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Second Chances	By : walkerofdarkness Category: +G to L > IS: Infinite Stratos Views: 4423 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Infinite Stratos or the characters from it. I do not make any profit from this story. I do own my OCs though.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
Chapter 8
I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly
I'll do what it takes til I touch the sky
song lyrics, Kelly Clarkson
Standing the practice arena, Ichika Orimura fought to keep a frown off his face. The rough texture of the dirt field was uncomfortable on his bare feet. If he opened his eyes, the male pilot was sure he would have seen the gaze of everyone in the arena staring at him. Come on, come on!
“Anytime today, Ichika,” came Chifuyu's voice, with a mocking tone.
Shaking his right arm with the sealed form of Byakushiki on it, Ichika concentrated harder. His left hand came across to slap at the bracer in a futile gesture. “Sorry, Ms. Orimura. I'm just having trouble getting it out.”
“There's a statement I'm not used to hearing from a male,” Chifuyu muttered sotto voce to her coworker. Maya caught the comment and smothered a giggle with her hand. Raising her voice, the former Brunhilde kept her tone even. “Don't make me come over there, Ichika.”
Desperation fueled the male pilot's focus as the IS deployed at last. A brief shimmer of light enveloped Ichika, and when it vanished the white armor of Byakushiki shone in the sunlight. Rising to the full height afforded to him by his IS, the younger Orimura turned to face his teachers. “Okay, it's out.”
“And it only took you sixty seconds, amazing.” Lingyin taunted from her own position. The Chinese girl's pink and white IS suit seemed oddly feminine for the aggressive teen. “I was getting bored waiting over here.”
Shifting towards his tormentor, Ichika frowned at the skinny girl. As he opened his mouth to respond, a weight on his shoulder earned his attention. Looking over his shoulder, the male pilot caught sight of Cecilia in her IS. Navy eyes were solemn as the Briton gave a minor shake of her head. “Shall we go?” Cecilia asked politely as she launched herself into the air.
Lips twitching as the IS came alive around him, Ichika left the ground in pursuit. Byakushiki responded with eagerness to its pilot's commands and accelerated smoothly. Cecilia stole a glance over her shoulder before slowing to let her companion catch up. Coming into formation with the Briton, Ichika felt a his heart race for a moment.
Only to have his excitement interrupted. “What are you doing?” Chiuyu's voice was right near his head. “Byakushiki's specs are better than that. You shouldn't have any trouble overtaking Blue Tears, even if she's at full throttle.”
Ichika found his concentration wane at the sudden intrusion. Byakushiki's engines reduced power as the white IS dipped and jerked from the erratic commands it received. Focusing on the job at hand, the male pilot got a shaky control and wobbled onto course. “Sorry, ma'am.”
“Don't be sorry, do better.”
“Yes ma'am,” Ichika replied with a hint of resignation. A window popped up to Ichika's left, showing the joint class watching in a state of excitement. The window changed images and displayed the two teachers: Maya flashed her usual happy grin while Chifuyu's lips were locked into a marginal scowl. “The story of my life it seems,” Ichika muttered under his breath.
“Oh, do relax Ichika dear and just enjoy it,” came the unexpected taunt from Cecilia. The British pilot changed direction into a ballistic climb, forcing a whine from her IS. “Catch me if you can!”
Emboldened, the younger Orimura accelerated after Blue Tears. The distance between the two IS closed smoothly even as Cecilia threw in some maneuvers to gain space. Undaunted, Ichika matched the Briton move for move as he pushed Byakushiki for more speed. One last roll let the male pilot catch Cecilia's left hand, bringing the two pilots eye to eye as Blue Tears came to a hover.
The British teen ran her free hand through hair carefully as she stared at Ichika's face. “Good show Ichika.”
“Thanks,” the male pilot as he scanned the ground below. Brown eyes tracked in on the group and earned a quick shock down his spine. “What the—?”
“Didn't you know?” Cecilia asked rhetorically as she gazed down at the gathering of students. “Since the IS was designed for working in space, it comes with a number of options. Including the ability to auto-enhance the pilot's vision. But don't worry, it's not permanent. Just a little overlay right against your eyes.”
Looking over the group, Ichika squinted at his roommate and her face enlarged to the take up his vision. “It's like I'm practically next to Houki,” the male pilot commented. “But why didn't the IS do it sooner?”
