Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder) (12 page)

There were now seven members of the Sunday Supper Club. All
of them wanted to help Red celebrate her freedom. The day she flew Toby to Thailand for successful Lasik surgery, she purchased party supplies. That Sunday, from
morning till night, Sojiro organized a movie marathon in the basement of the
simulation facility. Each person except Red contributed a DVD. The girls in pod
three had donated a sofa without their knowledge.

Zeiss hung a stuffed monkey from
the ceiling bearing the infamous name tag. Sojiro even crafted a crown for it.

Sojiro was ecstatic. “The mils have
stopped picking on me. Hanging with Herk gives me street cred.”

“No, shooting the Herminator in the
chest and surviving gives you cred,” said the bomb technician.

“People are still too afraid to stand
next to you when the wrath of Horvath strikes you down,” guessed Risa.

“The professor’s not that bad.” Red
tried a piece of popcorn after scanning it with her watch.

“You’re James Bond,” commented
Herkemer.

“Gross. He hated women in the
books,” exclaimed Red.

“I think Pierce Brosnan was cute,”
said Risa.

“Connery was the only real Bond,”
insisted Zeiss.

“Come on, they played theme music
each time he punched people,” Herk complained.

“The Nogala remix fixed that,”
Sojiro countered. “I have a copy at my place.”

“Come up and see my etchings,” laughed
Auckland.

Zeiss coughed. “Don’t even joke
about that.”

The VR theater felt like a family
holiday gathering.

At their usual meal time, Sojiro announced,
“We have a special movie for the meal, in honor of our recently liberated
hostess.”

At the distinctive opening music,
everyone cheered. Even the reserved Zeiss confessed, “I loved him in this
movie.”

Carrying a bowl of chips, Red felt
the realization like a blow to her gut. She collapsed on the sofa when she
heard the voice over.

“This is the limited edition with commentary
by Ambassador Hollis himself,” Sojiro explained. “The label says it’s a studio
master copy.”

Red wanted to say that she’d been
there when he recorded it for the anniversary edition. That day had been
magical. Anytime she wanted to remember her father in his prime, she listened
to it with no video. “Where did you find it?” she mumbled.

“Risa found it in your duffle,”
admitted the Japanese student. “It’s the only thing you brought other than your
clothes or freezer. We figured it had to be your favorite. You look a little
pale, girlfriend.”

It felt like she was losing her
father all over again. “I have to go to the bathroom.” She ran to the toilets
and threw up the couple pieces of popcorn she’d eaten.

****

After Jezebel’s death, Benny Hollis
retreated to LA. Grandpa Bernie stayed with them, as did Uncle Tan. For months,
Benny couldn’t take care of himself.

She recalled the last conversation
she’d had with the legend that fine May evening just after her sixteenth
birthday.

Mira slammed the front door and he
looked up from his copy of
Variety
magazine. “What’s up, Kitten? How was
your flying lesson with the Colonel?”

“I don’t care about flying
anymore,” she said, stomping past. Mira had learned to fly a Piper Cub at
fourteen and nagged her parents for years to move up to jet aircraft. Her
father finally caved in when a former astronaut and friend of the family
offered to teach the girl.

When they heard the bedroom door
slam, the former star raised an eyebrow at his father, who’d been watching the
TV on mute. “I don’t do estrogen,” said the retired director, removing an unlit
cigar from his mouth. “That’s your department.”

Benny put down his magazine and
crept down the hall to her room. He could hear her sobbing uncontrollably inside.
Tan, already there, asked, “Shall I bake cookies?”

Her father sighed. “I’m guessing
this one’s beyond the powers of dessert to cure.” He tapped on the door.
“Kitten, can I come in?”

The wailing got louder. “I’ll take
that as a yes.” Sitting on the edge of her bed, he asked, “Who’s the boy?”

“Todd.”

“That senior boy you’ve been
tutoring in math?”

“You say that like you think he’s
too old for me. You were twelve years older than Mom.”

“I’m not the enemy. I’ve watched
him flirt with you for months and kept silent. What’s the problem?”

“He’s going to his graduation party
with Jenny big-tits.”

“He’s an idiot. You’re the
smartest, prettiest girl at that school. Maybe the security checks turned him
off.”

