AN At long last, the end is here. Thanks for hanging in and reading, I hope the ending meets with your satisfaction!
Part 25
Vicki popped up off the couch, glad at last, to have a certain direction she could go in. She didn't like uncertain. It pissed her off. "One last thing, what about Grimm? Once the books get to Mike, the tapes are gone and memories are fixed, do we fuck with him? Let him remember and nobody else? Then they think he's crazy, and what? Send him to the bin? Is that where we want him?" She'd started pacing while she was thinking and talking, with Henry and Amar watching, not sure whether to be concerned and impressed while they watched the wheels turn.
"No, I want him to rot in prison, not some cushy nut house." She snapped her fingers, "Unless he has no money, then they send him to the state bin." The smile on her face was not very pretty. "Not so cushy." She looked at Amar.
When he saw the look, Henry knew he had to step in, he just didn't want her to try to kick his ass for doing it. His Victoria did not take direction well.
"Might I make a suggestion, love?" He had sped to her side, whispering in her ear. His powers of persuasion might not work on her, but the sound of a lover's soft voice speaking seductively might at least take the wild look out of her eyes. Henry's voice reached her like no one else's ever had. Not even Celluci. She stopped pacing, "What?"
"Let's go to the office to make sure Coreen's all right, then Amar can retrieve the books and bring them to the office. We'll get them ready to transport to Mike's desk. I'll go there, so Amar can home in. I'll get the tapes, Amar transports the books to the station and me back there. After that, we work the memory spell and then wait to see what happens."
"Wow, learning war strategies in your diapers paid off big, Henry." Her hand cupped his face, and she leaned in, kissed him and said, "Just you wait til later, your majesty, I am so gonna jump your bones."
He removed her hand from his face, taking it in his own, turned it palm up, and kissed it, inhaling her scent. "Do I have your vow, milady?"
"That and a lot of other stuff." Henry may not blush anymore, but he could still make her do it, and he did, when he whispered in her ear, "I can't wait to see this other stuff."
Vicki's voice came out kind of raspy, "And after that brief side trip to jump your bones land… Amar, if you'll get back in your bottle, we'll head to the office." She looked at Henry, "I don't think I'm ever gonna get tired of saying that."
Amar had been standing quietly by the fireplace, watching the interchange between Henry and Vicki. He could sense the love they had for each other, even if the female could not say it aloud. He would find a way to help them be together as soon as the odious man Grimm was, as Henryvicki put it, 'Taken down.' He finally spoke when Vicki spoke to him. "I will protect you and all who you care about, Henryvicki. I swear it."
"Oh, Okay. Thanks." And Amar turned to mist, disappearing back into his bottle. She looked at Henry. "I didn't really know what else to say."
He looked at her and said, "You did very well, love. You would have made a wonderful queen." He bowed at the waist and she laughed.
"Yeah. The question is, queen of what?" They gathered up the bottle, car keys and phones and headed to the office. Neither would admit it, but they were worried that somehow, Grimm may have found out who was responsible for the break in.
While Henry didn't break any actual laws on the way to Vicki's he managed to bend a few and Vicki let out a sigh of relief when they walked in and saw Coreen sitting in front of the television.
"Well, it is about time!! I have been worried sick about you! Where's --" Vicki cut her off, "We're fine, Coreen, thanks for asking. Now hush up and turn off the tv while Henry looks around." Henry had already made the circuit through the rooms, came back and said "All clear. Except for this one." He held out a small e bug, handing it to Vicki. She took it from him, walking to the coffee pot and dropped it in.
"Good. Coreen, draw all the blinds, we've got work to do." When that task was done, and Henry, because Vicki made him, made another circuit through the place, again, confirming no bugs, Vicki reached into her bag and opened Amar's bottle, watching him mist into existence.
"That is awesome!" Coreen looked like she was 12 and had just gotten everything she ever wanted for her birthday in one haul.
Vicki grinned, "I know. I don't think that's ever gonna get old."
"How may I serve you, Henryvicki?" Amar bowed.
"Are you ready to go to Mac's office?"
"Yes."
"OK, go there and get the books and come right back here."
"As you say." One second Amar was standing in front of her desk, the next gone.
