Chapter 9
Nate woke up with a throbbing pain in his head. He cringed as he opened his eyes to the bright lighting shined in his direction and soon realised he was restrained to a wooden chair.
And wooden. Really? The pathetic attempt at a take over was amusing honestly, for Nate anyway.
He checked his surroundings and found that they were still in the warehouse but he and Francis, who was also tied up and next to him had been moved to the centre of the building. Nate would be furious if he found out that Francis was hurt permanently with anything because he was fond of him and Francis was one of his most trusted people, a person that was edging on friendship, which was rare with Nate so if he lost Francis, all hell would break loose and the wrath of Nathaniel Alianov and they would pay. Not that they wouldn't for the attempt at a kidnapping, extremely poor if you asked Nate.
Nate would play along for a while, just to find out their plans and then break the bloody ties that would not hold him back. The grunts had a timer, and hour and then show up, guns blazing.
"Ah, you are awake, Mr. Nate," the more irritating man sneered, Nate decided to call him Loser 1.
Nate flashed a charismatic and charming grin.
Loser 1 kept on making a displeasing face to look at while another man, Loser 2, wheeled in a metal trolley showered with a range of, what his kidnappers thought, terrifying appliances suitable for the fantastic activity of torture.
Loser 1 picked up a sharp looking blade and lifted it up to shine in the light. Nate rolled his eyes and said, "Really? What are you going to do with that?"
Loser 2 glared at him and growled through his bared teeth. Loser two was annoyed, "You will answer our questions or we will hurt you." He tried to appear harsh and cruel but ended up looking in pain.
"You can try, but it's not going to do very much," Nate was saying as Loser 1 stepped closer and drew a long line down the length of Nate's right arm.
"How do you like that, boy?" Loser 1 asked smug.
But he then as he glanced back to the laceration he saw that it wasn't there anymore, it was replaced with a strip of bloodied but stitched up skin with no markings on to suggest that the man he had just cut into was hurt.
Nate gave a sadistic grin, seeing Loser 1 staring at his arm. "That was fun but now you've got to pay for doing that and hurting my friend here."
Nate, in a rapid movement, crushed the chair and stood up in a fury. He glowered at the men fiercely and in his hand was a broken half of a chair leg, he lifted it and threw the piece of wood. It landed in Loser 1's right shoulder. He shot back with a loud cry of pain. Loser 2 growled again and made a move towards Nate, he only took a step before he was stabbed in the thigh with a blunt pair of pliers, quicker than possible for Nate to have made it there. Loser 2 stumbled over and hit the ground with a heavy thud, Nate smiled casually and then got creative. He first sliced the ropes on Francis and then turned back to the men on the floor.
"Hmm, this is going to be fun."
Nate approached the men who were still withering on the floor and held a blunt blade and brought it down onto Loser 2's collarbone. There, Nate climbed over him, pushing into the wood already in his thigh making him whimper, and began to carve his initials. NR. Jaggedly and deeply he made the letters clear, even with the blood trickling along his arm and forming a puddle at the side.
Behind them Loser 1 was coming to terms with the pain in his shoulder and had pulled the wood out, a mistake by Nate's standards, but who was he to question the stupidity of them after the kidnapping attempt. Loser 1 forced back a shout coming to the back of his throat and made himself sit up and then stand up. He spotted a metal pole which he picked up with his good hand and fought a groan, he took two steps towards the man who was hurting his friend and lifted the pole to strike down, aiming for the man's head. Before he could his target grabbed the other end of the pole and swiveled his head around to look at him. Loser 1 swallowed and had a look of fear in his eyes.
"You think I don't know what you were trying to do?" Nate looked exasperated, "I'm trying to work here, can't you respect that and let me get on with it? I'm creating a masterpiece and you just had to get in the way of that. Don't worry, you'll get your turn when I'm done with this scum."
Loser 1 was truly living up to his title and made a start to the exit. He wasn't about to risk his life for his friend, he wanted to live. not that Nate was going to let him go, so he picked up a sharper knife and threw it with unbelievable speeds across the space Loser 1 had just made. It pierced a spot right below his lungs, on the right of his back, injuring him further. He gasped loudly and dropped onto his knees, effectively stopping him from leaving anytime soon, the only downside was that Nate would get less playtime with Loser 1 than he would like. He could end Loser 2 quickly and then move onto Loser 1 but he didn't want to do that as it would give him less time to play. So he opted for the other choice. he got up off Loser 2 and walked to Loser 1 who was lying on his front.
