by I. T. Lucas
For now, that would do.
“Here are your sandwich and coffee.” Wendy put a tray in front of Stella. “Would you like anything else?”
“No, thank you. Are you and Vlad coming over later today?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Great, I’ll see you then.”
Before walking away, Wendy winked at Richard over Stella’s head and gave him the thumbs-up.
Did she mean anything by it?
Wendy’s empathic ability was stronger than his, so maybe she’d felt that Stella liked him, and that was her way of encouraging him to ask her out?
“When can I see you again?” he blurted out and then held his breath.
“As I said, I have a huge order to deliver on Friday, and I have some design work that I was planning to do on Saturday. But I can give you a call on Sunday, and we can meet here, or go see a movie in the theater.”
“We can do both.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
6
Jacki
Jacki pulled down the hanger with her borrowed wedding dress and took it to the closet’s central island.
The dress had suffered a few minor tears from her fall during the sound cannon attack, but the dry cleaners had mended them so well that it looked as good as new.
Syssi insisted on Jacki keeping it for the second ceremony, but she wondered whether it was a good idea. The dress was beautiful, and Jacki didn’t mind wearing the same thing for both ceremonies, but after what had happened during the first one, she was afraid that it was jinxed.
Given how happy Syssi and Kian were together, it was a stupid thought, but she couldn’t help the uneasy feeling.
With a sigh, Jacki peeled off the plastic cover and held the dress up. She’d lost some weight during her transition, so it might need to be taken in, and since the wedding was only nine days away, it was better to find out sooner than later whether it needed alterations.
Already as she pulled the dress on, it felt loose, and after she zipped it up, it was pretty obvious that the bodice needed to be taken in at least an inch if not two.
Standing in front of the mirror, she pulled the back a little to adjust the fit and turned to examine her reflection in profile. Taking it in would make it look better, but it wasn’t crucial, and it would make the dress less comfortable. Maybe she should just leave it the way it was. After all, it wasn’t hers, and even though Syssi had reassured her that she could do whatever she wanted with it, Jacki wanted to return the dress in the same condition she’d gotten it.
As the closet door opened and Kalugal walked in, she ducked behind the center island. “You shouldn’t see me in my wedding dress before the wedding.”
He chuckled. “It can’t be bad luck if I already saw you in it.” He rounded the island and pulled her into his arms. “Besides, this is not what you’ll be wearing this time around.”
“It’s not?”
“No secondhand dresses for my bride. The other time we were in a rush, but this time we are going to make it right.”
“Frankly, that’s a relief. After what happened at our first wedding, I was afraid that the dress was jinxed, but I didn’t want to offend Syssi by not wearing it again.” She smiled. “If I can blame it on you, though, Syssi can’t get mad at me.”
He dipped his head. “Happy to oblige. They already think that I’m a snob, so no one would doubt my desire to dress my wife in couture.”
“You are a snob. But where am I going to get a couture dress in time for the wedding?”
Kalugal smirked. “A top designer is coming later this afternoon to take your measurements, show you fabric samples, and discuss styles. She will have the dress ready for you by the end of the week.”
How sweet of him. He must have arranged it as soon as the decision had been made to hold their village wedding a month after her transition, and he’d kept it a secret to surprise her.
“When did you call the designer?”
“This morning.”
She should have known.
Jacki arched a brow. “Did you compel her to come? Or did you make her an offer she couldn’t refuse? No designer worth her salt would have dropped everything on a moment’s notice to make a dress for someone who isn’t a major celebrity.”
“I opened up with the money, telling her that cost was no object, but when that didn’t work, I used compulsion. I want my wife to have the best of the best.”
As much as Jacki didn’t like Kalugal’s tactics, she was excited about having a top designer make her dress. Perhaps it was frivolous, but the entire village was going to attend their second wedding ceremony, and the goddess was going to preside. Wearing a couture dress and looking like a princess would make it less unnerving to be the center of attention of such a large crowd, and she would feel more confident wearing a brand new dress that was created especially for her.
As a girl who’d worn secondhand clothing for most of her life, Jacki couldn’t help but feel like a pauper in a borrowed outfit, no matter how fancy it was.
“I hope that you are still going to pay the designer well. I would feel terrible if you got her to drop everything and didn’t pay her accordingly.”
Pretending offense, Kalugal huffed out a breath. “Are you accusing me of being cheap?
“Never.”
He smiled. “I can’t be a snob and a miser at the same time. That’s a contradiction in terms. By definition, a snob thinks that he deserves the best of everything, and the way he determines what’s best is how much he has to pay for it.”
Jacki laughed. “Now I get why you paid Kian a fortune for the privilege of my company. It increased my value in your eyes.”
“You are priceless, my Jacqueline. Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because there is only one of you in the entire world, and I would give up everything I have for you.”
She arched a brow. “Even your world domination ambition?”
