by HC Playa
They found a motel with vacancies near the shuttle station. The nicer places were booked up due to some conference. Katarina grimaced at the poorly lit parking lot and the graffiti on every available surface. She hoped the room was at least passable. She craved a good night's sleep more than anything. As she pulled into the parking lot, she glanced to the left at the void of darkness. A dead zone, one of thousands around the world, butted against the street perpendicular to the main street. Havens for criminals, and indigents, they were sections of cities run down and poverty stricken before the pandemics. Most of the original occupants died during one of the pandemics and to save money, the cities shut off power and services to those sections. Some areas were reclaimed through demolition, but it would take time to reclaim them all. Up to now, Katarina showed Zane the best parts of humanity, knowing full well Coran's data would show all of the rest. A reflection of the darker side loomed right outside the car window.
He followed the direction of her gaze and commented, "Reminds me of where I grew up."
She turned and looked at him with a frown. "Really?"
"Yes, but mine was far more populated. What's out there is nothing compared to horrors that lurked the back alleys of Trusca. I hope you'll look at my memories after I'm gone. I understand your fears more than you think I do, Katarina."
She considered his remark and pulled the rental into a parking space under a flickering yellow light.
"I'll check us in." Zane got out of the car and disappeared around the corner.
She shut off the engine and breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth, fighting back yet another wave of nausea. Longing for the comfort of a bed, no matter how old and springy, Katarina got out of the car. With the remote, she popped the trunk to retrieve their bags. In her state of fatigue and distraction, she didn’t notice the figure lurking in the shadows. Before she could even let out a yelp, a hand yanked her back by her hair and a knifepoint pricked her throat.
"Don’t make a sound, bitch!" A gruff whisper said in her ear. He dug the knife in a fraction to emphasize his command. She stumbled in his wake as he dragged her into the shadows and then down a filthy dark alley.
She swallowed to fight back the bile that rose in her throat. She tripped in the dark as her attacker maneuvered her around piles of refuse. When she reached out telepathically to him, the first tendrils of fear crept into her. Fueled by drugs, his thoughts careened in his head, chaotic, unfocused, yet single minded in purpose. He stopped and took a moment to thrust his hard penis against her, bringing on a horrible sense of déjà vu.
A whimper escaped when he slammed her against a brick wall with enough force to knock the breath from her. Her first instinct was to call Zane, but other figures came out of hiding to join the fun. She pictured one man against these monsters, the man she loved, and every protective instinct she possessed kicked in. Her mind flashed to the alley behind the library years ago. They picked the wrong woman to mess with. Katarina slammed up walls to hide her emotions and waited for her attackers to close in. She didn't know how many she could take down, but they needed to be within sight at least.
The dim light prevented her from seeing much more than their silhouettes. A faceless black blur laughed and the sound chilled her blood. "You picked a nice piece of pussy there. Now, if you want to roll with us, you’ll fuck her. We’ll all have a go at her when you’re done." A hand clamped on her left arm and spun her around. The knife point found its home against her throat as her head cracked against the brick wall hard enough to make her see stars. The sound of his zipper snapped her back and quelled her rising panic. She wasn't a frightened, panicked teen, operating on instinct and emotion. She closed her eyes and ignored the cold steel at her throat and the man’s painful pawing as he fumbled to undo her pants. Before she could summon the power she knew dwelt within her, a sickening snap echoed in the alley and the man’s body no longer pinned hers. She opened her eyes. Her attacker lay on the ground a few feet away from her, his neck broken. Shouts and curses erupted as the gang swelled out of the shadows.
She caught sight of Zane and couldn’t take her eyes away from him. His fury roared through her and then was replaced with lethal, cold, battle calm. Katarina stood in awe at the beauty and power of his fighting skills. Zane eliminated the first three attackers with quick efficient movements that sent each to the ground mortally wounded. The remaining foes approached en masse. A chill settled over Katarina's heart. Even with his skills, he was one against a dozen, at least.
The glint of light off of metal caught her attention. One of the thugs held a gun. He cocked the hammer in preparation of firing. The mysterious faerie’s warning came back to her. Fear for Zane’s life overrode her apprehension of the powers inside of her. She let the energy well from within and flood her body. She flung her hands out at the men not engaged with Zane. She visualized an invisible force slamming into them. They rose into the air and flew more than five feet back into a chain link fence blocking the other end of the alley. They collided, bending the metal where each man hit. Another man tried to rush her and she sent a streak of blinding blue energy at him. He collapsed where he stood. Zane dispatched the last of the attackers with a lethal kick to the man’s head that snapped his neck. He went to the men she disabled, his intent to kill them clear in every purpose filled step.
"Zane, no."
He ignored her and prepared to deliver a killing blow to the first man. Katarina rushed to his side. Her hand on his arm stopped him. "I said no."
"They aren’t worth your mercy, Katarina."
"Maybe not, but I won’t have you kill in cold blood. These men are unconscious. They aren’t a threat anymore."
Murderous fury burned in Zane’s eyes. "They would have hurt you."
"Look at me, Zane."
Slowly he turned and his eyes met hers. "You're not a cold-blooded killer."
