Jessa Ch. 10

Jessa strode over to the table and picked up the plate, noticing that one of them had put her cell phone right next to the plate, with a voicemail from Torah prominently displayed on the screen. Jessa debated for a long moment, but she feared that if she didn't answer him, he might come back for her, and that was best avoided. She had a lot of research to do. She finally picked up the phone also and headed for her office. Shay protested weakly, but Jessa ignored her, shutting the door on the outside world and settling in before her computer. She didn't bother to listen to his message. She hit the recall button on the phone as she chewed mindlessly at her food, relieved when the call went to Torah's voicemail.

She took a deep breath as his greeting played, then dove in. "I asked you if I could run in Paris and you said it was up to Jacq. I asked Jacq and he said as long as I stayed in the occupied sector, I was safe. I went early in the morning because I couldn't sleep. I did that often back home, to watch the sunrise. I left a note for the servants. I will ask the doctor today for a safe way to carry my cell phone while I run. I'm sorry everyone was so upset but I didn't do anything wrong. I promise I won't do it again in that manner. I can't wait to see you again." She disconnected the call and took another deep breath, then turned to her computer.

****

Jessa rubbed her sore eyes and glanced at the cell phone to check the time. It was almost four in the morning, again. She had emerged from the office only a few times for bathroom visits, to return one meal plate in exchange for another and for the tedious drive to the hospital. She was only vaguely aware that Raza was practically in tears when she drove Jessa for the appointment. Raza had offered a vague apology for calling Torah, lacking in sincerity since she obviously feared Torah far more than she feared Jessa's anger, but Jessa was too preoccupied with what she was learning to be overly concerned with Raza's feelings. She hardly even noticed when the doctor told her he could harvest her egg tomorrow. She had begun to suspect that Torah had no idea how much she would be able to find, or at any rate how quickly she would find it, when he gave her the 'key' to the Councilary Web. She also was mildly curious that he had not called her back, but that curiosity was little more than a tickle at the back of her mind.

She had forgotten about asking the doctor how to safely carry her cell phone, and she didn't really feel like running anyway. Her mind was spinning with what she had learned so far. She found she was reluctant to delve deeper into the Circles and Council. It was somehow easier to hope that more recent history, some four generations from such an ugly start, would be more palatable, then to risk learning it was far worse. Especially given that she was now married into that stratosphere and how secretive Torah was about what he did and for whom, not to mention how deadly his enemies were, though supposedly of a perfectly legitimate security service.

She had done some research on the other remaining population centers of the world, and found the information wasn't so different from what she had been taught. There was indeed almost no information out of China and Eastern Asia, though it was widely believed that the majority of the population had retreated to the southwestern highlands of China. Russian natives had moved somewhat north and had furiously resisted migrants from countries south of their borders, though they were eager to push their borders further west, against stiff resistance from their European counterparts. Europe, for its part had absorbed two major waves of migration from Spain, Italy and Greece, and to a lesser degree from the African Mediterranean coast and the Near East countries.

The African Continent had been severely decimated by the pandemic, with the few survivors fleeing south. In Australia, though the efforts to flee the pandemic and absorb populations from neighboring island nations had been well organized, the lack of arable land in the interior had resulted in scattered pockets of inhabitation in the highlands which made governance difficult. The Americas had followed the pattern of Europe and Africa, fleeing from the low and middle latitudes north and south with little regard for nationality. The Canadians, in particular, had welcomed Americans, Mexicans and those from Central America with open arms. Jessa had only begun to delve into the governance of the various regions, though it was evident that some were far more transparent and communicative than others. Even in the beginning, when the pandemic threatened the very human race itself, as well as many species of primates, some areas had been reluctant to share any discoveries regarding speeding of vaccine replication or addressing fast-moving mutations.

