Mortgage One’s Soul
Mortgage One’s Soul — Chapter 2 — Consequences — Part 3
Monique Touran, Day 1, Insomnia
Merticaru Dorin Nicolae
(To Part 2) — (Content) — (To Part 4)
Monique Touran — Day 1 — Insomnia
Lily was flying… Yes, that’s the perception… But it was a kind of death flight… She was dead or dying. Below it was much, much fire in a swirl of yellow, white, red, and black colors… Is it hell or just an explosion… Hell, what nonsense…
Is it the moment of her death or is this happening now?!? she thought she was becoming conscious but still in sleep. It can’t be about something like that… And anyway, I must intervene! She was getting ready to do something and…
She felt cold on her back and started to wrap herself better… But she couldn’t find the blanket… She just felt… Yes, she had fallen asleep wearing her house clothes, she hadn’t changed into her nightgown… She touched herself and felt her bare back. She nervously pulled her blouse to cover her back and positioned herself face up, to warm her back as quickly as possible…
She was too tired… She was sleepy and she didn’t want to give up even the sleepy state she was in.
What was with that weird dream, what was that?!? To be one of my premonitions?!?
“You know that you have these premonitions to be able to intervene, to change something”, she heard from somewhere, usually, as she had in almost every dream of hers…
“But it wasn’t something that seemed to depend on me. It was something that was happening, and I was just observing” …
“It’s a premonition, a pre-Monique, as Lily always calls it. You don’t have dreams, you only have premonitions, and you know it. Even when you force yourself to dream something, like normal people, you still have premonitions, more and more detailed”.
“Yes, it’s a good idea, to detail the premonition… To do an exercise to re-enter the visualization, in the dream and see all the details that I can perceive!”.
High-speed images rolled by too fast to perceive but he reached the great fireball and stopped the flow of images. Lily was falling into that bubble and perceived how it disintegrated under the pressure and temperature of the fire cloud… But Lily was smiling… She looked happy…
Scroll through the images and resume viewing the scene… It can’t be a premonition… It’s just a dream… What happiness can you experience when you’ve been blown up by an explosion… And…
And she was looking to one side at a man who was looking at her in turn… With the same smile… Happy, downright… With both arms outstretched towards Lily… And he is on the same death flight… With one arm outstretched towards Lily like a separation of two lovers who lived the distance only to meet again, happier… Yes, now she noticed that Lily also had her arm outstretched towards him as if she didn’t want their hands to part…
Divine power, what eyes full of love and happiness they both have!!! Involuntarily she focused on the man’s face trying to perceive the entirety of his expression… Full of happiness… But she failed to perceive anything else because the man’s head smashed into the wall he was heading towards, deforming grotesquely, his eyes flying out of his head in a wave of brain and blood mixture…
What stupidity! she thought horrified, before noticing that she was shivering violently from the cold. I must do something about this cold, and she immediately sat up, positioning herself on the edge of the bed, shaking her head as if to escape the ugly images of the dream that had just ended. Her back was already hurting… Middle… Pretty bad…
She looked at the clock… It was a little past 4 in the morning. Lily realizes in surprise. By this time, she had already returned. And she jumped to her feet, going straight to the “Heart”. On the way, she remembered the sync and took the data card to make the transfer.
She entered slowly, almost silently, sensing that Lily was already asleep. Lily was lying lasciviously on the bed in the room. Sensing Monique’s entrance, she slowly turned her gaze and said,
- I’m not in the mood for anything right now… And not for tomorrow either. I am exhausted… I completed the remaining mission and…
She remained thoughtful long enough for Monique to realize that something was wrong… And Monique knew that it was not good to approach her directly in such situations.
- We must synchronize no matter how tired we are, Lily! Monique pointed out reproachfully. And anyway, I don’t have much to tell you, Monique relayed as she plugged the transfer card into the sync device. You have here all the necessary data for the mission you are preparing, as well as all the purchases related to Coras Inc.
- Okay, say, said Lily more in a whisper, slamming her head on her crossed hands, resting on the bed. I trained for the upcoming mission, eh… That’s in the conditions where the Center doesn’t send us any emergency… Then I carried out the remaining task. The target is erased, and all incidences are clean… No marks, no injuries…
- At my place, the military delegation came for the new contract… At Coras Inc., she pointed out pressed, noticing that Lily’s attention does not have the necessary quotas. I have nothing to tell you because you will find everything in the transferred data, she said, sitting on the bed next to Lily and caressing her tenderly. The only thing that stands out badly is an accentuated state of nervousness on the part of Corasdo. I don’t understand what is happening… It is so involving that the mountain of calmness and kindness represented by Corasdo is canceled by the vibration of the moment.
- I told you there is no way he can stay away. Being his girlfriend’s bastard, he can’t do that. And it makes the lives of other innocent soldiers miserable, as was our father.
