Chapter 16: A Hot Time in the City of the Blues

Cate opened her eyes, taking in the familiar scent of her brother's hair, a unique combination of his shampoo and his male essence, and just a little sweat and other miscellaneous leftover fluids. It was difficult separating Alex's smell from the scent of excited pussy. She smiled as the thought brought up memories of the previous night.

She found her hands wrapped around her brother, idly clutching his chest and stomach. She had awakened in her favorite spot, spooned against her brother, feeling his heat and his abundant energy warming and comforting her. She hugged him a little tighter, but didn't do anything else to disturb him, happy to let him sleep. He needed it to help settle his mind. He clearly had a lot to evaluate, and he needed a clear mind to make the best decisions. Her role was to advise him, and part of that advice was to ensure he was in the best frame of mind to make the proper choices.

The previous night had been interesting. She was afraid she'd be unable to fool around with either her brother or any of the women that continually flocked to him during this trip. The time they spent together the day before yesterday was a nice reprieve, but yesterday was even more special. It demonstrated that even if she continued to hide her relationship with her brother, she could still enjoy a bit of fun along the way. And so far no one had objected to her sleeping with Alex on a regular basis. She knew Alex continued to warn his many lovers about her habit of sleeping with him, and she was comfortable with that since no one had become upset to find her cuddling her brother. Her mysterious ability to soak up Alex's energy granted her free access to hm. She valued both, almost as much as she valued Alex.

Thinking that in the quiet stillness of the early morning, as she listened to the many breaths and the occasional snore, that Gail could sometimes let loose an odd snort, she considered what her abilities had brought her. Given the fact she could feel Alex's emotions for others, and other's love for him, she could appreciate how strongly he felt for each of his girls. Not only that, but since she internalized those feelings, she felt the same love for each of these women that he did. Which, quite frankly, was a hell of a lot. It certainly helped her in remembering who was who. Being able to associate a particular smell, a certain look, a particular nuance with each person made remembering their names much easier.

The fact that one person could love so many people would never have occurred to her previously. When she'd heard such ideas before, she'd considered them a poor excuse for some player to fool around on the side, but in Alex's case it was much more than that. There was something about the physical process of activating and boosting his followers that tied him emotionally to each of them. Not only the Seers, who they all recognized he performed a virtual brain surgery on, but it extended to each of the Watchers as well. It was odd, and she'd never admit it to him, but she could understand why he stepped in front of the bullet meant for her. Only it wasn't just her. She could understand his risking himself for his closest confidant, his most frequent lover, and his devoted sister, but he also did it to protect his other sisters. They were two women who, until recently, he hadn't even been that close to and had no mental connection with. He hadn't even made love to them (although he'd fooled briefly around with one), but that was the extent of his physical involvement with his older sisters.

No, Alex was like that with everyone around him. He'd gladly sacrifice his own life for any of his many women, no matter how remote or how little he'd known them. And by association, Cate knew that she too would do the same thing. She also realized the only thing that would stand in her way was her overriding interest in her brother. She'd sacrifice anyone else if there was any risk at all to her brother. She knew she was tied intricately not only to his women, but she was bonded to Alex and their lives were permanently intertwined. That worried her as well, but she wasn't willing to deal with that particular hurdle quite yet.

She'd thought it funny that Alex had initially asked two girls out at the same time, and then had spent weeks trying desperately to choose between the two, only finally acknowledging he loved both when they forced his hand, insisting they wanted him to take their own virginities when he lost his, together and united. It had been a big hurdle for him, even though he was doing the same thing every day with each of his other women. Alex was a strange paradox. How could a single man love so many different people so personally and so intensely? He insisted on sitting down and getting to know each girl personally, knowing her innermost secrets. And they each responded to him naturally, admitting their deepest secrets, hiding almost nothing from him. It was fascinating watching him relating to someone, and watching the deep relationships naturally develop.

