Ethan’s penthouse on Rue de Rivoli occupied the entire top floor of the condo tower. The elevator led to a sterile tile and marble foyer and a single door. There was no visible security, no handlers, no lackeys or groupies. She assumed his address must be kept extremely confidential. But though she had never been to this residence, she had always known where to find him.
She pressed the bell and leaned nonchalantly on the wall to wait. Only then did it occur to her the door might be answered by…well, virtually anyone. She hadn’t messaged ahead. She hadn’t planned or thought any of this through. She was simply here.
But it wasn’t anyone who answered. It was him.
He would have accessed a cam of the foyer of course and opened the door already knowing who awaited. He rested on the doorframe and mimicked her pose. His coffee-colored hair was cut shorter than when she had seen him last and barely grazed his shoulders. Chocolate irises sparkled with mischief; that had not changed.
“Alex, love. My birthday isn’t until next month, yet here you are.”
“Yet here I am.” She realized she was biting her lower lip when one of his eyebrows arched and the sparkle in his eyes flared. She didn’t stop.
“To what do I owe this smashing surprise?”
Her expression darkened as she stared at him and tried to find a way to respond glibly. ‘My lover of two years walked out on me and I don’t want to talk about it, think about it or even remember it, I just want to feel’ somehow didn’t seem a suitable answer, but her brain was not currently operating with enough functionality to craft a lie.
He must have read her mood, because he smiled and crossed the foyer to grasp her hands in his. “Never mind. What matters is you’re here.” He began backing up, drawing her along with him toward the door and into the penthouse.
She grinned in what she hoped resembled playful seductiveness. “Do you have plans for the weekend?”
Still grasping her hands, he wound her arms around his waist as the door closed behind them. “I do now….” His gaze caressed her face, down her neck to the hollow of her throat, then returned to her eyes. “Miss Solovy, I do believe you’re high.”
Yes, she most certainly was. “Is that a problem?”
“Bien au contraire, ma chérie.”
He was hardly French, but she supposed ‘when in Paris’…and true to the stereotype, the words sent a delightful shiver up her spine.
He maneuvered her so her back pressed into the wall and closed the remaining space until his lips hovered a breath above hers. “Stay that way. Stay with me. For the weekend, for however long you have.”
She responded by spinning him around, pinning him against the wall and crushing her mouth against his.
Alex forcefully blinked away the memory…damn but it had been a hell of a way to get over a broken heart.
Her voice lowered beneath the din of the crowd. “I need a spoofing routine—military grade, the best you have. Cost is not a concern, but I need it now.”
Claire sipped on her drink. “If it were anyone else I’d be tempted to take advantage of your obvious desperation and charge you double for half-assed ware. But once upon a time you had my back, and you never let me down. Also, you know several of my secrets.”
She set the glass on the table and eyed Alex a moment. “I do have something which meets your requirements. One of a kind and thus far solely for me. It’s not on the market.”
“It will be used only once, after which I will wipe it. My word.”
Claire’s gaze drifted up and across the balcony before settling again on Alex. “I keep it in here—” she tapped her temple with a razor square fingernail, causing a ripple along the glyphs on her forearm “—too valuable to store anywhere else. I can burn you a copy. Twenty-one thousand. And it’s worth twice the price.”
Alex smacked her lips and took a sip of her drink. It represented a good deal of money, but nothing she couldn’t pay. She nodded. “Do it.”
“You got it.” She reached into a pocket of the utility belt slung over her hips and removed a slim burner interface. She reached behind her head, rested the tiny oval at the nape of her neck and secured the harness above her ears. “Watch my drink for me?” Her eyes glazed over.
Alex scanned the area with careful nonchalance while she waited. The downstairs may be for mindless trips, partying and hookups, but upstairs serious business was being conducted.
The balcony was much larger than it first appeared and sported a number of couches, tables and private alcoves. Certainly, much in the way of alcohol and recreational chimerals were being consumed—but hard tech was also trading hands. Judging from the hints of trunk lines winding along the walls, she expected active hacks were presently ongoing as well—likely some for sport, others for friendly competition, others for thousands of credits…and still others for real stakes.
She noted in her peripheral vision when Claire’s vision sharpened. The woman removed the interface from her neck, ejected a tiny reflective crystal disk and pocketed the equipment. Beneath the table she extended her hand, palm open. Alex did the same, placing her hand over Claire’s and holding it there as she transferred the funds. She took the disk and slipped it in the tiny pocket in the front of her pants.
“Thank you, Claire. I do appreciate this.”
Claire laughed and sank back in the chair. “Fair business trade. You just bought me some fancy new hardware for my lair. Good luck with whatever adventure you’re diving into. I’m glad to know you’re still in the game.”
She started to protest that she wasn’t, not really…instead she merely smiled. “Thanks.”
“Sure you don’t want to stick around awhile? Sandi, Markos and I were thinking of flying the bridge a little later. I seem to remember you enjoy it?”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “I seem to remember being the one who taught you how to do it in the first place.” Diving off the top of the Golden Gate Bridge using nothing but a tensile double-fiber strand when she was sixteen had gotten her arrested; by twenty-four she had gotten far smarter about it.
