Somnus IV - Chapter 6 (Patreon)

“Are you sure that the reservations are in order?” Kat asked, nervously smoothing an imaginary wrinkle in her knee length skirt.  “Maybe we should call again to make sure that the restaurant has everything it needs?  I don’t want there to be a last second issue with the security detail or a food allergy-”

“Shush,” Emma replied, placing a hand on the top of Kat’s head to hold her still as she applied a sponge to one of her cheeks.  “Heather has checked the security arrangements four times, and there are contractors from the 3445 in the restaurant’s kitchen.  So long as you let me finish blending your makeup, everything will be fine.”

Kat bit her tongue.  Opening and closing her hands a dozen times over the course of a minute.  The only sound in the luxurious office was the gentle whisk of Emma’s sponge against the side of her face.

Finally, the other woman stepped back a foot or two and looked her up and down once before breaking into a smile and giving Kat a big thumbs up.

“Stunning,” Emma purred.  “Between your outfit and the makeup, I’m sure you’ll blow Whippoorwill away.  You look like a new woman Kat.”

“I don’t want to look like a new woman,” Kat mumbled.  “I want to look like me.  Plus, I barely know anything about the restaurant.  All you’ve done is give me a menu and say that the chef is top notch.  No one has told me about alternate exits, security camera coverage, or automated defenses.  I feel like I’m going in naked.”

Emma sighed, planting both of her hands on her hips before stamping one foot on the floor.  She glared sternly at Kat as she responded.

“This is a date, not a corporate raid.  Heather has your security team deployed everywhere around the restaurant.  They may not be up to your high standards, but there are enough of them that you don’t even have to worry about safety.  Just relax and enjoy yourself for once.”

“This skirt doesn’t have pockets,” Kat grumbled.  “I don’t have anywhere to put my knife.”

Across the room Heather coughed, drawing both of the women’s attention.  Wordlessly, she pulled a handful of nylon and kevlar from a utility pocket and threw it toward Kat.

She caught it effortlessly, and her frown disappeared as she stretched the circular strip of black fabric out.  A half second later, Kat’s leg was braced against an antique oak desk as she fastened the adjustable sheath to her thigh.

“Really?”  Emma asked heatedly, glaring at the security chief.  “She’s going on a date and you’re helping her smuggle a knife into one of the finest restaurants in Chiwaukee?  This isn’t a back alley potluck.  No one is going to take a swing at her over a short weight bag of glitter dust.  She’s a shareholder for Christ’s sake.”

“She wouldn’t be Kat without a knife,” Heather replied, shrugging.  “Plus, I’m pretty sure she can outfight any three of my security guards in full kit while wearing that get-up.  Seems like a waste to let her run around without a weapon.”

Emma glanced from Heather’s discretely smug expression to Kat’s open glee and deflated.  Rather than argue further, she threw her hands up in defeat.

“Fine,” she grumbled.  “But only a knife.  If you try and find a way to smuggle ballistic armor or a machine pistol into one of the most romantic getaways in the midwest, I swear that I will stamp my feet, scream, and make things very uncomfortable for all three of us.”

“Don’t worry,” Kat said happily, sliding her main combat knife into the sheathe.  It fit snugly, strapped to her hip and invisible under the skirt.  “This is more than enough for me.  I still feel like I’m wearing a costume, but it isn’t any more intrusive than an infiltration suit.”

Heather angled her head upward, gaze losing focus as she stared at something on the unobtrusive smartpanel display that covered her left eye.  She nodded to herself before addressing the other two women.

“That’s your preliminary detail Miss Debs,” Heather said, her voice all business.  “Scouts have gone over the potential routes to the restaurant three times and haven’t picked anything up.  We have three helicopters and two motorcades ready to leave simultaneously.  It should be impossible for anyone to track you, but we’re going to have to leave shortly.”

“Understood,” Kat replied, removing her leg from the table and taking a couple of experimental steps to make sure that the hidden knife wouldn’t impede her movements.  Once she finished, she put both hands on Emma’s shoulder and addressed the sulking woman.

“Thank you Em, seriously, I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Emma broke into a simultaneous blush and smile.  She waved a hand dismissively, but Kat could tell that the other woman was proud.

“You don’t even have to say it,” Emma said, beaming.  “Whippoorwill, you, Jasper and Iris are my best friends, of course I’d want to help out.  I just wanted to make sure that your first date with Whippoorwill is special.  I know it means a lot to you, and I like it when my friends get the special moments that they deserve.”

