LOGAN (The Innerworld Affairs Series, Book 5) (27 page)

Though all the nurses had been required to take extensive math and science courses, Sunny and Trish had excelled in those subjects. They were paired with Edward smith, the flight navigator and Jeremy Fleischer, the copilot, who had been working on his doctorate in nuclear physics prior to being drafted.

Darcy, who had been the office manager for a successful group of doctors, prided herself on her efficiency and organizational ability. It seemed appropriate for her to team up with Hal Becket, whose background was business and accounting, since a budget had to be strictly adhered to.

From the balance of the list, they selected three other men—Thomas Jefferson/T.J. Jones, Greg Oliver and Kevin Atchinson. Like Logan they were career soldiers, trained in weapons, experienced at fighting enemies, both seen and unseen, accustomed to following orders and familiar with bloodshed. They shared those qualifications with a lot of other men, but the remaining women chose them for a variety of personal reasons.

Tarla didn't need to use her intuition to see what was coming. One by one the women rejected Logan as a roommate and chose one of the others. Though he had done nothing negative the last few days, his criminal record and dangerous aura were simply too problematic to overcome. T.J. was another hard case, a young black man with a cocky attitude, but Lee felt she could handle and, possibly, offer him some much needed direction. Then Mandy and Charlene opted for Greg and Kevin, strictly based on attraction.

That left Logan.

And Tarla.

At dinner, the ten men were asked to join the women for a meeting in the barn. Tarla repeated everything previously told to Geoffrey and Logan before announcing how everyone was to be paired off. Throughout her speech and the subsequent questions and answers, Logan's gaze stayed fixed on her. Without looking at him, she had no doubt that he had already guessed who he would be living with for the next year.

"How did you know?" Tarla asked after the pairs were named and she caught the smirk on his face.

"Simple deduction. Being such a nice girl, you would have let everyone else pick first, and none of them would want to live with me. You don't either, but you had no choice."

"It isn't that—"

"Don't bother," he murmured, cutting off her attempt to deny the truth of his words. "I'm like the fat kid in the neighborhood. Always the last one to get picked in a game, but at least I still get to play. Don't worry. You're perfectly safe with me. I only assault and murder men... not women. And as long as no one's pumping me full of drugs, I can promise to keep my hands off you. I assume you can make the same guarantee to me."

Tarla had a smart retort in mind but she didn't get the chance to deliver it.

"Now comes the hard part," Geoffrey declared after each pair had shared a few words. "We have to tell everyone else what's going on and convince them to be patient while we fulfill our part of the bargain. I'm placing Gianni in charge of keeping the peace. He can choose whoever he wants to help him."

"What about Nadia?" Tarla asked. "Willy said she tried to escape while we were gone."

"That's right," Geoffrey replied. "But she's no longer our hostage. She's a prisoner on this farm. It's up to her people to keep her here now, not us. However, I'll take the control box with me just to make sure no one, including her, can leave too easily."

As predicted, there were a lot of unhappy men after they heard the details of the agreement. Naturally, Wilkes and his pals were the loudest and nastiest. But even they didn't match the fury that erupted from Nadia when she read the formal decree from Parisia that sentenced her to five years in the commune. It was decided to keep her restrained until she calmed down, or at least until the group of twenty left the farm.

Gianni understood he had quite a job ahead of him but he believed he and a few others could manage, especially since the major was leaving Nadia's paralyzer in his possession. Nevertheless, he considered telling everyone it was safe to go back to drinking the water again.

Parisia and Iris had set the rendezvous for midnight and had given Tarla a brooch with a timepiece in it. They thought it would be best to get the Earth people settled in when the least number of residents would take notice.

By the last hour of the day, most of the hostilities and envy died down and farewells were said. The couples took nothing into the tack room with them other than the clothes they were wearing, since they had been told everything would be provided. Moments after they all filed into the tack room and bolted the door, the back wall opened.

"Welcome back," Parisia said to Tarla with a pleasant smile. On her right stood Iris with her fixed expression of worry, on her left was a younger, slightly taller version of herself. Behind them was a long, empty hallway. "Let's go to a more spacious area for our introductions." The Heart women turned and led the group down the hallway to a vacant room that appeared to be the one they had awakened in before.

The first thing Tarla noticed after they entered the room was that Parisia and Iris kept their gazes away from the men, but the other young woman kept sneaking peeks at them. She appeared to be both curious and fearful.

Parisia introduced herself and Iris first. "And this is my First Aide, Brianne, who also happens to be my daughter. She has volunteered to act as liaison and advisor for your group so that your integration will be as smooth as possible. Tarla, if you'd be so kind as to provide each person's field of expertise with your introductions, it would be appreciated."

Tarla ran through the roster, embellishing the men's capabilities to justify their questionable presence. From the relieved looks on the Heart women's faces, her additional effort had been sorely needed.

"Thank you, Tarla," Parisia said. "We're pleased you have agreed to help us. The first order of business is to get you settled in your new accommodations. You'll be in a temporary-stay facility close to the Imperial Palace and Parliament. Normally it is filled with visiting dignitaries, but an entire delegation returned to their home province yesterday after the special meeting of Parliament. Among the units they vacated were six one-bedroom and two two-bedroom apartments, which Brianne immediately leased for your group. Conveniently, there is a large meeting room on the top floor that has also been leased for your work area."

Logan leaned down and murmured into Tarla's ear, "Six plus four equals ten bedrooms. Where are the servants' quarters?"

