by L. Fergus
As Sarin observed Talli, she made her move on Talon. The other Angel acted uncertain. Sarin took it she was out of practice, but it looked natural. By the end, she had Talon under her arm and was running her foot up the side of Talli’s leg.
Sarin examined the crowd below. “Well, ladies, I think it’s time to go. All the couples, hook-uppers, and revelers are gone. We’re only left with the hardcore partiers and the desperate.”
Sarin stood up and collected her clutch. Talon strapped her shoes back on. She went to Sarin and went to whisper in her ear. Resting her hand on Sarin’s chest, she placed a trio of kisses on the other Angel’s neck.
Sarin shivered as all her little hairs on her neck stood up. She slipped an arm around Talon and kissed her. When they separated, Talli was waiting, looking unhappy.
“You’ll get your turn soon,” Sarin told the teenager.
“Or she can just join us,” said Talon, taking Talli’s hand to pull the teen in closer. They kissed Talli on the cheeks. Talon kissed her a few more times. Smiling, Sarin put her arms around the other Angels and guided them back downstairs.
The doors opened, and dozens of camera flashes and video spotlights burst on them. Sarin kissed the two other Angels. “You’ve got to smile,” she hissed at Talli. With a million-dollar smile of her own, Sarin pushed through the crowd into the waiting car.
“To the Gjord Riviera Hotel,” Sarin ordered as Talon landed in her lap. Sarin kissed her again as the door closed for one final shot for the paparazzi.
“What was all of that?” Talli demanded when Sarin closed the elevator door. Talon hung on Sarin’s arm after escaping the cameras outside the hotel.
“Paparazzi,” said Sarin.
“Not the smell, that mob out there!” Talli yelled.
“That mob is called the Paparazzi, sugar foam,” said Talon. “They stalk celebrities trying to get pictures and video to sell to the net. They’re mostly harmless, if not annoying.”
“I want to go home, Mom. And do you have to hold her arm?”
Talon gave an apologetic look to Sarin and let go.
“Your home is now my home,” said Sarin. “We’ll rest and finish getting your IDs in order.”
“Why do I need an ID?”
“Because if you’re going to move around inside the Empire, you have to be someone. Don’t worry. I’ve got someone working on it. He says he should have yours done by dawn. Once I double-check them, we’ll leave for the shuttleport and my ship. Then, it’s off to Neptune and safety.”
Sarin stood in the giant shower. The water hit her from three sides and didn’t seem to be enough to remove the smell of the nightclub. When did I stop liking that smell?
She started the long process of washing her hair. Normally, she’d go out to have it done, but the smell was entrenched in it, and she didn’t have time.
While she washed, she tested the new identities for Talli and Talon. She’d been able to locate the man who’d doctored hers and Anthrax’s all those years ago. This time, he just wanted money, which she didn’t mind. It was easier to get clean money to him than having to explain sex with him to the world. The man’s work was better than she remembered. She hadn’t even thrown up any caution flags while using the IDs to access various government databases.
Her mind drifted to something Talon had mentioned earlier, about more gods entering the equation on a permanent basis. She had no idea who Kerri and Kita convinced to meld with to create so many Angels. Sarin had agreed because she wished to apply what she’d spent so long learning to something new. Many of the others must have felt the same way.
The selection of Angels infuriated her. Why had Kita picked them? There were more deserving Angels. She could have saved all the girls, but instead, she had just saved Kamikaze and Phoenix. Why not Spike and Quill? Why not her babies?
She struck out at the wall shattering the tile. She hit it a few more times for good measure.
Talon stuck her head in the door. “Jane, are you ok?”
“No.” Jane slumped to the floor, happy the shower hid her tears.
“Come on. Let’s get you out and dry.” Talon opened the shower door, letting steam billow out. She saw the shattered tiles in the back of the shower for the first time. “Damn.”
“I’ve got conditioner in my hair,” said Sarin.
Talon rolled up her extra wide sleeves. “Stand up and lean back.”
