Florine Atner                                                                                                  November 10, 1999

Disclaimer:  The characters of Simon and Simon do not belong to me.  This is for entertainment purposes only.

 

            OUR FAVORITE VAMPIRE Conclusion

 

            AJ. arrived at his mother's at 7:30.  He knocked on the door and waited for her to answer it.  He heard his mother say, "Who is it?"

            "It's me Mom, I need to talk to you!  May I come in?"

            "Of course dear," she replied.  He heard her unlock the door and then the door  opened.  She looked at her youngest son and knew right away that something was wrong.

            "Honey, what's wrong???" she asked him

            "Mom, something happened tonight that disturbed me!" said A.J.

            "Does it have to do with Marty?"

            "Yes, how did you know?"

            "Just a mother's intuition, and your brother called and told me what happened. You want to talk about it?"  she asked as she took his hand and led him to her white couch. They both sat.

            "Mom, he, he gave Town the stare!  Town... our friend!  Why did he do it?"

            "Maybe dear, he did it because he's scared,"  she answered quietly.

            "Marty? Scared? Of what?? Mom, trust me, the man is not frightened of anything!"

            "That's what you think!  Honey, he's far away from home.  There is none of his kind here.  He's that proverbial stranger in a strange land.  Our customs are strange to him. He told me that vampires need each other.  That each and every vampire is telepathically linked to the other.  But he's too far away to be linked to anyone!  He's lonely for those voices in his head."

            "But Mom, Rick and I are linked to him!  Maybe not very powerfully, but we are linked.  We can talk to him!"

            "Honey, it's not the same thing!  You know nothing of his customs and all ready he's having problems with ours.  Do you know he didn't even know how to use a telephone?  Or how to drive a car?  He needs you!  You could teach him what he needs to know to cope in our world!  But it will take time and understanding.  And he can teach us a lot.  He's seen so much in his lifetime.  And maybe then, you'll understand why he reacts the way he does to different situations."

            "I understand what you're saying, but why does he keep calling us his brothers?"

            "Honey, that too is a custom of his.  And he calls both of you that because you helped him and have taken him into your lives.  You could have left him on that mountain, but you didn't.  You brought him here and introduced him to me.  He considers that a great honor. To him, you are his brothers.  Not to mention, you gave him some of your blood.  That makes you and Rick sort of blood brothers to him.  And that's the main reason he calls you that!  Blood has got great meaning to him.  To share blood with another is considered a great thing.  And you and Rick did it without thought or hesitation.  He thinks very highly  of both of you because of that. AJ, you should be  proud, I know I am!"

            "Well, I was kind of scared, but he needed our help!"

            "Yes he did, and unselfishly, you and your brother helped him. I raised my sons to help people and again, you haven't disappointed me."  She paused for a second and then continued.  "AJ dear, you must give him time to adjust.  I think he will be an excellent partner for you boys.  Just give him a chance.  Try to understand him before you reject him."  Cecilia smiled gently at him and took his hand.  She looked at the clock.  It showed 8:20.  "Honey, you better leave now.  You have a date with a Con-Ton-Ra!"

            "A what?"

            "A Con-Ton-Ra.  That's what Marty's people are called.  It's means 'Children of the Night'.  At least that's what he told me!"

            "He told you a lot of stuff!"

            "That's because I asked!"

            "You know Mom, I'm glad I came.  Talking to you has helped a lot," said Cecilia's youngest.  He put his arms around her and hugged.  "Thanks Mom, you're the greatest!"

            "So are you AJ, so are you!"

            AJ got up and walked over to the door.  "I have to go now."

            "Please AJ, be careful."  She went over to him and hug him again. "And tell Rick I love him."

            "Of course Mom, I will."  He opened the door and walked out.  Cecilia sat and started crying.

 

            It was 9:05 when AJ returned to his house.  Rick, Marty and Jamie were sitting around shooting the breeze. 

            "Hi AJ  So, how did the meeting go?" asked Marty

            "Pretty good.  Got a lot of important stuff out the way.  Took care of some problems."

            "Problems???"  questioned Marty.

            "Yeah, business problems.  Everything is fine now."

            "Good, I'm glad you got it resolved.  Well, it's almost time to go."

            "I know, I'll change. In a few minutes we're going to look like triplets!" laughed AJ as he observed the two men dressed in black clothes.

            "Yeah, regular triplets," said Rick.  He grinned at his brother and gave a look as if to say, "Mom talked to you and convinced you that Marty was okay, didn't she???"  AJ smiled back at his brother and walked upstairs to change into his working clothes.

