make it a lot easier to recruit them and get
information if you would…”
Benny looked appalled. “I’m not wearing a rubber alien suit on that show!”
Fortune hooted. “Come on, boy. I’ve
seen some of your Spring Break movies. We’ve already established what you are;
now you’re just quibbling about the price.”
Benny blushed, causing Jez to step
in, “Not that show per se . You could narrate another PBS show about
space exploration, make it popular. Go to a few of the conventions. We just
want people to associate your name with the concept of space exploration. You
could even have a booth for your charity there.”
Benny got an evil look in his eye. “I’ll
go to one of those conventions, but you’ve got to be right there, by my side…”
“Sure.”
“…dressed in the femdroid costume.
I have to look the part.”
It was Jezebel’s turn to blush, hem,
and haw. The men at the table eventually razzed and prodded her into the
sacrifice for the team. “Fine, but I’ll need a week’s warning.”
Benny immediately ordered one of
the skin-tight costumes in her size from the studio.
****
The group made considerable
progress toward their reforms. The workout that Crusader provided left Jezebel
black and blue. He pioneered a new technique for their group: defend, analyze
the opponent’s style, and then strike the hole. After several painful
demonstrations, Jez was able to use Simplification to counterattack in a
similar manner. However, she cheated to get the first blow. When she was ready,
she casually asked, “Find any more serial killers?”
Her surprise kick doubled Crusader
over. Once he recovered, he bowed and said, “Now you just need to spar with my
men till you can beat two attackers.”
From the success of her attack, Jez
inferred that he was still looking for aberrant criminals, but without official
sanction. She used her sleight-of-hand training to snatch and bag one of his
sweatbands-just in case Oobie had to track him down later. For good measure,
she sent Trench Coat a discreet e-mail asking him to keep an eye out for
extra-curricular, crime-fighting activities.
****
During her frantic two hours of
packing before her recruiting flight to Paris, Jez went over the basics of
Daniel’s nightly routine with Nena in their shared living room. The girl was
good with written instructions, but with verbal instructions more than a few
hours old, she sometimes needed a reminder. “Remember, check his monitors once
a minute during your shift and make sure he works out every afternoon. You
might have to stroke his ego a few times to keep him exercising.”
The girl waved her advice away. She
needed no help bending men to her will. Nena wanted to talk more about the
mission. “You just started in this job and now you’re practically running the
place.”
Jez snorted in amusement as she
stuffed clothes and an encrypted laptop into her second suitcase. “That’s like
saying the fox runs the hunt.”
“Everybody’s talking about your
promotion. People who don’t gush about you are terrified of you. What’s your
secret? Did you sleep with Mr. Hollis?”
“No,” Jez replied instantly. She
wanted to say, And you won’t either . Instead, the older woman paused to
consider. She had learned to do this with every important question to avoid
sharing too much. “I know where we have to be in five years to survive; the
rest of them are just playing spy.”
Chapter 13 – First Class Offers
The first-class, commercial flight to Paris was a rare treat
for Jezebel. The handsome, young man in the seat next to her introduced himself
as Gerard, a psychologist on his way to give a lecture on sexual practices and
their influence on the Japanese and French aristocracy. Although the stewardess
offered samples of several fine, French wines and Gerard pressed her to try
some of his, she refused. Over five-star cuisine, they had several intriguing
conversations. Slide fifty-seven from his
information if you would…”
Benny looked appalled. “I’m not wearing a rubber alien suit on that show!”
Fortune hooted. “Come on, boy. I’ve
seen some of your Spring Break movies. We’ve already established what you are;
now you’re just quibbling about the price.”
Benny blushed, causing Jez to step
in, “Not that show per se . You could narrate another PBS show about
space exploration, make it popular. Go to a few of the conventions. We just
want people to associate your name with the concept of space exploration. You
could even have a booth for your charity there.”
Benny got an evil look in his eye. “I’ll
go to one of those conventions, but you’ve got to be right there, by my side…”
“Sure.”
“…dressed in the femdroid costume.
I have to look the part.”
It was Jezebel’s turn to blush, hem,
and haw. The men at the table eventually razzed and prodded her into the
sacrifice for the team. “Fine, but I’ll need a week’s warning.”
Benny immediately ordered one of
the skin-tight costumes in her size from the studio.
****
The group made considerable
progress toward their reforms. The workout that Crusader provided left Jezebel
black and blue. He pioneered a new technique for their group: defend, analyze
the opponent’s style, and then strike the hole. After several painful
demonstrations, Jez was able to use Simplification to counterattack in a
similar manner. However, she cheated to get the first blow. When she was ready,
she casually asked, “Find any more serial killers?”
Her surprise kick doubled Crusader
over. Once he recovered, he bowed and said, “Now you just need to spar with my
men till you can beat two attackers.”
From the success of her attack, Jez
inferred that he was still looking for aberrant criminals, but without official
sanction. She used her sleight-of-hand training to snatch and bag one of his
sweatbands-just in case Oobie had to track him down later. For good measure,
she sent Trench Coat a discreet e-mail asking him to keep an eye out for
extra-curricular, crime-fighting activities.
****
During her frantic two hours of
packing before her recruiting flight to Paris, Jez went over the basics of
Daniel’s nightly routine with Nena in their shared living room. The girl was
good with written instructions, but with verbal instructions more than a few
hours old, she sometimes needed a reminder. “Remember, check his monitors once
a minute during your shift and make sure he works out every afternoon. You
might have to stroke his ego a few times to keep him exercising.”
The girl waved her advice away. She
needed no help bending men to her will. Nena wanted to talk more about the
mission. “You just started in this job and now you’re practically running the
place.”
Jez snorted in amusement as she
stuffed clothes and an encrypted laptop into her second suitcase. “That’s like
saying the fox runs the hunt.”
“Everybody’s talking about your
promotion. People who don’t gush about you are terrified of you. What’s your
secret? Did you sleep with Mr. Hollis?”
“No,” Jez replied instantly. She
wanted to say, And you won’t either . Instead, the older woman paused to
consider. She had learned to do this with every important question to avoid
sharing too much. “I know where we have to be in five years to survive; the
rest of them are just playing spy.”
Chapter 13 – First Class Offers
The first-class, commercial flight to Paris was a rare treat
for Jezebel. The handsome, young man in the seat next to her introduced himself
as Gerard, a psychologist on his way to give a lecture on sexual practices and
their influence on the Japanese and French aristocracy. Although the stewardess
offered samples of several fine, French wines and Gerard pressed her to try
some of his, she refused. Over five-star cuisine, they had several intriguing
conversations. Slide fifty-seven from his
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