“Doesn’t it look as if nothing had happened here?” Steven asked. He beamed at Jackie O’Hannigan from across the table. “This is the real Mylos Fleet, you know,” he continued waving his hand to gesture in a sweeping motion. “Just us and our families getting on with our lives, enjoying our families and children.”
“Just like everybody else, back on Earth,” Melissa nodded. She put a hand on her chest. “Oh. My. God. I can’t believe she’d show her face here.” She looked pointedly towards the path that ran between the cafe and the park. Marley was strolling past, laughing at something Kranow was saying to her as they walked along, arm in arm.
“I thought she was your friend?” Jackie said, arching an eyebrow,
“Was our friend. And Melissa, bet she hasn’t figured out yet that they’re on to her. I feel real sorry for Kranow. He obviously hasn’t got a clue.”
“I feel like I’m missing something,” Jackie said, glancing between the two friends.
Melissa flushed. “I probably shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Girl, hush. I don’t care who knows. She’s gonna get locked up soon enough.” Steven leaned towards Jackie to speak in a confidential tone. “Darla told Melissa that while in the UK, at the airport no less, Marley was seen speaking to someone on Interpol’s terror watch list. It looked like he handed her some kind of piece of paper. Sachuu searched for it while they went off sightseeing on the island, but she had gone into the bathroom right after getting it. She must have read whatever was on the paper and then flushed it down the toilet.”
A calculating gleam came into Jackie O’Hannigan’s eyes. “Did she really, now? So, they think she’s planning another attack?”
Steven and Melissa both nodded. “Or coordinating another bride snatching, like she tried to do with me,” Melissa replied.
“What will happen with her baby?” Jackie asked.
Melissa blinked in surprise. “Oh, I suppose Kranow will have to raise it. Or maybe he’ll send it to live with her sister.”
“Poor guy. He’s going to be devastated. He’s really believed in her all this time. We all did. I can’t stand seeing him being strung along like this.” Steven began to rise from his seat. Melissa caught his arm. “Steven, sit down. You gotta let Security handle it. You don’t wanna mess up their case.” Steven sighed loudly and sat back down.
“Fine. This calls for some more wine, though.”
“No more for me, thanks,” Jackie said, glancing at her smartwatch. “I have to go meet my new PA at shuttle bay four and if I don’t dash, I’m going to be late. Hopefully the new production assistant will also be onboard.”
“Oh, so you’re going to finish the Fleet special?”
“I wouldn’t miss it. Maybe we’ll even get to cover Marley getting her just desserts.” She gave them a shark-like grin before pushing her dessert plate away and standing up. “Thank you for inviting me to lunch. I’ve been so down since losing…” Her voice caught and she dabbed dramatically at her eyes before glancing away. “I’m sure you understand.”
“Oh, we do. We wanted you to not feel so alone,” Melissa said.
Jackie sniffed while Steven and Melissa pretended not to notice that her eyes had never held any trace of tears, instead bestowing her looks of mock sympathy. “It’s nice to know people care.” Steven and Melissa watched her walk away. When she was well out of sight, Melissa turned to face Steven. “Evil cow,” she said.
“Indeed. I’ll make that a bottle instead of a glass, shall I?”
“No, let’s just finish and go home. I want to get on the next available shuttle. I don’t think I can stand being within the same fleet as her for another second.”
****
“Marley?” Kranow called out as he entered the kitchen. Marley turned around to see what he wanted, spoon still in hand from where’d she been hand mixing waffle batter. She looked at him expectantly. Kranow gave her a large grin. “I just got a message from Sachuu via my kunnarskyn. Our friends have safely checked into the resort. Not only that, but they reported that Jackie O’Hannigan took the bait and is hoping to perhaps catch you ‘getting your just desserts’ for her show. Though I do not understand what you having dessert has to do with anything. Did they know you were baking this cake?”
“Oh, thank goodness. I was worried she’d figure out something was up and do something to them. And getting just desserts is an expression that means getting what you have coming to you, like punishment.”
Kranow nodded his understanding. “I will endeavor to remember that. And you needn’t have worried. A shadow detail is on her, no matter where she goes, in addition to the AIs specifically tracking her and anyone else she comes into contact with. No one is being ruled out as possible accomplices. In addition, shuttles and shuttle bays and all public areas are being inspected. It is as safe as it can be possibly made without being obvious or inconveniencing and frightening Fleet families.”
Marley knew he was right, but that didn’t stop the gremlins from whispering dreadful thoughts in her ear, giving her mind’s eye entirely unwelcome images of wanton death and destruction done to pin blame on her. The why still eluded her, unwilling to believe that someone could be fame hungry enough to injure and kill others just to advance their own career in entertainment. Or does she maybe think I really am part of a new sleeper cell, and she’s talked herself into justifying all of this as a case of the ends justifying the means? That she’s stopping me from masterminding an even greater evil?
