Londo's voice rasped when he spoke. “You touch her and you're dead, Menlo. Terry, name your exchange. You have my word that I'll keep it.”
“Your word. I'm supposed to trust that?”
“Absolutely.”
She gave him a laugh that held more than a hint of fury. “And how many people have you fooled with that line, eh? You lie smoother than anyone I've ever known. You lie to further your own ends, to get you everything you want and then some. You lie, you liar!”
She slapped him hard, but her hand rebounded from his chin as she cringed. “Ah shit. Why can you make me so mad?” She cradled her hand against herself, biting her lip. “Shit, shit!”
“Keep on target,” Menlo reprimanded her. “Remember why we're here.”
“Why are you here, Menlo?” Londo asked, and Menlo turned back to him.
“Experiments. Scientific curiosity. Questions to be answered. How the hell did you evade everyone for so long? We'd actually given up on finding you until…well, until last night. And then we find you here—forty miles from the starting point.”
“I have my ways.”
“I'm afraid you'll have to be more exact than that.”
“I explained it to some of Terry's men in the jungle. You'll find their bodies if you look hard.”
Menlo raised his hand without looking back. Lina cried out behind the gag as her guard squeezed the breath out of her with his fist, setting off her burned stomach again. Her mind swam as waves of fire and phobia slapped sharply at the remains of her concentration.
“How long since your powers came back?” Menlo demanded.
“…A day. Call him off, Menlo.”
“A day?” Terry asked, still livid. “I don't believe it.”
“It does open up all kinds of possibilities.” Menlo turned to consider Lina. “I may have won the main bet, Terry. I told you so.”
“Get real, Ted.”
Londo scowled at the clusterfuck. This was all his fault. He should have gotten the two of them away first thing, as soon as his powers had come back. Idiot!
If he could detonate two of the guns over there, he thought it would be enough of a diversion to grab Lina and run. Maybe. He hadn't missed the way none of these mercs had dropped their duty posture when one of their own had been killed before their eyes. These were cold-blooded killers.
Above all, his first duty was to protect Lina. Lina belonged to him, the most precious thing in his life. In the rough hands of her guard she looked like a pale doll. Damn that she wasn't dressed. He hated the thought of her paraded in front of these men like that, and he knew it could only hurt the concentration she needed to port out.
But she didn't seem to be readying for porting. She was a civilian. Untrained in how to react in a combat situation. Her green eyes were wide on him with fright, warm pink lips parted in concern for him.
Londo didn't want her ever to be frightened again. She was his to protect. He'd get her out of here alive and well.
“Main bet?” he asked to gain him time to consider more options. “This was all to settle a bet?”
A dangerous, smug smile settled on Terry's face. “I may finally win enough to buy me that country I've wanted. Ted had a theory about you and your vaunted powers. Me—I've always thought you were a bit of a telepath. I thought if we got you together with another telepath, it might, ah, solve your little problem. But Ted—he's been researching psychics lately—he said no, let's see what a psychic healer can do. Have you had sex with her since the powers came back, sweetie?”
“Terry—”
“Did you appreciate my little gift to you? Isn't she something? She took me a long time to find.”
“What?” Despite knowing Lina's mind, a sharp pang of suspicion shocked through Londo before he could shove it down. Emotions and dangerous situations didn't mix, not if you wanted to win. He was used to winning.
Terry obviously enjoyed her position here. “It took a while to find just who to get for you. Something cute. Big boobs; you always did like 'em big. Somebody smart enough for you to talk to. We did a whole computer date match-up.
“It was a challenge to test her without her knowing she was being tested. We had to make fourth-generation arrangements—you know, hire someone who hired someone else to test her. The things one has to do when dealing with telepaths—! Quite a powerful one, too, eh? We were surprised at that. Rotting away in some podunk town down in the States.
“Oh, and in the porn biz as well. A bonus there; did she tell you? She did. I can see you're not surprised. How sweet that we found someone who could use their own expertise to ease you past your virginity.”
