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From: Stone-D <REMstoneOVE@link.net.id>
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Subject: {ASSM} Shock - Part VII (M/F, MC, Mild NC, Rom)
Date: Mon, 17 Dec 2001 22:10:12 -0500
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--
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Please refer to and read the header texts included in Part I, concerning
Copyright, Reproduction restrictions and Disclaimer.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=XX=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=



Shock (M/F, MC, Mild NC, Rom)
Copyright (C) by Stone-D 2001



Part VII : A New Leaf

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Daniel awoke bright and early. As he did so, he 
noted with some disappointment that his 'experiments' had all 
disappeared, leaving small piles of fine dust - with one big one where 
the sofa had been - as the only evidence of his nocturnal activities; 
they had all disintegrated as his mind surrendered to sleep.

Feeling trully refreshed for the first time since recovering from his 
coma, he performed some light exercises before noting that he should be 
getting ready for work. After taking a quick shower and donning his 
favourite suit - it was a fairly unique day after all - he decided to 
call his landlord.

"Hullo? That you Mr. Stone?"

"Yeah. Fred, sorry I didn't get in touch before, but - "

"Hey! No problem. It ain't every day you wake up from a coma!"

"Thanks. Uh, about the ap - "

"All sorted. Your utility bills were settled by your lawyer friend. 
What's his name? I forgot."

"Sam? He came here?"

"Oh, yeah! Plenty of times. Nice guy once you know him. Scared the 
bejesus out of Sally though. Never went to your apartment, just asked 
about costs an' all that."

"Oh. Great! That's a burden off my back. I'll have to thank him later. 
Hey, Fred. Look, it's a bit of a mess here, is there..."

"Heh. Got the spring cleanin' blues, right? No problem. I'll send my 
girl over to give the place a once over later."

"Great! Thanks! Uh, tell Sally I'll give her something for her trouble. 
Oh, when will she come?"

"Don't give her nothin' fancy, now. Beth spoils her more than enough 
already. Oh, she'll show up about... hmmm, how's four thirty? She 
should be back from school by then. Beth?" He called out to his wife. 
"That right? Half past four? Yeah," he said a few moments later. "How's 
that for you?"

"I'm not sure I'll be back by then," Daniel replied with disappointment.

"How about I let her in with the master key? Got no secrets in there 
have you?" Fred chuckled lightly.

"Sure. Classified. Doing research on dirt. Nasty stuff. Nah, that'd be 
great. Cheers, Fred." If only you knew, Daniel thought smugly. Sally'll 
probably think I've gone wierd, leaving piles of dirt everywhere. 
X-Files material even.

"Like I said, no problem. Anything else?"

"No. Best get to work. Again, thanks."

"Sure. Okay, cya."

Well, that's that problem sorted, Daniel thought as he recalled fondly 
the first time he had met Fred face to face, thinking he had just 
stepped onto the set of NYPD Blue. He even had the moustache and 
balding pate.

Checking his wallet to make sure he had enough change for the taxi 
ride, Daniel noticed Dr. Roberts' card with some chagrin. His promise 
to book an appointment had completely escaped his mind. Muttering in 
irritation, he picked up the phone and dialed the number on the card.

"Hello?"

"Dr. Roberts? It's Daniel here."

"Daniel? Oh! Mr. Stone! Are you ready to book your appointment?" he 
asked blithely.

"Yes... er, when would be best? I know I said three days but I would 
prefer to get it out of the way."

"Of course. Hmmm, let me seeee..." Daniel heard a faint rustle of 
paper. "Yes, there's a few places here. The earliest is tomorrow 
afternoon at three thirty. Would that suffice?"

"Ahhhh... yes, that would be fine. I'll just leave the office early, 
thank you. You must be... busy," Daniel hinted.

"No problem. I'm looking forward to seeing you again actually, Mr. 
Stone. Have you had any, uh, difficulties?"

"None whatsoever. I feel great."

"Oh. Nothing? Well, you never know. I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Right. Bye." Don't sound too thrilled now, Daniel thought testily.

"Bye."

He looked around his dirty apartment for a few moments, vaguely 
wondering where he was going to get the raw ingredients for his next 
bout of modern art before realizing with mild consternation something 
that had been staring at him in the face. Where was dust when it wasn't 
sitting in convenient piles on the ground? Why dust? Why even think 
about it? Cursing at his stupidity, he headed for the door but was 
interrupted as the phone rang.

"Dan?"

