Poisoned Pawn (23 page)

“Lopei!” Luke called. He sat himself at a table and waved a hand at a chair near him. “Sit here, next to me, Miya.” It sounded like an invitation. It wasn’t, it was an order.

I sat in the chair. He draped an arm casually around the back of it. I shifted away from his touch. He smiled, knowing full well how he affected me.

“Lopei!” he shouted again.

Lopei came around the side of the patio. He had his hands in his pockets and was trying too hard to appear casual. “Yes?”

“The cruik are still out. Go fetch them and lock them in their pen.”

Lopei went pale. Luke waited, cruel smile mocking the other man’s fear.

“Their handler is out in the garden. I should fetch him. You know they respond best to him.”

“I asked you, Lopei,” Luke said, his voice low and dangerous. “You should have chosen friends more wisely.”

Lopei swallowed hard and moved away, down the steps off the edge of the patio and into the garden.

“Watch closely, Miya,” Luke said, his hand brushing my shoulder. “A lesson for you.”

Lopei walked on into the garden, shoulders slumped. Every step spoke of fear. A low growling rose in the garden. Lopei froze. He turned back to look at Luke, eyes pleading. It was too late. Bushes around him trembled, the growling rising in pitch. Black shapes erupted from the bushes, leaping at Lopei. He screamed as he went down under the creatures.

The screams went on for a long time. The smell of blood drifted over the patio. Luke watched and smiled. His hand caressed my shoulder. I fought the urge to vomit.

“Those who betray me suffer,” Luke breathed into my ear. He raised his other hand and signaled someone.

A short creature in black scuttled out of the garden. I think it was human, but I couldn’t tell for sure. It stopped a short distance away from where the cruik were still eating. It started a low crooning. The cruik paused, ears raised. Their savage faces, dripping red, turned to the creature. They loped over to it, dancing and making happy squealing noises. It crossed the garden again, the cruik jumping and pawing around it. They disappeared around the side of the mansion. Luke moved his arm.

Breakfast was laid out on the table. He helped himself. I swallowed bile.

“Eat, Miya.” He brushed his hand across my cheek.

I jerked away.

“Try some of this melon.” He speared a piece on his fork and held it in front of my face.

I made myself open my mouth and take it. He leaned close, his hand closing on the back of my neck. His hot breath stirred my hair.

“Good, Miya,” he said. “You will come to beg for my touch.”

His hand caressed my shoulders, fingers toying with the back of my blouse. I swallowed the melon, trying not to gag on the overly sweet taste. His handcomp buzzed. He tapped it then stood, walking away from me, his handcomp out. I was temporarily forgotten. I smothered a sigh of relief.

He kept me next to him during that entire day. I was not allowed to move more than a few steps from his side. He took care of his business. I made myself memorize the names of everyone he talked to, on his handcomp and in person. I memorized faces of those who came. I memorized every detail of everything he did. I was a robot, moving on automatic. If I let myself start thinking, I would start screaming and wouldn’t be able to stop. I deliberately avoided looking at the garden where blood remained even after a gardener removed what had been Lopei.

Luke sent me away in the late afternoon, to change for dinner. It was a relief to have Rinth take my arm and lead me up to my room. With every step away from Luke, I felt lighter. I knew I’d have to face him again. I pushed that thought away. I was out of his presence, for a while. It was enough. For now.

Rinth opened my door and pushed me in.

“Thank you,” I said and patted his furry head.

Rinth blinked his gray pebble eyes. His hand rose and twisted in a weird gesture. He pulled the door shut. I heard the locks click into place.

I spent an hour standing as close to the wide window as I could get, watching the late afternoon sunlight sliding over the tangled forest beyond the walls of the garden. The flyer was out there, tiny in the distance. I envied its freedom. I turned reluctantly away as the sunlight stretched into evening. Luke would be waiting. Luke would expect me to dress for dinner. I had to please Luke.

I bit back tears. I saw no way out.

The camp bustled with activity. Lowell leaned in the doorway of the kitchen hut and watched his men. They moved with purpose, knowing what they needed to do. Lowell trained them well. They had a lot of experience, unfortunately. Lowell watched as two men disassembled the missile launcher and packed it away into two packs.

