Other Places 3: Detours (2 page)

If
nothing else, if anyone ever came in, it would make them look busier.

"Yep,
ten dollars an hour. Overtime and paid vacation too. Two weeks a year." It
really wasn't a lot, considering either one of them could have made a thousand
dollars an hour as a call girl, and
still
gotten their feeding done each
day. It was probably how a lot of their kind got by, no doubt.

These
two were a bit more industrious than that though.

Claudia
touched his arm.

"Oh,
time off? I don't suppose you'd set us up with free travel too? Or at least an
employee discount?" She licked her lips, as if offering to pay for that
with something other than cash, but Zack wasn't buying it.

Not
that there was anything wrong with Claudia, but the fact was, given their group
dynamics, he was basically already hooked up with Kait, since she'd asked him
to have sex with her first. He hadn't yet, but probably would, eventually. It
was hard for him to keep in mind, but Greater Demons did things like that. They
didn't have the same rules that everyone else did, and even if he knew for a
fact that the girl was also a boy, sometimes, that wasn't supposed to be a
thing
for him.

Darla
had pointed that out, several times.

Still,
there were rules, and if he didn't want his workers sniping at each other, even
he had to follow them.

"Yes.
To the discount. Though the payment for that will be in..." He had to
scramble for a bit, since Kait was staring at him, her face a bit set, as if
trying to not react, in case he mentioned the other woman performing sex acts
for him. "Rewards for legitimate sales. In fact, each month, the highest
seller gets to pick a destination and will get a round trip. You can use that
for a weekend, or your two weeks, up to you. Non-transferable though, so you
have to use your winnings yourself."

That
got some smiles at least, though Kaitlyn looked to the back, and whispered.

"What
about Palma? She isn't on the front floor, so that isn't fair, is it?"

Zack
shrugged.

"She
has a deal for room and board. That means she can get a trip whenever she wants
one anyway. Good thinking though, you might want to remind her of that, since
I'm pretty sure she didn't believe me when I mentioned it the other day."
He looked around and then shrugged. "So, I'll leave how to do that to you
two, though you need to set up something fair for the others too. We need some
different races in here as well. That's half the point of this, right?"

It
really was, he knew. The Shifters in particular had pointed out that he'd been,
as the Dragon man had said, "The Mage Guild's Bitch", which wasn't
great for business, as far as line walking and travel went, apparently. Not
everyone hated them, but no one wanted to end up being in debt to both them and
a Greater Demon, either. Not that he was charging all
that
much.

Mainly
he was trading favors or goods that didn't cost the individual all that much,
but would have value in other places. It was extra work, but let everyone feel
good about it all.

He
clapped once, thinking about needing different sorts of people, and went to the
front desk, sitting behind it, while the girls puttered around in the front,
trying to lure in any men that might pass by. Some of the women too, naturally.
Once there he had to concentrate for a few seconds, in order to bring up the
memory he needed, then he dialed the phone, which was a nice and rather tiny
black thing, considering it wasn't a cell, and waited.

It
picked up on the eighth ring, and the man on the other side of it sounded like
he'd been sleeping. That was good, it would mean he was well rested for the
day. Unless he'd just gotten into bed, of course.

"Yeah?"
It wasn't inspired phone answering technique at all.

"Hiram!
This is Zack. Zack Hartley? We just opened the new store, at the mall. You're
scheduled for later today, along with Jen, for orientation. Four in the
afternoon. I know she's at school right now, but set that part up with her,
will you? I'm planning to send her and Kaitlyn around to all the embassies over
the next few days, to build contacts. Really..." He stopped, thinking for
a second then shrugged, even though the man wouldn't be able to see it. The
tone would carry a bit though. "Well, I'll have more for both of you when
you get in, I hope."

There
was a long pause and then a grunt.

"Huh?"
Then the sound of rustling, which, from the pattern it left in space, which he
could feel, even over the phone, indicated there was another body in the bed
with him. "I didn't know we were part of that. Is the Guild going to pitch
a fit over it? I don't really want them kicking us out. They left Jelly with
her membership for the work she did, which was nice of them. I figured that
cunt Lisa would have us both stripped..."

Zack
stopped him.

"Hey!
Lisa isn't
bad
, Hiram. She's upset with me, not evil. Yes, she's
wrong
,
but a lot of people don't like Greater Demons, so no need to call her names.
I'm worried about her, which... probably means that I need to get with some
people that I haven't been. Today. See, having you around is valuable already.
So four o'clock for orientation? Bring Jen, if she'll come." It wasn't
like he was going to order them to work for him. It
would
help with the
diversity problem a bit though.

"Eh,
well, don't get us booted from the Guild. I'll be there. I can't talk for
Jennifer. I'll put a call in and ask? She might not want to. For all I know she
has another job already."

"Fair
enough if she does. In
that
case, remind her to visit. Talk to you
then." It wasn't like he was planning to leave for the day or anything.
Just a quick trip to shower at midnight.

There
was a grunt and a solid sound of hanging up, as if the man was miffed over
something. That would probably be about Zack pushing him into honest labor. Since
he was a career criminal, that wasn't a thing that he normally indulged in. It
had
to be annoying to the man.

Then,
as soon as the line went dead, he sighed and called the head of the Mage Guild,
Maddy Morse. She was an old family friend, after all, and Zack had actually
known her all his life. True, she hadn't known he was a Greater Demon, but
then, neither had
he
, so it wasn't exactly like he'd be tricking her,
was it? On the good side, he had her personal number, and didn't have to go
through her four assistants first. It was nice, having friends.

"Maddy
Morse, what may I do for you?"

