“Hey, hookers do the same thing,” Raphael said with a shrug.
“Yeah, but that’s sex.”
“So?”
“Sex is different.”
“How?”
“It just is. It’s, like, instinct or something. All humans need sex, so that’s fine.”
“All humans need to talk to someone, too,” Raphael pointed out. He sighed heavily and took another puff of his cigarette. “Don’t get me wrong, I think those fuckers are messed up. But like you said, if they’re willing to pay for it, you should exploit it.”
“You should have seen the little girl today,” Kailynn murmured. “She was sitting in the corner, drawing, while her parents screamed at each other how much the other ruined their life. The robot was making sure that the child was fed. It was sickening. What kinda parents are those? And this other guy yesterday, he was so terrified to talk to me, that he just sat there and stared, and then he continued to say sorry because he didn’t have anything to talk about.”
“Shit, that’s fucking stupid. Why would he waste the money, at that point?”
“You should see these people,” Kailynn murmured. “Kinda feel sorry for the fuckers, actually.”
Raphael immediately turned to her, his brows furrowed.
“What?” he laughed brokenly. “You feel sorry for the privileged-as-fuck assholes in Anon?”
“I just told you about a fucking kid who never speaks with her parents,” Kailynn said sharply. “Don’t you feel sorry for her?”
“I never spoke with my parents, either,” Raphael said.
“That’s because they’re dead.”
“And so are yours.” Raphael turned over and looked at her seriously. “Remember who killed your mom? Anon Officials. And you’re sitting here telling me you feel sorry for them?”
“I’m just trying to get Theo and the others out of Uren, and it’s fucking depressing to see how desperate they are to talk. Life is fucking depressing, you know?”
Raphael sighed and flopped back down on the bed, lifting the cigarette to his lips.
“Next thing you’ll tell me is that you think the Elites are good leaders.”
“Fuck that,” Kailynn barked a laugh. “As soon as I have enough to get Theo and the others out of Uren, I’ll never go back to Anon.”
As much as she wanted out of Companion as soon as possible, she had no idea that her status as a Significant would lead her to the job that would change her life forever.
Chapter Six
Kailynn did not like most of the clients she found herself with, but she tried not to dwell on her disgust. She went through each client, focusing only on the amount of money she was collecting. Every night, she would count up the green, blue, yellow, and white credit chips she had stored away, figuring out how much more money she needed to free Theo. She figured she could free most of them in one payment, and then the remaining members could be released at another time, once Theo had sufficient protection from the gangs that sought to kill him.
She needed a big-paying client to partner with her so that she could get the money quickly. It had already been five months. She was worried she was running out of time. She knew that Venus could decide any day to kill her brother.
After another night of no appointments, Kailynn was staring at the ceiling, her mind fluttering with thoughts and worries. A soft chime at the door alerted her to a visitor.
The door opened and a familiar face entered.
“Jacyleen,” Jak greeted, walking into her dorm room.
“Hi,” she said slowly, noting the drawn look on his face. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah,” he assured. He grabbed her desk chair and rolled it over, sitting in front of her, resting his head on his hands on the back of the chair. “I need to talk to you about something.”
“Okay…”
“This conversation didn’t happen, if anyone asks, alright?” Jak looked at her seriously. Kailyn turned and dangled her feet over the edge of the bed, cold fear stabbing her gut.
“Alright, but you’re making me nervous.”
Jak sighed heavily. “I know that you’re taking tougher jobs for the higher pay,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to know why you need the money, so don’t tell me. But…considering you do need the money, I think you’re the person I can come to for this job.” Jak hesitated. “I can’t really tell you details, but there is a client, an extremely wealthy client, that is asking for a Significant for an entire month.”
“A month?”
“Yes, but…” Jak stopped, hesitating before starting to speak again. “Basically, this person is paying for a very discreet Significant to be at the home of a friend. The one paying is not the one who wants to spend time with a Significant.”
“Paying for someone else?” Kailynn murmured. “For a month? Sounds like this guy has a lot of money to throw around.”
“He does,” Jak affirmed. “However…he requested that the Significant be a woman, and someone who has not been a Significant for long.”
Kailynn raised her eyebrows. “Sounds like a red flag to me…”
“He says that the person he wants to spend time with the Significant doesn’t like anyone who is fake, and apparently, they think that all well-trained Significants are fake.”
“Sounds about right.”
“He requested someone with a bit of an attitude. So, naturally, I thought of you,” Jak said. “Are you interested?”
“It’s all pretty shady…” Kailynn murmured. “Did he say who the friend was that he’s paying for?”
Jak looked at his hands.
“Yes,” Jak muttered. “I trust the client with you, but…” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Kailynn, this is a very important job, but it’s also very dangerous. This person is not supposed to spend time with Significants.”
Kailynn narrowed her eyes. “I thought that only Syndicate Elites—” Her eyes went wide and she gasped. “A Syndicate Elite?”
