Part 4
I felt the pill rolling around on my tongue and quickly brought the glass to my mouth and swallowed the pill with a dose of liquor and as Jessica began kissing my neck and running her hands around my chest. She pawed playfully at me and would occasionally let out a giggle. I surrendered to it and reached up and groped her breasts and teased her nipples through her shirt. She happily moaned and moved her chest to accommodate my large hands.
“Oh Daddy, you fingers feel so good on my skin!”
“Your tits are fucking amazing,” I said and I leaned forward and kissed them and sucked on her nipples.
“Ah!” she said unexpectedly. “Oh yes! Oh yes!”
She started to grind against me and I took hold of the tank top and ripped it open roughly. She squealed in delight as she looked down at me with unbridled lust in her eyes. “Oh Daddy! I was such a dirty little slut talking to that boy! You need to punish me! I want to by your good little girl.”
I leaned forward and kissed her breast again as I looked up at her and then took a nipple in my mouth and bit down on the hard little nub.
She shrieked in pleasure and pain and I felt her jerk on my lap. I pulled back and said, “You’re going to tell that boy you never want to see him again, do you understand?”
“Why Daddy?”
“Because you’re my Baby Girl.”
“Oh!” I saw her quiver and smile. “Say it again Daddy!”
“You’re mine. Only mine Baby Girl.”
“Oh fuck yes!” she nodded.
“Let’s move to the bedroom. I want to see you on your hands and knees.”
She got off me and nodded as she ran to the bedroom while giggling. I got there to find her already in position and I reached out and took hold of the zipper at the back of her shorts and pulled it all the way down and around between her legs. The shorts split and separated, revealing no panties and her leaking slight ready for another round.
I didn’t waste any time. I got behind her, grabbed her waist roughly and started to fuck her with abandon. She purred and bucked back against me, occasionally looking over her shoulder, or laying down so she could use both hands to grab her own tits or finger her clit as I fucked her. Seeing her that way I didn’t last long and she didn’t either. I felt my balls constrict and then I was jerking deep inside of her as I came. She moaned and squirmed and called out loudly and I was suddenly glad that we had a corner suite and Dominic and Tommy were down on the opposite end of the floor from me.
I pulled out and fell down on the bed next to her and looked at the bliss still on her face. She caught her breath faster than me and I felt her hand reach down and gently tug my still semi-rigid cock. “Again.”
That was all she said and I grunted as I shook my head. “I need a minute.”
She pursed her lips and slipped off the bed. She returned a moment later with a bowl of strawberries and leaned over and gently popped one in my mouth. She then righted herself and pulled her other hand from behind her back and sprayed her tits with whipped cream. “Then let’s have desert while you recover.”
As she laid back on the bed with some pillows behind her to prop her up I realized this would be a long night.
+++++++++++++++
“You’re sure I can’t come?” she pouted at me from the couch in our room.
Dominic and Tommy waited by the door as I grabbed my briefcase and shook my head at her. “No. You wait here. Try out the pool. Eat at a local restaurant or something. This will just be boring business stuff Jessica.”
She slumped down on the couch and crossed her arms. “Fine.”
Somehow she had cleaned up the room and gotten the smell of marathon sex covered while I had showered that morning. She helped me dress and then slipped into her robe to cover her naked nubile body when there had been a knock on my door.
“Don’t worry Jess, someday when I’m running this company and you’re my bride I’ll let you come to a few meetings just to show you what you ain’t missing,” Tommy said with an greasy smile as he eyed Jessica’s long legs sticking out from her robe.
“Tommy you wouldn’t keep me satisfied for a night, let alone long enough to marry you,” she said back as she flipped her hair and turned to the TV while pushing the power button.
Tommy scowled at her while Dominic snickered and I pointed at both of them. “Let’s go. Neither of you are in a position to ask me for Jessica. And remember that. Not only does she have to like you, but I do too.”
“Yeah, sure boss,” Tommy said as he fell in line.
+++++++++++++++
I sighed as I returned to the room. I slipped my key in the door and turned it as Dominic and Tommy shuffled by on the way to their room. They were discussing going out and hitting the town, but I was wiped. It had been a long day of negotiations. I hoped Jessica wouldn’t be too pissed at me for returning so late. The sun had gone down long ago. I also hoped she hadn’t gotten bored and went looking for that boy.
I closed the door behind me and called out. “Jessica?”
I got no answer, so I called out again. “Jessica!”
Still nothing. I looked in the small living room and saw the TV was set to the stock channel that I usually watched if I had the TV on, but it was muted. I turned and went into the bedroom and saw Jessica laying on her back on the bed.
“There you are! I was worried. Why didn’t you answer me?”
She didn’t respond. I looked closer and it almost looked like she wasn’t breathing… But her eyes were open. I rushed over to the bed and went to shake her when I saw a folded piece of paper with a rather embellished Daddy written across the front. I unfolded it and looked at the note.
Hi Daddy! I bet you’re probably wondering why I’m not answering you. Well, I was a bit of a naughty girl today. I went out and found a really nifty drug they use at the hospital for surgery. It basically paralyses me. I’m still in here, but I can’t move a muscle. I’m going to be pretty sick of staring at the ceiling by the time you get back from your meeting. Now that you know why I’m not answering you I bet your next question is “Why the hell would she do that?” Because I want to be your little fuck doll Daddy. I put on a cute little outfit and I’m laying here and you can use me however you want to! It’s so kinky my pussy is literally drowning in my panties as I write this. (Don’t worry I’ll take them off before I lay down. Sex dolls don’t need panties.) So have fun Daddy!
P.S. If you’re going to use my mouth please make sure I don’t drown in your cum.
P.P.S. If I’m still non-responsive at like… two in the morning, there is a reversal agent by the clock next to the bed.
P.P.P.S. I know you. Right now you’re thinking. “I shouldn’t do this. I should just use the reversal agent and then give her a stern lecture and ground her.” If you don’t fuck me like this and deny me this little fantasy, I’m telling you in writing, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY. So use me Daddy. I want this.
I looked from the note to her to the small bottle of clear liquid by the bed complete with a syringe that had another note on it that said only in emergency.
I sighed and loosened my tie let out a long sigh. I then kicked off my shoes and undid my pants buckle. I pulled them off and tossed them to the side. I then climbed onto the bed and reached out and stroked her face. Her eyes barely moved, but I could still see a flicker of life in them. She was still in there alright. I tucked some hair behind her ear and then reached down to the small white blouse she had on that was tied just below her perky tits. I undid the tie and pulled it apart and marveled at her flawless mounds. Even on her back they defied gravity. I looked down at the short pleated micro skirt that barely went over her pussy. I flipped it up and smiled as I saw her little cleft was still drooling and had made a large wet spot on the bed under her ass.
I got between her legs and leaned forward and licked her outer lips, just because I was curious about her flavor. I had eaten pussy before and I never really minded the flavor. It wasn’t my favorite thing, but it wasn’t terrible either. Jessica’s was just slightly different than her mothers. I crawled over her and up to her breasts. I kissed and suckled her nipples. I groped them roughly. I slapped them and laughed down at her as they wobbled. They had a good first reactive quake and then only slight tremors as they steadied themselves.
I unhooked the buttons on my shirt and pulled it off and then leaned down over her. I lined myself up with her pussy and slowly inserted myself. I let out a low moan as I enjoyed her tightness. I worked myself in and out as I looked down at her unmoving face. She did have a doll like face. If it wouldn’t have been for her warmth I would have assumed she was an actual doll. Her proportions were just that perfect. I propped a leg up and over hers as I slipped my hands under her and grabbed onto her shoulders to really get a good grip and started to hammer into her. It was actually kinky and fun. As I pounded away at her I had to admit that she was never boring in bed. She had quite the imagination and I might not always be in agreement with her, but she was always interesting. I started to pump harder and harder.
