Date: Wed, 8 Mar 2006 22:19:05 GMT
From: Jon Bennett <bostonyankee1@netzero.net>
Subject: nick and jonathan: life after nick

There have been too many emails to count asking me in some way to continue
this story.  After taking a lot of time to consider this, I've come up with
something I think will keep the masses from rioting =).  You tell me...
backbay@Juno.com


This takes place approximately six months after Nick's burial.


Life After Nick-Part One

Chapter One:

The thunder of breath exploded from Jonathan as he continued his morning
run. For some unexplainable reason he had found comfort in his exercise
regimen after Nick's death. He took about a month off and spent it between
the resort in St. Thomas, and the Eberle's in Lucerne. While in Switzerland
he had spent time over in St. Moritz skiing and relaxing at the spa. He had
begun running there in the brisk winter mornings and kept it up upon his
return to the USA.  He had found almost a trance like harmony the harder
and further he pushed. He found it amusing that not even Danny could keep
up with his running these days. They had taken to following him in one of
the hummers.

Checking his watch he hit the start button on the chronometer and began to
really push 5himself. He wasn't expecting any records, immortal or not, as
this was his 12th mile of the morning.  Faster and faster he pushed
himself.  His mind started to clear. In his head he heard lyrics to songs
he had long forgotten:

"Eagles inhabit the heavenly heights, They know neither limit nor bound
They're the guardian angels of darkness and light, They see all and hear
every sound

My spirit will never be broken or caught, For the soul is a free-flowing
thing Like an eagle that needs neither comfort nor thought, to rise up on
glorious wings

In a flash his mind and body became one as energy. He could feel the
electricity flowing through his body. The running became effortless and his
speed and energy continued to grow. A howl erupted from his mouth,
unbidden.  The Hummer came to a screeching halt as the windows all cracked
and shattered. Glass in windows around the immediate area where he was
running shattered with equal force.  A storm of thunder accompanied the
howl and his body appeared to glow with a pre-eternal force.  Slowly it
faded as he slowed down.

As he stopped, Danny came running up from the Hummer to stand by him. He
could feel heat radiating off of Jonathan. Eric remained with the Hummer,
not quite sure what had happened.

"Are you all right? What happened?" asked Danny with some concern in his
voice. He knew of Jonathan's immortality, and had seen several examples of
Jonathan's growing powers but nothing like this.

"Yeah I'm fine I think" said Jonathan, the sweat pouring off of his
body. He took the proffered bottle of water from Danny and drained it in
one long swallow. He looked down at his watch and was amazed.

"Damn" he said to himself.

"What?" asked Danny looking at the watch.

"Well, if I did this right, I just ran a 2 minute 41 second mile" Said
Jonathan.

"That's not possible" said Danny. "That means you ran somewhere in the area
of 35 miles an hour."

"For mortal man it is impossible" came a voice. "For a few immortals it is
very possible'

They both turned around to find Kristian standing there.

"What just happened?" asked Jonathan. "I felt like pure energy"

"You probably were" said Kristian. "That's something we need to deal
with. You apparently crossed the line between your earthly self and your
immortal energy being. It happens once in a while to us. It can be
controlled by using your powers more."

"That's a good thing" said Jonathan, looking around at all the damage in
the area. "What about that yell?"

"Pure energy escaping from you" said Kristian. "That has to be
contained. It can be very hard to explain."

"How about we get out of here?" asked Danny; looking around. "People are
gathering."

"Sounds like a good idea" said Jonathan walking to the Hummer. `Hrm. I
thought that glass was unbreakable"

"Nothing can withstand the pure pre-eternal energy" said Kristian.

"Good to know if I become and assassin" said Jonathan with a smile as he
got into the Hummer. "They aren't going to be happy with me back at the
repair store"


Chapter Two: Later on that morning, Jonathan was in his office working when
Brandon came in.  "Do you have a couple of minutes?" he asked. "Ian wants
to talk to you"

Jonathan stretched and spun his chair around to the credenza behind him. As
he was getting a cup of coffee from the ever present machine, he looked out
of the windows. Shortly after Nick's burial he had moved the offices of
Stonewolf Enterprises to Boston. Now, as he looked out over the skyline he
said "Sure, I need a break" He paused to stroke the fur of Sebastian who
was lying on the edge of the desk. He was rewarded with the mammoth cat
purring at him and twitching an ear.