"Aren’t I?"
"No. You’re a good man, Zane Gratig."
Zane pulled her close. "Katarina."
"I’m okay," she said in answer to his unspoken question. His arms trembled in counterpoint to her quaking shudders.
"We should probably call the authorities."
She glanced at the dead bodies. "Normally I would agree, but I don't think you need that kind of official interest. In this part of town, thugs turn up dead all the time. We can put in an anonymous call when we leave.”
Without warning Zane swept her up into his arms. Cradling her against him, he carried her out of the alley and toward their rented room. He never set her down, even as he fumbled with the electronic palm reader to open the door. Once inside, Zane kicked the door shut behind him and laid her on the bed. Holding her to him, he planted kisses all over her face and neck. He smoothed her hair and laid his hand on her cheek. "You're sure you are all right?"
"Yes. Thank you for coming to my rescue. I’m glad you did, but even if you hadn’t I could have taken care of them myself."
"You blocked me! I felt your fear and then nothing. Do you know what went through my mind?" Zane’s voice rose to a yell. He held her by the arms, shaking her as if to bring her to her senses. "What were you thinking?"
"Stop!" She flung her hand outwards as she willed him away. He flew off the bed and landed with a thump on the floor. She leaped from the bed and shouted, "You want to see what I would have done to them?" Emotions rode her hard, urging her to demonstrate her power. She knew she could control the amount now, but as he stared in wide eyed shock at her from the floor, her anger melted away, leaving only the pit of grief. This was not what she wanted for the last days of their time together. She lowered her hand and counted her breaths until she could speak without her voice trembling.
"Damn you, Zane. Don’t you get it? You’ll be gone in two days. It doesn’t matter how much I want to, I can’t lean on you."
The pained and haunted look he gave her squeezed her heart. "You've never told me aloud that you love me."
Katarina looked away. The words
stuck in her throat. "You know what I feel."
"It isn't the same."
Katarina shook her head. "I can't." She raced into the bathroom, the only refuge available.
***
Zane lowered his head into his hands. Her silence cut deep. Yes, he knew she loved him. She wrapped him in her love every waking moment, but he needed to hear the words. She still refused to wholly trust him and her actions proved her point. Her fear of betrayal went as deep as his need for her. What the fuck am I going to do? If things were different, he could wait her out. She loved him too much hold on to her fears and doubts forever.
The sound of retching came from the bathroom. Zane bolted up from the floor and went in without knocking. He gathered up her hair and held her steady as she vomited into the toilet. When she was done, he took a washcloth, wet it with cool water, and wiped her face as she sat on the edge of the bathtub. "You okay?"
"Yeah."
"Can I get you anything?"
"Would you mind terribly getting me a soda?"
Zane kissed her forehead. "Not at all, I'll be back in a few minutes."
He left her in the bathroom, and jogged over to the motel office where a vending machine stood. Empaths suffered all sorts of physical responses to violence, and witnessing it firsthand pushed the argument aside for the moment. The machine spit out a cold green plastic bottle. He turned it over in his hand and tried to sort out in his mind the mess he'd made.
He jogged to the alley and took a quick look. Blood spattered the concrete and a trail led out of the alley, but the bodies were gone. It didn't really surprise him. The gangs on his own childhood streets more often than not recovered the bodies of comrades as well. They possessed their own distorted code of honor.
He walked back to the room, scanning the parking lot and beyond, but no one lurked within his range. He raised his hand to the palm reader and the sound of Katarina's voice traveled through the thin door.
"I'm barely keeping it together, Naia."
Zane lowered his hand and listened through the door.
"No, I haven't told him. Fair? Naia, honor and duty run in the man's veins. If I tell him I'm pregnant it's as good as forcing him to stay. I can't do that. In time he'd resent me. I can live with him leaving. I can't live with him hating me."
Shock stole Zane's breath. Pregnant? The vague shift in her energy made sense now and he felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.
"Shit."
The door opened and Katarina stared at him. "I'll talk to you later, Naia." Katarina ended the call and pocketed her cell phone.
"You weren’t going to tell me?"
Katarina walked to the bed, leaving the door open. "I didn’t want you to feel any worse about leaving than you already do."
"I have a right to know about my own child."
"I know," she whispered.
"I’m not going to abandon my child."
She looked over her shoulder. "Zane…"
"I’m not." He slammed the door.
She turned and sat on the bed. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
Zane took a full minute to corral his temper before saying anything. She ceased blocking him and let him see the misery and turmoil insider her, which kept him from saying or doing something he might regret. Zane stood there watching the woman he loved, the mother of his child, all but cringe as she waited for him to unleash his anger. He turned his face to the ceiling and for the first time in his life wondered if a higher power listened to the pleas of men. What do I do? How can I leave her, leave them?
He lowered his gaze back to Katarina and then walked to the bed. He knelt in front of her and waited for her gaze to meet his. "I love you. You believe that, right?" A tear spilled over and traced down her cheek. She nodded her head. "No matter what happens, I will always love you. I see inside you the same as you see into me. There is nothing in you that will ever make me stop loving you." The single tear turned into a silent stream. "You're right, I do have to leave. That doesn't mean I can't come back."
