Merry knew Levitsky was a woman who valued straightforwardness, so she jumped right to the point. “Dean Levitsky, we’re appealing to you in the interest of releasing Jayne from prison. She’s responsible for bringing down Dean Geiger.”
Cameron nodded enthusiastically. “My police work that I’ve been celebrated for would not have been possible without Jayne.”
Levitsky raised an eyebrow. “So? By that logic, Detective Stafford, I should pardon all criminals. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to do your job at all. Isn’t that correct?”
Alfonso studied Merry and Cameron’s reactions. He knew that Levitsky enjoyed playing Devil’s advocate. It was her way of gauging the strength of her allies and enemies. She rarely revealed her true feelings. You had to work to earn her trust. Alfonso hoped Merry and Cameron knew this.
Cameron immediately countered Levitsky’s indifference, which gave Alfonso hope. “I can argue, definitively, that Jayne was always operating more as an undercover agent rather than a traitor. Her work with Artimus and Cayetano in Deep Wen not only led to the arrest of two of the largest criminal kingpins in Deep Wen, but exposed countless underground crime rings across the entire Federation. The information we’ve gleaned from those two has been… invaluable.”
Levitsky didn’t reply, a sign that she was thinking, which was a sign that she was impressed by Cameron’s immediate rebuttal of her first comment.
Merry chimed in next. “Considering the fact that Geiger has evaded this entire situation with a slap on the wrist, thanks to his power and immense wealth, it’s a travesty that Jayne hasn’t received a pardon.”
Oof, Alfonso thought. Geiger’s fate was already an extremely sore spot for Levitsky. She didn’t sit up off the couch, but the intensity of her stern seriousness might as well have lunged at the screen. “And that’s my fault, Merry? Do you have any idea the appeals I made? The favors and deals I offered? I want nothing more than to see Geiger in the same situation as Burrett, but the powerful pursue power for a reason, and unfortunately Geiger had built himself a sturdy castle of money and connections. We can only hope his catastrophic embarrassment will keep him a public pariah.”
Alfonso winced at Levitsky’s harsh counter-attack. Romantic ideals of justice were not the path to Levitsky’s good side. She was practical. Her practicality usually erred on the right side of history, but she preferred thinking for herself, for better or for worse. He knew she’d continue to do everything in her power to lock up Geiger, but for now, she had more immediate priorities. He worried that Merry had just blown their chances, but Cameron’s practical and useful news kept Levitsky interested.
Levitsky waited until the fear in Merry’s and Cameron’s hologram eyes satisfied her. “I’ll think over arranging a pardon, of some kind, for Jayne. Perhaps. But it will involve a large amount of negotiations with her. Is that clear?”
Merry breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Dean Levitsky.”
“Sure,” Levitsky said dismissively. She glanced over at Alfonso and winked at him. Alfonso knew she would do everything she could to help Jayne. Right now, however, she was having too much fun leading on Merry and Cameron. Her sadistic side was showing.
Cameron cleared his throat. “There’s just one more thing, Dean Levitsky. One more… favor we’d like to ask you.”
Oh no, panicked Alfonso. He had no idea what they were about to ask, but he’d found it was a bad idea to ask Levitsky for two favors in a row.
Levitsky raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
Cameron held out his hands as if he were giving a business presentation. “We have a friend, another friend who was crucial in stopping Dean Geiger, who could use a pardon as well. If you could help pull some strings to pardon him of his, uh… marijuana charges, it’d be greatly appreciated.”
There was an uncomfortable silence. Alfonso couldn’t believe they’d stick their neck out for Vlad like that, especially when the very request could put Jayne’s release in jeopardy.
But then again, strong bonds form in battle.
Levitsky stretched out on the couch. “I will think it over. We’ll be in touch. Goodbye!”
Merry and Cameron waved, goofily. “Thank you, Dean!”
And the call ended.
Levitsky rolled over on the couch. “Alfonso, please schedule a visitation at the prison with Jayne. I’d like to see her tomorrow.”
Alfonso grinned. “Yes, ma’am.”
He walked to leave her office and take a seat behind the desk that once belonged to Noora Barcellos. The droid had just completed engraving “Ana Levitsky – Dean of Operations – Espionage Academy” onto the door.
It looked great.
+++
Cell #116-L, Theron Maximum Security Prison, Outer Edge, Theron Techcropolis, Amaros
If Jayne had a window to look out of, she would have been able to see to the horizon. She was just far enough on the outskirts of Theron Techcropolis that her view wouldn’t be ruined by a cloud of smog. She would truly understand the scope of the land she had traveled across to get to Headless Hope and Deep Wen.
But there was no window in her maximum security cell. She was surrounded by a foot of steel and concrete, with one lightbulb hanging above her, a metal bed, one blanket, a toilet and a sink, and one change of clothes.
Every day, at noon and at six pm, a tray of food slid under her door.
Once a week, she was allowed to walk through a narrow hallway of eight-foot tall walls that opened at the roof toward the sun. She was granted 30 minutes to look up at the sky. Not the simulated sky of the lower levels, but the actual sky over Amaros.
