Chapter 60 (Patreon)

Sonya stood just outside the limousine, her big sunglasses reflecting the sunlight that sparkled against her glittering skin. She hadn’t been out in the sun for a while and had almost forgotten about the cosmetic property to her reinforced dermis. She ignored it, though, as she’d already taken advantage of more than a few tabloid journalists to spread the rumor that she was something of a narcissist that had taken to wearing glitter-dust on her skin as a fashion statement. She’d of course had Marta pose as her for the interview so the lie could actually be used, as the same question posed to her would have had to be confronted with a round-about answer.

She reached up and adjusted her tie a little, satisfied with the fit and crossed her arms behind her back. She wore her usual hot-pink tie, white coat and black shirt beneath it. The white slacks ended in a pair of white pumps that she’d taken a liking to recently. Next to her, Marta had taken a different approach to this particular event. She wore her full Handmaiden regalia including armored gloves and the veil over her face. Sonya’s lips pursed a little when she glanced in Marta’s direction and had to school her expression back into something close to nonchalance. The dream the previous night still weighing on her mind.

Feng Hyunh. She controlled her face even as the rage bubbled up again. It was a good thing that she had never integrated Imperious, otherwise she might have killed a few of the others who stood around them with her bloodlust. Every fiber of her being wanted to wring the woman’s throat, but she had to control herself, especially now.

The news had come as something of a surprise. Their monitoring of the problematic couple hadn’t revealed much movement recently, especially over the last twenty-four hours. The truth had come out this morning when Amos had reported that the Chairman had used his authority to secret his son and future daughter-in-law out of Vietnam in order to prevent too many people from knowing that the nation’s top hero was not present at the moment. Sonya had been understandably upset. Her plan had been to simply meet face to face with the Chairman, exchange pleasantries, and deal with the announcement about dungeons.

Simple, clean, practical. After that, she could get back to work on what mattered. Tracking down the other heralds to keep an eye on them, figuring out how to kill An Set, and keeping an eye out for Otis while she built her villain empire.

She clicked her tongue.

Now he was coming, An Set, and more importantly, the woman who had likely given the order to put an end to the one person in her previous life she saw as family besides Chunhua. Feng Hyunh would be in front of her in just a few minutes. So what could she do? What were her options? Did she greet them all with a handshake? Duong was volatile as far as she was aware, still suffering from a mix of pandora sickness and young master syndrome. If she so much as touched him, not only would he probably become aware of her cybernetic abilities, but he could snuff out her life in a blink. He wouldn’t care even if he killed her in public. Worse was Hyunh, whose powers she didn’t quite understand yet beyond having some sort of mind control function.

Was the Amethyst Order of her past life even an organization? Come to think of it, it was entirely possible that the woman had surrounded herself with thralls. How extensive were her abilities? She could control a peak Mythic, so they had to be Mythic as well, right? Of course she is, she was at the meeting of Mythics in the past.

Marta seemed to sense her unease because she cleared her throat and Sonya glanced her way, giving her an appreciative nod before turning towards the other woman next to her. Carla Mint stood one step behind Sonya and even held her hands in front of her waist as if she were emulating Marta’s posture. Sonya restrained a smirk as the two of them made eye contact. Carla averted her gaze and flushed a little, shifting a bit on the spot and looking down at her feet. Sonya snorted and looked away, it was amazing what a little mutual stress relief could do. She’d caught Carla off the clock at her favorite hunting ground or rather, her favorite night club.

One thing had led to another, and the woman was far more compliant now.

She turned to face the tarmack not bothering to give the other committee representatives a moment's thought. They were unimportant in the grand scheme of things and served no other purpose than being cogs in the Committee’s bureaucracy, only present right now to keep up appearances.

