Chapter 17

We continued to talk and cuddle on the couch, until I realized I was half dozing. The horse pills I had taken after dinner were finally doing me in, and I also remembered how tired the body can get when it is working to heal itself. I had Lucy take me outside to get her things, and we placed her laptop in the office and her suitcase on top of my dresser. Then she had me undress, and took my hand and guided me into the bathroom.

Once there she very carefully and gently spent a lot of time washing me from head to foot, then had me sit on the toilet as she used my hair dryer to finish drying me off. And naked, we both slipped into bed.

I was out like a light as soon as my head hit the pillow. I had already hung a sign stating that Harris would be conducting all classes in the nearby park for the next week. When I woke up in the morning, I was alone and Lucy was just walking into the bedroom. “Oh, you’re up. Go ahead and throw something on, breakfast is ready.”

I used the bathroom, then joined her in the front area. It was another of her breakfast skillets, and it really hit the spot. Along with a cup of coffee for her, and my usual pot sized cup for me. We were just lounging in front of the TV when there was a knock on the door. I hit a button on the TV to bring up the front camera, and it was Di.

I went and let her in, and she and Lucy smiled at each other as I invited her to sit in one of the chairs. Lucy asked if she should go, and Di just shook her head. “No, this is going to be nothing you do not already know, and mostly I just wanted to see how you were doing, Clint. Any problems?”

“No, most of the aches and pains seem to be gone, just a little tingling at the toes that the doc says should be gone in a day or so. I did take the pain pills last night, but I do not think I will need them any more.”

She nodded, and asked Lucy how she was doing. “Well, let’s just say that this drove in even more how dangerous what Clint does really is. I watched last year when you two took on The Roaster, and I want to thank you for helping Clint then, also. But this is the second time now I have found out my boyfriend has been hurt on the TV.”

“Well, that was kind of like this. An ambush, set up for whatever Paladin stepped into it. And like that, once again it just happened to have been Clint. It could just as easily have been me, or one of the others.”

“Like Bohica?” Lucy asked.

“Oh no, not him. Oh, only because he does not seem to have any kind of transportation. Believe it or not, he actually takes the subway or runs anywhere he is needed. None of us know why, I asked him once and he said something about driving cramping his style. He is actually one of our most effective Paladins, but operates in a relatively small area. Me, I cover most of downtown, Chinatown, and the area on the west side of the river. Clint, he takes Dockside, the east side of the river, and the south part of Downtown. Each of us has an area maybe 25 square miles. Bohica, he covers maybe 6 square miles.”

I nodded, and squeezed Lucy’s hand. “And baby, for Bohica that is all on foot. Before the night, that was one of the most crime infested ghetto areas of Compass City. Now, it actually is one of the safest. Oh, there is still a lot of crime, but mostly low level shit. Smash and grab robberies, auto theft, things like that. The major crimes are almost extinct in that area. Di and I try to emulate that to a degree, but it’s harder for us because we have larger areas to cover and drive a lot. But she regularly walks Chinatown, and I regularly walk along Dockside.”

“And you actually walk, with Fang? Where is he?”

“Oh, I left him at home. I was not sure how you would react, but if you want next time I will bring him along.”

Lucy said she would love to meet him, so Di promised to bring him along in the future. She also told us she got me a postponement on the cruise. “They understand that you are not going to make it next week because of your injury. But they said you can take any in the future for up to three years to make up for that.” I nodded, and told Lucy that they were really good at things like that.

I suggested we might try and take the Spring trip, and Lucy said that sounded great. Di even surprised me when she spoke up and said she might talk to Doug and see what he thought about it. I looked closer at her, and she simply smiled. I turned to Lucy and softly said “This is another of those deep secrets, like with Howler. Yes, I know Dire in both her other role as well as how you see her now. She let me in on it in the first week, when she arrived for the free training I was offering. And as far as I know, she has told nobody else.”

“Oh, not quite that bad. But almost, but you are one of the first not family or a close friend that I knew from before that is not a part of Control. Yes, I am married, and am a Chameleon. I do not look like this all the time, but when I come to say visit Clint or another Paladin I am always in costume you might say. There are reasons for that, among them is to keep my private life private. In fact, my husband and I were still dating the night Clint here got blasted by The Roaster. We were in my apartment about to have dinner, when a report broke in and I heard it on the TV. I immediately changed, and rushed out with Fang on my heels. The dear man had no clue I was Dire Wolf in my other form, and thankfully he was able to accept that.”

“Wow, that actually gives me some hope. Knowing Howler also helped, as we talked several times at the resort and she explained to me some of the issues with her being married. As did her husband. How does this affect you in other way?”

