by Terri Lane
A loud bang forced my eyes to open. I lurched forward, Shae let me go, and I fell to the floor. She was focused on the two guards that had burst in at my call. They quickly overpowered her and restrained both her hands and feet.
“She was trying to kill me,” I panted. The adrenaline was still pumping freely through my system. I knew I was in for a steep crash when it wore off. Shae struggled against the guards still, even with her restraints.
“We’ll take her to be questioned Representative. You will have to come along to give your testament as to what happened,” one of the guards said. I nodded.
“Ah…I need Legrand to take me,” I said. “Or maybe one of the hotel’s transports?”
“Rest assured Representative, Legrand is Bagarian through and through,” the guard said. Shae growled and tried to shake free of their hold yet again. The other guard gave her a hard hit to the temple and knocked her out. Within five minutes Legrand was waiting for me, and a transport had arrived for Shae. I’d only been on Bagar-1 a few days and already was heading back to the intergalactic detention center.
“Are you all right Aliya?” Legrand asked. His shock at seeing Shae unconscious and in Corsovian assassin garb was displayed in stoic silence. That and he kept asking if I was all right. I knew he must have felt beyond shitty for not realizing who Shae really was. I turned my gaze from the window and met Legrand’s eyes through the rear-view mirror.
“I’m okay Legrand, don’t beat yourself up too much about this,” I said.
“It’s my only job and…” he said. I glanced down and took a deep breath. My hands were starting to shake and I was fighting a heavy wave of exhaustion. When we reached the I.D.C Legrand walked me into the facility. Shae had already been booked so to speak. As soon as we stepped inside, there were two prison officials who recognized me and took us back to the interrogation room viewing area. Shae was sitting in a room so much like the other Corsovian who tried to kill me had been questioned in.
“Is she talking?” I asked, my voice hoarse. I cleared my throat and looked at, Aren, one of the two prison officials.
“No, not yet. But we’d like to take your account of what happened now, if that’s alright Representative Horowitz,” he said.
“Yes, that’s fine.” I nodded.
“Simply tell us what happened,” he prompted. The other official, Rorn, held a recording device in his hand.
“Well I’d just gotten back from having dinner with Commander Knor and…” I paused, remembering my kiss with Waylen. In all that happened I’d completely forgotten it, though that had been a big shock for me as well. I decided to leave his visit out of my account. “Shae knocked on my door five minutes later, she was wearing that leather body suit. She told me she’d ‘just received orders to kill me’ and that ‘Corsov can’t afford Earth gaining military aid from Bagar-1’,” I said.
“Then she attempted to take your life?” Rorn asked.
“Yes, I tried to buy myself time, by asking for last words. She hesitated and I shoved her to get to the door and call for help. The floor guards got to me just in time,” I said.
“Thank you Representative…and we must express our deepest apologies that this happened to you while visiting Bagar-1,” Aren said.
“Well, Earth is technically in wartime, so anything can happen really,” I said. They nodded, sympathetic, then Aren gestured for Rorn to go into the other room with Shae.
“Would you like to stay, or return to the hotel Representative?” Legrand asked.
“Not just yet, I want to hear how she managed all this,” I said. He nodded, but led me to a chair, maybe I looked about ready to fall over. I definitely felt it. Rorn got in there and tried to get Shae talking, but it was as if her tongue had been cut out or glued to the roof of her mouth. She wasn’t talking.
“We already have DNA proof that you are Corsovian, you are not getting out of this prison, so you may as well cooperate and tell us what we want to know,” Rorn said. Shae cut her eyes at him, then stared down at her hands.
“Legrand, let’s go,” I said. He helped me up, though I could have stood on my own, and we walked back to the transport. I sent Knor a message, asking him to join me at the hotel, I didn’t really want to be alone sleeping in a place I almost died in. Legrand insisted on walking me back to my suite and doing a sweep of it. We met Knor in the hallway just outside my door.
“Commander,” Legrand greeted him with a salute and Knor responded in kind. Knor’s gaze met mine then and his expression became concerned immediately.
“What happened?” he asked me.
“You can go on in Legrand, have a look around,” I told him. He left Knor and I in the hallway.
“Aliya…” Knor said. He took my hands in his and then pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around my waist.
“Shae is a Corsovian assassin. She tried to kill me tonight,” I said.
“What?” he exclaimed. I laughed then, the stilted chuckles turning into belly heaving barks of hysteria.
“That’s what I said when she pulled her knife on me!” I laughed. Knor’s look of concern deepened.
“Perhaps you need to lay down after this ordeal?” he asked gently.
“Yeah, yeah I think I do,” I said, while wiping at my eyes. Knor wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we waited for Legrand to get back. He emerged from the room a few minutes later.
“All is safe Representative,” he said. We shared a long, loaded look. I grasped Legrand’s arm and squeezed it in reassurance. I didn’t blame him. He took a deep breath, then stepped back to wish us goodnight. He turned on his heel and quickly made his way down the hall.
“He’s not going to get very much sleep tonight,” I murmured.
