FicWad

Mikey turned the key in the latch to the front door of the rambling house and pushed it open. Normally, he would bowl in, a force of noise and activity, eager to hear about Gerard’s day and decide on dinner. Today was unexpectedly different for him. Today he realised that his regular days of returning home to their overly large house were numbered. Soon Gerard would be welcomed into the Paladin Academy and they would both be required to sleep in their dorm rooms, only able to go home between terms and other breaks or holidays. It was suddenly somehow sobering, and Mikey felt a pang that he recognised as a combination of sadness and guilt. Sadness because he genuinely loved the house and would miss it. Guilt because Gerard was utterly unaware of what was happening. Mikey flushed a deep pink briefly at the thought of deceiving his brother. It hadn’t felt like deceiving until now - not until the last offer from his preferred art college had arrived.

With sagging shoulders, Mikey slipped off his coat and was hanging it up whilst the door closed itself behind him. He admonished himself silently for using his powers outside of the academy. In his distracted state, he had simply forgotten protocol. It was forbidden for students to use their powers outside of the academy without prior permission and even then approval was very specific about what, where and how they could be used. Mikey understood the need for the rule; not everyone would use their gift carefully, wisely and to keep that gift secret from prying eyes before it was fully mastered but he was distracted and had simply forgotten. Looking at the door with a slightly guilty expression, he reasoned that he could argue that the door closed itself some other way. The wind perhaps? He shook his head; no one was even likely to ask.

The fact was that students didn’t usually leave the academy during term time but Mikey had been granted special dispensation. As the younger of the two brothers, it would normally have been the case that Gerard would have been accepted into the academy first, but his particular gift had either taken longer to develop or he had somehow kept it at bay. It wasn’t unusual for students to be of different ages. Frank was in the same year as Mikey and was two years younger than him. Another student, Ray, was roughly Gerard’s age - it was simply that the gifts emerged at different times.

However, Mikey couldn’t realistically be away from home for entire terms. There was simply no way Gerard would accept that his brother was attending a boarding school without growing suspicious. With no other way to explain a regular absence, until they were both attending, Mikey was required to return every night to their large old-fashioned house where he routinely forgot that he had to close a door with his hands, or stand up to fetch a book. Telekinesis was hardly a curse, in fact it was a truly handy skill to possess, but pretty hard to explain away. He thought about his friend, Frank, whose powers were based around reading and controlling minds. He had often passed off his gift as ‘a good guess’ or simply made the enquirer forget that anything unusual had occurred. Right now, he could use that ability as he heard a familiar voice call out behind him.

“Mikes? Is that you?”
“Yeah, Gee,” Mikey called back. “Is everything ready for tonight?”
“Uh…” Gerard appeared in the hallway, his brow furrowed and a frown fixed on his face, although he seemed more confused than worried. “I think you better come through.”
“What’s wrong?” Mikey asked, concerned that Gerard may have seen the door closing on its own.
“We’ve… uh… got a visitor.”
“A visitor?” Mikey pushed his shoulders back to stand upright and his expression mirrored Gerard’s own. From the way it was presented, it seemed pretty clear that it wasn’t any of their friends. “Who?”
“Uncle Emmett,” Gerard replied with a light shrug.
“Uncle Emmett?” Mikey gasped, before continuing in a whisper. “I thought he was dead?”
“Apparently not,” Gerard shook his head slowly, shrugging again, this time with his arms.
“What does he want?” Mikey asked quietly.

The sound of slow but steady footsteps, of leather-soled shoes padding surprisingly lightly across the wooden floorboards, drifted into the hallway, accompanied between each step by the click of a silver tipped cane hitting the floor. A man walked from the living room to meet the two boys now whispering in the hallway and Mikey got his first glimpse of the man calling himself Uncle Emmett.