Sarin did. Trying to leave the thought of her daughters behind, she had another curious question. “Why are you so nice to me?”
“I can’t be gracious with my gratitude?”
“I thought when you came through that window, I was going to have a fight every step of the way.”
“Oh, you will, but not from me. Talli is a handful.”
“I’ve got some experience with teenagers that age. It’s sixteen you have to worry about. That’s when you can only do so much to save them from themselves.”
“And it gets better when?”
“Somewhere between twenty-eight and ten thousand. I don’t think Spike ever grew out of it.”
“The poor girl always seemed so bitter.”
“She was. I’d be too if I’d been stuck in an underwater prison with a bunch of humans, and Tina’s ever persistent good mood.”
“I’d think that better than someone in a bad mood.”
“If they’re in a bad mood you have an excuse to hit them.”
Talon shook her head. “You fallen angels are so quick to lash out.”
“Evil angel, not fallen. I stopped playing Kita’s game of thrones a long time ago. I think it’s a quicker solution than trying to kill them with kindness, like a high angel.”
“You don’t seem to mind.”
“It does give me a reason not to hit you. Speaking of high angels, why aren’t you glowing?”
“It’s like a flashlight. Tina just never shuts hers off.”
Sarin chuckled. “She’s proud she’s a high angel. Hopefully, it won’t get her into trouble.”
“Ten thousand years and nothing yet.”
“I’m patient.”
“And why ruin it for her?”
“I won’t. She’ll do that herself.”
“Such a positive person you are. There, all set.” Talon stepped back and closed the door.
Sarin rinsed and then shut off the water. Stepping out of the shower, she shook her wings, spraying the entire area with water.
Talon hid behind a towel. “I don’t need another shower.”
“And here I thought you were being nice and handing me a towel.”
“You can do that much yourself.”
“I could, but I was hoping you’d use that delicate touch to dry my hair.”
“There is a downside to having six feet of hair,” Talon said as she unrolled her sleeves. To punctuate her point, she folded her hands up inside them.
“You can’t blame me for asking.” Sarin grabbed a pair of towels and wrapped her hair up in them.
“You know what I’ve never seen before?”
“What’s that?”
Talon smiled sideways. “You without your makeup. You look good.”
“Mom, I’m hungry,” came belting through the door.
Talon sighed. “I swear I just fed her. See you when I see you, blackbird.” She left Sarin to finish drying and repair the damage.
Sarin realized how much she missed affection. Even the little bit from Talon made her feel better, like a weight lifted off her heart.
“Why aren’t we going down the main elevator?” whined Talli.
Sarin sighed. She wanted to tell the girl to be quiet and not ask questions, but she wanted the girl to learn, too.
“I made a mistake,” admitted Sarin. Talon raised an eyebrow. “It happens, even to me. The pictures of last night are sure to have gotten back to Galina. She knows you’re with me. She probably doesn’t know my capacity. She might think you’re guarding me. Still, she knows we’re together. We need to keep our moveme
nts hidden.”
“But aren’t we dead?” said Talli.
“Yes, but I don’t expect to fool Galina for long. She knows just because you kill an Angel doesn’t mean the Angel is dead. And I’m in the area. Even though she can’t prove anything, she’ll suspect it was me. I am many things, but I’ve never killed an Angel. I doubt she’d think I’d start now.”
“Will she try and get us back?” said Talli.
“You, yes. She’ll kill Scarlett for betraying her. She can’t touch me but can make me and my father’s life miserable until such a time she can get at me. She’s the patient type and will bide her time, watching. At least we’ll be on Neptune where she won’t have direct access to us. The Political Bureau doesn’t have as many specialized thugs out there as they do on Earth and Mars.”
“Why me?”
“You’re her pet project. She wants what Kita had: a daughter to follow in her footsteps.”
“But she’s horrible. All she ever did was yell at me and tell me I was doing it wrong.”
