House of Dolls 5

by Harmon Cooper

  “We would like an opportunity to go after her,” Saint said in a gruff voice.

  “Okay, then you go after her,” Roman said. “It’ll save me the trouble.”

  “No, we will use you as an auxiliary team,” Rafner told the group. “Plus, there is the other issue as to why Team Saint is here, which we can discuss next. Moving on. Roman, I think it is imperative that you form your own group, and that this group travels with you to the East.”

  “How’s that supposed to happen again?” Roman asked. “Especially if it’s just the two of us—well, four—Nadine, Coma, Celia and me. And Casper,” he said, patting his shirt pocket and ignoring some of the uncomfortable stares he’d just received. “So five. It’s going to be pretty obvious if some people are following us around.”

  “Not if it’s just one person and an object,” Jessica said.

  “I may be of use too,” said a woman Roman recognized as part of Rafner’s team, although he couldn’t remember her name.

  “I’m too visible,” Ava said with disdain. “Nadine will recognize me.”

  “Is it the red hair? I think it’s the red hair,” Roman said, trying to make a joke.

  No one laughed.

  “Yes, maybe you aren’t the right person for this job, Ava,” Rafner gently told her, “but you do have the most experience. You know what? We will figure out another role for you in this regard. Give me some time to think it through. To be honest with everyone here, I wasn’t planning for Roman to come in with such a good plan.”

  “Thank you?”

  “I’m not finished. It is a good plan, but it is also risky, and it carries with it the potential to start a war between our intelligence branches. But perhaps… You know what? Never mind. Everyone spies on Centralia. We are all aware of that, yet we try to maintain good relations with the various countries regardless. If this gets discovered, it may lead to repercussions, including the withdrawal of our peacekeeping troops from the more rebellious regions of the Eastern Province.”

  “I’ll be careful.”

  Everyone in the room turned to Roman at once, most of them smirking at his cocky yet naïve statement, a few of them grimacing and two of them groaning.

  “I’ve already been there,” Roman reminded him. “Has anyone else been East?”

  Only the woman on Rafner’s team raised her hand. Roman looked at her again, trying to remember her name. She had dark purple skin, slicked-back hair, and a nose piercing of all things.

  “Okay; Naomi, Jess, and Miranda, you will tail Roman. And Miranda, you will communicate with him telepathically and relay information to our contacts at the embassy. Ambassador Darwin will be interested to take part in this, considering some of the councils he’s on. I know this has been a shorter meeting than I would have liked, but let’s break for now. I will spend the rest of the day getting the necessary authorizations and running this up the chain of command. Expect to leave tomorrow. And Roman…”

  “Yes?”

  “You have twenty-four hours to convince Nadine that you need to go East.”

  “Will do.”

  “And one more thing, just so you are aware—just so everyone in the room is aware. Last night, a joint operation to take out Margo failed. We are not at a point where we can discuss the next way we plan to go after her, but know that those discussions are taking place, and maybe this is an area where you could assist us, Team Saint.”

  “Go after Margo?” Saint asked, looking at his team. “If it is what our government is asking us to do, we’ll do it.”

  Chapter Six: Diner and Dinner

  Roman had been feeling great up until that last part about Margo.

  Now sitting at a diner with his dolls, he couldn’t help but feel an ache in his chest for revenge. How sweet it would be to pull off what he was planning and rid the world of his terrible half-sister at the same time.

  His eyes drifted to a poster advertising a new energy drink that had been plastered near the entrance featuring Mister Fist the strongman, William Bottorf the duplicator, MindLenz the telepath and Plume the fire user, all blasting toward the viewer.

  Roman shook his head.

  What would the world think if they knew who Ava truly was, his beautiful teacher and all her flaws?

  The waitress came by and set down a plate with half a sandwich and a side of potatoes fried in an Eastern Province spice. He went for the potatoes first, his nostrils burning as soon as he took his first bite.

  “You seem upset,” Celia said, concern flitting across her face. She sat across from him, Coma at his side.

  He had been feeling closer and closer to Coma since their interactions in the West, something about her savage side appealing to him. Roman could feel an energy between them, a spark.

  “I wish you had let me say something at that meeting,” Casper said from his jacket pocket.

  Now that Roman could use his powers in public, he didn’t really care if she was animated or not.

  “I can only imagine what you would have said,” he told her.

  “I would have given all of them a piece of my mind. And what’s this? Now we have to go meet Nadine and go to the East? I didn’t like the East the first time we went,” Casper lamented. “It’s oppressive as fuck over there.”

  “I could always just keep you deactivated while we’re there,” Roman said as he ate one of his potatoes.

  “You better not. Remember? I saved the day last time. It was my ass that killed Kevin.” She thumped her rear against Roman’s chest. “And I could do the same to you.”

  “Kill me?”

  “If you mess with me, yes.”

  “Then you’d essentially be killing yourself.”

  “The ultimate sacrifice.”

  A child sitting in the booth in front of him turned, saw that Roman was speaking to a tiny woman in his pocket, and looked back to his mother.

  “It is risky in the East,” Coma said, “but we will be ready.”

