The Gender Game (15 page)

As I moved along the hallway back toward the reception, my fingers reached up to check that my facial hair was all still in place. Now that hard reality had returned to me, I was afraid that I'd gotten too carried away and all that dancing around might have loosened it. Maybe the mustache was slightly less firm than before, but altogether the hair felt okay. Nothing was going to drop off during the time it took me to return to Lee across the road.

As soon as I stepped through the door, I kept my eyes on the ground and hurried forward, not even glancing to the reception desk, though I sensed someone there.

I let out an internal sigh of relief as I reached the main exit. Out of view of the receptionist, I threw caution to the wind and raced up the twisting stairs. But as I turned the corner to climb up the final flight, I almost collided with someone. I staggered back too quickly, and before I could find my footing, I tripped down several steps until my back hit the stairwell wall.

It was Viggo.

Standing in his trench coat and looking more imposing than ever from his elevated position five steps above me, he had stopped in his tracks and was gazing down at me.

What was he doing here? He couldn't have been here for training—his schedule had made no mention of it.

I straightened and averted my eyes to the stairs, attempting to recover and act as though nothing had happened. Indeed, I expected Viggo to also continue descending right past me, but to my horror, he stayed exactly where he was. And when I reached his level, he reached out a hand and gripped my upper arm. I found myself being scrutinized by his hard stare, his face inches away from mine.

Crap.

I stopped breathing as his right hand moved to my face. The next thing I knew, I felt a tug on the skin above my upper lip, and then his hand was drawing away again, clasping my fake mustache between his fingers.

I swore in my head. What were the odds of me getting caught as I left the building? And by Viggo of all people?

Viggo seemed to have a penchant for turning corners at the most unexpected of moments.

His frown deepened. "Would you like to explain this?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

Viggo was one man who definitely had no use for Deepvox.

My mind went into a panic.
What do I tell him?

My angst was hardly helped by my pager going off again. Lee must be wondering where I was.
Dammit
. I was so close to Lee. And yet I was stuck.

As Viggo's eyes lowered to my beard, I realized there was no point in concealing my identity any longer. He seemed to have already detected that my beard was fake, too, and once that came off, there would be nothing to hide the softness of my jawline. He might even recognize my bare lower face. He'd seen me twice already.

As my mind raced for what explanation I could possibly give him, I realized that it ought to just be as close to the truth as possible. That was the best way to lie.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Sorry for what?" His face contorted.

"I-I'm not a man." The words sounded weird coming from my deep throat.

Glancing nervously up and down the stairwell, I gripped one corner of my beard and stripped it off like a piece of wax. Next, I reached for my wig and unclasped it, letting my long hair fall down my shoulders.

All that remained now were my lenses. But Viggo didn't need me to remove those.

"Mrs. Bertrand."

"I'm sorry," I repeated, my voice constricted. "I've been having a tough time getting used to the ways of Patrus. It's hard never being able to roam by myself. I just wanted a little freedom. To roam the city without my husband holding my hand… My husband approved of this. He thought it would help with the transition."

Viggo's eyes widened. "He approved of you masquerading as a male and roaming the city by yourself?"

"How else do you think I got hold of this costume?" I replied. "He gave it to me. But I am
not
by myself," I added quickly. "My husband has been following me around from a distance, to make sure I don't get myself into trouble. He's just on the other street. I can take you to him now if you don't believe me."

"I will have to take you up on that offer," he replied darkly.

Stuffing the facial hair into my right pocket along with my notepad, pager and pen, I moved past Viggo and hurried up the staircase. My pager buzzed again. Lee was getting nervous.

"That's my husband," I explained to Viggo as we surfaced on the road. I pulled out the pager and glimpsed the latest message.

"?????"

I showed it to Viggo, who grunted.

"What were you doing in the gym?" he asked me.

"Well, I wondered what was in that pretty glass building. I watched some fighters training, roamed around…Fighting isn't a sport, you see, in Matrus. I've worked in a bakery all my life, but I always wished I could've become a warden."

Viggo's expression soured. I could practically read his thoughts.
You're not missing much
, I imagined him thinking. He made no attempt to hide how much he hated his job.

