After the trial recounted the years of abuse her father perpetrated on Sharell and her mom, the guilt mixed with an anger that caused more guilt. Sharell realized her mother always expected it would come to this end, and still she chose to stay. Ultimately, both her parents had abandoned her, and caused Sharell to build a false shield of bravado while she silently screamed for someone to take control and tell her what she should do. It was the perfect background profile for a Manerea employee.
“There are views of outside, just from top level.” Manny watched her lean back in the seat.
Her fingers picked at the end of her braid, resting on her blue-jeaned thigh. “Oh. I kept thinking I wouldn’t be able to see it.”
“No. Some think it’s more like a temptation, though. You know. Look but don’t touch.”
“Well, I’ve always been kind of a private person, so it won’t be a problem. I’m glad I’ll be able to see outside, though.”
The road ended at a mountainside with a black, yawning hole swallowing them up as the limo drove into a tunnel. There were no lamps in little cages on the walls. Manny slowed their speed and turned on the headlights. It was only a minute before another yawning hole of light was in front of them. They pulled into a warehouse and parked next to a row of three black tractor-trailers.
Manny walked around to the passenger door and Sharell climbed out. She followed him to the trunk to retrieve her suitcase. The black bag looked small in the empty space, and she clutched it and stared around the garage. The walls and ceiling were rock, and the floor more packed dirt. The space was spotless and big enough to host a basketball game, except instead of hoops, two windows looked down on them from opposite sides of the cavern. Security guards stood behind the glass, watching closely while Manny led Sharell to a small elevator standing next to double doors for freight.
He pulled out a red key card and the door slid open. “This is the only entrance to the cave and, as you can see, it is guarded.” As the door slid closed, Manny was relieved to see a little panic in her eyes and that she was staring at the security post over the entrance to the warehouse.
Sharell jumped a bit as the elevator rattled by other floors to the fourth level. There were six buttons, including the ‘B’ on the bottom and ‘O’ on top. Those required a key card to unlock. No turning back.
The elevator stopped and the doors slid open to a rock passageway. This one did have the light bulbs in cages spaced along the walls. Her knuckles were white on her suitcase while she walked beside Manny.
They stopped and he looked at her. There was excitement in Manny’s eyes and he rested his hand on her shoulder. “I always love this part. Ready to see the project you’ll be working on?”
At this point, Sharell was afraid she had signed on to a mining crew. “Sure thing.”
Manny kept his hand on her shoulder and walked her onto the launch pad.
* * * * *
“Matt, hand me my stubby.” Sharell held her hand out from under the console and felt his palm rest on her butt while he reached into her front tool belt pocket. Her fifth attempt at lining the little bugger screw into the hole finally seated it, and she finger-tightened the threads.
Everything they had worked on for the past six months was in cramped spaces and it seemed like the stubby three-inch screwdriver was attached to her hand. When their shifts coincided, she worked with Matt. After shift, they worked on other things in his living quarters. He was tall and well built, which made him practically useless for squirming into their current projects.
Sharell ran her palm along the surface, checking for more empty sockets. There was no way to use a flashlight in the confined space. She backed out, her black braid sweeping the polished floor and her bottom wiggling while she crawled, guided by Matt’s hand. “That’s the last one.”
“Ten minutes left on shift, so I guess we’re done.” Matt stood and held down his hand to help her up.
Sharell slid the stubby screwdriver back into its leather pocket on her hip and brushed non-existent dust from the knees of her jeans. There were as many people on the Cleaning crew as in Maintenance. The board was a stickler for spit and polish.
She followed Matt to the chute that would slide them down two decks to the launch pad level. Elevators took you up, but with space at a premium the workers had to use the tubes to go down. They used to remind Sharell of waterpark slides when she first climbed into one over two years ago. When I lived in the world with kids playing tag and greasy fries, she thought, as she slid down the dark chute remembering the ‘perfect’ day. By the time she reached the packed dirt floor, Henry Thompson Park was filed away with all the other ‘outside world’ distractions.
She and Matt melded into the file of workers walking towards the locker room. Sharell’s left hand unbuckled her leather tool belt while her right spun the combination to her gray locker. She hung the strap on the hook in the back and decided to forego a cursory glance in the mirror stuck to the inside door. After spending the last eight-hour shift working with Matt, he had a pretty good idea of what he was getting.
Workers stood before the scheduling board on the wall, bitching. Even from across the hall, Sharell recognized the red heading with white block letters. Shit. Shifts were predictably scheduled, except when they were… “Shit, we just had a system check two weeks ago.” Sharell ran her finger down the list. “Dammit.”
She searched for Matt and found him standing further down the hall, and she nodded. Sharell squirmed her way out of the griping pack and joined him. “We gotta’ report back in four hours.”
The cavern was quiet this late at night. Only shift change workers trudged through the rock passages towards the freight elevator taking them to living quarters. Women were housed on level three and men on level two. Matt and Sharell remained pressed against the metal wall until the second stop.
