by Amy DuBoff
Ryan shrugged. “Generations later? It’d be hard to prove.”
“Hypothetically, if it was proven, what would happen to the original assets?” pressed Cris.
“I don’t know,” Ryan responded after a moment. “If the assets had been absorbed into the other Dynasties for generations, it would be difficult to tell the market value of those components and break it out.”
“Yes, it would be extremely difficult,” Cris agreed. “Either they’d have to turn over the operational units or make a best guess determination at the current market value and arrive at a cash sales settlement. It’s only one of those two options, since based on Taran law, the original asset distribution would have been in violation of inheritance rules.”
Ryan eyed the two Sietinens across the table. “Does this have something to do with my dad’s inheritance?”
“Not exactly.” Wil leaned forward and folded his hands on the tabletop. “Ryan, against all odds, it appears that you are a lost heir to the Dainetris Dynasty.”
Time seemed to stand still in the room. Ryan’s mind was blank—his entire sense of self temporarily shattered. That’s not possible! He shook his head. “There must be some mistake.”
“No mistake,” Cris said, producing a handheld from his inner pocket. He brought up a genetic analysis on the screen, curiously not using the holographic projection.
Ryan looked over the results. He knew next to nothing about genetics, but the report seemed to indicate a match with absolute certainty. “I don’t understand.”
“We’re still trying to piece it together,” Wil admitted. “When Raena ran into you, I immediately identified that you had abilities. I figured you were probably handed over as a Ward when your parents suspected you’d develop abilities, but this—I didn’t see this coming.”
“I’m just a servant…” Ryan murmured.
“Not anymore,” Cris said, looking him in the eye. “I won’t pretend like I have a plan because I don’t have one—yet. We’ll work through this development, though. You’re inexplicably the son of one of my best friends. He was like a father to me—way more than my own here. You can be assured I’ll look after you from now on like you are my own.”
Wil nodded. “Given this news, I hope you’ll accept the offer to come to the TSS. It’s the safest place you can be while we sort this out.”
Ryan’s mouth still felt dry. “Yes, I’ll come.”
“Good.” Wil glanced at his father before returning his attention to Ryan. “It goes without saying that this needs to be kept very need-to-know at this point. I know it will be difficult, but you can’t tell any of your friends here. Right now, only the three of us know. We’ll tell our wives and the twins, but that’s it.”
“I understand.” Ryan expected to wake up any moment and find that it was all just a joke. I can’t really be a dynastic heir… can I?
“I think the next steps are to talk with your mother,” Wil continued. “She might know more than she let on with you.”
“I haven’t seen her since she gave me up.”
“We’ll find her,” Cris said. “But even when we do, she can’t know about this, either. Not until we can vet her.”
Ryan nodded. “She abandoned me. I have no allegiance to her.”
“This isn’t about picking sides,” Cris countered. “At least not among family. The Priesthood is another matter.”
“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Wil cut in. “I think we’ve overwhelmed him enough.”
Ryan swallowed hard. “I don’t even want to know.”
“Yeah, we’ll get to that later,” Wil said with a reassuring smile. “Take some time to process this. We’ll get you moved up into guest quarters for the rest of the time until we go back to Headquarters. Tell your friends whatever seems best—that you’re preparing to join the TSS and are no longer employed. Just nothing about Dainetris.”
“All right.” Ryan still felt shaky.
In a daze, he wandered back down to the worker levels beneath the manor, possibly for the last time. Is this really happening? As he looked around at the familiar faces in the halls and common room, he suddenly felt like an outsider in a place that had been his home for almost his whole life.
He reached his door and palmed it open. The tiny space also seemed strange from his new vantage. He had so many questions about how he’d ended up there he didn’t know where to begin.
Ryan left the door ajar as he began packing some of his favorite clothes and his minimal personal items. If any of his friends happened to walk by, he wanted the chance to let them know he was going so they didn’t hear it through the gossip chain. What do I tell them? he pondered. They probably won’t believe me no matter what I say. I can hardly believe any of it myself.
There were few passersby in the hall at the mid-afternoon hour, so he was almost done packing by the time anyone more connected than a casual acquaintance wandered by. The first was Tony, another service tech with specialization in interior climate control systems.
“Hey,” Tony said, poking his head through the open doorway. “Uh, are you packing?”
The voice caught Ryan by surprise, pulling him from his thoughts. “Yeah, I’m heading upstairs.”
Tony leaned against the doorframe. “Promotion?”
“Not exactly.” Ryan secured the clasps on his bag. “I’m joining the TSS.”
His friend laughed. “Are you serious?’
“I was just invited to train as an Agent.”
“So they’re inviting anyone to join now? I thought you had to have abilities for that.”
“Apparently I do,” Ryan replied.
Tony crossed his arms. “Oh. Um… Congratulations?”
“Yeah, I think it will be good,” Ryan said. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet.”
“And in the meantime you get to hang around upstairs? Lucky you.”
Ryan shrugged. “Cris and Wil are actually pretty friendly and easygoing.”
His friend’s eyes widened. “Now you’re on a first name basis with them? Stars, that was fast!”
