by Scott Rhine
Tan answered the door. “Please come in.”
“Room service already? Great, I’m starved,” Benny said, walking out of the bathroom in just a robe. “How the blazes did you find me? Even the paparazzi couldn’t follow me.”
“I could find you with my eyes closed,” Jez said.
Benny caressed her face with his finger tips. “I’m so relieved. Tell me what happened with your hand, the whole assault.”
“I’ll tell you on the way to the hospital.”
“What’s all this?” asked Claudette, surprised by two adjoining suites filled with high-tech displays.
Benny grinned as he slipped on pants. “Welcome to the Stairway Project, the broader-based sequel to the Ladder. You know, like ‘Stairway to Heaven.’”
“Yes, the greatest rock ballad of all time,” both women echoed at the same time. Tan actually laughed.
As Benny slipped a baggy sweatshirt over his casts, he said, “Mock me all you like. My project, my name.”
While he put on Velcro-strapped sneakers, Jez teased, “I bet all the agents got code names from Zeppelin songs.”
“No one wanted to be Lemon Tree,” Claudette countered, cackling hysterically for too long.
Benny stopped smiling. “Are you okay?”
“No, darlin’. It’s been a long night. Do you happen to have a spare bed?”
“Of course. Tan, show her mine. Come on, Jez. If I only wear one sling, maybe I can push you,” Benny offered.
Tan sighed. “I will push Miss Jezebel. You moon over her as a suitor should.” He passed Starlet off to Dr. Weiss.
Jez squinted at her boyfriend. “Your aura is different, all swirly.”
“Yeah. That’s how I feel today. Ideal Planets won’t knock you out like the other pages, but I sat there for hours and went ‘Wow’ to everything. I must have watched the CD player spin for twenty minutes. The new rules apply to all circular motion. I couldn’t walk a straight line. Your friend Kyle laughed his ass off at me. It was like the first time I smoked pot, but I can explain it to anyone. This will make recruiting a lot easier.”
Jez, tired of the science report, grabbed him by the front of his sweatshirt and pulled him down into a kiss.
“Wow,” he replied.
“About time you stopped talking,” she complained.
Tan interrupted a follow-up kiss when he brought back a folded blanket to drape over Jez’s legs. When Benny raised an eyebrow, the kick boxer said, “In my country, when police see a blood-spattered chair, they ask embarrassing questions.”
“Okay, that would be a good place to start,” said Benny as they walked to the elevator.
Instead, she led with a summary. “95 percent of our LA people were wounded or drugged in some way. The drugged ones should be fine already. The numbers aren’t in yet—some are in critical care—but I expect half the wounded people to end up dead or permanently disabled. Odd as it sounds, Crusader says we won. We got them to fully commit, and Wannamaker has nothing left. The Fossils are finished. Dirt Bag finally arrived and is heading the clean-up efforts.”
“What do you say?” Tan asked.
“If I’d have found even a bottle of mouthwash in that building, I’d have drained it.” Her voice cracked a little, and her shoulders slumped. “We survived, but the only thing keeping me from finding a bar right now is the boy who adopted me as his sister wasting away in a coma. My roommate is going to die unless you can convince a surgeon to cut out a perfectly healthy appendix in the next few hours. I should have prepared more.”
“If you’d left Fortune in charge, all of us would be dead,” Benny countered.
In the car, on the way to the ER, she related everything that they had reconstructed about the timeline. Telling the story helped her to cope with the enormous weight in a small way. When she was finished, Tan looked at Benny expectantly. The star was speechless, a rarity.
His friend was more decisive. “Miss Jezebel, you obviously no longer have a home. We have many guest rooms. I would be insulted if you did not stay with us until you can walk again.”
She blushed at the implications. “I’m afraid Mr. Hollis’s PR man or minister might have something to say about that.”
Benny hurried to elaborate. “We’ll have strict rules. You can sleep on Tan’s side of the house. No visiting each other’s rooms, common areas only. We can make sure there’s always a chaperone. No touching places clothes normally cover. We’ll lock the door at bedtime.”