"Hi
Maddy, Zack Hartley here. I wanted to make sure that we were good?" It was
abrupt, he knew, saying it that way, but he didn't stop, since apparently, it
was all true. "This whole Greater Demon thing took
me
by surprise
too, and I know that it can't be easy, having someone that you know turn out to
be so... different. I'm still me though, which means, you know, I have
demands?"

That
was said on purpose, since, once he bothered to think about it, he knew that
she'd be easier to handle if taken slightly off guard.

"I...
Zack? Demands?"

"Yep.
First, I want you to line up some help for Lisa Wiese. She's back on the
Wistra, and it's messing her up. She doesn't have to know that I mentioned it,
but I swear, I'm not trying to steal her soul or enslave her. Or
anyone
else for that matter. She's a friend though, and gave me a job when I was just
about starving to death. I owe her. I know she won't see it that way, but
I
do." He expected a rather long conversation then, about how betrayed Maddy
felt, or maybe even how she couldn't talk to him, since there were injunctions
or something, but there was a sigh instead.

"I
can do that. It's pretty clear she's overreacting a bit, in regards to you. Do
you want me to talk to her about it? It isn't helping that Eric is feeding her
head with tales about how dangerous Greater Demons all are." There was a
gap and the tone of her voice shifted, just enough to show the hint of a bitter
smile. "At least he's talking to her. That's an improvement."

"Yeah.
He's not off at that conference? I need to get in touch there today, since we
have a node set up now. It's pretty nice, if I do say so myself. You should
come and see it."

"No,
I was slated to go, but then an emergency came up, and we had to send the under
secretary. I don't suppose you'd take me in now? I know that the way things
happened a few weeks ago wasn't the most friendly thing in the world, letting
you go like we did."

"You
mean that little thing where I was fired without warning, based on the
prejudices of people that didn't even know me? That thing?" He grinned
though, which took a touch of magic and some focus to make happen, since he
really wasn't totally calm about the whole thing. "And worse, you all
fired a sixteen year old girl for simply being in the wrong place, and knowing
the wrong people? That was pretty low and you
should
make that up to
her. Soon."

There
was a very long and drawn out sigh then.

"I
know. What do you suggest?"

Zack
already had an idea on that one at least, which didn't require lying, hedging
or even making himself look too stupid, which were all nice things, most days.

"An
internship with the Guild. Yes, some will think that it means I'm putting an
agent in place, but... Well, I
am
. Put her in as your aide, or you know,
fifteenth adjunct whatever it is, and send her out on meet and greets with
whoever is needed. She can build contacts and I'll handle the travel for her,
as part of the deal, if she needs it at all? I'll run her over Guild law and
all that, if you think it will help? I'd also like for her to get some magical
training. She's great with wards, and taking down other people's work, and can
do some credible shields, but she should learn healing too. Other things, as
you see fit? You know the job better than I do, after all." That part was
important. It was true, but as a Greater Demon, well, most of them kind of knew
everything, or at least seemed to. By saying that he was trying to make himself
seem a lot more normal.

Just
regular old Zack, the weird kid that Maddy used to watch sometimes when his
grandparents went on vacation. The goofy and harmless skinny boy that
definitely
didn't kill people in their sleep
or
take over their souls. So,
perfectly safe and even harmless. That wasn't true now, but he could fake it,
for a while longer.

"I...don't
know if that will work, Zack. People will be a bit resistant to it. I don't
know if Lisa..."

He
snorted, which was a fairly new thing for him. It was honest though, so he
managed it.

"I
meant, and said, that she should work with
you
. If I'm going to get her
in someplace, it needs to be high enough that it's worth doing. And yes, people
will bitch about it. They would anyway, which is why you should be upfront
about it all and remind them that the Guild owes a huge debt to me so far. I'm
not counting it that way, but if it helps you manage your people, then by all
means, claim away. If I didn't like Jen so much I'd see about getting her put
in with Eric Weise. As it stands, you'll have to ask if he wants to take Hiram
on."

"Hiram
Stone? The criminal?"

That
got a chuckle, from Mirror Him. He didn't take over though. He seldom did,
anymore.

"That's
the one! Criminal, professional rules lawyer, and general pain in the ass. At
least until you get to know him. Then, honestly, he isn't so bad. A few rough
edges, but that has its uses in the real world. Not that I'm really suggesting
that. It was my attempt at humor. So, is that agreeable to you? They're both
starting here at four, so, if it is, you can tell them yourself, on your way to
the conference." Or summit. Whatever they were calling it this week. He'd
been heading that way, every few days, but for some strange reason, he'd
thought that people would work things out a
lot
faster.

After
the attack on the New Mexico Nexus, which had been done by a splinter group of
Vampires, things had managed to cool down a bit. Not enough that they were
totally safe, it seemed. So they were responding by spending their time in a
big meeting room, with nearly two hundred people there, half of them yelling at
each other, and the rest trying to pretend they weren't cowering in fear.

From
the handset there was a long and slightly aged sounding exhalation. It wasn't a
sigh really, but there was tiredness inside of it.

"I
suppose. It's really too good a bargain to pass up. Can you get to the Idaho
Mage node before then? I can't make it any other way."

That,
was just a point.
He
moved fast, but almost no one else did. Not anyone
who wasn't another of his own kind. Most of them didn't really help people much,
though.

He
nearly said "deal" not even trying to be cute about it, but managed
to hold his tongue in time. A little thrill of panic tore through him then.
True, he'd have to feed magical power into the whole thing for it to really
bind anyone, but even pretending to do that to the head of the Guild might
cause a real war. One against him. A thing that, ultimately, the Mages wouldn't
win.