Edward (10 page)

Edward
woke up to find himself in an exceptionally elegant bedroom of an unfamiliar
hotel.  He was sore and hungry, quite normal after swifting.  Not
really worse for wear, just tired.  He'd done it many times in training,
but this was the first time in many months that he had been forced to swift in
an uncontrolled environment.  Tatiana!  Alex!  How were they? 
Edward sprang out of bed.  Oops!  A quick check of the drawers
finally disclosed his clothes and he quickly made himself presentable.  He headed for the door—bathroom!  Try again!  Edward laughed to himself.  This was a big place!  He finally found the door out, and it opened
to a large living room where he found Gillian reclining and enjoying a hot
drink while Trevor sat talking to her.

“Ah,
I had thought I heard someone moving!” called Gillian as she got up from her
seat. “We were all very worried about you.  Kadu kept saying not to worry,
but it was still very nerve-racking.” She hugged him warmly and he happily
returned it.

“Yeah,
swifting is a little weird, but I've trained to do it.  Kadu knows exactly
how hard I can push myself,” Edward tried to reassure her.

“Kadu
said you easily had ninety
whole
seconds left,” she said with a grin.

“Wow,
I was moving faster than I thought.  How are Tatiana and Alex doing?”

Trevor
fielded that one. “Alex is in hospital for at least another day.  A large
concussion charge went off at the door of the fire escape stairs. Rattled him
pretty badly, that and mild smoke inhalation. Tatiana actually dragged him all
the way back to the apartment.”

“And
Tatiana?” urged Edward.

“Scared
about you, rattled a bit, but doing quite well otherwise.  She and Zoë are
out clothes shopping right now.  They should be back in about an hour or
two.” replied Gillian.

“The Saturday reception? Sorry, I'm not sure if I slept one day or two.”

“Only
one day,” answered Trevor, “and everyone involved agreed moving the reception a
week was a good idea.”

That
was a huge weight off of Edward's shoulders, “What happened at the hotel? 
How bad were the injuries of the rest of the patrons?”

“No
fatalities, worst injuries were from smoke inhalation,” replied Trevor
methodically. “Only three people required hospitalization; the rest were
treated and released.  The damage to the hotel was on the order of five to
ten million.”

“At least no fatalities. Was the person a distraction or what?”

“Our
first guess, and it is only a guess, is no. The fire at the hotel was a
reaction to prevent the person from being captured.”

“Did
we get her?”

“Yep, not without a bit of a chase. The locals really came through there.  Meeka came up
short at first as the suspect got into a car and sped off.  Meeka did, however,
get a partial plate off of the car. We had a partial image, a good description
and a partial plate. You put all that together and we got a name and face that
matched perfectly.  The debrief is going to be
complicated; I'll fill you in on that later.  I can say we don't have the
ring leader, but we now have a lot of good leads and things are starting to
unfold.”

“Finally,”
murmured Edward.

“Exactly.  Our
problem now is to work with the police and run those leads down faster than
they can cause problems. Time is on our side now. All those previous bombs were
the product of long-term placement. With a complete move, things have changed.”

“Won't
they get riskier then?”

“They
might, but we thump harder.”

That
was Trevor.

“Is
there anything we can do for you?” asked Gillian still smiling.

“Well,
quite honestly, I'm very hungry.”

Gillian
nodded, “Kadu said you probably would be. I'll get something sent up
presently.”

“Thank
you, Gillian.”

“What?
You aren't going to call me 'Mom'?”

“Well
if you prefer...”

“Am I
interrupting?” asked Kadu from the edge of the room.

“Not
at all!” beamed Gillian.  “You’re his partner, come on in.”  Gillian
glanced around, “I’m not sure we have any chairs that fit you well, sorry.”

“That
is quite understandable, Lady Gillian.  This room isn’t meant to cater to
one of my size.  I’m just pleased to see Edward is up and doing
well.”  Kadu stood there with a broad toothy smile.  Edward knew it
was a ‘friendly’ smile; others not so familiar with Shukurae might have easily
been terrified at the brazen display of razor sharp teeth and tusks!

