Gwen stuck with her cover all through the airport. She was fluent in all three of the world’s languages. English and Spanish were the most common two. Most of the other old languages had meshed together to form a third language that was simply known as Other, which Gwen was quite fluent in as well. Gwen located an airport official who spoke Spanish and purchased a rental ticket for a jet to California HQ. Gwen knew she’d be able to get Murphy to give her more money once she got there, so she bought a ticket for the fastest jet possible. She’d be to California before it was time for tea. Gwen was lost in these thoughts when the jet pilot approached and informed Gwen that she was ready to fly. Gwen boarded the jet, deciding to take a quick nap before California.
When Gwen opened her eyes, she looked out to glaring sun and a large white skyscraper surrounded by cacti. She walked quickly through the fingerprint scan doors and in to the meeting room, anxious to begin her mission.
Inside the room was Mr. Murphy. Talking with him was a young man Gwen had never seen before. He had longish black hair, medium skin, and green eyes. He was fairly tall and broad shouldered. His accent was thick; Spain was certainly his home country. His face had a look on it as though he was attempting to hide amusement, and when his eyes met Gwen’s she could see laughter there.
Mr. Murphy noticed Gwen’s presence. “Ah,” he said grandly, “Miss Darcy. Or, shall we call you Senorita Sanchez?” Mr. Murphy laughed, finding himself funnier than he truly was. “Allow me to introduce you to your partner, Tomás Garcia. Tomás is from Barcelona, and so will not need a disguise for this Assignment. Tomás, this is Gwendolyn Darcy. She – “
“Excuse me, Mr. Murphy,” Gwen interrupted sharply, “But did you say partners?” “Yes, Miss Darcy,” Mr. Murphy enunciated, “Partners. This Assignment requires both a male and a female.” He looked pointedly at Tomás, and then continued. “Tomás, you will know Miss Darcy as Emilia Sanchez for this Assignment. I expect,” Mr. Murphy paused for a moment, and with a glance at Gwen hurried on, “that you two become well acquainted, as your covers are a young couple living together.”
Without giving Gwen a chance to speak, Mr. Murphy went on. “Now, first you will drive to Sacramento. Miss Darcy’s truck has been conveniently Ported here. My hope is that the drive there will give you both some time to accustom yourselves to the other. Once in Sacramento, follow what your legends would have you do. Tomás has the address of your home. There will be plenty of opportunity for your legends to be known. Also, you must make it obvious that you are attempting to breed. Emilia Sanchez is nothing but a Breeder, and she must make her quota. If” Mr. Murphy nodded to Tomás, “you could convince Gwendolyn to actually breed with you, you would be quite helpful. There is no birth control or lust management medication, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Gwen glared angrily at Mr. Murphy. She fought to keep her voice from shaking with rage, “What exactly is this Assignment, Mr. Murphy?” “Your Assignment is simple. We need you to blend in. I will not give further instruction until that happens.” And with those words, Murphy left the room.
Gwen sat in the passenger seat of the truck, staring silently out the window. She was more surprised about Murphy’s plan than she should have been. After all, her legend did mention a boyfriend. But Murphy was crazy to expect that she would actually breed. She couldn’t possibly complete an Assignment like this. On the other hand, she didn't have a choice. If she didn’t do this Assignment, she could lose her Tracker status.
Tomás cleared his throat as he took a turn north toward Sacramento. “Sorry to interrupt your thoughts,” he teased, “but seeing as how we’ll be dating, I figure we should at least have one conversation.” Tomás smiled as he noticed Gwen register the Spanish. “Tú hablas español, ¿no?” “Yes, I speak Spanish,” Gwen growled. She turned toward Tomás. “Now you listen to me. We are not going to breed. We will handle this Assignment with only the most necessary contact. I will not share your bed. I won’t even share a couch with you. We will only act as our legends in public, and you will not have a say otherwise. Now, we need to assess our money. I have $5647 American dollars left. What do you have?”
Gwen expected Tomás to at least be slightly startled by this, but he simply looked at her. Gwen waited for him to answer, but he just kept staring. Finally, she snapped. “What?” “Your aura,” he replied. “I’ve never seen so many colors. It’s…unbelievable.” “You have an aura Affinity? But you’re a male. Males don’t have Affinities.” Gwen was confused, which was a feeling she didn’t at all like. “Of course I have an Affinity,” he smirked,” I’m a Tracker. In your country, only women are Specials, but in mine, both sexes achieve Special status. I assumed you knew, considering how often you used to visit. Gwen pretended not to be surprised that Tomás had this information. “Of course I knew,” she bluffed, “I simply was verifying that you are of Tracker status.” “I see,” he smiled knowingly, “and as for your first question, I have about £340,000 left. That would be…about $500,000 American currency. Oh, and this,” Tomás pointed to the briefcase behind the passenger seat, “contains some envelopes for you. My best guess is cash.”
Gwen climbed back to the briefcase and opened it. She pulled out an envelope and slid her wrist knife through the seal of the first of ten envelopes in the case. She quickly counted the bills in the first stack, then the number of stacks. 100 bills per stack, 10 stacks per envelope, and 10 envelopes. Mr. Murphy had given her £1,000,000, the equivalent of almost $1.5 million American dollars.
