“Of a sort,” Morgan said, glancing over at him. “I think his mother was in charge of this place. He was guarding me, but without him I also wouldn’t have lasted until you got here.”
“I see. Do you plan on using that on me?” She pointed to the pistol at his waist.
Lance sighed.
“No, I don’t suppose I do.”
Morgan reached around him with her good arm, pulling it out and handing it over to the Butcher.
“Well, I think we can skip the handcuffs until the medics have looked you over. I…” the Butcher actually looked sad for a moment, shocking Lance more than anything else had that day. “There weren’t many survivors in the rest of the base. I don’t think any of them were women.”
Lance closed his eyes.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t expected the news, but having it said out loud, final and definite.
“Was your father here?”
He just shook his head. He didn’t want her pity, or Morgan’s, and besides, he was feeling just a bit too dizzy at the moment for more than a few words.
The medics arrived shortly thereafter, and they were loaded up into the same ambulance.
They rode in silence, mostly because the oxygen masks made talking impossible anyway.
When they reached the hospital, and they were put on beds and wheeled off in different directions, Morgan said one final sentence to him.
“It is too bad we met how we did.”
Isn’t it just, he thought, more saddened at that than the prospect he’d end up in jail. For the moment, it even hurt more than the fact that almost everyone he’d ever met was dead, though he knew that would hurt worse once the shock wore off.
CHAPTER 13
We can’t always choose what happens to us, nor the fact that, in ways large and small, those events change us. We can decide how we react to these events, and, in the broad strokes, if we will take the mentality of a survivor or a victim. At first glance the two might seem almost the same, since a living victim will always have survived an event, and a survivor of course had to survive something, but make no mistake, they are almost diametrically opposed. Do you move forward, or are you defined by what happened?
- Counselor Tasha Sparta, Landing Pediatric Hospital
MORGAN SAT in the sauna, trying to will the heat into clearing her head.
She had discovered the strange little room a couple days after being released from the hospital and finally arriving at Emily’s estate. She still didn’t get what everyone else saw in it, but for her it was a reminder of home.
Not the mines, of course, nor any of the bad things.
No, sitting there in the small room, alone in the damp heat, reminded her of her parents. It reminded her of the safety she felt in her small room at the end of the day, the twilight hours as she drifted off to sleep, hearing their hushed voices in through the wall separating their room from hers.
Of course, the light murmur of voices she could hear here was Emily and Gertrude seated in the hot tub, and a bit of Haruhi screeching in joy as she played in the pool, but that was comforting in its own way.
The sauna was slightly hotter than her homeworld, but that was nice too in its own way. She had never really gotten used to the cold, not even after years. The most she’d been able to manage was to tolerate it. Though she supposed by most people’s standards Albion or Zion was not really that cold, or Takiyama Station for that matter.
There was a knock at the door, though of course the door wasn’t locked, and indeed couldn’t lock.
Can’t have been half an hour already, Morgan thought. If she’d had her way, she’d have stayed in the sauna much longer than that, but Emily’s protestations about health risks had won out.
Or perhaps worn her down was a better way to put it. Arguing took up time too, and sitting quietly in one of the comfortable reclining chairs just outside the sauna was relaxing enough.
Wrapping her towel tightly around herself, Morgan picked up her pistol, brand new waterproof holster and all, and walked to the door.
It was one of the servants, Ms. Green, looking slightly hot in her uniform, but only barely registering it on her face.
“I am sorry to interrupt you early, miss, but the baroness wished to see you.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, I believe she had some information for you.”
“Okay.”
Ms. Green nodded, and then stepped back from the sauna entrance. Once Morgan had exited, Ms. Green helped her into the silk robe laid out for her on the table next to the sauna door.
Morgan wondered, not for the first time, where Emily had gotten her measurements. It fit perfectly, and probably had cost more than Morgan’s entire wardrobe.
Tucking the pistol into the small pocket of the robe tugged that side down more than a little, but it wasn’t like she was wearing something underneath she could put it in or on. Double-checking the robe’s belt and sliding on a pair of sandals, she preceded the servant out of the foyer into the pool area proper.
“Aunt Morgan!” Haruhi yelled as soon as she saw her. The girl practically leapt out of the pool, making a beeline towards her.
Luckily, Gertrude had noticed, and intercepted the girl before she could give Morgan a big wet hug.
“You act like you haven’t seen her in days, child,” Gertrude said with a smile, but Morgan noted it didn’t quite reach her eyes. The fact was they hadn’t seen much of Morgan, despite the proximity.
