Alien Deception (11 page)

Biom felt no strong allegiance to Leumas and, as long as no physical harm came to anyone, he saw no problem with the situation if it would release him from the heavy debt he found himself burdened with. Moreover, Copolla had even promised him a good position with the Council if all went well. Most of Leumas’ assistants’ loyalties swayed whichever way the current situation turned. If Leumas’ standing with the Council was good, they were true blue loyal. If not, they would let Leumas swing in the breeze on his own. All with the exception of Greta; he thought it was best to stay clear of her. Greta maintained some type of personal relationship with Leumas, so he only approached her on official matters, and rarely then.

Biom doubted that anyone would be able to trace what he had done to the program directly, but there was still a risk involved. As the newest addition to the team, he would probably fall suspect first. He would have to cover his tracks well; he suspected Greta was keeping an extra close eye on him. He checked the display indicator. The transmission uplink of information was almost complete. With the time delay and encryption precautions, it would be several minutes before the information reached Copolla. He added a note in the last details regarding the probable suspicion that he would fall under, and let Copolla know he might not be sending any more communications for a while, if at all.

He had received Copolla's personal assurance that, if he were taken into custody, a rescue would be initiated. He wasn't sure if he truly believed that, but he felt some reassurance from the stun weapon he had placed beneath his jacket before he left the simulation room.

The uplink indicator reflected that the transmission was ninety-eight percent complete. He stood and drew his weapon, preparing to destroy the information disk as soon as it reached one hundred percent. The indicator now flashed ninety-nine percent complete.

A flare of light and heat buzzed by him as a laser beam struck the transmitting device. It destroyed the entire unit and with it, the information crystal. The explosion that followed threw him several feet from where he had been standing, his weapon lost in the confusion. His scared and dazed young face looked up and he found himself face to face with Greta, who held a stun weapon pointed squarely at his chest. Biom threw his hands in the air. As he stared at Greta, his facial expression changed from scared to one that suggested that his initial surprise and fear had been replaced with the realization that he still was not in an unrecoverable from situation.  He said to Greta with a smug smile, "You may want to hear what I have to say before you use that."

"Why should I listen to you?" Greta asked calmly, as she kept the weapon pointed at him. "What could you possibly have to tell me that I don't already know?" Then, tight-lipped, she continued, "What I do know is that you have been feeding Copolla updates and sabotaging our entire operation here. I hope you had a chance to spend the money he is paying you."

"I always make sure that I have something to negotiate with, Greta," he said casually, placing his hands in his pocket. Greta’s raised her weapon and pointed it directly at his head. Biom slowly removed his hands from his pockets, and said, "Oh, sorry about that, forgot. Didn't mean to make you nervous. I am still new to this espionage game, fresh out of school and all."

She relaxed her trigger finger slightly but kept her aim true.

"As I was saying," he continued, clearing his throat. "I have no deep-rooted loyalties to Copolla. He is, or will be, I should say, paying me well. But, as I look down the barrel of your weapon, I realize that money is not everything. So… I would like to propose a trade."

"A trade?" Greta asked sardonically. "Why would I possibly want to trade with you? I would rather just see you dead or severely mutilated, so you won't bother Leumas anymore."

"Information is a valuable commodity," Biom said, slitting his eyes. "One always wants to know what the other side doesn't know, and vice versa." He smiled at the sudden interest he saw in Greta's eyes.

"Go ahead. I'm listening," she said skeptically.

"First, we need to agree upon terms. I offer valuable information and, in exchange, I want freedom and a ship to get far beyond the reach of Copolla," he said with confidence, liking the new feeling of having the upper hand.

"I will consider your requests after I hear the information."

"That's not much of an assurance. How about this?" he said, beginning to smile smugly again. "Suppose I were to tell you that Copolla has more than one reason for doing what he is doing to discredit Leumas, and that this reason could seriously damage the credibility of Copolla if it were known." He paused for effect, then added, "Interested now?"

