Babel Novel
2
Morgan pov.
Back in my office I sink into my chair and find myself wondering why the hell Sinclair signed off on my promotion if she so clearly doesn't want to deal with me as a manager. She's been making things difficult for me since my first day here two years ago and if I hadn't been working my ass of since I was ten years old, I would have walked away a long time ago. An alert comes through, and I almost want to silence it, leaving it for Mark but when I see the Gloss sector lighting up, I know Sinclair ignored my whole little spiel right now.
"You're seeing this right?" Margot asks, rushing into my office like a bat out of hell and I nod. We stare at the perimeter lines between the Bio-Glaze and Gloss and my whole body goes cold as Sinclair's approval for expansion lights up on the screen. "Why would you approve this?" I shake my head, running a hand through my hair.
"I didn't." Her eyes widen and I nod, knowing we're screwed. It won't take sector four long to dispute this and when they do the Bio-Glaze will be in a world of trouble if Sinclair doesn't back off with her expansion.
"Why does she want to expand so bad anyway? We have enough space." Margot huffs but I can't answer her question. I wish I could, but I'm not head of this department, Sinclair is and as long as she is, I'm on a need-to-know basis and she's decided that I don't need to know the reason for the expansion. She'll ignore all my safety concerns and do whatever the hell she pleases. The Commander will get involved and when he does, heads are going to roll. "This is going to cause a war." I mutter and Margot lets out a deep breath.
"Well, until we're certain of that, why not enjoy the little bit of peace we have left? Want to go out with me tonight?" I watch as the clock ticks down my final seconds for being on duty and nod. Maybe it's a good thing I can't find someone to sign a contract with. With the mess Sinclair just caused I'm going to be too busy to take care of myself, much less manage to split my attention between work and my home.
***
"The trading grounds? Really?" It's not the seediest place to find yourself in but it's not the best either. People who come here only want two things, money and a fast hook-up, compliments of the Red-Light district just a block away. "We'll leave soon. I have to meet someone here." Margot pulls me along with her, not giving me an option to wait for her in the car. We make it through the doors and inside is a mess of people in the middle of various deals. I spot a third-tier woman standing next to a brand new AS21 who looks pretty much indistinguishable from the other humans around it, except for the demo tattoo displayed on her left arm. She's dolled it up to look handsome enough, sharp jawline and wide shoulders but still just clockwork that I have to ensure doesn't kill her in the middle of the night. I've spent countless hours on its safety codes and if I'd had my way, I would have wanted to spend a little more time but then again, Sinclair signed off on it so I'm in the clear should the first production needs shutting down. The demos haven't given any trouble yet and I'm hoping the Space sector doesn't mess up in production safeguarding or else it'll be another mess I have to fix.
I follow Margot through the masses, my eyes catching random people I know but won't want to be caught in small talk with, so I wander away from my friend and find myself standing outside a boxing ring. I watch as a blond beast man enters the ring, it's cat features unmistakable and I wonder who he might belong to for its owner to enter it into boxing. There's so much they can do and yet this is the first thing owners think about when they buy them. How much money they can make on the trading grounds. The cat bounces around some, looking focused and ready for whoever he has to fight against. Seconds later another hooded figure enters the ring, and I turn my head to the side, interested in seeing the person behind the dramatic entrance.
My breath gets knocked clear out of my lungs when the hood falls away from his face and twitchy grey ears beneath a head of grey curls are revealed. The beast man looks angry, his white eyes narrowed on the blond beast standing in the far- left corner of the ring. I watch as the circle each other, the cat bouncing all over the place and the wolf taking calculated strides before landing the first punch on the cat's right side. Cheers erupt and chaos ensues as the fight officially begins. A hand on my arm is what finally gets me to look away from the fight and Margot frowns at me.
"You can't just disappear." She scolds but I waver her away, looking back at the ring. "I'm done, lets go."
"I'm not done." She cocks her head to the side, and I point at the grey eared wolf in the ring. "I want him." I tell her, smiling when her eyes widen in surprise.
"If he's in there he belongs to someone." She gives me information that I already know. "They might not want to let him go. You can find a better way to get a wolf if you want one."
"I want that wolf." I've never been interested in beast men, especially not wolves but there's something about those twitchy grey ears.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
"You'd have to buy a contract." She huffs, looking downright annoyed with me.
"Then I'll buy the contract, Margot. I'll wave the liability policy and just cut him loose if I don't like him." I tell her and she rolls her eyes. Not saying anything because she knows there is nothing to say. I leave her standing ringside, and head towards the information desk, finding a very bored looking attendant swiping through his tablet. "I need to find the owner of the grey wolf in the ring." I tell him and he gives me a once over before nodding and walking away. He comes back with a man in a white suit, hair gelled back displaying his maple tattoo under his left ear.
"Gerald Hutting, I hear you're looking for me." He reaches out his hand and when I shake it my skin crawls.
"I would like to talk to you about the grey wolf in the ring." I know a sleezy businessman from a mile away and Gerald is about as sleezy as they come but he has something I want and I'm not walking away without those twitchy grey ears tonight.