Trix looked back at her in confusion but didn’t get a word out before Joe spoke up on the android’s behalf. “Trix is as real as you and I. Besides, she will be able carry her to the infirmary if she needs help.” Joe considered the discussion over and turned to Braedon next. “Find a way to track that ship.”
“There’s not much of a trail to follow,” the young man said.
“Doesn’t matter, do you what you can. Karter, can you reach out to Investigator Hyttinen?”
“Yes, but I doubt she’ll help us.”
Joe nodded. “Leave that to me. Get her on the comms and I’ll do the rest.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Karter agreed. Though he no doubt hated taking orders from Joe, he had a vested interest in Iza’s well-being; that put them on the same team.
“Viper, get a hold of your old crew,” Joe continued his instructions. “I want to talk to Douketis.”
“Not sure he’ll go for that, but I’ll try. Most likely he’ll want to yell at me so I can buy you some time, if you hurry.”
“Good enough.”
Joe went to Iza’s cabin to look for clues regarding her abduction. Being a small, private vessel, the Verity wasn’t equipped with surveillance cameras, and there wasn’t any log about docking with another vessel. Whoever had taken her had sophisticated tech for covering their tracks.
The dog greeted Joe at the door, and didn’t hide his disappointment when he discovered Iza wasn’t with him. Joe reached down and rubbed behind the dog’s one brown ear. “Sorry, I miss her too, but we’ll find her.”
Joe searched around her cabin. There was nothing obviously out of place. It appeared that she’d been asleep and got up, judging by the night clothes she’d left on the floor and the absence of her boots. Her handgun was also missing. He knew she patrolled the ship on nights when she had trouble sleeping, so she’d likely been taken while she was wandering.
Joe sensed he wasn’t alone, confirmed a moment later by a short bark from the dog.
“She’s not much for personal items,” Karter said from the doorway.
Joe kept his back to him. “No, but what she keeps are things she cares about.”
Joe ran a hand along her shelf of keepsakes. He picked up a ship part and remembered her telling him about her very first ship one night when they couldn’t stand to be apart. Karter had changed the nature of that closeness, and it made seeing the man even more difficult.
“Any word from the Investigator?” Joe asked to keep his mind off the engagement.
“Yes, I would like to be there when you speak to her.”
“No.” Joe said with a shake of his head. “This is a conversation for her and me alone. If that’s a problem for you, well, then it’s your problem.”
Joe turned and looked Karter square in the eyes. The man had tried to use him, and Joe had found a way around it, but that didn’t mean Karter wouldn’t tell Iza his secret, eventually. He was already on borrowed time.
“It’s your choice. Would you like the call routed here?”
“Yes.”
“Fine, I’ll leave you alone.” Karter slipped out the door.
Joe waited for the viewscreen on Iza’s wall to illuminate with the incoming call. He smiled when Desirae’s face appeared. She seemed more disappointed than usual.
“Investigator Hyttinen, thank you for speaking with me,” Joe said, keeping his tone as TSS business as possible. “Victor Arvonen has taken our captain Iza Sundari against her will. I hope that you’ll render us some assistance.”
“Is that your hope?” Desirae laughed and then sobered when she he didn’t smile or blink. “Well, as it happens, I’m done with Victor Arvonen. He’s preoccupied with getting his little box at the moment and doesn’t have time to see to his other commitments through.”
“So, you’re aware of his side project?”
Desirae’s mouth firmed. “More than I care to be.”
“He was also involved in the kidnapping of several distinguished scientists on Galminus.”
That got her attention. “Are you saying he ordered the abductions?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have proof?”
Joe thought back to the two scientists they’d rescued and the henchmen they’d fought and shook his head. “No, not yet. But I could get proof. I need to get on the Arvonen One. I can get Iza off and get the proof needed to prosecute Arvonen for his crimes.”
