Joyce huddled in the corner of her room, knees drawn up, shaking as she sobbed. Grace dropped to her knees and brushed the hair away from Joyce’s face, revealing eyes brimming with tears.
“Joyce – what is it, honey?”
“Mom!” It started as a word, but finished in an anguished sob as Joyce launched herself into Grace’s arms and held on as if her life depended on it. Grace stroked her hair and whispered to her as she hadn’t done for years.
“Shhhh. It’s OK now, I’ve got you. Everything will be OK.”
Grace rocked with her and held her close, reassuring her.
“Can you tell me what happened?” she asked.
Joyce said nothing for a moment, then managed one word. “M-men.”
Grace’s heart lurched, and she feared the worst. “T-t-two men.” Joyce sobbed again.
Grace’s nostrils flared. She rocked with Joyce for a while longer, to comfort her and because she didn’t trust herself to speak.
“Did they hurt you?”
Grace shook her head. “No. A little. One of them pushed me. Sabine saved me, though.”
“She did?” Joyce nodded against her shoulder, tears wetting Grace’s top. “Mom, I think they really hurt her.”
Grace stroked her hair.
“And Mom?”
“Yes, honey?”
“One of them, he, he … touched me.”
Grace went rigid for a moment, and fought an almost uncontrollable urge to rush out and hurt, really hurt whoever had done this to her precious daughter.
“Mom?”
“It’s all right, sweetie. Just a moment while I do something.”
She got up and went to the door. “Tom? Are you there?” she asked.
“Yes, Mom!” came an answering voice.
“Tom, I need you to do something for me, and it’s real important.”
“It is?” A face appeared further down the hall.
“Yes. I need you to go find your father. Tell him to come home as fast as he can. It’s an emergency.”
Tom’s eyes widened. “An emergency?”
Grace nodded. “Go now, Tom, and run as fast as you can.”
Tom nodded, eyes wide with excitement. Within seconds Grace heard the front door slam.
David and John were at the fabricator plant, discussing plans to produce more farm machinery to help boost food production, when Tobias arrived.
David looked up. The security team didn’t often stray beyond the general area of what they called Edward’s domain – the four larger houses he’d commandeered for his office and living quarters. They didn’t mix much, either with the original colonists or the other newcomers. When they did venture further afield, they went in groups, not alone, as now.
David straightened up as Tobias approached.
“Mr. Miller, sir.” His expression was serious.
“Yes?”
“I’m afraid there’s been an incident.”
David tilted his head to one side. “What kind of incident, Tobias?”
Tobias’s eyes widened a little – he clearly hadn’t expected David to know his name.
“There’s been an attack. Two men attacked a woman – Sabine Pope. She’s at the clinic.”
David’s eyes flashed. Violence in Haven for the first time, unless they counted Rex, and he could feel his blood heat. “Who? Who did this?”
“Two men –”
David took a step forward and planted himself in front of Tobias. “Who?”
Tobias’s shoulders slumped a little. “Jake Cooper and Roberto Sevos,” he said, his eyes downcast.
David considered him for a moment, and could see his discomfort. That and the fact he’d come to tell him spoke volumes all by itself.
“Did they rape her?”
Tobias shook his head, and David breathed again.
“We stopped them before they could. They still beat up on her, though.”
“So they tried, the mongrels.” John lowered his eyebrows as he glared at Tobias.
“Easy, John,” David said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Tobias didn’t do it. He stopped them.” He looked at Tobias. “Where are they now?”
Tobias cleared his throat. “I don’t know. Christian and Raoul have gone to look for them.”
David nodded. He shot a glance at John.
“OK, Tobias, thank you.”
Tobias relaxed a little, his arms dropping to his sides.
“Why don’t you go help Christian and Raoul? John and I need to get to the clinic.”
Tobias nodded and turned to go.
John was scowling, his lips pressed together.
“Let’s go,” David said.
They hadn’t gone far when they encountered Thomas.
“Dad! Dad!”
“What is it, son?”
“Mom said to come home quick, there’s an emergency!”
David looked at John. “You go on to the clinic, then round up the others. Everyone. Tell them to come home.”
John nodded and set off.
“Now, what’s this about, Tom?”
“She didn’t say, only that I should find you as quick as I can. She’s there with Joyce.”
David’s face hardened. Given what Tobias has just told him, he knew what that could mean, but he pushed all such thoughts to the back of his mind. “We’d better go.”
Together they ran back to the house, David brushing aside the trees that crowded the path.
“Grace?” he said, as he pushed open the front door. “Where are you?”
“Here!”
Half a dozen quick strides took him down the hall to where Grace stood, waiting.
“Thank God you’re here,” she said, hugging him. She looked up into his eyes. “Two men attacked Joyce–”
“Jake Cooper and Roberto Sevos,” David said, his voice flat and hard.
Grace nodded. “I think so, yes.”
“What did they do to her?” David asked, his eyes like chips of blue ice.
“Roughed her up some.” She looked down at Thomas, standing nearby. David’s eyes followed her glance. “Tom,” he said, disengaging from Grace’s embrace. “We’ve got another important job for you, OK?”
