Page 68 of Demons and Debts
‘Wait! Like Rain Man? If we throw a box of matches over the floor, would she be able to count them at a glance? Should we take her to Vegas?’
I stare at him in disgust until he notices, and the grin disappears.
‘Fucking educate yourself,’ I say, but I look over at Vic. ‘Do you still want her?’
Vic doesn’t seem overly bothered. ‘What does it mean?’
‘In her case?’ I look through the rest of the report quickly. ‘This is a decade out of date, but at the time … looks like sensory issues, some problems communicating, meltdowns in school, nonverbal episodes.’
‘What do you mean by sensory issues?’
‘No two people with the condition are the same. Could be bright lights, loud noises …’
‘Earbuds,’ Paris says. ‘She put earbuds in when we rode into town. She was pretty upset when we got back. I was angry, revving the bike a lot, taking the turns hard …’
I nod, remembering her putting them in last night too. ‘Yeah, sounds about right.’
‘Told you she's defective,’ Sie mutters and I roll my eyes.
I turn back to Vic. ‘She seems to get along just fine mostly, but if you’re still serious about contracting her, I'm going to send you and the others some websites to read up about the condition.’
‘What’s the point?’ Kor growls. ‘She’ll be no different from any of the others once she’s lulled anyway. There’s no point talking about this anymore.’ He changes the subject. ‘The hole I found is down by the stream. It’s barely wide enough for a child to crawl through, but easy to fly some drones in. I could do a sweep, make sure no one’s watching still.’
Vic nods and stands up. ‘Do it.’
Kor opens his mouth like he has something to add but hesitates.
‘Is there more?’
Korban grits his teeth. ‘Yes. The girl tried to escape again last night.’
‘You told us you found her in the house.’
‘Well, I didn’t. She was in the woods heading directly for the hole.’
Vic eyes Korban, not bothering to hide his flash of anger. ‘You’re telling us this now?’
‘I didn’t know we were going to keep her, but I’d bet she’s here for a reason. How else could she have known exactly where it was? Do you still want to contract her?’
‘Yes.’ Vic’s chair creaks as he leans back in it. He doesn’t look surprised by Korban’s suspicions at all. ‘Once she’s signed the papers, betraying the Club comes with its own set of punishments. If she truly is working with someone against us, we can find out easier if she’s here and then we’ll make this work toouradvantage.’
I wonder if she truly is a spy. I can’t say I get that vibe off her at all, but dammit, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a Machiavellian mastermind! What I am wondering is why Vic is so adamant that he wants her though.
‘I need to do some research,’ I say, leaving them to it and going into the games room.
Sitting on the couch, I open my laptop and I start looking into adult Autism. The more I read, the more I'm certain that the psychologist was correct in Jane’s original assessment. She seems to be able to get through life ok, but I’ve definitely noticed some behaviors that fit; sensory overload, lack of emotional response in some situations, not understanding some of the more intricate social cues …
Part of me is excited, kind of like I have a new pet project, but Kor was right. We probably won't even notice it much. Once she's in the lull, she’ll act like every other girl. Once she has a taste of what we can give her, she’ll willingly spread her legs for the high and beg for the pleasure we provide. She won’t be able to help it.
14
JANE
There’s a sunbeam coming in through the window and I’m staring at it, lost in a scenario where I tell Vic where to stick it and somehow find a way to escape with Shar to Hawaii, never to be found.
‘Well?’
Vic’s voice draws me back to my actual reality. I'm sitting in his office again, just him and me. I look down at the contract. I’ve been in here for an hour at least, reading fine print and there’s like twenty pages of it. I guess it’s all pretty standard stuff for taking on a human, not that I’d know personally. They have to provide me with clothes, food, a roof over my head, basic necessities like soap, and, in return, I feed them whenever they call,howeverthey want. Anxiety turns my stomach as I read, finding an addendum at the end that lays out exactly what they’re obligated to do for Shar and her kids. I read it over slowly at least a dozen times, trying to make sure it's as airtight as possible. It's not like I can consult a lawyer on this shit.
