Jessa Ch. 11

Jessa stepped out into the cool afternoon Paris sun. Raza was a few steps behind her. Jessa was annoyed by the very concept of 'socializing' but she was even more annoyed by needing a servant in tow to follow her every move. She'd spent the morning reenrolling in the programs that she had been forced to abandon, and discovered that there was just a bit of a vengeance quality to spending Torah's money. It didn't necessarily make her feel better about the schedule he was forcing her to endure, but perhaps a little less worse. At any rate, she was headed out to see how much more she could spend. Raza had wanted to drive, but Jessa was determined to walk and explore her new city. She had an even better idea of where things were, and where she wanted to return to, after her morning run and besides, walking would burn up more of the 'socializing time' on her schedule. She turned and headed for a district where she knew she could find household items. If nothing else, she could pick out decorative items. The walls of the apartment were bare, and there were no vases or décor for the tabletops.

A little more than a mile away and several thousand Euros later, she was shopped out and turned toward a restaurant district in search of a coffee shop, or better yet, a wine shop where she could sit and watch others socialize for a while. Raza was loaded down with bags, though most of what Jessa purchased was to be delivered. She didn't think the servant would complain about sitting in a bistro for the rest of the afternoon. It didn't take long to find the sort of place Jessa had in mind. There was outside seating on the wide boulevard and most of the traffic was pedestrian anyway. Perfect for people watching. Jessa invited Raza to sit with her, but the servant predictably demurred, preferring to sit inside with other servants. Jessa made sure that the server would see to her needs on Torah's account, then picked out a wine for herself and settled into the sunniest seat she could find. There were only a few people in the bistro when she first arrived, but it began to fill as she sat and sipped at her wine, until she started to wonder if she might be forced to socialize at least to apologize for bumping elbows.

She soon realized that the population was surprisingly diverse. Though mostly she heard English, there were smatterings of other languages that usually seemed to involve very private conversations. She knew, of course, that within the city, most of the residents were Circles, or highborn and Elite servants to Circles. From her newly discovered research, she had come to understand that the migrants coming up from the south most often became lowborn simply by virtue of arriving and becoming settled well after the first rounds of vaccine had already been dispensed. So, she had assumed that most of the Circle members within the city of Paris would be from regions of old France. Yet she definitely heard accents from the British Isles, Spain, Germany and even farther East. Perhaps that was why Erich and Torah had seemed so comfortable in Paris. It was like a melting pot for European Circles.

It also seemed to her that as the afternoon wore on, the people around her became more relaxed, in less of a hurry. Also, more men began to emerge from whatever duties they were serving for the Council. She imagined much of the work being of a mundane sort, the moving of intangible monies from one place to another, writing new policies, shredding old ones, determining which fleshy gene container to pair up with which other fleshy gene container to create healthy, thriving little fleshy gene containers. Jessa smiled sardonically to herself. Now she was one of those gene bags, readily handed off to someone else should Torah's enemies attain their goal to destroy him. He had suggested early on, that the alternative to him could be so much worse. Certainly an alternative like Renik would fit that description, but as she looked around this street, in the fading autumn sun, she wasn't so sure that most of the alternatives would be worse. She watched as husbands and wives met up, greeting each other. Occasionally, a child or two would be in tow. Perhaps a family heading off for an early supper. Would she ever be part of that kind of family scene? With Torah? It was hard to imagine, but perhaps once there were children. He was so good with his little brothers - she was refusing to let herself think of them as his sons, though his reaction when he found the broken necklace certainly seemed to suggest it meant more than just a token gifted to another by his father. Jessa shook her head, trying to sweep that image away. She had decided she was not going to think about Torah's past. Or even about their future. Now, this moment in time, was where she needed to be focused and if that meant following his stupid schedule, well, there it was and there she was.

"Pardonnez-moi?" Jessa looked over, then way up at the tall gentleman standing next to her. "Pardon me," he repeated in English. "Is this seat taken?" He had his hands on the back of a chair at her table and she thought he wished to move it to another table. She shook her head.

"No, go ahead," she replied with a smile.