Thomas nodded, his eyes wide.
“I want you to go to all of our houses – our family houses only, you understand, not the newcomers – and tell everyone you find to come here. Can you do that?”
“Sure, Dad.”
“OK, off you go.”
Thomas ran off.
David turned back to Grace, his eyes glittering. “What else did they do?”
Grace swallowed, tears pricking her eyes. “One of them touched her here,” she said, hand on her chest. “They didn’t get a chance to do anything else, though. Sabine Pope rescued her.”
The connection clicked in David’s brain. “So that’s it.”
“What?” Grace asked.
“Tobias Mantel came to tell me Sabine’s at the clinic. Two men attacked her and tried to rape her, but he and the other guards stopped them.”
Grace’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God! What are we going to do?”
David pressed his lips together and nodded to himself, his eyes far away for a moment. He looked at Grace. “Serve justice.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“The mongrels! The dirty, filthy swine!” John’s nostrils flared and he clenched his fists.
“What do we do?” Nigel asked, looking at David. A small vein on his temple pulsed, his eyes like steel.
“We bloody sort them out, that’s what we do!” John said. “Right?”
Anyone who knew David well could see he’d changed. He always presented a calm face to the world. He led by example, not by dictating. His love of the land and delight in his family had softened him over the years. Now, he had become someone else.
David felt it and feared it. As Carla had said, his true nature didn’t match his appearance. Underneath, hidden away under layers of love and understanding, lived t
he other David.
The killer.
Those years in the navy had shaped him into a person who had seen terrible things and done terrible things in the name of his country. The kinds of things only soldiers knew of, the kinds of things that gave those who returned from war that thousand-yard stare.
For the first time in twenty years, David Miller felt fear. Not fear of facing danger, not even fear for his family, despite his concern for them. A steel hand within had slipped into the velvet glove of his cultivated personality as though it had never left. He could feel himself regressing, back to someone he didn’t want to be anymore. Fear paid a visit because deep down, he welcomed the rage, welcomed it back like an alcoholic rediscovering a lost bottle of whiskey.
“Right,” he said.
Grace shivered and looked away.
David looked around. “This is what we’ll do. John, Nigel, Josh, and I go to Harper’s office to apprehend the offenders and bringing them back to the warehouse, where we’ll hold them for trial. Everyone else waits here. Understood?”
Heidi opened her mouth, but Grace put a hand on her arm, shaking her head.
David clenched his fists. “Let’s go.”
Sabine groaned as she came around. Everything looked white and fuzzy. Her brain felt as slow as treacle, and she couldn’t remember what had happened. Then her memories flooded back and she struggled to get up.
“Shhhh, it’s OK,” Veronika said, walking to the bed as she noticed her patient waking.
Sabine stopped struggling, but her eyes remained wide.
“It’s OK, really, you’re safe. You’re at the clinic, see? In a hospital bed.”
Sabine’s heart raced as she took in her surroundings. She looked down as she noticed something different – she couldn’t feel anything south of her waist. She tried to speak, but her mouth felt full of cotton wool. Her head spun and she collapsed back onto her pillows.
Veronika held a bulb of water to her mouth. “Here, drink.”
“Wha … what?” Sabine managed.
“We gave you a local anesthetic,” Veronika said. “Don’t worry, it’ll wear off soon.”
Sabine licked her lips. “What happened? All I remember is …” She broke off and turned her head.
Veronika put a hand on her arm and smiled. “Don’t worry, you’ll be sore for a while, but that’s all.”
Sabine’s face carried a sheen of sweat. Her hands clutched at her sheets. “You mean …”
Veronika shook her head. “They beat you, but they did nothing else.” Sabine closed her eyes for a moment. “I thought …”
“It nearly happened,” Veronika said, “but Simon saved you.”
“Simon? Simon Greene?”
Veronika nodded.
“He would have stepped in for anyone, but you he seemed particularly concerned about.”
Sabine shook her head and winced. “Me?”
Veronika nodded. “You.”
Sabine blinked as she considered this, then yawned.
“Sleep,” Veronika said, standing. “Doctor Ramirez will be in later to check on you.”
Sabine let her leaden eyelids close. As she lost consciousness she wondered whether the image of Simon’s face in her mind was a memory or an imagining.
“This is unbelievable. Completely unacceptable.” Edward’s eyes flashed. Jake Cooper and Roberto Sevos stood at attention in the living room of the house Edward used as an office. Carla stood nearby, her eyes fixed on Edward, lips parted.
“Our goal is to assume control of this colony, but we want to do that by cooperating with the colonists. We do not do that by raping their children!”
Neither of the men said anything. Carla swallowed, and her tongue darted out to lick her lips. Her eyes remained focused on Edward.
Edward slammed his fist on the desk and the data pad jumped, as did Carla.
“Both of you,” he said, “are suspended from duty. You will –”
The crash of the front door bursting open interrupted him. David stormed in, followed by John, Nigel, and Josh.
Edward’s mouth fell open. “What –?”