“Is that necessary?” Trey asked him, for the dozenth time.

“Possibly,” Lowell answered. “We’ll try to keep the damage to a minimum.”

“What is it you’re trying to do? There isn’t anything out here except for a few summer mansions. But the rich keep to their grounds. They don’t bother with us or the wilderness because we don’t bother with them. Except for their hunting excursions. Those disrupt all sorts of natural rhythms.” Trey slipped into his lecturing mode.

One disadvantage of working with crusaders, Lowell thought. They tended to stick with their own agenda. And they defended it passionately. If Trey hadn’t known exactly how much money and support he got from Lowell, he would never have allowed his camp and his project to be used as cover. Lowell had used him several times before. The last time hadn’t gone as planned. He felt bad Trey had lost his grant, but it was a small price to pay. Lowell made a note to make up for it with more money and quiet support from the Planetary Survey arm of the Patrol. Trey was useful, it wouldn’t be good to alienate him.

“Most of the rich people aren’t even there most of the time. You should leave them alone, Lowell. They still have plenty of influence. They won’t like it if you damage their property. We have strict orders not to approach any of them.”

“We’re going to bother one of them,” Lowell said. “Have your people got the survey pictures of that valley?”

“The one with the mansion overlooking it?” Trey shuffled through his clipboard. “The house and grounds are on a hill. The valley with the river is down below.” He pulled out a thin sheet and handed it to Lowell.

Lowell pinched the controls in the corner. The page lit up. Aerial shots of a large mansion surrounded by green gardens and a stone wall appeared on the page. Lowell flicked one with his thumb. It enlarged to show a wide stone patio and what appeared to be several years worth of leaves piled along the edges.

“Land records show that it was sold recently.” Trey consulted his clipboard. “Before that, it wasn’t used very often. Which is why we picked this area for our studies. The previous owners were very quiet, only stayed for a week or two every year.”

“And the current owner?” Lowell asked, moving on to another picture of the mansion.

“Up until a month ago, no one was there. Then all of a sudden hordes of gardeners and cleaning crews and all sorts of other people show up and start working on the estate. The noise drove the bushies away and disrupted their spring mating season.”

“What now?” Lowell asked, stopping the building tirade. He really didn’t have time to listen to Trey spout about the bushies. He made a mental note to have Trey brief his men about the local wildlife before they left.

“Now?” Trey slapped his clipboard against his leg. “Flitters in and out, several of them at once. All the time. And loud parties at night. They shot off fireworks last week. Geren said he saw them shoot down a flitter at the same time, but Geren was also pretty drunk.”

Lowell thumbed to a new picture.

“Who are these people? Why are you after them?” Trey eyed the pile of weaponry one man was tucking away. “This isn’t like last time. I’ve never seen you use so many guns.”

Lowell patted Trey’s arm. “You won’t have to worry about loud parties soon.” He moved to another set of information in the sheet. “Do you have somewhere we could talk with Sector Chief Querran? Away from your people. I wouldn’t want to upset them.”

Trey’s face paled. “There’s a table under the trees. I use it for compiling notes.”

“Good. Will you please find Chief Querran and have her join us there?”

“The table’s that way,” Trey said, pointing. “Are you sure you want me there?”

“Of course,” Lowell said. “I need your expertise.”

Trey slapped his clipboard on his leg again and nodded. Lowell watched him walk through the camp, looking for Querran. He listened to Jasyn bang pots behind him in the kitchen. He caught a few of her comments and lifted an eyebrow. He needed to do something about her situation, before she caused problems. Perhaps he should have left her on the ship, ordered her to stay. No, he wanted her under his thumb, where he knew what she was up to. Dace’s choice of friends proved very interesting.

He stopped one of his men and gave him instructions to find Clark. He could help Jasyn. Lowell had noticed the situation between the two of them and approved.

He found the table, a round of wood resting on a fat rock with several flimsy chairs sitting lopsided in the grass. A tree, gnarled and huge, hung over it, providing shade. Lowell picked a chair and shifted it to a more level spot before he sat. He put the sheet on the table and thumbed to a new setting. The terrain around the house was going to be a problem.

