Zera sighed. “Give it away, and it loses value. If you don’t value yourself, they will start to take it, and they can do it. This corporation was developed to keep people like you safe. People with good hearts and a need for money. Or folks who just like screwing but who have generous souls.”
“Why is that so important?”
“I looked up your client. He qualifies as special needs. You fulfill those needs, and he will want more. In fact, he tried to get it. He got this address from the transport display, and he tried to enter the building a few minutes ago.”
“Who is he?”
Zera looked at her with a grin. “You really want to know?”
“Yeah. He didn’t have a team code.”
“He wouldn’t. He’s the premier assassin of the Aksalla government. They send him out to murder terrorists and slaughter them without trial.” Zera used her tablet to bring up the information, and she smiled. “Do you wanna see him?”
Eleven got nervous. “Um. No. I am pretty sure that I will know him if I see him again.”
“Are you sure? He’s really handsome. Just the kinda guy you would want to curl up with on a cold night.”
“Um, that isn’t what I am in this for. I am tired of going to bed hungry. I just want to get a few months ahead of my bills so I can go back to school. Today should get me mostly there.”
“Good.” Zera smiled. “Would you see him again?”
“Definitely, but I know it won’t be for a while, so I am not holding my breath.”
“Okay. I will make a note in your file. You did good. Have a nice night.”
Eleven left the building with a surge of hope. Her com pinged, and the money was in her account. It pinged again, and she sat on the sidewalk. An amount twice the first had been dropped in as a performance bonus.
She got into a transport, set it to take her home, and she cried.
* * * *
Zera lifted her head. “Salat, you can be visible now.”
From on top of one of her cabinets, a beautiful cat man appeared. “I want her.”
“I know, but she is free to do as she wills. If you want her, you are going to have to convince her. For that, you will need another date.”
He grunted and ran a hand through his hair. “I am going tomorrow. I have other assignments I need to attend to. I wish to give her some extra funds. May I do that?”
“Certainly. There are performance bonuses allowed.”
Salat grimaced. “Can I send her things?”
“Of course. Send them here, and I will make sure she gets them.”
“Thank you, Zera. Is it possible to make her exclusive to me?”
“No, but she is a very specific taste, so I do not think she will gain much attention. I will definitely keep the curiosity seekers away from her.”
He smiled. “Thank you. She’s exceptional. I would like her protected, but in her occupation, she has no opportunity to be sheltered.”
Zera chuckled. “She told you about that?”
“Eleven cannot stand up to torture or even light foreplay with some interrogation.” He grinned.
Zera snorted. “So, not a fan of the rules all the way around. Fair enough.”
“What is her name?”
“Will you mug my computer system to get it?”
“If I have to. I need to know before I leave. What is her name?”
Zera looked at his cold black eyes. “Khytten Danforth.”
He laughed, his sharp teeth exposed. “Khytten? Yes, that suits her. Wait, if she is activated, why does she have a last name?”
“She insisted that her activation was stupid, and she was refusing to go into the program or give up her last name. She said the only thing the program could have done was teach her how to squirt milk at her enemies.”
He grinned. “It would have worked for me. I would have been on my knees.”
“Yes, but you are the only big cat I have met and definitely the only one she has met.”
He sighed. “Hopefully, the space between us will dull the burn. Thank you for your help.”
“No problem. I am just getting into the idea of matchmaking. You two would be my first match.” Zera inclined her head. “Get out, Salat. I am going to increase my security.”
He snorted. “Do as you like.”
He got up and walked through the doors and out to the lift.
Zera snorted. Khytten was going to have her hands full with that one.
Zera headed back to her office with the two test uniforms hanging up on the wall. Hers had been custom-made. She had five hours to sleep, and she was wearing both Susa’s coms and her own. It was going to be a very busy day.
At three in the morning, Zera’s alert went off. She pulled on her suit, grabbed Susa’s, and went to get her dressed. In the middle of the night, she had had a brainstorm. She was going to get into Susa and simply expand herself around her to her normal height. It would slow her down a bit, but since she was called first, she could possibly put Susa in the maintenance cupboard while she ran her test.
If she could move them together, it would help when the active part of the test began. She didn’t have to get best in class; she just had to pass so that her application to the research teams could be considered.
Getting Susa into her bodysuit took precious minutes, and Zera realized that she could have just jumped into Susa’s body and gotten dressed that way. She wasn’t good on three hours’ sleep.
With both her and Susa dressed, they ran to the testing grounds. The huge warehouse of a building studded with guards was waiting for her in the predawn. She skidded to a halt at registration.
“Researcher Zera reporting.”
The registrar smiled. “Twelve minutes is not bad but could cost a life.”
“Understood.”
“Your team and assignment are inside.” The hand gestured, and Zera winced. She wasn’t going to have a chance to
