by Mary Eicher
Security was very tight. He knew he would have to be clever. He wasn’t going to go in guns blazing. No, he was going to use the instruments that had worked dependably for him in the past: explosives. The three-pronged strategy was the most complex he had ever considered. It was all a matter of diversion at the beginning. He would create confusion early with a particularly nasty little trick designed to disrupt the conference.
Then, when nerves were sufficiently jangled, he would press a button and send security resources to a site several blocks away. It would be a calling card of sorts: an homage to the early days of the cult. Looking at the cathedral spire rising in the north, Uberdorf lit a cigarette. It was a pity he had to limit the damage. But a large body count would surely force Hemsley to terminate the conference early. And Uberdorf couldn’t allow that.
He chuckled because he knew his adversary. With the authorities concerned about a direct attack on the capitol building, they would instigate a lockdown right in the middle of the conference’s final day. Hemsley was a stubborn man. The politician in him would insist that the conference continue, and he would move the whole thing to the center across the street. They would use the large hall there to broadcast their findings. And that was where Uberdorf would deliver the decisive blow. His main event would occur when the attendees were gathered together in the very place he was preparing for them.
He tipped his cap to a pretty young mother walking past with two toddlers in tow. The kids were spellbound by the holiday lights. He watched them run up and touch a pair of plastic snowmen. Then he swiveled his head and took in the magnitude of the decorations. At night, the lights must create a wonderland effect, he mused. But his finale would be even more impressive.
His sermon for the broadcast scheduled to follow the attack was written and committed to memory. It was his magnum opus. He paused and took the last few pictures of the capitol. He wanted to include the new billboard in the distance.
“The Harbinger is God all right,” he muttered. “A mighty vengeful God, and I am its master.”
Uberdorf slid the brim of his cap up, stuck his hands in his pocket, and sauntered beneath light poles decked out with glittering shooting stars to where he’d left his car. Visions of carnage dancing like sugarplums in his head, he indulged in a bit of holiday spirit, whistling Jingle Bells as he went.
*
Lucy’s article made the front page of the Messenger. It was basically an annotated agenda for the event. At the end she had added a pair of paragraphs on Artemis, relating her education and profession. It mentioned her role in developing legal processes regarding the Harbinger. It intimated that she would provide extraordinary insight into the conference without being a love song. Artemis hated it.
“I don’t feel betrayed,” she told Lucy as she finished unpacking her clothes for the conference. “I feel exposed.”
Lucy’s chest tightened at the suggestion “Please don’t be angry,” she pleaded. “People should know about Hemsley’s conference. You’re like our delegate or something. You’re news.”
“Evidently.” Artemis smirked.
Lucy motioned to a chair and suggested for Artemis to sit and relax. It had been a seven-hour drive from Riverside to Sacramento, and they were both feeling done in. Lucy had been convinced to leave Angie with her mother but called hourly to see how she was doing. Artemis had been preoccupied with the conference and was on the verge of backing out. Lucy’s article hadn’t helped. She tossed the offending paper in the hotel’s tiny trash can beneath the desk and sat sideways in the chair, her long legs draped over the armrest.
Lucy began massaging Artemis’s shoulders. Her tension was all too obvious; her muscles felt like stone. The reporter in Lucy worried she may have gone too far. Artemis looked up at her.
“Don’t panic,” she said softly and patted the hand on her shoulder. “Give me a nice long back rub, and I’ll forgive you.”
Lucy leaned around the chair seeking redemption. “I’m really sorry.”
“Never apologize, Lucy,” Artemis said before mewling in pleasure as her muscles began to relax. “I just don’t like being so public. I’m more of a background person.”
Lucy laughed out loud. “Temmie, you couldn’t avoid being the center of attention no matter how hard you tried. I mean, you turn heads just walking down the street.”
“What? Are you saying I walk funny or something?”
Lucy dug into a knot with her thumbs. “No, that’s what’s so amusing. You don’t notice the way people look at you.”