She laughed at him.
“Why, Terry?” Londo's fists opened and closed helplessly. Those snipers kept dead-eye aim on Lina. A diversion might not give him the time he needed. **Lina, you've got to take her over. Use mind control.**
Chapter 3
Lina's guts clenched. This was Londo's life here. The unforgivable sin of enslaving a being's will versus saving Londo—
Even without her spirit guides shouting at her not to do it, she knew that this was a line she must never cross.
But it was Londo.
**Then tell me how to do it,** he said. **She doesn't know I'm a telepath now. And don't port anything yet besides yourself. They don't seem to know you're a teleporter. Don't give anything away.**
He wouldn't have to consider mind control if she could stop acting like a baby and port out. Lina caught Lon's eye. **Give me a minute and I'll be gone.**
Another searing blast hit her on the front shoulder. It knocked her against her guard. He shook her hard.
“I told you, no funny stuff.” Terry turned to look her full in the face. “So you're the one who finally did it. Sex with Valiant—lucky girl. The power starts going up if you try anything else.”
Terry turned back to Londo and Menlo and the three talked, tension thick in the air. Sometimes Terry laughed and once Londo did. They were sharp, cruel laughs.
Lina's guard surreptitiously squeezed her breast. She squirmed away as he chuckled into her ear. Then he did it again. The man next to them laughed quietly. The one on the opposite side whispered, “Real or fake, Harry?”
A thorough squeeze. “Feels real enough,” Harry hissed back.
She could sense Londo start to object. **Hush, let me try something,** she told him as she squirmed, ordering the white panic back and trying not to shiver.
She disassociated herself from her body as much as she could so she wouldn't be distracted by this man's touch or her scalded flesh. Then she squirmed some more, enough to attract the attention of the other men.
And these were all men; Terry Rhodes didn't seem to be an equal-opportunity employer. Use all that testosterone against them.
Think of home. The soldiers nudged each other now, pointing with their chins in her direction as Harry squeezed and pulled on her. Every new, disgusting touch brought the paralyzing whiteness closer to her and she had to spend precious moments pushing it back. Numb herself some more. Think of home again.
“Dammit, Terry, call him off!” Londo exploded from where he stood. Terry turned curiously as Harry froze.
“Call who off from what? From your little tramp?” Terry asked innocently.
Many of the men smirked at Harry.
Terry set her fists on her hips and surveyed her army. “No one here would want to provoke Valiant into doing something stupid. Don't trust what the TV news shows. Valiant has a short fuse. Everyone pay attention, stay on top alert, and don't make the first move. Got it?”
The smiles of the men vanished and she nodded before she turned back to Londo and Dr. Menlo.
Harry kept his hands pristinely around Lina's waist now, pinning her arms as before. Lina tried to make her communication hit a subconscious level. Plant a suggestion.
**You could feel her up,** she whispered into the back of his mind, hidden from his conscious. **That way you'll keep the prisoner off balance and have a li
ttle fun, too. You'll show them all what kind of man you are.**
It wasn't control, it was just an idea. He didn't have to pay attention to it—
She was half-amazed when the guard did exactly that. But a sudden surge of intense panic surprised her in its intensity. This was an evil man and he wished her harm!
Still he was a prime distraction. Gritting her teeth and trying not to gasp from fright, she suggested, **Come around in front of her.**
Instead Harry grabbed her hair in his fist, yanking her head back. He pulled the gag down and forced his tobacco-breath mouth onto hers.
**Keep quiet!** Lina ordered Londo as she felt his rage surge.
**Port the hell out!**
**I'm trying. My damned phobia's back; can't concentrate. You use this as a diversion if you can. I've got an idea. I'll try to give you a little more time to do whatever.**
Lon wanted to shout at her not to take chances, but instead he said, **You tell me when I can move. And make sure that you're absolutely safe, baby. One hundred percent. Don't worry about the bâtard with you; I'll take care of him. Later.**
The guards were all intent on Harry's actions and not what her eyes might be doing. They glazed as she closed them and looked around with clairvoyance. If she ported herself out, they'd just shoot Lon with those big guns over there. Maybe the guns could hurt him. These people certainly seemed to think they could.
