He carried me to an office with a gruff Elshar on it. Blond, but a scowl like a mean trader, and those cobalt blue robes over his red-violet DS uniform marked a powerful man. I took a breath that didn’t go anywhere.
We went through the portal and he sat on a padded bench. “You know things about Barry Atherton? We want him to see Ih Esta.” His eyes were black, like black marbles in the white.
Pas sat on the bench, holding me. I thought about my last meeting with him.
“Bedelia, you’re finishing your business degree soon. A job’ll look good on your resume’, won’t it? Come work for me.”
He’s a snake in a black Ralph Lauren finely tailored suit. Smells like Dior Sauvage, that fits his personality. My father wouldn’t like me working for his top competitor, but if I get one of his satellite companies, Daddy doesn’t have to know it’s one of his. They have 50 employees and most of them work for Mama’s boutique. Daddy has a small surgical group and all of them are doctors and medical people. Didn’t want to go to med school. I hate Atherton, but he has 50 growing companies.
“How about Pera Juice? It’s got possibilities.” My student project was there, and I grew it from a cart in the Arts Festival to 5 brick-and-mortar locations before COVID hit. My idea for heated patios saved it. Lucky for him, Daddy subscribes to every business journal, and an obscure one did a spread on pandemic-proofing. Atherton almost panned the idea.
“Oh, I need a fixer for my son’s business. He has a lady problem. Her aunt can’t afford a good lawyer, so I think he’ll come out all right. Run Success Consulting for him.”
Ugh. “Can we change the name? I gave him some ideas last summer, but Pera took all my hours.”
“I need you to run it and grow it. He’s in jail.”
Talk about bad feelings! I should run the other way--
“You helped me with that batch of spoiled celery. Mira Candler was going to sue, but your idea to give her a year’s supply of smoothies helped her change her mind.”
Yeah, and I had to lie about getting it thrown out! He thought they still used it. I just cut corners to cover for the cost. Hired a friend to replace that spoiled rich brat he hired because she looks good. She did tip me off to what a snake he really is, when I thought he and his son were charming.
Consulting? I’m good with fixing people’s bad business ideas. And with his son in jail, he won’t be trying to feel me up. “Okay. I can do consulting—”
“No. I want you to meet with his clients, and convince them he’ll be back soon to help them. You can do that, can’t you? Make sure they come away with a good impression.”
Everything about this bothered me, but I love to talk to people. Better than working all summer at a fast food. One summer with him, and that pay, and I’ll have enough for my startup.
But as I talked to him, I studied his desk. Receipts from Harry’s Supplies. When I visited one of his Pera locations, Harry looked drunk, and in his shipment was that spoiled celery. I tried to refuse it but he said to take it up with Barry. Harry Melon had a girl with him and he shoved her around. She did all the lifting. He gave me a handwritten receipt with broken English and German words. Most Germans I knew were polite and on time, to a fault. He was late. Crates leaked. And, that celery hadn’t been stored properly. He was cheap.
Barry refused to use another supplier. That struck me as very odd. And Harry showed up in the parking lot of all 5 locations with teens driving in and out of the parking lot after hours. It wasn’t just Chef Manon’s creative celery smoothies. She was livid when she knew that brat used spoiled celery and her name was on the lawsuit. I convinced her with a free year of guaranteed made by only Manon smoothies. Manon agreed to create whatever she wanted off the menu and deliver them to her house personally. So, she dropped the lawsuit.
Berto put his hand on my head, and overheard convo’s came into focus. As I suspected, Harry was a drug dealer. Barry, Jr. was his best customer and he always had a drunk girl in his black Jag. Modestly-dressed girls. That didn’t add up.
And, a call Barry took in front of me. “Oh, my lawyer’ll shut her up. She likes my rates.”
Bets’ aunt was one of Barry’s surgery customers. I did his books for a month before he hired me for Pera. Every receipt, every account, every suspicious transaction came clear. There were a lot of warning flags. He never seduced me, but not because I didn’t want to tango. I was too scared of what Daddy would think. So I never even had a date with him. Then I noticed, his dates ended up suing him for paternity. His secretary liked to gossip, and I saw her monthly to discuss Pera. If he knew, she’d be out the door, but she was sneaky. Showed me receipts. “Honey, you don’t want to work with him. Get another job.”
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But, I liked the money, and my beautician. So when the official letter came yesterday with the job offer, I was about to sign it. Now, I’m leaving Earth.
Berto took his hand off my head. “Want to help us catch Barry Atherton?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Let us offer one of your clones that job. We can equip her with skills like Zbbat telepathy. She can hunt down every one of his business partners. Your father agreed, and he is sharing all his memories to a biome now, for clones. We hope one will want to join Barry’s enterprise and be in a position to take over once Barry is not there. Atlanta Police knows what we know, and they have a warrant for his arrest. Harry Melon is dead, because he was not from Earth, and he broke TS rules. Barry Atherton has others in his organization who are not from Earth, and they are helping him with his drug operation.”