“Probably because every IS core has to adapt to the eccentricities of its user,” the Briton responded in a wry tone. “And you are a bit more eccentric than most.”
“If you two are finished holding up my class...” Chifuyu's voice came in strong and clear to both pilots, causing them to jerk in surprise. “Both of you show me a powerdive.”
“Roger!” Cecilia snapped by reflex. Glancing back at her classmate, the blond teen flashed a grin. “See you on the ground Ichika.”
A breeze tousled the younger Orimura's hair as Blue Tears sped towards the ground. Ichika tracked the descending form as the British pilot flew gracefully. Breaking to a hover scant meters above the ground, the Briton re-orientated herself to a standing position in a motion that caused her blond tresses to hang in the air for a moment, framing the Briton's face. Cecilia glanced over one shoulder and Ichika saw her lips curl into a taunt. “Okay, then,” the male pilot said with a grunt, “my turn.”
Byakushiki's engines roared, giving it's rider a sense of freefall as it climbed for a moment. Rolling towards the ground, Ichika pushed his IS' acceleration to the limits as he tracked the HUD. Adjusting his course to land not far from Cecilia, the male pilot focused on the task of flying. The altimeter scaled down as the ground started to move up towards the descending IS.
Anticipating his landing, Ichika tensed his muscles to roll his feet into position. Before the male pilot could begin his transition, the ground materialized in front of him. Lacking time to make a change, Byakushiki plowed into the dirt at full speed, throwing up a cloud of dirt that obscured the white IS.
“ICHIKA,” Cecilia screamed as she skimmed over to the fallen pilot. Houki and a number of other students ran over from the group as well, earning a scowl from the teachers. Toggling settings on Blue Tears, the Briton searched through the dust screen. “Ichika, are you here?”
“Ow,” the younger Orimura moaned softly as the haze began to dissipate. A moment passed, revealing the white IS in the small crater the impact had created. “That was a surprise.”
“Are you okay Ichika?” Cecilia asked as the male pilot stood up in the crater carefully.
The answer came from behind the blond teen. “Of course he's okay,” Maya Yamada answered as she walked up to the pilots. “The IS has sufficient defenses to protect a pilot from injury. Even from a crash like that.”
“Yeah, but that doesn't mean it's not going to leave me sore,” Ichika added with a wince.
“Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time to stretch it out,” Chifuyu consoled. “After all, you're going to be here filling in the hole you made when class is done.”
The male pilot frowned at his teacher, but said nothing. Swallowing a sigh as he walked to the group, Ichika noted that Lingyin had remained in her same position. The Chinese girl had a bored look that conveyed itself over the distance even without the IS enhancements. “Yes, ma'am,” Ichika said in a defeated tone.
Chifuyu's face was neutral, but she gave her brother a tiny nod. “Okay ladies, and you too Ichika,” the former Brunhilde commanded, earning a chorus of giggles from the class, “I want you all to break into three even groups and go through basic steps with the training suits. Each group will have a personal user in charge. Move it!”
The girls scattered into their training sets without a word. Cecilia's group filled up first, then Ichika's and the remainder going to Lingyin. The Chinese girl summoned her IS in silence, but the scowl on her face radiated with evident ferocity. Lingyin's intense gaze latched onto the male pilot even as he shifted his attention to the classmates surrounding him. “Okay...so let's get started,” Ichika muttered to the girls as they walked to the assigned Uchigane. “I want you to get in, power up and walk a lap with the IS.” The male pilot's tongue poked out as he considered his options. “We'll go...by lowest student number.”
One girl with magenta hair raised her hand. “Ooo, that's me! I'm Kiyoko Aikawa. I like handball and jogging.”
Keeping his face composed, Ichika motioned at the parked IS. “That's nice, but not really important now. Go ahead and get in.”
Kiyoko scaled the IS with unsure motions before settling herself into the legs. The Uchigane shuddered once and then started moving to the purple-haired girl's clumsy motions. Kiyoko got her one lap in under Ichika's watchful eyes and she hopped out. “That was harder than I thought,” Kiyoko muttered to the group as the next girl climbed in.
“Well, this is going better than I believed it would,” Ichika admitted out loud. Even as he spoke the words, a loud squeal interrupted the male pilot's thoughts. Turning in place, Ichika saw his student in a heap. “Try to be more careful. You need to think about your goal as you do it,” the younger Orimura advised as he walked over. Leveraging the fallen IS to it's feet, Ichika nodded at the girl's muttered apology as she resumed her lap. Watching his classmate move with more discernment, Ichika swallowed a sigh. I suppose my advice would count for more if I hadn't plowed into the ground just now, he decided. But flying is different from walking.