It was Pete. Talk about timing, Daniel thought to himself wryly. "Hey, 
Pete!"

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine! I've just finished arranging to have the apartment 
cleaned."

"Well, in that case... WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" Pete screamed, 
causing Daniel to wince slightly in remorse. Then, in a more measured 
tone, he said, "Here we all are, worried sick about you. And when you 
finally get out - nothing! Not a word!"

"Hey! Chill, Pete. I'm sorry. Had some things to sort out. I was 
actually on the way to the office when you rang."

"Oh. Really? Damn, sorry. Chalk up another for Premature Pete. Oh, 
Sam's been bugging me about you, but he hasn't been here for ages. Want 
me to buzz him, let him know you're coming in?"

"Yeah. What's he doing?"

"Uh, dunno. Anyway, catch you later."

"Yeah. Won't be long."

"Right. Oh, you coming by taxi?"

"Yeah."

"Don't go direct. The cops are thick as flies on a fresh turd around 
downtown."

"Oh? What's going on?"

"Haven't a clue."

"Oh. Well, I'll move now. Be there soon."

"'kay."

Daniel grinned to himself as he hung up the phone. No doubt Pete was 
itching to get him back behind his desk and dealing with his share of 
the paperwork. He doubted that everyone was 'worried sick' about him 
for a start. Still, it will be good to see the gang again.

Gathering his suit jacket, he made his way to the door - and was 
interrupted again. However, this time it was the buzzer.

Muttering inanities to himself about timing, he wandered over to the 
panel and pressed the answer button. "Hello?" he said gruffly.

"Daniel?" came a fuzzy, electronified voice.

"Yeah? That's me."

"Dan, it's me! Chaz! Let me in!"

Daniel froze, dumbstruck. What? "Uh, sure. Come on up." He pressed the 
door release, fidgeted momentarily and then groaned as he spun around 
and surveyed his apartment. Shit! Just when being a teekay would be 
handy! Shit!

Cursing more volubly, he raced to the door, doubled back to pick up his 
jacket again, then tore his way out of the apartment - slamming the 
door shut behind him just as he heard a pair of high-heeled shoes 
making their way up the stairs.

"Chaz!" he called down. "Wait up, I'll be down in a moment."

Locking the door, he composed himself and steadied his breathing before 
making his way down the stairs. He met Chaz on the next floor standing 
before a breathtakingly panoramic view of a brick wall with a puzzled 
look on her face, her eyebrows drawn together questioningly.

"Hey there," he said, casually waving. She was dressed conservatively 
today; a stark contrast to the tight, sensual outfit she had worn the 
last time Daniel had seen her - plain though it was, had it been on 
another person. A dark grey woolen skirt that ended at her knees, a 
matching sports jacket and a creamy white blouse that complimented her 
light skin. A silky black shawl that highlighted her dirty blonde hair, 
which was tied back in a pony tail and surmounted by a pair of dark 
designer sunglasses, was wrapped about her neck and tucked into the 
front of the jacket, giving her a distinctly classy air. It was an 
outfit designed to show some elegance without drawing too much 
attention, but her beauty killed off whatever attempt at being 
nondescript the designer had originally intended.

"Hi. Nice suit. Where are you going?"

"Work. Thanks, you're looking very good yourself. But Chaz, what are 
you doing here?"

She looked out the window, saw the fascinating view, blinked and turned 
back to Daniel as she closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "I... 
think we need to talk, after last night. Look, I know you're in a rush. 
That's why I came so early, but - can we? Talk?"

"Ummm. I know you're here and... sorry, but can it wait? It's just that 
I'm already kind of late."

"I tried to get here earlier but I was caught in traffic, sorry. Look, 
I'll give you a lift. You said you don't have a car, so..."

Daniel looked at her, trying to fight his inner instincts and keep a 
firm grip on his libido. Oh, what the hell, he thought. What can go 
wrong?

"Okay, thanks," he said, nodding. "I suppose we should talk anyway. So, 
how long were you two talking after I left last night?" he asked as 
they walked down.

She shrugged. "Quite a while. Not all you though," she said as she 
crinkled her nose at him. "So, don't start thinking you're the centre 
of the world or anything."

"What? Me?" Daniel said, grinning widely.



He was pleasantly surprised at her car; a late model black Mercedes 
where he had been expecting some kind of flashy convertible. Still, it 
reeked of more money than he was used to so he was suitably impressed 
as they belted in and drove away. An even bigger shock followed when 
she started playing Vivaldi on the car's stereo system after he had 
given her directions to his office.

