The Hades Connectionby Gabriel S. Timar |
|
|
Chapter 26
part 2 of 3 |
With Ann Forrest safely tucked away in the Golden Hawk Motel just a couple of blocks from Elizabeth Towers, I turned my attention to other important matters, like my evening engagement with Luce. Around five o’clock I took a long luxurious bubble bath, toweled and used a hair drier to dispel the last drop of moisture off my skin. As always, I dressed with great care. This time I decided to wear my light green suede suit with the matching shoes, shirt, and tie.
When I was ready, it was almost seven. I expected that Cleo would be downstairs waiting. I gave myself a parting look in the mirror; the suit fitted well, I created the impression of a sophisticated individual. My mirror image changed my mood. Suddenly, I felt happy and very much alive. After all, I had good reasons to be satisfied. I had just finished a job quite well, and as a sign of his appreciation, my boss had invited me to his place for dinner. I knew he would promote me and give me another interesting assignment.
In the lobby, there was no sign of Cleo. I checked my watch and realized that I was ten minutes early. Sitting on one of the sumptuous leather couches, I let my mind roam free.
My reflections after a difficult case were always interesting, because on those rare occasions I could be honest with myself. I realized that I enjoyed being the lord and master of a planet, the ruler with absolute power. Was it possible that my vocation was not law, but politics? Perhaps most lawyers get into politics because they taste power in the course of their work and find it enthralling. The average person may become addicted to power and does not want to give it up. I hoped I could control the corrupting nature of power.
Cleo’s arrival interrupted my train of thought. She looked good, wearing a tight black pantsuit, which accentuated her curves. She was beautiful and desirable, but I did not let my imagination run wild. It was possible that due to my relatively long period of sexual deprivation, even the Wicked Witch of the West would have looked sexy and desirable.
“Hi, George,” she greeted me as a long lost friend. “How was the mission?”
“It was okay, darling,” I replied and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
She looked fantastic; I warned myself to be careful because she might not be under orders to look after me.
“Luce told me not to wear my gun in the same fashion as I used to,” she said.
I remembered where she kept the gun very well. The thought of those thighs nearly drove me nuts.
“I am sad to hear that,” I replied. “I have no reason to look for your gun this time.”
“I am not dressed for body search either,” she replied with a smile.
I thought it was sad but did not say anything. Perhaps Cleo had found somebody while I was away. Besides, what right did I have to expect her to wait for me?
We got into the car and started out. I knew that Cleo did not like talking while driving. It was a blessing in disguise, because suddenly I did not feel like talking.
Although Cleo was a nice person to talk to, I became deeply involved in the analysis of my mission and the effects of power. Just before we got to Luce’s house, she turned to me and remarked, “I know you just returned from a tough mission, and you may be interested in some female companionship.”
She was right, of course. Cleo knew about my top priority.
“I am not available tonight,” she continued, “but in case you are desperate, I could find someone for you. It won’t be cheap, though.”
Okay, I was desperate all right, but not that desperate!
“Don’t worry, Cleo,” I smiled at her, “if you are not available, I might as well act the monk tonight.”
“You shouldn’t,” she said, “abstinence is no good for your glands.”
I am sure she knew that I was not the faithful type and only trying to be charming her.
“There are plenty of fish in Luce’s pond,” she added.
“I am not fishing,” I lied. “However, if something popped out of the woodwork...”
“Usually a lot of people pop in and out of Luce’s party,” Cleo interrupted as we entered the gate of Luce’s hideaway.
The house was not pretentious at all. It was a basic South Pacific standard residence with solid concrete floor and walls made of bamboo sticks. With its tin roof covered by palm fronds, the house was a replica of the Robert Louis Stevenson Hotel on the Island of Abemama in the Gilbert group. Even the color scheme of the furniture was the same.
Somehow, it was not surprising that Luce liked this island’s main structure. Enclosed by the lagoon of Abemama is a little atoll, which is owned by Kabanan, the devil. This is the only place in the South Pacific where he has his own island. I cannot say that Luce and Kabanan had anything in common, as I never had the pleasure of meeting the latter. When I landed on the islet, I left the appropriate offerings of a few coins and a pack of cigarettes at his altar. Perhaps my offering was not enough to merit personal thanks, but adequate to make sure that Kabanan did not spoil my time on the island.
