Episode 42: Fire Part 2 (Xander)

Clovercrest was on fire.

Not the whole neighborhood, but part of a street. Even for a dried out old rowhouse, Xander thought the fire had set off suspiciously fast.

He hoped this wasn’t whatever Effie had promised him.

Speak of the devil, there she was. Transported right into his house. Either she knew the safe word or she knew a way around it.

He forced himself not to react to her presence. It would just fuel her ego.

She set some papers on his desk. “A supply list for your nephew. Along with a list of all the things that need improvement within that housing district.”

She’d orchestrated the fire. What a piece of shit.

“With all due respect, fuck off.”

She straightened. “Is that an end to our business together?”

“No,” he barked. “It’s use the front door.”

She held her palm out, flat and expectant. “May I have a key?”

“No, you can talk to the guard at the gatehouse.” Like everyone else who wanted to see him did.

“Is it that hard for you to not be in control?” she goaded.

He loathed her.

At least she wasn’t wearing that sugary perfume tonight.

He loved the way Gwen smelled, like woman. Not like sugar.

“Go hedge your other opportunities,” he advised.

“I don’t want to right now; I like you.”

She sat on the corner of his desk again. Every part of her body language angled toward him, focused and centered around him.

He almost laughed at such an obvious approach.

He picked up the remote and turned the volume on the television up.

“What we do know at this point is that a sixth house is now engulfed,” the reporter was saying. “We have missing people from these families, missing and suspected fatalities.”

What a fucking bitch. She’d even killed people, just for Spence.

This wasn’t the way Xander worked. It wasn’t the way Spence wanted to work either.

He looked at her to tell her so, but she was gone.

He sighed. It was an opportunity. It wasn’t how Xander would have liked it, but it would be bad if Spence ignored the fire.

He studied the lists of supplies and problems. How had it gotten this bad? He remembered riding his bike through Clovercrest as a kid. Back then the neighborhood to avoid had been Ferndale.

Was it just the irreversible tide of change, or was there something else? Some failure.

She was such a bitch.

Spence would fix this.

He got up.

Of course he couldn’t just go shopping on his own in the Sting. He had to have a damned security escort everywhere.

Still, he did it himself. It was his nephew, his city, his sleepless night. He wasn’t going to let some aide do his work for him.

He stopped at SkyQual and got most of the things Spence would need tonight, as well as a giant laundry bag with a shoulder strap for carrying it around.

He grinned at his asshole security guards, who dogged him everywhere, and transported to the palace in the Dells.

Let them enjoy that headache, for insisting on coming to SkyQual with him.

Once he was in the conference room, he took a seat in the large armchair at the head of the table and called Spence by dragon. In the middle of the night, he was probably asleep. Sane people would be.

Spence walked in wearing black jeans and a nice shirt.

He looked like he’d just stepped out of a fashion photoshoot.

Did he have to be so stereotypically gay? Couldn’t he have tried for a little bit of a rugged look?

“You want to campaign?” Xander asked him. He kicked the bag, on the table, with his foot which was also on the table.

Maybe Spence would learn some rugged by example.

“Yeah?” he asked. “What do you have in mind?”

Xander sat up and shoved the bag down the table toward him. “Clovercrest is on fire.”

“Oh, great,” Spence muttered. He set the bag against the wall. “Are you coming with or is this a solo mission?”

“I have security stationed nearby.” He made a mental note to have security stationed nearby, right after he told them off for telling him off for leaving them in SkyQual. “You should be fairly safe. If I come with, you look weak. But you can bring the fairy if you feel like it.”

Speaking of stereotypical gays. He wouldn’t be surprised if that one got a sex change. He wondered how that worked. Would Spence still be into him if he turned into a girl, or would he lose interest?

“He’ll be useful,” Spence said. “Yeah.” He walked out the conference room door and back into the palace.

“You’re welcome, you little shit,” Xander said.

To no one, because he was alone.

He transported home, to the thrill of all those pissed off security guards.

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