Different Senses (64 page)

“Javen—”

“Tordwel, I’m done.” I stalked
off towards the exit, leaving my guard to catch up.

“Javen, please just
listen—”

I didn’t look back. Shardul’s
anger and shock followed me out of the hospital, but I didn’t care.
How could he ask that with Yashi lying a couple of floors above me,
his life and body in ruins? Sure it was tough to be indigenous
right now, and I didn’t want the innocent harassed, but terrorists
depended on the silence of their community to do what they did.
Somebody knew who these people were, and I wanted them caught. I
didn’t much care how.

~~~~~~~~

I felt a bit of a shit later,
but Shardul was less concerned about the harm done my family than
the inconvenience his community might suffer. That pissed me off as
much as it disappointed me. He made no attempt to contact me. That
pissed me off even more.

I did my best to keep my
feelings hidden, and make the evening as pleasant for the children
and Tara as I could. My mother ate with us, and my father dropped
in for chai and to play with the boys, but couldn’t stay for long.
He excused himself before the boys went to bed, but I doubted he
would see his own for many hours. Mum stayed longer, but though she
put up a brave act, I sensed her thoughts were with Dad. She kissed
my cheek as she said goodnight. I hugged her, wishing I could do
more than that.

I slept badly, nightmares
waking me three times. After rising at three and reading for an
hour, I managed to get back to sleep, only to be woken by a
frightened little cry in my ear.

“Uncle Javen, fire!”

I jerked bolt upright and had
Madhu in my arms and ready to run, before I woke up properly and
realised there was no smoke or smell. Madhu’s terror was real
enough, though. “Where’s the fire, kiddo?”

“On the screen,” he whispered.
“A house on fire. Like ours.”

“Let’s turn the screen off
then, okay? You don’t have to watch that kind of thing.”

It was only six in the morning.
The boys must have turned on the media screen—something they were
normally not allowed to do at this hour, but the normal rules had
been thrown out a little—and Madhu had seen some kind of news
report. I found Harshul staring at the screen in the living area.
Madhu wouldn’t look, burying his face in my neck.

“It’s all right, Madhu.” I
reached for the controller to turn the picture off, but froze as a
stream of Nihani hit my ears, and a man’s masked face came onto the
screen.

Blinking, I realised the Nihani
had become Kelon as a reporter interpreted what was being said.
“The terrorist in the video claimed responsibility for the arson
attacks over the previous days and this morning on behalf of the
‘Justice for Nihan’ group. No one was hurt in this morning’s attack
in the shopping precinct, but three premises were extensively
damaged. More attacks have been threatened, and the police have
issued warnings urging all citizens to be vigilant—”

So much for keeping the Nihan
connection quiet. I switched off the picture and sat on an
armchair, settling Madhu on my lap. Harshul turned around. “That
bad man had a mask, Uncle Javen.”

“Yes, he did.”

“There was a fire, just like
our house.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Javen, is everything all
right?” Tara came in, holding Nita. “Boys, did you wake up Uncle
Javen?”

“It’s all right. Madhu was
frightened. There’s uh, been more arson attacks.”

She clutched Nita a little
closer. “We can’t live like this. I won’t raise a family in a war
zone.”

“What will you do?”

Her lips thinned as she nodded
slightly at the boys. “Let’s talk later.”

“Later” meant while the boys
were being tutored, a task Tara would have normally taken on, but
in the circumstances, she had too much on her plate. She asked me
to come to Mum’s office, for privacy. Dad wasn’t there. “Your
father is holding a press conference, announcing a state of
emergency,” Mum said when we sat down. “There’s been rioting and
appalling violence overnight.” She looked even more tired than the
day before. “I’m sure he’ll find time to talk to you both
later.”

“We understand,” Tara murmured.
“But this is exactly why I have to make this decision. I’m going
back to Kelon, to Gawarchi where my parents live.”

Mum bit her lip. The intensity
of her shock sent a stabbing through my left eye, but she didn’t
respond.

“Tara? Without even waiting
to—”

She put her hand on my arm.
“Javen, stop. I know what you’re about to say, but it’s Yashi I’m
considering. The best reconstructive surgeons on either planet work
at a specialist unit near Gawarchi. He’s going to need months of
rehabilitation, but why not let it be under the hands of the
experts? The doctors here actually suggested it.”

“I didn’t know you’d talked to
them about it.”

“Last night. Only briefly
but...after the news this morning...Mum, my own parents have never
seen my children.”

“I know, dear, but would you
go...permanently?”

Tara glanced down. “I don’t
know. A lot depends on Yashi, and how things go here. I’ve been so
very happy here, and I love you all so much. But I miss my Mum and
Dad...and if we have to live like prisoners....”

Mum drew herself up and gave
Tara a smile that almost looked real. “You must do what feels best
for you, Tara, and whatever you want to do, Rajan and I will
support you to the hilt. As will Javen.” She eyed me with resolve
that wasn’t faked in the least.

“Yes, I will. Yashi can’t
travel yet, though.”

“No, not for several weeks.
I...I thought I’d decided. But now I’m not so sure.”

I took Tara’s hand. “Darling,
there’s no hurry. You and the kids are safe, and Yashi’s getting
good treatment for now. Think about it, and whatever you decide,
we’ll help.”

“Thank you. Thank you both.”
She wiped her eyes. “Excuse me. Sorry.” She stood and left the room
in a rush.

I waited only to look at Mum
who made an impatient shooing gesture, then I raced after Tara and
