Running Toward Home

by M B Panichi

  “Honey, wait, let me help you.”

  Morgan sighed, relieved to see her partner. She’d been about to get seriously frustrated with being one-handed and not very flexible. “Thanks.” She sniffed the air.

  Shaine smiled and kissed her as she started undoing the buttons on the pajamas. “I ran out for coffee and doughnuts,” she said. “I didn’t figure you’d be up before I got back.”

  Morgan nodded and let Shaine gently remove her shirt, wincing as she lifted her arm a little bit.

  “Sorry,” Shaine murmured. “I’ll get the painkillers, okay? Is it pretty bad?”

  “It burns and throbs, but I’ll live,” Morgan said. “Food and coffee should help a lot. I was going to shower, then go see Doc Nguyen.”

  Shaine asked, “Shower first or food first?”

  “Shower, I think, since I’m already half-naked.” Morgan grinned and leered at Shaine. “Maybe you can help, hmmm? I seem to be having issues undressing.”

  Shaine grinned. “Oh, I think I can manage that,” she chuckled. She traced gentle fingers lightly over the clear nu-skin dressing covering the burns on Morgan’s right shoulder.

  Morgan shivered at the touch and felt a flush of warmth flow to her center. Her shoulder ached but her nipples were hard and ached in a different way.

  Shaine trailed her fingers down to Morgan’s breasts. Morgan sucked in air as Shaine’s hands drifted down her sides. Shaine dropped to her knees as she hooked her fingers in the waistband of Morgan’s boxers and pulled them down. Morgan felt the goose pimples follow the paths of Shaine’s warm hands down her legs.

  Shaine looked up at her, green eyes darkened with desire. “You are so beautiful, Morg,” she murmured.

  Morgan swallowed, used her good hand to grab a fistful of Shaine’s shirt and pull her back to her feet. Shaine rose gracefully. Morgan yanked on the shirt. “Off,” she said. “Now.”

  Shaine mock saluted. “Yes, ma’am,” she whispered, and pulled her tunic over her head, leaving her upper body bare. Morgan never tired of the view. Small firm breasts, solid muscular abs, strong shoulders and arms.

  Shaine kicked off her boots, pants, boxers and socks, then folded Morgan into her arms.

  Morgan sighed, melting into the skin-on-skin contact, the heat of Shaine’s body, the strength and hardness of muscle and the softness of her skin. She leaned up for a kiss, and Shaine teased her lips with her tongue.

  Morgan pulled Shaine’s head down with her good arm, deepening the kiss. Desire washed through her. She slid her tongue against Shaine’s, wanting more. Needing more.

  Shaine’s large hands cupped her ass, pulling her close, holding her up as Morgan wrapped her legs around Shaine’s waist. She could feel the wet heat as she pressed her center against Shaine’s abdomen.

  Shaine didn’t break the kiss as she carried Morgan into the tiny bathroom. Still holding Morgan against her, she reached into the sonic shower and turned it on, turning up the heat setting on the lamp and the steamer.

  Morgan pressed harder into Shaine. Her sore arm was trapped safely between them, her other arm wrapped around Shaine’s neck.

  Shaine stepped into the shower and the warm steam hissed around them, enhanced by the heat lamp above. Shaine moved her lips down Morgan’s neck, her hands kneading Morgan’s ass. Morgan moaned. Shaine pressed Morgan’s back against the shower wall, and Morgan let one leg down, finding her footing, but keeping her other leg wrapped around, giving Shaine access. Any pain she felt disappeared as Shaine slid inside her, filling her.

  Morgan gasped and thrust against Shaine’s hand. “More,” she breathed.

  Shaine captured her lips again and increased the force and speed of her plunging fingers. Morgan felt the wave building and pushed hard against Shaine. Shaine’s thumb slid against her clit and Morgan cried out against Shaine’s mouth as she came, clinging to Shaine as her body shuddered with pleasure. Her knees went rubbery, and Shaine held her up, kissing her face, holding her close until the spasms stopped.

  The hot spray blew lightly against them.

  Shaine whispered into Morgan’s ear, “I love you so much.”

  Morgan felt tears joining the dampness on her face. “I love you too.” She felt as though her heart might explode with love. She buried her face against Shaine’s shoulder.

