Page 76 of Concluded
It wasearly afternoon when they arrived in Portland with Dee behind the wheel.Spring had arrived during his absence, and the trees in his neighborhood flaunted a gaudy surplus of blooms in pinks, whites, and yellows.Daffodils nodded in front yards.Because the sun was out, pedestrians strolled slowly with their children and dogs, and even the bicyclists seemed less hell-bent than usual.
Despite the fact that he was rolling into a trap of his own making, Dee found himself smiling.This place had been home for almost a year, and he’d missed it.
He parked the Jeep on the street in front of his apartment, gathered his few belongings as Achilles did the same, and led the way.“I don’t have the key,” he remembered.
“It was unlocked when I stopped by.Maybe still is.”
And sure enough, it was.Dee allowed himself a moment of sadness—not a soul had even noticed he was gone—before entering.Then he made a face.“Ugh.It stinks.”When Ashley had arrived, he’d stuffed a few things in a suitcase and walked right out the door, not pausing to take out the garbage or clean the fridge.Looking back on it, he couldn’t recall what had been going on in his head at the time.And now, the fact that Ashley had messed with his mind made him angry.
Achilles pointed at the coffee table.“That pizza looks like it may have evolved far enough to come under Bureau jurisdiction.”
“I’m gonna clean up, okay?”
“I’ll help.Just… I should probably stay inside, away from open windows.In case anyone’s watching.”
Although Dee strongly disliked the idea of being spied on, he nodded and started gathering what used to be a decent pie from Baby Doll, up on Stark Street.Achilles headed for the kitchen.It was a small apartment, so it didn’t take long to tidy up.It was good to have the foul smell gone, but now the barrenness was more evident.Dee had lived with battered thrift-store furniture, well-worn thrift-store clothing, and a few items of thrift-store kitchenware.There was nothing inherently wrong with picking up what was cheap and expedient, but nothing in his apartment was there because helikedit.He’d accumulated stuff, but none of it was meaningful.Perhaps for some people, a lack of attachment to personal possessions meant they were approaching a Buddhist ideal.But in Dee’s case, it just meant he hadn’t bothered to give a damn.
“I bet your place is really nice,” he said, throwing himself onto the couch next to Achilles.
“I like it.”
“So what do we do now?Just sit around and wait for someone evil to show up?”
“Pretty much.It might help if you try to make it obvious you’re home.Turn lights on.Walk to nearby shops.But right now, could you give me a wish?”
Dee’s heart sped a bit.He felt like an addict who’d been offered a hit.“Sure.Hang on.”He jogged into his bedroom, opened the dresser drawer where he kept his collection of baubles, and brought one back to Achilles.
“A hinge?”Achilles asked, looking mildly surprised.
“There’s a salvage hardware store nearby.I sort of wandered in one day and bought a few things.I don’t know why.”At the time, he’d been skeptical that clients would be impressed with a charmed cabinet knob or coat hook, but he’d liked the feel of the pieces in his hand.
“Okay.I wish that I’ll fall unconscious for one hour.”
Dee, the hinge on his palm, blinked.“Why?”
“When they arrive, it’ll look like I’m your captive.You’ll have to come up with a cover story about what you did to keep me zonked out.”
That made sense, but….“You’ll be completely helpless.”
“Can’t be avoided,” Achilles said grimly.“If they can do that pain finger trick, I’m helpless anyway.”
Remembering, Dee shuddered.“I don’t like it.I don’t like any of this.It’s not fair.”He wanted to throw a tantrum.Not that he’d ever expected fairness from the world, but what he and Achilles had to do now, that went beyond the pale.
Achilles, bless him, didn’t tell Dee he was being childish and unreasonable.Instead he nodded solemnly.“If you want to back out of this, I won’t make you do it.And I won’t blame you.”
“But there are no other options for taking these people down.”
“No.”Achilles paused for a moment, scratching his incipient beard.“Which isn’t to say that someone smarter than me won’t come up with a plan, but….”
“But so far nobody has.And time isn’t on our side, is it?”Not waiting for an answer—because he knew what it would be—Dee clutched the hinge and invoked his powers.Even as much as he hated what he was having to do, the process still felt wonderful.If he hadn’t met Achilles, he could imagine himself getting so addicted to this sensation that he would have done whatever he was told, consequences be damned.It was easy to not care about the future when the present made his nerves sizzle and his cock throb.
“Here,” he said, a little roughly, shoving the hinge in Achilles’ direction.
Achilles tucked it into a pocket.“Thank you.”
Dee dithered momentarily, not sure whether he wanted to pick a fight, fuck, or burst into tears.In the end he decided on option four: he grabbed some bills from the wad that Jerry had insisted they take.“I’m walking to Safeway.Conspicuously.Want anything?”
“No thanks.Stay safe.”
