Laura Jo Phillips (10 page)

“This thing we are doing, it is important?” Slater asked.

“Oh yes, yes,” Magoa replied.  “We could let the Xanti rescue these people and bring them to us.  But then we would be in debt to the Xanti even more than we already are, and our new cousin’s first loyalty would be to the Xanti as well.”

Slater frowned at that, and Magoa nodded.  “Yes, exactly so,” he said.  “We will make this rescue.  You and I.  The Xanti will take us there, and they will keep us hidden with their fancy machines, but it will be you and I who do the rescue.  This is necessary, Slater.  You understand that, yes?”

Slater nodded.  “Yes, I understand that,” he replied.  “I will practice as hard as I can.”

“Good boy, good boy,” Magoa said.  “Let’s try it now.”

Chapter
12

Deep Space, The
Kontuan

Jackson Bearen felt a sense of urgency that he could not shake.  It had begun during the meeting when Saige Lobo had informed them that they must go to Earth at once, and had grown steadily stronger ever since. 

The first couple of weeks of their journey had passed quickly due to the nearly constant exchange of messages required to catch their replacements up to speed on current security matters.  Inevitably, the messages had trickled to a stop once Ternin and his brothers got settled in.  That’s when the waiting, and the sense of urgency, began to wear on Jackson, Clark and Rob.

Now, as Jackson listened to the
Kontuan
’s Captain explaining the political reasons for why they had to allow a bevy of Terien cruisers to jump ahead of them, that sense of urgency felt as though it were about to choke him.  This would push their arrival on Earth back at least a week, and perhaps as much as ten days.  They might as well have taken a civilian liner, he thought. 

Of course, on a civilian liner they would not have had the Shift Chamber to run off their anxiety and frustration in, something all three Bearens had done daily since boarding the ship a month earlier.  Even though Jackson had already spent a couple of hours in the Shift Chamber that morning, he decided that as soon as the Captain was finished, he was going back there.

“Thank you, Captain,” Jackson said, forcing his voice to politeness.  Their bad luck wasn’t the Captain’s fault.  “Please inform us as soon as you know when we will reach Earth.”

“Of course, Commander Bearen,” the Captain replied with a bow.  “Again, I apologize for this delay.”

“No need, Captain,” Jackson said graciously.  “It is not your fault.”

“I will do all I can to get us to Earth as soon as possible,” the Captain promised with another short bow.  Jackson held back his sigh as he, Clark and Rob turned around and left the bridge. 

“Have you had any luck deciphering that message Saige gave us from Riata?” he asked Clark.

“None whatsoever,” Clark replied morosely.  “I’ve found only a handful of people who even know what
Greek
is.  Of those, none of them knew a single word of the language.  Perhaps when we reach Earth we will have more luck with it.”

“I certainly hope so,” Jackson replied, hitting the door to the Shift Chamber with more force than was strictly necessary to open it.  A few moments later all three of them were in their bearenca forms, racing around the Shift Chamber at full speed.  Jackson realized that they were all running with their long, sharp claws extended, and that it was making a mess of the padding on the floor.  He opened his massive jaws and roared with frustration before pushing himself to run even faster.

Chapter
13

Earth, Arlington, Virginia, Special Operations Directorate Headquarters

“I’ve tracked down and interviewed twenty-three women in the past few weeks, none of whom remember a single thing about signing a bride contract, or staying at Bride House,” Ellicia said as she lowered herself carefully into the chair opposite the Director’s desk. 

“That’s troubling,” the Director said.

“It gets worse.  They all vaguely remember visiting Jasan on a sightseeing tour.  None of them remember anything specific about their visit, and what memories they do have all match.”

“Match?”

“They all have the same memories,” Ellicia explained.  “Word for word, in fact.”

“Do they have anything in common aside from the bride contracts?” the Director asked.

“Nothing that I’ve found so far, other than the obvious.  They are all young, or were young when they went to Jasan, between the ages of 19 and 30.  Most have very little family or none at all, and few close friends.  That fits the profile for most contract brides.  Women who are young, lonely, and want families but don’t date much.”

“I think we need to get a few of these women in for a thorough med-check,” the Director said.  “See if there is any physical evidence of whatever was done to them.”

“I’ve done a bit of research on that,” Ellicia said.  “There are some drugs that can effect a memory wipe, but they are either temporary, or they do too much, wiping out chunks of memory, or even all of it in some cases.  I haven’t found anything that reliably effects the specific memory alteration that these women have undergone.  They remember their friends, family, everything about their own lives with the sole exception of their real reason for going to Jasan, and what they did there.”

“I don’t like this, Ell,” the Director said.  “How many women are we talking about here?”

“From the list Jasan sent us, a couple of hundred women over the past several decades.  There are women going back for several decades before that of course, but considering how many there are, I thought that it would be best to focus on the most recent first.  At least for now.”

“I agree, but I want to get some of those older women in eventually,” the Director said. 

Ellicia nodded.  “What reason should I give to these women to get them in for a physical?”

“Let me get back to you on that one,” the Director replied.  “I want to talk to some of our scientists first, find out what they will need in terms of equipment and time.”

“All right,” Ellicia said as she started to get up.

“Just a moment, Ell,” the Director said.  Ellicia relaxed back into the chair. 

“I expect the Bearens to arrive soon from Jasan,” he said.  “I need you to work with them.”

Ellicia’s chin rose stubbornly.  “I am not working with anyone else.  Never again.  You promised me that if I rode a desk I could work alone, and I am holding you to that.”