She swiped at her tears. "Come back?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "Okay, technically it is highly illegal and it won't be easy, but I don't want to live without you." He cupped her cheek and she fell into his arms, burrowing her face against his shirt.
She whispered against his chest. "I love you."
A chime sounded and Zane cursed at the timing. He took his computer out and activated the mini-holo. "What, Coran?"
"I fixed--" he broke off and stared. "What in the galaxies are you doing? Why are we talking with her in the room?"
"Coran, she's known who I am since before we even landed."
"What?! You compromised the mission?"
"No, I selectively ignored rules. Now, what did you fix?"
"Huh? Oh, the teleporter. I was calling to say I'm on the way and you don't have to catch that shuttle."
"Fine. When you get here, bring a medscanner ."
Chapter 8
A low hum interrupted them and Coran materialized with a handheld device in his hand. Once the transporter released him, he aimed it at Katarina. She gasped. There was little confusion as to his intent. In one move, Zane pulled her behind him, putting himself in the line of fire.
"Move out of the way, Zane. I don't know why you let her live this long, but if you aren't going to follow protocol, then I will."
"Nice to meet you too," Katarina said in Truscan. She peered out from around Zane. "I've heard a lot about you."
Coran's aim waivered. "She speaks Truscan?"
"I can't let you kill my wife, Coran."
"Wife?!" Katrina blurted.
Coran's face paled to a pasty white color. "What did you say?"
"As is my right as a Braag, I claim this woman as my wife. As such, she is mine and outside the jurisdiction of IGCF."
Coran opened and closed his mouth several times before slamming the weapon into a holster on his hip. "Kraghak! That is an asinine idea."
Katarina stepped out from behind Zane. "I agree. While I appreciate not being killed, what the fuck do you think you are doing? I'm not property and when did you ever consider yourself Braag?"
Zane shrugged. "It suits my purpose, which is protecting you."
Katarina let out an inarticulate sound of frustration. "Zane Gratig, I do not need protecting."
Zane ignored her protest. "Coran, pull up all the logs. I want all mention outside of her public Earth records stricken, and I need a medscanner."
Coran muttered under his breath as he pulled out a handheld computer. He glanced at Katarina. "Since you seem to be just as angry at him as I am, I think I like you."
***
Perched on the bed, Zane went to work on the logs. In theory he could leave her name as a tour guide he hired, but he preferred General Xu didn't even know she existed. If anything went wrong, it provided an extra layer of protection for Katarina.
"Here. I wrote a script. It'll automate it and flag any entries that require more detailed editing." Coran leaned over and typed in a series of commands and then the computer took off with the task, doing it far faster than Zane.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. You know that if internal comp auditors look at this they'll be able to reconstruct the original files. It might take them an eternity, but nothing is ever really erased unless you torch the damn ship. If I end up court-martialed because you got a case of dick-brain, I'll beat you to a bloody pile of bones."
Zane glanced over to the bench on which Katarina sat. She glowered at him and his heart turned over in his chest at the thought of her being killed by IGCF. "Then I'll make sure we don't give them a reason to dig. It isn't my dick talking, Coran. It's my heart and soul."
Katarina chimed in. "This is moronic. Leave my name in. I never figured out who you were. You came and left. Problem solved." She rose from her seat and marched over. "I will not be the cause of death for either of you."
Coran whipped his head around. "When did he tell you a court-ma
rtial was a death sentence?"
"He didn't. What he knows, I know and vice versa. It's just how the bond works. When I need to know something it just kind of pops up, although not always right away." She scrunched up her face. "And not always in the right order."
"Bond?" Coran's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Yes, Coran, we are bonded telepaths. Now do you understand?"
Coran groaned and turned away, walking to the far end of the small room. He pounded a fist on the plaster wall, leaving a dent. He spun around. "How could you be so kraghakti stupid? There's no guarantee you'll even be able to make the trip without losing it. What happens when I show up to Yopmar and you're a babbling quizark?"
"We don't have a choice." Zane said.
"Why the hell did you do something so irresponsibly moronic? That is not the man I know. Did she do it? Aside from the most disciplined telepaths, most don't even risk travelling without their mate, but you're just going to zip across the galaxy and hope you can manage?"
"No, it wasn't her. We didn't plan the damn thing. It happened and we're going to deal. Drop it, Coran." Zane looked at her. "You're a powerful telepath, love, and you've a will of duratanium. You'll be fine."
She looked up and met his gaze. "What about you?" She pictured Zane as an unresponsive, catatonic body and another blip of information popped into her head. "If they can't revive you, they'll euthanize you." Guilt tore through her as she realized the odds of him surviving no matter what he did seemed bleak.
"All the more reason to live up to my reputation of being a stubborn SOB."
"It's my fault."
"I made my choice, love. If I had to choose again, I'd still choose you."
Despite his words, the likely outcome hit her hard and her knees buckled. Her knees hit the floor with a thud. Zane popped up from the bed and rushed to her side. He scooped her up and carried her back to the bed and set her down. "Medscanner?"