by R S Penney
Jack wasn't sure what the Overseers had done to earn Arin's devotion – Hell, they might have tampered with his brain as well – but it was painfully obvious that Arin really saw them as deities. What would it be like to be absolutely convinced that you had found God only to lose that certainty?
Jack offered his hand again.
Arin took it, allowing Jack to pull the man to his feet. There was a brief moment of tension between them, and then Arin wilted. “They were never gods,” he whispered. “So, what becomes of me now?”
“Well,” Jack said. “That is the question, isn't it?”
Arin fell backward, bracing one hand against the wall as air rasped its way out of his lungs. “There is only one answer,” he whispered. “Put me out of my misery.”
Backing away from the man with his arms crossed, Jack shook his head. “That is, hands down, the stupidest thing I've heard in a very long time,” he said. “Arin, you have the power of a Justice Keeper. You could use it to help people!”
“I don't deserve that power.”
“Maybe not,” Jack countered. “But by some twist of fate, you have it. So the only question now is what are you going to do with it?”
It was easy to get lost on a Phoenix-Class cruiser. They weren't the biggest ships in the fleet: only five decks high and half a kilometre from stem to stern. Smaller ships like these were designed for full maneuverability both inside an atmosphere and in space. No, they weren't large, but the gray-walled corridors were so uniform.
Anna still wore her gym shorts, but she had thrown an unzipped sweater over her tank top. Sometimes, when she passed an officer in a black uniform, they gave her a wary glance before hurrying on their way. Anna ignored them.
She was lost in thought.
Pausing halfway through an empty corridor, Anna leaned one shoulder against the wall. She shook her head. “One more time,” she whispered. “Just step it through from the beginning, Jack's shuttle was monitoring the Gate.”
Anna crossed her arms and started forward once again, breathing hard with every step. “He was monitoring the Gate,” she went on. “The ship appeared. It spread fighters in a wide net throughout the system.”
Anna stumbled to a halt.
She pressed the heels of her hands to her eye sockets, groaning in dismay. “This is pointless,” she scolded herself. “There's nothing in that data!”
When she looked up, a man in a black uniform was coming around a bend in the corridor. He stopped about five feet in front of her, frowned and then hurried on his way without comment. Wise. In her current state of mind, she might have lost her patience if he decided to comment on her monologue.
Besides, talking to yourself was a sign of intelligence. Who was this jerk to judge her for it? For the fifteenth time since leaving the gym, Anna forced herself to start at the beginning.
Jack's shuttle had been monitoring the system. There were no anomalous sensor readings: no warp trails, no energy spikes that might indicate weapons' fire. Nothing but Cosmic Background Radiation.
The shuttle detected a ripple in SlipSpace that corresponded to the Gate's location. A ship came through and launched fighters that spread out through the system at roughly twice the Speed of Light. Two went directly for Jack. Think, think, think, Lenai. There has to be something in that data you can use.
The shuttle detected a ripple in SlipSpace that corresponded to the Gate's location. A ship came through and launched fighters that spread out through the system at roughly twice the Speed of Light. Two went directly for Jack.
The shuttle detected a ripple…
A ship came through the Gate…
“Of course!”
Spinning around fast enough to make herself dizzy, Anna ran through the corridor in a mad dash. The uniformed man flinched as she rushed past him, but she didn't care. She had the answer. Bleakness take her, she had the answer!
Chapter 23
In the gloom of a small maintenance tunnel connected to the Denabrian subway system, Isara watched the hologram that hovered over her wrist. The six-inch-tall version of Slade stood with hands on his hips and stared up at her with disdain on his face. “You have your orders.”
Isara felt her eyebrows rise. “Indeed I do.” She turned to find a long tunnel lit only by bulbs along one wall. The man who leaned against the opposite wall might have been menacing to anyone else, but she was not afraid of Leo. “You're sure this is wise? It's a lot of effort for one telepath.”
