Sirius Academy (Jezebel's Ladder) (37 page)

Walking down the hall, he knocked
on the groom’s door. Herk opened it and dashed for the elevator. “Thank God! I
had blue balls all evening from what you and princess peek-a-boo tattoo were
projecting. When Horvath got here broadcasting her worries, I thought I was
going to open a vein.”

Sojiro followed more slowly, like a
boy distracted by a video game.

“She can’t help it,” Zeiss
explained as the car descended. “I let her stay with Red.”

“Are you sure that’s . . . safe?”
asked Herk.

“Trina’s her aunt,” Sojiro said
matter-of-factly. “Duh!”

Zeiss put a finger over his lips
and nodded to the security camera.

Sojiro snorted. “I looped the feed
already, plus the one in the hallway. Officially, we never left the building.”

Herk smiled. “Covert stag party. I
like.”

“So where do you
not
want to
be seen going?” asked Sojiro.

“I hear they have lingerie shows—”

“You’re not finishing that
sentence,” Zeiss said as they entered the lobby. “Women have a better sense of
smell than men. Women, even strange ones, will mark you with scent.”

“They’re like dogs?” Herk joked.

After Sojiro turned the lobby
cameras and signaled them, they ran to the exit. Outside, Zeiss continued his
lecture. “Whenever you make love to your wife, you’ll share things over the
link: hopes, fears, disappointments, and what you did in the last day. As
phenomenal as the link experience is, it’s kind of like dreaming—you don’t
always have control of the content.”

“Uh-oh,” Herk muttered.

“So I’m not looking at anything on
a woman that has a nickname.”

“How do you live like that?”

“Share with her what you need and
she’ll satisfy you,” Zeiss asserted. “What do you want to do instead?”

****

Early the next morning, Risa’s
father was bailing them out of jail. Herk had a huge grin on his face and not a
mark on him. “Fighting?!” her father the diplomat shouted.

“Technically, we were arrested for
destruction of private property,” Zeiss explained. “But Herk had to throw the
bar at them when they pulled guns.”

“A little metal bar and he
hospitalized four men?” said the father, incredulous.

“The whole top of the bar, the
thing you drink off of,” clarified Sojiro, catching up to them. He hadn’t been
arrested but had called Risa’s family for rescue. “I have it on video.”

The diplomat stopped outside his
Rolls. “You don’t have a temper, do you?”

“No, sir,” Zeiss said with a sly
smile. “I wanted to buy him one last drink as a single man and the sailor next
to us said all Panamanian women were whores. Rafael took offense. I offered to
pay for the bar. It was my fault. I was supposed to take care of the weapons.”

“You got the knives,” Herk
encouraged.

“I have it on video,” Sojiro
repeated.

Risa’s father seemed mollified.

The repetition disturbed Zeiss.
“What’s wrong, S?”

“I don’t know. The ships have
turned the generators on,” said the Japanese man. “I’ve told Daniel to climb in
his escape pod.”

“Warn Taggart; the Mori computers
have a way to remote destruct,” Zeiss shouted. Herk caught Sojiro and shoved
his limp form into the back of the Rolls. Zeiss hopped into the front and said
to the chauffeur, “Back to the hotel; don’t stop for red lights. Somebody give
me a cell!”

One appeared in his hand; he dialed
Trina. “Mori electromagnetic attack on the island. Round up the crew.”

“Underwater cameras are picking up
lights underneath the ships,” Sojiro muttered.

“Faster!” Zeiss snapped. Risa’s
father went pale when the best man handed over the phone and said, “Wake up
your guards, Ambassador De Gama. Round up your family. A war’s about to start.”

“Satellite confirms that the lights
on the island are blinking out,” Sojiro reported.

“We switched phones and control
systems off Mori equipment months ago,” Zeiss bragged. “They’ll have to do
better than that. Check your back door on their satellite. See what they’re
watching. Strap him in Herk.”

The Rex buckled himself and the
hacker into old-style lap belts and placed an arm in front of both Sojiro and
his father-in-law-to-be. “Brace yourself, sir,” he growled. “There may be hit
squads. I’ll take the first few rounds until Z spots them for me, and then I’ll
eliminate the threat. Try to stay down if you hear gunfire.”

“Yes, sir,” said Risa’s father.

“Their ships are transmitting . . .
sonar images?” Sojiro relayed. “Different than any sonar I’ve seen before.”

“Any weapons?”

“No.”

“Just the island images?”

“Whales too.”

“Tell Taggart to aim the missiles!”
Zeiss snapped.

“He wants auth codes.”

“Earth-shattering kaboom,” Conrad said,
rattling a series of number and letters off, followed by, “Board-level.”

“Confirmed. But there are five
ships and only four missiles,” Sojiro noted.

“Fire, and aim the island at any
ship you can’t destroy,” Zeiss wheezed.

“Z?” asked Sojiro.

When there was no answer, the bomb
technician shouted, “Do it!”

The chauffeur was hyperventilating.
When Zeiss screamed and blood began leaking out of his eyes and nose, the
driver was so distracted that the vintage car skipped the curb on a curve and
rammed a statue.

