by Mikayla Lane
Dog sucked in a sharp breath and almost tripped on the uneven ground before Haruki quickly grabbed his arm and steadied him.
“What are you?” Dog asked as he stared into Haruki’s eyes.
“I am human, and something more, but I am not here to harm anyone,” Haruki admitted as he sent a wave of energy to Dog to remove his fear and clear his mind.
Dog visibly relaxed and nodded his head.
“So we’re not looking at an invasion?” Dog joked as they continued to the mess hall.
“Definitely not,” Haruki said with a laugh.
“You say you’re human, but what would your DNA say?” Deanna asked.
Haruki thought about the question for a moment as he looked at the camp built around the pyramid, creating a map in his mind.
“I think my DNA would say that there is enough human in me to protect humanity,” he answered.
They finally reached the mess hall and Haruki held the door open for Deanna and Dog, then followed them inside. He wasn’t too surprised when the room went silent as everyone stared at him.
Haruki allowed Deanna and Dog to lead him to the coffee pot and made himself a cup of coffee. When they turned back to the room, Deanna led him to the only empty table in the middle of the dining area.
They’d no sooner sat then a barrage of questions began flying at him from all sides. Dog whistled loudly, and the room became quiet again.
“Damn, let’s give him some room to breathe and ask one at a time,” Dog suggested, shaking his head at the unruly crowd.
Haruki looked across the mess hall to where Mike had a few men gathered around him, their heads bowed as they whispered to one another. He had no doubt that Mike was plotting a way to control him to get to the technology.
Haruki’s gaze clashed with Mike’s, and it confirmed for him that the man could never be trusted. Mike’s greed and demands for instant gratification would make him a permanent danger to him, Deanna and his siblings. Haruki couldn’t allow him to contact anyone on the outside. He knew Mike would only bring reinforcements to try and overpower him.
“He will attempt to bring in more guards to force my compliance,” Haruki whispered to Dog. “Where are the communication systems?”
Dog looked over at Mike and the bent heads of he and his men, then turned a penetrating gaze to Haruki.
“If I tell you, then all of us could be in danger from you,” Dog whispered back.
“What would it take for you to trust me more than you do him?” Haruki asked the intelligent man.
Dog turned his gaze to Mike and the people circled around him before he ran his hands over his face.
“I don’t know, to be honest with you. It’d help your case if you could tell me what happened to Dale,” Dog suggested.
“I wish I could, but I don’t have a clue. It’s like he ported somewhere, but I have no idea where or how,” Haruki said.
“Ported? Do you mean teleported? Because the way you talk it sounds like you know a lot about the technology to casually use slang for it,” Dog said as his eyes narrowed at Haruki.
“You are a smart man,” Haruki acknowledged with a grin. “This is not the time for that conversation.”
Haruki looked pointedly at the people whispering and staring at them, and Dog nodded his head.
“Later, then,” Dog said, refusing to let the matter drop.
“Later,” Haruki agreed.
“Don’t think you’re leaving me out of it,” Deanna whispered.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Haruki assured her. “We also have much to discuss.”
The intense look he gave her made Deanna look away and blush. It didn’t make her feel any better to know everyone was staring at her.
“Tell me something about you that is normal,” she whispered, needing the reassurance that he was human.
“I am a single father of a pre-teen girl,” Haruki said proudly.
“You were married?” Deanna blurted out, unable to hide the crestfallen look on her face.
“No! I’ve never been . . . married. My daughter is recently adopted,” Haruki explained, glad to see the smile come back to Deanna’s face as he spoke.
“That’s so sweet,” Deanna replied with a smile. “What’s her name?”
“Ainsley. She’s smart, funny, and so caring. She’s a really great kid, and I’m lucky to call her my own,” Haruki said.
He sounded exactly like any other proud parent and his affection for the little girl was evident in his expression and the way he spoke of her. It instantly made Deanna feel much better about him.
“She’s going to be so worried about you!” Deanna whispered, looking to Dog who controlled the communication systems.
“I appreciate your concern for her, but she is safe with people I trust with my life,” Haruki assured her, feeling Deanna’s panic in her energy.
Dog ran his hand over his face again and shook his head.
“I’ll disable communications temporarily. Until you prove yourself one way or another. But if you do anything that makes me believe Deanna or anyone else is in danger from you, I’ll call for backup myself. Do we understand one another?” Dog asked.
Haruki solemnly nodded his head and watched the older black male get up from the table and stride quickly out of the mess hall. He was only a little surprised when Dog’s seat was immediately taken by another older man.
“I’m Tom Chitone, an electrical engineer,” Tom introduced himself.
“Tom’s a great guy. One of the few I trust,” Deanna told Haruki with a smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Tom,” Haruki said and held his hand out to Tom.
Tom looked at the offered hand for a moment before he slowing took it. The men had shaken for a moment before a wide grin broke out on Tom’s face and he let go of Haruki’s hand.
“I guess it’s stupid, but I almost expected you to shock me or something,” Tom admitted with a slight reddening of his cheeks.
“I’m not sure if I could or not,” Haruki replied.
