Senescence (Jezebel's Ladder Book 5)

by Scott Rhine

  “I could help you write that press release,” Laura offered. “I’ve done recent papers for nearly every major bioengineering publication. It needs to happen without warning, or the big medical companies will try to suppress it.”

  “Under advisement,” Stu said. “Details later. For now we just wanted to share the big picture for recruitment.”

  “Right. Given the population at this school, we can statistically expect three Actives—maybe one in the faculty and a few more among visiting alumni,” Laura guessed.

  Stu nodded. “I spotted all four of the women at my welcome speech. I could point them out to you.” When Laura raised an eyebrow, he replied, “Hey, I notice shiny girls. You benefited from that preference, so you have no cause to complain, Mrs. Llewellyn.”

  With a silly smile, she agreed. “You point them out to me on the tape or at the party tomorrow, and I’m sure we can rope them in.”

  Oleander shook her head. “So how are we going to collect the other fifty-eight?”

  Stu suggested, “Eowyn, if it turns out she’s not a mass murderer.”

  “And? Ideas anyone?” Laura scanned the room, trying to judge the mood. When they were desperate enough, she threw in her idea. “I found at least thirty acceptable candidates at the Active prison in Antarctica.” She gave just the barest nudge with her emotion control to make the area smell like welcoming vanilla.

  The room fell silent. Oleander was the first to speak. “You’re saying we break them out?”

  “Technically, according to the charter, they have the right to redemption through service. Convicts can volunteer for space duty with any recognized agency, like you did. Several other companies have already recruited from the prison pool this way.”

  Stu took her arm. “I need a moment.” Anyone else, she would have flattened for herding her. She gave Stu the benefit of the doubt and followed him down two doors to their suite. When they were alone and the anti-listening scramblers were on, he said, “I’ll never shoot you down in front of the others, but I’m responsible for this mission. I need to know why you’re manipulating us this way.”

  “I’m not—”

  He raised a finger. “Never lie to me or play me. I’m trying to be on your side. I actually have a secondary mission Zeiss wanted me to look into at the old Antarctic base.”

  Laura looked at the floor. “Actually, you don’t.”

  “Yeah. He has these biological—”

  “Samples. I know. Project Antarctic Tern, pleased to meet you,” she said, shaking his hand. He didn’t look surprised. Guess he’s pretty smart, too. Then she took a leap of faith. “I haven’t told anyone outside my mother what I learned during your trial.” Her voice lowered to a funereal whisper. “The other samples have all been used by Grandfather in his experiments.”

  Stu fell to the sofa. “Oh, God.”

  “There was one survivor, my brother Monty. He’s taller than Commander Zeiss. He loves Dumas books and dogs. I’ve never contacted him for fear Grandfather would move him someplace worse to punish me.”

  Her husband gazed up at her. “Monty’s at that prison colony.”

  She nodded.

  “Then for our honeymoon, we’re going to plan a jailbreak.”

  Laura didn’t have words. She just wrapped her arms around him. At the first opportunity, he’s going to get monumentally lucky, and he won’t have a say in it.

  ****

  The couple spent most of the day planning the trip south. Laura even sent some of her clothes to the Ballbusters plane for next week’s show. That night wasn’t romantic because the construction company already had dumpsters and arc lights in place to rip out drywall. Not only could the added guards see into the living area, but a section of bulletproof glass had been removed to dump materials down an exterior trash chute. The contractors sprayed sound-dampening foam around the bedroom and kept working through the night. Laura heard a jackhammer at midnight, but the couple was already awake. Talking until two, neither wanted to stop their journey of discovery.

  Stu even told her about the ship’s AI, Snowflake. “He’s always treated me like I’m his younger brother, which is why I feel so guilty about delaying delivery of all those rare earths we bought for his repair. He’s suffering, but we have to be here for the UN vote, or it was all for nothing.” Eventually, he yawned. “I have a class to run as a guest professor in five hours. Can we continue this tomorrow? We have the rest of our lives.”

