by Madlen Namro
Alec heard someone knock insistently on the door. Discouraged and unhappy, he slowly walked to answer it. He did not feel like talking to anyone. Diana’s behaviour and Jo’s unbelievable action had taken a heavy toll on him. He still could not believe that after such an exhausting medical procedure, she would choose to fly alone. With his glass in his hand he angrily pried the door open.
“Can I come in?” asked Margaret, calmly assessing the situation from the doorway. She could see that he was already mildly intoxicated. She stepped in.
“I have to tell you something.” She met his eyes, not knowing where to begin.
She sat and after a moment Alec followed her. His fists were clenched which made his entire posture seem greatly distressed.
After a long pause, Margaret finally spoke. “Diana knows everything about you and Jo.”
Alec looked at her in amazement. How many more unpleasant surprises awaited him this evening?
“I uploaded Jo’s memory disc, to her,” she said without batting an eyelid. She’d been gathering courage to come clean for a while now.
“Oh fuck.” Alec covered his face with his hands.
“Diane insisted,” the woman went on. “She believes you’re still in love with Jo…”
Alec snapped. He jumped up and kicked the wall with the fury stirring up in him.
“Stop! How could you! Why did you do that?” He could no longer control his anger.
The woman was suddenly scared he might attack her.
“She’s been asking for this for a long time. She insisted!” she tried to explain.
“Ever since we’ve all ended up on the same ship.” The man’s voice was becoming increasingly desperate. “I’ve done what I could to protect this marriage, unhappy as it was. I was trying to stay away from Jo! I only heard about the memory wipe by accident…”
“Did she have a reason?”
“I cheated on her.” With tears in his eyes, Alec reached for the bottle and took a long swig.
“I think she wiped her memory because of you.”
“How could she do that to me, after all we’ve been through?” He collapsed into his seat. He seemed far more worried about the fact Jo didn’t remember him than Diana finding out about the whole thing.
She saw tears in the commando’s eyes. Margaret would not have expected a single mention of Jo to put this rugged man in a completely different light. Make him more human. She let him be, to struggle with his own past. His anger at Jo and Margaret drove him ever more to drink. He wanted to debase his life through alcohol, as he did with the lives of every person who’d ever loved him.
* * * *
Jo’s ship was finally nearing Earth. A computer scan did not indicate any threat and everything seemed in order. She put on her headset and switched to a pre-programmed frequency. She called David.
“This is David, over.” She heard an unfamiliar voice.
“Hello, David. I’ve just tracked your location. I’ll be there soon.”
“Please hurry, Jo. They’re on to me.”
Jo disconnected and raced through the atmosphere at top speed, heading in the direction of the United States. The course was set for the agreed spot. She had to make it on time and rescue the commando, whoever he was.
Without much hesitation, David ditched his luggage, first destroying all the electronics and personal things he had on him. Despite the overwhelming tiredness and his injuries, he was gradually making his way to the top of the hill. He heard howling dogs and gunfire closing in on him. He prayed Jo would make it in time to get him out of there before they caught up with him. As he raced to the pick up point, his mind continued to analyse the situation. So, they had figured out he was not one of them, but didn’t know he’d left them a souvenir. At least everyone hoped they didn’t and would remain oblivious for at least several more days. Every passing hour increased the probability of intercepting some vital information, possibly even the whereabouts of their leader – Kaminsky.
Soon, Jo begun to descend at the agreed location. In a few seconds the spacecraft lowered itself towards the hilltop, a ramp pulling out from the now open hatch for David to climb onboard. The terrorists were getting closer, but so was she. The commando gathered the remains of his strength and made it to the ramp. He managed to climb onto it and collapsed, completely exhausted. Jo slowly retracted the ramp with David still panting for breath and started to ascend leaving the screams and barking behind them.
David crawled inside the cockpit. His long hair was in his eyes, his beard nearly touched his neck and his face was barely visible. He was bleeding from many wounds. Tired as he was, he could not help smiling when he saw the captain.
“Hi, there. Nice haircut.” He collapsed into a seat and allowed himself a deep, relieved breath.
Jo smiled and helped him fasten the seat belts. They looked at each other. He, thankful for the rescue, she, seeing only a strange man whose eyes told her nothing. She turned on the autopilot and tried to tend to his wounds.
* * * * Levi and Leon knew nothing of the captain’s mission, whether she commodore permission and dragged Leon along with him. The screen blinked with an incoming transmission from the senators.
“Commodore Levi,” came a stern voice from the speakers.
Reluctantly, Levi threw the switch.
“This is Levi,” he answered after a moment.
“You are to return to base immediately,” the senator’s voice panted with exasperation. “I will not have my best men chasing each other while the terrorists are preparing to launch an attack on another free zone!”
“Yes, Sir.”
Levi cut the transmission and ordered Leon to turn back. His anger was growing, especially at Jo. This was supposed to be a relatively uncomplicated mission – two commandos to fetch David, collect him and return him to base. That was it, he thought. But nothing is ever certain; nothing.