His smile wilted. “Yes. But I hope that you will never ask it of me.”
“I won’t.”
7
Kian
“Thank you for coming.” Kian motioned for William and Turner to take a seat at the conference table. “Would either of you care for a drink?”
“I could use a cold beer.” Turner leaned back in his chair. “I wrapped up a couple of missions today, and I only have one more in the pipeline that is a quick in and out job. I might be able to take a vacation.”
“Where?” William asked.
“At home with my wife. I would just catch up on my reading and resume my swimming workouts. I haven’t done that in ages.”
It sounded like a dream to Kian.
The only vacation he and Syssi had taken lately was a virtual one, and none since she’d started carrying their child because he was afraid the experience might have an adverse effect on the fetus.
Bridget had reassured him that it was fine, but where his unborn daughter was concerned, he preferred to err on the side of caution.
Still, just doing what Turner had in mind would be great.
Except, as long as Kian was heading the clan’s business empire and the American arm of the clan, that wasn’t going to happen, and since no one could take over for him, it wasn’t going to happen period.
“I feel like celebrating,” Turner said.
“Perhaps you would like some fine whiskey instead of a beer?” Kian offered. “That seems more appropriate for a celebration.”
“Thank you, but I’ll stick to the beer.”
“Nothing for me,” William said.
“Did you make any progress with the sound defense system?” Kian pulled two beers out of the fridge and a bottle of water in case William changed his mind.
“I did, but I was busy with making the cuffs for Kalugal’s men, so all I’ve managed so far is an initial design. After the wedding, I’ll build a prototype and test it.”
Kian didn’t ask for details. Anyway, he probably wouldn’
t understand half of William’s technical jargon.
“I’ve given some more thought to security measures,” Turner said.
“For the wedding?” Kian handed him the beer and William the water.
“Actually, for after that. If Kalugal’s men start arriving at the village to participate in auctions and spend time with their chosen ones, we need a system to allow them entry without having to run them through checkups in some warehouse in the city first.”
“What do you have in mind?” Kian popped the cap off his beer and took a sip.
“The question is whether they will be arriving on commercial flights or are you going to fly them to the clan’s airstrip. If it’s the airstrip, we can put several machines in the hangar and check them and their luggage there before they get on the bus or into the limo. If they arrive on commercial flights, though, we will need a mobile unit. One possibility is to outfit the bus with a couple of scanners.”
William took his glasses off and wiped them on his shirt. “I know we need to be careful, but I don’t like any of this. Some of these men will join the clan. Are we going to treat them as a threat forever? I need to design an interference that will capture all transmissions emitted within the village and the area around it and redirect the signals so they will look like they are coming from somewhere else.”
“We are already doing that with clan-issued devices,” Kian said. “How difficult is it to do it globally?”
“Difficult.” William pushed his glasses up his nose. “I need a device that will first capture all those transmissions before they leave our space, and then I need to redirect them. With our own devices, it’s done from the get-go. That’s how they are designed.”
“Is it at all doable?’ Turner asked.
“Theoretically, yes. Practically, I’m not sure, but I will look into it. I think it’s important to make them feel welcomed and not singled out by having to go through security checks.”
“It’s not going to work.” Kian put his bottle down. “Even if you find a way to divert signals from possible tracking devices, Kalugal and his people still won’t be able to use their own cellphones and laptops here, and Kalugal doesn’t trust ours. He thinks that we are spying on him.”
Turner chuckled. “We are.”
“Not anymore.” Kian crossed his arms over his chest. “We still record everything, but we don’t look into it unless there is a good reason for it.” He sighed. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but I’m a terrible liar, and if Kalugal asks me whether I’m monitoring his communications, I want to be able to say that I’m not without it being a lie.”
Turner lifted his beer, took a sip, and then put it down. “Disabling their devices or any trackers they might have on them is a good start. But for them to keep working for Kalugal while they are dating our ladies, they would need a base in the city. They could use their devices there with no fear of their communications or internet transactions being monitored, and when they head here in the evenings, they can switch to clan-issued devices. That still leaves the problem of the trackers, but the cuffs should take care of that, right?” He looked at William.
The guy shook his head. “It’s either-or. We can’t monitor their whereabouts while disrupting possible tracking signals at the same time. There are only two options to solve that. One is to run them through scanners, and the other is to have a shield around the village that analyzes all signals going out and neutralizing those that are not authorized. The first solution is easy, the second is not.”
“Hmm.” Kian nodded. “Having an office in the city for Kalugal’s men is an interesting thought. I should run it by him. But until William comes up with a way to build a shield that analyzes all outgoing signals, the men will need to be checked every time they head to the village, so equipping the bus with scanners is a better idea than putting them in the hangar.”
William groaned. “There aren’t enough hours in the day for me to do all that.”
