by I. T. Lucas
She put her hand in his. “Nice to meet you, Kenny. I’m Bella, and this is my sister Victoria, but everyone calls her Vicky.”
Vicky smiled shyly. “Hi.” She offered him her hand as well.
As the owner went to retrieve the box for the sisters, Kalugal affected a hesitant smile. “My friends and I are heading to a club later. Would you ladies care to join us?”
“Which club?” Bella asked.
Vicky shook her head. “We need to get up early tomorrow. Did you forget?”
Bella rolled her eyes. “We are driving home to Arizona, but we can leave whenever we want.”
“Have you ever been to the Magnet?”
It wasn’t one of Kalugal’s favorites, but it was trendy and incredibly hard to get into, which would whet the sisters’ appetites.
Bella snorted. “It’s impossible to get into. Especially on a Friday night.”
“The owner is a good friend of mine. I can get us in.”
That was no problem for Kalugal and his men. A little thrall could get them in anywhere they pleased.
“Fine,” Vicky relented. “But we are taking our own car.”
He dipped his head. “Of course. It’s the prudent thing to do. But it’s also a shame. I could have offered you a ride in my Ferrari.”
Bella’s eyes widened. “No way? You drive a Ferrari?”
“Here is your box, ladies.” John came back and opened it for them. “It’s two-hundred and ninety-nine dollars before tax, which is a bargain for these.”
Bella looked at Kalugal for confirmation.
He nodded. “It’s a good price. I’ve seen those sell for double at an airport duty-free shop.”
“We’ll take it,” Vicky said.
“Excellent choice.” John smiled and opened the humidor’s door.
While the owner rang up the sale, Kalugal motioned for his men to get up and join them at the counter. “These are my friends, Rufus and Phillip. Guys, meet Bella and Victoria.”
After the handshakes and small talk were done, the five of them headed out.
“Can we at least see your Ferrari?” Bella asked.
“You can even sit in the driver’s seat. I paid the valet to keep it close.”
“Smart move.” Bella zipped up her puffer jacket. “A car like that is a magnet for thieves.”
41
Jin
“Should we leave the car with the valet?” Jacki asked.
Jin glanced at the street stretching out in front of them. Cars were parked on both sides, and there was no vacant spot in sight. “We don’t have time to look for parking. Kalugal might leave the bar before we get there.”
There had been an accident on the freeway, and they had been stuck in stop-and-go traffic for an hour. What should have taken forty-five minutes had ended taking twice as long.
Jin’s earpiece crackled a moment before William came through. “Park in the valet. The Guardians are going to watch the entrance from across the street.”
“Did you hear that?” she asked.
Jacki nodded and pulled into the bar’s long driveway.
When she saw a guy outside puffing on a thick cigar, her confidence took another nosedive. “It’s not a bar. It’s a freaking cigar lounge with a bar. How are we going to stage it? I bet there are no women inside, or just a few.”
Jacki stopped in front of the valet booth. “Do you want to turn around? This is definitely not the optimal environment for what you need to do.”
The truth was that Jin wanted nothing more than to grab on to the out that Jacki had given her and go home.
She was scared.
On the other hand, if she succeeded tonight, the mission would be over, and she could start her transition process. Putting an end to the limbo she and Arwel were hanging in was worth the risk.
“I want to be done with it. We can pretend to be buying a gift for someone. You know, like a box of fancy cigars. During the holidays, I bet a lot of women come in to buy presents for their husbands and fathers, right?”
Jacki shrugged. “Maybe. Besides, some women might be into cigars.” She snorted. “There is something erotic about sucking on a thick one.”
The naughty comment managed to ease some of Jin’s anxiety, and she laughed. “You’re so bad.”
As the valet opened the door for her, a blast of cold air hit her face, and she hurried to zip up her puffer jacket before getting out of the car. San Francisco was at least ten degrees colder than where they’d come from, and the humidity made it feel even colder.
“I should have worn a scarf.” Jacki threaded her arm through Jin’s, and they huddled closer. “Let’s get inside before we freeze.”
They took two steps toward the door when it opened, and a group of people spilled out.
Jacki jerked on Jin’s arm, pulling her back. “It’s him,” she whispered in her ear.
There could be only one him, but Jin didn’t know which one of the three men was Kalugal.
Jin could’ve followed the string of consciousness to Jacki and seen him through her eyes, but she was too terrified to move. Like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming semitrailer, she could do nothing other than stare.
“The one talking to the girl,” Jacki whispered.
He must’ve have heard her and turned to look at them. Appraising them with his intense eyes, he frowned. “Do I know you, ladies?”
“Aren’t you Barry’s brother?” Jacki asked.
It was a good save, and even though the arm holding on to Jin’s was shaking, Jacki’s voice didn’t waver.
He smiled, or rather smirked. It was what Jacki had called his signature smirk, which gave him away no matter who he shrouded himself as.