Nate forgot to grab another tool before going to Loser 1, but he shrugged and said, "Oh well. This will have to do."
He glanced down to the wounds he had inflicted with the wood and then the knife and smiled, the knife work was pretty good if he had to say so himself, very on target. Oh, the puns.
"I don't think I want you bleeding out too fast," Nate said disapprovingly. So he raised his boot and pressed it onto his back, right on the spot of the fatal knife wound. Loser 1 gave a panicked shriek and whimpered.
"D'aww," he leaned on it a little harder and Loser 1 gave another shout, "You're just getting annoying now, too bad I had plans for you, well, for the near, near-future."
Nate crudely rolled Loser 1 on his back and knelt down. He slid the blunt knife across his throat, once to make the cut and then twice to make the cut deeper and more painful. Loser 1 made gurgling sounds as he choked to death on his own blood.
"Well, that was eventful."
Francis was beginning to wake as Nate walked closer.
"Sir? What happened?" Francis asked.
"It's okay, Francis, I've dealt with them, no need to worry," Nate said. He checked on Loser 2 and Francis shook off his ropes, stood up and stretched. He scanned the room to find Loser 1 dead about 15 feet away and another man on the floor before him. His boss was checking on that man, who was barely breathing and his boss announced, "Damn. He's going into shock. Whoops." Francis wasn't too bothered but the state of the men, one, they had knocked them out and tied them up and two, they probably suggesting torturing Nate which was always a bad idea. So he didn't mind what Nate did to the men.
"So, Loser 1," Nate pointed to the man lying away from them, "is dead. Not sorry. And Loser 2," he pointed to the man at their feet, "is in the process of dying but I'm not going to do anything about it, not too bothered and a slow death suits him as I just gave Loser 1 a quick one, not very like me but he was irritating."
Francis nodded in acknowledgement and said, "Yes, sir. Uh, can we leave now, sir?"
"Sure, I think that the grunts will be here soon enough," Nate replied. he looked around for a moment and then spotted what he was searching for and took them off the men and the bottom of the trolley. He handed two of the guns to Francis and kept the other four on his own body.
"Be ready for the guards outside, they probably thought the sounds of torture were coming from us and that we are dead by now, so we have the element of surprise. Aim for a kill shot," Nate explained to Francis.
The reached the back exit and Nate mouthed a short countdown before swinging open the door and shooting the two men stationed there straight through their heads. Nate and Francis split up and patrolled the perimeter of the warehouse, taking out anyone at those posts. Quickly and efficiently they eliminated the guards.
Afterwards they waited at the back pull up where the grunts would be meeting them. Nate was lying down on his back on the deep green grass and Francis was sat beside him, pistol in hand.
"Doesn't that cloud look like a rabbit with a bowler hat?" Nate said, pointing to the left of the sky.
"I think it looks more like a deer hugging a moose, sir," Francis said.
"No way, it can't be, the moose is all wrong if it was that, I say it's a rabbit with a bowler hat," Nate disagreed. This guessing-the-cloud-shape went on for another ten minutes and the grunts when arrived.
They pulled up sideways and threw open the car doors for Nate and Francis to get in.
"Took you long enough," Nate scolded.
"Sorry, boss. Won't happen again, boss," Baxter replied
"I'm sure it won't. Anything happen back at The Garage?" Nate was curious.
"No, sir. It has been normal and quiet."
"Good to hear," Nate said. He then told the rest of the grunts what went down in the warehouse, he missed out the bits where he was making the men scream but told them everything, to the part about the clouds. "So, any of you have a water bottle?"
Baxter reached back and picked one up and handed it to Nate who downed the entire thing in less than a minute. "Torturing people is hard but fun work."
The drive for a while before ending up at the drive way of The Garage, the grunt driving stopped at the front to let Nate, Francis and the others out before parking in the garage. Nate unlocked the door and walked though leaving it open. He went straight to the living room and he found Aimee and Jonathan laughing, the couple looked up at their newcomer and began to giggle even more. Nate smiled and he was glad that they were still happily together but felt like something was missing for some reason.
"You look a bit battered up, where did you lot go?" Aimee asked, leaned back on the sofa.
"Kidnapped."
"What? Are you okay? What happened?" Aimee asked worried now, they ceased their giggling.
"Francis and I are fine, just tired. There was a small hiccup," Nate said, realising how exhausted he was.
Aimee and Jonathan didn't look convinced and Jonathan said, "Right. But go tell Andy you're back and about the kidnapping thing, she is in her room. ."
