Landry shot Cooley a look. When he nodded in response, Landry dropped his mental barrier to communicate with Talia. Her emotions flowed through him.
She might appear calm, but fear danced through her veins.
"Don't speak out loud. They'll be listening to everything we say."
"How are we getting out of here?" She fidgeted beside him, her fingers rolling and unrolling the edge of her shirt.
"Be patient. We've got to step carefully until the right moment. That guy's suspicious, but he's leaning toward believing us. Now we need to play our parts."
She rested her head on his shoulder. "What are you thinking, Mr. Sutton?"
Landry lifted her chin until he looked into her eyes. "Let's see if we can gross out Cooley."
He relaxed as her fears evaporate in the steam of the kiss.
"I don't know how this is going to help, but I could get into this kind of undercover acting."
Cooley jumped up from the table and proceeded to bang on the glass wall. "Don't leave me in here with the two of them. Have some mercy."
The newlyweds laughed.
"Who knows how long this will take. Sorry to drag you into this Cooley. I didn't know the planet would be overrun by stuffed shirts."
"Are you trying to anger them?" Talia asked.
"I took the wrong approach from the beginning and need to follow it through. If I change from the spoiled thrill seeker now they'll know something's up."
"Seriously, if you're gonna lock us up, get me a separate room." Cooley stared into the mirror, watching the couple at the table.
The door swung open and a tall blond haired man with dark blue eyes strolled in. He smiled and extended a hand to Cooley. "Let's see if we can speed things up for you."
"Talia, I can't sense any emotions from him."
"Please have a seat." The man waved Cooley back to his chair. "I'm Deon, Bargoron Kalto's personal assistant. I apologize for detaining you this way, but we must be cautious."
"I don't know who this Bargoron is. We wanted to see Orek. We didn't even know anyone lived here." Landry let his voice rise. "Do you think I'd put my girl through this on purpose?"
"Of course not. Let me clarify some of your information. You said your great grandfather came from Orek?"
"Yeah. I never met him, but my gramps talked about him all the time. Said he pined for home."
"How long ago do you think the Dragumon attack happened?" Deon leaned back in his chair and stared at Landry. His eyes wobbled a bit in his head, and he didn't blink for several minutes. Then he blinked two or three times as if he just remembered he should.
"Uh, what?" Landry tried not to be distracted by the man. It drove him nuts that he couldn't feel the man's emotions no matter how hard he tried to read him. The only other person he couldn't read turned out to be a traitor working to break apart the monarchy.
Talia and Cooley appeared thoroughly intrigued by the man. She stared hard at him, and one corner of her lips rose in the same way it did when she worked on a particularly hard puzzle. Cooley leaned forward and looked like he wanted to reach out and touch Deon.
"Mr. Landry, do you understand the concept of space time differentiation?"
"It's Landry, no mister. What do you mean space time?"
"Let's approach it another way. Have you ever left your planet before?"
"Nope."
"Even if you returned home today, time will have passed differently there than for you."
Cooley spoke up, "What do you mean?"
"How long did you travel in space?" Deon asked.
Talia quickly ran numbers in her head to get the correct answer for the distance between Corallah and Orek. "A little under two months."
"When you left the planet, time became relative." Deon settled into lecture mode.
Talia reached for Landry's hand under the table. "He's not human."
"What?"
"He's an automaton. A machine of steel, silicon, and electrical circuitry. It's amazing really."
"Time there continues to move at what you would call a normal rate, but as you approached the speed of light, it slowed down for you. Although you spent a couple months in space, an entire year passed on Corallah." Deon studied the faces of the three travelers.
"Man, that's weird." Cooley sat shaking his head.
"Is this going to be a problem?" Landry knit his brow as if he were thinking hard.
"I don't know. His design is sophisticated, but he may not have the ability or the intuition to tell when we're lying. Or he could be programmed for that."
"Do you follow what I'm saying?" Deon asked.
"Sure. Everyone knows time moves differently in space." Landry shrugged.
Deon shook his head. "Time doesn't really move, but as an object in motion at high velocity speeds, you experience it differently than those on the planet."
"We didn't travel that far." Talia scrunched her brow at Deon.
"Why is this important?" Cooley asked.
"You should consider staying here. Becoming a part of our society and sharing your knowledge of farming and trade with us."
"My mother would be so worried." Talia grasped Landry's hand tighter. "I want to go home."
"That might not be possible. You see, we've lost many things since the Dragumon. We need to study your ship. Learn how it works so we can repair our own. I'm going to venture a guess none of you could help with that?"
Cooley shook his head. "You can't take our ship."
"Ah, but I can. Be grateful that's all we're taking at the moment." He looked at Talia. "That might change tomorrow when the Bargoron arrives."
Landry stood. "What kind of place is this anyway? It's our ship and we can leave if we want."
Deon waved at the window. "You keep telling yourself that Mr. Landry."
The doors opened and several more soldiers entered. Two grabbed Cooley, another two Landry. One stood next to Talia.