Edward
smiled broadly back to Kadu, “Hey!  You are actually standing up
straight!  There is something to be said for these posh hotels and their
grandiose sense of scale.”

“Indeed. 
It is an unexpected level of comfort.  My primary concern is still that of
your health and comfort, not mine.”

“I’m
doing fine, Kadu.  I’m darn hungry, but outside of that I’m doing quite
well, thank you.”  An evil grin flashed across his face, “It’s okay, nanny.  Mom is taking care of me.”

That
got a good laugh out of both Kadu and Gillian.

“Ouch,”
bellowed Gillian.  “I know I started that.  I think I’m going to
regret it.”

Kadu
smiled and bowed out, “If you are doing well, then I will head back out.  For
the record, my room is adjacent to your room.  There is a preset linear
shaped charge in your closet that will cut a hole between the two rooms if
needed.   I’ll talk with you this evening then.”

Edward
got up and uncharacteristically hugged Kadu. “Thanks.  Thanks for worrying
about me.  It’s silly, but I do appreciate it.”

Kadu
would have blushed if her hide permitted it; instead her ears simply went soft
and drooped. “I do appreciate that as well, Edward.  Now go eat!”

Edward
sighed as Kadu left the room, “Don’t laugh Trevor.”

“Hadn’t crossed my mind, Edward.  Many of us have been worried that you were too
detached with the world at large.”

“So,”
Edward asked as he rejoined the pair, “where
is
my room anyway?”

“You
just left it a few minutes ago,” observed Gillian.

“Um,
so whose living room is this then?” asked Edward nervously.

“That
would be ours.  Yours, Tatiana’s, and mine.”

Edward’s
fur stood straight up on end and he fought to keep his color from cycling. “Um.”

“Eloquent,
isn’t he?” observed Trevor.

“One
of many talents,” concurred Gillian with a smile.

“You
are here as close as possible to the client.  Kadu is through the wall
behind you, literally.  Alex and Meeka are across the hall, or at least he
will be as soon as he is out of hospital,” began Trevor.  “With everything
that has been going on, we have really tightened up the lines.  Can you
handle that?”

“Yes
sir.”

“Oh
come on, Edward.  You haven’t ‘sir’ed me in ten months.  Can you
handle the arrangement?”

Edward
took a deep breath.  “Can I be frank?”

Trevor
nodded, “By all means.  The 517
^th
is a volunteer unit; there is
no reason for subterfuge.  Should I get Takru on the line?”

Edward
nodded so Trevor paged Takru on his comlink, “Takru here.  Problem?”

“Edward
wants to talk about the present arrangements.”

“Understood
and anticipated.  Continue, Edward.”

Edward
stared at his feet, “I am concerned that I am not able to continue this
assignment at the level of professionalism that you have come to know and
expect.”

“Are
you anticipating that the risks are becoming so large that you are unwilling to
protect the client?” came Takru’s voice.

“Not
in the least.”

“Are
you uncomfortable with working with your present partner, Kadu?”

“Heavens no!”

“Do
you have problems with, or question the competency of, myself or Trevor?”

“No. 
Not even remotely.”

“Then
I am confused.  What seems to be the source of the problem?”

“The
client,” Edward offered meekly.

“I
was under the impression that, jovial barbs aside, she was not a difficult
person to deal with.”

“That
is the problem.”

“I am
confused then, Edward,” came Takru’s even voice.

“May
I interject an observation?” offered Gillian.

“By all means, Lady Gillian.  Present course of communication is not producing
useful data.”

Gillian
gave Edward a motherly smile ignoring the fact that his fur was now sticking
straight out. “I believe Edward is concerned that he is becoming emotionally
attached to the client, and that this emotional attachment may cloud his
judgment.”

“Would
you agree with Lady Gillian assessment, Edward?”

Edward
nodded. 

Trevor
laughed, “Takru can’t hear you nod, Edward.”

Edward
was flustered, “Sorry.  Yes.  Gillian is mostly correct.  There
is a further complication.”

“Zoë,”
beamed Gillian.

“I’m
pretty pathetic aren’t I?” asked Edward.

“False,”
replied Takru.  “She does complicate things, however.”

