by Lyn Brittan
Not that she seemed to notice. While Vin eyed various pieces of furniture for possible weapons usage, Allie tried to share war stories of growing up as an agency kid.
Maybe it was good she had her rules to fall back on. She sure as shit couldn’t rely on any innate sense of perception.
Graham’s interlaced fingers turned white at the knuckles. Whatever restraint the man had, he was losing it. And for what? A woman daring to speak? What kind of sick ass were they dealing with?
“Tell me, Graham, did all the girls run their mouths as much as this one?”
And just like that, the pink returned to Graham’s hands, and his eyes crinkled at the corners.
Vin bumped Allie’s knee with his own and shot her his best for-the-love-of-God-and-to-save-our-asses-shut-up look he could manage.
“My father’s first wife was the same. My mother, that is. Things improved with the second one. He moved around until he found likeminded people. It’s tough to build a sense of privacy these days. So many people getting in everyone’s business, you understand.”
“Quite.”
“Yes. Why are you here, again?”
Vin didn’t risk lying. For as backwards as this place was... or chose to be... they still had modern weapons. It wasn’t too far of a stretch to imagine they had outside communication. His identity wasn’t a secret. A quick scan of his face would pull him up over all the infonets.
“Vin Dhoma. I control security back at base.” He pointed a thumb to the openly pissed-off Allie. “This one is my guardian, I guess. You know how it is. All sorts of checks and rechecks. When I saw the assignment to observe this place, I took it from one of my subordinates.”
“Hoping to shake her?” the thin lipped man asked.
“I’m piss outta luck. So, what happened here? I need to file a report. I gotta say, Graham, it doesn’t look good in the town back there.”
The man leaned back in his brown chair and pressed his thumbs and index fingers together. “Trouble, my friend. Had my boys not rescued you in time, you’d have been but a memory.”
“Because?”
“Things live in the woods, and now the town. Rodents.”
“Mice?”
“That fly.”
“So, bats?”
Graham’s eyes narrowed, and he looked at him dead on. “I didn’t say mice, and perhaps rodent wasn’t the best word. Arachnids.”
“Spiders? That fly? Okay. Let me guess, and just for good measure, they’re poisonous.”
“Lethal in seconds and about the size of a child. Some sort of mutation, though when it started is anyone’s guess. People disappeared from the outlying areas and...”
Vin let him continue without interruption. No one noticed one or two missing townspeople — folks give up on roughing it in the harder quadrants all the time. It was initially believed that they simply left. No one panicked until the town itself was directly under threat.
“And you provided them safety here,” Vin added when Graham rang a large metal bell on his desk. At its toll, a woman draped in blue came in, head bowed.
Graham pulled out a ledger book, not looking at them or the woman as he spoke. “Vin, you appear comfortable enough, but Allie, that uniform looks positively furious. My assistant will get clothing for you. She’ll also bring us some restorative tea and be quick about it.”
Vin opened his mouth to acknowledge the woman, but she was already slinking out the door.
When Graham looked back, his saccharine smile was once again firmly in place. “See here. I keep accounts of attacks and everything we know so far about these creatures. We’ve never had any problems during the day. Barring another mutation—and really, that could take centuries—we don’t expect to.”
The first mutation hadn’t taken that long, but Vin kept his mouth shut and nodded. “I assume they kill under threat?”
“For food.”
“Those cloth things in the store corners?”
“Not cloth. Egg sacs or wrapped prey. We’ve had the misfortune of seeing them in action. There’s a plan in place, though. We had a healthy farming community here. Our people never much cared for calorietabs. We like food. Actual meat. Turns out, so do those creatures. “
Allie cleared her throat. He shot her a look, begging her to keep her mouth shut, but... well... it was fucking Allie, so no.
“What are their reproductive rates? Your survival, their survival, and the survival of any sort of prey animals don’t seem mutually sustainable.”
Graham flipped through the handwritten pages of the ragged ledger book. “You’ve got a good mind on your shoulders, I see. The thing is, we have old cloning technology. No point in letting it go to waste. Especially now. We release animals out every few weeks to keep the creatures at bay. Not much. We don’t want their numbers to grow. As far as we can tell, they only produce two to three offspring.”
Only?
“Taking around a month for full maturity. The egg sacs in town are destroyed as we encounter them during the day. The ones in the forest are more difficult to find.”
Allie slammed the edge of the desk triumphantly. “You should modify the cloned animals with pesticides or viruses to destroy the creatures within a few reproductive cycles.”
Graham’s eyes snapped over. “We are.”
“Oh.”
“I understand OSA has the greatest minds in the universe, but we are not idiots.”
“I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Mutations take time. Not all are transferred.”
“She didn’t mean anything by it, Graham. That’s just her way.”
A tentative knock interrupted the terse moment. The same blue-clad woman from earlier silently rolled in a serving tray. She placed two cups on the table and reached for a third but hesitated, and her hands fell to her sides.
Allie took a long breath but otherwise kept her cool while the woman poured tea for him and Graham. Keeping her quiet was one thing, but he wasn’t about to let her get weak from thirst. They were a team now, and he needed her full strength.
