*A/N We are so sorry these last Clones took so long to get out. It had nothing to do with the wonderful women getting our boys (Boo and Gracy). We both had fun doing this story and are now talking about a new one. We hope to get it to you soon. Until then enjoy the last of the Clones. We'll miss our babies but they all have good homes now - The Authors*
Macho and Stuck on Himself
New York in January was freezing cold. Augustus couldn't help but wish vampires lived on beaches, but there was the whole burning in the sun thing tht made it a less than popular enviornment. He pulled the rental car in front of a modest house that looked like something from a Norman Rockwell painting and smiled.. He swore he could smell hot chocolate from inside.
Augustus turned to Macho and Stuck on Himself as they got out of the car, telling them the same thing he had told the other clones. "Now I want you boys on your best behavior. Anne Marie is a very nice woman and I don't want you two making her crazy, you understand me?"
Macho ran one hand over his slicked back hair and straighened the gold chains around his neck. "Chill out Auggy, we are house broken, you know."
Stuck on Himself, or SOH as Augustus liked to call him, laughed at the other clone. "She may want to put out newspapers anyway, in case you have an accident."
As Macho bared his fangs and took a step forward Augustus got between them. "Enough. If you two don't control yourselves, I'm going to send you to a monastary where you'll have nothing but old monks to look at for dinner."
The two shared a pained look and then sighed, because having heard the other stories, they both knew the older man would do just that. Feeling he finally had a grip on them, Augustus led them to the front door of the house, said a prayer and rang the bell.
Anne Marie answered, her soft brown hair falling in soft waves down her back, a shy, sweet smile on her face. She seemed a little nervous yet she stood straight with her head held high. She seemed both fragile and strong at the same time.
Augustus, smile on his face, embraced her and ushered in the boys along with their bags. After introductions, Anne Marie just stood looking at them and they returned the look. No one seemed to know what to say, each weighing their words.
Finally Macho walked to her licking his lips. "Don't look so worried hon. We don't bite." His eyes dropped to her neck. "Unless you want us to," he added with that Henry grin.
As Anne Marie blushed, Augustus took Macho by the arm to show him his room. Stuck on Himself had wandered around the living room looking at the bookshelves overflowing with books.
He turned to look over his shoulder at her. "Don't worry about him, he's harmless. And if he does get out of line, I'll kick his ass for you."
Anne Marie laughed feeling the tension leave her body. She stood beside him and looked at the books with him. "Do you like to read?" She asked in a soft voice.
"Not as much as you." He sent her a smile that she felt from the top of her head down to her toes. "Plus, I haven't had the kind of time to read most people have. I'm surprised by the books here. Some are very tame, some on the horror side and," he pulled out one book with a muscular man holding a half naked woman. "some are exotic." He replaced the book and looked into her eyes. "I believe you have a wild side that wants out, Anne Marie."
"Wanting something doesn't mean you should have it," her breath was suddenly coming faster, her eyes on his soft lips.
He leaned down to give her a soft kiss. "Sweet Anne Marie I'm going to teach you to love your wild side. I promise." He then picked up his bag from the floor. "Now where is my bathroom, I need to put my stuff where I can find it." She showed him the way and just happened to point out where his bedroom was and how close it was to her own.
****************************************
Gay, Wussy and Sensitive
The Next Day:
Maryland was just as cold as New York but it had one big difference. It was the last stop. After dropping off these three, he could go home and have a nice long rest. This whole adoption thing had been a little wearing and he wasn't a young man anymore. He had made sure that Library Henry and his girlfriend Kimber had gotten moved into their new place, so he was taken care of. Just three to go.
With these clones, he didn't have to tell them to behave. All three were very easy going and Gracy wouldn't have any problem with any them. All she would have to do is raise her voice to Wussy and Sensitive and they'd apologize and if she got upset with Gay, well he would go off and pout, maybe knit something and then be fine.
Augustus got the wrapped gift from the trunk of the car said a prayer one more time.
Gracy was very much like Anne Marie, very sweet and kind, but a pistol if necessary. The american girl next door. Her red hair was pulled into a bun on the nape of her neck. She wore jeans and a large t shirt that still showed off her figure, casual, yet classic. And to round out the outfit she had on thick socks, no shoes on her feet. She looked relaxed and comfortable.
She held the door open for them, pushing them towards the warmth inside. "My goodness it's cold out there. I was getting worried a storm would hit you on the way here."
Sensitive seemed a little surprised. "You were worried about us? But you don't even know us."
Gracy smiled at him. "I worry about anyone in weather like this, if I know them or not. Besides I knew you were coming to see me, and I've talked with Augustus, so in a way I do know you already."
Tears formed in his blue eyes and he looked away while he got a well used tissue from his pocket. Wussy stepped to him and put one arm around him. "I think we're all tired. Can you show us our rooms?"
"Of course, just follow me." Gracy said and took them upstairs.
When she returned Gay Henry was looking around him, hands on his hips. "You have a really good piece." When Gracy raised one eyebrow in question he laughed. "Of furniture." He looked her up and down." Although you yourself do have some good pieces." He grinned. He clapped his hands together. "Now, first we need to work on this room, get you some color going on." He cringed at the drapes. "Oh and honey, those will never do. Where is your computer, I need to start right away." Seeing the laptop he latched on to it, heading to every website on decorating known to man.
Gracy had tried to get Augustus to stay the night but after all the travel he just wanted to get home. He said good bye to Gracy on her front porch. "I think you got the three easy ones, the other women may want to trade with you. Take my advice and don't do it." He then handed her the wrapped box he had in his arms. "This is for you, you're going to need it."
Gracy opened the box and burst out laughing. It was a case of tissues.
Augustus drove away stopping just to get gas and some coffee. He pulled out his cell to call Henry and fill in him. The phone rang several times and he was just about to hang up when he heard a breathless, "Yeah."
"Henry? Is everything alright? You sound out of breath. And you don't breathe."
"What? Oh yeah, I mean yes. Umhum." Henry seemed to suck in a deep breath and a small curse was heard along with a muttered, "I bite back, you know." Then in his normal tone, he said, "Did you need something Augustus?"
Before Augustus could say anything he heard more noise, a giggle and then a groan. Figuring out he had interrupted Henry and his dinner Augustus was going to hang up when a familiar voice came on the line.
"Augustus?" Vicki asked, then whispered, "Henry that tickles. Um Augustus Henry is busy right now. Call tomorrow." She yelped into the phone. "On second thought, just leave a message. Bye."
Augustus hung up, laughing. It looked like all the Henrys got a happily ever after.
THE END
A/N: Sorry for the delay and any errors, it's not proofed, but I hope you enjoy it.
ADOPTIONS
“Jeez louise, how far out in the sticks are we, anyway?,” Biker asked.
“We’re not in the sticks, we’re in the South. Beautiful South Carolina,” Augustus said.
“Are we there yet?” Hyper piped up, “Shouldn’t we be there by now? I’m ready to get out of this car.”
“Your wish is my command,” August said, with not a little bit of sarcasm. He pulled up in front of a quaint southern home, making sure the trailer hooked up to the SUV was well off the road.
Biker got out and headed to the door, but Hyper beat him to it, knocking rapidly. The door opened and a woman with cascading brunette hair and a warm smile met them. “Welcome home, boys. Come on in. Augustus, good to see you again.” She reached out for a hug, “I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, Christie. How are you?”
“Same. Chaos, same shit. You know.”
Augustus smiled, “Yeah. I know.”
“Ok, you two.” She stepped back to let them all in and waved a hand toward the hall, “Your rooms are down the hall, on the left and the right. I’m pretty sure you’ll figure out whose is whose.” She looked out the door, “What’s in the trailer?”
“Henry’s bike. He wouldn’t leave Toronto without it, so we shipped it before we came.”
“Cool.” Christie’s eyes clouded over. She’d always been a sucker for a guy on a motorcycle. “I love bikes.”
Biker popped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and whispering in her ear. “I’ll take you for as many rides as you want, anytime you want. Just give the word.”
Christie almost purred, “The word is given”, but she had two other guests to tend to, and a true southern woman makes sure all the guests are taken care of first. Instead, she patted his cheek and said, “Maybe later, big guy.”
Hyper came back into the living room. “I love my room! Uh, do you have a vacuum? I thought I’d clean a bit before settling.” Christie raised an eyebrow, but pointed at a door.
“Hall closet, knock yourself out.”
“Yay! Thanks!”
She turned to Augustus and asked, “Would you like a glass of wine? I’ve been saving this bottle for you.”
“Sounds wonderful,” and he grinned, “It’s been a long trip.”
“Have a seat. I’ll be right back.” Augustus made himself comfortable and said, “Just one, though, I’ve got a late flight back to Toronto. Or early. Depending on your p.o.v.”
A nice glass of wine later, Augustus hauled himself up out of his chair, called the boys and they went and unloaded the trailer. Biker practically hugged his treasure and looked at Christie, “Ready, now?” His eyes stayed that blue, but the look in them said it all.
Augustus just shook his head and laughed, saying, “Have fun.”
A quick hug and he was on his way.
A/N Linda we know you only applied for two Henrys but we didn't want to seperate Stoner and Surfer. We know you can handle having three. Or at least have fun trying!
Rasta, Stoner and Surfer
Augustus took out the asprin bottle that he'd taken to keeping with him the last few days and swallowed two tablets without water. He had been traveling for weeks, trying to get all the Henry's placed knowing that finding places for wayward vampires wasn't an easy thing to do. They were now in North Carolina, where even with the sun down it was hot and muggy. Wiping the sweat from his face, Augustus led the three Henrys to the large ranch style house.
He had been worried about leaving three with Linda, knowing what a handful they could be but she'd takien it in stride. She had been very understanding about Surfer and Stoner wanting to stay together and agreed to take a extra one. They'd set it up for everyone to think they were triplets, cousins of hers, from Canada.
Augustus knocked on the door and turned to the three behind him. "I expect you all to be on your best behavior." He stared at Stoner and Sturfer. "And you two better keep that shit you smoke out of her house. She has grandchildren who don't need to be around that stuff. I'll kick your ass myself if Linda sees a pipe or roach or anything that smells funny around."
Stoner just smiled while Surfer muttered, "Whatever dude." He insisted on calling Augustus dude because he knew that he hated it.
Rasta slapped Augustus on the back. "No worries, mon. I keep my eye on dem." He smiled at his brothers. "I faster than them when they high."
The door opened, Augustus looking at Linda for a moment before smiling and holding out his arms. "Hello Linda." He held her close for a moment before letting her go.
From the first time he met her, Linda had held a special place in his heart. She was open, friendly and honest. Always the first person around if you needed help. She gave 100% to everything in her life, her husband, children, grandchildren and friends.
Her smile was as bright as her blue eyes, her brown hair filled with red highlights pulled into a ponytail that made her look younger than her years. Augustus wondered if the woman was ever in a bad mood.
She opened the door wide. "Come in Augustus." She smiled to the Henry's on the porch. "Hello all, I hope you'll be happy here with us."
As she led them into a large living room, she picked up toys scattered on the floor. "Sorry the place is a mess, I had my granddaughters today. I love them but they wear me out." She again smiled at the clones. "It will be nice having more men in the house. My husband tends to feel outnumbered by all the females in the family."
Stoner and Surfer began looking around the house, each looking like they wanted to be anywhere else when they looked into a room off to the side. "Awsome," they said at the same time.
Rasta and Augustus followed the two into a large gameroom. It held a pool table, pinball machine, dart board and one of the biggest flat screen tv's you could buy. In front of the televison was every video game that had ever been made. Nintendo, Sega, Playstation, Xbox, Wii. Even a very old Atari.
Surfer picked up a slim game case that showed a picture of a young man on a skateboard. "Tony Hawke. Cool."
Surfer and Stoner began to hook up the game while Rasta dropped one arm around Linda's shoulders. "So pretty lady, what you and I be doing?" He had a certain look in his eyes that any woman would be able to read.
Linda smiled and patted his hand. "Let's see what we can find." Rasta winked once at Augustus before leaving the room.