Her enhanced senses caught it before anyone else. She glanced up to the sky and saw the dot that was the private jet of the Chairman approaching. Her lips formed a thin line. Keep the greetings simple, don’t offer a handshake, bowing will work in this situation. It’s regrettable that I can’t shake the Chairman’s hand here but it’s better than risking physical contact with Hyunh or Duong. She reasoned, If I had known he was coming so soon I would have had Amos push forward on more significant electricity-resistant gear! Speaking of which…

<Amos, high priority project. I need gloves that can prevent electrical transfer both ways.> She said in a clipped message.

<Can’t your gloves already do that?> He responded.

<I doubt the gloves can hold up against a Mythic, no offense.> She pointed out flatly.

The response came a few seconds later, <Okay, yeah I can see where you’re going with this. I’ll start working on it but it might take a while.>

<Timetable?>

<If I’m using the existing design for your gloves and just overengineering them to the point of ridiculousness, maybe a week or more if I keep all other projects going. Sorry, but you’re asking for protection against something that really can’t be measured and a perfect insulator doesn’t scientifically exist, but I can probably get pretty close with the help of monster cores.> He paused then added, <Even then, it’ll probably be single use. Especially since my supply consists only of common and uncommon tier monster cores.>

Sonya considered his words, <It’ll have to do. Get started and put priority on it. I’ll just have to be careful.>

<Good luck.>

Her lip twitched as she looked up at the approaching plane, I’m going to need more than a little luck. She thought. Thirty second uptime and a body that is basically a machine, this guy could kill me with a wink and a nudge. She thought sourly. She still hadn’t figured out a solution for her energy problem. Taking on An Set’s ability was an option but that required shaking his hand which was as pointed out; a fatal prospect. She sighed, she was thinking in circles.

“Is everything okay, mis- Ma’am?” Carla asked to her right.

Sonya glanced her way and raised an eyebrow, “I’m fine, just wasn’t expecting a crowd.”

“Apologies, the Chairman didn’t inform me of the change either,” Carla said sullenly.

Then what good are you? Sonya thought irritably before shrugging and looking up at the plane again, “I’m good at thinking on my feet. We’ve already expanded the room at the restaurant, right?” She asked.

Carla nodded quickly, “Yes Ma’am.”

“Then we’ll roll with it,” She said.

Only a few minutes later the plane came in for a landing, taking a few turns to slow down before making its way to where they were standing. Only about a few dozen meters away, the door opened and a portable staircase was moved into position to allow the passengers to disembark. As expected, the Chairman stepped off first. The old man spread his arms out wide in greeting as Sonya quickly bent at her waist in a partial bow. She sensed the others around her quickly follow her example, not wanting to show inconsistency.

She didn’t look up for several seconds, even as she felt two more presences step out of the jet, their bodies shifting the air around enough for her to feel them with her enhanced senses and the faint electrical charge around one of them leaving little doubt in her mind that their information had been unfortunately correct. She stood up straight and crossed her arms a bit playfully, a smirk crossing her lips as she got into character.

She met the Chairman’s eyes and tilted her head to the right, “Welcome to New York, Chairman!” She called.

He returned her energy with a smile of his own, “Miss Chernovna! I’m glad we finally get to meet in person! It’s a shame we waited this long, you’re more beautiful than the photographs and videos give you credit for.”

Sonya laughed, “Flatterer!” She held her hand up to her cheek, feigning embarrassment. She turned towards Duong next and nearly lost her composure. He already had a faint amethyst glow to his eyes! She quickly caught herself and smiled at him, “And you must be Duong! What an unexpected surprise!” She said.

His eyes visibly twitched even as his face remained otherwise pleasant. He inclined his head to her, matching her earlier bow. He didn’t seem happy she hadn’t reached out to shake his hand.  “Miss Chernovna, thank you for the pleasant greeting, I want to apologize for my role in whatever tension may have occurred between you and my father,” He said, sounding truly apologetic even as she detected the faint tremble in his voice, as if he were resisting saying the words with every fiber of his being.

She forced herself not to glance at Hyunh even if she sensed the woman tense up as well, the faint shift of her body easy to pick up with her senses. Interesting, is he not fully under her control yet? He seems to be fighting it, even if it’s only as far as microexpressions. That was very important information, very useful information. Her brain worked overtime, the faint ticking in her head speeding up a bit to the point she could hear it.

