Summoned Again?

I stored the rubber gloves I had been wearing since I broke the tech guy's hands back at the holding facility and walked down the street. I was starting to get hungry and I was still wearing the agent's shoes, so I took a quick detour and stopped at a nice footwear store and bought new sneakers and stored the agent's shoes. I left the store and walked down another street to a pizza place. I ordered two large pizzas with the works and two with just cheese and pepperoni. They were done thirty minutes later and I paid for them.

Once I was outside, I ducked around a corner and stored them. They would stay hot like that and I stepped to the side of the street and hailed a taxi. He pulled over and I climbed in and told him the address of a building on the next block from mine. I wasn't sure why I did that. I guess I was just acting more paranoid than I thought I needed to be. Well, better safe than sorry.

I thought about calling Jenny and yelling at her for turning me in like that, without even letting me explain, then decided that I didn't want to hear her voice right now. Just remembering how she tricked me into being captured like that made my blood boil, especially since they weren't even police. The rights they read me were nothing but hogwash and didn't apply, since they were holding me against my will anyway.

The taxi dropped me off and I walked to the next block and past the large parking structure. I sighed at the loss of my car and I wasn't sure how I would even track something like that down. Do I call tow companies or something? Did the FBI have it stashed somewhere? Was it impounded and accruing fees every day?

I sighed and went into my building. I would have to call someone and see what the situation was with the damn thing, then realized it was Jenny's building and I would have to talk to her about it. I cursed in my head, since I didn't want to say stuff like that out loud, and stepped into the elevator. I rode it up to the top floor and went to put my key into the lock.

“HEEE HEEE HEEE!” A young girl's loud laughter reached my ears, even through the thick door.

I cursed in my head again, several times, because Diane had the gall... the shear gall... to break into my place to use Crystal as a weapon against me. Well, I wasn't having it. I loved that little girl and I wasn't going to let that stop me from calling the building manager to have her evicted at the end of the week. I took a deep breath and let it out, turned the door handle that wasn't locked, and stepped into my apartment.

“UNCLE DAMON!” Crystal yelled from across the room as she was caught by the arms of a black haired woman that had tossed her into the air.

“Crystal, I've been trying to tell you for the last two hours that I don't know when he's coming home.” Jenny said with a sigh.

Jenny jerked and almost dropped her. She hugged Crystal close and turned to stare at me. “Damon.”

“DOWN! DOWN!” Crystal yelled in Jenny's ear and struggled to be free.

Jenny gave up trying to retrain her and bent down to let her go. I matched her movements, because two seconds later Crystal was hugging my neck tightly and crying her little eyes out.

“Hey, it's all right sweetie. You can stop crying. I'm here now.”

“THEY TOOK MOMMY!” Crystal yelled.

I looked up from her to see Jenny's sad face. “Tell me.”

Jenny informed me all about the warrants, the crimes she was charged with, and that her husband had tried to flee. It wasn't pretty and I doubted the place would even be fit to live in after the police tore it apart to gather evidence. The problem was, I had a feeling they had a lot of evidence anyway and gathering it here was like icing on a cake. It was already baked and they were just decorating it.

“Well, that saves me a little trouble.” I said with a crooked smile and Jenny gave me a look. “It's because of Diane's husband that they took me in for money laundering. Or so they said.”

“WHAT?!?” Jenny yelled.

“Yeah, it set the whole thing off.” I said and stood up with Crystal in my arms. “I was already flagged because of the untraceable gold coins and they were keeping a close watch on me and what I was doing with them.”

“Oh... oh, no.” Jenny whispered.

“Almost right after I was kidnapped again, Diane started handing over that money I gave her to her husband and everything snowballed.”

Jenny opened her mouth and I covered Crystal's ears as my sister cursed her head off for nearly thirty seconds straight. Crystal was laughing pretty hard when she finished, because my hands apparently didn't block as much sound as they used to. When I looked closer, her ears were a little bigger and so was she.

