The Rule of Luck (25 page)

An eternity later, he raised a hand to my hair. The caress was gentle, almost tentative, given his earlier domination. Then he pressed a kiss to my throat. When he finally raised his head until his face hovered above mine, I saw a look of fierce determination.

“Fuck your cards. I am never letting you go.”

I swallowed at his intensity, not expecting it. “They didn't say you had to let me go. Just that things could get in the way. We'll figure it out.”

He nodded and gathered me in his arms, tucking me against him. When he pulled the blankets over us, I snuggled into him and pressed my face to his throat. His vehemence both scared and thrilled me. He threw a leg over mine, still semi-hard inside me, and kissed the top of my head.

“It's late. You need to rest,” he whispered, lips at my ear.

“Oh? You mean that's all you've got? I thought you said to check back with you at dawn.”

He thrust his hips subtly and I spasmed around him, the aftershock taking me off guard. My breath caught as I felt him begin to swell inside me. He chuckled. “Not quite. We'll be busy shortly and it would be a crime on my part to leave you so exhausted that you miss something.”

“Very thoughtful of you.”

Another shallow thrust made me gasp, then a third. “I try to be.”

He was right. Not long after, we were very busy, and I didn't miss a moment.

“Tell me what happened with Monique,” Petriv said, hours later.

I'd been dozing on my side, half asleep yet always aware of him beside me. Now he lay propped on his right elbow, looking down at me. His free hand brushed strands of hair from my face. As tired and sore as I was, I also wanted to push him back onto the mattress and start all over again.

“I could have told you ages ago if you hadn't been so intent on other things.”

“Things I'll be intent on again,” he promised, making me shiver. “What did she say?”

I sighed and rolled onto my back. Beside me, Petriv moved his hand to continue stroking my hair. Sorting my thoughts, I told him everything: how TransWorld used the clones to manipulate circumstances in their favor; the rules of luck my mother had uncovered; how she'd found my family and why we'd been blacklisted; the Consortium's rejection of her research which drove her to TransWorld; and lastly her growing frustration at her inability to receive the global acclaim she felt she deserved. Everything, except her obsession with him. I couldn't go there because it scared me. I didn't want to see below the surface of who or what he might be.

“There's no kindness in her,” I said at last. “Not that I expected any, given what I read in the cards, but I guess I thought she might care about the clones. She doesn't. They're disposable to her. It's
all
disposable, like she's bored and it no longer entertains her. That's when I knew she was a monster. TransWorld keeps her in check, if you can believe it.”

“And you said you have a plan to discredit TransWorld?”

“More like a thought with lots of holes in it. We kidnap a clone, run a comparison against my DNA, and present it to some CN-net news outlet. Once One Gov realizes TransWorld is producing illegal full-body clones, they'll have to bow out of the bid.”

“How would you explain why they're creating a clone army? Do you propose telling them about the luck gene as well?”

I lightly swatted his chest. “Okay, I already admitted it wasn't a great plan. Obviously, I'd rather people didn't know about the luck gene. I'd like to understand it myself, and maybe tell my family. I don't want to be studied like a lab rat. Let's just focus on getting a clone first and worry about the rest later.”

He caught my hand and kissed along the knuckles. “In theory, it could work,” he conceded, lips moving to my wrist. “However, breaking into TransWorld will be a problem. By the time we acquire the security specs to their AI, the bid will be awarded.”

“Weeeell,” I began, drawing out the word. “Not if we break in tomorrow. And not if it's me.”

He stilled. “How?”

“I'm a spook. No t-mods. Plus, I'm a genetic match to the clones. The building security won't tag me.” I held up the hand he'd been kissing. “This unlocks all the doors. If we do it tomorrow night—or I guess it's tonight now—while they're still celebrating the holiday, I can enter the building, grab a clone while she's asleep, and walk out. Simple.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Why not? It's a good plan.” I consulted my gut. Nothing. I had no feeling one way or the other about the plan's success. “Well it's better than what you currently have.”

“No. I will not endanger you again in such a situation. You're not prepared for fieldwork. Further, we don't have the building schematics so we've no idea where the clones actually reside. We also can't guarantee whether or not their handlers might be present, or what sort of deterrents they could use against you. And suppose you do get in? You and the clone both have luck working for you. Who would win such a contest? And now, after this”—he gestured to the two of us in bed—“even if we had years to devise the perfect plan, you are not going.” With urgent hands, he parted my thighs and resettled himself between my legs as if he'd never left. His lips were feverish on mine. “You are not going.”

I turned my head from his kiss and pushed against his chest. I couldn't stop him nor did I want to, but he needed to know I was serious. Even as my traitorous body happily responded to his hands and lips, I smacked his shoulder to make him listen.

