"It was his android clone that he programmed to act just like him. It was a secret android that was developed shortly after Isidore was a success. He is still very much alive and well down there. With how brilliant of a scientist he is, you really think that he wouldn't have a backup plan? The reason Doss looks like him when he was younger is because Kazimir had to practice replicating his physical appearance somehow."
"And no one ever knew?" Byron asks.
"A few of Kazimir's colleagues know, Chancellor Dressler knows, and Zach Montgomery knows. Who do you think has been hiding the real Kazimir all this time?"
Byron crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. "So how do you know all of this?"
"Kazimir is my cousin. That's how I became a T.I.M.E. so I don't age."
"Oh. Wow. I never would have guessed you two were related."
"While he grew up in Russia, I grew up in the United States in a little place called Dallas, Texas. Ever heard of it?"
"No." Blice says.
"Oh. I suppose most people don't know about the old country down on Earth. Anyway, that doesn't matter. We have to get to Earth and save the remaining humans and androids then bring them up here. There's no telling what Clark and the archons are going to do to them."
"Then I'm coming too."
They all look up back towards the door as the jade wings shimmer in the light. Doss holds out his hand. "Zerachiel?"
"I brought you some tea, Uriel. It should help you recover and get back on your feet or your wings, whichever you will be using." He pours the hot tea into a delicate white teacup and hands it to Doss. "Don't drink it too fast."
The tea is just what Doss needed. He remembers having this many years ago when he would sit out by the beach in the dead of winter with Zerachiel as they would write poetry together and watch the sunrise above the icy waves. But that was a long time ago when the universe was a different place and Doss hadn't malfunctioned yet. The other archons didn't have a reason to hate him back then. He sips the tea and watches Zerachiel's calm movements as he pours tea expertly for the others in the room. "Why are you here?"
Zerachiel hands Byron a teacup. "Strangers learn to hate . . . what they cannot understand. Brothers never leave."
"Did he just speak in haiku?" Blice asks.
"Yes." Doss takes Zerachiel's hand. "Brother, forgive me. Forgive me for these past thirty-two years. I know I've hurt you. I've hurt everyone. Even before that, I know I did wrong. You and Remiel were hurt the most and I regret what I did every day of my life."
"We trusted you, Uriel. Remiel needed you down in Australia, but you left him there to that angry mob. I had to leave my first bonded one in Japan to save Remi's life. The woman I was bonded with died that day when an earthquake struck and her house collapsed on her. I should have been there to save her. Where were you?"
Doss stares down into his tea and watches the steam rising from it. "I went back to see Heather."
"You couldn't leave her for a couple of hours? There was nothing going wrong in North America." He stops and nods his head. "Oh. I see. Everything about you makes a little more sense now, Uriel. That's why you took those vows."
"Yes."
"And what became of your first true love?" Zerachiel asks.
"She . . . got scared of me and left me for a human."
"Was it worth it? Remiel was never the same after that beating he took."
"I know." Doss says. "Why do you think I tried to protect him from then on? I knew it was my fault and I had to find anything I could do to make it up to him."
Byron sets down his teacup. "You've been with a woman before?"
"Not in that way, Byron. I don't want to talk about it. It's over and in the past. I had one chance and I screwed it up because I didn't know how to treat her well enough. I was too inexperienced with human emotions at that point and even though I knew what I was feeling, I didn't know how to express it the right way. When all you've been programmed to do is to fight and protect, the gentler side of humanity can be lost until later stages of evolution. That knowledge only comes from years of watching. I've just always been a failure."
Zerachiel sighs and sits on the bed next to him. "Uriel, I don't blame you for falling in love. Love isn't the enemy here. It was your stupidity that brought you down. Don't be mad at love."
"I'm not mad at love."
"You're scared to love again because you're afraid it will end the same way and you'll hurt those you care about."
Doss sets down his empty teacup on the bedside table then slowly and painfully starts getting dressed in his uniform. "Now isn't the time for this discussion. We have a city to save."