"Place them in separate holding cells. Standard bio and tech scans. The Bargoron will be particularly interested in the girl." Deon waved them away.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Landry paced his cell. He needed to get Talia and Cooley out before the Bargoron arrived. Deon didn't need to spell out what would happen after that. Talia would be taken somewhere else and he couldn't let that happen.
He needed the right opportunity. Landry leaned by the door and stretched out his senses. Soldiers walked the halls. Emotions trailed by: bored, bored, anxious, hurried, bored...and then something else. Something he could use to his advantage.
Landry tapped on the door and called out. "Come on, I want to kiss her good night. Have a little compassion!"
The sound of footfalls paused, and the door opened. The soldier looked young. His shaved head exaggerated his baby face. Why couldn't it have been someone else?
Landry swallowed and shut off his emotions. It needed to be done.
"Hey, thanks man. I thought no one could hear me. Will you take me to my girl? One kiss, that's all I'm asking. Although if you can swing more time." He grinned. "I won't complain."
The boy looked down the hall before gesturing for him to follow. "I can get you a few minutes, but we'll have to hurry before the switch over. I've somewhere to be, and I don't want to be late."
"Thanks." Landry slapped him on the back and followed him down three doors to Talia's cell.
His mind reached for hers. The connection was weak, but the months of practice made communication possible.
"I'm coming for a goodnight kiss. It's time to get out of here."
The door slid open, and she rushed into his arms.
"I didn't think they were going to let me see you!" She reached up and kissed him long and hard while they blocked the doorway.
"Is this an act?" Landry struggled to stay focused.
Her kiss grew more insistent. "I figured you wanted to distract the guard. What's the plan?"
He pulled away until her forehead rested on his chin. The guard stood close b
ehind them, breathing a little faster than a moment before. "This is going to be easy if watching a kiss gets a reaction."
"You know what it's like, don't you?" He turned to see the guard. "Being so in love you can't stand to be apart."
"Yes." He swallowed as his eyes moved down Talia's long legs.
Landry took a step backward until he stood inside the room, the guard following close behind. He angled Talia so she was in full view, but more importantly so he faced the guard. "I mean, look at her."
"Can you walk toward the cot? Get him to turn away from me?"
Talia lowered her eyes to the floor and looked up through her lashes. She did a little half turn toward the bed on the back wall, looked over her shoulder and winked at the guy.
"Could you let him stay the night here?" She sat on the edge of the mattress and crossed her legs.
The soldier followed her with his eyes and stepped forward. The door hissed shut. With one smooth motion, Landry had the guard in a headlock.
The boy fought, landing a punch to the side of Landry's head.
"I don't want to kill you." Landry squeezed tighter.
The guard weakened as he ran out of air. He struggled less, and then passed out. Landry sighed with relief. It would have been quicker to snap the boy's neck, but he couldn't do it with his wife watching. Not when the boy didn't pose a real threat.
Talia jumped up. "Is he dead?"
"No, unconscious." Landry propped him next to the bed.
"Now what are we going to do?" She ran to the door and pressed her ear against it. "I don't hear anyone else."
"Good." He searched the guard's pockets and found a gun and a knife. "First, we get him out of his clothes. They'll fit me."
"And then?" She moved in and removed the guard's boots.
"I'm going to need his finger." He worked as quickly as possible. "Can you try your new power? Reach out and see if you can sense the other people here. Find Cooley so we can get out of here."
"I'll try, but the kid? There has to be another way." She worked the uniform off the man. "Can't you drag him over to the keypad?"
"And what about the rest of the doors in this place? I have to do this." Landry slipped into the guard's clothes. When he pushed his feet into the boots, the guard moaned. Landry knocked him over the head.
Talia shuddered.
"At least he'll live."
"Sorry, I've never dwelt on what you can do. Before you were always defending not attacking."
"Think of this as a pre-emptive strike so the defending part isn't as bloody. Look away while I get the finger."
"Okay, I'll see if I can find other life signs." She turned away.
Landry opened the pen-knife. It was too small to cut through the bone. Instead, he sliced around the top half of the finger, being careful not to damage the fingerprint.
"All I can sense are the two of you." Talia handed him the guard's sock to wrap the wound.
She didn't say anything else, but her lips pressed into a thin line. When she finally glanced at him, Landry felt her relief. Perhaps the small knife had saved his reputation with her. A larger one and he would have taken the whole finger, but she didn't need to know that.
"Let's go." He scraped the meaty part out of the skin before pulling it over his thumb and placing it over the keypad. The door swished open. Landry peeked around the corner. "It's clear."
They didn't see anyone as they crossed the length of the hall, pausing at each door to glance through the window for Cooley.
"What are we going to do?" Talia asked.
"Not sure. We may have to leave him."
"We can't!"
Voices echoed in the stairwell behind them. He grabbed her by the hand, ready to run.
"Wait, does that sound like Cooley?" he whispered even in their shared mind space.
The voice sounded like Cooley, but it couldn't be. As the man drew closer to the top of the stairs, his words became clearer.
"I don't know why you're being so nice." Cooley's voice sounded clearly.
"Deon doesn't think you're a threat. He'd like your help with the other two."
