Conquest ~ Indian Hill 3 ~ A Michael Talbot Adventure (62 page)

“Smoked too much weed, could never remember my lines
,” I told
him as I took the glass with the liquor from him.

“It’s been a good run
,” Paul said
,
holding up his glass. I clinked mine against his, downing the booze
,
the familiar burning sensation cascading down my throat.

“I’ve never liked this shit
,” I told
him. “Pour me another one.” We toasted again.

“What do you give your odds?” Paul asked
,
pouring a third.

“
One
i
n ten
,” I told
him, waiting impatiently for the liquid courage to be poured.

“That high? Impressive.”

“You should make this one a double.”

“How is this Urlack planning on getting a hold of a ship?”

“He says he’s got it all figured out.”

“You sure do have a lot of faith in them
,
Mike.”

“All German
s weren’t monsters in World War
Two
, Paul.”

“Yeah,
but at least they were human
,” Paul said
as he quaffed down his drink.

“Well,
yeah there’s that
,” I said
,
matching his motion. The fire in my belly spread as the liquid did it’s magic. My eyes felt a little heavier as I bec
a
me buzz
ed
.
“What is this shit?” I said pushing my glass over for another pour.

“It’s Camus Cognac
.
T
wenty-five hundred
bucks a bottle.”

“Holy shit, you got more?”

“No.”

“You really don’t think I’m going to make it back
,” I said
.
Paul kept pouring. “I don’t know
,” I said
taking another swig, “I really wouldn’t pay much over
two thousand
for this.”

Paul stopped to look at me, his gaze softened just as he began to laugh. I joined in heartily.

***

I staggered out of Paul’s office a few hours later, Paul’s head
was
resting on his desk
and
he was snoring lightly. I wrote him a small note to tell him how much I l
oved and valued him as a friend.
I hoped it was legible. I
’d
felt like a
kindergartner
tightly gripping a crayon and trying desperately to copy the funny characters the
teacher
had
written
on the board.

Tracy was leaning against the wall, I nearly fell into her.
“Smooth
,
huh?” I asked her.

“You’re drunk
,” she said
, probably with a small measure of disgust.

“That would be an understatement.”

“Let’s go home.”

“Sounds wonderful
,” I told
her. “You should probably lead the way, because I don’t have a clue which way to go.”

I don’t
remember
how long it took or how many lefts and rights
,
but as we finally approached my quarters I heard Tracy mutter a
sarcastic ‘
w
onderful
’
.

“What’s the matter
—
am I drooling again?” I asked her
,
looking up. Some
body
who
had some sort of new technology
to blur themselves
was standing approximately by my doorway.

“It’s Beth.”

“Beth? I loved her once
,” I said
not even thinking. All I can say is I’m thankful that I used the past tense or Tracy would have dropped me where I stood, both literally and figuratively.

“And now?”
s
he prodded.”

“
Now
what?” I asked having no clue what she was referring too.

“What are your feelings about Beth now?”

“Why are we talking about this now?” I asked
,
confused.

“Because she’s standing at your door.”

I tried to focus as best I could down the hallway but I could still only make out a blurred image. “You can see past her cloaking device?”

“How drunk are you?”

“I could probably sit in a chair without falling over for at least seven minutes.”

“Seven whole minutes?” Tracy asked.

“At the least.”

“I’ll keep that in mind
,” she said
.

“What in mind? I miss my bed
,” I told
her.

“Almost there. What do you want me to tell Beth?”

“Why
—
does she miss my bed too?” I asked
,
not realizing the innuendo I had just made, but Tracy caught it.

“I’m sure she does.”

As we go
t closer, Beth began to
come in
to focus. I was a hand span away from saying how beautiful I thought she was and I might h
ave had she not taken my breath
away. She was wearing the same dress or a reasonable facsimile of it that she had worn the first time we met.

“Is he alright?” Beth asked
,
coming up to offer aid.

“He’s fine
,”
Tracy said frostily. “Just drunk.”

Beth got under my other arm and helped to keep me propped up. Tracy fished my keys out of
my pocket and got my door open.
T
he two women shuffled me to my bed and unceremoniously deposited me
on
the mattress. Now if I could
have made
the room stop spinning
,
this would almost
have been
a magical moment.

“I’m going to miss you
,
Tracy
,” I said
as I plopped one foot onto the floor, the room came to a lurching stop as I rooted myself to something that wasn’t
spinnin
g, although it seemed to be undulating
quite a bit
.

“Why?” Beth asked.

