For a long moment, Edna just stared at him. “I’m trying to find a fault in your logic, but I can’t. Even if you just made the whole thing up to convince me that the clan forming a federation with Kalugal is a good idea, you are right.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “What bothers me about it, though, is that it smells like a betrayal. Are you really willing to enlist the clan’s help to stop your boss?”
“I hope that it never comes to that. Kalugal is a good man, and as long as he doesn’t plot to annihilate half of the world, I’m not going to turn against him. But I keep thinking about Mortdh, and what I would have done if I were his second-in-command. Even if I had known about his plot to get rid of the other gods, the only thing I could have done was to warn them. I couldn’t have stopped him.”
“Would you have warned the other gods?”
“Of course. What kind of question is that? Even if Mortdh was my brother, my father, or my son, I would not have stood idly by while he destroyed half of the world’s civilization with one damn bomb. Would you allow Kian to do such a thing if he lost his mind?”
“No. I would do anything I could to stop him. And the same goes for Annani, even though she is the Clan Mother.” Edna nodded. “Now I really understand your dilemma. If I wanted to stop Kian or Annani, I couldn’t do it on my own. I would need a powerful ally. I would try to convince my fellow council members to help me. Together, we might be able to take Kian down, but not the goddess. And that’s precisely where you stand with Kalugal.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“Yeah, but that still leaves the problem of making a federation happen when both Kian and Kalugal are against it.”
Smiling, Rufsur reached for her hand and brought it to his lips for a quick kiss. “If we put our heads together, I’m sure we can come up with a solution. Once we have a plan, you can work on Kian, and I can work on Kalugal. Kian values your opinion, and you have a good chance of convincing him to at least listen to you, and I have Kalugal’s ear. We are uniquely positioned to make this happen.”
“I’ll be dammed.” Edna leaned back. “That’s why the Fates brought us together.”
Rufsur snorted. “You too? Come on, Edna. You can’t seriously believe in that superstitious nonsense.”
“I didn’t use to, but even Kian, the biggest skeptic of them all, is a convert. How else would you explain your attraction to me? Out of all the clan females who paraded themselves in front of you and Hivak, you fixated on me, the most unattractive, emotionally unavailable of them all.”
He frowned. “I don’t want to hear you talking this way about yourself or about me. I saw the precious gem hidden underneath the ugly clothes and the stern expression, and I’m quite proud of myself for snatching the best of the best. By crediting your damn Fates with that, you are insulting me as well as yourself.”
40
Edna
Rufsur was not pretending to be angry, he really was, which was kind of sweet.
Frankly, Edna also preferred to think that he’d chosen her because of her, and not some grand scheme orchestrated by the Fates.
“Okay. Forget that I said it. Let’s focus on what’s important, shall we?”
He didn’t look happy with her answer. “I need to know that you agree with me. I’m willing to concede that the Fates might have had something to do with you walking by the café when I was there, but that’s all. The rest was all me.”
She smiled. “My okay was meant to convey all that.”
“What about you? Did you choose me? Or did your Fates choose me for you?”
Edna leaned and kissed his cheek. “Your dimples were the first thing I noticed about you, that and the cocky smile. You reminded me of Robbie.”
“That’s all? I look like the one you lost?”
Damn. Men could be so touchy. Rufsur’s disappointment was practically palpable.
“The resemblance is superficial at best, but it was what caught my attention. The rest is all you. Besides, I apparently have a type, and you are it.” She smiled. “I like cocky guys who are sweet on the inside and don’t take themselves too seriously, and who know how to have fun. Although I have to admit that the dimples and the broad shoulders had something to do with it as well.”
He let out a breath. “I can live with that.”
“Good.” She patted his bicep. “Now let’s think about how we can make it work for everyone. Kalugal’s biggest objection is his need for independence. What exactly does it mean to him?”
“He feels paralyzed in the village. He suspects that the devices Kian lent us are being monitored, so he can’t conduct his business from here because he doesn’t want Kian in it. Also, he acquires many startups, and most of them are in the Bay Area. Living here will make it difficult, but that could be solved with weekly or biweekly visits. Private communication is what will make or break the deal for him. He would also want complete autonomy in everything other than security. I think that he sees the advantages of living in a larger community and combining his force with the clan’s to safeguard it.”
“I don’t know how we can solve that conundrum. The village's safety depends on all communication going in and out being encrypted, rerouted, and impossible to track back. That means using clan-issued devices. Perhaps William could segregate them and provide Kalugal with a private network within the clan’s larger one. I will need to talk to him about it.”
“Kalugal will not trust anything engineered by William.”
Edna nodded. “And Kian will not let Kalugal’s tech guy mess with our communication system either.”
Rufsur waved a dismissive hand. “Ruvon wouldn’t know where to start, and he is the best we have. In any case, this is not something that you or I can figure out. We don’t have the technological knowhow.”
“True. But let’s assume for a moment that William finds a workable solution to the communications problem. What else do you think Kalugal will want as far as autonomy?”
“For starters, to come and go as he pleases. He might want our people to have their own neighborhood within the village. Perhaps that new plot that Kian is developing. One thing I’m sure of. He would want to design his own house and make it at least as fancy as the one he has now. He is not fond of the egalitarian style you have here in your village.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem if he pays for it.”
“If Kalugal accepts the idea, he will pay for everything.”
“That could be a good selling point with Kian. The question is, how do we package the rest so he thinks it’s a good bargain? Since security is his main concern, he will probably want me to probe each one of the men. Is there a chance your boss is going to submit to that?”
Rufsur shook his head. “No chance in hell. The same way he doesn’t want Kian in his business, he doesn’t want him or you in his head.”
“Right. I can understand that. I wish there was a binding pledge that he could take not to make a move against the clan, but such a thing doesn’t exist.”
“And I also doubt that he will agree to wearing the cuff all of the time. You will need to convince Kian that Annani’s power over Kalugal should be enough.”