Chapter Thirty-Four
She’d expected it, but it still hit her hard when she was confronted with the reality of the sign on her classroom door. She didn’t have to pretend that she felt as if she’d been gutted.
Reminder
This is to remind all parents that regular classes are suspended. Classes will resume next Tuesday when new staff arrive from Earth.
-Commander Gundar
Reminder. Yes, it was indeed a reminder, Gundar having explained that two new teachers had been hired, two military spouses whose families were taking part in the Fleet training and employment scheme. She was supposed to show up this morning to collect a couple boxes of her things, to add to the illusion that she’d been suspended while being investigated. In reality, one of the new teachers was to replace Charlotte while the other was to help cover teacher absences throughout the Bride Fleet as necessary.
“What are you doing here?” a familiar voice sneered at her. She turned to find Darla watching her with a look of contempt on her face. Jackie O’Hannigan stood by her friend’s side, a cameraman filming the entire exchange behind them. The man edged around the pair and past Marley, intent on gaining footage of the trio as they engaged.
“I don’t understand,” Marley replied. “Why are you acting like this? We had so much fun at my wedding and then I come back and you won’t return my calls or answer your door and now you’re looking at me like I’m a piece of dog shit you want to scrape off of your shoe.” Tears rolled unchecked down her face.
“Oh, now, I wonder why?” Darla replied dramatically, tilting her head to one side and placing a forefinger against her cheek. She snapped her fingers as if the answer had only just occurred to her. “Oh, I know! Maybe it’s because while you were supposedly enjoying your honeymoon, your security detail saw you meet with a certain someone at the airport, when you’d only pretended to need to go the bathroom before boarding your plane. A certain someone that a check on the phone records show you called from the phone in your room, during times that your unsuspecting mate was out buying you ice cream, picking up take-out, and buying you a bottle of sunscreen to replace one you supposedly lost.”
Marley blanched. “I never! Yeah, I ran into a weird guy at the airport, but I certainly never called him on any phone! If someone did, it wasn’t me!”
“If it wasn’t you, then who was it? Are you blaming your mate or a member of your security team?” Jackie O’Hannigan stepped forward. “If you believe this is a frame job, can you tell us who
you suspect and why?”
“I- no. I don’t blame either of them,” Marley replied, flustered. “Please, I just came to get my things,” she turned to fumble with the door. The lock refused to accept her genetic input.
“It’s sealed,” Darla sneered. “Until they finish processing the room for further possible evidence. You won’t need any of your things where they’ll be sending you. I hear everything you need will supplied to you, even the stuff you don’t want. I hope it’s worse than Gitmo. We trusted you with our children. We thought you were a true friend. I can’t stand the sight of your traitorous ass,” Darla hissed. “It’s all I can do to not tear you apart right now, but I can’t. I’ll have to let justice take its course. Now, just get the hell out of here and if you know what’s good for you, stay in your quarters.”
Tears ran unchecked down Marley’s face. “Please, I didn’t do this. We were friends, me and you and Steven and Melissa. And Charlotte was a good friend and work colleague. I thought that as my friends, you’d believe in me!”
“We did, right up until you tipped your hand. You make me sick! There were children at Rosa’s and the rest of the promenade, you know. Children, like the ones you supposedly cared about and taught. Like the one you are carrying. Innocents. You did that. You hurt them. It’s your fault they died and that some are now orphans.”
Marley shook her head from side to side. “No, I never,” she sobbed, her breaths now coming in heaves.
Two security officers came down the corridor. “We received an alert that there was a disturbance here,” one of them said.
“You shouldn’t be here,” the other said, coming to stand before Marley. She blinked to clear her vision. The voice was familiar though the unpleasant twist of his mouth wasn’t. “I’m afraid we’ll have to escort you back to your quarters. Your mate has been informed of your ordered house arrest,” Krilit said.
Marley knew it was all an act but the reality of it still hit her hard. True, Krilit knew no such thing had happened during their trip, but the officer with him was not in on the deception. The hate in his eyes was quite real as was the school closure and new hires. Everything had been taken away from her, even her friends, who had to go elsewhere or pretend to hate her. All she had now was Kranow and the young she carried. Nausea roiled through her guts as she hyperventilated.
Black spots danced before eyes and she felt herself falling against the door, her back sliding against it as her knees buckled.
“I do believe she’s having a panic attack, officer,” she heard Jackie O’Hannigan say from a great distance.
“Xeranos, please call in a medical team. We have a young bearer in acute distress,” she heard Krilit say. “Marley, please focus on just my face, okay?” He was there, in front of her, kneeling on the floor. His hand cupped her chin as he gazed into her eyes, a look of concern shining from his eyes despite his otherwise grim expression.
“Please back away from the area,” the other security officer said. “It would be better if you cleared the area.”
Marley ignored him and the sounds of activity she could hear, locking eyes with Krilit and trying desperately to catch her breath while not losing her focus. She lost the battle, her breakfast deciding to make a sudden reappearance thanks to her heaves. The sight and smell of it horrified her. “I’m so sorry!” she cried before another urge to vomit hit her hard. To his credit, Krilit never flinched, despite the front of his uniform and the tops of his boots being covered in Marley’s partially digested scrambled eggs and toast.
