Authors: Madlen Namro
“I understand.”
Jo walked past him. At first glance, Alec seemed a rather antipathetic person, but, when she looked deeper into his eyes, she noticed some sort of warmth, a heat that one could easily get consumed by.
There’s something about him,
she thought.
She approached the shuttle’s hatch. It was locked, even though she was certain Levi was onboard. Suddenly, the door opened from the inside and the commodore walked out.
“Jo, what are you doing here?” He looked at his captain questioningly.
“I want to go to get David. Seems there are no other volunteers …”
He was surprised. Jo remembered the code down to the last letter. In the event that no commando volunteered for a mission, a captain was allowed to take their place. But Levi had some doubts whether she was ready for it. The next few hours would answer that.
“All right, but there is something you should know.” He studied her face as he went on.
“Yes, Commodore?” She stiffened, sensing that Levi’s voice had grown serious.
“It’s taken David almost six months to infiltrate the enemy’s base. He’s our best commando, computer specialist and cyberneticist all in one. As you’re aware he has a son, but his wife died in a fire that broke out up here three years ago. A whole storey was destroyed and many people were killed. The investigation suggested that the terrorists had a mole in our midst.”
“Revenge?” Jo cut in. She had always been a good judge of human emotions.
“Yes, I do believe that’s partially what drove David to volunteer. He’d spent almost two years hiding away from the world and it was you who helped him finally get over it. You’ve become friends.”
“Yes?” Finally, here was a hint of information about her lost years.
“Close friends.”
Jo wasn’t sure how to deal with this information. She franticly searched her memory for any confirmation, but there was nothing there. That void was beginning to drive her crazy. She struggled to regain control of her anger and drew a heavy breath.
“All the more reason to help rescue him, commodore…” After a moment’s pause, she added, “Thank you.”
There was sadness in her eyes as she now looked at Levi. It was evident that the memory blank was taking a heavy toll on her.
As she stood there, the commodore could not, but admire the woman’s perseverance, her strength and readiness to make sacrifices, but at the same time there was such vulnerability in her. He watched her walking away towards her quarters. In only a few hours, after she’d had some sleep, she would set out to rescue a friend whose identity she could not even remember. David and Jo had been extremely close, almost like a brother and sister. David could never stand Alec and was very critical of the relationship. Still, he hid the dislike deep inside and did what he could to remain a good friend to Jo. She and his son were all that was left of his world, of what he called a family. He longed for a normal life, a chance for his son to see trees, grass and the sun. He wanted to create a real home for him, somewhere at the seaside, maybe in one of the hot countries. This was what drove him to undertake the special mission on Earth. As soon as he found out that there was a way for him to make his dream more plausible he saw it, as not only a civic duty but more importantly, his duty as a father. He was willing to make any necessary sacrifices to fight for a better tomorrow for his son.
It was a very dark night. Strong wind was blowing, raging among the trees. Hidden among the tall trunks stretched out to the skies and the lush thicket of the forest, David put up his small tent to have at least an hour of sleep. He needed it badly. He was completely exhausted. As soon as he lay down, his consciousness began to fade as his body demanded rest. Even the deep wound in his leg hadn’t stopped him. He was bleeding, but was too tired to even try to put some pressure on it. He fell asleep. Fist thing in the morning, he was going to finally contact the Luna and send off his exact coordinates. Soon he would be home.
* * * *
Margaret stepped off the elevator on the tenth floor and saw a long, empty corridor. She gently knocked on Diana and Alec’s door.
“Margaret, it’s kind of late.” The woman stepped in uninvited as soon as Diana opened the door. She quickly surveyed the scene and made sure they were alone. Then she produced the access codes to the computer where Jo’s memory disc could be read.
“Oh my God!” Diana took it in her hand with disbelief. “You did it! When can you upload it?”
“Diana, I’ve given it a lot of thought and for the last time, I don’t think we should do this. This is Jo’s life. We have no right…”
“Yes we do,” Diana cut in impulsively. “She’s a part of Alec’s life, the part that I need to know. Try to understand,” she implored. “I love him so much. I can’t lose him.”