The information about the pandemic itself seemed compartmented in a myriad of frustrating ways. She could easily find the early information she already knew from her coursework, that it was hemorrhagic, with the virus attacking macrophages leading to interactions that then resulted in the failure of vascular walls and massive internal bleeding. It had shown a higher mortality rate than the common strains of Ebola. She had to dig and decipher endlessly to discover information about the mutations, and it seemed, not surprisingly, that as travel dwindled to virtually non-existent levels, the mutations were totally different from continent to continent. She had to infer some of that based on information from the areas that actually shared information. It did seem, at least in North America and probably in Europe that the virus adapted to exist in and transmit through one or more genera of fleas from the original Aedes aegypti mosquito vector –creating the tertiary pandemic – while in other areas, it appeared to adapt to other mosquito genera, the adaptations resulting in a broadening its range, both further north and higher in altitude. More frightening, but less substantiated, were rumors of a pneumonic mutation where the virus appeared to act much slower hemorrhagically, but instigated fluid retention in the lungs, carrying the virus along for the ride, and from there being able to spread human to human through coughing, sneezing, etc. before other symptoms where evident. Jessa suspected the virus had adapted from attacking macrophages to some other component of the blood, but she had been stymied so far in her efforts to find more research.

****

Jessa was staring at the computer screen, too tired to really see what was on it. Or make sense of what she was seeing, at any rate. She had found a satellite shot, showing what purported to be Italy, though it was barely recognizable as such, rising oceans, particularly apparent in the Mediterranean, had covered so much of the low coastal areas. What caught her attention, though, was an area, along the spine of the Apennine mountains near what had been the city of Perugia, where there were, unquestionably, city lights. In point of fact, she was staring at the time stamp, trying to make sense of the fact that the photograph had been taken less than a month ago. How could that be? Who could be living there? How were they generating electricity? She saw movement and rubbed her eyes. It was a static photo. There couldn't be movement. She peered at the screen. The movement was there again, and her fuzzy brain finally resolved it into a reflection on the screen. She spun around. Torah stood in the doorway of her office.

"When was the last time you slept?" he asked quietly, in that deep, low voice.

"I'm not sure," she answered cautiously.

His eyes went to the uneaten plate of food she had pushed aside hours ago. He looked back at her, eyes sliding slowly down. She was wearing stretchy, comfortable exercise clothes, and she realized belatedly that he would be able to see the weight she had undoubtedly lost, despite Shay's best efforts. But when his eyes rose to hers again, all he said was "They took the egg?"

"Yesterday," she replied softly.

He strode abruptly across the room and she cringed, but when he took her arm and pulled her to her feet it was not particularly roughly, though firm and brooking no argument. He pulled her through to the master bedroom and into the bathroom. "Shower," he said, then spun on his heel and left. Jessa stared after him, wondering if this was yet another peculiar facet of his many personalities. She looked in the mirror and saw her short hair splayed haphazardly about her head from finger combing. Perhaps he thought she hadn't been showering either, along with foregoing eating and sleeping. Indeed, as she thought about it, she couldn't remember when she had showered last. She quickly stripped and stepped into the shower.

When she emerged, she took care to actually brush her hair into some semblance of a style. She glanced at the clock, it was closing in on midnight. She donned a silk robe and went back out into the main room. Torah was in the kitchen, dishing something onto a plate. He crossed to her, once again took her arm and pulled her to the table, setting her and the plate down at the same time. "Eat," he commanded, and she knew from experience that meant every bite, quickly and efficiently. She dug in, far too tired to argue.

"This is good. What is it?" she asked, hoping to get more than monosyllables from him.

"Piroshkies," he replied, sitting very still, watching her as she ate.

"Umm," she replied in appreciation.

"It's what your cook served you last night. She found most of them in the garbage this morning." Jessa put her fork down and dropped her eyes and her hands to her lap. "Just like your maid wonders what to do with herself when she finds your bed unslept in and your shower and towels unused."

"Torah, I..."

