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

  They filed out, brisk and confident. Charlie, his face hidden from the target, winked at Tiana on his way past.

  Tiana, silent at the head of the mahogany table, looked at the woman and waited.

  The target sat, rubbing her fingers together. “Did you want to present the offer?” she asked, her voice quavering.

  “I’m considering the impact of your lawyer’s professional situation on my negotiating position,” Tiana said, her words coming slow and careful like a stalking tiger’s footsteps.

  “Perhaps I should lay out my thoughts for you. You see, Ms. Murphy, those five lawyers I just asked to wait outside represent Jonah Brandyr on behalf of the political action group, True Equality. True Equality is dedicated to abolishing alimony in the US for both men and women. They are looking for a test case for fighting the practice of alimony all the way to the Supreme Court. Their short-term goal is to establish a precedent by winning a ruling at the state level. True Equality believes Mr. Brandyr’s case is ideal because of the clarity of the abuse done to justice in the ruling by Judge Perrvo. That it happened in the Lynchburg Circuit Court makes them drool because of the popular association of Lynchburg with lynching, a synonym for injustice.”

  She paused, tapping her fingers on the table.

  “On the other hand, Mr. Brandyr hired me to represent him where he felt the agenda of the foundation might diverge from his wishes. My client believes the practice of alimony to be unjust, but he does not want a prolonged legal battle. Though he will do it, if he must, to support the cause of justice. Since True Equality would fund his case, it would be . . . . How did he put it? ‘No skin off his nose’, to go forward.”

  Tiana kept her eyes fixed on the target, but the woman would no longer look into her eyes. Instead, she sat frozen in place, looking back and forth between her own locked fingers and Tiana’s mouth.

  Tiana continued, “This would mean you would need to hire new lawyers and pay for their time as they become familiar with your case, unless you argue the case yourself. My client will stop alimony payments during the suit. During that period, you would need to devote considerable time working with your defense or researching and preparing a case, if you chose to represent yourself. The legal expenses for you would be high. I believe you were paying around $250 dollars an hour to your previous lawyer.”

  Tiana shifted forward in her seat.

  “As this would be a landmark case, you and your actions would be exposed to public scrutiny. In my experience, the court of public opinion is not kind, Ms. Murphy. Do you have questions about what I have outlined so far?”

  “Why are you doing this to me?” said the target, her voice choking. Tears welled up in her eyes.

  “Life is odd, isn’t it?” Tiana said, leaning back. “One moment the legal system’s quirks give you the advantage and then someone comes along with an agenda and deep pockets and the advantage disappears.

  “My advice to Mr. Brandyr was to give you the opportunity to repay the alimony over three years instead of going to court. Twelve hundred dollars per month…. However, he is offering you a chance to walk away if you agree to end, permanently, the alimony granted by Judge Perrvo. This offer is available until you leave these offices today. After which, I suggest you get a very good legal team. Perhaps a political action group will fund a defense of your right to live off someone else. But then, you only got the alimony, because you committed perjury and there was no admissible corroboration for the adultery available at the time. And, perhaps, that might not be a position that would gather much public support. After all, the man you are taking money from is now unemployed with a medical condition preventing him from going back into a workplace. True Equality is also eager to challenge the Virginia law that allowed your own testimony not to count against you.”

  Tiana waited a moment for the target to wipe her eyes. “If you like, you can make phone calls to any other lawyers to get a legal opinion. Of course, it is in their interest to tell you to contest it because that is how they get paid. I imagine the chance of a long court battle would make them salivate, but I will give you some privacy for that exercise. You can ask them to come here if you wish. You may have this conference room until six pm. Here are the names of the lawyers on the legal team representing Mr. Brandyr if your lawyers wish to review who they are facing.” She pulled a sheet of paper with a list of names and a brief biography of each lawyer on it and slid it across the table.

  “Do you need access to a web browser?” Tiana asked.

  The target shook her head; she looked like she was trying to recover from multiple blows to the head.

