by Susan Hayes
“We can’t go. We have to stay here and solve this,” Dash told her as he passed in front of her again.
She folded her arms over her chest and shook her head. “No, you don’t have to stay. You want to, and that’s not the same thing. Veth, you don’t even have an office to work out of right now, because yours was wrecked by the explosion. Here’s my deal. If you go, I’ll go with you. That’s the only way you’re getting me off this station.”
“Astek isn’t safe right now. You wouldn’t be the only one going away for a while. A lot of the other task force members have arranged for their families to leave. We talked to a pilot this morning. Her name is Phylomenia and she’s an old family friend of Zura’s. In fact, she’s one of her pilots. Phyl’s got some bots and systems that are in disrepair and she would be happy to have you onboard her ship. It’s all arranged. You’ll go with her on her next delivery run, do some repairs, and by the time you get back, this should all be over.”
“You made these arrangements without even talking to me? What about my job? This isn’t your decision to make, it’s mine, and I’m not going anywhere.” She couldn’t believe they thought she would meekly get on a ship and fly away.
“Damn it, Lieksa, why can’t you understand what’s at stake?” Mack snapped at her.
He’d run his hand through his hair so many times that it was standing on end. She understood his concerns, but that didn’t make it okay for them to take over her life.
“Don’t treat me like an idiot, Mack. I know it’s dangerous to stay here. Someone planted a micro-explosive in a get well gift for Len and almost took out your entire team yesterday! If Dash hadn’t sent them out for lunch, they’d be dead right now. If we hadn’t tempted you away from your desk, you’d be dead. I nearly lost you!” Her voice cracked as she finally uttered the words that had been haunting her since she had learned what happened.
“I’m not treating you like an idiot! We’re trying to get you out of the line of fire. This is escalating fast. It’s only a matter of time before there’s another attack, and I can’t do my job if I’m distracted by worries that my girlfriend is a target.”
“Even if I were on someone’s hit list, it’s not like I’m an easy target. My workplace is locked down tight these days, and you’ve made sure either you, Dash or one of your officers is watching over me the rest of the time. Isn’t that enough? I want to stay. My life, my job, and my boyfriends are here. The two of you aren’t even guarded, which is insane, considering you’re the heads of the task force and therefore are wearing the biggest bullseyes.”
“We need to be visible. If someone is going to be attacked, we want it to be us,” Mack said.
“What?! You’re bait? That’s insane. And it’s a double standard. You can’t order me off the station for my safety when you’re taking huge risks yourself.”
“All the more reason we need you safely away from here. We can take care of ourselves,” Dash said.
“And I can’t?” She pointed at Dash. “I’m not the one who was shot recently.”
“No, you’re the one who saved my life. The only one who could have, which means if they try again, they’re not going to want you around to put us back together again.” Dash tapped his temple in frustration. “If I could fraxxing remember the attack, we’d be that much closer to figuring out what happened, and how they knew we were coming.”
“What do you mean, they knew you were coming? I think it’s time you told me what really happened that day.” She was too angry to agree with him, even if he did have a point.
“It was an ambush. Lucky for us, it wasn’t a very good one. The only ones hurt were Dash and Len. Whatever they intended for us, it didn’t go as planned.”
Icy tendrils of fear wrapped around her chest and squeezed until it felt like she couldn’t breathe as they confirmed her suspicions. “Someone told them you were coming. Someone you trusted.”
Mack nodded. “We think so.”
“And you didn’t tell me any of this? I thought we agreed not to keep secrets from each other anymore?”
“That’s not a card you want to play,” Dash warned her with a quick shake of his head.
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means we know what you’re doing for the doc. When, exactly, were you going to tell us you’re trying to dig up information about the cyborg program?” Mack asked, his voice as cold as the black void outside the hull.
“How do you know about that?”
“I overheard you talking to Alyson about it,” Dash admitted. “You’re taking a huge risk. I understand why you’re doing it. You’ve been helping cyborgs for years. It’s part of who you are, and you’re amazing. That doesn’t make what you’re doing smart. Do you know what would happen if you got caught? You should have told us. We could have helped you. Data retrieval is our specialty, remember?”
“How could I forget when you just admitted to spying on me?” She spun around to glower at Mack. “Did you know he did that?”
He didn’t answer, but the flash of guilt in his eyes told her everything she needed to know.
“You did. I bet he even linked with you so you could both listen in, just like you did when you were sneaking around during the wars. You haven’t changed at all, either of you! You’re still barking orders and listening in on private conversations. You’re supposed to be the good guys, but right now I don’t see it.”
“Angel—“ Mack took a step toward her, but she backed away from him, not interested in anything he had to say.
“Don’t call me that. In fact, don’t talk to me at all. You’ve both said more than enough already. You spied on me, you made arrangements to take me off the station without even asking, and neither of you will listen to me. This is my life, and I’m the only one who gets to make the decisions. If you want this to work, then you’re going to have to accept that.” She turned and walked away.
She only got a few steps before both of them were in pursuit. “Where are you going?” Mack asked.
