The Lost Princess

by Richard Dee

  “I will, you don’t know what this might cost, me telling you.” She took a couple of deep breaths, her mask rattled. “I’m OK, the air’s so thin and I’m nervous about talking to you. So, suppose you fantasise about Cyn Deltrex, well you know you could never get a date with her, never get close to her.”

  I could see where this was going, it all fitted together. I heard a noise and looked over, the shadow was doing something on the screen. My eyes had adjusted to the gloom and I could see the fingers typing.

  Gaynor heard the noise, Rina took no notice. They must be together, that was her insurance, like I was Gaynor’s. “Go to the Doppel Club and you can buy Cyn Deltrex,” she said. “For the night, as arm candy or to fulfil whatever fantasy you can imagine.”

  “So the club has escorts, and they look like celebs. It’s hardly original. Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because it’s going to the next level, the people who use the club are bored with girls who just look like celebrities.”

  “You mean, they want the real thing?”

  “That’s right, and there are some seriously wealthy sickos who’re not interested in just being seen with a celebrity. I heard that there will be a new star at the club soon, not a lookalike but the real thing. Kept inside and ultra-secret, for obvious reasons.”

  “You’re telling me that they’re going to kidnap someone?”

  My phone vibrated in my pocket. Not now, just when we were getting to the good part. I pulled it out and looked. I’d had a message from someone called Nat, ‘You know me as the one with the Dolphin tattoo’, it said. ‘Meet me at the old East lookout, in an hour. COME ALONE’.

  Oh, marvellous, it was going to get seriously crowded up here. At least I didn’t have to leave Gaynor. ‘OK, I’ll be there’, I typed back. I pressed send.

  Gaynor and the girl had been talking; I’d missed a bit “…and we managed to get away from the club, then off the planet. We had money that we’d managed to stash, we ended up here.”

  There was a flash; it looked like the person to my right had just received a message on their phone.

  “Layla had to get away,” she continued. “It’s complicated, she needed to set it all up, that’s why she went to Galthon. We met up, at first I thought that it was a coincidence, we were both in the same place. My friend was out of character, I went to the restroom, when I came back they were talking. It was obvious as time went on that they knew each other. I didn’t get all of it but they must have made a deal. She switched with Na… with my friend. We’re waiting for a message from Layla, to say that she’s safe, then she’s to vanish.”

  I knew then who was sitting not thirty metres from me, it was Dolphin girl, Nat or whatever she was called. The person who could give me all the answers. And I also knew that she knew Layla. Whatever had been planned, it wasn’t a whim.

  “How do I know that you’re not just stirring up trouble for the Delegate?” I heard Gaynor ask.

  “Because they caught me overhearing the plan. I’ve told you, I worked in the club. It scared me. That’s what made me leave. Look.” She pulled off her mask. Cyn Deltrex, or her twin, was revealed.

  There was a sudden burst of light, we were all illuminated. Then the blast of air from a fast-moving craft. A voice boomed out, “All four of you, we see you on our scanners. Come out and lie on the ground.”

  Someone had arrived, whose side were they on?

  Chapter Twelve

  Gaynor and the girl separated, Rina put her mask back on and jumped over the railing at the front of the lookout, disappearing into the long grass. I looked across to the other person, who I was convinced was Nat, alias Dolphin girl. She too had vanished.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder. “Come on you,” said a voice. I turned; a uniformed policeman was standing behind me. I could see Gaynor, held by another.

  In the end, there was just Gaynor and me, the other two had vanished somewhere. They questioned us about what we had been up to, but we kept repeating that we were interviewing a source about an on-going story, they had a mask on and we had only seen one of them.

  “We’re taking you to the station,” the officer in charge kept repeating, while overhead the cruiser hunted for the two girls.

  We were thrown into different cells. I had time to think. What we had heard was worrying enough, but was it connected? Linda had told me that Layla was off somewhere sorting things out; that indicated she hadn’t been kidnapped. That was before I had spoken to Dave, heard his suspicions. Then there was Nat, the Dolphin girl. What was the connection? Where did the club fit in? Was the meeting on Galthon really random? The list went on, the arrival of the police had stopped us finding out any of the answers. Now the girls were gone and it was unlikely that we would ever see them again.