  “We are always ready,” Celia said. “With Roman around, we can do anything.”

  “Stop—I’m going to vomit and I don’t even have a stomach,” Casper said to Celia.

  “Take a deep breath; that can help,” Celia told the tiny doll.

  “It must be nice,” Casper groaned.

  “What must be nice?” asked Roman.

  “Having a fan club.”

  “Moving on…” Roman reached for his sandwich and took a bite, chewing it slowly. It was good, but the meat in the center was a bit cold.

  He used his power to activate his napkin, which swooped up to a point and then flattened, scooting over to his hand.

  “You could just reach for it,” Casper said.

  Roman shrugged.

  “I don’t think it’ll be very hard to find Eli and Lisa,” Celia said, trying to steer the conversation in her own way. “I’m sure Nadine knows where they are. And Nadine is friendly with us. I don’t think this will be a very difficult mission at all.”

  “Perhaps,” Roman said. “But there are other factors at play.”

  And as if those other factors existed in the form of three women, the door of the diner chimed as Naomi, Miranda, and Jess entered.

  Miranda saw Roman and turned in his direction, the other two following her. They all wore regular clothing now, none of them in their black spy outfits.

  “Sorry, no room,” Casper said, sticking her tongue out at Jess. “Beat it, bi-otch.”

  “We can get a booth,” Roman said, waving a waitress over.

  Casper started to say something and he pressed his thumb down on her head, shoving her into his pocket and deactivating her.

  The waitress begrudgingly wiped down a booth, then brought his food over after Roman and his dolls were seated.

  “Why this diner?” Jess asked as the Centralian agent joined Roman in the booth, the other two filing in after her. “Of all the diners around HQ, you choose this shithole?”

  The waitress started to give Jess a dirty look, then consider
ed what she’d said and nodded in agreement.

  “These places are good,” Roman told her. “They have this particular ambiance. There used to be one not too far from my home.”

  He smiled at Jess and Naomi, the purple-haired woman not returning a smile. He figured he was going to have to work on her some.

  Jess did return his smile, although hers was a bit crooked.

  “When are you meeting her?” Miranda asked.

  “Who?” came Roman’s reply.

  “The subject chosen for streamlined removal.” She cocked her head to the left as she gazed at Roman. “You know, the one.”

  “The one…” Roman said. “Later, in the afternoon. I’ve already reached out to her.”

  “Do you need help convincing her to go to the East?” the telepath asked.

  Roman shook his head. “I’ve got it.”

  “Are you sure about that? You seem pretty confident for someone who has no idea how they’re going to convince this woman to return to her home country.”

  “I have some leverage,” Roman said, focusing again on his sandwich. He took a bite, chewing and swallowing before continuing what he was saying. “What you three don’t know, and what we know,” Roman said, bringing Coma and Celia into the conversation, “is that Nadine is also quite skeptical of her own government’s actions and wishes. She has gone against them before, which I’m sure you’ve read about in the briefing.”

  Naomi nodded.

  “So only one of you has read the briefing?”

  “I was going to read it on the train ride to the Eastern Province,” Miranda admitted.

  “Same here,” said Jess.

  The waitress brought over three teas, and Roman noted that the three women hadn’t actually ordered.

  Miranda, Roman thought, and just thinking her name elicited a response.

  You called?

  Actually, I’m glad you decided to check in on me here, he thought back to the telepath while the other two went for their teas.

  Are you finally going to let me in?

  Yes, Roman thought to her. My place. Tonight. You and me. My dolls will be deactivated. I suppose I could sound more romantic.

  Miranda nearly choked on her tea, but it didn’t take long for her look of shock to quickly leave her face. I was never attracted to you for romance anyway. And yes, I’ll be there. Put your dolls in a closet.

  I’ll be sure to do that. Now, shall we return to our regularly scheduled conversation?

  Let’s.

  “Read the briefing,” Roman said. “I get the feeling the three of you think this is going to be an easy mission. We’ve just come back from the West, at least two of us, and that mission was a little…”

  Roman searched for the right word to describe it.

  “Shitty?” Jess asked.

  “Yeah. You let me know how it is next time they give you the assignment to go after and kill one of your coworkers.”

  The table grew quiet for a moment.

  “Anyway,” Roman said. “Just get ready. I can’t help but have the feeling going East is going to start off simple but get more complicated as the days progress. Our goal needs to be making it back here. We will try to cover what we can while we’re there, but we need to keep our goal in mind.”

  A teleporter appeared, the sound of fizzling water meeting Roman’s ears.

  It took nearly thirty seconds for the man’s form to solidify, but once he was ready, the teleporter smiled at Roman and bowed his head slightly.

  He was an unlicensed teleporter, evident in the clothing he wore, no smock or indication he worked for the State. The guy was actually in a pair of sandals.

  Everything started to blur together, and as it swirled back into focus, Roman found himself in a large warehouse-like room, empty aside from Nadine and his dolls, who stood on either side of him.

  “Hi,” Celia said, the teleporter already sizzling away.

  “Hello,” Nadine said shortly.

  Coma simply nodded.

