by Nina Croft
Again, she was silent for a little while. “Your captain will agree to that?”
“He will.” Maybe. Who knew with Rico? But he couldn’t come up with anything better right now.
“I’ll want confirmation from him.”
“Well, I’m having a little trouble contacting him right now due to the fact that your boss blew up my shuttle.”
“Then meet me at the Trakis Four. There’s a conference room on the second level, room 206—it has a long-distance link.”
And the comm went dead.
He could very well be walking into a trap. But he didn’t think so. He suspected that everything Dr. Yang had done had been about her family. Probably Kinross had bought her loyalty with promises that she would be reunited with them. Promises he couldn’t keep because her family was dead. Maybe she was getting suspicious. She’d likely had more than a glance into what sort of man Kinross was.
There was a risk, but he wanted to do this for Destiny.
Dr. Yang knew all the answers. She knew who Destiny was and what she would be walking into if she went back. Or maybe he just wanted to find the truth and it would convince her there was no reason to return. That she wasn’t the savior of humanity. That she could come with them to Trakis Two without fear that she had condemned the human race to…what?
Total annihilation?
He had no clue.
He’d racked his brain for an answer as to why she was important to them and still came up blank.
A part of him suspected that he didn’t have to do this, that if he told Destiny he loved her, that he needed her far more than the nameless hordes of humanity, then she would come with him and give him her loyalty.
But he wasn’t sure. And he was scared. That once again he would give his heart and end up with nothing in return. Less than nothing.
Dammit, was it so much to ask just to come first for once?
Obviously.
He paused at the edge of the trees. The same place they had watched the shuttle from yesterday. The remains were still smoldering. He searched the area but could see nothing to indicate anyone was paying attention. Off toward the lake, the bare bones of the new Church were visible, the central tower reaching into the sky, the army of workers scurrying around under the watchful eyes of Kinross’s mercenaries. Children laboring, urged on by men with guns.
He watched for another few minutes, and then made his way across the open space in front of the Trakis Four. The skin of his back prickled, and he expected at any moment to hear a warning call, or more likely a bullet in the back with no warning. After all, they hadn’t given any warning before they had blown the shuttle. Rico must have really pissed them off.
But nothing and no one stopped him, and some of the tension lessened as he reached the top of the ramp and entered the dim light of the ship. The cavernous docking bay was empty now and deserted of people. He crossed the room; the double doors were open, and he paused for a moment in the corridor. He had no clue of the layout of the ships. She’d said the second level, but he had no idea which level he was on now. He looked around, saw nothing of any help, and started walking. Eventually he came to a junction; there was a picture of a ramp on the right hand turning and he decided that was his best bet. He strode down the ramp, and at the bottom was a sign on the wall with a number: 1. So he kept going up. The next was: 2 and he headed off down the corridor reading the room numbers.
He stopped outside room 206. The door was open.
Inside, Dr. Yang sat in a chair opposite the open doorway, her hands clasped on her lap, her eyes darting from side to side.
As he stepped into the room, her gaze fixed on him, then behind him. “Where is Destiny?” she asked.
“Safe.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. “I never wanted any of this.”
Any of what? Time to find out. “She wants to come back. You won her over with the I love you crap.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “I do care about her.”
“You care about your family more.”
She got to her feet and turned away, her hands wrapped around her middle. When she turned back, the expression was gone from her face. “You said you wanted information. What do you want to know?”
“Destiny believes she has an important role to play. I want to know what it is.”
She pursed her lips. Then her glance shifted to the doorway. “I want proof first that your captain will give me sanctuary if I go against Kinross.”
He had the impression that she was buying time. It occurred to him that he should get out of there fast, but he suspected he was already too late. So at least he could try and learn something.
For a second, he considered magicking them both out of there. But he really didn’t have much faith in his ability to get them anywhere in one piece from inside a spaceship. Technology would have a peculiar effect on his magic. God knows where they might end up.
His ears pricked as he heard footsteps running down the corridor. He looked at Yang and she gave a helpless shrug. “I’m sorry.”
He forced his muscles to unwind. “Just tell me. Who is she? Why is she so important?”
She gave a little shake of her head, then soldiers appeared in the doorway, in full combat gear, guns drawn.
Ten of them. Seemed a little like overkill. He stood relaxed, his focus on the man at the center. Beneath the helmet and face mask he recognized Silas Wynch.
He turned back to Yang. “If they kill me, you’ll never find Destiny.” He waited, every muscle tense. If he needed to, he would vanish. To hell with the risk. To hell with giving himself away. He started the incantation in his mind, and his hand reached for the wand tucked in his belt.
“Don’t shoot him,” she said.
Her eyes flicked to the left. A second later, something hit him in the upper arm. He glanced sideways; some sort of dart stuck out of his shoulder. And then everything went black.
Chapter Thirty-Four
“So he went down, smiling skeptically and muttering the final word in human wisdom: ‘Perhaps!’”
—Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
His head hurt.
Again.
Milo groaned. He tried to reach up to rub the bit that hurt, except he couldn’t because his hands were tied to the chair he was sitting in.