"Talia is harmless, I promise. Maybe you could let her stay with me?"
Landry pulled Talia into a dead run down the hall. He remembered an offshoot half way down.
"Is this part of a plan?"
"No. He's probably improvising, but I'm not sure. Turn left!" They skidded around the corner at the same time the door opened at the end of the hall. Landry stopped and held his finger to his lips. He waited with the stairwell exit open, listening to the men down the hall. The footsteps paused about half way.
"This one is hers," the man from Orek said. A clicked echoed before hall grew silent.
"Go," Landry whispered.
They raced down the stairs expecting the alarm at any moment. The minutes passed and Landry slowed.
"No alarm. Maybe Cooley is still on our side."
"Are you sure?" Talia stayed close by his side.
"They should have sounded the alarm immediately. Unless Cooley incapacitated the soldier. That's a good sign."
"Should we wait for him?"
"No. He'll catch up."
They reached the bottom floor, and Landry peered out the door. Three guards hovered around the exit.
"Those guys are about to go off duty. We should slip out with them."
"How do you explain me?" she whispered back.
"Maybe it's time to practice a little magic? I'll try to suppress suspicion." He slipped the piece of skin off and rubbed the excess blood inside the pocket lining. "Keep acting like my girl."
She looked at him like he'd gone crazy, but stepped through the door when he pushed it open. The guards looked up and fell silent. Their shock had Landry itching to reach for the laser gun he'd lifted off the kid. Instead, he focused on their emotions. Surprise, curiosity, fear and suspicion. Why would they be afraid?
He tried to delve into their minds to gather information, but he couldn't push past the emotions. When they were within a few feet of the door he stopped trying.
"Is it time yet? My girl came to meet me." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed her close. "You guys have a girl waiting on you?"
"How did you sneak her in here? You must be crazy or just plain stupid." The guard closest to the door inserted his thumb in the box and opened it. "You'd better get her out of here. Didn't you hear the Bargoron's coming?"
"You know how much he likes to collect pretty faces." Disgust rolled off the second officer as he shoved Landry toward the door. "If I were you, I'd hide her until he leaves the city."
The third man watched, but didn't say anything. Talia shivered as the night air hit them. They paused and waited for the door to slide shut.
"Start walking across the field, but be ready to run." He scanned the area. Two watchtowers stood several hundred feet on either side of the entryway. "Nice and easy."
Twenty feet from the first landing pad the shift change started. Men streamed around the city-side of the building and headed for the door. Shadows moved along the rooftops. Lights flared along the side of the building, lighting the sidewalks.
"Go!" He hissed and pushed her forward. Doors opened and men poured out.
They slowed when they reached the shadows by the spaceships. Landry listened for signs of a chase.
"I think we made it. We need to get to the Vis Vires." He led her down the path.
"Do you think we can find it?"
"Yes." He stopped and pushed her under a wing. "It's the one surrounded by soldiers trying to cut their way inside."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Eight men wandered around the Vis Vires. They looked bored, but one worked on the entry keypad. However, another soldier stood by with plan B, a laser cutter mounted on a hydraulic lifter. One way or another these men intended to get on the ship.
The first guy hooked a machine up to the ship's keypad running number sequences. It would take a while, but he would eventually fi
nd the right code. Landry hoped to be on the ship before that happened.
"Now would be a good time for Cooley to show up," he muttered and fingered the gun that came with the uniform. The Bargoron's men had experience with this weapon and Landry doubted they would give him time to become deadly with it himself. Even with the advantage of darkness and cover from the ships around them, he didn't think he could pick off all eight men before reinforcements joined them.
"I need a diversion." He'd barely wished for it before sirens screamed from the building and spotlights flared to life along the rooftop.
"Looks like they noticed our escape," Talia whispered.
"Sounds like they're jumping the gun, we haven't escaped yet." He focused on the men around the Vis Vires.
They talked and pointed and four of them ran toward the compound. Three of the remaining soldiers took up guard positions around the last man as he continued to work on the ship.
"Do you think you could take out one of those guys?" He turned to his wife.
"I don't know. Why?" Her hands shook a little.
Landry searched the ground and found a rusted pipe and tested its weight. Rust flaked off, but it was solid enough to knock out a man with enough force behind it.
"Send a flare up to get their attention. Pretend he's that Dragumon you used the flashlight on." He put the pipe in her hands.
"That didn't turn out so well for us." Her eyes grew wide, then narrowed. She tightened her lips and straightened her shoulders. "Knock him out, that's all I have to do."
He nodded and pointed to the left side of the ship. She moved that way while he moved along the right side. Getting as close to the men as he dared, he settled in to wait for her signal.
The soft glow started beneath one of the ships. As it brightened the guards turned to stare. With their attention elsewhere, Landry aimed the gun at their legs. A squeeze of his finger sent a dull yellow beam into their midst. The gun didn't kick back with the pulse, but the beam hit higher and slightly to the right of where he aimed. The soldier with the code box fell over in a spray of sparks. The other guards split up. One headed for Talia's flare, the other two toward the shots.
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