"Surprised?" she asked, nudging him in the side with her elbow.

"Yeah," he admitted ruefully, embarrassed she had noticed the look on 
his face.

"Don't be. It's a front. Normally I only use this car when I go to 
dad's. I'm meeting with stuffy types at the bank later, you see. 
Actually the car really belongs to dad, he just lets me use it."

"Ah," Daniel chuckled.

"My other car's a Rolls." She laughed as Daniel gaped. "Just joking! 
Well, actually my dad has one but I never liked it. Stuffy. Nah, I've 
got a Porsche I like to nip about in."

Daniel nodded, not having had the experience to know whether a Rolls 
Royce was stuffy or not, and definitely lacking whatever it was that 
let her casually dismiss a Porsche as something to 'nip about in'.

"So... you and Elaine? Last night?" Daniel hinted.

"Oh. Yeah," she said hesitantly. "Well, we talked it over." She looked 
at him as they stopped for some traffic lights. "Dan, what I said..."

"It's okay. You weren't yourself."

She shook her head slowly. "No, no I wasn't. But... Daniel, I meant it."

"What?" He stared at her. A moment later he fell back in the seat and 
began chuckling to himself. "I can't believe this. What am I on, for 
god's sake? Sure, Chaz. It's not every day some gorgeous girl I just 
met asks me to give her an orgasm or two! Who am I to deny her? The 
lady wants an orgasm, don't argue. Just give her one!" He started 
laughing openly, shaking his head in wonderment.

Chaz blushed furiously. "That's... great, Dan. Thanks. I think. But - 
well, that's not what I meant. Sort of."

Continuing to chuckle lightly, he turned to her and asked, "What then? 
That's what you said last night, you wanted more."

She hesitated for a moment before speaking, a slow flush spreading 
across her cheeks. "I want... well, I also want the bit that, uh, 
usually comes before."

He looked at her closely, his expression guarded as the smile slowly 
slid off his face. "What are you saying? Hang on, Elaine said that 
you're..."

"... a lesbian. Yeah." She sighed and peered through the tinted glass 
at the traffic sign which still showed red. "Well..." She said the next 
words in a rush. "All I know is I want to give it another try. I'm... I 
dunno. We talked about what you did to me, and her, and she told me 
that kind of feeling was pretty normal. With guys. We couldn't exactly 
sit and compare notes, Dan! If you know what I mean. So I want to try 
again."

They sat in silence until the lights showed green and Chaz put the car 
in gear.

"So, what you're saying is that the feeling you get with another woman 
is... what, different? Different than with a guy?" Chaz started to nod, 
but then shrugged. "Well!" Daniel sat back loosely in the passenger 
seat, releasing a deep breath and not knowing what to say.

"Chaz," he said after a few moments. "Chaz, you're not... are you - "

"No."

"No?"

"No, Dan. I'm not a virgin. I lost that years ago in high school. Like 
I said, I want to try again. Dan, I'm twenty two. I'm not a clueless 
teenager you know."

"Oh," said Daniel, feeling slightly disappointed as he pictured her in 
that very role. Then curiosity struck him and his eyebrows furrowed 
together. "But - "

"On purpose. Look, you know what it's like. Well, maybe you don't. It 
was an itch I had to scratch."

"Ah," said Daniel, preferring to remain monosyllabic.

Chaz suddenly laughed quietly to herself. "Dan, a few days ago if 
anyone had tried to convince me that I would be having serious 
difficulty talking a guy into bed I'd have gone into fits."

So, that's that, Daniel thought. That's what she wants, for sure. Oh, 
shit how did I get in this mess? What the hell am I complaining about? 
Crap!

"And if someone had told ME that I wouldn't be shouting 'Yes! Thank you 
Lord!', I'd be calling them crazy. Chaz, you're gorgeous. I really, 
really mean that." A light flush crossed Chaz's face and neck as she 
stifled a grin. "I'm having great difficulty here, you know, especially 
when I think about... ah, last night. It's a bit complicated. Look, 
what did Elaine say to all this?"

Chaz sat silent for a moment, then, still without looking at him, she 
spoke. "Dan, what is the situation with you and Elaine? Truthfully? 
Just how complicated is it? How complicated can it be?"

Daniel looked at her, trying to figure out what she was thinking 
without actually doing the dirty deed. Damn, he thought. It's like 
having a car and being forced to walk everywhere.

