“That’s understandable. That also gives you additional cause for confronting Dr. Page. You called him, told him you were blaming the drug trial for those two attacking Rose, and then you gave him his choice.”
I sighed. The only way out was to try to minimize the damage. “Yes. The incident at the thrift store was the last straw. I told Grover I had him cold, and suggested he try to make a deal.”
“That’s a noble gesture, and one that may have felt morally right, but it was stupid of you to do it. Still, you’re right—it’s what the Doctor would have done.”
I nodded. “Exactly right. I don’t really care if you approve, but I’m glad you understand.”
“What was his response?”
“He offered to make me wealthy. I turned him down.” I spread my hands. “My mother doesn’t have long to live. I didn’t want her last weeks to be tainted by me selling out. And that’s the truth.”
“Did he say anything else you haven’t mentioned?”
I stood up and went to look out the window, staring down at the tiny folks scurrying along the 16th Street Mall. “Yes. He offered to cure my mother’s cancer. He seemed pretty sure he could do it.” I turned around and added, “The man who killed Grover Page was named Ingrim Thain. He was an undead necromancer, possibly a priest of Anubis, and probably not from Earth. His physical form was destroyed last night. I believe his essence was destroyed at the same time, but there is a chance he might still exist in some form.”
“How dangerous would you say he is?”
I met his eyes. “He can raise an army of the dead. How dangerous is that?”
“I see.” Roberts stood up and slid a card across the table. It was blank except for an 800 number. “Don’t mention anything we discussed in this room. Stick to your story. Call me if anything else happens.”
I took the card and put it in my wallet. “So, are you really FBI, or what? Men in Black? International Rescue?”
“FBI, but in this case I’m also an ‘or what’.” He placed his hand on the doorknob, but didn’t turn it. “I keep track of unusual events involving young ladies with odd-colored hair.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You profile women who dye their hair?”
He shook his head. “No. I look for women who don’t need dye.” He smiled and cocked his head to the side. “It’s amazing how many young ladies matching that description have been recorded selling gold coins, jewelry, gems, and uncut precious stones. Sometimes, young ladies like that get careless, and count on people simply forgetting what they saw. Sometimes, young ladies like that need help. Sometimes, the people they’re attached to need help. That’s where I and a few others like me come in. We’re here to help.”
“Why would you help me?”
Roberts looked off to the side for a moment. “I dated the most wonderful woman I’ve ever known while I was going to college. She had dark red hair, streaked with metallic gold. My wife once loved a woman with emerald green hair. We’re together because we can talk about them, because we accept we’ll always be in love with those women, and because we keep the same secrets for these women.
“As wonderful as they are, they’re arrogant. They’re forgetful, and they don’t respect what we are capable of. They make mistakes, and when that happens, somebody has to clean up the mess. I’m one of those somebodies.”
“Fine,” I said. “I’m glad to know you’re out there if we need you. However, Loseitall has nothing to do with them. This mess is not of their making. Sorry.”
“No matter,” he said. “That number will reach me any time, day or night, if you need to tell me something.” He opened the door and shook my hand. “Thank you for your time.”
“My pleasure.” I released his hand. “Take care, Agent Roberts.”
“John Roberts is just a name on some paper,” he replied. “Call me Ishmael.” He shrugged his coat on and headed for the elevators.
Watching him walk away, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. I’d never thought about what life would be like after Rose left. The truth is, I’d been programmed not to. The Dragons had worked out all possible scenarios and taken steps to counter them long ago. The logical thing to do when a Dragoness’ time on Earth was over would be to wipe her Human lover’s memory, and command them never to speak of what they’d learned. They didn’t do that because they wanted us to maintain a sense of wonder. That was the theory, anyway.
So, there was a survivor’s club, and it was something the Dragons
hadn’t
anticipated. I filed that realization away for later exploration. In the meantime, my lawyer had some people from the NIH who wanted to ask me a few more questions. I grabbed a fresh cup of three-hour-old coffee and followed them into the conference room.
When I got home, Rose had a stack of messages from the news media, and a repair crew replacing our front window. One of my beloved coworkers had delivered a death threat wrapped around a brick. The police had a description of the car and were following up.
