Fifth Wheel

"Fits my mood perfectly," Krystal said. Her eyes were red from crying, and Amber was nearby to comfort her. "You owe us a story after we eat," Krystal demanded, and I acquiesced to keep things low-key.

"Evan brags about your stories," Gerald said as he set the table. "Says you should have been an author instead of whatever it is that you do for a living. Damn it, I know I promised, but hell, what is it that you do? What takes you to every corner of the world?"

"I entertain and vacation quite a bit. However, my primary work is as a specialized bounty hunter," I replied. "I find people desperately trying to hide."

"This is what was so damn mysterious," Gerald snarled at Evan. "He hunts down criminals for crying out loud. Jesus fucking Christ, you made it out like he did wet work for the government."

"I never said they were criminals. What I said is people hiding out." I corrected him. "I focus on folks that go dark, underground, and leave society behind. They find out of the way places with little creature comforts to live out the rest of their days."

"Ha, I asked for a story, and this one sounds interesting," Krystal laughed. "Who hires you?"

"I can't tell you that. Call it privileged information. These people have deep pockets and pay well for results and discretion."

"Can you at least share one of your grand adventures?" Krystal pushed.

"Fine. I will change some details for obvious reasons. I just got back from overseas a few days ago. All I can say is that the location was hot and sticky. The jungle-like heat was oppressive and unforgiving. The target used to be a gang leader and departed with my client's property in the middle of the night. Oh, and about half a billion in gold and gem-quality stones."

"Ooh, I just adore diamonds," Amber said. "No? If not diamonds, then what?"

"Diamonds are worthless," I explained. "They are part of a very successful ad campaign and a monopoly. There are tons of diamonds out there. You want something that lasts. You invest in emeralds or opals. Our bad guy hoarded a small fortune in rare gems for easy travel." We sat down to eat, and I continued. "If he had left with just the gold and jewels, he might have lived out the rest of his days as the king of the armpit he settled in. That little extra item sealed his fate. My network of informants helped me track him down. It cost me upfront, but my fee more than made up for that after I located him."

"You aren't going to leave us hanging here, are you?" Krystal asked.

"Nope," I said as I chewed my bite of hamburger. "Just to reach the general area, it took an international flight, a bus to the middle of nowhere, and hiring a private dual prop airplane to reach the god awful town. To be honest, I had never heard of this place before I got there. The local dialect was a bitch to understand. It sounded like patois French and Mandarin had a love child. This tiny parcel of no man's land had been overrun by different world powers so many times the citizens had a significant case of an identity crisis. Poor bastards. On the plus side the food there was amazing. I dropped some serious coin to buy a copy of a woman's recipe book. Six generations of her bloodline had compiled it, and worth every penny."

"You should open a restaurant serving those dishes," Amber said. "You could make a killing."

"I might just do that," I replied. "Anyway, someone tipped off the target of my arrival. The former gang leader sent a welcoming committee." Evan's expression changed. He was upset by the story. "I did not show up alone. Friends of mine came along just in case. I am glad they did." I glossed over damning details and shared the bare-bones story. "I rented the largest building in town and, along with the stock of food and supplies, made the time there bearable. About two miles outside of the village's borders is an abandoned mine. Yep, this guy had converted it into a fortress."

"Wait. Hold the fuck on. You took bodyguards with you to find this guy?" Evan asked. His haunted expression did not lighten when I replied.

"No, I would never stoop to hiring amateurs for something that important," I chuckled. "I brought eight of the toughest mercenaries money can buy. I worked with most of them previously, and they earned my respect and friendship." All eyes were on me except for Krystal. No, she was too busy crawling under the table and unzipping my jeans. I thought for sure someone would see her move or discover her missing. "I... damn, I mean, we milked the local thugs for information about the guy we were hunting." I took a moment to collect my thoughts as Krystal's hands roamed over my growing erection, and her pierced tongue swirled around the tip. "The old gold mine had doubled for a bunker back in the second world war. So, much of the reinforcements were already in place. Rumor had it that he had refurbished an old Nazi tank, but no one had seen it with their own eyes."

"Just because they had not seen a long thick cannon did not mean it didn't exist," Amber purred. "Right, honey?" Gerald just laughed. "Go on and continue," Amber said as Krystal's head began to piston forward and back. I bit my lower lip and tried to remember where I had left off. "Nazi tank?"