“Don’t get your hopes up, it isn’t because he’s leaving me to be with you
,”
Tracy said.

“Good one
,
” I mumbled from the bed.

“What’s going on
,
Mike?” Beth asked
,
approaching the side of the bed.

“He’s decided to kill himself
,”
Tracy answered.

“That one wasn’t nearly as good
,” I said
.

“Mike?” Beth asked again
, trying to do an
end-run
past Tracy.

“Going to space again
,” I told
her. “Third time’s a charm.”

“Are you insane?”
Beth nearly screamed.

“Well,
we finally agree on something
,”
Tracy answered.

“You can’t be serious? And you’re letting him?” Beth turned her fury
toward
Tracy.

“I don’t own him and he’s doing what he feels he must. Just because I don’t agree with it doesn’t mean I don’t think
it’s a
valid idea.”

“Wait
—
what?” I said trying to keep track of the conversation. Was Tracy now agreeing with me just to make sure she wasn’t on the same side as Beth or did she truly feel what she had spoken?

“He could end it all
,” Tracy said
,
sitting on the corner of the bed. “Or end it all for me
,”
s
he added much quieter.

“Mike?” Beth asked again.

I feigned sleep, even if my eyes were closed and I was snoring softly.

***

“Tracy
,
I know we’re not the best of friends
,”
Beth started.

“That’s an understatement
,”
Tracy responded. “Sorry, he’s got me pretty upset.”

“Why would he possibly go back?” Beth said
,
not acknowledging the apology or the slight for that matter.

Tracy spent the next few minutes retelling Beth the entire plan, without the slightest hint of exaggeration it sounded insane.

“And so his egotistical self believes he is the only one capable of pulling this off?” Beth asked.

“That’s the thing
,” Tracy said
. “I don’t really think he believes that, but he believes in the necessity to take the chance no matter how slight the chances of success.”

“I won’t
stand for this!” Beth chided, nearly stomping her foot in protest.

“Come on
,
M
a, just a half hour more” Mike murmured in his sleep.

“Ha
,”
Tracy half laughed
,
not meaning to. “You let me know how that goes
,” she said
,
speaking to Beth. “I’ve yet to see the man do anything anybody has told him to.”

“He has a problem with authority
,” Beth said
,
looking down at Michael’s face.

A heavy knocking came at the door, only one or now two beings possessed the strength to make the hinges bulge with each hammer blow.

“Hello
,
Drababan
,” Tracy said
,
opening the door before the brute could continue his rapping.

“He has dr
u
nk again
,” Dee said
as a statement of fact. “I could smell it fro
m the hallway.
I had hoped it was someone else.”

“Is there something I can help you with?” Tracy asked.

Beth was trying her best to shrink into the far wall.

“Your fear of me is unfounded
,” Dee said
,
looking right at her. Beth looked like she wanted to cry.

“You’re wrong
.
Y
ou’re kind have destroyed my planet, killed my friends
,
and probably my family. I think I have every right to be afraid of you. And now when I might finally have one thing left to hold onto
,
you threaten his
life too
,” Beth said
defiantly.

Dee bowed his head slightly. “Very well
,” he said
to Beth. “Small military woman
,
will you please tell Michael to come and see me in my quarters when he arises
?
”

Tracy nodded. “I’d appreciate you calling me by my name or rank.”

“Thank you
,” Dee said
,
turning and leaving.

“Is he always so gruff?” Beth asked.

“To everyone but Mike
,” Tracy said
,
holding the door open and looking at Beth. Beth understood the hint of the gesture
,
but took a moment longer to look down upon Mike’s sleeping countenance.

“
Would you mind if I
say goodbye before he goes?” Beth asked Tracy.

“I’d like to
say no,
Beth
,
I really would, but I will tell him
you asked.
I
f he comes to see you
,
then it was by his decision, not mine.”

“Thank you for that.”

“I have no desire to be your friend
,
Beth, and I’d appreciate it if you would stop showing up unannounced. Good night.” Tracy shut the door
before Beth could respond
.

“I thought she’d never leave
,”
Mike said in his sleep,
rolling
over onto his side.

***

I woke up six hours later, not because I wanted to
,
but because my bladder deigned it. The room was dark and for a moment I had a start
,
not realizing where I was. There was a warm body next to me, the first thought that came to mind was Deb, which meant I was on the ship. The thrusting of adrenaline hammering through my system was making clear thinking difficult, my thoughts were processing the cloudiness in my head as concussion based and not alcohol related. My fight with Durgan was soon!