The Lost Princess

by K Bledsoe

She didn’t remove her cap or unwind the scarf until the door was closed. “You shouldn’t have.”

  “It is my honor and pleasure to cook for you,” said Jonah, not understanding the uncomfortable look on her face.

  “May I help?”

  “Thank you, but it is just about finished.” Jonah sensed an air of melancholy about her and wanted to erase the sadness from her eyes. “To be honest, it’s one of those quick-heat meals that all I have to do is pop the seal, give it a stir and wait for it to warm up.”

  Raahi gave a tiny smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Jonah went to get the food, worried. As he heaped it on plates, he wondered at her mood. Maybe she couldn’t get the information she was going to give him and didn’t want to disappoint. No, there’s more to it. But I will focus on making her forget about her troubles.

  “Here we go.” He placed the dishes with a flourish and opened a bottle of wine. He held a glass up and looked at Raahi with his eyebrows raised in a wordless question. She nodded, and he poured a glass for each of them.

  During dinner, he chatted about his day, leaving out his visit with Lavan of course. He had never explained exactly what his position was in the palace but had told her he often pulled security monitoring duties there.

  She answered noncommittally in all the right places but added nothing of her own. He resorted to pulling out amusing stories about what people did when they didn’t think anyone was watching. Usually visitors to the palace didn’t realize there were cameras everywhere. And most of the palace cameras included audio pickups as well which gave him more humorous tales.

  “I mean, even with the sound at normal volume I could hear the rumbling in her stomach. And the look of pain on her face as she sat in the waiting room chair.” Jonah shook his head. “I was quite impressed that she made it through the entire audience with the council despite the digestion issues.” Jonah laughed. “I kept expecting her to excuse herself, but she stoically presented her case.” He took a drink of wine. “And then there was the delegate from the Western province at the annual banquet two years ago who ate only the insides of the cheese rolls. I mean he unrolled the entire thing, scooped out the cheese, rolled the bread back up and returned it to the table. If he didn’t want the bread he could have just thrown it away, but you know the Westerners, ‘waste no food.’ Of course, I had to report it and for the rest of the night, a servant quietly followed him unobtrusively picking out all the food he put back. It was worth the overtime I had to put in for that night.”

  Raahi pushed her plate away, having eaten very little. Jonah decided his joviality wasn’t working, but still was hesitant to pry into this very private woman’s life.

  “I am sorry. That story probably didn’t make this cheap food any more appealing.”

  She looked up at him and back down at her plate. “No, it’s not that. I am not very hungry. It’s been a long day.”

  “And a difficult one?” he asked softly. “Would you like to talk about it?” The question just slipped out. The surprise on her face embarrassed him, and he berated himself for the slip.

  “I apologize, I shouldn’t have…” He stood and started to clear the table but stopped when she put her hand on his arm.

  “No. I apologize. I have been a terrible guest. I am unused to people caring about how I am feeling.”

  Jonah was frozen, acutely aware of her hand. In the week they had worked together, it was the first time she had touched him. His gaze flicked to hers and locked there. He couldn’t look away and hoped desperately that she couldn’t see the turmoil raging within him.

  For several long breaths they both stared. Then she looked down at her hand as if she hadn’t realized that it was there but, to his joy, she didn’t remove it. Instead, she smiled the first genuine smile of the night and squeezed his arm gently.

  “Thank you. For caring. And after I help you with the dishes, I will tell you about my long and difficult day.”

  Jonah didn’t give a damn about the dishes, but it gave him time to cool off and bring his emotions under control. Stealing glances at Raahi every chance he got didn’t help, but he could tell she was using the time to collect her thoughts.

  When the dishes were clean and put away, they returned to the couch, wine glasses in hand. Raahi took a long swallow and held it out for a refill. As he filled it, she reached into her jacket to remove something. It wasn’t in an inner jacket pocket but hidden on her person. It must be incredibly valuable, he thought.

  “This is what I wanted to show you.” She opened her hand and resting on her palm was a small, square chip about the size of a thumbnail. Jonah set the glass down on the table and reached for it.

  “May I?”

  She nodded, and he carefully took it from her hand. The top had what looked like imbedded tiny electronics, and when he turned it over, he could barely make out markings. He would need a magnifier to read them, but he had the feeling they were manufacturing identification.

  “What is this?”

  She took it back from him with a sigh. Her jaw clenched briefly as if she didn’t want to answer him.

  “This is a chip implant that carries a tiny explosive. Don’t worry it has been disabled.” She took another deep breath. “It is usually implanted close to the heart of a slave to ‘discourage’ escape attempts.”

  “You were a slave, weren’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was this yours?”

  She shook her head, emotions flitting across her face. “It belonged to my twin sister.” She reached into that hidden pocket again and pulled out a photo on permanent plexiplastic. It showed two women so alike that he couldn’t tell which was Raahi. Both had long, flowing, black hair and looked to be only slightly younger than Raahi was now. Both were also way too thin but smiling with clear eyes and smooth dark skin.

  “This was taken after we gained our freedom.”

  “Where is she now?” He suspected he knew the answer but couldn’t hold back.