“You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you.” I said and hugged her.

“Mommy said she would save up to buy me new clothes.” Crystal said.

I held in my sigh and looked at Jenny.

“I know.” Jenny said. “She stopped answering my calls a couple weeks after...” She stopped talking and turned away. “You really hurt me when you left without saying anything.”

“Crystal, why don't you watch television for a few minutes...”

“...cable's cut off. You haven't paid the bill in six months.”

“It was supposed to be automatic and part of the building fees.” I said.

“Which you haven't paid.”

“Same answer.” I said. “Put a movie on. After we have a talk, we can all have pizza.”

“OKAY!” Crystal yelled and ran over to the player and handed a movie to Jenny. She put one on and Crystal pulled several toys over to herself and sat down on the floor, right in front of the television.

I led Jenny from the room and to my bedroom.

“Did your closet throw up?” Jenny asked.

“Yes.” I said and pushed the clothes aside to have her sit down. “What was it you were saying about being hurt?”

Jenny gave me an intense look. “I said you really hurt me when you left without a word.”

“Apparently, it was enough to have you betray me to the police as soon as I showed up again.”

“That's not fair.” Jenny said with a frown.

“No? You lasted ten years the last time I disappeared without a trace. This time it was what? A month?”

“I might have lasted longer if you had said something! Anything!”

“I told Diane that I was telling you, too.” I said and did my best to not get angry over that.

“She didn't tell me anything except that you were gone travelling.” Jenny responded.

I frowned myself. “They told me how you reacted. You were practically begging them to let you help them capture me.”

“Who wouldn't? It was ten grand.” Jenny said. “I needed that money.”

“For what? Rent? You owned the condo, this building, and the parking garage!”

“It was all frozen, Damon! I told you that I couldn't earn money from frozen assets!”

“What did you spend the reward money on, then?” I asked.

“I paid back everyone that loaned me money, okay? Six months of borrowing and begging for food! I couldn't even find a job! No one would hire me because the bank wouldn't let me open my own personal account! I had too much debt pending from the taxes and fines that NO ONE wanted to help me! Do you understand what that feels like?!?”

“I know exactly what that feels like!” I exclaimed. “My sister! A woman I love! Someone that I would wreck the whole fucking world for! She betrayed me as soon as she could instead of TRUSTING ME!”

“It's you that didn't trust me, Damon! You could have called, texted, or sent an email! Anything!”

“I wanted to see you face to face! I wanted you to be the last thing I saw before I was taken!” I said loudly and her face paled slightly. “I told Diane first because that was easy! I didn't have to tell her; but, I didn't want Crystal to think I abandoned her. I found out just before you turned me in that she never told that beautiful little girl that I was coming back for her as soon as I could.”

“Damon...”

“I went to your place to tell you, to apologize that I had to leave again, and to ask for forgiveness.” I said and sat down on the side of the bed. “Your door was open slightly, so I thought you were just reading or something.” I took a shaky breath and let it out. “I never thought... what I saw...”

“You made a mistake.” Jenny said.

“I know. After I escaped from that scene, I... I realized I should have texted to see if I could come over instead of just showing up.” I sighed. “I'm going to regret what I saw for the rest of my life.”

“You said... you said you lost your heart that night.” Jenny whispered.

“I did.” I said. “I mean, I have no right to judge you. I've had girlfriends, lovers... lots of lovers...”

Jenny took in a sharp breath and stared at me.

“I'm kidding.” I said. “When I saw you like that, my heart stopped. I can't explain it. After that, I... I think I went a little crazy.”

“You tore up the hardwood floor in the condo.” Jenny said.

“Wh-what?” I blinked my eyes at her.

“You left footprints in the floor and you broke the front door. It took a week to get it all fixed.” Jenny said. “Can you guess where the money to pay for that came from?”

I shook my head.

“It doesn't matter now, because I paid it back yesterday. Finally.” Jenny said. “Good god, what a fucking mess you left behind.”

