by K Bledsoe
Perhaps that was why he hadn’t heard anything for three days. Maybe the search was right back in his lap as it had been for the past fifteen years. Grimly, he decided to begin by monitoring the club. The news said it was closed and Jonah knew that if it had been a front for the slave ring, they had probably already moved on. Maybe he would get lucky, but so far luck didn’t seem to be on his side. With this lead gone, Jonah hoped the Xa’ti’al got what she needed, or this investigation into the lost princess was over. As he tapped into the public cameras, he set them to record and reached over to switch the monitor to the main board now that Ginette was leaving. But his hand froze over the switch and he gaped in surprise.
Staring at the club was the information broker, the woman he had spent years trying to find.
***
Raahi couldn’t believe it. She had seen the feed that morning, and the personal video they showed looked like the same woman who was meeting with the companion though the man with her was not Lavan. Why had she been there? What happened? Raahi didn’t believe in the terrorist story but the coincidence that the people she was shadowing were here, messing with one of the buildings on her regular watch, made her very uncomfortable. Perhaps she should abandon her plans despite the time and resources already spent. She hadn’t gotten this far without knowing the fine line between taking risks and being stupid.
She spun on her heel and headed home. This would require some serious thought.
***
Hahn paced back and forth. Thom should have been here by now. Lavan was in his room again with Amala. Yesterday when she had left, a look passed between them that told Hahn it was time for the second part of his plan.
He looked at his watch and his anger went up another notch as he realized this was the first time any of his lackeys had ever kept him waiting. He was about to snarl into his wrist comp to demand Thom’s location, but there was a quick rap at the door followed by it’s opening.
Thom entered holding up a box about the size of his head.
“I got it, Hahn.”
“Who said you could enter?” Hahn demanded. “How dare you open the door without my permission. And how am I supposed to be addressed?”
Thom took a step back up against the door at Hahn’s vehemence.
“I…I… apologize, Your Highness.” He bowed low, but not before Hahn saw the fear in his eyes. “It will never happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t.” Though it was satisfying to see the flinch at his intimidating tone, Hahn realized he shouldn’t take out his anger on devoted followers. He reined in his temper. “So, you have what I required?”
Thom looked up, and Hahn was pleased to see subdued respect.
“Yes, Your Highness.” He opened the box and produced a video camera. “Where shall I set it up?”
“On that table,” Hahn said, pointing. “Are Endon and Rifkin coming?”
“They are awaiting a signal from me,” replied Thom as he began to set up the camera.
“Signal them now. It’s time.”
Thom nodded, tapped his wrist comp and only a few minutes later, the camera was ready. The other two lackeys were seated on the couch, anticipation easy to read on their faces.
Hahn lifted his chin and approached Lavan’s door. He indicated with a wave of his hand that Thom was to start the recording. Hahn waited a heartbeat for dramatic effect then flung open the door to his companion’s room.
The two were caught in a kiss. Not a very passionate one but it made the prince sneer with satisfaction. Perfect.
“Well, this is nice,” he commented as they sprang apart. “It appears I chose well for you, didn’t I, Lavan?”
“Yes,” said Lavan as he stepped in front of Amala.
This was just getting better and better.
“You have never thanked me, though, Companion,” he said.
“I didn’t?” Lavan looked confused but played it well. “I regret my omission. Please accept my gratitude at your generosity.” He bowed slightly.
Amala stood peering around Lavan, looking frightened.
“You are welcome. Is she as talented as I thought she would be? I assume she has taught you a great deal and you her?”
“Of course, Prince Hahn,” said Lavan.
“Good.” He held out his hand. “Time for her to show how much she knows.”
“What?”
The confusion on his companion’s face was a delight.
“Thom wishes to learn as well. She needs to earn her position, you know.” He beckoned with his outstretched hand. “Come, Amala.”
A squeak from the girl only fired up Hahn’s excitement. Maybe I will have her as well.
