Damsel: No More, page 10
part #1 of Damsel Series
“It’s probably always like that. For the police, too. They get to a crime scene and don’t know what’s going on. They can’t understand the nuances so just go down a checklist and if that doesn’t work, they, the courts too, just roll over anyone in their way. Which, no, it isn’t always fair. It probably can’t be. For society to work, sometimes the good people have to lose, even if it isn’t the right way to do things. I mean, with that man last night, what else could have been done? He was setting things on fire and needed to be stopped. If Cry Diamond and you hadn’t been there, then he might have moved to the next building, or been shot by the police when they showed up, since, right... They don’t have an immunity to fire and would have to be freaked out.”
Slowing down, since it was about time for her to do that, having been going for about fifty-five minutes according to the giant clock on the wall, Hannah turned her head to look at her pal.
“Then the courts will treat it as if he’s a monster and... I get it. He was upset after being wronged. I know that rage. Worse, it wasn’t an individual that did it, it was... Everyone. The government. If some super jerks try to kill me, or whatever, I can fight back. Maybe I can’t win, but no one will lock me up for trying. When the system does it, you just get fucked.”
Which was all true enough, and not really a statement on people that put on pajamas and went out into the night to fight evil. She sort of got the idea, really. She also sort of didn’t. There was no way for someone like her to fix what was broken in the world.
Which, given her resources, probably meant no one else would have a great shot at it either.
Instead of making fun of her for being an idiot, Kate hugged her.
“Yeah... I know that one. The world isn’t fair. It never was and maybe can’t be. So, even if you can’t fix it all, if that’s the case, what are you going to do about it? Most people, when they work that part out, give up. I’m not feeling that from you, for some reason. So, what’s the plan?”
She shrugged.
“I don’t know... Lessons so I don’t die too easily, and a food bank?”
It was something, even if not enough, by any means.
Chapter seven
Doctor Dan actually had an office at the facility. It was decorated nicely enough that it reminded Hannah of some of the high-end psychologists that her father had sent her to, after several of the traumatic events in her past. The big difference was that the man himself was in casual clothing, designed for exercise, instead of being dressed for a business meeting.
Which reminded her that she had a report, a proposal, to write up. She wasn’t looking forward to it, having not done anything similar for years. Not since her dad’s money had bought her way through college, in fact. A thing which she’d never been proud of, but at the moment suddenly seemed a bit more of a mistake than it had at the time. She had her future mapped out, or it had seemed like it. If anyone would have told her, five years before, that she needed to be ready to impress people in that kind of setting, to get money from them, she would have ignored them and gone to get drunk.
Which was, now that she thought about it, pretty close to what had actually happened.
Instead of lectures, accusations or even questioning about how she knew to even try something like the fourth gait, the man simply stuck his hand out at her. Holding two books. His hand was huge, now that she looked at it, which got her to nod. Then smirk a bit, wondering if Katie had ever bothered to get with the guy. He was hot, fit and smart, which were some of her friend’s favorite things. He was also an employee, which wouldn’t have stopped Hannah, but Kate was better about that kind of thing, most days.
Setting that aside, she took the books, using both hands, because one of them was huge. At least as thick as one of the later Harry Potter books. She used to have a copy of all of those and had even read one of them. The first one. Then the movies had come out, so she didn’t have to do the work implied by the gift that had been given to her. By her half-sister, Cynthia. She’d always been a bookworm, so had given things like that as gifts, growing up.
Still, the Doctor wasn’t trying to get her to read about kid wizards. Most likely.
She read the titles off, one at a time.
“Flexibility, an Improved Physiological Model, By Doctor Daniel Crenshaw and Advanced Bio-Mobility, by Doctor Byron Pleny.” She winked at the man. “See, flirting with me already, assuming that I can read and all that. Now the weird part is that I’ve actually met both of you. At least if Pleny looks like Toby McGuire?” There was a picture on the back of the book, with the man cutely posed, his left fist on his chin, as he looked directly into the camera. It was far more haunting that most of what he’d actually done around her. That had, clearly, been strange though.
Almost constantly. She pointed and widened her eyes, dramatically.
“That’s him. The man who told me to walk funny.”
Dan tilted his head.
“Really? That’s impressive, then. He’s pretty much a recluse. One of the biggest names in a certain field, at the same time. There’s a chapter in there on the fourth gait. Read chapters four and five of my book and practice that for now. Or, really, read the whole thing, so that I can claim at least one person in the world who wasn’t paid to edit the thing did that? Are you going to be here every day?”
Hannah tilted her head, then shook it.
“I have no clue. I’m pretty certain I have to practice every day for now, but that doesn’t mean it will be here. I think I have a trip coming up. A sudden one. I... Guess some people are coming back to try and kill me?” She waved at her face then, bruised and still holding red marks from cuts. “This, it seems is the new face of capitalism. A psychic said they might be coming back for more. I’m planning to make that difficult for them. By, you know, running, hiding and... Honestly, that’s all I have right now.”
Instead of the man acting freak out, impressed or even doubting, he just nodded.
