As they approached the towers, Carl frowned. It had been almost a year since he last visited the towers. Surprisingly enough, he realized he didn’t miss it. He understood why many traders ended up extending their contracts and staying in the field longer. There was something about being on the surface and working daily with your crew that ended up making it feel more like home than anywhere else.
As they pulled up to the towers, Xantham whistled and said into the headset, “Damn. I never thought I’d see these towers this close.”
Carl chuckled and replied, “Wait until you see the inside.”
They climbed off their speeders and entered in the lower level entrance area where they were met by an elderly blonde woman with a stern expression.
She pointed to the panel on the wall. “Identify yourselves.”
Carl pulled off his helmet and hung it up on the rack. He pressed his hand against the panel and spoke his name in a clear voice.
The woman glanced at the tablet she was carrying. “You’re early, Trader Carl Grayson. We weren’t expecting you for another day. Welcome back to OmniLab Towers.”
Carl motioned for everyone else to do the same. They each checked in one by one. Once they identified themselves, the woman said, “Traders don’t usually bring so many of their crew members to the towers. Is there a problem?”
Carl gave her his most disarming smile. If they were turned away now, there was little he could do about it. “We need to pick up some supplies. I’ll need their help to bring the items back. Veridian Levanthe is a close friend of Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein. He intends to visit her while he’s here.”
The woman eyed Veridian speculatively and didn't appear impressed. “We haven't received a notification from the Inner Circle about any guests. I’m sorry, but without authorization, access to their tower is denied.”
He'd expected as much. “That’s fine. We’ll contact her directly after our other business is concluded.”
The woman hesitated and then nodded.
Carl headed out of the entrance area and into the main tower. Xantham and Cruncher looked around in amazement as Carl led them to an elevator. They stepped inside and it shot upward.
“Where are we going?” Veridian asked. “This isn’t the same elevator Kayla and I took yesterday.”
“We’re going to my family’s quarters. Notification of our arrival has already reached the Inner Circle and High Council. I’m guessing someone will contact us fairly soon to find out why we’re here.”
The elevator stopped and they stepped out. Carl led them down a long hallway and stopped at a door. He pressed his thumb against the panel and it slid open.
He looked around the familiar room and called out, “Hello?”
“Oh my word! Is that you, Carl?” a woman’s voice answered. He couldn't help but smile when his mother emerged from another room and she saw him. She was tall and slender with light streaks of gray in her dark hair. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and her brown eyes twinkled.
“Carl!” she exclaimed. She rushed up to him and gave him a hug.
He kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, Mom. I’m here for the trader’s meeting. I’ve brought some of my crew with me.”
She stepped back, ran her hand over her hair, and chided, “Shame on you, Carl. You didn’t tell me you were coming today and you brought all these handsome men with you. What are you thinking?”
Carl laughed. “You’re beautiful, Mother. I’d like you to meet Xantham, our communications expert, Veridian, our newest recruit, and Cruncher, our amazing tech and former scavenger.”
“I’m so glad to meet all of you. Please, call me Rina. If there’s anything I can get for you while you’re here, let me know.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Rina,” Cruncher said, and kissed her hand.
She blushed. “Oh, I like your friends, Carl.”
Veridian gave her a polite smile. Xantham piped up. “Thanks, Rina. Maybe while we’re here, you can tell us all the embarrassing stories about your son?”
Carl gave Xantham a dark look. “Don’t count on it.”
Rina laughed in delight. “Well, come on in. Carl, you can stay in your room. We’ll get your friends set up in some of the other guest rooms.”
Carl followed his mother down the hall and asked, “Where’s Dad?”
“Oh, he’s over at the school. He can’t seem to stay away. Seems like he’s constantly taking on new students.”
Carl nodded. His father was a scientist and professor at the school. Learning was his passion and even when home, he was usually engrossed in some sort of project.
“Here we go.” Rina opened one of the doors. “Maybe two of you can share a room, if you don’t mind. We’re a little low on space right now. Your father's projects are scattered all over.”
“That’s fine,” Carl replied. “Xantham and Veridian, do you mind staying together?”
Xantham chuckled. “Works for me. Cruncher snores.”
Cruncher scowled and made a move to swat him, but he quickly ducked away.
Rina smiled at them. A strange chime sounded at the door and she faltered. Her eyes grew large and she turned to Carl.
“Someone from the Inner Circle is here? What’s going on?”
“I’ll handle this, Mom,” Carl replied, returning to the entrance. He opened the door to see Alec and Director Borshin.
“Master Veritan, Director Borshin,” Carl greeted them and invited them inside. “I was wondering if a representative from the Inner Circle would be showing up. I wasn’t expecting anyone quite so quickly or so notable though.”
Alec entered and looked around the room at Carl’s crew. When he spotted Veridian, his eyes narrowed. “I received a report you had arrived early and brought unexpected guests, Trader Carl. Is there a problem?”
Carl kept his tone casual, not wanting to confirm his real reasons for arriving early. “Not at all. I have some inventory to pick up and Veridian was having second thoughts about leaving Kayla. I thought it might be a good idea to come a little early to check in on her and see how she’s doing.”
“Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein is no longer your concern,” Alec replied coldly. “I’ll let her know you asked after her. She may contact you if she wishes.”
Carl frowned. “That doesn’t sound like Kayla. She wouldn’t have cut Veridian off like that. What’s going on?”
“You overstep yourself, Trader Carl Grayson. As a courtesy, I have tolerated your questions, but that ends now. You are free to remain here and conduct your trader business. But after the appointment of the new trader within the next two days, you are to leave and return to the surface to fulfill the terms of your contract. I suggest you focus only on your trader business while you’re in the towers or we may find ourselves looking for someone to replace you too.”
“I see.”
Alec nodded, seeming to be satisfied he'd made his point. He turned and left with Director Borshin following him.
When the door closed, Rina stepped forward. “Carl? What’s going on? That wasn’t just anyone from the Inner Circle. That was Alec Veritan. He’s to be appointed to the High Council any day now.”
“Politics,” he muttered in disgust. He was beginning to think Kayla had a point in not trusting OmniLab. He'd originally hoped to join the political arena to make some changes, but if the corruption went as high as he feared, he wasn't sure what he could do. At the very least, Alec Veritan's presence confirmed the High Council's knowledge of Kayla being held against her will. He turned to his mother. “I think it would be best if you knew as little as possible.”
She frowned. “All right. But you’re going to have to explain how you know Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein. The entire tower has been talking about her return and how she was living on the surface all these years.”
“Up until yesterday, she was living in your son’s camp and working as a scavenger for him,” Cruncher volunteered with a chuckle.
Rina gasped, her eyes lighting up at the g
ossip. “She worked for you? What’s she like?”
Carl ran his hands over his face. “Yeah. She was only a member of my crew for a few days. But she’s been a pain in the ass since I first met her.”
“Carl!” Rina exclaimed in shock.
Xantham laughed. “It’s true. If you meet her, you’ll understand. But she’s wicked good at what she does. She’s got some crazy skills.”
Veridian nodded. “Yeah. Kayla tends to get into more trouble than anyone else I’ve ever known.”
Rina looked at her son with a knowing expression. “Trouble, huh? Is she pretty too?”
Xantham grinned. “She’s got to be the finest looking ruin rat I’ve ever seen.”
Carl gave Xantham a warning look. “She’s not a ruin rat anymore. Be careful what you say about her. If anyone in the Inner Circle or High Council hears you, it won’t end well.”
Xantham made a face and Veridian asked, “What happens now? How can we find her?”
Carl turned to Rina. “Mom, do you mind giving us a bit of privacy? I don’t want you involved in this.”
She hesitated but agreed. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Carl. Be careful.”
After his mother left the room, Carl turned back to Veridian. “Do you know how to get to Kayla’s family quarters?”
“Yeah, but we have to take that big elevator up.”
Carl looked at Xantham and instructed, “Run through our system coms over the past few days. When Alec Veritan was in our camp, he used an override code to get into Kayla’s file. I’m hoping he hasn’t changed it yet.”
Xantham pulled out his comlink and started working on Carl’s request. Carl turned to Cruncher and asked, “Do you think there’s a way you can get into the OmniLab system and find out if they’re holding Kayla somewhere?”
“I can try to have a look. I’m sure they have all sorts of safeguards in place though. I’m good, but I’m not an expert. Kayla would be better at this.”
“Do what you can but don’t get caught. Kayla’s got to have access to a computer if she sent me that message. Maybe she’ll reach out to us again.”
Xantham looked up from his screen. “I’ve got it, Boss. I have the voice recording.”
“Okay,” Carl said and took a deep breath. Once they did this, there was no going back. “Cruncher, stay here and work on locating Kayla. Xantham and Veridian, let’s go pretend to be a member of the Inner Circle.”
* * * *
“Luckily, this is a quiet time of day. We're not as likely to be noticed. They have surveillance, but as long as we get in to see Kayla’s mother before they notice us, we should be fine.”
They stepped into the priority elevator and Carl motioned for Xantham to use the override code. He plugged in the code and crossed his fingers. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief when a computerized voice said, “Welcome, Master Alec Veritan.”
The elevator shot upward and Xantham said, “Wow, it actually worked. Go figure. Their security kinda’ sucks.”
“Most people wouldn’t dream of impersonating an Inner Circle member,” Carl said dryly. “The consequences aren’t pretty.”
When the door opened, Carl let Veridian take the lead toward the Rath’Varein quarters.
“No offense, Boss, but this is a hell of a lot fancier than your digs,” Xantham observed.
Carl looked around at the expansive hall lined with a cobblestone walkway, lush greenery, and gurgling fountains. “No kidding.”
Veridian pressed the button outside the ornately carved door and waited. A few moments later, the door slid open. The similarity between the petite woman and Kayla was obvious.
Her green eyes widened when she saw Veridian and she gasped. “Veridian, you’re back. I thought you'd left.”
“I did, but I came back. Seara, this is Carl and Xantham. We’d like to see Kayla.”
Her eyes clouded and she shook her head. “Kayla’s not here. She’s in seclusion. I’m sorry you came back all this way, Veridian. I’ll let her know you stopped by when she returns.”