Then I came. I grunted hard in her face as I let loose deep inside of her. I collapsed heavily on top of her as I let out small laughs and caught my breath. I whispered in her ear. “Thank you Baby Doll.”
I almost thought I saw movement in her eyes and I know I felt something twitch around my cock lightly. I pulled out of her and wiped my cock on her thighs and then got off the bed. I left the bedroom and went and took a long hot shower and afterwards shaved. I looked at the slightly greying hair by my ears in the mirror and wondered what exactly a nineteen year old saw in me that drove her nuts enough to want to turn herself into a sex doll for me. Whatever it was, I had to admit that I was actually enjoying this little stunt.
She wasn’t screaming at me, stabbing me, or asking me to do something. It was just me doing what I wanted. I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked out of the bathroom. I picked up the phone and ordered some room service. I then looked at the TV and sat down. I grabbed my cell phone and called Madison. I chatted with her about the flight and the meeting. When she asked about Jessica I looked over my shoulder at her body with her legs spread and my cum still leaking out of her and I told her mother that she was really enjoying the trip. I told Madison that she was taking a bath in the large tub and she couldn’t come talk right at the moment, but I would have her call later. When someone knocked on the door I told Madison my food was here and I would call her in the morning. We said good bye and I hung up and went to the door.
A different young man stood by the cart and I took the food from him and closed the door without saying anything. I looked down at the large steak and nodded. I went back to the couch and sat down and pulled the end table around and set my plate down. I turned to a sports channel and watched some team play some other team. I really didn’t care who was playing. I wasn’t really into sports. I ate my steak while occasionally looking up at the TV. I ate some of the pile of vegetables and then set the plate on the end table and moved it out of my way once more. I then went to the small mini bar and picked up one of the ridiculously high priced bag of salted honey peanuts and took one.
I walked back into the bedroom as I opened the bag. I pulled out a peanut and dropped it in Jessica’s belly button and chuckled. I put another couple of them on her tits around her nipples. I put another one on her forehead. I then made a line of them going from her crotch up between her tits. I thought about taking a picture, but realized that evidence would definitely not be something I wanted and instead crawled over her once more and began eating them off her mostly naked body.
Once I had finished my snack I was once again ready I and worked my way up to her tits and pressed them together around my cock. I moved back and forth and enjoyed her warmth as pumped. After a while I shuffled back down and lined myself up to her still leaking slit and slid in her once more. I once again reached underneath her to grab onto her slim shoulders and began fucking her with reckless abandon.
“Are you enjoy this Baby Doll? Is this doing it for you? Do you like it when I fuck you and you can’t even whimper in response? I’m going to cum in you Baby Doll,” I whispered in her ear.
It was mostly for her. If this was her kinky little fantasy and she went through all of the trouble I decided to feed into it a little. I again felt slight twitches around my cock and it drove me wild. I pumped harder and faster. I felt myself getting close to the edge and clutched her body tightly as I suddenly tipped over the edge and began jerking deep inside of her. I kept pumping until was completely emptied out and felt myself began to shrink.
I rested for a bit and then rolled off her and laid on the bed next to her body for a while. Finally I started to feel sleep closing in and I rolled off the bed and pulled back the covers. I suddenly realized I’d have to deal with her limp body as well and rolled my eyes. I went over to her side and picked her up carefully, cradling her head and neck with one arm while I scooped under her ass and back with the other. I lifted her up and managed to snag the covers with one hand and yank them down. I set her onto the sheets and then pulled her legs up and slipped them into the blanket and then repositioned her arms as they looked like they were spread in an uncomfortable position. I then went to the bathroom and washed off the arm that I had slipped under her ass because it was soaked in sex. I finished, slipped into bed next to her and pulled up the covers and then leaned over to kiss her on the forehead as I said, “Good night Baby Doll. Sleep tight.”
+++++++++++++++
I woke up early the next morning with Jessica wrapped around me. She groaned as she felt me stirring and her eyes slowly opened. When she saw me looking at her she smiled and asked, “Did you have fun with your surprise Daddy?”
“Do you want your lecture about how dangerous and stupid that stunt was now or later?”
“Later,” she said as she stretched languidly and then held her fingers up and wiggled them in front of her face.
“I’m glad you’re not in serious medical trouble. That was stupid.”
“I said later!” she leaned over and kissed me and then rolled out of bed. “Dibs on showering first! I’m fucking filthy. I feel like I just laid there while some sweaty guy ate off me and fucked me. Twice.”
I laughed as I watched her disappear into the bathroom and heard the shower start.
+++++++++++++++
Madison was waiting as the door on the jet opened and we walked down the short set of stairs to greet her. I hugged her tightly and kissed her and then stepped back for Jessica to take a turn. She looked at us both. “How was the trip?”
“Successful.” “Boring.” Both of us had replied at exactly the same time.
Madison just shook her head at us.
“I got what I wanted, so it was successful. The shares are mine at rock bottom prices. Now I own a majority in the company and I can restructure it to actually be successful.”
“I mostly just laid around the hotel. Daddy said I couldn’t go to the meeting with him,” Jessica pouted until her face perked up slightly. “There was the best little sushi place just down the street from our hotel though! I wish we could have been closer to the beach though. I brought along my suit and never got to wear it.”
+++++++++++++++
The next morning as I was getting ready for work I stepped out of my bedroom and was greeted by Jessica wearing loose cotton pants and a baggy t-shirt with her hair pulled up in a messy bun as she stumbled by me.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m fucking dying,” she mumbled and continued down the stairs.
I got to the kitchen and looked at Madison as she smirked at Jessica, who was sitting on a stool and laying across the counter.
“What’s wrong with her?”
“I told you Daddy, I’m dying. Someone needs to take me to the hospital.”
“Jessica they are not going to do anything at the hospital except tell you to go take some Midol,” Madison said as she rolled her eyes.
“I’m off to work early. Lots to do,” I said as I excused myself.
As I walked out I heard Madison mutter. “Quit acting like this is your first time. You started getting your period when you were fourteen and a half Jessica. You should be able to deal with this by now. You should know when it’s coming and you should be able to plan for it.”
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah,” I heard Jessica whine as I quickly left.
+++++++++++++++
“Feeling any better?” I asked Jessica as I peeked in her room a few days later.
“It doesn’t feel like my stomach is getting stabbed with a pitch fork. I’m still crampy, bloated, and even more irritable than usual,” she replied as she shot me a sour look from her computer desk.
“Sorry.”
“How do women do this shit every month and not crawl into the bottom of a bottle of Jack? This is my future! I’m not going to lie, I’m a little scared,” she said with wide eyes.
“I’m sure you’ll figure something out. Or maybe it will get better.”
“I fucking hope so,” she said as she rubbed her temples. “Oh, by the way, I found one of the fake cops.”
“How the hell did you do that? You’ve been in your room for the past two days.”
“Yeah, in my room not wanting to move with the internet. It turns out I could narrow down faces with my computer with facial recognition and then go over the most likely candidates myself. You have no idea how many social media sites I’ve been on in the last two days, but I found one of them… So, mission successful.” she slouched down and let out a long breath, and then straightened back up and tore a slip of paper out of a notebook and handed it to me.
“Have Dominic check into it. Don’t send Tommy. He’s a fucking moron.”
“You just don’t like him because he teases you about getting married.”
“No, I don’t like him because he’s an arrogant fuckhead, he’s sexist, he smells like he dunks himself in a vat of old spice every morning, and… oh yeah, he’s a fucking moron. He couldn’t find his ass if you handed it to him along with a flashlight and a set of anal beads already tucked in so he just needed to follow the string,” she looked at me with her lips curled into a sneer.
“Well I see someone’s…”
She cut me off. “If you make a PMS joke right now I swear in the name of everything you hold dear I will put project revenge back on the front burner and by morning I will be standing over your dead body with a bloody knife in my hands explaining to the cops why you deserved it.”
“I was going to say having a rough day.”
“Sure you were.”
“I hope you feel better soon sweetie,” I said as I kissed her on the forehead.