Nate was slightly confused at the request but he said his 'goodbye' to them both and followed up. He left the room and walked down the rest of the corridor to to up a flight of stairs and down another corridor for Andy's room. He knocked and patiently waited.
He wasn't even changed or showered but he was at Andy's door, he didn't really know why.
Andy called for the person at the door to entre and was pleasantly surprised to see Nate.
"Nathaniel, come in, have a seat," Andy said gesturing to the other end of her bed. She was seated leaning against the headboard. Nate climbed on, sitting crossed legged opposite her.
"So. What the hell happened to you?" she demanded, scanning his clothes and general appearance.
"Got kidnapped," he said like it was the most normal thing to happen to him in the world. In some ways in was, in his 'line of work' it was more than likely something would happen to him, like a kidnapping every now and then or an arson attack to one of his properties.
"Christ, are you all right?" If she wasn't worried about him before then she definitely was now. She waved her hands about trying to think of a way help him, he swatted them away and gave her a look.
"I'm fine. Francis is fine. You have nothing to fear, and when have you ever known me to not be able to get out of any situation? I can overpower a few idiots on my own. Francis there was just a small help," he wasn't at all bothered. he had to survive somehow through all the years
She seeme a little more relieved with the news and said, "Excuse me for being concerned, thought you might appreciate it." She made and noise, folded her arms and turned her head to the side.
"Aww, of course I appreciate your concern but now I have to change out of my ruined clothes," he said in apology, then he proceeded to stand up off the bed and pull off his ruined shirt, dropping it on the floor. He stood there for a moment as she was silent and staring and then he said, "Well, I'm going to take my leave now."
Andy was still staring, mouth dry as he was leaving. She quickly realised that after he had gone that he had left his shirt on the floor of her bedroom.
Nate grinned smugly walking down the corridor. He bumped into Francis on the way to his room, but he didn't think much of it.
"Hi, sir. Why are you shirtless, sir?" Francis asked bemused.
"Andy's a menace, Francis. I'm dealing," Nate said smirking happily.
"Very good, sir," Francis said, he strolled away, avoiding the mess his boss was bound to create.
Nate then called out, "See you later, buddy." Francis shook his head and kept walking until he was out of Nate's line of sight.
Nate was still in a good mood as he got out of the dirty clothes and grabbed towels to lay out in the bathroom rack. He took a long shower, mulling over the mundane things in life and the bright future he would have.
He stepped out and wrapped a larger dark blue towel around his hips and took another to scrub over his hair. He hung it back on the rack and he then opened the bathroom door and walked across the width of the corridor.
But he was stopped by Andy, standing about three feet away, dirty shirt in hand and speechless.
"I- erm. I'm, uh, here to, err," Andy was trying to force out her words but her mouth wasn't listening the screaming noises that her brain was making for Andy to talk and act normal. "I'm here to give you your, er, shirt." She finally said.
Nate was now facing her, nothing hiding his chest that only had a only a sheen of shower water on and the towel barely hanging onto his hips. He was smiling, but not full on grin, that would reveal that he absolutely knew what effect he had on her and he didn't want to do that, playing innocent was all too much fun.
"Ah, Andy, thank you for the shirt," he blatantly lied and took it from her still hand, "Anything else I can do for you, love."
Andy had now come to her senses after about three full minutes and narrowed her eyes. She had an idea and answered, "Sure."
She walked straight passed him and twisted the doorknob to his bedroom and went inside. Operation Revenge was at the ready and raring to go.
She threw herself onto the centre of the bed and put her hands behind her head. "I'm expecting a show, you know. And your room is surprisingly clean."
Nate was still at the door frame, "You expecting clothes on the floor, plates lying around? We haven't been here long and I'm not messy. Also, not happening, love." On hand holding onto the side of the towel and the other at his side he went to his closet and closed the door.
"So, why are you here?" he asked pulling on a pair of slacks.
Andy glanced to the ceiling as she replied, "Admiring the view, well, what would have been a really great view if it weren't for that blasted door in the way."
"Let's get it open then," Nate said pulling open the door, giving Andy a full view of the medium sized closet. Nate was standing in only in his trousers. Andy watched on as Nate turned around and reached for a button down shirt and slipped it on.
Nate just said, "Shuffle up," in which she complied and he crawled on next to her. He mirrored her position lying on top of the covers of the bed. "What's so interesting about the ceiling then?"
Andy gave up staring and turned her head to face him. He was less than a feet away on the ridiculously large bed and she gave a half shrug.