****************************************
Rocker
Augustus stood still, trying to catch his breath. His flight had been delayed and he had to run from one gate to another to meet Rocker's plane from Toronto. As his heart started beating in a normal pattern he made a mental note to give himself a raise. He was getting to old for this shit.
Rocker all but strutted down the gateway, female eyes following his movements. Or, more precisely, following the tight black leather pants that hugged his lower body. One woman stopped him and whispered in his ear, pressing a piece of paper into his hand. Rocker smiled that killer smile and kissed her cheek before moving past her to Augustus.
Rocker thew his bag over his shoulder, smiling at Augustus. "I think I'm going to love Alabama." He looked at two pretty young women on his left, each in tight jeans and tiny tops. "Southern women are very," he paused, "open."
Augustus rolled his eyes and grabbed Rocker's arm heading for the car rental counter. "Come on, would you. It's 2 in the morning. Sam's a night owl, but even she likes to sleep now and then."
Twenty minutes later they pulled into an apartment complex. Augustus stopped in front of a town house and prayed that Sam was still awake.
He didn't need to worry, Sam was wide awake and waiting for them. She held the door, one leg kicking behind her. "Molly you are not going to visit the gray cat next door. Try playing hard to get for once." Sam turned and watched the cat dart across the room. "I'm telling you right now, you pee on that couch and you can kiss your salmon treats goodbye." She smiled at the men. "Sorry about that, come on in."
They entered, Rocker putting his bag by the door, his eyes looking at Sam up and down. She had blonde hair that fell in soft waves to her shoulders, with green eyes full of intelligence and humor that looked back at him. He licked his lips as he saw the soft curves of her body under a tank top and very short shorts.
He smiled and held out one hand to her. "Hello Sam. I'm Henry."
Augustus hid a smile as Sam smiled back. She saw up front how Rocker was flirting with her. "Nice to meet you Henry." She nodded to a bedroom off the hallway. "You can put your stuff in there. If you feel up to it, we can head out to a club owned by a friend of mine. The band needs a new drummer."
Henry tossed the bag in the open doorway. "I am so going to like living with you Sam." The smile on his face was pure sex.
Sam laughed. "Down, boy. Let's get you a job first. I require any man in my life to be able to take care of himself." She turned to Augustus. "You want to come with? It's not going to take me a minute to change."
Augustus smiled, kissed her cheek before shaking his head. "Not tonight, Sam. I'm going to try and get some sleep before hopping another plane with another Henry. You two have fun."
He turned and headed up the stairs, Sam calling behind him, "Well, you know where everything is, and there's food in the fridge if you want a snack."
As he reached the top of the stairs, Augustus heard Rocker say, "I have more than fun in mind tonight."
tbc
Horny, OCD, Father and Special
"Dear God, give me strength," Augustus muttered as he sat between Horny and OCD. They'd taken an early evening flight with two stops that night. The first leg to New York, the second leg to Pennsylvania.
He'd been listening to Horny chat up every girl he saw since they left the condo, first at the airport, then on the plane and he'd almost managed to get a flight attendants into one of the rest rooms to join the mile high club.
Augustus had put the kibosh on that idea pretty quick, but it barely seemed to put a dent in Horny's 'inclinations'. To make the flight even more perfect, OCD had spent the entire trip trying not to touch anything, spraying it with Lysol or wiping it down with the super economy size box of wipes. And he was about out of those.
Finally, the flight landed, and Augustus checked into a nice hotel in the Bronx, leaving OCD there to clean. He'd packed all of his favorite cleaning tools and when Augustus had reminded him not to leave the room, OCD had barely acknowleged him because he was too busy cleaning the tub.
Another, shorter, cab ride saw them finally pulling in front of a comfortable house, nestled in a nice neighborhood. Horny looked at Augustus and said, "Dude, this does not look like chick central to me! You lied to me."
"Trust me, you'll like her." Augustus gave him a shove up the sidewalk, ringing the bell when they got to the porch.
It took a minute because the house was a pretty good size, and when the door opened to reveal a hot, petite woman with dark hair and an ample chest, Horny's eyes lit up. "Hellooooo there, my name's Henry, what's yours?"
"Nicole. Cut the schmooze and get in here." Augustus and Horny entered and Horny looked around.
"Nice." Henry's eyebrow raised, "the bedroom close by?"
Augustus just rolled his eyes, but Nicole just laughed. "If you behave, you might find out. If you keep up that shit, you'll be sleeping in the closet."
Henry snuck up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, "Aw, can't we just get along?"
"Henry!" Augustus' deep voice snapped the clone's head up. "Be thankful she's willing to give you a home."
"It's all right. I can handle him. But you'd better get going, you've got another stop to make." Augustus looked at his pocket watch, a gift from Henry years ago.
"You're right, I've got pick up OCD and get back to the airport." He hugged Nicole, "good luck."
"I'll be fine. He just needs a little special handling." The grin on Nikki's face reassured him. A little. As he pulled the door closed, he heard Henry, who'd sidled up behind Nikki and wrapped his arms around her waist again.
"Which way did you say it was to your room?" Augustus smiled. Horny was in for a little surprise.
Nicole escaped his grasp again and turned, brandishing a riding crop. "You have to earn your way to the bedroom, buster."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Augustus got back to the hotel where he found OCD still cleaning and managed to get him to pack his cleaning things so they could head back to the airport. They did have one stop to make first though. Superstore was having a special on the economy size wipes and OCD was almost out. Augustus bought him three, even though OCD wanted an even half dozen, but after the economics of extras and their costs were explained, OCD agreed. They could get more once they got to Pittsburgh.
Less than three hours later they were landing at Pittsburgh International and grabbing a cab to a nice little suburb. They pulled up in front of a somewhat old fashioned home, and Augustus could hear OCD muttering, "Older home, all kinds of germs in these places. I don't know, this might not be a good idea."
Augustus just smiled to himself, he knew once OCD met Jules his attitude would change. He rang the bell and almost immediately the door was opened by a fair skinned woman wearing a button down white shirt tucked into a pair of khaki pants, with penny loafers on her feet. "Come in! Augustus, it's good to see you again." The two hugged while OCD hung back still muttering under his breath.
"Hello, you must be Henry. It's very nice to meet you, if you'd come with me, I'll show you to your room and where you can put your things. I picked a few items I thought you could use and put them in the closet across the hall from your room. That's strictly yours to use. I hope you like it." They followed her down the hall, and when she opened the door, a huge smile split OCD's face. The area was like a clean room in a lab. It held very little except a bed, a stainless steel nightstand, a big chair and a television.encased in a plastic cube.
"I like it very much, thank you."
Jules looked at him and said, "When you're ready, check out the closet across the hall, it should cover everything. Augustus and i will be in the living room." The pair headed back down the hall and went to the kitchen. "I've got some fresh coffee if you'd like a cup."
"I'd love one, I've got to catch the red eye back to Toronto, then get ready for the flight to Hawaii tomorrow evening." He shook his head, "It's going to be a long week."
She handed him a cup, "You and the others have taken on quite a task. You could've done the easy thing and just laid them out in the sun."
Augustus looked at her with smiling eyes, "It would've been murder. They're good guys, for the most part and they deserve a chance to make a life for themselves. I..." He was interrupted by a shout of,
"Oh. My. God!" and the sound of Henry running down the hall. "There's an Oreck XL21 vacuum in the closet! It's the best thing on the market!" He stuck his hand out to Jules and said, "Thank you! I love it!" Then grabbed a wipe and ran back down the hall, "I have to try it out right now! And you wouldn't believe all the great things in the closet!" They heard footsteps heading back, "Thank you!" The next thing they heard was the sound of the vacuum powering up and moving back and forth across the floor.
Augustus laughed, "He'll kill for you now, you know."
Jules laughed back, "I'd rather he just clean."
She walked him to the door and wished him safe journey and after a final hug, he made his way back to airport.
"Five down, 14 to go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The plane landed in Hawaii at one o'clock in the morning and the trio checked into the resort hotel suite, the two vampires and their wrangler exhausted. It wasn't an easy journey, but they'd made it, Special was cranky and wanted to take a nap and Father and Augustus were ready to take a nap themselves. Augustus woke the next morning and made a phone call, then spent the day enjoying the weather, the pool and the free cocktails that came with the suite, waiting for the sun to go down.
As it did, he waited patiently in the living area for the two to wake up when Special burst into the room, "Look Uncle Augustus, look what I found when I woked up! It's a necklace made with flowers. Isn't it pretty!?"
"It sure is. The lady you and Father are going to live with sent it to you, to say hello."
"I want to tell her hello back! Can I get one for her?" Augustus and Father just nodded.
"I don't see why not, we'll pick up one on the way. She's holding dinner for us though, so let's hurry, ok?" Father and Special grabbed their bags and they made their way to a home nestled among the hills of the city, parking in the drive way. Before anyone even got out of the car, an adorable little one eyed dog wearing a flowered shirt came tearing out of the house and launched herself at Special. Catching her, he pulled her to him, laughing as she licked all over his face.
"Well, I see you've made a new friend, Suzu," the voice belonged to a woman of Asian descent, with a smile on her face that moved to her eyes and lit it up brighter than any city.
"Silly puppy! Bet you can't catch me!" And with that, Special took off across the yard, Suzu chasing after him, barking like mad. Augustus, Hulijan and Father stood laughing and watching the two chase each other around, until Augustus said, "Well, I imagine Special just made his first friend on the island."
"He'll make more quickly, Augustus, once he gets to school, don't worry," Father said.
"Father's right, A, he'll thrive here. And I've prepared special places for you both as well as a list of the churches close by."
"You're most kind," Father said.
"I'm glad to have to the two of you here, you'll be a great addition to the family and there are lots of things to do here, even at night. Now come on in, I have some coffee on, and it's almost dinner time."
With a shout of 'stay in the yard' to Special and Suzu from Huliljan, the three went inside to talk and Augustus breathed a sigh of relief. He would never have admitted it, but Special was his favorite and he wanted to know the boy would be all right. He knew Hulijan and Father would make sure he was fine, and now he could go home and see to the others.
tbc
Redneck and Slob
"Ohio." Redneck muttered under his breath. "I can't believe you're sending me to Ohio. Couldn't you find something in good ol' Dixie? And why do I have to go with him?" He nodded to Slob.
Augustus had heard those same questions over and over, ever since the two had woken up after flying them here. He took a deep breath and told himself, just a little longer and you can leave them, then they will be Lee's problem.
"You two will like Lee, she's a very nice lady," he said as they walked to the front door of a small house in a middle class suburb. "And you have to go with Slob because she is the only one who would take either of you."
If he knew how to nominate a person for sainthood then Augustus would send in Lee's name. She was such a sweet woman, kind, with a good heart. A tad impatient at times and she would tell you off if she felt the need, but most things she took in stride. Augustus had no doubt that could could handle these two just fine.
Reaching the front door, Augustus gave the wood a hard knock.
The door was opened by a small woman, short blonde curls covered her head, small glasses perched on her nose. She was one of those women that you couldn't tell her age. The smile and energy that came from her was that of a young woman, yet the directness of her gaze was of a woman who knew what the world was about.
She smiled and held the door open wide, arms streched out. "Augustus." After a brief hug she pulled back. "It's been too long. How have you been?"
Augustus smiled back, teeth gleaming white in his dark face. "I'm fine Lee. Thank you for taking these two in." He looked down, "Cool tattoo! Is it new?"
Lee laughed and told him yes. She waved one hand in the air. "It's not a problem at all. I'll take care of them until they can find their own way. I know a thing or two about men you know."
"I have no doubt about that," he said, and motioned to the Henrys and they all entered the house.
Augustus made the introductions as the two Henrys looked around the house. Redneck looked like he was in pain and Slob looked bored. Lee just stood with a small smile on her face. After asking if anyone was hungry, including the Henrys, she showed the two where they would sleep.
Walking down a small hallway she opened one door and looked at Redneck. "I just finished decorating this room, just for you." She stepped aside so he could enter.