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t have a brother named Barry.”
“My bad,” Jacki said. “You look just like him.”
She gave Jin a little push, but Jin’s legs refused to move.
“I must have a generic-looking face because I get that a lot.” He took the elbow of the girl standing next to him. “Good night, ladies.” He walked toward the valet, who was waiting with the Ferrari’s door open.
“Go,” Jacki urged in a whisper.
Jin shook her head. “I can’t.”
Her feet felt like they were embedded in the pavement, and she couldn’t force them to move.
Trying to save the situation, Jacki turned and waved at the group.
As one of the girls got behind the wheel and sat in the luxury car for a few moments, all Jin could do was keep on staring.
Jacki, bless her heart, pretended to admire the Ferrari so Jin’s imitation of a statue wouldn’t look strange.
Once the men drove off, leaving the two girls behind, the shorter one turned to her friend. “You are insane. Going to a club with three guys we just met in a bar? How stupid can you be? I’m going home.”
The other one put her hands on her hips. “He can get us into the Magnet, Vicky. And besides, what are you so scared of? Serial killers don’t drive Ferraris.”
“Maybe not. But rapists might. And I don’t care about the club. I want to go home.”
“I could skip the club, but not the opportunity to hang out with three super-hot guys. Come on, Vicky, don’t be such a scaredy-cat.”
As the two kept arguing, the valet pulled up with their car. They got in, drove away, and only then did Jin manage to move her shaky legs.
“Fuck!” Jacki cursed. “He was right there. If you had followed my lead, we could’ve introduced ourselves, and you could have shaken his hand while I talked about going with them to that club.”
“I’m so sorry. I froze.”
42
Arwel
“Do you want me to follow the Ferrari?” Douglas said in Arwel’s earpiece.
“There is no need. We know where he is going.”
For some reason Jin had hesitated, but maybe it wasn’t a total loss, and they could follow Kalugal to the club the girl had mentioned.
&nbs
p; But first, he had to check up on Jin.
She was still rooted to the same spot, distraught despite Jacki’s attempts to console her.
Arwel could feel her distress all the way from across the street.
Turning the earpiece off, he got out of the car and walked over to her. “Let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.”
The valet was watching them, and Arwel didn’t want the guy to get suspicious. The incident might prompt Kalugal to come back and ask the valet about the two women.
No empathic ability was required to see how agitated they both still were, especially Jin, who seemed badly shaken.
He found them a table in the back and signaled for the waitress. They all could use a drink. After ordering, he leaned closer to Jin. “What happened?”
“I froze. I just couldn’t move a muscle.”
“Kalugal must have done something to you,” Jacki whispered. “He might have given you a subliminal command or something.”
“I wish it was so.” Jin closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. “I got scared. That’s all. And then he looked right at me, and I couldn’t move. I’m not ready for this.”
Jacki groaned. “We are screwed. He’s seen us up close and he is going to recognize us. We need to come up with new, more elaborate disguises, and we don’t have Eva to do it for us.”
It seemed like following Kalugal to the club was a no-go, and that was a pity. After overhearing the conversation between Vicky and the other one, Jin and Jacki could have shown up there with the perfect excuse. They could have pretended to want to get into that club as well.
But Jin was too distraught for that.
When the drinks arrived, she finished hers in two gulps.
His heart going out to her, Arwel wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t beat yourself up over it. You are a newbie, and it’s perfectly understandable for you to freeze on your first go.”
Her badass attitude and assertive character had blinded everyone to the fact that Jin was a twenty-four-year-old girl who had just graduated from college. The month of training she’d gotten at the government program was not enough to teach her any real skills, and she had no field experience.
She shook her head. “I was so sure that I was ready.” She cast an accusing look at Jacki. “Where is your precognition when I need it? How come you didn’t see this coming?”
Jacki shrugged. “As I’ve said many times before, it’s a useless talent. I didn’t get any glimpses lately, not even the random stuff I occasionally get. It’s like there is a power outage up there.” She tapped her temple.
“Is there a way to jump-start it?” Jin asked.
Jacki leaned back and crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not going on drugs again, if that’s what you are suggesting.”
Jin gaped at her. “I would never do such a thing. How can you even think that?”
“That’s what they did in the program to jump-start my visions.”
“I’m not them. I was thinking about things like meditation. It helps Mey when she does her thing.”
“Even if that helped, my visions are about random things. I’m surprised they showed me your sister coming for you.”
Jin rolled her eyes. “That’s why I thought that they might tell us something about Kalugal and when it is best for me to approach him.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”
“It’s not Jacki’s fault,” Arwel said. “If you are looking for someone to blame, Kian and I are guilty of thinking that an inexperienced girl could pull off such a difficult task on her first go. Before going on this assignment, you should have had months of practice on easier targets.”
Jin sighed. “Should have, could have. It’s water under the bridge. What do we do now? Follow him to that club?”
