Stormcrow: Book Two: Birds of a Feather

by N. C. Reed

  “While I do not care for the idea of her attaching herself to him either, I believe the saying is 'it is her mistake to make', my son,” Jerome replied evenly, surprising Antonia to her core. “I too would hope that she would forget her interest in him, not because I do not like him, for I do. More than that I owe him a great debt that I have no true way to repay. But he is a man that trouble will follow I fear and I would spare her that if I could. But it is not for you, nor even I, to dictate to Lucia how she spends her time, or with who.” There was a slight note of chastisement in his tone that Tony didn't miss.

  “It's just that I know more about how he is than you, or she does,” Tony didn't back down. “And I do like Sean. While I pretty well killed our friendship with my reaction to her coming out of his room, I still would consider him a friend if he'd let me. Which he won't,” he frowned. “But still, Sean is about as deadly as any man alive and his decision-making paradigm usually starts with 'kill them' and just gets worse from there. Lucia doesn't need that kind of thing in her life in my opinion.”

  “And yet, were she to end up running this family in my place, such a man might well prove beneficial to her, no?” Jerome countered.

  “I can't picture Lucia running things around here,” Tony shook his head.

  “She is all that I have left,” Jerome said simply, shrugging. “If she shows an interest, then it will be her. Otherwise, I do not know.”

  “How is it that you 'killed' your friendship with him?” Antonia asked.

  “Well, the morning after we got Lucia back, I was on my way to his room to get him for breakfast and I saw her come out of his room. She wouldn't tell me what she'd been in there for, and so I kinda barged in on him and demanded to know what they'd been doing,” Tony explained. “He said she'd been there to sleep because she was afraid, and… I might have questioned that a little. What?” Tony asked his mother as her face paled.

  “What did you say to him, my son?” she asked softly.

  “Well, I told you,” Tony looked puzzled. “I told him if he'd touched her inappropriately that I'd . . . well I didn't finish since he interrupted me, but the message was clear. That's when he told me that she had slept on one side of the bed under a blanket while he slept on the other side above the covers, and I said something like 'and I'm supposed to believe that?' to him. That's what angered him.” His mother's face was more drawn now than before.

  “You have insulted him gravely, my son,” she almost whispered. “Were you anyone he had not counted as a friend, I have no doubt he would have killed you where you stood,” she added just as softly.

  “Yeah, I got that, after the fact,” Tony agreed. “He explained that in his culture, your culture I guess,” he amended, “that a woman chose who her virtue went to and that any man who took it didn't ever do it again.”

  “To say the least,” his mother's face hardened. “The punishment among our people for rape is emasculation by fire,” she said flatly.

  “Say what now?” Tony knew he couldn't have heard that right.

  “A rapist will be nailed to a log through his scrotum,” his mother said tightly. “That log will then be set on fire. His only escape is essentially to tear himself away from the burning log. Even if he lives, his days of attacking women are ended forever. Rarely does one survive, since medical attention is not wasted on such a one. A woman who makes a false allegation suffers no better, though the punishment is of course slightly different.”

  “That. . .that's barbaric!” Tony almost screeched.

  “The instance of rape or false allegations of rape among our people is almost non-existent,” Antonia shrugged. “And should a woman be unvirtuous, then she will be shunned. Unless the man she gave herself to will keep her, she will likely never have a family nor a home. The same for a man. Should he accept her virtue and then despise her, he will find himself an outcast and spend his life on the fringe of society, cut off from everything that is important to our people.”

  “Good God,” Tony shook his head slowly. “That's beyond savage, mom. What the hell kind of people do that?”

  “People who have a dim view of crimes that are considered 'acceptable' by other societies,” she told him coldly. “We recognize the sanctity of the marriage bed as well as that of the life of the unborn. We also revere a promise as inviolate. One who breaks his word, gains the name of Oath-breaker, is likewise shunned from society. As a result there are very few liars among us. Few rapists and very few promiscuous individuals. The society is stronger for that, as is the clan and family. Do not denigrate or disparage that which has worked for centuries, my son. Their society is far better than the one in which you live and were raised in, I assure you.”

