Hailey's Comet Anthology Page 6

  What if I offer myself as a substitute? “No! I don’t want his filthy hands on me!” she declared out loud, arguing with her own thoughts.

  But I can probably withstand him better than the others. I’m stronger than they are. “But I’ve only ever been with Jax,” she countered.

  Jax would understand. Hell, he’s probably getting action here and there in his travels, her thoughts reasoned. “I hope not,” she said, sadly. She had never considered being intimate with anyone else. As a Wraith, her limbic monitor ensured she was not sidetracked by hormones. And without the LM, she loved Jackson. She didn’t want anyone else. She certainly didn’t want Kinkade.

  You’re an agent of SWORD! You have a duty to protect others. “It is my honor to serve the citizens of the Empire,” she recited softly. Still, she didn’t relish submitting to Kinkade; he disgusted her so. And it might not even stop him from resuming his attacks on the other women. She would have to make a bargain with him. Take her and leave the others alone, and she would guarantee his fulfillment. But he doesn’t honor promises, Hailey remembered. There had to be another idea…

  Kinkade interrupted Hailey’s strategizing. He brought a bottle of expensive wine and two glasses into her cell. Get him drunk! Hailey plotted. “Mariella, would you like some really good wine?” he asked cheerfully.

  “I don’t know,” Hailey answered, feeding him the idea that she was no longer sure of herself – in any aspect of her life. “SWORD doesn’t let me drink on duty.”

  “You’re off duty, my dear. Relax.”

  “This is not a very relaxing place,” she replied.

  “I know, Mariella darling, but life on an asteroid is not luxurious.”

  “Then why are you out here? Don’t you like luxury?”

  “Yes, I do. But I’m working on something out here, so I can stand a little ‘roughing it’ until the ship comes back.”

  “What are you working on?” Hailey asked, accepting the proffered glass of wine.

  “I’m building something. A recreation place, of sorts.”

  “Oh? What kind of recreation place?”

  “The kind my friends and I would like to visit,” he said, taking a large sip of the wine from his glass. “I see you’re back in your Wraith suit.”

  “Well, it’s chilly in here, and your butler didn’t bring me the robe and slippers I asked for. I’ve got nothing else to wear.”

  “That is a problem. I want you to be comfortable. I’ll bring you something,” he said, not making any movements toward getting her anything.

  “What do you want from me?” Hailey asked.

  “Friendship,” Kinkade replied.

  “Do friends hold friends in guarded cells?”

  “No, friends do not. But I’m not convinced you are my friend.”

  “That makes two of us,” Hailey agreed.

  “What would convince you that I’m your friend? Short of removing the ACMEs, that is.”

  Hailey pretended to ponder that. “How about a comm?”

  Kinkade laughed. “I don’t think so, Mariella. Not until we’re friends.”

  “What would convince you that I’m a friend?” Hailey asked.

  Kinkade stepped closer to the cot, then sat down on it, turning sideways toward Hailey. “When you want to spend time with me – private time – then I’ll believe you’re my friend.”

  “How about a comm without the comm part. I just want to play music in here. It calms me. Maybe get a few game apps. There’s nothing to do.”

  Kinkade considered it. If the Wraith was busy playing games and listening to music, perhaps she wouldn’t be planning an escape. “OK, you talked me into it. I don’t want you to be bored.”

  “That’s the word. Bored. Without my implants, I got nothin’ going on upstairs,” she said, pointing at her skull, intimating that she was weakening intellectually.

  “One robe and one decomm’d comm. Comin’ right up!” he said, leaving with his bottle and his glass.

  Hailey watched him go down the hall and turn right at the end. Now that she knew he was in the other half of the structure, she counted off the seconds, as best she could estimate. The five other doors on the left side of the hall, opposite the central wall lined with ACMEs on the right, remained closed. Not a peep came from those rooms. When Kinkade returned, she looked at his stride, estimating, inaccurately, how long it was. “Is that your own robe?” she asked.