“Fine.” Margaret gave up. She took back the key and pocketed it again. “As soon as you deliver…”
Diana stepped in front of her.
“No, Margaret. Today. Now!”
She was determined. She believed that only finding out the truth could stop her nightmares. She craved for peace of mind, a second breath. She wanted to welcome her child to this world with a clear mind. She needed to know if she could trust her husband. She couldn’t care less about all those damned missions, battles and terrorist attacks. All that mattered was her future with her husband and Jo’s role in his life.
* * * *
Victor quietly knocked on the door. He wanted to see her again before he had to plunge back into his work. Jo was such a warm-hearted person. Just by looking at her, he felt as if he’d found a long lost home. It soothed him.
“What are you doing here?” She was barefoot, wrapped only in a towel and visibly surprised.
Victor held his breath. She was without shadow of a doubt one of the most beautiful women on the base. With her long, blond hair, now wet, and her large blue eyes. Petite but fit and so feminine. He hadn’t thought of women for several months. His work was so engrossing that he’d nearly forgotten about all the gentle touches, kisses and caresses. But now, when he saw her like that, he suddenly felt a very strong urge to hold her in his arms. He looked her straight in the eyes, lost for words.
“The senators have given me another assignment. Just thought I’d say goodbye before I have to go. This could take many weeks.”
Jo opened the door wider and invited him in. She had ambiguous feelings about Victor. He scared her, but at the same time attracted her strongly. The chemistry they both felt affected their deepest instincts. Jo couldn’t remember any relations she’d had with a man for the last five years, her imagination fuelled by that blank even more as she watched the tracker walk in. And he did not waste time. The urge was too strong to resist. He stepped towards Jo, skilfully unwrapped her towel and gently pressed his lips to her neck. Her body shivered as his hand sensually touched her wet hair. She let herself be carried to the bed and covered with the warmth of his muscular arms. She felt dizzy as she returned his passionate kisses, as if she’d never known what a kiss was before that moment.
Victor also lost himself in this heated moment, forgetting who he was, even the promise he’d made to Levi. He gently bit at her thigh and her smell intoxicated him. Her inner fire awoke his body from its long sleep and now it burnt with the raging passion of her closeness. Whenever they glanced into each other’s eyes, they discovered a growing bond and understanding. The bodily dance became faster, more tuned, more violent, until Victor growled in ecstasy and a deep shiver drove a moan from Jo’s mouth.
As the base grew silent for the night and its inhabitants were getting ready to sleep, some of them first checked if everything was in its place, as did Levi who made sure the key was not lost. Others, like Victor and Jo, rediscovered some long forgotten emotions. He held her closer and gently nibbled on her ear.
“Please, stop.” Jo suddenly freed herself from his embrace.
“What did I do?” he asked, disappointed.
“No, it’s my fault.” She covered herself with a tunic. Sitting up on the bed she took his hand in hers. “I know that love at first sight can happen, just not to me.”
She looked down at the floor, as if wondering if what she’d just said was really the truth.
Victor kissed her hand, than her cheek.
“You are an exceptional person, Jo,” he said and got up to get dressed. He put on his shirt and trousers and buckled his belt which was fitted with a special communicator which allowed selected people from the base to contact him at any time. He noticed that a diode was blinking, meaning that someone had been trying to contact him.
“Have you ever heard of memory erasure?” she asked, trying to make it sound like a casual question.
“I have.” Victor wondered why they would call on him so early, or maybe he’d been here longer than he thought.
“Is there any way to upload a disc without having the access codes?”
Victor put on his glasses and sat next to her.
“I know of only one person who’s ever managed to crack memorial disc codes. Why?”
Jo embraced him and kissed him passionately, but Victor could feel that it was somewhat forced. He knew her story and understood perfectly where the questions were going, but did his best not to show anything.
“And where can I find that person?”
“No one knows that.” He slipped out of her arms and started towards the door.
“Do you at least know the hacker’s name?” She grasped this last opportunity to find something out.
Standing in the doorway, Victor turned around and looked at her uneasily, realising that by saying what she demanded he would break his promise to Levi and put Jo in danger.
