by Viola Grace
“Can I have a seat?”
“Sure.”
“So, I am getting my interview with Blind Date.”
“Congratulations.”
Alya looked at her. “Can I just do it now, management?”
Zera sighed. “Six years of obscurity, and in one week, everybody knows my business.”
“I ran through your financials. It took a while, but I used the security-breaking programs in the financial department, and I found your work data.”
Zera ate the muffin, swallowing before she said, “Okay, but lock the door. The assessment is hands-on.”
“What?”
“I have to test your reflexes. Every escort has gone through it.”
Alya got up and locked the door, clicking the obscuring field.
Zera finished her muffin, drank the coffee, and got to her feet. “First, the questions. What is your ideal relationship?”
Alya blinked. “Um, an equitable mix of partnerships. Love, lust, and making dinner together.”
“I noticed you don’t say monogamy.”
“It isn’t really... I mean, if there was a set of partners...”
Zera looked at her, analyzing her responses. “You have been in a poly situation?”
“Once. I didn’t fit. It was a couple who invited me in, and it didn’t feel right.”
“How would you feel being invited into a team scenario? A lot of the time, they are using you as a surrogate for the one they can’t have in their own team. You would need to understand that.”
Zera made some notes. Her computer was watching Alya’s bio signs and recording everything. “Do you prefer a specific gender?”
“Um, male?”
“Normal. Do you have an objection to tentacles?”
Alya’s eyes went wide. “I might tense up the first time, but as long as the person in question is not abusive, I should be fine.”
Zera nodded and made a note.
“Now, I am going to show you images of different actives, and I just want you to watch.”
“Should I pick my preferences?”
“You can, but it doesn’t matter. You will go where you are assigned, or you will be dropped from the roster. No match made will be forced, but the selection process will assure you that the persons involved will meet your parameters. Even group events will all come from those who are authorized compatible. Your clients will have to adhere to those regulations, or they get struck from the books.”
“Group events?”
“Where there are multiple team members and multiple escorts.”
“Oh. So, you?”
“Maybe. Maybe others. It is up to the patron. Keep looking at the images.” Zera flicked a key, and the projections of the actives lost some clothing. Some were missing tops, some bottoms, and a few were fully naked.
“Do you enjoy giving oral?”
Alya shifted in the chair. “Um, it depends.”
“Do you enjoy receiving it?”
“Again, it depends.”
“In general, if your partner is skilled, do you enjoy receiving it?”
“Oh. Yeah.”
“And if your partner is attentive and enthusiastic, do you enjoy giving it if you know it will be enjoyed... and you won’t be left hanging.”
“Oh. Definitely.”
“Good. It is a helluva ice breaker to drop to your knees.” Zera chuckled.
Vids of couples having sex started on the projector.
“What is your opinion of the accessibility of the following positions?”
Alya blinked, and her breath rushed out of her lungs as the view screen showed a female pinned against the wall while a male thrust upward into her. They were viewed through heat signature only, and some parts were hotter than others.
“Um, it looks like it would hurt the lady’s back from friction but, otherwise, really hot.”
The vid changed, she commented, changed again, and again.
Zera watched Alya’s responses through the scan on her computer. She responded to sexual situations with actual arousal, so that was something.
“Pick a scenario to watch, and get yourself off.”
Alya blinked. “What?”
“Public performance is often requested. If you can’t do it in front of me in a private office when I don’t care, you won’t be able to manage it with two team members glaring at you with hot eyes because they have bet on how long it will take for you to make yourself shudder.”
Alya locked up for a moment, and then, she muttered, “I... er... the threesome. Two guys and a girl.”
“Good. Do you want audio?”
“Oh, uh, yeah. That would be helpful.”
Zera brought up the vid and allowed the audio. No faces or bodies were visible, but when the voices came into the mix, it was obvious that it was her, Torun, and Tycho.
Alya glanced at her, and Zera kept her hands busy on her terminal, running her answers to the questions, cross-matching, and getting an outline of acceptable patrons. She had a fairly wide net.
A training program was created for Alya, and as she sat in the chair with her hand up her skirt and the other on her breast, her head thrown back, Zera smiled. If she passed the physical, she would be five weeks from her first connection, and after that, maybe she would take on managerial duties once she had gone through most of the menu options.
Alya made the cutest little squeak and a low moan as she came; Zera put the audio cue into her file. The sounds of a genuine orgasm were in the escort files. It helped the patrons know what to listen for.
Alya sat up, dazed, and Zera closed the projection file.
“That was you, right?”
“Correct.”
“How long did you do that?”
“Thirty-seven minutes. It was part of an extended session.” She quirked her lips. “That was a long night and a sore morning.”
“Did they hurt you?”
“No. My body just registered a protest. Now, Dr. Miliken is on the way, tidy up, and clean your hand.”
Alya had sucked her fingers clean and just finished tidying up when there was a knock at the door. Zera opened the door from her desk’s remote and opened the opacity. She sniffled, and Alya looked at her in surprise when tears were running down her cheeks.