Where was he?
What the hell had happened?
It came back to him slowly.
He’d totally misjudged the situation with Yang. What a bitch. At least he wasn’t dead. How long had he been out? And what happened now?
The room was in darkness. He was on some sort of hard, upright chair, his arms tied to the armrests, his ankles fastened to the legs, everything held firmly in place.
He relaxed for a moment. They weren’t going to kill him, not until they knew where Destiny was. He had time. Maybe he could make some sort of bargain. But with what? He had nothing to give them but Destiny, and that wasn’t happening. He was becoming more and more convinced that whatever her role was, it wasn’t good. Not for Destiny at least. Otherwise, why not just tell her?
The light flicked on. He was in a windowless room, empty but for his chair and a screen on the far wall. It flashed to life and at the same time, the door opened. Kinross entered, with Silas at his shoulder, Dr. Yang behind them.
Kinross came to a halt in front of Milo. He had Milo’s wand in his hand, and he tapped it against his thigh as he stared down. “What are you?” Kinross asked, eying him up. “Some sort of…wizard?”
Crap. Rico was going to be pissed.
“What are you?” he countered. “Totally deluded?”
Kinross didn’t answer. He pursed his lips. “We’ll get Dr. Yang to do some testing on you. She’s an expert in genetics. We’ll see just how human you are. We’ll take you apart. Find out what makes you tick. Firs
t, we need some information. Where is the woman?”
“Which woman?”
Kinross nodded to Silas, and he stepped forward and swung his fist. It crashed into Milo’s nose with a crunch of bone, and blood flooded his mouth. He swallowed and shook his head, spraying blood across Kinross’s white shirt.
It was going to be a long night.
…
Something awoke her. Destiny had been sleeping, her cheek resting on her arms on the console in front of her. Now she lifted her head and looked toward the door, heart leaping. Was Milo back? He’d said it wasn’t dangerous, and she didn’t think Dr. Yang would do anything to him, but all the same she was worried.
Dylan stood in the doorway. His jaw was tense. “They have Milo.”
She jumped to her feet. “What? Who has Milo?”
“I saw them carrying him off the Trakis Four. Your friend, Silas, and your really good friend, Dr. Yang.”
“Carrying him?” Her mind went momentarily blank. She swallowed as fear swamped her. She forced herself to ask, “Is he dead?”
“I don’t think so, but he was definitely unconscious. What the hell was he doing?”
She ran a hand through her hair, forcing her brain past the fear that paralyzed it. “He went to talk to Dr. Yang.”
Dylan rolled his eyes. “Why? We had a plan. Reconnoiter the other shuttles, find a way to neutralize the nukes, and get the hell off this shithole planet.”
She bit her lip until she tasted the sharp metallic tang of her own blood. “He went to ask her about me. About who I am and what I’m supposed to do.”
“Does it matter what you’re supposed to do? Can’t you just decide for yourself? Bloody hell. Rico is going to be seriously pissed.” He turned away, ran a hand through his hair, growled.
“How do we get him back?” she asked, and her voice sounded small and scared.
“Shit, I don’t know. They were taking him to Camelot. The place is a fortress and guarded by an army. This is not good.” He took a deep breath and smiled. “Well, panicking isn’t going to help. We need a new plan.”
Off to the side, a light flashed. The comm unit. She hurried over. Could it be Milo? Had he gotten away? She swiped her hand over the controls and the screen flashed to life. Rico stood there. “I thought we had a fucking plan,” he snarled.
“Have you heard from Milo?” Destiny asked.
His eyes narrowed on her. “You are trouble,” he said. “I’m thinking more trouble than you can possibly be worth. But then it appears you’re worth quite a lot.” He blew out his breath and scowled. “I just had that tosser Kinross on the comm. He’s got Milo.”
She swallowed. “Is he okay?”
“Not really. Want a look?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. The screen flashed blank then a new image emerged. A dimly lit room, a chair in the center, a man tied to the chair. She gasped. His head flopped forward so she couldn’t make out his features, but then his face lolled to the side, a mask of crimson. His gray T-shirt was dark with blood. His eyes were swollen shut.
“What have they done to him?” she asked. This was her fault. He’d gone back for her, and now he was a prisoner and they were torturing him. Had Dr. Yang betrayed him? She reached out a hand as though she could touch him, and the image vanished, replaced by Rico scowling.
“Nothing too drastic,” he said. “Just beaten him up a little. He’ll live. Or he will if we get him out of there.”
“We have to get him out. We will, won’t we?”
“What do they want?” Dylan asked. “I presume they want something.”
“They’ll swap Milo for the woman.” He turned his attention to Destiny and studied her. “For some reason, they really want you back. I’m just trying to find out why.”
“Join the club,” Dylan muttered.
“That’s why Milo went to talk to Dr. Yang,” she said. “He was going to offer her information about her family in exchange for information about who I was, what they want from me.” She blinked, her eyes pricking. “This is my fault, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” Rico snapped. “And if we don’t do the swap, they’ll kill Milo and then nuke Trakis Two.”
