Senescence (Jezebel's Ladder Book 5) (27 page)

Stu
nodded. “I spotted all four of the women at my welcome speech. I could point
them out to you.” When Laura raised an eyebrow, he replied, “Hey, I notice
shiny girls. You benefited from that preference, so you have no cause to
complain, Mrs. Llewellyn.”

With
a silly smile, she agreed. “You point them out to me on the tape or at the
party tomorrow, and I’m sure we can rope them in.”

Oleander
shook her head. “So how are we going to collect the other fifty-eight?”

Stu
suggested, “Eowyn, if it turns out she’s not a mass murderer.”

“And?
Ideas anyone?” Laura scanned the room, trying to judge the mood. When they were
desperate enough, she threw in her idea. “I found at least thirty acceptable
candidates at the Active prison in Antarctica.” She gave just the barest nudge
with her emotion control to make the area smell like welcoming vanilla.

The
room fell silent. Oleander was the first to speak. “You’re saying we break them
out?”

“Technically,
according to the charter, they have the right to redemption through service.
Convicts can volunteer for space duty with any recognized agency, like you did.
Several other companies have already recruited from the prison pool this way.”

Stu
took her arm. “I need a moment.” Anyone else, she would have flattened for herding
her. She gave Stu the benefit of the doubt and followed him down two doors to
their suite. When they were alone and the anti-listening scramblers were on, he
said, “I’ll never shoot you down in front of the others, but I’m responsible
for this mission. I need to know why you’re manipulating us this way.”

“I’m
not—”

He
raised a finger. “Never lie to me or play me. I’m trying to be on your side. I
actually have a secondary mission Zeiss wanted me to look into at the old
Antarctic base.”

Laura
looked at the floor. “Actually, you don’t.”

“Yeah.
He has these biological—”

“Samples.
I know. Project Antarctic Tern, pleased to meet you,” she said, shaking his
hand. He didn’t look surprised.
Guess he’s pretty smart, too
. Then she
took a leap of faith. “I haven’t told anyone outside my mother what I learned
during your trial.” Her voice lowered to a funereal whisper. “The other samples
have all been used by Grandfather in his experiments.”

Stu
fell to the sofa. “Oh, God.”

“There
was one survivor, my brother Monty. He’s taller than Commander Zeiss. He loves
Dumas books and dogs. I’ve never contacted him for fear Grandfather would move
him someplace worse to punish me.”

Her
husband gazed up at her. “Monty’s at that prison colony.”

She
nodded.

“Then
for our honeymoon, we’re going to plan a jailbreak.”

Laura
didn’t have words. She just wrapped her arms around him.
At the first
opportunity, he’s going to get monumentally lucky, and he won’t have a say in
it.

****

The couple spent most of
the day planning the trip south. Laura even sent some of her clothes to the
Ballbusters plane for next week’s show. That night wasn’t romantic because the
construction company already had dumpsters and arc lights in place to rip out
drywall. Not only could the added guards see into the living area, but a
section of bulletproof glass had been removed to dump materials down an
exterior trash chute. The contractors sprayed sound-dampening foam around the
bedroom and kept working through the night. Laura heard a jackhammer at
midnight, but the couple was already awake. Talking until two, neither wanted
to stop their journey of discovery.

Stu
even told her about the ship’s AI, Snowflake. “He’s always treated me like I’m
his younger brother, which is why I feel so guilty about delaying delivery of
all those rare earths we bought for his repair. He’s suffering, but we have to
be here for the UN vote, or it was all for nothing.” Eventually, he yawned. “I
have a class to run as a guest professor in five hours. Can we continue this
tomorrow? We have the rest of our lives.”

Her
insides turned to jelly. She almost jumped him then and there, but she wanted
their first time to be extra special. It would take preparations like shaving
and finding her belly-dancing costume. With Stu’s arms around her, she was able
to rest with a goofy smile on her face. The cloud of worries that normally
buzzed around her head calmed when he was around.

Jackhammers woke the
couple at seven in the morning. Evangeline already had a message marked “private”
in Laura’s inbox. When Stu went to shower, Laura reluctantly stayed in the
bedroom to call the nurse. “Girl, I know you were my maid of honor, but I can’t
keep secrets from Stu. We have an agreement.”

“This
isn’t me. It’s Mater Nyx,” Evangeline replied. Her Louisiana lilt felt like
French silk on the ear. “They have one rule: no men. They wouldn’t even trust
you with his call, but they’ve had eyes on you for years for recruitment
because of your assistance to the cause and some of your ideas.”

“I’m
sorry. I can’t risk Stu’s trust. He’s forgiven so much already.”

Another
woman with a deeper voice whispered in the background.
Artemis?

Evangeline
relayed, “They want you to release Eowyn.”

“She’s
a member of Nyx?”

“She’s
done work for them. They take care of their own, darling. You don’t want to get
on their bad side.”

“If
you give me a link, I’ll have the ambassador get in touch.”