“Magdalena,” he finally answered in a harsh voice and left the room into the silence of the corridor. As he walked on, he was so deep in thought that he didn’t even feel Alec bumping into him in a drunken stagger.
As soon as the commando realised that the man had just walked out of Jo’s room, he furiously tossed the bottle he was holding against the wall. The glass shattered, scattering under Victor’s feet, but he just walked on, oblivious to anything around him, shaken by the fact that the woman who might be the one to bring him back to life, the woman with whom he could finally talk about things completely unrelated to his work, who had given him so much joy by the simple fact of spending time with him and with whom he’d had probably the most passionate moments in his entire life, had used her feminine charm on him to pry out some information about a hacker.
* * * *
Levi had spent most of the night waiting for a connection with David to give him the good news that, in just a few hours someone would be coming to get him. The wait had been exhausting, filled with anxiety and putting his patience to a harsh test. Luckily, if there was one thing Levi did not lack, it was patience.
“Come on, David… make the call.” With the headset on, he kept listening to the agreed frequency.
He waited restlessly and, although subconsciously, he kept telling himself to remain calm; the nervousness was slowly beginning to overcome his mental defences.
Jo entered the room in hardly the best of moods, not to his surprise, however.
“Commodore, I’m ready to go,” she said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“I can’t make contact with David, but hopefully it won’t be long now. Go on, get ready for the flight. That dandy little technological masterpiece you liked so much is waiting in the hangar. You’ll be flying it.” He noticed sparks lighting up in her eyes.
“I’ll send someone to go with you in a moment.”
“Yes, Commodore.”
His crew always respected his decisions, even though they were not always happy with them. Clearly, Jo had her mind set on going alone, but due to the recent events he could not allow it. He hammered his fist at the console. The connection had failed again.
Jo briskly walked through the hangar gate and found the aircraft waiting for her. Small, designed to carry only three passengers, it was the latest advance in Atlantis’ automatics and engineering. She took another careful look at it, studying each element. Its constructor, always present when any of his creations were being handed over to the pilots, showed her inside. The procedures and steering seemed familiar. She was relieved to see that she would have no problems handling the craft. Everything was similar, only smaller. They smiled at each other as Jo fired up the engines, which began to hum steadily. The cockpit was illuminated from the inside. She went through all the take-off procedures, checking the console, computer and fuel. Then she settled down comfortably in the pilot’s seat and closed the door. To her astonishment, as she looked out the window she saw Alec running towards the plane. He was unshaven and it was apparent that he had been drinking all night. He had difficulty finding his tongue as he shouted, “I really should come with you. David is my friend. I have to get him out of there!”
“Go back to your wife!” she answered, trying to shout over the noise of the engines. “Absolutely not!”
Jo simply did not want anyone with her on this flight.
“It’s nothing to do with my wife, is it?” The commando was not planning to give up that easily.
“What on earth do you mean?” Jo switched off the engines. Somehow she had a feeling this would not be a pleasant conversation. Alec walked up the plane’s steps.
“Maybe you just want to fly to Earth on your own, eh? Maybe the mission has nothing to do with it?”
“What the hell are you insinuating?” Jo’s face started to redden with anger.
“Maybe you want to go with that arsehole I saw leaving your place last night, hm?” Alec felt that he’d hit the nail on the head. He was in control now.
“Explain to me how that’s any of your damn business?” The argument was beginning to sound like so many others they’d had in the past, the only difference being that she had no idea of that. They stood face to face, as if preparing to fight and looked each other straight in the eyes.
“And what if I do?” She could not stop herself from saying it, his impertinence made her blood boil.
“Jo,” Alec tried to calm things down, “I know electronics better than anyone else. What if something brakes down? This is still a prototype.”
“Give it a rest.” Jo also cooled down a bit. She’d never have expected anyone could have this instinctive, infuriating effect on her. “Levi’s sending someone. I’m not going alone.” She leant over to him and whispered, “And if I was you, I wouldn’t go around calling an officer of military intelligence an arsehole. All you’ll accomplish is to sound like an arsehole yourself.” She looked him in the eyes and added, before turning back and returning to her craft, “Of the worst kind.”