“You said she was for me. Nobody else can have her.” Lavan was showing his anger openly for the first time ever.
That just won’t do.
“No, Companion. I said she would teach you. I never said she was only yours.” Hahn took the few steps to the couple and roughly grabbed Amala’s arm. Lavan actually shoved at Hahn to make him let go.
Expecting such a move, Hahn braced for the shove then backhanded Lavan across the face as hard as he could. Lavan was flung back to sprawl on the floor. Hahn was impressed with his own strength and glanced at the camera to make sure it had all been recorded.
“I am the authority here, Lavan. Never, ever question that again.” Still holding Amala’s arm, he leaned over Lavan. “I gave her to you, I can take her away.”
He dragged her out the door, ignoring her protests and struggles. Lavan scrambled to his feet and tried to stop them again. This time, Hahn slapped Amala, not as hard but enough to leave a mark. Everyone was stunned silent, including the watchers, though Thom had such a lascivious grin, it was humorous.
“No more protests. She is only going to show us why you have been with her every day. If she’s that good, we all should experience it. If you try to interfere again, I won’t stop with just a slap.”
For the first time, Lavan looked as if he would stand up to Hahn. Come on, do it. Hahn was nearly disappointed when Amala shook her head at Lavan and the companion’s face crumpled. Cowards.
“Please, Hahn. Let her go. For me.” There were actually tears in Lavan’s eyes. Hahn hoped Thom was getting a close-up.
“You’ve had your fun, now it’s time for other to benefit from my generosity. You’ve ignored me for days and that is not how things are supposed to be, Companion. Remember that.”
He shoved Amala at Thom who quickly handed the camera to Rifkin. Thom grabbed the girl hard enough to bruise.
“Please, enjoy my room, Thom. No need to drag her all the way to your place.”
His slow grin was all the answer they needed. Amala and Lavan kept their gazes locked on each other until the door closed, then Lavan dashed out of the suite, slamming the door behind him
The perfect end to the perfect plan.
Hahn grabbed the camera and then dismissed the other two to go follow the companion so that he could watch the recording of Lavan's anguish in private.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Diarmin looked up as he saw Quinn’s head pop out of the stairwell. Quinn glanced toward Lenore and Allison, but they still had their heads together over the console. Diarmin wasn’t sure how to interpret Quinn’s completely blank expression.
“How are the youngsters?”
Quinn closed the distance and stood next to the command console.
“All asleep, finally. They’re in the lounge because they threw a fit when I tried to get them into a guest room. Probably because it reminded them of the cell.” A shadow of a frown flitted across Quinn’s face, but Diarmin didn’t interrupt.
“I think I finally convinced Surhi, the oldest girl, we would get her home, but that it was dangerous to return immediately.” Quinn shook his head. “It would be easier if she spoke Standard fluently, but I think she’s only had a year or two of instruction. The two little ones only speak the local language, and the translator has a glitch and isn’t translating accura
tely.”
“We’ll have to have Allison look at that.”
“Yeah, so I am pretty sure she understands we aren’t just more kidnappers, and she told me where she lives, so I know we can find it later. Mom will know how long we have to wait.” Quinn glanced at Lenore again, and Diarmin wanted to wince at the subdued tone. Quinn had learned a hard lesson, but Diarmin hoped it wouldn’t crush his spirit.
“And when and if we can get a message to their family to leave for their own good,” added Diarmin. Quinn nodded absently, deep in thought and still staring at his mother. Diarmin reached out and gripped Quinn’s shoulder gently. “You did well, Quinn.”
Quinn grimaced and looked down, clearly not agreeing with his father.
“Hey,” he shook his son’s shoulder a bit, causing him to look directly at him. “I mean it. You stayed alive and level-headed. You helped save those children and have since calmed and communicated with them when they would have nothing to do with us.”
Quinn looked like he was going to dismiss his part, but Diarmin cut him off.
