The Phoenix Conspiracy (36 page)

The two of them collapsed to a sitting
position on his bed and she pulled off his shirt. He gave her a
firm squeeze and pulled her even closer. As soon as she felt his
hands under her blouse she knew this could go no further. She
pressed her lips against his in an open mouthed kiss.

It must have been surprising for him
to get a mouthful of wine laced with chloral hydrate. He stiffened
up and made a slight effort to disentangle himself from her to spit
it out, but she wouldn't budge and kept kissing him until he
swallowed.

After that it was just a matter of
keeping him shy of second base until his grip slackened and he
passed out. "Thank god," she said as he finally lost consciousness.
She removed herself from his now empty embrace and stood
up.

She wasn't sure how long the effect
would last, but felt safe taking a minute to brush herself off and
wash up using Calvin's sink. She hadn't worn any makeup on purpose
so it wasn't too much effort to clean her face and smooth out her
clothes. But seeing her hair made her frown. It would’ve been
difficult to set properly. She just put a rubber band in it and
wore it up.

Feeling a bit more like herself, she
set to task combing over the apartment. She opened drawers, checked
under the desk and the bed, browsed through the boxes, but
ultimately didn't find anything incriminating. That only left the
safe and Calvin had sealed it tight.

With a heave, she gripped his wrist
with both hands and yanked him off the bed and onto the floor. She
half expected him to wake up but he was still out cold. She dragged
him along the floor until they were close enough for her to press
Calvin's thumb against the plate. It beeped its approval and
unlocked. She popped it open.

To her surprise, and mixed delight,
she saw a mountain of pill bottles. They were kept in translucent
orange containers that were unmarked. One was open and half gone.
She pulled out her tiny camera and took a picture. Intending to
take it, and a bottle of pills, to the lab on the lower decks. Her
guess was that after they analyzed the chemicals it would be
discovered that Calvin had possession of illegal drugs. That was
more than enough to take his command away.

She felt a surge of victory swell her
lungs, but it was a bittersweet victory.

As she looked at him... crumpled on
the floor, and thought of what he'd said to her on the observation
deck... she couldn't just leave him like that. She spent the next
minute or two dragging him back and hoisting him onto his bed. She
didn't go out of her way to make him comfortable, but she couldn't
stand seeing him on the floor. When he was back in place, or close
enough, and she didn't feel as bad, she headed for the
lab.

Chapter 22

Monte Blair couldn't sleep
after Summers had torn into the infirmary and demanded to speak
with him. The audacity of that woman to demand he declare Calvin
unfit for command, it was...
unthinkable
. Calvin was a good friend
of many years. And Monte didn't make it his business to judge what
Calvin did with the ship and crew.

Having the XO make demands of him
helped nothing. He had enough on his mind as it was. Trouble with
the Khans. And, as he lay still, he wondered whether the new cartel
leadership would kill him. Or if his lung condition—which was worse
than he let on—would do him in first.

He wasn't as much in the dealing game
as he used to be. He only had two people under him now, and they
were stealing from him; he knew it, but could do nothing about it.
He was an old man with a cane, on the other side of the galaxy.
Hardly intimidating.

For the millionth time he
thought back on his glory days and wished he hadn't taken as many
hits over the years. He’d turned to drugs initially to latch onto
something that could offer him peace of mind, something that could
keep him going when the world felt too heavy. And, for a long time,
the drugs had worked, or seemed to. But then, as if overnight,
everything came apart. His life, his mind, his body... He wasn’t
sure exactly when he
realized
the drugs were hurting him permanently but it had
been too late.

The chronic pain. The dizziness. The
vomiting. Before he knew it, he was coughing up blood and who knows
what else. One morning he couldn't even see for twelve hours. But
when his sight came back he was back on the stuff, searching for
something to cope with the loss of his friends, family, and
wealth.

His marriage had suffered
the most, short-lived as it had been before crumbling apart.
Poor Bonnie... if only I could have actually been
someone, like I promised. Instead of the trash I became.

It wasn't as bad when he'd finally
stopped using and began dealing. That paid off his original debts
and allowed him to get away from the planet that had once been
home—where all his painful memories were. He left them there, as
far away as possible.

But when he had trouble sleeping, like
when people barged into his room on the warpath, it left him
startled and miserable. Picking at his brain for anything and
everything. Decades of fears, mistakes, and pain. It was pure
agony. He only kept himself going now because he believed he was
finally contributing to the universe. Here, on this starship, he
could put his knowledge to use and actually help people. It would
never undo a lifetime of regrets, but it helped him ignore them.
And if he could end his life on a high note, all the
better.

And then, like a re-occurring
nightmare, Summers was back again. Banging on the door because
Blair had disconnected his comm. When he opened it, she invited
herself right in, waving a folder of documents, a picture, and a
pill sample. She wore a smile big enough he expected her to say
she'd won the lotto.

Unfortunately it was much
worse.

"You say ‘bring me evidence,’ well
here it is, Dr. Blair!" She handed him the folder. He opened it and
browsed through a standard report from the science lab. There
wasn't much to it. Basically they'd proven that a sample of drugs
found in Calvin's quarters was Xinocodone—or "equarius"—a
controlled substance. The implication that followed was simple.
Calvin had to be removed from command.

He cursed inside and wondered how
Calvin could have been stupid enough to let her, of all people,
find equarius in his room. The next logical question would be "how
did he get the equarius?" and before long, Monte knew, all fingers
would be pointing at him.

