This choice: Consult Tessa about bringing Jessica • Go Back...Chapter #26The Chessboard of Love and Ambition by: Nostrum   In the span of an hour, Tessa Wright has opened to you in a way she has done no one. You know it must be the wine (exquisite, in fact – but you’re still on your second glass, savoring it slowly), for you know she wouldn’t tell everyone her secrets.
Such as that she once was the late judge Marvin Wright. (But perhaps, that’s why she revealed that to you – just like David Anderson, that was the larva you were born in.) She laments losing that power but she doesn’t mind – holding the reins of the criminal underworld while using the law of the land against the authorities is far more rewarding.
And she describes with exquisite detail how she carried her revenge. How she turned the di Santinos against themselves – using Tessa’s beauty and the pens– until only one was left. How she dug the complot that ousted her and ruthlessly eliminated the plotters. How she turned that survivor – young socialite Glora – into a puppet capo to claim dominion. And of course, how her escort service – as robotic as it may be – still serves as her intelligence collective, warning her against plans to seize her power.
She also tells you how she keeps using the law as her other tool – keeping contacts with greedy law enforcement officers and corrupt justices, using them to keep her lieutenants straight. Even the mayor of Tyneside is in this, as she threatened to sink him and seat his competitor instead.
In less than a year, she became the mediator between all groups – as she always desired.
“A judge can only extend their influence so far,” she finishes her tale as she sips her favorite wine. “With this, I can ensure this city runs as I want to.”
“Is that why Tyneside’s considered the safest city in the state?”
She snorts, nodding. “Certainly more than Detroit, New York or St. Louis. Why – I had an alderman ask how we have crime rates as low as rural towns! But that’s the secret, my dear – tell the brigands to do their business under wraps, or else use the police against them. But also keep cards against those too virtuous. Not everyone knows the fine art of extortion.”
The confidence with which she speaks feels monstrous. She believes to be untouchable, but you know her weaknesses – you, after all, are one. But it is wiser to be in her graces.
“Boasting the safest city in the region is bold, madam. But what about cybercrime?”
“Sadly, I’m a luddite in that regard.” She sees the sparkle in your eye, recognizing the meaning behind your words. “You found about Cassie’s talents, haven’t you?”
“Yes,” you say as you take another sip of wine. “She’s brilliant but lazy.”
“But?”
You guess now you know where Cassie got her insight. “I like that. Not the laziness, of course, but her carefree attitude. Don’t you feel you can relax when she’s around?”
She nods, praising your own insight, but she rebukes you. “Perhaps to you, my dear, but she can be irritable sometimes. An impressive talent gone to waste because she’s driven by her lust, rather than her ambition. I wish she could take to her sister Barbara – a clean head and keeps business and pleasure separate despite temptations.”
“I feel Cassie could do that too,” you tell her. “That’s not what I meant, though. If you drive her into unbridled ambition, she’ll lose her greatest asset.”
“I beg your pardon?”
You feel you went way over her head with that claim, so you dumb it down. “She’s a good girl, madam. Not like us.”
You’re surprised by your own expression. Not like us. What made you say that?
“In what way?” she asks.
“I don’t think she’s willing to play with someone’s life like we do. You know Cassie better than I do. Do you see more of her, or more of her host?”
You make Tessa very pensive. “She embraces Cassandra to a hilt – other than her sex drive, of course. She’s very innocent, isn’t she?”
“Exactly. And I like that innocence, as childish as it may be.”
Your companion glances at the door and looks at you with a piercing gaze. “What do you propose for her, then?”
“Let her be a consultant for law enforcement. Seek control of Tyneside’s information flow through her. Have her tap into the phones and devices of your allies and enemies while your escorts sweet-talk them into telling their deepest secrets.”
She grins, because you’ve captivated her. “Good Lord in Heaven, that made me so wet. You are perfect.”
“Are you so easy to captivate, madam?”
“You know how hard it is to find someone as beautiful and cunning as you are? A counterpart to mine, even?” She grabs your head, gripping it tightly. “As I held you bound, scared, I judged your fate and found you wanting. Then I saw that spark in your eye. I wanted to see if you could live to that potential I saw in you – even though you needed an exemplary punishment.”
