Betrothed Episode One (12 page)

I
brought two fingers up and pressed them into my brow.

It would
have been so easy to dismiss this woman.

Easy,
that is, if it weren’t for Illuminate Hart’s witness
report.

He’d
seen her in the betrothal office, and what’s more, he’d seen her
contract. He wouldn’t have been able to read her name off it;
contracts contained long strings of gibberish that only meant
something when you took it to the Identity Office. Still, she would
only have been handed one if she were betrothed.

He was
quite possibly the only person who could corroborate her story –
especially now F’xial was dead.

When it
came to witness reports, there was none more trustworthy than an
Illuminate’s. Hart would have no reason to lie, so I had to count
on the fact that this earthling – whoever she was – was
betrothed.

And
someone had gone to great lengths to hide that.

I
pressed my two fingers even harder into my brow, not pulling back
until I felt a stab of pain flash down my temple.

“
At first it was pretty hard,” she stuttered as she spoke,
twiddling her thumbs faster and faster, “the future is … different
to the past.”

It was
an obvious statement, but that would be denying the emotional
import it had for the earthling. Her face stiffened as she spoke,
her eyebrows peaking and her lips wobbling.

I had a
great deal of compassion for newfound ones. Especially those who
were centuries old. This universe seemed to change every day, and
it was hard to keep up with. It would be impossible for someone
from that far into the past. “But Mark was there, and he helped.”
Her moves became almost frantic now, her thumbs jamming into each
other as she twisted them around and around.

I leaned
back and I frowned. “Lieutenant Mark Havelock? The man you were
with outside that bar?”

She nodded. Her expression changed. It got a terrified edge,
those expressive eyes flashing with fear. “Do you … you,” she
pressed her lips closed and swallowed harshly, “do you know where
he is?”

I lifted
an eyebrow. “I have no idea. He’s not under my command. I assumed
he was visiting Cluster as part of a patrol. But hold on.” I
quickly accessed my computer and found the information I needed.
“According to this, he left a week ago.”

I
watched her blink. It was as if every muscle in her face was
recruited to perform the action. Her lips shuddered open. “What? I
don’t understand. Where did he go?”

“
Off world. As far as I know, he’s currently in the Scorpion
cluster.”

She
looked terrified.

“
I assure you, I can help you. You might feel more comfortable
with Mark, but you can rely on the rest of us.”

Her
terror didn’t shift. In fact, it became sharper, like a piercing
cry. “I saw him this morning.”

My brow
crumpled. “That’s impossible.”

She
shook her head, the move frantic, her hair trailing over her
shoulders and bunching around her cheeks like a frame for those
wide open expressive eyes. “No, no,” she said in a firm tone, her
hands coming to rest as she clutched them until her white knuckles
pressed against her flesh. “I saw him this morning. I’ve seen him
all week. He’s the one who took me to that strange
hospital.”

“
Strange hospital?”

“
The place I’ve been trapped in for the past week. It was
underground, in some kind of basement level. There was a city
there.” She brought a hand up and pressed it flat into her
brow.

It would
have been easy, so damn easy to dismiss what she was saying. In
fact, that’s what my gut told me to do.

So why
was I leaning forward, clamping my hands on the desk, and looking
at her with worried interest.

“
I don’t know what’s going on.” She pushed her fingers through
her hair, but they got stuck.

“
You’re just confused,” I defaulted to saying.

It was a
mistake.

I
watched her shut down. Suspicion flared in her gaze.

I
realized people had been telling this woman she was confused for
the past week.

I
shifted back in my chair and brought up a hand in a surrendering
motion. “That’s not what I mean. Just take a breath, clear your
mind, and continue your story.”

She
reacted badly on the word story.

I
watched her sit even further forward on her chair, until she was
balanced on the very edge of it. She pressed her lips together and
darted her gaze to the left, until she focused on some patch of the
wall. “What’s the point? You don’t believe me. Nobody believes
me.”

“
Miranda, I know this has been … a trying time for you, but
please trust us.”

“
That’s what Mark was saying. Trust me.” She spoke with stiff
movements of her lips. “And my name is not Miranda. It’s Anna, Anna
Carter.”

She
wouldn’t look at me.

It gave
me the opportunity to stare at her unashamedly as I tried to assess
her expression for any hint of manipulation.

She
didn’t look like she was acting, but she had to be.

She was
not Anna Carter.

Anna
Carter was now one of the most important people in the universe. As
Illuminate Hart’s betrothed, she had to be protected above all
others.

And
vetted. God knows she would have been vetted. The betrothed of an
Illuminate is not picked up off the street. Every detail of their
lives is checked and rechecked.

A
mistake cannot be made.

The
woman before me could not be Anna Carter.

So why
did she think she was?

I leaned
back in my chair and crossed my arms.

It was a
defensive move, and though she was focusing her attention on the
wall, her gaze twitched towards me.

“
You need to start telling the truth,” I said.

“
Really? Wouldn’t it be more convenient if I just started
lying and agreeing with the story someone’s concocted for me?” Her
voice broke with bitter emotion.

“
It’s an offence,” I began, “to knowingly divulge untruthful
information to a member of the Foundation Forces.”

She
pressed her lips into a bitter line and didn’t look my way. “I hate
this universe,” she said under her breath.

