“Good enough.” Rufsur took the wine and two glasses to the living room. “Give me the details, and I’ll have booze delivered to you for my next visit.” He uncorked the bottle and poured wine into the two glasses.
Edna let out a relieved breath. He was still planning on coming back. “Just tell me what you like, and I’ll order it.”
He looked up at her. “You don’t trust me with the other address. Is that it?”
She sat next to him. “I’m sorry. But the other place is also a strategic location, and I can’t disclose the address.”
Shaking his head, he handed her one of the wine glasses. “A fine pair we are. Perhaps Kalugal is right, and this just can’t work.”
“What did he say?”
“The same in so many words. He feels for me and my problem, but there is too much mistrust on both sides for a federation to work. The best we can hope for is continued cooperation, but even that is tenuous. He suggested that I either choose someone else or resign myself to a long-distance relationship. After a lot of back and forth, the best he could offer me was an occasional three-day weekend off, which I can spend here with you.”
“That’s better than what we have now. We can make it work.”
He put his arm around her. “I want to come home to you every evening and wake up next to you every morning. Anything else is going to be painful.”
“Do we have a choice?”
“In the meantime, we take what we can, but I’m not giving up yet. Did William have any suggestions?”
“He said that it’s not a problem to have two completely independent communication systems using the same satellite. They will each have their own encryption, so privacy will not be an issue.”
Rufsur snorted. “That might be true, but as I said, Kalugal is not going to trust a system designed by William, and Kian will not allow access to the clan’s satellite to anyone else.”
“What if he allows independent testing? I don’t understand how these things work, but maybe you can get an outside expert to test what William did. After Kalugal is reassured that there are no back doors and that the system is safe, we will thrall that person to forget it.”
Rufsur shook his head. “The only way Kalugal might consider it is if the entire encryption is done by an outsider.”
“Perhaps Kian will agree to that. I don’t think it will take an expert more than two weeks to do, right? That’s the usual limit on thralling memories away without causing brain damage.”
“I have no idea.” Rufsur emptied the wine down his throat and refilled his glass. “All that technical stuff is way over my head.”
“William promised to help in any way he can. If anyone can solve this conundrum, it’s him. I can also talk to Onegus about possible security measures.” She took a sip of wine. “The best one to talk to, though, is Turner. If I can convince him to help us, and he comes up with a good plan, Kian will listen to him.”
“Because he is so smart?”
“No, because he is even more paranoid than Kian.”
“Then you should definitely try to get him on board.”
“But what about Kalugal? Even if I manage to bring Kian over to our side, it’s not going to work if your boss is categorically against it.”
Rufsur smiled. “I will get outside help as well.”
“Who?”
“Jacki.”
“He’s not going to listen to her. She is not a tech person or a safety expert.”
“She’s his mate, and he trusts her. Not only that, he wants her to be happy, and Jacki would be most happy living in the village. I believe that she can help change his mind.”
56
Amanda
“Go.” Amanda kissed Dalhu’s cheek. “I know that you don’t want to be here.”
As usual, they were the last couple to arrive, and all the men were already outside, sucking on Kian’s disgusting cigarillos.
Dalhu would feel uncomfortable being the only guy in a room full of women, but he would also feel awkward with Kalugal and Rufsur. He didn’t like to hang out with former Doomers, even those who had severed all ties to the Brotherhood long before he had.
Looking out the living room’s sliding doors, he shook his head. “They look like they are talking about something important, and I don’t want to interrupt. I can sit on the front porch with the Guardians.”
As per her suggestion, Atzil and Ruvon had been excused from attending the dinner so they could sit in the café and enjoy the view, meaning the clan ladies coming to check them out. Surprisingly, Kalugal hadn’t objected, and neither had Rufsur who up until now had seemed more concerned about his boss’s safety than the guy himself.
“You are just being shy.” Amanda patted Dalhu’s arm. “We talked about it, darling. You need to start mingling more.” She opened the sliding door. “Hi, guys. What are you talking about?”
Kalugal smiled. “Come join us and find out.”
“Not while you guys are smoking. But Dalhu doesn’t mind the smell.” She gave her mate a shove out. “Have fun, darling.”
Turning around, she clapped her hands. “Now, I can enjoy a few quiet moments with my favorite ladies.” She sat next to Edna, who had a sour expression on her face like she’d sucked on a lemon and couldn’t wait to spit it out. “You seem troubled. Are you sad that Rufsur is leaving?”
“I’m not happy about it. But it is what it is. There isn’t much I can do about it.”
“You can ask him to stay a little longer,” Syssi suggested. “I’m sure Kalugal could do without him for a day or two. Right, Jacki?”
“I can’t speak for Kalugal. The truth is that I have no idea what those two do all day, but they are always together.”
“It won’t make much of a difference,” Edna said. “Besides, I have my own work to keep me busy.”
Syssi pushed to her feet. “I feel for you. There is no easy solution for you and him. Would a margarita make you feel better? Amanda and I will have to do with a virgin version, but I can make yours and Jacki’s loaded.”
Edna smiled. “Thank you. I could use something with a little bite.”
“Can you make mine weak?” Jacki asked. “Or on second thought, make mine a virgin too. I’m not a big fan of alcohol.”
Amanda grimaced. “I hate virgin margaritas. They are nothing but fancy smoothies.”
“It’s a small price to pay for your miracle.” Syssi walked over to the bar and opened the fridge.
“How are you feeling?” Edna turned to Amanda. “Are you getting nauseous in the mornings?”
“Not at all. I feel great.”
“I didn’t ask before, but what made you suspect that you were pregnant?”
“I was getting tired easily. In the middle of the day, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, and I had to put my head on the desk and nap for a few minutes. When it kept happening day after day, I knew that something was up. And since we don’t get sick, that was the only logical conclusion. But it still took me almost a week to get a pregnancy test. I was scared, and I kept postponing it, hoping that the feeling would go away.”