Beldon tipped his head. “I do not approve of the way you conducted yourself, but I cannot fault your drive to protect the young one.”
“Still,” Janice continued. “We do have questions.”
Meredith nodded. “You need information about Alice’s situation to fight them,” she guessed.
“And to decide what to do about you,” she countered. “I’ll be honest. A lot of people out there want your blood, but I’m not comfortable with you spending the rest of your life in prison for doing what was right. In essence, for doing your job more completely and professionally than any of your coworkers or bosses did.”
A bloom of hope lifted Meredith’s spirits.
“But there must be some punishment,” Beldon informed her.
That toned the hope down a notch. Meredith looked around at her current accomodations. “If this is an example of the Sakk prison system, I don’t mind telling you I’d rather this than a prison on Earth. Well...unless it was Halden, but then again, I don’t speak Norwegian or Danish, so I guess that wouldn’t work.”
Beldon seemed confused by the observation. Janice nodded in agreement.
She answered the unspoken question. “The problem is...the Sakk don’t typically keep female prisoners long-term. And... Well, we checked you, using the bed.”
Meredith looked down at the mattress, confused by that pronouncement.
“It’s a bio bed, designed to keep track of the health of prisoners. We tested you, using the bed. You’re not Sakk-descended. At least, not close enough to be a match. If you were, we’d be able to apply Sakk law without consideration of local laws. You being human, by our standards, means our hands are tied. You must be considered a foreigner on Sakk soil.”
“Wait. You don’t keep Sakk women in prison long-term. You’re saying no women on Sakk commit felonies? Or whatever the Sakk call that type of crime?”
“Oh, a rare few do.”
“Then what do you do with them?” It seemed as if Janice was talking in circles.
The representative cleared her throat. “Female prisoners are given a choice in their own punishment.”
I’m not going to like this. “Go on.”
“They can donate eggs to be used in aiding genetically-inferior women in carrying young for their mates. If they make that choice, they are also choosing humane termination for themselves afterward.”
Meredith swallowed down a sour wave. She wasn’t Sakk, so donating eggs wasn’t happening, and at least life in prison meant life.
Janice kept talking. “They can also choose a life of prostitution. Any children they produce are sent to seed worlds to be raised at two years old, unless they are fully-winged daughters, in which case they are taken in by families on Sakk to raise as their own.”
A life of prostitution didn’t sound much better. Keep going, Janice.
“The final choice would be serving as a sexual servant to the priests on a seed world. Children born would be raised by their mothers on the seed world, and female young would go to Sakk at adulthood to be matched.”
That broke Meredith’s silence. “Prostitution, prostitution slash slavery, or death? That’s some system you have there. No offense, but I’ll take door A...Earth prison, if it comes to a choice.”
Janice winced. “I would have to agree. It is only imposed for the most severe cases. Women who kill or attempt to kill their husbands or children. Any children.” She seemed to come to a realization. “We wouldn’t impose that on you! Surely, you know that.”
“I didn’t, but thanks.” She took a calming breath. “So what will you do with me? If you don’t want to hand me over to the authorities outside the walls and you don’t want to impose Sakk justice for felonies on me... For that matter, whatever you do, I can never leave the consulate again, or I face the laws outside.” Funny how she’d never considered that before.
Janice seemed to consider that. “Well, you could leave the consulate, if you went to Sakk or one of our seed world colonies. But the question is, what would you do there? You wouldn’t be much use on a seed world. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“Nest parents are couples, and they train for years for what they do. Going to Sakk... We have a law that only mated women can be transported to Sakk from Earth. Not even female journalists are allowed to visit. The males on Sakk are...” She glanced at Beldon. “Well, they are better behaved when a woman is under the protection of a particular male or group of males.”
He grunted his agreement to that statement.
“Which brings us back to what you intend to do. With no children in the consulate, it’s not like you can give me community service in my own field. I’m hopeless in a kitchen, and I’m about as far from a green thumb as you can get. You should know that. I suppose I could be useful as a secretary or part of a cleaning crew.” There had to be some punishment they could give her.
“Well, there is a child in the consulate. Children, to be precise. Our son Jalen is here...and Alice.”
Beldon’s wings ruffled at the mention of their child.
“I’m not going to kidnap your son, I assure you.” You’d kill me if I even thought about it.
He didn’t respond to her.
“You need a babysitter for them?” she asked Janice.
She smiled. “Jalen might benefit from a play date with Alice, but...” Janice sighed. “To be honest, Alice doesn’t know me, which means she doesn’t trust me. Jarem handles her well, but it is not considered appropriate to have an unmated male caring long-term for a child who is not his own.”
Meredith nodded. “I can do that. I...I adore Alice, if you want to know the truth. I wish she was mine. I really mean that.” But what were the chances of that? Meredith wasn’t Sakk-descended, and for her safety, Alice had to be adopted by a Sakk family.
