Page 39 of Dark Gambit Reliance

"You still need to get paid. How is Darlene doing?"

Had Kian heard about their induction attempt?

Probably.

Darlene had asked Max not to tell anyone, but they had told Karen and Kaia, who had probably told Cheryl, who'd probably shared it with Lisa and Parker, and that was how a day later, the entire village had known about it.

"This morning, she felt a little under the weather, and I hoped it was the start of her transition, but I just spoke with her, and she sounded fine. Kaia is watching her in case she suddenly collapses."

"Darlene is a god's granddaughter, so her symptoms might be mild. Make sure to check on her frequently, and if her symptoms worsen, get her to the clinic."

"I will."

When Kian ended the call, Eric rose to his feet and headed back to the kitchen. It was still too early for lunch, but since he was going to see Onegus, and the chief's office was one level up from the lab, he could do that first and have lunch with Darlene right after.

Half an hour later, Eric was out of Onegus's office with a contract for a three-month trial period, a schedule of classes and, what he was most excited about, the one-on-one drone flying training with Charlie.

Eric preferred to be up in the sky and not down on the ground with a remote or inside a simulator, but it was something he hadn't tried before, and he was eager to learn. Turned out that the clan had military-grade drones, but they weren't going to use them in the upcoming mission and were getting a couple of drones locally. Eric wouldn't be ready in time to join the current mission, but he would be ready the next time the clan needed to fly them.

Carrying the bag with the pasta and salad he'd made, he got in front of the door to William's lab and looked up into the camera. "Open sesame."

As the door buzzed open, Kaia smiled at him. "Darlene told me that you're bringing lunch. Is there enough for me?"

"Sure. But aren't you having lunch at home with William?"

She shook her head. "Not today. It's a madhouse in here. William is leaving this evening, and he has been running around all day. Sadly, I don't think he has time to go home for lunch. He isn't even packed yet." She looked at him hopefully. "Did you make enough for him too?"

Not really, but he could let the three of them eat and skip lunch himself. "Of course. Are you going with William?"

"I can't. He needs me here."

"Will you be okay without him?"

"It's going to be tough, but I'll stay with Mom and help her with the little ones until Gilbert returns. That will keep me busy."

"She's going to love it. You flew the nest so suddenly that she didn't have time to prepare."

Kaia snorted. "We live a ten-minute walk away from each other. I still have one leg in the nest."

"True." He put the thermal bag on her desk and walked over to Darlene's office. "Are you hungry yet? Food is here."

She lifted her head and looked at him with glazed eyes. "I don't feel well. I think we should go to the clinic."

28

TOVEN

"Here are the suitcases." Shamash rolled two brand new pieces of luggage into Toven and Mia's living room. "Kalugal and Jacki say bon voyage."

"Thank you, Shamash."

"You could have used ours," Curtis said. "They are not as fancy as these, but they are still good."

"These are larger, Grandpa." Mia drove over and grabbed one handle. "I have everything ready. I just need to put it inside."

Toven followed her into the bedroom. "What I have wouldn't fill even half of that suitcase. I could've taken my trusty carry-on."

"Then you would have needed to buy luggage in St. Petersburg to fit the new stuff we are going to get."