  Perhaps I had been half right, I had said to Gaynor that Layla had got wind of the Delegate’s plan and had disappeared to do something about it. That would explain her absence. It now seemed unlikely that Igor was in on it, although he wouldn’t be sad if Layla succeeded in embarrassing his enemy. If the Delegate was planning to kidnap celebrities, if he already had, it meant Layla was in danger. I knew what I had to do.

  “I want a phone call,” I shouted through the bars.

  Four hours later, we were both standing on the street. Hendrix must have been interested enough to pull a few strings.

  “What did you tell him?” Gaynor asked as we arrived back at our apartment. She was less concerned with us being seen together, which I took as a step forward in our relationship.

  “I’ve stuck my neck out,” I admitted, “telling him about the girls and the club and the possible connection with the Delegate. We’re out, we can worry about that later.”

  “Mind you,” she said, “I’ve had the chance to think about it, it’s not much of a leap. There’s a club being run that wants a celebrity attraction, and who’s one of the biggest?”

  “But have they got her, or has she gone to try and do something about someone else?” I repeated my thoughts from the cell.

  “There’s a flaw in the argument,” Gaynor said; my heart sank.

  “What?”

  “Well, how does Dolphin girl fit in?” she asked. “If Layla has gone to Dalyster to sort the club out, how did she know to get Dolphin girl to impersonate her before she went?”

  “I don’t follow, and her name was Nat.”

  “Listen, Dolphin girl, Nat, whatever. She was with my girl, Rina. They both worked at the club, both escaped. Next thing she’s recruited by Layla to impersonate her while she goes to the club. How did they meet? Nat and Rina were on the run.”

  “The masked girl. Didn’t she say that Layla knew Nat. Perhaps Galthon was the setup, perhaps they escaped and got in touch with Layla, arranged to meet her there?”

  “Oh yes,” she admitted, “that would work.”

  “We need to find out all that we can about these two.”

  Next morning, I expected to be hauled in to see Hendrix. It never happened. According to his secretary, he was away all day.

  We got to work; Gaynor had begun searching for the girls online, while I had an idea for finding Nat, aka Dolphin girl. I went to see if Linda was back.

  She was manning the stall again and I bought a coffee and waited while she served all the other customers.

  “I hear that Dave persuaded her to see you?” she eventually said.

  “Sort of,” I answered. “I never actually met her; we arranged a meeting, the police got in the way and they vanished. Gaynor got some information from the girl that she was with though. I’m off to see Dave later, try to set up another meeting.”

  “That’s a shame,” she said. “I expect she’ll be long gone now. Dave might not want to put her in any more danger, assuming she got away. If I hear anything more, I’ll let you know.”

  Gaynor had more luck. “Nat Verloren,” she said triumphantly. “Native of Dandri and guess what, she was on Terra at the same time as Layla, studying.”

 
; It was hardly conclusive but a step forward. Terra was a big place, not as big as Centra but still a link. Before we could dig any deeper, Hendrix arrived. “Come with me, you two,” he said, everyone else in the office looked up, that was his ‘sacking’ voice. With everyone watching us, we went upstairs into his office and he shut the door.

  “Sit down,” he said. “As I bailed you out, you’d better tell me what else you know, what’s really going on. Igor’s got a bee in his bonnet about this, he’s seen the flash; the rumours, it’s got him wound up. That’s where I’ve been this morning. He’s not listening to reason. I’ve told him what you thought, what the girl said, what’s not on the feed. I tried to explain that it’s all circumstantial, there’s no guarantee that Layla’s on Dalyster but he won’t have it.”

  This was ominous, Hendrix sounded worried, not his usual self at all. There was more, a lot more. His words came out in a rush, so unlike his normal way of speaking. Igor must have given him a severe talking to.

