Daughter of Nothing
Page 29
“It’s about time you answered, Doctor.” Her voice was deep, throaty. “I’ve been on hold for fifteen minutes.”
“I’m sorry, Madam Senator,” Humphrey said. “I was on another call. We just got through the worst of a hurricane, and there is an endless list of tasks I must attend to.”
“I’m sure,” she said, though her voice conveyed utter disinterest in the small details of hurricane recovery.
“How may I help you?” Humphrey asked.
“I wish to transfer to my Scion immediately.”
Humphrey and Jacey both glanced at Mr. Justin, who seemed just as shocked as they were. He pointed at the slip of paper he’d given Humphrey.
Humphrey cleared his throat and glanced at it. He paled further, then rallied and looked back at the holovid. “But your Scion is not of age. The contract clearly stipulates that transfer can happen no sooner than when the Scion attains the age of eighteen.”
“Do you think I’m stupid? My Scion won’t be of age for four years, but I have, at best, four weeks to live.”
Humphrey hid his confusion by rubbing his temples. “But the Scion’s brain at age fourteen is still developing. Transfer would be extremely risky.”
Fourteen? That could be only one of two girls on campus. Jacey glanced at Mr. Justin, but his face revealed nothing.
“I know we haven’t spoken for a while,” Senator Bentilius said. “But don’t you follow the news? I have stage-four brain cancer. It’s inoperable. So you’ll appreciate that I care very little about the risk. What’s the worst that could happen? I might die? Same thing that’s going to happen to me anyway.”
“You might end up a vegetable, or insane,” Humphrey said. “We had some difficulty with a recent transfer.”
The senator dismissed Humphrey’s objection with a slight twist of her lips. “But if it works, the only downside is that I have to endure the hormonal whirlwinds of my teenage years again.”
Jacey waved her hands to get Humphrey’s attention. He glared at her.
“Stall for time,” she mouthed.
“When were you thinking of coming down?” Humphrey asked Senator Bentilius.
“Immediately,” the senator replied. “I have a jet standing by to take me to San Juan, and a helicopter from there to St. Vitus.”
“Well, as I mentioned before, we are recovering from a hurricane, and our power systems are not yet fully functional. You said you have four weeks. Give us at least three weeks to put things back in order. If we perform a transfer and lose power again, it would mean automatic death for you.”
“I’ll be there in twelve hours. I will have my security detail with me to offer assistance with the clean up.” She turned as if listening to someone off-camera on her side of the transmission. She clapped her hands together and nodded, then turned to address Humphrey. “I’ll need the current clothing size for my Scion so I can bring proper attire.”
“But—”
“Don’t fight me on this, Christof. I can make things very difficult for you. You’ve escaped public scrutiny thus far. Your clients understand the importance of secrecy. But if I’m going to die, what the hell do I care about secrecy?”
Humphrey sighed. “Very well, Madam Senator. I will have Mr. Justin send that information to your people. I’ll see you soon.”
The senator disappeared.
Humphrey glanced at the slip of paper Mr. Justin had given him. He swore and closed his eyes.
Jacey went to him, put her hand on his back. “You did the best you could. Now we need to plan—”
She stopped, realizing where her sentence was leading. They either needed to fight, or they needed to escape. And if the senator’s security people were anything like the gunmen who worked for Captain Wilcox, they’d be armed to the teeth.
Humphrey said nothing, merely handed her the slip. She took it. In Mr. Justin’s cramped handwriting was the name of the senator’s Scion. A fourteen-year-old girl who just days ago had received her Spider pin. A member of Jacey’s Nine.
Summer.
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Daughter of Nothing
Copyright © 2016 by Eric Kent Edstrom
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