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“So how much of what you just told Ethan was bull shit?” Frank asked Dark Mateus now known as John Doe. They were exiting the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and the world was the same, except for John Doe.

“The main points are true, but the rest of it was a little smudging of what actually happened,” DM said. The cold air of the late December season was being fought back by the small heater of the compact sedan the pair was ridding in. DM looked into the mirror on the sun shade of the car he and Frank were currently riding in. He looked like he had seven hundred eight years ago. He hadn’t grown over his five feet six inches tall. He still had his dark black hair. His skin still had its natural tan. DM’s nose seemed large for his face, even if everyone said that it looked normal. He was dressed in his usual black buttoned up shirt, and black pants, with black rubber soled shoes. Dark eyes still looked out onto a world in which he was indeed a god among worms.

“I have a bet with Nina,” Frank continued, “did you really get your powers the way you said?” Frank was your natural nice guy. He had brown hair that looked like millions of others. He had pale brown eyes, and his face was so natural and unassuming that you wouldn’t give it another glance. In his thirty-three years of life only two people found him handsome, and one was his wife. He was the natural spy, who could be your friend in a second, and remain that way for life.

“Who’s Nina?” DM asked glancing over at Frank.

Frank narrowly missed having a truck in his door and said like nothing happened, “She was the one who gave you that satellite phone. She was that brunet who looked like she really needed a friend.”

“Oh her,” DM said nodding his head. “Okay the real story of how I got my powers.” DM closed his eyes to the world and put his head back. The blue sky of the Washington DC world went away and the darkness that was his home engulfed him. “It’s true that there was a magician, and I was a thief. I was waiting for him to go to sleep, and then take what I wanted. As soon as I stepped into his tent the little bastard woke up.” Frank laughed at this. “He grabbed a long saber from under his pillows, and I grabbed my long knife. He didn’t even tell me to get out of his tent before he went at me. I was younger and quicker, so with a dodge and a swipe and he lost his head. But his blood fell on some things that I have no idea what they were, and boom.”

“Boom?” Frank repeated missing a bird on the road.

“Well the waking up naked surrounded by scorch marks was true,” DM said with a smile. “I had some trouble getting into town to find some clothes, but that was how I learned that I could control people’s minds with my words.”

“What a second,” Frank said glancing at DM, “you mean you found out you could control people’s minds right off the bat?”

“Yes,” DM said remembering back and nodding his head to accent his positive response. “A very good looking woman found me first, and I didn’t realize it but when I told her to calm down she did. When I told her to give me clothes, she did. That’s when it kicked in that I could control people just by talking to them. I quickly took off the clothes the woman gave me, if you get my meaning.”

“No idea,” Frank said sounding serious.

“I took off my clothes, and told her to take off her clothes,” DM said trying to make Frank understand.

“You wanted to start a nudist colony?” Frank sounded sincere in his lack of understanding.

“I had sex with her,” DM said with hand motions, trying to make it as obvious as possible for the man.

“Oh,” Frank said. “You do realize I was joking?”

“I had hoped so,” DM said watching a police cruiser, with its lights going, zoom past the other way.

“So when did you realize you were immortal?” Frank asked.

“When her husband came home,” DM laughed. “He saw me with his wife, and came up behind me and slit my throat.”

“Ouch,” Frank said wincing in pain that he imagined DM had felt.

“Well the phrase a moment of pleasure a lifetime of pain has been around longer than I have, and that phrase flashed through my mind as I choked on my own blood,” DM said feeling his neck in memory.

“So what happened next?” Frank asked as they pulled into the airport parking lot.

“I woke up about three hours later being dragged to the death house,” DM said. “The death house is what they called the place where the dead were stored until claimed. The guys dragging me nearly died of fright when I stood up. I found that it took about a week to get my voice power back, but after that I healed without a scar. In fact I am in perfect health. I never get sick. I never keep scars. The teeth that I lost before the accident even grew back.”

The pair pulled themselves out of the car and into the bright sun shine of the midday. “Wait a second,” DM said realizing his situation. “I’m in Washington DC, with only the clothes on my back, and this phone you gave me,” DM said holding up the white box that has a picture of a happy woman talking on a black phone.

“I guess you want your wallet back?” Frank said with a sad look on his face. “Can I have one of your bank accounts?”

“No,” DM said.

“Please, I’ll just take the one that only has ten million dollars in it,” Frank said like it was a conciliation request.

“No, and give me back my wallet,” DM said.

Frank handed over the square of brown leather. DM opened it and looked through it. “Your new IDs for your new identity of John Doe, Ethan really needs to work on his names, should be in there as well as your old IDs. I left everything in there,” Frank said. “Including that picture of that Amazon you call a girlfriend. Oh and here’s your keys too.”

“She may be six feet eight inches tall, and look like she could rip a phone book in half, twice, but she is not an Amazon,” DM said in defense of the woman he loves. He slid the wallet into his back pocket, and dropped his keys into his pocket too. “Now what?”

Frank pulled out a folded sheaf of papers and handed them to DM. “You’re on an US Airways flight to Las Vegas, which leaves in about two hours. We even reserved you a rental car in Vegas. Go to the front desk of the Golden Nugget casino, and identify yourself as John Doe and they’ll take care of you. We have a standing account with the Golden Nugget and they’ll put you in one of our secure rooms. Keep that phone with you at all times, and charged up as much as possible.”

“What about clothes?” DM asked.

“You’re not my size sorry,” Frank said.

“No,” DM said as if he was talking to an idiot, “what am I going to wear?”

“Well clothes obviously,” Frank said as if he were talking to an idiot. “Maybe Ethan should reconsider his choice in making you an agent?”

“Will you stop that?” DM asked.

“Sure, as for clothes, just buy them when you reach Vegas. The Golden Nugget will wash them for you, and you can charge it to your room, which we’re paying for. I’ll call you from your apartment and let you know how long you have to stay in the city of sin.”

DM sighed in resignation. “Are you coming in?”

“I hate airports,” Frank said opening the door for the car, but not getting in just yet. “There’s something about people willing to funnel into a flying tin can that makes me nervous. Don’t worry I have complete faith in you to survive being thousands of feet up in the air, and have the very likely chance of crashing into the ground. Enjoy!”

DM watched Frank get into the car and speed away with a minimal amount of tire squealing. DM turned around and went into the airport. His check through was painless, and he did stop off to buy a black cloth briefcase to make him look less conspicuous, and a paperback book to keep him occupied. His flight was called and he boarded. DM looked at the stewardess, and was disappointed; there wasn’t a looker in the bunch, other than the fact that most of them were males. None of the passengers were very good looking either, so DM settled down trying not to think about his previous mile high membership entries.

Las Vegas was still hot even with the sun going down. It cast a red glow on everything that was not glowing on its own. Cars were on every street, and towering buildings seemed out of place in the middle of a desert valley. Walls of glowing neon made of colors that were only found in flowers, made people all different colors, no matter what they were before. People were everywhere on the sidewalks talking in one loud roaring of sound. Locals were shrugging on their jackets, in anticipation of the cold night, while the tourists were hoping to make it to their destinations before it got too cold. The sounds of people losing, and fewer winning, money could be heard on each and every street corner by the hookers. This was truly the city where inhibitions could be set aside, and the evil in every human was let loose for a while.

DM guided his rental car following the signs, in the fading sunlight, to the parking garage for the Golden Nugget. The car was a very small blue two door, economy of an economy car. The whole car could be squeezed into the size of the trunk, if melted to slag. The car was intended for only one thing, getting from point A to point B. Point B for DM was the parking garage for the casino, which will be his home for a few days. Getting into the garage was easy, finding the casino’s front door was harder. There were no stars; the night was replaced by a sky of neon. It was like an old television set into the night, with images of various cartoon like images showing people that the money was worth it. What was once a street was now a gauntlet of commerce.

“Hello my I help you?” She was such a perky young woman that DM instantly thought of a bed mate. She was short, but with dark brown skin, and black hair pulled back. Her uniform was of deep dark blue, but her eyes were an even darker black. On her flattened chest a name tag reading ‘Emily’ in white on blue announced silently who she was.

“Hello,” Dark Mateus said to Emily, “my name is John Doe. I have a room reserved.”

This made Emily giggle. “Is your name really John Doe?” No one else was at the front desk at the time, but the casino just through a double door, which never closed, was filled with people. The restaurant next to the casino emitted smells of expensive, rich, cooking. In the middle of it all was an enormous golden nugget, which had an armed guard walking around it, that most people assumed was fake. Emily seemed quite at ease in this atmosphere, and that gave DM also reason to calm himself.

DM pulled out his new driver’s license. “Don’t blame me I didn’t pick the name,” DM said with a smile.

“Just between you and I,” Emily said, “I didn’t pick mine either. Here we are John Doe. Oh!” She gasped looking down at a computer screen hidden behind the counter. “Please give me a moment so I can get my manager.”

Emily went off and came back with a man who was so old he looked like a walking corps. He had few white hairs sculpted on his head. His eyes were so pale they looked white. He walked with a limp in both legs. His face was smiling, but his wrinkles were even more pronounced by this action. “Mr. Doe welcome to the Golden Nugget.” His name tag told everyone to call him, Joe.

“Thank you,” DM said. “Is there a problem?”

“No,” Joe said looking down at the computer, “it is our policy that I give out some special keys to certain rooms. I’m sure you understand Mr. Doe. Here is your key. Your room is 221. If you need anything don’t hesitate in giving the front desk a call.”

“Thank you,” DM said taking the keycard, a credit card like piece of gray plastic with holes in it. He turned to leave.

“You also have a few messages,” Joe said.

This made DM to stop and turn back. “I do?”

“Yes,” Joe said picking up an unmarked envelope.

“What are the messages?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well who took them?”

“I did,” Joe said with his wrinkled face grinning. There was a sparkle in his eye that spoke of an unsaid message.

DM nodded and took the envelope. Emily acted like she wasn’t noticing. DM took his thin brief case up to his room. It was a simple two room sleeping chamber. One room was a type of living room with a couch, table, two chairs, and an internet connection. The one door expected to be a closet was a powder room, next to a wet bar. The other room was for sleeping, with a bed, with drapes near the top of the bed, a TV in a cabinet, and a table chair set. The bathroom was a tub, with shower, sink, a toilet, and just enough room to open the door. DM couldn’t help but imagine the windows with elegant decorative bars on them.

Dark Mateus opened the envelope and pulled out pieces of pink paper. The first was short; ‘Congratulations on making it to Las Vegas and not skipping out on us. General Sanders.’ The next was a bit longer; ‘Do not call anyone you know. This is a secret set up, and no one knows where you are, and we want to keep it that way. If you play any games, don’t do anything to attract attention. Enjoy yourself.’ The last one was one short phrase; ‘We will contact you tomorrow.’

DM sat on the bed and fell back with his legs hanging off the edge of the bed. As if marshaling all his strength DM sat up and opened the box that had his satellite phone. In his mind he was saying to himself, ‘Time to go to work.’ With his satellite phone charging up DM ordered room service while he read the phonebook size instruction manual that came with his new phone.

The sun was long down when the phone was charged up enough, and eight of the twenty-six chapters of the instruction manual had been read, DM went out to find clothes. Five hundred dollars and two hours later DM was at the front desk of the Golden Nugget. There was Joe standing behind the desk chatting with a new, fatter, and whiter, male, assistant.

“Ah Mr. Doe, how are you this evening?” Joe asked with his thin wrinkled lips.

“I have a number of new clothes here I was hoping you could have them cleaned for me?” DM asked without using his powers.

“Certainly,” Joe said with an even wider smile, “we’ll wash them this evening and have them ready for you by eight tomorrow morning.”

“Why thank you,” DM said. Before he could lift up his bags there was an intrusion.

“We want our rooms now,” demanded a small man. He had greasy black hair plastered to his fat skull. His eyes were thin and showed him or his ancestors to be from an Asian country. Although he was short it could have been because his neck seemed to be somewhere other between his head and shoulders. His accent was thick and heavy too. The dark suit he wore was far more than most people earn in a year. Behind him were three other Asian men, dressed similarly but in less expensive suits, and were wearing sun glasses at night inside.

“Please pardon me for a moment Mr. Doe,” Joe said to DM and turned to the little man. “Yes sir how may I help you?”

“I said already,” the little man said quickly and louder, “we want our rooms. Do not make me repeat myself for a third time.” The men behind him didn’t move.

“Of course sir,” Joe said his smiling never faltering, “but to do so I need your name.”

“My name is Soon Qi, now where are our rooms!” The little man was getting mad and loud.

“One moment Mr. Qi,” Joe said tapping on the computer. Soon Qi didn’t even take his eyes off Joe all the time for the reservation to come up on the computer screen. “Here we are Mr. Qi you are in rooms four hundred one through four hundred four. I hope you enjoy your stay here at the Golden Nugget.” Joe was holding the key cards in his hand, but they were ripped from him by Mr. Qi. With that the little man stomped off with his entourage following close behind.

Joe looked over at DM and the dark man smiled. “I’m sure you get all types,” DM said, “but that guy was an asshole.”

“Yes, but that doesn’t matter, we still smile,” Joe said grinning. “He’s reserved one of the meeting rooms in a few days. I think he’ll find that room has a fewer chairs than he wanted. Now about your clothes, Mr. Doe.”

“Yes thank you,” DM said lifting them up to the counter.

“Edward,” Joe said to his fat assistant, “please take Mr. Doe’s clothes to the laundry. He is in room 221.” Edward left and Joe turned back to DM. “We’ll just charge that to your room. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Where’s the best place to eat around here?”

“Considering you just brought in freshly purchased clothes I guess you just want to go someplace to eat without a reservation or a jacket and tie required,” Joe said smiling.

“What are you a detective?” Dm asked like a joke.

“No I’m old,” Joe said to the man who was over seven hundred twenty-five years old. “May I suggest the Carson Street Café? Down that hall past the pool and Jacuzzi and you should run right into it.”

“Thank you,” DM said and walked down the hall. He did slow down to watch the women in the pool, and got a few ideas. There were even some good looking people in the Winter Pavilion that made DM slow down even more. The café was less of a café and more of a restaurant with outdoor tables and an enormously long menu. Forty minutes later DM was walking through the pavilion slowly. There was a very good looking blond woman who attracted the dark man’s attention. Then his phone rang.

Dark Mateus cursed and pulled out the black plastic and flipped up the very large antenna and pressed the button to answer the call. “What?” He said into the phone.

“Do not call, e-mail, post, card or otherwise, sky write, or attach a note to an arrow and let it fly to anyone. Don’t fuck up,” the voice over the phone said and then hung up. DM took the phone away from his ear and looked at it like it were made of cardboard. The voice sounded much like Pierce McKullen but how could that man have the number for the phone that even DM didn’t have a number for?

The phone call ruined his whole night, that and the blond was gone. So DM called it a night and went to his room, stripped down to his boxers and went to sleep.

Dreams were just coming to the dark man when something woke him. ‘That damn phone,’ DM thought as he realized what the annoying sound was. He sat up and felt around for the black plastic device. He grabbed it and it pulled the charging cord out of the wall socket. “What?” He said into the phone.

“Did I wake you?” Ethan’s condescending voice came over the phone.

“No I was asleep,” DM said with a yawn and a stretch of one of his arms.

“Well to let you know Frank is going to be going through your apartment later today, and he’ll call you if he finds anything,” Ethan said. “Also you might want to call him so he doesn’t look in places you don’t want him to look.”

“You know I was a photographer and publisher at one time?” DM asked tasting something awful in his mouth.

“Yes, and I must say good work for the time,” Ethan replied.

“Then I go ahead,” DM said. “Say I should get your phone number if I ever need to call you.”

“I didn’t give you the sheet of numbers? I should have given you a sheet of phone numbers with everyone’s phone numbers on it. Check the box from your phone,” Ethan said.

“I did that,” DM said, “not there.”

“Okay got a pen?” Ethan said.