             As Marty and Rick watched AJ turn the corner, Marty commented to Rick, "You never told him that I knew what was going on.  He doesn't realize that I can sense any changes in anyone that I have shared blood with. . . I'm glad you didn't.  It would have been embarrassing to him to know that I knew he had doubts about me."

            "Yeah, AJ embarrasses easily.  Marty, I was thinking... what you said... to be able to talk at great distances without communicators . . . it would be like instant communication . . .   Of course, some people say that AJ and I can already read each other's minds, but still . . . to be really able to . . .   What a rush!!!!"  Rick waved his hands excitedly and jumped up and then sat heavily.  "Ah, but AJ would never agree to it.  He's soo . . . "  He was interrupted by a voice saying, "What won't I do??"

            Rick quickly looked at Marty and Marty calmly said, "Go into space.  Rick thinks you would never agree to go into space.  I was telling Rick that once Jamie and I fix the ship, we would like to take the both of you and Aunt Cecilia back home with us.  Rick was excited about the prospect, but thought you wouldn't like the idea!"            

             "Are you kidding???  I'd love to go...  I'm not afraid.  In fact, I was hoping you would take us!"  he told the vampire. 

            "Well, then we've got a date.  So, my brother, are you ready to break and enter?" asked Marty

            "Yeah, I'm ready!"

            "Well then, let's get dangerous!"

 

            It was 11:00 p.m. on the dot when Simon & Simon and their new partner arrived at Barnett's.  The place was dark except for a lone light that shone near the entrance.  Marty used his sensing power to see where the guard was so he could put him asleep. 

            "Hmm, I sense the guard.  I'll put him to sleep." 

             Marty closed his eyes and then in about a minute or two, he opened them.  He smiled and then said, "He's sleeping. Now Rick, give me the RCR!"

            Rick opened his black bag and pulled out the RCR.  Marty took it, put it near the entrance and switched it on.  There was a humming sound and then a series of short and long beeps.  Then it slowly beeped several times, and then it stopped.

            "There, the store's alarm system has been neutralized.  I'll go in and opened the door for you."  Marty turned to fog and oozed under the door.  Several seconds passed and then they heard the door open.  Marty was grinning at them. 

            "Welcome to Barnett's!" he said. "Why don't you check out the merchandise?"

            The brothers laughed and walked in.  The store was so quiet that you could hear that proverbial pin drop, which what Rick did. He dropped a pin.  "I always wanted to do that!" joked Rick. "Now, let's go to that mystery room we're all so interested in!"

            Marty, AJ and Rick walked toward that mysterious room.  It was a few doors down from Mr. Barnett's.

            "Well, there she is," announced Marty.  "Now to unlock her secrets"  He pulled out his futuristic lockpick, bent over and stuck it into the first lock.  A low humming began and in about a second, the first lock clicked open. 

            "Okay AJ, it's your turn.  Just do what I did.  Marty handed him the lockpick and AJ inserted it into the second lock.  The lock opened just as easily.  AJ smiled and then gave the lock to his brother.  Rick repeated the action and it opened. 

            "A nice thing to have around," announced Rick as he examined the exotic lockpick. "Now, let's see what Barnett is hiding." 

            Rick opened the door and walked in.  His blue eyes went wide and then he took off his hat, put his hands on his hip  and shook his head.

            "Well, I'll be damned!"

            "What's the matter, Rick?  What's in there?" asked his brother.

            "Nothing AJ, absolutely nothing!"

            "What do you mean, nothing????"

            "I mean, nothing!  Nada, zippo, zilch, nothing.  It's empty!". remarked Rick as he  gestured with his hand

            "Move over and let us in!" ordered his brother.

            Rick moved to let his brother and Marty in.  They both looked and then AJ said, "Maybe there was something here."  He bent down to look at the floor.  It was very dusty.  The dust had been disturbed, but not enough to show that anything had been moved.  Also, there were no clean spots where any merchandise could have stood.  Just dust and more dust.  Marty walked past the two brothers.  Actually he floated past them.  He was about a foot off the ground.  He spread his arms out and maneuvered himself until his body was parallel to the floor.  Then he moved closer to the floor to check out the dust.  AJ and Rick noticed that the pupils of his eyes began to dilate until the pupil covered his entire eye area.  That's when they both realized that Marty was using his eyes like a magnifying glass.  He was actually checking the spots where the dust had been disturb.

            "Hmm, " he said.  "You're right, there was some dust movement.  A mortal was here.  Just recently, but he went one way.  That way!"  He pointed to the far wall.  "And he didn't come back the same way.  He had used some kind of brush to cover up his tracks."