“There
is a fourth bedroom in this flat,” observed Gillian.  “We may see about
moving Zoë here until things calm down.”

“Breathe,
Edward.  Breathe!” came Trevor’s voice as the
world started to lose color.  “I think we will need to continue this after
Edward has had something proper to eat.”

“I
concur.”

“No,
I can finish this now.  Let’s say, for the sake of the argument, that I
have become too emotionally attached.  That makes me a broken link in the
chain of command.”

“Alternatively,
we could treat you and Kadu as independent operators and the rest of the team
works around you,” suggested Trevor.

“That
seems like a waste of resources and, well, just kind of silly.”

“Negative,”
came Takru’s voice.  “I have seen a motivated Highlander and what he is
capable of doing.  Treating you as an independent operator lets you
operate at full form.  That may be the most robust method of assuring the
safety of the client.”

“That
seems kind of dangerous.”

“That
is the plan,” countered Takru with the most sinister laugh Edward had ever
heard.

Edward
wolfed down his first plating with reckless disregard for table manners. 
By the time the second course came around, the concept of utensils had
reentered his skill base.  Gillian laughed and excused herself
from the room while Trevor stayed with Edward.

“Some
things you should know: the lady that was picked up was recently out of a
mental institution.  Records and discussion of such are
complicated
. 
Jake and Kate first proposed what they called a ‘Scarecrow’ gambit.”

“What
the heck is that?” asked Edward between mouthfuls.

 Trevor
laughed, “It’s actually a really weird bit of human pop culture fiction
involving… well… let’s just say it’s weird even for humans.  The short of
said gambit is the thought of someone
inside
the mental institution, a
care giver, manipulating people for their own criminal plans.”

“Wow! 
That would be a pretty nasty violation of trust.”

“Yes,
indeed.  Fortunately, it didn’t pan out.  What we
did
find,
however, is a link between the lady in question and Gillian.”  Trevor
nodded as Gillian poked her head in the door.  “It’s
okay, come on in.  I actually need to talk to ask you a few things.”

Gillian
smiled as she reseated herself, “I didn’t want to interrupt anything
sensitive.”

“Eh,
the details are sensitive, but the big picture isn’t, and it involves you.”

Gillian
looked confused, “Okay, I’ll bite.  How?”

“What
does the name Rebecca Ravenswell mean to you?”

Gillian
smiled broadly, “Meso-soprano, clinical almost sterile voice, but very clean
and articulate.  She excelled in reworks of pieces from other languages;
she had an excellent ear.  I represented her for about six months, oh,
about four years ago.  I passed her to an agent that specialized in movie
and studio work.”

“Not
much of a live performer?”

“Oh, heavens, no. 
From a presentation point of view she was, to be polite, dull.  Good clean
precise voice, but would just stand there and sing without any passion or
feeling.  Also, well, she had horrible stage fright.  She spent six
weeks working with a therapist and had, well, only a slight improvement. 
That is why we steered her towards studio work.   She was excellent
at it, especially for foreign language work, and she didn’t have to deal with
crowds.”

“Um,
that therapist wasn’t the same one associated with the disturbed lady Meeka
chased is it?” asked Edward.

“Nope.  But
good guess.  Said lady is, however, a huge fan of Rebecca Ravenswell and
she is convinced her ‘work’ was needed in order to help Rebecca’s
comeback.  The fun part is, we don’t know if
Rebecca is even involved or if this is all the work of some deranged fan club.”

  
“Fan club with bombs,” observed Gillian bitterly.  “What of Ryanson? 
He was the man who represented her after I did.  Has he been getting any
threats?”

“He
has been deceased for six months.  Was ruled heart failure. 
That
is being checked into again,” replied Trevor.  “The locals are hunting
down Rebecca.  But she has been on- and off- planet several times in the
last few years.  They aren’t sure where she is.”

“And
people wonder why I hate fan clubs.”

Edward
stared out across the beautiful lobby as they waited for Tatiana and Zoë to
return.  The base of the building was a series of massive gardens, indoors
and out and there were a fair amount of sightseers there just for the gardens
themselves.