“I'm the only one who can do this.” My words became moans as I arched with him.

His erection pushed against me, on the verge of sliding home. “No. I'm
not
risking you.”

In he went with the same urgent speed as before, moving with ruthless intent. Again, my body struggled to accommodate him, overwhelmed by both his size and the speed with which he took me. In the end, I couldn't resist him. My body clenched around him as if I'd been made solely for him to use as he saw fit. And use me he did. Dimly I was aware of the headboard striking the wall until it seemed the whole room shook. All I could do was cry out and cling to him as the force of his powerful thrusts rammed me up the bed and into a blinding burst of orgasms that didn't seem to end. My brain wanted to protest, but my body cheerfully overrode all logic and reveled in everything he did with it.

I'm not sure how much time passed before I came to my senses. In the end, I lay sprawled across his chest, trying to catch my breath while listening to his heart's frantic rhythm.

“That's cheating,” I said, eventually.

“I don't care. I need you safe and will do everything in my power to keep you that way.”

I turned my face to his, looking at him through the fall of my hair. “Deep down, you know it has to be me. No one else can do it and you'll never have this opportunity again. If I don't stop her now, I'm terrified of what she'll do in the future.”

Petriv looked at me. For a long time, he did nothing other than toy with my hair. I tried to gauge his expression. It wasn't the look of someone checking in with the CN-net or running through all his options to determine the best course of action. Rather, it was a man who suspected he was losing everything he cared about and could do nothing to prevent it.

“You may think it's too dangerous or the situation isn't ideal, but it doesn't matter. She's creating distorted versions of me and turning them into slaves. I know the TransWorld bid is your priority, but the way she uses those clones and the things she's done to justify herself…I don't think I could live with myself if I stood by and did nothing,” I said, realizing in my gut it was true. “And I don't think I could forgive you if you tried to stop me from doing something to help.”

“Alright then.” He tilted my head so he could kiss me again. Funny how it felt so final as his lips brushed mine. “It will be tonight.”

I woke to sunlight streaming through the windows. I was also alone in the largest bed I'd ever seen. Definitely orgy sized. As I rolled over and contemplated the ceiling, my body announced a series of aches in places I didn't think it capable of aching. Happily, they were the kinds of aches I could live with and would like to repeat in the future.

Sometime during the night, he had removed my c-tex bracelet. I grabbed it from the bedside table, saw it was almost noon, and checked my messages. I had one from Petriv saying he'd gone to make preparations for tonight and would return soon. How soon was soon? Should I stay in bed and wait for him? While the idea had definite appeal, my body decided it was hungry and needed to pee, so I reluctantly got up. I noticed bruises on my thighs but ignored them, knowing they'd been for the greater good.

Next came several brilliant realizations. Firstly, I had nothing to wear since Petriv had destroyed everything except for my boots. Secondly, I had no idea where anything was in this enormous suite. With a bit of investigating, I found the bathroom, then the closet where I asked the AI for a standard hotel robe. I considered ordering room service, but it seemed presumptuous given this wasn't my room. Besides, I wanted my cards. My hands practically itched with the need to touch them. There were so many things to verify: tonight, Monique, and naturally Petriv and any fallout from last night.

Last night. I shivered. He'd been brutal and demanding, although that hadn't shocked me. He was the sort who got his own way in everything—almost a stereotypical trait for someone in his position. You didn't get to the top without some level of ruthlessness. What surprised me was the desperation I'd sensed, as if he needed to connect with someone. Whether he intended it or not, I had probably seen emotions he never exposed to the rest of the world. It made me realize I needed to stop trying to distance myself by thinking of him as Mr. Petriv or just Petriv. It wasn't like that between us anymore. I didn't know what it was going to be in the future, but it couldn't go back to what it had been. Being with Alexei would be unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. Part of me wondered if I was ready for this level of consuming intensity. Would he regret opening up to me? Maybe that was why he wasn't with me now. Or maybe I was borrowing trouble. Whatever the case, I wanted to be on more equal footing next time I saw him, and lounging naked in his bed wasn't how to go about it.

Still in my bathrobe, I tugged on my green boots, cast a longing look at the bed, and pressed my ear to the door. I couldn't hear anyone, so hopefully the room was deserted. In fact, I hoped the whole damned route was deserted. Maybe it was prudish, but I didn't want anyone seeing my walk of shame—even if I didn't feel particularly shameful at the moment.

I made it all the way to the front foyer before I heard the voices. They were muffled and distant, coming from the far end of a hallway across from the elevator. Good. I could still get away without being noticed. I pushed the call button and waited, refraining from tapping my toe. Time passed. Gods, how long did the damned thing take? I'd never had to wait more than a few seconds before, yet when I needed it most, it took days!