“You know, it's strange to see you giving advice on an IS,” a soft voice muttered next to him. Ichika tensed in shock, then looked to his side to see the green ribbon of his roommate. “I mean, you just made a crater with your own IS,” Houki commented.
Glancing down at his roommate, Ichika shrugged once. “The situation isn't entirely lost on me,” he admitted. The second girl finished her lap and jumped out of the IS without a sound. Ichika checked out the group for the next participant. “Okay, who's up next?”
“I am,” came a muted voice from beside Ichika. Twisting, the male pilot saw Houki holding up her hand. The kendoka made no effort to move towards to climb into the IS. “But I can't get in with the IS like that.”
Ichika looked back at the Uchigane standing there, the situation earning a frown from the younger Orimura. “Like what?”
Sighing, the raven-haired teen pointed at the training suit. “Standing up like this. I can't get in to the IS.”
“Ah.” Rubbing his chin in thought, Ichika pondered his options. “Well....”
The crunch of gravel caught the attention of both students. “It's a common enough problem for novices,” Maya Yamada contributed, her voice all-too cheerful. “Just pick her up and carry her into place.”
Both teens shared a glance at the concept being offered. “Come on, do it already! You've already held up my class long enough,” Chifuyu snapped.
The tone in the senior teacher's voice was enough to spur the students to action. Bending over, Ichika scooped up his roommate in a bridal carry. Houki squealed as her feet left the ground, wrapping her arms around herself in an instinctive defense. Pulling her closer, Ichika took a single clomping step in his IS. The motion added a noticeable jiggle to the kendoka's chest, drawing the male pilot's attention. Brown eyes watched in interest as each step repeated the jiggle even as it closed the distance with the Uchigane.
Houki felt her cheeks burn as they moved closer to their destination. Glancing towards the training IS, the raven-haired teen relaxed her arms and tried to enjoy the situation. To think, this is how I get my first time being carried like this. Another step brought them close enough to judge the IS's height. Had Houki been standing, the top of its legs would be even with the upper curve of her breasts.
“I see what you mean now. I didn't think it was that tall,” Ichika admitted as he walked behind the Uchigane. Misjudging his steps, the younger Orimura took a stumbling half step that shifted his passenger around. One of the kendoka's arms came to rest against Ichika's groin, even as sapphire eyes glared daggers towards her roommate. Flashing an apologetic grin at his passenger, Ichika took another step.
“I wish I could carried that way,” a voice commented from behind the two. Houki flushed a second time as several other students agreed with the sentiment. Each cautious step Ichika took caused the kendoka's arm to rub further against his groin. The male found his pants grow tighter with each repetition and his concentration began to wane. Approaching the training suit from the rear, Ichika took every precaution to not dislodge his roommate. With exaggerated movements, Houki was placed upright and into the Uchigane's legs.
Still embarrassed from the experience of being carried, the kendoka ran through the simplified startup and looked back at her roommate. Ichika's face had an odd cast to it, but before Houki could comment on it the IS popped up a window showing Chifuyu Orimura's face. The scowl of the senior teacher was enough to get the student moving without a word. I'll try to make time to talk to Ichika tonight, Houki resolved.
<—*—>
Taking a deep breath, Ichika opened the door that blocked his path. The abrupt tang of chemical cleaners began assaulting the male pilot's nose, bringing him to a stop midway through the frame. Shaking his head to clear the memories that threatened to overwhelm him, Ichika strode in to the infirmary with a distant expression on his face. A voice called out from the back. “Come on in and sit down, I'll be with you in a moment.”
Walking into the infirmary proper, Ichika stopped at the sight before him. A girl was seated on a stool facing the doorway while Dr. Saunders was getting something from one of the cabinets across the room. Ichika focused in on the girl in question, trying to discern details: even seated, the girl seemed to be tall enough, but not as tall as himself. Her uniform had been modified with an abbreviated skirt over burgundy leggings that emphasized her legs.
