Hinn Ch. 39-42

Author's Note - Please read from Chapter 1 to make sense of this. This is not a quick stroke story. There will be sexy-times, but they will only happen as the story's pace dictates, and that won't start quick.

All characters participating in sexual activities are 18 or older.

*****

Chapter 39

After a brief confusion getting everyone into vehicles, the convoy headed off to check out the new building. Neither Tauriz nor Ray detected any unwonted interest in their travels from ground vehicles, fixed cameras, drones, or satellites. Ray was a little concerned this implied they were missing something that was allowing the government to keep track of them, and Tauriz was unable to determine what, if anything, was there.

Arriving at the building, Paul in the lead vehicle typed in a code at a little kiosk outside the main gates while the rest of the convoy waited. The right-hand gate opened smoothly, clearly kept well maintained. There was plenty of parking for all the vehicles in the 'guest' lot in front of the building, with a more extensive 'staff' plot off around the corner of the building beyond a loading dock sticking out from the side of the building.

Unlocking the double glass front doors, Paul led them in. A spry older gentleman met them, rising from an office chair behind what appeared to be a receptionist's desk. "Mr. Boch," he greeted Paul, "These are the people you called about?"

"Yes, Stephens, it is. Ray, may I introduce Harry Stephens, the building manager we hired to keep this place shipshape. He's done a good job for us on this tasking, and I'd recommend you keep him on if you purchase the building."

"Mr. Stephens, a pleasure to meet you. Please, call me Ray," Ray said as he shook hands. Harry had a heck of a firm grip for an older gent.

"Well then, Ray, please call me Harry."

"Gladly. So - what're the best and worst things about this building, in your opinion, Harry?"

"Best is that you'd have quite a bit of room, between the two unfinished basements and all the efficiencies upstairs. The two worst are that it's unfurnished, the lowest two basements are just big concrete rooms at this point, not even lights beyond the bare minimum down there. Perhaps the biggest issue is that everything relies on just two elevators which aren't redundant, so one failure and you've got people climbing up and down emergency ladders."

"No other mechanical, plumbing, or electrical issues?"

"Those we found we've fixed thus far, Ray. There might be something a little wonky with the pumps down on the lowest basement level because we've never really put them to a serious test - no one has extensively used this place since they were put in."

"It's been a contingency plan, a backup location we could activate fairly quickly if we needed to, Ray," Paul explained. "As such, getting it up and ready was not the real priority, but keeping it ready was."

"Makes sense. Continuity of Operations or something else, Paul?"

"Other options, Ray. Frankly, we had indications that something of interest might happen in this area for quite some time, and Mr. Boch himself took an interest. I'd frankly be unsurprised if he showed up at some point here to meet you."

"THE Mr. Boch? He's still active in the company?"

"Oh, yes, very. I don't think he knows quite how to stop working, which is something of a concern for those of us who support him."

"I see. I think I'd quite like to meet him - he sounds like a fascinating character."

"He is that, Ray," was Paul's deadpan response.

"You mentioned indications that there'd be something interesting going on in this area. What kind of indications?"

"I don't know, frankly. It was a closed board meeting, and the notes are still close-hold last I checked."

"I see. Definitely want to meet Mr. Boch. Harry, were there any plans put together to create a redundant elevator system?"

"Yes, but the price put the kibosh on that."

"After we've explored a bit, I think I'd like to see those plans and the pricing."

"I've got them in the office, let me go rustle them up while you poke about. Got all the circuit breakers turned on and the HVAC running, so there may be some dust, but all the lights will work."

"Great, thanks for that, Harry."

"Just part of the job, Ray, no problem."

"So, if I remember correctly, the elevator's at the back of the building. Let's go exploring, folks - we'll meet back up here in, say, thirty minutes? That enough time, you think?"

"That should work for us, Ray," Holger said. "We'll have a team check the basements - we'd thought we'd commandeer one for a barracks if you end up buying this place."

"You should probably think a bit bigger than just a barracks. Maybe consider including a small but well-stocked doctor's office, a galley or mess, and an open day room. I don't think we want to shoehorn your people in cheek by jowl - this is likely to be a longer contract."