"That is wicked cool." Coreen sat down with a thud and a big grin. She had barely shifted in her chair when Amar appeared right where he had been before, holding the box with the things that were going to send Grimm to prison.
Vicki clapped her hands softly together. "OK, part one done and over with. Next stop, precinct."
Henry picked up his coat, "I'll walk. We don't want anyone seeing the car and tracing the tag." He wrapped his arms around Vicki and spoke, "When I get there, I'll call so you know to transport the books. When that's done, I'll 'persuade' the desk sergeant to tell me where are the tapes are and be back in a flash."
"Okay. Second part of the plan on the way. Thanks."
He grinned. "What else could a good rutabaga do for the woman he loves?"
"Shut up." By the time she finished the word up, he was gone. "Amar can you do the protection spell now?"
"Of course." Amar began to speak words Vicki didn't understand, with his arms raised from the elbows. He spoke quietly, and after 15 minutes, he turned and said, "It is done, Henryvicki."
"Thank you."
Coreen had a puzzled look on her face. "What's up with the protection spell?"
"We just want to make sure you and Mac are safe if Grimm or any of his hoods come calling, just to err on the side of caution."
"Should I be worried?" She didn't want to be, but hanging around this place made it a requirement.
"I don't think so. Like I said, it's just a precaution." Vicki answered her phone before the first ring faded.
"Hello? Great. Amar do your thing."
"As you say."
The box of books that was going to help bring down Grimm winked out of sight, then Henry stood there in it's stead, holding an armload of videotapes.
"That was bracing." He shivered, "But I don't think I want to do it ever again." He set down the tapes. "That's everything. Including the tape the television station had. They're ready to go to whatever level of hell Amar would like to send them to."
"Great. Okay, part three. Amar, if you would go ahead and do the vanishing the tapes thing and then the memory spell, we're almost done."
"As you say."
Amar closed his eyes and raised his arms at the elbow and spoke a dozen or so words in a language not even Henry understood. They watched as the tapes winked out of existence.
"What is that, Latin?"
"I don't know. Perhaps the ancient Latin like what we saw on the bottle."
Amar finished the spells and opened his eyes again. "It is done." And for the first time since Henry and Vicki had released him from his bottle, the djinn smiled. "The end of Anthony Grimm is near."
"OK. That's the plan. All we can do now is wait and see if it works."
NFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFNFN
A good bit of the night was spent with Henry and Vicki propped up against each other on the end of the sofa, playing with each others hands and whispering in low tones while Coreen lay with her head in Vicki's lap, snoring. Amar was standing by the door keeping watch, observing the three humans like they were the first he had seen in his life. He was grateful to Henryvicki. They had freed him from what would certainly have been a life of nothing but his home inside his bottle, only being free when Grimm needed something. Now he knew what the man was capable of and the longer he stood watch, the more he thought he should be rid of Grimm once and for all. The only thing that stopped him from acting was that if he left, he would also be leaving HenryVicki and their compatriot vulnerable. He would stay. He had sworn to protect them, and he would. And perhaps give them the gift of being together without restriction.
Around 1 am, Amar felt a presence at the same time Henry did. They also knew it was, as Amar had put it earlier, the unpleasant man. Henry gently shook Vicki awake, "Victoria, Mike's on his way up." Vicki jumped off the sofa and Coreen rolled onto the floor. Vicki helped her up, mumbling "Sorry." She wasn't sure what to expect and that annoyed her. Out of control was not a phrase she wanted applied to anything in her life.
Amar opened the door just as Mike was reaching for the doorknob and in spite of all his police training he jumped back. He recovered quickly, walking in and staring at the four people in the room, then turning to speak to the woman he had loved. "Vicki, what have you done?" He walked further into the room ignoring everyone but her. "I just came from the precinct where a box full of books and CDs with Grimm's name on them is sitting on my desk."
"Wow. Really? What were the books about?" When this is over, I'm taking lessons on how to lie better.
Celluci stood there, his temper rising. "You know what they're about Vick. Someone left a box full of ledgers on my desk. Ledgers that belong to Anthony Grimm. Ledgers that prove he's a crook." As his temper rose, so did his voice. "I don't believe you Vicki! No matter what I ask you to do, you do the opposite! I asked you to stay out of this, to let me do my job, and yet here we are again! If you could just stop fuc-"
Amar had reached over and touched one finger to the back of Celluci's neck. Henry caught him before he reached the ground, resisting the temptation to let the man's head hit the hardwood floor.