DM quickly got the free note pad with the Golden Nugget emblem at the bottom, and the golf pencil. “Shoot,” DM said, and Ethan quickly gave it to him. “Now I just have to read the next five chapters of the manual for the phone to find out how to call out.”

“Yeah that’s why I don’t carry one,” Ethan said. “Say something I forgot to ask about your mind controlling powers, are there any restrictions?”

DM fell back onto the bed and tried to clear the cotton from his still sleeping brain. “Well first they have to understand the language. It doesn’t work if I’m talking to someone in say Spanish and they can only understand French. Plus they have to remember whatever command I gave them, if it is that type of command. If they forget the command it doesn’t work. Like if they have massive brain damage, or ‘I don’t remember anything before they pumped my stomach’ type of event.”

“So we could try mixing the sounds of different words and string them together into any sentence we want,” Ethan said thinking out loud.

“Well I’ve never done that before, but it might work. Isn’t there like forty something sounds in the English language,” DM said putting his feet onto the carpeted floor.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Ethan said, “It’s not my department. Back to what I was talking about, Frank will call you.”

“You said that,” DM said.

“Then I hope you enjoy Nevada,” Ethan said and hung up.

“I hate vacations,” DM said pressing the button to hang up his end. He took a shower and when he finished he realized all his clothes were dirty. Then the room’s phone rang.

“Now this is easy to answer,” DM said picking up the receiver.

“Mr. Doe,” The female voice over the phone said, “we have your clothes ready for you. Would you like to come down to the registration desk or should we bring them up to you?”

DM looked down at his birthday suit and said, “could you please bring them up to me.”

“Certainly sir,” the woman said.

DM looked around and quickly put on his only pair of black boxers. Five minutes later there was a knock on his door. “Mr. Doe, room service with your laundry,” Said the female voice. “Should I just leave them in hall for you?”

“No,” DM said opening the door. The woman was a plain faced late teenaged brunet. She had a slim figure, and her blue uniform did nothing to hide the fact she had a nice ass. When she saw that DM was only dressed in boxer shorts she paused. “You can see why I needed the clothes,” DM said with a smile.

“Not the first time,” She said, she did have a nice voice. She could have been in radio. “At least you’re wearing shorts. One time I came in on five guys and not a stitch of clothing on any of them.”

DM reached for his wallet, “big tip.”

“You don’t need to sir,” she said rolling in a rack full of clothes and started to transfer them to the closet.

“Do you really think they would have liked to see me walk into the lobby dressed like this?” DM asked.

“Big tip,” the woman said with a smile of humor.

DM left her with one hundred dollars in five twenty dollar bills and let her out the door, rolling her cart behind her. DM dressed and sat down on the bed. ‘Now what?’ DM thought to himself. He opened the drapes and his window looked down onto the covered street. DM wanted to get out, get to something natural. Then it dawned on him he was surrounded by mountains. Cliff climbing was a sport that DM liked to do long ago, and he didn’t get to do much in Chicago, but now it would be a nice relaxing distraction.

DM grabbed the phone book and looked mountain climbing businesses. He found one that looked good, and located it on the map. There was a Starbuck’s coffee establishment and with a quick cup of steaming something that could possibly have a drop of coffee in it DM went to his car. Then his satellite phone beeped.

“What?” DM asked into the phone.

“Well I was expecting a hello,” Frank’s voice came over the phone.

“Sorry, phones were things that weren’t even around for the first three quarters of my life, and these cordless ones make me nervous,” DM said leaning on his car.

“Good point look at your phone,” Frank asked and DM did. “Was there a green light on?”

“Yes.”

“Good that means this line is secure. If the red light is on, don’t say anything that is of a sensitive nature that means the line the other person is on is not secure,” Frank said.

“I’ll remember that,” DM said. “So what’s up?”

“I’ve been going through your computer, and I really expected to see more adult oriented content,” Frank said smiling.

“Hey when you have the power to have any woman you want, with only a phone call, who needs pictures or video? Besides have you checked out my file cabinets in the dark room?”

“Not yet, but I’ll try not to get anything on them?” Frank said with a short laugh.

“I’m going to forget you just said that,” DM said.

“There’s also an e-mail here,” Frank said. “It reads like this. ‘I have agreed to your terms and have sent the money to your account. Please contact me for details on what I require.’ What did you do?”

“Ah crap,” DM said putting his hand to his head, “what’s the title of that e-mail?”

“It’s just a number 3551,” Frank said.

“Okay there should be an e-mail file with that number on it,” DM said.

“Right,” Frank said and there were a few clicks over the phone from the computer. “Okay I got it.”

“Did he give me his name and phone number in one of the e-mails?”

“Yes, and here’s a coincidence, he’s in Las Vegas,” Frank said.

“Oh that guy,” DM said rubbing his face with his hand. “Something about his sister in-law, I think.”

“Yeah his name is Jack Gonzalez. Do you want his phone number?” Frank asked.

“Sure give it to me,” DM said and pulled the paper that Ethan’s phone number on it and the golf pencil. He scribbled down the number Frank gave him.

“These other e-mails about wanting your services, what do you want me to do with them?” Frank asked.

“Send a reply to them all saying I can not provide my services for them at this time,” DM said. “Then shut down my web-page.”

“Shut it down?” Frank asked to make sure he heard what he thought he heard.

“No offence I don’t really feel like enacting retribution on people,” DM said.

“Or making sex slaves,” Frank added.

“I’m on vacation,” DM said, “but that guy who already paid deserves what he paid for, anything else?”

“Can I play your X-box?” Frank asked quickly in a child like voice.

“Um, sure, just if you save anything just name it the most obvious like name it OHS or something,” DM said smiling.

“Okay I should be done with your apartment in about five months then,” Frank said.

“Was that a joke?”

“Yes, I should be done in about a week,” Frank said. “This apartment isn’t that big, and there isn’t much to secure and debug.”

“Thanks,” DM said having an idea of how long he was going to be there. “You might as well raid the fridge while you’re at it.”

“Way ahead of you,” Frank said. “Call if you need anything.”

“I could use something now. Go to the windows and look at the apartment a little to the right and one floor down,” DM said.

“You mean the one with the sign in the window saying ‘I love you’,” Frank said.

“Ah that’s so sweet,” DM said with love in his voice.

“I take it that’s your girlfriend’s apartment,” Frank said.

“Yeah, when one of us are out of town we leave a note in our window so when the other one gets home they know they are loved,” DM said with a far away sound in his voice.

“Ah,” Frank said into the phone in a mocking tone, “you’re not married are you?”

“I was going to ask her to marry me,” DM said, “then that prick Pierce McKullen kidnapped me and somehow got me to Washington.”

“Yeah, you don’t want to know how he did that,” Frank said.

“Was that a joke?”

“So I’ll call and check in from time to time just to make sure everything is okay,” Frank said.

“Right I’ll talk to you later,” DM said smiling and shaking his head.

“Later,” Frank said and hung up. DM did likewise and the dialed the number for Jack Gonzalez.

“Gonzalez,” a male voice on the other end said. By the sound of things it was in a casino and was a cellular phone.

“Sir I am the person whom you sent money to for the acquisition of your sister in-law,” DM said into the phone.

“Oh,” the man said realizing who he was talking to. “I’m sorry I was told you don’t have one on one contact with your clients.”

“Well I’m in town and figured that I can make an exemption,” the dark man said feeling vinegar enter his mouth. He hated contact with his client. It always led to problems. “Is there someplace where we can meet?”

“Sure can you make it to the Treasure Island casino?” Jack asked.

“Not a problem, when would you like to meet?”

“Well if you can get here in say an hour I should have some free time,” Jack Gonzalez said. “Just come to the front desk and ask for me. It’s quiet this early in the day.”

“I’ll be there,” DM said and hung up.

The Treasure Island casino was a large horseshoe shaped building with the mock up of a pirate ship in front. DM shook his head at the difference between what people believe to be pirate ships, and what the real thing looked like. He went into the building and strait to the front desk and asked for Jack Gonzalez.

He wasn’t the tallest man in the world, but he was still taller than DM. He had dark hair and dark skin with bad complexion on his face. He moved with the ease of a man who enjoys the small things in life. His smile was wide and his teeth strait. His suit was expensive and his tie strait.

“Hello,” he said extending his hand for DM to shake it. DM did shake Jack’s hand, but with reluctance. “We can talk in the Mist,” Jack said.

“Mist?” DM asked.

“It’s the bar,” Jack said leading the way. “You’ve never been here have you?”

“No,” DM said which was much simpler than telling the whole story.

“Well I hope you stay for our New Year’s party. They’re always a blast,” Jack said unhooking a velvet rope for the bar.

The bar was closed, but there was a sign saying it would open at four in the afternoon. They took a seat in the half light of the sports bar. DM looked around, and tried to ignore the very strange atmosphere. “So what are the details of this job?” DM asked.

Jack sighed. DM settled back and though, ‘It always starts with a story.’ Jack said, “I was in the Peace Core a few years back and was stationed in the Philippines where I met a woman with whom I fell in love with and married. I got a job here at a pit boss and we were happy, until Nenette came into our lives. Nenette is Julie’s sister. Julie is my wife. Well to put it mildly Nenette is a bitch. When she came to live here with us I had to get her a job here since she was fired. She’s a cocktail waitress on the graveyard shift, and she even does that job really shitty. She’s a bitch in more than one way.

“She will find the drunkest guy at the end of the night, take him up to his room, as an act of generosity, and then take any money or valuables he has. He passes out, and can’t remember who robbed him. She also borrows money from me all the time. I’m sure she spends it, because she’s always coming back for more, but other than partying all the time I don’t know what she spends her money on.”

“So what do you want me to do about it?” DM asked bored already.

“My wife and I have come to an agreement on that,” Jack said.

“Your wife knows about this,” Dark Mateus said a little shocked.

“Are you kidding? There is no way I could spend the money you’re asking for without my wife knowing about it. Besides all she wants is some way to control her sister. You know being able to implant commands into her at anytime she wants. I personally wouldn’t mind having sex with her,” Jack said like it was the comment on the weather.

“Right I can give her a trigger so when your wife says the proper words Nenette will do and believe anything she is told. That way your wife can change Nenette to what is desired. I’ll make a trigger for yourself if you would like?” DM said.

“I would,” Jack said. “Personally I would love one of those triggers so she has the I.Q. of a bimbo and she will want to jump my bones and do anything I want her to do, like have sex with me.”

“Okay, anything else?” DM asked mentally noting what he had to do.

“Can you make it so she has to have sex with me if she ever borrows money from me again?” Jack asked.

“Not a problem,” DM said. “I can do this tonight if you like.”

“That would be great. My wife and I are going to a Holiday party, and Nenette said she was going to stay at home, since she has the night off, although I doubt she’ll stay there. She likes to skip out as soon as we’re gone, so I suggest you get there about six oh five. I’ll leave the back door unlocked,” Jack said leaning back. “Feel free to have sex with her if you want.”

“You wouldn’t mind?” DM asked knowing that answer.

“No, go for it. She’s a fine piece of ass,” Jack said. Then something started to vibrate on Jack’s hip. He reached down and pulled up a pager. “I have to go, so good luck.” Jack stood up and waited for DM to do likewise. DM stood up, got Jack’s address, and was guided out of the closed bar and then left in the lobby.

DM went around to a few more stores to pick up a few more clothes he wanted, and even swung by a souvenir store and found a few items. He then went back to his cleaned room and watched the TV for a while. He checked the map the city for where the Gonzalez household was, and took an early dinner.

The house was a nice ranch house with a green lawn and concrete driveway leading to a white garage on a light blue house. The edge of the house was surrounded by dirt with dead or dying plants in it. The house’s windows could use a washing, and the Christmas tree in the window was turning brown.

DM sat in his rental car and waited for the two people to leave in the large black SUV leave. The night air was getting very cold, and his new jacket was completely inadequate for the cold temperatures. He warmed up his hands as the SUV’s lights finally came on and rolled backwards down the driveway. DM was so far back that he doubted that Jack could even see him, but never the less he expected to see the man look around. He didn’t. DM waited for a count of one hundred and then went around to the back of the house.

The screen door for the back of the house opened without a squeak. Then the thick wooden door, with a small window at the top, proved to be the defining moment. As soon as DM cracked it open he could hear a woman’s voice saying, “no they left so I’m going out to get high. Sure maybe I’ll see you there. By!”

DM opened the back door wide and stepped in to see the woman lowering her hand. In her hand was a black cellular phone, and on her face a wide smile. She looked like what a slut who wanted to look like a school girl would wear. Her shirt was white with a blue five leaf flower on the chest, molding to her breasts. She had on a blue plaid skirt with a quick release buckle on the hip. She was wearing tan nylons with three inch high-heel black shoes. On both of her wrists were gold bracelets. Her skin was dark, and so were her small close set eyes. Her black hair was shoulder length, and was very large on her head. She wasn’t very tall, barely five feet five inches, and that made her look even more like a child.

“Freeze, don’t move a muscle,” DM commanded with his power. The smile was still on her face as her body turned to a statue. DM closed and locked the back door behind him and looked at his model. He shook his head, and scoffed at the idea that this woman was such a problem. “Okay first things first you may only move your mouth to answer yes or no. Is your name Nenette?”

“Yes,” She said in a low monotone voice, and then her mouth went straight back to smiling. Not a command he gave her, but she still did it.

“Good,” the dark man said. She was standing in the kitchen, where everything but the white metal oven and stove, was made of wood. Even the refrigerator was behind a wooden door. DM walked around Nenette and opened different drawers until he found what he was looking for. “Now my dear it is time for a wardrobe change,” DM said. In seconds her clothes were cut off of her with the sharp pair of scissors. He left the nylons on, they added something how they hugged her skin near her bush. Her bush was trimmed to the bikini line, and cut short, but not off. This gave DM the idea of what kind of tease she was. Her breasts were about the sizes of bake potatoes, and even as small as they were they did have a sag to them.

“First off Nenette whenever you hear the words ‘temperature teeth twig’ your intelligence will drop to that of a slutty bimbo, you will want to have sex with your brother in-law, and do whatever the person who said the words tells you to do. But only for ten hours, and then you will go back to your normal self, but anything your brother told you to do, think, say, believe, forget, or remember will stay with you. After fourteen hours the trigger of ‘temperature teeth twig’ can again be used on you. Now, if you borrow any money from your brother in-law you will have an uncontrollable urge to have sex with him. Your desire to have sex with him will even spread to your everyday language. This will not stop until you have sex with him,” DM said with a smile. He did enjoy his work some days. This would take care of Jack’s desires.

“If you hear the words ‘planet pig parking’ you will have to say, do, think, remember, forget, or believe whatever the person who said the words tells you to. For ten hours you will be an obedient slave to that person. You will go back to your normal self for fourteen hours, but anything you are told will stay with you and after that period of time the trigger words can affect you again,” DM said. He sighed realizing that his job was done. He also realized that he was in an empty house with a naked nice looking woman. DM leaned around the frozen woman to see that she indeed had a nice ass.

“Nenette when I snap my fingers you are going to start to dance. This will be a very sexy dance. The sex you will want to have will be with me. You will want me, need me, and have to have me fuck you. All you can think about is my dick being shoved into your pussy.” DM smile. He walked into the elegant, very plush, living room, and closed the front drapes. He checked to see that the front door was locked and then went back to the frozen woman.

He stretched his arms and walked once around the frozen woman looking at her unmoving form one last time. He then raised his fingers to her unblinking gaze and snapped his fingers.

Like flipping a switch Nenette started to move. She dropped the phone onto the kitchen counter. Her hips swayed and her waist was like a flapping flag. Her brown skin moved with each muscle contraction in her legs as she danced. Her long arms swept up her hair and let it fall again. She wiggled her writhing body up DM and pushed her hip deep into his crotch. DM’s member grew up on its own.