Noticing him scrutinize her, Chaz sighed and said, "I don't know how 
you feel towards Elaine, but don't start feeling responsible or guilty 
just because you screwed. She isn't, I'm telling you." She saw a look 
of faint suspicion come into his eyes. "Don't look at me like that! 
She's my best friend and I'm hers. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her, 
and I'm pretty damn sure she wouldn't hurt me. Not that she could 
before last night." She started to smirk but then sighed and lowered 
her head slightly. "I told her how I was feeling last night, you know? 
I told her everything. Not just about you, but..."

"Why?" Daniel interrupted quietly. "That's what's bugging me the most. 
I mean, I'm... uh, not your type."

"'Not your type'. That's what Elaine said too." Chaz paused, a look of 
indecision on her face. "Okay, hear me out. Do you have any idea what 
it's like, being me?" She looked at him for a moment before looking 
back at the road and continuing. "Of course not. Look at me. What was 
going through your mind when I first walked into the room last night?"

Daniel remained silent.

"Yeah, I can see it in your face. Well, I've had that all my life, 
acting or no acting. I never hung out with guys at high school. I 
couldn't handle it. I suppose it might have been different if I 
wasn't... if I liked guys. Do you know how it feels like to be 
'popular' only because every jock wants to bend you over a locker and 
fuck you blind?"

"I see. Sorry. I always wondered about that at school, actually."

She gave him a searching look. "Did you? Then you're a first. Even the 
fucking teachers gave me the chills."

"I'm sorry."

She looked at Daniel, then turned back as tears started to flow. "Oh, 
shit. I'm sorry. I've got no right laying all this on you. Shit!" She 
slammed her hand hard against the wheel.

Daniel didn't know what he felt as he watched her crying softly, 
fighting a losing battle against the tears coursing their chaotic way 
down her cheeks and ruining her mascara. Finding a box of tissues in 
the center compartment, he silently handed her a few. He knew what he 
wanted, that was a certainty - he felt more than a little lightheaded 
and dull witted since a large volume of his blood had taken up 
residence in his groin, anticipating a pleasure cruise of warmer 
climes. But was she really acting on her own, rather than something 
caused by his 'proof' the previous night? He gazed out the window at 
the buildings rushing by. A change of topic was in order.

"So," he said as he grinned comically, facing her once again. "What do 
you do with yourself when you're not frothing at the mouth?"

Chaz twisted in her seat and stared at him, eyelids stained with 
smudged mascara, glancing at the road occasionally and disturbing 
Daniel in the process. "You can't be serious. Christ, you're hard to 
follow. Uh, you mean my job?" She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with 
the tissues.

"Yeah."

"Oh, this and that. Nothing permanent. Did some modeling after high 
school. Had a go at being a news anchor for a while, one of those short 
ones between regular shows. That was last year."

"Didn't enjoy it?"

"Nah. Wasn't very good at it. 'Too emotional', they said." She sniffed 
again as she shook her head.

"So, what're you doing now?"

"Not much. Kinda unemployed at the moment."

"Oh."

"Dan, I'm not exactly broke."

"I noticed!" Daniel grinned at her.

"Yeah. Well, I know it sounds kinda lame but I only work when I'm 
bored."

"So... hang on. Turn left here. My friend said the cops were doing 
something around downtown."

"Oh. Sure."

A few turns and a broken down sedan later they pulled into the spacious 
car park in front of Daniel's cafe where he sat and fidgeted, fighting 
a losing battle with a childish urge to show off as Chaz manoeuvered 
the car into a space. Well, it might help cheer her up, he thought as 
he caved in. Oh, what the hell.

"Hey, Chaz. Got any pet phobias? Snakes? Spiders?"

"What?" Chaz said, momentarily taken aback at the odd turn in the 
conversation. "Oh, no. Nothing. Why?"

Daniel cupped his palms and frowned momentarily. Then he slowly 
breathed into them and then focused, his forehead creased in 
concentration. "Hey, it worked!" he exclaimed a few moments later. 
Smiling in satisfaction, he turned to her. "I've been practicing." With 
that, he opened his hands and a tiny, shockingly brilliant yellow 
butterfly flew up and landed on her hand as she gripped the steering 
wheel.

"Ow! What th... where..." Her voice trailed off. "No way!" she 
whispered, staring wide eyed at the creature flexing its wings on the 
back of her hand. "No fuckin' way!"

