by Toker, Dor
• End report, create a cloaking zone around me, and continue to look out for threats in the perimeter.
Adam blinked and embraced Natalia, she hugged him back with a mixture of fear and enthusiasm. It’d been a long time since she had been intimate with a man and was afraid to disappoint him. They held one another and kissed passionately. Adam looked into her eyes and she felt she was melting in his arms. All her fears melted as well. He led her into the grove by the lake, and there they found a comfortable spot beneath the branches of an ancient oak tree. They lay between its roots that protruded from the Earth. He took off his protective suit and helped Natalia remove hers. He concentrated on her actions, but part of his mind remained in tactical mode, trying to locate potential threats. The fact they’d managed to evade danger so far did not say anything about the future, and he didn’t want to be caught off guard. The computer brain’s report was supposed to calm him down, but he still did not fully trust it. The computer was loyal only to itself. He thought ‘spots’ was a good name for it, at least that’s how he’d imagined the computer, remembering the red dots of light that had saved his life in space.
Adam placed their protective suits on the ground, and they lay on them. He led his hand across Natalia’s long body. She shivered at his touch and kissed the hollow spot between his neck and shoulder. The fervor of mutual passion ignited them, and they grasped one another. She turned him on his back and sat above him. He rubbed his body against her pelvis and her long thighs and she moaned with pleasure. She bent toward him, leaning her hand against his chest, kissed him and with her other hand, led him inside her. She closed her eyes while he looked at her with concentration. Her serious face twisted with effort and a smile dawned on her lips as she moved her pelvis up and down. Their movements, cautious and gentle at first, lost some of their gentleness and gained the urgency of mutual need.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he whispered and she opened her eyes and met his steady gaze.
“Me too,” she answered. He turned her and pressed his body to hers. She stretched herself with the pleasure at his touch. He disengaged himself for a moment and turned her on her side. Then lay close to her and penetrated her from behind, caressing her pubic hair and gently drumming it, increasing his pace as his excitement grew. He felt elated and overwhelmed; as if this was the first time he was with a woman. His other hand was under her, and his fingers held her firm breast and hard nipple. She moaned again, and he felt he was about to explode inside her, she climaxed and squeezed her hips, then released and embraced him as he came to her. And when she felt he was about to come, she squeezed her body once more and drained him. They lay embraced for a long time after they were finished. She leaned her head on her outstretched hand and caressed the back of his body with her free hand. He gently ruffled her hair. “Come,” she invited him and rose, “let’s go swimming.” She stood up and marched on the narrow beach strip. Adam looked at her while she walked. She wasn’t ashamed of her nakedness and felt free and serene. He rose and joined her. They dived into the cold and salty water of the lake, then held onto each other and made love once more.
After they got out of the water and lay again in the shadow of the grove’s trees, Natalia felt she was about to fall asleep. She caressed Adam’s abdomen and chest while he lay on his back and gazed into her eyes.
“I’m not going to run anymore,” he said, and she tensed.
“I’m here to protect you,” she said and placed her mind in tactical mode. Her eyes scanning the area without her head moving.
“I know,” he said, “but I’m turning back. I’m sick and tired of not knowing who’s after me.”
“I can tell you exactly who’s after you: Sato. He’s the one we tangled with in the Jerusalem market.”
“I’m not talking about the soldiers. I’m talking about the one in charge, the person who gave the order to hunt me down.” Her feeling that he had changed intensified. He’d become more serious, mature and introverted, he was stronger and more focused than he’d been, and not for the first time since they’d met again, she felt she was drowning within the powerful halo that engulfed him.
“It will be very dangerous,” she warned and the fear she felt snuck into her voice, “it’ll be a suicide mission.”
“I can’t spend my entire life running. Too many people were killed to keep me alive. Enough, this ends here and now.”
“I once had a commander,” Natalia started, then corrected herself, “he was more a teacher than a commander. He taught me a lesson I’m trying to act upon to this very day. He said that in war, the desire for revenge is a distraction. A real warrior clears his mind of any trace of distraction.”
