Undertow : Part 4

   He stared at the image of himself panned down from the mirror in the ceiling with a mild fascination.  The white dress shirt he wore had been torn free of a few buttons and pushed up past his hips.  The pants he wore had been ripped off with strips of it dangling half off the headboard.  His thighs were spread apart, as if someone had laid him out on an obscene display.  The insides of his thighs were slightly reddened, with a few raised welts.  Clear fluid were left splashed top of the wounds and his left hip.  He slid a finger over the wetness collected at the small dip of his hip and raised it up to his eyes to look at it.  He had no memory of what could have transpired not too long ago.

   Gingerly, he made himself sit up and crawl off the bed.  With a distant awareness, he realized he did not know where he was.  He had never been in that place before.  He straightened his dress shirt, the tails of it reached mid-thigh high.  He was wearing someone else's clothes, Dante thought as he stumbled through the dim-lighted room toward the door.  Someone at least a couple of sizes bigger than he was.

   The door was unlocked but it opened to a darkness so thick that he could not see the shapes of the wall along the hallway.  He reached out and took careful steps until his hands found the wall.  He walked along the wall with cautious, measured steps.  His eyes never did adjust to the darkness as they should have.

   "You shouldn't be out here, precious..."

   Dante paused, momentarily confused by the familiarity of the voice but unable to match it to anyone in his mind.

   "Come back to the room," the voice said, moving closer until Dante felt the hot breath near his ear.  "It is against the rules for you to be out here."

   An arm slipped around his waist and pulled him into an embrace.  Dante pressed his hands up against the unseen stranger's chest and tried to push himself away.  The arm did not give way.  Instead, another arm laced around him and held him even tighter.

   "I don't want to go back..." Dante said and twisted in the stranger's arms.

   "Where would you go? There is nothing but shadows here."

   "Where am I?"

   A soft laughter answered him.

   "You are where you have always wanted to be, precious."

   "I have no wish to be in a place like this -- "

   "Of course you do.  Dark and comfortable....like a mother's womb."

   Dante felt a hand slide down his back and paused at the tail of it.  He let out a sigh as strong fingers massaged the base of his spine and sent sensations that felt like small eruptions of orgasms through his body.

   "I will keep you safe and love you.  I will be everything you have always longed for since your family was taken from you."

   Dante wrapped his arms around the unseen form before him and dug his fingers into the bare skin as hands cupped the cheeks of his ass and kneaded it gently.

   "When you are with me, you will have nothing but pleasure...as much as you like, for as long as you like.  Wouldn't you like that?"

   "I don't know..."

   "You do know...see how wonderfully your body reacts to my touch."

   Dante felt himself lifted then shifted forward until he felt something blunt nudge in between the cleft of his ass.  The cock deliberately missed the entrance -- the length of the shaft pressed through gently, over and over again.

   "I want..." Dante said but he couldn't make himself say the rest of the sentence.  He didn't want to have this human need.  He couldn't. 

   "Tell me what you want, precious," the stranger said into his mouth then kissed him.  Dante found himself leaning into the kiss, licking at the tongue that was pushed into his mouth.

   "I won't give it to you until you ask."

   "I can't."

   "We are the only ones in this place...and in this place, there is no secret you can keep from me."

   "I don't want this..."

   "Poor child.  You don't know how to accept simple pleasure without pain first.  Is that an attempt to be human? To have soothe the guilt with a little pain in order to allow yourself to be pleasured?"

   "No...I just don't want this."

   Dante gasped when the gentle hands moved and grabbed handfuls of hurt flesh on the insides of his thighs.

   "No, you just want this first.  You were more willing to spread your legs for my whip than for my cock.  You are quite an interesting little toy, Dante."

   "I don't want to be in this place..."

   "No?" the stranger said and leaned in close for another kiss.  "Would you leave me -- no, leave us, here?"

   "Who..?"

   All thoughts ceased, when Dante finally saw the stranger's eyes with clarity.  He stared into the unusual shade of blue that simply did not exist among humans.  The kind of deep blue that came only after a violent storm.  The kind of blue with chips of white ice.  Blue eyes, like his.

   Dante's eyes snapped open.  For a moment, he could not breathe.  His mind was still locked away somewhere, too far to project any coherent thoughts into it.  Something had seized him and refused to let go -- choking him with the invisible presence.   It was the piercing sound of the telephone ring that broke him out of his trance.

