Chelen City: Chapter Two, Part Two

Notes: We’re back! Elanus has a lot of work ahead of him–including, y’know…actual work.

Title: Chelen City: Chapter Two, Part Two

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Chapter Two, Part Two

Contrary to popular belief, or at least the belief of a man who’d lived in close and inescapable quarters with him back on Cloverleaf Station, Elanus did know when to give someone space. It was clear that Kieron needed it, and the girls were clamoring over the implants to get more time with their “Kee,” so Elanus let the three of them loose while he decided to take care of a few minor housekeeping issues. Namely, spending a little time running his company from his home office.

Lifeship Enterprises was one of the largest private employers on Gania. They provided cutting-edge guidance and AI systems to ships all over the Federation in addition to producing their own line of ships. Over ninety percent of the components of these new and improved ships were from recycled hardware, which meant he had a huge number of contracts to maintain with various providers and businesses around the city, the planet, and the system. He had competent people running things for him, and barely ever needed to step out of R&D, but now was as good a time as any to get his hands dirty.

First things first: weed out the spies. Elanus was tempted to ask Catie for a hand—she could work so fast, her pattern recognition was truly incredible—but after Kieron’s little lecture, he thought it might be best to let her focus on being a kid instead of being a corporate spy for a while. So instead he revved up his own implant, activated the specialized programs that allowed him to jack into the massive AI that kept his company in order, and began to probe for trouble spots.

He kept his eyes closed, preferring to visualize what he was doing in a more abstract way than simply running algorithms through his head. It felt like hunting…probably, he’d never hunted a living thing before but hunting spyware had to be close, right? Without the blood? Except apparently blood was on the menu, he saw with a smile as he detected several kill order programs lurking in the numeric undergrowth. Several of them were set to trigger in his manufacturing centers, another in the main office itself, and that one…

Oh.

Oh. How bold.

He laughed. It was so stupid as to be mystifying, but then, that was Ryu. Anyone Deysan had chosen to be his number-one underling was bound to be both bold and stupid, although Elanus had actually always liked Ryu. He had a certain cutthroat ability that made him an excellent second-in-command. When you delegated to Ryu, shit got done. Hell, come to think of it, he was probably behind several of the other assassination attempts. Except…

Except they hadn’t been his style. Honestly, Ryu was most deadly in-person. He wasn’t the sort to send proxies to do his dirty work, unlike his last boss. He was a skilled fighter and had some private hobbies that raised eyebrows even among the disgusting elite. And this lurking program, nothing but a simple alert to let someone know when Elanus was alone in his corporate office…that was definitely his sort of thing.

The question was, did he expect Elanus to find it?

Well, there was one way to find out! Elanus made a minor change to the program, just a little ghosting touch that would give him an edge, then reached out to Kieron with his implant. [Want to go engage in some corporate espionage with me this afternoon?]

[I know nothing about corporate espionage,] Kieron sent back, slightly distracted—ah. He was watching a dinosaur ballet, with music by Catie and choreography by Lizzie. Delightful.

[You don’t have to know anything about it. All you need to do is bring a gun. Or a knife, I guess, but a gun would give you better range and—]

[I thought you were talking about espionage!]

[And also potentially an assassination attempt, which is practically the same thing,] Elanus said soothingly. Maybe he should have led with that. Or maybe he shouldn’t be involving Kieron in this at all—it was already his fault that the man was going to be stuck in therapy with someone he wanted nothing to do with. [It’s fine if you don’t want to come, I’ll reach out to some personal security people I know and—]

[Shut the fuck up, are you insane? Of course I’m going, but…why can’t you just get whoever is doing this arrested before they even spring their trap?]

[Because then I’d still be curious! And I hate unfulfilled curiosity, it’s like an itch you can’t scratch, or like edging yourself until you couldn’t come even though you wanted to, or…you get the idea.]

Elanus heard Kieron’s mental sigh. [Fifteen minutes. I can’t go until this movement is over.]

[Good call. I’ll meet you in the transport room.] They could go by tube for this. Or no, wait… [Actually, come to the bedroom. We’ll have to change.]

There was no direct reply, more of a subtle groan, but assent as well. Good enough. Elanus retracted his mind from the tangle he’d woven out of the AI, left some feelers in to account for upgrades in the espionage attempts, and scheduled meetings with three employees who were very shortly going to be fired. Then he headed for the bedroom. Their bedroom.

He really had done his best to make it into a place he hoped Kieron would be comfortable in, even knowing as little as he did about the man’s personal tastes. It was hard to get a sense of an individual’s preferences when forced into institutional living quarters, and Kieron was a minimalist besides, but…warm wood tones, not enough to be overwhelming. Natural light, but windows that could go as dark as the middle of space. A spot for meditating, with directional sound and light that could make Kieron feel like he was back in the station if he wanted it, or in the middle of a rainforest, or a desert, or…anywhere he wanted.

Plus the clothes. Those were non-negotiable. Speaking of…

Elanus was almost fully dressed by the time Kieron joined him. It had been a while since he’d pulled on one of his business suits. He forgot how beautifully they fit, the fabric smooth on the inside but stiff on the outside, lending him an untouchable air. The fabric was programmable as well, so he set it to riff off the patterns he’d shaved in his beard and watched spirals ripple down the lapels and expand out to the cuffs with pleasure. Understated, but so elegant. Not to mention, this shade of red was certainly his color.

It was extra gratifying to turn around and see Kieron staring at him, mouth open, dumbstruck. “Like it?” Elanus asked, turning in a circle.

“It’s…wow.” Mmm, yes, that tone was exactly what Elanus had been hoping for. “You look beautiful.”

And that tone was possibly more honest than what Elanus had expected. He just wasn’t used to someone who didn’t hide behind layers and layers of illusion and deceit, which was the way things were generally done on Gania, even between friends. He cleared his throat and said, “I have a suit for you as well, if you want to wear it.”

Kieron leaned against the doorframe. “Do you want me to?”

“It would be appropriate for the setting, and—”

“Elanus.” His voice was warm but firm. “Do you want me to wear a suit for you?”

Stars, his cheeks were heating up now. “Yes, please.”

“Then I’ll wear it.” Kieron stepped in close, pulled his head, down, and kissed him thoroughly. “And I want both a knife and a gun,” he added once Elanus was breathless.

“Anything,” Elanus agreed.

Absolutely anything.