by I. T. Lucas
Calvin’s lips lifted in a smirk that she was starting to detest. “Sometimes paranormal abilities come with physical abnormalities as well. That’s how the stories about vampires and werewolves started.”
Was he kidding her?
“So which one is Greggory? A vampire or a werewolf?”
“He’s a werewolf.”
“No way. Is the bite infectious? Am I going to turn into a werewolf as well?”
Calvin laughed. “Only if you are very lucky.”
23
Rufsur
The first opportunity Rufsur had to take a break, he ducked into his room and called Edna.
“What happened?” She sounded alarmed. “You never call this early in the day.”
“Everything is fine. Can you activate the video? I want to see your beautiful face.”
“Hold on.” Her smiling face came up on the screen. “Is that why you called?” She smoothed her hand over the top of her head. “You wanted to check whether I’m wearing my hair down?”
“No, but why aren’t you?” She had the sides pinned up and left the rest loose in the back. It was much better than the severe style she’d worn before, but he liked it when her hair fanned out over her shoulders.
“It’s not a professional look, and I’m in my city office.” She leaned closer to the phone and whispered. “So no naughty talk. You will give Lora a heart attack.”
He laughed. “I promise to behave.”
“Thank you.” She blew him an air kiss. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
“I have exciting news, and I couldn’t wait till evening to share it with you. The woman who snooped around the mansion was Eleanor, aka Marisol, and we have her in our bunker. Kalugal interrogated her earlier, and she fessed up to getting the information about us from Simmons’s home. Apparently, he kept records there, and she compelled his widow to let her into his home office.”
“What is Kalugal going to do with her? She’s an immune.”
“We will make her forget with chemicals. Kian is sending Julian, and Turner is arranging for the drugs to be delivered. It worked before, so there is no reason it wouldn’t again.”
“It’s not the same. The other time she didn’t know where she was.”
“That’s the exciting part. Because of the security risk, Jacki is pushing hard for us to relocate into the village. This might be just the thing to hasten our plans.”
“That’s not necessarily good. Turner and I didn’t have time to work out the precise phrasing of the pledges, and we don’t have a presentation yet. You were the one who said that it’s better to show prospective clients a finished house with all the bells and whistles in place instead of leaving them to imagine the end product. Their imaginations need to be directed.”
“Kalugal is not ready to tuck his tail and run yet. He’s planning to keep Eleanor for as long as he needs to get organized, even if it means holding her locked up in the bunker until the new place he wants to build for us is ready. Naturally, Jacki and I are pushing in a different direction, but the bottom line is that you have time. If everything is ready before the wedding, we are still good.”
“I didn’t have a chance to talk to Brandon yet. I need to hunt him down.”
“I don’t know the guy. Do you think he would support our cause?”
Edna sighed. “I’m not sure. Brandon is not as involved with the clan’s inner workings as much as the other council members are. He has his own place in the city, and he spends most of his time there, so maybe his attitude is less tribal and more inclusive. I will know where he stands after I talk to him.”
“If you can, try to do it today. We don’t have much time left.”
“I will. Did Kalugal find out what Eleanor’s plan was? I’m sure it was more than curiosity that prompted her to steal Simmons’s records and come looking for you.”
“Do you know her?”
“No, but I know of her, and she is an opportunist with no scruples. Your boss should interrogate her thoroughly.”
“Kalugal got her to talk quite easily. She stashed the flash drive with everything she’d scanned in Simmons’s office, including his handwritten notes in a safety deposit box, and we’ve sent men to retrieve everything from there. We will know more after going through it.” He sighed. “Since she’s immune, Kalugal can’t compel her, and no one wants to torture a woman for information, even a nasty number like Marisol.”
“How did he get her to reveal where she hid the documents?”
“He threatened to starve her if she doesn’t cooperate.”
“That’s just as effective as any other form of torture, but it’s time-consuming. If she’s working with others, by the time she breaks it might be too late.”
Rufsur chuckled. “Those were precisely the arguments Jacki used to try to convince Kalugal that the village is the best place for our people. Except, he doesn’t plan on waiting that long, and he is not starving Eleanor because she supposedly gave him all she had. When Julian and the drugs arrive, we will use the chemical method to get her to confess whatever she hasn’t so far.”
24
Edna
After talking with Rufsur, Edna felt more optimistic about their future together. Jacki was putting pressure on Kalugal to move into the village, and Eleanor’s capture might be just the impetus he needed to at least give it some serious consideration.
Even if Eleanor, along with whoever she worked with, proved not to be a real threat, the incident itself might be the push they required.
Naturally, that didn’t mean that they should relax their efforts, and she still didn’t have the right phrasing for the vows Kian and Kalugal would hopefully agree to make.
Staring at her notepad and the many sentences she’d scribbled and then crossed out, Edna tore the page out and fed it into the shredder.
Perhaps some fresh air would do her good. A sandwich in the café could help as well. She hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch, and her tummy was making demanding noises.
