Price of a Bounty (Reliance on Citizens Makes Us Great!) (20 page)

As
we moved into the stylish yet comfortable room, my head spun.
Scott
is married?
I’d been sitting for too long, on the plane and in
the cab, so I stood instead.

I
looked at Danielle. “I apologize for my reaction. I don’t
mean to be rude. It’s just…this is the first I’ve heard about
Scott being married.” I looked at Scott next. “Is this
what Keira was talking about that day in the park?”

“I
don’t know what you mean.” He looked baffled.

“She
was mad at you for keeping secrets. Don’t you remember?”

“No.”
He shook his head. “That was about the Resistance. Keira
doesn’t know about Danielle. No one back home does.”

He
and Danielle sat side-by-side on the sofa. Her hair was just about
the same color as his. It was tied up in a loose bun and tendrils
ran along the sides of her face, enhancing her olive complexion and
deep brown eyes.

Danielle
looked at me. “I’m sorry. I expected Scott to tell you before
you arrived. Do you want me to leave so you two can talk privately?”

Scott
put his hand on her knee. “No, you should stay.”

“How
long have you been married?” I asked.

“A
little over a year. Our anniversary was just a few weeks ago.
April, please sit.”

I
perched on the edge of a cream colored chair, and he continued, “I
met Danielle when I began transporting people and goods overseas for
the Resistance. That would have been about three years ago.”

“But,
you’ve been a…a Shepherd, right?”

He
nodded.

“For
much longer than that, haven’t you? Since the beginning?”

“No,
the Resistance grew slowly. It took time to develop trust with
others who felt as we did and for all of us to get into positions
where we could support each other properly. The person I called from
the airport, for example. Her role is to relay messages. She’ll let
Guy know we arrived safely. The man who was following us?” I
nodded. “He called her after I disconnected, I’m sure of that.
No matter how high his level of clearance, our Messenger would
verify that I was sent to escort Mr. Lafleur’s daughter to their
family overseas.”

“But
what if he checks into that? There’s no record of an Aimee Lafleur,
is there?”

“Yes,
there is actually. We have people with all types of skills helping
the Resistance. Aimee Lafleur exists in the national data banks,
along with enough background details to convince anyone. If our tail
calls the numbers that are listed for Aimee Lafleur or her parents,
he’ll be connected to someone who knows exactly what to say to keep
you safe.”

“Wow…”
I sat back. “How could you have possibly kept all of this a
secret from Keira and me?”

“That
was the most difficult part.” Scott leaned forward and took my
hands. “I wanted to tell both of you, especially about Dani.
But I couldn’t, not without telling you about all of it, and how
could I do that without disrupting your entire life?”

“You
need to tell Keira about Danielle,” I said softly. “There’s
no reason not to now.”

He
nodded and sat back. “You’re right. It’s time for the secrets
between us to end.”

-Scott-

No
More Secrets

When
I returned to Tkaron, Keira invited me over to her new apartment for
dinner. I was a little surprised, Keira wasn’t the best cook, but
privacy was likely the reason. We would be able to talk freely
during dinner.

I
knocked.

Even
as Keira opened the door, she asked, “How’s April?”

“She’s
fine,” I said and closed the door behind me. “Is Guy
here yet?”

“No,
he should be here soon though.”

“Good.
I was hoping I’d have a chance to talk with you alone. Can we sit?”

“Sure.”
She gestured to the sofa. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s
wrong. I’m just not sure how to tell you this.” I looked down
and took a deep breath.

“Scott?”

I
lifted my head and looked at her. “Keira, you know I’ve been
keeping secrets.”

“Yes,
about the Resistance, and I know you must have some military secrets
too.”

“There’s
another secret, a big one…one I’ve been keeping from everyone.
I’ve told April now, and I want you to know too. I’ve wanted you to
know since the beginning, but…”

She
waited patiently.

I’d
just have to say it. “I’m married. I’ve been married for just
over a year.”

“What?
To who? Why would you keep something like that a secret? Aren’t
weddings supposed to be happy occasions? You know, something you
would invite your sisters to?”

