Freeing the Beast

An Unseen Watcher

A year later.

    "...This award isn't just given to anybody. It's an honor given to the geniuses of the world – the great individuals who change it and make it a better place. And I'm positive that I speak for everyone here and around the world, when I thank you, Theodore Clear, for healing us in more ways than one." The woman finishes her speech, and everyone applauds as Theodore walks up to the stage.

It's six months after the launch of MA. Sitting down in the media room, holding a cup of hot tea, Nolan watches the live award event on the large TV screen.

He watches as Theodore Clear, his father, stands behind the podium, and addresses the sitting audience with a perfectly edited speech, telling them how passionate he has been about this project for years – that his whole life mission has been to create the Mending Apparatus to heal people around the world. He cites his current wife Vera Clear, his son David Clear and his stepdaughter Tatiana Ismaylova as inspirations and examples of what true family can achieve when they support and love each other.

After receiving his prestigious award, the event goes on as the reporters and interviewers talk to the attendees, all fans of the Clear company's new tech.

The hurt in Nolan's heart dissipates as he watches fans praising his creation, some rehashing how much good it has done to their own families and friends.

Although his family is taking the credits while he is locked in a tower and presumed dead to the world, Nolan can't contain the pride he feels to have invented this and feels the pure rapture of making people's lives better around the world.

With a small smile and a relieved sigh, he turns off the TV with the remote and leaves the media room, taking a laptop with him to his bedroom.

Time to watch over his angel.

     Settling comfortably on his king-sized bed, Nolan opens the laptop and types in the password needed to access Angel's Fingertip.

He calls it this because while he has crafted other similar cameras, only the one he has made especially for his angel has the most special features. Among them are a signal jamming feature and a tracker.

The fingertip camera is so small that it cannot be easily seen by the human eye, especially since it blends itself to the color of the carrier's skin. It is permanently implanted onto the skin and can only detach and fall off the carrier's body when it is deactivated.

Only Nolan can deactivate Angel's Fingertip, because he not only created it, but he also is the only one who has ever used it.

He hasn't even revealed it to his family.

Angel's Fingertip can be controlled by Nolan from his computer. With a single click or command, he can choose to see what's behind her or in front of her, and with another click, he can change the angle from which he views her.

He has wondered more than once if this could be wrong, but any doubt he had would get squashed by his protective instinct. His angel's right to privacy will always be overshadowed by his irrational need to watch her and protect her.

Nolan closes his eyes, remembering the exact time he planted the fingertip on her. That was the very first time he's ever been so close to her.

It was a late afternoon, almost too dark if it weren't for the stage lights. She was attending a concert on campus with her two best friends. They screamed and whoohoo'ed while the band played, oblivious to his presence behind them because they were all lost in the crowd, especially him, with his hoodie over his head, he was as inconspicuous as they come.

He stood behind her, watching and mesmerizing her every move, every little shake her body made to the music as she danced and swayed and jumped. But he knew he couldn't stay for long, so he quickly bumped into her, planting the camera on her then fled.

He has since bathed and relished in the memory of those four minutes.

Recalling it now, his body warms up in the way it always does when he thinks about his angel.

She was so carefree as she danced and laughed with her friends. He remembered wanting to take her away from all those bodies and cocoon her against his and never let go.

Those four minutes when he was near her, he tried as hard as he could to take in everything he could of her: her smell, her aura, her warmth. He now has them memorized.

His eyes snap right open when a cackling laugh sounds from the laptop.

"Oh, no way! You gotta come with us! You promised!"

Nolan uses the controller to view who's speaking to his angel. Three faces take separate spaces on the screen and he zooms back to see their whole bodies: Astrid, Eva, Moira.

His angel is in her dorm room, with her two best friends, they're all dressed up except for her.

They're pressuring her to go out with them. What else is new?

Nolan doesn't like that. He's liked that his angel doesn't like parties too much. But her friends are bad influences on her and that sometimes gets her in trouble that she doesn't deserve.

"I have to do this last assignment, okay? Sorry that I promised, but if I want to keep my place as valedictorian until graduation this year, I can't slack off," Astrid replies seriously, her body appearing even more petite than usual in the big gray sweater she's wearing.

God, his sweater.

His big body warms up even more at the thought of his clothes on her. Something that covered him, now covers her. Blood concentrates in his c**k and he wants to growl at the possessiveness he feels towards her.

He covered her in that sweater when he was carrying her to her room once. She was passed out from a party and her little skirt and shirt were too short for comfort.

Nolan chooses to ignore the fact that his angel thinks the sweater belongs to some guy named Michael and rejoices at the fact that she sometimes sleeps in it.

"Come on, Astrid. It won't be the same without you," Moira coaxes, her body is made up in tight fishnets, a ripped tank top, tight shorts, and heels. Her long red hair falls in crazy waves around her made-up face.

"Yeah, it won't. Plus, who's going to be the responsible one and tell us when we've reached our limits?" Eva adds with a smile. Her heavy dark makeup around her eyes accentuates her pretty Asian features and dark, straight hair.

Astrid rolls her sweet, hazel eyes and sighs, her crazy-curly hair all about her make-up free face.

"Michael's going to be there..." Moira sing-songs, cajolingly.

"He is?" Astrid asks, suddenly interested.

Fuck.

Fury burns at Nolan's bones at the sound of the boy's name. For some reason, his angel is fascinated with this Michael and nothing has ever angered him more.

"Totally! And he's not bringing his girlfriend, so it's your chance to make a move tonight," Eva confirms.

Nolan watches as his angel wrinkles her nose timidly and smiles in resignation. "Fine..."

"Yay!" Eva and Moira squeak in unison and the two kiss on the lips in celebration.

These two friends of hers are constantly celebrating something and somehow they always drag his angel with them on their alcohol and s*x-fests. Nolan is simultaneously surprised and thankful that his angel manages to stay pure despite Moira and Eva's countless debaucheries.

"But! I won't be coming back after three AM. The last time we went to a party, you guys made me carry your purses while you two spent two hours in a room with some other girl doing God knows what. I won't be doing that again!"

"We promise," Moira pleads with a smile.

"Yeah, we promise," Eva echoes her girlfriend. "Thank you! We love you," she adds and starts raiding his angel's closet.

"I love you too. Now, help me get ready. I want to look nice for Michael," Nolan hears his angel say. He does not see her utter the words however because as soon as he's figured those friends of hers were going to convince her to leave the safety of her dorm room, he had already skipped up, leaving the laptop on the bed.

Nolan knows what that means; he now has to get ready too.

He hates it when his angel goes out.

Now he has to go protect her.

There are going to be a bunch of horny goons at that club, all wanting her attention, and he has to be there in case something goes awry.

As much as loved being close to her that time he had to bring her to her dorm room after she had fainted from being too intoxicated to walk and her so-called friends were too busy dancing and partying to drive her home, he would absolutely hate that happening again.

He knows it's risky. But he always makes sure to wear a cover so that his monstrous-looking face remains hidden.