Homeworld: Beacon 3

by Valerie Parv

  As if on cue, one of Shana’s phones rang. She reached for it but Jules was quicker, answering calmly, as though the governor’s presence in her office at this hour was routine.

  “It’s Mr. Luken,” he told her.

  She nodded and took the phone from him, covering the mouthpiece briefly. “Go home and get some sleep. Report back here at ten tomorrow … today.”

  He nodded. “I will when you do, ma’am.”

  “At least get some rest on the cots upstairs. I intend to after I finish this call.” As soon as they’d arrived she’d ordered emergency sleeping accommodation set up in two of the larger office suites, asking DeLeo to draw up a roster to ensure everyone got at least a short break. On the top floor was a small, secure apartment for the governor’s use in a crisis. This certainly qualified.

  Jules looked doubtful. “Go,” she insisted. “I won’t be far behind.”

  Her insistence got the desired result. “I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”

  When the door had closed behind him, Shana turned back to the phone. “Have you heard anything new?” she asked before Garrett could also nag her about resting. As it was, her mind and body were nagging quite enough on their own account.

  “Elaine is aboard the Kelek ship,” he said without preamble.

  Something clenched inside Shana. “Not willingly?”

  “No.”

  Her grip tightened around the phone. “Is there a chance they already had Adam?”

  “I get no sense that he’s on board.”

  “But they could be masking his life signs from you.”

  “Not so completely, or for this long.”

  “Is Elaine all right?”

  “As far as I can tell. Zael needs all three of us together and alive.”

  “You seem sure this is her objective.” Death and destruction were also goals, especially if Garrett was right and the Kelek captain was out for revenge.

  “I know it is,” Garrett said. “I’m not psychic and I can only hear things in real time, but this goes beyond anything I’ve experienced before. She wants us to get her to our homeworld.”

  “The same as the other Kelek ship,” Shana mused. More things in heaven and Earth. “Do you think Adam staged his disappearing act to stop her getting her hands on all three of you?” If she’d thought to keep her distress over Adam away from Garrett, she was mistaken. Although she’d spoken in the authoritative tone of her office, she knew his alien hearing would have picked up the anxious undercurrent.

  “I’m sure he’s okay,” Garrett assured her. “I have no basis for believing it, but I’m certain I’d know if he was in trouble.”

  The way he’d known about Elaine. “I’ll have to trust your instincts.” As she would have to trust Garrett’s instincts about Adam. Pain washed through her at the thought of what might have happened to the man she loved, but she pushed it away. She was beyond tired. She was hurting mentally as well as physically. Not in any shape to formulate next steps.

  “Amelia thinks we need some way to lure the Kelek captain onto our turf,” Garrett said. “You’re in contact with the Kelek. What do you think?”

  “Right now, I can’t think at all.” There was something she should remember, something important. Try as she might, the detail eluded her and she faced facts. “I’m out on my feet. Wake me if you hear any news from Elaine or the Kelek.” Or Adam, she added silently.

  Ending the call on Garrett’s promise, she stumbled to the sofa taking up a corner of the office. She was too tired to go upstairs to the apartment, barely making it to the couch and kicking her shoes off before her eyes insisted on closing.

  Garrett’s suggestion of luring the Kelek captain to Earth was key, she thought as she tugged a cushion under her head. What was the detail she should remember? There was a way to bring the Kelek captain down here, but what was it? Stifling a groan, Shana stretched out her burned arm to ease the throbbing, but even the pain couldn’t stop sleep from claiming her.

  *

  In the end, she managed four hours. “Why didn’t you wake me sooner?” she asked Jules. Before summoning him, she’d taken the time to freshen up in the bathroom adjoining her office, and changed her clothes. Having a complete wardrobe available at her office for official duties had seldom been more useful.

  The aide placed a steaming mug of coffee on the low table in front of the sofa. “There’ve been no changes. You were the one insisting we all needed rest.”