  She moved a few steps away from them, taking a place near the door.

  “Is this where you’ve been staying?” Roman asked Nadine as he looked out the nearest window. He was trying to get an idea of where he was, but the window was only facing an alley.

  “It’s too dangerous to meet there.” Nadine took a step closer to him, and as she did, Roman started to sense that she wanted to embrace him, to greet him properly. He recalled that they had become intimate the last time he’d seen her before heading to the West.

  He didn’t know exactly where they stood in that regard, but there would be plenty of time for it later.

  “So how was the West?” she asked.

  Roman had already messaged Nadine, telling her a little more about what he had done over there, but he hadn’t gone into much detail.

  As they stood across from one another in the abandoned warehouse, Roman went over what his mission had been, and how he—or his tiniest doll—had killed Kevin Blackbook in the end.

  “His cat girls too?” she asked.

  “One was killed at the banquet Kevin was hosting; the other one attacked us back at his little pleasure house. It was really…” Roman searched for the right word to describe what had happened. “All of it was bizarre. I still can’t help but think of Kevin as this overweight loser who sat in the cubicle next to me. Not that his size really mattered, but it was part of his overall demeanor, how he moved around.”

  “From our brief interactions, I seem to remember that.”

  “Yeah,” Roman said, running a hand through his white hair. “So, streamlined removal. That’s what they wanted me to do there. And I did it. And now…”

  “Yes?”

  Roman noticed a glint in her chest area, his eyes falling on Nadine’s necklace.

  “Do you like it?”

  “Is it new?” Roman asked as he looked at the necklace and the red jewel on it. It was a silver necklace, the jewel much larger than he felt like it should have been.

  “Just a gift I bought myself,” Nadine said. “Do you like it?”

  “I do.”

  “You were saying?”

  “And now they want me to go after Margo,” Roman lied. “So it’s kind of funny, really. Back to square one. That was my original intention after, well, you know.”

  “Are you officially part of the agency now?”

  “I don’t know what I am. I think I’m a guy who’s in trouble for some things, and they’re using me as much as they can. Margo will probably kill me…”

  Roman heard Celia choke up behind him. He turned to see her with her hands over her mouth, a look of anguish on her face.

  “They also tasked me with figuring out more about what the East knows about my power. I’m going to be honest with you,” Roman told Nadine, “they know that I went East.”

  “And they know about me? That would explain some things.”

  “I can’t help you there,” he said with a shrug. “I had my memories wiped. They tried to get to me, but they’ve failed so far. I think they’re tired of trying, and they just want to use me to their advantage now. And as I said, they really want to know what the East has done in dissecting my power.”

  “I’ve been wanting to see what they’ve done with your powers as well,” Nadine admitted.

  “Are you worried about it?”

  “I should be frank with you, Roman. I don’t know what happened to me, but I’m sick of all this. All this back and forth, the espionage, and each side always trying to one-up the other. The thing is, as odd as it seems, I believe my country will be better off without your power. With your power, we could cause a war.”

  “You could supply both sides of a different war,” Roman added.

  Nadine took a few steps toward the window that looked out at the alley, Roman joining her.

  “Then let’s head to the East,” he finally said after a long pause.

  They were close enough that their knuckles were touching, but Roman didn’t reach out
and grab her hand. He wanted to, but it was important to maintain decorum right now. And besides, he knew he wasn’t supposed to get too close to her.

  At least not yet anyway.

  “I had an interesting dream the other night,” Nadine said, still looking out the window.

  “Did you?”

  “Yes. Oddly enough, you and I were riding the train to the East together.”

  “Weird. Anything else happen in the dream?”

  “We were happy; we both had this sense of purpose.”

  “Who else was with us?”

  “Your dolls, and just another random lady sharing our cabin with us.”

  “Interesting. And you didn’t recognize her?”

  “Only that she had a bowtie. We all wore bowties, actually.”

  Roman grinned. “You remember your dreams way better than I do, but maybe that’s by design. I don’t really want to remember mine.”

  “Mostly nightmares?”

  Roman nodded. “Mostly. So, are we doing this?”

  “Heading to the East? I don’t see why we shouldn’t…”

  For a moment the sun dipped behind a cloud, Roman and Nadine’s reflections now visible in the window. He looked at her reflection and smiled. “Tomorrow. I’ll put in for the paperwork. It won’t be as hard as last time. You need to check with your handler or anything?”

  “I don’t think my handler will mind,” Nadine said, Roman knowing perfectly well what she was hinting at.

  “That’s good,” Roman said. “So tomorrow then. Should I meet you at the train station?”

  “Let’s meet at the Eastern Mane. How about the ten o’clock train? That will put us there by nightfall.”

  “Are we going to the same place we went last time? Brattle, was it?”

  Nadine shook her head. “No, if we’re going to look into this, we need to go to the capital, to Verne.”

  “Verne it is.”

  Roman and Nadine stood there together quietly, both looking out the window.

  “I guess I should order a teleporter for you. To a random diner?”

  Roman snorted at Nadine’s suggestion. “You know me so well; I can port back to my home from there.”

  “A diner it is.”