“Probably thinks you’re his exotic mail-away mistress,” Karter whispered jokingly in her ear. He narrowed avoided getting her elbow in his ribs.
Iza stepped into the room after the woman. One look at the man lying in the bed, with his arm around a small little girl, confirmed that Charles Jones was definitely not Joe.
“I’m sorry, this is awkward,” Iza said. She’d just told the man’s wife that she was overly familiar with her husband. Clearly, she wanted some answers, and Iza didn’t feel like trying to come up with another lie so she decided on the truth. “I’m actually looking for Joe Anderson; I thought maybe he was admitted under a different name. I heard he was working as a guard at the IDS building, so I thought he may have been involved in the shooting.”
Despite the translation delay, the woman’s expression changed from suspicion to relief. Then, she smiled widely, showing a mouth full of bright white teeth before standing up to shake her hand.
“Oh, yes. My husband and Joe work together,” she said. “I’m Jesse, and this is our daughter, Jasmine.”
Jasmine, at the sound of her name, put her arms up to her mother to be held, but Jesse instead directed her to a paper notebook and a set of colored sticks on a chair.
“Yeah, everything happened so fast yesterday,” Charlie said. “I was the one who was hurt while he was stuck cleaning up the mess.” He looked Iza over, casting a quick glance to Karter hovering outside the door. “How is it you know Joe? You look familiar, but I get the impression from the translators you’re not from around here.”
“We met abroad,” Iza replied cryptically.
A spark of recognition flashed in Charlie’s dark eyes. “Are you his mystery girl? The one who got away?”
Iza’s heart skipped a beat. So, he does feel the same way. She took a breath to steady herself.
“Oh my goodness, I should have seen it before. Look at her face, babe,” his wife said.
He did and nodded. “That’s why she looks so familiar.”
Iza was embarrassed by all the attention and quickly turned the conversation back to the point.
“Do you know where I can find Joe now?”
“He came by yesterday but maybe he went into work,” Charlie replied.
“No, we went there, and he wasn’t in. They wouldn’t tell us anything that’s how we ended up here.”
Iza could feel the anxiety of the morning’s events creeping up on her as she waited for the translator to interpret his response.
“He owes me a gift for taking a bullet for him. He said he was taking some time off. If he ran out of food, he might be at the grocery store,” Charlie said letting out a chuckle. “Though, I wouldn’t trust his cooking. You two will have to come by our place for a decent meal while you’re in town.”
Not if I have my way and we’re off of this planet tonight. Iza liked them, but she doubted she’d ever see them again.
His wife gave him a light slap on the leg. “Don’t say things like that about his cooking. She doesn’t know your joking.”
Iza forced a smile even as the desire to be on her way made her fidget. “It’s urgent I speak with him. Do you know how I can find him?”
“Have you tried calling him?” Charlie asked. He wiggled his fingers at his wife, and she passed him a small device that resembled the cellphones Braedon had manufactured on the Verity. He held it up to his ear, and it rang four times before Iza heard Joe’s voice.
“Hi, this is Joe.”
“Hi.” Iza stepped forward, excited to speak with him.
“I’m not available at the moment. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”
Charlie ended the call. “Nope, he’s not answering his phone.”
Jesse met Iza’s eye and there was sympathy there. She seemed to understand Iza’s urgency. Then, she leaped up and moved to the small cabinet on the other side of the room.
“Honey, didn’t he give you his spare apartment key for emergencies?”
“Yes,” Charlie said, uniting in his wife’s excitement. “It’s in my pack, side pocket, white key fob.”
Jesse lifted it out of the pack and waved it at Iza. “Found it. You can use this to get into his apartment. That way, you won’t be standing out in the cold waiting for him to finish his errands.”
Iza took the offered key fob from her. “Thank you so much. We’ll leave you to rest.”
Charlie smiled. “No worries. I’ll always take extra attention.”
Jesse sighed. “Well you have fun. Charles is gonna be here at least one more night for observation. Maybe you can join Joe at our place for supper in a few days?”
“I’m not sure how long I’ll be in town,” Iza said, “but thank you for the offer. Have a good night, and I wish you the best with your recovery.”
Unexpectedly, both Charlie and Jesse reached out to shake hands with her. Charlie’s good hand was warm and calloused. His wife’s hand wasn’t soft, but it was cool to the touch. Their daughter slid down from the chair and held up the picture she’d been working on in silence for Iza to take.
“Oh, thank you,” Iza said. The image Jasmine had drawn was of two people holding hands. She assumed it was her parents, but she asked anyway. “Is this your mom and dad?”
Their daughter Jasmine shook her head vehemently as if the thought to draw her parents hadn’t crossed her mind. “No, that’s you and Uncle Joe.”
Then, Iza looked again and saw the distinct curl in the hair of the woman and the bright blue of Joe’s eyes. Jasmine had done her best to put hearts all around their heads, and Iza’s eyes filled before she could stop them. She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to control the rush of emotion. Was I ever so insightful as a child? Did I ever draw pictures? Iza couldn’t remember ever having done so, since her earliest memories of her home with her parents was a blur. She’d forgotten her father’s face, but she’d never forget how safe and warm she was in his arms. That never really went away.
