by Hanna Peach
Israel nodded. “Can you confirm whether or not she’s pregnant?”
“Of course. That is the easy bit.” Ana started to move out from behind her desk. She stopped in front of the bed and motioned for Alyx to come to her. “Lie down here, please.”
Israel guided Alyx out of her chair and without warning, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her towards Ana as if she were a child. Alyx nestled against his strong chest for the few precious seconds before he laid her on the bed and let go of her. She had to stop herself from grabbing at his neck as he pulled away. So cold, her body felt so cold without him.
“What are you going to do to me?” Alyx asked.
Ana’s face melted into a soft smile that Alyx thought was meant to reassure her. “I’m a WaterBearer. An ideal gift for a healer. Do you know why?”
Alyx shook her head.
“Our physical bodies are made up of about 70% water which means that−”
“You can sense the inside of my body.” And whether there is a baby growing in me.
Ana didn’t seem to be upset that Alyx had just interrupted her. In fact she seemed pleased. “You’re absolutely correct. It won’t hurt, I promise.”
Alyx lay back down. She felt herself relax a little more when Israel found her hand and twisted his fingers around hers.
Ana lifted the bottom of Alyx’s shirt and placed her hands on Alyx’s stomach. Alyx felt a cool sensation flood out from where Ana’s hands warmed her belly. It swirled around her like mist caught in a draft. After a few moments, Ana pulled her hands away. Her face was unreadable.
“Well?” said Israel.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I see no child there.”
For some reason this stunned Alyx more.
Alyx and Israel left the infirmary in silence, after accepting a lecture from Ana on unprotected sex and repeated warnings of the fact that they had been lucky “this time”.
Further down the corridor, Israel pulled her through one of the open doors that led to the garden, enclosed between the Aradale wings. He led her through the simple path fringed with pruned rose bushes. He stopped when they were standing in the very center, under the arch covered with roses, alone. Alyx moved to put her arms around him.
“Alyx,” his voice was rough as he grabbed her forearms and pulled her hands away from him. “Don’t think for a minute that we are okay again. I am glad that we don’t have this child, this keye, hanging over our heads, but...it also means that we can’t slip up like that again. And I’m still so damn angry at you for lying to me. God, it still hurts so much to be around you right now.”
Alyx felt her face fall. Her whole body crumpled like a flower wilted from weeks without rain. His face was so stern, so cold. She wondered if she would ever see him smile at her again. Her heart cried in pain at the thought that she might have lost his smiles forever.
“Despite everything, I...” Israel’s mask faltered for a moment and Alyx saw a little softness return to his eyes. “Damn you,” he all but whispered. “Despite everything you’ve done, I still love you, Alyx.”
These words stung her heart as if it were thawing. It was the sweetest pain. Alyx tried to speak but she could only gasp instead. He loved her. Despite all that she had done he still loved her...
He placed his hands firmly around her face, fusing their gazes together. “You belong to me,” he continued, his eyes burning with intensity. “And I belong to you. But until you pull your head out of your ass and stop looking at me like this helpless child, like this boy who needs saving, we can’t be equals. And I refuse to be with someone who doesn’t view me and treat me like an equal. Because you know what? I’m tired of holding you up on this pedestal. You’re not perfect. Far from it, actually, as you continue to demonstrate.”
Alyx felt her mouth begin to drop open. His scolding had caused her face to flush with shame. She wanted to feel angry at him, to feel bitter, to yell at him. And yet, staring at this man, this man, who was so assuredly putting her in her place, her body flooded with so much heat she could barely hold herself standing. She didn’t think she had ever wanted him as badly as she did now. Stupid body. Stupid heart. Betraying her again.
“You’re not perfect,” he continued, “and neither am I. But we’re perfect...for each other. I mean, Jesus, Alyx, you saw us in there...we’re better together. Isn’t that what we’re all seeking? The one who makes us better than when we are alone?”
