Part 24- Finally, A Light at the End of the Tunnel

They yanked the bug off of the painting and Vicki took into the kitchen, yelled, "Listen to this you bastard!" threw it down the garbage disposal and turned it on. Then the swearing began. "That motherfuckingsonofabitch! When I'm done with him, he will so be begging me to only send him to the 7th level of hell." Seeing Vicki, ranting, hearing the sound of her heart beat so rapidly it sounded like it was about to explode, calmed Henry down considerably. His eyes went back to their normal sea green color, his lip lowered over the fangs as they receded. He went to her side and reached out to touch her shoulder. He thought she would throw it off, tell him she didn't need any patronizing sympathy, but she didn't. Instead she reached up to cover his hand with hers.

"How could he do that, Henry?" She looked at him with the beginning of tears in her eyes. "How could he betray me that way?"

Henry shook his head. Five hundred years had not prepared him on how to deal with the woman that stood in front of him. She was unique. One minute she was swearing the proverbial blue streak, the next, about to cry. He leaned his head on hers, "I don't know, love. He probably felt he was protecting you somehow." He reached to pull her into a hug, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "We'll fix this, I promise."

"How?" She let him pull her in. "How are we going to fix that he bugged your place, and has heard everything, seen everything, that's happened today?"

"Perhaps I can be of assistance." They both turned to look at Amar. "I can send the vid-e-otape to one of the levels of hell I spoke of earlier."

Henry looked at Vicki with the raised eyebrow, "One of the levels of hell? What exactly did I miss today?" They moved back into the living room as she re-capped their adventures, closing with the visit to Mac with the books. "She's going to get back to me asap." She shook her head, "But what the hell do we do in the meantime? Or about all this other stuff?"

"We'll think of something." He raised a hand to push her hair off her face, "You're Vicki Nelson, Warrior Princess, I am Henry Fitzroy, a Prince of the Realm." He nodded toward their companion, " And that is Amar, djinn extraordinaire, sworn to help us in our cause."

Amar bowed slightly, "As you say, Henryvicki. I am at your service." He stood tall and silent by the fireplace.

"Okay, then. Let's brainstorm. We start by listing our problems. She held up a hand, thumb to her index finger as she sat down on the couch. "First problem-we need to check the rest of the house for bugs." Henry sat down next to her, shaking his head, "I already have. That was the only one."

"How di-" She didn't even bother to finish the question. "Never mind." She knew Henry. "Great-Two-The tapes. All the copies and the original need to vanish.

Three-the books and how to get them where they need to be. Celluci's desk.

Four-Making people forget what they've seen on the news. That probably won't be too hard. Low attention span of the viewing public and all."

Five- Keeping Amar away from Grimm. The man obviously knows we were there, and I'm sure he's checked the floor safe and knows Amar's gone. We need a safe place for him to stay until Grimm's in jail." Henry held his arms out to his side.

"Here. It's perfect. Except for your little friend Celluci using his badge to get in, no one's ever broken in here. You should stay here, too."

"I'd be fine at my own place Henry."

"I know that, but as your boyfriend, it would make me rest easier knowing I could get to you in a heartbeat. No one will hurt you here."

"Okay. I'll stay here, but as soon as this is over, we're coming up with a new word for boyfriend. Rutabaga or something." She smiled the smile that melted his heart. "Just not seeing the word boyfriend."

Henry leaned closer, lips barely not touching hers, green eyes focused on blue, "What are you seeing, love?"

"Stop it, right now, Henry." She was finding it hard to think. And breathe. "You know I can't think when you stand so close and do that."

"It seems only fair. I can't think when you're across the room." His tongue darted out to touch her lips and he inhaled the smell of her trying to keep a tight hold on herself.

"Henry," Vicki whispered, "not in front of Amar." He chuckled quietly, and turned,

"Amar, would you mind stepping into your bottle for a moment."

"Of course, Henryvicki. I await your command." He bowed and began to mist, was back in his bottle before Vicki could finish the sentence, "No, Amar, you don't have to do that."