In a way, that was an improvement. Jayne counted down the hours to her thirty minutes of sunlight every week.
She began to understand how Burrett felt.
When her door slid open, she expected one of the guards to be standing there with wrist and ankle shackles to lead her to the open hall of sunlight.
Instead, she was faced with a short yet powerful woman backlit by the unrelenting light pouring in Jayne’s dark cell.
The silhouette spoke. “Good afternoon, Jayne.”
The figure walked in and took a seat by Jayne, who finally recognized her. “Levitsky? Ana Levitsky?”
“That’s Dean Levitsky now.”
Jayne received the information flatly. “Oh. Congratulations. Sounds like a necessary change.”
Levitsky had the power of transforming any location into her domain. Upon her arrival, the cell became an extension of Levitsky’s calm calculated approach to life. Levitsky crossed her legs and leaned against the concrete wall. “Jayne, I’ve arranged your release and full pardon.”
Jayne raised her hand to her face. The sudden news brought tears to her eyes.
Or maybe it was just the light.
Levitsky held up a finger. “Under one condition.”
Ah, there it is. Jayne had been waiting for it. “What’s that?”
“You and me are a team now. You help me out, you assist me, you, and your team, are my muscle. I’ll help you when I can. If I can.”
Jayne understood she was backed into the proverbial corner without much room to negotiate, but wanted to try anyway. “And if I don’t?”
Levitsky smiled. “I hear this prison just started meatless Mondays, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
Jayne laughed. “Alright. But this is my caveat. I’ll work for you, but you have to let me do it my way. No interference. I don’t like to be micromanaged. Got it?”
Levitsky loved it. Push and pull, friction, submission and dominance. She offered her hand to Jayne. “Deal.”
Jayne clasped Levitsky’s hand.
She was a free woman.
+++
Jack Flap’s Flap Jacks, L52, Theron Techcropolis, Amaros
Margarita splashed upward in a tidal wave of 110 proof goodness.
Fred, Merry, Cameron, Vlad, and Jayne all began guzzling down their drinks.
Fred tapped out almost immediately. He’d ea
ten too many pancakes to make room for a fishbowl-sized margarita.
Vlad began chugging a little too hard and the icy beverage snuck down the wrong pipe. He gagged and set his margarita down to catch his breath.
Two down, three to go.
Cameron and Merry did their best, guzzling the drinks with all their might, but they were no match for Jayne.
Cameron and Merry were two-thirds of the way through when Jayne turned her glass upside down and slammed it down on the table. She collapsed backward into the booth, instantly hammered.
She felt great.
Merry set her margarita down to press her fingers to her temples. “Ah! Brain freeze!”
Cameron looked at Jayne in enraptured amazement. “What’s your secret, Jayne?”
Jayne felt the liquor burning its way down her throat. “Two months in solitary confinement has a way of making you thirsty.”
From the moment Vlad struck out in the drinking contest, he started rolling a fresh joint.
He licked the edges and rounded it off. “And getting all of your possession charges dropped has a way of making you want to get stoned.”
Merry reached over and yanked the joint out of Vlad’s hand. “Vlad! You can’t light up in here!”
Vlad crossed his arms. “Fine. But don’t hurt that joint, it’s one of the best I’ve ever rolled. I’m really proud of it, and I’ll want it later.”
“It feels good to be home,” Jayne said out loud to no one in particular. She said it more to herself than any of her friends, though she was glad they heard it. “I missed this.”
Fred returned to sipping his margarita while the pancakes in his stomach absorbed the sugary, liquor ice. “We missed you, too, Jayne. It’s good to have you back.”
Cameron held up his drink. “Now I’ll drink to that.”
Merry took out her comm and opened her professional message account. “Jayne, want to see some good news?”
Jayne lolled her head back and forth against the thick cushion of the booth. She was feeling the tequila. “Jayne wants to see good news,” she answered in the third person, a sure sign of inebriation.
Merry handed her comm over to Jayne. “Since we exposed Dean Geiger, we’ve received more commissions than ever. Across the entire Federation, individuals, businesses, and government officials all want to work with us.”
Jayne smiled. “Thaaaat is great. High five.” She high fived Merry, then Cameron, Vlad, and Fred. Was she feeling the warmth of the liquor? Or the warmth of friendship? “There is one thing, though.” Jayne suddenly remembered the details of her arrangement with Levitsky. “It’s not bad-bad. But, I had to make a deal with Levitsky upon my release. She’s basically got us on retainer now.”
Jayne detected a slight pallor of reticence from her team. “You guys can be as involved as you want. That was my agreement. But I had to let you guys know.”
Fred slapped the table, hard. He’d had a few sips of his drink, but was already as drunk as Jayne. “Nonsense! Where Jayne goes, we go. Right?”
Merry smiled. “He’s right, Jayne. You know that?”
Jayne wanted to smile, but instead she grinned with an open mouth. “Noooo. Really?”
Vlad put a joint in his mouth. When no one was looking, he’d rolled another. “Come on, Jayne. If we were ever going to leave you, we would have done so a long time ago.”
