JACKL Inc. Ch. 02 - Connections

Author's Note

This chapter, Connections, starts where we left off.

In the Present, After an interesting night, Rick and Celia separated. While Rick's meeting with JACKL leadership had some surprises, Celia enjoyed shopping with Megan and company. Where will Rick, Celia, Sammi all fit into this new world?

In the Past, The Jackson's are continuing to find out about their new city, and start their new lives. While also discovering insights into the Fae world as it exists, with the help of Kevin and Sammi.

Special thanks to Pope1944 for assistance with editing and grammar. Any remaining gaffes, troublesome prose, misspellings, dangling participles, are completely my fault. I appreciate any comments, feedback, favorites, and votes. I hope you enjoy my tales.

Connections

Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.

- James Baldwin

—————

Rick - Present - Enclave

After the initial interview with JACKL leadership, I was a bit on edge from the unexpected confrontation with Kelly. She had a definite effect on me, it was obviously arousing to be so close to a full fae incubus. There was an off-note to it though. I could tell she wasn't used to her form, and subduing her was easy. How quickly I was erect and ready to penetrate her also had me questioning my control.

I was recognizing that the world always seemed to fade away when I pushed forward my fae form. It sometimes seemed I could only intensely focus on one thing at a time. The rest of the world would blur and I would be laser focused on my prey. When Kelly shifted to her succubus form, I lost track of the rest of the room. I realized that was the first time since I was reborn that I revealed my true form to an audience greater than one.

I rehashed my recycled memories of times in harems surrounded by willing female flesh. At least I thought they were willing, last night's realization with Celia had me wondering if they were willing or enthralled. Similarly, my fractured memories seemed to have a singular focus - one enthralled woman and the rest would be blurred in the background. I was concerned about the tendency to enthrall without any remorse, just using their energies to increase my own power. The thought of doing that now made my skin crawl.

I walked past the area where we had breakfast. Someone had cleaned up and made the space neat and tidy. There was a coffee urn and other various things put out. I thought it oddly comforting that this large estate, a family home of so many people also felt like a luxury resort. They had an obvious rhythm to their days.

I decided to grab a cup of coffee and a donut while I waited for Celia and the other shoppers to return. I carried my coffee and donut back down the hall to the large circular atrium and sat on one of the sofa benches to look out at the ocean. The marine layer was just burning off, and it looked to be another glorious blue sky sunny day.

As I was sitting there I realized I was still wearing the clothes I picked out for a date. A date with a girl I couldn't remember - not a name or a face. I remembered we went to the Playroom at Fairview Apartments. I remembered Brooke and Lexi being there. I recalled being taken down by Lexi while in demon-mode, and getting waylaid by a tree trunk from Brooke. The girl I took on the date, however, was a complete blank.

"That's my father's doing," said a voice from behind me, "He can make people just vanish from your memories"

I turned around and saw a woman in her mid-twenties, lush brunette hair, a figure like Alyssa, and eyes like Jeremiah.

"You must be Naomi," I said, with a lifted brow, "I'm Rick. You obviously like to pry into people's thoughts."

"Guilty, it's a bad habit," Naomi grinned mischievously with a shrug, "We are an open family and don't guard our thoughts very closely. I'm sorry, that was rude of me."

She was about six inches shorter than me, wearing a dated screen print tee-shirt of some movie, and a pair of bikini bottoms. Her breasts filled the light colored tee-shirt promisingly, her bikini top outlined through the thin material, her nipples were just noticeable

"Come up to the pool," she continued, holding out her hand, "My mother said they will contact me when they are done.".

"I don't have any swim trunks," I confessed, "but I could use some fresh air and sunshine."

I got up and walked up the stairs, and took her hand. She pulled lightly until I was just behind her on the curved stairs, then I followed her to the top landing and out an exit door. The door opened to a brilliant sunny sky and a warm breeze. I shaded my eyes for a few moments to get used to the glare.

The pool area was what you'd expect from a dated resort hotel. It had a large concrete deck, and various lounge chairs arranged around the deck. One edge of the pool ended abruptly— seemingly at the edge of the building facing the ocean. A few tables with umbrellas scattered across the deck, and a bar built in between the two changing rooms.

