by J. Judkins
Brandon still hadn’t noticed her actions. “I don’t think this is a good idea,” he said.
Naomi shook her head. “No, that’s terrible. Say instead, ‘you’ll never get away with this!’ Try that, only with feeling.”
Brandon half turned in his chair. “I’ll never get away with . . . what?”
“Close enough,” Naomi said, and shot him.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Naomi had only finished setting her internal alarm to zap Brandon every three and a half hours when someone knocked on her office door.
“Come in,” she called.
The double doors opened, and a burly man with short, sandy-blond hair stuck his head inside. It took Naomi a moment to recognize him as one of her newly acquired sentry minions. Samuel, or something similar. “The woman, Angel, is here,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.
Naomi leapt to her feet. “She’s been captured?”
The sentry’s eyebrows squished together in apparent confusion. “No, she’s here for her eight-thirty appointment.”
Frowning, Naomi activated her computer link and did a quick scan of her schedule.
Eight-thirty. Meet with Angel.
She wasn’t certain how to feel about that. A meeting made things convenient, but it was also disturbing that the appointment had somehow been arranged without her knowledge.
Naomi sat down at her desk, readjusted her glasses, and folded her hands before her in an effort to make herself appear more presentable and natural. “Show her in.”
The minion swung the door open. Angel stepped past him. She ignored the open chairs before Naomi’s desk, apparently content to stand.
“This is unexpected,” Naomi admitted. “Where’s your friend?”
“She wouldn’t have approved of our meeting.”
“Why are you here? Have you come to return the sex toy?”
Angel ignored the question. “I believe I understand the nature of the restrictions placed upon you. I’d like to offer a suggestion.”
“I see.” Naomi leaned forward to convey her interest, then thought better of it and leaned back to conceal it instead. Her lips curled into an arrogant smirk. “You must be getting desperate after your recent failure.”
“What failure?”
“Oh, there’s no need to deny it,” Naomi mocked. “You think you were oh so clever, going out of your way to make a nuisance of yourself, deliberately triggering alarms to prompt a response.”
Angel’s eyes widened. “I missed one?”
Naomi ignored the transparent denial and pointed a finger in accusation. “Your plan was to defeat your attackers and interrogate them for the next clue. Very clever. But not clever enough.”
“Thank you?”
“Pray, enlighten me. What information did you extract from my minions? What secrets were you able to discover?”
“We—”
Naomi stood to more effectively slam her fist against the table. “Nothing!” she cried. “You discovered nothing, that’s what! Because all of my minions know nothing! How could you possibly uncover my hidden secrets when there are no secrets to reveal? Your ingenious plan might have worked with someone else, but not with me. Your pathetic attempts to secure information have failed!”
“We didn’t even try,” Angel said.
Naomi mentally stumbled for a second, but quickly recovered. “A transparent denial! If you didn’t interrogate them, then that was because you knew the interrogation would fail.”
“It never even occurred to us.”
She blinked. “What?”
“To clarify, it never occurred to us to try.”
Naomi didn’t even attempt to hide her annoyance. “No. That’s impossible. That can’t be true. Why else would you deliberately sabotage the surveillance system, knowing it would alert us?”
Angel tilted her head slightly. “Disabling the surveillance system triggered an alarm?”
“I was alerted because power was cut, not because of an alarm.”
“I see. I admit, I hadn’t anticipated that.”
“You didn’t know?” Naomi was aghast.
“I honestly had no idea. I disabled what I thought to be the security system. Kim would have been horrified to discover we’d been recorded.”
“I see.” Naomi resumed her seat, shaken.
“As I said before, I believe I understand the nature of the restrictions placed upon you. I’d like to offer a suggestion.”
“Go ahead.”
“You currently lack the mental strength necessary to take a chance. I want to help. Robbing a bank, for example, would do wonders toward establishing yourself as a villain.”
“I don’t need that sort of notoriety.”
“Notoriety and fame are not the goals. You’d be doing it to strengthen your inner resolve. It would benefit you personally.”
“Speaking of seemingly pointless exercises, does this suggestion have anything to do with what you said the other night? You told me you were a scout. You said your love for Kim gave you the strength to resist. That love led to your independence.”
“It did.”
“But that doesn’t make sense! Is this your original body?”
Angel seemed taken aback. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
Naomi could only stare with open incredulity. What was going on? Why would Angel pretend ignorance? “Did Kim become your purpose in life?”
“I’m devoted to her, yes. My happiness is dependent upon her happiness.”
Angel’s words were only partially reassuring. A lifelong purpose was typically work related. Was Angel suggesting she had somehow substituted Kim as her defining purpose?
Naomi could accept the remote possibility of it, but her explanation didn’t go far enough. “That tells me how you set aside social restrictions, but it tells me nothing of overcoming the physical restrictions.”
Angel’s eyes scrunched up in what Naomi recognized as the human expression of confusion, as if being confused or not understanding or not seeing were all synonymous in causing vision problems.