The first and most noticeable feature of the man was his heavily weathered and lined face. Deep crevices seemed chiselled with remarkable accuracy around his eyes, mouth and forehead. His hair, though almost pure white, with flecks of grey over his ears, remained substantial even at his advanced age and was styled into small, neat but somewhat flamboyant quiff. His clothes consisted of a black bespoke tailored suit with a silver lapel pin that was too small for Mikey to see properly, crisp white shirt with his double cuffs showing beneath the sleeves of his jacket, a white silk cravat and black shoes with a mirror shine. His outfit matched his stiff-backed and elegant bearing and despite walking with a cane, he walked surprisingly erect, as if the cane were merely an accessory.

“I’m here to speak with you both,” Emmett advised. “We have some important matters to attend to before Gerard goes to college.”

Mikey frowned slightly, uncertain whether Uncle Emmett was aware of the Paladin Academy and if so, that Gerard wasn’t. From the look on his brother’s face, it seemed likely that he had no clue about the purpose of the visit. It gave Mikey some breathing space at least. Depending on what their uncle intended to discuss, he might be able to head off any awkward conversations. He just wished Frank were here, he would be able to ensure that Gerard didn’t hear anything he wasn’t supposed to.

“Shall we go in?”

Emmett waved a hand in the direction of the living room and both boys nodded their compliance. Heading in first, Gerard didn’t notice Emmett place a hand on Mikey’s shoulder as he passed the elderly man.

“Your friend hasn’t mastered his gift as much as he believes he has,” Emmett spoke quietly before turning to follow Gerard.

Mikey’s mouth fell open; this man knew, that was certain and knew much more than Mikey had either given him credit for, or felt comfortable with. Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Mikey followed him inside, watching the man cautiously as they all took their seats - Gerard and Mikey on the couch and Emmett on one of the matching chairs.

“Now then,” Emmett began, placing one hand over the other on top of his cane and leaning forward slightly. “I expect you want to know why I’m here.”

Gerard nodded, uncertain what else to do or say. The two boys had long since believed that they were the only heirs to their parents’ fortune and although left to fend for themselves after their parents’ mysterious deaths just over two years earlier, Gerard had luckily been deemed old enough to take care of himself and Mikey. If he were honest, he had felt it surprising at the time as he hadn’t even turned eighteen at that point. In fact, he had only recently reached that particular milestone, but he wasn’t going to argue if the result was that he and Mikey were allowed to stay together in their own home.

“Now that you are eighteen, Gerard, you are old enough to run the household yourself. You may not be aware of this, but I have remained in the background tending to the family business and your finances. I’ve made sure everything runs smoothly and…”
“The family business?” Gerard asked, puzzled by the words.

To the best of his knowledge, his parents had been independently wealthy and that neither seemed to own any business to speak of. Their father would occasionally talk about dealing with aspects of business but it occurred to him only now that he had no idea what those may have been. He knew that neither appeared to have any sort of day job and were frequently around to raise their children themselves. Gerard didn’t even remember the presence of a nanny for either himself or Mikey and remained convinced that their parents were devoted to them, seeing to many aspects of their education themselves.

Emmett stared at Gerard, his eyes narrowed and brow creased. Was it really possible that the boy had no idea about the family business? A glance toward Mikey suggested that despite being aware of their respective gifts, that he too seemed as puzzled as his older brother.

“You genuinely don’t know, do you?” Emmett spoke in a slow measured voice, hoping not to scare the pair.
“Don’t know what?” Gerard pressed, uncertain if he wanted to hear the response.

By now both Gerard and Mikey were feeling uncomfortable. Gerard, oblivious to many of the details he would soon learn about himself and Mikey, was at a loss to understand what he was talking about. Even Mikey was puzzled - was what Uncle Emmett was talking about going to relate to his, and soon Gerard’s, enrolment at the Paladin Academy? Or was this something completely different?

