Ch 924 - Relaxing Restoration with Ken Stokes

In the kitchen, Debbie and Alex shared a romantic, impassioned kiss. After Alex had slept with Kylie Naysmith in order to get information about Riley, he worried that Debbie would never forgive him. With some help from Yvonne, Debbie was able to look past the conflict and remember how much Alex truly loved her.

There was, however, one more secret that Debbie wasn't aware of. She still had no idea that Alex kissed Yvonne immediately after he confessed to sleeping with Kylie.

So Debbie, in blissful ignorance, continued to smooch her boyfriend. When she pulled away, she offered him a warm, sentimental smile. "Gosh, this is a problem."

Alex wrinkled his nose. "What's a problem?"

Debbie touched her pointer finger to his lips. "This. I love kissing you too much. I can't get mad at you when you give the best kisses in the world."

Alex rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I guess that's good news for me. Isn't it?"

Debbie crossed her arms. "Don't push it, mister." Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Yvonne. She was standing at the bottom of the staircase, looking like a deer in headlights.

Debbie waved her over. "Good morning, Yvonne! Don't worry. We made up! Come in!"

Alex glanced over his shoulder at Yvonne. He looked at her with a cold, unnerving gaze.

Yvonne awkwardly waved at the couple. She clumsily made her way toward the kitchen. "So, uh, no trouble in paradise?"

Debbie happily shook her head. "And all thanks to you! Last night, you helped me realize how much this guy over here loves me."

Yvonne rubbed the side of her arm. She refused to look at Alex. "Happy to be of service."

While beaming from ear to ear, Debbie put her hands on her hips. "Alex, I think you owe Yvonne a big thank you. She saved you from at least a week of having to be on the couch."

Alex took a deep breath. He wanted this conversation to be over, but he couldn't reveal that to Debbie. He glared at Yvonne. "Thank you, Yvonne. I'm happy I'm not a couch surfer."

Yvonne shifted her weight back and forth. She looked down at her feet. "Um, you're welcome."

Yvonne's guilt was getting the best of her. She wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep up with lying to Debbie. Being best friends with the girlfriend of her lifelong crush was like her own personal hell.

Debbie, on the other hand, was joyous. She hated being upset and angry, so she reveled in the fact that, for the first time in weeks, she could enjoy herself. "Aw, you guys. You know what? You're officially my two favorite people in the whole world."

Yvonne choked at Debbie's proclamation. Debbie ran to her friend's side. "Oh, gosh. Do you need something to drink, Yvonne? I can make you a coffee, with cream and sugar?"

The corners of Yvonne's lips twisted into a dopey smile. "Sure, that'd be great."

As Debbie rushed to get Yvonne her drink, Louis walked down the stairs into the kitchen. Hopefully, he would distract from the tension between Alex and Yvonne.

He yawned. "You start the party without me?"

Debbie handed Yvonne her coffee. A peaceful expression washed over her as she turned to Louis. "Of course not. How do you take your coffee?"

Louis dismissively waved his hand at Debbie. "I don't like coffee."

Debbie, still as pleasant as ever, shrugged. "Suit yourself."

A chill ran up Louis's spine. He glanced back at the living room. He forgot that the front door had been knocked off its hinges. In the wee hours of the morning, the house was extremely drafty. "Okay. I'm not going to be able to take this much longer. What are you going to do about all of this?"

Alex took a sip of his coffee. He raised an eyebrow. "Do about what?"

Louis gestured around the living room. "Your house is a disaster, Alex. I think living here is a health and safety hazard."

"I'll tell you what we should do," Debbie said as she leaned on the countertop. "We should leave. Effective immediately."

Alex shook his head. "No way. Sorry, sweetie. I told you before. I'm not moving."

Debbie pointed to the living room. Not only was the front door missing, but half of the living room was also burnt down, and what remained was stained and covered in soot. The carpet was drenched in glittery blood. "Alex, look at this place! Why do you think we can stay?"

Alex stood up. "Okay, think about it this way. This house sort of represents all of us. Sure, it was almost destroyed multiple times, but it survived. It was an important part of our journey, a piece of a battle we won. Don't you want to keep that sacred?"

Yvonne shrugged. "Meh. I could take or leave it."

Louis shivered. "It's freezing cold, Alex. I don't care about keeping anything sacred."