"Merci," he said with an answering smile. "It is becoming crowded." Then he sat down across from her. A server hurried over the moment he sat. Jessa wondered if it was the Fourth Circle crest that the man wore, or his position in the city.

"Sir?" the obsequious highborn said.

He ordered a rich red wine and then added another glass of wine for Jessa. She tried to protest, but the server was already hurrying away. "You shouldn't," she scolded.

"I must pay for my seat," he said with a shrug. "My name is Arnau."

"Jessa," she responded. She saw a faint shadow flick across his eyes.

The server returned amazingly fast with the glasses of wine and some warm breadsticks and precious olive oil to dip them in. Arnau pushed the breadsticks toward her. "Please. Are you new to the city?" he asked, leaning forward as he rested his elbows on the table. "You do not look familiar to me, and, forgive me, but I would remember if I had seen you before."

Jessa, who was well used to the lines men used to get her attention, found herself blushing. "I am new," she agreed. "I've only been here a few days." She picked up her wine glass with her left hand, hoping he would note the wedding ring and steer the conversation a different route from where she feared it was headed. Torah might have his affairs, but she surely didn't want to deal with two men when she hadn't even wanted one. His eyes did fall to the wedding ring, but then rose back to hers and didn't seem any less intense than before.

"I am the City Marshall," he explained, "so it's an obligation to keep track of comings and goings. Would I know your husband?"

"He is from Rhine Region," she said, earning a puzzled frown from Arnau.

"Unless my ear fools me, you are from..." he paused dramatically. "Parvil Region or perhaps the Belgian Corridor?"

"I'm impressed," Jessa admitted. "Parvil."

"Ah. And from your stature and physique, I would guess you are Elite or highborn? Yet you wear a gown appropriate to a Lady, so I would also guess that your husband is a Circle Lord."

"You are quite a sleuth," she exclaimed.

"Let me tell you more, then. You do not wear your Circle crest, which suggests to me that your husband may be Tenth Circle as virtually the only Circle-born who do not proudly - or some say, boastfully - proclaim their ties are a select few of the Tenth Circle. Now, you say that you have only been here a few days, and I have heard tell that two Council Agents from Dusseldorf arrived in town a few days ago, in the company of a very beautiful woman. And that one of these agents became married in the North Cathedral shortly thereafter. It happens that I know these two agents, and since I cannot imagine Erich confining himself to one woman for any length of time, I can only conclude that you must be Torah's wife."

"I can see how you earned your position," Jessa said, nodding.

He leaned toward her. "Actually, I recognized your name," he confessed.

She leaned toward him. "I know. I saw it in your eyes."

He laughed. "Are you sure it is Torah that is the agent?"

I am learning from him," she said, only half in jest. "May I ask how you know Torah?"

He gave a very French shrug. "My job is to keep the city running, so the Council can worry about worldly matters. But that is not to say that there is not overlap here and there. The local Council Agents keep me apprised of concerns, as do the local representatives of the Security Forces. It is no secret, at least within the bubble of the councilary interests, that the Council Agents and the Security Forces do not always see eye to eye. In my city, I find it useful to serve as a go-between - liaison, if you will - for the two sides, so they can avoid having to talk to each other." He gave a comical imitation of a spy looking for eavesdroppers. "It works very well, for the locally entrenched participants. Not so well, when others come from outside."

"Such as Torah?" she asked.

He spread his hands. "I like Torah. Do not misunderstand. But sometimes antagonists follow him, threatening to disrupt my city, so I keep track of when such actors enter the domain that I am responsible for." He looked thoughtful for a moment as if weighing how much to reveal. "I heard that 'a friend' was bringing 'a woman' for safe keeping by the local Council Agents. To me, that meant from elements of the Security Forces. That makes me concerned. Not opposed, mind you. Just concerned. In the past, virtual wars have broken out between Council Agents and Security Forces. I will not have that in my city."

Jessa shook her head in frustration. "I don't understand what you are trying to tell me. I didn't take a program in double-speak. I'm not Torah, I don't live in this spy world. Are you telling me to leave?"

