Their Defiant Human

by Ivy Barrett

  “This is the man Nehalem suggested?”

  “Suggested and delivered with relatively little effort. Keller has his fingers in every pie on Protaria. He’s guaranteed to have the finest DNA money can buy.”

  “And the chancellor has good reason to protect him from the lentavirus?”

  “Keller is Howyn’s shadow.”

  They paused in front of a door and Mal Ton scanned it open. Andrea looked at the young man chained to the wall, as Mal Ton had promised, and found him almost pretty. Sleek dark hair framed his symmetrical features. High slashing cheekbones, a slim nose and full-lipped mouth, all of the requirements of masculine beauty were present. She looked into his green eyes and shuddered. His face might be pleasant but the corruption in his eyes sent a chill straight through her bones.

  “Nehalem reminded me that Keller’s family owns one of the largest research laboratories on Protaria. I’m betting he can not only tell you exactly what they did to you and how to disable it, but I’d wager my last credit he turned a profit on the deal.”

  “Really?” Now she understood why Mal Ton insisted on her accompanying him. He wanted Keller to look into the eyes of his victim before the pain ensued. She moved farther into the room. “Mal Ton will enjoy interrogating you. I’m sure I don’t have to convince you of that. But I’ll warn you, he has an uncanny ability to know when someone is lying.”

  “I was feeling particularly generous,” Mal Ton told her. “He knows I’m empathic.”

  “I see.” She walked right up to Keller, her hand clutching the extractor inside her pocket. This was the bastard responsible for her present condition. He’d stripped away her emotional defenses and made her utterly susceptible to seduction. She focused on Keller’s hostile eyes, refusing to think about how far her feelings had progressed. Her affection for Roark was irrelevant to the original setup. “Roark already figured out that it’s an endocrine nanite so tell me how to deactivate the damn thing.”

  “I’d rather show you.”

  She didn’t comprehend the threat until his eyes erupted with amber light. His wrists passed right through the alloy cuffs and he wrapped her in his arms. She screamed and Mal Ton launched himself across the room. She felt icy currents of air passing through her body and then Mal Ton crashed to the floor on the other side of them. He shouted some sort of code and an alarm shrilled.

  Keller’s arms tightened and searing pain burned into her flesh. She screamed again but the sound was lost in the vibrating molecules gathering all around them. She couldn’t really see what was happening, just feel the oppressive weight. The pressure built and built until her lungs refused to move and colors danced before her eyes. Light erupted with the same intensity as the heat and they were propelled upward, passing through matter as easily as rain rode the wind.

  It might have been days or hours; she hung suspended between substance and energy. There was no sight here, no sound, only the absolute absence of each. The pressure eased and she gasped in a long breath. Then pain exploded across every nerve ending she possessed.

  Sight returned out of the darkness but pain remained, one agonizing wave crashing upon the other. She blinked and blinked—and stared into the cold green eyes of the enemy.

  “Welcome to the Fury, Ms. Raynier,” Keller said with a smug smile. “I doubt you’ll enjoy your stay.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Keller is a mutant?” Roark raked both hands through his hair, forcing his brain to focus on one thought, any thought. They had Andrea and he wasn’t even sure who they were. Had Keller taken her to the Mutant Underground or the chancellor? “How could we not know he was a mutant?”

  “How could he not know I can walk through walls?” Mal Ton countered. “Most mutants hide their abilities for as long as possible. It’s like admitting you have cancer. No one eagerly embraces their imminent death.”

  “He teleported off the planet! That’s a pretty unusual ability.”

  “Is it? I think you’d have trouble sleeping if you knew what most mutants can do.” Mal Ton lowered his voice as he went on. “Nehalem got the list of names from Keller. If Keller was working for Fane, Fane would have known. Let’s assume Keller works for Max or hasn’t aligned himself with the other mutants. He’s got the ear of the most powerful man on Protaria. Maybe he’s biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to take over the Mutant Underground.”

  “Then he’ll take Andrea to the chancellor,” Roark mused. The logic was sound.