“Me too. Thanks Daddy.”
As I left I saw her get up, go to her bed, and curl into the fetal position and hold her stomach.
Madison was standing just down the hallway as I left and I walked over to her. “Poor girl’s having a rough time with this one.”
“Some are worse than others, but she’s being especially grumpy about this one.”
“Well, I guess maybe you could cut her a bit more slack? You were kind of rough on her when it started.”
“Okay. What’s going on?” Madison asked me as her eyebrows came up.
“What?”
“You have never defended her like this before. The crazy back and forth mood swings where both of you hate each other and then you’re okay for a while I’ve gotten use to… but it’s different now. What is going on?”
“Nothing,” I tried to keep my best poker face. “You said you wanted me to get closer to her, and cut her some slack. I’ve been talking with her more and seeing more things from her side, and I guess it’s having an effect on my empathy for what she’s going through.”
Madison looked at me for a minute and then must have decided to drop it because she said, “Have a good day at work Alexander. I love you,” and then she turned and walked down the hall toward the office.
“I love you too, Dear!”
+++++++++++++++
I had no sooner sat down in my chair than I heard my cell phone ringing. It was my private investigator that was still looking into how Jackson had gotten into Jessica. I decided I should tell him to call of his investigation, as I was now well past the point of no return. I clicked to answer and brought it to my ear. “Hello, this is Alexander.”
“Hey, you’re not going to…”
“You can call off the investigation. Stop by the office and I’ll pay you for whatever you’ve got into it so far,” I interrupted him.
“What? Did something happen? Did you just take care of the body he swapped to?” I heard the gravely voice ask.
“No, not quite. But he’s not going to be a problem anymore.”
“Okay good for you, but you’re still going to want to hear this.”
“What?”
“I finally tracked down the Malik guy. He’s a fucking slippery man. His movements are… erratic. It’s like he just jumps around places. He’s a bum, but he must have a car or something because he can get all the way across the state in the blink of an eye. He somehow got into the prison to meet with Jackson but never had to sign the visitor logs. When you ask the guards about him they just kind of zone out like they’ve been hypnotized or something… but if you show them a picture they recognize him.”
“That’s fascinating, but your job is done.”
“Wait! You need to know this!”
“What!”
“He’s been hanging around your house. For fucking years Alexander! Years. I even found him in pictures taken from Jessica’s school. Not many, but a few. And he’s always looking at her.”
“Years?” I asked suddenly interested again for a moment but then I shook my head, there was nothing that could be done about this now. “Well, I’ll be on the lookout for him. Where does he live?”
“That’s just it! He doesn’t have a home! He just wanders. Like a bum.”
“So you don’t have much more than the fact that he made contact with people in my life, and you know what he looks like. That’s not a heck of a lot.”
“One more thing. Does the name Mercer mean anything to you? That’s his last name.”
I felt my mouth go dry. I swallowed hard. I cleared my throat and said, “I have to go. Thanks.”
I hung up on the man and stabbed the intercom button. “Janice get Dominic in here. And Tommy. You know what, tell everyone to meet me in the conference room. Now.”
+++++++++++++++
I was walking out of the office to my car when I saw the two plain clothed detectives who had questioned me about Freddie’s murder leaning against it. I let out a sigh and shooed at them with my hand. “I’m in a bit of a rush detectives. I can’t play right now.”
“Ha, funny,” The short one said. I couldn’t remember if he was bad cop or worse cop.
“Look you may have smoothed everything out with our boss, but you’re not fooling us. You’re dirty and we know it.” The other said.
“So the evidence my lawyer gave your department about one of my own employees framing me for murder wasn’t good enough? He also stole from me. My people turned him over to you, and somehow you let him get away. The call got hijacked somehow and a fake pair of police drove him off to freedom and instead of looking for him, you’re here to harass me? I’m certain there is something I’m missing here, so please clue me in on it,” I said as I dug my keys out of my pocket and unlocked the doors to my car.
“Funny how many people get framed around you, isn’t it?”
“I guess large sums of money will have an effect on people like that. But I’m certain on a government pay check you wouldn’t know anything about that, right?” I told worse cop as I pulled the door open and went to sit down until he put his arm in my way.
“We’re going to get you off the streets you know. One way or the other.”
“Is that a threat officer?” I smiled at him. “You know that I hit the record button on my phone the minute I saw you standing by my car. My lawyer should have a lot of fun with that recording tomorrow.”
His partner pulled him away from my car and I sat down, closed the door, and quickly drove off. I had other things on my mind. I sped down the roads, swerving through traffic on my way home. I needed to talk to Madison. And after that I needed to talk to Jessica. And the problem with that is I would prefer to talk to each of them without the other being around. I walked in the front door and saw both of them sitting at the dinner table already eating.
“Sorry I’m late. It was a mess at the office today.”
Neither of them said anything, the just looked at each other and then back at their food. The silence was a bit awkward and I motioned Madison as I said, “Could I talk to you for a moment in private Dear?”
“That’s a good idea,” she replied and eyed Jessica as she left the table.
Alarm bells started to go off in my head. What had happened? Had Madison found something out? She came in to the kitchen with me and instantly went to the refrigerator and refilled her glass of wine and then leaned forward on the counter and put her head in her hands.
“What’s wrong?”
“Did you know our daughter has a sex toy?”
“Oh. The purple one?”
“What?! She has a purple one too?” Madison looked up at me with an angry stare. “And how did you know about this before me?”
“It happened on night when you were out with friends. I heard a noise in her room, went to check on her, and opened the door… and saw.”
“That’s exactly what I just did today! I heard a noise, went to check on her, and there she was just rubbing a toy against herself,” Madison said in an annoyed tone before looking at me. “So did you yell at her?”
“What? No.”
“You didn’t?” Madison seemed shocked.
“Of course not! She’s nineteen and doesn’t have a boyfriend. She’s curious. I wasn’t exactly hands free at that age.”
“So what did you tell her?”
“I didn’t really say anything. I left and said I was sorry I didn’t knock. It didn’t really seem like something she wanted to talk about with me.”
“Well that explains why she yelled at me because I didn’t knock. I just can’t believe it. She just shouldn’t be doing that.”
“Madison, I think you need to be more understanding.”
“Do I Alexander? Really? What she’s doing leads to sex, and that leads to having a baby well before she is ready.”
“Like you?”
“Yes like me. Is that what you want to hear? You want me to admit that I was promiscuous in my younger days and it bit me in the ass?” she replied with a sharp tone.
“Madison do not get upset with me. I’m just saying I don’t think your life was ruined. I think it turned out pretty well. I’m glad that both of you are in my life.”
“Well, you weren’t there for the first decade when I was a single mom with no one to turn to for help. It was terrible,” she replied. “And I don’t want that for Jessica.”
“She won’t have that. She has us. We aren’t going to just let her off on her own. We’ll help her.”
“She is too young Alexander! Regardless of what she does or doesn’t have.”
I decided to stop the fight and I looked at her. “Does the name Malik Mercer ring any bells Madison?”
She paused and her eyebrows scrunched as she looked at me. “What?”
“Malik Mercer. Who is he to you?”
“No one.”
“Don’t lie to me Madison.”
“What I’m not lying to you Alexander.”
“So the photo I have on my phone of the two of you sitting on the bleachers by each other taken from when Jessica was in high school means that he’s nothing to you?”
“Are you running a background check on me now? I thought we were through this shit.”
“That’s the problem it wasn’t your background check that brought this up.”
“Who was it then?”
“My old business associate that died. Somehow this Malik guy knew him. He visited him before he died, and he died in a suspicious way. And low and behold the guy has the same last name as my wife’s maiden name. And she knows him. So, I need to know what you know.”
Madison looked at me for a moment with an expression I couldn’t quite identify and then finally started talking. “I honestly don’t know that much about him.”
I threw my hands up. “Fine. I guess I’ll wait for the man to threaten our family again.”