“Regarding these social restrictions,” Angel said, “are you referring to the method of adopting an alternative role to play?”
“Don’t you already know?” Naomi was again appalled at Angel’s apparent ignorance. How could this woman be familiar with one side of the equation, but not the other? “Are you guessing?”
“I’m hoping to confirm what I already believe to be true. Please, tell me more about these social restrictions.”
Naomi was once again struck by the bizarre nature of the conversation. An outsider would never be told anything. An insider would already know everything there was to know.
Could she be wrong about Angel’s origins? Was she making a mistake? What if Angel wasn’t one of them?
No. Don’t even think about it.
“Fine. I’ll give you a history lesson.” She sat back in her chair. “Our civilization has been carefully crafted to be a society of purpose. Our people fulfill specific roles in life. If there’s a pressing demand for technicians, for example, we make them. Each individual is designed and created mentally predisposed toward that certain, specific line of work. They’re gifted with all the specific skills and talents necessary to excel in that job.
“But the system is far from perfect. If one of those technicians decides she’d much rather be a doctor, or an entertainer, or anything else, then that’s too bad. They’re a technician. That is their inescapable purpose in life.”
For a moment, Naomi was tempted to brag about how she’d overcome her own restrictions, how embracing the role of a supervillain had allowed her new purpose without replacing the old.
But then her self-preservation instinct kicked in and she cut herself off before she could say a word. Angel hasn’t given me a path to freedom yet, she reminded herself.
“You also referred to my original body,” Angel said.
“These bodies aren’t our own.” Naomi placed a hand on her chest. �
�Our technology allows for us to operate expendable bodies, similar to ours. The body you see before you is nothing more than a puppet. A construct.”
“Do you know where your true body is located?”
Naomi drew in an unnecessary breath to better snort her contempt of Central Authority. “All I know is that they’re locked away, kept hidden from us. ‘Kept safe from harm,’ as they’re fond of saying. It’s another way they maintain control.”
Angel nodded. “So, if you chose to walk away . . .”
“How could we? Walk away to where? How far could we go? If I ‘walked away,’ I’d risk my personality being changed at the source. My every word and deed is being recorded. No one would risk allowing me a new body until after someone in authority had established what went wrong.”
“I see.”
Naomi let her frustration show. “If you were once one of us, how could you not know this?”
“Why don’t you fear it?”
“Fear what?”
“Your words suggest that they’d sever the connection to this body at the first hint of disloyalty, but your actions tell a different tale.” Angel settled into one of the plush chairs opposite Naomi. “Isn’t that what you’re doing? Aren’t you in open rebellion?”
“I’m able to talk with you because I sincerely believe you to be one of us. Or used to be.” Naomi placed her hands on the table. “Now, enough about our people. I’ve grown tired of this line of questioning. How were you able to achieve physical independence? Please, how did you escape?”
Angel looked thoughtful, but didn’t answer.
Naomi felt her heart sink. “Please tell me you have a solution.”
“I’m contemplating how to best answer your question.”
“And?”
“I’d hoped to conceal this entire conversation from Kim, but I fear I need an expert.”
“I thought you were in love with her.”
“I’m very much in love with her.”
“But you don’t trust her? You hesitate to confide in her? Is this love strictly one-sided?”
“Trust is very much a factor in our relationship. I have no doubt our love is mutual, but Kim often has difficulty expressing herself.”
“How can you be certain she cares for you at all, if she’s unable to express it?”
Angel’s expression darkened. “She wants to marry me, for one.”
Naomi was taken aback by the contradictory message. “Then why do you look upset?”
“Kim asked, and I refused. I told her no.”
“Why?”
“I’d recently won three dollars in the state lottery. Kim decided to exploit that fact to propose to me.” Angel rose to her feet, apparently for more room to wave her arms about. “She seized upon it as an excuse. When she proposed to me, she went out of her way to avoid saying anything that could possibly be considered romantic in any way whatsoever!”
Naomi traced a finger over the armrest of her chair. “If she’s willing to marry you for a low amount, doesn’t that prove her love for you?”
“I don’t see how it could!” Angel huffed.
“People often marry for love, but they also do so for financial reasons, or due to social pressures, or out of obligation, or any number of things. Are you more of a romantic than her?”
“Kim has often accused me of being so.”
“Then I would suggest that marrying under a flimsy excuse might be the height of romance for her.”
“How could it be?”
“Think of it from your partner’s perspective,” Naomi said. “If you were wealthy, and Kim asked you to marry her, would you assume she wanted you, or your money? Your situation is the exact opposite. By her words and actions, she’s demonstrated money is insignificant to her. I would suggest to you that it’s merely the catalyst. All she needed was an excuse.”
Angel bowed her head. “I hadn’t thought of it that way,” she admitted.
“By telling you the money isn’t important, she’s telling you she loves you.”
