by Simon Archer
“Blackjack is good for me!” Hammy answered.
“Me too,” I agreed. Charlie looked up at Jason, the dealer, and nodded once to signal him that we would be playing blackjack. “We are waiting for one more player, however.” I hadn’t known that Charlie had invited somebody else. Just as I was about to ask who we were waiting on, the door to the suite opened again.
“Hey, Charlie! Hey, Clark!” the man walking through the door said. It was Abe Gunther.
“Abe!” I replied. Then I looked at Charlie and raised an eyebrow. “You never mentioned that Abe was coming out here!”
“I didn’t know that he was. We ran into each other headed to different meetings in the same hotel!” Charlie told me.
“Good to see you, Clark!” Abe said as he slipped off his shoes and put his slippers on. Then he walked straight up to Hammy.
“Hi! I’m Abe,” he introduced himself before Charlie or I had the chance.
“I’m Hammy, an old friend of Clark’s. It’s nice to meet you, Abe!” Hammy said happily. He was the biggest people-person I had ever known.
“Good to meet you as well!” Abe was in an especially good mood. He chose a chair in between Charlie and me and sat down. He gave his drink order to his waitress and then turned to Charlie. “What are we playing?”
“Blackjack,” Charlie told him.
“Get ready to lose some money, boys!” Abe joked. The four of us laughed and then turned our attention to Jason as he started to hand out chips and deal the cards.
The first game went quickly, with Charlie taking the win. Jason dealt the cards again. That time, Hammy had the winning hand. Our waitresses checked in on each of us to make sure our drinks were full after the second game. Jason paused, dealing while we were waiting for our refills.
“So, where are these cat girls I keep hearing about?” Hammy asked me while we waited.
“Two of mine came with me, but they are out visiting art galleries right now,” I replied.
“Ah.” Hammy nodded and turned to Charlie. “Do you have cat girls also?”
“My wife and I have one who lives with us,” Charlie started. “However, my wife owns a foundation that helps abandoned cat girls, so it often feels like we have a lot more than just the one!”
“What about you, Abe?” Hammy asked. Abe looked over and started shaking his head.
“Nope. My wife, Gretchen, doesn’t want us to have one around. I think she is confusing having a cat girl with having a kid. She never did want kids either,” Abe told us.
“How did you end up with so many?” Hammy asked me. Just then, our waitresses brought us our drink refills. Jason started dealing cards again as I told Hammy how I had ended up with each of my cat girls.
“That Ellie sounds like my kind of girl if she can cook the way you say she does!” he joked.
Hammy went on to ask more questions about cat girls in general. He had never been around one, and part of me was sorry that I didn’t have Kennedi and Rosie with me for him to meet. Charlie told him about Macy, and how much she had changed when Kennedi and I modified her. That story led into a summary of how the businesses Charlie and I had built together, had progressed since then.
Hammy seemed fascinated with every story he heard. When he asked Abe what he did for a living, Abe ended up telling him all about how Trevor, an Omnicorp spy, worked through his distribution company to try to deceive Charlie and me, and attempt to ruin all of the businesses we were aligned with but failed miserably. The stories kept flowing as Hammy kept asking questions. By the time he was all caught up on the goings-on in my life since that one future-altering day in the pawnshop, it was almost midnight. Charlie and Hammy both looked at their watches at the same time.
“Gentlemen,” Charlie started when the current hand of blackjack wrapped up. “I have an early morning meeting, so I will need to be calling it a night. You are more than welcome to stay and keep playing. Jason is at your disposal for as long as you’d like.”
“Nah, I have to be getting back to the family,” Hammy said. “My youngest daughter doesn’t understand the concept of sleeping in.” Hammy rolled his eyes. Abe stood up, nodding.
“I’m with you two. Five a.m. will be here awfully soon!” he said. “Charlie, I’m very happy I ran into you. This has been fun.” Charlie stood as well.
