“For the look in your face, yes. For upsetting you, no,” I said.
“I suppose, when you think about it, it must have been quite funny.” We nodded. “There I was, all worried and concerned. And when I came in and saw you I really thought you’d… been aggressive, Crawford. You took me in completely.”
I twirled an imaginary moustache. “I am not a man to be thwarted lightly,” I said in my best b-movie villain accent.
“You’re not,” Taragis said sincerely. “You’ve been known to be quite forceful at times. You’ve even threatened bodily harm on several occasions.”
“But I…” I started protest.
Lorca put a hand to her mouth. “You mean… you thought he’d raped me? Oh, dear. That wasn't the intention at all, was it, Crawford?”
“Er, no. Sorry, Taragis. It never occurred to me you might think that.”
“It was a natural reaction,” Taragis said. “You’ve said yourself you’re an aggressive species and you were hardly bosom friends yesterday.”
“It was nothing like that, I assure you,” I said hastily.
“I’m pleased to hear it.”
Lorca and I exchanged looks. The idea that he might think I took her by force had never occurred to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Taragis’s expression. It looked as if he was trying to hide a smile.
“Mind you, I have to say it was an option. After all, she treated me abominably all day and, as you say, I’m an aggressive being.”
“What?” The half-smile was wiped from Taragis’s face. Lorca looked disbelieving.
“Yes,” I nodded. “I’d say a little tit-for-tat was quite in order.”
I looked squarely at Taragis and grinned. He looked surprised then sheepish.
“You caught me out, then?”
I laughed. “Only by accident. You had me quite fooled.”
“You mean he was joking?” Lorca said.
“He was pulling our legs just as we pulled his.”
“Why, you…?” she said indignantly, then laughed. “I suppose we deserved it.”
“I think we did. You got your own back, Taragis, my friend.”
“I did, didn’t I,” he said smugly then laughed, too.
“What’s on the itinerary, today, then?” I asked when we’d calmed down.
“It’s a surprise.” His tone was smug again.
“I don’t know I like surprises,” I said cautiously.
“Oh, you’ll like this one… I think. Tomorrow you’re going to the Halls of Righteous Government then, in case you’d forgotten, you have a spaceship to commission.”
“Spaceship?” Lorca gasped.
“My new spaceship. The one I won in the Lottery. It’ll be ready tomorrow and I’m taking it for an inaugural flight.”
“Can I come, too?”
“I don’t know. Can she come, too?” I asked Taragis.
“I’ve no idea. Why do you want to go?”
She gave him an if-you-need-to-ask-you’re-dumber-than-I-thought look. “It’s only the best, most luxurious, most expensive, newest ship in the Galaxy. Why wouldn’t I want to go?”
“Oh. Since you put it like that… I’ll ask.”
“Do you know where we’re going?” I said.
“Your pilot wants to visit Thansvaal. It’s an interesting system. No habitable planets but quite unusual. He says he can test some of the ship’s capabilities better there. He plans on being away for about a day. As you can’t leave until later tomorrow, you’ll be back the following day.” He grinned. “I’ve left your diary free.”
“Most thoughtful,” I grinned back. “As I recall, I commissioned two bedrooms. I could take someone else. Fancy a trip?”
“Thank you, no. It may be the best, most luxurious, most expensive, newest ship in the Galaxy but it does nothing for me.”
“Some of the other girls might like to come,” Lorca said.
“Well… the bedrooms are quite large. If you don’t mind doubling-up I could take three or four… if Taragis agrees.”
He raised his hands in surrender. “It’s not up to me. I’ll ask. Are you sure you want a bunch of women cluttering the place up.”
“It’s a big place to clutter. Besides then I won’t have to talk to Hermes. Actually I probably won’t get a word out of him. He’ll be too busy playing with his new toy.”
“You have a pilot?” Lorca said.
I shrugged. “I’m a billionaire playboy. You surely don’t expect me to pilot my own ship?”
“And I suppose the fact that you don’t even know which way it goes has nothing to do with it,” Taragis said.
