"Cause what, you'll kill me? Cause I've kinda been there and done that. I don't even know if it would still take, you know?" He wasn't sure how alive he still was, he wasn't sure how he could be killed and, no matter what, he didn't fear death. Or anything, as Jonathan had tested for him.
"I'm gonna give you a chance, Jerry. I'm a family man, I want to see you do well. But you're gonna have to open the door for that." He stepped back and spread his arms out. "I know you have a gun in there, but that door is bullet safe. So face me. Shoot me. I've got my fingers crossed for you."
Jeremiah took a deep breath and steeled himself. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to do it. Once Jerome was dead, maybe he could start actually living. Maybe. Could this man ever die? He didn't last time. Sucking in a deep breath, he aimed his gun to roughly his own height and hoped this worked. "Minos, open the door."
The AI affirmed and the door started to unlock slowly, first the bulletproof layer was removed and then the actual door itself. And there was Jerome.
And Jeremiah's hand shook so much, he couldn't hold it steady. He didn't take the shot. If he shot and killed Jerome, he was a killer, and apparently he had just realised that he wasn't one. Fuck.
"That's what I thought." Jerome reached for Jeremiah's wrist right away, squeezing it painfully so he'd drop the gun. Then he pulled his brother close against himself, holding him there and kissing his cheek. "MWAH!"
Kissing his cheek loudly, wetly and insistently. "There you are, you little rascal! Let me cuddle you!" He noogied him instead, while keeping a hold of him. "You're looking good, Jerry! I forgot what that old face looked like before I had to staple it on. We're damn handsome, aren't we?"
The gun was on the floor and his pathetic attempt to kill Jerome had died before it even started. Regret was deep and overwhelming as his idiot brother noogied his head and the spit from the kiss was still on his cheek. Ugh. Repulsive.
"Jerome, please, get off me." He had to ask, maybe he could reason with the idiot. He was insane, yes, but he had -- had he matured? No. No, he was deluded. There was no reason here. "I will call the police."
"Called it. Still want to tell on me. Booooring." Jerome pulled Jeremiah along with him, headed for the stairs. Why not go to the roof a bit? "You're so pale, broski. You need some fresh air, that's going to do you a world of good."
His giggle was unsettling as always when he dragged him up the stairs, his mind already concocting up a few ways of how he saw this going. "You can try yelling from up there, maybe the police can hear you. Worth a shot. Unlike me, I guess"
He laughed, because Jeremiah hadn't managed to shoot him. With a powerful kick, he got the door to the roof open, forcing Jeremiah up the last few steps. "JERVIS! Look, it's my brother. Isn't he precious?"
"Jerome, careful!" Jeremiah begged as he stumbled up the stairs, unable to keep up and his feet missing steps from their lack of co-ordination together. That and the way that Jerome was holding him was hurting like hell. Since when did his brother get so strong? He was solid muscle! Fantastic. Why were crazy people allowed to weightlift?!
The night air hit him right in the face and there he was, staring at the Mad Hatter of all people. "Oh God..."
"Is that your brother? Oh yes, of course, can't be any other. He's the spitting image of you. It's like you split in two!" Jervis giggled excitedly as he came closer to inspect Jeremiah. "Glasses - bad eyes? Not the best prize." Jerome was built of better stock for sure.
"Make him stand still, yeah? He's making me hurt him and then whining about it, really gets on my nerve." He let go of Jeremiah so Jervis could follow his orders, not expecting his brother to have any resistance to the Mad Hatter. Jeremiah might be a smart cookie, but so was the Riddler. If his guy in green couldn't withstand, neither would Jeremiah. "Don't whammy him, I still want to talk. We have a lot of catch-up to do."
As Jervis did his thing, Jerome let go of Jeremiah in favour of wrapping his arms around Jervis instead, tilting his head to the side to look at his brother past the Mad Hatter's hat. "He's a bit scrawny and his face is missing character, but other than that... Handsome sons of a bitch, aren't we?"