What caught the male pilot's attention was what the girl was not wearing: her uniform top was missing, exposing a black bra which contained an impressive set of breasts. Even used to seeing his roommate's body, Ichika found a strange feeling concerning this new student. Forcing his eyes up to the oval face framed by cow-licked blue hair, the male pilot locked his gaze on the girl's. Chifuyu-nee didn't mention something like this when she was talking about the academy, did she?
Crimson eyes gained a mischievous glint as the girl looked over her new visitor. “Ara ara ara, I've heard about you,” she crooned. One hand reached up to rest between the bra-enclosed breasts. “But if you wanted to see them, all you had to do was ask.” Ichika watched in surprise as two fingers gripped the fabric, pulling it away from the girl's skin. A third finger slipped in, squeezing in a well practiced motion. Ichika blinked in surprise as the bra fell open, rendering the girl topless.
But as the bra fell loose, a fan snapped open to obstruct the male pilot's view. Ichika's mouth opened in shock as he read the kanji for 'censored' on the fan, earning a wry chuckle from the stranger. Glancing back up at her face, Ichika noted the smirk on her lips and felt his cheeks burn for a moment. Closing his mouth as he organized his thoughts, Ichika felt his protest die as his eyes caught the gaze of the older woman. “Why don't you wait in my office Ichika? I'll be done here in a few minutes.” Dr. Saunders asked, her tone carrying the strength of an order.
Nodding once, the male pilot left the room in silence. Sitting down in one of the chairs, Ichika let out a sigh at his situation. Closing his eyes and reviewing the past incident left the male pilot with a tingle in his stomach. “I wonder what she was doing acting like that,” Ichika murmured to himself.
“Her?” Dr. Saunders' quiet voice so close caused Ichika to jump in his seat. Looking over his shoulder found the older woman standing in the doorway, a pen stuck in her mouth. The doctor gave her new patient a quick visual examination as she sat behind her desk and entered a command into her computer. “That girl was just being a bit of a tease, so don't put too much thought into it. Huh, you're not scheduled to be in for your checkup for two weeks. Is there something wrong Ichika?”
“Well,” Ichika admitted with a frown, “I kind of crashed my IS today and was told to get an exam after I was done cleaning up my mess.”
Cocking one eyebrow inquisitively, the doctor motioned for Ichika to stand. “Go ahead and tell me about it while I check you out.” Dutifully, the male pilot recounted his day's events as the doctor poked and prodded him in her own way. The first poke, coupled with the infirmary's medicinal smell, pushed Ichika unbidden back to his imprisonment and earned a sharp jerk from the teen. Freezing in place, the doctor kept her professional mask in place as Ichika's voice drifted off before resuming.
When the male pilot finished telling his experiences in the training arena, the doctor sat back down behind her desk. “I don't know why they had you come here. The IS safety systems are more than enough to keep you unharmed. At worst, you're going to have a bruise or two to show for it, and those will fade in a couple of days, week tops.” Writing up a note on her desk, Dr. Saunders leaned back in her chair to relax as she stuck the pen in the corner of her mouth. Looking over her patient for a second time, the doctor applied her professional experience to the problem. “So was there something...else Ichika?”
Shifting in his chair, Ichika chewed on his lip in thought. Dr. Saunders fought to keep the smile off her face at the actions of the student in front of her. The male pilot started to say something, changed his mind, then closed his mouth and frowned. “I do have other things to do, Ichika,” said the doctor, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
“Well...there was something I didn't understand today,” Ichika replied. Dr. Saunders waved at her patient to encourage him. “I was helping a classmate and...my pants got tighter for some reason.”
The pen, having been waggling around back and forth the doctor's mouth, dropped away in an instant. It bounced off the desk's edge before landing on the floor. Ichika watched the pen drop away in surprise as he started to get up out of his seat. “Dr. Saunders...?”
Blinking away her distraction, Dr. Saunders motioned her patient back to his seat. Ichika hesitated for a moment before returning to his chair, brown eyes fixed on his companion. Reaching for the panel on her desk, the doctor keyed in a code from memory. The panel beeped once as it found the recipient. “I need to see you in my office immediately,” Dr. Saunders said without preamble before cutting the connection. “Now Ichika, go ahead and tell me exactly what you were doing when this happened.”
Nodding, the male pilot began to recount his situation with care and detail. Before Ichika finished, a knock at the office door interrupted him. The male pilot froze in place, his arms extended from their usage in the story. Dr. Saunders swallowed a grin and called out in a loud voice to her new visitor, “Come in.”