  Her insides turned to jelly. She almost jumped him then and there, but she wanted their first time to be extra special. It would take preparations like shaving and finding her belly-dancing costume. With Stu’s arms around her, she was able to rest with a goofy smile on her face. The cloud of worries that normally buzzed around her head calmed when he was around.

  Chapter 34 – State Secrets

  Jackhammers woke the couple at seven in the morning. Evangeline already had a message marked “private” in Laura’s inbox. When Stu went to shower, Laura reluctantly stayed in the bedroom to call the nurse. “Girl, I know you were my maid of honor, but I can’t keep secrets from Stu. We have an agreement.”

  “This isn’t me. It’s Mater Nyx,” Evangeline replied. Her Louisiana lilt felt like French silk on the ear. “They have one rule: no men. They wouldn’t even trust you with his call, but they’ve had eyes on you for years for recruitment because of your assistance to the cause and some of your ideas.”

  “I’m sorry. I can’t risk Stu’s trust. He’s forgiven so much already.”

  Another woman with a deeper voice whispered in the background. Artemis?

  Evangeline relayed, “They want you to release Eowyn.”

  “She’s a member of Nyx?”

  “She’s done work for them. They take care of their own, darling. You don’t want to get on their bad side.”

  “If you give me a link, I’ll have the ambassador get in touch.”

  “The link is for you alone.”

  “Fine. No one goes anywhere until we find out whether Eowyn is a killer.”

  The deeper voice spoke again. Evangeline informed her, “You have twenty-four hours, or they’re coming after her.”

  Stu came out of the shower glowing with happiness. “Who was that?”

  Laura sighed. “Just someone else who wants to crash the party. Hypothetically speaking, how do you feel about Mater Nyx?”

  He shrugged. “I can’t agree with everything they’ve done, but I understand. To them, it’s an armed rebellion against tyranny. Although, my official stance has to be that summary execution is against the charter.”

  “In that case, I have an important question for my boss, Oleander.”

  “We can visit the infirmary right after I take you to breakfast, beautiful.”

  How could I refuse an invitation like that? Feeling a little jealous of their time together, Laura asked, “Can Mom come along?”

  ****

  Blissful, Laura left the faculty section of the cafeteria. Stu had handled Mother like a perfect gentleman, listening to every boring detail about the security upgrades. Then, he signed a blank voucher for her to pay the construction company. He obviously didn’t handle finances often.

  The couple held hands as they strolled along the main courtyard. Girls gazed at her in undisguised jealousy. Enjoying the attention, Laura stopped by the mail room to pick up a small sack of mail from yesterday. Then Stu led her to the infirmary.

  Eowyn was in a locked room across the hall, with a guard standing outside.

  Joan’s wrists looked much better, but her face still resembled that of a two-year-old who had played with Mommy’s makeup. Stu smiled at Joan and Oleander. “How’s the Sanctuary single-women’s dorm?”

  “About that,” Laura said. “This is a girls’ thing. Could you wait in the hall?”

  “I guess,” he said, moving out the door of the small room. “What am I going to do out there?”

  Laura sighed and rummaged through the mail bag to find a cardboard box f
rom a familiar publishing house. “Here’s a book. The label says it’s a proof.”

  Stu scooped it out of her hands, but Joan followed closely, watching as he unwrapped it.

  “It’s Sojiro’s final manga!” Joan squealed. “Stu gets to check over the final copy before they mass-produce it.”

  Taking the mail bag, Stu placed the thick comic book back inside. “I’ll take this back to the embassy.”

  “Why would they send it to him?” Laura asked. “He’s not an editor.”

  Joan shouted the answer so that Stu could hear her from the hallway. “Because he read it more times than the author. He kept a copy under his mattress.”

  “Is it perverted?” Laura asked in low tones.

  Blushing, Stu returned to the door. “You can’t read it. Oleander, help me out. Tell her it’s against mission rules.”

  Oleander fought hard not to grin. “It’s a gray area.”

  “Well, I don’t want her seeing it,” Stu insisted.

  “Is this one of those things you think I’ll hate you for?” Laura asked gently.

