Kidnapped (20 page)

She lost all feeling for time. The days blurred together and she had no way of keeping track of them. She just knew the little life inside of her grew, and that she was miserable. She was starting to worry what impact her emotional distress might have on the child too, and that made her even more miserable.

It could have been weeks since she saw another human, it could have been months, she had no way of knowing, and the soft sound of the door opening was so unusual to her ears it seemed loud and almost painful.

Veronica swept in, dressed in an immaculate white gown, looking like she was going to a grand ball. She stopped a couple of steps inside the door, and looked around with a little wrinkle on her nose, making it seem as if the room was filthy, which it wasn't. Patricia didn't have anything to do besides clean, and every surface shone. The Supreme Commander pretended to make a decision, and it was all extremely well staged, just as planned and theatrical as everything else she did.

"Ah, my dear girl, this is a much too sordid environment for a mother-to-be. I do apologize for leaving you here for so long."

Patricia didn't know what to say. She wasn't broken, not yet, but Veronica made her feel like a mouse caught in the stare of a large snake. She tried to keep her face blank, tried not to give away her fears, but she wasn't very good at it.

The smile on Veronica's lips as she came closer to take a seat on the narrow bed made Patricia think she would have purred if she could have. When Veronica took her hand, she had to fight with herself to refrain from pulling back or shuddering. She had been alone for so long that anyone's touch except possibly her lover's would be frightening.

"I've planned a little excursion for us. We're going to go visit your boyfriend. He's been making a little progress on his mission, and I thought we would provide some... incentive for him. See how he's doing. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

To Patricia, providing incentive for Travis didn't sound like fun at all. It sounded like being tortured in front of his eyes, but on the other hand, any chance to get out of this room, off the station, might give an opportunity to escape, so she nodded and asked flatly, "When are we leaving?"

The thought that she might actually get to see her lover again was sifting through her mind, and even though she knew this might be a trick, she couldn't help her heart from beating hard, and a wave of hope to flow through her heart.

Veronica smiled as warmly as was possible for her, making it look almost natural, and squeezed her hand. "I'm so glad you're being cooperative. I knew you would get to see things my way."

The way the Supreme Commander touched her cheek reminded Patricia of someone being kind to a favorite pet. "We're going to have a good time together, and to answer your question, we're already on our way. We're moving the station to intersect with him, and he should be here any minute now. Isn't this exciting?"

Those words made her blink a couple of times, surprised. She expected the other woman to taunt her, she hadn't expected it to be real. Veronica got to her feet and made a little motion for Patricia to follow her, but she just stared, still neither comprehending nor believing completely. "What are you waiting for? We're going to my office to meet him. Hurry up, he'll be here soon."

Clapping her hands together, Veronica managed to look excited, and Patricia wondered why she went through all this trouble. It didn't make sense. She got to her feet anyway, and followed obediently, pretending not to notice the heavily armed guard walking right behind her.

Veronica had remade her office since Patricia's last visit, and as soon as they entered, she led the way to a big cream-colored sofa, shaped like a half circle. She sank down, gracefully as always, and patted the seat next to her, urging Patricia to sit down. A red light on a console on the desk started to blink, and she sighed theatrically, trying to show how much trouble everyone else was.

As soon as she had gotten back to her desk, making quite a show of it, and pressed the button, a voice announced, "Commander Travis 152 is on his way up. I know you told me to keep him here, but he just pushed the guards away and went past everyone."

Patricia suddenly felt nervous and shy, and she didn't feel pretty and loveable at all. She didn't want him to see her like this, and as much as she longed for him, she also wanted to run and hide somewhere. At least for a few months, until her belly wasn't pouting out anymore, and her hair wasn't such a mess, and maybe if she'd had some mascara and...

She didn't get any further into self-induced worries. The door opened and her man walked in with long, determined strides. He looked very black amongst all the white, and for a surreal moment, Patricia felt like she was watching an old black and white TV-set with too much contrast. Travis paused for a split second, saw her, hurried forward, and pulled her up and into his arms. The very moment he touched her, she wondered what she'd been so worried about just seconds earlier.

They could hear Veronica comment coolly, "Yes, yes, so very touching," but neither of them cared about her. Travis held her tight and asked quietly, "Are you alright?"

She was trying to blink tears away and nodded, her face buried against his chest, and she was surprised her voice carried at all. "I am now. Are you?"

Chapter Twenty

Travis knew he was holding Patricia too hard, and forced himself to relax the grip. His mind had played out all too vivid images of her demise at least a million times during the past few weeks, and seeing her alive made almost tangible relief spread through him. Not even the loud sound of Veronica banging something against her desk got his full attention, but he did turn his head towards her when she hollered, "That's enough!"

As much as he wanted to forget she existed, she was too dangerous to ignore.

When he met her eyes, she continued in her normal suave tone of voice, "There will be plenty of time for you to be mushy-mushy. Travis, I hope your minions have your ship ready. You're still a complete and utter failure, and we will come with you to make sure you start doing things right."

There were poorly veiled threats in her words, but he pretended not to notice, and answered simply, "That's fine. We can leave in half an hour."

The Supreme Commander went towards the door, as if to go get something, but turned back with an elaborate smile on her lips. She pulled one of her long sleeves up, showing a device attached to her wrist, and said in an almost merry voice, "Oh Travis, just so you don't get any ideas now when you'll be alone with your girl for a few days, this detonator is tuned to my pulse. So in the off chance my heart would say, stop, for some reason, or I would take it off, things would go boom."

Smiling, she added, "I just wanted you to know, so we don't have any... accidents."