caught her in the hall. “Wait, darling,” I said, sweeping her up
into a hug.

She broken down, and I could
only pet her, and whisper soothing words until she calmed a little.
“Oh Javen, I’m going to miss everyone.”

“And we’re going to miss you,
dear. So much. But you have three kids and a sick husband to think
about. Do that. We’ll be fine. Really fine.”

That set her off again. “It’s
all right, Tara love. Shhh.”

“It’s not. What if Yashi can’t
walk again? Or do anything?”

“He will. I know he will. The
Ythen boys are tough. Look at yours.”

She sniffled and laughed. “They
are. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be silly.” I stroked her
hair back. “Want me to come up to the apartment?”

“No, I’m okay. But Mum....”

“I’ll go back.” I kissed her
cheek. “My brother’s a lucky, lucky man. When he comes back, I’m
going to remind him every day.”

“You do that.” She rubbed her
eyes and straightened up. “Thank you. Go on. Mum looked
terrible.”

I obeyed, and found my mother
still sitting at her desk, staring at the window. She jumped as I
closed the door. “Oh...I though you’d go with her.”

“She says she’s okay. How are
you?

My mother would cut off an ear
before she ever admitted how she felt. “I wasn’t expecting that,
were you?”

“No. But I don’t blame her.
It’ll be rough for everyone.”

“Yes. Rajan will take it hard,
though he won’t stand in her way, of course.” She put her hand on
her throat. “I don’t know if I can bear all this, Javen. Yashi,
Tara leaving, our family being under threat. It’s never been like
this before with your father’s career.”

Mum had never ever opened up to
me like this. She must be nearly drowning from stress. “You want
him to resign?”

“
No! I won’t allow
these...these
hateful
people to force him out. We’ve both worked too
hard for that.”

“I know. I don’t know if I can
help, Mum, but I’ll try.”

“Just having you here in the
residence helps, darling. Tara and the children too, even if for
only a little while.”

Her eyes glistened. “Mum, have
you had any sleep?”

“An hour or two. I can’t nap
now. Your father needs me.”

“Then let me order you some
chai and you can tell me if there’s anything I can do.”

She dabbed discreetly at her
eyes. “Don’t you have things to attend to?”

“Not today. Not while you need
me.”

Chapter 3

For a week we were in complete
lockdown within the residence, while my father, grim-faced and
exhausted, dealt with a city aflame with anger and hate.
Weapon-bearing guards patrolled the halls, and if any of us
ventured outside into the gardens, we always had a minder. I
carried a gun with me when I wasn’t in the apartment, though I
tried not to let the twins catch me at it. The residence and
surrounding estate were closed to the public for the first time I
could remember, and the smell of smoke floated thinly in the air,
day and night from houses and shops—and even people—on fire. Madhu
was my constant shadow, terrified by reminders of the night he
nearly lost his Daddy, and no amount of attention could take away
Harshul’s worry about fires suddenly breaking out in their
rooms.

I heard from Madan that
the team was staying low and out of the city. From my other Nihani
friends, I heard not a word, and nothing on news reports told me
how they were faring. There were times I even wanted to call
Shardul, but I resisted. I didn’t want to talk about his narrow
worries when the entire city was in danger. There was nothing I
could do to stop the rioting, the city’s disorder, nor to help my
father do so.
Nothing
. I’d never felt so
useless as an adult or a son.

Tara made several long phone
calls to Yashi’s doctors, and spent more time talking to my
parents. I tried not to influence her one way or another, but every
time I looked at the kids, I died a little inside, thinking of
being apart from them forever. I could follow them, but there was
nothing for me on Kelon, and I’d be dependent on them for company
and support at a time when they were settling in. No, my parents
were here, and Uterden was my home until I was forced out of it.
That was all too possible given the state of tension between the
races.

She finally made up her mind
when Yashi’s doctors told her of a new technique successfully
trialled on Kelon which might restore him to almost perfect
health—but which wasn’t available here. My mother made it clear
that if she wanted to return, she would find her old life—house,
Yashi’s practice, the boys’ school—ready to step into. Tara seized
on the idea of a purely temporary stay with her parents. Whether
she would really come back, we couldn’t know. We could only hope
she would.

I was reduced to anxiously
scanning news reports to find out what my father was up to. After
he announced the state of emergency, even my mother said she only
saw him last thing at night. I would have liked to ask him what was
going on, but my worry and curiosity weren’t any more important
than any other citizen’s, and he had a big job to do.

Dad called off the state of
emergency after two weeks, and the city returned to apparent
normality, though there were reports of sporadic fighting at night,
and of increased harassment of the indigenous population. Our
family remained under threat, and so, under guard. Tara made her
arrangements to leave, and I did my best to help her. Once she and
the kids were safely on their way, I planned to insist to anyone
that would listen that I had a right to help catch the people who
hurt Yashi. To do that, I had to break out of the safe cocoon my
father had built around us all.

But as Tara and I sat in the
guest suite one morning, a week before her planned departure date,
going through a list of changes she and Yashi had wanted to make to
the house and now could incorporate in the rebuild, a message came
from Dad asking me to step along to his office at my earliest
convenience. “You better go now,” Tara said. “I hope it’s not bad
news.”

So did I.