   Dante slid out of the bed, wrapping the bed sheet around his waist as he padded downstairs.  A quick look at the watch he never wore on his desk told him it was nearly ten at night.

   "Yeah?" Dante said into the phone as he sat back into his chair.

   "You really ought to look into getting a cell phone," Redgrave told him.  "I've been trying to get you the whole day."

   "Whole...day..."

   Dante picked up the watch and looked at the date listed on the bottom of the digital dial.  He grimaced.  He had lost another day and all of the memory that came with it.

   "You okay?"

   Dante tossed the watch back on to the table.

   "I'm fine. What do you want?"

   "The number you wanted me to run.  It doesn't exist."

   "It has to."

   "Maybe you remembered  the number out of sequence?"

   "No, that number was right.  The area code, where was it from?"

   "It's from the City."

   "Did you check for the numbers' previous user? Cell phone numbers frequently gets recycled."

    "I don't think it will tell you anything."

    "Just look into it."

   Dante hung up just as Redgrave was preparing the barrage of questions.  He didn't have the patience for it.  He sat back in the chair and stared at the night that peeked through the pane of glass above the doorway.  He was not even certain how long he sat there in the dark.  He did not even hear or feel someone had walked up behind him and ran a hand through his hair.    

   "You shouldn't be out of bed," Vergil whispered.  "Your body's still fighting off the residuals of the drug."

   It was a little surprising to Dante himself that he had let Vergil touch him.  An inexplicable calm had washed over him.  Vergil's touch was soothing. Familiar. 

   "You shouldn't be here..." Dante said.

   "I will leave as you ask, only after I am certain the contract out on you has been dissolved."

   Vergil cupped Dante's chin and tilted it up. Dante stared into Vergil's eyes looking down at him.  The blue eyes that held the slow fire that made him feel safe, even if that sweet moment was brief.

   "I don't want you to be involved with my fights..." Dante said.  "I don't want you to be -- "

   Vergil laughed softly.  His thumb stroked Dante's lower lip as he spoke.

   "Really, dear brother.  I am no more of a liability than you are.  I am quite capable of taking care of myself."

   "You are not a liability to yourself, but you are to me.  I was sincere when I said I didn't know you and I don't want to know you.  I have no interest wasting time looking for the past."

   "You are not looking for the past.  Your past is already here, in your life at this moment.  Don't run away from it."

   Vergil bent forward and kissed Dante lightly on his mouth.

   "I'm not looking to change you," Vergil said as he ran his hand over Dante's chest and paused over his heart. "All I ask is that you let me in."

   Dante laced his fingers through Vergil's and stared at their joined hands for a moment before he pushed it to the side.

   "I'm sorry," Dante said and stood up, gathering the bed sheet that had bunched around his waist.  "You are asking for something I simply could not give you."

   "Dante -- "

   Dante shook his head and walked up the stairs, dragging the linen behind him.

   He stood under the shower, ignoring the hot water scorching his skin.  In depth of his mind somewhere, he was lost in a hazy recollection that was both a memory and a dream.  He didn't even realize how it had happened, when Vergil's mouth was crushed against his, devouring him. 

   "V...Vergil...your clothes..." Dante whispered into Vergil's mouth in the brief moment they separated to catch their breaths.

   Vergil had stepped into the shower with his shirt and pants still on.  The water had wet them thoroughly and made the fabric wrinkle and paste themselves against the shape of Vergil's body.

   "That's okay," Vergil said and licked a line along the side of Dante's neck.  "Everything is just fine."

   Vergil shoved his knees in between Dante's thighs, separating them.  Dante squirmed, suddenly aware of the closeness.  He caught Vergil's hand before the fingers pressed into him.

    "Don't -- "

    "I won't hurt you."

    Dante placed his hands on Vergil's chest and pushed him back until a comfortable distance was made between them.

    "I don't want you to touch me..."

    "I want you to know it doesn't have to hurt," Vergil said and cupped Dante's face in his hands.  "I don't want the only memories of intimacy you have to be what Remus did to you."

    Anger colored Dante's cheeks at the words and he swung out with a closed fist.  Vergil caught it pushed it down.

    "Just don't touch me.  I don't need your fucking reverse psychology shit."

    Vergil pressed a hand over Dante's mouth.

    "You need to stop cursing at me.  I am not your enemy."