“And you’re going to want a play by play of how everything goes down, right?” Kat asked slyly, releasing Emma.

“Of course,” Emma replied.  “You know me.  I’m not sure that I could survive knowing that I had a hand in planning an event but being left in the dark about all the juicy details about how it was executed.  I’d go mad with curiosity.”

Heather coughed a second time, tapping the thin metal rim that connected her smartpanel to the side of her head.  Kat shrugged helplessly at Emma and began walking toward her security chief, talking over her shoulder as she traveled.

“I’ll make sure to remember how Whippoorwill reacts.  I won’t promise that my after action report will be exhaustive, we need some privacy after all, but I’ll make sure to hit the high points.”

Kat didn’t need to see Emma to know that the other woman was all smiles.  There was something about the way that Heather crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as Kat approached that confirmed all of her suspicions.

“Ready?” Heather asked, refusing to address Emma’s antics directly.  Kat nodded in response, following the other woman to the building’s elevator.

Images of Chiwaukee at night flashed along the walls as they ascended.  Kat knew that they were deep in the interior of the skyscraper, protected by layers of concrete, chrome and steel. The walls of the elevator were nothing but smartglass, albeit very advanced smartglass, displaying videos of the outside world.

The world whirred around her as she enjoyed the neon lights and zooming cars below.  Eventually, the elevator dinged and the door whooshed open, revealing the rooftop of the building where three helicopters sat near each other, their rotors chewing up the air and making it almost impossible to hear.

Picking one at random, Kat led the way to the far left, popping open its door and climbing inside.  Two corporate security guards were already waiting there for her, strapped in via plastic webbing and with compact bullpup carbines draped across their chests.  Heather joined her a moment later, slamming the door shut as she took the seat across from Kat.

The cacophony of engines and spinning rotors quieted almost immediately as the sound dampening foam lining the helicopter’s cab took over.  Heather made eye contact with her, and Kat gave the other woman a thumbs up while adjusting her restraints.

Simultaneously, all three helicopters lifted off from the roof of the building.  Once they were sufficiently above the city’s skyline, each of the vehicles split off, taking its own route.  Other than the jets providing cover above the clouds, all other air traffic had been diverted.  On the ground motorcades began driving at high speeds through similarly cleared streets.

Anyone trying to target here would be forced not only to deal with the extreme security surrounding Kat’s movements, but also to correctly guess the route she was taking to the restaurant.  Even if an attacker knew she was going to take a helicopter, they would have no way to determine which one given that the final decision was made by Kat at the moment of departure on little more than a hunch and a whim.

She glanced out the window, taking in the glittering buildings and dark streets that she had been running and fighting in a little more than six months ago.  Kat shook her head slightly, smiling wryly to herself.  From these heights, everything was so small.  As important as the lives of the people below her surely were, she couldn’t make out any details.  There wasn’t even the tiniest of grips for her to understand their day to day activities and struggles.

“I wish we didn’t have to come back to Chiwaukee,” Kat said, turning back from her window to Heather.  Her head of security was wearing dark matte ceramic armor and a black helmet with an eyeshield that was packed full of the best adapted stallesp technology that GroCorp could manage.

“I share the sentiment,” Heather agreed, her eyes distant as she tracked multiple images projected directly into her eyes by the advanced smartglass stretched across her face.  “This entire city is a security risk.”

“Don’t I know it,” Kat replied with a sigh.  “Given the anti missile defenses on the copters, I don’t think that someone could bring them down with shoulder mounted launchers, but at the same time it wouldn’t be impossible to track them to the restaurant and mount an attack.  I’m glad you brought the sheath, I would have felt completely naked without the knife.”

“At least the restaurant moves,” Heather said grudgingly.  “I think I’d still prefer the research compound.  As much time and effort as we’ve put into hardening your ‘official’ penthouse office, the defenses just seem childish compared to the lab.  But apparently having a date in the food court isn’t ‘romantic’ and what are security concerns for a shareholder in the face of such weighty concepts as ‘romance.”

Kat rolled her eyes, cracking a slight smile at the other woman’s jokingly bitter tone.  Then, her brain finished processing what the security officer said, and cocked her head.

“What do you mean the restaurant moves?” Kat asked.  “I mostly studied biological research rather than architecture or engineering, but the last I checked, buildings aren’t supposed to be capable of doing that.”

Heather grinned at her, eyes flashing mischievously beneath the transparent faceplate.