"Oh yeah, the truth is the reality was worse than that. Part of the tunnel system housed armaments, ammunition, and bullet reloading equipment and supplies. Our biggest concern was if a secret escape tunnel existed. That fucker could do a vanishing number while his men covered for him." I took a drink of wine to hide the fact that Krystal's tongue was lashing the tip of my cock. The horizontal barbell was driving me crazy. How I managed not to cry out or shiver was anyone's guess. "While the mercs scouted the area, I began a short if intense liaison with a highly prized young woman in the town. Her father was protective. Her brothers and potential breeding partners watched me like a hawk even as she snuck into the house and let me fuck her rotten for five nights straight. It wasn't until Monday rolled around that I bothered to ask her how the hell she slipped in and out of the house unseen."

"The escape tunnel," Evan said. I touched my nose and clenched my teeth as Krystal swallowed my load down her greedy throat. "It was right under your nose." Speaking of right under everyone's nose. Krystal was repositioning herself.

"Yep, no one bothered to look just out of the line of sight. I felt so damn stupid when the girl told me."

"Where is Krystal?" Evan asked. Krystal was in the process of lining up her soaked slit with my erection. Thanks to the tattoo, I could go again immediately. "She must still be upset at me. If I go after her, it will just piss her off even more." Krystal teased the head of my cock with her labia until neither of us could stand it anymore. My length filled her up until it threatened her womb, and the best Krystal could manage was a shallow rocking motion of her hips. It was more than enough. I imagined Krystal on her knees, ass up and head down, as she gently fucked me.

"Once we found the tunnel, the rest was a cakewalk. We split up. The front team flushed out the bad guy while the second team performed the capture. We handed him over, alive and well, and got paid before sunset." I sipped my soda while Krystal drove her hips back and forth as my brother processed the story. "You know how you know if you are fucking a girl well?"

"I'll bite," Evan laughed. "How do you know?"

"When you are pounding her so hard, she reverts to her native language. European and Asian gals are well known for that."

"Just have to rub it in, eh," Evan said.

"How long has it been since you and Krystal hooked up?" I asked. "Before last night." His expression said it all. "I see." I lowered my head to hide my face as I clenched my jaw as Krystal milked an orgasm that ranked an eight on the Richter scale.

"You see that that is my little brother," Evan said, completely misinterpreting my reactions. I left him ignorant that his wife was licking my cock clean under the table. Time to move things outside to give Krystal a chance to slip out unseen.

"Anyone want to partake?" I asked, holding up the pouch holding the King. "This'll give Krystal some alone time if she wants it. I am sure she'll come once she smells this."

We settled onto the front porch and passed around the pipe. I was refilling the rosewood bowl when Krystal reappeared. She looked flushed and freshly fucked. Evan seemed to pick up on that and grinned. He laughed and mentioned alone time and her rosy cheeks. We gave her the first hit off the pipe, and the general mood seemed to improve.

"You want to tell him, or should I?" Krystal asked Even. "Fine... coward. The real reason you are here this weekend is that I want a child. Evan is shooting blanks."

"Now, hold the fuck on. It is more than that," Evan snapped. "You are misrepresenting things, again. We went to see a specialist. They took a sample, and, well, even the doctor is baffled. Some guys have a low sperm count; me, well, I have zero. Doc has never seen anything like it before. There isn't a block or lack of sperm, but they aren't leaving the barn for some reason."

"It was supposed to be a night of swapping," Amber added. "So that if Krystal got pregnant, no one would be the wiser and no guilt whatsoever. Gerald jumped at the chance to bang her again, didn't you, sweetie?"

"Yep," Gerald admitted. "Anything to help out a friend."

"Again?" I asked as Gerald winked at Krystal. "How long have you guys been swinging?"

"A few months," Evan replied. "We got drunk, and one thing led to another."

"Do you have any kids out there?" Amber asked. "All those women, I mean, a few of them must have gotten pregnant."

"None that I am aware of," I said. "Perhaps, we share the same genetic defect." I lied. There was a reason, and it went back to Des and the pact. "But, if you want me to try, for the continuation of the bloodline, of course. I will grudgingly do the nasty with this fine woman here." I paused to let my words sink in. "Are you sure about this? Things appear rather fragile right now. I don't want to hurt either of you." I lied straight to his face. Krystal had blown and fucked me from under the table, and I wanted more.

