Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (19 page)

“He
did that when I was little too.”

“Sometimes
they visit me in my dreams. I know they’re just memories, but I like
to think of them as visits.”

“Those
are all really good memories, April.”

“It’s
not what Keira thinks about.”

“No?
Why do you say that?”

“Because
she has nightmares all the time, at least she did when we lived
together. She didn’t think I knew, but she would call out in her
sleep. And, she would say, ‘They shouldn’t have died like that!’”

“Yeah,
she’s said that to me too.” I looked at April. “You
think she needs to talk about it?”

She
nodded. “But she never would with me.”

“Maybe
she’ll open up more with Guy.”

“I
hope so.”

“Or
maybe he’ll be reason enough for the nightmares to stop.” I
nodded out the window. “We’re almost there.”

-April-

Leaving
Tkaron

The
airport consisted of a large parking area, a long silver building
with a lot of windows and a number of runways that spread out into
the distance. Like most citizens, I’d never flown before. Air
travel was reserved for military personnel with special passes, for
some business leaders hoping their counterparts in Mediterra would
finally share a few of their secrets and for the Elite who had family
in other realms.

As
I turned to open the door, Scott laid his hand on my arm. “Act
like you own the place, and that I’ve been given the privilege of
escorting you to your destination overseas. Don’t defer to me, all
right?”

I
nodded and took a deep breath. Then I opened the door and stepped
into the sunlight. Scott reached into the backseat for his duffel
and the small suitcase I had packed at the safe house.

The
terminal towered over us. It took all my effort to not look up, and
I had to mask my surprise when the automatic doors silently slid
open.

“Right
this way, Miss Lafleur.”

Scott
gestured toward a row of checkin stations. He smiled at the woman
behind the counter and reached into his back pocket for his wallet.
I watched as he removed his ID and pass. I opened my purse and
withdrew my own ID. I handed it to Scott and then glanced at my
fingernails as if bored.

“Miss?”

I
looked up at the woman. “Yes?”

“I’ll
need to see your travel visa.”

“Oh,
of course.” I dug it out of my purse and handed it to her.

“Any
baggage to check?”

“Nope.”
Scott gestured to our two bags. “We’ll take them as
carry-ons.”

After
a moment, the woman handed us our tickets. Scott returned my ID, and
we moved toward the queue. At the check point, a security guard used
a machine to scan our bags. He also looked at our tickets and
checked our names against a list. He waved another guard over and
motioned for us to follow him. A third guard took his place and
continued moving passengers through the check point.

We
entered a side room. A long metal table stood in the center of the
room and some hard plastic red chairs lined one wall.

“Please
sit.” The guard gestured to the chairs.

“I
will not!” I was indignant. “My father will hear about
this.”

Scott
continued to stand next to me, but he leaned down and whispered,
loudly enough for the guards to hear, “I should have warned you
Miss Lafleur. They’re just following procedure.”

I
glared at him. “Procedure? Other passengers are being allowed
through the check point.”

“And
we’ll be allowed too.”

“Let
me explain Miss Lafleur,” one of the guards said. “Sgt.
Maddock flies often, more often than most. We realize that it’s part
of his job, but it’s also our job to make sure he’s not taking
anything other than you to your destination.”

“But
he would never! He’s military.”

The
second guard continued, “Of course. This will just take a
moment.”

One
guard dumped the contents of Scott’s duffel onto the shiny metal
table. He checked everything thoroughly.

“Step
over here, Sergeant.”

Scott
did as he was told.
He
held out his arms while the guard patted him down and checked every
pocket of his uniform.

The
other guard opened my suitcase. The underwear I’d packed was right
on top. He hesitated and looked at me.

“Just
a moment.” He went to the door and called to a female guard.

She
entered the room and felt through my suitcase. “It’s clear.”
She closed the lid and snapped it shut. I grabbed the handle and
carried my own suitcase toward the door.

Scott
gently took it from me as we rejoined the crowd. He leaned down.
“I’m so sorry, Miss Lafleur.”

I
nodded once and looked around. Many of the people, both men and
women, were in uniform. The styles differed slightly depending upon
their rank. Some men wore business suits, work related travel I
guessed. And there were a few families who were obviously Elite.

We
sat facing the large windows. The airplanes glittered in the late
afternoon sun.

“Sgt.
Maddock, may I ask you something?”

“Of
course.”

“What
are your duties, as a soldier?”

“To
prepare for battle. To be ready to defend Terene at a moment’s
notice. And to defend our interests overseas as well. As a member
of the special operations regiment, I’m also prepared to respond to
terrorist threats and other unforeseeable circumstances.”

“And
to escort young ladies to their destinations?”

“And
that.”

“The
security guard said you fly often. How often do you escort young
ladies overseas?”

“Maybe
twice a year,” he admitted. “Young ladies or minors.
But I also accompany my CO to the embassy in Parisio on occasion.
That happens, oh, three or four times per year.”

Soon
our wait came to an end. We were seated in first class. Most of the
businessmen and military personnel continued on back to another
section of the plane. Scott encouraged me to take the window seat.
The takeoff was exhilarating and the sunset beautiful.

A
couple of hours into the flight, the stewardess brought us dinner.
It wasn’t much, but that was all right because I was too nervous to
be terribly hungry. As the stars emerged, Scott explained about the
time difference. He said when we arrived in Parisio, it would be
morning and suggested that I try to get some sleep. I didn’t think
that would be possible, but I leaned my head back against the seat
and tried to relax. The next time I opened my eyes, the flight
attendant moved down the aisle with her cart, offering a final round
of drinks.

“Two
ginger ales,” Scott said.

“Are
we nearly there?”

“Yes,
we’ll be landing in about an hour. Aimee, I need to tell you
something before we land.”

“What
is it?”