  “Gods damn it, how could we not know he was a mutant?”

  Roark wasn’t sure if Mal Ton had meant the wry outburst to be amusing, but it made him smile and allowed him to unclench his fists. “We’re all harboring secrets, it seems. Andrea most of all.”

  “What’s wrong with Andrea, other than her not being here?”

  “I’ll spare you the technical explanation but she basically doesn’t age.”

  “She’s… immortal?”

  “No. She can be killed by any number of things. She just doesn’t age.”

  “That’s why they want her. That’s what they’ve wanted all along.” Mal Ton rubbed his temples for a long time, refusing to open his eyes.

  The uncharacteristic stillness had Roark’s heart pounding again. “What? What are you not telling me?”

  “The chancellor has been moving us around like marionettes. Nehalem wasn’t using Keller, he was using her. It was the chancellor who made sure I found out about Andrea. And of course he wanted me to think it was my idea.”

  “Why would the chancellor want us to have Andrea if they can already cure the mutation?”

  “They still need her to re-create the series of events that resulted in her condition, which means she has to obey.”

  Roark felt bile burn the back of his throat. “And we taught her how to revel in submission.” Even last night neither of them was completely satisfied until he dominated her. “If Keller touches her, I’ll kill him.”

  “We’ll take turns killing him.”

  “They’ve thrown down the gauntlet,” Roark said. “We have no choice. We have to contact Fane.”

  * * *

  Andrea couldn’t decide if she was relieved or infuriated by Keller’s neglect. After she revived enough to sit upright, he strapped her into a seat and left her alone in the passenger cabin. She felt shaky and thirsty and there was no one to hear her complaints. Where was he taking her? How the hell had he zapped her from the surface of the planet to a spaceship? Telepathy and empathy were scientifically proven phenomena, but teleportation? She’d heard stories, seen countless entertainment vids, but this was unbelievable.

  Her head was pounding and she needed to pee! How long would it take to reach… wherever they were going? Protaria most likely, but beyond that she didn’t have enough information to hazard a guess.

  The hatch through which Keller exited slid open and Andrea looked up expecting him to return. Nehalem walked through the opening instead and crossed the small cabin.

  Andrea stared at her for a long moment then asked, “Didn’t Mal Ton leave you back on Protaria?”

  “He thought he did.” Secret knowledge made her brown eyes sparkle. “I’m not quite as incompetent as he thinks I am.”

  “You got him to kidnap Keller so Keller could kidnap me.” Her head protested the convoluted thought with a mighty throb. “Why didn’t you just kidnap me?”

  “Because I can’t teleport.” She smiled and sank into the chair across from Andrea, obviously needing some twisted form of affirmation. “Keller and I recently realized we’re working toward the same goal. Bryson never appreciated the power of seduction but Chancellor Howyn understood my true value.”

  “So you allowed him to play with your genetic code?”

  “It wasn’t necessary. If you keep fucking Mal Ton you’ll find mutant antigens in your blood and you’ll pick up temporary echoes of his abilities. That’s what I was trying to accomplish when I seduced Mal Ton. But he was too distracted by the information Chanc
ellor Howyn had planted. I didn’t absorb enough of his—essence to get an accurate reading.”

  “You fuck mutants so you can take on their abilities?” Andrea tried not to reveal her disgust. Nehalem was in the mood to brag, so why not let her? Unfortunately for Andrea, Nehalem’s talkativeness likely stemmed from her belief that Andrea wouldn’t survive to spread the tale.

  “That’s an entertaining side effect, but no. I’m basic recon. I seduce each mutant to find out the true extent of their powers. You wouldn’t believe the abilities this mutation has unleashed.”

  Had she seduced Fane? Basic recon was only valuable when it led to action. “Does the chancellor round up the mutants with especially interesting abilities?”

  Nehalem just smiled. Her effusiveness had come to an end.

  If the chancellor had found a way to stabilize the degeneration without robbing the mutants of their powers… Andrea shivered. This wasn’t a struggle for survival. The biological weapon had failed so the chancellor was searching for a new strategy.

