Gaia

Eli was starting to regret being so nice to Mari the night before. Maybe if he'd let her wallow in misery and humiliation, she wouldn't feel so brazen and chipper this morning. It had thrown him completely to have her flop across his bed like she belonged there. Eli wasn't in the habit of sharing his space with anyone. Not anymore.

Mari kept up a seemingly endless string of chatter as they boarded a shuttle that took them from Tower L all the way to Tower O. It was the final Tower in his jurisdiction and he rarely went there. Tower O belonged to Lord Stefan Desoto, and he was a man Eli would rather not think about, though he dogged Eli's thoughts almost every waking moment. And many of his sleeping moments. Lord Desoto was the one responsible for every night Eli lost to nightmares. Gracie had once suggested he try a sleeping aid but he had refused. He knew she used them on occasion, if the memories grew to be too much. But their shared pain was Eli's fault, and so he bore the cross of sleepless night racked with guilt and refused sleep aids.

"Hey, Eli, you in there?" Mari waved a hand in front of his face and Eli scowled, catching her wrist to get her to stop waving.

"You have really good reflexes," she remarked. "Even if you are acting like a space cadet."

"Not all of us can spend every moment of their life saying something trivial," he shot back. "I'll talk when I have something to say."

"Okay, okay. Don't get your panties in a knot."

He let go of her wrist and she turned her attention to the window. He thought she was finally going to be quiet, but that only lasted for about ten and a half seconds. Still, a record for her.

"Oh, my gosh! I had heard rumors that some of the outer Towers were like this but wow!" she exclaimed, peering out the window with a grin. Eli felt nothing but hollow when he looked at Tower O. It was covered in vines and vibrant tropical flowers, even waterfalls cascading down the building in between the balconies. It was all fake, of course. Holographs. But they looked completely authentic and made for an impressive sight.

"So what are we doing here anyway?" she asked as they got off the shuttle. She practically had to run to keep up with him as Eli strode through the decadent hallways, which were also decorated to resemble a rainforest from times long gone. You could hear the manufacturer bird song and smell rain and perfumed flowers. Mari seemed delighted by all of it but Eli's skin crawled, knowing that Desoto lived somewhere in these halls.

"I have to have a meeting with my security staff here," Eli muttered. "For the most part these outer Towers run themselves but every quarter I have to make my rounds and check in with this Tower's chief Enforcer."

"And you need me along because...?"

"Well I thought about giving you the day off, but you seemed so eager to work." He threw her a smart ass smirk and she glowered at him, muttering, "dick" under her breath. He was quick to locate Dulstan Franks, a brawny bull of a man with a thick red beard and a baritone voice that rumbled like thunder. Eli had found him instantly likable and was baffled that a man who seemed so friendly and amicable was running the Enforcers for a man like Stefan Desoto. Then again, Eli knew Desoto employed his own private "bodyguards," so that he could use them as personal Enforcers and not have to abide by any rules, scarce as they may be.

"It's good to see you again, Beckstrom," Franks said, giving him a handshake that nearly dislocated his shoulder.

"Nice to see you, too. This is my personal assistant, Mari."

"Well hello! Aren't you a pretty thing?"

Even Mari seemed at a loss as she stared up at the huge man. Franks was just a hair shy of seven feet tall and was about as wide as a tree. Mari looked like a child compared to him. Most of the meeting consisted of Franks telling them stories and showing them pictures of his family. He had three cute little kids and a pretty, freckled wife. Eli had met them all before; he usually even sent gifts for their birthdays. Mari cooed about the youngest, who was still a toddler.

"The two of you should join Kessie and I for dinner some time," Franks said. "We'd love to have you."

"Well, I-" Eli began but Mari interrupted.

"That would be great," she beamed. Eli resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Excellent. And I look forward to seeing you both at the security conference tomorrow afternoon."

Eli groaned. "That's tomorrow? You're joking."

Franks chuckled. "Afraid not."

Eli sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. He'd forgotten all about the annual security conference. It was mind numbingly dull and a tremendous waste of time.

"We'll both be there," he told Franks. If he had to endure the torture of the conference, then Mari might as well deal with it too. Payback for waking him up so rudely today. They bid Franks goodbye and headed out. Eli hit the button to call for the elevator while Mari touched the leaves on the walls. A monkey peered at her from the branches. Interactive wallpaper settings. Desoto really did go all out. As if thinking his name had summoned him, the elevator doors opened and Eli's heart screeched to a halt. Standing before him was none other than Stefan Desoto himself. And standing beside him was his own personal guard, another man Eli recognized.

"Going down?" Desoto asked, flashing them a charming smile as he and his paid lackey shuffled over to make room. Eli kept his profile toward the guard, hoping the man wouldn't recognize him. He didn't seem to, but of course Eli had been sixteen when they met before; not as broad shouldered and certainly not as clean and put together as he was now.

"You're not from this Tower," Desoto guessed.

"Tower L," Eli said, fighting the urge to make a fist. Bile rose in his throat and he was seeing red. Why was the elevator moving so fucking slowly?

"Long way from home," the guard remarked.