He lit the joint, but Merry immediately reached over and yanked it out of his mouth. “I swear, Vlad, you’re like a four-year-old. A four-year-old with a serious dependency issue.”
Cameron traced the rim of his margarita. “There is one thing you all should be prepared for. Especially you, Jayne.”
Jayne was drunk, but not too drunk to misread Cameron’s tone. “Yes, Cameron?”
Cameron weighed the best way to pass along this information. “Well, Jayne, your little trick in Deep Wen pissed a lot of people off.”
Jayne nodded. “Yeah, I bet.”
Cameron continued. “Artimus and Cayetano want you dead. And now they’re united with a common enemy. Just puts some heat on you.”
Jayne shrugged. “We just took down one of the most powerful men in the Federation.” She pointed at Merry, then Vlad, then Cameron, and finally Fred. “WE took him down. With the help of so many people. Strangers. Tom, for example. And Van and Jessica. Thousands of people believed in us all along. When we’re together, I’m not afraid of anything.”
Merry smirked. “Well, Jayne… There might be… one little thing you’re afraid of.”
Jayne felt that was a weird thing to say. She could tell Merry had a trick up her sleeve. Oh no. “What?” Jayne asked pointedly.
Merry casually sipped from her drink. “I don’t know. Maybe, just… the signature birthday celebration offered here at Jack Flap’s Flap Jacks…”
In that moment, Jayne felt more fear than she had ever faced in her entire life. “No… No, no, no. Merry you didn’t…”
As if on cue, four staff members rounded the corner with a canoe hoisted above their heads. They threw leis around Jayne and beckoned her to climb into the canoe.
Apparently, the birthday celebration wasn’t always a simple gimmick. Jayne certainly wasn’t in on it. As she climbed into the canoe, she felt brave. There was nothing to be afraid of, not even the horrible embarrassment of having strangers shout happy birthday at you.
Once Jayne was situated in the canoe, the staff members hoisted her above their heads and began navigating her around the packed restaurant. Tomorrow, Jayne would worry about Levitsky. Tomorrow, Jayne would worry about Artimus and Cayetano. Tomorrow, Artimus would worry about Geiger and Burrett.
Tonight, Jayne would be a young fool full of liquor and joy, surrounded by friends, with no concern with what the future might bring.
What shall we do with the birthday gi-irl,
What shall we do with the birthday gi-irl,
What shall we do with the birthday gi-irl…
What shall they do, indeed.
Transmission from Merry Winterbourne
Hey there,
Merry Winterbourne here.
Jayne has asked me to keep you filled in on everything going on around here. Normally I’d just hack your system to send you everything, but I’ve been told that’s not considered very polite on Earth, so I’ll just get it to you by email… boring, but whatever.
So as your official go-to girl, I’ll send you alerts of when the next instalment of Jayne’s adventures is available to you on Amazon. Or the ‘Zon as we like to call it.
If you’d like to track Jayne through her trials and tribulations as she tackles all manner of shenanigans, then please go ahead and leave your email address here:
http://ellleighclarke.com/Jayne
As you might have gathered, this transmission will be coming from a great distance between our sectors. I will attempt to send you updates in chronological order but sometimes the universe happens, and not everything comes out in order.
An understanding of all things timey-whimey will be useful in such instances.
Additionally, if you have any feedback for Jayne - or the rest of us - do feel free to pass that on through me. All you need to do is hit reply to any of my messages.
I read every communication personally.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Merry Winterbourne
(on behalf of Jayne Austin, Spy for Hire)
Theron Techcropolis Gateway Building, L45
Theron Techcropolis, Amaros
Ell Leigh Clarke Author Notes
With *uninvited* Guest
Author Notes of Michael Anderle
September 24th, 2019
Thank yous
They say it takes a village to make a man.
Well, it takes a team to make a series.
I’d like to start by thanking the team of suppliers and collaborators for making this happen: Nathaniel, Brittany,
and Chiara, as well as our team of beta readers and JITers. Thank you for all your efforts in bringing this together.
I’d also like to thank my collaborator, MA for going forth on this series with me. It was super fun to put this together and come up with all the lewdness that Jayne and Merry get up to. We had planned to do so many more intricate spy kind of things… but got distracted by the craziness that Jayne (and Merry!) would get up to. It’s been a fun project, and it’s been great working with MA on it!
Brittany, JIT and Beta
Huge thank yous also go to ‘Canadian’
Thank you so much folks. I truly appreciate all your efforts. :)
Reviewers
Massive thanks also goes out to our hoard of Amazon reviewers. It’s because of you that we get to do this full time. Without your five-star reviews and thoughtful words on Amazon we simply wouldn’t have enough folks reading these space shenanigans to be able to write full time.
You are the reason these stories exist and you have no idea how frikkin’ grateful I am to you.
Truly, thank you.
Readers and FB page supporters
Last, and certainly by no means least, I’d like to thank *YOU* for reading this book… and all the others. Your enthusiasm for the world, and the characters, is heart-warming. Your words of encouragement, and demands for the next episode, are the things that often stay in my mind as I sit down to write.
Exposed (Interplanetary Spy for Hire Book 2) Page 29
