Return to Duty

by Elizabeth Hollows

  “Trouble,” he said to Tristan, turning back the way he’d come. “Move out.”

  He threw an explosive device behind him and onto a crate. It blew up on contact and kept anyone from following him as it dispersed the supplies in a mess of metal, food and smoke. He tried to head back toward one of the hovercrafts that hadn’t yet exploded, but Jay didn’t get far before he heard footsteps and stilled. Four men turned a corner with their plasma weapons raised. They’d caught him. The one in the center had a ponytail of silver hair. It was the man who’d shot Zanik at the diner. His face was visible this time, and it was red with rage. He stepped forward, his gun never wavering from where it pointed at Jay’s head.

  “You would dare attack the Kada’rah?” he snarled.

  Jay knew there were a lot of options he could take. He could surrender, plead for his life or go down in a blaze of heroic glory. But in the end, he decided on the one that offered the best distraction. He gave a Jaybird smirk and drawled, “Well, you made it rather easy.”

  The man slammed his plasma gun against the side of Jay’s face. It snapped his head to the side and made it spin. Blood dripped down his cheek. The Kada’rah and IA communicators were grabbed and ripped from his ears. The man crushed them under his boot.

  When Jay looked back at the man, the guns of the other members were still on Jay, but the Kada’rah leader had moved his to point it at Jay’s knee.

  “You will tell us why you are here,” the man told him, “even if I have to force it from you.”

  Jay tilted his chin stubbornly and held the man’s eyes with his glare. Whatever they had in store, Jay was ready to take it—for the mission, for honor and duty and, most of all, for Tristan.

  Chapter Nine

  The Kada’rah leader sneered at Jay’s defiance. This man would follow through on his threats. The Kada’rah weren’t afraid of torture. All they cared about was information and their reputation. This attack would be seen as a weakness and they would need to make an example of someone. He’d have to grit his teeth through the pain and find a way to escape—or hope someone would rescue him.

  Jay didn’t expect help in the form of an explosion. It struck another part of the compound and made the ground shake. The Kada’rah looked in the direction it had come from. That was a rookie mistake and they should have known better. Jay didn’t waste his chance. He struck at the leader’s gun, forcing it away from his body and punching the man in the face. He used the man’s disorientation to spin him and put the leader in a chokehold. It forced the guy’s back to Jay’s front, turning him into a shield.

  The leader struggled and clawed at Jay’s arm, but Jay held him firm while edging them backward and away from the three guns still pointed their way. Jay didn’t know how far he could get or if the criminals would still shoot him through their leader, but before he’d taken more than a few steps, plasma gunfire took out the Kada’rah.

  “I left you alone for five minutes,” Tristan said.

  His unimpressed, exasperated tone made Jay smile

  “I think it was longer than that,” Jay grunted, still fighting to maintain his hold on the Kada’rah member.

  “Release him,” Tristan ordered.

  Jay didn’t hesitate. Tristan shot him with a stunner the moment Jay was out of range. The Kada’rah crumpled to the ground. Jay’s smile grew and he turned to look at Tristan. The agent had discarded his poncho and had three weapons on him. Worry passed through Tristan’s eyes as he searched Jay for injury. His eyes lingered on the wound on Jay’s face.

  God, Tristan was a sight for sore eyes. He was gorgeous and deadly with a hint of concern, even as he held his ground protecting Jay’s flank. Jay wanted to kiss him—to hell with the battlefield and the danger—but they weren’t alone.

  Zanik came from behind Tristan. He looked worse for wear. The Qui’s clothes hadn’t changed since the kidnapping and his red hair was dirty and drooping around his face. He looked like any prisoner Jay had rescued, only he wasn’t timid. He was snarling at the fallen Kada’rah, his sharp teeth bared. Zanik had a plasma gun in his hand and he looked ready to kick or shoot the bodies on the ground.

  “I will find more,” Zanik said, full of rage.

  He went to walk away, but Tristan’s words stopped him. “Don’t bother. There won’t be many to find.”