“Any other rules for the dance? Are you sure you want me there?” Jez asked, amused.
“This is for your protection,” Benny said earnestly. “You can use your abilities to find me anywhere, but if I lose you again, I might never…”
She silenced him with a kiss and hugged him tightly.
Soon, she was napping on his lap again.
After a period of silence, he asked Tan, “Could you dial my pastor for me?” His friend had confiscated the cell phone for earlier excesses.
The Asian gentleman didn’t move. “Marriage classes are Tuesday night at the meeting hall. You have five days, but tell your mother soon. She will already be hurt enough knowing that your father and all your friends have met her first. If you tell her while you are still wearing the slings, you will have an advantage. She will be in Palm Springs golfing next week if you want to arrange an ‘accidental’ meeting.”
“Why does everybody just assume we’re going to…?” Benny couldn’t even finish the sentence. He gazed down at her face. He had slept with dozens of women, but he had never felt so much like a man as when this one trusted him. He sighed. “I can sell a snow cone to an Eskimo, but I’m not talking my way out of this.”
****
Benny got Trina admitted as a victim of the gang attack. They would even schedule a surgery for that day. However, the hospital was adamant that the girl herself or next of kin would have to sign the release.
They left the necessary paperwork in her private room, and Jez started filling it out. “In addition to the suicide note, maybe we should have applicants fill out a medical power of attorney. It might be more practical. When we called the emergency phone number she wrote on her application, it was no longer in service. Nena’s whole life was one, big cover story.”
“I’m sorry. I’m off-balance and tired. Maybe if I slept a few hours to recharge,” Benny apologized.
She shook her head. “The kids are fusing together tighter the longer we wait. It’s been twelve hours. In eight more, we won’t be able to separate them at all. Go wake up Daniel.”
“I can stay with Miss Jezebel,” Tan offered.
“No, keep Mr. Wow out of trouble,” Jez said, indicating her boyfriend. “No one is going to bother us here.”
Benny kissed her goodbye and hurried back to Ward Seven. Jez answered all the hospital’s questions in triplicate and waited. When she saw the girl’s energy start to fade, the former head of Eye Corps put her pen on the signature line. Forging a name would save a life. No one would care. But try as she might, she couldn’t get the pen to move.
Jez shrieked in frustration as she pushed in vain. Her efforts only opened a fresh nose bleed. She roared and smashed the recalcitrant fountain pen against the wall. Holding Trina’s hand, she spoke to her, trying to coax her back. However, Jez couldn’t reach her without the proper page.
When someone shoved a pistol into her neck, she said, “Don’t shoot, you’ll hurt the girl.”
“You’ll make a good mom some day; you’ve got instincts for it. Get out of field work while you can,” Sedna said, backing up without lowering the weapon. She was wearing a nurse’s uniform.
“I’m looking forward to a boring desk job with lots of math.” Pressing her luck, Jez grabbed the stack of paperwork and shoved it toward the clone. “Sign this consent form. Your sister needs help immediately. She’s fading. I tried to sign but couldn’t.” She nodded to the stain on the wall.
“Promise not to call for help or attack me?” the killer aske
d.
“Yes.”
Sedna put away her pistol and accepted the forms. “How do I know you’re not going to slap her with Ethics for questioning?”
Jez winced. She had been bugged during the assault. “She would have to volunteer. We’ve never seen her kill anyone, and I’m not a judge any more.”
Sedna signed as Nena Horvath. “Do you hate me?”
“I was never your enemy.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
“I once fed a tiger in Vegas. Talking to you is kind of like that. I respect you, but you scare the bejesus out of me.”
“I like that image; I’ll add that to my new list of titles: Tiger of the Moonlight, very Blake.”
“What do I call you?”
“I am the goddess Sedna,” the clone said boldly. Shifting gears, she added, “Una was the one who tried to seduce Benny, not Trina.”