  “How can you say that!” Tony demanded.

  “In our society, what happened to your sister would never had occurred,” she said flatly. “For had it happened, then the attacker's entire clan would have been eliminated. Both as punishment for the crime and as a deterrent to others in the future.”

  Tony was about to comment on that but stopped at seeing the look in his mother's eye. Perhaps discretion was called for here.

  “It is not so different from what you did to secure your sister's release, is it Antonio?” Jerome chimed in about that time and Tony turned to his father.

  “That. . .that was different!” he exclaimed. “That was my sister!”

  “I see,” Antonia's voice chilled even more. “So long as it is you, or someone you care about, there are no limits to what you would do. But if someone else is in that position, then they should not have the same options as you do.” She rose abruptly, anger marring her beautiful features.

  “Perhaps you are right, my son,” she said flatly. “This in not the place for you. You do not have the understanding or maturity to sit in your father's place. I doubt you ever will.” With that she turned her back on him and left the dining room without another word.

  “What the hell was that?” Tony asked his father, astonished.

  “That was perhaps long overdue,” Jerome told him sadly. “You are correct in saying that you cannot resist the temptations that power offer you, Antonio. You would easily justify anything you do in the name of your own family, and in the same breath condemn another for doing the same thing. I had thought all along that you would be the perfect son to replace me as the head of this family one day. Intelligent, resourceful, able to make decisions even under pressure, fair to his people. It would appear however that I was wrong in that belief. I think, sadly, that your mother's pronouncement was correct. You are not perhaps the best candidate for replacing me when the time comes.” The older Delgado stood, wiping his mouth and hands with his napkin.

  “Safe travels my son,” he said simply, before he too departed, leaving a stunned Tony staring after him.

  “What the hell?”

  -

  “This is nice,” Meredith noted as she sat her overnight bag on the bed. Linc had found them a place outside the usual tourist trap type establishments with a little help from Tony, and the place was just as nice as the medic had said.

  “Hot tub en suite, too,” Linc said as he checked the bath. “Nice balcony overlooking some of the nicer areas of the city. Yeah, this will do nicely, I think,” he nodded to himself.

  “You sound as if you have some kind of plan, Mister Simmons,” Meredith grinned at him.

  “As it happens, my only plan is to seduce my wife over the next forty-eight hours,” he told her, smiling slightly. “I expect we'll be in space for the foreseeable future so I wanted to take these last few nights on the ground to enjoy it.”

  “It's not like we can't enjoy ourselves on the ship, Lincoln,” Meredith said with mock exasperation.

  “Having someone call you for a com call or a course correction in the middle of 'enjoying ourselves' gets old,” he pointed out with a raised eyebrow. “Also kills the mood. This way, the only thing that can get in the way is the need to eat, or the desire to go and see something.” He embraced he
r and kissed her soundly.

  “Well then,” she murmured against him as they broke for air. “I guess you'd better get started Mister Simmons,” she was unbuttoning his shirt as she spoke. “Jessica is right,” she laughed throatily. “That eye patch does make you look like a pirate.”

  “Then prepare to be plundered, wench,” Linc grinned, returning the favor. Soon the two were wrapped around, as well as wrapped up in, each other, their other problems, including Lincoln's eyesight, left far behind for once.

  -

  Faulks had decided to simply sight see. She was lonely a bit but. . .hanging with Galen just didn't seem right, especially with him and the girl looking to have paired off. The Doc had disappeared again and she was less enthused in hanging around him than she was even Galen. Going with the Captain was a non-starter, too. She considered staying on the ship, but no Marine could resist shore leave and Faulks had been a Marine for a long time.

  Soon she had found a bar and was slowly drinking a beer while watching the HDV over the bar that was showing a soccer match. The same match was being played out over other screens in the place and you could tell who was cheering for who by the chorus of groans and cheers at each score or change of possession.

