Ronan: Ziva Payvan Book 3 (47 page)

-60-

HSP Headquarters

Noro, Haphez

Ziva shut her eyes, which did absolutely nothing to drown out all the voices demanding answers from her. “One at a time!” she shouted, evoking a sudden silence. She opened her eyes, fixing her gaze on Reddic. “You first.”

He stepped forward and released the shackles he’d insisted she wear when she’d been escorted inside to a holding room. “I contacted Matney. He has agreed to let you remain in the agency’s custody until he arrives here tomorrow.” There was silence as he glanced around at the room’s other occupants: Emeri, Aroska, Skeet, and Zinni. “He believed your claims that no one here knew about your abilities before today. I don’t for one second, but I saw what you did up on that ship so I’m not going to argue. You may have single-handedly turned the tide of this battle.”

She assumed he was talking about killing Ronan, which she could hardly take the credit for. Aroska had delivered the final blow, after all. “And what about my other request?”

Reddic sighed as if he didn’t believe what he was about to say. “He has decided to honor it,” he answered with an incredulous wag of his head. “Your fleet’s response – and the fact that the Resistance laid waste to half of your city – was enough to convince him you’re not in league with them. Those files you sent from the flagship do contain plans to target Fringe worlds, including Haphez, though Matney says his people haven’t had time to study them carefully yet.”

“What was this request?” Skeet asked.

“That I be allowed to fly my own vessel up to meet the Federation ships when they arrive,” Ziva replied.

She saw Skeet give her a doubtful look.             

“The fact that you willingly gave yourself up in order to send that data was a contributing factor,” Reddic continued. “Because of that and because Haphez wasn’t involved in the Resistance plan, the Feds are willing to honor the neutrality agreement and stay out of Noro airspace. Word is there was even some persuasion from the former Royal General.”

Njo?
Ziva doubted it. Perhaps Jada – or maybe even her mother – had managed to get a word in for her.

“What’s the plan then?” Emeri asked.

“Matney’s ships will wait in orbit and allow Payvan to take off from here with a fighter escort – likely myself and Mae so we can ensure a smooth transition. She’ll rendezvous with them and be taken into custody. If she tries to run, she’ll be blown away.” This he said while looking her in the eye. “You’ll be taken to Edean, where you’ll stand trial. I’ll warn you now: if someone has even minimal traces of nostium in their system, they’re given a death sentence without question.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been slated for execution,” Ziva said with a scoff, fighting away the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Reddic watched her with something that might have been sympathy for a moment before offering his hand. She glanced down and saw it was the mechanical hand that had replaced the one she’d blown off. The gesture seemed sincere enough, but she couldn’t help but feel like it was a subtle jab, one last act to let her know he was still unhappy with everything that had happened on Aubin and before.

“My team will be posted here until Matney arrives,” he said as she finally grasped his hand and shook. “You’re in Director Arion’s hands now.”

Reddic turned and disappeared out the door, leaving Ziva caught in the crushing collective gaze of Emeri and her team. She held up her hand for silence when they all began to talk at once and shifted her attention toward the director.

“Njo vouched for me?” she said. “What’s my family’s status?”

“I believe it was your mother,” Emeri replied. “And they’re stable. Despite the fact that their symptoms manifested so quickly, the GA’s countermeasure has done some good. They’re still not sure about the long-term implications though. If they do survive, they’ll have some irreparable brain damage.”

“But the kids from Salex—?”

“Should be fine. Initial tests showed neurological anomalies but as far as we know, none of them showed symptoms before their rescue. They’ve all been treated and are being monitored now. Your scans helped save their lives.”

“Good,” she sighed. “Now, I want you to listen to me.” She paused a moment, surprised by the severity of her tone. Her impending fate was beginning to go to her head. “
This
—” she waved her hand in a circular fashion around her team “—stays. I want Officer Vax treated to the fullest extent. You keep this team together. Understand?”

Emeri dipped his head as if he’d never even considered an alternative.

She gave him a terse nod of approval. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like a few minutes alone to speak with my team.”

He complied without question, but even with him gone, the stares of the remaining three were still enough to make her uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever seen any of them so genuinely terrified.

“You’re planning on flying your ship with that damage you showed me?” Skeet said.

“It’ll get me up there,” Ziva replied quickly, crossing her arms. “I checked it out, and everything will be fine. I just want one last flight in my ship.”

He appeared doubtful until she sent him a look that warned him not to push the matter. “Well, you see that?” He turned and pointed at the door. “That door is going to stay open. Emeri’s not going to hold you prisoner, not until we have to make it official tomorrow. You can walk out of here, save yourself. If you go with the Feds, they’ll kill you.”

While she was sure that was true, she didn’t dare admit it. “You don’t know that.”

“You think they’ll let you off the hook just because you killed Ronan? Even if they threw you in prison instead, the Resistance would still have people trying to get to you. They’re never going to stop.”

“That’s not going to happen!” Ziva retorted. “
Sheyss
, Skeet. It’ll be a fair trial – all the Nosti prisoners are going to get one. If I plead my case, they might see reason.” The words sounded ridiculous coming out of her mouth; she knew what a long shot it was.

“If you walk out now, you won’t even have to worry about it,” Zinni put in, remaining a fair bit calmer than her orange-haired counterpart. “Just go. You know how to disappear.”

“If I do that, the Feds will know you were all complicit.” Ziva shut her eyes and massaged her forehead. “They’ll be hounding you for the rest of your lives. They’ll torture you for information, use you to try to get to me, flush me out. Who knows what the implications would be for the neutrality agreement? If you think there’s any way in hell I’m putting you all through that, you’re wrong.”