“Yes,
they are, and we are, very happy, when we get to be together.”

“When
you get to… is she military, stationed somewhere else?”

“No,
but she lives really far away.”

“I
see.” She nodded. “She’s Mediterran, isn’t she?”

“That’s
right.”

Suddenly
Keira punched me in the arm, hard.

“Ow!
What was that for?”

“For
keeping secrets! How can I be happy for you if you won’t tell me
about the best parts of your life? Who is she?”

“Some
secrets are worth keeping, Keira. You must realize that, and you
mustn’t ever tell anyone about this. It would kill me if
anything happened to her.”

Keira
sat back. “You can trust me, Scott.”

I
nodded. “I know. Her name is Danielle Bellami. She’s
Guy’s contact overseas and April’s mentor.”

“Do
you have a picture?”

“Yes,
April said you’d want to see what she looks like.” I
pulled out my transceiver and brought up a small image. I studied it
briefly, then handed it to Keira. It appeared that Dani was looking
right into my eyes. She was smiling and her long dark hair was
blowing off to the side.

“She’s
pretty. Will I ever get to meet her?”

“I
don’t know how.”

I
shook my head as I took the transceiver from Keira and deleted the
image. The wrong people must never discover my ties to Dani.

“I’ve
been trying to think of a way, but it’s pretty risky traveling
overseas. She was going to come here for our anniversary, but with
everything that’s been going on lately…I’ve been tailed more often
than not…it’s just not safe. Security is getting tighter and
tighter. I don’t think I’ll be able to get you through for a while,
not to see April and not to meet Dani.”

Keira
took my hand. “Well, I’m happy for you because you’ve found
someone to share your life with, and I’m sad for you because she’s so
far away. Wait here a minute, I have something for you.”

Keira
went to her bedroom and returned with Dad’s book of poetry.

“Thank
you for letting me borrow this. Maybe you could read some of the
poems to Dani.”

Just
then, we heard a key in the lock. “Let me be the one to tell
Guy,” I insisted.

Guy
saw us and smiled. Then he frowned. “What’s burning?”

“Oh
hell, the vegetables!” Keira jumped up from the couch and ran
into the kitchen. “Well, these are no good anymore,” she
called. “Salad, anyone?”

We
sat down to eat, and I looked across the table at Keira. “Thank
you for dinner.”

“You
may regret those words.” She shook her fork at me.

“How
was your trip?” Guy asked.

“We
were searched, thoroughly. They said it was routine, but it felt
different. They’ve begun tracking my flights.”

“Did
the artwork get through?”

“Yes,
it’s all been delivered, but I recommend you send someone else to
deliver the next batch.”

“What
about April?” Keira asked.

“Like
I said, she’s fine. She’s settling in nicely at Danielle’s.
Her classes at the Art Institute will begin in a few weeks –
summer session. Until then, she’ll shadow Dani and begin learning
the language.”

“Why
don’t you tell us a little more about Dani.” Keira suggested.
She took another bite of her salad.

She
was right. I shouldn’t put it off any longer. “Guy, I want to
thank you.”

“What?”
Guy was having trouble cutting through his steak. He gave up and
looked at me. “Why?”

“If
it hadn’t been for you, for your plans to make allies overseas, I
never would have met Danielle, and we never would have gotten
married.”

“Married?
Do you really think that’s wise?”

“Wise
or not, we were married over a year ago, and we’ve been able to make
it work.”

Guy
pushed back his plate. “But now they’re tracking your
flights.”

“Yes.”

“We’ll
have to try to do something about that, won’t we?” Guy said.

“I’d
like us to work on it, yes.”

“Let’s
forget the steak,” Keira suggested, “and celebrate with
some apple pie.”

-Keira-

Keeping
Busy

I
was glad April was settling in nicely in Parisio. Weeks passed, and
in many ways, I was settling in nicely too. I loved my new
apartment, and I saw Guy almost every day. Some days we had lunch
together. Sometimes he would spend the night. Most of the time, I
was free to do as I pleased, just as I always had.