- I feel that you are exaggerating, both about Corasdo and about… How did you tell him? If you spend more time with him, you will understand what I am saying. A man with his money and values cannot be left aside by anyone, especially by the army for which he is the leading technology supplier at the moment. And, by the way, the feeling that it’s about Dan also comes deep from the chest?
There’s no way it could be otherwise… People like Corasdo don’t value anything other than the people they care about. They are their only and true values… That something, priceless, for which they are willing to do anything, legal or not, moral, or not. Does Corasdo’s girlfriend have anything to do with this business?!? No, she continued, giving a rhetorical twist to the previous question. She can’t have… She’s an unimportant housewife. But Dan the bastard?!? Transport pilot, bored with his job, with the looks of a renegade pilot… The army can immediately offer him something that will become leverage like blackmail for Corasdo… I can tell you with certainty that there is something related to this…
- Yes, possibly, but I haven’t found even the slightest trace to certify your intuition. Dan is wasting his time now… He is between two races…
- I see you keep an eye on him all the time! Lily interjected in a low, insinuating voice.
- Mrs. Anda and Dan are on the list of priorities set by Mr. Corasdo himself… It is a kind of service obligation of mine, as Corasdo’s secretary, to follow every gesture permanently and discreetly, activity, contact, etc. theirs.
- As long as you stayed with that Dan, you obviously knew him very well, continued Lily. Get ready sister, because it will be yours. I know you and I know when you like a man. As part of our soul mission, to avenge our father, you must step up to lay hold of his soul, Dan. This is the only way we can have Corasdo unconditionally on our little finger and make him suffer as we have suffered. I’m confused with Rick and I’m not going to change the male now. If you ever help me with Rick maybe I was thinking of helping you with…
- Please, let’s change the subject! And so, things get more complicated than necessary. Please give up your revenge! I have told you my opinion several times… We have enough of the problems we have with the center, and I told you that I am almost certain that he, Corasdo, is telling the bare truth. Why should he suffer or Dan, who has no fault?!? Just because we believed and poisoned ourselves for so long until we found out the truth?!?
- That’s what you think, dear sister. I’m not convinced, and really, why would I be?!? Dad is dead because of Corasdo?!?
- Yes, but it was just an accident… A simple accident…
- There are no accidents in war. There are only undone things and sacrifices… And in no case deaths, as our father suffered…
- You are exaggerating, as you always do…
- … And the times are troubled, Lily interrupted her, without any logic in her statement… Yes, I have heard this many times from you, she continued with a sigh. Don’t you miss some action?!?
- Yes, yes, go on! But you won’t change anything I believe. Corasdo must pay. But first, let him suffer…
- You must control yourself, my dear! Monique interjected. Maybe you’ll have to replace me and then the bioms and safety detectors will notice the increase in aggression or at least irritation parameters.
- You don’t take care of me, my dear! Even if I were to go without biomis, I am sure that I would control myself without any problems. Unlike you, I passed all the mental control tests.
- OK, OK, you know you’re right and I’m not going to contradict you. I thought all this according to my real availability. Sorry!
- I return to my thoughts about your situation! You better miss a man, or at least a male, like I miss Rick. Until I get bored, it cools me down and I can retire here, ready to be bothered by you or the Center… You know that the state afterward is one of total tranquility, charging, and revitalization…
- I still miss seeing you much more, Monique signals that she no longer wants to continue the discussion. What have you been doing? she continued, arranging his hair with slow, careful, tender movements. What have you been doing? she repeated, noticing that Lily was squirming under the caresses. Come say! strengthen by canceling any opposition.
- Nothing. I have a pretty tough mission to prepare, and I’ve been working on it all day until I go out on the stupid mission tonight… It’s going hard. If I move forward at this speed, I think I will be able to do it in only a week.
- What happened in the mission? You’ve lost your mind for the second time, already, because something didn’t go right. Do you have something to tell me?!? Monique interjected insinuatingly.
- Well, a bitter nosy guard was left with no memories whatsoever, complete with a lost look at Lily. Ronnie Gautier was calling the bitter. I managed to download his data… I’ll see if he has any family and do what I can… You will! I’m the bad part, you’re the good part…
- OK, as done! I’m waiting for you to give me all the details. It’s your first miss since we’ve been put into this game… Do I think you’re affected in any way?
- What would it be like to believe that you are wrong? Lily said authoritatively. The only thing that affected me in any way was that he was a soldier, like us… He sacrificed himself, that’s the truth…
- Too bad, Monique said affected.
- Please don’t ask anything about it! Lily cut in brutally. You know I don’t make mistakes. This had to happen.
- What are you doing, are you going to go out somewhere? Monique changes the subject. To see Rick, to have a fun time or… Simply let loose in your style…
- I don’t feel like it today, my dear. I told you I was tired. She said sitting up being careful not to interrupt Monique’s caresses and laid her head on her chest. You can go home without any problems, I will sleep until tomorrow when you come back. But please set me up with Rick for tomorrow. You choose the time… And I hope I feel like it. You see, right?