“What? He won’t threaten our family.”
“How do you know? You just said you don’t know much about it.”
Madison let out an exasperated sigh. “He’s my grandfather okay? But he’s harmless. He’s a bum.”
“Your grandfather?” I said in a shocked tone. “You said all your family was dead when we were dating.”
“When we were dating I thought he was. He showed up one day at Jessica’s school when she was competing. I didn’t know what to say. We talked for a while, I pointed out who Jessica was, and then he couldn’t stop asking about her. I asked him where he had been because the last time I had seen him I was sixteen. He wouldn’t really answer me though. He just babbled nonsense about needing to protect the earth realm from something he could barely pronounce. He’s nuts, which is why he’s a bum. He left and I never saw him again,” she said with a shrug. “I didn’t think to mention it to you because I never saw him again. I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”
I pulled out my phone and showed her all of the pictures that my private eye had gotten of him from random pictures at Jessica’s school. “He was there more than once Madison. He’s been watching Jessica for a while.”
She picked up my phone and her eyebrows furled as she flipped through the screen. “That damned old man. What is he up to?”
“What do you mean what is he up to? What do you know about him Madison? I need know what you know!”
“I don’t know anything! Honestly Alexander. I just know that when I grew up my parents would talk about him. But it was always in a language I barely understood. They said he was like a crazy weirdo or something, but he was just always just old and crazy to me. He would stop by when we grew up until my parents would get upset with him and send him away. He tried to tell me about magic or something when I was growing up, but every time he would start that’s when my parents would lose it and kick him out again.”
“What are you guys fighting about?” Jessica asked us from the doorway.
Madison looked at her. “I’m discussing what you are doing in your room with your door closed to your father.”
She looked at me, then back at her mother and I could see her eyes start to tear up. “Oh. Okay. Sorry to interrupt.”
“Wait Jessica,” I said as she turned to leave and I went over and wrapped my arms around her. “Its okay. We understand. It just caught both of us by surprise.”
“It’s not okay Daddy,” she said as she started to sniffle and pulled herself out of my arms and ran out of the room.
I let out along sigh and turned back to Madison. “I’ll go talk to her.”
“That sounds like a good idea. You’re far more understanding about this than I am, but let her know I do not want to see her doing that anymore.”
“Yeah, let’s tell her she needs to hide things from us,” I said as I shook my head at Madison. “Remember how upset you were when I wanted her to take the bathroom trash out every day when she first started having her period? You told me I was being unreasonable. I’m telling you right now what you’re asking for is unreasonable from her.”
I left Madison sipping her wine and went up to Jessica’s room. I knocked on the door and heard her sniffle. “It’s open.”
“Hey, feeling better?”
She looked at me over her knees as she had her legs pulled tightly against her chest and then started to cry. “She looked at me like I was such a horrible slut Daddy!”
I didn’t know what to say. I closed the door and went and sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders as she started to sob harder. “I’m a horrible person. I am a slut. I’m a dirty slut and I should just leave. I don’t deserve to be here.”
“Oh Jessica don’t…”
“I fucked everything up. Mom will never love me after she finds out what I’ve really been doing. She can’t even understand the sex toys. And you were fighting me this whole time. You knew better. I’m a horrible fucked up person and the two of you would be better if I wasn’t here.”
“Jessica, let me…”
“I’m serious Daddy! You should have seen Mom’s face. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look her in the eyes again. She hates me!” Jessica started to sob.
“She doesn’t…”
“Don’t placate me like I’m a child!” she yelled loudly.
“Okay, well we’re not getting anywhere on this. Let’s put it on the back burner for now. I need to ask you about Malik Mercer.”
“Malik?” she sniffled.
“The man who switched you with Jessica.”
“He didn’t tell me much. He just asked me if I wanted out. And he said it would involve you. I’d get to rebalance what happened to me.”
“He’s been watching Jessica… You… for years apparently.”
“Well, that’s about all I know.”
“You have to know more Jess. Think.”
“I can’t think! I’m sad, and I’m upset, and I’m angry, and I’m horny! I haven’t had decent sex in like four days! I thought I’d be better now that I’m done with my period, but then Mom walked in on me and I’m on edge again and everything is fucked up and I just can’t right now…” she started to sob harder.
“This Malik guy said you’d be able to get back at me?”
“That’s what I thought at first… but the longer I’m here, the more certain I am that he said rebalance what happened to me. He didn’t say get back at you Daddy.”
I thought for a while and then kissed the top of her head. “We’ve got Luis to deal with too. He’s on the move now. We tried to shake out his fake cops and we might have forced him to move up his plans. He wants to come after me. He’s in with a gang of thugs who have a bit of money and he thinks he can muscle in on what I do.”
“Yeah. Okay. I’ll look into it. Let me get cleaned up and I’ll see what I can find, okay?” she said as she wiped her tears and nodded at me.
“Are you sure? You sound like you still need some time to process everything.”
“Just keep Mom away for a bit. Take her out for a drink or something. I’ll break into tears if I see her again.”
“Okay, sounds like a plan.”
I got up and left her room and as I closed the door she gave me a rough smile and a thumbs up.
+++++++++++++++
“Jessica?” I yelled loudly after I checked her room and found it empty. I took long steps as I started to check from room to room, calling her name in each one.
“What’s wrong?”
“Jessica’s room is empty. Her laptop is gone. Is she downstairs?” I asked Madison who shook her head but then added. “Her car is still here. She couldn’t have gotten that far. We were only gone for an hour.”
She pulled out her phone and opened the tracking app. I knew before she looked up at me that it wasn’t going to work. “She must have found a way to shut it off.”
“Shit.”
“Well we have to go find her.”
“And how do you want to do that? We don’t know where she would go,” I paused and then looked at Madison. “What about her friend?”
“Gabby?”
“Yeah, call her.”
“Okay.”
“While you do that I’ll round up a few of my people and we’ll see if we can track her down,” I paused. “This is our fault you know.”
She started to tear up as she nodded.
+++++++++++++++
I opened the door and let the two police officers in and the first one asked, “So are you the ones that called in the missing person’s report?”
“Yes, our daughter is missing. We believe she ran away.”
“When did she go missing?”
“We went out for a drive and when we got back her things were gone.” I told them.
“Oh, well I’m sorry to say we can’t really do anything until she’s missing for twenty four hours,” They said with a shrug and one of them turned to head back to the car.
“Wait!” Madison called out. “Please you have to help us find her.”
I looked at the officer that didn’t move and my eyes narrowed. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”
He shuffled on his feet and looked a bit nervous as he shook his head. “I don’t believe so sir.”
I paused and thought as Madison walked out after the other police officer. “Please, there has to be something you can do! This isn’t like her. She’s not just a normal run away!”
“Wait. The surveillance camera footage,” I mumbled as I looked at the officer in front of me and he suddenly pulled out his gun and pointed it at me.
“What the…” I started to mumble while he pulled out his handcuffs while still keeping his gun trained on me. “Here. Put these on. Slowly.”
I looked as Madison squealed and the officer she had followed outside grabbed her arm, spun her around and pinned it to her back while he slapped his handcuffs on her.
“What are you doing?” she cried out as the man grabbed her other hand and cuffed that one behind her back as well.
“You don’t want us to hurt the Misses, do you? Be smart Alexander,” The man holding the gun on me said with an evil sneer.
I forced down the rage and did as he said and snapped the cuffs on myself and then they escorted me to the back seat of the car. As we passed the trunk I noticed that logo was on the wrong side and the font was wrong. They placed both Madison and I in the back seat and then put bags over our heads. I started to shout at them and suddenly I felt the handle of a gun crack against the back of my skull and I everything went black.
+++++++++++++++
I woke up as the bag was ripped off my face by one of the fake policemen and I looked around while blinking. I was in some sort of a storage room facing some racking. It appeared to be empty or abandoned as not all of the lights seemed to work. Several of them were flickering. The two men chuckled as they left. “Boss’ll be happy to see what we caught in our net in the morning.”