            "Which means . . . that there must be a secret door somewhere in this room!  Which means . . . "  replied AJ

            "Which means, my suspicions were right!" replied Marty. "Right after we left this place, Aunt Cecilia was kind enough to take me to the libary and then to the Department of Buildings. I checked on the history of San Diego, especially during the Twenties, and discovered that at one time this town was a smuggler's paradise.  Bootleggers were smuggling illegal liquor from Mexico."

            Rick nodded his head.  "Yeah, this town has always been a place for smuggling.  Nowadays, it's illegal aliens and drugs.  It was a lot more innocent in those days."

            "Yes, you're right,"  Marty agreed, and then turned himself back upright.  His feet touched the ground and then he walked over the far wall.  He began to examine it, feeling it with his fingers.  Meanwhile AJ was looking at the floor where Marty had walked.  Where the vampire had walked, not a bit of dust had been disturbed.  Rick began walking to the wall and AJ noticed that his brother had made footprints in the dust.  AJ then walked over to the wall.  He turned around, and he too made footprints.  Only Marty made no footprints.  It was all very strange.

            Marty noticed AJ looking at the dust and smiled. "AJ, your first lesson on vampires.  We do not make any footprints in either dust or snow.  It is just part of our being," he said.

            AJ nodded, and then started looking for the false wall.  He thumped it trying to find the wall.  He was about to go to the next wall, when he heard a hollow sound.  There was definitely a space.  "Hey, I think I found something!" he said.. 

            Rick came over and started to check to see if there was a hidden door.  There was. Rick pushed the wall, it slid open and Rick looked in.  There was a long, dark, very wide passage.  Rick took out his small flashlight, gun and signaled for his brother and Marty to follow.  They went in and started down the passageway.  They walked quite a few feet until they came to a door.  AJ checked the door.  It was locked.  He asked Rick to give him the futuristic lockpick and Rick gave it to him.  He stuck it into the lock and in a second, the lock popped opened.  AJ smiled at Marty and start to place it into his pocket, then realized that it wasn't his, and started to give it back to Marty.  But Marty shook his head and said telepathically, "No, it's yours. I have others."  AJ gave a happy look, turned to his brother, showed him the pick and then put it into his pocket.

            "Thanks Marty," said Rick to his friend.

            "Hey, no problem.  Like I said to AJ, I have others.  Now let's see what's behind door number one!"

            Marty took hold of the doorknob and slowly opened it.  "By the Blood of My Ancestors!"  he said out loud.  He moved over  to let the Simons in.

            "Hey Marty, what's the ma...,"  AJ was about to say when he saw the vast room filled with merchandise. There was row after row of clothing. And appliances all sorts.  Refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, and air conditioners as far as the eye could see.  Also, there were rows after rows of T.V.'s, VCR's, radios, stereo systems and computers.  There were other types of merchandise too.  Books, kitchenware, crystal, jewelry, and rugs.  All the stuff that was in the warehouse had been the stuff that had been stolen.  It was mind boggling.

            "I, I can't believe it!" remarked AJ "All the stolen merchandise is here!  No wonder nobody noticed anything!  They must have moved the stuff during the day when it was busy.  Who would notice anyone moving stuff?  We were sitting in that damn store nights because Barnett said that the stuff was being stolen during the night!  He screwed us. He made us look like we were incompetent!"  He turned around to say something to Rick.  That's when he heard Marty say to him telepathically, "WATCH OUT!"  It was the last thing he heard.  For when he turned to look, a figure whacked him over the head.

 

            When AJ awoke, Rick was sitting  next to him.  Their hands and feet were bound together.  Three warehouse men and Barnett stood over them.

            "Well, well," said Barnett, "the younger Simon brother is finally awake.  Nice to see you again."  Barnett grinned and then continued, "You couldn't leave well enough alone, could ya?  You had to poke your noses into my business.  Now the both of ya are gonna pay the price.  And how the hell did you get those locks picked, huh?  Those locks are lockpick proof, yet you two hot dogs did it!  You wanna tell me how?"

            "If we told you, you'd never believe us," wisecracked Rick.

            "Oh, a wise guy huh?  Well, you won't be so cocky when we dump your bodies into the Pacific Ocean!  You two haven't got much longer to live.  We'll be back for you in a few minutes.  And Max, did you search these two to make sure they didn't have anything to help them escape?"

            "Yeah, I did.  This one had a gun and small knife on him," replied Max, as he pointed to Rick.  "And this one also had a gun and this."

             He showed Barnett the lockpick.  Barnett took the lockpick, examined it  and then put it into his pocket.

