“Fine, just be careful.” Roberto shook his head.
“I always am.” Diego left the suite of rooms. He had no particular place in mind to go. There was no way he’d go see Anarrae. Security was too high, and to see her would only make him want to stay with her and make sure she was safe. So he wandered.
As he took in the dark gray hallways, Diego suppressed a shudder. He loathed being on ships of any kind. Too claustrophobic. Not enough room to breathe, to stretch, to live. The walls were too close, the thin lights up on the walls too dim, and the soft thud of carpet too padded for his ears. He yearned for the click-clack of boots hitting cobblestone. Goose bumps rose on his skin. Sweat beaded his brow and upper lip. A single droplet traced a path along his spine. He resisted the urge to reach around and bat it away. The air was too heavy and sterile. Diego felt paranoia sifting through his brain, raising fears about his inability to escape.
“Your heart rate is elevated and your brain waves are all over the place,” said his AI’s gentle, feminine voice. “Would you like me to send a relaxer into your system?”
Diego shook his head and combed his fingers through his hair. “No, I’m fine. Just need to focus and relax. I want you to access Anarrae’s files again, especially in connection to her vacation on Il Doge and the sexual guide she hired. There has to be something I missed.”
Diego stopped short as a small, glossy black ball floated toward him. A security probe. He’d seen the like in only the most guarded of palaces and places of government.
“State your name and rank, please.” The robot’s dull, unemotional voice came through a hidden speaker.
The security probe’s high, tinny voice grated on Diego’s nerves. He gnashed his teeth with each word. With a deep breath, he replied. “Ragnor Castilleja, Ensign.”
The probe fell silent, floating in midair. Diego smiled as he studied the smooth round ball, about the size of his chest, with long, spindly arms and two long thin bars for fingers.
“Identity confirmed. Thank you.” The probe remained in place.
Diego sidestepped the object and continued on his way. When he arrived at the lifts he glanced behind his shoulder to see the single red eye staring at him before it turned and floated along the hallway.
“Computer, what floor is Anarrae on?” He still didn’t know the whole layout of the ship.
“Third floor, room 3-B. I thought you weren’t going to see her?” There was curiosity in the AI’s voice.
“I have questions only she can answer. Switch my identity to a member of the ambassador’s entourage, official security.” Diego ordered.
“Understood. Changed. Don’t you think they’ll get suspicious with all the changes?” This time his AI was worried.
Diego tilted his head to the side and pushed the lift call button. “They could but I’d just fess up to it. I need to figure this all out. This is driving me crazy.”
The lift arrived and Diego stepped in. He pushed the number three and the doors closed with a whoosh. The lights flickered as the cab moved. His mind continued to turn over the problem until he found a tangle.
“Fucking hell.” He punched the metallic wall. “I’m so stupid. Damn it to hell.”
Everything became clear to him in one moment. As soon as the doors opened he dashed down the hall, keeping an eye on the numbers. He skidded to a stop at 3-B. Guards stood on the other side of the hallway. Diego introduced himself.
“My name is Ragnor Castilleja. I’m with the ambassador’s entourage. I need to speak with Anarrae Lavender. It’s urgent. Call Chief Tigress if you need to, but I’m going to talk to Ms. Lavender.” With that, he turned to the door and pressed the intercom. “Ms. Lavender, I’m with the ambassador’s entourage. I need to speak with you. It’s urgent.”
The doors swished open and he swore. Ana’s hair was tousled, her body wrapped in a silky black robe that stopped mid-thigh. He had to keep himself from staring. He swallowed hard as he watched her shift from one foot to the other. The outline of her nipples stood out clearly against the material. His body tightened and heated as his cock hardened to half-mast. He licked his lips and opened his mouth. For a moment all thought of the current situation faded away as the need for sex took its place.
“Say something stupid.” the AI said.
Diego gave himself a mental shake and tried to focus. “Ms. Lavender, I have a few questions that I need to ask you pertaining to your visit to Il Doge and Zero Branco.”