She felt Alex shift under her, and recognized that he was waking up. Since they were entwined with each other, his early morning movements also caused Gail to awaken. An early riser, Gail normally woke before or at the same time as her brother. But she'd finally let herself go the previous night, relaxing the rigid professional stance she worked so hard to maintain. It had been an exhausting week for her.

As Alex slowly awakened, Cate idly played with his chest muscles under her fingers. He liked these little intimate caresses as he woke up. She wanted to wake him by playing with his cock, but she was aware just how strenuously he'd been using it lately and realized he really needed a break. Besides, she was sure he'd be called upon to make love a couple more times this morning, so it was unfair of her to abuse him for her own desires.

Alex's head lifted, signaling he'd come fully awake, and he looked around then reached up and covered her hand with his own as he reached around and grasped her hip.

"I take it you're awake?" he asked.

"Um hum," she replied as she kissed his ear. She could feel his smile as he accepted this small act of love from her.

As Gail leaned up, her movement started to awaken the two newest girls. Girls who were hoping to become pregnant by her brother. By her lover, she corrected herself. But again, she didn't feel any antagonism towards them. She loved them almost as much as he did. No, that wasn't accurate, she admitted to herself. She didn't think that anyone could love someone the way that Alex did. He put his whole being into the other person for however long he was with them. His ability to concentrate exclusively on a single person was amazing. The apartment could be on fire, but he'd only have eyes for the one he was making love to at that moment. She imagined it was what it was like for Mary Magdalene when she made love with Jesus. She couldn't imagine a healthy 30-year-old man refusing the sexual favors of someone who'd actually wash and dry his dirty feet with her own hair. She'd seen similar things in her brother's case that had shown just how necessary the sexual component of appreciation was to these women.

"Man, how can you people be moving so early this morning?" Becky asked the room in general. "After that excellent loving, I hate to move this morning for fear this wonderful feeling I'm enjoying might slip away."

"Amen, sister," Amanda echoed her, making everyone laugh because it sounded so funny hearing a Chinese-American sound a typically southern black refrain. "Hey, we Asian chicks can have some soul too, you know," she protested.

"You may have the feelings, but without the curves and the big black ass it just doesn't resonate as well. Nobody can quite carry the tune as well as a beautiful black woman," Becky reminded them.

"Amen to that, sister," Gail replied, making everyone laugh again.

"Forget it, Ms. Security Guard. While it was fun watching you and Amanda, and as much as I enjoyed the unmentionable activities that Cate subjected me to, I'm not about to switch teams any time soon. I enjoy playing on Alex's team too much."

"Hey, I play for team Alex too," Gail protested. "For some people, even a confirmed lesbian like me makes exceptions. Though I may spend most of my time in the dugout with his all girl teammates," she replied with a grin.

This was the first time that Gail had mentioned to the girls that she was a lesbian, somehow the subject had simply never come up the day before. However, instead of following it up, Becky turned her attention elsewhere.

"Hey, where the hell is that damn cute carpet muncher?" she asked.

"Here I am," Cate answered, thumping Alex's chest to demonstrate where she was. When the two girls glanced at her, Alex lifted her hand up in a schoolyard signal that she had the answer to the question.

"Man, I guess that was one damn good tit suck," Becky suggested in a low guttural voice.

"Hey, if one of you would let me do something besides laying on top of you maybe you'd find out," Alex argued.

"Alex, for whatever your sister may have gotten out of your play with her titty, I'm not about to trade in what we shared last night," Amanda said. "Anytime you want to mash me into the mattress, feel free to. I've never been big on the basic missionary position before, but I think it's my new favorite position."

Cate was about to suggest some alternative positions that also worked with Alex, but managed to catch herself in time, though she bit down on Alex's ear to keep from saying anything. That caused him to jump, causing the sheet to fall off of him revealing his 'morning wood'. That got the girls' interest, too.

"Oh, Alex, is that for me? You shouldn't have," Amanda said in an exaggerated southern accent, generating another laugh from the others.

