Chapter 33 #2
Jacinta snorted. “Not likely!”
The dark wave of nasty energy from the other woman roiled Dewi’s stomach.
“The other choice,” Dewi continued, “is if you start to tell someone about all of this, no matter in what context or format—written, or verbal, or sock puppets, or any communication modality now existing or invented in the future—you will immediately kill yourself before you can get the information out. You will suck-start that gun or use some other sure-fire immediate method. I don’t care how you do it.
Jump off a building, stab yourself in the heart, throw yourself in front of a bus—whatever.
Meaning you kill yourself and your baby, if you’re still pregnant, or just yourself if you wait until after you give birth.
That’s not something a good Catholic girl would consider doing, right? ”
“You are insane! I would not kill myself! Ever!”
Dewi noticed Jacinta didn’t have the same qualms about killing other people, though. “Good. Then you’ll destroy the evidence?”
“Absolutely not! This is too valuable to destroy!”
Dewi silently groaned. “Lady, let me make this perfectly clear—this is an easy, either-or choice. A/B. Pass-fail. You can live the rest of your life and never again think about or pursue any of this, and immediately destroy all information you have about it so no one else ever finds and uses it, or you die.”
Jacinta scowled at Dewi. “You are one of them!”
“One of what?” Dewi tightened her grip on the woman’s wrist but made sure it wasn’t hard enough to leave a bruise. “I’m just an old friend from college, that’s all. Pick any name, it doesn’t matter. What’s your decision?”
Jacinta’s jaw set in righteous indignation. “I will not be silenced!”
Dewi’s stomach rolled again as she poured the full force of her Prime into the woman.
“This is an easy choice to make, Jacinta. You have a good racket here. Rich, old hubby who’s gonna die soon.
Hire a nanny who actually likes kids to raise the baby and live a good life.
Profitable business. Why wouldn’t you want to choose life? ”
Jacinta’s gaze narrowed. “Because some things should never exist!” she hissed. “And why not make money on getting rid of them? I’ll be famous and rich! And it’ll all be mine! Riches he can never touch or sign away to a baby!”
It was sooo tempting to just order her to destroy it all and then herself. This woman’s evil would likely find another outlet.
Except…
Jacinta was pregnant.
And no matter what Dewi saw inside this woman, she couldn’t force herself to outright kill her.
It wasn’t like she’d murdered someone, yet, or raped a kid, or tortured puppies.
And proactively killing someone who hadn’t even broken the law wasn’t a line Dewi could make herself cross.
Not in this case. Wasn’t like Jacinta had access to nukes or sarin gas.
Maybe Jacinta would be smart and make the easy choice after having a little time to think about it.
Or at least wait until after the baby was born to do it.
Dewi also worried that, if she Primed her to forget it all right now, what would happen if there was another trove of data somewhere, and her Prime powers decided to be wiggy and Jacinta recovered her memories?
Or what if a reverse Hyacinth/Frannie situation happened with another Prime, willingly or unwillingly on their part, and they got hold of Jacinta and peeled the information from her brain?
Dewi was no Callum, and she knew it. She had low confidence in her ability in that regard when weighed against the catastrophic potential if something went wrong.
Despite everyone’s assurances, Dewi still couldn’t get the incident with Malyah out of her mind.
How, after Malyah mated with Joaquin, all the memories that Dewi had tried to suppress for Malyah returned. About Malyah’s father and his creepy friends abducting her. Fortunately, that situation had a happy ending.
This one, however, had worldwide repercussions.
And it wasn’t like Dewi could abduct her and take her somewhere for a detailed session with several Primes besides herself.
Abundio Segura would hunt for her, and then they’d really have a war on their hands.
Taking her hostage was stupid on multiple levels, but after what she’d already heard about the lab, she couldn’t bring herself to even think about doing that.
No, this was the best way. And it was putting control of Jacinta’s fate firmly in the woman’s own hands.
Meaning Dewi would feel guilty about this going the bad way, but at least she had a clear conscious that she gave Jacinta the choice and it was Jacinta’s decision to choose it.
“Think about what I’m telling you, Jacinta.
Think about it really hard. You can see I’m serious.
Regardless of which choice you make, or when you make it, from this moment going forward, you do not do any more research.
At all. None. I strongly suggest you think long and hard before you make a mistake you cannot undo. ”
She wore a haughty sneer. “Who are you to tell me what to do?”
Dewi got right into her face. She let her fangs slide into place and curled her lips at her.
“Bitch, I am your worst fucking nightmare.” Jacinta gasped, but Dewi wouldn’t let her scream.
