“Thank you for attending my wedding,” Belle called out to the receding crowd. “Your presence today was welcome. Please be sure to attend my next wedding as well.”
Kat stood some ten or so paces to the side, watching the guests filtering out of the great hall. Other than guards and people that had business with the Donnst family, everyone was leaving the venue now that the celebrations had ended.
To her left, Emma was chattering away happily with Jasper’s girlfriend, Iris while Dorrik pressed Josiah Daniels with an array of uncomfortable questions. He had only stopped chattering at Josiah long enough for the bridal toasts during the reception. The rest of the five hour event had been nothing but incessant questions as the shareholder, ostensibly one of the hundred or so most powerful people in the world, wilted away into almost nothing.
Fabric rustled and Whippoorwill leaned in, positioning herself just above Kat’s shoulder.
“You practically ignored me until dinner started.” Whip’s tone was accusatory, but it didn’t contain any of the heat that Kat would’ve expected from her earlier behavior. Evidently, she’d cooled down a little bit after eating six courses of quail eggs, roe, and God knows what.
“I was paying attention to you,” Kat replied. “You know that I can keep track of you with my hearing if you’re anywhere within a hundred or so paces. If anyone attacked you I would’ve been able to respond within a matter of seconds.”
“That wasn’t what I meant, Kat. You spent the entire time talking with other people. We only danced together like twice.”
Kat blinked. It was as if she had been teleported out into the center of a lake after a brief freeze, ice creaking and groaning under her.
“This is a business event, not anything fun,” Kat whispered back. “I had to spend my time shaking hands and making backroom deals. You know that I like dancing with you. We should set some time aside just for that, it sounds like fun.”
“Sure,” Whip said, unconvinced. “That would be nice. I still don’t see why you had to let Belle drape herself all over you. I’m pretty sure that doesn’t fall under the heading of networking.”
“What did you expect me to do?” Kat asked uncertainly, “brush her off? She’s one of the most important women in the world and it’s her wedding. I don’t know a lot about social niceties, but that seems a bit rude, even for me.”
Whippoorwill didn’t reply.
“Come on Whip,” Kat pressed, her voice softening a little. “I wasn’t exactly in my element tonight either. I might have money and power now, but these sorts of events still feel like I’m a fish that someone tossed onto the beach. I’m just flopping around, out of my depth while I try and make sense of a confusing world.”
“I know,” Whip said with a sigh. “I am too. It’s just-”
“It’s just that you’re at your wits end and it’s making you a little jumpy,” Kat replied, eyes tracking Belle as she bid farewell to a couple of the more senior executives working under her. “I was the same way until I started thinking of these sorts of events as infiltration jobs. It’s the same mix of uncertainty, nerves, and danger. I might not get shot if I slip up, but it feels like every smiling face is a different trap, just waiting for me to make a mistake.”
“You’re right,” Whippoorwill half-mumbled. “I was just under a lot of stress and let myself get worked up when I saw Belle grab ahold of you. I would say that it won’t happen again, but we both know that it will at some point. It’s hard to date someone as famous as you.”
“It just feels like everyone wants to be with you,” she continued. Kat could practically see the blood rushing to her girlfriend’s cheeks even though she was still watching the wedding attendees file out of the venue. One of the final guests to leave stopped, and it turned to look directly at Kat. The young woman’s hair was dyed blue, hardly a normal occurrence in executive circles. Beyond that, there was something about her, from her tense corded muscles to the aura of barely restrained violence that was draped over her like a coat that just didn’t fit with the rest of the scene.
“I’m just a girl from the streets Kat,” Whippoorwill said quietly. “I’ve gone through a crash course learning about fancy society and its rules, but that’s only reinforced what I already knew. That you could do so much better than me with a snap of your fingers. I know that I’m just being insecure, but-”
Kat turned around, dismissing the out of place attendee as she focused her attention on Whippoorwill. All she could see was pink hair. Whip was looking down at her feet, shoulders slumped forward as she fidgeted.