The commodore’s thoughts were momentarily distracted with images from his past. He recalled the voice of his little girl, Laura, asking him not to leave, to stay home. She was six at that time and Levi was divorcing her mother. He left, even though he was still in love with her. In a moment of bitter anger, the woman prohibited him from ever seeing his daughter again. His pride got in the way and he lost track of them, never really trying to seek them out after that. That day, when he broke up with his wife, something inside him gave up. He didn’t try to fight for his love, to regain his family. Instead, he allowed himself to be consumed by work. He was an ambitious man and enjoyed being the best. He’d assembled a special tracking unit and trained the best commandos and pilots had already reached David or not. The was still furious. He’d set out without there were. His life revolved around work, the war and training. In the evenings, he fought off every thought of the daughter he’d abandoned, although something inside him craved to let the memories in. Now, as he was about to turn fifty-four, he was beginning to appreciate the idea of a peaceful, normal home on earth and he missed Laura. After the divorce, he had never tried to find new relationships. There was neither time nor will for that.
The commodore was fully aware of his faults with women. He was the only one to blame for the failure of his marriage. He had chosen freedom over family as he was unable to reconcile the two.
“Commodore.” Leon’s voice brought him back to reality. “We have some sort of a problem with the right engine.”
Levi bit his lip. Suddenly, Jo appeared on the screen.
“The senator informed me you were following me. I don’t understand, why.” There was a hint of confusion in her voice. “David is here with me. He’s sleeping.”
Hearing his name, the man awoke and looked at her. She hasn’t changed one bit, he thought. Still as warmhearted as ever.
“Thank you, Jo.” David touched her hand in a gesture of friendship. Yet, he was surprised to hear Levi was following them. That was distressing.
“You’re welcome.”
“I’ve been away for a long time.”
He used a towel to wipe his face. Jo handed him a water bottle. “Is Robert all right?”
“He’s fine. Missing you, that’s all. You’re his hero.”
“I’m not so sure about that. You know my mother-inlaw does all she can to turn the boy against me… She still blames me for her daughter’s death… and that accident…”
Jo looked at him, surprised. How many more things was she not aware of? It was impossible to go on without knowing such things! The memory wipe was turning out to have been the greatest mistake she’d ever made. The greatest she could remember, anyway. She needed to fix it, whatever it would take.
“What accident?” she asked quietly.
David was visibly surprised. They’d talked about the regeneration so many times.
His son had lost both his legs in a terrorist attack. The United Nation’s efforts to develop a technology allowing rebuilding lost body parts proved futile. They used to think that by using stem cells they would soon be able to repair nearly every organ, even the brain, but the attempts to steer the cells’ development failed, leading only to the formation of neoplasms.
Other research lead to the discovery of a regeneration gene in the human system. Unfortunately, it was not active enough to reconstruct a specific organ.
“Robert has artificial legs,” he said, frustrated. This had been a really difficult year for him, with so many troubles. The pre-selection, the mission, and now he had to deal with military forgetfulness? Something wasn’t right. Only he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It vexed him.
Jo swallowed loudly. She felt she’d messed up again. She tried to focus on flying the ship and maintaining a com-link with the base. They were probably already celebrating David’s return.
“Why is Levi coming after you?” This was the commando’s greatest concern right now.
“No idea.” She tried to evade his question. “Maybe he’s worried I’m not up to the job.”
David found that hard to believe. Levi trusted her completely, especially where her knowledge and skills were concerned.
“I’m a little surprised.” He kept pressing, feeling a little stronger now. “You’ve come alone.”
“Alec was supposed to come with me, but his wife started having a child just as we were about to take-off,” she answered without looking in his direction.
“Alec?” Now he felt his blood boil. That man had insisted on assaulting him whenever he had a chance. He accused David of every failure suffered by the commandos and looked for any chance to cut him to the quick, and now he wanted to come rescue him? That was really hard to believe. Something was very wrong here.
“How long till we get to Atlantis? I want to see my son.”
Jo glanced at the clock and assured him it would only be a few more hours. While David was falling back into a sleep, she tried to figure out her next move. She needed to ask him about Magdalena, as if nothing was wrong, pretending she remembered her life so that David didn’t sense something was amiss. She did not want to blunder again.
“Listen…” She’d purposefully waited for him to fall into the first phase of sleep. “Any idea where I can find Magdalena?”
His eyes opened sleepily.
“My sister?” he answered, yawning.
Jo held her breath. Yet another thing she’d stumbled upon unawares.
“I need her to help me with something,” she encouraged him.
“I’m not sure, Jo. Last I heard she was in Freestation. You know, that military base north of Old Cairo.” He yawned again. “I’m going to have some sleep now, okay?” His eyes closed almost immediately, leaving Jo with a lot to think about.
* * * * Diana had spent the last few days in the hospital zone. Margaret would accompany her whenever she could.
“Jo’s rescued David,” she informed Diana, who sighed deeply on hearing that.
“You shouldn’t have told Alec about what we did. It was just a tiny bit of her memories…”
Diana’s breathing grew heavy and her body trembled.
“What’s wrong?” Margaret looked worried.
“It’s nothing,” she dismissed her.
