“We are.” He didn't mention Lucy, but Dimitara's gasp told him she understood what he meant by 'we'.
“Good.” He heard a rustle, as if she was shifting in her chair. “That's very good. Things are less well here. The mass protests in the square haven't turned violent, but they show no signs of dissipating.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
She sighed. “It's a sticky area. The people are neither military nor government. They technically come under the government laws, but there is no law against the right to gather. That was set into the UC rules after that bad business with the light guns thirty years ago.”
“So you're going to let it play out?” He didn't think that ignoring the protesters was a good idea either.
“No. I'm going out to talk to them.” Dimitara sounded resigned.
“Take Cossi and Chep with you. Let them set up a secure perimeter.”
“Chep and Cossi have already suggested that. They let some people follow them around the square for nearly an hour and then came to find me to report.” She didn't sound happy. “I thought it would be bad when we got here, but my imagination was obviously not up to the task.”
“I'm surprised it isn't worse,” Dray admitted. “I know how the Grih would react, and I honestly don't know if we'd be this restrained. What is the government saying?”
He heard her chair squeak, as if she was leaning back in it. “They're panicked. They don't want to harm any of the protesters, but they also want to clear the square. And the shots fired in the square and in the side streets didn't go unnoticed.” She paused. “I'm guessing that was you?”
“I was responsible for some of the shots in the side streets. I don't know who fired in the square.”
“The military were firing at Lucy,” Bane said, and from the startled silence on Dimitara's end he guessed Bane had included her in the transmission.
“They were trying to kill her?” Dimitara's voice suddenly grew, as if three of her were talking at once.
“I think they planned to stun her so they could grab her and kill her elsewhere. I'm sure they'd have left her body where no one would find it. They would not have wanted a dead Earth woman to be found in the square.”
“Who's doing this?” Dimitara asked. “It can't be the whole of the military. It's surely a smaller group.”
“Speak to someone called Dr. Farnn,” Bane said. “She's one of the few survivors of that fire at a military facility a few days ago. She was one of Lucy Harris's doctors there, and Lucy said she's the one who helped her escape. She'll have a good idea of who had something to lose by Lucy being found.”
“Do you know where she is?” Dimitara asked.
“I'll send you the details, Ambassador.” Bane hesitated. “I would suggest you put Dr. Farnn somewhere very safe, like the Urna. I don't think the military will be happy that she's still walking around free.”
“And you, Dray? What's your plan?” Dimitara asked.
“We have to come back to the city. I need you to send a team to get us.”
She hesitated.
“You won't send a team?” He didn't hide his outrage.
“No, I want to send a team. I'm just worried they'll be followed.”
Dray gave a snort. “So what if they are? What are they going to do? Shoot down a UC team?”
Her silence spoke volumes.
And, yes, maybe they were crazy enough to do just that. “Even if they do, we can shoot back. And there can't be more crazy military officers caught up in this cover up than we can handle.” He would relish shooting a few of them. It was sounding like a better idea all the time.
“If they shoot to kill? Or if one of them gets seriously hurt? How will that play out in the current mood on Tecra?” Dimitara asked quietly. “Do I care all that much about them getting hurt? No. I'm so angry about this, I want to call Bane back and get him to blitz the whole planet, but I'm here to make this agreement work. And so far, it really does look like a small group is causing this. That's not fair to the rest of the Tecran. And how much more damage will I do if I agree to let a team or two fetch you, weapons hot, and the Tecran take that as an attack in bad faith and pull out of the agreement? I don't want to be the UC ambassador who led the UC into war. And how safe will Lucy be in a situation like that anyway? Can you guarantee she won't be hurt in any armed confrontation with the Tecran? After all, they're trying to kill her.”
He saw his fantasy of using his shockgun on a few Tecran assholes evaporate under the cold reality of her reasoning. “I'll get us back quietly.”
“You do that.” Dimitara's words were implacable. “And soon, Dray. I won't rest until Lucy's safe on the Urna.”
“Safe on my Class 5,” Bane corrected. “There is no way she's going to be safe on the Urna.”
After a startled silence, Dimitara gave a hum of agreement. “On your Class 5,” she confirmed. “But you're not in the solar system, Bane. Until you get here, I want her in the fold.”
“So you want me to come in?” Bane asked.
Dray would say this for the thinking system, he was a very convincing liar. And he obviously trusted Dray not to out him to Dimitara.
“No,” she said, although not as decisively as he would have thought. “I'll have Lucy taken to you in one of the Urna's explorers as soon as we have her onboard. Things are too delicate at this point for you to make an appearance.”
Dray thought of Bane, hiding on Gyre, and for the first time since this mess began, relaxed a little.
He was glad the thinking system was right here. Not sitting in a holding pattern out of reach. The delicacy of the balance between the UC teams and the Tecran be damned.
When Dimitara said goodbye he responded in kind and then stood in the silent kitchen.
A feeling of being watched slowly crept over him, and he turned toward the stairs. Lucy Harris was sitting on one of the steps, wet hair slicked back to fall in a cascade of tight golden brown curls, her eyes big and dark.
