Your Truth is Out There (Find Your Truth Book 1) (15 page)

“No sir, you weren’t,” said Gsefx, sufficiently shamed by Xtlar’s admonition.

“Then do not disappoint me.”

The vidcon went blank and Gsefx sat in stunned silence. What he had said about some of the Pigawitts accounts had been true, at least in part. They were requiring deeper scrutiny, but that wasn’t the problem. Ever since his narrow escape from Irt, he’d been unable to focus on his work, or anything else for that matter.

He’d been obsessed with learning as much as he could about the primitive planet and its inhabitants, hoping that he might discover something that would give him cause to hope, perhaps some new information he could take to Lhvunsa that would convince her it would be safe to go back. Instead, all he discovered is that the planet’s name was actually Earth, not Irt, and that even though the inhabitants were of a single species, humans, as they called themselves, they were divided into hundreds of different factions, most of which were at violent odds with one another. In many ways, it was even more primitive than Gsefx had initially thought.

He supposed it didn’t matter, he was so far behind on his work, he wasn’t sure he could catch up if he worked straight through until the GTCA audit, much less if he tried to take time off to go back to Earth. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to the friend he’d left behind.

There was a knock on his door, just before it opened to reveal his best friend in this part of the galaxy, Planvc.

“Gsefx, where is file Z7163? You said you would have it done two sars ago and I need it … two sars ago.”

“What?” asked Gsefx, his thoughts still everywhere but where they needed to be: on his work.

“File Z7163, you know, the Pigawitts account? The one we’re nearly seven rotations behind on?”

“Yes, of course, Planvc. Sorry. I’m almost finished with it. I’ll have it for you shortly.”

“Gsefx, what’s going on with you? You haven’t been yourself lately, and in all the turns we’ve worked together, we’ve never been this far behind. I’m starting to worry about you?”

Gsefx smiled at his friend. They had started at Galacticount together nearly ten turns ago and became close friends right from the very beginning. Planvc was a Nerrillian, which meant he wasn’t native to the Galactic Community. It wasn’t unheard of for beings to live in galaxies not their own, but it was a rarity. For that fact alone, Gsefx went out of his way to make friends with his new co-worker. As the turns went by, he also took it upon himself to stand up for Planvc when others around them were ready to push the foreigner out completely, as much because of his heritage as for his lack of interpersonal skills. Gsefx simply reminded those in charge of his friend’s superior abilities with numbers, and that usually ended the conversation.

“It’s nothing, Planvc,” said Gsefx, returning the smile. “I’ve just been a bit distracted lately. I’m fine and we will catch up, I promise. Give me thirty ebyts and I’ll bring the file over to you.”

Planvc seemed less than convinced, but didn’t push it any further.

“Okay, but you know you can always talk to me if you need to.”

“I know and I appreciate it. There may come a time when I take you up on that offer. But for now, let’s get back to work.”

Planvc left the office and Gsefx turned back to his files.

“I have to focus,” he whispered aloud. “If I don’t get caught up, Xtlar’s never going to forgive me.” He took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Better to not think about that for now, Gsefx. Just shut up and get to work.”

He reached over and turned the vidcon off completely, got up, shut his office door, and locked it. He dove into his work with a zeal that, while it lacked the passion normally present when he was as deep in his element as he was now, was as efficient as ever. He finished Planvc’s file in the promised thirty ebyts, but continued on without the slightest hesitation. He was on a roll and didn’t want to break his concentration. At one point, he heard a knock on the door, grabbed file Z7163 and slid it under the door, then turned back to his work. Eventually, his stomach began to growl and his eyes started to cross, and he knew it was time for a break. He finished the file he was working on and sat back satisfied. Without the constant interruptions that had become a normal part of his work day, he’d been able to complete nearly a full rotation’s work in half the time. If he could keep up this pace, he could, theoretically, be caught up in no time.

Theoretically.

He let out a deep sigh and turned the vidcon back on. Ten messages, all from Lhvunsa, except one, which was from Qilzar. He started to the play the one from his boss, thought better of it and played Lhvunsa’s most recent message.

“Gsefx, I don’t know what’s going on or why you’re not answering,” said the image of his lovely wife, “but please call me back as soon as you get this. I think Qilzar is in serious trouble.”