“(Sniff) After what I did for him .
. .”

“Did he touch you?” Benny asked in
panic.

“No!” Mira replied, just a little
disappointed. “I took his midterm exam for him!”

Benny raised an eyebrow and clamped
his lips shut.

“No lecture about morals?” she
demanded.

He snorted. “Sometimes there’s a
higher law. I’ve bent my share in the name of love and the greater good. I
won’t be a hypocrite and tell you otherwise. Todd will pay the price sooner or
later.”

“He tasted so good: tiramisu,
layers of cake, coffee, and whipped cream.”

“Sometimes that’s not what we
need,” Benny replied, eyes distant. “You want me to fry him now? Make him
regret he was born? Throw you a bigger party so no one goes to his?”

“I’m not going to graduation,” she
declared.

“Nothing would induce you?
Claudette will be coming in tomorrow night. It’d be a shame to disappoint her.”

“I want a boob job.”

“Absolutely not! Nothing permanent
till you’re twenty-one,” he insisted. “I wish your mother were here for this.
You’re all grown up now.”

“I’m too flat; boys don’t see me. My
hair isn’t even true blonde. It looks dirty.”

He stroked her long, silky hair. “Their
loss, Kitten; you’re always beautiful beyond compare.”

But she was convinced he was seeing
Jezebel instead.

“Could you leave me alone for a
while?” Mira demanded. She cried herself to sleep.

****

Claudette sat beside Mira on the
bed. The girl sensed her with empathy before she opened her eyes—pecan muffins
and the smell of a leather saddle. “We didn’t expect you until four at the
airport. Did I sleep in?”

The brunette starlet, her father’s
oldest friend, looked like hell. She hadn’t slept. “They called me last night.
I flew in to tell you.”

Mira expanded her extra senses to
fill the house. “Where’s Dad?”

From her aunt’s body language and
the hug, Mira knew. “He’s gone?”

“It hit Associated Press twenty
minutes ago. The Movie Channel is already planning a retrospective of his films
and speeches.”

“So everyone knew before me?”

“I wanted to be the one to tell
you, darlin’.”

“What happened?”

“Tan took him to the hospital just
after one. He suffered from disorientation, tremors, and then his language
centers scrambled. While I was in the air to get here, his heart just stopped
beating.”

“Did he suffer?” was all Mira could
think to ask.

“Not like my Elias, no,” said the woman
from Texas. “He was scheduled to get a pacemaker in three days. He held off until
your graduation. It was a risky procedure and he wanted to celebrate with you.”

They cried together for several
minutes.

Eventually, Mira sobbed, “His last
words to me were ‘you’re all grown up, Kitten.’ I’m not, damn him.”

“It’s not your fault, baby girl.
Psi-bonding is closely regulated now for just this reason. Both Trina and
Daniel have almost died a few times because of their link,” Claudette said,
stroking her back. “People who love each other that much don’t last long
without the other. He couldn’t hold on anymore.”

“He’s been different the last year,
like he was missing a hand.”

“No, both arms. He was the legs,
did the lifting and kept the balance. She was the arms and pointed the
direction. The reason your daddy let you get away with anything was her. She
always had some half-baked plan and he carried it out. Together, they worked.”

Standing, Claudette said, “Help me
pick out some clothes for people to remember him in.” There was no contest,
really. Together, they decided on his wedding tux.

“Your Grandma Rebecca and her
latest husband will be here in two days for services. Washington called and wants
the funeral there.”

Mira shook her head. “Mom is buried
here. He visited every Sunday.”

A few minutes later, the girl
complained, “Even the president knew he was dead before I did.”

As if to punctuate this message,
they heard Tan shouting from down the hall, “You can’t go in there. You have no
right!”

Military guards flooded the
residence, searching for something.

Claudette whispered, “Go to my car.
Don’t say a word to anyone.”

The starlet joined the girl a
quarter of an hour later. “They wanted to act before the will’s read and
someone could legally stop them. They just figured out the master index page
went blank.”

“That happens when the primary
reader dies holding it,” Mira noted. “He didn’t store it in the UN vault; he
didn’t trust them anymore.”

“Well, there won’t ever be
another,” the starlet observed.

Except me,
thought Mira.