"Waaay!" said Daniel, quoting inanely. "What do you think?" he asked 
with a smug expression as he leaned back and crossed his arms.

She stared for a moment, then said in a flat tone, "The body's supposed 
to be black, not yellow. And it doesn't have feelers."

Daniel gaped. "Oh, give me a break! I haven't done a butterfly before!"

Chaz grinned cheesily at him, her eyes sparkling. "I'm joking! What do 
you think I think!? It's great! It's really heavy though."

"What?"

"It's heavy! And it's digging into my hand!" She winced slightly.

"Here, let me have that." As he spoke, the butterfly sprang up and 
fluttered back to Daniel, settling into the palm of his extended hand. 
"I can't feel anything, are you sure?" He frowned at her - then noticed 
a faint row of red dots on her hand. "Oh, god! I'm so sorry!" He 
grabbed a tissue from the box with his free hand and reached for her.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm a big girl!" She smiled encouragingly at him as 
she took the tissue. "Stings a bit though."

"Damn!" he muttered remorsefully as he watched her dab at the bleeding 
hand. "I wasn't expecting that. I thought I'd got it right at - Aaah!" 
His hand suddenly dropped heavily into his lap, pressing against his 
thigh. "God, it is heavy!" he breathed, astonishment creasing his brow 
as he lifted the heavyweight butterfly back up to his face.

"Told you. You didn't believe me did you?" Chaz said accusingly.

"I don't understand it." Daniel shook his head wonderingly as he stared 
at the frail looking construct nestled in his hand. "It wasn't anything 
like that last night... I think." A moment later he sighed irritably, 
opened the door and heaved the offending insect onto the tarmac outside 
where it landed with a leaden thud.

"Hey! What did you do that for?" Chaz demanded.

"Well, I don't fancy carrying it around for a start."

"I wanted to keep it!"

"Er, sorry Chaz. But you're forgetting. It doesn't last long once I'm 
gone."

"Oh. Oops." Chaz bit her lip in irritation as she continued to nurse 
her hand.

"I'm really sorry about that. Are you okay? It didn't exactly have the 
effect I intended."

Chaz chuckled lightly. "No, it probably didn't did it? Even so, it was 
really cool. Thanks, I appreciate it. Well, the thought anyway." She 
smirked as she saw the look of consternation on his face. "Hey, have 
you shown Elaine that trick?"

"No, not yet. That was my, uh, first public performance. I might show 
her tonight."

Her eyes widened slightly. "So... I was the first?" she breathed. 
"That's so cool! Thanks Daniel!" She leant forward and hugged him for a 
moment before pulling back again, her eyes shining.

"Hey! Er, yeah you were. No problem."

"That was so sweet! It was like..." Then she frowned and a puzzled look 
came into her eyes. "One thing though, Dan. How did it move? How did it 
fly? I don't get that part. I thought you said you couldn't do 
telekinsesi... whatever?"

Daniel opened his mouth to reply - then he stared at her. His mouth 
snapped shut with a loud click. "Telekinesis? No, I can't. I..." He 
frowned, trying to think how he could have moved it. "I just..." he 
waved his hands weakly. "I just did it. I just concentrate a bit, 
then..."

"Well, it looked like to me." She shrugged dismissively, then she 
peered at herself in the rearview mirror as she wiped the streaked 
mascara from her face with a fresh tissue, occasionally wetting it with 
her dainty tongue.

Daniel gaped at her. "What do you mean?"

"You know." She fluttered her uninjured hand about, imitating his 
insect wannabe. "You made it fly. I mean, it wasn't like it was a real 
butterfly, was it? Besides, even if it was a real butterfly, it was way 
too heavy!"

Daniel was speechless. There was no way around her argument that he 
could see; he had no explanation whatsoever. Is she right? he thought 
wonderingly. Am I a teekay? But if so... why can't I use it?

"Anyway. Thanks again, Dan."

"No! Thank you, Chaz. I would never have caught onto that. But I'm glad 
you're happier now. At least that part worked out."

"Thanks. I am feeling better now. Hey, what time shall I pick you up?"

"Sorry?"

"I'm going to pick you up after work. What time should I come?"

"Chaz, you don't need to pick me up! I don't want to put you out, I'll 
just grab a taxi."

"Bull. Besides, we still haven't finished our talk. You kinda 
distracted me."

"Oh. Damn. I thought that had worked." He grinned at her, then Chaz 
scowled and threw a punch at his arm. "Okay, okay! You win. I'll try to 
wrap up by one o'clock. I don't fancy a full day today, not after that."

