Now it was Lucy who pointed an accusing finger at him as she gained some of her nerve. At this point, she didn’t have much else to lose. In fact, she didn’t have anything to lose. “You left me at the Consortium office all alone and it took a Jaeger to get me the message that I’d be on my own.” She couldn’t help but gape at them now. “We used to be such good friends with the Carmichaels. What happened?”
“What happened was that you were too frivolous in your spending and that tipped the Carmichaels off,” her father growled. “Who, in turn, tipped the Jaegers off. So yes, this is all your fault.”
“But….” Lucy’s voice trailed off. “But, I was only doing what Eddie instructed me to do to begin with, which I assumed….” Her voice trailed off again as a realization dawned on her, “which I assumed came from you, Father.”
“We were that close to getting the Carmichael-Bell Aircraft Plants, too,” he grumbled. His trailing gaze sharpened on his daughter again. “And you are forbidden to tell anyone I said that or, so help me, I will have the constables end you!” He waved a dismissive hand. “Now get out of my sight before I have half a mind to sell you off to one of our few remaining allies.
Seeing no other choice, Lucy fled the room in tears.
CHAPTER 4
In an upscale lounge in the heart of Atlanta, Lucy stared morosely at the amber liquid in her wine glass. She’d long lost count of how many glasses she’d had this evening, but she’d stopped caring long ago. Even the revelry that was going on around her in celebration of Consortium Day couldn’t lift her spirits.
Her mother was gone to grandfather’s house along with her sisters, and her own father had stopped speaking to her. It was only a matter of time until she’d be forced to leave, assuming her father would decide that. So, she’d made the decision for him and took what remained of her own money to move into a modest apartment in the city.
What really troubled her was the fact that she had no idea what to do with her life now. She needed to do something, as her meager savings would not last long. A source of income was desperately needed. Until now, her life had been mapped out and thoroughly planned for her by her father and older brother. She had been a good girl, following all rules and directives laid out for her, but in the end, that was not enough. Lucy faced a grim reality that she’d be ejected out of the aristocracy, the only life she’d ever known. She stared long into her wine, searching for some vision of things to come. Fear gripped her as she realized that she had no real skills in which to garner employment anywhere.
Fully engrossed in her own self-pity, Lucy had long since drowned out the dimly lit parlor room, the chatting guest in their plush seats having a grand old time, and even the band on stage playing soft contemporary music that beckoned couples to dance. Instead, she sat at the bar with her back to the parlor debating on whether or not to take another drink.
Before she could, a man’s hand reached out and plucked the thin-stemmed wine glass from her grasp. “I think that you’ve had enough the way you’re sitting there,” he said.
Lucy looked up feeling fury at the man’s audacity. Now was not the time to mess with her. Her sharp rebuke died immediately when she caught glimpse of the immaculate Jaeger uniform and the sad smile of the man wearing it.
“Gabriel,” she exclaimed and then caught herself. “I-I mean, Jaeger Messenger! Sorry… um… it’s good to see you,” she stammered out as she recovered. Her hands flew around as she subconsciously checked her appearance to make sure everything was still in order and that she didn’t look as disheveled as she felt.
“It’s good to be seen,” he said before nodding to the bar chair next to her. “May I?”
“Please,” she said, gesturing to it in turn by way of invitation. “What brings you here tonight?”
“I reward myself with a bit of guilty vice every Friday evening,” he said, looking at the glass that he’d taken from her. “And it seems like you have, as well. At least you’re still upright with only a slight wobble.” He held out a hand to steady her when she swayed a bit in her seat.
She felt annoyed by the perceived verbal jab at her indulgence. “What’s the problem with that?”
Gabriel held up his hands in defense. “No problem, just an observation. That’s all. I usually don’t see single ladies in here all that often, nor do I ever recall you drinking this much.” He took a sip from Lucy’s glass, grimaced at the taste, and ordered his drink of choice from the bartender who’d migrated back down their way. The bartender gave a slight bow and hustled off to fill the order while Gabriel turned back toward Lucy. “And aren’t you supposed to be escorted while going out in public?”
“Like that’s done me a lot of good,” Lucy said with a heavy sigh. She then updated him on the current happenings in her life, watching as he winced at the implication of her impending ejection from the upper class.
Gabriel playfully feigned hurt. “Oh, dear God, you poor thing. You might have to actually row in the cargo hold with the rest of us galley slaves.” He gave her a lopsided grin.
Lucy narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “Don’t judge me! You have no right… you left me!”
A brief flash of anger crossed Gabriel’s face before it set to stone. “You had two choices — sit around and lament about it, or go out and do something. I chose the latter.”
“So you became a Jaeger?”
“Eventually,” Gabriel said. “Hopped the first airship I could down to Elysium and joined the Consortium. That’s when I volunteered for duty in the Theocracy so that I could protect others from befalling the same fate as my family had.”
There was a twinge of bitterness in his voice. “Why do you live here, Mr. McKibben?” Lucy asked, studying him with growing intrigue. “You don’t follow our ways and you seem to hold our government in contempt.”