“Can’t Roni help?” Kian asked.
“He’s a hacker, not an engineer. My genius squad can help, but only after hours. They all have day jobs.”
Kian arched a brow. “If you need them full time, I can hire them to work for you.”
“That’s the thing. Most of the time, I don’t need them, and we meet up to tackle interesting projects and have some geek fun. I don’t have enough work to keep them busy on a regular basis.”
“Then let’s come up with something that will provide full-time work for them,” Turner suggested. “Perhaps you can come up with your own startup?”
“Like what?”
A light bulb turned on in Kian’s head. “Like building virtual experience machines for the exclusive use of the clan. That could be a fun project.”
William shook his head. “We will have very limited use for them. Only the mated couples would be able to enjoy the experience, and there aren’t enough of you to justify the enormous cost of producing those machines.”
Turner chuckled. “Kalugal’s men and our single ladies could use them for virtual dating. That would solve a lot of problems, at least temporarily.”
That wasn’t what Kian had in mind, but it was a good suggestion. Virtual dating didn’t require visits to the village. Regrettably, it was only a short-term solution, and eventually, the couples would want to meet in person. If they had the machines ready, though, there would be no need for the auctions, which he still felt uncomfortable about.
Except, Kian had a feeling that even though the only male getting auctioned so far was Richard, the single ladies loved the game. It wasn’t only about winning Richard for a night, it was about having fun with their friends. He wondered whether it would have worked as well if a female was auctioned, and the bidders were male.
Probably not.
The men would have gotten overly aggressive, and fights would have started.
Turner put his empty beer bottle on the table. “The machines can be used for so much more than hookups. I could take a ski vacation and experience a week of relaxation in a span of three hours. People could learn new skills, like piloting a plane, and shared activities could include scuba diving, or fighting alien invaders, or landing on the moon. The potential is limitless.”
Kian nodded. “That’s exactly what I had in mind. I can see the Guardians utilizing the technology to the fullest. They would just substitute the aliens for Doomers in the virtual experience.”
“Do you really want me to do it?” William asked. “It’s one hell of a project, and it’s costly. Also, to generate new sceneries and scenarios that fit our purposes, we will need the help of many more programmers than we have in the clan.”
Kian drummed his fingers on the table. “I want it done. Syssi can come up with ideas, and if we don’t have enough talented people in the clan to produce what we need, we can outsource some of the creative work that doesn’t require revealing the propriety technology.”
Even though Kian and Syssi were major stockholders in the Perfect Match company, their agreement stipulated that they couldn’t sell the technology to others, or provide similar services for a price. They were, however, allowed to use it to build machines for their own personal enjoyment and that of their friends and family.
William took off his glasses and pinched his temples between his thumb and forefinger. “I’ll get to it as soon as I can, which is not going to be anytime soon. First, I need to get the cuffs done, then I need to outfit the bus with scanners, and then I need to work on the sound defense system.”
Pushing to his feet, Kian walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You forgot how this entire discussion started. I suggested that you hire full-time people to help you, and you said that you don’t have enough work for them. Now you can go ahead and get all the help you need.”
“Right.” William nodded. “What kind of salaries can I offer them? It needs to be more than they are making now, and that’s a lot. Computer engineers and programmers are in high demand.”
“I’m fine with whatever you think is reasonable, and it needs to be tempting enough to lure them away from their current jobs. I have a feeling that starting in-house production will have long-term benefits.”
“We can’t sell the machines,” William said.
“I’m well aware of the limitations imposed by our agreement with the founders of Perfect Match studios. What I’m thinking of are other projects. If we have a talented in-house production team, we can come up with plenty of other interesting things to make that are better kept secret from humans. We haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s contained in Annani’s tablet.”
The tablet had actually belonged to her uncle Ekin, but everyone thought of it as hers. Annani had had the foresight to take it with her when she’d fled to the frozen north just before Mordth had dropped the bomb.
8
Eleanor
Eleanor put the red lipstick down and puckered her lips to distribute it evenly. Had she overdone the makeup?
Her eyes were small, so unless she put a lot of eyeliner and shadow around them they looked beady and evil. Not that the makeup did much to soften her look. With her slim face, small eyes, frizzy dark hair, and red lipstick, she looked like a witch.
A good stylist could probably do something about her hair, but she had a feeling that nothing other than chopping it off would help. While changing her appearance, which she had done quite often, she had bleached and colored it and then bleached again and colored it again. No wonder it looked like a mop.
Perhaps Greggory had a fetish, and he thought that she was a dominatrix?
Eleanor chuckled.
Everyone had a thing, right? Maybe Greggory’s was fulfilling a childhood fantasy of shagging the evil witch.
It was good that she had her compulsion ability, otherwise that thought would have scared her. Childhood fantasies were not harmless when entertained by an adult male who was much bigger and stronger than she was.