Alex scoffed at his friends. He rolled his eyes. "Well, I do. Plus, this is where I built SCOT. This is his home. I can't just pick him up and move him somewhere else!"

The artificial intelligence system interrupted the conversation. SCOT's voice echoed throughout the home. "Sir, you can move me anywhere you wish. In reality, it would be the best option. Living in an updated smart home with new amenities would be nice. Here we are quite limited."

Alex looked up at the ceiling as if he were glancing up at SCOT. "We are NOT limited. We could do whatever we want here."

Debbie stared at Alex. She studied him for a moment. "Alex, what's the real reason? Why do you actually want to stay in this place?"

Alex turned toward Debbie. He let out a detached sigh. "The real reason is that I love this home. My family hid away in this forest for centuries. It was always our sanctuary. Maybe my anonymity is gone, but I'm going to keep this place."

Debbie understood where Alex was coming from. She softened a bit. "Okay, that makes sense, but Alex, sweetie, you have to accept that we can't live here as it is."

Louis reached forward. "You could do a big home renovation."

Alex pursed his lips. "That was my original plan, but as I was laying on the couch last night, under the stars, I realized this place is a living monument. It's a testament to what we went through."

Louis looked at Alex with a puzzled expression. "You mean to tell me you didn't freeze to death?"

Debbie raised her hand. "Wait, let's go back. A home renovation? I would love to do a home renovation. There's so much we could do."

Louis walked over to the door, or lack thereof. "I would start with replacing this thing."

Yvonne glimpsed at the walls. "Then maybe you could repaint. Some wallpaper might be nice."

SCOT interrupted with his disembodied voice. "Do not forget, Mr. Ambrose. The breaker box was damaged by your horse, Gary."

Yvonne, Debbie and Louis looked at each other. They spoke in unison. "Gary needs a stable!"

"This seems like a grand idea, Mr. Ambrose," SCOT said. "Plus, this would give me time to update my programming."

Debbie grabbed Alex by the shoulder. "Alex, think about it! This could be just like HGTV! We could be like the Property Brothers! Only, we aren't twins, because that would be weird. Oh, my gosh. We could have a shiplap accent wall. Yvonne, what would you think of reclaimed barn wood floors all throughout the house?"

Yvonne blinked at Debbie, bewildered. "I have no idea what any of that means."

Debbie let go of Alex and wrapped her arm around Yvonne's. "Okay, we have to watch Renovation Impossible, Flip or Flop, and Fixer Upper. That should give you a good enough education to help me with this."

Louis chuckled to himself. "Hey, we should call up Ken Stokes. I bet he would want to do a big news segment on it. 'Local recluse shows off his brand new home.'"

"Let's change that to local hero," Alex said, but then he leaned forward. "Actually, that may not be a bad idea. I'm not crazy about all of this, but you guys are right. We should spruce up a few things around here. Plus, Ken Stokes was integral in helping us take down Riley."

Yvonne nodded. "I agree, plus Ken wants to turn anything and everything into breaking news. This could be a good opportunity for him. You should give him a call, Alex."

Debbie bounced on her tiptoes. "Do it right now! I want to hear what he says!"

Alex chuckled at Debbie's excitement. Sure, he wasn't thrilled with the idea of gutting his entire house, but he enjoyed seeing Debbie so joyful after she had been so upset. He figured it was the least he could do. He pulled out his phone.

Everyone watched with bated breath as Alex dialed Ken's number on his phone, then waited patiently. When Ken picked up, Alex's lips curved into a smile. "Hey, Ken. It's Alex. Yes, yeah, Alex Ambrose. Listen, we have a little idea. I think we have a little news story for you. We're planning on renovating my home after the super soldier fights."

Debbie bit her bottom lip and watched Alex with impatient eyes.

Alex nodded as he listened to the reporter. His eyes widened "What? You have your own home restoration show? On Channel Sixteen? Called Relaxing Renovations with Ken Stokes? Well then, I guess it's my lucky day! Well, how soon can you get a crew out here? … Today? You'll be ready today? Well, I always say, there's no time like the present. Get over here! I'll text you the address. Alright. Bye, Ken."

Alex hung up the phone and beamed at his friends.

Yvonne tilted her head. "He already has a renovation show?"

"Yeah, isn't that convenient?" Alex said. "I guess Ken Stokes could do anything."

