I had wanted to be present when my brother, Kent, had entered the Catacombs, but Kent had forbidden it, and could not be dissuaded, so I had always wondered what this meeting entailed.
“Once you enter you will have 24 hours to complete your physical transformations and memorize the details of your new identities, which are outlined in these portfolios.” She slid two monogrammed plastic folders across the table, one toward me and the other toward Perri.
I reached to pick mine up and flip through it. Perri left hers untouched and continued to watch the woman. But, before I reached the folder, the officer placed her hand on it and shook her head, indicating ‘not yet.’
She then continued speaking as soon as I rested back in my chair ready to listen.
“You have elected an emissary,” she stiffened and leaned back, very slightly, as she cut her eyes over her shoulder in Taylor’s direction, “despite our recommendation, which is your right. But we wish to restate that we have almost never seen the shroud of safety remain intact when entrants opt for this choice.”
I remained still, unwilling to bow to anyone else’s sense of what was right for me, including the custodians and officers of the Catacombs. I was entrusting them with our lives, but it was my life and Perri’s life, after all, and I knew best what we needed and who I trusted. Taylor was necessary, not optional.
“Very well then.” She added after noting my non-response. “Then I must now inform you of the rules.” She placed her hands, folded, in her lap, and began.
“The Catacombs, from this moment forward, must never be mentioned, discussed, noted, or acknowledged in any way.” She looked from Perri to me and back, twice for emphasis. “We suggest you do not even think of its name again, or any code words such as ‘handlers,’ ‘the agency,’ or the like, to avoid inadvertent disclosure.
“Your portfolios,” she nodded at them, “include your itinerary for your initial 72 hours in the program, which must be followed exactly or our contract will be considered nullified. Your transformers will meet you at the address enclosed precisely at the time noted and will work with you individually for the remainder of your first day until you are satisfactorily prepared. You will remain within the same residence while the work is underway but you will not have access or communication with one another throughout the process. This is crucial to our methods and helps you “meet” each other anew to establish the necessary psychological shifts required.
“Then you will be taken by escort to a remote facility where you will have approximately 12 hours alone to reacquaint yourselves, but you must do so in character or the mental and emotional shifts will not be complete.”
She smiled mischievously, and somewhat indulgently, as she added, “We recommend you consider this a very elaborate game of role-playing so that you embrace the program fully. We’ve found that this allows for the greatest degree of authenticity in your new roles and helps you achieve a state with the least possible chance of slipping into the personalities and mindsets that you are leaving behind.
“This same transformative process will occur at least once annually, and in any circumstance where you request it, or we advise it based on your risk of discovery.” She nodded and cleared her throat before she resumed.
She looked from Perri to me and back again.
“There are three other rules:
“One, you must cease being yourselves fully, which means absolutely no contact with anyone either of you know outside of your designated emissary. As long as you remain in our system you will never again see the same contact or transformers we provide. That will help prevent fondness and allegiances that could develop and undermine your goals, and it also helps reinforce your anonymity, psychologically-speaking.
“Two, you must never visit or pass through any city, township, or port where either of you have lived, even momentarily, or have business associates or contacts.”
Perri and I glanced quickly at each other, tensing at this bit of information.
Where have we not been in the world, or don’t know someone, I wondered.
“And three,” she paused, taking a breath, and looking at us both squarely, “you must empty your pockets and relinquish all personal effects and accessories – other than shoes and clothing – right this minute. Keys, watches, jewelry, wallets, currencies; everything.”
“What!” Perri exclaimed, sitting forward as she glanced at me, as I looked equally alarmed. “No one informed us this would be happening now!”
“By god, this is preposterous,” I almost shouted. “We are not prepared to-”
The woman smiled and held up her hands.
“This is the price of admission. As agreed, we control the details of your entrance, no one else.” She lowered her hands to the table and pushed the portfolios forward. “You have three minutes to complete this transaction with me because in one hour you must arrive promptly at a destination that is more than 45 minutes away.” She turned in her seat to look directly at Taylor before turning around and adding, “And you must travel there alone.”
Chapter 2
Taylor stepped forward to interrupt the emotional mayhem that had ignited and said gruffly, “Sir, now.”
I stood and moved swiftly to him, whose sudden change in demeanor alarmed me, as Perri began to curse at the woman in three languages behind him.
Taylor listened to his earpiece for a second and reached in his pocket for his phone after saying, “Copy that.”
He switched it on, opened an app and then something within it, and turned the phone to show me.
It was an email from King Hallella:
Michael,
You are now my sworn enemy, until such time that you surrender Jannah to me, untouched and unharmed.
I cannot forgive such betrayal.
If you value your life, take swift action this very minute.
It is the only way you will live.
The letter was not signed.
The hairs across my entire body stood on end, and the words “take swift action now” and “it is the only way you will live” echoed in my head. I looked at Taylor and we nodded simultaneously.