When the ambulance arrived, no one
in the back seat was physically injured. Zeiss was unconscious and Sojiro kept
crying, “Silver Dances. Why did they have to kill the baby?”

“What’s he saying?” asked the
driver in Spanish, nursing a nosebleed of his own.

Rafael shuddered, “Someone just
murdered a pod of whales to get even with my boss.”

Mira sat beside Zeiss’s bed, talking on her goggles while
she held his hand. Once the cetacean deaths stopped, his vital signs
stabilized. When his lids fluttered open, Zeiss said, “The whales?”

“Six dead,” she replied. “Brains
cooked by overpowered sonar. Your actions saved the rest, but they’ve
scattered. The Shambhala zone is gone.”

“Daniel?”

“My uncle was at ground zero for
the death screams. Between that trauma and the shattering of their protective
zone, he’s in another coma. Dr. Marsh moved him to Sydney.”

“Trina?”

“Had to be sedated.”

“Did we get the killers?”

“The ones on the cargo ships.”

“Kaguya kept her word. She didn’t
kill anyone on the island, just under it,” he said bitterly.

“She sent me email. One line: maybe
the stain will come out if you wash it enough times.”

He furrowed his brow. “She’s
equating the death of Actives with paint stains on her clothes? She not human.”

“She’s taking credit without
admitting guilt,” Mira complained. “Kaguya’s email to Trina pushed her over the
edge: let’s see how
you
like forced celibacy for the rest of your short
life. Herk had to pick her up and hold her to keep her from going on a killing
spree.”

“We could gather enough proof to
get Kaguya reformatted,” he insisted.

“The UN won’t call it murder for
cetaceans,” Mira said. “I tried to get the whales protected status and the US ambassador told me no government will lift a finger—the US would have to veto because they’ve
accidentally killed whales the same way and don’t want the same punishment.”

“We need to get back to check on
the others in the pod and have a funeral.”

“Sojiro is already arranging a
ceremony on Tonga with Greenpeace and a few other organizations.”

“Why not on the Academy?”

“Conrad, between the impact and the
electromagnetic pulse, the island’s too damaged to house the school. Emergency
crews are containing the fuel leak now. We can’t land a plane on the deck
anymore. It’d take a year to make all the repairs. With Daniel in a coma, no
one in Fortune Aerospace will fight for the expenditure. The board considers it
a total loss; we . . . can’t go back.”

“Space,” her husband concluded.

“I wish.”

“Claudette will back a proposal
from you at the board meeting. Her son, Daniel, will need to return to moon
base if he’s going to live. We can go with him. We have all the necessary training;
we’ll just get into space a few months early.”

She kissed him on the forehead. “I’ll
have Mary start the ball rolling.”

“Did I miss the wedding?”

“Yes. Auckland and Yvette played
understudy for us. We told everyone that you had a car accident, and the team
wore the bulletproof flight suits I bought them just in case.”

“Where’s Sojiro?”

“He finally went to sleep in
Trina’s room. We didn’t want to leave her alone.”

“Wake him up. Get the phone number
for Mori’s mansion from my computer pad.”

“What are you planning?”

“I want ‘Miracle’ to phone her and
offer a deal to stop the feud. Have everyone leave her house so we can speak in
private. Then have Sojiro drop the Mori satellite on the mansion. There won’t
be any evidence linking the event to us.”

“Unfortunately, that sounds like a
Red move—too impulsive.”

“You object to ending the threat?”

“The fact that you even suggested
revenge makes Red want to jump you here and now,” she said, radiating mouth-watering
Crème Brule. “But you know Sojiro has to sign his work—the blue whale symbol. In
his manga, one of the eco-terrorist groups is the Cetacean Liberation Front. They’d
put him in jail for the rest of his life.”

“Then what?”

“I’ll meet with Kaguya in person as
Miracle.”

“She’ll tell everyone your secret.”

“She won’t be able to talk. I’m
going to kiss her goodbye with the Index. She’s been begging for Quantum
Computing; I say she gets it.”

“She doesn’t have the support
system,” Zeiss noted. “She’ll go into navel-staring mode.”

“Just like she did to Lazlo and might
have done to you,” Mira said coldly.

“Wait,” he said. “She has to accept
the page willing.”

“I can arrange that.”

“And I know the perfect way to tell
her what’s going to happen,” Conrad said, whispering a phrase in her ear.

“Red likes,” Mira chuckled
throatily. “You’ve just earned an hour of . . . kissing.” She melted into his
arms, and they forgot about the rest of the world.

****

Trina signed off on the plan and
the necessary voting rights.

Then, Miracle Redemption Hollis
announced to
Wall Street Journal
Online that she’d be attending the
board meeting with her own 2 percent and the proxy for Daniel Fortune’s 30
percent. An hour after the story posted, Mira sent an invitation to Kaguya Mori,
inviting her to the New York board meeting. The email was short and to the
point. “I’d like to personally discuss terms for the cessation of hostilities. Bring
your navigator. Press conference to follow.” A voucher followed for the top floor
of the best hotel in town plus tickets for a Broadway show. Her mother accepted
the tickets but declined the hotel for security reasons.