  “Very well then; here is the agreement,” Tiana said, sliding the document across the table. “It’s written in plain English. As you can see, Mr. Brandyr has already signed it before a notary. If you have any questions or want anything, just pick up the phone on the table, tell our administrative assistant and she will take care of it. I will leave you to consider the offer.”

  Tiana turned toward the door but stopped as though she had forgotten something. “Oh, by the way, our administrative assistant’s name is Robert, and he is a notary, in case you decide to put this unpleasantness behind you. The True Equality group will be disappointed, but I suppose they will find another case to parade before public view.“

  Tiana walked out, turning to enter the adjoining room where a video feed of the conference room was running. The target’s first call would be to her mother, but Amber Rodriguez was following the mother, making sure the woman didn't show up at the law office. Amber was also jamming her phone. Tiana had done her homework on the mother. The woman would only insist that her daughter be stubborn and stupid, like her. Her daughter—sadly—was already inclined that way. The target’s anxiety as the calls to her mother kept going to voicemail showed in her body language.

  Tiana watched as the target gave up and dialed another number. From the key tones, she was trying to reach a friend, also a poor choice for advice, but Tiana’s IT security team had hacked that phone. It wouldn’t be receiving calls from the target today. Next, the target tried to call Jonah. Tiana was astounded by that choice, but the target didn’t have his new number, so that didn’t get her anywhere either.

  The next call was to the—would be—lover. That worthy had a wealth of things he didn’t want anyone to discover. Tiana’s operative had encouraged him to wear the t-shirts and boxers with the red hearts when pressing his suit for matrimony. In exchange, the DEA wouldn’t get the information about the off-shore account filled with drug money. Tiana had removed the money from the account already, but he didn’t know that yet. Tiana’s agent had also coached him on how to handle this call if it came to him.

  So, when it did, he parroted the script Tiana had written. “Now we can get married if you want . . . I’ll take care of you. . . I’ve heard of those lawyers, they are ruthless and very slick. . . It’s not worth it. . . you should take the deal . . . I know a good lawyer; I’ve got her number somewhere. Here it is. . . call her.”

  The recommendation was to a mediocre lawyer who the lawyers on Tiana’s team had humiliated in court at various times. Now, she ducked going up against them when possible.

  One fax transmission, one free lunch and two billable hours later, the agreement was signed and notarized.

  The small victory felt good, but she wasn't about to retire the True Equality team. Pay-till-you-die alimony was nothing less than state sponsored slavery, no matter which sex was paying it. The imbalance of 97% of the recipients being women far outweighed any possible remaining sexual bias in income... that was the weakness True Equality could go for. The notion that alimony was wrong in general would never fit in the court system. Perhaps a class-action lawsuit against the Commonwealth of Virginia was the next step.