"Non! Permit me to be honest with you. I am not happy that my city is being used in this way. But I was respected in the process, and the local Council Agents have taken full responsibility for your safety. Trust them in this. But I must also make clear to you that my city forces will not intercede in this internecine Council matter."

"So in other words, don't expect any help from you," she concluded.

"From me personally, I find I have grown quite fond of you in just these few minutes. You have what my grandmother used to call 'elan,' perhaps even 'joie de vivre.' And what my other grandmother used to call 'chutzpah.' I personally will give you what help I can. But the city? I cannot risk our neutral role between factions."

"I see," Jessa said, gathering her bag and waving toward Raza.

He stood quickly. "But let me walk you back to your apartment."

Jessa gave him a quizzical look. "Why?"

"For the simple reason that I am enjoying your company. And for the selfish reason that I want you to enjoy my city. And for the egotistical reason that I want to be seen with such a beautiful woman. It increases my - how you say - street cred."

Jessa laughed despite herself. "You've been watching old movies from America."

"There, you see. You've made my point. How many people would get that reference?"

Jessa smiled, but she was wondering just how much Arnau knew about her. It suddenly felt very much like it had with Torah when what she thought was a happenstance friendship turned out to be something very different indeed. At least this man didn't get mad every time she asked a question.

With Reza trailing farther behind, giving them privacy, but looking worried, they headed back toward Jessa's apartment.

"Are you a council member, then," Jessa asked him.

"Adjunct. I sit for the Council on only certain matters, mostly concerning the cities where there are council seats."

"And there are Marshalls like you in the other cities?"

"Yes, different titles but same basic duties, if you will. I like to think I'm one of the more effective ones," he added with a smile.

"Is it like this in all the Council seats? With factions at each other's throats?"

He shrugged. "Birmingham has the benefit of being more isolated. Their factions came to a truce of sorts, and they do not have as much traffic from other parts of the continent. Wroclaw, I understand is even worse than Dusseldorf. They have the added pressure from the Russian border, so a heavier presence of Security Forces to upset the balance." He glanced at her. "I'm given to understand that the city forces there are essentially a third faction. I do not envy them."

"So I should cancel my vacation plans to Wroclaw?" she asked

He laughed softly. "I suppose that depends on how much adventure you like on your vacations." He stopped and turned toward her. Jessa noticed that Raza stopped also, almost as if on cue. "And speaking of adventure, in my position... Well, even just being in the city, one hears many rumors. For instance, I heard of a hostage being held by Security Forces near Dusseldorf."

"Really," Jessa responded, turning and walking again.

"I heard this hostage managed to free herself - a woman, no less - from highly trained fighting men."

"Perhaps the highly trained fighting men were drunk," Jessa suggested.

"And perhaps the woman was in excellent physical condition," he agreed. "A fortuitous combination. Amazingly enough, this woman also managed to elude Security Forces hunting for the killer of their team members."

"Is it killing if she was being held against her will for no crime or hostile act?"

"Yes, well, eye of the beholder, as most things are. I imagine the Meister of Dusseldorf would not have seen it the same way as the Security Forces, given the rather flagrant way this woman was abducted from his very streets."

"Did he tell you as much?"

Arnau smiled. "He may have mentioned something to that effect. He was actually puzzled, as he had expected the woman to return to Dusseldorf for assistance. He even had his city forces arrayed to offer assistance."

"Really," Jessa commented.

"Yes, so he assures me. But it seems she struck out across country, possibly toward her original homeland. Or so the rumor goes. Have you perhaps heard this rumor?"

"No, but as I said, I have not been in your city long."

"Ah, I thought that perhaps, since you seem to have travelled a similar path, you might have heard more and been able to flesh out the story, so to speak."

"I did not have occasion to speak to hardly anyone during my travels, I'm afraid."

"Ah. Travelled mostly at night, did you?"

Jessa glanced at him sidelong. "You're a very curious sort, aren't you?"

"I find it helps me do my job better. If this woman were here, in my city, I would just point out to her that there are individuals in positions of power willing to offer her assistance, if for no other reason than to spite her enemies."

"And how might she tell these friends apart from the enemies," Jessa asked.

