Alien Refuge (49 page)

Nevertheless, Conrad Slade could not be allowed to leave Haven alive. Somehow, the bastard would pay for the pain and terror he had caused Jol’s Matara and son.

Chapter 16

Iris ignored the pain in her body and the blistering heat on her face where Conrad slapped her. She glared at him in open hatred, something she would never have done on Earth. His eyes widened and he even jerked back from her a little before recovering himself. His eyes narrowed and he looked ready to slap her again.

Before he made any move however, the man on his right spoke. “Where is Father Stephen?”

Iris blinked, and she looked the man over. He was the right body size in his bulky brown snowsuit, and she’d know that voice anywhere, even muffled by his ski-mask. However, now was not the time to ask Governor George Hoover what the hell he was doing with the E.I.K. Perhaps he’d been a part of it from the very beginning. Who knew?

She forced herself to concentrate on the task at hand, on the role she had come to play in order to get Thomas back. She told Hoover, “Governor Ospar and his Nobek killed him, along with Dramok Borl. They somehow found out the aide was connected to the Basma.”

That got reactions from all the masked men. In a choked voice, Hoover asked, “Father Stephen is dead? You’re sure?”

Iris’ eyes filled with tears. She didn’t know if it was hurt over the priest’s betrayal or that he’d been cut down so cruelly as he’d sought to right his wrongs. The priest had taken Thomas, but he had ended up sorry he had. She could almost feel sympathy for him.

With real pain, she told him, “After he delivered the message, they cut his throat right in front of me. I ran away. They are monsters, just as everyone said. Please, I just want my son. I will do anything to get Thomas back.”

Conrad’s lip curled in an unpleasant smile. “You and he will go back to the Mercy colony with me. That is the only way you’ll see him again.”

Iris wanted to claw his eyes out, and anger almost took over once more. But she thought of her son, of her wonderful Thomas, and she teared up anew. “Then so be it. Where is my baby, Conrad? Take me to him. Please?”

Puffing up with satisfaction, Conrad turned to Hoover. “I have what I want. I’m ready to leave.”

Hoover shook himself, as if waking from a nightmare. “But the Kalquorians didn’t agree to leave the colony yet. The murdering bastards have made no move to agree to our demands.”

Conrad snorted and brought his attention back to Iris, dismissing the governor. “That is your battle. Besides, taking the boy and his mother from the colony will show them the E.I.K. meant it when they said he wouldn’t be freed unless they left. Surely you have plenty of other children and mothers you can use as pawns?”

“So we do.” Hoover responded almost automatically, as if bowing to the natural command Iris’ husband wielded as easily as he had on Earth. The governor nodded to the masked men next to him. “Take them to the launch pad. The Kalquorian rebels have signaled that everything is ready for their escape.”

Conrad grabbed Iris’ upper arm, squeezing until she moaned. He grinned and again she thought how much she wanted to hurt him in return. It took all of her will and fear for Thomas to not resist her estranged husband as he dragged her towards a transport shuttle.

But even the pain and anger was secondary to the new worry that Hoover’s words had brought. They were going to the colony launch pad? But Jol had said everything was grounded, with traffic control ordered to enforce the flight shutdown. They knew some Kalquorians had gone to the revolt’s side. Had that allowed them to seize control of the launch pad? How many Kalquorians on Haven had turned on Ospar and his men?

* * * *

Jol led the way from the clan’s hiding spot to the unmarked shuttle they’d taken from the government bay, hidden among a stand of trees a mile away. They moved as fast as they could, concerned to have Iris out of their sight with no idea of where she was being taken.

In less than two minutes, they were dashing into the shuttle. Jol immediately strapped himself into the pilot’s chair and turned on the tracking sensor he’d hidden in Iris’s boot. He breathed a small sigh of relief to see a strong signal beaming from it.

Ospar sat in the seat next to his. “They didn’t search her for items that the scanner wouldn’t find. Foolish of them to think we wouldn’t follow.”

Jol started the shuttle and lifted off. He followed Iris’ beacon at a distance, hoping they wouldn’t tip off anyone that they were in pursuit.

He told his Dramok, “None of them are combat-trained, nor do they have experience with espionage tactics. I appreciate the naïveté of the enemy. It will make it easier to recover those who belong with us.”

Rivek leaned on the back of Ospar’s seat, apparently loathe to sit in the seat that would keep him a few feet back from his clanmates. “I only hope we will find Iris and Thomas before they are harmed any worse than they already have been.”

That brought Jol to a request he’d wanted to make since learning Conrad had taken his son away. In a flat voice, he said, “Ospar, I want your permission to kill Slade, no matter what the situation is.”

Ospar pulled in a deep breath. Jol glanced at him to see the Dramok sitting tense in his seat. “You know the repercussions that could have, my Nobek. It could turn all the Earthers on Haven against us.”

“Iris and Thomas may never be truly freed if he doesn’t die. I am willing to face any consequences of my actions and disavow your knowledge so you can remain with them afterward.”

Emotion stormed across Rivek’s expression. In a tight voice he quoted, “‘While a life remains, there is hope it will find its true meaning.’”

Jol could well appreciate his clanmate’s mixed feelings. As a devout priest, he had no choice but to counsel the highest of morals. Yet he knew Rivek well enough to feel the Imdiko wished the question of Conrad Slade to be settled utterly as well.

Certain Rivek wouldn’t take offense, Jol said, “My Imdiko, you know the respect and care accorded you from my heart. But I don’t give a fuck for that man’s life or the good it may ultimately do given time and rehabilitation.”

