Blood and Fire

by Dana Lyons

  A murderer is loose on station.

  In their room, she stripped down to an oversized tee shirt and watched her boys. This close-knit relationship continued to develop between them, certainly a benefit she had to thank Nobility for. “What did Lazar mean by ‘I’ll need another one?’”

  “Another dose of Nobility?” Quinn asked, sitting next to her.

  Rhys sat on her other side. He groaned. “I can’t go through that again.”

  She remembered another dream, from the first night after their transformation, when she and Quinn slept after Gideon Smith’s suicide. At the time the dream seemed important, but all she could remember now was an elusive opalescent strand of DNA.

  What is Lazar up to?

  The answer haunted her. As dangerous as he was, at least he was held captive here on station. She grabbed their hands and squeezed. “Shift and sleep with me. I don’t think the Infinity screen can save me from my dreams tonight.”

  Later, when she crawled into bed in her room, Quinn shifted and jumped up, settling next to her. Rhys shifted and claimed a spot on the headboard. They finally settled down and the emotional channels between them opened; clear communication without filters.

  For her, this was the height of Nobility. She was surrounded by their physical proximity, and by their emotional presence. Never could she be more protected.

  Are you all right, now?

  She smiled at Quinn’s contact. Yes, feel safe with you two beside me.

  Rhys cawed softly. No bad dreams tonight.

  “I’ll try.”

  She slept soundly, thanks to the comfort of her men and the Infinity screen until late, when sunrise should be happening. Without warning, images came with color and terror, screeching across the screen in her mind with blood and fire.

  Fire and blood.

  Someone was screaming.

  7

  The screams reverberated, pulling Dreya from sleep.

  Her eyes shot open. She lay rigid in bed, holding her breath, listening. She heard nothing she could call a scream. All was quiet but for Quinn’s wolf snores. Rhys had his head turned back under a wing.

  She glanced at the clock. Early.

  What woke me? Was it the dream?

  Not asleep, yet not quite awake, she slipped out of bed and went to the front room, closing the bedroom door behind her. Before she could sit, there was a soft knock at the door. Half groggy, she opened the door, pushing her hair out of her eyes. “Yes?”

  Simon stood in the doorway. He eyed her up and down before stepping back with a shocked but approving smile. She suddenly realized she was bare legged with bed head. A flush crept up her face. “Simon, what is it?”

  “Sorry to get you up so early. I need to speak with you. May I come in?”

  She motioned him in and closed the door behind him. “What’s happened? Has there been a murder?”

  “No murder that I know of, but there’s a missing person report. A plumber, Nelson Rhodes.”

  She rubbed her face, full awake now. The images from her nightmare darted through her mind, turning her cold.

  Blood and fire; fire and blood.

  “Let me get—” She stopped, realizing Rhys and Quinn were in animal form in her bedroom. “Oh, that’s right. Yes. Let me—” She stammered. “I’ll be right back.”

  She slipped into the bedroom and woke Rhys and Quinn. They shifted immediately. “Simon is here. There’s a missing person report.”

  “I don’t have any clothes in here,” Quinn said.

  “Me either,” Rhys added.

  Dreya dropped her tee shirt and pulled on her station pants and jacket. “Grab a towel and go to your rooms. I’ll try to distract him.” She stepped out to the front room and positioned Simon with his back to the bedroom door. “We’ll be ready in a minute,” she announced.

  The bedroom door opened and Simon glanced behind him. His eyes bugged when Rhys exited with Quinn right behind him. “Ohh,” he whispered in a long exhale. “I didn’t know those two were—”

  Dreya swallowed a burst of laughter and shook her head. “Oh, they aren’t, trust me.”

  “Ohh,” he repeated through pursed lips. “I see. Well, in that case I didn’t realize the three of you were—”

  “No, we’re not—” she blurted. A clarifying end to her sentence wouldn’t come to mind. “We’re not what you think,” she finished in a rush. With skeptical confusion on his face, her best smile lamely occupied the strained silence.

