by I. T. Lucas
Fuck. He hadn’t factored that in. It was always the small things that no one thought about but couldn’t live without. “What are we going to do about it?”
Onegus lifted his hands. “You tell me. As I see it, we have two options. One is to offer the jobs to a bunch of humans who would be willing to stay for a long period of time. Once their contract expire and they wish to leave, we will erase their memories. But that’s problematic on so many levels that it’s undoable. The other option is to have William design smart robots and buy a robotics factory to make them.”
Perhaps William could design something like that, but it would take him years. They needed a solution now.
“How is Sari handling that? Her castle is isolated, and there are no humans living with them,” Arwel asked.
Kian grimaced. “The castle grounds proper are not big, and her people like gardening.”
“What about the cleaning and the maintenance? And all those changes she made?”
“All in-house work. She trained her people well.”
Onegus crossed his arms over his chest. “So that’s what we need to do too. People will take turns taking care of the grounds.”
Kian pinned him with a hard stare. “You think? We’ll have a hard enough time convincing them to move in. Give them chores, and no one will agree to move.”
“The Doomers solved that problem easy. Slaves,” Anandur said. “They snatch girls off the streets and give them a choice between prostitution and household chores. And once those who chose prostitution get too old, they are switched to housekeeping. Dalhu says they work fourteen-hour shifts and get one day off a week.”
Reminded of Jackson’s sad story, Kian sighed. “Yeah, but we are not slavers.”
“We won’t be if we pay for the services provided,” Anandur argued. “Like the girls we shipped to Hawaii.”
“They are free to leave whenever they want.”
“So will the people we hire be. A little memory scrub and they can go. They’ll remember they worked for a secret facility but not where and for who. That will solve the problem of a time gap.”
Why were Anandur’s arguments starting to make sense? “Anyone else think it’s a good idea?”
“I do,” Arwel said. “Maybe we can also bring women. Professionals, of course. I like the idea of an easily available sex service. Saves time and effort.”
Kian shook his head. How could he hate Doomers for doing exactly what his own Guardians were suggesting? They were supposed to be better than that.
Kian cut the air with his palm. “This idea officially killed the rest. No humans. We cross the line with one thing, and there will be no going back. Before you know it, we will be no better than the fucking Doomers.”
The room went quiet. No one offered new suggestions or even looked him in the eye. Kian mellowed out his tone. “I concede that there is a big difference between hiring a full-time escort service for an in-house brothel and kidnapping girls off the street for a lifetime sentence of slavery in one way or another. But that doesn’t make it right. A lesser evil is still an evil.”
Anandur huffed. “Since when was paying for sex considered evil? Except for Kri and maybe Andrew, everyone in this room has done it at one time or another.”
Kian shifted in his chair. He was guilty of the same. But those were different times… His own words came back to haunt him. It was no excuse.
“I feel so sorry for those girls,” Kri said. “I’m daydreaming of the day we will storm that freaking island and free all of them.”
Kian leaned toward her and patted her shoulder. “Me too. But there is no way to do it. We can’t even send a spy to determine the island’s defenses.”
“What if we follow the girls’ trail? Find the slavers who do the dirty work for the island, and cut off the supply side?” Andrew suggested. “I know it’s a drop in the ocean, but it’s better than nothing, and maybe we can get some information out of that.”
As before, Kian had a nagging suspicion that he was being led by the Fates. He was supposed to do something about the slave trafficking.
But what?
Why push him in that direction?
As powerful and as influential as the clan was, it wasn’t powerful enough for that. He couldn’t even take out a small local operator without Turner’s help. Fully mobilized, the Guardian force was too small. Besides, there was no way the guys would come for anything other than to help rescue a clan member.
“We can send a female spy,” Kri said. “Hell, I’ll go. There is no way to identify a female immortal. Not unless she is horny and the men know what to sniff for.”
Kian had had his fill of stupid ideas for the day. “And what would you go as? A client?”
Kri snorted. “Why not? A rich lesbian looking for a good time.”
What was happening to his people? Had they all contracted the stupid bug? “As if they would allow gays or lesbians in there. You know what the Doomers’ attitude is on the subject.”
Kri deflated. “Right.”
“Getting snatched and taken there is the only way.” Brundar surprised everyone by saying something. “But no one will believe a woman like Kri was a runaway or a drug addict who got kidnapped off the street. Too big and athletic. We need someone who looks young and vulnerable.”
Kri tapped her foot on the floor. “You’ve got a point. But I’m all there is.”
“Carol fits the profile,” Brundar said in his inflectionless tone.
The guy was the last one Kian expected to come up with idiotic suggestions, but apparently there was a first time for everything.
“The woman just escaped unimaginable torture, and you want to send her into the lion’s den?”
Brundar shrugged. “I don’t want to do anything. But if you asked my opinion of who could pull off something like that, I would say Carol.”
“What if she wants to do it?” Andrew asked hesitantly.
Kian’s temper was rising by the minute. “What if she wants to commit suicide? Should I aid her in that too?”