“It could have been a lot worse,” he said. “A lot worse.”
Quinn nodded and looked away. His lips tightened, and the fire in his eyes made Diarmin smile inwardly. I will bet that Quinn has just decided that he would prepare so such a thing would never happen again. It was good to know Quinn’s spirit was still there.
He let go of his son’s shoulder and tapped the board. “We will be here for several hours, but we’ll get them home as soon as we can. Meanwhile, keep doing what you are doing.”
“Okay. Thanks, Dad.”
“Well, that’s a good start,” said Lenore. Diarmin thought she was talking to him and Quinn, but she was slowly standing up from the console and clearly looking at Allison. “I think this line will be the next to follow.” She pointed at the screen and Diarmin noticed a slight wince of pain. “It would go a lot faster if we could break the rest of the code.”
“Well, the only reason I broke that one was because it was obvious that those were coordinates and dates,” said Allison. “With words, it’s a lot harder. First, what language, then what cipher, and so on.”
Lenore smiled. “I’m not blaming you, Allie. You’ve done a great job. Let’s let the programs chew on the code for a while. I’m hungry.”
“And I need to alter the ship ID.” Allison stood and headed for her station.
“Not so fast,” said Diarmin. “You, young lady, need some rest.”
“I’m fine, Dad.”
“You haven’t slept in two days so get to your bunk.”
“Let me just…”
“No.” He strode to her station and turned it off, hand covering the switch so that she couldn’t turn it back on.
“Hey!”
“Sleep. I am not risking your health on something that can be done later. And better with a rested mind.”
Allison let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine.” She stomped down the ladder to the rooms. Lenore looked on with a smile until her husband shook his finger at her.
“I’m tempted to send you back to bed. You are by no means recovered.”
“I slept long enough, and food is more important than rest right now.” Her gaze shifted to Quinn and Diarmin could see a gauntlet of emotions flow briefly across her face.
“Good to see you up, Quinn. Hungry?”
He shrugged. “Sure, I can always eat.”
“I will guard the bridge to make sure Allison doesn’t sneak back up here,” said Diarmin. “Catch her up on the kids, Quinn.”
He nodded solemnly at his father then followed Lenore down the ladder. Diarmin knew they needed the time alone together, but he had no idea what the outcome would be. Anger, tears, blame? He so wanted to be there, but he had to trust that Lenore wouldn’t alienate their son.
***
Quinn and his mom were seated, each with a sandwich and drink, by the time Quinn finished reciting all that had happened with the children. They had gone below decks to the cargo bay so that they could talk without disturbing the sleeping children in the lounge. Perched on a stack of grav plates, Quinn searched for a way to begin what he knew was going to be an awkward conversation.
“Dad and I thought you would know best how and when to contact the girls’ parents. Also, what we should do with the boy.” His mother looked at him sharply but said nothing. He figured he wasn’t doing the humble and contrite bit very well.
“I…I’m so sorry, Mom. You could have been killed and Dad and Alli. I should never have—”
“That’s right, you shouldn’t have.”
Quinn hung his head.
“But…” Lenore cleared her throat. “But even though you did a lot wrong, there were a lot of things you did right.” He looked up at her, but she turned her head away, as if she were searching for the right words. “You stayed healthy, you had the presence of mind to stick to your story and even changed it in a clever way when you heard what I had told them. They evidently believed you or you would’ve been sold or…” she swallowed but continued strongly, “or dead.” She set her jaw and looked him straight in the eye. Quinn couldn’t wrench his gaze from hers. “One wrong move, Quinn, just one, and that is exactly how it would have ended. In this case, I think your naivety served you well. It showed that you were not prepared or trained at all for espionage.” Her rough assessment caused Quinn to flush, but he endured the rebuke. He deserved whatever punishment and admonishments he got.