"Of course, I won't make him go under. Just focus on me, friend, and react with awe and wonder." Jervis ordered as his pupils disappeared and Jeremiah found himself unable to move any of his body. He had heard that Jervis could control people but not like this. Surely this wasn't possible. It defied all logic.
Jervis beamed at Jerome and then back at the very terrified Jeremiah. "He's a bit timid but maybe he's just shy. If anyone can bring him out, it's this guy!" He reached out and patted Jerome on the chest.
"This is insanity! Stop it!" Jeremiah tried, looking at the people on the ledge. "Just leave me be!"
"Duh. Of course it's insanity." Jerome rolled his eyes and pointed at Jeremiah with his thumb as he talked to Jervis. "Can you believe this guy? Always pointing out the obvious and apparently that makes him a genius."
Seemed like a low bar to him. "What do you reckon, Hatter? Is our guy in green as smart as my little brother?" Jerome shrugged. "At least he's not some boring loser who locks himself in for years. You'll die of vitamin D deficiency!"
He grinned and moved his hips a little, rubbing against Jervis. "I helped Jervis here with his. Introduced him to the D."
"We can ask, I'll say come up. It's always fun to have back-up. And an audience to watch. I'm sure we'll go up a notch." Jervis pulled out the walkie-talkie they call had been given and pressed the button. "Dormouse! March Hare! To the roof with you. Jerome has a twin, it's true! We must test his smarts."
"We will be up in a moment, Mr Tetch." Jonathan replied and Jeremiah eyed the excited man with concern and horror. Jervis was a squirmy, strange man with no pupils right now and way too much power. And there was Jerome. The puppet master.
"What's wrong with him?" Jeremiah licked his lips, trying to ignore the D comment and focusing on what he could do. Gather information. "How can he do this?"
"The hypnosis or the worshipping of my D?" Both important things, Jerome felt. "I dunno. How am I alive? World's full of mystery and my Jervis is damn useful, isn't he? So happy to be used too."
He grinned and let go of Jervis for now, so he could step closer to his brother and adjust his tie. Which he did by tightening it a lot more than it really had to be. "Who sits alone in their sad loner apartment and wears a suit? What's wrong with you, seriously? And I'm the crazy one?"
He moved his index finger next to the side of his head. "Someone's cuckoo."
"I work from home. I'm in the office, technically." He liked to wear a suit, it helped to ground his day-night cycles and important times. He wore a suit when working and pyjamas when sleeping and... he didn't own lounge wear. He mostly just worked. Working was fun, it was a good distraction and he didn't have to risk Jerome ever interfering. Like he could ever understand his job. "Some of us have lives. Work. Things to do with our lives but torment and destroy."
Jerome was a bad kid. Always had been. Bad kid, bad adult. It was what it was. Jerome had nothing in his life but chaos.
He didn't deserve to be alive still. It wasn't fair. "Let me leave. We have nothing to discuss. I let you live, you should let me live." Worth a try.
"You didn't 'let me live', you're just too chicken to fire a gun." Jerome laughed, then looked at Jervis. "He used to be scared of heights, you know? Do you think he's smart then, cause he hid from the big bad wolf in a high building like this?"
He felt there was something to be said against that being a good move. "Get him closer to-- Ah, wait. Look, Jerry. More friends of mine for you to meet."
And there they were, the Riddler and the Scarecrow. Jonathan's mask was pulled back like a hood right now and Edward wasn't wearing his hat, but they were recognisable enough. "Jerry, quick! Tell me how to test if you're any good with that big ol brain in that noggin of yours. Want to win a quiz against the Riddler?"
Edward stopped to look from one twin to the other, noting similarities and differences. Jonathan was right. Twins were creepy.
"I don't want to do any of this!" Jeremiah pleaded because he didn't like heights, he didn't want Jerome close to him and he really didn't want to ever have met the Riddler and the Scarecrow. He took a deep, shuddering breathe. His legs felt weak and he really wanted to move but his body wouldn't let him.