  “‘What other reason has she got for going away’, Igor kept saying, ‘except to try and right a wrong or help someone? She knows all about the trouble between the Delegate and me, it must be important, she wouldn’t go and miss my wedding. I want this Miles Goram to go to Dalyster, find her and get her back for me’. On and on he ranted, at least Donna wasn’t there, adding her snide comments. In the end, mainly to shut him up, I agreed that you could go and have a look around. That wasn’t enough, take a film crew, he said, get it all. I want him to find Layla; I want the Delegate to be shown up.”

  That was quite a speech, I don’t think I had heard so many words from Hendrix at one time before. At least he could see that this was not a sure thing.

  “Doesn’t he realise, she might not even be on Dalyster?” I asked. He merely shrugged.

  “We really need to see what the connection is,” suggested Gaynor, “before we go running around.” Hendrix shrugged again. I’d never seen him look defeated before, especially by someone who had no official control over his magazine.

  “Humour him,” he said, “and me. Please. Go to Dalyster, have a snoop around. Don’t put yourself in danger, if it looks dodgy, say you couldn’t find much and come home.”

  “We can do that,” said Gaynor. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of her coming with me. I’d heard a few things about Dalyster. That would be an interesting conversation.

  “He wants to see you before you go,” said Hendrix.

  “That’s fine, perhaps once I’ve spoken to him, he’ll see how tenuous the whole thing is, but I’m not taking Gaynor.”

  She looked at me. “Hang on, you’re not taking me! What is this?”

  “It’s not chivalry,” I said. “I know we’re not joined at the hip. But I won’t be responsible; this is a half-brained scheme at best. We don’t know enough about what’s going on to head to Dalyster and start asking questions.”

  Hendrix gave me a look; he must have registered the joined at the hip comment. “Never mind a lover’s tiff, I agree with Miles. Gaynor, you’re stopping here. Miles can take someone else.”

  I waited for the explosion, it never came.

  “Fair enough,” she said. Which bothered me, she had given up far too easily.

  “Good,” said Hendrix. “Then we’re agreed, Miles, get it all organised.” He swung his chair, our meeting was over.

  Sure enough, the argument started as soon as we were outside the door.

  “Thanks for your support,” Gaynor said.

  “I am supporting you. I don’t want to have to worry about your safety. Dalyster’s not like Centra, everything we hear says so, the Delegate has the power there, the support, one false move and we’ll be in trouble.”

  “We have press cards, and Igor’s backing,” she said. “Plus, I can take care of myself.”

  I played my trump card. “I know you can, but we’re going somewhere where they don’t care about women; they treat them as objects; like Rina and Nat were. They had to fight to get away. I don’t want to see you dragged away to suffer like that. Anyway, it’s immaterial, Hendrix says no and for once I’m happy to let him get his way.”

  She scowled. “Very chivalrous. I want to come to make sure that you’re alright.”

  And that was the first time she had indicated how much I meant to her.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Once again, I was in Igor’s presence. This time we were seated around a low table, with one of his legal team. Igor never named him, just introduced him as his lawyer. I was pleased to see that Donna Markes was absent. Hendrix had been asked to wait outside. He meekly agreed, showing who had the real power.

  “I know I said I never wanted to see you again,” Igor said, “but what I’ve heard changes things. Tell me again, all of it.”

  I repeated the story, what I had heard on the streets, what Cyn had said on the lookout. I told him how Gaynor had gone back to the lookout. She wanted to retrieve her recorder; how it was gone. Whether the police or the girls had it was impossible to say. How we had tried to locate the girls again, that Dave wasn’t talking. Everything except Nat Verloren and her connection to Layla.

  Igor listened in silence, then he turned to his lawyer and whispered a few words. There was nodding, agreement.

  “So, do you think the Delegate actually has Layla hostage on Dalyster?” the lawyer asked. “And that he’s going to turn her into some sort of slave in the club that you claim he owns?”