  Hoist by her own petard. She could hardly blame him for handing her own advice back to her. “You’re right,” she said, rubbing her face. “Have you heard anything from Garrett Luken or Adam Desai?”

  “Mr. Luken called earlier but he said not to disturb you.”

  And nothing from Adam. As a chill slid down her spine, she picked up the mug and let its warmth seep into her hands. A plate of pastries had also appeared on the table but she ignored them. Jules had the sense not to push his mother hen act too far.

  “Get Mr. Luken on the phone.” She remembered what had worried her before sleeping. A hook to get the Kelek captain down to Earth. Zael might want her son’s body back.

  “Feeling better?” Garrett asked when he answered. Jules had discreetly retreated to his office adjoining hers.

  “I only wish the party was worth the hangover.”

  The writer laughed without humor. “I’ve had better days myself.”

  “Jules said you called earlier. You should have let him wake me.”

  This brought another dry laugh. “He said it was more than his life’s worth. You really shouldn’t terrorize your staff, Shana.”

  She took a swallow of coffee, grimacing at the strength but appreciating the caffeine hit. “It was his own idea. And if he tries it again, he may find out what a real terror I can be. Have you had any more thoughts about the Kelek captain?”

  “Not yet.” Garrett paused. “I’d like your clearance to go to Adam’s office at Black Tree.”

  Hope cut through her tension, although she dismissed it instantly. She daren’t give in to her feelings now when she needed to stay focused. All the same, she had to ask, “You think Adam might have left a clue to his disappearance?”

  “Possibly. The only way I’ll find out is by looking.”

  “Then by all means go. The roads are closed and patrolled but I’ll authorize access for you. Call me when you have something to report.”

  “I will,” he assured her.

  Before he could end the call, she said, “There is one favor you can do for me.”

  “Anything.”

  “Take Timo Rooke with you.”

  She pictured Garrett’s brows coming together in a frown. “He’s not a scientist.”

  “No, but he is a strategic thinker. In the UN he was well known for pulling rabbits out of hats. And once he learns that the Kelek have Elaine, he’ll turn into a raging bull. Having him with you when he finds out gives me one less crisis to deal with.”

  “I certainly owe you that.”

  “He might be able to help,” Shana said quietly. She didn’t have to remind Garrett how much the writer owed to Timo on his own account. If not for the diplomat’s loan of his private plane and considerable resources to help Elaine get to Garrett, he could well have died at ESIN’s hands.

  “I’ll contact Timo and set something up,” Garrett vowed, his voice gruff with memories. “We’ll also have the media tagging along.”

  “Amelia Takei is still with you?”

  “Sticking like glue. When this is over, she wants the story.”

  “I see no harm in giving her full access,” Shana said. “She’s been a thorn in my government’s side since the election, convinced we were keeping something from her. Even so, her reporting has been fair and balanced.”

  “She’ll be happy to hear that.”

  “I mean it. In any case, there’s no way we can keep things under wraps this time. Too many people heard the Kelek captain cut into our broadcast, although we tried dismissin
g it as a hoax.”

  “Amelia among them,” he said. “She reminded me that the observatory traced the signal off-planet, although as you noted, she was suspicious of us long before this.”

  The governor wasn’t surprised. She’d tangled with the TV presenter in interviews too many times in the police and more recently in politics, to underestimate her. “Then we’re better off having her where we can keep an eye on her. Make sure she knows I want everything to go through my office before it goes to air. I don’t want anyone going off half-cocked and bringing the Kelek down on our heads.”

  “I’ll tell her. Anything else?”

  “Good luck.”

  And find Adam for me.

  Chapter 16

  “A helicopter would have been a lot faster.”

  At the wheel of Amelia’s car, with the TV presenter leaning between the seats and Timo Rooke in the front passenger seat, Garrett concentrated on avoiding obstacles on the road. He’d known the tsunami had done its worst around the space center, but being close to ground zero was a revelation.

  “They’re tied up with relief work. Besides, we don’t want to make things too easy for Captain Zael to pick us up. I’ve activated a field that makes it impossible for her to lock on to us.”