"It's like Jerome put on dork glasses." Jonathan mused, tilting his head to the side. "No offence, they just look like what he drew on Jervis once when he fell asleep." Those classic circle glasses.
"Dormouse, do you think you're smarter than the twin? Cause I do, I think you'd always win."
"He can win!" Jeremiah dismissed, not wanting to have this contest. Not with a man ready to kill to prove he's smart and right about things. "I'm not competing!"
"Doubtful that would be a fair test of skill. I excel in quizzes and his thoughts are impeded by fear." Unlike Edward's brain that tended to speed up when he was afraid, as him and Jonathan had discovered and experimented with. He looked around briefly and then stepped closer to Jeremiah. "You are an architect, right? Quite a bit of engineering knowledge as well, from what I've inferred. This is an impressive build. You really have designed it like a fortress."
"Not a very effective one," Jerome pointed out while otherwise letting the Riddler talk. He'd called him up here, after all. Might as well have a dork off.
"Thank you." Jeremiah wasn't sure if it was as impressive as he wanted it to be but he had limitations. "It would have been impossible to get into but building codes and health and safety impeded me. I was bidding on new land..." Too little, too late. "It takes engineering, mathematics and in my case, art. To design the prints."
"And then your worst fear happened." Jonathan mused as he walked around Jeremiah, watching Edward inspect him, curious himself. Well, the man was afraid, it was catnip to him. "You're terrified of Jerome."
"You got away from him when you were a child, but you whole life has been consumed with the dread of this moment." Edward smiled, knowing that Jonathan must be enjoying this. "Ah, Jerome. What power you wield. Must have been quite the scary child."
"Eh." Jerome shrugged. "I was just a cute lil tyke. Jeremiah here, he only ever saw the worst in me. It was hurtful. I think it's what made me bad." He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. And he kept pulling. And pulling. And pulling. It was a long handkerchief which he finally used to mime drying his eyes. "All I ever wanted was for us to be together, Jerry. You and me. As brothers."
"I played with toys. He played with fire. The circus had a lot of fires. I studied math and science, he stole one of mom's many boyfriend's switchblades. I woke up once to him in my bed, holding it against me. I wanted to have some space and my own identity! Why couldn't you?" Jeremiah asked, his anger coming out as he looked at Jerome, trembling with fear and anger in equal measure. "I knew you were coming. Always coming. I couldn't celebrate your death, I knew you'd be back, I just knew it. And you were!"
Every part of his fear was found and yes, maybe he lied once or twice to get Jerome away but he had to get him away. He was dangerous, psychotic and cruel. And his love was worse than his hate.
"Twins are always so creepy. I really like that you're a twin." Jonathan informed Jerome with a small smile.
"Thanks. I'd like it more if he wasn't such a little squealer, but whatcha gonna do? can't pick your family." Jerome sighed, exaggerated, and then approached Jeremiah while shaking his head slowly. "I love you, Jerry. You're my little brother. Flesh and blood."
He paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Granted, I hated our whore mother and I don't even know what to think of her getting fucked by that blind geezer, but this is different. You're the other side of the coin, aren't you? Two peas in a pod."
He pulled a switchblade out now and opened it up, looking at Jeremiah with a shrug. "Or I guess I'll just cut your throat. Might be fun to see you bleed."
"No, no, please. God, no, this isn't happening." Jeremiah closed his eyes, wishing he had last a bit longer. He wanted to live, he hadn't finished his work, he hadn't found love. All he ever did was stay inside and hide. He didn't have much to lose but he didn't want to lose it anyway. "If you love me, leave me be."
"Worthless to one." Jonathan mused, looking at Edward. Unrequited love. Even between family, it was no less fascinating. "Priceless to two."
Jeremiah laughed tiredly. "Love." How ridiculous. "Jerome... if you love me, put the knife away. Prove to me that you love me."
