As I make my way behind the waiter I hear Jocie saying “These geniuses can be so temperamental.”
As I break the usual pattern a photographer leaves his position and earns squeals as he walks in front of socialites who were about to have their picture taken. A waiter also shadows me. They’re wearing identical black shoes. They’re corps security but they don’t get too close before I reach the bar so both attempt to fade into the background again.
The bartender is older than I expected him to be with a deeply wrinkled face that most people erase through enhancing. His hands immediately catch my attention. They’re rough and scarred like he’s done manual labor his entire life rather than allowing robots to work for him.
“Your waiter here just improved an ugly shirt with a red drink. He tells me your signature drink is quite good, I’d like to try one.”
The old man smiles.
“I always figured you for the curious sort.”
“You know me then?”
“I’ve read your books.”
Christians were encouraged to read the writings of ‘DRCP’.
“I saw your interview with that idiot Brock this morning. What do you make of all this number ‘Four’ business?”
“It’s fascinating so far. The wiggly four said they’re a religious group. They’re nationwide, perhaps even worldwide. They’re organized and appear to be technically savvy. Yet they have no apparent demands and as far as I can tell are peaceful. Is there anything you could add about them?”
“I could, but I won’t. You’re a smart boy and there are some things you just have to figure out on your own.”
He hands me a red drink which tastes just like any other red wine to me.
“Let me ask you a question,” he says. “They call you the ‘Cult Hunter’, when you meet the Christians you hunt down, what do they say to you?”
“I’ve never spoken to a cult member. I just help find them.”
“Is that so? Never spoken to even one? Maybe you’re not as curious as I thought.”
Unlike Jocie, this man has no aversion to staring someone in the eyes. His eyes are deep and kind and have a sparkle that’s like a comfortable fireplace on a winter day.
“It bothers you doesn’t it? Hunting folks down and never getting to speak to them?”
“More than you could know. What were once just interesting puzzles to solve have become increasingly troubling to my heart. I want to know these people. I want to understand their faith.”
“It’s okay son. This is my first time speaking with a cult hunter and I learned a lot more than I thought I would.”
I can see Jocie working through the crowd towards me.
“Thanks for the drink. I hear it’s called ‘The Four Wise Men’. There were only three wise me in the Bible you know.”
That surprised him. He didn’t expect to hear a Biblical reference from me.
“It’s a special wine, but I think for you perhaps it could be renamed The Four Horsemen.”
Not a good omen.
***
Jocie is quite drunk when we leave the party but I somehow manage to get her back to her gigantic hover bus, stumbling and hanging off me all the way through what seems like an endless parade of cameras. Janet is waiting inside the hover bus along with Jocie’s attendants who take her to the next room and begin to strip her to prepare her for the remainder of our evening together.
“You’re a lot stronger than you look,” Janet says.
My eyes have stayed focused on Jocie as she’s prepared in the next room.
I can do anything I like with her and they say she’s the best.
A month ago I would have considered this to be the moment I’ve been waiting for but now I’m torn. Part of me wants this night with Jocie but a larger part can only hear Martha’s voice saying “it would ruin you.”
“Would you like to hear what annoys me the most?” I ask Janet. “Both her security guys and yours shadowed us the entire time and not one offered to help me drag her back here.”
“I told them not to,” Janet replies.
Anything you like Cephas. All night long.
“What? Why?”
And it will ruin you.
“The way you had to manhandle her, some of those pictures are going to make it look like you are her knight in shining armor and some will look like you are trying to haul her off for sex. Controversy and speculation are always news fodder and this was good for your new party boy image. Besides, Jocie is joining the tour for a few days and this creates chemistry. Now go ahead, have a good time tonight.”
You know what you have to do.
“I have three choice words for you Janet and you’re not going to like them.”
I move towards the door of the huge bus.
“Really? Let’s hear them.”
“Impromptu news conference.”
Her eyes go wide as I step out of the bus. She gets as far as “You wouldn’t” before I close the door with the manual switch and cut her off. The cameras surround me. They’ve never seen a man leave Jocie’s hover bus before morning.
What persona do I use? Cult Hunter or fun guy?
“I have a statement to make. I won’t be spending the night with Jocie because Jocie is an over enhanced, under talented movie star that isn’t worth my valuable time. Are there any questions or is that pretty clear?”
Apparently nobody here is accustomed to honesty because there’s a moment of stunned silence followed by a roar of stupid questions. I try to answer the ones that I can understand but in less than a minute three bureau cars pull up and I’m thrown into one by some agents. They whisk me back to the tube station and deposit me in the private car.
The agent in charge also knows how to be clear, he says “Don’t try to leave.”
Five minutes later Janet arrives and pounds on my room door. I try to ignore her but she overrides the lock and storms in.
“You!” she begins but can’t finish. “You, you, you,” she continues to stammer. She turns her back to me and I look at the window to see if jumping out is possible.
“You are either the smartest press manager in the world or just a crazy son of a bitch.”
She starts laughing.
“That little stunt is playing on every screen you can imagine. You’ve broken all records for number of views.”