    Dante's hands clawed at Vergil's -- struggling to pry it loose.  Vergil was strong.  Much stronger than Dante had expected.  The hand remained sealed over his mouth, its pressure did not increase even as Dante pulled at it with both of his hands.  Then all of his movement halted as the familiar sensation of being invaded came to him.  Vergil had thrust two of his fingers into him -- twisting languidly through the tight columns.

    "It'll feel good soon," Vergil whispered and kissed Dante's forehead.  "Don't tense up your body."

    A strangled cry came through Vergil's hand.  The tips of his fingers had found a delicate spot inside.

    "Feels nice, doesn't it?"

    Vergil lifted his hand from Dante's mouth.  Dante's mouth were slightly open, small gasps came with the strokes carefully being mete out by Vergil's fingers.

    "Vergil...I don't want..."

    "Don't speak, just feel," Vergil said and nipped a line from Dante's chin down to the throat.

    "I don't want...this..."

    "You do.  You want it more than you realize.  You want it.  You want this."

    Vergil sank down to his knees, his tongue and teeth caressed the insides of Dante's thighs. Dante slumped back against the wall, his fingers threaded through Vergil's hair and let a moan escape from his throat.  A gentle hand closed around his half-hard shaft and pulled on it.  The sensation made Dante lightheaded with arousal.  

    "This...is...not..right..." Dante said between gasps that were drawn from him.  

    "Little liar," Vergil laughed softly licked at the droplets of cum that had seeped out from the erection in his hand.  "Unless you really want me to stop..."

    Dante shook his head.  Through his feverish mind he realized his hips was moving in the same rhythm as the probing fingers inside him.  He screamed, a fire-like sensation worked its way up from the base of his cock but Vergil only allowed him to empty half of it.  

    "Let me finish -- "

    "Not yet," Vergil said as he stood.  He squeezed at the root of the shaft until it lost a little of its hardness without losing its erect shape.  "You are not allowed to completely cum until I do."

    Dante opened his mouth to protest but all of his words escaped him when Vergil thrust in his cum-laced fingers.

    "You taste nice...have a try," Vergil said and pushed his fingers in until he felt Dante's tongue move against them.  "Good boy.  I'll give you more after you finish this."

    Dante's eyes closed as his mouth gathered the slightly salty fluid from the fingers, working the tip of his tongue toward the palm.  There were voices reprimanding him, the ugly words echoed in his mind.  It took very little effort for him to ignore them.  He didn't care.  There was a hunger in the pit of his belly that had been growing for days now.  A hunger that he never realized he had.  Vergil had been right. He wanted Vergil more than he would admit.  Even then, as his mind filled with need to feel Vergil  inside him.

    Dante sank down to his knees, biting lightly at the hardness beneath the drenched pants.  His teeth followed the length of Vergil's erection first, before he lowered the zipper and let it out.  Vergil pressed  the blood-engorged head past Dante's slightly parted lips and filled his mouth.  Dante was startled by the thickness that was pushed into his throat and choked him.  Reflexively, he tried to pull away.  Vergil kept him still with handfuls of hair in his fists.

    "Don't struggle," Vergil said softly.  "You can breathe just fine if you don't fluster."

    He couldn't stop himself from the panic.  He thrashed, not caring the tearing pain from his hair.  The only thing that kept him from biting down on the thick flesh was the thought of tasting blood in his mouth was even more unbearable.  The grip in his hair slackened and Dante spat out Vergil's cock as soon as he could.  He coughed, trying not to retch.

    "I'm sorry if I hurt you..." Vergil said.  

    "You didn't hurt me," Dante said and shoved Vergil away.  "Just don't touch me."

    "I am not Remus."

    A growl answered Vergil as Dante stood up.  He pushed the shower door to the side, nearly shattering the glass partition with the force he put into it.  He grabbed a towel from the rack as he returned to his bedroom, drying himself as he walked.  Vergil was left in the shower, with its hot water that was slowly turning cold.

    "Dante -- "

    Arms slipped around his waist, pinning his arms to the side.  Dante bucked  but the strength that held him only became stronger.

    "Let go!"

    Dante was yanked from the stairs, his heels dragging along the floor.  Dante cursed and kicked but neither earned him his freedom.  He was thrown onto the bed, face down with his face pressed into the pillow.  His curses came out in muffles but the rage turned into violent struggles when he felt his wrists crossed and tied together.

