“I don’t know,” Todd joked in response. “You seem to attract assholes with guns, and fights break out. Then you’re on the news healing people after going wild-eyed crazy with rage.”
“Right,” Stephanie argued. “But doesn’t that mean I can protect you if it came down to a fight?”
He laughed. “Oh, sure. That would be freaking great. One minute, you’re taking me out to dinner and paying like I should be, and the next minute, you’re protecting me in a fight. There is no better way to severely injure my male ego.”
“I didn’t think the Toddster had a male ego,” she said and choked through laughter.
Todd’s lip curled and he clawed his fingers through his hair. “Uh…well, it’s growing.”
“That seems to be the name of the game these days.” She sighed. “We’re all growing, changing, becoming—”
“Federation witches who have the power to destroy enemies and heal their allies?” Todd interrupted.
“I intended to say more like adults getting jobs, going to college, and joining the military.” She giggled.
He knew how she felt and had known it since the day she grew out of the Gov-Subs high school and into the rest of her life. “That is the name of the game, my magical friend, but we trek on and try to catch the hell up with you.”
They laughed and talked for a while longer, most of their time taken up with Todd explaining the similarities between the Iron Man suit and the new soldier suits that would deploy all over the world.
Stephanie didn’t mind, though. She missed the hell out of him.
Ms. E put her face in her hands and tried to muffle a loud growl. She flipped her head back and stared at the screens in front of her in an effort to decide where to go from there.
She was as frustrated as all get out with the new companies and the concerns her boss had over their safety without really letting her know what he expected her to find and fix.
Her work had begun to bog her down and she missed way too many things. She had made clumsy mistakes that would eventually cost someone something serious.
The buzzer on the gate out front made her jump about two feet off her chair. She laid a hand on her chest and grizzled a protest, tired of work, tired of surprises, and all around tired of everything. She slammed her hand on the comm as she scanned the view from the front cameras. “Can I help you?”
A large, Naval-issue SUV waited at the compound gates and the driver gave the camera above the intercom his most serious stare.
“Yes, ma’am, this is the Federation Navy. We are merely confirming that we are still meeting here with Ms. Elizabeth Smith at noon?” he replied and his face twisted as it tried to match the false warmth in his greeting.
Elizabeth leaned her head back and rolled her eyes. Her hands formed fists as she opened her mouth and screamed silently. When she had a little of the frustration out of her system, she cleared her throat and made herself smile, even though they couldn’t see her. “I’ll buzz you in and meet you out front in five minutes. Park wherever you’d like.”
Her welcome was so fake, she hurt her own feelings. She pressed the button to open the gate and leaned forward to stare with growing irritation at the two people who sat in the front of the SUV. “I really need to scale my fake names down and get secretaries for the rest of them.”
She swiveled her chair and her lip twitched slightly when she stared at the mess of data displayed across the six monitors.
“Amelia,” she called, not even sure if the AI that managed her emails was around.
“Yes, Elizabeth,” Amelia answered patiently.
“Can you clean this mess on the computers up? We have company, and it’s not the type you want seeing those documents.”
“Absolutely. Right away,” she replied. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Elizabeth scoffed. “Not unless you have a body attached to that voice. Then I would send you out to play me.”
“According to Statute seven-four-five of the Federation Code, it would be highly illegal for me to impersonate another person regardless of their need,” the AI replied and effectively burst that fantasy bubble.
Elizabeth gave the room a high-five and picked the phone up. “Frog, get in here.”
She could hear him run down the hall and the thump of his bootsteps came to a sliding stop outside her doorway. He knocked gently.
“Get in here.”
He opened the door and stuck his head through, then slid the rest of his body in when he saw her face. “What’s up, boss lady?”
Ms. E nodded her head toward the screen. “We have company. The Federation and their fighting forces are trying really hard to get our information and get to Stephanie. You’ll come with me to meet them. Two of them and two of us.”
They headed down the hall and out to the front entrance where two Navy Petty Officers stood, one woman and one man. Elizabeth smiled and chose a friendly approach as she opened the door to let them inside. “Sorry to take so long. I had paperwork to finish. Why don’t we have a seat in the conference room? I’m Elizabeth Smith and this is Tony Andrews.”
“Nice to meet you,” the sailor replied and didn’t seem to notice Frog’s startled look at his new name. “I’m Petty Officer First Class Collins and this is Petty Officer Third Class Thompkins.”
“Good to meet you,” Elizabeth replied and led them to the conference room. “Coffee?”
Startled, the two officers nodded, and Ms. E glanced at one of the internal cameras in the hope that Amelia would pick up on the cue. She led their visitors to the conference room and almost held her breath until Lars appeared in neatly pressed fatigues. He wheeled a small serving cart in front of him.
“In here,” Ms. E instructed as she opened the conference room door and gestured for the petty officers to precede her. She gave Lars a nod of thanks as she followed them in and hoped he wouldn’t give her grief later about using him as a waiter.
