Sentients in the Maze: Symbiont Wars Book II (Symbiont Wars Universe 2) Read online

  Jonah smiled. Aunt Betty had worked hard to make sure her boy would act like a gentleman in social settings. No matter how outrageous Jerry might be, Jonah couldn’t remember him ever doing anything that would have embarrassed his mom at the table. Jonah took his seat too.

  Tiana bowed her head. “For what we are about to receive, Lord, make us truly grateful,” she said. Then, she looked up, lifted the cozy off her plate and set it on the cart by the table.

  Jerry stared at Tiana. A flash of panic went through Jonah. Jerry was a skilled physician and very observant. Had he realized what she was?

  Jerry cleared his throat. “Sorry, you sounded so much like my mother. Mom always said that prayer at meals.”

  Tiana paused, her hand on her fork. “Her life will be an influence on you and your family forever.”

  “Yes, it will. Thank you.”

  Tiana took a small forkful of kelp salad. “Let’s honor our fathers and mothers, celebrating their lives and enjoying our time together.”

  “And the food,” Jonah said, lifting the cover from his own plate. He was glad to see his plate was the same as Jerry’s. And also to know his cousin hadn't been staring because he suspected anything odd about Tiana.

  For the rest of the meal, Jerry entertained Tiana with stories, focusing on the times Jonah and Jerry had spent together. Tiana was the hostess for the meal; Jerry was host to a window on Jonah’s life. Though the stories were funny, they all showed Jonah in a favorable light.

  Jonah smiled. Jerry was doing what he could to make sure Jonah had a chance with Tiana. That meant he must like her.

  “Tiana,” said Jerry, taking his napkin off his lap and pushing his plate back another inch from the edge of the table. “I’m sure Jonah’s condition is difficult to deal with this early in your . . . friendship, but despite my joking, he has a few worthwhile qualities to offer. If Jonah would like, we can talk about what we can do to bring things to a more normal state for when he goes out in public.”

  “Thank you, Jerry,” she replied, “but I’d like to talk about something else, since the subject came up earlier.”

  Tiana turned to Jonah, “You’ve always been open with me, Jonah, but I’ve sensed you were reluctant to discuss your divorce. I’m glad Jerry is here; I hope it will help. If you thought it would make you seem bitter, I know your divorce decree was unfair. I’d like the details, but I haven’t wanted to pull them out of you. Now we’re a support group, and this isn’t Jonah complaining to the new girl in his life.”

  Jerry raised his forefinger. “Well, Jonah’s story won’t be news to me, but I agree. You need to hear the details, not just legal issues. Jonah, I suggest you start with the part where Sylvia first cheated on you and be clear about the timetable of events.”

  Jonah took a deep breath. “Fine, I’ll do it, but even sticking to the facts, it will still sound like I’m whinging.”

  After thirty minutes of sticking-to-facts, with clarifying questions, they sat silent, sipping more coffee.

  Jerry put down his cup. “So,” he said and raised a finger. “At year twelve in your marriage, you have two kids and one on the way and you agree when she insists on being a stay-at-home mother. Sylvia agrees to help you in your business venture from home so you can focus on bringing in business, but stops after less than a year. She spends her time volunteering while you provided the only income for the family.”

  He raised another finger. “This continues until year eighteen when she decides she will start a cafe downtown in spite of your warnings that her business plan is unsound. For three years, she spends over seventy hours a week there, and you become the primary caregiver for your four kids and continue to bring in the only income. During this time, she piles up forty thousand dollars in business debt. Followed by ten thousand more when she uses a joint credit card without your consent. Then she extorts nine thousand from you, saying she’ll leave if you don’t give it to her. You do it to keep the kids from the trauma of a broken home.”

  Jerry held up a third finger. “Her business fails; you get a scholarship and complete a double-masters program in two years. You do all this while working summers and using money from a property you renovated and mortgaged to support the kids and her.”