"Nice bed," she said, deflecting. "Very comfy."
"I know, one of the reasons I love it so much," he rose an eyebrow suggestively.
"Mmm hmm," she faced the ceiling again and then closed her eyes, "You know, this bed is actually proving to be a little too comfy..." She mumbled out the last part, she was getting tired. Almost unintelligible for the regular person but not for Nate, because his incredible senses included that of being able to hear things he shouldn't picked upon.
Nate was looking at her as she began to fall asleep. He decided to let her sleep there, he wasn't willing to wake her and be on her bad side, it wasn't worth the risk, but also falling asleep next to her though.. That wouldn't be something she would complain against, much.
A few hour later Andy woke up to a heavy weight on her hip and a startling warmth encased around her.. She breathed in for a second and found that there was a musky scent in the air. She peaked open her right eye to see that she wasn't in her own bed, but a larger and more luxurious one than hers.
She gave a choked gasp which she ceased immediately after hearing Nate (why did it have to be Nate?) shift.
This was not her plan. Her plan was to go to his room and intimidate him and to settle on the bed to make him uncomfortable, not to bloody fall asleep. Only this would happen to her. And why didn't he move after figuring out she was sleeping, like to the armchair on the other side of the room or to go down stairs. Not to stay on the bed, his bed, and fall asleep right next to her. Why did he do that? Lazy arse.
She closed her eyes again and waited for a moment before trying to get out of the bed. She reached her hand to his arm still over her hip and pinched around his wrist and lifted it off her and onto his side. He breathed out heavily and she froze at his movements, only daring to blink.
'You can do this, Andy.' She said to herself in her mind, shouting the words.
"Andy?"
She groaned and snapped. "Yes. What?"
"Whoa, you're the one that came here, love," his voice was still groggy from sleep giving it a deeper and throatier tinge to it.
"Sorry, Nate. But if you could remove yourself from my personal space, that'd be great, thanks," she said, waving her free hand over the fact that the were still too close for comfort.
"I could," he said and he leaned in closer and pulled her towards him, "but this is nice, don't you think?"
"Erm, No. Now move," she said, no further comments were to be allowed. He stayed for another moment before finally rolling over onto his back.
She slid off the bed, stretched like a cat and then made her way to the door.
"You're coming back soon, love," Nate said, copying their earlier positions, hands behind head and legs extended on the bed, he watched as she tried to leave as soon as she could, he supposed it was rather awkward but he found it endearing and funny, the whole situation that they both started. Definitely mutually.
"No, I'm not," Andy said and rounded the corner before he could make any remarks.
She walked off to her room, both annoyed and amused at the same time. She wanted to strangle him but she also wanted to give him a medal for his scheming.
Nate was happy and content, he was in a brilliant mood. He hopped off bed and went to the living room. Jonathan and Aimee had left the room at this point and they were probably in their room asleep. He and Andy had slept from early evening until about very early morning, around 1 am, meaning the majority of the household were fast asleep. So, nate would have to be quiet, otherwise he would wake all the kids, even Nate with all his strength and power couldn't take on the wrath of the kids, after all their training from the trainers and even the grunts.
But there was one person that he could bother that was awake.
He left the armchair he was sitting in and swiped a large cookie on the plate on the table and went to wander around until he would find Andy. He opened a few doors to rooms and found a few people sleeping in funny positions, in Craig's room he found him on the floor with small blanket draped over him, still healing from the explosion in The Boat House. He then made his way to the kitchen where he found Andy with a large slice of cake.
"What you doing here in the dead of the night, love?" Nate strolled in casually and leaned on the counter with an elbow.
She swallowed the bite in her mouth and quickly replied, "Eating, obviously. Why are you here, to torment me?"
"Yup." He sat down on the stool in front of him and put his chin in his hands and stared at her intently.
After a minute Andy spoke up. "That's creepy, Natalie. Look somewhere else," she said eating more cake and appearing to be slightly disturbed by the fact that Nate hadn't blinked since he sat down. "Here, have the rest of this cake." She pushed the plate with half of the cake to him and put down the fork.
If it was anyone else that had called him 'Natalie' or any variation of that name he would have beaten them senseless but he didn't want to here.
"Ew. I'm not using your fork. It's got Andy stuff all over it," he said making a face.
"Yeah, well. You look like the back side of Doctor Frankenstein's creation. Ha." She made a face back at him as he went around Andy to pull open a draw to retrieve another fork. He lightly poked her in the shoulder, a bit miffed.
