Life as a New Hire Ch. 07

"He is so wrecked he can barely stand," one woman joked to another. In a flash, Desiree shot the speaker in the thigh, causing her to scream out and tumble to the ground.

"By all means, jump up and attack me," Desiree mocked her. "It took the male seven seconds to regain his feet. I am sure we all await your superior effort."

The woman did stand back up, shrugging off assistance as she did. I doubt she was faster than me though.

"That's nice," Desiree continued. "You are a pure-blood. You look to be fit and excellently built. You and Cáel both have a wounded left leg. He has had the ever-living crap beaten out of him, so feel free to attack him when you are ready."

The woman looked to me then back to Desiree.

"What? I need medical attention," the woman protested.

"Fine. Cáel, attack Blythe (the wounded woman)," Desiree directed.

"Why?" I grunted.

"Because I told you to," Desiree chuckled. We'd been down this road before.

"Ah - she's wounded and not attacking either of us," I reason, "so I'll have to decline."

"There you have it, Morons," Desiree shouted. "Had you told Cáel he was doing something wrong, he would have apologized and left."

"Had you told him to sit down and wait for a superior to show up, he would have," Desiree continued. "But no, you had to attack him. When he had the temerity to defend himself, you closed in like a pack of jackals and let him get battered into unconsciousness. You were so eager to stomp on a male outside the public view none of you took a moment to think."

"This isn't over between you and me," Elsa glared at Desiree. A whispered ripple moved through the crowd. Amazons moved aside, opening a large lane from the door to us. Two bodyguards led the way. Desiree quickly pulled out her gun's clip, chambered out the last round and placed her pistol on the mat. All around weapons were put down, not dropped.

Hayden came forward flanked by another bodyguard and a female attendant.

"Cáel, to my side," she commanded evenly. I weaved to her right side. "Kneel." I nearly face-planted I was so overwhelmed by pain.

"Tegan, please tell me what is going on," Hayden addressed the most senior member present.

The woman stepped forward and gave her own, skewed, version of events.

"I have already misused too much time on this male's behalf," Hayden mused. "My only conclusion drawn from all these issues is that I am the Spiritual Leader of a bunch of prejudiced, arrogant, conceited cunts," she finished angrily.

"Please explain to me how one male barely a month out of a rural, tiny college in the middle of nowhere has bewildered so many of my women?" Hayden scanned the room.

"He attacked me," Sabia complained.

"Maybe that will teach you to not attack an opponent who has eighteen centimeters and thirty kilograms on you," Hayden sighed.

"Especially, by your own admission, you knew he and another woman were practicing an intricate martial art you were unfamiliar with," Hayden appeared strict and maternal. "Don't give me 'he was a male' either. All complaints concerning the 'New Directive' are to be directed to Katrina, Tessa, or myself."

"We are not a pack of hyenas who lash out wildly, without consideration for our laws," she declared.

"We must defend ourselves," Tegan insisted.

"Yes," Hayden nodded. "I agree. Your point would be?"

"He attacked Sabia," Tegan pointed out.

"I am well aware of that," Hayden related patiently. "Sabia launched an unprovoked attacked, refused to explain herself and didn't take the presence of a guest into account. What would you have done in the same situation?"

"He is a man," Tegan stated.

"He is a man. He is also a Havenstone employee, a servant of Katrina and a part of a program I have initiated," Hayden kept at it. "What do you suggest? I instruct the males to stand patiently while you slit their throats? We would rapidly run out of men to recruit."

"In case you have forgotten the discussion that leads to our extinction," Hayden grew chilly. "By all means throw yourself off the top of the building. Do not expect me to do the same, or welcome your attempt to murder my offspring with your intransigent. Cáel, how many days is it now?" she teased me.

"76 Hayden," I responded, "though I still plan to spend that first night with Buffy."

"Still more afraid of her than me?" Hayden openly joked with me. Cold-ass woman.

"I'm starting to think she's gene-spliced with a lady-jaguar," I confessed. "Not only does she make these spooky growling noises, she perches over doors I frequently use."

There was a hush over the room.

"Oh Goddess, Sisters," Hayden groaned. "Its levity. He is not being serious - you know, being playful and amusing to lessen the stress of a situation. Cáel, stop trying to get yourself killed. Many of these women could greatly benefit some time with you."

"With, or without weapons?" I looked up. Hayden swatted my hair.

