by Simon Archer
“What’s the hurry?” I asked her.
“Oh, hey, Rosie. Ellie just called. She was just at a meeting with Clark, Charlie, Leah, and Kennedi, and they are all headed here. She made it sound like it would be a good idea for all of us to listen about what happened. That means I need to have lunch done ASAP,” she told me without breaking stride.
“How can I help?” I set aside my project and went to the sink to wash my hands.
“We are going to go appetizer style,” Bev said. “Go to the refrigerator and bring me the two large trays of lunch meat and vegetables, please.”
“You’ve got it.” I dried my hands and headed to the refrigerator. I brought the trays back, and Bev showed me how to layer the sandwiches she wanted to make. I started putting them together while she made potato salad. The woman was amazingly quick with a knife. She had potatoes, onions, egg whites, and spices chopped in a matter of minutes. When she was done chopping, she threw everything in a large bowl and started adding sauces. I was lining sandwiches on a serving platter, and she was whipping the potato salad together when Lynn, the hostess, came to tell us that our friends had arrived. Bev looked over to see my progress.
“We might need to make you sous chef!” she joked. “You put those together with a quickness!” I smiled. Compliments from Bev and Ellie were not to be taken lightly when it came to being in a kitchen.
“Is there anything else I can help with?” I checked.
“Just take those sandwiches into the private dining room. I have Lynn headed that way with drinks already, and I will bring the salad in,” she instructed.
“Sounds good. I will see you in there then,” I told her. I picked up my serving platter and headed to the private dining room. When I got there, I saw that everybody was already seated, but there were four empty chairs.
“Hi Rosie,” Kennedi said to me when I entered.
“Hey, Kennedi. Are we expecting four more people?” I asked her, gesturing towards the four empty chairs.
“No, not at all,” she said. “Those are for you, Krysta, Bev, and Theo, if he can make it.”
“Gotcha. I just wanted to make sure that we had prepared enough food,” I told her.
“It looks like you prepared just the perfect amount,” Kennedi said, smiling at me. I smiled back and took a step sideways to get out of the way so Lynn could deliver the drinks she had with her. I was getting ready to follow Lynn out of the room and back to the kitchen to see if Bev needed anything else when Bev walked in with a huge bowl of potato salad. She saw me and put her hand up.
“You have done enough. Please, sit down. I appreciate your help!” Bev told me. She was one woman I would not argue with, so I found the chair nearest Kennedi and sat down. After Bev set the potato salad down, she took the seat opposite me and looked over at Clark.
“Theo will not be able to make it,” she informed him. “He is all the way across town and not quite done with his meeting yet.”
“That’s okay,” Clark told her, looking a little disappointed. “I will fill him in later.” Just then, Krysta walked in.
“Oh, good! You’re here!” Charlie said once she was in the room.
“Of course, I am!” Krysta replied. “You said you needed me here.”
“We do!” Leah chimed in. Once Lynn was done distributing drinks, she quietly left the room and slid the door closed behind her. Bev leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, looking at Clark. The room was buzzing with anxious and excited energy. Being that my special skill was centered around energy transference and manipulation, I could easily sense even the tiniest changes in the bioelectrical field emitted from humans when they were experiencing different emotions.
“What is all of this about?” Bev asked Clark curiously.
Clark glanced around the room before he started to fill us in on the details of the meeting with Brody Woodin. Leah and Charlie chimed in with some details, and a few minutes later, we all had a better picture of what they were facing. Clark turned to Kennedi and waved his hand out in front of him, indicating that he wanted her opinion.
“What was your impression of Brody?” he asked Kennedi.
“Everything that Brody said was the truth,” Kennedi started. “What’s more, is that his desire to help is genuine. He does believe that when we win this case, it will make a positive impact on the industry. He was telling the truth when he mentioned that it was worth the challenge to do so.”
“He seemed like two completely different people in that room. I wasn’t positive we were going to get a good report from you because of how severely his demeanor changed,” Ellie said to Kennedi. Clark started nodding.