Dr. Miliken paused. “Oh, Zera. I am so sorry. You know, I forget. You seem so business as usual until I look in your eyes, and then... We need you in the development lab. What are you wearing?”
Zera got to her feet. “My house burned down last night. I am just having the worst week. No clean clothing, so I am waiting on some deliveries.”
“Did you leave a note at the front?”
“Of course. Rehano has the information.”
“Good. Well, can you come?”
Zera nodded. “Thanks for the chat, Alya. I sent you a message with the rest of the information.”
Alya smiled. “Right. Thanks for answering my questions.”
Zera locked her office computer from her wristband and followed Dr. Miliken down the hall and to the development lab.
There was something off about the doc today, so Zera kept an eye on him.
Dr. Miliken paused outside the lab. “Can you open the door? I seem to have forgotten my pass.”
“Doc, it’s in your wristband.”
Dr. Miliken turned to look at her. Zera stepped back and yelled, “Security!”
Bots emerged from the walls and surrounded them. Zera dropped to her knees with her hands on her head. The bots verified her and turned on Dr. Miliken. The man backed against the wall and put his hands out. When he didn’t use the specific protocol, they started zapping. He looked really surprised.
“Ah!”
The shot to the groin made her wince, but she remained on her knees until the security officers arrived, verified her identity, and then, they walked over to the smouldering heap of something that had been masquerading as Dr. Miliken.
She crouched and looked at the man on the ground. “D
o I know you?”
“I held your wrists at one of Mentor’s parties. He had me try to replicate you once.” He coughed. “If he finds you, you are going to regret it. He wasn’t gentle.” He smiled. “He thought she was the one, but it’s you. He wants you.”
“Aw, I know. But, you found me, so how hard can it be? I think Mentor just isn’t trying. I know he’s not trying in bed, so he is just an underachiever.” Her tone was low, and his eyes flared in outrage.
She chuckled. “Ah, so you are in there, after all, Mentor. Good to know. How many of your pets have you ridden around in?”
His eyes went blue-white. “A few. Several have even enjoyed your company, but you wouldn’t know. You have those silly masks.”
“They serve a purpose. I am guessing that they don’t work on you.”
“Not at my distance.” He grinned. “I will see you again, Zera.”
The fake began seizing, and blood trickled out of his ears. The guards called for medical assistance.
Zera was shoved back, and she watched the man who had carried Mentor’s mind into the black section of the program facility thrash around until he was still.
“That’s nasty.” She covered her mouth and stepped back.
She backed up against the wall and had a sinking feeling that things had just gotten very bad. They had been going so splendidly so far. She sighed, and she told the guards, “I will be in my office when they come to interview me.”
“Yes, Researcher Zera.”
She walked back to her office and sat at her desk, her head in her hands. He was a mind jumper. That explained so much. Damn it. Now she was going to have to rework her strategy. It also made her slightly confused as he should not have been jealous of Delvis. He should have just been able to take over Delvis’s body and been the object of Susara’s affections, but that wasn’t what happened. She ended up dead. What had happened?
She lay with her head down on her desk. It was a fucking mess of a day.
The knock at her door brought her hand up. Her head stayed down. “Hey. How’s it going?”
“Researcher Zera? We need to ask you a few questions.”
She raised her head and looked at her guests.
Hron, Astel, and Naima were in the company of a mentalist. This was not going to be fun.
She looked at them and slowly straightened in her chair. “Come in. Have a seat. Sorry, I don’t have more chairs, but I don’t often get folks in here.”
The mentalist looked at her and nodded. “I am the only one who will need a seat. The others are here to assure my safety.”
“Excellent. You look a little on the frail side.” He was burly and six foot six easily.
He pulled the chair around her desk and held out his hands. She stared at them.
“Haven’t you been scanned before?”
“Um, no.”
“Extend your hands and look into my eyes. I will ask you questions, and my mind will touch yours. Are you prepared?”
“No.”
“Good. I get better answers that way.”
She extended her hands, and he gripped them.
She looked into his eyes, and he blinked slightly.
“You are not thinking about the events this morning.”
“I am trying to think of nothing.”
He nodded. “Right. State your name.”
“Researcher Zera.”
“What is your occupation?”
“Electronic weapons design.”
“What is your hobby?”
“Escort.”
He paused. “What?”
“I own and operate the Blind Date Corporation.”
“Oh. Right. That’s you. You look different than in your interview.”
“I am lacking sleep, running on insufficient food, and my house burned down, so I am waiting on clothing delivery. And, I watched a man die. So, great day so far.”
“Now, replay everything from just before he arrived until the end.”
She looked at him and played him the memory, starting at shutting down the vid until the man died, and she hugged the wall as dread set in.
His thumbs caressed the back of her hands. He wasn’t one of her clients. Mentalists tended to avoid contact. They saw too much.
