“Consign it all to hell then, Teron. You have to trust me. You always have in the past.”
“A person can change a lot in seventeen months. How do I know you haven’t gone off the deep end?”
“Trust me, please.” He really wanted to remind her of the time he saved her from certain death upon the planet Cimmerian in the Tether system. Matakeo always had each others backs, so he knew not to mention it. He had confidence in knowing she would help in his time of need. The seconds it took for Teron to answer his plea seemed like minutes.
“I will give you the benefit of the doubt. There is no reason for me not to trust you.”
“Thank you.” Darius exhaled. “Your trust means a lot to me.”
“So let’s have it. What do you need for me to do?”
“Well, while I was with the priest at the scene, we heard someone rustling around in a ventilation shaft located above the altar.”
“Do you think it was the killer?” she asked with trembling in her voice.
“The killer was probably long gone before anyone noticed the dead body. I believe we may actually have a witness. Abdominous asked me to find the person.”
“Why would he ask you to find a witness if he were going to pin a murder on you?”
“I know it sounds illogical.”
“Well, how can I help?”
“As soon as I track this person down I will contact you. It shouldn’t take long. Okay?”
“I will be ready.”
“I have to go now. Talk to you soon.”
“Hey. Please be careful.”
“Always.”
Darius discontinued the communication with Teron and recovered the flashlight. With one hand he reached through the opening and set the controls for the lift to return to the floor on its own. Then he navigated his way through the duct work. The strength of the flashlight could not show the end of this particular passage. With the knowledge he had about the cathedral’s dimensions, he considered the length for this section of shaft. Three minutes later he reached an intersection.
Right or left? Right would take him in a westerly direction toward the financial district. Darius had a hunch. He decided to go left. There were more homes, apartments and a shelter on that side of the Gardens.
Shortly thereafter, Darius came to a multiplex of connections. He definitely did not want to play the guessing game here. There were seven different directions in which to choose from. He pointed his light into the shaft directly in front of him. Perfect. More blood on the ceiling and floor. Thanks were given since he did not have to search any of the other channels. Seeing the amount of blood lost coupled with the departed chunk of scalp caused him to feel compassion for this injured person. He picked up the pace. Eventually, he came upon a location where he could see artificial light at the other end of the tunnel. The air in the shaft was moving the opposite direction from him now. He closed the distance quickly.
Arriving at the location where the individual had entered the shaft, he stopped and looked in. He was not surprised to see that the vent cover was never put back in place. Obviously, the person had not been concerned about concealing their activity, considering the seriousness of the injury. He turned his light off and crawled out of the metal duct work.
A bedroom? In one corner there was a twin-sized bed. A Boston Celtic’s logo sported the comforter, obvious hand me downs from Earth. Posters of star cruisers and celestial bodies of deep space covered the wall above the bed. To the right was a vanity dresser. The antique appeared to be twentieth century in design.
Pinned around the top and sides of the mirror were a lot of different colored ribbons. Printed upon them were accomplishments for this person’s performance in competitive events. Upon further review, he could see the words, Arena Sports for the Gifted, printed on them.
A picture sat on the dresser top. The photo was not centered and the wooden frame was checkered with black and white squares. Darius had to pick it up and bring it closer to get a better view of the two characters depicted within the mini portrait.
The boy on the left side of the picture looked to be about twelve years old. Red hair topped the lad’s head. Darius assumed that the kid was either having a bad hair day when this photo was taken or he needed someone to show him some grooming etiquette. Freckles littered the boy’s face, giving him a definitive “Opie” look.
A man had his arm around the boy’s shoulders. He looked to be about the same age as Darius. A throw away sticker was secured upon his shirt. There was an “Arena Sports for the Gifted” logo printed onto it. The sticker served as a name tag, which upon it was written a name in black marker.
It read, Telly.
Darius freaked. He pulled out the kaleidoscope he found and looked at where the initials lly were etched onto it. After comparing the scope to the picture, he came to the conclusion that two letters had obviously been rubbed off of the toy. Now he felt disappointed with the realization of what he was dealing with here. The witness may be this man; a man who might have the thinking capacity of an eight year old.
Time was a precious commodity at this point. Darius had no clue as to whether the killer was aware of a witness or not. As he reached for the exit controls, he wondered what he was getting caught up in. The door opened.
Darius stepped into a huge day room equipped with many entertainment devices; a typical setup for a group home. Many electronic mediums, designed for the purpose of stimulating a challenged person’s knowledge base were scattered about the room in no particular order. A pungent odor, like that of a nursing home and used diapers permeated the room. A woman stopped her activity and turned to look at him. Her mouth fell open. Exercising caution, she rose up and crossed the room. She approached slowly. The brunette stared hard without batting an eye. Darius played along with her for about thirty seconds. He did not want to alarm her. Once the tension eased, he broke the ice.
“Hello there.”
“Hi, stranger.” The woman said with a squeaky voice. Then she flipped her hair.