“Wait! What do you want…” But the door closed behind them to the sound of an electric motor.
“Are you awake?” I heard Madison’s voice call out.
“Yeah I’m awake,” I muttered back to her.
I heard a small groan and then it was followed with. “Mom? Daddy?” in a meek voice.
“Jessica!” I called out as I tried to find where the voices were coming from.
I craned my neck around and could barely see Madison’s back and saw she was also tied to a chair with her handcuffs still on. I looked the other way and saw Jessica’s back and knew she was in a similar situation.
“Where are we?” Jessica’s voice asked in a hushed tone. “I was at home when those two fucking cops knocked on the door, held a rag to my face and I woke up here. I have a hell of a headache.”
“It’s the same fake cops that picked up Luis,” I muttered and twisted against my restraints.
“Luis? The guy who works for you? Why would he do this? What have you gotten us caught up in?” Madison asked in a frightened tone.
“I caught him stealing about a week ago. He’s got aims on taking me out I guess,” I replied back as I looked around at the room.
“He’s got the police working for him?” she asked as I saw her try and turn to look at me.
“They’re fake cops Mom,” Jessica said as I heard her start to struggle.
“I’m talking to my husband. Shut up,” I heard Madison say in a tone I’d never heard her use toward Jessica in all of my years.
“Madison, this isn’t her fault.” I replied back.
“Oh you would say that about her now that you’re fucking her,” Madison shot at me in a hostile tone.
I tried to crane my neck around to see Madison and could just barely see her looking at me with a scowl on her face. “Oh you didn’t think I knew? Both of you Just thought you had it all figured out and so well hidden, but I’m not as stupid as you think am I?”
“Why didn’t you say anything before now?” I was stunned and that’s the only response I could come up with.
“Because I’ve spent my life getting to this point Alexander. I’m not about to throw away everything I’ve worked so hard for just because you want to fuck the imposter in our house.” she spat at me.
“You knew?” Jessica asked in a stunned tone.
“Of course I knew. I knew the moment the magic pulsed. I didn’t know what that old fool did but I could feel the magic. And the next day I knew you were acting strange. A mother knows her daughter, and you aren’t her. You’re just some fucking stand in that my grandfather left for me to play house with,” Madison’s voice held more spite than I had ever heard it. “And then I got the pleasant surprise when I saw you on the hidden camera fucking him like a damned whore.”
“I’m sorry Mom,” I heard Jessica mutter. “I know you can’t…”
“Shut up you little whore, I’m not your Mother. I was playing house until I could figure out what to do.”
I turned and saw Jessica’s chin fall forward against her chest and heard her let out a sob. I could see the tears streaming down her face as Madison continued. “Now that we’re all going to die because my loving and faithful husband had to go and do something so stupid I don’t feel the need to keep up pretenses anymore, do you?”
I heard Jessica whimper and call out but I turned toward Madison. “So the two of us are just something for you to use to keep up your damned social standing?”
“Do not judge me. You do not know what my life was like before. I worked three jobs six days a week to barely pay enough for the fucking rent and babysitting. Have you ever had to decide if you’re going to pay the power, the water, or the heat bill Alexander? Have you ever had to rock a screaming baby to sleep in the dead of winter in the dark with no water and no lights, while trying to keep the thermostat low so you can maybe afford it next month Alexander? And then what does that little girl do? She makes a deal with her crazy great-grandfather to get out because she can’t handle her life and he is worried about her! About her! She lived in a fucking palace. Where was he when I needed his help?” Madison screamed in rage.
“So you knew about him?” I yelled back at her. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”
“What was I supposed to say? Jeez Dear my grandfather the crazy wizard is in town. He’s taking a break from saving the world from shit that only he can see. Let’s invite him in for diner, maybe make up the guest room. Oh, by the way, he’s been talking to our daughter and she keeps saying she’s miserable with us and he wants to help her escape by swapping her to a new body and putting some fucking murderer from prison in her place. Would that have made you feel better?” she screamed at me.
I suddenly heard Jessica scream, but in pain rather than anger. I then heard a crash. I looked over my shoulder and saw she had managed to tip her chair back against some racking hard enough to break it. She started to squirm free of the bindings in the now splintered wood and I saw some of the pieces stabbing into her. I then watched as she got up with a determined look on her face and she grabbed her cuffs and pulled down with one hand and up with the other. Her eyes were still streaming tears and I saw crimson red start to streak down from her hand as the metal cut through her soft skin of her thumb and pinky finger. She pulled her small hand through the cuff covered in blood and then kicked through the pieces of her broken chair and went over to Madison’s chair.
I spun to my other shoulder to watch and saw more blood start to leak out from where her shoulder and head had crashed hard into the racking she had used to break her chair. She knelt down behind Madison’s chair and undid the ropes holding her there. Madison’s face was shocked as she felt the ropes go slack and even more shocked when she spun around to see Jessica kneeling there.
With tears still streaming down her face Jessica looked up at her mother and said defiantly. “I never KILLED anyone! I was framed by your husband.”
She then stood and walked over behind me and after a few moments I felt my ropes go slack. I stood up and turned to see her stomp back over to Madison, reach up and pluck something from her hair and bend it open with her teeth. “If you want the cuffs off turn around.”
Madison looked at her for a moment and then turned. Jessica dug her makeshift lock pick into the key hole and a few moments later the cuffs hit the floor. She then walked to me and made a motion with her finger to spin around. I did so and almost instantly my cuffs also hit the floor. Once I was free she looked down and started to unhook the handcuffs still dangling around one of her wrists.
“Great, we can walk around in a room we can’t get out of. Now what?” Madison asked as she walked over to the large sliding door that appeared to be electrically operated.
“Maybe there’s a switch somewhere, check around…” I started to say until she cut me off. “There is no switch Alexander! It’s on the outside!”
Suddenly Jessica was in motion again. She had grabbed an old fire extinguisher off the wall and walked toward one edge of the door frame. She brought the fire extinguisher down hard on a small metal cover panel that was screwed onto the wall. She brought it back up over her head and slammed it down again with a wicked clunk and the cover broke off and fell to the floor. She reached in with the hand that wasn’t bleeding and yanked on some wires. When they didn’t give she brought the fire extinguisher up and used the release lever as a wire cutter and snipped them in two. The old fire extinguisher tried to belch out some white smoke, but it was long since serviced last so it didn’t have much to spit out.
Jessica pulled the wires apart and started to look at them, then spun two together, and looked again. She then pulled two out, held them in her bloody fingers and touched them quickly together and suddenly the electric whine could be heard once more as the door began sliding open. Madison looked at her with surprise and Jessica replied. “In a past life I grew up in a much rougher neighborhood. I’ve broken in and out of a few warehouses.”
“So you’re not a murderer, but you are skilled at breaking and entering?” Madison asked with a huff as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
Jessica looked to her mother with still watering eyes and then wiped at them with the back of her hands and said, “Okay, we can talk about all of this later. For now let’s just try and get out of here.”
I saw her grab a piece of tie wire off the floor and she reached back and gathered her long hair and then wrapped it up into a bun and secured it with the tire wire as she peaked out of the door and glanced both ways. She looked at me and I also peeked around both sides. “I didn’t see anyone did you?”
“Nothing. I think we’re good to move out. Do you know which way you guys came in from?” Jessica asked as she looked at us.
“I think that way,” Madison replied and pointed to the left after she saw me shake my head.
Jessica nodded and crouched slightly as she left our make-shift prison cell. We started walking through large aisles of racking, mostly filled with large dusty boxes or rusted old hunks of metal that must have been worth something at some point in time. As we continued through the dimly lit warehouse we got to a section of the warehouse where the boxes weren’t covered in dust. Jessica stopped and looked at one of the boxes curiously and then quietly opened one.
“What are you doing? We have to get out of here!” Madison complained in a hushed tone.
Jessica peered into the box. “Look familiar?”