"Bad!" Hayden waggled a finger in my face. "Bad Male! Bad!" She look to the stunned/amused assembly. "This is really all it takes."

"He called us unworthy," another Amazon spoke up.

"And his opinion of you would matter - why?" Hayden looked at the woman.

"He said he would only bow before the Worthy," another woman persisted. Hayden groaned.

"You really are a problem," Hayden looked at me with frightening compassion.

"I apologize," I said obsequiously.

"If you want Cáel to kneel, call Katrina and convince her to make you Cáel's boss. Then he will kneel, follow, leap in front of bullets, punch your enemies, play with your children, or get your lunch. It is what he does and he's done all that before and more. If you want to make him jump, take ten minutes out of your busy lives and use a phone," Hayden scanned the room.

"Can I return to my dinner, or is there another bout of insanity that I need to deal with?" Hayden pleasantly menaced the room.

"Ummm, Hayden," I asked softly, "are medical people coming for the three women who were shot." I got a pat on the head.

"Yes they are. It was very much 'you' to ask. Now stop stressing your wounded leg," she smiled. "From what I understand you have slept with three different women in the past 48 hours, plus roughhousing with three children for half a day. For a man who has been wounded as much as you have, I would think you would have more common sense where recovery was concerned."

"I'll endeavor to be less of a problem...for what's that worth," I grinned. Another swat on the head. Hayden made a brief goodbye to the group then left the room. The looks I was getting told volumes. They hadn't forgiven me for deciding to fight back. That was too much to ask. What I was getting was embarrassment. They had acted stupidly and knew it.

They had been in such a rush to reassert their superiority they had forgotten to engage their brains. In hindsight, what was I going to do? Fight them all? Make a break for it? Had they calmly exerted their authority, I would have acquiesced. I would have clearly embraced that option. Once they enjoined violence, they had backed me into a corner.

At that point, they couldn't win. They didn't have the time to break me and no amount of damage I sustained would change the equation. I knew I was going to get beaten so there was no incentive for me to do anything but fight. I had fought Rhada and Madi after all. Best of all, their irrational actions had been highlighted by their highest official.

There were a few 'he should have submitted'. Those speakers weren't convincing anyone, even themselves. Their tame males would have bowed down. Hell, they wouldn't have been in this position in the first place. With pain and blood, I was starting to make inroads. Amazons didn't have a version of the French Foreign Legion at Camarón, or the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae.

Sacrifice was occasionally necessary, but not celebrated. This was not to say giving your life for another wasn't appreciated. It was, yet the emphasis was on killing your enemy before such a deed was inevitable. Vastly outnumbered throughout their history, the lessons they drilled into the next generation was one of killing your enemy swiftly.

Going toe to toe with your foes was a luxury they could not afford. Numbers and ill-fortune could be calamitous. The Amazons in the gym saw nothing wrong with the Elsa having a spear while I had nothing. In the same way, they had no problem with 'how' I attacked Sabia, only that I had attacked her at all.

It had been foolish of Sabia to turn her back on me, not knowing who I was. Had they been in my position, they would have hit her from behind too. What they did value was loyalty, martial valor and respect. Betraying a fellow Amazon was probably a horrific crime to them. Personal grievances were most likely dealt with internally with the declaration of a blood feud.

Martial valor - well, duh. They were Amazons. I was willing to bet every one of the new male recruits had some sort of combative ability. Tessa and Katrina would not want to dump neophytes into this cauldron without some sort of defensive training. Their system of respect was an elaborate structure I had barely pierced.

Prestige/blood purity was important, yet clearly competence counted as well. Hayden, Katrina and Tessa were all scary-smart. The last two were pretty young for their critical positions. Hayden sat atop a pyramid of psychopaths, many who were unhappy with her and her choice on how to save her people. Their restiveness and Hayden's willingness to stay the course was laid out with the encounter with Leona.

Desiree retrieved her pistol, loading it before pulling me to my feet. A woman put a hand on my chest before I made the door.

"You will not always be so lucky," she warned me.

"Cáel don't," Desiree cautioned me. I proved I could learn something and said nothing.

"Keep him on a tight leash, Half-blood," the lady mocked us as we moved around.

"I take it back," Desiree grunted. "Have at her."

"Please take into account," I grinned at my latest tormentor, "that I have nothing to lose by meeting your challenge while the best you can do is a draw."

"I repeat," she snarled, "you will not..."