Alyx found she could neither move nor speak. Not even when he closed the gap between them. His arms grabbed her around her waist and across her back in a vice. He was rougher with her than he had ever been. He pulled at her and her body slammed against his, causing her to gasp. A gasp which he stifled when his lips closed roughly over hers.
If he hadn’t been holding her, she would have slipped to the ground, her legs trembling as his tongue found hers. He kissed her as if he was claiming her, firm, possessive but with an unmistakable underlying tenderness. His hands splayed across her back marking her as his. Alyx moaned, pronouncing herself as his.
She lifted her hands to his face. But he broke their kiss off cold and stepped back, releasing her from his arms. Her lips and hands grasped at air.
“I’m serious, Alyx. Until you learn to treat me like a man and not a boy, I’m not interested in even figuring out how to be with you. I think we need our space for the moment.”
“But...” Alyx spluttered. She dropped her useless hands, feeling like her world was spinning out of control. “But what the hell was that, then?”
Israel stepped close to her again, but this time he did so without touching her. Alyx felt her breath hitch and her body alight with fire while at the same time she was frozen with anticipation. Fire and ice all at once. Damn him. What was he doing to her?
With the fingers of his left hand, he pushed the long lock of her hair behind her ear and behind her shoulder, exposing her ear and her neck. Alyx shivered. Israel noticed. Alyx thought he seemed pleased at her reaction. He leaned down to touch his lips to her ear.
“That, my angel, was an incentive. A preview of what we could have.”
Then he pulled his lips away and in several long strides he was gone. His sweet breath lingering on her face and the fire in her body threatening to consume her was all that remained of this encounter.
Chapter 29
“That’s Peter there,” said Alyx.
She recognized him from his picture on the organizational chart they had found on the Galleria’s website. Peter Schwartz, Head of Security, was a stocky man with clear eyes and a moustache the same light shade as his hair and threaded with gray. He walked purposefully around the Galleria, eyes darting around him.
Jordan nodded imperceptibly and began to walk directly into Peter’s path, leaving Alyx pretending to be engrossed in the sculpture before them. Alyx watched from the corner of her eye as Jordan pretended to knock into him.
“Sorry, so sorry,” she heard Jordan say as he placed his hand on Peter’s arm. Within seconds Peter’s eyes were rolling into the back of his head and Jordan was striding away towards the exit without looking back.
Peter staggered before he slid to the ground. There was a yell from a nearby female. Several mortals had turned to stare at the fallen man. A few started to move towards him. Alyx ran towards Peter’s side and knelt by him.
“Doctor!” Alyx called over the noise in the hall, “Is there a doctor here anywhere?”
“I’m a doctor,” Alyx recognized Dianne’s voice. She looked up to see Dianne, looking odd in her jeans and casual T-shirt, pushing past the growing crowd to get to the fallen guard. Dianne knelt beside Alyx and busied herself by pretending to take a pulse, pull up his eyelids and check his wrist for a medical band.
Alyx heard another rough voice demanding that he be let through. She looked up to see a security guard pushing his way to them. Alyx swallowed hard when she noticed the gun holstered to his belt and the mean look in his eyes. When he crouched next to Peter’s body, sh
e could see that his name tag read Edelman.
“What the hell happened here?” Edelman demanded, looking at Dianne, then at Alyx. Alyx noticed Dianne’s fingers start to shake but she kept her hands on Peter’s forehead.
Keep it together, Dianne. Just keep it together.
“This man fell,” Alyx said, realizing that she needed to be the one to do the talking. Dianne was too occupied. A slight crease between Dianne’s eyebrows was the only sign that she was concentrating. But a bead of sweat had started to draw from her forehead. Alyx knew she needed to stall. Dianne needed more time to look through Peter’s memories. “This lady is a doctor,” Alyx said. “She’s just checking to make sure that he’s okay.”
“It was that guy,” a voice in the crowd said. Alyx couldn’t see who was speaking. “That guy did something to him.”
Crap.
“What? Who said that?” Edelman growled at the crowd. “What guy?”