“It’s some of the missing merchandise,” I said with a nod and realized that Luis had been stealing from me for a while.
“We’ll have to let the real police know when we get out of here,” Jessica said when she suddenly turned and we saw Madison start a different direction. “No! Don’t…”
Madison ignored her as she looked back at us. “An exit door! Let’s go!”
She pushed on the fire exit door and as it opened suddenly alarms began sounding loudly. Jessica ducked behind a box and peered around and then turned to us and said, “Okay, well now they know something is going on.”
Madison made a sorry face as she looked at both of us and Jessica began looking around. She grabbed a chunk of pipe off from a nearby rack and looked at us. “You two go out the door and head for the nearest building that has a working phone. Call the cops.”
“What about you?” Madison asked as she eyed the pipe in Jessica’s hand.
“I’m going to make some noise and get them to follow me. I’ll be the distraction. You guys get help.”
“We can’t just leave you here!” I said as I shook my head.
She walked to the exit door, popped it back open and peered out through the night’s darkness. “There’s a hole in the fence over there. You should start that way,” she said and then grabbed Madison and pushed her out the door. She looked at me and said, “You’re the one they want. They don’t care about me. I’m just a bargaining chip. Worst case, they’ll take me alive and try and ransom me back. Now go! We don’t have time for a better plan!”
She tugged on my hand and I finally relented and walked through the door. I turned to look at her and she smiled weakly with wet eyes and winked. “Bye Mom, bye Daddy. I love you.” She then pulled the door shut tightly. I then heard the sound of the metal pipe dragging on the floor away from the exit door we had just gone through. I took Madison’s hand and started to run to the fence. We were almost half way there when suddenly Madison pulled back on my arm.
“Wait! I can’t just leave her there! I was wrong! The things I said… We have to go back for her!” Madison tried to stop but I pulled her along.
“Jessica knows what she’s doing better than us. We need to get help. C’mon!”
“No! I won’t leave her!” Madison yelled at me and tried to pull her hand out of mine again.
I spun and looked at my wife. “Madison! We have to trust her!”
“But…”
“No buts! We may not have much time until…” As I spoke I saw headlights flash on the concrete around us and turned to see a car speeding toward us. I yanked Madison’s hand hard and dashed for the fence. As we ran it became apparent to me that we would not make it to the hole before the car got there, and so I turned and ran for a debris pile. The car slowed as we managed to get behind it and it came to a stop as I peeked around the edge of a barrel that was haphazardly laying there. The car stopped and I saw a familiar face getting out of the driver’s side.
“Why do you always have to be such a pain in the ass Alexander? You are always such a fucking thorn in my side,” Luis said as he stood and leaned on the car door with a large pistol in his hand.
“You’ve got that backwards. You’re my thorn,” I replied back. “But I’m glad you’re here. Now I can shoot you with the gun I lifted off one of your goons.”
He let out a sigh and I hoped he bought my ruse. That would at least buy me a little time to come up with something that might get us out of this mess. I glanced at Madison as she crouched down behind the pile and I could see her hands clenching and unclenching as she looked at me with worried eyes.
“So what do we do here Alexander? Just stand here all night until the rest of my crew gets here and you and your family end up dead then? I tell you what. If you come out now, I’ll let the women live,” His voice was low but playful. He was enjoying this far too much for my taste.
“And how do I know you’re going to keep your word? It hasn’t been good for much so far.”
Suddenly we heard two gun shots ring out from in the warehouse, followed closely by two more. Madison gasped as her eyes spun toward the building and my heart sank as I feared the worst. Luis also glanced that way while leaning against the inside of the car door and then looked back toward me with a smile on his face.
“Oh that’s right! I only saw two of you running. The woman’s hair was too short to be little Jessica. Does that mean you left your daughter in the building Alexander? I guess she was only your step-daughter, so it’s not that much of a loss. Still, it’s pretty cold even for you,” Luis paused to chuckle and said, “Time’s ticking Alexander, and you’ve only got one person left to save if you’re going to step out.”
I looked over at Madison and she shook her head at me. I peeked over the barrel again and called out. “You’ll let her go if I come out?”
“Oh fuck no Alexander, we both know that’s not the way this works, but I won’t kill her. Madison’s a pretty good looking lady. I’ll keep her at one of my houses like a pet bird. I’ll show up every now and then to… well… preen her… but she’ll still be alive,” Luis said and then started to laugh hard.
“Fuck you,” I called out.
“Fuck me? Oh please tell me how you’re going to accomplish that. You don’t even have a gun Alexander. You’d have been shooting already if you did. Deals off. I’m going to kill you and then take your wife and there is nothing you can do about…” Luis started to say until we suddenly heard one of the fire escape doors get kicked open.
All of us looked to see Jessica staring at Luis from quite a ways down the building. She held up a cell phone and screamed out. “Hey pig fucker! The cops are on their way. The real cops. If you don’t want to get pinched, you’d best be on your way.”
Luis’s face contorted in rage as he looked at Jessica. “You little fuck! How did you…? Fuck it, never mind. There’s at least time to get rid of one problem,” he turned and looked at the pile of rubble we were hiding behind.
He slammed the car door shut and took a step toward us and suddenly I heard gunshots ring out. For a moment I thought he was already shooting, but then I realized the sounds were coming from where Jessica was standing. Luis jumped and spun to face her. Her shots were wild and I could see her staggering and struggling to stand as she screamed at him. “You get the fuck away from my parents!”
As Luis brought up his gun and started to aim I jumped from my hiding spot and grabbed a large chunk of rebar that was sticking out of the pile. I saw Luis bring the gun in line with Jessica and fire, then fire again before I could get there, but the sound of the gun fire also covered up the sound of my approach and I lifted the chunk of metal rebar high above my head and brought it down in a sweeping arc right to the top of Luis’s head. It made a sickening smack sound and then Luis flopped to the pavement like a rag doll that had been unceremoniously dropped.
I looked up and saw Jessica stagger. Her legs gave out under her and she also fell. First to her knees, and then down flat on her front. Madison was peeking around the pile and let out a scream as Jessica dropped. She left the protection of the debris pile and started to run. I dropped the rebar and started to run alongside her.
We heard sirens closing in and red and blue lights flashed as a police car turned into the warehouse entrance. As it turned and began to drive our way more cars began showing up. Madison got to Jessica first and fell to her knees as she began to cry. Madison carefully turned her over and lifted her head off the pavement and started to pull the dirty hair out of her face.
“Jessica! Jessica wake up!” Madison cried out. “Jessica!”
I dropped to my knees on the other side of her as the police car squealed to a halt. Two policemen jumped out and had their guns pointed at us for a moment until I slid the gun that had been on the ground near Jessica towards them and put my hands up. I pointed in Luis’s direction. “There’s a man over there that has a gun and is unconscious too!”
The policemen glanced at each other and then one of them headed off to secure Luis as the other came toward us.
“Please help my daughter! Please!” Madison looked up at him as the tears streaming down her face glistened red and blue while reflecting the light. “She saved our lives! Please help her!”
The police secured the gun and then told us to put our hands up. I did as he said, but Madison wouldn’t let go of Jessica. She shook her head defiantly as she looked down at Jessica.
“Ma’am we’ll help her, but right now I don’t know the situation. I need everyone to cooperate and everything will be okay. We’ll sort it all out,” The policeman said, “I need you to put your hands up!”
“There’s at least two more in the building. We don’t know what happened to them, Jessica was in there,” I said as I pointed at the fire exit.
The man radioed my information in and then started walking slowly toward us, gun still out and asked again. “Ma’am! I need you to show me you don’t have a weapon!”
“I’m her mother! I can’t just…”
Madison’s voice trailed off as Jessica’s hand slowly came off the ground and she struggled to get them in the air as her voice called out weakly. “I can’t get them higher.”
“Oh! You’re alive!” Madison called out as her shoulders slumped in relief and she finally put her left hand in the air but kept her right one under Jessica’s head.