  “She died.” The set look on her face meant she wasn’t going to give any more detail than that. “I had the chip removed after she died in case I ever had a chance to give it to someone who could use it against the slavers.”

  “But—”

  “If you couldn’t find out about the ship, you may not find out about this, but perhaps those friends of yours who are now offplanet could.”

  Jonah allowed the subject change even though he greatly wanted to keep the subject on Raahi and her past.

  “Yes, if anyone can find out about them, it would probably be them. When they return I will inquire. However, I have a favor to ask, a small job which I believe you are extremely suited for.”

  “What would that be?”

  Her wariness was back. Jonah regretted the return of the distance between them.

  “I need a device to scramble video signals, but it needs to fail after a couple of uses.”

  “That’s an interesting twist.” She cocked her head. “What is it for?”

  He wagged his finger. “Ah, ah. Can’t give that information away. Can you do it? You will be paid well.”

  “Certainly. That’s easy, and I can have it for you tomorrow. Strange, though.”

  “What?”

  “I would think you would have easy access to that sort of device yourself, seeing what you do. I am guessing that you even have one already.”

  “Well, yes, but I can’t really use that.” Without thinking, he touched his collar bone, where the implant that scrambled signals was placed.

  Raahi suddenly rose, grabbed her cap and scarf and, not bothering to put either on, headed for the door.

  “I shall have that for you tomorrow, Mr. Wilkerson.”

  “Wait, where are you going? We haven’t—”

  “Thank you for dinner. Have a good evening.” And she was gone.

  Jonah stared at the door, wondering what had happened.

  Chapter Fifty

  “And who are you that commands such a high price?”r />
  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” answered Lenore with a sneer. Experience and training kept her voice calm though she was feeling the panic crawl up her throat.

  “Yes, I would,” said the man who approached her again with his knife and slave wand.

  “I wouldn’t if I were you,” she warned, throwing the full weight of the Xa into her voice. “If that is who I think it is, they will want me in perfect health and would not appreciate what you have already done.”

  For the first time, he had a small look of doubt. It pleased her much more than it should have considering she was still tied up and about to be delivered back to those she wanted to see even less than slavers.

  The man muttered to himself and left the room. Lenore’s heart raced when she heard him order someone right outside to call for a shuttle. Her escape had to be now. The next orders were to let no one in or out. That would make it harder but not impossible. There were no windows, this being a paranoid slave lord’s bedroom, but if she could slip her bonds, getting out would be no problem, especially since they so kindly left all her equipment on the bed.

  “First, the chair,” she muttered and set about freeing herself.

  ***

  “Ok… now,” said Quinn into his wristcomp. Watching through the binoculars, he saw his father get Allison through security by simply tossing her over the fence. Quinn’s “now” had been the signal that there was no one within hearing distance of her landing. He watched while Allison dashed toward the same back door as Lenore had used.

  He stowed his binoculars, hefted his pack and headed for the wall nearest the garage. Allison’s job was to take down whatever security she could, the wall being the most important, then get out of the compound, hide in the forest, and wait for the others. Quinn’s job would a bit more dramatic.

  He aimed his detector at the wall and knew the instant it was down.

  Way to go Alli. He clambered over wall, landing in the narrow space between it and the garage. He hugged the outer wall of the garage and put his electronic eye around the corner, a tiny camera on a near invisible wire.

  Nobody there.

  He made a quick dash for the side garage door and cursed as he saw the security pad. But smiled an instant later when he read the words “security disengaged” and again sent favorable thoughts to his sister.

  Inside were two large land vehicles that ran on anti-grav cushions, and two three-wheeled vehicles that held only one passenger which he knew could travel over any terrain much faster than anything else in the garage. Perfect.

  First, he attached a tiny box under the dashboard of one of the tri-wheels. This would drain energy from the engine, slowing the vehicle. Quinn climbed aboard the other single- passenger vehicle and activated his personal shield and the other little surprise. He glanced at his hands that now looked very feminine, and he knew the overlay of his mother’s hologram was working.

  All set. He took a deep breath to settle his nerves and double-clicked his wrist comp. A triple-click back meant his father was ready.

  Here we go.

  Quinn started the engine and hit the center switch to open the large garage door. As it slowly rolled apart, he revved the tri-wheel and was through as soon as the opening was wide enough. He grinned as he nearly ran over a guard coming to check out the noise in the garage. He laughed in a high-pitched voice as the guard hit the ground. A quick look back showed the guard speaking into his own wrist comp as he scrambled up to head into the garage, presumably for another vehicle.

  Straight for the exit now.

  The two guards at the front gate were frantically pushing the security pad, obviously attempting to close the gate, but thanks to Allison, it was stuck open. He gunned the throttle and yelled as he went by.

  “Your boss is not going to be happy!” He laughed again, adrenaline making it sound a little deranged but maybe they wouldn’t notice. Sure enough, they ran back into the compound and he was barely down the road before he saw the other tri-wheel and moments later, a car.

  Three guards less at the compound. Quinn set his jaw and continued toward the city at maximum velocity.