“Shh…” Jak said, motioning her quiet, even though they were already speaking quietly. “Yes, I can’t reveal a lot of information to you and, naturally, this can never get out. You would have to remain completely silent about who you are seeing, what you are there for, everything. At the end of the month, you would come back and say that you went on some business trip with someone and that was why you were gone. You could not ever tell anyone about this.”
“…how much are they going to pay?”
“Fifteen thousand a day.”
Kailynn’s eyes shot wide and her jaw dropped.
“Fifteen thousand?”
“Part of that payment is for discretion,” Jak added. “Interested?”
“Hell yeah, I’m interested.”
“You need to be very careful,” Jak whispered. “It’s not completely unheard of that a Syndicate Elite asks for discrete services, but even then there are strict laws. You are not to touch the Elite, and you are not to have sex with them. They are bound by law to remain celibate. I don’t know the punishment for Elites breaking the law, but anyone who breaks that law with them is executed, quickly.”
“So basically all of the Elites are forced to be blue-balled their whole lives?” Kailynn laughed. “I guess that means they are dedicated to politics if they are willing to give up sex.”
“Jacyleen,” Jak sighed, “please, tell me you understand.”
“I understand,” Kailynn assured with a nod. “Since this is all so discrete, how much of the fee will I get?”
“If you stay discrete, you’ll get eighty-percent,” Jak said. “We’re only going to put on the books what would normally be paid for a nobleman business-trip deal. The rest of the payment is under the table.”
“How are the Elites going to keep this hidden from Venus?” Kailynn asked skeptically.
“I don’t think they do.” Jak shook his head. “I think that Venus allows them time to talk to a Significant as long as it is a rare occurrence and they do not break the rule of celib
acy.”
“Don’t worry,” Kailynn laughed, rolling her eyes. “An Elite is the last person I would want sex with, anyway.”
Jak sighed heavily and nodded. “Okay. You will not have Nyx for this. The less people that know where you are, the safer it is. Tomorrow, between noon and two, you will take public transportation to Syndicate Central and go to Anon Tower. There is a code that will take you to the level of the Elite you will be seeing.”
“What should I pack? Formal? Casual?”
“A small selection of both, just in case,” Jak answered, standing. “But no more than that. I’m sure anything you might need while there will be provided for you.”
There was a knock on Isa’s office as she powered down her NBC chair.
“Come in.”
The door slid open and Remus walked into her office.
“That was impressive what you did with the trade embargo,” he congratulated. Isa sighed and shook her head, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.
“I have to have an iron fist with those morons,” she groaned. She smiled warily at the Silver Elite. “I’m surprised to see you up here so late. Is everything alright?”
Remus nodded, looking at the ground.
“I need to talk to you.”
Isa studied the expression on Remus’ face, unsure if she should be worried about a massive disaster or if it was a personal problem. It was not traditional for the Golden and Silver Elites to speak face-to-face, but Isa and Remus were hardly traditional. They had been close friends since their time in school together, so they found it easy to approach one another. In fact, most of the Elites in Isa’s Syndicate were unusual in that sense. While there were still many conversations that took place through the NCB chairs while working, Isa encouraged all Elites to speak with her face-to-face as often as possible, which was easier with all the Elites having known each other since they were children.
“Where shall we go?”
“Anon Tower?”
Isa spent the entire drive worried about what Remus could possibly have to tell her. She tried not to glance in the mirrors of her vehicle to the car directly behind her, forcing her mind not to jump to the worst conclusions.
When they pulled into the secured, secluded parking garage for Anon Tower, Isa waited for Remus to get out of his car before going to the guest elevator. Using her ID card, the two began the ascent to the top floor. They did not speak, wary of the cameras in the elevator car.
Isa could tell that Remus was tense. Having known him for nearly their entire lives, she could discern that he was not nervous about any disaster or catastrophe that Isa had yet to learn. She knew he was nervous that she would not approve of something he had done.
She would have preferred to handle a catastrophe.
They stepped out of the elevator and went to the front door of Isa’s home. After walking in the door, they were both greeted by Tarah, Isa’s young caretaker.
“Welcome home,” she said, bowing her head.
“Thank you, Tarah,” Isa said. “Please bring two glasses of wine to the balcony.”
“Yes, Miss,” she affirmed, scurrying away.
The two Elites moved through the spacious living area to the balcony, stepping into the dusk air as the sun set and the lights of Anon began to illuminate the city.
“Should I be concerned about something you have done?” Isa asked lightly, glancing at Remus with a teasing smile. The Silver Elite pursed his lips, smiling thinly as he looked to the balcony under his feet.
“You should not be concerned…but you will likely not be pleased.”
Isa took a deep breath.
“Can you wait to tell me until after I have my wine?”
“I’m probably going to need the wine to get the courage to tell you,” Remus admitted with a broken chuckle.
“Why?” Isa laughed. “Do I frighten you?”
“You can be formidable,” Remus played along. “You would never be so angry with me that you wouldn’t speak to me, correct?”
Isa smiled gently, an unreadable light in her eyes.
“I have always needed you by my side,” she said. “I could not function without you. You know that.”