“You know I’m not like that,” Kat reassured her, “and I know I’m not like that. It just isn’t who I am or what I want. You’ve been there for me since the beginning. I’ve learned to trust your instincts with my life. That’s what I want in a partner. Not someone with a hundred thousand cred plastic surgery bill sponsoring their perfect smile. That stuff creeps me out.”
Whippoorwill chuckled, finally looking up to meet Kat’s gaze. There was still some nervousness there, but she gave Kat a quick smile.
“Thanks,” Whip practically whispered.
“Now,” she continued, her voice shifting into a normal tone. “Can we talk about something less embarrassing than me being an insecure, soppy mess? How did the conversation with Belle go?”
Kat glanced over at the rest of the shareholder table. Dorrik had practically pinned Daniels down, and the lokkel was quizzing him on some of the latest Chrome Cowboys episodes. Apparently he was trying to get details from Blake about how a plot arc involving an upcoming MechaTrain heist would end.
To the other side, Iris, Jasper and Emma were talking about some gossip that Kat couldn’t force herself to care about. The back of Jasper’s head glinted silver from where his cyber surgeons had repaired the damage from his kidnapping. Kat wasn’t entirely sure what kind of chrome they had installed while they were working on him, but she was sure that Jasper had some modifications done.
Neither group looked like it was paying a lot of attention to the two of them.
“I think we’ve been here long enough,” Kat said, tossing Whippoorwill a half smile. “Let’s say our goodbyes to Shareholder Donnst and head home. Emma already said she was going to take off some time to catch up with Jasper and Iris. God knows we’ve been working her hard enough. She’s earned a couple of days off. Plus, that will give her a chance to pass on some of the information about the laboratory’s supply issues.”
The two of them started walking toward where Belle was bidding her guests farewell.
“How did talks with Belle go?” Whipporwill asked. “I’m assuming we have the Donnst family’s support, but what does that support look like? Hopefully we’re getting something more than lip service in exchange for our financial ties.”
“I think we made a lot of progress,” Kat answered. “Obviously she’s doing her best to track down the people who are targeting us, but that’s a longer term proposition. Right now she’s agreed to take on the lead for building enrichment facilities. Belle pointed out that we can’t put this genie back in its bottle. Once the rest of the corporations see us respond with force to someone buying up the isotopes, they’re going to realize that we need them. That’ll be like blood in the water. Then it won’t just be one or two corps coming after us, it will be all of them.”
“Do you really think that the rest of the corporations will be willing to work together to target GroCorp?” Whip questioned. “As much as they hate us and resent the amount of money we’re making from the stallesp research, they hate each other even more. Getting any two companies to cooperate is a miracle. Getting six or seven to align? Milton Friedman himself couldn’t make that happen.”
“I’m not sure that all of them will want to destroy GroCorp and grind us into dust,” Kat replied, with a chuckle. “For most of them, the goal will be to knock us on our back foot and then try to wring as many credits out of us as possible when they offer a hand to help us back up. NeoSyne might be willing to press the issue into an all out war, but for everyone else they will just try and erode our political power and secure some financial advantage out of the situation. Still, creating new refineries and enrichment centers isn’t a bad idea.”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“What about mutual-defense agreements?” Whip asked. “Will the Donnsts be working with us to try and expand our security forces?”
“It didn’t come up,” Kat responded, “We might have an alliance with Belle, but actually working with her to arm and train my personal security is a level of trust that I don’t really share with her. Jasper? I’ve saved his life a couple of times and he’s as trustworthy as anyone at the shareholder or executive level. He doesn’t always get it right, but the boy has the spirit. Jasper knows the value of loyalty and friendship.”
“Now that you put it that way,” Whip said dryly. “It doesn’t seem like it would be a good idea to work with Belle on defense. It’s literally hard to think of using her name and the word loyalty in the same sentence. Just trying almost short circuited my brain.”
