“Paranoid much?” she muttered as she stashed the two small weapons in a random compartment across the room. She kept the larger gun for herself. Finally, she contacted the Fearless. “Target has been neutralized.”
* * * * *
The rest was largely routine. Jakkin began bio-streaming his strike teams to the Vengeance as soon as it became visible. Overconfident and disorganized, the human crew was overthrown in a matter of minutes. Only a few of the feistier humans even put up a token fight. They were rounded up and locked in one of the cargo bays. Marsden and his first officer were transferred to the detention level on the Fearless. Jakkin wasn’t letting the irrational human out of his sight until they reached the Bunker or Lunar Nine. He knew Morgan and her team had control of the Vengeance, but he wasn’t sure what General Lux would want done with the new leader of Solar Warden. It would probably be wise to hold on to Marsden until Morgan fulfilled her promise and cleared Jakkin’s name.
“I will kill you,” Marsden snarled as he was thrown into a detention cell next to his first officer. “Jason will not rest until you’re dead, so I will keep trying until I snuff the life from your worthless alien body!”
Jakkin didn’t bother with a response. Instead, he turned to Torrin, who stood beside him, and said, “None of this would have been possible without you. You have my thanks.”
Torrin dipped his head, a faint smile bowing his lips. “Happy to help.”
“Where’s your whore? Were her bruises cosmetic, or is that how you treat reluctant females?”
Infuriated in an instant, Jakkin spun toward the holding cell.
Torrin touched his arm. “He’s not worth it. Even your mate knows that.”
With a tense nod, Jakkin left the detention level, not trusting himself to resist Marsden’s provocation. “Are you staying on Earth?” He looked at Torrin, realizing how little he knew about the man. “Where are you headquartered?”
Torrin shrugged. “I go wherever I’m needed. Right now, I’m needed on Lunar Nine.”
“I thought Morgan contracted you.”
“She did, but the mission is all but over now. General Lux made an offer for ongoing assignments and I’ve decided to accept.”
“Then welcome to the rebellion.”
They parted ways at the lift. Torrin headed to his cabin, while Jakkin went to the clinic. The second Kelsey returned to the Fearless, he personally escorted her to the clinic and insisted on full regeneration even though Dr. Iftar told him a hand unit would do. It was obvious Jakkin wouldn’t back down, so Iftar took Kelsey to a regen unit and Jakkin finally left the clinic. That had been over two hours ago. Her treatment should be over by now.
Dr. Iftar spotted Jakkin as he walked into the clinic and headed him off just inside the door. “She’s all finished, sir. I had her escorted to your quarters so she could rest.”
“Thank you. She’s very important to me.”
The doctor chuckled. “And you’re important to her. In fact, you’re both disgustingly happy. Makes everyone around you envious.”
Jakkin accepted the semi-insulting compliment with a smile and left the clinic.
As Iftar said, Kelsey was in bed, but she wasn’t asleep. She looked up as soon as he eased the door open. She’d turned on the overhead star display. It pleased him that she loved it as much as he did. Jakkin pulled off his boots and lay down beside her, pulling her back into the curve of his body.
“You’re my hero,” he whispered then kissed her soft hair. “The mission went off flawlessly because of you and Torrin.”
She rolled to her back and looked at him, eyes luminous in the simulated starlight. “I don’t want this to be my only mission. This is what I do, who I am. How do we make that happen?”
Her creamy skin was flawless again, every trace of Torrin’s beating mercifully gone. “I’ll talk to General Lux. We’ve never had a female operative before, but everything is changing with so many of us claiming mates.”
“You’ll talk him into it, not out of it?” She smiled. “I know you hated every minute of this.”
“I hated putting you in danger, and that will never change. But you’re skilled and well suited to this sort of work. I want you to be happy as well as safe.”
She framed his face with her hands and kissed him. Tenderness and gratitude flowed into his mind. “That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
He laughed. “Then I definitely need to try harder. Apparently, I’m not very nice.”
