“Quarantine?” the reporter blurted with alarm. “Bio-weapons? Bio-chemicals?”
“No, no, nothing like that. Our biocleaning unit didn't work.”
Jae pretended to elbow Lon in the side. “So who does he drag into quarantine with him? Valiant, next time, ask.”
“Sorree.”
“It's boring in quarantine. Particularly a quarantine that you're unprepared for. If we'd known, we could have invited the usual party crowd over for a few days of fun.”
The reporter asked, “But you're still relatively safe?”
Lon grimaced. “You haven't been locked up with Neutrino for two or three days. I never know what he's going to do.”
They spoke of some mild practical jokes they'd pulled on each other and said some strange things that Lina could only figure were jokes or puns that the translator unit didn't catch right. Wiley certainly chuckled at some. The reporter slapped his chair arms as he laughed, the ultimate appreciative audience.
Lina was fascinated. It was just like any celebrity interview, except that it was live, she was here, and there was Lon…and Jae. Jae was a big celebrity, as was Wiley. She had to remember that. They were all special and she was just Lina Muttbutt.
Hell, that wasn't her Londo up there, that was Valiant. She swallowed as she watched him. He knew nothing of her world of office cubicles, staring at computer screens day after day, and scraping to live from paycheck to paycheck.
He might love her now, but there would come a time—so soon!—when he'd come to his senses and fly off. To be with his own kind.
She turned so she could wipe her eyes without anyone noticing.
The interviewer ran tapes of first one and then the other in flying action, then a tape of both of them working together. Considering how fast this interview had been arranged, he'd gotten his material organized quickly.
Lon would talk about such-and-such that they did, and Jae would pepper Lon's monologue with rude comments. When Jae had to talk about his own feats, he would explain them by making the rude comments about his opponents, while Lon added his own description to Jae's actions: “Wait, wait, I like this clip. Look, there you go: 'I must defend this commission with my honor as a Legionnaire,'“ Lon mimicked Jae's voice cunningly, “'but mainly because that's where all my secret Union Fundbale traffic is kept!'“ The reporter laughed and laughed at that, but Lina had no idea why.
“I don't have Fundbale,” Jae sulked.
“Do too.”
“Do not.” Jae made a face. “I purged them just in time. I wasn't sucked in like some people I know.”
“I never had Fundbale.”
And so it went, with obscure references to things and other people, other Legionnaires maybe. Looking over the heroes' schedules, the reporter asked about upcoming events: political functions, major interviews…
“So, Valiant,” the reporter asked. He never called Lon “Lon,” nor Jae “Jae,” nor did either of them refer to the other by their civilian names. “There are two dozen Legionnaires represented in the AffSys United Charities Date Sweeps for the Izers next month. I see your name is on the list.”
“Eh.” Lon rubbed his nose as he wrinkled it. “I may have to pull out of that. I don't think my girlfriend would approve.”
Lina stopped breathing. Lon's girlfriend. Was that who she was now? He meant her!
Lina wasn't the only one surprised. The reporter sat slack-jawed, so Jae took over the interview.
“Girlfriend?” he asked Lon, assuming the posture of the reporter. “Valiant, are you saying that you're involved with someone now? After all these years? After all these long, long, looong years of singledom?”
“Why yes, Mr. Neutrino,” Londo answered gravely. “I think I'll be taking her to the Izers. She's never been.”
“Valiant!” the reporter recovered. “You aren't just joking here, are you?”
“I doubt if she'd like it if I joked about it.”
“You're involved with someone.”
“Very involved, yes.”
“A Legionnaire? Orenya?”
“No, not Orenya, not a Legionnaire, and…hm. I don't think it's a good time to give out her name. I haven't discussed this with her.”
“Haven't discussed the Izers?”
Lon shifted in his chair. “Going public. This is the first time I've even called her my girlfriend.” He glanced at Lina and flashed her a quick grin. “I think I shocked her.”
“So it isn't as involved as you suggest? Is she there with you? Can we meet her?”
