Dakiti: Ziva Payvan Book 1

by EJ Fisch

  “Now sir,” Bront said, “we don’t want to jump to conclusions.”

  “It’s the best lead we have so far. It’s better than anything these people have found.”

  Ziva set her jaw and stared him down through narrowed eyes. He did have a point; if the governor wasn’t at any of the local Solaris compounds, he could very well be at Dakiti. Jayden’s description of the transmission confirmed everything Jaxton had told them, though it sounded like Bothum was up to something more than just running a second Solaris cell. Even if they didn’t find Enrik Saiffe, investigating the facility might still be high on HSP’s priority list.

  She sighed. A ludicrous idea had just come to mind and she silently debated with herself for several seconds over what should be done. She thought about the tracker she had placed on Jayden the night before. It could work. At this point, she was angry enough with the young man that she was willing to go with it.

  “Sergeant Duvo!” Ziva addressed Skeet without taking her eyes off Jayden and Bront. “See to it that these men have enough fuel and supplies to get safely home to Tantal.”

  “Ziva…?”

  “That’s an order, Skeet.”

  Bront watched her for a moment as if looking for sincerity in her request. “Stand down,” he ordered his guards, who had been standing in a strict formation around Ziva’s people in the living room.

  Ziva broke off from the group and veered for the front door, but Skeet caught her arm.

  “Ziva,” he said again, such an obnoxious, questioning tone in his voice. Did he not trust her to have control over the situation?

  “Just do it,” she replied, feigning defeat for the sake of the Tantalis. She pulled her arm away and headed outside, ignoring the two guards who still stood on the front steps. A massive sarmi tree stood about twenty meters from the house, rising up near the edge of the sheer drop-off down to the Tranyi River. It had been there for as long as she could remember. She had spent many hours in that tree as a small child, climbing up into a crook between two branches and leaping down into her father’s arms. She’d been pleasantly surprised to find it still standing when she’d purchased the property back as an adult. The day before he left to fight in the Fringe War, Kalim Payvan had carved the native Haphezian symbol meaning “eternal” into the tree’s mighty trunk. That was the last time she had ever seen her father, but there the carving remained after all these years.

  Ziva paused for a moment in the shade of the tree, eyes closed, feeling the cool air from the river on her face. She wasn’t one for sentiment, and in that sense she sometimes wondered what she was doing living in the house she’d been born in. But being there brought about a certain peace, a certain calmness, and right now that was exactly what she needed. She needed time to think, to settle down. Ryon always encouraged her to spend some time under the tree. Said it was therapeutic. Ziva agreed; this was always the first place she came upon returning from a high-stakes mission. The sweet scent of the tree and the fresh air helped her unwind, and she’d often found that it was a good place to get some thinking done.

  Squinting against the mid-morning sunlight that glinted off the massive river below, Ziva lowered herself into the depression she’d worn in the ground from lying there so often. She lay down flat on her back, knees up, eyes closed, hands on her forehead. Taking a deep breath of earthy-smelling air, Ziva let herself forget about the whole affair with Jayden for just a brief moment. She would have rather kept him in her custody, if for no other reason than to maintain a sense of control, but at the same time she was relieved to have him out of her hair. The only problem with her plan was that these overzealous humans would be no match against the agile, quick-witted Sardons if they made any attempt to go find Governor Saiffe. They would rush to Sardonis too hastily, hoping sheer numbers would win the battle, and get themselves either imprisoned or killed. And who knew what this Dane Bothum was concocting behind the scenes at Dakiti? There was no way to know if they would find the governor or if any of them would even survive, but it was a risk she was willing to subject them to.

  Ziva’s sensitive Haphezian nose could smell Aroska coming just before her ears picked up the soft crunching of his boots in the grass. What did he think he was doing out here, and why had Skeet and Zinni allowed him to follow her? She let her frustration out in the form of a sigh and held completely still. Maybe he’d actually stop and realize what a novel idea it would be to respect her privacy.