“That’s all right.” She grinned. “Neither am I.” She relaxed her arms and snuggled closer, resting her head on his shoulder. “Dr. Iftar said something about the Outcasts being involved—or actually being present but refusing to get involved—in the L.A. nightmare. Do you know what he was talking about?”
He nodded, then realized she couldn’t see the gesture with her face pointed the other way. “I told you the Triumphant detected a third ship while they had me trapped in the crossfire.”
“I remember.”
“Apparently, it was the Relentless, Kage Razel’s ship. General Lux isn’t sure if he was supposed to attack and didn’t, or why he was there. The Outcasts have seemed really, I don’t know, conflicted lately.”
“If they’re not helping either side anymore, why don’t they move on? They’re mercenaries, aren’t they? Won’t they need to find a new employer?”
“I have no idea what they need. Maybe one of the Lux brothers can find out.”
She tilted her head and looked at him. “What do the Lux brothers have to do with the Outcasts?”
They’d talked about so many things, he hadn’t realized he’d never mentioned that Arton was the oldest Lux brother. “Do you remember Arton, the Outcast who is also a harbinger?”
She nodded. “He’s the one who warned Chandar about a ship crashing into a city.”
“Correct. He’s not just an Outcast, he’s Kage Razel’s second-in-command.” He paused to make sure she was soaking it all in. “He calls himself Arton the Heretic now, but he was born Arton Lux.”
Her jaw dropped, then she snapped it shut. “The second most powerful Outcast is General Lux’s brother?”
“The very same. And Arton’s not the only Outcast who has family members among the battle born.”
“Wow. I had no idea the two sides were so closely linked.”
Jakkin sighed. “Despite our feuds and conflicts, we’re all Rodytes.”
After a long pause, she asked, “What happens next? Marsden is still breathing. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.”
“It depends who replaces him. We thought getting rid of Shadow Leader would settle things down. All it did was lead to Marsden.”
“What do you think of Morgan?”
He suspected he knew why she asked about the other female, but he decided not to make it easy. “She seemed sincere and competent. I guess time will tell if we can trust her.”
“I’ve heard she’s really beautiful.”
He hid a guilty smile. His little hellion was jealous. “I didn’t notice.”
She jabbed him in the ribs. “Liar. Every male notices her. At least every male that’s attracted to females, and you definitely qualify.” He just laughed, so she shrugged and turned up her nose. “It’s all right if you looked. I sure as hell look at Zilor.”
With a sensual growl, he swept her beneath him and pinned her arms over her head. “Who are you looking at now?”
She parted her legs and bent her knees, aligning their lower bodies. “My mate, the center of my world, the only male in this, or any other, universe that means anything to me.”
Not bothering with words, he kissed her slowly, deeply, flooding her mind with warmth and tenderness.
* * * * *
Three days later Jakkin received a summons from General Lux. He was sharing breakfast with Kelsey in his cabin, as he did most every morning before heading off to work.
“Good news or bad?” She smiled in between sips of coffee. The morning
had been peaceful, relaxed even, until the message hit his com-queue. Now he looked tense and uncomfortable. The past few days had been so perfect. Kelsey hated to see them end.
“I’m not sure if it’s good or bad. We’re supposed to report to the Bunker for a meeting at ten thirty. It says discretion is imperative. We’re not to mention the meeting to anyone.”
“That sounds ominous.” She set down her mug and wiped her mouth with the napkin she had draped across her lap. “Are you sure they want both of us?”
“Yes, but that’s all it says. Be at the Bunker by ten thirty.”
“Do you know where the Bunker is? I’ve heard of the complex, but the location is Top Secret.”
“General Lux included coordinates.”
“It’s almost nine now,” she pointed out. “Can we make it by ten thirty?”
“Easily.”
The coordinates led to a secluded complex in the middle of the Arizona desert. It didn’t look like much from the surface, but as their shuttle approached, the parking lot split down the middle and slid open like massive horizontal doors.