“Emma made me promise not to tell you everything about the restaurant,” the security chief replied impishly.  “For once, I agree with her, if only to enjoy the expression on your face when you see what she planned out for the two of you.”

Kat squinted at her head of security, but the other woman didn’t relent, smile still plastered on her face.  Finally, Kat sighed, shaking her head ruefully as she responded.

“Heather, you do realize that I’m not only your boss but also your boss’ boss right?  I’m still not entirely sure how important I am in the grand scheme of things, but I’m pretty certain that the answer is some version of ‘very.”

“Of course,” Heather said smugly, unmoved.

Kat rolled her eyes, settling back into her seat and restraints.  If both Emma and Heather were insisting on keeping some nature of the restaurant a secret, she’d trust their judgment.  It went against everything in her nature, but part of the lesson of tonight was to learn to let go, to delegate with her friends and subordinates so that she could actually enjoy some time with Whippoorwill.

The tone of the rotors changed slightly as the helicopter shifted its angle slightly, slowing down as it reached its location.  Kat glanced out the window and raised an eyebrow.

They were still moving fast.  The city blurred past them, lights, steel and glass nothing but streaks.  Below, the helicopter had matched speeds with a maglev train.  It began lowering itself to a circle marked on the vehicle’s roof, and even as they approached, a hatch popped open, spilling light out into the night air.

The helicopter jolted ever so slightly as it landed, and one of the two guards extricated himself from his seat, opening a door and practically deafening Kat as the rush of wind from the rapidly moving train assaulted her ears.  The man landed on the roof of the train, moving in a low crouch to the opening.  He slung his rifle over a shoulder and began descending down a ladder into the train below.

Kat opened her own door, bracing her body against the noise and wind.  She wasn’t sure how fast the train was moving, but Kat dropped to one knee, planting a head against the metal roof of the vehicle the second she stepped out of the helicopter.

The first guard poked his head up, giving the rest of the group a thumbs up, and Kat scurried over to the entrance, climbing down into the light and heat of the train car.  She stepped to the side as soon as she hit the ground, taking note of the real wood paneling lining the walls.  Here and there classical paintings graced the hallway, making Kat’s skin crawl at the absurd opulence of the situation.

A man in a tuxedo rounded the corner, coming face to face with the lead guard’s rifle.  His reactions were a half second slower than Kat would have preferred, but the waiter seemed unphased.  He smiled and nodded at both of them but made no effort to shout over the roar of wind from the open hatch.

With a clank, the sound cut out as Heather and the remaining guard clanked down the ladder.  The man smiled again, bowing slightly, ignoring the gun in his face the entire time.

“Shareholder Debs?” He asked gently.  When she nodded back he continued.  “My name is Esteban and I will be your lead waiter this evening.  Miss Tiller reserved the entire observation car for the evening.  If you and your entourage are ready, I would be happy to lead the way.”

Kat glanced back at Heather.  Her security chief looked over the two person detail and pursed her lips, holding back scalding commentary that Kat was sure would lead to a very awkward debriefing.  The other woman checked the pistol at her hip once before nodding.

“We’re ready,” Kat said, trying to sound confident.  She would have been more at ease in an infiltration suit risking her life to attack the train car.  Still, learning to hold her own in the face of wealth and tradition was an important lesson.  If she was going to be a proper shareholder, she would need to learn how to resolve problems without using magic or a knife.

“Very good,” Esteban replied smoothly.  If he noticed her discomfort, he made an active and very diplomatic effort to bring no attention to it.

He turned on his heel.  Shiny dress shoes clicking against the metal floor as he led the way through a set of empty dining cars.  Windows displayed the Chiwaukee landscape, a breathtaking blur of silver and neon.  Finally, after two cars, Esteban stopped before a reinforced metal door.

He pressed a button on its frame, bowing deeply to Kat as he stepped aside as the door opened.  One of the guards rushed into the room ahead of her.  Kat followed the man, and her breath caught in her throat.

There was one table in the center of the room, a crystal chandelier tinkling slightly as the train rounded a curve above it.  Next to the table, Whippoorwill was hurriedly stumbling to her feet, struggling to balance on the heels that someone had forced upon the poor woman.

She was so beautiful.  Kat had seen her before.  So many times in so many outfits, but never like this.

Warm light spilled over Whip, pink hair framing her face and a slim, simple turquoise dress wrapping her body.  Whippoorwill opened her mouth to say something, and Kat distantly noticed that someone had put just enough foundation and lipstick on her to accent her natural beauty.

