Ex Vivo (#2 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 15

"Who is the brain behind Ex Vivo? I am interested," Akoma said quickly. Poku folded his arms across his chest and cocked his head. Akoma wondered why this gentleman did not seem to find any facial expression more appropriate than smirks, smiles and grins. Despite the fact that it made him appear more charming and friendly, it was a trait she also found insufferably annoying. Akoma took a step closer and clenched her fingers into a fist. Poku glanced at it and smirked. "You have to tell me, or else you will taste my fist."

Poku blinked. "If you heard me quite clearly, I gave you the invitation to discuss it, not inform you just like that. If you don't mind, I could take you somewhere so we could sit and have something to drink, then we will talk. What do you think?" He winked.

Akoma opened her mouth to speak but hesitated and shook her head. "Unbelievable," she gasped. "If this is your plan to get me to yield to your advances or something, take it from me – it won't work! If you cannot tell me what I want to know, clear off. I have to go back to my mast – ". She paused and frowned. She felt how repulsive admitting Ender's control over her was to her, and the fact that the feeling had never occurred to her for the past five months shocked her. Her heart started to beat as she started to guess what these signs could possibly mean to her freedom. Poku cleared his throat to startle Akoma from her thoughts.

"Look," he said and stepped closer, so that both of them were only half a yard apart. "I am more interested in finding the root of this whole brouhaha over perfect relationships and Boos ad Baes than you do. It's no more a campus canker. It's spreading all over the nation. I hear someone's getting married to his Bae. I've already received an invitation. I'd like you to be present at the wedding with me this weekend, if you don't mind. There's a lot to talk about. It'll be useful."

Akoma sighed impatiently. "You only succeed in trying my patience than winning my heart, Poku. Whatever you're playing at is not going to work. The earlier to tell me about the person behind the dating system, the better."

"You seem to love spitting empty threats, dear. Where do you get that from?" Poku took one more step closer. "If you can do half what you say, I promise to tell you anything you want to hear. Mark my words."

Akoma surveyed him for a moment and agreed to stand down upon recalling the fierce fight the gentleman had had with the freak from the party. There was no chance of defeating this one in a fist fight. She questioned her unreasonable desire to find the creator of Ex Vivo and realized it was not self-motivated but under orders. The whole idea of chasing heartbreakers to kill them or investigating the possible rival to Ex Gratia was something she was pursuing mindlessly. For a moment she wondered whether she had been acting on Ender's orders because of the spell or because she was just too scared to die. Perhaps Poku was right; Akoma assumed the gentleman had intuitively figured that the empty threats must have been borrowed from Ender. Speaking of Ender, Akoma wondered how she was going to lie to her when questioned about going off the grid briefly after Ender had attempted to kill her. If she had no use for Akoma, why did she consider calling her at all? Akoma shrugged it off and silently agreed to spend some little time with this overconfident fellow, merely because it was a better choice than returning to Ender.

"Fine," she finally said. "Take me out." She just hoped this guy would not harm her or probably hand her over to someone for sex trafficking or rituals, or worst of all – she prayed she was not hanging out with an assassin.

Poku grinned and wagged a finger at her. "Not dressed like this. T-shirt over pyjama trousers? Ha!"

"You put them on me, remember?" Akoma asked and absent-mindedly slipped her hand under the shirt to scratch her belly, but something occurred to her and she ogled at Poku. "Did you keep your eyes open when you were dressing me up?"