Shell game, p.8
Shell Game, page 8
part #15 of The Last Hunter Series
Looking as if he was already regretting making the decision, the larger man allowed the smaller one to pull him into a side corridor, and they quickly disappeared. Mac stepped over and watched until they were out of sight, then nodded.
The group proceeded to the airlock, recovered their suits, and dressed for vacuum work. Once they were ready, they let themselves out, confident that the bypass that Lisa had installed was still in effect. No one would know where they’d gone, and even if the supervisor sent someone to look for them, there would be no trace other than the space suits they left behind. That would just have to be good enough.
Once they were safely away from prying eyes, they made their way to the cutter, boarded it, and took themselves clear of the station. The pilot was happy to see them, though concerned about the others, until Jack gave him an abbreviated telling of the story. They stuck to the shadows of the station and nearby asteroids as much as possible to reduce the heat load that would build up inside the cutter, but they kept it in vacuum just to make things bearable.
It was time to focus on their military enemies, and that was something Jack was a lot more comfortable dealing with. With any luck, they’d get the information they needed and be able to make a move on the Tardans in short order. If not, they’d deal with them on Earth when the aliens arrived.
10
Lisa was already hard at work when Patrick came out of the room he was using. Even though the man had hinted that he was interested in spending the night with her, she’d put her foot down firmly. Boundaries had to be drawn, and sometimes, that meant setting aside things she’d like to experience for another time. They were going to be equals in this, and she had to make it clear that she wasn’t his plaything.
“Good morning,” he said. “Have you already eaten?”
“I had a breakfast burrito,” she said, turning to face him. “I could probably eat something else, but I was hungry when I got up. Everyone else is still asleep.”
“It’s early, so that’s not surprising,” he said as he headed into the kitchen and began setting things out to prepare breakfast. “What type of hours do you normally keep? It seems like you’re a night owl, and yet here you are up early. Which one is the real you?”
“They’re both the real me. Sometimes, I stay up late, and other times, I get up early. It really depends on how the mood strikes me and what work I’m doing at the time. Lately, I seem to be a bit more restless, and even though I’m spending less time asleep, I still seem to be getting enough rest. Don’t worry yourself about it. I’ll be fine.”
“Of that, I have no doubt,” he said as he turned on the stove and began heating one of the skillets. “An omelet with anything you like inside, bacon, toast, coffee, and orange juice. Or rather, whatever it is that they serve in place of orange juice here. It doesn’t taste quite right, but I suppose it’s close enough.”
“Pack in everything but the kitchen sink on that omelet, and we’re good. I like the bacon chewy and not cooked to where it gets crumbly. The rest sounds perfect.”
She locked the screen on her workstation and walked into the kitchen to watch him cook. Whatever flaws the man had, he was an excellent chef. He had enough talent in that field to probably do the work professionally. It made her wonder if he’d ever use that as a cover. It would be a good one.
Part of it is emotion. He unsettles me, and I want to put a little distance between us. I’m also peeved that he made a permanent alteration to my body without my permission or knowledge. You should remember exactly how pissed off I was when Doctor Romanoff implanted you inside me without consulting me about it. Yes, I was unconscious, and I understand that it was done in an attempt to save both of our lives and restore my mobility. That doesn’t change how I feel.
Because human males often see sex as a forgiveness for whatever they’ve done. Probably not all of them, but it’s annoying, and I don’t want him to get the idea that I’ve forgiven him just yet. It’s a privilege to have sex with me, and if he wants to have a repeat of it, he’s going to have to treat me better. I know it’s unrealistic of me to expect to change anyone, but there are certain forms that must be followed. If he wants to be my partner, he has to act like we’re equal, and that hasn’t happened yet.
“My ears are burning,” Patrick said as he began pouring the eggs into the skillet. He set a second skillet on a different burner and began heating it for the bacon. “Are you and Regex discussing me? It certainly feels like you are.”
“We are,” she said. “Regex still doesn’t understand human behavior as well as he would like and was making some inquiries. To put it plainly, he wants to know why we didn’t have sex last night. Perhaps you could explain it to him.”
Patrick shot her smile with a twinkle in his eye. “I received extensive training over the years to help me determine when a situation was a trap. This has all the hallmarks. Why don’t you tell me what you said to him instead?”
She leaned up against the counter and raised an eyebrow. “Let me ask you a few questions. First, what do you think of me? Personally and professionally.”
“You are a very talented person with far more depth than most people would see at a glance. I see potential that far exceeds what you’re willing to grant possible for yourself. You are likable and extremely competent.”