****

Mira wore a veil at her father’s
viewing to cover her sleep-deprived eyes and help screen her from the flash
photos. She complained, “There are a lot of fake mourners here. Several
threatened him and called him nasty things in public, especially the sheik.”

“Well now he’s beatified,” joked
Claudette. Her psychiatrist and several bodyguards stood behind them.

“If he’d had this many supporters
in life, he’d have reached the artifact before he died. If people were honest
we’d succeed.”

Claudette leaned the girl’s head
against her chest as they gazed down at the open coffin. “They want to honor
him; even as an enemy, he had integrity. You don’t have to do right to know right.
Hollis was a class act.”

Reporters buzzed and cameras
flashed as a guard pulled the curtain. “None of those photos will show up,”
Mira mumbled. “I have my media blocker on.”

“They’re giving him head-of-state
treatment.” They stared into the coffin until Grandpa Bernie had to sit down.
“Daniel can’t come—too many people here. Rebecca went to meet Trina at the
airport.”

“Bloody hell, I wish you’d asked
me,” said Grandpa.

“Dirty old man,” Claudette
chastised.

The old director shook his head. “That
poor girl flew halfway around the world, and Rebecca won’t let her come to the
funeral. My ex is convinced Trina had a hand in killing her boy.”

“You know that’s bogus,” the girl
protested.

“Doesn’t matter,” croaked the old
man. “I heard Rebecca complaining on the phone. She’s hurt and filed a no-confidence
vote against Daniel.”

“She doesn’t have that authority,”
accused Claudette.

“She has voting rights on Mira’s 2 percent
of the company stock and can cause quite a bowel obstruction,” he insisted.

“Daniel would have to show up for
the vote,” said the starlet, wheels turning. “He can’t, but they gave Trina
power of attorney.”

One of the guards cleared his
throat. “Ma’am, I overheard something about the FBI and an open warrant against
Miss Horvath.”

Claudette kissed the girl on the
forehead. “Sorry, baby, I’ve got to go prevent a war.”

When she was alone with her
grandfather, Mira asked, “Why is Rebecca so bitter?”

Her grandfather said, “Your father
had symptoms of the syndrome for the past three years. He’s been hiding it from
all of us. Rebecca wanted her boy to be president. Jez and her ‘scatter-brained’
plans took her boy too soon.”

“He hated politics,” Mira insisted.

“But he was good at it. Anyone
would have voted for him after Jez’s funeral.”

“He was cotton candy,” agreed the
girl. “What do I do now?”

“Well, legally, your grandma has
custody,” explained the director.

“Don’t you want me?”

“I’ve got cancer again, pumpkin. In
another couple weeks, I’ll be back in the hospital.” She collapsed inward with
the grief. “Don’t be like that. I’ve lasted too long already.”

“Don’t say that.”

“A parent should never outlast his
kids. My lawyer, Rubin, will help you with whatever you need if you decide you
can’t take her anymore. That and the Swiss bank account are my final gifts to
you,” he offered. “But come the fall, you’re going to college, young lady. It’s
the only condition on your trust.”

She hugged Bernie Hollis until he
said, “Excuse me, I need to get to the bathroom.”

When she was alone, she saw the
apparition. It took her father’s form, but the psi-print was all wrong. “You’re
the artifact,” she said, calmly.

“You are the last key.”

“No pressure.”

“Why haven’t you claimed your
inheritance yet?” it asked.

It took a moment for her to
respond. “We’re trying.”

“When you fade, I must leave,” it
said, vanishing.

Mira’s time was over. It was time
for Red to take action or her parents had died for nothing. She took the survival
knife from its hiding place. She removed the veil, held her ponytail steady,
and sliced it off above the band. Placing the bundle of hair in the casket, she
said, “You always loved it more than I did, Dad. Thank you for staying with me
for as long as you did.”

Lastly, she put the heavy veil back
on to hide the removal.

****

Back at the Hollywood house, Tan
had a meal set up for the family and close friends. PJ Smith shook Mira’s hand
and offered condolences. Amy Smith looked nice, like a mom out of a fifties
show, even after having four girls. By contrast, the head of technology for
Fortune Aerospace was bald and had a potbelly. Years of stress and boredom
fought in his face. He wasn’t cut out to be an administrator, but he’d been the
only one with the qualifications.