“I heard you.” She patted her stomach before stuffing the notepad into her large satchel, and then headed out.
When she got back to the village, she walked to the café, but before she could order, Amanda waved her over. “Come join us.”
Syssi and Nathalie were there as well, and the three of them were looking at her expectantly.
So much for her plan to work on the phrasing in a quiet corner.
“Good evening.” Edna pulled out a chair and sat down. “Is this the wedding committee?’
“You guessed it.” Syssi pushed a plate of pastries at her. “Help yourself. We overestimated our capacity.”
“Where is Phoenix?”
“Andrew has her,” Nathalie said. “I needed a break.”
“Is she being difficult?” Edna asked.
Nathalie laughed. “No more than usual. She is stubborn and thinks that she is twenty, but she’s adorable. She also loves her daddy, and he needs to spend time with her without me hovering over the two of them.”
“I’m taking notes,” Syssi said. “I’ll have Kian spend time alone with our daughter as well.”
“Dalhu is going to be a great daddy.” Amanda leaned back. “Since he works from home, he’s probably going to be the main caretaker.”
“I can’t wait to see Dalhu with the baby.” Syssi sighed. “It makes me emotional just to imagine that. But then lately, everything makes me emotional, and my precognition is all wonky. I’m not complaining, but I’m sure it’s because of the pregnancy hormones.”
“In what way is it wonky?” Edna asked.
“Remember how I had a bad feeling about Kalugal and his group going back home? It was a false alarm. The snooper was Eleanor, and they caught her. They were never in any danger.”
“How can you be sure of that? She might be working with others.” Edna tore a piece out of a Danish. “Maybe the bad feeling was about something that didn’t happen yet.” She stuffed it in her mouth.
What if Rufsur was in danger?
Edna fought the urge to pull out her phone and check.
Syssi shook her head. “That’s the thing. I had a good feeling about Eleanor, and that nullifies the bad feeling about the snooper who turned out to be her. I don’t know which one to believe.”
Syssi hadn’t been off before. She might have not known the when and how, but the what had usually been spot on.
Edna tried to puzzle it out. “What if Eleanor is not the bad guy but is working with someone who is?”
Syssi nodded. “I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s possible.”
“Excuse me for a moment.” Edna pushed away from the table. “I’m going to get myself some coffee and a sandwich. Can I get you ladies anything?”
“I’m good.” Nathalie patted her belly.
Amanda shook her head, and so did Syssi.
With the sudden attack of worry constricting her throat, Edna wasn’t thinking about food or coffee. All she wanted was to duck behind the vending machines and call Rufsur.
“Edna?” He answered right away. “Did something happen?”
“Is everything okay with you and the others at Kalugal’s place?”
“Yes. What’s going on in the village?”
She let out a breath. “Nothing. I was sitting with Syssi, Amanda, and Nathalie in the café, and Syssi started talking about the bad feeling she had when Eleanor had first snooped around the mansion, and then about the good feeling she had about Eleanor herself, and since the two contradicted each other, Syssi thinks that her premonitions are not working right because the pregnancy hormones are interfering with them. But I doubt that. What if Eleanor herself is not dangerous to you or us, but someone she works with is?”
“We are well aware of the possibility. But don’t forget that we have Kalugal. What are the chances of her co-conspirators being immune as well? We can handle them.”
“What if they come at you with a noise cannon? If Eleanor got Simmons’s files, she might know about how he planned to take you down.”
“The wedding was a unique situation. Almost everyone was outside and exposed. Now, most of the men are staying in the bunker, and that particular technology is not going to penetrate it.”
“Are you staying there?”
He chuckled. “I’m not. I like my room in the mansion. Stop worrying. We have everything under control, and Eleanor most likely worked alone.”
“You can’t trust anything she says.”
“I know. But that’s her style. She is a lone wolf, not a team player.”
“I hope that your intuition is right.”
“It is.” He smiled. “You cured my Achilles heel. Kalugal always said that I was too soft-hearted and gullible when it came to women, and he was right. But since you entered my life, other women no longer affect me. I’m not fooled by a sad face or a few tears, and I read them as easily as I read men.”
Smiling, Edna leaned against the vending machine. “And you cured me of my grief. We are good for each other.”
“You bet. I can’t wait for today to be over so I can retire to my room and have a very naughty video time with you.”
“I’ll be waiting with bated breath.”
25
Rufsur
“Fascinating.” Kalugal closed the last of Simmons’s notebooks. “I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I should have known that the Chinese and the Russians are also searching for paranormal talents. And others probably are as well. In the sixties, the Americans and the Russians had paranormal programs, but unlike the Americans, the Russians didn’t dismantle theirs.”
Rufsur crossed his arms over his chest. “Knowing you, you are already planning a snooping trip to Russia.”
Kalugal leaned back in his chair. “Not at all. The clan can provide us with all the immortal females our men need, but Kian would love to get his hands on more female Dormants for his males, and male Dormants for the remaining females. I’ll give him the information.”
