by Jan Domagala
“What about his daughter?” queried Sinclair.
“We have two ships here in orbit, sir, the Valkyrie and the ship the Colonel arrived on. We can either send her to Earth on one now and bring her father back in the other, or leave her in orbit in case we need the support of both ships. We have no idea of the strength of resistance Wilde will put up but we do know, from what we’ve seen so far, that he has resources and he’s not afraid to call upon them, so my guess is he won’t come willingly.”
“Okay then Matt, this mission is at your discretion. I’m patching this call through to Colonel De Boer and the captains of both ships. This mission is under your control and you are to make use of the ships and personnel at your discretion. Ensure the safety of Miss Wilde at all costs, capture and arrest her father and bring him to Earth for questioning,” Sinclair replied. During the call De Boer turned in his seat to look at Hawk.
“Thank you, sir, I’ll keep you posted,” Hawk said then broke the connection.
“Colonel, I want you to assign a few of your best men to guard Miss Wilde on the Valkyrie while you and the rest of your team accompany me to arrest her father. This time I think it best if you dress in civvies to lessen our impact on the population, plus we’ll blend in with them better should the need arise,” he added when he saw De Boer looking at him.
“If we want to blend in we’ll have to limit what we take with us, that means no body armour, no pulse rifles…” De Boer started but Hawk cut him off by saying, “We’re not going into battle here Colonel, I don’t expect us to have a fire fight, so I think we can make do with just small arms. A Sig each with a few extra battery clips should suffice don’t you think?”
“You’re probably right, I don’t think Wilde is crazy enough to risk a running gun battle in his office or the streets,” agreed De Boer.
“If you’re going after my father then I’m coming with you,” Tanya said adamantly.
“No chance,” retorted Hawk. “My boss would have me thrown out of an air lock in deep space without an environment suit if I allowed that.”
“I don’t care; you’re not leaving me here alone.”
“You won’t be alone, there will be some of the Colonel’s men with you at all times. You’ll be quite safe.”
“But you might need me down there, to get into my father’s offices, I can help you. Without me you won’t get near my father, but with me you’ll get right to him. I’m known on sight so it’ll be easy to get past security,” Tanya said, trying a different tack.
“She may have a point there. If we just show up at his door there’s no guarantee we’ll even be allowed inside without a warrant or the physical presence of someone from the local Constabulary,” agreed De Boer.
Hawk looked at the Colonel as he mulled over what had been said. His ice blue eyes seemed to spark as if the firing of the neurons in his brain lit a fire behind them as they worked on the problem ahead.
“Okay,” Hawk said finally, coming to a decision. “You come with us, you get us into your father’s building and up to his floor but then you step back and stay behind these men. Colonel, I want you to assign two of your best men to remain by her side at all times and at the first sign of trouble get her to safety, is that understood?”
“You have my word,” De Boer replied solemnly.
“Let’s do this then. Colonel, I hope you have a change of clothes with you because I want to head straight back down there now, before I change my mind about Miss Wilde coming with us.”
“We always carry spare clothes with us, you never know when you might need to blend in with the indigenous population, you should know that Matt from your time with Recon Delta or has it been so long that you’ve forgotten your training?” asked De Boer with a friendly smirk.
Returning the smile Hawk said, “Once Recon Delta, always Recon Delta, you know that, sir,” reciting the motto of the corp.
Tanya Wilde listened to the banter between the two men and she found herself wondering what it was she had fallen into. It was a dangerous situation for sure, she had already seen two men killed before her eyes and, judging by how things were progressing and from what these men were hinting at, she didn’t suppose the death toll would remain at that number. Knowing all these things and realising the danger she was about to face, she still felt safe as long as she was close to that man with the ice blue eyes, those fathomless eyes that hinted at disdain for everything they viewed yet showed such warmth when he looked at her.
She began to hope that once this was all over she would get the opportunity to see him again. There was more to him than just the obvious alpha male exterior and she thought it would be interesting to peel away the layers of his protective veneer, very interesting indeed.
* * * * *
Jonas Wilde had returned to his office to gather the last of the belongings that he’d need to take with him. Accessing the building’s computer network with his NI he asked for the location of his daughter using the tracking chip in her NI. What he learned surprised him somewhat. She had been heading away from Cordoba on her way to Earth and Col Sec HQ no doubt, but now she was on her way back towards the planet’s surface.
Perhaps all was not lost, she was handing herself to him and he would not allow this opportunity to go to waste. He had his team ready; all that remained was for him to give the order.
He would give her one last chance to join him, after all she was his daughter and he owed her that much at least, but if she refused then she would meet the same fate as all the others who stood against him, she would die.
14
Before he and his team left their seats, Colonel De Boer contacted his transport and Captain Jefferson on the Valkyrie to issue orders for them to stand by in orbit and at full readiness to proceed. They bypassed safety protocols so the straps would release them to go into the rear cargo area to change clothes and stow their gear.