  “I have several in my closet, just in case I have company.”

  Hailey guessed, from that remark, that he had gone all the way to his bedroom, which she guessed was on the far side of the living room where Mandy said she entered the building. Kinkade handed the robe to Hailey, then pulled a comm out of his pocket. With a few swipes and taps, he came to the settings screen where he could lock out comm use. Standing right in front of her, confidently or carelessly, he entered a long string of numbers to lock the comm. Hailey watched, trying to memorize his thumbs movements. She dearly missed the synaptic hyperlink and parietal micrometer that would have told her, by watching the muscles and tendons in his arms and hands, exactly what he entered, and her TDN would have stored the long passcode.

  Nevertheless, she studied his movements and counted his thumb taps and thought she had it. He handed her the comm with a smug smile. “Thanks,” Hailey forced herself to respond.

  “You know, Mariella, if you need anything, just tap the ping icon. It’s connected directly to MUPA.”

  “Does that mean you won’t be bringing me things I need any more?” Hailey asked.

  “Do you want me to?” he asked.

  Hailey shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t really unsure; she was intentionally noncommittal, hoping he’d think that maybe she preferred his company to being alone.

  “I’ll see you, Mariella,” he said with half a smile. Kinkade left the room and closed the door. Hailey leapt up to open it a crack and watch what he did. Her heart sank when he went to the second door from the end, unlocked it with an electronic key, and entered without asking.

  When that door closed, Hailey closed her door as well. She squeezed through the hole to the adjacent room and tapped on Mandy’s wall.

  “Hailey?” Mandy said quietly.

  “What did you find out?”

  “The only thing I can add to what I already told you is that Luna, the one at the end, overheard Trip telling the pilot to be back in three weeks, and if anyone asked about him – Trip – then the pilot should say he’s staying with friends at the resort on Larisse.”

  “So, the pilot is complicit.” Probably everyone who works for him is... “Mandy, are you sure it’s three weeks and not one?”

  “Yeah, because Luna told Trip she was supposed to be back at school, that she only had a two-week break and we used one of ‘em getting here.”

  “Really? A whole week?”

  “Yeah. You didn’t know?”

  “I was knocked out somehow.” A memory triggered. “A gas, I think. It smelled bad. Do you have a chrono?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Can you keep track of the days for me?”

  “Sure, Hailey. When are we getting out of here?”

  “I’m working on it. We need that ship.” A loud cry from two rooms away interrupted their hushed discussion. Hailey braced herself for gunshots, but the sentries seemed programmed only to shoot Hailey if Hailey made a loud noise. She let out the breath she was holding. “Mandy, you have to be strong. Even if Kinkade comes back. I’m sorry I can’t stop him yet, but I am working on it. I’m sorry, Mandy,” she repeated.

  “It’s not your fault, Hailey. I’m so stupid for getting on his damn ship in the first place.”

  “What he’s doing is not your fault either. Don’t tear yourself down. When you’re alone, tell yourself empowering things, like ‘he can’t control my spirit,’ and ‘I’m going to go home and he’s going to prison.’ Got it? You have to build up internal strength. Physical strength, too. Do push-ups and sit-ups a few times a day. Squats a
nd jumps, too. Anything helps. Does he give you enough food?”

  “No.”

  “Any food?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Talk civilly to him, if you can stomach it, and ask for more water. He’s trying to break us. If you appear conquered, he might stop asserting himself on all of you. I can’t guarantee that, though.”

  “He hasn’t forced you?”

  “He’s got something else in mind for me, I think.”

  “What?”

  “He knows I’m physically stronger than him. I think we wants me to want it so he doesn’t get hurt.”

  “Castrate the bastard, Agent Ramirez.”

  Hailey smiled. “You got it. Tell the others everything I told you.”

  “I will.”

  “Stay strong, Mandy.” Hailey left the center room and returned to her own. “Now, on to Plan ACMEs.” She accessed her TDN – no, she didn’t. With a mild curse, Hailey tried to remember the sequence of numbers she thought Kinkade had entered in the comm. Tapping them into the comm resulted in the reply: passcode incorrect.