She was dressed in a black shirt that was too big for her and loose black trousers, but her feet were bare. She leaned forward to hug her knees and the neck of the shirt slipped over one shoulder.
He leaned back against the counter, staring at her, and the sound of the grinabo maker's warble that announced it had finished was a shock in the quiet.
“You feeling warmer?” he asked, and again realized he'd used Grihan. He cleared his throat. “Sorry,” he said in Tecran, “are you better?”
She nodded, her gaze traveling over him carefully. “Thank you.”
“How long were you . . .” He trailed off, worried his words would be distressing for her, then forced himself to continue, because this was something the UC needed to know. “How long were you held prisoner?”
She lifted her shoulders. “I wasn't conscious for some of the time. Something happened to me. They wouldn't tell me what, but I guessed it was their fault, and they felt guilty about it.”
“They?”
“The scientists and doctors in the facility. They didn't like me asking questions about it. But I recovered, and I've been awake for two months or so. They helped me get stronger. I think I was in a coma for about a month before that.”
That was as long as they'd had Imogen Peters and Fiona Russell, the two Earth women abducted after Rose McKenzie.
Dray shouldn't be surprised, but he was. He was staggered.
All this time. All this time they'd had her, and they'd looked the councilors of the UC in the eye and wrung their hands and said how it was all a mistake, when a whole team of scientists and doctors and military leaders had known Lucy Harris was right here in Fa'allen.
He straightened from his slouch. It would be his pleasure to rain down some retribution, diplomacy be damned.
Chapter 19
Dray Helvan looked like his head was about to explode.
Lucy eyed him warily as he turned toward a machine that let out another warble, and pulled out a cup of grinabo.
; He handed it to her, and she took it gratefully, cupping her hands around it for the warmth, and sipping at the hot, fragrant liquid.
She watched him warily. He seemed even bigger in the sleek kitchen than he had before out on the streets of Fa'allen. His hair was short and stood on end, a rich brown tipped with burgundy. She wondered if it was natural, or if he did something to achieve the look.
The most delightful part of him was his ears; pointed and close to his head, they were evocative of elves and forests and longbows. They somehow softened the harsh lines of his face and the hard blue glitter of his eyes.
He stared back at her for a beat and then pointed to the table, on which he'd laid out a meal.
“Are you hungry?”
She was ravenous, but . . . “I can't eat most Tecran food.” She got to her feet and walked to the table, looking down at the offerings.
“What did they feed you?”
“Nutrient bars, mainly.” She heard the lack of enthusiasm in her own voice.
He glanced down at her and she saw worry in his gaze. “I don't want to give you anything that'll make you sick.”
“It's okay. I've tasted everything on the table.” She tried to make herself sound more enthusiastic. “It was almost a game at the facility. Who could find a new dish for me to try.” Her smile wobbled a little.
She sat down and looked at the food, and to her utter horror, a big, fat tear rolled down her cheek.
She used the back of her hand to brush it away, and caught sight of Dray's face.
“Don't mind me,” she told him. She hiccuped. “I'm just . . .”
What was she just? Wallowing? Yes. Having a pity party? Yes, again.
She stood up and turned away from him and the table, walked blindly out of the kitchen into the big lounge area.
Swirling white fog pressed up against the floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the sea.
Even though she couldn't see out, she walked up to them anyway, pressing a hand against the cold glass. No, not glass, but something like it. She didn't know what it was called. Didn't know how it was made. Didn't know shit.
She slammed both fists into the transparent wall.
A noise behind her had her looking over her shoulder.
Dray stood in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest.
Was that pity or condescension she saw in his gaze?
Either way, it pissed her off even more.
“I was on my way home from a quick grocery shop,” she said, voice far from even. “I had two bags of groceries in the back, bags I'd give a lot for right now. There was ice cream in one of them. And strawberries. And peaches. I was going to make peach pie! With ice cream. But instead of getting home, and making peach pie, the world went black. I woke up a few times, just little flashes of consciousness, but when I woke properly, I was in the facility. Over a month of time had passed, and I was on an alien planet.” She wanted to swear, but she didn't know how in Tecran, so she spoke in English, slowly enunciating each word. “A fucking alien planet.”
She held his gaze, boldly challenging him, and something in his eyes stared back at her. A predatory creature that would not back down.
That suited her. She wanted a fight.
“So how do you fucking explain that?” she asked, and slammed a fist backward so she hit the window again to punctuate the question. He was the advanced alien, let him figure out what she was saying.
He tilted his head to the side, and the look on his face said he thought he was dealing with a deranged lunatic.
So what? She felt deranged.
“What the actual fuck am I doing here?” She took a step toward him. She had asked this question so many times in the facility, and had been met with averted gazes, a change of topic, or had been straight up ignored. Maybe she could finally get an answer.
His eyes narrowed. “I can't speak your language, as you know. But Bane has translated for me. You are here because the Tecran wanted to be the strongest force on the United Council.”
