Halfblood Heritage

by Rheaume, Laura

  “No weirder than escorting Kin around the city, I can tell you that,” he laughed. “Here we are. You know where to go?”

  “Yeah, go along this road for a bit, it’ll be on the left, after the fork.” Scythe leaned forward to look out the front windshield at the small cemetery where his mother had been buried just months ago. A thinly paved road wound through the manicured garden, with flowers springing up on both sides. Small sections were identified by the hedges that divided up the land into a myriad of boxes, each of which had blooming plants, a bench, little statues of children or animals, and one or more headstones.

  “Stop here,” Scythe said when they approached his mother’s plot. “I’ll be right back. Smoke, will you come with me?”

  They both exited the van, along with the other Blades and the members of the escort team, but only Scythe and Smoke took one of the rock lined paths that wound its way through the garden.

  “Why are we here?” asked Smoke quietly.

  “Well, I really wanted to see something. It is just a hunch I had, and it’s probably nothing...”

  “That’s what Lena said, and look what happened,” Smoke said derisively.

  “Don’t think I don’t know it. Damn, I can’t stop thinking about it,” he complained, stopping at a small plot with only one headstone. “This is it.” He stepped over the part of the hedge which was trimmed short and kneeled by the headstone. He whispered, “Sit by the other side and feel around.” Scythe’s hands were slowly moving around under the flowers.

  Smoke stepped over the hedge, his heart starting to beat more rapidly, “I can smell her!” He looked around, before bending down and covertly searching the earth like Scythe.

  “Yes, she came here, but it is soft, a few days old at least. Try to look like you are consoling me.”

  Smoke nodded, facing the tombstone. “What are we looking for?”

  “I don’t know. Something she would leave for us if she thought she was in danger. She would know that if I came to the city, I would eventually come here. The question is, did someone else figure that out and get here first?”

  “The soil here is loose.” Smoke plunged his hand into the soil, scooping away the moist, dark earth and piling it up without looking.

  “That must be it, there isn’t anything on this side,” Scythe said, moving to the headstone and putting his hand on it. “Thanks, mom, for helping us out.” He swallowed, and his chest was suddenly very tight, “I really miss you and father. At least you are together, now. Father always said you were his heart’s desire; it was probably hard for him to have to wait for you for so long.” He stood, looking down at the engraving: Beloved Mother. “I’ll be along sometime, but not yet.”

  He looked over at Smoke, who was standing and waiting respectfully.

  The Kin said, “I’ve got it. Some type of data storage device.”

  Scythe’s throat had closed up, so he just nodded and turned to leave.

  Smoke stepped forward and, kneeling, placed his hand on the soil in front of the grave marker. “Rest, lady. Your son walks the path you set him on.” He stood and walked quietly by Scythe’s side back to the van.

  Chapter 21

  “There is no hint of them here, Grant,” Scythe told the border patrol officer when they finally had a moment alone. It had taken at least forty-five minutes to get through the greeting, introductions, and other formalities at the embassy. The questions they had for the embassy staff were politely and truthfully answered, and were no help whatsoever. They managed to get a tour of the facility, but it revealed nothing to them about the five missing persons. Now they stood in the outer chamber of the private rooms where they had planned to spend the trip.

  “Well, it was worth a try,” Grant said. “I do have some information that might help us out.”

  “Great,” Scythe stepped forward and swiftly pulled out a knife.

  Grant backed up into Ungol, who caught him lightly by the shoulders.

  “Geez, Grant, don’t you trust me yet?” asked Scythe. He took a hold of the lapel of a jacket Grant had not worn earlier and slid the tip of the knife along the seam, splitting it open. He sheathed the knife before pulling apart the material to reveal the tracking device humming softly there. He lifted his eyebrows inquiringly at Grant, who shook his head and frowned thoughtfully.

  “This place has so much tech that I’m surprised they don’t interfere with each other. It’s crazy.” Smoke reached over, took the mini transmitter from Scythe and pinched it until an audible snap confirmed that it was destroyed.

  “That’s about as close as you get, Grant. They are right on you,” Scythe shook his head, both impressed at their enemy’s resourcefulness and worried for their friend. “Where did you pick up that coat?”

  “It was in my office…” Grant’s eyes were a little wild, “You’re right. They’re good, and they’re close...ahead of us all the way.” He took a deep breath, and then another, to calm himself. “It’s probably too late for me to turn back at this point. All the more reason to find them as soon as possible, right?”

  “Or run like a chicken to live to see another day...”

  He shook his head, “Not an option. Not for me, anyway.”

  Scythe nodded and accepted his decision, “I’m kind of glad, because we need you.” He held up the device Smoke had uncovered in the graveyard. “We also need a data reader, a secure one.”

  “I have a portable one, but it is linked.”

  “Can you disable the link?”

  “Let me see...I’ve never tried...there, that should do it...nope, it just reestablishes the link.” He smiled sheepishly, “It’s a fail-safe measure. Guess our technology is brainier than we are.”

