Betrothed Episode One (15 page)

The
vision was telling me to wait.

Soon
enough I moved, and when I clambered out, no one was
around.

I
shouldn’t be doing this.

I
paused, glancing towards the view with fear-filled white-rimmed
eyes.

The huge
sprawling city lay before me, every tall spire and pillar-like
building catching the light.

I could
not pause for long.

The
vision moved me.

As it
did, I regained enough control to open my lips a crack. “I
shouldn’t be doing this.”

That
thought echoed in my mind as I flung myself into a desperate
run.

Captain
Fargo could help me, and now I was running away from him. I was
also committing a crime.

But
could I stop myself?

No.

No matter how hard I tried to ground my feet into the metal
walkway, it wouldn’t work. My muscles jerked forward with a nervous
tension, and it would have taken ropes or chains to hold me in
place.

I locked
a hand on my stomach, my belly churning with fear and my eyes
opening wide to survey the world around me.

As I
rounded a corner, I saw people. I wanted to shrink back, but my
feet walked me forward.

I was
going mad – that had to be it. It was the only way to explain
this.

I’d just
escaped the police station, and pretty soon they’d start looking
for me, if they weren’t already. When they found me, all Fargo’s
good will would be burnt up.

I’d be
treated like a criminal.

There
was no way this plan would work.

Escape
the police and find Hart – it was insane to even think it was
possible. What did I think would happen? Hart – the most arrogant,
rude man I’d ever met – would accept me with open arms?

No. As
soon as I found him, he would hand me back to the
police.

But
could that sane, rational realization stop me?

No.

It
seemed nothing could stop me.

I kept dashing down the path, headed for a man I did not
know, yet one the compulsion led me towards like a magnet attracted
to a lodestone.

The
further I walked along the clean, smooth walkways of the upper
towers, the more I realized this was insane.

There
was nothing I could do though.

Nothing
I could do.

…

Captain
Fargo

None of
this made any sense.

I’d made
a career in the Foundation Forces, and precious few crimes ever
made any sense.

I stood
at the loading platform on one of the upper towers, staring at a
transport captain as he stuttered about seeing a woman ride his
ship.

Miranda.

The description fitted, and so did footage from ships that
had passed the transport.

The
footage was bizarre.

It
showed Miranda in freefall, screaming for her life, until she
struck the roof of the transport, rolled down, and lay there for a
few seconds.

Then,
like a seasoned thrill seeker, she stood up, wind whipping through
her hair and clothes, her expression locked with panic and yet
determination.

I kept playing it over and over again, half staring at the
footage on my wrist device as I kept the rest
of
my attention focused on the
transport captain.

A large
fleshy alien with green dappled skin, he held his three fingered
hands before himself, rubbing his wrists in nervous tension.
“Nothing I could do,” he repeated for the hundredth time, “nothing
I could do.”

I
finally tore my eyes off the footage and nodded at him. “I
understand that. Thank you for your time. You may be contacted for
an official witness report.” With a deep nod, I turned.

I’d
already put out a Cluster-wide warrant for Miranda’s
arrest.

It
wouldn’t take long to capture her.

Or at
least that’s what my rational mind told me. My gut instinct knew it
would be different.

Nothing
here was ordinary.

Despite
my enquiries, nobody had been able to locate the mysterious
Lieutenant Mark Havelock.

At
first, I believed everything Miranda had said about him. Now, I was
wondering whether they were working together.

Though I
entertained that thought, I had to admit it didn’t feel right. I
couldn’t wash away the genuine surprise and fear Miranda had shown
in my office when she talked of the so-called hospital she’d been
held at.

I
clutched my jaw, letting my thumb and fingers dig hard into my
chin. For a few seconds I stared with an unfocused gaze at the
view.

The
city.

My
city.

Though it was true the Illuminate’s ensured this universe
enjoyed continuous peace, that peace was not always complete. They
protected us all from the deadly enemies of the Gap, but that left
all the ordinary enemies for men like me.

Ordinary.

My mind
got stuck on that word, because none of this was goddamn
ordinary.

Something about Miranda – whether it be her expression, her
story, or the way she’d sat there staring at me pleadingly – wasn’t
right.

That
didn’t for a second mean I believed her claim that she was somehow
Anna Carter.

It made
me wonder whether something equally as extraordinary was going on
though.

As I
walked away from the transport captain, I spied one of my guards. I
marched up to him. “Any news? Have you captured her
yet?”

The
guard shook his head. “No news, sir.”

I
frowned. The transport captain had confirmed it had been barely
half an hour since he’d spied Miranda. She was on foot, and unless
she had help, she should still be around this section of the
city.

So she
had to have help, right?

If my
people could not locate her, it meant she was long gone or she
could disappear easily in one of the most secure cities in the
universe.

“
Redouble efforts.” I turned to walk away. I stopped. I
inclined my head to the left, a thought springing through my mind.
“And inform the guards at the Illuminate palace.”

“
Sir?” The guard shot me a confused look.

“
Just do it.”

He
saluted.

