Senescence (Jezebel's Ladder Book 5) (28 page)

That night, the
university auditorium rang with applause for the new couple. Laura’s hair was
restored to Salome’s honey blonde. She dazzled the partygoers with a designer
ball gown but kept the jewelry simple to highlight her new ring. She personally
served an absurd amount of cake so she could meet the faculty without seeming
overt. She arranged to bump into the Active instructor for alien materials, who
seemed overjoyed at the prospect to do field work on an actual alien
spacecraft. Her husband turned out to be a master carpenter who Stu invited
along. “We can always use more builders.”

Stu
ladled out fruit punch to the students, who lined up for the chance to meet the
famous astronaut. Two of the three Active students weren’t old enough to join
the crew, but Stu tapped Laura on the shoulder to meet the third. “Dear,
Keturah is an Olympic runner from Kenya, and she’s interested in being a
planetary scout.”

When
they shook hands, Laura could sense that Keturah had the rare Probability
Mechanics gift. “Oleander was a scout on Labyrinth. She’d be able to tell you
all about that. Stu, you must introduce them.”

The
Dahlstrom women took an instant liking to the candidate.

The
reception was simulcast on at least three networks, including National
Geographic and Oxygen. Four other individuals the ambassador had invited to
Sanctuary
during his globetrotting also attended. With all the celebrities present, the
cameras still focused on Stu. Some of the staff had leaked bits overheard from
his practice for the UN speech, so he spent most of the evening dodging
questions on that topic.

At
the appointed hour, the DJ handed Stu a microphone and fixed a spotlight on
him. Stu thanked the school for attending. “I wanted you all to meet my new
bride, Laura. Doesn’t she look like an angel?” This earned her an ovation. He
paused, gazing at her. “She was my fiercest defender, my first kiss, and my
tour guide on this adventure known as Earth.” He raised his glass to toast her.

The
entire student body said, “Aw” at the same time.

The
sincerity of his admiration overwhelmed Laura, and she had to mop moisture from
the corners of her eyes with a custom napkin. Once she had the microphone, she
was at a loss. She hadn’t prepared anything. She just looked at him. “My father
couldn’t be here tonight for legal reasons. I’ve never met him, but he helped
to train Stewart in several ways to be the honorable man he is today. That is
the best wedding gift I could have asked for.”

This
earned Stu a round of applause, too.

Laura
opened the gifts to protect Stu from possible infection, but he would say
something nice about each. Most gifts were modest: pajamas, beach towels,
china, or business cards with their names and the embassy address. The
Brazilian national soccer team sent an autographed ball. The Dalstroms bought
Laura a digital locket the size of a postage stamp.

Oleander
explained, “Your mother and the Nemesis helped. When you open the locket, the
left side holds every childhood photo of Stu and you we could locate. The other
side contains photos of the two of you together.”

“It’s
perfect!” Laura put the piece of high-tech jewelry on immediately.

The
crew of Ballbusters offered Stu a purple heart from their collection of medals,
for his constant caring and the bruises he had sustained in the pursuit of
love. The second bag from the crew contained a hodgepodge of household items.
As soon as she spotted the theme, Laura folded the bag shut without a word.

Stu
blurted, “Whipped cream and strawberry jam? I like picking strawberries, but
why do we need a feather duster for dessert?”

Artemis
fell out of her chair laughing.

Kieran
purchased them season passes to the botanical gardens, a picnic basket with
fine wine, and a Get Out of Jail Free card from an old Monopoly game.

All
the while, Laura struggled to project grace and gratitude.

As
her wedding gift, Kaguya sang a lullaby from the platinum album she wrote for
her daughter—
Hymns to Uzume
. Then she presented an ancient
samurai sword to Stu with a kneeling bow. “We are family. Our arms are yours,
for love and defense. We are united.”

When Stu stepped forward to accept
the weapon, Laura worried that he wouldn’t know what to do. However, Conrad
Zeiss had trained him well. He drew the katana and executed a credible kata
with it. He nicked his finger on the blade before returning the blade to its
sheath. Stu returned a bow to Kaguya as he kissed her on the head. “You are my
mother now. My home is yours. Your daughter’s wishes become my driving
ambition.”

