Hunter

by Sharon Partington

  “Who are you? How did you get in here?” he demanded.

  “Your security’s still as lax as ever, I see. Step away from the balcony. Both of you, inside.”

  They did as they were told. Delaren keeping himself between Wynn and me. His eyes narrowed as he studied me, trying to work out where he’d seen me before. I watched the light bulb over his head come on slowly.

  “I had hoped to never see you again,” he said softly. “What do you want?”

  “Close and lock the balcony doors, then pull the drapes shut.”

  Vance shut the door and turned the lock then closed the drapes.

  “Actually, Mr. President, as good as it is to see you again, I’m not here to talk to you. If you don’t mind, I think I’d like a word with your wife.”

  Delaren looked confused. “My wife? But why would you—”

  “It’s been a while since I saw her last. I thought maybe she could start by reminding me of her name.”

  “You know my name,” she said, moving away from Delaren’s protective presence. “My name is Wynn.”

  I suppressed a snort. “Sure it is. That might be the name you adopted when you fled Andros Prime, but I want to know the name you were born with. The name your mother gave you.”

  She stared at me silently. I could almost hear the gears spinning in her head as she tried to work out how much I knew, and how big a lie she could get away with.

  “Does he know what you were before you came here?” I asked, nodding to Delaren.

  Vance looked from me back to her. Confusion like that was a hard thing to fake. “What is he talking about?”

  “You mean she didn’t tell you?” I shook my head. “And here I thought honesty and communication were the basis for any good relationship.”

  “Tell me what? Wynn...?”

  “No, Vance,” said Corin, her voice tight and controlled. “Anything he tells you is a lie.”

  “Is it?” I looked to Vance. “Let’s test that theory, shall we? I’ll bet she told you she fled her home world after the rebels killed her family for collaborating with the government. Isn’t that why you kept her hidden? Because she told you they were still looking for her? Because they wanted her dead?”

  Delaren had gone very pale. “How do you know that?”

  “Oh, I know all kinds of things I’ll bet your wife wishes I didn’t know. And, since she doesn’t seem inclined to tell you the real story, I suppose I’ll have to.” I looked to Wynn. “Feel free to jump in here, if I get any of it wrong.” I kept my gaze locked on hers. “We should probably start with the introductions. Vance Delaren, I’d like you to meet Corin Raas.”

  At the mention of her name, Corin sank onto the bed.

  “Seven or eight years ago she led a radical Androsian rebel movement called the Chakar Resistance. I’m sure you’ve heard of them. One night, for reasons she’ll provide in a moment, she decided to visit a remote refugee camp situated in the jungle north of the capital. The Androsian High Command discovered she was there and asked the Galactic Security Force to send in a squad of elite troopers to arrest her and return her to Orlakhan to stand trial. She learned they were coming, and she ran. Of course they went after her, but they couldn’t find her in the jungle. When they returned to the camp, it was on fire and everyone was dead.”

  “How do you know this?” whispered Corin.

  Delaren stared at his wife like he’d never seen her before.

  “I commanded the squad responsible for taking you into custody. Now you’re going to tell me how you knew we were coming.”

  Her voice dripped contempt. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

  “Oh, yeah, you do. Thanks to you, the men and women in my squad were executed. I promised them I’d find out why. Innocent Androsian civilians died that day too. I know, I burned the bodies. Women. Children. Aid workers. It was a bloodbath. Besides,” I added. “I think Vance, here, deserves to know the truth about his loving wife, don’t you?”

  Corin looked to Delaren. “Vance—”

  “You ran?” he asked in confusion.

  “He can prove none of this, how can you believe him?” demanded Corin. “I am your wife—”

  “What could he possibly gain by making up such a story? Wynn...Corin...? I don’t even know what I should call you.” He looked at her, grim resolve in his eyes. “You will tell me the truth. All of it.”