I rushed to turn around and strode to the table where I began to remove my watch, unfasten my belt buckle, and leave all my personal effects on the table with Perri still mid-rant.
“Perri!” I barked. “Now!”
She stood up and began to yell at me, “I will not be ordered about by you or- or,” Perri waved wildly at the woman, who remained seated calmly, “anyone!”
I stopped in my tracks and went very, very still.
“Perri.” One word, almost a whisper, was all I said, but in such a way that she paused her tirade and looked at me. I nodded toward her, almost imperceptibly. “Now.”
She looked at me, suddenly frightened, and then looked at Taylor. He closed his eyes momentarily and nodded also. When Perri looked back to me she saw that I had not moved.
Without thinking, she began to remove her jewelry, her hair comb, and her watch as her hands trembled. After a moment, I resumed my steps to discard my personal effects as well.
Seconds later we were done.
As I looked at Taylor, wondering when I would see my friend again, the woman said, “Take your folders, go downstairs now, quickly, and take the first Taxi Monaco you see. It will be our driver.”
Chapter 3
Ten minutes later, I slipped my hand into Michael’s for comfort. He responded by moving his arm around me to pull me close and kissed me on the top of my head.
A slow tear made its way down my cheek as I watched this city I loved, pass us by.
Would I never again be surrounded by anything familiar?
Michael folded a finger under my chin and lifted it until he could access my face, then he promptly licked the entire trail of my tear with his tongue, much like a cow might.
Disgusted, I squinched up my face and recoiled before laughing, “Ewwwwwww!” I cried out.
“New me, new rules,” he la
ughed and shrugged, trying to pull me back into his embrace playfully.
I giggled and tried to wipe my face with my sleeve as I swatted at him to stay away. “Don’t be foolish! I do not wish to be licked!” I laughed, rubbing harder at my skin, where I could still feel the sliminess of his tongue.
Michael flashed me a grin, wiggled an eyebrow, and then glanced quickly at the driver, and seemed grateful this cab had a privacy shield between the front and back seats.
Then he leaned forward and whispered, “You’re saying you never want me to lick you again?” He mocked.
I blushed and laughed when I caught his innuendo and said, “You know what I mean!”
Michael gently pulled me back into his arms. Then tucked his finger under my chin again and lifted it until he could look me in the eyes.
“New me. New rules,” he winked, wickedly, causing me to laugh and shake my head.
Chapter 4
The taxi drove through the suburbs of Monaco. I sat watching the scenery pass: a small group of women, who cackled together as they hung fresh-washed clothing to dry; another woman, on a bike, who wore a pink chiffon scarf and dark glasses, somehow managing to navigate the busy lane, staying abreast of their cab for a moment, as she juggled three very long baguettes, her progress halted when two boys came running out, from who knows where. As I watched the normalcy flash in front of me, I fingered the secret belt under my clothing that Taylor had given me.
He had told me, without informing Michael, that the gems he had purchased for me should be worn discreetly because they would not set off security gates or wands. I had added the bank cheques he had given me and wondered if he had provided Michael with something similar.
I knew it was against the rules and I should have left everything behind on the table as instructed- but it had all happened so fast! There had been no time to think! Besides, I did not take well to the idea that my entire existence and ability to care for myself were in the hands and control of someone I neither knew nor knew how to reach.
As we exited the city I leaned forward to the door’s window, rolled it down, and extended my arm outside to feel the warmth of the sun’s rays.
Then it hit me quite viscerally.
This was the first moment in my entire life that I was completely free.
Chapter 5
Arriving at the cottage was anticlimactic. I was disappointed, thinking this little shanty was nothing like I imagined our first stop would be. Given my opulent experience at The Brokerage, who owned and ran The Catacombs, and the even more opulent life I was accustomed to … That this was touted as the witness protection program’s equivalent for the “mega-rich,” had led me to assume we would at least be comfortable.
“Isn’t it charming?” Michael asked as he smiled excitedly, helping me out of the cab. “I was a bit worried we’d be thrust into someplace awful.”
I looked at him quickly, thinking he was teasing me sarcastically, only to realize he was serious.
My eyebrows drew together tightly, I blinked several times, and my jaw clenched, but I said nothing.
We entered through a creaky, faded red, front door inlaid in a stone wall that was resplendent with trailing ivy. It seemed to cover every inch, save the front door and one window.
It was a single-story affair that dated back easily a hundred years, as evidenced by how it had settled into the earth. The box bushes, along the fence line and gate where they had passed through, also indicated the amount of time this place had stood here. It had grown and been cut back so many times that it no longer sported leaves on the sides. The internal structure of the bushes was so thick with fat branches, that allowing them to extend far enough to grow leaves, would have prevented passage through the fence’s gate.
Michael entered first, cautiously, and drew me in behind him, after making certain things were safe.
We found our selves standing in a cobbler’s living room, surrounded by a small workstation and stacks and stacks of half-opened and dog-eared ancient books. Whoever lived there was either quite studious or a serious bibliophile.