  Rhys and Quinn came out dressed. Rhys asked, “A missing person?” He shot a glance at Dreya.

  “A plumber hasn’t been home,” Simon said. “And he’s missed two appointments. His absence is suspicious. That combined with the smell from Givens’ residence could give us grounds to search.”

  Quinn asked, “Well, how would you dispose of a body on a space station? Out the airlock? Is there security video we can look at?”

  “Out the airlock is very likely, and a good idea,” Simon agreed. “I’ll get after that video.”

  “What can we do?” Rhys asked.

  “One of you help me with the video, the other two can backtrack the plumber’s last known location.” He gave them a name and residence number. “This was his last job, night before last.”

  “I’ll go with Simon,” Quinn volunteered.

  When he and Simon left, Rhys gave her a hard look. “You were right.”

  “This is one of those times when being right doesn’t feel good. I have to say this aspect of the telepathy isn’t making me happy. After we check out the plumber, I want another chat with Lazar.”

  They went first to Rhodes’ last job site. “The plumber came when I was out,” said the resident, a ninety-five-pound contortionist from the circus show. “All I know is I came home and the leak was fixed and the guy was gone.”

  Outside, Rhys sucked through his teeth. “She’s not big enough to kill anything.”

  Dreya looked up and down the hall, hoping to spot something like a blood trail. No such luck. “Housekeeping vacuums the carpets every night. There’s nothing to find.” She threw her hands on her hips. “I’m hungry. Let’s go eat, then I want to see Lazar.”

  In the cafeteria, Quinn and Simon caught up with them. “We may have something,” Quinn said as he sat beside her.

  Simon took a seat across from them. “In the video, we found a suspicious looking person making a garbage purge.”

  “Suspicious in what way?” she asked.

  “Dark,” Quinn elaborated. “As in too dark to see a face.”

  “But,” Simon added. “I can clean it up and maybe get something out of it. Gonna take a little time.” He set his coffee cup down and glanced from face to face. “Why do I feel like you knew about this murder before I did?”

  “Yes, why? What makes you think we knew?” Rhys asked, nonchalantly looking amused.

  Dreya relaxed her shoulders and gazed off as though uninterested.

  Simon wasn’t buying their pretense of ignorance. “I see your little visual clues. I may not be a real sheriff, but I understand there’s something going on here. You want to fill me in?”

  “There’s really nothing to fill you in on,” she claimed. “We got nothing more than a hunch right now,”

  He glanced from one to the other. “Yeah. I see that.”

  She rose, as did the men. “We’re going to chat with Lazar.”

  “I’ll work on the video,” Simon said.

  “Should we conduct a search for the plumber,” Quinn asked. “In case this Nelson Rhodes is passed out or injured somewhere?”

  “If he were on station, his watch would tell us where he is.”

  Dreya put her tray away. “I want to talk to Lazar. I think he’s in this up to his eyeballs. Functioning as Sheriff Sinclair, you can expect us to call on you soon for an escort to Givens’ residence.”

  She, Rhys, and Quinn headed for the elevator and Level 2. Rhys said, “Simon reminds me of your boss, Jarvis—he’s got a very sensitive
nose.”

  “I know. We’re going to have to work around him. When he saw you two come out of the bedroom, he thought you were ‘together’. I dissuaded him of the notion. He then thought the three of us were together. I told him we’re not what he thinks. So, unfortunately, he has questions about us.”

  They exited the elevator and went towards the genetics lab. “Lazar’s secrets bother me.” She peered through the clear glass cubicles for the doctor. “He never completely answered my question.”

  Rhys lifted one brow.

  Not seeing Lazar, she hissed under her breath. “Don’t you wonder what his plans are? He’s worked on Nobility for decades—all his professional life. Do you think he did that to make a bunch of dragons and a few shifters?”

  The three of them pondered the possibilities and traded dark looks.

  Lazar was in his chief of staff office rummaging through medical journals. He glanced up when they walked in. “Ah, Agents, Detective. How may I help you today? Have you found your flyer?”

