by Jayne Castle
Briana’s eyes widened. “You think this is some kind of game, don’t you? Are you doing this because it amuses you?”
“No.”
“Good. Because I assure you, this is no game. There is a great deal at stake here.”
“I’m well aware of that, Mrs. Culverthorpe.”
Briana’s eyes narrowed. “I was afraid of this.”
“Afraid of what?”
“You’re sexually attracted to him, aren’t you?”
Orchid said nothing.
“You’re having an affair with him. That’s obvious. Perhaps you’ve even convinced yourself that he’s in love with you.”
Orchid did not respond.
Briana smiled grimly. “I told Selby that if you had been so foolish as to fall in love with Rafe, the bribe would not work. But he was certain you weren’t that stupid. He seems to think that, because you’re a full-spectrum prism, you’re too smart to miscalculate the risks of getting involved with a strat-talent.”
“My relationship to Rafe Stonebraker is a very personal matter, Mrs. Culverthorpe. I’m sure you can understand that I don’t wish to discuss it.”
“You do know that he’s a strat-talent, don’t you?” Briana frowned. “He didn’t find a way to conceal that from you by any chance?”
“I know he’s a strat-talent.”
“Yes, of course. The matchmaking agency would have told you that much. They would have been grossly negligent in their responsibilities if they’d kept the fact from you.”
“Uh huh.”
“Having been raised in Northville, you may not be fully aware of all the, shall we say, implications.”
“I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on the subject.”
Briana did not appear to hear her. “They call them hunters, you know. Throwbacks to an earlier evolutionary time. They’re quite rare in the population.”
“I’m aware of the misconceptions that surround them.”
“Their talent is considered primitive. Potentially dangerous. Most of them become criminals.”
“Not most of them, Mrs. Culverthorpe. Only some. Just as some psychometric-talents and some hypno-talents and,” Orchid paused to give her words added weight, “some tech-talents do.”
Briana whirled around. “Damn you, my husband is not a criminal.”
“He’s trying to destroy a family business that supports not only the members of his own clan, but a couple of thousand employees. Some people might see that as a criminal enterprise.”
Briana’s face tightened. “That’s not true.”
“Forgive me, Mrs. Culverthorpe, but I have to trust someone’s version of events. I’ve decided to trust Rafe’s.”
“Then you’re a fool.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that Rafe is going to take control of Stonebraker because he genuinely believes that the firm is in danger of being destroyed by your husband.”
Briana gave her an incredulous look. “Why would my husband destroy Stonebraker?”
“I gather the motive is revenge. Something to do with what happened to his father.”
“Rafe fed you that old tale?” Briana gave a short, harsh, crack of laughter. “It’s utter nonsense. An old family legend that has circulated for years. No one, least of all my husband, actually believes that Alfred G. murdered Perry Culverthorpe.”
“Are you certain of that?”
“Of course, I’m certain.” Briana turned very quickly back to the window. “Selby would never destroy Stonebraker. He’s devoted to the family firm. And to our children. He would never do anything that would hurt their future.”
Orchid watched Briana open and close her hand around the strap of her purse. “I have a hunch that your husband has planned the future of his own, immediate family very carefully, Mrs. Culverthorpe. When he tried to buy me off the other day, he made it clear that he expects to be very, very rich soon.”
“Naturally, after he takes control of Stonebraker--”
“Stop it,” Orchid said. “You’re his wife. You know what he intends to do, Mrs. Culverthorpe. Who are you trying to fool? Me or yourself?”
Briana stared fixedly out the window. She looked so stiff and brittle that Orchid feared she might shatter.
“He won’t destroy Stonebraker,” she whispered. “He won’t do it. He can’t. When he gets control he’ll realize--”
“I don’t know what happened in the past.” Orchid got to her feet. “As far as I can tell only two people know the truth, Rafe’s grandfather and your husband’s father. One is dead and I suspect that the other will go to his grave sticking by his version of events.”
“Just a family legend,” Briana whispered.
“Which your husband believes.”
“No.”
“Yes.” Orchid hesitated. “Briana, Selby was right about one thing. I’m a trained, full-spectrum prism. I’ve had a lot of experience with various kinds of talent. I know something about the para-profiles of people like your husband.”
“I don’t need your so-called expert opinion on Selby’s para-profile.”
“Too bad. You’ve given me a lot of unasked for advice this afternoon. I’m going to dispense a little of my own.”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Tough. Pay attention here. Your husband is a tech-talent. That means he’s good at engineering things, including revenge. But it also means he can be obsessive about his goals. He’s been plotting revenge for so long, he’s forgotten there’s any other purpose in life. We need to find a way to remind him.”
“We?”
“Well, you, for the most part,” Orchid admitted. “After all, you’re the one who’s married to him. Maybe you should try to get him to a syn-psych therapist.”
“Are you serious?”
“Look, we’ve got good material to work with here.” Orchid clasped her hands behind her back and began to pace. “You just told me that you and Selby were agency matched. That means that fundamentally the two of you form a good team.”