“I want you,” Nenette said in a husky sexy voice. It was like her mouth had turned to a sexual organ which could talk. “I need you. Take me.”

DM’s hands roved over her dark flesh. He cupped a breast and pinched her nipple. She gave a squeal, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her body still moved to the silent song in her head as she licked her lips and looked at DM with hungry eyes. “Fuck me now,” she whispered into his ear.

DM grabbed her hips and lifted her up. She still moved like she was dancing on air, and this gave DM some difficulty as he carried her to the bedroom he saw from the living room. She wrapped her legs around his waist; her high heals sticking out and hitting the doorframe to the bedroom. He tossed her on the bed, and pulled off his jacked and kicked off his shoes. Nenette on the bed still moved in the sexiest way possible. She trailed her fingers up her body and put them into her mouth like she knew he wanted his dick to go into.

Then DM heard an odd sound. Then a door somewhere in the house opened. Although Nenette’s eyes didn’t change from her charged up gaze, DM’s eyes went wide in fear. “Freeze, don’t move,” DM said, and she became a statue again. Her right leg was out strait, and her left leg was slightly bent and open to show her dark wet pussy. Her right arm was trailing from her lips, and her left arm was swept out onto the bedspread. Her dark hair was hanging down from her back tilted head.

“Well if he didn’t tell you, and he didn’t tell me,” a woman’s voice said from somewhere in the house, “Nenette.”

“That damn woman,” Jack’s voice said.

“I hope your man is as good as Joel says,” the woman said as she came into the bedroom. She gave a little yelp when she saw what was happening in the bedroom.

“Ah you couldn’t do this in her room?” Jack asked DM.

“Sorry,” DM said, “I was expecting more time.”

The woman, obviously Julie Gonzalez, was dressed in an elegant brown fur coat. It was opened to show a long elegant one piece black evening dress. She walked with a slight sway to her hips in the one inch heals, and that just made her hourglass body seem sexier. Her face was heart shaped, and her skin was the color of coffee and cream. Her dark eyes had a sparkle to them giving her whole face a beauty that even the blind could see. Her black hair was pulled back and twisted to give it an exotic quality.

Julie walked around the bed to look at her frozen sister. “Wow, I doubted, but now I’m a believer,” Julie said. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing,” DM said to Julie, “I just told her to freeze, and she will not move until I tell her otherwise.” DM turned to Jack and asked, “So what happened?”

“Someone forgot to tell us that the party was moved to New Year’s Eve,” Jack said nodding to the frozen woman on the bed.

Julie slapped one of Nenette’s breasts it shook before swaying back into place. “I remember her with bigger breasts than these,” Julie said. “Of course I was much younger then.”

“Well since the party is over,” DM said not adding, ‘for me’ like he wanted to, “Mrs. Gonzalez the trigger words for you to control her are planet pig parking. She will literally be your slave, willing to do anything, for ten hours, and then you have to wait fourteen hours before you can control her again.”

“Why ten hours?” Julie asked.

DM cleared his throat and said, “Once I made a person a slave twenty-four seven, and someone ordered her to be a statue. He didn’t release her, or feed her, or give her water, and she dropped dead after three days. So I make a little restriction so people stay alive.” He looked over at Jack and said, “I may be evil, but I’m not cruel. By the way your code trigger words are temperature teeth twig.”

“Three words all starting with the same letter,” Jack said noticing it.

“I find it easier to remember only three words with the same first letter,” DM said.

Julie pulled up on the sides of Nenette’s lips to make her smile. “Oh you are so going to earn your keep around here,” she said to her sister. “Okay they were planet pig parking, right?”

“Right,” DM said.

“And mine were temperature teeth twig,” Jack said sure of himself.

“You got it,” DM said pulling his shoes back on.

“And with that I can give her a fetish for latex, right?” Jack asked hopeful.

“You can do whatever you want with her,” DM said grabbing his jacket.

“How about giving my wife a fetish for latex too?” Jack asked.

“Hey,” Julie said slightly offended, “really if you wanted me in latex all you had to do was ask. At the right time, mind you.”

“Ten grand in cash right now if you give her one of those ten hour triggers,” Jack said.

This was why Dark Mateus hated one on one contact. These snap decisions. These impulse buys like candy bars at the checkout of a grocery store. But the desire to leave overruled all other desires. “Deal,” DM said to Jack, and before Julie could do anything DM said, “Julie freeze, don’t move a muscle.”

Half on the bed the elegant woman stopped moving. Her hip was on the bed and her left arm supported herself over her sister. Her mouth was open like she was about to say something, but whatever it was now would never be voiced. Her black hair still swayed slightly from her sudden stillness.

“Julie whenever you hear anyone say ‘octopus onion opposite’ you will do, think, say, believe, remember, or forget whatever the person who said those words tells you to, and after ten hours you will not take any more commands for fourteen hours,” DM said. He looked over to Jack and said, “my money now please. I am in Las Vegas.”

One hour later DM was strolling into the Golden Nugget his pockets stuffed with cash. He swung by the front desk and was happy to see the wrinkled old face of Joe sitting on a high stool waiting for someone to come forward. When Joe saw DM coming forward a wide grin filled his face and he struggled to his old feet.

“Hi Joe,” DM said with a smile to his new friend.

“Good evening Mr. Doe,” Joe said with a harsh voice. He cleared his throat, coughed to the side into his hand, and then was back smiling at the dark man with every wrinkle showing.

“Are there any messages for me?” DM asked.

“Sorry no,” Joe said, and then his eyes focused on someone behind DM.

DM turned around to see a very large man walk into the building with his arm around a woman. The woman could only be described as a slut, with her augmented breasts, heavy makeup, dyed hair, and tight flashy dress. The man on the other hand walked and stood as a man who spent his whole life in the military. He had broad shoulders, black hair, olive skin, and narrow eyes. He looked around the place like he was looking for the hidden sniper.

“One of Qi’s boys?” DM asked.

“No, I think that one’s from Korea, but if you ask me North or South I wouldn’t be able to tell you,” Joe said serious. “He and his group came in this morning. To be honest the leaders of their respective groups are playing poker in a private room right now. Soon Qi demanded that an Asian employee be the dealer at the game.”

“You had one?” DM asked in passing watching the Korean man go into the casino.

“He’s from Hawaii, but close enough Qi didn’t complain,” Joe said. “Can you believe that Qi called down here last night and told us to send up some geisha women?”

“What did you say?”

“I told him we didn’t provide that service,” Joe said with a smile. That smile faded when he continued, “About an hour later about five Asian hookers came in and asked for Qi’s room. I really don’t like that guy.”

“So what’s he doing here?”

“He’s here for a meeting with that Korean group,” Joe said leaning on the counter. “They have reserved one of our private rooms for three days time.”

“New Year’s Eve?” DM asked a little surprised.

“Yeah that evening, they paid a pretty penny for that privilege,” Joe said. He breathed in and sighed. “Are you enjoying your stay here at the Golden Nugget?”

DM sighed himself and looked downcast. “To be honest I long to return to Chicago. I liked my home. I liked to cook in my own kitchen. I enjoyed being with Rachel.” Joe looked at DM with a sad glance. “You know why I’m here, don’t you?” DM asked Joe.

“I have no idea,” Joe said. “Just like I have no idea what your messages said after I took them down.”

DM smiled and said, “Maybe spending some money in the casino will help me relax?”

“What did you do in Chicago to relax?” Joe inquired.

“I baked bread,” DM said remembering all the different times he made different bread, “I even did it professionally for a while.”

“Well you know Carson is always on the lookout for people with cooking talent. Besides their bread sticks are dreadful,” Joe said with a renewed smile. “I know the head chef there, lets go talk to him.” Joe told his assistant to watch the counter for a while as he led DM down to the restaurant. Things were calming down and there were more open tables than taken. Joe just walked past everything back to the kitchen.

The kitchen was long and wide. There was one main table made of stainless steel parallel to the serving window, and above the table another table lined with spices and ingredients. On the back wall were the ovens and griddles still sizzling with what meat was there. At the end of the kitchen were large refrigerators and even larger freezers, and in the corner were walk-in of the same variety. In the other corner were the large equipment of a mixer the size of a man, a food slicer big enough to cut apart a pig, and grinder large enough for a whole cow. The entire room was hot and sticky with animal fat which seemed to have vaporized and hung in the air like fog.

“Chip,” Joe called out to one of the many chefs.

Chip was an older man who could have been right out of a magazine promoting horror movies. Chip was a short man, but made even shorter with his hunched over back. One eye in his head was blue, and the other green. His face was wide and squat, but seemed pleasant in a childlike way, and even more so when he smiled at seeing Joe. Chip’s gray hair was collected up into a white chef hat, and his white uniform was splattered with substances that matched every color in a rainbow.

“Joe, what’re you doin’ here?” Chip asked in a voice that sounded like he came from down south. Chip put down the very large knife he was holding to come over to his friend.

“Well I have a guest who says he’s good at baking bread sticks,” Joe said giving DM a glance. It wasn’t exactly what DM had said, but corrections wouldn’t be proper. “Meet John Doe, John this is Charles Brouter, but we all call him Chip.”

“It’s a pleasure sir,” DM said extending his hand for Chip to shake. The grip from the chef was amazingly strong and his solid firm hands could easily make a flower from a tomato or rip the head off a frozen chicken. “I’ve greatly enjoyed eating in this fine restaurant.”

“Ah that’s so nice of you to say,” Chip said to DM. Chip turned to Joe and said, “How much did he drink before you brought him here? Fine restaurant my ass.”

Joe cleared his throat to try and make Chip behave himself. “Mr. Doe would like to offer his services in making some bread sticks.”

This seemed to get Chip’s attention. “You can make bread sticks, real ones?”

“Yes, they’re very easy to make, and I’ve even done so professionally,” DM said.

Chip looked DM up and down skeptical. “You don’t seem old enough for that, but what the hell. I have to be here at ten tomorrow morning for a shipment, so come here around that time and be ready to show me your stuff.”

DM looked around and saw the mixer, then the ingredients he would need. “Okay,” DM said with a nod of his head, “I think I can whip something up pretty easily.”

Chip laughed once without humor. “Child when you get old enough you’ll learn there’s no such thing as easy.”

DM didn’t say what was on his mind, such as how old he was, or how he was a baker before world war one, after world war one, and in his spare time. DM didn’t say how he would bake bread and then give it to homeless shelters. DM didn’t say how he had learned to bake bread from almost nothing. Nor did DM explain how he got into baking bread, he was protesting price increases from one cent to two cents, but that was years ago. All that night DM was reviewing in his mind what he would make, and it made him smile.

Morning seemed to come too early and DM was awakened by something he couldn’t put his finger on. After a shower and dress DM went down to the lobby. The sun was coming down and everything seemed crisp and clean in the cool weather of winter. DM couldn’t help himself; there was something pleasing about the morning, with a mission, that made him smile.

“Mr. Doe,” a very nice voice said. It was the woman who brought him his clothes the other day. She was dressed for work, but she seemed happier than the job required. “I would like to thank you for the tip you gave me yesterday.”

DM was taken aback, metaphorically, was it really just twenty-four hours ago she brought him his clothes, it seemed much longer. “Not at all dear lady, it was my pleasure to make you happy.” DM felt like bowing, but it was the wrong century for that.

The teen smiled at this. “Well actually the hundred bucks put me over the top so I can buy a car now.”

“Oh,” DM said thinking she had loftier goals.

“Yeah now I can drive myself to and from college instead of taking the buss.” She smiled.

“That’s great,” DM said wanting to slap himself. She was after lofty goals, further education. “May I ask what you are studying?”

She liked how he spoke like a gentleman. “I’m studying communications. I’ve been told I have a great voice.”

“You do. Your voice was the first think I notice about you. I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors.” DM smiled himself. The evil thoughts of the only job she would be getting were on a phone sex line, and hoped she would become a popular radio talk show host. “Forgive me but I must be going,” DM said excusing himself.

“Well, um, I have tomorrow off,” she said. “If you’re not doing anything, I mean if you don’t have any plans for tomorrow would you mind if I show you some of the nicer points of Las Vegas?”

“My dear I would be honored to be your guest tomorrow,” DM said. “My name’s John Doe, please call me John.” He extended his hand to shake her hand. The name was like salt on his tongue. This was not the name he liked or chose for himself, but he was stuck with it.

“Gloria Anderson,” She said extending her hand and grasping his. Her skin was smooth but her hand was strong. In the years DM had been alive he knew that hands spoke of what the person truly is, and Gloria was a woman who will work for everything she gets. “Have you ever seen Hoover Dam?”

“No,” DM said truthfully.

“Good,” Gloria smiled. “Be here in the lobby at nine sharp tomorrow. Oops I’ve got to go. See you tomorrow John.” She smiled and turned to leave. She looked back and her dark brown hair waved behind her head making look very exciting. DM was thinking about Gloria and then his thoughts shifted to Rachel. What would Rachel say if she knew he had a date? Then it occurred to him that Rachel wasn’t even in Nevada, but Gloria was.

“Wow you’re on time, that’s more than I can say about the veal,” Chip said as DM entered the kitchen of Carson Street Café. There were a few other chefs about, but not much was going on, and things were quiet.

“Shall I get started?” DM asked.

“Wash first,” Chip said with a yawn. Obviously it was early for him.

DM smile and washed his hands and upper arms thoroughly. Then with exaggerated movements he folded his fingers back to make them crack and pop, and then he wiggled them like he was a mad scientist. Chip wasn’t impressed. DM went down the main table and picked out the different ingredients he would need. He had to ask where the yeast was and found them next to the eggs in the refrigerator. This wasn’t just making bread for DM, this was art. He started the human size mixer and added ingredients to the slowing spinning whisk.

Chip had his arms crossed waiting to be impressed, and was when DM set the butter and cheese on low burners to melt. DM stopped the mixer and put a towel over the top, but didn’t bother to explain that he was letting the bread rise. He melted the butter and thinned the cheese. Chip looked confused, but said nothing. If there was one thing Chip learned about cooking, you don’t complain until it’s finished, or suppose to be finished.

DM put flower down on the main table, the entire length, and pulled out a glob of dough the size of his head. He rolled it back and forth making a long snake out of the dough. With a sharp knife he made one long slit down the middle of dough snake. He grabbed the melted cheese, put parsley on top of the cheese mixture, and began to pour a thin stream of the cheese into the slit, and with his other hand he pinched off the dough. At the end of the snake of cheese filled dough DM set the cheese down and grabbed the melted butter, added some garlic juice, and dribbled the butter onto the dough. While he went along with the butter, DM’s other hand was occupied with the knife, using the unsharpened side, he was cutting off the dough into even sticks of cheese filled, butter covered, uncooked bread sticks.

DM turned on the oven and set it to the proper temperature. While the oven was warming DM put the sticks he made onto a cooking sheet, and then went through the entire process again. By the time the oven was at proper temperature DM had finished with the dough, and had filled five cooking sheets with bread sticks ready for baking, about three hundred.

“How many would you like for a test batch?” DM asked.

“Try ten,” Chip said almost aghast at how quickly DM had performed his art.

DM put ten sticks onto a baking sheet and slipped it into the oven. “Now we wait. So what do you think so far?”

Chip didn’t answer quickly. He grabbed one tray of uncooked bread sticks and put them into the walk in refrigerator. DM took the hint and helped him. “What I think,” Chip said after all the sticks were stored, “is that you have more experience with food than it seems. Also you were a bit flashier than you needed to be. Lastly you still have to clean up your mess before I can really comment, get to it.”

DM snorted, but did as commanded of him. He dragged over everything he dirtied, except for the table, and washed. He kept a close eye on the clock, to make sure the bread sticks baked for the proper time. The veal shipment came, forty-five minutes late, and Chip handled that as DM washed. Finally time was up, and DM peaked in to take a look at the bread sticks.

“I think they’re ready,” DM said to Chip.

“This is your show,” Chip said.

