Chapter Four #2
“Fine. Is Ekbert’s party at the live range still good?”
“It is. I will send him all the confirmation information.”
“Good. He’s already getting folks interested. I think it will be a delightful eighteenth birthday.”
“Oh, shit. Right. Did they want to go out for food afterward?”
“That’s an idea.”
“I will give him a list of restaurants and facilities to choose from. He’s like a little brother now.”
Hemma smiled. “Thanks for that.”
“Hemma, relax, do what is best for you, and eat some expensive meals on someone else’s dime. I know what you do with your money, and it is okay to keep some for yourself.”
Hemma shrugged. “Others had a harder start than I did.”
“Others saved up and got their bodies fixed first.”
“My priorities have always been skewed.” She shrugged.
Keska smiled softly. “The seers said that this one will probably take. I am going to have to get a nanny.”
Hemma felt a cold wave of water down her spine. “Yes, with your work, you should.”
“At least I have time. This little fella is going to go full term.”
“I am happy for you. You three make a good family.”
Keska beamed. “Thank you.”
“I will go and get dinner organized.”
“Nice. Roasted mushrooms?”
“Of course.” Hemma smiled. She walked away and back into the kitchen. The thought of being usurped by a nanny was intense, but it was probably her down cycle. She was feeling empty and useless and alone. Maybe it was empty nest syndrome?
She got everything set up for dinner and had to finish the last part of it slowly as Cira and Ciro were riding along on her feet, giggling with their arms around her legs.
She moved with her deliberate motions and got all of the veggies and meat ready.
Everything went into the fridge and was covered and waiting.
Ciro looked up at her with a bright grin. “Sing!”
She sang the alphabet, sang numbers, sang all child-friendly songs she could think of.
When a nanny burst into the kitchen, she smiled.
“I believe I am in possession of something you are looking for.” She walked slowly around, and the littles giggled as they were pried from her, then they lunged forward and stuck again.
There was more giggling, and finally, they were loose and being carried out by their caregiver.
She smiled and cleaned up, checked outside, and made another pitcher of juice and another of lemonade.
It was just a lazy Sunday at home.
Keska smiled. “So, how is Chaos?”
“She’s good. She wears cuffs on her wrists and forearms now.”
“Right. Still sparky?”
“She has it under control. She even has a normal food service job now.” Zephyr smiled and folded her flatbread around her grilled meat and vegetables. “Before you ask, I put Breen back where I found her.”
Khytten chuckled. “So, you are really dating Trisk?”
Zephyr coughed. “He wishes. We were matched. He’s persistent. He’s wearing me down because Hemma said he should try it with one body at a time. That might make a difference.”
“Is that how the Renovik do it? Matchmaking?”
Zephyr nodded. “Soul brightness. When you are interested in thinking about another person, you take a soul stone and leave your mark on it. It is put on a table with others who are doing the same thing, and the two little stones find each other through wiggling. If they spark when they touch, it’s a good match. ”
Hemma smiled. “You set the—”
“Table on fire. Yes.”
Khytten grinned. “So, when did you last see him... them?”
Hemma chuckled.
Zephyr shrugged. “He helped me put the groceries in the car yesterday.”
“So, he’s nearby?”
Zephyr nodded. “Yup. He’s going to perform at the event next Friday.”
Khytten grinned. “Excellent.”
Hemma didn’t mention that Zephyr could get him there in seconds. It was her intended, and she didn’t have to show him off.
Zephyr smiled and inclined her head.
Khytten asked, “So, what’s he like in person?”
“Thick. Solid, warm. He’s reliable, but he gets a little bit of target fixation when I am around.”
Hemma said, “Looks like he paddles a long ship singlehandedly.”
“Yeah, that too.” Zephyr grinned.
“So, romance cover material.”
Hemma smiled as Zephyr blushed. “A friend of ours used his general outline as the base for her book cover. He thought it was hilarious, and so did she.”
Khytten whispered, “Show me.”
Hemma brought the cover art up on her com and showed Khytten the image. It was a burly male mountain climbing with a severed head clutched in his hand. The title made Khytten laugh. “Blood in His Touch? Seriously?”
“Yeah, she thinks more folks need to laugh between sex scenes.”
Khytten quickly brought up the book and then the author. “Holy heck. She writes a lot.”
“She does. She also makes the cover art.”
Salat looked over. “Send it to me. I wanna see.”
Khytten sent the image over, and Salat cackled. “That’s really good.”
Khytten paused and laughed. “I.R. Righter.”