The officer came over and began patting me down, and after I had been checked quickly he moved on. Once he decided we didn’t have any weapons he rushed to the back of his car and got a first aid kit as he called in for an ambulance. Police streamed in around us and through the warehouse and everything turned into a flurry of activity as the moonlight gave everything an ominous glow and I looked over to see the pool of blood under Jessica’s small frame.
+++++++++++++++
Jessica’s eyes slowly opened and she grimaced as she looked around. “What is that annoying beeping?”
Madison’s head popped off her hospital bed as she looked up and let out a happy squeal and hugged Jessica tightly.
Jessica’s eyes watered as she struggled to wrap her arms around Madison and asked almost questioningly. “Mom? I thought you didn’t…”
Madison pulled back from the hug as she looked at Jessica. “I should have never said those things. I was scared and not thinking right. I’m a terrible person. Can you ever forgive me?”
Jessica’s eyes started to water as well, and suddenly they were both crying as they hugged each other. “I’m sorry too! I’ve been terrible too! I’ve been the worst daughter!”
I went over and wrapped my arms around both of them. “Everyone is okay. Let’s just be glad for that right now.”
Madison and Jessica softly cried as they clung to each other until finally Jessica looked up at me. “Daddy, would you please shut the beeping off?”
I nodded and pressed the call button for the nurse. She came in and smiled. “Oh! Look who’s awake! Welcome back sleepy head,” she walked up to some sort of machine and pressed a button to quiet the beeping. “You just about bled out and you’re lucky you weren’t shot. If you’d have taken a bullet too I doubt you would have made it. Next time you want to take on a gang make sure you don’t do it alone, okay?”
“I wasn’t alone, we just got separated for a bit,” Jessica said as she squeezed Madison.
+++++++++++++++
“I’m glad that Luis was a terrible shot,” I said as I held the door open for Jessica, who walked through it with Madison.
“I wasn’t much better,” Jessica complained as she slowly walked through the entrance way.
“Come on, you’re lying down in the living room,” Madison steered her toward the couch. “The doctor said you still need to take it easy.”
“I’m fine Mom, I’m just tired,” Jessica said, but allowed herself to be directed to the couch.
Madison laid her down and propped her head up with a pillow and then covered her with a blanket and stood back for a moment and let out a sigh. I stood in the doorway and I saw Jessica’s eyes searching for me as well.
I stepped into the room and she asked in a quiet voice. “So… are we going to talk? We have a lot of things to tell each other, and not all of them are very nice. If I’m going to be out on my own I’d rather do it…”
“Hush!” Madison said as she sat down next to Jessica and ran her hand through her hair. “We’ll deal with that later.”
“I don’t want to deal with it later. We need to figure it out now!” Jessica retorted. “I’m not going to be able to sleep until…”
Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. I gave Madison a look and she shook her head at me. “I didn’t tell anyone Jessica was getting released.”
I warily went to the door and glanced through the side windows. I saw a ragged looking old man standing there in a tattered jacket. He looked over at me and I heard him ask through the door. “Let me in Alexander. There is much to discuss.”
I opened the door and gave him a long look. “How do you know my name?”
“I have watched you every moment I could spare since Madison and Jessica have come into your life,” he replied with an accent I couldn’t quite place.
“Malik,” I replied as my hands clenched. “You picked a fantastic time to show your face.”
“I have arrived exactly when everyone was ready to listen. Not before, not after. I am busy man. I cannot take time to wander about. Now, take me to them,” he said and made a motion with his hands.
“You’re unbelievable you know that?” I asked him through gritted teeth.
“Yes, I am great wizard. This has been said before,” he nodded and pushed his way passed me. “I hear them. You are coming, yes?”
“I’ll be right there, just need to grab something,” I replied to him with a forced smile and he shook his head at me.
“Yes I believe you do. Some things do not change, despite spinning the wheel of fate,” he said as he turned and headed into my living room.
I ignored him and headed up to my office. I put the combination in the center drawer and pulled out the gun. I checked the ammo and slide the magazine back in. After putting the safety on I slipped it into the back of my pants and headed down the stairs once more. I turned into the living room and saw Malik sitting on the small coffee table in front of the couch as he looked at Jessica’s face with his hands on either side of her head.
“No permanent damage. She will fine,” he said as he stood up and nodded to Madison. “She was on the edge though. She has now been to death’s door. Man’s medicine has improved greatly.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked loudly and caused everyone to look over at me.
“I told you. Everyone is now ready to talk. So, I have come to answer questions.”
“Fix it,” I told him in a growl.
“Everything has already been fixed Alexander,” he replied as he held his arms out to the sides.
“Don’t fucking give me that,” I said as I pulled out the gun. “Everything is more messed up now than it has ever been.”
Madison sat down next to Jessica and put her arms protectively around her as she looked up at me. “Put the gun down Alexander, we’ve had enough of that for a night.”
Malik waved his fingers and suddenly the gun was too heavy to hold. It slipped from my fingers and landed on the ground. I knelt down and tried to grab it but it was stuck to the floor fast. Malik let out a sigh. “Your false sense of control is your great fault Alexander. You cannot control everything, even with weapons.”
“Shut your mouth!” I said as I stood up and took a step toward him.
“Fine, you no want answers, I will talk with these two,” he said with a shrug and sat back down on the coffee table.
“Why did you come to me? Why find me out of everyone you could have swapped the old me with?” Jessica asked him suddenly as she looked at him with a piercing gaze.
“You needed to right the wrong done to you. You sought revenge, yet you couldn’t get it. Revenge isn’t best answer, but you needed something. Plus, strong motivation is needed to for the swap. You have to want desperately for change, or you will not pull yourself free of your own life’s ties,” Malik replied as if he was explaining something simple.
“Where is…” Madison started to ask and then looked down at Jessica. “Where is my other daughter?”
“She is in a small house on the ocean shore. She is free to write and love and dance and sing. I can tell you where if you wish to go and see her, but she will not return home. She will not embrace you as a daughter. She is with her husband, she has made a new life. She is a twenty six year old woman who loves her freedom, and will not return it.” Malik with a bit of warning in her tone.
“Its fine, I just want to see her one last time. To wish her well and say I’m sorry for driving her away,” Madison said as her eyes started to water.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing her, too. You know, to thank her and say good luck too,” Jessica added in.
“What happened to whoever was in that body?” I asked loudly.
Malik raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh? Now you wish to me to open my mouth? Always the stubborn one Alexander, huh? Always must have things on your terms?” he paused as he looked at my eyes and after a moment I looked down and then heard him speak again. “That woman has moved on. She was put in the cell. She had her sins turned on her, and after one night of pain was released from her misery as well. It was the most humane way to help her.”
“What?” Jessica asked him with a frightened look on her face.
“She was put in your unused old body little one. She had killed many times before in the night. Her mind was tortured. The rest in her life had no idea, but she was in pain. You knew there was no going back. I needed a place to put her so that she could feel the pain and suffering she had caused. Somewhere that she was contained. And afterwards she found the rest she needed.” Malik said as he lowered his head.
“Why did you swap them? You should have just left everything alone you old fool!” Madison said as she shook her head. “You should have told us what was going on. We would have figured it out!”
“Oh? You would have let your daughter go? You would let her walk out door and leave?” Malik asked Madison with high arching eyebrows. “You are not liar. You never have been Madison. Do not start now, it is not becoming,” he paused and looked at me. “And you would admit your sin? You would get your man out of the cell and bring him home and treat him like family to make up for what you did?” I didn’t move and Malik turned to Jessica. “And you little one, you would have embraced life again? You would have dropped your dark plans and moved on?”