Jake and Roberto had turned toward the door, Roberto’s face ashen. Jake maintained his stiff posture, his mouth turning down a little.
David looked to Edward as he marched forward. “Do you know what these men did?”
Edward nodded. “I do.”
David glanced at Jake, who sneered at him. Something visibly snapped inside of David, and he struck. Jake dropped to a crouch, expecting David’s move as he led with his right. He didn’t consider that the right lead might be a feint. David stepped inside Jake’s block and hit him on the chin with a short left uppercut, with power enough to lift Jake off the ground. He stumbled, and David bunched his shirt in one strong hand and scooped him up, slamming him against the wall.
Roberto stood no chance. As soon as he moved, Nigel dropped him with a straight punch followed by a kick to the head.
Carla slumped back against the wall, her eyes, shining with excitement, fixed on David.
Jake wasn’t sneering anymore. David snorted and let him drop, turning back to Edward.
“We cannot tolerate sexual assaults in this colony,” he said, “let alone assaults on children. These two are coming with us to stand trial.”
Edward had been ready to side with David until that last sentence. Remembering Carla’s words, he said, “I agree their actions have been inadvisable, Captain. But these men are under my jurisdiction. I’m afraid I can’t let you take them.”
David shook his head. “Not here, Edward. Not here. This colony is under my command, even you. We’re taking them.” He nodded to the others, and they hauled Jake and Roberto to their feet. By this time Jake had recovered, but he kept his mouth shut.
“I think not, Captain.”
Carla stood next to Edward, shoulders back and chin high, holding a small, flat pistol in her hand.
David stopped and looked at her. “Be careful, Carla,” he said. “You’re stepping over a line here. Once you do, there’s no going back.”
“I know what I’m doing,” she replied. “Now let Mr. Cooper go.”
David didn’t move. Carla held the pistol pointed at him for one, two, three heartbeats, then her arm moved and the gun was pointing at Josh.
“What’ll it be, Captain? Are you so determined to see justice done your way you would sacrifice Mr. Merrick?”
David’s jaw clenched. He glared at Carla for a moment before reason took control.
“Let them go,” he said, never taking his eyes from Carla.
“David, we can’t …” John said.
“I said, let them go! There’ll be another time.”
Carla smiled as John and Nigel released Jake and Roberto. “Very wise, Captain.”
She shifted her gaze to Jake and Roberto. “You know what to do.”
Jake nodded, and the two of them left, neither of them looking too steady on their feet, soon returning with two more pistols, which they trained on David, Nigel, and John.
“Take them to the warehouse and hold them there,” Carla instructed. “I’ll be along later with further instructions.”
Jake’s sneer reappeared. He waved the gun at the four captives. “Move.”
David exchanged a look with the others and led the way outside.
They had failed.
Grace answered the rap on the door, to see four of Edward’s security guards, led by Simon Greene.
“Yes, Simon?” she said, her face grim.
He pursed his lips for a moment, then cleared his throat. “Ma’am, I’m afraid there’s been an incident. Your husband and his companions have assaulted a member of Mr. Harper’s security team and we’ve taken them into custody. They’re being held under guard in the warehouse facility.”
Grace’s mouth fell open, and she shook her head. “No, you must be mistaken! They wouldn’t have …”
Her voice trailed off as she noticed the side arms strapped to the hips of ea
ch guard, and then she understood. She had no trouble believing there’d been an incident, after all she’d seen the men leave with an intent to cause one.
“I’m afraid I have to ask you to come with me, ma’am,” Simon said. “You and your companions, children included.”
Grace narrowed her eyes. “To where?”
“My instructions are to escort you to the warehouse where you’ll be held pending further investigation.”
Grace crossed her arms over her chest, eyes still narrowed.
“This is outrageous. We have done nothing wrong. This is our colony. You have no jurisdiction here!”
Simon pulled at one ear, looking uncomfortable. “I have my orders, ma’am. I’m afraid I must insist.”
Grace looked from their guns to their faces. None of them wanted to meet her eyes. Although they seemed as unhappy as she was, she knew they would follow their orders. Edward had brought them here for that reason, after all, although what influence he had over them now she didn’t know. Perhaps he’d promised to make them all rich when they returned to Earth? She didn’t rate their chances of being paid, if Earth lay in ruins.
“I’ll talk to the others,” she said, and closed the door.
It took another half an hour for everyone to agree and organize themselves. If the guards objected to them taking food and clothes for the children, they said nothing about it. Grace had been sure they wouldn’t. She fancied herself a good judge of character, and it seemed to her that Simon, and by extension his companions, were decent men. After all, they turned against Jake and Roberto to save Sabine.
She tried to engage him in conversation on the way to the warehouse, but he wasn’t willing. He seemed embarrassed by the whole incident, and maintained silence the entire time, other than to respond to her questions with one-word answers.
The warehouse formed part of their small collection of industrial buildings, and comprised a set of large rooms where they stored harvested food, machinery and other materials a colony needed for day-to-day survival.
The men had been put into the room where they kept unused farm machinery. Jake and Roberto kept watch in front of the door, pistols in hand.
The Seasoning Page 14