“This is long-term,” Janice warned. “The nest parents who will transport Alice will not arrive for at least two months. Possibly three.”
“And after they take Alice?” Her heart sank at the thought of it. It has to happen. “What happens to me?”
Beldon spoke up again. “We have several months to decide that. Do you accept this form of service as partial punishment for your crimes?”
Meredith considered it for only a moment. “Yes. Of course I do.”
Beldon helped Janice to her feet, and the representative issued her orders.
“A room has been outfitted for you and Alice. Before we call Jarem to bring her to it, I would invite you to check it and tell us what else you need for Alice. Or for yourself, for that matter.”
Meredith’s senses spun at the turn of events. “Right away.”
****
“No, I’m afraid you don’t see,” Jannie challenged the panel of men sitting across from her.
Behind her, Beldon shifted, no doubt on alert at the slight rise in her voice.
This particular group included two of their federal liaisons, the state governor, and three representatives of the local child services and social services offices involved in overseeing Alice’s care, as well as several of their lawyers. I've always hated lawyers.
“I’m afraid it’s you who doesn’t understand, Mrs. Beldon,” one of the social services lawyers insisted.
“It’s Ambassador Janice, thank you,” she corrected him. “And I disagree. Your entire case is founded on the idea that Alice is an American citizen, under the protection of the state and federal governments of Virginia and the United States of America.”
“She is,” he pressed.
“Not quite. You admit that the consulate area is Sakk sovereign soil, but you seem to have neglected to take Sakk laws into account. Unlike other foreign entities who have consulates, being Sakk is more than a matter of nation of birth, nationality of parents, and proclaimed allegiances. The Sakk are a separate species. The fact that we intermixed with humans aside, being Sakk or Sakk-descended is a matter of genetics, not a matter of place of birth. Born within the United States and in the
state of Virginia, Alice is both American by the locality of her birth and the nationality of her mother and Sakk by virtue of her Sakk genes. She possesses dual citizenship.”
She paused to let them digest that much. Half the panel gaped at her in disbelief.
One of the other lawyers spoke up. “You’re saying all Sakk attached to the consulate should have diplomatic immunity? Or maybe that all persons with Sakk blood do?”
“Is this a case of diplomatic immunity?” she countered.
“Well...no, but...”
“You’re correct. It’s not. It is a case of a Sakk minor and the responsibility the Sakk have to her care and protection.”
“That’s our job,” the head of the local fostering program complained.
“Then you have faulted at your position,” Jannie informed her.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You sit there and expect the Sakk to turn a blind eye to the mutilation of one of our children? Absolutely not, I assure you. Alice is a Sakk child on Sakk sovereign soil, and we will not permit such a sacrilege...such an atrocity to occur. To the Sakk, wings are sacred, a sign of the gods among mortals. Removing those wings is against everything the Sakk hold sacred.”
“It is for her health.”
Beldon answered before Jannie could, inserting himself into the proceedings. He rarely interrupted her when she was playing the part of ambassador for the Sakk, so it shocked her to hear it.
“You lie. We will willingly share our reports on the health of young Alice. She came to us with no medical problems, save normal childhood injuries associated with learning to stand. Certainly nothing that would indicate removing her wings. Were it truly a matter of her health and safety, we would remove her wings here at the consulate, with much less pain than human science is capable of.”
Jannie nodded solemnly. “It occurs to me that those who testified in court to these supposed health problems have perjured themselves. That might be something you'll want to look into, Governor.” She tipped her head to him, noting his darkening complexion in satisfaction.
“So you’re just going to...keep Alice?” the woman from child protection asked.
“I see no reason not to allow her to find a Sakk family to raise her. They will certainly appreciate the innate beauty of a winged child like her.”
“And they’ll also give her to a man she’s never met before to marry,” the CPS representative countered. “Great plan for protecting her.”
“Do you suggest that other countries on Earth who practice arranged marriages are abusing their daughters? Sakk girls are not married off to their husbands until they are legally adult, and they are able to refuse males who are less than acceptable to them outright. It seems that asylum is granted in the United States to women whose countries practice ritual female mutilation...sometimes. But not to women escaping arranged marriages. Considering this situation, it amazes me that you claim the opposite is what Alice should be subjected to.”
Coleman, the elder of their two federal liaisons, half-hid a laugh in a fake cough. “We understand your concern about the wings.”
“Then kindly understand this,” she requested. “Not only do we intend to see to Alice’s care... And if that doesn’t sit well with you, we can certainly leave the United States and wash our hands of this entire country until you mature.” Jannie let the threat hang between them.
No one spoke, though the representatives from child services and the foster care system looked like they wanted to take her up on that offer.
“Not only will we protect Alice, at all costs, we would like to arrange several new initiatives.”
Brady, the younger liaison, spoke up. “Of what sort?”