"Aw man." He said under his breath, turning in a circle to look at everything. NASCAR memorablia filled every wall and shelf. He walked around the room, touching small models of classic race cars, looking at pictures of drivers from the last 50 years.
He frowned at Lee. "Where'd ya get this stuff? Some of it's worth some big bucks."
She gave him a sweet smile. "My husband loved NASCAR. He even had dinner with Richard Petty several times and hunted with Dale Earnhardt." Redneck looked at her with awe and she looked sideways at him. "We have season tickets to all the races, even got passes for pit road. Think you'd like to go? Some of the races are at night."
Redneck smiled for the first time, a dimple showing in his unshaved cheek. "Sounds good to me. I might like Ohio after all."
Leaving Redneck in his room to fondle the race cars, Lee led Augustus and Slob down to a large basement. It had a bed, small couch and a tv with a DVD player. A small bathroom was in one corner.
She looked around the room with the two men. "I wasn't sure what you liked so I didn't do much in here. You can fix it anyway you like. I thought you would like to have your own space so I set this up for you."
Augustus thought Lee was just being nice. More than likely she wanted the smell of Slob as far away as she could get it. Augustus' nose wrinkeled as a smell drifted to him.
Slob plopped down on the bed. "Looks good to me. I'm easy to please, just need a good bed and tv and I'm happy." As he talked he pulled off his shoes and socks, throwing each across the room.
Lee looked briefly at the items on the floor and then at Slob stretched out on the bed. "I don't mind your room being messy. Not everyone likes thing clean and tidy." Sandy walked to the side of the bed to look down at him, her look hard. "But at least once a week you will pick up around here." She smiled, "I'll help you and it won't take long at all."
Slob frowned. "You're going to be a pain in the ass about that, aren't you?"
Lee smiled and began to leave the room with Augustus. When she got to the door she turned to look at him. "I suppose I am."
****************************************
Irritated
Augustus walked toward the door of the small house, trying to get his temper under control. "Will you please try to be nice? Mary has agreed to take you in, but if you're a prick she'll kick your ass out." Irritated just rolled his eyes in answer.
When Augustus had thought about Mary taking Irritated in he wasn't very concerned. Mary was a tough woman, had dealt with a husband and sons and he knew she could handle any male. Or so he thought. After only being in Irritated's company for a few hours Augustus was ready to strangle him. He swore the man could make the devil preach gospel.
Before they reached the front door it suddenly opened, a woman's head poked out waving them to enter. "Come on in." She turned away still talking. "I don't want to miss this." She turned and walked back inside, leaving the two men to enter on their own.
Augustus found Mary standing in front of the television, hands on her hips, talking to the screen. "You shouldn't have turned your back on him. It's your own damn fault he pinned you."
On the tv were two huge wrestlers, each pounding on each other, sweat dripping off their bulging muscles. Mary looked like she was in heaven. She turned to the two men. "That is one hell of a hot man." She didn't say which she was talking about and neither man asked.
When the commercial came on, Irritated spoke, his arms crossed over his chest. "That's a bunch of fake shit. Those two would get their asses beat in a real fight."
Mary looked up at Henry, one brow raised behind her glasses. "Oh really? You think you could do better?"
He laughed. "Hell yes I could." He gave her a smirk. "I am a vampire after all."
Mary narrowed her eyes at him. "Without those vampire powers they would wipe the floor with you." She looked him up and down. "You're so thin they wouldn't even break a sweat."
Henry, fierce frown on his face moved to stand in front of her. "Look here lady,"
Augustus, fearing that Irritated would strike her, grabbed his arm. "This was a bad idea. Let's go."
Mary reached over and removed the hand Augustus had on Henry's arm. "Don't be silly, we're getting to know each other." She gave Irritated a hard look. "What's the matter? You can dish it out but you can't take it?'
Augustus, breath held, looked at Irritated. To his surprise Irritated smiled down at the small woman. "Not many people will talk back to me."
"You'll find I'm not like other people." She smiled back at him. "You can be as pissed as you want but I won't just sit back and take it. If you stay here then I'm sure you and I will have more than one disagreement"
Irritated looked at her with something close to respect. He gave her a half smile, "I can live with that."
Augustus let out his held breath. He watched the two of them sitting down to watch the next match. Mary could handle him with no problem. He only hoped the other Henrys were as easy to place.
tbc
- Location:here
- Mood:
annoyed
Vicki took the handkerchief into the kitchen and wrapped in foil, then put it in a plastic bag before stuffing it into her pocket. Back in the living room, the Henrys were milling around. Uncertain what to do next, the immediate danger alleviated, they seemed to be at a loss.
Henry walked to Vicki and spoke, "We've gotten rid of the threat, but now what do we do about my 'children'?"
"I had an idea about that. It will let them live a nice life and we'll know they're safe but nowhere near here."
"What's the idea?"
Vicki grinned, "Where's your phone?" He handed it over and she scrolled through his phone book and handed it back to him, watching the smile grow on his face.
He kissed her and whispered, "I love you," then pushed the little green phone button and walked towards the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Half an hour later, he came out, still smiling, and walked to Vicki, wrapping her in his arms and pulling her into a kiss that took her breath away. When he pulled back, he whispered in her ear, "Great idea. Augustus is going to get to work on it tonight. He had a bit of a problem with the whole cloning thing, but he agreed it's the best way to handle it."
"Uncle Henry?" Henry started, not sure whether it was his own voice or the 'Uncle Henry' that did it. He turned and saw Special looking at him, a question in his eyes.
"Yes?"
"Father says he doesn't know what happens to us now. Do you?"
"As a matter of fact, I do. My friend Augustus will be finding you all good homes, places where you can exist and be safe and happy. Maybe some of you can even go to school. And you and Father can stay together if you want."
Special wasn't sure about the whole school thing, but he knew he liked the idea of staying with Father. "Oh. Okay, but do I have to go to school? I know my numbers and letters already and I can read."
"We'll talk about it later, ok?" He placed his hand on Special's cheek. "Right now, I'd like to talk to all of you." He turned to face the others, asking for their attention. "I've got good news for you. My friend Augustus has agreed to find you all sanctuary with friends of his. They're mortals, but they know about us and are willing to help integrate you into the world."
Redneck's eyebrows went up, "Does that mean I have to talk to Yankees?"
Rocker said, "Dude, no way I'm leaving Toronto, I might be hitting the big time any second."
Henry responded with, "And what will you tell them when they ask you to perform at high noon in Queen's Park? 'Sorry, but I'm in a coma from sunrise to sunset, and even if I weren't, I tend to turn into a big pile of ash in the sun?'"
That shut up Rocker, but then Macho piped up. "I ain't going to go live with somebody I don't know, they could be, you know, weird."
Henry held up his hand and they quieted. "I assure you Augustus will choose your homes wisely. He would never send you anywhere you wouldn't be happy. He and his family have helped me find safe territory for more than 300 years, so I trust him completely. We just need to prepare for the move, something I think can wait until tomorrow, as it's been a very, very long night."
"Yes, it has," Father agreed. "What do you say we head back down to the other apartment and prepare for bed? I for one am looking forward to a rest."
"Michael, will you walk me back to the other apartment?," Gay sidled up to the detective and slipped his arm through Mike's.
"NO! Unless your legs are painted on, you can get there just fine on your own." Mike disentangled himself from Gay and took a step closer to Vicki.
"I don't know why you're denying your feelings, Constable," Henry said, "The two of you would make a lovely couple." Vicki poked him in the ribs and he mumbled a very insincere, "Sorry."
As the Henrys filed out of the apartment, Bettie and Coreen looked at Henry and Vicki and said they were leaving too. It really had been a long night, they were ready for some serious rest and Vicki agreed. It had been a long couple of days and she could feel the weight of no sleep and bad Chinese on her.
Mike just shook his head, "While you're at it, would you mind coming up with a story for Crowley on who killed those four dead guys, cause I got nothin'."
Vicki said, "I'll get right on that, as soon as I've gotten at least two hours sleep." Mike sighed and headed out the door, closing it behind him, leaving Vicki and Henry alone for the first time in what felt like forever to them. "Are you hungry? Do you need to feed?"
"I could eat, but to be honest, I'm so tired, I don't think I could stay awake long enough to do a proper job of it. Do you mind if we just crawl into bed and go to sleep?"
"I can't believe the love machine is too tired, but I'm too tired to argue about it." He pulled her to him, kissed her again then took her hand in his and led her into the bedroom. They undressed, climbed in and understood exactly what the phrase 'asleep before their heads hit the pillow' really meant.
Now, it was just a matter of finding proper homes for all of their 'children.'
tbc
A/N:
WE'RE NOW TAKING APPLICATIONS FOR HOME FOR OUR BOYS. IF YOU WANT YOUR VERY OWN VAMPIRE OR TWO, PLEASE RESPOND AT PUHLEEZEBITEME. A DECISION WILL BE MADE AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE SO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ACCEPTED CAN LIGHT PROOF A ROOM FOR YOUR HENRY. THE ONES AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION ARE:
GAY
IRRITATED
MACHO
SENSITIVE
STUCK ON HIMSELF
WUSSY
IT'S FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE, SO GET YOUR REQUEST IN EARLY!
- Mood:
discontent
They walked the short distance to Henry's and he opened the door to his condo, standing to one side, his arm out. "After you."
Evil smiled and opened the other door. "How about we go in together? I don't think I should let you that close to my back."
Walking side by side they entered the foyer, Evil looking around. "Nice place." He looked at the picture of Henry's father. "Aw, Grandpa! I wonder what he would think about his baby boy?"
Henry frowned at him. "You seem to be obsessed with family."
Evil laughed. "Well, I plan to rid myself of my obsession soon." He crossed his arms over his muscular chest. "So, are we going to have one of those father son talks?" He smirked, "If you want to tell me about the birds and the bees, you're a little late."
Henry also crossed his arms, the two a mirror image of each other. "I want to know why you're so angry."
Evil raised one brow. "Oh. OK. Let's see." He tilted his head to one side as he thought. "I could do like everyone else and blame my rotten childhood. Oh wait." He snapped his fingers. "I forgot, I didn't have a childhood. I just woke up in some crazy woman's lab." He tapped the cleft in his chin. "How about this one? I just have no self esteem, I hate who I am. After all, I am a bloodsucking killer in a world of normal people. That could fuck up a person's mind. How's that sound?"
Henry looked long and hard at him. "I think you're right." Evil frowned. "I think you do hate yourself and what you are. You can't control the beast inside you and it pisses you off. You know you will never fit in, not in the mortal world, not with other vampires. You'll always be different." He took a step closer. "You don't want to be an outsider, you want to fit in, to be accepted. By me, by the other clones. Be part of a family. And you know you never will."
"Why Dr. Phil, you look so different on tv."
Henry took another step closer, his right arm slightly behind him as he twisted his wrist, feeling the smooth object slide into his hand, out of Evil's sight. "Maybe we can find a way to fix this. Help you deal with everything."
Evil laughed. "I don't need anyone's help, least of all yours."
Henry took the last step toward him, stopping just inches away. He put his left hand on Evil's shoulder, feeling the muscles tense. "Maybe Nikki can figure out a way to ease the vampire instinct in you with gene therapy, make it so you can live a more normal life."
Evil clearly didn't believe him. "Why would you want to help me anyway?"
Henry tightened his grip on his shoulder. "Because I care. I care about you." Evil's eyes snapped to his. "You are a part of me, even if you weren't born in the normal way, you and the clones are like my children. A parent will do anything to help their children."
"Right, Dad." He rolled his eyes and looked away.
In that moment, when his eyes were across the room, Henry struck. With vampire speed he pulled his right arm from behind him, the stake held tightly in this fist. Before Evil saw it, Henry plunged it in the center of his chest as hard as he could.
Evil staggered backward a few steps, looking down at the end of the wooden stake that protruded from his shirt. He looked up at Henry with his black eyes. "I think that's child abuse, Dad."
