DC

The display blinked the Pincerna logo and then vanished. Jacek tucked the device away into his pocket, and his posture was already settling into something more…relaxed. Assured and relieved. Finally, proof that he was still a desirable asset.

“I am now at your command, madam. I can have my things moved into…whatever my living arrangements are to be. By the end of the day.” His eyes flickered into their natural cat-like shape as he dropped his glamour with relief.

“You can have one of the spare bedrooms. This whole thing is one level so there’s no hidden servant’s quarters or whatever dire setup you might have had before. Again, if you need something specific that I don’t have,” DC reached up and tapped the card he’d tucked away in his shirt pocket through the fabric, “use it. That’s a command. I don’t want to be bothered about it unless you need something specifically alien-to-Earth and difficult to get. Then it might be fun.”

She looked rather pleased with herself, regarding his change in posture with the air of someone who’s found a new challenge. Unsettling, perhaps, but there was no going back, not now.

Jacek pulled a flat device out of his pocket. It was a little worse for wear, thin metal casing dinged and a cracked screen. But it came to life with a few flicks of his fingers. A bright blue glow filled the room as the device projected a large block of text into the air in front of them.

“When you have reviewed all terms, you may sign with your choice of blood sample, retinal scan, or…well. I don’t think you use technological brain enhancements.”

“Not particularly, no.” DC’s fingers trawled across lines in the air, looking more for juicy information than loopholes or gotchas. Her gaze occasionally strayed to the shabby projection device to take in its damage, but otherwise she went row by row until she reached the bottom.

“Looks good to me. I’ll still probably ask you loads of questions covered by it. The general I’m too important to remember these kinds of details inanity, I’m sure you’re used to it.” She straightened, grinning in a manner meant to be flirting with obnoxiousness. She tapped the option for the eye scan, announcing, “I don’t bleed for anyone,” as she did so.

“I would not expect you to trouble yourself with my dietary needs.” Jacek took the card and neatly slid it into his breast pocket. “I will keep meticulous financial records.”

After a moment he stood, posture as perfect as if he’d been carved into the room like a statue. “Does this mean you are ready to sign a contract?”

“I don’t see why not.” DC stood as well with a languid stretch, exhibiting a far different kind of poise than her soon-to-be Pincerna model. “This something you write out I can review? Some kind of oral contract?”

“Oh, of course. With extreme discretion.” Whatever she wanted to get up to, regardless of its legal or moral implications—was none of his business. He’d certainly seen things that would permanently damage most humans.

“A standard human diet seems to be compatible with my needs. Though I seem to consume more meat.” The idea of dust bathing made him wither internally. “The dominant beings in…the empire…were largely carnivorous.”

“No,” he replied immediately, expression impassive. “That would be a breach of employer privacy. The only technological components I possess are a chip in my brain and various nano sensors that log biological data. In the case of…recall or repossession…the data can be used by Pincerna to improve on subsequent models. I cannot transmit this or any data myself.”

A smile—or maybe a smirk— tugged faintly at the corner of his mouth. “Pincerna models are too expensive to risk alienating contractees with confidentiality headaches.”

“Perfect.” DC had the feeling she’d be saying that about him a lot, and wasn’t upset about it. “Now, about the non-procurement of sentient peoples for reasons, that’s fine, but if I needed an accident cleaned up immaculately, that’s in your repertoire?”

“Yes, I have a license. After our conversations I acquired one.” It had gone surprisingly well—earth vehicles were dismally simply machines. Operating them took minimal effort. It was the waiting at their Department of Motor Vehicles that had been tiresome.

DC’s next question made him perk up visibly. Finally! Someone taking him seriously. “I was made with the expectation that I would need to manage staff, but it isn’t a requirement. I can keep a household clean and orderly. But service to you would be /improved/ with an organized staff.” It was still a little odd to need to explain such concepts, but he’d learned almost immediately that the wealthy on Earth had largely done away with the tradition of live-in servants, or even set teams of them. Everything piecemeal, transactional, none of the moving parts speaking to each other. Small wonder this backwater planet had yet to even form meaningful space travel.

DC filed that information away for later. It wasn’t something she could rectify in the moment, but it was important to know. She could have some fun with that in the future, for sure.

“Anyone under your protection, responsibility, or authority, are considered equally protected assets by myself and Pincerna’s terms.”

Even if he could have guessed her private thoughts, Jacek did not care how his carriage or demeanor was seen. It was his /function/ to adhere to certain…standards. There was more than his own reputation at stake.

Or at least, there had been. It was easier to assume that there still was (somehow).