“The telepath has lived up to his end of the bargain.”
Looking up at the ceiling, Isara blinked slowly. “Perhaps,” she said, shaking her head. “But I am not fond of wasting resources on a fool's errand.”
The holographic Slade drew himself up to full height – which was unimpressive at his diminished size – and glowered at her. “You will obey the Inzari,” he said. “Fail, and I will kill you myself.”
The transmission ended.
On cue, Leo stepped forward with a set jaw, a little grime visible on his brow. His yellow hair was a mess. “So, we're going to break Adren out of the holding cell,” he said. “Mind if I ask why?”
That he had sought permission instead of just stating his opinion was a sign that he had been sufficiently cowed. For now. Leo was a rabid dog who would take any excuse to bite. But she had put him in his place more than once. “It seems that Adren and the Inzari came to an understanding.”
“What kind of understanding?”
Standing before the man with her arms folded, Isara cocked her head to one side and raised an eyebrow. “Is that your concern?” she countered. “You are the hand of the Inzari. The hand does as it is bidden without question.”
Leo showed her gritted teeth, but his expression softened all too quickly. “You just questioned Slade,” he protested. “So, you're in no position to lecture me on the subject of obedience.”
Isara stepped forward, took the man's face in both hands and kissed him softly on the forehead. “Be a good boy,” she whispered. “Don't make me kill you.”
He shivered.
A grin split Isara's face, and her laughter echoed through the tunnel. “Now, there's a good lad.” She ruffled his hair. “Besides, this will give you a chance to play with all those fancy toys. You like explosions, don't you?”
A set of concrete steps led up to the front entrance of Justice Keeper Headquarters, where pillars supported an overhang that shaded the sliding glass door. Through the pane, Isara saw a lobby where two or three people stood, talking amicably.
She climbed those steps in white track pants and a matching sweater with the hood up to hide her face. Dark sunglasses concealed her eyes. Anyone who happened to see her would have to look twice to recognize the face of Jena Morane. That last thought vexed her. Jena was a clone, a copy. And yet Isara would forever stand in her daughter's shadow.
As she neared the top of the steps, the glass doors slid apart to make way for a tall woman with olive skin and shoulder-length brown hair. Isara recognized her. Unless she missed her guess, that was Sinali Vindra.
Planting herself in front of the other woman, Isara looked up with a smile. “Good morning,” she said, making absolutely certain that Sinali had time to take a good look. “Can you direct me to the detention centre?”
Sinali's jaw dropped, her eyebrows climbing upward. “Well, I'm impressed.” They circled each other, placing themselves between two of the stone pillars. “It took courage to come back here.”
Sinali threw a punch.
Isara brought a hand up to deflect the blow, then slammed her open palm into the other woman's chest. The impact drove Sinali backwards until her shoulder hit the pillar. She grunted on impact.
Isara charged the other woman, grabbing Sinali's shirt with both hands. Then she leaped sideways with a surge of Bent Gravity, propelling them both through the window beside the door.
Glass shattered as the two women crashed into the lobby and then they hit the floor, both rolling apart to put some distance be
tween them. Isara got up in time to watch Sinali stand and brush shards off her clothing.
Without looking, she sensed the arrival of two other people who came charging into the lobby from one of the branching corridors. No doubt they had come to determine the source of all this commotion.
Sinali was bent over and trying to catch her breath. “All right.” She looked up with fury in her eyes. “Let's do this.”
The woman broke into a sprint.
Isara jumped, turning belly-up, and caught Sinali's head between her shins. With a grunt, she twisted and threw them both to the floor. Isara rolled away, grabbing a handful of glass.
She came up on one knee and flung the shards at Sinali.
The other woman raised hands to shield herself, her image becoming a long streak of colour just before the glass pierced her skin. Instead, each fragment curved off to the right and fell to the floor. This gave Isara a few seconds to get away.