“I don’t particularly want them to look at me at all. Oh, that feels good. There, right there.”
Lucy pressed her elbow into the stubborn knot. “Then you should have chosen different genes, Temmie. Because you got all the good ones. I haven’t been able to find a single flaw.”
Artemis sighed. “Maybe you need to look a little closer.”
Lucy felt the muscle relax. “No problem.”
Artemis reached around and pulled Lucy into her lap. She was proud of her for finding the courage to leave Angie with Claire, and she was very pleased to have Lucy’s companionship during the convention. What she didn’t have was an idea of what she wanted to do.
Lucy put her hand along her lover’s cheek.
“All the way up here you kept telling me everything would be all right, Temmie. Looks like it’s my turn to tell you. I’ll give you a thorough massage, and then we are going downstairs to have dinner.” She regarded the tenseness about Artemis’s eyes. “And wine. Lots of wine.”
Artemis gave her a sexy smile and waggled her eyebrows.
“Oh no you don’t!” Lucy said, struggling to her feet. “Every time you get nervous you get horny. Every time you’re worried or afraid—not that I’ve actually seen you afraid, but I’m sure it makes you horny.”
Artemis smirked and pulled Lucy back into her lap. “It’s a coping mechanism.”
Lucy blocked a kiss. “I don’t want to be a part of your coping mechanism, Temmie. I need to be more than the best ten minutes of your day.”
Artemis smiled. “You are. You’re my life, Lucy. I love you. And I always want you even when I’m not nervous or worried or afraid. It just shows more then.”
Lucy looked into those intense blue eyes and saw the same love that filled her own heart. She thought how lucky she was to be with someone who loved her so completely.
“I didn’t say I was complaining.” She lifted her head to accept the kiss previously offered.
*
Jim checked and rechecked his to-do list as he scurried between each of the breakout rooms being prepared. Days like this made him appreciate his obsessive-compulsive disorder. The conference would open at one o’clock tomorrow afternoon with a speech from the governor and a round of introductions. Only the principals would be introduced, he’d decided. Introducing all fifty participants would eat up too much time. Then they would redeploy to six breakout rooms and solve the world’s problems. He laughed. When had a governmental committee ever solved anything? But they’d write a hell of a report. And he’d have the honor of filing it away.
He texted Hemsley and waited for a reply. Once the governor gave him final approval of the opening speech, the exhausting day would finally be over. Jim chuckled, and it’s only 11:00 p.m. He headed to the bar across the street for the drink he’d earned and got the governor’s reply. All was ready.
A pair of Servants of the Harbinger came into the lounge and started pestering people for donations. Jim turned away rather than catch their attention. He’d read Representative Stone’s file on the psycho religion and knew the record of carnage attributed to them. One of the breakout sessions was devoted to determining how to squash the group and its infamous leader, Uberdorf. Jim watched the men work the room with mounting concern. They could cause real trouble.
He considered sending an alert to the participants and then rethought it. There was no need to cause alarm. He’d let security handle it. He took out his phone and se
nt the director of security a heads-up. One of the Servants stopped at his table.
“What are you going to donate?” the man asked.
“Advice,” Jim said with a rare surge of courage. “You guys should get lost for the next few days.”
He didn’t see the fist coming, but he felt it as his head flung back and the lights went out.
*
“That’s an impressive shiner,” Artemis observed as she shook hands with the governor’s chief of staff.
“Thanks. I earned it.” Jim chuckled. “I pissed off a Servant of the Harbinger last night.”
Artemis chuckled. “I’ve pissed off a few myself. What did you do? Fail to invite the Right Reverend Jamil Uberdorf to our little gathering?”
Jim shrugged. “Something like that.”
He bade her to accompany him to Hemsley’s office. She was more impressive in person, he noted. And that was saying something. He’d read her background check and found it hard to believe such a person truly existed. Behind the stunning exterior lay a brilliant mind and an appetite for travel. She was wealthy and highly private with few friends and a legal practice from which she had recently taken a leave of absence. He looked over at her as they walked. And she was really tall. The governor was going to like her.
