The Mind Element Ch 06

Author's note. All characters are over 18, as established in earlier Chapters or in "Master of Elements" to which this is a sequel.

The Mind Element Chapter 6

"Always keep in mind that things change."— Menander, playwright c342-c290 BCE

Neither Chris nor the girls had risen early after their all-night orgy, but in the afternoon Chris had got down to business. He had a plan now and there was a lot to do, including tidying up a number of loose ends. The most important of the latter was finding out exactly what Fay was up to regarding Carter Jackson. He took her to the bar - almost deserted at 3 p.m. - bought them a coffee each and asked for the truth.

"Well, his record is essentially clean," Fay said. "He served in the US Army straight after high school and when he was honourably discharged, he couldn't find work and that's the only reason he signed to work for Ness; he just needed the money. But he's never been involved in anything criminal and he did nothing to hurt Queen Athena or the others, and, of course, he has lots of useful combat skills and ..."

"Fay, stop," said Chris firmly, but not unkindly. "You've said all that before, but that doesn't explain why you want him along. Unless you tell me the truth I'll send him away."

Fay looked reluctant, but she knew Chris meant it. Finally she said, with a sigh, "It's about Queen Freya. You need to know she's unhappy and I've decided to help her."

This triggered an instant response in Chris' head. His mind was full of deeply embedded programming when it came to the Mistresses of Elements. His role as Master included an overwhelming duty to protect and nurture them. The idea that one of his charges was unhappy triggered an immediate need to find out why and do something to help.

"What's the matter with Freya? She should have said something and you should've brought this to me earlier. I'll always do whatever is needed to help."

Fay gave him a sideways glance, "This may be the exception," she said, "you won't like what I'm about to tell you." Chris said nothing, so she continued. "Queen Brigit has you, and most of the others have work that they love and for them the time that they get to spend with you and their elemental sisters is enough for them - they are content. Freya's different. Her personality needs someone - a man - in her life. She loves her job, but it doesn't fulfil her in quite the same way as the others. If you were with her all the time, it might work, but as it is she is lonely and unhappy. But she doesn't want to admit it to herself, let alone you."

Fay's intuition was right, Chris didn't like it. "What are you saying?" he asked. "That I need to allow her to go back to how she was before I met her, with a string of lovers?"

"No," said Fay with a bit more edge. She felt Chris' comment was out of order - It wasn't his right to 'allow' an adult woman things even in their peculiar circumstances. "That isn't what she needs now. That was just youthful experimenting - and why not? She was entitled to if it made her and her lovers happy; I'm trying something of the same sort myself. But she's not the same person now; she has more experience. Basically, she would be happy with you and her elemental sisters, provided she also had a man in her life, someone loyal and dependable who would be there for her all the time."

Chris drew the obvious conclusion. "And you've decided that this Jackson guy fits the bill."

"Yes," said Fay, "I know from her own thoughts the type that would suit Freya best and to whom she would be attracted and I also know that Carter would want someone like her and would make Freya a wonderful lover ..."

At that comment, full blown jealousy kicked in and prompted Chris to say, bitterly "Yeah, I bet! Muscly young stud, with a big dick I bet, just her type. Bet she would just love getting fucked every day by a big, black cock ..."

Fay had to stifle a sob and hid her face from his uncharacteristic and unfair anger. This shocked Chris; he had never seen her cry before. And the shock started his brain working. He suddenly felt guilty about his outburst; Fay didn't deserve that, nor did Freya, nor even Carter Jackson. He was better than this, or at least he hoped he was.

Further, the Master of Elements part of him began to argue with that jealous male instinct, reminding him that it was his duty to help Freya if he could. After all he was being a bit hypocritical here - he had the devotion of five beautiful women, whereas they had to share him. If you looked at it that way he was getting twenty-five times as much female attention as they were male. It was hardly surprising if Freya felt neglected.