"You know that I would be interested in anything that would discredit Copolla," she said, thinking of Leumas and how this type of information could help him. "I'll grant your request. However, I hold final judgment if the information is useless or unsubstantiated. Then the deal becomes null and void."

"Fair enough," he conceded.

Greta sat down in a nearby chair, still keeping a cautious eye on his movements. "Talk."

"I was one of the members of the team that removed the records from the archives about the Council’s involvement with the planet Earth," he began. "The records were obliterated when it was discovered they contained information that could harm Copolla's position. Historians are a funny lot, but they don't miss much. The funny thing is, they never understand or really care about the data; they reserve their opinions and just record it. But, somehow, this time certain information got into the archives that shouldn't have."

"Such as?" she asked impatiently.

Ignoring her tone, he continued. "A long time ago, maybe fifty or sixty years, Copolla ordered two agents placed on Earth to learn more about the people after the big mess up with a human leader, I can't recall his name. But, from what I understand, Copolla didn't exactly send the cream of the crop, as far as agents go." He paused again, catching his breath. "To make a long story short, those agents became so adjusted to the Earth's environment that they decided to stay, and integrated into the local populace. One thing led to another, as it does with any species, and they produced offspring."

"That is strictly forbidden by the Council Charter!" she said incredulous.

"That's correct," he stated, liking the feeling of seeing her surprise. He continued. "There is another reason why it was so important for the information to be removed from the history files. The two agents eventually contracted some form of disease that they had not anticipated. At that time, inoculation procedures were still in the early stages of development. The agents died about forty Earth years after their arrival."

"What happened to the offspring?" she asked, her curiosity apparent in her voice.

"I assume, then, that we have a deal?" he asked.

"Yes, yes," Greta agreed, wondering how she was going to pull it off. "I promise to deliver the ship as soon as we finish this conversation."

"Very well, then. There was…ah…!" Biom suddenly screamed in pain as his body turned bright red and began to burn within a matter of two to three seconds. Greta dove behind the chair she was sitting in to avoid the fire that consumed the body. She could not have done anything that would have saved his life.

As Greta rose from her place of refuge, she surmised what must have happened. She shook her head sadly as she went over to the pile of ashes that had been Biom. Using the toe of her boot, she sifted through the ashes until she found what she was looking for. It was a small circular device, about the size of her fingertip. An implanted loyalty device.
Copolla's handiwork, no doubt,
she thought.

"A very unfortunate occurrence," she said, shaking her head sadly. "I wonder if Biom even knew it was there."

For a brief moment, Greta felt remorse over Biom's death. He was young, and probably didn't really understand the dangerous game Copolla was playing with him. Biom would never have won.
He wouldn't even have come close,
she thought.

"Copolla's reach is getting longer and longer. Soon there won't be anywhere left to hide," she said as she re-holstered her weapon. She took one last look at the pile of ashes, shook her head again, then turned and walked away through the deserted wing of the building.

* * * *

Leumas was tired and frustrated. Those two words best described his mood at the moment as he sighed heavily, trying to decide how he was going to handle this mess. Things had never been this difficult before. But there had never been so much interference either.

He sat back in his chair, placing his feet up on his desk, trying to relax and clear his mind. In all the excitement, he realized he had not heard from Greta. He started to get out of his chair to go and look for her. But before his feet made firm contact with the floor, the display lit up on his terminal, indicating a secure communication.

"What now?" Leumas said aloud, rubbing his head. He composed himself and clicked the receive button on. The image of Copolla suddenly filled his screen, and Leumas felt the acid in his stomach begin to churn.

"Leumas," Copolla began, in his usual condescending tone. "I need an update on the progress of the two humans. Please be so kind as to brief me now."

"Is that really necessary, Copolla?" Leumas sneered back. "You probably have all the information already. You seem to be well informed these days. My people are searching for Biom as we speak," he said with a final sting.