“Do you wish to talk about what happened?” Knor asked, his tone was curious. I hadn’t given him much information at all about what happened.
“Yeah, I think it’s better that I talk about it. Maybe over some tea?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said. We went inside and sat in the small kitchen.
“She came just after Waylen left. I don’t think they passed each other in the hall. I mean, she was dressed for killing so she must’ve gotten into the building another way,” I said.
“I can’t believe all this happened, just like that, and so quickly,” he murmured. He was warming water in an electric kettle, two teacups sat on the counter next to it in wait. The selection of tea was next to the single packs of coffee next to the fridge.
“I’m still in shock,” I mumbled.
“It is expected, I’m shocked,” he said.
“She was going to kill me with like a…a hunting knife. She was going to slit my jugular. Don’t assassins try to have clean kills?” I asked.
“In Corsovian culture, assassins gain their ‘honor’ by how much blood they spill. If they are able to mete out a—graphic kill, then they’ve fulfilled their duty with the utmost honor and capability. If their kill is forced to be quick and clean, then they did not immerse themselves well enough into their targets’ lives,” he explained.
“That’s horrible. The entire killing business is just…ugh,” I said. A shiver ran through my entire body.
“If there is a bright side to all this? It means the Corsovian’s don’t believe they’ll stand a chance should Bagar-1 send military aid to Earth,” he said.
“That’s true…or at least I hope it is,” I said.
“Here, which tea would you like?” he asked. I chose chamomile with honey.
I just can’t believe how good she was. She tricked everyone. She had a government job for Pete’s sake!” I said. Knor clenched his jaw and took a breath.
“Well, she is in jail now. No more Corsovian killers will come after you,” he said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“Because I’ll shadow your every move if I have to, in order to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said. I smiled.
“There’s all sorts of security assigned to me now. You don’t ha
ve to Knor,” I said. He grunted and sat down next to me once he made his tea.
“I should not have left you tonight,” he said.
“Don’t you go beating yourself up now,” I groaned. “I feel so bad for Legrand, he hates himself,” I said.
“He will recover and be considerably better at his job, that is for certain,” Knor said.
“You can sleep over tonight, right?” I asked.
“Of course,” he said. “I’ll be here for as long as you need,” he assured me.
“Good.”
“Do you realize you escaped an assassin?” he asked. “You’re still alive.”
I smiled ironically, he was right. “That’s crazy, I managed to get away from a professional killer. Maybe when I’m hopped up on adrenaline it turns me into a superhero?” I asked. Knor burst into laughter.
“Perhaps…for the purpose of preserving your own life it did,” he said. I slid my hand down his arm and laced my fingers with his.
“Thanks for coming,” I said.
“Always.”
* * *
Come morning I woke up practically sweating. Knor was wrapped around me like cling wrap. His legs tangled with mine, his arms tucked underneath mine, encircling my torso. We were both naked. I glanced at the clock and then bolted out of bed. Knor shot up as well, his eyes scanned the room for danger.
“Sorry, everything is okay, I’m running late,” I said.
“Knor took three deep breaths and watched me scramble to the bathroom for a quick shower. He joined me after I turned on the shower and took the body wash right out of my hands.
“You shouldn’t go to anything important so frantic, especially after last night,” he said. I forced myself to take a deep breath and nodded. I let him rub soap into my skin and lightly massage my muscles.
“I’m sure whoever you are to meet with today has learned of what took place here. They will understand a few minutes of tardiness,” he said.
“I’m never late though. For anything, it’s part of professionalism and why I’m here,” I said.
“Aliya…relax,” he said. I took another deep breath. “Who do you have a meeting with today?” he asked.
“Waylen. We are supposed to be talking out the terms of what military aid is allotted to Earth. It’s an all-day thing,” I said.
“Well then, I will call him,” he said.
Waylen’s kiss jumped to the forefront of my mind.
“No, no. It’s fine, you don’t have to call him,” I said. Knor looked at me curiously, but he didn’t push the subject. “All right then…why did he come here so late yesterday?” he asked. I turned off the shower, we were both clean, and stepped out of the stall to wrap a towel around me.
“He just wanted to apologize for being arrogant and rude whenever we’ve been in the same room before,” I said.
“I see…” Knor said. I glanced at him, he was drying himself off, though his gaze was focused on the floor tiles between his feet. I wondered if he’d already put two and two together. The way I was acting certainly wasn’t lessening suspicion.
“What does your day look like?” I asked.
“Busy, I haven’t yet checked in, but I know a security undertaking of the capital is eminent after the Shae debacle,” he said.
“Will you have time for me after work?” I asked. Knor met my gaze and he smiled, it looked as if he were relieved.
“I always have time for you Aliya,” he said. He kissed the top of my head, then pressed his lips to mine. Warmth spread through my chest, causing me to wonder about Knor and whether our relationship was growing deeper than a fling.
***
Legrand was waiting for me at the elevator in the lobby. His eyes had faint shadows under them, I knew he wouldn’t have gotten any sleep. But I couldn’t tell him not to beat himself up anymore. He just had to go through the motions of disappointment and reconciliation.
