After the Fall Ch. 01

Michael smiled. "I've been spying, remember?"

As they ate, Michael explained his ideas in general terms. He wanted to bring in a relatively small number of people to plant crops and prepare housing for additional people. Once they scaled up to capacity within the compound, he wanted to start expanding in outwardly advancing rings. Maintaining good relations with the town was critical to expansion. There was enough green space around the walls of the compound to expand significantly without encroaching on the town, but things could go badly if people felt threatened.

Mariah was astounded by the scope of Michael's ambition. He wanted to open a school, set up a clinic, and guide people back toward democratic self-governance within the compound expansion. He had even secured a supply of solar panels that he hoped would be the start of a new electrical system. All the buildings in the compound already operated on one hundred percent solar energy. Ashland had a functioning power plant, but electricity was sporadic and unreliable. It was a constant struggle to find fuel to burn to operate the power plant. When everything was working properly, which was infrequent, the electricity was on for an hour a day. If people had access to reliable electricity, they could make use of the tools and technology they already had.

After lunch, they returned to the living room. Mariah was animated, and Michael could see her mind was racing with possibilities. He had enjoyed talking with her about the project over lunch, but now he was approaching the make-or-break moment. He took a deep breath and forged ahead.

"I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed talking with you about this project. Now that you know what I want to do, I think you can see how necessary you are to the undertaking. I need someone who has the people's trust, who will work selflessly, who possesses intelligence and a broad knowledge base, and who can negotiate the complexities of our relationship with the town. That person is you."

With difficulty, Mariah refrained from rolling her eyes at the flattery. She wasn't Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, or their triple reincarnation. She was just a mostly decent person who worked hard and didn't want to see anyone suffer.

Michael continued, "What we haven't talked about yet is the need for absolute security and secrecy until each stage of the project is completed. There are external threats I can't discuss with you until you are on board, and those threats require us to complete the project without its true nature being revealed. I know how Byzantine that sounds, but I can't think of a better way to explain it without giving you more information than I can allow until you have committed to the project."

"That brings me to my proposal. In order to work with me on the project, you'll need to move inside the compound. There is a bedroom already set up for you. I am in the process of converting a spare room to an office for you." He smiled. "I wasn't expecting you quite so soon, but you can share my office while we finish getting yours ready, should you accept my proposal."

"My proposal involves three non-negotiable conditions. First, you will follow my instructions without questions in all matters related to security. This includes the security of the compound as well as your personal security. I know you are independent and that you're comfortable taking risks, but I will not tolerate you endangering yourself. On the limited occasions you leave the compound, you will be accompanied by a guard. You'll also have a tracking device."

She didn't care for the first condition at all. She had a feeling he was going to be ridiculously bossy and heavy-handed when it came to security. She didn't want to move into the compound, either. She valued her privacy and independence more than the electricity and comforts of the compound. Still, for a chance to help make such a difference in so many people's lives, she was prepared to accept that condition.

"The second condition is secrecy. Like I said, there are external threats that require subterfuge. Keeping things secret from these external actors will not be possible unless these things remain secret from the people in town as well. That means you can't tell anyone what you are doing or the real reason you are here. You will have to severely limit your contact with people in town, at least until they are brought inside the compound. You'll essentially be disappearing without explanation for a while."

She had been expecting a condition like this. He seemed to be taking it to the extreme, but she could live with it. It wouldn't be the first time she had dropped out of sight for a prolonged period, and as long as she could get messages to her friends to let them know she was going away for a while, they wouldn't be too concerned. There was nobody to whom she was extremely close, so it shouldn't be difficult.

"I can accept the first two conditions. What is the third?"

Michael hesitated a moment, but when he spoke, his voice was firm and his jaw was set. "The third condition is that you will be my companion. To be blunt, I will require your sexual submission to me and me alone. Outside of sexual situations, I will treat you like an equal. You are my equal. By companionship, I do not only mean sex. I want you to have meals with me, enjoy leisure time with me, and share things with me, just as I want to share things with you."