“Miss Andronikos,” Hemsley greeted her warmly.
Jim was correct. The governor was instantly enchanted by her, finding the blue eyes and statuesque form most attractive. However, he resolved not to let that impair his judgement. He laid out his plans for the conference and explored the various contributions she could make, promoting one in particular. She listened with her customary laser focus.
“Why do I get the feeling you know something the rest of us don’t, Miss Andronikos?” the governor asked when her silence became uncomfortable for him.
She flashed a brief smile. “It seems to me you know quite a lot, Governor. You know enough to want to find out what will help people. Anything else is just speculation.”
“Speculate for me. Please.”
Artemis folded her hands in her lap but remained silent, offering nothing more than an enigmatic façade. Hemsley shifted in his chair. He asked her if she’d lead a breakout session to define legal remedies for problems associated with the Harbinger. Artemis immediately declined. She told him she was not interested in legal issues and implied distaste for governance in general. Hemsley did not hide his disappointment.
“You don’t see this as a legal or governmental problem?”
She shook her head. “No. It’s a philosophical matter.”
“I agree with that.” Hemsley studied her for a moment. “But if we must deal with philosophy, perhaps my hopes for the conference are too myopic.”
Artemis leaned forward. “The conference can be very useful, Governor. It can inform people and reassure them so that they stop being afraid. And it can demonstrate a positive approach to dealing with change.”
“That would all be good,” Hemsley agreed. “But I’m not looking for a public relations event. I really want to know what action my administration can undertake.”
“We all want to know what to do. I think that depends on what we choose to believe.”
“And what do you believe, Ms. Andronikos?” Hemsley asked.
Artemis sat back and crossed her long legs. “I believe you are doing the right thing conducting this conference.”
Hemsley glared at his chief of staff who was stifling a laugh. They agreed on a role for her in the conference. She would lead a breakout session ostensibly dealing with religion. It was as close to philosophy as the governor would go. He had the impression she was going to do what she wanted regardless. But on the positive side, he suspected that if anyone could help him with the Harbinger, it would be the extraordinary Ms. Andronikos.
She accepted a farewell handshake and followed the chief of staff to the exit.
Jim came back to the governor’s office and said one word. “Wow.”
Hemsley laughed. “You wouldn’t want that one as an opponent, huh? Is she a Democrat or a Republican?”
“An independent. I got the impression she doesn’t much like government.” Jim shrugged. “She doesn’t much like rules, I think.”
Hemsley looked up at his chief of staff. “She doesn’t need them.”
*
Just before one o’clock, Artemis made her way through the capitol-security checkpoint and searched for a likely spot to sit. She was wearing a dark-blue-pinstripe suit with a fierce, form-fitted pencil skirt, falling just below her knees, and a pale-blue blouse that complimented her eyes. Her hair fell loose to the middle of her back, and her makeup made the whole effect truly stunning. She turned heads as she stepped down the aisle and selected a seat midway to the dais. She tucked her attaché case beside her and crossed her legs.
The man in the adjacent seat ran a hand through his rambling beard and observed her with a disapproving scowl. Getting nothing more than an arched eyebrow in response, the man stood and moved further down the row of seats. She settled back and felt a light tap at her shoulder.
“I think you turned him on,” the conference participant directly behind her observed, adding a barely perceptible chuckle.
Artemis turned to find out who was speaking and responded with a polite smile. They exchanged introductions and discovered they were in the same breakout meeting for the day. The man was the pastor of one of the rural churches in the San Joaquin valley that had been burned by Harbinger fanatics. He volunteered that he was more interested in discussing justice, but their unimaginative governor had put him in the religious discussions. Artemis sympathized and assured the man she would try to make the session worth his time.