“The
link is for you alone.”

“Fine.
No one goes anywhere until we find out whether Eowyn is a killer.”

The
deeper voice spoke again. Evangeline informed her, “You have twenty-four hours,
or they’re coming after her.”

Stu
came out of the shower glowing with happiness. “Who was that?”

Laura
sighed. “Just someone else who wants to crash the party. Hypothetically
speaking, how do you feel about Mater Nyx?”

He
shrugged. “I can’t agree with everything they’ve done, but I understand. To
them, it’s an armed rebellion against tyranny. Although, my official stance has
to be that summary execution is against the charter.”

“In
that case, I have an important question for my boss, Oleander.”

“We
can visit the infirmary right after I take you to breakfast, beautiful.”

How could I refuse an invitation like that?
Feeling a little jealous of their time together,
Laura asked,
“Can Mom come along?”

****

Blissful, Laura left the
faculty section of the cafeteria. Stu had handled Mother like a perfect
gentleman, listening to every boring detail about the security upgrades. Then,
he signed a blank voucher for her to pay the construction company. He obviously
didn’t handle finances often.

The couple held hands as they
strolled along the main courtyard. Girls gazed at her in undisguised jealousy.
Enjoying the attention, Laura stopped by the mail room to pick up a small sack
of mail from yesterday. Then Stu led her to the infirmary.

Eowyn was in a locked room across
the hall, with a guard standing outside.

Joan’s wrists looked much better,
but her face still resembled that of a two-year-old who had played with Mommy’s
makeup. Stu smiled at Joan and Oleander. “How’s the
Sanctuary
single-women’s
dorm?”

“About that,” Laura said. “This is
a girls’ thing. Could you wait in the hall?”

“I guess,” he said, moving out the
door of the small room. “What am I going to do out there?”

Laura sighed and rummaged through
the mail bag to find a cardboard box from a familiar publishing house. “Here’s
a book. The label says it’s a proof.”

Stu scooped it out of her hands,
but Joan followed closely, watching as he unwrapped it.

“It’s Sojiro’s final manga!” Joan
squealed. “Stu gets to check over the final copy before they mass-produce it.”

Taking the mail bag, Stu placed the
thick comic book back inside. “I’ll take this back to the embassy.”

“Why would they send it to him?”
Laura asked. “He’s not an editor.”

Joan shouted the answer so that Stu
could hear her from the hallway. “Because he read it more times than the
author. He kept a copy under his mattress.”

“Is it perverted?” Laura asked in
low tones.

Blushing, Stu returned to the door.
“You can’t read it. Oleander, help me out. Tell her it’s against mission
rules.”

Oleander fought hard not to grin.
“It’s a gray area.”

“Well, I don’t want her seeing it,”
Stu insisted.

“Is this one of those things you
think I’ll hate you for?” Laura asked gently.

“Maybe.”

A fleeting glance passed between
mother and daughter. With practiced ease, Joan stunned his hand with a psi-bolt
and snatched the mail bag. Oleander slammed the door with Stu on the other
side.

Muffled by the door, Stu said,
“Compromise. Let me tear out one page.”

“I’ll show you the one he means,”
said Joan. “One day I found it, and the adults blocked his access to the files.”

“Please, no. This is embarrassing,”
Stu wailed from the hall, jiggling the knob.

Oleander leaned against the door to
block his access. “He had a crush on the heroine, Seeker.”

“He was obsessed with her, you
mean,” Joan said, flipping pages.

“A comic?” Laura asked,
incredulous.

“Oh, the fans don’t like it when
you call Sojiro’s art that,” Oleander explained. “This is going to be a best seller.
Since we left, his old mangas have become cult classics.”

Laura feigned reluctance. “Then I
guess I’ll
have
to see it if I’m going to be prepared for media
questions—purely for political reasons.”

Joan giggled.

The artist was gifted in the
fantasy genre. The image displayed a voluptuous rear view of a nude woman with
a tattoo of a map on her back. The woman was turned to show the barest hint of
breast and blonde ringlets against her face.

The smile vanished from Laura’s
face as she examined the page. “That’s me.”

“Very similar,” Oleander agreed,
watching her closely.

No. This is me, down to the
dimple above my ass.
“You mean, choir boy Stewart looked at dirty cartoon
pictures of me?”

Through the side window, Laura saw
Stu slink away in shame.

Oleander shrugged. “We didn’t have
TV, magazines, or teenage girls. He had to learn somehow. The manga version of
the Odyssey was a little racy, but the faeries having oral sex floored me. His
father had to have
that
talk with him. I would have paid to listen in.”
When Laura laughed, the head of
Sanctuary
security said, “No, seriously.
Every man I’ve ever been with has bumbled around with that, but I heard sounds
coming from Mercy’s room that sound like someone exorcising a demon for hours
at a time. Lou made Stu practice some technique holding grapes in his mouth. If
Lou passed on the Llewellyn family secrets, you’re a very lucky woman.”