  Tristan’s attention was on a device in his hands but he soon glanced to the sky. Jay did the same and saw a shimmer as the cloaking field was disengaged. An IA craft appeared overhead and IA agents leaped from it in jump-armor, dropping from the craft to glide to a quick landing on the ground. The moment they were on their feet, the agents had their weapons raised. They were a black wave rushing over the compound. The sounds of plasma shots and the orders for people to ‘get down on the ground’ flooded the area.

  The three of them were located within a minute, but it wasn’t by IA. A group of four Qui surrounded them. They were decorated in the purple-and-orange swirls worn by the Taziv family. They were the family’s personal guards. They surrounded Zanik while a guard spoke to him in hushed, worried tones. Five IA agents were only a few seconds behind them. One bent down to check on the fallen Kada’rah soldiers, three remained on the alert and the leader greeted Tristan with a salute.

  He started a rapid conversation about what information was in the base, how many Kada’rah remained and what their next task would be. It was standard procedure and there was no reason for Tristan to hesitate, yet he still spared Jay a glance before falling into step with the other agent. He would be re-entering the Kada’rah compound to help strip it of information and technology.

  Jay was left behind, feeling out of place and unsure about how to proceed. If it had been a UCAFD mission, he would know the steps. He’d be checking on his team, securing the hostages and prisoners and confirming their extraction was going according to plan. But with IA he had nothing to do. His role in the mission was over and the IA agents wouldn’t want him sticking his nose in where it didn’t belong.

  Movement to his right brought Jay from his thoughts. Zanik and his bodyguards were coming over to him. Jay was wary, but Zanik looked curious, not hostile.

  “I am told that you have helped me by choice, not by order.”

  It wasn’t an exact truth, but it was close enough.

  “Yeah,” Jay said.

  Zanik grinned at him. His sharp teeth could look dangerous to anyone unfamiliar with his race, but Jay knew enough to recognize the expression of pleasure and gratitude. Zanik placed a hand to his chest in a gesture of respect. “Then I am indebted to you.”

  Jay opened his mouth to protest but stopped. He wasn’t a soldier anymore, and when he’d first agreed to this mission, he’d planned to utilize any favors or gratitude the Taziv family would throw his way.

  Now, he wasn’t so sure. Did he really want to get a few perks for doing the right thing? He’d saved Zanik because it cleaned his slate, but how could he have refused? The UCAFD had trained him how to help people, but he’d wanted to save lives since he was a child. There was no reason to take advantage of Zanik. He wasn’t Jaybird anymore. The mission had changed things for him. Tristan had changed things for him. Their time together might come to nothing, but Jay was going to make better choices with his life. Zanik didn’t owe him anything. Yet, before he could express that, an IA agent appeared.

  “The ship is awaiting your arrival.”

  It was a command, not a request. Jay nodded and followed the man. Zanik and his bodyguards did the same.

  Walking out from behind the crates, Jay got his first good look at the destruction they’d wrought on the compound. There were flaming wrecks where the explosions had detonated, while debris and spilled supplies covered the ground. Twenty Kada’rah were kneeling in the center of the courtyard with their hands tied behind their backs as IA agents stood guard. Jay could just make out Tristan talking with a group of agents by the doors to the compound. He was in his element—a confident commander giving orders that would be immed
iately obeyed. Jay forced himself to look away.

  They were led out of the compound to where one of the IA ships had landed on the sand. The door to the craft was open, with two IA agents guarding it. Jay, Zanik and the Taziv guards stepped inside. The ship was a standard transport vessel filled with enough seats for the soldiers to rest but little room outside of the waiting bay and the cockpit. Jay took a seat without preamble, happy for a place to relax. An onboard medic noticed him and started examining the wound to his head. Jay let it happen. He knew how stubborn military doctors and nurses were. His wound was cleaned and healed by the time more IA agents were climbing on board. Tristan was with them. His gaze found Jay’s but he was soon forced to look away. Jay averted his eyes as well, focusing on the entrance to the craft and the limited view he had of the compound. He thanked the medics when they finished and they left him alone.