Brandon nodded at Ian who came into the office and walked the fifty odd
feet to Jonathan's desk.

"Good afternoon" he said.

"What's up Ian?" asked Jonathan. "You only have that look when we make
money."

"I thought you would be happy to know that the sales of the two jets have
been completed" he started. "The 777 and the white G-550 were completed
this morning and the monies transferred to the general service account"

"What did we get for them?" asked Jonathan more out of curiosity then
anything else.

"The 777 with modifications cost you 310 million dollars and we sold it for
just under 280 million. The Gulfstream was almost 65 million and sold for
53 million and change" said Ian from memory.

Jonathan paused as he thought about the jets.  He loved the jets; having
gotten the 777 for Nick as a birthday present and the twin 550s on a whim.
Several billion dollars in the bank or not he knew that with Nick gone he
didn't need four jets.  Out of sentiment he kept the 747 and one of the
Gulfstream. Anything else if they needed it could be chartered on short
notice. The security company also had a fleet of jets they could use should
they be needed.

"Great, thanks for the update" said Jonathan.

"Do you want the money directed towards any particular purpose?" asked Ian.

"Well, I was thinking about going to Las Vegas this weekend" said
Jonathan. "I could use some spending cash"

Ian just looked over his half moon glasses at Jonathan. As many years he
had been with Jonathan, he never knew when he was kidding or not.

"How much are you planning on taking?" he asked with some alarm.

"Just kidding, nothing more then usual" he replied.

"And you wonder why we get audited" said Ian, getting up. "Moving that much
cash around makes the IRS very nervous; especially when you already own a
casino."

"Yeah, Danny too" said Jonathan smiling. "Seriously, I'll let you know
later on in the day. I'm still playing around with the idea for the
weekend"

"OK, thank you" said Ian getting up and walking towards the door.  Brandon
remained behind.

"We have a clear weekend if you want to go I suppose" said Brandon. "You do
have two parties to think about attending in Key West though"

"One of those is going to be boring as hell" said Jonathan thinking about
it. "The other one I do need to at least put in an appearance."

"You want me to have Don figure out flying times and such?" asked Brandon,
making a note on his is IPAQ. "You don't have anything doing next week if
you get all that stuff on your desk done tonight"

"Slave driver" said Jonathan.

"Sign, sign, and sign" said Brandon pointing at the papers.  "I'll get you
the info you want"

Brandon started to leave and then turned back. "Hey Jonathan"

Jonathan looked up. "Hrm?"

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" Jonathan asked back stalling.

"You know what I mean" said Brandon walking back to the desk and sitting
down. Sebastian cracked one eye open, looked at him and went back to sleep.

"Yeah I do" said Jonathan. He picked up the cat and put him in his
lap. Sebastian registered his approval by beginning to purr. Soft paws
kneaded at his hand. He absent- mindedly scratched the cats' ears.

"I'm doing OK" said Jonathan. "Between work and running and such, I've
gotten past the pain. Lord knows I'm doing better then the last time I went
through this.  I still miss him but the pain is gone."

"We are all here for you if you need to talk" said Brandon.

"I know, and it is appreciated." Said Jonathan, still scratching the
cat. "How are you and Mark doing?"

"We're good" said Brandon with a smile. "He's a lot of fun to be with and
just hang out with"

"You know the condos are yours any weekend you want" said Jonathan." Just
let me know which one you want"

"I know thanks" said Brandon getting up. "I'll get the flight information
for you in about two hours. Meanwhile, back to work."

"Yeah, yeah" said Jonathan putting the cat back up on the desk. Sebastian
promptly stood, stretched and laid back down square on the pile of papers
in front of Jonathan.

"Well, that wasn't very nice" said Jonathan looking at the cat.