“How much?” Tomás called back. “A million,” Gwen said bluntly. “Currency?” “British.” Gwen climbed to the front seat. “We’ve got a million pounds,” she said, “and we’re in the middle of California. Where are we going to cash that in?” “We’ll have to do it in small amounts at various banks,” Tomás answered her. “We’ll stop later.” When Gwen didn’t answer her, he spoke again. “What’s your favorite color?” he asked her. “My favorite color?” Gwen asked, surprised. “Yes, your favorite color. I want to know about you. What are you like?” Tomás was insistent. When Gwen realized that he was actually being serious, she answered him. “Indigo. And, as for what I’m like, I don’t really know how to explain that.” “Well, then” Tomás said gleefully, “I’ll tell you about me; give you an example to follow. Now, let’s see…I was born in Spain, in Barcelona. I grew up there, with my mother, father, and 3 siblings. My brother, Agustín, was my best friend. He was also my twin. I also have two younger sisters, Julieta and Natalia, who are very sweet. Julieta is 11, and Natalia is 14. The girls look exactly like Mamá. Agustín looked like Papá, and like me. We were identical.” Tomás paused to look over at Gwen, and he saw the question in her eyes. “Agustín was 17 when it happened. That was 3 years ago. He had a bad sickness called Batten’s Disease. It was awful. The disease causes you to have seizures, and in my brother’s case, to change his personality. He became, over time, demented. He was bedridden the last year of his life.” Tomás looked at Gwen and smiled weakly. “It’s easier to talk about now,” he said. “The doctors said that I am lucky to not have it, but it is hard to feel lucky when such a beautiful person as Augustín was lost. We had so many adventures together. I live for him. Although,” Tomás trailed off, “it is hard to live for him when our world is so messed up. I do wish there was a better way to live, but it is not up to me, is it?” He smiled. “Now, it is your turn, Gwendolyn. What is your story?”
Gwen was silent for a few moments, then began to speak. “You can call me Gwen, if you like.” Tomás nodded at her and gestured for Gwen to continue. “Well,” she started, “There isn’t a lot to tell. I was born in Bristol, England. My parents didn’t really care for me, so I was sent off to live with my Aunt and Uncle, in Massachusetts. They live in the state, in Great Barrington. My Aunt and I are really close. My mother didn’t like her sister any more than she liked me, so it seemed fitting that the two of us were together. I never had any cousins or siblings. I spent my childhood training for schooling. When I was 11, I moved to London to start my education. When I was 14, I got my Tracker status, and ever since then I’ve been Tracking.” Gwen looked at Tomás, who was looking at her in disbelief. “What?” Suddenly she heard a loud honk and watched Tomás jerk the wheel. “Watch the road!” She scolded, “You could’ve gotten us killed!” “Yes, Mamá,” Tomás grinned. “I just can’t believe that’s all! There must be more than that! You’ve never had anything interesting happen? No amazing experience or crippling heartbreak?” Gwen shook her head. “Well,” Tomás said, “I refuse to believe that. No one could have such a remote life. You’re hiding something.” He wagged his finger at Gwen. “Come on, spill your guts!” Gwen couldn’t help but smile. “Really, there’s nothing to tell!” she insisted. Tomás sighed, making a pouty face at her. He looked so ridiculous that Gwen laughed. “Fine,” she grinned, “There was one thing.” She looked at Tomás, with his eyes wide in faux pleading. “I was six…” She trailed off. “No, this is ridiculous. We need to get back to business and plan this Assignment.” “I love it when you get all serious. It’s hot,” Tomás pretended to be seductive. What Gwen wouldn’t tell him was that he really was sort of attractive. “But,” he stated, “I’d rather hear this story of yours. The best stories always start with a six year old, don’t they?”
“I was six,” she tried again. “My Aunt took me to an Amusement park. There was this ride, the Tornado. My Aunt took me on it, and toward the middle I got really scared. She tried to calm me down, telling me it wasn’t going to do anything to me, but I looked at her and said, “Yes it IS. It’s making me very upset.” Then I tried to climb out. The ride was almost over and I was low toward the ground. My Aunt didn’t grab me in time, and I fell. It broke my arm, but other than that I was fine. But I hate rides now.” Gwen looked at Tomás. “Satisfied?” she asked. “Yes,” he said. “I now know not to take you to an amusement park.” He smiled at her. “I have a proposition for you. To get to know each other, we’ll play 20 questions. Deal?” “Sure,” Gwen sighed, “Go ahead.”
“What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?” he asked her. “Mint chocolate chip,” Gwen answered immediately. “What’s your middle name?” she asked Tomás. “Guillermo. Yours?” “Well, that doesn’t count for a question, but it’s Eliza.” “Gwendolyn Eliza,” Tomás said carefully, testing out the sound. “It’s lovely,” he smiled. “What is your Affinity? You know mine, obviously.” Gwen looked at Tomás warily. “I…have a mind Affinity.” Tomás immediately tensed. “What kind of mind Affinity?” “It’s not a reading one. I just sort of…think what I want a person to do. I can think that I want you to accept my Affinity, and things like that, but I can’t control emotions like love or hate. It’s mostly a fear control, actually.” Seeing Tomás’ facial expression, she added, “I don’t use it unless I have to. I don’t like it very much.” Tomás’ expression eased. “I believe you,” he said. “Your Aura shows that you’re trustworthy, so I believe you.”
Gwen nodded to Tomás, and then continued the question game until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer, and she drifted off to sleep.