Gatekeeper's Secret
Copyright© 2026 by Fick Suck
Chapter 35
“Sir, I spent some time after we returned last night examining, analyzing my notes,” Claire said as Grady sipped his coffee. “I found relevant material that specifically addresses the issue we are confronting.”
Grady tipped his coffee cup towards Claire. “Did you find a script?”
“No, but I found a precise process. You mentioned instilling trust in you and ignoring the strange and odd, all of which are necessary but not a, what holds a water-bound ship in place?”
“An anchor,” Grady said.
“Right, you need an anchor,” Claire said. “The anchor for imprinting is the need to defend – to defend you, to defend the gateway, to defend the storerooms and their contents, and most important, to defend, protect, uphold the project. For the guards, making them part of the gateway project is first. Your silly business books call it ownership, giving each person you imprint some ownership in the project, the process, the protocols.”
“Wow, there are some smart people out there,” Grady said. “Defend and own. I feel comfortable with those points. Strange to me though, I imprinted Brianna with trust in me and the first thing she did was ask for sex. The same thing happened with Jessica. Christina, however, only lowered the amount of malice in her words to me. Why?”
Claire gave him a look of tired patience. “As sexually active primates, perhaps you fulfilled some key element missing from their mating protocols. Primates require trust whereas other carbon-based non-primate species seek other attributes. Primates are known for their mating fixations and how they often supersede better decision-making processes. Such a dynamic may explain the two women who sought to mate with you. As for the female Christina, she is not benevolent. Please forgive my bluntness.”
“As regards to Christina, there is nothing to forgive,” Grady said. “Even if I imprinted her as a sex slave, she would have clawed my vitals out of my body cavity at the first opportunity.”
“Such a primate statement, sir,” Claire said. “Such drastic imprinting usually leads to psychosis and violence as the instincts of the target kick in. The consequences are as you describe them.”
“Oh,” Grady replied, realizing that the sex slave fantasy had been one of his favorites of late. “We certainly want to avoid psychosis. The current issue is Linh, making things much more complicated. I understand the primate instinct up close and personal; I get the danger of it. Linh is the first woman I’ve been close to and would consider as a lifetime partner, but this primate instinct warning is ringing loud and clear when I think about her.”
“How so, sir?”
“First, she’s smart and should be going to college for an advanced degree. More than I think, I know she would be less than she could be without this opportunity. Second, we’re both eighteen, which is typically too young for lifelong commitments. I mean, my grandparents and great grandparents met young, but our world today is more complicated.”
“Commendable sentiments, thoughts, attitudes, sir,” Claire said. “If I may redirect?” Grady gave him a vague hand-wave, urging her to continue. “In the regards to any possible mate, the primary question must be, does this person further the gateway project? Does she help achieve the defense and safety of the gateway or is she a security risk? Case in point, Christina is a security risk.”
“Yeah, security and success seem like a better way to look at things than my johnson,” Grady said.
“Er?”
“Slang from my grandpa’s time – a primate’s penis,” Grady said. “He used to tell me that man must learn when Mr. Johnson should stand at attention and when Mr. Johnson should not. Then he would slap me on the back and tell me “Practice makes perfect.’”
“Ah, humor,” Claire said. “A good balm, solace, comfort when discussing matters of importance. Also, an inherent secondary trait of primates.”
Grady started laughing. He could hardly contain himself. He stood up, sweeping his mug in his hand and walked over to the sink. “What did I do right before you arrived, Claire?”
“The first thing I know you did right was hire me, sir,” Claire said instantly. “On another subject, I spoke with Bettina Rivera last evening and we discussed among other things, charging purchases to your account and handing over the bill of sale or bill of services to your servant.”
“My accountant; he’s a professional I hire like you.”
“Thank you for the clarification. Back to my point: since I am unable to purchase a digital device that meets our needs for inventory, I recommend purchasing the individual components and assembling our own device.”
“You want to build a computer,” Grady said as he pulled the days old lasagna out of the back of the refrigerator and placing it carefully on the counter. “I’m told that there are complications with incompatible standards between different components and different manufacturers. Have you considered this problem?”
“With your technology in a nascent, emerging, promising stage, rectifying these issues is a simple exercise for those who use mature technologies,” Claire said. “Permission?”
“Make it so,” Grady said, assuming that Claire would not catch the cultural reference. “I’m going polish off these noodles before they go bad and then, I’ll get the horses ready for a ride.”
“Sir, if I may intrude again, the chemical makeup of that dish will cause your digestive system to generate unseemly gas that will be expelled through your digestive system at the precise time you are romancing a willing female. The term is flatulence, gassiness, or bombast. May I suggest a different choice of breakfast?”
Grady held his face in his hands as he muttered between his palms, “I am tired, tired of oatmeal.”
Claire turned to leave the kitchen. “Surely, you recognize this issue. Your friend Randy called you ‘Fart-face’ several times yesterday.”
“O God,” Grady said while thinking to himself, “is death better than living the humiliation that I crop dusted everyone I know yesterday, and they knew? Are they sharing among each other, ‘he’s a nice guy but damn, he farts a lot?’” He tossed the lasagna in the trash and grabbed a banana.
By the time the chime rang, Grady was ready for his date. He had been more than ready and was already halfway down the drive on foot when his phone dinged. He shook himself as he strode the rest of the way to the gate. He waved when he could see her face through the windshield of the beat-up Toyota compact. After letting her through and locking the gate, he hopped into the passenger seat.
“Why don’t you put an electronic switch on your gate?” Linh asked.