by Ramsey Isler
“It’s nothing to worry about,” Sam said. “I setup all those subsidiaries ages ago to help keep things secret. It’s just a few bookkeeping tricks.”
Yusef smiled. “My old economics teacher in college taught me an old phrase: ’Don’t piss on my head and call it rain.’ I think it applies here.”
Sam shook her head. “Yuse—”
“It doesn’t appear that you’re doing anything illegal,” Yusef said, quickly. “It looks like we’re essentially just moving money around. As far as I can tell, you’re not embezzling the funds you were supposed to be paying to this company. But it sure is suspicious as hell. A lot of things around here are like that.”
“There’s nothing to worry about,” Sam said. “I’d never jeopardize all we’ve built by doing something stupid or illegal. I’m not evading taxes or stealing from the company or anything like that.”
“True”, Yusef said. “As far as I can tell you’re only guilty of hiding a lot of secrets.”
“That’s not a crime,” Sam said.
“No,” Yusef said, “it’s not. But it may well lead to a few. In my experience, people with that much to hide will eventually do whatever it takes to keep everything hidden.”
“So...what? What do you want me to do?”
“I didn’t ask for this meeting to tell you what to do,” Yusef said. “I just wanted to tell you what I’m doing, and why I’m doing it.”
“What the hell are you talking about, Yusef?”
“I’m quitting.”
* * *
Sam went home right after her meeting with Yusef. She went inside, walked into the living room, and collapsed onto her couch. She stayed there for a while, surrounded by silence. And when the sun went down she still sat there, surrounded by darkness. Time passed and she was hardly aware of it. In her mind she was still stuck in that moment when Yusef, one of the very few people she could call a friend, essentially told her he didn’t trust her anymore.
She didn’t know what this meant for her future. She didn’t know if the company dynamic would work just fine without Yusef’s skill with numbers and people. All she was sure of was the sense of loss she felt. Yusef was still alive, of course, and she would see him again one day. But she knew that part of their special bond was destroyed today, and it was never going to come back.
Her phone rang in her pocket. She didn’t bother to answer it and let it go to voice mail. Minutes later, it rang again. Sam still didn’t answer. Five minutes passed, and the phone rang yet again. Sam was about to throw the damn thing across the room, but when Akida’s name flashed on the screen, she changed her mind. She pressed the answer button.
“Is something wrong?” she asked.
“N...no,” Akida said, clearly surprised. “Why would there be?”
“I’d figure something has to be wrong if you’re calling me at this hour,” Sam said. “It must be super late in Tanzania.”
“It is,” Akida said with a voice full of mischief, “but I’m not there. I’m back at the Townsend Hotel.”
“What? What are you doing here?”
“I’ve missed you,” Akida said.
“It’s only been two days,” Sam said.
“That’s an eternity to be without you,” Akida said.
Sam groaned. “Worst. Line. Ever.”
“Fine,” Akida said. “I’ve never been good with words, so let me show you just how much I’ve missed you.”
Sam considered his offer for a moment. “I guess...I could use a distraction today.”
“My place or yours,” Akida asked.
“Mine,” Sam said. “It’s more discreet.”
“See you in fifteen minutes,” Akida said.
Sam hung up and brushed hair out of her face. What just happened? She still couldn’t quite believe everything that had occurred in the past few hours. This was one hell of a day.
But it wasn’t over yet. Thirteen minutes later, Akida was at her door. Sam answered it and let him in. She was in his arms in an instant. The room was still dark and she could barely see him. She considered turning on the lights, but decided she didn’t care. She didn’t need to see right now. She just needed to feel.
Lips met hands. Hands met hips. Tongues fought a friendly-but-passionate duel. The two lovers gradually shed clothing while trying to keep as much physical contact as possible. Akida tickled Sam’s waist and she laughed like a schoolgirl.
Then a light came on.
Sam stopped, turned and instinctively reached for an object she could use as a weapon. Her hand found a heavy vase on one of her side tables. She reared back and prepared to throw it at whoever the intruder was.
Until she saw it was a Kith. Noc Noc, specifically.
“Noc Noc, what are you doing here?” Sam said. But the sound was strange; her voice seemed deep. Masculine. No, wait. That wasn’t it. It was her voice, but with something added. It was Akida’s voice, mixed with her own. Akida had said the exact same thing.
Sam turned to her lover, and was met with a perplexed expression that mirrored her own.
“You know Noc Noc?” they both said. Again, the words came out simultaneously.
Akida and Sam then turned to Noc Noc. He was smiling so wide it seemed anatomically impossible. He clasped his hands in front of him, leaned forward, and said, “It would seem you two have more in common than you thought, yes?”
* * *
Sam turned to Akida and said, “Maybe I should hit you with this damn vase.”
“Me?” Akida said. “Oh that is rich coming from a woman with a Kith in her house. What are you doing with him?”
“What do you know about him?” Sam countered. “Is this some sort of trick? Is that why you came here, Akida?” Then Sam turned to Noc Noc, and threw the vase at him. Noc Noc dodged it, easily. His gruesome grin never left his face.