  She looked both defiant and defeated. Her eyes flitted to me then back to Delaren. “It’s not...some of what he says is true. My name...is Corin Raas. And I am not a refugee. I’m a fugitive.”

  He nodded tersely. “And the camp?”

  “We used it as one of several transient bases of operations. The RA administrator had no idea. It was a perfect cover, and we were safe from attack by government troops.”

  “Who told you we were coming?” I demanded.

  She sighed. “I suppose it doesn’t matter now. There is a bar in Lachra, frequented by GSF troops and Androsian militia. I worked there, gathering intelligence. I met a man. A trooper stationed at the base. He was a junior officer within the Gold Band Strike Team. We were lovers for over a year and he gave us advance warning of impending raids.”

  An chill ran up my spine. “Who?”

  “Kenny Briani.”

  I know I heard the name correctly, but my brain refused to process it.

  “Excuse me?”

  “His name. Kenny Briani. His father is a smuggler. He hid me aboard his ship and carried me off-planet. I was supposed to meet Kenny on the Norbrand station in the Ilion Sector, but my use for him had ended, so....” she shrugged. “He told me he’d arrange a diversion, giving me the time I needed to get away.”

  “And the order to fire on us?”

  She shrugged. “There were several high-ranking rebel sympathizers within the High Command. Any one of them could have given the order.”

  The remaining puzzle pieces snapped together in my head with an almost audible click. It all made sense now. Kenny must have arranged the massacre of Delta Six to cover his own escape, by the time the GSF figured out he wasn’t among the dead, he’d be long gone.

  But why not leave me to die with the rest?

  “Did you know the camp would be destroyed?” demanded Delaren.

  “Yes,” came her barely audible whisper. “I knew.”

  “You could have surrendered,” I said. “All you had to do was identify yourself to the camp authorities. Demand political asylum. We would have placed you in protective custody—”

  Corin laughed bitterly. “I was the leader of the Chakar, and the provisional government wanted me dead. They had the power to make it happen and no amount of ‘protective custody’ would have made a difference. They had no interest in trying me for my alleged crimes. I wasn’t supposed to survive long enough to reach Orlakhan.”

  “So you decided to keep your mouth shut and let your boyfriend execute three hundred innocent civilians? Too bad they weren’t aware of the sacrifice they were making to your glorious resistance.”

  “I am Corin Raas,” she hissed, proud defiance in her eyes. “Without me there would be no resistance.”

  And there it was. There was no moral high road or selfless motive. She ran to save her own ass, plain and simple.

  Delaren clenched his fists. “You left them to die?”

  “It was my life or theirs—” pleaded Corin.

  “More like your life for theirs,” I replied. “You might be interested to know what she’s been doing with your money while you’ve been playing at being president,” I said to Vance. “Why don’t you ask her about her contributions to the Androsian Freedom Coalition, it seems there have been quite few of them over the past six years.”

  “The Androsian...?”

  “Well, that’s their official title. A respectable lie so they can fly under the radar of the Androsian government. But the money goes directly to the Chakar. Over two hundred thousand credits have passed from your personal account to theirs. M
oney used to buy weapons. Pay informants. Operate safe houses and purchase forged documents. What do you suppose the Rigian people will think of their glorious new president when they discover he’s been financing the operations of a known terrorist group?”

  Delaren looked like he might be sick. “Everything you told me, about how you understood our struggle, about how you shared my ideals and dreams. That was all a lie?”

  “No! I do understand—”

  “You understand nothing,” he whispered.

  Corin moved to embrace him, but he shook his head, backing away, stopping when he bumped into the sideboard.

  “Please, Vance. We can still do everything we planned. The incident at the camp was long ago and unimportant. I can explain about the money—”

  “Unimportant? You allowed your own people to be killed! You were supposed to defend them, not abandon them!”

  “I did not abandon them! I escaped so I could continue to fight for their freedom!”

  “How? By financing your murderous schemes with my money? By running away and leaving them to die?” Delaren shook his head. “It’s over, Wynn. I’ll resign....”