He knew that he could, but Haruki wasn’t about to reveal anything that could be used against him no matter how well-meaning the scientists might be. History was full of well-meaning people who did horrific things in the name of science or religion. Haruki had no desire for him and his brothers to become another statistic.
Tom glanced behind his shoulder and noted Mike and the gang surrounding him before turning back to Haruki.
“I understand,” Tom said. “Maybe we should be looking at a way to send Mike and his friends to visit Dale.”
Deanna gasped at the suggestion, and Tom looked her in the eyes, his face a mask of seriousness.
“Do you think Mike’s letting any of us out of here alive now? No one is going to miss us. That’s why we were all chosen to be here. Us old timers stayed because we had no families to go back too,” Tom explained. “You wouldn’t be here either if there was anyone back home that would ask if you dropped off the planet.”
Haruki turned to Deanna with raised brows, and she nodded her head.
“I have no one that would miss me. My parents were murdered a year ago,” she admitted. “Do you really think Mike would kill us all?”
“He tried to shoot me in the back! That was after he knew I could open the doors and power the place,” Haruki said with a snort.
“Breakfast is ready!” Harry called out.
Haruki stood and reached down to help Deanna out of her chair before walking towards the fast forming breakfast line.
“We should discuss your idea in more detail, later,” Haruki whispered to Tom as he and Deanna passed him.
“Hell, yeah,” Tom whispered back before following them.
Chapter Six
Haruki had just finished breakfast and slowly sipped his fourth cup of coffee as he watched Mike and three other men make their way across the dining hall to him. He felt Deanna stiffen at their approach, and he gently patted her leg, sending her calming energy.
“Here
come the lies to get you to work with him,” Tom warned as Mike reached their table.
Haruki noted the fake smile plastered on Mike’s face and the forced courage it took him to get this close after the incident in the pyramid. Mike gestured to the empty chair beside Tom and Haruki gave a sharp nod.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Mike said the moment he sat down.
Haruki watched three men move to stand behind Mike and felt two more a few feet behind him.
“You think approaching me with your goon squad in tow is making it better?” Haruki said as he crossed his arms over his chest and casually leaned back in his chair.
Mike glared at him with narrowed eyes while a vein ticked in his temple.
“Give us some space,” Mike ordered his men then looked pointedly at Tom and Deanna.
“She stays. The rest can listen if they like. It’s your thugs I have a problem with, not the working people,” Haruki said.
Mike gritted his teeth then forced a laugh.
“OK, I can work with this,” he mumbled.
Haruki wasn’t sure if Mike was talking to himself or not.
“It’s obvious you got some kind of weird connection to this place. Right? It’s not just some magic trick?” Mike asked.
Haruki just stared at Mike for a moment before coming to a decision.
“Why don’t you answer a few of my questions first? How did you get exclusive rights to the technology?” Haruki asked.
He knew that big money and an evil soul had to be behind this and needed to find out if it was Satalis that was pulling the strings.
Mike looked angry. Like a child on the verge of a tantrum because they didn’t get their way. He quickly tried to hide his irritation.
“I’m great friends with a few officials who helped make it happen,” Mike said evasively.
“Not good enough. Who?” Haruki demanded, refusing to be lied to.
“The Speaker of the House and Geoff Zorroughs! All right? Good enough? Now, what’s your connection to this place?” Mike snapped.
Haruki wasn’t the least bit surprised by the news. The speaker of the house had been plotting against his country and constituents for years to gain money and power. The other was one of the most corrupt and evil people he’d ever had the misfortune to see in person.
The fact that Mike named them only made Haruki more suspicious that Satalis may be behind this. The Dark Prime only surrounded himself with the most morally bankrupt and the darkest of souls. The two mentioned fit the bill perfectly.
Haruki knew it would be relatively easy to trace the connections now that he knew where to start, and he changed the topic to find out the rest of what was happening here.
“What are your plans for this location and the energy?” Haruki asked, sifting Mike for the truth and the lies.
“What difference does it make now?” Mike roared in a fury. “It won’t matter one way or another to you! Now answer my questions!”
“The very fact that you won’t answer is indicative that you intend to kill me the second you get the chance, so why the hell would I answer your questions?” Haruki asked with a laugh.
“The fact that you won’t answer my questions is making me want to kill you!” Mike ground out through gritted teeth.
Haruki chuckled at the man’s petulant behavior. He likened it to dealing with his little niece, Charlie.
“Since you already tried to shoot me in the back, I have no reason to believe that you have my best interests at heart. Add to that your personal thugs and what did you think would happen? That we’d be best friends now?” Haruki asked with a shrug.
“I can make you a very wealthy man,” Mike said with such a smarmy smile that Haruki had to stop the urge to wipe it off the man’s face.
“I am already wealthy,” Haruki admitted as he grinned down at Deanna.
He felt a thrill when she blushed and smiled back at him, pleased that she realized he wasn’t talking about money.
“That may be true, but I can make you wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. Think of the power you would have,” Mike offered.
