by Valerie Parv
Straightening, he throttled back a curse. “I should have known. Guy.”
He pushed the door hard enough to make the hinges protest. “What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded of Adam’s genetic twin.
Behind him, Timo slid the revolver into his jacket. The diplomat’s expression was a study. He thought he was seeing Adam.
“Guy Voland, meet Timotea Rooke,” Garrett said, appreciating the moment in spite of his anger.
Timo’s eyes were wide. “Are you and Adam some kind of twins?”
Guy looked faintly amused. “Some kind.”
“You haven’t answered me. What are you doing here?” Garrett repeated before Timo’s questioning could gather steam. Timo had handled the discovery that the woman he loved was half alien, but there was no point pushing their luck trying to explain Guy.
“The same thing you are, looking for Adam.”
“You had access to the computer set-up at his house. Why come here?”
“Call it a hunch, a byproduct of our too-similar way of thinking.”
Recovering swiftly, Timo stepped forward. “Find anything useful?”
Guy shot Garrett a questioning look. “He knows who we are,” Garrett said. “And he has a stake in this.”
“I’m going to marry Elaine as soon as we get her back from the Kelek.”
Shock darkened Guy’s expression. “I’d say that’s a stake. How did they get hold of her?”
Gutted as Garrett felt, he couldn’t avoid the admission. “The copy we made of the dampening field generator didn’t work as well as we’d hoped.”
Timo stepped between them. “If you’re as in tune with Adam as you say, why haven’t you figured out where he went? Is he with the Kelek?”
Guy didn’t seem fazed by Timo’s interrogation. “Your guess is as good as mine. I can tell you that the dampening field wasn’t what interested Adam.”
This was news to Garrett. “Then what was?”
“Didn’t you see the notations he left on the board in his office?”
“They looked like some kind of code, but I’m no astrophysicist,” he said.
Evidently tired of waiting, Amelia came in to join them. For once, Garrett hadn’t picked up the sound of her movements. He was slipping. He performed the introductions, although he’d already seen Guy’s look of recognition.
“You’re the one with the talk show,” he said.
“And you’re my biggest fan,” she replied with a faint smile. Having heard much the same thing when people recognized him as a bestselling author, Garrett sympathized.
Guy shook his head. “I’ve seen some of your reports streamed online, usually followed by an ad for your show. That’s about it.”
Amelia took the rebuff in her stride. “You said something about the notations Adam wrote on his board. I can’t follow most of his calculations, obviously, but they strike me as a key of some kind.”
Guy’s smile was far more generous this time. “Well done,” he said.
Garrett was hard pressed to keep his jaw from dropping. Amelia had shown her quick wit and intelligence on her program, but it took a lot more to keep up with Adam’s thinking.
Catching Garrett’s look, she flashed a smile that plainly said, Didn’t know I had it in me, did you?
He hadn’t and wondered how else he might have underestimated her.
Timo made an impatient noise deep in his throat. “A key to what?”
“The flux,” Amelia said.
Guy looked even more impressed. “Very good.”
“The same flux that Elaine’s people came through to reach Earth?” Timo asked.
Garrett tried and failed to mask his frustration. “This is old news. The flux was closed to us for a time after the destruction of the Kelek ship, but by using Adam’s calculations and a formula Elaine read off the field generator, the next shuttle expedition got it to reopen.”
Guy looked smug. “That was fine as far as it went. It still needed the three of you to access the flux.”
Garrett was catching on fast. “Adam wanted to find a way into the flux that didn’t require all three of us.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Timo said. “You mean the only way into that thing is if three beacons are involved?”
“That’s our experience so far.”
“But if there’s a way for one of you to get in there, won’t that be a problem?”
Guy shoved his chair back from the desk and stood up. The sense that he was a slightly off-kilter version of Adam haunted Garrett.
“Your diplomatic friend is right,” Guy said in the manner of a lecture. “If Adam’s formula can be made to work, it means the Kelek already have what – or rather, who – they need to access the flux.”
Chapter 17
“Will she live?”
The medic, a short, stocky woman for a Kelek, gave Akia an apologetic look. “I’ll know more when she awakens, captain.”
If she awakens, Akia interpreted. She studied the beacon, guessing she was beautiful by human standards. Her height and slender build were evident even when lying down. Her short yellow hair spread over the pillow, the paleness of her skin a match for the case. The hands lying open at her sides were cared for, the hands of one who led a pampered life. Akia mentally compared them with her own, which although hardly those of a common laborer, were a long way from the beacon’s softness.
A little self-consciously she linked them behind her back. “What’s the matter with her? I was careful when I picked her up.”
Kam stepped closer to the bed. “I warned you there was insufficient oxygen in the cargo net.”
“That accounts for her labored breathing,” the medic said, adjusting a clear mask over the beacon’s nose and mouth, “and the cyanosis around her lips and fingers.”
“There must be something you can do. I need her awake and functioning.”