DC did not question his adherence to Pincerna’s terms. Whatever it meant to him, he could have it. Possibly he couldn’t even go against it. It would make sense enough for who he was and how he was created if his loyalty to his programming, literal or biological, extended past the life of the actual governing body.

Jacek followed her, his footsteps falling even across the marble entryway in near silence. His eyes flicked between doorways, fixtures, passing hallways. No sign of other staff or their passing. Clean and nearly unlived in.

In the living room he paused next to the chair gestured to him, confusion flickering across his face. Being asked to sit was outside his expectations. But he complied, somewhat stiffly, resting his lightly curled hands on his knees.

“Indeed.” He replied simply, reaching up to delicately adjust his glasses. “We’ve spoken of my…well, I suppose I’ll have to call it a ‘resume’ now that I’m on earth. I have few limitations. I do not procure sentient food or entertainment for my employers, for liability reasons. It has been imprinted on me in similar areas of the brain to a non-engineered beings’ moral and social centers.” His voice seemed almost bored, as if he were reading an internal script. “In public I abide by local laws and regulations, unless given exemptions from sufficient authority. In the confines of your home, your word is law.”

He cleared his throat. “I can function as a bodyguard but not as an assassin, nor can my combat abilities be utilized for subterfuge or intimidation against others outside the purviews of my contracted employment, again due to liabilities on behalf of Pincerna.”

DC lounged as he spoke, far more comfortable in her own environment than he was. Always looking for what made someone tick, or worse, the simple act of asking him to sit had proven illuminating. Jacek was insufferably proper.

“Your combat abilities cannot be utilized for subterfuge or intimidation...” DC mused, mulling that particular clause over. “Functionally, as a bodyguard, can I request you to protect someone important to me? Or do your services, any or all of them, only extend to my person?”

If Jacek had any thoughts at all about DC’s clothes, it was completely impossible to determine what they were or if they existed. He came to a stop a polite distance from her, freshly shined shoes crunching into the gravel, and inclined his head.

“Thank you for this opportunity.” His sharp blue eyes met hers, inscrutable and feline, before glancing away in a reflexive gesture. “I hope I can provide the service that you need.”

The words felt awkward and alien in his mouth. Since when did he have to explain the reason for his existence, or /interview/ for a position he was born to fill? Like a bird thanking the air for being suited to its wings. But he kept these thoughts to himself.

Desperation, after all, made one decidedly not picky. He was terribly lucky to have an opportunity so close to the contracts he was used to.

“Yes, I think that would be wise. It’s very bright out here after all.”

He’d done some of his own research, not that it was hard to find DC’s online discussions about being a vampire.

“You’re a sweetheart,” DC chirped, knowing he was no such thing, and led the way inside.

The mansion was clean and well-cared for, and not a bit of it by DC’s doing. Prior to hiring Jacek, a company came once a week to get everything in order, another to do her laundry, another to clean the pool, another to take care of the landscaping, and so on. It was easy enough because she had enough money not to care about the expense.

Jacek was about to upend that, but at least it would make things interesting. If only for a little while. She took him to a living room and settled on a couch, gesturing for him to take an armchair that had been scoot diagonally across from it. Comfy.

DC had considered taking this interview from the pool, because lounging in the water shaded from the murderous sun in an extravagant pool float was one of the few unexciting things that nevertheless soothed her bored brain. But this was a potentially valuable acquisition of a person, and she wanted some notes on hand. It had been a fun game, thinking up questions she might ask.

Now that Jacek was here, DC met him in the drive like she had others come to her party ages ago. She wondered who else he had worked for, and if her modest mansion compared at all. What judgments was he making as she judged him?

The curiosity was fleeting. She didn’t need him. There were plenty of for-hire services that could handle the minutiae of grounds keeping and house cleaning. No, she just wanted something new and fun.

“Hello, welcome.” DC said brightly. She hadn’t dressed up for this, technically; her clothes were comfortable streetwear that cost far more than they reasonably deserved. But they had been limited sale, and she thought that added a certain something to the feel of it. If Jacek turned his nose up at it, well, he had a little bit more to learn about Earthly wealth. She’d forgive his ignorance.

He narrowed his eyes at her hand and then did the properly mature thing. He rolled his heavy self over onto his shoulder, like dodging an attack, and pushed himself up to his feet. The adjustment stirred something wet in his chest and he coughed. With his back to DC, he flicked up the bottom of his mask and spit out old blood.

“I will just wait for Valsur in the driveway,” he said, and headed that direction.

DC stepped back with a roll of the eyes. Jack, by all estimations, wasn’t very mature for his age. And spitting! Lovely.

Two paths lay before him. Jack gave her a final judgmental glance-over before making his decision.

“I would not have interrogated you if you were not so suspicious.”