Other Places 3: Detours (6 page)

He
nodded.

"Yeah,
that too, for a lot of them. Not all, but asking probably won't be a problem
for anyone. Still, remember to shop too. And actually read the books, or what's
the point in having them, right?"

That
got a giggle, as if it were both a joke and actually funny, even if it was
neither one, and the woman faded off, without even getting his number or
anything. That probably meant she was too content, sexually, at the moment to
be bothered with him. Not once assured that she might have a chance with
someone else there.

The
rest of the morning went a bit like that, with his two Alede being busy enough
that he had to buy time for them to shower in the break room. He was planning
to use the one at home for that, if he could, because it made sense, having a
house. It made a lot more sense suddenly as to why they'd wanted one put in
there though. It wasn't until noon that he managed to get Kaitlyn and Claudia
out at the same time.

They
both seemed...

Really
happy. Almost
as if they were on drugs. Sexy, sexy drugs.

"Lunch
time, at least for me. We have people coming in at four and I have a pick-up
and delivery to the Ettarian lands for that. New co-workers coming in for
orientation. I want you both around for that, if possible, so make sure to time
things correctly. Also, can one of you, at least, make sure to hold here for a
bit? I'm going to have to eat in my office, so that I don't scare anyone."
He watched both women, but Kait reached out and touched his arm gently. Just on
the sleeve of his black sweater.

"We
can do that. This is... A great first day. I wasn't even sure that we'd have
sales, much less friends already. We'll make sure we're around for work too. We
might want to bulk up the staff, at this rate." She seemed pleased enough
with that, and gave him a look that seemed to indicate she was ready for a lot
more of what she'd been doing, earlier.

Instead
she got to run his lunch order back to Palma, who at least had some things
ready for him. It was all very good, though off the menu of the Cafe, since it
was only the first day and she'd flat out told him that she wanted to test some
things out. Eating it all took about half an hour, and there was a lot more
cramming of food into his face than he was comfortable with. On the good side,
he wasn't hungry by the time he was done at all. He normally was and would be
again soon, but it was like he was starting to catch up just a bit. Finally.

He
went over to the shower area for a quick clean up, to find Claudia standing
there nude, with a bit of glistening going down her thighs. She was, like all
her kind, very attractive, but he managed to ignore her long enough to wash his
hands and face. He'd managed, mainly by consuming the food so fast it couldn't
fall on his front, to keep himself decently clean that way, but he still felt
better after he got done. The succubus cocked her hips at him, pushing her
pubic hair, which was red, he noticed, in his direction.

"Want
a quickie?"

Zack
was tempted, of course. It was what her kind did, after all. Not that having
sex with him would do a lot for her. He wasn't food after all. He shook his
head a little sadly, since it really would cause problems, with Kaitlyn, if he
did that.

"Thanks,
but I need to get back to work right now. Are you liking things so far?"

"Oh...
It's not so bad. For a first day. Better than a woman's clothing store. At this
rate we really are going to need to cycle the others through here. Especially
if you're staying open all night. I have a few people lined up for that, but
not for a few days. Is that all right? I probably won't need to sleep, if you
need me here?"

He
shrugged.

"I
don't really know. Can I have you on call? I kind of think that nighttime will
be
my
daily rush, really. So, it would be good to have someone around to
actually man the store part of things. Palma gets nights off too, so we need
someone to work in there. I can cook a little, but I've never done that kind of
work. Well, it's a learning process, right?"

She
smiled and turned back toward the shower, which didn't have a door on it, since
the Alede all liked space, more than privacy. She started to wash again, a bit
of steam coming from the red tile of the floor. Her pale behind was...

Zack
smiled and left, before he got too interested. He really needed to get with his
girlfriend, if things like that were going to keep happening.

'Or,
you know, bang those hot chicks that work for you? They're freaking
succubi
,
and you're their boss. If you don't do them each half a dozen times a week,
they probably won't feel loved. I do agree, you should bang Kaitlyn there
first. Or Kyle, since I know how you love the cock.' Then, almost as if he
realized it was a mistake, MH, for about the tenth time in fifteen years,
actually shut up.

That
was smart, since Kyle, who was Kait's male form, was
more
than willing
to oblige, and Zack, even though not into guys as a rule, could
make
himself interested, just to spite his alter ego, if he had to, now. Really,
he'd probably do that anyway, just to make sure he wasn't all hung up about
sex. It was hard to remember that being a Greater Demon meant he didn't have
the same rules to play by as other people. He didn't even have to be a guy, if
he didn't want to. Or at least that was a thing that he'd seen other Greater
Demons manage to pull off. One of them at least.

His
father.

He'd
gotten close by pretending to be an Alede, and actually pulled it off so well
that her own family hadn't known there was a difference. Judy Swan. Kaitlyn's
Grandmother, even though half the time she went by Fargo, which was, he knew
now, not an uncommon thing for Alede to do. They all had about a half dozen
different identities lined up, since they lived a lot longer than Humans, and
didn't age really. He'd noticed the name change at the time, but had met
Valerie and Kait as Fargo, then
Swanson
.

It
was strange and weird, but Hiram was Jennifer's Uncle and had the same last
name, even though his sister was the girl's mom. That was a matrilineal thing,
Zack knew. Lisa had explained it to him, once upon a time.

Thinking
of her was too hard, at the moment, so he didn't and just worked the store
again, running back to make certain his chef was taken care of and happy, which
she seemed to really be, and then selling things to people that he subtly
blackmailed into it, after they had sex. It was mainly older men, but some
younger ones and a few women. He kind of thought that they were stealing
customers from the plus sized women's clothing store across the way, in those
cases. Hopefully not in a territory invading way.

