Salvaged Destiny

by Lynn Rae

  The idea that men and women who had sworn an oath to protect the public would so easily revert to vicious vandalism made Del feel shaky. Lazlo would never contemplate an action of this sort, she was certain. Then she wondered where he was now and how he was feeling.

  Dee Dee noticed her and gave a quick hug, commiserating with the state of her apartment. A shout from one of the cousins broke in her thoughts and she and her sister headed for the gate, unsure what would be waiting for them.

  It was two uniformed officers from port security, neither of whom was Lazlo, to Del’s disappointment. There were also two other people, a man and a woman in more businesslike attire.

  “Citizens Browen?” The woman looked them over and when she and Dee Dee identified themselves, she asked them to return to port with her to make reports. A wave of exhaustion crashed over Del and she felt like unraveling on the decking like unspooled thread and never moving again.

  Reading her mood correctly, the female investigator, who introduced herself as Donni, tried to be reassuring.

  “I know it has been a traumatic day for you and we hope you’ll be able to make a preliminary report while the events are still fresh in your minds. It shouldn’t take long and when we require more details, we will return at your convenience.”

  None of that sounded especially appealing, but Del would rather get it out of the way and hopefully not have to be disturbed about it ever again. The less she had to explain, the less she’d have to think about it.

  *

  Lazlo was back at security, head aching less after a dose of Ardan and with assurances from the medic that he’d had no permanent damage from the stunner bolt he’d received that morning.

  He was entering his report in the system and finding it rather difficult to explain why he’d been at the Browens that morning when he noticed one of the interview room doors had opened and Donni strode out while interacting single-mindedly with her datpad. Before the door swung closed again he caught a glimpse of the room’s occupant and felt a chill when he recognized Del. He looked at his report, and making a quick decision, finished a few sentences and submitted it. Lazlo shut down his station and walked over to the interview room. He’d planned on finding her at the compound after he finished his report, but this was better. With a soft ping, he opened the door and found Del blinking at him, looking weary and small. She smiled a little and he entered and pulled a stool over to sit next to her.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “They brought me in to make a statement.”

  “Donni shouldn’t have done that. It could have waited for tomorrow.”

  “At least I’ll be done soon, or so she said.” Del tried to look brave, but he could sense her emotions were close to the surface. Knowing Donni’s plodding interview techniques, Del could be here for hours more.

  “How about I get you out of here?” She straightened up in her chair and looked grateful and he was again bowled over by how much she and her family had suffered because of his assignment. “Contact your family and see how they are and I’ll be right back.” Lazlo stopped himself from hugging her, leaving the room as quietly as he could and looking for Donni.

  Lazlo found her looking dour and stressed in the detective’s area, clicking through texts on her datpad.

  “Hello, Casta, I just noticed that you submitted your report on the Browen incident. It’s a little short.” She leaned against a desk.

  “It’s enough for now. I’ll round it out later, after I’ve had a rest,” Lazlo replied as evenly as he could. Donni was a rigid officer, always willing to follow procedure rather than common sense. He didn’t want to antagonize her while Del was at her mercy. “How are things progressing with the Browens?”

  “Released the younger sister, DeLoris, about twenty minutes ago. She wouldn’t stop talking long enough for me to ask a follow-up question. I’m trying to get something coherent from the older one, Delphine, right now.” Donni looked at her datpad. “She’s the one who helped you, so I need a lot of detail. This incident requires us to be very thorough. For all of our sakes. Stars, we’re incarcerating the sheriff and most of his deputies right now. I don’t know if something like that has ever happened before.” She looked sharply at him, as if it were his personal fault all of these monumental events had occurred. Which in a way it was.

  “Of course we need to be thorough,” Lazlo agreed again, hoping to soothe Donni. The major’s jailing of the sheriff and the subsequent arrest of nearly all of his deputies for the illegal raid on the Browens was definitely a tricky subject. But he had plenty of confidence in Major Sekar’s ability to negotiate the judicial and political minefield to come. “But she’s had a rough time. I have a good feeling she’ll be better able to make a detailed addition to the report after she’s had a meal and a good night’s sleep. I know I will.”

