Oracle's Diplomacy

by A. Claire Everward

  “The fact that Bourne kept trying to involve himself in the investigation helped,” Donovan said, his brow furrowed. Where was this going?

  “Why do you think he did that?” Scholes hadn’t been as involved in Donovan’s investigation as Evans had and still hadn’t had a chance to ask him about it, beyond the connection to Yahna.

  “I think he panicked,” Donovan said. “To get his part of the extremists’ plan done he was required to shoot in the back of the head a man he’d known, the first person he’d ever killed. That was too much. Bourne was a loyalist, but he was a white-collar operative, not a cold-blooded killer. And then he had to stick around, exposed, for the investigation, and because of the eyes on him and on ARPA he couldn’t contact his people, maybe get from them the strength he needed. Add to that his vanity—he never thought they could be discovered.”

  “Good for us, I suppose.” Scholes shook his head. “Unbelievable. The damage he caused.”

  “And then some,” Evans concurred.

  “How’re you going to deal with the fact that your technology’s existence is now publicly known?” Donovan asked. “Especially considering how it was used.”

  “Technology. That’s just it,” Scholes answered. “Its name was never made known, nor any technical information. Or functional, for that matter. All that was said was that it was used to bring down the ambassador’s jet, without specifying how.”

  “You’re going to continue hiding it.”

  “Yes,” Scholes said simply. “If anyone asks, we’ll release some of the information about it, say it’s a technology that’s still in the development stages, designed to communicate with a manned aircraft’s flight systems in order to safely land it if it’s in trouble. Something like that. Sirion is needed. And with its copy still missing, we need to be able to try to reconstruct how far it was developed and perhaps find a countering technology, without prying eyes.”

  “What about ARPA? It’s taken a serious hit, with the security breach.”

  “It’ll get all the help it needs. Both ARPA and IDSDATR will, and especially the Sirion team,” Evans said.

  Donovan nodded, then waited, silent, looking at the two men.

  “Right. Coming back to the point. Between you and Emero, your roles in this are certainly more than enough.” Evans glanced at Scholes, who nodded emphatically.

  Donovan frowned. No, he didn’t like the feel of this at all. “Enough for what?”

  “You found Bourne and through him the group behind Ambassador Sendor’s abduction. This led to IDSD Intelligence intercepting communications between the leader of the group and Russia’s defense minister and through these Emero was able to decipher the ambassador’s whereabouts and ensure his timely rescue.” Evans fell silent, waited.

  “That’s not what happened,” Donovan said. “We didn’t find him—” he stopped abruptly and turned to Scholes, who nodded, his eyes somber. “You need to hide the fact that Oracle found him. You need to hide Oracle.”

  “This thing is too high profile, Donovan,” Scholes said. “Everyone in half the world, hell, in the entire world, wants to know what happened. The media, politicians trying to ride the wave, everyone.”

  Donovan didn’t like this at all. “So what, Emero and I—”

  “Have the gratitude of the Internationals’ High Council and the US Administration for all you have done,” Scholes said.

  Evans nodded. “You’re going to be publicly commended for this. And you deserve it.”

  “No, no way. What we did would have come down to nothing, would not have prevented a war, and Russia never would have pulled back, if Lara hadn’t found the ambassador, and on time. And the way she kept an eye on the situation the entire time, the things she seemed to know that she told you about on the way, how many people did she save?” Donovan was angry. This wasn’t something he would ever be willing to do, even if the person they were talking about leaving out of the credit here wasn’t Lara.

  “True.” Scholes had expected Donovan’s anger. “And yet, this must never be publicly known.”

  Donovan stood up and turned to leave.

  “Donovan.” The huge man came to stand in his way. “Those who need to know, do. They always do. Do you think Oracle can be protected the way she is without the support of some very powerful people in very strategic places? You think they don’t know her role in this? Who do you think was the first to ask that she step in?” He spread his hands. “She gets the recognition where it really matters. And she’ll be commended too, she’ll receive the Internationals’ highest commendation from Council Head Stevenssen personally, not to mention the ones from Joint Europe and the United States, they’ve already stated their intention to do so. She’ll receive her commendations, just not at the same time as you, and not in the presence of the same people.”

  Donovan turned to Evans, who nodded, repeating, “The right people, in the right strategic places, and that goes for our administration, too, Donovan. How do you think Oracle works here so easily? How do you think everything Oracle or Lara is accepted in the United States without question? Here she can do everything she needs or wants to, and still remain hidden. Here she is under Internationals and US and alliance protection.”

