The Republic of Selegania Boxed Set: Volumes One through Four

by Daniel Lawlis

  He began to feel his body shake, although it seemed the rocks were losing their momentum.

  “Sir?” the voice repeated.

  Then, suddenly Righty opened his eyes to see a female face not too far from his. He then had a moment of gut-wrenching vertigo, as he felt like he was looking upwards towards the sky while his mortal body fell helplessly through empty space towards the unforgiving ground below.

  “You are a father, sir.”

  This brought Righty out of the lingering effects of his nightmare briefly before plunging him into another.

  Molly knew the meaning of that look.

  “Don’t worry, sir. You are still the husband of a very beautiful woman.”

  Righty’s eyes moistened, and silent tears fell as if from gigantic clouds.

  He stood up slowly, his knees feeling as weak as they did in the nightmare.

  Though he now felt anxiety was no longer justified, he nonetheless walked with great trepidation towards Janie’s room.

  He heard soft cooing sounds as he drew nearer, and when he opened the door, he saw the smiling, yet exhausted face, of Janie. Just a few inches below hers was a miniature face.

  Righty wanted to jump on top of Janie and smother her with hugs and kisses, but he proceeded with caution. He sat down on the bed and, unable to choose, caressed both Janie’s and the newborn’s heads delicately.

  “Do you like the name Heather?” Janie asked.

  Righty hadn’t even thought to inquire about the sex, so overwhelmed was he at the survival of the two beings he thought certain to die.

  “I love it,” he said, a tear in his eye.

  “May I?”

  “Of course,” Janie said with a smile. It was perhaps the most sincere, joyful smile he had ever seen on her. She extended the tiny creature to him carefully.

  As Righty beheld his tiny daughter, he felt a love he perhaps had never experienced. He had been in too dark a chapter of his life when Eddie was born to love or appreciate him the way he might have under better circumstances. He had only felt shame from the knowledge that the father of that child was a miserable failure, and he felt unworthy to celebrate bringing a life into this world.

  But this was different. As he beheld Heather in his arms, he felt the most potent, yet contrasting, feelings of love and violence. His protective instincts towards this helpless being that would depend upon him for safety and shelter were more powerful than anything he had ever experienced in his life. He became aware, through vague images and powerful sensations, of unspeakable acts of destruction and cruelty he would inflict upon anyone that he even suspected of posing a threat to this tiny, innocent thing.

  He kissed her forehead softly, and he noticed the love with which Janie gazed upon him.

  “I love you,” he said, leaning forward, and kissing her forehead.

  “I love you too, Richie. I’ll always be yours. No matter what.”

  Chapter 36

  Righty couldn’t bring himself to leave Janie’s side, even if he did realize that he had a burgeoning business empire to run. Today was for Janie and his newborn Heather, and for no one else.

  The maid prepared lunch and dinner for them, and when Janie wasn’t looking Righty gave her a tip that probably equaled her monthly salary. Her eyes bulged at this man, who—while not exactly appearing to be a beggar—certainly did not look like he was capable of affording such generosity.

  Dr. Ridemern must have made a commensurate appraisal of Righty, for one of the first things he did upon returning that evening—after dutifully checking upon his patient, of course—was to turn to Righty and say, “Sir, with regards to the money, I just want to let you know there’ll be no—”

  Righty cut him off in midsentence with forty, crisp $1,000 bills.

  “Would this be a reasonable compensation?” Righty inquired.

  “Heavens!” exclaimed the doctor. “If you’ve got money like that to spend so extravagantly, you’d be far better off donating it to Comfort Hospital, rather than giving an unnecessary tip to an old dog like me!” the doctor said laughing.

  “Consider it done,” Righty said calmly, “but I must at least give you fair compensation for your services. A man has his pride, you understand. Just let me know what the usual charge would be.”

  “Well, I suppose around $3,000 falons.”

  “I won’t part with fewer than ten,” Righty responded putting the bills into the doctor’s hands and then closing them around the money firmly. “You took us in in the middle of the night, and I’m not so sure Janie would have pulled through had you turned us away, not to mention our little Heather,” he added, almost choking up.

  “I’m glad you came, Mr. . . . ?”