            "Where you guys are goin', you ain't gonna need these!"  He said,

            He then turned around and walked out.  Max stood for a few moments and was about to leave when he heard a strange noise.  Like someone was moaning.   He walked over to where the noise was and said, "Anybody there?"  He took out his gun and turned the corner.   Two minutes later Max returned, only this time he had a blank look, the telltale sign that he was in a trance.  He also had two puncture holes on this neck.  It was obvious that  Marty was not too far away.  He bent down and cut the ropes and they both got up.    

            "The Master wants you to follow me," Max announced in a monotone voice.  There was no emotion, no sign that he was aware of his surroundings.  He turned around and motioned them to follow him.  AJ and Rick followed him to the section where the furniture was being stored.  They walked up to a bed.  Marty was lying on it, relaxing.

            "Hi guys, you okay?" he said quite concerned.  "I tried to warn you but it was too late, they were on us before I could sense them.  I'm sorry."  He gave a sad look.

            "Yeah, we're okay," replied AJ to his question.  Thanks for getting us out of there, I thought we were goners for a moment.  But why did you run off like that?  We could have been killed right then!

            I know. I'm sorry.  But I couldn't let him catch me.  So, what do you to do now?"

            "I want to try to get us out of here!  However, we can't go the same way we came in!"

            "No, we can't, but luckily I found a way out of here!  But first, I will check to see if they notice that you are missing!"  Marty closed his eyes and then opened them.  "Oh boy, they know... Max, you must decoy them away from us!  Go to them and say that you saw us going in that direction."  Marty pointed north.  Your friends are in that direction."  He then pointed southwest.  "Now do my bidding!"

            "Yes Master!" replied the entranced man.  He began walking toward the southwest.  By this time Marty had gotten off the bed and motioned to them to follow him.  He spoke to them telepathically, "I think from now on, until we get out of here, we should talk telepathically.  Do you agree?"

            "Yeah, I think that's a good idea.  We don't want them to pick up our voices,"  replied AJ to Marty's statement.  "The less we speak out loud, the safer we'll be!  Now let's get the hell out of here!"   They started running for the door

 

            Marty led the way as they quickly went toward freedom.  But their dash for freedom was soon ended as they ran into three of Barnett's men.  There was a tall man, a man about AJ's height and a huge man weighing over three hundred pounds.  Marty snarled and then picked out his man.  He turned to the two mortals and telepathically said to them, "I'll take Porky, you tackle the other two!"  Then he spoke out loud, "Hey Porky, you want me, come and get me!"  And then he waved him over.

            The huge man snorted like a bull and charged Marty.  Marty instantly moved out the way, his vampiric powers taking over.  Marty moved so quickly that the man never saw him move.  The man blinked a few times trying to figure out what had happened and then shrugged.  He charged Marty and again Marty moved.  This time the man ran into a wall and bounced off it.  The man became so frustrated by Marty's quickness that he began to curse.

            Marty just smiled and said, "Tsk, Tsk, shame on you!  Don't you know it's not nice to curse???"

            The man got even angrier and charged again, but Marty just moved of out the way.  However, this time he said, "Ol‚!" and moved his arms like a bullfighter.  Then he got an idea.  He would have fun with the mortal.  He dug into his pocket, pulled out his cape and unfolded it.  He then held it like a bullfighter and said, "Huh Toro, Toro," and waved the cape in front of the man.  That made the man even angrier and he charged the vampire.  Marty just moved gracefully out of the way and again he said, "Ol‚" and then, "El Toro, hah Toro, hah, hah!"  The mortal charged him again.  And again, Marty moved away.  By his time Marty was enjoying himself immensely and he was laughing as he toyed with the mortal.  But the man didn't find it amusing at all, not at all.  In fact the man was glaring at him.

            "You think this is funny laughing boy?  Well, you ain't gonna think so when I get hold of you!"  He began walking toward the vampire and Marty, realizing that he had really pissed off the mortal, started to move backwards into a wall.  By then the huge man was right on top of him.  He looked down at him and said,  "Don't think it's funny anymore, do ya, laughing boy?"  Marty just gave him a small smile, shrugged and was about to do his disappearing act when the guy grabbed him in a bear hug, lifted him off the ground and began to squeeze.

 

            Meanwhile, AJ and Rick were punching it out with the other two guys.  AJ had the short man and Rick had the tall one. AJ and the guy squared off against one another.  They circled each other and AJ noticed that the man moved like a boxer.  And he hit like one too!  The man hit him several times in the face, head and stomach.  But AJ wasn't going to let him get away with it. He had boxed in college and still praticed on the bag almost every day. He hit him with a right jab to the man's upper right side of his body and then a left cross to the man's head.  The man answered with a right cross to AJ's chin and punched him in the eye.  AJ hit the guy in the stomach, but the man didn't even flinch.  Instead the man answered with a punch to his nose and then to his stomach.  AJ made an oofh sound and then doubled over.  The man went to pull AJ up to hit him again.  But when he got him fully up, AJ let him have it with a savage kick to the groin.  The man yelped, bent over and then moaned.  AJ gave him one last punch and the man fell, unconscious.  