I turned
away, walking with slow cautious steps towards a viewing platform.
Resting my elbows on the railing, I glanced across the city, my
eyes soon locking onto the Illuminate tower. Built like a pillar of
light, it was easily the most secure building on Cluster. And it
wasn’t even the true palace of the Illuminates. It was simply the
residence they use when they visited the Central System.

The
Illuminates had their own fleet. The most sophisticated, well-armed
fleet in the entire universe. It outpaced even the Foundation
Forces flagships.

It had
to.

Without it, the Illuminates would not be able to keep back
the Gap.

So it
sounded crazy to warn the Illuminate guards there may be trouble;
there was precious little in this universe they couldn’t deal
with.

Yet I
had to do it. The twitching, niggling, gurgling feeling in my gut
told me to.

Miranda
was somehow convinced she was Anna Carter. But if I’d misjudged her
character, and Miranda was a terrorist in cahoots with Lieutenant
Mark Havelock, then there was every possibility she was going after
Anna Carter.

Hart and the other Illuminates should be able to protect
his
fiancée
, but
I would be negligent if I didn’t hand on the warning.

As I
turned from the view, I let my gaze dart over the closest platforms
and sky bridges.

I would
find her.

However
long it took.

Lieutenant Mark Havelock

“
I’ve got it. I understand.” I clenched my hands into tighter
and tighter fists as I stared at the wall.

“
Act now. No more mistakes,” the loud guttural voice of my
employer rang through my small room.

I was
glad they couldn’t see me. Glad because I twisted my already stiff
face into an expression of pure loathing.

If I
didn’t believe in the cause – and I didn’t need them to complete it
– I would walk away.

But I
needed them. And they needed her.

“
No more mistakes,” they repeated, their usually gravelly
voice pitching high like screeching metal about to
break.

“
I’ve got it,” I tried to keep my tone neutral, but it was
impossible.

“
Gain back her trust.”

“
That may not be possible.”

“
Do it,” they commanded me.

I let
out a silent snarl. “Fine,” I could barely move my jaw let alone my
stiff white lips.

“
We must gain her trust before the alignment.”

“
And if that doesn’t work?” I should have kept my misgivings
to myself, but I couldn’t. Not in my current mood. If the audio
feed wasn’t quite so accurate, I would ball up a fist and punch the
wall.

“
Capture her. We will do the rest.”

I let
out a tight breath. “Fine.”

“
Do not fail us,” they warned.

“
I won’t.” What I really wanted to do was return the threat.
If they couldn’t uphold their side of the bargain, they’d be dead.
I had enough contacts in the Forces and the government to track
them down wherever they were.

The
audio feed cut out with a distinct hum, and I was finally free to
punch the wall.

I balled
up my fist and struck the metal, my knuckles indenting into it as
if it was nothing but butter.

The
cybernetic implants grafted into my body ensured a little thing
like a solid metal wall couldn’t get in my way.

And yet, Anna Carter could. Simple, little, cute, irritating
... Anna Carter.

The key to everything I had worked my entire life
for.

She’d
escaped. Escaped under my watch. Now I had no idea where she was.
If I didn’t get to her in time, everything could be
lost.

Truth be told, I didn’t know how she fitted into this. I knew
she was important, and now I knew she was betrothed to Illuminate
Hart too – a surprise that had nearly floored me. But there was
something else going on here.

When
we’d held her for a week, we’d been instructed to run tests. The
doctors had known more than me, but I fancied even they hadn’t
known what they were looking for.

Something was happening with little Annie – something
huge.

I didn’t
know the full details; I just had to find her.

With
another guttural scream, I brought my fist back and punched the
wall, until the entire room shook.

Despite
my vicious blow, the wall was far worse off than me. My knuckles
weren’t even red.

With a
forced calming breath, I let my arm drop, and took a stiff step
back on my regulation boots.

I was
still wearing my uniform, and I jammed a thumb into my collar to
loosen it, not caring as I tore the fabric.

If I
didn’t find Anna and gain her trust, everything would be
ruined.

So with
one more calming breath, I centered my awareness, closed my eyes,
and concentrated.

Then
with a grunt, I walked out the door.

She
couldn’t be far.

For all
her importance, she was one of the flakiest people I’d ever
met.

Breaking
out of my facility had been nothing but luck. Escaping me forever,
would be impossible.

With that determined thought ringing in my mind, I walked
out, my heavy footfall beating like a pounding drum.

…

Anna
Carter

It
wasn’t long before I stopped. Not because I had somehow regained
control over my crazy body, but because the vision suddenly swelled
in my mind.

Pain
erupted through my head, and I fell to one knee, clutching my
temples as I screamed.

A few
passing aliens rushed to my side, but I staggered back, pushing
them away.

I could
barely see. The vision wasn’t complete – not like the one I
experienced in the police station – but it was close.

It
overlapped my vision almost seamlessly.

I must
have looked insane as I staggered around, one hand clutched on my
face, the other outstretched as I tried to differentiate the world
around me from the world inside my mind.

I could
hear people making frightened calls, no doubt to the
police.

There
was nothing I could do but stand there and try but fail to push
away the vision tearing through me.