Gsefx entered the code to his home vidcon and pressed the send button.

“Oh, thank the Gods,” said a clearly relieved Lhvunsa when she answered. “I was afraid something … never mind … you’re okay, aren’t you?”

“Yes, of course. I’m fine. I was just working, trying to catch up. I’m so far behind, I needed to focus and work for a while without any distractions. What’s going on? What’s this about Qilzar?”

“He called and left a message for me, but it makes no sense. I don’t know Qilzar all that well, but from what I do know of him, the message seemed very strange. He appeared calm, but it was like he was trying to hide how frightened he was. Here, let me play it for you.”

She pushed a few buttons on her side and the vidcon screen split down the middle, with Gsefx’s boss appearing on one side, while Lhvunsa’s image shrunk to the other half.

“My dear, Lhvunsa,” began Qilzar, “I’m just calling to let you know that I’ll be away for a while. Should you need to contact me for any reason, my traveling code is 1391441112. I will contact you again upon my return. Farewell, dear Lhvunsa.”

Gsefx sat staring at the screen, feeling something between puzzlement, shock, and a slight twinge of jealousy. That was a rather intimate message for his boss to leave his wife.

“That is strange,” he managed finally, trying not to give away his feelings.

“I’m scared, Gsefx. I’m afraid it has to do with …”

“I know exactly what it has to do with,” said Gsefx, anger now pushing away all of his other emotions. “He swore to us that he wouldn’t go back after the paintings, or even discuss it any further.”

“Yes, I know. Do you think he’s broken his promise?”

“I don’t know. Has he talked to you about going back?”

“He tried to bring it up on a couple of occasions, but I shut him down quickly each time. I told him under no circumstances would we be a part of such a risky adventure, and that I would tell you if I found out he was planning anything.”

“Thank you,” said Gsefx, doing his best to keep in check the sudden swell of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. Lhvunsa had that kind of effect on him—she always had. “That means more to me than you know. My guess is that he planned something and didn’t tell you. Have you tried calling the traveling code he gave you?”

“Yes, of course. That’s where it gets even weirder. The code is not even in service. Have you heard from him?”

“No, I haven’t … wait … yes, I have a message from him that I haven’t watched yet. I called you back first. Here, let me play it.”

Gsefx pushed the appropriate buttons on the vidcon and they both watched as Qilzar’s image appeared on their respective screens.

“My dear Gsefx, I’m calling to let you know that I’ve decided to take a vacation and so I’ll be away for a while. I’m leaving you in charge while I’m out. If you need to contact me, my traveling code is 1893141518. I will contact you again upon my return. Farewell, my dear Gsefx.”

“He’s done it,” said Lhvunsa, “he’s gone after the paintings. This is his way of telling us it’s too late. He’s even given us phony traveling codes so we can’t reach him.”

“I’m not so sure,” said Gsefx as he furiously scribbled notes on his desk. “I’ve known Qilzar for ten turns and worked directly for him for the last six. In the first place, he’s not nearly brave enough to try something like this on his own. He’d need help and since we wouldn’t provide it, he’d have to look elsewhere …”

“Oh Gods!” said Lhvunsa.

“What?” said Gsefx, looking up from his desk.

“He swore to me he wouldn’t go after the paintings, but he did mention that it would be the kind of job worthy of …”

“The Ricnor Gang,” they said in unison.

“How did you know?” asked Lhvunsa.

“Not only do I know he’s involved with the Ricnor Gang,” said Gsefx, “I also know they’ve taken him to Mindaal.”

“Mindaal? Where’s that? And how do you know that?”

“I have no idea where Mindaal is, but the codes he gave aren’t traveling codes at all. They’re a type of code we use internally at Galacticount to pass messages during meetings when we don’t want a client to know what we’re discussing. They come in very handy. Qilzar must have known he was being watched. Probably told whoever was watching that it would be strange if he just disappeared without a message, and even stranger if he didn’t leave a traveling code in the message. They probably didn’t pay close enough attention to realize he gave us each different codes. Your code translated to Mindaal, my code translated to Ricnor.”

