Remember what Joseph told you about Nesof’s hidden place. It wouldn’t be so well hidden if the monitors could access it. You wouldn’t see it from the guard station.
That had to be it. Almon squeezed his eyes shut and tried to think. What had Joseph told him? What were the exact words? If Almon could remember where they’d been when they’d had that conversation…
Joseph, standing in his private room, still unfurnished, surprised and touched that he had an office all to himself. Then an expression of recognition. He’d said some stuff about noticing Kalquorians liking their personal space. That though Nesof lived alone, he also had a hideaway on the facility’s grounds he sometimes snuck off to.
And I said—or maybe I only thought—that Nesof was low for shirking his duty during work hours.
Forget that part. Did Joseph hint at all about where the place was?
“Wait. He did tell me it was somewhere the surveillance system wasn’t working,” Almon muttered. He could hear Joseph’s voice in his brain, speaking those very words. “And it wasn’t working because—”
It was in the closed section of the center. The caverns at the back of the property.
Almon scanned the monitors again, noting that the riot was losing steam. Inmates littered the floor of that ward, either injured or sedated, as he could see orderlies, nurses and doctors—including Joseph’s Dr. Adna—administering injections as security guards held struggling patients. He quickly dismissed that to look at other sections of the facility.
Three vid feeds were indeed listed as inoperable within the computer’s surveillance system, all of them labeled, Original Ward with the numbers One, Two or Three following each designation. The older portion of the institution was supposedly hazardous and cordoned off by a containment bubble.
Almon glanced at the riot again. The personnel had definitely gotten it under control, with unconscious patients being carted by gurneys into their rooms. Guards were starting to peel off, moving to other locations. He was almost out of time before he’d be discovered. Almon doubted security guards would be inclined to listen to the explanations of someone who’d broken in and gone through their vid feeds.
He located and examined the feeds of the containment border between the facility units in use and the prohibited zone. Almon nearly shouted when he saw Nesof himself hurrying from the barrier region. The orderly was leaving the sector of the complex clearly labeled, “Do Not Enter. Hazardous Area. Authorized Personnel Only.”
He saw no sign of Joseph. Nesof was alone as he trekked from the rear caverns. If Almon’s companion had been imprisoned in there, he would need an access code to get through the containment. Or maybe Nesof had gone there to grab something? Maybe he was going to another location, somewhere else he held Joseph.
Almon checked the center’s layout map on the desk, all too aware that he would be discovered at any moment. That he could be detained by security, keeping him from finding and rescuing Joseph. But he needed to figure out where Nesof was off to.
His thick finger traced the path the monitors told him Nesof was on, expecting it to lead to the staff shuttle pad. But no, that was in the other direction. It looked as if he were walking to the maintenance quarter, a cavern division off by itself to the west of the main facility.
Almon stood, ready to head off, when he caught a slight gleam off to one end of the maintenance pad. Apparently, the staff for that department had their own parking, which was lit by a single light, nearest the maintenance offices. However, the gleam that had caught the Nobek’s eye was from a lone craft at the far edge, barely discerned in the shadows.
A good place to land if a man didn’t want to call much attention to himself. With it being after day shift hours, the guard staffing the station wouldn’t have paid much mind to that particular monitor.
Nesof might be leaving all right, ready to fly wherever he’d imprisoned Joseph. Almon had to beat him to the shuttle. He needed to somehow sneak on board so the other Nobek would unknowingly take him to his companion.
Unless he was leaving Joseph behind at the old section. In that case, Almon needed to find access past the barricade, and let Nesof depart unaccompanied for wherever he was going.
Fuck. What do I do?
Almon glanced at the dim corridor behind him, hearing voices moving toward in his direction. There was no opportunity to debate the matter. He had to come to a decision and hope it was the correct one.
Almon unlocked the main door and rushed out, hurrying as fast as his poison-weakened body would allow.