He turned back to Vicki, "I promise, we'll fix everything, but just for a minute, I want to savor you." The low tone of his voice made goose bumps rise.

"You make me sound like a pot roast." She was finding it hard to breathe in and out. Again.

"I doubt pot roast ever tasted quite as good as this." His tongue darted out again, moved around her lips, "You taste…..primal."

"Yeah." Ahem. "You've tried that line before, remember?"

"And it's still true."

His mouth moved down her jaw, up to her ear, his tongue teased the lobe and she knew if she didn't stop it right here, they would end up in bed. And then jail.

She jumped up off the sofa, waggling a finger at him, "Stop that! We've got to focus. So, FOCUS."

"Is that for my benefit or yours?"

"Both." Her knees still weak from his touch, she braced them and called for Amar.

"How may I be of assistance, Henryvicki?" He had barely finished the sentence when Vicki's phone rang. It was Mac.

"Ok, Nelson, tell me what's up with these books?"

"Why?"

"Because whoever these belong to, they're in over their head. I broke the encryption code on the CDs and this guy's deep in debt. Bad investments and the like. But according to the books, he's more solvent than any business in the history of the world. On one of the CDs, I think I found the original version of the books." As Mac started to go into detail, Vicki could feel her eyes glazing over.

"OK, Mac, stop. Please. I can't take any more." She rubbed her head. "Can you put everything back in the box, right now?"

"Sure. But I'd like to look into this some more."

"I'd like you to as well, but we don't have that kind of time. I've got to get the books to Mi-the police as soon as possible. It's very important, Mac. And" She stopped talking while Mac interrupted, "No, Listen to me. Once we get these books, you've got to protect yourself. I had no idea there was that kind of information on there. Our guy probably wouldn't hesitate to hurt you if he thought it would get him what he wanted." Vicki shook her head as she listened, "Mac, it won't matter that you're just a CPA.

A CPA brought down Al Capone, remember? Put the books and discs back in the box. Amar will be there in the blink of an eye. Give him the books and forget you ever saw them, ok? For now at least. Great. Hang up now, please, Mac. And have the stuff ready for Amar. And be careful!" She pushed the end call button and turned to see Amar talking to Henry and Henry explaining what they needed.

"I will go to ConstanceMcCoy's place of business. Retrieve the box and return here. It is imperative that I not be seen."

"That's correct."

"It will be done, Henryvicki. And thank you."

Henry's brow wrinkled, "For what, Amar? We haven't done anything."

"You are wrong." He looked at the two people who had freed him from an eternity locked away from the world. "You have given me a chance to redeem my soul for the deaths of the two children. I have been a djinn for eternity and served many masters. Anthony Grimm is the first I have ever obeyed who was a murderer of children. If I served you forever, it would not be long enough."

Vicki, usually a cynic when it came to people being grateful, was touched by the sincerity of his words. "You're welcome. And if you really want to avenge the deaths of these children, you're well on the way." She looked at Henry. "Is it possible for some kind of protection to be put around Mac. And Coreen too, just to be on the safe side."

"I can do that, Henryvicki. It would be a small matter to do so."

"No consequences? Nobody else would get hurt instead?"

"No. A simple protection could be erected around them, so no harm could befall."

"Henry?"

"It's a good idea. If Grimm has even a clue it was us, he could go to the office. You'd better call Coreen back and let her know to be careful."

"What about the video?"

"I could have a chat with Celluci or someone else at the precinct. Find out how many tapes, where they are and gather them up, bring them back here."

"Okay. Next thing, memory of the tapes."

"I can do that as well, Henryvicki. Once the vid-e-otapes are in our possession, I can conjure a memory spell. It will affect anyone who came in contact with or who viewed them."

"Consequences?"

"There may be a small gap in the memory of those who are affected. They may not remember the time immediately before or after they viewed to vid-e-otapes."

Vicki looked at Henry, "What do you think? Magic's more your bailiwick than mine."

"I think as long as Amar can guarantee no long term damage, it should work."

"OK, I think we have a plan."

tbc