Before Henry could move, Evil raised his hand, hitting Henry across the face. The force of the blow lifted him from the floor and sent him flying across the room. He hit the wall, breaking through the plaster, and landed dazed on the floor.
Henry shook his head to clear it and felt the blood dripping from a cut on his head. He got to his hands and knees and looked at Evil. "You have to admit I had you going for awhile there."
Evil pulled the stake out of his chest, dipped his fingers in his own blood, licking them clean. "I will only admit that I hate I have to kill you fast. I wanted to take my time. I hate being rushed." He held the stake in his hand, walking toward Henry, a hunter closing in on his prey.
Henry was trying to get to his feet when the doors burst open and the Henry's were everywhere, rushing forward toward Evil. Even though Evil was stronger than them individually, he was helpless against their combined strengh. In seconds they had him on the floor, each finding a spot to drink from. His neck, his wrists and arms, legs. Their teeth tore though the clothing to get at the rich blood. Evil struggled but it was no use, and slowly, his fight to get away faded as his brothers drained him dry.
"Henry!" Vicki cried, rushing to his side to help him up. She turned to see the other Henry's still feeding from Evil. She turned away. "Okay, that's gross."
Mike and Nikki came in, followed by the Henrys that hadn't attacked Evil. Sensitive and Wussy stayed in the hall but Father, Special and OCD entered. Special saw the cut on Henry's forehead. "You got a owie." He reached one hand toward the wound.
OCD grabbed his hand before he could touch the cut. "Your hands are dirty." He pulled a hankerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Henry. "Use this, it's clean."
Henry couldn't help but smile, "I'm sure it is."
Hyper Henry jumped up, flexing his arms. "Man, I'm so pumped. That felt great."
Redneck licked his lips. "Best meal I've had in a long time."
Everyone gathered in a circle to look at Evil's body laying dead on the floor. Father walked to him and knelt by his head, closing Evil's eyes as he closed his own, crossed himself and said a silent prayer, beginning last rites. He looked to Henry. "This gives a whole new meaning to the story of Cain and Abel."
"At least it's over." He looked at the clones around him. "Almost." He pulled the hankerchief from his head and looked down at the blood on the material. So did Dr. Nikki.
Vicki grabbed it from Henry's hand and glared at Nikki. "Don't even think about it."
tbc
- Mood: exhausted
Mike had his weapon out and already pointed where he thought Evil's head would be when he had seen all the Henrys had changed, but it still wasn't quick enough. Evil had the mortal in his hands, teeth above his throat before the doors finished banging against the wall. Henry growled and took a step closer and Evil pulled Mike's neck a little further to the side. "Now, dad, you wouldn't want Uncle Mike's neck opened up to bleed out all over this lovely hard wood. Best if you step back. I just want to talk."
Henry's eyes flicked back and forth from Mike's neck to Evil's face as Celucci said, "Take your shot Fitzroy, kill him."
He growled, "Let him go. He's mortal and a cop. Nothing to you. Killing him will only bring down the entire police force on your head."
"They come down on my head, they come down on your head. And all my 'brother's. That would make for some interesting days in the news, wouldn't it?"
Vicki stepped forward, "That's a lot like cutting off your own nose to spite your face, there, big boy. They'd be looking for you too."
"Aunt Vicki! How's it feel, having all these Henrys to choose from? Surely one of them would be a fine substitute for dad. Tell you what, you leave me alone to take care of business, and I'll leave whichever one you want to keep, standing."
"Fine. I choose all of them."
"Tsk. That won't work." Evil smirked. "I can't have this face running around all over town. It's far too perfect to be on the likes of him." Evil nodded at Special, and Father Henry and Bettie automatically stepped in front of him. "Don't worry, I won't let him suffer. It'll be fast and painless."
Henry said, "Which is more than I can say about your death. Let Celluci go, and we'll finish this, son. I won't have you drawing attention to me. I'll win, you'll die and everyone will be happy."
"Now, dad, is that any way to talk to your kid?" He smirked, "Besides, I don't want to let Celluci go, I'm not stupid. You won't attack as long as I have him."
Mike managed to choke out, "Forget about me, you fucking kill him, Fitzroy."
Evil's grip tightened, "Quiet, Uncle Mike. I don't want to have to kill you before I'm ready." He looked at Henry, "We could share Toronto, dad. It's not like it's a small berg out in the province. I'll stay on my side, you stay on yours."
"Even if I believed you would do that, which I don't, do you really think I would allow you to hunt anywhere in my territory? You killed four people last night, and that draws unwanted attention to us. Not to mention the fact that Toronto is mine and you're an abomination."
"I will kill him." For just one split second a look flicked across Evil's face, so fast Henry wasn't exactly sure he'd seen it. He kept his mask in place though, and called upon the training he received at his father's court since his earliest memories. Training that made people want to do what he asked, just by virtue of the fact he was a prince.
He drew himself up, royal presence radiating off his body, "No, you won't. You will let the constable go, and you and I will return to my apartment and discuss this as two civilized people." He turned to face the others, "You'll all wait here."
Gay said, "No! He's hurting Michael! He should die."
Henry gave him the royal eyebrow, "Perhaps. I'll see what needs to be done." The words and the regal bearing brought all the Henry's to heel, except for Special, who said, "I don't like him, he's mean."
Father Henry patted Special on the back and said, "We know. We're trying to fix that."
"Well? What say you?" Henry kept focused on Evil's face, trying not to look at Mike turning blue due to the lack of oxygen. "Let Celluci go and we'll settle this, you and I." The almost 500 years of royal bearing settled around Henry like a cloak, the tone and his stance making it clear he would accept nothing less than acqueiscence.
"Fine." Evil tossed Mike aside and Vicki did her best to catch him. Henry motioned to Evil, and they exited, turning towards Henry's apartment.
He turned and spoke to Vicki, "Stay here. Prepare."
- Mood:
tired
Vicki and Henry walked down the dark street, each looking in every direction for Evil. After getting Coreen and Bettie to help watch the others, they began to look for the last clone, knowing they had to find him and stop him.
Vicki could feel the frustration running through her. "Alright, where is he?" She looked down at the GPS. "This thing doesn't show him anywhere around." She turned to Henry. "Are you sure you don't feel him at all? Not even a little?"
Henry tried to think of something to calm her down, then gave up that idea. This was Vicki after all. "I can't sense him nearby but I have a feeling he's close." He looked to the rooftop of one building and then the next. "I would almost bet he's somewhere watching and he won't come out until he's ready."
Vicki looked at him with a frown. "How do you know that?"
Henry shrugged his shoulders. "It's what I would do."
They continued to walk for several minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, when Henry's cell rang. He looked at the caller ID. "I don't know this number." He looked at Vicki, eyebrows raised.
"Put it on speaker." She told him.
Henry pressed the button, but before he could say a word he heard his own voice. "Enjoying your walk, Dad?" Evil Henry asked. Henry growled into the phone.
"Where the hell are you, you coward?" Vicki, voice raised in anger, leaned close to the phone.
Evil laughed. "Do you really think I would just tell you where I am? Maybe you did. But I'm not your Henry, the one you lead around by the - nose. I'm in a pretty good mood tonight, though ,so I'll give you a hint if you'd like. I will tell you that I just saw Detective Celluci show up at the condo you moved the clones to and go inside. And the goth chick? She's skinny, but she's hot. I may have to try her out before I kill her."
Henry and Vicki looked at each other, minds racing. Henry asked a question he didn't want the answer to. "What is it you want?"
For several seconds Evil stayed quiet. Then he said very slowly and clearly. "A family reunion." He then hung up.
****************************************
Vicki and Henry raced back to the condo, each harboring thoughts that while they were hunting him, Evil was there killing everyone. They paused outside the doors for a brief moment then flung them open.
Several Henrys turned to look at them, along with Bettie and Mike. Mike walked to them, a beer in his hand. "What's wrong with you two?," he asked.
Vicki looked around, even though clearly Evil was nowhere in the apartment, "Where is Evil?"
Mike lifted the beer in his hand, pointing toward Henry. "He's right behind you." He tipped the bottle up and took a long drink.
"Very funny Mike." Vicki entered, a frown on her face. "We thought he was here. And why aren't you out looking for your serial killer? Does Crowley know you're here?"
Mike shook his head. "Just the usual crowd. You two have missed all the fun. You have any idea how hard it is to keep 19 vampires entertained?" He took another long pull from the bottle. "I'm surprised we had only one fight to break up. And I told Crowley had to meet with a confidential informant."
Henry took off his coat and looked at the Detective who looked more than a little frazzled. "Let me guess, Irritated Henry?"
Mike shook his head back and forth. "Nope, Irritated has been a good boy. It was OCD."
"OCD?" Vicki and Henry said together.
"OCD. He tried to get Slob Henry in the shower. When that didn't work ,he began to follow him around with a can of disinfectant. He kept spraying it all over him. He had a cloud of it all around him." Mike smiled. "He looked alot like Pigpen from the Peanuts comics." He turned toward the large living room. "Dr. Nikki has them all doing things to keep them happy."
Henry and Vicki looked to see several Henry's, all quiet. Hyper Henry ran on a treadmill near the large windows.
Henry looked at Mike. "Where did the treadmill come from?"
"This building has a gym. Not that you would know. We sort of borrowed it."
"King me!" Special Henry called out, clapping his hands. He was sitting on the floor with Bettie playing checkers.
Henry smiled at the sight. "You two having fun?"
Bettie laughed, tilting her head to look up at him. "He's too good. He's already beat me at Go Fish and jacks, now he's kicking my butt in checkers." Special let out a laugh that sounded like a little boy.
While Henry talked to Bettie, Vicki wandered to where several Henry's were in front of the televison. She frowned, the expressions on the faces were all different. "Are they watching the same thing?" Vicki asked Mike who was opeing another beer.
"Yep." Vicki raised one eyebrow. "Steel Magnolias." Vicki's mouth hung open in shock. Mike nodded to Sensitive and Wussy who were each crying. "I'm guessing Juila Roberts just died." He pointed to Irritated who was laughing. "He thinks Weezer is a hoot. And those two," meaning Horny and Macho, "they just like Dolly Parton's, um, assets."
Not sure she wanted to know what the others were doing, she followed Mike to one bedroom, Henry coming up behind them. Stretched out on the bed asleep was Slob, sitting at the end watching another tv was Redneck and Biker.
Redneck leaned forward . "Dale Jr. is gonna win, I tell ya."
Biker just shook his head. "He doesn't have a chance." The sound of 43 Nascars racers filled the room. "He should have pitted with the others. He's low on fuel and his tires are going to blow."
Mike just smiled. "Now I understand why so many parents put their kids in front of the tv." He walked down the hall with Vicki and Henry behind them.
They passed an open bathroom door where Stuck on himself Henry was looking in a mirror, comb in hand. Vicki didn't want to know how long he had been in there. Across from the bathroom was a small sitting room. Inside were Library Henry and Father Henry.
Library Henry looked agitated. "Acording to your faith, the earth is only a few thousand years old. But dinosaur fossils have been found on every continent and are over millions of years old. How do you explain that?"
Before they heard Father's answer they heard several cheers. In another bedroom, they found Coreen along with several Henry's.
Coreen stood in the center of the room, playing of all things, Guitar Hero.
Rasta laughed. "She be kicking you butt ,mon."
Rocker glared at him. "I'm a drummer, all right? If this was Drum Hero we'd see who'd win."
Stoner and Surfer just laughed, both already high on something.
They returned to the living room, Vicki looking around. "Who's missing?" She frowned in thought. "Where is OCD and Gay Henry? And where is Nikki?"
Mike was opening yet another beer, under his breath he muttered, "I always knew Fitzroy would drive me to drink." Louder he said, "In the kitchen." He smiled at Henry. "You're getting some nice new shelf paper in all the cabinets."
"Just what I wanted." Henry said.
Henry opened his mouth ready to say something when his eyes turned black, teeth extended and a loud growl emeraged. As Vicki and Mike watched, all the other Henry's did the same, gathering near the front door, all of them vamped out.