"We agreed it was worth a try," Evan said. He appeared uncertain, but when Krystal hugged him, he caved. "She wants a child so damn bad, and I can't blame her. I would do anything to make her happy." I cursed silently, hearing him say that. Anything is an open door to let in things both undesired and unpredictable.

"So, you set me up with the arguments and drama," I replied. "I would feel sorry for Krystal and then you'd spring the trap once we hooked up."

"Something like that," Krystal lied. "I want a child. I will do anything, be anything you want to get pregnant. So, will you fuck me and Amber rotten?"

"I accept," I said to seal and solidify their desire. "Let's smoke a bit more, and we'll get this party started." With the aid of the weed, all five of us hunkered down near the hearth, and the freak show began and only ended after two hours of debauchery. Revelations abounded. Amber showed her true face to Gerald when I took my belt and secured her arms behind her back while he watched. I ran her through the gambit to push her commitment, and Amber passed with flying colors. Krystal demanded the same treatment, and my brother saw an aspect of his wife he only suspected. As I imagined, when Evan asked Krystal about light bondage, she snapped, and the previous argument blazed back to life.

"You never seemed to care before," Krystal snarled. "Hell, mundane lovemaking has to be scheduled. If it isn't in your damn day planner, I might as well not exist."

When Evan tried to explain about work, she stormed off upstairs. I refused to tell him, 'I told you so.' Evan looked broken, and I couldn't fix him. His actions had brought him here. We all had to accept the consequences of those decisions, work over his marriage in his situation. I felt for my brother, but I could do nothing to help. Evan had to want to fix things and rebuild what he had torn asunder. I built up the fire in the hearth and stared into the flames.

"So many colors," I said. "Reds and yellows, but at the bottom hints of blues, greens, and just a wisp of purple." I took a twig and poked the coals. "I did what you wanted. I am here," I said to the crackling fire.

'You performed perfectly,' the voice said. 'Two heirs to the bloodline in one night. We will watch them with great enthusiasm. Well done. Your reward as promised.' I gasped as the surge of power coursed through me. 'Once you solve your little riddle there, I have a new contract for you. How do you feel about returning to Germany? He was at an auction there before disappearing again.'

"Liam Mayfair," I chuckled. "You do have a boner about him. Care to tell me why or just leave me in the dark?"

'He is the last, and I mean to end him through you,' the voice rumbled like thunder.

"He will have gone to ground already. I will cut my visit here short," I said. "I'll make one last look around tonight and leave tomorrow." I felt the presence recede and savored the rush of my reward as the energy renewed the cells in my body and granted me my latest gift, improved vision, and the purpose of the metal sliver in my pocket. A key, it was a key, but where was the lock?

The prize left me sweating and my heart pounding in my chest. I washed up, dressed in clean clothes, and searched for the next clue with the others asleep or drifting off. The key needed a lock, and I would find it and what secrets it revealed. Despite the drop in temperature, I left the house without a jacket. The starlight painted my surroundings in a silvery radiance and allowed me to navigate without the need for a flashlight. With the energy bursting inside me, I jogged around the property, looking for the next clue that would lead me to the lock.

"Miranda's needle," I said.

The towering stone obelisk had been hauled in from a distant quarry, carefully cut and shaped by my grandfather, and bearing hieroglyphs. While it appeared to be a single piece of granite, he had assembled it from several multi-ton puzzle-like blocks. Hidden among the hand-tooled symbols was one of the markers. I placed my back against the surface of the pillar bearing the sign. I did my best to walk in a straight line. My path ended as I reached the second lake. Tall grass-covered the area save a single gap about a foot square. I squatted and found a metal plaque anchored near the shoreline. It bore all six designs, and once I pushed down some of the grass surrounding it, the surface became clearer to study.

"Slot meet key." I removed the slender metal rectangle and pushed it into the spring-loaded cover. It slid until it reached the end of the opening. I turned the key counterclockwise. The rumbling began directly beneath my feet. The key pushed out of the lock as the lake began to bubble. I stood and stared as the top of the statue protruded from the water. The copper had long since turned green, and the patina gave the woman's features an otherworldly appearance. The hollow eyes spewed muck that had long filled the hollow shell. The eidolon's features belonged to a woman. I recognized her. "Good lord, it is her."