“You do not have to call me stranger. My name is Darius. What is yours?”
“I am not supposed to tell you because I don’t know you. I was told to run for help if a stranger enters our house.”
“Why have you not ran for help yet?”
“You look like a nice person.” she answered.
Darius chuckled. “I would like to think that I am anyway.”
“You came out of Telly’s room.”
“So you know him?” he asked.
“Did you make his head bleed?” Her demeanor radiated with concern for the one in question.
“Oh no, I would never do that. Actually, I am trying to find out why his head is bleeding.”
Without warning, the woman jumped. “I am going to run now. Bye-bye, Stranger.” She turned and bolted for a staircase while screaming at the top of her lungs. “Help! Stranger in the house! Stranger!”
Darius laughed. “Well, that did not go too well.” He strode off after the woman. Wisdom dictated, that wherever she was going it would be to someone she viewed as an authority figure. As far as he was concerned, this was a good thing. Talking to someone in charge would hopefully net him a quicker answer as to Telly’s whereabouts.
When he reached the first floor, he lost the visual on her. However, she could still be heard. The screams came from a hallway to the left. Eventually, the yelling ceased. At the end of the hall there was one door. A name plate was fixed upon the face of the wood fixture.
Administrators Office.
Upon reaching it, he raised a fist to knock.
Suddenly, the door opened without warning. A monster of a woman stood in front of him. Her appearance was not so lady-like. She looked more like a steroid addict who consumed way too much fat in her diet. She had to be every bit of six foot and four inches. The blouse she wore was tight fitting and her chest was curved like a male body builder. Her biceps and triceps were so huge the sleeves of her shirt looked as if they were cutting off the circulat
ion in her arms.
Darius made a conscious effort to not look at the lower portion of her physique. Judging by the expression on her face, it seemed as if she were aware of his gasping difficulty to look upon her. He could have sworn her countenance silently illuminated, I am going to rip your limbs off. Caution was in order here. He did not want to offend her any further.
“Hi there,” he smiled. His body language did not help.
In a soft, but very stern voice, she questioned him. “Can I help you, mister?”
He cleared his throat.
“Well, spit it out. I have a busy schedule.” she snorted.
“I am Darius. The high priest sent me here to find someone. We believe that he might have witnessed a murder.”
“Well, who might you be looking for?” she asked.
“Telly.”
“Telly?” The administrator’s tone changed. “He wouldn’t hurt a shell bug.”
“Ma’am, I never….”
“My name is Mortadella.” A smile crossed her face. Suddenly, she didn’t seem all that scary any more. Darius was relieved that the tension had eased somewhat.
“Okay, Mortadella. I never said Telly did anything wrong. We think he may have witnessed a murder.”
“Darius, did you say?”
“Yes.”
“Well now, it would be impossible for Telly to have witnessed such a thing without his caregiver observing it also. There is someone who oversees him at all times, especially when he leaves this facility.”
“Mortadella….”
“You can call me Della for short.” She giggled and winked at him.
Darius blushed intentionally to keep the charade rolling.
“Della,” he replied. “Actually, this took place in the early hours of the morning. I take it you are not aware that Telly had been roaming through the ventilation system?” He was positive she had no clue.
Appearing somewhat confused, she answered. “You have got to be kidding me?”
“No. I am serious.” Next he conveyed a look to express sympathy for Telly’s being injured. “We believe that is where he bumped his head.”
“Oh my, I found it hard to believe the other residents. They said he bumped his head in his room. We do our best to keep things safe for them.”
“Can you tell me where he is at this moment?”
Della appeared as if she wanted to step back into her office and shut the door on him. This might have been more information than she really cared to hear. Then the woman who had run from him appeared in the doorway between Della and where the door hung on its hinges.
“Telly is really weird.” she declared.
Della put an arm around the woman and patted her gently on the shoulder, as if to soothe her.
“Cindy. You need to go on back to the day room and finish your assignment.”
“Yes, Miss Roberts.” Without taking her eyes off of Darius, she baby stepped her way around the administrator. Once she was clear, she took off running and without screaming this time.
Darius wanted to get the conversation back on track.
“Where can I find him?”
“His caregiver took him to see the doctor. You’re right. He did bump his head and really laid it open. I feel for him. He is such a sweet man.”
“Where is the doctor office located?” Darius asked.
“When you go out the front door …” her chain of thought shifted. “…You will be using the front door when you leave? Correct?”
“Yes Ma’am.” Wow. Cindy must have spilled a whole lot of information for the short time she had been in the office.
“Excellent. Make a right. Go down six blocks and make another right. It’s the third office on the left.”
“Thank you, Della. You have been a great help and an excellent host.”
He made his way back down the hallway. Della followed him all the way to the front door. The woman waved goodbye as Darius walked down the street.
“Come back and see me sometime,” she sang.
He hurried down the street to put some distance between the Group Home and himself. About a block away he stopped and sat down on a public bench. Using his com, he made a call to the priest. No surprise, the man answered within seconds. Now he knew the priest was overly anxious.