  Jerry raised his fourth finger. “During this entire time she is cheating on you, and when you confront her with your suspicion, she lies, saying that there was only kissing and that she will end it. You agree to reconcile based on the ‘just kissing’, but she doesn't end it and continues to have sex with him. You remain ignorant of Sylvia’s infidelity until after she leaves, which she only does after you land a high-paying job which would drives up the alimony.”

  Jerry opened his thumb. “She promises a no-fault divorce, but instead files against you for abandonment though you were at home and working your new job. This happens at year twenty-five plus two months in your marriage. Alimony is granted automatically in Virginia with a difference in income after twenty-five years of marriage, unless adultery can be proved. So, when she used an LLC to hide her income and assets, you were screwed.”

  Jerry raised both hands as though surrendering. “Her lawyer is slick. She realizes you could prove adultery, by finding the guy, but you can’t prove Sylvia didn’t tell you. So, that is the story they go with, winning the alimony.”

  Tiana put down her coffee. “I count several instances of perjury. Her lawyer is guilty of at least an ethics violation, suggesting she make false accusations against you to set up the divorce. The correspondence between Sylvia and her lawyer dated before your twenty-fifth anniversary makes it clear they set up the timing. We need to find out when she first contacted the lawyer.”

  Jonah turned to Tiana. “Will it matter in court?”

  “It may, if it comes to that, but whether it does or not, I want the information.”

  Jerry looked at Tiana, rubbing his fingertips together.

  She turned to him. “What is it, Jerry?”

  “You’re committed aren’t you? You haven’t even known Jonah long.”

  “True love is timeless Jerry. Don’t you believe that?”

  “Not really.”

  “Well then, believe this. I may not have known Jonah long, but I am an excellent judge of character; the quality of my friends proves it. Sylvia is a fool and worse and I’ll make her regret what she did.”

  “God,” said Jerry. “You remind me of my mother more every minute.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You are welcome. Can I call you mom?”

  “No,” Tiana said with a half-smile on her lips. “But I won’t mind much if you say it by accident on rare occasions.”

  Jerry laughed and turned to Jonah. “Well, cousin, I can see you’re in good hands. I’ve got to get back, but it was good to see you.” He grabbed Jonah’s hand and pulled him out of his chair. “Don’t let it go so long this time,” he said as he hugged him. Then he whispered in Jonah’s ear. “Hang on to this one.”

  Turning to Tiana, he held out his hand. Tiana took it and Jerry kissed her glove. “Since I don’t know when we will meet next, though I hope it’s soon. To you, good lady, I say. . . . bye, mom. . . oops!” He grinned roguishly and backed out the door. His feet clattered on the stairs. A few moments later, his car horn sounded as he sped away.

  Tiana sat again and picked up her coffee cup. “I like him.”

  “He is something, isn’t he?”

  Jonah leaned back in his chair, enjoying the sunshine and the coffee.

  “Jonah, I want you to understand something.”

  Jonah turned to her.

  “I am an ambassador to this country, not a citizen. My citizenship is to the Nii Confederacy.”

  “I know.”

  “Because of my relationship with you, you are a dual citizen, and I am bound to defend you against injustice. In addition, the Nii Confederacy is at war; here, on this world. So, I have to act fast where it affects military matters. I intend to settle this justly, but that may not be stri
ctly by the laws of this country.”

  “I understand.”

  “We need to get this taken care of soon. It stands in the way of my objectives and yours. Jonah Brandyr may have to vanish at some point and he can’t while this is in the way, so you’d better pick out a new name.”

  Jonah grinned. “How about Jonah Galt?” he said.

  “As in… who is Jonah Galt?” Tiana tilted her head.

  “Let me think about it,” said Jonah. “I wasn’t serious when I said it, but it might grow on me.”

  Chapter 11 (New Beginnings)

  Jonah stared at Tiana. “What is it with you and old mansions?”

  Tiana laughed, throwing her head back. Jonah wondered if laughing was natural to the nii. He grinned; even if not, it had become natural for her.

