23 to 63 - part ten by Titan

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Sorry once again these posts take so long. Hope it is still making sense.




As Sean left Clyde at his old apartment complex he had to admit he was uneasy with his neighbor, Keith being left alone and drugged with Clyde.
Sean knew not to argue, somehow the barber had become his master, he wasn't sure how but he knew he had to obey him wether he liked it or not.

Clyde knew he only had a few hours. First he started on Keith's front hairline.
Carefully, he applied his portable electrolysis pen, attacking random hair. The guy had only a small thinning bald spot in the crown area but his front hairline was already retreating considerably. Clyde thought he'd just help nature along and ensure he'd seek his eventual help to combat his impending baldness. He used the pen mainly on the temples but was careful not to overdo it too much. As he randomly zapped at each individual hair, he knew in a few days the follicle would give up the hair.

It wouldn't be too noticeable at first but Clyde planed more visits.
He left the guys widow peak alone and went to work on the small bald spot on top. He worked from the center out randomly selecting hairs. All the time Keith was totally out of it, the drug in the beers he had having the desired effect.

When he had finished he used a analgesic spray to mask the redness and pain.
Clyde could see some eyelid movement. It was time to leave.

The next day Keith couldn't believe he'd drank so much. His head felt like it weighed a ton.
As he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror he couldn't believe how terrible he looked. He ran a hand through his hair and wondered why it looked so bad. How much more would his hair would recede?

Now Keith wasn't Clydes only worry. One of Brian's customers was a young policeman named Terry Peters from the local precinct. He'd been a big cigar smoker and in a visit to the small tobacco shop Brian got him to try a pipe. Wanting to give up smoking for many years Brian told him he should try a pipe. It would be easier to ween himself off smoking that way and of course Brian loved seeing younger men smoke pipes. The young cop took well to changing to a pipe and of course still hadn't given up smoking.

He'd tried to buy some more pipe tobacco from the Tobacconist where he had an account but found it was always closed the few times he tried to call in. There was no sign in the window and it was strange for the amiable proprietor to be closed at this time. As Terry peered in the window at the darkened shop he was startled by an older man behind him.
"Excuse me Officer! Are you looking for the proprietor?" A large built man asked. He was probably around 50, greying hair with silver rimmed glasses.
"Well I was just hoping he was open." Terry replied.
"Oh. So your not here on official business?" The man seemed dejected.
"Just need a bit of pipe tobacco actually."
The man looked even more disappointed. "Oh, well he hasn't been seen for over a week and he is behind with his rent. Oh yes, sorry! I'm Oliver Monroe the landlord. I did call the police but they said it was too early for a missing persons report and no relatives have reported him missing."
"Probably right." The young cop tried to smile.
"It's just not like Brian; totally out of character." The landlord started to mop his brow with a handkerchief. "Maybe you could take a look with me, I was going to go in anyway."

Already he had started opening the front door.
"Well I don't really have time Mr Monroe." The officer said but something in his head told him to listen to the man. Maybe something was wrong.
"Please officer, just a quick look?"
"Well if it will make you feel better." The policeman said following him in.
Turning on a light Terry looked around as best he could. He didn't have a warrant but the owner had invited him in. It looked like Brian had left in a hurry, the counter was still messy and things not put away.
He noticed his brand of pipe tobacco and decided to help himself. He was out and didn't have time to search for any other stores and he was sure Brian wouldn't mind.
"I'll leave a note, he can put it on my account."
"If he comes back." The owner added.
Finding a note pad he started to write a note advising of his visit before stopping. The page had indentations from the previous top page. Feeling he may be on to something he used the pencil lightly scribbling over the page. The previous note began to appear. It had an address and it seemed to be in the local area. It was worth a shot. He told Monroe he'd look into Brian's disappearance as a priority then left to get to work as he was running late.

Later in he week, Clyde visited Keith in the wee hours while he slept. With his duplicate key he let himself in and used a chloroform soaked cloth to ensure Keith didn't wake up. He then went to work on his temple area and crown, gradually increasing the area of thinning hair. It would take a few days to fall out but hopefully Keith would be worried about his look. Then it would be his new drinking buddy, Uncle Seamus to influence him to come and visit Clyde for a solution. And of course this would be the ideal opportunity to ensure Keith was under his influence.

The next day whilst trying to wake himself up in the bathroom he noticed his front hairline. It seemed thinner and more receded, especially on the sides. It looked like his balding was becoming a lot more obvious. 'S**t!' He said to himself. He wasn't ready for the old mans look.
He decided to go back to the bar to drown his sorrows. He'd gotten to like it now as it was the first gay pub he'd ever been comfortable in.
Avery greeted him commenting on how early he was. After pouring his drink he rang the barbershop and in only a few minutes Sean turned up almost out of breath.
He brought a round of drinks and as they sat down at a small table Sean noticed the thinning hairline Clyde had been working on. It certainly had changed the young mans look, making him appear older.

Keith noticed where Sean was looking. "I know, I seem to be loosing my hair way too quickly. I keep finding hair,it's on my pillow or clogging my shower drain. I never noticed it before, but it's falling out every day." Keith seemed agitated.
"I think you have a way to go before you are at my stage my boy." Sean chuckled as he downed his beer.
"At the rate it's going I don't think it will take long." Keith answered before gulping down his beer.

"I think you would look so manly with a baldy." Sean tried to say positively.
"Look, on you it's fine but I'm not ready for the bald look." Keith replied.
"I love it, it is so liberating as well as easy to look after. But of course, not everyone suits the mpb look." Sean said hoping to get Keith even more nervous about going bald.
"I don't think I would like it as much as you especially at my age." He gulped the last of the beer down.
"I think you need another." Sean said getting up to buy another round. It was then he saw the bald spot, clearly wider than before.

When Sean returned with the drinks he tried a different approach.
"It does seem you are unhappy with your hair but maybe there is a solution."
"How do you mean?" Keith brightened a little.
"Well you know there are other options to being bald."
"I can't afford those hair grafts or anything, besides, they look painful."
"No, no, nothing like that. Look, you know my friend is a Barber? Well he is really a fully trained hairdresser."
"The one who has a shop below where you live?" Keith asked.
"Yes, yes that's the one, Clyde's Barbershop." Sean answered suddenly wondering how the kid knew. He must have been following him.
"Well Clyde specializes in custom hairpieces."
"You mean a wig?"
"These days they are almost non detectable and very comfortable." Seamus returned ensuring he followed the script Clyde had instructed him to follow.
"I never thought about that." Keith said feeling the top of his head. When had his bald spot got so big?
"They take years off. You know Clyde could fix you up with one."
"Well thanks, I'll think about it."
But a wig was the last thing he wanted really.
"Well either way maybe Clyde has a solution to your balding."

That night Clyde paid another visit and once again removed even more hair.
In a few days Keith woke up to hair on his pillow and later in his brush, he swore out loud wondering how much more hair would he would loose. Looking at his head he could see small patches of skin at the front. The hairline had become very uneven, except for his widows peak which stayed as thick as ever and started to look odd.
He made a decision to visit Clyde. What did he have to loose.


Meanwhile, Officer Terry Peters decided to pay a visit to Clydes too.

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