“Me too,” he replied. “Next time we are here, we will have to leave business out of it!” Charlie turned to shake Hammy’s hand.
“Next time you are here, we will have to leave Clark out of the Blackjack game. It has always been one of his best. He nearly cleaned all of us out!” Hammy joked. While the first few hands of the evening did not go my way, I had ended up on a decent winning streak before we finished.
“How about next time, you pick the game, Hammy? Then you can’t blame the game for my good luck!” I teased him.
Hammy chuckled and nodded his head in agreement. The three of us headed towards the door to put our shoes back on.
“Am I supposed to keep these?” Hammy asked, referring to his slippers.
“Absolutely,” Charlie told him. “Yours to keep.”
“Well, how about that!” Hammy boomed. He slapped me on the back and smiled. “Clark, I can’t tell you how good it has been to see you again, buddy! It makes me so happy to hear how well you’ve done for yourself.”
“I won’t let so much time go by again, I promise,” I replied. “I appreciate that. The road has been interesting but most certainly worth it.”
When the four of us had our shoes back on, the concierge opened the door, and we exited the VIP room into the casino. We walked to the lobby together before going our separate ways. I shook hands with Abe, and Hammy wrapped me up in one of his big bear hugs.
“Until next time,” Hammy said to me after he let go. “Charlie, I’m happy to have met you, sir!” He shook Charlie’s hand, held up the slippers that he was carrying, laughed, and then walked out of the lobby to head home. I was sad to see him go but was happier that I had a chance to see him at all. Our friendship could most closely be described as ‘roots.’ If either of us ever needed to be reminded of who we were, what we stood for, or what we have been through, all we had to do was be in the same place.
After Abe and Hammy were out of sight, Charlie and I took the elevator ride up to our rooms. It had been a long day, and although I’d had a great deal of fun, I was ready for sleep. We stopped at our respective doors long enough to bid each other goodnight.
“I like that friend of yours,” Charlie told me. “He’s welcome back to my games at any time.”
“I thought you two might get along. Hammy is unapologetically himself, no matter what the situation, and I value people like that,” I replied, nudging Charlie in the arm to indicate I considered him one of those people as well. Charlie nodded in thanks and opened his door.
“Meet you out front at the car at ten?” Charlie confirmed the next morning’s plan.
“Perfect,” I responded. The two of us parted ways and went into our own rooms. My room was dim, the only light coming from a single lamp in the living area. Both Kennedi and Rosie were sitting on the couch. They jumped up when I came in and ran over to greet me.
“How was your game?” Kennedi asked, dropping a quick kiss on my cheek.
“Did you have fun seeing Hammy?” Rosie followed up before I could answer.
“I had a great time, ladies,” I told them both, laughing a little. “How did art shopping go for you?”
“I got some amazing ideas. People here are so incredibly talented!” Kennedi gushed.
“And you should see what she found for Reina!” Rosie added.
“Go get it and show it to me!” I told Kennedi as I turned on the bedroom light and started stripping off my clothes to get ready for bed. She bounced into the other room and returned shortly with a small bag. She reached in the bag, pulled out what looked like a crystal ball, and handed it to me. I took it from her hand and held it up to my face to get a better look. At fir
st, it appeared to just be a clear glass ball. I raised an eyebrow look to Kennedi.
“Now turn it over,” she instructed with her hands held up under her chin excitedly. I turned the ball over and looked through it again. This time it looked like there were flames dancing inside it. I turned it from side to side. Each time I moved the ball, the flames looked even more alive.
“That is something, now isn’t it!” I told Kennedi as I handed it back to her. “Why did you pick that?” Kennedi looked up at the ceiling moment and then brought her eyes back down to me.
“Reina has a fire inside her. We all saw it at your surprise party, but you wouldn’t know it if you’d only just met her,” Kennedi explained the connection in her mind.
“I think it is perfect,” I agreed with her.
