AP

Frankie looks at me and I nod my agreement. In her normal tone of voice she says,

"Look Shade, I got nothing for you. Alvin came to see me, we talked, he left...now get out." With that she starts doing paperwork and ignoring us.

"Thank you for your time Frankie," I tell her. She looks up as we reach the door. "Oh, and Shade... if you speak a word of this to anyone, you're dead."

"Yes Frankie," I say, and nod my farewell.

Leaving the office I note the time and head to the bar.

"Water please," I say to the Rachel9 unit working behind it. The first glass I push towards Angela, the second I pick up and take a sip.

"What are we waiting for?" she asks. I nod towards the door.

"Any moment now." I say.

Five minutes later Frankie comes marching out of her office in her birthday suit and moves to the centre pole. I give Angela a grin and hand the keys to the car to her, "Let's get out of here, will you do the driving?"

She takes them from my hand. "Where to now?" she asks.

"Let's go home love, your place if you like. Tomorrow we'll find Alvin." Suddenly I feel drained from the stress of dealing with Frankie. As she drives I smile and say, "I guess it did take after all," I say leaning over and kissing her softly on the cheek. "Thank you for the skirt darling."

AP - Chapter 7, Alvin

Waking, I roll over in the bed and lie there looking at my sweet angel Angela as she lay next to me with her eyes closed. Reaching out with my hand I brush wisps of hair from her face. Her eyes open and lock onto mine.

"Good morning love," I say.

She snuggles close, kisses me deeply and strokes my face. "Sleep well darling?" she asks.

"You're the cure to my nightmares," I tell her, kissing her again before getting up. As I head to the shower I marvel that in the time we've been together I haven't had one single nightmare.

In short order Angela has joined me in the shower and we take our sweet time bathing each other slowly. It's only when we've got out and are standing side by side drying each other off when I realize that, apart from my hair colour, we could almost be twins.

Feeling coolish below, I look at myself in the mirror and realize somehow I've lost my bush and now I'm as clean-shaven as my Angela. With each new change I'm discovering in myself I'm finding excitement and joy rather than worry and fear. Angela is doing exactly what I'd asked of her.

Over breakfast Angela looks at me and says, "You said last night you knew how to find Alvin." The look in her eyes is full of a hope she dare not speak.

"Yes, I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier love." I reach across the table and take her hand in mine. "I think with a little research I can narrow it down and, with a little help from a friend we might have Alvin in hand by this evening." I smile at her happily. "Have you got a computer terminal I can use?"

"Alvin has one in his study; secure and encrypted access," she says as though everyone has one.

"Then it should be as easy as a rigged horse race," I reply as I follow her down the hall to a room with a deadbolt on the door.

Opening the door Angela shows me in and points to the computer. "Here it is love," she says, sitting herself on a chair and watching as I walk around the room looking at the pictures Alvin has left scattered around.

Pausing, I pick one up and look at it closer. Three figures arm in arm; two men with a woman standing between them. They seem strangely familiar. The blood begins to pound as I set it down and head to the computer, certain now I know where he is. Logging on I begin searching through the past news issues for any information relating to Alvin. It doesn't take long to find what I'm looking for. I stare at the screen a long time, staring at the article, hardly daring to breathe. Finally I turn to Angela.

"I know where Alvin is love," I tell her. "But before we go to him, there's someone I have to see. Will you come with me?"

Angela stands and walks across the room towards me. "Of course love. Where you go I go...together, forever..."

I turn off the computer, stand and melt into her arms. "Together, forever..." I repeat as my arms fold around her and I hold her tight.

Leaving the house we drive downtown to see Jimmy the Geek. As we enter his shop I turn the deadlock and turning the sign in the window to 'closed.' Angela and I walk across to the counter. As usual Jimmy is nowhere to be seen; I reach out and ring the bell that perches on his counter like something from another age.

Jimmy comes out from the back, stopping dead in his tracks when he sees who's waiting for him. The colour fades from his face and, though he didn't say a word, the way he reacted went a long way to confirming the ideas in my head.

"You knew didn't you," I say, by way of greeting. All the time I was looking him right in the eye.

Jimmy is unable to hold my gaze; he looks away. "Yes," he says, so softly I can hardly hear him. I step forward and turn his head to face mine. When I see the tears in his eyes I know my suspicions were correct.

"I forgive you Jimmy," I tell him.

For the second time in my life, the Geek hugs me tight, only this time he's sobbing. I look to Angela and move my lips. "Help me," I mouth to her. Angela moves forward and enfolds us in a three-way hug. "It's ok, it's ok," she whispers.

After a minute or two I say softly, "Where is he Jimmy? Dad's place?" When he nods, I lift his tear-streaked face and kiss him lightly on the lips. "Goodbye Jimmy. Take care of yourself."

