“They are good. We have lost Eleven as an escort. She’s still on the books, but she has an exclusive contract.”
“Wow, we can do that now?”
“Her patron insisted, and since she is specific, it seems right.”
Torun chuckled. “If Zera could handle it, I would go for the exclusive immediately.”
Zera smiled. “But then, he would have to stay home and spend hours satisfying me, and then, do it all over again the next day.”
Dainty smiled and struggled into the bodysuit with Zera’s help. When she was dressed, she asked, “Did we get him?”
“We got him. Mentor dead, doll maker dead and in pieces.”
Dainty hugged her. “Did you see Delvis?”
Tycho said, “He was taken into custody.”
“So, you didn’t kill him?”
“No, if you want to, though, you aren’t technically alive again yet.”
Dainty giggled. “You have made improvements to the suit.”
“Nothing is too good for my little sis.”
Tycho asked, “Why do you call each other sisters? You are obviously not related.”
Susara smiled. “She was there when I was born, she helped me with my first steps, and she went through school with me, held me when our parents died, and helped me train for the program. Ohmygod. Did we take the exam?”
Torun chuckled. “You did. You passed, top of your class. Zera passed, too, using analytical skills and surprising physical prowess.”
Susara blinked. “What?”
“I wore him and punched my way out of a rubble pile.”
“Nice.”
Torun laughed. “It felt most peculiar. Like she was touching me from the inside.”
“I got out of you as fast as I could.”
He chuckled. “We have very different instincts. When I am inside you, I want to stay there as long as possible.”
Susara got her suit sealed, and she wavered to her feet. Her eyes went wide, and she winced. “Right. So, the suit has attached.”
Zera chuckled. “Great. Let’s go break in your stomach.”
She looked at the team. “Did you want to come? We are going up to the Blind Date headquarters.”
They nodded. “We are at your service until we get a call, researcher.”
“Right. Out of the vault and into the lift.”
Susara smiled and let Zera help her as they left the vault with her bodies inside and the door locked up behind them. They headed to the lift, and Tycho asked, “If I am a very good boy, can you bring me back here and give me a tour?”
Zera held her sister up and gave the ocular scan for the upper levels where Blind Date was located. They exited the lift, and once again, they looked like they had stumbled into a candy store.
Torun asked, “Does every escort have their own rooms?”
Zera nodded. “Of course. Makeup, bathing, and grooming facilities. The wardrobe tailored to that particular escort, it is all here.”
She walked Susara to the kitchen area and looked at her companions. “Anyone hungry?”
Everybody agreed that they were hungry, and that was enough. Susara grinned. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”
Zera started chopping, mincing, sauteing, and moving around the kitchen while noodles cooked and rice steamed. In half an hour, plates were slid in front of Susara and the team. “Susara eats first.”
The team got the hint, and Zera brought out another round of fried dumplings and blazing hot dipping sauces. Susara liked heat.
The food-prep orgy stopped, and she put stuff in the washer before heading to the table. The sticks were all that she had provided, and the team wasn’t nearly as dexterous as they should be for international travellers.
She took a few bites, and then, she turned to Torun. “Open.”
He opened his mouth, and she dropped in a mouthful worth of stir fry.
He ate, and Tycho leaned forward and opened his mouth. She fed him and Ryma as well.
She got what she needed first and then helped them speed up their eating while Susara giggled.
Susa chuckled. “By the way, Zera, you and Torun totally look like a couple. I like that suit.”
“Thanks. They gave it to me for the teams’ tribunal today that decided whether I would be allowed to walk free.”
Susa said, “What? Catch me up.”
Torun grinned. “We had to have sex in front of researchers for hours to prove her activation.”
Susa frowned. “Wasn’t that one of the top ten fantasies in your file, Torun?”
He blinked. “You read that?”
“Sure. She can’t vet all that information on her own. I design the costumes tailored to the fantasy lists. Zera’s extruders make the designs come to life. I had some great ones for Eleven, but I never got a chance to see them on her.”
“I showed a few to her, and we just have to let her patron pick. I am sure he is going to go for the spring priestess outfit.”
Susa smiled. “Nice, who is her patron?”
The team answered as one, “Salat.”
Susa blinked. “Really? Wow. Oh, wait. The human milk-cream thing. Right. Makes sense.”
Ryma asked. “You don’t even comment on the compatibility issue elsewhere?”
Susa shook her head. “No, Eleven has all of the characteristics of a woman who has just given birth; she could fit a melon in there if she absolutely had to.”
Torun sighed. “Ah, I am in mourning for a missed opportunity.”
Zera smiled. “Try it with her now. I dare you.”
His look was black. He wouldn’t admit it, but Salat was more dangerous than he was. The projection blades he wielded could easily behead an opponent, and Torun would have to crush Salat before he got close enough to murder Torun. No one did well without a head.
Zera kept eating, and when she was finished, she waited until the team and Susa had their fill. She boxed everything into containers and put it in the fridge for any escorts who were peckish after their dates. There was an open-fridge policy.
As if summoned, Fifteen came into the space and froze. She had her mask dangling from her fingertips, and she blushed crimson in seconds. “Uh. Hi. Sorry, Zera, I just came in to get a drink before I get ready.”
“It’s fine. Sorry. We were just having a meal because Susara is back with us.”
Susa grinned and