  Rhys and Quinn walked around while Dreya sat. She wanted to look Lazar in the eye. “We have a potential suspect,” she said. “He’s your poster boy, Nate Givens.”

  Lazar never missed a beat. “Nate? I seriously doubt—”

  “Why?” She wasn’t going to give him a moment to breathe.

  “Because he is tried and tested. His model has been stable for over a decade. I really think—”

  “But what about the overtime? While he may be tried and tested, that means he’s also got the most miles.”

  “It takes more than a few miles—”

  “Where were you yesterday morning at 7:30?”

  He drew back, mocking her. “Agent—”

  “Special Agent.”

  “Special Agent, am I now a suspect?”

  “That’s why I’m asking for your alibi. Where were you at 7:30 yesterday morning?”

  “I was here in my office before going to the lab.”

  “Alone?”

  “Yes, alone. As chief of staff I am allowed.” Unruffled, he smiled.

  “We have video of what looks like a body being jettisoned out the airlock,” she announced. “The man in the video is you.”

  Magnanimous, he showered her with indignant reproof. “Really?” He rose, dismissing the topic with a wave, and came from behind his desk. “Excuse me, but I’m on my way to a meeting.” He turned casually, adding, “You’ll have to show me that video someday.” He walked out, wearing a grin of smug confidence.

  Rhys and Quinn stood with her, watching Lazar enter the elevator. “Why did you say we identified him in the video?” Rhys asked.

  “To get some kind of reaction. He’s one cool son of a bitch. What troubles me is, in his oh-so-brilliant mind, he’s innocent. He operates with no compunctions about what he’s doing, having deemed himself the title of honorary judge, jury and self-appointed … remodeler of the human race.”

  “What do you think he’s up to?”

  “That’s what I don’t know. But I’m damn well going to find out.”

  “Uh huh,” Rhys grunted. “I know what that means.”

  “Shall we get Simon and pay Nate a visit?”

  * * *

  At the elevator bank, Lazar smiled at the Agents and Detective until the elevator door closed, relieving him of their inspection. They were exceptional by his hand, which meant they were going to be a challenge.

  The creations apprehending the creator; this should be a good game.

  He traveled one floor before switching elevators and reversing directions, going down to Level 3. He exited and went straight to Given’s residence, leaning on the door bell.

  Nate opened the door, fresh-faced and looking like the poster boy. “Hey Doc—”

  Lazar stormed through the door. “They’re coming for you; we have to hide you. Pack a bag of what you’ll need—now!” He considered where to hide the dragon.

  Nate reappeared from the bedroom with a small bag, now anxious, his calm demeanor gone. “How do you know they’re coming?”

  Lazar peeked out the door. “Trust me. We have to hurry. Stay close.”

  * * *

  At Nate’s residence door, Dreya stood with Rhys and Quinn behind Sheriff Sinclair, her foot busily tapping. “We need to find some evidence in here.”

  “Nate, open up, it’s Sheriff Sinclair.” He pressed the door bell several times.

  “I don’t think he’s here,” Rhys offered.

  “Then in we go,” Simon said. He passed his security card over the entry screen and the door popped open. They walked in and spread out.

  “The man, or rather, dragon, knows how to spend his money,” Quinn commented. “This reminds me of one of those extreme homes of the obscenely rich.”

  Simon agreed. “By Draco Station standards, Nate is obscenely rich.”

  Dreya took her time in the bedroom. Under the bed, in the drawers and closets she found nothing suspicious. Zip, nada, zilch. She moved toward the bathroom and wrinkled her nose. “Hey guys.”

  They congregated with her at the doorway to the bath.

  “Wow. That’s pretty strong in here,” Quinn said.

  “We may have found our crime scene.” Dreya pulled out UV lights and swabs for sample collection from a field forensics case and passed them out. “Every corner, and don’t forget the shower and sink drains.”

  After collecting dozens of samples, she stopped and stared at the bathroom counter. She opened drawers and poked around, frowning.

