by I. T. Lucas
“I was afraid you would say that.” Jacki leaned back and rested her head on the couch cushions. “I know that you mean well, but I hate being dependent on anyone, even you.”
“How about I establish an allowance for you? Would that make you feel better?” He smiled. “Since you are marrying me, I can stop the donations to Kian’s charity and funnel the money into your account.”
Her eyes widened. “You can’t be serious. That’s three-quarters of a million a month.”
“I can do the math. You don’t have to keep it all for yourself.” The gears in his head spinning fast, Kalugal realized that managing a charity was a fantastic solution to the problem of keeping Jacki busy and making her feel needed and useful. “You will be in charge of my new charitable organization. You can donate the money to any charity you want and keep a small portion as the administrator’s compensation.”
“That’s crazy. I will probably just keep sending it all to Kian’s charity.”
He should have anticipated that Jacki would want to donate every last penny.
“Not all. I will put in a provision for your salary as the administrator, and another one for overhead and other expenses.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’ve just invented a job for me. I wanted to do something that was actually needed.”
“It’s true that the idea came to me while we were discussing your proposal. But if I’m to continue making contributions, I want to make sure that they go where they are needed the most, and Kian’s charity is not the only one out there. I don’t have time to research the different options, and besides, I think this is a job better suited for a human who is familiar with human needs.”
“If luck will have it, I won’t stay human for long.”
“A former human would do just as well.” He took her hand and brought it to his lips. “Your life hasn’t been easy. You know what needs to be done.”
“That’s a lot of responsibility.”
“It is, and I’m sure you’ll do splendidly.”
“Can you afford to keep donating that much money?”
Good question. He could afford it, but it would be a drain on funds that would be better channeled into the technologies he wanted to promote. On the other hand, donations were tax-deductible, so only half of it was actually coming out of his own pocket. The other half would have gone into the government’s coffers anyway, and those bastards spent the taxpayers’ money as if it was their own.
“For now, I can keep it up.”
54
Simmons
“Good morning, Elijah.” Simmons was surprised to see his friend waiting for him outside his office door.
“I brought coffee.” Elijah handed him one of the paper cups.
“Thank you.” Simmons opened the door and motioned for Roberts to take a seat.
After activating the noise machine, he pulled out a chair and sat next to his friend. “I thought that you were going to work from home this week.”
“And stay cooped up with the wife? No, thank you.”
Simmons chuckled. “I hear you. I would go crazy if I had to stay with the old hag.”
“I don’t know why you stayed with her for all these years. She couldn’t even give you a child.”
“You know why.”
Elijah waved a dismissive hand. “You needed her father at the start of your career, but once you were established, you could have divorced her.”
“Not really. Even after he retired, the general could have still made life hell for me if I divorced his precious daughter. And after he died, it was too late for me to father children.” He smirked. “Legitimately, that is.”
Elijah arched a brow. “You scoundrel, you never told me that you've produced bastards.”
Simmons crossed his legs. “I don’t know if I did. None of my mistresses came forward. But I might have.”
“Is that why you were so interested in Jacki?”
“Immunity is rare, and she was raised in the foster system. She also didn’t remember who her mother was, so I had to do a little digging to find out. She was no one I’ve ever met, but just in case, I took a look at Jacki’s bloodwork. I didn’t want to accidentally hit on my own daughter.”
Elijah snorted. “Much good that would have done you. The girl is pretty, but she’s a cold fish.”
“Or a lesbian. I don’t know why I’m putting so much effort into getting her back. She’s useless for our breeding experiment, and her talents are of no real use to us either.”
“She might lead us to the others. Especially Jin. We need her back.”
“That’s the main reason I’m still working on it. The problem is that I can’t get approval for a team. Everything has ground to a halt because of the damn virus, and only the most critical missions are getting approved.”
Roberts waved a hand. “Forget about it. I’ve given it a lot of thought, and my conclusion is that an attack force is not the way to go about it. We know that the people who sprung Jacki and the others are paranormals, and given that they managed to override Marisol’s compulsion, they have their own arsenal of mind tricks. Regular soldiers might be useless against them.”
“I doubt it. Marisol needs to work on people one on one. She can’t compel them as a group. So even if they have a compeller, he or she won’t be able to order an entire team to stand down.”
“They might have someone more powerful than Marisol. We don’t know enough about these powers, but I bet some people can compel hundreds. How else can you explain mass hallucinations? Or cult leaders? It’s not simple brainwashing. These charlatans have something extra.”
Simmons sighed wistfully. “I wish I had that something. Imagine how much easier it would have been for us.”
“Yeah, well. Neither of us has that, but we have other talents.” Elijah tapped his temple. “I came up with a clever idea. It still requires a team, but the men don’t need to be commandos. We can hire an independent contractor that deals with security. I just need several able-bodied men to carry out this mission.”
“You've piqued my interest. What do you have in mind?”