“That’s right….”
She chuckled lightly and stood. “As tempting as it is, I’m afraid I must go. Urgent doings and all.” She leaned over and gave Claire a quick one-armed hug. “Stay frosty. Don’t get caught.”
“Never.”
She took the stairs two at a time and hurried through the crowd to the exit. The damp chill outside was, for the briefest moment, a welcome change from the stifling underground atmosphere. Then it was simply cold and wet.
She rubbed her hands over her arms and hurried up the hill toward the levtram station. She could catch half an hour of sleep on the transport to Seattle. Maybe an hour nap at the loft, but no more. She’d need the rest of the intervening hours to get ready—for the Board meeting, followed by a small jailbreak.
45
EARTH
VANCOUVER, EASC HEADQUARTERS
* * *
ALEX FINISHED EXPLAINING what the data in the report meant in terms so simple even a non-cyberized five year old could understand it, then gazed down the horrifically gaudy conference table at the collected leadership of Earth Alliance Strategic Command expectantly.
The meeting had started late, on account of she had no idea what. Then she had been kept waiting for an hour while they discussed classified war concerns. Her patience hung by a brittle thread by the time she had finally been shown in…but seeing as the matter was of the utmost importance she refrained from showing it.
Now that it was over, she thought on balance she hadn’t done badly at all. Her mother had given her a tiny nod of approval at the end, which from her was high praise indeed.
General Alamatto pretended to study the visuals still displayed above the table—well it was possible he was legitimately studying them, but unlikely—while she fielded nitpicky questions from the others.
No, she didn’t believe the ships in the visuals represented the entire force. No, she didn’t have any idea how many more
there might be. No, she didn’t know where the portal originated. No, she didn’t possess hard evidence the aliens were using the terahertz signal as a form of communication; that’s why she had called it ‘speculation.’ No, she didn’t see their weapons in action, for shockingly she had not taunted the armada into shooting at her.
Perhaps tired of waiting for Alamatto to take the lead, one of the Regional Commanders on holo—the one with the fiery orange hair, O’Connell?—leaned forward. The stance on his stout frame was so assertive he appeared as if he were about to bull rush the table. “Based on Metis’ location, these ‘aliens’ will traverse Federation space long before reaching our territory. We can use this to our advantage. A Seneca under attack from two fronts will be far weaker and easier to defeat.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
O’Connell made a laughable attempt to virtually stare her down. “I will not be talked to in such a manner. I am—”
Her mother was staring her down, but she ignored her to meet O’Connell’s gaze icily. “Of course. Pardon my manners. Are you fucking kidding me, sir?”
The man practically came out of his chair and through the holo, but Alamatto cleared his throat loudly over O’Connell’s protestations.
“Ms. Solovy, please. Surely you understand—the goal of war is to defeat the enemy. The General may have put the matter somewhat indelicately, but he raises a valid consideration. If these aliens attack the Federation, it will almost certainly bring a more rapid conclusion to the war and prevent the loss of a great many Alliance soldiers’ and citizens’ lives.”
“Almost certainly—until they get here.”
“We will be on our guard, and study them when they attack Senecan worlds—if they attack Senecan worlds. By the time they arrive here we can be ready for them.”
“You’ll study them while they slaughter millions—billions—of innocent people?” She gestured at the images hovering above the conference table. “Do you see the size of those ships? They can destroy entire colonies with those monstrosities!”
Alamatto raised an over-trimmed eyebrow. “I must admit I am surprised at your reaction, Ms. Solovy. I would expect you to harbor no love for Seneca, given what happened to your father.”
“Do not bring my father into this.”
He withered under the force of her glare, shrinking into his chair. “I’m merely saying—”
She laughed darkly. “You know, I don’t particularly care for war personally—it did, as you so delicately noted, kill my father—but for the most part I don’t give a shit what you do in your free time. But this…these aliens aren’t going to distinguish between Alliance, Senecan and Independent. Why should they care? I’m pretty sure we all look the same from space—and even up close. Admirals, Generals, whoever else is here, you ignore this threat and you are signing all of our death warrants.”
Alamatto seemed to locate a piece of his backbone and straightened up. “We’ll be the judge of that. Thank you, Ms. Solovy, for bringing the matter to our attention. We can take it from here.”
“Right.” She stood, the picture of calm, and gave the table a final once-over. “Thank you all for the privilege of wasting my time.” She didn’t wait for the offended expressions and exclamations before walking out.
She was actually surprised when her mother caught up to her at the lift; she’d have thought it too unseemly for her to excuse herself from the meeting so quickly.
“Alexis, wait. You need to understand—”
She whipped around and came so close to shoving a pointed finger in her mother’s face. “No. I understand fine. You work with a bunch of power-drunk, narcissistic pizdy with the collective intelligence of one of your teacups.”
“Alexis!”
“What? Dad would be disgusted by this. Why aren’t you?”
“Your father died fighting Seneca—”
“My father died serving his government and his superior officers—who I’m starting to think were probably no better than those Neanderthals in there. He died fighting a stupid, pointless war which never should have been fought. Don’t you dare brandish his death as a totem to justify sanctioning the slaughter of billions.”