Oh, they’d made a huge fuss at first. Haruhi had barely left Morgan’s hospital room for the first day, even taking a couple naps next to her on the surprisingly roomy bed, but Morgan had gradually been able to get some space and solitude.
She hadn’t been able to get much sleep, though. The nightmares were getting worse again.
“I’ve just been trying to relax,” Morgan said, forestalling the inevitable question that would have been next. “But right now I need to see Emily.” She crouched down a bit, getting down to Haruhi’s level, not that it took much as the girl was growing like a weed. “I’ll come watch you play when I’m done, okay?”
“Yay!” Haruhi said, bouncing on her feet. “I’ve learned some new dives I want to show you.”
“Of course,” Morgan said, nodding.
Emily was not in the hot tub where Morgan had last seen her.
Looking about the room, she saw that Ms. Green was still standing there, waiting.
“I suppose you’re waiting to take me to Emily?”
“Yes, miss. Would you care to change first?”
Morgan considered it, rubbing the back of her neck.
There was something Ms. Green wasn’t telling Morgan. If Emily needed to talk with Morgan, why had she left the pool? They could have talked about pretty much anything in the hot tub perfectly well.
“Yes, I think I will.”
Changed and cleaned up, she was led to Emily’s office, tucked away in a corner of the massive main building of the estate. It was much less ostentatious than the more public areas, almost homey in fact.
Emily was sitting in her very large chair, turned away from the entrance and looking at some holo-screens.
Morgan noted that she was also in her military uniform. It wasn’t drastically different from her normal civilian dresses, which were obviously cut to a severe military style, but still a striking difference.
Once Morgan had crossed the room and sat down in the open chair the two bodyguards and Ms. Green silently filed out. As they passed her, Knighton gave Morgan a quick wink. The guards took up positions to either side of the door, while Ms. Green closed the double doors, giving the pair at least a semblance of privacy.
“Is there some reason we couldn’t talk there?” Morgan asked, skipping the pleasantries.
“This room is more secure. There is also a question I need to ask you, officially, that would… upset Gertrude.”
Morgan raised an eyebrow.
“What makes you think I won’t just tell her about it later? T
here isn’t much I don’t tell her.”
“You might, but you say that now, not knowing what it is.”
“So tell me.”
“First, I thought you should know what we’ve learned about the attacks, since you were involved so intimately.” Emily closed down the screens she had been working on, turning to face Morgan directly.
“Go on.”
“As best we can tell, a single group hired all of the assassins that attacked the military leadership of Albion. One of those assassins – Ms. Ice – tried to use the revolutionaries to carry out the attack for her, before the others. We aren’t sure why. She didn’t surrender and was not taken alive, so we can hardly ask her. The logical reasons we can imagine are that she wanted to get the job done and get off world before the rest struck, or it was intended to distract us with the threat of the revolutionaries while her companions struck.”
“That seems to be what happened, from what I’ve heard.”
“Indeed. What you don’t know is that there were also a few assassinations on Zion, nearly at the same time.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know. It could just be revenge for something, or it could be the prelude to something bigger. While we’ll feel these loses for years to come, it hardly crippled our military.”
“None of that is anything that would worry Gertrude,” Morgan pointed out.
“No, it isn’t. Now we come to the question for you. Do not answer immediately, but think it over.”
“That sounds ominous.”
“Perhaps.”
Emily paused for a moment, looking intently at Morgan.
“Most people, I wouldn’t even need to ask. The answer would be self-evident.”
“You are stalling,” Morgan said, quite surprised at the realization. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you do that.”
“Quite.” Emily took a deep breath. “It concerns the matter of Lance, no last name. I believe you called him… ‘Lanky’?”
“What about him?
“The government is trying to decide what best to do with him. He was part of a terrorist organization, true, but because he was born into it. He also didn’t actually break many laws. Even his actions in the car port are clear cut self-defense.”
“But?”
“But he did keep you prisoner. You would be well within your rights to have him charged with kidnapping, assault, and a few other crimes.”
“And if I don’t?” Now it was Morgan stalling. How in the galaxy can I let go of what he did? What the rest of them did?
“Then we have options, to rehabilitate him. Probably a military academy, since his education is so lacking as well.”
“What they did to me…”
“Was a horrid evil, yes. And almost to a man…” Emily paused, cocking her head to the side, “Actually, now that I think about it, literally to a man, they are dead. The few injured we found after the attack have since expired from said injuries. Moreover, most of the other cells are gone now as well. No one at all would blame you for hating them, for taking any opportunity you have to get back at them.”