“Frankly,” Kat replied with a half shrug, “I think that Belle would be insulted if I suggested cooperation on that level. It would blur the lines of a healthy economic relationship in a naive attempt to turn that alliance into something more.”
“I bet she’s already increased her faction’s security budget though,” Whippoorwill responded. “The minute it looked like there was someone plotting against us, she probably started making exactly the same preparations we have.”
“Exactly,” Kat agreed. “Our opponent seems content to hide in the dark. That stops us from pursuing them directly, but it also means that they can’t act quickly either.”
“So we have time to fix our logistical and defense problems before the rest of the world finds out that they exist,” Whip replied, nodding. “Those factories won’t be worth much without our hybrid tech production lines, so having Belle build them means that she’s almost completely financially interdependent with us. Without her refineries we can’t make advanced products, but without our production methods, she loses millions if not billions of credits.”
“Exactly,” Kat said with a smile. “See, I don’t just date you for your good looks and stellar computer skills. I’m after you for your mind too.”
Whippoorwill’s reply was a snort, but Kat could see the ghost of a smile curving her lips.
“I’m smart enough to know when you’re trying to use flattery to redirect my insecurities,” Whip responded playfully.
Kat smiled back.
“Well Whip, is it working?”
Whippoorwill’s laugh was as clear as windchimes on a spring day, a grand departure from the heavy and pretentious string orchestra that had been playing for the last five hours straight.
“Yes,” She replied, tossing her hair as she took a step ahead of Kat and led the way to where Belle was holding court. “But I don’t want to give you any satisfaction so I’m going to pretend to be upset until you placate me properly. I expect a dinner date out of you, and not anything made by your chef. It needs to be something you made yourself or it doesn’t count.”
Kat practically choked, only managing a sputtering noise that drew a quick mischievous smile, tossed by Whippoorwill over her shoulder as she slipped past the throng of well-wishers to extend a hand to Belle.
“Shareholder Donnst.” Whippoorwill's voice was bright and cheerful. A far cry from the indecision and anxiety of earlier. Kat felt her step lighten a bit. Whip might not have been able to completely abandon the worries that were plaguing her, but it sure looked like she’d made a lot of progress.
The whispers of Belle’s hanger-ons sounded like they were right in Kat’s ear. It was almost harder to tune them out than it was to make out every word that the stuffy and overdressed employees were saying.
“-who’s that?”
“-pink hair? How gauche”
“-Debs’ consort.’
“Sshhh, not so loud she’s a player and favors the girl.”
Kat winced. Half of the crowd surrounding Belle had turned to look at Kat, a mixture of fear and greed on their faces. To them, she was barely a person, more the avatar of GroCorp with the power to make or unmake them with the blink of an eye.
“Ah!” Belle remarked, promptly ignoring the senior executive that had just been lavishing her with praise on how her husbands complimented her dress and hair. “Miss Whippoorwill and Shareholder Debs, leaving so soon?”
“We had a great time,” Whip replied, “but we need to get going. Our security team has a travel window for us where the streets of Chiwaukee will be cleared for our motorcade. If we miss it, getting a new one will be a giant hassle.”
“A shame, truly,” Belle said with a click of her tongue. “I’m sure that I could organize another traffic window, but I wouldn’t want to intrude.”
Kat stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Whip as she extended a hand to Belle. Belle returned the gesture.
“It was a pleasure being her for your special day,” she said, shaking the older woman’s hand. “I’d love to stay longer, but I have plans to hatch and profit to earn.”
“Alas,” Belle replied, “profit rules all. It was wonderful having you and Miss Whippoorwill. I will be sure to invite you to my next wedding as well. I already have my eye on a couple recent academy graduates so it will probably be sooner rather than later.”
Kat managed to keep her face calm over the internal screaming and shuddering that was her instinctive response to Belle’s cheerful comment.
“Until next time then,” she said with a smile, turning to link arms with Whippoorwill and lead her toward the waiting coat rooms and armored parking structure.