“Your rashness forced us into a situation, and now we have angered one of the biggest, most organized slave trades I have ever seen. I am sure we are labeled as fugitives and that makes working the case we came here for even more difficult.”
Now Quinn looked away, fighting tears at the knowledge of just how much he had screwed up.
“Fortunately, we salvaged something by downloading a lot of data from their files.” Lenore gave a wry smile. “I am sure they are putting security in place to avoid just such an invasion in the future. Now, before I decide what to do with you, tell me what you have learned.”
Quinn was confused at the quick change of subject. “Learned? I already told you how they reacted to me mentioning the princess. Do you mean about the slavers or about my actions?”
“Tell me what you have learned.”
“I’m not sure…” He focused on his hands.
She interrupted his mumbling hesitations by grabbing his right shoulder, emphasizing each of her next words with a rough shake.
“What-have-you-learned?”
Not used to such harsh treatment from his mother, Quinn stared before answering.
“I learned that I wasn’t ready for such an assignment,” he said with a half-hearted attempt at humor. His mother simply dropped her hand from his shoulder, apparently still waiting. He looked around the cargo bay, focusing on nothing.
“I learned that the people who are part of this slave thing show no mercy and have no problem torturing children. I learned that they don’t value anything but money. I learned that it hurts to be shocked. I learned that no matter what I did or said, they found an excuse to hurt me.” He was nearly shouting now though his eyes were leaking tears.
“I learned that everything they do is designed to humiliate and take away hope. I learned that I was nothing but an investment, and I knew if I wasn’t worth keeping around, they would get rid of me. But mostly I learned,” and here he choked, lowering his voice. “I learned that I knew nothing about what I was doing and was not prepared for…for that. And I learned that I was completely powerless and helpless for the first time in my life. And…” He broke off, not sure what else to say but feeling he wasn’t finished.
“And you don’t want to feel that powerless or helpless again. Ever.” Lenore spoke in a whisper, but it cut straight through to his heart.
“Yes,” he whispered back. Now his tears flowed freely, but it was a release. The weight that had been crushing his spirit seemed lighter.
“Then that is where we will star
t your training.”
Quinn’s head jerked up. “What?”
“You are right that you weren’t ready at all. But now you know what it is like and why I didn’t want you involved. Not like any entertainment program, but horrible and terrifying.” Lenore sighed. “But if you truly want to do this, to learn what I know and do what I do, I will teach you.”
Quinn couldn’t believe his ears. He would have thought his mother would never let him off the ship again. He opened his mouth to answer but quickly closed it again.
“Don’t answer now,” she said. “Think about it as long as you want. Take time to recover from … that. Ask me whatever; talk to your father. You will know when and if you are ready.” She reached over and embraced him. “I love you, no matter what you choose.”
Before he could hug her back she let go. “Now go get some rest. Sleep, if you can.” She grinned. “You look as awful as I feel.”
“But…” How could he tell her that his room felt too small? That he was afraid to sleep, worried in his gut that he would wind up back in his cell? That every time he closed his eyes, he could feel the collar back on his neck?
“I think you need to sleep in the lounge, in case the kids wake up.” Lenore stood up. “I’ll get some blankets and a pillow.” She patted him on the shoulder on her way out.
He smiled, amazed at the huge sense of relief at her suggestion. Maybe she did understand. As he carried the dishes back up to the galley and lounge, he wondered how she knew exactly how he felt.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Diarmin ran into Lenore coming out of the lounge.
“Allison is sleeping.” He grinned. “I was ready to give her some sleeping meds, but it wasn’t necessary.”
“I just gave Quinn some blankets to bed down in the lounge with the kids,” she replied, barely slowing down as she headed back to the bridge. “He might not sleep, but he’s relaxed enough to get some rest, I think.”
“Now that things are somewhat back to normal,” muttered Diarmin as he followed his wife. Lenore glanced back at him but was quiet. She plopped herself in front of the display again and was immediately absorbed in the information they pulled from the slavers.