She blinked and fear filled her large brown eyes. Diego wanted to reach out, hold her, and assure her that it was going to be OK. Instead, he waited for her to invite him in. Ana stepped aside.
“Please come in,” she said, her voice with a tremor of fear.
Diego’s heart ached for her but he had a job to do. He was followed into the space by the security guards. His heart ached. He wanted to reach out and hold her, but not in front of the guards.
“Computer, scan the security personnel and Ana.”
“You think she’s a cyborg?”
“Monitor her vitals. I’m not sure. Can’t be too careful. The questions I’m about to ask could tip the cyborg off if they’re present.”
“Understood.”
Diego took in the space, a single open-air design with a sitting and work area on one side of the room and a single bed on the other. Three portholes dotted the far wall, showing the starry expanse of space. Just looking out the glass made his goose bumps rise again. His heartbeat ticked up and for a moment he struggled to breathe normally. He refocused his attention on the space. Very few personal effects were scattered around the room. A picture of a landscape stood on a bookshelf. Diego noted with interest that no people were featured in the image.
Ana’s desk was Spartan, with a neat stack of files and a monitor but nothing else. Her room was fairly bare. A couch under the portholes, two pillows and two chairs—everything one gets when assigned a room. No paintings on the wall, no photographs of Earth, nothing to distinguish this room from any other officer’s. Loneliness hugged the room like a shroud. It was almost as if she were too afraid to put down roots on this ship.
Anarrae wore a black silk robe that hung open enough to show a black silk baby doll edged in creamy lace. Diego’s body continued to heat up and tighten. His cock pressed against his pants. He could practically feel her tight, wet heat around his shaft, squeezing it. His cock jumped and he groaned silently. He willed himself to focus.
The sound of the doors swooshing closed brought Diego back to the present. He cleared his throat and marshaled his thoughts while ordering his body to relax. “Ms. Lavender, why did you choose Il Doge for your vacation?”
“We were in the sector, and I was told that it was an ideal vacation spot, especially during Carnevale.” Fear tinged her voice.
“I see. By whom were you told this info?”
Diego studied her body language. One hand curled around her opposite wrist, shielding her chest. Her hands were clenched and she wasn’t looking at him. Defensive position with submission.
“Computer?”
“Heart rate and breathing have risen. Body heat has increased but not by much.”
“OK.”
“The Fountain. AKA the Scuttlebutt’s Arse.”
“What?” Diego stared at Ana, not sure he was hearing correctly.
“It’s an Officer’s Virtual hangout,” one of the security guards supplied. “Shoot the shit kind of place.”
“I see.” Diego could sense that the threads were starting to come together. “Someone told you about Il Doge. May I ask who?”
“Ensign Raelynna Mathrak. She’s aboard the Icarus destroyer. She told me about Il Doge. She even showed me the travel site to book.”
Something inside of Diego pinged. “Site? What site did you use?”
“Computer check out this Raelynna Mathrak.”
“On it.”
“The Travel Whore’s Blog.”
Diego blinked. What was with all these places’ names?
“It’s a traveler’s booking site. You give them the info, and they take care of the arrangements,” Ana said.
“Computer?”
“Ensign Raelynna Mathrak has been in a coma for the past three months due to a mysterious illness. Doctors are stumped. They’ve even called in a Galactic specialist. I’m bypassing security protocols. Looks like her identity was stolen. Person who took over her account’s name is Donlaris Mas. Name ring a bell? I’m not getting hits on any galactic agencies.”
“I know him.”
Diego’s jaw clenched as tension coiled inside of him. “Security, call Captain Carter and fetch Chief Tigress. We have a major problem.” He turned to Ana. “Ms. Lavender, get dressed. We need to meet in the captain’s office.”
Much to her credit, Ana didn’t ask what was wrong. Instead, she dashed into the bathroom. Within five minutes she was ready.