"I didn't know you knew Shelly," he said.
"I didn't know you knew Shelly," she said in return, "I'm super clever."
"No, I'm smarter," he complained with a mouthful of chocolate cake.
She cringed away from him as he talked, it was disgusting. He then poured himself a glass of water to wash away the taste of strong chocolate, as he drank there was a knocking from the front door.
Nate looked to Andy, both now completely serious.
"You expecting anyone?" Andy whispered.
Nate put a finger to his lips and shook his head. He reached under the dining table behind them and drew out side arm and held it before him, he gestured for Andy to do the same. Nate slowly approached the door, they silently walked on the balls of their feet, he was leading front of her and she was at the back. They got to the door and he motioned for her to stand by the wall as he looked through the hole in the door.
A figure waved back, a wine bottle in hand. Nate's tense shoulders relaxed and he tucked his gun into the back of his trousers.
He sighed and went to open the door, Andy gave him a confused look. Nate ignored it and proceeded to undo the many locks and bolts on the reinforced door. It soon opened to reveal a man in a with a cheery smile and bottles of wine in each hand.
"Brother! How are you doing?" he exclaimed loudly, throwing open his arms and pulling Nate into a tight embrace.
Nate groaned inwardly and said, "Quiet. There are people asleep in this household."
"Brother?" Andy asked, surprised and wary of the man before them.
"Yes, this is my older brother," Nate said reluctantly.
"I've never heard of any 'brother'. Or family for that matter," Andy replied, still not really comprehending the word.
Nate's brother looked a bit put out, "No mention of me? Your favourite sibling, the oldest?"
"You may be the eldest," Nate said, "And deafest," he mumbled. "But not by favourite, Ophelia, our sister holds my affections, by far the more tolerable one."
The man scoffed and turned to Andy, "Now, who is this pretty dame? You've been rude, Sir Nathaniel, not introducing her." He slipped his hand in hers, the one that wasn't holding a firearm, before she could pull away and pulled it to him, pressing a kiss on the back of her hand.
"Cut it out, people don't do that anymore. You haven't adapted very much have you? You've been noisy. I've been hearing about the kills you've done, clearly your methods never change," Nat said, beginning to get irritated with his brother's presence.
Nate's brother completely blanked Nate and was still staring at Andy as she pulled away her hand back to her side.
"You can call me Pembroke, or Oberon Balthasar, as I am more well-known as," Pembroke said to Andy who rapidly realised something.
She gasped and made the connection as she had weeks before with the knowledge of vampires already existing for her, "It was you! You're the one going around London murdering those people."
Pembroke smirked and bowed, he put on a perfect American accent, "At your service, ma'am."
Nate swatted his shoulder, "Stop flirting with Andy and tell me why you're here, in fact, how did you find this place anyway?" he demanded. "She's never going to want you," Nate added.
"I am not the only member of the family with recognisable patterns, you have distinctive marks, Nathaniel," Pembroke said amused.
Nate rolled his eyes and picked up the bottles of wine his brother had put down on the floor and walked back to the kitchen, Andy immediately followed and Pembroke strolled after them, somewhat curious.
It was close to 4 am at this point and people would be waking up in about 2 hours and if everything went according to plan then Pembroke would be gone by then. But then Nate remembered that it was his brother he was going on about, nothing ever happened the way he wanted when his brother was involved.
Nate put the wine of the counter and opened a draw with the wine opener in and pulled out a few wine glasses from the high cupboard.
Andy slid onto the stool Nate was previously on and put the gun she was holding in front of her, on the counter, so she could quickly reach for it if needed. She still didn't trust Pembroke, even if he was Nate's brother. Pembroke himself leaned on the side of the table and folded his arms, in a similar way Nate usually did. She couldn't deny the resemblance there and their good looks.
Nate uncorked the 1940 Barbaresco and left the 1850 Château Bel Air Marquis d'Aligre for a later date. He filled up to a quarter of wine glass and pushed the first to Andy, the second towards his brother and poured a larger one for himself.
"What are you doing here, brother?" Nate asked taking a sip of the wine.
"What do you mean? I'm here to see how my little brother is doing, I heard about the attack," Pembroke said, putting on a concerned facade.
"Oh, please. You're never worried about me, you haven't visited me since 1902. You know I can handle my life without problems, at least not like yours," Nate said, not trusting him, he didn't have much of a reason to. Andy knew about the whole 'vampire and immortal' situation and wasn't opinionated about it.
Andy was sitting there sipping her wine and watching the show.
