by Scott Rhine
Eventually, Laura faked a yawn and closed her eyes just to avoid any more discussion with these two. She managed to drift off twice for about an hour and a half each, but nightmares woke her. While the other women dozed, she planned what she would tell Stu during the hour he had promised her. That hope alone kept her sane on the twelve-hour flight.
Chapter 29 – Combat Demonstration
Laura contacted the girls’ school for pickup shortly before the jet landed in Rio. Once they arrived at the university gate, Oleander signed Laura in as a member of the Sanctuary security team. When the guard asked for her official title, Laura thought of the HR way to say mailroom clerk. “Communications and Public Relations Specialist.”
By midafternoon, Laura had unloaded her luggage onto Stu’s floor. The boxes from several of her apartments were stacked in the large living room, shrinking the available space by half. Stu, however, was nowhere to be found. Instead, a shapely coed wandered out of a bedroom with one of Laura’s tiaras on her head.
“You’re wearing my jewelry.”
“Sorry. I thought—”
“That the ambassador was going to surprise you with a little gift? I’m Laura Zeiss. Is that my bedroom?”
The young woman placed the jewelry atop one of the many crates. “We only have one bed.”
“What about the guards from LA?”
“Since Stu has decided to stay a while, corporate security switched to locals. Onesemo sleeps on the sofa in the living room. I’ve made arrangements for you to stay in the dorms.” The girl’s basic body shape had been augmented. Mori Medical called this package Underwear Model 3. The spacers had a more comfortable setting for sleeping or sports. The cost of the enhancement would have been more than her tuition.
Irritable, Laura asked, “And you are?”
“Stu’s friend Fiona. I’m helping him out.”
Oleander locked her sneak suit in the master bedroom.
Laura noticed that Miss Adjustable Tits had an access card around her neck on a gold chain. “When did he give you complete access?”
“Last night,” Fiona said suggestively.
Sniffing the air for the cause of the burning odor, Oleander raised an eyebrow at Laura. “I’m heading to the infirmary to see my daughter. You should freshen up.”
That was girl code for, “You look like hammered shit.” Laura took the hint. She had also promised to treat the embassy staff with respect. Regrettably, this plastic pinup qualified. Laura visited the bathroom with her travel bag. She had her work cut out for herself. Between crying and having the contacts in for so long, her eyes were scary red.
After several minutes of detangling and putting her hair back, Laura wanted to know how long she had to fix her personal disaster area. She turned to the secretary and shouted, “I have an hour appointment this afternoon with Ambassador Llewellyn—
“No, you don’t,” Fiona replied from the hall.
Closing her eyes, Laura tried again. “He’s agreed to see me.”
“Actually, he explicitly banned you from his sight.”
“He. Promised.”
“You didn’t bring back Mr. Thisbe like he asked,” Fiona snipped. “In fact, you did the opposite.”
Laura swallowed hard. “And you would know this how?”
“Mr. Thisbe was a famous investigative journalist. He’s had hundreds of death threats,” Fiona explained. “In the event of a suspicious death, he programmed his data cache with a failsafe to spam all news outlets with his latest investigation notes.”
“The Koku files? How many hours worth?”
“The Salome exposé—two hours of raw footage.”
Laura dropped the brush. White spots covered her vision.
Fiona twisted the knife. “Stu couldn’t watch more than a few minutes. They compared you to your father, and he likes Commander Zeiss so much that it broke his heart. I watched the whole disgusting thing and filled him in on the highlights of the rest.”
“You?”
“His guards backed me up. They explained you were a flash-and-grab artist.” This was the lowest form of street thief. Men often had biometrics built into their wallets to call the police if someone took their money under duress. Certain con women learned that if they flashed a little skin, turning the man on, the surge in biometrics would be ignored as paid sex. Most victims were too embarrassed to file a police complaint. “The guards watched the Cayman Islands part several times. A hundred million for seducing him? You whore.”