I also had multiple messages from my family, and one message from Carlos Cabeza de la Vaca, chairman of the board and CEO. My family just wanted to know how I was doing. Maybe after talking to Carlos I might have a better answer.
Carlos picked his cell phone up on the second ring. “I have to say, David, you’ve made a lot of people very unhappy today. I was one of them, but at this point I think you may have saved the company. The news about Grover Page… The idea that someone killed him, took over his life, and had authority over our product… The idea terrifies me. It terrified the board.”
“It was pretty upsetting for me, too.” I sighed. “Does the board have any news I need to know about?”
“Yes. They’ve approved an early retirement offer for you. We don’t want to lose you, but it would, well, resolve several issues for the company. Of course, any separation would be your decision. All terms of your separation would be sealed. I’ll send the formal package to your lawyer in the morning. Look it over, talk to your family. Give us an answer as soon as you can.”
“What if I decide to keep working?”
“Nothing. No retaliation, but no protection if we have a reduction in force. Which we will.”
“Fine,” I said. “So, answer one question for me. How much did you know already?”
“Two incidents had been reported, but both involved other factors. One was using bath salts, and the other had a history of violence. There was no conclusive link to our trial. Once we saw your queries, we knew something else was going on, so we initiated the lockdown.”
“All right.” I looked at Rose and smiled. “Email the details to me tonight. My girlfriend is a Dragon. If she likes the numbers, then I’ll listen to my lawyer.”
“A Dragon, huh? That’s cool. My ex is one of those killer robots. Whenever I go to pick up the kids, she starts screaming ‘Cas-ter-ate! Cas-ter-ate!’ Anyway, I’ll get the offer to you in a few minutes.” Carlos paused and added, “It’s been nice working with you, David. Good luck.”
I called my folks while Rose reviewed the numbers. Mom was not sounding good, and I started feeling increasingly guilty about turning down Thain’s offer.
Shut up
.
It was a bullshit offer anyway
.
Right on cue, her maternal superpowers kicked in. “What’s going on, David? I can tell you’re thinking about me. No sad thoughts, young man.”
“I’m not sad. This is anger. This guy made a stupid comment and I’m trying to move past it. It’s just…not easy.” I fell silent, but Mom out-silenced me. “He offered to cure you if I looked the other way while he hurt a lot of innocent people. And, yeah, I think he could have done it. I told him to piss off.”
Mom said, “Good. If you’d given in, I’d have smacked your backside till you couldn’t sit down. You do what’s right and don’t worry about me. Never let anyone use me against you, ever.”
“Did you hear the part about actually being able to do it?”
“I did, and my answer is still no. No fate but what I make for myself, David. If it comes up again, remember that. No fate but what I make.”
“I know. I’m in the same situation. I got offered early retirement tonight. Time to choose my fate, I guess. Rose is looking over the numbers now.” As I said that, Rose flashed me a thumbs-up. “Rose says the numbers are good. I’ll run it past my lawyer tomorrow. If he signs off, I think I’ll take it.”
“If Rose likes it, you’re probably set. Let me know what happens.”
I promised I would and we said our goodbyes. The next day, on advice from my lawyer, I drove into the office, signed more papers, and turned over my work computer. The security guards escorting me off the property wouldn’t even look me in the eye.
For the first two days of my retirement, I tried keeping an eye out for any news reports that might indicate where Thain had gotten off to. That turned out to be useless, so I spent the third day watching more Japanese game shows. Over dinner, Rose gave me a gentle smile and said, “Find something to do with yourself before I tail-whip you into next week.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I haven’t had centuries to master the art of graceful indolence, or get my degree in competitive napping.”
“I wasn’t suggesting anything as advanced as that,” Rose replied. “I was thinking you might want spend some time in church.”
“That certainly came out of nowhere.” I set my fork down. “What exactly did you have in mind?”
“The monastery of Stonewall is open to all races. The monks teach basic fighting skills to anyone who asks. You could spend a few months there and really learn something about using a sword.”