Desirae gave it some thought. “You’re an ex-TSS Agent. You expect me to go in waving guns around in the face of a dynastic mogul to appease your girlfriend?”
“She’s not my—”
“Spare me, it’s like she’s got some kind of magnet attached to you, it’s so obvious. I don’t understand how Karter tolerates it.”
Joe let out a long-suffering sigh. He didn’t want to waste time on her petty jealousy. “Can you take us to the Arvonen One and provide armed support?”
Desirae looked him over, measuring him up. “Perhaps, but you’ll need to make it up to me. Isn’t there some kind of alert out on you?”
Joe glanced at the floor and then met her gaze again. He knew what he had to do to get help, but Iza wasn’t going to like it.
—
Viper’s conversation with Douketis went as poorly as she’d predicted, much to Joe’s disappointment.
“You stole from me, kid. Then you took off without so much as a thanks,” Douketis blustered. He kept lifting his hat off of his head and slamming it back down in a comedic way that made Joe snicker. When he couldn’t handle it anymore, he interrupted Viper’s tongue lashing.
“Sir, I recognize that you and Iza have some bad blood between you, but in all fairness, you set her up to be captured and now Arvonen has her. She’s in extraordinary danger. Do you have any idea what it was you stole for him?”
“I stole nothing for him. I work for credits, Agent Pretty,” Douketis said with a smirk as he crossed his arms.
Joe ignored his insulting reference to the TSS and focused on the problem at hand. “That device he has is an alien artifact, and he’s planning to use it to shift the balance of power in this region of the galaxy. I can’t appreciate the difficulties of running a hauling business, but they must be bad when you have to dump your problems on a kid. The great thing about helping others, even if you don’t want to, is that they can owe you one. If you do this for us, we’ll owe you one.”
Reis bristled in the background, her spiked pink hair shaking from side to side. Joe ignored her, as did Douketis.
“The kid owes you,” Joe continued. “She’s willing to pay off her debt with time, if you’ll take her back. The Verity crew will also be in your debt. In the days ahead, having another crew to call on might come in handy.”
“A payback is only good if there’s someone left alive to pay it. You can’t be sure you’ll survive to make good on that deal.”
Reis stepped forward and whispered something in Douketis’ ear. He nodded twice before turning his attention back to Jovani. “You expect us to run at the Arvonen armada with only you for backup? I suggest you give up the drink and take honest work for a change and keep your nose out of politics.”
Joe took in a deep breath. He’d hoped that the concession of taking back Viper would be enough. He didn’t want to tip his hand too early, but it looked as though there was trust needed on both sides.
“We won’t be alone. An armed Enforcer escort will be joining us.”
“Enforcers?” Douketis raised his eyebrows. “Why in the bomaxed worlds would I want to get mixed up with them?”
“You won’t be. I guarantee if you help us, you’ll be free to take Viper and go your way.”
Douketis rubbed his chin in thought. “This job is risky, I can’t just send my people in there without some compensation.”
I should’ve known. Joe’s jaw tightened. He was dealing with a shady businessman, and a businessman made money. “What’s it going to take?”
“It seems you’ve acquired a
new shuttle. The sleek one.”
“That’s doesn’t belong to us,” Joe countered.
“Makes no difference to me how you got it as long as you turn it over to us when we come through for you. Whether or not you get your captain, by the way. If we help you with this, you’ll need to hand it over.”
Joe sighed. He’d need to clear it with Karter, which meant more even more debt. “Fine, I’ll get you the shuttle. But only if we get our captain off that ship. That’s my final offer.”
Reis bent her head to whisper something to her captain but Douketis already knew his answer. He held up a hand to prevent her speaking, while keeping his eyes trained on the screen in front of him. Douketis was measuring him to determine if he was worth trusting. Joe kept his features neutral, but he felt a light twitch in his cheek where he bit back the stress. Then, the older man touched two fingers to the brim of his hat.