Still, the idea of sharing Freya with another man was not one he relished. Perhaps if this had to happen it would be best to give her up altogether, let her go her own way in the world? But once more the Master of Elements programming argued back, this time the other way. He could never give up Freya; she, as Mistress of Air, was eternally linked to him and he to her. Chris groaned inwardly; this was emotionally complex. He was going to need a lot of time to sort out his feelings. So he did the most pressing thing - which was to make the apology he owed.

"I'm really sorry Fay. I shouldn't have said that and you are absolutely right to raise this. I apologise." Fay gave him a look as if to say she knew he meant it. "Have you said anything to Freya about this - or to Carter Jackson?" he asked.

"No. I wouldn't do anything without your permission. I understand it affects you deeply." Fay looked at him; she was aware of his mental turmoil and how difficult he was finding this conversation.

"One final thing - were I to agree how do you propose getting this pair together?" Chris asked.

"Oh that part's easy," she said brightly. "Queen Freya obeys you, so you just need to order her to take Carter as a lover and you can use your powers to mind-control him and tell him the same. Then they will be happy and the problem is solved!"

"Oh, Fay, no and no. Even if you can read my mind you still haven't understood me. For one thing, you don't comprehend the bond between me and the Mistresses. Even if you are correct and Freya desired this, she will still resist. It will need very careful handling to determine her true wishes. And as for Carter Jackson, I would never do that. If he is to enter into a relationship with Freya it would have to be of his own free will, which in turn means explaining everything to him. No small matter."

"Oh, I'm sorry my Emperor. You're right, I didn't understand," said Fay quietly.

"Human relationships are complicated, Fay. You still have a lot to learn." Chris said solemnly. "Ok, let me think about this for a while. Jackson can stay with us in Manilla, but don't read too much into that. I haven't decided anything yet."

Fay smiled at him. "Thank you. I know how difficult this is for you and, I now see, them."

*****

Fay almost immediately received a lesson in the complexities of human relationships. Moments after Chris left the bar, her boyfriend entered. She looked up and smiled.

It was not a coincidence Marco Ricci was here. He had been waiting for a chance to say something important and was doing his best to feel positive about his decision to do so, given Fay could read his thoughts. Seeing Chris leave the bar, he steeled himself and entered, knowing his girlfriend would be alone and feeling that unless he did it now, he would get cold feet again. He found Fay looking thoughtful but seemingly happy enough. The omens were good for the declaration he had wound himself up to make.

"Fay, I'm sorry I reacted badly when you asked about having a threesome with another guy. I'll admit I don't much like the idea, but if it's important to you and if want to try it, then I agree. After all, I did enjoy what we shared with Maria. I want to make you happy and that's more important to me than anything." He stood, looking uncomfortable and a little shame-faced.

Fay examined her handsome, clever, brave boyfriend for a moment and said, "Liar. I can see from your face, without even reading your thoughts, that you are still hugely uncomfortable with the idea. We'll wait and see if you come round to it naturally before we try anything. And the good news for you is I don't know anyone who I would want to do it with anyway - I'm being adventurously experimental not randomly promiscuous. Carter Jackson is cute I suppose, but I have other plans for him."

Marco breathed a sigh of relief. Fay wasn't going to force him into anything he was uncomfortable with and seemingly was in no rush. Oddly, that thought made him feel slightly more positive about the idea. Maybe he would think about it some more - although with one proviso, which he now voiced.

"If ... if we ever did do anything like that, then you do realise it would be me with you and you with the other guy ... I mean I wouldn't, you know, do anything with him like you did with Maria ..." Marco's voice trailed away.

"Ah yes, that Italian macho culture I've read about," Fay teased him. "Don't worry, I can see in your mind that your lack of attraction to men is real for you, odd as it seems to me. I won't be expecting anything like that."

Marco gave a second sigh of relief, even more heartfelt than the first. "Yes, sorry, but I don't fancy other men. They're just the wrong shape!"

It had been said lightly, but Fay's face darkened. "I see. So your attraction to me is because I happen to be 'the right shape', I suppose. I hope you remember this isn't my true body, just a borrowed one, created for me by Queen Kitaka. Maybe if you saw what I really look like I would be 'the wrong shape' too!"

