Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 22:19:05 GMT From: Jon Bennett Subject: nick and jonathan: life after nick There have been too many emails to count asking me in some way to continue this story. After taking a lot of time to consider this, I've come up with something I think will keep the masses from rioting =). You tell me... backbay@Juno.com This takes place approximately six months after Nick's burial. Life After Nick-Part One Chapter One: The thunder of breath exploded from Jonathan as he continued his morning run. For some unexplainable reason he had found comfort in his exercise regimen after Nick's death. He took about a month off and spent it between the resort in St. Thomas, and the Eberle's in Lucerne. While in Switzerland he had spent time over in St. Moritz skiing and relaxing at the spa. He had begun running there in the brisk winter mornings and kept it up upon his return to the USA. He had found almost a trance like harmony the harder and further he pushed. He found it amusing that not even Danny could keep up with his running these days. They had taken to following him in one of the hummers. Checking his watch he hit the start button on the chronometer and began to really push 5himself. He wasn't expecting any records, immortal or not, as this was his 12th mile of the morning. Faster and faster he pushed himself. His mind started to clear. In his head he heard lyrics to songs he had long forgotten: "Eagles inhabit the heavenly heights, They know neither limit nor bound They're the guardian angels of darkness and light, They see all and hear every sound My spirit will never be broken or caught, For the soul is a free-flowing thing Like an eagle that needs neither comfort nor thought, to rise up on glorious wings In a flash his mind and body became one as energy. He could feel the electricity flowing through his body. The running became effortless and his speed and energy continued to grow. A howl erupted from his mouth, unbidden. The Hummer came to a screeching halt as the windows all cracked and shattered. Glass in windows around the immediate area where he was running shattered with equal force. A storm of thunder accompanied the howl and his body appeared to glow with a pre-eternal force. Slowly it faded as he slowed down. As he stopped, Danny came running up from the Hummer to stand by him. He could feel heat radiating off of Jonathan. Eric remained with the Hummer, not quite sure what had happened. "Are you all right? What happened?" asked Danny with some concern in his voice. He knew of Jonathan's immortality, and had seen several examples of Jonathan's growing powers but nothing like this. "Yeah I'm fine I think" said Jonathan, the sweat pouring off of his body. He took the proffered bottle of water from Danny and drained it in one long swallow. He looked down at his watch and was amazed. "Damn" he said to himself. "What?" asked Danny looking at the watch. "Well, if I did this right, I just ran a 2 minute 41 second mile" Said Jonathan. "That's not possible" said Danny. "That means you ran somewhere in the area of 35 miles an hour." "For mortal man it is impossible" came a voice. "For a few immortals it is very possible' They both turned around to find Kristian standing there. "What just happened?" asked Jonathan. "I felt like pure energy" "You probably were" said Kristian. "That's something we need to deal with. You apparently crossed the line between your earthly self and your immortal energy being. It happens once in a while to us. It can be controlled by using your powers more." "That's a good thing" said Jonathan, looking around at all the damage in the area. "What about that yell?" "Pure energy escaping from you" said Kristian. "That has to be contained. It can be very hard to explain." "How about we get out of here?" asked Danny; looking around. "People are gathering." "Sounds like a good idea" said Jonathan walking to the Hummer. `Hrm. I thought that glass was unbreakable" "Nothing can withstand the pure pre-eternal energy" said Kristian. "Good to know if I become and assassin" said Jonathan with a smile as he got into the Hummer. "They aren't going to be happy with me back at the repair store" Chapter Two: Later on that morning, Jonathan was in his office working when Brandon came in. "Do you have a couple of minutes?" he asked. "Ian wants to talk to you" Jonathan stretched and spun his chair around to the credenza behind him. As he was getting a cup of coffee from the ever present machine, he looked out of the windows. Shortly after Nick's burial he had moved the offices of Stonewolf Enterprises to Boston. Now, as he looked out over the skyline he said "Sure, I need a break" He paused to stroke the fur of Sebastian who was lying on the edge of the desk. He was rewarded with the mammoth cat purring at him and twitching an ear. Brandon nodded at Ian who came into the office and walked the fifty odd feet to Jonathan's desk. "Good afternoon" he said. "What's up Ian?" asked Jonathan. "You only have that look when we make money." "I thought you would be happy to know that the sales of the two jets have been completed" he started. "The 777 and the white G-550 were completed this morning and the monies transferred to the general service account" "What did we get for them?" asked Jonathan more out of curiosity then anything else. "The 777 with modifications cost you 310 million dollars and we sold it for just under 280 million. The Gulfstream was almost 65 million and sold for 53 million and change" said Ian from memory. Jonathan paused as he thought about the jets. He loved the jets; having gotten the 777 for Nick as a birthday present and the twin 550s on a whim. Several billion dollars in the bank or not he knew that with Nick gone he didn't need four jets. Out of sentiment he kept the 747 and one of the Gulfstream. Anything else if they needed it could be chartered on short notice. The security company also