Trickster

by J. C. Andrijeski

  Whatever his specific interest was, Terian didn’t seem to be only joking.

  At least, not entirely.

  I could feel the other seers of my pod thinking the same, including Varlan.

  I fought to ignore the stares I felt, even as it struck me that at least half those stares held more than a little envy, and not solely due to Terian’s rank. Clearly, a number of them would have been happily singled out the way I had been, and for more than one reason.

  Clearing my throat, I pushed that from my mind, too.

  Shifting my weight between my feet, I folded my hands at the small of my back in an unconscious imitation of Varlan.

  All of us had put down our guns by then, and our packs.

  We stood in a haphazard circle around Terian, listening to him speak and wearing only our uniforms and armored vests. Half of those vests were now open, even with the air conditioning blasting, although Terian made it relatively clear he didn’t expect us to stand on ceremony here.

  Thankfully, the room did come equipped with air conditioning, if little else in the way of amenities. A refrigerator hummed in one corner. A high bar spanned one wall of the room, covered in a cluttered mess of full, half-full and empty alcohol bottles, along with a number of overflowing ashtrays filled with hiri sticks and human cigarette butts.

  I also glimpsed a mirror dusted with enough white powder, I had my doubts it was being used for anything remotely related to toiletries.

  Do you want to do some with me, brother? Terian asked, that faint note of teasing back in his light. I have plenty more. Coke. Heroin. Whatever you like. I have LSD, if you’re so inclined. Mescaline. Reds. Valium. We can get high and fuck in here. We can even let the others watch, since you seem to think they’re so jealous.

  I felt my skin tighten under the other’s words, but I didn’t answer.

  Gods. I love how completely transparent you are, brother.

  I decided, given where we were, it was probably safer to remain silent.

  I like that you’re quiet, too, Terian sent, softer.

  I didn’t answer that either, but shifted my weight, fighting to control my expression.

  Are you willing to yell, though, if I want you to, brother Quay?

  My pain worsened at the images Terian wove into his quiet words.

  I saw flickers of scenes, only half played out, imaginings of my face and body from Terian’s point of view. I got glimpses of the other man’s psychological wants, more subtle than the rest, until it got bad enough that I avoided looking at him altogether.

  Gods, I like it that you’re quiet… so much. You have no idea how much, brother. And that pain coming off you… it’s maddening, brother. I might have to see how far I can push that, too. Why have you deprived yourself for so long, though, I wonder?

  I closed my eyes.

  Something in that long blink intensified Terian’s pain, aiming it in my direction with an intensity that forced me to focus back on him.

  Gaos. And you blush, too, the other male murmured, his pain sharpening. Have a care, brother. I am growing quite infatuated, and I haven’t even gotten you alone yet…

  I looked away, feeling my skin flush more as I continued to glance around the mostly-bare room, trying to distract myself from another round of stares from the seers of my pod, as well as from Terian himself.

  I felt the stare of those amber irises the most, despite the fact that Terian continued his briefing to Varlan aloud, presumably for the rest of the group.

  You’re not religious, are you? Terian sent to me, softer.

  Not particularly, sir, no, I replied, fighting to listen to the words being spoken aloud and mostly failing.

  You getting over a relationship or something? Pining for lost love?

  No, sir. Not currently.

  What is it then? Tell me.

  “…around sixteen of them so far,” Terian went on in that casual voice. “It’s pretty clear they know we’ve triangulated their Barrier signatures and the main mobile construct they’re using. They’re doing their best to confuse their numbers, as well as any specific aleimic markers on individual members of their team. They have additional protective measures in place around the extraction targets… and at least one other whole unit meeting them up ahead, inside a land-locked construct we haven’t yet cracked. We are still trying to determine whether they freed more than the two seers we know about, since the count’s still off at the camp, but the pregnancy might be confusing what we’re seeing there, as well…”

  Are you going to tell me, brother? Or not?

  There’s nothing to tell, sir. Really.

  You’re just selective, then. With who you fuck. Is that it?

  Perhaps, sir. I don’t know.

  What is your criteria? Do you have a list you follow, brother? Or do you simply know them when you see them?

  I guess the latter, sir. I never thought about it like that, honestly…

  Terian glanced at me, that predatory sheen back in his eyes.

  Turning, he added aloud to the others,

  “The shield around the pregnant female appears to be the strongest,” he said. “I have a few ideas as to who that primary is. We now know with certainty the name she gave agents in California was an alias––but the identity was deep, so they’re still peeling back the cover she operated under.”

  Giving me another bare glance, he continued,

  “Her protective team clearly does not want her true ID known, either. To this end, they’ve built multiple constructs around her––and we believe around her mate––within their mobile shields. We believe those are being additionally supported from the land-locked encampments… two of them, we think… and possibly a third team operating out of Asia. I have some ID tracks as possibles that were worked up by our own people back in Berlin. I would like this unit to work on confirming a positive ID, for her at least, prior to them reaching their first land-locked construct, which is near the border…”

  He flashed maps into each of our minds, using the construct around the bunker.