Morgan closed her eyes, and thought about it. Really thought about it. She probably sat there for five minutes, in complete silence. Emily said nothing, and, as far as Morgan could tell, didn’t even stir in her chair.
At last Morgan sighed, a long, drawn out affair.
“Send him to the academy, then.”
She opened her eyes just in time to see Emily nod once, and tap a few commands into the controls on her desk.
“Very well. Now, there is one last thing to discuss.” She pushed another button on the desk, and a moment later the doors opened, revealing Ms. Green and another woman Morgan did not recognize. She was dressed professionally, but Morgan couldn’t guess what kind of profession. Or rather… she was dressed mostly professionally. Her short cropped hair was a dark shade of purple, all the way down to the roots.
Could that be natural? Morgan wondered. Genetic engineering or something?
“I would like to introduce you to Doctor Aydin Knight, a therapist specializing in military cases, such as PTSD.”
Morgan groaned in annoyance.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I promised Haruhi I’d go play with her.”
Emily smiled wide.
“I’ll remember you said that. I’ll have the servants take you right to her… after you talk with the doctor.”
“If I don’t want to talk about it with Gertrude, why would I talk about it with a complete stranger?” Morgan said, not even caring that she was talking about the woman like she wasn’t even there.
“A good question,” the doctor said quickly, stepping up to stand between Morgan and Emily’s chairs. “One with many possible answers. Sometimes it is easier to talk about hard things with a stranger. Sometimes it is easier to talk about them with someone who has gone through similar hardships, or at least knows about them. And sometimes it is easier to just talk about it and get it over with, so your friends will feel less worried and anxious about you.” She tilted her head downwards and peered at Morgan. “Any of those work for you?”
“What is the point? It happened. It isn’t happening anymore, it’s done and over.”
“And the nightmares?” the doctor asked.
“Morgan,” Emily said, quietly, with much more emotion in her voice than Morgan had ever heard. “I know what you’re going through. It helps.” Morgan blinked, and the surprisingly vulnerable Emily was gone, the stern exterior back in place. “Besides,” she said more forcefully, “I’ve already paid for the good doctor’s services, and I know you wouldn’t want me to waste my money.”
Morgan grumbled again.
“Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
Emily nodded with a small, genuine smile. She then rose from her chair and headed towards the door. She glanced at the antique clock on the wall as she did so.
“Actually, looking at the hour, you should be done just in time for supper. I’m sure Haruhi will have some good ideas for what you can do together afterwards.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” Morgan replied, finding that she actually was.
EPILOGUE
While government research and programs are all well and good, and often necessary, there is a side effect of letting a group do things with what is, in the end, someone else’s money. When it isn’t their money being risked, they will take far more risks, and if the whole thing fails utterly, they’ll collectively just shrug and try again, or even keep on going with whatever failed in the first place.
- Representative J. Wright, parliament of Socorro
ALEXANDER POPOV was no longer at his boring desk in orbit of Trimbol, nor was he wearing his boring suit.
He stood on the bridge of his lead jumpship, wearing a uniform that was carefully tailored to look like a pompous merchant captain rather than anything explicitly military.
All around him his men were preparing for departure, doing final checks on the docking clamps for their complement of frigates as well as a thousand other important details.
The hatch in the rear opened and Miss Akull strode out, wearing a similar outfit to his, though with a tight skirt accentuating her long legs.
“I have the final report from my spies on Albion. As far as they can tell, none of the assassins made it off planet, though they don’t have an accurate count for how many died and how many went to ground.”
Popov grunted his annoyance, and then Miss Akull continued.
“That is the bad news. The good news is only three targets were missed. In one case, we think the assassin never got their orders. In the second the assassin died in an actual air car accident, of all things…”
“And the third was this mess?” Popov asked, interrupting Miss Akull and pointing at the screen showing the news of the attack on Lady Novan at the spaceport.
“Yes. That one was a bit messy. Luckily for us, Ms. Ice didn’t survive her blunder, sparing us the expense of having to hire s
omeone else to deal with her.”
“How many of the assassins demanded full payment up front?”
“None of them, actually. It’s one of the advantages of working with professionals.”
“Did you already bill Hillman?”
“Of course, for the full amount.”
“It’s always nice to start an operation already showing a profit,” Popov said with a cold grin. He turned back to the main screen, speaking up so the others could hear. “Once everything shows green, set a course for the Parlon system. It’s time to make some money.”
THE END
Table of Contents
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
EPILOGUE
Black Holiday (The Black Chronicles Book 2) Page 17
