Mike & Karen Ch. 07

"Yes, I'm sure your video games will revoke your nerd card in disgust," Karen said dryly, drinking her absinthe before leaning into her husband and whispering something in her ear. Mike listened intently and then grinned, nodding.

"I think we can arrange that," he said readily. "After the kiddies go to bed."

"'scuse me?" Alexa queried, looking at her sister and brother-in-law. "After we go to bed?"

"There are some things in life that your tender years have just not prepared you for yet, darling," Karen purred, snuggling into her husband's massive arm. "I'll tell you when you're older."

Alexa sighed and shook her head before looking down at her lap. "These outfits are drafty."

"We have worn less, ja?" Freja quipped from across the table and winking.

"Not in front of a crowded bar," Alexa replied.

"I am thinking you are remembering wrongly," said her Danish friend with a naughty grin. "The bar in Berlin? There was also the club in Milan. Oh, and the rave in -"

"Hush, you strumpet!" Alexa hissed. "I actually want to keep my husband, you know."

"Oh, do go on, Freja," Alex said, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his chin on it, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Don't hold back."

Alexa groaned and put her head on the table while Freja launched into her accounting of events.

***

1986 ...

"You can't be serious," Mike said as he stood in front of the two women. He was scowling while he looked at them, the younger clinging to the older one, both smirking. "Why would you do this?"

"I thought we were clear, Michael," Angela said simply. "Kim is really quite infatuated with you. I daresay she's in love. And I love her greatly. So if it's you that she wants, it's you she'll get."

"Not interested," Mike growled.

"That's too bad, because you don't really have a choice," Angela continued. Both girls were leaning against the professor's desk while they looked at the hulking student who towered over them. His hands flexed in frustration. "I don't want to resort to perfidious means like extortion and blackmail, but I will, if you make it necessary."

She pulled Kim tighter against her side, looking at him pointedly. "It wouldn't do for people to think you assaulted both a student and a prominent professor, would it? You're practically an icon for men who treat women with respect in this institution. Imagine the outrage if it were learned that you were no more than another bullying predator?"

Mike stood silently, fuming. What could he say without getting himself in worse trouble?

"Let's face it," continued the professor. "Your DNA is all over us both, big boy. So I suggest you knuckle under and give my Kimmy what she wants, before I start playing hardball."

"You're crazy," Mike said tightly. "You won't get away with this."

"Oh, most assuredly, I will have my way," Angela said sweetly, "Best that you think about this offer very seriously before tomorrow. We'll see you back here."

Kim sauntered up to make and smiled at him wickedly, running her tiny hand over his chest.

"Don't keep me waiting, my love ..." she said softly before joining her professor. Angela wrapped her arm around arm around Kim's waist and kissed her lovingly before they left the room together. Mike glared at the door as it clicked shut, standing in the darkness, his heart thumping in his massive chest in fury.

He finally stormed out of the professor's office, heading back to his dorm. He felt trapped and he really didn't know what to do.

***

"It's somewhat absurd to be traipsing around this campus while we could be luxuriating in your father's house, isn't it?" Eddie asked as he walked arm-in-arm with Karen, glancing around with mild disdain. "How small is the full scholarship this place offers?"

"I did indeed receive a full scholarship, but the sciences department is excellent, respected for its work by both Oxford and MIT," she replied, refraining from smashing his head into the side of a building. "Beyond that, my parents give the institution endowments."

"Quaint," Eddie mused, watching some students walk by, wearing jumpsuits fluorescent colours. His pressed grey suit provided a stark contrast. Until now, he'd failed to comment on Karen's form-fitting jeans and cashmere sweater. "But surely you don't identify with these people."

"I'm reasonably certain we share more than a few strands of DNA."

"You know what I mean, Karen," Eddie pressed. "You know full well that we're better than them."

"Because of our moneyed status?" she queried, turning her head to look up at him.

"Breeding speaks for itself, and you know it," Eddie said emphatically. "It always has."

"I couldn't agree more," she said readily. "It's painfully obvious, on occasion."

Eddie either ignored the jibe or didn't get it, because he said nothing for several seconds while they walked. Finally, the silence was too much. "So you actually live in the dorms?"