I shivered. “You can clone me?”
He smiled. “I was born so my father can leave his work and I can do it. I could’ve said no. But I have his memories and skills, and I wanted him to be able to retire, you would say. We have other brothers who wanted to do other things. One has a farm on D’sharr! Your sisters can do whatever they want to do.”
“Sisters?” I was lonely a lot growing up. Daddy was working because he’s a busy surgeon. Mama kept busy with her consulting business and her boutiques. I had a nanny until I turned 16 and Daddy was sure I wasn’t goofing off with my friends. Taught them how to run small businesses!
One became my beautician, and I grew her business until all her clients were in Inman Park. Now she has a shop in the Galleria. Christiana was the closest thing to a sister I had, but I see her once a month. I learned to do hair from her and I help Elsie with all the bead-work in her hair for fun. Now Becky and Elsie are like sisters to me, and all I do is tell them how to look glamorous. Becky could. Elsie already knows how to look good. But, Becky taught me how to look past the next hairstyle or business clothing purchase. She knows how to treat a sister right. Christiana got new best friends once her business took off.
“They can be any age you want, up to yours. Here’s Pirad to talk to you about it. He doesn’t look like us, but he’s a good man.”
His holo shocked me! Like a green, walking skeleton! Ugh! But, he tried to help Keiley in Rainbow. Yeah, I can stand it. I nodded. All of this still felt like a nightmare! Now I’m going to have sisters, and I want one to go die, too? I’m an awful person. I should go die.
He brought Pirad, and he stood there. “Hello. I am Pirad, and I want to help you. Pas tells me memories trouble you.”
I looked up into that thin face. Green eyes, emerald green, not the sickly olive of mine. Three orange pupils split apart.
“He—said you can make clones of me. Can you make them good people, like Becky?”
“Becky will have clones when she marries. You are already a good person. I heard your memories when you shared with Berto. You may have five. I will make one to blend with your body so you can have traits to help your husband, if you like. Your memories will save lives. If one of your clones will work with Berto, she will save many lives.”
“I—wanted to save people, but they all died!’ I’m such a cold fish, I didn’t even cry at the time.
“You had terrible grief and guilt about that, but they were too injured. I can help them because they are not as injured now. Do not worry about their deaths. I can dim the intensity of these memories so they are bearable. Think of them, and I will help you.”
Pas carried me after him to a green room and put me on a hard table. He held my hand.
Pirad got me to think about every one of those deaths, and he offered me choices. “You have leadership qualities. People like to follow you. If you want, I can give you great skills of famous leaders, so you can help King Nitomahan with his kingdom. He has many problems.
“Esta Faho is a mining colony. I moved it to Elshar Zheiea to get their people away from poisons. They now have a city with 400 people. They are the most poisoned of King Challet’s people. Yellow-skinned Zheien are always ill.
“I can improve their health, but the poisons affected their memories. Their master healer, Galarsmen, believed that using umar seg often would save them. It did, but now they have to learn not to use that. Umar seg simulates a head injury so they believe they were injured and it explains loss of recent memories. But frequent use of it makes them forgetful.”
I thought about Keiley. He woke up confused a lot and I had to tell him where we were and that it was safe. He never understood why Tom nearly died if he saw him. They were dear friends, and Nespa, too. He and Nespa got sick if we visited. Then, he forgot that we did that. Our healer, Wulai, said he’d get better, but he didn’t. Waking up scared wasn’t good for his heart, and it gave him a heart attack and he died. Pirad couldn’t save him.
“He has progs that Pas wrote to keep him from getting upset enough to kill him. His heart has damage, like all of them do from the mine poisons, but this will improve. He is able to take bis tia and calm himself. We are safe here, and Elshar Zheiea is safe, but it is a new place. It will take time for all the Zheien in Esta Faho to believe they are safe. There are 251 Zheien and 149 Elshars in Esta Faho.”
“Elshars?” I almost asked about that, but Berto’s Elshar! He’s in his office, but telepathy—he can still hear me.
“Most of them are artisans. Elshar Mashai do not like them, so most Elshars who live with Zheien will not hurt them. Mashai can be competitive, but Zheien will not allow slavers to stay. I can give you facts. You can use your speaking skills to convince people that Elshar Zheiea is safe, and that Alb is safe. You also have skills with comforting Zheien that I can increase. I can give you healing skills.” There was a long list of skills that he could give me, and how they could help my husband’s memory, and how I can comfort him so he won’t die of upsets. I wanted all of it! He seemed to think I might qualify for some sort of government position to help King Nitomahan.
I dreaded talking to my parents, but they’re on a different table sharing their memories to a cylinder. They’ll be leaving Earth, too. I can help them contact my cousins and friends like my former nanny, Margarite. She’s living with a family in Inman Park.