* * *
Velex and Byron help steady Doss as they walk up the ramp into the gleaming silver metal of the spacious ship. They sit Doss down in the commander's chair surrounded by the rows of consoles, monitors, and controls. The entire crew bows to him then offer their condolences, ask eager questions, or praise his bravery. Apparently he's become a bit of a celebrity since the news crews discovered he didn't die in that plane crash after all.
Velex pushes them away. "Give him some room. He just got out of surgery. Oh, and don't touch his wings. He's very sore and shouldn't use them for a few days. You will all be taking orders from me for the time being until Vice Admiral Doss can do it himself. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir."
"Get to work. Let's get this ship in the air."
Blice lands on the small vase of white roses sitting on top of the console. "I'm gonna hang out on these roses, if you don't mind."
"Go ahead. Why are there flowers on my ship, anyway?" Doss asks.
Byron pats his shoulder. "Annette sends her get well wishes."
"Oh. Well that's odd."
"Why do you say that?"
"She's never seemed to like me very much. You never did tell me why she went from being a diehard ally of the Blood Force to faking your death and buying you a house in Himmel."
Byron laughs and takes a drink of Alezi Blue straight from the bottle. "I have a way with the ladies. So there I was, strapped down in a chair in an interrogation room and she came in then started telling me all these crazy scary things that she was going to do to me. She pulled out some syringes and a drill that had blood all over it. My eyes never left hers as she started to slow down and watch me as well. Then she was sitting on the table in front of me and we started talking about sandwiches, of all things. Eventually, she was in my lap with her legs around me and kissing me. She then made a call to whoever she was working for telling him that I had died. Moments later, she left and returned with a body. I wasn't in any position to be asking too many questions. The next thing I knew, she was sneaking me out of there in a Himmel military uniform. We almost got caught when I was ordered by some lieutenant or something to show him my papers, but Annette put me in handcuffs and told him that I was a prisoner. Then we went to that house and . . . had an interesting night."
Everyone in the ship, even the crew, stares at Byron who has been talking much louder than he apparently wanted to. A few of them shake their heads or ignore it. Most laugh or whistle.
Doss isn't amused at all. So the only reason Annette has been at all helpful is because she was seduced and became completely infatuated with Byron? That sounds like someone they can trust. Or not.
Zerachiel hands Doss another cup of tea. "Here. You need to keep drinking this for a few days. The herbs and medicines will speed your recovery. Have you looked at your wings? They look very nice, Uriel."
"Thanks. And no, I haven't. I kind of don't want to, not yet at least."
"It's going to be okay. You'll be able to fly like you used to."
"I probably can't make the trip from here to Earth, though." Doss says. "I lost so much strength and power when I fell."
"Well, only time will tell. Now drink up."
"Thanks." As he drinks his tea, Doss peers out of the window that wraps around the entire front of the ship. A convoy of black hover cars pulls up
on the base and men in long red cloaks bow to the tall blonde man with the golden beret. Chancellor Dressler. Doss hits Velex's arm. "Look outside."
"Oh hell." He claps his hands. "Come on! Get this in the air immediately."
Dressler holds up a speaker and talks loudly into it. "Admiral Velex, where are you going with that ship?"
Velex puts on his sunglasses and pokes his head out around the doorway. "Good morning, Chancellor. I'm just taking Vice Admiral Doss out on his first flight in his new ship since getting back. It's a beautiful day for a quick flight, don't you agree?"
"Cut the shit, Velex. Did you not think that I would notice you stealing a ship? Or do you think that I'm just that stupid?"
The engines power up and the consoles turn on around Doss. Velex puts his hand to his ear. "Forgive me, Chancellor. I can't hear you over these new engines. You know how they get. Well, I'll report in later after we've killed off your murderers you sent to Paradise. Tell Reichsleiter Clark that I'm coming for his ass later. Bye bye!"