"No, he really shouldn't," Cate warned them. "Alex has been burning his poor cock at both ends, and I'm afraid it's liable to be getting a bit tender. If you want to play in the shower, then that's allowable, but no jerking him off or playing with his dick. Otherwise he'll have trouble walking, and that's not good when he needs to run from antsy reporters."

"Sorry to change the topic, but that brings up an important point," Gail began, finally sitting up and trying not to stare at the naked women around her. "I think we need to discuss what you plan to do today. Personally, as your security officer, I vote for skipping town. You've been exposed, the press is hungrily searching for you, and any slip up is going to cause you endless trouble. Let the press stay here and search out any little detail they can dig up, but don't give them access to the mother lode of trouble."

"She's got a good point," Becky told him. "The best bet in avoiding trouble is to avoid it, and you can't do that by hanging around in a town that is desperate to pin you to a lab table and dissect you."

"That's exactly what I was thinking," Cate told her brother. "You've been here for quite a few days, and you've instituted a lot of changes and tried to get quite a few women pregnant. You need to get out before you accidentally erase the good you've done. The women like Becky and Amanda can rely on your stored sperm if it's necessary. You don't need to be here any longer if it presents a risk to you."

"Yeah, remember, you are the most important factor in our future success," Amanda reminded him. "If you get exposed, we'll all suffer."

That last bit was the most convincing argument for Alex. It was one thing to tell him about hypothetical threats to himself, but it was another to tell him he was threatening those he loved and wanted to protect.

"All right, I'll concede. We should probably leave. Although I'm sure Patricia probably has a few more things for me to do, I also know she's got a timetable she has to keep to, so we might as well get on the road and get used to traveling. I'm sure she's got to get used to traveling before her first tour stop."

"Now you're talking," Gail said, encouraged by his change of position. "Go get your shower and I'll talk to Patricia. We'll get some breakfast here, and then we'll join her so we can get out of here as soon as possible."

"Only we won't be going to any of the local diners," Cate warned. "As you've already pointed out, you've become too familiar around here. All we need is someone making a logical conclusion and calling one of the network reporters about their suspicions."

"Hey, we offered to cook you dinner and you refused last night," Becky argued. "There's no reason we couldn't fix you a decent southern breakfast. When was the last time you had a nice plate of cheese grits, sausage and biscuits?"

"That sounds good, but if we leave off the biscuits, we could probably get out of here that much sooner," Alex proposed. "Let's try to keep it simple, huh?"

While Alex was spending some time cleaning certain parts of Becky and Amanda in the shower, Cate had volunteered to head to the neighborhood grocery to pick up supplies for breakfast. Becky had explained what they'd need, giggling constantly under the running water as she did so. Although Cate hated going without her own shower, she figured she could rough it for a little while, besides, she had better things to do than to listen to her brother fool around if she couldn't join in.

"Hello? Jennings residence," a familiar voice answered.

"Hey, Anh, just the person I was looking for," Cate responded.

"Cate, how nice to hear from you. So what be the news? We saw the reports of Alex on the news last night. How's it down there?"

"So far, it's not too bad, but we'll probably be leaving town because of it. We agreed there was too much risk in sticking around," Cate explained before changing the topic. "I wanted to discuss a couple of topics with you, if you don't mind."

"Oh, no, I no mind," Anh answered. Although her English had improved tremendously over the last couple of months, when she was relaxed or excited she'd often mess up slightly with the simpler aspects of her speech. "What you want?"

"I was thinking about Alex and his girls, trying to figure out where I fit into it all. I was wondering if we could discuss your theory of otherworldly spirits guiding him."

"Ah, you feeling neglected since his attention focused elsewhere, eh?" Anh asked.

"No, that's not it. At least not at the moment it isn't. He took care of Gail and me the other night, and last night we got to play as well. But this morning, before everyone else awoke, I got to thinking about how everyone fits into the grand scheme of things. Basically how both Alex and I can love so damn many people at the same time."