"I expect your formal declaration that
Cross is unfit for command right away," said Summers. She seemed
too arrogant. And he hated that she was right. That he really had
no choice. Not if he valued his career anyway. But somehow the
thought of Calvin being dragged off to some jail and this witch in
front of him, this beautiful nasty witch, sailing away with
Calvin's ship... it was just damn wrong.

"No," he said simply.

She looked genuinely shocked. "What
did you say?"

"I said no. I won't do it."

"But you have no choice," Summers took
back the folder and flipped it open, again showing him her
evidence. "Here's the proof. I know Calvin is your friend but you
have a duty to do."

"I am not convinced that the equarius
you found was actually in Calvin's room, despite the picture," he
said, folding his arms.

"It's still there if you want to see
for yourself," she snapped.

"You could have put it there," he
said. "You had a motive, after all, to get Calvin removed from
command. Don't think I've forgotten your visit. You woke me the
hell up... twice!"

Her eyes narrowed and he
could see rage inside them as she shook her head slowly.
"
Unacceptable
…”
She stormed out, folder in hand. He watched her go, knowing he
could delay her but there was ultimately nothing he could do to
stop her.

***

Summers had only been to Special
Forces Head Quarters once, when she'd toured the ship that first
day. She really liked the atmosphere there. The rigid discipline.
The soldiers with crisp, unwrinkled uniforms and proper salutes. A
place where structure and order prevailed. How the military should
be. Seeing the grey sliding door guarded by two perfect soldiers
made her smile.

"Commander," the leftmost soldier
acknowledged her and they both saluted and let her pass.

"I need to see the Major right away,
it's urgent," she said to the attending soldier, a busy looking
female in grey fatigues. She paged the Major.

“Commander Presley here to see you,
sir, she says it’s urgent.”

The Major’s husky voice could be heard
over the comm speaker. "Send her in."

The Major's office was not as brightly
lit as the HQ's main room, but the hazelnut paneling made it feel
warmer. Behind a matching brown desk the Major sat up straight,
hands curled together on his desk. He looked up at her with deep
brown eyes that made him seem younger than his greying hair let
on.

"What can I do for you, Commander?" He
waved for her to sit. Summers accepted and slid her folder of notes
across the smooth table.

She cut right to the chase. "I have
proof here that Lieutenant Commander Cross has illegal drugs in his
possession. He is therefore unfit for command."

The Major didn't seem the type to show
his emotions, but she could see surprise in his eyes as he flipped
through the lab results and photographs, shaking his head. "This is
very alarming, but, I don't have the authority to relieve the
Captain of command. You should take this to Dr. Blair."

Summers knew this was protocol and she
hadn't come here expecting the Major to relieve Calvin of
command—her goals were slightly different. "I've already spoken
with the good doctor," she said. "And he refuses to declare Calvin
unfit despite this evidence. My opinion is that Dr. Blair is
putting his friendship with Calvin ahead of the well-being of the
ship."

The Major frowned and leaned back, his
chair creaking. "I'm not sure what you expect me to do," he said.
"The regulations are very clear, I don't have any jurisdiction over
the ship's command." She liked that the Major was a man who
operated by the book.

"I am aware of your position," said
Summers. "The usual procedure here is to contact Fleet Command and
present this evidence. But Calvin has locked out all outside
communications. Only you have the security access to override that
lockout. I'm asking you to do that so I may contact Fleet Command
and present them with this information."

The Major hesitated for a moment,
looking conflicted. "Calvin said the lockout was a necessary
precaution, that outside communication represents a security
threat."

Summers looked him squarely in the
eyes. "I have every reason to believe Calvin is using that as an
excuse to keep the Fleet from revoking his command."

The Major stroked his chin for several
seconds. Summers was about to speak again, to strengthen her
argument, when the Major nodded his assent. "Yes, I think you're
right. Fleet Command should have this information and they can give
us further instructions. We can also ask them whether or not they
authorized Calvin to lockout communications."

Summers felt a rush of excitement. "I
believe that is the right course of action."

The Major turned his attention to his
computer and typed a series of codes, including one that required
voice recognition. "System Override Alpha Victor One Whiskey Bravo
Niner." The computer confirmed his order with an affirmative beep.
He nodded to Summers. "All yours, Commander." He moved aside so she
could use his terminal.

Without hesitation, she walked around
his side of the desk and input the proper command lines to link up
with Fleet Command over a secure channel. Before long, Commodore
Yitzen's lightly-bearded face appeared.

"We've been having trouble contacting
you, IWS Nighthawk. What's your status?" He seemed
tense.

"That's because Lieutenant Commander
Cross locked out all outside communication. Major Jenkins overrode
Cross’s order so we could give you this report." Summers pulled a
disc out of her pocket and plugged it into the Major's computer. At
her request, the lab had given her a digital copy of all the
information that incriminated Calvin.

As she forwarded it over the kataspace
connector, she continued to explain. "In addition to the fact that
Calvin disobeyed a direct order by not engaging the Harbinger, it’s
also been discovered that Cross has in his possession a controlled
substance which he has been using. It is my opinion that this is
impairing his judgment and he is unfit for command. Dr. Blair does
not agree, I am therefore appealing to you."

"This is a matter of serious concern,"
said Commodore Yitzen, his eyes scanned back and forth and Summers
knew he was reviewing the notes she'd sent him. After a few seconds
he said. "Did Cross provide a reason for locking out
communications?"

"He said he was under orders from
Intel Wing. That incoming kataspace messages were a security
threat."