  ***

  Diarmin was in position, hidden only meters away from the front door. As he heard the first vehicle start, he could hear voices and, as expected, people rushed outside to see what was happening.

  Quinn, as Lenore, was speeding across the yard toward the gate and his laughter was a good imitation of his mother.

  “Impossible,” said one of the men by the door. Diarmin took advantage of their distraction to hit them all with stun beams. Two guards dropped instantly but his third shot merely sizzled against a personal shield. Damn! Obviously, someone of more importance than mere guards. But the man was no slouch as he pulled his own blaster out and got off a shot of his own before Diarmin could dive out of the way. Heat bloomed on his leg as the blaster fizzled against his shield. Powerful gun. Diarmin rolled and switched from stun to blaster, shooting again though he knew the first few wouldn’t be enough to get through the shield. Only one hit as the man darted back inside the house. Diarmin slowly got up, keeping his blaster trained on the corner the man had ducked around. He shot as he saw the man’s head peek outside but still the shield held. The head jerked back, and Diarmin dodged as a blaster snaked out and shot exactly where he had been standing.

  This guy is good. Diarmin’s move had taken him within view of the man, but before he could fire again, Diarmin saw a pensive look on the man’s face right before he turned and dashed up the stairs.

  Diarmin cursed as he realized the man had figured out the deception. Why would I be trying to get in if Lenore had truly escaped? Diarmin charged headlong into the house, trusting his shield to absorb any shots. One came right at his head and he managed to duck enough to take it on the shoulder. The shield wouldn’t take much more, but he had to get to Lenore quickly.

  ***

  Quinn reflexively jerked the tri-wheel as another bolt whizzed by his shoulder. They were pretty good shots considering he was quite far ahead. They had managed to land a couple shots on the vehicle and maybe on his shields as well, but it was too far to cause much heat. Another bolt hit and this time the engine began to sputter. Not that it mattered much. He had reached his destination.

  City buildings surrounded him as Quinn took two quick turns to get out of sight of his followers. He braked hard in front of a large department store then headed into a café across the street which had been specifically selected. As he entered the first set of doors, he was relieved to note the vestibule was empty and promptly turned off the simulation of Lenore. He entered the café leisurely and took the first table he saw. He made a quick decision and decided, risky as it was, to deactivate his personal shield as well.

  Only a breath after he had sat down and picked up a menu, two of his followers came barreling in through the doors. They stopped and looked around and Quinn, along with all the other diners, shouted in fear at the blasters sweeping the room.

  “Not here. Check in the back,” the first one ordered while scanning the room with a handheld device.

  “All clear,” said the man as he emerged from the kitchen.

  “Nothing here,” said the other, squinting at his scanner. “Must be the store after all.”

  With loud curses, they departed the café, and the diners breathed a collective sigh of relief, chattering a bit too loudly to one another. Quinn ordered a drink and sat drinking it slowly though every instinct was to flee. He wasn’t sure what the scanner had been looking for but was glad he had listened to intuition and turned off his shields.

  After he finished the drink, he placed money on the table and slowly walked out the front. The cars were still in the street, the searchers most likely still in the large store. He was tempted to disable the vehicles, but instead shoved his hands in his pockets and walked toward the port where the shuttle was docked. Using his skills at blending in, he was sure he wasn’t followed but took a roundabout way as a precaution. He made it to
the port safely and settled in. He pinged the wristcomp twice and started the launch sequence, double-checking himself since this was only the second time he had piloted by himself. Anxiously he waited as time stretched. At last, just when his nerves were reaching the breaking point, he felt a triple pulse against his wrist.

  Time to go.

  ***

  As soon as her torturer left, Lenore began a certain “wiggle-flex” that allowed her to loosen the bonds around her chest and chair. Within moments the cords were loose enough that with a couple shrugs and ducking of her head, they were on the floor. Her hands, however were still firmly held together behind her back. While she couldn’t see them, she guessed they were probably magnetic cuffs like the ones that had been put on Quinn.

  Noises from outside stole her attention for only a breath. Good. Her captors would be distracted from her next move which wasn’t quiet. She eyed the bed, found the piece of equipment she wanted, and began the laborious process of scooting the chair within reach. Her bound legs wouldn’t let her feet touch the ground, so she was left with gripping the seat behind her with her hands and “jumping” the chair.

  It took longer than wriggling out of the chest bonds, but she finally got the chair where she wanted. Now this next part would be tricky. She had to lever herself onto the bed in exactly the correct place. With tremendous effort, she managed to stand straight up, her arms wrenching in their sockets as they pulled up from the back of the chair. Luckily her toes now touched the ground and she could balance a little though her leg bonds were as tight as ever. She let herself fall forward and, even though she kept her bound hands between her and the chair, the chair fell with her and she received a dizzying blow to the back of her head.

  Lenore shook off the pain quickly as she saw that the ploy had worked perfectly. She opened and closed her mouth on the exact tech she wanted, pulled her legs up slightly and abruptly sat back in the chair. Though she managed not to swallow what was in her mouth as she sat down hard, surprise almost made her do so as her torturer came running back in.