"That's what happened. The building just crumbled and I got out of the room but they fell through the floor." Stanley said. "They?" Morris seized on the detail and pressed. "The small man and two others. I didn't see their faces as it was dark and dusty from the basement falling in." "Then what happened?" Harmon asked. "I found my bag in the next room so I went upstairs and called a friend to pick me up," Stanley said and yawned widely as he was quickly fading. It had been a very long and eventful day. "Why didn't you call the police?" Harmon asked bluntly. Stanley glared at the man and let some of his exhaustion into his voice. "I just wanted to go home. My kidnappers were dead or at least badly injured. Punished enough. I didn't know who they were and at that point I didn't care." "The police have been looking for you ever since the video was released last night. Why didn't you come forward, contact us?" Morris asked. Stanley sighed. "I didn't know about the video and I just
There was a team working on welding in new rebar in place to rebuild the floors. "According to the report, the floors just fell in last night. Wouldn't a safety inspector have to inspect the building and sign off on it before it could be fixed?" Hillsdale asked. "I got the inspector's certificate. I wouldn't send my crew into an unsafe worksite." Reggie insisted. "The building is sound. It's built like a bunker! That's what makes this so weird! I have no idea how these two floors failed so spectacularly. The damage is so localized!" The cops looked themselves but aside from the obviously missing floors they could see no evidence of a blast or shockwave. "Who ordered the repairs?" Harmon asked. "I'd have to check the work order. It's in my truck. I think the company was Ulysses something. The check came from a numbered company and it was good. We were paid in full to do an expedited repair. Replace two damaged floors," Reggie explained. "Let's go look at that work order," Harmon
He blinked in surprise and his face flushed in embarrassment when she finally released him. "What- what was that for?" he asked, flustered. "We're just concerned about you," Sandy said. "Is someone going to address the elephant in the room?" Roger asked when he wandered into the living room with a serious expression on his face. Stanley looked at him with trepidation. Everyone else just waited. "What's in the BOX!?!" Roger whined, pointing at the crate. It was Sandy's turn to blush. "Never you mind. That's just for me. I'll open it later." Roger moaned in frustration while Tish and Dayshia looked intrigued. Sandy waved her hands dismissively. "Let's just get dinner served before it gets cold." Stanley was quite content to let Sandy keep her secret as he had one of his own that he could never share. They got plates and served the spaghetti with a rich meat sauce. The garlic bread was hot and buttery and they went quiet for a while. Stanley brought the wine out of the fridge
"Good night, Stanley," Tish said sweetly and he nodded in a daze. Dayshia's kiss caught him completely by surprise as it was so quick and intense then she was disappearing down the hall to the living room. He turned back to the door and into a deep and sensual kiss from Sandy. God! She felt, and tasted, amazing! As the kiss parted, a lock of her hair reached forward to stroke across his lips. Sandy didn't even appear aware of this as she was looking him in the eye with a smile. Then she stepped back, closing the door and he was out in the hall. He made his way to the elevator and up to his floor. He let himself in and locked up. He had to lean back against the door to catch his breath. He wasn't at all sure what had just happened... but his body sure liked it. He stripped off his clothes and got ready for bed. But sleep wasn't quick to claim him tonight. Back in Sandy's condo the three women were busy grinning at each other. "He's a pretty good kisser! A little gentle for my ta
She threw him a bored look and turned to the other detective to answer. "They're a competitor of VRL. I believe my aunt knew the president." "Used to be a competitor. Closed up shop. No forwarding address." Harmon said with a scowl. Marisa didn't have to fake her surprise and Detective Harmon frowned as another lead seemed to be going cold. "Any idea why this tool Ulysses would want to kidnap little ol' Stanley here?" Morris asked Marisa. The detective was getting under Stanley's skin. He scowled at Morris. "Why don't you go ask him?" "We tried. His office was cleaned out, right down to the cement floors and even those were scrubbed and polished. Anything you'd like to tell us about that," Morris growled at Stanley in return. Stanley just shook his head in confusion at the man. "What the hell would I know?" "I'm not buying this bullshit about the floor just falling in so you could miraculously escape! I wanna know what really happened in that basement! What secrets are you hidi
"I will not explain how it works. The witch obtained the ability to disguise him at the cost of one of my kind. This is a debt I will see her repay." "Now I know you are boasting. She is too powerful for you to kill," the Queen smiled. "I won't harm a hair on her head... but I'll still have revenge for the life she took." He waved his hands and frowned dismissively. "But that is secondary to the main goal of ridding ourselves of the Humans. The witch made a fatal error when she took the ability from my kin to hide her pet Satyr. Because of her hubris, she's given me the means to destroy all of Humanity. With your help, of course." "You still haven't offered any proof that you can deliver what you say you can," the Queen said with a frown but he saw she was intrigued. "You are aware of Sympathetic magic?" he said to her. She tilted her head at him with a frown indicating she wasn't impressed with his stupid question. He nodded in apology. "I'm a master of its use. I'm also the on
She picked up from their scent, their touch, and looking deeply into their eyes that Detective Harmon was intelligent, stable, and healthy while his partner was a borderline psychopath with liver disease and a bad addiction to cocaine. She gestured to the chairs before her desk and walked back to hers. She felt their eyes on her ass but Harmon looked away while Morris struggled not to act on his impulse. Once they were seated she leaned forward slightly to trap their eyes in her cleavage and launched her first question. "Gentlemen, how may VRL be of assistance to you today?" Harmon cleared his throat and began. "We're investigating the abduction attempt on one of your employees, Stanley Garin." He watched her reaction closely and all of the physical cues he'd been expecting were present. She was worried about her employee, frightened that the abduction had even happened, and relieved that he'd gotten away safe and sound. "During our investigation, we discovered the scene of the cr
After a walk down a short hall he gasped as he took in the vastness of the space. They were... outside! The sky above them was a crisp blue Stanley had never seen before. Birds chased each other and sang in the trees. The sun was just beginning its descent to Stanley's right but its warm light filled the area ahead. The air smelled wonderfully fresh and he picked up the delicate scent of the flowering bushes that encircled the round clearing they were approaching. Butterflies and bees flew from flower to flower. Behind the flowers the forest began. "How?" Stanley gasped. "It's a form of illusion. A shared memory. I've been informed this is a present for you." Walter said as he admired the flowers. "For me?" he squeaked. "This is a memory of the world as it was when you were born. It's a present from Queen Mab." he said with another of those Dragon smiles. Stanley looked away from those teeth towards the people awaiting their approach. They were separated into two groups. The la