~~~~~~~~

Dad’s secretary ushered me
straight into his office, where Dad and a uniformed man I didn’t
recognise rose to greet me. “Javen, thanks for coming so
promptly.”

“No problem. Is everything
okay?”

He gave me a wry look. “Define
‘okay’. The situation’s stable, for now. But that’s not why I asked
you here. Javen, this is Commander Reoda of the National Security
Force.”

I shook the man’s offered hand.
He was easily Dad’s age, heavier, shorter, with a resolute set to
his jaw. “Pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“And you, Sergeant Ythen. My
research shows you had quite a solid career before you retired from
the force.”

I raised an eyebrow at the
‘retired’ but out of respect for Dad I didn’t push it. I took a
seat. “Thanks. This isn’t a social visit, I guess.”

“No, it’s not. Governor, shall
I?”

“Please. Javen, Commander Reoda
has wanted to speak to you for some time, but with the situation
with Yashi and Tara, and her needing your help, I put him off.”

“But now she’s going away. I
understand. Sir?”

Reoda smiled encouragingly.
“Actually, sergeant, your sister-in-law’s imminent departure is an
opportunity for us. How would you feel about going deep undercover
to help unmask these terrorists?”

I leaned back in the
chair and glanced at Dad. His face revealed nothing, and his
emotions...well, he was tense and worried, but he’d been like that
for ages. “I’ll do anything I can to serve, and especially to
restore order for the
whole
community.”