9
Doss stands in front of the full length mirror in his cabin and finally removes the bandages from around his wings. As he turns to view them fully, he smiles. They're beautiful. Not as stunning as his platinum ones were, but still nice. The pearlescent white shimmers in the light and they feel much lighter than metal. The color is perfect. Pure and iridescent. He spreads them out as far as they can go and takes a deep breath as the feeling of having fully complete wings fills him again.
For the first time in years, he feels at peace with his wings again. Clark can try all he wants, but he will never be able to destroy Doss. In the end, he will find a way to come back from all the torture and the pain. He will always rise again to fight once more until the day that Clark meets his final demise. Doss doesn't know when that will be, but he swears that he will be the one to end his pathetic life and get revenge for all the hatred he has been sowing in the universe.
There's a knock on the metal door and Byron calls from the other side. "Doss, can I come in?"
Doss presses the button by the door and it slides open. "Hey. You're up late."
Byron looks like he hasn't been asleep yet or he has been drinking. Or both. "Talk with me for a minute, please."
"Sure. What's up?"
"Who's Heather?" Byron asks as he sits at the map-covered table.
Doss sits across from him and begins stacking the maps into one stack. "No one. Forget about her."
"No, Doss. Let me help you. Who was she to you?"
"Everything. Katarina reminds me of her so much. I don't know why I'm telling you this. Even Axel doesn't know about Heather. Well, I guess he knows a little bit now."
"When Kat told me how you'd kissed her, I wondered where you'd learned to do that if you haven't been with a woman in any way."
He sighs and drops the stack of papers on the floor. "Yes, I kissed Heather. That's as far as it went. She was very modest and dedicated to the church."
"Is that where you first became so religious?" Bryon asks.
"Not really. I didn't understand it until many, many years later."
"Don't worry. You'll see Katarina soon enough. I'm sure she's been missing you."
"What about you? She's your wife and you haven't seen her in a month."
Byron puts his feet up on the table and looks out the window at the darkness of space. "Ever since she met you, she's wanted to be with you. Sure, she married me, but I now know the real reason she did. She felt bad for me. It was out of pity and nothing more."
"And how do you feel about her?" Doss asks.
"Do you want the painful, soul crushing truth? I have never loved anyone as much as I love her. I know it's foolish for me to feel that way when she will never feel the same for me. But what can I do?"
Doss feels the sudden need to apologize. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make her fall for me."
"I know. This isn't your fault in any way. I only wish that my love meant something to her. She's slowly killing me and I don't know if there's a remedy for the disease of Katarina. Just make sure that you don't catch it too. It's contagious."
Doss takes his rosary in his hand and holds it to his lips. "Too late, Byron. Too late."
* * *
When the ship lands down in the darkness of the expansive cavern encasing Paradise within its walls, Doss is the first one to step down onto the pavement of the rubble-strewn street. A scream echoes from deeper inside the crumbling city of death. A thick haze hangs in the stagnant air where no ventilation exists to sweep away the polluted mixture of dust and smoke from the constant fires dotting the hundreds of decrepit and abandoned buildings. To see the city like this makes Doss both uneasy and sorrowful for the grand beacon of humanity Paradise used to be before this petty war between the humans and androids broke out. He should blame Isidore for not thinking before acting so rashly, but then again . . . when has Doss ever been one to think about the full consequences about his actions before doing something? That's why he joined the military. At least here, someone can tell him what to do and when to do it. That way, he won't make mistakes in his idle time when he can't figure out the best course of action. At least Velex doesn't abuse that. Sure, he's harsh with Doss, but Doss knows he needs someone to always be that voice of reason to ensure that he's not screwing up again.
Velex's hand on Doss's shoulder brings him back to the present. "You ready? There seems to be some fighting off to the west of here by the city walls. We need to get to Zach's lab about three blocks from here without getting seen. Most of the crew will stay with the ship so we can keep our numbers low and draw less attention to ourselves. That way, we can make a quick escape if we have to."