Mike looked at Vicki. "This isn't good, is it?"
Between one breath and the next, the condo doors flew open, banging back against the wall. Calmly walking in was Evil Henry, also in full vamp mode. Smirk firmly in place, he said, "Mom, Dad, I'm home."
- Location:HERE
- Mood: bitchy
Chapter 18
Vicki, Coreen and Nikki were surveying their Henry’s, taking inventory and in spite of the situation, having a pretty good time. Vicki shook her head thinking, Like my life’s not complicated enough. Twenty more Henry’s plus the Evil one. Can’t wait until Henry wakes up and sees all this. Her phone rang and when she looked at caller i.d., she saw it was Mike. Damn. Opening it, she put on her fake perky voice, “Hey, Mike. How’s it going?”
“How’s it going?!?” She could see his face turning purple in her mind’s eye. “I’ll tell you how it’s going! I’ve got four dead bodies, four throats ripped out and Crowley riding my ass. And not in a good way, I might add.”
“I don't imagine Crowley riding anybody's ass would ever be considered a good thing, regardless of how it's taken. Oh, and I so didn’t need that visual, by the way, but thanks for sharing." She paused, "I’m sorry about that, Mike, but really, what could I have done? We didn’t even know about this until last night!”
She heard him sigh, “I know. I’m just so damn frustrated. Four dead bodies, Vicki. All four with their throats ripped out. The only good thing is that no one’s screaming vampire yet. They’re thinking wild dogs or something.”
“I suppose a thank you for small miracles is in order. It’s going to be sunset in a little bit. I don’t suppose you’ll be able to get over here anytime soon?”
“Not likely. I’ll get there when I can, though. Have you rounded up all of them?”
“Yup. Like I said, just waiting for the sun to set. Henry’s going to be so happy.”
She heard the grin in his voice, “I’m sure he will be. Must be hard to take, knowing there are so many ‘hims’ out there.”
“Trust me, they might look like him, but they are nothing like him.”
“Whatever. Call me later?”
“Soon as we know something.” She hung up the phone and was standing there talking quietly with Coreen and Nikki when all the Henry’s sat up, drawing in that first difficult breath of the night. The women started, but when the bedroom doors were flung open and Henry flew out of the room in full vamp mode, they really jumped.
“I could smell them the second I woke up. Especially one of them. And one of them uses entirely too much cologne. I can’t have them all here, Vicki. Get rid of them!” He threw some keys at her. “These go to the apartment down the hall, get them there and get them there now, please.” The look of Henry’s vampire face had never scared Vicki before, but this time it did.
She could tell he was serious, and when he sped back into the bedroom and closed the door, the three started getting everyone up. It was harder with the ones they’d brought in while ‘asleep’.
They were demanding answers, and between Rasta, who they could barely understand and Slob, who they could barely stand next to, it was becoming a little hectic, until Nikki climbed up on the coffee table and let out a whistle a Longshoreman would’ve been proud of. The Henrys stopped talking and turned towards her.
She smiled. “That’s better. Listen up, boys. This is what’s going on.” Nikki proceeded to explain and when she was done, the Henrys quietly followed Vicki down the hall to the other condo. When she walked in, she whistled. “Damn. This is nice!”
Nikki followed with her big plastic box and proceeded to dole out dinner to the boys. When she was done, she told them, “I’m sorry, but you need to stay here while we go find Evil Henry. He’s killed four people in one night and we’ve got to stop him before he hurts anyone else. We'll need your help later if we're going to be able to stop him.”
Rasta spoke first, “Why we gonna be helping’ you, mon? You keecked us out to fend for ourselves! Sure, you give us money and papers, but we liked it at your house. Now I’m livin’ in a hotel!” The others grumbled their agreement.
“You had to leave, you know that. You couldn’t stay with me forever, you had to learn to be independent! Maybe now that you have, we can work something out.”
Father Henry spoke. “We need to help them find E. H. gentlemen, otherwise he’s not just a threat to the human population, he’s a threat to us as well. Do you think he’ll just be happy to let all of us survive? He’ll want to be the only one left standing, his ego won’t allow him to let us live.”
Biker said, “Let him bring it. I ain’t runnin’ from nobody.” Most of the others agreed, Macho and Hyper especially. With the exceptions of Wussy, Emotional and Special (who didn’t really understand what was going on), all the Henrys were willing to go up against E. H.
Even Gay Henry was ready to rumble. “I can’t have someone with my face being evil. It’s just not done. Bad form and all. Besides, he might try to hurt my detective. I won’t allow that.”
tbc
A/N: THANKS FOR READING OUR STORY EVERYBODY, WE APPRECIATE ALL THE COMMENTS AND HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING READING IT AS MUCH AS WE ARE WRITING IT. AGAIN, WE DON'T OWN BLOOD TIES, WE JUST LIKE TO FOOL AROUND WITH IT A LITTLE. :D
Chapter 17
Coreen couldn't believe her eyes. Six Henry's in one house, all very different. They had rented a large house together in one of the nicer Toronto suburbs and from the outside, it looked like every other house on the block. If someone had come in the front door, they would have thought the same. The living room, kitchen and bathrooms were like you would find in any house. But the bedrooms? They were a different story.
Dr. Nikki and Coreen went cautiously to the first bedroom and opened the door. The room was simple, just a bed and a small dresser with a tv and DVD player. There was a Henry under the sheets, laying on his side. On the bed next to him were mountains of used tissues, a box of Kleenex near his head, one still in his hand.
Coreen frowned. "Does he have a cold? I didn't think vampires got sick."
Dr. Nikki smiled and reached out to brush back a curl that lay on Henry's cheek. "He doesn't have a cold. This is Sensitive Henry. He's very emotional, sappy commercials will send him into tears." She saw a DVD case next to some of the tissue and picked it up. "Oh, poor baby, I bet this one tore him up." She turned the case to Coreen to show her. "Love Story."
"Even Vicki cried at that one." Coreen had a secret smile. "She doesn't know I saw her, but I did and she bawled like a baby."
Nikki pulled the sheet higher over Sensitive. "Well, lets see if the others are here. Vicki said Rajani would be here before sunset to pick them up. Best make sure we have them all. Except Evil, that is. He's not here."
"How can you be sure?" Coreen asked.
Nikki looked at Coreen with fear in her eyes, "Because if he was, all the other Henry's would be dead."
She didn't mean to, but Coreen shuddered.
In the next bedroom was another Henry. This one lay on a round bed, a dozen thick gold chains around his neck, and it looked like his hair had been slicked back. On the walls were posters of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, Al Pacino in The Godfather and Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver.
Coreen raised one eyebrow and looked at Nikki. "What do you call this one? Besides kinda icky?"
Nikki laughed. "Well, I called him many things before I settled on Macho Henry. It just stuck."
Down the hall was one more bedroom. The only furniture in this room was the bed because the rest of the space was filled with weights and exercise equipment. The Henry that lay there slept in a pair of running shorts, his muscles bulging even in sleep, including Henry Jr.
Nikki ran her eyes over his body, breath catching a little. "He's bulked up even more than he was. Must be those energy drinks." She turned to Coreen. "He mixes those shakes with blood, and let me tell you, it's really gross." She raised one hand toward him, pointing, "This is Hyper Henry. He never stops moving, he goes full speed all night."
Coreen eyed those firm muscles. "I hope he doesn't do everything fast," her meaning clear.
Nikki blushed. "That is the only thing he took his time with."
"Good to know." She gave him another quick look, then tore her eyes away, "We better check the downstairs."
They walked down to a large basement that had had several more bedrooms built in it. Coreen, almost afraid of what she would find this time, opened the first door.
She gasped and covered her nose. "Oh My God! What is that stench?"
The room was a disaster, trash and dirty clothes filled the floor space. Coreen had never seen a filthier place. On the bed, on top of dirty sheets, was a very unkempt Henry. His hair looked oily and stubble covered his face, along with dried blood under his bottom lip.
Nikki shook her head. Bending down, she moved a piece of trash to see a dead rat, drained of blood, left on the floor. "Slob Henry. He's the only one I didn't keep for a while. I do have my standards, you know."
Coreen, still holding her nose, left the room and closed the door behind Nikki. "I can't wait to see the last two. I can't imagine what they will be like."
Dr. Nikki just smiled, not saying a word, as they approached the next bedroom. There was a Henry on the bed, and except for a frown on his face he looked normal. The only thing odd about it were the holes in the walls, and as Coreen noticed them she also saw cuts and scrapes in the process of healing on his knuckles.
Coreen looked around. "Let me take a guess at this one." She tapped one finger on her chin. "Pissed off Henry?"
Nikki just shrugged her shoulders. "He has a terrible temper but he isn't like Evil. He's just..." She tried to find the right word. "irritated."
They approached the last room, Coreen took a deep breath and grabbed the doorknob. "Last but not least." She opened the door. There was a Henry sleeping nude on silk sheets. Coreen licked her lips and tried to look away but her eyes kept going back to him. Or parts of him, anyway. But something was odd about this Henry. He seemed normal.
Or so she thought until she saw his dresser. Hair products, facial cleansers, colognes, a manicure set, brushes and combs, along with a hair dryer, hair straightening iron and three different deodorants. All were lined up on the dresser top. A dresser that had a huge mirror attached. There were two more mirrors on the other walls as well.
Coreen turned to Nikki. "Stuck on Himself Henry?" Once again Nikki just smiled and didn't say a word.
tbc
-
- Mood:
hopeful
Vicki and Rajani were heading to rendevous with Coreen and Nikki when the gps went off again. Puzzled, she looked around, "I don't know why this thing has gone off, we're no where near a residential area."
"Well, where does it lead?" Rajani asked, never taking her eyes off the road.
"About a mile or so, up on the left."
"That's the library. Why would one of them be there? Especially during the day?"
"No idea. But as long as we're here, may as well check it out." Vicki pulled her purse out of the floorboard while Rajani parked, but when they got to the door it was locked. They stood there a minute, then someone who was the stereotypical librarian type walked up to them.
"The library isn't open for another half hour, you'll have to come back." She was a pale blonde, wearing a sleeveless summer print dress under a linen jacket. She was also wearing a small bandage on her neck.
Rajani and Vicki exchanged looks and Vicki spoke up, "You should probably know, the band aid is a dead giveaway that you know where Henry is." She decided to just take the direct approach.
The blonde's eyebrows raised. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I, I, cut myself shaving."
There was silence, then Rajani and Vicki both burst out into laughter. Once Vicki got her breath back, she said, "And Celluci calls me a bad liar." She shook her head, "Look, we're not here to hurt him, we're here to help. You need to take us to him."
"I don't know what you mean, and even if I did, how would I know I could trust you?"
"Ok, uh, what's your name?" Vicki asked. "My name is Vicki Nelson, I'm a private investigator, This is Rajani Mohadevan, she's a Medical Examiner with the Toronto P.D. We know Henry's in there, and we just need to get him back to where he belongs. We don't want to hurt him, we just need to reunite him with his other 'friends'."
"My name is Kimber. And suppose I do believe you, that you want to help? What guarantee do I have that you mean him no harm?"
Rajani put on her 'I'm a doctor, you can trust me' face and told Kimber, "I'm a doctor, you can trust me."
Kimber snorted, "Yes, that's what the doctor who did my boob job told me. I had to have three corrective surgeries to fix what he botched."
Rajani raised an eyebrow, "I could not care less about the condition of your boobs, as you say. What I do care about it is seeing to it that all the Henry's are safe."
"ALL the Henry's? What's that supposed to mean?" Kimber's eyes had bugged out.
"Look, it's an amazingly long story, but if you want to hear it, show us where your Henry is, we'll get him to safety and you can even come with." Vicki's nerves were starting to fray, but she was determined they weren't leaving without this Henry. Although Kimber looked doubtful, she had to admit the two women looked sane, so she said,
"Very well. Follow me. I will be coming with you though. He's very...special."
