Uh-oh. Somehow I'd gone seriously awry with my questioning. "I don't understand."
"Obviously not." Ulla picked at a ball of lint on the flannel throw. "Don't you remember anything from your first year orientation? I am a direct descendent of The Twelve Families."
Obviously that was supposed to mean something to me, something important judging by her huffy tone. Too bad it did as much to enlighten me as a flashlight with no batteries. Note to self: take one of these orientation classes. I cleared my throat and tried again. Hopefully, I wouldn't end up with both feet in my mouth.
"I thought since you knew so much about your husband's inventions that you had spent time helping him develop them and you'd like to continue that here. On Earth." I added, in case she thought we were going to send her away.
"Oh. I see." Ulla fingered her broach for a moment.
Emotions flit across her face—fear, excitement, curiosity and one that came and left before I could identify it.
"I apologize." She yawned. "I must admit to some fatigue. First, my children are murdered then my husband and the journey here in such a cramped space."
I blinked. What an odd way to phrase things. Surely she hadn't put murder on the same level as inconvenience. "Perhaps you should rest."
"Yes, I think that is best." Ulla slid her perfectly pedicured toes along the bench toward me.
Balancing on the seat, I hiked my leg over the center console and scrambled into the front of the cab. How could the woman seem so devastated one minute and so cold the next? I collapsed onto the cushion and my hands trembled as I fastened the seatbelt. God, I was so weak and hungry. I peered at the clock through my lashes. Ten minutes to go before another day began. I hope it was calmer than today and less eventful…and had less death threats against my person… and three fewer corpses.
“How are you doing?” Tobias adjusted his rearview mirror before turning to look at me.
I rolled my head on my shoulders and felt the vertebrae pop. “I’m pretty sure Ulla’s in shock.” The rocking motion of the car teased the tension from my body. Only a gnawing hunger kept me from succumbing to the lassitude. “It’s what’s stopping her from providing useful information about the attack. Hopefully, she’ll remember something pertinent in the morning."
Tobias remained silent. But approaching cars lit his set features.
Now what bug crawled up his behind and died? I covered a yawn and shook the fatigue from my thoughts. "Do you really think they killed her children?"
"Fourth isn't very forgiving with their own, especially when they make a mistake. Mrs. Torunn’s blood lines include six of the First families, but her husband was second tier, second class. The children would have been considered disposable.”
Disposable? Caste systems were one thing, but to throw away children… To end their lives because of the parent’s mistake. My fatigue burned away like a fog at down. I didn’t want that kind of government here.
Tobias glanced in the rear view mirror before focusing on the road ahead. “Torunn had brains and ambition, and that may have alienated some very powerful people. I’m sure the sheer number of his successes challenged the ruling class’s notions and shook their belief in eugenics."
“Eugenics?”
“God divides up the people and relegates them according to class. The more superior you are, the higher the class you were born into."
“That’s a convenient belief.” Surely not everyone bought into that? I partially closed my air conditioning vents.
“And self-fulfilling too. The lower classes suffer malnutrition, have poorer hygiene and have virtually no opportunity for an education.” Tobias adjusted his rearview mirror again. “In many of their worlds, the First Families practice selective breeding to get better workers.”
Good God that’s worse than prostitution. I stiffened in outrage. How had these people even left Earth and why did their subjects put up with it? “That’s barbaric.”
Tobias shrugged. “You never answered my question.”
“I didn’t?” A migraine crawled at the base of my skull. Maybe I should try to catch a few zzz’s while Tobias drove. “What did you ask?”
“How are you doing?”
Me? He’d asked about me? “I’m tired and hungry, mostly hungry. I think that’s why I have a headache.”
"We’ll pick up some food on the way to the hotel.” Tobias pushed the phone button on the rearview mirror and beeping filled the cab as the satellite dialed.
“Hotel?” I would kill for a hot shower and food, not necessarily in that order
"I want you and Mrs. Torunn to stay there while I change cars and pick up supplies." He reached across the cab and set his hand on mine. “Will you do that for me?”