Jez blinked. “He hadn’t mentioned that incident.”
“Don’t worry, he passed. If she’d gotten him alone, she had orders to cap him.”
“I’ll be sure to relay the object lesson,” the woman in the wheelchair said, trying to remain calm.
“I appreciate what you’re doing for Trina. Why?”
“I still see us as family in a twisted way. Even if I didn’t, I’d help her for Daniel’s sake.”
Sedna nodded. “Promise to continue taking care of her like a sister and our feud is over. I won’t come after you or Hollis again.”
“Done,” Jez responded without hesitation. “Could I extend that immunity to Fortune?”
“What would possibly convince me to leave him untouched?”
“Elias is going to drop dead on his own in three to six years. Claudette gets 20 percent of his empire by their business contract. Even though he’s rich now, as his sole heir, Daniel gets the remaining billion. Since they’ve been merged in bliss for the last twelve hours, that boy would give Trina anything she wanted for the rest of her life. Hell, he probably would have even before the sex.” Jez raised a finger. “But, if there is any hint of foul play, the police might suspect Trina of the murder.”
Sedna laughed loudly. Jez could smell the expensive Scotch on her breath from a few feet away. “You have been the most entertaining roommate ever.”
Glancing at her sister’s chart, Sedna said, “For pregnant on Trina’s chart, you put a question mark?”
“The sex was unprotected. If there were a child, I’d want her doctors to know, to protect it.”
The assassin shook her head, anger and alcohol exaggerating her actions. “It’ll never happen. Sam harvested all our ovaries years ago in an effort to continue his clone project for another generation. He was never able to find the right balance for his boys.”
Jez made an O with her mouth. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry; I cut the bastard open today and took parts out while he watched so he’d know how it feels.” The memory seemed particularly difficult for her. “Tell Trina that Sam won’t ever threaten her again.”
“I guess that means you can give up being a killer.”
“I need to make a living somehow, and my skill set is fairly specialized. Don’t worry; I’ve landed on my feet with another employer.”
“You don’t have to work for anyone, ever again,” Jez explained. “Wannamaker was worth in excess of 143 million dollars.” When the assassin stared at her blankly, she continued. “I thought you all knew. Horvath, your cover name, was his mother’s maiden name. He wanted to fill the world with his image. Since Seth is dead and we’re taking care of Trina, his estate is all yours. You’ll have no trouble proving paternity. I’m sure he was the male donor for your experiment.”
Sedna, Tiger of the Moonlight, retched over the trash can when she heard the news. Jez held her hair back so it wouldn’t get matted with vomit.
****
After the surgery started, Sedna fled. She explained that there could never be two Nenas together in front of witnesses. Jez called Benny immediately for an update. He sounded frustrated. “Daniel won’t come back to his body unless Trina goes back to hers, but she’s too afraid.”
Jez debated how much to share over an unsecured line. “Tell her that her last remaining sister has killed Sam. We’ve made a truce—I’ve promised to treat Trina as my own family, and nobody on our side dies. The safe word is Appaloosa.”
Benny coughed, choking on the water he had been sipping. “What?”
“I’ll tell you all the details tonight when we get home,” she promised. “Bring Daniel by as soon as you can. Her operation should be done by then. Tell him he can kiss her awake, just like in the fairytale.”
He was still coughing when they hung up. Even more surprising than the news about the assassin had been the rush he’d experienced when she’d casually said “home.” Hearing her say the simple word had given it a new dimension.
Chapter 27 – Redefining Normal
Daniel greeted Jez at the hospital with enthusiasm. “We appreciate everything you’ve done for us, Jez!” He was all smiles, still glowing from the twelve hours of ecstasy.
He was followed soon after by Benny.
“Any problems?” she asked the exhausted-looking actor.
Benny shook his head. “He tried to get off the bed and walk when he came back from the dive. That hurt. Other than the initial disorientation, he’s fine. What’s that smell?”
Jez explained briefly about the other clone throwing up and leaving abruptly.