“I came in to escort you to the private exit. There are many out front who would like your account of what happened here last night,” he said.
“Oh…all right then,” I said. He quickly led me to the garage elevator and we went underground, where the transport sat waiting just outside the elevator. Once safely in the transport, I readied myself for a long day with Waylen. I didn’t have time to think about our kiss yet. What’s more, I didn’t have the space to obsess over it with what we had to get through. The deadline was fast approaching for a military aid agreement to be signed.
Legrand drove around to an innocuous building behind the Garden Center. In fact, it was labelled as a service building. I wondered if there was some secret bunker underneath it or something. It wouldn’t be unheard of. He pulled up to the very back of the service building and I noticed three guards waiting by a back door. I got out and they quickly escorted me inside.
“So where is High General Waylen?” I asked.
“He is in a safe room near the roof,” Legrand said. Said safe room was near the stairs that led to the roof, it was hidden behind heavy metal doors that were misleadingly marked, ‘mechanical room’. Inside, the room was spacious, it was a simple office. Decorated in modern taste and had all the essentials for a private business meeting. Waylen was sitting at the intimate conference table at the center of the room. He stood as I entered.
“Representative, how are you?” he asked. I glanced back as I was closed in with him, even Legrand left us alone.
“Ah…I’m all right. Alive,” I said. Waylen looked me over from head to toe, as if he needed to check for himself. His expression was pensive.
“I shouldn’t have left you so abruptly,” he said. “I didn’t even see her as I left.”
“Please Waylen, it’s fine. I don’t need you beating yourself up as well. She’s a trained professional. She got in through service entries. There was no way to know,” I said. Waylen’s jaw clenched and he sighed through his nostrils.
“You could have lost your life on our watch,” he said, sounding like his cousin.
“I’d like to move on from this now,” I said. I didn’t mean to come across as bitchy, but if I dwelled too much on my near-death experience it would put a serious wrench in the important things that needed to get done. Waylen inclined his head and then gestured to the table for me to join him.
I walked over slowly, very aware of the way he tracked my movements, as if he wanted to pounce on me. “About what happened last night, I don’t want to talk about it until we get the agreement sorted out,” I said. Waylen’s milky blue eyes met mine and I saw respect in his gaze.
“I can adhere to this,” he said, nodding. I finally sat down and then pulled out the big binder listing Bagar-1’s available military assets. I also took out my tablet which had files of Earth’s own defensive military components. It was almost rudimentary compared to what the Bagarians’ had. Even though it pained me to admit it, Waylen wasn’t wrong when he said we were unprepared for the full extent of intergalactic affairs.
“Have you had the chance to go over the documents I sent you? The ones outlining what Earth has as far as planetary defense?” I asked.
“Admittedly, I only glanced at it,” he said, his tone was just tad guilty.
“Seems like we’re in for a long day then,” I sighed. Waylen smiled, but it was so quick I almost missed it.
“Well, we should be thorough in any event. It could be a drastic manifestation if we were to have discrepancies over even the slightest number, or detail,” he said.
“Yes, I guess you’re right,” I said slowly. Waylen seemed oddly pleased as he reached into his briefcase to take out old fashioned pad and paper.
“This would be a lot more secure if we forego technology in recording the allotment of forces,” he explained.
“Good idea. So, Earth has plenty of weapons that can sustain intergalactic warfare. We simply lack the amount of ships to mount them on as of yet. Ideas were being thrown around to make rigs in a pinch and simply shoot from the ground,” I said.
“N
o, all space battles have a better chance of being won if fought in space. You do not want a chance of them touching the ground,” he said. “What are the numbers of your combat ready spacecraft?”
I told him the number and he paused before writing it down. “Yes, I know it’s rather…”
“Pitiful?” he offered. I couldn’t even take up issue with that comment, because it was right. On a global scale, there were hardly enough spacecraft ready to defend Earth. “No matter, your numbers shall be remedied. I see now…that speaking in terms of percentages wouldn’t do,” he said. Honestly, I kept having to recover from mild surprises. He really was being cooperative. I wondered if he was swallowing some of his bravado because Shae had managed to deceive her way into a government position on Bagar-1.
“You know, after the threat of war from Corsov has been extinguished, perhaps Bagar-1 can extend aid in developing Earth’s space military and defenses,” he said.
“Do you think the high master would go for that?” I asked.
“Well, all we’d do is send a few experts to work alongside Earth’s space industry. They could teach them how to speed up production and refine existing technologies to be more efficient,” he said.
“I think that would be…invaluable,” I said.
“We can talk about it after we settle this,” he said. I had the feeling our meeting would last the day.
“So, it is safe to assume that we are not only lending trained fighters and pilots, but weapons as well?” he asked.
“Outside of what your soldiers usually carry and fly in…yes I’d say so.” I stifled my sigh, it was painfully apparent that Earth was due for a leap in space tech. The rest of the day was spent drafting a crude agreement for Earth’s military aid package. We got it hammered out well enough to go to Bagar-1’s government attorneys to look over and create an official document for signing by Waylen, the high master, and I.