by Randi Darren
“No,” Jes said. “And what memories I do have tell me that… I was alive fifty or sixty years ago. A lot of this technology is odd to me, but… I’m picking it up rather quickly. Hillary has been extremely helpful with getting me acclimated.
“At least these computers are set up similarly to typewriters.”
“Does kinda explain why you were so averse to the idea of feeding on anyone, I suppose. I wasn’t here for that period in human history, though I did watch it happen,” Sam said.
“Mm. Yes. Common morality and social etiquette has definitely changed since my time,” Jes said. Then she sighed. “As for our haul… quite a good one. Cash alone we’re at something akin to three hundred thousand dollars. Still going up as we sell things. There was quite a bit in those wall safes.
“I have no idea about all the… other things.”
Jes had paused to point a hand at the rings and things that were piled up to one side.
“I thought maybe I could inventory them for later but realized it just wasn’t going to work,” she said with a sigh. “We’ll need to ask Tiffany to see if she knows a place we can sell it. Her or Wren. Those two seemed to be much deeper in the criminal underworld than I think we knew.”
“Speaking of them, where’d they end up?” Sam asked.
Irma had taken him away, and he’d not come back from her bedroom.
“You mean after your First Imp stole you away as quickly as she could?” Jes asked. There was an odd tone to her voice as she asked it. Then she immediately hung her head and groaned softly. “I’m sorry. I’m just… dealing… with a lot. I’m a little jealous, a little angry, a little frustrated.
“As for where the girls are… I glamoured your landlord. They each have an apartment on this floor. In fact, even I do now. This whole floor is us. There isn’t a single apartment on it that isn’t part of our unit.
“It took some glamouring of the previous occupants and getting people moved around, but… I got it done. Stacia helped out, so it wasn’t too terrible.”
That’s actually a rather brilliant little idea.
But it probably still drained you. Which is why you’re hungry and a little grumpy.
“Good work,” Sam said, then closed the lid on the laptop. “How about… you feed from me a couple times till I’m ready to drop. You can help me try to feed from you, too. Then… when you’re full and happy, we can talk about what we do next.”
Jes lifted her eyes up to his and gave him a beautiful smile. “I’d like that. I’m starving.”
***
Abigail and Irma were standing in front of Sam. Abigail had one of the stolen laptops out, while Irma was standing in front of a desktop computer.
Sam wasn’t really in the mood for this right now, having just fed Jes several times. He was drained.
Literally.
But he knew he needed to do this. He needed to know what was going on.
“Okay,” Abigail said, looking up from the laptop. “I’m ready.”
“First off,” Irma said as she tapped the left mouse button. “The parent company everything is running through is Incubus Incorporated. Incubus Inc or Inc Inc for abbreviated names. And this is our website.”
Sam looked at the monitor as a mostly black-and-white, text-based website popped up onto the screen. There were a few pictures, but not many.
“It’s a very simple site, but it’s meant to be,” Irma said. “There’s a reason for this. The people we’re targeting won’t have the fastest or greatest of internet speeds. Pictures can take a while to download, so… better off without them.”
Irma was watching Sam as if waiting for something from him.
“Okay,” Sam said, feeling like that was what she was looking for.
“Great. Ah… actually… how much of the internet do you understand?” Irma asked.
“Not much,” Sam admitted.
“Okay… ah…” Irma paused, looking to Abigail.
The other woman shrugged her shoulders, then turned to Sam and back to Irma.
“Does it matter? He doesn’t care, and it doesn’t really matter if he gets it completely. That’s our job,” Abigail said.
“Yeah, that’s a good point. Okay. Yes,” Irma said, turning back to Sam. “We’re targeting college students. They’re the most likely to embrace the internet, even if they have to spend money they don’t have on it.
“They’re also the most likely to start using web crawlers. Or search engines, if you like.”
“That’s the thing you type something into and it spits out web pages for you, right? Basically like a yellow pages,” Sam said.
“Kinda, yeah. Close enough,” Irma said, nodding her head. “We figure the thing they’ll search for the most is college debt. Things like ‘best way to pay off college debt’ or ‘what happens if I don’t pay my college debt’ or anything like that. Some web crawlers will just be single keywords. ‘Debt’ or any other number of things.
“Our page answers all of that, but also offers a service. People put in all their information and submit it to us.”
Irma looked to Abigail with a smile. “Abby?”
Picking up the laptop, Abigail came over and sat down next to Sam.
“The information they send us will give us an idea of whether we can help them or not,” Abigail said as she pulled up what looked like a spreadsheet.
After looking at it blankly for several seconds, Sam turned his gaze back to Abigail.
“Unless you’ve got a nude photograph of yourself in there, I’m not sure how I’m interested,” Sam said honestly. “This sounds like stuff more suited to pencil-pushing types of people. People with names like Alex. Or Felix.”
Abigail was staring at him now, her eyes slightly widened.
“No? No nude photo of yourself?” Sam asked, shaking his head.
“No,” Abigail said, then blew out a breath. “At least take this seriously?”
“Okay, fine. Sorry. I just… don’t really have a mind for this,” Sam said.