“Why send that data to the Feds in the first place?” Skeet said. “Why not just exclude that file? You could have avoided all of this.”

“That roster contained the names and locations of every known Nosti in this galaxy,” Ziva answered. “The Feds could hunt down all the ships and hidden bases they wanted, but without that list, most of those people would disappear into the Fringe and start rebuilding all over again. You want the Resistance to come back and attack us again in a few decades?”

Zinni steadied herself against the back of the room’s tiny sofa. “Why not send it back here first then? I could have removed your name with no problem.”

“There wouldn’t have been time to get it back and include it in the package. We would have had to transmit directly from here. Can you imagine how that would look, sending confidential Resistance data from HSP Headquarters?”

Aroska stepped forward now. “I don’t understand how the Feds found you so quickly.”

Ziva hadn’t either at first, but then it had dawned on her that the data had probably been sent in the order it had last been read, the order that put her name and homeworld at the top of the list. She explained this to the others and was met with melancholy silence.

“Just go,” Zinni said quietly after several long seconds.

“I’m not going to do that,” Ziva replied. At this point she was still trying to convince herself as much as she was them. “Knowing the danger it would put you in…that’s worse than any prison sentence. I can take care of myself, okay? Everything will be fine.”
And if it’s not, I’m the only one who will know it
.

It was quiet once again as they each reflected on the situation. The lethal operative in Ziva argued once more that she should never have bothered to save Aroska that day at Dakiti. Should never have revealed herself to anyone. Should have instead done everything she could to save her own skin. But the voice was overpowered by that of her inner leader, which reminded her of all the good she was doing for not only her home and her squad but the galaxy as a whole. She only wished it didn’t have to be this complicated. The thought crossed her mind that it would have been easier to die with the press of a button in the
Marauder’s
hangar.

The silence was eventually broken by Skeet’s sigh. “Well, Emeri put us in charge of making sure the Durutians stay in line. Better go see to it.”

Ziva nodded. If she knew Skeet, what he really meant was,
“Better go do something – anything – that will keep my mind off of what’s really going on.”

He paused when he and Zinni reached the door and knocked on the frame. “It’s open,” he reminded her.

She stood there listening to their departing footsteps until the thought occurred to her that Aroska had not left with them. When she turned to face him, she found him standing less than a meter from her, watching her with an unwavering gaze eerily similar to what she’d seen on Kat’s balcony on Chaiavis.

“You’re really determined to go through with this, aren’t you?”

Her heart rate quickened and she nodded.

Aroska sighed. “Well then,” he said, closing the distance between them.

She bristled but didn’t resist as he placed his hands on her waist and guided her backward until her back met the wall. He moved one hand up to cradle her face, brushing some strands of loose hair out of the way before tilting her head up and covering her mouth in a deep but tender kiss. Everything about him – his mouth, his hands, his body – was so strong, yet so gentle. He was holding back, giving her the opportunity to say no like she’d done in the past. To her surprise, saying no was the last thing she wanted to do right now.

Ziva allowed herself to relax and leaned in to meet him, closing her eyes and cherishing his warm, spicy scent for what could very possibly be the final time. She once again felt oddly at home, and in many ways she still couldn’t understand why, out of everyone in the galaxy, she’d connected so well with him. Part of her still hated herself for getting so close to him, but there was no denying that the damage had already been done. It had been done a long time ago.

A warm tingle had just begun to spread across her skin when Aroska let out a short gasp and jerked his head away. Her pulse spiked and her eyes snapped open. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh,” he breathed, hardly more than a whisper. Ziva was startled to see a grimace forming on his face, but after a moment she recognized that teasing glimmer that was so often present in his eyes. “I just seem to recall you threatening to castrate me if I ever did that again.”

The corners of her mouth curled upward. “I
did
say something like that, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, well…it was worth the risk. I just felt like I needed to do it for real, at least once.”

Her stomach wrenched itself into a knot and she swallowed, struggling to maintain eye contact. “And I wish you wouldn’t have,” she said, attempting to fend off the sudden fear and panic she felt building inside her at the thought of what the next day would bring.

The teasing glimmer vanished instantly, replaced by something verging on pain. Aroska’s hand fell away from her face. “Why?”

She hesitated. “Because it’s a reminder that I’m actually leaving something behind.”

His features softened and he wrapped his arms around her again. “Still trying to convince yourself you’ve got nothing to lose?”

She nodded and let him hold her for a moment. “I don’t want to go.”

“Then don’t,” Aroska murmured, leaning down and bringing his forehead to rest against hers. In such close proximity, it was impossible to miss the tears welling up in his eyes.

“Oh no,” she said, leaning back far enough that she could see his face clearly. “No, don’t you dare start this.”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry.” He forced out some noise that might have been a poor excuse for a chuckle. “I shouldn’t make it worse. It’s just…I don’t want to lose you. I’ve finally
found
you.”

“And now you have to let me go. You understand why I need to do this, don’t you? Tell me you understand.”

“I do. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He brushed his thumb over a bruise on her forehead and swept the loose strands of hair away again before bringing his palm to rest on her cheek in a familiar fashion. “Listen. What I wanted to tell you back on the flagship…I’m glad I gave you a chance. There’s a lot more to you than I ever imagined. You’re strong, incredibly intelligent,
more
than a little crazy….”

She lifted her eyebrows and bowed her head, unable to help but crack a smile.