by Christy,Dena
She pushed her plate away and glanced up. Her body went cold, and her heart stuttered for a second before picking up its pace.
Standing at the counter was a soldier. He glanced around the café, his eyes skimming past her for a moment, and she felt a split-second of relief. Perhaps his being here was a coincidence. Her relief was short-lived, when he looked directly at her and he casually put his hand up to his ear, tilted his head and talked to no one in particular.
“Guys, we have to go. Now.” Miranda dug into her purse, pulled out several chips and put them on the table. Synn looked at her sharply before turning his head to look in the direction the soldier stood. She noticed an immediate change in Ryce and his demeanor went from casual slouching to tense alertness.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“The man dressed in black at the counter, with his finger on his ear, is after us. We have to get away from him.”
Miranda squeezed her hands into fists to keep them from shaking. She took a few deep breaths. Now was not the time to freak out. She needed to be calm and walk out of this place like there was nothing wrong. Seeing the soldier at the counter made her realize one thing.
Leaving Synn was his best option for survival. He could disguise himself as anyone he wanted and blend in. She was the distinct one, as red hair wasn’t very common on this planet, and as long as she was with him, he was in danger of being caught because she was easily recognized.
“We will get up very slowly and pretend that he is not there. Ryce, when we get out we’re going to separate. Miranda and I will lead him off somewhere quiet, and you will insinuate yourself behind him.”
“You want me to kill him?” He said it so matter-of-factly that a chill crawled up Miranda’s spine. He would do it without hesitation should Synn say so. She’d gotten into all this because she hadn’t wanted someone to die, and she still didn’t want to have blood on her hands. There was also a more practical reason fro not killing him.
“Leave him alive,” Miranda said. “They are keeping this very quiet. If you kill a soldier, the military will come down on us like a ton of bricks. They will send more men out, and they will kill you first and ask questions later.”
Synn put his hand on Miranda’s, signaling her that it was time to get up and leave. She stood up slowly on shaking legs, hitched her purse up on her shoulder and went to Synn’s side. Synn and Ryce positioned themselves so their bodies blocked her. If the soldier wanted to get to her he had to go through both of them.
Miranda looked at the soldier from the corner of her eye, and despite his casual stance and demeanor she could see his eyes tracking her movements. They walked out of the café, with Synn and her turning to the right, and Ryce going to the left.
She turned her head to see if the soldier followed, but Synn gave her hand a squeeze.
“Don’t look back. We don’t want him to know that we’re leading him into a trap. I want him to think that while we may know his presence, we are trying to pretend we aren’t so we can get away.”
Miranda did as he said, resisting the temptation to look back to see if the soldier followed. Please let this work.
Thank God they’d found Ryce when they had. They now had an advantage they hadn't had when it was just the two of them. With any luck the soldier would be so intent of catching them that he would miss Ryce’s presence until it was too late.
She walked fast to keep up with Synn’s long legged stride. They needed to find a place to duck into soon. If she’d known she was going to be spending this much time running away from people trying to capture her, she would’ve gotten more exercise to help build her stamina. The gym was the first order of business once she got her life back on track.
They came to the same alley they’d lured Ryce down, and Synn pulled her in front of him so that he was between her and the soldier. Miranda’s stomach churned, and for a moment she thought she was going to be sick.
If he was hurt, it would be because of her. He would have a better chance away from her, and they should’ve gone their separate ways sooner.
“Halt,” the soldier said behind them. “I have orders to arrest you. I suggest you stop. I am armed and won’t hesitate to incapacitate you.”
Synn put his hand on her waist to hold her. They stood very still, still facing away from the soldier.
“We will cooperate, or at least let him think so,” Synn said in a very low tone. There was little chance the soldier had heard him.
“Turn around slowly and raise your hands out to your side,” the soldier demanded.
They turned around and raise their hands out to the side. Just as he said, the soldier pointed at laser pistol at them. He had it steadily trained on Synn, and Miranda swallowed hard. He could kill Synn so easily if he wanted to.
“I want the woman to walk slowly towards me.” The soldier’s eyes never left Synn’s face. Miranda kept her face neutral as she saw Ryce come into the mouth of the alley and slowly make his way towards the soldier. She took a step forward when Synn reached out to halt her forward progress. “Don’t try anything funny. I am ordered not to harm the woman, but they seem to want you dead. It’s up to me whether I take you in alive or not.”
Ryce's shoe made a soft scuffling sound on the pavement, and the soldier turned sharply toward him. Ryce grinned at him a second before he pounced.
He slammed the soldier to the ground and used a move very similar to the one that Synn had used on the roof. With his knee firmly pinned to the soldiers back, he raised his hand up to the same spot that Synn had used before, the juncture between the soldiers neck and trapezius muscle. He held it there while pressing the soldier into the ground until the soldier went limp.
With practice efficiency, Ryce stripped the soldier of his weapons and his clothes.
“What are you doing?” Synn asked.