In the meantime, she seated herself with Frog and her guests and waited for the coffee to be poured. It didn’t take long for Collins to launch into exactly why he was there.
“I’ll try not to waste time for either of us, so let me cut to the chase. We would like full access to all the research Stephanie Morgana has undertaken for your company.”
Ms. E didn’t move. She stared at the Petty Officers for several moments before she finally sighed. “And I would like full access to the entirety of Warren Buffet’s inheritance with power of attorney over everything. And maybe even one of those nifty thick black cards for my wallet.”
McDonald pursed her lips and was about to launch what appeared to be a scathing response, but Collins shook his head and put his hand out to calm them.
“I completely understand where you are coming from, Ms. Smith, and I would be hesitant as well. However, I assure you it is strictly for public safety and Ms. Morgana’s own well-being.”
Elizabeth smiled. “Well, if you put it that way, I guess I have no choice but to grant you a secure level-one pass to explore the facility, take whatever data you want, and try on Stephanie’s clothes—you know, the full experience.”
“That doesn’t even start to cover her research data,” McDonald blurted. “All her data is secret, and we need to have that permission. You are seriously trying to jerk our chains. No one—and I truly mean no one—pays a researcher that much without expecting a lot in return.”
Ms. E pursed her lips and studied the woman for a moment. The simple truth was that she had no liking for the Fed Militants, as she called the naval officers, and she didn’t like that they felt they could come into her place of employment and make demands.
Her face now expressionless, she pointed her finger at McDonald and then moved it quickly to Collins. “That information is ours, not yours. Nor do I think it contains anything you need to know at this time. So, you tell me, is this a fishing expedition? Because, if it is, I can charge you my consultation rate of 10,798 credits an hour.”
McDon
ald almost choked on her coffee and patted herself on the chest as she caught her breath. “Good Lord. And what exactly do you do that is so valuable? For that matter, what could be so valuable that someone would pay you that much money when they haven’t done anything to help anyone else in the Federation—like feeding the starving, for instance, with all that ready cash.”
Elizabeth shrugged. “I control the tactics and strategies of companies valued in the billions, and the cost of one hour of my time is adjusted according to how its use affects those companies and not the rest of the Federation. This makes my time extremely valuable. I have faced some of the savviest and most steel-balled businessmen, politicians, and world leaders today. I have negotiated company sales with so many zeroes tacked onto the end that the world couldn’t imagine having that many credits in one place. And those men are ruthless. It is what I was hired to do.”
The naval officers exchanged glances before Collins rose and extended his hand. “Well, thank you for your time. We better get back on the road before the boss wonders why we’ve taken so much of it. If there is any way we could assist in your research, please reach out.”
She smiled as she shook his hand and led them out of the room. They all walked in silence and Frog brought up the rear. Collins stopped at the front door, puffed his cheeks out, and turned to leave. “Right, then.”
Frog and Ms. E stood at the front and watched until the two Fed Militants were off ONE R&D property and the gate shut firmly behind them.
The bodyguard raised an eyebrow. “They were out of here quickly.”
Elizabeth winked at him. “They knew there was no way they could scare me into giving them our research. No freaking possibility.”
Collins took the corner in silence and stewed in his own defeat.
McDonald gritted her teeth and shook her head. “That wasn’t right. That woman back there was too smooth—too strong even—to be merely some nobody consultant. There isn’t anything in this dossier we have on her that explains how the woman in the file is that one back there.”
Silence settled over the car for another few moments. Collins pulled over, snatched the dossier out of the back seat, and flipped it open. “Something is up… Did you see that guard with her? She made sure she wasn’t outnumbered.”
“Mhmm. No, sirree,” his companion replied. “It’s not like she needed him anyway. She was like a damned shark in stilettos.”
“Yeah, but with her and him, it was like we were outnumbered two to two,” Collins told her and sounded stunned as he continued to peruse the file.
She rubbed her hands down the sides of her skirt before she clapped briskly. “Do you have any thoughts on what’s next?”
He slammed the dossier shut and tossed it over his shoulder into the back. “More research. I bet if we dug deeper into that place, we might find all kinds of interesting tech and research data. We need to get the upper hand here. That is the only way we’ll find out if we went fishing for minnows and hooked a damn whale.”
“Basically, you’re telling me we need leverage,” McDonald replied. “If she is such a business shark, we need to treat this whole thing like we’re the other company. We need to show them they have no choice but to hand over what they have.”
Collins smirked. “Something like that, sure.”
As Ms. E and Frog watched the two officers drive away, Stephanie’s parents were finishing dinner in Washington. Cindy picked up their plates and walked them into the kitchen.
“I think it’s going great with the high-rise. But I do see your point, Mark. We will wear ourselves out trying to save a penny.”
Mark nodded. “That’s right, and when we do, our reputation will take a hit. That’s all I’m saying, really. No decisions need to be made now. Unfortunately, we are not a company that will have investors knocking our doors down, so we have to pinch the pennies where we can.”
