from his efforts the
night before.
“I'm good. I just didn't know
where you were. I wanted to make sure I hadn't dreamed all that,”
he said.
“Oh, I was right here,
communicating with Mrs. Shaw and Ashley. They're both coming along
nicely. Since I didn't have anyone else to guide through the Change
right now, I thought I'd give them pointers on how to control their
bodies.”
“You can communicate that well
with them?”
“If they allow it, I can even
control their bodies from here. I can force changes and let them
observe how it's done.”
“Let me guess, they both allowed
it?”
“Just as soon as they knew that
it was what I desired,” Kelly said.
Jacob grinned at her.
“Any word on the contacts you
wanted Ashley to make?”
“Yes. Her father works as a
consultant for an organization in Boston. She's long thought that
they aren't any normal organization but something called organized
crime. Are you familiar with it?”
“Crap, you're going to get us
involved with the mob?”
“Only tangentially, at first. If
I demonstrate what we have to offer to them, I'm sure that they will
do two things for us. The first is to supply us a great deal of money
to change some of their people. The second is to offer us protection
so long as we agree to continue providing the Change. From her
thoughts on them I discerned that they could use the abilities more
profitably than most others.”
“The mob is notorious about
ensuring that their people remain loyal to them, and only them,”
Jacob said.
“The first thing I'll tell anyone
we change is that while they will always obey us, their apparent
loyalties will be to their superiors in the organization. I will also
tell them to never reveal the fact that they will obey us. With a
little subterfuge we may be able to be in charge of the whole
organization ourselves. It would only require that we meet people
high enough in the organization. I could then Change them if there is
any physical contact. As far as I've seen, all humans crave physical
contact of one form or another. It would be easy enough to ensure
that they have contact with me so I can change them.”
“Are you crazy? This is the mob
you're talking about,” Jacob said. “One wrong move and
they'll kill us both.”
“We've been over that. I won't
allow that to happen nor will I make any wrong move that would
endanger us in such a manner. This is the quickest way to the goal
you stated.”
“I thought we'd be dealing with
CEOs or rich people, not criminals.”
“You'll need to make up your mind
quickly. Ashley's father is hosting a member of that organization at
his house. I was intending on sending Ashley to make our pitch for us
and, if he was willing, going there myself to demonstrate the full
benefits of having people Changed.”
Jacob closed his eyes and dropped his
head into his hands.
If she's wrong we're either dead or on the run, but if she's
right then no-one is going to hassle us ever again. To hell with it,
I'm not going to bet against Kelly.
“We'll give it a try, but please
be careful,” he said.
“Of course. I'll send Ashley now.
If he expresses interest I'll go there myself.”
Jacob nodded.
A half hour later, Kelly received her
reply.
“I need to go now, but don't
worry,” Kelly said. “Actually, I have someone coming to
keep your mind off of things while I'm gone. She'll make sure you
can't think straight enough to worry.”
“Who?” Jacob asked.
“You'll see,” Kelly said as
she walked out the door.
Jacob stood alone in his apartment,
wondering if he'd just signed their death warrants. His musings were
interrupted by a knock at the door. When he opened it, the redhead in
the hallway pushed her way past him into the apartment.
“Hi, Kelly asked me to come over
and keep you company,” she said.
Jacob stared at the redhead. Her skin
was fair, and lightly speckled with freckles. High, tight breasts
tented the tank top she was wearing. If the mini-skirt she had