Hitting the Target

by Evangeline Anderson

  “She told me that her parents were taken by The EYE,” Trey said slowly. “And that she was raised by her mother’s mother—her ‘Neemah’ I believe she called her.”

  “Do you know if she’s still alive?” Teela asked.

  “Well…yes, I think so. Mia talked about her as though she was still alive, anyway.”

  “That’s who the Commandant is threatening, then.” Teela spoke the name as though it tasted bad in her mouth. “That’s how he works—he finds your weak point and presses it until you knuckle under and do what he wants.”

  Trey frowned. “So you’re saying Mia was an unwilling spy?”

  “That’s my impression from the Commandant’s message.” Teela nodded.

  “That’s what it looked like to me too,” Lydiah said.

  “So she didn’t want to poison me,” Trey said slowly. “But I found an empty green capsule like the one he described by the side of the bed. Look.”

  He looked around and found the small bag he’d put the empty capsule in on the counter. He had put it away from him while Lydiah used the poison checker so as not to cause a false positive.

  Lydiah picked up the wand again and waved it over the empty green pill. Immediately the checker went crazy, its dials spinning and the red and yellow lights on its indicator flashing.

  “That looks like poison all right,” she said dryly, putting the wand down.

  “But it’s empty,” Teela remarked, peering at the open capsule in Trey’s hand. “Where did the poison microgranules the Commandant talked about go?”

  Trey shrugged. “Maybe she dumped them out by the side of the bed?”

  “If so, she’s going to be in a lot of trouble when the Commandant gets hold of her,” Teela said grimly. “He was very explicit about what he wanted her to do to you and he’s not a forgiving man when his orders aren’t followed.”

  Trey felt his heart clench in his chest. He remembered the night before when he’d held Mia close and comforted her. She’d been so upset and had told him for the first time that she loved him. Her words echoed in his head…

  “I love you, Trey. I’ll always love you—please believe me.”

  As though she was trying to reassure me or begging me to understand, Trey thought. She must have known I would find out she was a spy—she was asking for forgiveness, I just didn’t understand her.

  Poor little female! And now she was in the hands of the Commandant who, according to Teela, would probably have her tortured or worse when he found out she hadn’t followed through on the mission he had sent her to do.

  His beast grasped the implications of this at the same time.

  “MIA!” he howled in Trey’s head. “We have to get to her—have to save her!”

  “Trey, what is it?” Lydiah’s face was concerned. “You look awful.”

  “I have to get to her.” He looked up at her, his hands clenched at his sides. “I was so upset with her—I felt so betrayed. But now I understand she couldn’t help herself—the Commandant probably forced her to spy on me. And when he finds out she didn’t poison me as he ordered…” But he couldn’t go on. All he knew was that he had to get to Mia as soon as possible…before it was too late.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you—The EYE’s headquarters is in the center of the city but it’s huge, so you’ll have to search for her,” Teela was saying as Trey prepared to take off.

  “I’ll find her,” he said, knowing it was true. Now that his beast had come out to meet her, they had at least a quasi-bond to Mia. Not useful for communication but tracking was another story. If they were in any proximity to Mia at all, his beast would be able to lead him to her.

  “If the Commandant thinks she carried out her mission, she’ll probably be in his office on the sixth floor,” Teela said. “But if he finds out she didn’t follow orders, well…” She shivered. “Then you’d find her in the basement.”

  “I take it the basement is a place you don’t want to go,” Trey said grimly.

  “It’s where The EYE does their dirty work—torture,” Teela whispered. Her face was still pale and her hands shook but she was doing her best to give him coordinates for his trip over the Great Barrier.

  Both she and Lydiah thought it was a suicide mission—even with his superior Kindred weapons and the stealth tech on his air craft. But since Trey was determined to go, they were helping him all they could.

  “Can’t you hurry?” his beast demanded, breaking his train of thought. “We need to go find Mia before it’s too late! If that male in the message hurts her…”

  He sent a mental image of himself ripping out the Commandant’s throat. Trey heartily agreed with that sentiment. The things Teela had said about the way the Commandant had raped her and hurt her until she just wanted to die made him feel sick. He remembered how Mia had admitted someone had tried to rape her but had been stopped at the last minute. Was that the “unfinished business” the Commandant talked about in his message? He acknowledged grimly that it seemed likely that it was. But if that son of a bitch had laid a single finger on her…

  “Kill him.”

  “What?” It took him a moment to realize that the words had come from outside his head. Looking up, he saw Teela’s white, pinched face. She had come with him out to his air craft, talking rapidly, giving him directions and coordinates but now she just stood there, hands clenched into fists.

  “I said kill him if you can,” she repeated. “For everything he did to me and all the other women he’s had and tortured and hurt. He deserves to die a thousand times over. So if you can—kill him for me.”

  “You can count on it,” Trey said grimly. He finished punching the coordinates she’d given him into the nav-com of his ship. “I need to go now. Thank you so much for your help. You too, Lydiah.”

  “Just be careful, Trey.” The other female looked concerned. “The Barrier is no joke. And taking on the entire EYE by yourself…it’s crazy. You know that, right? Are you sure you won’t wait and get some more people together?”