One corner of Rivek’s lips twitched up for an instant. He said nothing in response.

Ospar’s knuckles whitened as he clenched his fists. “I want his blood too, my Nobek. However, unless he gives you good reason by threatening the lives of ours, I cannot give leave. If he gives himself up, especially in front of others, we’ll have no choice but to let him live. Besides, when we have Iris and Thomas back they will need you with them, not in a prison.”

Jol nodded. He wanted to be with his clan too, but his warrior soul cried to cut Slade’s heart out. He could only hope the abusing son of a bitch would give him reason to kill without letting his Matara and son be endangered. That left only one option to pray for.

He told the others, “I hope the ancestors are kind enough that he tries for my life alone.”

* * * *

The instant the shuttle landed at the space launch pad, Conrad yanked Iris to her feet and shoved her out the hatch. Except for the initial slap he’d dealt back at the storage area, he’d contented himself with handling her hard rather than outright hitting. The look on his face told her he planned to get to that later.

The moment I have Thomas near, you’ll find out I won’t just take a beating. I’m not the woman you left behind when you went to Chicago,
she thought.

Iris blinked at the five fierce-visaged Nobeks waiting the short distance between the ground shuttle she disembarked and the idling space-going shuttle. One of the E.I.K. men stepped forward to have a word with them. He stripped his mask off, and Iris tensed to see it was Blaine Middleton. She thought about telling Conrad that this man had nearly run Thomas down but kept her mouth shut. She doubted her estranged husband would care at this point.

One of the Nobeks told them, “The transport leaves for Mercy in two hours. You have plenty of time for your shuttle to get there.”

Blaine asked, “What about that lockdown?”

“We took care of that. Long live the Basma, who will repel Earther blood from Kalquorian soil.” The Nobek sneered at all of them.

Iris twisted in Conrad’s grip to confront him. “Where’s Thomas? I’m not going anywhere until I have my son!”

Conrad let go of her arm to grab a handful of hair. He used the tight grip to push her towards the humming space worthy shuttle. “He’s already on board, so shut your face and get in there.”

Iris saw the Kalquorians exchange a look at the rough treatment she was dealt, but a familiar wail coming from the open hatch of the waiting vehicle made her immediately dismiss them. She lunged for the shuttle, not caring that Conrad’s hold was tearing hair from her scalp. She couldn’t get loose, though she fought hard, galvanized by the sound of her son crying.

One of the Kalquorians yelled something in his own language. “Now what?” Conrad shouted, trying to restrain Iris.

“Unmarked government shuttle. I would not doubt it is Jol.”

As Iris’ heart leapt, another Nobek grinned around his descended fangs. “We finally get a stand up fight. It’s about fucking time.”

Iris couldn’t turn her head to see what the others stared at, not with Conrad holding so tight to her hair. All five Kalquorians in front of her were reacting now. One motioned impatiently at Conrad. “Get on board! You’re leaving now!”

Iris worried about her clan and the fight they had before them with these renegades, but she had to concentrate on the most important person of all. As Conrad’s grip on her eased a bit, she screamed, “Thomas!”

“Mommy! Where’s Mommy?” came the thin wail.

Conrad at last set her loose, and she bolted for the shuttle. Without pausing an instant, she rushed through the open hatch. A sixth Nobek stood just inside, holding a crying Thomas firmly but with no sign he was hurting him.

Iris never stopped to think the Kalquorian might harm her. Thomas was all she saw, and she ran right up to tear him from the big man’s arms. She held her child close while he clung fiercely, his arms wrapped around her neck as if he’d never let go.

“Mommy! Mommy!” he squalled, his legs also circling to crush against her painful ribs. She let him hang on tight, her face buried in his overlong hair to inhale his sweet scent.

Iris whispered, “It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s here. Mommy’s here and won’t let you go again.”

As they reunited, the Kalquorian who’d been holding Thomas stomped forward to speak to another Nobek seated in the pilot’s chair. They muttered together, their tones intense. Then the first Kalquorian got off.

As soon as he disembarked, Conrad stepped on board. Iris hissed, her hair standing on end. He blocked her way off the shuttle.

Thomas screamed, his voice furious and scared. “Bad Daddy! Bad Daddy, no!”

Iris whispered fiercely, “Hush, Thomas. It’s okay. Mommy’s got you, but I need you to stand up like a big boy now.”

She set him on his feet and put herself between him and Conrad. But as she readied to confront her husband, the hatch slid shut and the floor shifted beneath her feet. The shuttle had already left the ground.

Conrad grinned, as if guessing she’d been ready to fight her way through him. Not trying to hide his gloating, he told her, “I keep what’s mine.”

* * * *

Jol’s jaw clenched as they arrived at the airfield. “The shuttle is lifting off. Apparently traffic control has been compromised by the rebels.”

Ospar was already half out of his seat though Jol hadn’t set down yet. “We have to stop it! If he gets them off Haven—”

“Border defense can stop the larger transport if I can’t get the stasis field activated in time.”

His expression distrustful, Rivek looked over the blaster Jol had insisted he take out of the shuttle’s inventory. “That will leave several hours between here and there that Slade has control of Iris and Thomas.”

Jol growled, “I didn’t say I was happy about it, my Imdiko. Prepare yourselves. We’ve got men ready to fight us.”

He recognized the six waiting Nobeks as part of his security team. Fierce anger at their betrayal brought his natural ferocity front and center. He’d trusted these men. They’d probably been the ones who disabled the Amgar home’s fire suppression system. Now they’d allowed another woman and child to be put in danger because they preferred Kalquorians to die off rather than mix the races.