"Neither was putting me down" came the reply. The cat twitched his whiskers
and went back to sleep.

"OK" said Jonathan "I can take a hint, lunch time."

Looking down at the cat as he grabbed his jacket, "You know, I'm probably
the only CEO of a billion dollar company with a cat on his desk"

In his head he heard the reply "You are the only one fortunate enough you
mean"

He smiled and headed out of his office. As he crossed the threshold of his
office he found Danny and two others waiting for him.

"Lunch time guys" he said. "What are we in the mood for today?"

"How about you and a sandwich in your office?" asked Danny, half
kidding. It was a running argument about Jonathan just going somewhere
without advance warning.

"Be nice" said Jonathan as they approached the elevators. "I have been good
this week. I haven't gone anywhere without letting you know well in
advance"

"I know and it is appreciated" said Danny. Out of habit he checked his
weapons in their harnesses on the way down the elevator.

They walked out of the 101 Huntington Lobby where Jonathan kept his offices
on the 24th floor. With two agents in front of him and Danny on his left
side, he felt a bit of a sham. He really had to talk to Danny about the
level of security these days.

"Pizza it is" said Jonathan and made a sharp right turn out of the
lobby. This caused the agents in front to scurry around.

"So much for the humor of the day Jonathan." Muttered Danny.

It was a short walk through the mall to California Pizza.

Getting a table for four proved a bit of a problem at lunch time, but after
a short wait, it was done.  An hour later the group left the restaurant and
wandered outside of the mall.  "You not headed back to the office?" asked
Danny.

"Yeah" said Jonathan. "I just want to get some fresh air first"

The group walked down the sidewalk next to the mall.  Finally entering the
mall again on the way back to accessing the offices, Jonathan detoured into
Barnes and Noble. Danny muttered under his breath but followed him in and
directed the other two agents to a wide perimeter.  For a while, Jonathan
wandered from aisle to aisle. Not looking up going around the corner of one
of the bookshelves he bumped into someone.

"I'm sorry" Jonathan said. Danny was nearby and started to move in when he
noted that the person Jonathan bumped into was flat on his back on the
floor.

"It's OK man" said the other person. "I wasn't paying attention"

Danny helped the man up.  Jonathan took a moment to look at the guy. He
didn't look like the typical college guy that Boston produced, yet he was
definitely not a business man.  He was dressed in wrinkled jeans, and
docksiders, yet was wearing a very starched white Polo dress shirt. Around
his neck was a necklace made of braided hemp. Blond hair and a clean shaven
face rounded out the picture.

"Are you OK?" asked Jonathan, concern on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just a little shaken up" came the reply. "Nothing broken"

"Can I buy you coffee or something to say I'm sorry" asked Jonathan.

"I don't drink coffee, but I appreciate the offer" the man said. "I'm Sam,
by the way"

"Hi Sam, I'm Jonathan" said Jonathan as he extended his hand.

Sam took his hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you; although it would have
been a bit nicer not hitting the deck"

Jonathan laughed at that one. "I know the feeling. How about I buy your
book at least?"

"It's really not necessary" said Sam.

"Please, I insist" said Jonathan. He took the book and handed it to one of
the agents. "Run this through check out would you?"

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. " said Sam. "Who is he? Your secretary?"

"Not exactly" said Jonathan as Danny gave him an annoyed stare.

"Listen, I'm kind of on a tight schedule" said Jonathan as Danny tapped his
watch. "I am apparently late for a meeting or something. Let's head up
towards the cashier"

"Uhm, what do you do?" asked Sam as they walked towards the front of the
store. "You have a few people with you who seem to be handling you"

"That's way too long a story for right now" said Jonathan.

"Well then, how about a drink later and you can tell me" said Sam.

This brought Danny's head around

"I don't know" started Jonathan looking over at Danny.

"Oh come on" said Sam as they approached the check out counter. The
security agent who had gone ahead handed him the book in a bag. "You owe me
an explanation. You have 3 or 4 guys around you and you still ran into me"

Jonathan laughed again and thought that it was good to laugh. "OK, you got
me" he said. "How is 7pm at the Terrace Bar?"