Tanya used the opportunity to speak to Hawk while they were alone. Leaning towards him so that she wouldn’t have to raise her voice she said, “I’ve never thanked you for what you did back there. You saved my life. Wow! How many people actually get to say that? I mean you read about it and see it in movies but this was real and … listen to me, I’m babbling.”
Hawk placed a reassuring hand on top of hers, looked her in the eye and said, “It’s okay, I understand, you’re scared and still in shock, so am I.”
Suddenly she felt herself begin to relax a little and she knew then that as long as this man was by her side she’d be safe. He didn’t have to say the words she just knew he would die before he allowed any harm to come to her. Even though they were heading back into what could be the most dangerous situation she’d ever faced in her young, sheltered, spoilt life, she felt safe, truly safe, possibly for the first time in years.
“You’re scared?” she asked incredulously, when she finally found her voice.
“I’d be a complete idiot if I wasn’t and Momma Hawk didn’t raise any fools,” joked Hawk, hoping to lighten her mood.
“You need to put something on that,” she said gesturing towards his cheek, which had been cut during the fight in the mall with the muscle-bound clone.
Touching where she had indicated he noticed a trace of blood on his fingertips. “Ah yes, thanks, I will. Can’t have a scar spoiling these good looks,” he joked then added, “even though the opposite sex are supposed to find them interesting.”
“Personally I’ve never found facial disfigurement appealing,” she replied.
“Disfigurement? That bad, eh?” he said, consciously placing a hand over the scratch.
“No, no not at all,” she recanted swiftly reaching up to pull his hand away in an attempt to reassure him. When she saw the mischievous glint in his eye she realised she’d fallen for the joke and was suddenly embarrassed, dropping her eyes from his momentarily. When she looked up again she saw him smiling playfully. “Sorry couldn’t resist,” he explained.
She took her hand off his and punched him
in the shoulder, “You brute,” she chided in the same playful vein and turned her head away from him in mock anger.
“Aw don’t be like that,” he pleaded and placed his hand on hers again and this time she allowed it to remain and they sat there in companionable silence for a few moments.
When the marines returned led by De Boer he spotted the hands and said, “Getting on well I see.”
Nervously she pulled her hand away, instantly regretting the action and missing the closeness the contact brought.
The Colonel and his men were all dressed in casual clothes – cargo pants and open-necked shirts over which they each wore a short leather jacket. Similar shoes to those worn by Hawk adorned their feet while the ubiquitous Sig P996 was hidden away in a soft leather holster beneath the jacket of each soldier.
As De Boer regained his seat he turned to Hawk and said, “ETA at our destination, ten minutes, then things get interesting.”
Tanya looked at Hawk with a worried expression and asked, “Interesting how?”
“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, trust me,” Hawk replied avoiding the question, and she glanced at De Boer who winked at her as he turned to face the front of the shuttle once more. Although his comment was made to unnerve her, to make her rethink her decision about coming along, to make her realise she was putting herself in harms way, it was unnecessary because she already understood that. She wasn’t some dumb kid hell bent on a thrill ride or some spoiled brat determined to get back at Daddy for stopping her allowance. Okay, she was spoiled but that was not the point. Her father was responsible for the deaths of more people than she liked to think of and she had no reason to think he wouldn’t continue if he wasn’t stopped. These men were going to try and stop him and they had a better chance at success if she helped them. Yes, it was dangerous, she understood that, but she had to do it; it was the right thing to do, it was that simple. She was comforted by the fact that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that the man seated beside her would protect her no matter what.
Having gone through the recent situation in the mall she wondered what the Colonel’s definition of interesting could possibly be and knew that in less than ten minutes she would find out.
* * * * *
Jonas Wilde sat in his office thinking. Having delayed his departure until he’d learned what his daughter was about to do, he’d made certain contingency arrangements. The master plan, which he was determined to stick to, would go ahead no matter what, but for that to happen certain other things had to take place first. It was a fluid situation and he had to adapt to the constantly changing scenarios.
He would have preferred to have kept his daughter out of it but it appeared she was as determined to involve herself as he was to see it through. Honestly speaking he hadn’t considered her in his master plan, it was almost as if he had no daughter, which saddened him. The bond that should have been present between father and daughter was just missing; it had been prevented from forming by his involvement in Col Sec, which he blamed for everything. Col Sec was the focus of his hatred, he had devoted his life to it, forsaken everything else for it and they had kicked him out because of a failed psyche evaluation, or so he thought.
What his mind wouldn’t accept, wouldn’t allow him to see, were his own psychotic tendencies. He considered himself above everyone else, his own needs were always put first. When he thought he was devoting his life to Col Sec it was for his own selfish personal gratification and not for the betterment of the Confederation. The bond between himself and Tanya, that he blamed Col Sec for destroying by not allowing to develop, had not been there from the start. He simply did not love her; he was incapable of loving her. She loved him though, and despite his long periods of absence her love was unconditional for he was her father. During the times they had spent together, when he had gone home on leave, she had bonded with him. Those were instances that his psychotic mind chose to forget.