“This is unexpected,” Emmett drew his lips into a thin line, now uncertain whether to continue, or if he did, how he would.
“Oh, this is unexpected?” Gerard replied, suddenly animated and growing frustrated by the strange situation. “A man turns up claiming to be our Uncle Emmett. A man that, as far as we’re concerned is dead, mind you. But yeah, not knowing about a family business when our parents never needed to go to work? Yeah, that’s the unexpected thing!”

Emmett’s eyes widened at the outburst; it appeared that the news of his death was as much a surprise to him as the news of his life was to the boys. Exhaling deeply, Emmett nodded.

“I’ll admit, there was one aspect of this that puzzled me and that was this,” as he spoke Emmett drew a DVD from his jacket’s inside pocket and handed it to Gerard. “This is a recording of your parents with a message for you both.”

Gerard and Mikey stared at the disc for several seconds before turning their gaze to the older man. Gerard reached out to take the disc, hesitant at first, he wasn’t sure if he was ready to see their parents again in front of what amounted to a complete stranger. If either he, Mikey or both of them were to become upset, the last thing either of them would want was an audience.

“What does it… do they say?” Gerard asked, his eyes lowered, now staring intently at the disc. Glancing to his right, he saw that Mikey too was merely staring at it, his eyes glazed.
“I don’t know,” Emmett replied in a soft and kind tone. “The message is for you.”

Gerard closed his eyes and exhaled deeply - still uncertain what to do.

“Do you want to watch it?” He asked Mikey, still sitting quietly next to him.
“Now?” The younger boy asked quietly.

Gerard pursed his lips as he thought about it. He really wanted to hear what his parents had to say. If only to understand this new mystery of their suddenly alive uncle and their unknown family business.

“Yeah,” he replied, equally quiet but sounding decisive.
“Okay,” Mikey replied hesitantly; torn between wanting to view it, but fearful it may explain things that Gerard wasn’t prepared for.
“I can leave the room, if you prefer?” Emmett offered.

Mikey looked up at the man - he knew instantly that the words were for Gerard’s benefit only. Somehow he knew that no matter where the man waited, he would soon know the contents of the disc, purely by them watching.

“I can assure you, Mikey,” he advised. “I will not intrude.”

Chewing his lip, Mikey realised in a moment that Emmett possessed similar powers as Frank, only with infinitely more control and stealth. Gerard turned to look at his brother, noting what he believed was uncertainty in his expression, deciding that Emmett, seemed to be very sensitive to their needs. Perhaps he was someone to be trusted?

“What do you think, Mikes?” Gerard asked.
“You mean, do we watch it?” Mikey queried.
“Yeah,” Gerard nodded, opening the plastic wallet. “You want to watch it now?”

Mikey nodded before raising his eyes to look directly at Emmett.

“Is it okay if he stays?” Gerard asked. “I think he has questions now too.”

Mikey inhaled deeply. He really wanted to watch the DVD, but he wanted to view it alone, without even Gerard. Unnerved by the possible content, and the idea that Gerard could hear something that he wasn’t prepared for truly unnerved him. It was then that Emmett spoke again.

“Mikey,” he began kindly. “I doubt you need to worry about the contents of the DVD. They are your parents. What’s to fear? Besides, all fears are controllable, are they not?”

For a few moments, Gerard frowned at the unusual statement before his confusion cleared only seconds later.

“I’ll put it on,” Gerard stated without further consulting Mikey.

Mikey glared at Emmett, frowning deeply - the thought ‘do not manipulate my brother’ racing through his mind several times until he was certain his uncle had heard and understood. The faintest of smiles crossed the elderly man’s lips and Mikey was forced to accept that as an apology even though he had no idea if that was indeed what it was.

The television switched itself on automatically as the DVD loaded and the two boys were confronted by video images of their parents - their father, handsome and charismatic, their mother, beautiful and graceful. Staring with the beginnings of tears in their eyes, the boys watched intently.

“Boys,” their father began, “if you’re watching this, then we’re both dead and your Uncle Emmett has been taking care of you. Gerard, you’re eighteen now and it’s time you learned about the family business.”