“Because I called their pop idol names?”
“Because you turned down what everyone else wants. You just made yourself a mystery and believe me the speculation is rampant. Some think Jocie must have some hidden secret you uncovered, some think it was a publicity stunt to sell your book and some think you’re just a lunatic.”
“I’m voting for the last one.”
“Well, whatever it is you’d better have your story ready when you walk onto the stage in Minneapolis tomorrow.”
She leaves to monitor the news and plan her strategy.
Minneapolis is tomorrow?
The last twenty-four hours feel more like days. Then the bright spot of Martha’s face comes into my mind. I get to see her tomorrow. I bring up my messages on the screen. This time there are almost five hundred with more coming in so I ask the com to show me just messages from Martha. There are five, all from the last few hours. The first three contain pictures the press ran of Jocie mauling me on the red carpet and me carrying her into the party. The text with them asks “Did they photo shop drool off your face?”
I look at the pictures again, my face has been altered but not in the way Martha is suggesting. I’ve been given a variety of lustful, leering expressions. The fourth message contains a picture of me hauling Jocie back to her bus. Janet was correct, the picture looks like I’m the one doing the mauling. Martha’s text says “Enjoy your night.”
I almost don’t dare to open the fifth message. I still need Martha and even if I didn’t need her for my plan, I just want to be around her. If the fifth message says “Drop dead” or even “I’m not coming to Minneap
olis” I may just need to jump out of the car after all.
I open the message. It contains a video of my impromptu press conference. Martha has not added any text but at the point where the press is too stunned to speak she’s added something she knows only I would notice. I ask the computer to isolate that second of audio and listen a second and then a third time. It’s barely audible but it’s definitely Martha’s voice whispering “Fight them, Cephas.”
Fight “them”?
Chapter Thirteen
I was certain that Martha was sent to kill me or at least to get information out of me before letting some other Christian finish the job. Is asking me to fight the temptation of Jocie just part of the process of gaining my trust, or has it gone beyond that? Is she now trying to “save” me?
Even with those questions and many others rolling around my brain, I manage to sleep soundly. In the morning it’s clear that my best course is to allow Martha to convert me slowly. Moving quickly would set off too many alarm bells.
Janet has sent my schedule for the day to the screen in my room. I was supposed to be on an early afternoon show but everyone wants to hear what I’ll say next so I’ve been bumped to the morning. At least the schedule change allows me to teach my World Religion class at its usual time in the afternoon. She’s even scheduled an hour for me to be with Martha.
As we pull into the Minneapolis tube station I can see quite a crowd has formed outside. The car dives down to the private parking areas and I’m ushered to a private elevator that will take me out a back exit. The bureau bus has a live news feed and I see the crowd outside isn’t for me. Jocie beat us here and is doing her own press conference. She’s throwing out words like ‘impotent’ and ‘primitive’.
“I’m sure this wasn’t part of your plan. What do you want to do?” I ask Janet.
“I can get you onto the stage if you like.”
“Do you trust my instincts?”
“Not for a second, but what the heck.” She gets onto her com to make things happen.
Just a few minutes later I’m brought up the back of the stage right behind Jocie. The crowd goes quiet and Jocie realizes something is happening. When she turns and sees me she closes the distance and slaps me hard across the face to the crowd’s delight.
“Would now be a convenient time to crush me? Break my heart, etcetera?” I ask and the crowd gasps.
“Nobody goes on a date with me without having sex.”
“That’s because I’m the first genius you’ve taken out, or at least the first man smart enough to refuse you.”
She slaps me across the other cheek.
The Christian expression ‘Turning the other cheek’ suddenly makes more sense.
“Since I’m the historian, let me say there was a day when women slapped men for taking advantage of a drunk woman rather than refusing to.”
She tries to slap me a third time but I catch her hand and stare into her eyes. I hold her hand so the cameras can’t read my lips and whisper “I can see inside you and there is no beauty.”
She breaks my grasp and leaves the stage without another word. The media don’t know what to do. It’s like they’re collectively deciding if I need to be cast as a villain or a madman. I realize they’re all standing around waiting for what I’ll say next.
“If any of you are looking for a date tonight, Jocie is available.”
There’s another moment of silence until someone snorts a stifled laugh. It starts to catch on, slowly at first and then faster until most of the crowd is laughing. I’m at a loss for what to say next and Janet must see it because I’m hustled back into a hover bus bound for the studio where I’ll do this morning’s interview.
“So how was I?” I ask.
“Unbelievable, as usual. But it seems to be working for you. Better yet, in your own weird way you’re building credibility as someone who speaks the truth no matter the consequences and that’s what this book tour is all about.”
“Any suggestions for this interview?”
“Well, you can forget about talking about the content of your book. Expect all the questions to center around Jocie. If you’re lucky you might be able to shift the topic to the number Four group from yesterday.”
“If Four tries to hack this interview are you going to let them?”
“Yes, but we expect that they won’t. They’ve gone quiet. As far as we can tell there wasn’t a four painted anywhere nationwide last night.”