Joe let out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I’m sending you the coordinates. Meet us there and proceed with caution. You don’t want the Arvonen One to see you coming.”
“He won’t.”
Now that his external players were on the field, it was time to sit down with the quarterback and make sure he knew all the plays. It couldn’t be easy for Braedon going up against his father like this, but Joe knew they’d need him to pull this off.
Braedon was working on his comic in the galley when Joe entered and sat down beside him. He’d started a new page and seemed to be focused more intently on it than any other page he’d worked on.
“Got a minute?” Joe asked.
Braedon sat back in his seat and gave Joe half a smile. “Sure, Captain.”
Joe must have given him a strange look because he let out half a laugh and continued. “We’re taking our orders from you now. I figured calling you ‘captain’ just made more sense.”
Joe took in the statement and made a mental note to let Iza know she should assign someone to be her second. If she was gone, like now, they needed someone to step up to make the decisions. In this case, he’d taken on the job himself, but considering how she’d been acting lately, she might not be interested in having him be captain. Though, truth be told, he was pretty sure he was the most qualified.
“I came here to talk to you about your father,” Joe said, keeping a close eye on Braedon’s reactions. He was surprised to see that there was no shock or surprise.
“You want to know if I’m still going to be loyal to the crew or if I’m going to try and save my dad,” Braedon said without taking a breath.
Joe raised his hands to protest, but Braedon pressed on.
“No, I get it. I’m the son of the megalomaniac. Of course, my loyalty is in question.”
Joe had heard enough. “Let me stop you right there. Your loyalty is not in question here. You and I have been through enough to know where we stand.”
Braedon nodded at this as if he’d already come to the same conclusion. “Then what do you need to talk to me about, with this most serious of expressions on your face?”
Joe tried to relax. As soon as he did so, he realized he’d not only been frowning. “With what we’re about to do, going up against your father, things could get a little intense. Are you sure you want to be a part of it? No one would blame you if you said no.”
Braedon shook his head. “I made my choice when I went against him and his agenda and stole the H3X out from under him. You know I’ll help you any way I can.”
“I’m counting on it. We’ll need to hack into their systems if we have any chance of getting Iza out alive.”
“Of course, I’m ready for anything they try to throw at us. I’ll get you into my father’s computer network and I’ll keep them busy, but I’m going with you.”
“I don’t think that’s wise. Rebelling against your father’s agenda is one thing, fighting him hand-to-hand is another. It’s better if you stay behind.”
“No, it’s not,” Braedon insisted. He took a step closer to Joe and squared his shoulders to gain a couple more centimeters of height. “You need me to gain access to the Arvonen One and you’ll want me there to hold down the shuttle so there will be a way for you to escape off my father’s ship. Sorry, pal, you’re stuck with me.”
Joe stood up to leave the galley and clapped a hand on the teenager’s shoulder. Braedon was eager but he was also young. Losing one parent did damage to a kid, but losing two could be detrimental, of which Joe was living proof. The anger could drag you under and pull you away from anything resembling a family.
Strange that it had taken boarding the Verity for him to realize he was home. He thought about his TSS handheld in the nightstand drawer. There were half a dozen more messages from Mandren demanding he report in. Now that he’d put the plan into place, he knew he’d made his own choice about his loyalties. Nothing mattered except getting Iza back. Whatever reprimand waited for him would keep until he returned.
— — —
Mr. Arvonen shoved his handkerchief into his pocket and turned toward Iza. Now she saw it; he was looking at her the way he’d been looking at the young man who’d entered just after her.
“Well, as you may have noticed, we haven’t yet mastered the technology. But we will. We have plenty of subjects, and you’re here now. Why waste perfectly good scientific minds when a nice independent spirit like you can go through the portal and tell us exactly what’s on the other side?” He said the words as if he was asking her to sit down at dinner table and pass the bread.
Iza choked back the bile burning her throat. This would be the end of her life. Fantastic! This is going to be a great day.
