“The report states further that the Director is a man of high personal and professional integrity--a man of his word. According to all reports, he has no political agenda, is totally impartial, unshakably loyal to his agents, and absolutely incorruptible. Our Intel section states that he is to be trusted.”
“I wanted to dislike the man, but this makes it harder,” Val admitted. “Still, I do think he could have done more for Lariah.”
“I know,” Garen said. “But if there is a mole in his organization, he may not have been able to do more than he did.”
Trey and Val nodded in reluctant agreement.
“Did they provide us with any information on Loggia?” Trey asked.
“Yes,” Garen replied. “As bad as Lariah made him sound, he’s worse. He’s the head of the largest organized crime syndicate in that part of the galaxy in over a century. As Lariah said, he likes pretty things. He has stolen from museums, royal vaults and private collectors on at least ninety-three different planets. He also steals and sells drugs, both legal and illegal, starships of all types, ground-cars, weapons, precious metals, spices, slaves, rare fabrics, exotic life forms, technology, information and just about anything else that there is a market for in the Thousand Worlds.
“He has contacts everywhere, and in the criminal subspace, he is feared. If he orders someone on the far end of the galaxy, for example, Barc Landon, to perform a service for him, then the contact had better do it.
“Loggia is a confirmed sadistic voyeur. He has two bodyguards who are with him at all times, and a female friend and co-sadist called Sadisa, who comes and goes. Word is that the bodyguards do the hurting, while Loggia just enjoys the show.”
Val and Trey grimaced in disgust. “Are they human?” Val asked.
“Loggia is human,” Garen replied. “Nobody is sure about the body guards, but there is speculation that they are either human, or Terien.”
“I don’t understand why nobody has stopped them,” Trey said. “Teriens are perhaps a bit tougher than humans, but nothing more than that. How can three human or humanoid males cause so much terror and fear?”
“Because they are highly elusive,” Garen replied. “As Lariah said, Loggia himself rarely participates in the crimes he orders. Also, his personal space yacht is equipped with an impressive array of technological tricks, including an espionage grade cloaking system.” Garen sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily.
“We are used to our planet security, where every ship that enters our orbit is monitored, and only those granted special permission are allowed to land. But on planets like Earth, Teira and most others, ships come and go all the time. It’s impossible to check every one of them. I don’t see how they could possibly catch him.”
“Well, Lariah’s sister, Ellicia, was able to find Lariah. Why can’t anyone find him?” Val asked.
“Loggia knows about the special units, and he’s very careful. He apparently never leaves anything he steals from a planet, on the same planet, once he takes possession of it. The only reason Ellicia has had so much success against him is because she catches the little guys who do the stealing before they have a chance to get the goods off-planet.”
“I wonder how Ellicia was able to find Lariah?” Trey asked.
Garen thought about that. “I don’t know,” he said. “Perhaps because they are sisters…” he trailed off, then shrugged. “I am just glad that she was able to. It doesn’t really matter how.”
“If Loggia is so difficult to catch, how are we going to stop him?” Val asked.
“I don’t know yet, but we must find a way,” Garen said. “We must see him destroyed not only for what he has done to Lariah, but also for the threat he still poses to her safety.”
“We need to contact the Director then,” Trey said. “It appears that Loggia’s current activity is centered around Earth, so the Director probably has the most recent information on him. And information is what we need.”
“I agree,” Garen and Val both said at once. Garen reached down and flipped through a few pages of the print out he’d received. “I have the ISCC code for the Director’s private line. All we need to do is decide what we want to say.”
“That’s easy,” Val said. “We tell him who we are, that Lariah is our Arima, and that we wish to find and destroy Loggia for his crimes against her.”
Garen started to object, but reconsidered. It was direct, and not at all diplomatic. But they were warriors, not diplomats. And Lariah’s safety was far too important to worry about diplomacy anyway.
“Agreed,” Garen said at last.
Trey nodded his head in agreement as well. “What’s our lag time?” he asked.
“About 8 hours,” Garen replied. “If the Director gets the message as soon as it arrives, then responds at once, the earliest we would hear back would be about 16 hours. 20 hours is more reasonable.”
“Then let’s get this done,” Trey said. “The sooner we get that message sent, the sooner we can get this in motion.”
“We also need to find a way to convince Lariah to tell us what was done to her while she was in Loggia’s hands,” Val said, frustration in his voice.
Suddenly all three men froze for a single heartbeat, then leapt to their feet and raced from the room. In seconds they reached the guestroom where Lariah was sleeping, the soft whimpers they had heard from the study much louder now. Garen resisted the urge to blast the door open, slowing enough to open it properly instead. As they rushed into the room they immediately realized that Lariah was still asleep, though in the throes of a nightmare. She whimpered and sobbed, her face streaked with tears as her body trembled violently beneath the covers. Tiny stood beside the bed, his huge head resting on the edge of the mattress, an expression of worry on his furry face.
Garen reached down and yanked the blanket away from Lariah, then plucked her easily from the bed, tucking her close to his chest. Val and Trey crowded close as Garen urged her to awaken.
