Al’s fingers were tapping the steering wheel to Hillbilly Moon Explosion’s rendition of Jackson with Mark Philips as the lights of The Smoke hove into view. Traffic was heavy, and as usual he’d disdained the GridGuide. Compared to the fluidity of the Aguilar’s handling, the Bulldog drove like a real pig. Still, reflected Al with pride, after the work he’d done on her, she’d outperform most upscale cars on the road. Not to mention that she was a tank. Not that she looked it - same boring utility white as thousands of other builders’ vans in England, this one with Junk & Disorderly written in cursive on both sides and the rear, with a commcode and matching AROs pledging to haul away old furniture, garden waste, electric appliances, rubble, and unwanted mothers-in-law.
#34
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Whatever Petal had done brings a restful sleep to Alyce, something she has been missing for some time and it is already getting onto evening by the time she wakes. Stretching, Alyce slides out of the bed and goes to the kitchen to make some tea. While putting the pot on, she gets Al's message and smiles. Damn, she just cannot keep from smiling every time she hears his voice. Carrying the pot to the table she sends him a reply. "Hey there. Missed you. Address is attached. I hope that you are not driving that fancy auto as there is no garage and you would need an armed tactical response unit guarding it to keep it in one piece out here. See you soon."
#39
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Knowing he already had the nondescript base covered, Al simply kept driving, reaching Belsize Park in twenty minutes. The area around Royal Free Hospital was still incredibly upscale, and he’d been surprised to hear Alyce’s estimate of Shirlock Road. But he found it as so many other urban maelstroms - where a single street can demarcate economic night and day, depending on myriad social, demographic, and infrastructural factors. The terraced homes a stone’s throw from the Heath’s southern reaches should still have been commanding millions….who knew what had happened, but it was a slum now. Probably the Council had started using it for housing a few decades back and there’d been no reversing - only containing - the inevitable rot. At least the corps had had the good sense to put the welfare state out of its misery. He parked in front of the address and stepped out of the van. The anti-theft system activated automatically as he approached the house. He knocked on the door and looked up at the moon. Crescent. Dammit. Full would have set the tone for a Drac-hunt so nicely. But this was real life, not the trid. His life was so incredibly cool, sometimes he had to remind himself.
#35
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After she gets Al's message, she lets Dream and Petal know that Al is on the way and puts on more water for tea for the others and makes sure that there are some beers in the fridge for Al.
One of Alyce's drones lets her know that a van has entered the street the safe house is on and she focuses her attention on it as it approaches. She smiles to herself when the vehicle stops and Al steps out of it. Her heart gives a short skip when the drone sensor catches his face but she puts a mask on by the time he knocks on the door and she opens it. "Hey there. Nice to see you. Got everything you need? Catchy sign for the van, by the way."
#40
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Al gave Alyce’s ass a smack as he blew past her for the kitchen. Beers were there as expected. Opening one, he answered her. “Can’t take credit. Real outfit. Jist lifted they sign. Reckon they’s gittin’ free advertisin’ out of it. Where’s the hippie an’ his otherearthly companion? Hey, lookee what I conjured up.” He shook the three handivacs out onto the table. Picked one up. Poked around until he found some flour and tossed a handful into the air, then sucked swathes of the powdery cloud into the device. “Some folks say that won’t work on a mistificated bloodsucker, but ol’ Al reckons physics is physics.” He thumbed a switch and blew what was left of the flour-cloud into nothing. Grinned. “Works both ways. Complete with handy hooks onna handle, clip it ta yer belt or what have ya.”
#36
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Alyce stands in the doorway savoring Al's touch. She casts her memory back and cannot think of another time when he has swatted her arse, or even done much more than help her into or out of a car. He did carry her back to the train when she had her breakdown, but that was certainly not the same thing. No, this was different. This was way different. And it had felt good. In fact it had felt really nice. Shaking her head, she walks into the kitchen after him and hears him get and pop open one of the UCAS beers she had brought with her. Her sensors see the handivac but they have a very hard time focusing on the flour as it drifts through the air. She holds the one Al gives her and faces him. "Oh, they are about someplace. I think Dream went shopping and you never know where Petal is. Nice girl, that Petal, by the way." She shakes the handivac. "Now, I am going to need some help with this, Al. I cannot really see the powder and I am pretty sure it will be the same with the mystified vampire. How about we work together on this? Toss some powder in the air and give me a number to face so I can suck it in?"
For the next thirty minutes, Al tosses flour in the air and Alyce tries to catch it but it turns out to be harder than it looks and she sometimes mixes up which direction to face. By the end of the experiment, they have it down and she is only missing a small bit. Unfortunately, the flour supply has suffered considerably and both of them look a lot like ghosts, with white powder all over their hair, their faces, and their clothes. There is a mess of flour on the table near Alyce and on the floor around her. She is laughing out loud and clearly having a good time. Stopping, she pants a bit then walks to within a few inches of Al and holds her handivac up between them. "I think we are a bit.....floury, if that is a word. Is it a word, Al? If not, it should be. We are floury. Now, would you like a suck or a blow to try to clean you up?"