“Stonewall, eh? I suppose that’s a good, Dwarven name.” I shook my head. “It sounds tempting, but I’m not too bad with a sword as it is.”
Rose smiled and patted my hand. “You’re very good at fighting other unskilled people using heavy sticks. You’ve got enough skill for Kindness to work with. I’m talking about actual skill, training with a war priest. How many people in that Society of yours would leap at the chance?”
I started to shake my head, but the idea took root and started spreading. “Three months there, three days here. It could work. I guess I could live with a bunch of hairy guys for a few months.”
“Hairy girls, too,” she said. “Dwarven women grow beards as well. The married ones have rings braided into their moustaches, so leave them alone.” She grinned at me and wiggled her eyebrows. “They’re very pretty to look at. The Stonewall order records their life accomplishments with face and body tattoos.”
“Oh, yay, hairy Suicide Girls.” I shook my head to get rid of the image. “I don’t think I could get performance-ready with a bearded woman. The thought does not appeal.”
“I doubt you’d have the strength after a day of training,” Rose said. She brushed my hair back and added, “I think it will be good for you. I can manage on my own for three days. I can come get you any time if something changes with your mother. And I very much want to see what you will be when you return.”
My inner geek grabbed on to the idea’s roots and ran around jumping and shouting. Real weapon training with real Dwarven warriors? How could I not geek out on that? I’d done my part with the Loseitall, and the investigation didn’t need me anymore. Thain was still an issue, but Rose was hardly defenseless. And, deep down, I needed to do something. I kissed Rose’s forehead. “You win. I’ll go.”
Rose smiled. “Dragons always win. I’ll make the arrangements tomorrow.”
I scooped her up and carried her up to the bedroom. “So, what’s this place like? Some lofty mountain retreat surrounded by snow and ice all year round?”
“Well, it is on a mountain,” she purred. She kicked the door shut, and I decided the details weren’t that important.
Blood on the Sand
My first impression of Stonewall was sunshine, sandy beaches, and enough dusky maidens to fill a Gauguin exhibition. The beach ran east to west, ringed by large hills carved with farm terraces. Most of the buildings were cut and fitted stone topped by a thatch roof. They sat far back from the shore, with each building elevated on a stone platform. Major buildings had stone bridges linking them, three and four stories up. I assumed flooding was an issue from time to time. A single, half-mile-high peak dominated the bay, looming over all the lesser would-be mountains. The top of the peak was crowned by a cluster of buildings resembling Machu Picchu.
“Holy crap,” I said. “It looks like Rio. Just with…lots more hair.”
Rose flicked her earfin at me and set her wings for a gentle descent to the foot of the really tall mountain. Another small cluster of buildings waited, lining an avenue leading to the base of a carved stone staircase. It went up the sheer face of the mountain, all the way to the temple complex at the summit. I guess a relaxing donkey ride up the paved road switchbacking up the far side of the mountain was out of the question.
Rose landed down the beach from the monastery buildings, far enough away not to blast sand all over the place while backwinging. No one paid any attention—you’d think they saw Dragons here all the time. It took me a moment to remember that, yes, they did.
A Dwarf wearing a sarong short enough for us to see any blue silk ribbons he might have won bowed to us, hands out to the side and palms up. His hair and beard were both well-trimmed and his upper lip was clean-shaven. His body hair was shaved into precise lines and sections defined by moko-like knotwork designs tattooed all over his face and body. He looked like the Tara Brooch done in ink and hair. “Welcome to Stonewall,” he said. “I am Elder Second Kazan. If you’ve come for lessons, know that our wisdom may only be purchased with pain.”
At least the translator necklace I’d borrowed from Harmony was working. I dismounted and returned the bow. “My name is David Fraser. I’m here to study.” I shrugged and added, “And yes, I expect the lessons to hurt.”
“Then the pain begins now,” he replied. He smiled and clapped his hands together. “Can you make it to the top of the stairs?”
I looked up the side of the mountain. “Sure,” I said. “Any chance a beautiful woman will flash her tits and say, ‘If you catch me, you can have me’?”
Kazan chuckled. “Would that motivate you?”
“Couldn’t hurt.”