  Donni looked at him impassively for a moment and he was sure his attempt to be subtle was wasted on her, but she nodded once. “You might be right. She does seem out of commission. I’ll release her to your custody. Tell her to be back tomorrow morning to complete her statement. And you update yours within twenty-three hours.” It was a tiny threat, but Lazlo wasn’t put off by it. It was an even exchange—he got his way tonight with the release of Del, and Donni would get what she wanted from both of them tomorrow. He wouldn’t even point out that Del couldn’t be in anyone’s custody since she wasn’t under arrest. Lazlo would take custody of her regardless.

  “Thanks, Donni. I appreciate it.”

  “Looking forward to more from you tomorrow,” the investigator said and began to make notes on her datpad, releasing him from the conversation. Relieved, Lazlo returned to the interview room as quietly as he could—Del had had enough disruptions and trauma. He found her with her head bowed, but she straightened and smiled at him when he whispered her name.

  “I’m breaking you out of here.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, come on.”

  She stood and followed him. “This is the second time today you’ve done this.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Del was terribly grateful to Lazlo. She’d been close to weeping from grief and stress when he’d magically appeared in her interrogation cell. Within moments he had whisked her away from all of the law enforcement personnel and paraphernalia, which were starting to give her flashbacks to the wretched deputies and their heinous actions. She’d called Dee Dee to find that her apartment had no door on it yet, no one had located the original and none of the spares fit the frame. Dee Dee explained where everyone was staying temporarily and Del had the dreadful feeling there was no room for her with anyone she knew. All available extra beds and sofas were already filled.

  “It’s all right, Dee Dee. I’ll find a place to stay.” Del tried to assure her sister, who was racking her brain to come up with someone for her to stay with. She suggested a few people who Del didn’t even know but the idea of sleeping at a total stranger’s home was extremely disconcerting. “I’m fine. I’ll message you later. Tell everyone I love them and I’ll see them tomorrow.”

  Lazlo must have been listening in. When she ended her call he cleared his throat. “You can’t go back to your apartment tonight?”

  Del shook her head. “The front door is missing and no one can find a replacement that fits. The rest of my family is staying with all the people I know. I suppose I’ll try to find a bed over at the barracks. Do you think they would take me in?”

  Lazlo narrowed his eyes in consideration, the bruise on his forehead glowing purple in the natural light of the corridor. Del was finally relaxing in the open space. She’d spent far too much time in small rooms lately.

  “I have my doubts. My understanding is they’re full up because that stranded passenger ship is still in port.”

  “The Eastwood Looker is still here? They’ve been here for four days already.” Hope for a clean bed and a shared bathroom was now gone. Del supposed she could sleep on a bench in the atrium.

  �
��Come and stay with me,” Lazlo offered quickly, nodding as if it were the best idea he’d had in a month. “I have plenty of room. We can get something to eat and bring it back, get some rest.”

  That idea sounded good and bad. Del was tired enough to not be particular, but staying at Lazlo’s home seemed as if it was crossing some sort of line somewhere. She just wasn’t sure what the line was or where it went.

  “It’ll be fine. I can escort you back to security tomorrow and we can finish our reports in the morning. That should please Donni.”

  “I don’t have anything to wear. I didn’t think to pack when they picked me up.”

  “I have lots of clothes. They’ll be big on you, but they’re clean. And I have soap and things.” He looked hopeful and Del peered at him. She didn’t sense any sort of ulterior motive in him. He was too nice to plot to get her in his bed with him. And after the day they’d both had, a seduction was the least likely activity either of them was capable of tonight. Despite her amorphous misgivings, which had more to do with the idea of the situation than the actuality, Del found herself nodding agreement to the arrangement. She was just so tired.