“I was just differentiating—” Ryan tried to explain.
“What trouble are you getting into now, Tony?” Sophie said from out in the hallway, beyond Ryan’s view.
Of course she’d pick now to come by. Ryan slung his bag over his shoulder, poising for a quick exit.
“Not me this time,” Tony replied to her. “Apparently our friend here is joining the TSS.”
Running footsteps sounded in the hall and the door to Ryan’s room flew open the rest of the way.
“You’re doing what?” Sophie demanded.
“I’m going to train as an Agent.” Ryan decided to stay behind the bed as a buffer between himself and Sophie’s wrath.
“You can’t!” she exclaimed.
Ryan looked for a path between his friends, but he was trapped. “I got an offer this morning. It’s a chance to start a new life—maybe the only chance I’ll ever get.”
“I think you’re crazy to get involved with the TSS,” Tony said, “but I hear where you’re coming from. I’d probably go, too.”
“But, what about all of us here…?” Sophie stammered.
“It’s not like I’m dying. We can stay in touch,” Ryan replied. Not that I’ll be able to tell them what’s really going on.
Sophie spotted the bag on Ryan’s shoulder. “When are you leaving?”
“I’m heading upstairs until they go back to Headquarters. It’ll be a few more days, I think.”
She scoffed. “So just like that you go from being one of us to one of them?”
“Let’s be honest, Sophie,” Tony said as he stepped back out into the hall. “Ryan always considered himself above us. Just look at how he treated you.”
“No, I—” Ryan protested.
“Enjoy your new life.” Tony stomped down the hall.
Sophie hung back for a moment longer. “It won’t be the same here without you.”
“I’ll miss all o
f you,” Ryan told her. “And I’m sorry things didn’t work out with us the way you hoped.”
“Yeah, well, I’m used to that.” Sophie retreated into the hall. “Goodbye, Ryan.”
He stood in silence taking in his room one last time. For years, the three meter by three meter space had represented his whole world. To have his existence redefined as a dynastic heir and TSS Agent changed his sense of identity at the deepest level.
With nothing left for him down below, he strolled slowly through the halls up to the guest wing of the mansion. As he passed by the other servants, he gave them a parting nod and smile that they’d only understand after they heard the news through Tony or Sophie.
Unfortunately, by then the message would have twisted into a story of Ryan ditching his worthless underlings the first chance he got. That’s how it always went when someone received an opportunity beyond the servitude they were born into or assigned at a young age as a Ward. For those that remained trapped, it was easier to pretend like someone had always been an outsider rather than wonder why they had been chosen over another. Ryan had done the same thing himself a dozen times in the past. Being on the receiving side this time hurt, but he understood.
As he stepped out from the servant halls into the guest wing, the reality of the changes in his life finally started to set in. I’m a guest here now—I’m not at work. Eventually I’ll be the “sir” and “my lord”. He froze in the middle of the hall, overwhelmed by the magnitude of that upcoming transformation.
“Ryan?” a voice called him from his trance.
He turned to see Raena down the hall, wearing a mesh cover-up over a bikini. Her hair was wet and sunglasses set atop her head.
“Back already?” she asked.
“So your dad hasn’t talked to you?”
She shook her head. “About what? I’ve been at the pool.”
He searched for words. “Stars! Where to start.” Then, he remembered Wil and Cris’ warning about not sharing his lineage out in the open. “There’s too much to go into right now or here. But, I will be joining you at the TSS.”
Raena’s face lit up. “That’s great!”
“And I’ll be training as an Agent.”
Her excitement turned to surprise. “You have abilities, too?”
“I had no idea,” he admitted. “I guess your parents picked up on it right away.”
“Is that what we felt, then, when we first met?”
“We both know it was more than just that.”
She nodded. “All right. Well, I guess we do get to see where this can go.”
Ryan resisted a sudden urge to kiss her right there in the middle of the hall. “I supposedly have a room up here now, until we leave later this week.”
Raena smiled. “Good, then I’ll see you soon. I need to go change now, though.” She pointed toward her room.
“Yeah, see you.”
He shook his head with disbelieve as she disappeared into her room. Someone who the night before had been completely unattainable was now an ideal match under his new name. He kept waiting for someone to jump out and tell him it’d all been an elaborate prank at his expense, but an announcement never came. I need to figure out who I am.
CHAPTER 17
“I don’t think we should delay,” Wil said to his father. “We should speak with Ryan’s birth mother immediately.”
Cris examined the profile for the woman, Marie Pernelli. “How did Banks find her?”
“Maybe she knows. Or she might have information,” Wil urged. A secret Dainetris heir… I never would have guessed.
“All right,” Cris agreed. “Get Ryan. I’ll arrange transport.”
Wil proceeded to the guest wing. He pressed the buzzer on Ryan’s door.
The teenager answered, still wearing his servant clothes. “Hi.”
“We’re taking a trip into town,” Wil stated. “To speak with your mother.”
Ryan’s face flushed. “I have nothing to say to her.”
