Belle Morte Bites (Belle Morte 4.3)

A Brighter Future: Part Two

Nikki Flynn didn't get nervous often, but as she stood outside the door of Ysanne's office, there was a tight knot in her stomach. What would be discussed here today could shape the entire course of her future.

Jason squeezed her hand. "You've got this," he said.

Nikki took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, shaking her curls off her face.

Jason knocked on Ysanne's door.

"Entrez," Ysanne said, her voice as crisp and cool as ever.

Jason opened the door, and he and Nikki stepped inside.

Ysanne sat behind her black desk, as pale and perfect as ever, her diamond pendant glittering at her throat, her hair a sleek sheet down her back. She indicated the seats in front of the desk with a manicured hand.

Nikki and Jason sat.

"I understand that you have something important you wish to discuss with me," Ysanne said.

"Yeah," Nikki said.

"I'm listening."

"It's about the kids' school," Nikki said.

It felt weird to call them 'kids' – the first time she'd met them, she'd been younger than most of them. But she had grown up. They hadn't. She wasn't sure how else to refer to them.

"I know that it won't be run exactly like Belle Morte, but you'll still need some form of security, right?" Nikki continued.

"Correct."

Nikki took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "I'd like to work security at the new house."

Silence fell.

Ysanne stared at Nikki, her face a marble mask, but Nikki firmly held her gaze.

"I see," Ysanne said at last.

Another long pause.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea," Ysanne said.

"Why not?" Nikki challenged.

"You're only seventeen, Nikita."

"In a few months I'll be eighteen, and according to what Jason's told me, the projected finished date for the new house is after my eighteenth birthday."

Ysanne shot Jason a penetrating look.

He beamed back at her.

"You have no experience," Ysanne pointed out, looking back at Nikki.

"I've been training for this for years. I'm fit, I'm fast, I've been taking martial arts classes, and I would be extremely dedicated to the job."

"She also might move in with Gid and me when our cottage is done," Jason added, even though Nikki hadn't agreed to this. She didn't say anything, though.

"You wanted Jason and Gideon to run the house because they're young enough that the kids will feel comfortable with them, while also being old enough to be figures of authority, so the kids don't always have to be reminded that they are kids forever, and I think you need that same balance with security."

Ysanne didn't look convinced, but Nikki wasn't backing down.

"The point of this house is to give the kids their own space, so they can feel more like they're growing up, even though they never will. Having security closer to their own age will make it seem more like they're sharing the house with a bigger group of friends, rather than being watched over by forty-somethings twenty-four-seven."