  “But why?” demanded Corin.

  Delaren stared at her incredulously. “How can you ask me that, after everything you’ve told me? After everything you’ve done? I was ready to acknowledge you, officially, as my wife. The declaration legitimizing our union sits before the chief justice of the Chamber of Laws even now. You would have been a full partner in the governing of this system. It was our dream, remember? We were supposed to do it together, but you’ve made that impossible. My people will never believe that I knew nothing of your past when I married you. If I don’t resign, they’ll see me impeached.”

  Corin shook her head, wrapping her arms around his waist as she rested her head on his shoulder. He hesitated, then put his arms around her. His eyes met mine. I saw anger and pain, sorrow, and profound resignation.

  “Everything I’ve accomplished...everything I’ve planned. It’s all meaningless now. You’ve ruined everything,” he whispered as he pulled her body into his.

  She gasped and her body stiffened then relaxed. Delaren looked to me, his face stricken as he lowered her to the floor. A knife protruded from her side, he must have taken it from the sideboard. Blood pooled around her, staining the rug.

  I wasn’t sure how I’d expected this confrontation to end, but it certainly hadn’t been like this. I’d been prepared to kill the bitch myself, I almost felt cheated that I wouldn’t get the chance.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “So am I,” murmured Delaren. “It seems...she’s betrayed us both.” He reached to close her vacant eyes and his hand caressed her cheek. He looked up. “You’d better go,” he said dully. “It’ll be dawn soon, my men will arrive to take...her back to the university.”

  I unlocked the balcony doors and hesitated at the railing, glancing back into the room. Delaren sat on the rug, holding Wynn’s lifeless hand, weeping silently. I slipped over the railing, dropping onto the terrace.

  I was out.

  Corin Raas was dead.

  ◆◆◆

  I sat in the car outside the warehouse watching the sun come up. I’d chased Corin Raas halfway across the galaxy, spent months living on adrenaline and revenge. I’d convinced myself that knowing the truth would somehow set me free.

  It hadn’t.

  My squad was still dead. My life was still a train wreck.

  And Kenny was responsible for all of it.

  Everything made sense now. Antonio Briani in the bar: I’ve got better things to do than ferry your fugitive friends out of this system.

  Gina, in the docking bay: Who’s he? Another one of your charity cases?

  He’d used me. For years. Led me around by the nose, made me jump through his hoops.

  Lied to me.

  “You gonna sit there all day?”

  Jak watched me from the loading dock. “Maybe.”

  “Everything turned out okay, then?”

  Not exactly. “All things considered.”

  He hopped down. “Better come on in. I have to ditch that car.”

  Right. The car.

  I followed him inside. Miri and Kyr were asleep, and he put the water on for tea before joining me at the table.

  “So. I guess you’ll be leavin’ now, huh?”

  “I guess. I’ve done what I came here to do, there isn’t much point in hanging around.”

  He looked embarrassed and uncomfortable. “I don’t suppose....” he shifted his gaze to the table as his voice trailed off.

  “What?”

  He blushed and shook his head. “Nothin’.”

  “Jak. What?”

  “I was gonna say, I don’t suppose you’d think of...taking me with you? When you left?” He looked at me then away, but not before I saw the defiant hope in his eyes.

  I suppose I owed the little bugger something after all he’d done for me, and he couldn’t go back to the bar. Not with the Guilds looking for him.

  “What about Miri and Kyr, what are they going to do?”

  He shrugged. “Miri has Sendren’s money and she knows a lot of important people in the government district. She’s never been nothin’ but a whore, I guess she’ll go back to doin’ what she knows. Except that now she can keep what she earns for herself. I dunno what Kyr’ll do. She don’t like the life and she won’t go back to it now that she’s out, but she’ll probly stay with Miri anyway. It beats livin’ in this dump.”

  I sat back, rubbing my tired eyes. “I’m going to bed. Wake me at sunset.”