"I choose to, yes."

"With a roommate?"

"Lisa is a delightful girl. I'm quite fond of her."

"Your choices sound distressingly ... what is that?"

Karen followed her companion's gaze and saw DeBourne towering over everyone on the far side of the campus' esplanade, striding across it in what was clearly barely contained fury. She shook her head and sighed.

"That, Eddie, is the future of humanity. Best not get in its way, because uncounted billions of dollars will not protect you from its wrath."

"You're into poetry as well as physics?" he almost sneered. "Look at that lout. Is he on the football team or something?"

"He's actually in the Physics department with me, and the only person whose grades keep pace with mine," Karen said levelly.

Eddie grunted: "I expected you to be better at physics than you are, if that's your competition."

He turned to take her hands in his and look down at her. He seemed to be convinced this was some magical gesture, guaranteed to seduce her with that winning smile of his.

"Darling, I do not like disagreeing with you like this," he said. "We both know what is expected of us, and our life will be nothing but splendid. Our two empires merge, and we inherit everything eventually. I'll take very good care of you."

He smiled again. "Why don't you show me this dorm room of yours?"

He turned and began walking, not waiting for her answer, and not seeming to care about the directions required to reach Whitney Hall. Beside him, Karen walked along quietly. She'd been (mostly) politely rebuffing his advances, but this might have been despair on her part. Her mind was whirling as she thought about what this weekend was supposed to entail.

She knew her mother and father were not happy about this match, but this was simply too perfect an opportunity for her father to ignore - the McNoughton media empire was a godsend, with the potential to turn Jonathon Blackwell into a juggernaut that would shake the industry. More than that, though, the offer had been made to him personally, not the family at large. With the addition of the McNoughton resources, he would be able to make those jackals in the family knuckle under, once and for all.

And all that was required was for her to be the daughter she was raised to be.

The conflict within made her chest hurt and she subtly squeezed her eyes shut as she warred with herself. Everything in her life had brought her to this weekend. Her exquisite upbringing and purpose in life, so very at odds with her passions. To everyone around her, she was a study in dichotomy: regal and sophisticated, and yet so grounded and full of conviction, so ... humane.

They were used to her fiery independence, to the place where even the professors most often acceded to her wishes, and everyone thanked the heavens above she was not capricious, given how forceful her personality was. And yet, almost none of them knew how trapped she felt.

Her father. Jonathon. Bred to lead and rule. In another era, he might have been a great lord. He was cunning and often ruthless, driven by his intellect and ambition. He was the culmination of centuries of elite Blackwell breeding. No one in the family, barring Karen herself, was more brilliant or accomplished. Jonathon Blackwell's only weaknesses were his wife and daughter.

And what right did Karen have to throw her family's legacy aside? Wasn't her mother happy? Miranda Gordon had come from another powerful industrial family, but one of very different temperament. Their marriage was arranged by their parents, to combine their fortunes. The imperious Jonathon and lovely Miranda seemed worlds apart, yet they grew to love one another greatly, giving birth to their only child, Karen Leda Diana Gordon.

She loved her father so much. Yes, he was difficult, and hard to relate to sometimes, but he was very much responsible for who she was, who she'd become, every bit as much as her mother had been. And she could never thank him enough for that.

Her eyes stung, and she blinked it away. What would she do? Her mother had left her to decide, because this is what she was bred to do, to make the right decision, all on her own. She felt like centuries of family legacy was settling on her shoulders.

She couldn't look at Eddie, but she could picture him, walking along beside her - she knew he was not her equal in any sense. What would happen when she had their children? Could she rely on her raw genetics to overcome his shortcomings? Was that possible?

An unbidden image of the DeBourne family filled her mind, with Michael rising from their midst and striding forward.

At least she had one simple task in front of her.

***

Eddie was sitting in a small, unused room of the men's dorm, having closed the door and unlocked a sizable attaché case from which he pulled out his new cellular phone. A Mitsubishi Roamer, it was the most advanced device on the rapidly growing market - comparatively light and with superior service, its weight a mere four kilograms, including the battery pack. He sat back in the rather natty chair and began dialing an extension before putting the device to his ear.