“You mean, my ‘vacation’ inside Helen, right?”
“Not everyone can earn praise from their sworn enemy, my dear. You weathered that Hell admirably. And once I bonded you with my Five, you bloomed. I knew a little bit of honey was all you needed to discover yourself.”
“Like you discovered yourself when you reunited with Tessa, right?”
She nods and grins. “Indeed. In less than a month, you have proven to be my greatest asset.”
“Can an asset ask for a favor without strings attached?”
You see her grin sideways, but you also see her lose some of her composure. “What kind of favor, my dear?”
“One you won’t like, madam.” Her face turns very, very serious, but you sweeten your words just as you did with Cassie back then. “One that will put us to the test. One that may sink our burgeoning relationship. But also one that could strengthen it to the point it becomes unshakeable.”
You see the hunger in her eyes. “And what that favor may be?”
“I had to turn down an idea Cassie had. She wanted to sell... let’s say ‘new lives’.”
“You said you turned that idea down, so I presume you won’t steal it from her. Am I right?”
“Of course not. It’d be a horrible security breach – I know she’ll understand. But we refined that idea, and I feel it might actually work.”
“I assume it must be related to the original, then?”
“Indeed, madam.” You muster all of Rachel’s - your – business acumen to sell the pitch. “Let’s start by saying the idea has been already tested and proven successful, and what I propose is simply its natural development.”
“I think I know what you mean. But I want you to tell me, for I still don’t comprehend why it’ll put our relationship to the test.”
“I wanted to see if I could bring someone from my past to experience this ‘new life’. Fully vetted, of course – someone I intrinsically trust.”
“If it’s someone of your full trust, then I see no issue in it. Is it because you want them to be your asset? Not mine?”
“Not at all, madam. Like me, she’s a diamond in the rough.”
“Then it is a woman,” she claims with barely-held bitter disdain.
“More than that, madam. It is someone I hold very dear from my past.”
“Is it from your family?” she asks, and you notice her eyelid trembles. “One of your sisters, perhaps? Christina, maybe?”
“No.” You take a deep breath, for this will be what may sink everything. “Madam... When I left my past life, I left many things. A school life. Friends, Family. But most importantly... I left a girlfriend. If I am to embrace my new self in its entirety--”
“You wish to see if you still have feelings for her.”
You weren’t about to say that, but you rapidly cling to it. “Yes, madam.”
She takes a deep breath, gulping the rest of the wine in her glass. She folds her hands together, hiding her pain behind her thoughts. “I admire your boldness. I confessed my love to you, and yet you still put it to the test.”
“That’s why I said you wouldn’t like it, madam. I chose to be upfront with you because I appreciate all you do, and because I value your feelings.”
“You don’t fear harming those you love, then.” As you see how her face distorts into a proud mother’s grimace, you know your words hit the mark. “Such callousness, my dear. Such honesty. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you did this to spite me.”
“Did you do this to spite myself? You offer me the world, but you can easily take it from me when I start to bore you.”
She snickers, but you sense that to be a pained laugh. “I did it because I sensed a kindred soul. But don’t take this as the words of a wounded woman. You’re very right on one thing – I expected this to be an easy conquest. Dazzle you with beauty and power to make you mine. But if we are to have a deep relationship, it must be placed on the crucible to be refined from any and all impurities.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m rejecting you. We barely know each other.”
“That is precisely what I mean. I expected this soiree to fulfill that purpose, and it has done so. I revealed my darkest secrets, and you revealed your heart to me. I have no regrets.”
“Then I presume you’ll agree to my proposal?”
“I will.” Her answer comes from the lips of an unreadable mask. “I want to see where this develops. I feel... excited by the uncertainty of it.”
“I appreciate that.” You understand why people claim plotting is like playing chess. You’re just as excited at the thrill of winning.
You look at the empty table, with the barest signs that there was a delicious full course before. You already have your victory. But you want to make one last move. “The food was delicious, madam. But I’m yearning for some dessert.”
“But you already had tiramisu, dear.” You look at her in the eye, and you know she knows what you mean.
“I figured you'd missed your favorite.”
“That’s why I said I wouldn’t, dear. Should we do it in my bed, or in yours?” You have the following choice:  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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