Iris's nostrils flared as she inhaled sharply. Looking only at Tarla, she said, "Your houseman will be forgiven this time but be certain he and the others are aware of our laws in the future." Though she kept her gaze on Tarla, she summarized the most important rules for the men to obey without question. "A man never speaks unless spoken to first by a woman, nor does he look directly at any part of her form. A man never makes physical contact with a woman, no matter how slight. There should always be a minimum of one arm's length between a man and a woman, unless he is in the process of performing a requested service."

"Do we have to walk two steps behind them too?" T.J. asked sarcastically.

Lee swiftly pinched a muscle at the base of his neck, making him wince in pain. "Not so funny anymore, is it, wise-ass? Get this through your thick macho heads, boys. This is no joke. You ever want to see blue sky again, you play along the way we've been told. If that means you bite your tongue and walk two steps behind us, you do it. Got it?" She waited for a jerky nod from T.J. before she released him. To Parisia and Iris, she said, "I sincerely apologize for the impertinence of my stupid houseman. He'll improve quickly, I promise you."

Tarla thought Brianne's eyes were going to pop out of her head for a moment, but she got her shock under control when her mother started to speak again.

"With regard to the apartments, even though you may be somewhat crowded, we felt it was better to have you all in one confined area rather than scattered throughout the city. As it is, people will be watching you every chance they get for a while. It would be in everyone's best interest not to give them too many opportunities to find fault.

"There's a shuttle waiting to take you to the facility. Brianne will escort you and fill you in on the essentials along the way. We wish you good luck and good night." Parisia and Iris left the room and headed in one direction, as Brianne led the group in another.

Tarla sensed the woman's anxiety. Moving up beside Brianne, she murmured, "There's nothing to worry about. We train easily and hardly ever bite our caretakers."

Brianne's eyes opened wide again before realizing Tarla was teasing her. "This is not the sort of thing I'm usually required to do," she said in a confidential tone. "I'm a little nervous."

"Then you must be able to imagine how we feel."

Those were apparently the right words to say, for Brianne cleared her throat and found the confidence to begin her task a moment later. "As Parisia said, I will be your liaison for the duration. We must insist that you limit your contact with other residents of the city as much as possible."

She stopped the group at the foot of a wide escalator that spiraled upward. "Please watch your balance. These stairs are moving rather swiftly." Brianne stepped on and turned to face the others. When the last man had boarded, she continued, "Your apartments have been stocked with some food and other supplies. Accounts will be established for each woman to purchase goods as needed, including clothing. The entertainment center in each apartment comes equipped with a manager, which can be used to purchase items you require and have them delivered.

"It is our custom to have our housemen go to the market every few days to personally select fresh food, but I was told Earth men are not always skilled in the culinary arts. If that is the case, prepared meals can be ordered for delivery as well. I have been told that your civilization has developed considerably beyond what we provide for those in the commune, but if you have any questions at all, I will be readily available to assist."

By the time they reached the top of the escalator, Tarla estimated they'd gone up at least forty floors. From the last stair they stepped onto a moving walkway. This carried them outside onto a rooftop, which appeared to be a parking lot, though none of the vehicles sitting between the parallel lines were familiar.

Each object looked somewhat like a child's bubble pipe with the stem and bowl sitting on the pavement and a big bubble emerging from the bowl. There were a range of sizes and colors and the bubbles seemed to have been blown in a variety of formations, including an enormous oblong one that turned out to be the shuttle Parisia had mentioned.

Glowing lights lured Tarla to the half-wall at the edge of the roof. Between the artificial illumination and the clear, star-filled sky, she got her first glimpse of the imperial city. A network of narrow silver ribbons wound between and over skyscrapers, which were formed like cylinders, spheres, corkscrews and pyramids. Most of them appeared to be constructed of reflective metal, colored in a rainbow of pastel shades.

A closer look revealed that a few of the bubble pipe objects were zipping along the ribbons. "How do they move?" Tarla asked Brianne with open fascination.

"A system of magnets. It's quiet and completely energy-efficient." Brianne pointed to her right. "You see the building over there, with the golden dome and towers at each corner? That's the Imperial Palace."

"Wow! It looks like the Taj Mahal," Robin said with open admiration.

Brianne directed their gazes to the aqua cylinder next to the palace, which was nearly as high as the structure they were on. "That's Parliament. Your residences are in the section of smaller buildings behind that."

Tarla scanned the faces around her and knew the others were stricken with the same awe she was. Even Logan was unable to maintain his bored expression as he took in the amazing panorama.

"Shall we go?" Brianne asked, clearly pleased that they were impressed by her home.

As they boarded the shuttle, Brianne advised the men that they were required to sit in the rear of the vehicle with at least one row of vacant seats between them and the women in the front.

For the trip down the side of the building, the forward portion of the shuttle raised so the passengers ' seats remained level. Brianne had the conductor take them on a tour of the vicinity so they would have an idea of how to get around. She pointed out the marketplace, shuttle stops, grooming and fitness salons and so on. The swift, silent ride didn't last nearly long enough for Tarla, who undoubtedly felt more
at home
than any of the others, but she reasoned she'd have plenty of time in the coming months to explore every inch of the beautiful city.

The building they were taken to was a salmon-hued, five-story pentagon with a garden courtyard in the center. For expedience, Brianne took the entire group into one apartment to demonstrate anything they might not be familiar with. She was clearly ill at ease as she pointed out how the various pieces in the living room could be rearranged to create beds for the men, repeatedly apologizing about there not being enough private rooms for everyone.

Rather than assign specific pairs to the various apartments, she pointed out where the available units were located and left it to the women to choose.

Kara and Darcy, and Trish and Mandy, resolved part of the decision-making by offering to share the two two-bedroom apartments on the ground floor. Tarla and Robin selected the two units on the top floor by the conference room and the others took the ones in between.