  What numbers would be significant to him? She guessed a few more times, then gave up in favor of working on her idea to reprogram the robot sentries. What words will I need? She made a list on a “notes” app on the comm since her brain was not the information vault it used to be. “Sentries, belay, all, previous, orders, obey, orders, from, the, target, only, acknowledge. Twelve words. That’s not too bad. Wait. Only eleven. ‘Orders’ twice.”

  Hailey looked around the room. “Now I’m talking to myself. Great.” She pondered her vocal monolog. She had been alone many times, for much longer than this confinement, so why was she going insane now?

  From somewhere deep in her memories, a voice came to her. “People need people, Hailey. No one’s an island.” Who said that to me? She wracked her brain. Not to me, she adjusted her thinking. It was in a vid she watched. Her unreliable organic memory had inserted her name into it. She thought harder. It was a vid… she watched it with Jackson… in her room in the Scabbard. That was it.

  “But I’ve gone longer than this without company,” she told herself. But I’ve lost all connection with everyone from my past and present. She leaned her head against the wall and looked at the ceiling. “Regular people need people,” she muttered. On the ceiling, she pictured Laura and Jax and her mom, Karen. She pictured Mango and grunts from her last mission. She pictured Carter Flynn, which reminded her of the lonely Abraxas Titan, who wasn’t lonely anymore, thanks to her.

  Her thoughts circled back and lingered on Carter, truly a lonely person who couldn’t maintain any relationships because of the post-career stress of being a retired Wraith. He was happy when he was with Hailey. They became close, and at Hailey’s urging, Carter sought out Karen, whom Hailey was certain would be a good friend for him. Her mom had told her, later, that Carter spent most of his time on Light One, her home planet, but still liked to travel to new places now and then. Once, she even went with him. Karen, it seemed, needed Carter as a friend as much as he needed her. Hailey smiled as she pictured Karen and Carter having lunch, telling each other stories about Hailey or Andre, laughing together about ordinary things.

  But it wasn’t just missing her friends and relations that contributed to Hailey’s sense of crazy. She missed Comet. She missed the implants that made her Comet; she didn’t feel like herself. She was no longer a one-person problem-solving phenomenon. She needed people, not just to get out of the current hell she inhabited, but to bear the wait until she got out. She felt such relief whenever Mandy answered her taps on the wall. Even though Mandy was not equipped to save Hailey, her mere presence was reassuring. And if the T’skala Nebula was going to be the place where Hailey died, at least she wouldn’t die alone…

  “Snap out of it!” she chastised herself out loud. “OK, I’m good. I’m working. Working on…” she looked at the comm in her hand, “…right. The words I need Kinkade to say.”

  She spent a good part of the day creating a conversation she thought she could steer and control, tricking Kinkade into saying the eleven words she needed. She rehearsed it a few times, trying to lock it into her memory.

  She followed the advice she had given Mandy: strengthen the body as well as the mind and spirit. She went through her exercise routine and was pleased to find herself in fair-approaching-good condition. With nothing left to do until Kinkade made an appearance, Hailey removed her suit and donned the robe he had given her. She got under her blanket and lay on her cot, thinking: visualizing her successful escape from the T’skala Nebula and the day in court when Kinkade would be put away for decades while she and the rest of the Empire got along fine without him. She smiled at the thought, then gave herself over to sleep.

  Missing Agent

  “I haven’t heard from Comet since she left over a week ago.”

  “So? She seems to prefer to work independent of SWORD. What’s new?”

  “C’mon, Thadeus. That was years ago. Let go. Comet’s a great agent and she’s been working hard for thirteen years,” Laura scolded.

  “Lucky, why don’t you comm her if you’re worried?”

  “I did. I can’t connect with her comm. Sent her a hyperwave, even. No response.”