"Fine. You've visited, now you are leaving," Nate said.
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"No I'm not."
Nate groaned, "You can stay but you're not interfering with the kids. Don't ask who they are. I know you know who they are."
Pembroke rolled his eyes.
"I'll take you to your room," Nate drained the rest of the glass and quickly set off, after taking a strong grip of the collar of his brother's jacket.
"Whoa, I'm coming," Pembroke said. Nate let go and Pembroke followed obediently for once with Andy behind, wine glass still in hand.
Andy jogged forward passed Pembroke in the corridor and slowed beside Nate. She nudged him with her elbow and they walked silently to one of the guest rooms. They got there a minute later and Nate open the door to show a medium sized room, with a medium sized bed and a medium sized wardrobe.
"Well, this is certainly cozy," Pembroke said. He didn't have any luggage on him so he asked Nate, "Brother, I don't suppose you have a few changes of clothing to spare?"
"Yes, fine. They'll be in your room in a couple of hours. I suggest you sleep while you can and before the kids wake," Nate said before turning to go back to his room, tired from the events but his brother stopped him before he could leave.
"Nathaniel, who are these 'kids' you keep mentioning? I don't suppose I have nieces and nephews?" Pembroke asked, genuinely curious.
Nate quickly spoke, "No you don't, they are my recruits and you'll find out soon enough." He took Andy by the arm and closed the door, leaving Pembroke to himself.
"That was something," Andy started as they went back to the other side of the floor, where their rooms were.
"He's a bit much, you can see why I've avoided him for so long," Nate replied. they were now on their way to Andy's.
They got there but she didn't go in. He raised an eyebrow and she said, "Nope, I'm coming with you." He just shrugged and lead the way.
They walked along the other hallway and got to his room, they entered and Andy asked, "Can I borrow a shirt?"
"It's like I'm a clothes shop today, do I look like a clothes shop?" He moved to the drawers anyway and pulled out grey shirt, slightly too big for her.
"No, you don't," she smiled. She took off her jacket and placed it on the chair by the desk, she walked to the closet and shut the door.
"Don't go snooping," he said. She changed and grabbed a pair of Nate's old worn out trousers that felt comfortable, she put it on and opened the door to see Nate lying under the covers, eyes closed.
"Some of the stuff in there, Nate. How on earth did you come across them?" she asked climbing onto the other side.
He turned to lie on his left side and faced his eyes still closed. "Thought I told you not to snoop," he murmured.
"I don't listen very well," she was lying on her right side facing him, eyes open.
He was asleep breathing evenly as she looked at him but she also fell asleep soon after.
Hours later they woke up to shouts from downstairs and to find themselves in a similar situation as the last time they were sleeping Nate's room, but only sleeping as they were tired and exhausted from the early morning hours that were spent on handling Pembroke.
Nate groaned and rolled out of bed, he trudged to his closet and drowsily pulled on the bare minimums of clothing and took the pair of trousers that weren't his and threw them in Andy's direction. He brushed his teeth and when he came back he found Andy still sleeping, as little as he wanted to wake her he had to.
"Andy, come on. We've got to get ready," Nate said. Andy whined and pulled the covers over her head, ignoring the trousers on the bed. Nate walked around the bed and removed the covers from her top half, but she just used her arms to shield her face from the light coming from the windows and gave another mewl. "Andy, get up. You can keep the shirt if you get out of bed, we have to deal with what's downstairs, but I think the kids have probably just found out about Pembroke."
She made a noise at hearing that name but slid out of bed anyway. "If it's only him then why are you taking me with you? And I am going to keep the shirt, I like it." She dragged one of the blankets with her as she finally got out of bed and took the trousers with her as she headed for the bathroom.
"Because it's Pembroke and anything could happen. I'm going downstairs, meet me there," he said still barefoot and only in trousers and a shirt. "We can sleep later when everything's settled."
"Good!" She called out, her mouth occupied with a blob of toothpaste and a toothbrush.
Nate did a double take before saying, "Are you using my toothbrush?"
"Yeah."
"Eww. I need a new one now," he laughed.
"No, you don't," she said more clearly after spitting out and rinsing. Nate left for the bottom floor where he searched for the possible site of incident and came across the kitchen where Pembroke was casually sitting on a stool while a handful of the other kids were in fighting positions, which Nate was impressed with, they were in strategic spots and had good stances, while the trainers and a few of the grunts had guns pointed at him, but none of that seemed to affect his brother who had a bowl of cereal and was simply eating it.