Andrew fiddled with his pen, twisting it in between his fingers. “Eventually, we will need to go on the offensive and do something about that island. Sending an immortal female spy to gather information is the best idea we had so far. Actually, it’s the only one.”
“And how do you propose to get her out of there?”
“We still need to figure out the details. All I’m saying is that the idea has merit.”
Chapter 19: Eva
“Is that a new suit?” Eva raked her eyes over Bhathian’s dashing good looks.
Striking a pose, with a hand inside his trouser pocket, he smirked. “Do you like it?”
“I do. It’s a huge improvement from what you had on the last time you took me to that restaurant.”
“I ordered a new one the next day. I was careful not to overdo it with the weightlifting, so my measurements didn’t change.”
She chuckled. “That’s a lot of effort to go to just so you could take me to a fancy place.”
Bhathian pointed a finger at her. “I paid a fortune for that membership, woman, and I intend to make the best of it. Now go get dressed.”
“I’ll be back in a few.” Eva rushed upstairs, her bare feet making no sound as she climbed. It wasn’t like her not to be ready, but Bhathian had arrived a few minutes early, catching her still in her bathrobe. Not a big deal. Her hair and makeup were done, and putting on the dress and her new designer shoes wouldn’t take long.
“You look stunning,” Bhathian said when she came back down. “Is this a new dress?”
So sweet. He probably wouldn’t have noticed if she’d put on the same dress she’d had on the last time.
“No, but the shoes are.” She lifted a foot and dangled it from side to side.
“Sexy as hell.”
“I thought so too. They cost more than my car payment, but I couldn’t help myself. Shoes and lingerie. Those are my weaknesses.”
“I wish…” he sta
rted and promptly clamped his mouth shut.
Smart man. If he’d offered to help her out financially, she would’ve kicked him where it hurt. Eva managed just fine, and if business continued to be slow and finances became tight, she would cut expenses.
Eva was not going to be beholden to anyone. Especially not to Bhathian. They had a history with him offering her money and it wasn’t good.
The drive passed with the two of them gushing about how adorable and cute their granddaughter was, and whether Nathalie would be okay with them buying Phoenix a teddy bear. Eva hadn’t expected her practical and down to earth daughter to have all those New Age ideas about raising babies.
Things had been so much simpler in the Seventies, and babies grew up just fine.
When they arrived an attendant was waiting for them, and they followed him, holding hands, through the greenery leading to the restaurant. The guy introduced them to the hostess who led them to the same private enclave they had sat in before.
Bhathian removed his jacket and draped it over the chair’s back. “I don’t like it that you’re going out of town again.”
“I don’t like it either, but it’s a well-paying corporate gig, and I like those.” Eva took a sip of her wine. “This is good.”
“Can I come with you?”
It was tempting. An impersonal hotel room would feel much more homey with Bhathian waiting for her. But how would he occupy himself while she was doing her thing?
It wasn’t worth wasting his vacation days on.
“It’s a lovely offer, but it doesn’t make sense. I’ll be gone all day and probably in the evenings too. So unless you’re in the mood for touring Tampa on your own, you’ll be bored out of your mind.”
Bhathian smirked. “I have no intentions of staying in the hotel or touring. I want to follow you and see you in action.”
That was unexpected. “You’ll throw my concentration. I need to have my head in it and not worry about you giving me away.”
Bhathian’s lips narrowed into a tight line. “I’m not an untrained civilian. I know how to handle myself on an assignment”
She reached over the table and clasped his hand. “It’s two nights. Three, tops. I want to do it fast and be done with it. I have another job already scheduled after that.”
“Another one out of town?”
“No. Something local. By the way, did you talk with Andrew or Kian about asking that guy to meet me?”
“Oh damn, I forgot. We had a meeting yesterday, and his name came up, but I got distracted by what was on the agenda.”
Curious, she leaned forward. “Anything you can tell me?”
“Yeah. But not here.”
“Understood.” Secrets should never be discussed in public places. Eva was proof of why it was such a bad idea. Most of her information gathering happened in cafés, restaurants, and bars. It was a rare occasion when she needed to go a step further and engage the target in conversation.
The waiter arrived with their meal, and for the next half an hour or so, they were too busy rolling their eyes in bliss to talk.
Bhathian wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I never knew Brussels sprouts could taste so good.”
They must’ve been amazing because Bhathian was a meat man through and through. He rarely touched any greens.
“I should ask Gerard for the recipe. You need to eat more vegetables.”
Bhathian laughed. “That’s funny on so many levels. First of all, good luck getting that prick to share his recipes. And secondly, you don’t cook.”
“I know. But for a moment I entertained the idea. A girl can have her fantasies.”
“I’m sure yours never include cooking.”
Eva pouted. “Not true. When Nathalie was little, and Fernando and I were still good, I made an effort to make a home for us. But I couldn’t compete with a husband who was a talented baker and cook. I was no good at it, and it was damn embarrassing to watch the faces he made while suffering through the meals I prepared. So I stopped trying.”