"Deal! Now move. Shift." She flapped her hands in a shooing motion. 
"Places to go, people to see."

"Yeah, right." Daniel stepped out of the car. Shrugging into his suit 
jacket, he moved to the driver's side and, instead of winding the 
window down as he had expected, Chaz stepped out and stood next to him, 
leaning on the open door and ignoring the flashing warning lights.

"That... um, butterfly really was great, Dan. Thanks. It made my day, 
you know? Even if I had to pay for it with blood!" She smiled at him, 
then leaned over on tiptoes and lightly pecked him on the cheek. A 
moment later, grinning at Daniel's flustered expression, she said, 
"I'll be back at one, then. Have fun!" She giggled at his embarrassment 
then got back into the car, gently closing the door behind her.

Daniel watched her pull out of the car park, waving once as she reached 
the road. Sighing to himself and wondering how his life had taken such 
remarkable turns in the last few days, he turned around and trudged up 
to the front entrance after casting a thoughtful look at the discarded 
paperweight insect on the ground.



There was a small army of employees and regular customers milling about 
the reception area under the direct command of General Pete, looking 
unkempt as usual with his mop of curly black hair hanging loose over 
the collar of his crumpled and well worn suit. They were all either 
grinning at him or smirking knowingly at each other. "What?" he said, 
pausing at the entrance with his eyebrows raised.

"SURPRISE!!!" they all cheered. Suddenly, multicoloured streamers 
sprang out of nowhere and an enormous 'WELCOME BACK' sign dropped down 
before the reception desk, swinging dangerously on a series of thin 
cotton strings.

"Jesus Pete!" Daniel whimpered, silently thanking whatever deity 
happened to be nearby that he had his shield up. "I'm a convalescing 
coma patient for crying out loud, was this really necessary?"

"Of course, you daft bastard!!" Pete grinned jovially. Plump while not 
being eligible for the title of 'fat', Pete was looking good at a ripe 
old age of twenty nine. Marriage had softened his demeanor since his 
university days, when all he could think about was either booze, sex or 
how to finance the next night's binge of either addiction. Pete had 
been one of those 'naturals' at university, one of the annoying ones 
that never did any work and attended lectures only to sign his name but 
still got straight 'A's. As the only one of Daniel's university friends 
that he still kept in touch with, it had been a blessing that Pete's 
major had been in business and finance. Daniel's business plan had been 
fleshed out by Pete; effectively, he was in charge of nearly 
everything, having the brains and the skills to do it properly. "So 
how's tricks? Feeling alright?"

"Yep! Never felt better!" Daniel almost shouted above the noise. A 
length of confetti landed on his shoulder.

"Thought so, watching that show outside."

Daniel groaned. "You saw that?"

"How could I miss it? Shit, Dan, everyone was watching. It's not every 
day a damned Merc cruises into this place as you fine well know! I 
nearly pissed myself when someone shouted it was you getting out. Had 
real fun getting everyone here in time, ready for the welcoming party."

"You didn't have to do that, Pete, but thanks anyway. I appreciate it."

Pete shrugged. "Makes everyone happy. Nice break from routine. So, 
who's the babe? Couldn't see her face from here, but the rest..." Pete 
grinned lewdly as he moved his hand in a vertical sine wave. "Boy, that 
was pretty damned quick. I'm sure I would have noticed if you had her 
hanging around three months ago!"

"She's just a friend." He saw the look on Pete's face. "Honestly!"

"Bull! Don't give me that crap, Dan. I saw the way she kissed you, 
leanin' in like that!"

"Really, I just met her last night."

Pete whistled lowly. "Christ, that IS fast!"

"Oh, give it a rest, Pete." If only he knew, Daniel thought.

"'kay, suit youself. Anyway, piss off and go do the rounds. Shake hands 
and all that. I'll be up in the office."

"Sure. Be there in a minute."

"Doubt it."



Half an hour later, Daniel wearily stalked up the three flights of 
stairs up to the office and swung the door open. Seeing Pete lounging 
on the couch, he slouched over and slumped down next to him.

Pete eyed him speculatively. "Told you."

"Yeah. I wouldn't have believed it. Who's the new receptionist by the 
way?"

"Sheryll? Oh, that's Jim's niece. On her holidays so I thought I'd be 
sweet and give her a temp job."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "Bit young isn't she?"

Pete sighed. "Yeah. Pretty cute though eh?"

