you have tried, no, continue to try to get your father's attention. It doesn't matter that he treated you and Alex the same, you had to out do and embarrass her every opportunity.'
Karl took his jacket from the desk chair and slipped it on.
'Bullshit.' Paul scoffed.
'Is it? Even when her powers blossomed and her control out grew your own, you still persisted in this game of tit for tat. Did it ever occur to you that you never needed to compete in such a childish way. That your father favoured you enough to name you heir?'
'Yeah, Yeah and Alexis his concealer.'
'Did you want the job?'
'Hell No!'
'So why such games? All the times Alexis tried in the past to get you to communicate telepathically, you refused, just in case she saw in side your head. To see the evil intent rooted there. You continue to let her believe you're her loving brother. That's bullshit.'
'You're crazy, I love my sister.' Paul answered defensively.
'As much as you hate her? I often wonder, if you father had spent as much time training Alexis as he did training you to take over...'
'What? What are you getting at?'
'That if Alexis had had trained as a concealer I would feel more comfortable in her being retrieved intact.'
'You're waffling wolf. Lusting after my sister like a dog.' Paul commented heading for the door.
'I left you a little something on your bed.'
Paul frowned as he slammed the door behind him, taking the stairs two at a time. As he entered the bedroom, the light net curtains of the patio windows carried a cool breeze over his face. As he inched forward waiting for some bobby trap. He noticed the A4 folder perched on his bed end. He gently touched the letter, wording clearly embossed on the cover. It said one word. Alistair.
***
Alistair was impatient. He'd paced, he'd fed, he'd even had Diana provide him with some entertainment and still he felt anxious. He sat against the head board of the four poster bed, his mind showing him her face, her body. The sight and smell of her blood. Made him think of Marianne.
Diana placed a glove clad hand on his bare chest, drawing circles with one finger. He hated her hands, hated looking at her imperfections. After sex she always resorted back to her true form. But then again she could become anyone. She'd done just that and for the last few hours Alistair had been having a little fun with his Alexis clone.
'What are you thinking about?' Diana asked seductively.
'None of your business.' Alistair rose from the bed swiftly, leaving Diana to fall onto her face into the feather pillows . He snatched a red robe from the closet and drew it on. 'Won't Taran be wondering where you are?'
Diana slide from the bed and stood stiff, turning her back to Alistair. She tugged the gloves from her hands in an awkward way and threw them to the floor. She shimmered her form, scales and scars appearing on her body, flashing in shades of indigo and violet. She knew he hated this, her natural self.
'Diana' His tone was expressed a warning.
She turned to him and smiled, her face contorting and flexing into Alexis. 'I undersssstand.' she stalked forward still minus her clothes. 'You-
'No you don't understand my dear, I enjoyed our little tryst but my patience and the memory grows thin.' He grabbed her arm and lead her at a run to the door. 'Get out before I break your neck.'
'Masssster' Diana protested as Alistair flung her into the dimly lit landing. She turned to use her voice, only to be met by the closing door.
Diana shank to the floor, feeling the wetness on her face, she rubbed her eyes. Humiliation. That was what she felt, rejection and humiliation.
***
Alexis jiggled the lock on the window, smiling with a small amount of glee as it gave a crack and popped open. She stepped out into the night onto the small patio space linking her room.
Alexis stepped out barefoot onto the cold concrete floor. The dark night stretching out as far as she could see. Trees in the distance dancing against the night creating an eerie sound. She stepped closer to the railing, the bump and simmer of magic touched her arm, creating a goose bump sensation along her skin.
Alexis touched it experimentally with her finger and watched it glow and hum, then bump, stretch and finally relax. It was old magic but odd, different, altered.
'Its one of Alistair's concoctions.'
Alex turned to find Jensen at the window jam. Barefoot in a pair of dark blue jeans and a white shirt. He rubbed ruggedly at his hair with a small towel. Alex couldn't help but notice how different he looked clean, shame grabbed her. As if his being dirty had been his fault, he was a prisoner just like she. Except he knew what Alistair could do. Alexis nodded and turned back to the hum of magic.
'Alex?' Jensen moved silently, placing a warm hand on her cool shoulder.
Alexis stared ahead, watching the tiny plane in the sky flicker lights of red and white. She thought of her father, wondering is he was OK. He'd be worried. In her mind images flickered of the people she cared about the most. Her father was the most predominant. She frowned, frustrated by the fact that she seemed to be caught in something beyond her understanding and a sickening feeling in her stomach told her her father was or had least had been involved with these men...once upon a time. She sniggered at the reference to the fairytale opening, gripping the metal railing with her hands and staring over the edge, her hair lighting brushing against the magical boundary in place. Below, all she saw was black pavement and a sole wrought iron street light. Its light flared and danced with the breeze.
'Alex?' Jensen moved closer closing his hand over hers on the metal.
Jensen watched patiently as she eased back from the railing, for one awful moment he thought she'd try to jump, like he had tried to, so many times before. Strands of her hair blew in the night air and the remains of her dress clung to her figure. His hand itched to touch the independent hairs as they lashed around her face.
As he closed in to do just that, Alexis moved her hand, dislodging his own and pushed her hair back with one elegant movement. She gave him a blank expression that changed into a sad smile. She looked so much like the Marianne he remembered, a woman worn down.