* * * *
Despite having no hope for success, Joseph made another lurching round of the room, inch by inch, looking for a weapon. This time, he pulled the sleeping mat from the wall and discovered a metal rod the length of his forearm hidden there. It wasn’t much, but it was all he could find to fight with. He had to trust it would somehow be enough to overcome Nesof. It was worth any attempt to set himself free.
He stationed himself to the side of the door to wait for his captor. Nesof was full of himself to have left Joseph free instead of tying him down. The smug bastard thought him weak, and he would pay for that. Somehow, someway, even with his vision wavering and his skull aching fit to explode, Joseph would make Nesof regret treating him so lightly.
Thoughts of revenge lasted only so long. With nothing to do but hold his position and listen—though Nobeks were silent as a rule—fears began to crowd in on Joseph. Nesof had said Almon was dead, but that couldn’t be true. Could it?
Please, no. If there is anyone who hears prayers, make it another of his lies. I can’t lose Almon.
He mustn’t think in such a fashion. He had to believe his Nobek was out there, strong and invincible, searching high and low for him. Until he viewed a lifeless body with his own eyes, Joseph would insist his lover lived. Because if Almon was dead, he couldn’t stand to think of what the rest of his own life counted for.
He would not believe it, no matter what Nesof said.
* * * *
Despite his swimming vision, Almon arrived at the maintenance shuttle pad before Nesof. He crouched in the shadow of the vessel he believed to be the orderly’s and concentrated on being as motionless as possible. Nesof’s arrival would be silent, without warning.
Almon still debated what he should do. Under normal circumstances, he could have fought toe to toe with the orderly and reasonably hoped to win. Nesof was a bit younger, but Almon had years of military training and experience. They were about the same weight, height, and muscle mass, so that part should have been an even contest.
Except it wasn’t. Almon could not have the straightforward fight he wanted. He ticked off the odds against him beating Nesof into telling him where Joseph was hidden.
Weakened by poison.
No weapon since he’d broken his knife.
Also, no ability to com Kavug and Trib, since they’d confiscated his unit to search through its records and messages.
Nesof was an obsessed asshole who had gone to great lengths to lay his hands on Joseph and hide his guilt from law enforcement. If Almon could get the upper hand somehow, his foe would probably refuse to reveal Joseph’s whereabouts, knowing Almon wouldn’t dare kill him for fear of never finding his lover.
Almon saw no hope on relying on brute strength. Instead, he would have to be smart. For Joseph’s sake, he would have to set aside the need to make Nesof suffer.
A movement in the dark brought him out of his ruminations. Nesof appeared in the shadows, approaching the vessel. Perhaps if he’d been more careful, he would have seen his enemy hunkered beneath the craft. Or heard his breath, which to Almon, seemed to thunder with raspy anticipation. But Nesof wasn’t concerned about being detected. He’d become foolish with overconfidence, having never been caught in any of his games. The fact that he was bleeding from the face, a fresh wound, failed to alter his swagger. But it led Almon to believe that Joseph was indeed on the site, in those abandoned caverns. His lover had put marks on Nesof, made him
bleed. Excitement thrummed through his frame.
Nesof gave the area a cursory glance before climbing into his craft. Again, Almon weighed the pros and cons of confrontation, especially since he was positive Joseph was being kept nearby. His vision pitched slightly, as if to warn him anew of how foolish such an action would be. It hurt Almon’s Nobek heart to the core to hide, but he quietly withdrew from the shuttle. He crept to the edge of the landing pad, shrinking into the deeper shadows in case Nesof was readying to leave. Almon concealed himself among a batch of large stones, managing to maintain a view of the shuttle.
Nesof didn’t depart. He came out the vessel again, this time carrying a bin. As the hatch closed behind him, he paused, his head coming up alert, nostrils flaring. Scenting the breeze, which had shifted slightly, he resembled an animal picking up a suspicious odor. He put down the bin and stooped, glaring beneath the craft, where Almon had been only a moment before.
Seconds passed. Almon waited, tensed. But the breeze had switched to its original path, carrying Nesof’s trace to him instead of the reverse. After a few moments, Nesof shrugged and muttered to himself. He picked up the bin and hurried toward the far caverns, the way he’d come.