“See,” Kat said in a teasing tone once they entered the hallway that led to the coat rooms. “That wasn’t so bad once you started being proactive about it. Belle might be the type to stab you in the back with a smile, but she’ll always be polite to your face. You have to watch what you say around her, but honestly these sorts of events are much better with someone like her than the jackals on the board of directors.”
There were still a couple people milling around the hallway, gossiping about various vid stars and salacious dalliances between members of the executive class. An idle urge made Kat look for the woman with blue hair that had locked eyes with her earlier, but she was long gone.
“Belle still makes my skin crawl,” Whippoorwill replied, shuddering slightly. “It’s like shaking hands with a hungry predator. She’s perfectly in control of herself and the situation, but it’s readily obvious to everyone involved that she’d tear you apart in an instant if it benefitted her to do so.”
“And yes,” Whip continued dryly. “I know she’s recording this conversation right now. She’d be a fool not to, and Belle is far from a fool. I’m sure she’ll take what I said as a compliment.”
Kat chuckled, walking past a trio of attendees that suddenly went silent as they recognized her. She fished into her purse, pushing aside the knife she’d been allowed to carry into the festivities due to her station as she looked for the circular token that would let the two of them into their coat room as she replied.
“I wouldn’t be entirely sure about the Shareholder being entirely unfeeling. It’s true that profit is the main thing that drives her, and I’m pretty sure that she’s more interested in intrigue than she is in either of those nice young gentlemen she married today, but underneath it all I get the feeling that she isn’t entirely unmoved. Outwardly,Belle’s as dismissive of loyalty and bonds of trust as ever, but I suspect she’s starting to rethink things a little bit. She knows that we can be counted on, and that we consider her an important part of our coalition, but she’s lived a life of nothing but plotting and backstabbing so processing that is a bit hard for her. I might be wrong, but I think she’s starting to crack a little bit around the edges, at least where I’m concerned.”
“That sounds a bit dubious to me,” Whippoorwill said, crossing her arms as she leaned against a wall. “A leopard doesn’t change its stripes.”
“Leopards don’t have-” Kat began. A quiet click and a hiss, all but inaudible under ordinary circumstances and utterly impossible to detect with the chatter and music in the background, was her only warning.
Almost of its own accord, Pseudopod sprouted from her stomach, wrapping itself around Whip and jerking her along with Kat as she threw herself away from the room. Reality seemed to blink and flicker along with her as Kat cast Shadow, giving herself a target for Shadow Step as she teleported some five or six paces away.
Kat could feel the spell and ability struggling as she tried to drag Whip with her, and she bit her lower lip, using the pain as a focus to guide her mana and stamina. It felt like she ran a marathon in the blink of an eye, but she managed. Kat’s body was screaming for breath even as she kept her mouth sealed shut, even as she sprinted toward the end of the hallway.
Behind her, with sinister clarity, she could hear the gagging and thumps as the guests she’d just walked past fell to the floor.
Another casting of Shadow, and another jump from the movement spell, and Kat was almost tapped out as she burst out of the hallway and into the carpark beyond. She dropped to her knees, gasping for breath even as she rasped at the startled guards.
“Close and seal the door. Gas attack.”
None of the security officers argued with her. One slammed his fist on a button next to the door and it hissed shut even as loud alarms filled the entire facility. Another two drew their weapons, stepping out into the parking garage and scanning the luxury armored vehicles, looking for another threat.
Nothing came.
A hand reached down to help her up, and Kat looked up into Whippoorwill’s frightened eyes. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Kat could hear her girlfriend’s heart beating like a hummingbird’s wings, but other than that there was no other sign of physical harm.
She exhaled shakily, adrenaline starting to drain from her system now that the immediate danger had passed. Around her the guards were on high alert, patrolling the garage and checking each car one at a time, but Kat barely noticed.
Whip was safe, and that was all that really mattered.
“Next time,” Whippoorwill said, her voice still a bit unsteady, but leveling out rapidly. “Next time you convince me to go to one of these things I’m putting my foot down. I’m not coming unless they let me bring a God forsaken gun.”