Marco had never seen Fay annoyed before. He suddenly knew with certainty, this was their first argument and that whatever he said now would be wrong, at least until she calmed down.

"I ... I didn't mean that," he said hastily. "You know I love you for who you are, not what you look like."

"So you say ... but suppose Kitaka had made me a male body, would you love me then?"

Marco knew that he would never have been interested in the same way when they met, and he was certain she knew it too. "Oh, god, look, I'm sorry ..."

"Could you leave please; I've got things I need to do," Fay said coldly.

Marco hastened to follow her suggestion. That had been a disaster and he could only wait for her anger to pass. Flowers and chocolates were traditional, although he realised he had no idea whether she liked those things. He could always invite her to a good restaurant - Fay liked food. It seemed that dating the alien Fay was not so different to having a human girlfriend as he had thought. He vowed to be more careful in future.

As for Fay, she felt like crying, but refused to give her absent boyfriend the satisfaction. Humans could be so stupid sometimes! Especially the males! Then it dawned on her that maybe Chris' caution over Freya and Carter was fully justified. Perhaps she did have a lot to learn.

*****

Talia Hendry had succeeded in causing Randall Ness some mild embarrassment and inconvenience, but had also prompted him to tidy up some unfinished business. When she had launched her sensational claims of his seduction of her - him the powerful, much older, company boss, she the humble secretary - and the fact that he had at least two other mistresses she knew of, it had provoked a brief media feeding frenzy.

His trump card in seeing this off had been his wife and children. Mrs Sarah Ness had emerged from her usual anonymity to declare, with tears in her eyes, what a wonderful husband and father Randall was, how much she loved him, and he her, and how she was certain he had never cheated on her. His daughter and two sons just stood at the back looking solemn. This display of family solidarity went down well with the public; the classic loyal wife 'standing by her man'.

It was, of course, a huge lie. It is doubtful that Sarah would have married Randall but for his wealth, and at best their marriage had been an exercise in mutual toleration. He had also largely ignored his children, while still managing to be disappointed they weren't more like him. This had all changed when he got back and used his mind-control device to make some tweaks.

Sarah was now devoted to him and that had even, somewhat to Randall's own surprise, revived their sex life. This new submissive and loyal wife was much more to his taste. Meanwhile his kids now called him 'sir' and were attentive to their studies whether he took any notice of them or not. It was, in Randall's opinion, much more what family life ought to be.

His Californian mistress, the one who worked at his HQ, he also mind controlled, but told her to just get on with her day job for the moment until this fuss blew over. With his controlled wife and harem at the ranch he was not short of sex partners for the moment and it would be less conspicuous in light of Talia's claims if they didn't interact at present. His other mistress in Europe was beyond his reach at present, so he just sent her a large sum of money and told her to take a long holiday in some remote place. She was content enough to disappear, remaining unaware of the fate she had been spared.

Ness noted with interest that in Talia's charge sheet against him she made no mention of the much more serious issues of mind controlling her or of kidnapping people. He concluded that she must have some agreement with Christopher Ward, as he wouldn't want any of that raised either. This supposition was more or less confirmed when he started legal action to silence her. His expensive lawyers should have made mincemeat of her in court, but she suddenly seemed to be able to afford her own star legal team. Clearly Ward was bankrolling her, but the effect was still satisfactory enough for Ness. Claim and counter-claim disappeared into a legal morass in the courts and dropped off the front pages.

*****

Chris met with Freya alone and the discussion went as he had anticipated. He took her to a different bar outside the hotel, plied her with a couple of drinks and then found a secluded nook for a private conversation. It had proved difficult.

Chris had told her what Fay had seen in her mind, namely her need for male company other than himself. For a moment she had misunderstood him, thinking he meant to split from her and send her away and there had nearly been a complete break-down, but Chris had realised and quickly reassured her that he would never give her up and their bond was permanent and unbreakable. What he was proposing was to share her - but only with the right man.