“Pour some for my female companion.”
The serving woman’s eyes locked on the man behind the massive desk. Not until Graham’s nod did she reach for another cup.
“Thank you, Graham. I need to take care of Allie. Despite her mouth, she’s still a good... well, my...companion.” He paused, letting the implication of his words lay heavy in the room.
Graham’s eyes drifted over to Allie. “Hardly seems within regulation.”
Vin prayed to everything in the heavens that Allie would play along. Instead, she lifted her chin defiantly. Here we go again.
“We hadn’t broken any rules until I was given this assignment. Further, as all review pairings are secret until meeting, I didn’t see the point in holding up someone else because of our...”
“Agreement,” Vin finished, biting back grin.
“Exactly. We’re both professionals. I’m not going to tell, and neither is he. I’d appreciate it if we can rely on your discretion.”
Finally, she seemed to be getting it.
Their unexpected visit must have put Graham in an uncomfortable position. The mayor of Crazy Town couldn’t kill them or else OSA would show up. He couldn’t just set them free for the same reason. Vin had been aiming for the crazy convert angle - and it was still a good backup - but Allie’s line of Your Secret vs. Our Secret verged on brilliance.
“You see, Graham, I love my job. I plan to keep it for many years. If we have to bribe you, I’m not above it.”
“I doubt it will come to that,” Graham said with a relieved chuckle in his voice. “Why don’t you two rest? Or maybe walk around and check out our little utopia while we get your room set up. I’ve got to make sure everything’s taken care of at the gates. Nothing should ever get in or, God forbid, a poor wandering soul get out.” Then he stood and snapped his fingers. “Give them something comfy to change into.”
The silent woman pulled out a stack of
tan, blue, and green folded clothes from the cart. Vin’s eyes landed on a sliver of red at the bottom.
Blue wasn’t happening.
Green... his mind flew back to the blonde with the not-so smile. Hell no.
“Red. Allie looks best in red.”
The woman’s head snapped toward Graham. Then, and probably with the first genuine smile he’d seen in this quadrant, the woman picked the heap of red linen, piled it on top of the tan set, and clutched both to her chest. “I’ll put these in your room.”
Chapter Four
The nameless woman led them down a candlelit hallway. “Your room will be ready at third bell. Please enjoy your time here until then.”
“Third bell,” Vin repeated. “What’s that mean?”
The woman frowned for a moment before softening into a look that was almost wistful. “About six o’clock, if I remember correctly.” Then as if she’d said too much, she bowed and quickly shuffled away.
Allie bit her lip until the woman reached the end of the hallway. There, they watched her take a seat on a small stool at the apex of the wing that led to Graham’s office. “We’re so screwed,” she said, keeping her lips as close together as possible.
“It’s kinda hot when you say it all throaty like that.”
“Are you flirting right now? Seriously?” If she turned and found this a-hole smirking, she’d slap the snot out of him.
Well, he wasn’t. He’d in fact gone white, his eyes and clenched jaw not matching his words. He’d also turned so that he was perpendicular to the soldiers at the far end of the hall. His blunted, square fingers jabbed at her chest. “Bitch!”
“You’re a dead man.”
“Sorry,” he said under his breath. Another jab and another whisper. “Just testing a theory. Each time I demean or correct you in anyway, some man in tan starts smiling. I’m going to call the woman back to help you dress. See if she’ll break and give you some inside information.”
“Like what?”
“Anything. Ready?” He turned at her shrug and barked at the woman in blue. “She needs to change. Now.”
The poor servant scurried back and directed them to a bathing chamber a few doors down. Vin waited in the hall, as the woman slid in behind her.
“My name’s Allie.”
“Sarah,” she said, red-faced. Her smile crinkled the scars on her face—she’d been burned at some point, but her beauty shone through. “The man looks after you. It’s good. Every woman needs a man here.”
She didn’t need a man for anything, but Sarah seemed to think so. The gray-haired woman acted as though it was a requirement for survival. Time travel was a one hundred percent impossibility, and yet these people had gone back to the Dark Ages. “This can’t have been by choice.”
Sarah’s eyes flittered down. Her knobby hands slid across the red fabric reverently. “Let’s get this on you. It’s quite lovely.”
“So you didn’t have a choice?” The blood in her veins turned to ice. “What kind of men allowed this to happen?”
“You mustn’t say such things.”
“Fine. Forget the men. What kind of woman are you to go along with it?”
“Everyone has a choice.”
“And how’s that working out for you?”
Sarah looked up and quickly turned away. The back of her neck ran red and splotchy.
“Don’t get mad at me. I didn’t put you here.”
“I... yes, ma’am. As you say. I’m sorry to have troubled you.”
“You didn’t trouble me. Oh, never mind.”
Crap.
Allie’s fury melted, leaving nothing but embarrassment. Once again her mouth had gotten away from her and this time it led her to blaming the victim. Allie’s hand went to Sarah’s shoulder, but the woman flinched and twisted away. “I am sorry, Sarah. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of me.”
A frosty smile met her apology. “Life is full of choices. We’re all very happy here. Would you like to step into your dress now?”