 

            While AJ and Marty were busy with their 'little' problems, Rick was having problems of his own.  He was up against a formable adversary.  Even though he was Rick's height and weight, he was proving to be very tough, as Rick discovered.  The man turned out to be a martial art expert.  Even though Rick had been in the Marines and had studied self defense as part of his trainng, it had been years since he had really used the training.  It was obvious that the man had studied since he was very young.  Even though he was a few years younger than Rick, he was much quicker than him.  The man circled Rick, just keeping away from the bald man's kicks and chops.  However, the man was able to strike Rick several times in the leg, arm, chest and face.  Each strike was like a hammer hitting the cowboy.  It hurt like hell!  That's when Rick realized that he could never match the man's abilities.  He decided instead to try a trick.  He stood there, smiled and then gave a blood curling scream, startling the man.  When he saw that the man was surprised, he ran toward the him, jump into the air and with a flying leap, knocked the man down.  He started striking the man with the side of his hand, his fists and knuckles.  The man pushed him off, got up and started running, but he didn't get far.  As he ran, he looked behind to see if Rick was chasing him and he didn't see AJ in front of him.  As he turned around, the blonde punched him and he fell to the floor.  Rick went to the prone man and turned him over.  He was out cold.  Rick  smiled at his brother and said, "Nice punch bro!"  He got up and then said, "Man, was he a handful!  I realized I couldn't beat him honestly, so I decided to surprise him by screaming at the top of my lungs.  I didn't think it would work, but it did!  I guess he didn't expect me to start screaming like that!"

            AJ laughed and looked over to where Marty was having his problems. 

            "Uh oh, I think we better help Marty!  It looks like he's in big and I mean big, trouble!"

 

            The huge man continued to squeeze Marty.  AJ and Rick could hear Marty gasping for air, or at least they thought he was gasping for air. They jumped on the man trying to get Marty released.  It distracted the man just enough for Marty to wiggled his arms free.  When he had both arms free, Marty took off his right glove and extended his fingers.  At the end of each finger were long, sharp nails.  They were more like claws then nails.  He put his hand on the man's back and scratched.  The man screamed in agony as he felt Marty's extremely sharp nails on his back and he let go.  He fell to the floor and began to writhe in pain.  Blood soaked through his shirt, staining it.  Marty's eyes turned a deep red and he began to growl and hiss.  The man was terrified. The Simons stood near the man, watching his reaction..       

            "What, what the hell are you???" he cried.

            "I'm your worst nightmare, mortal!  Now, why did Barnett steal his own merchandise and why did he hire the Simons!!" growled Marty.

            "He was losing money because of bad investments and gambling," replied the frightened man.  "So he figured that the insurance was the best way.  He had us steal the stuff during the day and then he reported that it had been stolen at night.  And he picked those two because the insurance company insisted he hire someone.  So he picked them because they were nobodies.  Nothings."

            When Rick heard that, he was of course, righteously angry and started yelling obscenities, including suggesting that Barnett do something physically impossible to himself.

            "Rick, will you stop that!  Yelling and cursing is not going to do us any good!"  yelled AJ

            "Well, it's making me feel a lot better!"  Rick yelled back at his brother!

            "AJ's right!  What we need is a plan to catch Barnett.  I think he will try to leave the country.  AJ... call Town and tell him to come here.  I will make sure that this mortal tells his story to him."  Marty picked the man up and gave him the stare. Then he told him what to.  When he was finished, he dropped the man and waited for AJ to return.  After the blonde had returned, he told them that Town was on his way.

            "Now that Town is comin' we can leave them to him.  But how are we gonna catch Barnett?  He got a good head start on us!" asked Rick.

            "Simple, I will ask my friend here.  Mortal, do you know where Barnett is?"

            "Yes, he's leaving on the next flight to Brazil in fifty minutes."

            "Fifty minutes!  It takes an hour to get to the airport from here!" announced AJ .

            "Then we will take a short cut.  I had Jamie work on the ship.  I think he's had some progress.  C'mon!"

            They ran to the PowerWagon and Rick drove to Buzzsaw's.  He opened the door to Buzzsaw's and they ran over to where the ship stood.  Marty knocked on the door and it opened.  They walked in and went to the bridge.  Jamie was working underneath the console.  Marty pulled the android out and smiled at him

            "Tell me that you got the ship working, at least in this atmosphere, Jamie me boy!"