“Did you know freezing my assets was all a ploy to get me to come out of hiding?” I asked and she gave me a surprised look. “They put a little bit of financial pressure on you. I think one of the agents said that you sang like a canary in a coal mine.”

Jenny opened her mouth to refute that, then closed her mouth and turned her head away. “I did.” She said. “I know you think I had a choice. I didn't and you know they made sure of that. I also know that you think it was wrong of me.” She turned her head back to face me. “There's just something you're forgetting in all of this.”

“What's that?” I asked.

“What if you hadn't come home until next month? Or next year? Or ten years from now?” Jenny asked. “Assuming I was still around, would I still have been wrong if I turned you in then?”

“I can't answer that.” I said with a sigh. “I was just getting my life into a nice normal state and I did not plan on being kidnapped again. I did take precautions, just in case. I left you a hundred million in gold coins in the bank's safety deposit box for an emergency. The buildings were in your name, so I knew you were safe and would have income. I even prearranged the sale of the construction company to the foreman and work crew so that they wouldn't have to declare bankruptcy.”

“But... if you didn't know...”

“I told you. Just in case.” I said. “Earlier that night, I found out it was going to happen and I did my best to prepare. I messaged the accountant to sell off my assets so that no one was left without a job and then went to Diane, since she was in the same building. I went to you next. If I hadn't seen... that...”

“Damon.” Jenny gave me a stern look.

“I'm sorry. I just... that image was burned into my mind. The more i tried to get rid of it, the more it cemented and the more my heart broke.” I looked away from her. “I know that's not fair, especially since I don't want to do those kinds of things with you.”

“You... you don't?” Jenny asked.

“No, of course not. I told you that it could never happen.” I said. “You're my sister.”

“What if you're adopted?” Jenny asked.

“Ha. That old trick won't work.” I said. “I had all of our DNA tested. We all match as close family members.”

Jenny looked really sad.

“Jenny.” I said and she sighed. “I will always love you.”

Jenny smiled slightly and shook her head. “No, you can't really love me.”

“Why?”

“You left me and then I did betray you. I did it willingly and out of spite and hatred.” Jenny said as tears came to her eyes. “It was my heart that broke when you disappeared. It shattered into tiny little pieces, just like my life.”

“Jenny...”

“I moved out of our parents place to live my life with you. My brother. The man that I loved above all others... and who had abandoned me without a word. For the second time.” Jenny said and wiped at her face. “I thought I could handle it. I really thought I could. Then all that nice and comforting money was just... gone. Poof. It didn't exist. The hole it left, though? It was massive.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“I didn't think that love could turn to hate so quickly.” Jenny said. “I was shocked at first, because it was so easy, you know?”

I nodded. I had felt the exact same way when Diane told me that she was back with her ass of a husband and pregnant.

“The bank called earlier, too. Everything's unfrozen and there's nothing left. They took it all.”

“Yeah, they told me back at the holding facility that isn't a holding facility because it doesn't exist.” I said and Jenny raised her eyebrows at me. “They emptied it when they let me go.”

“They let you go.” Jenny said.

“They said the operation was busted and they cleaned the place out.” I said and she widened her eyes. “I'm totally serious. They are washing their hands of the whole thing and only did a little bit of work to get the mess sorted.”

“How much work?” Jenny asked.

“The taxes were taken from the accounts before the fines, penalties, and fees.” I said. “Oh, and they confiscated the hundred million in gold coins.”

“Why didn't you tell me about that?” Jenny asked, a bit angrily. “I really could have used it!”

“The accountant was supposed to. It was in the message I sent him. Unfortunately, he had a heart attack as soon as he was told to hand over all of the paperwork about me over to them and the freeze order went through.”

“That sucks!”

“Yeah. I need to try and get a hold of his family or something to get all those records back.” I said. “I also can't find my car.”

“You left it at the construction site. After two weeks it was towed. When you didn't come back to handle it and I definitely didn't have the money to pay, a month later it was sold at auction for the towing and storage fees.”