Vicki and Raji just exchanged a smile and followed her down to the basement after they gathered the gurney and the body bag. Hefting him up onto the gurney, even with it almost on the floor was no easy task, "You wouldn't think someone with his build would be so damn heavy, would you?"
"I imagine it has to do with bone density and the like, although he's never let me run any kind of tests on him," Raji said absent mindedly.
That stopped Vicki, "Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you, how long have you two known each other? And don't tell me you met when I introduced you. I could see it in the way the two of you talk to each other."
"That's a story for another time, Vicki. Right now, we still have more bodies to recover."
"Fine. But later? I want details."
Vicki's phone rang. "Vic? Celluci. I'm at the scene of a dead body retrieved from under a car and I came here from the scene of a dead body of a homeless man in an alley. They've both got certain" he whispered, "attributes" we're familiar with and I think we've got the first four victims that we know of, of E.H."
It was probably the lack of sleep, but it took her a minute to get that E.H. meant Evil Henry. "Right. Raji and I just picked up another one at the library, and we're headed to the con....Oh crap. The damn thing went off again. Rajani, make a right at the light please."
"I will, but this is the last one. I'll need to get back to work soon."
"Fine, we'll just grab this one and head home. Coreen said she and Dr. Nikki had found a bunch of them, so maybe we've got them all now." She raised her eyes heavenward. "Please, let's have them all."
They pulled in front of a pay by the day hostel and went inside, armed with a picture of Henry and showed it to the guy at the front desk. He looked bored, but answered, "Yea, mon. I know him, except that must be a mighty old picture! Rasta got dreads and I don't think be caught wearing no cross neither."
"Great! I need his room number." Vicki was getting antsy.
"I dunno, mon. He don't like the daylight much. Never seen him before sunset."
"I know. But he'll see us." With a little bit of money changing hands, they got the room number and after Vicki picked the lock, they made their way inside. Pitch black, she could see nothing until Rajani found the light switch. When light flooded the room, they both jumped. "Holy Mother of God!"
Rasta Henry lay on the narrow bed, his curly hair dreaded out, ear rings piercing his ears from the shell down to the lobe and beads woven into a scraggly beard. Baggy pants and T shirt laid neatly on the chair, while he lay under the covers, clearly naked. They wrangled him out to the van and got back to the condo, after much arguing and bribing of the desk clerk. Parking in the garage, they stacked their Henrys one on top of the other and sneaked back upstairs, and with Kimber's help, laid them side by side.
The three stood there for a minute until Vicki said, "I need coffee. Want some?"
"I'd better get to work," Rajani said, "I've got four dead bodies to look at." She shook her head, "I am entirely too old for this kind of thing."
"I'd love some," Kimber replied, "I think I'm going to need the caffeine." She'd stood in stunned silence, eyes raking the room, checking out the Henrys. "They just don't teach you about this kind of thing in Library College."
tbc
- Mood: exhausted
Mike turned his head this way and that, walking slowly between the bodies of all the Henry's on the floor. "This is just so weird. I've wanted to see Fitzroy dead for so long, now, everywhere I look is his dead body." He sighed and muttered, "Careful what you wish for." He looked to where Vicki was closing the door behind Bettie, who was the only one going home to sleep. "You know, you never said what you plan to do with all of them once you get the rest in one place. I don't think there's a vampire adoption agency around."
Coreen was standing beside Horny, all but drooling. He had wanted to sleep nude but after so many protested (especially OCD) he now slept in very tiny briefs. His bare chest was visable under the sheet that covered him. She was practically drooling as she said, "If we can adopt them, I know which one I want."
Vicki shook her head at Coreen and smiled at Mike. "Don't worry Mike, you won't have to deal with 21 Henry's in the city. Our Henry has a plan to take care of everything."
Mike frowned. "He's not MY anything! The only plan I'm going to like is killing them all." Mike suddenly turned to the large covered windows. "You know, we could take care of them right now. Just open these shades, let the sunlight in, and all our problems are over." He reached for the remote, his finger just over the button.
Vicki calmly walked to him, and grabbed the remote out of his hand. "Are you still high? I don't want all these Henry's around either, but now that they are here we aren't going to kill them. They're human beings." Mike looked at her one eyebrow raised. "Alright, they're people." She put the remote in her pocket. "No one is killing anyone."
Dr. Nikki and Rajani came from the kitchen, each carrying mugs of coffee. As they handed them out Mike's cell rang. He checked the caller ID before he answered. "Hey Dave. I'm going to be a little late today." He stopped to listen, a frown on his face, but it wasn't long untill that frown turned to anger. "How many crime scenes do we have? Damn it." He looked hard at Vicki. "I need to run by my place and grab a shower and clean clothes, then I'll be there." Mike rolled his eyes. "No, I didn't get lucky last night! Is that all you think about? That was rhetorical. Look, just get as much forensics as you can, and for God's sake, keep the media away." He hung up.
Vicki could see the anger rolling off Mike, and knew whatever it was, it was bad. "What is it?"
Mike clipped the cell back on his belt. "You know how you said no one was killing anyone? Well, one of the Henry's doesn't seem to on the same page. We have four bodies, in different locations. All with their throats pretty much ripped out. He didn't even really try to hide the bodies, didn't care if we found them or not."
Dr. Nikki, eyes wide, looked at them. "Evil Henry."
Vicki took one quick sip of her coffee and put the mug down, grabbing her coat and putting it on. "Alright, new plan. We are going to kill at least one of them. Let's hope we can find him during the daytime."
Mike followed the women to the door. "If you plan to keep the others alive, how are you going to get them here while the sun is out?"
Rajani patted his arm. "That is where I come in, detective."
****************************************
Vicki sat in the passenger seat of the medical examiners van, Rajani driving in the direction Vicki told her to follow. Vicki frowned down at the GPS. "With them dead during the day the signal isn't as strong. This could take some time. Turn right at the next light."
"Well, we better find them soon." Rajani told her. "I can't keep the van out that long. It does belong to the city and I'd like to keep my job."
"I won't let you get fired." Vicki sat straight. "There, the house with the for rent sign."
They approached a small house in a middle class neighborhood. The first thing they noticed were all the black garbage bags taped to all the windows to keep the sun out. They went to the front door that was, of course, locked so Vicki pulled out her lock picks and went to work. Not knowing where this Henry was inside, they only opened the door far enough to squeeze inside and quickly closed it behind them.
The living room was small, with only a old couch and one chair but the walls were covered in posters of motorcycles,and dirt bikes. Rajani whistled when she saw what was in one corner - the biggest motorcycle Vicki had ever seen.
Rajani walked to it, running one hand over the leather seat. "Nice Hog." Vicki frowned at her. "What? I love anything that goes fast and this baby will fly."
"I learn something new about you every day. Come on, let's check the rest of the house."
In the bedroom, stretched out on the bed was another Henry. He was fully clothed, black Harley t shirt, black jeans and leather boots. He also had fingerless gloves on his hands and a bandana tied over his head.
"Looks like we found Biker Henry." Vicki stood on one side of the bed and looked to the doctor. "Well let's get him loaded up, we have more to find."
Rajani left the house and returned with a gurney, on top of which was a black body bag. She placed the bag next to the body and looked across at Vicki. "You want the head or feet?"
Together the two of them got him in the bag and on the gurney, covering him with another sheet on top just to make sure the sun didn't touch him. They had just closed the doors to the van when Vicki's cell rang.
Vicki flipped it open. "Yeah, Coreen, we just got one." She listened. "We're on the way." Vicki looked at Rajani. "Coreen and Dr. Nikki found one. I hope you brought plenty of body bags, we're going to need them before the day is out."
tbc
- Mood: content
Chapter 14
Linens, Pillows and Weed, Oh My
“Might have to cowboy up, Henry. We’ve got a few guests.” Vicki smirked at him.
“The only person I’m sharing my bed with is you, and that’s final. God knows where they’ve been!” He leaned in to whisper, "Or with whom."
OCD popped up from behind the sofa, “I beg your pardon? I can smell where you’ve been, and to say I wouldn’t sleep in the same bed with you if you paid me is an understatement.”
Gay Henry piped up, “I’ll be glad to share the good detective's quarters, just point me in the right direction. I'll take it from there.” He winked at Mike.
Mike snapped a look at Vicki and said, “Kill me. If you ever had any warm feelings for me, take my gun and kill me. I’ll even leave a note so you won’t go to jail.” Vicki did her best not to laugh, and although there was a lot of coughing involved, she managed.
Special Henry came bounding over with Father Henry and tugged on Henry’s sleeve, “I can camp out! Father Henry showed me how! I have my own sleeping bag and everything. And you know? You know what? I know how to make smores, if we build a fire!”
Father Henry came and stood behind Special. “He loves smores, although I don’t see the appeal of marshmallows, I do like chocolate.”
Rocker had gone out on the balcony with Surfer and Stoner when they'd arrived and came back in coughing a little. “Man, I don’t care where I sleep as long as I don’t miss rehearsal tomorrow night. We’ve got a gig coming up, and agents are supposed to be there. The band could get a contract to record.”
Stoner and Surfer heard that and said, “Dude! Awesome!”
Henry smelled it then and walked over to them, sniffing until he found it, “You will not smoke this shit in my home.”
“Dude, we weren’t in your home, we were on the balcony. Wicked cool view by the way.” Henry fixed them both with a look, then walked to the balcony and tossed it over the side. “Aw, man, come on! That was Maui Wowee! You got any concept of what that cost? I had to wash massive amounts of wind shields to get the bread for that!”
“I don’t really care if you had to wash every wind screen in Toronto, I won’t have that in my home.” He turned to Celluci, “You’re a cop, why didn’t you stop him?”
Mike didn’t answer, and Henry noted his ears turning red, but Stoner did, “Shit, he was smoking it with us.” If Vicki had been drinking, she would’ve done the perfect spit take. She looked at him, but before she could speak, he said, “Excuse me. You left me to baby sit a bunch of Fitzroy clones, one of whom has been practically chasing me around here, trying to pinch my butt. I had a lot of stress.”
“Okay, okay. I’m fine with it, just hope it doesn’t become a habit.” She grinned and then turned to Henry, “It’s less than half an hour to dawn, we need to think about the sleeping arrangements.”
“I have enough blankets and sheets to make pallets, only two extra pillows, but we can use the pillows on the bed as well.” He headed for the linen closet, “I’ll get them and we can get started.”
Henry could feel dawn moving swiftly closer and hurried to get all the blankets out, laid out around the apartment. By the time he could feel himself slowing down, everything was ready and he and Vicki were in his bedroom, door closed.
“You and Mike are going to round up the others while we’re asleep?”
“Yeah, we’re going to get as many as we can by noon, then take a good nap and be ready to go when you wake up again.”
Coreen and Dr. Nik had modified a hand held map, rewiring it so it was the same as the one Nikki had made. They figured two teams, one in the north half of the city, one in the south, could hopefully grab the final ten by lunch. At least that’s what they hoped.
He took her hand, bringing her wrist to his lips and caressed the scars there, made by him. “We’re going to go away for a bit when this is done. I think we need a vacation.”
“No argument from me. I only want one Henry in my life.” She touched his face, “Now get into bed, so I don’t have to pick you up and carry you.”
“Yes ma’am.” Henry got under the covers and pulled her down with him. “I mean it, when this is over, pick a place. Someplace quiet with no people close by and we’ll just relax.”
“I’ll get right on that,” she laughed.
LJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJLJ
Evil Henry fed one more time before preparing to die for the day, leaving the body stashed under a car down the street. Strolling up to his hotel room, he entered and headed straight to the window, staring into darkness. He could almost see the condo from there and he stood at the window imagining what was happening, “Soon, prince, we’ll meet." The mask of civilization dropped, leaving only the face of a hunter who had no respect for his prey. "I'll have your woman before I kill her in front of you."
As he felt the sun taking him to oblivion, he said "Then you die, begging for mercy."
- Mood: discontent
He felt the last gasp of breath leave the man's body while he continued for a few seconds to drink deeply from the wound on his neck. Taking the last drop, he tossed the homeless man back onto the dirty street where he had found him. Evil Henry, wiping the blood from his mouth, looked to the high rise building in the distance.