Kat took a step forward, unable to take her eyes off of Whippoorwill.  She wasn’t sure if the woman herself was sparkling or if that was some sort of effect created by the chandelier, but it hardly mattered.

Time itself slowed down, stretching the moment out.  Kat felt like she was falling into Whippoorwill’s eyes as she took another step forward.  Every self preservation instinct fled her.  She knew that she should be keeping track of where the door was and how many people were in the room, but it barely mattered.

Whippoorwill was there.  Her Whip.

“Kat,” Whippoorwill’s voice was husky.  “Oh my God, you’re gorgeous.”

The tension broke in that moment and Kat erupted into a smile.  All of the anxiety and worrying, putting up with Emma’s secrets and preparations was worth it.  For that moment alone.

“You too Whip,” she replied, walking over to the table.  The two of them hugged, lingering a second or two longer than necessary before pulling themselves apart and sitting down.

Esteban entered the room, bowing slightly before approaching the table, the same pleasant smile on his face and a bottle of red wine in his hands.

“May I interest the two of you in a cabernet as your first course is prepared?” He asked, rotating the bottle so that they could see its label.

It was twenty five years old and from the West coast.  Kat didn’t know anything about wine, but she trusted Emma.  She nodded at the man, motioning with her right hand for him to come over and fill up their glasses.

The meal rushed by, almost as fast as the maglev itself as it ran a circuitous route several stories above street level through Chiwaukee.  Kat wasn’t even sure how the evening could be better.  Her wine glass was always full, and the food was prepared perfectly.  From the salad to the walnut encrusted trout, to the lobster bisque, she couldn’t even begin to find fault with the meal.

Before she knew it, Kat found herself enjoying tiramisu across from Whip, a small snifter of port that was twice her age in front of both of them.  Whippoorwill giggled, her face flushed from the constant wine, and Kat couldn’t blame her.  She had never been a heavy drinker, and she had lost track somewhere after the third glass.

The final forkful melted in her mouth, matching the bubbly warmth that the alcohol had imparted perfectly.  Whippoorwill laughed at a joke that Kat could barely remember telling, her entire attention captured by the other woman’s infectious smile.

Then they were standing.  Whippoorwill looked both ways before giggling and taking off her shoes.  The top of her head dropped to just above Kat’s shoulder, and a second later Whip, ‘accidentally’ stumbled into her, wrapping an arm around Kat to use for ‘balance.’

Kat smiled wrapping her right arm around Whippoorwill’s shoulders as she began walking toward the dining car’s door.  Esteban opened it without comment, walking with one of the security officers as he led the way toward the helicopter that Kat had taken to the restaurant.

The entire time, the two women nestled into each other whispering and giggling at barely audible jokes.  They climbed into the helicopter one after another, fingers linking together the moment they were strapped in.

The world around them jolted slightly as the helicopter took off, and a moment later they were in the air.  Chiwaukee rushed under them as the vehicle took a winding route back to the skyscraper penthouse that had been given to Kat on the day she had become a shareholder.

It stuck out on the horizon.  A gleaming tower of glass and steel that jutted at least ten stories above any of the nearby buildings.  Lights blinked atop lighting rods, last ditch warnings for any helicopters or planes that might be flying at night or in a fog after their radar went out.

Whippoorwill snuggled into her shoulder, practically purring as she buried her face in Kat’s arm.  Kat let herself lean back slightly, eyes half lidded from the wine as she just enjoyed the gentle tremor of the helicopter as it fought against the night wind.

The night exploded.

Six of the windows on her penthouse erupted outward, spraying glass and flame into the night, a glittering nimbus of destruction that peppered the night below.

Kat jerked up in her seat, eyes wide as she stared at the top of the skyscraper.  The afterimages from the detonation faded almost immediately, and already she could make out a number of muzzle flashes as people exchanged fire inside the building.

“Abort landing!”  Heather shouted, slapping a hand to the side of her helmet.  “The shareholder’s residence is under attack.  Unknown number of assailants but they have heavy weapons.  We are reconvening at point Delta Two.  Repeat, Delta-”

Kat’s hand, almost of its own volition, grabbed her security chief’s wrist.  She shook her head.

“Emma’s in there.”  Kat fought to keep the slur from her voice.  “We’re landing and getting her out.”

“Shareholder,” Heather began, “I can’t.  Your safety is my primary-”

“This is a direct order,” Kat cut her off, all shakiness fleeing her voice as she looked at the destruction that had been her office.  “Someone give Whip and I side arms.  We’re landing.”