I
continued one of my favorite past times, people watching. I enjoyed
being in different settings, watching how different people reacted to
the events in their lives. I drew on this knowledge whenever I
pulled a job.

But
I hadn’t pulled a job since we’d rescued April, and I was getting
restless. To be fair, I didn’t think Guy was currently working
undercover either. He seemed happy enough going to work at his
father’s firm and spending much of his time off with me. But
eventually, I started asking.

“Have
you thought of a way to help Scott?”

“What
do you mean?”

“He
needs a way to be able to fly to Parisio, regularly.”

“He
knew the risks well before he married Danielle.”

“Don’t
you want them to be together?”

“I
help people who are truly in need of help. Scott and Danielle are
both healthy and safe.”

“But
you told him you’d try to help!”

“Let
me and Scott worry about that, all right?”

“Well,
do you have anything else going on? Is there anything I can do to
help the Resistance?”

Guy
sighed. “No, nothing right now. Keira, you’ll have to be
patient. Weeks can go by between jobs, sometimes even months, and it
is better that way, safer. I’ll let you know when the right job
comes along.”

I
sighed too. “All right.”

“Look,
why don’t you learn a new skill? Why don’t you ask Eberhardt to
teach you how to drive?”

“You
want me to learn to drive?”

“Knowing
how to drive is a good skill to have. Don’t you agree?”

“Sure.
All right. I’ll talk to Eberhardt tomorrow.”

Driving
was fun – more fun than I had expected, but it wasn’t what I
craved. A couple more weeks went by with nothing, no jobs for the
Resistance. Apparently, all was right with the world. That should
have made me happy, but…

“Couldn’t
we go looking for a job? I’m sure someone needs help,” I said
to Guy one evening. “Besides, I need to keep my skills sharp,
and I need to have some fun.”

“Aren’t
we having fun?” Guy tickled my neck with the tip of his
tongue.

I
playfully pushed him away. “Yes, but I mean a different kind
of fun.”

Well,
we had fun that night, but not the kind I’d been talking about.
Finally, I remembered what I’d told myself so many weeks ago. I
could work for the Resistance and still pick up bounties on the side.

***

The
next night Guy and I didn’t have any plans together, so I decided not
to stay home. I wore a classy skirt that revealed plenty of leg, a
red top with a drop neckline and a pair of black heels. I took a
minute to admire my reflection in the mirror, then headed out.

The
Dry Martini was the sort of place where business men went to relax
after work. In my experience, disgruntled workers were easy targets,
and this was the perfect place to find them.

I
chose a seat at the bar where I could see most of the patrons in the
mirror. I ordered a martini and listened to the conversations that
flowed around me. Almost immediately, I noticed a man in a dark grey
suit. He was complaining to an associate about one of their
competitors.

I
looked for an opening. Another man in a tuxedo sat at a piano in the
middle of the room, and though a number of people were dancing, the
parquet dance floor was not overly crowded.

I
stepped down off the bar stool and made my approach.

“I
love this song,” I gushed and looked directly at the man in the
grey suit. “Don’t you?”

His
friend nudged him with his elbow.

“Uh,
yes.” He cleared his throat. “Would you like to dance?”

“I’d
love to!” I took his hand and let him lead me to the dance
floor.

As
we swayed to the music, I moved closer. He smiled. I gently nuzzled
his earlobe and whispered, “What do you need?”

He
smiled. “What are you offering?”

“To
help you move up the chain of command.”

Startled,
he began to pull away. I leaned my head on his shoulder. “Don’t.
You’ll draw attention.”

He
moved close again, and we continued to dance.

“I
overheard you and your friend talking, and I believe I can help.
What would allow your company to move ahead of your competitor and
also impress your boss?”

“Who
are you?”

“It’s
better that you don’t know, especially if you decide to hire me, but
you didn’t answer my question. Why don’t you take some time to think
it over? I’ll be here again tomorrow, same time.” The song
ended. I kissed him lightly on the cheek and thanked him for the
dance. Then I turned and walked away.