  “This seat taken?” she was brought out of her reverie by a the question and turned to see a dark haired woman standing there, bag on her shoulder.

  “The seat?” the woman asked again. “Taken?”

  “Wha-oh, no,” Faulks shook her head. “Sorry. I was drifting. Took me a minute to figure out you meant me.”

  “No problem,” the woman assured her, taking the seat and paying her bag on the counter. “Spinners?” she asked the tender, who nodded in the affirmative and moved to get her drink.

  “Who's winning?” the woman asked Faulks, who had returned to nursing her beer and staring at the screen.

  “No idea,” Faulks replied honestly. “The team in red seems better, but the team in yellow has a couple guys that seem really good at running down the ball.”

  “You must not be from around here,” the woman said as she grabbed a handful of beer nuts from a bowl and tossed a few of them in her mouth. The bartender arrived with a bottle and the woman tossed him a bill to cover it.

  “I'm not,” Faulks nodded, only half paying attention to the woman.

  “That's the Cup Finals,” the woman nodded to the screen. “Almost a planetary holiday,” she snorted. “The red jerseys are the San Griaul Saints. San Griaul is on the other side of the planet from here. The yellow jerseys are Porto Lucia's Angelics. Misnomer if I've ever heard it, but they are our team. The series is tied two-two, so this game decides bragging rights for the year.”

  “I can see where that would be important,” Faulks nodded, though she really didn't care. Soccer was just a game to her. One she enjoyed playing herself back when she'd been a Marine, but it wasn't some kind of idol altar for her.

  “I can see that something like this isn't really that important to you,” the woman's amusement was clear. “That's fine, I was just catching you up in case you did care. Oh, I'm Anita. Anita Callaveri. Just call me Nita, everyone does. So if you aren't interested in the game, why sit here watching it?”

  “It was already on,” Faulks shrugged. The woman was friendly enough but was making her uneasy for some reason. She didn't understand why, but she was. No, not uneasy, Faulks decided. Just. . .she didn't know, exactly. Not yet.

  “Ah,” Nita nodded. “Just came in to drink then. Scooter's is a good place,” she affirmed, taking a drink from her beer. “Sometimes a bit crowded but this isn't too bad since-YES!” Nita cut herself off and yelled, jumping to her feet as a yellow jersey player managed to get a shot past the red goalie. “That's what I'm talking about!” her shouts were echoed by several others, though a few groans and not a few curses were also heard throughout the place.

  “Sorry,” Nita apologized as she sat down. “What was I saying? Oh, Scooter's is usually more crowded but I suspect that some people went to see the game live. Stadium is neutral ground so everyone feels safe in going. Otherwise this place would be jammed full.”

  “Neutral ground?” Faulks asked in spite of herself, probably because it was a familiar term in an unfamiliar setting.

  “Honey, most people are ardent fans and they take it to extremes,” Nita chuckled. “Notice that even those who seem to be cheering for the Saints aren't wearing their colors? Most places in San Lucia won't even sell them. Same for the other cities. Twenty-four teams play each other four times a season, usually double-header weekends, one home and one away. Most of the visiting teams have private security for the players and the planetary Marshal Service provides escort. They have an entire division that does nothing but work the games. It's that bad.”

  “Looks like no one would want to go if it's that bad,” Faulks noted, signaling for another beer.

  “We go to the home games, just like they do,” Nita assured her. “Playoff games and the championship are always played on neutral grounds so that people can go to support both teams. They'll always be in one of five places.”

  “Sounds like a lot of trouble,” Faulks shrugged.

  “Hey!” Nita sounded almost put out. “This is football we're talking about!”

  “I see,” Faulks didn't bother to point out that it was soccer, not football. Probably not worth the trouble. This woman seemed like she'd take offense to it, and there was no point poking the bear. Still, it was a nice distraction, and the woman was friendly enough. And not bad looking.

  What the hell.