“Let’s go. We have to move quickly. There’s not a lot of time to lose.” Diego grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her quarters and toward the lifts. Just the feeling her hand wrapped around his set him at ease. Something in his chest loosened as his world was set right. The ship didn’t feel so small and cramped. He could breathe without panicking.
In the small cabin going up to the bridge, he moved closer to her. Ana’s scent swirled around him, kick-starting his libido. He dragged in a large gulp of air and blew it out. Her hand opened. For a moment he froze, wondering if she would pull away. She closed fist and he held back a smile.
Diego let out a sigh of contentment. “Tesoro,” he murmured.
“Dodger?” Her eyes widened.
The name hung in the air between them. The cab stopped and with it time froze.
“Huh?” Diego decided to play dumb.
“You said… Never mind.” Ana shook her head and let go of his arm. Loneliness crept into his body. He felt isolated. His lungs didn’t seem to function properly. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t take in enough air.
“Are you all right? You don’t look so good.” The concern on Ana’s face touched him but it didn’t stop the sadness he felt.
“Fine.” He forced himself to smile. The door slid open. He took that moment to compose himself before stepping off the lift. The bridge was mostly empty except for a few people.
“This way, sir.” Ana led the way to the captain’s office.
Diego didn’t tell her he knew the way; he just followed silently. He thought about what he was going to say to Captain Drogan. He decided the best way was to drop the disguise, regardless of the anger, and tell him what he’d found.
They entered the small space to find Chief Tigress at her post on Drogan’s right side and Rena to his left, tablet at the ready. Dark bags were under Drogan’s eyes, tension lines formed on his forehead. “Ah, please come in.”
“Before we start.” Diego dropped the hologram, which drew a gasp from Ana. “I’m sorry for the hoax, but I felt the need for a disguise while wandering around the ship.”
“Ambassador, need I remind you of the danger you’re facing?” Drogan admonished. His eyes sparked with annoyance.
Diego smiled. “I am fully aware of the danger, but something had been pulling at my mind and I needed to work the problem out. A walk normally clears my head. Besides that, my hologlamour is on. It’s non-hackable.
“Moving on, I finally discovered what was bothering me. How did these people find out about Ms. Lavender’s trip to Il Doge? So I went to question her about it.” He tapped a few keys on his wrist computer and pulled up a hologram with all the information the AI had discovered. “As you can see, it was all an elaborate setup. Anyone going to the planet would have been a target. How many officers went that day?”
“Four, including Ensign Lavender,” Drogan said.
Diego was impressed that the captain knew such a small fact. He pressed on. “So, four possible marks and they only go after Officer Lavender? Or three possible marks and one person who could have been in on it? Anyone on the ship owe major debts? Or have a family on the shady side of business?” He crossed his arms over his chest and watched Drogan.
Tigress was the one who answered. “Five people came back with marks on their records. Two of them have debts, but not enough to be blackmailed over.” There was something in her eyes that said she knew more.
Diego ran a hand over his face and shook his head. What these people didn’t understand about blackmail disturbed him. “Even one credit is enough to blackmail over given the right motivation offered. We need names, psych evals and everything you can give us on those people.”
“Why?” Tigress mimicked him, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him the best blank face he’d ever seen.
“Because we need to know how breakable they are, and because we need to know who the cyborg could be imitating next. Anyone close to the people that we discussed earlier?” Diego could feel the pieces falling into place and fitting.
A hologram popped up on Drogan’s desk.
“Captain, sir, could you please move over?” Rena asked.
Drogan hesitated, looked up at Rena, then at his lap, and then back at her before moving his chair over.
Diego resisted the urge to chuckle. The captain wasn’t hiding his desire for his assistant. Rena, in return, rolled her eyes and started hitting buttons on the desk.
“These are the five people who went to the planet. If we exclude Anarrae, these are the profiles that get flagged.” Four screens split off from the main and floated in midair.