"That, I'm afraid is the real challenge, isn't it?" His cell phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. "Excuse me, I must take this," he said as he glanced at the screen. "Arnau. Yes, yes." He listened for a moment, then sighed. "Very well."

"I am afraid I am being called away. These damn cell phones make it far too easy for people to track you down. But before my driver gets here, let me ask you to dinner tomorrow evening. Many people are not comfortable going to a restaurant alone, but then you deny yourself our incredible variety of cuisine. So let me be your escort and guide. Please say yes."

Jessa bit her lip for a moment, wondering what Torah would say, but then, he wanted her to socialize. How better? She nodded. He clapped his hands. "Wonderful! And may I drop you and your servant at your apartment?"

Jessa was about to say no, when she glanced back at Raza and realized how much the poor girl was struggling with, and that she would also flatly refuse any help from Jessa. "Yes, that would be nice," she agreed even as a long black car pulled up beside them. She waved Raza over as the driver got out to assist with the packages and open the door for the Marshall and Jessa. Raza gratefully climbed into the front next to the driver and they rode the few blocks back to the apartment. Once back in front of the apartment, Jessa grabbed a couple of the packages as the car pulled away, to the horror of Raza, then hurried up the steps and insisted on holding the door for the servant to enter, merely glaring at her when she began to protest. Raza all but ran up the steps to the apartment and had the door open as Jessa approached, blushing profusely.

"Get yourself some wine," Jessa commanded. "You've earned it. And you can pour me some, too. Leave these things. I'll decide where to put everything when it all arrives." As she hung her cloak in the closet, she could hear Raza whispering fiercely to Shay in the kitchen. She smiled to herself, wondering if rumors were spreading just as fast throughout Paris. A moment later, Raza reappeared with a glass of wine, then despite what Jessa had told her, she stuffed the packages into the closet. Jessa settled into the couch to watch the sun set over Paris. It was still a couple of hours before she was allowed to get back on the computer, but she was already putting together a mental list of what she wanted to search for. At least Torah hadn't tried to tell her she couldn't even think computer thoughts.

****

The next day, Jessa was again watching the sun go down, waiting for her dinner date with Arnau. She was already on her second glass of wine, repeatedly talking herself into and then out of what she wanted to ask Arnau, given her research the night before. She had debated letting Torah know about going out to dinner with Arnau. She knew he would have heard about their earlier meeting from Raza, and no doubt about the dinner meeting from Shay when Jessa told her not to prepare dinner for her. But she finally determined that if she herself told Torah about spending time with Arnau, that would raise it to a threshold worthy of guilt as opposed to something so inconsequential as not worth bothering to mention. Still, she half expected to hear from Jacq, sooner rather than later.

Her morning program work had mostly consisted of redoing what she had done mere months ago when she first started this set of studies, though it seemed like years ago with everything that had happened since. Realizing how much was going to be repetitive and given the amount of time that Torah had assigned to program work, she had restarted the chaos theory program, too, thinking it would at least be challenging enough to fill some of the time. Her afternoon socialization had consisted of going gourmet grocery shopping with Shay, finding rare spices and herbs, as well as greenhouse-grown fruits, olive oil and other hard-to-come-by foodstuffs. Maybe if she spent enough of Torah's money he would begin to rethink this whole 'socializing activity' prescription.

Torah should be pleased that she was spending the evening socializing instead of on the computer, even though it was her intent to pepper Arnau with endless questions, much as she would have been doing had she stayed home with the computer. And frankly, she was looking forward to getting her answers from a friendly, good-looking gentleman rather than an impassive screen. Even if she wasn't entirely sure of his motives or intent.

She had dismissed the servants some time ago, but Shay was still fussing in the kitchen and Raza had insisted on unwrapping the articles that they had brought home yesterday, so they would be ready to go when the rest of the items were delivered tomorrow morning. Jessa knew they were bent on being good chaperones of their mistress, making sure there wasn't any hanky-panky when Arnau arrived. It was annoying, but she couldn't fault the women. She was pretty sure that she was even more terrified of Torah's implacable fury than they were.