When she got back up, the other two Keepers were rushing over to her. One was a tall young man with pale skin and black hair. The other had a tanned complexion and a round face with tilted eyes. “Well this is a new kind of stupid,” he said. “I swear, it's like you want to get caught.”
Isara felt her lips writhe into a rictus grin. Her soft laughter actually made both men step back. “Oh, boys…Did you really think I came alone?” The question seemed to linger in the air. “You've forgotten all my wonderful toys.”
Isara rolled up her sleeve and slammed a hand against the screen of her multi-tool. Instantly, two disk-shaped drones floated through the hole in the window, scanning the lobby with blue tracking lasers.
They began spitting bullets at Sinali and the other two.
Touching a hand to her lips, Isara blew a kiss and then smiled. “See you later, my darlings,” she cooed. “Try not to die.”
In the second-floor cafeteria, Rajel took a seat across from Keli. The woman had chosen a small table near a window, and he was grateful for that; the warmth of sunlight was a comfort.
Surprised by his sudden arrival, Keli looked up and arched an eyebrow. “Operative Aydrius,” she said in a cool voice dripping with formality. “Is there something that I can do for you?”
Rajel forced a smile. “I only wanted to see how you were doing.” Admitting that was harder than it should have been. “The incident with Adren left you pretty shook up.”
Why should he care? After everything telepaths had done to normal human beings? And to say that this woman was wholly innocent of those crimes was…less than accurate. True, Keli had suffered a terrible childhood, but also true, she had inflicted pain without cause and killed without justification. Rajel had studied the woman's personnel file. He knew the circumstances that led to Keli joining this team.
“I'm fine,” she said. “It was nothing.”
Pursing his lips as he considered that, Rajel nodded. “Good,” he said. “Good. I'm glad that you're doing well.”
“Now that surprises me.”
“Oh?”
The woman sat across from him with arms folded, and though he could only sense her through spatial awareness, Rajel could feel the weight of her stare. “To be blunt, you have been a constant thorn in my side.”
“Just keeping you on your best behaviour.”
“I wasn't aware that I required such supervision.”
With one hand, Rajel reached up to remove his sunglasses and then fixed his eyes upon her. He wasn't sure why, but he knew that had an effect. “I have an unfair prejudice against telepaths, it's true,” he began. “But setting that aside, I have looked into your past interactions with this team, and most of what I see confirms my suspicions.”
“Have you now.”
“Yes, and-”
A siren through the PA system cut him off and nearly made Rajel jump out of his chair. It was a high-pitched wail that would grab any man's attention. “Intruder alert!” the computer declared. “Main lobby! Intruder alert!”
Rajel felt his jaw clench, then shook his head. “Stay here,” he ordered, rising out of his chair. “Don't get anywhere near this.”
Keli looked up at him with a perfectly innocent expression. “Why ever would I do anything else?”
Isara moved through a white-walled hallway with her arms swinging, a sultry smile on her face. “This is going to be fun,” she murmured, listening to the grunts and shouts of Keepers in the lobby behind her.
What a pleasant surprise it was when a stairwell door opened, and a tall man with dark bronze skin came out. She didn't recognize this one; he must have transferred to the Denabrian branch quite recently. But his sunglasses were quite striking.
Two steps out the door, he froze and turned his ear toward her. Not his eyes. A blind man? Curious. “Now, why do I think you're the intruder?” he asked. “And while we're on the subject, what could you possibly hope to gain by coming here.”
Pouting at him, Isara felt her eyebrows rise. “Aww…you've never heard of me,” she murmured. “That makes me sad.”
“Should I have heard of you?”
“You don't recognize the face of Jena Morane?” That was a new one. By now, her visage was infamous throughout Leyrian Space. The answer came to her with a moment's thought. “But of course you wouldn't. My name is-”
“Isara,” the man grated, stepping forward to block her path. He thrust out his chin and sneered at her. “And since we're getting to know each other, let me return the favour. I'm Rajel Aydrius.”
