Makeda Red Page 3

  That was the last thing she wanted to hear.

  3

  Makeda glanced around, waiting to see if either of the Saeder-Krupp security would move to intervene. She wasn’t sure what she would do if they did, but something would occur to her. She worked best while under stress and improvising. Both guards stood their ground. The woman looked away as Makeda’s gaze drifted in her direction.

  “SIN being hit hard, but holding. No alarms.”

  Makeda smiled at Galen’s report and tilted her head to the side, giving Tojo her full attention once more. “So, dinner?”

  Tojo nodded with a broad, embarrassed but pleased, grin. “Yes.

  Dinner. And dessert.”

  She took his hand and led him to the exit next to the other Saeder- Krupp security person, a stocky dwarf. Though he stared straight ahead, she knew he was examining her. Just before she pulled Tojo out of the car, she paused to murmur in his ear, “We’re going to have a good time, I promise.”

  Tojo nodded. “I hope.”

  Makeda smiled on the surface. That smile did not meet her eyes. With Saeder-Krupp security watching the target, this was going to be a bit more complicated than she thought. Like every run ever. It might involve throwing Tojo from the train and following after. She hoped it wouldn’t come to that, but was prepared to do what was needed to get the job done. In the meantime, she knew she had to keep the target out of the public eye.

  She mentally shrugged as they entered the next car—another dance car full of beautiful young people and techno pop music—it wasn’t the first time she’d used her body to keep a target safe and pacified. It wouldn’t be the last. The two cut through the crowd. As they exited the dance car, the Saeder-Krupp security woman entered. Makeda knew she was going to have to do something about that. She just didn’t know what. Not yet, anyway.

  The next car was exactly what she was looking for: one of the dining cars. They were met by a Party Train host and led to a booth in the middle of the room. Makeda gestured for Tojo to sit first. She slid in after, right next to him. At first, he looked startled, then his blush returned. Makeda gave him a coquettish glance. The more he was distracted by her, the less he would give away to their observers.

  They both ordered the shabu-shabu hot pot and wine. As soon as the server left, Makeda murmured to him like a lover, “Tell me, my little okurimono, why would your soon-to-be former employers have watchdogs on you? What aren’t you telling us?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m nobody. I don’t have an important job.”

  She waited until the dining car’s din rose to answer. “No one pays this much money to extract someone ordinary, and Saeder-Krupp wouldn’t spend watchdog resources on a nobody. What do you do?” Based on all her team’s research, she already knew that Tojo worked for Krupp Specialist Engineering. A talented developer was worth poaching, but having security personnel assigned to a salaryman on vacation? There was more to this story, and she needed to find out what it was fast.

  Tojo shrugged. “I’m just an engineer.” He paused, tapping his fingertips on the table as he thought. “I’ve never taken a vacation before?” He offered up the suggestion like a sacrifice.

  “Have you been talking about being unhappy?” He shook his head.

  “Recently broken up with a girlfriend? Closed any accounts?”

  Tojo started to shake his head, then shrugged. “I consolidated my credit cards into one account last month. Paid off a lot of debts.”

  Makeda pondered this. “Anyone close to you died or committed suicide recently?”

  He blinked at her, surprised. “No.” He thought some more and shook his head. “No,” he repeated.

  “But you changed your routine and booked the Party Train.” She gave him a slow smile, then leaned into his lips and murmured “You caught their attention as a flight or suicide risk.” She kissed him before he could protest her assessment. She let the kiss linger, tasting him. Not bad at all. When they came up for air, she ducked her head. “I’ll take care of it…and you. All will be well. That’s what I’m paid to do.”

  They looked up as the meal arrived in a series of fresh vegetable dishes and thinly sliced beef on a tray. Another server brought a boiling hot pot of soup. The meaty, savory smell of it wafted close, making Makeda’s mouth water. She gestured for Tojo to put the vegetables into the bubbling broth and gazed around the dining car. The Saeder-Krupp security woman was nowhere to be seen. Then the back of a familiar head, exiting the dining car in a rush, caught her eye.