“I had to tell him,” the nurse tried to explain herself. “I think you should talk to him.”
The woman could not hold back her tears anymore.
“I didn’t know they were that close… He lied to me, said there was no one in his life!” Her weeping was more uncontrollable now.
“Do stop crying.” Margaret took hold of her hands. “You fell for him, that’s all. You thought you were the only woman in his life. You owe him nothing. He’s the liar, not you.”
Diana lifted a handkerchief, trying to stop the tears rolling down her cheeks.
“You’re right, Meg. I trusted him. The worst thing is that he cheated on Jo, as well. He betrayed her! Do you understand? He cheated on her with me. It means he can just as easily cheat on me!”
Margaret embraced her friend whose mental condition was getting worse with every passing day. She remembered promising Diana’s uncle to take care of his young niece and now she couldn’t even look at herself in the mirror. She despised herself. Instead of protecting her friend she’d only worsened her suffering. She knew the feeling well. She’d been betrayed herself in the past and had also felt defeated. The greatest pain always comes from losing someone you love and, regardless of how many new loves one may find later in life, the scars stay forever.
* * * *
With Leon’s help, the commodore put on his spacesuit to go outside the vessel and check on the engine for damage. As he was making his way to the wing, Leon connected Jo’s plane.
David was calmly sleeping in the pilot’s seat. The woman glanced at him every now and then, studying his face, trying to force her mind to remember something, anything. She followed the line of his arms, looked at his chest, his posture, but try as she might, there was still nothing familiar about this man.
She noticed David’s bag tossed under his seat. She switched on the autopilot and lifted it to her knees. She looked inside. In her resolve to find out something about her future she was ready to step over the line of decency. She impatiently dug through all the maps, binoculars and weapons. Suddenly, she came across a wallet with some pictures inside it. She was surprised to find one of herself with Alec. They were hugging and smiling. She didn’t have time to digest this new astonishing fact as a diode begun to blink indicating an incoming communication. It was Leon.
“We’re in trouble, Jo. The right engine is busted. I’m not sure we can make it back to Atlantis.”
“Send me the coordinates. I’ll be there soon.”
Leon forwarded their position in outer space and glanced at the commodore re-entering the plane. He struggled out of his suit and angrily announced there was nothing he could see outside. The left engine was still operational, but they couldn’t be sure for how long.
“I’ve informed Jo,” said Leon, looking at the angry veins pulsing on the commodore’s face. “But I haven’t contacted the base yet.”
“Good call.”
Levi seated himself in front of the console. He was a little worried. If they didn’t manage to fix the engine within two hours, the emergency power generator would stop and they might die.
It was not the first time he would find himself in this sort of trouble, but he discovered that with age came greater caution. There were still things he wanted to experience, to achieve… to see his daughter again…
* * * *
Boxing gloves on his hands, Alec was pounding a punching bag. Whenever his emotions grew too strong and adrenaline was raging through his veins, he would come to the gym and try to sweat away his worries. Engrossed in the training and overwhelmed with his thoughts, for a moment he didn’t notice another man join him in the gym. It was Victor. Alec finally saw him and studied his face, suddenly recalling the man he’d seen leaving Jo’s room. The memory was enough to double the strength of his punches against the bag.
Perfectly calm, Victor
watched him as he put on his kimono. He felt Alec’s eyes fixed on him as well. As the commando studied his posture, his confidence in his skills was beginning to wither. Victor must have been the most athletic man in Atlantis.
Who was he?
“Hi there.” Alec decided to chat with him anyway. “Hello,” the tracker answered. He knew quite a lot
about Alec from his files.
“Alec Ross, Levi’s commando.”
“Victor Berg.”
The men shook hands.
“Any news of Jo?”
The question seemed casual, but Victor could not have missed the fact that Alec was seething with testosterone. As a tracker he knew all there was to know about him. He had a file on everyone in Atlantis.
Alec had no idea that Victor was the person responsible for preventing any outside infiltration by someone posing as a United Nations soldier. As if that wasn’t enough, he and Levi had been friends for years, but that secret was restricted to very few people.
Ever since the day Levi had pulled him out of prison, the friendship between the two men had not faltered. After Victor had ascended to one of the highest military positions there were, quite surprisingly considering his past, he and Levi were able to co-operate even closer.
He was extremely fit and highly intelligent at the same time. As it was not in his nature to make friends and trust people easily, he was not suited for team work. Instead, he found his niche in a truly solitary position. He was perfect tracker material.
“She’s collected David. They’re on their way back,” he answered, eyeing the commando.
“Yeah, I heard… I thought…”
“Thought what?” Victor ostentatiously picked up a stick and prepared for the computer simulated combat training.
“I thought she may have contacted you.” He was trying to worm some information out of the man, to figure out whether the two were still in touch. His intentions were more than obvious to Victor. He gave him an enigmatic look and started his training, ignoring the question.
Had Alec known he was probably wouldn’t even have everyone’s lips. In the National Defence unit there were only four of them, one allegedly answering only to the president himself. Being in conflict with a man like that would inevitably end up in a mess.