“I understand where you are coming from on that,” Clark told Ellie. “By the end of the meeting, however, it made me feel like he would be an absolute surprise in the courtroom.” Kennedi was nodding as she listened.
“Yes, both of you have great points. Let me assure you that both of those personalities were one-hundred percent genuine. Where most people would simply change expressions when speaking about certain topics, he makes an entire shift in demeanor. The benefit of that type of thinking is that it is ultimately focused. In short, it is a very good thing,” Kennedi explained.
Both Leah and Charlie seemed to relax a little bit, along with Clark and Ellie, after hearing Kennedi’s evaluation.
“Okay, so he is one for one so far,” Clark said and then looked at Ellie. “How about you? Any legal grounds that he was leaving out?”
“No,” Ellie responded immediately. “Everything he mentioned had basis in law. I will reiterate for him, however, that everything is pretty much at a standstill until the saliva has been analyzed. The results of that will determine how we can proceed.” Clark was nodding again, and Leah had a smile on her face.
“That is such a relief to hear!” Leah piped up. “I had faith in him, to begin with, but it is still so nice to have a confirmation of it.”
“That is completely understandable,” Kennedi told Leah. Charlie had been quiet up until then.
“We need to figure out our plan for getting the saliva analyzed,” he said.
“I say we call Clint,” Clark said. He turned in his chair to face Charlie more directly, and I felt an energy spike in the room. Clark didn’t want to upset Charlie about something. “I know we keep things in-house whenever possible, but this time it is out of our hands. He is the closest thing that we have to knowing somebody in the biotechnology business. In fact, speaking for myself, he is the only person I personally know in the biotech industry.”
Charlie was nodding and grinning by the time Clark finished his sentence. “I’m with you, Clark. No arguments here.”
Leah was still smiling. The room's energy evened out when Clark realized he was not going to get the opposition he expected from Charlie.
“Clint will be happy that he is able to help with something as important as this,” Leah said. “How about we call him while we are all in the same place?”
“Sounds like a good idea, babe,” Clark agreed with his wife. She pulled out her phone, scrolled through her contacts list, and eventually dialed a number. She put her phone on speaker and laid it in the middle of the table where we could all hear it. After only three rings, Clint answered.
“Sel Tech, this is Clint,” he said.
“Hi, Clint, it’s Leah.”
“Oh, hey, Leah. What can I do for you?” he asked.
“Clint, Clark, Charlie, and I would like to talk to you about having your lab do a special analysis for us. You are on speaker with all of us now. How soon would you be available?” Leah had her business voice on.
“For you bunch? Just as soon as I get back,” Clint said. “I am in New Mexico for the next two days. I can do midmorning the day after I get back.”
There was a slight drop in energy in the room. No doubt, everybody was hoping he would be available immediately. Leah did not let her disappointment show on her face, however. Charlie nudged Leah on the arm and then scooted forwa
rd a little bit.
“Clint, this is Charlie. That will work perfectly. I have a short trip to take to Vegas for some business and will be getting back the same day that you do. Does ten the following morning work?”
“That is perfect, Charlie,” Clint replied.
“Great. We’ll meet at the penthouse. Leah will send the address over to you,” Charlie told him. Clark leaned in as well.
“Be sure to bring your appetite, Clint. If I know Ellie, she’ll take the opportunity to make this a brunch!” Clark joked. We could all hear Clint chuckling on the other end of the line.
“I will be sure to skip breakfast that morning,” Clint responded. Leah reached forward and picked up her phone but still held it out where we could hear.
“Thank you, Clint. We’ll look forward to seeing you then,” Leah told him.
“Absolutely. I look forward to seeing you all as well. Goodbye.” Clint hung up, and we heard the line go dead. The energy in the room picked up a little bit.
“Well,” Charlie started, “three days, in the long run, isn’t that bad of a wait.”
“Not too bad at all,” Clark confirmed. “That will give Krysta just enough time to do the numbers that we need.” The entire room turned and looked at Krysta.