They take off running one at a time, clinging to the shadows created by the fires and the occasional flickering streetlamp. Dodging through the few still standing walls of collapsed buildings and wrecked vehicles, they eventually all make it inside the lab with only a couple close calls.
Doss drops his bag on the floor of the entrance and listens to the silence. Where is everyone? Just as he thinks they must have gone somewhere, he hears a happy scream and footsteps as Katarina runs up to him from around the corner and throws her arms around him.
"Doss!"
He holds her. He doesn't stop there. Pushing her up against the wall of the hallway, he kisses her like he did that one night on the space transport. His heart is racing as he grabs her soft face in his hands and breathes in her sweet vanilla scent that drives him crazy. They stay there, enraptured in each other's presence until the door opens and Byron steps inside.
Katarina slips out of Doss's arms and goes to Byron. "Hi, baby."
Byron doesn't say a word as he pushes past her and goes into the lounge.
She chases after him. "Byron? Hi. I've missed you."
"I missed you too." He mumbles.
"What's wrong? Aren't you happy to see me?"
He shakes his head and opens a bottle of tequila. "Just go back to Doss. I saw that."
"It was just a friendly kiss."
"Friendly? I have been with hookers that I didn't kiss like that."
"Byron! Since when do you care?"
"Since I almost died, Kat." Byron says. "When they took me on that ship, they took me away from you, I thought I was going to die. Then I'm taken across the galaxy to a place I've never been. And when I escape and manage to make it back here to my wife, you run into the arms of another man."
Doss takes a deep breath before joining them. "I'm sorry, Byron. It was my fault."
"No. I don't blame you, Doss."
Zach and Isidore enter the room as well, but stop when they see the recent confrontation. Zach raises an eyebrow. "What's going on?"
Byron leaves the room, just as coldly silent as before.
"Don't worry about it." Doss says.
"Where is Blice?" Isidore asks.
"Right here, Niko." Blice dives down from the ceiling and lands on Isidore's outstretched hand. "Hey, buddy."
Isid
ore squeals joyfully and kisses Blice then holds him tightly to his face. "Blice, never leave me again, please."
"I'll try not to. What have you been doing while I was gone?"
"I actually have to show you." He carries Blice to the back corner and places him down on the clump of orange chrysanthemums. "I grew these for you."
Blice flitters around on top of the flowers. "They're wonderful. I love them. Thank you so much."
When Velex enters the room, everyone's attention turns to him. He can always command attention in a room, no matter where he is. He looks around and nods his head. "Isidore, we have a ship ready and waiting to get you out of here. How long will you need to gather up the necessary supplies and be ready to leave?"
"What kind of ship did you bring?" Isidore asks.
"A galactic speed cruiser. It's Doss's ship."
"Big enough."
"Indeed. Now gather up the people in this building and we'll head out. The sooner we get back to Himmel, the better."
Isidore shakes his head. "No."
"What? Why not?"
"I'm not leaving without all of the citizens."
"All the citizens?" Velex asks. "In the entire city? Isidore, there is no way to make that work."
"I know exactly how many people can fit on that ship of yours. You brought a ship large enough to transport an entire division of troops plus vehicles. So don't say for one minute that they won't fit. We can stand all the way to Himmel if we have to. If you want me to come with you, then we are going to round up everyone and evacuate the entire city. We can do it if we spread out in small groups and take down the hostile forces at key chokepoints in the four different sectors where they are keeping the hostages."
Velex's face turns red with frustration. "This is madness."
"Then call me mad. I don't care. This is my city that I have been the president of for over twenty years. I will die before I watch it fall to enemy hands or leave behind the citizens who have trusted in me to lead them to safety and provide for them. This is my life now, Velex. Now, the choice is yours. Either leave without me or stay and allow us to perform this rescue mission."
Paradise Awakened Trilogy Page 28