22. Yaaf
YAAF
"He'll be calling in a few minutes." Bowen set the laptop on the conference table. "Relax and look confident. Yaaf, you'll do the talking."
"I'm always the one doing the talking."
It occurred to him that even the Guardians were calling him Yaaf now, not Number One. In fact, the eight of them were using their given names more and more, which was helping their individualization.
To an extent.
The collective was a good thing, and they didn't want to sacrifice it on the altar of individuality. They were all doing a balancing act.
The Eight arranged themselves around the conference table in Kian's old office, and a few moments later the screen lit up.
Yaaf had never seen Kian in person, had only heard his voice, and the two didn't match. He looked much younger than he sounded, but then he was immortal, so he could be ancient and look no older than thirty.
His hair was long, covering his ears, so there was no way to tell whether he was wearing the filtering earpieces, but they had no doubt that he was. The male was far too cautious to forgo the security measure.
"Good afternoon," Kian said. "How would you like me to address you? Dave? Number One? Or Yaaf?"
"What do you call us when you talk about us?" Yaaf asked.
"The Eight."
Yaaf nodded. "That's fine. We realized that calling the collective Dave might not be the best idea. It makes us appear strange."
Kian chuckled. "Well, you are unique, which translates as strange for most people. There's no way around that."
"True," Yaaf said. "Thank you for agreeing to talk to us."
"I was impressed with the document you wrote." He looked around the conference table. "I see that Doctors Petrov and Volkov are not present. Is that deliberate?"
"They are not the reason we are on probation. We are, and therefore it is our responsibility to negotiate the terms."
"There is nothing to negotiate," Kian said. "We accept your terms."
He said we accept, Armos said. Who are we?
"We?" Yaaf asked.
"I discussed your offer with Turner and ran it by several of the village council members. Here is what we suggest."
Kian laid out the lab arrangement. A sealed section with an automatic lockdown the moment any one of them set foot on that level, with Dimitri and Petrov working inside it, and the injections given in the village clinic.
"Any objections so far?" he asked when he was done explaining.
"None," Yaaf said.
"You don't sound very convinced. If you have concerns, now is the time to voice them."
Yaaf wanted to say that he and the others didn't appreciate being treated as criminals, but he remembered Petrov's point about including safety features in potentially dangerous projects to secure approval.
"We understand that the lab is not the only thing in the village's underground complex. Are we locked out of every part of it, or just the lab? We would like someone to show us exactly where the line is."
"That's a good idea," Kian said. "Bowen can walk you through the floor plan and show you where the restricted areas are."
"Thank you."
"There's more." Kian leaned back in his chair. "Turner came up with an idea I want to run by you."
He explained his plan for Navuh.
"I can't kill him, I can't release him, and I can't keep him in the dungeon forever. I need somewhere to keep him that isn't a prison for Areana, and I need capable people to guard him. The eight of you are perfect for the job. Your former jailer will become your prisoner."
I don't like this, Armos said. Being Navuh's jailer is not what I had in mind when I said I wanted a job.
Navuh is the reason we exist, Yaaf reminded them. He wanted an army that could not be beaten.
We don't owe him anything, Bardov said. Other than a grave.
No one has said we would like it, Ravsoh contributed. This is the payment required of us to gain acceptance into the village.
"You've stopped talking." Kian regarded them with a frown. "Is this a deal-breaker for you?"
Yaaf held up a hand. "Please, give us another minute."
We have to decide whether we can be trusted with him, Tersan said.
I would not kill him, Bardov shared. I would want to, but I wouldn't, because of Lady Areana.
"We'll do it," Yaaf said aloud. "We are unhappy about it and would've preferred to kill him, but we won't because that would upset Lady Areana, and we like her. She treats us with kindness and respect."
Kian chuckled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. We are all treating that despicable despot with kid gloves on her account."
"Where would we live?" Camdor asked the question they were all thinking.
"We are floating several ideas." Kian crossed his arms over his chest. "We will build a secluded compound outside the village proper for Navuh and Areana, and you will either have a house there or just a guard station.
I know that you want to live close to your mothers, but we don't have a house large enough for all of you, so the practical solution would be to build you a house right next to Navuh's, and the two houses would connect via an underground tunnel.