Abigail made a grumpy-sounding noise and closed the laptop, moving back to where she’d started.
“Basically put… they can give us all their information and we can figure out if we can help them,” Abigail said. “And by help, I mean you showing up and offering them solutions. Some of the questions we put in are rather direct and even hint at possible solutions they might want.
“If everything works out, we just send them an email of your summoning circle. They print it up on nine pieces of paper, tape it to the floor, and there we go.”
“Huh,” Sam said, nodding his head slightly. “I like it. Would definitely make it easier to get my circle out to people who’d want to summon me.”
“Exactly. We can use Jes for some of it, too,” Irma said. “She said she can handle any contracts that don’t require sex or anything like that. That gives us two people who can drive that side of the business.
“It will also expand our ability to find honest clientele.”
“Exactly,” Abigail said. “And I’ll be heading to all the local college campuses on graduation day. That or hiring people to do it. It sounds like you already made a pretty big score for us.
“We’ll do things like hand out fliers, pass out cards, anything that might get someone to go look at our page.”
Us?
Sam didn’t ask the question aloud, but he did look at Irma when Abigail wasn’t looking at him. She’d gone back to fiddling with her laptop.
As if interpreting his look into the associated thought, Irma smiled at him.
“And, by the way, this whole thing? This entire business plan and venture? Abby’s idea. All of it,” Irma said. “I just had the resources and know-how. Which means any client drummed up through this would go toward her referrals.”
Ah. I can see how it would indeed be “us” then. Because it is.
Abigail was idly nodding while doing something on the laptop. “I’m not collecting a salary until we’re deeper in. We need t
he operating cash, and… honestly… I’m doing really well now.”
Pausing, Abigail turned to look at Sam with a genuine smile. “Thanks again, Sam. I know it was a contract, but… you handled it really well and put me in a spot that doesn’t just work for me but lets me build toward something more.”
Smiling back at her, Sam was tempted to ask just how grateful she was. But he somehow managed to curb the impulse and keep it in check.
He was always hungry for Abigail.
“And yes, I’m very grateful and will gladly show you later. You asshole,” Abigail said with a grin, then looked back at her laptop. “Now, the second part of our business venture.”
“Ah, yes. Jes sent me over all the notes and things she wanted done for your mercenary company, Inc-Suc,” Irma said. “Cute name, by the way. Jes seems to be more infatuated with you than I am. Should I be worried?”
Irma asked in a coy way, and it only took a glance at her to realize she was just messing with him. She apparently was completely comfortable with his relationship with Jes.
“Only if you don’t plan on ever joining us,” Sam said. “You do realize she thinks you’re rather pretty and wants to join us in bed. And that’s coming from her constantly saying she’s not interested in women. Which is a good thing, since she seems intent to stick around us.”
“Oh… I’m sure she could warm me up to the idea. I don’t think I’ve seen a prettier woman in my life,” Irma said. “Anyways. Auntie helped me out and put me in touch with the right people.
“We’re officially in the process of forming a PMC. A lot of it is just paperwork, putting together company forms, and getting people to stamp things, it seems. The Inc-Suc LLC was formed as well, of course, along with insurance policies. Which seem almost incidental, since… well… it’s unlikely we’ll ever take a real loss. It’s all under Inc Inc.”
Chuckling, Sam shrugged his shoulders.
“As long as we have a body, we can bring it back,” he said. “Though Jes mentioned that she’d lead a team and I’d lead a team. That way we always have someone on hand to heal up problems.”
“Yes. She mentioned the same to me. Two teams of ten or something of that nature. Though I think she’s going to skirt the whole thing and make herself number ten for both teams, and you number one. The other eight would rotate in or out depending on need,” Abigail said, finishing up whatever she was working on. Turning, she showed the screen to Sam. “The website, information, and what services we offer. We’re stating our specialties are: escort services, combatant services, search and rescue, and retrieval.”
“Huh,” Sam said, scratching at his head. “Back in the day, you just… got a bunch of people together, gave them weapons, stuck a name on it, and went and got hired by a city or a noble.”
“Yes, well, this isn’t the medieval period anymore, Sammy,” Irma said. “All in all, we’re… ready, I think. Everything is coming together. We have a really good starting cash point, and we have arms, armor, and underworld contacts through Tiffany and Wren.
“We also have the vampire courts with Stacia and Irene. Apparently she was high enough that she knew contacts for other cities. They’re both operating as in their previous capacities as if they never left.
“Carissa knew a good number of people in the Bureau—that’s the Fed, mind you, and the PID.
“We literally have contacts all over the place. Especially if I bug Auntie. She’s a bit of a one-lady mercenary company herself apparently.”
“Unsurprising, given she’s a Contractor,” Sam said with a shrug. “They do well with things like that. Contacts breed contracts and vice versa”
Pausing for a breath he looked to Irma.
“Alright… so why tell me all this?” Sam asked.
“Well… because you’re kind of the head piece, Sammy,” Irma said, smiling at him. “You’ve bound us all up in contracts. Even Jes, to a degree. She explained to me that her brand is literally just a side piece of yours. That she put herself into your domain. Completely.”
