Ryan breathed a sigh of relief after Quentin Strapp left Nadja's study. He hated being so high-profile. He didn't want anyone knowing where he was and what he was up to.
Nadja stood and looked at Gordon Wu. "I'll be indisposed for a little while," she told her aide.
Gordon nodded, then turned and walked silently out the door into the adjacent office.
Nadja looked up at Ryan, a mischievous smile forming on her lovely face. "Come on," she said, taking his hand. She led him to the dining room, a spacious chamber with marble floors covered by Indonesian throw rugs and furnished sparingly with antiques of polished rosewood.
The table was a huge marble slab upon which was laid a sumptuous meal. As Nadja indicated for him to take a seat, he suddenly realized that he was very hungry. They ate in silence for a few minutes, Ryan enjoying the rich taste of his real steak.
As he ate, Ryan remembered the scene at Hells Canyon when he had been under the influence of Roxborough's personality. When he had been drunk with the power of the newly acquired Dragon Heart.
Nadja had arrived at the airstrip in her jet. She had come to try to persuade him to give up the Dragon Heart, to continue with Dunkelzahn's mission. He had run, trying to get to the helicopter. Trying to escape so he didn't have to talk to her. Didn't have to justify his actions.
She had come between him and his escape, standing with her guards. Blocking his way to the helo.
Possessed by Roxborough's personality, he had yelled at her, spitting obscenities. Roxborough's voice ringing through his own. The evil voice inside that had become a part of him since the memory transfer in Aztlan. The dark part of him wanted to keep the Dragon Heart, use it himself instead of giving it up as Dunkelzahn had asked.
Lost to Roxborough, Ryan had surprised Nadja's security force, moving faster than any of them could track, slipping past them to grab Nadja and hold his gun to her head. He had threatened to kill her if they didn't let him leave.
And all the while she had spoken to him, soothed him. She had kept her calm under the threat of instant death.
Until finally, Ryan had remembered himself and collapsed, begging for her forgiveness. And she had held him close, whispering her support.
Now, he pushed his empty plate away and looked up at Nadja. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I'm sorry about everything. How could I have done that? How could I have let Roxborough's personality get control and threaten you?"
She held his gaze in silence.
"I want us to stay close," he said. "I want… I want to get past this."
"And now?" she asked. "Are you still in control?"
"Yes," he said. "Firmly. There are occasional flashes of Roxborough's memory, but I no longer act on his impulses."
"You've changed," she said. And there was something like sadness in her expression.
Ryan nodded. "Yes, I don't think I'll ever be the same as before." He sipped his red wine. "I'm not the blind soldier I once was. I think about the big picture too much now. I think too much period. In fact, I'm plagued with indecision."
Ryan looked up at her, his gaze a soft caress. "But my essential core is the same."
"I know," she said. "The part I care about is still there."
"You think so?"
She smiled and gave him a slow nod. Ryan felt a surge of affection. He loved her. On impulse he leaned close and tried to kiss her.
She pulled back and laughed.
"What?"
Between laughs, she said, "I'm sorry, Ryan. You need a shower and perhaps a shave. You're in civilization now." She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.
Ryan stood. "All right, a bath then. Join me in the big tub?"
Nadja threw her head back in joy. "Sure."
They went into the master bathroom and drew a hot bubble bath and turned on the jets. The tub was huge and very deep, big enough for three trolls to use without crowding. Ryan stripped and settled into the hot water, leaning back to let the jets massage his aching and exhausted muscles.
Nadja joined him a minute later, stepping through the door in her white terry cloth robe. She looked into his eyes as she disrobed, purposely holding his gaze on her face. He was tempted to look lower, to follow the curves of her elven body down past her waist to her toes. But he resisted. There was time enough for that later.
She entered the water and slipped in next to him. He ducked his head under to wet his hair, to wash his face. Spirits, it feels good to focus on getting clean. As he lifted his head from the water, she was on him, her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pressed close.
She moved her mouth up toward his.
A soft knock on the door made her pull away. She tensed and sat up, straightening her hair. "What is it?" she said.
Gordon Wu's voice sifted through. "Sorry to bother you, Ms. Daviar," he said. "But Damien Knight is on line one. He said it was urgent."
Nadja whispered, "Frag it." Then she raised her voice, giving Ryan an apologetic look. "Thank you, Gordon. I'll take it in here."
She sighed and reached over to the telecom on the small marble table next to the tub. She killed the tub's jets as well as the soft music that was playing, gave Ryan a "shh" gesture, then keyed line one, presumably with the video blanked.
Ryan leaned back into the hot suds. To wait. Such an interruption was inevitable, he supposed, given Nadja's position as Chairman of the Draco Foundation and current nominee for vice president of the United Canadian and American States. It was fragging annoying, though.
"Damien, my good friend," Nadja said.
Ryan knew that Nadja despised Damien Knight, who was a hardball corporate shark. He was one of the most powerful people in the world, and no matter what her personal feelings, not a person to be ignored.
