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 Did you....sir?
 Uh, uh, uh. There will be none of that. You can call me Henry
or you can call me Father.
 Did you shoot Erik, Henry?
 No. Henry met my eyes evenly.
 I don t need to lie, Trevor. If I had any confidence in Mr.
Howell s abilities to keep you safe and out of harm s way, I would
not have intervened. As it was, his rushing back to you has just told
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all those enemies who were suspecting you were just playing dead,
that you are indeed alive and well. They will be coming for Mr.
Howell and for you now, mein Lieber. The fact that Eldon was able
to secure you less than ten minutes into the mission just confirmed
my doubts about your security on that island.
 What happens now?
 Whatever do you mean? You are home.
 Let me go.
 I can t do that.
 Can t?
 Won t then, mein Lieber. You are a babe in the woods. At
least Mr. Howell recognized that. Your name is mud in the world
but then, Eldon informed me that you don t claim a last name. Not
Donahue, nor Audric, nor Howell. You hid yourself from the world
once. You can do it again. While I love your red hair, we are going
to have to change that. Facial reconstruction won t be necessary, as
I said you can read everything on your face so remarkably well that
you hardly ever look the same anymore. The Devil had a more stoic
appearance.
What the hell? Henry was speaking as if this was something I
was going to go along with. I was trying to find myself, not to build
another fake life.  Ich hasse dich.
 See, I ve ticked you off. I think I m going to like the new you.
I did have to tiptoe around your temper and I will take your hate,
mein Lieber. I would rather have your love but I will take your hate
and cherish it. Anything is better than the indifference you have
shown your Father these past years.
The silence that hung between us when Henry stopped talking
was a physical thing. Now that...wait. He said that together we made
 the Devil. The Devil was just the front to his organization? I
brought my gaze back to his face and found his blue eyes spearing
me.
 Sie haben Fragen, mein Lieber? A silver grey eyebrow
quirked over his the rim of his coffee cup.
 Questions? Does Erik work for you?
Henry sat back his face tightened slightly around the corners of
his eyes.  No one knows about me. That was the only reason you
and that blonde boy of yours are still breathing, mein Lieber. You
took off but you kept my confidence. You trained that blonde boy
well. He pays all debts the same way you did. That s one of his
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drawbacks. He has never questioned anything you ever did. Then
again, that is why he is still the face of the Devil s organization, of
my organization. I only need to play Geppetto to one Pinocchio.
Mr. Howell is just a puppet.
That reference to Pinocchio almost made me cringe. Could he
read my mind?
 He doesn t know, does he? Erik thinks he s doing it for me.
 I have always been entranced by your body, mein Lieber. The
fact that you had genius behind those beautiful eyes of yours was a
pleasant surprise.
He sipped his Brazilian coffee blend.  When I discovered that
you were emotionally disassociated from the rest of the world was
another plus and at the same time a minus. I wanted to see fire in
your eyes, to see every emotion and there were none except that I
am certain that you loved me once, Trevor. A father knows these
things about his son. You gave me the companionship and
affection that I needed and I laid my world at your feet. The things
we have accomplished together, mein Lieber were far beyond my
expectations. I let you run things the way you saw fit. What is that
saying? Wenn Sie jemanden lieben sie frei...
If you love someone set them free.
Henry s tone of voice hardened.  I set you free to allow you to
spread your wings and grow. Then you went out and got yourself a
pretty face that wants nothing more than to please you. Mr. Howell
is like a gamboling puppy. I thought he was just your toy but when
you had your accident, his true breed came to the forefront, from
puppy to Rottweiler. Your boy has got teeth and he has learned
how to use them most effectively. You chose well, however, he is
not the Alpha male. Mr. Howell has served his purpose.
A Wizard of OZ moment popped into my head. Erik and I
were propped up against each other on a long low leather couch. I
had never seen the movie. Considering it was a classic, I guess
watching classics wasn t high on my priorities when looking for my
rent or my next meal. I turned my head and breathed in the subtle
scent that was pure Azure. Innocence. I toyed with his blonde hair.
I wish I had met him when innocence was more than just a word to
me. Again, wishing lead to nothing. You made your dreams bear
fruit. No one was going to hand them to you. The world took. It
never gave.
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