  Imre Dahl had seen her kissing Tojo and appeared to be making a hasty retreat. Makeda rolled her eyes at the implied high-school antics. In truth, she would have rather been with Imre, but she had a job to do. She was going to do it and do it well. Imre could be contacted later. She glanced at Tojo. He wasn’t going to be bad company. Just complicated.

  “Tell me about you? Your job? Your home?” Makeda took a pair of chopsticks in hand and selected a slice of the raw beef to swish into the hot broth. She might as well keep Tojo talking about himself while they ate. It would keep him from asking about her. Also, it might give her a bit more insight into the Saeder-Krupp guards and why they were following him. Most people knew when they were important enough to warrant extra protection.

  She ate as he talked, cooing at just the right moment to keep him talking. “That sounds hard…” or remarks to that effect were all she had to say to re-invigorate the conversation. Part of her studied the rest of the diners. Part of her kept an ear on Tojo’s monologue.

  “—Have you ever tried to make an elevator go sideways? Not as easy as it seems.” Tojo flourished a bit of bamboo at her before popping it in his mouth. “Up and down are easy. There’s only two directions. Sideways, not so much. There could be any number of directions.”

  Makeda turned her full attention to Tojo. He looked pleased with himself. “Make an elevator go…sideways?”

  Tojo nodded, scooping fragrant rice and vegetables into his mouth. “It’s going to be the next big thing. Elevators go up and down. But think about arcologies. They want—need—something more adaptable. The problem comes when you want the elevators to go north or south or east or west as well as up and down. Or any approximations of the four cardinal directions.” He grinned. “Then again, some don’t want straight lines. Some like curves. Like an airport tram, but in elevator form.”

  It was rare for an idea to bring a new perspective that was so weird and so outlandish that it had to work. It was much like the vaunted doggie door. Weird in conception, but once you had it, you wondered how you could’ve lived without it. Makeda considered some of the arcologies she’d “visited.” All of them would benefit from elevators that moved sideways. She eyed her target. Things were starting to make more sense.

  Tojo worked in Krupp Specialist Engineering. Thyssen-Krupp, a Saeder-Krupp subsidiary, was responsible for most of the world’s elevators. If he was part of the team working on these sideways elevators, he was more than a nobody. There was a lot of proprietary information that could be worth millions in his head. Maybe. Perhaps that was why he was being extracted, and why Saeder-Krupp security was keeping an eye on him.

  “I’m amazed at this idea. It’s not something I would’ve ever thought of.” Makeda smiled, truthful and worried. It was more important than ever to get him tucked safely away in her sleeper suite until they escaped the train.

  “I know.” Tojo’s eyes lit up, warming to the subject.

  A lovely blonde woman in one of the Party Train uniforms sat down in the booth across from them. “Good evening. May I join you?” Makeda started to say “No,” but Tojo answered before she could.

  “Yes, of course. It’s good to see you again.”

  Makeda looked between the woman and her extraction target. First, Saeder-Krupp was watching him. Next, he was inviting strange women to eat with them. This was getting better and better. Maybe she should just drug the drek out of him and make him sleep until they got off the train. />
  The woman offered her hand, “I’m Beauty, one of the Party Train entertainment hostesses.”

  Makeda paused before she shook the woman’s hand. “Hello.” “This is the hostess who made sure I got on the train all right

  when I missed meeting up with you.” Tojo’s cheeks flushed a hectic red that was more than the wine they were drinking.

  Beauty smiled and glanced between them. “I had to check in on Tojo and see who this lovely lady was. He was so upset at missing you. We absolutely cannot have that on the Party Train. It’s against the rules. I’ve been assigned to do anything—anything—I need to help our guests have a good time. We’d like to make this an annual event. Happy partiers are repeat partiers.”

  Makeda chuckled. “I think we have our entertainment well in hand. Thank you.”

  “What do you suggest?” Tojo blinked at the woman like he’d been drugged.

  Makeda realized he was trying to flirt with her. She was all for Tojo having a good time while they were here, but with Saeder-Krupp nosing around, she’d rather they kept things low key and private.

  Beauty leaned forward. “I have a private suite at my disposal. I would love to entertain you there. She locked eyes with Makeda. “Both of you.”

