Markuz

by Zora Jorel

  The bastard had something to do with the blademaiden’s betrayal.

  “I can’t go back to your planet. I can’t just take off on my uncle and my sisters like this,” I whisper to Markuz in desperation, as we walk to his ship. There’s no getting away from the droid, and I’m losing my mind with each and every step.

  “Do you trust me, Brea?”

  “Of course.”

  He doesn’t respond, and a sinking feeling floods my heart.

  We’re on the bridge when he gives me a silent nod. With speed I didn’t think possible, Markuz grabs a wrench-like tool and sticks it in the space between X56’s neck and shoulder-plate.

  “Hurry!” Markuz says, wrestling with the droid.”I’ve disabled his communications unit. But I can’t hold it off long. Run!”

  My first and only instinct is to stay with him and fight. “I can’t leave you!”

  “Grev will kill us before we ever make it out of this solar system. Go! We’ll see each other again. Move it!”

  His words are direct. Strained. There’s a sickening crack as the droid sends a foot to Markuz’s side.

  He asked me to trust him. I will.

  I take one last look back. I read his bloody lips: I will meet you by the remon tree, where spirits say goodbye…

  With all the speed I can muster, I make my way to the exit. Thankfully, the force field is down. I run outside, hiding in a nearby alley across the street, hoping that Grev doesn’t notice my escape from his ship.

  “C’mon, Markuz. What are you waiting for?”

  I expect to see him at any moment, hurt but triumphant, ready to go on the run with me.

  Instead, all I see is fire.

  The air sizzles, and I’m blown back a good fifteen feet. When I’m able to gather myself, I look to where the warehouse once stood.

  There’s nothing but rubble and smoke.

  “Markuz…”

  9

  It’s not possible.

  Despite the fire and heat, the air sends chills down my spine. I stand in the alley, watching as a crowd gathers.

  Disbelieving.

  Emergency services arrive to secure the scene. There’s no sign of life from the warehouse.

  He’s…gone. Really gone.

  I clench my aching right hand. Here’s hoping the burn isn’t too severe. When I look at it, though, there’s no burn at all. It’s all in my head, like the stink of blackened biscuits and a mother’s hatred.

  No! Stop it, Brea. I refuse to accept this. There’s no way that Markuz is really dead.

  I can’t stay here. I should be getting checked for real injuries, but my pain doesn’t matter now.

  Eyes stinging, my heart heavy, I force my feet to move.

  Escape. I have to get away. There’s no way of knowing whether Grev’s cloaked transport was damaged, and if not, if it’s still in the atmosphere. Looking for me. Waiting.

  Markuz made the ultimate sacrifice to give me this opportunity. It won’t go to waste.

  I remain as nondescript as possible as I make my way across the city. Scenery and sound merge into an abstract tapestry. Every step is a slog, but I let my legs lead me onwards to a small, nicely hedged home. I knock on the door.

  Uncle Tee opens it. He looks tired, the bags under his eyes a dark brown. I’ve never seen him with so much gray in his hair. He mouth is half-open in surprise.

  “Hey, Nunc. I know I’m not the person you wanted to see right now, but I just wanted to let you know that I think I can help Trey. I’m pretty sure it was Zack who killed Tenna because I looked at the scene like you taught me,” I say, rambling and fiddling with my hands, not able to meet his eyes.

  “Brea…”

  “See, it was a little broken pregnant figurine broken on the floor that I know had to have been bought with cash, but Tenna didn’t have any, and Trey didn’t, but Zack loves to carry old cash, and I’ll bet anything he and Tenna were seeing each other behind Trey’s back and that’s why he wouldn’t corroborate Trey’s alibi.” My words blur the way the world has since the warehouse exploded.

  “Baby girl, slow down…”

  “And I promise I’ll make Harvey look into it and we’ll get Trey out, but I just need you to stop being mad at me because right now I have no one else. Please.”

  My uncle embraces me in a hug, letting me collapse into him.