"Shove it," I interrupted her angrily. "This is not me being lucky. Being lucky would have implied that any of the douches here had two brain cells to rub together. Then you would have realized I made an honest mistake and three of you wouldn't be suffering from gunshot wounds."

The woman's flashed hate to me then glanced to Desiree.

"I'm not going to shoot you," Desiree yawned. "He's going to snap your neck like a twig because he's too damn tired to play around with our sensibilities about your perceived value of your life. Have at..."

I must have looked like death warmed over. She took ten seconds to decide that I was right - the best she could get was a draw. After the beating Elsa had given me, taking me down would have seemed pathetic. Had I won, she would have never lived it down.

"Had enough?" Desiree asked as she helped me limp along.

"You haven't shot me," I snorted.

"We aren't out the doors yet," she reminded me.

"Thank you," I sighed. For not shooting me...for coming to my rescue...for her words to her fellow Amazons...we never clarified my intent.

Outside the doors there were two groups waiting on me - the work crew and Yasmin plus two SD members.

"Ladies," I addressed the first group. "A moment's forbearance. I need to take care of this." I hobbled over to Yasmin who had hurriedly dressed.

"Wow," I chuckled. "This has to count as one of the most disastrous first dates in history. I apologize for this unforeseen chaos. I'm kind of surprised you are still here." I wasn't surprised. Getting your ass kicked in a valiant struggle is only superseded by winning said struggle in the 'getting the girl all hot' category.

"Are you going to be alright?" she stroked my cheek.

"I get $247,000 a year plus a truckload of benefits," I smiled. "I also have to deal with a number of colorful characters. Remember, I was shot with an arrow on Saturday." Yasmin tried to pull me away from Desiree and the two guardians, but they were having none of that.

"These women are some kind crazy cult," Yasmin whispered in my ear. Less I forget, she was a kick-ass cop back in Brazil.

"I'm not going to insult your intelligence with a denial," I whispered back.

"Why are you staying?" she looked into my eyes.

"Nothing I could tell you would make sense," I kissed her. She pulled my head down hard and turned a simple peck into a full blow French kiss. Desiree tapped Yasmin on the shoulder half a minute later.

"Time for you to go," she told my date.

"Are you leaving soon?" Yasmin asked me.

"No, he's staying here with us for a while," Desiree answered for me. "He clearly has difficulty taking care of himself."

"Strange," Yasmin growled, "your crowd seems to be the reason he needs to be taken care of in the first place."

Desiree didn't argue. She nodded to the security detail ladies and they took Yasmin away. She shot me back a few worried looks before she rounded the corner to the elevators. The Executive Services group was looking at me. I was totally taken aback by Buffy being hellishly pissed at me. Okay, maybe not.

A senior member named Rosette came to me first. She patted me on the shoulder which made me wince.

"Is there any place on you that doesn't hurt - besides your face?" she inquired.

"I think Elsa avoided hitting his cock and balls too," Desiree muttered.

"Elsa!" Buffy screeched.

"Yeah," Desiree kept interrupting me. "She beat him with a spear before choking him out."

"We have to do something," Daphne declared. Five of the six new girls were present.

"No!" I insisted. "I haven't see you ladies fight, but I've seen Elsa and that is not something any of you want a part of."

"You fought her," Violet stated.

"I didn't pick a fight with her, believe me," I countered. "Trust me, she's a cyborg killing machine and you are nothing but a bunch of little girls more accustomed to pillow fights than the sounds of your ribs being broken." There was a moment of silence.

Trigger came up and gave me a gentle hug.

"You're okay," she murmured. "Try not to be such a drama queen."

"No promises. There are plenty of punches and kicks around this wonderful place I haven't walked into yet," I teased. The rest followed up with physical tenderness and teasing jibs.

In the end, there was only Buffy (Desiree was sitting this encounter out) and she was quivering with lethal passion.

"Did you fucking feel her up this time!" Buffy screamed at me. Teasing and mocking was unwise.

"No Buffy," I related in a deep, seductive voice.

"What about that whore?" she kept yelling. She was referring to Yasmin. I lowered my head, took a deep breath then looked to Desiree.

"Where am I going?" I requested of her.

"Don't you dare ignore me," Buffy stepped forward. I stumbled back. Not because I moved, but because Desiree pulled me back and interposed herself between us.

"Buffy think," Desiree calmed her friend. "He was working out in the gym with an outside female, not screwing her. He was attacked - twice. Why do you want to hurt him?"