“A pleasure to meet you.”
Isara moved around him like a stalking predator, forcing him to turn on the spot. Soon, he was standing with his back to the stairwell door. Obviously, the man could track her with spatial awareness, but she was quite sure he was listening as well. And maybe even tracking her by scent. This would be an interesting scuffle.
Isara threw a punch.
The man ducked, evading her attack. He threw a pair of jabs into her stomach and then popped up to send a hard right-cross into her nose. Silvery flecks filled her vision as she stumbled from the pain.
Rajel spun and back-kicked.
His foot went right into Isara's stomach, driving the wind from her lungs, forcing her back across the width of the hallway. She hit the wall with a grunt and recovered just in time to see him come in with his arm drawn back for a punch.
Isara stepped aside quickly enough to watch Rajel strike the wall with his fist and then hiss at the jolt of pain it brought him. Spinning around to stand behind him, she took hold of his shirt and forced him face-first into the wall.
The man was as slippery as an eel, somehow twisting out of her grip and turning to face her as he backed up through the corridor. His nose was bloody, and there were thin cracks in his sunglasses.
Isara moved in like a ghost.
She kicked high.
The blind man leaned back, catching her foot with both hands before her shoe made contact with his nose. Which was just what she wanted. With a thought, she called on the Drethen within her and twisted gravity around Rajel's body.
Rajel sensed what she was doing and immediately released her foot, but it was too late. Bent Gravity did not require direct physical contact. Only very close proximity. He went upward until his head hit the ceiling.
Rajel dropped to the floor, landing on unsteady feet.
Isara jumped and snap-kicked, striking his nose with the toe of her shoe. The force of it made him stagger backward until he fell hard on his ass and slid a few paces up the corridor. Pathetic.
“You!”
In the commotion, Isara barely noticed the thin and willowy silhouette coming up behind her, but she turned to find Melissa Carlson standing in the middle of the corridor with teeth bared. The girl's face was red, her eyes wild. “You made a very big mistake in coming here!” Quick as a cat, Melissa came forward and offered a jab to the face.
Isara let the blow connect, allowed herself to fall backward so that she could twist her body and bring one foot up to strike Melissa's cheek. The g
irl went sideways into the corridor wall.
Isara landed on her side. She flopped onto her back, then curled her legs up against her chest and sprang off the floor.
Melissa recovered as well.
With a death-glare that would make even Slade flinch, the girl came forward and growled like a tigress. She turned her body for a high roundhouse kick that would knock Isara out if it connected.
Isara crouched down, allowing the girl's foot to pass harmlessly over her head, then swept her leg out in a wide arc, tripping the only leg that supported Melissa's weight.
The girl fell backward.
Flipping upside-down, Melissa caught herself by slamming both hands down on the floor, then quickly turned upright. Those few seconds of distraction allowed Isara to rise.
She charged in and punched Melissa's chest with one fist then the other, driving air from the child's lungs. She followed that up with a back-hand blow to the cheek, one that landed with a thwack! Her enemy went right into the wall.
It would have been a delicious moment of retribution – a little bit of payback for the humiliation Isara had suffered the last time she had tangled with this whelp – if not for the silhouette that came rushing up behind her. Rajel was back in the game.
Isara jumped, doing the splits in mid-air, allowing the man to run past beneath her. She landed right behind him, then kicked Rajel's ass and forced him down onto the floor. He fell flat on his face.
Isara stood with fists on her hips, shaking her head. “Did you think that it would be easy, girl?” she asked, her voice as smooth as silk. “That you would look within yourself, find my daughter's fury and put me in my place?”
Melissa looked up with a red welt on her face, tears streaming from her eyes. Oh, how satisfying it was to see that. Of course, the child said nothing, but that was all right.
“Last time, you surprised me,” Isara cooed. “I wasn't expecting a brat like you to display such competence. But that's not a mistake I make twice.”