“My marriage is none of your affair,” Briana said fiercely.
“Selby’s gone a little off course because of his fixation with revenge. But if you can break through that fixation, you’ve got a chance to change everything.”
“How dare you try to interfere in my life?”
Orchid met her eyes. “You have the nerve to ask me that after what you just did?”
“I’ve done nothing to you.”
Quite suddenly, Orchid had had enough. “Who do you think you are? You treat me as if I were a fool. First, you and Selby try to buy me off. Then you give me lectures on how I shouldn’t expect Rafe to marry me. You tell me I couldn’t possibly become a good little Stonebraker because I don’t have the right social connections.”
“I’m only trying to warn you that you’re involved in a situation you can’t possibly comprehend.”
“You don’t think I comprehend what is going on here?” Orchid stopped pacing. She drew herself up and looked straight at Briana. “I was raised in the tenets of meta-zen-syn. Perhaps you are not fully aware of just what that means.”
For the first time Briana looked uncertain. “I only meant--”
“I was trained from the cradle to analyze the synergistic forces at work in any situation. I comprehend things in ways that you can only guess, Briana. The ability to comprehend on the abstract level was bred into my very bones.”
“I realize you had a very good education,” Briana said weakly. “Especially in philosophy.”
“A good education? When I graduated from high school I had an awareness of the confluence between the physical and the metaphysical planes that exceeded that of the average graduate student in synergistic theory.”
“I only meant--” Briana broke off. She fell back when Orchid took a step toward her.
“When I reached the university level, my ability to comprehend the philosophical principles of synergism was superior to that of the average professor of synergistic theory. D
o not presume to tell me that I am not capable of comprehending something as simple as the situation between Rafe and Selby.”
“You call it simple?”
“We’re talking about two men who have distrusted each other since childhood because one of them is hell-bent on revenge and the other one knows it. Nothing could be more simple.”
Briana took another step back. She began to look desperate. “It’s not that straightforward.”
“Of course it is. The most powerful truths are always simple and straightforward. Have you forgotten the basic synergy lessons you learned in kindergarten?”
“This isn’t about synergy.”
“Oh, but it is, Briana. So far as Stonebraker Shipping is concerned, it can take two possible forms. Survival or destruction. You have power in this situation. Use it to help save the company and your husband.”
Briana held up a hand as if to ward off an ill omen. “My God. Are you saying that Rafe will... will try to physically hurt Selby?”
“No. I’m saying that Selby will hurt himself and his family if he continues on his present course. Revenge never brings balance or harmony of a positive kind. It begets a downward spiral that ultimately results in destruction. Is that what you want for your family, Briana?”
“I won’t listen to this. I don’t have to listen to this.”
Eyes bright with anger and anguish, Briana took a series of jerky steps toward the door. When she reached it she yanked it open.
“Briana.”
At the sound of Orchid’s voice, Briana halted on the threshold. She half-turned with the air of a woman bracing herself for a blow. “I’ve heard enough.”
“Think about the future of your family, Briana. Think about what you can do to alter the synergistic forces so that the struggle for balance is weighted toward survival, not destruction. You love your husband. Use that love to try to make him see where he is headed. Make him understand that he will not find what he seeks if he is successful in toppling Stonebraker.”
Briana stared at Orchid. “You’re wrong. I don’t have the power that you seem to think I do.”
“We all have power, Briana. But not all of us are smart enough to use it. I’m betting that you are.”
Briana stepped out into the hall and slammed the door behind her.
Orchid stood very still for a few minutes. Then she did some deep breathing to help shake off the effects of the tension and energy that flowed through her.
She walked to the window and looked out and down. She saw that Briana had practically flown down the single flight of stairs. The other woman had already reached the sidewalk and was running awkwardly toward a car that was parked at the curb.
A white car.
Orchid’s stomach went cold. She peered more closely at the vehicle.
It was a Phase 1000.
“Dear God.”
She whirled and ran to the phone. Punched out Rafe’s private number and waited without breathing for him to pick it up. Her heart sank when she heard the familiar click of the answering machine.
“You have reached seven zero seven nine zero nine four. I’m either on the other line or away from the phone. Please leave a message after the beep...”
“Rafe, it’s me, Orchid.” She carried the phone back to the window. “I just had a visit from Briana Culverthorpe. Rafe, listen to this. She drives a Phase One-thousand.”
Outside on the street, Briana sat behind the wheel of her car. She made no move to drive off.
“She doesn’t like you very much, Rafe. And I think she would go to great lengths to protect her husband. If she thought that getting rid of you would solve everything she just might... Oh, hell. She’s getting back out of the car. I think she’s... Yes. She’s coming back upstairs.” Orchid carried the phone back to the desk. “Got to go. I’ll call you again as soon as she leaves.”
The doorbell bonged. Orchid was so startled she dropped the phone. Briana must have run back up the stairs.
“Coming.” She fumbled the phone back into its cradle and crossed the room.
She took a deep breath, composed herself, turned the knob, and opened the door. “Back so soon, Briana?”