I found myself listening to the voices. It sounded like two men, chatting back and forth. I recognized one of them as Karol. Why did all these people have access to Alexei's rooms anyway? Did they come and go as they pleased?

The longer I waited, the more curious I became. Why was Karol there? Who was he talking to? What were they discussing? I wandered toward the voices, cinching my robe tighter as I eavesdropped. I had no business listening in. This had nothing to do with me and I should get the hell out of there. Gods, I wasn't even dressed! Boots and a bathrobe? What would they think?
Walk of shame, remember?
I scolded myself. Yet, I couldn't seem to stop. Hell, I couldn't even rationalize it. I just went.

There were several doors along the way, some open, some not. The voices came from the closed door farthest away. They spoke Russian, which infuriated me. I'd need to learn the language if I wanted to fit in. Great, one more thing to add to my to-do list. Again, I cursed my lack of t-mods. I couldn't download it and speak with fluency the way others could. Like everything else, I'd have to do it the hard way with long hours of study and practice. Presumably Alexei would help. Oksana, as well.

It wasn't until my hand stretched out to grasp the door handle that my gut kicked me. Hard. Everything stopped. My breathing. My happy, horny thoughts thanks to last night. My plans to speak Russian. I teetered on the cusp of…something. Opening that door would change everything; I could tell that much from the force of the kick. The desire to run from it was so overpowering, I almost bolted. I fought the fear down with wishes, prayers, and the hard-won knowledge that I had to face whatever waited inside. Avoiding it would only bring me a world of misery.

So, I opened the door and stepped inside.

At first, I couldn't make sense of it. Karol and a blond man stood beside a large, upright rectangular-shaped box. An endless web of cables connected the box to a monitoring device then filtered to a series of outlets in the wall. Was it a generator or maybe an AI superlink? Karol turned dials, possibly taking measurements, then calling out the results. The other man sorted through the cabling and laughed about something as he threw in an occasional comment. I studied the box: clear, about six feet tall and three wide. Something was inside it. No, someone.

Mr. Pennyworth was in the box, eyes closed as if in sleep. His skin had an unusual waxy cast and shimmered as if coated in oil or gel. If I didn't know better, I would have said he was dead since the glass box resembled an upright coffin. He certainly didn't look asleep, at any rate. In fact, he looked not quite human. I took another step forward. What the hell was going on?

Karol saw me and swore impressively. The blond man looked up, caught sight of me, and looked like he might faint. Then he started jabbering in Russian at Karol and moved to grab my arm. I dodged away while Karol started yelling. I took advantage of the chaos to examine the box.

Mr. Pennyworth was fully clothed in his all-purpose gray-green suit. I leaned closer. He wasn't breathing. I also saw that the tubes outside the box fed into it and disappeared into his stomach, under his shirt. Were they attached to his body? I had reached out to open the box for a closer look when hands stopped me. Karol grabbed my wrist and yanked me back.

“Don't, Ms. Sevigny. We're running a decontamination program and it's unwise to open the sarcophagus,” he warned. “As the nanobots eliminate the toxins, they create a gaseous byproduct that could seriously harm us should it seep into the room.”

“Of course,” I said, as if that made perfect sense. I couldn't tear my eyes from Mr. Pennyworth's face. “What is he?”

“It's a first generation homunculus,” Karol answered at my side.

“Meaning what?”

“It's science's first attempt at creating an artificial human. We're still in the prototype phase, so the design is crude and not without its flaws. Its thoughts need to be guided externally by others rather than working in concert with a host, nor can it be piloted for long periods. The machine mind and human aren't entirely compatible so we're getting a toxin buildup. Despite that, we're getting wonderful results with you in the field. In melding human and machine, we were seeing the first true post-human. Laying there is humanity's next step toward conquering the universe—the birth of a new god and true eternal life,” he said, voice reverent.

1I frowned. It seemed a lot of people were interested in creating new gods when I wasn't sure we were finished with the old ones yet.

“You said he…it has a pilot,” I prompted.

“
Gospodin
Petriv, naturally. He's been specifically trained to pilot it, but the man is adept at whatever he turns his hand to so I'm unsurprised by the excellent results. And with his unique abilities at manipulating the CN-net and thought replication, is it any wonder?”

“Unique abilities?”

“It's quite astounding actually. He may not be immortal, but he's as close as humanity's come so far. He's also the first success the Consortium's had in transferring consciousness to the CN-net without death or severe physical and mental trauma.”

“So…” Words temporarily failed me. “Mr. Petriv can link his mind with…this and pilot it like a puppet?”

“I wouldn't use such a crass comparison, but yes, that's it.” Karol turned to me, eyes narrowing. “You're behaving like this is a great surprise. I assumed you'd been told these details since you're involved in the field testing. Otherwise, you couldn't have gotten in without proper clearance. The door was locked.”