It was obvious that the redesign of this area hadn't been a high priority. The men's and women's dressing areas were the same size, and I knew from breakfast that girls outnumbered boys at a four-to-one ratio. A quick glance confirmed my suspicions, only one male - must be Zac - was present while three other girls besides Naomi were enjoying the sun and pool.

"Must be hard to find a good male companion," I offered with a grin.

"You have no idea," Naomi said, returning the smile, "From my perspective you will be\welcome addition, as I'm the only one related to both the males."

I chuckled at the realization, and found a chair to sit under the shade of an umbrella. I watched Zac floating on a raft while a brunette floated in the water beside him, her crossed arms resting on the edge of the raft.

The two other girls, a tallish blonde who was as lovely as Kelly, but in a different way, and a slightly older brunette with generous curves. They had been sitting on opposite sides of the pool, but as I appeared they both rose to greet me. They smiled as they approached my table and drug a couple of chairs closer.

"You're Rick, right," asked the blonde, pulling her chair right next to mine, "I'm Shannon."

"Leah," smiled the other girl, leaning over Naomi to kiss my cheek, "I remember you from last night, though we didn't get introduced." then sat close to Naomi leaning on her shoulder.

"Right," I said, recognizing her as Naomi's companion, "Was the snuggling warm?"

They blushed and looked at each other and nodded back at me.

"What do you do Rick?" asked Shannon, resting her hand on my forearm, steering the conversation away from the flirtatious pair.

"Hoping to work for JACKL," I answered, "I'm not sure what yet, maybe with Sammi. Or something with a new building development."

"Sounds cool," Shannon said, "I'm looking forward to working for Alyssa full time after graduation."

"What are you studying?" I asked, "What type of work will you be doing."

I felt Naomi's hand rub along my back and up to my shoulder as we talked. It was enough for me to check to ensure I'd throttled my pheromones. I noticed Zac and his girlfriend were walking over to join our huddle.

"Sure is a friendly family," I thought to myself, getting slightly aroused by their touches.

"I have a double major in European History and Biology," Shannon said, "Aly heads the research arm of JACKL as well as operations,"

"Seems you have a lot of diversity in your interests," I remarked.

I stood up to greet Zac, offering him my hand.

"Rick," I said evenly, "you're Zac, right? I think we missed each other at breakfast,"

"Hey," he said with little enthusiasm, "Yeah, this is Beth, we had early classes this morning."

"Nice to meet you both," I said and returned to my seat.

Beth smiled and pulled her seat closer, while Shannon decided to run her fingers along my forearm. Naomi resumed her soft massage. Zac looked a bit uncomfortable. Trying to find a thread of conversation I turned to Leah.

"What do you do, Leah?" I asked with a grin that she returned and gazed into my eyes.

This was just odd. I checked my scent, could I be seeping pheromones? The clothes I had on were from last night, but I hadn't been leaking pheromones that I remembered. I had the attention of all four of the females, and if I remembered the math, two were human, one a halfling and one fae.

"I work with Alyssa in research," she smiled, "I actually worked on identifying you, before you were reborn, that was a bit of a puzzle."

"How does that work?" I asked, "Sammi hasn't really told me how I was discovered, just how she wanted to recycle me properly."

The rest of the girls leaned in closer, all seeming to track the conversation, but also wanting to edge closer to me. Zac seemed a bit sour that I was the center of attention. I tried to give him a smile. I wasn't trying to attract attention, I was just waiting until Jeremiah or Sammi came to get me.

"Well," Leah began, "We are still working on identification technology. We are able to detect the best at the FAEINT level. Fae can sense other fae, even dormant fae."

"What's FAEINT?" I asked.

"Fae assets, like human assets, collecting intelligence," Leah replied, "We fashioned the term after the intelligence term HUMINT for human intelligence gathering. Real on the ground activities. Not purely technological, or magical."

"So I got on someone's list," I said, "then Sammi's team followed up."

"Basically, yes," Leah continued, "After basic identification, we try to get some forensic evidence, some of your - well it's not DNA, but it's like that. We have a scanner that can tell us some information, but we lack a lot of the details. Anyway - someone makes a decision and we start a rebirth/recycle operation."