            "I have done as you asked.  It will run, but only for a short time.  Perhaps for two hours, and then it will fail again.  I have put this thing together with spit and wire.  Let us hope it works long enough for us to land safely!"

            "Well, me boy, we won't know until we do it, now will we?  AJ, Rick, you are about to experience something not many in this world will ever experience.  You can sit in those two seats over there!"  Marty pointed to two chairs at the console.  The two men sat  and waited for the ship to start.

            "Jamie, prepare for lift off!"

            "Aye, Aye Captain!"  Jamie pushed a button and the engine fired up.  While the ship was warming up, Jamie went through the check list.  When he was finished, he nodded his head indicating that he was ready to lift off.  Marty smiled and then said, "Engage!"

            Jamie took hold of the joy stick and pushed it forward.  The ship lifted off  and silently moved forward. 

            "Engage cloaking device!"  ordered Marty.

            Jamie pushed another button and announced, "Cloaking device engaged, Captain!"

            "Good, now plot a course to the airport and be careful!  We don't want to accidentally run into any planes.  Well my friends did you ever think you'd be traveling on a spaceship?  I bet you didn't!"  Marty grinned at the two mortals.

 

            AJ and Rick could not believe that they were on a spaceship.  They watched as San Diego swept by.  Rick could not contain his excitement.  He pointed out landmarks as they zoomed towards the airport.  But AJ was not enjoying the ride. His stomach felt as if it was on a roller coaster.  Marty looked over to the mortal and noticed his very pale complexion. 

            "Are you okay AJ??"

            "Ohh, I've felt better..." moaned the blonde.

            "Jamie, attend to him, I'll pilot the ship."

            "Yes, Captain."  Jamie got up from the seat and Marty took over.  Jamie went over to AJ, carrying his medical bag and took out what looked like a small gun and a vial.  He filled the gun with the contents of the vial, took AJ's arm, put the gun to it and fired it.

            "There, I have given you a drug which should settle your stomach and get you use to traveling on the ship.  You are not the first person to have ship sickness and you will not be the last.  You have to get use to it, that's all."

            "You okay now, AJ?" asked his concerned brother.

            "Yeah, I'm okay now.  But geeze, it sure was weird.  It reminded me of the roller coaster ride that Dad took us on.  Remember?"

            "Yeah, I remember.  You threw up all over Dad!"

            They all laughed, except of course, Jamie.  Then  Marty looked at the screen and said,  "Hey guys, the airport is coming up!"

            Rick got up and looked out of the porthole.  He smiled and then said,  "Great! Now all we have to do is land.  Ah, Marty, where are we gonna land?  I mean, we just can't land in the middle of the airport!"

            "Why not?  Nobody can see us.  All we have to do is walk right into the airport terminal.  No one will even notice us!" answered the vampire.  "Now Jamie, land us right there!"  The vampire pointed to the back of the terminal where cargo was being loaded.  "They may hear us, but they won't see us!"

            "Aye, Aye Captain!" replied the android.  He pushed some buttons and the ship glided down and landed with a slight thump. 

            "Rick, what time is it now?" asked Marty.

            "Three O'clock" answered Rick.

            "Good, we have at least twenty minutes to catch Barnett.  And it shouldn't take that long at all.  Jamie, you stay here and keep the ship running.  We are going to have to leave quickly.  Understand??"

            "Yes Sir, I understand!"

            The three men quietly left the ship, and appropriated three uniforms.  Now they looked like they belonged there.  They quickly walked to the international terminal and started checking flights.  It was AJ who spotted Barnett standing on line waiting to board the plane.  AJ whistled to his brother, who then waved Marty over to the line.  Barnett heard the whistle, turned and saw AJ standing there.  He panicked.  He started pushing his way through the crowd and AJ started chasing after him.  Rick and Marty followed, as he ran onto the runway.  Marty used his ability to move quickly to block Barnett from going too far out on the tarmac.  No matter where Barnett moved, Marty was there.  Barnett recognized him as the "saleman" from the othr day.  He was also beginning to wonder if there were more than one of him.  He pulled out his gun and shot point blank at the vampire.  Marty fell back slightly from the impact of the bullet, but didn't fall down.  He just stood there.  Barnett's eyes widened as he shot again and still Marty didn't go down.  He started walking towards the startled man.  Barnett tried to move, but couldn't. It was if he was glued to the tarmac.