Veridian’s face fell and he said, “Please, Seara, I know something’s happened to her.”
Seara looked torn for a moment. Seemingly coming to a decision, she pressed her finger to her lips indicating for them to keep quiet. She put her hand on Veridian’s arm and pulled him inside.
Motioning for them to follow her and remain silent, she led them into the common living room area. She moved a painting on the wall and pressed a button hidden underneath. A hidden door slid open and she walked inside.
Curious, they followed. When the door slid shut behind them, Seara said, “This is a safe room my husband built. We can talk freely in here, but only for a short time. I’m sure they know you’re here. You shouldn’t have come back.”
“We don’t mean to intrude, Mistress Rath’Varein. But Kayla sent me a message. She said she’s being held against her will and asked for my help.” Carl pulled out his comlink and showed her the message.
Seara sighed. “You must be Trader Carl Grayson. I’m sorry, but all I know is that she’s in Observation Room A. They’re keeping her locked up until the metabolic booster is out of her system and they can put a security bracelet on her.”
At his confused look, she held up her wrist to show them her own bracelet. “The Inner Circle has essentially been imprisoned for the last nine months. These bracelets around our wrists are just another way for the High Council to control us.”
“How is that possible?” Carl asked in disbelief. “With the combined abilities of the Inner Circle, the High Council should be no match for you.”
“The bracelets damper our abilities,” she said angrily, showing a trace of the fire he was used to seeing in Kayla. “We originally offered to wear them, hoping to use the combined energy of the Inner Circle to locate new resources over large distances. But now, Edwin Veritan and the High Council use them to siphon our power for their own purposes. We don’t have the strength to fight them. They were supposed to help our people, not imprison us.”
“Maybe it’s a stupid question, but why don’t you remove it?” Veridian asked.
“It’s a complicated design. It’s impossible for us to remove it on our own. The material embedded within the bracelets actually encodes itself somehow with our DNA. If I were to forcibly remove my bracelet, it would strip me of my abilities. Losing my senses like that would be…”
Seara shuddered. “Those who have removed their bracelets have either gone mad or died within hours. We haven’t found a way to escape from it successfully. The technology was too new when we originally agreed. We had no way of knowing these bracelets would end up being permanent.”
The news shocked Carl to his core. This was more than corruption. The entire foundation and social structure of the towers was built around the Inner Circle and the High Council. “Who’s responsible for this?”
“Edwin Veritan is the one who implemented the design. A few other council members are also strong supporters. Essentially, anyone not wearing a bracelet is in control.”
“Alec doesn’t wear a bracelet,” Veridian observed.
Seara bristled in defense. “No, but he’s a special case because of the unique nature of his talent. He doesn’t like the bracelets and was trying to keep Kayla safe. Edwin wanted to put it on her immediately, but Alec convinced him to wait. I think Edwin was actually pleased Alec seemed interested in Kayla. A union between our families is something he’s always wanted.”
Carl’s eyes narrowed, but he put his personal feelings aside for the moment. “So what happened? Did Kayla reject him?”
Seara shook her head. “Alec can influence people and read the thoughts of other sensitives. He has to be touching them for it to work, but apparently Kayla was an exception. He can read her thoughts and she can hear his even if they’re across the room. When Kayla realized he was reading her thoughts, she got angry and threatened to leave the towers. Edwin overheard and had her taken to an isolation room to be fitte
d for the bracelet.”
Xantham cringed. “Reading Kayla’s thoughts? That’s kinda’ scary. I can only imagine how pissed off she was when she found out.”
Carl frowned and asked, “Do you know where the observation rooms are?”
“No, but I can point you in the right direction. They won’t allow me to see her in person, but Alec arranged for me to have a video feed.”
She turned on the computer in the safe room and entered in a code. A small observation room appeared on the screen. Kayla was inside and appeared to be yelling at someone.
Seara flipped a switch and they could hear Kayla's voice. “Go ahead and try it! I dare you. Next time I won’t be gentle.”
“Please, Mistress Rath’Varein,” a voice in the background pleaded. “I just need a small blood sample to check your progress.”
“Are you always this stupid or are you making a special effort today?” She waved what looked like a food tray in a threatening manner. “Let me make this clear since you obviously have some sort of brain damage. If you try coming near me again, I’ll kick your ass.”
“I’ve had enough of this,” a new voice announced. Edwin Veritan appeared on the screen and walked purposefully over to Kayla. She managed to swipe him once with the tray before he grabbed her. He was considerably larger and easily deflected her blows before finally subduing her. She struggled against him and he lifted a small metal device. Pressing it against her, she cried out and crumpled to the floor.
“Take your sample and put her back in restraints. If my son has a problem with that, direct him to me. You have about five minutes until she regains consciousness. I’m not dealing with this nonsense again.”
Chapter Fifteen
Carl looked up and saw tears in Seara’s eyes. He turned to Xantham and asked, “Can you get a lock on this signal and try to figure out where it’s coming from? Once you get it, send the information to Cruncher and tell him to run a search for Observation Room A.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Xantham replied, and bent over the computer. He worked diligently for a few minutes. “Boss, I think we’ve got a problem.”
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