DM pulled the tray out and set them to cool. In a few minutes they were cool enough to touch. “Care to try one?” DM asked Chip.

Chip snatched one off the cooling rack. He smelled it, felt the bread stick, and then bent it in half. The outside was crisp and crackled, but the inside was soft, and hot, and the cheese had filled in the bread. Chip carefully bit off a section. Another chef had stopped to see Chip’s reaction. Chip didn’t do anything for a second, and then he chewed, once. He rolled the bread across his tongue, and then chewed some more. Then he ate.

“Okay I’ll admit it, these are almost good,” Chip said. DM took that as the closest thing to ‘these are damn good’ as he could get.

“I’m glad you like them,” DM said smiling at his accomplishment, and accepted the compliments.

“And since I saw how you did them I can do them now,” Chip said. This was his way of saying, thanks for telling me the secret, now get lost.

“And I’m sure your customers will appreciate you more for it,” DM said. He walked over to the sink and washed his hands knowing it was time for him to leave the kitchen. It was getting to be lunch time, and customers were coming in.

“Hang on,” Chip said before DM could leave the kitchen. “Here’s two free dinners.” Chip handed DM two paper passes. “Now get out of here before the health inspector shows up unexpected.”

DM smiled and left the kitchen. He didn’t go far, because he skipped breakfast he got a seat for an early lung at Carson Street Café. He was sipping his French onion soup when his lunch was disturbed.

The person giving the disturbing look appeared no more than twenty-one years old. He had dark skin like he was a Native American, along with the dark black hair and dark brown almost black eyes. His head was round with bushy eyebrows, and dimples. He had a stocky body, but as he moved those that looked could see it was muscle, not fat. He was shorter than DM’s five feet six inches by a good inch. This intrusion stopped at DM’s table with a huge grin on his face.

“You’re him.” The stocky man slid down in the chair opposite DM. DM said nothing, but blew on his soup. “Hi, I’m Edward Taylor.” Edward didn’t extend his hand for shaking, but DM wouldn’t have taken it anyhow. There were times when unannounced interruptions were not permitted, like during a man’s lunch. Edward was wearing a blue nylon jacket, and brown pants of some kind of uniform, and from his jacket he pulled out a picture, an old picture.

The picture was in black and white, but with the age it was really black and yellow. It depicted two men standing before a very large old tank. One man was young with a cocky expression of joy and pleasure on his face of thirty years or so. He was laughing with his arm around another man, the ageless DM. There was no caption to the photo, but the World War Two tank behind them with Italian style buildings behind the tank was much better. These two were obviously good friends during World War Two, and they had just achieved victory.

“You were friends with my grandfather, Edward Priest,” Edward said. “I was named after my grandfather.”

“Then I hope you can live up to your grandfather’s memory,” DM said. He wanted to toss in his napkin, but didn’t.

“You see Grandpa told me all about you,” Edward said in a whisper. Just then a waitress with DM’s plate showed up. Portions of beans, rice, and strips of fish sent out the smells of food that made Edward’s stomach speak. Edward seemed to ignore his own body, and waited for the waitress to leave before resuming his talk with DM. “Grandpa said you can control people’s minds.”

This statement might have given anyone else pause, but not the dark man. “Yes I can,” DM said forking some rice and then a large bean. “But only with my voice.”

“You can make them do or feel anything you want,” Edward asked excited like a boy at Christmas.

“I can,” DM said cutting off some of the fish with the side of his fork. He put the fish in his mouth, and liked the spices added to the animal’s flesh.

“Then I’d like you to do something for me,” Edward said. He put the picture of DM and Edward Priest back into his jacket and pulled out another photo.

The woman could have been either a teenager or in her early forties, it was impossible to tell. She had slightly shorter than shoulder length black hair, black eyes, and dark olive skin. In the photo she was wearing a red one piece dress that sloped down to show a great deal of her chest. She wasn’t fat, but had enough on her to be called meat. What was captivating about the woman was her smile. The smile on her otherwise plain face seemed to glow with joy. She was a woman any man would have enjoyed being with. She was turned so her left hand was showing, and there wasn’t a ring on her third finger.

“Her name is Beth, Beth Williams,” Edward said. He turned the picture to himself and sighed just looking at her. “I love her.”

“Congratulations,” DM said, “young love is always precious. I hope you two have many happy years together.”

The look of fear washed over Edward’s face. “I love her, but I don’t know if she loves me.”

DM closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to enjoy this. The day started off so well, and then this happens. DM heard Edward put something on the table between the two of them. Dark Mateus opened his eyes and saw a pawn. A simple black pawn like from a chess board was sitting on the white table. It rested there, so small and yet to DM it held more power than even he had. This simple pawn could control a man who can control anyone.

“Grandpa told me that if I ever needed your help to give you this,” Edward said. “Although he did say I would have to look for you in Chicago, but when I saw you in Treasure Island I couldn’t believe my luck, so I went looking for you. This was the second to the last place I was going to look.”

‘What’s the rest of your life’s story?’ DM wanted to say but kept his mouth shut. “Do you know what that is?” DM pointed at the pawn, but kept his dark black eyes on Edward at all times. “That is not just something to be used on a whim. That pawn is a ticket, the ticket to a life without worries or cares. That pawn is the key to a world of paradise, not something so you can get a woman.” DM was almost mad. This little man was going to use his one wish on a woman.

Edward listened, but the words didn’t sway him. “I have a good job. I work as security at the Treasure Island Casino. It pays more than I need. I’m serious when I say I love Beth, and I want her to love me. You say this is a ticket to the good life, well what kind of life is there when you are alone.”

Rachel. The name flashed through DM’s mind. Oh he knew about loneliness, and how much human contact was important. Finding a woman to share time together was the most important contact a human can have. Yet as he thought about it, DM realized that all Edward really needed was the guts enough to talk to Beth.

“Have you even asked her what she thinks about you?” DM asked.

Edward blushed. “I’m afraid. I’m afraid she won’t like me.”

The smacking sound came from DM’s hand against facial skin, but unfortunately his own face. He slid his hand down his face like he was trying to rub off the stupidity of some people from his eyes, nose and mouth. “That’s it, you’re afraid she won’t like you. Kid you need a few shots of liquor or something to put your pride on hold, not my ability to make this woman yours.”

Edward just pushed the pawn forward. He crossed his arms across his chest in a defiant attitude. “My Grandpa saved your wife’s life. All I’m asking in return is you make Beth love me, and we can make all new lives.”

It took DM a second to figure out what the young man was talking about. He held up his hand. “You want a family?”

“Well sure,” Edward said. He was surprised that DM hadn’t figured that out. “What did you think I wanted Beth for, just someone to have sex with. I love her, and would like to spend the rest of my life with her. I’m just scared she’ll reject me, and I don’t think I can handle that.”

DM put more food in his mouth, but didn’t taste it. “Just an observation, but when you fall for a woman, you fall hard, don’t you.”

“Yes,” Edward said raising his hands to accent his point, “but Beth is different. I would do anything for that woman, and I would like you to make her feel the same about me.”

DM sighed resignation. He waved for the bill for his food. The dark man took one long look at Edward, looked him deep in the eyes. Edward sat motionless under the stare of the powerful man. After a second more DM took the pawn off the table. Edward smiled knowing that he won his case. The check arrived and DM sent it away with his credit card. “Okay, where is this Beth Williams?” DM asked.

“Probably asleep, she works the graveyard shift at the blackjack tables of Treasure Island,” Edward said. He watched the waiter bring back DM’s credit card.

“I take it you work at Treasure Island as well,” DM said putting his credit card back in his wallet.

“Yes I’m a security officer. It pays well, and I enjoy the atmosphere. I actually have to be at work in about an hour.” Edward checked his watch to make sure.

“Good that gives us time to walk there. For the time being you may call me John,” Dark Mateus said.

“Um, John, you do know it’s really cold out, right?” Edward said.

“Yes, but this will give you time to tell me all about Beth,” DM said standing up.

The pair walked the sidewalks all the way. It seemed that with each and every turn they made the wind was in their faces. DM was use to it, after all he did live in Chicago, but Edward only complained about the temperature when he wasn’t talking about Beth. Beth’s parents were from the Philippines, but Beth was born in America, barely. She grew up in Spring Creek, Nevada, but moved to Las Vegas when she wanted to go to college. Beth earned an associate’s degree in accounting. She started working as a blackjack dealer to pay off her student loans, and like the job so much that she kept it even thou her loans were paid off. Edward fell in love with her when she spotted someone counting cards with a pocket computer and told him about it. After that Edward was infatuated with her. The more he learned about her, the more he liked her, and the more fearful of rejection he became. That was about as far as Edward got before they were at the casino.

“John I can’t thank you enough,” Edward said when they were in the warmth of the casino.

“Don’t thank me until I’ve done something,” DM said. “I will talk with Beth, and she how she feels about you. If she likes you even half as much as you like her then you can save the pawn for when you really need it. When does she start work?”

“Not until ten this evening,” Edward said. He acted like this was a very important fact, and was sorry he didn’t mention it earlier.

“Good, perhaps I can interest you in an early dinner.” The voice came from behind DM. It was Jack Gonzalez. He was dressed in an impressive dark wool suit and a conservative tie.

“Mr. Gonzalez,” DM said turning around.

“Um I have to get to work,” Edward said. “I should meet you here around ten?”

“That will be fine Edward,” DM said nodding to the young man. Edward went off giving Jack a worried look. “Mr. Gonzalez your offer of an early dinner is appreciated, but I just ate an hour ago.”

“Well I didn’t mean right now,” Jack said. He pulled out a ticket and put it into DM’s hand. “I don’t get off for another two hours, and then I’m going home. John, did Edward say your name was, why don’t you go catch the show, and by the time it is over I’ll be off work, and we can go back to my house. Come on I owe you more than just the money for what you did for me. Besides when Nenette actually cooks she does a good job, please.”

“Okay fine,” DM said. He wanted to throw up his hands, but he just looked at the ticket closely. It was for the movie theater next door. DM grumbled to himself, “This is going to be a long night.”

“Great I’ll see you here in about two hours,” Jack said with a pleased smile. Jack walked back to the casino floor. DM saw him pull out his cellular phone and press a button for speed-dial.

DM walked over to the theater and spent the next two hours wishing he was in Rachel’s arms. She would love the love story projected on the sliver screen, but to DM it was a waste of time. DM may be immortal, but time was something that shouldn’t be wasted, and that’s why he didn’t like vacations. If the dark man wasn’t doing something he enjoyed he would find something he did enjoy.

The two hours seemed to pass quickly and before he knew it the credits were rolling on the screen. DM pulled himself out of the chair and stiffly walked over to the Treasure Island. There was Jack waiting for him, and the pair got into his car and rolled off to his home.

“What have you done with Nenette and your wife since the other night?” DM asked.

“Nothing with my wife, other than making her forget she was given a trigger,” Jack said checking to see if heat was coming out of the vents on his car. “Nenette on the other hand is going to not only pay for what she’s put my wife and I through, but she’s also going to pay for her keep. I did find out why she was borrowing all that money.”

“Drugs,” DM said watching the tall buildings move away.

“How did you know?” Jack was in awe that DM figured it out, and he had only spent half an hour with the woman.

“The other night she was talking about going out and getting high, and that only means drugs,” DM said like it was nothing to his deductive abilities.

“Yes well, she injected the stuff between her toes. My wife and I have since made it so she never uses any kind of drug again, other than the stuff prescribed by doctors. She claims she’s not addicted, but we’ll see what kind of withdraw she goes through.”

“That all depends on what kind of stuff she was on,” DM said somberly. “I’ve seen a great deal of addictions, and they all are different, until the end. In the end the person looks like they were sent through a meat grinder and they feel worse.”

“You sound like you’ve gone through it yourself,” Jack said.

“No, I’ve never needed drugs, but some of the people I’ve known have. It wasn’t until about the middle of the fifties of this century that drugs were becoming a problem. I’m older than I look.” Never needing drugs was a lie, but DM didn’t want to say it out loud.

“So I gathered,” Jack said his eyes wide. “May I ask how old you are?”

“You may ask, but I won’t answer,” DM said without emotion.

“I guess it goes the same with your voice power,” Jack said. When he looked over DM was looking at Jack with the darkest vilest look. “Right never mind, I’m sorry I brought it up.”

The shadows had lengthened and the cool temperatures were making it seem more and more like the Holiday season than ever. People were turning on their outdoor Christmas lights. The borders of the roofs were outlined in dots of white, red, blue, and even green points of light. The houses were so low and close to the ground it made DM long for Chicago at Christmas time. The windy city always had colored lights on it’s skyscrapers, and those buildings can be seen anywhere in the city. In Las Vegas the casinos were the tallest structures, and were too far away to be seen clearly as far away as Jack’s house was. It was like they were in another city all together.

“Nenette is making one of her roasts she’s so good at,” Jack said. “I called and told her we were having an extra person, and she said that would be fine. She makes the best potato packets. Trust me.” Jack seemed so happy as he opened the door to his home from the garage. “Nenette?” Jack called out.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Nenette called back.

There she was at the kitchen counter putting onions and green bell peppers into aluminum packets with sliced potatoes and oil. She was dressed in a simple blue tee shirt and blue sweat pants. She was barefoot, and her toe nails were painted red. She looked up as the pair entered the kitchen. Her eyes were red and puffy like she had been crying. She wore no makeup on her dark face. There was sadness behind her eyes and a mixture of withdraw.

“You remember John, Nenette,” Jack said.

“Yes, hello,” She didn’t make eye contact with DM.

“How are you feeling Nenette?” DM asked concerned.

“How the hell do you think I feel?” She almost screamed. She shot a fearful glance at Jack. Jack walked off into the hallway out of sight. She lowered her voice. “They’re making me do humiliating things like cooking and cleaning. They cut off my drug supply, and told me I can’t ever touch illegal stuff again. They are also talking about making me do humiliating things.”

“What kind of things?” DM asked.

“I don’t know, too many to count, nothing really, but they’re talking about it.” Nenette was starting to sob. “I know I won’t be able to stop myself if they tell me to do something, no matter what it is.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much about it,” DM said. “I’m sure your brother in law wouldn’t do anything to you that you haven’t done yourself on drugs. Speaking of which how is the withdraw going?”

“I wish they would let me just have a little,” Nenette said sobbing more.

“Nenette,” DM said using his powers, “you will not feel any adverse reaction from your withdraw from the drugs. All the pain and need you need for the drugs are now gone. You will never crave any kind of drug ever again.” She visibly relaxed as DM commanded her. She still sobbed, a little, but now she didn’t seem so tense and stiff.

“Ah John, now why did you go and do that?” Jack asked coming into the kitchen. He had changed out of his suit into a par of blue jeans, and a brown sweater. His feet were in leather moccasins.

“Hey I’m evil not cruel,” DM said.

Nenette slid the aluminum packets into the oven where a roast was cooking. Her sobbing had ceased. When she leaned over her butt strained against the sweat pants, and showed how round and defined it was. When she stood up she turned to face Jack. Jack had a look of lust in his eyes.

“Nenette,” Jack said. He pulled down the zipper of his jeans. From the folds he pulled out his member. “Suck my dick until I cum in your mouth.”

Nenette’s eyes filled with tears, but none rolled out, yet. She sank to her knees in obedience. She said nothing as she took the limp log in her hands. Her fingers seemed so small in comparison to the massive member in her hands. She stroked it a little and then fed it into her waiting lips. Her lips made an airtight seal around the wrinkled dark manhood. Jack’s veins stood out like inverted rivers on the dark mass that was his penis. Nenette suck and Jack’s penis was drawn in like a string of pasta. She let some out, and it was slick and wet. Jack closed his eyes as Nenette worked, and enjoyed himself. He leaned back on the kitchen table as Nenette followed his command.

