“Did too much digging get you in trouble, dear?”
“There’s something big going on that I can’t ignore. Something that could save Earth and bring my father and his followers to justice. This guy is my only lead.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I feel it in my gut. Like I said, I had no choice but to go solo.”
“I think the word is rogue, my dear. If you want a future with my grandson, you better figure it out fast because no man will put up with a woman who puts their relationship second for very long.”
They rode in silence and Talon considered Bockie’s wisdom. She could have done a better job at explaining to Levi that he was her priority instead of defending her choices. Without a doubt, in her own mind the greater good was always for her future with Levi, but she had to admit her actions could be mistaken for an obsession. Levi just didn’t make it easy to be transparent. He worried too much about her and somehow convinced himself that he could ignore Kravis away. Her father was playing chess with her, and she had to make a move before he checkmated her out of her future. Maybe filling Levi in on the details she had gathered would help him understand the very real threat Kravis still posed. Levi deserved to be taken into her confidence; he was her future husband, after all.
The pleik was shooting them over the ocean now, and even though Talon couldn’t focus on anything nearby at the speeds they were traveling, she could see many islands dotting the horizon.
“What’s all the red stuff everywhere?” Talon inquired. She couldn’t tell from a distance what it was but the color was rather ubiquitous across the landscape.
“The plants here are red and purple mostly.”
“Wow! That’s so weird!” Talon exclaimed. The pod stopped and Bockie stood to signal they had arrived at their destination.
“We are on an island?” Talon asked as they disembarked.
“There are over a million small islands on this part of Dedrake…I guess that’s why the Sydces evolved to be such good swimmers. I’ve never been to this little town before. You know we just traveled the length of the West Coast.” Bockie hailed a hover vehicle.
“Whoa,” she repeated. Talon was definitely grateful for the escort. The taxi flew into the air and she gazed below. The island town looked like a futuristic fishing village with a dash of Doctor Seuss appeal. She had never seen so much purple in her life.
“75,” the driver quoted when he landed in front of the prison.
“I will pay you to wait,” Bockie proposed.
Talon began getting nervous. All they would have to do is run her information or contact the DOLO and discover she didn’t have clearance. Even if she did, massive amounts of paperwork and signatures were needed to see terrorists.
“Ni juv, Talon!” a man with a thick golden mop of hair stood from behind a desk.
Talon knew enough Katawil to understand the greeting, but how was it that the young man knew her name? She handed him the other microphone.
“I forgot you only speak English.”
“Uhhh…yes…he…hello,” she managed to stutter.
“I’ve been expecting you,” he said, tapping wildly on the computer screen. “All is ready for you to see Mr. Nervista as requested. Come with me and I will get you set-up.
“Th…anks,” Talon managed to say. She looked back at Bockie and shrugged. Her future grandmother-in-law shoved the handfuls of cash back into her purse.
“You’re only approved for ten minutes.”
Talon had a hundred questions, but asking too many might lose her this eerily convenient opportunity. Had Wilga pulled some strings for her?
“I’m sorry, what’s your name?”
“Fin.”
Fin led her into the back of the building and into an Extension room. “We have outdated models in here. I hope that’s okay with you. You’re not allowed to stand in the suit so they’ve kept the budget pretty low on these. You can change in the locker room and I’ll call the guards to get it set-up.”
“Are you sure I can’t go in and talk with him in the flesh?” Talon didn’t know if her contacts would work through the Extension.
“Yeah, sorry,” he scrunched his face. “We’ve got a rough bunch here.”
Talon went into the women’s room and dressed in the infamous leotard that kept so many people from wanting to extend in the first place. Talon came out and Fin stood in the cube, waiting for her with a helmet in his hand. There was a chair nailed to the floor in front of a table. “Again, the synced Extension is chained to the desk in the visitation room so only the upper half will move.”
“Okay, thanks. And is this conversation recorded?”
“No. A red light will begin blinking in the helmet when you have one minute remaining. After that, it will go black and you can just leave the helmet on the table. Any other questions?”
“No, Fin. I’ve got it, thanks.”
With only ten minutes she tried to clear her head and focus on her conversation with the ex-senator. Talon slipped the helmet on and after the helmet conformed to her head, an image began to appear on the display. First she saw pixilated flashes of the room the Extension was in, and then an image of a man became clearer sitting on the other side of a table.
During her test simulation Dr. Garive, or rather Heath Nervista, had been a plump man with a strong jaw. The man across from her now was pale and thin, but she could tell it was the same person who had just been worn down from months of incarceration. Facial hair stubbled his lower face and his whole body slumped like he was in a constant battle with gravity.
“Who are you?” he scratched.
“My name is Talon Terry. Do you know who I am?” There was no possible way for him to have recollection of their meeting in the test simulation.
“No.”
“I am with the International Reconnaissance and Intelligence Department on Ohmani.”