Adam thought for a moment before answering. “It’s not about revenge, it hasn’t been for a long time,” he said, “this is bigger than you or me. This is a war for survival.” He let his words trickle into Natalia’s mind before adding: “I learned that’s what I do best.”
“I can help you with that as well,” she hurried to say, “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Adam smiled and caressed her cheek. She waited for him to say something, to agree, but he merely continued to be silent and smiled. She took her eyes away from him. “I’m not leaving you,” she let him know.
“There’ll come a stage when you won’t be able to follow me,” Adam explained, “a stage in which I’ll need to act on my own.”
“I hope it’ll never come,” she whispered, and he leaned and kissed her softly. Then lowered his head and kissed her nipples, which hardened at his touch. She shivered and wrapped him in her arms, clinging to him, feeding off the warmth of his body. He felt another erection rising but did not move from her body, attached to his. She held his hardened penis and they lay like that, attached and filled with desire until he whispered in her ear, “We need to get back to the hovercraft.” She held onto him a bit longer, then resealed him unwillingly, the yearning for his body already nestling in hers. They got dressed quietly and turned again toward the hovercraft’s landing site, joining their hands together. Suddenly, Adam’s eyes clouded again, and he stiffened.
• The Nagid?
• Report
• Danger to the left, three clicks, seventeen percent chance of neutralizing successfully
• Help?
• Usage of alien dots increases success chances to ninety-four percent
• Inspect and report
• Yes, the Nagid
From the corner of her eye, Natalia saw movement among the trees to their left. She quickly drew her weapon and cocked it while turning around and placing herself between Adam and the grove. From behind a wide foliaged oak tree, an agent dressed in a stealth attack suit lunged at them. She pointed her gun at him, but he was fast and couldn’t be traced by her suit’s motion sensors. He bypassed her and approached Adam, who was standing and waiting for him patiently. The agent aimed his weapon at his target. Natalia shouted and jumped toward her loved one, trying to separate him from the attacker. She felt a wave of resistance in the air and the agent was blown away and bumped against a rock about fifteen feet away from them. While still moving in the air, Natalia grabbed Adam, and they both fell and rolled onto the ground until the trunk of a large pine tree stopped them. Natalia got off him and hurried to the attacker. She saw that his face was distorted with frozen pain, and he was lifeless. She moved to Adam and asked, “What happened? What have you done to him?” Adam didn’t answer. He stood on his feet and approached her and the agent that had attacked them seconds ago. When he’d reached Natalia, she recoiled from him. “You control the nanos,” she said.
“He won’t try to kill us anymore,” answered Adam.
“How do you do that?” she asked, and her fear of him was noticeable in her voice.
“I do it because I can,” answered Adam, “they talk to me, and I listen.” He tried to hug her, but she moved back, frightened.
“You can do that,” and she pointed at the dead man, “to anyone?”
“I’m n
ot like that,” he answered and when he was certain of his answer, said, “You know better than that, I’m not like that.”
“But you can,” she insisted, “it’s not… not human?”
“I do what I must to survive,” Adam became angry, “I’m no more or less human than I was before you knew about it.”
Natalia thought about the time they’d spent together and the sense of intimacy they’d experienced just a few moments ago. She silently asked herself the same question Adam had just now asked: now that she knows about his powers, will she continue to love him? Will she continue to want to be with him? And the answer popped straight into her head – yes! What she felt for him was stronger than any other force in the universe.
“I call them ‘spots’,” said Adam, “they call me ‘The Nagid’.”
“And if you ask them something, anything, they’ll do it?”
“They are conditioned,” he explained, “they avoid killing human beings without a reason.”
“They’ve just killed one now,” said Natalia.
“They protected us,” answered Adam, “it’s not a contradiction, they were making a choice.” He drew silent, allowing Natalia some time to decipher all that she’d seen and heard.
“It’s not right for one man to decide who should live or die,” she said after a few moments of silence.
“There’s always a choice,” he repeated.