Part 26
Amar picked up Mike like he weighed no more than a newborn. Vicki asked him to put the detective on the sofa, and then turned to Amar. "Can you make him forget that he knows we did this, about planting the bugs, everything to do with our involvement in this case, including you?" She looked at Henry, then back to Amar. "Without damaging him? I don't want there to be any consequences, Amar."
"I can do that, Henryvicki. And there will be no consequences. I can see that in spite of his unpleasantness, you care for him a great deal. It is different from what you feel for the other, but just as strong. I will see to it." Vicki walked over to the djinn. She placed her right hand on his chest, on the shirt that was a mirror to the one Henry wore and spoke quietly. "He does mean a lot to me. I don't want to see him damaged or in trouble because of what he knows."
"As you say, Henryvicki. It will be done."
The spell hardly took five minutes and when he was done, Amar spoke again. "He will awake thinking he lost consciousness from tripping and falling and will remember only what you tell him." He smiled at Vicki and rested one large hand on her shoulder, "The ache that lays in his heart about you and the other will also be eased."
The words brought a smile to Vicki's face. "Thank you, Amar. He deserves to be happy, even when he's being 'unpleasant.'"
"He will be. You have my vow."
When Mike came around, Vicki told him exactly what she needed to, making sure he understood that everything he needed to convict Grimm was in that big box. She watched his face, looking for the anger and resentment that had been there since he'd learned the truth about her and Henry. The only thing she saw was the cop wanting to nail Grimm, not only for fraud, but also for the murders of two children she had met in an alley. For the first time since she had stumbled on the ghosts of Lainey and Kevin Sheehan, she felt at peace with herself, knowing that because of her and the people she cared about, their spirits would know peace. Because of them, the parents of those two children would have closure, followed eventually by that same peace. By 2 in the morning, Vicki had shown Mike out of the office, sending him on a quest to speak for the dead. That done, the only thing left to deal with was the fact that there was a seven foot djinn standing in the middle of her office, awaiting instructions of what to do next.
Henry and Vicki stood, and spoke to Amar. "What do you want to do, Amar?" What would you like more than anything? To be free? To stay in your bottle for eternity? What?
"I would be happy if I had my freedom, yes. But it is my sworn duty to protect you, the other and your fellow warrior, Coreen. I must remain nearby to fulfill this vow."
Henry asked, "Vicki, may I have a private word with you, love?"
"Sure." They walked over to the window and spoke in hushed tones. "What we discussed while we were waiting, do you want to do that?"
"You think Amar would like to?"
"I suppose there's only one way to find out."
They returned to Amar, Coreen sitting on the sofa. Henry stood, taking his stance a member of the royal house of Tudor and spoke. "Here's what we'd like to do, Amar. We would release you from your servitude, to live your life among the mortals of this world. You've spent millennia in that bottle, watching the world go by. We'd like to give you the opportunity, if you want it, to explore the world. See what's out there. You could stay in the apartment across the hall from here. That would keep you close by in case you were needed, but give you the freedom to see what you've been missing. We'd want your word that you would keep a low profile. No sending people you don't like to any level of hell, no magic of any kind without speaking to one of us before hand. Would that be agreeable to you?"
"Yes. I have often wondered about the changes that have occurred in the world while I was captive. I agree to your terms, Henryvicki. I would like to be free and you have my word, I will use no magic unless I have you give permission to do so. It is my last gift to you."
"Well, it's settled then. You'll have to stay in your bottle until we make arrangements for the apartment, but that shouldn't take long. After that, you can explore the world to your heart's content and still honor your vow to us. And you can even still call us Henryvicki."
"As you say." He bowed just a little. "Is there nothing else I can do for you?"
"No, I think we've covered most of it. We'll discuss situations as they arise, but you have to remember, no magic in front of other mortals, or this could blow up in our collective faces."
"I would not wish for mortals to explode anywhere near my face, therefore I promise to abstain from using magic unless you approve."