Before Kaguya could bring out the
last gift, Stu announced, “As of eleven local time, I web-released a
comprehensive index of the technology available to the members of the UN who
acknowledge my country, beginning with the cure for multi-talent male
syndrome.” He explained the difficulties inherent in his own birth and the way
Dr. Baatjies, the mad criminal genius, had resolved them. “Then Laura convinced
me that if we wouldn’t want our children at risk, no one’s should be. So I
included the following technical presentation with the broadcast.” On the wall,
a projection of Dr. Lena Maurier and Laura explained the principles of the
treatment with 3D genetic-modeling software.

Near the end, Laura leaned over to
Kaguya backstage, keyed her security-issued media blocker, and whispered in
Japanese, “He gave this away so the prison would free the remaining Antarctic
Tern.” She turned the media blocker back off immediately because of feedback in
the auditorium sound system.

Kaguya pulled back, tears forming
in her eyes. When she could speak, she said in English, “If that boy can walk
tomorrow, you didn’t thank him enough.” Unfortunately, the comment broadcast to
the entire arena.

Stu blushed, and the audience gave
him a standing ovation.

The woman at Kaguya’s side said,
“Well, I can’t follow that. We’re already ten minutes over. You can give it to
them tomorrow.” No one else could hear her over the cheering. Stu’s Aunt Mary
faded into the shadows, followed by Luca Maurier.

Tango music blared over the
speakers, and much to Laura’s surprise, Stu led her in a decent dance. He was
stiff and overly precise, but the man knew how to move his hips and dip. “Who
taught you how to tango, your father?”

“Dad refused to dance without Mum,”
Stu replied. “Risa and Herk taught me all the Latin steps. I miss the two of
them.”

On the other side of the stage,
Kieran Llwellyn raised his glass in a toast, followed by the entire student
body. He bid goodnight to the couple and signaled the exit music.

****

“Peace at last.” Laura was glad to reach their room, even
though stacks of drywall and other construction supplies still cluttered the
area. They could see steel supports and foam insulation in several places, but
no one else could see into the living room.

Laura gave an exaggerated sniff
near Stu’s armpit. “You’ve been sweating.”

“I told you crowds make me
nervous,” Stu replied.

“Go shower,” she ordered, pointing
toward the bathroom.

He shuffled obediently in that
direction.

Well trained.
As Laura
changed into her belly-dancing costume, someone knocked at the door. She
cursed.

Stu called from the bathroom. “Oh,
I asked them to bring the gifts up so we could sort what goes with us on the
plane tomorrow.”

Rolling her eyes, she checked the
view port in the reinforced door and let the porters in. The girl’s swim team
hauled in the table full of presents. Laura tipped and thanked them before
resuming her preparation.

She finished donning her costume in
a rush. While she was lighting mood candles, someone else knocked. She jerked
the door open. “Can I
help
you?”

Kieran presented her with a slab of
cake. “We had extra. I thought you might like some later.”

“Thank you,” she said in her most
diplomatic tone. “I’m supposed to be joining him in the bedroom right now.”

Kieran chuckled, checked his watch,
and departed for his private elevator.

Fortunately, Stu was taking an
extra-long shower, almost as if he were stalling. No sooner had she closed the
door and turned on the music when the third interruption occurred. She clamped
her jaws shut tightly as she opened the door.

Fiona presented her with the Mori
family sword. “Sorry. President Llewellyn was lurking in the halls, and I had
to avoid him. He’s a sword collector, and he was eyeing up your katana during
the dance.”

“Thank you, so much,” Stu said from
the bathroom door, wrapped in a towel. “I left a copy of our itinerary on—”

“She was just leaving.” Laura
shoved cake in her hands and spun her around. “She’s taking dessert to the crew
in the infirmary.”

“That’s sweet,” Stu said.

Fiona couldn’t reply before Laura
slammed the door and bolted it behind her. “I swear I’m going to
shoot
the next person who interrupts us. It’s almost midnight.”