  “You silly girl, I was never mad at you. You should’ve given me a chance to explain at your Mama’s. Where the hell have you been? I’ve been so damn worried.” He kisses my forehead. “You just disappeared. I got your whole precinct looking for you. I thought you’d ran away like you were little and did something stupid.”

  “Oh, Nunc, I think I did. I fell in love and now he’s gone. I’ve tried to hold it together like you taught me, but I can’t any more. I just want to cry.”

  Tee pulls me inside and closes the door. “Then you cry as much as you need. I’ll be right here with you.”

  Uncle Tee lets me sit in his old, taped up recliner, my favorite chair in the whole wide world. I sip his special ‘big girl’ cider, and tell him everything—Markuz, my feelings towards Mama, Kulan, Grev, the explosion, that day in Brazil. It all pours out, a stopper being pulled after decades of clog.

  “And he was a good guy? These the same people who invaded Earth, right?” Tee asks skeptically, rubbing his course gray beard.

  “The best. I know how crazy it sounds, but I think the alien invasion was a little more complicated than it seems. Now that I got these memories, nothing about that seems black and white anymore.”

  “And you really think he’s alive?”

  The hole in my heart is as deep as a gulf. I lean over my cup, hands numb. “He has to be,” I whisper.

  Tee kneels and cradles my face, and just like that I feel safe, like I’m that little girl the night Mama made me reach into a hot stove. “You know, your mother wasn’t always the messed up woman you remember. When your father was alive, she fought her demons every single day. It wasn’t easy. But when he died, a lot of the fight left her. She didn’t know how to fight for the prize that was right in front of her.”

  The words hit me hard. I barely remember my father, but I do the sadness in Mama when he died.

  “But what you don’t know is that she learned how to fight again when she saw what kind of a woman you became. You inspired her. She was so proud of you. If you love this Markuz guy, and you think he’s still alive, then for once be like your mother. Fight.”

  Fight. Fight. That’s when I remember the last words Markuz whispered: I will meet you by the remon tree, where spirits say goodbye…

  A smile creeps on my face. Of course! I hug and kiss Tee. “You always know what to say, Nunc.”

  “I got my moments.”

  Markuz is alive. I know it. And he needs my help as much as I need his.

  I take a deep breath and get ready to go.

  “I’m going to fix this. All of it.”

  Before I leave, Tee stops me. “Brea, I don’t know if this is important, but Harvey came by looking for you. There was this mean-looking broad with him. Looked military. Low-cut hair, blond, nice ass.”

  Cat Wilkinson. Great. “You forgot psycho. But thanks for the heads up. Can I take your phone?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “And your truck? Please?”

  Tee grumbles, but smirks. He throws me his uLink and wishes me good luck. I grab his keys and leave through the back door. I know exactly who I need to call.

  “Hey little sis. I’m gonna need a huge favor.”

  “Is it possible you’ve gotten even shorter, Bean?”

  Cora looks up, her light-brown freckled nose twinkling the way it always does when I interrupt her thoughts. She rushes to me like a little girl and gives me the biggest hug.

  “Thanks for meeting me here.”

  “Where the hell have you been?”

  I laugh. Any curse word, even a minor one, sounds out of place coming from her. “It’s a long story
.”

  “Then get to telling.” She pulls back and goes into a schoolmarm pose, hands on hip. Her hair is longer than it was when we were in the field, with bangs reaching her jawline, but one thing that’s the same is those mousy glasses. The moment I met her, I knew I’d have to look out for her like a little sister. “I mean, first Ada, and then you. Daddy’s been on red alert, thinking someone’s out to get the old 21st.”

  “Tell the colonel I’m fine, and I’m sure Ada is too.”

  “I don’t feel right not telling him about Ada and her…y’know…alien boyfriend,” she whispers the last part, glancing around as if we’re in a spy movie. “You know he dispatched Wilkinson to track you guys, right?”

  I don’t have the heart to tell her about Markuz just yet. “Yeah, I heard. Which kinda ties in to why I asked you here. Did you bring it?”