Copolla phrased his next words carefully, yet smugly. "One has to do what is needed in order to stay informed. You of all people should understand this, Leumas. But I wouldn't waste too much of what precious time you have left looking for him."

"Yes, I do understand," Leumas snapped back, wondering what Copolla meant by his remark of wasting time looking for Biom. "More than you could possibly know. But let's get to the heart of the matter, shall we? What do you want? I am a very busy individual." Leumas sniffed in disdain.

Copolla, ignoring Leumas’s tone, said, "There is going to be a special Council meeting concerning your progress. Is there anything you would like for me to say in your absence?" Copolla snickered at his own words. Then, in a venom-filled voice, he said, "Perhaps admitting defeat now may save you some embarrassment later." A smirk returned to his face.

"Does it really matter? You will say and do what you want anyway," Leumas shouted to the screen, losing his patience. "You have gone out of your way to ensure that I will fail. I just want to know why!"

Copolla replied, still smiling, "There are things we all desire in our lives, Leumas, and we fight to achieve them. We do whatever we have to do to keep them. Then—"

"But at what price, Copolla?" Leumas shouted, cutting him off. "Are you willing to jeopardize the entire integrity of the Council because of your sick ambitions? Is maintaining your position as Leader of the Council that important to you? Or is it something else? Something more?"

"Yes, Leumas. It certainly is more than just that," Copolla said, his voice becoming thick with anger. "The Council is wallowing in its petty concerns over which planet is doing this and which planet is doing that. It is time to live again, and I am going to be the one to breathe life back into the tired lungs of the Council!"

The screen went blank.

As Copolla's image and discussion abruptly ended, Leumas cursed under his breath. He cuffed the side of his terminal with his fist.

"The damn fool! Playing games with these life forms’ existence. Whole planets for that matter." Leumas continued to rage, rubbing the inside of his hand that was now crimson. "How the hell did we allow him to have so much control?" he asked, pondering this and many other questions as Greta entered the room.

"Where is— " Leumas anxiously tried to ask but, before he could finish the question, Greta interjected a straightforward answer.

"Biom is dead," she said flatly. "Someone, or, should I say, Copolla, planted a loyalty device inside him. I don't believe Biom even knew it was there." She shook her head sadly. "He was so young and naïve. He didn't understand the ways of such an evil and vile person as Copolla. He was a victim more than he was a conspirator."

"I understand," Leumas said simply, feeling sympathy for Biom as he heard the usually absent emotion in Greta's voice.

"I just finished having an interesting conversation with Copolla," Leumas stated as he cleared his throat, trying to change the stream of conversation. "I mentioned that we were onto Biom and that we were searching for him. He indicated it was a waste of time, which only confirms that he killed him."

"Copolla didn't activate the device soon enough," she said plainly, looking directly into Leumas’ eyes.

"What do you mean?" he asked, his interest piqued.

Greta sat in the chair in front of Leumas’ desk, folding her thin hands in her lap. "Before he was killed, Biom and I were discussing…terms, so to speak. A deal that would have consisted of sparing his life and letting him go. In exchange, he would divulge information that we would find very useful." She looked down in disappointment. "Unfortunately, I only got part of the information."

"Which was?" Leumas asked curiously, hoping for some sort of a break.

Greta began to relay the conversation highlights. "The missing data from the archives included incriminating information regarding the fact that Copolla placed agents on Earth after a botched attempt at altering their history. The placement was done without the knowledge or consent of the Council." Greta stopped for Leumas to take all of this in, then continued. "But something went wrong. The agents defected to Earth and neither returned nor carried out their assigned task."

"Interesting," Leumas said, as a small smile edged its way onto his face.

"Further," she continued, "the agents intermingled into the human society and produced offspring."

"Oh, how very interesting. Copolla sure has been a bad boy, hasn't he?" Leumas said, drumming his fingers together. "I can see why he may be a little edgy about that kind of information falling into the wrong hands. The Council would love to have something like that on him. Unfortunately, without any proof, no one will believe it."