  He didn’t stop. Ziva rolled her eyes behind their closed lids and ran her tongue across her lips. “Damn it, Tarbic, what are you doing?” she demanded firmly, too tired to bother raising her voice.

  Aroska made a noise that sounded like a stifled chuckle. “I think I’ve got you figured out, Ziva Payvan,” he replied.

  “I told you to leave it alone,” Ziva scoffed, opening one eye and tilting her head just enough that she could see him. He stood a couple meters away, hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, admiring the impressive tree. He directed his gaze back down toward her when he realized she was looking at him.

  “Fine,” he said with a shrug. “Eternal?” He gestured toward the carving.

  Ziva pulled herself into a sitting position and stared out across the river. “Leave that alone too.”

  “Alright.” He came up and leaned against the trunk of the tree, almost directly behind her. She was glad that she didn’t have to look at him – otherwise she might have strangled him just for the hell of it. “So why the change of heart?”

  Ziva looked over to where the Tantalis were exiting the house and starting up their cars. “It wasn’t.”

  “Oh?”

  She shook her head and looked back to the river, wondering briefly if Aroska was still interested in killing her. Maybe she shouldn’t have her back to him. She could still sense some anger and hostility directed her way, but there no longer seemed to be any desire to put a bullet through the back of her head. Ever since she’d caught him in the doorway the previous night, his attitude had been one of curiosity and tolerance.

  “No. I have a plan.”

  “That plan wouldn’t happen to involve leaving Jayden to his own devices and then using him to bait Bothum, would it?”

  “You forgot the part where we bag Bothum and get both Jayden and the governor out.”

  Aroska chuckled again. “And here I thought you didn’t care. You think they’ve really got the governor at Dakiti?”

  “Jayden was right. The agency has checked the rest of the Solaris bases here, all of which have turned out to be dead ends. It makes sense that they’d take him there. But even if he is there, he may be dead already. We’re grasping at straws here, but it’s the best chance we’ve got.” And if we don’t get the governor, we can at least nail these Solaris scumbags.

  “What makes you so sure the Tantalis would go to Dakiti instead of home to Tantal?”

  “Even if they do go home, they’ll be on their way to Sardonis with reinforcements within a day or so. They’ll go to Dakiti, most likely get captured, and Jayden will lead us straight to Bothum.”

  “And if he dies in the process?”

  That’s not my problem. “We’ll just have to catch up to him before that happens.”

  “You’re crazy,” Aroska said. “Do you know that?”

  Ziva turned her head ninety degrees and looked up at him with her peripheral vision. “I’ve learned to take it as a compliment,” she replied bluntly.

  “Fine,” Aroska said, exhaling in a hiss through his nose. “How exactly do you plan on catching up to him?”

  Ziva explained how she’d placed the tiny tracking device on Jayden the night before. “With the way he was acting at dinner, I was afraid he’d bolt. Figured it might come in handy, and I guess it has. Now we’ll know exactly where he is in that facility.”

  “And if he doesn’t go to Sardonis? I can’t imagine that Bront would let him accompany them on a rescue mission.”

  “He’ll go,” Ziva replied, watching a colorful bird g
lide gracefully across the river. She gave no further explanation, but knew Jayden was resilient enough that he would want to be part of any attempt to get his father back.

  Aroska sighed, unimpressed. He stepped around in front of Ziva, offering his hand to help her up. “Then I guess we’d better get started planning this crazy operation,” he said, his face expressionless.

  Ziva wanted to ignore his hand, but finally took it. Aroska pulled her to her feet but didn’t let go once she was there. Instead, he flipped her hand over and ran his thumb over the calluses that had formed after years of handling her favorite sniper rifle. Maybe he did have her figured out. Unconcerned, Ziva shifted her eyes from her hand to meet his questioning stare. Perhaps it was better that he knew about the things she did outside of special ops – he’d be less inclined to bother her.

  Aroska no longer seemed quite so eager to make eye contact, letting his gaze flit around. He let go of her hand and took a slight step backward. Ziva could sense the anger welling up inside him, anger about Soren’s death.