Chifuyu Orimura opened the door to the small office with a visible scowl on her face. The interruption to her schedule was a noticable weight on her day, but that mattered little when the former Brunhilde saw Ichika sitting down in the chair opposite the doctor. “What are you doing here Ichika?”
“He's here because of he crashed his IS,” Dr. Saunders explained, keeping the student from answering. “Now close the door and sit down so I can explain why YOU are here.”
A flicker of emotion crossed Chifuyu's dark eyes before she complied. Giving a matronly nod to the younger woman, the doctor turned her attention back to her patient. “Now Ichika, tell her what you told me before I called her in,” Dr. Saunders prompted.
Looking back at his sister, the younger Orimura blushed at what he had to say. “When I was helping Houki get into the IS, my pants got tighter for some reason.”
All the color drained from Chifuyu's face, giving it an abrupt ashen look beneath her makeup. Dark eyes unfocused for a moment before locking onto the room's male occupant. “When you mean 'got tighter' Ichika, you mean...?”
“I mean they got tighter,” the younger Orimura repeated. “I don't have any other way to describe it. The pants of my IS suit just seemed to get smaller, tighter.”
Shifting back to the doctor in the room, Chifuyu shot a questioning look towards the older woman. “And you think that has a medical reason?”
“I do,” Dr. Saunders acknowledged with a second nod. “It sounds to me like a perfectly normal male reaction to a situation like that. In other words, he had a pretty girl in his arms, and he got an erection.”
Ichika looked between the two women, curiosity radiating on his face. Dr. Saunders' face was a blank mask, but her eyes had a hint of an unfamiliar emotion. Chifuyu's gaze had dropped down to her lap; the teacher's dark hair partially obscured Ichika's gaze, but he could still see the blush coloring her cheeks. “So what does that mean,” asked the male pilot.
Dr. Saunders glanced at her patient before returning to the other woman in the room. “It means, Ichika, that you got a state of sexual arousal from holding your classmate in your arms.”
“Huh?” Ichika asked, his confusion apparent to both women. “What does that mean?”
The doctor's gaze never left the top of Chifuyu's head. “It means,” she intoned solemnly, “that someone didn't do their job.”
Chifuyu jerked at the pronouncement, her head dropping lower. Dr. Saunders watched for any further reaction from the younger woman as she chose her next words carefully. “Can I ask, Chifuyu Orimura, what you were thinking about bringing a male to an environment filled with hormonally-charged teenage girls without having THAT talk with him?”
The teacher's head snapped up at the question; her brother noted the crimson tinge that colored Chifuyu's cheeks and face. “I—I was—embarrassed,” she stammered.
“Embarrassed?” Dr. Saunders mocked without a trace of sarcasm. “Woman, I've treated you for enough STDs to know you get around. It's a small miracle that you haven't caught something serious.”
“Yeah, but that's not quite the same as talking about it with my brother,” Chifuyu snapped back, her face returning to a normal color.
“Can someone please explain to me what you're talking about?” Ichika whined, reminding the two women of his presence.
Chastised, the two adults shared a look for a minute as they discussed options without words. “You are not going to leave me holding this bag, Chifuyu Orimura,” Dr. Saunders stated bluntly as she broke the silence. “It's either your responsibility as a sister or as his teacher. And if you try to bail on it, I'll knock you out, strip you naked and use your body as a teaching aid. For a start. But if you keep the discussion to English, I'll help you out with it.”
Her head dropping in defeat, Chifuyu nodded her acknowledgment of the concession. “Well Ichika, it's like this: when a pair of people have really strong feelings for each other, they engage in something called 'sex',” began the former Brunhilde.
Ichika pursed his lips in thought for a moment as the concept struck a memory. “Is that what you and Ms. Yamada were doing in the weight room last week?”
Chifuyu blinked at the simple delivery of the question before her face turned red again. “Well—that is—“ Chifuyu sputtered in desperation, looking at the other woman for support.
The doctor's eyebrows shot up at the reaction even as she covered up the smile it generated. Dr. Saunders chuckled once into her hand before answering the unspoken request. “This is going to be a long conversation.”
<—*—>
Taking a moment to compose herself, the girl waiting at the door thought about the message she wanted to deliver. I have to be clear, but careful. One last breath brought her shoulders up as her hand knocked on the door twice. The heavy wood thumped under the contact before fading away. Her pulse increased as the door opened after a brief moment.