    "You fuckin' asshole!" Dante spat out as soon as he was turned over.  Vergil pressed his hand over Dante's mouth and shook his head.

    "You have a very foul mouth," Vergil said softly.  "Who raised you?"

    Dante's scream was muted beneath the hand.

    "It doesn't matter," Vergil said as he separated Dante's thighs with his free hand.  "From this day forward, I'll teach you how to behave like a Sparda."

    Dante's eyes grew large as Vergil shoved two wet fingers into him.  

    "We will always be together..." Vergil whispered, twisting the digits inside the warmth.  "Like we should have been from the start."

    Dante shook his head, his eyes blurred with tears that was suddenly there.  

    "Shhh -- " Vergil said and leaned forward to catch the few droplets of tears that rolled out from the corner of eyes.  "This won't hurt, I promise.  Don't cry.  I'll make everything better..."

    Another stifled cry came as Vergil pressed the swollen tip against the puckered hole, pushing in until the muscles around the rim gave and wrapped itself around the thick head and shaft.  Vergil slid in slowly, carefully.

    "Good boy... Doesn't this feel good?"

    Vergil pushed in completely then paused to take in the velvet-like warmth.  He lifted his hand off from Dante's mouth and kissed it.  Dante stared through Vergil, as if he was looking at something else only he could see.

    "I love you very much," Vergil said, brushing aside the errand strands of hair from Dante's face.  "I want... no, I need for you to trust me and love me."

    Dante's lips moved but no words came.  His eyes were still unfocused and brimmed with tears.

    "Tell me you love me," Vergil said, his hips moving slightly.

    Dante let out an unsteady breath, short of a gasp.  The cock that filled him made his belly throb with a dull pain that was not entirely unpleasant.  The slightest movement made the sensation more pronounced, but it was unexpectedly nice.  He did let out a moan when Vergil picked up his pace, pumping in and out of him -- the blunt tip striking the spot inside him that sent charges of electricity throughout his body. 

    "Feels good, doesn't it?" Vergil whispered and leaned in to lick at the delicate bows of Dante's lips before he slipped his tongue inside.

    Dante found himself nodding, biting into the tongue writhing in his mouth.  All the muddled thoughts and feelings were cast aside as he wrapped his legs around Vergil's waist, drawing him closer as he pushed his hips up to meet Vergil's thrusts.  

    "Good boy..." 

    Dante was crying again but somehow, he felt like a small child that had finally found a refuge in the arms of someone he had been looking for.  Someone who would protect him and keep him safe.  He was thinking of his father again.

    "You don't have to be alone again," Vergil said, his hands followed the shape of Dante's body until they rested on the hips.  "Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

    Dante nodded again although he was already mindless and lost in the ripples of pleasure that tore through him.  

    "I love you, little brother...I will always love you."

    Dante's eyes fluttered, struggling to keep them open.  He wasn't sleepy.  More of, he felt himself being drawn into a trance.  Vergil's mouth pressed against his again and stole the remains of his breath.  

    "Love...you...Vergil..." Dante whispered as he gave into the lovely darkness that had opened up in his mind, allowing the shadows whisked him in there.  Like a mother's womb.

    The color of the blood in the dimly lit room looked like black oil -- the feel of it just as slick as it slid down his arm in thin rivulets, dripping off his finger tips and collecting in a small pool.  He had been watching the droplets fall into the shiny pool for a while now, looking at it grow without any comprehension why he was.  Nor did he have a presence of mind to wonder why he was bleeding.

    Dante lay draped half on and half off the bed that was soaked with blood.  His right shoulder had been crushed, his arm hung uselessly over the edge of the bed as the wound continued to bleed steadily.  Gouges and cuts that did not heal covered his back and legs.  Most of the wounds had stopped bleeding but the opened flesh would not close.  

    "You were told not to be outside..." A voice said.  The bed dipped slightly with the new weight as the speaker sat down beside him.  Dante didn't take his eyes off the pool of blood beneath his finger tips.

    "What am I going to do with you..." 

    Not-so-gentle fingers ran along the cuts on his back and made some of them bleed again.  Dante let out a gasp -- the involuntary movement of his body woke all of the pains in his body at once.  

    "You won't heal quickly in this place," the voice continued, the fingernails re-opening the wounds.  "You have no powers here."