#41
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“Reckon a shower’ll do. Y’all can cook somethin’ while I’m in there. Or find find that she-demon, have her do it. Or jist order a curry, if’n yer feelin’ liberated. Whatever suits ya. See ya in a bit.” He wandered off to the bathroom and showered cold then hot. He didn’t figure Her plan was about anything but what She wanted, but in this case whatever She had in store for him would suit just fine. He’d said he’d get the mirror, and if they wasted a vamp, so much the better. Then he’d get about Her business. He towelled off, got dressed, found a bedroom that nobody seemed to be using, and went and lay down.
#37
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The smile stays on her face until Al leaves the room then she turns to face opposite the door in case he comes back right away for another beer or something because she does not want him to see the tears rolling down her face. She had allowed herself to believe things might have changed with the way he had touched her, but he was so very quickly back to the other Al again, almost as if he had lowered some sort of barrier. Without thinking, she quickly hacks the handivac in her hand and gets it going on its lowest level before running it through her hair, then her face, then over her clothing. She will worry about a shower after she is sure Al is finished and doing something else. Once her clothes are at least as free of loose flour as she can get them in this fashion, she runs the vac along the table to pick up all of it there as well. Done, she carefully kneels on the floor and begins cleaning. Her sensors cannot adequately show her the flour unless it is in a pile, so she feels along the floor, letting her heightened sense of touch tell her where the flour is and moves the vac to pick it up. The process takes over an hour on her hands and knees, but she can smile at the job well done.
Standing, she puts two of the three handivacs on the counter but plugs hers in to recharge it and begins cooking a dinner. First is a pot of water for a much needed cuppa, but she gets other food from the refrigerator as the water is boiling. She gets the steaks broiling and begins on the salad, tossing it rather plainly because she does not know what sort of spices Dream and Petal like, if any. Done with that, she finds her tin of Jammy Dodgers and piles up a small stack to go with her tea and sits down to enjoy it. In her mind, she replays the moment when Al had come through the door and patted her arse, trying like hell to make sense of it. He had not said any of his usual banter; had not called her toots, or any of the usual things, so she had assumed, mistakenly it seems, that he had meant it in some sort of intimate way. What had she missed?
? Shaking her head, she decides that he must have had something on his mind and the pat had been completely nothing. She smiles as she remembers how nice it had felt to just have him touch her like that. Tea done, she gets up to finish her dinner preparations and sets the table for four.
When all is ready, Alyce places the servings of steak, veggies, and potatoes at two of the chairs and the large salad bowl in the center for anyone to self-serve from. A last check of her scanners shows that all is ready and she goes to her room, where she carefully removes her clothes so as to minimalize the spread of any flour that might be hidden in the folds and creases. She wraps herself in a towel and leaves the room, stopping off at Al's and knocking on the door, her voice completely neutral. "Your dinner is on the table, Al, and your seat is against the wall and facing the door. There are a few cold beers in the fridge. Don't let your steak get too cold. I am off to shower."
In the shower, she does as thorough a job as she can with a minimal amount of hot water. She had noticed the ARO of the sign that indicated the local hot water ration for the house and wanted to save some for the others, so a good portion of her shower is in cold water, but as the number of cold water showers in her life probably comes close to outnumbering the hot water showers, this is no real hardship for her. Toweling dry, she wraps the towel around herself and goes back to her room to change into clean clothing before heading out to the dining room.
#42
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Al woke at the sound of Alyce’s call. He’d dozed off, having forgotten he’d told her to cook. A rare dreamless slumber, now broken after eight minutes. Well, no one’s fault but his stomach’s. Followed the smell of steak past the open door of the bathroom where the elf woman was showering, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. There was his meal right where she’d said it would be. Plenty of rabbit food for the hippies, too. But finding no one else in the room Al picked it up and found a sofa with an older-model trid in front to it. It didn’t get as many channels as it should have, but he found some professional wrestling and tucked in.
#38
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Alyce dresses and walks out to find that Al has taken his dinner to the living room and is sitting on the couch watching the old trid device there. She moves to the kitchen/dining room and takes up her dinner things before moving out to the living room to join him. She sits on the couch that is more a love seat in length, but it does give enough room that two people can sit on it without crowding each other. She hacks into the trid feed so that she can "watch" what Al is and finds the wrestling interesting. Al seems content to eat and watch in silence, so she follows suit, simply being companionable without interrupting his attention.
Alyce finishes eating and rises, bending over to pick up Al's empty plate from the floor at his feet where he had put it when he finished. She moves around the rear of the couch so as not to disturb him and walks to the kitchen where she puts the kettle on for another cuppa and puts a large pot of water on to boil for the cleaning. While waiting, she pulls another beer from the fridge and takes it out to Al, who instinctively reaches for it. Returning to the kitchen, Alyce washes up the dishes, as well as what she had used in cooking the meal, and dries them before putting everything away. Moving to the table, she sits down to enjoy her cup of tea.