  “For tonight then. I’m sure the cousins will find a door for me tomorrow.”

  “Good.” Casta grinned at her. “I’ll feel better knowing you aren’t alone.”

  “Well, if it makes you feel better…” Del tried to tease, but felt too worn out to put much energy in to it. But Lazlo still laughed and that made her smile. He was a good friend, despite being a portie.

  *

  Her first thought on entering Lazlo’s apartment was that it was big—many times larger than her small studio. It seemed even bigger since he didn’t have much furniture or many belongings. A wall of windows and a terrace beyond, large living room with a long dark-blue sofa, a wooden chair, a couple of lamps and a bulky duffle and pair of boots she recognized from their hikes.

  It gave her pause to see objects she’d gotten used to in the Outlands here in his home. It made her wonder how different he was here from how he’d been with her out there. A few stacks of flimsies, folders and books. A large display and several attached electronics, a deactivated bot in a corner. A blue tool chest securely closed up, its epoxy finish scratched and scuffed. No plants or pillows or rugs or curtains. Very much temporary housing for a single man.

  Her second thought was that he liked digimas—there were displays everywhere showing beautiful scenes of exotic places and smiling people.

  “Shall we order something? I think it’s about dinnertime,” Lazlo offered, sounding as confused about the time as she was. The thought of food made Del’s stomach growl for the first time that day and she agreed, asking him to order whatever he liked and wondering how she was going to pay for her half.

  The deputies had taken her datpad when she’d been knocked out. According to Dee Dee, they’d smashed it. The last remote copy she’d done was a month ago. She winced to think of all the data she’d lost. Luckily she’d noted her recent explorations on paper copies. For once, the precaution of not using their electronics in the Outlands had paid off.

  As Lazlo concentrated on his datpad while scrolling through animated menus, she started to look more closely at his images, glad for the distraction of scenic mountain ranges, blue forests and coral seas. Looking at them was relaxing and she felt less anxious as the dimensional scenes drew her in, she could almost be walking on that beach, smelling the air, feeling the sand move under her feet—

  “It’ll be here in about twenty minutes. I ordered some soup and sandwiches.”

  “That’ll be good.” Del blinked back to reality as Lazlo ambled over to her. “How much is my share?”

  “Nothing.”

  “But I need to pay—”

  “No you don’t. You’re my guest.” His warm brown eyes looked determined and she subsided, too tired to argue.

  “These are some amazing images,” she offered, gesturing to one of a deep-blue forest lit by shafts of pinkish sunlight, a small worn path winding away into mystery.

  “Oh that’s on Nasat. I had some weapons training there and was lucky enough to have some free time to explore.” Lazlo sounded very offhand as she leaned closer, taking in the detail of veined leaves, rough stems and pools of light. “This one over here has some rocks in it.”

  Appreciating his effort to find something she would be interested in seeing, Del followed him to another wall and peered at a large display of some dramatic formations showing bold bands of sedimentation. “That’s on Freton, in one of the park areas.”

  “Beautiful,” Del murmured, entranced. “That’s where you’re from, isn’t it?”

  “That’s right.” He grinned again. Lazlo was just a naturally happy person, Del was coming to understand. Despite all the trauma, he wasn’t angry or vengeful like she was. He was content to chat with her and look at pictures. “It’s close to where I grew up. My brothers and I explored it quite a lot when we were young.”

  Del smiled and nodded, imagining that, but the thought of her own family’s troubles came crashing in and tears welled up in her eyes yet again and she felt despair. How would they ever recover?

  Lazlo had been feeling good—showing Del some of his favorite pictures, enjoying her being in his home, looking forward to his first real meal of the day—when he noticed her tear up suddenly. Had he said something offensive? Reaching out for her, he patted her arm, expecting the independent woman to straighten and shake him off. But to his shock, she slumped and cried harder. Del didn’t resist when he pulled her close and he took that as a sign that a hug would not be amiss. Del leaned on him and tucked her head under his chin, warm tears falling on his skin, her body shaking with sobs.