Lariah opened her eyes, startled to see Garen, Trey and Val all looking down at her. She realized at once that she was, once again, in Garen’s arms, and started to ask why, when she remembered her nightmare. She shuddered. It had been a bad one.
“I’m fine now,” she said. “You can put me down.”
“You were having a bad dream,” Garen said, “a very bad one. Would you like to share it with us?”
“No, I would not,” Lariah replied. “Talking about…things…earlier today is probably what brought it on, and I don’t think talking about it more is going to help.”
Garen frowned and started to open his mouth, but Lariah beat him to it. “Please,” she said softly, “It was just a nightmare. I’m tired and I’d like to go back to sleep.”
Garen didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to tolerate this situation. But, he could not ignore the pleading in Lariah’s eyes. She was not ready, and he did not have it in his heart to push her.
“Very well,” he agreed reluctantly, turning back to the bed and lowering her onto it. “But, the door will remain open. Should you have another nightmare, we will discuss this further.”
Lariah merely yawned and turned over, her eyes closing sleepily. They watched her for several minutes before reluctantly leaving the room. As they stepped into the hall they looked at each other in silent agreement, then turned and headed back to the study. It was time to record that message and get it sent to the Director.
Slater cursed himself for a fool when he heard the rumor that spaceport security was demanding the security vid data after Barc’s disappearance. He had not once thought about security cams. Well, he consoled himself, he was not really a guard. He couldn’t be expected to know such things.
He considered hopping on the next ship out of the system, but he hesitated. As long as he abandoned his security guard form, the security vids shouldn’t matter. Nobody would ever find that guard because that guard didn’t exist.
Pleased with himself, Slater took the form of a sani-tech and
made a point of bustling around the main guard station. First the rumors said that ground security was buried in red tape and might never get the vid data. Slater was relieved about that. Then came the news that the data had been sent after all. He began to feel anxious about that. Then came the startling news that Planetary Security, on royal order, were coming to the skyport to do their own investigation.
Slater almost panicked at that. He knew if the Jasani guards were coming to the skyport, it was so they could use their alter-form to try to sniff out Barc. Slater knew that when he transformed, his scent transformed as well, but he could not remain transformed for long.
There was a chance he could evade capture, but there was also a chance they would find him. It was time to get off of the skyport, he decided. Temporarily.
He took the form of an elderly humanoid male whom he had devoured weeks before, and purchased a ticket to Rondo, a frequent tourist destination only a few systems away. He didn’t really care about the destination. It was the next liner leaving and he wanted on it. As he boarded the vessel he promised himself that he would return in just a few days. He would not abandon his plan.
Chapter 10
Lariah awoke the next morning to an odd tapping noise. She lay in bed for a few minutes, trying to identify the sound, but she couldn’t. Tiny whined softly and she rolled over to see him standing by the door leading out to the patio. A low buzzing in her head told her his reason. She smiled and climbed out of bed, hurrying to open the door for him. It was then that she realized it was raining. She stood on the patio breathing in the scent of the rain, the wet plants and soil, filled with wonder at it all. Earth’s damaged biosphere was still incapable of producing anything like this.
After awhile Tiny returned to the patio, pausing to shake the water off of his coat. She laughed as she watched him, his big floppy ears whipping back and forth as he shook himself so hard his gigantic paws lifted off the ground.
“Good morning, sharali,” Garen said, stepping onto the patio from the living room door.
Lariah smiled at him. “Good morning,” she replied. “Isn’t the rain beautiful?”
He could not help but return her smile, though he did not share her enthusiasm for the wet weather. “It certainly is wet,” he hedged. Lariah laughed at him as she folded her arms across her chest and shivered.
Garen suddenly realized she was standing outside in her bare feet, wearing a thin, short nightgown. He immediately scooped her into his arms and carried her back into her room. He set her on the bed and pulled the covers up over her.
“Stay there until you get warm,” he told her firmly. “I’ll go and get you some hot coffee.”
Lariah was about to object to being picked up and ordered about, but the promise of coffee changed her mind. She had rarely been able to afford the luxury of coffee on her librarian salary.
“That sounds wonderful,” she said instead.
Garen was back within moments with a large steaming mug. She only hoped it tasted half as good as it smelled. He handed to her and she took a cautious sip. It was better than it smelled. She smiled radiantly at him. “Thank you so much,” she said. “This is delicious.”
There was a light knock before the door opened and Trey entered the room carrying a tray, Val right behind him with another one. “We decided you should have breakfast in bed this morning,” Val said as he set his tray on the low dresser. Lariah grinned when she saw that it held a full pot of coffee, a little pitcher of cream and a sugar bowl. Trey waited for Garen to take the mug from her hands before he set his tray on the bed, positioning the short legs on either side of her lap. He removed the plate covers with a flourish, revealing eggs, toast, bacon, fruit, and french toast. Lariah laughed with delight.
“I hope you guys plan to help me eat all of this food,” she said, reaching for the coffee mug Garen was still holding. She wasn’t giving that up.
“We have already eaten, my heart,” Val said. “We have brought you breakfast in bed because we would like to ask you to do a favor for us.”