“So, you know who is after you, and he admitted to murdering student Susara.”
“Yes. I had no idea that the man involved in her death was a body jumper; I just thought he was a pusher.”
“In your other capacity, you believe that you have had sex with this man and that he confused you and Susa. Why would that be?”
“I don’t know what criteria he was using, but Susa was Suit Bait, so I think he might have considered her more suited to whatever he had in mind. She was petite, delicate, and looked like she was made of spun sugar.”
“And you are decidedly more robust for rough handling.” There was definite heat in his eyes.
“Inappropriate, mentalist. Accurate but inappropriate.” She blinked. “Is the interview concluded?”
“Not quite. Have you had sex with the teams around here?”
“Most of them, but until recently, it was only with the use of the masks that numbed the points of memory in the brain for both escort and patron.”
“You had used this on every occasion before you were outed. Correct?”
“Um, there may have been the night before Torun spoke at the gathering.” Her mind flicked through the touches, the hands, the heat, and the sounds as she remembered that night.
The mentalist exhaled slowly, his hands tight on hers. “That is certainly a bright memory. Anyone else since?”
She gave the memory of Hron to him.
“As the team is only here as security for me, there is no conflict of interest.”
Astel exhaled slowly in relief, and Naima elbowed him.
The mentalist snorted. “Well, you are the possessor of a streak of bad luck and the target of a homicidal activated. I am recommending an around-the-clock guard with known guards. Ones that have mental resistance to tampering.”
Hron nodded. “There are a few locally.”
“If you give me a list, I can cross-reference it with my list.”
Hron grinned. “You have a list?”
She shrugged.
The mentalist laughed, and she tried to extract her hands from his. He held her gently but firmly. “Do you have room on your roster for one more?”
She blinked. “You have to apply like everyone else. There will be months of waiting.”
He smiled. “Of course.”
“If you let go of my hand, I can give you a card.” She blinked, and he continued to hold her. “Have you gotten what you need from me today?”
He slowly nodded. “You are cleared, and the investigation may continue.”
“Then, come closer. I think you need something.”
He leaned in, and she stood up slightly. He could see down her scrub top, and his eyes heated for a moment before she made contact with his lips. The kiss was sweet at first. His shock reverberated through him, and he adjusted to the contact. She heard a chuckle from Hron, a snicker from Astel, and a sigh from Naima. The mentalist continued to hold her hands, so she took the measure of his skills from the contact and flicked her tongue along the seam of his.
Mint tea was the first thing she tasted.
“I drink it because I spend a lot of time face to face with suspects.”
She chuckled. “If you can communicate this way, I am obviously not doing a good job.”
“The kiss is excellent. I am just very nervous. Your mind has gone still.”
“It is so you can just feel for a moment. Just feel.”
She leaned in and coaxed him into the kiss, and she felt his interest wake and flare, surging against hers. Zera continued the kiss until his body was tense and his skin was hot.
Her lips were bruised when she pulled back, and his chest was heaving. She smiled. “How was that?”
“Better but worse. So
much worse.” He chuckled. “How many weeks?”
“Mentalists get fast-tracked. You are under more security and checked more frequently.”
A chime went off, and she looked at them. “I have somewhere I need to be.”
Astel looked at her in shock. “You were almost kidnapped this morning.”
“No. I wasn’t. He was after some of my inventions. I have a lot of very small concealment and attack weaponry in the early stages of testing. Right now, the lab is an arsenal.” Zera looked at the schedule. “I really have to go.”
He frowned. “Why?”
“Invoking counsellor privacy.”
He smiled. “Of course.”
She showed him, and he jerked his hands back. “Holy.”
“Now, now.” She got to her feet.
He stood as well. “May I watch?”
She glanced at the other three team members, who were looking at her curiously. She shrugged. “You are all locked to secrecy if you come. Are we clear?”
They looked at each other curiously, and then, they nodded.
“Right. Come with me.” She walked out of her office, down the stairs, cleared them into the secure section for a single visit only. Susara was lying still on the bed with her failing system displayed on the monitor. She was the ideal depiction of sleeping beauty.
Chapter Nine
“So, Susara wanted to try out for the teams, and to do that, she needs to go through testing. To do that, I have to do it for her and restrict myself to her capabilities and squeeze into her smaller frame.” Zera moved around and unhooked Susara from life support. She checked the seals on her port sites and kissed her forehead.
Naima blinked. “You can shift shapes?”
“No. I am a jumper and nothing else.” She removed her clothing and kicked off her shoes, setting Susa into a seated position. She scooted into her, and when she opened her eyes, they all looked different. The enhanced site that she had naturally wasn’t in Susa’s body.
She swung her legs off the bed and said, “Astel, can you grab me that student suit hanging on the wall?”
Astel brought it to her, and she put her feet into it, working it up her hips. She pulled her arms out of the smock and then slid them into the suit sleeves, working them up and fastening the closure.