Meanwhile Andy was pulling on her regular trousers and a pair of thick woolen socks she found in Nate's drawers in the closet that she was sure he wouldn't miss for a day or two. She put her hair up in a clean bun and picked up her jacket that was still on his chair. Swinging it on she walked down the wooden floorboards of the corridor, the woolen socks helping keep the cold out and wandered downstairs.
She arrived at the kitchen and almost walked straight into Nate's back. "Whoa. What's going on here?"
"Just about to explain, Andrea," Nate said. She elbowed him harder than usual this time. "Ouchie."
"Everyone can relax," Nate said with his hands up, he walked slowly towards Pembroke and put them on his brother's shoulders. "This is my older brother, Pembroke. Also the killer going around murdering the baddies, Oberon Balthasar." The kids loosened their stances slightly but the news didn't put the adults to any ease. "I said relax," everyone obeyed this time.
The kids then bursted with questions, to both Nate and Pembroke.
"Since when did you have a brother?"
"If he really is your brother, why is he here?" (Nate was still wandering about that a well.)
"Did all the nice wine come from you? (To Pembroke)" (Nate gave a sharp look to the kid who asked that, they were only 18 and he wasn't allowed to drink yet, all least not with Nate's permission.)
"What kind of name is 'Pembroke'?" (Nate laughed loudly at that one and let his brother splutter though that question.)
"Pretty much the same reactions as I had," Andy said to Nate afterwards who nodded, he had expected as much.
Pembroke then came to the pair and said, "I thought there were going to be clothes in my room?"
"I thought you were going to stay in your room," Nate replied, "At least until much later, when the kids were settled and I was awake to introduce you all to each other." Nate rolled his eyes when he saw his brother about to complain, "Just come with us."
Nate and Andy went back to his room where he picked out items that were about Pembroke's size, chucking them into his arms.
"I suppose you know where your room is," Nate said waving him off, "If not you'll find it."
Pembroke nodded and took his leave
Nate vaguely recalled that he hadn't seen Francis since a day ago but he remembered that it was Francis' day off with his kid. He pushed the thought away and turned to Andy.
Andy closed the door and sighed, "Finally. Sleep." Nate chuckled and climbed back onto the bed with her, glad to be getting more rest.
They curled up peacefully next to each other and fell right back asleep without bothering to change out of the clothing they were in.
Almost half a day later they awoke again to a much more quiet house. They got up together and got ready for what was left of the day.
"Should we go to the hall?" Andy asked. She was wearing comfortable clothes that she could move in, she had made a quick trip to her own room to change, keeping Nate's shirt he gave her in her room, and went back to Nate's room to meet up with him.
Nate was wearing a similar outfit and was putting on a jacket, "Yeah, let's go get something to eat first."
Andy nodded and Nate held the door open for her. They walked to the kitchen where they found Aimee and Jonathan just finishing up at the side table.
"Ah, so the mysterious pair finally tun up. Where have you two been all day?" Aimee asked. Nate busied himself with taking out two plates and putting the appropriate portions on for him and Andy who was answering Aimee's question.
"Sleeping," was her one worded reply. Which was a minor mistake to be honest.
Aimee and Jonathan had slightly shocked looks on their faces as Jonathan said, "Whoa, really?"
"No, not like that. Literally just sleeping, too tired and going to sleep, sleeping," Nate said for Andy as she spluttered but then agreed.
"Yup, just falling asleep."
Aimee and Jonathan looked a tad disappointed, "Just sleeping then, no funny business?"
"No funny business," Nate repeated.
"Shame, but are you two together or what?" Aimee asked and Andy slapped her shoulder lightly.
Nate shrugged. "I don't know, are we?" he directed the last part to Andy. She also shrugged and Nate said, "We haven't done anything but sleep."
The four of them dropped the subject and the girls chatted about things and Nate and Andy ate. An hour later and the end of the bottle of 1940 Barbaresco shared between them, Nate cleared away the plates and they left for the very same hall Aimee and Jonathan had sparred in earlier, to settle their differences.
Andy and Nate walked in front and Aimee and Jonathan followed behind, deciding to come with them. As they entered they took off their outer jackets and laid them on the benches at the side. Andy and Nate went to the right side of the room where there was a set of mats out. Jonathan and Aimee went to the boxing ring on the left side of the room. The Garage had a few halls and most of them were designated with different activities, this hall was mainly for physical fights, fist to fist types.