Whatever connection the two women had, or would have had, lay as broken glass at her feet. Allie, unable to look Sarah in the eyes, bent to let the servant dress her.
Almost.
But she was still an Ert’zod, and Ert’zods never went anywhere without an ace up the sleeve, or in her case, a blade secured to her thigh.
Allie removed her top but played at shyness when it came time to take off her trousers. “I can do the rest on my own.”
“Are you certain? Things are different for Reds.” Sarah unfolded the mass of red linen with a snap and stepped back.
Unfolded, the garment was nothing like what she’d seen other women wearing. Until now, the only noticeable difference in uniform had been in color.
This?
What Sarah held before her was something that should be in every shop window back home. In ancient times it may well have been an undergarment with its laces and bows. Cascades of succulent fabric flowed out into a wide cloud at the bottom but narrowed in at the waist.
Allie took the skirt portion and yanked it up around her trousers. It hid her pants well, even as Sarah’s lips pressed together disapprovingly.
“I can take those slacks for you.”
Allied dodged. “Sarah, this must be worth a fortune. Hand me the top.”
She didn’t. The woman stood behind her and pushed the corset over Allie’s shoulders. Sarah cinched the stays of the corset with a viciousness that sent her boobs to the sky. “Every stitch sown by hand.”
“Yours? You’d make millions of credits for this anywhere else. It looks like days of work.”
“Weeks.”
“And this design in the center is amazing.”
“Careful darting. Nothing more.”
This darting created a deep arrow pattern that accentuated the curve of her hips. She went back and forth over whether it was better suited to a museum or on a high-credit model from Venus, but for now it was divine on her.
And yet...
Her enjoyment petered away. This wasn’t lovingly made. It wasn’t uninterestedly created by a machine either.
This had been done, likely by force, from the woman flouncing the fabric at her feet.
“Is this actual silk?”
“I believe that’s what you call it. Yes. It’s exclusively worn by the Reds.”
“But where did you get the silkworms?”
“It’s not our place to question, but no, we have no worms.”
“Huh.”
She’d seen what might be mistaken for silk hanging in shop corners in the town, but Allie kept her lips shut on that. Instead, she turned to thank Sarah and leaned in for a hug.
No go.
Not only had Sarah double back stepped, but the embrace of the corset was so severe that it limited her full range of movement. If she and Vin had to make a run for it, she’d be better off naked.
Maybe that was the point.
Sarah collected her things and started for the door. “I’ll leave you here to use the facilities. After dinner, someone will show you to your room.”
“I’ll ask for you.”
Sarah frowned and shook her head. “Better if you didn’t. I’d be very grateful if you don’t tell anyone I shared my name,” she said quietly, then left without a backward glance.
The second she cleared the door, Vin shot in. His face, first tight and pinched, relaxed, and a smile spread across his lips. “Well, hello. Am I allowed to say something that flies in the face of regulation? Because you look...”
“Is it germane to the fact that we’re trapped in a semi-fortress governed by a misogynistic megalomaniac with czarist tendencies?”
“Not as such.”
“Then no.”
“Why don’t I just focus on the matter at hand?”
“I think you’d better.”
He jerked his head and pointed into the hall. “It’s crazy out there.”
“No kidding.”
“Let’s not make it crazy in her
e too. Believe me, Allie. You’re safe with me. I’m not going to let anyone do anything. I’ll protect you. I mean, yeah, I admit, I’m a little—”
“Over the top?”
“Well, I was going to say—”
“Annoying?”
“I was going for—”
She put a hand on him and winked. “Thanks for saying that and this.” She tugged on her dress. “I’m not sure I like having the girls on display, but I get the feeling I’m better off wearing red.”
She waited for him to say something stupid, but all he offered was a low “yep” and concentrated on a far off corner. Good man.
“But,” she continued, “I’m thinking it could have been a lot worse. I think the Blues are worked to the bone.”
“I’d rather that than the Greens, Allie. I don’t know but, well hell. What I do know is that I haven’t seen any women in red. That’s either good or... really not. Either way, we’re sticking together.”
“Sarah—”
“Who?”
“Nothing. Thinking about someone else.” Sarah’s name was Sarah’s secret to share. It’d been given to her in trust. And while Vin wouldn’t do anything to intentionally harm the woman, she’d been clear that it wasn’t to be spoken of again. Even if Sarah had been less than forthcoming about the reasoning behind it.
They stepped out of the room together and nearly smacked into a new woman in blue. She bowed in greeting. “Shall I escort you to your room?”
Allie almost answered, but Vin’s muscular arm wrapped around her waist in a tight squeeze. Women didn’t speak first here. She’d do them both well to remember it.
“I thought it wouldn’t be ready until later.”
“Mr. Graham thought you might be tired. You’re still free to walk around town of course, but you have tea and light refreshments in the room.”
Vin didn’t flinch. His voice was low and steady but with none of its usual light banter. “And will you be waiting outside the whole time?”
“Yes. After your refreshments, I’ll lead you out.”
“And you’re our tour guide?”
“Everyone here is your guide. We all do our part to help. You’re free to go around without being bothered by me. Mr. Graham wanted me to show you out, is all.”