She stroked and sucked on his dick and it filled with blood. It was a limp log, but now it was a grand standing oak tree. In no time Nenette couldn’t draw in the dick as much as she had, and she was still sucking. Nenette was breathing through her nose, but that was optional for Jack was large enough to cut off her oxygen supply. Back and forth her dark hair waved as Nenette moved her whole upper body running her lips over Jack’s manhood. Jack let out a sigh as he released into Nenette’s mouth. She stopped moving and just seemed to be kissing the tip of Jack’s dick.

Jack opened his eyes again and looked down at Nenette, and his quickly softening penis. He smiled and put himself back in his pants. All the while DM watched on, and Jack finally turned to his guest. “Well what do you think she should do with my cum?” Jack asked.

“Why don’t you let her decided before she suffocates,” DM said worried about the woman.

Jack sighed. He rolled his eyes, waved his hand, and said, “Nenette you may do what you want with my cum.”

Nenette was off the floor before Jack had even finished his sentence. With her head over the kitchen sink she gagged and spat the semen into the basin. This time the tears did roll down her face, but Jack didn’t see. DM cursed himself. This was why he didn’t like one on one contact with his clients or their acquisitions.

A car door closed shut and Jack smiled. “Julie’s home,” Jack said. He ran to the door to the garage just as it opened. Julie Gonzalez came in wearing a conservative black business suit. She looked even better with her hair pulled back, and little makeup on her face, even if she had a huge frown on her face. “Hello beautiful,” Jack said giving his wife a huge kiss on the lips.

“Thanks I needed that,” She said. “This has been one hell of a day. I swear no one does any work in accounting other than me.” She turned the corner and stopped when she saw the dark man in her kitchen. “Oh that’s right Jack said you’d be joining us. John wasn’t it?” She extended her hand and DM shook it.

“Yes it’s John, and let me thank you for accepting me into your home for dinner,” the dark man said being polite.

Julie moved over to Nenette. Nenette was washing the semen down the sink when Julie slapped her ass. “How’s the cleaning going bitch?”

“I haven’t gotten to the garage or the attic, and the bathroom needs more cleaning that I could do today,” Nenette said in a soft quiet voice.

“That’s fine as long as you earn your keep around here,” Julie said walking to the hallway and down to the bedroom.

“Nenette,” Jack said coming up behind the woman. He spoke softly into her ear. “Tonight when you are done with work and return home you will wake me up. When you wake me up you will want to have sex with me. You will do anything I want, and you will enjoy it. When we are finished you will receive further instructions, any questions?”

“No,” Nenette said softly.

“Good, and don’t tell Julie either,” Jack said with a smile.

“Ah that’s better,” Julie said coming into the kitchen. She was dressed in a black and white striped sweatshirt, and loose blue jeans.

“We were just talking about you Julie,” Jack said.

“Oh what were you saying?” Julie asked.

“Octopus onion opposite,” Jack said with a smile. Julie’s face went slack as soon as her husband finished the last word. “Julie when we go to bed tonight you will fall right to sleep, and not wake up until the alarm clock goes off in the morning. And why don’t you go and change into that string bikini I gave you.” Julie turned around and walked off, still in her obedient mode.

“Don’t go doing this for me,” DM said looking at his host.

“Hey Julie has a great body, and I love looking at it,” Jack said. Nenette started gathering plates and silverware. The clanking of the ceramic and metal seemed to vibrate on the glass dinning table. Nenette set out three places at one end, and one at the far end, nearest the kitchen.

Julie came back wearing a bright pink string bikini. Her dark skin made the bright material stand out even more. Julie needed to shave her bikini zone since there were dark hairs peeking out around the small strip of cloth held on by strings of the same clothes. Her breasts were the size of a person’s fist, but they fit her body. Her body was smooth and the curves were well placed to make her very sexy looking even if it was the end of the year, and the start of winter.

“Julie you will not feel uncomfortable at all dressed as you are. You will act like you normally would act when we have guests over,” Jack said. He glanced over at DM, “Anything for you?”

“I’m good, thanks,” DM said.

“Right,” Jack said. “Julie you will return to your senses when I snap my fingers, and forget I can and did control you.” He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Julie wet her mouth like she was coming out of a daydream. “John may I offer you something to drink?”

“Well as you can guess I don’t drink much alcohol with my abilities, so if you have any tea or if you have soda pop I’d love that,” DM said.

Julie opened the refrigerator, giving the men a good look at her behind with the colored string disappearing between her butt cheeks. “We have diet Coke,” Julie said.

“That’ll be fine,” DM said.

Julie handed him a can. “Beer,” she said to Jack and he nodded. She handed him a bottle and she pulled out a can for herself.

“Dinner will be ready in about ten minuets,” Nenette announced.

The three of them took their seats at the dinner table. The lamps and lights were turned on as the outside went to complete black. It was quite pleasant to be sitting down in a real house with real people having a conversation. The Jack and Julie tried to make DM talk about himself, but he declined. DM also declined to speak of how his vacation was going, or how much he wanted to be back in Chicago. Eventually the conversation went back to how Jack and Julie met in the Philippines. The story was focused on the good points, and glanced over some of the nastier events of the past. Nenette did a good job of serving the food and making everything comfortable.

They had been eating for about two hours when Nenette spoke up. “I need to get ready for work.”

Jack and Julie looked at each other with questioning glances. “Should we make her go to work with something humiliating?”

“I don’t know making her shove some golf balls up her asshole would be fun?”

“Or how about pins through her nipples?”

“Make Nenette have a vibrating dildo in her pussy during work would be interesting.”

“Or have her rub that heat cream on her breasts and pussy would be cruel.”

Nenette’s eyes filled with tears hearing what her family was planning on doing to her. It was more the anticipation of pain that made her scared than the actual pain that was torturing her. She wanted to run and scream, but she just sat there taking in the abuse.

Jack and Julie sighed having their fun. Julie spoke first. “If we do all our tricks right off then we won’t have anything for when she really makes us mad.”

“Right,” Jack said pointing his finger at his wife. “Nenette you will not take any money or valuables from anyone who did not expressly give it to you. That’ll keep you from taking a drunken guy to his room, and then stealing from him.” Nenette just dipped her head in resignation. “You may go and get ready for work.”

“If Nenette is going to Treasure Island she can give me a ride there,” DM said.

“Oh do you have to be leaving so soon?” Julie asked.

“Sorry I have a prior commitment at ten this evening,” DM said.

“That’s right you’re helping out Edward the security chief,” Jack said.

This was news to the dark man. “Edward is the security chief?”

“For the day shift he is,” Julie said leaning back in her chair. Her dark skin seemed to capture the light and release it in a beautiful fashion. “For as young as he is, he’s smart and good at his job. Once I saw him catch five people cheating just when he walked through the casino floor. He called his men over and they were sent off to where ever they take the cheaters.”

DM digested this information. “What do you know about a blackjack dealer named Beth Williams?”

Jack and Julie looked at each other with confused looks. Then Jack brightened up. “Oh the one in the red dress,” Jack said. “She’s very popular with the regulars, and everyone likes her. Beth has a phenomenal mind, and is very pleasurable to be around. You remember, honey, she wore that red dress to Joel’s wedding.”

“Oh her,” Julie said recalling the woman. “I swear she can’t settle for what’s in front of her. She’s always looking for one of the good guys instead of settling for just a nice one.”

“Hey,” Jack said like he was being insulted.

“No offence intended darling,” Julie said. She smiled at him as only a wife could make a man feel good. “You were a nice guy who turned out to be a good guy,” So said the woman who was dressed in a string bikini because her husband harnessed her mind to obey his wishes.

“I’m ready to leave,” Nenette said at the door way to the kitchen. She had on a long winter coat, but she had put on makeup and large ear rings.

“Don’t worry we’ll save the dishes for you to do later,” Julie said with a smile.

“Nenette you will come to your senses, but still follow the commands given to you, when I snap my fingers. Oh and you’ll give John here a ride with you,” Jack said. He raised his hand and in a flash his fingers moved to make the loud popping sound.

Nenette shook her head a little like she was coming out of a light sleep. She looked over at DM. “We need to get going. The traffic this time of night is very bad.”

“Well dinner was great and I would like to thank you for having me,” DM said.

“Feel free to stop by any time,” Julie said. She stood up in her bright bikini. Her body was so pleasant looking that DM couldn’t keep his eyes on her face. She laughed and took his hand to shake it goodbye.

“The next time you’re in Las Vegas please drop by,” Jack said standing and shaking the dark man’s hand. Jack put his arm around Julie’s shoulders and pressed the nearly naked woman next to him.

“Well thanks for having me,” DM said and followed Nenette out to the garage.

Nenette drove in silence as they neared the bright lights of the strip. It wasn’t until they were stopped at a red light that she spoke. “Thank you.”

This made DM wake from his own thoughts of Rachel, “For what?”

“For taking away my desire and need for drugs. I don’t know how I could have made it through the day without them, but then you showed up.”

“Don’t mention it.” DM didn’t say anything for a moment. “I don’t really think your sister or brother in-law will make you do those humiliating things they talked about.”

“Oh really?” Nenette glanced over at him with disbelief in her eyes. “How long will it be before Jack or Julie has a really bad day and takes it out on me. Mark my words I’ll be shoving a dildo wrapped in barbed wire up my ass within a month.” Her voice was shaking a little as the words came out.

“Calm down,” DM said using his powers. Nenette calmed and resumed her driving.

“I don’t have much money,” She said. “In fact I don’t have any money. I don’t even own a car. But is there any way you can make it so Jack and Julie don’t do anything painful to me. I’ll do anything.”

“Nenette you don’t understand,” DM said like he was talking to a child. “I can make you do anything. I can make you even enjoy it. What I require is a reason, and preferably a good one.”

“I’ll have sex with you,” Nenette said quickly.

“Reason, I need a reason,” DM said.

Nenette was quiet for a while. Treasure Island casino appeared as she turned a corner. “I got hooked on drugs three weeks after coming to America,” Nenette said. “Ever since then everything I did was so I could buy more drugs. What ruled my life were drugs. Now that I’m getting clean, and paying back Jack for the money I borrowed with work, I would like to start a life of my own. I don’t always want to be a slave to Jack and Julie.” Nenette’s eyes were watering up again.

DM really hated this one on one contact. “Okay, I can take a hint,” DM said. “But you’re still going to be their servant until they tire of you.”

“Two years,” Nenette said. She pulled into the parking garage and aimed for the employee spots.

DM laughed once. “I’ll cut you a deal. I’ll make sure that your sister and brother in-law doesn’t do anything permanently damaging to you. Who knows in a few years they might just let you go.” Fat chance DM wanted to say.

Nenette parked and shut off the engine. In the dark of night illuminated by the lights from the casino Nenette smiled. She leaned over and gave DM a peck on the cheek. “Thanks.” She got out and walked off to the Treasure Island casino.

DM got out of the car, made sure it was locked, and watched her go. He felt for the woman. DM had gone through the drug addiction himself. While other people escaped addiction with the blissfulness of death, but that would not come for the dark man. All the medications people took, and just to seem human DM took, were nothing more than substances to mask the pain of illness. The pain returned when you remembered what took away the pain before. DM shuddered when he remembered he over dosed on heroine, but when he came back to the land of the living all he wanted was to do it again. It took years, but finally he rid himself of all drugs, drink, and anything addictive, but the feeling for it was always there. He always felt like jabbing a syringe full of heroine into his arm, and die again and almost make it to heaven.

DM shook his head out of his nightmare. He walked off to the casino. In the lights of the night making everyone seemed happy, even if they really weren’t. Some house wife from Idaho was wining five thousand dollars and her husband loved her again. DM smiled at the chaos of the casino, and the stage performances going on. People were spending money to make themselves happy when they won, but not too sad when they lost. The women on stage were as much plastic as flesh. These were humans that DM knew he was above, but lived with, and he liked it. The control he had over his power to control these humans made him feel good. DM was more powerful than the humans around him, and no one knew it. That is why he was the dark man. If he stayed in the shadows no one would fear him, or what he could do. Only selective people would or could know what the dark man could do, and those people would direct the world in the path of freedom. That is why the dark man loved America.

DM walked over to the pay phones and selected one. He pulled out the phone book and looked up the name Gonzalez, and found one that was the same address as the home DM had just been too. He put in his coins and the phone on the other end rang. DM spoke for a grand total of two minutes. In the end Nenette would be Jack and Julie’s servant for seven years. They would not hurt her in any way physically, and be easy on her emotions too. In the end they would slowly stop using Nenette, and let her live her own life.

Edward Taylor was standing behind the dark man when DM had finished the phone call. Edward had changed into baggy blue jeans a simple red hooded sweatshirt with a football team on it. He seemed even more compact and squat in the clothes, and not at all handsome. Edward would have only looked less appealing if he was covered in blood. DM shook his head in sadness. He had hoped that Beth Williams would straighten out the man.

“Would you like me to show you where she is?” Edward said with a smile.

“Oh no I don’t,” DM said. “You are going into that bar over there. You will sit down. You will wait for me. I’m doing this my way, and you just need to sit back and relax. If everything goes I expect it will, your life will never be the same and relaxing by yourself will be gone from your life, forever.” DM walked off and casually wondered which bar it was he had just pointed to.

It wasn’t hard to find Beth. All the dark man had to do was find a beautiful dark woman who was making everyone at her table frustrated by their loss of money. The tall blond man standing up and stocking off was like a flare going off. As DM walked it was like she just came out of nowhere, even if it was just from behind middle-aged women. She had on the same red dress as was in the picture Edward had. She had on enough makeup to make her look pleasantly appealing and innocent to the point gamblers could believe they might win.

No one was at her table at the moment and she looked around for anyone standing. She spotted DM and gave a casual wave over, that was all DM needed. He came over to her black jack table. “Try your luck?” Her voice was husky, but sweet like strong coffee. Her smile showed white teeth and dimples on her brown face.

“Sure why not,” DM said. He pulled out a hundred dollars and put them on the felt green table. The stools were tall, but not uncomfortable, and DM easily hopped up on them. Five chips fell before DM and then two cards, one up and one down. A black five of spades was up, and when DM folded up the bottom card it was a three of clubs. “Hit me,” DM said. In came an ace of diamonds. DM considered it, and said again, “Hit me.” Jack of clubs floated before him. “Stay,” DM said.

“House busts,” Beth said. “You win.”

DM laughed a little. He knew the game. Not only the game of blackjack, but also the games of making people want to stay. The very first hand the gambler had to win. That got the person hooked. “I’m not only here to gamble,” DM said putting a twenty chip on the circle of white on the green felt. “I’m here on behalf of Edward Taylor.”

“Edward?” Beth’s voice was as much surprised as something else that it took DM a dozen life times to learn was love. The seven of hearts didn’t make it directly in front of DM, but he got it all the way. “What is Edward up to?” But DM knew the question was, ‘why did he send you?’ The king of hearts slid before DM.

“I’m a family friend of the Taylor family,” DM explained. “You know Edward likes you.”

Beth was silent for a moment. She finally looked up and stared straight into his dark eyes. “Hit or stay?” She was calm and neutral, but there was something in her eyes.

“Stay,” DM said. “He would like to get to know you better.”

“House has twenty, sorry,” Beth said. She sniffed and looked up at the dark man. DM put down another twenty dollar chip. “I’m sorry please tell Edward I can’t.”

“You can’t what?” DM didn’t even look at the cards before him.

“I can’t love another man,” Beth said. She sniffed again.

DM finally looked at his cards, a queen of diamonds and ace of hearts, blackjack. “Have you tried to love another man?”

“What do you want?” She almost screamed. There was more water in her eyes than there had been.

“I want you take the rest of the night off and come with me,” DM said. He didn’t use his power, but he could have.

Beth brushed her eyes with the back of her hand, but her makeup didn’t smear. “I don’t know,” Beth said. “House busts.”

DM wasn’t even paying attention to the game, but was slightly surprised he had won. “I tell you what, if I win this next hand you come with me, but if you win I’ll leave,” DM said.

“Fine,” Beth said.