Heath’s eyes narrowed in hatred. “I’ve already cooperated with you people. You ruined my life, isn’t that enough?”
“I need to know some details about your involvement with the ‘pecs.”
“You all have my brain now, you should know.”
She wasn’t getting anywhere. “It’s incomplete.”
“That ain’t my problem.”
“Let me put this into perspective for you. I’m here because you may be the key to saving billions of lives.”
Heath blew air over his lips. “Yeah, lady, whatever.”
“You became a politician to help people. I know you got mixed up with the wrong people, but you hold the key to unlocking everything. Who is the older woman?”
Nervista began breathing heavily and moving restlessly in his seat. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Lie probable her contacts shined at her. She was pleased to see they worked through the Extension’s helmet.
“I know you know what I’m talking about.”
“You dug it out of my brain?” Nervista studied the Extension sitting across from him, but they both knew no matter how hard he stared into its eyes, it could not reveal the person behind the controls.
“My father is Kravis, leader of the Sinupecs.”
“You’re one of them?”
Talon managed a laugh. “Absolutely not. You and I both have something in common. We are good people who can’t cut our bad strings lose. Why did you become a politician?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m nobody now.”
“You feel like you can’t make a difference, right? I’m telling you that right now, with me, you can. All you have to do is tell me about her.”
“I want visitors. You promise that and I’ll tell you. If I end up dead then oh well. Life’s not worth living in here anyways.”
“I can make it happen,” she lied.
“You promise? I will see my Lennon?” his eyes welled up with hope. “I never said good bye to her.”
Talon felt the strongest twinge of guilt in her gut. “I promise. Tell me about the olde
r one.”
Nervista was on the verge of tears. “She came to me that night of my second annual campaign fundraiser. When I was sleeping.”
“Like she came into your dreams?”
“No, she was in the flesh in my bedroom. I shot awake because I thought I heard someone scream, but I guess it was just a dream or my body trying to warn me. I knew right away there was someone there. I thought at first it was Lennon but she always puts her purse on the nightstand and it wasn’t there. She was hiding in the shadows. I was still kind of drunk. Until you came here I thought maybe she wasn’t real this whole time.”
“What did she say?” Talon probed.
“She said she worked for the ‘pecs. She said she had orders from her people to kill me and that’s why she was there. I remember looking down the barrel of the pistol thinking that was the end.”
“Why did they want you dead?”
“She said the authorities had gotten my painting earlier that night while I was sleeping. They warned me I’d die if that ever happened.”
“So you never noticed your painting missing?”
“Like I said I got drunk that night. It was a party. I didn’t do any work. I never stepped foot into my office.”
“What did she look like? The woman who was in your bedroom.”
“I couldn’t see her.”
“What did she say?”
“I told her I didn’t want to die. I begged. She said the only way she could save my life was to trick her people in to thinking she didn’t get to me in time. She said she would make it work.”
“You were arrested.”
“That morning, yes. She promised I would stay unharmed by the other inmates in here.” He looked lugubriously at his hands and began picking the dirt caked underneath his fingernails. “I wish she had just killed me. It’s more awful in here than anyone can fathom.”
“Why do you think she didn’t kill you?” Why give Nervista an out if he contained potential indicting information.
“I convinced her I didn’t know anything. Hinsh was my only contact and if the authorities found my files they were only incriminating to me.”
“Who is Hinsh.”
“He was my campaign manager. Transactions were done through Hinsh’s hands only, not electronically, so they were untraceable.”
So he laundered a portion of his campaign donations. Somehow that seemed better than the program’s fake doctor who cheated sick children out of treatment. Heath Nervista looked miserable sitting across from her, but at least he was alive. Cutting ties with a terrorist gang ended in one of two ways – death or disappearance, and the latter usually didn’t last very long with their seemingly infinite resources. The fact that he made it to a prison was probably his safest option. Was she working both sides? Why didn’t she just kill Nervista? Did the Sinupecs have some other use for him?
“So did this older woman say anything else?” Talon probed, wishing they had ten hours instead of ten minutes.
“Not really. She said to just cooperate with the authorities and I would end up here. She told me I could tell them everything…anything…as long as I didn’t mention she came to see me.”
“So you were arrested and have been here. You haven’t heard from this woman at all?”
“No. It’s like she never existed.”
“Has anyone come to see you at all?”
“No,” he said solemnly. “Just Agent Green.”
Aberdeen was here? “What did she want with you?”
“She told me she wanted my brain and I said no. She came back a week later with a court order. I had to comply or my sentence would be increased from ten to twenty-five.”
Aberdeen was the one who did Heath’s neural extraction? Only high ranking intelligence officers were authorized to conduct that process. So she wasn’t a terrorist after all, but a black floor op. No wonder Eon became defensive when she suggested Aberdeen was suspicious. If she was part of their elite then meant she was probably clean. “What did Agent Green ask you during the procedure?” Talon queried between gritted teeth.