On the terrace, a few people were standing with drinks in hand. Attila and Nick were talking to each other. Popov was standing in a corner with a tall, heavy-set woman. He waved and gave me a wink.
Finally, Luce emerged, came up to me, shook my hand warmly, and led me into the parlor. Only two people were present, an elegant, dark-haired woman with a fantastic sun tan, wearing a white minidress exposing her superb legs; and a man who created the impression of being the executioner from the old Tower of London.
“George, this is Gemma,” he pointed at the woman, “and this mean-looking individual is Angelo, her bodyguard. He is always with her; you must get used to him. Actually he’s not human, only an android.”
I shook hands with Gemma and gave an appreciative look to Angelo. It was the look I reserved for the Crown’s witness whose testimony was likely to sink my client.
“Don’t tell me,” Luce said, “it is Campari and soda, isn’t it?”
“Normally it is,” I replied, “but this time make it a double Cardhue neat, please.”
“Mike Horn’s drink, I suppose,” he said. “You actually like the guy, don’t you.”
“Yes, I like him,” I said. “Mike can be very entertaining.”
“Well, I just got some information about him,” Luce stated. “He is very happy with his new wife. They are strenuously trying to produce offspring. I’d say their kid could become a two hundred by the time he or she gets on the public transport.”
“Luce is always thinking of business,” Gemma remarked. “This is why I like him. He’s making me very rich.”
“Are you a shareholder of Hades?” I asked.
“Not yet, but I am considering buying in,” she replied. “I am your driard.”
“Forgive him, Gemma,” Luce said, “George didn’t go through the normal briefing course. We needed his services urgently.”
“I see,” Gemma said and took a sip from her drink. “Was it you I took to that dreary spaceship with another soul?”
“Yes. It was Esther and me,” I replied.
“That was my first double delivery,” Gemma said. “I was rather nervous.”
“I hope you don’t mind me asking; how is the transfer made?”
“It’s a simple procedure,” Gemma replied. “We found the only material we can transport through the dimensional boundaries. It’s the daphnium crystal. When a soul leaves its containing structure, we simply apply psychic forces to it and push it into a daphnium container. The process is painless and the interior of the container is very pleasant. The soul is stimulated with pleasing, swirling colors. However, the transfer out of the container hurts but does not last long. You must remember the painful beam of white light.”
“I do,” I replied.
“Well, that’s when the transfer really takes place,” she stated. “We use our superior psychic and telepathic strength to do it.”
“I don’t really understand the process,” I replied.
“It’s difficult to explain,” Gemma said. “It happens in the Second Dimension. I’ll take you there and show you, if you wish.”
“I’m not sure I can afford the fare,” I replied uncertainly. Somehow, I was a little afraid of her.
“Nonsense,” she smiled at me, “if you spend an hour with me and satisfy my animal desires, I’ll take you there.”
The male lion woke up in me, and my king-size ego, as always, took charge. Wow! She wants me! This beautiful, gorgeous woman was practically throwing herself at me! To top it all she does not want an all-night session, just a quickie. This is ideal!
“That would be a distinct pleasure, Ma’am,” I said quickly.
“You would pay for the trip by making love to me and explaining how to get the most pleasure out of intercourse in a human female body. I understand you are an expert on this subject.”
I considered myself good, but to call me an expert was stretching it a little.
“This would be strictly a business proposition,” she continued. “In exchange I’ll show you the way the souls are transferred.”
I thought my hearing was defective. She was going to show me something, and in consideration, I would have to make love to her. As this was too good to be true, there had to be a catch.
“What’s the catch?” I queried. “Aren’t you human? Are you some kind of a strange creature?”
“The answer is no and yes,” she said with a smile.
Suddenly I was beginning to have second thoughts about her proposition. For a moment, I was lost.
“You’ve nothing to worry about, George,” she said. “Driards like me are strange creatures. We are supposed to live in the Second Dimension, but we can freely move over to the First and the Third. Also we can have any kind of body.”
“As long as you stick to this one,” I said, “I shouldn’t complain.”