  Lazlo just rubbed her shoulders in circles, conscious of her bruised back, and waited for her to relax enough to talk. Sniffling less, Del circled her arms around his waist and held on to him.

  Despite her distress, Lazlo was enjoying her proximity and contact with her body, probably too much. But she felt good and smelled good and he decided to allow his not-so-nice side to enjoy himself for a moment. He kept her close until other parts of him started to respond, which they predictably did, and he eased back, guiding her to the sofa where they sat next to each other. Del shifted away from him and wiped her face.

  “Sorry about that. I’m really tired.”

  “You’ve been through a lot of stress lately. Don’t worry about it,” Lazlo said, wishing she would lean on him again even though it was clear she wasn’t interested. “I’ve been cried on before.”

  Del managed a shaky laugh. “You make a lot of girls cry in your time?”

  “No, not that. I just seem to wind up being the one they cry on.” As a kid and even as an adult, girls and women who were upset by their families, friends or boyfriends would often pour out their upset on him. Lazlo guessed he was nice enough that they felt safe.

  Except for Serra. She’d cried a lot, but that was mostly because she was coming down from something, or needing a high, or was trying to convince him of her deep feelings. By the end of their relationship he’d grown calloused to her tears, but Lazlo was relieved to find Del’s sadness aroused his sympathy. He hadn’t grown completely cynical.

  “Still, I apologize for any embarrassment. I’m embarrassed about it and so many other things.”

  “Like what?”

  “Not having a place to go. It makes me ashamed. I’m starting to wonder if my family will ever be able to put the pieces back together from this disaster. I’m worried about my mother and my father. My sisters are sleeping on couches. Toots is smashed and I have no idea how I will ever afford to replace it…”

  “Who is Toots?”

  “My quark spectroscope. So expensive and I don’t know how I’ll afford another one.”

  “It sounds as if you have more than enough to cry about. In fact, you should probably cry some more.” Lazlo’s guilt and regret ratcheted up a few more notches with every word she said.

  Del to
ok a deep breath and sighed it out with a shake of her head. “No, I’m done.”

  He wanted to help her, to relieve some of her worry, to rescue her somehow. But that’s what he’d tried to do for Serra and it had cost him respect and confidence, not to mention plenty of marks and emotional upheaval.

  The door chimed and Lazlo rose to collect their dinner. At least he could feed her. “Something to eat will make you feel better.”

  *

  Lazlo woke to darkness, confused for a moment as to his location, but remembered he was sleeping on his sofa. Del was in his bed and terrible things had happened to her. Then he heard the sound that had startled him awake—a sobbing gasp from the bedroom. She was having a nightmare.

  Pulling back his blanket, he rose and entered the bedroom as quietly as possible. According to the clock glowing in the darkness, they had been asleep about four hours. He could barely make out her shape on the bed, but she was moving, thrashing her legs and arms as she made anguished little sounds. Should he wake her or just stay until she fell into a deeper sleep? As he debated the question, she hitched her breath and sat up suddenly.

  “Del, you’re all right.” He tried to reassure her and she turned toward him.

  “Where—”

  “It’s me, Lazlo. You’re staying with me tonight.”

  Del shuddered and sighed as she rubbed her face with her hands. “Right. I remember.” She moved in the darkness and he noticed the faint fragrance of her warm skin. It seemed to spike right into his brain and Lazlo felt warm and avaricious.

  Surely it was simply a natural thing to want to join a woman who was already sleeping in his bed? It had nothing to do with Del or him in particular, other than it had been awhile since he’d had anyone in that location. No one since he’d moved to Sayre, as a matter of fact. He couldn’t do that. Del was emotionally and physically exhausted and she was a security subcontractor, so it was just every shade of wrong.