“That’s pretty messed up of them. You can borrow my beach house? It’s tiny and the kind of place you’d never go to, but also in Oregon, so you could vanish there to good effect, I bet.”
She started to say no, since that might put the man out, or seem entitled. Plus, her family had several places she could stay... Which, would be known, or could be, by the Red Trio.
So, taking a slightly bigger breath than was strictly polite, her face stiff, she nodded.
“That... Sounds good, actually. I can’t confirm any plans right now, but I may take you up on that. Will you be coming with me?” They weren’t close, but Doctor Hottie wouldn’t be the most evil person for her to spend a few days with, if she had to hide away like that.
There was a scoffing sound then.
“Nope. My wife would not go for that one, for some reason. She’s just closed minded that way, it’s a shame really.” The man was playing, so Hannah chuckled back at him, then realized leading on a married man wasn’t that great of an idea. She truly didn’t need the drama at the moment.
“Fair enough. I’ll get with you, through Kate, if that becomes needed? Or, I guess, I can get with your wife, so she knows I’m not going to poach her guy? If she’s cool with me using the place at all.”
That got a strange look, then a nod.
“I’ll ask her about that? Good plan, since we should hide the connection there as much as possible, if you need to vanish from specific people. Read those, if you get a chance. I’ll work up a plan for you, based on what you did today and those chapters.”
She smiled, hefted the books in both hands, which were slightly damp from sweat, then sighed.
“I also need to practice walking backwards. Um, Pleny told me to. He didn’t really explain why.”
That just got a nod and oddly, a written note made.
“Got it. I’ll have you called to set up specific training times. Talk to you soon!” He waved, clearly being done with the conversation. She didn’t have anything else to add, so waved, awkwardly, nearly dropping the heavy books, and backed out of the room, then spun, to look around, trying to scan things, even if she didn’t really know how.
She showered there, this time taking the folding knife with her, opening it and setting it in the soap dish, since getting it out if someone suddenly came for her while she was damp and slick from suds wasn’t going to work. At least she assumed that. It meant rinsing the thing off, then drying it with her towel, after getting out, since it had picked up residue from the shower. Hannah realized that kind of thing might be bad for the blade, even if it was made of metal and some kind of grippy rubber on the handle. It might need to be oiled or something. Not that she knew how to do that kind of thing at all.
Which was another thing for her to learn how to do, recalling what she’d been told, Pleny’s eyes staring at her coming back as she recalled the idea. Which also brought to mind the idea of getting VR in.
She felt slightly overwhelmed, with all the new things and ideas she needed to master. That kind of thing wasn’t how she’d lived her life. Still, the basic concept was the same, so after arranging her clothing and getting a cab to come for her, she sat in the back and called Tyler, her tech guy.
He answered on the second ring. His voice a bit gruff, if really too high pitched for that.
“What do you need?” He was always a bit short and a little rude. At first.
She grinned at the idea.
“Is that any way to speak to your third favorite client? It’s Hannah de Peyser. As for what I want... I need a high-end VR set-up, with all the bells and whistles, and for you to teach me how to set it up and use it.”
There was a cough and the voice changed, becoming happier. As if talking to her was a good thing.
“What do you need it for?” The voice stopped then and grew exasperated. “Fuck, that sounds accusing, doesn’t it? I don’t care if you want it for porn, or for virtual shopping, it will just impact the system requirements.”
Hannah snorted.
“Like I need porn? That’s why I have friends. Anyway, I need to use it to practice shooting. Um, pistols. Is that... I don’t know if people do that kind of thing, really.” Carl had mentioned it, but the idea that the man might be weird that way, doing something almost no one in the world did was very possible. Lashondra was a bit different, so her pals might be as well.
Tyler made a soft noise.
“That’s super common, actually. Okay, I can work up something for that. You’ll want a dedicated computer for it, if you want really high end on it. Haptics as well? That will cost more and we might have to rewrite some code to make it work. Also... you want me to teach you how to actually do the set up yourself? That...It will take ten times as long that way, you know that, right?”
Hannah doubted that. After all, she knew how to plug a computer in, and use google, but on the hardware side that was about all. It would probably take at least twice that.
“Yeah. Still, we can spend some quality time. Plus, you know, I’ll pay you for it, as long as you don’t perv out on me too much. You know how you are, trying to guide a woman’s hands as she tightens a screw like in a movie...”
That got a sound that was exasperated.
“Sure, sure. Like my crippling shyness would let me do anything like that? Right. I can run this up. I’ll have to order parts for it, which will take a bit. I can, possibly, find some things... Call it three days? I have my own unit, but no spares here. Plus, that isn’t as high end as you can afford to go. You did say you wanted the best that way, right? You probably won’t need it for that.”
“It was what I was told to get, so let’s do it. Three days. I might be out of town then, but I can send money for it now. I know you won’t cheat me. Thanks Tyler.”
“Send it to the normal account. I’m on it.” Then the phone hung up, the guy not trying to set up a date or anything. Then, he never did. He wasn’t old, being about thirty, and was a bit heavyset, as well as balding. Still, he’d never seemed shy to her, even if he said that each time they met.