“The first is very similar to your laws on surrendering infants and toddlers to the state. If a child tests as being Sakk-descended, we will allow surrender to us of that child, up to the age of two. Both parents must agree, if both are named on the birth certificate, save in cases of the death of a parent. Since this is Sakk sovereign soil, we have the ability to make such a decree as you do, state by state.”
He nodded. “I can’t see how we could stop it. And?”
“If a child is orphaned and is a ward of the state, we would like to test them routinely.”
“To what end?” the woman from the foster system inquired coolly.
“Giving them a home outside the overworked and overrun state systems.”
Coleman seemed to consider it. “That would have to be worked out, state by state. Some may insist that only children with no living relatives may be tested, and some may simply not approve it.”
“Understood.”
There was a moment of silence. Everyone except the liaisons started packing their paperwork and heading for the door.
When they were gone, Coleman sighed and pushed a hand through his heavily-grayed hair. “Have you had a chance to consider the extradition paperwork that was filed with you? I don’t mind telling you that there are a lot of people out there steaming for a shot at Meredith Mallory’s head.”
“It is denied.”
He gaped at her. “Seriously? This is not going to go down well.”
Jannie wished Ellwood was here. He wouldn’t have argued this with her, she was sure. “She did abduct a Sakk child, and she was captured on Sakk soil.”
“I’m really starting to loathe the consulate rules,” he admitted.
Brady piped up. “We’ll have to check on her. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Of course not. But do be aware that we will not return Ms. Mallory to you unless she asks to face your justice instead of ours.”
“Fair enough,” Coleman decided. “We can play up the fact that she’s facing justice there.”
****
Meredith looked up from Alice’s diaper at the sound of a knock. “Just a moment,” she called out.
“At your convenience, Meredith,” Janice replied.
She rushed through putting on the fresh diaper, dropped the soiled one in the waste unit, then wiped her hands on a cleansing cloth the Sakk had provided for the chore. With Alice on her hip, Meredith made her way to the door and opened it.
Her smile faded at the sight of what appeared to be two human—and very official—men. Her heart pounded out a warning. Had they decided to turn her over to the human authorities after all?
Why? What have I done? She’d been caring for Alice for three days, and there had been no complaints Meredith was aware of.
Janice covered Meredith’s hand with her own, squeezing lightly. “May I present Representative Ellwood and Representative Gorse? They are two of our liaisons. It is their job to check on you and report whether or not you are being treated well in your confinement.”
“Of...of course.” Meredith backed off a step and waved them to the sofa. Then she placed Alice in the playpen and offered her the Sakk version of a spill-proof training cup.
With no further excuses, she took the last remaining open chair in the living room area.
The two liaisons were busy, looking around the room she shared with Alice. The older of the two—Ellwood—had one eyebrow raised as if he meant to challenge something.
“Not a cell, then? I know there are cells here at the consulate.”
Meredith replied to it, though she wasn’t certain if the question had been intended for her or for Janice. “I was in a cell for a while, but now I’m here.” She hesitated and then offered the rest. “There are two guards on the door, so I guess it’s a more comfortable cell.”
Janice cut in. “The Sakk do not believe in long-term incarceration of females, unless it is a case of capital crimes. The guards are posted for the safety of Ms. Mallory and of Alice. When they do have reason to leave the room—to visit the garden or to go to the clinic, the guards accompany them. The guards also deliver whatever food items Ms. Mallory requests for herself and Alice.”
She motioned to the curtain that separated the living room from the bedroom. “We have provided clothing,
food, comfortable shelter, and even medical care. I dare say Ms. Mallory is better cared for here than she would have been in a stateside prison.”
“Medical care?” Gorse asked.
Meredith managed a weak smile. “I slipped on a wet stone in the garden and cut my knee. It was just a little cut, but the guards demanded I go to the clinic and have it tended to.”
Janice nodded her agreement. “Sakk warriors take protecting a woman or child very seriously.”
Ellwood jumped into the conversation again. “The reason she’s caring for Alice?”
Janice cut Meredith off at the pass. “Ms. Mallory is someone Alice knows and trusts. Since she brought Alice here, it seemed best to use her community service to provide the continuity of care a young one needs.”
“Your proposed punishment is community service? I don’t mind telling you there are people involved who will not feel that is an adequate exchange for the crimes they believe she has committed.” The tip of his head toward Meredith let her know he didn’t agree with it, but he had to play political games.
“That’s one part of her punishment.”
“And the rest?”
Meredith’s heart pounded in apprehension. They hadn’t discussed that further since Janice brought it up.
“That has not been decided yet, but it will be a Sakk-appropriate punishment for her level of crime.”
Gorse shook his head. “Meaning what?”
Janice smiled. “We will give Ms. Mallory a choice. We will not impose a punishment on her she doesn’t feel able to bear.”
Considering the punishments she’d heard of so far, Meredith wasn’t sure that was going to be a choice she wanted to face.
Chapter Three
Two weeks later
Unexpected Mates (Sons of Heaven) Page 2