  Jay tried to ignore Tristan, but despite his best efforts, his attention kept flicking to the agent. He could hear snippets of conversation and the passing of orders. A few words caught his attention more than all the others, the timing for when the IA craft had revealed itself. It might have been a coincidence that Tristan was close enough to help him when he needed it. Maybe Tristan hadn’t been able to escape with Zanik and needed the support—but Jay wasn’t so sure. Tristan had stayed at the compound and had called for backup instead of leaving, and Jay wanted to know why.

  Jay waited until the ship was in the air to ask Tristan. Everyone was sitting or gripping a handhold, but Tristan had detached himself from his entourage of agents and stood in a corner. His eyes flicked to Jay in obvious invitation and Jay stood and joined him, leaning against the wall beside the agent. They were close enough to show familiarity with each other, but nothing to hint at the depth of their intimacy.

  “Everything running smoothly?” Jay inquired.

  His gaze swept over the surrounding people, but no one paid any attention to them—or if they did, the agents were good at hiding it.

  “Yes,” Tristan agreed. “IA will strip the base of anything useful and the Kada’rah prisoners will be handed to the local authorities.” He paused. “I’ve also informed the task leader of the oasis and the Kada’rah we captured.”

  Jay nodded but didn’t immediately reply. He should care about the success of the mission and the capture of Kada’rah forces, but something else was on his mind. In a few hours, IA would have no further use for him. They would send Jay to a debriefing and he and Tristan would go their separate ways. Agents surrounded them, but this was still the best sliver of privacy they would get. If Jay never saw Tristan again, then he needed to know one thing. He lowered his voice, hoping to keep any eavesdropping agents from hearing them.

  “Did you wait to call IA until you found me?”

  “You said you were in trouble.”

  “It should have prompted you to get out of there,” Jay replied. “You should have told IA and run.”

  Looking for me could have put the mission in jeopardy, Jay thought but didn’t say.

  “No,” Tristan said, his tone firm. “Calling in IA would have added further chaos and invoked the Kada’rah’s fury. It would have ended in your kidnap or death.”

  Jay swallowed. It had been a fear of his from the start. If the Kada’rah had been ambushed, they would have fled into the tunnels, taking Zanik with them. But it wasn’t Zanik that Tristan had been worried about. Jay could hear it in his tone and see it in his face, the sincerity masking genuine fear. Tristan had been scared for Jay’s safety. It wasn’t the bond of soldiers. It was attachment and affection.

  “Your mission was to make sure Zanik was secure,” Jay whispered, his voice too soft. “I was meant to be secondary.”

  Tristan’s eyes were turbulent with emotion and he shifted just enough to brush their shoulders together.

  “I wouldn’t put you second, Jay,” Tristan confessed, his words barely audible but no less powerful.

  Jay wanted to kiss him. The urge was so fierce that he started to lean forward, but Tristan tensed and Jay stopped. Tristan flicked his eyes to the side and Jay followed, looking at the agents. IA wouldn’t remain oblivious to their relationship if they kissed in the middle of the craft.

  Clenching his jaw, Jay shifted back to his former position. The air hung heavy with words left unsaid and feelings they couldn’t admit. But before they could try to say anything else, someone was calling for Tristan.

  They looked at the man who was beckoning Tristan to join him. Their moment was broken. They pulled away from each other as any remaining chance to confess disappeared. Jay pushed off the wall and gave Tristan a rueful, resigned smile. He followed it with a nod of farewell.

  “Agent Fox,” he said, adopting the formalities from before the mission.

  He started to turn, but Tristan’s fingers curled around his wrist. Jay startled at the touch and looked back.

  “The common room of the ship is full of people,” Tristan said, his voice fast but firm. “I always stop by after mission debriefings.”

  Jay was surprised. He’d thought Tristan wouldn’t want anything more to do with him. Yet Tristan seemed hopeful. His thumb even brushed the skin of Jay’s wrist suggestively before he let go and walked away. Jay stared after him as the man slid back into the role of Agent Fox—his face clear of all emotions, his shoulders stiff and his eyes sharp. He was every inch the professional agent—yet it was all a façade for his colleagues. He’d just invited Jay, a known thief, to linger on his government ship. Why would he do that? They’d said everything they had to say, unless he wanted to give them one final night together.