“That’s so sweet,” Iza said when she’d gained control of her face again. She carefully rolled up the picture up in one hand. She couldn’t wait to show it to Joe. He would probably love it as much as she did. “It was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you again.”
Charlie and Jesse waved as she passed through the door, and Iza couldn’t help feeling sad that they probably wouldn’t see Joe again after tonight. They seemed so nice—the kind of people you’d miss.
She followed Karter through the corridor along the path of glowing red signs leading to the nearest exit.
“Seems like Joe has a good life here,” Karter said. “What makes you think he’ll want to leave?”
Iza placed the rolled-up picture in her inner jacket pocket next to her heart. “You wouldn’t understand.”
—
Joe’s street was much as she’d left it earlier. At this hour, there were more people strolling along the walking paths and more traffic. Now that the large, yellow sun was dominating the sky, it wasn’t as cold. People even smiled at them as they passed.
Iza slid into the building and Karter was right behind her until she held up a hand. “If you don’t mind, I need to do this part alone.”
“What am I supposed to do? Sit on the steps and wait for your return?”
Iza shrugged. “Or across the street. I noticed a small café, where you can sit down and have a coffee until we come out. Either way, I’m going the rest of the way alone. I don’t need you for this part.”
“What if he’s still out?”
“Then I’ll wait. If you get bored, head back to the shuttle. Trix can be very entertaining,” she said, not bothering to hide her smile.
Karter’s lips firmed into a line. It was clear he didn’t like the idea, but it wasn’t as if he had a choice. “Fine, but don’t leave without me.”
Iza tapped the key fob on the palm of her other hand. The unit number was ‘5b’; she’d memorized it. She took a deep breath. All right, Joe. Hopefully you’ll be home and happy to see me.
&n
bsp; CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Joe knew she was close as soon as he reached his apartment building. He could feel her. Carrying his bag of groceries procured on a quick trip to the store, he ran into the lobby. He expected to see her waiting for him there, but it was empty. As he took the stairs up, he sensed he was getting closer to her.
With his heart pounding in his ears, he flung open his front door. There, sitting in the seat facing his television, was Iza.
“Hi,” she said. It was the simplest of greetings and said as if they’d spoken no less than a few hours ago. She stood up and moved toward him like she’d just strolled over from the apartment next door, not from a distant star system.
“Hi,” he said trying to match her tone. “Were you in the neighborhood?”
“As a matter of fact, I was. I thought I would check out this place that they sent you, to see how you’re holding up.” She looked around the bare walls and sad decorating style. “I see you’ve settled in.”
“This place could never be home without you.” Joe ran to her.
Iza wrapped her arms around his neck and leaped into his arms. He held her up while she entwined her legs around his waist.
He held her close. “How are you here?”
“That doesn’t matter right now.” It was clear she had only one thing on her mind.
He clamped his lips against hers, tasting the sweet warmth of her. Since she was already in his arms, he thought he’d show her to his room.
Joe dropped her onto the bed. He slipped out of his shoes and unlaced her boots one at a time until he could pull each off and toss them across the room. She reached up and pulled off his shirt, then drew him closer to her. He gave in, like he had since the first time they’d met.
He’d missed the bond between them. There had been so many nights he’d spent with the ache in his chest keeping him awake, wondering how she was faring. Now, she was here in front of him like he’d always imagined.
“You’re not mad at me?” he asked.
“I came all the way to Earth for you, didn’t I?” Iza smiled and let out a light giggle as she wiggled out of her pants. He loved the sound.
Then, while he worked on his pants, she unbuttoned her shirt. “I was mad, but not anymore. Having spent half a day in this place, I can see you’ve been punished enough.” She was leaning toward him now a breath away. Her shirt open as she caught her breath her chest heaving.
He slid onto the bed beside her and entangled his fingers in her long black curls. “I was lost without you.”
“Does that mean you’re willing to leave here?”
“I’d go anywhere if it means being with you.” He let his lips fall to hers.
— — —
The mental manipulation device was working flawlessly. Victor Arvonen smiled down at the former TSS Agent. The retrieval from Earth had gone perfectly the day before. Now, Victor had Joe—and more importantly, his mind. The young man was practically obsessed with Iza. Now that Joe was in the induced dream-state, extracting information about Iza may be easier than Victor had anticipated.
“Mr. Arvonen, we’re in. He’s fantasizing about Iza Sundari,” the technician confirmed, pointing to the wall-mounted monitor behind Joe Anderson’s head; the subject was secured to the angled observation bed in case he woke up and tried to fight back again. The readout on the monitor wasn’t an exact representation of what Joe was seeing in his unconscious mind, but the interface allowed them to guide his thoughts. The technician could barely curb his enthusiasm, tapping his foot anxiously.
Joe had resisted at first, no surprise for a former TSS Agent, but Victor was patient. After months and years of bringing his plans to fruition, the delay had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
The aftermath of the shooting at Joe’s work had been a perfect diversion for capturing him and bringing him back to the Arvonen One. The irony wasn’t lost on Victor, since it appeared that the shooter only perpetrated the act because he spotted one of the shuttles Victor had sent down with investigators to look for Joe. But, everything had gone according to plan with his eventual capture, and that’s all Victor cared about.