"I thought I was giving you a diversion," he interrupted. "Something to quench your thirst and keep you out of trouble while I was gone. Instead, I find I have given you a narcotic that is driving you to early death. Eat!" he snapped. She jumped to obey. "My computer tech is quite impressed with your skills," he continued with more than a hint of sarcasm. "He says you've even designed a search spider unlike any he's seen before. No one has managed that. The Council has always stayed a step ahead of hackers and probers. He is deleting your programming as we speak. You will not recreate it. Understood?"

She nodded, glancing briefly at the door to her office. "I didn't mean to cause problems," she said quietly.

"And yet it seems that is all you ever do," he accused.

"I'm sorry," she said, with true remorse. She wiped at tears that welled as much if not more from fatigue as sorrow. "I haven't been running," she offered by way of appeasement.

"Yes. And only you would take permission to go out running as including at four o'clock in the morning."

She shrugged weakly, concentrating on her food. "I liked running early in the morning. In the summer, I would leave early to arrive at the lake by dawn."

"Your father was far too lenient with you." Jessa dared to peek up at him. Had she detected just a hint of humor behind the exasperation? At least she welcomed exasperation over anger.

"How long can you stay?" she asked.

"Eager to get rid of me?" he countered, leaning forward, his elbows on the table.

She shook her head, attempting nonchalance. "I thought you might be able to offer me a different diversion," she suggested coyly. When she peeked at him again, his eyes seemed darker, yet she was sure she saw a spark within. Her fork paused in midair as she waited for an answer.

All he said was, "Eat," but the tone seemed more urgent than before, and she hurried through the last bites. The moment she set her fork down, he had her by the arm again, leading her toward the bedroom. Even as he closed the door behind them with one hand, his other hand shifted and he was pulling the robe from her shoulder, pushing it back to expose her upper body. His eyes slid over her breasts, down to her too prominent ribs, then back up her chest. She realized belatedly that he was probably looking for the necklace he had given her. Lania's necklace. She held her breath, but then his fingers were unknotting the belt about her waist, impatiently shoving the robe behind her to fall free.

He stepped back to look at her and scowled but said nothing as he went to work on his shirt buttons. When he had his own clothes off, he suddenly stepped forward and scooped her up into his arms. "I swear Saula and Samu weigh more than you do now," he muttered.

"I'll be better," Jessa promised.

"Yes, you will," he said sternly, and she suspected he was giving her no choice in the matter. Then he was tossing her on the bed and falling atop her, his hands and mouth devouring her neck and her breasts and her belly. She tried to push at his shoulders, to force him to where she had the greatest need for his lips and tongue, but he was unmovable, setting his own pace, until she was driven to begging.

"Torah, please! I need you," she cried.

"Do you, now," he replied. "And where do you need me?" He slid farther down the bed and blew softly against her damp pussy. "Here?"

"Yes, please!" she moaned, trying to raise her hips toward his mouth that was so close now. He wrapped his arms about her legs, pulling her firmly down on the mattress. "Ahhh," she cried out, unable to move in his strong grip. "Torah! Don't torture me," she yelled.

He dipped his head so that his lips rested against her pussy lips, so very close to her clit that she could feel the vibration when he spoke. "Like you torture me?"

"No!" she cried out, her head rolling from side to side. She reached for his head and laced her fingers into his hair, trying to pull him closer.

"Yes!" He hissed the word against her and the sibilance shot through her entire pussy like an electrical jolt.

"I don't mean to, Torah, I swear I don't! Please, make me come like only you can. Please!"

"Then you'll do what you're told to do?" he said, blowing again on the head of her clit where it peeked out of hiding.

For just a moment, she paused, terrified that he would tell her she could no longer explore the Councilary Web. But when she felt him pulling away, she gasped out, "I swear, I swear. Just tell me what you want. I'll do what you tell me."

Instantly, his tongue was lapping at her entry, spreading her juices up to her clit, then he was sucking and licking, still holding her tight, denying her escape as he tormented her with multiple orgasms even as he had tormented her with none a moment before.