They were on the mats, standing casually and they set some rules, "Okay, how do you want to do this? Obviously there will be no super strength for super anything, but how dirty are we going to get, hair pulling? Biting? Crotch areas?"
Nate gave her a look that said 'what the hell kind of sparring do you usually take part in?' and said, "No, hair, no biting, no permanent damage to be taken, and crotch, yes." Smirking at the last bit.
Nate and Andy now stood opposite each other, they were both smiling and the both gave each other a mocking bow before taking a few steps back. They stood is fighting positions before Nate gave the first move.
He swiped his foot out aiming for her stomach to knock the air out of her but missed, she pushed his leg away unbalancing him but he didn't fall, instead attempted to grab Andy's ankle which she jumped out of and moved to put Nate on his back, pinning his left arm back painfully. He swung out of her grip and tried to put her in headlock which she quickly flipped and aimed her elbow towards his kneecap. Nate grunted and ignored the pain from the hit but she took advantage of the moment and swung her foot onto his forearm, leaping up and sweeping her legs around his shoulder so that she was practically sitting there for half a second before throwing her weight in one direction forcing Nate to fall forwards. She grinned and his hands came out to help the blow of his fall. Andy ended up in a crouched position, one hand on the mat and she sprung off as soon as Nate regained his balance, but this time he was ready for her move, he let her get high enough but just before she was able to swing him onto the floor for her signature choke hold with her thighs. He gripped the outside of her right thigh and slammed her to the ground, on her back making her groan at the force of it.
It had been playful fighting until now, Nate had Andy pinned on the ground, her hands above her and her legs unable to move as Nate's weight was on her.
He leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I win."
They heard a wolf whistle from the other side of the room. Nate and Andy turned their head to find that Aimee and Jonathan had put a pause their boxing and were now leaning against the edge, their hands still wrapped in the white bandages, watching Nate and Andy's sparring which was much more interesting that their fighting which they could resume another time.
Jonathan swatted Aimee's upper arm, "Way to ruin the moment." They hissed to each other arguing over what should have happened as Nate got up, but then he heard a battle cry and turned his head quickly enough to see Andy pouncing and tackling him to the floor.
"Never take your eyes of the enemy," she whispered in his ear.
He laughed and rolled her over with his extra strength, pinning her down once again. "Never attack a vampire, infant," he said darkly.
"Hmmm." She gave him heavy look and gave an experimental roll of her hips upwards. Ignoring their audience.
Nate jumped off her immediately and coughed. Andy sighed and got up. They were both covered with a sheen of sweat as they walked side by side towards Aimee and Jonathan who were finishing up after not doing very much apart from watch the show.
Aimee was having her hands unwrapped by Jonathan before she rushed forward to where Andy was and asked, "What was all that about?" She was getting nosey.
"I was trying something and Nate didn't want it - me," she muttered into Aimee's ear. The girls were walking in front a few meters away from the boys so they could talk.
However, they didn't take in Nate's sensitive hearing and extra speed, so when he heard Andy's comment to Aimee and took a few strides forward, grabbed Andy's arm and swung her directly right, into the doorway of another hall, this one empty and a place where they could talk.
"What are you doing?" she asked, looking back as Aimee and Jonathan had stopped outside the door and were watching them, wanting to know what Nate was up to. Nate closed the door and leaned against it.
"We need to talk."
"God, those bloody words," she said slightly worried. "Talk about what?" She finally asked.
"About us and what's happening, or what shouldn't be happening," he said, completely serious.
"What do you mean 'shouldn't be happening'?" she said, looking annoyed, "You're the one that let me fall asleep in your bed. Twice."
He appeared to be guilty at that. "Yes, I know. And that was a mistake."
She was angry now. "'A mistake'?" she said rather aggressively, glaring at him.
"Yes." He gave a short reply before she gave a low growl and stormed out.
She flung open the door where Aimee and Jonathan were still outside and stomped away at a rapid pace. "A mistake!" Was all she shrieked turning the corner, out of their line of sight.
Aimee turned to Nate who had a sad look on his face. "What the hell did you say to her? She was fine and then you said something to her in the hall and then in there. What did you say?" she looked furious, for Nate hurting her friend, it didn't matter that Nate was the one providing for all of them, that he took them in and could just as easily kick them all out, what mattered at that moment was why her best friend was so upset.
"It doesn't matter. Nothing happened," Nate said. He turned away from them and walked towards the garage.
He arrived, got into his car a reversed out of the garage, into the drive way and through the gates. It was 9 pm at night and he had no idea where he was going. He just knew he had to take a break from all the problems at home.