A youngish teen was pushed forward by his parents. “I saw a guy bump into him and walk off. Then this guy fell. I think that other guy did something to him to make him unconscious.”
Double crap.
Edelman turned back to glare at Alyx. She shrugged and tried to look innocent. “I didn’t see a guy.”
Edelman’s eyes narrowed at Alyx, then at Dianne.
“Get your hands off him,” Edelman demanded.
Dianne’s face pulled into a look like a deer caught in headlights. Then she pulled her quivering fingers off Peter. Alyx looked at Dianne. Had she gotten what they needed? The firm line of Dianne’s lips told Alyx that she hadn’t.
Edelman shifted Peter’s body slightly. He was checking Peter’s side for something. A glint of metal. Keys. Security pass. Edelman was checking that Peter still had his keys and pass. He suspected that this was a ploy to steal Peter’s security items.
“Look, I don’t know anything about some guy. This man just fell,” Alyx said firmly. “She’s a doctor. Let her help him.”
Edelman, appearing to have satisfied himself that the security of the Galleria was still intact, looked up at Dianne, who had started brushing nervously at her T-shirt. “You’re a doctor?”
Dianne froze. For a moment she didn’t move or speak. Come on, Dianne, Alyx urged in her head. She could see Edelman start to frown.
“Ye−” Dianne cleared her throat. “Yes. He’s breathing, but he’s unconscious. Do you know if he has any issues with blood pressure, low blood glucose or anything like that?”
“No,” Edelman’s shook his head. “Pete’s so fit, even for an older guy.”
Dianne appeared to have composed herself. She reached out her hands again for Peter but stopped inches from his skin.
“May I?” she directed the question at Edelman. After getting his nod of approval Dianne fussed at Peter’s wrists again. “His heart rate is returning to normal. I think the best we can do for him is to get him somewhere to lie down until he wakes.” Dianne looked up at Edelman. “Do you have a back room or staff room where we can take him while he recovers?”
Edelman nodded. He pulled at the radio on his belt and spoke briefly to someone on the other line. Within seconds a second security guard appeared through the thinning crowd. “Nothing to see here. Move it along.”
Alyx was jostled and she rose to her feet. If she stayed too close it would look suspicious.
“I should come with you just in case,” Alyx heard Dianne say as the two security guards hoisted the sleeping Peter up.
Alyx smiled internally. Smart woman. She had pulled herself together in the end. Alyx walked calmly towards the exit without looking back and headed to the cafe several blocks from the Galleria, their meeting point.
Jordan was seated at a corner booth of the Caffe di Mezzo. A few late-breakfasters were finishing up their pastries. The air smelled like roasting coffee beans and it made Alyx’s mouth water slightly. Jordan frowned a little when Alyx slid into the booth alone.
“There was a minor complication, but she handled it well. She’ll be here soon,” Alyx said.
Sure enough, within minutes Dianne walked into the cafe and slid into the space next to Jordan.
“I got it,” Dianne said quietly. “He was waking up just as I found it. But I think I got a copy out before he saw me. I removed Peter’s memory of you,” she said to Jordan, “and I planted the false memory of John Smoote as well.”
Jordan patted her arm. “You did good, Di.”
Alyx gave Dianne a half-smile. Yeah, she did good.
* * *
Back at Aradale, Mason remained in Tobias’s office for most of the day, where he hunched over the large table spread with materials he had sent Israel out to acquire. Plans of the security system and Mason’s notes were scratched over the pieces of paper that were strewn everywhere.
Tobias, Israel and Alyx had all been thrown out of his office after Mason scowled that he couldn’t work with the lot of them breathing down his neck.
Tobias was sitting patiently on a chair. Israel was leaning against the wall, hands tucked casually into his jeans. Alyx didn’t know how they could just relax like that. She was floating up and down the stretch of corridor, huffing as she went. They didn’t have time. They needed to get the security system installed during tonight’s shift if they wanted to carry out the plan the following night. The Darkened could strike at any time. They could be striking at this minute.