  “Sniper?” he finally asked, his voice dry.

  Frustrated, Ziva planted her fist into Aroska’s gut and used the brief moment of immobility to push him back against the tree trunk. “Contract assassin,” she corrected, taking up fistfuls of his jacket. “Why do you have to keep pushing it?”

  Aroska closed his eyes, swallowing against the pain of the blow. Ziva let go of him before he could answer and placed her hands on top of her head. Any progress she’d made toward calming her nerves had officially gone down the drain.

  Once again looking out over the water, Ziva mentally took herself back through the motions of lying down in her hollow and feeling the breeze on her skin. She straightened her thoughts out into a single-file line, slowing the rush of emotions and memories that had suddenly flooded her mind. This wasn’t healthy. She needed her time alone before she snapped.

  “I’m sorry I even asked,” Aroska muttered, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife and causing her train of thought to derail again.

  Ziva bit her lip. “Lieutenant, please go inside before I kill you,” she said through her teeth. “I’m not going to ask you again.”

  -26-

  Payvan residence

  Noro, Haphez

  Skeet didn’t bother to look up when Aroska came wandering back into the house. He remained in his place on the sofa beside Zinni, looking over the information on Dakiti that she had pulled up on her computer. The Tantalis had made a hasty exit without so much as a thank-you for the fact that Jayden was still alive, and Marshay and Ryon had disappeared again, minding their own business. The relative peacefulness in the house was a relief. He didn’t mind having the kid out of the way, and he understood now that it was for good reason. Ziva would have never just given up an argument. Judging by the tone of her voice, she had a plan. Skeet and Zinni were trying to stay one step ahead of her.

  Realizing that Aroska had neither moved nor spoken since entering, Skeet stole a glance in his direction. The man stood just inside the doorway, staring vacantly ahead, his face full of anger and disbelief. The fact that this reaction was incited by an encounter with Ziva piqued Skeet’s curiosity. If he was going to keep pestering her, he was going to get what he deserved, and probably just had.

  “You okay?” he asked casually, the majority of his focus still on Zinni’s computer.

  “Skeet,” Aroska said slowly, still unmoving, “you’ve got to tell me about Ziva.” There was desperation in his voice. “I need to know about her now.”

  Skeet honestly hadn’t seen that coming. He’d expected a barrage of questions, not a demand. He sighed, feeling quite put on the spot.

  “I’m not going to get into this. If I tell you anything, she’s going to find out. Don’t ask me how, but she will, and she’ll take pleasure in cutting me up into little pieces. There’s a lot about her that’s classified anyway.”

  “She’s one of the assassins, Skeet. I know.”

  For several long, awkward seconds, the only sound that could be heard was the gentle hum of Zinni’s computer. Skeet couldn’t fathom what force in the galaxy would have compelled Ziva to share that information. He looked to Zinni for support, but she only stared at him with wide eyes and shrugged.

  “How do you figure?”

  “She told me.”

  “And somehow you’re still alive.”

  Aroska snorted and shook his head, ignoring the smart remark. “I was starting to put the pieces together anyway.”

  “That’s confidential information, Aroska,” Zinni put in quietly.

  “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on going around telling everyone,” the man replied, fiddling with one of the decorative spindles on the back of a dining chair. “After she killed Soren—” he paused as if it were painful to even mention his brother and Ziva in the same sentence “—I tried and tried to find out more about her so I could plan my revenge. Her HSP file is virtually nonexistent – redacted records, no photo. I just thought my clearance level was too low but…” Aroska turned to face them, sending them a glare that made Skeet feel like an idiot. “She’s got the hands of a sniper. We all handle our fair share of weapons, but there’s no mistaking those calluses.”

  Skeet placed his hands on his face and massaged his eyes. “Okay,” he said, “maybe you deserve a little credit.” He got up and went to the kitchen window, peering out to where Ziva was lying under her sarmi tree. “She wasn’t like that when you talked to her, was she?”