I take Angela's hand in mine and we're turning to leave when Jimmy stops me. "Red," he says, sniffing back his tears as I turn back to him. "I'm glad you know Samantha."

Outside, beside the car, I kiss and nuzzle Angela's neck. "Love me," I say to her, "Promise you'll never leave me." My voice sounds muffled in her hair. She strokes me gently before replying.

"I love you Samantha, we're soul mates you and I, bound together forever."

I look into her eyes and kiss her, feeling slightly euphoric from her words. "Next stop Alvin," I tell her as I start up the car.

Driving to Dad's house was like taking a trip down memory lane. He and I hadn't talked since I moved out, nor had he invited me to visit. When he'd died in the auto accident I didn't bother cleaning the house. As far as I was concerned, the house, and everything in it could burn to the ground without me shedding a single tear. Yet here I was driving my lover to that same house to find someone.

I pull up in the driveway and look at Angela.

"Here we are," I say, before getting out and walking round the car. Hand in hand we climb the steps to the porch and I ring the doorbell. "Bet you a kiss it's a Rachel9 that answers the door."

Angela looks at me and smiles, "Deal," she says.

The door opens and, sure enough, there stands a Rachel9 sexbot in all her glory. Turning to Angela I say, "Pay up love," and, ignoring the robot and the man I know must be watching from somewhere, I collect my reward there on the steps.

"May I help you," asks the sexbot in a voice that sounds as though she's inviting you to share carnal knowledge with her

"I...we...have come to see Alvin Williams," I reply, turning back to the robot. "Please announce us."

"I'm sorry but the..." the robot's reply drifts away into silence before picking up again. "Please enter and follow me." Again there's something about her voice that makes me want to jump her and sample her pleasures then and there. But I had something better than any sexbot could have given me.

We follow the Rachel unit into the living room to find Alvin standing there. Angela tears her hand away from mine, runs across the room and hugs him.

"Oh Alvin," she says, "I was so worried about you. Are you okay?" She holds him at arm's length and looks him over, assuring herself that he's unharmed before moving to me and slipping her arm around my waist. "Alvin, this is Samantha Shade, my lover and my soul mate."

I look sideways at Angela. "Alvin and I already know each other," I tell her, "Don't we Uncle Alvin?" I squeeze her waist before turning to Alvin. "I know about the fire, the nightmares I've been having are from it; but there's so much I don't understand. Please help me remember."

Alvin looks first at me and then at Angela before slumping heavily into the nearest chair. I kneel in front of him and, reaching behind me with one hand, I feel Angela kneel beside me and wrap her arms around me. Together she and I wait for answers. He looked down at us.

"It all started three years ago Samantha," he began. "Robert called me, he was frantic. You'd just come out of the closet and confronted him with your girlfriend." He closes his eyes as the nightmare of memory enfolds him. "In his anger he drove you out with his words. Only you and your lover were in an accident as you drove away. The car..." the words catch in his throat.

I look at him and finish his sentence for him..."Caught fire and burned."

Alvin nods. "Yes. Angela was the lucky one, she died in the accident, but you... you burned." He buries his face in his hands and sobs. A couple of minutes later he raises it and looks at me through a veil of tears. I can see the pain in his eyes. "Robert came to me with the idea of bringing you back."

"I'm... I'm an AP?" I say with shock in my voice.

"He was my brother Samantha, you're my niece. How could I refuse him?" Alvin seems almost to be pleading with me. "Robert called in favours from all over to get the items he needed. Only one other person knew the truth about you."

"Jimmy," I say. Suddenly everything was becoming clear. "Jimmy the Geek was in on it wasn't he?" I look at Angela kneeling quietly beside me and hug her tightly.

"He helped save your brain," Alvin touches my temple lightly, "Inside a carbon fiber skull. But when you came round you were cold and heartless." He closed his eyes. "Robert could never forgive himself for killing his little girl and her angel."

Alvin opens his eyes again and looks at Angela and I.

"After Robert died, I realized you were missing your other half, your soul mate." He reaches out and strokes Angela's hair lightly before his hand drops away. "I did the best I could to bring her back for you Samantha," he says softly. "I'm so sorry."

I stay on my knees, stunned and confused but when I look at Angela the answer becomes clear.

"Alvin..." I say, "Uncle..." He looks at me. "I forgive you, you and father." I tell him, glancing at Angela as I do so. She nods at me. "We both forgive you." Standing up I straighten my sun dress and smile down at him. Bending over I kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you for giving me back my love."

Finally I turn to Angela, "Shall we go home angel?"

Angela smiles and, bending over, kisses Alvin's other cheek.

"Thank you for giving me my soul mate back," she says, before smiling at me.

"Yes my love. Why don't we go home, we've got a lot of catching up to do."