I stood staring at the verdant woman with her metallic skin and empty eyes. The statue must have been under the water for at least twenty years, if not more. Neither my dad nor my grandpa had shown her to me. But, I knew her face all the same. What did it mean? Of all the features I expected to grace the sculpture, hers was not even on the list. Grandpa adored many women and was a movie buff, to boot. I half expected to see either Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor. My grandmother had to be at the top of the possibilities, though she died before my birth. There were no photos of her, or if there had been grandpa had burned them. She was just one of many mysteries surrounding that generation. Grandpa said that his bride had scopophobia or the fear of being photographed. My knees buckled as I processed the truth before me.

'I told you. I warned you. Your life is a lie.' The voice whispered sensuously.

"Ha," I laughed.

'What is so funny?'

"You lied to me so many times, and just as often, you told the brutal truth."

'Only when the truth hurt more than a falsehood.'

"Sadist."

'Masochist.'

I busted out laughing. The voice was right, of course.

'You are my favorite victim.'

"I love you."

'I know.'

The day dawned bright and clear. Sunlight streamed in from the nearby window as the scent of brewing coffee filled the air. I sat up, and a half-naked Krystal stood near the kitchen sink. The creak of the couch's springs alerted her.

"Mmm, you are up, good!"

"Um, your ass is on display," I replied. "Aren't you worried about Evan getting jealous?"

"No, after last night, he can't bitch, can he?"

"I suppose not. Are you making waffles?"

"Yep, I have a craving for them. Amber did nothing but brag about you last night. You did a number of us."

"Did you and Amber share a bed?"

"Uh-huh," Krystal laughed. "We thought it might add to our chance of getting pregnant."

"I don't remember Amber mentioning that last night," I said.

"Pfft, she was too busy getting DP'd by Evan and Gerald or sucking you off. She is so greedy," Krystal laughed. "I bet you had pleasant dreams last night."

"Maybe," I said. "What can I do to help?"

I set the table as the others awoke and came down to join us. Evan smiled like I hadn't seen him in years. Gerald and Amber clung tight as they walked in. Perhaps the worst was over. The sound of a car door closing alerted us to an uninvited guest. I went to the front door and opened it.

"Holy shit, Judy, what are you doing here?" I asked the leggy redhead. "I like the new shade of crimson."

"I hoped you would," Judy replied. "Is there room for one more?"

"Mom! What are you doing here?" Gerald exclaimed. "Why did Frank call you by your first name." Judy just smiled as shock replaced confusion. "No way. How long has this been going on?"

"Ten years?" Judy said. "You were like just legal if I remember right."

"Yeah, the trip to the Smithsonian," I added. "We hooked up in the bathroom."

"Oh my god," Evan cried out. "She was the MILF you tagged. What are the odds of that?"

"You fucked my mom?!" Evan stammered as his mind refused to accept the truth.

"No, son, I seduced him. I had it on good authority how well hung he was. I just had to pluck him and take his virginity." With each revelation, poor Gerald just crumbled a bit more. "I am sorry, hon. I never meant to hurt you." She hugged Gerald, and barely a moment passed before she spun excitedly and exclaimed. "Ooh, I brought that certain carry-on. I made sure to pack extra batteries this time."

"How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"An old friend of yours called me while I was visiting a dig site for the museum," Judy said. "The Egyptian told me to haul ass if I wanted a piece of you. I hope you don't mind."

"Nah, I have room on my dance card," I replied. "You came all this way after all."

"Let's eat," Krystal said. I set the sixth spot at the table for Judy as poor Gerald continued to process his mom's presence and the insidious connection. I met Judy while a senior in high school, years before Gerald ran into Evan and hired him. The odds might have been vastly different if not for the network that manipulated us from the shadows. The skein, webs, and weavers tugged at the lives of those worthy of their attention.

"Ungoliant," I muttered under my breath, and Judy smiled.

"I see you remember your dad's favorite story," Judy said. "Did he ever show his autographed copy of Tolkien's works?"

"You knew our dad?" I asked, looking at Evan. "Of course you did."