Victor’s attempts to locate another accessible Gate sphere had hit a dead end, and with a confirmed Gate now active on Uephus—too dangerous to retrieve—time was running short. Joe’s relationship with Iza, the key, made him Victor’s best lead. While Joe had no doubt handed the sphere over to the TSS, it was possible his memories held some clue about where it may be held longer-term. More importantly he might be of some use to him in dealing with the key. However, it would only work if the man’s mind was pliable.
Now, Victor and his team just needed to trace their way back through Joe’s relevant memories to the part of his mind that created new ideas so he could plant a few of his own. Unfortunately, Joe’s frequent mental tangents about his parents’ death kept getting in the way. This was the first breakthrough they’d had since they’d connected him to the device.
Victor smiled. “How long can you keep him in this fantasy?”
“The mind is a strange thing,” the technician replied. “As far as he’s concerned, everything that’s happening is real. If we try to redirect him, the mental link can be broken and we’d have to start over. I suggest we let him play the fantasy through to its completion. Then we can start working backward through his memories to the last moment he saw the sphere and Iza Sundari. We’ll know everything about them and have a better chance of being successful.”
“We’ll do whatever it takes. He’s our best lead, and if his mind is malleable, we can get him to do even more.”
“He’s been highly trained as an Agent; his mind is going to be very difficult to fool. We’ll have to take our time with this or it could all backfire.”
Victor moved to the technician’s side and studied the monitor behind Joe. Strapped down and unconscious, the former Agent didn’t seem threatening in the least. “We don’t have the luxury of time. Things in our galaxy have already become unstable. I need you to work as fast as you can,” he said.
Victor then turned to Raquel, who was working at the console on the opposite wall of the compact lab room. “Any progress on your end?”
“No, sir.” Her eyes shifted away from him and toward Joe strapped to the inclined bed. “But I’m concerned this won’t work.”
“Let me worry about whether or not this is going to be successful. I was asking about your assignment. Where are we on getting through the Gate?”
“I can’t replicate what Iza did without access to a sphere. But, if my original findings were correct, I think it has more to do with her genetics than we realized.”
“Then we’ll get her,” Victor said without hesitation. “That’s why we have him.” Victor turned on one heel and left the lab behind.
He smiled to himself. Soon, he’d have everything he wanted and his legacy would be safe.
— — —
Joe woke up in his bed and reached out beside him for the familiar shape of Iza, but she was gone. He sat up, preparing to go find her when he heard the flush of the toilet. Iza glided back into the room wearing one of his button-up shirts. She hopped back on the bed beside him, looking as content as he’d ever seen her.
“This place is so different,” she said, nuzzling up against him. “I don’t know how you do it.”
He smiled back. “I’ll be honest, at first I didn’t know how I would. It took a long time to get used to that dull ache in my chest.” He touched the place where it hurt when she wasn’t there. It had faded now, like it had never existed.
Iza nodded. It was obvious she felt the same as she reached up to touch the identical place on her own chest just over the heart. “We’re together again now.”
Joe reached up to brush the side of her face with his fingertips. “It’s so strange seeing you here. I can’t get over it.”
She turned into him and kissed his hand. “You don’t need to get used to it, because we won’t be here for long. I suggest
you pack.” Then, she looked around with a frown. “That is, if you have anything worth keeping. Otherwise, get dressed. We’ll take the shuttle back to the Verity tonight.”
“How did you get down here without detection, anyway?” he asked.
“I have my ways,” she said with a coy smile.
The details didn’t matter to Joe. All that he cared about was that they were back together.
“Iza, if I’m going with you, I do have one condition.”
“Which is?”
“We need to get rid of that fiancé of yours.”
She laughed. “Well, obviously!”
“So, you’re admitting the whole thing was a sham?”
“Publicly, no, but I know you’ve always known the truth. I so wish I could have told you from the beginning, Joe.”
His heart still leaped every time she said his real name. “I should have trusted you more. Trusted what we had. I let Karter get to me.”
“Well, he’s an ass, so I can’t fault you.”
“What were the terms of the agreement that you’d go along with that insane marriage plot?”
She shook her head. “Let’s not get into it now. Suffice to say, you’re the only guy I’m interested in being with. I’ll ditch him as soon as circumstances allow it.”
He nodded reluctantly. “All right.”
“Now, pack!” she urged. “Or say your goodbyes. Whatever you need to do. As soon as it’s dark, we’re out of here.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
When Iza reached the door marked 5b, her heart was pounding with anticipation for seeing Joe. She knocked first.
There was no answer. Where is he? She swiped the key fob over the reader, and the door unlocked. She walked into Joe’s apartment and straight into a trap.
Uh oh… Iza was about to make a run for it, but it was too late. The moment the door opened, she found herself standing face-to-face with two TSS Agents. They weren’t dressed as Agents, but their dark clothing and way they carried themselves reminded her too much of Joe when he’d been trying to blend in as a civilian.
On the Run (Verity Chronicles Book 3): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 13