#43
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Once more a young woman rather than girl, Petal joined Alyce. After a brief pause she said in mock exasperation
“
Humans! You are so wrapped up in your own heads that you can’t
see…and I don’t mean with your eyes,” she added with a gentle touch to Alyce’s shoulder “I’ve been told it’s all very complicated and that when I’m a bit older I
might understand you, eventually perhaps. But I do understand emotion and the feelings you have for each other, probably better than yourselves.”
She settled down next to Alyce at the table “I know that Dream will chide me for interfering so if you want me to shut up then please say so…but don’t be so sure that the reason you aren’t as close to Al as you both seem to want is a fault of yours. I’m not going to tell you what I see in Al, I’m not sure that would be fair without his permission, and I don’t doubt your professionalism, but we need you to be focused on retrieving the mirror… sorry, I don’t want to offend…”
#22
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Alyce sips from her tea and nods to let Petal know that she can continue. When the girl is done, she puts her cup down and smiles. "Thank you. In my experience there is always a value in getting a second opinion and I am sure that you understand more about us mortals than you let on. I do feel that there is something in Al's past that won't let him love me like he could and I have tried to get him to talk about it but he won't. However, I also know that I am far too emotional when he is around and that has a tendency to send him away from me. I am trying hard to work on that by remaining calm and just trying to accept him for what he is. I do think I am better at that than I used to be."
"As to the mission, Al and I are professionals and will not allow our personal feelings to affect the mission. Wait and see, if you doubt, and no offense taken. Now, do you like some spices in your salad, or can I add anything to it?"
#44
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Al chuckled softly to himself as he listened to the exchange - relationship counselling from a demon! After things quieted and he’d eaten a bit more, he said, “Folks that’s serious ‘bout keepin’ secrets don’t go ‘round sayin’ how they got a secret ta keep. So ya got some mystical insight into ol’ Al, you jist go right on ahead an’ git yer fifteen minutes. No skin off my nose, cuz you can read yer tea leaves an’ auras all day long, but ain’t no one know what’s in here - “ and he tapped his head “ - but me an’ the Good Lord…An’ even the two of us don’t know what lies ahead for me, cuz only one makes my fate is me, an’ I ain’t done made it yet."
#39
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Petal laughed “There are those that would disagree with you about Fate, but then again one of the reasons you’re here is the rather unique effect you have on Fate, so perhaps you are right…”
“Petal…” Dream interrupted, “Al and Alyce must resolve their relationships at another time, and without your help!”
“Yes boss,” she replied with a clearly unrepentant grin.
With an exasperated sigh Dream asked “So, are we waiting for dark? Is there anything else we need to tackle before we leave? Beyond a pair of gloves is there anything special I need to do to hide any forensic evidence? I apologise for being new at this but no doubt you both started here once too and I am grateful for the experience you bring to bear on this matter…”
#23
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Alyce looks over at Al then back to Dream and says, "It might be good to go to the adjoining mansion in the dark, but would it not be best to try to skin a vampire in the daylight?" She pauses and chuckles before adding, "And I am as new to this sort of B&E as you are, I suppose. I am more used to breaking into hidden tombs where it does not really matter if any forensic is left behind. I will have to defer to Al on this area."
She turns to look at Al, a slight grin on her face.
#45
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“Well shee-it, why y’all lookin’ at ol’ Al? Ain’t no thief. Work fer a livin’, though I’ll allow misguided associations been somethin’ of a corruptin’ influence these last few moons. But though I can’t claim no experience with larceny, that don’t mean I ain’t an expert. First off, yeah, the courts’ll convict on a fingerprint match, though remind me sometime ta tell ya how that’s jist another gummint ploy ta keep the workin’ man onna leash. I mean, think about it, ya got what, eleven, twelve trillion folks inna world, I ain’t buyin’ they ain’t a one but what’s got the same fingerprints as another. But it’ll still git ya inna slam, so yeah, gloves. But me,” and Al held up his burnt hands, “mine done melted off when I was yay high. Ya want, I can burn yours off, or cut ‘em off, guarantee ya don’t git caught thataway. Then, ain’t no Guthrie been fingerprinted or biometricized in any other way in goin’ on five generations. Fingerprints nor dee-en-ay nor hairs nor spit gon’ burn ya if’n ya ain’t on file nowhere. But if’n ya are worried about that shit, well, ya can’t stop with gloves. Hell, these forensic guys they got now, ya need a damned spacesuit to not leave nothin’ behind. They even got what they call a temporal spectrometer - senses any dee-en-ay ya might’ve left had ya been there without a spacesuit. Theoretical forensic quantum metaphysicalities. So that’s why I say, jist don’t bother. We go in - by day like this one done said - an’ we have fun. Don’t worry so much."
#40