After more than two years working for Manerea, it still struck Sharell odd that she lived in a primitive rock cave and worked on a spaceship. It was disorienting at times, but actually helped her not dwell on current items she no longer had access to. She rarely dreamed of driving her pickup down winding roads through farmland any more.
They reached Matt’s compartment, or Man Cave as the men called them. He lost his roommate six months ago when the guy finally bugged out from five years of living in the caves. Security chased him down, running naked through the spaceship and laughing hysterically about aliens. No one ever saw him again, and Security answered no questions.
It had been a sobering wakeup call to the rest of them. The pay in exchange for freedom was one hundred thousand per year, minus living expenses that came to less than three thousand. It was kept in an interest-bearing savings account and only disbursed when the project was finished. If a worker broke their contract, they forfeited all of it. The streaking exhibition had cost Matt’s roommate half a million dollars.
The quarters were not bad and the space set to a premium. A computer kept track of worker’s schedules, and the Man Caves on either side of Matt’s were currently vacant while the men were on shift. The computer turned an efficiency kitchen and small bathroom on one wall, and the television, stereo and games on the other, towards Matt’s compartment. They were on a turntable and would face his neighbors’ quarters in four hours, leaving Matt’s Man Cave with only a bed, end table, and wardrobe. The streaker’s furniture had been removed.
Sharell sat on the bed beside Matt. They bent over in sync, unlacing their black work boots, kicked them off, and stood facing each other. She reached for his belt, he reached for hers, and quickly fumbling hands worked at stripping their partner.
“I can’t believe they’ve only given us four hours off before scheduling us on shift again.” Sharell bounced onto the bed and held her arms up to Matt.
The handsome hunk joined the work crew a year ago, and they had been meeting a few times a week for three months. Sharell signed on over two and a half, and although her reasons for dating him were shallow, he was still the
best offering in their secluded rock city. The type of men that attracted her was the strong guys in the Maintenance crew. The researchers and engineers were just too geeky to keep her interest. They brought back flashing memories that her daddy had been a geeky brainiack architect before donning his prison attire.
The bandage on Matt’s thumb, courtesy of his last attempt to fit his meaty hand into close work, was loose on one edge. It scraped across her nipple and the brief twinge of pain made the nub peak, causing a dampening flicker of arousal that made her nervous. She pushed her breast into his hand while his other arm brushed down her belly and fingers curled onto her pussy.
Sharell, gripping one muscular shoulder, wormed her other hand down to his cock. It was stiff and pressing into her thigh, but she managed to wedge it free and wrap her fingers around it. Matt was not much into foreplay. Even the few blowjobs she gave him were not reciprocated by a tongue lashing on her pussy. With Matt, it was a bit of rough caressing and then missionary position plunging until he jerked inside of her hot soaked walls and collapsed on top of her. She had yet to reach an orgasm of her own with him, and had stopped faking it a month ago. Matt did not seem to mind. Hell, once he got his rocks off, he never seemed to notice her at all. Sharell dressed and left the Man Cave, leaving him snoring.
Janella looked up from her tablet and took in her roommate’s disheveled appearance. Sharell’s laces hung down the sides of her boots. “Matt?”
“Yeah, the jerk’s out like a light.” Sharell began removing her work clothes intent on taking a quick shower and grabbing a nap. The turntable bathroom was small and she hit her hip on the sink vanity when she turned the water on. She wound her black braid off her neck and washed off the grime from the last eight-hour shift and the fifteen-minute marathon with Matt.
“I’m scheduled at seven, too. Catch some zees and I’ll wake you up,” Janella offered.
“Thanks, I’m beat. Why the hell are they scheduling another system check so soon?”
Janella shrugged. “I don’t know, but this isn’t going to be just a show and tell. They’re having us move supplies on board.”
“Shit, better wake me up at six thirty.” Sharell slid her naked body between the sheets. She reached for her tablet, figuring a little more heated nonsense from the heroine’s dilemma might lead to the orgasm she had been denied. Janella got her hooked on the sappy erotic romances, but she would never admit it to anyone else. She fell asleep after rereading the first paragraph three times.
By the time Janella woke her, the launch pad was busy and board members were already arriving. The young women drove a cart through the caves to the lab and began loading up meal packs for the stupid tests.
* * * * *
Outside, in the real world, a few puffy clouds floated in the distance high above the farmland below. A miniature town with miniature vehicles seemed contained within the squared plots. Jerome thought it was strange the boundaries never seemed so planned and crisply edged from ground level. The organization, simple and clear, was obvious from a high position, looking down.
Jerome closed his eyes, folded his hands across his stomach, and considered his evaluated list. He held the highest position, and the miniature towns and cities passing under his jet were insignificant. An hour later, the landing gear lowered and he stretched, glancing out the window to see the approaching airstrip.
He made hundreds of trips to this secret spot, hidden in mountains within the vast acreage of the secluded ranch he purchased ten years ago. This was the last time he would visit, and he stared over cliffs wondering if his latest young wife was engaged in her afternoon fuck with the ranch foreman. Within a week she would find she was penniless and that her wealthy husband had disappeared.
