Chapter 7:A Beauty That's Thin, White, and Rich

[Alexei Nacharade]

"Well, Hilja!" He says, "I'm not sure if you heard, but I'm Alexei."

He gives her a wink,"And, if the teleportation booth doesn't start working I could get us a boat. Ever ridden on one of those?"

[Maeve Cullen]

Maeve catches what the woman, Hilja, whispers to her brother. She thinks of blurting something out to stop him, since she wanted to remember that the woman was a rebel... but decided against it. She didn't want to run the risk of Alexei being involved with someone who'd injure a rebel. If Hilja and her brother were going to her shop, there's a chance they'd find out anyway.

"My name's Maeve, pleasure to meet all of you." She hears Alexei's boat comment and inwardly groans. So he was planning to join? Oh well, maybe she could somehow get Hilja's number. She kind of really wanted to see Alexei's tattoo, anyway.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"A boat ride would be very nice. I have never been in one." I reply to hiim. I take a deep breath and relax. "You must forgive me. I don't get out much. I work a lot and really don't interact so well with people. So, I appreciate your forgiveness if I am a little odd." I say with a sigh.

"Nice to meet you Alexei and you too Maeve. I really like your nose ring. Now...then...let me guess. You Alexei must be from Russia. It's a Russian name anyway. And you Maeve...from Ireland. Well, I'm from Finland. My brother and I were actually on our way to Dublin when we got sent here instead. Where in Ireland and Russia are you two from?" I ask, assuming that I am correct.

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei chuckles and nods.

"Clever. I'm from Moscow. I'm here on business."

He looks thoughtful, glancing at his phone.

"We can make our way to the beach. We'd be in Cuba within the hour."

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"I see, so you're a businessman. Well, one of my jobs is working for Crest Mining. Maybe you know Calithin Crest. He's the only businessperson I've ever talked to." I say happily. Alexei must work for Allmart then. I guess I really did make a fool of myself then. However, I am confident that I am harmless enough that it hardly matters.

"That sounds fine by me." I say as we follow him to the beach for the boat. I hope I don't get sea sick, but if it is only an hour, I doubt I would.

[Maeve Cullen]

Maeve smiles, beginning to relax again, though she was still weary of Alexei. "Don't worry about it, I think it's cute!" She isn't sure if Hilja's even picking up on her hints, but she seemed more shy when she said she was beautiful. Maybe she should cool the hints down until she knew what Alexei did for a living...

She beams with pride when Hilja compliments her nose ring. "Aren't you a smart cookie? And thank you! I was actually born in America, but I visit Dublin frequently." She wonders if they were heading to Genetech, since it was the reason she went to Ireland so much. "I've never been to Finland."

Nodding in agreement to Alexei's statement, she begins to lead the way to the beach. "You must do some fancy business, Alexei, having your own boat." She becomes sure of her assumption when Hilja says the same thing.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

I beam at the smart cookie thing. I giggle a little even. "Finland is nice, there are still many forests and animals. I like it anyway. I went to Helsinki University for political science. Now I am just working off some terrible student debts." I say of myself. I am proud of having gone to school, even though I pay dearly for it.

"My brother was going to Dublin to visit the labs of Genetech. He is a master psychologist and was going to do an evaluation on a certain patient there." I say. I feel very talky. I feel happy to make new friends. I really do like people.

I can't wait to get a tattoo though. What a wonderful day!

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei glances at Maeve.

"Just an employee." He says,"Moving a product to and around Cuba requires boat travel."

He takes out a cell phone and calls for a boat pick up. He turns slightly and mutters as quietly as he possibly can.

"No armed men. I have some guests and I don't want to scare them."

He makes his way to the beack with them as the boat arrives. He laughs and waves to the driver as he jumps in, then reaches over to help Hilja.

[Maeve Cullen]

Maeve tries to catch what Alexei whispers, but only makes out something about having guests. There were a lot of noise around them with the people on the beach, which threw off her enhanced hearing a bit. "Few people get proper schooling nowadays, it's sad." She tries to think of which patient her brother would possibly be going to see.

She had never had proper schooling herself, living on the streets for many years. However, she still thought it was important. Once they reach the boat, she frowns, wishing she had gotten on the boat first to help Hilja up. It was Alexei's boat though. She climbs in after Hilja without any help.

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"Oh thanks." I say to Alexei when he helps me into the boat. These strangers sure are nice to me. It does make me feel a little shy and even a bit torn, since I would hate to make one of them feel left out from conversation or my attention. I notice Maeve get in without help. "Oh sorry, I could've helped you. But I see you managed. Yes, I am very fortunate to have schooling. But, I paid an arm and a leg. It is hard to pay that sort of debt off." I admit. I don't feel ashamed about this since it isn't a crime, it is just how it is.

"You two sure are nice. But I take it you don't know each other?" I observe. I only say this because neither seems to volunteer information about the other. "How did you two meet then? Or what brings you two together?"

[Dr. Lonnrot Kukkanen]

(I guess the whole memory erase thing is off?)
'
I continue to lay low for a bit before asking a question that I probably shouldn't have asked. "Do you know who I am?"

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei pats the driver on the back, signaling for him to go. The motor roars and they speed off across the water towards Cuba. Alexei looks over at Lonnrot quizzically, raising a brow.

"I...don't think I caught your name, my friend."

He glances at his cell phone briefly, making sure he has no missed calls from Kaschei.

[Maeve Cullen]

"Nah, I'm a big girl." Maeve replies to Hilja's apology, flexing her arm playfully. "It is, but those creditors are just ridiculous. I almost broke one once, though!" She grins, bragging a bit. Of course, she ended up having to pay for the repairs...

"Oh, we met right before you two showed up. I was spreading the word about my shop." She realizes it probably did seem like they knew each other already since they weren't conversing much. "Hey Alexei, you should show me whatever tattoo you have when we get to my shop. I'm very curious."

She glances at Lonnrot, simply shaking her head in reply.

[Dr. Lonnrot Kukkanen]

"My name is Dr. Lonnrot Kukkanen. I am the head psycologist for the Manalists and one of my, amazing beyond reason, abilities is to look into one's mind. I know more about you than even you do at the current moment. Fortunately for you, I do not support the Manalists even though I follow what they tell me to. Whatever you say is confidential amongst my sister and I," I say, with pride going through every word.

"Now, what are your plans for tonight? It doesn't matter whether you tell me or not, I'll find out anyway, it justs makes you seem more human when you speak."

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

"That's amazing. Those creditors frighten me. One came after me and a friend just last week. It punched my friend twice before we escaped!" I say.

"I wish I was strong. That is really admirable." I say to Maeve. I turn to Alexei and am mildy curious about his tattoos. Most business people don't have them. I wonder what he would have. I hope it isn't something obnoxious like a dollar.

I bet it is something cool or mean, like a snake or skull, or a skeletal snake...or a sword.

"Oh, let's play a guessing game and guess the tattoos that Alexei has. Hmm...a heart...that says mom on it. He seems like a guy who cares about his mother."


After my brother's speech, I slap him in the arm. "Oh, well, you shouldn't brag like that! It makes other people feel bad."