DM put all his chips before him. “I hope you will loose,” DM said using his power on the last three words. Sure enough DM won and Beth agreed her end of the bargain. She called over to the pit boss and he got someone to replace Beth. She came out of the employee locker room with a long heavy coat covering her red dress. Her red shoes were waving the drapes of the coat, and her nylon covered legs looked smooth and enticing.

DM had popped his head in the casino and fingered Edward to come forward. Edward smiled when he saw Beth. She smiled back, but there was pain in her eyes. Edward wanted to reach out for her, but knew he wouldn’t, and knew what would happen if he did. “Let’s go to your place,” DM said to Beth.

“Okay,” She said quietly.

Everyone piled into Edward’s SUV, and they rolled down the road in silence. Edward’s smile had faded, but he said nothing. Beth looked out the window enfolded in her own thoughts. DM sat in the back seat watching the two of them. Edward didn’t ask where Beth lived. He didn’t have to.

It was a five story apartment complex that was made to look good. The lawn was green grass, and there was even a tree directly before the front door. A relaxed security guard sat reading a paper back book next to a glowing Christmas tree. He looked up at Beth and she waved at him. She went to the elevator and pressed for the fourth floor.

The apartment was a very good attempt at making it look lovely. The brown carpet was there before all the plants came in. All over the rooms there were small plants, tall trees, and even a bush in the corner. There were plants on either side of the couch which was in front of a low shelf with a TV sitting there. There was small plants all in a row sitting on the TV. Plants hung from the ceiling in the kitchen, and somehow everything was clean. The bedroom was lined with plants, and there was a climbing vine on the headboard above the bed.

“Welcome to the jungle,” Beth said. She tossed her coat onto one of the a row of hooks under a flower box attached to the wall. DM closed the door behind him, and as soon as he turned around Beth blew up. “I don’t know who the hell you are,” Beth said to DM, “but I already don’t like you. You,” She was talking to Edward now, “I’m pissed at you for not coming to me yourself.” She might have been truly mad, but she held back all her anger.

“Beth,” Edward said.

DM took charge. “Okay shut up both of you.” He was not using his powers but that didn’t seem to matter. “Both of you sit on the couch.” The two love birds did as they were told, but they didn’t sit close. DM walked before them and leaned against the TV to look at them both. “Edward why don’t you tell Beth how you feel about her.”

Edward took a deep breath and looked at the woman. She had her head turned away so she didn’t have to look at him as he poured out his heart. “I love you Beth. I know I don’t know you very well, but what I do know about you I love. I love how smart you are, how strong you are, and how you don’t give up.”

“Okay that’s good,” DM said just wanting to get the point across to Beth, “Beth would you care to tell Edward what you think of him?”

Beth turned to look at Edward. Tears were filling her eyes. Her hands where in her lap entwined and nervous. “Edward I have feelings for you. I like your love for life, and your strength when it comes to people, but you are also sensitive. I can’t help it thou, I don’t think I could ever love anyone ever again.”

Edward’s mouth was open involuntarily. DM took up the question of, “Why not?”

Beth’s eyes were letting the tears flow down the sides of her face now. “I was in love with a man. I thought I loved him, and he loved me. Then he told me he didn’t love me any more. I tried to make him love me, but then he hurt me. He hit me hard, so hard I had to go to the hospital. I don’t know why but I still loved him, and think I still do.” She was crying now. Her eyes were red and the tears were making glistening streaks on her cheeks. Edward came to her, and held her in his arms. She cried on his shoulder and melted in his arms. He just held her, protecting her, and loving her.

“Christ,” DM said as a curse of what he was witnessing. These two didn’t need to be forced together, they needed to sit down and talk. What a waste of a night. “Well glad I could help. I’ll go get a cab back to the Golden Nugget.”

“Wait!” Edward said quickly, and holding out his arm, palm up. It was like he was stopping a thief at a casino. DM stopped where he was to hear Edward out. “Please, if you could help us I wish you would.”

DM wiped his face with his hand. ‘How could two people be so dense to their own feelings,’ DM thought to himself. “Fine I’ll help you two out. Beth you’re afraid that Edward will stop loving you, right?” DM used his powers on Edward, “Edward you now love Beth with all your heart. You will never ever stop loving Beth. You will never want to be with any other woman other than Beth. She’s the only woman for you.”

Edward’s eyes took on a new sparkle. Beth wiped the tears from her face and looked at Edward in a new way. Edward leaned over and gave Beth a kiss on the lips. She didn’t hesitate before returning the kiss. Their lips met and combined like they were made to fit together. His arms encircled her, and she hugged him tight, two lovers finding each other.

DM coughed to get their attention. Their kiss only lasted a few seconds longer, and then they had to come up for air. “Beth I hope that you now accept that Edward will love you forever.”

“Yes thank you,” Beth said. She smiled wide, but seemed in stark contrast with her red puffy eyes. “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to please him.”

“Impossible,” Edward whispered into her ear.

“Fine, I can take care of that too,” DM said. He used his powers again. “Beth whenever you hear the words gadget green gymnasium said in that order you will do, think, say, feel, believe, remember, and forget whatever the person who said gadget green gymnasium tells you to for ten hours. After those ten hours you will no longer have to obey what they tell you, but will have to follow any long term instructions given. After fourteen hours they can again use the words gadget green gymnasium to make you do, think, say, feel, believe, remember, an forget, whatever they want.”

DM looked over at Edward, who was looking at DM in shock. Beth was scratching her head in confusion. Edward opened his mouth and said, “Gadget green gymnasium?” Beth gave a little start, like static electricity just shocked her.

“Smooth,” DM said waving at Beth, “now she has to do what you tell her for the next ten hours.”

“Really?” Edward asked stroking Beth’s arm.

“I guess so?” Beth said trying to determine if she really was his slave.

“Um, cluck like a chicken,” Edward said.

Beth’s eyes went wide like enormous golf balls when she heard this. She turned and was about to say something to Edward, but what came out was, “Brauk!” Beth’s hand went to her mouth when the sound that came out reached her ears. She tried to speak again. “Brauk, brauk.” She looked at Edward with eyes that spoke more than her mouth. She was mad at him. She pointed at her mouth, and like a game of charades, she slid her finger across her throat, and then put both hands under her arms and made flapping motions like a chicken. She wanted him to stop making her sound like a chicken.

“I told you she was smart,” Edward said to DM. “My love you can now speak normally again. Please don’t be mad with me.”

The daggers in Beth’s eyes vanished. “I can’t be mad with you,” She said. The came together again and kissed. This time DM didn’t interrupt them. Making himself feel at home he walked over to the refrigerator, which had a plant on top, and opened to find the icebox filled with what a normal single woman would have. He pulled out one of the many bottles of water and went back to the living room. The pair was still in lip lock.

“What now?” Beth finally asked breaking off for a much needed breath of fresh air.

“I’m not sure,” Edward confessed. “I do want to see you out of that dress.”

Still forced to obey him Beth stood up. With the grace any woman would have on high heels she unzipped the back of her red dress. Edward gasp in amazement as Beth’s fingers reached up to the three clasps from her neck collar leading down to the front of the dress, and removed them. The red dress fell to the floor to reveal Beth’s body. Still wearing the red collar, with the three bands hanging from it, the only other clothing she had on was nylons, and her red shoes. She wasn’t wearing any panties. Her breasts were not very large, and had the natural sag to them, and her dark brown nipples were small but cute. The rest of her body was flawless. Her skin was smooth, and the color was like she tanned every day. Her legs were muscular, but just enough to give them shape. The dark hairs of her bush were wild, but that gave her a natural woman feel.

“I have to ask, why weren’t you wearing any undergarments?” DM asked after he took another pull of the water. Making people obey dried out a man’s throat.

Beth blushed a deep red on her dark cheeks. “The panties that Treasure Island wants us to wear are so uncomfortable that I usually go without. Sometimes it does get a bit cold, but no one notices. After all there are more beautiful women for the men to check out.”

“There is no other woman for me,” Edward said standing up. “I just want to look at you like you were a statue.” With that Beth stopped moving. Her right leg slightly bent, and both arms held up. Her smiling face was still as stone. She was acting like a statue. “What happened?” Edward asked the dark man in a panicked gasp.

“She’s a statue like you said, but not in those exact words,” DM said. He drained the last of his water and went in search of some place to put the container.

“I should really choose my words more carefully,” Edward called out unnecessarily.

DM found a recycling bin put in the corner of the kitchen. When he came back into the living room Edward was fondling the still unmoving Beth. Her ass was smooth, and the muscles gave her rump substance for Edward’s hands to squeeze. “How long will she be like that?” Edward asked.

“Well you used the trigger about half an hour ago, so for the next nine and a half hours she’ll act like a statue,” DM said. “After that you’re on your own. If you give her long term commands like she’ll love you for life, or she now has a body oil fetish she’ll do that, but she won’t do anything self destructive.”

“Wow.” Edward was thinking of all the possibilities.

DM cleared his throat to get Edward’s attention. “I really have to get going. I’ve a big day ahead of me tomorrow, and I really could use some sleep.”

“Please don’t go yet,” Edward said. “You’ve done so much for us please let us thank you.”

“Really you don’t have to,” DM said.

“I insist. Beth you’re going to suck John’s cock until he shoots his wad, and you’ll enjoy doing it.” Edward spoke to the frozen woman. Who, after the final word was out of his mouth Beth was no longer a statue.

She pushed DM onto the couch, and went at his black pants. The tassels from her collar hung down, as she pulled out the rising member. Wetting her tongue she licked the soft stick covering it with a glistening coat of herself. She inhaled his rod into her mouth, and clamped it shut with her lips. The wrinkled mass of member was growing tall and the veins stood out. Beth’s black hair fell down and covered her head, but Edward stood behind her and brushed it back. He wanted to watch. DM did nothing to stop the dark bobbing head of the woman, and just sat back to enjoy himself. This pleasure was something that with DM’s power he always enjoyed, and each woman was different. Beth was earthier with her teeth just brushing the skin making it tingle.

Edward was enjoying himself too. He reached under Beth’s black hair and unhooked the collar she had on, and slid it off her neck. He pulled off her shoes and slid down her nylons. Beth was good at doing two things at the same time, for all the while she was sucking on DM’s dick, she was helping Edward by lifting her knees and feet so he could strip her naked. Beth spread her legs wide when Edward put his hand under her bush to rub her pussy lips.

DM closed his eyes ignoring the sight, and enjoying the feeling. It had been a while since he had a blow job, and he forgot how good it felt. There was a difference between a woman’s mouth and vagina, and her lips have attributes her womanhood doesn’t. One of those attributes is making him unload quicker. “I’m cumming,” DM called out. Beth quickly took her head off his rod. DM stood up and quickly looked around. He leaned over the potted plant next to the couch, and shot his load into the soil.

Edward laughed, “Fertilizer.”

Beth also laughed, and as she was brushing her hair from her face she looked over to see Edward looking at her. Immediately she stopped moving again. With her legs apart, her right arm across her abdomen, and her left arm brushing back a lock of black hair, she was again a statue. Her face still had the glowing smile, even if her dark red lipstick was smeared.

“I guess she’s still following the statue thing,” Edward said realizing what happened.

“She’ll keep doing that until you tell her to stop, or do something else,” DM said zipping up his pants.

“She’ll do anything I tell her to do, right?”

“Anything.”

“Cool,” Edward said. “Um, Beth I want you to still act like a statue, but when I snap my fingers I want you to have an orgasm. Not just a normal orgasm, but a really powerful one. I want it to be a more powerful orgasm than you have ever dreamed you could have.”

“I would be careful of that,” DM said. “She may have to obey you, but some things are beyond controlling. If she had a heart condition or something wrong with her body you might injure her. If her blood pressure goes too high she might rupture a blood vessel.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” Edward said. He had a confused look on his face. “I guess I really should get to know Beth more. Beth you can stop acting like a statue, and return to normal.”

Beth blinked. She elbowed Edward in the ribs. “What’s the big idea making suck John off.” She spoke with humor in her voice. “After all I thought I was yours.” She wrapped her arms around Edward’s neck just to be near him.

“I’m not selfish.” Edward said and Beth laughed. The two heads came together in a kiss that was love unspoken.

“Oh you probably want to get going.” Beth said looking at the dark man.

“I have a date tomorrow,” DM said.

“Here let me call down and get you a cab,” Beth said reaching for the phone.

DM pulled the pawn from his pocket and fingered it. Edward watched him with interest. DM turned the black figurine over and saw the mark he made on the bottom. DM smiled as he remembered why he gave it in the first place. The image of Rachel came to his mind, and the warmth of her arms around him filled his being. Love was the one thing that DM felt had to be earned. The love Edward and Beth felt for each other was there, and all the dark man did was bring it out. “Keep this,” DM said to Edward. The dark man put the dark item into the man’s hand. “You earned Beth’s love, and didn’t need to use this. Keep it for when you really do, or pass it onto your children. If you ever need to contact me just put an advertisement in the Washington Journal asking for the dark man, and I’ll come.”

“Are you sure?” Edward asked, only because he felt he had to. The naked Beth came to Edward’s side, and slid her arm around his. She was close to him in a way only a loved one could be.

“You two have many happy children, and if you’re ever in trouble then I’ll help you. Otherwise just be happy.” The dark man zipped up his jacket, and went to the front door. He paused to look around the apartment. “How do you water all these things?”

Everyone laughed a good natured laugh. As DM was going out the door he heard Beth say to Edward, “I can’t wait for you to snap your fingers.”

DM went down to the lobby and there was a cab waiting for him. He went back to the Golden Nugget, and was happy to see Joe on duty. “John,” Joe called out.

DM went over to the counter to find Joe holding a cardboard mailing envelope. “What’s up Joe?”

“This came for you today,” Joe said handing the envelope to the dark man.

DM frowned to see the return address was in Chicago. This was not good, no one was to know he was in Las Vegas. DM ripped open the envelope and all that was inside was a photograph. DM pulled it out and saw the back first. Written on the back was, ‘She loves you, and will wait as long as it takes for you.’ It was signed PM. Pierce McKullen was who sent the photograph. When DM turned the photo over to see who’s image it captured he already knew. There was Rachel his current love. She was dressed in a dark red power suit and skirt, with a black blouse underneath. She must have been going to work for she had her briefcase in her hand. Her brown hair was pulled back into a bun, and had just enough makeup on to accent her face. She was outside her apartment, and was smiling shyly for the camera. The photo didn’t capture how enormous she was compared with other people, but that didn’t matter. DM’s heart filled with warmth when he saw her.

“What is it?” Joe asked.

“Just someone trying to show me he isn’t as big of a jerk as I thought he was.” DM put the picture back in the envelope.

“Oh say I tried one of those bread sticks you made this morning,” Joe said.

“Was that just this morning?”

“Those are really good! I heard they even took some over to Stefano’s for dinner.” Joe was smiling like he had just won first prize at a county fair.

“I’m rather good for a young pup aren’t I?” DM said knowing he looked only twenty years old.

“Young, ha!” Joe laughed without humor in his voice. “If I didn’t know better I’d say you were as old as I am and just happened to find the fountain of youth.”

“That’s it.” DM said pointing at Joe indicating that’s why the dark man was so young. “Say I could use a wake up call in the morning.”

“Sure what time?”

“Make it seven-thirty if you would please.”

“Sure, seven-thirty, is there anything else I could help you out with?”

“No, I’m just going to go to bed. I hope you have a good night, Joe.”

“You too John Doe.”

DM slept without dreaming, and was rather disturbed when the phone rang right next to his head. He heard an electronic voice telling him that this was his seven-thirty wake-up call. DM snorted at the electronic female voice and hung up the phone. Computers still amazed him, even if he did know how they worked. All those ones and zeros fit together to form so many complex programs that there had to be programs to run the programs that ran the programs that used the ones and zeros. DM swung his legs off the bed and in the limited light coming through the drapes he made it to the bathroom. Debating on which black clothes to wear DM went with thick layered clothes. Who knew what Gloria Anderson had planned at the dam?