Scott
hesitated, then said, “Once we land, we’ll be contacting your
parents to let them know you’ve arrived safely.” He gave me a
look and shook his head.

“Yes,
of course.”
What just happened?

-Scott-

Parisio

I
was about to tell April…I wanted to tell her, and now was probably
the best time. Then I noticed the man in front of us. He tilted his
head slightly as if he were interested in our conversation. My gut
warned me to be careful, and I heeded the warning. I was only alive
today because I had learned early on to trust my gut.

I
looked at April and warned her with a shake of my head. Were we
being followed? I had to assume that we were.

After
a smooth landing, we exited the plane and entered the terminal. I
located a public transceiver and placed a long distance call to my
contact at the military base. A woman in uniform looked at me
through the vidscreen.

She
saluted. “How may I direct your call, Sergeant?”

“Will
you please get a message to the Lafleurs? Their daughter has arrived
safely in Parisio.”

“It’s
awfully late here. Can’t it wait until morning?”

“I
realize it’s late, but Mr. Lafleur is expecting this call.”

“Yes,
sir!” She saluted again.

“Thank
you, private.” I returned the salute.

I
disconnected and turned to April. She looked every bit a debutante.

“Can
we go now?” she inquired impatiently.

“Yes,
of course, Miss.”

I
picked up our luggage. After about 20 paces, I cleared my throat,
and she turned around with an impatient look.

“Is
anyone using the transceiver we just left?”

She
turned back around and kept moving. “Yes, the man who was
sitting in front of us on the plane.”

It
was as I’d expected. He was probably tracing the last number dialed.
He would discover that I had used a legitimate military number.

I
led April toward the baggage terminal. We sat and pretended to wait
for more luggage. When I was certain we were no longer being
followed, I looked at April.

“There’s
a claim number in your purse with your other paperwork. May I have
it?”

April
dug through her purse and handed it to me. I approached the message
station. “Was anything delivered for Art Fantastique?” I
asked, handing the young man the claim ticket.

He
scanned the small teleview in front of him. “Yes, your
packages are right over here, sir.” He led us to a cart.

I
set our luggage next to the packages and pushed the cart toward the
line of taxis that waited outside. April followed. A porter helped
me load everything into the trunk of a cab. I tipped him, and he
returned the empty cart for us. I helped April into the backseat of
the cab and slid in next to her.

She
gazed out the window as we drove away from the airport. “The
cars look different – smaller, cleaner, well maintained. And
Scott,” she whispered, “where are the wheels?”

“They’re
hovercars,” I whispered back. “They float.”

“Wow!”

“Art
Fantastique, s’il vous plait,” I instructed the driver.

April
stared out the window. She took in everything – the
cleanliness of the streets, the hovercars and the maglev trains on
either side of the highway.

She
turned and gave me a careful look. I couldn’t quite read her
expression.

“What
is it?” I asked.

“We
lost the war, didn’t we?”

“Yes.”

She
nodded sadly. “They didn’t teach us that in school.”

“Of
course not.”

“You’ve
been here a lot, to Mediterra, I mean. Haven’t you?”

“Yes.”

“And
you transport people and goods.”

“That’s
right.”

“Do
you bring the people here because it’s better?”

“No,
that’s not the agreement, but we can talk more about that later.”

“Have
you wanted to stay?”

“Yes.
No. I have reasons to stay and reasons to go, but for now, I can do
more good back home.”

April
nodded slowly and returned her attention to the streets and buildings
of Parisio.

-April-

Welcome
Home

The
cab made its way down a back alley and stopped behind what I presumed
to be Art Fantastique. Scott told me to wait while he unloaded the
packages. Then he climbed back into the cab, and gave the driver
further instructions in another language. Eventually the cab pulled
to a stop in front of a building with a beautiful stone facade. I
had never before seen buildings quite like those in Parisio. They
looked old and majestic yet were in excellent repair. Scott offered
his hand and helped me out of the cab.

“Welcome
to your new home.”

“I’ll
be living here?”

“Yes,
what do you think?”

“I
don’t know. Alone?”

“No,
not alone.” He smiled, reached for our bags and ushered me up
the front steps. At the top, he turned to a keypad and punched in a
series of numbers. I heard a metallic sound as the lock released.
Scott pushed open the heavy wooden door.

I
stepped inside and looked around. Even though the outside of the
building looked different than what I was used to, the inside looked
very much like wealthy homes in Tkaron. An ornate wooden chair stood
next to a coat rack and umbrella stand in one corner of the front
hall. A winding staircase led up to the second level. Arched
doorways led to other rooms. Through the one on the left, I could
see a small dining room, and a parlor was to the right.

The
click of high heels sounded on the polished wooden floor as woman
approached us from a hall behind the staircase. “Ah, vous avez
arrivé!” She smiled and walked directly to Scott.

He
opened his arms and embraced her warmly. Then he kissed her gently
and used words I couldn’t understand, although I knew he was talking
about me, “C’est ma soeur, April, mais son alias est Aimee.”
He kept his arm around her as they turned toward me. “April,
I’d like you to meet Danielle Bellami, my wife.”

Did
he say wife?

“It’s
a pleasure to finally meet you,” Danielle responded with a
thick accent. She took my hand and kissed me first on one cheek and
then on the other. “I’m so very happy to finally meet Scott’s
family.”

I
looked at Scott. “Is this what you were going to tell me on
the plane?”

“Yes,
but it wasn’t safe to talk.”

“That’s
right! Why was that man following us? I thought nobody knew I was
here.”

Danielle
looked at Scott and said, “You were followed?”

“Only
in the airport, not after,” he replied, and then turned to me.
“I don’t think they were following you, April. Let’s move to
the sitting room.” Scott gestured to the parlor. “It’s
been a long trip.”