“OK. Do we use the Polo Cache and Laura as bait?”
“Of course. They’ll think we have it which will only turn up the heat on finding us. They’ll turn to the cops to do that for them; they’ve had no luck finding us. It’s where I’d go to make things happen. I’m guessing they’ll try to kill Laura, Gaea too, in all likelihood, then say we’re the criminals who did it and then we’ll be on every police watch list everywhere. It can only get better for them, not us.”
“What’s our connection that would interest the police in us. We have no connection.”
“Edward, Anna and Crissy met with us in New York City; it was contentious, Adam attacked Phil Poulet and it’s Edward who is well connected with the law enforcement internationally. Who will they believe if Edward accuses us of killing Laura and Gaea?”
“So? We stay here,” said Adam. “Besides, Laura is here with us, and Gaea is presumptively alive somewhere.”
“For now. But, maybe not forever. We need our freedom and our real lives back. We need to end this and we need to do so soon.”
“How?”
“Bait a trap with Laura, catch Edward and his minions, dispose of them and move on with our lives. If we must, we need to expose their crimes, their criminal organization and their long history of perversion. We need to show the world the truth, but time is running out. Gaea is gone and presumably in hiding; but they’ll find her eventually. Laura doesn’t want to stay here, so if she leaves again, we have another potential problem.”
“Which Fionna can fix.”
“Correct. When she goes, we erase her knowledge of where we are, and misdirect them to where we’re not. But what we need to do is let Laura go, tag and trace her movements and let her ferret out Gaea. They’ll both eventually try to strike a deal with Edward to save their own skins by giving us up. Laura will be tortured along with Gaea for the Marco Polo Cache, but in the end the Edward will get nothing because they have nothing. Somewhere along the way, we will have the opportunity to catch and expose them if we watch these two carefully. We need to have Laura and Gaea as bait. We’ll get only one chance, and if we fail, I think the cops will be looking for us for a very long time with arrest warrants. We’ll be trapped in Paraiso, and they’ll be free.”
Adam thought about it.
“Can we think about this overnight and talk again at breakfast? I want to know what each of you thinks because I can’t believe this ‘suggestion’ is unanimous. And I want to think through the moving parts, risks and challenges that might crop up. Then there’s Alana. We probably can’t do this without her skills; I don’t have her abilities. I want to talk to her if we decide to act, and then we need a plan. I want the circle small. It’s too dangerous if we fail, for everyone.”
Eene said, “Of course. We all need to be on board and we should think this through carefully. My only additional observation is do we want Edward to haunt us forever? Or should we act while there still is time and it’s just us against them?”
Fionna said, “Eene needs to speak with you alone. Unrelated topic.”
“You have already discussed?”
“Yes. And we’re totally with Eene no matter the outcome with you. And don’t get all butt chapped; you’re not in trouble and Eene is probably overthinking this whole deal. But you two need to talk. The rest of us already know the outcome. But, Eene needs to hear it from you.”
***
Adam looked at Eene with some level of trepidation, as Eene seldom had things to discuss with him that she hadn’t already cleared with his mates and Immortals. Eene had said it was a thing, a dark thing that she had to discuss but she had to have the talk with Adam now. She had things to say and things to ask. They did not directly concern the others but she felt that they were important and everyone needed to understand who and what Eene was deep inside.
These were things just between her and Adam, though she sought advice on what to say and how to say it. Some darker secrets were, she thought, not things that Adam would have ever contemplated about her; it was not in his nature to suspect the worst from his ladies. But she ached at times for these things, wanted Adam to be the one and needed him to understand that it was what she wanted; what she desired. She did not completely understand what she felt, only that she felt these things and could no longer hold them inside.
Her sisters said that the best approach with Adam was to be honest, tell him exactly what she needed and what her life experience had been. It could help Adam understand her relationship with Alana and why Eene wanted Alana to stay even if Adam wanted Alana gone. Alana’s skills were superior but what Adam knew about what Alana had done to Eene was more than he could tolerate. Eene had forgiven Alana but that was a spiritual matter; temporal things to him were quite different.
Adam said, “Did I do something wrong, Eene? You can tell me if a crossed a line. I won’t be mad. Sometimes it’s better to just tell me directly when I fuck up. I will always change my behavior to make you happy.”
Eene was looking down.
“No, Adam, it’s nothing like that. You’ve been wonderful, kind and considerate. Its no wonder why your mortals and Immortals love you and cannot be away from you. In the short time I’ve been with you, I feel it too. A longing to be close and to feel your warmth. To look forward to every morning like it will be better than the last. To see all your mates and wives collected every morning waiting for coffee and breakfast. Even the Immortals who become physical just to get a hug and a kiss and to have a coffee together in sisterhood. I can’t tell you how much your love and acceptance has meant to me; it has saved me. I am happy. I cannot remember a time when that was true.”
“Then what troubles you? Surely not that you still think I would ever send you away?”
“I shall always worry about that. Pure paranoia and insecurity. It is a part of my past to be always insecure, to be lied to, rejected and then thrown away.”