She considered what he’d said as he began adding the contents of the omelet over the egg, before flipping part of the egg over it to seal it to cook. Then he added bacon to the other skillet and started frying it. While that was happening, he opened the refrigerator, took out some juice, and added it to a carafe. He never took his eyes off of her except for brief glances at the work he was doing.
“That’s very complimentary, but do you see us in a relationship as one superior over the other? I’m not talking necessarily in a professional setting because I know you have far more experience than I do in your profession. You’re not in my league as a hacker, though. Not even close.”
“Granted,” he said with an inclination of his head as he flipped her omelet over and stepped over to start a pot of coffee. “When it comes to working on computer systems and even learning how to work with some equipment developed by aliens or different societies of humans like the kingdom, you have no equal. You’re a genius at that kind of work, and I mean that in the literal sense. The fact that you have an alien computer scientist wired into your nervous system undoubtedly helps with that, but I believe the talent is yours. I will never come close to the skills you have in that field.”
“You haven’t really answered my question,” she said. “As clever as that was, it was an attempt to divert me. Don’t try to be slippery, Patrick. Answer the question.”
He grinned at her and put her omelet onto a warming rack while he started his own and flipped the bacon to begin cooking on the other side. “You’re very insightful, yet that is also something that isn’t precisely what you wanted to know. I have to be honest with you, Lisa. I like you a great deal, but there are significant differences between us. I’ve lived a long life that’s given me insight into everyone around me that you can’t draw upon. Do I see myself as superior to you? I do. That doesn’t make me better than you, but one must acknowledge the differences when they are present. You asked for honesty, and there you are.”
We can’t rule out that part of his behavior grows out of how he was raised. It seems like the people from the kingdom have different values than we do. The people in positions of power are quite literally superior in social standing compared to those around them. It doesn’t make it right, and he needs to learn that.
“And yet, here we are working together, and I am not going to play second fiddle to you. Are you more skilled and experienced? Yes. Am I your subordinate? No. There is no superior position in this relationship. We each contribute as much as we can to making this work, and we both benefit from it. If you try to dominate me or treat me as if I am lesser than you, then you will not be sharing a bed with me. Or working with me long term.”
He drained the grease from the bacon and put the savory meat aside with her omelet before flipping his own omelet to cook on the other side. He then began digging out plates and silverware, which he handed to her. “If you’d set the table, I’ll be there momentarily, and we can continue this conversation.”
She went back to the dining area and placed two settings at one of the corners of the table. They wouldn’t be seated side-by-side, but they would be directly next to each other and be able to see one another as they ate. This conversation was far from over, and she wasn’t going to let the matter drop until it was settled.
A minute later, he brought the food in. He poured them glasses of juice and then went to retrieve the coffee he’d set to brewing, pouring it into mugs that he’d also brought with him.
That accomplished, he sat and seasoned his omelet before cutting off a slice and popping it into his mouth. “Perfect,” he said after he’d chewed and swallowed. “Now, I’d like to take at least some issue with the critique you’ve offered. Perhaps I have been a bit high-handed, but I only did so to protect your life. You’ll have to grant me that my precaution was warranted, and it did save you from being executed. True?”
“Just because you were right, it does not mean that I appreciate you doing it without any input from me,” she said as she took a sip of her coffee before trying her own omelet. It was delicious, but she wasn’t going to let that sway her. This was too important of a conversation to let him off the hook. “Why couldn’t you simply tell me what you feared and let me make the choice for myself? I would probably have agreed to what you wanted to do, and this wouldn’t have been an issue. The fact that you had to knock me out and then do it while I was unconscious is where I have a problem. You’re not treating me like a person. You’re treating me like a plaything.”
He took another couple of bites of his omelet, his eyes looking off into the distance. He pursed his lips and then slowly nodded. “I suppose I can see what you’re saying there. I’ve lived alone here in the Confederation for hundreds of years, and I’m used to doing what I want when I want to do it. Even before then, I was never in a relationship. I’ll be honest and say that I probably don’t know what a normal relationship would even look like. My relationship with my mother and father was the closest thing I ever had to something like that, and while that was average enough, it certainly wasn’t anything to write home about. I can’t promise that I’ll do what you’re asking every single time, but I can give you my word that I will do my best not to treat you like a subordinate partner. If I lapse, it will be up to you to correct me.”
He grinned at her. “But I also need to lay some ground rules. When it comes to a covert operation, I’m the one calling the shots. We can discuss what we’re doing and why, but once the operation begins, you need to follow my instructions while we’re on task. Even if you disagree with them. I won’t ask you to kill someone who isn’t doing something that deserves death, but I can’t afford for you to be squeamish, either. The Poseidon Group is rather tame when compared to the Kingdom of Kastelara, but they have to be put down so that you can have a chance to win the fight against my former countrymen. Whatever dynamic we come up with will have to develop on its own, but there will be times where one or the other of us will have to call the shots, and the other will just have to comply.”