Lina met Lon's eyes and quite definitely crossed both arms in front of her chest. Her in this robe and sock feet and Australia on her face and bruises and cuts and a hole in her arm and god knew what her hair must look like… Good lord, how could Londo stand to look at her, much less drag her in front of a camera?
Lon chuckled at the steely glare. “I think she's feeling a little shy today,” he told the reporter.
“Valiant, I don't think that that's shy,” Jae said just loud enough for the camera to catch. “I think that's more an 'if you try to make me come over there, I'll personally throttle you for everyone to see!' look.”
Lon cocked his head as he regarded Lina. “Peut-être, could be.” He made a palms-up gesture to the reporter. “She's not really dressed for it.”
“She's not dressed at all.” Jae leered in Lina's direction. “Can't someone get her a robe at least? Let's have a little decorum here at Mega-Legion HQ!”
“Okay, okay,” Lon said as fire blazed in Lina's eyes. He held up his hands in surrender. “She's dressed. She's proper, but she's also shy. Let's not bring her out here. Neutrino, I remember a time when you appeared on camera in somewhat less than regulation Legion gear…”
Londo launched into a story that had the reporter hiccupping as he tried not to lose complete control, while Jae exclaimed, “It's a lie! It's all lies!” every few seconds. They laughed their way out of the interview with Jae covering Lon's mouth with his hand and Lon blathering on even as the reporter thanked them. Wiley's screen went blank.
Lon grinned at Jae, who huffed at him in exasperation. Lon got up and stretched his spine slowly, then arched his back and stretched his arms out in front with hands clasped.
“If I'm well enough to do that,” he decided, “I'm well enough to get a little real work done.” He turned to Lina and held up an index finger. “Give me five minutes. Business.”
But five minutes turned into ten and then fifteen. He used the corner to unscroll one of those vid screens and a few others besides.
Lina couldn't even sit near Londo. “Official business,” he told her. “I'm afraid it's classified. I'll make it quick.”
She caught a glimpse of an overgrown praying mantis, and Lina recognized it from the night before as being a Legionnaire. Or perhaps related to that mantis-y Legionnaire. How would one tell mantises apart?
Finally he turned away from his screens and started to stand, smiling at her that his call was over. But one screen beeped and he turned.
“Sorry,” he told her. “It's the High Senator of Dramenglad. I've been trying to get hold of him for weeks.” When he'd finished there, the Queen of Fell had to speak with him. Then some other official, then another.
So Lina returned to her porting practice. It was difficult to keep her mind on it when she was trying hard to learn everything else. This was Londo's world, so completely different from Earth. If she wanted to understand Lon better, she'd have to understand what he did here.
He seemed entirely comfortable talking to that queen, and then to some ambassador or interstellar minister. He must do that kind of thing every day.
And now she was Londo's girlfriend. Why, she wouldn't have the first idea how to begin to talk to such important people! What would they think of her? Just a Terran barbarian. They'd wonder why Londo deigned to say hello to her, much less...
Valiant's girlfriend.
The phrase carried an intense combination of thrill and fear. Was that re
ally who she was? Did that make the two of them like the other couples she'd known through the years? None of them had murderers stalking them in order to score some insane kind of brownie points.
Still… Londo's girlfriend.
She sank into a happy daze considering the ramifications of that, once both of them were healthy again. And alone.
At last Lon seemed to glance over to her, but she realized he was looking past her shoulder. His eyes widened. His mouth opened in surprise and—
fzzWHUMP!
Chapter 14
Lina jumped in her chair and whirled.
Wearing a bulky helmet and face shield, Jae pointed a wide rifle at a target along the far wall while Wiley studied a phalanx of monitors nearby. Though that area of the lab had been straightened before to a gridwork pattern by the crystal pancake, many tables had now been moved back to make a long, clear alley to the target.
“Setting four.” Again Jae fired, and again the muffled sound of destruction made her jump.
She was sure it was muffled, for the target disintegrated into fizzy, glowing bits even though it seemed made of metal. Another popped up to take its place.