We reached the other side of the road. I led Viggo round a corner until we arrived at the end of the second road along, where I caught sight of Lee waiting. He was standing next to his motorcycle, glancing up and down the street and clutching his pager in his hand.

"There he is," I murmured, pointing to him. "He lost track of me after I went into the building," I explained. "I should have told him I was going inside."

Lee soon noticed us, and instantly froze. I imagined him cursing in his head as he hurried forward, closing the gap between us.

"Violet?" he asked, his voice strained with confusion. "What's going on?" His eyes flitted to Viggo.

"Lee, I'm sorry," I said, moving to him and clutching his arm. "You told me not to wander into any buildings, but I did. The gym on the river bank."

There were undercurrents of confusion in his eyes, but he was quick to play along. Admirably quick.

Viggo didn't need to say anything. He just stood there, glancing from me to Lee in cold disdain.

"Dammit, Vi." Lee exhaled sharply. "I take risks and go to all this trouble to give you a sense of freedom, and this is how you repay me? Doing the first thing I forbade you to do?" Lee's grip around me tightened. "This'll be the last time I trust you." He turned to Viggo. "I understand of course if you need to report us, Viggo. Mark it as an infraction on my name. Even though I was following her, we were stretching the rules, no doubt about it. But I do promise you this will not happen again… We've just been having a difficult time with her adjustment. I hoped keeping her on a longer leash would help us make things work."

I prayed that would get to Viggo. If it didn't, I didn't know what would. He had experienced firsthand the difficulties of a Patrus-Matrus marriage, with his own wife struggling with the constraints Patrus' laws put upon its female residents. I hoped there was a place of compassion within his heart that he would draw on to not judge us so harshly.

Viggo's gaze remained sharp as it continued to roam my face. But then his jaw clenched, resoluteness setting in. "I'll let you off this time, since you were nearby. But if I do witness it again, I'm sure you understand I can't be so lenient…" He cleared his throat and averted his eyes, settling them on some distant point at the end of the road. "As you know, here in Patrus, rules are rules."

A
fter Viggo strode away
, both Lee and I let out a long, slow sigh.

"God," he muttered, turning his back on the warden and rubbing his face in his hands. "That was not something I
ever
want to repeat." He glanced at me. "What on earth happened?"

My relief gave way to mild irritation. "What happened to
you
? What took you so long?"

"I had to go pick something up." He gave me a meaningful look. I guessed that meant more explosives or some kind of other equipment necessary for our mission. "But things got delayed. How did you wind up with Viggo?"

"I was hanging around the gym," I began. I decided to omit the little sparring match I'd had. I didn't see the point in mentioning it. It would only make him more nervous. "I tried to keep myself away from the reception area, to avoid awkward questions. I ended up roaming around the training halls. When I finally got your text and was making my way back up to the street, I bumped into Viggo. Like, literally bumped into him. My mustache got knocked off and he noticed. I figured it was best to just come clean after that—as clean as I could."

Lee nodded as he raised the seat of the motorcycle and pulled out our helmets. "You did the right thing. It's likely he's seen this trick played before. I'm certain we're not the first couple to think of it."

I found the idea quite revolutionary as we mounted the motorcycle and Lee kicked us off down the street. That this could be an old trick played by women who found themselves in Patrus but wanted more freedom hadn't occurred to me. Where had Lee actually gotten such a realistic costume? Had he really made it all himself, or had he purchased it? I guessed there must be some kind of underground market for them and I wondered how many women I'd mistaken for men since arriving here in Patrus. Especially at night, when streets were packed and it was far easier to go unnoticed.

Maybe some Patrian females aren’t all that different from Matrian ones after all.

Maybe others, too, have experienced the rush I did back in that gym.

As we traveled back through the city toward the mountains, I found myself eyeing everyone on the sidewalks, examining the faces of the men and trying to spot any slight hint of femininity. But then Lee started traveling too quickly and I could no longer continue with that game.

* * *

"
A
nyway
, none of this is the end of the world," Lee said as we entered the house. "In fact, we could twist this to our advantage."

"What are you thinking?" I asked, removing my shoes at the doorway.

We entered the kitchen and sat down around the table.

"Where's your notebook?" he asked.

