Chapter Six #2
He called and gave the description of what was wanted, and the lab tech was excited to try the process. They usually used it for vice to see in containers, based on what Em had learned while she looked into it.
She remained in Samsor’s arms while they waited, and then, with the prosecutor present, she unzipped her dress and dropped it to her hips. The lab tech asked for the lights to be dimmed, and he began to take images. She knew it was working when she heard, “Ohmygod.”
The whine, click, and flash of the unit began the photo session she didn’t know she needed.
Once the large-scale images were done, the close-up ones were taken, and then she turned, and it started all over.
Samsor was the best one to be with her. He was less likely to financially or physically injure her family.
When the photos were done, the prosecutor swallowed and nodded. “Thanks for that. We just need to search their home for the shoes, and our case is made. Did they always stomp on you?”
“They started by knocking me to the floor, and then the stomping happened. Like I wrote in my statement.” She pulled the dress on, and Samsor zipped it up for her.
The prosecutor nodded. “Right. Okay. I have far more than we need, but I would rather bury them under facts.”
Em nodded. “Sensible.”
“Given their attempts to get to you, a restraining order has been filed by Duran. Judge Hall authorized it based on the copious reports that you provided.”
“Don’t I usually need to be there for that?”
“They attacked you in hospital. It was issued then.”
“Oh. Right.” She nodded. “Sensible.”
Samsor took her hand. “Come on, Emhara. We still have errands to run.”
“Right. Are we good?” She looked at the prosecutor.
“We are. I will be in touch with Duran.”
Emhara nodded. “Okay. I will wait.”
They walked out, and Duran and Echel were looking at her. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. It just wasn’t, and Samsor is the best hugger.”
Duran smiled. “I see. Well, time to get to the bank. Ready?”
“Ready. I can almost taste a cup of overpriced tea in my hand, with my own money.”
He chuckled, and they went to get her another step closer to freedom.
The Van Housen Bank was subtle, but everything was designed to make people comfortable and secure. Emhara liked it.
They were seated in a client room and asked to wait with fancy water and really good cookies.
A soft knock preceded a woman entering the space and sitting across from them at the long, dark-wood table.
“Hello, Emhara.”
Emhara stared. “Meritha?”
The woman smiled. “Yes. Congratulations on getting out.”
“You... you were there. You sponsored the contest.”
“Did I? Yes, I did. I needed you to get away from them somehow, but I didn’t anticipate their response. I am sorry for that.”
Duran blinked. “Wait. You know each other?”
“In the same way a swan knows another swan.” Meritha grinned. “Part instinct and part hey, there’s a fucking swan!”
Emhara giggled. “That’s it.” When Emhara looked at her, she saw light and numbers and words and thousands of other things.
She smiled. “I don’t blame you. It was the catalyst for me getting out, and now I am here. So, what can you do for me?”
Meritha smiled. “Ah, well, if you sign this paperwork, we can set up an account, and then you would be astonished at what I can do for you.”
Meritha turned a very nice clipboard around with a thick and expensive pen. “Read it. Ask me questions.”
“What is this?” She pointed to one of the clauses. “I don’t understand.”
“That one allows us to act on behalf of your account with extreme prejudice. No fraud goes unpunished, and your balance is insured. Once it is under my care, no one fucks with it without your permission.”
“And the collection protocol?”
“Allows me to seek out anything in your name or bequeathed to you and gather it here to sit on it like it’s my egg until it is ready to hatch.” She sighed. “Pardon the bird references. Nature documentaries as you are falling asleep reprogram you.”
Emhara smiled. “So, you are going to guard my money rabidly unless I want to use it.”
“Correct. No numbers escape my domain. We use biometrics, excellently trained staff who are paid well, and imaging on their screens that confirms who they are speaking to. We also have twenty-four-hour access to client specialists and offer savings accounts with obscene interest. I am very proud of this bank and its client list, of which you are now one.”
Emhara smiled. “Growth accounts?”
“If you wish to invest a certain amount that will not financially cripple you, we can coax it into growth. We are audited voluntarily every quarter. Business done with us is done legally. We have connections to work with law enforcement to reclaim diverted funds. When you bank with us, your money is safe, and so are you.”
Emhara blinked. “What?”
“Retrieval protocol. Read it.”
“Oh. Wow. That’s... really?”
Meritha smiled. “Really. If they take you, we come get you. No one hides from me, or if they do, it isn’t for long. I have rescued three heiresses and a drunk prince, who was being pressured into marriage, in the last sixty days. Welcome to the roster under my protection.”
“I like the idea of having you at my back.” Emhara smiled and signed the client agreement.
Meritha stretched her hand out and flexed her fingers. “Gimme.”
Emhara grinned.
Meritha looked at Echel. “Send me the report for the funds removed from the trust.”
She pushed a button under the table, and a screen rose majestically. “Now, watch how fast I go.”
A keyboard was set on the table, and Meritha’s hands moved fast. They blurred, and Meritha spoke as she worked.