  “That you should say that. . . you, of all people. How many houses have you renovated? Fifteen, was it? At any rate, it makes good sense. We need to bring people to your vision, and I’ve found that works better in a gracious, elegant setting. We also need room for physical training, guest rooms, offices and a location near information services. And. . . I admit,” she ran her hand over the Green Man woodcarving on the door. “I’m more comfortable in the architectural style I’ve grown accustomed to. It gives me a continuity I find soothing. Besides, I ran it by Major and he thinks it’s a good idea. He already has his real estate people looking into it. He agrees we should stay out of Central Virginia for a while.”

  “Well, I hope they send a male real estate agent, I’ve had enough of getting groped when I went out this morning with Jerry.”

  “I asked Major to select someone, and I specified a male.”

  Well, you’ve wanted to live in Charleston for years anyhow.

  A few minutes later, Major’s agent, a six-foot tall ex-linebacker, arrived, introducing himself as George. He and Jonah followed Tiana as she swept through the house then back to the kitchen.

  “Paint, always paint,” she said, raking the room with her gaze. “Well, George, I think five million is steep when nobody has updated for forty years, especially when you consider the other options on the market. Can you get together with Max and see if you can make it happen? This could work, but we’ll look at other options in case we can’t agree on price . . . and you can tell them that.”

  She walked to the door. “Also, an engineering study will uncover several issues. Have one worked into the offer as a contingency. Let’s look at the other two properties. We can all go in our car.”

  Jonah, smiled, it looked like he was in for the architectural tour today.

  Jonah stretched, rubbed his stomach and stepped out on the balcony. Who knew that five-star restaurants would deliver dinner? Tiana stood at the railing looking east to where the moon hung above the water. The outline of Fort Sumter hugged the horizon just to the left of the rising moon. Jonah moved up next to her and stood at the rail, savoring the night breeze and the view of the ocean. The sound of the waves hitting the battery wall drifted to him. He thought about asking her what she was thinking, but pushed the idea away. She’d tell him if she wanted.

  She stirred. “Major called and said you can log in and get your company email now. He set up a web-based version of your token software for you. He wants you to use some routing steps first so it can go through The Onion Router then bounce the ISP address to the decoy's location.” She rattled off website addresses and codes.

  Jonah nodded. “Okay, I should check in to see if anything critical happened Friday.” He went back inside to boot up the laptop. A few minutes later, he walked back out onto the balcony.

  Tiana turned to him. “What is it? What happened?” She reached out and touched his arm. His arm tingled as she dipped her filaments into his skin, checking his vitals.

  Jonah blew out his breath. “Layoff notice. They want me to document all my routine procedures and get the projects I’m developing ready to turn over to an off-shore resource.”

  “You’ve seen this coming haven’t you?”

  “Yeah, leaders have mismanaged the company for a long time. They're paying for the mistakes they’ve made over the last twenty years. I’ve automated so much of the stuff I’ve developed that I’m an easy target. They’ll keep the people who play politics, not the ones who challenge their policies and assumptions too much.”

  “Well, good! Major wanted me to ask if you were interested in a job. Let’s walk on the seawall.”

  Jonah nodded. Maybe a nighttime stroll was what he needed. Tiana took his hand, and they went out into the balmy night air. The Live Oaks in Battery Park swayed, throwing shadows on the lawn as the two of them walked towards Battery Street. Jonah breathed deep, savoring the ocean air, and the tightness in his chest eased. They went up the steps to the walkway, and Tiana turned them north along the seawall. At the end of the walkway, they continued past a playground then came to the south side of Waterfront Park.

  Tiana stopped at a large Live Oak just before the park. “Wait for me. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She walked toward the water and disappeared into the shadows. Jonah, distracted since getting the notice, only now registered she was wearing her black tactical clothing

  As he looked out at the water, his thoughts kept returning to the layoff. The company was never a good place to grow professionally, but he had friends there. Though, for the most part, he’d felt trapped and limited by management’s failure to pay attention to his recommendations. They wouldn’t want to keep a prophet of doom around to remind them. He sighed and sat on a park bench, watching the moon rise above the water.