Finally Mason stuck his head out and held a black object in his hand, just smaller than the size of his palm. Alyx let out a breath of relief.
Mason placed the object into Israel’s hand. “Now you just have to get it installed.”
Alyx had argued against Israel being sent in, but she lost when they realized that Israel was the only one of them who had enough experience with security systems to guarantee that it was properly installed.
After Mason was convinced that Israel was competent with the device, he let them go. Alyx and Israel flew quickly to Florence to meet Jordan, who had already gone ahead to perform his part.
Alyx and Israel turned up at a Florence residence near the Santa Maria Novella train station. It was the home of Derrick Kline, a single man who lived alone and was a cleaner for the Galleria dell’ Belle Arti. He was supposed to start his nightshift in less than an hour. When Alyx knocked on the door of the third level walk-up apartment, Jordan opened the door.
“How’s our host?” asked Alyx, walking in past Jordan. Israel followed her in.
“Sleeping off his sudden ‘fever’,” said Jordan. “He should be out cold ’til the morning.”
The living room was small, a threadbare couch and a boxy TV taking up most of the room. Over the couch was a set of clothes which Israel went over to pick up.
“This for me?” Israel asked, fingering what appeared to be a blue jumpsuit that had seen better days.
“Yup,” said Jordan. “Just make sure you put that ID badge on your waist. The second one is Derrick’s access pass.”
Jordan nodded at two small rectangles of plastic hanging from a clip sitting on the bench that separated the living room from the small untidy kitchen. Alyx stared at the ID badge, trying not to notice Israel changing into the jumpsuit right next to her.
The badge showed Israel’s face and the name John Smoote complete with holographic image of a building, but when she touched the ID badge, it faded into a plain white plastic. It was a mirage.
“Courtesy of Moloko,” Jordan said as Alyx handed the badge over to Israel, who had just finished buttoning himself in. Moloko was the Aradale MirageWeaver. Alyx had only met her briefly.
Israel studied the badge. “Cool,” he said, before clipping it onto one of the belt loops at his waist. “Let’s do this.”
Half an hour later, Alyx watched from a dark corner of the street across from Galleria dell’ Belle Arti where she waited with Jordan. Her stomach did flip flops and an inner voice protested as she watched Israel disappear into the staff entrance at the rear of the building.
* *
*
Israel felt a rush go through him as he closed the staff entrance door behind him. Finally, he was getting to do something. He knew from experience that he shouldn’t dawdle in this dimly lit back passageway. He headed left − no, right − towards where he knew the janitor’s closet was from Peter’s memories of the Galleria’s layout which Dianne had copied into Israel’s mind. Israel had to keep reminding himself that these memories were mirror-imaged.
After retrieving the cleaner’s cart from the janitor’s closet, Israel made his way through the back passageway towards the public exhibition halls.
It was quiet as he moved through the darkened halls. His shoes echoed off the black and white marbled floor and the high ceilings. He stopped at the other end of the hall and pushed his mind out towards Alyx. Her face appeared like a ghost in front of him.
“I’m in,” he whispered. “Give me five minutes until you work the distraction.”
“Okay,” Alyx said, her face pinched with worry. “Be careful.” And she faded out.
“Hold it right there,” a voice boomed out towards him. Israel spun around. A squat but mean looking security guard was glaring at him, looking at him up and down, fingers drifting close to his belt where a revolver was holstered. “I don’t recognize you.”
Israel smiled and slouched casually where he stood. Easy does it. Look like you belong here. His heart rate started to climb a little, not from fear but from the adrenaline. He had to get rid of this guard.
“Name’s John. Filling in for Derrick while he’s sick. Mr. Schwartz didn’t tell you?”
The guard seemed to relax a little at the name of the Security Head. His hand dropped from his belt. Keep playing it cool, Israel. You almost have him convinced.
“No, he didn’t say anything ’bout that.”
Israel shrugged. “Bosses. They’re busy. They forget stuff.” Israel gave the guard a conspiratorial look. Getting the employees into an “us versus them” mode always worked in gaining their trust.