Mariah stared at him in shocked silence.

"Can you accept the third condition?"

"You can't be serious!"

"I'm very serious. The condition is non-negotiable."

"I just met you a couple of hours ago! I literally did not even know you existed. As far as I knew, it was just your father who lived here."

"I know. I'm sorry this is so abrupt."

Mariah's eyes brimmed with tears. "Why are you doing this to me? To offer me a chance to help people who desperately need it, and then tell me I can't do it unless I agree to be your sex slave... It's so cruel. You really do hate me, don't you?"

He leaned forward and tried to take her hands in his, but she drew them back. "I could never hate you, Mariah. No matter what you choose to do, I won't hate you."

"Then why? Is this your way of punishing me for being angry with you before?"

Michael took a deep breath. "I am not punishing you for being angry with me before. I am doing this because, short of holding you against your will, I will do whatever it takes to keep you with me. Maybe I do want to punish you, but not for being angry. For making me want you so much. For all those years of watching you and wanting you so bad it hurt. For showing your heart in everything you did and making me care about those people out there. For making me feel guilty while I watched you working yourself to half to death trying to make things better... I don't know. I only know that I need you, and I knew that this was my only chance."

Mariah tried again. "You don't have to do this. You're handsome. You're smart. You live in a mansion and it's the only safe place to live around here. You could have any woman you wanted."

"Really?" Michael said skeptically. "Would you fall for my looks or my intellect or my house? Because I remember listening to a conversation between you and your friend, Rebecca, on the subject of good-looking men. Something about how Rebecca was welcome to all the 'pretty ones.' Remember that? And what about the time she tried to set you up with Jared? He's probably the smartest guy in town. You told her that the smart ones just spend every minute trying to prove how smart they are. And you can't seriously suggest that you would want to be with me because of my house. I know you better than that."

Michael waited, apparently expecting an answer. Mariah shook her head. "But my point is that there are plenty of women who would jump at the chance to be with you. You could have your pick."

Michael took her hands and held on to them this time before she could pull them away. "Mariah, if I couldn't have you, I couldn't have my pick."

She looked away, flustered. "There are women in Ashland far better suited for the companionship you're seeking. I know women who would be very interested in you. Women who are more attractive, funnier, wittier, and--"

"Easier?" He finished for her.

"Easier to live with!" she snapped, pulling her hands from his. "Michael, I know you think you know me, but actually having me around would be different. I'm a tremendous pain in the ass."

Michael burst out laughing, then kissed her forehead, much to her chagrin. "I have never seen a more attractive, funnier, wittier woman, but I have no doubt that you are an extraordinary pain in the ass. Remember, I've been watching you being a pain in various asses for years. I fully expect that you will make me want to pull my hair out sometimes, but that's part of you. I want you. Not some other woman. That's not up for discussion."

"Under other circumstances, I would suggest that you go home and think about it. Unfortunately, after your run-in with Hawley, it isn't safe for you to do that. He'll be gunning for you. You already know he's a killer. He may be an incompetent buffoon, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to kill one woman. You aren't safe from him."

"If you agree to my terms, you will begin living here immediately. You will be escorted to your home by two of my guards who will protect you and help you move your things here. If you decide not to accept my proposal, I will have to neutralize Brad Hawley before you leave. It's the only way to ensure your safety. That's why I need an answer before you leave. As awful as he is, I don't want to neutralize the man today only to find out it's unnecessary if you accept my proposal a few days from now."

"Neutralize him? Do you mean kill him?" Mariah asked in horror.

Michael grimaced. "I can't think of another solution. I've seen the way that man operates. You've humiliated him in front so many people that it can't possibly be hushed up. I imagine the whole town will hear about it by the end of the day, and you know they'll be laughing at him."

Mariah was surprised to feel a tear run down her cheek. She brushed it away irritably.