“That is not fair. I would never debase his memory in such a way.” Miriam blinked and took a deep breath. “I fear your petulant little temper-tantrum did far more to hurt rather than help your cause—but it may surprise you to learn I happen to agree with you, at least as to the seriousness of the threat. I will do everything within my power to draw continued attention to it and advise—”
Alex snorted in derision. “You want to do something, Mom? Then goddamn do something.”
She pivoted and hopped onto the lift as it descended past the floor. After tamping down the urge to hit the closest available hard surface, she checked the time.
Excellent. The Board had wasted her afternoon and now she had precious few hours to prepare.
Thirty hours later, Caleb still chose to believe her…but the possibility did occur to him that she might not be able to pull it off.
Electronic shielding blocked all communications within the facility. He couldn’t send or receive messages or pulses, much less livecomms. The sense of isolation was far greater than it had been in Metis. There diversions had abounded, so to speak. One diversion in particular. Here though….
The trip over had been brief; he had every reason to think he was still on EASC grounds. He sat in a 5x4 cell, bounded on three sides by walls thick with sound-proofing materials. The fourth wall consisted of translucent glass and a small door, allowing any who walked by to see inside while preventing him from seeing out. Not that they needed to stand on the other side of the glass to observe him, for every corner of the ceiling held a surveillance cam.
The cell contained a cot—far less comfortable than the one on Alex’s ship—a toilet, a tiny sink and nothing else. Near as he’d determined when they’d brought him in, he was about a third of the way down a long hall of identical cells. He presumed some of the other cells held prisoners, but thanks to the sound-absorbing walls he heard no rumblings in the vicinity.
Other than food delivery through a slot in the glass wall, he hadn’t had contact with another person since being dumped unceremoniously in the cell the previous afternoon. No interrogation—pharmaceutically or cybernetically aided or otherwise—and no inquiries as to his mission or intentions. Given they knew his identity, they presumably knew when he had arrived on Earth and assumed whatever his mission was, he’d found little opportunity to pursue it.
The one thing he couldn’t figure was how in the bloody hell they knew who he was.
He’d had an ID busted twice in seventeen years, and in neither instance had the culprits uncovered his true identity, just that he’d used a false one. And the Roark ID was strong; it included fingerprint and iris overlays courtesy of his cybernetics as well as a well-documented and verifiable personal history, complete with face scan. Granted, security measures would be heightened given the war, but he’d seen no hint of a DNA scan on entry to the premises. And he’d made a point not to touch any surfaces once they were inside.
The only possibility he was able to come up with was the ID had been flagged as both false and attached to him by Alliance Intelligence. He hadn’t used it in…two years? Conceivably at some point over the period it had been compromised. Unlikely, but conceivable.
He assumed they intended to eventually do something with him. If he were to guess, they would transfer him to wherever they would be keeping the inevitable prisoners of war. He felt certain the Alliance had moved beyond 20th century internment camps to a more refined form of confinement. Nonetheless, he hoped like hell Alex got here before that happened.
As his thoughts drifted back to her yet again, he thudded the back of his head slowly, deliberately against the wall. He hated being dependent on someone else. For his life, safety, finances, freedom—but most of all, for his happiness.
It both pleasantly surprised and unpleasantly
disturbed him to find he rather missed her. Part of it was the isolation, the real and virtual silence. But part of it was he genuinely missed her. He’d known her for all of eight, nine days now? And for at least half of the hours of those days she had alternately annoyed, exasperated and infuriated him. The other half, though….
Already he couldn’t imagine not knowing her.
But he wasn’t dependent on her. Not technically. If need be he could break himself out of here. Escaping wouldn’t be easy—he’d probably be required to hurt or even kill at least several people who didn’t deserve it, which he really tried to avoid doing whenever possible. But if it came down to them or rotting in a cell…it may be an unpleasant choice but it wasn’t a difficult one.
He understood quite well how military security facilities operated. Hell, he had even broken into one a few years back. He chuckled a little to himself…that was a good time. He’d broken in to break out an insurgent leader on Andromeda so the man would then lead him to the ringleader of a group disrupting commercial shipments out of Elathan. Of course everything had gone sideways five minutes in, as it always seemed to. But it had worked out in the end.
He’d prefer a few upstart insurgents disrupting shipping routes about now. Certainly beat a war with the Alliance—for reasons he continued to be highly suspicious of—being held captive in a secure facility at the literal heart of the enemy’s nerve center, and most of all facing the prospect of staggeringly powerful aliens gathering to wreak destruction upon them all.
Well, at least he also had the benefit of a brilliant, resourceful, gorgeous, clever, determined woman on his side. He definitely hadn’t had that before.
No, he reassured himself, he wasn’t dependent on her. Technically. But he was playing a long bet. And even now, thirty-plus hours into his captivity, he remained fairly confident in the rightness of his bet.
So he chose to continue believing her.
46
PANDORA
INDEPENDENT COLONY
Aurora Rising: The Complete Collection Page 34