  “Well, what can we do? I want to access some data immediately.”

  “All of ours will be programmed this way. Our best bet is a private one, or a new one.”

  “What’s the problem?” asked Leandra.

  “The data reader is linked to other units and we can’t seem to turn it off. We don’t want anyone else to see what’s...”

  “Can I see it?” Pride asked. He took the unit, flipped it over, and used his knife to pry off the back. “Here’s the link transmitter. Ooops, dang, I cut it out. Sorry about that, guess it’s broken.” He handed it back with a missing back and wires hanging out of the bottom, but otherwise still functioning.

  “Showoff,” muttered Ungol. “I could have done that.”

  “Sure,” purred Pride, “I know it, brother.”

  “He could have done it in the dark,” said Smoke, patting him on the back.

  “With my toes,” added Ungol, “and a toothpick.”

  “Of course, we all can,” Pride laughed.

  “Already we have been here too long,” muttered Leandra.

  Scythe inserted the data cube and leaned forward, motioning the others to surround him and block off any view of the screen. Leandra and Pride watched the room, while the others hunched over the reader.

  Scythe’s eyes roamed over the data folders, tapping on them to briefly view their contents. It contained all the files they couldn’t locate in either Lena’s apartment or Ian’s home. They were fully annotated and included what she had compiled about the hospital and the subsequent search for conspirators in Menelaus. Unlike her apartment, the notes were clear, well organized and concise. Accessing the latest entries, Scythe found a record of her suspicions regarding the Kin. It included incidents and testimonials that suggested possible Kin involvement in the raid and the abductions.

  One entry read:

  One thing that has always bothered me is how they were able to secretly remove more than thirty Kin from Poinsea without one person witnessing it. After examining one of the masks retrieved from the hospital at Shelfield, we thought they had been smuggled out disguised as injured soldiers. It would be a fairly simple task to knock out, or, more likely, drug individuals and pull on baggy black pants and shirts; add the battle helmets with the spacious interior, and you hav
e a Kin disguised as a wounded soldier who could be easily transported past other Humans without notice. However, this does not explain how they were acquired in the first place. Here is a city filled with people, and these individuals are randomly found isolated from their families, easily subdued, disguised and transported? Without even one failed grab, without even one person witnessing a kidnapping? I don’t believe it. It went off too smoothly. No, there must have been someone on the inside--and that means Kin--either directly involved or at least feeding information about likely targets. They might even have had the victims ready beforehand. It occurred to me when we pulled out Scythe with the help of the Blades that, with battle helmets and uniforms on, some of the soldiers that were involved in the kidnappings might have been Kin. Hell if I know why the Kin would be involved in it, though.

  And, how in heaven’s name, if they were going to use the Humans as an excuse, could they have found Scythe’s house without help? His mother didn’t hand over the address, that’s for sure. No, he was a target from the beginning, I’m sure of it. But, then how did he miss getting put in the hospital? I can’t figure it out...too many holes where information should be.

  Another question I have about the raid is how, when the Blades are so obviously competent, the defenses of Poinsea proved to be so miserably inadequate. My new suspicions lead to interference at a strategic level of the military. Someone making decisions on that day must have either been an ignoramus or purposefully directed their forces in such a way as to allow for the kidnappings and the destruction of the outer buildings of the settlement. Guess which way I vote?

  Grant, cursing under his breath, said, “We need to retire to a safer place and review the rest of this.”

  Scythe nodded, tucking the reader in his tunic and translating quietly.

  Leandra said, “Yeah, we are not staying here, embassy or not. We need to get off the grid, if possible. That means unloading the plants ‘who don’t speak Kin,’ getting clean vehicles and finding a safe, unmonitored place to assess and formulate a plan. Tell Grant that he should contact his family and have them go someplace with people, where they couldn’t easily be taken or assaulted. I think he should either go with them or stick with us for a while, don’t you?”

  The Blades agreed, and they collected their gear and headed for the door.

  Scythe translated their instructions for Grant, hoping that it wasn’t already too late for his family.

  The agent walked alongside Scythe and pulled out his phone. Soon he was talking quickly, raising his voice to be heard over an increasingly agitated woman. “Myra, just listen, I’m calling my brother and he’s going to come right now and bring you and the kids over to stay for a while. I know it’s a hassle, honey, but you’ll have to trust me on this one. You remember what I said about my agents Ian and Lena, right? And their family? Well, things are looking dangerous and I just want you and the kids to be safe...”

  When they passed through the reception area, Leandra stepped forward to explain to the Kin contact at the embassy. “We’ve got a few things we want to take care of before we retire for the night.”

  “It is very late. Your business can’t wait until morning?”

  “No. I’m sorry for the inconvenience. It is nothing for you to be troubled about, just some simple things we would like to investigate as soon as possible. We have the border patrol's Grant Wells with us, as well as his team.”

  “As you wish. Feel free to contact me if you need anything.”

  “We will. Thank you.”

  Scythe and the Blades piled into the van, along with Grant, their driver and four border patrol soldiers, three of whom had been with them earlier that day.