“Well, this is interesting,” Jakkin muttered as he quickly adjusted their trajectory. Instead of landing on the parking lot, he lowered the shuttle through the opening and into an underground landing bay.
Kelsey remained quiet and still until the shuttle touched down. She knew from personal experience that the shuttles more or less flew themselves, but this maneuver had been like threading a needle.
Jakkin ran a quick post-flight analysis, then powered down the shuttle. “Ready?” He unfastened his safety restraints and stood.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She released her straps and joined her mate in the middle of the shuttle. “I try to remain positive, but I have a bad feeling about this.”
He pulled her into his arms for a quick, reassuring kiss, then opened the hatch and motioned her toward the stairs.
She took a deep breath, smoothed down her skirt and headed for the hatch. She’d chosen a chocolate-brown business suit with a narrow skirt and short jacket instead of her usual safari dress. The matching pumps had higher heels than she generally tolerated, but she wanted to look her best. Knowing that Morgan Hoyt, renowned beauty and accomplished leader, was going to be present had nothing to do with her need to look attractive. At least that was what she tried to convince herself.
They were met by an armed guard rather than a warm welcome and the tension in Kelsey’s stomach tightened even farther. Jakkin didn’t seem to be surprised by the snub, so Kelsey tried not to dwell on it.
With endless halls and unmarked doors, the Bunker looked like any office building on Earth, except that the majority of the complex was underground. It quickly became apparent, however, that the facility was much larger than Kelsey had first thought.
The guard led them to a nondescript room with an oval conference table. Kelsey recognized Sedrik Lux from the brief holo-com she’d witnessed in the control center of Jakkin’s ship. Her first impression of the general was reinforced as he stood and shook their hands. General Lux was even taller than he’d appeared in the holo-com and just as impressive.
“Right on time,” he said to Jakkin, and then to her, “It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Lindon.”
“Likewise, General Lux.” His handshake was firm, but not hurtful. He clearly understood his own strength.
“This is Drexel Kaen, Senior Council for the battle born. He’s also here at my request.”
As the general introduced Drexel, he pushed to his feet and held out his hand. “Everyone calls me Drex,” he told them as he shook their hands.
After the introductions concluded, he sat back down and continued scrolling through the documents he had on his datapad. His dark blue suit was clearly custom made for his lean frame and he had distinct blue streaks running through his shiny black hair. The youthfulness of his features was contradicted by the shrewd intensity of his gaze. And he had the brightest phitons Kelsey had ever seen. The rings literally glowed with sapphire light.
He looks elite. Jakkin made the word sound corrosive. Why would an elite lawyer agree to represent the battle born?
Isn’t Apex General Nox elite? It still felt strange to speak mind-to-mind. They talked about him in orientation. According to Indigo, this entire movement was begun by an elite general on behalf of his battle born brothers.
Jakkin glanced at her and smiled, looking rather sheepish. Point taken. I’ll reserve my judgement for later.
Before they could choose seats, the door opened and two human females strode into the room. They were both dressed in business suits similar to the one Kelsey wore. One had rich red hair and model-perfect features. Director Morgan Hoyt no doubt. The second had auburn hair and strange yellowish eyes. She wasn’t as classically beautiful as Morgan, but there was something exotic about her that drew Kelsey’s attention. And she wasn’t the only one intrigued by the yellow-eyed female. Drexel Kaen watched her with obvious interest.
“Did you introduce Drex?” Morgan asked Sedrik.
“I did.” Sedrik returned to his seat on the other side of Drex and Morgan sat at the far end of the table. Her companion sat on Morgan’s left, which put her next to the general. Jakkin pulled out a chair across from the others and Kelsey sat down. Then he sat on her right, which left an empty chair between Morgan and Kelsey.
Morgan motioned to her companion. “This is Doctor Jenna Fermont. She served as Solicitor General at the DOJ until nine months ago when she was asked to chair the First Contact Committee. This interdepartmental panel has a vitally important purpose. They are in the process of creating specific policies governing U.S. interaction with visitors from other planets.”