“What numbers would those be?” Krysta asked, almost laughing at how people were staring at her.
“We need to know what kind of budget we can spare for things like legal fees and lab tests,” Clark told her.
“And we will need you to pull those numbers from VGS’s books, and UsForThem’s books,” Charlie expanded. Bev cleared her throat.
“Krysta, you are more than welcome to include Belavi’s books in that. If for no other reason than to know what is there to back the other two up.” The tone in Bev’s voice made it impossible for anybody to object, even if they wanted to.
“I will get started right away,” Krysta said, and she began to stand up. Leah, Charlie, and Clark all started laughing.
“For heaven’s sake, Krysta. You can get started after we are all done here. You don’t have to run right out,” Leah told her.
“Oh, okay,” Krysta chuckled. Just as she was sitting back down, there was a small tap at the door, and then it opened. Reina poked her head in shyly.
“Hi, Reina!” Leah said as she waved Reina into the room.
“Hello, everybody,” Reina said as she came in and glanced around the room. She turned her attention back to Leah and held up a large envelope she was holding in her hands. “You had a rather large stack of documents show up at the office. I would have waited to give them to you until you got back, but whatever they are is important enough to need a signature for delivery. I tried calling, but there was no answer, so I called Lynn. She told me you were here, so I figured I would just walk them down. I hope that is okay.”
“Of course, that is okay!” Leah told her. “Here, I will take that, and you can have a seat. I will give you a ride back to the office here in just a minute. We are almost done.”
“Thank you, Leah,” Reina responded and found the seat next to Bev, where Theo would’ve sat. Leah turned her attention back to Charlie and Clark.
“I almost forgot about your Vegas trip,” Leah said to Charlie. He nodded back at her.
“I almost forgot as well. I’m glad it is a fast one this time,” he replied.
“Fast is the only way to do Vegas!” Clark chimed in. Charlie glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow.
“When was the last time you went to Vegas?” Charlie asked Clark. I felt a happy energy bubble up in the room. It was coming from Clark.
“I was actually on my way there when I bumped into Kennedi, and my entire life changed. I never did make it after that. Before that, just once, many, many years ago,” Clark answered. Charlie looked at him for a moment.
“Wanna come?” he asked Clark. Clark’s head tipped to the side ever so slightly, as though he was contemplating something important.
“Hmm, let me think. Yes.” Clark started laughing, and so did Charlie.
“Oh great,” Leah said, rolling her eyes. She looked over at Kennedi. “Please tell me you will go with them and keep them out of trouble!” Clark and Charlie instantly looked over at Kennedi. Then they looked back at each other.
“Absolutely!” Clark said excitedly. “Hey, Kennedi, why don’t you bring Rosie with us?”
Kennedi started clapping her hands together and bouncing up and down in her chair. “That would be so much fun!” she squealed. “Rosie, please say you will go with me!”
I had never been to Las Vegas, but it had always appreciated the beauty of the lights I had seen in pictures from the Las Vegas strip.
“I would love to go!” I told Kennedi.
The room felt excited now. Clark clapped his hands together dramatically.
“Hey, Bev. Wanna go?” he asked jokingly.
“You must be out of your mind, sir,” Bev shot back and rolled her eyes at him.
“You can’t blame me for trying! Hey, maybe I can talk your husband into going!” Clark joked again.
“You’d have an easier time convincing me to go then getting Theo out of Elko!” Bev replied. The room had taken on a light, positive energy that matched the playful banter going on.
“Once again, you can’t blame me for trying!” Clark told her and winked. Bev threw her hands up in fake desperation and stood up out of her chair.
“I just can’t take any more of you!” she bellowed out with all the drama of Audrey Hepburn. She turned on her heel and briskly walked out of the room but not before turning back around to shoot Clark a mischievous grin. Clark turned to Charlie.
“Alright! It looks like me, you, Kennedi, and Rosie are in it for the fun!” Clark said. Charlie smiled at him and started nodding his head.