I sighed. “I really liked that car.”

“After everything that's happened, you're worried about a goddamn car?” Jenny asked, surprised. “Buy a better one this time!”

“You're kidding, right? As soon as I get an expensive car, it'll be damaged or stolen.” I said, half-jokingly. “Plus, it had great gas mileage.”

“Damon.” Jenny said and her face looked angry. “Don't marginalize what happened.”

I fell silent and stared at her. It took her nearly ten seconds to lose the angry face. “At least now I know you weren't exaggerating.” I said and stood up.

“What do you mean?”

“You really do hate me now.” I said.

“What? No, I... I mean, I'm angry and...” Jenny started to say.

“No, you said your love for me quickly turned to hatred. I just thought you didn't really mean it.” I said. “At least I don't have to feel guilty now.”

“Excuse me?” Jenny asked and the angry face was back.

“Unlike you, I still love you.” I said. “I just don't like you very much as a person right now.”

“ME?!?” Jenny yelled.

“Yes, you. If you had just talked to me and told me what was going on when I came back this time, I would have handled it. Instead, you let them DRUG and KIDNAP me!” I said and she winced a little. “My beloved sister let MORE people whisk me away from her... for a THIRD TIME... and completely ignored that it was because of her this time.”

Jenny stared at me with wide eyes.

“Huh. You completely missed that fact, did you?” I asked and she didn't say anything. “Well, thanks for adding to my trauma over all of this. My psyche and I didn't appreciate it.” I stood up and went to the bedroom door. “Like seeing you having sex wasn't bad enough. Now I have to deal with you being full of hatred and okay with some people taking me away from you for an unknown amount of time.”

Jenny took a breath and let it out. “Damon, I...” She started to say.

“I don't want to hear it, whatever it is.” I said and opened the door. “I can't take even more pain, all right? I've had enough.” I stepped out of the room and saw that Crystal sat by the wall. “Hi, there.” I said and picked her up. “I'm sorry if we were too loud. My sister and I were arguing about the bad things that have kept me away from you.”

Crystal blinked her eyes at me. “You didn't lie about yelling.”

I chuckled and hugged her. “Why would I lie about that? I'm sure you could hear us from the living room and came down here to make sure that we were okay.”

Crystal nodded. “Mommy and daddy lie about it all the time.”

“The only reason I went to another room was so that you wouldn't think we were arguing about you.” I said and walked up the hallway. “If there's one thing on this planet that I would never deny, it's wanting you in my life.”

“Mommy said you didn't like me very much anymore.” Crystal said.

“That's because I love you very much.” I said and kissed her cheek to make her giggle. “I love my sister, too. She was my whole world. When she threw me away recently, I was very sad.”

“I did not!” Jenny exclaimed.

“Letting them take me is the same thing. You had no clue if they were ever going to give me back, did you?” I asked and she didn't say anything. “See? She didn't know and I could have been away from you for another long time.”

“You came home.” Crystal said.

“I did and I'm starving. I think it's time for pizza!” I said.

“YAY!” Crystal yelled and I put her down on a chair at the kitchen table and turned to the oven.

“What are you doing?” Jenny asked.

“Have a seat and let me perform my magic.” I said and she gave me a look. “I'd ask you to trust me; but, we both know that you don't.”

Jenny had an angry face for a second and then she sighed and sat down.

I pulled the oven door open slightly and put one of each kind of pizza inside from inventory and closed it. “Let me just flick the buttons a bit and abracadabra the heat...” I did that and even turned the light on and off. “...and just like that! Bammo! Magic pizza!”

I opened the oven door and both Jenny and Crystal gasped as I pulled two large pizza boxes out and put them on the table. I opened the boxes to show them they were real, one pepperoni and cheese and the other with the works, then I grabbed a knife and cut up a smaller piece for Crystal and put it on a plate.