  I stared at the space marked out on that map, not far from Venezuela.

  It was deep in the jungle. From what I could tell, there were no human settlements anywhere near where he was taking us.

  He glanced at me before going on in the same, patient voice.

  “…They built at least one construct here, at Guoruem, as well,” he added. “It is quite ingenious, really. All of their primary mobile constructs exist independently, of course… but one of their secondaries was built into the framework of one of ours, disguised within the actual security grid.”

  He clicked under his breath, a faint admiration touching his voice.

  “…It went totally undetected for weeks. They must have begun work on it mere days after the pregnant female was moved here, as it appears to be how they conducted most of their surveillance prior to the extraction. So even time jumps won’t be much use, unfortunately, in terms of a walk-back track through the extraction op they conducted Tuesday. The make-up and sophistication of these constructs is partly why we suspected Adhipan involvement almost from the start. Not only are they extremely well made, they contain several markers that…”

  I fought to listen, but got pulled away when Terian once more tugged at my light.

  Am I boring you, brother?

  No, sir… not at all.

  Are you busy wondering how serious I am? That amused glimmer grew more prominent in Terian’s light. I don’t want to say too much, because I’m rather enjoying watching you squirm. But I think you would be safer to assume I am. Serious, that is.

  Sir, I don’t know what––

  You know exactly what I mean.

  He paused a beat.

  His thoughts shifted, growing harder, more predatory.

  I’ve all but told you what position I want you to assume once we’re done here. The question is, how serious do you think I am? And what are you going to do, if it turns out I am not serious? What if I drag
that pretty female into my room, instead? Maybe fuck her up the ass, let you and your pod-mates watch from the Barrier?

  Those amber eyes settled on Karenti as Terian lowered the bottle.

  She seems amenable to the idea, Terian added. What do you think?

  I felt the sickness in my light worsen.

  Even so, my eyes followed Terian’s to the face and body of my pod-mate. Her dark eyes were on him, even now, her full, dark lips pursed faintly in concentration. To a causal eye, she was all work, one hundred per cent focused on the job.

  But I could feel what Terian meant by his words.

  Karenti did seem to want him.

  A lot of those in my pod seemed to want him.

  I’d seen her looking at him, along with the others.

  As far as I knew, she didn’t have a regular sexual partner right now.

  It struck me again that I was missing most of the briefing.

  Gaos, please… The plea came unthinkingly from my light. I am not you. I cannot do this right now. Wait until after, sir. Please. Can we please just speak of this after? I am having trouble following both things… at least to the attention they both deserve.

  Are you begging me, brother? Already?

  I am asking you, sir. I cannot keep up like this. I am unable to follow both things, not while your light is…

  Feeling pain sharpen in the other’s aleimi, I let my thought trail.

  Yes. Terian murmured. Very good, brother.

  The upper-tier seer’s presence surrounded me. Dense. Suffocating. He rippled heat deliberately my way; it seemed to penetrate my very bones.

  That’s a good start, brother, he sent, soft. A very good start. I’m going to want to hear a lot more of that later. A lot more… what did you call it before? Sincerity. I very much like this “sincerity” of yours. Truly, it is rare to find one of the Org so unguarded with their light and thoughts, especially when faced with their political betters.

  He looked at me directly, even as he continued speaking to Varlan.

  “…We currently have four teams watching them from the Barrier,” he said in his casual drawl. “But our highest-ranked among those won’t hold a candle to the team you have here. We aren’t really equipped for sophisticated, on-the-ground missions here. Our best people need to remain in close physical proximity to the camp itself. That’s why I asked Galaith to provide me with at least one, decently-ranked field unit…”

  …Let’s keep the female out of it for a while yet, shall we? Terian sent to me next, his mouth still moving in outside, although I could no longer hear his words. I think I want to take a test run on you, first. Unless you’re the jealous type. Are you the jealous type, brother Quay?

  Again, I answered without thinking.

  All seers are the jealous type, sir, I said.

  Terian laughed in my mind, pausing briefly to smile at me in the physical.

  True enough, he conceded. I wonder, though. Is that a warning, brother? Will you try to stab me if I want to fuck one of your friends later? After I’ve fucked you, that is…

  I didn’t try to answer him.

  Fighting to clear my head, I focused back on the room, staring around at the dozen or more folding chairs strewn haphazardly across a sea of white linoleum and scattered, puke-green carpets. My eyes paused on the yellow couch that someone had shoved against a wood-paneled wall, remembering Terian’s words about doing drugs and fucking in here.

  I would think twice before even sitting on that damned thing, much less fucking on it. It looked like it was positively crawling with insects.

  Glancing at me, Terian burst out in a real laugh.

  Flushing hotter, I clenched my jaw, looking away from him and the seers of my pod. As I tried to keep my expression blank, I felt another set of darting, liquid tendrils invade my aleimi. He examined me almost openly now, where my pod could surely see it.

  I felt my face warm even more.

  The now-familiar voice rose, pulling on me sensually.