“Thank you!” Kennedi squealed. “Now, let’s get you some rest. I can see that you need it.” She carefully placed the ball back in the bag and stowed it in her suitcase. She and Rosie set to stripping their clothes off as well. The three of us climbed into the king-size bed together, one of them on each of my sides. They snuggled up against me and started purring. The warmth of their bodies and the vibration from their throats lulled me to sleep in a matter of minutes.
When I woke up the next morning, I felt like I had time traveled. It seemed as though I had just closed my eyes a moment ago, but I had slept for a full eight hours. Usually, when that happened, I felt tired and groggy. That morning I did not. In fact, I woke up energized and ready to hop out of bed and get the day started. The girls were already up and out of bed. They had packed my suitcase and laid clothes out for me to wear. We only had about an hour before we needed to meet the car so, instead of going to one of the buffets for breakfast, I decided to order a breakfast burrito from room service.
While I was waiting for my food to arrive, I took a quick shower and got dressed. A bell boy had arrived with room service and took our bags when he left. The girls told me more about some of the unique art they had seen the night before while I ate my burrito. When I was done, the three of us checked the room to make sure we had gathered all of our things and headed downstairs to the lobby. Charlie was waiting for us when the elevator doors opened.
“Five minutes to spare!” he said jokingly as we got off the elevator. The four of us walked to the lobby and out to the curb where a limousine was waiting to take us back to the airport. The last of our bags were being loaded into the trunk as we got in and settled into the plush leather seats. As the limo pulled out and we headed to the plane to take us home, my mind started drifting back to Elko. Taking a little break from normality had felt good. It also cleared my mind so that when I got back, I could focus on saving the businesses, and life I had built. It was with a renewed energy that I vowed to myself to take down Omnicorp permanently. There would be no accusation that only causes a bit of damage or a single criminal for the company to pawn the blame off on.
This time, Omnicorp would be getting its doors closed for good.
15
Kennedi
I squeezed Clark’s hand as we got off the elevator at the Lindys’ penthouse. I could tell that he had built up some tension about this meeting over the last twenty-four hours since we were in Vegas. He wasn’t nervous about the meeting itself, but rather about what Clint’s capabilities would be as far as analyzing the saliva. Of course, there was always the question of what Clint would want in return for his services. If it was just money, that would be no problem. Krysta had gone over the books and verified that funds for both analysis and legal fees were allotted. However, Clint was heavily involved in UsForThem, and it would make sense for him to want to play a bigger part than just a hired hand. Clark looked down at me and grinned as the doorman to Charlie’s penthouse opened the door for us.
I had always enjoyed the view from the penthouse. Once through the door, I let go of Clark’s hand, and he headed towards the dining room table where Charlie, Leah, and Clint were sitting. I walked across Charlie and Leah’s spotlessly polished, dark, hardwood floors, and looked out their floor-to-ceiling windows. I knew it would be a couple of minutes before they got their meeting started. I could see the entire town of Elko. Macy walked up and stood beside me.
“A little gloomy today, isn’t it, Kennedi?” she noted.
“It doesn’t happen here very often, so I don’t mind when it does,” I replied. I turned to look at her. “I would have thought you would be at the store already?”
“Reina and I will be going to the store shortly,” Macy told me. I looked around the expansive living room and into the kitchen. The penthouse had an open floor plan so that almost any place could be seen from any other place.
“I didn’t know Reina was here,” I responded. I hadn’t planned on seeing her, so I hadn’t brought her gift with me. “How is she doing?
“She has been doing absolutely wonderful with the customers at the store. I was joking with Krysta just the other day. I told her Reina’s skill at making people comfortable and knowing what to say to them almost matched her own!” Macy giggled and pushed up against my shoulder. “She came over here this morning because she knew I wanted to wait and see how your trip Vegas went before we headed into VGS!”
