The Book of Enoch

Chapter 10 – Of Breakfast and Bullets

“Sorry for the simple table this morning, I usually put more gusto into breaking my fast.” Professor Manatee patted his slight belly.

“Are you kidding me?” Said Beth across from him as he set a steaming plate on the table and then joined her. “Juice, fresh fruit, WAFFLES?!”

“The syrup might interest you. It’s another home-made creation like the jam you so enjoyed the first time you sat at my table.”

Involuntarily, her mouth started to water as she eyed the small white carafe in the middle of their settings. She certainly did remember. The taste of the simple toast and jam she had sampled almost as an afterthought had nearly brought tears to her eyes.

“Please, help yourself.” He indicated the plate of waffles.

She snagged two and then applied a generous helping of the syrup. At Manatee’s suggestion, she added a dollop of thick cream on top.

“Oh my god,” she mumbled around the delicate pastry in her mouth as she took a bite. The professor smiled. “This is amazing!”

“I am glad you find it acceptable.”

“Acceptable?! Alvin, how the hell do you manage to keep as trim as you are!? I’d have to run a marathon every week just to work off the extra calories if I had culinary delights like this available every morning. These waffles are so fluffy they seem to melt in my mouth, and don’t even get me started on the syrup…”

“The secret is whipping the egg whites,” he answered.

“If you say so. Are there more?”

He laughed. “Plenty.”

They were mostly silent for a few minutes while enjoying breakfast. Finally, after he refilled her orange juice, she sighed and leaned forward a bit on the table.

“So, Alvin, can I ask you a bit of a personal question?”

“Certainly, but I reserve the right to refuse to answer.”

“Looking at this table, and remembering the dinner you made for me, I can’t help wondering… Is there a Mrs. Manatee?”

He looked up so abruptly that she actually pulled back a bit.

“No… there isn’t.” He answered in a soft, somewhat sad voice.

She realized at once that she had dug in too deep, but there was no going back.

“I apologise if the question was inappropriate. Was there?”

“Once, when I was a younger man, I… I was engaged.”

She saw the wash of sadness envelope the man. “What happened?”

He stared at the table. “She was… uh, it didn’t work out.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he replied, finally meeting her eyes with a slight smile. “It was long ago.”

She waited a few moments, then asked, “Have you ever thought about trying again?”

He looked surprised for the second time. “Why, Miss LaHeron, are you propositioning me?”

She grinned and chuckled. “Keep feeding me meals like this and I just might. Does that surprise you so much?”

Leaning back in his chair he regarded her. “Perhaps not, though I have always been considered a bit of the ‘black sheep’ in the family.”

“Really? I find that hard to believe.”

“Harrumph… you should see my brother Georges. Now he’s a catch. Four doctorates…”

“Overrated.” She said, waving them off.

“Built like a log cabin, lean and strong…”

“Meh.”

“…He cooks even better than I do.”

That caught her attention. “Impossible. Why the black sheep?”

They locked eyes. “You’re not going to let that go, are you?”

“I am a detective.”

He sighed. “I have an unusual set of genetics. I’m not… compatible with very many people.”

“You’re talking about children.”

He nodded. “I’ve all but given up at this point.”

“There are other reasons to get married,” she suggested.

“Yes, but for me it’s a deal-breaker.”

She studied his face. “Don’t give up hope. You’re a good man, Alvin Manatee. A girl would be lucky to catch you, even with all your Abdicates and idiosyncrasies.”

“Harrumph!”

She helped clear the table and the two of them adjourned to the living room. Taking up her position in the papasan chair, she was delighted to see that the Professor decided on a section of the couch that was closer.

“So,” she asked. “What happens next?”

“That depends a lot on you, Beth. I assume that you will need to check in with your boss sometime today, yes?”

“I’ll need to call, yes. He’s going to ask me why I’m not coming in… That’s not a conversation I’m looking forward to.”

“I thought you might say that. My dear, my home is at your disposal for as long as you need, of course, and as much as I am thrilled to have a guest, I would highly encourage you to ‘get back on the horse’ as it were, as soon as possible.”

Suddenly, Beth was having trouble breathing. It was the thought of going outside.

“Alvin… What am I going to do?! I’m not even close to being ready. Frankly, I’m still scared out of my mind to even go to sleep!”

“Well, information is power, so we’ll start there. I’d like to tell you a little bit about your enemy and their strengths and weaknesses if you feel up to it.”

“I… I’m not sure.”

“Fair enough. How about we start with what they CAN’T do so that maybe you can get some sleep?”

“Alright,” she agreed, hesitantly.

“Good girl! First of all, I should reiterate that you are safe within this home. The “why” will take some doing, but if you can, take it to heart that within these walls, there is almost no way they can reach you. This is entirely intentional. I refurbished this old building nearly from the ground up to be a haven, and am very confident in it’s defenses. I’m a stickler for such things.”