If anything, he was far too blunt and a bit sarcastic. Teasing too, which worked for her, since she did that kind of thing most of the time, herself.
That taken care of, she sighed and then groaned.
“Work time. I hope I don’t pull something, with the unfamiliar activity and all.”
It was mainly research, to remind her what to do, since the classes had been a long time before, then ripping facts off-line and putting together a short but fairly dense idea set. She tried to spell most of the idea out, using language that wouldn’t sound like a four-year-old asking daddy for a quarter to get a gumball from a machine. Then she went over it, catching typos and spelling errors, even if the thing wasn’t long at all. It wasn’t a thing she was good at, so she, feeling a bit annoyed, did it six times. Finding things to fix with each pass.
Really, she needed to have it gone over by a pro, and possibly a lawyer, though she thought everything in it was legal enough. Legit, even. That was printed and put in a folder that she had been given for some paperwork, about six months before. There was no writing on the outside of it, so it could work for the purpose on short notice.
Then she got ready, and made her way out of the city to her dad’s place. The cab driver seemed put out by the trip, even if she tipped her well, when she got out, at the iron front gate, by the guard house. Then, as if demons were after her, the driver practically sped away. More to the point, the woman actually had. The tires squealed on the road a bit as she got out of there. It was strange enough that Hannah looked around, half expecting a hit team to show up.
A thing which, thankfully, didn’t happen.
The guard on duty, who was dressed in a black suit, was a large man, built like a football player, or weightlifter. Muscular, with just a bit of fat on him, to soften things a little.
“Miss de Peyser.” There was a nod, and a glance at a screen, then tapping on it directly, before the gate was opened for her. That happened automatically, since a lot of things at the mansion were automated.
The walk to the front of the place was a long one. Made easier for her by the fact that she had running shoes on, even if that wasn’t going to match the theme that night. Her clothing was dressy, but a bit butch, since she had black slacks on, instead of a dress. It was needed to hide the weapons. At least with the ones she had. She also had the file and her handbag, though putting weapons in that seemed like a good way for someone to grab it away, leaving her unarmed and them with things that could hurt her. So she needed pockets and a baggy shirt.
Her face was well made up though, with that being heavy enough to cover about half the bruising. Not all of it. Not yet. It looked worse than it had, having turned yellow green and purple in places, on the right side of her head. The little cuts were nearly invisible though, so she had that going for her.
At the door, the butler, who they called Jeeves, even if his real name was Rick, let her in without knocking being needed. The man was old. At least in his seventies and had been with the family her entire life and longer.
That meant he got a grin from her, when he bowed a bit.
“Hey! How have things been going with you?” She hadn’t always been nice to the man, treating him like furniture for a long time. A thing that had always been there, so was taken for granted. On the good side, she hadn’t really been rude to him, either, which, she had to figure, had left her seeming distracted, rather than strictly like an entitled little waste of space.
“Not too poorly, Miss Hannah. Your father is in his study and asked for you to be led there, if that’s acceptable?”
She nodded.
“I know the way. Thanks.” She managed to sound warm on the last word, as if she really meant it. Which, she did. The man had always been kind to her, after all. Even when things had been hard for her and she hadn’t really been that good of a person. Which, she realized, wasn’t totally true. She hadn’t been bad as much as kind of... Spoiled. Not nearly to the level of some of her old friends.
Which was down to the fact that she knew, no matter how things seemed most of the time, that could change at any moment. Every psychologist she’d ever seen had mentioned that people didn’t really change, except when exposed to great trauma. Not once they were adults.
That hadn’t always been for the better, in her case.
The older man gave a little bow again, and gestured for her to go, with a rather formal seeming movement. The hallway to the study was carpeted in red, with the walls being rather polished dark wood. Like it had been for her entire life. There were statues on pedestals, art on the walls, and all that, but it was so familiar that she pretty much ignored it. At least until she realized she was doing it. Letting her mind shut off like that, instead of looking for threats.
It was strange, doing that in a place she thought of as safe, but she’d literally been taken from there, once. Being led away, outside the gate, by their long-time head maid. That thought got her to look around, even though it was the same place that she recalled from her childhood.
When she walked through the study door, her father looked up from his desk.
“Hannah! Thank you for coming. I have some information for you. You...” He gestured at the Manilla folder. “You have that proposal?” From the tone it seemed like he hadn’t thought she would.
Which, she had to admit, seemed about right, given it was her doing the work on it.
“I know, it’s a surprise, but... Here.” She moved forward, placed the papers on the desk, then set her bag on the chair to her left, taking a seat in the one to the right. It was hard and covered with leather, meant for business dealings, not comfort.
Her father, a bit skeptically, read the whole proposal then. Not speaking until it was done. Then he nodded.
“This... needs some work to make viable.” He looked up, after tossing the papers down. “A little bit. Only that, however. It’s actually well done. We’ll need to confirm the plan for advertising and find at least three more mainstream sources. Hiring a PR firm for that makes the most sense, but going in with it being part of a television program is a decent start. How certain is that one?”