"Here," I said, digging a hand into my jacket pocket and handing it to him.

Lee stroked his jaw as he paged through it, leaning back in his chair. "Hm. Okay. Interesting… And good. So far, he has nothing booked the night of the banquet. As you know, we can't have him having an alibi that evening…"

"How do we turn my collision with Viggo today into an advantage?" I asked again.

"Well, I was actually surprised that Viggo was so lenient with me. He isn't the type to dish out leniencies." Lee paused, glancing up from the notebook. "As hardened as he seems on the outside, he obviously does have weaknesses… I think he has a thing for Matrian girls."

"Well… he married one, so I guess he'd have to…"

Lee sat forward. "I think our strategy from now on—at least in regards to you—has become a lot simpler."

"What do you mean?"

"This further development of… rapport… between the two of you, shall we say, could be used to bridge the gap between him and us more."

"Bridge the gap? Why would we—?"

"We'll need to find a way for you to keep him isolated on the night of the banquet. To keep him away from anyone else's eye. In order to do that, you're going to have to make him go somewhere… Don't ask me where yet—that's something we'll have to figure out. But for any of this to happen, he's going to need to trust you. Gain his trust, and we have more control over him when the night arrives."

I lowered my brows at Lee. I would hardly describe what had happened today as "further development of rapport".

"Of course, another thing that works to our advantage in all this," Lee went on, "is that he needs money. That's the reason he fights in the first place; it pays well compared to other jobs…"

I crossed my arms over my chest, waiting for him to tie all his threads together.

He stood up and moved to the kitchen counter. Planting his palms down on the surface, he turned his back on me. He fell quiet for about a minute before drawing in a thoughtful breath and turning round again. His blue eyes rested on mine with a gleam of optimism—enthusiasm, almost—before he said, "Let's meet Viggo again tonight. I have a proposal to discuss with him…"

A
fter Lee revealed
his plan to me, we spent the rest of the day at home, monitoring Viggo's movements. According to the gym schedule, he wasn't due to visit the gym tonight, nor did he have any fights going on. Which meant he would in all likelihood head straight home after work. As evening came around, we watched his red flashing dot make its way toward the mountains, straight from the city center. Once he'd entered the foothills, Lee was confident enough about his direction for us to leave ourselves.

I didn't need to wear a suit this time. We rode out of the driveway on Lee's motorcycle, but instead of taking the usual route down to the city, we headed further upward, higher into the peaks.

It got chillier as we ascended, and I found myself grateful Lee had suggested I wear a jacket. It was silent up here too and soon we came to the end of the residential area and entered a long, deserted stretch of winding road that led us northward toward Viggo's territory.

It was a pity that the sun had gone down, as the verdant landscape sped away on either side of us. I imagined this place would have looked stunning during the day, with brooks bubbling beneath bridges, lots of trees. We reached an open plateau, allowing us an unrivaled view of Patrus beneath us. It was a fairly clear night, and beyond the glittering sprawl of Patrus City, I could make out the deep black stretch that was the river and then, beyond, the hazy glow of Matrus' borders. I couldn’t say that the sight made me feel homesick. Anxious to get back, because of the prize that awaited me, but not homesick.

Lee thundered the motorbike forward at a speed that made me nervous. "How much longer?" I asked him. My deep voice hadn’t worn off yet.

"Maybe ten minutes."

Ten minutes proved to be about accurate. A bungalow—which was really not much more than a glorified log cabin—came into view at the end of a dirt track. A familiar beetle-black motorcycle was parked outside its porch, next to a three-wheeled trailer that I guessed he used to transport larger objects. The building looked like only a one-bedroom, with perhaps enough space for a small living room, a kitchen and a bathroom. The large square windows were closed off by shutters, though a spill of warm light glowed through their cracks.

As Lee killed the engine and we got off the motorbike, we stood in silence for a few seconds, taking in the peaceful atmosphere. It was like another world up here. The middle of nowhere. The closest houses were settled nearer to the foothills, miles beneath us by road.

Lee reached for my hand, giving me a reassuring squeeze before the two of us approached the front door.

Lee knocked three times and my stomach clenched as I caught the sound of a door clicking, then heavy footsteps moving toward us.