“Captain, I don’t agree with this,” Tigress said.
“Why? There’s a possible traitor on the ship who’s putting my crew in harm’s way.” Drogan reached over and hit one screen, which enlarged. He pushed his hand against one of the images. It flew through the air and landed against a far wall. A large picture smiled back at them. Several boxes were filled with text but a few sections had been blocked in. Diego went over to the wall and began studying the information.
“This man is in a delicate position. If the crew were to find out that we were sharing their private files with someone of his stature, they’d go ape shit, sir,” Tigress said.
Diego ignored her. He glanced over at Anarrae and felt his heart tug. Despite feeling the distance between them, he wanted to be close to her in any way possible. The pull to her was straining his nerves. His body ached to feel hers against him again. He wanted to take her in his arms and never let go.
“Get a grip nitwit and study the screen, then figure out a way to be with her,” his AI said.
He returned his attention to the screen and studied the information. “His record is spotless. He’d be a perfect target. No one would suspect him. Where is he at this moment?”
“Med deck. Had a bad reaction to the flu vaccination,” Rena said.
“OK, not him. Next?” Diego glanced at Rena. “Wait…is anyone else in med deck at the moment, for any reason?”
“Ensign Roberts. He’s got a bad case of food allergy. Ate something with nuts in it.”
“What’s he look like? Is his face unrecognizable at the moment?” Worry filled Diego. This guy was too perfect. If the cyborg didn’t go after him it would be stupid beyond belief.
“The swelling is down, as is the redness. “ Concern filled Rena’s eyes.
“Check to see if his ID was used from the time he entered med deck till now. That could have been an attack. Your simulators know of food allergies, right?” Nervous energy filled Diego’s body. He wanted to move but stayed where he was.
Drogan nodded. His eyes narrowed. “Yes, they are programmed to know these details and avoid them. Those machines are constantly upgraded and monitored.” He looked to his Chief of Security. “Tigress, send two security officers to med deck. Rena, any movement?”
Rena nodded. “Yeah, two in the last half hour. One was for a supply closet and the other was for officer’s quarters.”
“Still there?” Drogan asked.
“So far, yes.”
<
br /> “Tigress, send security there this instant.” Drogan’s face hardened and his eyes took on a dangerous glint.
“Wait. Where are Ensign Roberts’s quarters located?” Diego’s stomach roiled in anger and worry. “On the same level as Ms. Lavender’s?”
“Yes, two doors down,” Rena responded.
Tigress looked at Drogan. He nodded and she lifted her wrist and sent out a few orders.
“Why me?” Ana finally spoke up. “Why am I a target? I didn’t do anything.”
Diego’s heart broke at the bewilderment on her face. Without thinking, he went to her and took her in his arms. “No, you didn’t, Tesoro,” he murmured, before placing a kiss on the top of her head. She melted into his arms and began to cry. Diego stroked her hair and murmured, “I promise I’ll protect you. No matter what, I’ll be there for you.”
A throat clearing pulled him out of the moment. He turned and growled in challenge at the person before he realized it was Drogan.
“Thank you, Dodger.” Ana whispered before she stepped away. He blinked. That was the second time she’d called him that. His heart stuttered. For a moment he wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. She didn’t apologize, nor did she take it back. His heart expanded in his chest before he turned to the captain.
Diego turned his attention to Drogan. “Now what do we do? We know Ms. Lavender is the target. We just don’t know why. If we were dealing with slavers here, they’d have given up. They’ve already got a person on the ship. A possible break in to her room is too much effort.”
“Maybe she saw something during her trip?” Drogan turned to Ana. His black eyes glinted in the light.
Ana stood up straight. “Captain, I have something to tell you.” Before anyone could stop her, she told her story in a rush. By the end she was panting. Rena came around the desk, ordered water from the food processor and gave it to her. The other woman rubbed Ana’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“It’s OK,” Rena said.
Carnevale and Subterfuge Page 10