The medic peeled back each of the patient’s eyelids in turn, shining a narrow beam of light into her eyes, the dilated pupils making her frown. Snapping the light off, she turned. “Awake I can manage, captain. Functioning may be another matter. Hypoxia, the lack of oxygen she suffered, can cause confusion, memory loss, hallucinations and possible seizures or tremors.”
“What about the unborn child?”
The medic’s answer came as a surprise, “In mammalian embryos, partial hypoxia is normal and controls cardiovascular development. The fetus can survive up to an hour without oxygen. With the transfer taking less time, the risk of hemorrhage and birth defects is low.” She took a breath. “Even so, I don’t want to give the woman anything that could stop the normal transfer of oxygen from mother to fetus.”
“I need her conscious. What can you do?”
“The ideal would be to let her revive of her own accord.”
“And the less than ideal?”
The medic, plainly uncomfortable with the captain’s question, lowered her eyes. “I can administer a cognition-enhancing ligand, but I can’t predict the consequences.”
Akia didn’t hesitate. “Do it.”
She saw Kam tense but he kept silent. He might as well have expressed his censure – it was in his eyes as he looked at her, then quickly away. Akia ignored him, watching the medic attach a treatment cuff to the beacon’s arm and set it for fast perfusion.
For long, nerve-racking minutes, nothing happened. Then the beacon started to move about restively. Her eyes fluttered open but there was no alertness in them. She pawed at the mask over her mouth, pushing it aside.
“What happened? Where am I?”
If she was faking confusion, she was doing a convincing job. In response to the captain’s questioning look, the medic shook her head. Akia saw the admonition in her expression
“What do you remember?” the captain asked.
The beacon turned her head in Akia’s direction. “I was waiting for something. I can’t … I don’t … remember what.”
“Do you remember waking up in the cargo bay?”
“The big room? I … yes. My imagination, I thought.”
“It was real. You told us your name is Elaine.”
“Elaine? Is that my name?” Eyes widening in panic, the woman started to lift her shoulders off the bed until gently pressed back by the medic. “I don’t remember,” she cried, wild eyed.
“You were in an accident.” The medic aimed another warning look at Akia. “Take it easy, everything will come back to you in time.”
The beacon rolled her head from side to side. “I can feel movement. Am I on a ship or a plane?”
“A ship,” Akia said, watching for the beacon’s reaction.
It wasn’t long coming. “A ship? Where is it going?”
“Nowhere for the moment. I ordered us stopped while you were brought on board.”
“You’ve ordered … then you’re …”
“The ship’s captain,” Akia supplied. For the moment she was pleased to let the beacon believe Storm to be a seagoing vessel. There was no point in enlightening her until she was strong enough to deal with the information. “You were in poor condition when we picked you up.”
“You … picked me up … where, how? What was I doing?”
“The details can wait until you’re stronger. You need rest,” the medic said firmly, as much for the captain’s benefit as for her patient’s. The medic tapped a new setting into the cuff on the woman’s arm. Abruptly, the fight went out of the beacon and her eyes drifted shut.
Akia debated overriding the medic but she found herself in uncomfortable agreement. Being the captain didn’t allow her the luxury of feeling guilty, but there was no denying that her actions had put the beacon into this state. If the woman died, Akia would be unable to complete her mission and that would be a problem.
“Let her rest. I want to know the moment she’s well enough to talk to me.”
The medic relaxed visibly. “Of course, captain.”
Kam looked less forgiving as he walked with her to the tube connecting this level with the control center. “The beacon has forgotten what she is.”
“Temporarily.” Suddenly, Akia swung on the adept. “Tell me, will her present condition block her from accessing the flux for us?”
“Unknown, captain. What is certain is that, alone, she cannot help us in any condition.”
“Ah yes, your belief that all three beacons are needed to make the flux open to us.”
The adept’s brows drew together. “It’s more than my belief. Captain Zimon also tried to take his ship into the field when there was a beacon right there in front of them. He did not succeed.”
“The fool lost his ship. I do not intend to lose mine.”
Kam fell into step again as she resumed her fast walk. “May I ask if you plan to capture the other two beacons?”
They had reached the connecting tube and Akia swung herself up into it. “You’ve just told me it will take all three to complete our mission. But before you remind me, I won’t use the cargo field again until I can fine-tune it to move human cargo safely.”
He followed her, slipping his feet into the loops and grasping the handholds as easily as she did. They began to move upward. “A wise decision.”
They were almost at the level of the control center. “The beacons are no use to us dead, that much Zimon did manage to learn.” Distastefully she thought of the other captain’s report of the suicide of the beacons he’d captured, with only a listener living long enough to give Zimon any clues. His ship had been destroyed before he could contact the beacons of Earth.
When the tube’s cowl slid upward, she swung herself out onto the deck and reached back to give Kam a hand. “Have you found any sign of the missing beacon?”
He joined her on the deck of the control center. “I only sense the listener. There’s still no trace of the messenger.”
“Could he have died in the tsunami?”
Kam shook his head. “I lost track of him before you unleashed the wave.”
“Perhaps he died of some other cause.”
“Perhaps.” Kam didn’t sound convinced.