“Do so. It goes that way.” I pointed in a random direction.
He laughed. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Oh, goody,” Lorca squealed.
“Excitable girl, that,” Taragis said.
“Fast spaceships have that effect on some women,” I said sagely. “I have high hopes.”
“Pigs,” Lorca said with a laugh. “Unfortunately, you’re right. Now that’s decided, I’m going to get dressed… and scheme.”
“Suddenly, the idea of taking her has lost some of its attraction,” I said in a mock forlorn voice.
“And plot,” she said as the bedroom door closed.
She and Taragis left together, chatting amiably. There was nothing of the cool reserve she’d shown yesterday. Had it been directed at me or the world at large? I remembered she’d made a comment about receiving undesirable male attention. I assumed she meant that men propositioned her and pestered her. That I could believe. If she pushed my buttons it was a fair bet she pushed the buttons of many other males. But Taragis? He had shown no signs of being particularly attracted to her. Perhaps that was why she could relax in his company. Perhaps she had some instinct about which males would find her irresistible and which wouldn’t, and don her persona of cool hauteur for the former. I gave a mental shrug. I would probably never know. I went to see the cats.
What I found put all thoughts of Lorca, enigmas and spaceships out of my mind. Ziggy was curled up on the bed, Stardust on a chair. They didn’t acknowledge my arrival and that, in itself, was unusual. At first I thought they were dead and had to look carefully to detect the gentle rise and fall of furry flanks. I swallowed my heart back to its proper position. I sat on the bed and gently stroked Ziggy. His fur seemed very dry and brittle. He stirred and opened his eyes. I had a second shock. His haws were almost half way across his eyes. He blinked several times, meowed softly and put his head back on his paws.
“Oh, pussycat,” I cried. “What’s the matter? You’re not well, are you?”
I crossed to Stardust. She was in the same state. I knew this was serious and I started to panic.
“What am I going to do?” I wailed. “Oh, what have I done? My poor wee cats are dying because I dragged then half way across the bloody Galaxy for why? For a bloody spaceship, that’s why. For the sake of a fucking spaceship I don’t really need or want, I’ve killed my cats. They trusted me and I’ve fucking killed them.” The tears were rolling down my cheeks. I dropped to my knees beside Stardust and stroked her tenderly. She half opened her eyes and purred. That made me feel even worse. I was killing them slowly and she was purring.
“Don’t die, kitty-cat,” I whispered. “Please don’t die. I’ll do something. I’ll find a way. Trust me.”
Brave words but what could I do. I needed a vet. Flerrionna would know how to find a vet. If she didn’t, Honesty-in-Trust would. I had my communicator out before common sense returned. I couldn’t summon a vet. Ziggy and Stardust were illegal immigrants. A vet would probably cart them off and report me. Then I’d be arrested and that would be the end of everything. Besides, even if I found a vet who would turn a blind eye to their status, what would he or she know about cats? He’d never have seen a cat before, never mind treated one. I was sure he’d do his best; take blood tests and all that sort of thing but that could take days or weeks by which time Ziggy and St
ardust would be dead.
I leapt to my feet and paced the room. My mind was a whirl. My heart was pounding. I paced up and down and dreamed up and discarded a dozen schemes, each of them more outlandish and unrealistic than the last. Then, bit by bit, and almost subconsciously, the germ of the most outlandish scheme of all began to grow.
“I’ll be back,” I told the cats. “I promise.”
I hoped that what Flerrionna had said about the bedroom not being bugged was true. I contacted Hermes.
“I’ve some questions,” I said after a rather brusque greeting. “When you’re in a planetary system, there’s some sort of traffic control, right?”
“If it’s an inhabited system with regular traffic, yes. But why…?”
“I’ll explain in a minute. What happens when you leave?”
“I don’t follow.”
“You reach the… F-point, I think you called it, and enter hyperspace, or whatever. Can anyone track you?”
“No. Once you reach the F-point and engage the sub-space drive, you’re out of sight of everybody.”