  -

  “Okay, that was seriously good,” Jessica leaned back, hand over her mouth as she almost burped. Sean nodded, pushing his own plate away.

  “I think it might be better than Tony's, and that's saying something,” he agreed. “I was going to have desert, but. . .I don't think I can, now.”

  “Oh, God, me either,” Jessica almost moaned. “I can't hold another bite of anything.”

  “I don't know where you put what you did eat,” Sean noted. “You packed away about as much as I did.”

  “I'll find it next time I try to wear my jeans,” Jess snorted. “And I won't eat again until tomorrow probably. I'll have to hit the treadmill all the way to Elvy once we're back in space, too.”

  “You didn't eat that much,” Sean scoffed.

  “I'm not nearly as tall or broad as you are,” she reminded him. “And on a woman, food goes one of three places; boobs, butt, or belly. And you can tell I didn't get the 'boob' gene,” she indicated her small bust line.

  “Ah,” Sean waved it away. “There's nothing wrong with how you look, Jess.”

  “There will be if I keep eating like this,” she assured him. “I have to get out of here while I can still walk,” she stood.

  “Wanna do anything else?” Sean asked.

  “I don't know,” she admitted. “Hadn't thought about it, really. Last time I was just walking around someone grabbed me and almost jerked my arm out of socket.”

  “I think we can avoid that this time,” he told her. “But I don't really know anything about this place, to be honest. At least not when it comes to what there is to do. You?”

  “Nope,” she shook her head. “I guess we can just wander around and see what we can see?” she suggested, eyebrow raising.

  “Why not,” he agreed with a nod. “This place is lit up at night. We'll just stay in the well-lit areas and avoid anything that looks like a trap. Sound good?”

  “Like a plan,” she hooked her arm in his and the two set out.

  -

  Her name was Talitha Jameson. Tal. Wilhelm swore that she was the most able woman he'd ever worked with, and considering the former mercenary's storied past that had to be good for something.

  Tall, broadly and strongly built though it was disguised by her height, she stood before Antonia in a pose of relaxed parade rest. Antonia remembered that this had been the woman to carry Sean Galen on his way to do her errand. She would be likely do fine. />
  “Do you understand your orders?” she asked the younger woman.

  “Yes, Dona,” the woman replied easily. “I'm to be her escort, but I must make it look as if I'm her attendant.”

  “Yes,” Antonia nodded. “This will be an extended assignment I'm afraid. Will that present a problem for you personally?”

  “No, Dona,” Talitha shook her head. “I have no family. No one will miss me.”

  “I realize that this is a strenuous position, and will require no small amount of subterfuge on your part, Miss Jameson,” Antonia continued. “Your pay will reflect that difficulty I promise you. There will be assistance nearby for you to call upon as necessary but using them will expose you, so have a care. Also, Galen will recognize you since you carried him wherever he went the night my daughter was returned home.”

  “I doubt he will remember me, Dona,” Talitha shrugged.

  “He will remember,” the older woman assured. “Mister Galen is a unique individual, Miss Jameson. I believe that my daughter will be more than safe in his care, but do not allow that to influence your decisions. It is you I am entrusting her care to. Wilhelm recommended you personally for this.”

  “I am honored by his trust,” Tal bowed her head slightly. “And I will see to it she is safe. Will she know that is my job, or assume that I am merely an attendant.”

  “She will know,” Antonia promised. “She will not like it, but I do not care. Neither will you, Miss Jameson. Ignore her bluster and threats if she uses any. You do not work for her, but for me. I think she will be less inclined to complain about safety precautions after the events of the last two weeks, however.”

  “Very well, Dona,” Talitha nodded again. “I will need to secure suitable attire and other accessories. How long do I have?”

  “The sooner you are prepared the better,” Antonia handed the younger woman a debit card. “This will cover any expenses you have, whether here or on the job. Do not hesitate to use it. Whatever you need, get it. It is little enough for what I am asking. Choose a good wardrobe that you will want to wear once this assignment is finished.”