  And what about after that? Jay wondered.

  Jay dragged his eyes from Tristan and took a seat once more. He didn’t look at anyone else. He focused on his hands that he clasped between his legs.

  If he took Tristan up on his offer, would it be even harder to walk away? Would he barely get his clothes on before IA was knocking on the door and kicking him back down to Asam to collect his ship? Was it really worth one last hurrah?

  No, spending another night with Tristan would only delay the inevitable and make the pain of separation worse.

  So why, then, was he considering it?

  * * * *

  No one approached Jay or spoke to him as the ship made its way out of Asam’s atmosphere and reached the IA ship orbiting above the planet. Zanik kept staring at him, but Jay did his best to avoid the Qui’s eyes. When they landed in the docking bay and the doors opened, Tristan was one of the first to step out. Jay trailed after everyone but was immediately stopped by a new agent.

  “If you’ll come with me, sir,” she requested.

  At least they were more welcoming this time.

  He was taken to the same room as last time, where the same man was waiting. The agent held out his hand and Jay shook it.

  “Good to see you back in one piece,” the man said before gesturing at the chair. “Let’s get down to it, Major.”

  Jay took the seat as the man fired up a datascreen. The debriefing was short, to the point and involved signing five confidentiality documents and a letter that retired him from military service. The agent was polite, but he was still rushing him through every procedure needed to sever their connection. He should be jumping for joy, but the whole process made him feel unwanted, like dirt scraped off the bottom of a boot.

  It took just over an hour, but when Jay walked out of the room, he had a clean slate. He was no longer a soldier or a criminal. He was free.

  So why don’t I feel excited?

  The man shook his hand and gave Jay the name of an agent who would take him down to Asam. He wasn’t being ordered to leave, but they obviously thought he would be keen to go.

  Jay knew it was a stupid decision, but he asked to be taken to the common room. It was a short walk to reach it. The space was almost as large as the mess hall and filled with off-duty IA soldiers. Jay’s escort motioned to a perky redhead. “She will take you to Asam.”

 
Jay thanked and dismissed the agent but didn’t enter the room. Freedom was at his fingertips, but Jay hesitated in the doorway. He searched for familiar, slicked-back hair, but Tristan was nowhere to be found. Jay tried not to feel disappointed.

  The agents in the room were eyeing him curiously. They murmured to each other and Jay wondered if it was derogatory. They wouldn’t want a former thief here. Normally, it wouldn’t have bothered him. He would have walked in smirking and daring them to say something to his face, but now Jay thought about Tristan. He would be under investigation for Zanik’s kidnapping and it wouldn’t surprise Jay if people started questioning their relationship. His clean slate aside, Jay knew his time as a thief was a black mark against him. Jay didn’t want his association to taint Tristan’s promotion prospects.

  If an agent saw them spending the night together, it would raise questions about their conduct during the mission. If Tristan’s commanders knew they had slept together at the oasis, things could go badly for Tristan. He didn’t want to be a cause of regret.

  “Heath Chapman.”

  Jay turned to find Zanik approaching. The Qui’s guards continued to flank him, but Zanik had showered and changed. He looked more like a confident party-goer than a rescued prisoner.

  “I go by Jay,” he corrected the Qui.

  Zanik seemed puzzled before his eyes cleared. “Ah. Heath Jaycen Chapman.”

  Jay couldn’t believe it. Does everyone have a copy of my service record?

  “Jaycen Jaybird,” Zanik continued, and Jay’s mouth twitched at the new name. Quis were notoriously formal during first meetings. “I wish to offer transport to the Taziv home on the moon Scillakor. I wish to offer the gratitude of my family and to invite you to the celebration held for my return.” He smiled. “My father desires to meet you.”

  His words wiped the smile from Jay’s face. The Taziv were rich and powerful. They didn’t invite lowly thieves to associate with them. In this part of the galaxy, an invitation like that was not unlike being asked to dine with royalty. It was an offer no one would be stupid enough to refuse—but Jay still could, if he wanted to. He could tell Zanik wouldn’t be offended if he said he had things he needed to do on the IA ship.