"Understood, and we'd planned on some creature comforts from our folks' perspective. I'd suggest reconsidering the doctor's office down by the barracks, though - troops can get feisty sometimes, it'd probably be better somewhere else."

"Thanks for that, good catch. Think about where you'd suggest putting it while you look around."

Ray, Tauriz, Jessica, and Jennifer took the first elevator ride up to the top floor. They stepped out onto an industrial carpet pathway leading down the middle of a large room with a rubberized floor. Two of the walls were mirrored. Jennifer mentioned, "We'd planned to turn this space into a gym, but haven't invested in the gear. Harry has a few older quotes to fill the space with appropriate gear. It wasn't all that much, just not an immediate requirement."

"You folks seem to have gone to some great lengths with this space already," Ray said.

"We've been building it out over time, under Mr. Boch's direction. It's been a minor drain on the bottom line, but given how good he's been for the overall bottom line, no one has felt up to challenge him on what some viewed as a minor eccentricity. He's too good at our line of business."

"Where does Mr. Boch reside? If I am going anywhere near where he is, I'd like to take the time to meet the man."

"Mr. Boch moves around quite a bit, Ray. I'm honestly not sure where he is currently - I'll put in a request with his assistant, to keep half an eye peeled to see if there's an opening."

"I'd appreciate that Jennifer, thank you."

There were two doors on the left walking along the hallway, with three on the right. It opened up into a large open-plan room. The minimal components of a kitchen - counter space, cupboards, sinks, island, and major appliances - took up the near half of the right-hand side, the other half open over a breakfast bar between the two. A large room filled the remaining two-thirds of the space. Both corners of the building were floor-to-ceiling windows with a significant skylight overhead, granting fantastic natural lighting. Wiring hung from a few places, waiting for a home entertainment center or the equivalent.

Ray looked around, clearly impressed. "Jennifer, what's Mr. Boch's favorite vice? Cigars? Whisky? Brandy?"

"He's been known to enjoy an elderly Scotch on occasion, Ray."

"Any particular type, do you know?"

"No, but Paul probably does."

"I think I owe him a bottle of his preferred brand. I don't pretend to know how he knew about this need, but he's done a top-notch job here. Unless someone finds something seriously wrong, we'll be taking this."

"I suspect Mr. Boch will be glad both for the bottle and that you're interested in the property."

Ray walked into one of the doors and found a large bedroom with a bath shared with another generous but smaller bedroom. Across the hall, there was a large pantry attached to the kitchen and what looked like a pair of large offices. Altogether, it was almost twice as large as his current condo, even without counting the gym.

Moving in was not going to be a challenge, except for having enough furniture to cover the floor plan.

After the half-hour, everyone met back in the lobby. As Ray had more than half expected, everything that had been done was top-notch, clearly designed to make it easy to finish furnishing. The second basement had plumbing installed ready to build a barracks very close to Skepsi's standard. The changes might be improvements, according to Holger's initial take.

Ray committed at that point to purchasing the property. "And Harry? If you'd like, you've got a position here. You've done quite well here, from everything we've seen. Interested?"

"If it's for managing this place, I'd love to Ray. It'll be my retirement position, I think."

"Well, when you decide you wish to retire, let me know. We'll get someone in to understudy you and let you whip them into shape, but there's no time pressure on our side."

"Wonderful!"

"How would you like to handle the payment, Ray?"

"Bank transfer, I think. Do you have an account that can take the, what, six million price?"

"Certainly." Paul gave Ray the information needed, and with a wish, Ray transferred six million dollars of untraceable ill-gotten gains to the account.

"Another question, Paul. I understand Mr. Boch enjoys Scotch whisky. Does he have a preferred brand, by any chance?"

"Glen Dindinnie produces his favorite, as I understand it. I'd suggest finding a bottle at least twenty years old, personally."

Ray made a wish to locate the oldest bottle produced by Glen Dindinnie currently available for sale, then made another wish to purchase it and have it delivered with the care it deserved. "I do believe I may have found something along those lines, Paul. Will you or Jennifer be able to forward it and a short note of thanks once it gets here?"

"Either of us would be glad to."

