Gaia

Eli caught the girl as she fell, flinging her unceremoniously over his shoulder and hauling her out of the store like a sack of potatoes. He could tell Jeremiah was trying hard not to laugh but Eli wasn't amused in the slightest. He marched out of the store and straight to the nearest elevator, angrily swiping his key card through the slot. The doors almost closed on Jeremiah and he had to scramble inside. The elevator shot up with jarring speed, making Eli's stomach somersault. They hurtled upward, passing floor after floor. His ears popped twice before they reached his level.

"What are you going to do with her?" Jeremiah asked, trotting after Eli like a curious puppy while Eli stalked through the halls and ignored any passersby who gave him a double take.

"I'll figure it out," he grumbled. "Stupid girl."

"She's kind of cute though," Jeremiah said. Eli gave him a look. Jeremiah laughed and held his hands up.

"Hey, relax, Boss. I'm a professional. I'm not gonna try anything inappropriate. Unless she asks. She might be more open to the idea than Renee."

"Are you still trying to board that train?" Eli shook his head. "It's never pulling into station, Jeremiah. Or rather, you'll never be pulling into her station."

"That's cold, Boss. We can't all be stone faced ladies men like you, you know."

Eli rolled his eyes. "I'm not-dammit, Henson, just get back to work. I'll deal with our intrepid little burglar."

Jeremiah saluted and sauntered away. Eli went to his office and locked the door behind him, essentially dropping the girl into a seat before sitting in the chair behind his desk. She groaned and stirred, her eyes opening and blinking blearily.

"Good, you're awake. Enjoy your nap?" Eli asked. She sat up gingerly and looked around.

"Where am I?"

"In my office."

"And who are you?"

"Eli Beckstrom. The head of security for Lord Townsend."

Her face paled. "Look, I'm sorry about breaking in. I didn't realize-"

"That breaking and entering and theft are illegal?" Eli supplied sarcastically. "I'm afraid ignorance is no excuse. Now, I'm going to ask you again for your real name, and this time you're going to tell me otherwise I'm going to inject you with a healthy dose of truth serum."

She grimaced. "Mari," she said reluctantly. "My name is Mari."

He continued to give her a hard stare until she muttered, "Gold. Mari Gold."

"Good, you're not entirely as stupid as I thought." He folded his hands and leaned on the desk. "These crimes are considered quite serious, Miss Gold. The petty theft could be mostly overlooked, but the Lords don't take breaches in their security systems lightly." He would know, after all.

"I know," Mari said. "Look, I just needed to get some food. Those of us on the Ground don't have a lot of access to basic necessities like food, you know."

Eli didn't even bat an eye. Yes, he knew. He knew all too well. "Be that as it may, Miss Gold, you've gotten yourself into quite the predicament here. Under normal circumstances the punishment for this would be at least a decade in Grelhurst, or even execution."

She winced slightly at the mention of Grelhurst. It was the only real prison in Gaia. And its name was enough to strike fear into the hearts of even the most callous and hardened men. There were no rules there. Not that there were many rules here at the top of the towers, either. The Lords wouldn't hesitate to swat a little Ground fly like her. Mari couldn't possibly know it, but she was damn lucky she had robbed one of Townsend's towers and not another Lord's.

"I won't do it anymore," Mari said earnestly. "You took my master key anyway. Just let me go home."

"And you think I don't know that you'll just obtain another master key? No, no. I'm afraid you can't just get out of this one with a warning, Miss Gold. Lord Townsend entrusts the safety of his towers to me. Therefore I am obligated to address safety concerns."

"I didn't take anything valuable," she insisted. "Come on, it was just junk food."

"That is entirely beside the point. Luckily for you, I have a solution to this little problem that doesn't involve the removal of your fingers."

"What?" She watched him warily.

"You're going to work for me," he said. "Until I feel you've paid off the trouble you've caused."

She blinked once. Twice. "Work for you?" she asked skeptically. "Hey I know I offered a strip tease back in the store, but I don't-"

"Don't flatter yourself," Eli said, rolling his eyes. "I have zero interest in your body, Miss Gold. If that's what I was after I think I could find a better option than a skinny thief from the Ground, dressed in an absurd cat burglar getup."

She scowled. "You don't have to be rude about it."

"Trust me, I'm being more than generous right now," Eli told her. "Lord Townsend trusts me to deal with these sorts of matters how I see fit, so you should be supremely thankful right now."

"Thankful. Right. So, what exactly does working for you entail?"

"You can think of yourself as a personal assistant, if it makes you feel better."

"A personal assistant," she repeated flatly. "Is there an option B?"

"I can take before the Lord and let him decide what to do with you."

"How about option C? You give me slap on the wrist and send me on my way," she suggested. Eli's cold expression didn't waver.

"No. And you're not in any position to be making negotiations. This is how it's going to be. And I wouldn't bother trying to escape back to the Ground either. One, you stand out like a sore thumb up here and you'll draw attention and suspicion. Two, you have no way to access the system up here and it's much harder to fake out top level security. Three, while you were unconscious I had you injected with a tracking device. If you get too far away from this floor, you'll be in for a lot of unpleasantness."

The last part was a complete lie, but Eli decided it was as good an incentive to keep her head down as anything. She looked at once baffled, angry, and alarmed.

"You can't just keep me here."

"Give me one reason why not," Eli challenged. In response she just sat and glared at him. He nodded.

"That's that then. Wait here a moment. Oh, and in case you were having any ideas about sneaking off." He slapped a handcuff on her wrist, locking her to the chair.

"Hey!" she yelped. She struggled and tried to pry the cuff off but it was no use. He put one on her other wrist and went out to comm Reuben, instructing him to procure a small studio somewhere on the same floor as Eli's penthouse. He returned to his office and found Mari lying on the floor, since she had apparently tipped her chair over in an effort to get loose from her cuffs. Eli shook his head.

"How sad," he said. He lifted her and the chair back into the upright position and sat down again to wait for Reuben's comm.

"How long are you going to keep me hostage?" Mari demanded.

"As long as need be," Eli replied mildly. She continued to fight uselessly at the cuffs until Reuben commed.

"The apartment is ready, Sir."

"Thank you Reuben. Come along, Miss Gold." Eli stood and undid the cuffs with a voice command. Mari sat stubbornly in her chair until he grabbed her arm and pulled her easily to her feet.

"Are you always such a jerkwad?" she asked him.

"No. Usually I'm worse," he said. She seemed to get distracted from her grousing as they passed by windows. She gazed out in awe.

"Wow. The sky really is a different color up here," she said, pressing her face to the glass. Eli pulled her along until he reached the small studio suite Reuben had indicated. He handed Mari a key card.

"This only opens your own apartment until such time as I need you go to somewhere else," he said. "So don't go getting any funny ideas." He opened the door and ushered her through. "This is where you'll be staying. I've already had Reuben leave some essentials for you. You'll report to my home first thing tomorrow morning for your first assignment."

"Assignment-wait hey!"

Eli paused and turned to look back at her impatiently. "What?"

"Are you seriously making me do this? Like, is this a joke or something?"

"Do I look like a man who jokes a lot, Miss Gold?"

"No, not really, I guess. You look like you're always about to hit someone. Why'd you choose that mod?" she asked suddenly.

"Excuse me?"

"Your eyes. It's an odd choice for a mod."

"It's not a mod," he said shortly. "I was born with it."

"Really? Your parents must have been some interesting people. Most highborns make sure their kids don't have any genetic quirks."

"Good night, Miss Gold," he snapped. "I'll see you in the morning." He stepped out of the small apartment and closed the door hard behind him.