“We are real. You feel how I have control over you right now? If I wanted to, I could order you to join the defenestration society, and not a single damned person in this building could stop you. But I’m trying to be nice, here.
I’m trying to be reasonable, and if you knew me, you’d know that’s a huge fucking deal.
All you have to do is choose to not be a greedy, evil asshole. That’s all.”
“You-you are evil!”
“Yeah, well, been called a lot worse by a lot better. Including my brothers. We’ll have to agree to disagree, a’ight?”
Jacinta finally processed Dewi was pregnant, eyeing her baby bump in horror. “And…you’re breeding, too?
Dewi struggled and—barely—won the battle not to take Jacinta’s gun from her and shoot her right then. No, outright murder baaaad. “This is my second daughter, bitch.”
Jacinta’s eyes opened wider. “You’ve made others?”
Dewi used that moment to retract her fangs and give herself a beat to regain her composure.
“All right. I’ve had it with you. It’s a pretty easy choice I’m giving you, lady.
And if anyone asks you about me, I’m an old friend from college.
Once I walk through that doorway, you’ll act normal.
You won’t make a scene when I leave. Everything’s fine, we had a short chat to catch up, and that was all.
You’ll barely remember anything about me.
The only details you will remember, but not talk about to anyone, are the two choices I gave you.
There are no other options—destroy all the evidence and never speak or think about it again, even if someone talks to you about it, or kill yourself if you still attempt to tell or pass the information to someone. ”
Dewi was going to release her but felt a little petty. “Stick your finger up your nose and mine for gold. Make sure to do that a few times today in front of people.”
Dewi giggled at the woman’s wide-eyed horror as the index finger on her free hand buried itself to the first joint in her nostril.
She released Jacinta and headed to the office door. Before opening the door, she turned. Jacinta still looked shell-shocked. “This is all up to you,” she reminded her. “If I were you, I’d pick the first choice and live a long life. Good luck.”
Dewi slipped her sunglasses on and pulled her hand into the sleeve of her hoodie to grab the door handle.
She’d clocked a couple of cameras on her way in and suspected that, while they could see her, there would be no way to identify her.
Still, she was careful to keep her head tipped down, hopefully keeping her face deeply enough in shadows cast by the hood and the brim of the hat she couldn’t be recognized.
She didn’t know if the IR lights in the hoodie would help with that or not, but it didn’t hurt.
Then she stopped at the receptionist’s desk for just a moment to tie up that loose end and make her forget that she saw Dewi leave.
“Why didn’t you Prime her to forget you altogether?” Alvarez asked as they headed to the airport. She booked her flight to Tampa after getting into the car. Before they’d left the hotel that morning, she’d looked up flights and already knew which one she’d catch if all went well.
“Missing me leaving the office isn’t sus. But other people saw me either on the way in or out, and I can’t just walk around Priming everyone there. They had cameras in their office. If anyone saw me and asks, I was an old college friend. They won’t care if I leave.”
“Ah. Smart.”
“I have a good idea every once in a while.” She settled back in her seat and struggled against her growing nausea.
Not because of morning sickness, but because of what she saw in the woman’s mind.
And what she expected would happen.
Sooner, rather than later, if forced to guess.
“You’re looking a little green, boss. Want me to stop and get you something?”
“No. At least I had my coffee this morning. I’ll grab something at the airport.”
“Guess that means I’m not coming with?”
“Sorry. Not today. Need you to tail her day and night. I’m especially concerned about the church.”
“In what way?”
“I want you there every time she is. I don’t care if you feel you have to dress up like an altar boy and blow a priest—no offense, and just kidding, obviously—but I want you to keep eyes on her.”
He glanced at her and she sensed him trying to formulate a question.
“I meant it that you don’t have to blow a priest,” she said. “Unless you really want to. No judgment from me, as long as everyone’s a consenting adult. I don’t kink-shame.”
He finally snorted. “I do not envy you and your job, boss.”
She closed her eyes. “Yeah, I get that a lot.”
“I suspect no one will ever challenge you for your job, either.
“Unfortunately, I get that one a lot, too.”
She had to talk him into just dropping her at the terminal and not walking inside with her. “Go back and tail her. I’m probably safer in an airport than anywhere else. And if you can’t get that camera out of the church, just leave it. Your prints aren’t on it, and it can’t be traced to you, right?”
“Correct.”
She grabbed her bags and climbed out, then turned and leaned in. “Call me immediately if anything happens. Day or night. And you do not talk to anyone besides me before talking to me. About this, I mean. Got it?”
“Any parameters? About what I’m looking for?”
“Oh, I’m certain you’ll recognize the parameters.” She shut the door and slapped the roof before turning to head inside.
Oh, you’ll know, all right. Sorry.