“She asked me a lot of questions….about the Sinupecs, about the party, about my thoughts and my feelings, while she had me all hooked up.”
It sounded like Aberdeen had done everything by the book as far as his story was concerned. “Did you ever tell her about the ‘pec woman?”
“No. She never asked me about after the party, just before and during.”
“Good,” Talon found herself saying. Aberdeen asked the wrong questions. “How did she leave your bedroom?”
Nervista thought hard. “I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? Did she tell you to turn around or something?”
“No, I just can’t remember. I was so scared. My head just can’t remember,” he said rubbing his temples. “I think I might have fainted.”
That was believable since he had done that exact thing during her simulation. “Is there anything else at all you can remember? Every little detail counts.”
“No.”
“Are there any other ‘pecs here in this prison?”
For the first time Heath laughed. “This place is full of em.’ I think they put all the ones they’ve captured here.”
That might not have been an overstatement. If this mystery woman promised he would end up here, it was highly possible that someone working at the prison had ties with the criminal ring. “Have these men ever said anything about the older woman?” Talon felt ridiculous referring to her by that name.
“No. I’m not one of them. They don’t talk to me.”
If there was one thing she knew about gangs, it was that they usually had tattoos. “Do they all have a tattoo that looks the same?”
“Actually, yeah. But they only get it if they are being released. Like a day before. I have no idea who does it for them.”
“What does it look like?” She said, desperate for a piece of paper and a pen. She knew there was no point in asking, one because they wouldn’t allow it, and two, the light began continuously blinking in her helmet to indicate a minute remained.
“A man that’s half beast on the bottom holding an arrow ready to shoot.”
“Give me as much detail as you can. What kind of beast?”
“It looks like a kordor maybe…four feet with a bushy tail. The point of the arrow is in the middle of a star that’s shooting rays out in all directions, like this.” He began drawing intersecting lines on the table. “Please, I need to see Lennon! Please!”
Her vision went black. With that sense unavailable, the sound of her heavy breathing and the heat of her energy filled the claustrophobic helmet. Talon took it off and sat for several moments, letting the air conditioning blow cool air over the sweat that had formed along her hairline. She had quite a lot of information to digest.
Talon returned the Extension gear and made her way back down the hallway where Fin was sitting at his desk. When she reached his peripheral vision he stood.
“Sign here,” he slid a piece of paper across the counter.
It was the visitation request and approval. Talon studied the paperwork. Her work information was all correct, down to her investigator number, which she had already forgotten, and the same picture as the one on her ID. This would explain how he knew what she looked like. The only thing that was forged was her job title. It said, ‘Department of Law and Order Intelligence Officer.’ The document was dated from yesterday, but other than Fin’s handwriting, the rest was all digitally filled out. It was clear someone did her a favor, but who?
“I thought you didn’t have a plan,” Bockie said as they rode the pleik back.
“I didn’t.”
“So what happened in there?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well it seems somebody at your job doesn’t think you should stop digging.”
“So what’s next?”
“I don’t know,” Talon admitted, “but I don’t think there’s much more I can do he
re.”
“You’re going back already?”
“The next flight won’t leave until the morning.”
“So what you’re saying is you have an evening and no work to do.”
“Well…I guess.”
“What do you want to do?”
“I could do a little research, write up an action plan, watch a video to try and figure out who a mysterious female sniper is—”
“No offense, my dear,” Bockie cut her off, “but you’re a little…stiff.”
Talon knew what Bockie meant but just for fun she lifted her leg, bent her knee, and locked her foot behind her head. She smiled at Bockie and proceeded to wave her foot in a greeting gesture.
“Oh my! Levi will like that one! You know what I mean. You’re letting all this serious stuff get in the way of living. When was the last time you had a drink?”
“Three days ago,” she said putting her foot back on the ground. “While I was on the moon.”
“The moon! Ok, did you drink this beverage because it was part of your job?”
Talon remembered trying to fit in with the sorority girls. “Yeah, I guess.”
“See! You need to have some real fun. My personal philosophy is, ‘laugh more, drink often, and bang regularly.’”
Talon almost choked on her own spit.
“I’m taking you to my casino.”
“And then what?”
“That’s part of your problem Talon. Who knows and who cares? It’s called living. We need to get you a dress. Have you ever played craps?”
An hour later, Talon was tugging her skin tight dress down at a craps table. Her hair was done in fabulous loose curls and fastened to one side in an elegant mound that reminded her of a fox tail. At first Talon struggled to learn the minimal Katawil needed to play the game, but with the help of the translator, she was now on a roll, literally. It was her turn as the shooter and the dealer opened his hand to present her with five die. She grabbed them and the table began snickering.
“Pick only two of them, dear,” Bockie said. “He does that as a way to let you know they’re not weighted.”
“Well, what if all five are?” She asked.
“Not in my casino.”
An Eagle's Revenge (Across the Infinite Void Book 2) Page 14
