CHAPTER 226: THE MATCHMAKER’S WORST NIGHTMARE

On the way back to the main house, Zack made a call to the dormitory to make sure that Carmen, Antonio and Nolan were ready for their dates. They also needed to holler at a couple of the other young men—Eleck and Brent—and they were to have their asses at the transport cleaned up and ready in one hour or their next weekend would not happen.

Like clockwork and exactly 47 minutes later, Carmen, Antonio, Nolan, Brent and Eleck were standing beside the transport ready to go.

Constantine’s diner was almost overrun when Mr. Zack pulled up in the new transport. Constantine did not mind; he had plenty of supplies, plenty of help, and the new outside dining area was a wonderful idea. Jake never failed to amaze him. The building next door was not in the best shape and the walls were going to have to be rebuilt—the roof was nonexistent—so Jake and his crew went in and made an open air café façade out of the existing walls after they were reinforced and a new transparent roofing system was placed on it. This almost tripled the amount of space that diners had to enjoy Constantine’s fabulous meals.

The evening was fantastic. The newest members of the Z1 early enjoyed themselves, especially Irvin who got to know his two suitors on a sort of pre-date. He couldn’t wait for Friday night when it was one on one.

Irvin was studying nonstop. He read every book that Mr. Zach had on the hospitality industry, he used every online reference and even pulled back to the archives for old earth. He was determined to show the generous man who had given him the opportunity of a lifetime that he could excel, and if he played his cards right he might even be the manager of that new hotel that was being built when it came online. Even a job at the front desk would be great, but he knew he could do more.

There were a few short routes that Lester took, just into the Township getting to know the new unit. Everyone at the Z1 at Hawthorne ranch were delighted with the new transit system. Lester called up a few of his old friends that had been working for the other transit system before it was sold—their jobs were abruptly terminated. He notified them that he had three positions open with a brand-new private transit serving between the Z1, which was its final destination, and other Z1 partnerships scattered across the planet. He sent them basic information about what would be required of them if they were hired by the Z1 transit authority. He didn’t want to let too much out because he knew that there were spies in the system.

He had worked too many years not to know how cutthroat corporations could be, and he shared all this information with Willie.

Zack was very pleased with the way everything was presented—the bonus packages, the benefits of working for the Z1 transit system. Some of the biggest bonuses were free housing, free access to the food gardens at the Z, free education for all the children, access to the library learning center and the interactive Museum for all, and most important, the chance for advancement in any of the sister companies of the Z1.

Irvin’s Friday night date with Brent was great. He really liked him. Now the Saturday night date was going to be a little bit different. After he and Eleck’s date was completed, Brent would join them and he would tell the two men who he had chosen to be his constant companion. There was no doubt there was going to be a winner and a loser, but that was just life.

Irvin thought Eleck was a nice enough gentleman, but his heart went for Brent. As the three sat at the table discussing the events, Eleck’s attention was drawn to a young man who walked through the door of Constantine’s. He looked like he was lost. There wasn’t but one seat in the house, so Eleck excused himself and walked up to the young man and invited him back to their table.

"I’m Shepherd," the newcomer introduced himself, "and I’m from the 3 bar Ranch. I was supposed to have been here earlier but the transit broke down and they dropped me off here." He paused, looking around nervously. "I have to check my finances and make sure I’ve got enough money for one of those things that you’re drinking. But I don’t know where one stays the night until the ranch opens up in the morning and I can check in at the Z1."

Shepherd’s little dilemma was overheard by no other than Zack, who had been keeping a check on the boys and their date. He motioned for the young man who was waiting on tables to come over—and it was none other than young Dallas. Dallas was very happy to see the boss man.

"Go gather a burger, plant fries and a chocolate malted and take them over to the young man at the table where my brother and his dates are sitting," Zach instructed Dallas. "Tell him that it’s courtesy of the Z1 because we take care of all of our guests."

Dallas walked up to the table a few minutes later with a platter of food and gently set it in front of Shepherd. "Sir, these are for you—courtesy of the Z1 because we take care of our guests."

Shepherd didn’t know what to say or do. He looked around as the young man walked away, not knowing where this food came from. Certainly the ones in front of him that he’d been talking with didn’t have time to order it, but he was mighty hungry and it smelled fantastic.

The three young men watched Shepherd as he literally devoured the food that was on his plate, mopping up every little bit of sauce that was available with his fries. He sucked the drink down in almost a single session. He let out a small belch, turned red in the face, and asked for their forgiveness.

Eleck had almost forgotten about Irvin as he was paying attention to Shepherd and almost fawning over him. He turned to Brent and congratulated him and Irvin on their future relationship.

Brent and Irvin sat at the table as Eleck began to bombard young Shepherd with all kinds of questions, which he answered in short, brief sentences.

"You’re sweet," Shepherd remarked, "but I was sent here for breeding purposes only. I’m not supposed to get attached to anyone. As soon as I’ve conceived, I must return to 3 bar Ranch and stay there until I birth my child. Then three months after that I’ll be allowed to come back and see you again for another breeding if you’re still here and are willing to place another one inside of me. If not, I’ll just find another Genman to do the job as long as he’s nice and well-built like you are."

Zack walked up to the table after hearing the last few sentences of Shepherd’s statement. "Good afternoon—or should I say good evening. I hope that your meal was satisfactory for you and that you intend to stay with us for a while here at the Z1."

Shepherd looked up at him. "Sir, I’m within a week of my cycle. I have to make sure I’m bred to a good stud like this genman here and go back to my ranch so that I can birth the child—that’s my orders."

Zack needed to know more about this young man, so he pulled up a seat and decided to have a little talk. He motioned for the other guys to stay put. "May I ask you why you have to return to your current ranch? Why can’t you stay on the Z1 until your child is born?"

"It’s not possible, Sir. I have to communicate with them every evening and give them an update. The owner is very insistent on us not getting involved with a local Genman other than to let them into our vent, impregnate us, make sure it took, and then return to the 3 bar Ranch." Shepherd’s voice grew quieter. "I’m a recent resident of the ranch. Before then I was kept in the white farm—it didn’t have a name, it was just a bunch of white rooms, everyone dressed in white. As soon as we were cleared of the virus, we were shipped out to our current ranches."

Zack could not believe what he was hearing. This was the needle in a haystack that he needed to find, and it came to him. "Now may I ask you what kind of virus did you have, if you don’t mind telling me? We want to make sure all of our Genman that are in our breeding program are healthy."

"It’s a bad one and they have to give us a lot of medication. We swell up and then they think they’ve got it cured, then all of a sudden we start swelling up again." Shepherd’s hands trembled slightly as he spoke. "Hopefully they can get us cured by the third time we’re infected. If not, they send us to a place where we can’t return because everyone there knows that if they can’t cure you, they have to terminate you so that you don’t infect the rest of the Genman population. I was a strong one and they told me I beat it, so I was sent to the 3 bar Ranch. I transitioned and now three months later I’m here to get pregnant."

"Well Shepherd, let me ask you—if you decide to stay here on the Z1 for your pregnancy, what kind of trouble would you get into with the boss man on your present ranch?"

"Sir, they will come pick me up. They will send the guys that wear the dark suits to come pick me up and I’m not sure if I would ever be heard from again." Fear crept into Shepherd’s voice. "They might trade me to another ranch or terminate me."

"So what breeding are you going to do? Pure blood? Genman/Hybrid? Genman/Human?"

A sudden look of fear crossed Shepherd’s face. "I’m only allowed to be bred by a pure blood genman. Any other kind of breeding will result in the termination of the offspring either prior to or as soon as it’s born."