“Keep trying to locate him. As soon as you do, I’ll send my personal cruiser to retrieve him and the listener.” She paused, studying the adept. “Does that meet with your approval?”
A gracious incline of his head signaled his agreement.
*
“Elaine, can you see me?”
At the sound of the voice in her head, Elaine forced her eyes open. She lay in the bed where she’d awoken briefly – she had no idea how long ago. While she slept, the mask had been removed from her nose and mouth, although the apparatus dangled near her head as if on standby. Something gripped her arm. She saw a metallic cuff studded with telltales wrapped around her upper left arm. The cuff wasn’t hurting, just tight, so she left it alone.
When she’d awoken before, everything had been a blur. Now she could see that she was in a medical facility. Another bed nearby was empty. Around her, gray metal walls curved toward a white ceiling, and a throbbing sound traveling through the bed to her body.
A ship – the captain had said they were on a ship. Engines would account for the vibration. She must have fallen into the sea from … the answer was a frightening blank. Panic rushed through her. Where was the sea and how had she fallen in? She had a sense that she lived near the ocean and of being a strong swimmer. She wasn’t sure how she knew that, even while recognizing it as truth.
She lived near the sea, in two homes, both of them with views of the ocean. But where were they? She’d fallen in and been picked up by a ship. Her name was … She clutched a hand to her head at a sudden fierce stab of pain. As she lowered her hand, she saw a faint blue tinge around her fingernails. Her headache throbbed in time with the distant engines. Girl, you’re a mess, she told herself silently.
“Elaine, it’s me, Garrett. Can you see me?”
Oh God, she was hallucinating. There was no-one else in the room, yet she saw as a quick flash, a man slightly taller than herself, with vivid blue eyes and cinnamon-colored hair. She screwed her eyes shut, refusing to acknowledge the vision or the voice she heard in her mind.
“Elaine, I can hear you moving.”
The ship’s captain had called her Elaine. “You’re not here but I can see you,” she whispered. “Who are you?”
“I’m Garrett, your friend.”
“If you’re my friend, tell me who I am.”
“Your name is Elaine Lovell. I don’t know what happened but it’s evidently affected your memory.”
Talking to the empty air surely meant she had more problems than memory loss. Yet at the same time, she had a sense that communicating this way was normal for this Garrett. “My name is Elaine Lovell,” she said, also aware that the name sounded familiar.
Without knowing how she did it, she saw him smile encouragingly. “That’s right, Elaine. What else do you remember?”
“The captain said I’m on a ship. They picked me up. I don’t remember anything else.”
“A ship, close enough,” Garrett muttered.
Her peculiar vision showed him pacing the length of an office, past a whiteboard crowded with mathematical notations. She’d been in that room, too, she knew, not sure when or why. “How am I able to see you?” she asked, hearing her own voice become taut with pain and uncertainty.
“It’s a gift both of us have,” he explained. “I can hear you and you can see pretty much whatever you want to see. You taught yourself to lip read so you can follow what I’m saying as well.”
Quite a talent, she thought, and no weirder than anything else right now. “I’m on a ship, but not at sea.”
She saw Garrett hesitate then reach a decision. “You’re on a ship but it’s a spaceship orbiting the earth. The way you were taken on board caused your memory loss and other problems.”
She took another glance at the cuff around her arm, afraid to ask what else could be wrong with her. “Will I be all right?”
He nodded. “I heard the medi
c tell the captain that your symptoms were caused by a short-term lack of oxygen. You will get better, the only question is how long that could take.”
“I get the impression these are not good people,” she said, not quite managing to suppress the tremor in her voice.
Garrett heard it, too, and she saw him wince. “They’ve taken care of you so far. They’ll keep doing it until your memory comes back.”
“And then?”
“It’s probably better if you remember the details on your own. The people holding you won’t let any harm come to you. They need you.”
If Garrett was right, and the captain’s people had caused Elaine’s injuries, she’d already come to harm. “Why do they need me?”
“When your memory returns, all this will make sense.”
For some reason, this Garrett thought she was better off remembering on her own. She hoped he was the friend he claimed to be, because awakening in such a strange place with so many weird things happening was beyond frightening.
She had a sense of another friend, a man, who meant even more to her, but his name and face eluded her. For some reason, the thought of him made her quake inwardly. Despite not knowing who he was, she knew an unshakable certainty that he would be moving heaven and Earth to get her back. She was about to ask Garrett about him when another thought intruded.
“What about when my captors stop needing me?”
“We’ll get you out of there before it comes to that, I promise.”
With Garrett on Earth and Elaine in a spaceship in orbit, how he might keep his promise wasn’t clear. The very fact that she could communicate with him over a vast distance as easily as they might across a room made her head hurt even more.
There was only one possible conclusion. When she’d fallen into the sea she’d struck her head. The blow had caused the memory loss and was making her hallucinate. There was no Garrett and she couldn’t possibly be on board a spaceship.
Her name might be Elaine. Elaine Lovell. The sound of it in her head felt right. Her own mind must have supplied the detail, because she refused to believe in a man she could see only in her mind.