  “Can’t wait,” Trey said grimly. “I have to go now.”

  “We understand,” Teela said, stepping back from the air craft and drawing Lydiah along with her. “I just hope…” she bit her lip. “I just hope you get to Mia in time, Trey. Before…before the Commandant does to her what he did to me.”

  “I hope so too,” Trey said and added mentally, I have to as he shut the door of the little ship and activated the stealth tech so that it shimmered and seemed to fade from sight to outside eyes.

  “We will find her. We will save her!” his beast growled. “We love her—she is ours, not his. We will kill him and bring Mia back.”

  That was exactly what he planned to do but Trey couldn’t help sending up a prayer to the Goddess as the little ship launched into the air and turned towards the North.

  Please let me find her before he hurts her! Please let me keep her safe!

  Suddenly it felt as though a warm comforting hand settled itself on his shoulder and a strong, feminine voice murmured in his ear,

  “Be strong, warrior. You will find her. But as you search, remember that I have brought you here for a reason greater than both yourself and Mia.”

  Trey was startled—he hadn’t expected to actually hear an answer to his prayer. At first, he wasn’t quite sure what was going on.

  But his beast knew at once.

  “Goddess!” his other half exclaimed. “We are going to rescue Mia—the female you sent to us!”

  “I know, my dear. I will be watching over you.”

  Was there a slight tinge of amusement in the strong, feminine voice? Trey suddenly had a mental image of a slender, glowing female hand stroking his other half’s mane as his beast rubbed against her, voicing his rusty, rumbling purr. Then the image faded and the warm, feminine presence which had accompanied the voice was gone.

  Despite the urgency of the situation, he couldn’t help feeling a glow and his courage and d
etermination surged.

  We’re going to find Mia! The Goddess herself is on our side—who can stand against us?

  But he wondered what she had meant when she’d said she was sending him for a “greater purpose” than finding Mia. What else was he supposed to do while he was in the People’s Republic?

  Trey didn’t know but he supposed he would find out.

  Chapter Twenty

  “Ah—so I see you’ve had a chance to clean up after your journey.”

  The Commandant rubbed his hands together as he eyed her—like a man eyeing a particularly juicy steak, Mia thought bleakly. And she, of course, was the steak in question.

  Actually the “clean up” he was talking about had been administered during the decontamination routine that was apparently required of any VAR who came across the Great Barrier from the South.

  Mia had been thoroughly searched for any weapons or contraband she might have tried to smuggle in then she had been shoved into a stinging chemical shower by a thin-lipped, beady-eyed female detention officer who turned a deaf ear to Mia’s pleas to be let out because the decontaminating fluids were stinging her eyes and throat. Mechanical arms had come out of the shower walls and scrubbed her with what felt like steel-bristled brushes until her skin was red and raw all over.

  Finally, she had been allowed to dry herself with a thin, scratchy towel and had been given a gray gown that looked more like a prison uniform than anything else to wear. Now she was back in the Commandant’s office with its plush rug and the golden light of the brass lamp with her hair long and damp around her shoulders.

  All-in-all, it had been a miserable experience. And yet, Mia had a sinking feeling that what followed with the Commandant was going to be worse—much worse. She couldn’t tell if the sick, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach was caused by the dread she felt about what was certainly coming next or the poison she had inhaled.

  Speaking of the poison, that was the Commandant’s next topic.

  “I have to congratulate you on a job well done,” he continued smugly. “We received the signal from the micro-transmitters early this morning before dawn. The implantation must be a good one because the signal is unusually strong.”

  Mia thought the signal was probably strong because it was coming from her—right here in The EYE’s headquarters. But of course she didn’t say so.

  “What…what will happen to Trey—to the Kindred—now?” she asked instead. “I mean…” she swallowed hard. “What will the effects of the poison be? Will it be…painful?”

  “Still worried about him, are you? Perhaps you think you’re in love with him?” the Commandant sneered. “Don’t worry, my dear—the poison isn’t painful in the least. But it is very, very deadly. It’s a new kind I helped develop myself—a desensitizer.”

  “A what?” Mia frowned. She supposed it was probably morbid to want to know all the details of the substance that was going to kill her, but she couldn’t help herself—as a healer’s aide, she wanted to know about the chemical she had put in her body and what it would do to her.

  I want to know what to expect, she thought, and her stomach felt cold.

  “A desensitizer is a new kind of poison that acts so gradually the person who has been poisoned barely notices,” the Commandant lectured, clearly enjoying himself. “It dulls the senses first—the sense of smell and taste are the first to go…then the nerves of the skin, so that it’s difficult to feel much of anything. Eventually the effects extend to the internal organs and of course, if your heart can’t receive the nervous impulses of your brain, telling it to beat, well then…it just stops. Everything stops.”

  “That’s awful,” Mia whispered, feeling sick.

  “But perfect and untraceable!” He laughed. “Essentially it’s like wrapping the victim very gradually in layer after layer of web-spinner silk. The layers are so thin, you barely feel them at first, but so strong by the time you notice that you can never break free. The result is that the victim simply stops breathing one day and no one knows why.”