He shrugged; he hadn't counted on anything less, and if things went his way it wouldn't matter anymore. Veronica couldn't read any of this from his face, he kept it neutral as always, and she smirked and swept out of the room, leaving them mercifully alone in her office.

Someone was watching them, he didn't doubt that for a second, but looking at his girl couldn't do any harm, and he searched her eyes for signs she was no longer herself. He knew well what Veronica was willing and able to do, and he had expected to find his girl changed. Except for looking pale and tired she seemed fine, and he allowed himself to smile. "It's good to see you, Sweetheart."

Aaren had done a wonderful job on Central's main computer once he got started, and thus far the plan seemed to work. Veronica apparently thought she'd come up with the idea to join forces on her own. She was predictable. She'd want her fair share of glory and fame now when the biggest nuisance to the Alliance ever was to be caught. No reasons to give him credit for it; he was sure she planned to kill him the second his usefulness reached an end. Maybe she'd try to promote it as capturing William single-handedly. That would give her career a boost.

Under Aaren's skilled influence the computer had advised her to bring Patricia along. Travis had decided to play on Veronica's ideas of leverage, and the computer claimed any thoughts he might have about not obeying would disappear as soon as he got reminded of how much he had to lose. If nothing else worked, the threat of having his precious girl executed right in front of him would.

Thus far, his knowledge about the Supreme Commander combined with Aaren's computer skills had served them well. He could only hope their luck would hold.

*****

Being back on the ship felt surreal to Patricia. She had spent so much time there, and it was a homecoming, but still not. She knew they weren't safe there anymore. The safety she'd felt there had been an illusion all along, of course, but now reality had chased away even those veils spun by her imagination, and the corridors and rooms were nothing but cold, grey metal.

She had expected Veronica to want her in a cell, but the woman just made a dismissive gesture in the air, telling Travis before disappearing off to her own quarters, "Do whatever you wish with her. The closer you have her the better. It will help you remember just how much you have to lose."

Having all that time together and being able to sleep in her lover's arms once again had never seemed so precious.

The next day she woke up early, feeling sick as every morning. She had thought it would go away after a while, but maybe it hadn't been long enough, or maybe she wasn't that fortunate. She tried to sneak out of bed without waking him, but ended up running to the restroom, and it didn't take more than a minute before her lover was knocking on the door, asking carefully, "Are you okay?"

She sat on the floor, wondering what to say. She didn't feel okay, but she sure didn't want him to come in, and it didn't feel like a thing she wanted her man to know anything about. Eventually, she answered in a strained voice, "I'm fine. It's just morning sickness."

"Like he'd know what
that
is," flew through her mind, and she scolded herself for being mean.

 The door slid open and Travis entered, half dressed, hunching down next to her. He caressed her hair gently away from her face and said quietly, "I'm so sorry I haven't been there for you."

It sounded earnest, and she made a gesture and wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, but she didn't get around to it. He was already pressing his finger against the magical point on her neck, and she felt instantly better.

Sighing with relief, she leaned her back and head against the wall behind her, looked at him, and reached out to touch his chest, trailing her finger over some of his scars. He raised an eyebrow and surprised her with a joke, "They're sexy, aren't they."

She didn't think she could giggle anymore, but she did, and he smiled. "Do you want some water?"

Patricia nodded and took it gratefully when he returned, and her lover watched her intently, "Tell me if you start feeling ill again, okay?"

*****

Travis felt intensely sorry for her. He should have been there, she shouldn't have had to go through everything alone. Sure, he had been alone too, but he was used to it.

He wished he could tell her what was going to happen, wished he could prepare her, but he didn't dare. There was no telling when and how Veronica might be listening. Instead, he took the cup away from her, tossed it carelessly to the side, and mumbled, "Come here." When she wrapped her arms around his neck, he lifted her up like a little girl, carrying her back to their bed.

Putting her down gently, he took a seat on the edge of the bed, trying to find a way to tell her without saying too much. "I missed you so much, and I'm so happy you're here. Please have faith in me."

He bent over to kiss her forehead before she could say anything, and added lightly, "I've gotta go do some work. You get some rest, and I'll be back as soon as I can."

Pretending he wasn't looking at her, he could still see her smile when she watched him take his shirt from a chair, shake it, and decide it was good enough to use. He overplayed, trying to look goofy and cheer her up, and he thought it worked. She stretched out a hand and pinched his butt, exclaiming innocently, "I didn't do it!"

He looked back at her over his shoulder, winked and replied, "You're a naughty girl."

He kept the smiling face until he left the room. He had a lot to worry about, and he wasn't sure she was up to the ordeals ahead of them. He wasn't even sure
he
was.

*****

During the following week or so, Veronica kept mostly to herself in her luxurious rooms. Patricia wondered what she did in there, how she passed the time, but decided she probably didn't want to know. She did miss using the other woman's shower, but she wasn't complaining. Things could have been much worse. They could both have been dead.

She didn't leave the room much. She didn't feel up to it, and it was funny how something that had once struck her as alien and claustrophobic now seemed like home. She rested and waited, and Travis kept her company when he could.

When they eventually closed in on the planet that was their destination, she sat in the co-pilot's chair, wondering why the bridge had three seats when the ship was meant to be run by one person. It was one of those things she'd always just taken for granted, but as soon as she started thinking about it, it seemed more and more peculiar. She was focusing on things like that to try to distract herself from the vertigo she got from seeing the planet grow so quickly, and from the abrupt halt the ship came to when Travis put it in stationary orbit; it made her stomach want to turn upside down. He was flying recklessly on purpose, trying to appear as if he put heart and soul into not getting spotted.