Somnus V - EPILOGUE

“I don’t think you understand how rich we are now,” Belle said, her voice raised so that Kat could hear her over the hum of the hovertank. At Kat’s side, Whippoorwill was pressed up against her, unwilling to leave her even for a second.

 “The arbitration board was more than a bit displeased with VodCom,” Belle continued. “We were about to win the case anyway, but with one arbitrator dead and another in a coma, that left only our representative, and the arbitration hall was more than willing to back them up. All isotope futures contracts were returned to you as a sanction, and they were ordered to pay 10% of gross revenues for the next five years as compensation.”

 “Wow,” Kat replied, her eyebrows arching. “10% of a company like VodCom’s profit is absurd. That’s more money than any shareholder would see in fifty years.”

 “Revenue,” Bell corrected, her predatory smile growing. “Not profit. For every ten credits they receive, you and I get to split one regardless of their costs and overhead. VodCom may not even turn a profit for the next five years.”

 She let out a low whistle, shaking her head slightly.

 “You’re right,” Kat agreed. “I don’t think I understand how rich I am. It might take me a couple days to wrap my head around a number that big.”

 “It’s a good problem to have,” Belle said, the satisfaction of a well fed cat stretching out in the sun on her face. “The path that brought us to this point was more treacherous than I’d like, but I really can’t complain about the end result.”

 Kat nodded, her hand tightening imperceptibly on Whip’s shoulder. She snuggled deeper into Kat’s side.

 “I’d rather avoid a repeat,” Kat said quietly. “Normally, part of me almost enjoys fighting. The danger, the adrenaline rush, the fact that your entire future is teetering on a knife edge and only your reflexes and skill will be enough to push you over toward victory. I’m good at it, and winning like that is addictive.”

 “But this,” she began, pausing for a second before she finished her thought. “This was different. There was something about seeing Whip, Heather, Dorrik and you at risk in a fight that I couldn’t possibly hope to win that tipped everything on its head.”

 “I’m glad that only Heather and I got hurt,” Kat continued, “but I can’t help but feel like that was a combination of luck and Ice Cobra having a weird obsession with beating me. If she had just blanketed the entire building with nerve gas the minute the bomb went off, none of us would’ve gotten out of there.”

 “About that,” Belle paused, taking a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking about what you’ve said about opening up. To a certain extent, I’ve considered you to be a better version of my daughter for a while now. For me, that’s more or less a business relationship. I’ve never had much time for sentiment, and frankly I always assumed that my career would end with either you or someone close to me betraying me the moment I lost my step.”

 “You came back for me during that fight,” there was a hitch in Belle’s voice as she continued. “I might have made it out of the arbitration hall without your help, but the last of my guards was down. I didn’t have any cover and I certainly didn’t have the same abilities and training as you. It would’ve been easier for you to just abandon me. Maybe you wouldn’t have gotten shot then, we’ll never know, but that moment when you came back has to mean something.”

 “My initial response to something like that is disdain, to think that you’re a credulous fool that I can take advantage of, but-” she paused. “But none of that is true. You aren’t a fool, and without you I would probably be dead. I’m not entirely sure where I’m going with this. Again, I’m not really the emotionally open and sensitive type, but it is making me recontextualize our relationship. Perhaps one day it can be closer to what you have with Mr. Haupt. A friendship of sorts.”

 Kat smiled. It wasn’t often that she had a chance to see Belle’s human side.

 “I’d love to have you as a friend,” Kat replied, “when you’re ready of course. Given that Mr. Jackson is still out there being assisted by whatever that was I killed in the bowels of the safehouse, I have a feeling that I’m going to need all the friends I can get.”

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Index

Continued In Book Six