  Mia wondered if she would waste away, gradually losing her senses until one day her heart just stopped. By that time would she even care any more when she took her last breath? She cared very much right now—she still somehow wanted to live, despite knowing it was impossible. But that feeling might fade along with her senses until she didn’t care if she lived or died.

  “So…since I did what you wanted, can I go back home to my grandmother now?” she asked, lifting her chin. If she didn’t have much time left, she wanted to spend it with one of the people she cared for most in the world. Of course she loved Trey too but she was under no illusions—she would never see the big Kindred again.

  The Commandant smiled and moved around the desk to face her.

  “Oh, I don’t think you should go just yet, Mia. Don’t you remember our unfinished business?” He reached out and captured a long strand of her hair, still damp from the shower she’d endured, but Mia pulled away from his touch.

  “I did everything you asked, now let me go home,” she said sharply.

  She expected the Commandant to be angry or shout at her but instead, he only smiled—that smug smile of his that curved the corners of his liver-colored lips but never reached his shiny black eyes.

  “Now, Mia my dear—don’t deny me a taste of what you’ve been giving that big Kindred,” he murmured.

  Mia felt her cheeks get hot, but she refused to let her confusion and embarrassment show. She lifted her chin.

  “Everything I did was on your orders. And anyway, I never really seduced him. We never…went that far.”

  “Oh, no?” The Commandant snapped his fingers and at once the glow of the brass lamp was extinguished and a vid began playing on the opposite wall which served as a screen.

  On it, Mia saw to her horror, was a view of Trey’s living area. She herself was sitting on the couch—or rather lying on it—because the big Kindred was between her thighs, lapping her open pussy enthusiastically.

  “Now that looks like seduction to me,” the Commandant remarked. “Although I don’t recall telling you to let him lick your filthy female parts. Disgusting.” His voice was rigidly disapproving.

  “How…how could you…?” Mia could hardly get the words out. “This wasn’t taken by my Mercy Star pin—it’s the wrong angle! And anyway, I wasn’t wearing it that night,” she finally blurted.

  The Commandant raised his eyebrow expressively. “Now, Mia—did you think we’d send you into enemy territory with just one or two recording devices?” He snorted. “It’s a good thing we didn’t since the first thing you did was lose the one in your bag.”

  “The bag was stolen at the transport station where your agent left me with no clue of what to do,” Mia exclaimed. “It wasn’t my fault.”

  “Yes, well—apparently nothing is your fault—including this disgusting display.” He indicated the scene of Trey tasting her which seemed to go on and on and on. “In case you’re wondering, there were micro-recorders in the fabric of your dress. The minute you went into enemy territory, they dispersed throughout the Kindred’s residence and began to record and transmit everything.”

  Mia felt sick. What else had the tiny spy devices she had unwittingly carried into Trey’s ship sent back to the Commandant? Had they shown all the times she’d scrolled through porn when she thought no one was looking? Had they sent back images of her cuddling with Trey and telling him she loved him—crying in his arms and taking comfort from his strength?

  And worst of all, had they seen the fact that she had poisoned herself instead of the big Kindred? Would they send someone else after him to finish the job now that they knew he wasn’t going to die? Or did they know it? She had, after all, been sitting in a mostly darkened bedroom when she inhaled the poison. How much had the spy devices seen and sent back?

  They must not have seen me inhale the poison or the Commandant wouldn’t have extracted me, would he? But what if he brought me back anyway to punish and
torture me for deliberately failing my mission and he’s just toying with me now? What if he has Neemah in the basement right now, torturing her?

  Mia shifted restlessly in her chair. The uncertainty was pure agony! But there was no way to find out how much the Commandant really knew—how much he had seen—without giving herself away. What was she going to do?

  “Now, my dear,” the Commandant said, leaning forward to cup her face in one hand. Mia tried to draw away, but his fingers tightened like a vice, tangling in her hair and biting into her flesh, making her gasp in pain.

  “Please,” she moaned. “Please, I did what you asked. Can’t you just leave me alone?”

  “Not until I get what I want.” The Commandant’s black eyes flashed cruelly. “Now, we’re going to play a little game my dear—pretty much the opposite of the one you’re playing with that big Kindred there.” He nodded at the vid which was still playing, still showing Trey between her thighs loving her, tasting her.

  “A…a game?” Mia asked, not sure what he wanted.

  “Yes, a little game.” He grinned evilly at her. “It’s called, let’s see how far I can shove my cock down your pretty throat.” With the hand not holding her face, he reached for the fly of his trousers and opened it. Reaching inside, he drew out a short, stubby-looking member framed by an enormous cloud of wiry black hair. An odor like ripe cheese and dirty socks emanated from it, turning Mia’s stomach.

  She wanted to gag. Wanted to scream for him to get his disgusting member away from her. But the Commandant held all the cards—he had the power here and they both knew it.

  “Open wide, Mia dear,” the Commandant snarled. His hand tightened in her hair and he pulled her face towards his cock. “Just think of your dear old Neemah. You wouldn’t want her to be hurt because you refused to be accommodating, now would you?”

  Suddenly the door of the Commandant’s office crashed open and a familiar deep voice spoke.