My heart skipped a few beats. Tobias trusted me. I don’t know what I had done to deserve it, but I would definitely take advantage of it. "Of course."
“Good.”
“Dante’s restaurant.” Static crackled alongside the man’s sleepy voice. “How may I help you today?”
***
Standing next to the truck, I stared at the run-down hotel forming a 'u' around us. Behind me, cars and trucks slowed to pick up the prostitutes plying their trade. The scent of oregano, garlic, melted cheese and pepperoni from the box in my hands couldn't quite overcome the odor of poverty and desperation. "I think this is the kind of place that rents by the hour not the night."
Tobias lifted our bags from the back of the truck and set his hand on my back. "It's just temporary."
Ulla slipped out of the truck's back seat. Her mouth dropped open for a moment then her eyes narrowed. She pinned me with a hostile stare. "What is this place?"
Right. This was my job as steward. I slapped on a smile and tried not to crush the pizza box in my hands. "A temporary refuge until Tobias can secure us a safe house. And look, we have food."
I raised the box in her direction.
Ulla wrinkled her nose and reared back. A rat scampered across the rutted parking lot and she shivered. "I don't think I can eat."
"Please, I think you should at least try to get a bite down." I was so hungry I might eat the box and the pizza. "You might feel better."
"I don't think so." Ulla's voice frosted more than an arctic breeze. "Where am I to stay in this abode?"
"We're in room twelve." Tobias led the way across the pitted parking lot. Plastic bags, discarded cups, cigarette butts and more than a few used condoms gathered in the puddles.
I turned to follow but stopped. Ulla hadn't moved. What was the woman waiting for? Didn't she realize how exposed she was out here? "Do you need any help?"
Ulla smoothed her long blond hair and sighed. "I suppose I have to get used to doing for myself."
I smiled. Positive thinking must be the rage in the galaxy. "You might find a certain satisfaction in doing things for yourself."
"Yes. Yes I think you're right." Ulla sashayed passed me. "Oh Colonel, I do have a question."
I stared at the open truck. Self-closing doors must also be plentiful in the galaxy. Shaking my head, I strode to the truck and used my hip to push it shut, then rushed to the hotel room.
Pausing on the threshold, I glanced around. Holy Toledo and I had thought the outside was bad. The mattress of the double bed sagged in the center, green floral wall paper peeled from the yellowed walls, and a path wore down the low pile of the blue carpet.
Tobias dropped the bags near a battered chair and lopsided round table in by the window overlooking the parking lot. His shoulder brushed the lamp hanging by a chain over the scarred table.
Ulla crushed a cockroach under her shiny teal pump and smoothed the hem of her skirt. "I don't suppose you know where I might attend my personal needs."
Tobias steadied the swaying lamp. "I believe there is a bathroom through that door."
He pointed to the sole door at the back of the room.
"Thank you." Ulla's smile didn't reach her eyes as she tiptoed over the worn carpet to the back of the r
oom.
I kicked the door shut behind me then set the box on the table. In the silence, I could hear the sound of squeaking springs, grunts and a 'you like it dirty, don't you.'
Color dotted Tobias's cheeks as he opened the lid of the box. "I think perhaps I should wait until morning to do my errands."
Something banged against the wall in syncopated rhythm. I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Poor Tobias. For a man who dropped sexual innuendo bombs often, he seemed embarrassed by the act. How would he react when he met my mom and dad and spare dad? My parents were firm believers in polyamory and had taught me all about the need for prostitution, even though they'd never paid for it themselves.
"Nonsense." Using a napkin, I blotted at the extra grease on a slice of pizza. "The sooner we get Ulla settled in her new house the quicker she should start adjusting to life on Earth."
Balling up my napkin, I set it on the table and picked up my piece of pepperoni pizza. The warm dough molded to my fingers as I stuffed the tip of the slice into my mouth. Cheese, spice and the tang of tomato exploded across my taste buds. "Hmmm."
Tobias folded his slice in half length-wise. "I don't trust her."
"Why?" I covered my mouth with my free hand so I could chew and talk. "Because she hasn't cried? Sometimes the grief is so much that you can't let it out. Don't worry. I actually have some experience in dealing with this. We'll be fine. I won't let you down."
