“No one can give us our freedom, we must take it!”
Most of the senators and their advisory staff jumped to their feet in applause and cheers. The vote had not been taken, but Dunston had won. They would implement their plan to topple the company.
Elizabeth observed to the side, clapping in a slow rhythm with the rest of the room.
Not a bad speech, Dunston, she thought. I’ll have to remember to quote it at your funeral.
***
Emily stood up and walked to the book shelf. A few books remained that she had not read, but the thought of spending another night alone in this stupid apartment sucked all the life from her.
“I want to go do something,” she said. “I’m at least going for a walk.”
She headed out the door and wandered, searching for nothing in particular. She intended to get her bearings around this place, so she wandered down several corridors simply out of curiosity. After an hour, she found she had made her way to her lab.
“Why not,” she said, “might as well work."
She pulled back the bench at her station and flipped through the communiqués and intercepted messages. She would make the effort to break yet another company code.
She did not know it, but Jones saw her enter the lab and he watched her from the hallway. He waited twenty minutes and when no one followed her, he entered.
“Hey,” he said, “what are you working on?”
“Same old stuff,” she said.
“Don’t you ever get out and have fun?”
“I wish!” she snorted. “Can’t seem to get to the fun…” Her voice lowered some. She would not get into the issues with Joniver. She did not get to spend the time with Joniver she wanted and needed, but it was none of Jones’ business. She did not want to discuss it, especially not with him.
“Emily!” Jones sat down in his familiar position, facing the opposite way with his shoulder close to hers. Emily looked down at his shoulder then up at him. She went back to work, unfazed.
“Look,” he said, “tomorrow night they are having a giant base party. There will be dancing and food and it’ll be a lot of fun! I know I keep asking you, but…come go with me!” His question sounded like a statement.
“Ehh…” she said, “I’m not sure. I don’t think so, but you’re sweet to ask.” She knew about the party and she and Joniver had talked about going. He had not mentioned it again, and so she planned to bring it up tomorrow. Maybe he’d decide to go, she thought. She had not told Joniver about Jones asking her to go out several times, however. There was already enough tension, and she did not want to add to it.
“Oh, come on! You said yourself you never get out, and you’ll work better if you unwind a bit. Just come for a little while. I’ll just plan to meet you there, and then we can have a drink and dance for a few minutes. We’ll have fun! Come on!”
I would enjoy some dancing, she thought, and if I ask Joniver, he’ll just say he’s got to work out. Jacob sees him more than I do. I think the only way I’ll get to spend any time with him is if go on that stupid mission to get Olinar myself. She looked down and away from her work.
“Well, ok,” she said, “what time?”
“Let’s just meet there at eight, unless I can come by and get you?”
Emily thought for a minute. “No, that’s ok, let me just meet you there.”
“Great!” Jones stood up. “I’ll see you tomorrow at work, ok? Why don’t you go home? Can I walk you back?”
“No, I’m good,” she said. “I’ll finish up here in a few minutes. What time is it now?”
“It’s 8:23, so I’ll see you,” Jones said. He nodded and walked out, but did not leave the corridor. He positioned himself so he could watch out for Emily, and then he would follow her to her apartment to be sure she was safe.
“Being so late now, I doubt Joniver even comes by,” Emily said after Jones left. “We haven’t really talked in almost a week!"
She was disgusted with Joniver’s attention, or lack thereof recently, and so getting out and dancing would be fun.
The conversation with Emily had been stiff and awkward, but that was to be expected, Jones thought. She’ll get out and have fun tomorrow night, and I’ll get her to loosen up. I’ve done it before. Then he laughed to himself and was lost in thought, as if recalling a pleasant memory.
“If she only knew,” he said to no one.
***
Dunston worked on the plans in front of him, running through the scenarios his team created for training. This was impossible! The Commander says she has the codes necessary to break the company computer systems but how is that possible? They don’t have a physical server somewhere we can shut down, and even if we could, does she expect The Guardsmen to all say, “Oh, hey, look, you’ve hacked into the company computer, we aren’t going to fight anymore?”
We need something more than the codes, but the codes are what she says she has. Codes to break the company computer network. Having the codes is not a plan!
Still he worked on the plan to get two small teams into the necessary space, infiltrate the building where the hub nodes are housed and set the codes. Jones will have no issue once we’re in, but getting in will be the trick. I’m not sure we’re getting out either.
Then he paused for another thought.
“But what’s to stop them from transferring the node? I just don’t get it,” he said.
He threw his pad down and rubbed his tired face and scratched his head. There had been precious little sleep the last three weeks.
The darn mission to get the Blueberry still bothered him. He went over and over the After Action Reports.
“But why can’t I just accept what has been reported?”
“Who was the girl in the computer lab? The odd one with the funny name? Synona, Sin-yin, Safa, yes that’s it Safa!"
“She does good work. I’ll ask her to look at it and keep it under wraps. She works alone anyway.”