Now Laura was intrigued, if
somewhat overloaded.

Joan said, “Read the whole book
before you judge him. The story is really sweet and romantic.”

“His mother was a character in the
manga as well, the wind goddess who left her home for love,” Oleander said.

Joan nodded. “Technically, Stu was
even a character.”

“Gravity boy?” asked Laura.

“He told you about that?” Joan
giggled again. “He must really like you. No. Voice of the Void—a sort of
half-divine prophet. Totally unrealistic.”

Seeing the locked room across the
hall, Laura remembered the Mater Nyx issue.

After discussing the topic briefly,
Oleander sighed. “Technically, we would be giving in to terrorists. On the
other hand, everything Eowyn told us has checked out. The big five overrode her
objections and put weapons in space. Right now, we’re tracking the fuel pod
used to weaponize the telescopes. Doc Maurier hasn’t released her from custody
either. Eowyn felt that some of her medications were dulling her investigative
edge, so she stopped taking them. Right now, she’s a raving paranoiac who can
barely complete sentences. I won’t release her until she’s cleared of charges
and fit for duty. Tell the Nyx crowd about the meds. Stall.”

“Aye, aye, boss.” Laura saluted.
“What about Mo?”

“Assigned to Kaguya until this is
resolved. He also gets paid time off to spend with his girlfriend.”

“In Rio. He can’t complain about
that.”

****

Stu had vanished. Laura returned to the embassy living room to
give him time to lick his wounds. She had work to keep her occupied, but she
read the comic anyway. She could see why the quest and adventure appealed to
him.

Stu didn’t poke his head in until
the construction crew left for lunch at half-past eleven. The matronly lawyer,
Themis, accompanied him.

“Do you hate me now?” he asked.

She pointed to the floor beside her
and waited for him to stand there like a bad puppy. Then she whispered, “You
fantasized about me before you even met me. What… did this Sojiro pick my face
and body type off the feeds a few months ago?”

“
Sanctuary
state secrets,”
Stu replied. “Angry?”

“No. I’m afraid I won’t live up to
your ideal.”

He raised his eyes to meet hers. “I’ve
liked the idea and image of you for years. The reality of you is much better,
way smarter and shinier. You’re such a good friend.”

She shooed away Fiona and the
others who helped around the office. “I’d like to be alone with my husband
now.”

As she departed, Themis said, “Ooo,
someone’s going to get a spanking!”

When they were alone, Laura held up
the comic. In a warm voice, she asked, “Would you like to role-play any part of
this story?”

Stu appeared shocked at the offer.
“Thanks, but that would be … creepy.” He thought about the picture for a while
before adding, “Although, you
could
let your hair go back to its natural
blonde. That might, you know, put Monty more at ease when you meet him.”

Sure, Monty will like it better
.
Laura narrowed her eyes. “I can wash this coloring out in the shower. I was
waiting for a salon appointment to fix this cheap dye job. How did you know my
natural color?”

“I notice important things. You’re
important.”

A thrill went through her.
He’s
smooth.
She shook her head. “You don’t get to compliment me when you’re
withholding. I’m not leaving here until you tell me these Llewellyn family
secret techniques … maybe even demonstrate.”

Nervous, he shuffled his feet. “That’s
just stuff every guy knows.”

“Prove it,” she said, gesturing to
the bedroom. They were all alone.

Almost sweating, he said, “I would,
but we have barely seven hours till the party. We’ll have to work nonstop to
get the release ready in time.”

“Release?” she repeated in
puzzlement.

“That’s the secret deal the lawyers
and I have been negotiating all morning with the UN. We’re trading the
treatment for male multis for up to thirty volunteers from the Antarctic Active
penal colony. I told them you and Dr. Maurier would present the material.
You’re uniquely qualified to interpret Dr. Baatjies’ notes. I know you’ll wow
them all. The one thing we’re not allowed to let anyone know is that the UN
agreed to the trade. I figured we can buy you some good PR by saying you
convinced me to reveal the process to celebrate our wedding.”

She almost shouted,
Don’t you
dare give me what I asked for. Give me what I want!

This information would save
thousands of lives each year and change the world. It would also cost her
grandfather billions in profit. She should have cheered. He was trusting her
with his greatest secrets and sacrificing for her family.

Time crawled by for Laura.

She read the
Sanctuary
papers while waiting for Lena Maurier to arrive and annotated each step with
the names of similar processes, theories, and analogies to help non-geneticists
understand.

Some wiseass ordered grapes with
lunch.
Probably
Oleander
. Laura had to watch Stu eat the whole
cluster while the doctor droned on about the revolutionary insights.

When Kaguya stopped in with her
hardhat and clipboard, looking like a tool-company calendar pinup, Laura took
her aside. “Send the construction crews home by eleven tonight, and make damn
sure I have living room walls.”

“We’ll have to reprioritize the
whole schedule. Why?”

“Come hell or high water, I’m
seducing my husband tonight.”

“About time,” Kaguya replied.