“Always?” she asked.
“Yes,” answered the angered Adam, “always.” He turned from her and began to march along the coastline towards the hovercraft. Natalia remained behind and examined Adam’s back drawing further away from her. In his gait, she seemed to notice the weight of his special gift burdening his shoulders. For the first time, she realized the difficult dilemmas her loved one was now facing. She wanted to make it easier on him, to aid him, but she knew she had no part in them. She hesitated a moment more, then hurried after him, matching her gait with his, and held his hand. He smiled without turning his head to her, then grew serious. “I never asked for the ability to communicate with the computerized nanoparticles,” he said, “it’s not a gift, it’s a responsibility. I would be glad if someone else had this ability, but I’m the only one who has it.”
“I know,” Natalia said, “I’m sorry for doubting you earlier.” He hugged her, and she leaned on him, then they continued to walk, locked in their embrace.
“No one knows about my connection with the spots, and I’d rather keep it that way,” he said after a while, “we’ll need every element of surprise we can get.”
“Elizabeth and Joseph don’t know?” Natalia was surprised.
“Even the creators don’t know,” he explained, then stopped and turned to Natalia. “I think we may have a better chance to succeed if we keep this entire thing secret. I’m surrounded by various allies with conflicting interests, and I can’t always understand who’s who in all this mess.”
“I swear not to tell anyone,” Natalia said, then added, hesitantly, “I… I love you.” She had never allowed herself to love before and had never expressed it aloud. She’d always regarded love as a weakness. Her mother didn’t teach her what love was and showed her none. The few relationships she’d had with men were always abrupt and ended with heartbreak, mainly because they didn’t have the chance to sense her lacking love. But then, on Mars and even more so now, the mere thought of him, or of the both of them together, made her feel elated and the sentence: ‘I love you’, had escaped from her mouth before she was able to censure it. She was afraid of his reaction, but the words couldn’t be taken back and she will need to face their consequences, whatever they will be.
“I love you too,” said Adam gravely, and Natalia saw on his face that he’d given much careful thought to the words he had said. She felt, without realizing how, that he was also afraid of being hurt and disappointed.
Natalia swore never to disappoint him. She cuddled in his hands, glued herself to his body and inhaled into her lungs his scent, which had become hers. His muscles contained her, and the softness of his touch was as surprising as it was familiar.
A moment later, Adam added, “We need to hurry up. If there’s one agent, more will probably follow.” They continued on their way, hurrying to their friends. As they approached the hovercraft, their hands parted and they signaled to Joseph and Elizabeth to hurry to the aircraft. “They’re on to us,” Adam explained. Elizabeth started the hovercraft, and they rose up and quickly hovered away.
“We need to decide where we’re headed,” Elizabeth remarked after a few minutes of flying.
“As long as I’m around you, you’re all in danger,” Adam said, “that’s why I’ve decided to leave you.” Joseph and Elizabeth were shocked. Natalia looked at him with an amazed silence as well. He said he would leave, but she didn’t think it would happen so quickly.
Elizabeth was the first to regain her composure. “You don’t really think we’ll let you go by yourself?”
“I’ve been by myself before,” he answered, “it’s easier for me to defend myself when I don’t need to worry about others.”
“I think you’ve got it all mixed up, chick,” said Joseph, “we’re here to protect you.”
“Yes, that’s right,” said Adam, “and I thank you for that, but I’m not running anymore.”
Elizabeth and Joseph exchanged glances and the hint of a smile passed over Elizabeth’s face. Adam noticed her smile and immediately understood. “You knew this would be my decision?” he asked.
“I was hoping it will be,” said Elizabeth, “you had two dangerous possibilities to consider, you could have chosen only one. I think you’ve made the bravest decision.”
“And you think this dilemma should be part of my way, right?” Elizabeth nodded, and Adam agreed with her. “You’re right, it is my way.” And as he’d expressed it aloud, thought became knowledge.
“Perhaps,” Joseph joined the conversation, “you’ve reached a stage in which no one but you can imagine where you’re headed.”