  “It’s not one hundred per cent certain that Layla’s involved, or even on Dalyster,” I said carefully. “But what I’ve heard suggests that a celebrity is, or will be, a hostage in the club. The girl never said a name, as I told Hendrix. That’s what he should have told you. Layla was never mentioned, just a big celebrity. The fact that Layla chose now to disappear, that the person impersonating her is from the club, that’s the only link.”

  “So it could be us, jumping to conclusions?” he said.

  I took a deep breath. “Look, Layla’s gone off, I’ve heard that it’s to sort something out. She might have gone to rescue someone else from the club; she might be on another planet entirely; doing something completely different.”

  The possibility that she wasn’t on Dalyster was ignored, “So she could have been lured there, maybe she’s been caught?”

  I hadn’t thought of that. “It’s possible,” I admitted.

  Igor spoke. “Mattias is that sort of sick individual, besides we have history, he’d do it if he thought he could get away with it and hurt me.”

  “Can I ask, what dealings have you had with the Delegate?”

  His face went red. “Too right! He stopped me developing a project on Dalyster that would have given money to the locals. And all because I wouldn’t line his pocket. It’s ironic, given that Mattias is so vocal in his whiter than white life, that he represents such a place. The ruling faction uses him as the acceptable face of their society, it’s all an act. They’ve always hated Balcom over there.”

  So that explained his haste to action. He wanted to condemn the Delegate. It was revenge, business, not concern or fatherly love.

  “I’m sure she’s there,” he added. “Go and get her back for me.”

  “But she might not be,” said the lawyer. “You do understand that, don’t you, Mr Balcom?”

  Igor brushed his objections aside. “I’ve tried to send my people in,” he replied. “Since I first heard this story. To find out what’s going on. But they’re local, everyone on Dalyster knows they’re mine. I need a fresh face, an unknown, no offence. Will you go, Mr Goram?”

  “I strongly advise against it,” the lawyer repeated, once again he was ignored.

  “I’ll give you a number. If you get any trouble on Dalyster, Goram, call these people. I’ll tell them to help you. I hate Mattias, as long as you’re right and she’s there, you’ll have my support.” He stood, the meeting was over.

  I heard myself say, “I’ll do what I can,” then I was outside the door.

  The lawy
er came out. “Good luck, Mr Goram,” he said. “I don’t envy you. I’ve tried to stop this. My advice would be to go to the club, find nothing and come home. Everyone will be happy. Just stay out of trouble. Dalyster isn’t the place to fall foul of the law.”

  He was giving me a way out, turning it into a face-saving exercise. Good advice.

  “Come on, Miles,” said Hendrix. “We’ve got a lot of planning to do.” He turned to the lawyer. “Thank you for your time,” he said. Then he practically dragged me to the lift.

  I had the feeling that Igor had decided she was there, was desperate for her to be there, despite any evidence. His hatred was overriding reason. And that I was being railroaded. My relief came from knowing that Gaynor wouldn’t be with me if it all went wrong.

  “What’s the matter?” I said as we descended. “Why drag me away? I hadn’t finished. Igor needs to get it into his head that it’s not a certainty.”

  “I know,” he said. “You’ve got the lawyer onside but you were getting nowhere. It’s all very well hedging your bets now, you started this and Igor’s running with the idea. Now you have to finish it.”

  “I never said anything definite,” I protested, as we got out of the lift and walked across the foyer to the entrance. “You can see that; the lawyer could see that.”

  “Trouble is, Igor doesn’t see it that way. Incidentally, do you know why it’s called Doppel?”

  I admitted that I didn’t, I assumed it was to do with the owner’s name or some Dalysterian thing. “It’s a Terran word,” he said. “Or part of one. Doppelganger, it means double, or twin.”

  That was interesting, Layla and Nat had both studied on Terra. There were just too many coincidences in all of this.

  When we started to plan the trip; we came up against our first obstacle. There was no way that the magazine could get an official crew into Dalyster, the authorities wouldn’t allow it. “Tell us what you want to see and the state media will make your report," they told us. As that was out of the question, we decided to go undercover, just me and a cameraman. It meant that we had no backup, except the phone number that Igor had given us.