“Well, I’m never seen in public with him like this for one. I am not in the league of Clint or Bohica, but I am pretty durable. My husband has some mental mutations, like analysis. But nothing physical, he could be hurt or killed as easily as you could be. I have two apartments close to each other. One for me as Dire Wolf, the other for my other self and my husband. But we are planning on having a kid soon, and I’m sure that is going to have an impact on things. But overall, it is my being lucky enough to find a guy that understands what I am going through. Many were not so lucky.”

“Yes, like in Lucan,” Lucy softly said. “And you also, Clint. Kelly, right?”

“Yes, Kelly. Many of us were not so lucky as Howler and Dire have been. Many could not accept that their loved ones had changed.”

“Exactly. Thankfully, my boyfriend who was now my husband was also a mutant, and had even met me in this form. He simply had no idea that I was both Dire Wolf and my other form. We are married now, and things have been wonderful so far. And he is understanding of my needs as Dire to try and do good things. But on the outside, we are like any other couple.”

We chatted a bit longer, but I was feeling tired. After giving Di a big hug and a soft kiss to Lucy I went to lie down for a bit. It was sometime later when I woke up, and realized that Lucy was snuggled against me. We were still both dressed casually, so I just pulled her against me and went back to sleep.

When I woke up a bit later I was alone, but headed out and saw that Lucy was gone. I straightened things up a bit, and looked up when the door in front opened. Lucy came in and smiled at me before locking the door again, and I saw the bags in her hand. “Dire told me a good Chinese place not far away, I hope that is fine for dinner.”

“Sure, sounds great.” I got the plates out and poured us each a glass of wine as she pulled the white boxes out of the bag and opened them up into platters. I smiled, as she had gotten a good selection. But she laughed when she saw me pick up one of my forks.

“What, no chopsticks for the American boy?” she teased.

“Actually, I will let you know I used to be very proficient in their use. It is almost a requirement when you grow up in California, and study martial arts from a true Korean master. But with these hands, I would need a pair the size of drum sticks.”

I saw her blush, and she apologized, saying she was only teasing. “Oh, relax, Lucy. I know that, and am not upset at all. But I really was quite good with them once, even able to pick up a single grain of rice at a time. It’s kind of funny, this change actually. I used to work construction, and before the change I did as much work as I could at my first dojo. That was a challenge, because one hand was worthless, and the other not a lot better. And standing with a cane and leaning against the wall to try and hammer in a nail was a real challenge.”

I held my hands up, and turned then around. “And then I changed, and still could not do construction!” I chuckled, and Lucy did also. “Now at least I have enough fine motor control to not worry about breaking things by accident. But I can barely even hold a hammer, or screwdriver. I can use some power tools, but others are just too small for me. However, before I settled on doing this I was actually considering going for a General Contractor license before I opened my first dojo.”

She looked at me and raised one of her beautiful eyebrows. “Really, a contractor?”

“Well, that is more paperwork and knowing the codes and regulations than actually building. More of the boss, I mostly did that when we rebuilt this place. About two thirds of this place is my own ideas, but I used a contractor and some other experts for areas I did not know. Oh, and I have never been upstairs, but Jenny says it is perfect.”

“Really, you have never been up there?”

“Nope, but I’ve seen pictures of it. Remember, the stairway is narrow, and has that 180 degree turn half way up. I did try crawling up it once, could not make the bend. So that is mostly her area up there, I have pretty much the entire ground floor to myself when there is not a class.”

“Have you ever thought of getting an actual house, Clint?”

“Yeah, sometimes. But it has not been a real priority, to be honest. So far this suits me just fine. And no, it’s not money. I could actually afford to buy a nice plot of land somewhere and have a nice house built just for me put on it. But why? It’s just me here, and this is all I have needed so far. Walk out front for work, or in the back if Harry needs me for something.”

“Yes, I talked to him while you were taking a nap, that is quite a setup he has back there. Even his RV is nice.”

“Yes, he likes living there within walking distance of his shop. He can actually afford a really nice place, but he said this way if he gets a new idea he can just walk to the shop and start working on it. When I told you about my other investments, that is one of them. He makes keyboards and other things just for us mutants.”

We had finished dinner, so I held her hand and took her into my office. She marveled at the keyboard and mouse. “Wow, that thing is huge! I was wondering how you were able to type, and just assumed it was on that oversized laptop you carry around.”

“Oh no, that is another of Harry’s designs though. No, this is just a regular desktop, but a really powerful one. No, this is the result of almost a year of Harry refining the design. In his shop he still has the first one framed. It literally was a bunch of push button light switches from a hardware store, and wood keys back then. I was trying to use a regular keyboard, and a pencil to press the keys.”

I told her the story of how I met Harry, living in a tent next to the dumpster in the back. And his getting clean and sober and helping with the remodel. “Finally he made this for me, he did electronics in the military before his slide. Now, he is the CEO of one of the most successful companies made just for meeting the needs of the mutant community. He could even afford a small mansion if he wanted, but he likes living back there. But someday, I actually do have a plan.”

“Really, what is that?”