"Getting me into place to activate me safely," I said, "The apartment was a setup, yadda yadda. I have the story from there."

"We only do that for fae with a very specific signature," Leah replied, "Most fae are innocuous, and we can hit them with some magic to start the rebirth. We move them into the Enclave for observation then release them. You were someone we needed to treat differently."

"How did you know? Did you know I was an incubus?" I asked.

"We don't get that specific data from our equipment," Leah admitted, "there is a level or strength and an indication or light or dark. That's about it. — You were incredibly strong, but also dark. So we had to take precautions."

I nodded, that also explained why Sammi was very careful to explain my situation. She wanted to bend me into the light. I understood she couldn't just instruct me to be good, I needed to want to be good. It was a subtle motivation, and I appreciated her close attention in my first days. It grew from there into something else, she was more than a guide to me now.

Naomi straightened suddenly, and nodded looking at me, "My Dad is waiting for you in the atrium, you remember how to get there?"

"Yeah," I smiled and kissed her on the cheek.

This started a cascade of hugs and kisses as I disengaged from the group. I shared a firm handshake with Zac and looked in his eyes. We'd have to talk more, I didn't like the vibe I was getting from him. Then I departed the pool area and headed back downstairs.

"Welcome aboard, Rick," Jeremiah smiled as I exited the stairs.

He was accompanied by Kelly who smiled at me. Jeremiah gave me a firm handshake and then pointed me back towards the conference room where I'd left the interview.

"We see you working in a couple of places for us," He continued, "Sammi can give you the brief. We're excited about the possibilities."

Jeremiah turned, and I started to follow, only to be held up short by Kelly's hand on my chest. She looked up at me, then back where Jeremiah was heading back to the conference room.

"We'll be right behind you," Kelly said, "I need a word with Rick."

Jeremiah waved and I looked down at Kelly. She really was a spectacularly beautiful, ageless specimen. Being a fae had it's benefits, she looked much younger than her husband. She looked up at me and smiled. Her fingers pressing into my chest.

'I wanted to apologize for my behavior," she said, "I was upset, and my ... I'm still not sure what happened. I have only ever morphed when I felt threatened."

"I'm not a threat," I said, "I want to be a partner to the group."

"I know that," she smiled, "I think you could help us in our business, and in other ways too. If you're open to the possibilities."

Her eyes held mine invitingly, and I grinned cockily. This group seemed to just exude affection and sexuality. I understood her nature, and she was pushing all my buttons. I couldn't help but get an erection. At the same time, something was off, it felt like everything was accelerating beyond my control. To engage in sexual congress with people I was going to be working with felt like stepping over a line.

"I will have to think about what you are saying," I said, "Mixing business and pleasure seems like a bad idea. I also need to talk to Celia about where we stand. It's complicated."

"I think you're making complications for yourself," she said with a demure smile, "Given your nature there are benefits to being close with our family. I hope you can realize what that means for you."

"I'm an outsider looking in," I said, "I'm interested, but I'm also skittish as a cat in a room of rocking chairs. I feel like I'm walking into a room full of traps. I'm not sure why I feel that way. Things are happening really fast, in so many directions."

She nodded thoughtfully, then lifted her hand up over my shoulder and behind my head. She pulled me down and kissed me softly, her lips tender and full. She held my eyes as she broke the kiss, then took my hand.

"I owed you that," she said, "as an apology for my attack. I really am glad to know you. I think I was a bit guarded because we are of the same type, but also very different. I think you should talk to Jeremiah honestly about your fears. He is a good listener, Aly is too."

I smiled, "I hope I get to talk with all of you quite often."

She steered me back into the conference room, and Sammi rushed to me and gave me a big hug. She lifted her lips to kiss me, it was supposed to be tender, but she suddenly deepened it, her fingers curling into the back of my arms. She broke from the kiss a bit breathless and her eyes cast down for a moment. She looked back up brightly in a moment though, full of her usual energy.

"Gaia, I'm so excited for you Rick!" she said, "I knew we'd make a great team."

"I will always need your help, Sammi," I said, meaning every word, "I wouldn't be here without you."