They’d arrived together, so Kelsey had assumed they were allies. Morgan’s body language and the tension in her voice told a different story.
“I’ll let Doctor Fermont explain the reason for this meeting.”
“Thank you, Director Hoyt.” Jenna sounded as annoyed as Morgan, but her sculpted features hid her irritation more convincingly. “Before I begin, I need each of you to sign a nondisclosure agreement.” She slid paper forms across the table toward Jakkin and Kelsey, then handed Sedrik another two.
Morgan passed out pens, her posture still tense and slightly hostile.
The general handed a form to Drex, his expression wary. “Is this really necessary?”
“Only if Commander Arvik is interested in clearing his name.” Jenna shrugged, her features devoid of emotion.
Sedrik glanced at the form then looked at Drex. “Is the language acceptable?”
Drex nodded, making the blue highlights in his hair gleam. “It’s all fairly standard. We can’t talk about, or in any other way communicate, anything that takes place during this meeting. The ‘or else’ is less common, five years in prison and half a million in fines.”
“Can they enforce that?” Sedrik wanted to know.
“My role is more nuanced now, but I still represent the U.S. government,” Jenna told him.
With obvious reluctance, both Sedrik and Drex signed the agreement. Kelsey looked at Jakkin, noticing for the first time that his form was written in Rodyte.
“Why all the secrecy?” he asked, tapping his pen against the contract.
“Welcome to doing business with the U.S. government,” Morgan grumbled. “Secrecy is all they know.”
“We can’t proceed until you sign,” Jenna said emphatically.
“Do you actually intend to clear my name or is this a clever way of reneging on our agreement?” The tapping of his pen sped and his phitons began to glow.
“They’ll follow through or I’ll encourage my people to stage a rebellion of their own. We can’t do our jobs if our government is going to use us as scapegoats.”
Kelsey didn’t know Morgan well enough to determine if she meant it, but she sounded deadly serious.
“There is no reason for threats, Director Hoyt.” Jenna did not seem amused.
“I guess my reput
ation can’t get any worse than it is right now.” Jakkin sprawled his name across the bottom of the contract, then he threw the pen down on top of it and slid both across the table.
“Ms. Lindon.” Jenna waited expectantly.
She was already considered a traitor, so she had nothing to lose by keeping her mouth shut about some Top Secret meeting. She signed the contract and slid it to Jenna. Then she reached over and squeezed Jakkin’s hand.
“Thank you.” Jenna collected the contracts into a neat stack and tucked them inside her leather attaché. “Now, this is how it’s going to work. The terms offered are nonnegotiable. You will either cooperate, or we will make no further effort on your behalf.”
Jakkin chuckled, but didn’t bother explaining his outburst.
Jenna continued as if no one noticed his laughter. “The battle born will try Martin Wallace, commonly known as Shadow Leader, and then Royce Marsden. You are free to utilize whatever form of jurisprudence your people commonly employ. We will not interfere in the process and will abide by the outcome as long as all of the blame falls on these two rogue agents.
“The U.S. government will admit to the following things and only the following things. One, we were aware of Solar Warden and chose to keep the program hidden from the public. Two, Shadow Leader was authorized by us to act with complete autonomy. Three, we provided funding for this program with insufficient oversight. We expect the third fact to be emphasized during both trials.”
“Meaning, I get to crawl out from under the bus, because you’re throwing Marsden and Shadow Leader there instead?” Jakkin shook his head, looking anything but pleased by the development.
“If you choose to look at it that way.” Jenna offered another indifferent shrug. “I see it in a slightly different light. Shadow Leader empowered Marsden, and Marsden is directly responsible for both tragedies. The L.A. Massacre was in effect a horrendous accident, but the bombing of Vingarra was intentional, reckless, and set in motion by Royce Marsden.”
Drex scooted to the edge of his chair, blue phitons flashing. “Shadow Leader empowered Marsden. That much is true. But who empowered Shadow Leader?”
Fearless (Battle Born Book 12) Page 19