  Shaine supported her with one arm and rubbed her back with her other hand, murmuring quiet assurances against her damp hair.

  Morgan wasn’t sure how long they stood that way. Eventually they finished showering. Shaine helped Morgan dress, and they lingered over coffee and pastries before Shaine walked Morgan to the infirmary. As they approached the med center, Shaine said, “I really need to go down and check on the prisoner. Will you be okay on your own? I’ll meet you down in the warehouse for the filming.”

  Morgan smiled. “I’m good.”

  Shaine hugged her carefully, and Morgan returned a slightly more forceful one-armed hug and leaned her head against Shaine’s chest. “Thank you for earlier,” she said softly.

  Shaine gave her a quick kiss. “Thank you,” she said, and slipped away down the hall.

  Morgan watched her for a few moments before turning to palm the door.

  * * *

  After her stop at the infirmary, Morgan walked slowly to the warehouse, thinking she should have grabbed an indoor skimmer. Her shoulder throbbed and pinched under her clothes, probably because of Dr. Nguyen’s ministrations. The energy she’d had in the shower with Shaine was long gone. Maybe it was the painkillers wiping her out. Maybe it was because it just hurt that damned bad, and her body needed sleep to heal.

  As the door opened, Morgan trudged inside the warehouse and looked around. The stage had been set up just to the left of the entrance. All the lights and cameras were set up around a couch and a chair. The vid monitors and soundboard were set up on a worktable, and Metlend and a couple of the techs crowded around the controls. Kathryn Leer sat in Howard’s makeup chair, but they were just talking and drinking coffee and it appeared her makeup had already been done.

  Morgan crossed the floor to where Friday stood off to the side with Del and Joe Hailey.

  Del looked her up and down as she approached. “You look like shit, Rahn.”

  “Thanks. I feel like shit, so it’s appropriate.”

  Friday gave her a hug. Morgan returned it as best she could, not even minding that it hurt like a bitch when Friday hugged too hard. “I gotta sit down, you guys.”

  Joe grabbed a stackable chair from behind one of the worktables. “Sit, kid.”

  “Thanks.” She sank onto the chair with a sigh of relief and leaned back, closing her eyes for a few seconds. She really wasn’t feeling like being interviewed, even if it was only a short segment.

  Metlend and Kathryn walked over to join them. Kathryn gave Morgan a concerned once-over. “How are you doing?” she asked. “Are you up for this?”

  Morgan nodded. “Sore and tired, but I’m okay to finish the interview.” She managed a brave smile. “Are you guys all doing okay?”

  Kathryn grinned. “We’re all fine. Of course, we weren’t shot.” She turned her smile on Friday. “What about you, Friday? How are you feeling today?”

  Friday’s smile was somewhat less excited than it had been the previous day but there was a hard determination in her blue eyes. “I’m not that easily scared off,” she said. “I’ve come this far, and I’m not going to stop now.”

  Morgan grinned proudly at her. Del slapped the teen’s shoulder. “You said it kid. Never show ’em they won. You are one tough cookie.”

  Friday flushed and her smile intensified.

  Kathryn said, “You’re both brave, and I’m glad we’re going to finish the interview. I want to be able to show the world that you’re both really special, strong women.”

  Morgan said quietly, “I’m not special. Friday’s the special one. She’s a super-smart, talented person, and given the chance she’s going to go far.”

  Kathryn clapped her ha
nds together. “Let’s get going then,” she said decisively. “Rog, get everyone on set and ready to go.”

  * * *

  Later that evening, Morgan stood with Shaine and Josef at a small portal in the warehouse, watching the chartered supply shuttle fire up its turbo engines and surge down the short runway outside the temporary dome. It lumbered for a couple seconds before it lifted off the ground and rumbled into the sky, taking with it yet another episode of their lives.

  Morgan felt an odd sense of finality and relief knowing that Andy Lenz was on that ship under the watchful guard of Del, Lukas and two others. They also had the sealed evidence case. One more threat eliminated. She wondered when there would be another, but didn’t have the energy to pursue the thought. It would happen, or it wouldn’t.