“You would be just fine without me,” Remus said, shaking his head. “But that was not my question.”
“No, Remus,” Isa assured. “I might not speak to you for a day, depending on what you did.” She laughed. “Once my wine gets here, I want you to tell me what’s worrying you.”
Remus took a deep breath, nodding, his expression showing his apprehension. He looked over the growing lights of Anon, watching the darkness creep over the horizon as the city lit up and the nightlife began. Isa also watched the city don the mask of nightly entertainment, tantalizing everyone with bright lights and promises of escape.
The balcony door opened and Tarah came out with two glasses of wine, handing one to each Elite before retreating inside. Isa took a sip of the wine at the same time as Remus. The Silver Elite glanced at the wine, his eyebrows high.
“That’s very nice.”
“It’s one of my new favorites. The ambassador from Kreon gave it to me on his last visit. I will admit to spending some money to getting more bottles.”
“Kreon wine, that is expensive,” Remus said. He took a larger drink of the burgundy liquid, letting out a long breath when he lowered the glass again. Isa watched him and then took a large gulp of her own drink.
“Alright,” she breathed. “Why did you need to talk to me privately?”
Remus hesitated.
“I called Companion and hired a Significant for you for a month,” he said, his words a little faster than normal. He did not look at Isa, his eyes focused on the wine. However, he could feel Isa’s eyes on him get wider.
“You did what?” she hissed. “Remus…”
“Isa, you need to talk to someone,” Remus said. “Someone who isn’t me.”
“Remus, you know I severely dislike Significants,” Isa groaned, turning away from Remus and walking to one of the benches on the balcony. “I would get rid of the practice all together if I thought the nobles wouldn’t assassinate me.”
“You refuse to go back to Paul. I needed to do something. You’re starting to slip again.”
“I am not slipping,” Isa said, turning to him before sitting on the bench. “It’s been a busy few weeks, so I haven’t been particularly pleasant. I may have a glass or two of wine to get my brain to calm down in the evenings, but I’m not being destructive.”
“I’m not talking about the drinking,” Remus said, sitting next to her. “You’re losing weight, and your performance is starting to decline once more. Before things get worse, you should take some time and gather your bearings.”
“I have my bearings, Remus.”
Remus hesitated. “It’s barely been a year since you last went into the hospital. You have a habit of jumping back into the deep end before you’re ready.”
“That was a bad mix of medication for the flu and the assassination attempt. That’s why I was back in the hospital. That hardly—”
“Isa,” Remus said, placing his hand on her shoulder, stopping her, “you can’t risk your health. Dr. Busen said that if he saw you in the hospital again within the next eighteen months, he would have you confined to the hospital until you were in the same state as when you were first made Golden Elite.”
Isa sighed heavily, closing her eyes.
“I hardly think that’s fair,” she grumbled. “I don’t even think magic could get me the way I was when I was seventeen.”
“That’s why we have science,” Remus chuckled. He gently rubbed her shoulder. “The Significant is going to be here for your month leave.”
“Month leave?” Isa repeated, turning to her Silver Elite with an incredulous look. “Pardon?”
“I’ve already informed the other Elites that you are out of the Syndicate for the next month. For the first week you are instructed not to work at all. After that, you can work remotely
from home.”
“You’ll never get this cleared through Venus.”
“I already did,” Remus said. “She agreed that she needed you healthy. But, because it is Venus, you still have to work after the first week, just remotely. Dr. Busen also agreed that it was important you rest.”
“Oh, and Venus wants me to have a Significant?” Isa said skeptically. “The possibility of a scandal would be enough for her to say no.”
“Actually, she agreed that you probably needed some form of contact with new people,” Remus said. “As long as it was a woman, she agreed.”
Isa groaned and rubbed her forehead.
“I can’t believe you are doing this to me…”
“Isa,” Remus started, his voice pleading, “I’m just worried about you. I let this get out of hand before and I refuse to let it happen again.”
“You need to stop beating yourself up about that,” Isa murmured, closing her eyes. “You did the best you could.” She turned to Remus. “I’ve been off the medication for nearly seven months. I’m alright.”
Remus looked at Isa, his hand still rubbing her shoulder.
“I just want you to have someone to talk to who is outside of the situation,” he murmured, his hand stilling. “Please? Humor me?”
Isa sighed and smiled, shaking her head.
“You worry about me too much,” she chuckled. Remus’ hand tightened on Isa’s shoulder as she moved closer, leaning against the Silver Elite. “If everything I’ve been through in my life hasn’t killed me yet, nothing will.”
Chapter Seven
Kailynn did as she was told.
She had her small bag with her clothes, but the bag felt surprisingly heavy. Even though she had agreed to meet with the Syndicate Elite as a secret client, as she was standing outside Anon Tower, staring up at the impressive structure of glass and steel, her nerves were getting the best of her.
She steadied herself, remembering of the money promised.
Then, she walked into the front lobby, punching in the five-digit code for guests into the electronic lock.
The Significant Page 6