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Part
14
This
is the non ADULT version of part 14
For the ADULT Part 14 go here
They had fallen into bed, exhausted
just after dawn, but sleeping through the day was not something
either of them was good at. Which was why when Kari opened her
eyes an hour or so before noon, Chris was already awake and lying
next to her, smiling.
"You're adorable when you're
asleep," he commented as she smiled back.
Her face straightened with mock
disdain.
"Are you trying to say I'm
not adorable when I'm awake?" she enquired with a
haughty tone.
Chris just laughed and propped
himself up and one elbow.
"Well if you're going to
be like that," he said calmly, "I'm getting out of bed."
She snorted and slowly sidled
towards him, a devious expression in her features.
"You think you're getting
away that easily?" she said slowly. "I'll show you just
what you're going to be doing."
Dying did funny things to Immortals,
just like Quickenings, and Kari was no exception.
"Care to explain exactly
what it was you had in mind?" Chris enquired playfully.
"Why don't you improvise?"
she shot back and ran her hands over his chest with unsubtle intent.
They spent quite a long time
just exploring and enjoying themselves. Eventually, however, Karina
looked into her lovers eyes, and he could see a decision there.
"Bring me in," she
whispered in his ear.
The request came as quite a surprise,
but the male Immortal had not qualms in fulfilling it. Chris let
go of everything, and lightning erupted from his skin.
The figures Richie had been trying
to sort out lay discarded on the desk and the young Immortal had
taken to just watching the patrons and doodling. He was beginning
to think that he would go take that cold shower when the realisation
of what would happen seconds later, leapt into his mind. Since
there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it he went for
damage limitation. There were certain things that it would be
bad for anyone outside the office to see so with little
thought he dove under the desk. Now if it had been anyone else
bringing someone in there would have been no problem, he'd have
received the same little jolt that all the others momentarily
experienced. As it was, the experience that Chris was having hit
him full force and he rammed his fist into his mouth in an effort
not to scream.
There was coffee on Duncan's
rug, but that was about the most disastrous consequence of what
the three Immortals realised was Karina's inclusion. Luckily for
Greg he'd been leaning forward with the mug over the floor when
his fingers had momentarily lost their ability to grip so there
was no pain involved.
"Oops," he said apologetically
and went for a cloth.
"These things happen,"
the Highlander replied with a laugh.
Adam found the situation very
funny, but then again it was well known that his sense of humour
was very well developed. The photographer had mentioned the state
in which he had left Richie and how the latest events had come
about were obvious.
"So the youngsters got it
together then," the oldest of them commented between laugh.
"Always knew Chris would come through for us."
The three grinned and then the
name actually impinged on Greg's mind. His mouth opened in a small
o and Duncan suddenly caught on.
"Richie," they both
said at the same time.
They knew there were people down
stairs, and they suddenly realised what state their friend might
be in.
"I'll go check," the
photographer said quickly.
Adam thought this was even funnier.
Everything looked normal as Greg
sped out of the elevator and tried to look as if he wasn't hurrying.
Then of course he noticed that he couldn't see Richie in the office
and slowly entered, closing the door behind him.
"Rich, you here?" he
asked quietly.
There was a groan from under
the major piece of furniture. The dark haired Immortal peered
under the desk slowly and found a dishevelled looking young man,
nursing a hand with rapidly fading teeth marks.
"You okay?" he enquired
gently, but he couldn't keep the beginnings of a smile from his
face.
"Damn brother," was
all the twin said.
That was it, Greg couldn't help
it he began to laugh. It started as a low snigger and gradually
rose into a full fledged chuckle. It was an amusing situation,
after all. Richie glared at his for a while and then finally had
to admit that it was quite funny. He smiled wryly and held out
his hand.
"Stop laughing and help
me up," he said dryly.
The newly included member of
the group and her lover finally emerged from their bedroom just
after lunch, and after a quick chat with the family decided to
part company for a while. It was possible that the Immortal who
had killed Kari was watching Chris, so they decided that he should
play the grieving partner. He headed for the dojo, trying to look
dejected and Craven gallantly offered to escort Karina and her
mother into town so the young woman could sort out her hair.
As Chris walked through the familiar
doors he was greeted by a well placed towel in the face. His sibling
had been waiting for him and smiled at him with satisfied amusement.
"What was that for?"
the young Immortal asked innocently.
"You could have warned me,
you bastard," Richie returned eloquently.
The dojo was empty just at the
moment. The lunch time rush was over and the afternoon crowd hadn't
arrived yet so the pair were alone.
"It sort of just happened,"
Chris said half apologetically, "you got about as much warning
as I did."
His twin just snorted in disgust
and wandered back to the office as the other Immortal picked up
the discarded projectile which had so smartly hit him.
"Try planning, Chris,"
the more experienced Immortal said dryly, "or at least give
me a minute or two. I ended up under the damn desk."
There was little or no sympathy
from his sibling, however, as Chris just began to laugh. Richie
sent a disgruntled set of feeling at his twin, but that just made
the other laugh harder.
"Just you wait," the
dojo manager said ominously. "I'll have my revenge."
He would have gone on, but the
phone rang. Both Immortals looked at each other as they realised
that the timing was rather convenient. With slow unease, Richie
put the receiver to his ear.
"It's for you," he
said evenly, and passed the object to his twin.
Chris stood there just listening
for a moment, his face a mask of coldness. His gaze was hard and
by the time he spoke, the look in his eyes could have killed.
"I'll be there," he
said without letting go of the emotion in his features.
He hadn't lost Karina like the
man on the other end of the line had planned, but that didn't
stop him being very angry. All good humour had evaporated by the
time he slammed down the phone and he almost glared at Richie.
"Tonight, nine o'clock,
the building site on the other side of the new shopping complex,"
he explained slowly.
Richie was going to speak, but
Chris already knew what he was going to say.
"I'm going, Rich,"
the less experienced Immortal said, bringing his rage under control.
"He'd never know the difference,"
his twin returned evenly, "I've done this before."
The comment brought a slightly
wicked smile to Chris' features.
"Thanks, but no," he
affirmed deliberately, "this is my fight and I'm going to
make him pay. Promise me you'll stay here."
Both knew that given the chance
Richie would follow his twin and if he did he might not be able
to stop himself interfering. Forces drove them that sometimes
couldn't be controlled, and breaking the rules would be a very
bad idea. Finally the sibling with more years of Immortality nodded
his agreement. There was nothing else he could do. They'd known
this would happen, now they had to deal with it.
End
of Part 14
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