“Uh, huh. How long would it take to get to Earth in my new ship?”
“You’ve lost me.”
“It’s a simple enough question. It took almost three days to get here in your ship. Mine’s faster. How long would it take to get back?”
“Well… just under two days if it performs as promised. That’s a fast ship you have.”
“Two days?” I was aghast. “You can’t make it any quicker?”
“No.” He was decidedly tetchy. “Now, what’s going on?”
I sighed. “Sorry, Hermes. I’m a bit wound up. The cats are dying.”
“Dying? That’s terrible. How…? I mean are you sure?”
“No,” I snapped. “I’m not a vet. All I know is that they’re very ill. I need to get them to a vet immediately and the nearest vet’s on Earth.”
“But there are vets…” he began then stopped. “Of course. Not an option.”
That was one of the things I liked about Hermes, he was quick on the uptake.
“Exactly,” I said.
“You have a plan, I assume?”
“Yes. You’re not going to like it but I’m desperate and desperate measures are called for. We’re taking my new ship on its maiden flight tomorrow. Once we’re on our way, I’m going to hi-jack it.”
“You can’t hi-jack your own ship.”
“What else would you call it when I put a gun to your head and say, ‘take me to Earth’?”
There was a pause then he started to laugh.
“I hoped life might be more exciting with you around. I didn’t think it would be quite so soon. I assume you want us to start out as if we’re going to Thansvaal then change direction and head for earth?”
“Got it in one. Oh, and you can add kidnapping to my list of crimes. Some of the ladies are coming along for the ride.”
“Kidnapping. By all that’s holy in all the Galaxy, you don’t do things by half.”
“Well, the kidnapping’s an accident. They were arranged before I knew about the cats.”
“I believe you have an expression, ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’?”
“‘Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb’ would be more appropriate.”
He laughed again. “You have lots of pithy expressions on Earth.”
“One for every occasion. Will you do it?”
“Was there any doubt? How are you going to get the cats on board?”
“No idea. I haven’t thought that one through, yet.”
“Hmm. Could you get them delivered to the port tomorrow morning?”
“I’d need to involve Flerrionna. My time’s not really my own, I’m afraid.”
“Do that. A very capable woman is Flerrionna besides being head over heels in love with you.”
“I know. I feel very guilty that I’m ignoring her.”
“She understands.”
“I hope so. Where should I send them?”
“You speak to Flerrionna and get her to contact me. I’ll work it out.”
I felt a large weight lift from my heart.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I’ve been in a state of panic since I discovered them.”
“You can count on me. To tell you the truth I’m rather fond of your cats. If it’s possible to save them, we will.”
“Thanks, Hermes. See you tomorrow.”
I contacted Flerrionna and insisted I come to see her. I’m afraid my greeting was not as ardent as it should have been even though my heart leapt at the sight of her. Lorca might push my lust buttons but Flerrionna pushed a lot more besides.
“What’s the matter?” she asked anxiously.
“Is it that obvious?” I said ruefully. “Is there somewhere we can talk privately?”
“Here. My office is not overlooked.”
She sounded really worried.
“First off, this is not about you or us. Nothing’s changed as far as I’m concerned. You’re still the one for me. But I have a crisis.”
I explained about the cats and my plan to hi-jack my own ship.
“That’s terrible,” she exclaimed. “The poor creatures. You must do whatever you need. I couldn’t live with myself if they died. To be honest, I’ve been so busy I’ve been neglecting them, too, other than to pop in and feed them. I never noticed they were poorly.”
“I didn’t either. I’m eternally grateful to you for looking after them. I’ve only managed an hour or so every other day. If it hadn’t been for you and everyone else, I don’t know what I’d’ve done.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Parcel them up and send them to the port. Hermes has an idea about how to get them on board. Can you contact him later and he’ll tell you what he wants?”
“I can do that.” She looked at me. I held out my arms and she fell into them. “I’ve missed you so much,” she murmured.
“Me, too. It’s ironic… we’re only a few floors apart yet it might as well be miles.”