“But surely you don’t think that now. You’re family. Besides, my women, mortal and Immortal all adore you. You are a big part of the puzzle of this family and your part is as important as any.”
“Even Misti?”
“Even Misti. Though she eats with such gusto and has the worst table manners imaginable, she is dear to me, a part of me. So are you. There is no daylight between how I feel about each of you, including Noki.”
Eene came around to where Adam was seated and climbed on his lap, something she had taken to doing only recently. She put her arms around his neck and buried the side of her face in his chest. It was as if she wanted to talk but did not want to face him. She began to cry, gentle tears flowing from the corners of her eyes.
Adam asked, “What is it my love? What can I do to repair whatever troubles you and restore that sweet smile that lights up my heart?”
“It’s about my past. About what I have done and what I wish you to do for me.”
“I would do anything. You know that; I’m sure my women all have said the same.”
“What I ask is different.”
“Each of my mates is different. Misti and Fionna are dominant and desire edgy physical pleasure. Hana is sweet and desires only tenderness and affection. Sometimes I think she would forgo union if she could just have hours of just being in my embrace. My touch, our touch, is what excites her and makes her feel the love I feel for her. Noki and Niona are willing to let our passions excite and drive our lust each time we are as one. No two of my lovers are identical. And I don’t judge needs, as my wives do not judge mine.”
“My needs are not like theirs. They are dark. Yet I cannot escape them. If I told you that the things Alana used to do to me, how she used me, were things I wanted, would you hate me for being such an ugly creature? Would you send me away?”
“Of course not. And if that was something you allowed, I would want only to know why and do what I could to help or please you in the fashion you most desire.”
“I have known only physical punishment, abuse and the sexual gratification of others
as my sole experience. No one has cared for me. What I know is what I was forced to learn, not what I asked to learn. But at some point, in my early teen years, I changed. What was done to me became what I wanted too. I missed the attention, albeit negative, and craved my next brutal experience as the only way to feel truly alive. Alana tried to change me, but in the end, I told her what I wanted and needed to feel anything. At first, she would not do it. But then I said I would find what I needed elsewhere unless she did as I asked. So, she did. It is why I do not wish you to send her away. We need her, you need her skills and she wishes to stay, to help, though you say none of this mess concerns us. But now, since Laura left and talked to Edward and Anna, I disagree. Unfortunately, it now does concern us. It concerns us all.
“But the perverse actions I have engaged in at my direction, not hers, is not, therefore, entirely her fault. She later became enamored of what I would allow her to do to me, and she exceeded boundaries, the few I have. And for that, she will have to make amends, if she stays. I have told her so and she accepts her own responsibility for doing and making me do things even I did not wish to do. Money was never discussed; it was forbidden. She knows I will be harsh with her. But the source of my own perversion was not Alana; it started very early in my life. It became my normal; my accepted way of life, of pleasing others who wanted to use me. I am ashamed I let it come to this and want you to understand me and love me. The real me, who has done very bad things to gratify others and myself. I wish to be with you, because no matter what I need, I know you will never hurt me.”
“The past is he past, Eene. I am only concerned with our future; yours and mine. What is it you wish me to do? Punish Alana?”
“No. I wish to do that myself, for her to feel the other end of the whip as did I. I need you to do those things I need to experience, in all that it means, for my physical, mental and sexual gratification. I need you to be the one who does all those things for me that others have done, though they without love and affection. They simply used me, called me horrible things and treated me like I was not a person. I desire to be one personality when we are intimate and someone else when we are not. I wish to be whoever you want me to appear to be to the world, whoever I am at home with you and my sisters, but, when we are intimate, to be what I want when we are alone. I wish you to do what you may not wish to experience; what you would never do if not asked. Can you do that?”
“What, spank you? I can do that. We can talk about this more when we are alone, and you should instruct me in what pleases you. I have never been one to judge and I will not begin now. Misti is, to say the least, on the outer fringes of sexuality and female dominance, but we have been very happy together since joining with Noki. I think it’s safe to say that Misti’s perversions, her need to dominate and her erotic behaviors are not normal. But they are our normal. Noki too. I understand what you wish for yourself, and for me, and I will be the partner you desire. But I cannot and will not ever hurt you. I can and do draw the line with Misti and Noki on occasion. Don’t be too sure that your needs are so different from any of my mates, including my Immortals.”
“And you will love me still, though my behavior is perverse.”
“I do love you, not ‘will’, and your behavior between us, what you want and need, and what I want and need, is neither perverse nor anything of the kind. It is our world and our world alone. Besides, you may be surprised by what I may ask of you.”
“Will it be very, very naughty? Something I shall never share with anyone because you are so very, very dominant? Something like that?”
“If I told you now, I might scare you away. I shall reveal my perversions during our time alone.”
“So, I am still family? Truly with you and my sisters?”
“You are and ever shall be until you choose otherwise or change the beautiful woman you are inside; your authentic self. In our family we accept each other because of who we are, not in spite of who we are.”
“And Alana?”
“She may stay but I get to watch her punishment. She’s all yours but you and I shall be intimate afterward. I’m guessing for quite a while.”