  Timo shot Garrett a furious look. “Your field generator didn’t do much good protecting Elaine.”

  He couldn’t keep the regret out of his voice. “She only had a copy. I have the original.”

  “When this is over, I’ll have my people take your original apart,” Timo said through clenched teeth. “They’ll find out what makes it work, whatever it takes.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me.” As he spun the wheel to dodge a drift of debris, Garrett wished he’d taken Timo into their confidence long before. Elaine trusted him – Garrett should have done the same. If they had, his friend might not be in Kelek hands now.

  To Timo, Elaine was much more than a friend. She was his partner and the mother of his child. Shana had been right to fear the diplomat’s reaction. Elaine had disappeared while waiting for Timo’s driver to take her to their hotel. When she couldn’t be traced, Timo had contacted Garrett and demanded answers.

  Unwilling to share on the phone what he’d sensed, Garrett had gone to Timo and told him the truth, man to man. Timo’s dark coloring had paled visibly. His clenched fists and the veins cording the sides of his neck had been the only signs of a rage Garrett could well understand.

  Ever since Elaine had been seized, he’d berated himself for not making her take the original field generator. If he’d overridden her refusal, she might be with them still. No-one in Garrett’s life meant as much to him as Elaine, and he could imagine the loss and helplessness Timo must feel. In the diplomat’s shoes, Garrett would have been looking for someone to kill.

  In the end he’d had to get Shana on the phone to convince Timo to go with him to Black Tree. Only the thought of finding something there that might help Elaine had done the trick.

  Shana hadn’t exaggerated Timo’s resources. The man had inherited vast wealth in Hawai’i but had parlayed this legacy into an even greater fortune he used for humanitarian causes. Garrett had only known the former diplomat through Elaine, and she’d said little about what drove Timo. Obviously it was the desire to do good in the world. And he’d achieved that through his work with the United Nations.

  “I haven’t forgotten I owe you my life,” Garrett said gruffly.

  Timo nodded tautly. “Get Elaine back for me, and we’re even.”

  Garrett hoped to God that Timo didn’t know what had happened between Garrett and Elaine as a result of ESIN’s torture. None of it had meant anything other than to save Garrett’s life, but if Timo had an inkling that she and Garrett had been lovers, in the mood the diplomat was in now, he might be tempted to finish ESIN’s job.

  There was no censure in the other man’s voice as he said, “Elaine’s the one responsible for your rescue. She dreamed up the whole plan and carried it out.”

  “We will get her back,” Garret said, his voice filled with determination.

  The diplomat’s grim nod was his only reply.

  *

  They were in the oldest part of the facility, where an outdoor display of vintage rockets had been set up. Beyond them was a white-painted building Garrett knew from his Air Force Space Command days. “This was where Atai’s space program really began,” he said. Last time Garrett had been here, a latticed gantry had pierced the sky only a few hundred meters from the old complex. Now it lolled like a drunk within sight of the bunker-like building.

  Amelia looked around with interest. “Burton Hackett thought he was doing the country a favor by basing the shuttle in Atai, but Carramer was part of the space program as far back as 1958, when America started sending up satellites and putting primates into orbit.” She’d done her homework.

  When they got inside, Garrett was once again gripped by nostalgia. “This place was part of a worldwide network of monitoring stations linking the first shuttle missions to ground control. As part of the 45th Space Wing, I spent a few weeks here as an observer for the AFSPC – Air Force Space Command,” he explained.

  “I know what ASFPC stands for,” Amelia said. “I suppose you consider this place a historical relic?”

  “It did a hell of a job in its day,” Garrett said. “Without these facilities, our space program wouldn’t be as effective as it has been. We owe Carramer a debt.”

  He wondered how much Timo knew about Adam and Elaine taking over this place to hijack the shuttle, enabling Garrett to intercept and destroy the first Kelek ship. Even Adam’s genius would be challenged to cobble together such a mission now, Garrett thought, looking around in dismay. Many of the windows had blown out on the seaward side. Debris littered the historic interior, and the display of old space rockets leaned against each other like dominoes.