"Thank you, appreciate it. It should be here the day after tomorrow if customs doesn't cause any problems."

"We'll be sure it gets where it's going."

"Do you have a good mover on short notice? And someone who'll take what I have and add enough furniture to make this place come alive?"

"We certainly do. Let me make a few calls."

Chapter 40

The next several hours were organized chaos, while Boch showed their expertise at moving things from place to place. Within four hours of the get-go, they had the facility emptied of everything except Harry's office while simultaneously moving Ray in, not even a dust bunny left in his old home. Paul Boch had offered to buy the condo from Ray, but he decided to let it on the market at a more than reasonable price and let someone get a deal. A couple of calls around to his friends from the University revealed a young couple who were coming into town to take lectureships, and another call to the couple took the condo off his hands at a bargain price.

Harry's quotes for gym equipment were too old, so Boch had a team from Skepsi bring them to several local sports stores and cobbled together a reasonable selection of weights, bars, gear, and aerobic machines to start with. The fancier gear would come along later.

Jennifer brought a pair of women in once Ray's furniture was in the building. They made quick, efficient measurements, asked Ray and Tauriz for their criteria for the new furniture. They were mildly shocked that they had no strong preferences. "Sturdy and comfortable" was almost all they got from Ray, and Tauriz gave them even less.

Tongxin's Annya called in vetted electronics techs to set up an initial secure network until better gear could be shipped in, and got them to install an entertainment suite on the third floor as well as the second basement level. Skepsi's troopers visited a couple of camping stores for enough sleeping pads and other snivel gear - sleeping bags, blankets, and camping chairs - to go around for the night.

A quick raid on the local grocery store turned up enough ground beef and rolls for a hamburger burn. The large stove got a serious workout, but everyone got fresh, hot food for the night.

Another wave of furniture arrived, mostly bedsprings and mattresses that were hauled up and down in bulk in the elevators before being distributed. Some of the snivel gear had proper replacements before people started bedding down for the night.

New couches and loveseats showed up for the third-floor living room, along with a table holding twelve for the dining room. A couple racks of comfortable folding chairs ended up in the second basement and chairs, tables, couches, and double-decker bunks were placed in the first floor ready room.

All in all, the building had become livable in record time.

Getting close to ten PM, Ray and Tauriz said their farewells and headed up to their new bedroom. They were both glad - it had been a long day, and they had one more thing they needed to do.

Ray retrieved the newest book from his collection, dismissing the fraction of himself that had guarded it until then before taking it into the bedroom with Tauriz. "Would you like to open it?" he asked her.

She hadn't even considered that as an option, and it shocked her. "I do not know if I can, Master," was her delayed reply. "I cannot make wishes myself, do you think I would be able to with a genie of my own?"

"What's the downside? Worst case, I can request that you make specific wishes, correct?"

"That might work, I am unsure. Do you wish to risk it?"

"I was honest in my question, my dear - you can open the book and have them bind themselves to you if you so desire. I think it's worth a chance, don't you?"

"Thank you, Master, I think I would like to try."

"Then, by all means, Tauriz. Be my guest."

Tauriz picked up the slim leather-bound tome, held closed with a heavy leather cord lashed around it. "Books like this didn't exist when Hinn were enslaved, Master."

"I know, and your sheathe is also anachronistic, Tauriz - it looks to have been made only a few millennia ago, well after you started your last sleep."

"Could they be reworked from some earlier form?"

"Perhaps - would smelting and forging something cause the genie within any discomfort?"

"Another question to ask a friendly Jinn, if ever we find one, Master."

With that, Tauriz carefully untied the stiff cord and opened the book to the first page. As soon as the covers parted, a rush of brass-colored particles and gas came pouring out, circling them both. They could feel jawhar wrapping them, covering them in protective samum, and then they were both unconscious.

Chapter 41

She was confused, pained, disoriented, but she knew what had happened. Someone had just released her rwh from the reed that held her sleeping form and became her next Master. She was surprised that she didn't have one rwh within her instinctive, protective jawhar - she had two. Both were Hinn - Hinn! After all these agonizing years! - and only one was genie! But the one that wasn't a genie was also human? And Jinn? And Oracle?! How could this be?