  Cora looks at me curiously as she reaches into her handbag and takes out a small tablet. “I programmed it the way you asked me to. It’ll also send out a hella loud alien signal.”

  “Good. The louder the better. I want to be tracked.”

  I can tell she wants to ask, but I’m glad she doesn’t.

  “Well, I didn’t have a chance to test the other thing you needed it to do, so I don’t know if it’ll work.”

  “If you put it together, I’m sure it’ll work.”

  Cora rolls her eyes and looks down. Always underestimating herself and her abilities. I lift her chin with my finger. “Hey, I trust you with my life. Never forget how awesome you are.”

  A look of fear spreads across her face. “This sounds an awful lot like a goodbye. I’m not liking this, Rock.”

  I pull her into another hug. “If everything goes right, I’ll be away for a while. But this isn’t goodbye. I promise you. Okay, Bean? I’ll send you a message when it’s over explaining as much as I can.”

  She adjusts her glasses and nods, her eyes a bit sad. “You’d better. Don’t treat me like a kid.”

  I raise my right hand. “Promise. You’d better get going. I have business to take care of.”

  She gives me a soft punch on the shoulder and walks away.

  “Wait, Bean. One thing.”

  “What?”

  “Did your father ever mention anything about a second set of aliens from Brazil?”

  Her reaction is pure confusion. “No. Are you saying…”

  “Don’t worry about it. Bye, girl,” I wave her away, willing to let the fate of the blademaidens be a mystery for another day.

  I look up at the brownstone and take a deep breath. Here we go.

  Kinda surprised the spare key still works. Inside, the smell of rosewood meets my nose. I never realized how much I hated that scent until now.

  It’s after hours, when normal people would be relaxing and unwinding, so of course I find Harvey in his study.

  He looks up, shocked.

  “Glad to see you’ve been burning rubber trying to find me.”

  “B, I’ve been worried sick—”

  “Cut the crap, Harvey,” I say, keeping him at arm’s length. “I meant what I said before about us being over. I’m here for business.”

  Harvey’s taken aback by my sudden backbone. He raises his hands in surrender, humoring me. “Babe, are you still mad about before in the limo? You have to realize that a man in my position has to show a little self-control.”

  I’m surprised my optic nerves don’t snap from how hard my eyes roll. “What I realize is that you never really wanted me. You used me to get ahead. It’s fine, I was using you too, in my own way. But I don’t care about being a Detective anymore. I’ve already called my lieutenant to let her know I won’t be coming back.”

  “Have you lost your mind? You’re going to throw away your career, just like that?” he asks, incredulous.

  “Yes. I’m not like you. I practically sold my soul to help you charge Trey. But there’s more to life than reputation and getting ahead. Things you’re not capable of understanding. I need to be able to look at myself in the mirror.”

  Derisively, he laughs. “Well I hope your reflection is a hell of motivational speaker when you’re just a nobody wondering what could have been. If you’re finished, you can go. I got actual work to do.”

  I plant myself firmly in the seat opposite his desk. “I’m not going anywhere. Like I said: business. I made another call to the precinct too. To the coroner’s office. Uncle Tee still has a few friends there.”

  A few days ago, I’d never have been able to bluff like this. Now, I have nothing to lose, a fact I’m sure Harvey senses. He sits, grinding his teeth side to side. “You didn’t.”

  “If anyone found out that you ordered him to suppress that kind of information about Tenna Cotton’s autopsy, your career would be ruined.”

  He leans back, hatred in his eyes. “You think just because she was pregnant, that means anything?”

  I can’t believe it. I was right. “Did you at least run a PAT test? If Trey’s not the father…”

  “All of the relevant evidence points to your thug of a cousin. Even if he’s not the father, who cares? She’s just another little hood tramp like all the people from your neighborhood. There’s no telling who she was sleeping with.”

  Control yourself, Brea. I curl my nails into my palm to keep from cold cocking him. “Zack Evans. Run the test on him. I sent you a file with the name of a store that sells the figurines in Tenna’s apartment. I’ll bet you the owner ID’s Zack and the old cash he used.”

