"Get up, Lazybones."
Denny's cheerful voice cut through my pleasant dream. Vague images of green mountains and brilliant sunshine mingled with the reality of my bedroom. My bedroom suddenly flared with bright light.
"Dude, close the blinds for pity's sake. Have some mercy." I begged him.
"Nope, time to rise and shine."
"Go away, I want to sleep more."
I kicked at the hands pulling the covers off the bottom of my bed. But I kept missing, and they were relentless. The air was cold enough that goose bumps stood out on my bare legs. At least, I had put on pajama shorts before I fell into bed.
With a sigh, I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes. The world was far too bright and bloody cheery. All I wanted to do was go back to that beautiful dream I was having.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"Eight in the am. And by now I assume you are starving. And Asher said you should have some tea."
Wait, what? I sat up abruptly and looked at Denny. He stood to smile; arms crossed over his chest. He looked fresh and decidedly happy.
"I'm sorry, did you say eight in the morning?"
He nodded, "Yes, I did. Come on, put your robe on, I've made some breakfast."
He picked up and tossed a robe at me. He went ahead, and I dashed to the bathroom. Vanity demanded that I inspected myself in the mirror.
The face I saw was mussed from sleep, but other than that it was the same as it has been for the last eighty years. For the first time in many years though I look refreshed. No bags under my eyes and my eyes were bright and brilliant.
I looked down at my shaking hands, and apart from needing a manicure they looked the same as always. The tea worked, I had slept far longer than I thought possible, and it worked.
I gave in and jumped up and down in excitement a couple of times. I took care of business and rushed down to the boys.
Breakfast smelled divine, and a steaming cup of tea waited next to my plate. Asher was nowhere to be seen, but Denny was seated and waiting.
"Thanks for breakfast. It looks fantastic." I said.
"Only a pleasure Eliza, tuck in. We ate earlier when it became apparent that you weren't getting up anytime soon." He said with a smile.
I laughed and did as instructed; the food tasted better than anything I had ever had before. The tea was as good as the day before and, all in all, I was pleased with life in general.
"So, I've been thinking about something Eliza."
And there it was, the other shoe. Dropping fast and furious. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, at least, I had a moment's peace. For a small time, there were no worries.
"And what did you think about Denny?" I asked.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. His hands clasped he had a serious expression. That looked bad, had something happened with the marketeers after all?
"We still don't know why you were chosen specifically to deal with me. It seems too much of a coincidence that a friend of my family was involved." He said.
I nodded, "I agree entirely, it feels too convenient. Like we were led around like puppies on a leash."
It had nagged at me, but what with one thing and another those thoughts had slipped to the wayside. Now, though, we had time, and I wanted to scratch this particular itch.
Only I didn't know where to start looking into it; I couldn't approach any of my connections in the Man. They assumed I was dead by now, a thorn removed from their side.
I heard the basement door open and quickly pushed down the thrill that coursed through me. My stomach did an excited flip, stupid thing. I wasn't excited to see him, damn it. Keep telling yourself that and soon it might even be true I thought.
Asher came into view and gave me a radiant smile, a smile that light my insides on fire. My body responded without permission, and I found myself grinning. I was certain my damn eyes had lit up, and I looked like a love sick idiot.
He winked and sat down on the opposite side of the table. I bit the inside of my lip, and the pain brought reality back into focus a little bit. Denny looked from me to Asher and back again. I saw the disapproval, but he suppressed whatever he wanted to say. I appreciated it immensely; I would figure out how to get past this eventually.
"Anyway. I thought that Viv could help us," Denny said.
"Oh, how so?" I asked.
He sighed and looked at me impatiently. Oh, right. She was a hacker. I shook my head took a sip of tea instead.
"I think she can hack the Man through your tablet," He said.
Stunned silence met his statement; I looked at Asher. We both stared at each other for a moment and turned to Denny. It would never have occurred to me to the use the app that way. Apparently the same went for Asher.
"How do you even know about my tablet?" I asked him.
"Geez Elisa, I'm not stupid you know. There were plenty of times you left me alone, and I looked around. You left your tablet out, and you don't even have a password on the thing. The app isn't hidden, so it was easy to put two and two together."
I was speechless. Asher laughed and clapped Denny on the shoulder. At least, the boys seemed to be getting along. Denny shrugged and smiled.
"I'm hoping the app has a weakness that Viv can exploit. So what do you think?" He asked.
"I guess we don't have anything to lose by letting her try. But do you think she'd be interested?"
The looks I received was unfair, I didn't know any hackers. Everything I knew came from television and movies. I raised my arms in surrender and decided to focus on my food.
Denny got up and got his mobile out. He dialed and started walking as soon as he put the device to his ear. I didn't listen in; it would no doubt be pleasantries and what not.
I studiously avoided looking at Asher, food good. Food easy, no need to think or suppress thoughts. He sighed, and I glanced up briefly. He looked a bit sad.
"So this is my punishment then? "
"I have no idea what you are talking about," I said and took another bite.
He gave me a long look, my eyes locked on his. I kept my thoughts carefully clear of anything other than breakfast. Before we could see where our mini-standoff would take us, Denny returned to the table.
"She says she'll help us, but for a price."
"Of course, that makes sense. How much?" I said and broke eye contact with Asher. Damn.
"Viv doesn't want money from us. She wants us to help her."
"What?"
"Yeah, she says money is useless to her," He said.
I felt like sighing, "What sort of help does she need? I am not about to go spy on an ex or something dumb like that."
He took a moment to answer, and he kept his eyes firmly on the phone he had placed on the table. I felt very apprehensive, there was no chance in hell I would do P.I. legwork.
"She wants us to steal something back for her," He said and looked at me.
"Well, that's a little bit more interesting. What does she want us to steal?" I asked.
"Nanites," He said. "She stole them but someone stole it from her, and she wants them back."
At least, it wouldn't be boring. I looked at Asher, who shrugged. I shook my head and looked back at Denny. I didn't need Asher's help to decide.
“Ok, but only this once Denny, I don’t want to get sucked into helping people.”
“There are worse things than being in the business of using our skills to the benefit of ourselves and others.”
“Hah, services for hire?"
He shrugged and got up, "Got anything better to do?" He said as he dialed Viv, our client.
––––––––
As he stepped into the rift, Asher Bain took a good long look around. Home, the word held a barb that still stung. Many years had passed since he had stepped foot on his family farm. A family that was once considered proud and noble famed for producing some of the finest vintages the galaxy had known.
Now, it was all gone, their name unknown. Only a select few still knew the name Bain; none alive remembered a lost son. The youngest in the family line, the last hope. That died when he disappeared.
Asher checked on the tiny plants and was pleased to find them vibrant. They were thriving; the soil was fertile still, as he knew it would be. The fields had rested long enough to regain their potency. The secret behind the Bain fame had been in the soil.
He stood and took his mobile out of his pocket, unlocked it and navigated to the dialer. A number that would only work on this side, on this beautiful planet know to humans as Proxima Centauri.
"Yes?"
"It's done," Asher said.
"Good; keep her close," Richard Taylor said. "And protect her Asher, she is precious."
"You don't need to tell me what I already know," Asher said and hung up.
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