**That was six inches of dimensional ceramic,** Lon told her silently so he wouldn't interrupt what the minister on his screen was saying. **That's what they make warships out of. Space-faring warships.**
“Eight inches thick this time,” Wiley announced.
“Setting five,” Jae replied.
And yet with a fizz-WHUMP, the target again disintegrated. With this destruction Lina realized that she was looking through a distorted wall of air that looked as though it had been super-heated. Each time Jae fired, the distortion went wild as if a shock wave had slammed into it, and Jae stumbled back a pace or two before he regained his balance.
Jae walked to the new target, as thick as the last. On the edges of her sensitized awareness Lina could hear him silently speak to it. He waited for it to obey his commands, and then returned to his position. “Setting five.” Again he fired.
This time the target took a few seconds to disintegrate.
“Huh,” Londo said, which must have confused the minister before Londo returned to his screen conversation. It didn't help that Lon frowned in seeming disapproval.
Weapons practice continued for some time. Lina returned to her window. As she lost herself sorting through contagion at a microscopic level in some place that wasn't quite here, she stopped hearing the shots altogether. It was just her alone in that silent elsewhere.
The disappointment of losing another knickknack to the void brought her out of it just as Jae breezed past her.
He placed his palm on Londo's shoulder. “That's enough,” he said.
Lon looked pale, glassy-eyed. He said a few words to his screen and signed off, passing a hand through hair damp with sweat.
Lina jumped up. Why hadn't she sensed the problem? But Jae was already there, already taking care of Londo. She could only wring her hands as Jae asked, “Are you all right?”
“Yeah, I'm fine.” Lon trembled as he got up from his chair. “Just a little tired.”
Jae steadied him as Lina rushed to Lon's other side, but he waved her off, trying to maintain his manly image in her eyes.
“Get some rest, Legionnaire,” Jae ordered. “You're still recovering from being dead. I'd call Gorgeon and have her order it, but she's out of the loop on this.”
“Maybe I will take a little nap,” Lon admitted. He reached to take Lina's hand. “You won't mind if I do?”
“You heard Doctor Jae. Sleep if you feel tired.”
“And you do the same. You're still pretty banged up. Mama Ruth always says that sleep is the best healer.”
Wiley called Jae from the firing range.
“I've got him.” Lina gave Jae a reassuring smile as she eased Londo over to lean on her. Jae gave a reluctant nod and went to join his colleague.
Lon nudged her as they hobbled to his bed. “We could sleep at the same time.”
“I think I should work on biofiltering for a little while more. Let's see what else I can destroy.” Lon was leaning heavily on her. “Do you need some pain shots?”
“Just tired.”
“All right. Lon, how loud was that gun, really?”
He gave a little hmph. “Loud enough to blow your eardrums right out of your head if they hadn't had the dampers on. Be thankful that we have such good shields here.” But his forehead creased. “Jae should be wearing armor.”
“Could he be hurt?” The vision of Jae lying in his own blood came back to Lina. She had to talk with Lon about that, but not now.
“It's an experimental weapon, Lie. Jae likes to cut corners when he thinks he can get away with it. He claims he thrives on danger. I've tried to talk him out of these stunts, but…” He spared a dark look toward his friend across the room, who didn't notice. “He'll be lucky if he doesn't get demerits. Wiley lets him get away with it, but someone else had to notice.”
“Someone?”
“We're being watched, chérie. There are monitors all over the lab.”
Lina clutched her free hand to her chest. “Not near the pool in back!”
“Probably not. I'm sure Wiley turned off the monitors back there to give you privacy.” He crooked an eyebrow at her. “You went skinny-dipping?”
“Near enough. Once.” Or was it twice? She'd been kind of blurry when she detoxed.
“Not to worry, kitten. Wiley doesn't believe in naked. In fact,” Lon leaned to whisper, “he was scandalized by your bare feet.”
Lina glanced down at the offending appendages, now baggily covered with Lon's borrowed but warm socks.