  “And,” Scholes added, walking over to his desk, “if you think she cares about recognition or commendations, think again.” He punched in a code, and a panel opened in the wall.

  Donovan stared.

  “These are all hers. There are more, but I ran out of space.”

  Donovan moved closer, astonished. His Lara had been awarded commendations from more than a few agencies, militaries, diplomatic corps. Countries, all belonging to the alliance. They were all there, the High Council and IDSD, the United States, Joint Europe, he saw the Southern Territories there, the Asian Territories, some others he didn’t recognize. She’d never said anything about it. But then, she really wouldn’t care. That’s not why she was Oracle.

  Behind him, Evans spoke. “Donovan, I know you don’t care about commendations either. You don’t even bother turning up to receive them, do you? But we need you to, this time. You need to be there, along with Emero, to receive these. If they look at you—”

  “They don’t look at Oracle,” Donovan completed the thought. He nodded his consent.

  Nothing in the huge hall was understated. Those present enjoyed luxury as much as they enjoyed the unlimited power at their fingertips.

  They spoke freely in here. In the entire estate, in fact. There was no danger of their being heard, or seen. Electronic means gave them hermetic protection, and the airspace above them was closed. Not even satellites could penetrate the security measures here. The world was literally blind to the existence of this meeting, to its participants. It would never know the words uttered by them. No money was spared to achieve this. And money was not a problem. They were a combination of the richest and the most powerful people in the world.

  One by one they sat down, fell silent. Waited. The man who had called them here looked at them, met their eyes.

  “The events of the past days are most unfortunate. I regret that they happened, however we have always had to contend with the existence of rogue groups that have their own agenda for this world, an agenda that conflicts with ours. We should see ourselves fortunate that those responsible have been identified and stopped. This had, as you well know, the potential of causing great damage to our cause, and I assure you that my people are collecting all information relevant to these deplorable events, and we will study them.” He paused. “Now, let us proceed with our meeting.”

  Around the table, the participants of the unique gathering all nodded their agreement. But among them, one thought otherwise. One voice that would not speak up, not betray its true loyalties. One mind that was trying to understand how it could have happened. How it had all fallen apart.

  How on earth did they find Ambassador Sendor?

  “I can’t believe everything that’s happened.” Lara turned around in Do
novan’s arms and looked up at him. “Everything’s changed.” No, not just changed, she thought, everything is so much better.

  The glimmer in his eyes and the smile that played on his lips told her he knew what she wasn’t saying. This time she was glad about it. What they had was still too new, it was too soon. For her, the feelings were still difficult to put into words.

  “Love does that, apparently.” His wonder was no less than hers. He had no idea it could be this way.

  This time it was she who put her arms around him, who drew him to her for a kiss. His arms tightened around her. He wanted more, needed more. This, now, was only the beginning.

  “And I can’t believe we’re on a first date.” She laughed. “We’re already quite a bit past that.”

  “We’re changing the rules. All considering, I think we can make our own.” He kissed her. “Come on, let’s go.”

  “Where?”

  He smiled, not answering. Their date, on an uncharacteristically warm autumn eve, had begun at one of his favorite places, a restaurant in a marina he frequented. The chef owner was a good friend of his, and their evening had so far consisted of a pampering meal on a terrace above the water, rows of boats below them. Now they were walking along the pier, her hand in his, toward a row of private boathouses up ahead.

  “Look at all these boats. Imagine taking one, a sailboat, old school, and just going out to sea. Must be so peaceful.” She looked dreamily at the water. She was, finally, relaxed. This was the first day in months she had taken off, the first one in years that she was, unbelievably, happy in.

  “You’ve never been on a boat?” He enjoyed seeing her this way, seeing this side of her he knew he was awakening, just as she had awakened so much in him.

  “Not like these, no.” Warships didn’t count as fun.

  “First time for everything.” He turned left at the pier connecting the boathouses and approached the farthest one. He stopped, letting the security system identify him, and the door slid open.

  “Really?” Lara said, and Donovan laughed and followed her in, the door closing behind them. A short walkway with two storage rooms, one on each side, became a wide dock leading into the water, on which the lights that shone in the high slanted ceiling played. But Lara saw nothing but the two sailboats that bobbed gently in the water.

  “A boat. You have a boat. You have two boats.”

  He laughed again, enjoying how that felt, loving the wonder in her voice.

  She came to stand on the dock between the boats and looked to both sides. The left boat was obviously older and was being worked on. The right one looked modern, new. The name on the hull read Sanctuary.