Jessa was screaming incoherently. She couldn't form the words to beg him to stop and wasn't sure she wanted to, even as she felt she might go mad from the overwhelming sensation. Then, just when the experience was bordering on unbearable, he was suddenly on top of her, buried deep inside of her, stretching her but with miniscule thrusts, pulling out only a fraction of an inch before plunging back in again. At first, she was thankful for the relief from the intensity of sensation, but then, as the pressure in her belly began building and building without sufficient stimulation for release, she realized he was again torturing her by denial of what she most needed. His head was buried in the crook of her neck and shoulder, his breath hot, but slow and steady, as if he was unaffected by the slow, delicious suffering he was inflicting on her.

"Torah, I beg you! Faster, please!" she whined, her voice cracking from the previous screams.

"You'll do everything you're told?" He whispered the question in her ear.

"Everything. I swear." She tried to writhe under him and create her own friction, but he was too heavy, his weight distributed too carefully. When she tried to brace with her hands to lift her hips against him, he grabbed both her wrists and pinned them next to her shoulders, immobilizing her even further. He lifted his head and gazed down at her in an almost cold way, his eyes sparking with reflected light, but then he was plunging harder and faster and deeper into her, finally allowing the release of the unbearable pressure in her belly.

Jessa was gasping, his hard weight almost crushing her, yet in a most satisfying way. She had lost her voice as if it had been drowned out by the roaring in her ears when yet another orgasm thundered through her. Torah was pounding into her now, rocking her and the bed with a need that went far beyond orgasmic. She took it as his need to control her, to own her; and at that moment in time, at least, she wanted to give in to his need, answer his desire as he had hers. But even still, a small part of her dreaded to learn what she had just agreed to in her weakness for the one thing she needed and wanted – had to have – from this man who confused and frightened her so.

When he finally came, unleashing his seed in the deepest part of her, he rolled away almost immediately, and she thought he was intending to leave, but then his hand was there, tracing each all-to-obvious rib, and she realized that he had been concerned with physically hurting her with his weight. She wanted to argue that she had not become frail just from losing a few pounds, but bit her tongue instead, wanting to savor the quiet moment with him. In fact, when she looked up to his face, he was already scowling again. "Sleep," he ordered. She obligingly rolled to her side, then pushed back against him, pleased when he didn't pull away or question her motives. He wrapped an arm about her and pulled her closer, and she was asleep before her breathing had even returned to normal.

****

When Jessa awoke late in the morning, Torah was gone from the bed, but she could hear his voice in the outer room. She hauled herself out of the bed and into the bathroom, stumbling into the shower. She hadn't realized how truly tired she was until now, when she finally had some small amount of sleep. She knew she needed more, but she was being drawn to the need to discover, both the challenges presented by Torah, and the information still to be discovered on her computer. Assuming Torah was going to let her continue with her research. She brushed her hair carefully and donned an appropriate gown. When she opened the bedroom door, she paused warily, not sure what sort of greeting awaited her.

Torah was in the kitchen discussing something with Shay. He looked up at Jessa without expression, and nodded at Shay, who went to fetch a dish from the oven. "Come and sit down for breakfast," he said rounding the kitchen counter and heading for the dining table. "At the table," he added emphatically. As she sat, Shay set a dish in front of her with food she had been keeping warm.

"Be careful, the plate is hot," she warned, then left the apartment. Once again, Torah was watching Jessa closely as she ate. When he was satisfied that she was giving due attention to the food, he pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket.

"This is your schedule," he said, carefully unfolding the paper.

"My schedule?" Jessa started to protest, then swallowed her words under his glare.

"You will get up at 6:00. You will run or exercise, being back in the apartment by 7:30. You will shower and be at breakfast, at this table and only at this table, by 8:00. From 9:00 to 12:00 you may only be on the computer for program or coursework."

"I wasn't able to suspend my programs before everything happened in Dusseldorf. I would have to start over."

"Then start over," he said impatiently.

"But the money!" she protested.

He simply glared at her till she dropped her eyes and went back to concentrating on her food. "At 12:00, you will be at this table and only at this table, for lunch. From 1:00 until 5:00 you will engage in social activities."