“I’m not a burden? I’m sure I could find a way to contribute financially if it would help…”

The Professor waved it off. “Absolutely not. You are my guest and that settles it. While I do not consider myself lavish, I want for very little. Taking on another mouth to feed is an honor and a joy, not a ‘burden’, as you put it. However, it does pose a tactical problem. You’re going to be needing some things, and as well stocked as my pantry is, it’s not infinite…”

“Please don’t leave me here alone!”

“I have no intention to,” he added quickly, holding up his hands. “Where you go I go, and vice versa vice. Beyond trips to the loo and for decency’s sake, I shall not let you out of my sight, do we agree?”

She nodded enthusiastically, but then added coyly, “And I don’t care if you see me indecent, Professor…”

He regarded her for a moment. “No? Well I do. You shouldn’t torment an old man…”

“You’re not that old.”

“And you’re not that young that it doesn’t matter. Stop bating me, Detective.”

“Spoil sport.”

“Moving on… We still have that tactical problem to deal with. How to get what we need without putting either of us at risk. I wasn’t kidding when I said you need to get back to work. The sooner you are no longer frozen here in fear, the better, because that fear is our biggest liability right now.”

“I thought you said the house was safe?”

“The house yes, the sky and the rest of the world, not so much. Beth, that watcher wanted something. It wasn’t simply trying to kill or frighten you, it was trying to possess you. It was going to use you for some purpose, and until we know what that purpose is, we are vulnerable. Not to frighten you further, but the fact that the Watchers want you alive works to our advantage. The second they change their minds we will have to move. As good as my skills as a Tinker may be, I can’t protect us from a falling 747.”

Her eyes grew wide. “They could push an airliner right out of the sky?”

“They could, but they don’t have to. It’s much easier to simply possess one of the pilots.”

“Oh. Hey, what about the internet?”

“I… don’t think we have to worry about an attack from that direction, but I hadn’t really considered it.”

Beth giggled. “As a solution, silly. Maybe we could order what we need and have it delivered. Most of the larger online stores have next day service.”

Professor Manatee just stared at her for several seconds. “You can do that now? I mean, food such as vegetables or dairy products?”

“Sure! I do it all the time when I know my case load isn’t going to allow me to get to the store. I just schedule an evening delivery. They’ll even do frozen items now.”

“Amazing. Very well, you should make a list of everything and anything you might need for at least a week… make it two. We might only get one shot at this. Once the Watchers figure out what we’re doing they might try to use it against us.”

“Um, not to seem ungrateful or anything, but we’re going to need a credit card. Mine is back in the Park district.”

He smiled. “No, it’s in the duffel bag behind the chair your seated in, but I told you, you are my guest. We’ll use my card.”

“You have my wallet?!”

“Nyet, you have your wallet. It was on the dressing table next to the bed when we were leaving so I scooped it into the bag you handed me, the one with the police files.”

Beth jumped up and clapped her hands in glee. “I completely forgot about the bag!” Finding the gym bag, she brought it around to the table and set it down with a clunk. Manatee’s brow went up in curiosity, but he said nothing while she extracted it’s contents. He did winced slightly when she took out her gun and set it before her, then her wallet and badge, and finally the rubber-banded police files. The latter she looked at for a second, then held out for the Professor.

“You’ve earned it. If I’d listened to you before, I might not have been…” Her voice caught.

“Beth, I…”

“Please, take them. I don’t think I can look at them right now anyway.”

He nodded and accepted the bundle, setting it aside. When he returned his gaze she was inspecting her weapon. Beth noticed the look on his face.

“I don’t like guns much,” he said simply.

She shrugged. Comes with the territory in my profession. If it means anything to you, I’ve never killed anyone with it.”

“It does.”

“I did have to wing a perp once. Cried for days.”

That seemed to cheer him up a little, but then his expression turned contemplative again. “What is it?”

“Beth, can you order weapons online?”

“Guns no, ammunition yes… but only UPS Ground, no air freight. You want to buy a pistol? I didn’t think guns would have much of an effect on a demon.”

“They wouldn’t… at least not yet. I would rather Tinker with the whole set, but I’m not about to risk turning your only weapon into an Abdicate. But the bullets…”

Her eyes lit up. “Ooh! I think I like where you’re going with this! Do you really think you can modify them to kill a Watcher?”

He frowned. “No. Beth, demons can’t be killed. They’re immortal beings. The best you can do is send them back to their realm of origin or imprison them someplace.”

“Shit. I was really looking forward to unloading a clip or two into one of those fuckers.”

“Well, you may still get your chance. If I can Tinker the bullets as I hope, then your shots might just return them. I figure you should get a dozen boxes or so.”

She scribbled a note down on the list she was creating.

“Alvin, what good is sending them to their home realm or whatever? Can’t they come back?”

“Yes, but it takes a significant amount of time.”

“How significant?”

“Seven full days.”

Beth’s evil grin caused the Professor’s eyebrows to rise again. “Fuckin’-A! That’s what I’m talkin’ about…” she exclaimed, pointing her gun at an imaginary enemy.