  Aroska joined him at the window and forced a short chuckle. “She was at first, but not for long. As soon as I—”

  Skeet felt his fingers curl into a fist. “No!” he interrupted quickly, appalled by the man’s ignorance. “Number one Rule of Ziva: never bother her while she’s under that tree. If you need something, you wait for her to come to you. If you absolutely can’t wait, tell either me or Zinni and we’ll go to her. It’s taken us seven years to develop this level of trust. Don’t think that you can rise to that level overnight. You’ll get yourself killed.”

  “Alright, alright,” Aroska muttered, humbled. He crossed his arms. “Are there any other ‘rules’ I should know about?”

  Skeet turned away from the window. “Sorry, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. I have to admit Ziva hasn’t been very welcoming, and I apologize for that too. I realize you’re not her biggest fan, but pressing her isn’t the way to go. The harder you push, the more she’s going to shut you out.”

  “Then help me out here.” Aroska took another look out the window before turning away as well.

  Skeet led him back to the living room and sat him down in a chair opposite the sofa. “Well,” he began, returning to his place beside Zinni and trying to decide where to start, “always coordinate work-related activities with her. If you can’t tell her what you’re doing, you probably shouldn’t be doing it. You especially don’t want to lie to her. She hates being lied to more than just being kept in the dark. Somehow she always finds out, and you’ll be in worse trouble than you would have been in the first place. Also, think for yourself. Never ask her if you should or shouldn’t do something, or she’ll dismiss you as incompetent.” He waved toward Zinni. “For example, we’re already finding out what we can about Dane Bothum and Dakiti so that when Ziva walks through that door, we’ll be able to tell her everything she wants to know.”

  “And if she doesn’t ask?”

  She always did. “Then we’ll have that knowledge in case it’s ever needed in the future.”

  Aroska seemed far too amused. “Where’d you come up with all of these rules?”

  “You learn to make them up over the years,” Zinni replied absentmindedly.

  “Ever wonder what it would be like if everyone’s lives didn’t revolve around her?”

  Skeet felt his bushy eyebrows slide into a scowl. “We respect her,” he snapped, “and you should too.”

  Aroska was quiet for a moment, letting the words sink in. Skeet rubbed his face
again and turned to Zinni, who was absorbed in her computer. He wished she would chime in again and back him up. He hated talking about Ziva behind her back just as much as she hated being talked about behind her back. Although forming attachments was risky in the special ops business, he’d come to think of her as a sister. He vividly remembered being impressed by her test scores during the year-long spec ops elite training program, and when she’d been chosen as a team leader, he’d desperately hoped that he’d be selected for her squad. When she’d hand-picked both him and Zinni, he’d been ecstatic.

  Skeet chuckled to himself at the memory. Despite the bond the three of them had formed, they all still had their secrets. Ziva had been the most reserved by far. Neither he nor Zinni had exactly had an ideal childhood – they’d both grown up as orphans in local children’s homes. But Ziva was another story entirely. She’d told them a little about her past, about losing her father and being disowned by her family before running away to Noro as a little girl. Then there’d been that whole business with the Nosti that still had him baffled as well. She’d killed him with his own kytara, catching the eye of HSP. Skeet was sure Aroska had heard about that – the incident had commandeered local news headlines for weeks. But considering the way Ziva had reacted to the conversation at dinner, he decided the subject would remain off limits for now.

  Skeet didn’t blame her for the personality she’d developed. It was true that she could be abrasive and manipulative and distrusting, but that was how she’d survived and protected herself for so many years. It was part of what made her such a good operative now.

  Everything seemed to have turned out okay in the long run. Skeet and Zinni were Ziva’s family now. She’d purchased her old house back, hired Marshay and Ryon, and had gotten to know Jada. Best of all, they got to work together every day, proving their worth as the Alpha special ops team. They were living proof that people who had started out with nothing could still accomplish anything they wanted if they were willing to work hard.