The
Alede weren't violent, or even catty, as a rule, but the one time they'd go
after each other, other than normal personal squabbles like anyone else, was if
they felt their food was being poached. They were pretty good about holding
that to other Alede, but it was really why he couldn't just have sex with all
of them. Kaitlyn had, apparently, called "dibs" on him, and that
meant she'd at least scream at any of the others that did anything with him
that deprived her of energy.

Functionally,
if he had it right, he could do her in the morning, and then all her friends,
for the rest of the day, as long as the next time he had real energy, he had
sex with her first. It was too complicated for him, and really, while as much
of a horn-dog as anyone else his age, he knew it was probably better to go
carefully with that kind of thing. Having the women, or eventually, men, bring
in business was probably more important to him than getting his rocks off
constantly. Or not. That remained to be seen. He wanted the book store to pull
its own weight, and really wasn't doing that well with the travel side of
things yet. The one thing he'd managed to do so far involved setting up a
meeting for a teenage girl that would probably spend the whole time stammering,
instead of presenting herself well.

That
was his job though, wasn't it? Arranging for his friend to do well. How he was
supposed to pull that off, he didn't know, except that as he thought about it,
a lot of ideas actually came to him. From
outside
of himself. It was a
powerful rush of information, since it was a pretty big field. He could control
the girl's mind, or replace her with a doppelganger, meant to impress the
people coming. Warning her would work too, if he did it right. Calling her
first would just make her tense, but a bit of talking to her before he
introduced everyone would give her an edge. Possibly.

Not
that it was really important. Jen just had to show up, and manage to shake
hands, so it wasn't a hard job for the day. It was mainly going to be about
learning to use the register, since the computer system was hooked up to it and
they had to use a code to get into the drawer. They were pretty simple things,
but it took explaining to get the idea.

The
rest of the day didn't go fast, for all that it was new and shiny to him. At
about one, surprisingly, a man came in, who was barely human looking at all,
being blocky and square seeming. He made his way directly to the cafe, so Zack
didn't think about it, since the smell of the food was good enough, and it was
just possible the man was there for free food, if he worked at the mall
someplace. Zack hadn't met everyone, after all. So he didn't think about it for
a few minutes.

Until
Palma walked up and bowed to him.

"Sir?
This is Lars Colson. He's an old colleague of mine, from a position I held some
time ago." Then she stopped, clearly wondering how to get to the next
part.

Zack
didn't know what the man wanted, and didn't really feel like trying to read his
mind at the moment. He could do that, but the man simply bowed, seeming nervous,
but willing to speak, if with a thick accent.

"Line
Walker, I would go to the lands of my people. It is far, far. Can go I to the
place of these? Funds I have, and all will give, for this. I go home now, and
need it not."

Zack
noticed the case he had, which was a pretty normal looking briefcase, done in
decently nice black leather. The man saw him looking and handed it over.
Without even getting confirmation. Zack didn't bother to look, since it was
clear what the man meant. He was leaving anyway, so was willing to pass all he
had over for passage back home.

It
might not be easy to get him there though, at least if the man was right.

Zack
nodded, "let's do it? We can try at least. If you don't get there, I won't
charge you."

It
took all of three minutes. Most of that involved waiting with him at the almost
abandoned node on the far side, so that they could make certain he was in the
right place. It was in a light blue forest, and the place had two moons in the
sky, along with the sun. Two regular moons, like the one outside his door at
night.

It
clearly wasn't Kansas.

The
man had people out, about the time Zack was ready to go, but none of them
seemed to want to talk to him. They were all of a type though. Stocky, but not
short, and with slightly dusky skin. Human, at least as far as he could tell. Mainly
dressed in loose trousers that looked homemade, and tunics. He thought that was
what they were called at least.

Then,
as the information hit him, he suddenly knew a whole lot about clothing, as
useful as that no doubt would be. He even knew how to do the hand stitching
that was used, and that it was different from the ones that most people would
have used.

They
didn't smile at him, or ask for him to stay and have a snack, so he waved and
left. Just in time for the next fare to show up.

This
was a small family, that really didn't have enough of anything to pay for it.
The woman had a daughter with her and was clearly in charge of the small man
that stood behind her, seeming shy. They all had an Asian cast to them, and
wanted to go and see her father, who was dying. In Mainland China. The problem
there wasn't that they couldn't afford a plane flight, but that the government
wasn't wild about her going back there at all. She was sort of in exile, so the
only way to get back in time would be to go around the rules a bit.

She
bowed a lot, once they were in the back room, and got onto her knees, her hands
going to his pant front instantly, right in front of her husband, who looked
away, ashamed, and her daughter, who just seemed curious. Zack rolled his eyes,
since he wasn't
that
cheap. He stood back and waved her up. The contact
with her told him enough, at least. She was roughly a Human Mage, but not of
the Western kind. Her father was a herbologist, like master Wu-Li, there at
Westfield. Why he was dying...

Well,
that was because he was old and didn't have access to the herbs he needed. The
government had made certain he was cut off, suspecting what he was.

"Come
with me." Zack didn't wait, and her face fell, with tears coming to her
eyes, since it was also clear she had nothing else to pay him with, if not her
body.

She
just seemed baffled when he took her to Wu-Li and waved in her direction.

"Can
we buy some supplies from you?"