Using the back of his hand, Tobias wiped a dribble of grease from his chin and swallowed. "I don't think you will, Rae."
"Then go. The sooner we get that information decoded, the happier I'll be." I nodded my head toward my tattoo.
He selected another slice from the box. "I shouldn't be gone more than an hour."
My stomach rumbled as I counted the pieces left. Half a pie plus one slice. I could eat all that and still be hungry. "Should I save some of this for you?"
"No." He folded the second piece in half and reached for the door handle. "You eat it."
Excellent! Wonderful! Forty minutes into the new day and I was off to a great start. "You don't have to tell me twice."
"Rae." Tobias paused half in the room and half out. "Watch yourself."
"I will." I strode to the door. "Promise."
Tobias opened his mouth then shut it with a click.
Closing and locking the door behind him, I took another bite of pizza and winced as a large pepperoni slapped me in chin. Aw snap. Hissing through the food in my mouth, I stuffed in the errant topping inside and reached for a napkin.
The bathroom door opened and Ulla sashayed out. She glanced at me, the napkin then the food and her lips curled.
I choked down the mouthful and cleared my throat. Right. I was the hostess on planet Earth. "I hope you’re not a vegetarian because we got pepperoni pizza."
"Is Colonel Werner gone then?"
"Yes." You're stuck with me now. "Don't worry; he wouldn't have left us if he didn't think we wouldn't be safe."
I frowned. Did I just use a double negative? Maybe. Who cared? I eyed the crust in my hand. Why couldn't the pizza makers spread the sauce and cheese all the way to the edge? What a waste. I glanced down but didn't spy a garbage can. There had to be one somewhere. Maybe on the side of the bed.
"I'm sure he thinks that's true." Ulla clasped her hands behind her back. "Tell me, did he find the data my husband sent with him?"
I tripped over a bubble in the carpet and caught myself on the corner of the bed. "Data?"
"And the UED says it values human life." Silver flashed in her hand as she met me at the foot of the bed.
Knife. She has a knife. My body froze. What do I do?
"But you’re just as disposable as all the other chattel." Ulla plunged the blade in my gut, angled it upward and twisted.
I braced for the pain. Yet I felt nothing, not even a tingle. Surreal! It seemed surreal.
"I—" The pizza crust plopped onto the carpet as my hands closed around hers. I was supposed to protect her, yet she stabbed me. "Why?"
"You're right." Ulla pulled the knife out, slicing my palms in the process.
Blood poured over my hands, yet I couldn't feel its warmth or stickiness. Shouldn't I be feeling something?
Ulla wiped the sides of the blade on my skin. Crimson streaked my pale flesh. "I find immense satisfaction in doing some things myself."
I sank onto the mattress; my ears buzzed and liquid trickled down my legs. Blood not liquid. I was dying. No, I couldn't die. I just had to put the blood back. I tried to scoop it up and return it to my body but my hands wouldn't move. "Why?"
"Why? Because the Earth belongs to me and my kind." She pushed my shoulder.
I tumbled onto the floor and landed on my face. That should have hurt, but didn't. I felt nothing and... Son of a monkey's butt! I couldn't even hear my heart beat.
"We would already have made a deal with your government to provide protection if Rudd hadn't messed up." Setting the knife on the dresser top, she fluffed her hair in the mirror then opened her phone and dialed. "Where the hell are you? You missed the Colonel and the data."
I vaguely heard a voice on the other. It sounded male but I couldn't be sure.
"Incompetent fool!" She snapped the cell closed and turned. After prodding me with her shoe, she knelt next to me and reached for my neck. "Dead already? Hmm, maybe I'll carve you up anyway. I have to do something while I wait."
Ulla reached for the knife on the dresser.
Chapter Fourteen
I was dead.
I lay on the floor, staring at my murderer. My eyes didn't blink. My chest didn't rise and fall. My heart didn't beat. Where was the light everyone talked about?
And shouldn't I be leaving my body soon?
God only knew what Ulla had done to me.