Now she was involved in his plan, there was no denying it. What he needed now was to see exactly what she wanted, what she expected of him.
No doubt she would bring along that meddling agent who had escaped death too many times, but why, to what purpose? What did they hope to gain?
They had his files and call records which logged his involvement at the chamber and the subsequent attack on Hawk and his team there, but what did they intend to do? Were they planning on coming to arrest him? Were they that stupid?
The computer continued to trace his daughter’s progress. It extrapolated her route and showed that she would be at the MaxCorp building in around five minutes or less.
If she was coming there to see him then he must make sure he made the proper arrangements, he thought with a sly grin.
* * * * *
“I’ve had the pilot invoke Col Sec authority to allocate us a landing area in front of the building so we can go in through the front door,” De Boer said over his shoulder to Hawk and Tanya. “ETA thirty seconds, get ready,” he added.
“We’re ready, Colonel,” Hawk replied and he turned to Tanya with a reassuring smile to ask, “You okay?”
She nodded her head and returned his smile and then they all felt the landing thrusters fire as they came in to land.
As the shuttle settled onto its landing struts and the engines powered down the straps automatically retracted into the seats, freeing the passengers.
The doors slid open and Hawk and the rest were on their feet moving out from the confines of the sleek shuttle back into the warmth of the Cordoban air.
Before them was the huge building that stretched up towards the azure sky. The sun had almost set below the horizon but there was still quite a lot of light left as they headed up the steps towards the huge entrance.
As they walked through the huge doors the foyer opened out before them. The reception desk was in the centre of the floor; a circular desk at which sat two young women who greeted visitors, answered any questions and announced new arrivals. They presented a very human face that many businesses had rejected in favour of automation.
A huge staircase ran up the centre of the building with balconies at each floor as it snaked its way up the middle of the huge tower block.
A group of men came towards Hawk and the team from the staircase where they had obviously been awaiting their arrival. One man led them, a man Hawk and De Boer recognised instantly as the clone they had captured in the chamber and transported to Earth, or at least, another like him. Behind him were eight burly men all dressed in business suits, all with the same hard expressions worn by security men all over the galaxy.
“Good afternoon Miss Wilde, we’ve been expecting you,” the Rover said as he walked up to the group at the entrance. The guards all fanned out just behind him forming a barrier.
“I don’t know you but I’m here to see my father,” Tanya said casually, she was on home ground here and felt more confident.
“Your father is extremely busy Miss and not to be disturbed,” Rover replied smiling, his expression remaining calm and pleasant throughout.
“I’m sure he’s not too busy to see his own daughter,” Tanya insisted.
“I’ve been instructed to allow you through Miss if the situation is extremely urgent, but I’m afraid these gentlemen will have to remain here in the lobby,” Rover said.
“But they’re with me and are here to see my father also.”
“I’m Matthew Hawk from Col Sec Intelligence Division and we’re here to see Jonas Wilde to ask him some questions regarding a grave security matter,” Hawk said by way of introduction as he stood by Tanya’s side.
“Do you have a warrant?”
“No.”
“A representative from the Local Constabulary?”
“No.”
“Then I must ask you to leave, and these gentlemen here with me are to ensure that you do. You have no jurisdiction here Mister Hawk and any attempt to gain access to this building now would be deemed as trespass and we would be within our rights to evict you, forci
bly if need be, and then bring charges against you. Is that what you want?”
“Haven’t we already met?” Hawk said suddenly changing tack.
“No, sir, we haven’t. I’m sure I’d remember if we had,” replied Rover calmly.
“How long has Mister Eisenhower employed clones, you are a clone aren’t you? Identical in every way to the clone I captured and took to Earth and who then committed suicide by activating a bomb he’d somehow hidden inside his body. Do you have a similar device hidden inside you? Is it something you’re all equipped with or was he specially designed for that purpose?” Hawk continued as he watched the expressions not only of the clone but also the guards with him, to gauge just how much they knew of their employer and the business he ran. None of them showed any signs that they were disturbed in the slightest by his words or that they’d even heard them. They were there to do a job and their attitude was truly professional. The clone on the other hand, with a knowing smile slowly spreading across his face emphasising his air of supreme self-confidence, said in a calm and pleasant voice, “Again, sir, I must ask you to leave.”
“And if we refuse?” asked De Boer, stepping forward to stand next to Hawk.
“And you are?” asked the clone.
“I think you know, so let’s drop all the charades shall we,” De Boer said bluntly.
“Ah, the voice of the military no doubt,” Rover said in way of recognition, then gesturing for them to look at the guards added, “Gentlemen it seems the numbers favour the house as it were, and as any gambler knows, it’s unwise to bet against odds as the house invariably wins. In laymen’s terms, for our military friend here, we will use force if required to prevent you getting any further.”
De Boer smiled at the sarcastic jibe but kept his cool preferring to ask, “Would you risk a gun battle here if we decided to force our way in?”