"Hey, dad," he said casually into the mouthpiece. "Yes, I'm down here at her campus, actually. No, I let her bring me to campus, so she could show me around and see what she's doing with her studies. Yes, yes, still Physics ... I know, yes, cute, but I didn't want to argue with her. Unseemly."

He listened for several moments. "Oh, it will happen, dad, don't worry about that. Everyone knows how devoted Karen Gordon is to her family and its legacy. And Jonathon Blackwell can't turn down your offer."

Eddie smiled slyly: "Yes, I've already been to her dorm room, if you know what I mean ..."

More nodding followed. "And by the end of this weekend, she'll have agreed to my marriage proposal. I don't mind her running a little, after all. It's always about the chase and the kill, isn't it? And what a prize she'll make, hm?"

Now he frowned as he listened to his father. "Dad, I know that, and you know that. But as far as the Blackwells are concerned, we're negotiating from a position of strength, where they need us more than we need them. It doesn't have to be true, we just need to make sure they believe it until their money is in our bank accounts. It's what we've been waiting for."

Eddie pinched his eyes. "Dad, we've been over this. Repeatedly. Don't sit on this. We need to strengthen that stock now with additional shares. Its weakness is bad, I - stop doddering, dad! Yes, I'm talking about Iris and PSDV, dad. It's dangerously weak. You've gotta prop it up if you want this merger to work. The slightest whiff of weakness and Jonathon Blackwell goes running and we're back to square one."

He leaned back in the chair and looked at the ceiling in exasperation. Why did the old man have to be so dense? "Just ... just let me handle this end of it. If you want, I'll even take care of the other part when I - good, good, I'm glad to hear you'll move on it as soon as possible, because I shouldn't announce our engagement until that fix is in place, right? Excellent ... I'm going to go find my bride-to-be. I'll call you tomorrow."

Eddie ended the call, returned the unit to its case and got up to leave. He should have elicited a promise from her to meet him somewhere when he was done with his call. Muttering to himself, he exited the room, leaving it in silence.

Behind the long chesterfield on the far wall, Michael DeBourne continued lying on the floor, his hands behind his head and wearing a small frown as he looked at the ceiling.

Well, at least one simple task in life presented itself.

***

"It wouldn't do for people think you assaulted both a student and a prominent professor, would it? You're practically an icon for men who treat women with respect in this institution. Imagine the outrage if it were learned that you were no more than another bullying predator?"

Karen stood in front of the two women, using her handheld microcassette recorder to play back the conversation from earlier in the weekend. Her expression was cold, contemptuous. In front of her, Professor Coulson and Kim were pale, the younger girl shaking in anger.

"You can't do this!" the professor snapped angrily as she held onto her lover's arm. "You have no right!"

"What an ironic thing to say, given that you're trying to blackmail a student into virtual slavery," Karen retorted, not moving. "The question is, what happens next? I believe it's your move."

"How dare you?" Angela almost snarled, barely able to contain her anger. "I don't care who you think you are, you won't get away with this!"

"I believe that a trip to the dean's office to present him with this little gift will prove you quite wrong, Miss," Karen said, displaying the recorder prominently. "Shall we find out?"

"No!" Kim almost shrieked, lunging forward and grasping wildly for the tape machine. "He's mine! You won't take him from me!!"

She spun and crashed to the floor as the back of Karen's hand smacked her across the face. She trembled in pain and fright, hiding her face and whimpering. Angela surged up from leaning against her desk, but paused upon seeing the dire look in Karen's tawny eyes, a warning of imminent danger if she tried to do anything brave. With considerable effort, she did not go to her beloved Kim's aid, but sagged back against the desk, calming herself.

"What do you want?" she asked testily.

"Isn't it obvious?" Karen reasoned. "Leave DeBourne the Hell alone and quit blackmailing him, you lunatics. He's done nothing to deserve it, he's a genuinely decent man, and he'll only ever hate you if you do this. How on earth could you think this would work?"

"Leave him alone so you can have him for yourself?" Kim hissed bitterly.