“It’s important that you set aside bitterness about the past so we can get some answers. There’s no one else in a better position to answer questions about your lineage than her.”
“Can’t you go without me?” Ryan asked.
“We could, but I think it’d be valuable for you to come. For a number of reasons.”
“All right.” Ryan’s reluctance was audible.
“But first,” Wil said, looking over Ryan’s gray servant uniform, “why don’t you change into something more fitting for your new position. Do you have any street clothes?”
“Oh, right.” Ryan looked down at himself. “I’d meant to change. Just a minute.” He ran to the bedroom.
Wil waited in the hall, his mind wandering to what they might find out from Marie. Did Banks have an arrangement with her, or was it an affair?
Ryan emerged from his bedroom dressed in black pants and a blue form-fitted, long-sleeve shirt that could pass for any social standing depending on the context.
“Perfect, let’s go,” Wil said and led the way to the front entrance of the mansion.
Cris was waiting for them with a surface transport car, its doors spread open to either side to allow easy access to the middle passenger cabin.
“Thank you for joining us on short notice,” Cris said. “I know confronting past issues with one’s parents can be difficult.”
“I barely remember my mother,” Ryan replied. “I doubt she’ll even recognize me.”
“We’ll see.” Wil gestured to the car and they climbed in.
Cris tapped the console at the center of the passenger area to enter their destination. The doors automatically closed and the car autonomously began driving into town, accelerating after it left the stretch of gardens closest to the estate. It wove down the hillside into town.
“I figured we’d fly,” Ryan commented.
“It’s faster, yes,” Cris said, “but much more conspicuous. There’s no need to draw attention to our visit.”
They rode the rest of the way in silence as the terrain changed from forest to swank, single-family homes on the hills surrounding the city, and eventually to the urban center. The tinted windows on the car allowed them to gaze out without fear of recognition from the people on the streets.
The car fell in line with the other automated vehicles on the roadway, eventually arriving at a block of mid-rise quartered housing in a working-class sector on the outskirts of town. When it reached the back side of a roundabout at the terminus of a dead-end street, the car pulled off into a parking area and powered down. The doors parted.
“Her unit is just up here,” Cris said, consulting his handheld.
The three of them took stairs up to the second floor. The entrances all had identical dark green doors inset in the whitewashed building facade, only differentiated by a unit number on the upper right of each door.
“This is it,” Cris said, stopping in front of unit 2734. He scanned his handheld over the door, which brought up Marie’s picture and name.
Wil pressed the buzzer.
“Identify yourself,” a woman’s voice said over the intercom.
“Marie, we’re friends of Jason Banks,” Wil stated. “We’re here regarding your son.”
“My…” The intercom clicked off and the door unlatched. It swung inward a crack. “Who are you?” Marie asked through the slit.
“We’re with the TSS,” Wil stated, opting to keep the Sietinen Dynasty out of matters for the time being. “And Ryan is with us.” He beckoned the teenager over to stand in front of the opening.
Marie’s breath caught when he stepped into view. Tears welled in her eyes. “I never thought I’d see you again.”
“Why did you give me up?” Ryan demanded.
She shook her head. “It wasn’t my choice.”
“Why don’t we talk inside?” Cris suggested.
Marie stepped back from the door, allowing them to enter.
The compact residence was only designed for one or two inhabi
tants, so Wil and Cris had to step into the living area as soon as they were through the door. Ryan hung back in the kitchen next to the door with his mother as she continued to stare at him with wonder.
“Look at you, all grown…” she murmured, brushing her fingertips over the side of his face.
He pulled back from her touch. “Why did you give me up?”
Marie’s hands fell to her side. “The terms of my agreement with your father were very clear. He gave me all the money I’d need to care for you and I’d get the child I always wanted. What neither of us counted on was the Priesthood getting involved.”
“That figures,” Wil said under his breath.
“Start at the beginning,” Cris requested.
“Well, I was working as a nanny, living at the time in a building similar to this one,” Marie explained. “One day, Jason showed up looking for my mother. He said he was a childhood friend. She had died when I was young, so we got to talking and apparently both of us had wanted a child but had never had the means. We came to an agreement: two million credits, and he’d provide everything else I’d need. He spent a week with me before going back to the TSS.”
“Did you have any contact after that?” Cris asked.
“No. When he left, he said he wouldn’t be able to make contact until Ryan was grown. Once he was old enough, I was supposed to give him that holopainting.” She pointed to the image of a red flower.
Wil walked over to the framed holopainting sitting on the end table next to the couch. Nothing stood out about the image. He picked it up and searched around its frame. In the back, he found a tiny memory chip.
“Probably instructions,” Wil said, indicating the chip to his father.
“You know Ryan’s father was Jason Banks,” Cris said, “but the name on his birth certification doesn’t match.”
Marie nodded and sank onto the couch. “Yes, the official father stated on Ryan’s birth certification is a forgery. Jason insisted. I wasn’t in a position to argue—I still got my son.”
“He wanted the baby to remain as hidden as possible?” Wil suggested.
“Given his position within the TSS, if the Priesthood was watching he couldn’t have his involvement known,” Cris agreed.