“We can’t all be good mothers like Scarlett,” said Sarin, she smiled at Talon acknowledging the other Angel’s work with Talli.
“It’s been a long time since I had a child of my own,” said Talon wistfully.
“You had someone before me?” Talli said, her eyebrows furrowing.
“Yes. He wasn’t as old as you. He died when he was young. He was killed by another tyrant trying to rule the world.”
“I’m sorry,” said Sarin as she hugged Talon.
“It was a long time ago. Time makes the pain easier to bear.”
“I know, but it wasn’t fair to you. You were only doing what was right.”
“And how the righteous are made to suffer…but, that’s not true either. You’ve lost your girls, too.”
“I don’t think it has to do with good or evil,” said Sarin. “We’re just made to suffer in an endless sea, with islands of joy popping up every so often, before being washed beneath the waves.”
“Jane, it’s not that bad,” said Talon halfheartedly.
“Some days it feels like it.”
The elevator came to a stop, dinged, and the doors opened into a service hallway. They passed through the kitchen, out a storage room, onto a loading dock. They were several levels underground. A limousine sat waiting for them.
“There’s our ride to the shuttleport,” said Sarin.
“And freedom,” said Talon.
“We’re not out of her clutches yet.”
“But now I have you. You are safety.”
Sarin turned up a corner of her mouth. “You once saved my best friend and daughter. It’s the least I can do for you.”
“You’ve paid me back ten times over.”
“And I’ll continue to do so. I’m not without gratitude, and you are my friend.” Sarin opened the car door and waved the others inside.
“How’d I get so lucky?” said Talon.
“You were righteous.”
“Mistress Gjord?” The shuttle pilot called through the intercom.
“Yes, what is it?” Sarin answered curtly as she looked away from the window. Outside, the station was bright against the darkness of space. She could see the Gjord family ship docked in the private docking area.
“We’re being instructed to wait in a holding pattern until further notice.”
“By whose authority?”
“It comes with Political Bureau codes.”
“Dock anyway. Let’s see if they have the guts to shoot me.”
“I’ll need an authorization and override signature for that.”
Sarin opened a nearby console. “There you go, your ass is covered.”
“Preparing to dock. Everyone, please take your seats.”
In the private docking area, Sarin and the other Angels exited the shuttle. A squad of Bureau soldiers waited for them.
“What’s the meaning of this?” Sarin snarled to the sergeant.
“Orders, Miss Gjord, and you’re in violation. I’m authorized to detain you.”
“Like you could if you wanted to. Take me to someone important.”
The soldiers escorted the Angels through the terminal to a Political Bureau station.
“Mom, I’m hungry,” Talli informed everyone once the group arrived in a waiting room.
“Where’s my staff?” Sarin demanded of the sergeant.
“Detained in their quarters.”
“Tell whatever stuffed shirt is in charge I want some food delivered.”
“The lady will have to wait,” said the sergeant. “We need an explanation for the unauthorized changes to your manifest.”
“They’re on the manifest and checked out at the shuttleport.”
“We’ll need to scan them again.”
“Why?”
“Security.”
“Bull. I’ve never been detained before.”
“Neither has what happened out on the frontier,” said the sergeant. His eyes conveyed he might have said too much.
“What, in Neptune’s rings, is going on out on the frontier that can spook the home system?”
The sergeant refused to speak.
Sarin growled. She read his mind, but he didn’t know. She sat back and exchanged looks with Talon. The other Angel didn’t look worried, but Sarin felt her anxiety.
A lieutenant entered. “Miss Gjord, you’re free to go.”
“With the Emperor’s apologies I’m sure,” Sarin said with a charming smile.
The lieutenant led them out of the station and to the terminal where the Gjord family ship waited. The steward met them at the gantry.
“Miss Gjord, the pilots would like to speak with you.”
Sarin motioned for the steward to lead the way. The other Angels fell in behind her.
Inside the ship, Sarin hit the intercom button. “What is it, Xavier? When are we leaving?”