She made a mental sweep of just how many guns there were. No way she could port them all at once.
Harry came around to her front. He yanked her shirt fully open. Someone had taken his place at her back, pinning her arms behind her.
Don't think about them! She shook her astral head with determination and tried to step farther back from the situation. Withdraw from the real world—out of her body entirely.
She could start porting out parts. Many of the guns had an electronic feel. Non-organics were easy to port. Maybe she could grab some wires or computer chips. The others had a lot of simple springs…
Lon tried not to watch what Harry was doing to Lina. He couldn't do anything about it without them hurting her, so he forced his gaze to stay on Terry. “Why?” he demanded.
She gave him that serene smile she always had whenever she knew she held the upper hand. “Ted and I have had this bet going for years,” she said. “It was time to pay off the pot, one way or another. I thought a telepath who knew you could give you a creditable illusion of the real thing.”
“If you had a good imagination,” Menlo said as he fastened wired sensors to Londo's bare chest.
Lon tried not to wince. Those things reminded him of other sensors from far in his past. Tortures. Friends who had died because of who he was. Damn it, he had to get Lina out of here!
If she didn't port out in another two minutes…
Menlo twirled the wires as he attached them to a small, handheld box. “I thought a psychic healer, if she were real, might be able to physically affect your body.” He squinted a moment as he threaded a wire, and then relaxed when its fastener clicked into place. “I was hoping some of your powers would be affected in the process. We'll have to check that out.” He shook his head. “Too many controls lost. Sloppy.”
Terry shrugged her indifference. “So we got both a telepath and a psychic and said we'd figure cause after effect was observed. We lucked out with her, didn't we? Was she good, Londo? How many times did you do it?”
“So everything was to settle a bet?” Lon could read both of them as if their thoughts were shouts. Personal rivalry had indeed evolved into a sick game with them, but they both had the same outcome in sight: Londo's murder. Lina would be mere flotsam to them, someone to be killed and discarded.
“You know me, Lon sweetie. Nothing's ever simple.” Avoiding the sensors, Terry zigzagged her fingers across his broad chest, bare except for the open vest. She rubbed his nipples roughly. Londo fought to remain impassive while his stomach twisted. What had he ever seen in her? Whore-bitch!
Terry didn't notice the slightest of twitches at the sides of his neck. “But now you're like you've always been: a slab of warm granite. So human-seeming, but in reality so unattainable. Too bad Ted's here; too bad all these men are here, eh? You're shaking, trembling like you did the time we—” Terry's mouth hardened into a line.
“Still so possessive, are you? Do you consider her yours?” Terry taunted him. “Maybe we will keep her around for insurance.”
“Good idea,” he said. Keep her alive. Keep her well until he could get them out of here. This wasn't a time to vanquish them. He'd just grab Lina and run. When she was safe he'd come back and take care of business. Permanently.
“Five days.” Menlo snapped something on his box and the machinery began to whine in a pitch only Londo could hear. “Three days with me, two with Terry, and we let you know where to pick up the girl when it's over.”
“Five days,” Londo nodded. “You've got it.” That would form Plan B. Sometime during those days Lina could port out to safety and then he could escape, no prob. Stick their slimy butts in jail until their very bones crumbled into dust. Maybe he'd hasten the process.
Lon's gaze darted to Lina and back to Terry. He knew Lina was hiding her eyes from the soldiers, keeping her face in the deep shadows afforded by the spotlights. None of them were looking at her eyes.
Terry was completely unaware of what was happening across the clearing. “Maybe in the last two days you've finally learned how it is to be a norm, eh? Ted didn't expect you to escape capture. I knew better. No one runs better than you.”