“Gsefx, we’ve got to do something. The Ricnor Gang is ruthless. They’ll steal the paintings and kill him, and they probably don’t care what order they do it in.”

It wasn’t that long ago that Gsefx was staring at an open plain full of heavily armed humans all ready to open fire on him. He thought that had been his defining moment, the point in his life where he truly became the being he was meant to be. Now, as he sat across the vidcon from his lovely wife, he knew the life-and-death situation he encountered on Earth was an adventure, and nothing more. Here, in the comfort of his everyday life, faced with the kind of choice he now had to make, was where his life would truly be defined. Who was Gsefx, really? Who would he be? He hesitated, but only for a moment.

“Lhvunsa, find out where Mindaal is and program it into your vehicle. Then pack up with everything we might need and get together as much money as you can. I’ll square things here and be on my way to you as soon as I can leave here without raising suspicion.”

“Gsefx …” she was nearly in tears.

“I know, me too … but there’s no time for that now. I’ll need to wait until the end of my rotation, and then I’ll be home as fast as I can. I love you, my darling.”

“I love you too, Gsefx.”

As planned, Gsefx timed his departure from work to coincide with the rest of his team, so as to not arouse suspicion, and he gave no hint to anyone, not even Planvc, that anything was amiss. If necessary, he’d miss work by pretending to be sick, but he’d wait until the last moment before making that decision.

As he piloted his way through the evening traffic, his normally loud music turned completely off, he tried to understand what could have driven Qilzar to do such an incredibly stupid thing. Granted, he himself had very recently done a very stupid thing by going to Earth all alone without having his ship checked out first, but at least he didn’t involve anyone else. Qilzar actually invited the Ricnor gang into something he promised he wouldn’t even get involved with in the first place. He should have known he couldn’t trust Qilzar, from the way he’d looked at the painting.

And now, Qilzar had brought the Ricnor Gang into the situation and was very likely being held prisoner by them. Like it or not, Gsefx was pretty certain another trip to Earth was in his near future, that is if they all survived long enough to make the trip. When he finally arrived at his home, he pulled his vehicle into its parking spot next to Lhvunsa’s, locked it up, and went inside.

“Lhvunsa, I’m home.”

No answer.

“Lhvunsa?”

No answer.

“Lhvunsa?” A shout this time.

Still no answer.

The vidcon lit up with an incoming call. It was from an unknown number. Gsefx pushed the answer button. An image of his beautiful wife, with a hand over her mouth and a large, very sharp spike held against her neck, filled the screen.

“Don’t speak, Et Gsefx, just listen carefully. Clearly, we have your wife. We also have your friend, Et Qilzar. We want just one thing in exchange for both of them. The painting from Irt. If you’d had it hanging in your home, like one would have expected, especially considering that it was such a special gift, or so I’ve been told, we wouldn’t have had to take your wife. But, since you decided you had to hide it from us … well … you know the rest. Coordinates are on the desk in front of the vidcon. You have two sars. Don’t be late.”

The image of Lhvunsa disappeared as the vidcon went dark.

Over the previous six nights (Henry assumed they were nights, although he couldn’t be sure, as he hadn’t seen the sun since the day in the clearing when this little adventure first began), the guards had gone to great lengths to ensure any signs of their handiwork would be hidden under his clothes, away from the prying eyes of anyone who might be looking for signs of prisoner abuse. The guards never seem concerned that Henry would rat them out, although he gave them no reason to believe one way or the other.

But last night something had changed. From the moment they busted into his cell, Henry felt a tension that hadn’t been there before, and it concerned him immediately.

“Prisoner Two-One-Seven-Three-Three-Nine-Seven-Six-Three, you are hereby charged with …” Sergeant Hickam stopped and looked around. Henry could see sweat rolling down his temples, even though it was actually rather chilly in the day room where they held their mock court. The man was nervous about something.

Is he … are we, being watched?

Henry forced himself to not look around for a hidden camera, but instead kept his focus on Hickam himself. The more he studied the Sergeant, the clearer it became that it wasn’t just nerves. Hickam was flat-out scared.

“Enough of this,” said Hickam, suddenly breaking the silence. “Are you going to talk tonight or not, Backus?”