  Sun Tzu would have been proud of her. Tiana smiled as she climbed into the jet for the flight back to Charleston. Major had tasked a Dassault Falcon 2000 LXS for her trip. Tiana headed for the cockpit. It was time she piloted
again; two hundred fifteen years without flying was too long.

  ~~~{}~~~

  The phone on the stone table chimed, and a black-clawed finger brushed the touchscreen with a knuckle. A voice issued from it, speaking a tongue unknown to humankind.

  “The nii tracker was in the city again, but she left before we could move. She used a temporary location for whatever she was doing then left before we could mount an attack.”

  “How did you discover this?”

  “I had my slaves following her servant, the one called CharlesSackettTheFifth. My slave saw what he took for a dark-skinned woman meet him at the temporary offices. I went there, after he followed her to a small airport outside town that we were not watching. She left in a corporate jet. It was gone before my slave could call in an interception. I went to where she had been when I was certain she was no longer in the area, and confirmed her smell at the location. There was no sign of the male nii scent this time.”

  “You went yourself? That was risky, what if she had doubled back and caught your scent?”

  “I was wearing a masking suit.”

  “We don’t know for certain those will work against a nii tracker. Just because they work on us, doesn’t mean she wouldn’t detect you.”

  “I needed to see if there were more nii, in addition to the male we now know is on this world. We don’t know how many reinforcements she has.”

  “All the more reason to be careful, you young fool.”

  “Young?”

  “You don’t have as much experience fighting the nii as I do, and I say we need to be cautious.”

  “If we had been less cautious and more decisive when we first came here, we could have done as we liked for two-hundred cycles on this crap-hole world. Our ship would be finished, and we would be back in the Nexus now.”

  “Return to base. There may not even BE a Nexus anymore. I tire of you repeating this. We must decide how to proceed. It will not be much longer before I complete the changes in my body that will tip the balance back to us.”

  Chapter 13 (New Opportunities)

  Jonah finished drying off from his shower and tossed the towel onto the hook. Out of old habit, he checked the mirror, but his face was free of stubble, wrinkles and blemishes. If he’d been guessing his age he would’ve bet on mid-thirties. He still wasn't used to that.

  Tiana had risen early, as usual, but, before leaving, she'd completed their normal routine. She’d told him to expect her back this evening and drink the milk in the refrigerator before nine to be sure it was fresh. Jonah stepped into cargo shorts and pulled a tee-shirt over his head then padded into the bedroom.

  Jacksie, dark and tall, stood against the wall with his bullpup slung on his shoulder. He smiled at Jonah. “Moving day this morning.”

  “Yeah, won’t you need to put away the cannon?” Jonah said.

  “Nah, Austin is downstairs to walk you there; I’ll cover you both from the balcony.”

  “Yeah, but what if I get ambushed by Sandra and Taylor on the stairs?”

  “You’ll have to take your chances there, partner. Besides, I could think of worse ways to go.”

  Jonah laughed. “Partner eh? You’ve been with Austin so long, what will you do when you go back to Chicago and talk Texan there? What will the Bloods make of that?”

  “Since Austin would have my back if I ever did, they’d shut their pie holes, unless they wanted their tails tied in a knot.” Jacksie grinned, his teeth white and fierce against his dark skin.

  “I reckon so,” Jonah mused. He went to the refrigerator and mixed the iced coffee with the milk in the sealed jar. He didn't think the coffee would interfere with whatever Tiana had intended for the milk. He preferred taking it fresh though.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “Thanks, Jacksie. I’ll get it. I only have the one bag and Adrianna already moved her stuff over.” Jonah finished packing, shouldered his bag and went to the door. Austin stood relaxed in the hall reading a newspaper, looking like he belonged there and had every reason imaginable to be propped against the wall. Jonah looked down the hall to his left, sticking his head out with caution.

  “They’re gone,” Austin reassured him. “I told them I thought you went for a run down the seawall. They hit the street a minute later like they were training for the Olympics.”

  Jonah sighed in relief, “Thanks. Ready to go?”

  “Hang on…” Austin tapped his cell phone to send a text. Two seconds later, his phone beeped. “Okay, they’re ready.”

  “I feel like the vice president, with all this security,” Jonah said.

  Austin chuckled, “Yeah, but he’s only got a bunch of pussies on his team.”

  Jonah snorted and followed Austin down the stairs and across the street. The ornate carved-oak door on the side of the house opened as they approached. Major stood just inside holding it open for them with one hand and with a .45 caliber 1911 in the other. Austin moved aside for Jonah to go through then followed him. Major shut the door and holstered his gun, “Welcome to the WIP,” he said with a grin waving toward the interior.