“You little bastard,” Sam yelled at him. “Was this some kind of setup? Did you bring Akida over here just to mess with my head?”
“Of course not,” Noc Noc said. “You should calm down.”
“I am calm,” Sam said. “I’m just...mad. And you better explain yourself before I go get my gun.”
Noc Noc laughed. “I think you already know that wouldn’t be very useful anyway. Unless you intend to use it on Akida...which might be fun to watch.”
Sam looked for something else to throw at him.
“It was a joke!” Noc Noc said. “My, you are a touchy one. Nothing like Akida at all. He’s so very calm and patient.”
“At the moment,” Akida said, “but you are testing that patience, Noc Noc. Explain all of this, or I might start throwing things at you too.”
“It’s all so simple,” Noc Noc said. “You two needed each other. I just brought you together.”
“How do you know Akida?” Sam asked.
“And how do you know her?” Akida asked.
“I met Sam through another Kith,” Noc Noc said. “I met Akida in Tanzania, where he caught me and asked me my name. He is quite a charmer, Sam. But I suppose you already know that.”
Sam turned to Akida. “So you know all about them?”
“Maybe not everything,” Akida said. “But my grandmother often told me stories about the little people. She swore they were real. Many of the elders in my hometown said the same thing. But my parents never believed.”
“And since you’re so damn curious, you thought it would be a good idea to investigate,” Sam said.
“It seemed harmless,” Akida said. “It started out as a simple study of local lore. But...I found one.”
Sam nodded in Noc Noc’s direction. “I’ll bet all your stunning and rapid success is due to him.”
“It looks like I could say the same of you,” Akida retorted. “A lot of things are starting to make sense now.”
“I didn’t bring Noc Noc in,” Sam said. “One of his friends did. My Kith is named Piv.”
“Your Kith?” Akida said. “What do you think they are, pets?”
“Don�
��t muddy the waters here, pal. That’s not what this is about.”
Akida crossed his arms. “Well what is this about then?”
“I...hell, I don’t know,” Sam said and she plopped onto the couch. “I just need a minute to think. When we came in here...you know...I was in a different mood and expecting to be doing something different right now. This all just caught me off guard.”
“I understand,” Akida said. “I felt the same way when he showed up in Rio.”
Sam grabbed Akida’s arm. “Wha—wait. What?”
“Noc Noc showed up at the villa in Rio,” Akida said. “I didn’t even give him a chance to talk. I just told him to go away. I didn’t know how he found me, but now I guess he wasn’t there for me. He was there to keep an eye on you.”
Sam scanned her memories of that wonderful trip in Rio and suddenly a mystery was solved. “So that was Noc Noc you were talking to in your room that first day.”
“Yes. But...how did you know about that?”
“Overheard it by accident,” Sam said.
“Sure. An accident.”
“I wasn’t spying on you,” Sam said. “I had absolutely no idea you had anything to do with the Kith until five minutes ago.”
Akida stared at Noc Noc, who was still standing at the other side of the room and intently monitoring the conversation. “I thought I’d never see Noc Noc again after I dismissed him.”
Sam’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait a second. You dismissed him?”
“Of course,” Akida said. “Didn’t you release the Kith you caught?”
Sam laughed. “Hell no I didn’t! This isn’t fishing, Akida. There’s no catch and release program here. Besides, I didn’t catch him. My father did, and before he died he asked Piv to work with me and he obliged.”
Akida shook his head. “Americans.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re supposed to let them go, Sam. They are forces of nature. It would be like keeping a lion as a pet. Maybe you’ll be able to get away with it for a while, but no matter how tame that lion may be, it’s always going to be a wild animal. One day, someone is going to get hurt. Maybe something bad has already happened and you just don’t know about it yet.”
Sam ignored the pang of guilt she felt, and instead she turned to Noc Noc. “You plan on hurting anybody?”
Noc Noc shook his head vigorously.
Sam turned back to Akida, “There you go.”
“Nonsense,” Akida said. “Noc Noc, you came all the way out here to work with her?”
Noc Noc nodded. “Piv was very convincing. Besides, Sam has such interesting work that needs to be done. And I couldn’t turn down the chance to be with so many Kith again.”
Akida frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Sam had so much work to be done she needed more Kith to help her,” Noc Noc said.
“More?” Akida asked. “How many more?”
“Oh I think we’re up to over two hundred now.”
Akida turned to Sam, his eyes wide. “You’re crazy.”
“Crazy like a fox,” Sam said.
“No, crazy like a mental patient. Do you have any idea of the forces you’re dealing with?”
“I’d say I have a better idea than you do, actually.”
“They’re spirits of the world, Sam. They’re not...they’re not employees!”
“Of course they aren’t,” Sam said. “I’d have to pay employees.”
“This is absolute madness,” Akida said. “Absolute, unmitigated madness. Two hundred Kith! Where did you even find them all? It took me years to find just one.”
“Like I said, I think I have a better grasp of this than you do. You don’t know everything.”
“All I need to know is that you can’t use the Kith like this,” Akida said. “It’s not right, and it’s not safe.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Sam said.