            "Hello Barnett, remember me?  Of course you do...!" said Marty as he approached him.  "I'm sure you also remember these two men.  They want a word with you . . . "

            The Simons walked over to the startled man.  Rick got there first.  He grabbed him  by the collar and said, "You bastard!  You set us up.  Your buddy told us everything!  You're going down and we are gonna have the pleasure of watching you go down!  C'mon!"  He put the man's arms around his back, took out his cuffs and cuffed him.  By then, the airport police were coming down the tarmac.  Rick looked at Marty, who smiled and then disappeared.  Barnett's eyes grew large as he saw Marty disappear. 

            "You didn't see that, you understand?  You didn't see that!" hissed the mortal. 

            "What's going on?" said a patrolman as he got to them.  "You're not supposed to be here!  This is a restricted area!"

            "Officer,  we're Simon and Simon Investigations and we came here to get this man.  He's wanted for attempted murder, fraud, and grand larceny," explained AJ, as he showed his ID.

            "Well, we'll call the local police and check out your story.  Let's go!" said the cop.  But as they were about to leave the tarmac, a sergeant came along.  He looked very familiar. 

            "Good work, officer,"  remarked  the sergeant, who looked remarkably like Marty.  "So what's the situation, Officer Johnstown?"

            "Well sir, these men were on the tarmac illegaliy, "answered the officer.

            "I'm afraid you're mistaken," replied the sergeant.  "There was never anybody on the tarmac.  You saw nothing."

            "But...."

            "I said, you saw nothing!"  The sergeant began to stare at the young man and was drawn into his eyes.  It felt as if there was nobody there but the two men. 

            "You will remember nothing of this encounter.  It never happened.  Do you understand?"  ordered Marty as he continued to stare at him.

            "Yes, I understand."

            "Good.  Now go, there are other crimes being committed!"

            The young officer walked away from the four men.  As he left, Marty started to remove the tie.

            "Wow, am I glad that's over with!  Let's get out of here before more cops show up!"

            He started to walk very fast towards the ship.  The Simon's and their prisoner followed.  When they got to the ship, Marty banged on the door and it opened.  Barnett eyes went wide once again at the sight of a corridor, but nothing else.  They pushed him inside and the door closed behind them.  They took him to the bridge and Rick pushed him down onto one of the chairs.  He then removed a handcuff and cuffed it to arm of the chair.  "Now, sit there and be quiet!  Otherwise, I'll have our friend here suck out your blood!!" ordered Rick as he sat in the chair next to Barnett.  AJ sat on the other side of  Barnett and gripped the seat in anticipation of the lift off.  By that time, Marty had changed into his regular clothes.

            "Okay Jamie, it's time to leave, engage!" ordered Marty.

            "Yes Captain," replied the android. 

            He pushed the button, and the ship lifted off.  AJ gripped the arms of the chair even tighter.  Marty noticed it and said, "Hey AJ, relax!  Before you know it, we'll be home.  We should be home in about four minutes."       

            "Three minutes and thirty-four seconds to be exact," corrected Jamie.

            "Yeah, right.  Soon!  Just relax!"

            "But AJ didn't relax.  In fact, he grew more anxious.  He turned pale and it looked like he was about to throw up.  Marty shook his head and then said, "Jamie, you better give him another shot!"

            Yes, Captain," replied Jamie to the command.  He got up and gave him another  shot.  In a couple of seconds, AJ's color returned and he began to relax.

            "AJ, at this rate, you may never get off the ground.  We are gonna have to do something about your air sickness.  But we've got time to worry about that later!  Now, we have to take care of Barnett.  He knows too much about me and the ship.  I think it's time I gave him the stare.  Do you agree?"

            "Yeah, I think it's time" agreed AJ.

            "I agree too, but I sure would like to make him suffer for what he did to us!" growled Rick.

             Barnett cowered in his seat, wondering what will happen next.  Marty got up and stood in front of the terrified man.

            "Mortal, you have caused a great deal of trouble for my friends.  Because of you, their reputation was sullied.  Because of you, they nearly died!  I think you should suffer, but then, I'm just a visitor here and I don't know your customs.  Back home, the pack would punish you for hurting a member.  But I'm not back home, I'm here!  I will not touch you.  Let mortal justice do its duty.  But be warned. . . .if you ever hurt my friends, I will make your life miserable until the day you die!  Now, you will forget you were ever on this ship!  Mortal, look into my eyes.  Look!"

            Barnett looked up at the vampire.  He had no choice.  Marty's voice went into his head.  It seemed to bounce off the walls of the ship.  He could feel his mind drift away, until he heard nothing but the vampire's voice.  His eyes glazed over and he was under.

            "Now mortal, you will tell the police everything.   Do you understand?"

            Barnett answered, "Yes."

            "Good.  Now sleep until I tell you to awaken!"