“Wow. That shows both remarkable communication and restraint. Usually the goal is to stay on top for as many news cycles as possible, not go dark just when you’ve gotten attention.”
“Our thoughts exactly. We’re looking for something big to happen soon for just that reason,” Janet says, “but we have no clue what it might be.”
***
At the studio I’ve been given a spot to stand off stage until I get my cue to enter. Unlike Brock’s show in Los Angeles I can see there’s a sizeable studio audience here. The audience portion is pretty dark but I go face by face until I find Martha in the third row. Compared to a super enhanced star like Jocie most would say Martha is plain, but to me she’s radiant. She’s smart, funny, pretty and of course possibly out to capture or kill me.
I’m thinking about her so intently I miss my cue to go on stage. Luckily a crew member is there to give me a gentle push. There’s wild applause when I come into view. The hosts are a man and woman team called Stephanie and Stewart, or “Steph and Stew”. As expected, they both have visible enhancements but they’re still young enough that they don’t yet look made of plastic.
“Here’s the man who’s taking the nation by storm, Professor Cephas Paulson,” Stew announces.
“And yet also ruffling a few feathers along the way,” Steph adds.
“Does Jocie have feather implants? I wouldn’t know.”
Funny and personable. Check.
The crowd laughs, which seems to throw off my hosts. I guess they’d planned to cast me as villain and will need to scramble to adjust.
“We’d planned to talk about your new book, but since you raised the topic, what’s the story with you and Jocie?” Steph asks.
“I met her for the first time yesterday. I know the news moves fast but if we have a story it’s a short one.”
Forthright with a touch of humble. Check.
“Come now Cephas. Nobody’s ever refused sex with Jocie. She’s been atop the best Hollywood sex partners list for the last eight years in a row. If you don’t mind my saying so, you don’t look like you’re in her usual league. So how did you pass up a once in a lifetime opportunity that any man on the globe would have taken?”
Janet said mystery and conflict are good for building buzz.
I take a deep breath for effect.
“I didn’t want to embarrass Jocie any further, but I see you have me on the spot. I don’t blame you, it’s just what great reporters do when they’re chasing a story.”
“I’m sorry Cephas, we do hold an unfair advantage,” Steph says. “I’m glad you can forgive us.”
It’s hard not to roll my eyes.
“The truth is I have a secret relationship with someone more attractive than Jocie, a woman who surpasses Jocie in every way possible.”
I look at Martha and she smiles. The crowd holds it breath, waiting to find out who could possibly exceed Jocie.
“Did you go out with Jocie to make this other woman jealous?” Stew asks.
He’s smarter than I thought. He’s teasing the audience and making them wait. He won’t let them off the hook until they’re drooling like hungry dogs.
“No Stew. I went out with Jocie to prove to myself there is nobody else, and I was right.”
“Let’s come back to the identity of your mystery woman, I want to ask you something else,” Stew says. “This morning you said something to Jocie that made her leave the stage at the tube station. You did it with your hands blocking the cameras so nobody could discover what you sa
id. I’ve never seen anyone get the last word on Jocie. Did you reveal the name of your secret lover to Jocie this morning?”
“No Stew, Jocie didn’t even know about my secret relationship. Remember Stew that I’m a puzzle solver and this morning I told Jocie I’ve discovered her deepest, darkest secret. A secret so dark that to reveal it would leave her just a broken shell of her former self.”
The audience gasps and I don’t know how I keep from laughing.
How can these people not see I’m making a mockery of the situation?
“Please don’t ask me to reveal Jocie’s secret. Despite all the things she’s said about me, I know I must do the honorable thing and protect it.”
Heart of gold, check. Truthful and honest, check.
“Cephas,” Steph says. “You are truly a gentleman, but I can see these secrets are crushing you. If you can’t tell Jocie’s secret then at least tell us yours. Tell us who this mystery woman is.”
“If only I could Steph.” A collective groan comes from the audience. “If only I could.”
“So now there are two secrets for us to uncover. Do you have any other mysteries to spring on us this morning?”
“Just one.”
Steph and Stew lean closer. I wait for an extra-long dramatic pause then take another deep breath.
“It’s about what my mystery woman brings to the table that Jocie lacks.”
I hesitate again. They’re expecting me to disclose some kind of new sex move or maybe an enhancement they’ve never heard of.
“I’m sorry. I can’t. I just can’t.”
Groans erupt all around.
“Please, Cephas. I think you owe it to Jocie,” Steph begs.
Now who’s drooling like a dog?
“Okay. You two are just too good. I’ll tell. As you know, I study modern and ancient history. I’ve found someone who has rediscovered an ancient secret that was lost to us. A secret that allows us to connect to each other so deeply that at times you think your brain will explode from the enormity of it.”
“Like something left by aliens in an Egyptian pyramid?”
Okay, so maybe he’s not as smart as I thought.
“Older,” I reply.
“Please Cephas. You can’t keep this information from the world.”
“Love. I have a lot left to learn, but whether she realizes it or not she’s teaching me about love.”
I expect the audience to laugh or groan but they do nothing. When I figure out why, I think I’m even more stunned than they are.