  Kathryn Leer and her crew had left on the shuttle as well. Morgan was glad to have had a chance to say goodbye to her, and to thank her again for making the interview so painless. Friday sent along her thanks, but didn’t want to be in the vicinity when security brought Andy Lenz down to the shuttle. Morgan understood. She’d kept her distance when they’d escorted him to the airlock, purposely staying out of his direct line of sight.

  Shaine’s com buzzed as they watched the shuttle lights disappear into the stars. Morgan raised a brow at Shaine in a silent question. Shaine mouthed, “Kyle Ellerand,” as she tapped the com and engaged her earbud rather than the speaker. She greeted him, adding, “Let me get to my office and I’ll call you back.”

  She listened to the reply and nodded. “Okay. Give me about half an hour.” She closed the connection and said, “Let’s get Friday. Kyle might have something on Lenz. Josef, you too. Meet us in my office.”

  * * *

  Shaine had her monitor split, with Ellerand in one window and the document that he’d sent in the other. Morgan, Friday and Josef crowded around her desk.

  Friday knelt in front, leaning toward the monitor as she studied the second window, slowly scrolling through a series of stills taken by a surveillance camera in the colony. “That’s him. I’m sure of it,” she said. She sent a suspicious glance at Kyle Ellerand. “Where’d you get these?”

  He smiled. “For me to know and you not to, kid,” he replied easily.

  She stuck her tongue out at him.

  He continued, “Obviously, this isn’t going to be allowable in court, since I’ve got no warrants, but someone could follow up on it and go through legal means to get the information.”

  Shaine nodded in agreement.

  Ellerand continued, “Nice thing about shoddy network security is that you can do a lot of random digging around in people’s stuff. The name Lenz used at the colony is Bart Michaels. Not sure if that’s another alias. I found the most info about him in communications between Abraham and Daniel John. The transcripts are with the data I sent.

  “Michaels touted himself as a private undercover investigator. His thing was blending in and not being noticed. Having no prints made him that much more untraceable.”

  Friday asked, “How’d he lose his fingerprints?”

  “He got caught in a chemical spill that killed at least thirty others. He got chemical burns all over his hands. Apparently he nearly died from inhaling the fumes. He got religion when he was recovering and ended up joining the Unified Martian Temple. He was a member of the church for quite a while before Abraham discovered him and hired him to investigate a couple of people he wanted to bring into the fold.”

  Shaine said, “Okay, that all makes sense. But it doesn’t get us any closer to hanging him. Other than the fact that we have him on tape shooting at Morgan and Friday.”

  Kyle grinned and held up his hands. “I know. It gets more interesting. Abraham was pissed as hell about the mining facility being built so close to his colony. He wanted Mars, or at least that piece of it, for himself. There are documents and communications that suggest he wanted to spread the colony out so that Mann-Maru would have to buy land from him. There are records of him inquiring about buying more land for expansion. The problem is, the planet is in trust of the Out System Government, so there isn’t commercial land available unless the OSG grants the land. OSG wasn’t interested in dealing with Abraham and shot him down outright.

  “So Abraham sent Michaels back to Moon Base to get on one of the work crews going to the new site. Michaels was supposed to wait for Abraham to tell him what to do. I don’t know what Abraham actually had planned. Daniel John talked vaguely about wiping out the whole mining site.”

  Morgan said, “I thought Lenz had no outside contact while he was here.”

  “He didn’t. He was supposed to just wait for orders. By the time he arrived at the mining site, Friday was already there. It’s not clear, but I’d guess he decided to take the matter into his own hands.”

  “Maybe he realized Friday recognized him and he panicked,” Shaine suggested.

  Ellerand shrugged. “I sent all the documents to you. The important parts are bookmarked, so they’re easy to find. One thing’s for sure, these guys are not smart. I don’t know why they insist on keeping written journals and traceable records. Idiots. Maybe they thought being on Mars would insulate them. They had everything encrypted, but it only took me about three minutes to crack it.” He shook his head. “Man, a child could’ve done it.”

  Friday muttered, “No kidding.”

  Ellerand laughed. “I gotta go. I’m already late for a meeting with Barill about something or other.”

  “Thanks, Kyle.”