Edward smiled at Jonathan, drawing a heart in the sky. Still made him think of Oswald, but there was a little less pain with it now. Some scarring instead of the open wound. And Jerome wasn't even looking their way, just tossing the blade from one hand to the other. "What. You want a smooch or something?"
How else could he prove it? "Fiiiine, all right. I guess you can have a grace period, given you're my lil bro."
He stepped closer and used the blade to tilt Jeremiah's head back. "How about I-- I could help you get laid. Bet you're still a virgin." He looked over his shoulder back at the others. "What do you say, gentlemen? Shall we get his cherry popped?"
"How exactly?" Jonathan asked curiously, not sure how. Or why. He supposed Jerome took their virginities and it was likely weird to take his brothers so here they were. "Nightclub? Bar?" Jon looked at Edward, he seemed the most likely to know.
"Club, for sure. If that fails, a whore." Jervis suggested helpfully as he looked at Jerome. "Shall I release him?"
"I--I don't need-- I can..." As embarrassing and awful as this suggestion was, maybe it would give him some time to escape. It was his best shot. "I suppose so." Ugh. He didn't want to even think about it but that blade was so close to his throat, he'd do anything.
"Yes, Jervis, he can move. However much he dares to." Jerome predicted not too much, given the blade at his throat.
"...I mean, typically a club might not be a bad idea for such a thing, but we are wanted men." And not exactly subtle either. "Perhaps the Narrows."
"Look at that, Spooky. Your boyfriend knows where to party! Lead the way, Riddles, Jerry here is eager." He wrapped an arm around Jeremiah entirely, which allowed him to still have the blade by his throat as he led him toward the door. "Oh, yeah." There were still all those people on the building. "Tell them to go splat once they hear the car horn. I don't want to have to drive over all the bodies, makes for a bumpy ride."
"Very forward-thinking," Edward commended, glancing at Jonathan and grinning. "Maybe we go to the fight club."
"You heard the man. Do what you can. Of at the horn. Don't be too forlorn!" Jervis ordered and Jeremiah's eyes widened. There were six people on that roof. They were all going to jump. Good God. His brother had one hell of a weapon, he was terrified to think what he'd do with it.
"Is the fight club like a club-club or just a gathering of fighters?" Jonathan asked idly as he and Edward took the lead. Jon headed down the stairs and made his way towards the lift. "Could be fun, I suppose."
"Jerome." Jeremiah spoke quietly, just trying to talk to his brother for a moment. "Jerome. Please, listen to me. The Narrows is dangerous and -- and we could go. Go... go somewhere nicer." Anywhere but that gross shithole. He didn't want to get killed by some drug riddled pimp.
"Don't know what you're so precious over. I'm right here with you, I'll keep you safe. No one gets to hurt you but me," Jerome promised as he hit the button for the lift, leaning against the wall and... Huh. "Jervis, tell him to whistle."
He indicated his lips. "I can't really do it any more, time for you to fill in."
"It's a club with a fighting ring inside. Drinks and a show, if you will." Edward stepped into the lift and pushed the right button, waiting on the others. "Mr Tetch, you should adjust your hat. The wind up there, it blew. Your crowning glory is askew."
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"I'm gonna give you a chance, Jerry. I'm a family man, I want to see you do well. But you're gonna have to open the door for that." He stepped back and spread his arms out. "I know you have a gun in there, but that door is bullet safe. So face me. Shoot me. I've got my fingers crossed for you."
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Jeremiah took a deep breath and steeled himself. He didn't want to, but he knew he had to do it. Once Jerome was dead, maybe he could start actually living. Maybe. Could this man ever die? He didn't last time. Sucking in a deep breath, he aimed his gun to roughly his own height and hoped this worked. "Minos, open the door."
The AI affirmed and the door started to unlock slowly, first the bulletproof layer was removed and then the actual door itself. And there was Jerome.
And Jeremiah's hand shook so much, he couldn't hold it steady. He didn't take the shot. If he shot and killed Jerome, he was a killer, and apparently he had just realised that he wasn't one. Fuck.