Almon let him disappear into the night before following, tracking the other Nobek with his sense of smell. He moved in absolute silence, refusing to allow continued dizziness throw him off-balance.
As off-center as his vision was, Almon was able to pick out movement in the darkness beyond the lit shuttle pad. Had not the mix of musk and antiseptic that was all Nesof not been easily picked up, he would have been able to follow the other Nobek anyway. He fell back farther, afraid Nesof would sense he was being tracked. Fortunately, the nighttime chorus of the reptilian drils rang loudly, helping to cover any sound Almon might have made.
Something else entered his shaky eyesight. The dim humps of the unused caverns appeared in the distance, deep black silhouettes against the starry sky. Almon slowed more.
Yet for all his caution, he didn’t realize Nesof had stopped until a strange shimmer appeared several yards before him, illuminating the shadowy figure of the other. Almon halted and stared at the wavering, transparent curtain that extended overhead in a curve. Nesof had reached the containment wall. The shimmer stopped and Nesof stepped through where it had been. He paused again.
Realizing what was about to happen, Almon streaked toward the closest portion of the barrier area, no longer worrying about being quiet in the race to find Joseph. But he was too late. The shimmer reappeared, then faded, with him on the wrong side. Once more, he was blocked from rescuing his companion.
The figure of Nesof continued to walk towards the cavern and was swallowed in the darkness.
Chapter Eighteen
As the minutes ticked by and Nesof did not return, Joseph caught himself drifting to sleep. Despite standing on his feet and the determination to fight free, his eyes kept closing. The metal rod dropped from his fingers at one point, and the distant clanging was barely enough to rouse him from growing stupor.
Too many hits on the noggin. I’m in trouble.
He picked the rod up and the room tilted violently, nearly sending Joseph to the floor. He fought to remain upright. If he went down, he might not be able to stand up again.
No sooner had he straightened when the door hissed open. He had no time to set himself, especially with the ground rocking beneath him. During his more lucid moments, he’d rehearsed the attack in his head, a fierce urge to escape filling him. Desperation reasserted itself the second he knew Nesof was coming in. Those mental preparations and determination guided his actions while his brain was still catching up.
Nesof entered inches away, turning toward him. Joseph swung. It was a perfectly aimed shot, with all his strength behind it. A triumphant scream blasted from his throat.
Nesof’s hand shot up at the last possible second, and the bar thudded against his palm. He yanked it from Joseph’s grasp as easily as if taking it from a child. He held the bar before his gaze, his face creasing with irritation. “Damn it, I thought I’d cleared the area of any objects you might hurt yourself with.”
Joseph’s slow brain caught up with current events half a second later. He launched himself at Nesof, determined to somehow hurt the bastard. Nesof caught him almost as easily as he had the bar, dropping it with a ringing clang to the tiles. He tossed Joseph to the bed, where the Earther landed heavily.
It had all happened too fast for his cloudy mind to work through at normal speed. By the time he turned over to confront his enemy again, Nesof had brought a bin in, unsealed it, and withdrawn a few lengths of cord. He stalked over to Joseph and shoved him flat on the mat. Sitting on Joseph’s stomach, Nesof tied his wrists and ankles to the four posts.
“There. You can relax, knowing I won’t allow you to harm yourself. Plus, this could be a fun sort of play, right?”
“Asshole! Let me up!” Joseph strained at his bonds.
Ignoring his struggles, Nesof rose off him and the mat and returned to the bin. “Speaking of play, have I got a surprise for you. Several surprises, in fact.” He dragged the large container over and sat on the edge of the mat. Humming a happy tune, he rummaged through the contents.
Joseph couldn’t discern what the Nobek was doing from his prone position. He wasn’t sure his wavering vision would have made sense of anything anyway. Darkness had appeared at the edges, narrowing his eyesight to a wide tunnel.