Debbie gleefully jumped up and down. "Oh, my gosh! We better get ready. How soon is he going to be here?"

***

In two hours' time, Ken Stokes and his whole film crew set up all their equipment in Alex's house. They had a generator outside. Ken flipped the switch to an LED light that illuminated Alex's living room.

Alex couldn't believe how Ken turned his house into a set. It was certainly television magic. "This is quite the operation you're running, Ken."

The reporter's shirt was unbuttoned as the sound engineer mic'd him up. "You know, a tight ship." Ken's eyes flickered around the room. "Yikes, Ambrose. The super soldiers really did a number on this place."

The engineer, who was donning a 'Ken Stokes Production' t-shirt, gave Ken a pat on the belly. "Alright, sir. You're good to go."

Ken shook the man's hand. "Tony, you're a saint. We'll have you mic up Alex and his buddies later on, okay?"

As the sound engineer walked away, Alex watched as the reporter re-buttoned his shirt. "So Ken, what prompted you to make a home renovation show of all things?"

"The same reason I became a reporter. I was born to do it," Ken said with utter confidence. "Also, in my spare time, I'm a skilled carpenter. So, here's the plan: I record my intro. Then, I'm going to have you take me around the house. Don't worry about the cameras. Just act natural. It'll be a cakewalk for you. With your looks, you were born to be on TV."

A production assistant ran by and handed Ken a prop hammer. The reporter held it up and smiled. "Thank you, Juan. This is exactly what I was talking about." Then, something caught Ken's eye. He stared at the only bookshelf that remained standing in the living room. He turned back to Alex. "Ambrose, do you think we could record the introduction in front of that? The bookshelf is darling. I don't know why, but it's calling me."

Alex raised his arm, motioning toward the bookshelf. "Yeah, of course. Whatever you think is best. It's your show."

Ken ran over to the bookcase. He lifted his foot up and propped it up on one shelf. Then, he rested his arm on another. When he put his arm down, he accidentally knocked down a framed photo. Ken picked up the photo and handed it to Alex. "Here, do you mind just taking this off? It'll compose the shot better."

"Sure," Alex replied as he reached for the frame. The picture Ken knocked over was an Ambrose family portrait. Alex's demeanor changed as he stared at the photo. He typically didn't like to think too much about his family and his past, especially his grandfather whom he hadn't seen for years. Eventually, the sound of Ken Stokes' voice snapped him back to reality.

"Did you hear me, Alex?" Ken asked.

Alex flashed a fake smile across his face. "Sorry, Ken. Lost in thought. What?"

"I said, 'how does this sound?'" The reporter cleared his throat. "Today, we're at the house of Baltimore hero and millionaire pharmaceutical mogul, Alex Ambrose. He's renovating his home after a multitude of horrifying monsters attacked his home. What do you think?"

Alex smirked at Ken. "Sounds great, man. I should probably go round up my friends."

***

Back in the forest, Christopher was stirring. He was knocked unconscious the night before when he followed a mysterious man who was lurking around the house.

When Christopher woke up, he couldn't remember anything. He glanced around the forest. "Where am I? What's going on?"

He touched his face. He couldn't remember who he was. It was a textbook case of amnesia. In a panic, he checked his pants for a wallet or an ID, but he didn't find anything.

There was nothing around him other than trees and shrubbery. The man started to hyperventilate. "Hello? Hello? Can someone help me?"

Christopher stumbled as he made his way to his feet. He looked at the front and back of his hands. "I don't know who I am. I, uh, I think my name is… It's Christopher. I can remember that. Oh, gosh. What am I going to do?"

He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think. "I remember a cyborg. I remember fighting a cyborg. That had to be a dream. Cyborgs aren't real. Well, maybe they are. I also remember a horse, a really big horse."

When he opened his eyes, he tremored. "HELP! HELP! WHERE AM I?"

[SFX: Leaves crumbling, cracking sound]

Christopher jumped up when he heard a noise behind him. He quickly turned around, trying to absorb everything in his environment at once.

A man stood behind Christopher, slowly approaching him. "Hey, it's alright."

"My name's Mark," the man said. "I heard you calling out in the woods. You should come with me. I have a place down the way."

Christopher had no memory of Mark. He had no idea this was the man he chased into the woods. Most importantly, he didn't know that this guy was his enemy.