“Mr. Tanner, the other board members have arrived. I’ve asked them to wait in the meeting room.”
“Thank you, Grace. I’ve given the pilot instructions to take off as soon as I’ve disembarked. You should make it back to New York in time for your mother’s birthday dinner.” Jerome reached into his pocket and handed her an envelope. “Buy her something special.”
Grace smiled. Mr. Tanner was always so thoughtful. “Thank you, sir. If you don’t mind me suggesting, take a little time for yourself when the meeting is over.” Her employer worked long hours, traveling constantly to his different business endeavors.
“I think I’ll just do that, Grace.” Jerome watched her bottom sway back towards the cockpit. Five years as partners in the Mile High Club, Grace had outlasted two wives and still thought she was his only outside interest. The envelope contained ten thousand dollars, the last of his on hand cash. It was not much for her to lean on until she found another job, but Jerome decided he had given her plenty of other perks along the way.
Jerome watched his suitcase shuttled to the hangar and heard the jet taking off as he walked into the cavern. He entered the small elevator and inserted a gold pass card next to ‘O’, the Observation Level where the board members’ suites were located. He strode down the stone walkway to the boardroom, managing to conceal his excitement behind his ‘I’m in charge’ expression. Most of his guests were staring out the observation window, with a few speaking quietly at the table. Everyone’s eyes focused on him when he walked through the door.
Jerome stared back at them. “Where’s Marshall?”
“Some business problem came up and he’s asked me to fill him in.” Bruce sat down and sipped his coffee. “He’s making noises about increasing his payload, so I didn’t exactly stress the importance of being here this morning. Naturally, he assumes we’ll have the one-day jet lag meet and greet, and he plans to arrive tomorrow. I did a little digging, and I discovered he sold three spaces to recoup bad investments. I guess he cut himself a little thin for the year.”
It had taken Bruce six years to establish himself as Jerome’s right hand man. His ego could handle the blow of not being in charge, in case the whole thing blew up in their faces. No thank you. Jerome can germinate the blistering ulcers over that one.
Seated down the length of the glass topped table were six of the wealthiest men in the world. They did not get that way without being ruthless and shrewd. “I see. Good call, then. The rest of you are ready?”
There were hesitant nods of anticipation. Jerome knew they had questions but would leave it to him to explain. They had formed their enterprise a decade ago when the space program folded. Visionaries, they could see things crumbling around them with financial markets wobbling and radical countries gaining access to equally radical weapons.
Twenty-seven men sifted billions of dollars through secret accounts to fund their project. With all their wealth and the trappings that went with it, Jerome offered them something money could not buy. Across the galaxy spun a clean planet, offering a lifespan at least double that they anticipated on earth.
Naturally, they all expected a place on board with a vote on the journey’s specifics. The confined quarters of the vessel would not support all the egos, and Jerome evaluated the list six months ago. He weeded out those who either contributed the least or just plain pissed him off. On Jerome’s word alone these six, and Marshall, had liquidated all but a couple million to tide them over for a year. Jerome had waited until the men were airborne to send them the message it was time.
These six at the table followed the instruction to settle their payloads (traveling companions) on board a month ago. Most of their guests were secretaries and mistresses; none were current wives. Marshall’s stashed twenty year old honey would be moved from his cabin to crews’ quarters, and his suite reassigned to someone of greater importance, probably Manny. Jerome had found Nika two months ago on a trip to Japan, and the petit Asian beauty waited in his private rooms.
Jerome looked through the observation window at the mammoth spaceship. Miniature workers scrambled around, reminding him of his view from the jet. The easiest part had been hiring experienced engineers and scientists from the defunct space program. After years of stagnating their
abilities with the redundant shuttles, all of them were excited to be working on a project of this magnitude. “Bruce, you can you handle Security without Marshall?”
“It’s in place. I brought my own people in six months ago. Marshall’s ideas seemed a little lax for what we might need.” Bruce tapped his fingers on the polished surface of the table. “What about the work crews? They don’t go off schedule until three.”
Jerome turned from the window and smiled. “Manny has adjusted the shifts and these are the cream of the crop. We’ll need them until things are established, so they’re getting a free ride. Inform Security they might have their hands full after takeoff. If they take care of insurgents quickly, the rest should get with the program.” He shrugged with indifference at the prospect of effectively stealing people’s lives.
Those remaining behind, if they survived the blast from the engines, would discover the statements listing years of savings were fictitious accounting records. Manerea never planned on disbursing payroll funds they needed to build the spacecraft.
Scanning the hangar deck, Jerome watched two young women loading meal packs, oblivious to the fact they would be part of a launched crew in a few hours. His eyes narrowed on the tall brunette climbing into the cart and driving towards Security. “I figure we can use the extra manpower to get set up on planet, and a few extra women will keep the men content.”
* * * * *
Sharell walked out of the shuttlebay and looked up to see a figure standing at the observation window. “Damn, I’m going to miss the pay from this job.”
Collateral Trade Page 3