What followed was something of an emotional struggle for them both. In her heart Freya knew Chris and Fay were right, she was lonely and needed someone in her life who was exclusively hers, but her attachment to Chris as Master of Elements was strong and supposed to be exclusive and she argued strongly that it was enough for her and she needed nothing else.

Finally Chris said, "Look Freya, I'm not ordering you to do anything; in fact I'm not even asking you to. I want everything to be your choice. All I'm saying is that as Master of Elements I have a duty to look after your happiness, and in light of that I'm giving you permission to do what feels right. Why not give it a try? Fay seems convinced this Carter Jackson guy is right for you, so why not go on one date with him. If it doesn't work out, that's the end of it. If you have a nice time, see him again. What have you got to lose?"

"Your love?" Freya asked, showing far more emotion than was normal for her. That was indeed her real fear.

Chris took her hands in his, "That won't happen, I promise. We are bound to each other in ways only we and your sisters could understand and that will never change." Then he kissed and embraced her with love and deep affection.

*****

Carter Jackson would have been the first to admit to being confused about just about everything recently. Nothing that had happened since he had taken the contract to guard what had turned out to be Randall Ness' island had made much sense and if anything it was getting worse. He had now been summoned to a one to one talk with Mr Ward and he hoped that this would clarify things. His mom had always told him things work out for the best in the end.

Carter Jackson's mother had been the great influence on his life so far. His dad had left home when he was about three and he had no real memory of him. Life as a single parent had been tough for his mom, but she had worked hard to raise her son with what she saw as the right, Christian, values. The religion part hadn't really stuck - if you asked Carter, he would have said he was a Christian, but he never actually attended any church - but a lot of the values had. Respect for your parents, obedience to lawful authority, love of country, diligence at your work, rejection of drink, drugs and what his mother called 'loose living'.

He had been an average student academically at school, which was pretty good in the circumstances, and good at sports; he enjoyed staying fit and being active. When he had reached 18, university was not an option. He needed to get a proper job and contribute to the family - he had, in fact, had a series of part-time and summer jobs even while still at school. And yet he found getting good, well-paid permanent work difficult. There were invisible barriers of assumptions about a young black man, however clean cut and respectable he actually was.

It was this that had prompted him to join the army, and it was a decision he never regretted. By any standards, he made a good soldier. Fit, athletic, happy to follow orders, eager to learn new skills, never in any trouble, he enjoyed his service enormously. The only mark against him from the army's point of view was that he never displayed any aptitude for leadership. But after six years he felt he should try his hand at civilian life again.

It did not go well; it seemed that serving your country didn't necessarily open doors, and that was the reason that he had taken the contract to work for Randall Ness - although the advertisement and recruitment process had not made any mention of his ultimate employer. It had seemed a reasonable enough move; the pay was excellent, and the work just appeared to be routine security and guarding work for a private company, albeit overseas in the Philippines. There was certainly no indication of anything criminal.

Once on the island, Carter began to have doubts. Many of his fellow guards were the type of people his mother had warned him against associating with and there was clearly something odd and unsavoury about the whole set up, although he never actually saw what it was. His duties revolved around the external security of the island, not the mysterious inner chambers where it was rumoured people were being held captive, but he did wonder exactly why so much military grade weaponry was deemed necessary to protect a 'private research facility'.

He had just about decided to resign his contract and leave, even though it meant giving up a salary well beyond his normal earning potential, when Randall Ness had mind controlled him along with the rest of the guards. Everything after that was a bit of a blur until he had been freed again by Christopher Ward and had learnt at least something of what had really been happening on the island. Carter was not a man to want revenge, but it was fair to say he was not exactly pleased with Ness and would very much like to do something to put things right.

For this reason he was more than happy when Ward, who reminded him of the better sort of officer he had known in the army and seemed the type of man he could follow, asked him to accompany them to Manilla. Why he did so was a mystery to Jackson, although he thought it had something to do with the strange purple-haired girl that was part of Christopher Ward's party. No one seemed in any hurry to explain anything to him, and he had simply gone with the flow and let himself be lodged in the type of luxurious hotel he had never even entered before, let alone stayed in. He was used to not having things explained from his army days.