  “What a mess,” he heard Amelia hiss. She’d wanted to bring some of her production team along, but Shana had vetoed the involvement of any more people.

  “They have their own families to worry about,” the governor had reminded Amelia. She’d grudgingly given in, but Garrett could see the restrictions troubled her. She’d settled for capturing everything around her on her cell phone.

  He felt a pang of empathy. Long used to having at least one other beacon on his personal radar, he was fighting a sense of loss at being cut off from both Elaine and Adam.

  “What do you think we can do here?” Timo asked as they climbed the stairs leading to Adam’s office.

  “With luck, find out what Adam was working on and hope it leads us to wherever he went. I assume the governor briefed you before you came along.”

  Timo nodded. “Even so, if Elaine wasn’t in danger, I wouldn’t be here.”

  Garrett got the message. They had an ally for as long as it took to rescue Elaine, then all bets were off. He couldn’t exactly blame the man.

  Putting his shoulder to a door partly blocked by fallen shelving, Garrett grunted and said, “I take it Elaine told you everything.” He didn’t add that he’d heard a good part of the conversation.

  “She told me. It doesn’t change how I feel about her,”

  But it had changed Timo’s attitude toward the other beacons, Garrett guessed. And not for the better. “We didn’t choose to be who we are,” he told the diplomat. “And Elaine’s alien skills help make her what she is.” Let the other man take that as he would. A future with Elaine demanded all or nothing. Pretending she was totally human wouldn’t work for long.

  Timo’s expression showed that he knew it, too. “We both have adjustments to make.”

  There might be hope for him and Elaine after all. But Garrett knew she could take care of herself. He hoped it was true while she was in the Kelek’s hands.

  The door crept inward but Timo didn’t offer to help. Accustomed to having minions do his bidding, Garrett thought, quelling an ugly surge of jealousy. He could hardly hold the man’s money against him whe
n it had helped save Garrett’s life. The door gave and he almost fell into Adam’s office.

  Everything was as the scientist had left it. A big electronic whiteboard was the main feature. Garrett had no idea what the maze of complex notations meant. His nose wrinkled at the sour smell of a sandwich left half-eaten. He swept the debris into a waste bin but the taint lingered.

  Timo looked equally unimpressed. “Obviously genius doesn’t believe in cleaning up after itself.”

  “He has a lot of responsibilities. It’s hardly surprising if he gets sidetracked at times.” Suddenly he tensed, his listener senses on alert. “There’s someone else in the building.”

  “I didn’t hear anything.” Timo glanced at Amelia. “You?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t see anyone when we came in, either.”

  “It could be one of the staff sheltering here after missing the evacuation,” Garrett murmured.

  “Or someone involved in Adam’s disappearance,” Timo muttered.

  Behind the control center was a warren of offices and meeting rooms. Only Garrett had heard the slight noise downstairs, but he didn’t feel like explaining himself to either of them until he’d solved the mystery.

  “Stay here.” He headed for the door, irritated when Timo followed.

  Amelia started to follow too, then surprised Garrett by responding to his gesture and slowing. “I’d like to study Adam’s whiteboard,” she said softly.

  Suspicion coiled through Garrett. He didn’t like leaving her alone but she was safer in the office. To his disquiet, as he led the way downstairs, Garrett he saw the shape of a handgun appear in Timo’s grasp. A NAA-22S mini revolver. Low recoil, quiet, accurate for small game and self-defense. Garrett froze. No stranger to firearms himself, he was still uncomfortable with them in civilian situations.

  “I hope you don’t plan on using that.”

  “Doesn’t hurt to be prepared.” Timo kept his voice low but sounded as if he wouldn’t be dissuaded. The sense of walking into danger made Garrett decide against arguing.

  He stopped in a short stretch of hallway, gesturing to a door a few meters away. Behind it he’d heard slight movements. Timo nodded and Garrett crept closer until he could peer through the glass panel.