"Here on business." Eli wanted to break every bone in the man's face. The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened. Eli stepped out with all the calm dignity he could muster.

"Enjoy your stay," Desoto said politely, giving them a civil nod as the doors closed again. Eli stood rigid and still for a few moments, his fists clenched so tight his palms ached. His every nerve and muscle felt wound too tight and he jerked roughly when Mari touched his elbow. She took a step back, eyes wide.

"Eli, are you all right? Your face is white as a sheet."

"I'm fine," he bit out. "Let's go."

"What's with that guy?" she persisted as they walked. "I was standing right next to you and I could feel the tension coming off you. But he didn't even seem to know who you are."

"Mari." Eli stopped and wheeled to face her, drawing a ragged breath. "I really need you to understand that this topic is off limits."

"But you're clearly upset-"

"Off limits, Mari." His voice came out sharper than he'd intended and she fell silent. They were both quiet as they got back on the shuttle and Mari stared at her feet. Eli had finally managed to choke his rage and shame back into the corners and now he sighed.

"Listen, I'm sorry for snapping at you," he said. "I'm not really mad at you, I just don't like to talk about my past."

"You mean when you lived on the Ground?"

"Yeah." He turned away to look out the window without really seeing anything. He was still shaken from seeing Desoto. He'd been close enough to snap his neck. A large part of him wished that he had, but he knew better. He was going to have to be more controlled than that. Someday he would find a way to destroy Desoto. As they were coming up on Tower M, he pulled the lever to request to stop.

"What are you doing?" Mari looked puzzled as he gestured for her to follow him.

"I have something you might like to see." He didn't elaborate no matter how much Mari pestered him. He knew nothing would likely compare to the Sky Deck, but he thought Mari might enjoy this too. And he felt a little guilty for being so short with her. Mari finally broke off her questions and gasped faintly as Eli swiped his security badge and the doors opened. There weren't many real animals left in the world, and those that did exist in Gaia were engineered; grown by geneticists in test tubes. Still, at least they weren't bots.

Tower M housed a menagerie of test tube animals, from brightly colored tree frogs to a Bengal tiger. Mari darted inside and looked around, trying to decide which habitat enclosure to look at first. Eli followed along behind her as she ran around like a little kid. As annoying as she could be, it was nice to see her seeming so happy and fascinated by everything. Eli had grown cynical and detached, which was mostly by his own choice. But Mari's enthusiasm was like a little breath of fresh air.

"Those frogs are poisonous, you know," she informed him. "Well, I don't know if the geneticists kept that part. But they used to be, anyway. One touch and you'd be history. The poison was all over their skin. And these shiny black spiders, they would eat the males after they mated."

"I think I've known a few women like that," Eli said dryly.

"How come there's no one else in here?"

"It's only open to the public on certain days."

"A private viewing." Mari seemed pleased with the idea.

"You're pretty easily impressed, you know that?"

"Hey, you remember what life was like on the Ground. It's hard to believe that all this exists up here and yet on the Ground it's all pollution and scrounging for scraps."

"I try not to think about it too much," he muttered. "I remember all too well what life is like on the Ground."

Mari paused, looking at him with a deeply thoughtful look on her face. He cleared his throat awkwardly and suggested they get something to eat. She followed him out, still unsettlingly quiet. She waited until they were seated in a secluded booth at one of Eli's preferred restaurants before she spoke again.

"You didn't have to spare me from a trip to Grelhurst, or an interrogation from the Enforcers," she said to the back of his menu. Eli just made a noncommittal noise.

"Why did you arrange this personal assistant gig, Eli?"

"I told you, the things I do and why I do them are none of your concern, Marilyn."

"Eli Beckstrom," she said sternly. Eli glanced at her over the top of his menu. She was watching him intently.

"You're from the Ground, Eli. You know how it is for people down there, how tough life is. How tough it would be if I were handed over to the Enforcer team. No other security head with status like yours would come up with this solution."

"My methods are unorthodox."

"And you know, I was talking to Andy the other day. He said a bunch of money appeared in our account out of nowhere."

"How nice."

"I'm supposed to be paying off a debt. Why would you give my brother money?"

"Who says I did? A waiter is coming, decide what you want."

To his relief, she let the matter drop. He doubted she was going to forget about it but at least the conversation was over for now.

"Be at my house at nine sharp tomorrow," he said. "We have that God-awful conference to go to."

Mari saluted. "Aye, Captain."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Knock it off. Good night, Marilyn."

"'Night, Eli."

He wanted to smash his alarm the next morning, and wound up having to rush through getting ready because he spent too long dwelling on how much he did not want to go to this conference. It wasn't until he'd finished tying his tie and combing his hair that he realized he was wearing the blue suit Mari had bought for him. He scowled at his reflection and thought about changing but for once she was miraculously on time and he didn't have a chance to change unless he wanted her barging into his room unannounced again. She smirked when he emerged in the suit.

"Get that look off your face, Mari. I didn't look at the suit before I pulled it out of the closet."

"Sure you didn't."

Eli steered her toward the door. "Come on, brat. Let's get this over with."