It was on the tip of Rufsur’s tongue to say that Kian would love it if not all of their men mated his clan females, but that wouldn’t have been helpful to his and Edna’s agenda.
The utopian future they were going to present to their bosses would emphasize the benefits of those matings. There would be many new couples, and the children resulting from those pairings would grow up in one community and not have their loyalties split between two.
Still, he had to point out the obvious. “Kian doesn’t have a compeller that he can use on missions, and the Russians are typically not easily thralled.”
Kalugal shrugged. “He has Jin. She can do things that even I can’t, and since she’s Chinese, at least looks wise, she could infiltrate the Chinese program. Naturally, she would have to learn the language and master it.”
“I don’t think that’s going to happen. Jin is not interested in a spying career. Besides, there is no chance in hell Arwel will let her go on a long-term mission, or a short-term for that matter.”
“That would be a waste of an incredible asset. But it’s up to Kian whether he wants to pressure her into doing that. He could also use the services of the double agent who Simmons dealt with. According to the notes, the guy speaks the universal language of money.”
“Don’t they all?”
“Most.” Kalugal swiveled his chair around. “I still wonder what Eleanor hoped to achieve by infiltrating our so-called organization. I don’t believe her story about wanting to find out more about paranormals to understand where her own talents stem from.”
“That’s what Edna said as well.”
Kalugal cocked a brow. “You’ve told her about Eleanor already?”
“It’s big news, and since Kian knows, and so do Julian and Turner, it’s not a secret, right?”
“No, it’s not. What else did the esteemed judge say?”
“That Eleanor is an opportunist with no scruples, and that you should interrogate her thoroughly.”
Kalugal nodded. “Do you think they are judging her too harshly?”
“Frankly, I don’t know. As you’ve said many times, the so-called weaker sex is my Achilles heel. Since Edna entered my life, I’m no longer as susceptible as I used to be, but I still find it hard to believe that she is so evil. You should talk to Jacki. She knows Marisol, aka Eleanor, better than any of us or Kian and his people.”
“Jacki hates her, but Greggory likes her, and it’s certainly not because he’s blinded by her incredible good looks. He must feel some connection to the woman.”
Rufsur chuckled. “I don’t know about that. There is no accounting for taste, and when Jacki asked him what drew him to Marisol, he said it was a nice pair of boobs and shapely legs. Only when she pressed him for more did he come up with the touchy-feely stuff.”
“True.” Kalugal lifted the flash drive and tossed it to Rufsur. “Take this to the analysis room and have the men divide the files between them. I want a list of highlights by the end of the day.”
“It shall be done, boss. I’ll put all of them on it so it will go faster.”
“Good idea. I need to know if there is anything on it that needs to be eliminated from the original files in Simmons’s office. If there is, we will need to send our men to West Virginia to destroy the paper trail and to corrupt Simmons’s computer.”
“Don’t you think that we should take everything first as a preemptive measure? The men can thrall Simmons’s widow to think that they are the moving company that she hired to take the boxes to storage. If there is nothing incriminating about us in there, they will leave everything as is and give her the address of the storage facility. But if there is, they will destroy the files. The computer can also be dealt with in a similar way. I can ask Ruvon if it can be rendered temporarily inaccessible and later restored or conversely terminally infected.”
“Good thinking. Make it so.”
“What about moving out of here?”
Kalugal pushed to his feet and walked over to the bar. “I’m n
ot in a rush. I’m almost a hundred percent sure that Eleanor worked alone. When the drugs get here, I will ask her again to make sure.”
As Rufsur’s phone buzzed, he pulled it out and read the message. “Greggory is asking if he can visit her.”
Kalugal sighed. “Yeah, why not.” He took his glass to his desk. “Remind him that he is supposed to be a werewolf, and to avoid having sex with her.”
“Why? Is sex deprivation part of your plan to torture information out of her?”
“You heard Kian. She might be a Dormant. We don’t want her to start transitioning.”
“He can use a condom. Besides, she is Ella’s aunt on her father’s side, and they only suspect that she might be a Dormant. They don’t know that for sure.”
“She has two paranormal talents. That’s a very strong indicator.”
“So what do you want me to tell Greggory? Is he allowed to have sex with her provided that he uses a condom?”
“If she is willing, I don’t have a problem with that. They are both adults.”
Rufsur typed the message, and a moment later got one back. “Fuck. Greggory says that he didn’t use a condom the other time. He only pretended to.”
26
Eleanor
Eleanor put the magazine down and closed her eyes.
Calvin had promised her that he wouldn’t torture her if she gave him all the information he wanted, but having nothing to do other than read the same magazines over and over again counted as torment in her book.
They were treating her well, providing regular meals that were quite good, and everyone she’d encountered so far had been polite, and regrettably, immune.
They must have discovered a way to resist compulsion. That was the only logical explanation, and she was curious to find out how that was done. Not for herself, of course, but it would give her better insight into who she could compel and who she couldn’t.