The phone rang, and Stu answered
it. “It’s Sif. She’s prepping the polar expedition. I have to take this.”

Laura seethed while she arranged a
stack of sitting pillows and lit the incense. Neatening one of her crates, she
discovered a small, heart-shaped bottle of custom-made perfume worth more than
the reception had cost. She considered hurling the heavy, glass container at
the back of his clueless skull.

****

Kieran sat back in his plush office chair and disabled the
smoke detectors on his floor. He lit a Cuban cigar and inhaled with
satisfaction. He set out his best bottle of Irish whiskey plus two glasses.
When the knock sounded at his door, he grinned.
Perfect timing, Freya. The
boy’s probably balls deep by now. No reason I shouldn’t be. Perfect alibi.
He turned on his Do Not Disturb indicator and buzzed the door open. Freya
wasn’t the one who pushed her way inside. “Mira, I wasn’t expecting you. Can I
offer you anything?”

The elegant CEO’s face clouded
over. That meant a storm. “I’m leaving your door open a crack so my bodyguard
can hear everything you say. You have one chance. Lie and you fry.”

Shit. She knows! But she doesn’t
know
when
. Stall, and it will all work out fine.
“Anything for you,
duck. Sit. Drink. We’re civilized people.” He poured two generous helpings of
the smooth, aged whiskey and sipped one.

The head of the Smith trust
remained standing. “Freya came to me tonight.”

“Yeah. We’ve been having a bit of
fun. Nothing serious.” Kieran took another swallow. “I thought she hated your
guts.”

“She loves you more. Given what
she’d overheard, she still wanted to save you.”

“She’s a lying whore,” he snapped,
slapping his glass down.

Mira Hollis glared. “Manners, or my
guard will be in here to remind you. If you confess to everything, I’ll let you
keep possession of the company’s beach house.”

He could feel his face flush with
rage. “You can’t push me out. I have a contract. I know people. I know
things
about you the press would have a field day with.”

She paced the room, ignoring his
outburst. “We’ll pay to have the house grounds maintained. The monthly stipend,
however, will be in Freya’s name. If you leave her or harm her in any way, you
lose your retirement.”

“You can’t force me to live with
her.”

“I’m hoping your greed will do
that,” Mira replied. “She’s convinced she can reform you and bet everything to
try. I sincerely hope you’ll both find happiness.”

“I wouldn’t be able to show my face
in public with that white trash.” He glanced at his desk clock. “Is this about
what happened in Cardiff?”

“Pardon?”

Kieran licked his lips. “I’m just
saying, do you think I ended up with the wrong blonde?”

“You disgust me.”

But you’re still here,
protesting too much.
“How about you give me twenty minutes to convince you
to stay? Then we can work out a new contract.”

She appeared to consider this.
“You’re saying you’d swap us out like tires?”

He ambled around the desk. “No,
love. I’m pointing out that I’d never have to settle for hamburger when I’ve
got filet on my plate.”

Mira turned her head toward the
door. “You heard enough?”

Freya appeared in the doorway in
full armor. Her rough voice said, “Yes, ma’am. Thank you for having Luca stay
by the elevators.”

“I can explain,” Kieran said by
reflex.

When Freya charged, he tried to use
both the drink and cigar as weapons.

In seconds, the huntress had
slammed him face-first into the desk and slapped on cuffs—and not in the good
way. She jerked him painfully to his feet and marched him toward the door.
“You’re charged with violations of—”

“Wait, I can tell you where they’re
landing!” Kieran offered.

Freya ignored him, accidentally
bumping his shoulder against the doorjamb as she shoved him into the waiting area.

“Who?” asked Mira.

“The strike team,” he wheezed
through the pain.

“Code blue,” Hollis said over her
comm.

“Talk,” Freya said, warming up the
Genilock 54 sterilizer. “Without the anesthetic
and safety features, if I hit the tip by mistake, this can be excruciating. I
have ten rounds to play with.”

“Mori
wants the blood sample from the infirmary,” Kieran admitted, leaving out the
planned assassinations.
Maybe his mercenaries can still rescue me.