Querran and Trey joined him under the tree. Querran looked harassed and tired. Her tan uniform was rumpled.

“Remind me not to volunteer for field assignments,” she said as she sat in a chair. “I’m getting too old for this.”

“You chose to come,” Lowell said, his attention mostly on the map now showing on the paper. “Political hot potato, remember?”

“Have you heard from Hom Daviessbrowun yet?” she asked, fanning herself with one hand. “Is it always so hot here?”

“It’s early summer,” Trey said. “The real heat hasn’t started yet.”

“The Gentle Hom hasn’t contacted me, and he won’t.” Lowell looked up. “Transmissions can be intercepted. And I wouldn’t put it past Luke Verity to have all sorts of equipment he shouldn’t.”

“Who’s Luke Verity?” Trey asked.

“The man who owns the house,” Lowell said. “He’s also connected to some of the most powerful crime syndicates in the Empire. He’s here to try to establish new territory.”

“He’ll have to get through me first,” Querran said.

“You’ll have to get to him before I do,” Lowell said. His voice was cold steel.

“Why are you after him here?” Trey asked. “His house is like a fortress. Why not wait until he’s more vulnerable somewhere else?”

“So we don’t interrupt your research? We can’t wait. We’ve waited too long already.”

“Why the hurry?” Trey asked. “He’s only been there a few weeks.”

“He’s got something I want back.” Lowell pushed the sheet aside. The top picture showed the land around the house, its manicured grounds showing clearly against the surrounding forest.

“Any idea where he’s keeping her?” Querran asked.

“Who? And why is Hom Daviessbrowun involved? He hates nature.” They looked at Trey. “I applied for grants from him. All of them were turned down.”

“Have you seen any news lately?” Lowell asked, leaning back in the rickety chair. It protested, making loud clicking sounds. Lowell sat forward, leaning on the table instead.

“We don’t usually bother, unless it involves the cause,” Trey said.

“Hom Daviessbrowun received a ransom note three weeks ago,” Lowell said. “His daughter was supposedly kidnapped by men who work with Luke Verity. Daviessbrowun is the biggest obstacle to Verity’s bid to set up a syndicate in this sector.”

“His daughter’s down there?” Trey asked. “That’s who you’re after?”

“Not his daughter, no,” Lowell answered. “Someone who looks exactly like her. I want her back.”

“Oh,” Trey said, his eyes big.

“So here’s your chance to be part of a major operation,” Lowell said. “We’re almost positive Verity has her in his mansion. It isn’t like him to stay so far out of touch without a very good reason.” He pulled the aerial shot closer, to the middle of the table. “We need whatever information you can give us. How many people do you have out in the field and where are they?”

Trey leaned over the photo. He tapped it to the map overlay. “There are seven out collecting data right now.” He tapped the page controls. leaving blue smudges on the map. “Here, and here. Three this way, and one down here. The last one, a new guy, hasn’t reported in yet. He’s supposed to be checking population counts along this valley.” His thumb traced a line just over the ridge from the house. “It’s a major meeting place for the bushies. Eight of their territories overlap.”

“He hasn’t reported in? Why not?” Querran asked.

“He’s one of the Survey guys. His com was acting up the second day out. His beacon is still moving.” Trey shrugged. “It’s normal to have problems with coms up in that area. The substrate is high in metals that interfere with signals.”

“Can you contact them?”

Trey nodded. “You want them back at base?”

“No, they’re useful out there. I want them to meet my men as I send them out and help them find the best positions. And then fall back.”

“They’ll have noticed your flitters,” Trey said. “I’ll call them and tell them we have a summer expedition here from Cygnus University doing field studies. We have designated spots to meet up.” He tapped the controls and left red marks behind. “Your men can meet them there. It won’t alert anyone because we do it anytime we get new staff.”

“Good thinking,” Lowell said, impressed. Trey showed potential.

“What do you need from me?” Querran asked.

“A plan of attack.” Lowell studied the map, blue smudges and red smudges and the square of the grounds. Somewhere in the middle of it, he hoped to find Dace.

“We have your men meet up at those points,” Querran said, indicating the red marks. “Set up the missile launchers here and here. Where do the flitters come from? What flight path?” She looked at Trey.