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Kissing his cheek loudly, wetly and insistently. "There you are, you little rascal! Let me cuddle you!" He noogied him instead, while keeping a hold of him. "You're looking good, Jerry! I forgot what that old face looked like before I had to staple it on. We're damn handsome, aren't we?"
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"Jerome, please, get off me." He had to ask, maybe he could reason with the idiot. He was insane, yes, but he had -- had he matured? No. No, he was deluded. There was no reason here. "I will call the police."
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His giggle was unsettling as always when he dragged him up the stairs, his mind already concocting up a few ways of how he saw this going. "You can try yelling from up there, maybe the police can hear you. Worth a shot. Unlike me, I guess"
He laughed, because Jeremiah hadn't managed to shoot him. With a powerful kick, he got the door to the roof open, forcing Jeremiah up the last few steps. "JERVIS! Look, it's my brother. Isn't he precious?"
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The night air hit him right in the face and there he was, staring at the Mad Hatter of all people. "Oh God..."
"Is that your brother? Oh yes, of course, can't be any other. He's the spitting image of you. It's like you split in two!" Jervis giggled excitedly as he came closer to inspect Jeremiah. "Glasses - bad eyes? Not the best prize." Jerome was built of better stock for sure.
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As Jervis did his thing, Jerome let go of Jeremiah in favour of wrapping his arms around Jervis instead, tilting his head to the side to look at his brother past the Mad Hatter's hat. "He's a bit scrawny and his face is missing character, but other than that... Handsome sons of a bitch, aren't we?"
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Jervis beamed at Jerome and then back at the very terrified Jeremiah. "He's a bit timid but maybe he's just shy. If anyone can bring him out, it's this guy!" He reached out and patted Jerome on the chest.
"This is insanity! Stop it!" Jeremiah tried, looking at the people on the ledge. "Just leave me be!"
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Seemed like a low bar to him. "What do you reckon, Hatter? Is our guy in green as smart as my little brother?" Jerome shrugged. "At least he's not some boring loser who locks himself in for years. You'll die of vitamin D deficiency!"
He grinned and moved his hips a little, rubbing against Jervis. "I helped Jervis here with his. Introduced him to the D."
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"We will be up in a moment, Mr Tetch." Jonathan replied and Jeremiah eyed the excited man with concern and horror. Jervis was a squirmy, strange man with no pupils right now and way too much power. And there was Jerome. The puppet master.
"What's wrong with him?" Jeremiah licked his lips, trying to ignore the D comment and focusing on what he could do. Gather information. "How can he do this?"
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He grinned and let go of Jervis for now, so he could step closer to his brother and adjust his tie. Which he did by tightening it a lot more than it really had to be. "Who sits alone in their sad loner apartment and wears a suit? What's wrong with you, seriously? And I'm the crazy one?"
He moved his index finger next to the side of his head. "Someone's cuckoo."
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Jerome was a bad kid. Always had been. Bad kid, bad adult. It was what it was. Jerome had nothing in his life but chaos.
He didn't deserve to be alive still. It wasn't fair. "Let me leave. We have nothing to discuss. I let you live, you should let me live." Worth a try.
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He felt there was something to be said against that being a good move. "Get him closer to-- Ah, wait. Look, Jerry. More friends of mine for you to meet."
And there they were, the Riddler and the Scarecrow. Jonathan's mask was pulled back like a hood right now and Edward wasn't wearing his hat, but they were recognisable enough. "Jerry, quick! Tell me how to test if you're any good with that big ol brain in that noggin of yours. Want to win a quiz against the Riddler?"
Edward stopped to look from one twin to the other, noting similarities and differences. Jonathan was right. Twins were creepy.
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"It's like Jerome put on dork glasses." Jonathan mused, tilting his head to the side. "No offence, they just look like what he drew on Jervis once when he fell asleep." Those classic circle glasses.