“Sam, look at me.” Akida knelt and gently grasped one of Sam’s hands. “I know Noc Noc. I spent months with him. He showed me things I never would have even imagined were possible, and I owe much of my success to him. He was the one who led me to the unique lands that would bear the resources Kalagho Mining has become famous for. But I could tell I was losing control of the situation. People were starting to ask too many questions, and Noc Noc had too many...well let’s just call them unpredictable habits. That is why, once I had the start I needed, I let him go. In every story I’ve heard from my people, those who were fortunate enough to find one of these special beings always set them free because they knew how dangerous things could get with this kind of power. It’s just a matter of time before this gets out of your control. Maybe it already has.”
Sam looked him in the eyes for a long while. His face showed genuine concern for her. His hands cradled hers with a gentle strength; gentle but firm. His eyes and his hands evoked a surge of emotion that warmed her insides. But she willed the feelings away almost as soon as they appeared. This would not work. Not now.
“I can handle the Kith,” Sam said.
Akida shook his head, and his gaze fell to the floor. “For your sake,” he said, “I hope that will be true. But I cannot be a part of this.”
Akida stood, gathered the clothes he had lost, and left. Sam did not stop him.
Noc Noc groaned and said, “I get the impression that I may have done something wrong.”
“You and me both,” Sam said quietly. “You and me both.”
Chapter 20
“Change of plans,” Sam told Jessica in their usual status meeting the next day. “We’re not going to commit to the ruby plan after all.”
Jessica’s mouth fell open. “Is this a joke?”
“No,” Sam said curtly as she diverted half her attention to an email that had just appeared on her screen.
“But that’s crazy talk,” Jess said. “I’ve been putting all this effort into the new campaigns. We just spent a bag full of money on concepts and art for new commercials that feature the rubies. Our whole plan for the next six months was built on the partnership with KMC.”
“It’s done,” Sam said without even looking at Jessica. “Sorry, but you’ll have to come up with something new.”
Jessica snorted, jumped out of her chair, and started pacing back and forth. “This is insane, Sam. Things were going so well. What the hell happened?”
“Akida decided to back out,” Sam said.
“Why? Did something happen between you two?”
“Akida had his reasons,” Sam said.
“Damn it, Sam. I warned you about letting your feelings get mixed up in all this.”
Sam finally turned her eyes back to Jess, and the look was not a friendly one. “That had nothing to do with it.”
“Sure,” Jess said. “And what does Yusef have to say about all this? Where is he, anyway?”
“Yusef quit yesterday.”
Jessica’s mouth fell open again and her hands tugged at her hair. “Has the whole world gone crazy today? What the freaking hell is going on here, Sam? Why did Yusef quit?”
“Personal reasons,” Sam said. “I’m going to start interviewing for his replacement tomorrow.”
“What?” Jess exclaimed. “Don’t you think you should try to get him back first?”
“No, he’s made his decision. I think it’s right for him.”
Jess crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Personal reasons, huh?”
“Yep,” Sam said.
“If I asked him about it, would he say the same?”
“I’m sure he would,” Sam said. Yusef had always been the most discreet of all of them.
“But he loved working here,” Jess said. “He loved working with us.”
“Things come up,” Sam said. “It’s just that simple.”
“Did you even try to give him options?” Jess asked. “Maybe he could have just taken some time off. Maybe a sabbatical or something.”
“There were no other options,” Sam said.
“I don’t believe that,” Jess said. “Yusef is always flexible, and he’s one of your best friends.”
“I’m not so sure about that anymore.”
“I don’t even know what to say to that,” Jess said, shaking her head. “What got into you, Sam?”
“Nothing,” Sam said. “Look, I’m not happy about any of this either. But it is the reality. We’ve both got to deal with it. End of story.”
“Uh huh,” Jess said. “Well then, I’m going to go to my office now, and close the door, and yell some dirty words, and then start frantically undoing everything I’ve set in motion. It’s going to be a fun week. Thanks for that.”
“I never said this job would be all sunshine and ice cream.”
Jessica just walked out the door without another word. Sam went back to her emails.
* * *
Night came, and Sam was still at the office. Yusef’s absence meant that she had plenty of extra work to do, and she was fine with that. Work meant that her mind could be focused and active all day, instead of idle and wandering to less pleasant thoughts.
Sam yawned and stretched her stiff limbs when she finally finished reviewing the last of the purchase orders on her desk. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was already eleven o’clock. She could go home to sleep and Rupert, but instead she decided there was still much to be done this day and only one group of her staff were still on the job.
So she went to go see the elves.
The workshop was full as usual, and all the elves were happy to see her even though all but Pogonip refused to let her witness them actually working. Sam took it all in stride as she searched the building for Piv. She eventually found him in a corner of the building. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor with Melkidoodum and Noc Noc, and they were surrounded by pencils and elaborate drawings of gears, springs, and levers intertwined in an arrangement that seemed impossible.
“Hallo,” the three Kith said in unison.
Sam didn’t bother with any pleasantries. “We’re not going to use rubies anymore,” she said.