Which faded as the door revealed a different face. Instead of the expected middle-aged man this one was was younger. Blinking once behind his glasses, the man opened the door a bit more. “What do you want, Charlotte,” he whispered fervently.
Giving herself a mental rebuke, Charlotte Dunois put a hand on the door. “I need to speak to my father, please.”
The young man frowned at the idea but opened the door for her. “Just give him a minute, he's on the phone with a client.”
Sliding past the assistant, Charlotte scanned the study out of habit. The books on their shelves were aligned properly; each space between the shelves contained an object d'art that defined the word 'tasteful'. Eyeing one statuette with longing, Charlotte heard the phone drop into it's cradle with a resounding click. “What do you want now?”
Turning at her father's question, the teen looked at Antoine Dunois for the first time. Once athletically trim, but losing the fight with age, the chief executive of the Dunois corporation still had the youthful face of a man in his late twenties. It wasn't until Charlotte looked into hazel eyes or saw the fading hair shot through with gray that revealed her father's descent into middle age. “I'll say it again,” Antoine asked in a bored tone, “what do you want now?”
Dry-swallowing, Charlotte fought to keep her voice even. “I wanted to tell you that I have finished the instructions you gave me.”
“Oh?” Antoine asked as he stood up. Walking around the desk, the CEO came within arm's reach of the teen. “Let's hear it.”
Closing amethyst eyes, the girl focused on the task at hand. Both men stood close, asking question after question. Charlotte's first answers were stilted, but as the session went on they began to flow with a natural ease.
After an eternity of questions, Antoine Dunois stepped away and leaned against his desk. Reaching back, he picked up a sheet of paper and studied it. The room was silent for a minute as Antoine ignored the two other people present. Finally returning his attention to his daughter, the older man looked up from his reading. “Was there something else?”
“I just wanted to know why I have to do this...” Charlotte began as she took a step closer to her parent.
Pushing off the desk hard enough to move the heavy furniture, Antoine closed the distance in an instant. “Stupid girl,” he snarled as he gave her a vicious backhand. Charlotte fell to the floor, instinct driving her to raise one hand to defend herself even as the other clutched at the pendant on her neck. A flash of anger crossed her face even as she began to crawl away from her father.
“Just how stupid do you have to be?” Antoine screamed at the cowering teen. “All of this, the chateau, your clothes, even the food you eat; all of it is paid for by my company. That's why you have to do this!”
Charlotte whimpered as she backed up against the office's closed door. Her father's assistant stepped between the two family members, arms splayed out as neutral as possible. The teen felt a trickle of blood run along her lip even as she attempted to pushed herself through the door. His anger dissipating enough to regain a measure of control, Antoine saw his assistant standing before him. “Renard, get her out of here.”
Turning to face the teen, Renard helped her to rise to her feet. Holding Charlotte's shoulder's tight with one arm, he reached around and pulled the door open. Amethyst eyes widened as the hope of exit became clear. The only reason Charlotte didn't run from the room was the support Renard gave her. But as he turned to close the door, the teen caught her father's gaze one more time. The promise of reprisal in Antoine Dunois' face caused a shudder through the teen's body.
Moving away from the closed door, Renard shepherded his charge as quick as she could manage. Stopping at a break in the hall, the assistant pulled out a cloth and pointed at the blood on Charlotte's chin. “I'm sorry to see that happen to you, Ms. Dunois.”
The blond girl took the cloth and cleaned her face mutely. A large picture of her father and step-mother served as a makeshift mirror. Glancing down at her split lip, Charlotte applied pressure for a moment before speaking. “It was my fault. I should not have provoked him so.”
“I'm not sure what you did was provoking enough,” Renard countered with a frown. “The company has been hard pressed of late, and it has put stress on your father. If it wasn't for this special parts order that we had come in some months ago, we would be in much worse trouble. But it is not enough to get us what we need.”
Removing the cloth and finding it bloodless, Charlotte folded the fabric and put it into her pocket. “I am a bastard. The only thing that man provided was the genetic material. I'm sure my mere existence provokes him plenty. My talking to him, even doubting him, is too much for him to withstand.”
Nodding in thought, Renard stepped away from his employer's daughter. “Are you going to do like he tells you?”
Closing her eyes, Charlotte considered her options. “I don't have any choice, really. I will.”
- 7
- 8
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Second Chances