“Nesof, listen to me. I’ve been fighting unconsciousness for a while now. I think you gave me a serious concussion.”
“I doubt it. You’ve had a long night and you’re tired. But these should wake you up.” He grinned and dangled a vibrating cock sleeve and a body harness before Joseph’s eyes.
The Earther’s stomach cramped with sudden nausea. “Do you really think I’d want you after all you’ve done? What am I supposed to be? Your captive sex slave, a piece of meat for you to fuck when the urge hits?”
“Ancestors, how can you say that? You’re going to be my companion. I brought more than sex toys. I simply thought they’d be more interesting to you to start with. See?” He tossed the foul items back into the bin and rummaged again. He held up a yellow silk shirt for Joseph’s inspection. “All the latest styles from the best shops. Not those cheap rags the other bought for you.”
“Almon. His name is Almon. He’s the man I love.”
Nesof’s slap was almost lazy, but Joseph’s head rocked hard to the side. His cheek blazed with pain despite the momentary sensation of falling off a cliff. The tunnel he peered through narrowed.
“Lies will get you punished, my little lover. Did I show you the paddle yet? It can be for fun or for me to blister your butt when you misbehave. I suggest you keep that in mind.”
“You—you can’t force me to desire you.” Joseph turned his head, bringing the now-hated visage of his former friend into sight once more.
“There will be an adjustment period, Joseph. I understand that. But in the end, you will realize how much you love me.” Nesof opened his mouth wide, showing him the fangs descending behind his flatter teeth. “What do you say, my companion? Let’s begin our happy life as clanmates, shall we?”
Joseph’s scream as Nesof bit deep into his neck rang against the walls.
* * * *
“This could be a matter of life or death! For our ancestors’ sakes, check the monitors!”
“This is your last warning. I’m comming the authorities if you don’t step back into the foyer, Nobek.” The young guard at the psychiatric center’s front desk glared at Almon, caressing a stunner holstered in his belt as he spoke.
“Perfect! Com Investigator Kavug and Enforcer Trib. They’re searching for Nesof as we speak.”
The stupid kid, enjoying his authority far too much, responded by pulling the stunner free. At that moment a familiar voice called from the corridor behind him, “Nobek Almon?”
Almon had never been so relieved to see anyone as Joseph’s therapist,
Dr. Adna. “Thank you, Mother of All. Doctor, you have to help me. Nobek Nesof has taken Joseph and is holding him in the abandoned section of the site.”
“You look terrible. What are you doing on your feet? Are you bleeding? The investigator who came by to question me this afternoon said you’d been poisoned.” Adna pulled a scanner off his belt, holstered much as the security guard’s stunner had been.
Almon waved off his attempts to take a medical reading. “That’s not important. Nesof has abducted Joseph. He’s holding him in the abandoned area beyond the containment barrier. I have to find him.”
The Nobek guard hovered close, ready to insert himself between Almon and Adna. He spoke to the therapist. “If you ask me, you should shove this guy into a ward. He’s loopy.”
“You were told that law enforcement initially suspected Joseph of poisoning me?” Almon ignored the unhelpful sentry as he prodded Adna to catch up on the latest events.
“I told the officers that Joseph wasn’t capable of such nonsense. But Nesof has always been a friend to him. His only ally in the facility, in fact.”
“That’s due to Nesof scaring the hell out of your patient where the others were concerned. He told Joseph lies about the other inmates and staff, convinced him to cut himself off from everyone else. Joseph is not the first patient he’s fixated on, but the previous victims were considered too ill to be taken seriously.”
Realization dawned on Adna’s expression. “Is Nesof the infatuated Nobek Joseph mentioned was harassing him? He didn’t say it was his former orderly.”
“The situation was complicated. I got into records I shouldn’t have, so Joseph was protecting me by not giving you Nesof’s name.”
“You think Nesof has taken him? Hidden him in the old wards?”
“I saw that bastard leave and then return to that area. He had a bloody nose, like someone had tried to take a chunk of it off him.”
Joseph Page 17