  After a long pause, Andrea asked, “Where are you taking me?”

  “To the chancellor, of course.”

  “Is there a lavatory on this ship?”

  “I can’t release you.”

  “I guzzle coffee whenever I work. I’m not trying to trick you. I really need to pee.”

  Without a word, Nehalem stood and returned to the front section of the ship. Was she asking Keller or punishing Andrea for her weakness? Andrea closed her eyes and rested her head against the back of the seat. Maybe it wasn’t much farther…

  Nehalem returned a few minutes later with Keller in tow. He stood in front of her, his features void of expression. “Prisoners are often apprehended in varying stages of disarray. If you do anything other than relieving your bladder, I will shred your clothing and parade you through the station with your body on display. Do you understand me?”

  “I just need to pee.” She’d been wondering if she could overpower Nehalem but attempting to escape from a spaceship in flight was rather pointless. He released her and escorted her to the lavatory. She used the toilet and quickly righted her clothing, glancing around for anything that might be helpful or potentially harmful. Keller slammed the door open and she shoved her hands under the antiseptic dispenser. “This one’s occupied,” she said sarcastically as she rubbed the light blue film into her skin.

  He placed his forearm against the threshold and leaned in close, his mouth just above her ear. “You’ve got a really smart mouth. I can’t wait until you refuse my first order so I can put it to better use.”

  A smart-ass remark sprang readily to mind but she wisely ignored the provocation. “Thank you for your civility. May I return to my seat?”

  He followed her back to the row of seats and refastened her restraints. Nehalem was nowhere in sight. “Have you learned to enjoy being bound? Did they break you to the whip? I’m sure they fucked you together so I’ll have to find something more creative. Besides, I only have one dick. Let me think about it.” Without so much as tweaking her nipple, he left her alone again.

  It was a bluff, she decided with absolute certainty. He either lacked the skill to truly master her or he didn’t have permission to try. She comforted herself with the conclusion but time stretched on, eroding her calm and renewing her fear. By the time they set down on the rooftop landing pad in the heart of a vast metropolis, Andrea was no longer sure what to believe.

  Keller dragged her arms behind her back and refastened the restraints. Nehalem stayed well back and watched in stoic silence. Sunlight blinded Andrea as she maneuvered awkwardly down the steep stairs of the external hatch. Keller was in front of her, Nehalem behind. A mild breeze carried an intriguing combination of scents, some familiar like smoke and ginger, others alien. A strand of her unbound hair blew across her face, tickling her cheek. She looked around at the elegant skyline, saddened by the contrast to the twisted devastation of Stilox.

  “The better planet survived,” Keller said proudly.

  “But the better people died,” she answered without thinking. He shoved her sideways so hard she went down hard on her hip. It hadn’t really been a blow. He could easily claim she tripped. Again she wondered about his true level of authority. Something or someone was holding him back.

  “Remember what I said about that smart mouth?”

  “No, but I remember something about being marched naked through a spaceport.” She kicked out at him.

  “Disappointed?”

  She struggled back to her feet and cursed her wayward tongue. He could be all bluff and bluster, but she better leave it alone until she had a better assessment of the situation. Keller grabbed her bound wrists and propelled her toward what appeared to be a brick wall. A scanner beam swept them from head to toe then a doorway appeared.

  “Is he expecting us?” Nehalem asked, a note of excitement in her tone.

  “He’s expecting me. You can wait in my quarters.”

  Nehalem snorted. “I don’t think so.”

  He glared at Nehalem but didn’t argue. Andrea followed the exchange, noting each nuance and dynamic. Keller interacted with ‘him’ a lot more than Nehalem. Keller’s voice had lacked the same sense of awe.

  They descended a stairwell and walked down a short corridor. There was no visible evidence of surveillance. She didn’t have a weapon or even a plan so it didn’t really matter. Jerk free from Keller’s hands and jump off the roof didn’t have a very positive outcome.