“I am not asking you to take them on as partners,” the Director replied.  “They are not going to be your team members.  Strictly speaking, they are emissaries from Jasan, here to investigate this matter concerning women who visit their planet.  I invited them, and have already told them we would cooperate fully in their investigation.  I had to do it, Ell.  We cannot, at this time, afford to spare people for it ourselves, and it is a matter that needs some serious looking into.”

Ellicia’s face paled and she went very still.  “You spoke with the Dracons?”

“I exchanged messages with them, yes,” the Director replied.  “And before you say another word, let me point out how certain I am that you would never question either my loyalty to you, or my word.”

Ellicia blushed.  “Of course not,” she said.  “And I apologize if I gave you the impression otherwise.”

The Director held Ellicia’s gaze for a long moment, then let it go with a slight wave of his hand.  “The bottom line here is that the Jasani are sending a very high ranking male-set to look into this matter themselves.  I need someone to work with them, and that someone is you.”

“Very well,” Ellicia agreed reluctantly. 

“Ellicia, understand me clearly, this is not an Operation, and you are not going into the field.  You will share information with them, show them around, take them with you on interviews if they wish.  Other than that, I want you planted behind your desk.”

“Yes, Sir,” Ellicia replied, a little more brightly now that she knew she didn’t have to go into the field with these men.  Every time she did that, someone ended up dead, and she’d sworn she would never do it again.

“Now, how is the new place working out for you?” the Director asked, changing the subject.

“Its fine,” Ellicia replied.  “Even though I remodeled it, it’s still the home I grew up in, so that took some getting used to.”

“I would like to send someone over to check the security again, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” Ellicia replied.  “I would appreciate it, in fact.”

The Director frowned.  “Are you worried about anything in particular?” he asked.  “Something you haven’t told me?”

“No, nothing like that,” Ellicia replied.  “My life has changed, as you know, and so have my priorities.  Security is very important to me right now.”

 “Yes, I understand that,” the Director replied, frowning thoughtfully.  After a moment he seemed to make up his mind about something. 

“Ellicia, when you decided to move back into your family home, we decided to beef up security on your entire building.  In addition, the Directorate purchased the other unit on your floor.”

“I wondered why no one lived there any more,” Ellicia said.  The expression of surprise on the Director’s face at her reaction made her smile.  “No, Director, I am not angry,” she said.  “A year ago I might have been, but not now.  As I said, my priorities have changed.”

“Well, that’s good,” the Director replied, a little nonplussed by Ellicia’s reaction.  She had always been defensive about such things, determined to avoid anything that might make her appear coddled or over protected.  Then again, after what had happened in her previous home, perhaps he shouldn’t be so surprised.  With that thought in mind, he plunged ahead with his idea.

“I think it might be good to have the Bearens stay in the unit across the hall from you.”

Ellicia narrowed her eyes.  “I don’t need baby-sitters, Director.”

“No, you don’t,” he agreed, holding back his smile.  Now this was the reaction he had expected.  Luckily, he knew how to get around her. 

“But this isn’t about you, Ellicia.  It’s either let them stay there, or put them up in a hotel.  Since they will be here for an undetermined length of time, I think they’ll be more comfortable in that unit than in a hotel.  It also lets the Directorate get some use out of the investment, and saves a little money as well.”

Ellicia shook her head, but rose to her feet without further comment.  It really didn’t matter to her one way or the other.  “So long as I don’t have to cook for them,” she said.

The Director laughed.  “We would not want to ruin our current excellent relations with Jasan by poisoning their emissaries.”

“Funny man,” Ellicia said before leaving the office.  “Such a funny man.”

The Director hit the comm key on his vid terminal that connected him with his assistant, Mark Baza.  With the Bearens due to arrive in less than a week, there wasn’t a lot of time to get that empty apartment prepared for their stay.  It was going to be a rush job, but he didn’t mind.  He would sleep better at night knowing that there was a little extra security close to Ellicia.

Chapter
14

Earth, Arlington, Virginia

Hope sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the newly finished mural on the wall.  It had only taken her a couple of days to paint it, which was record time considering the detail involved.  But then, she had barely slept or eaten while she worked on it. 

The first thing she’d done when she was finished was fall into bed where she slept for twelve hours.  When she woke up, she took a long, hot bath, and now she sat staring at the painting while she combed her hair out. 

The mural was of three men, identical triplets except for the color of their eyes, and the color of the beads each wore on a thin braid just over their left ears.  The man in the middle had pale blue eyes, the one on the left had pale green eyes, and the one on the right had silver eyes.  Their beads matched their eyes exactly, which she thought was interesting. 

They were striking men with long, pale blond hair, broad chests, huge arms, strong jaws, and mouths that looked as though they were made to smile.  But it was the eyes she was most drawn to.  They felt familiar to her, though she was certain she had never in her life seen those faces outside of her own imagination.

What was most disturbing to her was the powerful feeling of physical attraction and arousal that she felt when she looked at the three men.  She had never felt such things before, and to feel them for a painting of men she had never seen made her more than a little uncomfortable.

She tore her eyes away from the mural and braided her still damp hair, resolved not to look at it again for a while.  She tied off the last braid with a bit of silk cord as she always did, and stood up, keeping her eyes on the floor until she was out of her bedroom.  She went to the kitchen and fixed herself a big meal which she ate in the living room while watching entertainment vids that she was too tired to enjoy.

When she was finished eating she cleaned up the kitchen and, even though it was still early afternoon, she decided to go back to bed.  She went into her bedroom and paused for a long moment, staring at the mural again.