Page 36 of Snow Blind

"No, but I hear there is a new piece sitting in the dish. We don't know anything about her, and she's making trouble," he said. "The Chrysalis doesn't like trouble. I don't like trouble, which means I don't like her. People I don't like don't live long."

Passion Fruit asked, "Do you know who she is?"

"No, but you do," he said, squinting his eyes. "Tell your new friend to chill the fuck out and sit her ass still for a minute, or if they find her, it's going to be nasty."

"Father, I can't tell other Technicians what to do; it doesn't work like that," Passion Fruit said, wishing she'd made the failed attempts on the man's life successful. She hated the air he breathed.

"Do you think you're my only child that is a Technician?" Kurtzwilde said. "You have a brother down in Georgia. I have another son in the Midwest who works with the Storms named Thunder. I have a son who is on the Northeast Crew of the Trees named Elm. I even have a daughter who is a horse with the Western Crew named Morgan. Again, I tell you daughter, you are simply one of many."

"And you're telling me this; why?"

"I'm making you aware of how small your world actually is and to make sure you're not hooking up with your siblings," he said. "The one in Georgia, he's a real bad ass. You should reach out, get to know him. Living alone like this isn't good for you. You need a man to take care of you."

Passion Fruit wanted him gone. She wanted him, his testosterone, and male bullshit that was toxifying her living space out of her home. More than anything else, she truly wanted him dead.

"Noted. Anything else, Father?"

"Yes, proof of completion is needed by the end of the week, or those people will make trouble. You don't need their trouble," he said, looking about the place. "Did you have a good Thanksgiving? Please tell me you weren't here alone eating microwaved turkey."

"No, I cooked a small bird and had dinner with a friend," she told him.

"You know, a few grandkids from you guys would be nice as well," Kurtzwilde told her, then looked at his watch. That was the cue for him to leave. The father and daughter time had come to a close. "Get it done. Send proof. Close the contract."

"Yes, Sir," Passion Fruit said, accepting the modicum of affection of his kiss on her cheek. He added in a half hug, patted her on her back, and opened his wallet. He pulled a wad of cash and dropped it on the stand beside the door.

"I know, but just in case you have an unexpected repair or need to purchase a cadaver," he said, winking at her.

She stood on the porch in the cold air, the bits of ice in the wind pecking at her face. The pain and discomfort were welcomed as she watched the powerful Range Rover make tracks down the hill. He wasn't driving. He never drove. The driver knew where she lived in case he ever needed to come back without her father. When the car passed the security threshold, she stepped back inside the house.

Passion Fruit was armed with a great deal of information. The primary information centered on her lying house guest, whom she hoped had heard all the conversation, along with her new mentee. They were all in the gray and the situation was starting to turn a sickly bluish.

Helen came from the room, followed by Bryan. They both stared at Passion Fruit, and Bryan knew he needed to start talking. Passion Fruit stared at him, waiting for him to state what she already knew but didn't want to face, but Bryan said what she wasn't prepared to hear.

"He is Imperial," Byran said.

Passion Fruit’s eyebrows shot upwards, "Excuse me?"

"That man, his voice, I know it. He is Imperial, one of the Chrysalis," Bryan said. "I discovered it by accident, and I was going to turn over what I had when I came back from the camping trip, but they found me first."

"Either way, you were supposed to die, Elliot Parker, because I was also there to kill you," Passion Fruit said.

Bryan's eyes were wide. "What does this mean? I mean what are you going to do?"

Helen didn't know what to say. There was so much information in the man's Kurtzwilde’s words confessing to having kids on every crew. She’d held her breath when he spoke and got to the Western crew of horses. If he'd said her man Mustang was one of his kids, she would have come from the room and shot him herself. However, she’d learned that he was looking for her, and the way he spoke meant he knew she was nearby and connected to his daughter.

Helen asked, "Yeah, Passion Fruit, what are we going to do?"

"Complete the job and kill Elliot Parker, but we need to stage an accident and we need a body," Passion Fruit said.

Bryan's arms shook at the realization of what the woman meant. The man he was needed to die, and they had to have an unbreathing body to replace the very alive but broken body currently housed by the real Elliot Parker.

Bryan's new reality smacked him in the severely bandaged face, and he took a seat in the chair. "What in the entire hell?

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