  Jonah had just begun to wonder what was keeping Tiana when she stepped out of the shadow of the seawall and walked back towards him. When she reached the bench, she sat and put her arm around him. Her tail slipped out from beneath her kilt and wrapped around his waist.

  “I brought you something . . . to celebrate,” she said. “It’s a present that reminds me of new beginnings and uncertain futures.” She handed him something like a hard fist-sized lump of plastic, still wet from the sea.

  Tiana shifted closer to him. “My ship went down in the South Atlantic in October of 1799. Within a few days of the landing, my entire crew, all friends, were dead, and I had nothing except what I could fit in a small sailing canoe. Two months later, I had new friends who were willing to follow me into the jaws of death, and I’d become one of the richest people in the world.”

  “Now that’s a story I want to hear,” Jonah said.

  A soft smile touched Tiana’s lips. “This could take a while.”

  “The best stories usually do,” Jonah said.

  Tiana snuggled closer to him. “We were in a running battle pursuing an enemy ship of a virulent race of parasites who’d been preying on the partner species of the Nii Confederacy for centuries. I commanded the corvette Valishnu. They ambushed us near your moon, damaging my ship.”

  “Wait. You called your ship, the parasite extraction instrument?”

  “See, that’s what happens when you translate literally. If you still have to translate in your head, I’ll just refer to it as the Scalpel. Then you’ll have a better sense of the panache the word has in my language.” She arched an eyebrow. “Do you want to hear this story?”

  Jonah raised his hands in surrender and nodded, making a zipping motion across his lips.

  “All right then . . . .”

  (The story Tiana tells Jonah is found in 1799 Planetfall, so I won’t repeat it here.

  If you haven't read it already, you can sign up for my newsletter and get it free HERE. I hope you enjoy it.)

  Jonah looked down at the baseball-sized lump of ambergris, turning it over in his hands. “New beginnings?” he said.

  “Yes, new beginnings and opportunities.”

  “And new problems,” Jonah said smiling.

  “Of course.”

  Chapter 12 (Ties that bind)

  ...attaining 100 victories in 100 battles is not the pinnacle of excellence. Subjugating the enemy’s a
rmy without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence. — Sun Tzu

  Tiana checked her makeup in the conference room window. The skin tone had blended evenly. In the reflection, she appeared to be a tall young woman of color. Soon, she wouldn’t need to use makeup at all. Her facial skin was evening out into a rich chocolate with a permanent blush accenting her cheekbones; it went well with the stripes below her neckline though the effect was out of sight now.

  After a suitable power pause, she followed Charlie and his legal team—all women—into the conference room. Her target, a fifty-eight-year-old female with graying roots, a mediocre fashion sense and a body deteriorating from less than sporadic physical activity sat facing the door.

  Tiana tried to look back thirty-five years to imagine what Jonah had seen in the woman. She shrugged mentally, walked to the head of the table and waited as the team introduced themselves.

  When they finished, Tiana turned to the target. “Good morning, Ms. Murphy,” she said in a neutral tone. “Thank you for joining us. My name is Adrianna Archer. Even though this meeting is only to present an offer to you, I thought your attorneys might be here. Will they be joining us?”

  “I’ve had trouble getting through to her. After I hear the offer, I can take it to her for review after this.”

  Tiana said. “Were you intending to work with the attorney who represented you in your divorce? I believe Mr. Sackett tried to reach her as well. What was the result, Mr. Sackett?”

  “Yes, Ms. Archer. Patricia Gilbert’s license has been suspended pending the results of an investigation by the state judiciary panel on ethics. She did not respond to our inquiries.”

  “I see,” Tiana said as though this was new information to her. “Were you aware of this Ms. Murphy?” Her target shook her head. Her confusion and panic wafted to Tiana—time to set the hook.

  Tiana turned to her team. “May we have the room, please? There won’t be anything requiring your specialties for the moment. I'll page everyone if need be.”