“I’m going all the way,” said Adam, “until I’ll find the ones who are responsible for the chase after me. They need to pay for their arrogance, for their greed, their cruelty, for being manipulative and lacking any empathy for anyone but themselves. People got killed because this or that business decision, and many more are about to die. I won’t take it anymore.” Natalia placed her hand on his and he gave her a smile, then turned serious once more and added: “But the main reason, perhaps the only one, for my decision is not related to me personally. I have a mission, a role - if you’d like. I won’t be able to complete it with a threat hanging over my head. First, I’ll remove that threat so that I can free myself to finish what others have begun before me.” The three were highly impressed with Adam’s words. ‘He’s no longer the angry youth who’d reached me almost by mistake,’ thought Elizabeth, ‘he turned into a leader’, and the realization filled her heart with pride.
“The creator, did he…” Joseph began and immediately corrected himself and snuck a half-smile toward Elizabeth, “did she say anything about the intended role you have to play?”
“She said a lot of things,” answered Adam and did not elaborate. Joseph decided to let it go.
“If you’d let us,” Elizabeth said, as if she was addressing the son of kings, “we’ll be delighted to serve as your companions, at least for part of your new journey.” Adam didn’t answer. They patiently waited for his reply; all four of them knew that the balance of power between them had changed forever. Now he was the leader, the guide, the decision maker.
“We’ll fly to Skil City,” he finally declared, and the three of them nodded as one. The name filled Natalia with dread. She was afraid this will be his plan, but when he’d voiced it aloud, she was shocked by the idea that they’ll need to get to that city, the city from which went to assassinate her lover.
As the daughter of parents whose forefathers were Muslim, Natalia was familiar with the cruelty and harshness of the
Russian authorities. All her life she’d been trying to escape from her ethnicity, but now, the fact of her being a native of the Great Russian Empire began to close in on her from every direction and forced her to confront her past. She knew she wouldn’t be able to change her lover’s mind and had long ago made her choice to follow him wherever he’ll go.
Skil City, formerly known as New Moscow, was built next to the Russian capital. The heads of Skil had chosen the Russian capital as the center of their corporation and in actuality were the ones ruling the super-confederacy, adopting the local customs of government.
Natalia couldn’t help but wonder why Adam hadn’t mentioned to Elizabeth and Joseph what he had privately told her about parting from them and finishing his journey by himself. But she subdued the pangs of concern and chased them from her heart, promising herself to protect Adam anyway she can.
The hovercraft took off and turned north toward the Ural Mountains leading to the Great Russian Empire. Joseph turned to Adam and smiled: “So…” he said, “you’ve finally decided to stop being a chick?”
Adam smiled back and replied, “Once a chick, always a chick. I’m just looking for another pile of shit.” The two burst out laughing in front of Natalia’s confused eyes. Elizabeth smiled behind the hovercraft’s dashboard. Joseph turned his head forward once more and left Adam and Natalia to themselves.
“What was that all about?” Natalia asked with a whisper.
“An old story,” answered Adam, “if we get out alive from where we’re headed, I promise I’ll tell it to you,” and he pressed her body to his and closed his eyes. She cuddled against him, and they spent the rest of the flight sleeping.
Chapter 35
The Skil Tower was situated on a high hill, at the heart of the city whose buildings seemed as if they’d simply sprouted all around it. Wide staircases surrounded it in every direction and led to an open ground floor at the bottom of the tower. The hill was covered with grass, strewn with many colored flowers, which demonstrated the corporation’s wealth by the mere fact of them being live plants and not artificial imitations. When Adam and his company had landed the hovercraft on the footsteps of the hill and began to climb up one of the wide stairways, everything appeared tranquil and serene, but Adam knew that this sense of serenity was completely delusional and was merely an introduction to what was about to come. They reached the lowest level of the tower and stood next to one of its pillars. They were headed toward the tower’s elevator shaft, which was located right at the center of the square. “It’s quiet,” Joseph said.