He smiled.
"I know you're there. It won't be long and you'll have them all, then I'll let you find me."
He laughed.
He thought of the plan that had been running through his head for a few days now. Nikki had talked non stop about Fitzroy, telling him everything he needed to know, and then some. Where he lived, what he did for a living, how much money he had. Another good thing Nik had given him was very high intellegence.
After he had left her house, he'd started watching it, waiting for the real Henry and his girlfriend showed up. First thing he had done was find a computer and begun his research. It took some time, Fitzroy was careful about keeping any information about himself off the net. But he did find many references to the Duke of Richmond and Sommerset. After several different articles, he was convinced that this was the Henry living today. A royal prince. He smiled again. "I think I like the idea of being royalty."
He had spent night the following them at a distance, seeing them gathering the other Henry's. It wasn't hard to figure out what they were doing. He had a bit of a advantage. He knew they were looking for him, and unlike the others, he could sense them because of his enhanced vampire powers, and he knew how far that GPS signal reached. He could watch them and they wouldn't know.
Those enhanced vampire powers did have a disadvantage though. He needed to feed more often than the others, needed more blood to control the hunger. Where the others fed once a day and only a small amount, the homeless man had been his third meal of the night. Each time he took every drop of blood and still the blood lust called to him, only a little quieter now.
He felt the pull of the coming sunrise, and he turned to head to the hotel near Fitzroy's condo. Tomorrow night they should have the rest of the Henry's gathered. When they did, he was going to knock on Fitzroy's door, be kind and civil. Then he was going to kill them all.
He would kill the clones fast, not really giving a damn about them anyway. Same for Fitzroy's girlfriend. But Dr. Nikki and Fitzroy he had special plans for. They would not die fast, but slowly, painfully. Because of the two of them he was here, now they would pay for that mistake. Once they were all gone he would live Fitzroy's life. No one would ever know. He looked like Fitzroy, had as much, if not more intellegence than him, he was a vampire too, hell even their handwriting was the same.
As he walked, thinking about tomorrow night, a sinister smile appeared on his face. Dr. Nikki and Fitzroy. Mom and Dad. "Kids really are out of control these days. Parents just can't do a thing with them."
***************************************
Henry glanced at Vicki in the passenger seat, saw her rubbing her forehead back and forth as if she had a massive headache. "Are you getting Celluci's anuryesm?" Vicki cut her eyes at him. "Just wondering. I didn't know if that kind of thing was contagious."
Special Henry, seated between them began to play with the radio, stopping for brief moments to listen before moving on to another station. He came to one that played 80's hairband songs.
Rocker Henry leaned forward in the backseat. "Keep it there!" He closed his eyes, looking like he was in heaven. "This song has one of the best drum solos in history. Motley Crue, Take A Walk on the Wild Side. I got to see the concert on You Tube. Tommy Lee flipping 360 while playing and he never missed a beat. Damn I'd love to do that."
Redneck, seated beside him looked like his ears hurt from the noise. "That ain't music. Now Toby Keith, Brooks and Dunn and Hank Jr., that's good ol' American music. Throw in some Willie, Johnny Cash and George Jones and you have music royalty." He tapped Henry on the shoulder. "I don't suppose you have any country music at your place?," he asked.
Henry, pulling into the underground garage replied, "I think the only thing I have is some Patsy Cline. That lady could sing a love song that would make you cry." He glanced at Vicki as if thinking about her and the songs.
Herding the Henry's, they again used the back entrance to enter the building. As soon as the reached the doors of Henry's condo they heard yelling. Henry and Vicki looked at each other, took a deep breath and stepped inside.
"Detective Celluci, you give them to me or I swear you'll be sorry." Dr. Mohadavan said to him, her hand held out in front of her. "I only want to cuff him. I didn't ask for your gun. Yet." She sent a hard look to Horny Henry. "I just want his hands immobile. He's done nothing but grab every part of me all night."
Mike looked down at the small woman. "I've had a few grabs myself you know." He looked at Gay Henry, stretched out on the leather sofa reading GQ. "You seem to forget he's a vampire. How do you plan to get the cuffs on him?"
Vicki walked over and stepped between them. "Long night guys,?" she said with a faint smile.
Rajani looked like she would hit Vicki for asking that. "Long night? Horny over there has been chasing myself, Coreen and Bettie all night. Coreen may like it but I certainly don't."
Henry walked to Bettie and put one arm over her shoulder. "You alright Bet? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
Bettie smiled and patted his hand. "He didn't hurt me. I was really kind of nice." Henry frowned at her. "It's been a very long time since I saw you give me that look." Henry looked shocked, eyes wide. "Don't be so surprised Henry," she told him. "I was attracted to you forty years ago. What makes you think I wouldn't still find you handsome?"
Before Henry could respond OCD Henry came in from the kitchen. "Look at the mess you made! Egads! I just swept in here and you track dirt all over the floor." He pulled out a dust buster, turning it on and running it over the entryway. "All of you take your shoes off." He ordered, shaking his head. "You people are worse than animals."
Mike turned to Vicki. "You want to know if we've had a long night? Let's just say I am so looking forward to sunrise."
"Well, sunrise should be in less than a hour." Henry looked at all the Henry's. "I just want to know where we're going to put all of them during the day. I am not sharing my bed."
tbc
- Mood:
confused
"OK, one more down, please God, not too many more to go," Vicki said. "Father, if you'd come with us, we're trying to get everyone together at the condo."
"Oh, I'm not an actual priest, I just like to play one," Father Henry said. "It gives me great comfort."
"Whatever works for you." She gestured towards the doors, "Please."
"Of course, but I need to fetch something...someone first." He turned before they could say yes or no and went to a small alcove. Henry could hear him speaking in low tones. "It's all right, they won't hurt you. they're here to help." There was a pause, and Father Henry continued, "I know. But it will be fine, I promise." Vicki strained to see into the dark, but could see only shadows until Father Henry got almost right up to them again. "This is, well, this is Henry. He's a little different from the rest of us."
"I'm Henry. He's Henry too. There's lots of us." The other Henry's face came into the light and his sweet, smiling face reflected none of the pain that came with living in the real world. "I'm special. Father Henry says so."
"I think Father Henry's absolutely right," Henry said. His smile was more gentle than it had been since this whole thing started. "If you'll come with us, we can get you a little snack, and you can watch t.v. on the big screen at my house."
"Cool! Do you have Sponge Bob? He's my favorite after Clifford the Big Red Dog." The smile on his face was hopeful.
"I think we can arrange something," Henry said and began to lead him out the front door. He turned to Vicki and said, "I think we probably should've brought the van. Didn't really think we were going to be finding all of these so quickly."
"Well, we'll know better next time, right now, let's get these three home." She sighed. "Hopefully, we can pick a few more up before sunrise, but there's no way we're going to get to them before then."
"I know. I hate thinking about them all out there, with my face, doing God knows what until we find them."
"Me too. But we can only what we can do." She saw the troubled look on his face. "Don't worry, we'll find them all. Coreen, Mike and I can keep looking while you're asleep."
The five of them piled into the Jaguar, heading back to the apartment when Vicki felt her pants vibrate. "Oh, crap."
"What?"
She pulled out the locator and looked at it. "Looks like we have a bogie a couple of miles up the street" Vicki turned to Henry. "What do you say? Want to try to snag another one?" The three copies were sitting in the back, Father Henry speaking quietly to them, paying no attention to the two in the front seat.
Henry sighed, "Why not? We can always stash him in the trunk."
The vibrations increased as they got closer to a club Vicki had gone to a few times and by the time they pulled up in front, the lights were blinking like the spaceship in ET. "OK, this must be the place. You want to wait here?"
Henry sat there grinning, "Not a chance, this is my kind of place." He ignored Redneck Henry in the back seat muttering, "Aw, man, nothing but fruits and nuts in places like that." Henry almost leapt out of the car, hurrying around to open Vicki's door. They entered, paid the cover and when Henry pushed open the door, were blasted by a cover of Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar on Me. Henry leaned in, screaming in Vicki's ear, "I love this song."
She winced, and screamed back, "Why am I not surprised?" She looked at the GPS, scanning the area. When the blinking lights became a solid line, she followed it and it led her to the stage. By the time they got there, the other musicians had cleared the stage and the only sound was that of drums being pounded. She stopped at the edge of the dance floor, mouth open, eyes wide.
On stage, behind a master drum set, sat another Henry, shirtless, bandana headband with a skull and cross bones on it, pounding away during the drum solo. The rest of the stage was clear, except for the women. Lots and lots of women. They crowded the dance floor, and if it hadn't been for security, they would've rushed the small, slightly elevated stage. Rocker Henry was banging away on the drums, hair flying, smiling, and winking at the women. Vicki wouldn't have admitted it out loud, to anyone, but she'd always had a soft spot for rock and roll drummers and seeing Henry, even a fake Henry wearing those leather pants that hid absolutely nothing was making her hot.
Very hot.
Henry's hands grabbed her hips and pulled her back to him so she could hear what he said. "I know what you're thinking, and when this is all over, I'll wear my leather pants for you. I'll even play the drums." She blushed furiously. "Get over yourself."
"Well, then, let's get drummer boy, and go."
"As soon as the song ends."
When he looked at her with raised eyebrows, she snorted. "Look around you. We try to get him off that stage before he finishes, it'll start a riot and we'll be killed."
"Good point." His hands wrapped around her waist, and his chin dropped to her shoulder, "Mind if I just rub up against you? This song is making me horny."
"The Cartoon Channel makes you horny." she grinned, "But ok."
- Mood: cynical
"Oh come on Vicki." Henry all but whined. "Please don't make me go in there."
Vicki looked at him with a frown. "Why not? You've been in a ton of bars, this one's no different. You said yourself, you don't always hunt on the opera circuit."
Henry raised one eyebrow. "No different?" He looked down at his silk shirt, fitted pants and leather shoes. "Do I look like I would fit in here dressed like this?"
Vicki grabbed his arm and pulled him across the parking lot toward the building. "Well one of the clones must fit in here because the GPS lit up like a 500 watt lightbulb. Too bad this thing won't tell us which Henry is in there." Henry still tried to pull away, although not too much because he could break her hold with no problem. Vicki was getting frustrated and stopped and turned to him. "What if it's Evil Henry in there on a feeding frenzy?" Henry started to protest more, but Vicki again began walking to the large wooden doors of the bar. "You know, you're starting to act like Wussy." He turned to glare at her. "But don't worry Henry, I'll protect you," she said with a smile.
They reached the double doors that had a large neon sign above that read 'Bubba n' Bucks', Vicki paid the cover charge and entered. Country music blared through the large room, a bar was on each end of the room, and beer seemed to be what was ordered most. Men and women dressed in jeans and western shirts were everywhere, on the large dance floor, line dancing, (still alive and popular in Toronto,) or sitting at tables talking. Others were in one corner that held pool tables and several large screen tv's that played NASCAR and a football game. Also in that area was a large mud filled pit where two women in bikinis rolled around fighting each other.
"Get her, honey!" One loud voice was heard cheering. "You can do it."
Henry and Vicki looked at each other, both recognized the voice, even with the southern accent it now had. They turned to the area where they saw another Henry sitting alone watching the show.
They stood to one side of him and looked, each with their mouth hanging open at what they saw.
He had Henry's face, but that was the only thing similar. His dark curls were hidden under a John Deer baseball cap, his face had not seen a razor in several days because stubble covered the strong chin. He wore a blue and white flannel shirt with denim overalls. Cowboy boots on his feet completed the outfit.
As Vicki and Henry watched, he spit on the floor in front of them, and it was then they realized he had a big wad of skoal in his mouth.
Henry covered his eyes as if he couldn't stand to look. "Thank God that I don't dream, otherwise this would give me terrible nightmares for the next century."
Vicki smiled. "I guess Dr. Nikki wanted a good ol' long haired country boy." Vicki stepped in front of Redneck Henry blocking his view.