"Ah, you wondering if these be normal people, or spirits sent to guide him?" Anh suggested.

"Exactly. All these women don't seem to fit into a normal paradigm. There are just too many peculiarities to them. I was wondering—"

"Slow down, slow down. I'm having enough trouble figuring out your fancy English words. Luckily Allison is already at work and could tell me what 'paradigm' mean. You no need to over think this. While there may be spirits guiding Alex, I mostly meant people like Kitty, Allison and maybe Ryan. That would have explained why they just happened to live here and were so receptive to Alex to begin with. However it no apply to Alex's girls. There's simply too many of them. It would take too much power to bring them all over from the spirit realm, even for someone as powerful as Alex. Instead I think he's guided in his selection, and possibly in who feels attracted to his power. I'm not completely sure your God may not have a role in this. Something seems to be protecting him."

"But what about—?" Cate started to protest.

"No," Anh responded, intuitively guessing where Cate was headed, "you are special case. You cross over between two. You halfway between spirit world and Alex girl. Alex seems to have worked his magic on you. I suspect you were originally a spirit warrior sent to guard Alex, but since then, since you've been so loyal, he's made you over into one of his new followers. I don't really understand it, since you seem to be a strange case, but it makes sense that way."

"Thanks," Cate responded. "I think. I'm not sure quite what that all means to me, but it will give me something to think about. So, moving onto other things, we never talked about what you thought about my revised theory about the nature of Alex's powers."

"You mean the one where Alex makes holes in space and moves things between dimensions?"

"Yeah," Cate laughed lightly, "that one."

"I think it interesting theory. If you remember, I first propose other dimensions being the home of Alex's spirit. Thus it makes sense that he could find a way to cross between dimensions. Before, only vague ghostly spirits could cross over into this world. But Alex found a way to bring spirits over as fully formed human beings, only they had to be reborn to do it. Only problem is they seem to have forgotten everything they know as result. Somehow Alex find secret to crossing between worlds, or dimensions in your terms, in order to cross over. He also managed to tap a major power source in doing so. He needed that to bring so many spirit warriors over with him. However, that much power present dangerous power which hurt as much as it help.

"Another important question you miss is not why Alex make link to energy, but why not," Anh continued. "Consider that all living things already have this energy, which doesn't seem to be native to this world. Maybe the energy we all have leaks from another plane, and that this is the most natural connection we have. Thus it would be the first to establish once we gain power to jump between worlds."

"Damn, Anh, I keep forgetting how perceptive you are. We continually underestimate you, since you always speak in such folksy terms, but your ideas are spot on."

"Also remember," Anh continued, "like all power, there are costs associated with it. You must be aware of that. A sword cuts both ways, and you, as Alex's principal spirit warlord, need to be aware of that."

"Me, Alex's warlord?" Cate asked, sounding skeptical. "I hardly think so. I think you're thinking of Gail."

"No, as I say, Gail simply a Seer with police training. She not warrior born. That role is yours. You need to always be by Alex's side, to protect him and guide him in his choice. Always trust his judgment, because he is divinely inspired, whether by spirits, God or the fates we cannot know, but you can't argue with results. He make mostly the right decisions. But remember to advise him, and help him when he takes the wrong step."

"Wow, that's a lot to think about, Anh. I'll have to consider it. Anyway, I'm here at the grocery store, and I don't think this is the type of conversation I should be having in public, so I'll hang up and talk later. Say hi to Mom and Dad for me. I really meant to say hello to them, but I didn't quite get a chance. But right now I've got to get back and feed that damn hungry bear of a brother of mine before he bites someone else's tit." They both laughed, and Cate said goodbye and hung up before entering the grocery store.

When Cate got back she found everyone watching the television. Something Alex rarely did, usually being preoccupied with either his own thoughts or worrying about his girls.

"What's up?" she asked as she set the groceries down. She idly noticed that whatever it was, they hadn't had a chance to dress, as the girls were only partially dressed while Alex was naked and still wet.