“What does it look like I’m doing? We need weapons, and I need clothes that don’t smell like piss. And running around the streets in only his shorts will slow him down.”
“Be quick about it. He may have alerted others as to his location so we need to be away from here fast.”
It didn’t take long for Ryce to strip the soldier down to his boxer shorts. He put the weapons on top of the clothes, rolled them up and tucked them under his arm.
“Let’s go.” Ryce stood and strode toward the mouth of the alley. Synn and Miranda followed and Synn put his arm around Miranda’s waist and drew her to his side. He looked down at her.
“Are you okay,” he asked quietly.
“Not really. I think you’re right, about me going somewhere else. I think it would be safest for all of us if I wasn’t around to draw their attention.”
“Miranda, this is not your fault.” He pulled her to him and hugged her to his side. She closed her eyes for a moment as she savored the feel of his body against her. There wouldn’t be many more moments like this.
“Let’s just get Ryce back to the hotel, and we’ll go to the address that Vinnie gave us. You need to find Cynric, and it will be easier for you to do that if I’m not around to call attention to you. Both you and Ryce can turn into anyone, and it would be better if I’m in hiding. I can’t disguise myself, so there’s always a risk that someone will see me and you’ll be caught.”
Thankfully Synn voiced no protest, and they cautiously left the alley. There didn’t appear to be any soldiers around, and so they turned and walked toward the hotel. Once they got there, Synn gave Ryce the key card and told him what room to go to. Ryce looked from Synn to her and his face sobered.
“It was very nice to meet you Ryce, but I suspect that this is the last time we’ll see each other. I wish you both luck in finding your friend.” Miranda stuck out her hand. Ryce took it in a firm grip and gave it a squeeze.
“I’d give you a hug, but I stink. Take care of yourself Miranda,” Ryce said as he smiled at her.
“Take care of him,” she said quietly so that only he could hear. He glanced at Synn then back at her
and gave a quiet nod.
Miranda let go of his hand and took a step back. She looked at Synn, who looked at her sadly.
“I’m ready.” This was said for his benefit because in reality she was is far from ready to leave him as she could get.
Chapter Nineteen
The public transit ride to the address Vinnie had given them took longer than Miranda expected. Their destination was on the eastern outskirts of Leemore Station, in the old warehouse district, the bulk of which had long since been abandoned.
The bus didn’t even go as far as they needed to, and they had to walk for forty minutes to get to the address on the slip of paper. When they got there, Miranda looked at the derelict warehouse and thought that Vinnie had made a mistake. What kind of help could she receive here? Everything around her look like hope had been given up a long time ago.
“Do you think we have the right place?” Synn frowned as he studied the building in front of them. “This doesn’t look like the safe place I’d been envisioning for you.”
“Well, unless Vinnie made a mistake, this is the address on the paper. Let’s just look around and if it’s not right, we can go back to the hotel.”
Secretly Miranda hoped that it wasn’t the right place, then she would have an excuse to extend her time with Synn for just a little longer.
They approached the warehouse, taking it all in. The exterior was gray and drab, and its metal roof was pitted with rust. They came to a door in front that was made entirely of metal, and there was a small sliding metal window at eye level with Miranda.
She reached out and put her hand on the door handle, giving in the tug but it wouldn’t give. The door was locked. She looked up at Synn, raised her hand and knocked on the door. She waited, expecting nothing to happen, and jumped when the metal panel in the window slid over as a woman’s eyes came into view.
“Can I help you?” the woman said, guarded, her eyes on Synn and brimming with suspicion.
“Vinnie sent us here, he said that you could help me?” Maybe they had the right place. Butterflies churned in her stomach, and she was almost afraid to see what lay beyond the door.
“We can help you, but he will have to leave first,” the woman said her eyes still glued on Synn.
Miranda looked up at Synn, and she could see that he didn’t like that idea at all. Frankly she didn’t either. She turned back to the woman and shook her head.
“Thank you for your time. But I’m not sure I want to come in under the circumstances.” Miranda tucked her hand in Synn’s and turned away.
“What do you mean? Do you need help or not?” The woman raised her voice, and Miranda turned back to her. Synn gave her hand a squeeze.
“She does need help, but we have been through much together, and I think she would feel more comfortable if I went in with her since this is a new and strange place for her. I’m not comfortable leaving her in your care until I know she will be safe.”
The woman got a sour look on her face, and it was apparent that she didn’t like what Synn had said to her.
“Men are not allowed to stay here.” The woman glared at him, and her tone grew exasperated.
“He doesn’t want to stay.” As much as Miranda wished it was different, she knew he would need to leave. But he was right, this place was so far from what she was used to that she needed him with her at least for the first introduction to the place. “He wants to make sure that I will be safe in your care.”
“This is very irregular. Stay here while I speak to the person in charge,” she said and slid the metal door shut with a slam.
“Well she seems friendly.” Miranda looked up at him and forced a smile on her face to cover the nerves rolling around in her stomach. So far this place was not living up to her expectations.