A bolt was drawn, and then the front door creaked open. My lips unconsciously parted as Viggo towered before us in the doorway, bare-chested. He wore a pair of loose black pants, and clutched in one hand was a roll of cotton wool, in the other some kind of medicated ointment. His bare knuckles were red and glistening.

"Mr. Bertrand?" Viggo said, his eyes widening as they swept from him to me.

"Viggo," Lee replied calmly. "I do apologize for intruding like this. I won't take up much of your time, but I would like to speak to you about something."

Viggo paused, still frowning, before allowing us inside.

We stepped into a narrow hallway lit by a hanging gas lamp, its walls and ceilings made of logs. A rough wicker carpet lined the floor, and the hallway opened up to four different rooms.

Viggo led us through the first door to our left, into a sitting room. A fire crackled in the hearth and before it sat one sturdy armchair. That was the only piece of furniture in the room, save for a low table upon which sat a metal jug and a damp cloth. Viggo set down his bandages and ointment on the table. He grabbed a shirt which hung at the back of his armchair and pulled it on before turning back round to face us.

"It's about Violet," Lee said, his arm moving to my waist. "We're trying to figure out how to make things work in the long term. As you noted, she has an adventurous mind. Even though her work was domestic, she still of course has the spirit of any Matrian woman… My days will become much busier soon. I will have to return to work, and I will not have time to accompany her places… But our meeting earlier got me thinking, and I have come to you with a proposal."

Viggo's gaze froze on Lee, his right brow lifting.

"You spend the most part of every day in the city," Lee said. "I would like to appoint you as Violet's second guardian and have her accompany you for at least a few hours every day, when it's convenient. It will get her out of the house on a regular basis, and I would pay you, naturally, for the service."

Whatever Viggo might have been expecting Lee to say, it sure wasn't that.

"What do you mean,
accompany
me
?"

"I mean just that," Lee replied. "Let her walk with you. Be your shadow. It will allow her to explore the city, as she's itching to do, and gain a greater understanding of our culture and residents."

In other words, it'll be like walking a dog.
As my husband, Lee had full right to appoint guardianship of me to any other man, with or without my consent.

Viggo's green eyes rested on me, his expression serious. At least he appeared to be considering the proposal.

"I'm not sure this would be approved by head office," he said.

"I doubt you'll have trouble," Lee said. "It's not breaking any laws to bring a girl with you to work."

"Hm… How many hours exactly?" Viggo asked, resuming his focus on Lee.

Lee shrugged. "It can vary. I'm sure we could come to an understanding. Though it would make sense if she came into the city with me in the morning, for work; I could bring her to you, and then either you could drop her back home during lunch break, or you could bring her back to the lab and I could drive her home with me at the end of the day… Whatever works; I'm flexible. As for payment," Lee went on, "I'll pay you the same hourly rate you ought to be receiving as an inner-city warden. Just keep a tally of the hours and let me know."

That ought to be an attractive proposition for Viggo.

He leaned against his chair, glancing down at his knuckles, falling into thought. Lee and I waited patiently.

Finally he looked up. "All right," he said. "I'll accept the offer, but understand that I will back out at any time if things get… complicated."

"Naturally," Lee said, a relieved smile spreading across his face. "Assuming things do go smoothly though, I would say this arrangement could go on for at least a few months, depending on how long Violet takes to adjust to our culture… And could we start tomorrow?"

Viggo rose to his feet, slanting me a glance. "I suppose."

"Great," Lee said. "I'm planning to go back to work in the morning, so I'll drop her off with you on my way to the lab if that suits you. Where do you plan to be at, say, eight-forty?”

"Head office," Viggo replied.

"Perfect," Lee said, rubbing his hands together. "Now, we won't eat up your evening any longer. Thanks again for your time. I hope this can be an arrangement that benefits us both equally."

Viggo merely nodded before shaking Lee's hand. I instinctively reached mine out too—forgetting that this wasn't something done in Patrus. But before I could withdraw it, to my surprise, Viggo accepted my hand and shook it firmly.
Beneath his layers,
maybe
he's a rebel like me
.

Our gazes locked for three tense seconds.

Then Lee took my arm and led me to the exit.