"How about 730 instead?" Sam asked. I have a class until 7pm."

"Ok sounds good. I'll see you there" said Jonathan, shaking his hand. With
that he left the store with the three agents forming a triangle around him.

Danny was walking on the side of him. "That was odd"

"It was an accident' said Jonathan. "You are being paranoid"

"I get paid to get paranoid" said Danny. "I don't like the idea of him
asking to meet you somewhere that I haven't checked"

"I can get asked out once in a while then the other way around" said
Jonathan as they entered the elevators. It was a fast trip up to the 24th
floor and Jonathan's office.

"I'm going to send some guys over to the bar ahead of time" said Danny
taking his cell phone out.

"Why am I not surprised" said Jonathan with a mix of annoyance and
resignation.

CHAPTER THREE The rest of the afternoon was a blur of work for
Jonathan. Preparing for an extended business trip and had every intention
of going to Las Vegas before it started.  Brandon kept him busy and
organized with paperwork. Sebastian grew tired of the game of attempting to
steal the paperwork and scampered off the desk for the couch in the office.

About 330 that afternoon, Brandon buzzed Jonathan.

"No more paperwork or I'll toss you out the window and I know you don't
bounce" said Jonathan with humor in his voice.

"You won't toss me out the window because you can't replace me" said
Brandon.

"This is true, what's up?" he asked. He took the time and break to check
his personal email account.

"Ryan is on line 2" said Brandon.

"Really" said Jonathan. He hadn't talked to him in about two months.  He
had taken time to stop by the school that he and Nick had sent him to in
Switzerland. "Ok thanks"

"I'll have the trip itinerary for you when your done" said Brandon

Jonathan hit the speakerphone for line 2

"Hi Ryan" he said, "What's up?"

"Not much, I just wanted to call and say hi" said Ryan. "I was wondering
how you are doing? You seemed kind of down when you were here earlier this
year"

"I'm doing OK" said Jonathan and realizing that he meant it. "It's been a
long time recovering but I'm doing good. How are you doing over there"

"I'm great man" said Ryan. Jonathan could hear the smile in his
voice. Jonathan paused to recall that first time he saw Ryan in the
alleyway back in Phoenix. "Just got back from a weekend ski trip over in
Zermatt."

"How was that" asked Jonathan.

"It was awesome." said Ryan excitedly "You weren't kidding about some of
those runs being crazy. Your hotel is a sweet place!"

"Then I guess that the snowboard I brought with me got some use" said
Jonathan laughing.

"Oh yeah" said Ryan. "I still can't say thank you enough for that man"

"No problems" said Jonathan, noting Brandon coming into the office. He
looked down at the desk and pointed at several things that needed
signing. Jonathan signed the documents while chatting with Ryan.

"I was wondering if I could ask a favor" said Ryan.

"Of course" said Jonathan shoving all the paperwork at Brandon with a look
of disgust. CEO or not he hated paperwork. "What do you need"

"I've got a school break in 10 days" said Ryan, "I was wondering if I could
spend it in Boston with you.  It would be for about 5 days before finals
and graduation."

That stopped Jonathan cold. Over the past six months he had gotten used to
being alone in the penthouse at the hotel or flying about again. Just as
quickly he thought that some company other then the occasional bed trick
might be nice.  He also made a note for Brandon to clear his calendar for
the graduation ceremonies.

"Sure, that sounds like fun" said Jonathan. "Email me the dates and such. I
need to check my schedule, but I don't know of anything that can't be moved
around"

"Awesome!" came the excited reply. "I gotta do some work here and crash for
the night. Thanks again for everything"

"You're welcome." Said Jonathan "Don't forget to email me the dates"

"I won't" said Ryan. "See you"

Jonathan hit the button on the phone to disconnect. He sat back in the
chair and wondered about how he was conducting his life. He knew that he
had to keep a certain distance from the rest of the world because of his
abilities; yet wondered about other things.

Continue? Let me know....



-Come to the Edge he said
  We are afraid  they said
    Come to the Edge he said again
      They came.. and he pushed them
        And they flew....