“It’d be easier if it were miles. It’s knowing you’re so close and not being able to see you that makes it hard.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“Are you enjoying yourself?”
“That’s a loaded question if ever I heard one.”
“No it’s not. I want to know.”
I’m always cautious when a woman insists she really wants you to tell her the truth.
I sighed. “Flerrionna, my love, we’ve been through this before,” I began then noticed her expression. She didn’t really want to know. She wanted reassurance. “In some ways I’m enjoying myself immensely. I’ve been places, done things, met beings that I’d never have dreamed of. I’m learning so much. Too much, too quickly, in fact. I know this doesn’t sound good, but I’m also enjoying the breeding programme. Before you go ballistic, let me explain. I’m not very experienced. I’ve had a limited exposure to women and to other cultures. To, er, be intimate with a succession of beautiful women of different species has opened my eyes and taught me a lot.” I hugged her. “And you, my love, are going to be the beneficiary of that. But… and it’s a big but, I’m glad I only have them for a night. Knowing there’s no strings and knowing you’re there makes it easier. I can’t let myself fall for them, and that makes it easier to cope with.
“The down side is the Commission… not Taragis, he’s a good guy… but the whole thing; the fighting, the arguments. I can’t afford to relax. Since the party, things have been easier but how long will it last? When will the meddlers and the abusers start back again? I’m sure they haven’t gone away. I’ve had to grow up a lot very quickly. It’s been a painful process. And the party preys on my mind. I was really lucky Taragis was there. I owe him my life. But was it deliberate or accidental and will they, whoever they are, try again? On balance, much as I’m having fun, I’m not cut out to be a public figure and I’ll be glad when it’s all over and we can be together.”
&n
bsp; She was hugging me fiercely.
“I worry so much. I know I shouldn’t but I can’t help it. I’m not jealous that you’re with all these beautiful women… I’m scared. I’m scared one of them will capture your heart and steal you away. They’re young and exotic and beautiful. I’m just a plain old hotelier.”
“Flerrionna, my love. I understand… at least I think I do. I know I’ve said this before but none of the ones I get pregnant can come between us. I’m fairly certain the Commission will make damn sure I see none of them again in case I forget my contract and try to demand paternal rights or something. I’m doing my damnedest to make them all pregnant so there won’t be any conflict.” I deliberately didn’t mention there were a number I couldn’t get pregnant. She needed reassurance, not irrelevant facts. “Hmm, it’s just occurred to me that I should probably make a quick getaway at the end. I might not have feelings for any of them but they might for me. One of them might decide to try and kidnap me.”
She laughed. It was a bit strained but it was genuine. “I know I’m being silly.”
“No you’re not. God, I don’t know how you stand it. I don’t think I’d be quite so accommodating if it was you who was away having sex with lots of hunky men and I was forced to sit on the sidelines. No, you’re not being silly at all. I think you’re very brave and very selfless. It makes me realise how much you love me and that keeps me on the strait and narrow, emotionally speaking.”
“How much longer is it?”
“I don’t know. About three weeks I think. The timetable’s gone a bit wonky since my, er, illness. Look, I’d better get back. Taragis said something about coming back early. I love you, Flerrionna. Remember that.”
“I will. I love you, too. I’ll make arrangements with Hermes and I’ll see you when you get back… with two healthy cats.”
“Thank you. I really do love you. Every time I see you I don’t want to leave. I’ll be about five or six days, I think.”
I was relieved that I a plan to help the cats. I only hoped it wasn't too late. I felt guilty about Flerrionna. While there was much about being a public figure I didn’t like, I was certainly getting around and seeing and doing things I’d never otherwise have seen or done, and the parade of beautiful and horny women wasn’t bad either. I hadn’t been consciously aware of it until I mentioned it but the attempt on my life was still in the background along with a nagging worry that they, whoever they were, might try again. In short I was a mass of conflicting and contradictory emotions, the dominant one relating to whatever situation I was in at the time.
I Won A Spaceship Page 39