Laura’s hands tingled, numb. Smacking this bitch might wake them up. “Where is Stewart right now?”
“That’s confidential. You shouldn’t even be in here. As soon as the bunks arrive, we’ll exile you to the farthest storage closest available.”
In a blink, Laura slammed the stuck-up girl flat on the tile floor. When Fiona cried out, Laura jammed a knife hand into the base of her right breast. “With one touch, I can crush the controller on this enhancement unit. It’s very painful. Worse, you’ll walk around lopsided until you have the operation to fix it. Where is he?”
“You can’t make me.”
“Did I mention that I’ll deflate the left ass implant next? That causes incontinence,” Laura fibbed.
“He’s teaching a low-g combat seminar in Ramsey Hall,” Fiona blurted.
Kaguya poked her head in. “Problems?”
“Not at all, Mother. I’m just about to collect on a debt.” Laura located her favorite high-tech berets in the open jewelry box.
“I’m calling security!” shouted the secretary on the floor.
“Oh, hush,” Kaguya said. “You waltzed out of her fiancé’s bedroom wearing her jewelry and wanting to try on other things that belong to her. When she threatened to put your tit in a wringer, she was showing restraint.”
“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t file charges,” Fiona demanded.
Kaguya sighed. “If my daughter is proven innocent of these murder charges, the ambassador will support her publicly. More charges would simply add to his embarrassment. If Laura was crazy enough to kill someone for damaging her reputation, why would she stop at one person?”
As Laura stomped to the elevator, her outfit fringes swung wildly. He’s sooo going to beg.
****
At the door to martial-arts class, Freya, the glamorous huntress, blocked Laura’s way. “Why would I let a killer like you in here?”
Laura wanted to lash out, but as a coworker, Freya deserved her respect. “Oleander made me part of Sanctuary security.” She flashed her new ID.
“Who?”
Crap. How do you tell people about the invisible woman on their plane without sounding like a lunatic? “I flew back with the head of Stu’s security team, Oleander Dahlstrom. Ask Mo.”
Freya contacted Onesemo through her earpiece and then said, “Give me one reason I shouldn’t take you into the Italians myself.” The huntress was a registered bounty hunter.
“My grandfather tried to kill me but got Grant instead.”
The gym doors parted, offering a glimpse of the mats inside. Six schoolgirls and two bodyguards sat in a circle around Stu. A teacher in a blue gi was sparring with him. The guards all wore specially colored pins like Secret Service.
Onesemo stepped into the hall. “What seems to be the problem, ladies?”
“I have a vital briefing for the ambassador,” Laura explained, presenting her new credentials again. “Notice that they were signed after the incident.”
Mo scanned the badge with his wrist computer and flipped through several pages of associated documents. He raised an eyebrow when he reached the skills section of the attached file. “You can stand here while I contact Ms. Dahlstrom.”
Laura observed the lesson with her analysis talent. The teacher was ex-military, probably from Thailand, specializing in a space-friendly variation of Tai Chi. Nothing special. More interesting was watching Stu’s form. He was clearly a disciple of Conrad Zeiss. Several moves were identical to footage she’d se
en of her father and mother training. However, Stu was cocky. He left holes in his defense in at least three maneuvers.
She could own him.
Eventually Mo nodded to a face on his wrist unit. He walked over to the mat, signaled Stu to halt the sparring, and whispered in his ear. Stu shook his head and went back to sparring.
“You promised,” Laura shouted. Her anger flared again. The room smelled like a burning dental drill.
“This is a combat class,” the instructor said.
“If I school both of you, do I get my hour?” Laura asked.
Onesemo motioned for the six students to move toward the exit. “Class over, people. We have a situation.”
Stu raised a hand. “It’s okay. They can stay for the lesson. I’ll handle Miss Zeiss myself.”
Onesemo covered his face with his palm. “Sir, I feel obliged to warn you—”
Laura interrupted. “Mo, he thinks he can make life-or-death judgments based on incomplete information. Let him see where that gets him.”