***
He shifted his weight like a pro, avoiding the left jab, then as he came back on the balls of his feet, he threw an uppercut. He landed the blow on Jacob’s jaw, under his left eye.
“Little brother’s gettin’ better!” Jacob backed up and removed his mouth guard. He stopped to give some further instruction, not from any damage Joniver had done. “You’re doing much, much better, Joniver. I’m really proud of how you’ve taken to the training. Remember when you throw that upper cut, still keep your left hand high.”
Joniver nodded. He looked at Jacob. He had a question, but not about the instruction he just received. “Didn’t that hurt?” Joniver asked, trying to gauge his brother’s reaction.
“Meh, not much,” Jacob said.
“Does it ever hurt? Don’t you feel pain?”
“I do, but not like you. Understand though it’s not me, it’s the implants,”
“I thought they didn’t work up here?”
“They don’t like they do South, but some. If you call that working.”
“That’s working,” Joniver said. “I wish I could turn the pain off.” He thought of more than physical pain.
“You don’t,” said Jacob. “You don’t really.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for, Dude. You want the excruciating headaches everyday? You want to have to take the meds everyday? You want to wonder everyday if it’s better to fight through the pain or kill yourself?”
“Do you?” Jacob said forcefully. “I used to think it was me winning all those races and beating the obstacle course and winning the war games.” He looked away, somewhere off in the distance.
“Joniver, it wasn’t me, it was the implants.” He sounded like a child who had lost his puppy. Joniver half expected him to cry.
“Is that true?” Could it be the brother he admired so much; who had the skills he coveted so badly, was only the product of the man he had come to despise?
“I’m telling you the truth, Little Brother. T
he guy you think you see is not me. I’m not even sure who I am apart from these damn circuit boards.”
Joniver wished this conversation was not happening. He did not know what to do with it, and it was uncomfortable, although he didn’t know why. He was not sure what to say to his brother, or if he should say anything.
“Hey, man,” Joniver said. He ran his hand over his short cropped hair. “I guess I didn’t realize."
“Yeah, you didn’t realize.”
He smirked and rushed Joniver. Jacob picked his brother up and tossed him on the wrestling mat. They struggled together for a few minutes, then Jacob spun away and jumped up off the mat in one motion. “Gotta go! You keep working, Dude, but I’ve got a date.”
Joniver thought about calling Emily, but he had too much work to do here. He could catch up with her later.
Besides, after Olinar is rescued, he and Emily would have lots of time. I’ll make it up to her, he thought.
Chapter 23
Emily danced and danced like never before in her life, and she loved it! She knew the wine and beer had combined with her lack of an evening meal to make her a bit lightheaded, and the dancing had worn her out. She was enjoying, however the strong and warm embrace Jones provided. He was much shorter than she would have liked, but he was incredibly muscular. He was also really nice, and he was cute enough, too, she thought. They danced the night away and as many of the bar’s patrons headed out, the music tempo slowed and they were slow dancing with it.
They were close now, and she could rest her head on his shoulder as they gently rocked and moved in time to the beat, like an unanchored ship floating on the waves.
She listened as an awesome song she had never heard before played through the sound system. The front monitor showed the song title. It was called All I Ask. The music was from the last century by a long dead singer named Adele.
Adele, maybe people back then went by one name too, Emily thought. The thought warmed her. She was in touch with something so far back in the past, and yet held so firmly by someone here in the present.
And the future? What did the future hold?
She thought about the immediate future and looked at Jones. Whether it was the booze or the setting or the actual features of her current companion, he looked dreamy. She thought he even looked hot, and she felt herself melting in his arms.
He looked at her with longing in his eyes, and moved his hands, gently and slowly, to either side of her face. He pulled her closer. He looked in her eyes - he looked deeply, Emily thought - and then he kissed her, with a long slow deep kiss. The kind of passionate kiss known only to lovers.
Were they lovers?
Obviously not, Emily thought.
His hands moved to her hips. She could feel he was ready for more than kissing alone, and he was ready tonight.
Am I ready, she asked herself?
She kissed him again and smiled, putting her head back on his shoulder. She enjoyed the music and the moment. She felt so warm, and she had never felt more like a woman than now. She imagined herself a diver jumping from the cliffs, attempting to time the movement of the waves below.
Next, Emily surprised even herself.
She pushed back from Jones a step and smiled demurely. Spinning on her heel, and reaching to a nearby table, she picked up a half-empty glass of Guinness and drained it in one gulp. She turned back to Jones with the brownish foam still on her upper lip.
He kissed it away.
Emily took Jones by the hand and said, “Let’s go.”
From several meters away, Jacob saw the last few minutes transpire and looked at Genevieve. “Uh-oh,” he said. He drained his beer, grabbed Genevieve by the hand and said, “Let’s go.”
“No,” Genevieve said, pulling her hand back. She saw the events unfold across the room for herself. “She’s a grown woman, and if your brother wanted to do something about it, he had every opportunity. What she does is none of our business.”
“It’s my business,” Jacob said, and he walked out.