She had to save Milo. “I’ll give myself up. I was going back anyway. I was always going back.” But she didn’t want to. And now the last of her loyalty to Dr. Yang drained away. Nothing justified torture. Everything was messed up and she was going to lose Milo. But she’d be damned if he was going to die because of her. She would save him.
“Very noble of you,” Rico said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be that easy. I don’t trust that bastard Kinross not to keep Milo anyway and use him as a hostage against us, and that’s not happening. He also hinted that he knew more about us than he was letting on. Which is bad news. For him.”
“I’m going to rip his fucking head off,” Dylan growled.
“Get in line.”
“So what do we do?” Destiny said. “How do we get him back? We have to save him. He’s hurt.”
“Aw, she actually cares.”
She glared at the screen. “Of course I care. Don’t you?”
He pursed his lips. “I care. But if we want to get him out, we need to keep emotions out of this. And your boyfriend’s tough. He’s not going to die from a beating.”
But she couldn’t bear to think about him hurting. Alone, believing no one was coming to help him. She took a deep breath. Rico was right; she had to focus. They’d already proved they were treacherous. If she just gave herself up, then there was no guarantee they would let Milo go.
She could contact Dr. Yang and tell her that she would come back but only if Milo was released. How could she force them to do that?
Could she threaten to kill herself, hold a pistol to her head until Milo was away? But would they believe her? Would she actually do it? There had to be a better way. Think!
“We arrange to meet them in the forest,” she said. “Dylan can hide somewhere close by. He keeps a weapon trained on me. One of those with the red dots, and he tells them he’ll shoot me if they make a move against Milo.”
“Might work,” Rico said. “If you set it up right. And select the right location. But are you really ready to give yourself up to them?”
“Dr. Yang won’t hurt me.” But did she really believe that?
“Milo will be pissed,” Dylan said.
Would he? Did he care?
She hoped so. And she believed so. Not least because he would hopefully not let them nuke the whole planet if Destiny was still here. She could do that for humanity if nothing else.
“I’ll contact Dr. Yang,” she said.
“I’ll start scoping out possible sites,” Dylan added.
Rico grinned. “At least it’s not boring. I’m on my way. See you soon, children.”
Beside her, Dylan blew out his breath. “The shit is about to hit the fan. Kinross doesn’t know what’s heading his way.”
“Neither do I,” Destiny said. “Should I be worried?”
The glance he gave her held more than a hint of pity. “Hell, yes.”
…
The metallic stench of blood hung on the air.
Keeping her mind as blank as she could, Elvira checked Milo’s vital statistics. His head hung to his chest, but his pulse was strong, heartbeat and blood pressure normal. It was unbelievable considering…
As soon as she could, Elvira tuned away from the unconscious man and retreated to the far corner of the room. She wanted away from this place so much it was a physical pain in her chest. But Luther had ordered her to stay—probably because he could see how badly she wanted out. He had a cruel streak and an eye for a person’s weakness.
“He’s not going to break,” Silas said, his tone reasonable.
“Everyone breaks,” Luther snapped. “You just haven’t found his weakness yet
.”
Silas shook his head. “Some people just get more stubborn. We’ll lose him if we push much harder.” He gave a shrug. “Maybe that doesn’t matter. You were willing to blow him up in the shuttle.”
“That was before we knew he had the woman.” Luther jumped to his feet and paced the room. “Do whatever you need but break him.”
Luther’s color was high. He needed to sit down, relax. Right now, he was stable, but Elvira had no clue how long that would last.
The sick feeling in her stomach was a constant companion. She had no doubt that he’d told the truth—she’d seen enough evidence that his influence extended far beyond Trakis Four—and if he died, then her daughters were as good as dead as well. When Milo had contacted her, she’d considered going along with him, giving him what he wanted, but not for long. She didn’t believe he could keep her family safe from Luther. She just couldn’t risk it.
Her only hope was to find Destiny. At least now, they knew she was still alive. Or had been yesterday. How had she ended up wherever it was she was hiding? In the company of the representatives from Trakis Two, who as far as she was aware, Destiny had never even spoken to. Her mind flashed back to that morning Destiny had gone out with Silas. They’d encountered Milo. Had there been a connection?
They had people and drones searching the forests on the other side of the lake, but so far there was no sign of either Destiny or the other representative from Trakis Two.
And Milo hadn’t spoken. Despite what they had done to him.
She’d known Luther was ruthless, but she could have done without seeing the evidence for herself. She wasn’t sure how Milo had survived this long.
“Wake him up,” Luther said, and she realized he was talking to her.
Her heart sank and she swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth. “It’s dangerous. I don’t think he—”
“I don’t care what you think. Wake him up.”
Her hands trembled as she filled the syringe. Just get through this, and she could put it all behind her. Once her daughters were with her safe, she could forget the things she had done to get them there. They were innocent and they were worth it. But a little voice whispered that maybe nothing was worth this, and while she had no religious beliefs, she suspected that if she had a soul, it was damned.