“I don’t live here anymore… technically,” Gabriel corrected, taking a quick drink of his beer as soon as the bartender set it down. “I still live down in Elysium. I’m merely assigned here as my area of operation.” He let out a rueful chuckle. “Do you know that North America has more Jaegers assigned to it than anywhere else save for maybe Asia… and that’s just because of sheer continental landmass. And out of that, we have more Jaegers in the Theocracy and the Wastelands than anywhere else.”
This was new information for Lucy. “I’ve heard stories that Africa is worse off,” she added defensively.
“One would think so, wouldn’t they?” Gabriel said. “But, since the Consortium stepped in and started regulating things — especially slavery — the minor warlords, kingdoms, fiefdoms, and anything else that could be considered an organized country quickly stepped into line and got with the program. They’re actually better off now than they have been in years.”
Lucy eyed him. “Why did the Consortium legalize slavery across the world?”
Gabriel snorted, nearly inhaling his beer. “Are you serious? Even here, now, on Consortium Day, you have no idea why the Consortium came to be?”
She shook her head and he sighed.
“I’m beginning to wonder if the Consortium needs to take over education next,” Gabriel said as he placed his drink on the bar. “During the Great War, after it had raged on for ten years, governments finally broke down and failed all over the world. For example, the former United States disinte-grated into eight factions — the Corporations, Dixie, Texas, Sonora, California, Olympia, Dakota, and Coronado.”
“I haven’t heard of those last two countries.” Lucy frowned, groggily trying to remember her geography.
“That’s because they no longer exist. Today, we know Dakota and Coronado as its more combined common name — the Wastelands,” Gabriel said morosely. “They held the majority of the food supply for the old United States and so were valuable targets until the very liberal use of thermal weapons reduced everything to cinders from the former state of Arkansas all the way northwest to the old Montana-Canadian border. Nowadays it’s the huge desert that we all know and d
espise today.”
“I see,” Lucy said, wondering exactly where this conver-sation was going.
“Anyway,” Gabriel continued, “Things like that went on all around the world and people used different reasons to justify imprisoning and enslaving others. The most common reason being religion, of course, since there are a lot of people out there who apparently justify it. Your own One Book, for example.”
“It does not!” Lucy protested, taken aback by the imply-cation.
Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. How many times have I heard that? Read anything from Genesis to Judges and you’ll find the rules governing them and situations justifying them as good, wholesome, and favorable to thy Lord.” He pressed his hands together in mock piety. “Since you all regard that book as the end all, be all, for your government, did you know that your father could just simply sell you off? Oh, wait, he already did in the form of your arranged marriage which was then called off when you said that he came in and took back a large sum of money from your father.”
Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but her counter argument died on her lips as the sudden reality came crashing into her mind. He was right. Her now ex-fiancé had gone to her father and demanded the bride price back before declaring their impending nuptials to be over.
“Yup.” Gabriel nodded at her. “Religion was the basis for much of the slavery that was going on in the world. So, us Jaegers stepped in to allow people to liberate as many as possible who had been forced into slavery. When we realized just what an impossible task that would be, the Consortium then saw to it that slavery must be regulated as fairly as possible and that slaves be treated humanely by all the nations of the world. We determined the ground rules so that people would at least be treated decently and given the basic right to choose their fates… unlike the old days where you could shoot a slave between the eyes and not even get a slap on the wrist.”
“I don’t know why anyone would choose to be a slave,” she muttered.
Gabriel shrugged. “Depends on the situation. The former slave in your house, Esmond, had a leather collar. Unfor-tunately for him, he went along with the conspiracy to try forcing the Carmichaels into slavery, which is illegal under Consortium law. So, now his collar is iron instead of leather or lace. Regardless, from what we learned from him during the trial, he went into voluntary slave status initially to pay off some sizable gambling debts to the Carmichaels before his contract was bought out by your family.”
Lucy shook her head, unable to fathom what had driven Esmond to such lengths. Then she remembered something. “Charity Carmichael is a vSlave now, too. She’s owned by that accountant who busted in with Deliverer.”
“Ah, yes, Lucas Wolverton.” Gabriel nodded. “From what we heard of their testimonies, she went into voluntary slavery with him for protection. Since your brother was making it look like she was draining the accounts, Theocracy law would have allowed him to force her and her family into servitude under him while he took control of their assets, including their airship and aircraft manufacturing facilities in Marietta.” He then thought it over. “Probably could’ve scored Bertram Carmichael’s seat on the security council in the process, as well. Either way, it’s still paramount to forced slavery in the Consortium’s book.”
“Eddie….” Lucy was still shaking her head. “Why? Why did you try and do that?” she asked as if her dead brother could somehow answer her. No, that was stupid of her. She knew the reason. Her father had said as much. What pissed him off the most was that Eddie was caught doing it. But, she really didn’t want to think about that right now. What she really wanted to think about was Gabriel’s body being in such close proximity to hers. In fact, it was distracting her from the conversation. She decided to change the subject. “So, how are you celebrating this Consortium Day, Mr. McKibben?”
“Good food, good drink, and good company,” he said with a small salute of his glass her way. “And, please — it’s Gabriel.”
“I could kiss you, Mr. McKibben… er… uh….” Her voice faltered and she blushed slightly. “Gabriel,” she amended with a smile.