Haruki wasn’t the least bit surprised when he could see the dark aura surrounding Mike, pulse with life at the man’s evil thoughts and lying words. Haruki and his brothers had seen such a phenomena among the humans before, but only in a select group of the truly evil and damned.
The bastard fits right in with the two that helped him get this place, Haruki thought, knowing he would kill the man before this was all over.
“What do you plan on doing with the place that would give me that kind of money and power?” Haruki asked, pretending an interest to get Mike to talk.
He saw the excitement enter Mike’s eyes and knew he hit just the right nerve to make the man talk. Haruki was more than ready to listen.
“It’s energy. Enough to power this place since it was built tens of thousands of years ago!” Mike said as his eyes lit with excitement over the topic.
When Haruki only stared at him, Mike snorted.
“Don’t you get it? It’s unlimited natural energy. Free energy! If we can harness it, we can provide power for most of the world without any of the dangers of power lines, or any other environment killing equipment,” Mike explained, his eyes sparkling.
Haruki had already assumed that much.
“And you plan on selling it to people?” Haruki asked calmly, not letting on that his anger was growing.
“Hell yeah! Think about it! I have the speaker of the house and the richest thug in the world in my pocket through Geoff! Which means I’ll rule the EPA and get a law passed that all other electrical providers be banned so we don’t ruin the environment! We’ll have the entire world on their knees for our electric!” Mike said with a broad smile.
“So you plan on giving people the power at a fair cost because it’s free?” Haruki asked.
“Hell no! We’ll mark up the cost a hundred percent by lying about the carbon footprints or some shit! Think about it! We can hold entire countries hostage for electricity! We can decide the fate of the world!” Mike gushed with enthusiasm.
Dog came back into the room in time to hear Mike’s tirade and the man was furious.
“That was not what we were here for! This belongs to the people, not the rich assholes like you to exploit!” Dog snapped at Mike while many others in the room agreed.
Mike realized his mistake in revealing his plans to the entire crew and tried to backpedal.
“Now wait, all of you will get to share in the wealth when we can make it work!” Mike amended, scrambling to stop the rising chorus of unrest among the group.
“You mean if you and your thugs don’t shoot everyone in the back once they figure it out for you, right?” Haruki challenged.
He was going to give Mike more than enough rope to hang himself with his men.
“That was different!” Mike argued. “You made Dale disappear!”
“So you’ve discussed this windfall with them already? Because who wouldn’t work harder to figure it out with such an incentive, right?” Haruki challenged as he looked around at the angry group of men.
“First I’ve heard of it,” one of the men shouted.
“Me too,” Dog said as he glared at Mike.
“We were going to tell you when we were close to finding out the source!” Mike snapped back.
“Bullshit! You were going to get rid of us!” one of the men shouted from the back.
“Seems to me, you should try being honest with everyone,” Haruki suggested, knowing Mike wouldn’t be smart enough to take his advice.
“Fuck you!” Mike shrieked as he stood and leaned over the table at Haruki. “I own this place, and you will cooperate one way or another. All of you will.”
Haruki had enough and harnessed the power that returned to him once he’d eaten. He flew out of his chair, his power exploding from him as gasps erupted around the room. He ignored the others as he gripped the back of Mike’s head with one hand while hi
s other held a glimmering blue and white katana of energy against his throat.
“You are in no place to make threats,” Haruki growled. “You own nothing because nothing here belongs to you. I don’t care who you bribed or who you blew to get what you have, but by the time I’m done with you, there will be nothing left.”
“Let go of me!” Mike whispered, his eyes wide with fear as he tried to pull his head away from Haruki’s iron grip.
Haruki felt the change in the energy seconds before Deanna called out a warning. Still holding onto Mike’s head, he pivoted to his right, bringing the energy sword to the neck of the man who’d tried to sneak up behind him.
“I wouldn’t if I were you,” Haruki warned the startled thug. “Now would be a good time for you to re-evaluate your alliances.”
“What are you?” Mike murmured in fear.
He stared at the glimmering katana that had erupted from Haruki’s wrist, the electrically charged handle in his palm.
“I’m the one who understands that which you do not. I’m the legitimate owner of this place and the energy it contains, and I will be deciding your fate,” Haruki growled.
“Send him to Dale!” one of the men in the back of the room shouted.
“No! No! Please! I’ll be straight with you! I’ll tell you anything you want to know!” Mike screamed in terror.
Haruki lowered the sword from the bodyguard's neck and allowed it to retract into his body, ignoring the shocked mumbling of the others. The guard immediately ran out of the mess hall, and Haruki turned his disgusted gaze to Mike.
“You’re going to sit down and tell everyone here, everything you know. If you lie, you will join your friend Dale. Do you understand?” Haruki demanded.
Mike nodded his head so vigorously he looked like a bobble head, and the moment Haruki let go of him, he fell into the chair and trembled.
“I need to talk to you first,” Dog whispered. “We have a problem.”
Haruki nodded his head and held his hand out to Deanna, there was no way in hell he was letting her leave his side when he had no idea how many were loyal to Mike and his false promises of instant wealth.