“Bring her forward,” Mr. Arvonen said to the guards behind Iza. They jump to attention, pushing her forward toward the portal.
“The Gate holds the answers to all kinds of mysteries we’ve never been able to figure out. But if we can harness its power, we can rule the Taran worlds.” Mr. Arvonen made it sound like he was offering her up as a sacrifice.
He’s crazy. She wasn’t about to willingly go through that thing, not when a dozen people had previously stepped through and none ever came back. The scent of burned flesh still lingered in her nose, telling her everything she needed to know about their fate.
However, Arvonen had no illusions about her freely stepping through the portal. That’s why the guards were there.
Iza needed to figure out a way to show she was more valuable alive than dead. “Wait, you don’t want to send me. If I go through, I’m not going to tell you anything. I’m useless to you.”
“That’s not entirely true, my dear. With each new subject, we learn a little more about the Gate. I’m certain you will be remembered in the years to come as one who aided my ascension.”
“No, you’re making a mistake. Killing me won’t get you any new information that you haven’t already gotten from the other twelve,” Iza said trying to sound convincing. “I won’t tell you anything if—”
“That’s enough of your talking! Bring her into the light.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The guards pushed Iza forward using their pulse rifles to get her in line between the sphere and the Gate, as Arvonen called it.
The hum of energy traveled along her skin in a wave. It had swelled to a loud resonance that seemed to shake her to her bones, making her teeth chatter.
A scream bubbled up from her chest. The last man to go through the gate had been willing; he’d gone quietly and died at peace. Iza couldn’t imagine such a fate. She was going against her will, and she would scream until she lost her voice.
“Wait, what’s that?” Mr. Arvonen asked.
The pressure of the guards pushing at Iza’s back eased, and she realized she’d closed her eyes.
Mr. Arvonen pointed at Iza’s chest. “Her necklace, why is it doing that?”
The scientists turned to observe the phenomenon. Iza’s necklace had lifted off her chest and was pointing toward the gate. They stared, speechless.
Mr. Arvonen
approached her, hand outstretched. He pushed the metal down with his finger and then watched it rise again. “What is this metal made of? Where did it come from?”
Iza shook her head. She didn’t know, nor was she inclined to tell him. Instead, she clamped her mouth closed.
“Bring me the archaeologist.”
Iza realized something in that moment. Mr. Arvonen didn’t call anyone by name. Either he didn’t bother to learn their names, or he didn’t want to grow attached to anyone he might want to throw through the Gate. It was probably a combination of the two. Iza had her back to the door when the archaeologist entered.
“You wanted me, sir?” the woman asked.
Iza stiffened when she heard her voice. It can’t be. She’s here against her will. She wouldn’t work for someone like Mr. Arvonen.
“Yes, come look at this and see what you can make of it.”
Iza struggled against the guards at her back, but they held her fast. Then, Raquel came into view and looked Iza in her eyes.
This had to be some kind of trick.
“Well, this is interesting,” Raquel said without acknowledging Iza.
“What is that symbol?” Mr. Arvonen asked.
He leaned in so close Iza had to turn away from his hot breath on her cheek. She tried to pull further back but ran into the chest of the guard behind her.
“It’s the symbol of truth,” Raquel said, examining the necklace. “The metal is like nothing I’ve seen before. Iza got it from her parents.”
“Why are you doing this?” Iza asked her. She let the hurt and bitterness come through in her tone.
“I’m an archaeologist, you know that,” Raquel answered matter-of-factly, then turned to Mr. Arvonen. “At first I thought it was coincidence, but then she told me about her connection to the sphere.”
Iza glared at Raquel’s face, searching for any sign of duplicity. Why would she tell him what I told her in confidence?
“Can you still hear the humming?” Raquel asked.
Iza refused to answer any of her questions.
Divided Loyalties (Verity Chronicles Book 2): A Cadicle Space Opera Adventure Page 25