 

            It was unusually quiet at the  precinct that night.  Except for the booking of Barnett's men, there wasn't much going on.  Town sat in his office, finishing the last of the arrest reports.  He was glad that it would soon be the end of his shift.  He had thoughts of a warm shower, a good breakfast and a maybe a snuggle from Temple.  He was not looking forward to seeing the Simons or Marty come in with Barnett between them.  He frowned and tried to hide from them by going under the desk.  He failed miserably.  Rick was the first to spot him.

            "Hey Town!  Lt. Marcel Prost Brown!"

            Town made a tsk sound and came out from under the desk as Rick pushed Barnett into his office. 

            "Sit!" ordered Rick, as Marty and AJ came in.

            Barnett meekly sat as Rick said, "Barnett is responsible for robbing his own store!"

            "Yeah, I saw his handiwork.  Most of his men weren't talking except for one guy.  A heavy set dude by the name of Frank Costas.  He was very cooperative.  I've never seen anybody as talkative as that guy!  I couldn't shut him up!  He named names and everything! Oh, and by the way, it turns out that Barnett was paying off an insurance agent as well.  We're gonna pick him up this morning.

            "Well Town, we told you something wasn't right!"  declared AJ

            "Yeah, well I have to admit, you guys did a fine job, but one thing puzzles me.  How did you get into that locked room?  One of my people told me that those locks were lockpick proof."

            "Well Town, it was like this. . ." answered Rick.  "We're the best in the business and we know our stuff.  There is no lock we can't handle!"

            Yeah, right, sure.  Okay, don't tell me.  I don't think I want to know!"  Town went to the door, opened it up and yelled for Nixon.  Nixon came in and took Barnett away.

            "Well Town, it's getting late and the sun will soon be up.  We have to leave and get some sleep.  See ya!" said Rick   They all got up from the couch, said their goodbyes and went home.  When they got there, they shook hands, gave each other a pat on the back  and then went to bed.  They didn't get up until the next evening.

 

            The sun was just sinking over the horizon when AJ got up.  He was feeling good.  The night before had been a success and their reputations had been saved.  And best of all, he had two new partners.  The only thing that still bothered him were Marty's strange ways.  But he decided that Marty had been a great asset to the case and that's all that counted.  And it was Marty who suggested that they have a little party celebrating the partnership.  Also, Jamie had agreed to make some of the dishes from the different planets that belonged to the organization known as the United Federation of Planets.  Cecilia had also decided to make some of their favorite dishes too, so there was going to be a plenty to eat.  But AJ knew that the food would be eaten quickly by the bottomless pit known as his brother.   He quickly took a shower, got dressed and walked down the stairs just as Jamie and Cecilia was putting the last of the food on the table.   Rick was also there, trying out some of the exotic food

            "Hi AJ dear!  Oh, you should try some of this stuff, it's wonderful!" said his mother as she nibbled on one of the delicacies.  "Jamie says it's from the planet Vulcan.  It's very spicy, but ohhhh, it tastes divine!"

            AJ went over and took a small bite.  She was right, it was delicious.

            "You made this, Jamie??"

            "Yes, I did.  It is not hard to make.  I had to make do with your planet's ingredients, but it came out the same.  I will show you how to make it," replied Jamie, as he put down a bowl filled with fruit.  "It's time.  As Marty would say, "Let's PA-R-TY!!"  Then Jamie did something amazing.  He smiled.  Marty came down dressed in his usual outfit, except that this time he wore a jacket.  He was carrying a camera.  He stopped, looked shocked, and then took Jamie's picture. 

            "Dad will never believe this!  Jamie actually smiled!  This is a first!  Now, there really is cause for celebration!"  said Marty as he put the camera on the coffee table.  "Ah, food.  Too bad I can't have any, but such is a vampire's life.  But I can propose a toast!"

            Rick got up and took the bottle of Saurian Brandy out of the cupboard and said, "Well, I've been dying to try this stuff ever since Jamie and I got it from the ship.  Now, I think this is the time!"

            "I have to agree, this is the perfect time!" said Marty, nodding his head..  "Like I once said before, once you've tasted this, you'ill never go back to oridinary drinks.  Let me do the honors!"

            Marty took the bottle from Rick and held it.  Then he began to stare at it and all of the sudden the cork popped and flew into the air.  AJ caught it and then Marty poured the drinks.  They all took the glasses and held it up as Marty recited the toast.

            "To my new mortal friends and partners, may we have a long successful life as a team and may all our dreams come true!"

            They all clinked their glasses together and then drank the potent drink.   But as AJ drank the brandy, he suddenly gasped as the fiery liquid went down his throat.  Marty just grinned and then said, "Well guys, I've got a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship!"

 

THE END