  “We’d love that.” Tojo nodded like a teenager. He leaned to Makeda. “Please?”

  It was all Makeda could do to keep from slapping him upside the head for destroying her neatly laid plans—again. She glanced at Beauty. The woman did match her name—and that lovely blond hair… Makeda considered her options. Being occupied by official Party Train entertainment would keep the Saeder-Krupp security personnel off their backs. Also, it was private. It could keep them out of trouble for a bit.

  She tilted her head and gave Beauty a thoughtful smile. “I think…perhaps…I would enjoy that. You said you have a room?”

  * * *

  If TechnoGalen said anything, Makeda swore she was going to reach right through the Matrix and throttle him. He must have sensed something, because he remained silent.

  Beauty nodded. “I do. I’ll have dessert delivered.” She raised a hand and got their attendant’s attention. After a couple of quick words, the server smiled with a glance to Makeda and Tojo then disappeared again.

  “C’mon. Everything’s set.” Beauty slid out of the booth. Makeda and Tojo did likewise. Beauty directed them away from the sleeper cars and up through the rest of the train Makeda had not yet seen. When Makeda gave her a confused look, Beauty moved in close and whispered, “Staff get their own sleeper cars for entertainment in the front of the train.”

  “Lead the way.” As soon as Beauty turned, Makeda grabbed Tojo by the shoulder. “We’re going to have a talk about this.”

  Tojo smiled like a kid with a secret. “Trust me. It’ll be fine.”

  Makeda smoothed her face into something pleasant and followed the two of them. She noted that there weren’t supposed to be sleeper cars in this direction if the graphic of the train in the lobby car was even remotely accurate.

  Makeda lagged behind, watching Beauty lead an apparently besotted Tojo through the train cars. “Galen, get me everything you can on Beauty. Is she who she says she is?”

  “Working on it. Have a good time. I’ll take pictures and rate them later.”

  “You’re going to pay for that.”

  “Worth it.”

  Beauty dodged through the crowds like a pro, stopping from time to time to help Tojo navigate the dancing, drinking people. Her help was more to allow Tojo to cop a feel than anything else. From time to time, she gave Makeda a sly smile that promised the world. As much as Makeda wanted Beauty to be exactly what she seemed— an entertainment hostess hired to do whatever the guest wanted—it was more likely that the woman was a thief, a prostitute, or both. A joygirl was fine. A thief was not.

  Then again, as they passed through half a dozen cars, none of the other entertainment hosts and hostesses gave her more than a passing glance or a brief wave. “Tell me you got something, Galen,” she muttered as they entered a sleeper car and Beauty smiled, gesturing to an unmarked door.

  4

  “Security is tight. I did find a ‘Beauty Morel’ on the public Party Train hostess list. Still digging, but she looks legit so far. I’m going after her HR file.”

  They stopped at the unmarked sleeper car suite. Beauty used her own Party Train band to open it. Another interesting tidbit. Makeda hadn’t realized that the woman’s bangle jewelry hid the same electronic security the guests wore.

  Inside, the sleeper suite itself was identical to the one assigned to Makeda. Only this one was already in the bedroom configuration, and there was a tray of champagne, strawberries, whipped cream, and chocolate dipping sauce on the counter. A light musky scent perfumed the air—most likely filled with pheromones.

  In short, it was an undisguised seduction in waiting. Makeda wondered if this was standard fare.

  Tojo voiced her question. “Wow. Are all of the hostess suites set up like this?” He moved into the room to examine the bottle of champagne.

  Beauty closed the door behind them. “Only if a guest avails themselves of the offered…amenities. We signal to the concierge, and they make certain all is ready.”

  The woman’s slight French accent slipped through her cultured diction, adding an exotic undercurrent to her words. Partially aroused and completely suspicious, Makeda couldn’t help herself. “Do you get paid extra for this?”

  “Only if you want to tip me.” Beauty gave her that sly smile again and trailed a finger down Makeda’s arm. “This is part of my job and my pleasure. I’m paid well, and I choose how I entertain our guests.” The two of them locked eyes as she continued, “I only want to do what you want to do. You can watch. You can join in. This is your party.”