    "Why..." Dante couldn't make any more word come out from his parched throat.  He couldn't even find the strength to lift his head to look at who was speaking to him.

    "Poor little Dante," the voice said and pet him gently on the head.  "You don't have to suffer anymore.  Wouldn't you like that?"

    Dante curled his fingers into a loose fist, the metallic scent of the blood suddenly strong.

    "Come...we will make love, my lovely little angel...and forget."

    "Forget..." Dante mouthed, although he didn't understand the meaning of the word.  

    He felt his legs being straightened and spread open.  He winced as a wet, hot tongue licked at the cuts along his back and made its way toward the base of his spine.  The cheeks of his ass were pulled open and the tongue dipped in, the tip of it writhed into him.  Dante listened to the slight wet sounds echo in the darkened room -- without thought of sensation.  

    "I love you very much..." 

    The words were whispered into his ear as Dante felt a body lying over his, an erection stabbed at his saliva-slicked hole but not pressed in.

    "Say you love me..."

    Dante uncurled his fist and watched his fingers quiver.

    "But I...don't..."

    "No no no...wrong answer, little angel," A small laugh answered him.  A nail dug into an open cut and sliced in deeper, until Dante felt the pain took form and made him cry out.  

    "It doesn't matter...I'll show you how much I love you then."

    It hurt.  It hurt like nothing he had felt before.  He screamed, thrashing beneath the body that trapped him, not caring about the wounds that had re-opened from his violent movements.  The erection that had been pushed into him gave him a different kind of pain -- it was as if the length of the shaft was barbed, with its pointed nails slicing him open on its way in and on its way out.

    "Do you know this is how some demons spawn with humans?" The voice said, its tone had changed -- heavy and deep with arousal.  "Spread the seed in the blood until one of the took root?  Of course, the host always dies because the demon child feeds off the flesh and blood of the human."

    Dante screamed, his undamaged arm clawed at the sheets.  The hands that held him by his hips pressed down harder as the thrusting became harder and deeper.  

    "If I am not careful, I might accidentally disembowel you there..." the voice chuckled.

    Then a new pain washed over him.  He heard the sound of the leather being swung through the air first then felt the fire burn across his abused back.  The hands that kept him locked down was no longer there.  Through the hurt, he also realized he was not being raped.  Instead, he was being whipped.

    "Just say "I love you"," the voice said.  

    Another blow slashed across his back, splitting the old and new cuts open.  Dante laid unmoved, absorbed in the pain and not caring if who or why or where -- only if unconsciousness comes to him quickly.  At some point, the whipping stopped, although he couldn't tell.  

    "Stubborn little thing," the voice said as he was turned over.  Dante moaned, his back was on fire.  "I've whipped you down to your bones, know that?"

    Dante stared at the bloodied belt with spikes driven through them -- bits of flesh clung onto the metal.  

    "I'll work on your front side now...but I'll be careful not to hurt your pretty face."

    A hand cupped his chin and pried his mouth open.  A cool, odorless liquid was splashed into his mouth.  He choked at first, not remembering to swallow.  Then he did, when he realized the fluid being poured into his mouth was water.  He drank the water poured into his mouth -- slowly and carefully.  Most of it ran from the corners of his mouths but he was glad for the few sips that made it through his dry throat.  

    "Say "thank you" darling," the voice said when the water stopped pouring.  Dante stared at the shadow, trying hard to make out the shape in there.  

    "Where...?"

    "Somewhere you don't want to be," he was told.  "You've wondered off too far from where you should have been, little Dante..."

    Dante's eyes widened, recognizing the shape of the being when it stepped out of the shadow and little bit of the light that was in the room.

    "You can't be afraid of me..."

    But he was.  Dante screamed out as the spiked belt was raised.

    "I hurt you only because it's the only way I can show you how much I love you..." Remus said as he brought the belt down across Dante's belly, ripping a strip off flesh from there.

    Dante was startled awake -- the remnants of the nightmare still clung onto him.  He drew in a deep breath and let it out, then noticing the weight of Vergil's arm draped across his chest.  Dante looked to the serene face of his older twin and suddenly, the fright he had awaken with thinned, then disappeared.  Carefully, he picked up Vergil's arm and slid out from under it.  He gathered his clothing and tip-toed downstairs to dress.  