“I have a feeling I’m going to regret mentioning going to Vegas!” Charlie laughed. He reached over and took hold of Leah’s hand. “Keep the ringer on your phone turned up while I’m gone. You’ll never know what jam I will need you to get me out of going to Vegas with this guy!” Charlie hooked his thumb towards Clark a couple of times.
“Oh, hell, no!” Leah told him bluntly. “If it has to do with being in Vegas, get yourself out of your own jams! I’ll be here making sure that Brody’s office sends a nice, fat response letter to Floyd Monarch. I’ll be much too busy for your boyish shenanigans!” As she laughed at her husband and scooted back in her chair, I felt a weird energy change in the room. It was nearly unnoticeable, but not quite. I watched as Leah dramatically removed her hand out from under Charlie’s. He pretended his feelings were hurt just long enough to turn to Clark.
“I guess we are on our own in this, Clark!” he said, feigning sadness.
“Not quite, Kennedi and Rosie will keep us out of trouble. Didn’t you hear Leah? That is why we have invited them!” Clark winked at both Kennedi and me.
“I one-hundred percent will not take responsibility for any such thing!” I called out over their laughter.
“Me either!” Kennedi chimed in. By the time the boys were done with their joking, we had all had a good laugh. I truly enjoyed the energy that laughter brought to a room. I had products that I needed to finish testing before the end of the day, however, so I needed to excuse myself.
“I am sorry to leave the fun so soon, but I need to get back to the products I am testing in the kitchen,” I said as I stood. “Clark, when will I need to be ready for the trip?” Clark turned to Charlie and shrugged.
“Five in the morning. I’ll have a car pick the three of you up,” Charlie told Clark. Clark looked back at me.
“Five in the morning. Charlie will have a car pick the three of us up,” he told me as though I hadn’t just heard it from Charlie. I rolled my eyes at him, as did the rest of the room.
“I will be ready!” I pushed my chair in and leaned over to hug Kennedi goodbye. Next, I hugged Ellie goodbye.
“I am so glad it is you going and not me!” Ellie said extra loud so Clark co
uld hear. She looked over at him and smiled sweetly.
“Mmmhmm,” he huffed back at her. “You are simply too busy to go to Vegas!” He mocked her exaggeratedly.
Reina was in the chair closest to the door, so I hugged her last. She stood to hug me, and when I wrapped my arms around her, I detected a strangely uneven energy flow in her. On a small scale, it felt as if, somewhere inside her, she was sparking. On a larger scale, I realized that she was the one responsible for the weird energy I had felt a few moments ago. I pulled back a little and looked at her.
“Are you okay?” I mouthed to her when nobody else could see. She immediately started nodding her head quickly.
“Yes, thank you,” she mouthed back.
“Good!” I responded. “I will see you again in just a few days!”
“Have fun!” she told me.
“I’ll bring you back something really good!” I said to her. I waved to Charlie, Leah, and Clark then left the room.
As I walked away, heading back towards the kitchen, I found myself concerned about Reina. I had never felt a combination of energy like that from a cat girl. On the other hand, I was always hyper-tuned into the energy of the people around Clark, so maybe I was just noticing it more. It could be just her special frequency. As I walked into the kitchen and waved ‘hello’ to Bev so that she knew I would be working in there again, I hoped that Reina was truly good, like she had told me.
Trying to take heart in that, I tried to clear my mind, and within a few minutes, my thoughts were refocused on both the products I was testing and the trip I was about to take.
12
Reina
After the meeting at Belavi, I left with Leah and Charlie in their town car. Kevin, the driver, had instructions to drop Leah and me off at UsForThem, before taking Charlie back to his penthouse office. As the car pulled out the restaurant parking lot, I attempted not to pay attention to the unusual feeling I was getting from my core processor. I could not accurately determine if the feeling was coming from my physical systems software or my AI capabilities. All I knew was that I felt uneasy, uncomfortable, and a type of internal anxiety that I had never experienced before.