“I don’t know,” she snapped.
“You need an escort. Please, let one of us—“
“No.”
“It’s not safe,” Mack reminded her, his tone softer now.
“I’ll take my chances.”
“Please, don’t go.” Mack stepped in front of her, blocking her path to the door.
“The last time the two of you hurt me, you said please, and I stayed. That only works once. Get out of my way, Mack. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Not tonight.”
“Tomorrow, then. Promise me you’ll talk to us tomorrow?” he said.
She saw a flicker of doubt in his eyes as he stood in front of her, arms at his sides, his face showing the strain of the past twenty-four hours. That tiny hint of doubt was the first time she’d ever seen him uncertain about anything, but it wasn’t enough to cool her anger.
“Tomorrow,” she walked around Mack, half expecting him to reach out and stop her, but he didn’t. He didn’t move at all.
Dash called out from somewhere behind her. “I know it’s not enough, but I’m sorry. I was afraid I’d screwed things up with us, so I listened in when I shouldn’t have. It’s what I’m programmed to do.”
“You can’t use your programming as an excuse. You managed to overcome all your other conditioning. You could have overcome this one. You just didn’t want to.”
“I haven’t done it since, and you have my word, I won’t do it again.”
She didn’t answer. She didn’t know what to say. All she knew was that she needed to be away from them for a little while.
She left their place and started walking, aimlessly wandering the station for a while as she slowly calmed down.
Eventually, she wound up outside the medical center. Alyson was one of Lieksa’s few friends on the station and right now, a friend was exactly what she needed.
* * * *
Mack stood and watched as the center of his universe walked out the door. If
he moved or spoke, he would only wind up saying or doing something to make things worse. The second the door slid shut, he turned to look at Dash. “Tell me you have a plan to fix this.”
Dash was quiet for a while, but when he spoke, his question took Mack by surprise.
“If you love her, what’s with all the distance? I noticed what you were doing, and I’m not the one you claim to be falling for. Holding back and then barking orders at her is no way to treat the woman you care about. I might have eavesdropped on a private conversation, but you’re the one who really hurt her. You should have been with us yesterday. Why weren’t you?”
There was no missing the accusation buried in his words. The barbs stung, and Mack spoke without thinking, revealing something to himself in the process. “I wasn’t there because I was trying to figure out who our mole is before they come after Lieksa, or you for that matter. You two are the most important people in my life. You nearly got killed last week, and I wasn’t there to stop it. I let you down, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to fail Lieksa the same way.”
“You didn’t fail anyone. Is that’s what this has all been about? You’re feeling guilty because I got hurt? Mack, I hate to break it to you, but you’re not responsible for everything that goes wrong on this station. We lead the task force together. We’ve both been betrayed by someone we trusted, and we’re both head over heels for a woman who currently would like to see us sucking vacuum on the wrong side of an airlock.” Dash slapped a hand on his shoulder and chuckled. “We got here together, my friend, and we’ll fix it the same way. Stop thinking you’re in this fight alone. Every time you beat yourself up over what happened, or what might happen, you’re hurting our angel, too.”
Mack felt like his whole existence was spinning out of control. He was happiest when there was an order to things, a linear progression of events. From the moment they walked into that ambush, nothing was going according to plan. He didn’t have a plan anymore. He was running from crisis to crisis. It had to stop before he ruined the only good things in his life. It was time for a change in tactics.
“I know that expression. You’ve got an idea. Please, tell me you have a brilliant idea,” Dash said.
It wasn’t an idea, exactly, but it was a start of one. “I was thinking that since my way isn’t working, maybe it’s time we started doing things your way instead.”
Dash shot him a look of pure incredulity. “I don’t have a way, remember? I make things up as I go and try not to get shot at. That’s your brilliant idea?”
“The mole is expecting us to do things by the book, so our best chance of catching them is to do something unexpected.” He went to the front door and scanned the corridor until he spotted Lieksa. She was walking slowly, her head bowed, and her shoulders slumped. “As for fixing things with Lieksa, I don’t think we need a plan for that. We need to give her a little time, and tell her how we feel about her.”
Dash exhaled in a whoosh. “And if that doesn’t work?”
“Then we keep showing her it’s true until she believes us.” She had to believe them because the idea of living his life without her in it made his heart ache. He’d find a way to make this right. He had to.
“I think I liked it better when you came up with a real plan and left the adlibbing to me.”
“Me, too, but since none of our usual ploys are working, I think it’s time to play a wild card.” It was the only card they had left. After years of reviewing all the data and analyzing every variable, Mack was left relying on his gut—and his heart.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Alyson’s prescription for heartache turned out to be something quite different from what Lieksa expected. Instead of girl talk and junk food, the good doctor took one look at her and announced they were going out for a drink.
“I’ve got work in the morning,” Lieksa protested as she followed Alyson through the med-center.
“So do I. Next excuse? I’m giving you three, so choose wisely.”
“I’m not dressed for a night out.”