Hemsley welcomed the attendees and introduced those who would lead the workshops. He asked each leader to stand as he called their names. There were ministers and state representatives—Susan Stone prominent among them—and scientists distinguished in a variety of disciplines. The conference had a good contingent of common people as well. Hemsley had invited them for balance and to gauge the response he could expect from voters. Artemis rose when her name was called and acknowledged the polite applause. She caught a glimpse of Lucy in the press section on the mezzanine, and her smile grew brilliant.
*
That evening Lucy hunkered down at her laptop and wrote an article that praised the governor’s stated objective and coated the conference in optimism. It was unlike many of her previous offerings. It was upbeat rather than tentative. It was direct rather than a medium in which to embed forbidden information. She felt like a journalist once again, and to her partner’s eyes she looked the part. Her hair was messed from having run her fingers through it a hundred times, and there were cute little ringlets by her ears where she absentmindedly twirled her hair while she thought.
Artemis, clad in a simple shift, sat on the center of the large hotel bed and reviewed her day. She had led the breakout meeting from behind as they say. She had listened as the conversation veered from opinions to experiences and back again. It had been not the free-for-all of ideas she had hoped for but a therapy session of aggrieved religious leaders who felt their influence was being stolen away. They had lost the trust of their followers and they had lost their once unshakable trust in the divine. They were angry and disappointed. Their only point of agreement was that the Harbinger bells tolled the impending death of faith itself.
“Children,” Artemis said as she reflected on the meeting. Strang had said religious leaders act like children. Angie had said the children knew. Not these children, Artemis mused, giving the advantage to Strang.
“What about children?” Lucy asked, looking up from her laptop.
Artemis unfolded her legs and swung them over the side of the bed. “My meeting was filled with petulant children in adult bodies.”
“Sounds awfully boring. I’ll leave that out of my article,” Lucy teased without looking up from her work.
“Excellent idea.” Artemis strolled to the de
sk where Lucy sat and knelt beside her chair. She wrapped her arms around Lucy’s waist and laid her head in Lucy’s lap.
“That bad, eh?” Lucy brushed Artemis’s long hair gently. “Frankly, Temmie, you looked so gorgeous today. I thought they’d spend the time trying to impress you with their masculinity. Um, in a religiously acceptable way, of course.”
Artemis lifted her head and gave Lucy a tired smile. “They were far more interested in their tattered careers than their libidos. I could have been naked, and they wouldn’t have noticed.”
Lucy tilted her head and gave her a lecherous grin. “Naked. Now there’s an idea.”
Artemis climbed to her feet and extended a hand. “I take it your work is done.”
They turned off all the lights and pulled the coverlet back on the bed. Lucy slipped out of her robe and lay down on her back. Her eyes followed Artemis who went to open the patio door a crack to let in the cool night air. Artemis stripped off her shift and stood at the side of the bed looking at Lucy. Warm desire rose within her as she appreciated the curves and swells of Lucy’s body. She walked to the foot of the bed and crept catlike until her body hovered over Lucy’s. She lowered her head and kissed her.
“Do you think we are soulmates?” Lucy asked as she wrapped her arms around Artemis. “I sometimes feel as though we’ve lived all this before—like we have always been lovers drifting on a current in time.”
Artemis kissed Lucy’s forehead and brushed her bangs to the side. “Yes,” she said softly. “When I am with you, I believe in everything.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Uberdorf stood by the window in his hotel room and watched as people headed to the capitol for a day full of individual sessions. He was convinced that whatever came out of the governor’s little power grab, it would not bode well for him or the Servants of the Harbinger. He was watching to see Assemblywoman Stone arrive. Forty-one, forty-two…he counted the delegates as they climbed the stairs to the impressive building. He could recognize many of them from the first day although it wasn’t easy since the place was once again filling with tourists. He took a drink of coffee and started to turn away when the governor’s arrival caught his attention. Uberdorf watched the governor disappear through the large doors and then scanned the side streets where he caught sight of a familiar dark-haired woman emerging from the Hyatt.