- Okay, my dear, replied Monique, kissing her forehead with love, after which she got up and left the “Heart”.
She entered the living room and reclined in the armchair, after which she “pulled” the opening of the communication terminal…
Let’s see what remains to be done before the new day begins… Corasdo… Here I have work, here I must think carefully about what I must do, especially not to increase Lily’s hatred against him.
Yes, yesterday was not good at all with him. Nothing is going right. Yesterday, everything was more visible than ever. Research, development, production, everything was “over the clock” … Those from military contracting were more incisive than ever to have Corasdo’s “priceless word” …
And I forgot! There was also that senseless Thank, the head of the military delegation, with his attractive strange woman… It was as if they were the source of the maximum anger that was accumulating in Sir Corasdo. She had studied the video recordings dozens of times, and besides, she sensed that was where the problem was. Even Lily feels that the problem is with them, especially if it were about “intersections” with Mircea Dan.
But she had failed to understand what they were talking about. The military was always changing position, sensing, or knowing the positions of surveillance cameras or general scanning devices, so you couldn’t read lips or pick up audio vibrations.
That moron was in perfect control of his senses. Hmmm, what a surprise?!? When scanning, the biomis belt is detected. And it was not an ordinary, serial one. After all, what could you expect from someone of his rank?!? The devices, more or less legal, at his disposal, and which collaborated with the bioms, did not detect any changes in nervous, electrolytic, adrenalitic, cortisone, or other status.
Only the bioenergetic devices had gone crazy, literally. She was dealing with a veritable bioenergetic storm from which she could make out almost nothing concrete. Just dark energy, of imbalance. And Corasdo strongly signaled that he receives it. Especially when they whispered, Corasdo’s body and nervous and bioenergetic emissions went crazy.
Using the technologies and knowledge at her disposal to the maximum, she managed to identify only the psychological anchor that determines all these “outs from the parameters” of Sir Corasdo: “The Message” … Followed by everything else, even if unintelligible, unfit for anything…
Ohhh, anyway it was a horrible day… I still have time to rest a little and then I will see everything with different eyes, with a different depth.
I feel that I’m missing something… I can’t leave Corasdo in this state anymore! I feel that I can help him and, why not, help myself…
I still have the energy for a few searches…
She entered the bedroom and threw herself on the bed, making herself as comfortable as possible. The restless night demanded its rights… Fatigue… Then she drew the “attention” of the sensor of the communication terminal, by waving her hand… It projected holographically in front of her, she enlarged it with the help of palm gestures and began the search…
It took some time for her to realize that she was digging and digging in vain. There was no data of any kind about Thank and his attractive strange woman, except for the official ones… Furthermore, there were no elements of “can-can” related to them, in the conditions where, in their position, the permission given was quite strange their relationship. And you couldn’t help but notice that I was much more than superior and subordinate… Or, in this case, there was no way you could get that high without tangent points over time. Yes, in their case everything was too clean not to think about…
Involuntarily she thought of Corasdo and allowed her thoughts to leave the search. Corasdo was clean and honest. She had never met such an honest person until him. Maybe that’s why everything she had discovered and told her about Corasdo seemed unreal to Lily. But she was sure of everything she had accumulated. And, of course, this was where her impossibility to understand why a message could give birth to all the tensions noticed at Corasdo…
Ohhh, back to Thank! I have to dig and move on, as far as possible in time, maybe something will appear. And let’s not forget the collateral people!
The annoying pair had finished the pilot academy. Let’s see the colleagues! The list couldn’t be too big… Let me also request photos… So, now I activate facial recognition for quick data selection… Eventually, the answer will come… Data over data… Lots… I must be careful and see if something comes out in evidence!!! Careful, careful!!!
And then she had the flash that cleared everything up. The interview conducted by the army media team, from a few days ago… This is it! This is the message!
Everything ties together. The analysis software indicated the points of operational focus around this event and correlated all the people: Corasdo, Dan, Thank, Ada, and many, many others… I must focus my attention on those involved in this message and not on its content…
Her exclusive access rights didn’t help her much, considering the rank of most of the people involved, but her search experience spoke volumes…
Data, data… The first correlation: the four have known each other since the time of the academy. Only Corasdo and Dan know each other long before this. Dan and Ada were together, then she “migrated” to Thank… Oh, ho, ho, sentimental relationships of great amplitude and bearing… Interesting… The two had a permanently “coupled” ascent… Circles of power… Many… With certainty that all these will be useful in deciphering the current situation. And her intuition told her that everything is much bigger than it seems at first sight…
But it was getting harder and harder to react. Not long after, fatigue had its say. After a small victory in her search, she lay down to be more comfortable and somehow respond to the pain in her back but… She fell asleep almost instantly!