Ulla leaned over me, a frown marring her pretty face. Light winked on the knife blade as she bunched my shirt under my breasts. "This really is no fun without the screaming."
Right. Like I gave a flying rat's ass if her entertainment was spoiled. She'd killed me for pity's sake, stabbed me without even a twitch of remorse. I hoped she spent an eternity in Hell receiving the treatment she wanted to inflict on me. And I'd let my preferences be known with a higher power as soon as I left my body.
If I left my body.
This couldn't be all there was, could it? Or... Crap on a cracker! What if I haunted this dive because I died violently? I so did not want to spend eternity as a ghost in this flea bag motel.
Ulla hummed an off-tune ditty.
Ohh, I really hated her right now and not just because she killed me. Although that was reason enough. I hated her because she was a bad guy. And bad guys weren't supposed to win. Tobias had better make her pay for what she did to me and planned to do to everyone on Earth.
Ulla tilted her head to the side as she adjusted the knife in her hand. "I’d better sign my work so Colonel Werner doesn't mistake who did this."
Bitch! I rattled around my body, trapped inside decaying and carved-up flesh. Maybe I should stay a ghost and haunt her skinny butt.
A soft knock filled the room.
Now what? God, I hoped it wasn't another psychopath come to join in the fun.
Ulla brushed the hair from her eyes with blood-stained fingers. "Come in."
What was wrong with the woman? Why wasn't she afraid of getting caught?
Hinges squeaked as the door opened and closed.
"Ulla Torunn," a man rasped. "I thought there was a chill in the air."
Oh no. It was Victor. He couldn't see me like this. I tried to move, to twitch, and to breathe. Nothing. I couldn't even turn my head. This was so not fair.
Ulla tossed back her long, honey-blond hair and glanced over her shoulder. "Victor Konstantin. You're always a pleasure to look at." She dug the tip of the knife into the carpet before pushing to her feet. "Then you open your mouth and disrespect for your betters just flows out."
Victor snorted. "You're not better than me, Ulla. You'r
e just lucky enough to be born into a wealthy family."
Ha! Take that you witch. At least Victor didn't buy all that malarkey about eugenics. So then why was he working for the Forth Worlder's Astral Presidium?
Ulla dropped the knife on the tattered rug near my hip before stepping over me, heading toward the bathroom. "Your attitude is why we should never have to slum for hired help."
"Is that why you contracted for outside labor to take care of Pascel?"
Pascel. I knew that name. How did I know that name? The original steward was Pascel. But wait... If Victor didn't kill him, who did?
The bathroom light flickered on just before I heard the sound of rushing water.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Ulla's voice echoed off the laminate bathroom.
"Ignorance isn't very becoming, Ulla, and no amount of body modification will correct it." A pregnant pause crowded the hotel room as the water shut off. "I thought the colonel had already left."
Ulla's stiletto heels tapped on the bathroom flooring. "He's gone. No doubt to get the data my traitor of a husband stole from the APres."
The carpet muffled Victor's footfalls. "Then who have you tortured?"
When he cleared the edge of the bed, he came into view. Even dead, I could appreciate that he was handsome.
Anger ringed his lips in white and a vein throbbed at his temple. He closed his eyes, covering the hatred blazing in their sapphire depths. "Rae."
For an assassin, he really seemed to care about me. Maybe he wasn't all bad.
"Good Creator, Victor!" Ulla dropped a damp and dingy towel by my feet. "Do you have no self control?" Her lips puckered as her gaze swept me. "Or taste?"
"I have plenty of self-control, which is why I don't indulge in senseless killing." Victor dropped to one knee beside me. After sweeping my bangs aside, he gently rolled my shirt down, covering my belly.
"Yes, yes. You're a killer with morals." Ulla waved her hand dismissively. "It's one of your more stupid traits."
"Fiscal inbreeding has completely destroyed your humanity." He shook his head and a lock of black hair dangled over his forehead. Regret flickered in his eyes before his face turned into a blank mask of flesh and bone. "Your kind should be prohibited from reproducing."
Blue Maneuver-Urban SciFi/Fantasy (Extraterrestrial security program) Page 17