“So
what is with this hotel, Kadu?  I’ve not seen any other guests,” asked
Edward.

“The
building is owned, and was designed by, a certain Peter van der Grauer. 
He is a wealthy industrialist who has spent his last twenty years designing
various self-sustaining arcologies as well as some of the few truly successful
totally enclosed farming systems.  His contemporaries point out his profit
margin is low; he responds that the profit is stable.  Ultimately, when
you are worth several hundred billion, it is silly to argue finances with such
a person.  I digress; the bottom of this building is the gardens which are
open to the public.  The middle of the building is a highly automated
farming system, while the top of the building is an exclusive private
hotel.  Due to his…
eccentric
habits and lifestyle, the hotel is
already very secure in spite of the level of activity on the ground floor. ”

“And
we ended up here how?”

“The
owner himself offered an entire floor to Tatiana for six months free of
charge.  Many speculate he was trying to entertain business dealings with
her father, the governor.  That seems inconsistent as Mr. van der Grauer
seems in no need for a
quid pro quo
and all of his business dealings are
quite above board.”

“Is a
younger member of his family a fan?” guessed Edward.

“No
data.”

Edward
laughed to himself; Shukurae hated to speculate.  “Care to offer a guess?”

“Considering
the highly varied activities, he did it to annoy someone else that was going to
offer a different hotel.”

“To
annoy someone…”

“It
was a guess.”

Edward
laughed, “Like you said, it fits the data just as well as anything else. 
Hey! Is that the car?”

“Yes,
indeed.”

“They
hit the fashion district in an armored car.  I bet that went over well.”

“Sarcasm?”

“Correct.”

“I do
get confused at times.”

Edward
smiled at Kadu as he watched the armored car pull up next to them.  He
didn’t know if she actually did or didn’t get the sarcasm or if she was making
a joke of it.  Most Shukurae humor, or what passed for humor, was very
subtle.  Edward preferred that, as most of Kadu’s less subtle humor as of
late had been at his expense.  All in good sport, of course.  Nope,
Kadu wasn’t a nanny.  Edward felt a bit ashamed of himself for that label.
Big sister would be a better description.  “It’s
okay, Sis.  It’s not like I’m not over dramatic at times.”

“Sister,”
Kadu smiled. “Yes, I do think I prefer that.  Thank you, Edward. 
This may come as some surprise to
Mom
.”

Edward
laughed, “Yes indeed.  But she’ll deal with it.”  He regained his
composure as he opened the door on the armored car.  Out popped Tatiana in
a flash.

“Edward!”
she warmly hugged him without letting him get a word in edgewise.  “Oh, I
am so glad to see you up and about!  You were out cold there for almost a
day!  Kadu said not to worry, but…”

Edward
put a finger over her mouth and smiled, “I’m fine.  Swifting is always a
mess for a day, but no big deal ultimately.  I was more worried about
you
;
I had no idea if you had gotten hurt when Alex did or if you had gotten into
much smoke.  But here you are smiling and chattering away.  It looks
like you are no worse for wear.  Shopping, was it?”

Tatiana
smiled broadly, “Shopping indeed!  Zoë came along and we made a day of
it!”

Zoë
stepped out of the car and gave Edward a quick hug, “Good to see you!  I
saw the videos of you jumping out the window of that twelve story hotel. 
Live Steel or not, that was pretty wild!”

“It
smarted a bit, but it got the job done.  Here, let me get your bags for
you.”

“Hey,
you aren’t staff.  Don’t you dare!” scolded Tatiana.

“Not
staff, how about as a friend.  It isn’t like there’s a bell boy here.”

Both
Tatiana and Zoë laughed.  “All right then,” agreed Tatiana.  “But if
you start getting all stiff from being stuck in bed for a day, you pass them
off.  Okay?”

“After
being in bed all day, the exercise feels good,” Edward countered.

“I’m
not sure you can argue with him,” interjected Zoë.

“Oh,
if I can argue with Gillian, I can argue with anyone,” laughed Tatiana. 
“Come on, let’s get upstairs.  The seamstress should be here in about half
an hour to finish the alterations.”   