  “Maybe.”

  A fleeting glance passed between mother and daughter. With practiced ease, Joan stunned his hand with a psi-bolt and snatched the mail bag. Oleander slammed the door with Stu on the other side.

  Muffled by the door, Stu said, “Compromise. Let me tear out one page.”

  “I’ll show you the one he means,” said Joan. “One day I found it, and the adults blocked his access to the files.”

  “Please, no. This is embarrassing,” Stu wailed from the hall, jiggling the knob.

  Oleander leaned against the door to block his access. “He had a crush on the heroine, Seeker.”

  “He was obsessed with her, you mean,” Joan said, flipping pages.

  “A comic?” Laura asked, incredulous.

  “Oh, the fans don’t like it when you call Sojiro’s art that,” Oleander explained. “This is going to be a best seller. Since we left, his old mangas have become cult classics.”

  Laura feigned reluctance. “Then I guess I’ll have to see it if I’m going to be prepared for media questions—purely for political reasons.”

  Joan giggled.

  The artist was gifted in the fantasy genre. The image displayed a voluptuous rear view of a nude woman with a tattoo of a map on her back. The woman was turned to show the barest hint of breast and blonde ringlets against her face.

  The smile vanished from Laura’s face as she examined the page. “That’s me.”

  “Very similar,” Oleander agreed, watching her closely.

  No. This is me, down to the dimple above my ass. “You mean, choir boy Stewart looked at dirty cartoon pictures of me?”

  Through the side window, Laura saw Stu slink away in shame.

  Oleander shrugged. “We didn’t have TV, magazines, or teenage girls. He had to learn somehow. The manga version of the Odyssey was a little racy, but the faeries having oral sex floored me. His father had to have that talk with him. I would have paid to listen in.” When Laura laughed, the head of Sanctuary security said, “No, seriously. Every man I’ve ever been with has bumbled around with that, but I heard sounds coming from Mercy’s room that sound like someone exorcising a demon for hours at a time. Lou made Stu practice some technique holding grapes in his mouth. If Lou passed on the Llewellyn family secrets, you’re a very lucky woman.”

  Now Laura was intrigued, if somewhat overloaded.

  Joan said, “Read the whole book before you judge him. The story is really sweet and romantic.”

  “His mother was a character in the manga as well, the wind goddess who left her home for love,” Oleander said.

  Joan nodded. “Technically, Stu was even a character.”

  “Gravity boy?” asked Laura.

  “He told you about that?” Joan giggled again. “He must really like you. No. Voice of the Void—a sort of half-divine prophet. Totally unrealistic.”

  Seeing the locked room across the hall, Laura remembered the Mater Nyx issue.

  After discussing the topic briefly, Oleander sighed. “Technically, we would be giving in to terrorists. On the other hand, everything Eowyn told us has checked out. The big five overrode her objections and put weapons in space. Right now, we’re tracking the fuel pod used to weaponize the telescopes. Doc Maurier hasn’t released her from custody either. Eowyn felt that some of her medications were dulling her investigative edge, so she stopped taking them. Right now, she’s a raving paranoiac who can barely complete sentences. I won’t release her until she’s cleared of charges and fit for duty. Tell the Nyx crowd about the meds. Stall.”

  “Aye, aye, boss.” Laura saluted. “What about Mo?”

  “Assigned to Kaguya until this is resolved. He also gets paid time off to spend with his girlfriend.”

  “In Rio. He can’t complain about that.”

  ****

  Stu had vanished. Laura returned to the embassy living room to give him time to lick his wounds. She had work to keep her occupied, but she read the comic anyway. She could see why the quest and adventure appealed to him.

  Stu didn’t poke his head in until the construction crew left for lunch at half-past eleven. The matronly lawyer, Themis, accompanied him.

  “Do you hate me now?” he asked.

  She pointed to the floor beside her and waited for him to stand there like a bad puppy. Then she whispered, “You fantasized about me before you even met me. What… did this Sojiro pick my face and body type off the feeds a few months ago?”