"Dormouse, do you think you're smarter than the twin? Cause I do, I think you'd always win."
"He can win!" Jeremiah dismissed, not wanting to have this contest. Not with a man ready to kill to prove he's smart and right about things. "I'm not competing!"
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"Not a very effective one," Jerome pointed out while otherwise letting the Riddler talk. He'd called him up here, after all. Might as well have a dork off.
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"And then your worst fear happened." Jonathan mused as he walked around Jeremiah, watching Edward inspect him, curious himself. Well, the man was afraid, it was catnip to him. "You're terrified of Jerome."
"Well. Yes. Common sense, as you can see."
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"Eh." Jerome shrugged. "I was just a cute lil tyke. Jeremiah here, he only ever saw the worst in me. It was hurtful. I think it's what made me bad." He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket. And he kept pulling. And pulling. And pulling. It was a long handkerchief which he finally used to mime drying his eyes. "All I ever wanted was for us to be together, Jerry. You and me. As brothers."
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Every part of his fear was found and yes, maybe he lied once or twice to get Jerome away but he had to get him away. He was dangerous, psychotic and cruel. And his love was worse than his hate.
"Twins are always so creepy. I really like that you're a twin." Jonathan informed Jerome with a small smile.
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He paused for a moment and then shrugged. "Granted, I hated our whore mother and I don't even know what to think of her getting fucked by that blind geezer, but this is different. You're the other side of the coin, aren't you? Two peas in a pod."
He pulled a switchblade out now and opened it up, looking at Jeremiah with a shrug. "Or I guess I'll just cut your throat. Might be fun to see you bleed."
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"Worthless to one." Jonathan mused, looking at Edward. Unrequited love. Even between family, it was no less fascinating. "Priceless to two."
Jeremiah laughed tiredly. "Love." How ridiculous. "Jerome... if you love me, put the knife away. Prove to me that you love me."
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How else could he prove it? "Fiiiine, all right. I guess you can have a grace period, given you're my lil bro."
He stepped closer and used the blade to tilt Jeremiah's head back. "How about I-- I could help you get laid. Bet you're still a virgin." He looked over his shoulder back at the others. "What do you say, gentlemen? Shall we get his cherry popped?"
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"Club, for sure. If that fails, a whore." Jervis suggested helpfully as he looked at Jerome. "Shall I release him?"
"I--I don't need-- I can..." As embarrassing and awful as this suggestion was, maybe it would give him some time to escape. It was his best shot. "I suppose so." Ugh. He didn't want to even think about it but that blade was so close to his throat, he'd do anything.
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"...I mean, typically a club might not be a bad idea for such a thing, but we are wanted men." And not exactly subtle either. "Perhaps the Narrows."
"Look at that, Spooky. Your boyfriend knows where to party! Lead the way, Riddles, Jerry here is eager." He wrapped an arm around Jeremiah entirely, which allowed him to still have the blade by his throat as he led him toward the door. "Oh, yeah." There were still all those people on the building. "Tell them to go splat once they hear the car horn. I don't want to have to drive over all the bodies, makes for a bumpy ride."
"Very forward-thinking," Edward commended, glancing at Jonathan and grinning. "Maybe we go to the fight club."
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"Is the fight club like a club-club or just a gathering of fighters?" Jonathan asked idly as he and Edward took the lead. Jon headed down the stairs and made his way towards the lift. "Could be fun, I suppose."
"Jerome." Jeremiah spoke quietly, just trying to talk to his brother for a moment. "Jerome. Please, listen to me. The Narrows is dangerous and -- and we could go. Go... go somewhere nicer." Anywhere but that gross shithole. He didn't want to get killed by some drug riddled pimp.
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He indicated his lips. "I can't really do it any more, time for you to fill in."
"It's a club with a fighting ring inside. Drinks and a show, if you will." Edward stepped into the lift and pushed the right button, waiting on the others. "Mr Tetch, you should adjust your hat. The wind up there, it blew. Your crowning glory is askew."
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