"It's the news," Amanda explained, as she tried brushing her hair while staring raptly at the television. "Albert Rodriguez was on the morning news program and they started grilling him, since he's the only one who's ever met Alex. He kept trying to change the topic, but they apparently got him confused, because he blurted out Alex's name."

"Holy shit!" Cate swore. "He doesn't know your full name, does he?"

"No, he only knows me as Alex, but that's enough to cause me trouble," Alex responded. "Think it's too late to legally change my name?"

"Hell, no," Cate replied. "It's nice meeting you Philippa," she answered with a laugh. However she didn't get much of a response.

"They got him talking about who the Angel of New Orleans was and what his relationship with Alexandria was, in trying to get away from telling who Alex was he told the story about Alex assuming his name from Alexandria. That led to the obvious conclusions, and they're already referring to Alex as 'the sub-manager Angel Alex of New Orleans'.

Cate couldn't resist and smirked a little. When her brother shot her a dirty look she had to shrug. "Hey, it was a clever response. I can see the humor in it. But I can also see the trouble this is going to cause you."

"We'll definitely have to leave the city now," Gail announced. "All it will take is someone casually mentioning your name, and everyone will be on you like a ton of bricks."

"Agreed," Alex said, finally getting up and turning the TV off in frustration. "Let's get breakfast started so we can hurry up and finish. I'll go get dressed. I've already talked with Patricia, though it was before this latest news was released. She said she's ready to go, she's just waiting for her band mates to show up."

Everyone immediately jumped to their tasks, with Alex stalking off to the bedroom while the two girls headed into the kitchen to start breakfast. Gail stood by the door looking distracted, so Cate assumed she was speaking to another Seer, though she had no idea who. Cate followed her brother into the bedroom where she found him struggling with a pair of pants.

"Calm down, Alex. You'll never get anywhere if you let your frustration get the better of you," she said, as she pulled his pants off his legs and folded them over her arm. "Just take a couple of minutes to relax. Think some relaxing thoughts. You remember, I taught you what to do a while back when we were concerned about the stress hurting your health even more than your energy is."

"Gee, thanks," he replied. "That's all I need to relax."

"Forget about it. All that matters is what's here and now. Embarrassment or difficulties don't matter. Focus on what does: your girls, your family and those who depend on you. They need you focused and at the top of your game. You can't lose that, Alex."

Alex took a few calming breaths and she could see him visibly collect himself. "Thanks. You always know just what to say to me." Cate straightened out his jeans and handed them to him. He started to put them on, more slowly now, while Cate fetched a decent shirt for him to wear. Damn, she thought, where's our other Alex now that we need him? Alex's girls had gotten him to dress better, but sometimes he didn't have enough sense to match the simplest thing together. However she finally got him decent, at which point she gave him a hug and he simply stood for a while, quietly rocking Cate back and forth, consoling the consoler. Just like Alex always did.

When they returned to the living room breakfast was almost ready, and Becky and Amanda took turns running to the bedroom to finish dressing. The girls made random chatter about various things, but Gail and Alex remained silent, obsessed with their own thoughts.

Cate was tempted to tend to her brother, but instead she nudged Amanda, since this was really Becky's breakfast treat, and she pointed her towards Alex with a nod of her head. She got the point, and walked over, giving Alex a brief backrub. He seemed to appreciate it, lying down on the couch to allow her to continue. Amanda seemed to relish being able to assist Alex in any way she could, and Cate had to console herself with helping them both instead of doing it herself.

The breakfast was indeed delicious, but everyone was a bit too preoccupied to really enjoy it as much as it deserved.

They made a slow trip across town. It seemed the French Quarter was even more packed than normal, with quite a few more cars, trucks and buses. Patricia informed Alex that the streets were busy and that he'd likely have trouble parking, so he decided to park at a parking lot several blocks away so he could get the measure of the crowds around town. Although they were cautious, and Gail wasn't fond of the idea, Alex figured he'd be safe enough since no one knew any more about him than his first name. He didn't think anyone would notice him as long as he was careful. Patricia had said she wasn't ready, since she was doing some last minute packing and was waiting for her people to arrive. Despite her saying she was ready to go at any time the last few days, it turned out it still took a while to get organized.