“You are in no shape to go after him tonight. We will have to wait for the next opportunity.”
“I still think that he compelled you,” Jacki said. “You are not the type who crumbles under pressure. I’ve never seen you act like that.”
“I wish that was true.” Jin slumped in her chair. “I would feel like less of a failure.”
“You are not a failure.” He squeezed her shoulder. “I think you were terrified of him compelling you, and that was why you froze.”
“Maybe subconsciously.”
“I have an idea that I should have thought of before. Lokan could compel you to resist Kalugal’s compulsion.”
If nothing else, it would boost her confidence.
She turned hopeful eyes to him. “You think it will work?”
“It’s worth a try.”
43
Kalugal
“Even with the damn shroud you are a chick magnet,” Rufsur grumbled. “Did you see how those girls gaped at you like you were a movie star?”
That had been an odd experience on several levels.
The shroud Kalugal used was of a handsome young man, but not a striking one. He’d purposely chosen a composite of features that made him look like the average American guy. Brown hair, brown eyes, a strong chin. He’d kept the height and physique the same as his because it was easier to maintain, especially when getting naked with a woman. But at six foot two he wasn’t overly tall, neither was he overly muscled, so that didn’t stand out either.
“They stared at me because they thought I was someone else. Barry’s brother. That composite I use as a shroud makes me look like a lot of guys.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Rufsur shifted in his chair. “If they were better looking, we could’ve invited them to the club. I have a feeling that the sisters are not going to show up.”
“They weren’t ugly,” Phinas said. “And both had decent figures under those puffy jackets and loose pants. The Asian was too tall, but the other one was just right.”
Rufsur shook his head. “You have low standards, my friend.”
For a change, Kalugal agreed with Phinas. At first glance, both girls had been nothing special, and yet something in him responded to them.
What was it, though?
He didn’t recognize the feeling. It was as if he knew them from somewhere, but he was pretty sure he’d never met them before.
Except, they could be students at Stanford, and since it was his favorite hunting ground, he might have bumped into them but not committed them to memory. Neither was his type, and Rufsur was right about them being nothing special.
He liked tall blonds with kind, smart eyes, and from those he chose the ones who were prettier than average.
Kalugal could afford to be picky. With so many to choose from, he didn’t have to compromise his preferences unless there was a good reason to do so.
A particularly bright mind could compensate for less than average looks, and not only in terms of exchanging ideas and interesting conversations. Experience had taught him that smart females were also better sex partners. It probably had something to do with having thriving imaginations and being open to new experiences.
Or maybe it was about having someone to talk to that was interested in the same things they were. Stimulating conversations stirred more than just the mind. If he got excited by just talking, it was reasonable to assume that his partners experienced the same.
Still, Kalugal was sure that he had never engaged with those two, sexually or otherwise. He would have remembered them.
The likeliest explanation was that he’d passed them by, or that they had been around someone he had engaged with.
That could also explain why the girls had stared at him as if they knew him.
“No response?” Rufsur asked.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Would you have taken either of them to bed?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t get the chance to talk to them.”
Rufsur shook his head. “Sex and talking are two separate things. If you want to talk, you can make appointments with top professors in the university that you admire so much. That way you’ll know for sure that they are sm
art. No guesswork involved.”
“And where’s the fun in that?” Kalugal cast him an amused glance. “Sex and talk go together like cheese and wine. Both are good on their own but even better when put together.”
Phinas nodded. “The problem is finding women who want to talk about interesting stuff. You know, like politics, or economics, or philosophy, or even books. But most girls today want to talk about this or that blogger and this or that celebrity. I have no patience for that, so I prefer to go straight to the business of getting them naked and shutting them up.”
“That’s why I like hunting at Stanford.”
Except, it seemed that Kalugal hadn’t been changing his shrouds as often as he should. The problem was keeping track of which ones he’d used where. That was why he had them organized by activities.
Going for more than the five or six that he usually employed would require keeping a log, and that was a hassle. Unless Rufsur did that for him.
After all, his job was to assist Kalugal in any way he could.
He turned to his deputy. “Since being recognized is becoming an issue, I need you to start a log of which disguise I use when and with whom. I’ll give each shroud a different name, which you will notate next to the activity.”
Rufsur smirked. “Does that mean that you won’t be sneaking out alone anymore? Because if you do, you’ll have to keep the damn log yourself.”
“Not really. When I travel abroad for my archeological digs, it’s always as Professor Gunter. And when I venture out alone while I’m here, I’ll let you know who I am going as.”
“That’s good enough. At least you’ll let me know, so I won’t have to find out that you have left the compound from whoever is in charge of monitoring the gate on that day.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Rufsur. I’ve told you that often enough.”
Phinas shook his head. “I’m with Rufsur on that. You are too valuable to lose. If something happens to you, none of us would be able to continue your work. You keep those world domination plans of yours all in your head.”