He patted her hand. “If you ever get in the mood to play in the kitchen, you can experiment on me as much as you want. I’m not a finicky eater.”
Eva crossed her legs, letting her dress ride up her thighs. “With how little leisure time we have together, I’d rather get busy playing other games. In the kitchen and elsewhere.”
A wide grin split Bhathian’s face. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Chapter 20: Kian
For the past hour Kian had sat in his home office, mulling over and over again the idea of using Carol to infiltrate the island. Every instinct he had was shouting not to do it, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it. If he didn’t care so much about her, he would have considered it as a viable proposition. Not that he would’ve felt differently about any other clan member, but especially the females. The thing was that as a leader he couldn’t afford the luxury of thinking with his heart. He had to use his head.
“What’s eating you?” Syssi asked from the doorway.
He sighed. “A dilemma I can’t reconcile.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Yeah. I need help.”
Syssi chuckled. “That must be one hell of a conundrum if you’re admitting that you’re not omnipotent.”
He pushed his chair back and got up. “It is. How about you make us coffee while we talk about it.”
Her face brightened. “Cappuccino?”
His wife loved her cappuccino machine, pushing cups at him and anyone else who ventured into their penthouse. “Sure.”
“There are leftover pastries on the counter. Could you please take the plate outside? It’s a warm night, perfect for sitting out on the terrace.”
“No problem.”
He did as instructed, and a few moments later Syssi joined him with the coffees. Putting her hand on his thigh, she lifted her head and looked at the sky. “Isn’t it beautiful out here?”
“It is. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to sit out here, and I can’t even remember the last time I took a swim in the pool.”
“I know, right? We get so carried away with our jobs that we forget to slow down and take a breather, to enjoy life.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” Kian raked his fingers through his hair.
“So what’s the conundrum that is giving you so much trouble?”
He took a sip from his cappuccino. “Kri came up with the crazy idea of using a female immortal to infiltrate the island. Since there is nothing that would identify her as one, she could go in pretending to be a human.”
Syssi’s eyes narrowed. “What for? What can a female spy uncover that can be of any use? Even if we knew all there is to know about the island and all its strategic secrets, we still couldn’t storm it with the force we have. Besides, even if we had an army of Guardians, what would you do? Kill tens of thousands of Doomers? That’s genocide, Kian. I have no love lost for them. I feel sorry for the women they hold captive, I hate everything they stand for and the havoc they wreak time and again on humanity, but killing them all off is not the answer. We would be no better than them.”
He loved Syssi’s clarity of vision. In one minute, she’d summed it all up beautifully and inadvertently pointed him in the right direction.
“You’re absolutely right. We can’t win using brute force. Only a change from the inside can put an end to the eons of their reign of terror. We need to start a revolution.”
Syssi arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. “With one woman?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Sometimes all it takes is planting a seed, and there is no one who is better equipped to do it successfully than a skilled seductress.”
“Kri?” Syssi’s incredulous expression was almost comical.
He laughed. “No, not Kri. Carol.”
Syssi’s jaw dropped and she uncrossed her arms. “Are you crazy? Even if we put aside for a moment what she’s been through at the hands of that sadist, the woman is a ditsy a
irhead, a drunkard, and a druggie. That’s who you want to send on a mission like that?”
He nodded. “She’s perfect. No one will ever suspect her of subterfuge. And let’s not forget that she proved to be tougher than a hardened warrior. I know only a handful of men who could’ve withstood the torture she’s been through and keep their mouths shut.”
“But what about skills? She has no training, and frankly I doubt she is the kind who is willing to learn.”
“She is skilled. Carol was a highly sought after courtesan. And as to the rest, we will put her through rigorous training. If she agrees, that is.”
Syssi’s rebuttals served to strengthen his conviction that Carol was the perfect candidate for the job. Kian could almost feel the Fates nodding in approval. Everything that had happened recently had been leading up to this. Including Carol’s abduction. He would’ve never considered her for a mission of that caliber otherwise. She’d proven to him and everyone else that she was made of much stronger stuff than she seemed to be.
Syssi remained skeptical. “I still don’t get it. What can she do to start a revolution?”
“Share fresh ideas. Describe a better future. We’ve been doing it with the humans since the beginning. On the one hand, we spread stories and myths that demonstrate a better way of life, that promote science, justice, and equality; on the other we trickle information that helps in other ways. Like better agriculture that grows more food to feed more people. Naturally, Carol will not peddle technology, but she can spin stories like no other, and she can manipulate males effortlessly. She’ll have them doing things for her in no time.”
“I’m starting to warm to the idea. But how will she communicate with us?”
“We still need to work out all the details. This is not a plan for tomorrow or even next month. First, Carol has to agree, and then she needs to go through rigorous training in a lot of fields. We need to prepare her for anything. As to communication, I trust William to come up with some gadget. And if not, she can send letters ‘home’ to her family with the guys she will trap. Obviously, they will have to be written in code.”