  “Hey, Henry, you still on the clock?”

  “Sure am. You still not eating Humans?”

  “That’s right, Human free diet all the way.”

  “I can’t tell you what a relief that is.”

  Scythe grinned, enjoying the joke. “We need an untraceable car. Any ideas?”

  “Untraceable? Why?”

  “We’re protective of our privacy.”

  “You won’t be allowed to go anywhere without two branches of the military and intel knowing where you are all the time. It is a contingency of your pass here.”

  “I know, but we can’t very well find a missing family if everyone knows where we are all the time. Do you see my meaning?”

  “I don’t think anyone in charge will really care about that.”

  Abruptly, Scythe asked, “Do you know where our friends are?”

  Henry jumped at the quick change in subject and tone, “Um, no, why would I?” Truth.

  “Do you know what happened to them?”

  “No.” Truth.

  “Do you know who does?”

  “I don’t have to answer, do I?”

  “No, but if I think you know the answer and are holding out, then we’ll get it from you, one way or another. Just so you know, Ungol prefers the other.”

  “Are you threatening us?” he asked incredulously. “We’re here to help you.”

  “Yes, I’m threatening you, and anyone else I have to in order to find my friends. Do you know who does?”

  “No, but I suspect it’s someone high up, ‘cause you’re being led around by your nose on this one.”

  “Yeah, we noticed. That’s why we’re stepping out for a bit.”

  He tilted his head and considered Scythe for a moment. “You know, you are pretty together for a teenager.”

  “I get that a lot from Humans. The Kin don’t have teenagers. By fourteen, they are already taking on adult responsibilities.”

  “Well, I guess that explains it. You know, I got a twelve-year-old, and he’s nothing like you. He’s a space case.”

  “Good, I hope he stays that way. You don’t want him going through what I have just to be ‘pretty together.’ ”

  “I’ll remember that.”

  “Car...any idea? Actually, another van would be better...”

  “Sorry, I can’t help you break your diplomatic agreement with my government.”

  “Well, then, I guess we part our ways here.” When he waved, the van stopped and Ungol opened the door. “You can either get out...or we can help you out...or you can take a nap.”

  Smoke, Leandra and Pride sat ready at the side of each of the other soldiers. Scythe sat across from Henry confidently.

  “You can’t do this. You’ll all be in a heap of trouble.”

  “A heap of trouble? I’m not really concerned about that. My friends are missing, among whom are a newborn boy and nine-year-old girl. To be honest, I’m hoping we’ll be the ones bringing the trouble.” He leaned back, “Okay, out you go.”

  Henry got up and hopped out of the van, motioning the others to do the same, “See you later, then.”

  “Bye, Henry.”

  The soldier next to Pride hesitated, “We’re not even going to try to stop them?”

  “Out, Jerin,” Henry said blandly. “There’s no need for anyone to get hurt. We’re all on the same side here.” He grabbed the door, “Naturally, we have to radio in this development.”

  Scythe nodded, “Naturally.”

  “But, I just noticed that my boot is untied, so I’ll have to take care of that first.”

  “Safety first,” Scythe said, smiling. “Thanks.”

  “I worked with Ian on a couple of missions. He’s a good man. I hope you find him, and his family.” He stepped back and slammed the door closed.

  Scythe said, in Kin, “He’s giving us a few minutes before he calls in.”

  “By then, we need a new vehicle, or we’ll have to walk.”

  “Yeah.” He leaned forward, addressing Grant in the cab next to the driver, “Okay, we need another ride, quick.”

  “I’m taking us to a friend’s house, that will get rid of this one, anyway. After that, we’ll need to change once more, at least. And, we still need to get rid of the tails.”

  “We’ll ambush them if we h
ave to...Don’t look at me like that, we’re not hurting anyone.”

  “Alright, just so long as we all agree about that.”

  “We do. Let’s go.”

  An hour and a half later, Scythe was riding in a car with Grant, Leandra and Pride. Ungol, Smoke and Grant’s driver, Fiola followed behind in a second car. They were moving along a busy street in a neighborhood filled predominantly with warehouses toward one of the three commercial exits from the city: a gate closely monitored by customs officers. Each truck was inspected before it left or entered the city for appropriate documentation and legal contents. A second gate was dedicated to train transportation and the shipping branch was at the docks.

  Grant had explained that a member of his staff had found a discrepancy in the departures for the day after Scythe and Smoke spoke with the Youngs. The official records of trucks leaving the city did not include a pair that were logged in by the gate operator.

  “The gate operator, an old stickler for procedure, has his own pen and paper record of everything that passes through. He doesn’t even turn it in. It hasn’t been required for over a decade, since the time they went to the new handhelds; but, he’s a character, and still does it anyway, keeping the records himself,” Grant had said when they finally immobilized the team on their tail and changed vehicles one more time. “I suspect he may have used it over the years to enhance his retirement fund. Whatever the case, we were lucky my agent was thorough enough to catch it when she interviewed him and then check it against the official documents.”