“I have shifted the trust to this institution and am now creating a holding account for all the funds removed from the trust without your authorization. The funds will remain there until the court frivolities are over. This is the fun part. I am pulling them from the same place they went, so there are a few accounts that are going to be feeling it in the morning. A comment on the transfer indicating the court filing and that the funds are in dispute is being placed on each transaction.”
Meritha worked, and Echel leaned over. “I have never seen this done before. It’s rather hot.”
Meritha muttered, “I heard that.”
He jolted. Emhara giggled.
She kept going, and the number in the holding account kept climbing until Meritha sat back and flexed her hands. “There we go. One million, eight hundred, ninety-three thousand and change.”
Emhara blinked. “Wow.”
Meritha tapped her keyboard and smiled. “This is your current balance. Nine million, eighty-nine thousand, and additional change. Your grandmother’s trust is fifty million.”
Emhara whispered, “I can’t use all that.”
“We can help you find a charity to help or start one of your own. But don’t make any decisions now. Soak in the actuality of being able to buy anything you need without begging or pain. Learn to live before you learn to spend, and we will be here to help you every step of the way.”
Meritha paused, reached into her pocket, and pulled out a black card.
“Here you go. This is a Van Housen Bank credit card. It will keep folks from getting to your bank account directly. It will be visible to you here or on a chosen computer with a biometric lock. We have one of those set up for you already.”
Echel frowned. “How?”
Meritha stood up and wiggled her fingers in the air. “Magic.” She smiled. A shower of glitter left her fingers.
Samsor blinked. “You are...”
“A very good banker.” She winked.
She got up, and they went to the outer offices.
Meritha provided the laptop and smiled. “Okay, take this home, and let you be the first thing that it sees. It makes things go faster. I made yours extra bitchy, so be warned.”
“Okay. Um, why?”
“To make sure you stay aware of spending. She’s going to keep on top of you in the kindest way until you get a little stupid, and then off she goes.”
“She?”
“Henrietta. It’s the AI I developed for this purpose.”
Emhara looked at her and realized this is what sisters were supposed to feel like.
Meritha nodded. “Here is my personal number, Emhara. We need to unlock what you picked up from Win.”
Emhara blinked. “Oh, yeah. It’s just in there.”
“We will jiggle it loose. Don’t worry.”
Emhara grinned. “That would be good.”
“There are healing spells in there, and that will be handy for you. A thick skin is nice, but being able to work from the inside out is better.” She looked at the deltas. “The guys have you, so you are in good hands, so to speak. Invite me over, and I will be there.”
Duran looked at her. “You are a mage?”
Meritha laughed. “Yes. We all have specialties. I know what mine is, I know what Mikhaela’s is, but Emhara has been a mystery. Well, until now. Now I know.”
Duran asked softly, “What is she?”
Meritha smiled. “What soothes her soul, gives her comfort and determination in equal measure.”
Emhara smiled. “Art. Drawing.”
“Correct. I feel the same about money.”
Emhara suddenly understood. “Oh, wow. So, I will be able to use it.”
“The spellbooks in your head will show you what to do, the how is what will manifest in your hands and body when you are ready to use it.”
“So, Henrietta?”
“Is a spell. A sprite. She will be on your side, but she wants you to be successful, so she will nag you at every opportunity. Let me know if she ever feels mean, and I will rein her in.”
“Okay. Thank you so much. I know you didn’t have to take me into this bank, but thank you. I feel my money is safe here.”
“Yup. Now, take your black card to Halor Denith and make that hostess pay.”
“Would you come with me?”
“I can be backup. Do you, gentlemen, mind? They will open up for you without hesitation. We will go first so that I can tear Denith a new one. He’s been trying to become a client for years, and I have not found his need to be sufficient.
He has other options and does not require high security for his funds. ”
“Oh, that is your criteria.”
“Correct. Some folks are fine with a regular bank. Denith is good with a regular bank. He doesn’t need our resources. He just wants it for the exclusivity. He just needs a good accountant.”
Echel laughed. “I always wondered about your criteria.”
“Need. That is the criterion. Or fun puzzles. Or personal requests. Carlos and I are on several boards together, and I hate his wife. She’s a raving bitch. Hot, but a bitch.”
Emhara smiled. “That is also what I remember.”
Meritha nodded. “Right. I will just have to get my bag, and then we can walk over a block and face the... well, they aren’t dragons. They live in the suburbs.”
Samsor laughed. “So, you have met them.”
“Vemel and Themak had a need, and now Asel has her accounts. She needed an anchor in this world that didn’t have a dick on it.”
The deltas blinked, but Emhara smiled. “That is a very good thing.”
Duran sighed. “Well, I suppose that is the point. Shall we go? We will be behind you by five minutes.”
Emhara swallowed. “Well, let’s go. Meritha, you have my back?”
“Oh, I am all about communication. Don’t worry.”