Alyson snorted. “Trust me, where we’re going, they won’t care. Come on upstairs. You can tidy up while I get changed. As relaxed as the dress code is at Nova, pajamas might be pushing it a bit.”
“The Nova? Isn’t that Cynder’s club?”
“It is. Well, it’s one-third hers. She runs the place with her batch brothers, Kit and Luke, who are married to Zura. I don’t think you’ve met them, yet. They’re dying to meet you, though.” Alyson grinned and pressed a panel on the back wall. It lit up a soft red, and a moment later the wall in front of them slid back, revealing a small elevator.
“Why would anyone want to meet me? I’m nobody.”
Alyson raised a blonde brow and gestured for Lieksa to get into the elevator. “You’re hardly a nobody. You saved Dash’s life for one thing. Not to mention you’re dating Mack and Dash.”
“I walked out on them tonight after a fight,” she admitted.
“So? You’re still dating them. One fight doesn’t usually mean a relationship is over. If it did, my parents would have left each other decades ago. Besides, I’ve seen the way they look at you, and that’s not the kind of fire that you can snuff out easily. You’ve still got one excuse left. Care to use it, or are you going to give in gracefully?”
Laughing, Lieksa raised her hands in surrender. “I’m going to give in to the inevitable. Apparently, I’m going out for a drink. Now I know how your patients feel. I bet everyone listens to you.”
“Most of the time, they do. With three notable and exceptionally irritating exceptions.”
“You mean the overkill triplets?”
“Uh huh. Did you know they insisted on sticking around even after I sent Len home? I had to call Mack to get them out of here.”
“He mentioned they were joining the taskforce. In fact, that’s sort of how the whole fight started.”
“Hold that thought until we get to Nova. That way you only have to tell the story once.” Alyson stepped off the elevator and opened her arms. “Welcome to my refuge from reality.”
Alyson’s residence was large by station standards, with old fashioned furniture and décor that was better suited to a rustic cabin back on Earth. The furniture was heavy and looked like it was made of rough-hewn logs, though a quick brush of her fingers over the surface dispelled the illusion. It was the same molded material as most furnishings on the station. A patchwork quilt lay over the back of the sofa, and there were homey touches everywhere, pictures and bric-a-brac that softened the space and made it feel welcoming. One of the walls was a full-sized vid screen that displayed as a cabin wall, complete with a picture window overlooking a snow-covered valley bathed in moonlight.
“That’s incredible. Is it a real place or only a digital fantasy?” Lieksa asked, crossing the room to stare out the ‘window’ to the scene outside.
“The base image is from my grandparent’s place on Cassien Alpha. My parents moved to the city before I was born, but my mom’s parents lived in one of the rural outposts. I loved visiting them for holidays, especially during the winter. We’d celebrate the Festival of Light with them every year. The cabin would be full of candles and lights, and we’d stay up all night telling stories, eating and drinking until we could burst. Then we’d watch the sun come up after the longest night of the year. Alyson sighed. “I miss having seasons, or weather of any kind, especially snow.”
“I’ve never seen snow, except in vids and photos. I grew up in Earth’s southern hemisphere, where it’s too warm for any real winter weather. Not that I saw the outside world much. We lived in New Rio, a hive city. Do you know what those are?”
“I’ve never been to Earth, but I’ve heard the stories. Hive cities are so crowded they make this place look like a resort. Aren’t they self-contained, too?”
“Pretty much. It made it easy to adjust to life in space. I’ve spent most of my life in enclosed spaces. Artificial sunlight and recycled air are nothing new. The corporations recruit heavi
ly from the hive cities for that reason. It’s an entire population already conditioned to live in space; willing and eager to sign on for any job that pays in real scrip instead of vouchers. They can take their pick.”
“Is that how you ended up working on cyborgs?”
“I applied for aptitude testing the day I turned eighteen. Took all the tests, went to an insane number of interviews, and a month later I was recruited by Nobar Tech. I had only recently paid off my training fees and was starting to earn real money when I met Mack and Dash. Once I knew the truth about the cyborgs, I quit.”
“And now you’re here. We’re both a long way from home." Alyson smiled and pointed to a door. “You can freshen up in there. I’m going to let Cyn and Zura know we’re coming. Once we’ve got a drink in your hand, I want to hear all about what happened tonight. I’ll even buy the first round.”
Lieksa walked in the direction Alyson had pointed, happy for the opportunity to wash away any remaining signs of her earlier tears. She had hurt more in the last two weeks than in the last two years, and it was all because of her two cyborg lovers. The thing was, they made her happier than she had ever been, too. If this was a normal relationship, then maybe they wouldn’t be having these problems, but nothing about their relationship had ever been normal. It had been a rocket-boosted roller coaster ride from the moment of their first kiss.
* * * *
Dash didn’t take an easy breath until Lieksa was safe indoors. They had followed her, of course. They were careful to keep enough distance between them that they wouldn’t be spotted. She may not want to speak to them, but there was no way in hell they’d let her wander the station alone. The medical center wasn’t where he expected her to go, but after wandering the station for almost an hour, that’s where she finally stopped.