  He sighed. “Okay.”

  “Oh, and make sure you’re packed up and ready to go,” I added. “I don’t suppose you want to leave a forwarding address. So your dad knows where to find you?”

  His grin was so big his face was in real danger of splitting in half. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

  What I figured.

  ◆◆◆

  Vance Delaren was dead. According to the news agencies his guards had found him just after dawn, along with the body of an unidentified Androsian woman. The reports didn’t mention suicide, but I remembered the way he’d looked as I left the people’s palace. I didn’t have to see a note to know he’d taken his own life. Whatever plans he had for changing the world, they would never happen. The Rigian system was right back in the toilet. The only upside was that Artur Melardis would assume I’d corrected my mistake, and at least I wouldn’t have the Guilds riding my ass anymore.

  Saying goodbye to Kyr and Miri was harder than I thought it would be. They came with us to the spaceport. Kyr hugged Jak hard as I stowed his gear and mine in the shuttle. He blushed and looked away, but not before I noticed the tears in his eyes. The little shit wasn’t as tough as he let on. When it came right down to it, he was still just a fourteen-year-old kid.

  “Will you and Miri be all right?” I asked Kyr as she stood on her toes to kiss my cheek.

  “Miri will be fine,” she said. “She’s chosen to use Sendren’s money to open her own house in the university district. It’s not the choice I would have made, but....” She shrugged.

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll live with her for a while, then I’ll see.”

  She moved aside as Miri came forward. The Lyrian girl smiled as she stood on her toes to kiss me lightly on the lips. “Thank you, Gage Brassan. I won’t forget.”

  I hugged her then reached into my jacket pocket and handed her one of my cards. “If you ever need anything, call me.”

  They stepped away from the shuttle, and I closed and sealed the main hatch. Jak joined me in the cockpit, sliding into the copilot’s seat, strapping himself in.

  “So,” he asked. “Where are we goin’?”

  I maneuvered the shuttle out of the docking bay. “The Dorani Sector. I know a guy who has some serious explaining to do.”

  Chapter 21

  Corin Raas and Kenny had been lovers. He’d fed her classified informa
tion about our troop movements and god only knew what else, and he’d done it right under my nose. Delta Six had been a tightknit unit. A brotherhood. We’d spent almost all our waking hours together. We’d eaten together. Fought together. Gotten drunk on leave together.

  How could I not have known?

  I could barely comprehend the enormity of what he’d done. As I began to understand the full scope and extent of his betrayal, the fury that came with that understanding went far beyond anything I’d ever experienced.

  Kenny Briani was a dead man, plain and simple.

  Nothing he could say would save him. There was no place he could run where I wouldn’t find him.

  He was dead.

  Once back on Jaraslad I took Jak for something to eat, then led him to my rooms on the circle. Joanna looked up from the data-console as we walked in. She wore faded jeans and one of my old T-shirts. She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail and I noticed pale yellow streaks in it—apparently Kayla had been experimenting on someone other than herself.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked, tossing my bag onto the bed. “Aren’t you supposed to be at Korsin’s?”

  “It’s good to see you, too,” she said with a nervous smile. “Who’s your friend?” she nodded to Jak.

  “Jak, Joanna. Joanna, Jak. What are you doing here?”

  “Hi Jak, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “Good to meetcha too,” said Jak with a grin.

  I closed my eyes as I struggled mightily to keep my head from exploding. “Joanna. Focus. Why are you here and not at Korsin’s?”

  “I come here when I need some ‘alone time’. Don’t get me wrong, the bar is great—Korsin takes good care of me and Kayla’s a sweetheart, but it gets a little claustrophobic sometimes. I didn’t think you’d mind....” She approached me, almost timidly, wrapping her arms around my waist as she looked up into my eyes. “Aren’t you even a little happy to see me?”

  Ah fuck.

  “More than a little,” I admitted. “I just...I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do with you, is all.”