Lariah unfolded her napkin, placed it in her lap, and picked up her fork. “Ah, bribery,” she said with a grin. “What favor would you like?” she asked.
“Today it is cold and wet outside,” Trey pointed out. “We would ask that you spend the day indoors, resting.”
“That’s it?” she asked.
“Yes,” Garen replied. “Yesterday was a difficult day for you, and you did not sleep well last night. We would like you to rest and take care of yourself today.”
Lariah popped a small round fruit that looked like a grape into her mouth. She bit into it, surprised to discover that it tasted like vanilla. “What are you not telling me?” she asked, reaching for a strip of crispy bacon.
“Riata told us that you needed extra rest, peace, and better nourishment,” Garen said. “We promised her that we would see to it that you got those things, and then we broke our promise. You did not eat at all yesterday until dinner, and the same is true for the day before that. Yesterday you had neither rest, nor peace. In truth, you had a very difficult day. Today, we would like very much to see you rest, relax, and eat correctly for a change.”
It was true. Lariah knew she had not been eating right for the past several weeks, and she had still not regained her energy, though Riata’s Healing had helped tremendously.
“Alright,” she said. “I’ll do the broccoli thing, but I want a favor in return.”
The brothers exchanged a puzzled look. Trey shook his head, but Val held up one finger. “Give me a second,” he said, his brow furrowed in thought. Lariah grinned and popped another vanilla-grape thing in her mouth.
After a long, hopeful minute, Val released a disappointed sigh. “No, I’m sorry, I thought maybe…but no, I give up.”
“Broccoli is a vegetable,” she laughed, giving them a hint. Their blank stares told her the hint didn’t help. “What do vegetables do?”
More blank stares. “Nothing,” she said. “Vegetables do nothing.”
A few seconds passed before Trey’s eyes suddenly brightened. “Oh, I get it!” he exclaimed. “You are going to act like a vegetable, which does nothing, therefore, you will do nothing, as we asked.”
“Exactly,” she said. Trey beamed at her and she laughed again. She was having more fun this minute than she had had in years, she realized.
“Now that is settled,” Garen said, attempting to sound huffy though he had to fight his own grin, “what is the favor you want from us?”
“Actually,” she began, starting to reconsider, “I don’t think it would be fair to make it a requirement for resting, but I would like to ask, if you wouldn’t mind, and if you do mind please say so, I would understand, really I…,”
Trey leaned over and placed the palm of his hand lightly against her mouth. “Stop rambling little love,” he said, his eyes laughing at her. “Just tell us what you would like.”
Lariah rolled her eyes at him and he removed his hand. “I just wondered if you would mind if I read one of your books,” she said, suddenly feeling shy.
“That’s it?” Val asked. “You want to read?”
She lifted a shoulder, a self-effacing gesture they recognized now. “Actually, I meant the real books.”
“The ones on the shelves in the living room,” she clarified in response to their confused stares. They nodded. “You don’t mind?”
“Sharali, what other books would there be?” Garen asked.
Now it was Lariah’s turn to look confused. “Well, most people use an electronic reader,” she said. “In fact, I work in a huge library, or, I did. I was in charge of everything older than 100 years, which meant that I was responsible for every printed book the library had. There were about 500 total and that was considered a big collection.”
“Well, I believe we have more than that in the house,” Trey said with a grin. “You are welcome to read any of them that you like.”
“So many?”
“Lariah, my heart, this
is not Earth,” Val said. “Jasan has nearly as much land area as Earth and it is largely unsettled. Our main industry is livestock, as you know, but we do have other local industries. One of which is paper making and book printing. Much of Jasan is heavily forested. In fact, many of our forests are seeded and harvested for that purpose alone. We have a couple of electronic readers in the study which we use for ranch business, but our books are printed on paper.”
“And you don’t mind if I read them?” Lariah asked, hardly able to believe she would be able to handle and read a real book printed on real paper without wearing gloves and a mask.
“Of course not,” Garen said. Lariah looked as though she were about to leap out of the bed that moment so he leaned over and put his hands on the breakfast tray, holding it in place. “But only after you eat,” he clarified.
“Okay, I’ll eat first,” she agreed easily. She was hungry, after all, and she couldn’t very well eat and read a real book at the same time and risk getting food on it.
“Do you think she is all right?” Val asked quietly as the three men stood in the doorway of the guest room several hours later. Lariah was sprawled on the bed, sound asleep, an open book lying beside her head.
“She is sleeping peacefully,” Garen replied. “Yesterday was a very long and emotional day for her, and she had nightmares last night. She is simply tired.”
They turned and left, leaving the door open enough to make it easier for them to hear if she should call out to them, or if she had another nightmare. As they reached the living room a sharp beeping announced an incoming vid. They looked at each other with barely suppressed excitement, but Garen checked his watch and shook his head. It was still far too soon to expect a response from the Director. Trey and Val frowned with disappointment.
Garen crossed the room and hit the button on the living room vid panel, mildly surprised to see the familiar face of Jackson Bearen appear.
The Dracons' Woman: Book 1 of the Soul-Linked Saga Page 15