Redneck looked up at her. "Hey there darlin'!" He looked at Vicki, seeing the strong muscles under her clothing. "Oowee, I hope you're in the next match, I bet you could kick some ass."
Henry spoke up. "You have no idea."
Redneck turned to him, seeing another Henry. "Aw shit. What do you want? I ain't done nothin'. Go tell Nik to leave me alone." He tried to look around Vicki to continue watching the women.
"As far as you're concerned, the show's over. Come on." Vicki reached for one arm and Henry the other, pulling him from the chair. "You're coming with us."
He struggled but with Henry holding him it was useless. "Just what the hell are you doing? Where are you taking me?"
Vicki smiled at him. "It's time to reunite you with Dr. Nikki and the other Henry's. Don't worry, Henry has cable, I'm sure we can find an episode of Hee Haw for you to watch," she told him as they dragged him outside and put him in the Jag.
****************************************
They had only traveled a few miles when the GPS again alerted them them about another Henry. Vicki and Henry each let out a deep sigh and followed the signal. When Henry stopped the car, they were both wearing a frown, wondering why one of the Henry's would be here of all places.
They exited the car, pulling Redneck Henry with them. All three looked up at a large, old catholic church. Henry shook his head and looked at the GPS Vicki held in her hand. "Are you sure this is the right place?"
Vicki, tucking the device in a back pocket, shrugged her shoulders. "Only one way to find out. Let's go."
They entered the large cathedral, moonlight streaming in from the stained glass windows. There at the altar, at the end of the room was a man kneeling before a large statue of the Virgin Mary. From the back they could see the dark curls of his hair, and he appeared to be wearing a black suit. In one hand was a bible, the other a rosery.
He heard them behind him, crossed himself and rose to his feet, turning to face the trio. He smiled softly at them. "Hello my brothers. I've been praying for our mortal souls." He looked back at the statue. "The Blessed Mother will save us from our sins."
Vicki looked sideways at Henry. "I always knew you had a strong faith Henry, but this is ridiculous. I am now officially scared."
tbc
- Mood:
anxious
Chapter 10
Mike stood there, looking at the Henrys and shaking his head. Vicki could hear him muttering to himself, and when she looked at Henry, she could see he was struggling not to laugh out loud.
“Mike, I’m sorry, I really am, but we’ve still got 14 of them to round up, and last but not least, the one that’s probably going to give us the most trouble, Evil Henry.” Mike’s eyebrow raised and he cut his eyes to Henry. She raised her hand, ‘Don’t go there.”
There was a knock at the door and when Henry opened it, there stood Bettie Sagara and Rajani Mohadevan. They’d met in the lobby and traveled up together, both trying to figure out what exactly was going on. As they walked in, they looked at each other.
Finally, Bettie spoke, “Well, I must say Henry, I thought a lot of different things, but finding this didn’t even make the top 20 list.”
“Thank you for coming, Bettie. You too, Rajani. I’m sorry we have to drop this in your laps, but there are more than a dozen still out there and I’d like to get them corralled as soon as possible. There’s not much more time before sunrise.”
Horny Henry had sidled up next to Rajani, flashing his grin at her, but stopped when he saw the look on her face.
“Henry,” Rajani said, “I can’t wait for the explanation.” She turned to Vicki, “You’ve come to me with some interesting things over the last few years, but I can honestly say, this sits quite handily at the top.”
Vicki shrugged as she reached for her bag, “Tell me about it.” She looked at Henry, who was looking at the other Henrys and frowning. Leaning to whisper in his ear, she said, “Come on, I’ve got the gps, and you can have a bite on the way downstairs.” The frown lessened slightly, and that sweet smile that turned her knees to jello appeared.
“Very well.” He raised his voice, “Please, do not leave the apartment, we’ll be back as soon as possible with your….. Brothers and get this resolved.”
"That's fine," Dr. Nikki said, "It'll give me time to go over my notes."
Horny Henry said, “Man, just leave the chicks and go do your thing.” OCD muttered, “Good, I’ve so much more cleaning to do now with all of these,” he grimaced, “extras around.” Stoner and Surfer were out on the balcony and barely turned around to acknowledge Henry, “Whatever, dude.” Wuss sneaked up beside Henry and said, “Please, don’t leave me alone with them, especially.” he pointed at OCD, “that one. He tried to bathe me.”
Gay Henry just waved and said, “Don’t worry, the good detective and I will be just fine,” then started to pat Mike’s butt. Mike stopped it with a look and the words, “Follow through with that, and you’d better hope your limbs regenerate.”
“Jesu, give me strength,” Henry muttered.
“Could ask for some for me too, please,” Vicki said, and took him by the arm. They closed the door to the sound of bickering and Mike yelling, “Stop that!”
When the elevator came, they got in, and when the door closed and started the trip down, Vicki hit the ‘all stop’ button.
“What are you doing, Vicki? We need to get started.”
“I know. But you did say you were hungry.” She pulled her scarf from around her neck and leaned against the wall. “You’d better have a bite before we get going. Otherwise, the crowds might be a bit much.”
Henry moved to pull her into him, brushing her hair away, “You do have a way of tempting me,” he said as he sniffed her neck, nuzzling over his favorite vein. He felt her shiver a little as he licked the spot he was looking for, and felt the rise of want for him. “This is what my kind call a quickie,” rubbing the heel of his hands on the outside of her jeans where the seam hit just the right place.
She inhaled as he rubbed and when he knew she was close, he bit, pulling in the taste of her to him. Taking a few mouthfuls, he felt her shudder, and wanted nothing except to drink from her, then fill her body with his. As he finished, he pulled back and licked the four tiny puncture wounds until they were closed and whispered in her ear, “Once this is settled, we’re going to have an entire night of that.”
She kept leaning against the wall of the elevator until she heard him say, “Vicki? Did you hear me?”
She jerked upright and said, “Yes. Yes, I did. Let’s get this done.” He released the all stop, and stood behind her grinning. “And wipe that smirk off your face right now.”
He tried, he really did, and almost succeeded. “Yes, ma’am. I am now totally motivated to get this over with and get back to what’s important.” He could hear her heartbeat as it pounded against her ribs and knew that when this was over, it was going to be a interesting night.
- Mood: hot
Henry's dark eyes piereced Nikki's and she felt the pull of his spell, responding to him.
"What do you want to know?" she asked.
Henry said the first thing that came to mind, "Tell us about the clones. What are the others like? Why are they all so different?"
Nikki again reached in the desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper, handing it to him. On the paper was a list of all 20 clones and their personalities, along with notes of how they responded to certain tests. As Henry and Vicki read the list their eyes got wider, their mouths falling open.
Vicki giggled and pointed to one of the Henrys on the list. "I can't wait to see that one!" She began to laugh.
Henry glared at her, "It's not funny, Victoria." He turned back to Dr. Nikki. "How were you able to make them so different?"
"Even with your DNA, I couldn't get you quite right. So, I would just tweak parts of your DNA each time, and each time I would get a different Henry." When Henry and Vicki looked confused she explained: "When I wanted to enhance Henry's, uh," she blushed, "sexual performance, I just manipulated certain genetic components. That's how I got Horny Henry, but I tweaked it a little too much." Her blush deepened. "I liked him for awhile, but he never wanted to talk. Having sex all day long gets old after awhile."
Vicki cut her eyes to Henry. "I doubt that took much tweaking at all," she smiled. "So what happened with this last Henry?"
Nikki looked uncomfortable, but continued. "At first I didn't know you were a vampire. With the first one I thought that somehow I must have caused it. Then it happened again. After that, I followed you and found you really were a vampire. Which, by the way is so cool! Do you think we could talk about writing a paper after all this is settled?" The frown on Henry's face stopped her from going further. "Ahem. So, anyway, I experimented with different personality traits, but I never touched your vampire side. Until this last one."
Henry's eyes closed, his head fell forward, chin on his chest. "You enhanced his vampire side?" He said loudly. "Do you have any idea what you've done?! What is loose in the city?"
He started to reach for Nikki, but Vicki and Gay Henry each grabbed an arm, trying to hold him back. Wussy still stood by the door, frightened eyes watching what was unfolding.
"Henry, no! We need her help." Vicki all but pleaded with him.
Henry turned to look at Vicki. "Don't you get it? Sweet Jesu! Remember when Mendoza had me? Remember how I couldn't control the vampire instincts, the blood lust? This one could be even worse."
Gay Henry looked at him, his face for the first time hard and fierce. "I won't let you hurt her. I'm just as strong as you are and I really don't care if you live or die."
Henry took a deep breath, trying to regain his control. "Fine. Let's take them to the condo, put them with the others and start rounding up as many as we can before sunrise ."
He started for the door but stopped when he saw Vicki pull out her cell phone. "Vicki, who are you calling?"
"Reinforcements." Vicki put the phone to her ear. "Bettie? It's Vicki Nelson. I'm sorry for calling so late, but we really need your help. Can you meet us at Henry's condo?" She listened for a moment and looked at Henry. "Thanks a lot. By the way, how long has it been since you babysat?"
****************************************
Henry and Vicki got to the condo and pushed in the two new Henrys and Dr. Nikki, who was holding a large plastic container that she carefully put it on a table. She stood there, one hand on top.
Mike sat in the leather chair, a glass of bourbon in one hand. When he saw the new Henrys he let out a deep sigh. "I knew you would find more." He stood up . "Now that you're back, I can leave."
"Not so fast Mike." Vicki held up a hand. "We need you to stay here while we go get the others."
"Others!? For the love of God, Vicki, how much more an I supposed to take?!"
"I'm sorry! But look, Dr. Nikki here will help you watch them and Bettie and Rajani are on the way too."
Mike was distracted by the container Nikki was standing next to, thinking he heard a noise coming from it, and although he tried, he couldn't stop himself from pointing at it. "Do I want to know what's in there?"
"That would be our dinner." Gay Henry said. He'd been staring at the detective since they'd arrived, all but licking his lips. Now he started walking around Mike in a circle, looking at him up and down. "Oh my. You are a yummy one. I just love tall blond men."
Mike, shock on his face when he realized this Henry was hitting on him, looked at Vicki. "And I thought this day couldn't get any worse." He closed his eyes and muttered, "Anytime you want to blow, aneurysm, feel free."
- Mood:indescribable
"You know, I was kidding that time I asked if you had a demon GPS," Vicki said as she turned to Henry, "I should've known better. So, we need a plan. Any ideas?"
"Well, we need to gather all the Henrys in one place, then we need to track down Evil Henry and dispatch him before he gets me staked."
"And I'd like to get a few answers out of 'Dr. Nikki' while we're at it." Her head turned to look at the beautiful petite brunette, and she raised an eyebrow, "What were you thinking? Why were you doing this? Didn't you know how dangerous it could be?"
"How was I supposed to know? I...." she hesitated. "I just wanted what you two have. The last time I saw you, it was in front of the museum one night, talking. You were so handsome, and you had one arm around her waist, the other hand was trailing up and down her arm, almost like you were making love to her. It was so.....erotic, and I just wanted to feel that too."
"I remember that night!" Vicki said. "We went to exhibition of the recovered Titanic artifacts and when we were walking to the car, that moron tried to mug us." She both blushed and smiled, thinking about what happened after they dispatched the mugger and after they got home. "He cut you!" Vicki spun towards Dr. Nikki, "That's where you got the blood from, isn't it? You followed us that night."
She blushed even more furiously, "Yes, that's the night I got the blood. I'm a geneticist, and I've been experimenting with cloning for years, but I'd never gotten anywhere, thanks to all the stupid rules and restrictions." Her face clouded over, "If they'd just let me continue my work, we wouldn't be here now, I'd have been able to handle all the excess Henrys."
"Hello! The door not attached to the door frame tells a different story."
"Vicki." Henry spoke quietly, "Let me try."
"Have at it, your majesty."
"Dr. Schmid," the tone was deep and rumbling and Dr. Nikki found herself unable to look away, "tell us everything you know."
- Mood: cranky
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