Amar was glad he'd already given his gift to Henryvicki before they made him promise not to use magic. He hoped they'd like what he'd done. He could feel the love they had for each other and wished he had been able to do more before they'd made him pledge to live quietly.
"Okay." Vicki clapped her hands together. "I think we've done a fair night's work. Time for bed." Before Henry could say anything, "And I mean bed, as in sleep, Your Grace."
The cocky smile played on his face, "I was thinking of nothing other than that, love."
Vicki said, as she took a giant step sideways from Henry, "This is me moving so I don't accidentally get hit by the bolt of lightening God's about to zap you with for lying."
Henry looked up and said, "No lightening. Guess I'm telling the truth." He moved closer to Vicki. "Let's take Coreen home, then head back to my place and get some sleep. If I'm tired, you two must be exhausted." When he turned to Coreen, he let go a little laugh. She was curled up on the sofa, mouth open, about to start snoring.
"Should we let her sleep, or wake her up?"
"Let's let her sleep. I'll leave her a note and some money to find when she wakes up so she can take a cab home." They put a pillow under Coreen's head and covered the rest of her with a blanket, gathering their things quietly.
"Amar, ready to hop back in the bottle for a few minutes?" Vicki giggled,
"I was right, that's not getting old anytime soon."
Ten minutes later, they were back at Henry's, Amar had come from his bottle to say goodnight and the exhausted couple went into the bedroom to get some sleep of their own. Teeth brushed, Henry in his shorts, Vicki in another of his shirts, they crawled into bed and the phrase, ' as soon as their heads touched the pillow' never rang more true.
When Vicki stirred that morning, she picked up the clock on the bed side table and saw that it was almost nine a.m. She turned over to gaze down at Henry, thinking she'd watch him sleep for a while. She almost screamed as she jumped out of the bed when she saw his eyes were open, that he wasn't in the coma like sleep that always came with the dawn.
"What is it, love?" He could tell she was startled, even fearful from the racing heart beat of her heart.
"Henry, do you know what time it is?" She was talking to him, and he was talking back. After sunrise.
"I don't know. Just before dawn I imagine."
"No. Henry. It's almost nine in the morning!" There was a look of disbelief on his face.
"That's impossible. If it were that late, I'd be asleep."
"I know that, but that doesn't change the fact that it's past sunrise and you're still wide awake."
"Perhaps the clock is wrong. Why don't you go into the living room and see if the sun really is up before you have a heart attack." Vicki was back in less than ten seconds, "Henry, the clock's right!" They looked at each other and said at the same time, "Amar!"
When they got to the living room, they called out for the djinn, who was immediately standing next to them.
"Amar, are you responsible for this?"
"Yes Henryvicki." He was looking at Vicki, uncertain how his gift had been received. Could tell they were both anxious and excited about the prospect of Henry being awake at this hour.
"It is my gift to you." He bowed just a little. "Yesterday, when we entered and the unpleasant one was here, you were afraid for the other because he was so vulnerable. You were anticipating the awakening of him, and I could feel you wish he were awake during the day." He shifted his gaze to Henry, "I changed the way your body feels the rising of the sun. It will no longer acknowledge your need to hibernate during the day light hours."
Her mouth stood open, "Ever? Is this permanent?"
"Yes. I cannot change the basic nature of a nightwalker, but I could arrange it so that he is safer and you could spend more time together. He will still be unable to withstand direct sunlight, and will need to drink to continue, but you are no longer vulnerable to outsiders doing you harm while you lay helpless."
They stood there looking at each and the djinn, trying to soak up the information. Vicki didn't want to ask the question, but she knew she had to, "Are there any consequences for this? Nobody else is going to go into a coma or burst into flames, right?" Vicki held her breath as she asked. It would be nice to be able to talk to Henry during the day, to know that he would be safe, but there was no way she was going to take the daylight hours if it meant harm would come to others.
"Indeed. This affects only you and the other." Henry stood there grinning like a boy who'd just figured out why girls were so cool.
"This is going to take some getting used to, but I think I can handle it." She looked at Amar, then Henry, who had started walking around the apartment, "Do you see how much I'm not in a coma?" He grabbed Vicki and spun her around, "It's nine in the morning, Vicki!"