The circle parted, and Laura bowed to her opponent, Stu. While the instructor and Mo debated who should be referee, Laura apologized. “The fringes on this are too easy to grab. I didn’t come dressed for this, but since it’s a girls’ school …” She bent over a meter from Stu and slid out of her flapper skirt. Her underwear was black, lacy, and more like a tattoo than clothing. The instructor paid close attention and so did every man in the room.
As Laura removed her second foot from the puddle of clothing, she faked toppling. Stu held out a hand to catch her, but Laura headbutted him in the jaw, knocking him backward. She told the audience, “Real opponents do not wait for you to be ready. They strike when you are not expecting and at a disadvantage. You don’t get a best two out of three in real life.”
Her mother was watching from the wings now, smiling.
Stu climbed to his feet, rubbing his jaw.
“Mr. Llewellyn, I freed your friend from torture at great personal cost. His death was not my fault. Give me what you owe me, and I won’t embarrass you in front of your fans.”
“Millions for defense,” Stu quoted. “Not one cent for tribute.”
“Well. This time you attack. Play as dirty as you like,” she said, turning her back on him.
Stu grabbed her ponytail—not hard, just enough to show the others that he had control. “Yield.”
“Shock,” she ordered, and the beret discharged its capacitor. This stunned Stu just long enough for Laura to kick him out of the ring.
“Point,” called Mo.
“No points. This goes on until he surrenders,” Laura replied.
As she and Stu circled each other, she could feel his eyes on her torso. He tried to track her hands and feet, but the other parts distracted him. The longer this contest goes, the more turned on he gets. Excellent. After a few feints, Laura said, “Your newest girlfriend said I hurt your feelings.”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Stu insisted.
“Then why did she brag about being in your bedroom last night?”
When his eyes flicked up to her face to defend against the claim, she kicked him again. This time, he rolled with the blow and kept circling.
“Two,” said Mo.
Laura blocked a flurry of probes. He has stamina, but he telegraphs his punches mentally. He doesn’t want to hit me. “I thought you’d like to know that three biotech companies are in a bidding war. The bounty on your blood or semen is up to two hundred million. The others don’t know why Grandfather wants it, but they know it’s worth a hundred times what he offered me. You’re never going to trust another one of these schoolgirls again, always wondering if she’s doing it for love or the payoff.”
His rhythm faltered. She smacked him again, just a love tap.
“Are weapons okay?” Stu asked, picking up a staff from the rack as he passed.
Laura grabbed her skirt from the floor. She wrapped the ends around her hands to have a blocking bar made of fabric. “I can take whatever you throw.”
He fenced for a while. She deflected most blows, but he bruised the fingers on her right hand. On the next thrust, she captured the staff and twisted her body against it for a disarm. Instead of retaining his weapon, Stu grabbed her around the waist by surprise, spooning against her tightly from behind. When their auras touched, her skin tingled pleasantly. She moaned involuntarily.
He swallowed hard before whispering, “Yield.”
“I’ll let you put those hands anywhere you want.”
Startled, he relaxed his grip. She broke his hold and rolled away.
“In space combat, other things can happen. Lights off,” he shouted, and the room plunged into darkness.
Laura pretended confusion and allowed Stu to creep up behind her. At the crucial moment she performed a leg sweep, knocking him to the mat. Then she hopped onto his chest.
After he gave a winded, “Uncle,” the lights came back up.
Seeing Laura sitting on Stu’s chest to pin him to the ground, the girls applauded. She was breathing harder now than she had in weeks. Her body wanted to slide against his.
“Point made,” Stu said softly. “You can get off now.”
“Oh, no. We’re going to have a talk first—alone.”
Stu said, “This is awkward, talking to your …”
“Mons? I thought we had this lesson already. Do you need a refresher?”
She didn’t realize how much emotion she was broadcasting until Stu said, “No. It’s just your perfume is overwhelming me.”