  Gaos. You are fucking adorable… Pain rippled through him, but he didn’t pause in his examination of me with his light. What about your cock? Is it big, brother?

  Fighting not to react, I glanced around at the walls.

  It looks big, he murmured. Is it sharp, too?

  My eyes found the black, SCARB-issue rucksacks of my pod, the only modern-looking objects in the room, apart from us, and our guns. The packs took up one whole corner of the long, rectangular space; we’d left them in a haphazard heap to the right of the door. We’d propped our rifles along the wall like so many marionettes.

  When I glanced over, Terian was still staring at me, those amber eyes holding a pale curiosity as they flickered over my body. It occurred to me that the other’s light had scarcely left mine since he’d first laid eyes on me.

  Are you sure we don’t know one another? Terian asked, as he continued to speak out loud to the rest of the group.

  …You feel so familiar to me, brother. So familiar.

  “…following that, the deployment will take place first thing in the morning,” Terian went on aloud, still gripping the bottle’s neck in one hand.

  “…We cannot afford to let them get any more of a lead on us, even with my scouts monitoring their trail. I want everyone to get up to speed tonight, while you rest your bodies. At oh-three-hundred, I want to meet up here again, in this very room. After a final debrief, and a construct reweaving for the field, we’ll take one of the transport birds to a forward site, about twenty clicks from what we believe to be the current location of their primary extraction team. A more precise time for lift-off will be provided sometime in the next few hours, depending on the recommendations given by our team currently taking point in the field…”

  So you do not know me, then? Terian asked me.

  I am sure of it, sir.

  I feel certain I know you.

  You are mistaken, sir. Respectfully.

  “…in the meantime, rest and recuperate from your journey here,” Terian continued aloud. “You will only get this day and evening, my brothers and sisters. I warn you, I expect zero mistakes in the field, so use this time to memorize all the intelligence we have gathered on this group so far, and to recover your light in full, prior to being online…”

  I am never mistaken in such things, Terian told me, soft. Perhaps it was in a different life, that you and I met?

  Perhaps, sir.

  Perhaps we were lovers in that other time, as well?

  I felt my pain worsen. The other seer was actively invading my light now; he was no longer even attempting to be subtle.

  Perhaps, sir, I conceded, clearing my throat audibly outside the Barrier.

  As I sent the words, I felt Terian showing me that familiarity from behind the Barrier, and for the first time, I realized it wasn’t only flirtation, that the seer really did feel our lights knew one another, in some distant, less-obvious way.

  Terian continued to show me the subtle layers of that knowing from behind the Barrier. He pointed to the resonances patiently but insistently, clearly wanting me to feel that connection as strongly as he did.

  I understand, sir, I managed, fighting to pull my light apart from the other seer’s. Sir, please. I really cannot do this here, not unless you were serious about––

  You feel it, then? You feel what I am showing you?

  Yes, sir, I admitted, still struggling with my light.

  Are you hard yet, brother?

  I felt myself flush, but realized I was.

  Yes, sir.

  I felt Terian’s smile from behind the Barrier.

  I fought to listen to his words on the other side, knowing without asking that I’d be held accountable for every one, whatever distractions the seer threw at me in the moments he spoke them. I fought to hear with my ears at least, to memorize what was coming out of the seer’s mouth, that I might go over it all later, before I had to be accountable for any of it on the ground.

  Somehow, I suspected I wouldn’t
be getting much rest for my jet-lag.

  Nor would I have a lot of time to learn the intel Terian had just referenced.

  Again, somewhere in the background of my light, I heard Terian give a low chuckle.

  A safe supposition, my brother, he sent softly. A very safe supposition.

  Nine

  The Darkness Within

  Officer’s Quarters

  Guorum Work Camp

  Nearest city: Manaus, Brazil

  November 27, 1978

  I woke up sharply, all at once.

  Pain blinded me.

  I lay there, gasping, doing everything I could to force it back.

  Adrenaline shot through my limbs. It happened too fast for my mind to catch up. It all happened too fast; I could not pinpoint the source of my pain.

  Part of it felt like it came from the dream-space I’d just left.

  Part of it came from me, from an intense charge of want that lived in my light.

  The largest part of it came from elsewhere though––from the complex, alien heat of a foreign presence wound tightly and possessively into my aleimi.

  The combination brought up a heated, liquid flush––a concentrated dose made up of more separation pain than I’d perhaps felt in my life.

  It also sparked a fight-or-flight reaction that had my heart pounding in my throat. The feeling rose before reason could intervene; it made all my muscles tense hard enough to hurt.

  Every part of that reaction came upon me fast.

  Really damned fast.

  Yet, faster than my adrenaline could turn that impulse into action, an arm clamped around me from behind. It was not a particularly large arm, but the strength there was undeniable, forcing my light and body still. The charge of aleimic power that lived within and around that muscular limb acted even faster to compel me to obey.

  Calm, brother, a familiar voice commanded.

  It softened when it next spoke.

  That’s it… calm, it soothed. Calm, brother. Breathe.