  “Simmers. Richard Franklin Simmers,” Righty quickly said in a friendly, even apologetic, tone.

  “I’m very glad you came when you did, Mr. Simmers. In my professional opinion, if you had been thirty minutes later, you would be neither a husband nor a father . . . at least not of your Heather,” the doctor replied.

  Righty felt his throat tighten at the thought.

  The doctor did not entirely share Pitkins’ knack for discretion, and the curious look that came over his face accurately presaged a somewhat prying question: “May I ask if you live around here, given that arrived in the nick of time?”

  “No, doctor. I’m from a little town called Ringsetter, in fact. But Janie started complaining about her symptoms yesterday morning, so I took her to the village midwife. She told me to get to you without delay. Foolish though it may have been, I mounted her on top of my horse and held her while I rode as fast as I safely could, which was a lot slower than I would usually ride. It made for a long ride, and by the time I got here I didn’t even bother to tie up my horse. Jesse’s probably seen about half the city by know, I reckon,” Righty said laughing. “Janie slept through the whole thing.”

  The doctor, who had been merely curious rather than suspicious, readily accepted the explanation and then invited Mr. Simmers to accompany him while he inspected his two patients.

  “She needs two days of bed rest, and I advise you then take her home on your coach. She shouldn’t ride on a horse for at least two months. She will stay here in this room for her bed rest, and I won’t accept another falon from you,” the doctor said with mild, yet genuine, firmness.

  “Well, I’ll get busy buying a coach so that I can take my two princesses back safely,” Righty said with a smile, “and I’ll be making that donation to the hospital. I can’t thank you enough for saving my wife’s and daughter’s lives. You have earned a friend you can count on at any time you may need it,” Righty said with a benevolent, yet intense, firmness that transformed the usual vacuity of such promises into an oath of immeasurable value.

  Righty then kissed Janie on the lips and Heather on her forehead.

  “Here’s a spare key, should you need to return at a late hour,” the doctor said warmly, surprised by his innate trust in the man in front of him.

  They shook hands, and Righty disappeared into the night.

  Chapter 37

  As Righty stepped out onto the street, he could not be entirely sure a set of curious eyes belonging to Dr. Ridemern were not following his curious guest’s movements, so Righty waited until he had walked several blocks before seeking a dark place where he might try to summon Harold.

  Family matters or not, he had some major business to attend to.

  It was only about 8 p.m., but the streets were dark in this residential area, and the occasional lamp light trickling out of a nearby window did little to rob the darkness of its dominion. Urgency conquered patience, and Righty said in a voice just above a whisper.

  “If you can hear me, Harold, come in quiet and land.”

  The fluttering of wings from a nearby tree made him wonder if a konulan was not preparing to deliver the message to Harold in case he had not properly heard the request.

  About thirty seconds later, Righty felt a breeze softly lift the hairs on the ba
ck of his head, and just moments later a stealthy body glided silently down several yards before him.

  Rather than breaking into a run, Righty continued to walk calmly, right next to Harold’s prostrated body, which he then calmly mounted.

  “Get me out of here, buddy,” Righty said.

  Harold took off gently, something until then Righty was unaware Harold could do, given his usual high-velocity takeoffs. Harold’s arms cut the air so gently that Righty barely noticed he was moving until he noticed that the faintly lit street below now featured miniature homes, any dozen of which could fit in the palm of his left hand.

  “I’m a father!!” Righty proclaimed triumphantly.

  “Congratulations!” Harold said, not wishing to sour Righty’s jubilee by reminding him of his extraordinarily acute hearing, which prevented the comment from being news.

  “And still a husband!” Righty added joyously.

  “We know!!” a less-tactful creature exclaimed happily, seconded by another, who shouted, “We were right next to the window!”

  Righty looked down at the rascally konulans lovingly, a couple dozen of which now resided on Harold’s back. He stroked their heads affectionately.

  Righty’s head quickly turned back to business, however. He needed to pick up a little extra cash for tomorrow, but that was the least of his problems.

  “Harold, can you do a solo mission tomorrow?”

  “You name it.”