“Long-range acoustic device. I’m good friends with the head of the department working on developing a smaller version of it. He is willing to loan me one of the prototypes, no questions asked.”
“Those are mainly used by the police for dispersing crowds and issuing warnings.” Simmons pushed his glasses up his nose. “I know that they can also be used as a non-lethal weapon, but I’ve never looked into it. Does it work?”
Roberts nodded. “It has been used, and there is good data about its effectiveness. The device my friend’s team developed can fit inside a briefcase, and emit a concentrated, one-hundred-and-fifty-decibel high-energy acoustic wave. The wave is focused within a fifteen- to a thirty-degree beam, so the LRAD can be aimed at a target while the operator and his team are shielded from it. Those in the wave’s path, however, would suffer debilitating pain, loss of balance and the ability to move. We can shoot the noise cannon, as it is called, and then walk in, collect everyone, load them into vans, and shoot them with tranquilizers so they don’t give us any trouble until we get them back here.”
Simmons took his glasses off and rubbed them against his shirt to clean them. “We still need to get into the house, or get them to come out to us, and the paranormals could use their mental tricks on our men.”
Roberts smiled. “That’s where you come in. Since you are immune, you will carry the LRAD and deploy it. Just in case, our crew of hired guards will have earplugs to protect their hearing. Once the paranormals are incapacitated, any hold they might have had over our team will vanish. Then the men will swoop in and collect them.”
55
Kalugal
Kalugal walked out into his backyard with Rufsur and Atzil in tow.
“We need tables and chairs for sixty-five people.” He pointed to the large grassy center. “You can arrange them in a semicircle, facing a podium where Jacki and I will mak
e our vows. Eighteen inches off the ground should do it.”
Atzil rubbed the back of his head. “Do you prefer eight large tables or eleven smaller ones?”
“The larger tables. It’s a wedding, and people want to sit together.”
“I don’t like it.” Rufsur crossed his arms over his chest. “You are inviting the enemy into our house and showing him the exact number of men you have.”
“I already told Kian that I have forty-seven men, so that’s not an issue. And if he comes to the party, he will have only six or eight men, including himself. If anyone has anything to worry about, it’s Kian.”
“Not really since you’re allowing him to fly drones overhead to secure his people.”
“He wouldn’t come otherwise, and it’s important to Jacki that her friends attend. Since we are not filing for a marriage certificate, and no one is going to officiate over the wedding, the only way she will feel that it’s real is if our pledge is witnessed by her friends, and not just my men.”
Atzil nodded. “Makes sense.”
Rufsur still didn’t look happy. “You shouldn’t have told him how many men you have.”
Kalugal wasn’t sure he had done the right thing either, but second-guessing his decision was pointless.
“Trust needs to start somewhere.”
“Why do you need to be the one making all the concessions? Kian was the one who challenged you, not the other way around."
“Because his position is much more precarious than ours. I’m in charge of a group of capable warriors. He is in charge of civilians, women and children, and men who have never held a weapon in their hands. I don’t know how many Guardians he has, but my guess would be that it is less than a hundred.”
“What are you basing that on?”
“Math and statistics. Only the clan females can provide immortal children to grow the clan, and since they transition early, probably at the same age as the boys, their fertility rate allows for a very low birthrate. The entire clan can’t have more than a few hundred members.”
“And half of them might be warriors,” Rufsur said. “If I were the leader of the clan, I would have mandated that every male receives combat training. It doesn’t make sense for Kian not to utilize everyone when there are so few of them. Besides, with Annani’s progressive ideals, I’m pretty sure that some of the clanswomen are warriors as well.”
“It could be.” Kalugal nodded. “But you forget that the clan is involved in a lot of things that have nothing to do with warfare.”
“You are both guessing,” Atzil said. “And it doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. Let’s focus on making this party happen. We have only today and tomorrow to organize everything.”
“Where are we going to get tables and chairs from?” Rufsur asked. “The rental places are probably all closed because no one is having parties at a time like this.”
Kalugal clapped him on the back. “I leave it in your capable hands. You can check what they have in the hotel Kian and his party are staying in. I’m sure they have banquet equipment, and you can thrall whoever is in charge to let you borrow what we need.”
“Good idea. I’ll do that.”
“I’ll give you a list,” Atzil said. “Other than tables and chairs, I also need tablecloths, napkins, place settings, etc.”
Kalugal let his imagination conjure a picture of his backyard set up for the wedding. “See if you can get flowers to put on the tables, that would make it look more festive. I want Jacki to have a grand party.”
“She will,” Atzil said. “I’ll cook a feast for her.”
Kalugal doubted that. Atzil was used to preparing simple everyday fare, and he’d never done anything fancy.
“Are you sure you can handle it? We can conscript a couple of cooks from the hotel to help you.”
Atzil looked offended. “There isn’t much difference between preparing a meal for forty-eight people or for sixty-five. I’ll get a couple of the men to help in the kitchen, and I’ll put up a buffet-style table on the patio.”