had a fleet of jets they could use should they be needed. "Great, thanks for the update" said Jonathan. "Do you want the money directed towards any particular purpose?" asked Ian. "Well, I was thinking about going to Las Vegas this weekend" said Jonathan. "I could use some spending cash" Ian just looked over his half moon glasses at Jonathan. As many years he had been with Jonathan, he never knew when he was kidding or not. "How much are you planning on taking?" he asked with some alarm. "Just kidding, nothing more then usual" he replied. "And you wonder why we get audited" said Ian, getting up. "Moving that much cash around makes the IRS very nervous; especially when you already own a casino." "Yeah, Danny too" said Jonathan smiling. "Seriously, I'll let you know later on in the day. I'm still playing around with the idea for the weekend" "OK, thank you" said Ian getting up and walking towards the door. Brandon remained behind. "We have a clear weekend if you want to go I suppose" said Brandon. "You do have two parties to think about attending in Key West though" "One of those is going to be boring as hell" said Jonathan thinking about it. "The other one I do need to at least put in an appearance." "You want me to have Don figure out flying times and such?" asked Brandon, making a note on his is IPAQ. "You don't have anything doing next week if you get all that stuff on your desk done tonight" "Slave driver" said Jonathan. "Sign, sign, and sign" said Brandon pointing at the papers. "I'll get you the info you want" Brandon started to leave and then turned back. "Hey Jonathan" Jonathan looked up. "Hrm?" "How are you doing?" he asked quietly. "What do you mean?" Jonathan asked back stalling. "You know what I mean" said Brandon walking back to the desk and sitting down. Sebastian cracked one eye open, looked at him and went back to sleep. "Yeah I do" said Jonathan. He picked up the cat and put him in his lap. Sebastian registered his approval by beginning to purr. Soft paws kneaded at his hand. He absent- mindedly scratched the cats' ears. "I'm doing OK" said Jonathan. "Between work and running and such, I've gotten past the pain. Lord knows I'm doing better then the last time I went through this. I still miss him but the pain is gone." "We are all here for you if you need to talk" said Brandon. "I know, and it is appreciated." Said Jonathan, still scratching the cat. "How are you and Mark doing?" "We're good" said Brandon with a smile. "He's a lot of fun to be with and just hang out with" "You know the condos are yours any weekend you want" said Jonathan." Just let me know which one you want" "I know thanks" said Brandon getting up. "I'll get the flight information for you in about two hours. Meanwhile, back to work." "Yeah, yeah" said Jonathan putting the cat back up on the desk. Sebastian promptly stood, stretched and laid back down square on the pile of papers in front of Jonathan. "Well, that wasn't very nice" said Jonathan looking at the cat. "Neither was putting me down" came the reply. The cat twitched his whiskers and went back to sleep. "OK" said Jonathan "I can take a hint, lunch time." Looking down at the cat as he grabbed his jacket, "You know, I'm probably the only CEO of a billion dollar company with a cat on his desk" In his head he heard the reply "You are the only one fortunate enough you mean" He smiled and headed out of his office. As he crossed the threshold of his office he found Danny and two others waiting for him. "Lunch time guys" he said. "What are we in the mood for today?" "How about you and a sandwich in your office?" asked Danny, half kidding. It was a running argument about Jonathan just going somewhere without advance warning. "Be nice" said Jonathan as they approached the elevators. "I have been good this week. I haven't gone anywhere without letting you know well in advance" "I know and it is appreciated" said Danny. Out of habit he checked his weapons in their harnesses on the way down the elevator. They walked out of the 101 Huntington Lobby where Jonathan kept his offices on the 24th floor. With two agents in front of him and Danny on his left side, he felt a bit of a sham. He really had to talk to Danny about the level of security these days. "Pizza it is" said Jonathan and made a sharp right turn out of the lobby. This caused the agents in front to scurry around. "So much for the humor of the day Jonathan." Muttered Danny. It was a short walk through the mall to California Pizza. Getting a table for four proved a bit of a problem at lunch time, but after a short wait, it was done. An hour later the group left the restaurant and wandered outside of the mall. "You not headed back to the office?" asked Danny. "Yeah" said Jonathan. "I just want to get some fresh air first" The group walked down the sidewalk next to the mall. Finally entering the mall again on the way back to accessing the offices, Jonathan detoured into Barnes and Noble. Danny muttered under his breath but followed him in and directed the other two agents to a wide perimeter. For a while, Jonathan wandered from aisle to aisle. Not looking up going around the corner of one of the bookshelves he bumped into someone. "I'm sorry" Jonathan said. Danny was nearby and started to move in when he noted that the person Jonathan bumped into was flat on his back on the floor. "It's OK man" said the other person. "I wasn't paying attention" Danny helped the man up. Jonathan took a moment to look at the guy. He didn't look like the typical college guy that Boston produced, yet he was definitely not a business man. He was dressed in wrinkled jeans, and docksiders, yet was wearing a very starched white Polo dress shirt. Around his neck was a necklace made of braided hemp. Blond hair and a clean shaven face rounded out the picture. "Are you OK?" asked Jonathan, concern on his face. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little shaken up" came the reply. "Nothing broken" "Can I buy you coffee or something to say I'm sorry" asked Jonathan. "I don't drink coffee, but I appreciate the offer" the man said. "I'm Sam, by the way" "Hi Sam, I'm Jonathan" said Jonathan as he extended his hand. Sam took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you; although it would have been a bit nicer not hitting the deck" Jonathan laughed at that one. "I know the feeling. How about I buy your book at least?" "It's really not necessary" said Sam. "Please, I insist" said Jonathan. He took the book and handed it to one of the agents. "Run this through check out would you?" "Thanks, I really appreciate it. " said Sam. "Who is he? Your secretary?" "Not exactly" said Jonathan as Danny gave him an annoyed stare. "Listen, I'm kind of on a tight schedule" said Jonathan as Danny tapped his watch. "I am apparently late for a meeting or something. Let's head up towards the cashier" "Uhm, what do you do?" asked Sam as they walked towards the front of the store. "You have a few people with you who seem to be handling you" "That's way too long a story for right now" said Jonathan. "Well then, how about a drink later and you can tell me" said Sam. This brought Danny's head around "I don't know" started Jonathan looking over at Danny. "Oh come on" said Sam as they approached the check out counter. The security agent who had gone ahead handed him the book in a bag. "You owe me an explanation. You have 3 or 4 guys around you and you still ran into me" Jonathan laughed again and thought that it was good to laugh. "OK, you got me" he said. "How is 7pm at the Terrace Bar?" "How about 730 instead?" Sam asked. I have a class until 7pm." "Ok sounds good. I'll see you there" said Jonathan, shaking his hand. With that he left the store with the three agents forming a triangle around him. Danny was walking on the side of him. "That was odd" "It was an accident' said Jonathan. "You are being paranoid" "I get paid to get paranoid" said Danny. "I don't like the idea of him asking to meet you somewhere that I haven't checked" "I can get asked out once in a while then the other way around" said Jonathan as they entered the elevators. It was a fast trip up to the 24th floor and Jonathan's office. "I'm going to send some guys over to the bar ahead of time" said Danny taking his cell phone out. "Why am I not surprised" said Jonathan with a mix of annoyance and resignation. CHAPTER THREE The rest of the afternoon was a blur of work for Jonathan. Preparing for an extended business trip and had every intention of going to Las Vegas before it started. Brandon kept him busy and organized with paperwork. Sebastian grew tired of the game of attempting to steal the paperwork and scampered off the desk for the couch in the office. About 330 that afternoon, Brandon buzzed Jonathan. "No more paperwork or I'll toss you out the window and I know you don't bounce" said Jonathan with humor in his voice. "You won't toss me out the window because you can't replace me" said Brandon. "This is true, what's up?" he asked. He took the time and break to check his personal email account. "Ryan is on line 2" said Brandon. "Really" said Jonathan. He hadn't talked to him in about two months. He had taken time to stop by the school that he and Nick had sent him to in Switzerland. "Ok thanks" "I'll have the trip itinerary for you when your done" said Brandon Jonathan hit the speakerphone for line 2 "Hi Ryan" he said, "What's up?" "Not much, I just wanted to call and say hi" said Ryan. "I was wondering how you are doing? You seemed kind of down when you were here earlier this year" "I'm doing OK" said Jonathan and realizing that he meant it. "It's been a long time recovering but I'm doing good. How are you doing over there" "I'm great man" said Ryan. Jonathan could hear the smile in his voice. Jonathan paused to recall that first time he saw Ryan in the alleyway back in Phoenix. "Just got back from a weekend ski trip over in Zermatt." "How was that" asked Jonathan. "It was awesome." said Ryan excitedly "You weren't kidding about some of those runs being crazy. Your hotel is a sweet place!" "Then I guess that the snowboard I brought with me got some use" said Jonathan laughing. "Oh yeah" said Ryan. "I still can't say thank you enough for that man" "No problems" said Jonathan, noting Brandon coming into the office. He looked down at the desk and pointed at several things that needed signing. Jonathan signed the documents while chatting with Ryan. "I was wondering if I could ask a favor" said Ryan. "Of course" said Jonathan shoving all the paperwork at Brandon with a look of disgust. CEO or not he hated paperwork. "What do you need" "I've got a school break in 10 days" said Ryan, "I was wondering if I could spend it in Boston with you. It would be for about 5 days before finals and graduation." That stopped Jonathan cold. Over the past six months he had gotten used to being alone in the penthouse at the hotel or flying about again. Just as quickly he thought that some company other then the occasional bed trick might be nice. He also made a note for Brandon to clear his calendar for the graduation ceremonies. "Sure, that sounds like fun" said Jonathan. "Email me the dates and such. I need to check my schedule, but I don't know of anything that can't be moved around" "Awesome!" came the excited reply. "I gotta do some work here and crash for the night. Thanks again for everything" "You're welcome." Said Jonathan "Don't forget to email me the dates" "I won't" said Ryan. "See you" Jonathan hit the button on the phone to disconnect. He sat back in the chair and wondered about how he was conducting his life. He knew that he had to keep a certain distance from the rest of the world because of his abilities; yet wondered about other things. Continue? Let me know.... -Come to the Edge he said We are afraid they said Come to the Edge he said again They came.. and he pushed them And they flew....