“Not everybody can stand the presence of truth for long,” Daniel said.
While the other two stood watch over the recovering girl, Jez arranged funerals and expedited insurance payments for the victims by phone. When Daniel noticed that she was overwhelmed, he said, “You should get Marcie to handle things like that; she used to work for the insurance division.”
“That’s a great idea. I’ll call her tonight. How do you know Marcie?” she asked.
“We went through secretarial training together,” the teenage boy replied, eyes focused on the unconscious Trina.
Benny frowned. “You’ve never been through secretarial training.”
The boy said, “You’ll need someone else for the Red Giant project, and a third person for Eye Corps till we recover. We recommend Adrien. She wants to be an actress but she knows how to handle engineers.” Cocking his head in an almost feminine gesture, he added, “We’re going to be hungry when we wake. Can we have food waiting?”
Jez and Benny looked at each other with dread. Casually, she asked, “Triniel, what would you like?”
The boy proceeded to order for two, one normal meal and one softer and easier to digest. At no point did he use the first-person “I.”
“Maybe it’s just temporary,” Benny said, hopefully.
When Trina woke, both of their faces lit up, and the teens gazed at each other with dopey grins. They didn’t speak; nonetheless, information seemed to be flowing between them.
“Talk about taking a relationship to the next level,” Benny joked.
“We’re sorry we missed Quinn,” both said at once.
Jez covered her amazement by saying, “At some point, she tossed a firebomb into our apartment to dispose of DNA evidence. On the bright side, I’ll have to take you shopping for clothes again.”
“You’re a good sister, Jezebel,” the teens said in unison. Lost in each other, they said little else to the adults for the rest of the evening.
After visiting hours were over, Jez and Benny took Daniel to the Four Seasons Hotel to coach the new recruits. He didn’t like being away from his other half for such a long period, but Benny used his influence to negotiate a balance of work, school, and other non-Trina activities.
Claudette already had her own room on the same floor of the hotel and caught Jez at the elevator. They had a chat in the hall. The starlet said, “The Fossils might not have an army left, but they can still make life miserable for you. That racy, showgirl video of yours was posted to Y
ouTube. They spliced in surveillance footage of you and Benny flirting in restaurants and his office.”
Jez felt like she had been punched in the stomach. “It could be worse.”
Claudette swallowed. “They faked some ridiculous footage of you staggering out of a dumpster. They even synched a sound track to it: ‘I’m a Gold Digger,’ by Uber Skank.”
Tears welled up in Jezebel’s eyes. It had been a very long day. Voice breaking, she said, “At least they went Top 10.”
“You have a hundred thousand hits. The video moved to several other servers before we could stop it.” Claudette hugged her to show support.
“I want to be the one to tell Benny,” Jez replied.
“I’ve already called his PR firm. They’ll be sending a woman by here tomorrow to help with damage control,” the starlet said.
Jez shook her head. “I’ve already agreed to stay at Benny’s place.”
Claudette raised her eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Another assassin could get me tomorrow. Triniel has the right idea. In spite of the rules, I don’t want to spend one minute more away from him than I have to.”
“I’ll send her to his place, then, first thing. What rules are you talking about breaking?” the starlet asked.
“According to Dirt Bag, people with more than two pages can’t be in the same place because it’s too risky.” Jez snorted, “With all the people I’ve pissed off, I could move to Antarctica and it wouldn’t matter.”
Her friend seemed relieved that she was only flaunting Fortune’s corporate regulations. “Look, I’m not the poster girl for abstinence, but don’t rush things in the romance department,” Claudette warned.
“I’ll talk to his pastor and wait for Benny to ask me. I think he wants to get the casts off first so we don’t hurt each other. But I’m afraid MSB is going to give him some kind of stroke before that.”
“What’s MSB?” the starlet asked with concern in her voice. “Is it something you found out about at the hospital? Oh God, how long does he have?”
“Massive Sperm Buildup,” Jez explained.