“G’ day,” a cheery man with a bald head and wire spectacles said, as he walked in wearing a leather apron. He was carrying what appeared to be an oil rag in one hand and a rather antiquated leather loafer in another.
“I’d offer ye me hand, but…” he looked down and then back, as he shrugged. “T’isn’t a good moment for that, I reckon.”
I chuckled which spurred the man's face into a giant beam of light. I instantly liked him, and, if the look on Michael’s face was any indication, so did he.
Oh, how I wish I could introduce him to Maman, I thought. They’d make a great couple!
I grinned, which made the man beam at me even more brightly as he nodded and rubbed the shoe absentmindedly in front of his rounded belly.
“Yer transformahs will be out in a moment, please, do ‘ave a seat,” he gestured toward a tired and faded coral sofa.
Michael settled on the couch next to me and said, “It’s great to meet you. Though it’s rather humorous to think ‘transformers’ are whisking us away.” He chuckled, but the man’s face was blank.
He lifted his shoulders slightly and shook his head, not understanding.
“Transformers … you know …” He offered, waiting for the main to connect to the pop culture reference.
“Sorry lad, dunno ‘dat one. We’n don’ know any Americanisms.”
I looked around and noted all the small elements that conveyed a woman’s touch or that this man may be a gay fellow: floral curtains to match the couch, a basket of pine cones to toss one at a time into a winter’s fire to generate a beautiful smell, the faded but starched white doilies on all the tables underneath the books, and fluffy, well-worn, feminine house shoes near the door.
Just then a very tall and very attractive drag queen walked out from somewhere in the rear of the house.
Chapter 6
I felt Perri grin before I even turned to her.
This was a fun twist! I almost laughed. Everything that had met them since leaving the meeting was better than I had anticipated it to be. Now… This.
Before the thought had even finished, a second drag queen walked into the room.
I chuckled, grinning from ear-to-ear, and then stood and moved forward to shake the offered hands of both queens, with Perri quickly following suit.
Not yet comfortable using our new aliases, I mumbled a generic greeting in hopes of not coming across too awkwardly. Already, a new consideration for me, and a striking difference from my previous habits.
“You’re mine, girlfriend,” the first queen, a dark-skinned blond with blue glittery eyeshadow said to Perri as he reached forward and began to drag her away by her hand. She glanced at me over her shoulder and shrugged as she grinned, doing what she was told. She blew me a kiss, which I returned, playfully. Something that was also out of character for me. Eh. New me, new rules, I chuckled to myself.
“And you handsome,” the brunette wiggled her finger at me and then outstretching her hand, “come with me.”
With a sheepish glance and half-smile towards the cobbler, I took the unexpectedly large, strong hand in mine and walked into an adjacent room where the queen closed the door behind us.
Chapter 7
I followed “Georgina” into a small room that had been conscripted into its new life as a mini salon.
There were hair and nail stations, a clawfoot tub next to a stone fireplace, a stand-alone sink with a hair washing chair in front of it, a small café table with two vintage dinette chairs, several racks of clothing, none of which looked new, and shelves with shoes, accessories, wigs, and more makeup than some department stores.
I didn’t notice at first that there was also a bookcase, behind the door and to her right, with prosthetic facial pieces that matched my skin-tone, exactly.
Georgina had sauntered in ahead of me pattering on about her name, the ‘lordy-lordy’ how much work they have ahead of them, and how
fun this always was for her. She stopped at the white leather and chrome salon chair, turned to me, patted the back of the seat, and said in a husky voice with a wink, “C’mon. Let’s get started.”
I moved forward and sunk into the chair as I grinned at my “transformer” in the mirror, curious and excited about whatever came next.
“So,” Georgina pawed through her tresses, assessing what to do. “How much can I take off?”
My eyes saucered and I gulped tightly as my hands gripped the armrests.
“No- no! No cutting!” I exclaimed, ready to bolt from the chair.
“Now, now. Settle down. With change, comes change.” Georgina lifted one eyebrow to make her point. “We have to make you look like the new you, Abda.”
I frowned and crossed my arms. This was not going well.
Georgina crossed her arms, pursed her lips, and brought her chin down as her eyebrows shot up.
“So, it’s going to be like this, huh?”
I scowled, unaccustomed to being challenged.
Georgina shrugged and sighed, moved over to the stereo and pressed ‘play’ on a CD, adjusted the volume, and then grabbed two cold bottles of water. Then, she walked over to the café table, placed one bottle where I suppose I was to sit, sat down in the other chair, opened her water, set it and the lid down, and began tapping her fingers on the table, in time to the music, as she inspected the nails of her other hand.
“What are you doing?” I exclaimed, petulantly. “I must be ready when Mich- when my husband is ready.”
“Waiting for you. We need to chat.” She nodded toward the empty chair indicating I should occupy it. “Ground rules.”
The Obsessed Billionaire: Boxed Set (Complete Vols. 1-5, A Billionaire Romance Series) Page 8