  “Sanctuary state secrets,” Stu replied. “Angry?”

  “No. I’m afraid I won’t live up to your ideal.”

  He raised his eyes to meet hers. “I’ve liked the idea and image of you for years. The reality of you is much better, way smarter and shinier. You’re such a good friend.”

  She shooed away Fiona and the others who helped around the office. “I’d like to be alone with my husband now.”

  As she departed, Themis said, “Ooo, someone’s going to get a spanking!”

  When they were alone, Laura held up the comic. In a warm voice, she asked, “Would you like to role-play any part of this story?”

  Stu appeared shocked at the offer. “Thanks, but that would be … creepy.” He thought about the picture for a while before adding, “Although, you could let your hair go back to its natural blonde. That might, you know, put Monty more at ease when you meet him.”

  Sure, Monty will like it better. Laura narrowed her eyes. “I can wash this coloring out in the shower. I was waiting for a salon appointment to fix this cheap dye job. How did you know my natural color?”

  “I notice important things. You’re important.”

  A thrill went through her. He’s smooth. She shook her head. “You don’t get to compliment me when you’re withholding. I’m not leaving here until you tell me these Llewellyn family secret techniques … maybe even demonstrate.”

  Nervous, he shuffled his feet. “That’s just stuff every guy knows.”

  “Prove it,” she said, gesturing to the bedroom. They were all alone.

  Almost sweating, he said, “I would, but we have barely seven hours till the party. We’ll have to work nonstop to get the release ready in time.”

  “Release?” she repeated in puzzlement.

  “That’s the secret deal the lawyers and I have been negotiating all morning with the UN. We’re trading the treatment for male multis for up to thirty volunteers from the Antarctic Active penal colony. I told them you and Dr. Maurier would present the material. You’re uniquely qualified to interpret Dr. Baatjies’ notes. I know you’ll wow them all. The one thing we’re not allowed to let anyone know is that the UN agreed to the trade. I figured we can buy you some good PR by saying you convinced me to reveal the process to celebrate our wedding.”

  She almost shouted, Don’t you dare give me what I asked for. Give me what I want!

  This information would save thousands of lives each year and change the world. It wou
ld also cost her grandfather billions in profit. She should have cheered. He was trusting her with his greatest secrets and sacrificing for her family.

  Time crawled by for Laura.

  She read the Sanctuary papers while waiting for Lena Maurier to arrive and annotated each step with the names of similar processes, theories, and analogies to help non-geneticists understand.

  Some wiseass ordered grapes with lunch. Probably Oleander. Laura had to watch Stu eat the whole cluster while the doctor droned on about the revolutionary insights.

  When Kaguya stopped in with her hardhat and clipboard, looking like a tool-company calendar pinup, Laura took her aside. “Send the construction crews home by eleven tonight, and make damn sure I have living room walls.”

  “We’ll have to reprioritize the whole schedule. Why?”

  “Come hell or high water, I’m seducing my husband tonight.”

  “About time,” Kaguya replied.

  Chapter 35 – Do Not Disturb

  That night, the university auditorium rang with applause for the new couple. Laura’s hair was restored to Salome’s honey blonde. She dazzled the partygoers with a designer ball gown but kept the jewelry simple to highlight her new ring. She personally served an absurd amount of cake so she could meet the faculty without seeming overt. She arranged to bump into the Active instructor for alien materials, who seemed overjoyed at the prospect to do field work on an actual alien spacecraft. Her husband turned out to be a master carpenter who Stu invited along. “We can always use more builders.”

  Stu ladled out fruit punch to the students, who lined up for the chance to meet the famous astronaut. Two of the three Active students weren’t old enough to join the crew, but Stu tapped Laura on the shoulder to meet the third. “Dear, Keturah is an Olympic runner from Kenya, and she’s interested in being a planetary scout.”

  When they shook hands, Laura could sense that Keturah had the rare Probability Mechanics gift. “Oleander was a scout on Labyrinth. She’d be able to tell you all about that. Stu, you must introduce them.”

  The Dahlstrom women took an instant liking to the candidate.