  She turned to Donovan, who was standing immediately behind her, his arms around her waist. “Is that what it is? Your sanctuary?”

  He looked at the sleek boat. “Yes. The only one I thought I needed, thought I would have.” His eyes were thoughtful, and when he looked at her again, she felt her heart flutter at what his gaze held. She moved closer to him, her arms tightening around him. Do you know that I love you? She wanted to say, but it didn’t come out, not yet, just lay deep within the gaze that held his. She kissed him instead, and it was, for now, enough, he thought, understood that she needed time.

  And she was, after all, finally his.

  “What’s the name of the other one?” She pulled away from him lightly and turned to have a closer look at the faded, hand-lettered name on the older boat. “Christine,” she read.

  “My mother’s name,” he said, and she turned her eyes to him.

  “This was my father’s boat.” Donovan came closer and touched it, almost gingerly. He put his hands in his pockets. “He loved boats. And he got started on building them when my mother was stationed in Ireland. This one was his favorite. He gave it her name, always said that the two of them, his boat and the woman he loved, gave him peace.” He smiled, reminiscing. “Except that my mother didn’t care for boats, and she never actually set foot on this one. When she was busy, sometimes for weeks on end, my father would take me out of school, and we would take it out to sea.” He was quiet for a long time, and Lara went to him, seeing the memory, the pain. She took his hand in hers. He looked at her, drew comfort.

  “When my parents died, I returned here, to the United States, to live with my uncle.” It was a bit more complicated than that, but he didn’t want to go into it now. He would, with her, but not now. And he knew it was okay, she would understand. “I thought the boat had been sold with everything else. There was no reason to keep it. It hurt me, but I didn’t say anything about it. I thought it was too late, and, anyway, I was a kid and had no say in it.” He smiled a little. “I’d been in some trouble, and my uncle kept me close to him for a while, straightened me out. That’s why he hadn’t told me he’d asked my grandparents, my mother’s parents, to keep this boat for me. They wanted it gone, it pained them to keep it. But they agreed to do it for me. And when I was sixteen, my uncle took me to the mooring near his house, and there it was.” He looked up at the boat. “I’ve been restoring it. It’s an old boat, and I haven’t had as much time as I used to.”

  Lara wanted to know more, to know everything about him. But she remained silent, knowing this wasn’t what he needed now. She would wait for him to tell her, as he had waited for her.

  He looked at her, coming back to the present, to her, and smiled. “Come on, we haven’t finished our first date.” He led her up the gangway to Sanctuary. “I had this one built a couple of years ago,” he said, stepping on the deck, “and I take it out whenever I can.”

  “So this is where you bring women when you want to impress them?” she teased with a smile.

  “This is where I come when I want to be alone, when I want some peace. I’ve never brought a woman here.”

  She halted, just as she was about to step on the deck, and looked at him. This was his sanctuary. “I’m a woman.”

  He turned to look at her, saw her hesitate. He walked back to her, took her hand in his and pulled her that last step onto the deck and into his arms. “You’re the woman,” he murmured and kissed her, lingering, feeling her in his arms, basking in the way her body moved into his, feeling so right.

  He loved the way she explored the boat, touching it in wonder. Absently, she let the soft wrap she had on slide down her arms and drop on the deck, let it lie where it fell, walked on.

  He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  Wondering at himself, at the effect this woman had on him, he went inside. He was busy at the security console when Lara joined him.

  “This is absolutely beautiful.” She walked in slowly, peeking around her.

  “Go ahead, have a look around.”

  She explored the tasteful saloon, a well-stocked galley, then continued on, looking around, until she reached the master cabin, its cozy colors and design befitting this man she loved, who valued the peace this second home gave him. She returned to the saloon, and Donovan saw her and beckoned. When she approached him, he put an arm around her waist and pulled her to stand before him, and had the system scan her biometrics and program her in.

  “There. Now the security system will recognize you. You have full access to the boat,” he murmured near her ear, his lips brushing her neck.

  She turned in his arms. “Are you sure? Donovan, this is your sanctuary.”

  “No, you are, my Lara.” He touched his lips to hers, and she answered the kiss readily, deepening it. He drew her closer to him, and reached behind her to touch the console and remotely secure the boathouse. He didn’t want any disturbances any time soon.

  “So, how comfortable is that bed back there?” she mused.

  “Good for sleeping, let’s see what else it’s good for,” he said, backing her up toward the cabin.

  .

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; Books by

  A. Claire Everward

  The First

  Oracle’s Hunt

  Oracle’s Diplomacy

  Blackwell: A Tangled Web