“Sorry, Miss Gjord. The Political Bureau impounded the ship.”
Sarin saw red. “Fine. We’ll find our own way.” She snapped her fingers, and the Angels disappeared.
Sarin and the rest of the Angels appeared in the foyer of the Gjord Villa.
“Daddy are you home?” Sarin called across the house.
“In the study,” Sven answered.
The Angels moved into the study. Sven sat at the bar nursing a drink. A bandage was over his left eye.
“Daddy, are you ok?” Sarin said, rushing to her father’s side.
“I’ll be fine, moonbeam. I just got a little flippant with one of those jackbooted thugs from the Political Bureau. He didn’t like my answer that I didn’t know where you were.”
“You should have called. I would’ve come.”
“I won’t cave to them any more than I have to. The bastards are on every street corner shaking down people.”
“Let me see that cut, Mister Gjord,” said Talon.
“Call me Sven.”
Talon studied the cut and the bruise left by a rifle butt. She put her hand over it healing the wound.
“Even the headache’s gone,” said Sven.
“With the announcement that the Emperor is gravely ill and the Political Bureau taking over it’s evident we can’t stay here,” Kita said from the internal speaker system.
“And where would we go?” said Cinnamon.
“I’ve been studying Gjord Industries assets, and I believe I found a place. It’s going to need some updating, remodeling, and some heavy guns, but the asteroid condominium project that was canceled ten years ago looks perfect. It has mobile manufacturing and a construction yard. Access to raw materials and food production will have to be upgraded, but all that’s required is the information and people. The Red system is at the end of a wormhole cul-de-sac, making it easy to defend.”
“I don’t understand,” said Sven.
“This is only going to get worse. I’ve been monitoring the darknet. Rumor has it Galina is now in command of the Political Bureau—”
“I bet that�
��s not by coincidence,” said Talon.
“The Princess,” Kita showed a picture of Defiance, “is nowhere to be found and believed kidnapped by a rebel faction. The Political Bureau is filling the power vacuum. We have to leave while we can, or we’ll be trapped, as the Political Bureau pulls the noose tighter.”
“What about Lina?” demanded Sarin.
“We have to hope what we gave them will spare her. We’ll have to wait to free her until we come back.”
“When will that be?” said Talon.
“I don’t know. During my searches, I’ve found reports of Political Bureau soldiers taking over Legion facilities and even taking over Shadow Fleet ships.”
“Neptune’s rings, is she insane?” said Sven.
“At the moment I don’t think there’s anyone to stop her,” said Kita. “Except us, and we can’t do that from here.”
“And we can from out in the middle of nowhere?” said Talli.
“We can pick off the far-flung outposts, build our forces, and convince the Legion and Shadow Fleet to stand against the Political Bureau,” said Sarin. “We might even need to find the Princess. Wait—bring up those crew pictures Daddy showed me of when you came through Angelica Station.” Kita put them on the screen. “That’s her. Different hair, skin, eyes, and she has had some work done on her face, but that is most definitely the Princess.”
“Are you saying Kita kidnapped the Princess?” gasped Cinnamon.
“Kita probably doesn’t know it’s her. This record has her as an FTL pilot. The Princess might just be in hiding and Kita snared her by pure luck,” said Talon.
“And we have no idea where I am,” said Kita. “Dallas has completely vanished. Long-range sweeps have revealed nothing, and it will be years before regular beacon signals reach us.”
“A missing princess is not worth bashing heads in over,” Sven growled.
“It is if someone is trying to seize power,” said Sarin.
“There’s no way the Shadow Fleet would let that happen. They’d blow the Political Bureau’s headquarters off the map.”
“Another interesting fact,” said Athena, “is that ship watchers said a large fleet of warships jumped through the Alicorn wormhole over six weeks ago. This included two flagship carriers—Enterprise and Fort Ticonderoga. The fleet just returned several days ago, short Enterprise and a few smaller ships. Reports also say the wormhole is closed.”