"What happened to Maggy?"

"Married. Off on her honeymoon. I gave her a bonus for the trip."

"Oh. So where's Sam?"

Pete shrugged. "He said he'd be here by ten. Traffic probably."

"The traffic wasn't that bad."

"He's in a Civic. You were in a Merc. Who's the most likely to have 
people nicely making way for them?"

Daniel paused for a moment. "Point taken. So how's it going?"

"Pretty much the same. Oh, there was a little situation here last 
month."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Tournament night. Some idiot got caught cheating on 
CounterStrike. Set up his own hacked server, nervy bugger. Nearly 
caused a riot."

"Shit. Did it get serious?"

"Not really. There was a punchup, but the cops handled that. It wasn't 
on the premises so there wasn't any problem for us."

"Glad to hear it. Has it been patched yet?"

"Yup. Pretty quick - "

"DANIEL!" came a loud roar from outside, then the office door suddenly 
swung open and banged against the wall. A moment later, a large, 
flame-haired, full-bearded and well muscled man lumbered in; a biker 
from hell to scare young virgins with before they went out on a first 
date, were it not for the neat, form-fitting navy blue pinstriped suit 
he was wearing.

"Sammy! Look who's here!" Pete crowed with a cruel grin of anticipation.

"DANIEL!" the figure repeated as it saw him, cringing as he stood up.

"Hey there, Sam."

"Why the hell didn't you call, you shithead!?" Sam growled as he lunged 
forward and grabbed Daniel in a bearhug.

"Sorry. I was a bit... busy," Daniel croaked his reply.

"I'll say!" Pete smirked, wiggling his eyebrows knowingly.

Releasing him from the hug, Sam held him out at arm's length and 
studied him. "You're looking good. Are you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Um, let go? Please?"

"Oh, sure."

Daniel winced slightly and and walked back over to the couch, where he 
collapsed like a rag doll. "Hey, I got your letters Sam."

"Been to the bank yet?" Sam asked suspiciously.

"No. Why?"

A big grin sprang up on Sam's previously dour face. "Oh, boy are you in 
for a surprise! I had real fun talkin' to those cops, but they saw my 
way pretty quick."

"I bet," said Daniel and Pete in concert.

"Real nice about it they were. Pete, where's that envelope I asked you 
to keep?" he rumbled.

"Oh, uh... the white one? It's... hang on." Pete stood up, walked over 
to his desk and started rifling through the drawers. Eventually, he 
cried out triumphantly and thrust a plain white envelope at Sam, who 
took it from him and waved it jovially at Daniel.

"This, Danny boy, is gonna make you piss yourself. It's gonna make your 
day, your week, your month, your year, your whole friggin' life!" He 
tossed it at Daniel, then dropped heavily onto a chair with an insane 
grin on his bearded face.

Daniel eyed Sam suspiciously while he inspected the envelope. Still 
looking at Sam with narrowed eyes, he tore open the envelope and looked 
at the single unadorned piece of paper inside; a piece of paper 
featuring a solitary line of clear, block printed text.

Daniel gaped. His eyes bugged. He stared at Sam, then Pete, then looked 
down at it again. "You're shittin' me? This is for real?"

Sam nodded, still grinning. Pete was leaning against his desk, 
stiffling a laugh.

"But... that's unheard of! I mean... three, okay. But thirty? Thirty 
fucking million fucking dollars? SHIT!"

"You're now officially stinkin' rich, Danny boy!" crowed Sam. Pete 
burst out into laughter, finally unable to hold it back.

"Congratulations!" they both said in turn.

"My god!" Daniel whispered.

"Tax free, too!"

"My god!" Daniel repeated.

"No, thank Sam there. I think the boys in blue crapped themselves the 
moment he walked into their shiny offices."

"How the hell did you do this, Sam?" Daniel asked, still whispering.

"It's not that much, taken in perspective. They didn't have to go to 
court, for a start. Add in lost earnings, damage to the business... 
What convinced them though was the media. They never got wind of it."

"What! How? How did you pull that one off?"

"Had a chat with the crews involved at the scene. No need to cause 
trouble, way I saw it. So did they, after I gave them a few presents 
for their kids. If you know what I mean."

"Riiight. And the police just accepted this?"

"Eventually."

"More like it was you grinnin' at them across the table that did it I 
reckon," said Pete.

"I can't believe it. I can't wrap my head around this, it's too sudden!"