"You're a damned fool, you know that?" Karen said, trying to keep the overwhelming contempt out of her voice as she stared down at the stricken girl. "What is here for you to even study if you're so misanthropic and unbalanced as to try this nonsense?"

She looked over at the professor now. "And how can you possibly think this is in any way sane, rational or permissible?"

"What else do you want?" Angela demanded.

Karen shook her head. "What I said. Leave him alone. Never darken his life again, either of you. Oh, I could go ahead and get Kim expelled and you fired, but that doesn't appeal to me right now. The faculty doesn't need a scandal. I'll be holding on to this tape, with copies given to friends, and if you two even think of going near that big lout, I'll have this in the dean's office so quickly, you won't have time to feel the doors slamming your skinny asses on the way out."

"You wouldn't dare," Angela said through her teeth, glaring hatefully.

"Try me," Karen replied, her voice colder and harder than iron. "Challenge me on this, and the dean's office is my next stop. Walk away. Now and forever. Keep your psychotic little dependency on one another for all I care. But leave DeBourne and the student body alone. Are we clear?"

Angela stood up, pulled Kim not so gently to her feet, and stormed out of the office, dragging the sniffling student with her. Karen watched the door for some time before sighing and looking at the little device in her palm.

"Well, at least some of us have guardian angels ..." she murmured to herself before leaving the office. She was now on the ground floor of the building, deep in thought as she headed out into the campus. She'd been walking for some time, when she sensed something and looked up, her eyes widening.

Mike DeBourne was striding quickly toward her, his face grim with intent. She swallowed, steeling herself. The sight of that man never ceased to both thrill and terrify her.

"What's the rush, Mongo?" she almost squeaked, wrestling to keep her voice under control and her heart from beating out through her breast and bloodying her silk blouse.

"Do you have a pen?" he said as he came to a stop and towered over her.

"Why -"

"A pen, Gordon," he repeated, clearly not interested in being debated. "I need a pen. Now."

She almost frowned at him for being so terse with her, but clearly he was in earnest. Her eyes never left his as she took a small ballpoint out of the little handclasp she always carried. Now he held out his palm, which seemed wider to her than a Saskatchewan wheat field.

"Your hand," Mike said.

Now she scowled. "Don't you think you're being a little forward here, Mister?"

"Hand. Now," Mike almost boomed. She thrust her dainty hand forward almost reflexively, a thrilling chill going up her spine. She watched as he deftly removed the cap and fixed it in place on the back of the pen with one hand and then turned her palm over to begin writing on the back of her hand. She made a wry face as she watched, not at all sure what the oversized tyrant thought he was doing. Didn't he understand that she had some quality sulking to do before her life ended in connubial misery?

Wasn't it enough that she'd saved him from a life of horror? If she'd told him?

Which she hadn't. And wouldn't. The thought of his gratitude, the depth of it gave her frightening feelings. If she was stuck marrying Eddie McNoughton, she didn't want to feel DeBourne's gratefulness tugging at her heartstrings every day of the rest of her life.

He pulled back from writing on her hand and she drew her arm in to look at what he'd written.

Iris ... PSDV ...

Her eyes suddenly widened.

"You've got until the Index opens on Monday morning to work this out," Mike said to her in a quiet but very serious voice. "Don't delay. Go."

Karen nodded and was gone in a flash. Mike watched her go, sighed, and shook his head. At least one of them had a guardian angel to watch over them.

***

Karen sat in a chair in the study, glancing casually at a newspaper while her father was on the phone, trying not to smirk. Her mother stood near him, looking proudly at her daughter.

"I understand that they're screaming and threatening legal action," Jonathon said to whomever he was speaking with. "But we both know they're blustering and have no leg to stand on. I want this takeover in effect forthwith. This will rock the entire exchange floor and our own stocks will shoot up, forgetting our new acquisitions. Let old Chester shriek until he's blue in the face and falls over, for all I care. I'll force him out, and his son will be lucky if he stays on as a janitor. No, you don't need to know why I'm so intent on their destruction. Let's just say they made it personal. Yes. Now, I pay you a lot of money to produce results like this for me, so go close the deal and enjoy the river of green that comes your way. Good day."