"So, unless I agree to be your sex slave, I not only jeopardize a project that could save hundreds of lives, but I sign Brad Hawley's death warrant."

A painful lump formed in Michael's throat when he saw her tears, but he had to see this through. "Not my sex slave. I think you know the difference." He stopped himself. He knew that the distinction between "sex slave" and sexual submission didn't matter to her right now. From her perspective, he was trying to force her to do something she didn't want to do, and she wouldn't care what he called it.

"Mariah, I'm sorry this is so painful for you. You shouldn't factor Brad Hawley into the equation at all. He made the choice to attack you, and he must live with the consequences. As far as I'm concerned, he's been living on borrowed time since the moment he struck you. He's a parasite and a bully, and nobody will be sorry to see him go. No matter what you decide, it's not your fault that he put himself in this situation."

Mariah looked at him reproachfully. "It's not that easy for me. I'm not like Brad Hawley, and apparently, I'm not like you. I can't ignore the consequences of my decision just because Brad Hawley deserves whatever comes to him. I'm not like that, Michael," she pleaded.

Michael sighed. "I don't see another way. I'm sorry I even mentioned it to you. I was trying to explain why I couldn't let you leave and take your time deciding, and I didn't think about the position it put you in. Although..." Michael mused, "How about this? I'll just have my guys nab him and lock him up to give you time to go home and make a decision. If you decide to stay here, we can put the fear of God in him and let him go."

"That's even worse! Don't you see? I'd still have to make a decision that will determine whether that man, such as he is, lives or dies. The only difference is that I'd know he was trapped in a cell while I decided his fate."

Michael was silent for a while, thinking. "I don't want your decision to be about saving Hawley's lousy hide. As distasteful as I find lifetime incarceration, I'm willing to keep him locked up for the rest of his life if you choose not to accept my proposal."

Mariah realized that in a perverse way, Michael was trying to be fair. She stared down at her lap. Who was she kidding? Even if Hawley wasn't a consideration, she still didn't have a real choice.

She couldn't possibly walk away from the opportunity to help so many people. It was entirely possible that Michael came up with his benevolent project for the sole purpose of entrapping her. If that was the case, he would probably abandon it if she refused. Even if he promised to go through with it no matter what she decided, she knew he was right. He did need someone who could intercede on his behalf with the people in town. There were other people could accomplish the same thing, but given Michael's stubborn insistence that it must be her, she doubted he would seek or accept help from anyone else.

In the end, there was no choice at all. She couldn't stand to watch more babies die if she could save them. There was only one thing she could do. She would accept his conditions.

"Could I have a few moments to think?"

"Of course," Michael agreed. He was encouraged that she was at least considering his proposal. "I'll be in the foyer you passed through on your way in."

When he left, she sighed in relief and sank back into the soft chair. She didn't really need the time, but it felt good to be away from Michael's intensity and out of his sight. She felt like he was always looking at her, and she hated it.

Although the temporary reprieve from his presence was welcome, she wasn't postponing the inevitable just to enjoy a few Michael-free minutes. She needed to be strategic. If she allowed him to realize how important his project was to her, he would have her at his mercy. Her acceptance of his mandates on security and secrecy didn't give away how badly she wanted to make sure his project went forward. It was the third condition that was the problem, and not just because it was a disgusting and depraved use of his advantage. It was the sort of condition a person wouldn't agree to unless they would agree to practically anything.

Right now, she had some leverage. He wanted her with him in a way he couldn't achieve by force. He wanted to have a friendly relationship with her, even if he was willing to obtain it through coercion. He would assume that he could not treat her too harshly without jeopardizing that amicability -- unless he realized that the project was so important to her that he could get away with it. She didn't believe Michael viewed himself in that light. He probably couldn't have unraveled his motivations if he wanted to. He likely believed he was motivated solely by altruism and discounted the gratification of his own self-interest as incidental.