"Oh, you'll get used to it, I'm sure," said Sam drily.

"Christ, what the hell am I going to do with thirty bloody million?"

"Well, for a start I think your little lady'll be mighty pleased."

"What lady?" asked Sam.

"Heh, you should have seen him earlier. Showed up here this morning in 
a bloody Mercedes bloody Benz with a seriously hot chick as the driver."

"Really? Nice one, Dan! Pretty quick though."

"That's what I said."

"She's just a friend."

"That's what he said."

"Quit it Pete. She really is just a friend."

"Right. Sam, Danny says he met her last night. This morning she drives 
him to work in her Merc and then gives him a kiss before he comes in. 
What do you think?"

"Humphf. No comment. Circumstantial evidence."

"Sure. Say what you want, Danny here's got it made."

"Guys, what the hell am I going to do?" Daniel was still sat there 
staring blankly at the slip of paper held rigidly in his hand.

"Hey, don't ask me!" said Pete.

"That's entirely up to you, Dan. As they say, 'the world is your 
oyster' now."

"No it's not," said Daniel quietly under his breath.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing. Look, I can't keep this all for myself. I want you guys to 
have some. Say, ten each? Split it three ways?"

There was a moment of tense silence. Only the noise from the television 
intruded, its low volume finally having a chance at being heard.

"No." Pete said eventually in a low voice as he gazed at a nondescript 
spot on the wall.

"Likewise," Sam agreed, though not without a tiny glint in his eye. 
"That's yours, Dan. You earned it."

"Like hell I did!" Daniel cried. "You did the work, Sam! What did I do? 
Lie in bed for three months!"

"That's why you deserve it, Dan. You shouldn't have been there. The 
cops made a mistake, and they paid for it. End of story. That's the way 
the system works."

"But... but thirty million!?"

"It's yours Dan, like it or not. Besides, it's chicken shit compared to 
some of the litigations that go on these days."

Daniel turned to Pete, his eyes wide open in desperation. "What about 
you?"

Pete paused before replying, still staring at the wall and fidgeting 
with his tie. "No, Daniel. No. To tell the truth, I think that you'll 
be cursing that money before the year is out. No, I don't need that."

"Great. Just great." Daniel sighed as he slumped back, thinking that 
there were other things in his life that were much more deserving of a 
good curse. "Okay, I'll accept that Pete, and I think you're probably 
right, to tell the truth. But you, Sam? No, I can't... If it wasn't for 
you, I wouldn't even have this money!"

"That a threat?" Sam grinned.

"Get serious Sam!"

"I am being serious," Sam said, the grin slipping from his face.

Daniel rubbed his temples. "Okay, not ten. How about seven? Come on, 
you forked out cash yourself to get me this!"

Sam looked at him carefully. "True. You're determined aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Fine. Make it two. That's more than enough to cover the, ahem, 
presents."

"Two? Two out of thirty?"

"Okay, five. No more arguments. But Dan, remember I did that as a 
friend. Not as an employee, a friend."

"I know, and thanks for that. Really. But, surely you can see it from 
where I stand!"

"Yes," Sam nodded. "Which is why I'm letting you win."

"'Letting you win'," Pete muttered.

Sam ignored him. "So then, now that's out of the way, got any plans?"

Daniel sat slack-faced and stared vacantly at the television as he 
considered how his life had been derailed; completely diverted from its 
original course. Had this money come into his life before his accident, 
he would have been overjoyed. Ecstatic. Orgasmic even. But now...

He was drowning in the impossible events of the past few days and he 
still had no clue about his real situation. He needed space, but every 
time he thought things were settling down, something new showed up to 
smack him between the eyes. Even today. First Chaz, now this.

It was clear now that his life would never be the same again. Never. 
Pete's right, Daniel thought. But it's not just the money. It's 
everything else as well. I could ignore the other stuff, but this...

Daniel stared glumly at the innocent looking number on the piece of 
paper, trying to decide what to do as Pete looked on with compassion 
and vague pity on his face. Sam he failed to read, his features 
expressionless with the poker face he used in the courtroom. Hell, 
Daniel thought. at least I won't have any problems with the rent any 
more. As for the business, how am I going to handle that as well as 
all...

He sat up suddenly and looked squarely at Pete with his eyes open wide 
and glinting with resolute fire. "Pete, I know you don't want the 
money. But I do know what you will accept though. And don't you dare 
say no. Pete, I want you to take over the business."



'Shock' continues in Part VIII : Siege

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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