Even though Alex had decided to flout the potential danger didn't mean he was any less cautious. Becky and Amanda set out on their own, essentially to scout out the route ahead of them. They reported seeing various news trucks farther down the street, but apparently Albert hadn't revealed Patricia's connection to Alex. He figured it was only a matter of time until that occurred, though.

Having decided it was safe, despite the excited crowds on the nearby streets, Cate and Alex set off, Gail once again trailing behind at a short but discreet distance. They heard a couple college kids walking past comment about how they were "dying to see this religious freak with all the girls", so they were even more on guard as they proceeded. When they reached Bourbon Street, the street that housed both Patricia's club and the congregation of news vans, they thought they were almost home free. They headed down Bourbon, heading for the club, keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble, when trouble found them. They heard a commotion and noticed an increase in the amount of people heading in their direction. However, soon the crowd got too thick to walk through, so they moved onto a connecting street and watched to see what was happening.

Recognizing the face of a Watcher he'd seen earlier, Alex called out and got her attention. She hurried over, looking nervously around as she did so.

"So what the hell is going on?" Alex asked.

"It's a mess, and this is probably the last place you should be right now," she explained. "It seems the religious protestors decided the news teams down here have been ignoring them, which is true enough, but they decided they'd get more attention if they moved their demonstration to them, so we now have a moving mass of protestors, tourists and onlookers."

"Ah, so you're one of the people assigned to watch over the church groups?"

"Yes, sir, that I am. It's hard to listen to what some of them say about you, but luckily they haven't accosted anyone, so it's easy enough to watch from a distance," she said.

"Well, thanks for letting us know. I didn't mean to interfere," Alex told her. She looked at him oddly.

"We're doing it for you," she replied. "You aren't interfering in the slightest. Just try not to mix in with them too much. They seem to be looking for someone to direct their anger at. Right now it's the news crews that are ignoring them, but that could change pretty quickly."

She hurried off, and Alex conveyed the information to Gail.

'We should really get out of here, ' Gail warned him.

'That's what we're trying to do, ' Alex reminded her. "As soon as we get to Patricia's we'll be fine. It'll be a little while until she's ready to go. When she is we'll either have Cate bring the car around or I'll just head out with Patricia."

'No, I mean we should go back to the apartment and wait until this settles down.'

'And if it doesn't?' Alex asked. 'What then? No, we're close. We only have to go a short ways further, then we can skip town and leave this nonsense behind.'

Cate hadn't said anything, watching him as he talked to Gail, but she looked nervous. She took the time honored male position of walking on his side facing the street, trying to shelter him from anyone they might encounter, but her slight size wouldn't be much of an impediment.

Just then someone carrying a placard that read 'Damn heathens taking Christ from Christians'. It didn't make Alex or the others feel any better about things.

'Becky, Amanda, you should really leave. This isn't safe for you. You need to protect yourselves and your potential children, ' Alex warned them.

'You've got to be kidding me!' Becky responded. 'You're warning us, when everyone is angry at you, with you standing in the middle of them. If you stay here, then we'll stay here as well, ' she insisted. Alex thought about insisting on their protecting themselves, but thought better of it. She had a point, after all.

Alex and Cate continued to watch. They noticed several Watchers passing them by, but each studiously avoiding either looking at or approaching them. It was funny, really. For as hard as they tried not to look at him, they kept stealing glances at him. If you knew what to look for it was an obvious signal to anyone watching, but they didn't think anyone else would be familiar with such behavior.

"Are you sure we should remain here?" Cate asked, finally expressing her doubts. "The protests have been largely peaceful lately, but there's no guarantee they'll continue to be."