"He makes me crazy," Buffy wailed. "I...I don't want him to get hurt." To me, "Cáel, stop going on dates with other women."

"Buffy, I'm a womanizer and no amount of hoping on either of our parts is going to change that," I tried to explain. "I really do like you."

"If I didn't, I would have kept walking after that 'whore' comment. I don't date whores. I date women and one day, if I live long enough, one of them will be you. Until that time, I'm going to roam and since I can't roam in-house, I'm going to do it with other women I meet," I told her. "I'm not going to make some promise to you I have no intention of keeping and no amount of fear or pain will change who I am."

"Sleep with me," Buffy persisted. "At this rate, you'll be dead before the month ends."

"Everybody makes mistakes," I grinned. "Genius is never making the same mistake twice."

"Come on Genius," Desiree sighed. Buffy wouldn't get out of the way.

"Do you want a totally platonic and workplace acceptable hug?" I offered Buffy.

She nodded and I carefully wrapped my arms around her. She slowly linked her hands over my ass. Buffy took several deep breaths. I could feel her tension bleed off. Elsa coming out of the gym ruined the mood.

"Don't get comfortable," Elsa mocked Buffy. "You are not even in the running."

Buffy's grip tightened until I gasped in pain. Elsa chuckled as she went into the locker room. Finally, Desiree broke the hold and forced some space between Buffy and me.

"Don't let her get to you," Desiree said to Buffy. "You'll be the one Cáel will be dragging off to a closet at 5:01 pm on Day 84, not her." Buffy ran her hand over my chest one last time then left.

"You really are her friend," I mused to Desiree.

"I don't have any friends," Desiree remarked. Yeah, right. She took me to another basement level, put me into a Spartan one room dwelling with a small bathroom and even smaller shower. Desiree went to get me a plastic wrap for my bandage so I could get clean and some food because I hadn't eaten yet.

She returned with the proscribed items - including a Klondike Bar. She was gone before I could even say 'thank you' or share the joke. Since my body was a mass of pain, I finished my business quickly and lay down on the double bed - the only piece of furniture in the room. Sleep had barely wrapped itself around me when the door opened.

It was Caitlyn, Loraine, Europa and Aya.

"Hey gang," I sat up. Aya ran up to me. I noticed a tote bag. Loraine and Europa followed a little slower. Caitlyn's approach was sedate and graceful.

"You were hurt again," Aya protested.

"I fell down some stairs," I snickered. Aya pouted.

"How many?" Loraine teased.

"Let me think...I started on the twenty-eighth floor and caught a railing around the sixth," I fabricated.

"I'm glad you live on the third floor," Europa grinned, "Otherwise you would kill yourself inside a week." She was referring to my apartment.

"That's the spirit, Europa," I applauded her developing sarcasm.

"That's not funny," Aya frowned. "It scares me when you get hurt, Cáel."

"It scares me to get hurt, Aya," I stroked her cheek. "I'm not all that brave."

"Oh," chuckled Loraine, "you tackling me on the sidewalk was a come-on?"

"Not really," I winked. "I saw a penny and I thought you were trying to beat me to it." Loraine hauled back to punch me.

"Is there any part of you that doesn't hurt yet?" Loraine asked.

"My pancreas," I mused. "I'm pretty sure my pancreas isn't in screaming agony yet."

"You are in screaming agony?" Aya fretted.

"Yeah," I ruffled her hair. "I could really use a hug right now."

Aya scrambled on top of me; I bottled up the howl of suffering as she lay on my chest.

"I am here for you now, Cáel," she sighed. I looked over to Caitlyn to judge her mood. I was behaving myself right into some 'Daddy Time' with her, no doubt. After a bit of time passed, Caitlyn sent Aya to the bathroom to change for bed.

"Is it okay if she stays with you for the night?" Caitlyn whispered once she was gone. She'd already set up Aya for a night visit but was kind enough to give me the chance to break Aya's heart.

"How is she going to get to school tomorrow?" I evaded.

"She's going to take the last four days off," Caitlyn informed me.

"Do you want her to spend the rest of the week with me?" I tried to stay calm.

"Would you? She is truly happy in your presence, Cáel," she said. "Today, even with you not taking her to school, she was calm. Apparently Ms. Reichmann was more distressed by your absence than Aya was."

"Imagine that," I looked away. "I would like to think we've established a rapport."