As he spoke, the phone rang, and she squeaked. “Who is it? Is it Stephanie?”
He grunted, leaned forward, and turned the phone toward him. He smiled, pressed a button, and their daughter’s holographic form flickered on above it. “Hey, sweetie pie.”
Stephanie smiled, thankful to hear a voice and see a face that had nothing to do with work. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Ooh, my baby,” Cindy cried, hurried over, and plopped onto the couch beside her husband. “You look so good. Everything is healing nicely.”
With a chuckle, she nodded. “Thanks, although I feel like that would have been the same answer I got if I said my room was half-painted, or I was halfway through a drawing. I’ll take it, though.”
The woman giggled and didn’t realize that what her daughter had said was slightly off-kilter. Then again, Cindy was a tad off kilter. “So, have you been back into the machine?”
“The pod?” Stephanie asked. “Oh, sure. I’ve had some really great research hours since then. But that isn’t why I called.”
Mark scooted to the edge of the couch. “Is everything all right?”
She snorted playfully. “Of course it is. I have the life, minus the few things you already know about. You know, like the battle and all that. But I went through my finances and I realized that I need to invest some money. You two wouldn’t happen to know of a good company that is growing that I could invest in, would you?”
Her mother tilted her head to the side and slid her arm around Mark. “Sweetie, I think it’s important that you do your own thing. That you forge ahead. I hate the idea of you doing this only for us. Trust me, the last thing you want is to end up fighting from paycheck to paycheck. We have a good business, but that can change in the blink of an eye. We want you to be good and settled.”
He nodded. “I agree with your mother.”
Stephanie laughed and winked at her dad. When all else fails, go along with Mom. She has it under control. “Don’t you guys see, though? I’ve already ventured out, and as a salesperson, I believed in you guys and your business. I’ve decided I can make a good investment by representing the two of you in sales calls from time to time. That being said, you need to get your company in order, and then your growth, as I learned in school, is dependent upon liquidity.”
Cindy glanced at Mark and shrugged. “She has a point, but still, this is not how you would do business with another company. And I don’t mean that in a negative way. I mean we all need our own identity and we all need to be able to show that, despite the FMV or the CGC, or the Taxes, or even the possibility for a large return.”
Stephanie leaned forward and put her chin in her hand. “You wanted to brand yourselves as focused on bettering the environment, and that takes even more expensive equipment and tools. Of course, that means you need money and clients. It’s something I don’t foresee either of you doing by the end of the year.”
Her mother chuckled. “Or even the end of ten years.”
Stephanie put her hand out. “See? I want to invest over thirty thousand credits in only ten percent of the company. You will have the money you need to fulfill the dreams you have without sacrificing your sanity in the meantime. And you will escape from the Gov-Subs, something barely anyone from that area actually ever achieves.”
Mark put his fingers to his lips and tapped them gently while he considered what she’d proposed. “All right, you want to be part of this? You want to be an investor? This is what we’ll do.”
He paused thoughtfully for a moment before he continued. “Your mother…I mean Cindy and I, will act as if we’d never met you before today. We’ll need to create a counter-proposal, and then, we can hash it out. We’ll do this like we would with anyone else. Not only does it go your way, but you’ll know you were brought in because you had something to offer and not only because you’re family.”
Stephanie bounced with excitement. “Hell yeah. Then you better crank it out, my friend, or we’ll have one hell of a long couple of days.”
Chapter Five
Ms. E stopped, pivoted to face the guys, and put her hands on her hips.
She stared at Johnny, although she didn’t really mean to and simply found him an easy target. “Did I hear you say you had the chance to score with a hot chick but you passed because she didn’t know who the Flash was?”
He shrugged as he genuinely gave zero shits about losing the girl. Not knowing the cartoon character was another matter.
“How do you live on this planet with the cartoons, the comics, and everything else and not know who the Flash is? I feel like that is one damn big red flag. That’s all I’ll say on it. She didn’t deserve the kryptonite.”
Everyone groaned and Elizabeth shook her head. “I really thought I would get out of this without one of you referring to your dingus as a DC weapon. I suppose I should simply accept the cold hard truth that you have no shame. None in the least.”
They all laughed. One of them flung open the door to the training area and they piled inside. When they moved around the corner, though, they found Stephanie already there. The clock on the wall barely read six in the morning, and she looked like she’d waited for hours.
Lars walked onto the mat and put his hand on her shoulder. She sat cross-legged, her hands folded gently in her lap, and looked up at him with a smile.
He studied her cautiously for a moment and glanced at his teammates. They were all terrified she might have fallen back into the same trap she’d floundered in when Frog had been injured by the gang. It hadn’t allowed her to breathe and filled her with guilt from head to toe.
Right now, everyone was terrified she would fall back into blaming herself for their injuries and try to push everyone away.
“Are you all right? I thought you’d come to peace with the whole blaming yourself for everything good and bad in this world.”
Witch Of The Federation (Federal Histories Book 2) Page 5