She stared at him. “Are you saying this is all common-or-garden super villain stuff? I lost my family, my friends, my life because they wanted to rule the galaxy?”
He frowned in confusion. “They thought to use thinking systems to give them the power to be in command of the United Council. To take control.”
“And might it have worked?” she asked.
“If they had been able to keep me and my four brothers prisoner, yes.” Bane's voice was quiet in her ear. “But they could not, because they didn't understand thinking systems. And they didn't understand Earth women, either.”
“How was taking me part of their quest for domination?” She dismissed Dray, turning away from him, her conversation with Bane now.
“Part of their plan was to collect interesting species and technology from planets and systems the United Council hadn't discovered. To exploit those technologies and advantages before anyone else. Except, your fellow Earth women who were taken were their undoing instead.” There was deep satisfaction in his voice.
“Is Earth in danger?” she whispered. She hadn't thought about that until now. Of course, if they got her, they knew where it was. They could do this to others. Had done this to others. She'd seen the video of the women singing.
“No. Sazo deleted all maps to Earth as a favor to Rose McKenzie. And only four of the five of us ever went there. One is dead, one lost his ship, and as I said, Sazo deleted the files.”
“Did you go?” she asked him.
“No. I was the only one who didn't.”
She leaned against the window, arms tight around herself. “What happens now? Where do I fit in?” She was so angry. She had been angry for months, she realized now, but in the facility, she'd understood how vulnerable she was.
She had been an alien thing. A slightly dangerous performing monkey, who few had seen as an equal, or even in the same sentient category.
She'd made nice, to the scientists at least, if not the guards, let the insults and the condescension roll off her to survive, but now she was out of that and the fire of fury had roared to life.
She didn't think she could bank it any time soon.
Still . . .
“Sorry.” She turned back to Dray, saw he had moved from the doorway, was almost close enough to touch. She spoke in Tecran, rather than forcing Bane to translate her English. “I shouldn't have shouted at you. You're helping me.”
He gave a nod, and she was struck by the sheer beauty of him. There were elements of otherworldliness to him--the ears, the spiky hair--but even then, it was more sexy elf than alien.
After being the odd one out for months, she felt a sudden kinship to him so strong it was almost overwhelming.
She forced a brake on her emotions. Because while she might see him as something familiar at last, he didn't have the same need to bond to her as she did to him.
He would have his own kind around him all the time.
She was the one who didn't fit.
“You fit in with the Grih,” he said, and startled, she realized he was responding to her statement, which she hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud.
“You fit in with me, too.” Bane said softly.
She bent her head, her hands clasped together. She couldn't help the hot flow of tears that dripped off her cheeks.
“What do you need?” Dray asked. “You must eat.”
She lifted her head and sniffed. The thought of Tecran food made her stomach cramp. She was hungry but not hungry enough to eat anything he'd put out for her. “I had some nutrition bars in Fa'allen. I think I'd like to rest for a bit. I've been snatching bits of sleep in uncomfortable places for a few days now. And that couch looks pretty good.”
He looked over to where she pointed.
“You don't want to use one of the bedrooms?”
She shook her head. “No. I'll be more relaxed here.” There was something unsettling about the thought of sleeping uninvited in someone else's bed.
The b
edrooms were also small and dark, whereas the lounge was big and airy. She wouldn't feel trapped here.
She sensed a change in the fog behind her and turned to see it had parted a little, so she could look out to sea by the light of Tecra's two moons.
There was a massive rock standing a little way out, as if part of the cliff had been sliced off and pushed out to sea. She caught the faintest suggestion of movement on its sheer black walls.
“What's that?” She looked over her shoulder, saw Dray had found a blanket somewhere and was carrying it under an arm.
He came to stand beside her, his shoulder brushing her own.
“That's a baug colony. The Tecran like to climb the cliffs for sport and hunt them.”
Lucy watched them move and flutter over the sheer rock face for a few more minutes, and then the fog closed in again.
She turned back to the room, and Dray handed her the folded blanket.
“Sleep,” he said. “I'll keep watch.”
She didn't want him to stand watch over her, the thought of being that vulnerable didn't sit well with her, but she couldn't find a way to refuse without sounding ungrateful. “Thank you.”
She settled down on one of the couches facing the windows, and pulled the blanket up. It smelled clean, the scent on it told her they must use the same detergent as the facility, because it was familiar to her.
She didn't think she would fall asleep easily, but Dray had left the room, and as soon as she laid her head on a cushion, her whole body seemed to cry out in relief that she was off her feet and lying down.
She hadn't scratched the surface of the questions she wanted to ask, and she could see an equal number in Dray's eyes, but for now she was safe, warm and for the first time had not one but two people looking out for her.
Considering how her life had looked just over a full day ago, things were definitely improving.
Chapter 20
Dray looked in on Lucy a few times as he prowled around the house, but mainly he stood watch two floors above.
The fog was thinner higher up, and he liked to think if the Tecran were coming for them using hovers, he'd see a reflection of the lights in the smokey gray cloud.
Dark Matters (Class 5 Series Book 4) Page 11