  Jonah looked around, stepping aside for two workers wheeling a huge cast iron radiator to the rear exit.

  “Is that the last one?” Max asked them.

  “Yep, finally, the last and the biggest,” replied one worker.

  The bay window area where the radiators had been stealing so much floor space was clear. A work crew had moved out the abandoned Steinway baby grand and finish carpenters were installing matching oak flooring where radiator pipes had come through the floors.

  The room looked even bigger without the hulking iron fixtures. The wallpaper was gone and patched plaster was now getting a final skim coat. Jonah smiled. It was cool to be NOT working on a renovation but still see it going just as he’d have done it. Carpenters, electricians, plasterers, several crews taking paint off the wood and the HVAC workers all danced around each other with minimal conflict.

  The house was transforming from a raggedy old dump into the elegant lady she’d been a century ago. But, this time, with the advantages of modern plumbing, electric wiring, solar power, micro-zoned heat pumps and modern kitchen and bathrooms. Crews had been working in shifts twenty-four/seven for weeks. Three upstairs bedroom suites were finished and the kitchen had received the final touches yesterday with all the appliances arriving.

  “Breakfast buffet is on the screened porch, out of the dust and fumes. Help yourselves, gents,” said Major.

  Austin—the consummate soldier—hurried out the door, following the smell of food.

  Jonah followed close. He was constantly hungry these days. He’d asked Tiana if it was because he was eating for two. She’d laughed and said it was mostly because he was growing again, so his metabolism was throttling up too. More exercise would put on muscle. Since it was an optimum time to get good results, Tiana suggested he enjoy eating as much as he wanted, and made suggestions about which muscle groups to work. It would make his upcoming physical training easier.

  Trapped in his room for weeks, Jonah had worked on body-weight exercises every time he took a break from programming and modeling. Jacksie brought him a fifty-pound kettlebell, soon replaced by a fifty-five then a sixty. Jonah had thought he’d never get past fifty-pound kettlebell workouts without triggering back problems, but Tiana assured him there was no exercise injury she couldn’t fix. He was looking forward to moving higher. Having the constraint of injury risk removed from his workouts was intoxicating.

  Jonah almost ran into Austin when stepping over the threshold to the screen porch.

  “Well, if that ain’t a breakfast straight from West Texas,” Austin said, wonder in his voice. The huge dining room table was now on the porch draped in plain, white tablecloths, but the feast on it was anything but plain. Glass-covered chafing dishes lined both sides of the table. Below the glass lids were twenty-four different breakfast delights with a card labeling each tray: omelets—western, chèvre, sun-dried tomato, cheddar a
nd mushroom—scrambled eggs; French toast; waffles; bacon; sausage; cheesy grits mixed with whole hominy; biscuits; sausage gravy; red-eye gravy. . .

  “I had to try out the kitchen,” said Major from behind Jonah. “I thought I’d let you and the security team eat before I called the work crews. It’s a thank-you to everyone for working so much overtime. The rest of the security detail already ate. They’re back at work, so y'all had better get going if you’re hungry.”

  “Well if y’all would move out the way…,” said Jacksie, who'd come up behind Major.

  Austin broke out of his trance and lunged for a plate. Jonah moved for Jacksie to go ahead; after all, the man protected his life. Austin was already three trays ahead of them, flipping back the hinged lids of the chafing dishes and ladling food onto his plate. Jonah followed, loading his plate up. He wandered back into the kitchen, pulled a stool back from the eat-in counter and attacked his plate.

  The work crews hurried to the porch. Their cheers at the sight of the food and the rowdy sounds of those appreciated for good work drifted through the house. Men… of course, they wouldn’t put women in the same house with him—Jonah the homewrecker. He sighed. Jonah had always taken his friendships with women for granted, till now. The only human woman he’d been able to associate with in the flesh was Amber Rodriguez, who didn’t let anything interfere with her duties. Evidently, she had an extra measure of self-control; the kind that came with two combat zone tours in Afghanistan.

  A few minutes later, Major came back into the kitchen.

  “Kudos,” Jonah said, “an amazing performance.”

  “I’ll share your praises with my helpers,” said Major. “They left before you got here.”

  “Women on the catering team, eh?” Jonah said with a dry twist of his mouth.

  “Yeah, sorry.”

  “Don’t be. Tiana will get it fixed sooner or later.”