“Nothing new!” Genevieve said to the air, shaking her head as she watched Jacob leave. She turned back in frustration and disgust. She drained her own beer, and ordered another.
I’m getting used to men leaving, she thought.
“Maybe it’s time to do something about it,” she said, standing. She walked out with purpose, like a hawk searching for a mouse. “If I can’t have one, I’ll have the other.”
Emily and Jones walked hand in hand from the bar and into the hallway with Emily leading the way. She felt a tug inside herself. Her Aunt Naomi had been very candid with her about her own personal exploits as a young woman. She embarrassed Emily to no end, especially when she went so far as to describe herself as a “cat in the sack."
No, wait, that’s not right, Emily thought. She didn’t say, “cat in the sack,” she said, “wildcat.” Her aunt was a “wildcat in the sack."
At this description Emily’s beautiful olive skin turned several shades of red, which made her Aunt laugh so loud and hard, Emily could not help but join in. Emily remembered laughing so hard they cried. Always however, she heard her aunt’s words, “Emily, don’t be reckless with your love. What you have is a precious thing, and you have to handle it carefully.”
Aunt Naomi told Emily when the time was right, she would know it and know what to do. Emily wondered about her Aunt’s prediction.
Was the time right? Jones had been wonderful since she arrived, and he was more than a gentleman tonight. She found this wonderfully attractive. He was an excellent dancer as well, which was surprising for an Angriff trooper. Did Joniver even know how to dance? The thought hit her unexpectedly.
He had his chance, Emily thought, anger flaring. Stop! I don’t want to ruin the moment with Jones thinking about Joniver.
Where had Joniver been tonight anyway? I’d hope he would see me with Jones. Joniver is such a little boy. He’s always wanting this or that, or he wants me to say this say such and such.
She deserved better.
She would not spend all her time thinking about someone who had so little appreciation for her, not only as a woman but as a person.
Who did he think he was anyway? Demanding I tell him about my business! I’m not going to think about him and I will not to let him interfere with my evening any longer.
I wonder what he wound up doing tonight after all, she thought.
Almost stumbling, she came back to the moment. Jones caught her and helped get her balance. “Ok?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, nodding.
She and Jones walked on, no further words traded between them. Their looks said each of them knew where they were headed.
At Emily’s room entrance, they paused. She looked up and said, “Would you like to come inside?”
“I would. Would you like me to come inside?” Jones smiled.
“I would,” she said and pressed her thumb and first two fingers of her right hand against the pad reader. The lock of the white panel door clicked and she pushed it open, walking inside.
Jones shut the door quietly then moved toward her; she did not resist. They kissed intensely again and again. He moved down her neck kissing her softly and passionately. He moved to her shoulders, and as he did so, he slid his hands to the top button of her sweater. Each button seemed to jump through its loop, and soon her bra was exposed. His hands were soft, and he was as gentle as an autumn breeze, moving slowly along her curvature and sliding the straps of the bra off her shoulders.
He moved his right hand to her back, between her shoulders, and his fingers fumbled to unhook the bra’s clasps. His left hand slid behind her, slowly rubbing the small of her back. He pulled her forward, tighter against his body.
Emily’s body relaxed more and more. She felt herself float, as her fingers ran through Jones’s hair and caressed his neck.
She had never felt such intensity, and she found it intoxicating.
But something kept pecking at her consciousness, an
d it was so annoying! Like a bird repeatedly flying into plate glass, she heard a thumping in her mind. The sound was a voice demanding to be heard, but it was muffled by the emotion and feeling of the moment. She could not shake the voice, but at the same time, she was not sure she should.
At first she believed it was the No Fun Part of her trying to step in on what was going to be a glorious night.
Her aunt told her it was all right, didn’t she?
No…no, no...
Wait.
Aunt Naomi did not say it was all right. She said I would know when the time was right, Emily thought.
This thought was like a hammer striking an anvil, and the question came back to her.
Was the time right?
The thought was so intense, she believed she spoke the question out loud. Jones’s hands however, continued their soft and sensuous search and movement, search and movement. He kissed the front of her neck and lust glinted in his eye.
Then she asked herself the question again and it invaded her thoughts like a swarm of bees filling a hive. As she anticipated the answer, everything felt wrong.
She regained her composure. Her head cleared, and she realized what she needed to do; what she must do.
It was not what she wanted to do.
Her body tensed as she reached behind her back and took each of Jones’s hands in hers. She pulled back from him and looked in his eyes.
“What?” he said, sensing the sudden change. “Is everything all right?”
“Jones,” she said, “I’m sorry. I just can’t do this tonight."
Her words sounded awkward, and they mirrored her feelings.
She pulled her bra straps back up and reached for her sweater, which was still buttoned at the waist but had fallen off her shoulders. She held the unbuttoned halves of the sweater together with both hands.
“I thought I was ready,” she said looking down, “but I’m not. I’m really sorry."
She could not look him in the eye.
“That’s ok,” Jones said, putting a hand on her shoulder.
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