  “What’s wrong?” Rhys asked.

  “No toothbrush.”

  Quinn joined them. “You think Lazar warned him?”

  “I’d bet on it,” Simon said. “The Doc is very protective of his creations.”

  At the mention of Lazar’s creations, Dreya forced herself not to look at Rhys or Quinn. “Where could Givens go?”

  “There are a million places to hide on every level,” Simon answered. “But my choice would be Level 4, the horticultural food production level—we call it the outback. There are thousands of acres of open fields. They grow fruits and vegetables; there are feed animals; they also process water. Everything a dragon needs to hide out is down there.”

  “Can we arrange a search?” she asked.

  He clamped his lips together and shook his head. “It’s too big. We don’t have the manpower to cover that kind of acreage.”

  “Cameras?” Rhys asked.

  “At best you’ll find a few cameras placed at random in the fields. Most cameras are in the work stations for monitoring the workers.”

  She glanced at the bag of samples. “Let’s process this and see if we turn up any evidence before we shout ‘murderer’. Maybe Givens has a reasonable explanation for not having a toothbrush, because so far, all we have is a hunch and a smell. And let’s locate Givens. Can you find that out for me, Simon?”

  “Yes, sir,” he said.

  They took their samples to the lab where Dreya, Rhys, and Quinn watched Simon efficiently process the swabs. “You seem to know what you’re doing,” she said.

  “I should.” He smiled up at her. “I passed the test.”

  “So, you’re a medical doctor and a pathologist? You do the living and the dead. Never seen a doctor like that before.”

  His smile faded like a cloud passed over the sun; he went back to his work.

  “Part of that long story?” she dared to probe.

  “Yep.”

  His absence of forthcoming piqued her curiosity. In her experience, such answers created more questions.

  He finished the last sample. “Sorry, but it’s negative for blood. I had slim hope of getting anything—that laboratory solution completely dismantles everything organic.”

  “Find Givens; check his watch and location. Maybe he’s at work and just needs to buy a new toothbrush.” Remembering the impeccable appearance of Givens’ residence, she didn’t hold any expectation for this outcome. She rolled both shoulders to loosen her neck. She was graspi
ng at thin air. No hard evidence tended to cause that.

  Simon tapped at his keyboard. After a moment, he announced, “We have a missing dragon. Givens did not report for his shift. His watch is not registering.”

  “He’s in the wind,” she said.

  Rhys pushed off the cabinet he was leaning against. Quinn uncrossed his arms and his face perked up considerably. Their responses bombarded her.

  I want to fly! I want to run!

  They were like kids, but she refused to smile, although she did understand. “Looks like a field trip is called for. Doc, you want to show us Level 4?”

  They took the elevator down. Even though Rhys and Quinn maintained a calm exterior, once they stepped out into the open, she could feel the anticipation and excitement coming from them. This should be interesting, she thought.

  They followed Simon out through a vast warren of work stations for planting. The air was warm and rich with the smell of soil and vegetation. Beyond was the garden of Eden.

  “I see why you call it the outback,” Dreya said. She didn’t require telepathy to understand her boys’ excitement. Here they could run and fly free … and catch a dragon.

  “We have over fifty thousand acres,” he explained. “One third of that is in production, the rest is planted wild. On the far side of the ring there’s the water and sewage treatment plants.”

  The fields were one thousand feet from side to side, and extended out of sight in both directions. “Damn near everything grown on Earth grows here. It’s a closed environment, so we don’t have any destructive insects. It’s all climate controlled specific to each growing section.

  “If he’s hiding out, and that’s my guess, this would be his first choice. The outback is the largest ring in the station; he knows there isn’t enough manpower to search this level.”

  “I see how a dragon could hide down here indefinitely,” she said.

  Unless a wolf and a raven were on the hunt.

  “Mind if we come down and take a look later?” Considering they were on a space station, she was astounded by the length and breadth of Draco’s agricultural operation. “I could bring a sleeping bag down here, screw the Infinity screen.”