“Awe, that is so sweet of you!” I started. “It was absolutely amazing. The lights, the people, and oh my goodness, the art! It was everywhere, and it was absolutely beautiful. There were people there who could do an entire painting with a spray can and a piece of canvas on a spinning wheel.”
“I think I will ask Charlie if I can go with him the next time he has to travel out there,” Macy commented. “If you think it is beautiful, then I am certain it must be magnificent!” Just then, Reina walked up on the other side of me.
“Hi Kennedi!” she said happily. I smiled over at her.
“Macy was just telling me how you two are heading into the store soon. I wish you could stay longer. Things have been so busy it feels like the three of us haven’t had much time to catch up since the birthday party,” I told her.
“You are correct about the busy part!” Reina laughed. “Leah is going five-thousand different directions between this lawyer stuff and keeping the open house event planning on schedule. She refuses to even consider postponing the event.”
“There is absolutely no surprise in that!” I told her, also laughing. Just as I was about to turn back to Macy and ask about the venue they picked for the event, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I saw Reina’s tail twitch. I glanced up at her face. She was calmly looking out the windows in front of us. Nothing about her expression showed that she had even felt her tail jump. Before I could ask her about it, or turn to talk to Macy, Leah called for Reina from across the room. Reina shot me a quick smile and left. I watched her walk away, focusing on her tail to see if it twitched again or not. Then I looked back at Macy. “Did you see that?” I asked her.
“See what?” she replied.
“Reina’s tail. It twitched,” I told her. “I have never noticed it before. Does it do that often?” Macy glanced behind us as though she were looking to see if anybody was within earshot.
“I saw it for the first time yesterday,” she said quietly. “It is definitely something new. I haven’t asked her about it yet, though.”
“It doesn’t seem to hurt her. I wonder if she can even feel it. She acted like she had no idea it happened,” I observed.
“Maybe I will ask her about it later today while we are closing up the store,” Macy said.
“I don’t know what would make it to do that, so that may be a good idea,” I agreed with Macy.
“Speaking of the store, I had better get us over there,” Macy said.
“Okay. I can tell the meeting is about to start, so I better get going as well,” I replied. We gave each other a quick hug before going our separate directions. I made my way to the dining room table and took the seat beside Clark. Leah said goodbye to Macy and Reina and then joined us as well. I looked across the table and nodded to Clint.
“You as well, Clint,” I replied. Clark shifted in his seat next to me.
“I know everybody has busy schedules, so let’s get right down to it,” Clark started. He looked Clint directly in the eyes and leaned forward a little bit. “Clint, we need a very thorough, very detailed, very fast analysis performed on cat girl saliva.” Leah slid a paper across the table to Clint.
“Here are all the biological and chemical details about the saliva that are available. It’s not much,” she told him. Clint took the paper, picked it up, and looked it over. When he set it back down, he looked at each of us, and then his eyes settled on Clark.
“What is your timeline for the analysis?” he wanted to know.
“As fast as possible or faster. The bigger question is, just how quickly can something like that be done?” Clark replied.
“If you are looking for a simple breakdown of what it is made out of, I could rush it through in a few days,” Clint started. Charlie cleared his throat.
“Our end goal is to find what gives it its healing properties, and then see if there is a way to modify the formula significantly so that it is still effective, but extremely varied from the original formula,” he explained. Clint scooted back in his chair.
“So, you are looking at actual experimentation,” Clint said. “That makes things a little more complicated. This paper here says that the original formula took three years to develop. Now, what you are needing wouldn’t take that long because the basic components are already here, but the reformulations are highly unpredictable on a timescale.” Charlie and Leah looked at each other, and then they both looked at Clark.
“Are your facilities able to do something like that?” Clark asked.
“The one here in Elko is, yes,” Clint told him. “I am more than happy to work on this, but I cannot, in good conscience, guarantee a timeline.” Clark looked at me. I nodded slightly to let him know that Clint was honest. Leah took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