Kalugal had no choice but to be blunt. “This is a special occasion. It needs a little more flair than your usual.”
Atzil squared his massive shoulders. “Don’t worry, boss. You’ll be happy with the result, and what’s more important, Jacki is going to be happy.”
Kalugal chuckled. “Knowing her, she will want to help you cook. Good luck trying to keep her out of the kitchen.”
“I’ll give her something to do.” Atzil lifted a finger. “The flowers. I can have Jacki arrange the centerpieces.”
“Where are you going to get flowers from?” Rufsur asked. “I doubt florists are considered essential service providers.”
“True, but that only means that there is a lot of stock sitting around in florists’ shops. You can get a couple of men, load a truck, and leave cash for the proprietor to cover the unauthorized purchase.”
Rufsur shook his head. “I never imagined that I would have to resort to thievery again.”
Kalugal clapped him on the back. “It’s not thievery if you leave money for what you take. In fact, you’d be doing the proprietor a favor.”
56
Vlad
“I think that’s enough for today.” Wendy handed Leon the bow he’d made for her. “My fingers hurt, my arms hurt, and my back hurts. I’m going to sit out the rest of the training.”
“I’ll come with you.” Vlad slung his bow over his shoulder and took Wendy’s from Leon.
“You can stay and train with the guys. I’ll watch you from the porch.”
As if he was going to leave her alone to do whatever.
There were no phones in the cabin, and he and the Guardians were careful not to leave theirs lying around, but still. He didn’t trust Wendy’s innocent, friendly act.
That was how she’d gotten him the last time.
“I’m tired too. Do you want something to drink?”
“Yeah, a coke, if there are any left. We are running low.”
As Wendy sat on the porch bench, Vlad went inside. He pulled two coke cans and three beers out of the fridge and headed back out.
Bowen and Leon were still at it, showing off like a couple of teenage boys. Richard looked like he was about to drop, but the guy was too competitive to quit.
After handing the cokes to Wendy, Vlad carried the beers to the guys. “Maybe you should take a break too.”
Bowen took the beer and popped the top open. “I haven’t worked up a sweat yet. Besides, Richard is having fun. Right, buddy?”
“Yeah, I am.” Leaning on his bow, Richard popped the cap. “I’m turning into a rugged mountain man.”
The guy hadn’t shaved in days, but thankfully he was still showering. Despite his lack of care about his appearance, or maybe because of it, Vlad was starting to warm up to the idea of his mother with Richard. He was a decent guy who didn’t shy away from hard work, and he got along with others.
It was a shame that she’d decided not to come.
“Bowen and Leon are really nice to Richard.” Wendy handed Vlad one of the coke cans.
“They enjoy his company.” He sat next to her. “And for some reason, Bowen has decided to take him under his wing.”
“Do you like Richard?”
Vlad shrugged. “He’s okay.”
Cradling her coke can in her hands, Wendy leaned forward. “Do you think your mom would have liked him?”
Wendy wasn’t supposed to know why his mother had been invited to join them, but apparently, she’d guessed it.
He cast her a sidelong glance. “I don’t know. My mother is unpredictable.”
“In what way?”
“She is moody, gets mad at trivial things, but is chill about the big stuff. Don’t get me wrong, she’s awesome, but not everyone can get along with her.”
“I bet you do. You get along with everybody.”
He sighed. “That’s because I expect nothing, and I appreciate every little thing anyone does for me. I’m self-r
eliant, and I’ve been like that since a very young age.”
“Me too. But in my case, it wasn’t by choice. My mother walked out on me when I was a baby, and my father never gave a damn about me. I had to take care of myself the best I could.” She lifted the coke can and took a long sip. “It’s not true that you never expected anything, though. You expected your mother to love you.”
“I did expect that. But I didn’t expect her to remember to make dinner or do the laundry. If she did, great, and if not, I did it. It wasn’t that she didn’t care. She’s just absentminded.”
“What’s her talent?”
“She’s a costume designer.”
“Not what she does. I meant her paranormal talent. To be part of the organization, she must have a special ability.”
“She’s a healer.” Vlad said the first thing that popped into his mind.
Stella was a talented artist, but she didn’t possess any special abilities other than a bit of thralling, and she wasn’t very good at it. But she was a trained paramedic, so there was that.
“How come she no longer works as a paramedic then? Healing is her calling.”
“A person can have more than one calling, and my mother is very artistic. Besides, paramedics get paid very little. Making costumes for theater productions is much more lucrative. Doing that, she feels fulfilled and makes enough money to afford a comfortable living.”
Especially since their basic needs were covered by her share of the clan’s profits, and they didn’t have housing or education expenses. The clan provided both.
“Maybe I have another calling as well,” Wendy said. “I just have no clue what it might be. I’m not good at anything other than feeling what others feel.”
“You could be a great therapist.”
She shook her head. “I don’t have the stomach for it. I’m barely hanging in there dealing with my own shit. I would drown if I let other people’s troubles weigh me down.”