“Did you locate the witness?”
“I will soon.”
“Where is he?” Abdominous demanded.
Darius hesitated. Knowing he would probably regret doing it, he pushed a couple of buttons on the com.
“I believe that the address my com is sending to you should be the medical clinic where he is getting treated.”
“Excellent job, Darius.” Abdominous said with a belch. “Once you arrive at the clinic, I want you to wait ten minutes before you go in.”
“Why?” Darius sounded mystified.
“I am sending you some reinforcements to be on the safe side.”
“That’s fine. I will wait the ten minutes. No more.” Then he terminated the call. Immediately following, he placed a call to Teron. Without a doubt, he knew he was going to need her help. There was really no reason for the priest to send more Matakeo. Something was amiss.
“What’s up, Darius?”
“Hello, Teron. I’m sure I have the witness located.”
“That’s good,” she replied.
“Yes it is. However, I am very cautious.”
“Why is that?”
“Abdominous wants me to wait for backup. That seems too extreme a measure for a task so simple?”
“Just for a witness?”
“Strange, is it not?”
“I could understand it if it were the killer you had found.”
“Exactly,” he confirmed. “I may need for you to back me up. Are you up for it?”
“Have you ever known a time when I wasn’t?”
“Just making sure.” he answered. “I am sending you the address now.”
“I’m on my way.” Now she sounded excited.
“Try to stay in the shadows.”
“No problem. See you.”
Darius deactivated his com. I have used that device more today than I have in the last seventeen months combined, he mused. He sat down upon the ledge of a raised flower bed located across the street from the clinic. Patiently, he waited for the other Matakeo to arrive. After ten minutes had passed, he gave it two more before he decided not to wait any longer. Standing to his feet, he decided to enter the medical clinic.
6
The com-link on Malign’s bureau sounded. Disengaging from her human, she shifted her legs over the side of the bed and reached for her peignoir. She slipped both arms through the sleeves. Standing to her feet, the remainder of the gown fell into place and covered her entire body. Then she fastened the front with a blue sash.
As she made her way to the bureau her feet pressed into the depths of rare and exotic animal pelts covering the stone floor. Her hips moved with an erotic sway that was accentuated by the vast array of furs that came from many different systems throughout the galaxy. The piles were very soft and warm to her feet as they sunk into the sea of comfort.
Standing in front of the dresser, she touched the com and opened the channel. “What is it?”
“My Banimpire,” the operator announced. “You have a high priority call from Puritania.”
“Thank you. Please put it through.”
“Yes, your highness.” The man’s voice was reverent.
Malign peered back at the bed. Even with the bed sheet pulled up to his chest, she could see her toy was pouting. She smirked. Fifteen seconds passed before the device came alive again.
“Malign,” boomed a man’s voice. This was followed by a high pitched squeal of sub-space static.
“It is Banimpire Malign to you,” she reminded the man harshly. “You were so loud you caused my com to distort. What do you want?” Without giving him a chance to reply, she asked another question. “Have you pinned the murder on that man yet?”
“Not exactly.” Abdominous answered purposely.
“What?!”
“There is a small problem.”
“The problem here seems to be your incompetence, you fat and nasty human!” She believed this priest was the worst ambassador for a god she had ever met.
“Your highness, please!” He exclaimed in a raised voice.
“If you ever use that tone with me again you will suffer the consequences. Do you understand me, Abdominous?” Her facial expression was stoical. All the while, Mecurial snickered as he listened to his lover take control of the conversation.
“Yes, your highness.” The priest stuttered.
“Now continue. What seems to be the problem?” She emphasized the last word slowly and deliberately.
“I had my men in place when I called him in. Everything was going as planned.” He stuttered again. “There may have been a witness.”
“I am going to assume that you have detained this witness?”
“That would be…incorrect.”
“What?”
“To make things worse, it put me in a position where I had to send the Matakeo to go after said witness.”
She placed her hands to hips in disbelief. “It is bad enough you sent our scapegoat after him. Do you have any clue as to where the witness is at?”
“Yes. He is at a medical clinic on Main Street, next to the pavilion.” He cleared his throat before continuing. “I have delayed him for ten minutes.”
“Good,” she declared. “I will put some of my agents into play here,” she mused. She switched the com-link off. She stood there for a moment in deep thought. Mecurial had to intentionally clear his throat to gain her attention. She turned around. A cold, dark grimace masked her face.
Mecurial dropped his gaze and stared down at the bed. “If I am going to become king over the Giefans, where will my Queen reside?”
“What do you mean?” she asked carefully.
“Will you be there with me?” He took it one step further. “Or are you going to stay here?”
Her hips swayed erotically back and forth as she moved to the side of the bed. Stretching forth a hand, the despot placed her fingertips under his chin. Gently, she raised his head up to where their eyes made contact. The assurance was done soothingly.
Matakeo: Echoes of the Future Page 4