She took a drink of her orange juice, then popped some of the bacon into her mouth and chewed slowly. It was savory and good. What he said made some sense, but it still felt as if he were trying to hedge his bets so that he could get away with things that she wouldn’t ordinarily allow anyone else to do. It was almost a game to him, she imagined.
Maybe that’s exactly what it was. He’d been a spy and assassin for the royal family inside the kingdom, and maybe he developed that way of doing business to help protect himself from the emotional harm of doing what that required. In any case, it wasn’t something that she could allow to continue.
Let me ask your opinion, Regex. How should I handle this? He’s going to try and pull this crap again. I just know it.
She considered that for a few moments and then mentally nodded. That’s good advice. Let’s see how it plays out.
“I suppose that’s as good as I can hope for right now, but you’re going to need to keep thinking about it,” she said. “If you do something that treats me like a lesser person, then I’m going to call you on it, and you’re going to have to fix it, or we’re going our separate ways. I won’t dictate to you about how anything else goes but I will be treated as an equal. So long as you keep that in mind, we can do business. And, maybe more if you’re a good boy.”
He grinned. “I can be a very good boy with the right incentive. Perhaps we should discuss sleeping arrangements next.”
She held up her hand. “Let’s see how today plays out first. We need to look into the ex-manager and see what we can find out about him. If we can get him to give us a decent idea of what’s been going on over the last few months, it might be helpful. Human intelligence is sometimes better than the dry recitations of files I can steal from a computer network.”
“I’m not sure that I agree with that, but it’s a good place to start. Let’s finish our meal, and then you can use some of your computer skills to try to find out where he’s located. So long as the security isn’t too tight, I believe we can probably get him out without too much trouble.”
She wasn’t so sure, but if the two of them were going to work together, she would have to accept that his go-to answer to most problems was killing someone. The next few days would probably prove very interesting and maybe get them both into a lot of trouble. Even so, there was a lot for her to learn, and she intended to take full advantage of his presence.
“Then let’s get on with it.”
11
Derek docked the cutter with Specter and shut her systems down. The trip to rendezvous with the spy ship had been uneventful, though they’d had to dodge into the shadow of various stations and asteroids to keep the heat down. It was easy to understand why every structure in the system had its own heat shield. He suspected the Tardans and kingdom warships were doing something very similar.
It was possible the Locusts were doing so as well, but as they had no living passengers, it was possible that they did so far less frequently and just accepted the increased amount of heat. As they kept their interiors in vacuum, that probably made a difference, though he wasn’t an engineer, so he didn’t know for sure how effective that would be with their computers. Heat was supposedly a big problem for those, so whatever they did, they had to take that into account.
All of them were still in their vacuum suits as they had made the transit without an atmosphere, so they waited for the airlock to cycle and allow them into the ship one by one. Once they were inside, they stripped off the vacuum suits and headed for their destinations. He and the admiral headed for the intelligence center and found Tina working on the system.
She looked up as they entered the compartment and smiled at them. “Welcome back. I hope everything went smoothly.”
“There were a couple of hitches, but nothing we couldn’t handle,” Romanoff said. “We ran into Patrick. Needless to say, that surprised everyone, including him. After having a heart-to-heart conversation with him, I decided to allow him to work with us and have left Lisa and half of our people there to make that happen. They’re going to focus on the Poseidon Group while we figure out exactly where the Tardans have the master control codes and begin working on retrieving them. If needed, we’ll come back and get them, but right now, they’re just gathering information.”
Both of Tina’s eyebrows rose. “Well, that is a surprise. I suppose he was tracking us and followed you to the station. I didn’t figure he’d be able to see where Specter was, but that was obviously a mistake. I suppose I’ll need to inform Professor Prescott so he can keep an eye out for any trouble from that angle.”
“Actually, while I think he came to the system because we were coming here, I believe we arrived at the same station independently,” Derek said. “He could have been lying, of course, but he seemed just as surprised to see us as we were him. Why don’t I go let the professor know what we’re up to and get moving toward our next stop?”
“Good idea,” Romanoff said. “I’ll fill Tina in on everything we figured out, and you can do the same with the professor.”
Derek made his way up to the bridge and found Professor Prescott seated in the control couch. The older man smiled at him. “Welcome back, Derek. I hope your mission was productive. Everything’s been quiet here since you left.”