“Thanks. I’m not wearing perfume.”
Laura could feel his excitement, mixed with shame and fear. Once again, she knew she could have him with the smallest nudge, but she wanted him to do the asking. She stroked his hair to calm him. “It’s okay. I’ll let you up if you watch my interview with Grant. I let him ask me anything, no matter how painful, so your team could trust me.”
When she stood, Stu didn’t move at first. Dazed, he said, “Zeiss says that everyone gets a second chance under the charter.”
She helped him up. “Listen to the interview. Let Oleander tell you what we’ve been through since you left. The information is vital to your national security.”
While she dressed, Stu turned his head away. “How did you fight me blind? I even snuck around the circle to disguise my aura.”
Laura snorted. “I can tell anyone’s talent at thirty paces.”
This caused him to inhale sharply. When she turned, he was staring at her as if she were a princess. He whispered, “You should know how rare and special you are.”
She put a hand on his face. “Honey, I think I rang your bell one too many times. Let’s watch the interview in the infirmary. You’re going to need some ice for those bruises and a heaping dose of pain killers.”
****
Because Stu had to hold an icepack, he asked Laura to carry the large gift bag into the private infirmary room. She almost dropped the bag when she saw the girl’s peeling, purpled face. It was all Laura could do not to stare as she placed the get-well offering in front of the girl.
Holding her daughter’s hand, Oleander watched Laura closely. I’m on probation.
Joan opened the bag with excitement. “My helmet! How did you find it?”
“Nemesis tracked down the seller, and Mo talked the girl into giving it up voluntarily.” Stu rustled in the tissue paper at the bottom of the bag. “The rest of the crew wanted to give you something, too. Themis got you a locking diary and a copy of Jane Eyre. The huntresses bought you a school uniform. Hans—” He pulled out three bars of Swiss chocolate.
“Is a god,” Joan said, snatching the candy. “You don’t know what it was like watching people eat treats like this and not being able to have anything but ration bars. Thank everyone for me.” She smiled at Laura, including her in the group.
Stu just shared credit instead of finking me out for the beating. Laura described the candy’s almond and berry fillings to the girl, who couldn’t read G
erman.
While her daughter indulged, Oleander described her version of the last few days to Stu. “We’ve narrowed Eowyn’s identity to two possibilities. Laura did in a couple days what none of us or corporate security could.”
“Good,” Stu said. “So you won’t mind my making her head of recruiting?”
“After we finish Grant’s report,” Oleander replied.
Laura watched the rough-cut interrogation with all three people from Sanctuary, which made her weep all over again. Joan turned to Stu a few minutes in. “She broadcasts. Hold her hand like you do for me, or we’ll all be crying.”
Miraculously, it worked. Laura made it through the viewing without wanting to die more than twice. I probably smashed half the bones in his hand, though. The show closed with the purse attack and a montage of the accident scene. Barely able to speak, Laura filled in the highlights of the Koku investigation, the murder attempts, and the threats afterward.
When Laura was finished, Oleander recovered first. “Right. You covered our back, so we’ll cover yours.”
“That’s it?” Laura asked.
“Stu, take this girl to bed. She needs rest.”
Laura shook her head. “He still owes me another thirty minutes.”
“Not here, he doesn’t. I have a dozen calls to make, and you’re not cleared to hear them,” Oleander complained.
“You’ve been incredibly brave. Given what you’ve been through, we owe you a great deal more than a few minutes.” Stu examined the scheduling application on his sleeve. “I have back-to-back appointments till seven. Maybe we could go for a walk then? Talk about anything you like?”
“I’d like that,” Laura responded.
Chapter 30 – Make Love, not War
Freya showed up without an appointment in Kieran’s waiting room, claiming to have an urgent message. Kieran didn’t remember the blonde until his image-recognition software pulled up her file—the body double. He used to pretend she was the billionaire, and do all the things to her that Mira had rules against. Oh, and she was an uninhibited athlete—four stars. He buzzed her in.