Edward
gathered up their shopping bags as the four of them made their way to the
private elevators.  Kadu used her pass to take them up to the main lobby
where they’d need to switch again.  It was a beautiful place and they all
enjoyed the walk.  What wasn’t green with plant life was elegantly and
tastefully carved in tall standing marble. 

The
short trip to the secure lobby revealed two more people that no one in the
group had previously met.  One was an older male Taik, with aging silver
tipped tan fur and an elegantly cut black coat and pants while the other was a
young female Taik with a striking figure and coat.  She wore a revealing
white dress and had long white hair and a solid white coat.  Solid color coats
were very, very uncommon, and they were always solid white.  Not albino as
her underlying skin and eyes were normal, but just a brilliant solid white
coat.  In the Highlands, those with solid white coats were called
Aurorans, named so after the first known one with a solid white coat, “Aurora”
over five hundred years ago.  Something clicked in the back of Edward’s
mind: Dawn, his niece had a solid black coat.  He had never
ever
seen a solid black coat before.  Why didn’t it stick out more at the time?

“Hello,”
offered Tatiana politely as they all converged on the private elevator. 
The elevator was more than big enough for all of them.  Hopefully no one
was going to get snooty.

“Good
afternoon,” the Auroran replied with a thick Highland accent.  “Oh, you
must be Tatiana.  Is the concert still on?”

“It
has been delayed a week, but it is still on.  Thank you for asking,
Miss…?” replied Tatiana cordially.

“Moira
Grauer.  Uncle owns this place.  I’m visiting for the summer.” 
She squinted and looked at Edward, “You are the Highlander, the Silver that has
been in the news.  Edward Silverglade, is it?”

“Yes,
ma’am,” replied Edward politely as he could.  He was trying not to stare,
but it was hard.  She was gorgeous, a fantastic figure, long, long flowing
hair, and oh, it was so nice to hear that familiar accent of a Highlander
again.  “Delighted to meet you.”

“Delighted to meet you, too.  Not many Highlanders around.  My mother is a
Highlander and I’ve moved back and forth all my life.  Quite
a mess, but quite fun.  Maybe we could get together some
time.  It would be so nice to talk with a Highlander again.”

“I am
incredibly busy, but I can see what I can do.”

“That
would be fantastic,” Moira smiled broadly.  Suddenly she wrinkled her nose
at Zoë and then smiled.  “Are you, by chance, Zoë Sylva?”

“Yes,
indeed,” replied Zoë politely.

Moira
smiled broadly again, “I heard you play in Spring at
the university recitals.  Alfonso de Vualtshea’s Piano Concerto Number 17
in G minor.  AV 217 by Haltshore’s codex I believe.  It was a
thoroughly enjoyable performance.”

Zoë
smiled broadly back at the recognition, “Correct, that was me.  I’m glad
you enjoyed it.”

“I’d
previously heard that piece, but from Brauventhauer’s codex and it was slightly
different.  Thus it was a slight surprise when I heard your
performance.  I did later learn, to my chagrin, that Haltshore’s codex is
the preferred collection and all this time I had been listening to the
scholastically inferior collection. 
Mea culpa.
 
It is a great testament to you and your instructor at how well, both
technically and expressively, you preformed the piece.  I for one, could
never complete it, much less do it justice.  You should bring a touch of
class and style to Tatiana’s act.”

Zoë
flushed slightly, “While I do thank you for your compliments, I am but a
footnote to Tatiana’s act.  I am there for variety and to act as a
foil.  The life, the feeling, the raw emotion is all Tatiana.  Never
confuse technical rapidity for the soul of a performance.”

“Eloquent
and modest,” replied Moira, “Oh, this is my floor.  We will see you
around.”  With that, the pair exited the elevator.

Edward,
Kadu, Zoë and Tatiana rode the elevator the rest of the way in uncomfortable
silence.  When their floor finally arrived, Tatiana bolted from the
landing to the room.

Edward
grimaced, “Was Moira that bad?”

Zoë
cocked an eye at him, “She sure as heck wasn’t sunshine and roses.  And
you sure as heck didn’t help.”