“But I still don’t see the point! How would our lives change, if Kim and I married and ‘made it official’? I’m still amazed she’s willing to endure the embarrassment of an elaborate ceremony, even if it isn’t in front of friends and family.”
“Another point in her favor.”
Angel took a step back, as if stunned.
“Kim loves you. Congratulations.” Naomi’s thoughts turned inward. “I wish I could be so lucky.”
“What of the woman at the warehouse?”
“She’s not interested in me. All Melanie has done is agree to help.”
Angel’s eyes were intense. “Regardless, are you interested in her?”
It was Naomi’s turn to grow silent.
“Are you?” Angel pressed.
A line creased Naomi’s brow. “Yes. Very much so. But it doesn’t matter. As I’ve said, she’s not interested in me.”
“She might be more interested than you expect,” Angel said, and left without another word.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Kim sat in the middle of her living room couch. A half-empty glass of water sat within easy reach; she had forgotten it was there. Every so often, she would reactivate her electronic book reader, then set it aside and pick it back up again. It couldn’t hold her attention, though. Internal thoughts consumed her.
It had taken several long hours before she could admit to herself that her plan to seduce Angel was only half complete. She had worked out several well-defined reasons to justify why she should implement it, but had yet to consider any of the details. All of this was done on purpose, as the plan was meant to be impulsive and spontaneous. Kim firmly believed details were the polar opposite of spontaneity.
She hadn’t been consciously aware of it, but her decision had also been largely influenced by the embarrassing nature of the project. This was not to last, though. As the minutes stretched into hours, embarrassment became less of a factor. And finally, a turning point had been reached. Kim realized with a start that her plan was a plan in name only. A mere statement of intent, and not a true plan at all.
To go in blind would be a critical mistake. An impulsive and spontaneous plan left too much to chance. It wasn’t in Kim’s nature to leave things to chance. Details began to emerge, again backed by full justification.
Kim set aside her book reader for the last time. A smile spread across her lips. The appearance of spontaneity. That was the key to success. And it needed to be convincing.
I’m not giving up on you, Angel.
Kim’s encounter with Angel that morning had shown her the bitter truth. She had the will, but lacked the courage to give it strength. It had been a mistake to attempt to change Angel’s plans. The only thing she knew for certain was that Angel would return home, eventually.
And that would be the moment to strike.
All she’d have to do is wait for the proper moment to tell Angel one simple phrase: “Here’s what I’d like you to do to me.” And then demonstrate.
The plan was without flaw. It could not fail.
If Angel were even half as susceptible to being lost in the moment as Kim, she wouldn’t be able to form a coherent thought until after it was over. By then, it would be too late. All the conditions would be fulfilled. Then it wouldn’t matter what personal information Angel might discover from Naomi. After tonight, Angel would never want to leave her side.
Tonight was the night. All she had to do was wait.
A key twisted in the front door. Kim looked up at the clock in her DVD player. Four thirty-seven. She sprang to her feet, grinning savagely. Not bad at all. She would have the rest of the evening to set her plan in motion.
Angel walked past her and upended the bag she carried onto the couch. The contents were enough to raise an eyebrow.
Kim sorted through it. “Let’s see. Black pants. Black shirt. Black work gloves. Black sunglasses. Black pretty much everything.” She stood back and placed her hands on her
hips. “Seems innocent to me,” she said sarcastically. “Nothing suspicious at all.”
“Good.” Angel began stripping where she stood, dropping clothing at her feet.
Kim could only stare in stunned silence. It was only after Angel stood completely naked that she began sorting through the collection. “Where are the panties?” she wondered aloud.
Kim attempted and failed to avoid looking. “You took them off.”
“I wasn’t referring to the ones I was wearing. I bought a new pair specifically for this mission.”
Angel turned her attention to the previously discarded shopping bag. A quick search revealed the elusive garment within. “Found them.” She smiled.
Kim again unsuccessfully attempted to avoid looking. “Are you going for a new look?”
“I’m not going to be naked,” Angel said, sounding irritated. She mirrored Kim with her hands on her hips. “I’ve noticed my state of dress, or lack thereof, always seems to bother you.”
Kim waved a hand in the general location of the couch and the still-unworn collection. “I mean, a new look wearing these clothes. Once you wear them, I mean.”
Angel looked to the collection and back to Kim. “I’m not wearing anything.”
“Oh, for the love of—I know that!” Kim cried, exasperated. “Could you please put something on? Anything?”
Angel slipped on her black panties and shimmied into her new dark pants. Kim spared only quick glances as she studied the far wall.
“So,” Kim ventured, “care to tell me where you were all day?”
Angel stopped dressing. She turned back to Kim, her new black t-shirt all but forgotten in her hand. “I saw Naomi this afternoon, among other things.”
“What other things?”
“Revealing my secret would diminish the surprise.”
“What about the rest of the day?”
“Revealing what I did with the rest of my day would also diminish the surprise.”
“Didn’t I ask you not to talk to her?”
“You did. More than once. I decided to go anyway. We can have make-up sex after I return.”