0109

"Isn't this better than hiding in an abandoned home?" Sol asked out loud.

"Yeah," answered Susan as she ran into the house ahead of the others. She quickly scuttled away to play.

"How did you manage to acquire this house in such a short period of time?" Sabastian asked.

"Honestly, Sabastian, how did you survive so long without a lawyer?"

"Hard currency. How can you trust the humans so easily?"

"It isn't so much trust, back in the Old World I adopted an orphan, if you will. I sent him to school and set him up with a regal lifestyle. His descendants work exclusively for me. They think that I am a reclusive and very wealthy family. I keep their family wealthy and they do my bidding. It is a symbiotic relationship."

"I'm kind of shocked you don't have a similar arrangement," Mary added.

"I can see the benefits, but the risks are still significant."

"That is true," Mary responded, "I've had to kill a number of my helpers because they discovered what I was or they attempted to take advantage of me."

"I've had to, well, trim the ranks at times myself. But the benefits more than outweigh the negatives," Sol said. "Perhaps I can set you up with a branch of my lawyers."

"I will think about it," Sabastian said as he walked to a large picture window overlooking the Long Island Sound.

Sol's lawyers had found a large waterfront home in Rye. It was old construction, but solid. Sabastian liked it, it had character. It had stood the test of time.

Equally as important, it had a large basement and was very secluded. It wasn't his brownstone, but he felt that, in time, it would feel like home.

"What about my brownstone?" Sabastian asked, still looking out the window.

"Nothing, I suppose," answered Sol.

"I will need some of my things."

"We all will," said Mary. "We'll send our lawyers to get whatever we need."

"No, I will get the things I need myself," Sabastian responded.

"Do you think that wise?" Sol asked.

"I am not afraid of Thomas or his Enforcers. I will need a car to drive me."

"What about Susan?" asked Claudia, she had been quietly listening until that point.

"You will watch her until my return. I should not be more than a night or two."

"If something happen to you?"

"Sol and Mary will insure that Susan is well taken care of."

"Sol, your man selected a wonderful house for us," Mary started, changing the topic, "but have you noticed that there's no furniture?"

[Copyright Reuben Gregg Brewer, 2005. All rights reserved.]
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