Hemma smirked. “That’s her pen name.”
Salat asked, “Can I speak to her?”
“Why?”
“I am always looking for a writer.”
“Read one of her books, and then let me know. If you like her style, I will give her your com info and give hers to you because she really isn’t good with strangers.”
Zephyr smiled sadly.
Caska and Ava were there with Nigel, and they both looked happy at Keska’s new joy.
Khytten kept reading out book titles and purchasing the downloads for titles she particularly enjoyed.
Ekbert was keeping an eye on the kids while the Hyreno nannies went for a swim in the saltwater pool.
Everyone was having a nice time, and Hemma tried to memorize the feeling.
Monday morning, Hemma walked nervously through the lobby of Z-Corp and up to the security desk. She said softly, “Hello, my name is Hemma, and I am supposed to have an appointment in the building? I don’t know with whom, precisely.”
The male officer sighed. “I can’t work with that. Do you have the name of the person you are seeing?”
“Either Zera or Kritz.”
He jolted and nodded. “There you are. Here is your guest pass. Please give me a fingerprint so you can operate the elevator.”
She pressed her index finger down on a pad, and he nodded. “Okay, here is your pass. Scan it at the elevator sensor, and it will take you where you need to go.”
She nodded and went to the elevator. She scanned her pass, and the doors opened. She stepped inside, the chime rang, and she was in the elevator and heading down.
Running wasn’t possible. When she arrived on the floor that appeared to be a lab floor, she looked around for someone to speak to.
She fidgeted and looked around nervously. “Hello?”
The hall had a number of security locks, and they were all shut.
She called Zera, and Zera smiled. “Hemma, where are you?”
“The elevator took me to the lab floor, and there is no one here. I have tried to swipe my card at the elevator again, but it won’t activate. I am stuck.”
“Shit. I am coming down. Who gave you the pass?”
“I went to the security desk and said I had an appointment with you or Kritz. He handed me the pass, and here I am. He took my fingerprint, though. That was strange.”
Zera nodded, and an alarm started sounding. “Can you defend yourself against an attack?”
“Can you repair the snapped tendons and ligaments?”
“Yes.”
“Then, yes. I can make them wish they were never born.”
“Good because I am locked out of the elevators and taking the stairs. I hate the stairs.” There was thumping, and the footsteps were ringing in a hallway on the other end of the com.
The elevator was coming, and there was only one thing to do. Hemma had to hide.
She wedged herself into a corner and projected the painted wall behind her. Hemma breathed slowly and waited. The elevator opened, and the security guard emerged, looking extremely hostile.
“Where are you, Uraddan bitch? Come on. Your bounty is only good if you are alive. Not my preference, but they won’t pay otherwise.”
The door to the stairwell burst open, and eight actives came and surrounded the man that Hemma was pretty sure wasn’t a guard.
Zera was surprisingly good in a fight, as was the purple bulk of Torun, and the blue and silver of Krizt.
Arcady was looking around, and the four others were just glaring at the man who was now shackled within an inch of his life.
One of the men walked up and touched the man’s head, and then he cursed.
“Bounty hunter. She’s worth three million alive and whole. ”
Zera looked around. “Where is she?”
“Is he confined?” She threw her voice to the other side of the lobby.
“He is. We will get him in the elevator, and then we need to talk. Where are you, Hemma?”
She waited until the man was in the elevator, and when the door closed, she stepped out of her concealment. Zera’s eyes widened. “That isn’t in your file.”
“Opposite of tracking.”
Kritz laughed. “Hiding.”
She nodded. “So, still a price on my head.”
Zera nodded. “Yes. That is why we wanted to rush you without panicking you.”
Hemma nodded. “Why wasn’t anyone here?”
Zera grimaced. “We were suckered by everybody getting meeting notices at the same time. It wasn’t until you called that it made sense. Can we get you behind the blast walls?”
Hemma nodded. “It isn’t getting any better, so sure.”
Arcady opened the locks and walked with Hemma, step by step.
They made it through five security gates with Zera walking with them, muttering into her com.
She was taken into what looked to be a delightful consultant space. Arcady had the tablet and handed it over to Zera. “The details have been worked out.”
Zera nodded and looked at the file. “Okay, so, Hemma, despite the rough start, we want to get you back into fighting shape. I get the feeling you will need it.”
“It seems like it. Serves me right for leaving the house.”
“You need massive cellular repair at a number of levels, and we are going to manage it.”
Hemma took the glass of water that Arcady gave her and drank it down. There was a metallic tang that let her know the nanites were now in part of her system.