“All of you had lessons to learn. They could not be taught any other way. Talking is cheap, yes? But now? Now you can understand what was needed, what still is needed, and can see where to go. You have had eyes opened, yes?” he paused as he looked at Madison. “You are afraid of Jessica leaving, yes? You are fearful of being all alone. You spent so long wrapped around only egg that you cannot let the hatchling leave the nest now,” he then looked at Jessica. “Are you leaving? Are you ready to go? Or do you wish to stay? Do you wish to have the family you never knew growing up? Do you enjoy the mother and the father and even if you walk down a different path will you still be coming home as often as you can?”
Jessica pulled herself tightly to Madison as she nodded. “I’ll stay as long as you let me Mom. I want to be here with you. Even if I do go to college, I’ll come home whenever I can. I want to stay with you.”
“Ah? So you have daughter that loves you more deeply than you can imagine, and she has mother she never could have before? Well done Malik. Why thank you Madison, you are quite welcome,” Malik began discussing with himself in different tones, causing Jessica to let out a giggle and he stopped and focused on her. “So little one. You are ready to leave the path of revenge? Are you ready to start over? Are you ready to have the life you desired? You wanted to be close with Alexander before. Now you have him. You have mother too. You know they want you too, yes? Problem solved! Good Job Malik, you are very smart. Well thank you little one. You know I tried special for you my little grand-daughter!”
This time as Malik changed his voice both Jessica and Madison giggled. I cleared my throat and looked at him with a frown. “Yeah, you messed that up though. She’s not just close to me. She’s obsessed with me. She blackmailed me into sex and she can’t get enough of it. What are we supposed to do with that?”
Malik stood up and frowned at me. “How many times have you untangled the strings of fate between three people? You know how many destinies intertwine with each person? Answer, you do not! Yes, I move three people, and yes it is no small feat, and yes some strings of fate have to change. You cannot swap three lives without some unintended consequences! It cannot be done! When next you try it, you let me know how well it worked out for you!” Malik banged his hands off his chest. “You think I want my granddaughter and my little one to both be in bed with you Alexander? No of course not! I would rather they both found different men! But you are who has been chose, so you are who I deal with. I’d rather swat you like bug.”
“Don’t threaten my family,” Jessica said as she sat up and started to get off the couch.
Malik looked down at her and took a half step back. “Calm little one, calm. You speak truth. I have spoke in haste.”
“We’ll figure it out,” Madison said as she looked at me and Jessica. “If that’s a byproduct of the spell, then we’ll live with it and we’ll figure it out.”
“Are you sure Mom?” Jessica asked in a hesitant voice.
Madison nodded at her. “Yes. After last night I realize I could use your help keeping an eye on your father.”
“I have much faith in the two of you,” Malik said as he smiled down at Madison and Jessica.
“Hey,” I squawked as I held out my hands.
“And you Mr. Alexander!” Malik turned his attention to me. “You are ready to stop trying to put your put your past associate in the place of your problems, yes? You are ready to accept her? To atone for what you have done in all of this?”
I looked at Jessica and nodded. She smiled at me brightly despite her exhaustion. Malik brought my attention back to him by slapping his hands together. “Then my job is done, yes?”
“Yes,” Madison replied to him. “But I still want to know where she ended up.”
“Wait!” Jessica said, “I just got my family. You’re part of it too, right? I don’t want you to go either.”
Malik knelt down to Jessica and gently touched the top of her head. “I will be around little one. I will keep my eyes on you as often as I can. I have special interest in you. I will be waiting for you when the time is right.”
“So you are leaving then?”
“Yes, I have things that must be tended to.”
“Why don’t you at least let us get you some new clothes Malik, yours are almost rags,” Madison said as she reached out and tugged on his tattered jacket.
Malik slowly shook his head. “Everything must have balance Madison. You know that as well as I do. It is why I was allowed to pull these three in new directions. It is also why I must look like this. Great power cannot be abused or flaunted. If I give in even a little and adorn myself with vestiges that make me look important or wealthy I will lose something else. Or worse I will give in and use power for my own ends. There is nothing more dangerous in the world than a spell weaver out for himself…” he looked down at Jessica and Madison. “Except for maybe a half trained spell weaver.”
“I have never used anything you taught me,” Madison said as she shook her head.
“I’m not worried about you. That one is too sharp for her own good. She picks things up that she has only seen once.” Malik said in tone of warning.
“Me?” Jessica looked up at him with wide eyes.
“You should be trained.”
“No! I won’t let you take her and make her live your life,” Madison said as she pulled Jessica to her.
“It is not always your decision,” Malik said as he held up one hand. “But for now little one should enjoy what peace she has earned. I’ll be waiting when everyone is ready. I always am. Not a moment too soon, not a moment too late.”
Malik gave us a small smile and a wink and then waved to us. He then turned and headed to the back door. I cleared my throat and said, “Uh, the front door is this way.”
He flicked a finger at the back door and then said over his shoulder. “I know. But that is not the way I must go.”
He opened the back door, only instead of seeing the back patio and the pool it opened to sand dunes as far into the distance as I could see. He stepped through it without looking back and then pulled the door shut behind him. As he did Jessica struggled off the couch and ran after him. “Wait! I didn’t get to say…”
She caught the door a moment after Malik had closed it and yanked it back open but it now looked out into our backyard as it had always done.
“You guys saw that too, right?” I asked as I dropped heavily into my chair in the living room.
“I never get use to that,” Madison griped.
Jessica closed the door and then opened it again, as if that would make it change. She then took a step back and looked over her shoulder at us and then back at the door. I saw her look down at her hand and then look back up at the door. She brought her hand up slightly and flicked at it and then pulled the door open. My eyebrows went up as I saw it open to a lush forest. Jessica slammed the door shut again and looked at us with wide eyes and then down at her own hands.
Madison let out a sigh. “Well, that’s what he meant Jessica.”
“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again,” she squeaked and then looked at the door and pulled it open to see our patio and pool and then let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, in any case, I’m exhausted. I’m going to bed,” Madison declared as she stood up off the couch.
“Can I sleep with you guys tonight?” Jessica asked with wide eyes. “It’s been a long crazy day and I really don’t want to sleep alone.”
“Fine. But I don’t want to see anything with your father. It’s just a touch too soon for that, understand young lady?” Madison declared as she left the room.
“Yes Mom!” Jessica said happily as she followed after her mother.
I sat in the chair and stared at the door. I was just breathing and going over what I had seen in my mind until I heard Jessica call out. “Daddy, are you coming to bed? We’re waiting!”
+++++++++++++++
I laid in the hammock as it swung slowly in the tropical breeze. Madison was laying pressed against me with her arm draped over my chest. Her small bikini didn’t hide much skin from my wandering eyes, but in the afternoon sun I was struggling to keep them open. I heard Jessica giggle loudly as she kicked through the surf down at the edge of the water. The miniscule bikini she wore made her mother’s look like a mountain of fabric.
We had decided to take a vacation for a bit as we got use to our new life. Madison was exhausted from the night before, where I had come into the hotel room from getting ice cream to see both my wife and my daughter in matching lingerie. Apparently it had been Jessica’s idea. They had both pulled me to the bed and despite my weak protests had taken turns riding me or feeding each other ice cream as they waited for me to recover. Jessica had of course remembered to bring her stash of little blue pills, so I was pressed into service until the early hours of the morning when both of them were finally sated.
As I ran my fingers through Madison’s hair and saw Jessica splashing in the distance I wondered if I had been dropped into a fantasy or a nightmare. I wasn’t certain I could keep up with both of them, but I had to try, right?
+++++++++++++++
Epilogue:
“Is she the one?” the woman asked the man next to her as she fanned herself in the hot tropical sun.
“Yes,” the man answered without opening his eyes.
“Malik’s descendant that’s been hidden for so long. How did the old fool slip up? He’s gone through such great lengths to keep her hidden,” The woman said with a cocky smile.
“Don’t know. Her aura feels off though, and she has far too much mana for a nineteen year old.”
“You think it’s a trap?” The woman glanced around, looking for the old man in the tattered clothing.
“Could be. We’re not in a hurry. We’ll just keep an eye on her for now. We have time until she’s really needed anyways.”
“True.”