"I know Henry!" She pushed his hair out of his eyes and held his face cupped in her hands, and spoke with a low growl, "We'll celebrate in just one minute." She turned to Amar, "Thank you."
"You are welcome Henryvicki. May I go back to sleep now? I had rather a long night."
"You sleep?"
"Indeed."
"All righty then, see you later."
"As you say." And he vanished.
When Amar was gone from sight, Vicki felt herself being picked up and carried back to the bed room.
"Henry! Don't you want to watch Oprah or something? First time being awake during the day in over 450 years and all?"
"Oh no, milady. I have other plans for these daylight hours. We can watch Oprah tomorrow." With a final spin, he laid her on the bed. "You made a vow, remember?" His voice was like silk flowing over her. "Do you intend to honor it, milady?" He was looking at her with undisguised love and unstoppable passion. How could she resist those eyes that reflected the sea? She reached up and pulled him down on top of her, covering his mouth with her own. His hands started exploring, touching her everywhere even though he had already memorized the contours of her body, what brought her to her passion. She returned the favor, reached around to his back and traced a pattern down his spine. It gave him goose bumps and made him kiss her even more deeply. Made him want to bring her into him deeper than anyone else ever would. He wanted her to forget about everyone she had ever made love with, as she had made him forget any other person he had been with nothing but a faint memory.
Sated and spent, they fell next to each other, bodies covered in cool sweat. His arm was around her shoulder, hand tangled in her hair. She traced her name on his chest, starting at his navel, moving up. The silence was complete, but easy and they lay there until they fell asleep. When they woke up, the earth had made another day pass into night and they rose, getting dressed together like they'd done it forever. They walked into the living room to find Amar watching the six o'clock news.
"Henryvicki, you must observe this." He had figured out how to work the television pretty easily and had been scanning the channels, looking for news about the man he begun calling the 'odious one.' They sat down next to him and he turned up the volume, dropped the closed captioning. Henry leaned over and whispered in Vicki's ear, "Remind to get him to show me how he did that. I've never been able to figure out how to work the menu."
"Shh, look at this." They watched as Grimm was led from his house in handcuffs, head down. They saw Mike walking next to him, reading the man his rights, with Kate following close behind.
"Mike must have been up all night with somebody to get a warrant that fast."
They heard the reporter continue, "…..shocking new development. What started as a possible break in here on the exclusive street of Valecrest, became an arrest of businessman Anthony Grimm earlier today on suspicion of fraud, arson, and quite possibly murder. Detective Sergeant Michael Celluci refused to comment on record, saying it is too early in the investigation to speak definitively on the charges, but that Mr. Grimm was so far the only suspect the police were considering. Back to y…." The volume dropped and Amar turned to his two new friends. "He may unpleasant, but he has performed admirably. I have watched all news programs that pertain to this matter and have seen Anthony Grimm arrested many times. It is most satisfying."
"Yes it is. Extremely satisfying." Henry put his hand on Amar's shoulder, "You did well my friend. You should be proud."
"I am proud to know you, Henryvicki, and the Coreen. You are all formidable warriors and I have been honored to serve you." Vicki threw in a "Backatcha" while she looked for her purse. She could hear her phone ringing somewhere. She just had to find it.
"The honor was mine, Amar. Thank you."
Vicki answered her phone, and stood stock still when she realized who it was. Gerald Sheehan was on the other end and she could hear Katherine in the background. She listened for a minute then said, "Mr. Sheehan, I didn't really do anything, Det. Celluci did most of the work, but thank you, sir, that's kind of you to say." She smiled sadly into the phone, happy. "Yes, sir. I'll be there. Please accept my sympathies. I'm just glad Henry and I could help. Good bye." Henry had stood up from the sofa and walked quietly to her side, "I guess you heard."
"Yes, my love. Are you all right?" the back of his hand grazed her jaw.
"I'm fine. They're happy to have closure. To be able to bury their children. I'm just glad Grimm's already in jail because I think if he was on the street, Gerry would probably kill him."
"The funeral?"
"Tomorrow. Coreen and I will go. You should probably stay inside."
"I will. You know how easily I burn."
Fin - but the adventures continue.