“I’ve been thinking about what you said a few minutes ago.” Briana clutched her purse very tightly. Her eyes held barely controlled desperation. “I want to talk to you some more.”
Orchid felt the tension go out of her. It was going to be all right. Briana had made her decision.
Orchid smiled, stepped back, and held the door wide. “Come in. I’ll make coff-tea.”
Briana walked back into the apartment. Turned. Looked past Orchid and out into the hall.
And opened her mouth to scream.
Orchid heard the rush of footsteps behind her. Belatedly she spun around but there was no chance to run.
There were two of them, both dressed in the nondescript green work uniforms of the gardeners who serviced the apartment complex’s grounds, and they were headed straight for Orchid’s front door.
One of them pointed a small canister in her face. He pressed the button. Orchid was vaguely aware of the second man aiming a canister at a stunned Briana. She heard a hiss. A cold mist enveloped her.
The apartment began to whirl around her.
She leaned into the uniformed man in front of her, groping for the front of his shirt. She felt him take a sideways step to avoid her. She kicked his ankle out from underneath him.
“He said you might be difficult.” The man pressed the button on the canister a second time.
More of the icy mist struck her in the face. A great darkness began to descend on her. She held her breath, but that did not stop the stuff from penetrating the membranes of her eyes, nose, and lips.
The world receded swiftly in a black haze. Her legs dissolved beneath her. Voices came to her out of the gathering shadows.
“What about the other one?”
“She saw us. Better bring her along. He can decide what he wants to do with her.”
Orchid felt the texture of heavy twill beneath her fingertips. The fabric of a gardener’s uniform. Someone was holding her while she sank into oblivion.
She fought the effects of the spray with meta-zen-syn concentration techniques while she reached out wildly. She searched for something, anything to leave behind for Rafe to find.
“She’s not going under very fast. Still struggling.”
Orchid’s hand brushed against a pocket. The meta-zen-syn mental exercises could not keep unconsciousness at bay for more than a few more seconds. She had to find something, anything that would constitute a clue for Rafe.
There was an object inside the man’s pocket. A pen? A small flashlight?
She got two fingers into the pocket. The man who held her captive did not seem to notice. She seized an object. Held on tight.
“Bat snake shit. What’s it going to take to put her out?”
“The doctor said she was a loony, remember? You know how it is with the crazy ones. Takes more than it does for normal people. Give her another shot of the stuff.”
More mist in the face.
And then she was being bundled through the doorway.
As she was dragged across the threshold, she vaguely remembered to let go of the small object she had taken from her attacker’s pocket. She heard it roll lightly on the floor.
She drew a gasping breath.
The darkness closed in on her.
She hoped she would not dream.
Chapter 19
“Take a seat, Mr. Stonebraker.” Thelma Dorling waved him toward a chintz-covered chair that was presently occupied by an overweight cat-dog. “Snooky won’t mind.” Thelma flapped her hand at the animal. “Go on, get off the chair, Snooky. Let the nice man sit down.”
Snooky did not move. He watched Rafe with baleful yellow eyes.
“Just give him a little push,” Thelma advised Rafe. “Snooky won’t bite.” She started toward the kitchen. “Can I get you a beer? I’ve got Old Earth Ale and Wester
n Islands Lager.”
Rafe glanced at her. Thelma Dorling was a pretty, young woman with a figure that resembled those of the models featured on the covers of the magazines Rafe had discovered in the bottom drawer of Austen’s desk.
He concluded that she either could not find clothes to fit or else she liked her attire a size too small. Her pink blouse strained at the buttons. The skirt rode high on her thighs. It was stretched so tightly across her buttocks that it formed creases at her hips.
It had taken the better part of the day to track down Austen’s former receptionist. When she’d finally returned his call, Rafe learned that she had been out interviewing for a new job.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’ll take the lager.”
“Great. I’ll be right back. Don’t know about you, but I always need a couple of beers after a day of job hunting.” She vanished into the kitchen.
Rafe heard the icerator open and close in the other room. He gazed thoughtfully at the plump cat-dog who was obviously comfortably ensconced with all six legs tucked under him. “That chair is not big enough for both of us, Snooky.”
Snooky flexed some claws and bared his fangs. A low growl reverberated through the room.
“Very impressive, Snooky, but I’ve been told I’m a little on the primitive side, myself.”
Snooky growled.
“Behave yourself, Snooky,” Thelma called from the kitchen. “Don’t mind him, Mr. Stonebraker. He’s really quite harmless.”
Rafe smiled at Snooky. “But I’m not.”
Snooky blinked. His fangs disappeared.
Rafe continued to smile at him.
Snooky retracted his claws. The growl became a soft whine. He rolled onto his back, paws in the air, and exposed his throat.
Rafe sighed. “I hate it when that happens.”
He walked over to the chair, reached down, and rubbed the cat-dog’s furry belly.
“You know, you might want to take off some of that excess weight before you try to defend your chair from anyone else, Snooky.”
Snooky slithered off the chair and took up residence on the sofa.