Naturally, you will be free to come and go as you please. "
"But the compound will be fenced off," Voset said.
"Yes," Kian confirmed.
We asked to be let out, and he offered us a better enclosure, the collective thought.
He said we would be free to come and go, Dumuz said.
"Can I walk to Sullha's house from the enclosed compound?" Yaaf asked.
"Of course. That's the entire point of you moving into the village, so you can be close to those you care about."
Yaaf let out a breath and nodded.
"How long until the houses are built?" Bardov asked.
"Several months. Six to eight."
"Months?" Bardov asked. "You want us to wait that long to move into the village?"
"That's not how long you will be waiting. You can move in a few days."
"But you just said months," Bardov pressed.
"I said it would take months to build the houses.
I didn't say that's how long you will wait.
As soon as the lab configuration is done, you can move into the village.
We have plenty of empty houses to choose from, but none that comfortably fit eight.
You can take one and sleep four to a bedroom, or you can take two or more neighboring houses and split up between them. "
We have never lived in separate dwellings, Ravsoh said. Not since the merge. We do not know if we can handle it, or even if we should. Four to a bedroom sounds like the better solution.
We can test it, Camdor said.
Kian shook his head. "Please conduct your conversation out loud. Those silent talks of yours are irritating."
"We'll take two houses and see how it works for us," Yaaf said. "If it doesn't, we can always congregate in one later."
Kian nodded. "Makes sense."
"When can we move?" Bardov asked.
"The lab moves first. Petrov and Dimitri can't be without a functioning lab for even a day. We'll start on it tomorrow. The council will vote later this week, but I've already spoken with the members, and they're all going to vote in favor."
That was surprising and encouraging. The collective hadn't known a council existed, so they couldn't have expected a vote in favor, but apparently not everyone in the village was as suspicious and cautious as Kian.
"Thank you," Yaaf said. "Please thank each council member on our behalf. We appreciate the vote of confidence and vow to always be worthy of it."
Kian nodded. "I will pass it on."
When the call ended, Bowen closed the laptop and tucked it under his arm. "That went better than I expected."
Yaaf nodded. "Your idea to prepare the lists was brilliant. It wouldn't have gone as smoothly without them. Thank you."
Bowen grinned. "You're welcome."
"How can we repay you?" Ravsoh asked.
"You can buy me a beer at the Hobbit Bar."
"All eight of us?" Ravsoh asked. "Or just one?"
"Eight beers, one from each of you." Bowen headed for the door. "I'll collect when you move in."
As the door closed behind him, silence stretched across the conference table.
We are trading one enclosure for another, Armos said. And we are tasked with guarding the one person we despise the most.
But we get to be out in the open air and see our mothers, Voset said. I'll take it.
So will I, Bardov said. I want to visit that bar and find out what he meant by entertainment.
"I need to make a phone call." Yaaf pulled out his phone and considered stepping outside, but then realized that it didn't matter because he carried the other seven with him wherever he went.
"We can retreat," Bardov offered.
"That's okay. I have nothing to hide." He called Sullha.
She answered before the phone could ring. "How did it go?"
"We are moving to the village. The lab goes first, and we follow."
For a long moment, there was silence on the other end, then a sound that was half laugh, half sob. "When?"
"A few days."
"Tomek!" she called. "Come here. Yaaf has something to tell you."
The sound of quick footsteps followed, then a small, breathless voice. "Yaaf? Are you coming to my house?"
Yaaf smiled at Tomek's choice of words. He was calling it his house.
"In a few days. I don't know exactly when yet, but we are moving in."
The whoop nearly took out Yaaf's eardrum, and then the phone clattered onto something hard. Tomek's voice rang through the house, announcing the news to Nana at the top of his lungs.
"Sorry about that." Sullha came back online. "In all the excitement and rush to tell my mother, he dropped the phone. I think he understood that you are coming to live with us."
Yaaf swallowed.
He didn't know how to respond. Did he want to move in with Sullha and her family?
Could he even separate from the others?
Not without pain.
The problem was that being away from Sullha was its own kind of pain.
"She should move in with us," Voset said. "That's the simplest solution."
Yaaf snorted. "There is nothing simple about that." Then, remembering that Sullha was still on the line, he added, "Ignore that."
"No, you're right. There is nothing simple about this, but we will work it out."