I couldn't answer Karol's questions because I had better than proper clearance: I had luck, and it wanted me to see what was in the room. As I stood there, drawing conclusions and making connections, horror blossomed in my stomach as the associations weaved together in my head.

What exactly was I involved in? Who, or rather
what
, was Alexei Petriv? Then came the more frightening realization: it had been Alexei manipulating me all along.

From the first moment I'd contacted the mysterious voice and hatched a plan to break into the fertility clinic, he'd guided my every movement, stripping away all choice until I had no options left but to do what he wanted. He made me take the fall at the clinic and spend the night in the pit. Then engineered the so-called rescue where I felt indebted to him and more inclined to listen to what he had to say. Then hooked me by dangling information about my mother and offering to revoke my blacklisted status. Lastly and most disturbing of all was the manipulation of my feelings. He'd taken my vulnerability over Roy's betrayal and my mother's callousness and created a careful seduction that ensured I kept running back to him—pushing me away and drawing me in until I didn't know up from down.

Humiliation gripped me, followed by a rage I'd never imagined myself capable of feeling. I wasn't simply angry. I was livid to the point where I couldn't speak, wasn't sure I could breathe, and if I tried to open my mouth, I would vomit because I couldn't control the fury. With all his tech and his genetic modifications and gods only knew what else, he was everything my family rebelled against when they refused One Gov's t-mods and MH Factor upgrades. To them he was a monster, and now I could finally see what my cards wanted me to know. This was the true Alexei Petriv—and he was horrifying.

I turned on my heel. I had to get out of there. Out of the hotel. Out of Curitiba. Out of Brazil. Hell, off the planet if that was even possible.

“Ms. Sevigny! Please! Wait!” Karol sounded panicked as he called after me. “I'm not sure what I've said to upset you, but if you'll let me explain—”

“I don't need more explanations,” I hurled over my shoulder through gritted teeth as I stormed down the hall. “I've seen enough.”

He ran after me. “If I've upset you, I apologize. Truly I do. I just ask you say nothing to
Gospodin
Petriv. Please, if he knew…I mean…It would make my life difficult.”

“Don't care. Not my problem.”

I hurried to the foyer and frantically pushed the elevator call button. Karol trailed behind me, pleading and plucking at my robe.

“You don't understand! He might kill me. My family might disappear. You don't know what he's capable of. If he learns I upset you—”

I pushed his hand away and landed a solid punch in the stomach that made him stagger back. “If he kills you because you have a big mouth, then he's an asshole. Look for another goddamn job if you're so scared! Now leave me alone because I can't listen to this any longer!”

The elevator doors opened. Alexei was there, naturally. Big fucking surprise. Luck truly wanted to assault me today. With him were Oksana, one of the people from last night, and a few chain-breakers.

With ease, I wended my way through the group. There were too many of them, causing too much confusion as they all tried to exit at once. I found myself in the elevator alone, gazing out at them. A few looked at the babbling Karol. Oksana reached for him, asking what had happened. The chain-breakers were drawing weapons, training them on Karol, then me. I shrugged and pushed the button for my floor. As if they would shoot me. I couldn't imagine luck would pound me so severely just to get me shot while I made my getaway. Then again, maybe it would. Fuck it. I pressed the button again.

Alexei lunged toward me as the doors closed. Security blocked him, no doubt thinking they needed to protect him from some undetermined threat.

“Felicia? What's wrong?” he shouted over the chaos.

I looked at him, then away before I could start crying. Fuck that bastard; I did not want him to see me cry.

He was almost through the chain-breakers, pushing them aside with that scary insane strength I'd seen him use on several occasions. I swiped my eyes with the sleeve of my robe, the tears coming despite my resolve.

“Felicia! Say something!”

“Two of Cups, reversed,” I whispered. Then the doors closed and the elevator began its descent.

It's impossible to make a getaway when you're wearing a bathrobe, boots, and your room is one floor down from where you just left. I mean honestly, what was I thinking? Even so, I let myself in and looked around as if I could somehow grab my things and go. I had dithered for all of a minute, swiping at tears, when the pounding started.

“Felicia, open the door.” Alexei was pounding with a ferocity that shook the walls if not the entire floor. “We need to talk.”

I ignored him. In the bedroom I slipped into a form-fitting green tunic top and tights—at this point, anything was better than the hotel robe. The pounding and his shouts continued as I threw my cards into my travel case and returned to the foyer. The door's locking seals seemed to groan in protest under his fists. I paused, knowing I couldn't avoid a confrontation. My insides churned. I didn't want to see him, never mind talk to him. And yet, I also wanted to launch myself into his arms and forget the last few minutes. My hand hovered over the handle.