“Their friendliness or lack thereof is not my concern. What I want to know is if they can protect you. That’s the whole point of leaving you here. And if they can’t do it, then I’m not leaving you. I’ll take you back to the hotel, and will figure out a way to keep you safe while I find Cynric.”
They stood waiting for a few minutes before the metal door slid back open, and the woman’s face appeared again. “There is a camera in the corner. Could you please look up and face it?”
Miranda and Synn did as they were instructed and turned their faces up towards the camera. After a few moments there was a buzzing noise, and the woman push the door open to let them in.
“Please know that this situation is highly irregular. The women who come here for help come alone, and we only offer our services to women. Your friend may come in, but as soon as you are settled he will have to leave.”
Miranda didn’t like the assumption the woman made that she would stay regardless of whether she liked it. If this was the attitude of everyone here, then she couldn’t see herself staying. She would rather take her chances with Synn.
“If I decide to stay,” Miranda said as she reached over to put her hand in Synn’s. “I know he will have to leave, and I am prepared for that.”
Nothing more was said as the woman escorted them into the warehouse. The inside looked as impressive as the outside, and a puzzled frown came over Miranda’s face as she looked around. She did not know how much help she was going to get here, considering the place was empty.
“I’m sure you will understand,” the woman said as she drew Miranda over to a door. “That until we are sure of you, this is as far as you will go.”
She opened the door, and Miranda hesitated for a moment. Synn’s arm came around her waist and he gave her a reassuring squeeze. She looked up at him, and despite the casual appearance of his arm around her waist, she could see that he was tense and alert. They cautiously walked into the room which was dim and full of shadows. Synn’s body was like stone against her and she looked around expecting an attack at any moment.
“What have you gotten yourself into, Randa?” The voice speaking from the shadowed corner sounded hauntingly familiar to Miranda, and her heart pounded as her brain told her who it was. It was an impossibility though, she was sure the owner of the voice had died.
“Evie?”
The woman stepped forward, and although it had been a few years since Miranda had seen her, she looked exactly the same. Her hair was longer, but her deep expressive brown eyes were still Evie’s.
“Collette and I thought you were dead, how is this possible?”
“I can explain it all to you at a later time if you want to know. It’s good to see you again Miranda.”
Miranda stepped away from Synn and walked into the open arms of the friend she thought she’d never see again.
* * *
John set up on the sofa in his living room, rubbed his fingers over his blurry crusted eyes. His head pounded, and the light sent shards of pain through his eyeballs and deep into his skull. He swiped his thick tongue over his dry lips. It clung to its place inside his mouth and tasted like an animal had defecated on it.
A glance around the room told him that there was a very good reason he couldn’t remember much of what had happened after Commander Clancy fired him. Several liquor bottles were strewn around the place, and his rumpled dress shirt and pants reeked of boozy sweat. He got up and stumbled towards the bathroom.
After he relieved himself, he washed his hands, and glimpsed himself in the mirror. The person looking back startled him.
He’d swear he was looking at his father. The same disheveled gray brown hair, the same bleary bloodshot blue eyes, and the same flaccid bloating of someone who was caught up in a habit that had deteriorated into addiction. This wasn’t good. He needed to get control of it, he couldn’t become his old man. His old man had amounted to absolutely nothing, and John had more ambition than that.
He stripped off his clothes, turned on the shower. The water rained down on him, and he thought about what turn he needed his life to take. The answer was not in the bottom of a bottle. He needed to focus, and as he closed his eyes Miranda’s image came to him.
There had to be a way to find her, she wasn’t clever enough to outwit him. There had to be something he missed, some clue he had overlooked that would lead him to her and the alien. Once he had the alien in his possession, they would have to give him his job back. As for Miranda, he would think of a suitable punishment for her.
Once he finished in the shower he stepped out and dried himself off, feeling better now that he had a focus. He quickly dressed and went to the office he’d set up in the spare bedroom of his home.
He hoped Commander Clancy’s assistant had procrastinated revoking his access to the government database in her usual lazy fashion. As he got onto his computer, open the program he needed, he was relieved to see that Clancy’s assistant had run true to form. He still had his security clearances, and if he looked hard enough, he would find everything he had ever wanted to know about Miranda. There had to be something in her present or past that would lead him to her.
He skimmed through the surface information which he’d already gone through a thousand times when he’d decided that she would be the perfect wife for him. He could see he had a monumental task ahead of him. It was all pure data, and it was up to him to make the connections. He would be slow and methodical as he went through the information about every person who’d ever been connected with her. It wasn’t like he didn’t have time since he had no job to go to. This was his job now, to know Miranda’s life better than she did so he could get what he wanted.
He started from the moment she’d been born and worked his way forward, investigating everyone who’d ever come in to her life. After several hours and several dead ends, he had to stop and take a break. His hands trembled on the keyboard, and he was having difficulty focusing. The bottle in the bottom drawer in his desk was calling to him, and it was getting louder and louder every moment he tried to resist. He stared at the drawer and pulled it open. The bottle sat inside, right were he’d put it.