  He sneers, shaking his head. “I knew you were desperate to help your family, but do you really think I believe that?”

  I stand. “I don’t care what you think, but I know Trey didn’t kill that girl. And you’re going to do everything in your power to make sure he’s not convicted. Or my Uncle and his friends will drag the coroner to your boss’s office and make him sing.”

  For the first time in our relationship, Harvey’s looking up at me. His nostrils flare, and I can practically feel the heat oozing from him.

  I give him my most plastic smile. “But don’t worry, Harvey. I have something to sweeten the deal. I know you’ve been talking to Cat Wilkinson from the EEF. You want to make a name for yourself and get in good with them? You call her in five minutes and give her the coordinates I’m about to write down. Tell her to be there and bring the big guns. Do that, and the next thing you know, you might have a job at the State department. Do we have a deal?”

  Harvey bites his lips, salivating at the opportunity. He shakes my hand, and I write down the coordinates.

  Before I leave, I lean over him, my face close to his. I want him to smell the cider on my breath. “You’re a lot of things, but a deal-breaker isn’t one of them. If I come back and Trey isn’t free, you’re going to have a very big problem.”

  The look in my eyes must be telling a horror story, because he gulps and nods.

  I leave the brownstone, my heart thrumming, but I feel freer than I have my whole life. My right hand clenches in triumph, the burning pain long gone.

  Only one thing left to do. Only one person left to find.

  Markuz.

  You better not have died on me.

  10

  Brea Stone, you are mine, and I will find you once again. Nothing—not an explosion, not Grev, not potential exposure to a world full of Earthan eyes—will stand in my way.

  The pain in my side is severe, enough to force me to gag from breathing too deep. Rutting droid got me good, but as Earthans say, I got the last laugh.

  Self-destructing my ship was not my finest idea, but choices were limited. My hope, however small, was for Grev to see it as a core malfunction and think both me and Brea dead. The plan was to disable the droid, get into an exo-suit, ignite the ship, and escape through the warehouse sub-level. The first part went perfectly, until the infernal droid decided not to die as fast as I needed. It tore the leg of my exo-suit before I could engage the self-destruct.

  Thankfully, the explosion ended the infernal th
ing’s miserable existence. But even my enhanced Duqaanian physiology wasn’t enough to protect me from the effects of an unprotected blast. My right thigh needs immediate care for the burn.

  And to make matters worse, my perception filter is on its last legs. As I limp past the occasional Earthan, the stares and gasps alert me to the fact that I’m exposed. Vulnerable. I’m sure to be reported and tracked, by Grev or Earthan authorities.

  It matters not. I’ve come too far, and I made Brea a promise we would see each other again. This will happen, even it takes my dying breath.

  I make my way through the park my wrist-comm has guided me to. It’s the only one on the city’s outskirts, so this must the place.

  “Why are there so many rutting willow trees on this damn planet?” I yell, sending the few humans in the area into panic.

  I should’ve known things would not be so easy. My ribcage screams, siphoning my willpower with each beat of my aching heart.

  Sit, Markuz. Just for a moment.

  It’s so beautiful here. The rich spread of green and yellow hues from flora is poetic. A clear lake in the distance is the most perfect shade of blue I’ve ever seen. If I must die, then here is a good place, near the spot of my jenu’s most fond memory.

  “Hey, mister. You alright?” A child of no more than ten macrocycles timidly approaches. He’s no older, no larger, than I when I first walked up the Protectorate steps, hungry and cold.

  “Why yes, pard-ner, I believe I am,” I say, smiling. I just need to close my eyes.

  “Markuz!” Brea’s voice brings me out of my malaise. She’s in the distance, a hill over. With what strength I can muster, I stand for her, my soul suddenly fulfilled.

  Then all hells break loose.

  Dirt and rock explode into the air between us as blaster fire rains from above.

  “Brea!” I yell, cradling the young boy to protect him. My thoughts go haywire when I lose sight of her, my vision clouded by the debris and chaos.

  Above, Grev’s transport uncloaks, its dark underside a foreboding sight.