“You really are a perv too, then?”
“I really am. Welcome to the club.”
Chapter 39
The clan was gathered early the next morning, and even the Immortals were in physical form, hungry and expecting one of Adam’s best efforts. The coffee as usual, was Ecuadorian, dark roast and fully flavorful. The ladies were in relaxed mode, skinny jeans, peasant tops and flats. Jewelry was minimal and hair was loose or back in pony tails. It looked to Adam as if they had all chosen the same uniform of the day, but the message was really solidarity. Even the least likely to want to kill anyone, Hana, was in the uniform of the day.
He started with coffee and teas first, thinking he would start off the conversation, make clear he thought this was discussion only, and that they would take some time to decide on something this momentous. Unfortunately, the ladies were there to press their case, not slow the process. It was normally Adam who wanted to rush a decision and it was Fionna and Kendra’s role to be the first barrier to stupidity. Misti was always last to go as her decision was usually final. As voted Misti, so voted Adam in most cases. They would argue in private, fight like cats and dogs, then have amazing makeup sex. Most of the ladies knew that Adam could not win an argument with Misti, so the fighting was just for fun and great sex a bonus.
This time would be different.
“I thought that while I cooked, we could start off with a discussion of the pros and cons of moving forward with a bait and mousetrap approach to this dilemma. I will admit that I’m just not sure what to do; the complexity in my mind and the variables of what could go wrong are too many for me to form a coherent opinion.”
Noki said, “Translation: he wants us all to say what we think first, then side with the winning argument, later claiming it was his idea all along. Normally that just fucking pisses me off but this time he might be right. Instead of putting fully formed solutions and timetables up for discussion, I’d like to get some votes, including yours Adam, about certain key issues, then we can talk about what to do or not to do. Is that OK?”
Everyone nodded. Adam said nothing, just tended to his cooking.
“Adam! Are you flaking out on us or are you going to speak up?”
“I’ll vote. But the answers have to be yes/no/abstain on the first round. After that we decide. There may be questions I haven’t thought about. I won’t commit to a course of action that seems shallow and not safe for all of us. Let me be clear; I am not risking any of you to hunt down my parents and Crissy or whoever. Not going to happen.”
“Alright. But if we decide to move, and you’re not in, we’ll go without you.”
“If you feel that strongly, I won’t stand in your way.” He lied; he would never agree to any course of action that did not place him at the center of the action.
“First, does anyone care whether the bait, either Laura or Gaea or both, don’t make it out alive? Does it matter?”
The Immortals, except Hana, said no. The three mortals said no. Alana, now included, and Adam abstained.
“Do you believe that we must kill the three or four to ever have peace and a normal life.”
Same result.
“Is jailing them sufficient?”
Just about everyone abstained.
“Why?”
Adam said, “How long? Where? Can they get out early for good behavior? I honestly believe we either kill them or don’t bother and walk away.”
“Do we all agree they pose an existential threat?”
All agreed they did.
“Do we need to do something immediately if we can, or is there time to wait?”
Everyone agreed that a decision was needed immediately; the timing of the execution of a plan, yet to be devised, would be determined by that plan.
“I would like to save some time. Who’s in favor of deciding now to kill at le
ast the three principals using Gaea and Laura as bait. We plan and go within weeks, if not sooner.”
The vote was unanimous.
“I didn’t think you’d like any of this, Adam.”
“I don’t. I wish we weren’t having this conversation but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t or that everything that was brought up is to my liking. It isn’t. My Immortals will not die, though I understand their stake in our lives is as important as for any of us. But I don’t wish to lose Eene, Misti or Noki, and I’d like to live myself. Alana won’t stay and is an unknown to my Dad, so I doubt she’ll be at much real risk; certainly, afterward if we fail and assuming they identify her and Eene. I will go along with the sentiment expressed in the vote but I still need to see what the plan is.”
He stopped talking, then said, “They are an existential threat and they need to die and as soon as I can make it happen. I would rather do this myself and avoid any risk to any of you. That is my preference.”
Kendra spoke up quickly. “I love you, I adore you but that is simply off the table. We all go or it’s a no go. No peaceniks here. In for a penny, in for a pound.”
Hana said, knowing the peacenik comment was meant for her, “I will vote for this plan only if we do not treat Laura and Gaea as disposable pieces of cheese. Whatever bad they have done, still their lives matter too.”
“I don’t agree,” said each of Niona, Fionna and Kendra, “but I will agree that all reasonable precautions to protect them should be baked into our plan. But under no circumstances does that mean we risk any of us for either of them. That must be understood.”
Hana said she agreed. Adam was silent.
“Adam!”
“What? Stop shouting at me.”
“In or out?”
“I said I’m in. What the fuck else do you want from me. Fuck! Leave me be.”
With that, Adam just took off his cooking apron, threw it in the corner and walked out.
He turned around and said loudly, “This was decided before I got here after we agreed to think about this overnight. You lied and now you’re trying to coerce me. Well, you have your answer. Now leave me alone, I have work to do. It does not require any assistance from any of you.”
Crissy Chance Page 29