DM stopped by The Snack Bar and picked up two egg sandwich bagels. He ate his breakfast while waiting for Gloria. She showed up in a sweater that could land planes. Her top was a long sleeve fuzzy bright pink sweater. She had on tight blue jeans, and was wearing comfortable looking black boots with one inch heals. Her hair was washed well and conditioned so it shined a bronze color in the morning sunlight as it hung strait down and trailed behind her like a short cape. She had on too much blush, and eye liner, but otherwise she was very well dressed.

“There you are,” She said in her voice fit for radio.

“Good morning Gloria, care for an egg sandwich?” DM asked holding out the plastic wrapped food stuff.

“Yes I’m starving. Come on I can’t wait to show you my new car.” She pulled at his hand to make him follow her out the door.

Gloria’s new car was not new and barely a car. It was a small compact automatic 1994 Saturn SL1 sedan. The plastic exterior was faded like it had been out in the sun too long. The tires looked good, but the axles were rusting. When the two got into the car the shocks seemed to have disappeared. When the engine started it sounded like it was churning, but when it caught Gloria revved the engine to make it roar like a lion. The two started to roll down the road to a dammed lake. Hoover dam was something that DM had not seen, although he had seen Lake Mead before it was even a lake.

DM couldn’t keep his eyes off Gloria’s body. After the blow job he had the night before he was feeling horny, and the woman next to him was very good looking. He longed for Rachel, but the dark man was a man after all, and sex was something always close to the surface of his mind. Gloria had a lovely voice, and she gave DM her comedy routine that she was working. DM did ask why she didn’t want to spend her day off with her boyfriend, and she replied her ex-boyfriend was with his pregnant girlfriend who was a showgirl.

They didn’t make it to Hover Dam. They barely made it to Boulder City. While going up a hill the Saturn gave a loud thump, which made Gloria stop talking. Then there was a loud rattling sound, and the engine died. They had made it to the top of the hill with the momentum of the car, and slid onto the side of the road. Steam was coming up from the hood, and there was a trail of broken pieces and some kind of liquid behind the car. Gloria didn’t even bother to pop the hood. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

The dark man never claimed to have a heart, even it had been cut out and shown to him, but then and there he felt for the woman. There was a repair garage about two hundred yards away, and between the two of them they were able to push the car, which was amazingly light, all the way there. Granted the garage owner saw them coming, and when they made it to him he said he would have towed it in no charge. The greasy man popped the hood and took one look. The automatic transmission was dead and gone all over Nevada Highway. It would have cost more to replace the transmission than Gloria had paid for the car.

The dark man, who claimed to be evil, who had done evil deeds in the past, and who would do evil deeds in the future, finally did something for the forces of good. He used his powers on Gloria to calm her down, she was crying like a little child. He then took her over to the used car lot next to the repair garage. There was a 2000 Mitsubishi Galant GTZ in midnight black. Other than the tail fin was missing the car was in perfect working order. DM used his powers on the dealer to make him tell the whole and honest truth. They got the price of the car down to two thousand dollars, and the Saturn was traded in for five hundred, and thus the rest DM paid for. Gloria protested, but the dark man calmed her and told her that he had the money, and she shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

The pair didn’t make it to the dam, but they did make it to the park for the lake. DM bought a picnic lunch, and watching some slow moving boats on the cold lake, they ate, in silence. Gloria had stopped talking.

“What’s wrong?” DM asked.

“You’re not what you seem,” She said putting down a can of soda pop.

“Well that statement needs explaining,” DM said.

Gloria turned to him and looked deep into his eyes. “Okay here’s what I know. You have more money than you know what to do with. Otherwise you wouldn’t have bought me, a person you just met, a car. You obviously didn’t come to Nevada for a vacation, because you don’t seem to be having fun and you didn’t bring any clothes with you. You are a fantastic cook because Chip spent the entire night trying to replicate those bread sticks you made. You did something to me back there at the repair place to make me calm down even thou I wanted to cry my eyes out. So who are you?”

“Do you want the truth?” DM asked.

“Will I believe it?”

“Doubtful.”

“Then try me.”

DM cleared his throat. “I am seven hundred twenty-eight years old. I have the ability to control people’s minds with the sound of my voice. I am currently hiding out in Las Vegas because a government agency who recently recruited me are sweeping my apartment.”

“You’re not a comic book writer are you?”

“No, that’s one of the few hats I have never worn.”

Gloria seemed to think about this for a moment. “You can control my mind with your voice? Okay make me do something?”

“What?”

“Surprise me.”

DM seemed to think for a moment. He looked around for anyone else, but they were alone. “Okay Gloria it is getting hot, very hot. The temperature is going up and up. It is well beyond ninety degrees, and it is still getting hotter.”

Gloria was perspiring now. She was grabbing the front of her shirt and pulling it out, and pushing it in so there was some air flow, despite the fact that the temperature was really only sixty degrees. “Damn you really can control minds,” Gloria said.

DM didn’t stop. “The temperature is over one hundred degrees now. You can’t help yourself you have to take off your top.” Gloria didn’t even hesitate as her fingers hooked under the bottom of her sweatshirt and pulled it up over her head, and off her arms. Her brassiere was white cotton and cupped her still forming breasts well. Even with her top off Gloria was still sweating and quickly her chest was dotted with moisture. “The temperature is still going up it is over one hundred ten degrees. You can’t believe it is that hot in December, but it is.”

“So hot,” Gloria said fanning her self with her hand. Her nipples were standing out in the cold weather, and making small nubs on her bra.

“It is so hot your pants are so tight that they have to come off,” DM said smiling. Gloria unbuckled the leather belt she had on, and unbuttoned and unzipped her pants. She kicked off her boots to take off her pants. There in the park two days before the New Year Gloria Anderson was standing sweating in only her bra and white panties. Her long smooth legs were slick with sweat, and her body was shining with the salty substance.

DM looked at her for a long time, and she finally focused on him. “Please stop,” She begged.

“Okay you feel the real ambient temperature now,” DM said.

“Oh God,” Gloria said as soon as the words sunk in. She wrapped her arms around her to hold in the warmth and gathered her clothes up. She slipped them on all the while smiling. “Okay I believe you,” Gloria said. She pulled back on her boots, and stood up to straiten herself. She sat down on the ground again and just looked at DM. “So if you have the power over people’s minds, why haven’t you become king of the world or something?”

DM tilted his head back thinking. “To be honest I was king for a while, or should I say sultan, and not of the world of what is now known as Turkey. I was the worst sultan ever.”

“How you can make people think you were the best,” Gloria said. She drank the rest of her soda pop, she was amazingly thirsty.

“True, but I would know.” DM said. “In the twenty years I was sultan the whole country went to hell. Most of my close friends and subjects told me that I did the best anyone could have done with the plague, the drought, the locusts, the invaders, and the ten wars that happened when I ruled. In truth I always believed that if I was not sultan then most of those things wouldn’t have happened.”

“You’re too hard on yourself,” Gloria said. “So you can make me do anything, right?”

“Right.”

“You could make me believe I was covered in shit.”

“And love the feeling of being covered in shit.”

“Make me do something right now,” Gloria said excited.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, you can do anything you want to me. I have to pay you back for the car somehow, so you have my permission to do anything.” Gloria was really excited now.

“Okay,” DM thought. It had been a while since he had been given permission to do anything he wanted to anyone. “Gloria whenever I snap both of my hands at the same time you will have the most powerful orgasm you have ever had.”

“That should be interesting, since I have never had an orgasm,” Gloria said.

“Really?” DM asked a little shocked. He figured in the day’s culture every woman had somehow had an orgasm.

“Really, really,” She said.

“Well count this as number one,” DM said. He raised both hands. His fingers were in position to snap. Gloria looked from his finger to his eyes. “You don’t have any medical conditions do you?”

“Yes,” Gloria said flatly in her lovely radio voice. “I have an orgasm when this cute guy snaps his fingers.”

“Ah that’s so sweet,” DM said lowing his hands as if he was overcome by emotion. Quickly he raised his fingers and snapped them without ceremony.

Gloria’s eyes went wide when what just happened registered in her mind. She had been sitting on the ground with her legs out, but after DM snapped his fingers her legs lifted in the air, and she pivoted on her ass. Her hands went strait for between her legs. Even with her eyes close her face was a mixture of surprise, pain, and intense pleasure. She gasp and panted like she was winded in a race. Her skin was flushed and sweat again coated her face. Her brown hair was tossed and tangled all over. As fast as a twig snapping her body fell flat onto the ground. Her hands were flat rubbing through her pants at her pussy, and she spread her legs so more of her hands could help her enjoy herself.

The rubbing slowed, and the panting became less pronounced. She opened her eyes and looked over at the dark man. “Thank you sir may I have another?” She said and laughed. DM also laughed. He raised his fingers again. “I was kidding!” Gloria quickly said. “One orgasm is fine for well the next few hours at least.”

“Well I could make you ready for another twenty orgasms right now,” DM said with a smile.

Gloria sat up and smiled. “You could, but are you going to?”

“No, I won’t.”

“See I knew you were kind as well as cute.” Gloria said.

“You don’t think it’s odd you’re hanging out with an older man?” The dark man asked.

“Oh I think it’s really odd, but that doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying myself,” Gloria said standing up. The sun had started to dip to the point everything was half in shadows. The temperature had also started to dip and even the boats on the lake had started to call it a day.

“Maybe we should start back?” The dark man suggested. He might like the night, but few others did.

“Yeah I have to go to work tomorrow,” Gloria said a little disappointed. She started to pick up the trash from the picnic, and the dark man helped him.

Gloria just got the car moving when she asked a question. “So what’s your girlfriend like?”

“Rachel?” The dark man asked surprised.

“Is that her name? I was wondering about that?” She tossed her bronze colored hair and gave him a smile. Her normal looking face seemed to glow in the red sunset and her flash of white teeth.

“What made you think I had a girl friend?”

“Um let me think?” She said in a way of mocking him. “You had me down to my underwear in the middle of nowhere, and very, very hot. The only reason why you didn’t take me was because you already had someone, and were trying to be faithful. So what is Rachel like?”

“She’s strong, in both senses of the word. She is quite large, a foot taller than I am and much wider. When I am with her she could dominate me, but doesn’t. She’s strong willed, too. She’s a lawyer.”

“Yuck, a lawyer,” Gloria said. She smiled at him to show she was joking, “A trial lawyer?”

“No she just does paperwork of a legal matter. When companies need contracts written up or congressmen need laws written the correct way, the company she works for writes it up,” DM said.

“You mean congressperson, right?” Gloria said. Her eyes were on the road and she turned her headlights on when a passing driver flashed their lights.

“Sorry I’ve never gotten use to using the gender neutral term for things,” DM said. “Anyhow Rachel she’s always there for me, and I would like to say the same for her.”

“So is she pretty?”

“That is a subjective term.”

“Oh come on you can have any super model you want, so is she pretty?”

“She’s good looking, about average in the looks category to be honest. She has a spectacular body.”

“Wait a minute you said she was a foot taller than you are, so please explain?” Gloria was sounding like a computer now asking for more information.

“Her body is in proportion with her height,” The dark man answered. Night had fallen all over the land, and he was back in his element for darkness. “It’s like someone just took a photo of a normal woman and magnified it to make Rachel.”

“Do you love her?” Gloria asked dead serious. Before DM could answer Gloria added, “The only reason why I ask is something in your voice sounds reluctant.”

“I wish it wouldn’t,” Dark Mateus said in a low voice. He was silent for a while looking at the high clouds still glowing faintly. “I’ve been married fifteen times in my life. I’ve buried each one. Each time I know it is only for a short while, and we can’t have children. Rachel has said, only once mind you, she wants children.”

“So adopt a kid,” Gloria said swerving to miss a rodent on the road.

“I tried that once,” DM said sadly. “You have no idea what it’s like to watch a child grow up. Feed him, spank him, help him walk, watch him grow into a man, and then look older than you, and then watch as he gets gray hair, and you stay young, and then bury him next to his mother. It is a curse that I’ve lived so long, and can not die. I’m not sure I want to subject anyone else to such a life.”

“You arrogant bastard!” Gloria said loud and with a laugh that was not from humor. “Oh I don’t want to subject anyone to watching me stay young as they get old. You dumb shit, that’s years away. Make them happy now. Have you ever thought that seeing you stay young makes them feel young?”

“You sound like one of my first wives,” DM said with thin lips.

“Sorry for the swearing but think about it, an average person lives for one hundred years. How old is Rachel right now?”

“She is twenty-six years old,” DM said.

“So that fives her about seventy-four years for you to make her happy,” Gloria said. “So what’s the problem?”

“I’m not sure. I’m just not sure. It’s like a feeling I have that I can’t explain. I don’t know what it is, but I love her, but I’m not sure about something, and before you ask what that something is I can’t explain,” DM said. He was almost angry, and he knew it. “I’m sorry I sound angry, but I’m angry with myself. One of the many hats I’ve worn is a private investigator. While on the job I’ve learned that if something makes you feel uneasy it is because of something you’ve seen, and just go back and think about what it is that made you feel that way. I don’t know what it is that makes me feel uneasy about Rachel, but I love her, but something is wrong. I just don’t know what.”

“You said you were in Vegas because some G-men were sweeping your apartment, for what, listening devices?”

“I think so.”

“So maybe you’re nervous they’ll find something that leads to Rachel?”

“Ha, she wouldn’t need that I tell her everything.” DM’s eyes went wide as soon as he said it. Rachel wouldn’t need listening devices in his apartment, he told her everything. They talked, in bed, after sex, and other times, so she knew everything about him, and what he did.

“Welcome to the spy game,” Gloria said.

“You’re a spy?”

“No, silly, you’re the spy. You said you were recently recruited for a government agency, and you would make an excellent spy. Think about it, one stop by the Russian President and you could have him telling the US President everything he wanted to know. Scary thought, eh.” Gloria was cruising the streets of Las Vegas now with the street lights and building lights making everything but DM’s mood bright.

“Well I don’t know,” DM said smiling about the prospect. The turned onto the street that led to the Golden Nugget and there was an ambulance right outside the building. “What happened?”

“I don’t know, maybe someone had heart failure after winning the jackpot?” Gloria was trying to put a light note on the grumpy faces on the people standing around. Gloria parked and they both got out and went up the onlookers.

“Eddy,” Gloria called out. One of the desk workers saw her and waved them to come forward. “What’s going on?”

Eddy was the same person who took DM’s clothes when he first brought them into the casino. His face was pale and looked scared. “There was an accident.” His voice was like he was about to cry.

Joe came out of the back office. He looked mad. His wrinkled face was drawn, and his white hair looked strung out. “John,” Joe said in greeting to the dark man.

“What kind of accident was it?” DM asked.

“The kind that wasn’t an accident,” Joe said letting the anger slip in. “A little boy was going up the stairs, and a group was coming down. The next thing the boy was falling down the stairs.”

“Is the kid going to be okay?” Gloria asked wanting to know that the little man would be.

“No, he died,” Joe said sad and sorry.

DM asked the question that was important. “Who was in the group coming down the stairs?”

Joe looked him dead in the eye. All the years that he had been alive had clouded his eyes, but at that moment they were clearer than they had ever been. “Soon Qi.”

DM’s lips went tight, the angry little man, the man who made demands on everyone around him, would he have killed the little boy, even if it were an accident. “Do you have any evidence Qi did anything?”

Joe motioned with his finger for DM to follow. When Gloria tried to follow Joe stopped her. “I’m sorry Gloria, but I have to ask you not to come with me. This is only for John to take care of.” Joe knew what he was saying. Gloria understood completely and she just nodded.

“One thing,” Gloria said. She turned to the front desk and grabbed a pad of paper. She scribbled something on the paper, and after ripping it off the pad, she handed it to DM, “My e-mail address and phone number. I have a feeling this is going to be a long night for you.”