She couldn't count on Michael's lack of self-awareness to prevent him from eventually realizing and capitalizing on his advantage. Consciously or unconsciously, the pieces would fall into place in his mind. Once he realized how much she would put up with for the sake of the project, all bets would be off. To prevent that, she had to make him believe that her acceptance of his third condition was at least partly motivated by something other than the project. It had to be a motivation that could disappear if he mistreated her. The best way to achieve that was by indulging his fantasy that she might want to be with him.

Provided she could keep her temper from flashing through her act, she knew she could pull it off. The best acting magnifies a grain of truth, and the truth was that she was attracted to him. She just had to separate that feeling of attraction from her hatred of feeling it. When she was with him, she needed to be able to access one feeling without the other. It was going to be complicated to maintain a separation between her authentic feelings and her projected feelings, but she didn't have a better alternative.

Once she was resigned to her plan, she let more time drift by. With her decision made, the waiting played havoc with her own nerves, but she felt it was important to give Michael's uncertainty time to grow. He would be less likely to question a "victory" that did not come too easily.

When she couldn't stand the strain any longer, she found him in the foyer. She spoke without preamble. "You've imposed three outrageous conditions, Michael. I have two conditions of my own."

Michael felt like a weight was being lifted off his chest. If she had conditions, it could only mean she might agree to his terms. Whatever the conditions were, he would do anything necessary to meet them. This was a negotiation, though, so he kept the look of relief off his face.

"What are your conditions?"

"The first is that I have to be able to bring my pets. They have to be allowed to live inside with me, and they must be treated kindly."

"And your second condition?" Michael prompted.

"Food has to be delivered weekly to people I normally provide it to, and it has to be delivered secretly so that it doesn't cause them trouble with their neighbors or get stolen. Most of them don't know who leaves the food for them anyway, so your people could just leave it in the usual drop-off location. I can make lists with descriptions of the drop-offs, unless you'll agree to letting me take care of it myself."

"I won't."

"Then someone else will have to do it. Those are my two conditions: My pets and food for the people I usually distribute it to."

"Done."

She blinked. "Done?"

"Yes, done. I accept your conditions. Do we have an agreement?"

Mariah looked away, trying at the last minute to think of another solution, but there wasn't any. Michael held all the cards.

"We have an agreement." She hated the tremble she heard in her own voice. She needed to be strong right now.

In an instant, Michael closed the space between them. He drew her against him and held her in place with his hand at the small of her back. Her body felt so soft and warm against his. He caressed her cheek, then trailed his fingers through her hair to cradle the back of her head.

"I promise, Mariah. I'll do anything in my power to make sure you're happy here."

Before she could say a word, his mouth was on hers. His kiss was passionate and aggressive. His tongue swept between her lips. She gasped against his mouth and his tongue slipped in, stroking and circling her own. He kissed her with a hunger that left her reeling. She realized that her hand was on his chest, but she didn't know whether it was to touch him or push him away. Somewhere along the way, her tongue had started moving against his.

Michael let out a strangled groan when he felt her respond. The sound vibrated against her mouth and sent a rush of heat through her. Mariah was well on her way to losing herself completely when Michael suddenly pulled back. Her dark eyes were wide and her cheeks were flushed. She looked stunned, and when she unconsciously touched her fingertips to her lips, he felt his cock twitch in response. He kissed her again, hard and brief. "You've got to go get your things before I can't let you leave," he said hoarsely. "I promised you could get your pets. Bring anything else you want to keep with you, but everything you need will be provided."

Without taking his eyes off her, he reached for the house phone. "Ezra, Mariah will be staying with us. I need two men two escort her. I'd appreciate it if you would go yourself. Thank you." Mariah barely had time to regain her composure before two security guards in black tee shirts and camouflage combat pants arrived. Michael made hurried introductions. "Mariah, you met Ezra earlier." The larger of the two men nodded. He had salt and pepper hair, gray eyes, a wide jaw, and the tried-and-true bearing of a veteran.