  He shrugged. “No problem. Later, ladies, Josef.”

  He killed the connection, and his window went blank.

  Shaine and Morgan exchanged glances. Josef scratched his head. Shaine said, “Another nail in Abraham’s coffin.”

  Josef shrugged. “Possible. It’s all disallowed evidence.”

  Friday muttered, “As long as he goes to jail, I’m happy. Fucking bastard.”

  Shaine raised at brow at the language, and Friday scowled. “Just speaking the truth.”

  Morgan asked, “What are you going to do with the data he sent? You can’t really send it to the authorities.”

  “I’ll send it to Maruchek’s lawyers. They can get someone to start a legitimate investigation. If they do it right, they can tie this guy to Abraham.”

  Friday asked, “Do you suppose they’re going to want me to testify in person at some point?”

  Shaine shrugged. “If there’s a trial, it’s a good possibility,” she admitted. “But we’d be there with you. We’d never let you go by yourself, Fri. I’m guessing it’s more likely to be settled out of court. For Michaels, it could go either way. Depends on how he pleads. If he pleads guilty, they won’t bother with a full court trial.”

  “You guys really promise to be there?”

  Morgan hugged her hard with her good arm. “We’ll be there. Promise.”

  Friday grinned. “You guys are the best.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Morgan used the remote to turn on the vid screen. Friday had moved the end table from the other side of the room and put the vid screen on top of it. Shaine and Morgan settled on the bed, leaning against the wall with their legs stretched out. Friday was on the floor in front of the bed, wrapped in a blanket and holding a bowl of chips.

  The rec center down the hall was packed with just about everyone who wasn’t on shift, but Morgan, Shaine and Friday decided to watch Kathryn Leer’s interview on the small vid screen in their quarters.

  Morgan shifted to get comfortable. Even after a week, she was still using the sling to keep her arm immobile. She made sure Shaine was on her good side so she could lean in and cuddle. She pulled the quilt up over their legs and twined her fingers with Shaine’s. She wanted—needed—the contact. She didn’t admit to being nervous about watching the interview, but Shaine seemed to know anyway, and squeezed her hand.

  The show opened with eye-catching footage filmed from the shuttle’s cockpit as they flew over the construction-site and swooped down to
the red gravel for a landing. Kathryn’s smooth contralto introduced the show and described the setting. They showed a group of construction workers outside on the site grounds, the geologists in the lab, people lounging around the rec room and eating in the cafeteria. Morgan thought they did a good job of making the place seem relatively hospitable. After the intro and a commercial break, Kathryn introduced Morgan.

  Morgan frowned. It was bizarre seeing herself. She wondered what people would think. Shaine patted her hand. Morgan leaned into Shaine’s side and rested her head on her shoulder. Shaine slid an arm around her, pulling her close.

  Shaine said quietly, “You look good, baby.”

  “I look like I’m going to throw up.”

  “No you don’t.”

  Morgan sighed.

  Shaine whispered, “I love you.”

  Morgan cuddled closer, watching herself talk to Kathryn Leer, answering questions about her life, her family and the sudden discovery of her true birthright. They discussed how she didn’t want to change or become someone she wasn’t because of the sudden fortune and fame. It seemed a familiar theme lately, as did her plea for the media to leave her alone to live her life.

  God, I sound like a damned whiny baby, she thought. At least the plea was an honest one.

  When Kathryn introduced Friday, the feel of the interview changed. Morgan was surprised by the interaction between herself and Friday. She hadn’t realized how protective she was of the younger woman. Or how the two of them interacted the way she’d imagined sisters would act.

  Friday came across as comfortable, confident and happy. She talked excitedly about her intention to make something of her life and pursue her interests in 3D graphic arts and mechanics. Her young face lit up with the possibilities. The obvious admiration and fondness she felt toward Morgan and Shaine was evident any time she mentioned them.

  The interview progressed to the point where Bart Michaels, a.k.a. Andy Lenz, started shooting at the stage.

  Even though she knew it was coming, Morgan jerked as the laser blasts flew. She held her breath as she watched herself push Friday down and winced as the lasers hit her exposed shoulder. Had she not reacted, Lenz would have fried holes in Friday’s head.