Gabriel gave her a roguish grin. “What’s stopping you, then?”
He was right. What was stopping her? She was no longer betrothed and without a male family member to sponsor her. She couldn’t enter the autumn courting season after the gala. Lucy was now essentially a free, single woman who could choose her own destiny.
That thought, in of itself, made her feel empowered. She could act on her own, see whom she wanted, and right now there was a fine specimen of a man in front of her. He had once been interested in her. Perhaps a part of him still was. Maybe it was the alcohol that she’d consumed, or maybe it that she simply didn’t care anymore, but she found herself closing her eyes and leaning i toward him with her lips puckered. She missed his lips and bumped into his chin. Jerking back with wide eyes, she was afraid that he’d be angry for her faux pas, but then she melted when he just laughed it off.
“Shall I?” he asked with a charming smile as he leaned in.
“Mm, yes, please,” she agreed, and puckered up again.
Gabriel’s touch was soft as he slid a hand over her shoulder and behind her neck to draw her in. His lips were equally soft and warm as they brushed against hers. She felt elated, giddy, and naughty all at the same time.
“I have a room upstairs now,” Lucy said, letting the alcohol throw her inhibitions to the wind. “I bought it with my own money, as I’m in the process of moving out of my father’s house since he doesn’t want me anyway.”
“Well, that escalated quickly,” Gabriel commented with a smirk.
Lucy threw her hands out wide in a ‘who cares’ gesture. “What can any member of my family do to me? They’ve already thrown me out.”
***
Lucy woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache. As she came to, she realized that it wasn’t just her head that was pounding, it was also the door to her apartment. Gathering the sheets around her body, she realized that she wasn’t wearing anything more than her negligee and her petticoat. She held up a hand to her temple to dull the pain. “Okay!” she finally yelled out toward the door in the entryway. “Please, be still! I just woke up!”
She looked around, confused. Gabriel was nowhere to be found. Frowning, her gaze settled on his card on the bedside table. She picked it up and saw that he’d written a note on the back.
You were drunk last night and I couldn’t take advantage of that. So, I put you to bed. Call me when you have a clear head and we can try again. Gabriel.
“Oh, Gabriel,” she sighed as she smiled, feeling warm inside. She then wondered just what she had said to him last night. The evening’s events were quite fuzzy to her in the daylight hours.
The pounding at the door started up again and Lucy rolled her eyes and sighed. Whoever it was just would not go away. She donned a robe that was hanging over the edge of her fainting couch and cinched it tight as she walked to the door. Maybe it was Gabriel coming back. Had he spent the night? She put a bright smile on her face as she opened the door.
“Yes?”
Only it wasn’t Gabriel. Four Theocracy constables stood there with serious looks on their faces. “Miss Lucy Spence?” one constable asked. Lucy noticed the stripes on his bicep and determined him to be a sergeant.
She lifted her chin with dignity as her smile faded. “Baroness Spence, if you please,” she said with flash of fire in her eyes. “Or, at the very least, Lady. I still have that much, at least… despite what my father says.”
The sergeant shook his head. “Not anymore. You are under arrest for violation of the basic tenants of Theocracy society as outlined in First Timothy and are scheduled for trial early tomorrow morning.” He motioned to one of his men, who reached out and grabbed her by the upper arm to pull her out of the doorway.
“How dare you touch me!” Lucy cried out, shaking off the man’s grip. She backed up as the constables crowded in. “What is the charge?”
CHAPTER 5
Lucy was arrested and arraigned in a matter of hours. She knew that the justice system in this day and age was an expeditious process, but this seemed blindingly fast. Events were unfolding faster than she could process them. She was grateful that at least the constables had allowed her to dress properly into a corset and dress instead of being hauled in wearing nothing more than her petticoats
She spent the morning trying to get an advocate for the proceedings. She made all the calls that she could and was repeatedly told that there were no Theocracy advocates available to represent her. She’d tried contacting Gabriel through the Consortium, but they couldn’t find him, and told her that he had the day off and they would try him at home. What was worse was that her own father said nothing and hung up the phone on her!
She had been wondering where her father’s advocate was until she saw him sitting across the way at the prosecution table early the next morning. Her eyes went wide when Mr. Ladd gave her an evil, knowing wink and a smile as the bailiff cited some reference out of the One Book that she only caught part of after he’d read out the case and charges.
“Mr. Ladd, what are you doing over there?” she gasped, as she was led to the defendant’s table.
“My new job, young lady, in trying my first case as a prosecutor for the Theocracy,” he said, taking on an air of confidence. “I left your father’s employ after your brother’s trial with the Consortium. A trial, I might add, that has permanently marred my perfect win record thanks to your family. Now today I will see justice done by rectifying the mistake that the Consortium has made by letting you go loose!”
Lucy was stunned as she realized the reason for his absurd lines of questioning at Eddie’s trial when she testified. He was just setting himself up for a sure-fire win to get back at her! She knew how good he was and her heart sank into the deepest pit of her stomach. Without an advocate to represent her, she would have to represent herself and there was no way that she could win with that… that snake!
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