At noon, an hour before the board
meeting, Kaguya, her mother, and Syd Green showed up outside Mira’s office. A
third-party lawyer, standing by the open office door, said, “My company has
been asked to certify that there are no weapons, listening, or recording
devices inside, and that the woman in this office is indeed Miracle Hollis.”
After he handed over an affidavit, the man added, “A copy has been sent to you
electronically. There are, however, writing utensils and three metal cases: two
contain bearer bonds, and the other is a sealed UN diplomatic courier case. I
have counted each and attached the confirmed totals. I will notarize the
contract when the terms have been settled.”

Kaguya smiled as she tasted
victory. When all three attempted to enter, the guard said, “Only the one with
the invitation. Even we’re not allowed inside once the place has been
certified—for the safety of everyone in the negotiations. The boss said you
could scan for Actives.”

“And nats,” Kaguya boasted. Closing
her eyes, she swept the corner office with her Empathy. There was only one
occupant, a young woman. This close, Kaguya read a rich and complicated aura
that held more talents than she’d ever seen in one place. “It’s her; I can
handle this.”

A young blonde in a Jovani original
stood looking out at the panoramic view of Manhattan with her back to the door
as Kaguya entered and locked the door from the inside. Mira pushed a button
that drew the blinds closed and said, “This office is now impervious to all
listening, normal and psychic.”

Kaguya’s head jerked when she
recognized the voice.

Mira smiled as she turned. “Shall I
pour tea?”

“No. Well played. I never
suspected.”

“I had to get a degree before I
could inherit.”

“An M-R-S?” her nemesis joked.

Mira bit her lip. “Conrad’s
influence convinced my grandmothers to let me assume my position on the board.”

“Old women love him; he’s cougar
bait. Why did you pick Sirius Academy?”

“To learn the family business firsthand.
The competition was refreshing.”

Kaguya looked her up and down.
“What are you offering as spoils?”

“Cookie?” Mira offered. The scent
of fresh macaroons wafted through the air and aura of the office. They were the
same style as the ones Miss Mori had stored in the kitchen. Off to the side
were chocolate confections.

“What are those?” Kaguya demanded.

“Conrad’s mother made those. I brought
the last few for Claudette to try.”

Kaguya scooped one off the tray.
“You’re in no position to withhold anything.”

Mira took one of the remaining
fruit and chocolate confections. “I guess I’ll have to take seconds . . .
again.”

The singer laughed. “I was born
first. You were just more famous. You’ve been hiding from your talents since
the day you manifested, while I’ve embraced mine.” Sitting in a chair, she
propped her feet on the table so that Mira could see her tattoo.

“But I do it with more style.” Mira
displayed her right ankle. A soft leather boot sagged at the edges revealing
just the ears of the same tattoo, draped in jewelry.

“We’re more alike than you admit.
Conrad nailed you on that one. Again, what are you offering?”

Mira slid a piece of paper over. It
agreed to a truce with one of the selections, each with a check box beside it:

Access to the Quantum Computing
Page by any one person of your choice.

$50 million in bearer bonds.

A blank line.

The document had already been
signed by Miracle.

Kaguya cackled as she checked all the
boxes and began to write a final term of surrender into the blank. “Wait, it
has to be in my handwriting, or Grandma won’t sign off.”

“I want to lead the next team into
space.”

“I would phrase it that you personally,
without the ability to commute this right, want the option of first refusal for
each mission into space for the next year.”

“Two years, and an observer from
Mori corporate on every exercise.”

“A woman, and we won’t take a Rex.”

They haggled for twenty minutes until
the added terms filled the back of the contract. When Mira narrowed her eyes
and conceded to the final hurdle, Kaguya signed.

However, when the Japanese woman
tried to stand, she fell back to the chair. “Mother!” she shouted.

“She can’t hear you,” Mira reminded
her, touching the other woman’s forehead. Whispering, she added, “That was me
in the cookie, you greedy bitch.”

Kaguya pulled out her smart phone and
typed the unlock code on its screen before the convulsions wracked her body. Mira
took the phone from her hand, found a suitable music selection, and looped it. Then
she broke the seal on the courier suitcase, revealing the shining gold page. This
would make it look like she read the page herself instead of receiving it by
infection. Inside two minutes, the singer was staring up at the lights, locked
in computational bliss.

Mira carried the signed contract
out to the people waiting in the anteroom. “Countersign this for your company
and we can have it notarized. She took half the cash I had and a pound of flesh.”

Mrs. Mori grinned, reveling in what
the contract offered. She signed without hesitation, handing the contract to
the third-party lawyer. “Where’s Kaguya?”

“Counting her money,” Mira spat. “I
have a press conference to attend and an angry board to placate. I never want
to see another member of your family again.”

After the press conference, Kaguya
Mori was shipped to Ward Seven and placed next to Professor Lazlo. No one
doubted that she had taken the page for herself and crossed a threshold into
the forbidden. Otherwise, her parents found the terms of the agreement most
favorable. Upon her commitment, Kaguya’s second album,
In Search of O
, went
platinum.