  “I’ve got a large drop-off due tomorrow in Sodorf, and I’d like to spend tomorrow with my wife and newborn.”

  “You’ve got it. Just take me to the ranch tonight.”

  Righty did so, and under the cover of darkness of this nearly moonless night he landed right next to the storage facility and secured a hundred pounds. Then, he thought of Tats.

  The convenience of Tats knowing Harold was invaluable, and he now thought of this storage facility, unguarded at his own request due his foresight that he might occasionally need to access this location at night. If a few ranch hands—the most trusted—could be introduced Harold also, that would save him the problem of a lot of tiptoeing around his own property and could also enable him to have the storage facility itself guarded, rather than just the perimeter of the ranch.

  I’ll deal with that later, he thought. There were priorities.

  He then asked Harold if he could do a solo mission with Tats.

  “Without question,” Harold replied.

  Righty struggled greatly with the trade-off between the convenience of allowing his secret weapon to be exposed out of the sight of Righty’s watchful eye versus the potential danger this could mean for Righty and, ultimately, his family. The near invincibility afforded to him by Harold and the konulans’ protection and surveillance would become greatly weakened if his enemies were to discover these secrets.

  But if he didn’t yield to expediency during the next couple of days, he would have to choose between ignoring his wife and newborn or infuriating Rucifus and losing face with Tats, two things that could sow the poisonous seeds of discontent, which could ultimately flower into rebellion.

  “Take eighty pounds to Tats tomorrow. You know the house, right?”

  Harold nodded; he had become familiar with Tats’ pattern by which he moved amongst his various mansions as a means of staying a step ahead of potential enemies or police surveillance.

  “He knows how much money to give you. I’ll count it later.”

  Harold nodded.

  “Don’t talk to him under any circumstances, but don’t hesitate to give him that shrewd stare you give to me all the time,” Righty said laughing, yet with a seriousness behind his words.

  Harold smiled and nodded.

  “Take a hundred pounds to Sodorf and pick up the bag of money that should be there. If there’s no money, take this bag back,” Righty said pointing to the larger bag.

  Harold nodded.

  “You’re the best!” Right exclaimed sincerely and hugged him, yet keeping his voice low enough to not attract any undue attention.

  Righty then mounted Harold, who picked up the two bags as easily as if they were newborn chicks, but per Righty’s request they made a quick detour in one of the nearby hills. Righty kept a barrel of cash at all times that could be accessed with minimal digging.

  Harold knew its exact spot, and Righty alighted quickly upon Harold’s landing. He removed a heavy stone to the side and took several bundles of cash and inserted them into his large coat. He now had $3,000,000 on his person, which he presumed ought to be adequate for the upcoming transactions.

  Righty instructed Harold to fly back to Ringsetter, and in the tops of one of the largest trees, they picked a couple of snug spots for the Smokeless Green to be hidden until tomorrow.

  Harold then brought Righty back to Sivingdel. It was even darker now, but Righty had the konulans go out and patrol just to make sure Righty could be safely deposited into the darkness about fifteen minutes’ walking distance from the house.

  At 10 p.m., Righty used the spare key to let himself inside. He kissed Janie on her forehead, but she did not awake. Well-deserved sleep did not, however, prevent the loving gesture from going completely unheeded, as it appeared a small smile momentarily flashed at the edges of her beautiful lips. Righty then approached Heather and lifted her into his arms. He gently held her and rocked her back and forth for two hours, while thinking of the hurdles he would have to overcome to fulfill his promise, to achieve his destiny, and to protect his family at all costs.

  He felt a pang of guilt at having never shown or felt similar love towards Eddie, and he wondered about him now more than ever, but his mind assured him that Eddie’s steady arrival of letters (about one every two or three months) and the growing maturity and eloquence therein were sufficient evidence that he was in good care. And he was still more certain that Eddie was far safer outside the country with the erudite professor than with a father engaged in a dangerous business.

  The sweet tranquility of the present scene was offset by a dark premonition that the most arduous, and most violent, challenges of his career had not yet even shown the whites of their eyes.

  The End of The International Businessman

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  The next volume in the series, Birth of a Monster, is now available on Amazon. More volumes of this series are coming to Amazon soon!