    He was strapping on his left boot when Redgrave knocked on his door.  He would have ignored him if Redgrave had not already seen him through the side glass-pane.  Dante finally got up and opened the door for him, knowing Redgrave would have pounded on the door harder by the minute until he was let in.

    "We need to talk."

    "Do you have new information for me?"

    "Maybe."

    Dante grabbed his jacket from the edge of the pool table and slipped it on, as he nodded at the door.

    "Somewhere else."

    "Why -- "

    Dante didn't want to explain Vergil, if his brother came downstairs.  

    "I'm hungry," Dante finally said as he shoved Redgrave toward the door.  "And you're buying me lunch."

    Redgrave insisted on a posh restaurant that was on top of a Marriott Hotel.  Dante relented, only because each table had its own enclosed booths.  Redgrave ordered for them, reading off the French menu expertly.  After the waitress scribbled down the order, she eyed Dante expectedly.

    "Beer."

    "What kind, sir?"

    "Don't care."

    The girl hesitated for a few more moments before she scurried off.

    "I think she was about to dive onto your lap."

    "Whatever.  You know how much I fucking hate places like this."

    "Couldn't imagine why.  Put you in a nice three-piece suit and you can go anywhere, cutie."

    Dante waved at Redgrave dismissively and looked out of the window, staring down at the buildings below that was barely translucent through the white mist.

    "I know you don't have anything to tell me," Dante finally said.  "So what did you come for? You should know better than break cover and be seen with me."

    "Since you wouldn't tell me shit," Redgrave said.  "I did some investigating of my own."

    "I see," Dante said absently, his eyes still focused on the landscape outside the window.

    "Why didn't you tell me?"

    Dante shifted his gaze over to Redgrave and shrugged.

    "I shouldn't have to find out from street rats."

    Dante shrugged again.

    "Say something!"

    "I would, if I knew what the fuck you are talking about."

    Redgrave opened his mouth but shut it again when the booth door slid open.  The waitress, with freshly applied make-up, carried Redgrave's glass of wine and Dante's beer on a silver tray.  She smiled, staring fixedly at Dante as she set the drinks down and waited for a few moments before she excused herself.

    "There was a contract out on you."

    Dante took a drink of the beer.

    "There is."

    "Why didn't you tell me?"

    "You gonna protect me?"

    "I am not that useless."

    "You are a human," Dante said as-matter-of-factly.  "It does not matter how good you are or what armaments you have.  You will be more than useless if you get involved.  You will become my liability."

    Redgrave said nothing for awhile.  Dante finished half of his beer.

    "Is that what happened to you?" Redgrave said.  "Is that why you disappeared for a week?"

    Dante said nothing.  

    "Tell  me what happened."

    "What made you think anything happened?"

    "You are not the same..." Redgrave said evenly.  "I can hear it over the phone.  Now, I can see the change in your face.  Something happened.  Something bad happened..."

    Dante took another drink that nearly emptied the glass.

    "If I have to continue to do the investigation, I will -- "

    "There is nothing to investigate," Dante said, setting his glass down on the cardboard coaster.  "You are only to verify my callers, nothing more."

    "I need -- "

    "You don't need to know everything."

    "Maybe not," Redgrave said softly.  "But I do need if know if I can still trust you."

    "What does trust have anything to do with this?"

    "I need to know what changed you," Redgrave said.  "I need to know if that change will affect what you do.  What we do."

    "It won't."

    "I don't believe you."

    Dante shoved the near empty beer glass away from him and leaned back.

    "It really doesn't matter what you believe," Dante said finally.  "This is no longer about you or the network or the mission.  I go solo from this point forward."

    "You can't be serious."

    "The less you know, the less you will likely be in the way."

    "Whatever you are up against, you won't be able to handle it.  It's already gotten into you somehow."

    Dante pushed himself away from the table and stood.

    "Get this will you? I have a full schedule this afternoon."

    Dante slid open the door but before he could step out, Redgrave grabbed him by the sleeve.

    "Just promise you will come back after...this...is over."

    "Where would I go, Tony?"

    "Sit back down will ya?" Redgrave said.  "You make me pay for this shit and now you are gonna make me eat alone?"

    "I don't have time  -- "

    Redgrave patted at his left breast pocket with one hand, gestured for Dante to sit down with the other.  

    "Make time," he said.  "I've got some leads for you."

End part 4

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