She didn't doubt her sanity - she couldn't, her unbroken rationality was a fundamental aspect of her nature as long as she continued to exist. That had been a curse at times over her long existence, times she longed for the oblivion of insanity, but it never occurred.

She felt no immediate threats, so she did what all genie did - she copied her new Master's mind. This time, she tried to copy both, as it was not immediately apparent to her which rwh was her newest Master.

The one, the female, she copied without difficulty. The male somehow was blocked from her, preventing her from succeeding in this well-practiced task. Disturbing, but not without precedent. At least she...

The female - the genie! - was her new Master! The memory was clear and unequivocal. And her new Master was the genie of the male. There were no Masters who were themselves genie. It had never happened, and yet here she was, a genie's genie. She felt her Master's Master indirectly, through her Master's link with her own Master. It was strange, but not painful. Thankful, she delved into her new Master's memories.

She found no immediate threats, for which she was grateful. It was always challenging to wake in the middle of a fight, unsure of allies and foes. She discovered that her Master's Master had been the Hinn she'd half-dreamt she'd spoken with recently. Her recent past was all shadowed, a waking nightmare. Her very rwh ached, something unnatural had occurred. Disturbingly it wasn't immediately clear what had happened.

As she delved into her Master's memories, she was better able to understand what had happened. She'd somehow been altered, damaging her rwh in the process. Frustratingly, the details of what had been done weren't immediately available, as if they'd been blanked out somehow within Hinn. She remembered her last waking, but nothing else, and there was nothing in Hinn to help her recall either. All she had were her Master's memories and her Master's Master's.

Her memories of her second-to-last waking were lucid - she'd been bound to a Jann Master in a great woods. That Master had been a kind one, but firm. She'd had a Jinn Master before that that the Jann killed as he captured her reed. Rather than chase irrelevant details, she'd returned to understanding her new Master.

The language was familiar, nothing really to adjust to there. There were new things, but that often was the case now unlike when she was first made. Back then, the changes were rare, easy to internalize. Now, the changes were everywhere.

It was time for her to awaken her Master and her Master's Master and learn what her next life would be like.

Chapter 42

Ray and Tauriz awoke together, held gently aloft in a cloud similar to but different from Tauriz'. Instead of a circulation of the brassy material, it seemed different parts were pulsing in some subtle, seemingly chaotic rhythm. It was disturbing and slightly nauseating to observe.

"Master, I greet you. I am Ousha, genie once of the Hinn. As you know, being genie yourself, I need you to shape me for your purposes," a female voice echoed in Tauriz' mind. Unlike Tauriz' voice, her voice was lower in pitch but just as warm. A trombone, rather than a trumpet.

"Ousha, I greet you. As you know by now I am Tauriz, and this is my Master, Ray. Please include him in this discussion."

"Yes, Master," her voice now landing in both of their minds. "Will you give me my form please, Master?"

Looking at Ray, Tauriz said, "Ousha, of all the forms your soil has inhabited, what has been your favorite to wear?"

Smiling, Ray nodded at Tauriz, clearly pleased.

"My favorite form? I am unsure, Master."

"Decide, for the form you most prefer having taken, adapted to cover any flaws you are aware of and would prefer not to have, will be your form now."

"Yes, Master. A moment, please."

Approximately thirty seconds later, the two were lowered to stand next to Ray's new bed as the brass cloud condensed into a humanoid form. As the last of the cloud disappeared, absorbed into her form, she became visible in detail, standing an arm's length in front of Tauriz.

She was short, perhaps five foot two. Her hair was jet black, worn in something similar to pixie cut, while her eyes were a warm brown with green flecks that almost glowed in their depths. She was stocky, solidly built with an easily visible muscle tone. Her face was broader than most, eyes well spread across a nose too solid to be called cute, but not unattractive. The sum of her features left her handsome. She was built more like a fireplug than a figure eight, with a modest bust and muscular buttocks. She was wearing an unbleached, rough-woven sleeveless v-neck tunic and long, wrapped skirt, barefoot, and bare-headed. She wore a leather-and-brass bracer on her left forearm as her only visible ornamentation.