Sam couldn’t really deny that. In effect, even those she branded were his if he pushed on them.
“Other than that, just to keep you up to date. You still need… how many do we have right now?” Abigail asked, looking up. She started to count off on her fingers. “Sam, Hillary, Jes, Tiffany, Wren, Stacia, Irene, and Carissa. That’s… eight. You need two more for your primary team, Sam.”
“Goodie,” Sam said.
“Be sure to make sure they’re pretty. And no repeats. I’m enjoying watching you make a harem, because they’re technically my harem, too,” Irma said, waving her fingers at him. “I never knew I would be such a loose woman, but apparently when you marry an Incubus that’s just how it goes.”
“We’re married?” Sam asked, looking at her with raised eyebrows.
“Aren’t we?” Irma asked with an edge to her tone.
Silly Imp. Of course we’re not married. I could nev—
Sam stopped himself mid-thought.
No. This is how I ended things with Alisa. This is the exact same thing, just on marriage rather than kids.
Irma has been nothing but dedicated to me.
I… have sex with her without feeding.
I care for her.
So… yes.
Yes, married.
“I… yes. We’re married,” Sam said with a slow blink. “I think I need to go get you a ring today or tomorrow then.”
“Oh, you already bought me one,” Irma said. “Don’t worry, it arrives tomorrow along with our paperwork. Jes helped me out and we glamoured a few people.”
Sam could only nod his head. He’d have to thank Jes later.
“Oh…” he said, remembering something he wanted to run by the two ladies he had in front of him. After he’d thought about Alisa, it’d come to the forefront of his mind.
He had more than enough Essence stored up that he could afford to open a spiritual plane conduit.
“I’m planning to… reach out to the spirit realm. I want to see Alisa. It’d be a good time to see your mom, too, Irma.
“Would you two mind feeding me and then giving me a little of your blood? It’d make the plane opening a lot easier.”
Both women froze, staring at Sam. Then, slowly, Abigail nodded her head.
Irma only a second behind her.
They both looked panicked but willing.
Twenty-Eight - Review -
“There,” Sam said, nodding his head. He wasn’t sure what time it was, but he knew that the spirit world had just passed into the next phase of its cycle. The night was at its peak.
Abigail and Irma were seated on the couch next to him.
He’d ravaged both of them a few times and then taken a few drops of blood from each of them.
They looked a bit worn, but well pleased.
Standing up, Sam walked a few paces forward and then began opening a portal directly to the spirit plane.
At the same time, he built in a gate and filter atop it. He wasn’t going to take any chances.
He’d learned the hard way a long time ago that you could always end up accidentally inviting something in that you didn’t intend to.
Even with Essence from linked targets, and even with blood from them, there was always a chance.
“Alisa Winters,” Sam said as the plane slid open and the warding spells appeared in front of it. “I’m calling to you. I know you can hear me.
“Would you come speak with me? I’d like to see you.”
“No,” said a voice from beyond the portal.
“I have someone of your blood here,” Sam said.
“You’ve corrupted her,” Alisa said, still not appearing. “You’ll ruin her just as you did me.”
“No. No… I won’t. In fact, I regret how we ended, Alisa,” Sam said, being completely honest with her. “I’ve even wondered lately if perhaps I erred. Perhaps if I’d given you a child as you’d asked, you might have kept me around longer. It wasn’t as if you
were spending your life force to keep me around, after all.”
There was a swirling mist that began to coalesce on the other side of the portal, but nothing else changed.
“Really?” Alisa asked after a little time had passed. “Swear it on your name.”
“I swear it on my name, Alisa. I genuinely have regret over how we parted and have recently considered what would have happened if I’d given you a child,” Sam said.
The mist slid through the portal and pooled into itself.
In the span of several seconds, it became a person.
For a split second, it was a much older woman. Someone in her late eighties, Sam would have guessed.
Then Alisa appeared exactly as Sam remembered her.
Dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a face that looked eerily somewhere between Abigail’s and Alison’s. Their resemblance to their ancestor was plain to see.
“You would have stayed with me till I died?” Alisa asked, her hands immediately going to rest on her hips in an authoritative pose.
“And longer,” Sam said with a sad smile. “I’m sure I could have maneuvered enough contracts into place to have kept your spirit around for a long while.”
“Hmph. Well, you lost out, bucko,” Alisa said, pointing a finger at him. “I found a man, a good man. He married me and gave me children. Even now, he loves me, and we’ve been together and will remain together in the after.”
“I did lose out,” Sam said. “And I’m not making the same mistake. May I introduce you to Irma and Abigail?”
Alisa turned and looked at the two women on the couch.
“Oh heavens, you look just like Betty,” Alisa said with a laugh, moving in on Abigail quickly.
“Betty?” Abigail asked, her eyes wide and round.
“My daughter! You look just like her. You even have that lovely bit of heft to you, too,” Alisa said. “Used my journal, hm?”
“Yes… ah… Grandma…?” Abigail asked.
“Close enough,” Alisa said, waving her hand dismissively at the young woman with a smile. “I had plenty of grand children in the end. One more doesn’t hurt.”