We all sat around a single table, all equals, or almost. I was glad to be past the panel discussion and grilling questions. Truth be told, I trusted them a lot. It spoke volumes to me they didn't just make quick decisions, but actually thought about things.

"We see you being a part of two groups," Sammi said, "Alyssa runs the research team that is working on identifying trapped fae. When needed, my team works with her in helping them be reborn safely, like we did with you. So you would continue to work with me, and we will set up another team like De's."

"So I'd be the muscle if something goes sideways," I said.

"Yes, and you'll enjoy the other aspect," Sammi grinned, "Seduction to let their guard down."

"Your other position will be in my organization," Kelly said, "Hospitality and public relations. The main task will be helping with the new venue. Your natural charisma will be helpful in drawing crowds."

"Okay," I shrugged, "I'm not sure how much help I'd be in drawing crowds, I'm a bit of recluse."

Jeremiah chuckled, and I looked over at him. He clicked a button and a video screen slid down, and then a projector started up to display the screen of his laptop.

"I know you're not thrilled with the amount of monitoring we had you under," Jeremiah began, "We had to be cautious, Rick, because your personality and makeup were unknowns. I think it's somewhat instructive to see your past few days through our surveillance."

He started the video from the beginning, in my old apartment — now ashes — a night vision camera tracked Trish as she was drawn to my bedroom. He stopped it and moved to the next video, the pool, and how Aisha followed me, he paused the video just as I was flashing back to my normal form.

"We reviewed security tapes of the pool," Jeremiah began,"this was the first time in months that Aisha had been on the pool deck. Despite the hot summer, she rarely visited the pool."

Switched to video footage of the mall where I went shopping. The camera angle was from above, and mostly of the large areas. It was noticeable that the path I took to the food court, the lingerie store, and the grocery store was followed by a trail of more than usual people, mostly female.

The videos continued, just snippets, but the same type of odd collection of extra customers at Lana's coffee shop, more business in the department store I shopped with Aisha. Breakfast at the pier after Sammi and I left was packed.

"Wherever you go, Rick," Jeremiah smiled, "you draw a crowd."

Then he showed one more video, of just before this meeting, of the pool deck. Everyone was scattered, then Naomi brought me up, and within minutes, everyone was in a tight cluster.

"I'm not emitting any pheromones," I said, "I have them cut completely off."

"I don't think it's pheromones," Alyssa stated, "You have supernatural charm, you draw people to you. You might not sense it, but all of us have felt it."

They all nodded, and I tilted my head and shrugged. I knew I looked a lot better than I did when I was trapped as a human. It's hard to see yourself from the outside. I liked my new appearance, and I felt confident for the most part.

"What we want," Kelly said, "Once we figure out how the venue is going to work, is just for you to come. Nothing else. No need to attract attention or engage in wild orgies. We just want your charm to help us draw people. We will figure the rest out."

"I'll help however you want," I said.

"Great," Jeremiah said, "We thought you would, and we're excited to start the next project in getting the venue off the ground. Kelly is in charge of the building and the design. Zac and Beth will be lining up some talent. We're thinking of making it a small rooftop stage venue. Music, Bands, Dancing. Anything that will bring humans into contact with the fae community. May also be able to detect trapped fae at the same time."

"Also," Alyssa said, "You should know you're not the only person that is in the allure team. We have some old friends that will also help draw crowds."

Alyssa tapped Jeremiah, and he switched over to show photos of some spectacularly sexy human females. Flawless appearance, all a bit older, but fantastically sexy and beautiful. All had some kind of tattoos on their arms.

"Biker chicks?" I asked.

"No," Alyssa laughed, "These are all women we rescued from brothels and sex trafficking rings many years ago. They had all been influenced by dark fae magic and charms. We recently, in the past three years, have been able to counter and eliminate the magical charms in their tattoos. Some of them decided to stick around and help JACKL."

"Very nice," I commented.

"They are all human," Kelly said, with an eyebrow raised, "Which may be beneficial to you, and keeping you well fed."

I tilted my head and looked at her. I appreciated the thought, and I also recognized that I needed a large pool of females to keep me fed without enthralling. I felt a little tug in my gut with the possibilities. Then another part of me was thinking of Celia. My strong emotional bonds with her were getting to be more complicated.