My
expression became stony. My gut reaction was to snap at her that
she was ungrateful. This universe – this future – had woken her up
and given her everything she now had.

But I
had not become a captain by going with my gut reaction.

I was a
man of reason, not passion.

So I shifted forward. “I don’t know what’s going on. And I
can appreciate that this is an extremely hard time for you. I don’t
want to put you off side, and I
apologize
if I have. But please,
tell me everything that happened to you. I can’t promise to believe
you without evidence, but I can promise that if you disclose your
story, I will look for evidence.”

Slowly
she pulled her gaze from the wall and walked her eyes towards me.
It was as if she was waiting for me to lurch forward and snap at
her.

When I
didn’t, I watched her take a small shallow breath.
“Okay.”

I
nodded. “Perhaps you can start by telling me where your betrothal
papers are? If we can find them, then we can go to the Contracts
Office and verify your identity. Your true identity,” I emphasized
to bring her onside.

“
I can’t.”

“
Why not?”

“
Mark has my betrothal papers. I gave them to him. He said he
was going to look into it for me. When I found out I was betrothed
I,” she shuddered, “I was terrified. I didn’t understand how
something like that can happen in the future. I didn’t want to be
betrothed. Mark said he could look into it for me, so I gave him
the papers.”

I didn’t
say a word. I watched her. In fact, I recruited every one of my
skills as I stared at her face and noted every micro
movement.

Was she
lying?

It simply didn’t look like it.

“
It is an offence to give your betrothal papers to somebody
else,” I said quietly. Before she could withdraw I added, “did you
know that?” in a kind tone.

She
shook her head.

“
Did Mark tell you that?”

She shook her head again. Then she shot me a terrified look.
“Mark is … my friend. I don’t want him to get in trouble for this,”
even as she spoke, I could tell she wasn’t sure of what she was
saying. A great deal of confusion was flickering behind her large,
saucer like eyes.

I didn’t
say anything. “What did Mark promise to do exactly?”

“
He promised to make it all go away.”

Again, I
didn’t say anything.

“
He’s my friend,” she added suddenly in a conflicted
tone.

“
You said you’ve seen him in the past week. What was he
doing?”

“
Checking up on me. Like the doctors. It was like,” she
started to tap her foot against her chair leg, “I don’t know, they
were waiting for something.”

“
What do you mean?”

She
shrugged her shoulders. The move was quick, and it was clear she
was growing more emotionally fragile by the second. She jammed a
well chewed nail into her mouth. “I’ve been getting headaches,” she
admitted in the quietest tone possible, her gaze quickly darting
from me then down to her feet.

There
was a lie.

Or if
not a lie, then only a partial truth.

She was
clearly holding something back.

She
started to tap her foot against her chair leg faster and faster,
until it sounded like footsteps running towards me.

“
Have you had someone look at those headaches of yours?” I
asked lightly, leaning forward and locking an elbow on to my desk
as I rested my chin in my hand.

She
deliberately didn’t look at me.

“
If you want my full help, I need your full cooperation. You
need to tell me everything, so I can look for the evidence that
will corroborate your story.”

She
twitched. Then, with a shaking glance, she turned her attention
towards me.

She
opened her mouth, and I got an electric sense of anticipation as I
waited for her to tell me whatever she was holding back.

She
didn’t.

Suddenly she darted her eyes to the left, and she winced as
if someone had struck
her on
the side of the face.

“
Are you alright?”

Her eyes darted out
of
focus for a second, then she jerked her head
around and forced a nod. “Fine.”

“
Maybe we should have someone look at your headache now.” I
rose from behind my desk.

“
There won’t be time.” She stood up and turned towards the
door.

She
turned towards the door several seconds before it open.

My
office was soundproof, and though I had sensors that would alert me
whenever anyone approached, they weren’t on.

Before I
could truly process what had just happened, a nervous looking
security officer darted into the room. They didn’t bother to snap a
salute, which was always a bad sign. “Sir, there’s been a terrorist
attack in the lower quarter.”

“
What?” I felt my skin blanch as I darted around the side of
my desk.

“
No casualty reports yet, but damage appears
significant.”

“
What was the target?” I snap.

“
The place they were holding me,” Miranda said under her
breath, her tone distant, and her gaze even more so.

“
Basement level 28, appears to be some kind of medical
facility.”

The
hairs along the back of my neck stood on end, and I slid my gaze
from the worried security officer over to Miranda.

To be
honest, I didn’t know if that was her name, but it was a good
enough name to call her for now.

She had
a haunted expression on her face.

It made
my gut twitch with nerves.

“
Your presence is requested, sir.” The security officer tried
to snap a salute, but it was hasty and he dropped his hand
fast.

“
Of course.” I didn’t rush out of the room. Instead I turned
and pointed to Miranda. “Take her to a room. A secure room,” I
added.

The
security officer jerked his gaze over to Miranda. “We can put her
in the holding cell.”

“
No,” I snapped quickly, “she’s not a prisoner. She needs
protection. I want her on one of the upper levels, and I want a
guard outside her door. Got it?”

The
security officer nodded.

I turned
back to Miranda.

She
wasn’t looking at me. Instead her head was turned towards the view,
her eyebrows pressed low over her searching gaze.