“I’m
confused!” protested Edward.  “I caught that she kinda insulted Tatiana’s
act, but I thought you did an eloquent defense of it.”

“Yes,
I did.  And you did nothing.”

“I
was supposed to say something?”

“Yes,
yes you were,” Zoë sighed.  “Look, a super-rich young girl shows up and
gets chatty with you.  You, in passing, agree to meet her in your spare
time.  Tatiana would love to meet you in your spare time.  But that’s
fine, from what I can tell, you don’t actually have any spare time. 
Moira’s from the same place as you, I get that.  Someone that you can
share things with, but honestly, how much do you think you have in common
besides accent and a few amusing anecdotes?”

“Well…”

“Do
you want to know what the biggest problem was?”

“Uh,
sure… I guess.”

“What
color were her eyes?”

“Excuse
me?”

“What
color were her eyes?  You never took your eyes off her once.  
But I’m pretty sure you never once looked at her
eyes
.  You did,
however, spend a lot of time looking at her
curves
.  And boy does
she have curves!”

“Was
it that obvious?”

“I’m
impressed you weren’t drooling on the floor,” observed Kadu.

Zoë
laughed, “What she said.  When she notices you staring too much, that’s a
hint.”

“So I
should go apologize to Tatiana?” asked Edward starting to understand.

“That
would be a good start.  Would you like to know something else to temper
your future meetings with Moira?”

“Sure,”
offered Edward trying to regain some dignity.

“She’s
fifteen.”

“Fifteen?”

“Yep! 
Fifteen, as in not even out of school yet,” replied Zoë with a bit of a smirk.

“I
think maybe I should go talk with Tatiana,” mumbled Edward.

Zoë
and Kadu nodded.  “I’ll take the bags,” offered Kadu.

Edward
thanked Kadu and then quickly made his way across the landing to the
room.  He quickly scanned his card and entered finding only Gillian in the
living room.

“Oh,
there are the rest of you” began Gillian with a smile.  “Tatiana wasn’t
too chatty.  I assumed it was just a long day.”

“That
and I stuck my tail in my mouth,” countered Edward.  “Where did she go?”

“Oh,
dear,” replied Gillian with a bit of a sour face.  “That doesn’t sound too
good.  Something with Zoë?”

“No,
we met Moira Grauer in the elevator and I… well… I got
stupid…”

Gillian
giggled a bit, “Her curves throw you for a loop, did they?  She has a
knock-out figure and just turned fifteen.  Tabloids hate her because
they’d love to chase her, but would get sued for harassing a minor.  Don’t
worry.  You’re not the first male to be ‘distracted’ by her and you won’t
be the last.”   She smiled warmly to Edward, “You didn’t mean
anything by it, just go talk to Tatiana and I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

“You
never said where she was.”

“Her room, fuzzy boy.”

“My fur standing on end?”

“Straight!”

Edward
fought for a moment to calm down and get his fur to relax.  Nothing
happened, so he gave up and walked over and knocked on Tatiana’s door.

“Who
is it?” came the muffled reply.

“The
stupidest person on the whole planet,” replied Edward.

Tatiana
opened the door, it was obvious she had been
crying.  Immediately Edward felt like more of a heel than he already had.

“Sorry
I didn’t stick up for you in the elevator.  Sorry I got distracted by
her.  I didn’t mean to slight you in any way.”

“We
bump into a young billionaire heiress with big... curves… I guess it was only
natural that you were distracted.  I don’t have to like it however.”

“And
you shouldn’t be expected to like it.  I was an idiot.  That part was
obvious.  Let me make it up to you.  How would you like to go out to
dinner together?  Where ever you like, just the two of us.”  Edward
rolled his eyes, “Well, the two of us and whatever security Trevor sends
along.”

That
got a giggle out of Tatiana, “I’d be delighted.  But can we make one small
change?”

“Sure,”
replied Edward, more than a little confused.

“The three of us: Zoë as well.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes,
indeed.”

“Very
well, then.  The three of us, providing Zoë agrees.”

Tatiana
smiled and hugged Edward, “It’s a date.  Now if you excuse me, the
seamstress will be here in a bit to finish up our dresses!  No peeking!”