Chapter Four
Keska looked at Drin’s cuffs and said, “Are you having any trouble with the closure mechanism?”
Drin frowned. “Um, I don’t actually do it. Vikor is the one to ask. He pays attention.”
Keska laughed and looked at the devil behind Drin’s shoulder. “So, do you find any difficulty accessing the features? They were a fun project, but I had to do it fast because the jewellers forgot they would need me.”
Vikor blinked. “You made them?”
“The mechanism. And the toy Zera gave you to use on her.”
“It stopped working after a while.”
“I programmed it for twenty-four hours of use for its first trial. Zera hates to read instructions.” She smiled. “I was supposed to get the performance records, but Zera just said it worked and to move on, so I dropped that product line and moved on.”
Vikor blinked.
“Yeah, she’s still upset about that.” She smirked.
“And you aren’t working on that line.”
“Nope. If she wants to send me the data, not a problem. But you can’t expect someone like me to work without feedback.”
Vikor nodded. “Could I ask for direct items?”
“What, like bondage cuffs that get stronger but remain comfortable when she’s thrashing like a caught fish?”
Drin blushed and grinned. “Ours keep breaking, and the heavy-hitter cuffs are kinda hard.”
“I can add them to my to-do list. No guaranteed dates. Price will be about fifteen thousand for something that will hold you or any of your party comfortably. I like to safe-word release them. It makes for faster ends to confinement.”
Vikor frowned and asked a few questions.
Keska answered, and the other males of the consortium gathered around her, minus one.
* * * *
Jienne smiled as the questions flew toward Keska, and when the hand on her arm caught her attention, she was eased away from the grouping. Nigel moved with her.
Klauz looked down at her. “Why can’t I feel what you want?”
She smiled. “Two reasons. The first is that you are sated and that always limits your senses, and the other is that I am afraid to want anything right now.”
He sighed. “Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
“Tell me about it. May I have a kiss? Will it interfere with your attachment to Drin?”
“No. We have an open contract. More could be added if a need is determined.” As he stepped closer, he touched her cheek.
She lifted her head to him, and he kissed her softly. The press of his lips was warm, but she tasted Drin and felt disappointment. Right. A crush was just a crush. She touched his neck, and he lifted his head.
She smiled. “That worked well to kill the fantasy.”
He blinked. “It did?”
“I have an acute sense of taste.”
He paused. “Oh.”
“Yeah. I will go through the therapy and then see if the BDC can find me a new dance partner.”
“Did you have other patrons?”
“No, the creep was my first.”
He said, “Not your first lover.”
“Thankfully, no. That would truly have been depressing.”
Klauz sighed. “We will miss you.”
“I am a hostess, not a chef or even a server. You just need someone pleasant with a tolerance for having her ass grabbed by the great and good of the city.”
“You kept people happy if they had to wait. People feel good around you. That is an important skill.”
“That is my activation. All I can do is calm people down at close range. It isn’t really an important thing.”
Klauz opened his mouth, and Jienne said, “Drin does that for you already.”
He snapped his mouth shut.
“I need to find someone who wants me as much as you want her. It’s a tall order.”
Klauz sighed.
“If you are so busy looking for other women who don’t demand anything of you, I think it says more about you than you are thinking.”
He blinked. “I hadn’t considered that.”
“I know.” She patted his arm. “Can I get a good reference?”
Klauz sighed. “Absolutely.”
“And don’t make it weird.”
He laughed. “Less attainable.”
She sighed and hugged him. “Thanks for being taken.”
He chuckled and returned the hug. “Thanks for not hating me.”
“I hated myself way more than I could ever hate you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t put myself on display... ever.”
“Strange hobby then.”
“Until last night, my patron was always sweet. I gave him back all the pleasure he caused.” Jienne sighed. “I would like to go back to that a little and to see how things can change with how they authorize patrons.”
Klauz said, “You think they will?”
“Yeah. I don’t know who Avagail is, but she put her foot down, and the other ladies were just as serious.”
“Other ladies?”
“Keska and Caska.”
Techor came over. “That was Caska?”
Jienne nodded.
He flushed and walked toward the house.
Jienne looked at Nigel. The creature shrugged. “They can take care of themselves. Trust me.”
Jienne nodded. “Okay.”
Caska came out with Techor, and they spoke quietly.
Nigel chuckled. “Caska was one of his teachers at law school. She looked different then, but she’s been teaching for fifteen years.”
“How old is she?”