“I’m sure you are curious why I’m interested in having sex in a human body,” she explained. “You should know that our existence in the Second Dimension is boring. We cannot do anything but carry on intellectual conversations with the other driards or the floating free souls. Believe me, after a few thousand years that can be boring.”
“Do you have another body there?” I asked.
“Yes, I do,” she said, “but it is not really a body. It is just an efficient urn that allows my soul to move freely. We built it ourselves and transferred into those artificial containers many millions of years ago. You see, we never die, because we continuously improve and update our bodies as soon as the first sign of deterioration appears.”
“I don’t know if I should envy you or feel sorry for you,” I replied.
“It is a matter of opinion,” she said. “If you play your cards right, you’ll never die either. As long as you can make yourself useful in the Third Dimension, you will live forever, like Luce. Believe me, it could be a challenge.”
I was not so sure I wanted to know more about the driards, but Gemma was not giving up easily.
“I promised you, George, that I’ll educate you about the transfers,” she said. “All you have to do is spend a fun-filled hour with me.”
“How much can I teach you in an hour?” I asked. “What I know took a lifetime to learn!”
“I’ll take it as the introduction, like the table of contents in a book,” she said. “I’ll decide later if it’s worth pursuing the matter further. I never tried being a human female before. I’ve tried Andromedan intercourse, but it’s hard work. I also tested the Valerian body, but that’s no good either. Therefore, I am trying the human body. Would you be my guide?”
Cold sweat was running down my back. This was the being that had transported me to the real world from the First Dimension. I might have to take other trips later, and if I didn’t accept her proposition or failed to satisfy her, the next time she might lose me somewhere in the great void. I was beginning to understand how it felt to be a woman on Earth in the twentieth century and how she had to prostitute her body to prevent a possibly unpleasant event. It was not a nice feeling.
I searched my memory for an occasion when I had forced a woman to bed with me whether she liked it or not. Either I must have been a nice guy or my memory was failing, because my conscience was clear.
In essence, she was going to rape me for the first time in my life; I had better make the best of it. I was supposed to spend an hour making exciting love to a virgin who actually was not a virgin at all, and make sure she would enjoy it. The combination was a tall order!
To top it all, she was not even human, despite the fact she had the most elegant, desirable female body. It was fortunate that I had experienced a long drought and most likely could perform. As far as the mental aspects were concerned, my survival instinct took care of the matter.
“Okay,” I said meekly, “promise me that you’ll not change into anything else, you remain in this elegant, sexy body until we are finished.”
“I promise,” she smiled. “When do we begin?”
I felt like I had just made a dental appointment for an extraction and I had to get it over with. There was no sense in delaying the inevitable.
“Your place or mine?” I asked.
“Mine would be more convenient,” she said, “I keep a beach house next door. We can walk over anytime.”
We left Luce’s house, walking on the beach under the cloudless sky of Mammon.
“By the way, Gemma,” I started, “why did you pick me for this job?”
“There are many reasons,” she explained. “The first one is that you have just came back from the First Dimension. People who spend a long time in the Third eventually lose interest in sex.”
“I don’t think it would ever happen to me,” I remarked.
“I hope you’re right,” Gemma replied. “In addition, your terrestrial records suggest you have slept with more than two hundred women in forty-three years. In my opinion, it qualifies you as an expert. I suppose each of those women taught you something, and you know what to do with me.”
I was proud that my reputation as a womanizer had followed me into Mammon City. I made a mental note to make frequent trips into the First Dimension. If I could afford it, the trip should maintain interest in my favorite pastime.
“And what about him?” I pointed at Angelo.
“Oh, he won’t bother us,” she replied. “He’s just a machine. His job is to record everything.”
“That’s as may be,” I said, “but he looks too human. I wouldn’t be able to disregard him completely; if distracted, the quality of whatever we would be doing would suffer.”
“Well,” she said thoughtfully, “we couldn’t let that happen. I will have him record the proceedings from the next room. My place has all the most sophisticated cameras and microphones.”
Up to this point, I did not know how it felt to be the star of a porno movie, or participate in group sex knowing that someone is recording it for posterity. Although I was a good amateur actor and not too shy, the thought of being with Gemma was not comforting. However, for reasons of self-preservation, I told myself to go through with it and make her happy, even if it killed me.
* * *
Copyright © 2004 by Gabriel S. Timar