  The second hallway was much like the first, a bit wider and the off-white walls were broken by an occasional digital image. A young guard snapped to attention as they approached. He stared straight ahead and waited to be addressed.

  “Is he alone?” Keller asked.

  “Yes, sir. He’s expecting you.”

  Keller shot Nehalem a meaningful look. You’re only here because I’m allowing it. The message was written clearly in his eyes.

  The guard opened the door and they filed into a moderate-sized room. Andrea had expected something more ostentatious, maybe gilt fixtures and a dais with a throne. Instead, a gray-haired man sat behind a large wooden desk, a pair of glasses perched on his nose. Glasses? Most visual impairments were correctible on Earth. Weren’t the Protarians more highly advanced?

  He took off the spectacles and folded them neatly on his desktop. “Is this our wayward human?”

  “Yes, sir.” Keller swept his hand toward her. “May I present Andrea Raynier.”

  It was technically Doctor Raynier. She had a PhD, but she decided not to annoy the chancellor with the first words out of her mouth.

  “Is she a physical danger to us?” the chancellor asked, making a bland gesture toward her restrained arms.

  “A definite flight risk, sir.”

  “I’ll take my chances. She’d never escape without help and the only people she knows are back on Stilox if I’m not mistaken.”

  With obvious reluctance, Keller unfastened the cuffs. Andrea rubbed her wrists and rolled her shoulders. Thank god, he hadn’t bound her arms behind her back for the entire trip.

  “I’m Chancellor Martian Howyn. Keller is a bit hotheaded, but he is acting on my behalf.”

  “I was brought to this solar system against my will. Are you taking responsibility for that as well?”

  “Of course not.” He had the audacity to smirk. “The Stilox rabble dragged you away from your home world. We felt obligated to mount a rescue.”

  “You have my gratitude.” Despite the false civility, menace pulsed all around her. The tactics might be different but she was very much a prisoner. “Where can I go to make arrangements for my return to Earth?”

  “Don’t be impertinent. You know good and well why you’re here.”

  “Do I? Please explain it to me from your perspective so there are no misunderstandings.”

  “You have a smart mouth.”

  She laughed. She couldn’t help it. Did they rehearse these insults?

  The Stilox wo
uld mount a rescue, she had no doubt. Still, she had to stay alive long enough to thank them. She wasn’t a soldier, had no training in weapons or hand-to-hand combat. Her only weapon was her mind.

  She took a deep breath and slipped her hands into the pockets of her lab coat. “I’m sorry.” She did her best to make it sound sincere. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful but I’m rather tired of being treated like a criminal.”

  Howyn shoved back his chair and came out from behind his desk. Never a good sign. “Your options are quite simple. Teach my research team how to reproduce the results of your genetic ‘accident’ or we will freeze your body and dissect you slice by slice until we figure it out for ourselves.”

  Now he knew how to make a threat. “Once others know my secret, I’m dispensable. I have always worked alone for just that reason.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, the chancellor looked her over, his gaze assessing not lecherous—for a change. “An uneasy alliance then?”

  “I don’t see that I have a viable option. Why don’t you start by telling me how I ended up with an endocrine nanite and how the hell I turn it off?”

  “Keller was supposed to explain this to you.” He glanced at his head of security with obvious displeasure. “The director of Medicort was told it would reinforce your immune system and protect you against microorganisms you might not have encountered before. That’s always a risk when visiting an alien world.”

  “Visiting?”

  He ignored her and went on. “Even then he was hesitant but your lab assistant slipped it into a cup of coffee two days before the gala. It’s a non-replicating nanite. As soon as it runs out of energy, which should be in a matter of days, it will be absorbed by your body.”

  “The effect is temporary?” She felt a massive weight lift off her shoulders. This endless ache wasn’t endless after all.

  “We can always re-administer it, if the need arises.” The chancellor let the threat sink in for a moment. “There are distinct advantages to using non-replicating nanites. It gives us the ability to make adjustments and allows us far more control over the outcome.”