Senescence (Jezebel's Ladder Book 5) by Scott Rhine Read Free Book Online Page A

the VTOL
transport.
    “Yes. Koku shows five bases within
range of that aircraft. I’m sending a member of our legal team to each as a
favor to Ms. Hollis.”
    “We built that transport,” Laura
said. “You already know who owns it.”
    “Correct. It’s registered to the US
Air Force. Edwards is the closest base—where you’ll be going.”
    “What do you need?” she asked.
“Obviously it’s something you don’t want the rest of the board to see.”
    “A unique challenge to your
inestimable talents.”
    The more he flattered, the more she
knew she would hate the assignment. “The courtroom bores me. I earn more for
you in the lab, and we both know it.”
    The old man chuckled, wheezing with
the effort. “If you had been a man, you could have ruled the world.”
    “As a multi-talent, if I’d been a
man, I would have died in the womb.” Ninety-five percent of the attempts did.
    Mori raised a finger. “Ah, the
heart of your mission. The young man you will be defending has circumvented
that problem. Find out how, and our company will be able to name its price.” He
handed her a folio of fact sheets and photos to bring her up to speed.
    “Is he a scientist with a new
breakthrough?” She flipped through the stack idly. To reach the court date on
time, she would need to take the orbital shuttle. Her internal clock would be
off by almost half a day.
    “No. He carries the answer in his
very flesh. Stewart Llewellyn was born of parents who possessed at least two
space-navigation talents each, plus sensitivity to the Collective Unconscious. ”
    “Five
talents … and male?” she said, raising her voice in surprise. “That’s never
happened before.” Grandfather is after the Holy Grail of Active genetics .
    “Bring me a biological sample.”
    “I can’t just steal it,
Grandfather. You know the rules. The media will be all over me. He’ll have to voluntarily give me a substantial sample—blood or semen.” She had never slept with an
Active before. It was the only thing her mother had ever forbidden. The dangers
from pregnancy or accidental bonding were too great.
    Mori shrugged. “You’ve never had
trouble extracting either type of sample from men when it suited you.”
    Clouding, she said, “I’m not a
whore.”
    “All my lawyers say that. What’s
your price?” Blood relation and human kindness didn’t matter to Mori. He cut
straight to the chase.
    Laura looked at the defendant on a
beach video. He had an open, trusting face. As someone who had been raised in
isolation, he would be simple to bend to her will. She wanted to cry, but told
her grandfather, “Freedom for my mother and myself. If I get your sample from
this spaceman, then you let us move out.”
    He steepled his fingers. “Define
freedom.”
    “First, I earn 2 percent of all
product revenues derived from his DNA.” A finder’s fee was standard, but not
for such a large windfall.
    “A hundred million flat,” he
countered.
    Laura pursed her lips and nodded.
“Second, the company returns my reproductive rights.”
    “Fine,” he said. “That will end
your allowance.” Mori provided her a steady income for not flooding the market
with her multi-talented DNA. Most children enhanced by the company had to sign
such contracts.
    “No interference from you ever
again.”
    “Sooner or later, you’ll want a
favor from me.”
    “That’s my problem,” Laura said.
    “When I die, you could inherit the
company,” he tempted.
    She shook her head. “You’re like a
vampire. You’ll outlive us all, especially if you gain access to Sanctuary regeneration pods.”
    “Perhaps.”
    “Put our deal in writing. Do I need
to free the astronaut?”
    Mori shrugged. “That doesn’t matter
if you can get the sample without it.”
    “Agreed.”
    “That’s my Salome.” He insisted
they shake hands on the deal.
    She wanted to take a shower.
    ****
    Because she was cute and
a high-ranking member of one of the world’s largest defense