“Are you trying to goad me, Terr?”
“Ted's cannon the other day—it managed to do a job on your powers, didn't it? Ted convinced me that it would. And I hoped you'd get injured even more after we let you run. Was that cruel of me?”
Terry's gaze swept Londo's body. She dropped her fingers to trail them along the top of his belt. Her manicured nails traced a line across his belly. “Did we manage that?” She leaned in. “Tell me,” she crooned, “or I'll tell them to hit her again with the guns.”
“Yes, yes you did,” Lon said quickly. The guard Harry was bending down to take Lina's breast into his mouth. Her hair hid her eyes; he knew that she was up to something, but couldn't figure what. Her two minutes were up. He ground his teeth. At least she was pulling her rag doll routine. She'd hardly be aware of what the shit was doing to her.
All the mercenaries were mesmerized by the scene. That might buy the two of them time if he could figure out something. Maybe now he could move at top speed, grab her before they could refocus their weapons on him. Maybe…maybe a few minutes more before that would work. Get the soldiers feeling really loose. Watch for the signs of inattention to duty. Watch closer those who remained alert.
Blast the cannon there, there and there with his heat breath on the way out. Park Lina safely far down the beach, grab some trees and some of that rockfall he'd seen to fence this army in. Then use that radio there to call the ParaNet for cleanup. Four minutes more, mark. Four minutes to keep Terry and Menlo occupied.
“It was a dislocated shoulder, Terry,” Lon said. “Lots of glass cuts. She healed me.”
“I would have liked to have seen that,” Menlo said. “Hm. Well, let's get the major bet cleared up. You've had sex with her since your powers came back, right? At least that's why I assume you stayed here.”
“Yes, dammit.”
“You lie,” Terry said quickly.
“I don't lie, not where her life is concerned.”
“It's an illusion. A telepathic illusion.” Was there desperation in her voice?
“Not illusion,” Lon told her flatly. “When do the five days start? What assurances do I have that she won't be harmed? I'll do anything to keep her safe.”
**Lon, I've got a lot of the small guns decommissioned, but I can't figure out the big ones, not so they won't notice before we're ready. I think I can port them out to sea pretty quickly when you give the word.**
She proba
bly could, judging from her past performances with inorganics. **You're beautiful, chérie. Forget about the big guns; just get ready to port yourself. Tell me when you're ready. I'll save those two for you to watch how I handle 'em.**
“Well, damn,” Menlo muttered. “Now we'll never know exactly how it's done.” He studied his famous prisoner. “I wish there'd been a way to keep some controls going during the experiment. Is the technique based more on psychic or telepathic—”
Menlo's mouth opened as he met Londo's eyes. Londo's face might be a mask of contained fury, but his eyes were out of focus and glassy.
Menlo jerked his head around to check the tableau: two soldiers working on the girl. For a moment he paused, entranced.
Menlo's explicit fantasy flashed clearly to Londo's mind.
Scum! Not with his woman!
Almost in the same instant Menlo blurted, “They're communicating with each other! They're up to something!”
“Why, Doctor,” Lon calmly turned to him, the tiniest of smiles on his face. “I have no idea what you're talking about.” His eyes showed cold death, and Menlo took a step back.
“Rhodes! Call them to—”
Lon tapped him on the head and Menlo dropped like a stone. “Lina, out!” he bellowed, and turned to melt the big guns behind him with a swash of his—
But he staggered before a blast.
“Londo!” Lina screamed.
“We have computer-enhanced failsafes.” Terry chortled. “Did you feel that, Londo? Would you like another shot? Or do you want to stand here like a good boy? Let's watch them give your girlfriend a little burn, eh?”
Lina didn't even see the gesture that brought the thin beam of red to play a design on the back of her bared shoulder. She only felt the burn of a branding iron, searing to the bone. She shrieked. Harry held her still to the fire. Somewhere another blast went off. Londo must have moved.
Touch of Danger (Three Worlds) Page 30