TICK TICK TICK TICKTICKTICKTICK

The control has to settle in, she can’t just dominate him entirely in one go. It takes time. Whatever her power is, however it works, she needs to maintain it. How long will it take to fully consume his mind? Can I interfere?

She kept her expression friendly as she turned towards the now tense Hyunh and met her gaze, “And may I ask the beautiful lady’s name?”

The Chairman cleared his throat, clearly aware of Sonya’s proclivities and tastes, “This is Feng Hyunh, my son’s fiance.”

Sonya’s lips curled upward in a fox-like smile, “Oh!” Sonya said, giving the woman a nod, “I’m learning a lot today!” She tilted her head, “I’m glad you came.”

The woman inclined her head in response, amethyst gems hanging from her ears and her eyes a clear and vibrant purple. She gave her own faux-sincere smile and spoke, “I’ve heard a great deal about what you’ve done for humanity since the flash. It makes me happy that I finally get to meet you face to face. Would it be too much to ask for an autograph sometime? I have a kid sister that is actually quite a fan,” She said enthusiastically.

Sonya held her hand up to her heart, “I’m sure that can be arranged!” Sonya said with her own pleasant smile.

Despite their words, it was pretty clear that a few people noticed the momentary tension between the two women. The Chairman cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips, “Well! Why don’t we get going? I’m sure we have a lot to talk about.”

Sonya turned back to him, “Of course, sir,” Sonya said and gestured to the limousine behind her. “We have a reservation already waiting for us for a very comfortable lunch.”

The Chairman nodded with a grunt, “Oh, I’d also very much like to meet the ASTA team when you have an opportunity.”

Sonya nodded, “Certainly, though they’re currently off doing an investigation for me related to our topic of discussion today,” Sonya said, “So it may be a few days. How long are you planning on staying?”

The Chairman waved a hand as if it weren’t a big deal, “Oh plenty of time, I need to meet with the committee administration here in the States while I’m present and my Son and Hyunh have never been here so I want to give them the opportunity to soak it all in. I expect to be here for about a month at least.”

I’ll make sure both of them are dead by the end of the month, then, She thought before gesturing to the limo. Carla and Marta moved quickly to open the doors to let the VIPs inside. “Perfect!” Sonya said, “I’m glad to hear you’re staying so long, it gives us an opportunity to sync up our priorities and future plans.”

That seemed to be just the right thing to say. The Chairman practically beamed at her and walked over to her as his son and future daughter-in-law slipped into the car. Marta kept a careful distance from Duong. The Chairman extended a hand to Sonya, “I know we got off to a rocky start, so it really does my heart good to hear that from you. I’m looking forward to the results of this visit.”

Sonya glanced at his hand, sensing the two problems already sitting in the limo and took it with a smile, thinking quickly. I can’t waste this opportunity. Make a simple deal, Sonya. She wasn’t about to not capitalize on this opportunity. “As am I, Chairman.” She said with a bit of a tease in her voice. “Should I be flattered you came running the moment I called?”

Analyze.

<New Product Acquired: Share the Path>

She hesitated for a heartbeat. What is this? That’s an interesting name. She thought as he returned her smile.

He barked out a jolly laugh, “I think my wife would be upset with how you phrased that!” He chortled, “In all seriousness, if this news you have for me is as good as I hope it is, I think I can agree to staying out of your affairs going forward. We’re both too busy to be nagging on one another all the time.”

She tittered out a laugh. “It’s a deal, Chairman.”

Proceed.

She released his hand as she felt the deal play out through Broker. Turning to allow him to get into the car ahead of her. Her eyes spun in her head for a moment as she watched his back and briefly glanced up to make eye contact with Marta who gave her a carefully measured smile.

Despite the unexpected addition, step one of this little visit was a success. She thought, and slipped into the seat next to the old man.