"Nadja," came Damien's voice, "what, no video? I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
The only time Ryan had met Knight was in Dunkelzahn's Lake Louise lair, at a birthday party the dragon had given for Nadja. Ryan remembered Knight as he greeted Nadja with a birthday kiss. He stood just shorter than Nadja's two meters, and he was broadly built, with salt and pepper hair and a rugged face. He also had hazel eyes and a platinum-plated datajack that gleamed discreetly on his temple, almost hidden under his perfectly coifed hair. He was very smooth and carried himself with the air of a man who was used to having his way. A man in control of his environment.
Nadja steeled herself, making her face a mask even though the video was blanked. "What do you want, Knight?"
"I was hoping you'd consider letting me vote your Gavilan shares."
Nadja smiled. "Ah, so you'd have control of thirty-four percent of Ares."
Ryan knew that Knight held twenty-two percent of Ares stock, the same as the Chairman of the Board, Leonard Aurelius. The two had been battling over control of the corporation for years. Since Nadja had just inherited Gavilan Ventures from Dunkelzahn, which included twelve percent of Ares stock, she was a prime target for internal corporate politics.
Nadja continued, "And what do I get out of it?"
"My blessing with the Scott commission and my influence in Congress to help get approval of your appointment as vice president."
"You have some influence there?" Nadja asked.
"There are those who appreciate my opinion."
Ryan didn't doubt it. Knight most likely had a third of the UCAS Congress in his pocket, and held substantial pull over most of the rest. Ares Macrotechnology was the single largest employer in all of UCAS and the nation's only "home" megacorp. Ares was based out of Detroit, while the headquarters of the other megas were located either in Japan, Germany, or Aztlan.
Nadja laughed. "What else?" •"Nadja, you drive a hard bargain." Knight's voice was a deep, smooth baritone. "I like that."
"If there's nothing else, Damien, my answer is no."
"Perhaps you need some time to think about it."
"Frankly, Damien, I can't see how twelve percent of Ares is equivalent to some political clout in FDC. I have no concerns here."
"Are you certain the Scott Commission will clear your name?" Knight asked. "It would be a shame for you to be indicted on conspiracy to assassinate the President. Something like that could be viewed in the media as equivalent to guilt."
Nadja didn't flinch at the implied threat. "I can handle the bureaucrats, Damien. Can you?"
Knight's deep laughter resonated from the telecom. "We should play chess sometime, Nadja. I think you'd be quite an opponent."
Nadja's smile showed teeth. "Yes, I think I might like that. As soon as I've beaten Mr. Aurelius, I'd be glad to start up a match with you."
"You've been in contact with Leonard?"
"Think about it, Damien."
Ryan didn't know if Nadja had been speaking with Aurelius or not, but even the possibility would make Knight nervous. Aurelius and Knight owned approximately equal shares of Ares. If Aurelius got control of Nadja's Gavilan shares, Knight's control of Ares would slip. He would undoubtedly be ousted as CEO.
Knight's voice was harsh. "You're playing in a very complex game of corporate politics, Nadja. A very dangerous game. If you give Leonard the proxy rights to your shares, Ares would splinter. The other megacorps would respond. The effects would be felt globally and the Draco Foundation would suffer. And so would UCAS."
Nadja's voice oozed sarcasm. "But you would prevent all that?"
Knight ignored her tone. "Dunkelzahn was informed, and he voted for the benefit of the corporation. Ninety percent of the time, his votes were the same as mine, you can check the data. But more than that, Nadja, he and I were friends. He trusted me. He would want you to trust me."
Ryan slipped further into the hot water. Knight might be right and he might be lying, probably a bit of both. / don't envy her, he thought looking at the lines of doubt now evident on Nadja's face. She has a tougher job than I'd ever want.
Nadja breathed an inaudible sigh. "I don't know what Dunkelzahn would have wanted, and neither do you. I have control of Gavilan now, for better or for worse, and the decision rests with me and me alone."
"Of course, I-"
"Now, I appreciate any support you can give as far as Congress and my vice-presidential nomination," she said. "And also with the Scott Commission-"
"Done."
"But I need to gather more information before I sign away the voting rights for Gavilan. You can understand the need to move cautiously, can't you?"
Knight gave a harsh laugh. "Certainly. We will talk again soon." The line went dead.
Nadja looked up and let out a long sigh. "I hate that man," she said.
Ryan keyed the jets, bringing bubbles and motion back into the water. "You were awesome," he said. "Knight doesn't know what hit him."
Nadja leaned back in the water, closed her eyes and let the fluid pummel her. Letting the tension drain from her body.
Ryan floated over beside her, drawing her into his arms. He poured some aromatic oil into his palm and massaged her shoulders with it. The sharp scent of ananya filled the room.
She responded with a smile, not opening her eyes.
Eventually, he worked all the tension from her muscles. She leaned back against him as he sank deeper into the water. The jets drove fists into his tight back as he kissed her neck. And as he worked his way up to her delicately pointed ear, he realized very slowly that she had fallen asleep.
Wonderful, he thought, resting her head against his shoulder. Now, how do I get out without waking her up?