  The explosion of the cork leaving the champagne bottle broke the moment, and both women jerked as if shot. Makeda saw Beauty’s hand move to her thigh in reflex as if to grab a weapon. Then she straightened. It was quick, but Makeda was sure the woman had some sort of defense hidden under her short skirt.

  A defense and a weapon, Makeda thought with a small leer. Maybe duty and pleasure were going to happily coincide for once. She let her eyes linger over Beauty and Tojo. Of the two, she was more attracted to the hostess than her extraction client. Together, they could make quite the threesome that would eat up the hours—and keep Tojo out of sight. Makeda felt the rush of blood through her body as she considered it.

  “Suimasen.” Tojo laughed and put his hand over the top of the bottle to keep it from making too much of a mess. “I’m sorry,” he repeated. Then flushed as the two women laughed. “Champagne?”

  Beauty winked at Makeda. “Of course, but let me do that…”

  She walked over to Tojo, giving her hips an exaggerated sway, and took the champagne from him. Winking again at Makeda, she drank a couple of swallows straight from the bottle then licked the edge of it to catch any drops. Beauty poured three glasses, handing off two of them. Makeda continued to watch, playing with the stem of her glass.

  Tojo drank half his drink in a single gulp and chuckled. He let Beauty take the glass from him. She did so, pressing her body to his and offering a kiss. He accepted it, but slow and sensual. Not at all like Makeda had expected. Until this point, he’d acted like an inexperienced teenager. Apparently, that had been nervous anticipation. Once it got down to brass tacks, Tojo knew what he was doing.

  Watching them, Makeda sipped her champagne and licked her lips. It was good. Really good. For a woman who usually drank synthahol, all this real alcohol was spoiling her. She smiled and swore one day she would have the real stuff, whiskey, whenever she wanted it.

  Beauty guided Tojo to the bed, still kissing him. He let her lead the way, sliding backward until he was almost to the headboard. They grinned at each other as she fumbled with the hidden buttons. She pulled open his shirt with a dramatic flare and laughed as buttons went flying, then turned. “Makeda…” she made the name sou
nd like a purr, “…would you hand me the chocolate sauce?”

  Makeda couldn’t help but smile. It was going to be a mess, but my, what a fun mess. She did as requested, thankful Galen was keeping his mouth shut. Oh, to have some real privacy right now. The idea of throwing all caution to the wind grew. But she didn’t turn off her internal comms. It was the one rule she had when running point on a job. There was no privacy. Everyone heard and saw what she did. Still…Makeda licked her lips, mimicking Beauty, who tasted the chocolate before she turned back to Tojo. She could almost imagine the taste of it. Her eyes traveled up the curve of Beauty’s thigh to where it disappeared under the black skirt and wondered what else was hidden beneath it—silk or lace or a combination of both?

  Makeda stepped back, drinking more of her champagne. She watched Beauty dab the chocolate onto Tojo’s chest, then lick it off. He was lean and more muscular than she’d expected. Tojo was a man who liked to work out. Beauty teased one of his nipples, making him groan. He pulled her up for a rougher kiss.

  Taking a breath, Makeda took another swallow of the champagne. She was surprised to find the glass empty. She licked her lips, her cheeks flushed from both the alcohol and just how much she wanted to be part of what was happening before her. Well, she thought, it’s one way to keep the package safe until the hand-off.

  Tojo and Beauty looked at her as she put her glass down. Beauty rolled off Tojo and stood in a smooth motion, revealing just how excited he was.

  “We’d love you to join us.” She walked to Makeda and looked up at her. “If you want…”

  “I do.” Makeda gazed at Beauty and, for a brief moment, saw another lovely blonde woman. An elf. One she hadn’t thought of in months. She shook away the phantom of her past and concentrated on the gorgeous human woman before her.

  Beauty offered Makeda a hand. Makeda took it and let herself be pulled toward the bed. Moving slow and watching Makeda’s face, Beauty slid in close, slipping her hands under Makeda’s silky shirt. She lifted her face up and offered a kiss. Makeda, never good at denying temptation, took it.