“Careful, it's hot.” I said and took my own piece to blow on it and put it on a plate, then handed a plate to Jenny. She could get her own pizza.

“How did you do that?” Jenny asked in a whisper.

“MAGIC!” Crystal yelled and blew on her piece of pizza. She took a small bite and chewed and chewed on it before she swallowed.

“I checked the whole place looking for food.” Jenny said.

“Did you look in the oven?” I asked and took a bite of pizza.

“No, but...”

“Then how do you know it wasn't there?” I asked.

“Because it's hot like it just came out of the oven!” Jenny said.

“IT DID!” Crystal said loudly and I chuckled.

Jenny looked at me and at Crystal, then sighed and started eating.

We ate our food for about twenty minutes. I ate really slowly, just so Crystal wasn't sitting by herself as she finished off her piece.

“Oh, no! We have greasy hands!” I exclaimed and held up my hands.

“EWWW!” Crystal yelled and then giggled.

“We better go get washed up.” I said. “You know where the bathroom is.”

Crystal nodded and hopped off the chair and ran across the living room.

“No fair! You didn't say we were racing!” I said and she laughed.

“I win! I WIN!” Crystal yelled and then I heard the water running.

“Use soap, too!” I said.

“Awww!” Crystal said back.

Jenny sat there and looked at me. “You have to leave again.”

“Yes, but not like that. I'm going down to the bank to inform them that they broke the contract for the first loan.”

“What?”

“It was given with the condition that the money would be used to benefit the government.” I said. “When they froze the asset bought with that money, it stopped the taxes being paid on it.”

“But... they got the fines and penalties...”

“Only after it was unfrozen.” I said. “They also let the people that you helped kidnap me, take the contents of my safe deposit box, which is against the law.”

“But... but, they are the law.” Jenny said.

“They told me that they don't exist.” I said with a smile. “The operation was a bust and they removed all of their involvement.”

Jenny sat there and stared at me.

“Yes, it means they only just started the ball rolling to undo what they caused, then packed up before they did much more than what you've already heard about.”

“Those bastards.” Jenny whispered.

“Let's go wash our hands and I want you to take care of Crystal for me until I come back.”

“I'm not sure what else I can do. I've already gone through everything you have here for her.”

I chuckled. “Take her downstairs to Diane's and see what the place is like. There's a suitcase in the closet and I want you to fill it with Crystal's clothes. You might want to bring a garbage bag to gather her toys and things, too.”

“You're really going to take her, even after what Diane did to you?”

“I won't let her be taken by the childcare system. You know the kids that make it out of that unscathed are the exception and not the rule.”

Jenny sighed. “All right. It might be a while.”

“I won't leave to go to the bank until the two of you get back.”

“You promise?” Crystal said from across the room.

“I promise.” I said. “It's Jenny's turn to wash her hands.”

Jenny did so and was back a few moments later.

I went in and washed my hands next, used the soap dispenser with Crystal's favorite soap in it, and came back out. “Jenny's going to take you to your place to get some things, then you'll be staying here with me for a little while, okay?”

“YAY!” Crystal yelled and jumped a little. I picked her up and hugged her for a brief moment and put her down. “I'll see you in a little while.”

“Kay.” Crystal said and opened the door.

“Don't you dare leave.” Jenny whispered.

“I have some things to do before going to the bank, so don't worry about that.” I said. “She pushed the elevator button.”

“Dammit!” Jenny said and ran out the door. “You little sneak!”

Crystal giggled when the elevator dinged and the doors opened. “Raced you! I won!” She said and stepped inside. “I wanna push the floor button!”

Jenny stepped in right behind her and sighed. She boosted her up and Crystal pushed the button for her floor... then used both hands and pushed as many buttons as she could, as if she was using a typewriter.

“Crystal!” Jenny exclaimed.

Crystal laughed and laughed as the elevator doors shut.

I waited for a few seconds to see if the doors would open again, then shut my door and locked it. Now that they were out of the way, I had some specialized work to do.

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