The Selfless Gene

Chapter 31

Thame arrives at the house at 8.30pm on the dot. The security detail asks him to wait, then Abigail comes to the door and hugs him.

"Ready for this?" She asks.

"Yes." Thame follows her in, his eyes already changing.

"Who was that, Abi?" Her mum shouts from the kitchen.

"A friend, you don't mind do you?" Abi answers, entering the room first.

"Who?" The Monk is chopping vegetables, and clutches the knife tightly.

"You know Lord Ormr, right?" She says flippantly as Thame enters behind her. His gaze penetrates them both, eyes bestial.

"My Lord!" Seymour and his wife are struck still with fear.

"Uncle Thame!" Thea runs up and hugs his leg, adding tightness to their chests.

"Don't worry, you're secure. Abi has the only evidence of you being here and I gave it to her this afternoon." Abigail's parents shoot her a look. The Monk glances at Thame's amulet lying passive next to Thea, and immediately knows.

"Hidden picture of you and your dad on your yacht in 1987. Behind your family photo in your office."

"Written in pencil on the back." The Monk finishes Thame's sentence, realising his one mistake. "And you two? How does Thea know you?"

Thame leans down and picks her up for a big hug. "We met and played at the beach today, didn't we?" She smiles and nods.

"Ok, say goodbye to Uncle Thame, Thea." Abi bends down to take her daughter's hand. "Time for your bed. It's so late already. And mum, come with me to help." Her mother is still in shock, not sure whether to stay or go.

"It's alright. My Lord is clearly not here for trouble."

"Absolutely not." Thame kisses the child goodnight and gives Abigail a hug goodbye. Finally he and Seymour are alone.

"My Lord." The Monk's grip on his knife finally relents, and he kneels down in front of Thame. "Thank you for keeping our secret. And your lineage, sir, is in good hands."

"Get up. Pour us a drink and let's talk like grown ups." Thame's eyes return to his human form. "I need information and guarantees."

The Monk gets up and switches easily back into his diplomat personality. He pours them each a Bourbon on the rocks and they sit either side of the kitchen island.

"So I gather you're not here to kill me."

"Of course not. You should proud of Abi. She's a good mum and Thea is adorable." The Monk smiles, unable to conceal his love and pride.

"And I saw you look at my wrist when I was hugging Thea. How long have you known?"

The Monk chuckles and sighs. "Since the kid started looking identical to Abi's boyfriend at school. I never knew for sure - I still hoped she was yours - but.." The Monk shrugs. "Teenage pregnancy can impact a young girl's reputation, even without the involvement of an ancient lineage. I thought it best to protect her from it all. You were the target and I wanted to be in Dragon's position, so originally it was supposed to be yours. But, well, it seems you were beaten to the punch. Either way, I was going to look after my sweet girl."

"I leave tomorrow. I need information on The Order. Do you still keep up with it?"

"I still have my people who feed me information. Mbozi. Was that you?"

"Yes." Thame fronted it out but was acutely aware that they were talking about murder. Murder he'd committed, in cold blood.

"Why are they trying to kill me?"

"What? No one would dare."

"Olsen, the Norwegian, tried to kill me on a shipping boat. He doesn't even believe in me. Just thinks it's a myth."

"Kill you? My God. That's all Mirna. Without Dragon or I, even though we didn't get on, she's a tyrant. We were both traditionalists, indoctrinated to the will of the first. We believe in you and The Order's purpose. She," he takes a deep breath, "is a little Hitler. Pure American-style free marketeer who wants money, power, influence, the lot. She always wanted to take us out of the shadows, make us the most powerful business in the world and properly merge with Sir Henry. See the myth and this story of brothers is now a little far fetched. We've never seen the true Ormr in our lifetimes or of those lifetimes before. They go along with the stories to keep those traditionalists happy but, truth is, they run the world and together with Sir Henry's corporation, they'll forever control it."

"I have to prove I'm real. Take true control and dissolve it all."

"Kill The Order?"

"John, The Monk is dead. The story and history is dead. I'm now fighting humans and the man who took over from my brother. There's no need for all of this now. Business is fine, as long as that bitch isn't running it."

John Seymour, traditionalist and almost-loyal servant, realised his world was collapsing. All he'd worked for was about to be gone. And he was fine with it.

"You have your money, you still have your other interests, and you have the most important thing. You have Thea and Abigail." Thame's eyes settle and John sees Ormr properly vanish. Finally he understands how he was now both man and beast, at ease.

"I'm impressed with you, Thame. And I am a traditionalist and true to my word to you. Now I can see Ormr and you are one. I promise I'm done."

"There's two last things. First, what do you know of Paimona?"

"Shit. I haven't heard that name in years. We assumed she died years ago. She was an old controlling member and worked with Mirna closely. Strict traditionalist, tough. Always loyal to Ormr's interests obsessed with the succession. She managed your birth. Why?"

Thame got a chill from the words "managed your birth". This woman, nee beast, had been controlling him from the very start. She'd been controlling Ormr for much longer.

"She's back on the scene."

"She must be a hundred by now!"

"Quite. I need to know anything you have on her."

"She worked with Mirna to bring you and your brother together. She ensured that we own a bit of Sir Henry's interests and tried to say that we were one. Mirna pushed her out in the end, a fight over control. As Mirna thought it was all hokey, she managed the committee to be in her image. Well, almost all of us. I believe she just chose to leave. Go back to the shadows. We all believed Mirna killed her but she clearly just lurked around in the darkness. What does she want?"

"The same. She's calculating, very smart. I don't know how to take her. I want it all to end. For the story to end on all The Order and related mythology, but she wants the opposite."

"Sorry I don't know more. Her base was in Italy, she had her own business interests. Owned some industrial property in London."

"Like where?"

"Docklands. East end type of area." Thame remembers the address she gave him. Must be one of hers.

"What was the other thing?"

"Thea's father."

"He needs to move here, doesn't he." Seymour sighs. Thame nods.

"It's time you let Abi live and Thea have her real father." The Diplomat and The Monk were dead. What was left was John Seymour, father, grandfather and patriarch to his family, and his alone.