“Is that why he doesn't turn up the heat in here? So I'd cover up? Is that a culture thing or a Wiley thing?”
“The heat's a Wiley thing. It's his lab. His heat. His floor. And you have violated that space just being here, not to mention those bare feet of yours.”
“Oh dear.”
Lon chuckled. “He has to get used to life throwing a spanner into his control issues now and then. Besides, I think he's on the verge of forgiving you, what with all the new ideas about porting and healing. If you're still cold and bug him about it again, I bet he'll turn up the heat. By at least a half-degree.”
Lon paused. “I'd do it myself, but I wouldn't want to get on his bad side. For not being a team leader, Wiley carries a lot of weight here. Technically he ranks above me.”
“And what's your rank? 'Team leader' is not a rank. You’re a ‘captain’?”
He rubbed his nose as he tried to explain. “It doesn't translate well. There's a lot of if's and but's and circumstances involved.” He motioned to Jae. “Jae outranks me, but I outrank him, too. It all depends. The Legion's built for fluid action; that's one reason why it's as good as it is.”
“And the ParaNet knows about you being in the Mega-Legion?”
“They have to. They grant me leave to come here. And vice-versa.”
“I'm glad you aren't full-time, or I'd never get to see you on CNN.”
He gave a small smile at that. “I used to be.”
“Used to—? Oh.” The years before Valiant had moved to Canada and gone to university, there'd rarely been a Valiant sighting. Maximus had said that he was away. All Lina knew was that the evening news wasn't exciting for a long, long time.
“You weren't at some kind of boarding school.”
That generated a soft laugh. “No. Here. With the Legion and as many psychiatrists as Hal could get me.”
Poor Londo, recovering from his long childhood ordeal. Lina was grateful that he'd found Maximus and that Maximus had cared enough to help him so. If Londo had managed to find his birth parents, they wouldn't have been able to help him near as much.
“You made good friends here,” she surmised. “I'm glad.” But she cringed at a new popping from Wiley and Jae's direction. “Even if they do have strange hobbies. They do that kind of stuff for fun?”
“Couldn't get out to go
to the firing range and it's got to be done.” Londo eased down to sit on the edge of his bed. “You haven't mentioned it.”
“Mentioned—?”
“You don't mind if I say you're my girlfriend?”
As she drew back the blanket so he could lie down, she blushed with the warmth that he exuded. “If, if it won't embarrass you, Lon.”
“Of course it doesn't. You still love me, right?”
She looked earnestly into his wide brown eyes. Did he truly not know the answer to that? There was a hint of anxiety there. “I'll always love you, Londo. Always. It's just that… that…”
“That you'd rather keep this hushed up so you can hide away.”
She nodded shyly.
“Tell you what, kitten. I'll get you a little badge that says, 'Taken,' and that way I won't have to worry about anyone trying to steal you from me, eh?”
At that she had to shake her head with a smile. “There won't ever be anyone else, love. You don't have to worry about that.” Never ever anyone else for her. But Londo was Valiant; he'd have lots of loves in his life. He deserved them.
“You see that I don't. I'll see that I don't.”
He placed his hands on both sides of her neck, his thumbs against her chin, as he looked first at the right side of her face, then at the left.
“Ah, kitten,” he sighed, “I am so sorry. Wiley says you'll heal up in time. I'll take you to see Gorgeon the second we're out of here. She's much better than Wiley thinks she is,” he added in a whisper.
“Is it awful?” Lina asked of what he saw in her.
“It's only awful because I was the cause,” he assured her.
“Even Australia?”
“Aus—?” He suddenly laughed. “I see. It does look like it. Oh, jeez.” He pulled her to him. “Never again. I'll keep you safe. My fault entirely. Stupid, stupid. And I'll take you to the real Australia when we get back. I'll take you everywhere. You've always wanted to travel. I'll show you the world.”
“The whole world?” Lina asked against his cheek.
“Not only Earth but other worlds too. This planet is just the beginning. Sound good?”
Touch of Danger (Three Worlds) Page 42