The dark man leaned over and gave Gloria a quick peck on the lips. “Be careful.”

“You too.”

DM followed Joe into the back office where there were three people there, and two were police in suits. The other person in the room was a security officer running the TV. They were watching a TV play a surveillance tape of the stairwell in the casino pointed at the second floor door. There was nothing there and then a little boy showed up. The video was in black and white, but the little boy was clear as a bell. He couldn’t have been more than six years old. His hair was dark, and his had on a tee-shirt and jeans that were too big for him. In his arm was a stuffed rabbit doll. He was struggling up the stairs as he had to step high to make it up the next one. The boy disappeared off the edge of the screen. Four seconds later the boy went tumbling down the stairs. He looked as limp as the rabbit doll that also went flying. The way he was falling, the possibility of him just falling backwards was unlikely. A few seconds later Soon Qi and three other Asian looking people came down the stairs. They paused at the second floor door, and went inside.

“We’ll have to talk with him.” One of the police officers said. He was jotting down notes in his note pad.

“Where is this Soon Qi now?” The other officer asked.

“I’m not sure,” Joe said. “His rooms are four hundred one through four hundred six.” Joe glanced at DM to let him know that the information was as much for the dark man as it was for the police.

“Okay, leave him a message that we want to talk to him when he comes back. Could you get us the phone number for his room so we can call him personally if he chooses not to call us,” Joe led the officers out of the room. This left the security officer with DM.

“Where did Qi go after he went through that door?” DM asked.

“He went to the stairs for the casino, and went down that way. He left he casino, and that was the last we have on him. He should come back, because he didn’t check out.” The security officer was a very large black man who looked like he could have played football in college. “I hope they catch this guy. If nothing else he fled the scene of a crime.”

“Yeah but everyone else can see that he pushed that little boy. I hope he gets charged for it too.” No one was having a good night.

“Why was the little boy going up the stairs by himself?”

“His parents said he forgot his crayons, and he thought he was big enough to get them himself. They were waiting down at the bottom of the stairwell for him. He fell right at their feet.” The guard was starting to cry now. “The kid’s head was hanging limp and crooked. God damn it!”

“You have spare key cards to the rooms, right?”

“Yeah, but I can’t give them to you.” The security guard said.

It was time for DM to use his powers for what he knew he had them for, making things right. “Go get the spare key cards for rooms four hundred one through four hundred four, and give it to me.” The guard stood up and went out the door. Less than a second later he came back with the plastic cards with holes in them, and handed the stack to the dark man who promptly slipped the four keycards into his pocket. “You will forget you got these cards, or that you gave them to me. You will also forget I asked you to.” The guard nodded his head. DM spoke without his powers. “What can you do now?”

The guard shook his large head. “Nothing we can do but wait for Soon Qi to come back, and then tell the police.”

“I’m sorry,” DM said. The dark man left and went out into the lobby area. There was a stretcher being rolled by with a small form under a white sheet. There was the sound of crying in the casino, and the sounds of bells were noticeably quieter. People stood all around watching the little boy, who wouldn’t see the New Year, be rolled away. No one was smiling.

The dark man went by the gift shop and bought an alarm clock. He went to his room, set the alarm and fell onto his bed. His dreams were dark, and the image of the little boy filled his subconscious. Dark Mateus woke with a start as the alarm clock went off at one in the morning. Without any hesitation on his part the dark man went to work.

The door to room four hundred one was like any other, except for the sound coming from inside. Although the door was muffling the sounds, and doing a good job of it, anyone passing by could hear that more than two people were having sex in the room. The other three rooms were silent, so this had to be the room he needed. The dark man put the keycard into the lock, and felt it snap into place. With a gentle but swift motion he opened the door.

Inside the heat and smell were like a physical force. It had to be over ninety degrees in the suit, and it smelled of human body sweat and sexual juices of both sexes. There were people everywhere, and clothing the exact opposite. One woman was on the couch in the living room, with one man at her mouth, and another at her rear. There was another man sitting in one of the chairs, and a woman sitting on his lap. The door to the bedroom was open and there were two people on the bed in there joined in only the way sexual partners could be. The women were hookers, and all with some Asian blood in them. The men were the ones that came with Qi on the first day he was there.

“Everyone stop moving,” DM called out using his powers. Just to be sure he said the same thing in Chinese. The sound stopped, the movement stopped, and the sexual acts were frozen in place. DM walked around the suit and into the bedroom. Qi was there on the bed, the white sheets were kicked off the bed. The little man had a great deal of fat on his body, but that wasn’t stopping him from putting his small penis into the pussy of the Asian hooker. She had augmented breasts making her body seem uneven, and she was clean shaven everything other than the hair on the top of her head. “Mr. Qi we have to talk, so sit up, stay still, and only speak to answer my questions.”

The little man sat up, dragging his dripping dick with him. His eyes were open wider than seemed possible. He looked at the dark man with complete awe. His greasy hair was tangled all over his head, and the bald spot on the top far more exposed than normal.

“Let’s start with the easy question, what did you do to that little boy?” The dark man was mad, and he let the little man know it.

“I kicked him,” Qi said in his thick accent.

“Why did you kick him?”

“He wouldn’t get out of my way.” Qi knew he was in trouble, but could do nothing about it.

“You bastard, do you know that the boy is dead?”

“Yes, the message on our phone told us the police wanted to talk to us about that.”

DM was silent for a while, thinking of how to proceed. Normally if faced with a problem like this, DM would let the local authorities, and that was what he was going to have happen in this case. “Okay can all your men understand English?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” DM said with a wicked grin on his face. “Have you paid the women for their services?”

“No.”

“Right, all the females stand up and get dressed, and then line up at the door.” DM called out and there was a mass of movement. The three women disengaged themselves from the men they were with and found their clothes. They were all standing at the front door looking at each other trying to figure out what was going on. “Qi pay the women double what you agreed to.” Qi opened his mouth to say something, but shut it. He opened his briefcase and pulled out a packet of money. He handed out the money to the women, who accepted the money without question.

“Ladies,” DM said, “you will leave here, and forget all about me. You will think that you engaged in the sex acts you were just doing, and finished, and went away with your money. Nothing out of the ordinary happened here. Now ladies please leave here quietly.” The ladies walked out saying nothing.

DM closed the door behind the women, and locked it. The dark man turned back to Qi. DM smiled and took the packet of money from the China man. Qi was scared, and sweat was rolling down his fat face. The other men were still frozen in place. The two men on the couch still hadn’t moved, but their penises were now limp. The man in the chair as also still frozen, but his penis was still up and hard. “Since you guys enjoy using your dicks I think it’s time you used them to go visit the police. Everyone stand up and form a line behind Qi.” The men moved with the grace of wooden soldiers behind the little man. Each was naked and covered in drying sweat.

DM cleared his throat for the speech he had in mind. “First you will all forget about me, and forget I told you to do anything. You will answer all questions posed to you by any law enforcement officer with the complete and total truth. When I tell you to you will go down to the casino, naked as you are, and masturbate at the gaming tables. You will think that this was your own idea because you were still horny after having sex with the hookers, and paying them double because they were so good. You will enjoy masturbating, and laugh and smile all the while you’re shooting your sperm all over the tables. When casino security tries to take you into custody you will fight back, and resist, but don’t hurt anyone. When the police come resist them, and fight back, but again don’t hurt anyone. Oh and be sure you confess to kicking the boy when the police question you about being in the stairwell. Now get out of here, and act natural.”

Qi, leading the charge, unlocked the door and walked out. The line of men followed him out the door. DM smiled at what he knew as going to happen. That was his way of doing things. The dark man would just point people in the right direction. That direction would lead to where other people would deal with the person. He in fact would not be connected, and didn’t want to be. He was a shadow walker, and didn’t want to be in the spot light.

The dark man held up the packet of money. There had to be over three thousand dollars in it, and it would have been so easy to walk out with it. DM shook his head. Being evil was one think, but stealing was another. DM went back to the briefcase he saw Qi take the money out of, and was about to put it back inside when his blood turned cold. Gooseflesh grew on his skin and his knees felt weak. Dread was not something DM felt much, but what he looked at filled him with the normal fear of death mixed in with a healthy dose of mass destruction. In Soon Qi’s briefcase was the drawling of an atomic weapon on a booklet.

“That looks familiar,” The dark man said to himself in the empty room so he could calm down. DM picked up the papers and flipped through them. They were not only the plans for how to make an atomic weapon, but also how to make the plutonium. Under the booklet was a contract. DM had to use his old skills for reading Chinese and looked over the papers; it was for the sale of five nuclear weapons from China to North Korea. “Oh shit.”

The dark man pulled out his satellite phone. He cursed the overly complicated electronic equipment. He pulled out his wallet, and from the leather folds he pulled out the Golden Nugget stationary which had Ethan Sanders’ phone number on it. He pressed the correct sequence of buttons, and then was permitted to press in the numbers to reach the phone he wanted. It rang seven times.

“You have reached a secure number, how may I direct your call?” A female voice said.

“I’m trying to reach General Sanders,” DM said into the phone.

“Oh Ethan, he’s home at this time of night.” The woman sounded like someone who would answer phones in the middle of the night. She sounded young, and bored with her job. “Is it an emergency?”

DM checked that the green light was on before he spoke, it was. “I’ve found evidence that someone from China is trying to sell nuclear weapons to someone from Korea here in Las Vegas.”

There was a brief pause like the words were sinking in, and slowly making sense. “Okay, please state your name.”

“John Doe,” Dark Mateus said into the phone.

“One moment I’ll call Ethan.” There was a click and silence.

“Hello, John?” A sleepy voice came over the phone. It had the unmistakable tone of Ethan Sanders.

“I am sorry for waking you General Sanders,” DM said.

“Did you really find what you say you found?”

“Yes sir, I am standing before the brief case with the evidence right now,” DM said.

“Where are the Chinese people who were trying to sell the weapons?”

“Um, most likely in custody of the Las Vegas police for indecent exposure, creating a disturbance, resisting arrest, and manslaughter.”

“This is going to be a long debriefing. Okay where are you?”

“I am in room four hundred one at the Golden Nugget casino.” The dark man sat down on the bed.

“Okay I’m going to let the local authorities know to secure the scene, and then send George out. He should be there by morning. Prepare yourself for George, he’s an asshole, but he’s our asshole. Get some sleep, and George will get you when he needs you. Otherwise don’t leave the casino, any questions?”

“The man whose room I am in is named Soon Qi,” DM said just because he knew Ethan would want to know.

“Soon Qi! Boy what have you gotten yourself into?” Ethan sounded excited now.

“Who is this guy?”

“He’s China’s big government man in charge of nuclear weapons, little guy with no neck and a bad attitude, right?”

“That’s him.”

“Oh this is going to be sweat. Coffee time for me, and sleep for you,” Ethan said to the dark man.

“Right boss, call me if you need anything,” DM took the phone from his head and looked down searching for the button to push to turn off the call. He found the button pressed it, and then had to press the other three to press. The dark man wiped the keycards free of his prints, and as he left the room he wiped his prints clean of the door handle.

Safe in his own room the dark man stripped and went to sleep. He woke up to sunlight, and tried to watch TV. There was a brief story on the local morning news of the little boy dying at the Golden Nugget, but gave no details. DM took a shower with an ear open for a knock on his door, or a call on his phone. DM called down for room service to bring him up some food, and they did. He ate constantly waiting for something to happen. The maid came and cleaned quickly, and left with a ten dollar tip. DM watched more TV to waist time. The TV was filled with reports of what happened in the year past and security for the New Year’s parties.

The sun was starting to sink in the sky when a knock came at DM’s door. DM looked through the spy hole. The man had curly blond hair, and a large nose. His eyes seemed to protrude out of his face, like they were being pushed out of his head by his brain. He had thin lips, which looked like they were constantly frowning. “Open up asshole, it’s me George Brown.”

DM unlocked the door and it was shoved open by the blond man. “Hello I’m John Doe.”

“I know who the hell you are and I don’t give a shit,” George said shutting and locked the door behind him. “You really fucked up Qi and his deal you know. Hell I don’t think you could have fucked things up any worse than you did.”

“Did you even know the Chinese government was selling nuclear weapons to the North Koreans?” The dark man asked knowing the answer was no.

“Don’t take that tone with me. I’ve been doing this job for too long to have you question me,” George said. Already DM didn’t like the guy. “Would you care to tell me why Qi is in a jail cell right now?”

“He killed a little boy last night. I don’t know about you, but if you saw that little child going down the steps and heard the crying last night you probably would have killed the guy.”

George was quiet for a moment. “You’re probably right, but now we have to go through all that red tape to get to him.”

“I make no apologies or excuses,” DM said steady.

“Good you might make a good agent yet,” George said darkly. From inside his jacket he pulled out some papers. “Go buy a suit case, you’re going home. Here’s your ticket for four hours from now. You should be in the air when the new year arrives.”

“Lucky me,” DM said taking the papers.

“Don’t be so dark, Frank said he really enjoyed your X-box,” George said with a wicked grin.

DM went and bought a black suitcase and packed up. It was a little surprise to the dark man of how much he had collected in such a short time. He also gave Gloria a quick phone call, but she was out so he left a message on her voice mail to tell her he was leaving. He zipped everything closed, and left the room he had called home for the past few days.

DM was down at the lobby checking out when Joe came out of the back office. “I thought I heard a friendly voice.”

“Yeah I’m leaving,” DM said a little sad.

“Well it has been a pleasure having you as a guest of the Golden Nugget,” Joe said smiling his wrinkled face. “Did you hear what happened to Qi?”

“No what?” DM was acting ignorant.

“He was arrested for making a scene in the casino. He came in naked, and masturbated on a blackjack table. Then when one of our security guard came to arrest him, Qi hit him in the face. When the police came to arrest him, Qi slugged him in the face. I hope they throw the book at him.” Joe was smiling.

“The meeting room was already paid for, wasn’t it?”

“Oh yes, and we already charged him for his rooms too. Darn what a shame his new rooms are with the LVPD.”

“Darn what a shame.” DM smiled and left.

DM drove to McCarran airport and went through security. Nothing happened, and DM didn’t expect anything to happen. The airplane lifted into the air, and in the distance all over the state different colored fireworks let everyone know that the new year had started. DM smiled, a new year a new life.

O’Hare airport was busy for the first day of the New Year, but it felt familiar to the dark man. Amazed that the temperature in Chicago on the first day of January was over fifty degrees, DM took a cab back to his apartment. He walked by the garage where he kept his black Ford ZX2, and was happy to see it there. Someone, most likely Pierce McKullen, had put it there. He pulled his keys out and found the locks on his door were still the same. He was home.

His apartment was the same as he had left it. Immediately to his left was his kitchen, which was stock with all manner of cooking equipment, and the island was still sporting the cutting board and knifes that were always there. Next on the left was his electronic work table pushed up against the windows, with boxes of electronic components sitting on the table, and even a few projects he was working on. In from the windows was his living room area where his large TV sat in the entertainment center with DVDs, VHS tapes, video games, and the equipment to run them all were around the TV. Next to the TV, pointed so the TV was just to the left, was his computer, complete with a printer, scanner, and flat screen monitor. A couch pointed towards the TV, and had a table on either side, with a cordless phone sitting on one. To the right of the door were four doors. The nearest to the door was his dark room where he would develop the photos he took. The next door led to his bedroom where most of the room was taken up with his hundreds of books, and somewhere in there was his bed. The next room was his lavatory. The last door was the room DM used for carpentry of all kinds, with a lath, a band saw, and a drill press along with many hand tools.

Dark Mateus went to the windows and in the rising sunlight he was able to see the sign in the window across the street, and one floor down. In bold black letters on a white background ‘I Love You’ was spelled out in the distinctive script of Rachel’s hand. Unable to hold back his smile DM picked up his cordless phone and pressed in her phone number.

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