  Thadeus LaMont furrowed his brow. “She was on that asteroid sale mission, right?”

  “Yes. Simple. She should’ve been back on Ganymede days ago. I contacted the space port there, and Kinkade’s ship has not returned yet.”

  “Maybe they docked somewhere else instead.”

  “I want to tap the SWORD analysts to help find that ship. Will you sign my request, please?”

  “Are you sure that’s necessary? They’re very busy tracking rebel activity,” LaMont replied. Lucky stared at him the way a Wraith did when she was determined not to leave until she got what she wanted. “All right, hand it over,” he said with a sigh.

  Laura went down four levels in the Scabbard space station to the most complex data collection and analysis center she had ever seen. She waited near two analysts who were discussing a tantalizing piece of intel. Finally, they paused their conversation and spoke to Laura.

  “Can we do something for you, Agent?”

  “Handler. Schwartz. Call me Lucky.”

  “I’m Agent Chan and that’s Agent Chan,” one of them said, pointing to the other.

  “Seriously?”

  “Not even related.”

  “Interesting,” Laura remarked, not interested at all. “I have a signed request. I need help finding a ship.”

  “One of ours?” Chan asked.

  “No. Private yacht.”

  “OK. What info can you give us?”

  “UOEDOT 77A54QL8. Owner calls it Emerald.”

  “Who’s the owner?”

  “Artemis Kinkade.”

  “Kinkade? Missing? Which one?”

  “The youngest, the third.”

  “Last seen?”

  “It left Ganymede space port nine days ago, with one of our agents on board.”

  “A Wraith?”

  “Yes.”

  “Send a hyperwave. The agent can tell you where the ship is.”

  “Now, why didn’t I think of that?” Laura said sarcastically. She sighed. “The agent is not responding. The ship is not where it’s supposed to be. Do you have enough to get started?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” the chastised agent murmured. Laura turned on her heel and left.

  “What has Trip cooked up this time?”

  “I don’t know. Just got the same comm you did. ‘Ganymede space port in twelve days’.”

  “Guess we’re goin’ on a trip!”

  “When Trip’s throwin’ a party, it’s worth whatever price to get in.”

  “I wish he was here now. We always have more luck with the ladies when he’s around.”

  “Rich by association, my friend. They just assume, don’t they? Ha! It’s great!”

  “What are you doin’ tonight?”

  “No
parties to crash. How about going to Marauder’s and getting wasted?”

  “Might as well.”

  Laura paced the halls of the Scabbard. It was not common for a Wraith or former Wraith to be impatient or worried, but Laura was both. She nearly ran into an agent coming slowly out of sick bay. “Please excuse me,” Laura said.

  “My fault. Didn’t check both ways before crossing the street,” the younger agent replied. “You’re Lucky, aren’t you? Comet’s handler.”

  “Yes. Who are you?”

  “Spice. I was Comet’s classmate when we were trainees.”

  Laura perked up. “You know Comet.”

  “Yes. Agent Sophie Abboud,” she said, sticking out her hand.

  “Laura Schwartz,” she replied, shaking Spice’s hand.

  “Is Comet here? I’d like to see her again.”

  “No, Spice. I don’t know where she is,” Laura admitted. “Truth be told, I’m getting worried.”

  “About Comet? Nah. She’s unbeatable.”

  “That’s what I thought, but she doesn’t answer my comms or hyperwaves.”

  “I’m sure it’s just a technical issue.”

  “I hope so. What are you doing in sick bay, Spice?”

  “Major reconstruction of my leg. I was just going on my daily stroll, as per doctor’s orders. Care to join me?”

  “I do. Thank you.” Laura and Sophie chatted about Hailey as they walked through halls.

  Finally, Sophie said, “You know, this leg is not hurting at all today. Maybe they’ll discharge me.”

  “Hate to say it, but doctors know best.”

  “Lucky, if you don’t hear from Comet soon, I can go look for her. That would be a good way to ease back into the field. I’ve been here for three weeks!”