Then others were there, rubbing circles across her back, offering her a paper bag to breathe in, while clipping a supply of oxygen under her nose. Marley found herself drifting and realized there was something else mixed in with the oxygen. Some kind of sedative, she thought before dropping the bag and tumbling gently into the welcoming dark.
Chapter Thirty-Five
She was back in the secure medical suite. This time, she had no visitors save for the doctor. She knew it was all part of the ruse, but it still led her to stop and think of just why she was doing this. There was Charlotte and the other victims, who deserved to have justice served. There was Melissa and Junrig, who she’d wronged personally, and all the other brides, actual and potential, and their families who’d she’d helped hurt by her participation in the propaganda machine that was The Human Right. Those were all the reasons why she did this, she knew, but these were not things that burned within her, giving her the fortitude to withstand this trial. No, that was Kranow and the nascent life within her, the physical representation of their love.
She thought back to one particular morning on Barra. She’d fallen asleep spooned against Kranow. His arm had held her close, his palm resting against her heart. She’d blinked awake, suddenly acutely aware that Kranow was also awake and had been watching her sleep. She’d turned her head so that her ear could hear his heart beat, strong and sure within his chest. She could feel their hearts beating in unison and from his expression, she knew he did as well. Neither said a word, instead savoring the experience. It was a perfect moment that seemed to speak volumes the two lovers, each heart beating for the other, keeping perfect time.
Then he’d breathed her name and the spell expanded to include a gentle meeting of the lips that turned into an aching desperation. The sun had risen, bathing their curtainless room with brilliant reds, blues, oranges and purples. Their hands and legs found each other and twined, their bodies engaging in that primal dance that was as old as time. It ended only once the world shattered about them, and they both fell back into an exhausted state, Kranow once more spooning her as they tumbled once more into sleep, their heartbeats and breaths synchronized once more.
They’d spent hours walking along the beaches, discussing nursery ideas and names. They’d made dreams of a future and it was a future she felt worth fighting for. Their family’s future and by extension, the larger family they had as members of the Mylos Bride Fleet. She reminded herself of this while she sat in the sterile, white room without company and unsure of how much time was passing. Time blurred, at first meaningless, the here and now only becoming paramount the moment the doctor brought her this day’s third meal. The smell hit her hard, her hunger now a roiling pit. He backed out startled with the food as she rushed to the small bathroom and emptied the meager contents of her stomach into the bowl. He returned moments later, to check on her, eyeing her sympathetically.
“Ah, I believe the sickness has come,” he said. She rolled her eyes at him. Really? She hadn’t noticed. Nope, she’d just been doing a close inspection of the interior surface of the toilet bowl, was all. He ignored her sarcastic reaction. “It will pass and despite the persistence of the human brides calling it ‘morning sickness’, it is not confined to making itself known only in the morning. It typically goes away around 14 weeks.”
“So I have nearly two months of this to look forward to?”
“Yes, roughly.”
“Oh joy.”
“I’ll get you some crackers and a selection of fruit that should appeal,” he informed her. “Let’s just get you back into bed first.” Her legs were shaking so she was glad for his help but she couldn’t help wishing circumstances were different. I should be in our quarters with Kranow helping me. Yet another thing that’s been taken from us thanks to all the bullshit. She hoped fervently that it would all end soon and that she could go home to be pampered by her mate.
He came back in moments later, placing a tray onto over the lap table. She eyed the fruit. It was all Earth fruits, slices of apples and pears with a few red and green grapes sat arranged on a plate next to a spread of plain saltine crackers. A glass of water completed the simple meal. “Thanks,” she said. “I think I can manage this.”
Dr. Litrelp nodded. “I think you’ll want to see this,” he told her. “Xeranos, please play this morning’s “Live with Jackie O’Hannigan”.
A section of the wall flickered as the inbuilt viewscreen came to life. The show’s intro pla
yed and then the screen resolved to show Jackie O’Hannigan sat in an armchair inside guest quarters.
“Hi, and thank you for tuning in. Usually, we’re live in front of a studio audience, but I’m still in outer space playing the part of a super duper journalist space trooper,” Jackie said, making a silly face. “Okay, okay, probably not as funny as that sounded in my head, but hey, truth is stranger than fiction, am I right?” The sound her cameraman agreeing with her could be heard. “See, my staff agrees with me. Anyways, you might remember that I first left Earth to cover the story of the woman who tried to kidnap one of the Mylos Fleet brides right before her wedding when, in an astonishing move, the bride and her husband, the commander of the Bride Fleet, and the Mylos government itself decided to accept an apology as proof of contrition and allowed her to apply for a Bride Scholarship!” Jackie gave a dramatic pause.
Kranow (Mate the Stars Book 4) Page 14