Nigel huffed. “The twins are thirty-four. The law is her activation.”
Jienne asked, “How did they meet Ava?”
“They helped break her out of the lab with me. Imagine two six-year-olds looking around a facility full of folks who tear the lab subjects apart with regularity, and they were calling around to see if anyone could find their friend.”
Nigel sighed. “I was the bonus. Keska disabled the security system, and we were on our way.”
Klauz asked, “Lab?”
“Uraddan splicing lab. They had to separate their operations to keep them from being wiped out. Did you know that Keska can make bombs that only activate with the pressure of specific weights? Like, within a pound.”
Jienne looked at Keska, who was measuring the height from Drin’s collarbone to forehead.
She looked like she was in her early twenties and not ten years older.
Her fingers were moving constantly, and when she was done, she pressed a small object to her forehead, and it framed her face. She said, “Fire, fire, fire.”
The small item unfolded, turned into an armature, and folded her into a seated position before it cruised around the yard.
She sat and said, “Water, water, water.”
Jienne watched as the surround folded in and dropped into a small charm in Keska’s hand. Keska grinned. She opened her com. “Cabree, I got my part done.”
There was a lot of laughing and cursing on the other end of the line, and then Keska put the small item into her pouch.
Jienne looked at her, and Keska winked. “Jienne, what are you doing today?”
“Why?”
“I thought you might want to experiment with other occupations. I can show you what it looks like behind the scenes at the live ranges.”
“I think I am borrowing your clothes right now, so I don’t have anything to change into unless I go home.”
“I have more stuff for you. You interested?”
Jienne nodded. “Yes, please.”
“Excellent. Nigel, you are off duty. Go romp.”
Nigel got to his feet and bolted toward the woods.
Keska nodded. “He is trying to unionize the local squirrels to put all of the nuts in Ekron’s pool.”
Jienne laughed and grinned when Ekron heard it and stomped over to Keska. “Is that why those little bastards are constantly in my yard?”
“They don’t like being called little bastards, and Nigel is a tremendous leader. Very charismatic.” Keska looked up at him. “You two should chat.”
Ekron looked down at her. “I know you from somewhere.”
“Probably. I have been around.” Keska grinned.
He frowned. “Can you get them to stop?”
“Ask Nigel.”
“He isn’t here?”
“Make an appointment.” She smiled brightly.
“For Nigel?”
“Absolutely. He’s a registered occupant of the household. He’s a non-standard active by classification.”
“Oh. I suppose I have been rude.”
“And you have been having a lot of sex outside where he can see through the fence. Just a hint as to why nuts are on his mind.” Keska whirled and waved to those assembled. “Coming, Jienne?”
Jienne nodded and followed her, nodding to the consortium in the back yard.
They walked inside. Keska spoke to Ava, who nodded with a grin. Keska waved at Zera and Torun but only used one finger.
Jienne wanted to know the story behind that particular signal. Neither of the two targets seemed upset, so that had to have history behind it.
Keska looked at her when they got to the wardrobe room. “So, are you wondering about the feud between Zera and me?”
“Uh, yeah. It’s... odd. Everybody likes her.”
“Hm. Yes and no. Zera was inspiring, and she’s excellent at weapon design and biotech.
She’s focusing on weapons design at first with Z Tech, and I don’t do weapons, so I signed up for the BDC before numbers were a thing.
Caska tried it as well, but it wasn’t really her thing.
We were the proto-escorts. I created the masks and the defense robots.
Caska wrote up the charters that gave us the option to operate in sixteen different countries using their own regulations, and Zera ran them through all of the governing bodies.
We were the weird little gremlins behind the scenes while Ava made the money to make everything look viable and create the hub in the capitol. ”
Keska pulled some casual clothing out of the racks and wardrobes, including shoes. “Here you go.”
“So, what happened? She asked you to make weapons?”
“She began to give me lists of items she would like created, and at that point, I knew she was using me to create the weapons prototypes, which was fine, but I don’t know how I make my stuff.
I make it; I fix it. I can’t make more than one.
Each item on an escort cloak is going to be individual, but I don’t mind that because I can make them look different. ”
Jienne unzipped her dress. “You are an artist.”
“Yeah. Zera never really got that. Hence the flipping off. But I get a ton of money from the BDC for my support tasks, and I spend my free time working for the live ranges with a few patrons designing environments. I do the attack bots for solo stuff and the camera bots that broadcast on our livestreams.”
Jienne got dressed. “So, why am I coming along?”